Grace And Our Past Failures - Part 2

Welcome to the intense podcast with Charles Stanley for Wednesday, April 27 story of the prodigal thing we are reminded today that no matter where you are, what you've done. The heavenly father is waiting to celebrate your return that many people who want to be delivered. Many people who want to get out all the bondage that they feel so desperately about but somehow they know how to get out. Not quite sure how God will respond if they come to him again and say father is my past would you forgive me when you give me a new beginning.

The not quite sure. The title of this message is grace, and our past failures and I want you turn if you will to Luke chapter 15 just give you a brief idea of what's happening.

Remember that these two songs, the younger of them said to his father.

Father Abba what's coming to me and believing and so he took his a part of inheritance he left the Bible says he rented to a distant country and he squandered it. He ended up in a hog pin and a point of real true desperation in his life and it is out of this story that God displays and describes Ross his own character himself as in view of the passages in all the Bible what I want you to say today in this passage is this, that it doesn't make any difference which hold pin urine. It doesn't make any difference how deep insane you are. It doesn't make a difference.

What's going on in your life. God tells us in his word that for our past sins.

His response is the response of grace. God responds rapidly with the grace that there is a dramatic picture in a comparison something I want you to see here in just a moment. He responds to our failure with grace and listen carefully so you will misunderstand this young man decided to come back home. He listens a man. He was not given because he return home. He was forgiven before he ever all about coming home and I say that because some of you who are saying, you know, I want to get right with God or not, but I'm telling you, I just I just don't think God would accept me, I have sinned against him.

I disobeyed him I disobeyed my parents disobeyed my heavenly father have sinned against heaven and against other people, how in the world is God going to take me back.

One of my going to happen to get back my going to have to look at. Were that to be acceptable in the eyes of God you can do nothing, absolutely nothing, his acceptance by his father was not depended upon his confessions or his repentance are his desire to do better. That's not the reason the father accepted him. And that's not the reason the father accepts us is not based on that mission is based on the character of God, who is this God whom you and I serve. He is a God of righteousness and justice, yes, but he is the God of all grace. The Bible says he is the God of all grace, he is a God of love and forgiveness and understanding. Now when you look at this passage and you look at what Jesus was teaching here is forever what he was saying they listed if it is the character of God to love and if he loves you and me unconditionally. Then that's the way it is.

It isn't based on performance of what I'm going there.

It is an unconditional love.

Now one of the primary reasons of the several reasons that people who get caught up in the sin will not come back to God.

First of all, they feel so much shame over their sin and what I want you to see here is this that Jesus has pictured this heavenly father as a God of grace because that's who he is a God of grace. Through this he put this young man in the worst condition he could be and spend it all squandered it all left at all. MRO bankrupt in every way had absolutely nothing. Slopping hogs for Gentile hold firm brother at his lowdown. As you can get is a Jew. Jesus said no. I will tell you how my father responds to people like that and so he told the rest of the story is what I will you watch the watch this carefully listen if the father had died. Utilizing this young man could never come home. He couldn't come home recently I had a brother that's what I mean yellow brother as reason he can come home because you see his brother is typical of the lawlessness. Now the brother now. When the son comes home and they're having this big breasted party, lots of food, music and dancing, the dummy they just really having a big blowout.

The son comes in the system or the servants what's going on.

The Bible says he was angry. Listen this conversation with the father. The father comes out trying to get the son becoming the party. Listen to what he says in verse 29 he answered and said to look for so many years I have served you performance and I have never neglected a commandment rules and yet you never give a mere care that I may be marrying my friends look at this, but when this son of yours, not my brother. When this son of yours who wasted his wealth on and devoured it with harlots, you kill the very Him, anger, bitterness, resentment, hostilities separation, I have performed I've been with you all these years I've kept the rules not disobeyed. Now suppose the product would come home to him everyday would've been like all you coming back forget it, man. You blew it brother you got your part of inheritance. What was do you you got your uncle brought you believe that your tough luck. You messed it all up. You blew it.

