IMAGINE Forgiveness
LUKE 15:11-24
WEEK 2
As Christian’s, forgiveness is a topic that we often talk about, but struggle living out.
Jesus knew that forgiveness was not easy.
-He lived his adult life in a place where a lake was the dividing line between two people groups who deeply hated each other.
- Jesus lived as a subject of the Roman Empire, who were deeply hated by the nations they conquered
-He grew up in a family where some of his family members didn’t believe who he said he was.
-He was treated harshly by people who didn’t really know him.
-He was killed by the very people he came to save.
JESUS KNEW THAT FORGIVENESS WAS NOT EASY, BUT JESUS ALSO KNEW THE POWER OF FORGIVENESS.
Today, we are going to take a look at Luke 15, which is known as the Parable of the Prodigal son.
Within the bible, parables are earthly stories with deep spiritual and heavenly meaning. Jesus often taught in parables to help explain God’s heart and priorities.
This story in particular was about a son who desperately needed the power of forgiveness in his life.
Prayer- that God shows us where we have unforgiveness in our lives
In Luke 15:11 Jesus begins this story:
“A MAN HAD TWO SONS. THE YOUNGER SON TOLD HIS FATHER, ‘I WANT MY SHARE OF YOUR ESTATE NOW BEFORE YOU DIE.’ SO HIS FATHER AGREED TO DIVIDE HIS WEALTH BETWEEN HIS SONS.”
- LUKE 15:11
The story opens up with the younger son requesting his inheritance before his father has died. The father agrees and divides his property between the older son and the younger son.
Think about what this meant in those times-
Wealth was generally found in land ownership.
This essentially meant the land the father owned was likely split down the middle so that the younger son could sell off his property to someone else and take the cash.
Today that would be like one of your children coming up and saying, “Dad, sell your house, your cars, your boat, the camper or anything you own of value and give me half.”
What the son is really saying here is “I need you to die so I have what I need to be happy.”
We learn a few things about the son from this verse about the effects of sin on the heart
1. Sins blinds you to everything else.
2. Then it makes you incredibly selfish. You become the object of your own worship.
When that happens, you don’t want dependence on anyone or anything.
I grew up in some very broken circumstances. When I was 16 it all culminated in me leaving home. For 2 years I lived with various friends crashing on couches and living from one party to another.
I remember when I was walking away for my home and feeling this sense of being finally free from rules, finally free from hypocrisy, finally free from the abuse. I remember how much my heart soared with a sense of freedom and independence and how good I felt.
Fast forward to Thanksgiving. I'm walking around the city of Kenosha with nowhere to go. Every house I walked past I see multiple cars parked in front of the homes, I hear the celebrations of families together, I smell the food that is being served.
I remember how my heart ached for that sense of belonging to a family instead of being essentially homeless.
I see myself in this story and know exactly where this son is heading.
At some point in our lives, we have all been the son, haven’t we?
We have all struggled at one time or another with selfishness and wanting to do things our own way. And because we have all been there, there is no one in this room who does not need forgiveness.
We also learn something about the Father from this verse:
THE FATHER ALLOWS HIM TO GO.
Rather than retaliating against his son’s bad behavior, he allows him to go.
It is both a gift and a burden from God- that we have free will to choose our way, but if we choose our way instead of God’s way, we have to accept the responsibility for it, as the son will soon find out.
“A FEW DAYS LATER THIS YOUNGER SON PACKED ALL HIS BELONGINGS AND MOVED TO A DISTANT LAND, AND THERE HE WASTED ALL HIS MONEY IN WILD LIVING.
ABOUT THE TIME HIS MONEY RAN OUT, A GREAT FAMINE SWEPT OVER THE LAND, AND HE BEGAN TO STARVE.”
- LUKE 15:13-14
Some of you in this room, or those listening by podcast have made your home in a distant land. You chose to run as far away from the truth as you can. Therefore, today you are living far away and have made your home outside of God’s will.
This son has gone to a foreign country, blown through the money, and found himself in trouble. He has nothing.
