I remember one night I was returning to college, one of the best schools in the country, The Texas A&M University. What, sermon introductions should get your attention right?
•I was returning to school and it was late. I was driving alone and I had the music playing, but I began to get sleepy.
•I’m much better now, incase my mother hears this sermon, but at that time I thought to myself, “I can make it.”
•So I continued down the highway, securely gripping the steering wheel, but my eyes started to close. I realized what was happening and I shook it off, still thinking to myself that I could make it.
•I continued down the highway and was able to stay awake, but once again my eyes started closing.
Well, determined to make it back to school so that I could get in the bed, I continued driving and I dosed off once again, but this time I was awakened by the loud and bumpy shoulder of the road and realized that I was only inches from going over the elevated road.
•Obviously terrified, I realized that I was off track, and I needed to get back, on the road. You see the danger of me being off track is that it could have led to serious injury or even death.
•Needless to say, the near death experience made me determined to stay WIDE awake until I reached my destination.
Wouldn’t you agree with me that life is a journey? Life is a journey and it’s seen as a road we travel. The roads we travel may be narrow and some may be wide, but the danger is we’re all susceptible to getting off track, and the reality is we do get off track.
•To be off track means that there is a destination you’re headed toward on the road ahead, and if you get off of the road that leads to that destination, then you’re considered off track.
•When you’re off track it hinders you from reaching that destination, and if you remain off track, chances are you won’t reach your destination.
You see if I had not been awakened, keyword, by the roughness of the road, then I would have continued off track, leading to great harm or tragedy.
•We all have a destination to reach, and if we’re not on track, it will lead to a tragic end.
•Well, I’m not here to talk to you about being off track from falling asleep behind the wheel of a car, but I would like to take a moment of your time to talk about being off track because of the spiritual condition we find ourselves in at times.
•Whether you like to admit it or not, all of us have been off track, will be off track, and may be off track right now. Does not the Bible say, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”?
So God knows that at times we will get off the road that He has set before us, but we have to realized that we’re off track, and need to get back.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the situation that the young boy in our text found himself in, he was off track and needed to get back. But before we get into this parable we need to understand a few things that were going on.
•I’m sorry if you wanted to jump into the story, but I’m convicted to not only preach the gospel, but to teach the gospel as well.
•Even though many of us are familiar with this passage, someone may not be, and if you are familiar, you never know what new information or application you may find, but I’m digressing.
Luke, the author this gospel, was a Gentile Christian. A gentile was considered to be anyone who wasn’t of Jewish origin. Luke was also a traveling buddy of Paul, and some scholars say that he was a doctor as well.
•Although his occupation can be debated, one thing that we do know is that he wrote inspired words from God. The gospel of Luke deals with the history of Jesus Christ, the apostles, and the New Covenant, and in our text Luke shares with us a parable of Jesus Christ.
•A parable is a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach a truth, religious principle, or moral lesson.
•Jesus commonly taught with parables, so that those He was teaching would have an example they could understand and relate to, which then makes it easier to apply.
But in the context of our pericope, Jesus shares three parables with the growing crowd and the Pharisees. The crowd wanted to hear the words of Jesus, and the Pharisees, as usual, were trying to discredit Jesus because He had healed on the Sabbath and was associating Himself with sinners.
•And because of His love and concern for sinners, Jesus shared the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son.
•In each of these parables, Jesus was trying to show that God has love for the sinner, and that He will seek lost souls, and rejoice when one is found.
•The Pharisees could not understand the love of God, and couldn’t comprehend why God would have such compassion on sinners.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As we examine the parable of the lost son, also known as the prodigal son, prodigal meaning wasteful, we want to note a few things first.
•Earlier we said that a parable was an allegorical story, which means that the concrete or material forms in the parable are a representation of something, or that they have spiritual meaning behind them.
•In this parable, the father represents God, the younger or lost son represents sinners, and the older son represents the Pharisees.
•I believe for application purposes, that the sinner can be someone who has yet to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, or it could be a Christian who has a broken relationship and fellowship with God.
•Don’t get me wrong, we’re all sinners in a sense, but there is a difference between someone who is in right relationship with God, and one who isn’t.