The only way you can come back is the work for me and not only that, you can just count yourself as one of the hired hands you get paid the same thing they do. But I'm here to tell you, you have to live under our rules and our regulation. You don't like it you will stay. That's the law.

But let's look at his father.

Now suppose his father had been the same kind of man.

The Bible says that when this young man was coming home that his father saw him away a great distance all this father had been like most people picture God, the God of laws, rules, regulations, stipulations, legalistic live up to perform or else, is what the father said that looks like that's that backslidden way would despicable prodigal son of mine coming up the road from getting out here because I want to see me sit standing out here so the father leaves father son comes in in the father meet the father says to you look like a mess. What in the world of you been doing you've lost weight your filter.

Use steak you have any shoes on. I guess she lost it all happened when you coming back here for you coming back here. Let me taste something right now you gotta make amends.

You gotta make restitution for what you've done. You gotta pay back all you've wasted your in debt son you reinvented me the rest of your life to pay back all the money that I gave you out of those hard years of work that I did and I gave you your share. New wasted and you squandered and you spreading around you messed it up and you you just messed up your life you come back here, you got to pay and harming you better perform how long son.

I don't know the rest of your allies grandma take you to pay it back, but I'm going to be watching you and you better live up to the rules and if you don't, you're out that you want to come back on those conditions, going out to the L slaves house and get yourself some close get busy get to work and start paying back what you told me. But Jesus told the story so he could get to the next part. Listen to this.

The Bible says this father in his the picture holding a God of grace, the soul father standing on the porch and he looks down the road a long ways and he sees that more and more. He looks at him he thinks that looks that looks like my son and the Scripture says when he recognized that it was his son listed his heart just ballooned with compassion and what authority do he went he took off running down the road that the reason Jesus put that in there was this in the customs of their day. No important person ever ran in public and what Jesus is saying is when one of his backslidden children living in sin comes home, God the father was the meeting and what is he do when he runs down the road to meet him.

He doesn't stop and say hold it right there. What a mess holding you stinks of archaic close to the Bible says he ran to that boy he didn't stop he didn't say anything.

He ran and threw his arms around him and hugged him. Listen hogs slopping all he hugged him smelly and all he hugged him.

He kissed him.

He rejoiced over him and here's this boy trying to sign up for the listen I know that I done wrong and I will ask you this, make my guys and also I'm so glad to get you home.

I just love you and bless you for coming out. He couldn't even listen the confession for loving that boy this morning, come home to get forgiven. He was forgiven before you left home and listened that father didn't forgiven because he came home he was forgiven before Emma came home that bought enough to come home and repent of his sins to get forgiveness listen that daddy didn't even listen to any of that. He hugged him and loved him and he because he was all ready to forgive him remember where he came from. This is a Jewish voice slopping hogs for a Gentile called farmer, having lost his father's entire inheritance and spent his life in immorality and debauchery and is absolute wasted his life and what is the response of a loving father, long son and what happens while he's trying to confess in this passage, he says hello. Let's have a big party tonight bring the best road not just the rope kill the fatted calf, not just the Bring me a ring of some of the son ship and restoration given the robust pieces we are really good habit tonight. All the slaves invited everybody is invited big feast everything food, laughter, advancing music, will your Muslims come home you seminar I think if I could get that contraception may not get back to God. My friend listen to me. Do you know why that's in the Bible because Jesus was portraying in a language in a culture and environment with things that people could identify with this say to you and me when you and I come back and get our hearts right all the angels in heaven rejoice. There is praise and thanksgiving blessing exhibit. You mean to tell me that I can go away and live in sin and live like this and all God has to do is just say come on and no I didn't say that you know why God can take folks like you and me who sinned against him and disobeyed him you know why he can take folks like us take us back in love and forgiveness and kindness and graciousness because grace is God's kindness and graciousness told without regard to what we deserve what we are world and in spite of what we deserve. You know why is the reason he said in his word. Here is the law. The law is the soul that Senators shall die every home pin boy has had it for the losses. So how does Jesus keep face with all of his holy angels. All of his prophets and all the all of us. How was God the father, forgive us and love us back when he said the Soviets individual back and look at this young man's gun.

