What Lost Looks Like · The Porchlight Is On

47:00 The porch is the most wonderful place, isn't it? It's a place of relaxation and reunion and community and welcoming home. God's house has a porch, and his house has a porch light, and he always leaves that light on so people can find their way home. There are many places in the Bible that talk about God's front porch, but I don't know of any place that does so more clearly and beautifully than Luke chapter 15. Today's lesson is the sixth of nine messages that we're gleaning from this chapter. And please keep in mind your homework assignment to read Luke 15 once a week and also not miss a single message. As much as any chapter in the Bible, this chapter warrants your attention.

47:58 And as much as any moment in the chapter, the plight of the prodigal son in the pig pen deserves our consideration. Let's look at it, and let's do so today under this title, What Lost Looks Like. heavenly father now grant us strength as we open our minds open your word open our hearts to what you have to say please forgive our speaker his sins are so many and help us to see Jesus just Christ through Christ we pray and all the church said Mauro Prosperi was lost. You can blame it on the sandstorm, blame it on his disorientation, blame it on the swarming cloud of dust, blame it on one wrong turn, then another, then another.

48:58 The six-day-long endurance race was supposed to lead him across the Saharan sands of Morocco. Instead, it nearly led him to his death. Prosperi was well-trained, experienced. This wasn't his first such endurance race. But even the hardiest of athletes is no match for a Sirocco. This blast of hot, Saharan, dust-laden air left him confused and exhausted and disoriented. It left him bewildered. It left him lost. For nine days he walked. For nine days he wandered. Nine lip-chapping, skin-burning, energy-draining days. To survive, he drank his own urine, killed bats, ate bugs, ate lizards.

49:58 He dragged himself through one sand dune after another. he didn't know north from south east from west assuming he would never be found he slit his wrists with a pen knife but the dry desert heat clotted the wounds he couldn't even take his own life he was desperate finally he stumbled upon a village and a call for help was issued and and the distraught runner was rescued. He had lost 35 pounds and nearly destroyed his liver. It's a terrible thing to be lost in a desert. It's worse still to be lost in life.

50:44 Lostness is a big topic in the Bible. It's a headline topic. In some ways, it is the topic. what Adam and Eve did first every person has done since as the scripture says we're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten can you say the word lost we've just gotten lost Isaiah 53 6 doesn't the very word lost imply that that we don't know where we are we don't know how we got here and we think we're supposed to be there but somehow we got here and consequently we like prosperity we feel confused we feel bewildered we don't know where to turn or where to go and worst of all we smell like pigs at least the boy in Jesus's story did the lost boy trouble began when he made this demand of his father father give me my share of the property so the father divided his property between his two sons not long after that the younger son got together all he had set off for a distant country and there he squandered his wealth in wild living verses 12 and 13 of Luke 15. Remember this is the story of the prodigal son it's a parable a parable is a is a heavenly truth thought using earthly details and in this case every person every player in this story represents someone else we are this son we are the son God is the Father.

52:24 And this son was done with his dad. He was done with his family. He was done with whatever obligations or expectations came his way. And he was ready to get out. He was ready to soar with eagles. But his flight, it was short-lived. Eagles? Nope. Swine? Yeah. within a short period he was stuck and stinky. Here's the spoiler alert. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country and he began to be in need. He went out and hired himself to a citizen of that country who sent him into the fields to feed pigs. he longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating but no one gave him anything I mean no respect I mean disrespect to pig farmers I appreciate what pig farmers do I do thanks to pig farmers we have ham on our plate and bacon next to our eggs were it not for these good folks our world would be absent pork chops pork loin pork belly and so I thank all you shepherds of the swine I do but I don't want to be you I really don't I don't know I don't have any desire I've never one day in my life thought it'd be a great day to go slot pigs groom pigs feed pigs treat pigs when I when I just hear the word pig pen I I I sense something stinky, something muddy.

