The Prodigal & The Promise

The prodigal and the promise, probably one of my favorite stories in the Bible. Many of you can probably agree with that on the prodigal son, and how many of you can relate to that? Very powerful story. It's a fact, I believe.

I mean, Jesus would give parables, but then this, he gave a very important message. I won't have time to get to the second half about the eldest son and things like that, but it is important to look at this. Luke 15, beginning actually in chapter, I'm sorry, verse 11.

So Jesus is talking, and anytime Jesus is talking, we need to listen. A certain man had two sons, and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me. So he divided to them his livelihood.

So which is interesting, because normally the inheritance comes later. But this son pretty much demanded, you know, and the father could have said no, but he gave him his portion. Looks like he divided it with the other brother as well.

But stopping here for a minute, it reminds us that pride and entitlement always demand, don't they? Give me, give me, give me, I deserve this. And that's one big concern I have for America is this sense of entitlement. My goodness, it is never, it's like the free handout nation.

Entitled, no, we're not entitled. And pride and entitlement always go together. So women, you can listen too, Father's Day.

But men, we've got to watch these areas. In our own lives, the opposite of that is humble and teachable and appreciative. Those will fix a lot of problems.

Pride and entitlement, I demand this. I'm the man of this house. If you've ever said that, I will pray for you.

Because actually, you don't need to say that. When you say that, it actually weakens the role. And a message to the youth while we're here, be careful.

You don't know what you don't know. He's asking for something that will ultimately destroy him. And the father knew what was best, wait until the right time.

That's with God, right time is important. The timing, instead of demanding and wanting things and pushing ahead of God. Also a good reminder, who are you trusting in? Who are you trusting in? Give me the portions of good that falls on me.

I'm trusting in this. This is what I'm going to do. And we have to be very careful who we're trusting in.

Isn't it interesting how we're fearful of God and we question but we'll trust airplanes. I mean, when I first, I'm going to read this story to you. When I first saw it, I thought for sure it's AI.

But it got picked up everywhere. On June 13th, not too long ago, a 21-year-old tragically died after falling approximately 130 feet during a bungee jump rope swing event in Brazil. They forgot to attach the bungee cord.

And they're holding her up like this and they throw her off. Be careful who you trust. That's immediately what I thought, who are these guys? Number one, I'm not doing that, but number two, if you decide to trust, who are you trusting in? There's so many men trusting in the wrong things.

And women too, of course. Trusting in the economy. Trusting if this takes off.

So many people are like biting their nails on cryptocurrency. Right? When the Equality Act passes or whatever, this is going to be my, how do you know? Trusting my job will be here in 20 years. Trusting, it's okay to hope for and to pray about, but we ultimately have to trust in God and rest in His sovereignty.

Because as you're trusting in these things, you often pursue them in an unhealthy way, too much. What does it profit you to gain the whole world, yet lose your soul? And we see it in every area. People are pursuing, they're trusting in these things.

If this will make me happy, Instagram, social media, women wanting to be this way and men wanting to be this way and trusting in certain things that really, they do not pay you well, spiritually speaking, they drain you. And so once he was given his portion of the inheritance, he had some Las Vegas money. And that's where he headed.

Not many days after, the younger son gathered everything and journeyed to a far country. Isn't that interesting? He wants to get away. Get away from his parents.

The farther you go, the deeper sin goes and the more you can hide. We want to get away from people that convict us. And there he wasted his possessions with prodigal living.

Different versions have different words. Remember what the King James was, but one is a riotous living. Prodigal, riotous, debauchery, lasciviousness, all these words that means sin has a price.

It feels good for a season, but it will rob you of everything that you think you're going to gain. And that's why I put up here, sin loves to disconnect. Watch out, men, when you start to disconnect.

You're not truthful. You're not transparent. You disconnect.

And I've seen it, I can't tell you how many times over the years, when eventually you don't see them anymore at church, Wednesday studies or the men's events or the men's... Oh, I've just been busy, man. And they disconnect. They don't want you to follow up either.

They're disconnecting. What are they disconnecting from? Conviction. I know what I need to be doing, but I'm disconnecting.

And that's usually where it starts. You don't see people as much, they're too busy and they start to fall away. Maybe it's not happening, just people do get busy.

