INTRODUCTION:
· The Son essentially is saying “Dad, you’re dead to me”
· He’s also accepting a much smaller sum of money than he would’ve if he had waited on his inheritance
· This is hyper disgraceful behavior to the ears of Jesus’ Jewish audience
· He goes, lives life his way and as it happens, he gets the results of his labor
I. A FAMINE CAME
He finds himself so miserable and so desperate to be filled he’s looking at pig pods wanting to eat the leftovers
A. “He came to His senses”
· He realizes a bad day in his father’s house is better than a good one outside of it
· He longed for what he thought would be freedom, it wasn’t, It was bondage
· So, he plans his apology speech
“But as he as still a long way off…”
· It doesn’t say that when he got to the gate’s of his father’s estate the father listened
· It says while he was a long way off, the father came running he came and wrapped his arms around him
B. What was in the mind of the Father?
· He didn’t force him to take a bath
· He threw an expensive robe on him
· He put a ring of his finger
· He put sandals on his feet
· He got that 5-star treatment
· The father is out here killing the prized fattened calf
II. A STORY OF CELEBRATION
· Not that the younger son figured out an answer
· Not that the son got his act together
· This is the story of what happens when people turn to God; A celebration happens
If you’ve been there, you know how that feels
· Some of you are still sitting in the middle of the famine
· You haven’t had that “come to your senses moment”
· You’re settling
· There is so much better waiting for you
· You’re content to wallow in the pig slop
III. WHAT YOU ARE CALLED TO: (STEAK)
A. God wants to treat you
· I’m not saying that when you come to God you’re showered with possessions
· God will spoil you with joy and peace
· He wants the best for you
B. But we settle
· We have a nasty habit of settling
· This is what God wants for you…but a lot of you are here settling for…
1. Hamburger Steak
· You’ve settled for a cheap knockoff
· Sure, in principle it’s the same meal
· But trust me, there’s no joy in this one
· It might scratch an itch, but its not satisfying
· It provides little in the way of nutrition
· And some of you are pairing it with…
2. Protein Shake
· A nice protein shake
· I heard someone telling the story of their friend he was a body builder and he started eating protein shakes for every meal
· Protein shakes are meant to help you but when we completely replace our meals with them, we become malnourished
· The guy from the story had to go to the hospital for malnourishment. That sounds outrageous right?
· So many of us rely on the sermons of our pastors, and the songs of our worship leader and expect that to be our nourishment
· It’s a substitute that has value, but never at the expense of the real thing
And finally, some of you are here:
3. Vomit
You keep coming back