The Prodigal - 1 of 2 — David Ravenhill

Well, good evening, let's pray shall we Father we thank you again for your presence. Thank you Lord for your word. Lord just open our minds open our understanding. Father we ask that again. This would be God breathed tonight Lord, even as your word was first delivered.

Inspire it all over again. Bring it to life in each one of us. Lord. Father you said your word is for reproof for correction for training. Lord reprove us where we need to be reproved correct us Lord where we need to be corrected train us Lord have your way we pray in Jesus name.

Amen. Turn if you will to Luke chapter 15 and I want to Want us to look at possibly the best known story in the Bible. The longest parable that Jesus ever gave it's a an entire chapter 32 verses. It is one single parable.

The One Parable of the Prodigal Son

Although different expositors have divided it into three sections, at least, you know, the latter part of the parable. It's the story of the Prodigal Son. But the Bible says he told them this parable.

It's not three parables. It's one parable. It's a Rebuttal if you like or reproof for correction to the Scribes and the Pharisees because of their attitude. Towards what Jesus was doing. What Jesus was doing was he was making a beeline to sinners.

That's basically what the word means there. It says. This man receives sinners and he eats with them. I Looked up that word receives it means to make a motion towards and to cherish. Interesting in other words the sinners were irresistible to Jesus.

What a beautiful picture. He loved sinners. In fact, the Bible says he was a friend. Republicans and sinners not friendly were taught to be friendly. You go into some establishment the bank and you know if they know you by name.

How are you? Mr. Ravenhill good to see you again, you know, have a nice day that that's good customer relations customer service. But they're not a friend. Jesus was a friend of publicans and sinners and it says in verse one.

Now the tax gatherers and sinners were coming near to listen to him. These were what William Barclay refers to as the men of the land or the people of the land people that were despised by the religious community and The Scribes and the Pharisees in verse two stood there grumbling they were irate they were upset with the man who called himself the Son of God this man who dared to refer to himself as a son of God that he would Associate with sinners.

Tax gatherers were Jews that had sold themselves out to Rome to gather taxes. They got a taxes for a profit. They were the IRS of the day. We all love the IRS don't we but. These were despised because Israel was to be the head and not the tail.

They were to be above and not beneath. They were to lend but not borrow and here they are under the servitude of the Romans, which was a Terrible thing for the Jews to admit that they were in bondage and servitude.

Let alone to have some of their fellow men side with the Romans and go around and collect taxes. Sinners were just simply non-practicing Jews, of course as were tax gatherers and we would call them back slim Christians, I guess.

They you know never showed up in the temple. They never paid tithes. They just had nothing to do with God. And yet those who are people that Jesus loved and he makes a beeline towards him he sat down with them he ate with them he ministered to them he Demonstrated the love of God towards them and the religious community just stood there little I mean bristling Angry that this man again would dare to associate with sinners.

And so that's the Background to this particular parable and so he told them a parable saying Now let me give you a little bit of a background about the Pharisees because the Pharisees according to most expositors Sprung up around the time of Ezra Nehemiah and they came into being as a godly group of individuals a movement that saw the nation of Israel mingling with the nations and learning their practices all the intermarriage that was going on the carnality the corruption the the mixture and they Began to separate themselves.

In fact, that's what the word Pharisee means. It means separated they were the holiness crowd of their day at least when they began and they started off as a Movement that sought to please God But ended up as a movement that provoked God.

Amazing, isn't it? Let me say that again. They started off as a movement to please God and ended up as a movement that provoked God. They started off with a love relationship and ended up with a legal relationship.

They started off with passion and ended up again, just With the performance of ritual and so on and so forth. I mean there was a change that took place over the years and the Bible warns us Jesus even warns us about the 11 of the Pharisees.

In other words, it's possible for you and I to become Pharisaical to love her to lose our passion to lose our relationship with God to end up in ritual Routine just a sort of religiosity if you like. They were people that love to Be referred to in the marketplace by titles Rabbi master teacher so on apostle prophet.

Sorry, that's a crept in there. They loved the utmost seats in the synagogue. They liked recognition. They like to you know be Sitting there. In fact, the Bible says the Pharisees loved the utmost seats in the synagogue nothing to do with the front row.