54:19 The audience of Christ upon hearing this story heard something even worse. They were Jews. This boy was a Jew. And for Jews born under the law of Moses, pigs were considered unclean, ceremonially unclean animals. And any form of contact with them was spiritually defiling. in the story that Jesus told this boy went from high society to low pig at the trough. How did that happen? How did he fall so far? Well, he was dim-witted and he was short-sighted. We have every indication that he was born into a life of affluence and comfort. The father had servants. The family had possessions and property and a fatted calf. the father could throw an impromptu party he could pay dancers and musicians and at the end of the story this boy's going to receive a robe and sandals and a ring these are all symbols of success of affluence so the younger son's upbringing was privileged he was charmed he was probably the envy of every other boy in the county. He was well-bred, well-fed, cultured, classy, but not very smart, not very savvy. Look again at the demand he made of his father. He said, give me my share of the estate. So the father divided his property between his two sons. Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country, and there squandered his wealth and wild living. The boy demanded his share, and here's a key phrase, not long after that.

56:08 He cashed out in a hurry. He skedaddled quickly. There's no way the son could have sold these assets for fair market value. Took pennies on the dollar. He was dim-witted, and he was short-sighted. Remember the crisis that Jesus told us about? There was a severe famine in that whole country, a famine, and he began to be in need. He was ill-prepared. He hadn't thought through that something could happen. Did it dawn on the boy that he needed to, I don't know, set some in a safe place as a rainy day? Did he think, you know, famines are a part of life here, but all he focused on was fun. The roulette table, the dancing girls, he had made no plans. And since lady luck is fickle, the son's money ran out. So did his friends.

57:05 The hotel manager gave him the boot, and the son found his way to the underside of an overpass where he spent the night shivering against a cold north wind, and a guy nearby had a whiskey bottle and a half-eaten sandwich. and the son was wondering if he could just have the crust from the bread of that sandwich. Or, in the words of Jesus, he longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. have you ever been so hungry you wanted pig food me either this kid was in a mess nobility one moment poverty the next stuck and stinky because he was dim-witted and short-sighted now look at the words Jesus used to describe the state of the boy at this point of the story Jesus said the boy was dead and lost.

58:07 The wayward boy wasn't just having a bad day or a tough season, but according to Jesus, and remember, he wrote this story. The Son of God, the King of Kings, wrote this story, and he will soon put this line in the script of the father. the father will say that his son was dead, but now is alive. He was lost, but now he is found. Again, keep in mind, the boy in this story represents you and me.

58:43 This is a picture of people. So the question surfaces, is Jesus implying that apart from our father, father, when we turn our back on our father, we begin to smell like swine and long to eat pig food? That the human condition apart from our heavenly father is dead and lost? Friends, he did more than imply it. He taught it. He taught it. Our master never minced words on the consequence of insurrection. In a conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus stated that those who have not been born again are perishing. When speaking with Zacchaeus, Jesus declared that the Son of Man came to seek and save who? The lost.

59:42 The lost. Perishing, he said to Nicodemus. Lost, he said to Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus. These are sobering terms. Jesus taught that there is a situation in which a person is lost and perishing. Paul the apostle was equally candid to a church in the city called Ephesus. He wrote, remember how you lived before? You did wrong things and bad things. As a result, you were, what's the word? Dead in your spirits. You were dead. You were lifeless. Rebellion against God results not in a bad day or a tough year, but in death, in a depraved state. Sin, in other words, is a mortal wound. No wonder Paul urged, live no longer as the unsaved do, for they are blinded and confused. Their closed hearts are full of darkness. They are far away from the life of God because they have shut their minds against him and they cannot understand his ways. Ephesians 4, 17 and 18. Feel the weight of those words that the unsaved are blinded.

