Prodigals, Come As You Are

Intro

Are there any former or current prodigal sons in the worship house this morning. You may have been considered a wanderer, a squanderer, someone who was lost. In my years of pastoring, I have had parents come to me, watching their children make poor choices, whether it was in relationships, finances, academics, career choices, unhealthy habits, or maybe have watched as their children fell victim to addictions or worse, despite an upbringing contrary to those choices.

What did I do wrong pastor? Why did my child turn down this road?

Sometimes, we can theorize why. Maybe the child was not mothered but smothered, never allowed to make many choices, or learn from the consequences of poor childish choices. Sometimes, we can see children acting out seeking attention that they may not be receiving at home. Maybe its bad influences of friends and peer pressure.

But what do you tell a parent who has raised a child in our faith and abstinence the same as the parents who have watched their kids make quote on quote good choices all the way?

Pastor what did I do wrong? Why has my child begun making these choices?

Is my kid the prodigal son? Thats almost a hopeful question, because that question assumes knowledge of the story that the lost son comes home.

Did you know that the word prodigal never actually appears in the Bible?? The principle does, but the word does not.

The synonym of “prodigal” is essentially “wasteful.”

The Prodigal Principle is one of the most basic lessons taught throughout the Bible. We see examples of it in Genesis and all through the Old Testament as God dealt with the Jewish nation as they rejected Him, fell into sin, and then were rescued by Him.

The coined term, prodigal son, is most famously used as the title of the third ofJesus’ Lost parables. The Lost coin, lost sheep, and as mentioned, often coined “the prodigal son” was the parable of the Lost Son.

We’re going to dive into a lesson, that many long time Christians have looked at through a microscope and finely combed through every shed of perspective and lesson we can derive from the story. But as I pondered the message, I found like most portions of the Holy Word, that no matter how many times I look, there is a new lesson that awaits me.

Before we jump in lets pause and pray.

So I’d like to examine the principles of prodigal, the first of which is,

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Rebellion: People who live by their own ideas/rules end up in rebellion against God.

Luke 15:11-13

And he said, "A man had two sons. the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.' So he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living.

I Samuel 15:23 says that rebellion is like idolatry because we set up our own gods and ourselves as authority. Proverbs 17:11 warns, "A rebellious man seeks only evil, so a cruel messenger will be sent against him."

Essentially, in rebellion our views, our feelings are subordinate to nothing. Our feelings now now outweigh even moral standards. In fact feeling now become our new moral standards.

By this description alone, I would suggest to some, rebellion is very appealing. Especially to a child. I can have as much sugar as I want. I don’t have to eat vegetables. Some husbands out there might be thinking, when their wives are away, suddenly you can release that inner child and be the slob sometimes you want to be.

Listen, when we rebel to “let loose...” you are eventually going to experience the effects.

The text says the son squandered his early inheritance. We could make guesses as to how he did this, and so quickly I might add. Every movie portrayal of story I’ve seen has spent the bulk of movie centered on “squandering of the estate, and the loose living.” While Jesus was speaking, he summed that part up in just the one sentence

In a few succinct sentences Jesus depicts a young man behaving entitled, bratty really and asking for what is coming to him. He’s coming from a good family and one of wealth where everything is provided and chooses to rebel against the expectations of the house. But for as suffocating as he has convinced himself that this home is, he has yet to see how living outside the standards of his home and family life could and would cause struggle and misfortune. All he is feeling, is that he is not in control and wants to be. And you know what, his father doesn’t challenge him. He gives him exactly what he is asking for.

The younger son was essentially telling his father that he wished he were already dead, particularly unthinkable in a patriarchal setting. Very offensive in this culture. But the father doesn’t protest his son’s request even though it would be by most seen as an act of rebellion to the family.

If we look closely we do see the natural signs of rebellion:

In Luke 15 we see

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A. Impatience with God's timing

The younger son wanted his inheritance now. He didn't consult God about his future, the use of his gifts or his inheritance.