But they they liked, you know, they like the the the special places a special recognition. And so on they love to pray but not because they desired fellowship a communion with the Lord. But to be seen by men.

They stood there on the street corner rain or shine. You know praying away piously and everybody would walk by and say, you know every time I go to get my latte. That guy is outside of Starbucks. I mean, I've seen him every single day this week and every day last week.

I mean he is always on that corner. What an incredibly godly man. I mean, it doesn't matter what's going that man, you know, but he loved to hear that. That was why he stood there. That was the only reason he stood there because he loved to hear people walk by and say boy He's still there, you know, he prays there every single day, you know, whatever.

Yeah. They loved to memorize scripture. Not because they had a hunger for the Word of God, but because they could display their knowledge. They had Phylacteries as they call them little leather pouches and they would roll up the scriptures I guess that they memorized and the more that they had, you know, they looked like an old English sheepdog.

You know, you can barely see through there or like a fly fisherman with all these corks and these flies, you know. But I mean they walked down the street with these things and the more you had of course the more spiritual you were.

I've memorized more scriptures than you, you know, and so, you know, that was a sign of their Spirituality they wore it outwardly, but they they loved to do that. Bible says they were lovers of money they had a Love for money you can read that or I think it's in the next chapter there were Jesus saying you cannot serve God and Mammon.

Verse 14 the Pharisees who were lovers of money and What do we know about the love of money? The root of all evil. So it tells you something about how these people lost their way. They started off well, but here they are now.

Supposedly God's representatives and if there's one thing Jesus did not want His father being represented by it was these particular crowd in fact some of the harshest language that Jesus Gave he gave to the religious community.

Is that right? That was that the ones listen if you guys are gonna represent me, let me get it. Let me tell the crowd right now. This is not the type of people that represent the father. You know, my father is not like that.

That's basically what this parable is about. And so he begins by. Well, let me go back for a moment because you might find this interesting. I did some research years ago and I've yet to find a book again and people have said where did you get that?

But believe me, I didn't read this in a book that there were varying degrees of Pharisee ism. You know almost like the Masonic order, you know 33 degrees. They didn't have quite that many but there were about seven levels and the the most Severe or the the most spiritual supposedly were referred to as the bloody Pharisees.

They were referred to as the bloody Pharisees for the simple reason that they went around with their heads down. And the reason they went around with their heads down because they were they took this idea of being separated.

So seriously that they may lust after some woman or covet somebody's possessions or whatever. And so not to lust and not to you know, covet something they would go like, you know, walk around like this consequently, they're always bumping into things and Falling over stumbling and so on and so they were known literally as a bloody Pharisees at least I'm giving you what one Exposed to set but that's how fanatical they were, but they had certainly lost their way.

You know the love of God had certainly waxed cold over the over the years. And so Jesus is addressing them because he sees again what is going on. Here they are again bristling with anger at the fact that he receives sinners and that's what they said this man Receives sinners he makes a motion towards them.

He loves them. He cherishes them. He makes a beeline as the way I would put it towards sinners. Not only that he eats with them I mean, he literally sits down and fellowships with these that we would consider the scum of the earth the people of the land is what William Barclay refers to them as.

And so Jesus begins and he begins by dealing with priorities. What man among you if he had a hundred sheep and then to give the women equal opportunity in verse 8. What woman among you if she has ten coins and she loses one and so the whole thing is here.

And I is based here on your value system wrong Values and he says, you know, listen you guys referring to the scribes and Pharisee if you lost one sheep. You would search until you find it. That's the value that you put on a sheep.

I like what he says you search until in other words. There's no sort of statute of limitations here. There's no well we gave up, you know, how many of you know every year we lose people on these climbing expeditions up in Washington State and up where the mountains are and so on and Somebody will go out and a blizzard condition will come on Mount Rainier or one of those mountains we used to live up there and and a search party will be sent out and as the Days go by the search diminishes.

We're calling off the search now. It's been three days. There's no possible way That these people could remain alive under these conditions and so on and so forth. And then finally the search is given up.

Jesus said that's not the case you search until you don't give up and so he commends them in one sense for the determination the diligence the The persistence the fact that they are so committed to one lost sheep.

