WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:01.760 Oh come on, River Point Church. 00:00:01.919 --> 00:00:06.480 Come on, but if you're thankful for Jesus one time, can you give him some praise that he's worthy of? 00:00:06.639 --> 00:00:12.480 If you're thankful for what God has done for you, if he's done anything in your life, can you give him a shout of praise this morning? 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:13.439 Amen. 00:00:15.119 --> 00:00:18.960 River Point Church, it is so good to be with you this morning. 00:00:19.039 --> 00:00:20.640 It is an absolute honor. 00:00:20.719 --> 00:00:27.199 Uh, just as you heard Pastor Chad say, my name is John LaFave, and I come from the great country of Miami, Florida. 00:00:27.440 --> 00:00:36.640 Um, if you've ever been to Miami, you know Miami's built different and it's different than all of the other cities and states, but I'm also grateful to be in the great country of Texas. 00:00:36.799 --> 00:00:37.679 Can I get an amen? 00:00:38.159 --> 00:00:38.880 Come on. 00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:44.640 I want to take a moment to just honor your senior pastor, Pastor Chad Brugman. 00:00:44.880 --> 00:00:48.240 Um, come on, if you love your senior pastor, can you just make some noise for a moment? 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:56.799 Just as you heard him say in that video, uh, I got the honor of speaking to the high school students of River Point Church. 00:00:56.880 --> 00:01:07.439 And one of my favorite moments was when I was speaking to this young one guy, this one young guy, and he was telling me about how amazing his father is and how amazing his dad is, and someone turns to me and says, Do you know who his father is? 00:01:07.519 --> 00:01:08.959 I'm like, Oh, I honestly have no idea. 00:01:09.120 --> 00:01:12.480 He said, His father is Pastor Chad, the senior pastor of this church. 00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:24.159 And to me, it made such an impact because I have a young son, and I my prayer and my desire isn't so much that my son would say how great of a preacher or a pastor I am, but how great of a father I am. 00:01:24.319 --> 00:01:32.799 And he was just talking about how great his father is, not just on a platform, which I'm grateful he's incredible on this platform, but off the platform, even better. 00:01:32.879 --> 00:01:34.640 And I'm grateful for every conversation I've had with him. 00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:42.799 And I was telling him that every staff member, every pastor, every team member, every person I've met that's a part of this church has just been so kind and so generous. 00:01:42.879 --> 00:01:45.519 And to me, it's just a reflection of the senior pastor. 00:01:45.599 --> 00:01:53.519 And so come on, if you love your senior pastor, Pastor Chad Brugman, can you just make some noise one time and just show some love to Pastor Chad Brugman? 00:01:53.840 --> 00:01:55.280 It's an honor to be here. 00:01:55.359 --> 00:01:59.680 I'm gonna get straight into it because my time is ticking and that clock is demonic. 00:01:59.760 --> 00:02:01.359 Um, anybody have a Bible on them? 00:02:01.519 --> 00:02:04.239 Luke chapter 15 is where I'm gonna be at today. 00:02:04.400 --> 00:02:05.439 Um, I hope it's okay. 00:02:05.519 --> 00:02:07.519 I'm gonna read about 20 verses. 00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:09.840 Um, anybody like to read their Bible in church? 00:02:10.159 --> 00:02:12.319 Luke chapter 15 is where I'm gonna be at. 00:02:12.400 --> 00:02:14.560 Um, anybody got physical copy Bibles on them? 00:02:14.960 --> 00:02:16.719 If you have it, can you just put it up in the air real quick? 00:02:16.879 --> 00:02:17.759 Any physical copy Bibles? 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:18.639 All right, we got a few of them. 00:02:18.719 --> 00:02:18.960 I love it. 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:20.479 Any glow in the dark Bibles? 00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:22.159 We got a few of those as well? 00:02:22.639 --> 00:02:23.280 Love it. 00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:31.520 If not, it will be up on this giant screen behind me, but I'm gonna read 20 verses and it starts off like this. 00:02:31.599 --> 00:02:34.479 I'm reading it starting at verse 11, Luke chapter 15. 00:02:34.639 --> 00:02:38.879 It says, Jesus continued, as he's telling a story. 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:41.840 There was a man who had two sons. 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:43.360 Can someone say two sons? 00:02:44.479 --> 00:02:49.840 The younger one said to his father, Father, give me my share of the estate. 00:02:50.080 --> 00:02:52.800 So he divided his property between them. 00:02:53.039 --> 00:03:02.560 Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country, and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:10.240 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 00:03:10.639 --> 00:03:17.759 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:25.280 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:34.400 When he came to his senses, he said, How many of my father's hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death. 00:03:34.639 --> 00:03:40.560 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him, Father, I've sinned against heaven and against you. 00:03:40.639 --> 00:03:43.280 I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. 00:03:43.520 --> 00:03:45.599 Make me like one of your hired servants. 00:03:45.680 --> 00:03:48.240 So he got up and went to his father. 