WEBVTT 00:00:01.840 --> 00:00:03.759 You may have a seat. 00:00:07.280 --> 00:00:18.480 If you would uh open your Bibles to the book of Luke, if you do not have a Bible, there should be a Bible in the seat under in front of you underneath. 00:00:19.359 --> 00:00:23.199 We are uh taking a break from our series in Nehemiah. 00:00:23.280 --> 00:00:34.960 We usually walk through verse by verse, chapter by chapter of a specific book, but in uh honors of today and celebration Sunday, we're gonna be in Luke chapter 15. 00:00:35.920 --> 00:00:40.640 Um I was out last week, uh, took a couple days of vacation, so I missed you guys. 00:00:40.719 --> 00:00:43.119 So it's good uh to be back. 00:00:43.359 --> 00:00:44.799 I had a great time. 00:00:45.039 --> 00:00:45.679 Thank you. 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:47.759 But I missed you guys. 00:00:48.159 --> 00:00:52.560 Um you know, there's a lot of reasons to celebrate. 00:00:54.000 --> 00:01:00.079 Um you can celebrate a birthday, celebrate a wedding, an anniversary, an engagement. 00:01:00.159 --> 00:01:05.200 Or I mean, there's countless things that we can celebrate in life. 00:01:05.680 --> 00:01:12.799 You know, but I think maybe the most important thing, but seeing people move from death to life. 00:01:13.120 --> 00:01:16.159 People who are lost, becoming found. 00:01:16.319 --> 00:01:19.280 It's something to be to celebrate, to rejoice in. 00:01:19.359 --> 00:01:24.000 And sometimes, if we're being honest, that's not something we focus on and rejoice. 00:01:24.159 --> 00:01:29.359 And as I think about celebrating, there's one story that comes to mind. 00:01:29.439 --> 00:01:34.799 As I was thinking about this Sunday and this message, it was Luke chapter 15. 00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:38.560 The story of the prodigal son. 00:01:40.719 --> 00:01:51.200 Maybe one of the most famous stories Jesus shares, famous parable of a son who was lost and was found. 00:01:51.760 --> 00:01:56.640 That would lead to a celebration, that would lead to rejoicing. 00:01:56.799 --> 00:02:03.680 And so, what I want us to do is to walk through this story together, and I really don't have any points for this message. 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:08.960 Just maybe a couple goals that I have for us as we walk through this passage. 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:20.639 Is first is this is that today I know here this morning that there are people who are lost who need to be found. 00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:35.919 That there is hope for you today, that you may feel far off, you may feel unloved, you may be even feel that God does not love you, and he has anger towards you. 00:02:36.400 --> 00:02:42.879 And today, you'll get to hear the greatest news in all the world that he loves you. 00:02:43.759 --> 00:02:45.759 And he is after you in your heart. 00:02:46.080 --> 00:03:00.159 That's the first thing I want us to see is, and I'd pray as a church, even and encourage us as a church, as we listen to this message, we will be praying that for every single person here to know that they can be found today. 00:03:01.599 --> 00:03:10.159 The second point is this as we go over the gospel in this beautiful story for the followers of Jesus, oftentimes we can drift. 00:03:10.879 --> 00:03:16.639 Oftentimes we can become numb towards the gospel and even a story like this. 00:03:18.719 --> 00:03:23.919 This is a day to be reminded of the beauty of the gospel. 00:03:25.039 --> 00:03:29.520 And when Christ has done, to be reminded that we were once wayward. 00:03:30.719 --> 00:03:34.719 We were once lost, dead in our sins, and Christ saved us. 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:44.400 So, as is tradition here, I want us to stand in reverence for the reading of the word of God. 00:03:44.479 --> 00:03:47.039 So in this moment, let us stand unto our feet. 00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:57.680 For those of us who are able to do so, this is just showing honor and reverence to the word of God that when this book is open, God is speaking. 00:03:57.919 --> 00:04:03.199 And that we are coming here hungry and ready to receive his word. 00:04:04.879 --> 00:04:09.120 Luke chapter 15, starting at verse 11. 00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:15.840 We'll read to verse 17, but we'll be looking at the whole chapter today. 