Why. Because one lost sheep represents value to them. This lost sheep again can bring money. It is worth something monetarily in other words. And the same thing of course with the woman she loses the the piece of coin.

They were more concerned about the temporal things and they were about the eternal things they were more concerned about the natural things and they were the spiritual things and It's easy, isn't it to to have a wrong sense of value?

He saw had wrong values. He sold his birthright for the moment satisfaction and gratification of a Bowl of chili. Nothing about the chili today ladies, but you know that red stuff. Give me some of that red stuff.

I mean he loved chili, I guess and you know, that's listen I'm willing to sell everything that I have coming to me Spiritually in order to get something that will satisfy my temporal needs and how often again we do the same thing.

I Had just started looking into this parable and it's been a parable that for the last Couple of months as really sort of reached out and got a hold of me there's times when you get a hold of the Word of God those other times when the Word of God gets a hold of you and I'll come to the essence of what I want to say in a minute, but I was flying to Malaysia and Had to stop over in Japan not to speak but to change planes and I was sitting with my briefcase and Realized that you know, I should take a picture of what it was like.

And so I reached in my bag for my camera and I was absolutely positive that I put it in there. In fact, I remember specifically the compartment where I put it and I put it down into the bottom of a particular compartment and so on.

And I ransacked my my bag. I mean I went through it three times I went through every single compartment then I went back. I took some books out and different things. I could not find that camera and I was becoming, you know more and more sort of Infuriated with the fact that somebody had the audacity to reach into my bag somewhere whether it was when I was flying you know to To get to Japan maybe in the middle of the night or something or you know while I was sleeping somebody reached up and taken This camera, you know, I was trying to imagine I remember leaving my bag just momentarily in the Dallas Airport to get a cup of tea in the airport lounge and Came back and you know, there was gentlemen sitting around and I thought, you know surely somebody couldn't have opened my bag and taken my camera absolutely convinced that I had it with me and Finally got to Singapore and I call my wife and one of the first things I said to her apart from you know I've arrived safe and so on was guess what?

I've lost my camera and It was a camera the kids had dug, you know Put some money together to buy me for Christmas and the thing was virtually brand-new and She said darling you left it here. And I could not believe it.

You know, I was a doubting Thomas. I had to put my finger. I said Are you sure she said yeah, I just put it in the drawer. I said that doesn't have eye case on it. She said I think so. I said go get it.

You know, I said open it up. She said yeah, it says eye case on it. I said open it up. Does it say Canon on it? Yes, you know, I mean I had to know and that night God said to me listen you put way too much value on Something I don't value, you know, I thought how could I get so Upset about something that has no real eternal value to it.

And this is what Jesus is saying here you your values. You will search until when it comes to a sheep, but you can care less About a lost sheep of the house of Israel that stands just a few feet away from me.

You bristle with anger to think that God would be concerned about a lost Individual and yet you guys will search it doesn't matter and you will rejoice when you find it. I Mean that's that's about the wrong value system.

The thing that makes you happy is getting back something that has monetary value. You'll call your friends. You'll have a barbecue you'll celebrate you'll get all excited about this. In fact, according to William Barclay and again, I'm just.

You know, he's great on background material. He said the Jews had a saying and the saying was this let me read it to you. There is joy in heaven over one sinner who God obliterates. That's what he said was a well-known saying amongst the Jews that God loves to just sort of you know Execute sinners and that's why Jesus said there's more joy in heaven over one sinner that repents in this parable.

And so he takes again that saying and he says you have no Understanding of God's value system. Your value system is so twisted. So Distorted and so he's seeking here to you know, put a mirror in front of them and show them their hypocrisy.

Your values are wrong you rejoice you'll see you'll go to extreme lengths you ladies you'll sweep the house. You'll open every cupboard and so on trying to find a piece of jewelry and when you find it, you'll celebrate.

But you have no compassion whatsoever when it comes to lost and I realized that even in the church we can have wrong values. We have more compassion for the unborn Than the unsaved that's going to hurt somebody.

And I despise like every one of us I trust any Thought of abortion, but there's something about that helpless little child that tugs at our heartstring. But when it comes to a lost soul, we have no compassion whatsoever.