00:03:48.479 --> 00:03:57.199 But while he was still a long way off, the father saw him and was filled with compassion for him. 00:03:57.439 --> 00:04:01.680 He ran to his son, threw his son his arms around him, and kissed him. 00:04:01.840 --> 00:04:07.680 The son said to him, Father, I've sinned against heaven and against you, I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. 00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:17.680 But the father said to his servants, Quick, bring the best robe and put it on him, put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet, bring the fattened calf and kill it. 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:20.480 Let's have a feast and celebrate. 00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:23.839 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again. 00:04:24.079 --> 00:04:27.680 He was lost and is found, so they began to celebrate. 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:31.920 Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. 00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:39.120 While he came near the house, he heard music and dancing, so he called one of the servants and asked him, What was going on? 00:04:39.360 --> 00:04:46.720 Your brother has come, he replied, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he was he has him back, safe and sound. 00:04:46.959 --> 00:04:52.079 The older brother became angry and refused to go in, so his father went out and pleaded with him. 00:04:52.240 --> 00:05:00.800 But he answered his father, Look, all these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. 00:05:01.120 --> 00:05:05.120 Yet you never gave me a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:13.920 But when this son of yours, who has squandered your property with prostitutes, come home, you kill the fat and calf for him? 00:05:14.720 --> 00:05:21.199 My son, the father said, You're always with me, and everything I have is yours. 00:05:21.360 --> 00:05:29.279 But we have had to celebrate and be glad because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again. 00:05:29.600 --> 00:05:32.639 He was lost and is found. 00:05:33.040 --> 00:05:37.360 Out of these 20 verses, I want to preach a message that I've titled Going Back Home. 00:05:37.600 --> 00:05:40.720 Can you turn to the person next to you and say, I'm going back home? 00:05:42.160 --> 00:05:46.639 Can you turn to the person that you just ignored and can you say, I'm going back home? 00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:52.800 And I believe the Spirit of God is in this room. 00:05:53.120 --> 00:05:58.639 And I just want you to know I've prayed for you guys a lot for the last few weeks, and I could not shake Luke chapter 15. 00:05:58.720 --> 00:05:59.759 And so we're gonna get into it. 00:05:59.839 --> 00:06:01.279 I believe that God's gonna speak to us this morning. 00:06:01.360 --> 00:06:02.319 Lord, we thank you. 00:06:02.639 --> 00:06:06.240 God, thank you for your goodness and your grace and your mercy. 00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:08.800 Lord, we ask that you continue to speak to us. 00:06:08.959 --> 00:06:10.240 Thank you that you are present. 00:06:10.480 --> 00:06:11.759 Thank you that you are holy. 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:13.439 Thank you that you are faithful, Lord. 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:14.639 We need you this morning. 00:06:14.879 --> 00:06:16.560 We cannot go this day without you. 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:18.560 We cannot go another moment without you, Lord. 00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:20.959 We are in desperation for your presence. 00:06:21.040 --> 00:06:24.399 And I pray that this morning we could just fall more in love with you as a church. 00:06:24.720 --> 00:06:30.240 God, things that will come and go, people will come and go, but there's one thing that remains constant, and it's you, Lord. 00:06:30.480 --> 00:06:31.360 You're faithful. 00:06:31.600 --> 00:06:37.199 So Lord, I ask that you speak to us this morning and we continue to pray for the Houston Texans that they could have a great season. 00:06:37.360 --> 00:06:43.600 And everybody says, come on, everybody says, if you're grateful for Jesus, can you make some noise one time? 00:06:49.199 --> 00:06:54.720 So in February of 2020, I got engaged, and it was amazing. 00:06:54.800 --> 00:06:57.920 But how many of you guys know what would happen a month later? 00:06:58.480 --> 00:07:13.279 The world would shut down and everything would close, and I'm grateful that we live in states like Texas and Florida that things began to open up just a little bit sooner than everybody else, but still there was a time period where everything was closed down and everything was shut down. 00:07:13.439 --> 00:07:20.319 Now there was this really cool time period where things started to open back up, and it seemed like we're going back to normalcy for just a moment. 00:07:20.480 --> 00:07:26.079 And so there was a time where the mall that is near my in-laws' house, near my wife's parents' house, had opened up. 00:07:26.240 --> 00:07:28.000 And so we just wanted some normalcy. 00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:28.959 So let's go to the mall. 00:07:29.040 --> 00:07:33.040 Let's go do some shopping, get some things that we need for the wedding, and all that fun stuff. 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:34.800 And we go to the mall and everything's great. 