01 True Stories - the Prodigal God

River Church Sermons

True Stories

Pt. 1: The Prodigal God, Luke 15:11-24

By Louie Marsh, 8-11-2024

What is a Parable?

1. a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson.

2. a statement or comment that conveys a meaning indirectly by the use of comparison, analogy, or the like.

3. Jesus did not invent parables, they were a common Rabbinic teaching tool and had been used for centuries.

Introduction: I believe that it's essential every once in a while to return to our foundations. For the next two weeks we do so via a parable usually called the Prodigal Son. In reality it's really the parable of the Prodigal God, since prodigal means extravagant, lavish and unrestrained.

The father is the central character of this parable. He is our Father. Who is the father? The Father is God - the prodigal God.

This parable can have its intended impact on us only if we put ourselves into the shoes of both sons. Today we look at the son who left, and see what this, possibly the greatest parable of Jesus, tells us about what kind of God the Bible reveals to us.

1) God Is APPROACHABLE.

11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 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. Luke 15:11-12 (ESV)

· I have direct access to God only in CHRIST.

5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 1 Timothy 2:5 (ESV)

Son went directly to him and asked for his inheritance - before he had any real right to it! Notice he didn't go through Mom, but right to Dad.

The son wasn't honest with his Father but...the Father gave to him anyway. That's the love of God.

Why Leave A Father Like This?

· It’s all about control and/or LORDSHIP.

Come Thou Fount – by Robert Robertson, 1757

Oh to grace how great a debtor Daily I’m constrained to be Let your goodness like a fetter Bind my wandering heart to thee Jesus sought me while a stranger Wandering from the heart of God

· It’s all about my ego & EARNING IT.

16 Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" Matthew 19:16 (NIV)

Think about our inheritance from the Father. Everything we need to live fulfilled lives is given to us in Christ! And THAT is the problem!

We want to earn them ourselves! Not rely on God for them so we seek independence from God.

There is another reason too. We want to be like the Father, but we want to get that way by doing it ourselves.

· There’s a word for this - SIN.

3 In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard... Genesis 4:3-5a (ESV)

2) God loves me with UNRESTRAINED love.

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. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. 17 “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! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” Luke 15:13-19 (ESV)

· God gives me free will so I may freely CHOOSE to love Him.

· The Far Country is where my heart is at HOME.

Where did the younger son go? There is one fascinating possibility that goes all the way back to Alexander the Great.

By the time Jesus told the story, Alexander had long since changed the landscape of the world. His Greek city-states had been planted throughout his empire, promoting a new educational philosophy, a new look at religion, and most strikingly, a new look at sexuality. Alexander didn’t force his way of life on the countries he captured. He simply built brand new cities within them, complete with theaters, gymnasiums, schools, and explicit nude statues .

For people who had never seen even one page of pornography, the naked statues and the anything-goes gymnasiums in those towns were a shocking contrast to their lives as Orthodox Jews.

And one of the largest of Alexander’s city states – the Decapolis – which means ten cities– was within walking distance of the very place where Jesus told the story. The Decapolis was a group of ten cities on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire in the southeastern Levant in the first centuries BC and AD. The cities formed a group because of their language, culture, location, and political status, with each functioning as an autonomous city-state dependent on Rome. It was the center of Greek and Roman culture in that region.

The Rabbis hated it and everything it stood for. Who knows how many sermons were preached against it. Do you remember when people used to call Las Vegas “Sin City?” Well the Rabbi’s had a name for the Decapolis too. Believe it or not they called it “The Far Country.”

For us today:

The Realm of Rebellion - a condition of the soul. A rejection of God.

Relationships, priorities, etc. all focus on self. The Far Country is the Land of Self Will! What's MY Far Country?

· Leaving home is a PROCESS.

Notice that he took a little while to do it. We're like the son, little by little we drift away from God.

FIRST it's little things, like daily devotions, church attendance every Sunday.

SECOND it's our plans, soon it's our money. Before long it's our deepest relationships (God can't tell me how to treat my wife!).

FINALLY it's our hearts.

Prayer fades away, His guidance in our lives becomes irrelevant. After that we find ourselves uncomfortable around people who speak about God in a personal way.

· Apart from God’s grace it always ends in DESPAIR.

The glamour wears off - and the trouble starts! Now we see just how free liberated the self-willed life really is.

He was reduced to not only feeding hogs (unclean animals to Jews) but actually eating food the hogs didn’t want! He was totally degraded.

· The great blessing – his moment of CLAIRTY.

He woke up to what had happened to him. He saw that living without God is insane!

He rehearsed his confession, and decided that he would only ask to be a servant, wasn't good enough to be a son anymore.

3) God’s love is UNDYING.

20 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. 21 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.’ 22 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. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. Luke 15:20-24 (ESV)

· Our Father is always WAITING & WATCHING.

God is constantly watching, waiting and longing for us to return to Him.

Look - God runs to meet you! He loves you enough to lose His dignity.

Whatever else you believe about God - don't miss this! He runs to us, out least response unleashes His complete response.

Eastern Proverb: (God speaking) "Who draws near to me an inch, I will draw near to him a mile, and whoso walks to meet me, I will leap to meet him."

· His Forgiveness is COMPLETE & PERMANENT.

The son tries to get his little speech out - but can't! The Father restores him to full sonship - and doesn't want to hear his speech.

Give your life to this God today!