Joseph Prince - Live Strong In The Father's Love
All right, look up here in Luke 15. We have a beautiful story of the prodigal son. Many of you are familiar with this story. It is shared by our Lord Jesus. A certain man had two sons, and the younger one of them came and said, "Divide to me my portion. Gimme my portion of the goods". In other words, "I can't wait for you to die. You're too strong. Gimme the portion of my goods right now". The father, with sadness, divided his portion, all right? And read this carefully. Give them the verse. "Gimme the portion". He divided them his life. He divided to them, not just to the boy that asked. Have you noticed that? He divided to them, so the older brother had it all along. He divided to them, okay, 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". Drop down. "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 a citizen of that country, and he sent him to his fields to feed swine".
You all know the story, all right? Very sad. No one gave him anything. No one gave him anything. But he was spending money with his friends. Where are the friends now? No one gave him anything, okay? And then, he look at the pigs' food and even the food of the swine looks good to him. And then, he remembered, drop down, all right? "When he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!'" It was the thought of the kindness and goodness of his father even to the hired servants, amen? And we have to be good to our hired servants. If you have a hired servant living with you in the house, we have to be kind and good to them. Feed them well. Feed them well, amen? So, it was the goodness of the father that brought him to repentance, amen?
"If my father can treat with kindness, with goodness even the hired servants," he says, "and I perish with hunger. I'll arise and go to my father and say to him, 'Father, I've sinned against heaven before you. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.'" So, he actually said, "Make me one of your hired servants. Make me one of your hired", and why? Because the hired servants have bread enough and to spare. So, in his thinking that "I've offended my father. I can never be a son again, but let me just be a hired servant," okay? And next verse say, "And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off", I love this. How can a man see his son a great way off unless he's scanning the horizon every single day? All right. "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". By the way, the Greek there in the word "kiss him" is repeatedly kissed him, all right? Unceasingly. I did a lot of that with my son. Every time he's near me, I grab him. Kiss his head. Kiss his head, amen?
And, by the way, fathers, your child will always grow up whole, normal if the father shows physical affection. Never be afraid. It's the strict ones you have a concern about. No touching, no kissing, all right? When they're young kiss them as much as you can. Hug them, love them, and they grow up to be real men. Amen. "Amen, Pastor Prince". "And the son said to the father, 'Father," abba, "I've sinned against heaven and your sight. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son.' The father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.'" I told you some time back that the best robe in the Hebrew is the first robe, amen? The first robe, which belongs to the oldest son, amen? Reserved for the oldest son. "Bring out the best robe. Put it on him. Put a ring on his hand, sandals on his feet," amen?
Under law Moses was told, "Take off the shoes of your feet. This is holy ground". But on grace ground God says, "Put on sandals on his feet. He has a right to stand in my presence," amen? "And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry". I don't know whether you realize or not they didn't kill the fatted calf behind, in the kitchen. They kill the fatted calf in front of the boy. God wants to demonstrate the price of the cross. And some people, they don't want to talk about the violence or the terrible things that Jesus went through, but they need to know it, the price of saving you. There's no other way. "Kill it here". Have you seen how a calf or a cow is killed? It's pretty violent, amen? "And let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found". It's possible for your heart to be beating and you're dead. It's possible for you to go to work, come back. Work nine hours, eight hours, whatever, come back. Drive your car and all that. Eat good food and all that. Your heart is beating, but you're dead.
Notice this boy's heart was beating, but when he was away from the father he's dead. So, what is life? Life is when you're back in God's presence, because in the presence of the Lord there's life, amen? "'And he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry," amen? So, you know the story of the New Testament prodigal. Do you know the story of the Old Testament prodigal? The story of the Old Testament prodigal. Do you know? Okay, real fast. It's only a few verses, I'm going to tell you right now. Deuteronomy 21, "If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, will not heed them", so, he's stubborn. Say, "Stubborn". And rebellious. Say, "Rebellious". So, after constant chastening he refuses to listen to them, "Then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, to the gate of his city. And they shall say to the elders of his city, 'This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he's a glutton and a drunkard.' Then all the men of", that means he lives a sensual life, just like the prodigal son. He went off into riotous living, sensual life. "Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones".