B. Desire to be in control

The young man said to himself, "it's my life, I'll do what I want." His was the arrogance of thinking that we own our lives and bodies, not realizing that God gives us our every breath.

C. Irresponsibility and carelessness

Friends, fun, freedom. Refusal to submit even to the rules of common sense about saving, preparing, caring for oneself. This boy lived in the world and rejected his family, his church and his God.

D. Moral lapse and decline

Rebellion opens the door to immorality. Rebellion is Satan's way of disconnecting you from God and connecting you to the world and sinfulness over which he exercises great control. If you live in and for the world, you become like the world. Once the rebellion is complete then step two usually begins to appear.

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The next step of the prodigal principle is “reversals.”

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“Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him.” - Luke 15:14-16

The son, hurting now but still in rebellion, turns to a stranger for help rather than to God or his father.

The son is reversing his ways partially, not really by choice but by circumstance.

Reversing against the trends of ones life takes time. Our circumstances can certainly speed up the process but you don’t go from one step to another in the snap of a finger.

One commentary put it this way. Not even was the son being granted morsels of the carob pods fed to pigs. Purely out of survival now is the son eating the slop given to fatten the pigs.

So he’s reversed his ways based on circumstance, and his pride has certainly gone down, and how long before having to sneak bitter disgusting slop from the pigs to eat, before all pride was out the window.

True brokenness, I would suggest can lead us to repentance.

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Repentance

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But when he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men. So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. - Luke 15:17-20

By leaving home and acting in the way he did, this young man "left his senses of value.” These were things he had been raised with but as mentioned earlier, he had convinced himself, he was being suffocated, when the reality was, he didn’t want to answer to anyone. Repentance in his life meant that he returned to his senses. A rescue mission by the father possibly hearing news of his son’s fall would have solved the immediate problem but would have left the boy in his rebellious state. Sometimes we need a crisis to help return us to our senses.

Repentance means "to turn around." The boy faced away from God in his rebellion and now he turned back to face God and what God required of him. And thats a major point I don’t want to dismiss. Listen so many times people after living a life of of sin and at their point of realization that their life is not where it should be, they feel that they need to make some sort of improvements before coming back. This is the last remaining pride still present. Listen we don’t come back to our faith family changed already. Its our acknowledgement of our need to be changed. The son, when he approaches his father wants to show his remorse and repentance by showing hes changed. He’s willing to go as far as not even be thought of as a son. The truth is, the son at this point, is STILL a prodigal. And you know what, thats okay! The father sees his son, not as a prodigal but as his son who has returned. He didn’t need to come home a big success in order to be received he needed to come exactly as he was.

Anthony Oneil Story

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Steps to Christ, pg. 52 has a beautiful quotation, regarding a return to God.

"JESUS LOVES TO HAVE US COME TO HIM

JUST AS WE ARE, SINFUL, HELPLESS,

DEPENDENT. WE MAY COME WITH ALL OUR

WEAKNESS, OUR FOLLY, OUR SINFULNESS,

AND FALL AT HIS FEET. IT IS HIS GLORY TO

ENCIRCLE US IN THE ARMS OF HIS LOVE

AND TO BIND UP OUR WOUNDS, TO CLEANSE

US FROM ALL IMPURITY."

-STEPS TO CHRIST PG. 52

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Matthew 11:28 ESV

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

In the son’s repentance we see the nature of true repentance and what it requires:

Acknowledgement of actions.

This means to really admit fault and sin without excuses:

I was selfish

I was lustful

I was greedy

I was disobedient

I was rebellious

Acknowledgement that what we've done is really wrong.

No excuses, no watering down. What we've done is bad and "we know that it's bad," no buts. Not just saying, "I made a mistake or had a lack of judgment," but to actually own up to the fact that what we did was wrong.

Acknowledgement that the crisis is a result of what we've done.

