SUFFICIENT GRACE. Luke 15: 10
By Elder Thomas Olonde
GRACE is the unmerited favor of
God or we can define it using its acronym. God Reaching Us at Christ Expense.
Jesus gave a parable in the
midst of the murmuring of the Pharisees and the scribes.
He gives them the reason why he
received and accept the publican and the sinners.
A parable in the essence is an
earthly story with the heavenly meaning.
In the both the parables Jesus adores the fact
that God is pleased with the conversion of the sinners by power of the sufficient
grace. How he is ready to receive andentertain such upon their repentance. He
demonstrates the magnitude of God's grace for those who repents.
In the parable God is presented
as A COMMON FATHER TO ALL MANKIND TO THE FAMILY OF ADAM.
We all have one father, the
creator of all.
Malachi 2:11"Have we not all one father?
Hath not one God created us?"
And in him we live and have our
being we exist from him and for him.
Col 1:16" For by him were
all things created that are in heaven andearth, visible andinvisible whether
they be thrones or dominions or
principalities or power : all thing were created by him and for him. "
Our lord here reminds the proud
Pharisees that these publication and sinners whom they despise were their
brethren andpartakers of the same nature. Therefore they should and a ought to be glad when they are shown
mercy and kindness. For God is God not only
to the Jews but also to the Gentiles Roman
3:29.The same lord over all that is rich in mercy to all that call upon
his name.
The parable also represents
THE CHILDREN OF MEN AS OF
DIFFERENT CHARACTER THOUGH ALL ARE
RELATED TO GOD AS THEIR COMMON FATHER.
He had two son, one is solid
grave youth reserved , and sober but not good humored to those around him .This one hears and adheres to his
instructions and want to stay around
him.
While the other son is
impatient roving and willing to try his
fortune.
One that dares to stay away and
want to stay away and enjoy life on his own
The first son represent the
Jews in General, particularly, the Pharisees and the scribes.
Jesus has endeavored to make
them understand how God's favor works.
The younger son presents the
publican andsinners and the Gentiles whom he was trying to bring to repentance.
The prodigal son's character is
designed to represent the natural state of a sinner.
He went and begged his father
to give him what belonged to him and after it was given to him, he journeyed to
a far away country where he spent extravagantly.
His attitude towards his father
shows one who thinks his father owed him his wealth. Therefore he wanted what
belonged to him. He looked at his father as a debtor, that is why he needed a
portion of goods the falleth to him.
WE SHOULDN'T LOOK UNTO GOD AS
DEBTOR.GOD DOESN'T OWE US HIS GRACE.
He gives us his grace freely as
a gift of his love. The gift of life he has given to us shouldn't be treated as a gift due to us. This man didn’t ask for a apart of it, but all his part share.
He wanted to manage his own
gift which is his life, and he thought going far away will help him or give him
the freedom to manage his life as he wanted
The problem with sinners
is that they only look at the things
that are seen but the things that ruin them is that they always want their
portion in their hands.
let look at what sinners think and do.
The young man was weary of his
fathers’ government and of his good discipline and order in his family and he
craved for liberty
A.
He was willing to set away from his father
watch: shyness of God and willingness to disbelieve his omniscience is the
desire of the wicked people. We find it difficult to believe that God knows everything
and that our future is in his hand.
B.
He was disrespectful of his fathers’ management
that is why he asked for what belonged
C.
He was proud of himself; he thought that he was
a better manager than his father and may be could bring a better income. Pride
comes before a fall
We see here the kind of God we
serve
-
He is a kind father who means well for his
children
a)
He gives them grace and free will to choose
b)
He gives them free gift of life and breathe
c)
He is kind to even the evil and unthankful. He
makes the sun to shine on both and make the rain to do the same for both.
d)
He divided to them as the prodigal son requested .God the Father has
divided a gift of life to everyone.
e)
God has
given us life in order that we may have the capacity to serve and glorify Him
Three facts of life in respect to this study.
1) we cannot
afford to stay away from our
father's presence in in one moment,
without him we will fail and life will be miserable.
2)We need the fatherly support and protection on a daily
basis.
3)Without
the father's intervention we are doomed
and lost and to say the least dead in our trespasses.
Let’s look at how we spend our
life when we asked to manage it
-
It didn’t take long before he turned to be a
beggar having spent his wealth as fast as he could. If God leaves us just for a
moment to manage ourselves When God takes His grace off from us we will soon be
gone
-
Sinners who are determined to go away from God’s
protection to so called freedom usually gather everything all together
mostly they always want go away
in far country where none can notice who they and where they come from.
-
Brethren
we have all come from the father and
with him we must stay put because we are safer and protected under his
care.
-
These conditions of the prodigal son represent a
sinful state
-
It is a miserable state into which man has
fallen
1.
It is a sinful state to departure and distance
oneself from God
It’s a state of running, revolting or rebellion from God.
The sinners run away far and beyond end in the country of sin and take their
residence and found home and they begin to serve and enjoy and spend all in
their life in a miserable way from God the giver of life.
2.
A sinful state is a spending state
He wasted his substance with Verse 13 – 20 devoured it with
harlots and all the of life
3.
A sinful state is a wanting state V. 14
Remember willful waste brings woeful wants. He has thrown
away mercy, his desire of God, his interest in Christ is has completely
diminished. He is alone and lonely.
The striving of the spirit and admonition of the conscience.
They have given away all these for pleasure or sense and of the wealth of the
world and are ready to perish for their wants of them
In this state God’s favor and blessings is not experienced,
they are miserable without hope. The challenge is that sinners bring themselves
into this condition and keep themselves in it by refusing the grace of God that
can be attained by faith in repentance.
4.
A sinful state is a state of slavery V.15 now he
begins to work the most horrible jobs of
the Jew.
A) taking of care of
swine would be the least that a Jewish
would do before he dies.
5.
A sinful state is a state of perpetual
dissatisfaction
He never got satisfied; he was not comfortable eating swine
feed V.16,he was not fed anything he was
hungry and could get his need for food satisfied
6.
A sinful state is a state of not expecting any
relief from any creature. Nobody gave him anything to eat
7.
A sinful state is a state of death
8.
A sinful state is a lost state. V.24
9.
A sinful state is a state of madness and frenzy
V.17
Having
no sense of why he left his father.
Lastly
he came to his senses and realized what his father own, the servants and the animals
and the food.he said 17 how many hired servants of my father's have bread enough to spare and I perish with hunger!
18 I will arise
and go to my father and I will say unto him,Father I have sinned against
heaven and before thee.19 and am
no more worthy to be called thy son:
make me one of your hired servants.
THAT IS
WHAT BROKE THE FATHER'S HEART.
Am not
worthy, and make make one of your hired servants.
God is happy
when you take the responsibility
of sin committed, whether be of commission or omissions.
In
other words am in your hand ,do with me what you do with poor sinners but my request is that I rather be your hired servant. I have
messed up my relationship and am rotten without any worth, have mercy on me.