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:19.839 It says this, and he said, There was a man who had two sons. 00:04:20.240 --> 00:04:27.040 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me. 00:04:27.279 --> 00:04:30.319 And he divided his property between them. 00:04:30.560 --> 00:04:43.040 Not many days later the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 00:04:43.519 --> 00:04:51.920 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 00:04:52.480 --> 00:05:01.199 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his field to feed pigs. 00:05:02.079 --> 00:05:10.000 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. 00:05:10.319 --> 00:05:20.000 Verse 17, but when he came to himself, he said, How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread? 00:05:20.319 --> 00:05:23.759 But I perish here with hunger. 00:05:24.079 --> 00:05:24.800 Let's pray. 00:05:25.040 --> 00:05:30.079 Lord Jesus, we ask for your help. 00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:35.360 God, I I need you. 00:05:36.879 --> 00:05:45.680 As I do every single Sunday when I stand here, I need your help to fill me, anoint me, and use me. 00:05:46.959 --> 00:05:53.199 God, but I I pray and I pray that everyone in here would pray this as well. 00:05:54.399 --> 00:06:00.879 That we would be receptive and ready to receive your word and obey your word. 00:06:02.959 --> 00:06:16.160 Lord God, I pray that you would lift the veils in this room for people to see maybe for the first time the beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:06:16.399 --> 00:06:18.160 It's in Jesus' name we pray. 00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:19.120 Amen. 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:34.079 Before we dive into the passage, uh, brief context, and you'll see the context of this parable and the first two verses in verse 1 and 2 of chapter 15. 00:06:34.240 --> 00:06:42.160 Here in Luke 15, Jesus shares three different parables, and those three parables are all shared in the same setting, the same context. 00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:45.040 And so it starts with verse 1 and 2. 00:06:45.120 --> 00:06:48.319 You can see it there in the beginning of the chapter. 00:06:48.639 --> 00:06:54.480 It says, Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to him. 00:06:55.120 --> 00:07:05.040 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, This man receives sinners and eats with them. 00:07:07.839 --> 00:07:14.480 After these verses, Jesus will then launch into three different parables. 00:07:14.720 --> 00:07:17.839 The first parable will be a parable of a lost sheep. 00:07:18.079 --> 00:07:28.480 Maybe many of us are familiar with this or not, but a shepherd who had a hundred sheep and one went missing, and the shepherd left in 99 to find the one sheep. 00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:32.959 When they found the sheep and brought it back, there was much rejoicing. 00:07:33.600 --> 00:07:39.600 Then Jesus would go into a parable of a lost coin, of someone losing a coin. 00:07:39.680 --> 00:07:42.800 They have ten and they only had nine to this point. 00:07:42.959 --> 00:07:52.240 They were searching their house for the silver coin, and then they find it, and that leads to celebration, to joy. 00:07:53.040 --> 00:08:02.879 And then Jesus here in our text moves to something far deeper and weightier than a sheep and a coin. 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:05.839 He moves to a lost son. 00:08:07.920 --> 00:08:16.079 And so there it starts in verse 11 of a father, a man who had two sons. 00:08:17.360 --> 00:08:23.839 In verse 12 it says, The younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me. 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:27.600 And he divided his property between them. 00:08:29.360 --> 00:08:36.000 See, in those times, much like today, you wouldn't really receive an inheritance till when? 00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:39.039 Till death. 00:08:40.480 --> 00:08:52.559 You know, maybe in special occasions in those times, and these times that inheritance could be given in advance, but most times that inheritance is given upon death. 00:08:53.519 --> 00:09:01.519 And here the son, the younger one, comes to the father and says, Give me my inheritance. 00:09:02.960 --> 00:09:05.519 See, what was he communicating in that moment? 