LOST IN THE FAR COUNTRY

Luke 15:11–14 KJV

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.

Luke 15:15–19 KJV

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.

Luke 15:20–24 KJV

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.

INTRODUCTION

Luke 15 begins with sinners drawing near to Jesus and religious people murmuring because He received them.

Luke 15:1–2 KJV

Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.

Jesus answered their criticism with three stories.

A sheep was lost in the wilderness, a coin was lost in the house, and a son was lost in the far country.

The sheep was lost through foolishness…. It wandered.

The coin was lost through helplessness…. It could not return by itself.

The son was lost through willfulness…. He deliberately walked away.

Yet all three were precious, all three were missed, and when the lost was found, there was rejoicing.

Warren Wiersbe observed that the far country begins in the heart before it appears on a map.

A person can sit in church, know the songs, carry a Bible, and still be far from God inwardly.

The far country is not measured by miles, but by distance from the Father. It begins whenever we want God’s gifts without God’s government, His blessings without His presence, and His provision without His will.

This story reveals the wickedness of a rebellious son, but even more, it reveals the wonderful grace of a loving father.

I. THE REBELLION

Luke 15:12–13 “Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. … 13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country…”

The first words we hear from this son are, “Father, give me.”

not , “Father, teach me.”

not, “Father, lead me.”

not, “Father, use me.”

He said, “Father, give me.”

He wanted what the father possessed, but not the father’s presence.

He wanted the father’s wealth, but not the father’s will.

He wanted the father’s goods, but not the father’s governing.

That is the heart of sin.

Some would say,

God, give me life, but do not tell me how to live it.

Give me strength, but do not tell me how to use it.

Give me a family, but do not tell me how to lead it.”

The younger son’s inheritance would ordinarily have been one-third of the estate.

By demanding it before his father’s death, he treated the possessions as more valuable than the relationship.

In effect, he said, “Father, I want what belongs to you, but I do not want you.”

Yet the father divided unto them his living.

The father did not approve of his rebellion, but he allowed him to choose.

God will warn, convict, and call, but He will not force anyone to love Him.

The son gathered everything together and journeyed into a far country.

He exchanged a lasting inheritance for temporary pleasure and sacrificed tomorrow on the altar of today.

Sin always wants distance from accountability.

He wanted somewhere the father’s voice would not restrain him.

There he wasted his substance with “riotous living”—reckless, wasteful, undisciplined living.

Sin wastes years, strength, opportunities, relationships, reputations, and gifts that could have been used for God’s glory.

The devil will show you

the party, but not the pigpen;

the pleasure, but not the price;

the road, but not the wreck at the end.

The son thought he was leaving home to find freedom.

He was leaving freedom and walking into bondage.

Unequally yoked, friends, marriage

II. THE RUIN

Luke 15:14 “And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.”

Notice those words:

“He had spent all.”

The far country has an appetite that can never be satisfied. It will take your money, health, peace, testimony, family, and future. When it has taken everything, it will still ask for more.

*** His resources ran out.

There had been money in his pocket; now there was nothing. There had been plenty; now there was famine.

There had been food; now he was hungry.

*** His relationships ran out.

Verse 16 says:

“…and no man gave unto him.”

Where were the people who helped him spend his money? As long as he had something to give, he was surrounded. When he had nothing left, he was abandoned.

The far country has many takers, but few givers.

The father’s house had bread enough and to spare.

The far country would not give him a husk.

The world asks, “What can you give me?”

The Father asks, “What do you need?”

The world uses and abandons.

The Father loves and calls us home.

*** Then his self respect ran out.

He joined himself to a citizen who sent him to feed swine. For a Jewish young man, this was the bottom.

The son who once ate at his father’s table now reached for the food of pigs.

The Son became a beggar.

The son became a slave.

The feast became husks.

The robe became rags.

Sin always takes a person down.

💡 A fisherman hides the hook with something attractive. The fish sees the bait but not the barb. Sin advertises the bait and conceals the hook. The prodigal saw the music and excitement of the far country. He did not see the famine, loneliness, and swine.

The old preachers said:

Sin will take you farther than you intended to go,

keep you longer than you intended to stay,

and cost you more than you intended to pay.

But thank God, the pigpen was not the end of the story.

III. THE REPENTANCE

Luke 15:17–20 “And when he came to himself… 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father… 20 And he arose, and came to his father….”

First, there was recognition.

“He came to himself.”

Sin had distorted his thinking. He thought bondage was freedom, rebellion was independence, and the far country was life.

Now he saw the truth.

He was starving, filthy, empty, alone, and dying.

Wiersbe observed that the son went away to find himself, but instead lost himself. Sin makes us run from the only One who can give us life.

The first step toward God is an honest look at where sin has brought us.

The prodigal did not blame the pigs, the famine, his friends, or his father. He finally recognized:

“I am the problem.”

Second, there was remembrance.