Verses 15-17 continue,
“HE PERSUADED A LOCAL FARMER TO HIRE HIM, AND THE MAN SENT HIM INTO HIS FIELDS TO FEED THE PIGS. THE YOUNG MAN BECAME SO HUNGRY THAT EVEN THE PODS HE WAS FEEDING THE PIGS LOOKED GOOD TO HIM. BUT NO ONE GAVE HIM ANYTHING. WHEN HE FINALLY CAME TO HIS SENSES, HE SAID TO HIMSELF, ‘AT HOME EVEN THE HIRED SERVANTS HAVE FOOD ENOUGH TO SPARE, AND HERE I AM DYING OF HUNGER!’”
- LUKE 15:15-17
The son begins to realize that he doesn’t have it figured out like he thought he did. He thought that his father’s home and the rules that came with it handcuffed him, but now he realizes that what he thought were handcuffs were actually fences protecting him from falling off the cliff immediately behind the fence.
The father wasn’t limiting him, he was looking out for him.
The son begins working for a Gentile. This would be the equivalent of being in the most embarrassing, vulnerable, and needy place you could be in life.
He is at the lowest place of his life; he has nothing to give and nothing to receive. He feels like he has nowhere to turn, and THEN he realizes dependence on his father was not weak, it was wise.
As a pastor, one of the most heart wrenching situations is dealing with prodigals. They hit a snag in their quest for freedom, and then turn around and blame everyone else around them, including God but never turn that judgmental eye on their own actions or their own heart.
Sometimes it takes being lowered into darkness for a person to truly appreciate the light, and that is where this son is right now-
At the bottom of a pit he dug for himself, and now is aching for the light.
In verses 18 - 24, the son says,
“‘I WILL GO HOME TO MY FATHER AND SAY, “FATHER, I HAVE SINNED AGAINST BOTH HEAVEN AND YOU, AND I AM NO LONGER WORTHY OF BEING CALLED YOUR SON. PLEASE TAKE ME ON AS A HIRED SERVANT.’ SO HE RETURNED HOME TO HIS FATHER AND WHILE HE WAS STILL A LONG WAY OFF, HIS FATHER SAW HIM COMING. FILLED WITH LOVE AND COMPASSION, HE RAN TO HIS SON, EMBRACED HIM, AND KISSED HIM.
HIS SON SAID TO HIM, ‘FATHER, I HAVE SINNED AGAINST BOTH HEAVEN AND YOU, AND I AM NO LONGER WORTHY OF BEING CALLED YOUR SON.’
BUT HIS FATHER SAID TO THE SERVANTS, ‘QUICK! BRING THE FINEST ROBE IN THE HOUSE AND PUT IT ON HIM. GET A RING FOR HIS FINGER AND SANDALS FOR HIS FEET AND KILL THE CALF WE HAVE BEEN FATTENING. WE MUST CELEBRATE WITH A FEAST, FOR THIS SON OF MINE WAS DEAD AND HAS NOW RETURNED TO LIFE.
HE WAS LOST, BUT NOW HE IS FOUND.’
SO THE PARTY BEGAN.”
- LUKE 15:18-24
The son started on this journey home, expecting to receive what he deserved because of his sin against his father. The text says that while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming and ran toward him. The father did not wait until the son got to him. He did not wait for the right speech, the right explanation, or the right time.
God needs you to see this point this morning-
THE FATHER RAN TO HIM.
Keep in mind this is a patriarchal culture where senior figures were far too dignified to run anywhere, this man lifts his cloak and barrels toward his son as soon as he sees him.
That is why this is sometimes called the parable of the running father.
This is a good picture of the unconditional love of God. At the very moment you realize that you are in need of the Father, even while you are still a long ways off, He is running toward you.
Why?
To protect you.
Deut 21:18 If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him,19 his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. 20 They shall say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” 21 Then all the men of his town are to stone him to death.
The father isn’t the only one who saw the son coming- everyone saw the son coming home, including the elders of the town that were required to administer justice to this boy.
That is why this Father laid down his dignity, put aside his reputation, and covered his son before the men with stones got there first.
Can you picture being there in that moment? His son doesn’t smell good, he looks the worst he ever has, he has no money, he is homeless, and he is completely vulnerable.
Surely the father would wait until he got cleaned up.
Surely he would comment on his current state and suggest for him to appear before him with a little more dignity than shredded clothing and scrawny bones.
However, the father does not see his ruin, he sees his response.
