Meeting Jesus - Returning to God
The witness protection program fascinates me: A key informant that is aware of terrible crimes of others (and perhaps themselves) is given a new identity for cooperating with federal authorities. They are given a:
New occupation.
New address.
New name.
New background.
New birth certificate.
New Social security number.
And in rare instances, a new family.
Yet – many of those individuals are not just key witnesses: most of them are CRIMINALS who eventually use their new identity to set-up a new life of crime! For instance;
Henry Hill was in the program. Because he refused to continue to commit crimes. He and his family were relocated 10 times. And was eventually busted for selling two pounds of cocaine to undercover DEA agents.
Joseph Barboza was a mobster who turned on his crime family and cooperated with the Government. In the Witness Protection program, he was relocated to Santa Rosa, California where he enrolled in a culinary arts school, killed more people and was sentenced to Folsom Prison.
Some people can be handed a new life – but they cannot leave their old life behind…
Today, we are going to look at the story of the Prodigal Son – but rather than focusing on the returning’s son past – we are going to look at the New Identity he was given and its application for you and I. In Luke 15:1, the religious leaders were complaining about Jesus spending time with ‘tax collectors and sinners” so, in response, Jesus told them this story about the Prodigal son.
Luke 15:11-23 (NLT2)
11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. 13 “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything. 17 “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19 and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’ 20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’ 22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast…
First, we must understand…
THE STORY ILLUSTRATES OUR RETURN TO GOD.
The SON was EVERYTHING the RELIGIOUS people hated about the type of people Jesus spent time with.
He was a DRUNK.
He threw wild parties.
He squandered his money.
He rejected his family.
He rejected his community.
Towards the end of his wild living, he was homeless and poor.
He returned home empty-handed.
RELIGIOUS PEOPLE THOUGHT: “Why would a HOLY GOD want ANYTHING to do with this type of person?”
But the Father in this story, was so happy that his son returned. He CELEBRATED by throwing a party with feasting, loud music, and dancing.
And, if you have already returned to God…by that I mean, if like the son, you had a moment where you realized that God loved you after you rejected His path for your life, and you understood his plans are not to harm but to help you and give you a great future. You believed God proved his love for you through Jesus paying the price for your sins on the cross, that Jesus died, rose from the dead, and one day he is going to return, and you surrendered your life to Jesus…God is HAPPY you have returned to Him!
You may have been a drunk, had dozens of sexual partners, wasted your money, rejected your family, had a long season of wild living, and hurt other people… But now because of God’s unconditional love, you have returned to God and have been changed.
God is happy you have returned home to him!
If you relate more to the son that walked away from his father, than the son that stayed at home. Welcome to the club.
God unconditionally loves all of those who have wandered away. And God celebrated when you returned home. But before the party began, the Father gave the son significant gifts that helped establish the son’s identity, and God wants you to understand the new identity He has given to you. We see in this passage that the father gave his returning son:
A robe, a ring, sandals, and a calf.
And…
THE GIFTS ILLUSTRATE LIFE-CHANGE
There is no doubt that son left his father’s house in fancy clothes, but his fancy clothes were now nothing but rags that smelled like manure from the pig farm. He stunk! (Dad runs to meet his son, embraces him, and catches a whiff of manure all over him!). Wouldn’t a nice bath, and some fresh clothes be just as good and make more sense than ruining the finest robe in the house? A bath would make sense, but that is not what the father wanted to communicate.
You see,
THE ROBE RESTORED IDENTITY & INHERITENCE
In Hebrew Culture – the finest ROBE in the house belonged to the father. The only person that would ever wear the father’s robe IS the Father. The robe belonged to the head of the household. But, when the dad died, the firstborn son would receive the Father’s robe.
In this story, there was an older son, and a younger son. The youngest son is the son that left. By placing the robe on his youngest son, the father communicated that his identity and inheritance had been restored. No questions asked! All the neighbors and the community knew how the son had rejected his father and brought shame to the family. It was a betrayal. As far as the family and friends knew, the son would be shunned. But by the time they arrived and saw the son, what did they see? Would they see the son in filthy smelling rags?
NOT IF THE DAD had anything to do with it!
The dad communicated that going forward, his son’s identity would not be formed through his rejection of his father. From now on whenever people would see the son in the robe, it was as though they were seeing the father! His past would not be his identity. If you are a follower of Jesus, God does not define you by your past sins. God sees you through the lens of forgiveness. You are heirs to His throne!
Romans 8:17 (NLT2)
17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.
Galatians 4:7 (NLT2)7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.
Then, the father then gave him a RING for his finger. And…
THE RING RESTORED AUTHORITY
In the Hebrew Culture, presenting a ring to someone was a sign of great affection and symbolic of receiving great authority. In Genesis, Joseph, as a reward for interpreting Pharaoh's dream, was made his second-in-command. Signaling to all of Egypt that Joseph had authority over Egypt, Pharaoh gave Joseph his ring. (Genesis 41:42 (NLT2))
The Hebrew culture understood the significance of a RING…
After squandering what the dad had worked for, dad gave him authority over the household by giving him his ring!
This was not because the son was trustworthy. It was not because the son had proven himself. It was only because his father chose to demonstrate genuine forgiveness. With the gift of the ring the father was telling the servants:
“He has AUTHORITY over you. If he asks you to do something, do it as though I was asking you.
The father was not going to doubt the son’s repentance. His forgiveness was complete, immediate, and total. He treated his son as though he had never sinned!
As a follower of Jesus, God has restored your authority to be involved with the family business. You have authority to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus. You have authority to defeat the demonic powers at work in this world that seek to keep people trapped in isolation, loneliness, confusion, and despair.
You have authority to pick up the sword of life-changing truth of God’s Word, apply it to your life, live in freedom, and lead others to freedom. And the third gift the father gave to his son, was a pair of sandals for his feet.
THE SANDALS RESTORED RESPONSIBILITY
The son returned to his daddy – with no shoes on his feet.
Slaves did not have sandals.
Servants did not have sandals.
Going barefoot was often a sign of shame or poverty.
So before anybody saw his son in this shameful state, the father immediately ordered that his son receive a pair of sandals on his feet. His father was not going to let people treat him like a slave. He was not HOMELESS. He was a MEMBER of the FAMILY and like every member of a FAMILY – he had RESPONSIBILITY! The father was communicating for the third and final time that his son was NOT a second-class family member. HE HAD A RESPONSIBILITY to the FAMILY. And with the shoes, son, it is time for you to be responsible.
As a follower of Jesus, you are part of God’s family, and you have a responsibility.
I want to mention one of the ministries of our church that you may have a responsibility to fulfill. Our church is unique in that every Sunday morning, children with special needs are lovingly served by amazing adults. Moms and Dads of children with special needs are able to come to our worship services and enjoy worship and connection with other people and know that their children with special needs are being cared for.
If you are interested in being approved and getting involved with that ministry, please stop by Guest Central, complete a connect card, and let them know you want to serve with BEACH BUDDIES!
And finally,
THE CALF ILLUSTRATES CELEBRATION
Just as his dad was happy to welcome his son back home…when you read this passage in the future, I want you to remember that It made God HAPPY to bring you into his family!
Ephesians 1:5 (NLT)
5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
If you have trusted in Jesus and have become a follower of Jesus, God did not accept you into his family begrudgingly. He does not have one hesitant thought like…Maybe not him…Maybe not her…They have been really, really, bad. In this story, we see God’s attitude toward all those who have turned away from the world and turned to God.
He celebrates. Angel’s dance. God sings. And God’s people rejoice.