Sermon Central
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Pity Party - Prodigal Son / Brother
Contributed by Jerry Shirley on Aug 28, 2004 (message contributor)
Summary: It’s a sad tune because the only instrument in the band is your own drum which you are beating on incessantly - Very "Phunny" opening poem, then the CURSE, CAUSE, AND CURE of Self Pity. Link inc. to formatted text, audio/video, PowerPoint.
Pity Party
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/PityParty.html
It’s a sad tune because the only instrument in the band is your own drum which you are beating on incessantly. It’s not fun to listen to and no one taps their foot. But you are certain it makes you feel better to beat it out loudly!
"THE PRODICAL SON IN THE KEY OF "F"
Feeling footloose and frisky, a featherbrained fellow forced his fond Father to fork over the finances. He fled far to foreign fields, and fritted his fortune feasting fabulously with faithless friends.
Finally, facing famine and fleeced by his fellows in folly, he found himself a feed-finger in a filthy farm yard. Fairly famishing, he feign would have filled his frame with the forage food of the fodder fragments.
"Phooey" My father’s flunkies fare far finer, the frazzled fugitive found feverishly, frankly facing facts.
Frustrated by failure and filled with foreboding, he forth-with fled to his father and family. Falling at his father’s feet, he floundered forlornly, "Father, I have flunked. I have fruitlessly forfeited family favor." But the faithful Father, forestalling further flinching, frantically flagged a flunkey. Fetch forth the finest fatling and fix a feast."
But the fugitive’s fault finding brother frowned on the fickle forgiveness of the former folderol. His fury flashed. But fussing was futile, for the far sighted Father figured such filial fidelity is fine. For what forbids fervent festivities ... the fugitive is found. Fly the flags. With fan fares flaring, let fun and frolic freely flow. Former failure is forgotten, folly forsaken. Forgiveness forms the foundation for future fellowship.
Sin will take you farther than you intend to go; it will keep you longer than you expect to stay, and it will cost you more than you want to pay.
v. 13 ends showing us how bad living is such a waste of life. And “willful waste brings woeful want.”
Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
He realized that the best the world had to offer wasn’t as good as the worst of his father’s house. And the worst day as a Christian is better than the best day you could have in the world!
Is there a backslider here today that needs to come back to the Lord? Don’t wait until tomorrow. Don’t wait until there is a better time. Come back today.
You see, the unsaved is lost because he is outside the fold. But a Christian can be outside of the control and touch of the Spirit and be lost in his own way as well. He is in God’s hand for salvation purposes, but seems to be just out of reach for God to really use him. And so he is lost when it comes to service, and opportunities. Lost ministry. Lost blessings. Lost tithes. Lost missionary support. Lost witnessing. Truly, he is a lost cause until he gets in touch with the true Spirit of God, and becomes the tool in the hand of the Master that he is intended to be. This is when the lost becomes found.
The father of the prodigal seeks the Lost Son to restore fellowship with him. He doesn’t go forth to seek; He waits and longs for the son to come back to him, to come back home. This is God the Father, and He calls on backsliders to return to Him. He promises healing and restoration to them. All they must do is 1. Come to themselves and 2. Come back!
The Father Met Him On The Road Home. Luke 15:20
He forgave him of all. The Heavenly Father will forgive you of all sin.
He put a robe on him. The robe covered all. The blood of Christ will cleanse you of all sin. 1 John 1:7, “...and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
He put a ring on his finger. That reconfirms sonship.
He put shoes on his feet. Those blistered, bleeding feet that had walked in the ways of the transgressor would now stand in the halls of his father’s home.
He fatted the calf. Not swine. How long does it take to fatten a calf. It can’t be done overnight, thus, the father was expecting the son home. He was waiting.
The son’s hunger is now quenched.
His want is satisfied.
He is at the father’s house.
What a difference is made when a backslider comes back home!
