Stop 9 Church
We want to share important pieces of our worship service with those who might not have been able to be there in person.
Stop 9 Church
C3: Brings Joy (Part 3/5)
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the clutter in your life? Not just the physical stuff piling up in your junk drawer or that closet you hope guests never open, but the spiritual clutter that gradually accumulates and blocks your connection with God?
In this powerful message, we journey through King Hezekiah's remarkable story of temple restoration in 2 Chronicles 29. When the young king took the throne at just 25 years old, he inherited a temple that had been abandoned—doors shut, lamps extinguished, and the altar cold. His predecessors had allowed worship to drift away, replaced by idols and neglect. Sound familiar?
The spiritual parallel to our own lives is striking. Many of us have allowed our relationship with God to become cluttered with distractions, commitments, worries, and even secret sins we tuck away hoping no one notices. Just like a room doesn't get filled with junk overnight, spiritual clutter accumulates gradually until we wake up one day wondering where our joy in worship has gone.
Hezekiah's response gives us a blueprint for spiritual renewal: first recognizing the problem, then removing what doesn't belong, and finally restoring relationship through sacrifice. The pivotal moment comes when we ask ourselves: what am I holding onto that I need to surrender to God? Is it comfort? Pride? Control? That secret sin I've hidden away? True renewal begins when we simply say, "God, you can have it all."
What follows surrender is nothing short of miraculous—joy erupts. After Hezekiah's temple was cleansed and sacrifices made, the Scripture tells us "they sang praises with gladness." This same pattern appears in Jesus' parable of the Prodigal Son, where the father runs to embrace his returning child, immediately calling for celebration. The message is clear: God doesn't throw a party because we're perfect; He celebrates because the relationship is restored.
Ready to experience the freedom and joy that comes from clearing away spiritual clutter? God's arms are wide open, waiting to welcome you home. Subscribe to our podcast for more messages that will help you build a Christ-centered life of purpose and joy.
Good morning folks. Hey, we're glad you're here. Let's continue with our worship. I will call upon the.
Speaker 2:Lord, who is worthy to be praised so shall I be saved? From my enemies, from my enemies. The Lord liveth and blessed be the rock and let the God of my salvation be exalted. The Lord liveth and blessed be the rock and let the God of my salvation be exalted. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised. So shall. I be saved from my enemies. The.
Speaker 2:Lord liveth and blessed be the rock and let the God of my salvation be exalted. The Lord liveth and blessed. Be the rock and let the God of my salvation be exalted. I will call upon the. Lord, I will call upon the Lord.
Speaker 2:As the deer pants for the water. So my soul longs after you. You alone are my heart's desire and I long to worship you. You alone are my strength, my shield. To you alone may my spirit yield. You alone are my heart's desire and I long to worship you. I want you more than gold or silver. Only you can satisfy. Satisfied. You alone are the real joy giver and the apple of my eye. You alone are my strength, my shield. To you alone may my spirit yield. You alone are my heart's desire and I long to worship you. You're my friend and you are my brother, even though you, you are a King. I love you more than any other, so much more than anything. You alone are my strength, my shield. To you alone may my spirit yield. You alone are my heart's desire and I long to worship you.
Speaker 2:Come, set your rule and reign in our hearts again. Increase in us we pray, unveil why we're made. Come, set our hearts ablaze with hope, like wildfire in our very souls. Holy Spirit, come, invade us now. We are your church. We need your power in us. We seek your kingdom first. We hunger and we thirst, refuse to waste our lives For for your, our joy and prize To see the captive's hearts released, the hurt, the sick, the poor at peace. We lay down our lives for heaven's cause. For heaven's cause. We are your church. We pray.
Speaker 2:Revive this earth. Build your kingdom here. Let the darkness fear Show your mighty hand. Heal our streets and land. Set your church on fire. Win this nation back. Change the atmosphere. Build your kingdom here. We pray. Unleash your kingdom's power, reaching the near and far. No force of hell can stop your beauty, changing hearts. You made us for much more than this. Awake the kingdom seed in us. Fill us with the strength and love of christ. We are your church. We are the hope on earth. Build your kingdom here. Let the darkness fear Show your mighty hand. He heal our streets and land. Set your church on fire. Win this nation back. Change the atmosphere. Build your kingdom here build your kingdom here.
