Luke 15:11-24
I. Introduction
A. The Top Ten Things All of our Fathers Said when we were growing up:
1. #10 Yes, I know where I am going.
2. #09 Aw. That doesn’t hurt … why when I was a kid …
3. #08 Stop your crying, right now!
4. #07 If you don’t stop your crying, I’ll give you something to cry about!
5. #06 I’ll be there in a minute!
6. #05 No, we’re not there yet.
7. #04 Don’t make me stop the car!
8. #03 Do I look like I’m made of money?
9. #02 The answer is No … so don’t ask!
10. #01 Go ask your mother
B. Father’s Day Tie Joke
1. This is for those of you who got a tie for your father!
2. You heard about the man who goes into a restaurant and the maitre’d stops him.
3. “Sorry sir, you need to wear a tie to enter”.
4. So the man goes back to his car and looks around, but there’s no necktie to be found. So he takes his jumper cables, wraps them around his neck, ties a nice knot, and lets the ends dangle about.
5. He then goes back to the restaurant, where the waiter says, “Well, OK, you can come in..........Just don’t start anything.”
C. The Fatherhood Cycle
1. 4 years: “My Daddy can do anything.”
2. 7 years: “My Dad knows a lot, a whole lot.”
3. 12 years: “Oh, well - naturally - Father doesn’t know that either.”
4. 14 years: “Father? Hopelessly old-fashioned.”
5. 21 years: “Oh, that man is so out-of-date. What did you expect?”
6. 25 years: “He knows a little bit about it - but not much.”
7. 30 years: “Maybe we ought to find out what Dad thinks.”
8. 35 years: “Let’s ask Dad what he would do before we make a decision.”
9. 40 years: “I wonder what Dad would have thought about that? He was pretty smart.”
10. 50 years: “My Dad knew absolutely everything.”
11. 60 years: “I’d give anything if Dad were here so I could talk this over with him. I really miss that man.”
II. Background to Luke 15
A. The parable is about a son - what has been called the Prodigal or Wayward son
B. But the story is also, about a father
C. It turns out to be not just any father
D. But about God, THE Father
E. Let’s see what God so desires to mould and shape in us men today – especially those who ARE fathers
F. And for everybody, let’s see how we can honour our Dads today
G. Just as we are to honour our heavenly Father!
III. Message – The Prodigal’s Father (Luke 15)
A. The Father’s Lads – Children (Lk 15:11,12)
1. Nobody has perfect children
2. If one is not demanding something, the other is fighting
3. Here are two boys
a. One is a spoiled brat
b. The other is an egotistical, self-righteous, unloving, stubborn mule
4. They both have the same daddy, and yet turned out so different
5. Sometimes you look at children, and stop yourself from trying to guess where they get their “attitudes” from – it’s all from the devil (Jn 8:44)
6. FACT: Every father has flawed children!
B. The Father’s Labours – I want to praise God for hard-working men – not DRINKING men, but hard-working men, who WORK for a living, and hate to live off of the government, and HATE to owe people money! AMEN!
1. All his life, this Dad worked on his farm – hard work
2. He has worked so that he COULD have something to pass on to his children (Pr 13:22) – didn’t spend everything, and waste his money
3. “All his living” is a unique phrase
a. All his life.
b. He could point to the fruit of his life – he had something to show for all his years
c. It wasn’t all wasted, and drank, and vomited up again!
C. The Father’s Letting Go – His Release (Lk 15:12,13)
1. He let’s go of things he can’t control
2. A godly father
a. Has full authority in the home – doesn’t leave it to the mother, or to the school, or even to the church!
b. Has responsibility to God how he trains his kids – not guess-work (Dt 6)
c. He is supposed to “BE IN CONTROL”
3. But there comes a time when he must let go – here is that time!
4. Question: can we programme our kids to never sin, or never do wrong, or never run away?
5. If we could, we would be better than God – not even GOD can keep people from going their “own way” (Isa 53:6)
6. One of the hardest choices of a man, is to let another person (especially their own family member) start making their own choices!
7. This Dad KNEW what was “out there!” He knew that the world is only a pretty rainbow – but its “crock” is empty!
8. But there was nothing more he could do
a. He had already invested all he could in his children before this dreaded day came
b. If you haven’t taught your kids, and warned your kids, and prepared your kids by the time they leave home, then you better REALLY start praying!
D. The Father’s Law (Lk 15:11,12) - Dad doesn’t have to be a rich man, or a powerful business man to have a good foundation in his home. What every Dad needs is to lay three foundational layers in his life (Pr 3:1; 4:2; 7:2) Non-negotiable
1. Hard work
a. No thought of retirement, or all the holidays, and the getting away
b. Just hard, backbreaking work (Pr 10:4)
c. Expected it of his children (Lam 3:27)
d. Balanced with time with the family, and with Church
2. Family
a. Here is a man that is “at home” – Sabalia (Hab 2:5)
b. Thank God for men who get married, and love their wives, and love their kids, and have the MANHOOD to make their HOME a priority
c. I do believe that many a man starts off that way, but finds no help in their churches, or in their wives to make it a reality
d. We need to get back to the BIBLE and just do our best!