The average Christian somebody sent me an email recently the average Christian has sung 20 ,000 songs listen to two thousand four thousand sermons and led zero people to Christ. Let me say that again.

We've sung 20 ,000 songs the average Christian listen to four thousand sermons and led zero people to Christ. Our value system yet. We spend multiplied millions of dollars every year in the Christian community to protest outside abortion clinics and so on and so forth.

And what if that child eventually even if we do save that child and 80 years later that child goes to hell. What have we really saved nothing? It's a lost soul that has value to God. And I'm not suggesting that we give up, you know.

Doing some of the things we're doing. I'm just saying it's so easy, isn't it to have our value systems wrong? We can see an individual and we couldn't care less about the individual. But something about that little baby within the womb that sort of tugs at our heartstrings.

It's more of a natural compassion than a godly compassion because if it was a godly compassion would be after every soul. Rescue the perishing care for the dying. Jesus now Goes into the Part of the parable that I want to get into and he says to them a certain man had two sons verse 11.

The Father’s Wealth, Generosity, and Responsibility

The youngest son said to his father give me the share of the estate that befalls me and he divided his wealth between them. Not many days later the youngest son gathered everything together went on a journey into a distant country and there he squandered his estate with loose Living when he had spent everything a severe famine arose in that country and he began to be in need and he went and attached himself to one of the citizens of that country and you know the story and The problem is you know the story.

You see we are so familiar with this story. Even if you have only been Recently saved. It's one of those stories that seemingly is Possibly the best known story in the Bible in fact as Spurgeon referred to this as the pearl of all the parables.

Somebody else's this is the gospel within the gospel and it's certainly out of all the parables that Jesus told this is the best known parable and the best known story in the Word of God and It's one of those stories that you just can't you know.

Take a sort of a Kodak snapshot of it would take an entire mural to sort of reveal. There's no one particular thing. It's just so sort of pungent and pregnant with the with the with meaning. But the problem is because we know it so well we get stuck in a rut.

You know if you take the same road over and over and over and over again unless it's a concrete road. But you know typical road you're going to get in a rut and the car will automatically go along because there's a groove there.

That's being formed by a continual You know running over that same ground and I think the same thing is true about this particular story. We've heard it over and over and over and over and over again.

And so we make certain assumptions. And I want to at least I hope give you some fresh insight at least God has been speaking to me and I think this is especially relevant as I'll share in a in a few moments, but You know we take this young man, and he is the typical Dobson strong-willed child.

Isn't that right? This is the kid that you know he's dressed in Gothic. You know he's got body Piercing all over he's covered in tattoos. He's you know ever since he was a little kid. He's been drinking gallons of Ritalin.

You know he's the ADD child. He's you know. He's just a you know. He's just You know insubordinate strong-willed headstrong stubborn. You know can't wait to sort of so he's wild oats. I mean, that's the picture we have right and then so it's no wonder You know that this kid went off the rails.

I mean we could see it coming. We could see it even as he got up his rebellion his anger. You know he's oh. That's the way we see this kid and so it's no wonder when he comes of age. Hey dad. Give me water.

You know and off he goes. Well, let me let me build a case for you and the best Exposition of the Word of God is the Word of God itself, so let's let me begin and Let's skip the young boy for a moment, and let's look at the father.

The father in the story is wealthy not only is he wealthy. He's generous. He's Compassionate he's loving he's forgiving. He's merciful all those things. I mean he is a typical Picture at least it typifies the father the ultimate father God the father a God who is merciful a God who is kind compassionate forgiving.

Loving all of those things are brought out in this particular story. And the Bible says there is a responsibility that fathers have and that responsibility of any father According your Word of God certainly as a Christian believer is that he is to lay aside For his children.

The Bible says it is not the responsibility of children to put money aside for their parents. It's the responsibility of parents to put money aside for their children, and we have cases of that Proverbs 13 a good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children a good man.

Not a bad man a good man and of course God is the ultimate good man in that sense. And it's his responsibility to pass on the inheritance not only to his children his grandchildren. And so on the verse that I quoted before that is 2nd Corinthians 12 verse 14 children ought not to lay up for the parents.

