Identity Change

Luke 15:11-23 “And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” ’ And …”

Luke 15:20-24 “And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.”

Introduction:

You are all fearfully and wonderfully made. God made you to be a child of the most high, to be aligned with him and his purpose for you and those around you. We were all created to be identified with God as his children. (Talk about blessings and what not). But the enemy tries to mar up that image. What does the enemy try to do? He’s here to steal, kill and destroy. Satan wants to steal your blessing from you, Satan wants to ultimately make sure you’re dead before your purpose here can be fulfilled, and Satan also wants to destroy your identity as a child of God. And how does Satan try to accomplish all of this? Through sin.

We’re all like the prodigal son. The prodigal son already had an identity with his Father, just like we had BUT he didn’t want that identity. Why? Because sin convinced him that he would be better off rebelling and going off on his own. So that’s exactly what the the son did - he demanded his inheritance early, took the money and left. And the sin in his life changed identity that was founded as a son - to being lost.

Sin Will Change Your Identity as Lost:

When you’re living in the state of sin, it slowly and gradually numbs you from knowing what is naturally/morally/spiritually right, until you’re not even close to the person you were before. How does it get to that point? Because sin at the beginning feels good.

Sin is good for a season

v. 13 - “Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living...”

The son was having fun with his inheritance! He wasted it all drinking, eating well and partying. The son was feeling good, having a good time! And that is exactly how sin gets you. Sin is fun at the beginning! Drinking, drugs, premarital sex - anything else you can think of…it feels so good at the beginning. And how can something that feels so good, be bad at all right?

I can tell you this though - that good feeling only lasts for so long

Sin will keep you longer than you wanted

V. 14-17 - “And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger!”

God Can Change Your Identity as Found

The Identity Change

Conclusion: