Welcome to the Kerwin Baptist Church broadcast today. Our desire is for the Word of God to be spread throughout the world so that all may know Christ. Join us now for a portion of one of our services here at Kerwin Baptist Church, located in Kernersville, North Carolina. Luke chapter 15, Brother Frank read the first 10 verses for us this morning, and I want to give you a brief story of what this is going on.
So, first of all, it is a passage that has three stories. that convey the same truth. And so the first one through seven verses deals with the lost sheep. Verses 8 through 12 deals with the lost coin. And what we're going to really spend our focus on today is verse 11 through 24: the lost son.
I want to give you a few things that compare together of these three passages because they overlap. The first thing you see is that they have several things in common. One of them is that a person that has possessions. One has a hundred sheep. One has a bag full of coins and one has two sons.
You also have a loss of a valuable possession. You lost a sheep, you lost a coin. He lost a son. In the first two stories, you also have a passionate search for that possession. The one leaves the 99 and goes and searches for that one.
And the second one, the lady, stays up all night sweeping the house trying to find that coin. And then lastly, you have a party or a joyful celebration. when that lost item is found.
So this morning we're going to be talking about that lost son. Being the recovered this morning. Let's pray and we'll jump in. Lord, I love you and I need you this morning. And God, you're such a great God.
Would you be lifted up and magnified in Jesus' name? Amen. A few years ago, I took my family and we went to Coles in Kernersville. And we were just kind of meandering around, and I have five kids, so sometimes they kind of run around as you're familiar with. And so I had an infant, she was in a car seat kind of stroller type thing, and I had a two-year-old, and a five- and a seven, and a nine-year-old.
And we're kind of over in the men's section just kind of looking at suit coats, things like that. And the baby's just kind of sitting there fine. And you know, every few minutes you check in, just make sure, hey guys, where are you at? And you know, my kids are crazy, so they are in between the clothing racks, standing in the middle, you know how that is.
So you don't always see them at all moments. That doesn't mean they're gone. And so we kind of checked in, and we kind of were just kind of looking at different things. After a few minutes, I checked in, and we have a thing we say, eny, meeny, miney, mo, and they answer back, and they, okay, you're here.
Well, I got to the eeny-meeny miney mo, and I had first one, the second one, the third one, and I've got the baby right here, she can't leave. And I can't find my two-year-old. And so, you know, at first you're like, okay, so she's probably just hiding in one of these clothing racks, whatever. I'm going around, I'm like, Emily, Emily, where you at? Come here and she didn't answer.
So it's not a big deal. We kind of expanded the search and we went from this little area we're at, and Emily. Emily and never could hear where Emily was. Normally she would answer right away.
So we start to kind of panic a little bit, so we kind of get a little louder. Emily, Emily. Nothing. It's crickets. And as a parent, your heart starts to sink.
And we're starting, Emily, where you at?
So one of us, and I believe it was me, went to the front of the store and said, hey, we can't find our two-year-old. And so they start looking around, and they're not seeing any two-year-olds in the store, just walking by themselves. And then your heart starts to really get scared because you're like, Who were the people in the section with us? Did someone grab our daughter? Are they already in the car?
Are they running off? And your mind starts to race and wonder: where are they at? What is going on? Am I going to see my two-year-old again? And we're starting to go around the store, and I'm keeping my kids with us.
And my wife is looking somewhere, and we're trying to check in. And it's nowhere to be found can we find our two-year-old. My wife's in the shoe section, and the girls, and ladies, and jewelry, and all kinds of stuff, we can't find anywhere. And so finally, I was like, there is a kids' section on the other side of the store. She's never seen it before.
But I sent my oldest daughter to the other side of the store just to be sure. I'm standing at the front of the entrance with the doors locked. They won't let anybody in or out. Until we find our two-year-old. And so finally, I looked over, and I see my daughter, my oldest, holding my two-year-old's hand.
walking down the aisle. And you know the relief that comes to your heart when they're found. And it absolutely terrified us. In this story, we're going to be talking about the son who has lost something. He lost his son.
And it's a terrifying thing for a parent to lose a kid. I want you to notice the first of all the son who left. The son who left. In verse 11, it says, And he said, A certain man. had two sons.
And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me a portion of the goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. They were people that were listening to the story of Jesus, and they would have first thing they would have been a gasp. How could a son do something like this? You may say that's not a big deal.
What he was saying to the father is when the son goes to the dad and says, Give me the portion of the inheritance that would have been mine when you died.
