The 3 R’s Repentance, Redemption and Reconciliation
Watch the message here:
Luke 15:11-32… The Parable of the Prodigal Son
11 Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. 12 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. 13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with [a]prodigal living. 14 But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. 15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the [b]pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’
20 “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. 21 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.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, [c]‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.
25 “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’
28 “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. 30 But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’
31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’ ”
PART ONE:
REPENTANCE
“the action of repenting”
Repent: 1) to turn from sin 2) to feel regret or contrition 3) to change one’s mind
Hebrew word: TESHUVAH = to return or turn around and go the other direction.
Sheen & Beyt
Sheen= to consume, to destroy, sharp, to press, teeth
Beyt= house or dwelling place, tent
Instead of “turn or burn” sheen beyt is literally translated burn or destroy and leave. The concept is simple, if you destroy or burn the house down then you cannot return and live there unless you wish to spend your life living among the charred ashes of death and destruction. Sadly some do end up returning to live in ashes. The key point to sheen beyt is to leave that place never to return. It has been crushed, burned down, demolished and destroyed and there is no reason to return.
2 Corinthians 5:17 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.”
What is involved in the act of repentance?
Realization= to become fully aware of something, to clearly understand
Contrition= the act of showing sorrow or remorse
Humbleness= not being proud or haughty or arrogant
A. Realize: We must realize that we are sinners in need of a savior.
Luke 15:17… “…but when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger…”
Romans 3:23… “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Romans 2:4b… “the goodness of God leads you to repentance.”
2 Peter 3:9… “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
Romans 5:8… “But God demonstrates His only love towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 6:23… “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 10:9-10… “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
How will people know they need Jesus if we do not tell them??
Romans 10:14-15… “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘ How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!’”
Jesus said in Matthew 24:14 that the “gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then the end will come.”
With all the technology we have, internet, satellite television, it seems the Gospel is being preached in all the world. If that is so, why is it that people on this island have never heard that God loved them enough that He gave is Son as a sacrifice for them??
Sometimes it seems we are so focused on spreading the Gospel to the ends of the earth we forget about what Jesus told us before He ascended back into heaven…
Acts 1:8… “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Look at it this way… “you will be witnesses to Me in Lihue (or wherever you live), and in all Kaua’i (your county) and Hawai’I (your state), and to the end of the earth.”
HOW ARE THEY GOING TO REALIZE THEY NEED JESUS UNLESS WE TELL THEM???
B. Contrition: Feeling or expressing remorse; affected by guilt
Contrite: Another word for “contrite” is “crushed” or “broken”. A contrite heart is one that has been broken into pieces. In the Bible, the heart is the seat of all feeling and emotion. A contrite heart is one in which the natural pride and self-sufficiency have been completely humbled by the consciousness of guilt. Contrition speaks to the grief experienced as a consequence of the revelation of sin made by the preaching of the law.
Jeremiah 23:29… “Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?”
Sometimes our hearts are hardened like the different types of soil in the parable Jesus told of the sower.
Matthew 13:3-9
Hosea 10:12… “Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap mercy; BREAK UP YOUR FALLOW GROUND, for it is time to seek the Lord, till He comes and rains righteousness on you.”
Psalm 51 is David’s prayer of repentance after Nathan the prophet when to him after David sinned with Bathsheba.
PSALM 51
Psalm 51:16-17… “For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. 17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, these, O God, You will not despise.”
Isaiah 66:2… “But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.”
Luke 15:17-21
The Prodigal when he returned … “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.” Luke 15:21
Proverbs 28:13… “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”
Jesus told another parable in Luke 18:10-14…
“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ 13And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast saying, ‘God be merciful to me a sinner!’ 14I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
C. Humbleness
Humble: having or showing a modes or low estimate of one’s own importance.
Another word for “humble” is “humility”
Many people have the wrong idea about God and being humble. They think being humble means groveling in front of others or thinking they are no good and others are better. That’s not what the Bible says. God says when you are humble, you are free from pride and arrogance. You know that in your flesh you are inadequate, yet you also know who you are in Christ.
Biblical humility is grounded in the nature of God. When we are humble before God we are basically telling Him that we trust that He knows what is good for us and we have the faith that He will lead us in the best way to live.
2 Chronicles 7:14… “if My people who are called by My nae will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
1 Peter 5:6-7… “Therefore humble yourselves under the might hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”
Ephesians 4:2 NLT… “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.”
James 4:6… “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says, ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Micah 6:8… “And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God…”
Psalm 25:9… “The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way.”
The prodigal son could have stayed away and never returned home. He could have let pride keep him from the love of his father.
Proverbs 16:18… “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
It was the son’s pride that got him into trouble in the first place and the reason he wanted all of his inheritance.
Jesus came to this earth, humbled Himself into the form of man. He was obedient to the will of the Father and God exalted Him.
Philippians 2:5-11
Mark 10:45… “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
John 5:19… “Then Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He see the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.”
Matthew 11:29… “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
CONCLUSION:
Repentance is the first step in our relationship with God. Jesus, Himself, preached the gospel of the kingdom of God in Mark 1:14-15, saying in verse 15, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Matthew 4, Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
In Acts 8:22, Peter tells Simon the sorcerer, to “repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.” In Acts 20:19-21, Paul talks about his tears and trials while serving the Lord with humility and how he “held nothing back” and “taught publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Our repentance must be done with a REALIZATION that we are sinners in need of a savior, and that we can not do this on our own. Repentance must be done with CONTRITION, a broken and contrite heart He will not despise. Repentance must be done with HUMBLENESS and humility.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.