Episode Transcript
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Greetings, friends.
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Welcome to Walking In His Word,
the podcast, where we embark on short
faith filled journeys
through the Scriptures in episodes
that are both concise and impactful.
Each week
we take an 8 to 10 minute purposeful stroll
through the pages of God's Word,
offering insights,
wisdom and inspiration to enhance our day.
So join us as we explore each topic,
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uncovering the treasures
hidden within the Scriptures
and learning how
they can be applied to our lives.
So let's take this brief
but powerful journey of walking in his word
together.
In today's episode,
we're going to see the conclusion
of a three part
series of parables
dealing with God's
attitude towards the lost.
As we've mentioned in previous
episodes, these are Jesus responding
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to charges against him
by the scribes and Pharisees and Luke.
Chapter 15.
Their accusation was that
Jesus had the audacity to receive sinners,
and He with them.
Jesus responded with the parable of the law
sheep, the parable of the lost coin,
and now finally
the parable of the prodigal son.
And these deal with the fathers seeking love
for those who are lost.
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We know the sheep dealt
with those who are lost out of ignorance.
The lost coin dealt with.
Those are lost out of neglect.
But this parable,
the parable of the prodigal son,
is a different thing altogether.
This parable is commonly called again,
the prodigal son.
Prodigal means wasteful.
It's also rightfully called
the Parable of the Loving Father,
because we're going to see something
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completely different in this parable
about dealing with the loss.
This parable reveals
more about the love of the father
than of the sinfulness of the younger son.
In this parable,
we see the father's patience.
We see the father's compassion.
We see his on wavering love
for both of his sons.
He's also quick to forgive and celebrate
when his son returns.
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And this is indeed
the heart of our Heavenly Father.
This parable reveals much
about the heart of the elder
son who whose purpose in this parable
is to rebuke
those unwilling to reach out
and receive the lost who repent.
So you could find this parable
in Luke 15, 11 through 32.
And let's look at this together.
We'll start off by reading
just versus 11 through 13.
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It says There was a man who had two sons
and the younger of them
said to his father, Father,
give me the share of the property
that is coming to me.
And he divided his property between them.
Now, many days later,
the younger son gathered all that.
He had
took a journey to a far country, and there
he squandered his property
in reckless living.
Many people can be quite impatient,
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can't they?
This young man
wanted to be free from restraints.
He just wanted to get
what was his and move on with his life
rather than waiting
until the appropriate time
to receive his inheritance.
He chose to have it all.
Now, and his father
granted his request,
even though he likely knew
that it was not going to end well.
And sometimes people
will not be reasoned with
and the only option
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is to allow them to have their way
so that they can reap the results.
And as we see with this young man,
he reaps some pretty terrible results.
The young man
travels to a far country,
wastes his entire inheritance
on reckless living.
Soon after,
we know that a famine comes to the land
and he has no money
and he ends up taking a job feeding pigs.
His situation is so desperate
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that he was eating the same food
that the pigs were eating
because no one would give him anything.
But here's the key
thought to the parable
that we find in verses 17 through 19,
when he came to himself,
he said,
How many of my father's hired servants
have more than enough bread,
But here I perish with hunger.
I will arise and go to my father
and I will say to him, Father,
I have sinned against heaven.
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And before you
I am no longer worthy to be called your son.
Treat me as one of your hired servants.
This demonstrates
the humility of someone
who is truly repentant.
He's even rehearsing
what he's going to say in his mind
so that he gets it all straight.
He realizes that perhaps,
maybe he didn't have it as bad
as he thought.
In fact,
he remembers that he had it quite good.
And the servants,
even in his father's house,
had it quite good.
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They were living better than he was
at the moment.
He is hungry,
he's humiliated, homeless,
and now he's homesick.
He has come to the end of his riotous ways
and just wants to go home.
And he resolves within himself to return
and make things right.
There are many times
that there are people in life
who will not be reasoned with,
and they are determined to go their own way
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and go and sin.
This is different than the lost sheep
who is lost out of his own ignorance.
This is different than the lost coin
that was lost.
I don't
neglect this young man from this story
purposely chose
to live a life of wickedness despite
knowing better.
The differences in behavior
between the father in this story,
the shepherd
and the woman in the other two
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parables is quite telling.
The shepherd went out to search
for his lost sheep.
The woman turned her house
upside down until she found her coin.
But here,
the father waited for the son to return.
The young man had to come to the decision
to return on his own.
He had to come to the end of himself.
This is where true repentance is found.
He follows a pattern
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that we see many times throughout Scripture,
and that is the pattern of repentance.
And I want to share that with you here.
First, he confessed his sin.
This is the first step in repentance.
We have to admit that we are sinners first.
John One verse nine says,
If we confess our sins, he is faithful.
And just to forgive our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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Step two is he forsook his sin.
He left his rightist
living and resolved within himself
to turn home and forsake his past life.
It is not enough
just to acknowledge our sin,
but we must also forsake that sin
and not do it again.
Proverbs 2813.
Whoever conceals
his transgression will not prosper.
But he who confesses and forsakes
them will obtain mercy.
Number three,
as he was truly humble
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and he had no expectations of anything,
he did not return home
with a list of demands.
He was willing to come back
and even live as a servant
in his father's house.
And then finally, he was willing to accept
whatever judgment the father deemed. Again.
He said, Treat me as you will.
No conditions, no demands.
He was willing to accept the penalty
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for your sins.
