Why we Must Make it Safe for Others to come Home!

Text: Luke 15:11-24 Title: Are we Making It Safe for others to Come Home? BI: God Still Loves us! Purpose: The listener will be reminded and be challenged to respond to God’s love and to exhibit love for others. Following up on our theme ‘What a Friend we have in Jesus!’ This morning I am moved to share a message with you on, Why We Must Make it safe for others to come Home! And even though I am not in any way trying to put some new twist in this ancient parable, my hope is that God will use it to touch your heart as He has touched mine because... • In it I see a whispering of hope that should give us confidence… • In it I see a person who was lost but now is found… • In it I see a person who was blind but now can see… • In it I see a person who was reckless but now has turned around… Today’s passage gives us a clear portrait of ourselves. In it we are invited to see why we must make it safe for others to join God’s Family. As I think of our vision, I can only hope that God will speak to us through this message in a more personal way…so that we can make it safe for others to connect with Christ. Please Pray with me… Please open your Bibles to Luke 15:11-24… In this text, Jesus introduces three parables in which valuable items are lost. He begins with the parable of the LOST SHEEP, followed by the parable of the LOST COIN, and finally the parable of the LOST SON, and they all end with a celebration. But, unlike the lost Sheep and the lost Coin, which we can easily understand their lostness, the Lost Son is different. • He’s not lost because he doesn’t know his way home… • He’s not lost because he’s fallen under a Chair, or a Bed, or rolled into a corner like a coin w… • He’s not lost because he’s caught in a thick bush or fallen in a pit like a Sheep… He’s lost because… • He has chosen to leave his father’s house with a share of his earthly possession! • He has chosen to cut himself from his family… • He has decided to lean on his own understanding… • He has detached himself from his father’s authority… • He has followed the desires of his sinful heart! According to Luke, this is how it all began…Jesus had just left a house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees and a great crowd followed him…Tax collectors and sinners had come to hear him…and the Pharisees and the Scribes grumbled at his reception of sinners. So, Jesus began to speak to them in parables. A Parable is a story or saying that is used to illustrate a spiritual truth…In this particular parable, we are told that there was man who had two sons. The youngest son for reasons known to himself asked his father to give him a share of his inheritance. This was against the tradition. One could only inherit their portion when the father was dead, or when the father decided to do so in his own volition. And according to their tradition, the older son would receive two thirds of the estate and the younger son one third or even less if there were daughters, since money would be needed for their dowries. What is strange here is that it is the youngest son who initiates the conversation. The younger son wanted his share…I think he must have nagged his father until he gave in to his request. A few days later this son packed all his belongings and moved to a far country…maybe he thought he could make a lot out of what he had…or maybe his plan was to venture into business…maybe his friends had advised him to do so…we don’t know. All we know is that the youngest son of this family whose mother is not mentioned went to a far country. No one else knew where he had gone…he must have decided to travel as distant as he could from his father’s presence. And he arrived in the far country with a lot of cash…friends must have gathered everywhere he went…he had a lot to spend…and he did spend…we are told that he squandered his wealth in reckless living. He was wild…he partied…drunk…danced…possibly gambled and lost, and maybe his friends took advantage of his recklessness…it didn’t last long…the swagger was finally over! And then a severe famine struck the land in that country. His friends left him when he needed them most. Some blocked him. Some unfriended him. While others unfollowed him. He was left alone. There was no one to help him when he needed food. He struggled to make ends meet. He couldn’t even pay his bills anymore. He couldn’t rent even a room to spend a night. He had fallen from grace to grass. From riches to rags. He thought he had it all, but he lost it all. It must have been a painful experience! After trying other means and failed, he finally got a job. He was hired to feed pigs. Something that was unlawful for a Jew to do. He had fallen so low. He was living below the poverty level. He was desperate to do anything to survive. And as he fed the pigs, he became so hungry that he desired their food. He saw himself in the same state as a pig! It was at this point that he realized he was indeed lost! Vs 17: When he came to his senses…something in his mind begun to change…somehow his eyes opened. He could now see his lostness. He realizes he isn’t as smart as he thought he was. He remembers his father’s servants who are living better than him. They have more food available for them while he’s perishing in hunger. He must have had several sleepless nights…before his change of mind…he realizes he was wrong…Listen to his thoughts in verses 18-19: “I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.” The lost son is now ready to take a position of a servant in his father’s house. He has stripped himself