Click to watch

The story of the prodigal son is the most popular, because the road of the prodigal is a picture of what every one of us does in self-will. We say to God, “Give me your gifts. Give me your grace, provide me with your plenty, and then I’ll go and live life my way.” And you know the amazing thing? The father had every right in the story of the prodigal to slap him down and refuse him. He could have taken his entire inheritance away. That was the most violent abuse of the inheritance law that you could have done. Ask your father, while he’s still alive, to give you the portion that’s coming to you now. That’s what the younger son did. He spit in his father’s face and he took the riches that his father gave him, and he set off down that path of self-will. And the path of self-will always ends up in the pigpen. And then it says he came to himself.

Have you ever had a come to yourself moment? We need to kill the giant of self-will. You ask yourself the question, why did I ever leave? And though we call the parable the parable of the Prodigal Son, it’s really the parable of the loving and gracious father.

Click to watch

The Parable of the Prodigal Son is really “The Parable of the Loving and Gracious Father.” That’s the real point. And as the father goes out of the house for the older son who stands there in his aloofness, and he feels rejected, and he feels like he’s been ill treated, and he refuses to enter in.

And remember that the lesson that Jesus is teaching in The Lost Sheep and The Lost Coin and The Lost Son is the love of the father to bring back that which is His. And he says, there’s great rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents. But who is He talking to? He’s talking to the Pharisees. And as He tells the story of how the father goes out to plead with his older son, “Please come in and join the festivities! It’s right that we should do this. Your brother was lost and he’s found he was dead. He’s alive.” You know what he’s really doing? The father pleading with the older son is Jesus pleading with those self-righteous Pharisees, pleading with them to see the rightness of the fact that He’s a friend of sinners, the rightness of the fact that He feasts with tax collectors and the sinners and the harlots.

And some of them got it.

These video vignettes were derived from the original lessons below. Check them out!

Gene Cunningham - January 28, 2003

Hebrews 07

Hebrews 07

The conflict around us will intensify. Heb 2:1-4 A look at the relevance and practical applications of these verses. Heb 2:1-4 is a parenthesis, and to pick up the flow of the book continue from Heb 1:14 to Heb 2:5 Because the humanity of Christ is exalted at God’s right hand, and because we are in Christ, angels are at our service. But we must be careful to keep their ministry in the background and not give more attention to them than they deserve. Any angel that draws more attention to itself than it should is demonic. Fallen angels are already suffering and twisted, but they can make themselves appear as angels of Light. Heb 2:5 Christ, and since we are in Christ, we will be rulers, above angels. Seven victories of Jesus in the angelic conflict. This conflict is always raging around us, whether we are aware of it or not. Satan’s outrageous hostility to us is beyond bounds. If it weren’t for God’s protection, in part by His angels. 2Ki 7:1-20 Satan fears the weakest believer who turns that weakness into faith and seeks His Word for guidance. Problem of believer falling away from the steadfast advance toward the purpose God has for their life. All five warnings are about this danger. Heb 2:1-4 What we have in His provisions is something we can lose. You can’t lose your salvation, but you can lose the fulfillment of His plan for your life, and the grasping of these spiritual realities designed for you to experience now. You can fall short of His promises. We should be terrified about losing these things. We seize these promises by faith. If we lose these things now, we will also lose things in eternity. Not one violation of the Old Covenant went without justice. We are not under that covenant, we are under the New Covenant, with greater accountability. We cannot escape. Every failure to claim and realize a promise will have a consequences, and many of us suffer and don’t even realize it. Unless we stay focused and steadfast, and help each other, prayer, encouragement. Danger that has come down through the years. The Exodus generation heard the same warning, but they did not respond in faith. The reason we lose what we lose is because we don’t value it. We take it for granted. The author wants us to understand that we can lose it. If you feel you haven’t become a part of your congregation, help and serve, and join other people. City Slickers - all of life came down to one thing The one thing it comes down to is faith. A distinct power that faith has in our life: endurance. Heb 12:1 set before us-the divine plan for each of us. The Christian life is a marathon run. We will get weary, it will be strenuous, but its only through those experiences that you learn to turn the battle over to Him. There is only one interpretation to Scripture, and it’s Scripture’s interpretation 2Pe 1:20 Tribulational message Mat 24:13 three primary applications: to the disciples (they saw the destruction of the temple), believers of any age, believers of the tribulation Sozo-to be saved, to be delivered, but doesn’t always mean eternal salvation. This word is sometimes used for healing, or deliverance from trial, when heartaches are healed. If you want to come through with honor and virtue, and finish the race well, you will need divine deliverance, and that one thing is endurance. Abiding under the pressure or difficulty by grace through faith. How can we escape? We can’t. We can only find deliverance through endurance. Pray that God will stir up love of believers for one another. Same message and context: Luk 21:19 ktamoei to take possession. Future tense indicates a sequence, the future result of endurance. The one who gives is blessed, than the recipient. One objective, fix our eyes on Christ and look to the future. Rom 5:3-4 Jam 1:2-3 psa 23:1 Fear for nothing, care for nothing, because Christ is in charge. We have nothing to fear EXCEPT failing endurance, falling by the wayside. Difficulties and afflictions are planned by God. He causes all things to work together for good Rom 8:28

Scripture References: Hebrews 2:1-4, Psalms 23:1, Hebrews 2:5, James 1:2-3, Hebrews 2:5, Romans 5:3-4, Hebrews 1:14, Luke 21:19, Hebrews 2:1-4, Matthew 24:13, Hebrews 2:1-4, Hebrews 12:1, Romans 8:28

From Series: Hebrews (1998) | More Messages from Gene Cunningham | Download Audio

From Series: "Hebrews (1998)"

No summary for this series yet.

More Messages Associated With "Tribulation"...

Powered by Series Engine