It took a lot for this young man
to get to this point,
but that is often what it takes
to bring about true repentance.
He had purposed in his heart
to return home,
and he gets up and starts
that long journey to his father.
And then we read Luke 1520,
and he arose and came to his father.
And when he was, he had a great ways off.
His father saw him, had compassion and ran
and fell on his neck and kissed him
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as the younger brother was a great way off.
The father sees him and runs to him.
He knows his son was lost
and he's now returned home.
He's clearly been watching for him.
This is where some people misapplied
this parable.
Just because you leave someone on their own
and in their own said
does not mean you stop loving
and praying for them.
You're not giving up in fact,
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you're giving them to God.
You're trusting him
rather than your own needs.
I'm sure that Father walked to the fields
daily, praying and patiently
waiting for his son to return,
and when he saw him, he couldn't help it.
He ran out and hugged him and kissed him.
This is the father's heart.
This is our father's heart
and heaven over those who returned to him.
He cannot wait for them to return.
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Now it's important to know
the younger son follows through
with what he had previously planned.
He confessed this into his father,
and he willingly accepted
whatever penalty was given.
Now, let's read that.
We'll see it in
firsts 21 through 24 of Luke 15.
He said, Father,
I have sinned against heaven
and in thy sight,
and I'm no more worthy to call
be called day son.
But the father said to his servants,
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Bring forth the best robe, put it on him,
put on the ring on his hand
and the shoes on his feet,
and bring here the fatted calf and kill it
and let us eat and be merry for this.
My son was dead and is alive.
He was lost to this found.
It began to be merry
before he could even
finish his planned speech.
The father interrupts
and throws a party for his son, who was dead
and is now alive.
This shows
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the great compassion
and love that he had for his son.
He gives him the best
robes, kills the fatted calf,
which would imply
that he is reinstating him as his son.
What a tremendous act of forgiveness.
Unfortunately,
the older brother did not respond
the same way. Did he?
He was angry with his brother
for getting all of this attention,
and he refused to go in
and join the celebration
versus 28 through 30 and he would not go in.
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Therefore came his father out
and entreated him.
And he answering said to his father,
Look at these many years I've served you.
I've never transgressed in
any time your commandment, yet
you never gave me a party.
You never gave me a kid
that I might make merry with my friends.
But as soon as this
thy son comes who had devoured his living
with harlots, you killed trim the fat calf.
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So your father knew that
there was an issue to deal with.
Even in his oldest son's life.
And I love
how the father went looking for him
and asked him what was troubling him.
See, the father is so wise.
He knew exactly how to handle each son
and each son
he handles differently
to give them the exact response
that they needed.
Their son was upset
because he had lived a sin
free life and served his father faithfully.
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And yet he got no party.
Now his brother, who has
wasted his life, returns
and he gets this huge celebration.
Some people with a empathize
with the older brother.
And in fact, I've witnessed this behavior
firsthand on several occasions.
But this father demonstrates
the love of
the Heavenly Father is
response is very telling.
He tells his son, You are ever with me,
and all that I have is yours.
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It was good that I should make merry
and be glad for this.
Your brother was dead and is alive again.
He was lost and now he's found.
The father's response is so tender
and caring.
He acknowledges his son's faithfulness.
He says, You're always with me,
he reminds his son
that everything he has will be is,
and that his brother,
even though he has returned,
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has wasted his inheritance.
He also reminds his son
that it would be proper
to celebrate the prodigal return
because he is restored.
But the consequences for his righteous
living still exist, right?
He still lost his inheritance.
He still is going to
live in his father's house,
but he's not going to get
the same inheritance
that the older brother will receive.
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But the major point,
the main point here
is that he was dead in the sand
and he is now alive.
And that is worthy of a celebration.
The prodigal son,
along with the two previous
parables, was told by Jesus
to teach these important lessons
to the Pharisees and scribes and also to us.
While these parables
were directed to the Pharisees
and the scribes,
imagine how it comforted
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the hearts of the tax collectors
in the sinners
who were also sitting there,
they had drawn near to Jesus to hear him
all the way back in verse
one of Luke
15, they wanted to hear Jesus teach,
and though
they were considered unacceptable
by the religious elite,
they learned
that they could be accepted by God.
What a tremendous encounter
as Jesus uses is rebuking of the scribes
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and Pharisees
to show the tax collectors and centers
that they are accepted by God.
God loves them, and God wants them in
His kingdom.
God was seeking for them
and would lovingly receive them
if they returned to him.
So as we close this episode today,
what is our attitude towards the lost?
Do we seek them out
like the sheep or the coin?
Perhaps we have a prodigal or no of one.
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Perhaps we notice a little bit of older
sibling in our in our own hearts.
I trust this
encourages us all
to pray to God for the heart of the Father,
one who is patient, one who is compassionate
and eager to forgive and restore
with a strong affirmation of love.
If by chance you're listening to this
and you don't know
the love of the father,
maybe you once did,
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but have been living your own way
and courage.
You cry out to him today
and know that he is anxiously awaiting
your return. May God bless.
Thank you so much for joining us
on this enlightening journey
through the parables
of Jesus Under Walking in His Word podcast,
We hope you find inspiration for wisdom
and a deeper connection
to the teachings of our savior.
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as we navigate the parables,
remember, these timeless stories
offer guidance and grace
even in the midst of life's challenges.
Keep walking in his word
and may his light shine upon your path
until our next parable.
Let your journey be blessed.