“KEEP HOPING” Luke 15:11-24
FBCF – 2/18/24
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Life is all about relationships. They bring us great joy & happiness – b’day parties, holidays, vacations, special occasions, celebrations of accomplishments & victories. Happiest moments in our lives come in our relationships.
But they also bring us the greatest heartache & pain. This is especially true for us as Christ-followers when that relationship is deeply damaged as a result of someone becoming a prodigal.
- A child that we poured our lives into, striving to raise them right, in the church & in the things of the Lord. And yet they turn & walk away from the Lord – & your heart is broken.
- A grandchild who had a seemingly strong, vibrant relationship w/ Jesus who is now so far away from the Lord - & your heart is broken.
- A friend w/ whom you shared your life & your heart, but now they have abandoned you & abandoned Jesus - & your heart is broken.
I want to simply say to you today: There is HOPE, & that hope is found in Christ Jesus alone. He sees your pain – He knows your pain - & He enters your pain w/ you today.
EXPLANATION – Luke 15:11-24
“Parables” series – Reminder that a parable is an earthly story w/ a heavenly meaning. Jesus told them to teach His followers what the K’dom of God is all about, who is in the K’dom & who’s not, & how we are to live as citizens of the K’dom of God. So far we’ve look at:
- The Parable of the Sower – Luke 8 – As members of the K’dom of God, we have to keep sowing the seed of the Gospel everywhere. And we need to have good soil in our hearts.
- The Parable of the Good Samaritan – Luke 10 – As members of the K’dom of God, we need to love every person who is need – which is every person we will encounter every day of our lives.
- Next week, the parable of the Persistent Widow – Luke 18
Today, another very familiar parable – One writer: “the greatest & most-beloved story ever told in human language” (The Preacher’s Outline & Study Bible – Luke – p. 300) – Parable of the Prodigal Son. Word “prodigal” not actually in the Scriptures but has been used throughout the years to describe the actions of this son. “Prodigal” – can be an adjective to describe someone or something – means “wastefully extravagant.” Can actually have a positive connotation – “generous, lavish.”
Or it can be a noun to describe a person who is wasteful w/ their money & possessions. Like the boy in this story, we could just call him a “prodigal.” We call him the Prodigal Son b/c of the importance of the father’s relationship w/ the boy in this parable. The father is just as important as the son in this story – maybe more important. Could call it the Parable of the Compassionate Father, or the Parable of the Father Who Never Gave Up Hope.
APPLICATION – Because of the Father’s love, there’s always hope for a prodigal.
Some of you – some of US – have prodigals in our lives – sons or daughters, grandsons or granddaughters, a friend, maybe even a spouse. As we look at this parable today, I want to simply say to you: DON’T GIVE UP HOPE! 5 statements to encourage us to keep hoping:
KEEP HOPING IN SPITE OF THEIR SELFISHNESS – V. 11-12 – One of first words a child learns: “Mine!” And always w/ an exclamation point. Many, if not most prodigal situations begin w/ a selfish heart – a “give me” attitude like this son – not “Please”, “May I have?”, “Would it be ok w/ you?” Just “GIVE ME!”
- Give me my inheritance – Didn’t matter to the son of how he hurt his dad, or how the loss of this money could damage his father’s estate. Didn’t matter that the son was essentially telling his father, “I wish you were dead.” Just GIVE ME!
- Give me my independence – I want to live MY life MY way on MY terms & MY schedule.
Selfishness is so painful, so difficult, so damaging to relationships. It is evidence of a heart that is hardened toward God or doesn’t know God at all. It shows a heart that is not filled & controlled by the love of God.
- 1 Corinthians 13:5 – Love “does not demand its own way” (NLT).
As hard as it is, like the Father in this story, we must keep hoping for our prodigal, even when they are being driven by their selfishness.
KEEP HOPING IN SPITE OF THEIR SINFULNESS – v. 13 – After snubbing his father & padding his bank account w/ Daddy’s money, this young man went into a “far country” & launched into a season of sinful, sensual, reckless, riotous, immoral, irresponsible behavior. Word for “reckless” means to live “wildly, in debauchery.”