So basically, the son is going to the dad and said, You're dead to me. And I want what you... I want what was going to come to me.
Now, I don't know how that would go in your house. If you went to your mom or dad, Said, hey, I want whatever you're going to give me whenever you die. That wouldn't go real well. And for most, it wouldn't end this story. But this son, he goes to him, and it was deeply disrespectful to the father.
But I want you to notice that the father did something that shocked all those that were listening to this story. The father decides to do what the son asks. Most would have fought, kicked him out of the family. But he says he d divided up his living. That word living is the word life.
And what that father did is he started to dissect his life. All that he had accomplished, all that he had gained and accumulated through his life. He's now starting to decide to cut it up so he can give it to his son.
Now, that's not the same as you going up to the bank and saying, Hey, I'm going to withdraw this certain amount of money and I'm going to give it to you. No, most people didn't have lots of money at that time, they had land.
So this father had to go out and sell portions of his land. Take items of assets off that land and put it on his other section of land where he was gonna stay and live. Sell that land so he could give the money to the son.
So you're not talking an easy endeavor, you're talking there's a lot of effort involved to acquiesce to this request. And so he says this would take much effort. And here's what has happened. In the community, you were standing was based off of how much land you owned.
So the father is actually going to be lowered. In the social network of his family and that community, because he was giving away land. or selling his land for his son.
So this sun is really putting a lot of disrespect on the Father. But I see this. There's a quote by Timothy Keller. It says, The Father patiently endures. A tremendous loss of honor.
as well as the pain of rejected love. Ordinarily When our love is rejected, we get angry, retaliate, or do what we can to diminish our affection for the rejecting person.
So we won't hurt so much. But this father maintains his affection for his son and bears the agony. What a kind father. I want you to notice the parting of the son in verse 13. He says, And not many days after the younger son gathered all together.
and took his journey to a far country. I remember when I left for college, and it was an exciting time in my life. I had a firebird, and I fit all of my possessions inside that firebird.
Now that's like two tiny bucket seats in the back, and if you know how tiny those cars are, it's laughable.
Now, with five kids and my wife, man, we couldn't fit us all in a U-Haul. And most of you understand, you accumulate junk as you get older. And it's just finding places to store more junk. But I remember the excitement of getting away, going away somewhere new, kind of being on my own. And I can see this son, he's so excited to get away.
But in leaving, he left a few things. He left a place of love. He left a mom and dad, a brother. Family that loved him. He left a place of plenty.
He never had anything that he needed, he always had what he needed. He left a place of position. In a family like that, he would have a role, responsibility, things he was supposed to do. He left a place of purpose, and he also left a place of protection. There was safety there.
And let me remind you, especially teenagers and adults in here. That Satan makes it look like it's going to be exciting and fun wherever you're going. But it's not always what you expect. In Adam and Eve in the garden, they thought, hey, once we eat this fruit, we'll be wise, we'll know. And it didn't turn out well for them.
The sun left for safety and excitement. See, you see the pride of the sun. And he took his journey into a far country and there wasted his substance with riotous living. He was now rich. Can you imagine him getting ready to leave his house?
And this son, he's there, and he's probably got his wagon behind him, maybe riding high on a horse with all this stuff with him to go away, and he's now going to be his own man. And he was free. Mom and dad can't watch me. They can't see everything that I'm going to do. I'm free to do whatever I want to do.
His pride said you can be your own man. His pride said you can do what you want. His pride said good times won't end. But 1 Peter 5:5 says, But God, before God resisteth the proud. And giveth grace to the humble.
Obadiah 1:3 and 4 says: The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee. Thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high, that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Thou shalt exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest above the stars, thence will I bring thee down. Saith the Lord. A very familiar passage.
Proverbs 16, 18, pride goeth before destruction. And a haughty spirit before a fall. A couple of years ago, I Had some kids playing in this upward soccer that we have going on right now. And they had an awesome season going. Two of my kids were on the team and they were undefeated throughout the entire season.
And I mean, it wasn't like we won by one, we won by two. They were winning by large margins.
Sometimes that happens, sometimes it doesn't. But in this particular year, they were doing super well. And we got to the playoffs, and there's two playoffs game: the playoff game and the championship game in our league. And that team destroyed the other team in the playoff, and they're getting ready to go to the championship. And my kids on that team were so excited.
We're gonna win. Deciding where they're going to place their trophy in the room and where on their house, wherever it's going to be, and what we're going to do. Our coach said, We're going to do this when we win. And someone had a bad game. And that team, which was doing very well, ended up losing that championship.