But even at home, you start to get too busy for God. Sleeping in, I'll get to the Bible later. I don't have time right now.

And you begin to disconnect. And it's a slow drift. That's how he gets you.

The devil doesn't show you where these choices are going to end up in a year from now. He didn't show the prodigal, hey, this is what's going to cost you. He probably would have ran home.

And so be careful when you want to disconnect from accountability. And I can even usually tell when I talk to people, like, let's say they don't know I know something. And I'll ask about, you know, like, how's this? You know, why is your marriage? Why are you guys separated? And he'll kind of, you know, blame shift and won't be up front.

About things. You know, there's no transparency there. There's not a teachable spirit.

He's trying to hide and disconnect from the sin. And it's very, very good news is all you have to do is own it this morning. See, there's good news to every point.

What's that song? Jump up and down and turn around. I thought of repentance. That's what they're doing.

Jump out of the grave. Come on, you guys know, we just sang it. I can't do it well.

But the Marlowe's, remember them? They used to jump up and down and turn around. By the way, it's OK to get excited during worship. The Bible talks about joyful, make a joyful sound to the Lord.

Not being fake, not being fake, but, you know, you can be expressive. I'm I'm not that expressive. Usually I'm more of a, you know, just just so we're just on the ground face.

But there's nothing wrong with being excited about worshiping the Lord. That's just a rabbit trail. Does not fit the notes, but it's OK.

And by the way, you are prone to wander so much so that they decided to write a song about it. Many years ago, too, isn't it? Prone to wander. Lord, I feel it prone to leave the God I love.

But here's the solution. Here's my heart. Take and seal it, seal it in thy courts above.

Repentance back to the Savior that fixes most problems. Realignment back. And that's the promise.

You have the prodigal, but you also have the promise. The promises return to me and I will return to you. We also see the power of influence, his surrounding, his atmosphere and engagement.

Who did he engagement? Who was influencing him? What were his surroundings? And I put in there lot and Abraham just to just to remind myself, Abraham did not go towards Sodom. Lot did. And he was actually supposed to go to the plains, if you read it correctly, the plains outside of Sodom.

But eventually he ended up inside there. And so this prodigal went and was influenced in the wrong areas. He surrounded himself, the atmosphere, who he was engaging with.

It does affect you. Doesn't atmosphere affect you? Guys, come on, you know. You're the doctor.

How does that feel compared to a worship service? Atmosphere matters. Go drive down to North Hollywood and take a walk down the street. Minister to the homeless people.

Atmosphere matters. What about what we have on in our homes? Doesn't that matter? How do you feel with your spirit if you have on breaking bad versus worship? Oh, oh, you guys don't want me to go there, do you? Yellowstone or Pure Flakes? Oh, I can keep going. I don't watch those.

I just had to go. What are the most popular? But it affects our attitude. And who are we hanging around with? Who are we associating with, men? And they do affect you because you don't want to play church on Monday.

You look like the world because you're worried about their opinion. They affect us. They influence us.

It's got to be a very strong person grounded in the word of worship or filled with the Spirit of God to really make a difference in the workplace. Because if not, they're the one usually that's being influenced. Prodigal living is the opposite of God-driven living, isn't it? Prodigal living is self-focused, meeting my needs.

Now, impulsive and lust-driven. That's what drove him. Young man working in the field, give me my money now.

I need to go out and do what I need to do. But God will eventually get your attention, will He not? But when he had spent all, everything is gone. There arose a severe famine in the land, and he began to be in want.

That word want is is a powerful, it's a Greek word. It means to be destitute, to lack or to suffer in need. And of course, we think of the opposite.

The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. The Hebrew word for that is very similar.

And so with God, we won't be destitute. We won't lack what we need. We may lack what we want.

Do you ever lack what you want? Wanting, it fulfills a desire. A need is a genuine God-given desire. And so God got him into a place of brokenness.

And thank God for that. Sometimes I look at people and I'm wondering, if God never breaks them, they're not going to repent. Because as riches increase and life, and I mean, look at these multi, I mean, man, unless Musk and Bezos and all these guys of owner, CEO of BlackRock and, and State Street, and you look at, you know, unless man, it's hard for a rich man to enter heaven.

And God usually prays God for that brokenness. There's a song I used to listen to all the time, many, many years ago, God bless the broken road. There's a country song, but that's, it's got biblical application too, doesn't it? God bless the broken road that led me straight to you.

