Revival

Revival

Luke 15:11-24  And he said, A certain man had two sons:  (12)  And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.  (13)  And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.  (14)  And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.  (15)  And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.  (16)  And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.  (17)  And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!  (18)  I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,  (19)  And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.  (20)  And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.  (21)  And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.  (22)  But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:  (23)  And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:  (24)  For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

INTRODUCTION:           Revival, implies that salvation already exists.  So does rededicating your life to God. 

              We see in our news, so many people caught in the act of horrible crimes; 

              The young lady who was kidnapped held prisoner for 18 years.

Another more recently raped, murdered.  We also hear about so much pedophilia and such abhorrent crimes.  Crimes against humanity (the world) and such horrible crimes against God.

              Abortion, homosexuality, unfaithfulness to God, and a list that goes on and on.

              Most of the pleas made by these people who do these horrendous things is NOT GUILTY.

              Most of what I have described should not be in the Christian community.  As a believer there is no doubt one can backslide into the world and be a very sinful person.  This is what Revival is all about.  Revival is about you and I, conciliating, reconciling with God on His terms.  Not our terms His terms.

The words:           CONCILIATE     v. come to terms;

CONCILIATION, n. The act of winning or gaining, as esteem, favor or affection; reconciliation.

RECONCILIATION, In Scripture, the means by which sinners are reconciled and brought into a state of favor with God, after natural estrangement or enmity; the atonement; expiation.         Repentance

              So the person who is considering re-dedicating or reconciling his life to God via Jesus Christ should know some things:

              Your plea at Jesus feet can never be NOT GUILTY; neither at this altar, nor beside your bed.

              If you are saved you know you are a sinner and you know that you are guilty, regardless, you are guilty.

              Knowledge in all these things sets us up for discussing the prodigal son parable.  This parable is an example of backsliding Christian, a person who has finally reached the pigsty and has repented and wants to rededicate their lives back to God. 

              Most who have backslid and gotten out of the will of God, some have done so by disobedience, some through sin, and some through laziness.

              We see in this parable a story of faith, disobedience, ruin, repentance and reconciliation.     The son goes the full circle.

We see the prodigal son is

I.            A DISOBEDIENT SON   (vv 12-16)

              A.           Give Me

                             1.           My portion

Proverbs 14:14     The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.

                                           i.            It is always

                                                          a.           Me

                                                          b.           Myself   and

                                                          c.            I

                                           ii.           We are discontent with less

              B.           Took His Journey

Galatians 4:9          But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

1.               Wasted substance

i.                Riotous living

ii.               With the lively crowd

iii.             The beautiful people

2.               Spent it all

i.                Money

ii.               Life

iii.             Health

iv.             Family

                             3.           In bondage to your old sin

We see the prodigal son

II.           KNOWS HE IS A SINNER            (vv 17-19)

              A.           He Came To Himself

Jeremiah 3:25      We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.

1.               Our shame finally surfaces

i.                We finally see what we have become

ii.               Sinner at enmity with God

              a.           We have not obeyed God

              b.           We have refused to listen

iii.          We are totally confused

B.            Repentance

Luke 13:3   I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

                            1.           I have sinned against

i.                My Father, My God

ii.               My Heaven

                             2.           We must realize what must be done

                                           i.            Repent as this son did

                                                          a.           Come back to Jesus

                                                          b.           Beg forgiveness

                                           ii.           In that repentance mean it

We see the prodigal son is

III.         FORGIVEN                                     (vv 20-24)

A.              His Father Saw Him Coming Home

1.               Had compassion (mercy) on him.

2.               Ran to him,

3.               Fell on his neck.

4.               Kissed him.

B.           The Son Asked For Forgiveness

1.               For he was dead

i.            He now is alive

                             2.           He was lost

                                           i.            Is found

CONCLUSION:

Joel 2:13                  And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

              A.           Rend Your Heart

                             1.           Not your garments (things)

              B.           Turn To The Lord, He Is

1.               Gracious

2.               Merciful

3.               Slow to anger

4.               Of great kindness

C.           He Allowed His Son To Die

1.           So we as sinners could live

Romans 12:1-2     I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. ²And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Repentance with God is something you have to do.  We as saved individuals tend to, and do turn our backs on God.  When we have backslid away from God He is waiting for you. 

              You see we need to renew our mind, get back into that perfect will of God.  You see it up to you.

              If you walked away from God into sin, you are guilty.  You alone, the devil may have helped guide you, but it was you who was conciliatory with him.

              The devil didn’t make you do it, he may have helped through various temptations but it was your decision to reconcile with the devil and move into league with him.

              So when you as a saved individual stand before Jesus, on the day of you accounting, do you understand you will not have a slick Willy lawyer standing beside you entering a plea of NOT GUILTY.  He won’t be able to enter a plea of temporary insanity. 

              Only you and nobody else will be with you, you alone, and all you will be able to say is, I am guilty. 

              So what are you going to do today; the wayward son came back and pleaded guilty and asked for forgiveness.

              He repented of the sins he once was involved in, So what are you going to do today.

              Repentance is our guilty plea, changing our ways and not returning to those old broadways, it is staying on God’s path to the best of your ability.

If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Saviour, if you don’t know that Heaven is your eternal home, today is that day to know, and get right with God today.

              I believe you know you are a sinner.     Romans 3:10, 23

God gave His Son to die on the cross so you wouldn’t have to pay the price                   Romans 5:8         John 3:16

God gave us a gift of eternal everlasting life Romans 6:23b 

Romans 10.9, 13