Speaker 2:let the darkness Build your kingdom here. Build your kingdom here, let the darkness, fear. Show your mighty hand, Heal our streets and land. Set your church on fire. Win this nation back. Change the atmosphere. Build your kingdom here. We pray Amen. Good morning Amen.
Speaker 4:Good morning. Today's scripture comes from Luke 15, 23-24. Let's kill the fattened calf. Let's have a feast and celebrate, for this son of mine was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found.
Speaker 1:So they began to celebrate and the examples that you give us throughout Scripture of how we should interact with one another, how we should seek to be in your presence, lord, and I pray that you will help us do that today. Open up our hearts, our ears and our eyes to the things that you want us to know, and thank you just for this opportunity to gather together. And it's in Jesus' name we pray Amen. Name we pray amen. I realized I put my notes in the wrong order, so just give me a second. There you go, you got it. It would be better if I do this now and then in the middle. Walk for water I can talk while I'm doing this. Walk for water was last Sunday. We ended up with a beautiful day outside, there was no rain, which was awesome, and we were able to raise over $16,000. Were able to raise over $16,000. And so very thankful for your participation in that. I was telling the 830 service, I believe Woody and I have tried to figure this out. We believe it's the ninth year that we did this and I believe almost every year we've done two wells, so I think we're over 15 wells and if you don't know what Walk for Water is. It's an event, through Healing Hands International, raising awareness that in third world countries, the average person walks four miles a day to get water, and oftentimes it's not even good water, and so Healing Hands and you guys have partnered together to hopefully dig a well in a community where they will now have clean drinking water, and they also teach them the gospel while they're there. So it's a great thing to be a part of. So thank you for being a part of that. And next week is Mission Sunday, where we'll share a little bit, update you a little bit about some of our missionaries in Cuba and all over the world, and so we'll be doing that next week as well.
Speaker 1:All right, how many of you have ever walked into a room and you look around yes, everybody's walked into a room, good job. How many of you have ever walked into a room and you get in the room and you just immediately are overwhelmed and want to walk out of the room? Okay, I got a few hands. You maybe walk into a room and you say, man, this room needs work. Okay, maybe you walk into your garage and you have piles of stuff. Your tools are all over the place. It's just a mess. And if you don't live like that, just pick a door here in the church, you'll see. It even happens here. Sometimes.
Speaker 1:Things get cluttered up for a while and it's a thing that we deal with. That's why these things exist and if you don't know, for just $325, you can rent one of those. I've been doing research on those this week Because for Mother's Day, my wife wants a dumpster. She said we're getting rid of all your stuff. Yeah, it includes me. I get to go for a ride in that this week, so pray for me.
Speaker 1:Things build up sometimes and then you have to have these moments where you do this thing, where you get rid of stuff, and we created this fancy word for it. Does anybody know the word? It's declutter. So there you go. That's your first answer on the outline this morning. It's declutter and all it really means is you're just going to remove any items, anything that's overcrowded. You're going to get rid of something. So we just going to remove any items, anything that's overcrowded. You're going to get rid of some things. So we're going to play a game this morning. Everybody's going to participate, everybody can do this. So I need everybody to raise your hand. Okay, good, you can all do that. Okay, you can put it down and put it back up. Yeah, see, we got this. Now we can play the game. All right, here we go. So here we go. Church, here we go. I'm going to ask you a couple questions. If it applies to you, you get to do just that, okay, so here we go.
Speaker 1:How many of you have a drawer in your house that is designated as the junk drawer? We all have that drawer. Okay, we have that drawer, we have that drawer. And the problem with our drawer is is that we've shoved so much stuff in the drunk drawer that the drunk drawer has broken at the bottom, and so now there's this little hole, and so the hots have a drunk drawer and a drunk. A junk, a drunk.
Speaker 1:It's a great morning, guys. We are off to a great start. We have a junk drawer that leads to we have a second level. We have a junk cabinet, because it just all overflows into the cabinet. So you reach in for a pot or a pan and you might also get a deck of cards. It's just what it is, okay. So here we go. We all have one of those. Then all of us may have one of these.
