THE SON I WANT TO BE
Luke 15:11-32
11 And 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 falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
15 And 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 fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
23 And bring hither the fatted calf, 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.
25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.
26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.
27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.
28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.
29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.
31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.
I want us to look at these two boys and choose which one we would rather pattern our lives after.
The prodigal son:
„h Dreamer- caught up in this world (you don¡¦t have to leave home to be a prodigal child)
„h Rebellious- unwilling to surrender (I have my rights)
„h Waster- careless with the things of God (how do you treat the Word of God?)
„h Independent- I¡¦m not even going to let God tell me what to do (people who do not develop self-disciplines wind up being disciplined by someone else) Circumstances in life can be great disciplinarians. You won¡¦t like it, but you will be unable to do anything about it.
How about it, want to be like this one?
The brother:
„h Prideful- I¡¦m much better than my brother (I can teach, preach, sing better)
„h Self-centered- focus on me, not him
„h Totally dependent- looking for others to bring joy to him instead of seeking it on his own (all that I have is thine, bask in it)
How about this one?
What kind of people are we to be?
First let me tell you the kind of people we are not to be like.
And you already know what kind of people we are not to be like, but let me share some admonishment from the Scriptures with you.
Rom 11:20
Be not highminded,
Rom 12:2
2 And be not conformed to this world:
Rom 12:16
Do not be conceited. Don¡¦t have an exaggerated opinion of yourself, your merits.
Rom 12:21
21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
1 Cor 6:9
Be not deceived:
Gal 5:1
be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Heb 6:12
e not slothful
Heb 13:9
9 Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines.
1 Tim 5:22
and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
NIV
What kind of people are we to be?
1 Tim 4:12
be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
1 Peter 1:15
be ye holy in all manner of conversation; (be holy in all you do; NIV)
This old man had a daddy. I have 6 children and was 53 years old when he died, but he called me son.
The father
„h Loving- fell on him and kissed him
„h Kind- speaks tenderly
„h Generous- ring, robe, shoes, kill the fatted calf
„h Forgiving- restored him
„h Totally content- God fulfills His promise
1 Cor 15:49
49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
KJV
1 Cor 15:49
49 And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.
NIV
1 John 3:2
2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
If we want to be like Him when He appears, we must be like Him before He appears.
It¡¦s great to be the son of a loving father, but it¡¦s greater to be a son of the living God, and by all the attributes displayed here, this father was definitely a child of God.
This is the son that I want to be like.
We sing ¡§To be like Jesus¡¨
Do you have the characteristics that this father has? (Go over them)
1. Do you love people in general? (Ask God to give you His love for people)
2. Are you kind? (Kindness is expressing concern for others) sympathetic, friendly, gentle, tenderhearted, generous,
cordial etc.
3. Are you generous? (giving or sharing liberally and willingly; openhanded)
4. Are you forgiving? Look what this boy did to this family; destroyed reputation, wasted what the father worked so hard to provide, and created division between he and his brother.
Are you content? (Do you wrestle with pride? Have your rights been violated? Are you covetous? (When is enough, enough?)
You can have all the bad characteristics of these two boys and miss everything that God is trying to do to get you heaven with Him.
Which son do you want to be like?
God¡¦s Son.