“How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare…”

He remembered the goodness of his father—the table, the bread, the house, and the kindness shown even to servants.

It was not merely the badness of the pigpen that drew him home.

It was the goodness of the father.

Romans 2:4 KJV

… the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

Third, there was resolution.

“I will arise and go to my father.”

Repentance is more than feeling bad in the pigpen.

Repentance gets up.

Nothing changed until he said, “I will arise.”

Repentance is a change of mind that produces a change of direction.

He had walked away from the father; now he turned toward the father.

He had said, “Give me.”

Now he would say, “Make me.”

He had demanded his rights.

Now he confessed his wrongs.

Ed Ballew preached “Sin will take you farther than you want go” he said “you wont do real business with God till your tired of the sinning business”

The prodigal shows us what to do:

face your condition, get up, and go to the Father.

Fourth, there was confession.

“Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee.”

He made no excuses. He did not rename his sin a mistake, a weakness, or an unfortunate decision.

He said, “I have sinned.”

He prepared to say, “Make me as one of thy hired servants.” He expected to survive as a servant, but he had underestimated the father’s grace.

💡 Maze Jackson preached a message titled “Where Is My Wandering Boy Tonight?” He spoke about his own son, who wandered away and later returned.

For many families, the prodigal has a face. There is an empty chair, a name on a prayer list, a mother who cries, and a father who watches. Do not quit praying. God still knows where the prodigal is, and the road home is still open.

IV. THE RECEPTION

Luke 15:20 “… 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.”

The son had a speech prepared.

The father had a robe prepared.

The son was thinking about servanthood.

The father was thinking about sonship.

The son expected rejection.

The father planned restoration.

The father saw him.

He had left with money and returned empty. He had left well dressed and returned in rags. He had left proud and returned broken. He had left smelling like home and returned smelling like swine.

But the father still knew him.

People may see only what sin has done to you. God sees the person He created you to be.

The father did not see a pig feeder.

He saw his son.

The father had compassion.

The son had broken his father’s heart, but he had not destroyed his father’s love.

Love does not approve of sin.

Love longs to deliver us from sin.

Then the father ran.

In that culture, a respected older man did not normally run publicly. He would have gathered up his robe and accepted humiliation to reach his son.

The son came walking.

The father came running.

Grace moved faster than guilt.

Mercy moved faster than shame.

The father did not stand on the porch with folded arms or demand that the boy clean himself first.

He ran.

You do not clean yourself up so you can come to Jesus.

You come to Jesus so He can cleanse you.

The father embraced and kissed him. The son deserved shame, but the father covered him with love.

That points us to Calvary.

God does not merely overlook sin. At the cross, Jesus took our judgment and bore our shame.

The Father can receive sinners because the Son paid the price for sin.

Then the father restored him.

“Bring forth the best robe.”

“Put a ring on his hand.”

“Put shoes on his feet.”

“Bring the fatted calf.”

The father did not put the son on probation.

He restored him.

The robe spoke of acceptance. The ring marked family authority.

The shoes identified him as a son rather than a slave. The feast celebrated his restoration.

Look at what grace did.

He came home filthy; the father gave him a robe.

He came home empty-handed; the father gave him a ring.

He came home barefoot; the father gave him shoes.

He came home hungry; the father gave him a feast.

He came home guilty; the father gave him a kiss.

He came home lost; the father said he was found.

The son said, “I am not worthy.”

The father said, “Bring forth the best.”

That is grace!

Grace does not say we are worthy. Grace gives us what Christ is worthy to receive.

2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

CONCLUSION

There were really two lost sons.

The younger son was lost in the far country.

The older son was lost in the father’s house.

The younger broke the rules.

The older kept the rules but hated grace.

One was rebellious.

The other was religious.

But the father went out to both. He ran to the rebel and pleaded with the religious brother.

That is grace reaching for both kinds of lost people.

Maybe you are the younger son.

You have gone farther than you planned. The pleasure, friends, and peace are gone.

Come to yourself.

Arise.

Come to the Father through Jesus Christ.

Maybe you are the older brother.

You have stayed around the father’s house, but your heart has grown cold. You know how to work, but you have forgotten how to worship.

Come inside.

Maybe you are praying for a prodigal.

Do not quit praying. Do not approve of rebellion or call the pigpen home, but keep the road clear and your heart tender.

Believe that God can still reach them.

The road away from home began with:

“Father, give me.”

The road home began with:

“Father, make me.”

Grace answered:

“Bring forth the best robe.”

Luke 15:24 KJV

“For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.”

The far country does not have to be the final chapter of your life.

The pigpen does not have to be your permanent address.

The Father’s house is still standing.

The Father’s heart is still compassionate.

The Father’s arms are still open.

The Father is still receiving sinners.

Come home.

CLOSING LINE

You may have walked a long road away from the Father, but when you turn toward home, you will discover that grace has already come running toward you.