S2E42 Prodigal

Do you know the Bible is God's Holy Word? Do

you know it is inspired, in errant, and infallible? If so, like, share,

subscribe and support this podcast. So we are Maranatha Ministries

and now Redemption draweth nigh. Welcome, Ladies and gentlemen, Welcome

to the broadcast. We are your host, Jose and Matthew.

Last time it was Jose that kind of took the helm,

and I guess he will be tonight as well. I'm

going to, so to speak, sit in a rumble seat,

and that's not a bad thing. I think that Jose

probably has some preaching to do to me as well.

So Jose, uh, this was your ideas, so get right

to it.

All right, Matthew.

We talk a lot about finding the lost sheep. We

know that's that's where the heart of the Father is.

If you are in a church, if you are in

the ecclesia, if you have been born again, Matthew, you

already have your marching orders. You already know what you're

supposed to be doing. You're already accounted for, and you

know it's it's it's almost like a it is like

a father who has a home and he's got all

of his kids in the house, tucked away, nice and tidy,

except for one, Matthew, who's out there, and he's he's

sitting up there, worried about him, worried where that where

that child is, you know, waiting.

For him to get home.

That really is to me the cerious example of how

God treats us as Christians.

Matthew.

If we're born again, if we've been raised in the church,

if we've been praying daily, if we've been reading our

Bible daily, we should know what we're supposed to be doing.

Matthew.

There really should not be there should not be any

falling away. Right, we know it does happen. We know

that there are temptations that are thrown against us. We

know that we are not perfect, and we will stumble.

But Matthew, you know we are found and the Father's

heart is set on that lost one, that one lost

sheet that we're supposed to be working to bring it

back into the fold. So we've done shows previously, Matthew,

on the parable of the prodigal son. Right, we've discussed this.

Uh, you know.

It's it's I'm sure it's rang true in a lot

of our our hearts and our ears as as to

our walk in the Christian life, how we returned back

into the church, how we came back to understanding what

our parents were telling us, what our elders were telling

us about how to be a Christian, going into the world,

falling into those things of the world, and then finally

realizing there's there's no life there, Matthew, and turning around

and going back home to the Father. You know, there's

there's that that that parable. It's just it's it's done

so much good and explaining the situation of a lot

of the people throughout history and and how they've been

able to come back to being born again Christians. So Matthew,

I I we've done, like I said, we've done. We've

done shows on the on this set of versus this

chapter before. But I I think we kind of looked

at it more.

So, I remember the big one we did. We kind

of looked at it more from the perspective.

Of that son that was with the father, that son

that that never left the father, and how he was

feeling when you've got this brother that comes back that

basically threw away everything the father gave him, ran away

from the family, and and now.

The father was expect accepting him with open arms.

And this, uh, this son, this eldest son that's just

sitting there and he's just Matthew, he's he's one step

away from.

I guess you could say blaspheming the father.

And basically, you know, I'm trying to think of the

way to put it, Matthew, but it's just it's just

this this this jealousy, this anger, this hatred for doing

everything right, but yet this other person that's that's done

everything wrong, and yet he still gets paid the same.

Wage as we do at the end of the day, right, Matthew.

And so that's I know we've done that episode before

and I think people should search that out if they can.

But Matthew, this time, I wanted to really look from

the perspective of that lost brother, what he went through,

how he got you know, ended up in the place

he was, and how he realized.

That he did have salvation.

Matthew, there was a way back to the father, that

he was willing to do anything to get back with

the father, that he was willing to.

Do any job whatever it is, to be accepted back

into the father.

And so you know, we we've looked at things at

this parable, Matthew from a prophetic perspective, and that's always

helpful and understanding what God's trying to tell us. But

maybe maybe now we need to take a closer look

at this from a oh A salvation perspective, Matthew, a

heart perspective. What it means, what it means to come back,

what it means to be humbled, what it means to

truly turn yourself away from the Father and be lucky

enough to be accepted back. So that's kind of what

we're out in the direction I want to take this, Matthew.

If you want to add something before before we read.

Just this that you know you're right about that first brother.

You know he he had a signed task, right, yes,

and he never really thought too much about everybody else's job,

did he right? And how many times are we stuck

in that same place? I mean, I certainly can testify

to that. I can testify to that that, you know,

God certainly does have me doing a certain thing, and

it is so easy for me to forget about all

the things that need to be done so that I

can do what I do, you know, And then you

have the second brother that comes back he's begging to

do anything, anything, He's begging to do anything. And it

amazes me how how the prodigal son was willing to

do every job, but the good Son was not. And

everybody needs to consider that, I think a little bit

as we go forward. You know, there's a whole lot

of things that need to be done in the Kingdom

of Heaven, and it takes more than one person to

do it. And you better be doing your part, no

matter if you think that part's good enough or not,

no matter if you think that part is important or not.