1:01:15 They are confused. Their hearts are full of darkness. They cannot understand God's ways. They are prospery out there in the Saharan desert. They don't know north from south, east from west. Do you think Scripture is overstating the case here? Our sophisticated society does not like teaching like this. We don't like the discussion that some people are lost and some people are saved. You may not like it. some of you are not believers there's not a day in the life of your in your historical calendar that you can point to and say i gave my heart to christ that day and so you're not a believer maybe you're curious but you're unconvinced is jesus here saying that you have a heart that's full of darkness that you cannot understand God's ways, you push back against that. And you say, oh, no, no, I'm a decent person. I'm a decent person. I may not know where I came from. I may not know what's going to happen after I die, but you know, I pay my taxes. I cut my grass.

1:02:33 I'm a kind neighbor. I'm a decent person. But the resounding message of Christ is that we're not saved by being good. We're saved by trusting the goodness of Christ. And it's folly, it's deceitfulness to compare yourself with other people, because you'll always find somebody worse than you are. According to the gospel, God's standard is not the rest of society, but God's Standard is the only perfect person who ever lived, and that is Jesus Christ. And compared to him, we're lost. We fall short.

1:03:16 So Paul's not overstating the case. I used to accuse my mom of overstating the case. During high school and some of college, I worked in the oil fields of West Texas. It was a miserable job, but it sure has given way to great sermon illustrations over these many, many years. And I would come home from work stinky. Stinky. Not like pigs, but like oil, like petroleum. Like the stuff I'd spent the day cleaning or fixing.

1:03:49 And I didn't know I was stinky. I really didn't. And I worked with three or four guys on a crew. They didn't tell me I was stinky. And I didn't notice that they were stinky. Why? Because we were all mutually stinky. You know, pigs don't know, pigs stink. but my mother knew because my mom was not stinky my mom was fastidiously clean she put the clean in clean she would clean what was already clean just to make it cleaner and when she saw her son coming in the garage the first thing she would say was you're not coming in like that I got hosed down in the backyard many a day because she would not let me in. She was clean.

1:04:46 Could we say she was holy? Our heavenly Father is holy. Please hear this. God wants you in his house. but he won't let you come in stinky. He just won't. He will not, friend. He cannot.

1:05:09 My mother would not defile her house with a stinky son. Would our heavenly father defile his eternal home? Remember his plan? Perfect paradise for people made perfect. Would he dare populate his perfect paradise with stinky people? No. He has to deal with our sin. And until he deals with our sin, we are lost. We are dead. There has to be a cleansing that happens. For that reason, Christ never minced words on this topic. He was straightforward. Did you know that 13% of his parables have to do with judgment, eternal separation, and hell? the lost he taught lose out on God's greatest invitation heaven dim witted short sighted stuck stinky that's okay God will save you he will help you but the only person he will not save is the person who refuses to be saved who chooses the pig pen and refuses to come home You see, life outside of Christ is not life.

1:06:34 It's not. It's death. Sin creates corpses. Cut off from God. Cut off from eternal life. A world of the walking dead. Our planet is populated by zombies. Spiritual zombies have no clue why we're here, where we're going, and really is lost as a blind goose in a snowstorm. That's why we make the decisions we make that hurt other people, lost.

1:07:10 That's how lost people live. But friend, dear friend, this isn't how you and I need to live. Jesus came to show us a better way. He's the only perfect person. He's the only person who ever walked on this planet who didn't need to be cleansed. Because he was sinless. And he showed us how he can transform us. How he can change us. He is a picture of the people that we can become. And everything changes when we catch a glimpse of him. Some years ago we had an opera singer come to our church. Just to visit, not to sing. Though he would have done a masterful job. He was the son of one of our church members. The father told me his son was coming. The father told me all about the son. How the son had been a part of many successful productions around the world.

