In this case This prodigal son Hit bottom. And when he hit bottom, he came. Two. himself.
Now. My question is. How? Did he come? to himself.
And what I'd like to consider this morning is this. That this young man came to himself but not by himself. That's a beautiful thing, isn't it? To see a sinful person awaken to their need for God. for their need of his grace.
But how does this awakening actually happen? Thank you for joining us on this Lord's Day for Renewing Your Mind. I'm Josh Mann, your weekend host, and it's great to be with you. Today, we'll continue exploring the parable of the prodigal son. In just two weeks though, we'll conclude our brief exploration of Luke's gospel.
But you can keep studying this book with R. C. Sproll's expositional commentary on Luke. Donate today in support of this program and we'll send you the hardcover edition of this resource. Just go to renewingyourmind.org to make your gift.
Let's join Dr. Sproll now for today's message in Luke. I'm going to read from Luke 15, beginning with verse 14. and reading through the end of the chapter. But when he had spent all There arose a severe famine in that land, And he began to be in want.
Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields, To feed swine. and he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, but no one gave him anything. And when he came to himself he said, How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare? and I perish with hunger. I will arise and go to my father.
and will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants. And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him. and had compassion.
and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, Father, I've sinned against heaven. And then your sight and am no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, Bring out the best robe, Put it on him. put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.
And bring the fatted calf here and kill it. And let us seed and be merry. For this my son was dead. And is alive again. He was lost.
and is found. And they began to be merry.
Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house he heard music and dancing.
So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, Your brother has come. and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf. But he was angry and would not go in. and therefore his father came out and pleaded with him, And so he answered and said to his father, Lo, these many years I've been serving you.
I never transgressed your commandment at any time. and yet you never gave me a young goat. that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came that devoured your livelihood with harlots, You killed the fatted calf for him. And he said to him, Son, You are always with me.
and all that I have is yours. It was right. that we should make merry and be glad. for your brother was dead. And is alive again.
He was lost. And is found.
Meanwhile, Back in the pig sty. Where we left this Prodigal son. in his state of great want.
Well, if there's a turning point in the parable of the prodigal son I believe it's in these words. Verse 17. But when he came to himself he said How many of my father's hard servants have bread enough to spare, and I perish with hunger? I will arise and go to my Father and say to him, Father, I've sinned against heaven. And before you and am no longer worthy to be called your son.
Here, the crisis moment occurs, according to Jesus. When it says He came. to himself. That's a strange way to put it, isn't it? We had just read that he had gone through his inheritance wasted in an extravagant and lawless living in a far country where he was anonymous.
We learned that suddenly he was penniless. And at the same time a severe famine came upon the land, and he began to be in want. He was out of money. He didn't have a job. He didn't have any food.
And the only position he could secure was that From a swineherder. Who had him go into the Pig pen. To watch after the swine. And even there, he was so hungry that he yearned even just to have one bite. of the slop that was being fed to the pigs.
Just let me have one of those pods that you come to feed. The swine. And then in this state. of ruin. where he had come to the end.
of himself and actually hit bottom and I mentioned that we all are aware of people whose lives go in such a destructive path That it gets worse and worse and worse, and we pray for them and counsel them and try to encourage them, but we sometimes get the sense. that nothing is going to change until They hit bottom.
Sometimes that bottom is Bankruptcy.
Sometimes that bottom is Prison Sometimes that's bottom. is not reached. Until they lie. At the bottom of their graves. But in this case This prodigal son.
Hit bottom. And when he hit bottom, he said. And it said of him, and he came. Two. himself.
Now. My question is. How? Did he come? to himself.
And what I'd like to consider this morning is this. That this young man came to himself but not by himself. He had no resources left. to arouse himself from his dogmatic slumber. His torpid state.
There was no alarm clock powerful enough to wake him up. He was moribund. Already spiritually dead. But now biologically That close. To physical death, no strength was left in his bones.
And yet he came too. But how do we use that phrase? in our English language. Of whom do we say They came too. We're thinking of people who have been knocked unconscious.
Or people who have slipped into a coma. And they're in that comatose state. Don't speak. They barely move at all. And then sometimes Their eyes will open.
They've regained consciousness. And we say They came too. They woke up.
Well, this man. in the pig pen. Came to. He woke up. From his almost fatal slumber.
He came to himself, but not by himself. I think we're all aware of The man the Encyclopedia Britannica calls America's most brilliant intellectual and philosopher. the eighteenth century Puritan preacher and Writer Jonathan Edwards. If you know nothing else of Jonathan Edwards, you know of his famous sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.