Now they're talking about relationships, but I'm talking about the Lord. Thank God for that broken road. Because pride has to be broken out of us often.

So if God is breaking you, embrace it. Don't become bitter and fight it. Embrace that brokenness.

Brokenness is a very sweet quality in a person. And you've heard me quote many times, AW toes are before God uses a man greatly. He often hurts him deeply because what brokenness will do, it'll give you a compassion for others.

It will soften your words. It will make you a better father or leader. It's already difficult as it is, but that keeps you tender and pliable and teachable.

It doesn't mean you're weak. Was Jesus weak? What's the word they used for Jesus? Opposite of weak. It rhymes with weak.

One person has it so far. Meek. And it's actually an incredible word.

It means you have strength, but it's under control. You have strength, but it's under control. You control that strength.

Meek. They could lash out. They could yell and get angry.

But they're meek. They choose to keep it in control. And He spent everything.

It's funny, at the same time there arose a famine. So that makes life more difficult. Sometimes I found that God will maybe use a few things to get our attention.

Not just draining financially, but also now there's a relational challenge. Or not only financially, but now there's a health challenge. Or not, you get to the point of that just, Lord, there's no other hope but you.

And God uses that to wake us up. Thank God for that. And if you're here this morning and haven't been broken by God, first praise Him, thank Him.

But say, I need to be broken in a good way. I need to be humbled. Because hard is the way of the transgressor.

What that actually means, Proverbs 13, is the way of a person who chooses sin is hard. Now, it feels good. That's why they do it.

And you guys see prodigals right now. You know prodigals. I know prodigals.

It's like, what is it going to take? You see the devastation that this lifestyle, why do people return to the very thing that's destroying them? Often the devil will plant those thoughts, just one more time. Just, just, this time will be different. I know I'm an addict, but this time I'll be able to handle it.

Hey, if you've never been able to handle it, you're not going to handle it now. You're going to actually open up a deeper stronghold in your life. It's hard.

It's a hard life and we fight it. We fight it. We fight it.

Why? Pride. That way, the way of the transgressor is hard. I look back over my 20s, I don't know how in the world.

Wow, that was hard. Now don't mistake. Life is hard now too, right? Like, but now, you know, the shepherd when the prodigal comes, you know, the shepherd.

So it's not hard in the same way. It's hard because of sin and folly and God's not on your side and things are challenging. But when it's hard now, you rest in his sovereignty.

It's a different type of, of, of a difficulty. One is hardness as a result of sin. The other is, is just life being difficult because it's challenging and we need the Lord.

Again, when the Lord is your shepherd, you shall not be in want. And one thing, I don't know, I've done it quite a bit at funerals though. When I read Psalm 23, it kind of shocks people.

Uh, but it's actually one of the most abused scriptures I believe in all of the Bible because most funerals I go to most places, they'll read it. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want and lie down in green pastures.

He restores my soul. My cup runneth over. He makes a table in front of my enemies and all that.

And people are like, Oh, that's right. Oh, that's so good. And they're actually encouraging people who don't know the shepherd.

Because the point is a challenge of, do you truly know the shepherd? Because if you don't, you can't say that Psalm. And I'll tell people that. I'll say, but you can't say that Psalm.

You can't embrace that for me. If you're not saved because he's not your shepherd, but to be liked, to not offend, we just read it. And most of the time at funerals are unbelievers.

A lot of times, depending on, you know what, and that's false hope. The Lord is your shepherd. You've got this.

See you. See you around guys. But he's not correct.

I mean, if you're an unbeliever, you can't say the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. You've got to repent to know the shepherd.

That's the only hope. And we tell people that. And it's not uncommon.

I get people, they get up and they leave during a memorial. They're upset. They go in the bathroom and the men stall and they pull out a mirror and some white powder in their pocket.

That's how they fix it. Or they're out in the parking lot with a 40. You know what that is? That's okay.

It's good. It's good. But we'll run from that conviction.

Won't we? And obviously, and I've seen too, the greater the conviction, the more profound the life has changed. That's how lives are changed through conviction. Conviction.

It's a wonderful word. It's a word that actually means something. Jesus would preach and people would be very convicted.

It was like, oh, I'm not right. Oh, he just challenged me. Wait a minute.

