WEBVTT 00:00:01.760 --> 00:00:04.160 Thanks for listening to the His Hands Church podcast. 00:00:04.320 --> 00:00:12.720 If you're using the His Hands Church mobile app, please turn off the auto lock on your phone's general settings so that you can listen to the message uninterrupted. 00:00:12.880 --> 00:00:16.239 And thank you for being part of what God is doing at His Hands. 00:00:18.559 --> 00:00:19.600 Well, good morning. 00:00:21.039 --> 00:00:23.120 Happy Father's Day to everybody. 00:00:23.839 --> 00:00:29.199 Well, since it's Father's Day today, I thought I'd tell a couple stories about my dad. 00:00:29.600 --> 00:00:32.560 And don't worry, he's not here with us today. 00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:38.320 So since he's not here with us today, I thought it'd be the perfect opportunity for us to talk about him behind his back. 00:00:40.240 --> 00:00:43.119 Don't worry, it's not like anybody's recording the service or anything. 00:00:43.200 --> 00:00:44.240 It'll be fine. 00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:48.960 So the scene was uh my 30th surprise birthday party. 00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:51.119 Uh Amy had instigated this. 00:00:51.280 --> 00:00:54.079 Uh I'm not normally uh a kind of reserve person. 00:00:54.159 --> 00:00:59.520 I don't instigate a lot of large social gatherings, but Amy wanted to honor this and the rest of my family. 00:00:59.679 --> 00:01:04.879 And uh so my parents had volunteered to host this party. 00:01:05.120 --> 00:01:08.719 So they had a nice house kind of centrally located at the time. 00:01:08.959 --> 00:01:16.879 And so we invited, or Amy invited, lots of our friends at the time, a lot of them from a small group that we've been a part of for several years. 00:01:17.120 --> 00:01:19.680 So it's it's a few dozen people, something like that. 00:01:19.760 --> 00:01:21.280 It's a good sized group. 00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:26.480 Catered meal, big cake, everything you'd expect in a proper party. 00:01:26.719 --> 00:01:34.000 So the party's gone on for maybe uh an hour or so, everybody's eaten, and they're starting to take their seats in the living room. 00:01:34.079 --> 00:01:38.239 Uh a few people are still milling around in the kitchen, it's like one big space. 00:01:38.480 --> 00:01:40.079 And everything's pretty reserved. 00:01:40.239 --> 00:01:47.760 You know how you're at a birthday party and you typically pick up the cues from the person having the birthday, which is that's kind of my personality. 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:54.079 So it's at this moment that my dad walks into the room and he gives me that look. 00:01:54.799 --> 00:02:01.519 And I I know what that look means, but I I'm hoping, I'm hoping I'm wrong about what that look means. 00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:06.159 But sure enough, you know, this intuitively, this cold chill comes down my spine. 00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:15.680 And sure enough, he looks at me in the eye and he says, quite loudly, so everyone can hear, he says, son, look at all these people just sitting around. 00:02:15.759 --> 00:02:17.599 This is a party in your honor. 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:20.560 I think it's time we get the party started. 00:02:21.439 --> 00:02:24.000 I think it's time for us to play. 00:02:24.639 --> 00:02:27.360 Wait for it, sniff the broom. 00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:30.800 And that was exactly the response, right there. 00:02:30.879 --> 00:02:31.439 That was perfect. 00:02:31.520 --> 00:02:32.639 If I could just freeze that. 00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:33.759 Exactly the response. 00:02:33.919 --> 00:02:51.919 You have to understand, I'm 30 years old at this point, and I'm 42 now, but at that age, you know, I'm still kind of operating under the probably incorrect assumption that I'm somewhat cool, and I've got all my coolish 30-year-old friends, and I'm in this environment that's familiar to me, you know, I know my dad. 00:02:52.159 --> 00:02:53.919 But these people, they don't really know my dad. 00:02:54.080 --> 00:02:57.039 Maybe they've met him in passing a couple times. 00:02:57.360 --> 00:02:59.039 But they're not ready. 00:02:59.199 --> 00:03:05.439 You know, dad, you can't just bust into a room with me and all my friends and say, it's time to play Sniff the Broom. 00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:07.680 I was like, oh man. 00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:11.280 But as soon as my dad said this, everybody was in. 00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:17.039 They're like, oh yeah, I have no idea what you're talking about, but I gotta see where this goes, you know. 00:03:17.280 --> 00:03:22.960 So I think my obvious mortification was probably entertainment enough at that point. 