We noted the relationship that exists between the believer, the ministry of God the Holy Spirit, and the old sin nature; Rom 7:14-8:2.
The battle ground is the soul where both God the Holy Spirit and the old sin nature are constantly looking to control the soul of the believer, with emphasis on the heart or the right lobe; Psa 23.
This is the Old Testament version of a New Testament passage where our Lord says the same thing; Mat 11:28-30.
MAT 11:28 "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy‑laden, and I will give you rest.
MAT 11:29-30; "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls.
MAT 11:30 "For My yoke is easy, and My load or burden is light."
Our Lord’s desire is for His people to enter into the rest that the Lord invites us all to enjoy with Him.
This should mean a lot to us especially in light of the fact that the human race has been in bondage to death all of their lifetime; Heb 2:9-15.
- We all have a legitimate desire to please the Lord, and this desire even increases as we increase our intake of doctrine; 2Pe 3:18.
- There are times when we have good intentions, but they are hindered by the overtime work of the O.S.N. with its trends especially toward human good and evil.
Prin: All sin is evil, but all evil is not sin.
It can be as well as it cannot be.
There are many times where evil could be something good like marriage, or the family, or friendship, children, materialism, a new home, a new business, a new job, etc.
- We all have a legitimate desire to please the Lord, and this desire even increases as we increase our intake of doctrine; 2Pe 3:18.
- There are times when we have good intentions, but they are hindered by the overtime work of the O.S.N. with its trends especially toward human good and evil.
- Doctrine is important because it helps you to recognize your flaws and the control that the O.S.N. has over you.
- The sealing ministry of the Holy Spirit or what we would call the signature guarantee from God the Father.
2CO 1:21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ [a reference to predestination] and anointed us [baptism of the Holy Spirit plus the sealing of the Holy Spirit], is God [the Father],
2CO 1:22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit [filling of the Spirit] in our hearts as a pledge [down payment].
The reason why it says that God the Father gave us the Spirit in our heart as a pledge is simply because He wants us to have confidence and boldness as a pledge or down payment of better things to come.
ACT 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and {began} to speak the word of God with boldness.
EPH 3:11-12, This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.
You can't understand that the ministry of the Spirit is given the way that it is unless you have the appropriate doctrine in your soul.
EPH 1:13 "In Whom also, when you heard [common grace] the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also, when you believed, you were sealed by the Holy Spirit with reference to the promise."
- A guarantee of the grace of God.
- A guarantee of eternal life.
- A guarantee of eternal security.
- A guarantee of your very own portfolio of invisible assets.
The word for "sealed" is the noun sphragizo which means to set a seal upon something or to mark with a seal.
- First it was used in the ancient world for business transactions or business contracts.
Here we will see that both were the father’s sons when it started, and both will still be His sons when this passage finishes.
Most individuals would say that the younger son, the prodigal son, would be the obvious one others would condemn for being guilty but in reality it is Miss Goody Two shoes who usually the monster in the pack.
The prodigal son did what most people have done throughout history, he accepted the blessings of the father but didn’t have time for his father (as all men do who live on God's earth do at some time or another).
God does not violate our free will nor does He force us to remain in fellowship with Him.
Only his arrogant legalistic self-righteous brother said that he spent it all on "harlots or prostitutes" in verse 30.
The Bible doesn't specify what the prodigal son did.
It was the son who moved away from the father not the father moving away from the son.
JAM 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners [rebound]; and purify your hearts [perceive doctrine], you double‑minded.
Prin: Whenever a believer goes astray, eventually he will come to a point, as the last part of this verse says, when he will begin to be in need.
Having forsaken his very own father who represents God, he can now find nothing but poverty, misery, and want.
Because the human soul is empty if God does not fill it; Ecc 3:11.
The famine represents the fact that there's a famine in every heart when we are no longer nourished by the word of God.
Until then, he'd never known hunger because he was always provided by his loving father, the one he turned his back on.