00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:10.960 He was really saying, I don't want to have anything to do with you. 00:09:12.879 --> 00:09:16.480 I don't want to sit around here and wait until you die. 00:09:18.080 --> 00:09:20.559 He was really saying, You're dead to me. 00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:26.480 Just give me what belongs to me so I can go. 00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:29.200 And so, what did the father do? 00:09:29.360 --> 00:09:36.720 Most likely knowing his son at this point that he probably would not be wise with it, gave him the inheritance. 00:09:37.840 --> 00:09:42.320 We can only assume from this text that this father was wealthy. 00:09:42.639 --> 00:09:50.559 Talks about this father having this home and servants and cattle, like he had property. 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:54.240 It was a lot of money that was given. 00:09:55.279 --> 00:09:59.679 And the father says, Fine, I'll give you your inheritance. 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:02.080 So what happens next? 00:10:02.159 --> 00:10:03.440 Look at verse 13. 00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:07.279 It says, Not many days later. 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:09.279 What does that mean? 00:10:09.600 --> 00:10:11.120 He is in a rush. 00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:21.039 The younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country. 00:10:21.279 --> 00:10:25.519 And there he squandered his property in reckless living. 00:10:25.919 --> 00:10:28.240 Says he gathered all he had. 00:10:29.440 --> 00:10:31.840 He was not planning to come back. 00:10:32.639 --> 00:10:36.000 He took everything with him and went. 00:10:36.559 --> 00:10:38.639 But why do a far country? 00:10:39.200 --> 00:10:40.799 I mean, think about that. 00:10:41.279 --> 00:10:55.600 I mean, he could have got the inheritance and maybe stayed there or stayed nearby and lived up and had a fun life, wasting away all the resources he had, but close by. 00:10:58.399 --> 00:11:05.200 But no, he wants to get away and far away from his father's house. 00:11:06.960 --> 00:11:15.759 He doesn't want his father, his brother, maybe the servants in the home to know what he's about to do. 00:11:16.320 --> 00:11:19.120 He wants to go far away. 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:21.440 Says, I'm out. 00:11:25.360 --> 00:11:27.519 Have you ever been like this with God? 00:11:29.519 --> 00:11:41.519 Maybe where you grew up in the church, maybe you had a father or mother who taught you in the Lord or a grandparent who dragged you to church. 00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:48.559 And as soon as you were able to, you wanted to get out of there. 00:11:49.279 --> 00:11:55.600 You wanted to get out of that home because then it meant you can live your life in your terms. 00:12:03.600 --> 00:12:05.519 So what happens next? 00:12:07.440 --> 00:12:15.840 First, it says, when he went to the far country, he squandered his property in a reckless living. 00:12:16.480 --> 00:12:23.440 It did not take long for the son to waste all he had away. 00:12:23.679 --> 00:12:24.720 Think of it. 00:12:24.960 --> 00:12:35.840 Think of the wealth that this father had stored for years, gives it to his son, and his son just wastes it all away. 00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:39.120 What does he wasted on? 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:41.039 On reckless living. 00:12:41.279 --> 00:12:43.279 Actually, that's what the word prodigal means. 00:12:43.519 --> 00:12:46.799 Prodigal means reckless. 00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:51.360 It was foolishness, it was flashy, it was self-indulgence. 00:12:51.519 --> 00:13:01.519 And his older brother would tell us later in the verse, we'll see this, that what he was spending it on was loose living, and it was on prostitutes. 00:13:02.159 --> 00:13:08.320 He was living it up, he was going to the depths of darkness, the streets of sin. 00:13:10.399 --> 00:13:13.759 And he plunged into it headfirst. 00:13:14.799 --> 00:13:24.000 And one day he was in his father's house, and the next he was in the far country, buried in the darkest corner of sin. 00:13:26.240 --> 00:13:32.399 He rebelled against his father and his father's wishes to the depths of rebellion. 00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:37.360 And left his father's home for a world of pleasure. 00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:40.799 What happens next? 00:13:40.879 --> 00:13:42.159 Look at verse 14. 00:13:42.399 --> 00:13:50.080 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 00:13:59.200 --> 00:14:05.120 This was a time with little food and people in crisis struggling to survive. 