It needs to be done. And the problem is is

that the work of the kingdom is always going to

be done. And if you don't want to do it,

just take note. He could make you willing to do it.

Yeah, Matthew, just with you saying that we've we we

know the most effective Christians to speak to certain groups

of people are the Christians that understand those people the most. Right, So,

who's better able to preach to a drug addict, Matthew,

Me who's never touched drugs in my life, or someone

who's battled addiction and came back from it. Who's better

able to, you know, speak to someone who's who's maybe

being you know, been a victim of of of.

Sexual assault, Matthew.

You know, a Christian that's that's been protected from not

their whole life, or someone that suffered through that.

Matthew.

Again, we don't understand why certain things happen in our life.

We don't understand why, if we've been raised in our

church our whole life, why did we fall away? Why

did we walk away? But Matthew, we just have to

understand that whatever we've been through and whatever whatever experiences

we've had, we need to use that to further the kingdom.

We need to use that to find that lost one,

to speak to that lost one.

Matthew.

That's that's the only redeeming quality of of you know,

any any sins we've ever committed, Matthew. That's that's the

only the only way that that God can make that useful.

Uh.

You know, yeah, I know it hurts him to see

us sin, I know it hurts him to see us

walk away, Matthew. But it's but once you come back,

it has to be good for something. You can't you

can't let that that experience, you can't let that well

in a in a certain way, Matthew. I mean it's

it's kind of like an edification.

You didn't want.

You didn't want to learn it the right way. Well,

not going to learn learn the lesson the hard way, Matthew.

And that's sometimes that's rough, that's rough to take. But

like you said, God's ecclesia needs workers at this time, Matthew,

while there's still time to do that.

And so that's what I think. This parable really shows

us that.

We need to step up, we need to do our job,

whatever that is, Matthew, wherever God's put us, and hey,

and let's let's get ready for our redemption.

You know that that's a good way to that's a

good way to put it. You know, ladies and gentlemen,

you're in God's household and you need to know this

that God's household is going to be ran and if

you're not qualified to do something, you better watch out

because He'll mike you qualified. Now. I remember the first

time I ever had to do dishes, I of course

begrudgingly told my mother, well I don't know how to

do dishes. Guess what, Now I'm an expert at it. So,

you know, many of us need to understand that Jose's

exactly correct. Okay, if God needs ministers to minister to

heroin addicts, do not be deceived into thinking that he

does not have the ability to do so. Because he does.

This is why many people who were heroin addicts got saved.

So you all need to consider this right now. You

know the mess that you're in right now? Are you

so sure it wasn't the Lord's doing so you could

get qualified? Just just consider that because whatever it is

you're in, oh, it could have killed you, make no

mistakes about it. It could have killed you. So I

was back to you.

Yeah, Matthew, we can jump in and start reading it

if you want to want to read this for us,

and then we'll jump into it into discussing kind of

some of the things that set out to me when

I read through it.

Matthew, Okay, where am I going?

You're fifteen Luke fifteen that started verse eleven, all the

way to the end of that chapter.

Please all right, Luke. Chapter fifteen, starting in verse eleven.

Then he said 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. And not many days after,

the younger son gathered all together and journey to a

far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.

But when he had spent all, there arose a severe

famine in that land, and he began to be in want.

Then he wanted and joined himself to a citizen of

that country, and sent him into the fields to feed swine,

and he would gladly have filled his stomach with the

pods that the swine ate. And no one gave him anything.

But when he came to himself, he said, how many

of my father's hired servants have bred enough to spare,

and I perish with hunger. I will arise and go

to my father, and I will say to him, father,

I've sinned against heaven and before you, and am no

longer worthy to be called your son. Make me one

of your hired servants. And he arose and came to

his father. But when he was still a great way off,

his father saw him and had compassion and ran and

fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son

said to him, father, I have sinned against heaven and

in your sight, and I'm no longer worthy to be

called your son. But his 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 fat and calf here and

kill it, and let us eat and be merry. For

my son was dead and is alive again. He was

lost and is found, and they began to be married. Now,

his older son was in the field, and as he

came and drew near to the house, he heard music

and dancing. So he called one of the servants and

asked what these things meant. And he said to him,

your brother has come, and because he has received him

safe and sound, your father has killed the fatic calf.

But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore

his father came out and pleaded with him. So he

answered and said to his father, No, these many years

I have been serving you, I have never trangressed your

amendment at any time, and yet you never gave me

a young goat that I might make merry with my friends.