Speaker 1:Do you have one of those rooms or one of those closets that before you invite a guest over, you just say a little prayer over? You say I hope that nobody opens this door, right, because you know what you've done in that room or that closet Everything that you picked up that morning before the guest got there, you shoved into that closet there. So the rest of the house looks real nice, but if you accidentally open that door, yeah, you're going to quickly get shut that door. Nothing in there. That's not the bathroom, right. How many of you have that one? Raise your hands. Okay, very good. How many of you have a project at your house that you said I'll get to that next weekend and that was six weeks ago? Okay, right, okay, we got that, you all right. How many of you?
Speaker 1:If you click your phone right now and you see your email logo, how many of you have more than 1,000 unread emails? Okay. How many of you have more than 10 unread texts? That's me, okay. How many of you have more than 10 misread or unread text? That's me, okay. I'll let you know on a little secret for me. And so if you're one of my 89, I have 89 right now, 89 unread text. I see it and I'm sorry, that's all I'm going to say. I'll get back to you eventually.
Speaker 1:I learned this drives teenagers nuts. I had my phone out the other day. I stopped over at youth group and I had my phone out and I had like 80-some missed texts, unread texts and a couple missed calls. And one of the kids looked at me and said why do you have that like that? And I said what I thought he meant, like the picture on my. He's like why is it like that? And I was like what are you talking about? He's like why do you have so many unread texts? And I was like I just don't click it. Like I read it. Like when it popped up I just didn't click it. And he's like can you please open all your texts, because that's driving me crazy. Okay, so now I'm on a mission to just let it build up, just going to see what happens, okay. And so here's what happens.
Speaker 1:Folks, this is what we're talking about this morning. We're talking about this idea of building a culture, but sometimes our culture and our lives can become cluttered. It can happen in a room, it can happen on your phone, it can happen in your life and when we talk about it can even happen emotionally. We can allow emotions to just bottle up, right, we've all been there, and then eventually you just kind of explode, right, we do that spiritually too. We let spiritual things kind of build up. And so we're going to look at a story today in 2 Chronicles. We're going to stay in the Old Testament and look at some of the things that were taking place in 2 Chronicles. They're dealing with some clutter as well.
Speaker 1:In 2 Chronicles, 29, verses 1 and 2, it says Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became the king of Judah and he reigned in Jerusalem 29 years. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah, and he did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight, just as his ancestors, david, had done. Okay, what do we know about Hezekiah? He is 25 years old. How many of you knew what you were doing at 25? I'm 32 now. I can say this when you're 25, you're just a kid, you don't have a clue what you're doing. Right, he's 25, guys, and he becomes the king. He becomes the king, he becomes the king. What else do we know about Hezekiah? He's a good king, okay, good, he did well. How many years was he the king 29 years. So he did well. He's a good king. Here's what he inherited, though.
Speaker 1:When he became king at 25,. He walked into the temple. He walked into the house of the Lord and the doors were shut. It was not a welcoming place. The lamps within the church, within the temple, were out. They weren't working properly. The altar was cold. Okay, we talked about sacrifice and altars the last couple weeks. If the altar is cold, what's that mean? They're not using it. So, guys, the church was basically abandoned. There's now idols filling the church. There's a bunch of clutter within there. They aren't sacrificing anymore, there's not worship like there used to be, and if he's the King, whose fault is that? If he became the King, whose fault is that? Who's before Him? It's Dad. Dad didn't do a very good job, guys. For years his father, ahaz, and his people. They neglected worship, they filled the temple with idols, they shut down the sacrifice, the temple was neglected, the doors were shut, the altar was cold and worship had stopped altogether. They turned the place and the house of God into a place of just clutter, and so if it could happen in ancient Israel, it can probably happen to us. Right, I forgot something back here. I'll be right back, alright.
Speaker 1:So when we want to declutter, what's the first thing we grab? Nah, not a box, guys, come on, it's not a box. What do you do first? You got it, riggo. You can take this one home with you, buddy, that's your grand prize. What do you put in the trash bag? Trash, right. You decide in your house, everything that you want to get rid of, that's no use to you anymore and you don't see as valuable to anybody else, you put in the, and when your wife's not looking, you put everything in the trash bag. Right, that's what you do, right, gentlemen? Okay, we're all there. And then, when she asks for it later, you're like I haven't seen that in months, and you know it's in the hefty. No, it's in the hefty, you know it.