Look at all of us have done. How does he forgiveness he is the right it's the only way he says that he so long you and me and everybody else that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. Not if and but accept none of that have eternal life.

The only way God can be true to himself and be a loving God of grace is that his son paid your sin that in mind full. You know what that means.

That means every despicable year of your life.

Every sin that you ever committed all those days, weeks and months and years in the hog pen know that means all of that was dumped on Jesus and when he died.

Your forgiveness was provided.

You think that's cheap.

Let me ask you this if your father has a son. Mama has a son or daughter father you think it would be cheap to you.

If, in order to save millions of people, your son or your daughter had to be almost stripped naked and hung between two criminals crucified dying with spikes in hands and feet. Would you call that she needed is God the father because God the father, the light of his son Jesus to make it possible for us to be forgiven this a God of grace is there but you cannot get by with sand no watch this always being asked that because somebody is so afraid somebody can get by with something. Let me ask a question you listen, would you say that the prodigal God by with anything he bankrupt himself morally, financially, relationally, in his personhood lost it all blew it all the you say that he got about something because his reception by his father was son.

I love you, you are forgiven before you left.

That's this wonderful God of grace that you and I serve. Does that mean that there is no judgment of this agreement, it means that God is not in the judgment business today upon his children. No condemnation. Therefore, there is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Listen, that any unit with the wonderful thing about that is you have to live up to anything that is we know how to perform the get God to accept his wanted this young man have to do to get his father to accept him.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Listen, is coming home made it possible for his father to express toward him what his father felt toward him while he is in the hog pen. The coming back didn't get in for love and forgiveness. The coming back made it possible for the father to express it. I don't know what you're going through, where you are but I won't tell you this hour. Father is the father of grace and love and forgiveness and kindness toward his children. You can step out of the hole pin and turn your failure into a testimony of the grace of God and how do you step out you make a decision you jump the fence that is you make a decision you just turn to the father and say father I've had another's hog pen living coming home.

You know what happens. You look in the eyes of a loving, gracious, kind and forgiving father who says son daughter I been waiting, how do you reject that kind of God I don't know what you're going through in life and what you feel trapped by but if you will turn your focus to God and say to him I'm sick and tired of hog pen living. You may be the finest dress menu town draw upon his automobile live in the biggest home but you and the hog pen keep you out of God's will, what you're eating will never satisfy the deep yearning hunger of your heart and how to go to the hog pen.

You just telling I'm sick and tired of the whole pan I want to come home.

Trusting this is very important.

Trusting that in the death of his son Jesus. He took all the consequences of your hog pen living dumped them on him. He paid the penalty in your accepted accepted in Christ Jesus.

By the way across father when we think of how good and gracious and kind. You are, we think of the price that you paid for our salvation. We tell you that we love you and feel so inadequate and saying I pray for those who have never been saved who know in their heart that running from you they desperately need you. Would you just enable them to see the simple message that if they have never trusted you as their personal savior. That step number one. It is the first and only step that can be taken looking to you as a God of loving kindness and forgiveness and knowing that their sins wicked and vile as they may be that Jesus wanted God took them within at the moment they're willing to accept him as their personal savior. Their sins are forgiven to become a child of God. Life begins anew.

Father for so many of your children who living in sin and who wanted if you will take them back. Would you just turn their focus to you today and remind them that not by performance a rule keeping, not by promises of hard work, but by the acceptance of grace and overall that we cannot add one single solitary thing. Our pride wants to, but we can't. It's all grace and grace alone. A man thank you for listening to part 211 in our past failures. We would often like to invite you to join us in celebrating 49 years of God's faithfulness intense.OIG/45 years to learn more. The presentation of intense ministry in Atlanta, Georgia