00:07:34.879 --> 00:07:38.560 And when we come back, we're in the car and we're about halfway through the ride. 00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:42.079 And I look at my wife, and it seems like she's searching for something. 00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:43.600 I'm like, hey, is everything okay? 00:07:43.680 --> 00:07:44.399 Did you drop something? 00:07:44.480 --> 00:07:45.839 She goes, No, everything's fine. 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:46.720 I said, Okay. 00:07:46.879 --> 00:07:47.920 Didn't think much of it. 00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:53.920 We get to her parents' house, to my in-law's house, and my wife does something she's never done before. 00:07:54.079 --> 00:07:55.600 She sprinted and ran. 00:07:55.680 --> 00:07:58.079 I've never seen my wife sprint or run before ever. 00:07:58.240 --> 00:08:01.519 She sprinted to the door where her family's at, and she just runs inside. 00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:03.199 I'm like, that was a little weird. 00:08:03.279 --> 00:08:05.839 Like, I've never seen her do anything like that. 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:10.560 So she runs inside and she comes back out even before I've gotten my stuff. 00:08:10.639 --> 00:08:14.000 And when she goes, I see her searching through the car and she's looking for something. 00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:15.600 And I said, Hey, did you lose something? 00:08:15.680 --> 00:08:16.720 She goes, No, no, it's fine. 00:08:17.040 --> 00:08:17.519 Everything is okay. 00:08:17.600 --> 00:08:19.199 I'm like, what are you looking for? 00:08:19.439 --> 00:08:19.920 What's wrong? 00:08:20.079 --> 00:08:21.680 She goes, No, no, everything's good. 00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:27.839 And I look at her finger and I and I notice that there's something missing on her finger. 00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:29.920 And it's an engagement ring. 00:08:30.160 --> 00:08:35.519 And I said, Andrea, did you lose your engagement ring? 00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:37.840 And she's like, No, no, it's here somewhere. 00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:38.799 I know it's here. 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:40.159 It's around here somewhere. 00:08:40.399 --> 00:08:42.799 And I remembered in this moment exactly what happened. 00:08:42.879 --> 00:08:46.240 And everybody remember in 2020 when everybody was wearing rib jeans. 00:08:46.399 --> 00:08:48.320 Anybody wore rib jeans in 2020? 00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:49.919 Maybe you're wearing rib jeans today. 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:51.519 It's still in fashion if you're wearing it. 00:08:51.600 --> 00:08:52.159 That's okay. 00:08:52.320 --> 00:09:04.320 But my wife in 2020, she had some rib jeans on, and I remember vividly, she takes off the ring to put some lotion on her hands, and she puts it in the rip of her jeans, and she never puts it back on her finger. 00:09:04.559 --> 00:09:10.720 Now remember, we go to a mall, and it's not just any mall, this is probably one of the most crowded malls in all of Miami. 00:09:10.799 --> 00:09:17.120 And so we get there and I start to realize this ring can be anywhere in the entire city of Miami. 00:09:17.519 --> 00:09:20.320 And so I'm furious at this point. 00:09:20.480 --> 00:09:22.240 We're driving back to the mall. 00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:27.120 My wife is calling every store that we've been to, and of course, nobody's gonna return something like this. 00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:33.440 We get to there, and oh, she we're trying to remember exactly where we parked, and it's just like, let's start searching this parking lot. 00:09:33.679 --> 00:09:45.440 And after minutes of searching in this parking lot with tears in her eyes, my wife grabs the ring and she goes, I found it! She found it, she found it. 00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:47.919 I was like, You better have. 00:09:49.840 --> 00:09:59.440 But I tell a story because it reminds me and I feel like it gives me this perspective that there's such a beauty to finding something that is so valuable to you. 00:09:59.759 --> 00:10:02.399 Some finding something, there's no feeling like it. 00:10:02.559 --> 00:10:07.120 We really care when there is something that is lost that is valuable to us. 00:10:07.360 --> 00:10:11.919 If you've ever lost something that you love, it is a panicking experience. 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:15.919 It's something that you will do whatever you can to find this lost item. 00:10:16.080 --> 00:10:36.639 But even more than an item, have you ever seen a mom that has lost her child, like in a mall or in a shopping center, and you could just see that this mother is frantic and she's panicked, and there's anxiety, and there's just a desire that I will do whatever I can to find my child, because the condition of being lost is one that breaks barriers. 00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:39.919 It's one that's worth tearing down walls for. 00:10:40.399 --> 00:10:49.039 That's why I want to stress for just a few moments, not about a lost item, but the state of where we might find our souls today. 00:10:49.759 --> 00:10:58.080 Because the reality is, you are either lost or you are found, but there is no in between. 00:10:58.720 --> 00:11:05.039 Just the way that the ring was lost, I either knew where it was or I didn't know where it was. 00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:08.480 Something, even if it's misplaced, it's still temporary lost. 00:11:08.639 --> 00:11:11.519 You are either lost or you are found. 