Speaker 1:The purpose of the trash bag, though, is you're going to get rid of everything, and then the second thing you grab is a. You get Chipotle because you're hungry. Then you get a box. What do you write on that box? Yard sale, yes, or donation right. And what do you write on that box? Yard sale, yes, or donation right? And what do you do with that box? You put it in the back of the garage and it sits there for months. Right, that's what you do with it. But the idea is of that box is you're now taking items that you don't think are useful for you anymore, but you think somebody else could benefit from them. You may even think you might make a buck from it. So you put some things in your donation box.
Speaker 1:So when things get cluttered, you start to declutter by using a box. And then, if your life is so busy and you get really tied up and you don't know what you're going to do with all your time and you're supposed to be in so many places you buy a planner. What do you write in your planner? Everything you have to do. And are you going to do everything that you write down? No, but you feel better because you did it right. We all do these things right. Life gets cluttered when life gets busy. You buy all of these things or get all of these things to try to make it better.
Speaker 1:Hezekiah is dealing with an issue where the temple, the house of the Lord, is filled, and it's not filled with people and it's not filled with worship, it's filled with stuff, and so Hezekiah is trying to figure out how do we open this place back up. How do we get to this point? And he does grab a trash bag, he clears it out. He does grab a box, he removes the stuff. But you know what? He grabs, grabs the Word of God and says we're going to get back on track. And so we're going to look at what Hezekiah does this morning, because he just doesn't open the doors, he doesn't just call people to action, but he restores sacrifice, he has people bringing in offerings and he renews worship so that people can find joy again in the presence of the Lord. And so we're going to look at that this morning. So point number one is this here's what we do, people we let things get piled up. We let things get piled up, we let things get crowded.
Speaker 1:Verse 6 says this Our ancestors were unfaithful and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, our God. They abandoned the Lord and His dwelling place. They turned their backs on Him. They shut the doors to the temple entry room. You know who wrote that Hezekiah, hezekiah. Who is he writing about? Family? He's writing about his family. He says. He just calls it how it is really. He says our parents, our grandparents, the people before us, were unfaithful. They turned their faces away. They shut the doors, they put out the lamps and they stopped burning incense. They turned their faces away, they shut the doors, they put out the lamps and they stopped burning incense. They stopped burning offerings, they closed off God's space. They let the light go out, they let the worship drift to the side.
Speaker 1:And one thing we've got to remember as we think about this clutter doesn't all happen at once. It happens over time. When a room gets full of junk, it doesn't happen all at once, but over time. You just start putting stuff in that room and before too long, after weeks or months go by, that room gets pretty full. And so one thing I want to think about as we look at this story in Hezekiah is this didn't just all happen at once. Over time, they started to shift their mindset from a God-centered culture to a self-centered culture. They started putting things in there that benefited them. They started putting the idols in there that brought them happiness for a second, and then, before too long, it filled up.
Speaker 1:It isn't just a temple problem. It isn't just an Old Testament problem. This is an issue that we sometimes have today. Sometimes we can let our life be filled up with so much clutter that it's hard to worship. We let go of our spiritual discipline, we get distracted by the crowd and we miss out on God's presence. And so what do we do? What do we do next? We're going to look at what Hezekiah did and how this plays out for him.
Speaker 1:Renewal starts with sacrifice. We're not going to spend a whole lot of time here, because we spent a lot of time on this last week. I want you to notice what Hezekiah has done. He says they brought seven bulls, seven rams and seven lambs as a burnt offering, together with seven male goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, for the temple and for Judah. The king commanded the priests, who were descendants of Aaron, to sacrifice the animals on the altar to the Lord. Hezekiah says we're not just going to clean up the building, we're not just going to make it nice, but we're going to sacrifice. We're going to restore the relationship that we have with God. And so that's what he has done. He has them bring seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, seven goats, and they offer a complete sacrifice, saying this is all for you.
Speaker 1:The cleaning part was necessary, but it was this moment of sacrifice that was essential. They had to clean up the temple. Yes, they needed to do that, but at this moment, right here, what Hezekiah is telling his people is this is all for God. Everything we do from now on will be for the Lord. It's no more about storing up our treasures, it's no more about storing stuff up for us, but it's now. Everything we do, from this moment right here, is for the Lord, and so we can tidy up our schedules, we can declutter our homes, we can unfollow the bad influences in our life, we can do all of that. But the moment has to start when we say, okay, this is for the Lord, and so renewal starts when we do that. So it starts when we simply say God, you can have it.