- “riotous living” (KJV)
- “reckless & immoral” (AMP)
- “foolish living” (CSB)
- “wild living” (NIV)
- “wasted all his money on parties & prostitutes” (TLB)
- We mentioned this passage last week, but sounds like this prodigal immersed himself in some of the “deeds of the flesh” in Galatians 5:19-21 – “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality… drunkenness, orgies, and things like these…”
It's so hard to keep hoping when our prodigals are in a “far country” – maybe physically, but more so when they’re in a “far country” spiritually. It’s so hard to keep hoping when they’re indulging in sinfulness like this b/c we know the danger that lurks around the corner; the consequences that await them; the long-term, possibly lifelong effects of their choices. But like the Father in our story, we must keep hoping in spite of their sinfulness.
KEEP HOPING IN THE MIDST OF THEIR SUFFERING – v. 14-16 – This is where it REALLY gets hard. This young man came to the day when the wheels came off & his so-called life of freedom came crashing down. The suffering of his consequences began.
- He suffered destitution – “he had spent everything” (v. 14). He had nothing on earth to help him.
- He suffered disaster – “a severe famine arose” (v. 14). We live in a fallen & broken world that is full of disasters that come & cause great loss. And here he was all alone w/out God’s presence, w/out God’s care, w/out God’s help.
- He suffered dishonor – (v. 15) – A Jew attaching himself to a Gentile in a foreign country was forbidden by law. Plus there was the total humiliation of feeding pigs.
- He suffered desperation – (v. 16a) – “…he was longing to be fed…” w/ the pigs’ food.
- He suffered desertion (v. 16b) – “…& no one gave him anything” – “not a soul gave him anything” (Phillips) – No one was there to take care of him. No one cared. When the money ran out, the friends ran out.
This is the moment of truth for many people who have a prodigal in their lives. Our heart breaks, our eyes weep, our soul screams, as we see them suffering. And that’s the moment that we want to sweep in & rescue them. We want to make them stop hurting. And yet, this is exactly where they need to be, exactly the point that they are most likely to listen to the “still, small voice” of God. Like the Father in this story, we MUST keep hoping in the midst of their suffering, as hard as it is for us to see that suffering take place.
KEEP HOPING UNTIL THEY COME TO THEIR SENSES – v. 17-19 – “But when he came to himself…” – Actually like NIV better – “When he came to his senses…” – This is the beginning of repentance. This is the beginning of their journey back home – home to you, but more importantly, home to the Father.
I have multiple people on my daily prayer lists for whom this is the singular prayer I pray: “Lord, bring them to their senses.” Whatever it takes! And it’s probably going to take the suffering that we just talked about. That’s the scary part. That’s where our faith has to be deep & strong. That’s where we need to pull other faithful brothers & sisters in Christ into the situation w/ us. That’s’ where & why we need the Church – the FAMILY of God. That’s when we have to drop our pride, quit pretending we have it all together & be broken before the Lord. This is the moment we are looking for, longing for, praying for. And like the Father in the story, we’ve got to keep hoping until they come to their senses.
KEEP HOPING UNTIL THEY ARE SAVED – v. 20-24 – Read these verses again. This is the most beautiful part of this story. This is the heart of this story. He got up – he came home – & he was welcomed by his compassionate Father who never stopped loving & hoping & looking for his son to come home.
- For some, this could be their moment of true salvation.
- For others, this could be a moment of true radical repentance & restoration of their fellowship w/ their Father.
- Either way, like the Father in the story, this is what we keep hoping for. And we never give up no matter how long our prodigal has been gone, no matter how horribly our prodigal has suffered, no matter how deeply we have been hurt by our prodigal.
- The Father never gave up, & neither can we! Like the Father in the story, we must keep hoping until they are saved!
CONCLUSION – "Softly & Tenderly" hymn - "Calling, O sinner, come home."
Prayer time for prodigals & for those w/ prodigals.