Repentance requires ownership of the consequences of our sins. We're in a mess because we've done wrong. Repentance does not blame parents, society, the other person, etc.

Decide that with God's help, we can be changed.

We fix what we can, we leave to God what we can't, and go on with His forgiveness.

Only when we've experienced this kind of repentance can we be ready for the fourth step in the process. Rebellion, reversal, repentance...

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Restoration: This is what happens when we decide we want to accept what God is offering us.

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“And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.' And they began to celebrate.” - Luke 15:21-24

The reason that the father felt joy was because the son felt remorse and true repentance. It wasn't indulgence on the father's part (he wasn't soft, or spoiling the boy)..likely what the other brother was feeling at the news of his brother’s return and celebration. The Father recognized true repentance and was overjoyed because of it. The father could offer restoration because the son offered repentance.

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Ephesians 2:8 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

Without repentance the child cannot take advantage of restoration, it will only result in future rebellion.

The word "restore" means to bring back to an original condition. In this case it was to restore the son to his original condition and position as a son in the family.

What the father did was a symbol of this: change slide

The Robe was a symbol that he was now acceptable in his father's home. It covered him with righteousness as Christ covers us with righteousness when we are baptized (Galatians 3:26).

The Ring was a symbol of his sonship, just like the Holy Spirit is our symbol or seal of sonship when we receive Him at baptism (Ephesians 1:13; Romans 8:15; Acts 2:38).

The Sandals represented freedom, no longer a slave to sinful passions and feelings. Just as we are freed from sin and punishment when we put on Christ and receive the Holy Spirit in baptism, "...having been freed from sin..." (Romans 6:18).

The Feast with the fatted calf meant that the father gave his son back the right to be happy again, the right to sing and rejoice. He didn't have to go on living with his head hung in shame, always defined by his past failures. It is the same with us as the Lord adds us to His church at baptism (Acts 2:47) and we can now sing and rejoice with the saints, forgetting the past and looking forward to a glorious future.

Of course, this was made possible for us not by a calf but the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, sacrificed for our sins on the cross by a loving Father who always waits patiently and lovingly for our return.

Summary

As I finish this story and explanation of the Prodigal Principle I am compelled to ask each of us: where are we in this process this day? and allow me to be clear…its okay to have someone else pop into your brain, another prodigal maybe, but today I want you to think only about you. Looking in a mirror right now, where is your place in the prodigal principle? Are you willing to admit you are or have been a prodigal? Maybe you never stole slop from the pigs, but have you acknowledged your need for a savior??

Are we in rebellion?

Openly or secretly defying or disobeying God or those who God has placed over us? Our parents, leaders, conscience, God's word, our elders? Are we moving away from God by refusing to do what we know is right, what we ought to do?

Are we in reversal?

Is our life chaos, pain, struggle? You know, sometimes it's this way because of other people or circumstances and we are truly innocent victims. But have we examined ourselves and our lives carefully to make sure that we might not be the reason for the trouble? Maybe we're the cause of the chaos and struggle.

Are we in repentance?

Are we thinking it's time to change, it's time to stop fighting God and give in to Him? Are we, like the son, coming to our senses and making the long journey home? If we are, don't turn back, don't linger, don't give up because bringing home a repentant heart will bring you to where I want all of us to be.

Restoration

At peace with God, at peace with our families and others, at peace with ourselves, at peace with the decision to do the right thing. If you need to come home to your father I encourage you to repent and be baptized right now or be restored through prayer, whichever is appropriate for you and where you are at in the process.

If you're a prodigal son/daughter won't you come home today?

Come as you are, you don’t need to get right on your own. This is a place to help. But also let go of your pride, let God move you from one place to another. Deep down you acknowledge your need for help, otherwise what are we doing?

Prodigals come as you are! but don’t believe God is going to leave you as a prodigal. He’s going to restore you. He’s going to work mightily through you. He’s going to take you beyond where you thought was possible.