Although a Christian can’t lose their salvation, and Paul makes this clear by saying that we are sealed until the day of redemption by the Holy Spirit, a Christian can have a broken relationship with God, which feels as though you have lost everything.
•But in our parable, there was a father who had two sons and the younger son came to his father and said, give me my share of the estate (his inheritance in other words).
•So the father gave him his portion and a few days later the son took all of his belongings and traveled to a distant land.
He wasted his entire inheritance living wild and that’s when things took a turn for the worse. A severe famine hit the land and he was broke. He had to do something so he worked for a local; feeding pigs in his fields.
•It got so bad that he would have had no problem eating what the pigs ate, but that’s when he finally came to his senses. He thought to himself, “My father’s servants are eating better than me, but I’m about to die because I have nothing to eat.”
•He rehearsed how he would tell his father how he has sinned against heaven and in his sight.
•Then he returned home, and before he got to the front door his father came out to greet him with a hug and kiss.
As the son was trying to apologize to his father, the father told his servant to bring the finest robe, a ring, and sandals for his son. They killed the fattened calf to eat and celebrate.
•But when the older brother found out what was going on, he became angry and refused to join the celebration. His father begged him to come in, but still he refused and replied, “why are you doing all of this for your son who wasted his money on prostitutes?
•I done everything you asked and you never threw a party for me.” The father replied, “You have always been with me and everything I have is yours, but your brother was dead, but is alive again, he was lost, but now he’s found!”
This is a story that we all can relate to, we’ve all been lost before Christ found us, and if you’re not afraid to admit once again, we’ve all been off track, needing to get back. But, what lessons can we learn from this parable?
There was a father who told the story of the prodigal son to his 4-year-old daughter while putting her to bed one evening, and after sharing the story with her, he asked what she had learned. After thinking for a moment, she said, “Never leave home without your credit card!”
•While I’m sure that’s not the moral of the story, there are some principles that we can take and apply to our lives.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After a closer examination of this parable, God revealed to me that this story can be divided into three parts: the Realization, the Determination, and the Confirmation, each part containing conclusions that can be drawn out for the Application.
Let’s look at the first part, the Realization. We should realize that we’re off track when we try to live independent from God. Look at verses 12 &13a, “The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. 13 “And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country.”
Parents, can you imagine your child coming to you and saying, “Give me?” Not, “Please can I have?” or “I want to talk to you about something.” This son had no respect for his father and basically demanded his inheritance.
•An inheritance is normally given after a person dies, and in some cases the father could have chose to divide his estate early and retire from managing the estate.
•But what makes this situation so bad is that the younger son initiated the division of the estate, and it was if he was telling his father, “I wish you were dead.”
•The younger son was tired of living at home and he wanted to be independent. And the Bible says, not many days later, he left for a distant country.
In a distant country this son was free from his daddy’s rules. He could stay out as late was he wanted. He didn’t have to clean up his room or make up his bed.
•He just got tired of being at home, so tired that it caused him to ask for his inheritance. What made him want to leave the security of his father’s house? What made him think that the grass could be greener on the other side?
•Basically, the younger son had no regard for his father’s authority and wanted to be independent.
•The younger son didn’t realize this at the moment, but we can learn from his mistake and draw the conclusion that when we’re independent from God, we’re off track, and need to get back.
When we think that we know what’s best for our lives, we’re living independent from God. When we don’t pray and study God’s Word, we’re living independent from God.
•When we make decisions without consulting God first, we’re living independent, and when we’re living independent from God we’re off track.
•The younger son went to a distant country, but where has your desire for independence taken you?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We should also realize that we’re off track when sin control us and hold us captive. Starting with verse 13b, “And there he squandered his estate with loose living. 14 “Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. 15 “So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.”
Now that he has his independence, he goes to a far away country and lives the high life. Yeah, he has all the latest clothes, bling bling, and pinky rings.
•He’s at the bar buying his so called friends round after round. Everything he sees, he buys, and according to verse 30, that includes prostitutes as well.
•He thinks he has it going on, but he soon realizes that money can’t buy him joy because the Bible says he squandered his estate.
