Dedication

I would like to dedicate this message to all those who have been hurt, abused, slandered or maligned in any way by the church or other believers. There is hope for you!

Let us put away all forms of anger, resentment, and loneliness. Only then can we allow God to bring restoration into our lives so we can complete the mission He has called us to.

God has created you for a purpose; pleasedo not lose sight of this. From John the Baptist to Jesus to the Apostle Paul, many were not accepted in certain religious circles. It is no different today.

Do not allow disappointment or rejection from segments of believers to prevent you from completing your

mission. Some of you will never know the impact you have made on the lives of others this side of heaven.

Let us pledge our allegiance to Jesus, and if He should tarry, let our lives show we have remained faithful.

May our lives point to Jesus in all ways.

Introduction

It has been my privilege to edit and format this sermon message for you. It deals with a familiar Parable that Jesus told. Many of us have read it many times. Before you read this sermon, I would like to ask you a simple question. Why do you think Jesus told this parable to the religious leaders of His day rather than the masses out on the hillsides? I am sure He wanted to ensure that within the religious community there would be a warm and genuine welcome for the prodigals who would return. But I think there was more. I believe He wanted to guarantee that they would be reinstated as full sons. If that is the case, to whom was He addressing this story?

I believe there are several reasons Christians in the Church today need to hear this message today. We need it as badly as the Scribes and Pharisees of His day. Have you ever seen yourself as a character in this story? Be careful– you might. I did. There were times as I worked over the material that I had to take a break, find a quiet place and do some repenting and returning of my own. I trust you will allow the Holy Spirit to point out what He sees in your life and then permit him to enable you to make the choices and changes necessary.

If you are ready for a challenge in your Christian life, or if you are a Prodigal who needs to return to the Father, read on. We are asking the Holy Spirit to take these thoughts and words and custom shape an application to your life. Will you ask (allow) Him to do this? If you do, you will be changed and never be the same again. But that is the whole point, isn’t it? He wants us to grow and mature in our life and faith. So, get ready, set, grow.

~ Flo Gamble

Repeating Patterns

Have you ever wondered why Jesus told the story of the Prodigal Son to the religious leaders of His day? They certainly would not consider themselves to have any thing in common with this delinquent boy. They were well respected and looked up to in their society. What did Jesus have in mind when he told them this parable?

Let’s start by taking a look at the three main characters in the story of The Prodigal Son. I want to take a close look at the characteristics of each individual to see how they relate to us today. This story reveals contemporary patterns that show up in many lives. By looking at what went wrong, we can find better ways for our families to live. The definition of a prodigal is someone who has had an encounter with the God of the Bible, experiencing something of His Fathering heart but left it for the things of the world.

Can you imagine what must have been going on in the heart of the father? He wanted the best for his kids. He longed for them to amount to something. While this longing was there in his heart, the reality at this stage of life was that his kids were impatient and longed for control. The desire to be independent and do their own thing was probably increasing as time went on.

This is no different today. We want to be master of our own lives. This seed of rebellion is one of the basic sins from which all other sins grow.

Finally, the time came when the services of the father were no longer wanted. So, "he divided unto them his living". I see this over and over even in Christian circles. Many people say by their actions that their way is the better way, yet they settle for a freedom that leads into destruction. These people actually trade in freedom for slavery at the hands of this world and sin.

As much as it grieved the father, he loved his sons enough to let them go. Today, many parents will not truly release their kids into God’s hands. Unfortunately, other parents will try to live out, through the lives of their children, those things they could not accomplish in their own lives.

There comes a time, when, as hard as it is, we must release our kids fully into God’s hands.

This first part of the story reminds me of many people today. Do you know people who have been saved, who have had a taste of the things of God but then left it all for the things of the world? Before we even get into the story of the prodigal, let’s spend some time and examine what causes a child to leave home and become a prodigal. Let’s at least find some clues that suggest why this pattern repeats so often.

Could some of the problem be caused by the way the gospel message was originally shared? Let’s take a quick look at how some people proclaim the Gospel.

Many modern day evangelists use ‘life enhancements’ as a means of attracting sinners. They list all sorts of things that ‘become yours when you give your life to Jesus’. You will have money and love; you can have this or that. While these things may be true, I think it is very dangerous to go fishing for converts using such things as bait. Too often, the people caught this way will never grow past that first step. They can very quickly become disillusioned when the promises or the bait used never materializes. For them, the one who baited the hook may have just gone fishing for notches on his gun. At the very least he was operating out of his own zeal. We need to realize that unless the Holy Spirit is drawing someone, they can not be saved. When we operate apart from the wisdom and leading of the holy Spirit, we often set up people or program them for defeat.

Let me paraphrase a story that I heard Ray Comfort share about a plane flight to illustrate my point.

You are about to take off on a plane and I try to convince you that if you will wear a parachute it will improve your flight. Although you are not really convinced, you say okay. Not long into your trip you find that the parachute is uncomfortable. You can not sit up straight and the weight of it is heavy upon your shoulders. Worse than that, all the other passengers are laughing at and making fun of you. By now you are full of disillusionment; bitterness begins to fill your heart. You finally throw the parachute to the floor, very upset, for in your mind you have been lied too. This parachute has not improved the quality of your flight at all!