00:11:11.759 --> 00:11:18.159 And it's when you're lost that it just seems like we have no direction for our life and you don't know where life is going. 00:11:18.320 --> 00:11:20.559 I seem to be moving, but I'm just going aimless. 00:11:20.720 --> 00:11:26.879 It's when you're lost that you will search every single place that you can find for something that's going to satisfy the soul. 00:11:27.039 --> 00:11:31.600 But no matter how much you keep searching, nothing is fulfilling, nothing is ever enough. 00:11:31.759 --> 00:11:39.360 It's when you're lost that no matter how much you try to do things on your own strength, you just feel like you're failing over and over and over again. 00:11:39.519 --> 00:11:40.480 It's when you're lost. 00:11:40.799 --> 00:11:50.720 Or maybe you once loved the church and you must love the people of the church, but someone hurts you, someone abandoned you, and now all it is are just memories that you used to carry. 00:11:50.879 --> 00:11:55.279 It's when you're lost that there's no more conviction for sin or the desire to turn away. 00:11:55.440 --> 00:11:57.600 Sin doesn't grieve you the way that it used to. 00:11:57.679 --> 00:12:04.320 It's when you're lost that you will isolate from everyone or you can be in a crowded room and yet still feel so alone. 00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:07.600 It's when you're lost that you have no clear purpose for your life. 00:12:07.759 --> 00:12:08.879 You don't know why you're here. 00:12:09.039 --> 00:12:11.679 You're living, but life just feels like it's empty all the time. 00:12:11.840 --> 00:12:17.679 It's when you're lost that you are in constant fear of death or the unknown, and the future just scares you. 00:12:17.840 --> 00:12:24.000 It's when you're lost that on the outside everything seems like you're in control, but on the inside, there's chaos. 00:12:24.879 --> 00:12:35.039 Because you can be busy, you can be successful, you can be surrounded by people, but yet still be lost. 00:12:35.840 --> 00:12:36.480 Lost. 00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:43.200 What does it matter if I'm lost, Pastor John from Miami, who's not taller than my kids? 00:12:44.080 --> 00:12:46.080 What does it matter if you're telling me all this? 00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:48.639 My life seems to be just fine the way that it is. 00:12:48.799 --> 00:12:51.279 What does it matter if I'm lost or if I'm found? 00:12:51.360 --> 00:12:54.399 I like the way I'm living, I like the way I'm choosing to live. 00:12:54.720 --> 00:12:56.000 I gotta tell you. 00:12:56.320 --> 00:13:03.919 Because more than my wife losing her ring and the value of that, more than even a mother losing her child, I need you to know this. 00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:10.159 You are valuable to the father, and valuable things matter when they are lost. 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:14.639 And I maybe came to remind somebody today that maybe you don't feel like it. 00:13:14.879 --> 00:13:18.559 Maybe you don't feel like you're valuable, maybe you don't feel like you're good enough. 00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:30.799 I came to remind somebody today that you are valuable not because of your accomplishments, not because of the things that you can do, not because of your status, not because of your money, not because of the things that your achievements have looked like. 00:13:30.960 --> 00:13:36.320 You are valuable because of a God that says, I have made you and designed you in my image. 00:13:37.519 --> 00:13:42.799 You are valuable because you have a God in heaven that knit you before you were in your mother's womb. 00:13:42.960 --> 00:13:46.639 You have a God who tells you your valuable is worth more than silver and gold. 00:13:46.879 --> 00:13:49.759 You have a God who tells you that you are a masterpiece. 00:13:49.919 --> 00:13:52.480 There is value over your life. 00:13:52.879 --> 00:13:53.759 There's value. 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:59.039 As a matter of fact, you value too much to stay in the condition that you are. 00:13:59.759 --> 00:14:02.639 Jesus would actually tell us what his mission is just a few chapters later. 00:14:02.799 --> 00:14:04.399 He says this in Luke chapter 19. 00:14:04.480 --> 00:14:11.759 He says, For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. 00:14:12.960 --> 00:14:16.159 Jesus didn't come just because lost people are worthless. 00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:20.879 He came because lost people are worth finding every single time. 00:14:21.440 --> 00:14:23.840 You may feel lost or you may not feel lost. 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:26.960 You may be loving life or you might hate the light that you live. 00:14:27.120 --> 00:14:33.919 But even if you are lost or you are not, Jesus still came looking for you because you are too valuable to stay where you are. 00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:36.960 You are too valuable to stay lost. 00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:50.320 And if you don't believe me, Jesus would share three stories in Luke chapter 15 to emphasize how much it means that a lost person would come back. 00:14:50.559 --> 00:14:51.600 Three stories. 00:14:51.919 --> 00:14:53.759 So many of these we've heard so many times. 00:14:53.919 --> 00:14:57.440 The first one is about a shepherd who has a hundred sheep. 