1:08:06 How he at that time was in New York City with a lead role as a tenor in a production. Very accomplished musician. And he was going to be visiting our church. Well, I was looking forward to that. I wanted to meet him. You see, I kind of fancy myself as a singer. I do. Yeah, I sang in a kids' choir back in elementary school. I did. In high school, I was in a choir. When I was in college, I joined a chorus. Yeah, I kind of fancy myself to be a pretty good singer. The fact of the matter is no one has ever asked me to sing at any place, at any event, at any time, in any circumstance, and that's a detail that I'm just going to choose to ignore for the rest of my life. I always thought I was a good singer until the opera singer came to our church.

1:09:07 I didn't know he was there. He was right behind me, seated behind me during the worship time. And when he sang, and I know he was trying to contain it. I know he wasn't showing off. But he couldn't hold it back. And it was so beautiful. His voice was majestic.

1:09:31 I mean, here was the opera singer, and here were the rest of us. His tenor voice just lifted, and it soared into the sky. And when I heard him sing, you know what I did? I closed my mouth. Jesus Christ is that voice. Jesus Christ is the only true singer to ever live on this earth. We may claim to be. We may think we can carry a tune. We may feel that we're decent and good. But then we hear him.

1:10:24 and anyone who hears him I mean really hears him will shut their mouth they will respond like the apostle Peter did when Peter saw him he fell down at Jesus' knees saying depart from me I'm a sinful man the perfection of Christ silences all boasting.

1:10:57 And we realize that the kind of people that God is creating for eternity are going to be like Christ, and we can't do that on our own. And we quickly confess that the pig pen stinks, that the knowledge, that the oil field has left us dirty, that we can't even carry a tune. we confess the abc of sin that sin leaves a person alienated in bondage and in conflict alienated from god in bondage to bad habits and in conflict with other people because anyone who is not at peace with god will not be at peace with others conversely we discover the abc of salvation. That anyone who trusts God trusts in his atonement. We believe, and as a result, we have communion. Atonement is the work of Christ on the cross who died for our sins.

1:12:02 We believe, we trust that, and that creates communion with God and with others. The ABCs of condemnation and salvation. And when we put our faith in Christ, the most wonderful thing happens. An exchange occurs. Christ suffered for our sins, once for all time. He never sinned, Scripture says, but he died for sinners. Why? To bring you safely home to God. Do you understand that that's God's highest call on your life? I hope he answers every prayer that you offer during this life. I really do. I pray he heals your body. I pray he gives you a good job. I pray that he takes away any grumpy people from your life. I pray he takes away all your pimples.

1:12:59 I pray he answers every single prayer that you pray. But listen to me. The prayer he's determined to answer is a prayer not for earthly comfort, but eternal salvation. Not just earthly comfort. He did not come just to make this life better. He came to save you for eternity. Now, when he saves you for eternity, this life gets a lot better. It does. but his highest aim for you right now is that your name be written in the book of life that you be saved on the cross christ became sin so we could become sinless so we could enter into his home stink free and it simply falls to us to turn our back on the pigs to wake up and walk out. The son did.

1:13:54 If you've read the story, you know what he did. Again, he had come to ruin. He had left his father, his family, his birthright, his heritage, his home, his clan, his convictions. Here he sits in cahoots with a Gentile in a Gentile country and a herd of pigs. He was totally and utterly bankrupt, come to the end of his rope. He had nothing. But then, in the parable, Jesus says this word. You ready? But. but I see the eyes of Christ sparkle and I can sense a smile beginning to form beneath his beard. maybe his tone lifts a bit. Having let the solemn consequence of dumb becoming dumber settle on the crowd, he speaks a word that signals a new start, but not so as if, so the boy never amounted to much.

1:15:03 No, Jesus chose a different conjunction. but as in but when he came to himself but when he came to himself isn't that a welcome phrase I mean so far all we've seen is the boy making one bad decision after the other but finally he comes to himself the fact is folks he hadn't been himself he hadn't been true to himself. He hadn't been behaving like himself, but finally he came to himself. Or in other translations, he began to think clearly again. He realized what he was doing. He came to his senses, and with his head cleared, he thought, how many of my father's hired servants have bread enough to spare, and I'm perishing, I perish with hunger, I will arise and go to my Father.

