Good Morning and welcome in everybody. Today we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture but before we do that, I wanted to tell you my favorite story.
Luke 15 ¹¹ 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.
²⁵ Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. ²⁶ And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. ²⁷ And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. ²⁸ And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.
²⁹ And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
³⁰ But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. ³¹ And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
³² It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.
In this passage, one of the sons got involved in sinful living, and each of us can relate to this, because all of us are sinners, who have come short of the glory of God. But we learn in this parable that there is a way back to the heavenly Father, and it’s found through repentance. It all begins when you finally take a look at your own life and recognize the depths of your own depravity. You must rise up, stare at the person in the mirror and ask them, what are you doing? Why are you living like this? The very first step on the path of redemption begins when a person is capable of admitting and acknowledging their sins. It is only then, that lasting change can ever happen in one’s life.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 (KJV)
Notice that this passage begins with the word “if”. What this word does is introduce a conditional clause, meaning that before we can obtain certain things, certain conditions must be met. For example, your dad might tell you that you can use the car with his blessing, if you get all of your chores done. In order to use the truck to go fishing, you must first get certain things done. It’s the same thing with God’s forgiveness. He sets conditions on how to obtain it. God does not forgive everybody, otherwise there would be no need for hell. He resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble-minded. Only through contrition will you look into your own heart, and be filled with self reproach at the sinful wretch that you have become. It is only through this humble heart that you can find forgiveness with God or others that you have wronged. Pride is incapable of weeping, while true humility is emotionally moved by regret.
James 4 ⁶ But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. ⁷ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. ⁹ Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
God wants to take us to a better place and provide us with a better life, but it is our own sinfulness that blinds us to the truth. Sin is very deceitful. It can make you feel like you are doing the right thing, while the entire time it pulls you down deeper into the mud. Pride is the enemy of God and the snare of the devil. The deeper into the cesspool of sin that you dive, the further you are covered with its consequences. The prodigal Son was perishing with hunger, which was a direct result of his own rebellious behavior. But there is one way that he could change everything. Repentance. There was a way that he could once again walk in the good graces of his father. Repentance. He came to the place that each of us must reach if we ever want to obtain eternal life; the acknowledgment of our own faults, and the open confession of our sinful misdeeds.
1 Peter 5. ⁵ ……God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. ⁶ Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
The Christian Life is defined as a walk, which begins when you recognize and acknowledge that you have done the wrong thing. The prodigal son finally realized the error of his way, and was ready to take the consequences for his actions. When he finally got to that place, it compelled him to turn around and begin his journey back home. He humbled himself before his father, and openly confessed his faults. Recognizing his contrition, he was completely forgiven, and the offense that had taken place was completely eradicated and forgotten from their memory.
“For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.” 1 Peter 2:25
Each of us are dead in our trespasses and sins, but through faith in Christ Jesus, we can find forgiveness and be made alive. But like the prodigal son, in order to be forgiven, you must first be capable of confessing your sins to God and those around you. Before confessing your sins, you will have to rid yourself of any pride, and take a humble look inside of your own heart at the sinful person that you have become. This is a place that many people do not want to go, because it would mean looking at the person they really are. God has a better life for us, but to enjoy his benefits, we must accept the truth of our sinful condition.
The path to confession begins with contrition, and instead of weeping for others, the first step towards repentance is learning to….
..…Weep for Yourselves
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️
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