Restored: The Son’s Story, The Church’s Calling

So I'm super excited to be here with you because

I do believe that God wants us to do some great

work together. But before we can do great work

together, I think you need to know who I am because

you can't really work with somebody if you don't

really know somebody. So I want to tell you a

little bit about myself. I know today's Father's

Day, but the message isn't really going to be

about Father's Day. It is about a father, a heavenly

one. who changed everything for me. And so that's

kind of my story. See, I'm a husband to an incredible

wife named Eliza, who's the reason I think people

keep me around. She's really awesome. And so

when I am not so awesome, they just remember

her, and they're like, okay, we can deal with

them. I'm the father of two crazy little boys

that are also awesome, but again, crazy, and

I'm sure you will hear them plenty. But I'm also

a man. who was once a boy, who grew up in a home

where marriage and fatherhood wasn't a present

reality. It's not something that I knew. And

I want to share that part of myself with you

because today's message is about how I found

a father who would never leave me and who would

never let me be lost. See, I found a father who

would eventually mold me into the man, the husband,

and the father that I want to be. And I say I

want to be because I'm not there yet, but I hope

to get there one day. I grew up in a home that

was, I would say, marked by dysfunction. My background

deals a lot with addiction and mental illness

and brokenness. And so that was home for me.

But somewhere around the age of eight, I decided

that I was just going to get up and go to church.

And my aunt had been going to the Church of Christ

there in town, and it was right across the street

from our apartment. So I just got up and went

to church. And before I could leave this place

that I'd never been before, before I could even

find my way out the door, I was met with love

and grace and embrace by people that didn't know

me, that had no reason to love me. They love

me. And because of those people, because of the

way that they accepted me, not for who I was,

but for who they saw me capable of being, because

of who they saw God working in and working on,

I'm here. And so that's me. And I'd love to tell

you a little more about that story. about my

story in individual conversations, and maybe

you'll hear more of it through sermons, but it's

a home without a father. And so a story about

a father who is present, who's not just present,

but who is loving, who is forgiving, who's gracious,

who's compassionate, who is caring, that's a

father that I want to know. It's not only a father

that I want to know, it's a father that I want

to be. And it's a father that I want to share.

And so in order to share that, I've got to share

this story that Jesus tells us in Luke chapter

Luke 15 · chapter mention

15. And so I know we just read part of it, but

I want to read more of it. And I like to read

entire passages. I think the scripture is good

enough on its own. And then for some reason,

you guys need somebody like me to kind of talk

to you about what the scripture says. So I'm

going to do that, but we're going to read the

scripture first. And so we find ourselves in

Luke chapter 15, verses 11 through 24. And this

Luke 15:11–24

is the story of the prodigal son. And if you've

been in church for a long time, you've heard

it. But I'm not going to assume that you have.

Because maybe there's somebody out here who's

never heard this story before. And you need this

message of hope. And so I'll read it. It'll be

on the screen. You can read along with me. There

was a man who had two sons. And the younger of

them said to his father, Father, give me the

share of property that is coming to me. And he

divided his property between them. Not many days

later, the younger son gathered all he had and

took a journey into a far country. And there

he squandered his property and reckless living.

And when he had spent everything, a severe famine

arose in that country, and he began to be in

need. So he went and hired himself out to one

of the citizens of that country who sent him

into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing

to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and

no one gave him anything. But when he came to

himself, he said, how many of my father's hired

servants have more than enough bread that I perish

here with hunger? I will arise and go to my father

and I'll say to him, Father, I've sinned against

heaven. And before you, I am no longer worthy

to be called your son. Treat me as one of your

hired servants. And he arose and he came to his

father. But while he was still a long way off,

his father saw him and felt compassion. and ran

and embraced him and kissed him. And the son

said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven

and before you. I'm no longer worthy to be called

your son. But the father said to his servants,

Bring quickly the best robe and put it on him

and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet

and bring the fattened calf and kill it and let

us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead.

And he's alive again. He was lost. And now he's

found. And they began to celebrate. And I love

the way that the New Living Translation said

it, and the party began. See, here we have a

son who's in this loving and caring home who

basically says, Dad, I wish that you were dead.

See, in that time, to ask for your inheritance

early would be like saying, I wish you were dead

so I could go ahead and have what's mine. And

I wish you were dead so that I could have what's

mine so that I could go do what I want. So I

can go do my own thing. And the father gives

it to him. And within just a few days, he takes

off. Before we continue, I want to pray. Because

I want us to hear this story. And I want us to

see two challenges in it. And we'll get to the

challenges at the end. And maybe as we go along,

you'll hear them. But I want us to pray that

as we discuss this story and we see these challenges.

That we see what God needs us to. And that our

hearts receive what God needs us to. Let's pray.

Father, I thank you for your word. And I do believe

that your word is good enough on its own to change

lives. I do believe that this story is one that

is transformational because I've seen it. I'm

an example of it. And God, I pray that for everyone

in this room, whether they've heard this story

a million times or this is the first time, message

from Jesus speaks. I pray that something is stirred

up in our hearts to receive the message that

you want us to this morning. God, speak through

me. More importantly, speak in the hearts of

the people in this room and help us to receive

the challenge in Scripture. God, we love you.