But as soon as this son of yours came, who

has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you have killed the

fatic calf for him and he said to him, son,

you are always with me, and all that I have

is yours. It was right that we should make merry

and be glad where your brother was dead and is

alive again and was lost and is found.

Well, you can't help but see all the prophetic implications

in that parable, right, Matthew. That's just that's just laced

with boy, It's just it's the perfect parable that sums

up the Gospels, perfect parable that sums.

Up well, what is to come, Matthew.

I mean, and we've, like I said, we've discussed that

before in previous episodes. But again, let's let's let's focus

on this lost brother, this prodigal son that that's uh,

he likes that people like to call him. The first word,

Matthew that caught my attention when I read through this

is in verse thirteen, that word gathered. And the reason

for that is because we've discussed that word in the

Book of Isaiah and and lots of lots of the

prophetic books. We just went through the song the look

of a saff, which we know asaf does mean to gather,

So obviously that this word really caught my attention, Matthew.

And in the Greek.

Here it's g sixty three sinegagon, right, which sounds a

lot like synagogue. We've kind of uh, you know, it's

it's throughout the Bible, this word right, but this specific spelling,

Matthew caught my eye and it's in in It shows

up one other time in the Bible Matthew two, verse four. Okay, Well, no,

I'm sorry, Matthew. This is not this is not the

one that I had found. Let me jump over here

real quick. I'm getting two different two different spellings here.

I'll give me one second and I'll I'll find it,

all right, Yep, that's it, Okay, Okay, now I know,

and now I know what happened, Matthew. It's the right verse, okay,

all right. So I found it in Matthew two verse four, Okay,

and it says here. I'll start in verse three. When

Herod the King had heard these things, he was troubled,

and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered

all the chiefs, priests, and scribes of the people together,

he demanded of them of where the Christ should be born. Well,

this gathering together, Matthew, of the chief priests and the scribes, Okay,

This is not the gathering together of the ecclesia, the

gathering together of the woman, right, Matthew. So you know,

to me, this caught my eye because this is kind

of showing us.

Well who it's really talking about, Matthew.

It's talking about those Yeah, this is talking about the loss, okay,

but this is also getting pointed in, Matthew, at those

at those bad shepherds, At what where their responsibility lies

in these people going astray? Okay again, we've discussed this

antinomianism in the church, but it's always been there, Matthew.

It's all You've always had bad shepherds preaching this and

excusing these actions. You know, whether whether it be a

bad shepherd that tells you, you know, don't worry about it, Matthew,

live your life. When you get old and you get

ready to die, just just you know, say your confession

and and hey, you'll be in heaven. Don't worry about it,

right or or or present day. You know, Hey, it's

it's free will whatever you want to do. You've you've

you've been saved, so now you're free to uh do

what you want. So to me, Matthew, like I said,

this word said, you know, we all recognize the word synagogue, right,

it shows up throughout the Bible. But just this specific spelling,

this specific you know, tense and all that of this word,

and where how it only shows up one other time

in the Bible, and description of these chief priests and

scribes that are gathered together specifically to go against the Messiah,

specifically to tell the king heard the king where that

where the christ Child is, and we all know what he.

Needs to do when when he finds that information.

So, Matthew, if you want to, if you want to

comment on on that word that that caught my eye.

So the reason why Cynegal is here is because you didn't.

You need to understand he gathered together his cohorts. This

is why verse twenty nine says what it sets now,

ladies and gentlemen, if you've ever heard this preach, and

nobody ever plugged this in for you, I'm sorry that

you're such way behind on the curve. This is why

the brother said. So he answered and said to his father, Know,

these many years I've been serving you, I never try

and disgress to your commendment at any time, and yet

you never gave me a young goat to do what house.

Yep, to make marry.

Now finish it, yep, with my friends. Yes, you need

to understand by using this Greek word in this tense,

in this form, you're supposed to know that ladies and gentlemen.

This this son took some employees with him.

If you didn't see that, I'm sorry about that. This

is why the brother was angry, because the father had

never give him a fatted castle that he could celebrate

with his friends and ladies and gentlemen. This is the

part of the Hebrew culture at the time in question.

It was the hired hands that was the friends of

the servants. Jose. Was there enough sons to bring in

the harvest, no, Matthew. Was there enough sons to thresh

the weak? No, Nojse, there wasn't. This took many hired servants.

It took many, and you're supposed to know. That is

why that word is there in the Greek in verse thirteen. Okay,

what do you think he gathered together? It wasn't junk people. Okay,

So Jose beyond with me. The first time you heard this,

what do you think he gathered together all of what?