The Prodigal Son attached himself to the pigs on the farm which is the Greek verb kollao meaning to glue or to closely unite himself to the swine and the pigs who represent the devil's children instead of God's children.
There is no master as cruel as the Devil;
No burden so heavy as that of the old sin nature;
No slavery so nasty as slavery to the old sin nature and the carnal, shameful, passions of the flesh.
Times of distress often lead to self-examination and are used by God to bring about changes or repentance in people's lives.
This young man still held on to the belief that he could maintain his self-sufficiency;
His separation from his father;
Even though it meant complete humiliation.
His emptiness was shown by the job that he had to take, tending pigs.
There could be no worse job for a Jew than feeding pigs according to Jewish history and the Works of the Jewish Historian known as Titus Flavius Josephus, who was known for being an excellent Roman and Jewish Historian.
Even the demons believe according to James JAM 2:19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
Pigs or swine were considered to be unclean animals and expressly forbidden in the Mosaic Law: Lev 11:7; Deu 14:8.
He's starving while he's working because pay day only comes after the pigs are marketed.
2PE 2:22 It has happened to them according to the true proverb, "A dog returns to its own vomit," and, "A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire."
This shows the humiliation the young man was now enduring especially in light of the fact that he has forgotten that once a son, always a son.
For the Prodigal Son, gone were the fine robes and the rich food.
His hunger was so great that he considered filling his own belly with the pig slop covered with skubula.
The food that he was feeding the pigs called pods made passable livestock food, but despicable human food.
The detestable pigs who were even demon possessed were now eating better than the prodigal son who had left his father and all that he wanted now was to become a servant or a slave on the estate of the family.
This man finally became honest with himself and looked at his life from a biblical perspective....which means to face up with the situation as it really exists.
This is not a parable about what happens to a believer when he sins, this is a parable about what happens to a believer when he changes his lifestyle.
He knew that the hired servants in his father's household were even far better off than he was.
Self-realization of the hopeless and useless predicament of the sinful life is the first step towards true repentance.
The believer must see that his own actions have led him away from the loving Father (God).
You must realize that the seeming pleasures of the sinful life are vanishing and un-satisfying, while life with the Father is full and rich.
The believer must understand that a life of sin offers only destruction, while life with the Father offers prosperity and happiness.
Until a person can be convicted of the reality that he travels a dead-end road, true repentance cannot come to pass.
Please notice, rebound in verse 18, I have sinned.
When you add all the nonsense in LUK 15:19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men., it's ridiculous."
His big problem now isn't loose living, it's arrogance.
The same problem his brother has....who isn't living it up at all and who is still at home with his father and judging members of his own family.
Whether we are worthy or unworthy doesn't change our sonship.
Treat me like one of your servants, one of those hired hands, which by the way is an insult to his father.
That's like saying that his father has no character and no integrity, and He is not the forgiving type, LIKE A LOT OF BELIEVERS TODAY.
His father is a wonderful person and this is a magnificent way of expressing God the Father and His love, mercy and grace.
The father's not interested in some asinine speech like; "I'm no longer worthy to be called your son!"
The father was filled with compassion and his father ran to him.
The best robe represents restoration to full experiential righteousness.
LUK 15:22......and put a ring on his hand which was the signature to the Father's checkbook.
This was a signet ring representing withdrawing from the Father's resources, logistical grace.
In LUK 15:22.......and sandals on his feet; which means that once again you're getting the opportunity of service and production.
The fattened calf represents fellowship in the word, feeding on divine truth or Bible doctrine.
That is the divine attitude of grace when you're brought back into fellowship with God.
The father had no intentions of making him a hired servant just like He has no intentions of making us anything less than perfect.
This was his son who he thought had died and so he wanted to prepare a feast for his son's life.
So, we will wait to Wednesday evening to meet Mrs. Flaky Fluff, and also the wimpy males who, though they are of the male species, that’s about as far as they can go as the Apostle Paul through divine inspiration from God the Holy Spirit calls them “Silly Women.”