We praise you. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

So we fast forward a little bit and what we find

is that this son ends up at rock bottom. He ends

up sleeping in pigs. Verses 13 -16 show us how

he wasted that inheritance that his father gave

him. It says he squandered it. He used it for

reckless deeds. You can't even say he used it

for goods. It was reckless. It was pointless.

He probably, likely, used it on things that were

sinful. And even if those things weren't sinful,

the fact that he wasted this money, he wasn't

a good steward, I would say that that's sinful.

And what he finds himself doing is wishing that

he could eat what the pigs were eating. He wants

to have some of what they've got. And I don't

know about you, but I can't imagine ever being

in a situation where I look at pigs eating slop

and I'm like, yeah, that's what I want. I want

some of that. No. You can't imagine wanting garbage.

But he's there. He can't even afford to buy himself

a Happy Meal. He is wanting for scraps. Even

though he was gifted a great inheritance. So

now you get to verse 17. You see this guy. He's

recalling how well even the servants in his father's

household lived. He says, they've got plenty

of food and I'm stuck here perishing in hunger.

He says, how many of my father's hired servants

have more than enough? But I perish here with

hunger. See, he realizes he's put himself in

a pretty bad situation. He's in a bad spot. He's

far away from home. He's not with his loved ones.

He doesn't have anywhere to sleep. He doesn't

have anything to eat. He's got no point to his

life. He's hopeless. He's truly lost. And we've

all been there in some way, and if we haven't,

we will be, where we don't know what the point

of our life is, where we don't know if we've

got purpose, where we don't know if we have a

home, where we don't know where our next meal

is going to come from. We have no hope. We are

truly lost. See, we've all had that moment of

brokenness or emptiness, but what I want us to

see is, Two things. One, what the son does. And

two, the response. See, the son decides that

he's going to go home and he realizes he's not

worthy to be called a son. He's not worthy to

be considered a part of the family, but he could

be a servant. He could just be a hired hand and

maybe if he's a servant, he'll at least have

a place to sleep and he'll have a place to rest

his head and to be safe from all storms and maybe

from danger and he'll have some food. But he's

not worthy to be a son. And he says, I'm no longer

worthy because I've sinned against heaven and

before you. But I question if he ever was worthy.

And I question if I ever. was worthy because

the way that the father responds to his son from

the moment that his son asked for an inheritance

early the father gives it to him instead of saying

hey beat it because I got to tell you if one

of my kids comes up to me and says hey I know

you've got all this money which I won't but I

know you've got all this money saved up for me

I want it now. I don't want it when you die.

I'm going to look at him and say, kick rocks,

kid. You're not getting it now. You can wait

till I'm dead. But the father gives it to him.

And then what we'll see is the response of the

father gives him when he comes back to beg for

a spot as a servant. I don't think he was ever

worthy. And likewise, I don't think I have ever

been worthy. But the son returns. And this is

what we read in verses 20 through 24. We'll read

it again. And he arose and came to his father.

But while he was still a long way off, his father

saw him. He felt compassion. And he ran and he

embraced him. And kissed him. And the son said

to him, Father, I have sinned. Against heaven

and before you, I'm no longer worthy to be called

your son. But the father said to his servants,

Bring quickly the best robe and put it on him

and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet

and bring the fattened calf and kill it and let

us eat. And here's the key word for this morning.

And celebrate. For this my son was dead. But

now he's alive. He was lost. And he's found.

And they began to celebrate. Can you imagine?

It's not like the father hears a knock on the

door and he looks through the glass and he sees

it's his son. He's like, oh, here we go again.

And his son walks in and he asks for a spot as

a servant. He's like, yeah, you know, sure. Come

on in. We'll get you set up in the bunkhouse

with the rest of the servants. That's not the

response here. It's not a phone call. And he

says, Dad, I'm in a bad spot. Can you send somebody

to pick me up or can you send me some money to

get a plane flight home? And when I come back,

I'll work it off. That's not what this is. The

son comes walking up and the father runs to him.

He sees him. He runs. He doesn't just run. When

he gets there, he embraces him and he kisses

him. And he says, bring my best robe. Bring a

ring and put it on his hand. Bring the fattened

calf. Kill it. Let's throw a party. Let's celebrate

because my son is home. The father celebrates.

his return, and he restores his position as son.

That's the kind of father that I longed for growing

up. That's the kind of father I want to be. And

this is why the story changed my life at nine

years old. See, I was sitting in a chair at Gulf

Coast Bible Camp down in Lewsdale, Mississippi,

when a guy, and I don't even remember who it

was, but he's speaking. And the message he gives

is on the prodigal son. And I'm sitting there

as this kid that's angry. That's anxious. That

feels like the world's against him. That doesn't

know what hope means. He's never had this concept

of love and grace. And so I'm sitting there.