Well, but the first time reading through you know you're

thinking just the possessions as inheritance that his father gave him.

Nope, right, no, it's not. This is the root word

for assembling together, gathering together in English, this would be huddle.

You know what huddle means, right, Yes, So, ladies, Jennen,

you're supposed to know that's why the brother was upset

that the dad would never give him a fatic half

so that he could party with his his favored hands.

This was the favored ranch hands. Do you understand that

that language? You need to understand that this was literally

a mini empire here. This man and had great wealth.

He divided his his his possessions, gave half to his son.

And if you need a hint, you ain't got a clue.

It never phased the estate, did it, Jose? No, it

never phased the estate. Yet the good son was not

allowed to party with the with his uh, with his

favored work hands. That's what's being stated here. So this

is the real question. You need to understand it. These

people that were gathered that went with him on this journey,

who was the only person that knew where they were at? Jose,

I don't know, Matthew, that's right. You don't know, because

nobody does. Because the only person who could have known

was the person that paid for the traveling expenses and

the lodge until it ran out right, and then these

friends would have had to go find other work, and

being being a common laborer, they would have went to

a similar estate and ask if they could help thresh

their weak and bring in their crops, and YadA, YadA, YadA. Correct,

So the only one who knew was the prodigal son.

Now that's why I said what I said before we

started reading God's work. You know, in that Heidi hole

that you were in, that you found yourself in and

you cried out to God. You aren't in that Heidi

hole alone? Were you hosting?

No?

You know, it's a funny thing. I have a particular

experience with this, having volunteered at Shepherd Community because it's

a homeless shelter. Okay, so believe me when I say

it is amazing how the only way that people can

get addicted to drugs is by hanging out with other

people that are addicted to drugs. Right, Jose, Right, if

you want heroin, there's only waiting way to get heroin.

You can't go to let's say, if you work at

a grocery store, none of those people can get you heroin,

can they? No, they don't know where they get it,

do they?

Jose?

Right?

And the same thing goes on and on and on.

If you're an alcoholic, you obviously freak with a bar, right, Jose, Yes,

so our bars ran off of one customer at a time. No, Matthew,

you need a lot of That's right, That's right. This

is what is embedded in this text. That's why I

stated what I stated that. You know what, if God

needs to save some heroin addicts and you're refusing to

do what God wants you to do, by God, he

can make you qualified. Oh yes he can. I'm here

to tell you many, many, many of the recovering pastor's

kids I've met in my life. You know, if you're

not aware of it, pastors kids have some of the

worst reputations, don't they hold? Yes, And it amazes me

how one name comes to mind right off the top

of my head. A young man at the time. Of course,

now he's would in his forties at least. David Huff.

I was raised with him in the church. Boy did

he go south for the winter? He decided to voluntarily

flush his life and praise the Lord that the Lord

stuck his hand down in the septic tank, grabbed David

by the hair of the head, and he aanked him out.

And that's a fact. And guess what the things that

David had gotten himself into. No one could save those

people like David could. So, ladies and gentlemen, if God

needs workers in a homeless shelter, he can get them

one way or the other. And you need to know

that once you've been born again, once you've been born again,

you need to understand that God can make you qualified

to do anything. Let's ask Jose. It's probably amazing how

many things you didn't know how to do that your

mother qualified you for.

Amen, yep.

And most of the things you didn't.

Like did you Nope, not at all.

It astounds me how Christians don't think that God can

do that. Yet he routinely does it and has done

it since this very parable was by the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is normally what he does. I mean right now,

I know of a great, big ministry here in my

area for people that have been trafficked. Well, guess what, Jose,

guess what she was saved from that's right. She had

been human trafficked. She was a well, you can't call

her a prostitute, ladies and gentlemen, because the Baker gang

just I mean, she basically went to party or to party,

and sometimes, of course she entertained senators, she entertained congressman.

So I guess you would call her a call girl, right,

I guess she would. I guess that's a proper term

for it. But she did not live her own life.

And she lived that life because they told her, if

you don't do this, we will murder your family, and

they had tortured people in front of her, giving her

an example of what would happen to her brother, her mother,

and her father. So she was actually living at home

and nobody knew this was going on. These bikers would

come and pick her up from school or wherever, and

her mom and dad never even knew what was happening.

So right now she heads up a ministry for people

that's been trafficked. So, ladies and gentlemen, I'm not telling

you what could be or what might be. I'm telling

you what is. I'm telling you that if the Lord

Jesus Christ has put on your heart to minister to

I don't know, underprivileged kids. I suggest you get busy.