3. God fearing – lived a code of life above the world
a. Taught his kids about the fear of God
b. About sin, real righteousness, and the judgment to come
c. The son here knew he was doomed if he didn’t humble himself, repent, and go home
4. Strong Love
a. Even though the son had never realised it before, the Dad had taught them all about strong love
b. Not wimpy, crumbly, sickly love that has no backbone – constantly giving in to the whims and wishes, and demands of spoiled children – and calling it love
c. But a love that is strong
1) Committed to your family and to wife and reality
2) Unbreaking in its commitment – not constantly changing
3) Able to take whatever happens between them and anybody else with God’s kind of love
d. A love that is balanced
1) Not going to give in to the wife demanding first place – God has to be loved first
2) Not going to give in to the kids demand for all the attention – constantly going on weekend trips, at the expense of church, and your personal quiet time
a) Make the kids operate around a godly schedule
b) Make sure your own walk with God is first!
3) The kids in a home need to know that GOD owns you (1Cor 6:19,20)
4) That means, Dad is not going to always come and bail you out of your problems – he was forced to let you go your own way, and with love, will have to wait until you “cop-on!” That’s balanced love – not going to kill himself over YOUR stupidity!
5) Dads need to say, I love you enough to show you the right way, but expect you to make up your mind about which way you will go! I cannot make your mind up for you!
E. The Father’s Long-Suffering – His Patience (Lk 15:12,13,20)
1. The Father here watches as his son walks away from home
a. The son is So happy
b. The son is So deceived – thinks he is in for the time of his life
c. The father knows what is out there – we really are not that stupid!
2. He then has to trust the Lord, patiently (Pr 22:6)
3. He has to let the Lord work on his son’s or daughter’s heart
4. The same goes for YOU – you have to do your best, and then let God work on your
a. Wife’s heart
b. Your husband’s stubborn heart
c. Your son or daughter’s hard and rebellious heart
d. YOU CANNOT DO THE WORK OF GOD!
5. Thank God that he, as a father has great, hopeful patience
6. God knows what works – and expects us to trust the following things to transform people’s lives
a. The foolishness of preaching – whether from a Dad, or from a preacher – trust that God knows what works (1Cor 1)
b. The word of God – it is the only seed that bears eternal fruit (Isa 55:11). People are not going to get saved without hearing the word of God from you – kids are not going to live for God without it (Rom 10:17)
c. The right ways – there is NO better way, than God’s way of doing things – trust that it is best (Pr 4:21,22,25-27)
d. The Holy Spirit – the greatest force of power in the universe – His still, small voice, working in the hearts of people – no hammering
F. The Father’s Love (Lk 15:20-24) – His Heart – thank God, for men who have hearts!
1. What kind of condition was his heart is?
a. Scarred, but not untouchable
b. Abused, but not caring about it
c. Rejected, but not resentful
d. Just glad when people get right, before it is too late
2. He had compassion – not revenge
a. He knew what the world does to people
b. He didn’t need to grill his son, and make him hurt as much as he had hurt him
3. He RAN to his boy!
a. The boy was starving, and sickly, and tired, and worn-out
b. The Dad took off with all his might
c. His heart was in his feet
4. He fell on his neck – and intense embrace – probably picked him up and swung him around. Remember – this is a DAD doing all this!
5. He kissed his son – over and over!
6. He accepted the son’s apology – people DO need to be sorry folks! SAY IT! Even today! To your Dads! It doesn’t matter how bad they were to you – tell them
a. I am sorry for rebelling against you
b. I love you
c. I thank God for you
d. I have learned and am learning a lot from you
7. The Dad couldn’t stop rejoicing – here is a Dad that could laugh (and not just at the dirty jokes of today)
a. His heart was full of anger and wrath and revenge
b. He was just glad his child has been brought back home
IV. Conclusion
A. You are looking at the heart of God
B. This is what it is going to be like when we get to heaven!
1. We have so hurt our heavenly Father
2. We have so abused the things he has given us
3. Some in this room have “copped-on” and repented, and run back to the Father
4. But wait until we get home!
5. What a day of rejoicing that will be!
C. The only reason why there is any hope for any of us, is because of the Father’s
1. Labours – all of life is the work of God’s hands
2. Letting Go
3. Law
4. Long-Suffering
5. Love
D. Is there a Dad in here that has ANY of those qualities?
E. It all begins with YOU, YOURSELF coming home – just like that prodigal son, going straight to the Father in heaven, as a sinner (Lk 11:7,10) and obtaining forgiveness, all because of Jesus’ perfect sacrifice in your place!
F. And then for all of us, to take our cue from someone in this parable
1. Maybe the Dad – maybe we need to be more
a. Firm in our convictions at home
b. Patient in our faith in the Lord’s work
c. Loving of our families
2. Maybe the Son
a. Maybe many of us need to go to our Dads and love on them for a day or two
b. Maybe we need to just say some serious “I’m Sorry’s”
c. Maybe our Dad’s have never heard us say, “I love you dad!”
3. Maybe the other son – not caring about the souls of others
G. This ought to be a great Father’s Day. It is up to US to make it so!