You know, when we get lofty in our thoughts and think we're going to do great on our own. God has a way of humbling us. And I also want you to see the perversion of the sun. Luke chapter 15 verse 13 says, And there wasted his substance. With riotous living.
What is that talking about? First of all, it's wasteful extravagance. Purchases that he would buy that were way above what he should have been doing. You know, if I was to go to a store with my parents and I were to go buy something crazy, my parents would kind of say, Do you really need that? Do you think that's appropriate to buy that?
But he's by himself now.
Now almost everyone in here would know Michael Jackson Michael Jackson was extremely wealthy. But he also had a spending problem. He would spend 20 to 30 million dollars over what he made each year. He would walk into stores and he would say, I want that, I want that, I want that, I want that, and go and buy it. And they said he went to an antique store where literally he spent $5 million in 45 seconds.
And this was an accumulation of multiple things. I want that, that, that. while he had over $500 million in debt. Wasteful extravagance. And this son, I don't know that he had that kind of money, but.
We just spend money and let it go away. without any thought that this is not money that I earned. This is the life that my father has done. and spent his father's life. Then you also see the The sun not only had riotous living, but it also deals with lack of restraint.
Without moral or physical boundaries. He just went off and lived in the world, did very immoral, improper things because no one was there to control him. And here's where I'm going to tell you that. The world says freedom is the ability to do what you want, but that freedom brings bondage. The son thought he had freedom, but he quickly learned that freedom brought waste, poverty, harm, and lack.
2 Peter 2, verse 19 says, While they promise liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption. For of whom a man is overcome, the same is brought in bondage.
Now, my wife told me this story a while back. Said they were trappers trying to catch monkeys. Maybe you've heard the story before. And they said the monkeys were way too fast for them to catch. But what they would do is they would get a box.
that you could see inside and it'd have one hole. And what they would do is they'd put something very shiny in that box. And monkeys would find it, and they would put their hand in and grab something, that shiny thing. But whenever the catchers would come to catch them, the monkeys would not let go because they wanted to hold onto that shiny thing. And so their hand would get stuck in the box and the box was tied down to the ground.
So they would come and they would capture them and they would ensnare the monkeys and that's how they would catch them. And this is what Satan does to us. He shows shiny things and pretty things in front of us and says, you can have that and we won't let go of it. And so it'll capture us and Satan will bind us up. That's exactly what happened to this sun.
And I want you to see the plight of the sun. Luke 14, 15, 14. And when he had spent All. All that money that he had gotten, all that money that he inherited and brought with him is now gone to the last cent. He has nothing left.
And then the worst case scenario happens. a mighty famine in that land, and he began to be in want. This son, for the first time in his life, had nothing. All his life, he was taken care of by somebody else.
Now he had nothing. We see it, we hear of a famine, and that sounds terrible. But what was a famine like in those days? When a famine hit, obviously there was not a lot of food to go around because crops wouldn't grow. Here's what people would do: they would start to go in the wilderness area, they would scrummage for food.
people would actually start eating insects so they'd have something to eat. People would even eat the leather on their shoes just so they would be full. have something to have in their stomach. We're so spoiled in America we don't understand how it is. But this son literally gets to the point of starving.
His It's like running out of money the day before COVID and then the stores are empty and have nothing to buy food with. You know what God does? When we have a loving Father that loves us, He will send storms in our life at the right moment to gear us back to Him. Sure. This is exactly what happens in this sun.
And then it says in verse 15, And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country. And he sent him into the fields to feed swine. And it says, and he would faint. To have filled his belly. We hear in the story that he went and ate the pig's food, but there's no indication that he actually ate it.
It says he was envious. Fain means to be desirous of. The corn husks. We're not talking about the corn. That would be something to eat.
The corn husks were empty nourishment for him, and he was envious of the pigs for their own food.
So now he's in a far country with no help, no money. And he's in a very serious situation because he is starving. That do you remember? I bet he got to that point where he started to think back of home. And that system of oppression.
I had to obey my dad and had to do those things my dad asked and had to work there. It was so unfair that I had to do those things.
Now those things don't look so bad when I'm starving. I want you to notice that running from the Father doesn't always reduce you to financial ruin. You may have a full bank account, but you can have lack of peace. and a lack of purpose. James 1, 14 and 15 says, But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed.