I have to rethink things. And I wish I could report to you that most people embrace that. Many times.

Tara, are you here? I'm going to have you give your testimony sometime. She always reminds me, I hated what you had to say years ago. I used to read your articles and say, I don't want to read this.

I don't want to hear this guy. I don't want to. And now she's here and loves it.

What happened? Conviction. And it's not uncommon. I run into people all the time.

Your spouse doesn't come. No, they do not want to hear what you have to say. And then months later, guess who's here? Why are they here? Convicted.

Here's the thing about conviction too. You don't want to hear it, so I'm out of here. But then as Monday goes by, Tuesday, Wednesday.

But I need to go. I need to hear that again. I need something.

I don't like it, but something's drawing me back. We hear that all the time. Well, why are you here? I don't like what you had to say, but I don't know why I'm back.

There's that because you know, you don't want to hear it just yet, even though you know it. People hate the truth when they love the darkness. And that's why they will look for churches and pastors who will tell them what they want to hear.

Will they not? Many of you know, or some of you were there, there was a conference this weekend with Martin and Millicent Sedra. They're from Australia. She's got an accent, right? And he's from Egypt.

He's got the Australian. Talk about bold. Talk about bold.

But that's what we need. That's why they're so hated by some, but loved by others. And the problem is the soft pastors think they're loved by everyone, but they're not.

Spirit-filled believers leave their church starving for more of God. Would this person speak up? Remember when Barna did a poll, 91% of all congregants want their pastor to be bold, especially in areas of truth, in the political arena or wherever. Would you just say it? Would you just be bold? And they defined yesterday, boldness is, I'm so glad this is so true.

It doesn't necessarily mean loud. That can be arrogant. That can be angry.

Bold is saying what needs to be said with clarity. You see, I've seen famous pastors on The View or Oprah. What's your view on abortion? Well, I don't know.

It's a very complex issue, Oprah. And you know, there's many dynamics that take place when that... What the heck? I don't want to offend. Well, you just offended God.

You should be able to say with clarity. Yeah, the scripture is clear. It's a sin.

Whoa. They go on Larry King. So, are Mormons going to heaven? Well, Larry, I don't know.

I'm not to judge their heart. Who am I? And then you get John MacArthur on there, bam, shoots it straight within a minute. Perfect, bold.

That's what it is. What is the truth? What's the truth? If you don't know Jesus, you don't go to heaven. It's all complex.

But we go and they really get this platform and man, my publisher's going to get upset. And this is a book tour. And they miss the power of God.

They really do. Because the power of the gospel comes from the conviction. When you start to water it down and you're embarrassed about it, it really does lose that power, that unction that it's supposed to have.

Because it's a conviction that helps us see the light, isn't it? Why did Jesus said, don't fear him who can kill you. Jesus did. He said, fear him who can cast both body and soul in hell.

Jesus said that. He's telling people. He's talking about the epitome of boldness, wasn't he? Gentle, meek, but I can't find anywhere.

He's like, you know what? That's a good point. Let's consider that. Let's have a conversation.

He just bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, and love. Because that's true love when you tell people the truth. Cowardliness is not love.

It's fear. Masked in the definition of what people think love is. And so what did he do? Nope, he didn't repent.

What a good opportunity. He did not repent. Next verse.

Then he went and he joined himself. Means he lived with this person. He came together with.

He embraced that lifestyle. A citizen of that country. He wasn't coming home.

He was still staying in that spot. And the person that he went to work with sent him into the fields to feed swine. That's what sin does with you.

Look at that. Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay. That saying's been around for years, but it fits.

I want to use it again. Think about this. He's with a wealthy father.

He's going to inherit. He's good, but now he's feeding pigs. Have you ever fed pigs? Some of you? There's more than that.

You're just not being honest. Trying to wake the kids up, right? And they're just, I mean, no matter what you put in there. It's, it's, it's disgusting.

And now he's feeding the pigs. And he said, I would gladly have filled my stomach with these pods that the pigs are eating. But no one gave him anything.

Man, God knows how to keep tugging at you, doesn't he? Because I wonder if this guy would have like said, Hey, if you're working for me, we've got good meals, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He might've stayed there for a while. Why would he have stayed there for a while? Five letter word.

