HOW TO COME BACK TO THE FATHER?
IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO COME BACK TO THE FATHER.
No matter what’s going on in your life or where you might find yourself today, I want to encourage you that you can come back to the Father.
LUKE 15:1-2 NLT [1] Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. [2] This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people-even eating with them!
I genuinely believe the parable of The Lost Son isn’t really about The Lost Son but about a loving Father. I believe it's all about the heart of the Father.
THE LOST SON - LUKE 15:11-22,24-32 NLT
I don’t know why the son left, but I am also not sure why we do some of the things we do. I don’t understand why we drift, slip, fail, walk away, or give up. There’s never a good answer to the why questions.
When we begin to live a reckless life away from the Father, it will always end in ruin.
We will all encounter difficulties. It's what we do next that defines us.
There is not only one lost son in this story, but two. The eldest brother is lost, too; he's just lost in the house. Some people are lost from the house, and some people are lost in the house.
Remember, whenever you begin your comeback to God, there will always be an elder brother or someone on the porch trying to convince you that you can come home, but you cannot come back in the house until you meet their man-made expectations.
Jesus is the only one who can tell you the truth about ourselves and who He is. God wants to use people like you and me to show the world what we know about Jesus by having them see how we love the people around us.
Jesus leads people to Jesus.
This church building must be a beacon of hope to our city. We must be a lighthouse for those wanting to return to a loving Father like we have. He’s not just our father. He’s everyone’s Father.
Our church will return to the loving and accepting place the bible talks about by keeping our eyes on the Father instead of one another.
THREE BRAVE, SIMPLE STEPS ON HOW TO COME BACK TO GOD
ONE | REALIZE
LUKE 15:17 NLT "When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, 'At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!
TWO | REPEANT
LUKE 15:18-19 NLT [18] I will go home to my father and say, "Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, [19] and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant."'
THREE | RETURN
Luke 15:20-21 NLT [20] "So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. [21] His son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.'
This parable shows how far one can return from the mud and muck to recovery and restoration towards the loving Father.
Extravagant love is never wasted. Continue to run home to your loving father. He’ll meet you halfway.
LUKE 14:23 NLT So his master said, 'Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full.
Jesus never asked anyone to play it safe. We were born to be brave. If our life and identity are found in Jesus, we can redefine safe as staying close to Him.