00:03:23.199 --> 00:03:34.000 So now my dad's encouraged, and he's like, All right, we're gonna play sniff the broom, and then if we have time, we're gonna play stir the mush, and and then maybe pass the scissors. 00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:38.240 So I'm gonna I'm gonna need a broom and a pair of scissors. 00:03:38.400 --> 00:03:40.080 Ben, why don't you be in charge of that? 00:03:40.400 --> 00:03:40.719 Go. 00:03:41.439 --> 00:03:43.039 So now I'm like six years old again. 00:03:43.199 --> 00:03:46.400 It's like, okay, dad, I'm gonna go get a broom. 00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:48.400 Is it still in the pantry? 00:03:48.719 --> 00:03:50.879 I'm actually gonna get a broom here, by the way. 00:03:51.680 --> 00:03:53.199 Talk amongst yourselves. 00:03:53.439 --> 00:03:53.759 Okay. 00:03:54.479 --> 00:03:55.919 It's a visual thing. 00:03:56.240 --> 00:03:58.400 And I don't know why I brought a miniature broom. 00:03:58.479 --> 00:03:59.520 There's no explanation of that. 00:03:59.599 --> 00:04:00.639 It's not part of the game. 00:04:00.800 --> 00:04:02.159 I'm just lazy, I think. 00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:04.960 And uh imagine a regular size broom. 00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:09.840 So these are just classic uh you know, icebreaker type party games. 00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:13.360 So, as an example, the second one that I mentioned there, stir the mush. 00:04:13.599 --> 00:04:20.160 Stir the mush begins with my dad just busting into a room and surprising everyone by announcing that he knows how to stir the mush. 00:04:20.560 --> 00:04:23.680 And stir the mush, he'll say, it goes like this. 00:04:23.839 --> 00:04:32.160 And he grabs a broom and his hands are far apart for leverage, I guess, and he starts doing these circling moches and counterclockwise and clockwise. 00:04:32.319 --> 00:04:36.639 And the whole time he's screaming, stir the mush, stir the mush. 00:04:36.800 --> 00:04:45.839 And you have to imagine, you know, all my cool 30-year-old friends with deer in the headlights, like, so not what we expected at Ben's party. 00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:50.959 Stir the mush! And then he slams the end of it down, stir the mush, that's how it's done. 00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:55.040 And then he takes the end of the broom and he starts taunting everybody else in the room. 00:04:55.279 --> 00:04:57.519 Like, do you know how to stir the mush? 00:04:58.000 --> 00:04:59.920 Do you know how to stir the mush? 00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:00.720 Do you? 00:05:01.279 --> 00:05:07.199 And it requires kind of a large living room to do this safely, but especially with a regular sized broom. 00:05:07.360 --> 00:05:10.800 So finally, some brave person will say, Okay, I thought I was paying attention. 00:05:10.879 --> 00:05:13.040 Well, I'm game, I'll stir the mush. 00:05:13.120 --> 00:05:18.399 So they'll take the broom and they'll try to duplicate, you know, all the little swirls and stir the mush. 00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:19.920 Stir the mush. 00:05:20.079 --> 00:05:24.560 And my dad will inevitably respond, you gotta be kidding. 00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:25.680 That was awful. 00:05:25.920 --> 00:05:28.959 That was, I'm insulted that you would do that in my house. 00:05:29.199 --> 00:05:30.480 Stir the mush like that. 00:05:30.639 --> 00:05:31.920 I mean, you gotta be kidding. 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:32.959 Tell me that was a joke. 00:05:33.040 --> 00:05:48.800 And he'll just insult him for a while and then try to goad somebody else into doing this, and this can last like 30 minutes while he's insulting people, and and it's all pretty comical if you can pull it off, but the problem is you have to be my dad to pull it off. 00:05:49.680 --> 00:05:52.560 So, you know, I don't want to ruin the game for you. 00:05:52.959 --> 00:05:54.720 Actually, that that's not true, I don't mind. 00:05:54.800 --> 00:05:55.839 Let me ruin the game for you. 00:05:56.079 --> 00:06:01.120 Stir the mush, it's basically just one of these unlocking word, unlocking gesture kind of things. 00:06:01.360 --> 00:06:05.680 So before he stirs the mush, he always says exactly it goes like this. 00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:12.480 So it's those four precise words that proves he knows how to stir the mush, and the actual mush stirring is is completely irrelevant. 