We know it by now begins with a P. It's not a good thing to have a P month. That just kind of came out. Probably won't come out at second service.

So, but see, still pride is still at play. I've seen it. It drives me crazy.

I've probably done it. I'm sure. Haven't you? Like you, it's like, guys, hello, humble yourself.

No. And just, just dig those feet in. We have seen so many times you can talk to Tim, myself, where we have counseled couples and it's so easy.

Just, you could fix this. Nope. That pride digs in and like, Hey, look what you just went through.

Look at how your kids are feeling and pride just digs in and it digs in and it doesn't want to change. It doesn't want to admit it's fault. And you need to run from that as quickly as possible and repent of it.

The majority of the time, I'd only get emails or lectures afterwards. And it's always from men who just don't like what I'm saying because they're prideful. Often, if the man would humble himself, it will fix it.

Just saying. And here, here's what the emails will say, but you know, women need to be reprimanded too. You little cry baby.

No kidding. Let God do it. I'm talking to you today.

That's called blame shifting. Or they'll get mad at me. Pastor, you always come against some men.

Why don't you ever come against the women? Do you not see this clear as day? You are a very prideful man. Hello? Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, wake up. But pride doesn't, it digs its heels in.

It digs, it's sad. And you can't say much. You can call them out.

You can challenge, but it doesn't matter. Pride digs their heels in. And pride is still at play here.

It's sad. Ah, but the switch from pride to humility is beautiful. Isn't it? What is the switch? Well, here we go.

But when he, aha, but when he came to himself, we have a word for that now, when he came to his senses, he's like, you know what? This is not working too well. He came to himself. He came to his senses.

He owned it. He repented. He embraced it.

Very powerful. And he said, how many of my father's hired servants have bread, extra bread. And I'm sitting here perishing with hunger.

I will arise and go to my father's house and I will say, father, I have sinned against heaven. Here's the key. Had he come back and demanded that would not be genuine humility and repentance.

Hey, father, you know what? I'm back now. Can I have my spot back? See, same. Many men are like that.

They will not repent. They will not humble themselves. And the more they tell me, hey, go after the women too.

I'm not going to. So the more you say that, I'm going to go after them because the men set the tone often, don't they? For the nation, for the family, for the church. They want you to, it's called, that's why when Mattie said headship, leadership, it doesn't mean better than it means willing to die for.

And they can set the tone. Now you might say, hey, I've done all I can do. And this doesn't apply to me.

That's fine. I got it. There are some people out there, guys, who've done all they can do.

They're seeking the Lord. They've humbled themselves. And you know, I'm not talking to you.

That's why you don't have a problem with this. But it's those who run away from this responsibility. And so he came to himself.

Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I've sinned God, and I've sinned you. And see here, this is beautiful, actually.

I recognize that my choices have consequences. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.

Beautiful. I think, would you have loved to just, I'm sure there's some tears flowing. He made that decision.

He hasn't yet seen the Father. But he said, this is what, this is, if you, man, this could be a whole sermon. Because this is the mark of genuine repentance.

Do you know sorrow isn't always repentance? A.W. Tozer was famous for saying, don't come up here and cry about it. Go home and live it out. I've talked to, oh, they're crying.

Oh, my marriage, my marriage, and they're crying. And the more you talk to them, the more they're worried about the alimony. I just start to talk more.

And okay, well, four thousand a month. Where am I going to come up with that? Oh. Or you talk more.

They're embarrassed they got caught. What are their co-workers going to think? They might lose their clearance somewhere. That's not true repentance.

True repentance is whatever the cost. Whatever the cost. In the last few years, I see where men could say, you know what, whatever you, financially, the house, whatever you want, whatever you want, because I'm trusting the Lord.

I'm seeking him. I have messed up. I didn't lead effectively.

You're right. And they own it. And it's a beautiful thing.

And then most people like, okay, well, maybe we can fix this. Because what you do, you just push them away further, the more you dig in and fight it. And then you go get attorneys and they go after each other.

Now, I'm not saying maybe there's a time and place for that. Absolutely. I'm not trying to make a blanket statement that applies to every single situation under heaven.

But I know nine times out of 10, maybe even more, 99% of the time, if they would just own it, maybe many of you need to see Fireproof again. Remember that movie? Wow. I just, what did we watch a couple weeks ago? Man, that's genuine repentance.

