I did not quite understand what He was saying but over time I got the revelation of this truth.
I want to show you something incredible in the parable of the prodigal son but first let,s look at the dictionary meaning of law.
The system of rules of which a particular country or community recognizes as regulating the actions of its members and which it may enforce by the imposition of penalties.
RULES YOU HAVE TO DO OR YOU CAN BE PUNISHED. NOT BECAUSE YOU WANT TO BUT HAVE TO.
In [Luke 15: 1,2] Then the tax collectors and sinners drew near to Him and to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained saying that this man receives sinners and eats with them. Now if you know anything about the bible you will see that the scribes and Pharisees were the enemy of Jesus. They knew the law of Moses far better than anyone in Israel. They were the teachers of Israel. They thought they were above the common man and women. They studied and dedicated their lives to the law, therefore when Jesus appeared to Israel, they should have been the first ones to recognize Him as the savior.
But it was quite the opposite. They were in their eyes the holiest people in Israel by just knowing the law and practicing it. but their hearts were still corrupt. They only looked good on the outside. In their eye,s they had earned their position in Israel. They refused John the Baptist, baptism. And then when Jesus came they refused Him also. They were bent on their own accomplishments and thought they had reached a high standard and no one was going to take it away from them.
So they did not get revelation from God that this was the sent savior even though He was standing before them and doing miracles. They had their own righteousness and no one was going to take away their perceived accomplishments. So they were working their way to heaven in their eyes and salvation can neither be bought or worked for but is a gift. Jesus was bringing in the last phase of the covenant of Moses and that was to sacrifice Himself for the sins of the world to be able to bring down the Holy Spirit into the earth after His resurrection and enter men,s hearts and give them a new heart and write the law on their hearts and not just their minds. The Pharisees and scribes refused this. They were not accountable, they hid their sin and weren’t about to have John the Baptist or Jesus expose them.
In short, they were their own Gods. They were doing Satan’s will at the price of losing their own salvation. Satan loves to deceive people into thinking they have to work for heaven because he knows it is a lie and will sidetrack people from receiving the free gift of salvation.
Hundreds of religions in the world set up statues, and rituals, and ceremonies, sacrifices, days and times, priests and leadership to keep people busy and ignorant of the simple way of salvation by receiving Jesus in your heart by your confession of Him and asking Him in. Therefore, there are no changes in the life of the person because they are not aware of the sin nature and the need for Christ to erase it. So, works are what people do because they have no relationship with God and don’t know Him. This was the case of the pharisees who were given as an example to us to see what it looks like when you have knowledge of God in your head but don’t know God in your heart. They didn’t want to admit any sin in their life and that they needed Jesus. Don’t fall for theses dead religions that don’t do anything for you but keep you busy.
So onto the parable. [Luke 15:11,32] Then He said, a certain man had 2 sons. And the younger of them said to the father, give me the portion of goods that fall to me. So he divided them his livelihood. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there, wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.
Then he went and joined himself to the citizens of the country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself, he said, how many of my fathers hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father and say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants. And he arose and came to his father.
But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry.
Now his older son was in the field and he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, your brother has come and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf. But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.
So, he answered and said to his father, lo, these many years I have been serving you. I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I may make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him. And he said to him, son you are always with me and all that I have is yours. It is right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and alive again, and was lost and is found. END SCRIPTURE.
Notice that both sons were given a portion from the father of dividing his livelihood. Not just the younger son. So, the father was fare and treated them both the same and loved them both the same. The younger son wanted adventure and the older stayed back and worked his father’s fields and cattle.
So, they were given both equal portions and now we see the results of the boys’ decisions and the father’s investment in them both. The father did not chase after these boys but left them to do what was in their hearts to do. The father was always aware of their activities but did not intervene but waited to see if they would learn what he needed them to learn.
As you can see by the parable Jesus said that the younger son ran out of money and began to starve and realized by his own decisions, he had shipwrecked his life and also realized that he had hurt his father’s heart and treated him with disregard. In short, the boy got some humility and saw things the way they really were instead of his stupid fantasies. When he returned to humble himself before his father and ask that he be like a hired servant and tell him that he had sinned against him and God.
But when the father saw him afar off, he ran and kissed him before the boy could say anything. In that culture the father never runs after his sons or daughters. This showed the heart of God toward one who repents, that God is so happy that He runs towards us. Notice that God leaves us to make our own decisions with free will until you and I come to the end of ourselves and want God in our lives. There He receives us with open arms. The father was not mad about the money that the boy spent or the betrayal but had his son back by his heart and not just physically. God wants a heart relationship with us not just the knowledge of God. When God is in your heart you care for Him and what He thinks and don’t want to hurt Him because it will hurt you. We care about God.
So, the young son entered into the house which is a symbol of being saved and in heaven and being one with the father sharing the same spirit and heart. Just like John the Baptist, the people came confessing their sins and repenting. Out of the issues of the heart the mouth speaks. Life and death are in the power of the tongue.
When you have a person in your heart that you love such as a mother or father or a child, you watch what we say because we don’t want to hurt them because in turn it hurts us. When we know somebody but don’t love them, we are far more careless with our words and don’t care if we hurt them in some cases.
