Don't Become A Prodigal

Luke 15: 11And he said, "There was a man who had two sons. 12And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.' And he divided his property between them. 13Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless (prodigal) living.

Prodigal means: Dissolutely – riotous (Dissolute is used to describe a person lacking restraint)

Dictionary Definition: Lacking moral restraint; indulging in sensual pleasures or vices

Have you ever been a prodigal? (a person that lacks restraint)

Luke15:1,2 1Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them."

Jesus was talking about son's in this parable. He was referring to believers not about some criminals but he referred to them as persons who lack restrain. We have all been prodigals even if it was for a moment or for a few hours.

You may be a good Christian and love the Lord and then you go on a cruise and decide to go to the bar and have a drink. Or you just stayed at home for the weekend and had nothing else to do and went on the Internet and watched something that you are not supposed to see. Or you met an old boyfriend at the mall and decided to go out for lunch with him and gave him a kiss.

Why would we leave the father's house even if for a few hours?

Sometimes we just blew it and we can't even believe how bad we did it.

1. What is the reason why believers become prodigals?

We have 3 parts in our being: Spirit, Soul and Body.

Genesis 2:7then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground (body) and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (spirit), and the man became a living creature (soul).

God intended for you to relate with him through our Spirit

God created us to relate with other people and his creation through our Soul and our Body. He wanted us to climb mountains, to swim in the ocean. God loves when we see His creation and we praise him as we realize how awesome he is.

The reason why Christians become prodigals is because we sometimes begin to relate to God with our souls. We start to think about how we feel about God and who we desire for God to be. We make decisions about God and we give importance to what we feel about God. These are areas that have to do with our Soul and God never intended for us to relate with him in this way.

The Bible has 1 author and 39 writers. You may now everything about the Bible not knowing the author.

2. How can I return to the Father's arms?

Your Spirit needs to be in charge of your life. We all have a fight in us between the Spirit and the Soul.

1. Understand the battle between Spirit and Flesh

Galatians 5:17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.

2. Strive to reach spiritual maturity

Hebrews 5:12For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

There are those "who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil."

3. Kill your selfish desires

Hebrews 4: 12For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

You can hide your feelings, desires and thoughts from everyone else but God can see through you as I can see through the windshield of my car.

Jesus went to the cross to pay a high price for your forgiveness. God loves you so much that decided to forgive you and your lack of restraint. The father has open arms to hug and hold all of those that follow the way of the cross.