At first he wasn't. But then there are marks. What else? What does genuine repentance do? They fix what they broke.

They'll tell the spouse, hey, whatever it takes. What do you need me to do? They're not negotiating. Well, I don't know about that.

Well, if you do that, I'll do this. I've had people tell me, I'm not going to do that. She doesn't respect me.

No kidding. She doesn't respect you. Why don't you start doing stuff that will make her respect you? Well, I'm not going to do this unless she respects me.

How do you force respect when you're a jerk? But that's just the truth. See, genuine repentance has fruit, but people like to hide behind fake fruit. And if they're always blame shifting, yeah, but you don't know this.

And you don't, hold on, God does. Here's the beautiful thing about every counseling or whatever. I don't need to know who's telling the truth.

He does. He'll get you, you joker. He knows.

Or she's being the sneaky one. And she's not working. She's manipulating.

He knows. I don't need to know. But when they try to convince you of how good they are, no repentance.

You see, there are signs of it. If you're gently sorry, you say, I blew it. Whatever it takes.

Whatever it takes. Now, of course, there's, if they're asking for, I mean, you have to use wisdom, of course. But it's pride is so deadly.

And pride destroyed my life. And it can sneak in very quickly, can it? That's why we need to come to ourselves often. And realize, you know what, this is not going in a good direction.

Sadly, many never come to their senses. Many never come to their senses. And I don't know why I go off on this tangent.

It wasn't in my notes or anything, but we have seen so many over the years. I mean, many, many marriages. And like, how is this possible? One of the guys would speak sometimes, another person on the worship team.

And like, how are they divorced now? It's just because they would dig their heels in. Nobody would own it. Well, this, until they do, until they do.

Like, this is, are we back in junior high? Because when you get two spirit-filled believers, it's hard to break that apart. It's hard. Because they want the heart of God.

They want to know what God wants. And pride will push away what God wants. But we're going to see here when repentance meets grace, the prodigal and the promise.

So even if you're a prodigal, you guys can pray about sending this message to your prodigals. They'll listen. I don't know.

See what God does. But there is a promise that God has for every prodigal. And everything hinges on a two-letter word.

Do you guys know where I'm going? If. If. That's why it's so frustrating for many of us.

And if you have prodigals, you know. If you would just turn back to God. Well, if God's serious, He would turn me.

Well, if God wants my attention, He would get it. If God wants me to. No, no, no.

There's a conditional. If you return to me, says the Lord, I will return to you. There's a deep repentance takes place.

And now God is actively engaged, isn't He? Convicting them. If you send them the sermon, they won't want to listen to it. But you'll try, right? They hear things on the radio.

They have friends. God's there, but there's something with theologians. Some theologians, of course, this is debatable.

I don't want to get into Calvinism and the free will debate, right? But there's something, to me, when I read the Bible, it's full of ifs. If you repent. If you do this.

If you seek me. If you turn. If you make no provision.

If there's a responsibility. And that's the promise. God says if.

I don't know of any time in all of Scripture, in all of recorded history, anybody I know, maybe you know somebody, I'm being facetious, of course, that has tested God on that. Well, my mom, she repented and turned to God, and He didn't answer. It's a promise that is always kept.

If you return to me, I will return to you. That's a powerful promise. And so once he repented, it actually started first.

He didn't repent. He had the fruit of repentance when he got home, but repentance started first. So as a result of repentance, he got up.

I bet he's filled with a little bit of joy now. A little bit of hope. And he came to his father.

But look at this. Look at this part. When he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion.

And we get this view of God. It's like, oh, you come back. I'm getting the belt out.

But it is a picture. God's waiting. And you can see, is that my son out there? Is he coming? And there's excitement.

See, he doesn't have to punish him because the punishment was what he just went through. He needs to now restore him to hope. Now there's consequences for sin.

Consequences we do have to live with often. But it's better to live inside of God's arms, redeemed inside of His will, than to be outside living with the pigs. And so he ran to him as well.

And they came together. Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. And that's what he said as he was a great way off.

His father had compassion. See, we forget about that attribute of God. Have you heard of the attributes of God? It means His character.

And there's not one attribute, you know, this one above. Like people always say, well, God is love. God is love.

And what that usually means is, I'm going to keep sinning. I don't care. Who are you to judge? God is love.