00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:10.399 And look at what this does to the son, verse 15. 00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:20.080 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country who had sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 00:14:20.879 --> 00:14:27.440 So when he lost everything, the younger son in this moment, he needs work. 00:14:29.759 --> 00:14:30.720 And what does he do? 00:14:30.960 --> 00:14:35.919 He goes to find work and he finds it feeding pigs. 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:39.519 I mean, I want you to think about this. 00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:43.440 In the father's house, he probably wouldn't ever need to work ever. 00:14:44.720 --> 00:14:49.120 And here he is, feeding pigs. 00:14:49.360 --> 00:14:54.240 Now, for us, we can understand that that is not the most glamorous job. 00:14:55.519 --> 00:15:01.759 There probably wouldn't be a long line of us wanting to work that job to feed pigs. 00:15:02.720 --> 00:15:04.320 But we have to understand the context. 00:15:04.480 --> 00:15:08.240 This was a Jewish people, Jewish audience Jesus is speaking to. 00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:10.559 The pigs were unclean. 00:15:10.960 --> 00:15:13.279 They couldn't even eat pork. 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:18.879 And so Jesus is trying to paint a picture to his audience. 00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:24.639 How low this Son has gone. 00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:30.399 He's in the low of the low of the lowest place. 00:15:31.039 --> 00:15:37.279 He is living and serving pigs. 00:15:37.360 --> 00:15:37.840 But guess what? 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:40.159 Verse 16, he goes even lower. 00:15:40.639 --> 00:15:41.679 Look at this. 00:15:42.399 --> 00:15:45.039 And he was longing, longing for what? 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:50.799 To be fed with the pods that the pigs ate. 00:15:51.759 --> 00:15:56.799 Not only is he working to feed pigs, he is literally jealous. 00:15:57.679 --> 00:16:01.600 He is envious of the pigs' food. 00:16:02.720 --> 00:16:04.159 And he goes lower. 00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:07.440 Not only does he desire it, but what happens? 00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:11.919 Verse 16, and no one gave him anything. 00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:21.519 He was not even worth the opportunity of being given pig's food. 00:16:25.200 --> 00:16:26.720 So what happens? 00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:29.679 He's desperate. 00:16:30.559 --> 00:16:32.639 I mean, I want you to imagine it. 00:16:32.879 --> 00:16:36.639 That just a couple days ago he was sitting on the top. 00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:45.679 He had the money, he was having the time of his life, and then moments later, he's in the mud with pigs. 00:16:46.799 --> 00:16:48.240 Verse 17. 00:16:49.919 --> 00:17:00.480 But when he came to himself, he said, How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger? 00:17:00.960 --> 00:17:09.279 See, the wayward son came to his senses when he lost everything. 00:17:13.839 --> 00:17:15.839 I want to sit here for a moment. 00:17:18.079 --> 00:17:28.559 You know what probably was, I believe, the greatest blessing for this wayward son, this younger son? 00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:31.440 It was the famine. 00:17:32.960 --> 00:17:33.599 Why? 00:17:34.240 --> 00:17:43.279 Because it was the famine that brought him to the lowest place for him to realize and remember his father's house. 00:17:45.680 --> 00:17:47.279 Can I just say this for a moment? 00:17:47.359 --> 00:17:52.720 That I know that there are some of you where you have experienced a famine. 00:17:53.440 --> 00:17:57.359 Or you are in a famine, a crisis. 00:17:58.960 --> 00:18:10.960 And as followers of Jesus, the Lord actually calls us, even in those moments in suffering, and trial and the worst of things, to rejoice. 00:18:14.480 --> 00:18:16.319 I want to encourage you. 00:18:19.039 --> 00:18:22.240 Because here's the thing, sometimes we will wait for the famine. 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:28.799 We will wait until we're in the lowest place, until we realize God is all we have and all we need. 00:18:29.119 --> 00:18:32.160 And I want to encourage you not to wait for that moment. 