I suggest you get busy. So this is an aspect

that people just don't realize what's going on in this parable.

They just well, it's because they don't want to know. Okay,

they don't really want to know what's going on here.

And it took Jose looking into the Greek to figure

it out. Real It didn't take it long. But that

was why verse twenty nine was always there. That's why

the older brother was upset.

So Jose back to you, all right, Matthew, we're gonna

stay in that same verse. We're gonna look at G

eight eleven. The word is prodigal. In this translation, sometimes

you'll see the word riotous. But in the New Testament, Matthew,

there's a similar word eight ten. That's just the version,

the noun version of this word that I want to

take a look at, and I see exactly what this

prodigal living is that we're talking about here. So the

first place that took me was Ephesians five eighteen, and

I'm going to read from verse seventeen. Therefore, do not

be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

And do not be drunk with wine and which is dissipation,

but be filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking to one

another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and

making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks

always for all things to God the Father, in the

name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another

in fear of God. Okay, Matthew, So that's in verse

eighteen in this translation, it's that word dissipation G. Eight

eight eight ten. So right away, Matthew, we're seeing the

contrast with what the prodigal son, how his attitude, how

his ungratefulness for the things that he had with his

father caused him to seek more riches, caused him to

seek the wonders of the world, right, the treasures of

the world, the pleasures of the world.

So to me, Matthew, it's just.

Sometimes you know, we can, you know, and you're probably

a better example of this that that you know than myself, Matthew.

But you know, when when you have when when you're

you've just said yourself, you live on the poverty level, right,

and so sometimes boy, that's hard, Matthew, that's hard. You know,

knowing that there's more out there, there's and that's hard

knowing that there are that you have the capability of

getting more.

But can can we be thankful, Matthew with what we have?

Can can we.

You know, understand that God has us in the place

where he wants us to be.

Can we understand that?

Yeah?

We can't.

You know, kill a fatted calf every weekend, Matthew. But boy,

what what what God provides us is what we need,

because it's real, it's real tempting, Matthew, to to throw

to just to throw to be ungrateful in the first place,

and to throw that all the way trying to seek more.

And I that's what I've seen a lot of the

Christians that have fallen away. That's what I've seen them

do that forward. It's it's a lot about the self.

It's a lot about what I want. My will be

done it instead of I will be done, Matthew. And

so that's the that's one of the biggest trappings that

I see that happens among Christians. And right away where

when you look up this word in the Greek, you know,

but they're taking me there, Boy, it shows me, it

shows me the dangerous Matthew of this prodigal living, this

riotous living, or where the root of that actually is.

You're absolutely right. The you know, I've got to give

you an example of this because I hate it every

time I see it. Here locally there is a bank

I guess called Thriveant or something like that. I see

people wearing these shirts all over town all the time.

That is a corruption of the old saying. You know,

the the God likes saying is give generous. But this

has been corrupted. And the advertisement for this thrivant bank

or whatever thriving investment is live generously. And that's really

what this is. This word in Greek means it means

to live excessively, to live life more than is of want.

That's that's what it's talking about in Greek. And it's

hard to translate into English. But the best way for

us to you know, look at this is extravagantly you

want to live more? When that is Antichrist. Christ is

just the opposite. He wants you to give more. He

wants you to live your life for other people. You

are supposed to be integrated into the body of Christ.

You are supposed to be living and have the intent

that the body grows and the body might experience life

and experience it more fully. This, of course, is grossly known,

and most of the clergy today gnashed her teeth at

the Acts church, right.

Right.

I mean, there's no way Satan shepherds and their corrupt

clergy would ever want the church to function like the

church functioned in the Book of Acts. They gnashed their

teeth at that. And Hoseannah and I have talked about

this before. If God was to perform a miracle through you,

ladies and gentlemen, I need me and jose need to

make sure you understand. You better not tell your church

leaders what you've done. Now. I wish this wasn't true,

but you need to know. Miracles have happened, at least

I've had report of it, and I have been told

they were kicked out of the church, and you need

to know that. I mean, especially when it comes to

healing or something, I mean, something miraculous. I'm here to

tell you the clergy will kick you out of the church.

They will, So you need to be You need to

be aware that God wants you to live for his body.

You are a member in his body and it should

be you're wanting your desire not for yourself but for

the body of Christ to thrive. And you can come

to no other conclusion having read the Book of Luke

and the Book of Acts, because you know, if you

didn't know they were written by the same or written

to not only by the same person, but ooh, the

same person, I guess you're probably way behind the curve.