The words of the father show his heart and priorities, “This son was dead and is alive, he was lost and now is found.”
Let’s bring that thought home-
No matter how far you’ve turned from God, no matter what you’ve gone through, no matter what state you are currently in and no matter what you have done:
THE FATHER DOES NOT SEE YOUR RUIN, HE SEES YOUR RESPONSE.
His forgiveness is barreling toward you, his love is embracing you, and he is celebrating that you have come home.
As Jesus shared this story, he knew the power of God’s forgiveness changes lives forever. It welcomes the one once living in a foreign land back into the family. No matter how far you’ve run, no matter what pit you are in, God wants to see you coming home.
The story doesn’t end here, but Jesus continues by saying:
“MEANWHILE, THE OLDER SON WAS IN THE FIELDS WORKING. WHEN HE RETURNED HOME, HE HEARD MUSIC AND DANCING IN THE HOUSE, AND HE ASKED ONE OF THE SERVANTS WHAT WAS GOING ON. ‘YOUR BROTHER IS BACK,’ HE WAS TOLD, ‘AND YOUR FATHER HAS KILLED THE FATTENED CALF. WE ARE CELEBRATING BECAUSE OF HIS SAFE RETURN.’
“THE OLDER BROTHER WAS ANGRY AND WOULDN’T GO IN. HIS FATHER CAME OUT AND BEGGED HIM, BUT HE REPLIED, ‘ALL THESE YEARS I’VE SLAVED FOR YOU AND NEVER ONCE REFUSED TO DO A SINGLE THING YOU TOLD ME TO. AND IN ALL THAT TIME YOU NEVER GAVE ME EVEN ONE YOUNG GOAT FOR A FEAST WITH MY FRIENDS. YET WHEN THIS SON OF YOURS COMES BACK AFTER SQUANDERING YOUR MONEY ON PROSTITUTES, YOU CELEBRATE BY KILLING THE FATTENED CALF!’
“HIS FATHER SAID TO HIM, ‘LOOK, DEAR SON, YOU HAVE ALWAYS STAYED BY ME, AND EVERYTHING I HAVE IS YOURS. WE HAD TO CELEBRATE THIS HAPPY DAY. FOR YOUR BROTHER WAS DEAD AND HAS COME BACK TO LIFE! HE WAS LOST, BUT NOW HE IS FOUND!’”
- LUKE 15:25-32
The older brother was angry that his younger brother was receiving a celebration when he had worked for and earned his inheritance his whole life. He was angry that grace was extended in a situation that didn’t feel fair. His heart was not for the lost, but for his own well-being.
The younger brother’s sin was not what distinguished him from the older brother, as the older brother thought; it was his repentance.
The younger son realized his need for the father and changed his ways completely. The father’s response was to throw a party and restore him completely to the family.
You cannot have restoration without repentance, and because the son repented:
THE FATHER’S FORGIVENESS RESTORES HIM.
The son could never have imagined the way the father would lavish his love on him. But the older brother couldn’t understand why he did.
Some of you in this room are not the younger brother, but the older brother.
Some of you have done things “right”.
You were raised with good morals and ethics,
you’ve grown up in the church,
you never strayed.
If you have that thought that “I’ve never needed this kind of forgiveness”
You’re being the older brother in this parable.
Are you like the Father, or the Older Brother?
Here are three signs you might be like the older brother of this parable:
1.) You question when someone repents. You say something like, “We will see.”
2.) You would rather critique than celebrate. You would rather find a reason not to celebrate than a reason to.
3. You don’t try to understand the Father’s heart for another person.
In Matthew 6:14-15 Jesus says,
“IF YOU FORGIVE OTHERS THE WRONGS THEY HAVE DONE TO YOU, YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN WILL ALSO FORGIVE YOU. BUT IF YOU DO NOT FORGIVE OTHERS, THEN YOUR FATHER WILL NOT FORGIVE THE WRONGS YOU HAVE DONE.”
- MATTHEW 6:14-15
Forgiveness is not just for us. When we receive the forgiveness of God, we are commanded to extend that same forgiveness to others.
