The Restoration

By Pastor Young Joon Park

May 2, 2010

 

Tax collectors and other sinners came to Jesus, spent time with Jesus and ate together. Pharisees and Scribes complained that Jesus spent time with sinners and ate with them.

They labeled these people with sinners in their own minds, and they were judging people according to their own standards.

 

That¡¯s why Jesus gave the 3 parables as messages to them from the Lord.

One lost sheep among 100 sheep

One lost silver coin among 10 coins

A prodigal son among 2 sons

 

It is our general understanding that the lost is a non-believer, and the rest is a believer.

But it is easy to see that Jesus was talking not about the Gentiles but about the Israel people. Pharisees believed themselves as the righteous people, and treated other people who had different life styles than them as sinners such as tax collectors and others. Jesus¡¯ intension of giving these parables was about these two different kinds of people among Israel.

 

Yes, we can apply the concept of the lost one as being non-believer, however, I would like to share this Word of God according to Jesus¡¯ intension.

 

Luke 15:11-32

 

1. The Family of God

Luke 15:11

And He said, ¡°A man had two sons.

 

This parable: 2 sons

The first son – Pharisees and Scribes

The second son – tax collectors and other sinners

 

Both were born in their father¡¯s house and were raised by their parents, and they live together under their father¡¯s wing and his business. Both sons were Israel people who were Abraham¡¯s descendent, chosen people and had the inheritance of God.

 

The spiritual meaning of Israel or Jews is the Christianity.  That means that we are the true Israel and the true Jews.

 

John 1:12-13 – born into the Family of God

12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

 

Romans 1:16 – no difference

For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the Power of God for Salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

 

Romans 9:24

even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.

 

1 Peter 2:9 – chosen people,

But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God¡¯s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

 

Ephesians 1:3

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

 

2. Self-Centered Life

1) World mind set

Luke 15:12

The younger of them said to his father, ¡®Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.¡¯ So he divided his wealth between them.

 

Tax collectors and sinners – they have minds that compromise with the world

 

Satan constantly tries to tempt God¡¯s people with no exception, ceaselessly at that. Do not even think that satan will not try to tempt you because you are children of God. Just remember that he even tried tempting Jesus Christ our Lord 2000 years ago, then how much more he would do us?

 

I shared constantly about satan¡¯s strategy against our life through John 10:10.

1st step is to steal our heart. This is usually satan¡¯s first approach getting through our mind.

 

Iscariot Judah was deceived by satan and constantly he counseled with satan even while he was with Jesus Christ and in His Ministry. His deceived heart was growing bigger and bigger.

 

Psalm 1:1

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,

We are living with many thoughts in our daily life.

Our enemy satan tempts us throw his deception as a bait to our mind. We take the bait and start to wonder about it. From this moment we are starting to counsel with satan. We must stop and come out from it. Otherwise we will fall into his deception deeper and deeper. When we open door for the enemy to come into our life, our mind will be transformed to the worldly mind, and sooner or later it will become a stronghold. The result is drifting away from the Lord. We have to guard our hearts from the enemy and keep every possible doors in our life closed to our enemies.

 

2) Worldly life

Luke 15:13

And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living.

 

Tax Collectors – cheated to collect more money than they were supposed to – mammon is the focus

Other sinners – they lived in whatever way that they desired to survive, or for pleasures

 

When we are living in our comfortably, we are moving in for more action.

This young man stopped living in his fantasy, and he wanted actually fulfill his fantasy in his own pleasure way what he had been fantasizing.

 

There are some Christians who do not want to stay in the Lord, but live their own way for their desires. These people slip away from worshipping the Lord and the fellowship, because it gets in their way of getting their pleasures in life.

 

3) Hardship and unsecure life

Luke 15:14-16

Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him.