00:14:57.679 --> 00:15:12.080 And it would tell us in Luke chapter 15 that this shepherd loses one of the sheep, and it says that he leaves the 99 to go after the one, and when he finds the one, he puts this sheep on his back, comes back home, and says, We're throwing a party, I found my sheep. 00:15:12.240 --> 00:15:16.960 And so many of us could be like, Why would he leave the 99 that he has to search after that one? 00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:21.360 It's because the sheep has value just the way that you and I have value to the Father. 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:30.000 Then the second story Jesus tells is about a woman who has 10 coins, and she loses one of the coins in her house. 00:15:30.480 --> 00:15:41.279 And when she loses one of these coins, she goes frantic searching for this coin, and she's tearing apart sofas and mattresses and pillowcases, and she says, I gotta find this coin. 00:15:41.440 --> 00:15:46.879 And when she finds this coin, she says, it says that she calls all of her friends and she throws a party. 00:15:47.200 --> 00:15:47.919 I love it. 00:15:48.639 --> 00:15:51.120 But then we get now this third story. 00:15:51.600 --> 00:16:01.519 But the crazy thing about this third story is that Jesus would tell two stories to set up this third story. 00:16:01.759 --> 00:16:08.720 The third story is the one that's gonna attack the heart of the people that are in the audience as he's telling this story. 00:16:08.879 --> 00:16:11.279 You gotta understand what's happening in Luke chapter 15. 00:16:11.519 --> 00:16:19.679 There is a group of men who see Jesus and they see who he's hanging out with, and they're like, who is this man that he would hang out with? 00:16:19.919 --> 00:16:20.559 Sinners. 00:16:21.919 --> 00:16:25.919 Who is this man that he would hang out with the people that we've ridden off already? 00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:33.360 Who is this man that he would hang out with the broken people and not the people like us that have all of our life together? 00:16:33.600 --> 00:16:39.679 And Jesus, in his wisdom and in his grace, is like, let me tell three stories. 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:42.639 The sheep at the coin, and then he sells this third story. 00:16:43.120 --> 00:16:52.159 This third story, though, we've heard often, you've heard about the prodigal son, but I don't want to even so much emphasize on this prodigal son so much. 00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:55.519 I want to talk about two lost sons, actually, for just a moment. 00:16:55.919 --> 00:16:59.759 And so the story starts off with a father, and I want to talk about the father first. 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:03.039 The father, the passage will tell us that he's wealthy. 00:17:03.200 --> 00:17:07.680 The passage would tell us he's a man of status, he's a man that has everything together. 00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:14.720 You gotta think, this father, being in the capability that he has, he would have been able to provide for his kids like nothing else. 00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:20.400 Everything that his kids could have probably ever wanted, he's probably said, sure, it's yours, go ahead. 00:17:20.720 --> 00:17:22.559 Now we get introduced to the sons. 00:17:22.720 --> 00:17:24.240 Someone say the younger son. 00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:32.960 So we get first introduced to the younger son, and the younger son goes to the father and says, Father, I want my inheritance now. 00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:38.000 I want to spend it the way that I want, and I want to live life the way that I want to live. 00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:39.759 Now, why is this significant? 00:17:39.920 --> 00:17:43.839 An inheritance is given once a father has passed away. 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:49.440 So, in other words, what this younger son is saying is, Dad, I could care less about your life. 00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:51.279 I just want what you can give me. 00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:52.640 I don't want to wait for it. 00:17:52.799 --> 00:17:56.160 Give it to me now so I could just spend it on all that I want. 00:17:56.400 --> 00:18:12.559 So the younger son gets the inheritance, goes to downtown Houston, spends it at every club, at every strip club, at every bar, at every place, and just wastes away all of his money until the Bible tells us that there's a famine, and this son is left with nothing left. 00:18:12.799 --> 00:18:24.880 He gets to the point where he ends up having to find a work, and what he's doing in this job is he's in a place where he's uh in a feeding trough, which is where pigs would eat their food. 00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:30.160 And it literally tells us that he's looking at what the pigs are eating, he's like, I wish I could have that food. 00:18:30.559 --> 00:18:37.599 He's at a point where he had everything, and now he's eating worse than pigs. 00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:40.160 I started to think about it. 00:18:41.279 --> 00:18:43.680 And how oftentimes is this our life? 00:18:44.480 --> 00:18:49.279 We're out of a search for a temporary satisfaction. 00:18:50.079 --> 00:19:08.319 We will search out of the chase for something temporary, we will neglect, we will give away, we will get rid of something that God wants to do, we will get rid of the blessing, we'll get rid of something that has some eternal significance all because we just wanted something temporary. 