1 Corinthians 5:15-19 says
“THEREFORE, IF ANYONE IS IN CHRIST, THE NEW CREATION HAS COME: THE OLD HAS GONE, THE NEW IS HERE! ALL THIS IS FROM GOD, WHO RECONCILED US TO HIMSELF THROUGH CHRIST AND GAVE US THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION: THAT GOD WAS RECONCILING THE WORLD TO HIMSELF IN CHRIST, NOT COUNTING PEOPLE’S SINS AGAINST THEM. AND HE HAS COMMITTED TO US THE MESSAGE OF RECONCILIATION.”
- 1 CORINTHIANS 5:15-19
If you need forgiveness, I’m here today to tell you that the Father is running toward you with his arms wide open. Forgiveness is yours for the taking.
If you need to extend forgiveness, I’m here to today to tell you that the power of forgiveness does not come from your own strength, it rests in the message of the cross. Christ endured a painful death he did not deserve to forgive our sins.
His strength is available for you today be forgiven, and to have your heart changed to forgive those who have wronged you.
That is the big idea today-
BIG IDEA: FORGIVENESS IS THE FUEL OF A HEART DRIVEN BY CHRIST.
Those of us who watched “I Can Only Imagine” witnessed Bart Millard’s childhood abuse at the hands of his father and the struggle he had in moving past that and into forgiveness. We saw how God was limiting Bart’s destiny as a singer songwriter until he got to the place of forgiveness and restoration.
In the beginning of today’s message, I mentioned one of the things I was running away from at 16 was abuse. My mother’s boyfriend, who was in and out of the picture at this point of my life, was very physically abusive, especially when I was young. He had a hair trigger temper and would often whip me for no particular reason. I never knew who I was coming home to- the stoned Tony or the angry Tony looking to take out his frustrations of someone. I remember my mom putting cold washcloths on the welts on my back one after he went after me with a belt and her telling me it wasn’t my fault- I was just an outlet for his anger.
That went on until my 14th birthday when I went to live with my dad.
Fast forward to 2013. I get a call from my brother James-
James had the total opposite relationship with Tony- he was like a second father to my brother. James told me-
Tony is on his death bed, unconscious and dying of cancer and wasn’t expected to survive more than a few hours,
I remember my feeling when I heard Tony was dying a slow, painful death and thought- “Good!” I actually remember smiling at the news.
I immediately felt the conviction of God wash over me, reminding me that I deserved no less, and maybe more than what Tony was experiencing. I had to repent in the middle of this phone conversation, until James asked me to help with something-
James asked me to do his funeral. Apparently, his new wife Mary was broke and couldn’t afford to have a formal funeral and they didn’t belong to any church. They had cremation services donated through the hospice agency but that was it.
My heart slammed shut again and I almost laughed at James. I thought- there is no way in hades I am going to do anything for that man. Again, the Holy Spirit brought to mind scripture,
“If you refuse to forgive someone their sins against you, then God will not forgive your sins against HIM”.
I did the funeral and preached the Gospel to those who have never heard it. I forgave him all the hurt he had caused me.
God had healed me of a huge hurt that I had been carrying for years
This pain that was limiting God’s ability to use me the way HE wanted to use me.
That’s a personal story from my life about the power of forgiveness.
Let me bring it back home to us today
Remember the movie we watched- Bart Millard had been trying for years to gain success as a singer songwriter but had the door slammed in his face over and over and over again.
When he finally forgave his father for the horrific abuse done to him, God opened up the windows of His blessing upon him, and he wrote a song that became the best selling Christian song of all time.
As I was preparing this message, God showed me something- if I had refused to perform Tony’s funeral and chose to hang onto the anger, the hurt, and the offense of my childhood
I wouldn’t be standing here today. I’d still be in Kenosha, working as a paramedic, and probably still an unpaid staff member at Prayer House.
I needed to forgive before God would allow me to move into His destiny for me.
What I have learned is this-
Refusing to forgive is like mixing a poison for those who hurt you, and then drinking it yourself.
When we as individuals and we a church can receive and unleash forgiveness the way that Jesus modeled, our families, communities, and world will be transformed beyond what we could ever ask or imagine.
THE FATHER DOES NOT SEE YOUR RUIN, HE SEES YOUR RESPONSE.
BIG IDEA: FORGIVENESS IS THE FUEL OF A HEART DRIVEN BY CHRIST.
Altar Call