 

Tax collectors and other sinners¡¯ life – rejection, abandonment, mocking, disrespect. Despise, neglect¡¦

 

The ego is starting to die and to break through the hardship

 

3. Repentance

1) Remember his father¡¯s house

Luke 15:17

But when he came to his senses, he said, ¡®How many of my father¡¯s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!

 

2) True repentance

Luke 15:18-19

I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, ¡°Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.¡±

 

There is always the right time, and there is no time too late to start.

 

3) The fruit of the repentance

Luke 15:20-21

So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.

And the son said to him, ¡®Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.¡¯

 

In Jesus¡¯ Ministry – sinners and tax-collectors repented and followed Jesus Christ.

 

4. The Restoration

 

1) The sonship

Luke 15:22

But the father said to his slaves, ¡®Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet;

 

Matthew 3:17

This is My Son¡¦

 

2) Acceptance

Luke 15:23-24

and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;

for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.¡¯ And they began to celebrate.

 

Matthew 3:17

This is My Beloved Son¡¦

 

3) Affirmation

Luke 15:32

But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.¡¯ ¡±

 

Matthew 3:17

¡¦ in whom I am Well-Pleased.

 

5. Father¡¯s Heart

Luke 15:25-32

25 ¡°Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.

26 ¡°And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be.

27 ¡°And he said to him, ¡®Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.¡¯

28 ¡°But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him.

29 ¡°But he answered and said to his father, ¡®Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends;

30 but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.¡¯

31 ¡°And he said to him, ¡®Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.

32 ¡®But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.¡¯ ¡±

 

Older brother had a sincere heart to live with his father and was a good son to his father. He was so upset at his father that he restored his younger brother without any disciplinary action because he lived so righteously. He did not have any heart to embrace his younger brother because of his betrayal and disgraceful life against his family. 

 

If I were in his shoes, I would have agreed with the older son and would be upset at his father as well.

 

The context helps us to understand the lessons of the parable. Verses 1-2 tell us that sinners and tax collectors were being taught by Jesus. Pharisees then criticized Jesus - not for teaching them, but for eating with them, which was a sign of social acceptance. The Pharisees tried hard to be righteous, and they were disturbed by the fact that Jesus accepted those who hadn't even been trying hard. Perhaps they were worried that Jesus was making it too easy on people, and his acceptance might encourage others to be lazy.

 

But we need to understand the father¡¯s heart.

 

Waiting for his returning

Everyday the father was worried about his younger son, and wished so hard that he¡¯d be back home again. Especially the land was hit hard with the famine and his heart ached for him. He went outside and watched the street hoping for the return of his son during the famine.

 

Our Father God is always waiting for your coming back to Him, and concerned about you Personally, because He loves you.

 

Plan for the new chance

His father was not concerned about his past life, because he saw his younger son¡¯s new heart, new mind and new vision of his life that he never had before. His younger son came back with the true repentant heart.

 

Father saw his younger son had the best lesson from his own toughest life because of his rebellious life through his independent spirit. Father paid the highest price to restore his precious younger son into the right place.

 

So his younger son¡¯s past is no longer issue to him, but he is focusing on his present life and his future life for his new chance.

 

His older brother was anguish because he was focusing on his younger brother¡¯s past. His father was focusing on his younger son¡¯s present and his future.

 

Our Father God is never concerned about your past, because He paid the highest price, with the Life of Jesus Christ, His Beloved Son, for you.

 

 

Conclusion

Father is waiting for you to restore the relationship as His Children with Him and He accepts you always whenever you return to the Lord no matter what you did in the past.

It is never too late to return to the Lord.

It is the right timing for you when you found yourself in need of going back to Father.

 

In this morning, please come forward to Father if you ran away from the Lord in any area of your life. Our Father God is waiting to accept you and to restore you 100%.

 

Jesus¡¯ teaching about the forgiveness

Luke 17:1-4 7 times in a day - forgive them

Matthew 18:22 - seventy-seven times

 

The example of the repentance

David

Peter

 

The example of the rebellious

Cain

Iscariot Judah