What Step Are You On?

Opening prayer and reading of opening verse:

Ø      Galatians ch 4 v6-11: And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. ⁷Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Ø      ⁸Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. ⁹But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?   ¹⁰Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. ¹¹I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain.

My main text this morning is Luke chapter 15 the prodigal son. I like this story because it is the walk of a righteous man who turns from God to find a more enjoyable life, or what he thinks will be a more enjoyable life. Only to realize that he already had everything he needed to be happy. I want to share with you the seven steps of separation and restoration he went through and to ask you what step are you on in your own life. This story isn’t about sinners who never new God, but about a son of God (a saved person) who slips back down into the depravity of sin. Lets read through this story in its entirety then we will brake it down. Turn to Luke Chapter 15 starting with V1-32.

  ¹¹And he said, A certain man had two sons: ¹²And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. ¹³And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. ¹⁴And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. ¹⁵And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. ¹⁶And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. ¹⁷And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! ¹⁸I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, ¹⁹And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. ²⁰And 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. ²¹And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. ²²But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: ²³And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: ²⁴For this my son was dead, and is alive again;  he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. ²⁵Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. ²⁶And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. ²⁷And he said unto him,  Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. ²⁸And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. ²⁹And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: ³⁰But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. ³¹And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. ³²It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. [1]

    Lets take a look the seven steps of separation first then we’ll look at the seven steps of restoration

Separation

Ø      1. Self Will V12

¹²And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. The basic’s of Self Will is Determination, I can picture the Father looking at this son and seeing the look on his face and in his eyes. Being grieved by his sons words but knowing he wasn’t going to be able to change his mind agreed to his request. But you will find this was not an equal share if you look in  Deuteronomy ch21 v17 the first born was to receive a double portion of the inheritance. This means he only received a third of his father estate.

Ø      2. Selfishness V13

¹³And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. The words  gathered all together means he liquidated his assets into cash. Notice so far he has only had one thing on his mind…himself. He wasn’t concerned with how this would affect is father or his brother he didn’t care if this could hurt them emotionally, physically, or monetarily, just himself.  How many people do you know that are on drugs, alcohol or are so absorbed in them selves that they don’t care who they hurt because it isn’t them that is feeling the pain? They are on the first two steps of separation. Jesus said we are to carry one another’s burdens, to love one anther as we love our selves. When we start down the stairs of separation we stop caring about our brothers and sisters burdens, we stop loving others as we love our selves, because we become so blinded by greed and self want nothing else matters but our own desires, and possessions and money become the most important thing in our lives.

Ø      3. Separation V13

¹³And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. Gathered all together means he liquidated his assets into cash, but I am not going to expand on this today. I want you to be centered on the journey because, once the devil gets you involved with your own self wants and desires. He starts separating you from God and other Christians. Because he knows if he can keep you from church and keep you from fellowshipping with your brothers and sisters, you become an easier target. He will entice you with worldly illusions and desires to make you think that the grass is greener on the other side. You will hear that Far Country calling you, and the voice may be the sweetest voice you have ever heard. But if you listen to it and you take the third step of separation from God. You’ll find yourself in a very lonely and cruel place.  So don’t listen to the voice of that far country.  if you feel yourself begin to weaken; pray for strength, if you’re too weak to pray call a brother or sister to pray with you. But don’t give in to the far country.

Ø      4. Sensuality V13

¹³And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. The temptation of the flesh is one of the most commonly used vices of the devil to keep you separated from God. We are all beings that enjoy physical and mental stimulation.

Ø      5. Spiritual Destitution V14

¹⁴And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. When satan gets you spend all of your faith and spiritual dollars to where you have nothing else left. You are going to be in want, you will have a void in your life that only God can fill and you are in a far country, far from the Fathers house. You have now reached spiritual poverty, your riches in God are gone and you are left at the mercy of the far country.

Ø      6. Self Abasement V15

¹⁵And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. The sixth step of separation is devastating one, because you begin to abandon all that you hold dear. You’ve lost everything including your pride. I want you to think about the son in this story for a moment. He was a Jew, a hog would have been a vile creature to him it was considered an unclean animal. They were not allowed to eat nor even have these animals according to their faith. Yet hear he is feeding them, because he attached himself to a person from the far country. I want to tell you that every time you attach your self to someone that is un-Godly you will find your self doing things that would have turned your stomach before.

