The Prodigal Son
Luke 15:11-32 And 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 falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And 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. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And 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! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And 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. And 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. But 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: And bring hither the fatted calf, 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. Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. And 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: But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It 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.
In this story that we read today, we have four different people. Two of them, as we will find out are the same.
First we have the open rebellious son; which is the main character of the story. Next, we have the hidden rebellious son; who was his brother. Thirdly we have the loving father; who can only be God the Father. But then we have a fourth person who has a small part in this story, but is a key person. We will meet him later.
Now let’s take a look at the prodigal son. The prodigal son is everyone in the world who is lost without Christ. He has all the answers, but nobody wants to ask him the questions. He can’t understand the religious people, why they want to go to church, why they don’t go to dances, or why they are so “weird”. They don’t want to be known as some Jesus freak. May I tell you, Jesus doesn’t turn people into freaks, He turns freaks into people. Here we find as he turns of age, he moves out of daddy’s house and he goes to enjoy the world which he longed for, for so long.
With money in his pocket, and having a good time, he has no fear of the future. Not realizing that judgement awaits ALL people. Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; is his motto. He doesn’t really believe that he will die because that is something that old people do. Then he finds out that life isn’t all parties, and being merry. Life is filled with heartache and sorrow. When he gets to this point, he realizes that daddy might have been right. So putting his pride on the shelf, he comes to himself, and he receives Christ as his Savior.
Next we have his brother. This is a picture of one who receives Christ at a younger age, and grows in grace, over the years. He has been serving God in different areas of life as he would get victory in these areas. This is the typical Christian today. But we can’t see his heart. We can’t see that it is stained with sin, just like the prodigal son. Because, you see he hides it well. He can sin and get away with it. He is a secret sinner. You better watch out, your secret is going to be revealed one day. When the daddy got excited about the prodigal son getting saved, and rejoicing over it, the truth came out in the secret sinner. His sin was no longer secret. But God says in Luke 15:10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
We don’t think our rebellion is bad. As a matter of fact we often try to justify our rebellion, or in some cases we even try to ignore it. We say “well God will just have to deal with it. Besides, I am better than so and so. The question isn’t are you as good as so and so, the question is, are you as good as God. God says in 1 Peter 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
We may be able to justify ourselves to ourselves, but we will never justify ourselves to God. The Bible tells us in 1 Samuel 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
When a rebellious Christian comes home, God is not waiting there with a whip and chain, we find Him waiting with open arms, and a loving smile.
Nehemiah 9:17 And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.
Some people say that God is a God of second chances. That’s not true. He is a God of third, fourth, and fifth chances.
So we have met our open rebellious brother, and our hidden rebellious brother, and our loving compassionate Father. The last person we are going to meet today is the servant. He was told to get the robe, get the ring, and kill the fatted calf. He didn’t ask why, nor did he make excuses. He didn’t finish what he thought he should have been doing. The father told him to do it and he did it. That is how you and I should be. We find out what God says to do and, wanting to sound spiritual, we say, “Well let me pray about it.” We don’t need to pray about what He tells us to do, we need to do it. Well I just don’t feel burdened to do that. When the father told the servant what to do, he didn’t say “Well I just don’t feel burdened to do that.”
Matthew 12:18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
Being a servant is an honorable thing. And if you have accepted Christ as your Savior, then you have been chosen to be a servant. The Bible says in Matthew 20:27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Matthew 23:11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
It says in Matthew 25:23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. And in Matthew 25:26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
If you are saved today, then you ARE a servant. The question is what kind. Good and faithful, or wicked and slothful?
In this story that we read today, we have four different people. Two of them, as we will find out are the same.
First we have the open rebellious son; which is the main character of the story. Next, we have the hidden rebellious son; who was his brother. Thirdly we have the loving father; who can only be God the Father. But then we have a fourth person who has a small part in this story, but is a key person. We will meet him later.
Now let’s take a look at the prodigal son. The prodigal son is everyone in the world who is lost without Christ. He has all the answers, but nobody wants to ask him the questions. He can’t understand the religious people, why they want to go to church, why they don’t go to dances, or why they are so “weird”. They don’t want to be known as some Jesus freak. May I tell you, Jesus doesn’t turn people into freaks, He turns freaks into people. Here we find as he turns of age, he moves out of daddy’s house and he goes to enjoy the world which he longed for, for so long.
With money in his pocket, and having a good time, he has no fear of the future. Not realizing that judgement awaits ALL people. Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; is his motto. He doesn’t really believe that he will die because that is something that old people do. Then he finds out that life isn’t all parties, and being merry. Life is filled with heartache and sorrow. When he gets to this point, he realizes that daddy might have been right. So putting his pride on the shelf, he comes to himself, and he receives Christ as his Savior.
Next we have his brother. This is a picture of one who receives Christ at a younger age, and grows in grace, over the years. He has been serving God in different areas of life as he would get victory in these areas. This is the typical Christian today. But we can’t see his heart. We can’t see that it is stained with sin, just like the prodigal son. Because, you see he hides it well. He can sin and get away with it. He is a secret sinner. You better watch out, your secret is going to be revealed one day. When the daddy got excited about the prodigal son getting saved, and rejoicing over it, the truth came out in the secret sinner. His sin was no longer secret. But God says in Luke 15:10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
We don’t think our rebellion is bad. As a matter of fact we often try to justify our rebellion, or in some cases we even try to ignore it. We say “well God will just have to deal with it. Besides, I am better than so and so. The question isn’t are you as good as so and so, the question is, are you as good as God. God says in 1 Peter 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
We may be able to justify ourselves to ourselves, but we will never justify ourselves to God. The Bible tells us in 1 Samuel 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
When a rebellious Christian comes home, God is not waiting there with a whip and chain, we find Him waiting with open arms, and a loving smile.
Nehemiah 9:17 And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.
Some people say that God is a God of second chances. That’s not true. He is a God of third, fourth, and fifth chances.
So we have met our open rebellious brother, and our hidden rebellious brother, and our loving compassionate Father. The last person we are going to meet today is the servant. He was told to get the robe, get the ring, and kill the fatted calf. He didn’t ask why, nor did he make excuses. He didn’t finish what he thought he should have been doing. The father told him to do it and he did it. That is how you and I should be. We find out what God says to do and, wanting to sound spiritual, we say, “Well let me pray about it.” We don’t need to pray about what He tells us to do, we need to do it. Well I just don’t feel burdened to do that. When the father told the servant what to do, he didn’t say “Well I just don’t feel burdened to do that.”
Matthew 12:18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
Being a servant is an honorable thing. And if you have accepted Christ as your Savior, then you have been chosen to be a servant. The Bible says in Matthew 20:27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Matthew 23:11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
It says in Matthew 25:23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. And in Matthew 25:26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
If you are saved today, then you ARE a servant. The question is what kind. Good and faithful, or wicked and slothful?