Speaker 1:And so your homework right now is what is it that you need to give to God? What is it that you've been holding on to? What is it that's been cluttering your life? What is it that you've been hanging on to that's getting in the way of worship? What is it that's been cluttering your life? What is it that you've been hanging on to that's getting in the way of worship? What is it that you need to stop and just say God, it's yours. Maybe it's comfort. Maybe everything you're doing is just to be comfortable. You don't want to be uncomfortable, so everything you do, every decision you make, is to make yourself comfortable. Maybe you need to give your comfort to the Lord. Maybe it's today that you say God, you can have that. Maybe it's your pride. Maybe everything you do is for your own self and maybe you need to just give that to God today.
Speaker 1:Maybe it's control. We like to hold on to that. We like to have that moment where we're still in control. But maybe it's time that you just say, god, I give you control, it's yours, you can have that, and I'm here for the ride. Maybe it's the secret sin that you've been hanging on to. Maybe it's that secret sin that you shove in the very back corner and you put boxes in front of so that nobody can see it. But each and every week you're hindered and you can't fully worship because you still think about that secret sin that you're holding on to.
Speaker 1:What Hezekiah is having these people do is give it all to God so that they can freely worship. There's some of us that haven't been able to freely worship in weeks or months or years because we're hanging on to something because we've deemed it as God can't handle it and we're hanging on to it and we're not truly worshiping because we're holding on to that. Does that make sense? And so what Hezekiah is getting them to understand is we have to give it all to them. It talks a lot about animals, but what he's saying in principle is give it all to God Before we go any farther in this. We can clean up the temple, it can look as nice as it can, but if we don't give it to God, then we're not going to fully experience worship, and that's what he wants them to be able to do. And so renewal starts when we say God, you can have it. And so answer that question this week what is it that you need to give to God? And here's what happens next. Joy follows. 2 Chronicles 29.30,.
Speaker 1:After they cleaned the temple, after they offer the sacrifice, here's what takes place. It says they sang praises with gladness and bowed down in worship. Once the sacrifice was made, something beautiful happened. Worship didn't stay quiet, it got loud. Hezekiah, if you read through 29, he stations all of these singers and symbols and musicians all over the place, and when they offered the sacrifice, songs of praise filled the temple for the very first time in a long time, because their sacrifice made a space for worship. Worship brought joy back to people. Worship does that? You ever see someone worshiping? You see joy. Joy returned, hope returned, the presence of God returned. So I want you to think about this for just a few seconds. Think about this moment. Years have passed and the temple has been setting empty.
Speaker 1:I told the 830 service. I remember back in 04. I was just a kid, but I remember the flood. Remember the flood? Remember how we weren't able to worship here. You know where we worshipped. We were at the school for a little bit. We were also over at the youth center. Didn't feel the same, did it? Felt a little different. It's funny that it should feel the same, but it doesn't right. Remember the first time we came back here? Remember that no four? Or here's a more one that you might remember a little bit better. Remember COVID? Remember I think it was two months we shut down. Maybe two weeks, I can't remember, but there was a couple weeks, two months. Greg's telling me it was two months. This two months we didn't meet here. Woody and I would get together and wear our mask and record online and put it online and you would sit at home and watch it. Didn't feel the same, did it. And then when we came back, we came back with like five services, right, and there's one at 630 and 8 and 9 and 10, but it wasn't. And remember when we finally all got back together.
Speaker 1:I want you to think about that. That's what's taking place here for the Israelites, for Hezekiah the temple is clean, the altar is burning again, the priests are in position, the sacrifices have been made, the worship is going on. Songs that they haven't heard in years are now being sung. People are weeping because they never thought they would see this day again, and here they are. People are huggingeping because they never thought they would see this day again, and here they are. People are hugging because they see people they haven't seen in a while. People are smiling because they're in the presence of the Lord's family and in the presence of the Lord.