Ø      7. Starvation V16

¹⁶And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. The last step of separation is your spiritual starvation. Man can’t feed your soul, satan cant feed your soul, but when you get hungry enough you start to eat anything you can get your hands on even slop. Where were all the people who helped him get to this step, where is all of his friends in this far country. You are deceiving your self if you think the world cares about you! I want to tell you the world only care’s about one thing itself. The people in the far country aren’t going to help you because they are concerned with their problems, their needs, their own wants and desires.

Don’t worry because there is a way out. For every step of separation there is a step of restoration.

Restoration 

Ø      1. Realization V17

¹⁷And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! When you have finally gotten sick of starving spiritually; and being separated from your family, and God. You will realize that in Gods house I didn’t feel this way, in Gods house People loved me, and in Gods house I was truly happy. I want that joy again, I want to be spiritually fed again, and I want to see my Father again.

Ø      2. Resolution V18

¹⁸I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, See once you realize what step you are on, you begin to formulate a plan off action to solve the problem and get back on the right track. This all begins with confessing to God your sins. The Bible said he was going to his Father, not a friend, brother, preacher, but his Father. See you don’t have to tell me your sins but you do have to confess them to God, and you can do this quietly through silent prayer.

Ø      3. Repentance V19

¹⁹And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. You have to turn from your sin, stop doing things that God has convicted you about. There are 2 best guides to see if you are living your life according to Gods plan for your life. They are the Holy Spirit and the Word of God (your Bible). If your life is lining up with them then you are in good shape, but if not you need to make some changes. I want to tell you that every one has stumbled everyone make’s mistakes, but a righteous man gets up and dusts himself off, confesses his sin to God, repents of it and continues to walk with God.

Ø      4. Return V20

²⁰And 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. You have to return to God, this could be a hard journey; look at all of the things he had to pass on his way back. No doubt he had to walk by the tavern where he partied, the red light district where fornicated, and all of the other places where he thought he was living life to the fullest. If he journeyed to a far country the journey back would have been equally as long, but it all starts with that first step.

Ø      5. Reconciliation V20

²⁰And 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.  I want you to know that if you get closer to God he will get closer to you. The Bible say’s that if you draw nigh unto God he will draw nigh unto you. He will reconcile with you if you’re willing to confess, repent, and make that journey back to house.

Ø      6. Re-clothing V22

²²But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: This verse is a very important verse and has a lot of spiritual analogies. The best robe is in reference to Righteousness; God will cover your past sins under the Blood and cover it with his Righteousness. The ring is a powerful symbol in olden times the rings where for those of nobility and power. They would seal letters by pouring wax over the flap, and then pressing their ring in the wax. The rings seal identified the person, their family and their authority. This ring in particular has 8 jewels in and is called the ring of reconciliation. You can find the jewels in Romans ch 5 v 1-8. The shoes are a representation of the Gospel of peace Which can be found in Eph ch 6 v 15. When you put them together they are a representation of the riches of grace. I encourage you today to shed your worldly clothing and accept the coving of God and receive his blessings your life. 

 Ø      7. Rejoicing V23-24

: ²³And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: ²⁴For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. I want you to notice it just wasn’t the Father that was rejoicing, it wasn’t just the servants, but the son who came home as well. I promise you that when you come back to God, that not only is God happy, not only are the ministers happy, not only are your brothers and sisters in the lord happy, but you are going to be happy. 

You are going to rejoice because your long journey home is over and you are once again welcomed back into the family of God. Your burdens are lifted, your mind made clear, your heart filled with love and your spirit fed. I encourage you today to look at the seven steps of separation and restoration and see where you stand. It isn’t too late you could be prayed up, filled up and ready to go up in a matter of minutes. Won’t you make the journey home? Don’t stay in that far country, your father is waiting and he has been missing you, your brothers and sisters have been missing you and you have been missing your family of God.

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