00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:13.759 It's all misdirection. 00:06:13.920 --> 00:06:20.560 But it could take like 30 minutes for everybody to figure out, you know, it gets more and more obvious that that's what's really going on. 00:06:21.439 --> 00:06:25.120 So, as you might guess, in the end, it was really a hit. 00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:37.040 And I, you know, for years I had co-led that small group with and seen them in so many different settings, and I don't think I'd ever seen them laugh quite that hard or be that uninhibited. 00:06:37.279 --> 00:06:40.879 And so I have this start the party kind of dad. 00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:48.720 Uh, as surprising as that is, and it might kind of embarrass me, I might think that's a little reckless or extravagant, but it's a great quality. 00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:56.560 And the reason I give you that story is the three parables that we're gonna look at today from Jesus, they all have this in common. 00:06:56.879 --> 00:07:03.839 There's always an impromptu party in each parable, and the party erupts from the joy of the main character. 00:07:04.160 --> 00:07:07.279 But before we get into that, I'm gonna put the broom down. 00:07:07.439 --> 00:07:08.160 Don't worry. 00:07:08.399 --> 00:07:10.399 I'm not gonna taunt you the whole time. 00:07:10.959 --> 00:07:13.199 No onstage broom taunting. 00:07:13.519 --> 00:07:15.519 Steve is very clear about that. 00:07:16.399 --> 00:07:27.600 So all three of these parables are from uh the Gospel of Luke, and kind of like uh, well, since it's Father's Day, I should say all three of these parables are great illustrations of a father. 00:07:27.920 --> 00:07:42.000 But it's kind of odd at first to think of these as such great father parables, uh, because the first one's about a shepherd, the second one is about a woman, and the third one uh is about a young teenage boy and his older brother. 00:07:42.319 --> 00:07:46.879 But in the end, they're all ultimately about the heart of the father. 00:07:47.120 --> 00:08:00.480 So, also kind of like we saw last week, if you were here, right before Jesus launches into these three parables, he's being given a hard time by the Pharisees, they really like to do this, uh, being given a hard time over the company that he keeps. 00:08:00.560 --> 00:08:05.839 He's hanging out with all the wrong people, he's having these feasts, and so they come at Jesus. 00:08:06.160 --> 00:08:10.560 So, to illustrate this, I read this in a book a few years ago. 00:08:10.879 --> 00:08:14.240 Say you saw this this sentence, the beginning of this sentence. 00:08:14.399 --> 00:08:17.680 The Son of Man came, and then dot, dot, dot. 00:08:18.079 --> 00:08:23.279 So, how do you think, do you remember like famous verses from the New Testament, how you might fill that in? 00:08:23.439 --> 00:08:24.879 The Son of Man came. 00:08:25.120 --> 00:08:31.199 There's actually three main ways that you could fill that in, and a couple of them might immediately come to mind. 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:35.200 The first two uh kind of speak to why Jesus came. 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:43.279 The first famous one is uh Luke 19, 10, and it said, The Son of Man came to seek and save those who were lost. 00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:44.799 That's why he came. 00:08:45.039 --> 00:08:53.600 The second one, the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. 00:08:54.080 --> 00:08:55.360 That's why he came. 00:08:55.679 --> 00:09:04.960 But the third famous way you could answer that and fill in that sentence from Scripture that you might not think of intuitively, is from Luke 7.34. 00:09:05.519 --> 00:09:08.720 The Son of Man came eating and drinking. 00:09:09.679 --> 00:09:24.720 And so that was his his chosen way of doing ministry, you know, around a table in the homes of his his new friends and attending a party and having these feasts, and this really got under the skin of the religious establishment of the Pharisees. 00:09:24.879 --> 00:09:27.279 And so they came at Jesus here in Luke. 00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:31.679 So this is Luke 15 that we're gonna read, and we'll start uh in verse 1. 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:37.759 So the tax collectors and other notorious sinners came to listen to Jesus teach. 00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:45.679 And this made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people, even eating with them. 00:09:46.080 --> 00:09:48.000 So Jesus told them this story. 00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:52.159 If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? 