Daybreak: Luke 15:1-32

0:00Luke 151-32, devotional focus verse. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my fathers have breaded enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger? I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee. Luke 1517-18. Like the parable of the prodigal son in today's text, the testimony of Nick Seagress is a beautiful illustration of God's amazing grace and forgiveness. Nick's father was a preacher, and his parents reared him carefully and taught him the right way to go. However, he turned away from God's call to his heart. Nick, related, drinking, smoking, stealing, and gambling became a part of my life. So I hardened my heart, I still had no doubt that God was real.

1:00He proved that to me one night in an unmistakable way. I had my mind made up to attend a dance that evening, but to get there I had to walk past the church where special revival services were being held. As I passed the church building, I could hear people inside singing. The Lord laid it on my heart that I should go in. I looked up at the sky and told God, if you want me to go to church tonight, let that star fall. I raised my hand and pointed out a bright star. As my hand came down, that star fell. At that moment, I knew that God had hurt my prayer. Fear struck my heart, and I turned around and started back towards the church. Then some friends drove by on their way to the dance. When they stopped and invited me to go with them, I didn't have the courage to tell them no. Later I spent some time in the military, and after receiving my discharge, I rendered an apartment in a neighboring city.

2:00My friends and I spent evenings and weekends having what we called a good time. Often I would stay up all night, getting back early in the morning with just enough time to change clothes and go to work. Soon I even became involved in stealing. One day my friend and I decided to work on his car, but a storm came up. We pushed the car under a tree to keep the rain off us, and we raised the hood against a clothesline connected to the tree. I was squatting against the tree trying to stay dry when the mechanic with us said he needed something which I went after. Just as I was almost back to the car, lightning hit. The current raced down the tree to the clothesline and across to the car. My friend was leaning on the car where I had been just a short time earlier, and he fell to the ground unconscious. In panic we rushed to the hospital.

3:02The mechanic drove while I crouched in the back seat and gave my friend artificial respiration, trying to keep him alive. We were driving fast through the pouring rain, and water was accumulating on the highway. Suddenly the car went into a spin. As we slid around the back door, flew open, and my friends started to slide out. I reached to grab him, and then I was falling too. Somehow I caught the handle of the door and managed to hold us both in as the car spun crazily in circles. When we were finally righted on the road, we went on to the hospital. But we were too late, my friend had died. As I went home that night, God talked to me. He asked, if it had been you, where would your soul spend the eternity? I knew the answer. At the first opportunity I went to church and prayed, repenting of all my sins and asking forgiveness, returning my back on God for so long.

4:03He didn't reject me the way I had him. He saved me. What peace and joy came to my heart. He kept prayed on and received the experiences of sanctification, and then the baptism of the Holy Ghost. He became a preacher and a pastor. Until he went home to glory, he rejoiced in the fact that God loved him enough to save his soul and change his life. In Luke's parable, it was love that impelled the Father to watch for his wavered sons return and to welcome him home with open arms. In next story, it was love that responded to a young man's prayer for forgiveness and transformed his life. Today, the love of our Father in heaven is extended still toward anyone who will turn his way in repentance. What a merciful and loving God we serve. Background Information Luke 15 contains three parables related to seeking the lost. The lost sheep, verses 4 through 7.

5:05The lost coin, verses 8 through 10. And the lost son, verses 11 through 32. The murmuring of the scribes and Pharisees, who are well known for their animosity toward publicans and sinners, makes it likely that some of these despised individuals were in the crowd around Jesus when he gave these accounts. In the agricultural society of the area, sheep and shepherds were a familiar sight, and thus an understandable subject for Jesus' first parable in today's text. Sheep are known to be somewhat senseless animals with a tendency to wander. If a shepherd did not go out and seek a lost sheep, it would not find his way back on its own. First seven gives the point of this parable, that God values everyone. He actively seeks those who are sinners, lost, and all heaven rejoices with him at each person who repents is found. The second parable, the account of the lost coin, presents the same truth with a different

6:10illustration. A number of coins were used in the New Testament period, but the silver coin in this parable was likely a Roman denarius. A single denarius was worth about a day's wage, so the loss of a coin was significant. It was customary in that society for a woman to receive ten silver coins as a wedding gift. These coins held sentimental as well as monetary value, so if one was lost, a search would certainly ensue. The parable of the prodigal son, as verses 11 through 24 have traditionally been called, is one of Jesus' best-known parables. Through the centuries, it has been portrayed in numerous world-famous paintings, in musical pieces, and in literature. This parable appears only in the Gospel of Luke. While the first two parables in this group were reflective of the lower class of Jewish society, this parable was woven around an upper-class family that enjoyed significant wealth

7:12and influence. The younger sons' share of the inheritance typically would have been one-third of his father's state, C. Deuteronomy 2117. Normally, he would have received his share on the passing of his father, although it was not uncommon in Jewish society for the father to retire from active management of his estate and distribute at least a portion of his resources earlier. The far country and the parable illustrated that the environment was very different from the Jewish home in which the young man had grown up. Although the Jews were allowed to raise pigs and sell them to Gentiles, according to Mosaic law, pigs were unclean animals and were not to be touched, eaten or used for sacrifice. Thus working with the swine was a reversal of both the young man's formal social position and his religion. The second part of the parable, the response of the elder son when his younger brother

8:13was welcomed back into the home, was directed at the Pharisees and scribes who were listening. The elder brother exhibited the attitude of judgemental legalism like that of the Pharisees, who considered themselves righteous and faithful, but in reality were self-righteous and selfish. The prodigal, younger brother represented the publicans and sinners who were denigrated and despised by the Pharisees. It is noteworthy that the father's love for his elder son was in no way lessened by the loving mercy and forgiveness he extended toward his wavered son. Conclusion Each individual is precious to God and he is continually searching for those who have wandered away from him.