Now, let me tell the story again, but in a different way.

Another person is given a parachute as he prepares for his flight. He is told that the flight will be maintained at an altitude of 35,000 feet and that there is a strong possibility that the plane may hit turbulence. If it does, the engines will quit. When this happens, he will have to jump out of the plane using the parachute to drop safely to the ground. This man does not mind being laughed at. Nor is he concerned about the weight on his shoulders for he knows, at any moment, he may need to use it. He knows what would happen if he jumped without his parachute.

What is the result of these experiences for each passenger?

The first passenger put on the parachute solely to improve the flight. The result of his experience is that he is upset and even bitter toward the person who sold him on the idea of wearing the parachute. It will be a very long time before he puts one of those on his back again.

The second passenger put on the parachute solely to survive the jump to come. Because of his knowledge of what would happen if he had to jump without it, he has deep rooted joy and peace within. The knowledge of what is to come not only enables him to withstand the mocking of others but gives him a great gratitude towards those who gave him the parachute.

Today, many evangelists say "Come to Jesus and you will get love, joy, peace, happiness and money." In other words, "Put on Jesus. He will improve your flight." So, in a kind of experimental test flight, some people put on Jesus to see if what they have heard is true. Now, what do they get?

They get tribulation, temptation, persecution and people mocking them. They naturally begin to get bitter and say, "I was sold a bill of goods. Jesus, I don’t want You. I had fewer problems before

Your people sold me this lie." What do you have to show after all the energy, time and money are spent to bring such people to God? Too often, the only results left at the end of the process are some bitter backsliders, who in their minds were sold a bill of goods.

How different it is if, instead of telling those we witness to that Jesus can give them a better flight, we tell them they are going to have to jump out of the plane. When sinners realize that there are consequences to breaking God’s law and understand that there is judgment to come, they will run to Jesus.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Peace, love, joy and many other things are legitimate fruits of salvation. I just don’t believe we should use these things as drawing cards or as a worm on the hook to bring people to salvation. If we do, sinners will continue to respond without true repentance. I know of many from the inner city who have responded without true repentance.

Remember, the second passenger responded because he knew he may have to jump. When life’s trials come his way he is going to cling all the harder to the parachute. When the storms hit, his grip will increase. Instead of becoming another bitter backslider, he will go forward in spite of any turbulence that hits his life. He is more likely to grow to be a mature believer than someone who has only had a head conversion.

Now, let’s refocus on the story of the prodigal. You can read it in Luke 15:13-32. (Later on we will touch base on one possible reason why the prodigal left home in the first place.)

Parental Responsibilities 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.

Have you ever wondered what the younger son’s mind-set was before he left home? What kind of a home life did he have? What would cause him to gather all he had and head off to a new land where he wasted everything — all on a wrong lifestyle? It seems to me that there are many lessons we can learn from this today. Is it any different when our kids want to sprout their wings and head off into what they think are greener pastures?

Parents, as much as it hurts, we need to allow them to go. They need to come to that place where they realize the truth for themselves. As parents, we can warn them but then we must let them grow up without any strings attached. As we will read a little later, the father in our story was always there, waiting with arms outstretched, waiting for his son to return home. But before that could happen, the father must have released his son. Keeping the sons at home or in bondage to the father would have hindered the whole process.

Today, we have many people who are spiritually retarded because the parents would not wean their kids because of various personal needs. Sometimes the unfulfilled need to be wanted prevents weaning. Some parents will go to great lengths to keep their kids bound tightly to them. This is not in any way, shape or form for the welfare of the child; rather it is to try to fill an unmet need in the parents life. Parents, we must allow them to grow up. If we do not we will find we have kids in adult bodies.

Later on we will touch base on what the home life may have been like living with the older brother. I will also try to share some of the emotions that must have been in the father’s heart. No matter how far our kids may wander, we must allow God to bring them back. Yes, we must pray, cry out to God and all the rest but we must let God work it out. At all costs we must constantly refuse to manipulate situations to cause them to return home.

As we continue with this parable, it is very important to know how far the prodigal had actually sunk.

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.

To understand this passage, we need to understand how the Jewish people of that day regarded swine. According to Moses’ law, pigs were unclean animals. They could never be used for sacrifice or for food. Jewish people would not even touch a pig. So you can imagine that for a Jewish boy to stoop to feeding swine was a very great humiliation and to even think about eating the food that pigs had touched was degrading beyond belief. In very plain words, this young man had sunk lower than the lowest; he was, indeed, a mess. He had hit bottom!

What about us today? How many Christians are rebellious, busy doing their own thing? This story is a prime example of someone doing his own thing. Many believers today have sunk just as low as the Prodigal Son, but, instead of humbling themselves and coming back, they listen to pride and put on a mask thinking no one will ever know. If this is a picture of you, stop now, before you sink any lower. The next step may be to head to the pig slop like this boy was tempted to do.

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