When We Say, “Father Give Me My Share” (Luke 15:11-12 and Exodus 3:11-14:17)

When we say, “Father give me my share,” as the rebellious younger son did in Luke 15:11, we set ourselves up for problems. We always want to have soft, teachable, receptive hearts that are submissive and sensitive to God’s will. We never want to keep pushing for our will when God has made His will clear. The worst that can happen is not that God will keep saying no. The worst that can happen is He can finally let us have our will even to our own detriment. https://youtu.be/ft7lT39Ys4k When we say, “Father give me my share,” like the son in Luke 15:11, the worst that can happen is God lets us have our will to our detriment. Table of ContentsFamily Worship Guide for When We Say, “Father Give Me My Share”Sermon Notes for When We Say, “Father Give Me My Share”Lesson One: The first two parables are about the salvation of unbelievers, but the third parable is about the repentance of a backslidden believer.Lesson Two: The son’s request was incredibly disrespectful and selfish.Lesson Three (Part One) Our Heavenly Father might let us have our will to our own detriment.Lesson Three (Part One) Our Heavenly Father might let us have our will to our own detriment (Part Two) such as with Moses. Family Worship Guide for When We Say, “Father Give Me My Share” Directions: Read the verses and then answer the questions: Day 1: Luke 15:1-12—What are some of the major differences between the first two parables and the third parable? What did the younger son’s request communicate? Why was it so disrespectful and selfish?Day 2: Luke 15:12, James 1:17—Why would Jesus’s listeners have been so surprised by the father’s response in the parable? What does this teach us about our Heavenly Father’s possible responses to us?Day 3: Exodus 3:11-4:14—Why was Moses unwilling to go? What were Moses’s five excuses? Why do you think God let Aaron go with Moses? Was God’s decision to let Aaron go with Moses merciful or judicial, and why do you think that? Sermon Notes for When We Say, “Father Give Me My Share” The title of this morning’s sermon is, When We Say, “Father Give Me My Share.” On Sunday mornings we’re working our way through Luke’s gospel verse by verse and we find ourselves at Luke 15:11. Please stand with me for the reading of God’s Word. Luke 15:11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. You may be seated. Let’s pray. In the last sermon we finished the second parable, the parable of the lost coin, and this morning we will begin looking at the third and final parable, the parable of the lost sons. A couple things to notice: The first parable deals with losing one out of 100, or 1%. The second parable deals with losing one out of 10, or 10%. The third parable deals with losing one out of two, or 50%. The percent is increasing.The value is also increasing. A son is worth more than a coin, and a coin is worth more than a sheep. Let me share a few other things about this parable before we begin… According to my ESV Expository Commentary this parable “is simply incomparable and is perhaps the greatest parable Jesus ever uttered, which would make it the greatest parable in history.” The first two parables primarily focus on God, but this parable focuses as much on man, and in particular his sin and rebellion. We believe in one God who eternally exists as three Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. There are parables that primarily deal with the second Person of the triune nature of God, God the Son, such as the first two parables. The shepherd who goes to look for the lost sheep and the woman who goes to look for the lost coin represent Jesus as He goes to look for lost sinners. But this parable focuses on the first Person of the triune nature of God, God the Father. In other words, to be clear, the father in the parable represents God the Father. Also, the two themes of the first two parables are joy and repentance. The words joy, rejoicing, and repentance occur eight times. Joy and repentance continue to be the themes of the third parable as well, but there is a significant change. The words joy, rejoice, rejoicing, and repentance are absent. Instead of using these words, we get to see them described: We get to see the son’s repentanceWe get to see the father’s joy Finally, the previous two parables were about unbelievers, but this parable focuses on a believer. This is so important I want to give you a lesson to keep it straight… Lesson One: The first two parables are about the salvation of unbelievers, but the third parable is about the repentance of a backslidden believer. In the first two parables the shepherd finds the lost sheep and the woman finds the lost coin, picturing the conversion of lost sinners. But in the third parable the father waits and watches eagerly for his son’s return. Do you see the contrast between the shepherd and the woman pursuing in the first two parables but the father waiting and watching in the third parable? The son is a son, which means he is saved. So, the first two parables are about the conversion of lost sinners, but the third parable is about the repentance of a backslidden believer. And because the prodigal son represents a backslidden believer, I’m going to focus on application for believers. With all this in mind, please look with me at verse 11… Luke 15:11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. Let’s remember that the titles for parables are like the headings in our Bibles: they were added by man. I’m thankful for them, and they can be helpful, but I think the common title for this parable is misleading. Most commonly this parable is called The Parable of the Prodigal Son, which puts the focus on one of the sons. But the parable is about three different people and all of them are mentioned in this verse: the father and his two sons. We should focus on each of them, and we will over the following weeks. Look at verse 12… Luke 15:12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ Now let me remind you of something… Whatever Jesus’s teaching meant to the listeners in His day, is what it means to us in our day. The way people understood Jesus’s teaching when He preached it is the way we should understand it when we read it. We should always strive to understand what Jesus’s listeners understood to have the correct understanding. Now with that in mind, when Jesus said this, His listeners would have gasped, because this was an absolutely outrageous request from the younger son. And this brings us to lesson two… Lesson Two: The son’s request was incredibly disrespectful and selfish. Look at the words give me the share: There is not an ounce of gratitude in his heart.He showed utter disrespect toward his father.He lacked any love for him whatsoever. John MacArthur said, “The truth of the matter is for a son to say that in the sensibilities of the ancient Middle East and village life would be tantamount to saying, ‘Dad I wish you were dead. You are in the way of my plans. I want my freedom and I want out of this family now. I have other plans that don’t involve you. They don’t involve this family. They don’t involve this village. I want nothing to do with any of you.’” Keep in mind Jesus is speaking to people whose culture is based on the 10 Commandments and the fifth commandment is honor your father and your mother. As Paul said in Ephesians 6:2 this is the one commandment with a promise. The fifth commandment had risen to the top of the list of social life. And so, the chain of respect was well known to everyone. The father was at the top, then the oldest brother, and THEN the next brother. This younger son wasn’t even second! It was completely shameful for the lowest in the family, the lowest in the line of honor, to act this way. In Jewish culture, his behavior would have been cause for the son to be removed from the family. Another commentator said, “There was no way that Jesus could portray greater shame upon a person than that act. In the social structure of Israel, that was the supreme act of shame.” The son’s request was so outrageous and disrespectful that to say something like this brought a complete end to the relationship. The son was communicating that he wanted his father dead, and he was communicating that he wanted to be dead to his father. And this is why the father twice said that his son was dead: 24 For this MY SON WAS DEAD, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this YOUR BROTHER WAS DEAD, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’” What did the father mean when he said his son was dead? The son was clearly alive, so he didn’t mean it literally. The father meant relationally the son was dead to him, because of his behavior at this moment. It was even customary in that culture to hold an official ceremony, a funeral, to show the end of the relationship. A slap across the face was the typical Jewish gesture to show rebuke for such disrespect. The listeners would expect the father to rebuke the son, slap him across the face, dismiss him from the family, and then hold a funeral. And let me help you understand,