00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:14.240 If I could just get this high right now, this high will give me the peace and the satisfaction I'm searching for. 00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:22.640 Oh, if I could just get and I could date with that coworker, even though I'm a married man or a married woman, I know that it'll fulfill that craving that I'm searching for. 00:19:22.799 --> 00:19:29.519 If I could just get to one more website, that one more website will give me this longing of this loneliness that I continue to carry. 00:19:29.680 --> 00:19:33.839 If I could just blackout drunk one more time, it'll be the escape that I need. 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:43.759 And we just chase after temporary and temporary and temporary, not understanding and realizing that sometimes it has some eternal consequences. 00:19:44.799 --> 00:20:05.759 And sometimes we could find ourselves in a room like this because we've gotten to a place where we've hit rock bottom and we're at the point where the temporary didn't do anything except leave me empty, leave me searching, left me chasing with no substance to my life anymore. 00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:09.599 Maybe you're in this room and you just feel like you're at rock bottom. 00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:12.880 I want to let you know that there's more to this story. 00:20:13.279 --> 00:20:27.440 As this younger son, he realizes where he's at, he starts to go, I know where I have to go, and he starts to prepare this speech because where he's gonna go, he's gonna go back to his father's house, and he says, Alright, I have to think about what I'm gonna tell my father. 00:20:27.599 --> 00:20:29.599 I have to think about all of these things I'm gonna say to him. 00:20:29.680 --> 00:20:31.279 And he's he's preparing this speech. 00:20:31.359 --> 00:20:34.559 Okay, I'm gonna tell him I know I'm not even worthy to be your son anymore. 00:20:34.640 --> 00:20:36.960 I'm gonna tell him, hey, I'll get everything. 00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:42.160 If I could just maybe get some food, if I could just maybe just sit in your house, I'll literally just be like one of your hired servants. 00:20:42.400 --> 00:20:51.359 And he's preparing this way, and the Bible tells us that he would get to the path to where his father's house is, and when he's still far away, it says that the father sees him. 00:20:52.319 --> 00:20:56.960 Just side note, maybe you feel like you haven't been seen by God, he sees you every time. 00:20:57.279 --> 00:21:02.400 And it says that the father sees him when he was still far off at a distance. 00:21:02.799 --> 00:21:12.799 And it tells us that the father did not just stay sitting in his chair, but the father ran after the son because the father will always run after you no matter how far you've gone. 00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:24.079 And it says that the father he runs towards the son with his arms open wide, and the son he already starts to say, All right, Dad, I'm not worthy to be your son, which is how so many of us come into a room like this. 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:26.480 God, I'm not worthy to be your son or daughter anymore. 00:21:26.559 --> 00:21:30.799 I'm not worthy to be in your presence anymore because I messed up too much, I did too much wrong. 00:21:30.960 --> 00:21:43.359 And the father, he pretty much says, Shut up, and it says, Hey, bring him a robe, and he puts a robe on his back, and he says, Bring a ring, puts a ring on his finger, get some shoes, and put some shoes on his feet. 00:21:43.440 --> 00:21:53.200 And all of these are so significant, which I'm running out of time for and I can't explain, but they're so significant, and they would just signify that there's a full restoration that is being brought to the sun. 00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:59.599 There's restoration for authority, there's restoration to be a son once again, and he's in this presence, and the father. 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:01.279 Restored him. 00:22:01.920 --> 00:22:03.359 And it's like, wow. 00:22:03.680 --> 00:22:04.319 This is amazing. 00:22:04.400 --> 00:22:05.519 He says, We're not done. 00:22:05.920 --> 00:22:08.640 Kill the best calf, the best cow that we got. 00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:12.640 We're gonna throw a party because my son is back home. 00:22:14.079 --> 00:22:17.279 He's throwing a party, and there's music playing. 00:22:17.519 --> 00:22:21.119 And this is where we now get introduced to the second son, the older son. 00:22:21.200 --> 00:22:22.640 Someone say older son. 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:26.000 And so now we get to the older son. 00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:30.640 And the older son, Jesus would tell us, is out working in the field. 00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:33.119 And he hears some music. 00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:36.319 And he's like, Oh, it sounds like there's a party that's so weird. 00:22:36.400 --> 00:22:38.960 I I don't remember it being on my calendar. 00:22:41.920 --> 00:22:47.680 And so he gets to the par where the party's at, and he's like, hey, so what's going on here? 00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:51.200 And one of the hired servants was like, You haven't heard? 00:22:51.759 --> 00:22:52.880 Your brother. 