Run to the Father

if you could turn to luke chapter 15, we're going to read a parable today. and throughout this message, feel free to leave your bible open and follow along. we'll be we'll be going through this passage together. we're going to begin in verse 11. it says, "and 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 fallth to me." and he divided unto them his living.

as we lay our bibles down and uh after afterwards we can take our seats. so

why don't we just lift our hands today? why don't we just lift our hands for a loving father? thank him for his presence in our life. for his blessings, his many for his many blessings in our life, god. thank you, lord jesus. we love you, lord god. we thank you, lord jesus. we're so thankful for your presence. we're so thankful, lord, for your touch in our life, for the many blessings you've given us, for being there when we had no one. come on, church. let it come out from our hearts today. let that love for god come out of us today. we love you, jesus. we love you, jesus. we thank you, lord god. we lift up your name. we're so thankful for you dying on the cross, god. we're so thankful, lord god, that you you made a way when there was no way, god, for being the prince of peace, oh god, for being the king of kings and the lord of lords. oh, we love you, lord god. thank you, jesus. thank you, jesus. you may be seated.

in this story, it's a parable that jesus told. we see a son. this son decides that where he is at isn't enough. this position that he was given isn't good enough. he decides that he can't wait for the inheritance that is to be given to him. and he's he's trying to hurry what is not yet at its timing. he's trying to hurry rush the inheritance to be given to him. and we see continuing on in verse 13, it says, "and not many days after the younger son gathered altogether, and took his journey into a far country and there wasted his substance with riasist living." how many here have wasted something? how many here can think back to some time that you feel that your time was wasted? that your money may have been wasted, your effort may have been wasted. we find that it continues on in verse 14. it says, "and when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in the land, and he began to be in want." because when you go out into this world and you spend all of your time, all of your money, all of your energy trying to seek fulfillment from this world, you will begin to want. if you don't spend that time working in the kingdom, if you don't spend that time working in and that money working putting it to work in the kingdom, you will be begin to want

but we see in matthew 6:33, "seek ye first the kingdom of god, and all his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you." if you just put the kingdom first, if you put all of your efforts into the kingdom, we see that you'll never be you'll never be in want. all these things will be added unto you and his righteousness if we seek the kingdom. and if we if we turn to uh psalm 37:4, it says, "delight thyself also in the lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." this reverses the equation. satisfaction comes not from chasing desires, but from prioritizing god first. if we prioritize god in everything that we do, we will be satisfied with every need that we could ever imagine. if we just put it in him, put it in his kingdom, invest in the kingdom, invest in god, we will begin to see the fruit. but the prodical son, he didn't do this and he was lost.

continuing in verse 13, it says, "and when he went and he went and joined himself to a citizen of the country, and he sent him to the fe to his fields to feed swine, and he would fain had given had filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat, and no man gave unto him. the world had nothing good for him to eat. but yet after this wasted time in the world, he finds his belly full. not with the fulfillment from god, but fulfillment from the world, the filth of this world. he finds his belly filled with with what he he never could have imagined would have been so fulfilling at the time, but he found himself so low that that was all he could eat. and in verse 17 it says, "and when he came to himself and he said, how many hired servants of my father have bread enough to spare, and i perish with hunger? i will arise and go to my father, and i will say unto him, father, i have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. make me as one of thy hired servants." 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. and the son of uh said unto him, father, i have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and am no worthy to be called thy son. but the father said unto his servants, "bring forth the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet, and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat and be merry. for this is my son, for this my son was dead and is alive again. he was lost and is found, and they began to be marriedry."

i wonder if there's anyone here today that can see themselves in any part of this story. maybe contemplating giving up. maybe contemplating giving it up. if you were lost feeling the guilt and the waste of this world in your life today, i've come to tell you all that matters is that you get back up and run to the father. it's the fatherly love of god that is here today to restore you. i don't know what situations you're in. i don't know what what troubles you may be in. but there is a father that loves you here today. that he is here in this altar and he will receive he will receive whatever need you have today.

if we look at the life of david, he sinned over and over in terrible ways, but he got back up and is considered a man after god's own heart. how can this be? but we see in proverbs 24:16, for a righteous man may fall seven times and again and seven times and again rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity. the verse isn't referring to sin, but actually it is referring to trouble. it may be that you're not falling into sin today, but it may just be the troubles, the weight of this world, the things that you deal with at work, the things that you deal with when you go to the grocery store. it may be just the troubles of of things you deal with in your family. i don't know what it could be, but it's just it's just something that if you're righteous and you get back up, you will rise again. maybe it's just carnality. maybe just too much. maybe it's just too much carnality. things of this world, things we're allowing sneak into our lives. thinks we're allowing to sneak into our our daily walk with god, not allowing enough time for god, allowing idols in our life. i don't know what it could be today, but if we m all that matters today is if we run to the father. in psalm 37:23, it says, "the steps of a good man are ordered by the lord and he delightth in his way. though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the lord upholdeth him with his hand." keep making steps back to the father today, church, and he will restore you back into his hands. if you feel lost and feel like you've wasted your time, you feel like you wasted your energy, things in this world, you can come back to the father and he will receive you with open arms today.

why don't we just lift our hands today and thank god for being that loving father today? we love you, lord god. thank you lord jesus for being that ever loving father, everlasting father for being in our life lord today to take us out of the sin of this world to take us out of the troubles of this world. come on church, thank god today. we love you lord jesus. we thank you lord today. we lift you up. magnify you. hallelujah. come on somebody. would you love the lord? would you love the lord? come on. come on. he's a good god. he's a good god.