Speaker 1:Scripture tells us, as we keep reading in chapter 30, verse 26,. It says there was great joy in jerusalem, for since the day of solomon, nothing like this had happened. It wasn't just casual worship. It wasn't let's just sing a song and move on. It was we're back. We're back together. Joy erupted out of sacrifice because they were forgiven. There was joy because they were welcomed home. They were back in the presence of the Lord. There was joy because God's presence was with them again. There was joy because they were together. Does that make sense? They hadn't been for years. They may have been secretly worshiping in their homes, but they weren't in the temple with their church family. And here they were again.
Speaker 1:Because for the most part guys, it brings joy when we're together. Right, it's a good thing when we get together. That's why we try to offer so many things to get us together. That's why we have things like the breakfast across the street. It's just to get you guys together. Because we see the value of getting together. We know that it brings joy. That's why we have things like the corn roast Right, because we love corn. Right, and what's better than picking it up and buttering it with a paintbrush? And what's better than picking it up and buttering it with a paintbrush? Right? But you know what's really fun about the corn roast? Hanging out with one another? That's what the joy is. That's why we try to do all these things. That's why we're trying to do this volleyball thing Right when we're encouraging you to get in a life group, have a Bible study and play some volleyball with people, and here's what I want to tell you this week, just as a little bit on that.
Speaker 1:If your group doesn't want to play volleyball, that's fine. Be the third wheel. Okay. If two other groups are going to meet up and play volleyball, you come, hang out as well. Be a part of that fellowship. Okay, if you want to host that. If you're not a part of a group and you're like, I've got this great yard that would be fantastic for volleyball, call me or Jeff, because we're looking for places. But, guys, it's not just to get together and play volleyball, it's because we see it as valuable to get together, because we know it brings joy when God's people are together. Does that make sense? Okay, there's my shameless plug for that this week. Okay, here's what's happening though. Here's my shameless plug for that this week. Okay, here's what's happening though.
Speaker 1:We live in a world that chases happiness but is missing out on joy. We try to get joy from success, we try to get joy from pleasure, we try to get joy from distraction, we try to get joy from entertainment, but joy doesn't come from adding more to our lives. What we see here is that joy takes place when they start removing things and they put who at the center. When they put God at the center, then joy really starts to take place. Joy comes from clearing the clutter and putting Jesus back at the center. When the temple was cleansed, when the sacrifices were made, worship was restored and joy broke out. It wasn't joy because they were perfect people. It wasn't joy because they had earned it. It was joy because God's presence was now with them. And that joy didn't stop.
Speaker 1:In the Old Testament we get signs of it. In the New Testament, jesus told a story about a father who had two sons, and the one son comes to dad one day and he says Dad, I want my inheritance. Basically, what he's saying is Dad, I don't need you anymore. I'd like your money, but I don't need you anymore. I'd like your money, but I don't need you anymore. The father gives the son the inheritance.
Speaker 1:The son goes out and seeks what Happiness, pleasure. He goes out and uses that money to seek happiness. Does he find it? No, you know this story. We're going to go through this quickly. He doesn't find it, guys, he goes out and we're going to go through this quickly. He doesn't find it, guys. He goes out and the Bible tells us he squanders his inheritance he wasted, he's seeking for, he's buying everything he thinks that's going to bring him happiness. And you know where it leads him to To a pig pen. He's working in the middle of a famine for a farmer who has pigs and he's feeding the pigs and he's sitting there going. I'm so hungry, I'm to the lowest point that I feel like I could eat this pig slop. He's chasing that happiness and it leads him to rock bottom. But he has this moment where he starts thinking a little bit. He starts thinking how do I get myself out of this situation? And he starts thinking I need to get back in the presence of my father.