Then, when lust hath conceived and bringeth forth sin, and sin when it is finished, bringeth forth death. And that's what brought to this son's life. It was bringing him to the brink of death. Then I want you to see the plan of the Son. Verse 17, it says this: And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father have bread enough to spare?
And I perish with hunger. I will arise and go to my Father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee. And I am no more worthy to be called thy son, make me as one of thine hired servants. He comes with this plan, because here's the thing: he is no longer part of the family, he has removed himself from the family.
So he knows at his father's farm there are tradesmen. There are men that work there. And what he's saying is, I will go and learn a trade from somebody else.
So, I can go to my father's house and have at least enough food to live off of, and I can start to make restitution for what I've done to my dad. And so he's not planning on being part of the family again. He is planning just. to work to try to build back a relationship. Because he had forfeited that right.
He had disgraced his family and his community. But then I want you to notice, and this is our big one tonight, this morning. I want you to see we have the son who was lost. or left and the father who loved. The first of all I want you to notice is the Father's restraint.
Bear with me just for a few moments. It won't be long. I'm going to ask our instrumentalists to come up, just kind of get ready. He says, the father's restraint, that father who could have pounded that son into the dirt and said, Hey, I want you. To get out.
I'm not giving anything. You know what he did? He chose to let go.
Now, I have a two-year-old. I've told you this is not the same two-year-old that ran away, but I have a two-year-old now. Because that was a few years ago. And she loves me. She comes and sits in my lap.
But if I hold her tight She'll like it for a little bit. But you know what she'll do after a few moments if you hold her really tight, and I'm not talking about not breathing. No, yes, not that tight. If you hold her... After 30 seconds, she starts to squirm.
And then after a little while, she's going to get angry.
So in order to save peace, I have to let her go. You know what? She can come and go as she pleases if she wants to sit with me. You know what this father does? He has restraint and says, Hey, I'm not going to hold on to you, son.
I'm going to let you do what you want to do. And if you're going to love me, it's going to be voluntarily. I'm not going to make you love me. And so he gives of himself, he gives his life to his son.
So he could have a chance at a relationship with his son. And this is what our heavenly Father does for you. He lets you go off. If you want to go into sin, he will let you go into sin because he wants you to love him voluntarily. He will not make you love him.
God loves us enough to let us go. Then I want you to see the Father's reach. In the first two stories of the sheep and the coin, you see a desperate search. And I'm going to tell you, I believe, this is me, this is not in the text, so you can separate the two. I believe that father looked far and wide.
I bet he went as far as he possibly could to find where that son was, to make sure he's okay, because he cared about that son. He wanted that son home, but he wasn't going to make him come, but he wanted to know that he was safe. as any parent I believe would do. And when he couldn't find that son, I imagine looking at that empty bedroom. Missing that sun.
Missing the laughter he heard his boys cutting up. The seat at the dinner table that was empty. where he would sit. And I bet that father prayed day in and day in out. for that son to come home.
And you know what the Father did the same for you? The Bible says that God sent his Son into the world to seek and save the lost. How far would God go for you? How far, what would He do for you? The shepherd would leave the 99 sheep for the one.
The woman stayed up all night long, desperately searching for this coin because that coin was so valuable. You may know this story. There was a lady, a girl named Elizabeth Smart. She was kidnapped at the age of 14 from her Utah home in 2002. Her father, Ed Smart, became the public face.
Of the search, organizing community efforts, working with TV, doing media appearances, and keeping her name constantly in the news. In 2003, in March, they found her alive. A couple recognized her. and told the authorities and she was brought back.
Now, Elizabeth has repeatedly said that, believing that her parents, especially her father, were still searching for her. helped her survive captivity. Because of one thing. Her father would never give up on her. I tell you, your Father, your Heavenly Father.
Would never give up on you. Jeremiah 31:3 says, The Lord hath appeared unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. 2 Peter 3:9 says that God is long-suffering to us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. We get to the end, I want you to notice a few things. First of all, the Father's Review.
In verse 20, it says, And he arose and came to his father. But when he was a great way off, the Father saw him. Can you get in your mind's eye? I don't know how this. Homestead looked But I picture this path.
That was long that would kind of go towards where town was. I bet over those weeks, months, years, however long, the sun was gone. Yeah. The Father would constantly look at that path. Hey, I'm working on this side and Nope, there's nobody there today.
Look over. Oh, oh, there's somebody coming. Oh, that's not him. I think every time he would see somebody traveling alone on that road, his heart would jump and then be disappointed. And he would keep going, and this is over and over and over and over until he finally one day, can you imagine?
