Repentance and Forgiveness Luke 15:17-24, NIV “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.” (Choir) Do you love our Lord Jesus Christ? Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Let us greet each other, saying, “The Lord Jesus is with us.” (Hymn #325) I would like to share the grace of God under the title, “Repentance and Forgiveness.” Please repeat after me, “Repentance and Forgiveness.” Throughout our lives, we meet many people. We meet our parents at birth. Then we meet our brothers, sisters, friends, and neighbors as we grow up. When we are mature enough, we meet our spouses and get married. Then we meet our own children. Therefore, meetings are very important in our lives. We see many people who face problems due to wrong or bad meetings. Some people were deserted by bad parents. No matter what kind of meetings we may have had, however, the most important meeting is the meeting with Jesus Christ. Our meeting with Jesus Christ fundamentally changes our lives. It does not matter what kind of life we have had, even if it has been sorrowful or hopeless. When we meet the Lord Jesus, our life and status will be changed. We will become the blessed children of God. We will be the blessed children of God and royal priests. We will give glory to God, straightening up our lives and enjoying His blessings. The changes take place when we meet the Lord. When Jesus becomes our master, He will pour His grace upon us throughout our lives. To live as the children of God and royal priests, we must guard ourselves, being filled with the Holy Spirit. Then the Lord will take delight in us. To live like this, however, there is one thing necessary. It is repentance. Repentance strengthens us and draws us closer to the throne of His grace. 1. The scene of true repentance First, I want to speak about true repentance. Luke 15:17 says, “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!” Even after we have committed our lives to Jesus, we still sin. So we have to continue to fight off our sinful nature. We must fight against our sinful nature throughout our lives. As long as we live in the flesh, our old self tempts us to sin. Paul the apostle said in Romans 7:18-20, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do?this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.” We want to live righteously, but our sinful nature tempts us to sin. We often fall into temptations, unable to resist them, saying, “I know I should not do this.” That is why we always need to be spiritually alert. We need to pray a lot. We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that we may fight off sin and overcome it. I pray that you will defeat the devil with the authority in the name of Jesus, trusting the precious blood of Jesus. Luke Chapter 15 speaks about the famous parable of the prodigal son. The prodigal son was so egocentric that he insisted on his own ways. One day he came to his father and asked for his share of the inheritance. Inheritance is supposed to be given to the heirs according to the will of the deceased. However, the younger son asked for his portion while the father was still healthy. He must have been very persistent, so his father finally gave in, giving his share of the inheritance. Be advised here. Do not give your children their share early, if you do not want them to be in trouble. Let us see what happened. Luke 15:12 says, “The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.” The younger son took all he had, went away, and squandered his wealth. Luke 15:13 says, “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.” He left home and lived the way he wanted. He lived prodigally. He squandered all his wealth. However, we must remember that his life was miserable. The younger son represents man who sinned against God. After creating the whole universe, God prepared the Garden of Eden and placed Adam and Eve there. He blessed them to prosper and increase in number and to give glory to God. However, Adam and Eve refused God’s blessing and disobeyed God by eating the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. As a consequence, sin entered into man’s life. Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden. They had to live in the world, which was covered with thorns and thistles. What came upon them, when they turned away from God, was the threefold judgment: spiritual death, environmental curses, and physical disease and death. Man was destined to be born, live, and die in sin. No one could come out of this bondage of sin. No one could be free from the punishment on sin. The only way to come out of the three-fold judgment is to come back to God. We can reclaim our rights when we return to God. The prodigal son realized he had sinned and repented of his sin, only after he had lost everything. He decided to return to his father. The Scripture says, in Luke 15:17, “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!” When we go away from God, we are bound to despair and to starve to death. There is an important phrase in verse 17. The phrase is ‘when he came to his senses,’ which means repentance. What is repentance? It is Metanoia in Greek, meaning “to turn completely around.” Just as a person turns around toward the East from his way to the West, it is a complete turn-around from