I'm mad at the world. And I hear this story about

a father who doesn't care how sinful. Doesn't

care how wasteful. Doesn't care how disrespectful

his son is. He runs. He embraces him. And he

restores him. And he celebrates his return. And

that story right there changed my life. Because

I heard a message. I said, it doesn't matter

if you've got a bad father. It doesn't matter

if you've got no father. You've got a father

that no matter what will love you and will receive

you and will restore you. And I saw that play

out in the church. I saw a church that when this

angry little kid walks in, they embrace him.

And when the kid's getting in fights on the church

van, they don't tell him he can't come back anymore.

Well, I did get suspended, and that's a story

for another time. But they love me through it.

And they said, he's rough around the edges, but

we can smooth that out a little bit. He doesn't

really love God. He doesn't really love people,

but we can work with that. I saw a church that

didn't see somebody that was lost, that didn't

see somebody that was different, that didn't

see somebody that was not like them or that was

a problem and say, we don't want any of that.

I saw a church that said, we'll embrace him,

we'll love him, and we're going to help him to

be restored. And when restoration happens, we're

going to celebrate. And that's crazy. It's crazy

that God. Can work through people. And often

God does some of his best work. Through people.

Specifically the church. And so if you're wondering.

Well how do we apply this? We don't care about

you. This is how we apply it. Because I share

this story. One because I feel like you need

to know. Who I am and where I come from. But

I also share this with you. Because I do believe.

that this is the way that I want to live. I want

to live a life that looks for the broken, looks

for the lost, and says, I love you, I've got

compassion for you, and I want to restore you.

I want to help you find the Father that restores

you. And when you're restored, I want to celebrate

that with you. Even though you're lost, I want

to embrace you. Even though you're far away,

I'm going to run to you. That's what I want to

do. And that's what I believe God wants us to

be as a church. It's not about this room. It's

not about us sitting here. It's about out there.

You notice the father's not sitting in his living

room on his recliner watching TV and he's expecting

the son to come in and beg for forgiveness. What

the father is doing is he's looking for his son.

How else does he see him from far away? He's

looking. He's actively seeking. And when his

son starts walking to him, he runs. He embraces.

He restores. And he celebrates. And that's what

the church is supposed to do. That's what we're

called to be. See, God wants us to join him in

seeking out the lost. He wants us to be a part

of running to the wayward. He wants us to embrace

and celebrate the broken when they return home.

And then God does. the amazing work of restoration.

He restores us. It's nothing we do. He restores

us. And He restores us not to be slaves, not

to be servants, not to be poor boys that sleep

in the bunkhouse, but He restores us to be children

that have a home in His house that have an inheritance

that is only found in... This message isn't about

biological fatherhood. It's not even about being

a man. This is a message that is a call to all

of us. Men, women, young, old. To reflect. To

be like the father. To run toward the wayward.

To embrace the broken. And to celebrate their

story. That's what we're called to do. That's

who we're called to be. And that's who I want

to be as a minister, as a man, as a child of

God. That's my hope for my life. And I believe,

just in conversations with some of you all, and

especially through conversations with Chad and

Phil, that that's what this church wants to be.

Is a church that seeks. That runs to the lost.

That embraces those that are coming to find salvation.

And that helps in the restoration. And that celebrates

the restored. And if that's not the church we

want to be, I'll leave. But I think I'm going

to find. And I think you'll find that that is

the church we want to be. And if it's not, I'm

going to tug and pull. And I know the elders

and all the leadership here, we're going to pull

as well. Because we want to seek. We want to

save. We want to celebrate. And so that's the

challenge for the church. But there's also a

challenge for the lost. This is also a call to

those who may feel like they're lost or they're

at the bottom. And so maybe you've been far off.

Maybe you've been searching. Maybe you are looking

for restoration or you're just looking for some

little bit of hope. See, the son, when he starts

thinking about going back home, he says, well,

maybe I can just be a servant and maybe the servants,

they've got bread. Bread is it's good, but bread

doesn't make a meal, does it? But sometimes that's

all we we're just hoping for a little bit. And

so if that's you, I want you to hear me when

I say this. The father in heaven is looking for

you. He's searching. And if you will just take

one step to him, he'll run to you. He'll embrace

you. And he wants to restore you. He doesn't

want to leave you in your lost state. He doesn't

want to let you stay broken. He doesn't want

to let you stay wayward. He doesn't want to let

you keep living recklessly. But he wants to see

you restored to his household. He wants to call

you son. Daughter. Heir to the kingdom. And so

if you're far off, just take a step. He longs

for you to return and He cannot wait to celebrate

your restoration. And I will speak for the church

here. We cannot wait to celebrate your restoration.

If you need prayers, if you need support, if

you want to take that step towards being... brought

back into the household of God. We can help you

with that here. I'll be up here. We're going

to sing a song of invitation. There are shepherds

in this room. There are people in this room that

want to pray with you, pray for you, to love

you, to embrace you, and that are looking to

celebrate your restoration. I pray as a church

that we will be the people that seek to restore.

and celebrate the restored. And I pray that you,

if you're out there and you're lost, that you

will start walking towards a Father who wants

to restore you and bring you back home.