The Parable of the Prodigal Son has been touted as possibly the greatest short story of all time
It can be looked at as Episode III in a trilogy of parables
Episode I is the Lost Sheep
It could be called A New Hope for the lost sheep is found and comes home
With a new hope of continuing on
Episode II, The Lost Coin could be called The Cleaning Lady Strikes Back
For she turns her house upside down looking for her lost coin
And Episode III, Return of the Prodigal
About a young man returning from the dark side of life
The prodigal son parable is the most famous and beloved of all Christ’s parables
And it is one of the longest and most detailed
Often times the son is represented as an unrepentant sinner
An unsaved individual stepping out into the natural world of sin
But I want us to look at this story from a slightly different perspective
From the standpoint of a son
Part of a father’s family and how he relates to this father four different was
The characters in this story focus on our relationship to God
Father and son, is God and you
We want to look at ourselves and discover which stage we fall in to
I. Stage 1 - Living at home basking in the Comfort of the Father (15:11-12)
A. He is Home Sweet Home
Here we find the son still at home
Living in luxury with his wealthy family
These two sons were living at home and working with their father
The younger was old enough to set out on his own
So he was obviously old enough to have responsibilities around the ranch
He was close to the father
Doing his will working for him
Abiding in him
Fully focused on the task at hand
B. He was wealthy
Since this was a wealthy family, he lived a life of comfort
Of course he had to work, but he was well taken care of
The father had all the resources available to aid his son in any venture he desired
C. This is were you belong
The Heavenly Father wants you near Him
John 15:4 “remain in Me and I will remain in you”
John 14:18 “I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you”
Comfortless refers to orphaned, fatherless
He is our Father, always there for us
We belong to the Father
We are not promised an easy road by staying close to the Father, basking in His comfort (Paul’s example)
We are promised He will remain, and will comfort us
Maybe this is where you are currently at
Praise God for this is where a Christian belongs
Close to the Father, safe in His arms
This is where we are today thanks to those men and women who have served and given their lives defending this great country
We are basking in the comfort of our freedoms thanks to them
Not worrying about gathering here this morning to worship
Fearing an intrusion by an oppressive force threatening our very lives simply for gathering to worship
We do not have to fear simply because we have a Bible in our homes
We bask in the comfort of our freedom to worship
And as a Christian your hope should be, to be living at home basking in the comfort of the Father
II. Stage 2 - Leaving home basking in the
Richness given of the Father (12-13)
A. All figured out?!
This young man thought he had it all figured out
We often think we do as well
We know what is best for ourselves
B. He had thought this out
He had plans from the beginning almost of what to do
V 13 says “not long after that”
He said GIVE ME
His request very proudly was Father give me
Not “sir if you please, may I have it?”
No he makes an imperious demand
He demands “all that falleth me”
My share of the estate
He didn’t say give me “so much as you think fir to allot me
But that which falls to me as my due
It is a tragic thing when men look upon God’s gifts as debts, that God owes me something
C. This is a shocking request
He is pretty much saying he wished his father were dead
He is not entitled to any inheritance while his father is living
He showed arrogant disregard for the father’s authority
D. Did the father stop him?
No, he let him go on his own
Like our Father in heaven does
He allows us to step out of His will
His will is for us to remain close by His side
But He allows us to make mistakes
Big ones at times
He allows us to stray from Him
Even though He knows the consequences
He knows what we could get ourselves into
Maybe you fall into this stage
Backsliding away from the Father
Come back now before its to late
Before you move so far away it is difficult to return
The further you go away, the further you must return
This is were I feel our country is at now
Falling very far away from our Christian beginnings
Some have taken our rights, liberties and freedoms so far left as to make completely immoral activities okay
And even say these activities are protected rights
I feel as our military has in the past and is currently fighting for our freedom those rights are being twisted and abused
In the name of diversity and acceptance
I hate to say it, but America I feel has gone to far, and there is no way back
We are basking in the richness of our great American history
But leaving home in the process
At the same time many Christians are leaving the comfort of the Father with the richness He has given
This leads to stage 3
III. Stage 3 - Far from home basking in the filth of sin Distanced from the Father (13b-19)
A. We are finally on our own
Free to do what we want
God doesn’t care what we do?