hell to heaven. True repentance goes further beyond than just regretting but still staying in sin. It is to turn toward the opposite direction. It is to turn back to the Lord. It means giving up our self-centered life and living centered on Christ Jesus. The first message of the Lord Jesus was repentance. Matthew 4:17 says, “From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.’” Hallelujah! The Lord is saying the same to us, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” We need to be awake from our spiritual slumber. We should turn from our sinful nature. We must turn from our bad habits and character. We need to be free. We must leave all our cares under the Cross. Nothing is heavier than the load of sin. It is the heaviest and the most painful load. I want you to leave all your sins under the Cross and be free. I want you to be cleansed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, saying, “Lord, forgive me. I have turned around and come to You. I want to live a new life. Take my hand and lead my footsteps.” Rev. George Muller wrote a famous prayer. Its title is, I Am dead. It says, “I am dead. I am dead to myself, to my opinions, to my choices, to what I like, to my will, to the world, to the praise and criticism of the world, and even to my friends and relatives. I am alive only toward God.” Hallelujah! This is true repentance. True repentance is the death of our old self. It is to turn around completely. It is to please only God. In 1907, there arose a great revival at Jangdaehyun Church in Pyongyang. On January 14, Missionary Graham Lee finished his sermon and called for prayer among the congregation. Usually, a person would stand up and pray. On that day, however, several people stood up. Rev. Lee asked them to pray together. Suddenly, the Holy Spirit descended upon them like a great waterfall, a great wind, or like a flame of fire. They began to cry out loudly together. This was the beginning of unison prayer. Unison prayer is one of the original prayer patterns in Korean Christianity. Some people say, “Why should Full Gospel Church members cry out loud? Is God deaf?” That is not true. We must cry out to God in prayer. God answers us and performs miracles when we cry out to Him. They were not ordered to pray out loud. When the Holy Spirit was upon them, they began to cry out in their prayer. After a long prayer, Elder Gil, the leading elder of that church, stood up and confessed, “I am like Achan. I repent of my sin before you. A year ago my friend died and left his property to me, asking me to take care of his bereaved family. I took some of the money and used it. I will give the money back to the widow.” Touched by Elder Gil’s public repentance, the congregation began to publicly repent of their sins one by one. They continued to pray until 2 A.M. with tears, hitting the floor with their fists. Since they did not stop praying, they were sent home. They went home but could not sleep. They came to church at dawn around 4 A.M., went into the church, and continued to pray. This is how the dawn prayer meetings started. Korean dawn prayer meetings began from this movement. Unison prayer and dawn prayer stemmed from the Great Revival Movement in Pyongyang. We must give thanks to God for the spiritual leadership of Yoido Full Gospel Church in its unison prayer, dawn prayer, and all-night prayer. Repentance changes our life. It brings God’s miracles. We must repent of all the sins that we have not repented of yet. Let us be changed through our repentance. I pray that you will live victoriously, being filled with the Word and the Spirit. 2. The love and forgiveness of the father Second, I want to speak about the love and forgiveness of the father. Please, repeat after me, “The love and forgiveness of the father.” Luke 15:20 says, “So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” The father waited for the return of his son every day since he had left. Hymn No. 317 says in the second verse, “O, come home, don’t delay! Only come back home today! For our Savior, every day, stands waiting there for you. And nightly, doors standing open, He waits the darkness through; For His child’s return, who’s gone away, still He’s waiting, oh, don’t delay.” Hallelujah! “And nightly, doors standing open, He waits the darkness through; For His child’s return, who’s gone away, still He’s waiting, oh, don’t delay.” This is the love of the father. This is the love of God. We sinned and left God, but He is waiting for us to come back to Him. When we repent and come to Him, He will hold us in His arms. The prodigal son was in a miserable state. He was in rags and staggering feebly. He looked so haggard that he did not look like the same person, but the father recognized the son at once from a long way off. The Scripture says that the father saw him and was filled with compassion for him. He ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. Although his son squandered all his wealth, although he came back home looking like a beggar, the father was so thankful that he forgave his son, hugged him, and kissed him. The father already forgave him when the son decided to return to him. He saw his son with compassion, not with hatred. He forgave his son once and for all when he returned home with repentance. I pray that God