•In other words, he wasted his money because he couldn’t find fulfillment, so he spent all his money trying to find it. But eventually the well ran dry, his party ended, and he found himself broke and alone.
Through his wild living sin controlled him and held him captive. We know sin controlled him, because instead of saving money when he saw that it was getting low, he kept on balling out of control.
•To make matters worse a severe famine hit the country and he didn’t even have money to buy food. This led him to work for the local, and because he wasn’t a citizen of that country, the only job he could find was to feed the pigs.
•Since Jesus was talking to a Jewish audience, the characters of this parable were Jewish as well. So the Jews would have understood his current condition as hitting rock bottom, because pigs were considered unclean animals to them.
•They didn’t even touch pigs, so for this young son to feed pigs means that he had a disgraceful job.
This is what sin does to us, it causes us to do some disgraceful things, things that control us and hold us captive, and when we get to this point we should realize that we’re off track and need to get back.
•Sin, self inflicted nonsense, will cause us to hit rock bottom, but that’s why we should realize that we’re off track, so that we won’t have to experience the heartache and pain of hitting the bottom.
•Sin leaves us unfulfilled, causing us to look for fulfillment in any and everything.
•So when we realize we’re living independent from God, and that sin has a grip on us, we should also realize that getting back on track is the right thing to do.
•And not only is it the right thing to do, but the most rewarding thing to do.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next part of this story is the Determination. Now that one realizes that they’re off track, they should be determined to get back on track. And we become determined to get back on track when we come to our senses. Verses 16 & 17 says, “And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. 17 “But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! “
It had got to the point that this young son was about to eat with the pigs, I mean no one felt sorry for him, neither did they offer him anything to eat.
•As each day passed, his situation grew worse, he didn’t even have Ramien Noodles to eat, and what the pigs were eating started to look like a five-star meal.
•This is because he was out of his mind, his situation caused him to become blind to reality, but then something clicked.
•He realized that servants at his father’s house had plenty to eat, so what sense does it make for me to be out here starving to death? He finally came to his senses.
How far in the ground has sin driven us? I mean what did it take or what will it take for us to come to our senses when we find that we’re off track?
•You see when we realize that we’re off track, we should immediately start working our way back home before we even reach rock bottom, but sometimes it takes a great tragedy or hardship to happen to some of us before we come to our senses and return to God.
•Let me say this, some of us may be thinking, “Well my situation isn’t this bad, I’m doing a little of this and that, but I don’t see myself hitting rock bottom.”
•Sin is sin, there is no such thing as a little or big sin, although sin’s consequences may vary depending on the sin, but no matter what the sin is, it still affects God and our relationship with Him the same way.
A little “white” lie is just as harmful to our spiritual condition as murder is. So any sin that may be keeping us off track, can lead us to rock bottom, if we don’t come to our senses.
•But when we do come to our senses we should be determined to get back on track.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We should also be determined to get back on track when we repent with an humble attitude. Starting with verse 18, “I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.” 20 “So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 “And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
What a difference in the younger son’s attitude than what we saw before he left home. Then he had no respect in how he talked to his father, but now he humbly repents and ask for his father’s forgiveness.
•When he came to his senses while in the field with the pigs, it led him to sincerely and humbly repent. In other words, he changed directions, which is basically what it means to repent.
•You decide that you no longer want to go that way anymore, so you turn and go this way. You realize that you’re off track, and so you get back.
Notice that the son said that he sinned against heaven and in the sight of his father. We have to realize that although our sins may hurt others, our sin is against God first.
•Why, because we when sin we’re falling short of God’s standards, not man’s. Man’s standards can be lowered to the point that we have no problem measuring up to them, God’s standards are high, but reasonable. So when we sin it’s ultimately against God.
If we want to get back, we have to repent and ask for forgiveness from our Father. How can we get back on track if we don’t realize the wrong that we’ve done?
•If we don’t understand our sinful actions, then true repentance can’t take place. The younger son was ready to come home, he was so ready to come home that he was willing to become like one of the servants of his father.
•In other words, he didn’t expect to be restored to the same position he had before he left home, and he was ok with that, he just wanted to be back.