00:09:52.399 --> 00:09:58.639 Won't he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 00:09:58.879 --> 00:10:02.960 And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:10.960 And when he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep. 00:10:11.200 --> 00:10:21.519 And in the same way, there's more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over 99 others who are righteous and haven't strayed away. 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:30.559 So maybe it's just me, but when I when I hear that parable, I kind of think that the shepherd is a little crazy or a little reckless. 00:10:30.720 --> 00:10:37.120 He's leaving 99 of his sheep unprotected in the wilderness while he goes to search for the one. 00:10:37.600 --> 00:10:51.519 And notice in the parable that Jesus gives, he does not say that the shepherd leaves his sheep for strategically six minutes and he starts a timer, or however long he can responsibly risk the safety of these 99 to find this one. 00:10:51.840 --> 00:10:56.159 It just says he goes to find this one until he's found. 00:10:56.480 --> 00:10:59.840 Losing this one sheep is not an option. 00:11:00.080 --> 00:11:06.480 So, on one hand, you know, it's it's heartwarming that the shepherd wants to find this one lost sheep. 00:11:06.960 --> 00:11:12.720 But on the other hand, he doesn't he have this responsibility and isn't this responsibility being stretched to its limits? 00:11:12.960 --> 00:11:14.720 So maybe a little bit reckless. 00:11:14.960 --> 00:11:20.720 But then when he finally finds the sheep and brings them back, he becomes not only reckless, but maybe a little extravagant. 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:27.440 Because this calls up his friends and throws a party to celebrate this one sheep that has been found. 00:11:28.399 --> 00:11:34.240 I always like to imagine that the parable actually ends with the shepherd killing one of the sheep to serve at the party. 00:11:34.399 --> 00:11:40.639 And he's like, Yay! And then he does the math and goes, Oh man, that's totally, totally didn't work out. 00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:43.519 Some of you are gonna think about that later. 00:11:43.759 --> 00:11:47.039 The parable ends with this remarkable statement. 00:11:47.279 --> 00:11:56.960 It says, There's more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over 99 others who are righteous and haven't strayed away. 00:11:58.080 --> 00:12:00.000 So who's the shepherd in the illustration? 00:12:00.159 --> 00:12:07.200 I mean, the shepherd is Jesus, but the shepherd is really God the Father, because to see Jesus is to perfectly see the Father. 00:12:07.360 --> 00:12:08.320 That's the principle. 00:12:08.480 --> 00:12:13.279 So God the Father finds this lost sheep, puts them on his shoulders, and carries them back. 00:12:13.759 --> 00:12:20.720 So this joy that erupts before the throne of God that Jesus describes, is this just the angels rejoicing? 00:12:21.679 --> 00:12:24.799 Or is this God the Father that starts the party? 00:12:25.039 --> 00:12:34.399 God the Father that is rejoices first, and he's the one that calls up his friends, the angels and us, to celebrate this lost sheep that is found. 00:12:34.639 --> 00:12:42.720 So that's the principle here that is so striking for Jesus: that God the Father is the one that starts the party and is full of joy. 00:12:43.519 --> 00:12:46.879 So then Jesus moves on to the second parable. 00:12:47.279 --> 00:12:50.960 Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. 00:12:51.200 --> 00:12:56.159 Won't she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? 00:12:56.320 --> 00:13:04.559 And when she finds it, she'll call in her friends and neighbors and say, Rejoice with me because I've lost my lost coin, found my lost coin. 00:13:04.799 --> 00:13:10.879 And in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God's angels when even one sinner repents. 00:13:12.159 --> 00:13:18.159 So, similar kind of structure here, something's lost, and then it's found, and then this impromptu party erupts. 00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:25.279 And the second parable seems to highlight maybe the diligence and the patience of God in searching after us. 00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:29.120 He's not going to leave any stone unturned until we're found. 00:13:29.440 --> 00:13:32.559 He will sweep the house until we're found. 00:13:34.080 --> 00:13:40.159 And it's kind of like my joke a second ago, when the shepherd would sacrifice one of the sheep at the party. 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:47.679 That concept is maybe even a little bit operative here because she finds this lost coin, which is a silver coin. 