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Text: Luke 15:11-24
Theme: Our God is a loving Heavenly Father who patiently waits for His children to come home and celebrates when they do.
Some people think the most important question of life is "Do you believe in God?"
But I think the more important question is "What kind of God do you believe in?" Can we know what is God really like?
There are many religions in the world that present differing pictures of God and they all may contain a some truth.
But there’s a big problem when you get only a partial picture of God.
You can believe in God, but if you have a false view of who or what God is, you’re headlong down the path of idolatry.
Jesus told the woman at the well that a day will come when “... true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship him.”
Many men seek to worship God, but they worship him in flesh instead of spirit and in error instead of truth.
Jesus Christ came to this world to show us exactly what God the Father is like.
In Luke 15, He shares three stories that paint a portrait of the character and nature of our Heavenly Father.
We have already looked at the lost sheep and the lost coin.
This evening let's look at the story of the lost son.
Although this is often called the Parable of the Prodigal Son, the key figure in the story is the Father.
Therefore, it might more rightly be called the Parable of the Loving Father.
Jesus is teaching us that the God of the Universe is like the father in this story.
It's not enough to believe in God; you must understand the nature of God.
Jesus came to introduce us to the Father.
The wonder and beauty of the character of God can be seen in this wonderful parable.
From it, we learn three important things about God.
I. WE WORSHIP A GOD WHO REGRETS YOUR REBELLION
1. in the story, the younger son demanded to receive his inheritance although his father is still alive
a. in the culture of that day, this is unheard of
1) Jesus’ listeners would have been repulsed at the arrogance of the younger son
2) Jesus’ listeners would have been equally repulsed at the acquiescence of the father to the younger son’s demand
b. according to Jewish law, a father who had two sons was to leave 2/3 of his estate to his older son and 1/3 to his younger son
1) this younger son came to his dad and said, "I know you're gonna' drop dead someday, but I don't want to wait.
Give me my inheritance now."
c. the father was wounded by this harsh demand, but he granted it
1) he probably had to take some time to sell some of his land or livestock or liquidate other assets, but he eventually comes up with 1/3 of his net worth and hands it over to his younger son
2. immediately the son takes the money and heads off for bigger and better things
a. he walks out of his father's life and heads for the far country
3. here is a perfect example of a rebellious, disrespectful child
a. you don’t have to read much into the story to know that this father's heart is broken at his son’s request, and subsequent behavior
b. this is a father who will shed many tears while his son is absent
A. GOD IS A LOVING HEAVENLY FATHER
“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
(1 John 4:9–10, NIV84)
1. clearly, the father in this parable represents God
a.
He is a loving Father who gives men a certain amount of creaturely freedom and will let His creation despise Him
1) but it breaks His heart when people do
2. but whom does the prodigal son represent?
a.
New Testament scholars and pastors are somewhat divided over who the younger son represents
1) some people say he represents a Christian out of relationship with the Father
2) I think the younger son represents those who are lost
3) in fact, I believe both the sons of the story represent lostness
a) the younger son is lost in his rebelliousness and profligate lifestyle
b) the older son is lost in his loyalty and righteous lifestyle
3. the father of the story is grieved over the behavior of both sons, but loves both sons, and longs for their repentance
B. GOD IS A LOVING HEAVENLY FATHER WHO GIVES MAN ALL THE FREEDOM HE DESIRES
1. the younger of the two sons has decided he wants freedom from the control of his father
a. he has convinced himself that by being away from the eyes of his parents he would be able to do whatever he wanted—he would have his freedom
1) of course to carry out his plan he needs one thing—money!
b. so he comes to his father and says, "Dad, there is an inheritance coming to me one of these days, but I don't want to wait for it.
I want my inheritance now."
c. do you know what this young man is saying?
1) "I wish you were dead so that I could have what is coming to me."
2) he didn't care about his father only about the things his father owned
d. he wants what he wants and he wants it now!
1) the verb give me in vs. 12 is in the imperative mood which means is that this young man is actually commanding and demanding his father to give him his share of the inheritance
2. reluctantly, this loving father gives His son exactly what he wants—his money and his freedom
a. God still gives the lost man all the freedom he desires
“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.”
(Luke 15:13, NIV84)
b. the farther away this young man could get from his father the better
ILLUS.
The story reminds me of the prophet Jonah who thought by boarding a ship to Tarshish he could get away from God.
3. our heavenly Father is not a coercive God—He does not demand the lost man's love and obedience, but He does pine for it
II.
WE WORSHIP A GOD WHO RUNS WHEN YOU RETURN
1. the wayward son didn't fare so well in the far country
a. he lived high on the hog for a while, but pretty soon he was living with the hogs!
b.
Jesus uses six words in vs. 13 to describe what happened: He "squandered his wealth in wild living"
2. there's a lot that can be read into those words
a. with a pocketful of money, he heads straight for the big city
1) a relatively short period of time he blew all of his inheritance
2) before he could turn around it was all gone
b. to earn a living he ends up in a pigpen slopping hogs
3. Jesus also tells us he came to his senses and realized a servant in his father's house had it better than he did
a.
all of his father's farmhands got three meals a day
b. he finally reached his Point Of Total Desperation
c. so, he swallowed something more tasteless than corncobs
1) he swallowed his pride and started the journey back home
4. how does the father receive him?
ILLUS.
Scholars have discovered a similar story to this existed among Jewish rabbis for many years before Jesus told it.
In the earlier form, the younger son runs away and spends all his father's money.
When he came crawling home, the father rejects him.
So, as Jesus was telling this story, the Pharisees and tax collectors were thinking to themselves, "Yeah, I've heard this one before."
His audience of Pharisees and tax collectors expected Him to say, "One day the father saw his son returning.
He waited on the porch with his arms crossed and a furrowed brow.
The broken-down son begged his father to take him back.
But the father looked away from him saying, 'Forget it!
You had your chance.
You've chosen to live like a pig, now go back to your pigs.
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