But y'all need to know that the author of Luke

is the author of Acts, and it says that in

both books, so you know, once you realize what's going

on in this chapter in Luke, I know it can

be concerning to people that, well, Jose, how many times

have we read this chapter? Yeah?

I couldn't even say, Matthew.

I mean, it's one of the chapters that you almost

known by heart because you've been reading it since you

were a kid.

You know that's right, And yet it's guaranteed we shared

things tonight that most people never heard of was in

this chapter. And you know this is the honest truth.

And I'm sorry about that. But does anybody realize that

this chapter starts out with the lost Sheep? And I'm

not sure why you would segregate this in your mind

that Jesus was segregating these things. I mean, ladies and gentlemen. Look, Luke,

Chapter fifteen is first and foremost about the lost sheep,

and then it's about the lost coin, and then it's

about the prodigal son, the lost son. It's about the

lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. So

I don't know how you could walk away from this

chapter without perfect clarity about what has value in the

Kingdom of Heaven. I just I don't know how you

can come away with this chapter without thoroughly understanding God's

thoughts on the matter.

Jose All right, Matthew, So sticking on that same word G.

Eight ten, I want to jump over to Titus chapter one.

This word shows up in verse six, but I'm going

to read read from verse five for us. For this reason,

I left you in crete that you should set in

order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in

every city, as I commanded you. If a man is blameless,

the husband of one wife, having faithful children, not accused

of dissipation or insubordination. For a bishop must be blameless

as a steward of God, not self willed, not quick tempered,

not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money,

but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober minded, just, holy,

self controlled, holding fast the faithful word as he has

been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine

both to exhort and convict those who contradict. Now, the

reason why this stood out to me, Matthew, is if

I put the father and the two sons into these verses.

Oh man, you have a father.

Matthew, you that it is not eligible to be an elder,

not eligible to be a bishop, no matter how faithful

he is, no matter how righteous his elder son is,

no matter how how well his household obeys the commandments

of the Lord. He just he doesn't qualify, Matthew.

And so.

If you could to me when I when I read that,

I see the anger from that elder brother of what

this younger brother has caused his father. The the the

whether it be shame, whether it be you know, knowing

the qualifications that the father has in the community, and

we can say in the church, right, we'll put it

in the example of the church. But he cannot be

an elder, Matthew, because he has this one son that's

being riotous, that's being prodigal.

Boy, Matthew.

That's just to me that that just kind of puts

in perspective what the ramifications of that son returning to

the father, what that actually means.

It's uh, it's.

Really brings into a lot of clarity what what's going

on in that household and with the friction between the

two brothers.

The loss of prestige. Yes, you know, I doubt few

people could have put those two things together.

But when you do, when you see that Greek word

and you see it pop up in by this chapter one,

verse six, it'll make you.

It'll make you get real quiet. It'll make your spirit

become very still, you know, because when a Christian does this,

you have shamed the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

That's what you've done. And yet you know you spoke

to it earlier, Jose. You know, it's we don't know

how many actual churches are actually preaching this, but it

is the vast majority of them that are teaching lawlessness.

You can just party your way right into heaven, right.

I mean they have different different things, different labels, different

things they call it, but it's basically this attitude of

free grace once you once you become a Christian, doesn't

matter what you do. And this is really impactful when

people are raised to think that, oh no, it's even

better than that. Because you were dedicated as a baby

and you were baptized as a baby into the church,

you're good. I mean, you literally never had to do nothing.

Yet I'm here to tell you this is actually crushing evangelism.

These people actually think that are running these churches. They

actually think that if you weren't christened, if you weren't dedicated,

or whatever it is your church calls it, maybe your

church might call it going through confirmation. If you didn't

do that, you're damned. There's no reason to evangelize. It

has killed evangelism in America and in the West altogether.

I'm sorry I said that. Oh it's just not America,

it is the West. And you know, it's funny how

born again Christians don't know that's what actually is going

on in the church, because it'll make you mad, it

will make you upset when these people refuse to even

reach out to the lost, underprivileged children. They won't do

it because they firmly believe, well, if they weren't baptized

into the church when they were born. There's no sense

of agelizing them. Now with that being said, you know,

you know, you have a point that the patience of

God runs out, and you need to understand that, you do.