Lemme try to read that properly. Maybe it mean something else. "Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear". You see that? You see that? This is the law, and the story I shared with you just now from Luke 15 is actually a Hebrew family. And they should know the law, right? Tell me, is there a difference? Is there a difference? Yes. Look, the first story they are... no, this story here in Deuteronomy, okay, I'll refer to it as the Old Testament story. In the Old Testament account, in the Old Testament, it says the son was displaced, stoned. In Jesus's account the son was replaced. Both were showered. The Old Testament son was showered with stones. The New Testament son was showered with kisses. The father kiss him repeatedly. The Old Testament son, rebellious son, receive exactly what he deserve. The New Testament son receive what he did not deserve: the ring, the fatted calf, the best robe, celebration, the father's love. In this account under law it ended in sorrow.
New Testament, it ended in song. I'll do alliteration, okay, so it helps you to understand. Sorrow, song. Let's find another one. In this account ends with death. New Testament ends with delight. In the law account it ends with funeral, f. It ends with a feast. Wanna tell you something. No one can read these two account and tell me there's no change. Nobody can read these two account and tell me there's no change. The same God. Why? "Why the difference, Pastor Prince"? And that's what my ministry has come under fire in some quarters, because I preach grace, which is the gospel of grace. There's no other gospel. And then, they say, "Don't you know the Old Testament"? And then, they never quote this part. They never quote this kind of law. This is the law. This is the law.
If you have a rebellious son, bring him... by the way, do you know that this is one law that's never carried out? In fact, there's no account anywhere of any man in the Old Testament who follow this law of stoning his son, bring him to the public square to be stoned. No account, so you can say that they didn't keep the law. In fact, our hearts sort of realize that this is not right, but then it is righteous under the Old Testament. Under law it is righteous, any more than if a judge look at someone who has murdered somebody else or destroyed someone and just gives a very light sentence, amen? Or lets him go. Are you listening, people? But, see, it's the same God, but you know something? It's all because of another son, and this son ultimately obeyed him by dying on the cross, amen? He died for our sins. He took our place. He was our substitute, amen? The world is dying because they think of the God of the Old Testament. They think of the God that, you know, and they understand. Yeah, rightly so. The first story meets our criteria of, "Yes, justice," until it is our son. "Yes, justice".
Those who say, "Well, you know, these preachers, these people who talk about healthy and all that kind of thing, you know, health and wealth and that kind of thing". Number one, there's no gospel of health and wealth, okay? You're mistaken, but God says, "I wish above all things that you prosper and be in health". And that's not spiritual because the next one says, "Even as your soul prospers," so it's physical health. And God wants you to prosper. "Ah, you know, all this doctrine and", but then, when they leave their inheritance to their son, they want their sons to be wealthy, these people who don't believe. And then, when their sons are sick they say that "you know, God doesn't heal anymore". They'll bring their child to the doctor for healing. And yet they will say sometimes in their pulpit that God sends sickness to teach us a lesson, and yet they're trying to get out of the lesson by bringing their son to the doctor. Why don't you learn the lesson?
Somehow in our hearts a father's heart is different. And you know something? God knew all the while we needed to understand this. We needed the law before we can ever see God's righteous requirement and how much we can appreciate the love and the grace of God. So, under law you see God's hand, but under grace you see God's heart. There's no contradiction, people. Jesus the Son, the perfect Son, the beloved Son, made all the difference. See, all the while God's heart is, like, pent up. You know pent up? Like, you cannot express because you're a judge, a judge that sits on the judgment seat, okay? In the courts, in the judicial courts. He cannot go by his heart. He cannot go by his emotions, all right? He cannot say, "You, rebellious you". He cannot say that. You understand, though?
All right. "I'll make sure you get hit on your posterior 50 times, 40 time". He cannot show his anger. He gonna be calm, even though inside he's boiling at the case or whatever. He cannot do that. You understand that? Gotta put that aside so you see what? His judicial side. You see his hand, but you don't see his heart, amen? So, God all the while was like that. God was like, you know, because the... okay, this is not a sermon altogether, why the law was given, all right? You all know my sermon. Get the Chinese version. It reads even better. I was about to ask Pastor Joe just now to read to you the first page, you know? But then, because of time we just let him go, okay? Anyway, God's heart was pent up under law, but Jesus gave God a righteous outlet, a righteous foundation to be himself. It's not as if God is really a judging God. Then Jesus change God's heart, and God say, "Okay, now I'm no more a judging God". No, no, no, no, no. God is always the same. God is love. He's always love. He's always love.