Well, number one, that's the wrong definition of love. Number two, you forgot about the biggest attribute of God that is mentioned throughout Scripture more than love. Holiness.

Holiness. So you're living unholy, but you're using God as love to justify your unholiness. What about God's holiness? God is righteous.

He is holy. He is graceful. He is love.

He's compassionate. It's the totality of who God is. And one of those amazing attributes is compassion.

Compassion. If you return to me, I will return to you. I will restore the years that the enemy has taken.

I might restore that marriage. I will restore that relationship that you used to have with your kids. I might restore you financially where you were.

I have compassion on you because you're returning. To me, it's such a great, beautiful picture. And that's why I'm not afraid to preach repentance, because it's not an evil doctrine.

It's a beautiful way of reconnecting the sinner back to God. Or the saint back to God. Amen? Do you know saints need to repent too? Should I clarify that since I'm confusing anybody? There are two... Oh gosh, I don't want to mispronounce them.

Greek words, Hebrew words for repentance. And there is a repentance where a sinner recognizes that they are lost without God. They're disconnected from God.

They don't know God. And so they change their mind about everything. That's what the word actually means.

Change their mind. They repent. Now they know God.

Now they're saved. But then once you're saved, sometimes you get on the wrong road. Anybody been on the wrong road? Get a little attitude going, a little anger, bring back that addiction is calling your name again.

You get caught up in that again, sin, this. And you need to repent to get back on the right path with God. You're already saved.

You're saved. You're going to heaven. But man, you're miserable.

And you need to fix that by repenting, acknowledging that this is wrong. Some of the most joy-filled times I've ever had is when I've repented. Have you ever said, Lord, where did this attitude start to come in from? Where's this anger coming from? And why am I distant? Why am I treating people? And you repent of those things.

Because if you don't own it, you can't change it. If we make excuses for our actions and our attitude, you're not going to change. Repentance actually changes things.

It restores, it renews vitality. It restores the joy. Remember that joy? That joy? And when you lose that joy, what quenches that joy? Sin and quenching the spirit.

And so his father had compassion, and he ran and fell on his neck. That, you know, that type of hug. Oh, my son is home.

My son is home. Oh, the famous saying, too. I don't know if I'll get to that.

My son who was lost is now found. He was dead. He is now alive.

And that's what sin does to you. It kills that relationship with God. And that's why, amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.

I was blind spiritually, but now I see. God's amazing grace. And those people are worshipers.

Those people are worshipers. That's what I had over the years. You know, so many people who've come through their doors.

You know, many times, some people leave because they don't like emotional worship. But, you know, there's, oh, man, just sing a few songs and get to the Word. I don't want to raise my hands.

I don't want to come to the altar. Look at these people at the altar. Oh, if you knew what God delivered them from.

Oh, my goodness. How dare you? You should thank God He hasn't brought you through some hell. You haven't had to go through certain things.

Most of the worshipers are people who went through trauma. They know God is their healer. They know God is their restorer.

They know they hold on to Him with everything. They have to worship. It comes from that deep relationship they have because they've hugged God, not physically, of course, but there's a relationship there.

And He will meet you right where you're at, but you must humble yourself and initiate and pursue. God will meet you right where you're at, but you must initiate. You must pursue it.

We would never have read about this person had he stayed with the pigs. Is that alarming or what? This incredible story we would never have even heard if this Son did not come to Himself. And again, signs of repentance.

Father, I have sinned against Heaven and in Your sight. I'm no longer worthy to be called Your Son, but the Father said to His servants, bring out the best robe and put it on Him and put a ring on His hand and sandals on His feet and bring the fatted calf here and kill it and let us eat and be merry for this Son who is dead is alive again. He was lost and He is found.

And you guys know, those of you who have returned, there's tremendous joy, isn't there? The sadness is replaced with joy. The uncertainty is replaced with grace. There's a zeal about life.

You're excited about life now. You're excited about God again. There's a joy that returns.

That's a beautiful thing is. It doesn't get darker. It gets lighter.

You feel free. Repentance restores. Repentance restores you because here's what happens.

Sin leads to shame and hopefully that will lead to repentance. God forgives and then restores. There's no other side way.

That's what God promises. That's what God promises. And I love when you see it.