00:18:33.839 --> 00:18:36.160 That's a lot of times why we're stuck in sin. 00:18:36.640 --> 00:18:40.400 We're stuck in sin because we haven't gotten to the bottom yet. 00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:44.799 We haven't gotten to the lowest point yet. 00:18:45.440 --> 00:18:47.279 Because that's what he realizes. 00:18:47.359 --> 00:18:48.720 There's nothing I can do. 00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:49.920 I'm done. 00:18:50.640 --> 00:18:52.960 I'm about to die of hunger. 00:18:53.200 --> 00:18:57.839 And sometimes the Lord, what he will do is he will bring us to the lowest place. 00:19:00.400 --> 00:19:15.039 But I want to encourage you, if that's you in this room, don't wait for that to realize that you can call on him, that he can save you. 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:16.160 So what happens? 00:19:16.319 --> 00:19:17.599 Look at verse 17. 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:25.599 But when he came to himself, he said, How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger? 00:19:25.839 --> 00:19:28.480 He's saying, Here I am, I'm about to die. 00:19:30.559 --> 00:19:38.720 But he's recalling, sitting at the seat in his table, the table of his father's house, how much food there was. 00:19:38.799 --> 00:19:43.599 His servants in the house are eating better than him, and he was a son. 00:19:44.559 --> 00:19:47.119 So he creates a plan for the mess that he's in. 00:19:47.200 --> 00:19:49.759 Look at his plan in verse 18 and 19. 00:19:50.000 --> 00:20:00.319 He says, I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you I am no longer worthy to be called your son. 00:20:00.480 --> 00:20:02.799 Treat me as one of your hired servants. 00:20:04.319 --> 00:20:11.119 So he says, I'm gonna get up, I'm gonna get away from here and these pigs, and I'm literally about to starve to death. 00:20:11.200 --> 00:20:13.440 I'm gonna go to my dad's house. 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:16.000 And I'm gonna say, I'm sorry. 00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:22.079 Say, I lost the right to be called your son. 00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:25.519 And just make me into a servant. 00:20:27.920 --> 00:20:32.079 See, sin, it promised him freedom, but it enslaved him. 00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:35.519 It promised him pleasure, but it left him empty. 00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:38.720 And he realized that and he goes. 00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:40.000 Verse 20, look at this. 00:20:40.160 --> 00:20:42.960 And he arose and came to his father. 00:20:44.880 --> 00:21:00.799 I don't know if you do this, but I don't know if you ever have a situation, maybe a situation similar to this where you need to apologize, you need to own up to something you've done, you need to have a hard conversation with someone. 00:21:01.519 --> 00:21:05.759 And you kind of rev rehearse what you're gonna say in your mind. 00:21:06.400 --> 00:21:08.640 Is that just me or you you know anyone else here? 00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:24.000 You kind of rehear what you're gonna say, how they're gonna respond, and I can only imagine that as he gets up and starts walking, and it's a long walk, and guess what? 00:21:24.079 --> 00:21:28.559 Later we'll see that from the text that implies he doesn't even have any shoes. 00:21:29.920 --> 00:21:38.319 And he's walking and rehearsing this, saying, I'm sorry, I'm not your son anymore. 00:21:38.559 --> 00:21:41.119 I get that, but can I just be a servant? 00:21:41.680 --> 00:21:49.839 And repeating this over and over as he's walking miles and miles and miles and miles to get back home. 00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:58.160 Thinking about the anger, the resentment, the judgment of his father, the lecture he's gonna hear. 00:22:00.720 --> 00:22:02.880 And he's walking and walking. 00:22:03.039 --> 00:22:04.240 But look what happened. 00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:05.920 Don't miss this. 00:22:09.039 --> 00:22:10.799 God help us to see this. 00:22:13.680 --> 00:22:14.559 What does it say? 00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:16.799 And he rose and came to his father. 00:22:17.680 --> 00:22:29.920 But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 00:22:34.720 --> 00:22:37.359 You know what's my favorite part of this story? 00:22:39.839 --> 00:22:40.480 What does it say? 00:22:40.640 --> 00:22:42.799 It says he was far off. 