Well, that's the sermon for which he's most famous. It was preached in seventeen forty one. But seven years earlier he preached another sermon which sermon catapulted him into the public eye in New England and throughout the colonies. That sermon was an exposition. of the Great Confession.
Given by Peter. And that sermon was titled A divine and supernatural light. And in that magnificent sermon, which I urge you to get a hold of and read in its entirety. Edwards commenting on the Confession of St. Peter at Caesarea Philippi, when Jesus said to his disciples, Who do men say that I am?
and you recall. Simon's reply Thou art the Christ. The Son of the living God. And do you remember what Jesus said to him? He pronounced a benediction on Simon.
And he said to him, Blessed are you, because you haven't learned this, you haven't seen this, you haven't understood this. by your flesh or blood or by your natural brilliance. But my father has opened your eyes. He's awakened you. He has given you light.
that nature does not afford He has provided illumination. that the power of the intellect cannot create. And so, Simon Because of this divine and supernatural light. You're blessed. Because you see me.
For what I am. Nobody. Ever comes to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ without that divine and supernatural light. You may study theology and make A's in the course. You may have a profound and profoundly correct theologically.
Accurate understanding. of the person and work of Jesus, but a saving knowledge. wherein you not only know it with your head, But it is filling your soul and burning your heart. That can't happen. Unless God himself Visit Shell and awakens you.
By that divine. and supernatural life.
Now again, beloved. You don't need a divine and supernatural light. to know that you're a sinner. Even in your fallen condition, And even though your conscience may have calluses on it, It hasn't been Annihilated. And you know that you have sinned against God.
The worst sinner will admit to err is human. To forgive is divine. But there is a mighty difference. Between a natural Awareness of your shortcomings. And of your sin.
And a spiritual conviction in your soul. Brought by the immediate Power. of God the Holy Spirit. There are many people. Who know that they are sinners.
Who are not born again. But no one can be born again. Without knowing that he or she is a sinner.
So with this awakening To the beauty. and sweetness of Christ. Also comes with it. a profound conviction of sin. And we see it with the prodigal son.
Because we notice here that as soon as he comes to himself He said, I will arise. I'm gonna get out of here. I'm gonna leave this pig sty. I'm going to have done with this lifestyle that brought me here. And I will go to my father.
And when I go to my father, I'll have something to say to him. And here is what he resolved to say. Father I've sinned against heaven. And against you. Notice the order.
Of these words that he resolves to say. I'm going to go to my father. I'm going to apologize to my father. I'm going to confess to my father that I've sinned against my father. But my sin against my father is not an isolated thing on this terrestrial ball.
No, first and primary. My sin It's against God. And so I will say to my father. Father, I've sinned against heaven. And before you And I am no longer worthy.
to be called your son. Whatever it takes, Father. Forgive me. You don't need to restore me. Make me one of your servants.
I'll work for you like I worked for the man who put me into the pigsty. I'll be your slave. But I want to be home. And I want to be reconciled. With you.
And so he arose. And Luke tells us that Jesus said he came to his father. First he came to himself, now he came to his father. How he got to his father, we don't know. He obviously didn't have the money to buy a donkey or a camel or a horse, and we know that he was in a far country.
And so, presumably, the only way this young man could ever get home was by walking. And already his clothes held the stench of the pigs, and they were tattered. And his shoes. It disintegrated.
So as he stunk He walked. And he walked. No shoes on his feet. His clothes, filthy rags, And in tatters. Every step was painful.
He could have stopped. And decided to go back. to his comfort with the pigs. But he kept on going. And unlike the woman who turned up heaven and earth to find her coin and the good shepherd who searched far and wide to find the lost sheep.
There's nothing in this parable about the father sending out a search party to find his son. He waited. And he prayed. That the prodigal son. Would someday come home.
And one day In the distance the father saw Somebody approaching Too far away to see the face or the hair features. But instantly he knew That the one who was coming was his son. How did he know it?
Well, Jesus doesn't tell us. I remember. My father's funeral. When our preacher gave the funeral Sermon. And eulogy.
He mentioned in the sermon, he said. Whenever I would be in my study in the church and I would hear footsteps coming up the stairs, I always knew. When it was Bob Sproll. I could tell by the sound. of his footfall.
