August 6, 2010 The Prodigal Son 5

"For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found."

Good Friday Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. Please join me in praying today for the family of Melvin Pope, Melvin passed from this earth yesterday. Also today please pray for Pearl, and her family. Pearl is getting very weak, now down to 72 pounds. I met Pearl a few years back when I purchased a bus from her, the bus had been used by her husband and her doing bus tours. Since that time I have come to know some of her children, even though the distance between where they reside and our home is somewhat far. Also please pray today for Sonshine Ministries and for our son Matthew who resides on the Ministry farm. Matthew has been doing real good since he moved in and is attending all their programs and doing work at the farm. And brothers and sisters, it is Friday and the day we pray for all who go out into the fields of Harvest and work for our Lord bringing in the lost. Also one more big prayer request, for my wife Dolores. Dolores is just not doing good, she has fractured her pelvis and she has no idea how she did it, but the break is completely through and she is in a lot of pain. There is nothing the doctors can do except give pain meds, it is up to God to put the bones back together.

The Prodigal Son 5: Luke 15:5 - "And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.'" (NIV)

Luke 15:24 - "For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. So they began to celebrate." (NIV)

Brothers and sisters, as we wrap up the lessons on the Prodigal Son I would like to point out some of the high points of the Parable of the Lost Son that Jesus left with us. Here is a verse that will help us all understand some of this. Maybe you know a family or families where one of the children would drink, would do drugs, would always get into trouble, while the others always were around to help their parents. But when that wayward son or daughter would get straight even for a few weeks and come home saying they have found their way, good parents welcome them. Sometimes it is very hard to understand this... In the parable of the Prodigal Son the one son who had stayed home and worked all the time for his father got upset when his brother received a big welcome. He was very upset and this is what his father told him.

Luke 15:31 - "'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'" (NIV)

Here are the lessons I pulled from what God is telling us in the Parable of the Prodigal Son and also added in the Parable of the Lost Sheep, they fit well together.

Lesson one. If we are the lost son or daughter when we do get straightened out, when we find our way and come back to God and ask Him to forgive us, God will put His big loving arms around us and welcome us home. While we might not always be welcomed back by our earthly friends and even family, and we need to be ready for that. And indeed some will even want to tramp us down. I have said before and I have heard preachers preaching on the subject that how our military always goes out to bring back the wounded, in fact our military tries to bring back those that were lost in battle, while the Christian Army so often wants to stand and jump on the wounded or lost. So do not be surprised, if you are indeed a prodigal son or daughter, that when you come back to Jesus, when you come back to God, when you come home that some people, maybe even those really close friends, will stomp on you. They will remind others of your past. When I was at Central Dauphin School District as a supervisor in transportation, I had several very, very good and certified driver trainers to train the new drivers. One of those not only would train the drivers but would tell them all about me and my past. They forgot that I had a very big thing happen to me, you see I was lost and came back to Jesus, but some had to tell others about that past. I did get the trainer in and tell them, the people will find out the trash soon enough, please just teach them the driving job and the rules. By the way, that trainer did listen and really did a great job. I pointed out yesterday how some will always want to cast up your past, maybe it is just an old friend who wants everyone to know they knew you when. Folks, this will upset you, it really will, but you need to be strong and you need to go to that person and tell them as I told that trainer, that your past is just that, your past. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT go to them and say to them, "I remember things about your past and if you tell people about me, I will tell them about you." Just remind them that you have changed and if it is good enough for Jesus it should be good enough for them. I know you might want to give them a punch in the nose or eye, but remember first we must turn the other cheek, we cannot strike back. We need to remember we are back with God, we have been welcomed home by Jesus. Now we need to share his love.

Lesson two. If we are not the one that left, but the one who stayed back, the one who did not drift from God, we learn here that we have always had God, we did not fall or fail and we should be happy for another soul being saved, and we should always remember this that sometime in our lives, more than likely, we have either been in those shoes or will be in them someday. We need to take our lessons from God, as we always should, and we should welcome home the lost. If it is family we should not get jealous, if it is at work and someone who was doing poor work was given help we should be happy that they are up to speed.

I think this might be a good idea for churches, and I would love to go to a church and help plan this. You see, Dolores and I have a flock, but it is within the walls of The Bridges. I think it would be a great idea for a church to go back over their records and get together the names of all who have left the church and/or those that they lost contact with. Then get those who have stayed with the church and with Jesus, do put on a really big party and invite all of them. Maybe invite those spouses that do not come to church with their spouse to come, but have a really big welcome home party, and remember the real reason for the party is to welcome them back to God. If a church in our area would like to do that, I WILL HELP WITH THE COOKING and it will be good, because one of the talents that God lent to me is to be able to cook (once in a while I mess one up). I mean this when I say it. A big welcome home party as in the parable of the Prodigal Son... Let's kill that fatted calf, well, let's go to the food store and get the beef, and let the butchering to someone else. Anyone out there like that idea? We have welcome home parties for those away at school and those away in the military, and folks, we should do this, we have birthday parties and all other types of parties, what about a big welcome back to the Lord party? How about it? And remember we should invite all the lost, not just the lost from that church...

Lesson three. Remember how God told us that the harvest is ripe and the workers are few, we need to look at Mark 16:15 and follow the command of Jesus to go into all the world and tell the good news. We need to remember the Parable of the Lost Sheep and remember how the shepherd put his flock in a safe place and then went and left those 99 who were not lost to find the one who was lost. This tells me that we need to be really looking for the lost, not just talking about it, but really looking for them. We need to put as much effort on looking for the lost as anything else we do in our lives. I mean that. Now folks, looking for the lost does not mean just looking for someone who once knew Jesus or was a church person, we need to have our eyes, hearts, minds, etc., open all the time looking for those who do not know our Lord. It is a very important job we need to do for Jesus.

So there it is my friends, I am done with this series, and I loved doing it and again I think God pointed this to me this week as I maybe was the one who needed it the most. Let's pray.

Dear Father in Heaven, please forgive us of our sins, and Lord, help us to get to work seeking out that lost sheep, let us when we find them rejoice for we know You are rejoicing. Help us to repent of our sins so that when we go into the fields of Harvest for You we go in clean. Lord, be with the Pope family today as they suffer the loss of a loved one. Be with Pearl and her family. Lord, we are not ready to give up on Pearl, and we would really appreciate your healing her and letting her with us. Lord, be with all those who are working in the fields of Harvest and Lord, please take away the pain that my wife carries today, heal her, dear Lord. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Now go forth looking for the lost, and while you are looking, working for Jesus, take time to share those blessings that God has lent to You. This Sunday, August 8, at 10:00 AM I will be preaching on the Prodigal Son. You are welcome to come, you are invited to come home if you have been away from the Lord, and you are welcome to come if you have been with the Lord. In plain words, you are welcome to come to church at the Bridges... Love ya, Pastor Dan.

Carry The Light Ministries (Inc.)
16 Dewalt Drive
Mechanicsburg, Pa 17050
Phones, Home 717 691 8200 Pastor Dan's Cell 717 991 0754 Dolores' cell 717 991 0763
E-mail icarrythelight4God@msn.com