September 16, 2012
Scripture:
Let’s turn to Psalm 40. Earlier we read in Isaiah 53, “The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (v. 6). Let us connect that with verse 12 of Psalm 40: all our iniquities were laid on Him and He took them as His own!
Hymn 341 - Jesus bids us shine
Prayer
We’ve been speaking about the prophet Elijah. God sent him to a brook during the time of drought in Israel. Each day, the ravens would bring him meat and bread. Eventually, because of the drought, the brook dried up. God gave Elijah directions to go the Zarephath. Strangely, this city was outside of Israel; it was a place where they worshipped Baal. But God was going to feed Elijah there, through a widow.
1 Kings 17:8-24
As Elijah entered Zarephath, he met the widow and ask her for a drink of water. As she went to get the water, Elijah had a second request for her: he asked for a little cake.The woman informed him that she had just enough flour and oil for one last cake for her and her son.
Elijah gave this widow hope. He told her that if she would make a cake for him first, then God would make the oil and meal last throughout the famine. And God always keeps His promises. As strange as it may seem that God would send Elijah to this country, there was a reason for it: this woman needed help. Because she helped Elijah, she and her son had food for the whole drought.
The woman’s oil and meal never ran out: they never failed. We can picture the Lord Jesus as the meal and the Holy Spirit as the oil. They will never fail. The Lord Jesus is the same, yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
Unfortunately, something sad happened: this widow’s son got sick and died. But Elijah was there. He took the son and cried unto the Lord for him, and the Lord restored his life. The Lord Jesus offers eternal life to each one of us. The widow saw that Elijah was a man of God and believed all that he said was true. May we each be a light like Elijah was to this widow.
Luke 15:18-32
Before the prodigal son came to his father, he came to himself. May many people today come to themselves! It would be better if they didn’t have to hit rock bottom first, though, like the prodigal did.
This parable doesn’t give us every component of the gospel; instead it focuses on grace. The prodigal son resolved to go back, but he didn’t know his father’s heart. He thought, “Even if I have a low place, it’ll be better than living with these pigs.” He didn’t know his father’s grace, and he didn’t know how low he had gone. He didn’t deserve even a low place! What he did know, though, was that, “I have sinned”, and it’s important to get people to that point. They must realize that they have sinned and therefore need a Saviour.
The father’s servants were probably slaves, but the son was envying them. What he didn’t realize was that he was already a slave to his own sin. v18. How blessed when we get to this place; feeling our own unworthiness! Thankfully, we have the promise of 1 John 1:9. This is what’s called conversion. The prodigal has come to himself and made a plan to return. Salvation happened when he received the best robe, but as of right now he is not in the enjoyment of the father’s house. Similarly - but on the other side of salvation - some people are not in the full enjoyment of their salvation. They still fear that they might lose it. They don’t know the grace of God!
So the son starts to make his way home. He was probably still dirty and smelly; and until we are saved, that’s how we are to God. But the father saw his son coming and ran to meet him! You get the idea that he was watching the road day after day, thinking, “My son will come back one day.” He might have been old and decrepit, but he ran and threw his arms around his son. The son was speechless, he didn’t understand.
Similarly, there is the story told of a young man who rebelliously ran away from home. After a time he repented and wanted to come home, but didn’t know if he was welcome. His house was right by the train tracks, so he wrote home and told his parents, “I’ll be riding through town on the train. If you want me to come home, hang a white handkerchief on the clothesline. I’ll be able to see it as I ride by.” As the train approached his town, the young man grew nervous. Would there be a white handkerchief on the line? Were his parents still mad? Would they take down the clothesline just to show how angry they still were? The train rounded a bend and the young man gasped. There wasn’t just a white handkerchief on the line, but every white handkerchief, towel, and bed sheet his parents could find in the house! Those parents wanted their son to come home, and so did this father. We can see his heart of love and grace because he welcomed him home. If he had been filled with the law, he would have come out with a big stick to give the son what he deserved.
The son only got out part of his speech before his father started talking. He told the servants to bring the best robe, - signifying salvation or righteousness - a ring, - a circle has no beginning or ending, it shows eternal relationship - and shoes - in Christ we are able to walk in a way pleasing to God. We who are saved have been accounted righteous before God by Christ’s blood, God’s grace, and our faith. That’s all it takes. Christ’s work makes it possible.
Now, all these gifts just fitted the prodigal son for the father’s house. But there was more bringing to be done: the fatted calf. When you kill the fatted calf, it’s so that you can all sit around and eat. Both the father and the son would have enjoyed the meal; and this speaks of communion, fellowship. (The father didn’t receive his son merely for the son’s sake). They began to be merry, but it never tells us that they stopped!
But there’s another picture here. This calf would probably have been roasted with fire, just like the passover was. The calf represent’s Christ. Christ went to the cross, was - as it were - roast with fire, and now we can feed on Him in resurrection. Would that there was more fellowship with the Father over the Son! Lord’s Day morning meetings are so precious to the Father because we are occupied with Him about His Son, and His Son is the dearest thing to Him. Jesus is at the top of God’s heart! If we were occupied more with Christ, there would be more worship. Worship in this manner is the peak of the Christian life, and it is grace that allows it. Oh the heights that grace brings us to!
Hymn 26 - In rags and in ruins, without and within
Prayer