We act as if He isn’t even aware we are gone
B. Just imagine the fun he had
Labor Day 1992 first speeding ticket
Sin can be fun
We can enjoy it for a while
Heb. 11:25 “enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time”
The reality is it is miserable
Can look fun from the outside
But it isn’t
The sweet fellowship of the Father was exchanged for riotous living of the ungodly
And the result was as it ever is with a backsliding from God, a wasting of God’s precious gifts
When we rely of self, we are not prepared for the worst
V 14 we see famine
A “mighty famine” is sure to overtake all who have wandered away from God
Staying close to the Father doesn’t guarantee you wont still go through the tough times
But He knows they are coming
He knows the famine is on the way
Psalms 68:6 God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
He is prepared to carry you through it
STAY BY HIS SIDE
This young man is destitute
No money, no where to go
The only job he could find was feeding pigs
Pigs were unclean to a Jew
To protect themselves from defilement, Jews could not even touch pigs
For a Jew to stoop to feeding pigs was a great humiliation
And for this man to eat food that pigs had touched was to be degraded beyond belief
The youngest son had truly sunk to the depths
D. Wallow in sin
Our filthy sin
We may wallow in our own filth for long periods of time
Trying to make the best of a situation
But we don’t belong there
We don’t belong among the filth
We are so far from where we belong it may seem like its to far to ever go back
We might be considered MIA ‘Missing in Action’
There are 2,539 men included on the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in Washington DC with the status of Missing in Action
Some of these men will never return, possibly some will
Many Christians are MIA
Wallowing in a sin filled life
Thinking that nobody remembers them
We need to help them know they are not forgotten
There are many names on our church role that are MIA
They are not forgotten
We need to do all we can to help “rescue” these Christian soldiers and bring them back home
When the prodigal son was in this terrible state of want
As low as he could go
He came to his senses
Matthew Henry says
“When we find the insufficiency of creatures to make us happy, and have tried all other ways of relief for our poor souls in vain, then it is time to think of returning to God”
The prodigal considered how bad this situation was
V 16 “no man gave unto him”
No man will give a sin-wasted sinner what he needs
He is friendless and lonely
V 17 “I perish with hunger”
He didn’t just say he was hungry
He thought he was going to die
But he and we finally come to our senses
“I will arise and go to my Father”
First thing we think of is Father
After so long of being focused on ourselves
We might tend to forget where we came from
Who we belong to
Visions of the comfort we felt in His presence start to return
This fire of hope springs him from the smoldering embers of his wasted life
He not said “I will arise”
HE DID IT!
E. Can’t go like this - I have nothing to wear
He can never accept me back like this
I can never be worthy to be called His child after what I have done
Face it, you where never worthy to begin with
Genesis 32:10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant;
Thank the Lord our salvation is not based on how worthy we are
Since he was never worthy to begin with
How can he now be less worthy
Many people think they need to clean up their life before coming to Christ or returning to church
That is not the case
God does all the cleaning
It is not how clean we can make ourselves
Only He can cleanse all unrighteousness
Maybe this the stage you have become a part of
I pray you haven’t
Chance are you wouldn’t be here today if you were
But remember all is not lost
You can arise as well
But don’t just think about it DO IT!
Like the prodigal
The Father still has plans for you
You need to be heading towards stage 4
IV. Stage 4 - Returning home basking in the
Forgiveness of the Father (20-24)
A. I’m coming home
You ever go on a long trip?
Why does it always seem to take longer to get home?
The prodigal starts the long journey home
Lots of time to think
All the things he had done
His guilt building with each and every step
Every step of backsliding from God must be a step back again in return to Him
We come crawling back, hoping we can ease back into the Fathers house and at least be part of His work again
We come in filthy and dirty because we can’t clean ourselves up
Only the Father can do that
We are content to stay low to stay dirty and full of what we crawled out of
We don’t even deserve to be associated with the Father anymore
B. But while he was still a long way off, his Father saw him
and had compassion on him (20)
As soon as we take that first step back towards the Father
We realize that He was waiting for our return from the day we left.
He knew you would mess up, living in sin and self-indulgence
And that one day you would return battered and bruised covered in dirt and guilt from your sinful ways
Every day he watched that horizon for the first sign of your return
As if from the top of some high tower he had been looking that way which his son was gone
And what was His response
Not shame, not anger, not punishment, but unbridled love
Oh how He has waited for this day
He missed you so, it was as if you were dead but now you are alive
So he runs, runs to you embracing you
Lifting you up spinning in the air, the tears of joy flowing down His face his son has returned
This is the greatest day of His life
He doesn’t see the sin
He doesn’t see the dirty clothes and the guilt
The wasted time, the absence seems as if it never was
Because now you have returned
Ah but you still do not deserve His treatment, His mercy
A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son.
The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death.
“But I don’t ask for justice,” the mother explained. “I plead for mercy.”
“But your son does not deserve mercy” Napoleon replied.
“Sir”, the woman cried, “it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for.”
“Well then”, the emperor said, “I will have mercy.”