But the parents for the children. Job 42 we have Job giving away his inheritance to his daughters While he was still alive, and then he lived another 140 years after that. We have Abraham who gave all that he had to Isaac while he was alive.

I've heard people preach on this and take in the traditional view and they've said this what the Prodigal bait of what the prodigal son basically said to his dad was dad. I wish you were dead. I Don't believe that.

I believe that he understood the nature of a good father. The father's Responsibility was to set money aside to set you know things aside for the well-being of the child and it was a common Occurrence at least according to some of the expositions that I looked up or expositors I looked up they said that it was common in this particular culture to give your inheritance while you were alive and So here he is a good father and He is setting aside things For his family's future well-being.

I can well imagine and it's my conviction. And I'm just you know I can't prove that but I believe that the younger son was daddy's boy. I think he was Joseph the equivalent of Joseph in the Old Testament.

You know dad sort of doted on him. And I think he came home from school one day maybe 10 or 12 years of age and dad says hey. You know saddle up the donkeys. Hmm. Why dad what are we doing? I want to show you something there's a twinkle in the father's eye and He takes his boy over the hills and he points down to the valley and he says son I want you to know something you know how many times we've talked about that valley there that if it ever comes up for sale Wouldn't be an incredible addition to the homestead and and so on.

Well son. I want you to know I bought it this week. Little boy says really dad why? Son one day I want you to have it. I Want to begin now to invest in your future. I want you to have a head start that I never had.

I want you to Be able to have that one day and even now I want you to begin to work with me. I'm gonna train you up how to You know look after the cattle and how to look after the sheep and you're gonna begin working with me.

And so on let's face it that was the way things were Back 50 or 60 years ago if somebody was a blacksmith their son became a blacksmith. It was John Brown and sons blacksmith shop. You know Fred Jones bakery and sons.

You know they took over the father's trade. They learned the tricks of the trade and so on and generation after generation were bakers Wheelwrights and so on and so forth and many of our names even in this country.

You know the right. Oh, my grandfather was a you know made made wheels for carriages and so on and Smith most of those were some sort of you know had a trade they were Blacksmiths or goldsmiths or whatever it is and the names still linger on and.

And so I can see this father again telling the the boy listen. You know we want to begin to plow down the valley there. See the river that runs through that would make a great place to for crops, and you see that little mound over there.

He says I envision one day son when you get a little bit older. You're gonna get want to get married, and I think you and the missus. You know you could build a house there. I want to have you as close as possible and so on.

I can see the father Investing for the for the son's future and the son growing up knowing that his father was setting things aside Putting things in order that one day it was going to be his and I think the father put his Arm around that boy, and he says you know son you have not because you asked not.

I Want you to know that every good and perfect gift. I'm willing to give you Whatever you need is you know I want to bless you. I want to give you whatever you want. Now we come to the young boy. The young son as he began to grow was not content with what he had.

He knew that there was more he knew that the father had more for him. He knew that there was the father's blessing. He'd heard the father saying many many times again, whatever you ask for I'll give you you know whatever you ask in my name Son I is not seen here is not heard it hasn't even entered into the heart of man all that I prepared for you son every promises yay, and amen in Christ and This boy grew up.

You know Learning from his father ask of me. I'll give you the heathen for your inheritance. Ask of me rain in the time of the latter rain, and I'll give you rain. Ask he this this kid was taught the father said listen you have not because you asked not so ask.

And so he comes to a place where He says I know the father has Things in store that he has set aside. With my name on it so to speak there is an inheritance that I have a spiritual inheritance that is mine.

And all I have to do is go after it. What we would say in at least in Pensacola terminology more Lord more Lord. Now isn't it amazing that? We preach entire messages around individuals that asked and we admire them for asking Jacob.

I will not let you go until you bless me. We admire that we admire that tenacity. We admire that that zeal that fervor God you know God. I know there's a blessing and I want that blessing, and I will not let you go until you bless me.

We take men like Jabez you know the prayer of Jabez. Bless me enlarge my borders put your hand upon me God. There is more and I want That we look at Caleb 80 years of age, but when he was 40 years of age He went into the promised land, and he saw something that he never forgot for 40 years.