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:49.279 He was long away from the home. 00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:50.400 And what happens? 00:22:50.720 --> 00:22:52.160 It says the father sees him. 00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:53.200 What does that imply? 00:22:55.119 --> 00:22:56.240 He was looking. 00:22:56.400 --> 00:23:03.759 And he was sitting on that porch every single day waiting for his son to come back. 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:05.039 And what does he do? 00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:06.240 He runs. 00:23:07.119 --> 00:23:08.559 He doesn't wait. 00:23:08.880 --> 00:23:11.359 He's not there with his arms crossed. 00:23:11.680 --> 00:23:12.640 He runs. 00:23:13.039 --> 00:23:14.640 Let me give some context here. 00:23:14.960 --> 00:23:19.200 Men of this status, of this age, do not run in this culture. 00:23:19.680 --> 00:23:20.640 They don't do that. 00:23:21.200 --> 00:23:22.880 That would be dishonorable. 00:23:23.680 --> 00:23:24.319 Right? 00:23:24.799 --> 00:23:30.480 They were these long clothes and a lot of times when they would lift their clothes up, it would show their knees. 00:23:30.640 --> 00:23:32.240 This was something they would not do. 00:23:32.400 --> 00:23:34.240 And the father does not care about it. 00:23:34.319 --> 00:23:37.119 He cares about one thing is embracing his son. 00:23:38.640 --> 00:23:39.680 And guess what he does? 00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:41.920 It says he embraces him and he kisses him. 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:44.880 I'll tell you this, he probably didn't smell very good. 00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:49.359 And his face probably wasn't very clean. 00:23:51.599 --> 00:23:53.119 But that didn't matter. 00:23:54.000 --> 00:23:56.319 What mattered was his son was here. 00:23:58.799 --> 00:24:00.319 And he ran to him. 00:24:00.799 --> 00:24:09.200 And before the son says a single word, his father embraces him. 00:24:10.720 --> 00:24:12.480 This is the heart of God. 00:24:13.279 --> 00:24:15.519 This is the love of God. 00:24:16.400 --> 00:24:21.839 Please, you have to understand this that God is not angry towards you. 00:24:22.960 --> 00:24:28.240 Yes, he is angry towards the sin in your life that is destroying you. 00:24:29.839 --> 00:24:32.079 But he is waiting for you. 00:24:32.720 --> 00:24:34.160 He is calling you home. 00:24:34.400 --> 00:24:36.240 He is pursuing you. 00:24:37.759 --> 00:24:40.480 And so how does the son respond to this? 00:24:40.640 --> 00:24:44.400 I imagine it rehearsing over and over what he's going to say. 00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:48.079 And his father embraces him, kisses him, and look what he says. 00:24:48.240 --> 00:24:49.519 Verse 21. 00:24:50.079 --> 00:24:55.279 And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven. 00:24:57.200 --> 00:25:02.240 And before you, I am no longer worthy to be called your son. 00:25:03.839 --> 00:25:06.960 See, the son still doesn't understand what's going on. 00:25:09.759 --> 00:25:11.200 He has no idea. 00:25:18.559 --> 00:25:19.519 Can I tell you this? 00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:23.680 This is for the last person in the room, but this is also for those who follow Jesus. 00:25:24.799 --> 00:25:28.960 Yeah, we are servants of Jesus, but we are sons and daughters. 00:25:29.440 --> 00:25:34.240 Because a lot of times what we do is we make ourselves into servants. 00:25:35.119 --> 00:25:42.640 And we come to God saying, I'm your servant, which is true, but we are more than that. 00:25:42.799 --> 00:25:44.319 We are sons and daughters. 00:25:44.960 --> 00:25:48.240 And he's saying, just make me into a slave, make me into a servant. 00:25:49.519 --> 00:25:50.960 And what does he do? 00:25:51.920 --> 00:26:02.160 Maybe to help him understand in this moment what's happening in this moment, he gives a physical representation that no, you are a son. 00:26:02.319 --> 00:26:03.599 Look at verse 22. 00:26:03.839 --> 00:26:09.920 It says, But the father said to his servant, bring quickly the best robe and put on him. 00:26:10.079 --> 00:26:15.119 And put it on him, and put on a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. 00:26:15.839 --> 00:26:20.000 The father says, No, you're no, you're not a servant, you are a son. 00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:23.279 Here's the robe. 00:26:25.359 --> 00:26:31.519 Here's the ring, a symbol, a status to show you and to show the servants that what? 00:26:32.160 --> 00:26:34.960 You are a son. 00:26:42.160 --> 00:26:43.200 Verse 23. 