will have compassion on you. Bartimaeus was a blind man from birth. When Jesus had mercy on him, he received his sight immediately. A widow in a town called Nain was crying because her son was dead. When Jesus had mercy on her, the dead man sat up. Do not ask for people’s sympathy but ask for mercy from our Lord. Then He will perform a miracle. Cry out to the Lord in prayer, “Lord, have mercy on me! I am sick and tired. I cannot do anything. I am forsaken. I cannot bear the hurt, agony, and pain. Have mercy on me!” Hallelujah! A few days ago, I went to the emergency room at Yoido St. Mary’s Hospital to see someone who had been in a car accident. Then a lady saw me and said, “Pastor, please pray for my daughter.” She took me to an asepsis room and there was her daughter, suffering from leukemia for three years. She was very skinny, only skin and bones. I felt very sorry and prayed, “Heavenly Father, have mercy on this daughter. Have mercy on her.” Can you imagine what the mother has felt for the past three years? It must have been like three thousand years. However, the mother stays with her daughter and cries out to the Lord. God will perform a miracle. I pray that the Lord will have mercy on us when we pray, “Have mercy on me.” Our God is love. He is a good God. He is greater than other god who only punishes and judges. Our God of forgiveness accepts sinners when they truly repent of their sins and return to Him. There is a story called, “A Yellow Ribbon.” The story is very touching. In 1972, ABC-TV aired a dramatized version of the story. On a bus to Florida, a man was sitting feebly with his head low down. He had been an ex-convict at a New York penitentiary. He had been in prison for three years and was on his way home. Even though he had decided to live a whole new life, he was insecure and worried, thinking, “Will my wife forgive me? Will she let me come back?” Before his release from prison, he wrote this letter to her, “My dear wife, I have disappointed you. Even though I could not dare to ask you if you would let me come back, please tie a long yellow ribbon around the old oak tree in front of our house. If I see the yellow ribbon, I will get off the bus and start a new life with you. However, if you cannot take me back, do not tie a yellow ribbon. Even so, I will not resent it or hate you for that. It will hurt me, but I will understand. Then I will continue my bus ride and start a new life somewhere else.” He was feeling uneasy throughout his bus ride home. Since it was such a long ride to Florida, the passenger next to him asked, “Where are you going?” So he told him about his story. All the passengers knew what was going on. The bus was approaching his town and they became nervous. Will there be a yellow ribbon? The bus was coming closer and closer to his town. He could not dare to look outside, so he said to the driver, “Bus driver, please look for me, because I cannot bear to see what I might see. Tell me whether you see a yellow ribbon or not.” The bus finally went into town, and the all the bus passengers cheered, “Wow!” There was not just one yellow ribbon. There were hundreds of yellow ribbons tied around all the branches of the tree, and the roof of his house was covered with yellow cloth. It was impossible to miss. The wife was tying the hundreds of yellow ribbons around the oak tree, forgiving her husband. Based on this story, the famous song was written, “Tie a Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Ole Oak Tree.” The song ends with this, “Now the whole damned bus is cheering. And I can’t believe I see a hundred yellow ribbons round the ole oak tree.” Since then, a yellow ribbon has become a symbol for the return of a loved one. Yellow is the official color of the cavalry branch of the U.S. Army, used in insignia. In 1979, 55 Americans were held hostage in Iran for 444 days. During this long period of time, the families of the hostages put yellow ribbons on their porches, while waiting for their loved ones to come back home. The movement spread all over America. To us, this yellow ribbon is similar to the Cross of the Lord Jesus. The Cross symbolizes the forgiveness and love of God. Jesus, our Shepherd, is looking for us with His perfect love. Ask a mother who has just found her missing child, “How terrible did you feel?” Then the mother will reply, “Not terrible at all anymore. Now I have found my child. All my worries are past. I am the happiest Mom alive.” Hallelujah! Ask the Lord Jesus, “How terrible did you feel because of me?” Then He will reply, “Not terrible at all. Since I found you, my love, I am happy and overjoyed.” Hallelujah! This is the love of Jesus in spite of everything. In spite of our sin, in spite of our filth, in spite of having voluntarily gone away from Him, in spite of hurting Him so often, when we come back to Him, He will forgive and love us. We are standing where we are now thanks to His amazing grace. Let us give constant thanks to the Lord. As the children of God, we are so blessed in spite of everything. When we look back in retrospect, we can realize that our Lord has loved us in spite of everything. He has forgiven us in spite of our sins, rebellion, quick tempers, and so on. He has forgiven us. Hallelujah! Let us give thanks to Him for His love and forgiveness. 