Summary: Encounters with Christ are opportunities to begin again.

Luke 15:11-

PRAY

If there is 1 thing About the Devil that YOU & I Know – He wants to Take Everything He can from us

If there is 1 thing About Jesus that YOU & I Know – He wants to RESTORE or GIVE BACK to Us

Today – Jesus – Restorer of Dreams

JC Often Taught in Parables...

Stories within Story

The Story was Often Used to Tell another Story within – Often a Story with Spiritual Truth to Insight

Dealing with Life at a Higher Plane or Dimension

HAVE YOU Ever Seen Something Restored? What was it?

I’ve seen – Cars...Boats...Guns...Furniture...Artwork...

It’s amazing to See a "BEFORE" & "AFTER" of Something that HAS Been in the Hands of a MASTER

RESTORATION has 2 PARTS

Removing the PAST...OLD...

Effect of Non-Use...Use...Abuse...Neglect...Time...

RESTORING to LIKE NEW CONDITION

Where the IMPRINT of What has Been IS No Longer Visible

Where the ITEM is now Able to be what it had been before!!

JC is in the RESTORING BUSINESS

He can Take Shattered Dreams & Breath Life Back into them...

DREAMS – VISION...HOPE...FUTURE...

Can be Broken...Beat Up...Lost...

JC – Can Come into your life & Remove what’s on them & make them real again!

About the SCRIPTURE

In a NUTSHELL – The Man thought that Life Without the Father Would be Better than Life with the father

TODAY – Speak Specifically to those that – FOR WHATEVER reason – Have tried to live life without GOD

WHETHER – A Day...Month...Year(s)...Season...

LONG ENOUGH to Have Learned that SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT...

Life is not Working like it is Planned...

The Parable has 3 Main Characters in it

Father - Father is God/JC...

The Son that Ran away – You & ME...

The Son that Stayed & gets mad at the Restoration – That Might be You or Me...

Parable –

IS About RESTORATION...LOVE...

Youngest Son – Takes his Inheritance & Leaves Home...

i.e. Took the Money & Ran...

We don’t know why he wanted the money or why he had to leave – but he did...

v. 13/14

He wasted his living on partying...spent all...famine...he was in WANT...

NOTE –

The MONEY (BLESSINGS) were ONLY Possible Because of RELATIONSHIP with the FATHER

OR – THE BLESSING was a Result of Being in Relationship with the Father

YOU SEE – THOSE Same Blessings Don’t Mean a whole Lot when we aren’t in relationship with the FATHER

For then – we have to find happiness...contentment...peace...LIFE in & Through those things –

It doesn’t work!!

HAPPENED? HAPPENS?

The Blessing of Relationship with the Father CAME (comes) to an END...

THE Consequences of Not Being with Him – BEGAN (begins)...

REAP...SOW...

Time is not the FOCUS Here – Truth is the Focus...

If we cast the seed into the ground – it will grow...

FOCUS – is that WE WILL COME TO INHERIT the Result of Being out of Relation with the FATHER

IRONY – The Father Never runs out of the Very thing the son took with him...

Do you SEE IT?

Living in a PIGPEN...eating with the Pigs...

"I’ll go home...servant to my father...

Where’s his DREAM now?

Tarnished...Not shiny any longer...Gone...

Has he hit BOTTOM?

From a Palace to a Pigpen???

I Dont Know WHERE bottom is, but I know what it is.

BOTTOM is –

Where an Awakening happens & we see the great difference Between – where we are & where we are supposed to be...

Where You see the Gap in your life – because of living without the Father...

Where you Determine to Get back to where you Belong with the Father...

Where you Determine that you have Had enough...Lost enough...

Where You Get up & Being the Journey to the father...

"I’ve Sinned"

SIN is Simply Missing the Mark...

Sin will Cost you more than You Budgeted...(Time...Life...)

Keep You Longer than You Planned on Staying...

Take you where you never Expected to Go...

v. 17

"Came to Himself"

He was not Himself...

He was out of his mind while away...

He was beside himself...

"Be sober..."

NOTE –

When Things are NOT Going as Planned – It’s a Great Time to Ask – WHY NOT!!!

As he walked back...

He had LOW Expectations...Hopes...Dreams...

His Father Didn’t see it that way...

v. 20

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 am 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 my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.

IN a Moment – HE was Restored...

ALL the Stuff – TARNISH on Him (PIGPEN) was Washed off him...

WHO HE USED to be was RESTORED UPON HIM...

ROBE...RING...SANDALS...

ROBE – Honor...Royalty...

RING – Restoration of Position....Signet ring...

SANDALS – Restoration of Position...Not a servant – SON...

IMMEDIATELY – His dreams were Restored....

Hope Again...

Future...

Past was Taken Off his Life...

Future was Placed Upon Him again...

From the PIGPEN to the PALACE...

His Dream were RESTORED...

ALTAR

TODAY – The Great Master – JC can Do the Same for You

RESTORE

DREAMS

That Have been Shattered...

That have Been Lost to Time...Damage...

Dreams that were Lost From being out of Touch with the Father...

Dreams that were Lost while Living a Life of SIN

HOPE

That went with the DREAM...

That seems so hard to find now...

RELATIONSHIP

The Father is Looking for you...

He will accept you as you are – with the STUFF from your PIGPEN all over you...

He will Call for a Celebration...

ROBE of RIGHTEOUSNESS on you...

RING of ROYALTY

SANDALS of FREEDOM

All you have to do is COME HOME TODAY

Come back to the father...

Have you had enough? Hit Bottom yet?

If not – How bad does it have to get before you determine to come home?

THE FATHER IS RIGHT WHERE YOU LEFT HIM...