00:26:43.599 --> 00:26:51.039 It says, and bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 00:26:51.279 --> 00:26:52.480 What does that mean? 00:26:52.720 --> 00:27:09.200 It was a calf that they would hold off to the side and feed and feed and feed and feed until it was big and plump and ready for something worth celebrating. 00:27:09.920 --> 00:27:13.279 And so the Father said, Bring out the fattened calf. 00:27:13.359 --> 00:27:14.079 Let us eat. 00:27:14.319 --> 00:27:15.839 Let us celebrate. 00:27:16.079 --> 00:27:23.440 Verse 24 it says, For this, for this, my son was dead and is alive again. 00:27:23.519 --> 00:27:27.680 He was lost and is found, and they began to celebrate. 00:27:28.880 --> 00:27:31.200 Why does he use this word dead? 00:27:32.079 --> 00:27:32.400 Right? 00:27:32.480 --> 00:27:41.599 The son never physically died, but it's a symbol of what Jesus is trying to tell us, tell this crowd he's talking to. 00:27:42.400 --> 00:27:45.279 See, all of us, we have sinned against God. 00:27:46.240 --> 00:27:48.160 And we deserve death. 00:27:48.480 --> 00:27:54.400 Because the wages of sin, the payment for our sin is death. 00:27:56.000 --> 00:28:03.359 But there is a gift of God in Christ Jesus through faith to be saved. 00:28:08.880 --> 00:28:11.920 See, this is why we celebrate today. 00:28:12.319 --> 00:28:17.759 People who've gone from death to life, who were lost, who are now found. 00:28:22.079 --> 00:28:25.119 But here's the thing, oftentimes we end the story there. 00:28:25.680 --> 00:28:27.200 And it doesn't end there. 00:28:28.559 --> 00:28:32.240 Really, the story is not just about the younger brother. 00:28:32.319 --> 00:28:34.720 There was another brother in the story. 00:28:34.960 --> 00:28:44.400 Really, if you look at the context, Jesus is really primarily wanting to teach something to the Pharisees who are there, the religious leaders. 00:28:44.480 --> 00:28:45.680 Look at verse 25. 00:28:46.160 --> 00:28:49.839 Now his older son was in the field and he came and drew near to the house. 00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:52.160 He heard music and dancing. 00:28:52.400 --> 00:28:56.799 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 00:28:56.960 --> 00:29:05.359 And he said to him, Your brother has come and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound. 00:29:06.960 --> 00:29:08.400 This is good news. 00:29:09.680 --> 00:29:10.640 This is great news. 00:29:10.720 --> 00:29:14.079 If you're the brother, you want to go in there and celebrate. 00:29:14.640 --> 00:29:18.319 My brother who was lost, I didn't know where he was. 00:29:18.400 --> 00:29:19.839 I didn't know if he was alive. 00:29:22.960 --> 00:29:25.519 And we get to celebrate and have a party. 00:29:26.000 --> 00:29:27.200 This is great. 00:29:28.960 --> 00:29:30.960 But look how he responds. 00:29:31.440 --> 00:29:32.799 Verse 28. 00:29:33.920 --> 00:29:38.079 But he was angry and refused to go in. 00:29:39.920 --> 00:29:40.799 And I love this. 00:29:40.880 --> 00:29:42.319 The father pursues both of them. 00:29:42.480 --> 00:29:43.599 You see that there? 00:29:44.079 --> 00:29:48.000 It says his father came out and entreated him. 00:29:48.400 --> 00:29:53.839 The father sees him not celebrating with everyone else and goes to the older son. 00:29:55.200 --> 00:29:57.200 But he answered his father. 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:08.319 Yet you never gave me a young goat that I might celebrate with my friends. 00:30:10.079 --> 00:30:12.000 He's saying, I've been here the whole time. 00:30:12.079 --> 00:30:14.079 You're going to give him the fattened calf. 00:30:14.160 --> 00:30:16.000 You've never even given me a goat. 00:30:17.119 --> 00:30:18.400 He's upset. 00:30:19.039 --> 00:30:20.000 Look at verse 30. 00:30:20.079 --> 00:30:25.440 He says, But when this son of yours, notice he doesn't say brother of mine. 00:30:25.920 --> 00:30:34.319 He says, this son of yours who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him. 00:30:38.319 --> 00:30:40.880 He doesn't deserve forgiveness. 00:30:42.400 --> 00:30:44.880 He doesn't deserve to come back. 00:30:56.559 --> 00:30:59.119 Look how the father responds, verse 31. 00:30:59.680 --> 00:31:06.000 And he said to him, Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 00:31:06.720 --> 00:31:09.440 He said, Everything that I have is yours. 