The Prodigal God
Act One: The Younger Son
Parts and concept Inspired by Tim Kellers book “The Prodigal God”
The choice of the younger son…
• Tell the story
Luke 15: 11 Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ’Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
This first steps is the slap in the face:
What is the younger son saying… when he tells his father he wants the shares of the property and wealth?
He is saying I would rather you be dead…
You didn’t receive your inheritance until the father had died…
Now remember the audience listening to this story… Luke 15:1 tells us sinners, tax-collectors, Pharisees and teachers are all listening… and in this culture it is very patriarchal in nature. In other words the Father ruled the roost, and what he said went…
So when they hear the younger son say he wants the inheritance … they expect the father’s reaction to be anger, fury… he had every right to throw the son out with nothing… to even beat the son in disgrace… he is the father… and the son is not in line for anything without the blessing of the father… all control is in the fathers hands… and the son slaps the father in the face… I want my inheritance…
Now to receive your inheritance… it was not cash… this is an agricultural society… it was land, maybe animals, slaves, etc… so the idea of receiving your inheritance is not an easy task… it’s not a safe in the back behind the camel barn… it’s not in the local bank in town…
The father sells his property to give inheritance to his son…
The audience… would have all gasped. .’ So he divided his property between them. Now also catch… between them… the two sons have it divided between them…
He did what!
The Fathers reaction here shows He is the prodigal…
Recklessly spendthrift, extravagant grace… the father shows his heart for his son…
Let me tell you the end of this story right here… EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US IN THIS ROOM AND IN THIS WORLD… WE NEED GOD’S EXTRAVAGENT GRACE…
None of us deserve eternal life with Him… we all need Him to be a Prodigal Father…
This moment is … the first sin!
THE FIRST SIN OCCURS RIGHT HERE IN THE STORY… AND IS THE MAIN SIN THEME throughout…
The son is telling the father… “I don’t need you!” I will do it on my own…
I will go my own way… give me what you owe me… as if you were dead…
I loved my father… I was fortunate in life… I had a good one. No, a great one… I remember being in the car with a friend one time, he was arguing with his parents, and finally he says, very loudly… I hate you! To his dad…
I choked up… no matter how much I ever would have argued with my dad… I would never have said those words… I may not have always listened to my parents, but I did desire to honor them…
This son looks his father in the eyes and tells him I don’t have need of you, I wish you were dead, give me my inheritance.
THIS IS WHERE THE SON IS DIRECTIONALLY CHALLENGED: first outcome of sin!
13 "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. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
This part of the story shows the outcome of the first sin… what we would call SELF-GRATIFICATION… or what our culture would call self-discovery… self-indulgence…
And we buy into a lie that we can live how we want, for our decisions are only ours, and don’t effect anyone else. THAT IS A LIE. Every decision we make effects those around us… we either invest positively into this world, or we suck the life out of it.
But, when he realizes what he has done… he does what we do… he comes up with a plan…
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! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.
Let’s stop there…
How long does it take for us to figure out the wisdom of man is the foolishness of God… I mean common… do we really think our best laid plans are better than what God would have for us…
Yet we keep trying and leave God out of it…
Our plans to fix problems do not work out in the long run. Like a young man named Dan…
Dan was a single guy living at home with his father and working in the family business. When he found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly father died, he decided he needed a wife with which to share his fortune. One evening at an investment meeting he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her natural beauty took his breath away. "I may look like just an ordinary man," he said to her, but in just a few years, my father will die, and I’ll inherit $200 million." Impressed, the woman obtained his business card and three days later, she became his stepmother. Women are so much better at financial planning than men.
Now a fantastic Prodigal moment with the 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. 21 "The son said to him, ’Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 "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. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
He is placed back in the family… not second class citizen of the kingdom… the ring placed on his finger… this is Amazing Grace (tonight will talk about John Newton and his life)…
When the son returns home… the father runs out to him, and embraces him…
22 "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.
The ring on his finger… he is not only coming home, he is my son and all the right there in are given back to him… a modern day journey of self-gratification, discovery, may become something like this…
• Modern day video translation…
The love of a father that is extravagant with his grace… to give us what we don’t deserve.
I don’t care how long you’ve been running… how much self-discovery you have taken…
IT’S TIME TO COME HOME… IT’S TIME TO COME TO THE PRODIGAL GOD… the loving Father who will restore your life… and everything changes today…
Extravagant Grace... Mercy... Salvation!
