This morning, we continue our series on “The Parables of Jesus.” We will seek to glean “Pearls from the Parables.”
Before we get to the parable, let’s look at a scripture we have been looking at all year. This is something I believe the Lord wants us to meditate on.
(Psalm 126:4 TPT)
Now, Lord, do it again! Restore us to our former glory! May streams of your refreshing flow over us until our dry hearts are drenched again.
This is a season of refreshing and restoring for us.
The Parable of the Prodigal Son: (Luke 15: 11-32 NLT)
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,
24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house,
26 and he asked one of the servants what was going on.
27 ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’
28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him,
29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends.
30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’
31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours.
32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”
So, what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. Understanding the Weight of Guilt and Shame.
— The devil specializes in guilt, shame, and condemnation.
— This is what he did to Adam and Eve as soon as Adam sinned.
— Condemnation will make you run FROM God, hiding in your shame, while God, like the father in the parable, is waiting for you to run TO Him so He can welcome you into His love and grace.
— The prodigal son’s self-worth was deeply affected by his actions.
— Guilt and shame can distort our perception of our true identity.
— When we focus on our mistakes, we can forget our true value in God’s eyes.
— The enemy uses guilt and shame as tools to distance us from our true identity and divine heritage.
— When we embrace guilt and shame, then like the prodigal son, we feel unworthy of God’s love and blessings.
2. The Father’s Love is Unwavering – Our Mistakes Will Never Cause Him to Stop Loving Us!
— The father’s love was constant, regardless of the son’s actions.
— Once we are Born-Again and we are members of God’s family, our earthly mistakes don’t change our heavenly identity.
— God’s love is not based on our performance but on our position as His children.
— To be clear, NOT every human on the planet is a child of God. While talking to a group of people, Jesus said, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires” (John 8:44).
— Paul describes how we ALL were before coming to Christ and getting Born-Again. Paul said:
“In the past you were spiritually dead because of your sins and the things you did against God. Yes, in the past your lives were full of those sins. You lived the way the world lives, following the ruler of the evil powers that are above the earth. That same spirit is now working in those who refuse to obey God. In the past all of us lived like that, trying to please our sinful selves. We did all the things our bodies and minds wanted. Like everyone else in the world, we deserved to suffer God’s anger just because of the way we were.” (Ephesian 2:1-3 ERV).
— So, it is clear that we were all born in sin, disconnected from God the Father because of the sin of Adam. But then Jesus came and made a way for us to be Born-Again. Once we are Born-Again, we are God’s children, born into His family, and nothing we do will ever change who we are in Him.
— Sin may cause us to reap a negative harvest, but we are still His children, and His love towards us is unconditional.
— The father in the parable mirrors God’s unconditional love for us. No matter how far we stray, in God’s eyes, we remain His beloved children.
3. The Devil Wants You To Accept A Distorted Self-Image.
— The prodigal son’s guilt led him to see himself as a servant, not a son. This is what the devil will try to do to you.
— When you do something wrong, the devil will do all he can to cause you to wallow in condemnation, so you feel disconnected from God. All the while, God is still there, loving you and wanting you to come back, but you don’t because the devil has blinded your mind to your identity.
— As a believer, your self-worth should be based on your performance. It should be based on Jesus’ performance – what He did for you!
— We must resist the enemy’s attempts to diminish our God-given identity.
— Embracing God’s perspective helps us see ourselves as He sees us: redeemed and righteous.
— When you believe what God believes about you, bassing your opinion of you on His opinion of you, you will be able to walk over to the mirror and say what John taught us: “As Jesus is, so am I, in this world!” (1 Jn 4:17).
— The prodigal son came home wanting to accept as a position as a slave, or a servant. But the father was like, “NO WAY! YOU ARE A SON!” Please don’t let the devil cause you to forget who you are!
4. The Holy Spirit’s Role in Conviction.
— When I first got Born-Again, I had some leaders around me that talked a lot about sin. This actually made me sin-conscious. I don’t think that is a good thing. While I acknowledge the dangers of sin, I preach more about how Jeuss made us the righteousness of God in Him. I want us to be righteousness-conscious.
— When I was sin-conscious, I thought the role of the Holy Spirit was to convict me of my sin. But the more I walk with God, I realize that the Holy Spirit has never done that to me. When the Holy Spirit speaks, He is not brining up my sin, like saying, “Hey son, this is what you did.” He knows what I did and I know it too. The Holy Spirit comes to convict me of my righteosness. He comes and says, “Hey son, what are you doing? This is not who you are. Do you remember who are you? You are my son. You are called by my name.” Once I remember who I am, my conduct will follow the conviction of my identity!
— I aready told you that satan comes to condemn. He wants you to wallow in condenation. The Holy Spirit doesn’t condemn; He convicts. But He does not convict you of sin. He convicts you of righteousness. He wants to remind you who you are in Him!
— Condemnation leads to isolation. This is where the prodigal son was when he was with the pigs, wanting to eat pig slop. But conviction leads to restoration. When the boy came to himself, he went home.
— The Holy Spirit’s gentle nudging is a call back to our true identity and purpose.
–Just as the father welcomed his son, the Holy Spirit welcomes us back into God’s embrace.
— Even if we come back to God with a condemned mentality, like the son did in the parable, saying, “I am no longer worthy to be a son,” the Holy Spirit will do what the father did in the parable. He will say, “Enough of that! You are a son! Get the robe, get the ring, put sandals on his feet, kill the fatted calf, MY SON IS HOME!“
In closing, no matter what you have done and no matter how condemned the devil has caused you to feel today, the Father says, “COME HOME! YOU ARE NOT A SLAVE. YOU ARE NOT A SERVANT. YOU ARE A SON!“
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me! I boldly declare:
I reject the weight of guilt, shame, and condemnation the enemy tries to place upon me.
I am not defined by my past mistakes or failures. My identity is rooted in Your love and grace.
I am Your child, and nothing I do can ever change that fact.
I refuse to let the devil distort my self-image. I am fearfully and wonderfully made in Your image.
I am not a servant or a slave; I am a son/daughter in Your house.
I embrace the conviction of the Holy Spirit, reminding me of my righteousness in Christ.
I will not be sin-conscious, but righteousness-conscious, always aware of my position in You.
I am not called to wallow in condemnation but to rise in the conviction of my true identity.
No matter how far I may stray, Your love remains constant, waiting for me to return.
Today, I walk in the fullness of who I am in You, rejecting every lie of the enemy.
I am loved, I am valued, and I am Yours, Father. Always and forever.
Living with this mindset, I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