You need to understand that it's not a joke. And

it's amazing how many people just don't get this when, hey,

haven't you read the Book of Revelation. I mean, surely

you know. I mean, this is straight out of the

mouth hearken to my voice. This is the mouth of

the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the Gospel, true Revelation,

Chapter three, verse five. He whoever overcomes shall be clothed

in white garments. And I will not blot his name

from the Book of Life. But I will confess his

name before my Father and before his angels. If you

need a hint, you ain't got a clue. The Lord

Jesus Christ can erase whatever name out of the Book

of Life he so chooses or cares to do. Did

you not know that? And I'll tell you why. You know,

we have shared this on this program many times, but

it is really is one of the easiest ways to

figure out what's going on it's first John, chapter three,

verse ten. You need to figure it out. Okay. In

this the children of God and the children of the

Devil are manifest. Whoever does not practice righteousness, it's not

of God. Nor is he who does not love his brother.

Why is that last phrase in there, Jose? What on

earth does loving your brother have to do with it? Right,

ladies and gentlemen, you need to know why the ten

commendature in place. Okay. If I love Jose, the last

thing on earth I'm going to do to him is

lie to him. Okay. If I love Jose, the dead

last thing I'm going to do to him is steal

from him. You need to understand what is being implied

in the Greek here, and you all just need to

know this. If you're living like the devil, you shall

have the Devil's do Let me say that again. I

don't care if you're a Baptist or a Wesleyan or

a Nazarene, or a Lutheran or a Presbyterian. If you

live like the devil, your name will be blotted out

from the Book of Life. That's what the Lord Jesus

Christ is said. Because you are a child of the devil.

A child of God practices righteousness. What's righteousness? I'll tell

you the cliff Notes Virgin, write this down. The cliff

Notes version of righteousness is the Ten Commandments in the Beatitudes.

That's what it is. That is righteousness in a nutshell,

and it is everything but living your life for you

in excess, because if you're living your life extravagantly, you're

living like the son of the devil.

Jose Yes, absolutely.

So you need to understand there's an event horizon in

front of you, and I'm here to tell you need

to get back where you belong because if you're living

outside of the Covenant, outside of the Covenant, you will die.

Let me say that again. If you're living outside of

the New Covenant, do you know where the New Covenant is?

By the way, do you know it's not in the

New Testament? You know it's in the Old Testament. It's

in Jeremiah chapter thirty one. That's the New Covenant. And

if you're living outside of that covenant, you will die

outside of it. So you need to get back where

you belong at breakneck speed. By the way, I'll just

give you a bonus. If nobody ever knew to study

the Greek, or maybe take a look at the Hebrew

here in the deltch New Testament. You need to figure

out why the father fell on his son's neck. Did

you catch that? Most of you didn't catch it, did you?

You never even knew that verse existed there about the

prodigal son. You never hearken to the Lord's voice. I'll

read it for you again. Okay, everybody's just kind of

what what's Matthew talking about? I know what it says.

I don't think I know. I know what it says.

It says that when the father saw him, When the

father saw him, he did what He fell on his neck.

Why is it saying that you need to get back

to the covenant. You need to get back to the covenant.

This is what verse twenty says of Luke, Chapter fifteen.

It says it for a reason. It says it for

a reason. And if you ain't got a hint, you

ain't got a clue. 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. I strongly suggest

that everybody here do a Greek word study on that.

I'm not joking with you. You need to figure out

what's going on in this verse. You need to get

back to the Covenant. You need to get right with

God because you are known by him. Now take note

the places where this prodigal son went. The only people

that is mentioned that he was entertaining was harlots. Now

there's no harlots in the covenants. Look, I beseech you

that if you, at any point in your life was

called the son of God, I strongly suggest you get

back to it. There's one way or the other. It's

gonna cost you your neck.

Here, I got one more verse to cover tonight that's

going to push us into the prophetic kind of what

you were discussing there. And when I read this, I

want people to remember what Jesus said in Matthew twenty

four about what is to come. So I'm going to

jump to one Peter, chapter four, verse four, but I'll

start in verse one for us. Therefore, since Christ suffered

for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the

same mind, For he who has suffered in the flesh

has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live

the rest of his time in the flesh for the

lust of men, but for the will of God. For

we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing

the will of the gentiles, when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries,

drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they

think it's strange that you do not run with them

in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.

They will give an account to him who is ready

to judge the living and the dead. For this reason,

the gospel is preached also to those who are dead,

that they might be judged according to men in the flesh,

but live according to God and the Spirit. Now, Matthew,

we've discussed many times how it'll be brother against brother,

mother against daughter, father against son when the birth pangs begin,

that it will be those that you sit next to

in the church that are gonna look at you when

you are trying to do the fruits of the spirit, Matthew,

and they're gonna blasphem against you and say that you

should be doing the fruit the deeds of the flesh.

That they're going to say that those are holy and

not the fruits of.

The spirit, Matthew.

Again, Jesus describes it many ways, the Bible describes it

many ways, how those birth pangs are going to be.

