Explore the timeless story of the prodigal son, as this episode focuses on spiritual renewal and redemption. Jeff Archie reflects on how individuals can drift away due to willful decisions and how recognizing the need to return to God is the first step towards healing. We also discuss the transformative power of having God’s will be done in our lives, challenging doctrinal misconceptions, and the importance of making informed spiritual choices.
Let’s think about the words of Jesus when he said a certain man had two sons. You know, those words have moved many an individual to change his or her life. Well, today from the International Gospel Hour, we once again draw near to Jesus and learn of one of these sons. So stay with us.
SPEAKER 02 :
Hi, this is Jay Webb for International Gospel Hour. For 90 years, churches of Christ have proclaimed God’s Word through International Gospel Hour. You are about to listen to another Bible-based lesson with Jeff Archie of International Gospel Hour, starting now.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, thank you for staying with us today for our study, and greetings to all of you. We are honored when you choose the International Gospel Hour for your listening pleasure. We hope that our studies will help you walk closer to God. We hope our studies will help you make a decision that you’ve not made before to obey the gospel of Jesus Christ. I was encouraged some time back when a homeschool mother shared with me that she uses our daily broadcast for the chapel period or a Bible study period for her children. I’m so thankful. I’m grateful also for such listeners as Stuart Yancey, who listens to our broadcast via podcast and shares this material in the jail ministry that he brings forth. Thank you, Stuart, and we appreciate you, and we appreciate all of you with our studies here from the International Gospel Hour, and thank you for joining us. We are under the oversight of the elders of the West Fayetteville Church of Christ in Fayetteville, Tennessee. The address to us is PO Box 118, Fayetteville, Tennessee, 37334. Our toll-free number is 855-444-6988. You can also access us through our website at internationalgospelhour.com. Now as I bring all this to you, let me pause for just a few seconds for our J-Web with a little bit of info on our social media.
SPEAKER 02 :
International Gospel Hour is on Instagram. Just search International Gospel Hour, click follow, and you’re set. You can keep up with International Gospel Hour on Instagram and feel free to share our content. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER 03 :
Friends, let’s think about the parables from Luke, the 15th chapter. And you know, those parables show us God’s attitude toward the lost. It is a tragic thing to be lost. And many are lost and they’re not aware of it. And in an earlier broadcast, we considered the parable of the lost sheep in verses 4-7 and the lost coin in verses 8-10. Today will you consider with me the parable of the one to whom we call the prodigal son in verses 11-24 of Luke 15. Let’s look at the tragedy of being lost, the tragedy of willfulness, and the choice that this son made. Luke 15 verse 11 begins, Then he said, A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that fall to me. So he divided them to his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. Oh, and he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself, he said, “‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough to spare, and I perish with hunger?’ I will arise and go to my father and will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants. And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight and am no more or no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, Bring out the vest robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet, and bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry. For this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found. And they began to be merry. Friends, let’s talk about the tragedy of being lost and that of willfulness. For the prodigal son was willfully lost. He made his choice to leave the Father’s house. Many are lost today for the same reason. You know, morally, someone may reply, well, what I do is none of your business. And they’ll go right on living the way they want. Doctrinally, what about this? I’ve had individuals say, I know that is what the Bible says, but I believe it differently. Or I feel it right here, and they put their hand over their heart. I know that’s what the Bible says, but that’s not the way I understand it. That’s pretty dangerous, folks. If we know what the Bible says, stop! That’s what it says. An individual will exalt their will above the will of God. You know, in Matthew 6 and verse 10, the prayer to the Father is His will be done. So they will exalt their will. And it’s not a His will be done, but what they want. There are those who have a prejudiced thought concerning the gospel. Like those in the days of Matthew 13 and verse 15 where the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing and their eyes they have closed. Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears. Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn so that I should heal them. Notice again. Their ears are hard of hearing and their eyes they have closed. You see they did not want to hear these things. They want to keep the prejudiced thought and not look at what would change their lives spiritually. You know, friends, those who willfully sin, those that make the choice to turn away from God and have nothing to do with Him, will receive greater damnation. Listen to Luke 12, 47 and 48. And that servant who knew his master’s will and did not prepare himself or do according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required. And to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more. Friends, are you not thankful for how this parable ends? The prodigal son came to himself and came back to God. You know, a lot of times people will ask, why doesn’t a person do this? Why doesn’t a person do that? It takes a person to come to themselves to realize, this is what I need to do. And when that prodigal son came to himself and realized what was there in the father’s house, he came back to the father. The teaching of the parable is when we leave the father, And all the blessings therein, those blessings, those thoughts last for a while. And then the next thing you know, we’re gone. But when we come back to the Father, He will restore us as if we had never left. Friend, may I ask a question? Do you need to come to yourself? Do you need to come back to God? Or do you need to come to God? Have you thought about some things during our study here and you’re thinking about these things and you’re saying, I need to do something. I need, you know, when the prodigal son came to himself, that one step from that man’s house back to his father. Every step drew him closer to the best. Sometimes, friends, we just need to begin with that first step, coming to God. I want to share with you a couple of Bible study tools that will help you come to God or come back to God. Now, first, I’m going to defer to our J-Web, who has some information from our friends at World Video Bible School, that I’ll share with you some more information for them, and then also some home studies that you can engage within. I’m going to pause for a few words from our J-Web.
SPEAKER 02 :
Streaming television content is quickly growing. And with that said, check out our friends at World Video Bible School. Their website is wvbs.org. Between listening to us here at International Gospel Hour, check out over 2,400 videos and get this, enroll in their online school and work at your own pace absolutely free. That’s wvbs.org. Again, that’s wvbs.org.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, thank you, Jay. And friends, the World Video Bible School, that is an online school. You also can have access to various videos. So as you come to yourself or you’re thinking about some struggles that you have or an issue you need to address today, We think you can find a study there through World Video Bible School that will help you. And again, that’s wvbs.org. We also realize that many of our wonderful listeners do not have online access. And we also offer studies by mail. Our home Bible study is very popular. We’ll send that to you absolutely free. And all you have to do and the easiest way is to call us at 855-444-6988. And leave us your name and address and just say, Home Study, and we’ll get it right to you. Now, you can also go to the Contact tab at our website, internationalgospelhour.com, and leave us the same thing. But if you don’t have online capability, that’s not going to work. But we think that our phone number will suffice, 855-444-6988. Leave us your name and address and just simply say, Home Study. It is a tragedy to be lost. and learning this brief study of the prodigal son, sometimes we make the wrong choices, but in turn we can make the right choices. I want to pause once again with a very special thank you to my friend and brother in Christ, Phil Leonard, and his dear mother. They granted me a gift called Sixty Years in the Pulpit. It’s a book about his late father, Charles Leonard, whom I was privileged to know. Brother Leonard preached the gospel from Michigan to Mississippi, And we’re honored to use his work here on International Gospel Hour and share with you his study of the tragedy of being lost. And friends, we’re going to continue this study. We’ve got one more as we look at Luke 15, beginning with verse 25, or we look at that elder brother who remained there at home. And so, friends, there’s much ahead. And we’re grateful that we can study the Bible with you here through our broadcast and to give you other options. So, let’s continue these studies at another time, but thank you for joining me today on the International Gospel Hour. I’m Jeff Archie, and friends, keep listening.
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God be with you, still be with you. Thank you for listening today. May this study prompt your search of God’s Word for His will in your life. To assist you in your study, or to listen to our other programs, please visit our website at internationalgospelhour.com. To God be the glory.