We've seen it so much too. I know I sometimes focus on the negatives, but we see so much fruit, the beautiful fruit of repentance. We can have testimony after testimony after testimony after testimony of the beautiful fruit, the joy of repentance that takes place.

And here's the key, men. When the prodigal Father returns, everyone around them is revived. When the prodigal Father returns, everyone around them is revived.

I love to see women returning, but when the Father returns, you start to see the family come back to church. When the Father leads the way to the altar, that's powerful. When the Father apologizes and owns it, instead of complaining, why don't you thank your spouse or your kids for your life? Thank you for the life you've given me.

I just told Morgan that this week. I haven't mastered this, guys. It's a daily struggle.

And I don't know everybody here or listening, but if you're a prodigal father, you can fix a lot in your home. Because usually the man can wound the kids more than the wife. Usually the man can cause the family to go into disarray more than the wife.

And when the man returns, when the man returns, it's powerful. You guys know the stats on how many kids come to know the Lord when the Father becomes a Christian? I mean, it's like the percentage is so high. I don't know why.

I can't explain why. I just see it. And I know it.

It's a beautiful thing. And a verse I pull from sometimes or a chapter, I just want to read it to you. I think it'll encourage you.

Psalm 51. How many of you love Psalm 51? And this is David, I believe. I forgot to look at the introduction.

I think he just got spanked. My God, have mercy upon me, O God. This should be our prayer today as we leave.

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to your loving kindness, according to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions and my sin is always before me against you.

And you only have I sinned and done this evil in your sight. Behold, I was brought forth in sin and in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts.

Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. Look at all these words, whiter than snow, purge me, God forgive me my sin.

But it's coming from a contrite heart. It's not somebody fighting God, it's somebody owning their sin. And then you see what the byproduct is.

Make me hear joy and gladness that the bones you have broken may rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, Lord, and renew a steadfast, a right spirit within me.

Do not cast away your presence and do not take your Holy Spirit from me. Interesting, the Old Testament, God could remove the Spirit from you. I'm glad I don't live in the Old Testament.

But what the New Testament believer can do is quench and grieve that Spirit. And the same cry goes out, Lord, do not quench and grieve the Spirit. And then I love this one, restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me by your generous Spirit.

Return to me, he had joy and it left. Many men are upset, they're angry, they're just going through life. Women too, of course, that joy has left them because of sin.

And if you return, that joy will come back again. And God is generous, he will uphold you. I didn't have time to include it, but Psalm 32.3, listen to this.

When I kept silent about my sin, my bones grew old through my groaning all day long. When I kept silent, silence, unrepentance will lead to joyless living. You'll feel that you're getting older in the groanings because there's something that your body is just, physically, spiritually affects you physically.

Did you know that? Your spiritual health will affect you physically. I mean, we can get into lots of scriptures about that. Interestingly enough, as a side note, stress and worry and not being in right relationship with God releases a lot of something called cortisol.

Just Google the effects of high levels of cortisol on your entire body. I just did Thursday and it's not good. Everything's affected.

Now, we need that to run from a lion, but not to be constantly in stress and constantly in wound up. And I saw that my dad, even on Father's Day, I just remember it. It just, oh, it just breaks my heart.

He finally knew the Lord later, but my goodness. Granted, a pack of marble didn't help and a pot of coffee. Always stressed, always just high strung and unrepentant.

So men, women, kids, don't lose this opportunity this morning. I publicly confessed many times I needed to return and repent in my late 20s. Thank God.

The only reason I'm up here today is because of that repentance that happened 26 years ago. That's the only reason. And the only reason I'm able to still stand before you is trying to keep a repentant heart.

Wronging somebody, apologizing, trying to fix, trying to have a good attitude. And God will honor that. Joy comes back.

You want joy in your family again? Here's a tip. As you're driving home, I know it's going to be hard because of pride. As you're driving home, what did you think of a sad day? What did you think of a sad day? What did you think of a sad day? Let's talk today.

I don't know what you think. You see some good points. This is hard.

Do I need to work on anything? Because I want to apologize. I want to be a better husband. It's hard, isn't it? I'm opening myself up too.

Later today, Father's Day, right? I'm getting a list, I'm sure. But God, you can fix your families, but you have to own it. Watch the joy that that will bring.

Your wife might be going, yes, inside. Prayers have been answered.