He tasted something he touched something and he goes to Joshua's an 80 year old man. And he says listen now that we're crossing over and possessing land. I want that mountain. See I'd have wanted the valley at 80 years of age.

He says give me that mountain. He went after it in other words. There was something in his spirit. He says that God has an inheritance, and I am going after that inheritance. The father has set things aside For my benefit, and I want those things call unto me.

And I will answer you. The Bible says Moses show me your glory Lord Lord. There's more if your presence doesn't go with us. We're not going. So God says out my presence will go okay now that I've got your presence.

I want to see your glory. I mean there was always this pressing on Paul. I press on not that I've already attained, but there's there's more. I know that there's more. And we admire those guys don't we and yet when it comes to this young man asking you know.

We just slap him over the wrist and we say we make a big deal of the fact that he asked the father. In fact we talk about you know he asked. But when he came back he said make me and we make a big issue of that and there may be some truth to that.

But listen don't belittle asking. God taught us all the way through the Word of God. You don't even know what I've prepared for you. I can never imagine or see the mind cannot comprehend the things that I have prepared for those that love me and All you've got to do is ask.

Again every good and perfect gift Comes down from the Father. God is a giver isn't that right. He gives he gives Paul on Mars Hill the one thing He said you guys are religious. You know you observe also I want to tell you about the God that you worship, and you don't know because they had a statute to the unknown God and The one thing Paul says this God gives he gives life.

All the other gods demanded you had to appease them you had to bring your bowls of rice your sacrifices and so on and so forth. He says that this God that you don't even know about he is a giver and we know that he's a giver.

Ask of me. Again if any man like wisdom ask ask ask we're told all the way through knock seek ask and you shall find be Persistent. God has got something and so here the youngest son to me Represents a man that he's hungry for God a man that he's not satisfied with what he's attained to.

He knows that there's more. Let's go to the older brother. The older brother to me represents the older generation. He's content. He's indifferent passive come you know just Complacent he is a poor role model.

He knows that the father has got things set aside. He knows that the father is an inheritance for him. But he never asked for it and to me it represents an older generation and by older I'm not talking about age, but the sort of the old wineskin That never press into God never go after God.

They're not praying for revival and not praying for their city. They just want to play church. They're just happy to be in the father's house, but there's no desire for anything more. There's no sort of J.

Best thing you know I want more. I want enlargement. I want to increase. I want to lengthen my cords. I want to strengthen my stakes and so on. No I'm just happy the way I am leave me alone. Don't bother me.

There's sort of the lukewarm Laodicean sort of a crowd and The younger brother doesn't get any inspiration. He doesn't see a role model. He doesn't see an older brother who says listen. Let me set the spiritual.

You know Temperature in this house here, and let's let some this is how you go after God. He doesn't see the older brother seeking God and praying and waiting on God pressing into God. He doesn't see that hunger and that passion.

But he goes after it. Now what's the purpose of an inheritance? According to Paul Romans chapter 1 verse 11 Paul says I long to see you that I may impart to you a Spiritual gift to the end that you may be established in other words He says I have a gift and we don't know what that gift was at least I don't but he says you know if I could Come and impart that gift to you.

It would establish you. And that's an inheritance it establishes us. We don't have to struggle. We don't you know, somebody gives us money and we're able to put a down payment on our house instead of rent.

And we get a jumpstart. Somebody, you know helps us get set up in business or something and we think boy my dad and my uncle. He was such a blessing to me when I was 20 years old instead of having to flip burgers at McDonald's.

You know, he gave me twenty thousand dollars. I was able to start my own business and I'm a multi-millionaire or whatever. But you know, it was that sort of head start and that's what an inheritance is all about.

And that's what Paul says spiritually. Now there's potential problems, of course. That come with inheritances. The greatest inheritance natural inheritance, although it was spiritual as well. Was when god gave the nation of israel the promised land.

He says I have an inheritance go in to your inheritance. They were slaves. They didn't have a. You know a thing that belonged to them. You know god made up just as they came out of egypt all the back wages by giving them favor with the women and they were able to you know, pretty well take all their their jewelry with them and.

And sort of made up a little bit for that. But he says listen, you will have houses and lands vineyards and olive trees houses loaded with good things. That was their inheritance. God says this is your inheritance.