•What sacrifices are we willing to make in order to get back in right relationship with God? We should be determined to get back on track once we repent and come home.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As I get ready to sit and be happy by myself, the last part of this story is the Confirmation. This latter part is called the confirmation because we know we’re back on track when God welcomes us home and celebrates our return. Starting with verse 22, “But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; 23 and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 24 for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.”
Going back to verse 20, we see that when the son was coming home, that his father noticed him from the distance, he felt compassion for him and ran to greet him with a hug and kiss.
•For the patriarch of the family to run was to lose all caution and dignity, but the father’s love for the son was so great, that didn’t matter to him.
•If the father saw his son from a distance, that means that while the son was gone, the father always hoped that he would return, therefore often he would look out at the horizon to see if today would be that day.
•God won’t force us to come home, but I’m so glad that he never stops looking for me when I’m lost.
The son couldn’t even finish apologizing to his father, before the father started ordering the preparation for the celebration.
•Notice that the son never got to tell his father that he wanted to be like one of the hired men, because the father’s joy of his return was so great, that he didn’t let his son finish.
•The father immediately restored this young man as his son, directing the servant to bring the best robe (generally given to guest of honor), a ring (signifying authority, as a son, not a servant), and sandals (only slaves and the very poor went barefoot).
•He even had the fattened calf killed, which was prepared when there was a special feast.
The father realized that his son had been dead, but was alive again, lost, but found. As the shepherd celebrated when he found the one lost sheep, and the woman when she found the lost coin, this father celebrated at finding his lost son.
•We serve a God who celebrates when a sinner is found, and when a child comes home.
•And I’m so glad that when I return I don’t have to go to the back of the line, but he restores me to where I was before I left home.
And let me warn you about the haters, as this story closes, the older son became angry once he found out why the celebration was going on.
•He couldn’t understand why his father would celebrate in such a manner knowing that his son wasted all his money on living sinfully. He felt that he had done all that his father asked of him, and wondered why there was no party for him.
•His father simply said, “You have always been here with me and all that I have is yours, but your brother was dead, but he’s alive again, was lost, but now he’s found!”
•In other words, the older brother was already experiencing the goodness and blessings of the father, he was already on track, although with his anger it seem like he was getting off track, but the younger son was due the celebration because he could have been lost forever.
There are some people, who will hate because they remember your former lifestyle or past sins, and now they can’t understand why you’re preaching the gospel, teaching Sunday School, being financially blessed, and have a good job, but all I can say is that we serve a good God.
•We serve a God who does not hold our sins against us. He’s merciful and kind, and when we get back on track, he welcomes us home, restores us, and celebrates our return.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don’t know about you, but I needed this sermon, because I’m not afraid to admit that I’m a sinner. I’m not afraid to admit that there are times I get off track, and need to get back.
•If we want to be in right relationship with God, we must first realize when we’re off track, we’re off track when we try to live independent of God, and when sin control us and hold us captive. That’s the Realization.
Once I realize I’m off track, I should be determined to get back. We’re determined to get back on track when we come to our senses, and when we humbly and sincerely repent for our sins. That’s the Determination.
Finally, when I get back on track, I can know without a shadow of a doubt that He will restore me. When I’ve asked for God’s forgiveness, he welcomes me home, and celebrates my return by restoring me to a right relationship with Him.
•That’s the Confirmation. Now here’s the Application. Get back, on track!
I’m so glad that God realized that mankind needed a Savior, we needed someone to bridge the gap between us and God.
•We were born in sin, and shaped in iniquity. God realized that the only way we could be restored was through a perfect sacrifice. That’s the Realization.
So God sent his only begotten son Jesus Christ to die for our sins. He was ridiculed and mocked throughout His ministry, but nothing could stop Jesus from making His way to the cross.
•The agony and the thought of drinking out the bitter cup could not stop Jesus from dying for us.
•He was despised and reject, pierced through for our transgressions, but on the cross love kept Him there until He died.
•That’s the Determination.
But early one Sunday morning, He got up with all power in His hands. Because of His resurrection I know that I have a Savior who loves me and restores me.
•That’s the Confirmation.
•The application is up to us to accept or reject Him, to stay off track or to get back on track, the choice is ours.