When he recognized that walk.
Now my kids walk certain ways. Your kids walk certain ways. I bet he could recognize that walk. of that son. And oh, the joy that filled that father, that my, that's my son, he's here, he's finally here.
And it says this. It says that he had compassion on him. He didn't ignore him, he didn't shun him. The Bible says that. He was so excited to have him there.
And it says he ran. You say that's a minor detail. The father ran, that's great. I picture an older father who's been working hard on his. Throughout his life, and he's maybe got a cane at this point because he's an older guy.
And he is, the Bible says he took off running. It may not have felt good. He did not care. The father loved the son so much. I don't care what anybody thinks.
The patriarch of the family was not known to run. And he ran and fell on his son and loved on his son. And I want you to get what happens. Then the Father recovers. And this is multiple ways, and I want to show it to you this morning.
It says, and he arose and came to his father, but when he was a great way off, the father saw him and had compassion. and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
So the son tries to go into his plan, and the father just ignores him. This plan, the Father has a better plan than whatever you were going to come up with. And I want you to see the father recovers the son. The coin was gone. The sheep was gone, but Now, those are back.
The son is now back present, so he is recovered. Amen. But I also want you to see this. The sun's position is recovered.
So the father says, hey, come here, servants. Come here, servants. He says, I want you to go and get the best robe and give it to him. In verse 22, it says, But the father said to the servants, Bring the best robe and put it on him.
Now, Get this? Stay with me. I'm almost done this morning. We will be done for not long. That son No money?
Stop. Clothes are pretty ratted. Tattered. Stain If you haven't had money to get a shower, to put on deodorant, you probably did not smell well. If he's been starving, he's probably Gaunt.
And this son has nothing to offer at this point. But the father says go and get the best robe, which is the father's robe. and come and recover him. He had rags before. Like we are in rags and sin.
But that father covers him with a brand new robe. A robe that's perfect. There's nothing wrong with it. There's no stains on this. And spiritually speaking, when you trust Jesus Christ as your Savior, the Bible tells us that God covers you with a robe of righteousness.
He has covered you and He does not see your filth and your sin and the stains in your life anymore. He sees that perfect robe around you. And this father, he recovers the son. And I see this. I see he puts the robe on him and he gives him a ring.
And that ring is off on a signet. It would have a family seal on there saying he has the authority to be a part of the family again and makes decisions with the family. Then he says, put shoes on his feet. You say, that's not a big deal. It was.
Shoes were reserved. Most servants would wear would just go barefoot. Only three family members were wearing shoes in those times. And so he says, you are now fully a part of our family again. Then he says, kill the fatted calf.
Remember what time it is. This is a time of famine. It's a time of emptiness. And then they said in those days, most people did not eat a lot of meat because meat was so expensive. And they would mostly eat vegetables because they would save those for very special occasions.
And what the father was saying is this: this is such a special occasion. This is such a huge deal. We're not going to sweep it under the rug. We're not treating him where he has to kind of measure up to it. Let's see if he lasts a little bit longer.
Let's see if he can kind of stick it out with the family now. No, he says he is fully and 100% welcome back in the family and part of our family. It's a costly and extravagant grace. What did he regain when he came back? He regained a place of love.
He regained a place of plenty. He regained a place of position of purpose and protection. And what does that mean for you and me? If you are saved, and you are not close with the Father. He desires nothing more.
than to be close with you again. You don't have a God that's sitting there waiting, I can't believe they ran away. I'm so angry at them, and I never want to see them again. You have a loving Father that's watching for you. And he desires nothing more to be close to you.
And if this morning you say, I've never trusted Jesus Christ as my Savior, I don't know Him as my Savior, you have a Heavenly Father that loved you so much, He sent His own Son to die on a cross for you, to pay for your sins, and He wants to offer you forgiveness for every sin that you've ever done. He wants to make you right and clean. We talked about that robe a moment ago. He wants to cover you with a robe of righteousness and never see your sin again. He offers that to you, but I want to tell you the most important part of that story.
Thank you for listening today. We hope you received a blessing from our broadcast. The Kerwin Baptist Church is located at 4520 Old Hollow Road in Kernersville, North Carolina. You may also contact us by phone at 336-993-5192 or via the web. at Kerwin Baptist Church.com.
Enjoy our services live and all our media on our website and church app. Thank you for listening to the Kerwin Broadcast today. God bless you.