But essentially, you are the one that are going to

be that they're gonna want to nail on that cross, Matthew,

because you are trying to do the will of the

Father and not.

Your own will.

And so, boy, Matthew, we didn't even get out of

the first stanza. But the very fact that just those

few words that we've covered, it runs the whole gamut,

and it leads us.

To the prophetic.

It leads us to the will of the Father, you know,

it leads us to the Ten Commandments, Matthew, it leads

us to the Beatitudes. It shows us what we're supposed

to be doing as Christians, what we're not supposed to

be doing. It just runs the whole gamut. And again,

we only got out of the first stands of Matthew.

We didn't even cover. I've got more words that I

want to cover, but we didn't even get a chance

to because there's just so much and so much that

needs to be shared with the ecclesia, with the church.

So you know, Matthew, if you want to comment on

that last set of verses there, but to me, yes, Matthew,

you need to be saved. Yes, you need to accept

Jesus Christ as your savior.

Yes.

In doing that, we are supposed to go out and

seek the lost. We are supposed to be doing the

will of the Father. We are supposed to be doing

his work. Those all those things are.

True, Matthew.

But we know prophetically we're supposed to be doing the

will of the Father, and not our will, not not

the not playing with harlots, not you know, doing the

will of the gentiles, because we know what that means prophetically, Matthew.

We know those birth things are going to begin, and

if we're caught up in that stuff, then again we're

going to be one of those that will lose their head, Matthew.

You'll be in those bad shepherd words. Who's got to

make an accounting for what they've been preaching and teaching.

Because that first Peter chapter four tells us that we're

supposed to be preaching the gospel, Matthew, And if we're

not preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, then

we're preaching a different gospel, and we will be held

accountable for that.

I hope you heard that. I mean, the only thing

I can say is I hope you heard that. And

you know Jose is correct in this. We didn't even

scratch the surface of what God is trying to show

you in the Parable Prodigal Son. I mean, I never

even spoke one word about Hebrew. And I'm here to

tell you that if you've called yourself a Christian at

any point in time, you don't have a whole lot

of it, because one way or another, God's will is

going to be done. It's either be gonna be done

with you would make no mistakes. It will most certainly

be done without you, and at your expense. Now I'm

going to close with this. This is this is my

closing comments. There. There is a Greek word that is

in One Peter chapter one, and it means to be reborn.

H The only way you can translate this word into

English is to use that word reborn. Now, the Lord

Jesus Christ, he told you you must be born again.

That's how you come out of your sin. This word

here is only it's used twice, and it's only in

this chapter, and it is to be reborn. So I'm

going to start here. It's in this first verse, verse three.

I'm just going to read a few verses. Blessed be

the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who,

according to his abundant mercy, has begotten us again. That's

the word in Greek, reborn to a living hope through

the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance,

incorruptible and undefiled, and that does not fade away, reserved

in heaven for you who are yet, by the power

of God through faith, for salvation, ready to be revealed

in this last time. I don't need to say anything more,

and you need to know. If you've perfessed to the

name of the Lord Jesus Christ, you better get back

to that covenant. And I need it break next speed

before you run out of time, because I don't know

anybody more qualified than me to make this statement. You

are running out of time, jose Please pray us out

of here.

Dear Heaven, they Father whom we love and serve. I

thank you for allowing us to gather together. I thank

you for allowing us to share your word. I thank

you for giving us ears to hear, and I used

to see what you have left us from a lenny

in your word, Father, Lord, I pray that this parable

that it reaches our hearts, that we understand that in

playing the prodigal son, we are not doing your work, Father,

We are not searching for that lost sheep, because that

is what's most important to you. That when we play

the harlet, Father, we can't we can't preach the gospel correctly,

we can't rescue those family members who are lost. Father,

we asked that the Holy Spirit touch us remind us

daily of what we're supposed to be doing. The prayers

were supposed to be praying the Word, we're supposed to

be reading the walk we're supposed to be walking, because Father,

we know that the time is short, and if we

truly love our brothers and sisters, if we truly want

them to be saved, we need to be about your work, Father,

and doing your will, as the verses that we've read

today show over and over. So Father, I please ask

that you help the ecclesia in doing this. You help

the ecclesia endure any trials and tribulations that they are

going through currently, because we know that we must prepare

for greater trials and tribulations. And above all, Lord, we

thank you for giving us your son and giving us

a hope and a chance to return to you Father.

So we pray all these things in the name of

your son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen, Amen

and Amen.

Until next time, ladies and gentlemen, God bless, God speed.

Thank you for listening to Marinath the Ministries with Matthew Miller.

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