Note: I used Preachers Sermon and Outline Bible on Luke for Notes, also parts from The Heart Beat of God Dr. Marty Baker
The Prodigal Sons
Theme: Show how many are like these in this story and how to get out.
Text: Luke 15:11-32
I want you if you would to turn with me to the book of Luke chapter 15. Luke chapter 15 beginning with verse of 11. Luke is the 3rd book of the New Testament writings. Luke writes from the perspective of a historian. His purpose is to record as one who is writing from history.
Here we find the story that is known as the prodigal son. It is the one of the most beloved stories in all of man kind. Why? I guess because it is the story that all of us are looking for.
We love the story of unconditional love. We know our faults and failures and look for someone to accept us as who we are.
There are three main characters the father and his two sons. One who is faithful and the other who is looking to go a little indepentant. Look with me at verse 11.
Luk 15:11-32
(11) Then He said: "A certain man had two sons. (12) "And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.' So he divided to them his livelihood.
Give Me
What was the Prodigal Brother Really Saying when he told his father “Give me my inheritance”
1. He wanted money and the things and possessions of the estate (world) which he was to inherit.
He wanted to get all the Father would give him, so that he could enjoy it now.
a. He had not earned it, not yet; therefore, he did not deserve it.
b. He was selfish and self-centered, rude and unkind. He said, "Give me," not "Please" nor "May I have." The effect upon his father and the estate was of little, if any, concern to the prodigal. The father could be hurt and the estate could suffer from the loss of the money and goods; it mattered little to the prodigal.
2. He said, "Give me my independence." This is what the prodigal was really after, the right to his own life. He was tied down to the father's property and was held responsible for the care of the property. He wanted to cut loose—to be away from the father and to be relieved of the responsibility of the property. He wanted to live his own life, to do his own thing (Luke 15:12).
The prodigal rejected and turned from the father and his way of life because he felt the father would...
• demand and require too much work.
• curtail and limit his freedom.
• disallow and restrict his fun and pleasure.
• be unfair and not understand.
• control and discipline too much.
• keep an eye and hand upon him.
Note a crucial point: the father gave the son his freedom and possessions. The son was able to do what he wanted with his life and goods (abilities, talents, money, things). All was placed into the son's hands. He could use his life and what he had as he wished without any interference from the father. Since he was an adult son, he wanted to be free from the father and the father respected his adulthood. The father could do nothing about the choice of life chosen by the son. He had to let him go and live as he wished.
(13) "And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.
At first he is sure that he has done the right thing. He rents a home with a great view, and furnishes it with taste. He begins to make friends everywhere. He spends money freely, and tries anything and everything, especially those things which had formerly been forbidden him.
Strangely enough, soon everything seems to be mysteriously changed. His body becomes the vehicle of wild passions that sometimes frighten him. His health begins to suffer, and he no longer feels vital and alive as he once did.
His money begins to dwindle and with it his friends go. He is no longer able to keep up with the expensive crowd he first chose. They leave him in the lurch as soon as his money is gone. Then, what happens?
John 4:13-14 Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, (14) "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."
(14) "But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.
It gets worse. No money, no job, no friends (???), no food.
(15) "Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. (16) "And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
This is one of the most degrading jobs for a Jewish boy to have. Their customs viewed "pork" as an unclean meat. This young Jewish boy finds himself feeding pigs. There, in the pigsty with an empty wallet and an empty belly, he begins to take stock of his empty life.
Maybe this is where you are this morning. You’ve made some decisions that have taken you down the wrong road. You are at a dead end street and now you are staring at an empty life.
(17) "But when he came to himself (his senses), he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! (18) 'I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, (19) "and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants."'
Perhaps the most hopeful sentence in this story is the phrase with which this section is introduced, "But when he came to his senses."
He was living in a dream world, a world of fantasy, unreality. Now, he begins to see himself exactly as he is. He is controlled by his urges. His passions have so developed within him that he has to satisfy them in any way he can. There is a beast inside that controls his every move.
In addition to this beast within, the boy is homesick. He is lonely. He tries everything to keep himself occupied, but busyness does not heal the hurt of his heart. What he thought would be a life of freedom has become a life of misery.
He realized that everything that he once had, he had gotten from his father. His possessions, his money, his clothes, his food, his drink, even his very body had come from his Father. He realized that everything he now wanted -- even needed -- was to be found only in the father’s house. That is where true freedom could be found.
It was interesting that the younger son wanted to be a hired hand. In his mind, he wanted to earn his keep and possibly repay the father. At the same time, live near his father but not under the rule or authority of his father.
3 Steps of Repentance
1) Arise, and turn
2) Confess his failure
3) Receive the forgiveness of the father
(20) "And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.
This is interesting because in those days farmers lived in the city in cluster homes. So, when the son returned home, he not only had to face his family, but he had to face the community. The Father wanted to spare his son the pain of the community’s scorn so he ran out to him. This in itself was humiliating for the Father. In those days, it was not dignified for an elderly man to run. The Father’s passion for his lost son overshadowed his desire for dignity. The Father threw his arms around him and kissed him.
Kissing him was a sign of acceptance. Notice that the Father accepted him even before the son repented.
(21) "And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.' (22) "But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe (restoration of sonship) and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand (restoration of position of authority, not a servant) and sandals on his feet. (restoration position of freedom)
Freedom
(23) 'And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; (24) 'for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry.
The Father proclaimed His son's new life.
a. He "was dead and is alive again."
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
b. "He was lost and is found."
"All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6).
"And when he cometh home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost....And when she hath found it, she calls her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost" (Luke 15:6, 9).
"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10).
God’s heart is the same today. He is looking for wayward children. God is looking for children who have distanced themselves from His care and wandered off to a foreign land.
You may feel like you are not worthy to return home, but God is waiting for you with open arms. I want to close by asking you three questions and providing three directives.
Elder Son
(25) "Now his older son was in the field. (He was earning his keep)
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephes. 2:8-9).
And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. (26) "So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. (27) "And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.'
Questions of the celebration?? What is going on here? Why a celebration? Even if he knew as we will soon find out, he was mad. Why the celebration?
(28) "But he was angry and would not go in.
He kept away. He pouted.
Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.
Isn’t this just like God. John 6:44 "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.
(29) "So he answered and said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.
He felt like he deserved MORE!
(30) 'But as soon as this son (not my brother) of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.' (whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” Wow! That is anybody.)
Rom 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
(31) "And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. (32) 'It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.'"
"And when he cometh home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost....And when she hath found it, she calls her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost" (Luke 15:6, 9).
"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10).
Conclusion
3 Steps of Repentance
1) Arise, and turn – “All have sin and fall short of the glory of God”
2) Confess his failure “If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins”
3) Receive the forgiveness of the father “
Eze 33:11 "Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?'
the Father's eyes were merciful: no matter what He had seen, He wanted to have mercy.
the Father's heart was merciful: He wanted to reach out in compassion to the sinning son.
the Father's feet were merciful: He wanted to run and meet and escort the sinner home.
the Father's arms were merciful: He wanted to embrace the prodigal son and weep with him.
the Father's lips were merciful: He wanted to welcome the prodigal son home with all the tenderness of a true Father.
Questions to Consider
1. How close are you with God?
You did not mean to stray away this far. You never intended to be where you are right now. It happened. You regret it, but you feel powerless to do anything about it. The fact that you realize where you are is a positive step.
2. What’s keeping you at a distance?
3. Why not ask God to remove the barriers in your relationship with Him?
The way back to God may not be easy ...... but it is the best thing for you. Get started, and get started now.