Now the son who worked the field. As I said, the father who in this parable represents God the father in heaven as Jesus was telling it. When the younger son returned the older son was furious. He was mouthing off to his father and said, this son spent all your money and was with harlots and now you kill the fatted calf for him. now he is in the house which means he doesn’t have to work and earn his father’s love. The boy entered into the father’s rest. This brother was jealous, and self-righteous and hated his brother and was rebuking his father for forgiving his younger son which is very bad because the father has complete authority and can do what he decides to do without answering to his older son.
The older son clearly did not have the respect for his father that his younger brother now had. In all the time his younger brother was gone and the older brother stayed, the older brother never developed a relationship with his father but stayed in the fields earning his way to eventually inherit the ranch after his father would die. He was first born and would get the larger portion. With his younger brother gone he would get the whole ranch. So, this older brother cared nothing for his family but was only interested in what he would inherit in the end. What was in the older son’s heart was the inheritance. So, the older son was waiting for his father to die. So, for his inheritance, he stayed and worked the ranch, looking like a loyal son but in his heart, he was not loyal.
[THIS IS LAW] LIKE IN MY DREAM WHEN JESUS CAME TO ME AND SAID WHEN WILL YOU LAY DOWN THE LAW? JESUS WAS TELLING ME THAT I WAS TRYING TO EARN HIS LOVE. IT WASNT COMING FROM THE HEART. I NEEDED TO BE IN MY BIBLE MORE AND SPENDING TIME WITH HIM IN A QUIET PLACE, THEN HIS GRACE AND POWER WOULD WORK IN ME TO HAVE A GOOD SPIRIT IN PUBLIC AND SEE THE POWER OF GOD IN MY LIFE. I NEEDED TO REPENT. [REMEMBER LAW MEANS YOU HAVE TO]. LOVE MEANS YOU WANT TO.
How can you love somebody unless you spend time with them and get to know them.
The son said to his father, I have worked for you many years and never transgressed your commandment, and you have never given me so much as a kid goat so that I could make merry with my friends. Notice the attitude of this son, he was being perfect on the outside but on the inside, he was furious because his perfect works should have brought him into the house, meaning salvation. In all that time the older son never developed a heart appreciation for his dad.
When we get our inheritance in heaven and when we rule and reign with Christ. God will be alive while we enjoy our inheritance. but the older son was only working for the carnal physical things such as the ranch and his inheritance. This would have required the father to die in order for the son to be the beneficiary and his father the benefactor.
Notice what the father said to the older son. Your brother was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found. This implies that the older son is still dead. He is spiritually dead. He is not one with his father the way the younger son became even though he was always close by. He does not share the same spirit with his father the way the younger son now does.
When we get saved, we share the Holy Spirit with Jesus and the Godhead of heaven, not by works because we have to but by relationship because we want to. This is how we will know him when we see Him because we spent time with Him on earth sharing the same spirit together.
God has given you and me a portion of our inheritance by giving us life on this earth even though we are sinners. We could live for a long time or a short time. But in that time God wants you to get to the end of yourself and realize your need for Him. He waits for us to run to Him and in turn, He will run to you no matter what you have done in the past. If we are wise, we will wake up and see our need. The hardships of life should bring us to the place of calling out to Him. We can escape demons on the loose running around on this earth right now. tempting us, afflicting us with disease and sorrow, steeling, killing, and destroying. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, and He did, but you must be a born-again believer to be able to take authority over him. If you submit to Jesus authority you in turn will be able to operate in authority.
Build with Christ now while there is peace so when trials and troubles come you are ready to wage war against it. Don’t wait until troubles come to get serious about God, but even if you’re in trouble always call out to Him so He can show you He is there.
So, to end this, the older son only worked for the carnal flesh things of the earth where a lot of people are right now. The first commandment of the ten commandments is, YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME.
The older son’s god was the inheritance, the carnal things. If he would have reconciled with his father the way the young son did, he would not be an idolater and love the world more than his father. This parable was to the religious leaders who refused Jesus and is a warning to us that to make God first and foremost in your life and all other things will be added to you. God has a book written in heaven about each and every one of you and great plans for your life but without Jesus as savior God cannot implement it because you do not share the Holy Spirit with Him and are still under the authority of Satan the god of this world, the deceiver.
I received Jesus at 25 years old. When the Holy Spirit entered me, I was blown away excited. The power of God was on me for over 3 days. Miracles started happening in my life. Before that I was going to a religious denominational church. Catholic. I didn’t know God. But when I received Christ in my Living room, it all changed forever. Now I know I am headed to heaven because the Lord interacts with me also. we have fellowship and you can to.
ROMANS 10:9,10 IF YOU CONFESS WITH YOUR MOUTH THAT JESUS IS LORD AND BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART THAT GOD HAS RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, YOU WILL BE SAVED. FOR ONE BELIEVES WITH THE HEART AND SO IS JUSTIFIED, AND ONE CONFESSES WITHT THE MOUTH AND IS SAVED.
We need you in heaven. Do not waste you portion of the inheritance and your life.
Love in Christ. I am praying for you people.