Speaker 1:And so he starts thinking I'll go back, but I'm not going to go back as a son, I'm going to go back as a servant. My dad's servants are taken care of, they live pretty good, they drive a nice car, they eat pretty good. I'll go back as a servant. And so he's going back to his father with the understanding and the plan that I'm going to now be a servant. I'm not going back to ask to be a son, I'm going back to just be a servant, because if I just get in the presence of my father, I'm going back to just be a servant, because if I just get in the presence of my father I'll be okay. So he's walking home with the mindset of I've blown it as a kid, I'm a servant. But when he gets home, what's dad doing? When he gets home, what's dad doing? When he gets home, dad's waiting. When he gets home, dad's on the porch sitting in the rocking chair, waiting and looking for, not his servant, his son. And it says when he's a distance away, when he's far off, this father starts running. You got it, man, take over. He starts running. Imagine that moment. Imagine that moment. I imagine that the son's head is down, he's embarrassed. He feels like he's blown it. He feels like he has no shot. He's almost, he knows where he needs to be, but he doesn't want to have to do it. And so he's walking to the house, his head is down and all all of a sudden he hears footsteps. And it's not just someone walking, but it's somebody running. And he lifts his face up and it's his dad. It's his father, who doesn't grab him by the neck and shake him and say what were you thinking, son? But he gives him a hug. He embraces him Before the son can even say Dad, I messed up. The father's what Hugging him Before the son can even say Dad, I'll just be the servant. I'll work as hard as I can for you. Just have me back as a servant. The father is embracing him and saying no, no, no, son, and then he starts yelling out things like go get the robe. And then he starts yelling out things like go get the robe, go get sandals for my son, go get the ring. From what I've read and understand, that ring basically was just a sign of you're a part of the family. The father doesn't give the son an opportunity to make his case, he just says you're my son. And then we get this verse 23. Let's kill the fattened calf, let's have a feast, and let's celebrate, for this son of mine was dead and is alive again. He was lost and now he is found. So let's celebrate. Let's have a party because he is found. So let's celebrate. Let's have a party because he's home.
Speaker 1:It's the same pattern that takes place in 2 Chronicles there's sacrifice, there's renewal of the relationship and then what follows, joy. The father didn't throw the party because the son was perfect. He threw the party because the relationship was restored. He was back In Hezekiah's story. The people cleaned the temple, the people made the sacrifice, but God responded with his presence and the joy filled the house again. The joy of renewal that takes place in 2 Chronicles is still here today. The joy that takes place with the prodigal son is still an option for you and I. It's an option for you and it's an option for me. It's an option for anybody that's willing to come home. Today, the Father's arms are still wide open Today. God is ready to rejoice because of a relationship that is being built. God is ready to throw a party for that relationship with you. The joy of a Christ-centered culture comes with reconnection, the restoring of a relationship and renewal.
Speaker 1:Let's pray, father.
Speaker 1:We thank you so much for the way that you work, god. We're so thankful that you are a God that welcomes us back. We are so thankful that you are a God that will run to us, Father, that you run to us, that you do all the work to us, father, that you run to us, that you do all the work. We just have to turn to you, god. We are so thankful that you are a God that restores us and renews us, that you have a desire from the very beginning, to have a relationship with us. From the beginning, you've been seeking out a plan and designing a plan so that you could have a relationship with us. Father, I pray that we'll turn to you, that, just like the Christians in 2 Chronicles, that we'll have an understanding and a desire to be in a relationship with you. And, father, we're thankful for the story that you tell us in the New Testament about your love for us. Father, I pray that each and every one of us would clear the space so that we can run to you this morning. Thank you for Jesus, and it's in his name we pray. Amen.
Speaker 1:What's neat about that story of the prodigal son is. You have to remember that that is a parable. It's a story that he tells that event didn't actually take place, but instead it's a story that he tells that event didn't actually take place, but instead it's a story that he tells so that you and I can have a better understanding of how he feels for us. And so he tells a story about a son who wanders away and the father is there and says I'm here for you, son. He doesn't give him a chance to speak. He says I want this for you, I want this relationship with you, and in that moment he gives him everything he needs.
Speaker 2:And the Father still works in the same way. When I survey the wondrous cross On which the Prince of Glory died, my riches gained my count, but lost and pour contempt on all my pride, see from His head, his hands, his feet, his feet, sorrow and love flow, mingle down. Did such love and sorrow O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave Of nature, mine that were a present far too small? Divine demands my soul, my life, my all. I hear the Savior say thy strength, indeed, is small, child of weakness. Watch and pray, find in me thine. All in all. Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe.
Speaker 2:Sin. Had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. Lord, now indeed, I find Thy power, and thine alone can change the leper's spots and melt the heart of stone. Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Sin. Had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. And when, before the throne, I stand in him complete, I'll lay my trophies down, all down at Jesus' feet. Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe Sin. Had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. We are dismissed. Have a blessed Sunday, thank you all.