Let’s say Bill Gates had a grown son and this son one day fell on his head and developed amnesia and became homeless. One day, in the city he was residing in he decided to go to a hotel and get a room. When he attempted to check in they asked him for an ID and of course money. He had neither. He leaves still homeless and as far as he knows, penniless.
Nearly one week later, this same son was roaming the streets, homeless and hungry. He accidently trips and falls again and when he comes to he ‘remembers who his father’ is thereby remembering who ‘he is’. He then walks into the same hotel as before, tells the clerk who he is, Bill Gates son. The clerk checks it out and sure enough discovers this man is who he says he is.
As a result of this man first remembering who his father is thereby remembering who he is the entire hotel staff respond to this man’s every request.
WHAT HAPPENED? WHAT CHANGED?
Now read Luke 15, the prodigal son again.
Notice, both sons received their ‘natural’ inheritance. The one son squandered his completely but got to experience ‘spiritual abundance’ by recognizing who he was resulting from being in the wrong country (the world) and expecting something other than the only thing the world can provide, which is ‘death, lack, and hopelessness’.
When the wayward son ‘came to himself’ (woke up out of amnesia), and realized his father was the father of overflow and abundance, only then was he restored to his rightful place- Sonship. Contrary to the perspective of the other son who remained with the father but his perspective of his father was one of skepticism and withholding; causing that son not only to miss out on father’s overflow, but the true joy of living life ‘more abundantly’.
The majority of the church resemble the second son who don’t know who they are (amnesia) and therefore don’t realize who the father is (abundance and overflow). They continue to view God as a Father who is withholding something….. healing, deliverance, abundance, overflow, i.e.; their spiritual inheritance so they never receive it.
Therefore He saith: “Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead (amnesia), and Christ shall give thee light(healing, deliverance, abundance, overflow).”……..Ephesians 5:14
“17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind (trying to figure God out), 18 Having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God (healing, deliverance, abundance, overflow), through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart”……Ephesians 4:17-18
“God is not man, one given to lies, and not a son of man changing his mind. Does he speak and not do what he says? Does he promise and not come through”?………Numbers 23:19