from all that is rightfully his. He’s prescribing to himself a punishment he thinks he deserves for his recklessness. This is what repentance is all about. It is a change of mind…it begins with a realization of one’s sinfulness…then a decision to turn away…a change of mind from worldliness to Christ…a turn from sin to the Savior…he said, ‘I will’…then he followed his thoughts. He arose and began the long journey back home…in his stinky dirty clothes…no shoes on his feet…he walked towards his father’s house…ashamed of his regrettable behavior he walked…where else could he go that was safe enough? Who else would care to receive him? no one wanted his company anymore. His friends had deserted him…so he walked to his father’s house…a place he once called home…with the hope that he will at least get a better job there, and perhaps eat like the rest of the servants. People who knew him saw him but could not tell who he was…he had changed…he left home with big muscles…clean expensive clothing…nice shoes…his hair was well groomed when he left home…but now he looked like someone who had fallen into a sewage pit and managed to swim out…he was weak and thin and stinky…but he still walked…heading to his father’s house… I see in him a sinner who has realized that Christ is his only friend…his only hope…Christ is the only one who will receive you when everyone else turns against you. Just like you and me when we walk away from God’s presence…God patiently waits for the time we will realize our wrong and turn to Him. And some of us need to turn to God today… His father longed for his return all the time he was away…he desired to see him alive again…he prayed for his safety…every morning he would wake up and look towards the road hopping to see his son coming…every day was another disappointment. Each day added its own share of painful memories. But this day was different. While the son was still far away…his father saw him…he was old but he still could recognize his flesh and blood from a distance…he saw him…and his heart was touched…he had compassion on him…the fatherliness in him couldn’t wait…he ran towards his son and embraced him…he kissed him…he was dirty and stinky but he was still his son…the son said to his father, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father would hear none of his speech…instead he ordered his servants to treat him as one of their masters…he asked them to clean him and put on him the best robe…a robe that was reserved for distinguished guests…and put a ring on his finger…the ring was to symbolize identity…and unity…and shoes on his feet…to distinguish him from the rest of the servants…then he ordered the servants to bring the fattened calf and kill so they could eat and celebrate …the son was overwhelmed by the father’s love…he was humbled…his father’s love was over the top…it was crazy…it was extravagant…he must have felt great to be home… This Father is a portrait of our Loving Savior. A friend that is always willing to receive us and shower us with his love and blessings…we may be ashamed of Him when we sin, but He is never ashamed of us. What a Friend We Have in Jesus! The father made it safe for the son to come home! But why would the father do all these for a son who turned his back on him? Why didn’t he punish him for his lack of respect? Why didn’t he remind him of his broken heart? Why did he make it safe for the son to come home? Why must we make it safe for others to come home? Look at verse 24: The father says…I am doing all these because…this my son was dead…but now he’s alive…I am doing all these because this my son was lost…but now he’s found…I am doing all these because this my son was blind…but now he can see! Yes! I know what he did to me. I still remember the pain. But am joyful now because he has come back home. He was wrong when he left…but he’s back…and am his father… That’s it. God loves us not because of what we do or do not do, but because He’s God. And they began to celebrate! They were celebrating life. Listen…if there’s anything that should make us joyful this year, it should be seeing the lost come to Christ. If there’s anything we need to do as a church this year, it should be to make it safe for others to join God’s Family. Can we make our church a place where people can connect with Christ? A place where one can find healing, and peace, and joy, and love. A place where it’s safe for others to join God’s Family…that’s what makes God happy…that’s what causes the Angels to rejoice…that’s what should make us happy… Listen, we need to make it safe for others to come home…because, God still loves us. That’s why it is safe for you and me…that’s why we must make it safe for others to connect with Christ. We know Jesus loves us. It doesn’t matter where you have been or what you might have done…Jesus loves you…and He desires to see you turn to Him. Sin breaks our fellowship with God. It is sin that separates us from God. Like the prodigal son, despite our rebellion God still loves us. That’s why he gave his Son Jesus to die on the cross. Through his death God made a provision for our forgiveness. It is safe to come home because God still loves you, and He wants to forgive you. Please hear me, like the prodigal son some of us even though we are Christians, we need to reconsider our ways. God knows us. He still loves us! As a loving father…God is waiting for us to come back to our senses and realize it is safe to come home…where there is forgiveness…it is safe to come home where there’s peace…it is safe to come where there’s acceptance…No Matter What, God still loves you!