And my mother burst into tears next to me. And after the funeral, I said, Mom, what was all that about? I don't know anything distinctive about the way my dad walked. And she smiled at me. She said, Son, It's just the way he was.
It was a characteristic gate. The way he carried himself. And our minister knew it by the sound of his feet. I think it must have been something like that, that the father observed at a distance he could see the way the boy was walking. He could see the way he carried himself.
He could see his gait. And he knew it was his son. And immediately he hiked up his robe and he guarded himself around the waist and in his weak and elderly legs he started running down the road. Not with his finger outstretched and saying, Where have you been, young man? But when he got to his son, He fell on his neck.
And he kissed him. And this one says farther wait a minute. Father, I've sinned against heaven. And in your site? I'm no longer worthy to be called your son.
Look at me. Smell me. Look at my feet. Look at the filthy rags I'm wearing on my body. Does this look like one of your children?
I'm not worthy. To be called your son. Nobody ever entered the kingdom of God saying, Well, here I am, folks. Heaven wouldn't be right without me. This is the only way you get to heaven.
Broken. And the pendant. On Grace And Grace alone.
So the father said to his servants, I want you to do a few things for me. The first thing I want you to do Let's cover these filthy rags. I want you to go in and I want you to get the best robe you can find in the house. And put it on him. No one has ever entered the kingdom of God.
Without wearing the robe. of the righteousness of Christ. All of our own righteousness, the scriptures tell us, is as filthy rags. And the first thing that happens to us when we are born of the Spirit is just as God knelt down and covered his shameful sinners, Adam and Eve.
So he covers us. With the robe of Christ And if it's righteousness. And don't forget the family ring. Give him the ring. That signifies Not that he's a servant here or a slave.
But that he's my son. Put a ring on his hand. And sandals. On his feet. And then I want you to bring the fatted calf.
I don't want you to go out into the cow field and Find a scrawny. Yeah. Good for nothing. Little cow. You know the one I want, the one that we've been saving for a special occasion.
The one we've been feeding with the best food. fattening him up. For a party that won't quit. Get the fatted calf. and bring it here and kill it.
Because we're going to eat. And be merry. Because this my son was dead. And is alive again. He was lost.
And is found.
You know The sad part of this story. But as we hear these words There are people in this room right now. Or dead. And who are lost. And I pray that God, the Holy Spirit, with the divine and supernatural light.
will quicken their souls to newness of life. and awaken them. From their sleep. That they may be found. And no more lost.
Al's older son, who obviously represents the Pharisees in their complaints, was in the field. He was coming in from the field, and as he came close to the house he heard all the music and the dancing. He knew that there was a party going on. He didn't know why, so he called one of the servants and said, What do these things mean? What's this all about?
Why the music? Why the dancing? The servant couldn't wait to tell him he's hey. Guess what? Your brother.
Came home. And because he's been received safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf. What? He's throwing a party for him. He was so angry, we were told he wouldn't even go in and join the party.
So the father came to him and we said, didn't just talk to him, he begged him, son. Come in. Rejoice. Instead, he said to his father, How many years have I been serving you? I never transgressed your commandment.
You never gave me a young goat to party with. But as soon as this son of yours, not this brother of mine, but this son of yours came. who devoured your livelihood with harlots. You killed the fatted calf for him. Father said, Son.
You're always with me, and all that I have is yours. It's right. That we should make merry. And be glad. It's right.
That we rejoice. when someone who is lost is found. It is right that we celebrate. When one who is spiritually dead by the supernatural and divine light of God. is made alive again.
For your brother was dead. and is alive again. He was lost. But now he's found. And while we're eating the fatted calf...
The angels. are having a party in heaven. When a person is born again, it usually doesn't make the news. We don't see billboards going up all over town to announce that someone has become a Christian. And yet we're told that there's a celebration in heaven when just one sinner repents.
'Kay. I'm grateful for the truth that we heard in today's message, and I'm also grateful for RC's ability to help others, myself included, understand the teachings of the Bible. If you'd like to continue exploring Luke's Gospel, Dr. Sproul's commentary offers many more insights to help you go even deeper into God's Word. When you donate today at renewingyourmind.org, we'll send you the hardcover edition of this commentary.
And your support helps make the kind of faithful Bible teaching that we enjoyed today available to Christians around the world.
So let me thank you in advance for your generosity. When we manage our earthly goods poorly, we're not just wasting our possessions, we're ultimately robbing God. Join us next week as RC Sproul considers the parable of the unjust steward. Here on Renewing Your Mind.