And he spared the woman’s son.
Not only did the Father show mercy but also showered him with gifts
C. Symbolic gifts
Each of the father’s gifts said something about his acceptance of the son
Robe - reserved for the guest of honor
Should we honor squandered riches, riotous living
Should we honor one who lived so selfishly
Someone so filthy, smelly and poor
Ring - a symbol of authority
He gave this up when he took his money and left
And his management skills were certainly not up to par
Sandals - these were not worn by slaves
Therefore signified his full restoration to son ship
His recent past made him very qualified for low menial work as a slave
Fatted calf - reserved only for the most special of occasions
A sacrifice for a feast of great celebration
These all symbolize the lavishness of salvation’s blessings
D. These were all his to begin with
Before he left home he was honored as a son
Before he left home he had authority given of the Father
Before he left home he wore shoes for he wasn’t a slave
He was his Father’s son, from beginning to end
Once you become God’s child
Nothing can take that away
No matter how low you sink in to the mud
No matter what you do you will always be His child
You can sink to the lowest place on earth
To the most vile and disgusting pit
Wallow in the mud of sin, and come out reeking with the odor of rebellion
But you will always remain His son
If you were His son when you went into the mud, you’re still His son when you come out.
The son accepted his father’s forgiveness and restoration
The father gave him the freedom to leave
The freedom to fail
And the freedom to return home, forgiven
As the father embraced his wayward son
And his son returned the embrace
No doubt this was the happiest day of each of their lives
One of the most touching moments in sports came towards the end of the 1980 Winter Olympics, in which the US hockey team beat the Russians in the biggest upset in all of sports history.
All during the game the cameras focused on goalie Jim Craig, one of the heroes of the team and his father in the stands.
Craig’s mother had recently died and he and his father had grown closer through the months of grief.
When the US team won the victory, a tremendous celebration erupted out on the ice.
Players embraced, clenched their fists in the air, people cheered.
All of a sudden the camera focused on Jim Craig who wasn’t celebrating but was skating alone up and down the ice, scanning the stands.
You could read his lips: “Where’s my dad? where’s my dad?”
You see, it was the happiest moment of his life and he would celebrate with his teammates, but first he wanted to be with the one who meant the most to him, the one who had contributed the most to his life.
Lots of tears where shed that day amongst the audience watching from home 28 years ago
Tears of joy for our amazing underdog victory
But also tears flowed as they watched Jim Craig and his father embracing.
Have you embraced God?
Told him how much you love Him?
How much you appreciate what He has done for you?
This is how we should honor our veterans
Sadly some have in the past and some still today make our military out to be the villains
Sure there are instances when someone in uniform has done something deplorable
But as a whole we should honor our military and especially those who have given their lives so we can go about our lives the way we do
Jayna’s talk with Drew
These four stages in relation to the Father
One of them may relate to your present situation
New Year’s Day, 1929, Rose Bowl, Georgia Tech vs. UCLA.
Young Roy Riegels recovered a fumble for UCLA.
Picking up the loose ball, he lost his direction and ran 65 yards toward the wrong goal.
One of his teammates, Beeny Lom, ran him down and tackled him just before he scored for the opposing team.
Several plays later the Bruins had to punt.
Tech blocked the kick and scored a safety, demoralizing the UCLA team.
At halftime the UCLA players filed off the field and into the locker room.
As others sat down around the room, Riegels put a towel over his head, sat down in a corner, and put his face in his hands.
A football coach usually has a great deal to say to his team during halftime.
That day Coach Price was quiet.
No doubt he was trying to decide what to do with Riegels.
When the timekeeper came in and announced that there were three minutes before playing time.
Coach Price looked at the team and said “Men, same team that played the first half will start the second.”
The players got up and started out, all but Riegels.
He didn’t budge.
The coach looked back and called to him.
“Roy didn’t you hear me?
The same team that played the first half will start the second”
Roy Riegels looked up, his cheeks wet with tears.
“Coach, I can’t do it. I’ve ruined you.
I’ve ruined the University’s reputation.
I’ve ruined myself. I can’t face the crowd out there.”
Coach Price reached out, put his hand of Riegels’ shoulder, and said “Roy, get up and go back.
The game is only half over.”
All of us at some point have run a long way in the wrong direction.
Because of the forgiveness offered in Jesus Christ, however, the game is only half over.
So where do you find yourself ?
Living at home basking in the comfort of the Father
Leaving home basking in the richness given of the Father
Far from home wallowing in the filth of sin, distanced from the Father
Returning home basking in the forgiveness of the Father
The Father is there watching for your return
Ready to run to you with open arms
He is waiting
