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? I will continue my grace refresher. I hope you enjoyed yesterday. Today, I will flow in the same vein.
1. The Misunderstood Inheritance: Embracing Our Sonship.
The older son in the parable was working diligently and faithfully for his father, and he resented the fact that he had never received a party like the one the younger one was receiving. He was focused on his performance and effort. The father focused on his position. The father said, “Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours.”
— Many Christians, like the older son, serve God diligently, but they miss the joy of their inheritance.
— We must recognize that our service to God is not a means to earn His favor; His favor is already ours.
— The father assured the older son that everything he had was already his, a picture of our access to God’s blessings through grace.
— We are co-heirs with Christ, and our inheritance is not dependent on our labor but on our identity as God’s children.
— Serving God should be a response to His love, not a bid to gain His acceptance.
— We should also learn how to enjoy who we are and what God has done for us. Many times, we have not, simply because we ask not.
— Enter into this day knowing you are not a slave, you are not a servant, you are s SON! Enjoy your position in Christ, tap into the joy of the Lord, and ask for the things God has already provided so you don’t get bitter at what God does for others.
2. The Heart of the Father: Understanding God’s Generosity.
— The older son’s attitude reveals a lack of understanding of the father’s heart and generosity.
— God does not withhold good things from us; we are invited to enjoy His blessings freely.
— The father’s response to the older son is a reminder that God’s provision is always available to us.
— We need to shift from a mindset of scarcity to one of abundance, recognizing that in God’s Kingdom, there is more than enough.
— Our relationship with God is not transactional; it’s a relationship built on love and grace.
— Religious people make their relationship with God transactional, thinking that they do “this” for God so God can do “that” for them. But this is not how God sees His children.
— God is like, “You are my child, and everything I have, in my Kingdom, in yours. I already made plans for you, and everything you need to accomplish those plans is already yours. All you need to do is align with the plans and make a demand for what is yours.”
— If you understand this, you won’t get jealous or bitter when God blesses someone else.
3. The Labor of Love vs. The Duty of Obligation.
— The older son worked out of obligation, not realizing that his position in the family entitled him to the father’s abundance.
— Our work for the Lord should be a labor of love, not a duty we perform out of obligation or fear.
— I told you yesterday that I do not serve God because I am afraid of going to hell. I simply serve God because I love Him, and I am grateful for all He has done for me.
— Understanding grace moves us from a performance-based relationship with God to a love-based relationship.
— When we serve God because we understand His grace, our service is joyful, fruitful, and fulfilling.
— God desires for us to come to Him with the willing heart of a son, not the driven heart of a worker. Workers are either afraid that they have not done enough or upset when they feel like they have done more than they were compensated for.
— God does not want you to have the heart of a worker. He wants you to have the heart of a son who knows that everything that belongs to the Father belongs to them!
4. Recognizing Our Full Access in Christ.
— Just as the older son had full access to his father’s estate, we have full access to God’s promises in Christ.
— We must come to the realization that all of God’s resources are available to us now; we don’t have to wait.
— Our standing with God is secure, and we can boldly claim what He has promised us in His Word.
— It’s important to know the promises of God and to live in the reality that they are ours today.
— Our access to God’s resources is not earned; it’s a gift of grace, received by faith.
— God does not want us to live with a mentality focused on leaving the earth and going to heaven someday. He wants us to live with the mentality that we can manifest heaven on earth every day!
5. The Joy of the Lord as Our Strength.
— The older son lacked joy, which is a key indicator of understanding and living in grace.
— The joy of the Lord is our strength, and it comes from knowing our true position in Him.
— Religious people are quick to lose their joy because their relationship with their God is performance-based. Not only are they constantly judging their performance, but they are measuring themselves up against the performance of others. With such an emphasis on human performance, it is easy to lose your joy because you fail to see what God has already provided.
— When your relationship with God is grace-based, you serve God with JOY because your focus is on God, His goodness, His grace, and what He has already done. So when God blesses someone else, you don’t get upset. You can genuinely celebrate what God is doing for others because you know God has tailor-made blessings stored up for you!
— Let’s not be like the older son who missed out on the celebration; let’s embrace the joy that comes from knowing all that is ours in Christ. Enter this day with this mentality: “What God has for me is for me. What God has for His other children is for them. And I am ready to celebrate it all! God is a good God, and He has enough to bless all His children!”
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me! I boldly declare:
I stand in the revelation of my true identity as Your child.
I declare that I am not a servant working for Your approval. I am a son (or daughter), an heir to Your kingdom.
I embrace the fullness of my inheritance, knowing that everything You have is mine.
I reject the mindset of scarcity and embrace Your abundance, understanding that Your generosity knows no bounds.
My service to You is a labor of love, born out of a heart overflowing with gratitude, not a duty of obligation.
I walk in the joy of the Lord, which is my strength, and I celebrate the blessings You bestow upon me and my fellow heirs.
I am confident in my access to Your promises, claiming them boldly as I live in the reality of Your grace.
This day, I choose to serve You with a joyful heart, knowing that what You have for me is uniquely mine, and I rejoice in the goodness You pour out on all Your children.
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!