00:22:53.200 --> 00:22:54.160 He's back. 00:22:54.720 --> 00:22:55.759 Can you believe it? 00:22:55.920 --> 00:22:56.960 He made it back home. 00:22:57.039 --> 00:22:57.759 He's back home. 00:22:57.920 --> 00:22:59.440 You should be ecstatic. 00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:04.400 But the Bible doesn't tell us that the older son is ecstatic. 00:23:05.119 --> 00:23:07.839 The Bible doesn't tell us that the older son is excited. 00:23:08.400 --> 00:23:12.079 As a matter of fact, the older son is furious. 00:23:13.680 --> 00:23:14.720 Now, why? 00:23:14.960 --> 00:23:19.920 Why would this older son be furious if the brothers made it back home? 00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:24.079 Why would the older son be furious if he's at this place? 00:23:24.160 --> 00:23:30.400 And so it says that as he's angry and he's outside of this party, the father comes now to the older son. 00:23:30.480 --> 00:23:30.720 Why? 00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:33.680 Because it doesn't matter where you are, the father will still come to you. 00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:38.319 And so the father comes now to this older son, and it says he begins to plead with him. 00:23:38.480 --> 00:23:41.119 Hey, come into the house, come into the party. 00:23:41.599 --> 00:23:43.519 You belong here just as much as he is. 00:23:43.680 --> 00:23:47.920 And he says, Why would I not go into that party? 00:23:48.480 --> 00:23:50.400 Why would I go into that party? 00:23:50.480 --> 00:23:52.640 Because there's something deeper that's happening here. 00:23:53.200 --> 00:23:54.400 The older son. 00:23:55.200 --> 00:24:04.000 He would receive not just an inheritance, but because he's the older son, he receives a double portion of what the younger son would get. 00:24:04.240 --> 00:24:05.519 But what is happening? 00:24:05.759 --> 00:24:18.000 He's realizing if my father instates my younger brother as a son again, I have to now give up more in my of my inheritance than I actually had to give from the beginning. 00:24:18.240 --> 00:24:18.640 Why? 00:24:18.799 --> 00:24:20.240 Why would I have to pay for that? 00:24:20.480 --> 00:24:21.920 I didn't do any of that. 00:24:22.079 --> 00:24:24.240 I wasn't the one that just wandered away. 00:24:24.400 --> 00:24:26.559 I wasn't the one that wasted all my money. 00:24:26.720 --> 00:24:29.599 I wasn't the one that squandered everything that I have. 00:24:29.920 --> 00:24:37.759 And what there's what's happening right here is Jesus is giving us a picture that it wasn't just one brother that was lost. 00:24:38.799 --> 00:24:42.319 It's another brother that's lost too, just in a different way that we might expect. 00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:43.599 And this is what happens. 00:24:43.839 --> 00:24:46.000 Luke chapter 15, 28 and 29. 00:24:46.079 --> 00:24:49.759 It says the older brother became angry and refused to go in. 00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:59.440 So his father went out and pleaded with him, but he answered his father, Look! That look is almost like him saying, Look, you notice he doesn't say, Look, father. 00:24:59.680 --> 00:25:02.079 He says, Look, you, you have no value to me. 00:25:02.400 --> 00:25:06.799 Look, you, all these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. 00:25:06.880 --> 00:25:11.279 Yet you never gave me a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 00:25:11.599 --> 00:25:19.200 Look, you look you see the equivalent of saying I don't care about you, and something is starting to happen. 00:25:20.480 --> 00:25:24.720 There's a younger son that didn't care about the father and ran away. 00:25:25.599 --> 00:25:35.200 And there's an older son that doesn't care about the father and just wants what he has, and his method is I'm just gonna work for it. 00:25:35.920 --> 00:25:42.079 Two sons, two sons who are both extremely lost. 00:25:42.319 --> 00:25:46.640 What's crazy to me is that this son says, I've slaved away from you. 00:25:46.720 --> 00:25:54.960 It's crazy that you could be in the father's house and yet you could still live your life as if you have to earn your relationship with him. 00:25:57.759 --> 00:26:13.680 The crazy thing is also that Jesus is redefining what it means to be lost, as this older brother is just as lost as the younger brother, but this one might be scarier because this one right here shows us that it's possible to be lost and not even know it. 00:26:14.400 --> 00:26:19.680 It's possible to be so far lost that you're unaware of the distance that you've created. 00:26:19.839 --> 00:26:24.640 It's possible to be in this place where you are so far lost, yet you are still in the house. 00:26:24.880 --> 00:26:28.160 Jesus, he would tell two stories once again: the sheep and the coin. 00:26:28.319 --> 00:26:38.640 Notice the second story, the coin was lost in the house because you can be in this house, you could have the best church attendance ever. 00:26:38.960 --> 00:26:47.200 You could have grown up at RPC, you could have been in church, you could have been born at church, and yet still be so lost. 00:26:48.160 --> 00:26:52.559 You're lost in the house when you still feel like you have to earn God's love by your works. 00:26:52.799 --> 00:26:58.319 You're lost in the house when church is a routine, but there's no intimacy with the Father outside of this building. 00:26:58.480 --> 00:27:02.559 You're lost in the house when you go through the motions of faith, but there's no transformed heart. 00:27:02.799 --> 00:27:06.559 You're lost in the house when you serve with the intention of just trying to climb a ladder. 