God made Adam and Eve, and God made, rather, God made everything first. Then God made Adam and Eve, for them to enjoy. God's heart is always love. God's heart is always goodness, but God didn't like the law because the law restricted God. But man had to face the law before they can appreciate God's grace. You understand? God is released to be himself, so it's not as if God change his nature. We need to be born again, not God. We need to see God afresh. So, where are we living now? Here under grace. Righteous foundation. I'll close with this. I'll close with this. Go back to this verse 21 again, the last part. "Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear". If there's no righteous foundation for the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15, where Jesus shared with us the story, then Jesus has preached against the law. I've been accused of preaching against the law, but you all know that's not true because I'm preaching that the law has been fulfilled. Can I have a good amen?
Or that Jesus is guilty of telling them, right, "Ignore this law from God". No, he's the one that gave it in the Old Testament, amen? But now there's a righteous foundation. Praise God. So, keep our focus straight, amen? I'll close with this. You see this verse 21? It ends with this. You know what's the verse that comes after that? Okay, no cheating. No looking down your iPhone, your Android, you know what's the verse that comes after this? I know this is the verse you all memorize after John 3:16, right? You know what's the verse that comes after this? Would you like to know? Totally different subject, okay? But related to this. You will love this. You will love this. Look at this. Drop down. Verse 21, right? Verse 22 says, "If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree," next verse, "his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God".
Now Galatians 3:13. "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree')". You know where this quotation is from? We just read it. Deuteronomy 21. "That the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith". Now, I wanna tell you something. Crucifixion wasn't invented yet. When the time of the Old Testament, it wasn't invented yet. And at time that the law was given that we read just now in Deuteronomy 21, it wasn't invented yet. Go back to the law again, all right? In fact, the law says, go back, it says what? Drop down. It says that "put him to death," all right? See that? He's put to death, verse 22, and you hang him on a tree.
Now, crucifixion is you die while you're hanging. This is merciful in the sense, right, it's capital punishment. Put him to death, and then put him on a tree, okay? On the tree it doesn't mean is crucified with nails. It's bound on the tree, okay? Now, why? It's a curse, to symbolize it's a curse. This man is cursed. So, when Jesus hung on a tree... see, the thing is that you ask any of your Christian friends this question, "Why did Jesus hang on a tree when the capital punishment of the Jew is actually stoning," right? We read just now, right, stone, right, the rebellious son, but why did Jesus hang on a tree? Why wasn't he stoned? Because if you say the blood of Jesus saves us, the blood of Jesus cleanses us, stoning will produce blood also.
See, sometimes people don't really think about such things, but I love to really talk about such things. I think of things people don't ask. It's called meditation. Why must Jesus die on the tree, on the cross? And Galatians 3:13 says, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree". Why? Because Christ redeem us by becoming a curse for us. Oh, man, have you ever, during your running or during your walk and all that do you ever meditate on the fact that Christ became a curse? Christ, on the cross, became accursed that the blessing of Abraham might come on me. I tell you, it will break your heart. Christ became a curse. You know when you touch things and things don't prosper? Whatever you do, you bring salary, your salary flies away, all right?
You know, it's like not enough, not enough. Always sick. When something apparently is well again, another part, you know, all the time sickness. All the time in the home disharmony and all that. Hey, fight against that. That don't belong to you anymore. Christ redeem you from the curse, but you need to meditate, "Christ became a curse". Your inner man will reach out in faith and say, "Therefore the blessing is mine," amen? Christ became a curse for us. See the love of God? Hello? See the love of God? See, the law you read just now says what? Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree, right? So, if he just was stoned to death, blood was shed, yes, our sins will be forgiven, but we're not redeemed from the curse. To be redeemed from the curse you have to be on the tree, so this thing about does God promise us health because all those promises in the Old Testament, blessings of Deuteronomy 28, does it belong to us? Yes. We're redeemed from the curse.
See the wisdom of God? Not only his blood was shed, but he died on the cross. And why the cross? Because everyone is cursed who hangs on the cross, right? To redeem us from the curse. You are redeemed from the curse. You might say, "Well, you know, I'm an American living in United States of America and times are bad and all that". Yeah, but you're redeemed from the curse, amen? "This flu is running around and everyone is getting it in my workplace now". But you are redeemed from the curse, amen? Praise God. So, think different. Stop thinking worldly. And also, by the grace of God, start looking for the good in every day, instead of looking for the bad. Start looking for the good in people, in your loved ones and all that, instead of looking for the bad. And you'll find all of a sudden you're stronger in every way. Your mind is clearer. Your sleep is sweeter. Your life becomes more joyful, amen? Have you been blessed? Give Jesus the praise, amen? Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord.