Welcome to this week's bible teaching. We will continue our examination of the Parable of the Prodigal Son. All scripture is quoted from the New King JamesVersion if the Holy Bible unless otherwise noted. If you have missed the previous teachings, please email me and I will gladly email them to you. Our text for this week is Luke 15:15-16. Grab your bible and let's get to it.
Heavenly Father, we come before You with open minds and open hearts. Father weask You to give us wisdom to rightly divide Your Word. We ask that You strip away any false beliefs in all of us. We ask You for divine revelation that wemay better serve You and be in Your perfect will.In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Luke 15:15 "Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, andhe went him into his fields to feed swine."
Remember from the earlier teachings that the far country is symbolic of sin,and not of geographical distance. A citizen of the far country is someone wholives in sin. The bible is clear in this text and others that we are not tojoin ourselves with unsaved people.
Prov 1:15 "My son, do not walk in the way with them, Keep your foot from theirpath;(vs 16) For their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed blood." The first specific type of union we will look at is marriage. 2 Cor 6:14 " Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? (vs 15) And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?"
If you do marry an unbeliever, the bible says you must remain with them as long as they are willing to stay with you. But you will have no peace unlessthey get saved or decide to leave.
1 Cor 7: 12 "But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. (vs13) And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he iswilling to live with her, let her not divorce him. (vs 14) For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and theunbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. (vs 15) But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called you to peace."
Now let us look at having unbelieving friends.
Ephesians 5:6 "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of thesethings the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. (vs 7) Therefore do not be partakers with them. (vs 8) For you were once darkness, but now youare light in the Lord. Walk as children of light: (vs 9) (for the fruit of theSpirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth). (vs 10) finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. (vs 11) And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. (vs 12) For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret."
This does not mean we are supposed to isolate ourselves from the world. 1Corinthians chapter five is clear about that. But we are not to partake in unrighteous activity with unbelievers. Do you have any friends from your past that always try to lead you back into the things you used to do? Just like the"Good old days"? I think most of you know what I am talking about. Let us sumit up with this scripture.
1 Tim 5:22 "Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people's sins; keep yourself pure."
Look now at the next section of the verse. The citizen of sin sent him out to feed swine. It is hard for a gentile mind to comprehend how grotesque this was to the Jews Jesus was speaking to. This was probably more offensive than prostitution, a Jew wouldn't think of touching swine, of eating swine. How much lower is it to serve swine, to feed them, to work in their stench ridden and disgusting pen? Running away from God the Father, rebelling against His authority will lead people to doing things that are repulsive to get by. Think of the drug addict that will steal,or sell themselves to satisfy their addiction. There are people in this world who prey on the down and out. They look for young people who have run away from the home, for people whom are consumed by addiction so they can turn their problems into profit. Look at the next verse.
Luke 15:16 "And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything."
The people who prey on the down and out give nothing in return. In this verse the boy is doing something unthinkable in his culture, and he gets nothing in return. Beware of people who try to lead you astray. It may be subtle. It may start small. But don't join yourself to anyone who will lead you off the narrow path in the slightest. No one decides to fall into a pigpen. It happens over time. One deception at a time. The devils crowd will be nice to you at first, and little by little they will put you into bondage, put you into a desperate situation where they are reaping the benefits of your fall and giving nothing in return. Let us close with a few more scriptures.
Prov 16:25 "There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the wayof death."
Prov 4:14 " Do not enter the path of the wicked, And do not walk in the way ofevil. (vs 15) Avoid it, do not travel on it; Turn away from it and pass on.(vs 16) For they do not sleep unless they have done evil; And their sleep istaken away unless they make someone fall. (vs 17) For they eat the bread ofwickedness, And drink the wine of violence. (vs 18) But the path of the justis like the shining sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. (vs19) The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know what makes themstumble. (vs 20) My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ears to mysayings. (vs 21) Do not let them depart from you eyes; Keep them in the midstof your heart;"
That concludes this weeks look into God's Word. Would you join me in prayer?
Heavenly Father, give us wisdom to live our lives according to Your perfect will. We praise You for showing us the true meaning of Your precious and Holy Word. We ask it in the Name of Jesus and to You be all the glory. Amen.
Please contact me, Michael Norton, with comments, questions, prayer requests, or suggestions at [email protected]. If you would like to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Please pray this prayer, and as you confess it with your mouth and believe it with your heart (Romans 10:9-10), He will wash away your sin with the blood He shed for you on the cross.
Lord Jesus, I know that You died in my place on the cross. I know that You were raised from the dead. I know that there is no other way to heaven except through You, for You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I ask You into my heart to be my Savior and my Lord from this day forward. Wash me clean of all my sins and turn me completely toward You. If I died today, I know I would go to heaven and be with You. I pray this prayer in Your Holy Name. Amen.