00:27:06.799 --> 00:27:10.880 You're lost in the house when someone else's restoration or blessing bothers you. 00:27:11.119 --> 00:27:14.799 You're lost when you're in the house when you can't celebrate someone around you. 00:27:14.960 --> 00:27:21.200 You're lost in the house when you're in proximity to God's people, but yet you're so distanced from God Himself. 00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:30.480 This kind of loss is one that can be tough because you're so unaware of the distance. 00:27:31.039 --> 00:27:32.880 Are you lost in the world today? 00:27:33.680 --> 00:27:35.200 Are you lost in the house? 00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:39.279 RPC, I think that there's a few things that we need to do in this room. 00:27:39.440 --> 00:27:43.119 And the first thing is this you gotta recognize where you are. 00:27:44.559 --> 00:27:48.240 River Point Church, recognize where you are. 00:27:48.960 --> 00:27:53.359 You see, because a lot of us, I believe, are one of these two sons. 00:27:53.759 --> 00:28:01.440 The biggest difference between them is that the younger brother knew that he was far from the father, but the older brother did not. 00:28:02.000 --> 00:28:08.720 The younger brother came to his senses, he recognized his condition, and he realized I'm not where I'm supposed to be. 00:28:08.880 --> 00:28:13.279 And it was that realization is what started his journey back home. 00:28:13.519 --> 00:28:18.480 And so there's a moment that I think all of us have to stop and we have to ask ourselves, where am I? 00:28:19.680 --> 00:28:21.279 Am I running from God? 00:28:22.559 --> 00:28:25.599 Or have I just been running to try to impress God? 00:28:26.480 --> 00:28:28.640 Have I been living in rebellion? 00:28:29.359 --> 00:28:32.079 Or has my life maybe just been religion? 00:28:32.799 --> 00:28:38.400 Because either way, you can be close and distance, but yet be so far in heart. 00:28:39.200 --> 00:28:43.759 And here's the thing you can't return to a place that you never even realize that you left. 00:28:44.880 --> 00:28:57.839 It reminds me of Jesus speaking in Revelation chapter 2 to a church in Ephesus, and in Revelation chapter 2, he's telling this church in Ephesus, man, you've done so many good things, your works, my goodness, incredible. 00:28:58.079 --> 00:29:00.319 You don't fall for the teachings of all these people. 00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:05.519 You guys have done so many things well, but he says this in verses four and five. 00:29:09.839 --> 00:29:13.599 You have forsaken the love you had at first. 00:29:14.799 --> 00:29:16.799 Have you maybe lost your first love? 00:29:17.920 --> 00:29:19.920 He says, Consider how far you've fallen. 00:29:20.160 --> 00:29:23.200 In other words, consider how lost you have become. 00:29:26.640 --> 00:29:31.759 Because if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 00:29:32.640 --> 00:29:34.400 Consider how far you've fallen. 00:29:34.720 --> 00:29:38.000 RPC, have you fallen far away? 00:29:38.640 --> 00:29:40.079 Lost in the home? 00:29:40.400 --> 00:29:42.000 Lost in the world? 00:29:42.559 --> 00:29:43.279 Consider. 00:29:44.079 --> 00:29:49.599 Because it's only when you can recognize where you are that number two, you can recognize where you need to go. 00:29:51.200 --> 00:29:54.799 Recognize where you are right now, but recognize where you need to go. 00:29:55.039 --> 00:30:02.480 The younger son, after recognizing that he was far away, knew that there was only one place he can go, and that one place was his father's house. 00:30:02.720 --> 00:30:04.559 Back to the father's house. 00:30:04.799 --> 00:30:10.079 The older son, where he needed to go, is where he's belonged and been the whole time. 00:30:10.640 --> 00:30:13.279 I love this response that the father gives to the older son. 00:30:13.440 --> 00:30:15.200 Catch this Luke 15, 31. 00:30:15.279 --> 00:30:24.640 He says, My son, the father said, You are always with me, and everything that I have is yours. 00:30:25.759 --> 00:30:26.799 Everything. 00:30:27.279 --> 00:30:43.200 River Point Church, everything that you've been striving for, everything that you've been chasing after, everything that you feel like you keep having to search for on your own, everything that you feel like is so good on the other side. 00:30:44.319 --> 00:30:49.440 I promise you, the real thing that you're searching for, you will not be able to find anywhere else. 00:30:49.920 --> 00:30:58.559 And just like this father's telling his son, believe that our father in heaven is reminding you everything that you have, it's already yours. 00:30:59.759 --> 00:31:04.960 Everything that you've ever needed is found in the presence of the Father. 00:31:05.279 --> 00:31:07.279 Have you been searching for peace? 00:31:07.519 --> 00:31:09.119 It's found in the Father. 00:31:09.440 --> 00:31:11.200 Have you been searching for love? 00:31:12.000 --> 00:31:14.000 Start to find in the Father. 00:31:14.240 --> 00:31:16.160 Have you been searching for joy? 00:31:16.799 --> 00:31:20.400 Have you been searching for something that's gonna satisfy the soul? 00:31:21.039 --> 00:31:26.160 You will not find it anywhere else except in the presence of the Father. 00:31:26.559 --> 00:31:31.759 First church, we got to recognize where we are, then we need to recognize where to go. 00:31:32.480 --> 00:31:36.799 But the only reason that we can actually go to the Father is because of this third point. 00:31:37.119 --> 00:31:39.519 Recognize who made the way to come back home. 00:31:40.960 --> 00:31:45.519 We need to recognize who made the way to come back home. 00:31:46.319 --> 00:31:51.680 You see, the story, when we cut to the end, Jesus leaves us on a cliffhanger. 00:31:52.559 --> 00:31:54.559