3. A life that has no forgiveness Third, I want to speak about the lack of forgiveness. Many people think this is a story with a happy ending when the prodigal son returned home. However, the Scripture shows another prodigal son. Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. Luke 15:26-28 says, “So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.” The father said, “Let’s go in. What is the matter?” In Luke 15:29-30, the Scripture says, “But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’” He was not just refusing to forgive his brother but was filled with resentment against his father. Even though he had such a good father, he was badly prejudiced against his father. He considered his father as a stingy person who would never gave him even a young goat. Sometimes, Korean Christians?under the influence of Confucianism? consider God as a stubborn, rebuking, and judging God. Our God is a good God. He is so good and loving that He did not even spare His one and only Son and let Him die on the Cross for us. God wants to bless us with good things. Matthew 7:11 says, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all?how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Although the older son had a loving and generous father, since he viewed his father as stingy, he protested. Let us not limit the love of our Father like this older son. Let us not be legalists, judging and criticizing others. I want you to recover a correct self-image of yourselves. The older son did not forgive his father or his brother. He did not treat his brother as a brother. He said, in verse 30, “But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!” He called his brother, ‘this son of yours,’ not ‘my brother.’ Although his brother repented and came back home, he was blaming his brother and his father for all things. He blamed his father for forgiving the prodigal son. Let us not judge or condemn other people. We must forgive one another. We must accept one another with love. However, we are not forgiving, just like this older son. Instead, we keep criticizing and condemning others. The following story happened in a church. That church had a family hymn-singing contest. A deacon’s family got mixed up on the lyrics while singing a hymn. People laughed, and the deacon was badly embarrassed. He returned to his seat and sat down with his head low. Then it was the pastor’s turn. While they were singing, the pastor sang the wrong words, too. People laughed again. The pastor’s family members looked at him surprised, as if to say, “Daddy, I am embarrassed. How can you sing the wrong words?” Some time after that, the pastor collapsed and went to be with the Lord. After the funeral, while arranging the articles left by the late pastor, they found his diary. In the diary they found this. “July 14. We had a singing contest at church. Deacon Kim’s family got mixed up on the words. People laughed, and Mr. Kim was totally embarrassed. I did not want that situation to go on, so I sang the wrong words on purpose when it was my turn. People laughed again. I glanced at Mr. Kim, and he looked relieved, since even a pastor could sing the wrong words. I am happy that I could comfort a soul with a small thing.” The leaders of the church wept as they read this. Do we live with wholehearted love and forgiveness? Do we trample on other people for a trivial mistake they made instead of forgiving it? The most beautiful heart is the one which covers and forgives the shame of others. We must be generous enough to accept and forgive others and ourselves. If we take joy in uncovering and rebuking others’ faults, it will deeply grieve our Lord. We will have an ugly attitude. We should try to cover the faults of others. We should try to forgive and forget them. This should be the characteristics of Christians, full of love and forgiveness. Forgiveness has wonderful power. We need to experience the grace of forgiveness of the Lord. We need to forgive one another to fight against sin. We must forgive ourselves for not forgiving. Moreover, we must forgive and love our neighbors who hurt us. As long as you fail to forgive those who have hurt you, you will not be freed from the hurt. Consider Jesus our Lord. He came to earth and died on the Cross while we were still sinners. His forgiveness is unconditional. Even though we did not deserve it, He died instead of us. Through His love and forgiveness manifested on the Cross, He opened a door to salvation for human nature. Thanks to His love, we have become the children of God. Therefore, we must forgive one another. We must love one another, saying, “Lord, forgive us because we have judged and condemned others. Help us have generous hearts to forgive and love. Help us to dedicate our lives and live for the glory of God. Let us pray. Our Father of infinite love and grace, forgive our sins and faults. We are so ashamed before You. We have revealed, criticized, and magnified others’ faults instead of covering them. You have forgiven us unconditionally, never revealing or bringing up our sins. However, we could not do so. Forgive us and help us to forgive others with your grace. Help us forgive over and over again for the rest of our lives. Giving thanks to You, I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.