00:31:09.680 --> 00:31:11.119 It's always been here. 00:31:12.400 --> 00:31:17.519 You see, maybe even the older son saw himself as a servant and not a son. 00:31:19.519 --> 00:31:27.119 See, the older son was in the father's house, but he was far from the father's heart. 00:31:27.680 --> 00:31:29.279 See, we can do the same thing. 00:31:29.440 --> 00:31:32.799 We can come here into the house of God. 00:31:34.160 --> 00:31:42.480 And think just because we have proximity to the house of God and the people of God, that means that we belong to Him. 00:31:44.400 --> 00:31:50.079 But no, you can be in the house of God and you can grow up in the house of God, but that does not mean anything. 00:31:51.920 --> 00:31:53.039 Are you a son? 00:31:53.279 --> 00:31:54.720 Do you love the Father? 00:31:54.880 --> 00:31:57.519 Do you have a relationship with the Father? 00:32:00.960 --> 00:32:05.519 And here's the reality: there may be in here some older brothers in this room. 00:32:07.759 --> 00:32:10.720 Maybe you have a heart of bitterness towards God. 00:32:13.920 --> 00:32:19.359 Where you see God the way that He blesses others and He saves others, you say, No, that's not right. 00:32:19.759 --> 00:32:21.359 That should be for me. 00:32:22.640 --> 00:32:27.039 Or you envy others, and you're upset at God. 00:32:28.319 --> 00:32:31.680 Remember, this is what Jesus is getting at verse 1 and 2. 00:32:31.759 --> 00:32:41.440 We saw that it was the tax collectors and the sinners that were around him, and it was the Pharisees that were grumbling, saying, This man receives sinners and he eats with them. 00:32:43.279 --> 00:32:51.119 See, whose responsibility could you say was it to go look for the younger brother? 00:32:52.640 --> 00:32:53.759 The older one. 00:32:55.359 --> 00:33:02.880 To maybe hear what's going on, to see, to warn him, to go to him and say, to come back. 00:33:03.680 --> 00:33:06.480 The father loves you, don't live this way. 00:33:12.319 --> 00:33:14.480 See, that's what the Pharisees were doing. 00:33:14.720 --> 00:33:19.200 They were people who knew of God, but were far from God. 00:33:20.160 --> 00:33:31.759 They didn't care about God's heart and his mission to reach these people, these tax collectors, these Pharisees, these people who are far off. 00:33:35.359 --> 00:33:36.240 Can I tell you this? 00:33:36.400 --> 00:33:37.759 Can I tell you the good news? 00:33:39.680 --> 00:33:42.000 See, me and you, we were far off. 00:33:43.519 --> 00:33:46.640 But we had an older brother. 00:33:48.640 --> 00:33:49.839 Jesus Christ. 00:33:54.319 --> 00:33:59.839 Who, although we were in the depths of darkness, we were in the streets of sin. 00:34:00.799 --> 00:34:04.559 He came looking for you and for me. 00:34:04.799 --> 00:34:13.519 That he came and God put on flesh and became man, searching for us. 00:34:15.039 --> 00:34:16.639 And saying, no, no, no, no. 00:34:17.119 --> 00:34:18.800 That won't fill you up. 00:34:19.039 --> 00:34:20.960 That won't satisfy you. 00:34:24.239 --> 00:34:28.880 In my father's house, I prepare a place for you. 00:34:29.920 --> 00:34:31.599 There's a place for you. 00:34:32.719 --> 00:34:33.519 And guess what? 00:34:33.599 --> 00:34:34.719 You are dirty. 00:34:35.360 --> 00:34:40.559 And you cannot, in your dirtiness, come into the house. 00:34:41.519 --> 00:34:43.280 But I'll make you clean. 00:34:47.760 --> 00:34:59.840 And the way that I'm going to do that is I'm going to take your filth and your dirt and your sin and your mistakes, and I'm going to put it on myself. 00:35:00.800 --> 00:35:03.760 And I'm going to die the death that you deserve. 00:35:04.719 --> 00:35:06.639 So that you can be free. 00:35:08.480 --> 00:35:09.920 That's the gospel. 00:35:10.639 --> 00:35:12.000 That's the good news. 00:35:15.280 --> 00:35:22.079 And so even today, as we celebrate people who are being baptized, people who are coming from death to life. 00:35:24.639 --> 00:35:29.199 It's not just about those we are celebrating today, but those in the future. 00:35:30.639 --> 00:35:34.400 See, what was the problem that the religious people had with Jesus? 00:35:34.719 --> 00:35:37.440 It wasn't that he was just talking with them. 00:35:38.880 --> 00:35:41.199 He was eating with them. 00:35:41.920 --> 00:35:44.079 He was living amongst them. 00:35:44.400 --> 00:35:46.320 He was befriending them. 00:35:47.679 --> 00:35:50.320 And that's what we need to be as a church. 00:35:52.800 --> 00:36:03.039 That's what I'm calling you towards, not to just go out and share Jesus in a lost and dying world, words, uh, world with just words, but with your life. 00:36:04.719 --> 00:36:11.119