1:16:07 We're going to press the pause button right there, because what happens next is so... insightful. It warrants its own message. And what we read is really the perfect conclusion. Do you see what the boy just did?

1:16:31 Do you see what he did? For the first time, he thought of someone other than himself. About whom did he think? His father, there he is covered in mud smelling like pigs. But finally he has a decent thought. And he thinks about his father. He thinks about the characteristics of his father. That his father is fair. That his father is kind. His father is generous. He thinks about his father.

1:17:08 Rotten thinking got him into trouble. But right thinking will get him out. he thinks you know my dad he always took care of his workers I don't remember a hungry laborer on the camp I don't remember anybody at the end of the day saying you know your dad never feeds us in fact there's always food left over and the boy thinks if he's that good to the servants you think he'd let me be a servant you think if I went back I wonder, there is that apartment over the garage. There's an empty bed there. Maybe he'd let me sleep there. Maybe he'd let me cut the grass. Maybe I could just be a servant. Maybe. There was no guarantee, no certainty, but there was certainly a possibility, and that possibility was enough to make him sit up, put his shoulders back, lift his head up, and stand up.

1:18:11 One final look at the pigs. and say, you know what? I'm going home. I'm going home. I will rise and go to my Father. I so pray you'll say those same words. For many of you, you can think of a day in your life that you did. I know I can.

1:18:32 But I pray that in each and every one of us, we will have that moment in our life that we say, I will arise and go to my Father. I squandered my youth. I ruined my marriage. I went broke in my business. I misused my opportunities. I trashed my education. I made one dumb decision after another. But you know what? I'm tired of it. I'm just tired of it. I will arise and go to my Father because somebody told me that my Heavenly Father is generous, that He's benevolent, that He's kind. Somebody told me that He so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him won't perish but will have eternal life. I will arise and go to my father. The boy did.

1:19:25 He stood up and he began that walk home because he knew in his heart that his father was still home and he knew in his heart that his father always kept the porch light on. Never too late to go home. Never too late to leave the pig pen. Never too late because your heavenly father keeps the porch light on for you as well. Heavenly father, thank you, thank you, thank you. In a world where there is so little hope, you give us all the hope that we need. Thank you. Speak words of comfort over your church in words of conviction over those who are lost. Through Christ we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. So we're going to offer a prayer of salvation. Again, as we've said, Christ will save anybody except the person who doesn't want to be saved.

1:20:20 And if you're ready to be saved, this is your moment right now. This is the biggest moment of your life right now. We're going to offer a prayer. It's a simple prayer, a prayer of salvation. I'll invite the whole church to repeat it word for word after me. And if you're saying yes to Christ today, would you stand up at the end of the prayer? We want to give you a good round of applause and connect with you. If you're coming back to Christ after a long time, would you stand up so we can celebrate? Christ died on the cross for you. You can stand up for him. Amen. Let's pray together. Jesus, I'm not perfect, for I have sinned. but I believe in you. Save me. Change me. Forgive me. I give you my life. In Jesus' name I pray.

1:21:15 Amen. Amen. Amen. We're going to raise the lights. Would you stand up, please, if you're saying yes to Christ? There's a young man. There's a man right here. There's somebody right here. There's somebody. Look at that beautiful family saying yes to Christ. Who else? Who else? Someone up at the top? Someone over here? Anyone else? We're not in a hurry. Right here? Where? Right over here? I see you. Right here. Thank you. Beautiful. Who else? Right here. Don't... Ushers. Please, right here. Make sure and get an usher here to this wonderful lady who's standing here in the middle. If you could work your way down the front and stand under the cross. Who else? Somebody else that's just thinking about it.

1:22:07 Yes, sir? Would you like to come down and just stand under the cross? Wonderful. God bless you. God bless you. Who else? Who else? Anyone else?