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:49.840 It's a drachma in the original language. 00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:52.720 So it's equivalent to like a day's wage. 00:13:52.960 --> 00:13:58.399 So to celebrate the lost day's wage that she finds, she throws a party. 00:13:58.639 --> 00:14:02.960 And we, as we all know, entertaining can have its own expenses associated with it. 00:14:03.120 --> 00:14:08.159 So potentially she's spending a bit of money to celebrate the money that she's recovered. 00:14:08.399 --> 00:14:12.559 So it's extravagant, maybe even a little bit reckless. 00:14:12.960 --> 00:14:14.240 Similar kind of concept. 00:14:14.399 --> 00:14:18.480 So this whole time, both of these parables, Jesus is kind of framing them. 00:14:18.720 --> 00:14:34.240 So you say on one hand, it's heartwarming that this gal goes and finds her lost coin, but the audience is sort of cast on the outside, looking in, making a judgment potentially on this, and saying, Well, that's great, but shouldn't we kind of keep this in check? 00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:37.279 And is it really party time? 00:14:38.320 --> 00:14:43.039 So this brings us to the famous third parable, and that's the parable of the prodigal son. 00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:49.440 And like I teased earlier, this is a parable about probably a late teenage boy and his older brother. 00:14:49.679 --> 00:14:54.559 But this one is a little bit different because there actually is a father character in this story. 00:14:54.639 --> 00:14:57.679 Uh, so maybe the allegory is a little easier to see. 00:14:58.000 --> 00:14:59.919 But uh, so we'll move into this one. 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:03.600 This is right after this, also in Luke chapter 15. 00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:14.480 But keep in mind as we read this, we'll do it in two sections, uh, that the father character in this story is going to respond in much the same way as the shepherd and the woman just did. 00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:19.360 So, to illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story. 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:20.960 A man had two sons. 00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:25.600 The younger son told his father, I want my share of your estate now before you die. 00:15:25.840 --> 00:15:29.360 And so his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. 00:15:29.679 --> 00:15:38.159 A few days later, this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:43.200 And about the time the money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 00:15:43.360 --> 00:15:48.799 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 00:15:48.960 --> 00:15:56.000 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him, but no one gave him anything. 00:15:56.159 --> 00:16:05.360 And when he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am, dying of hunger. 00:16:05.600 --> 00:16:16.159 I will go home to my father and say, Father, I've sinned against both heaven and you, and I'm no longer worthy to be called your son, so please take me back as a hired servant. 00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:35.200 So he returned home to his father, and while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming, and filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him, and his son said, his son said to him, Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. 00:16:36.080 --> 00:16:46.879 But his father said to the servants, Quick, bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him, get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet, and kill the calf that we've been fattening. 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:52.799 We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and is now returned to life. 00:16:53.039 --> 00:16:55.440 He was lost, but now he is found. 00:16:55.759 --> 00:16:57.840 And so the party began. 00:16:58.879 --> 00:17:06.400 So this young son, probably late teens, he demands in advance of his father's death his portion of the inheritance. 00:17:06.960 --> 00:17:12.880 So if this followed typical like Jewish law, the younger son would be given half the portion of the older son. 00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:16.880 So he's demanding his third right now before his dad died. 00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:27.279 And the older son probably could have been given his portion of the estate at that point too, but apparently he elects to stay at home and leave it under his dad as long as he's alive. 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:32.079 So he runs off to a far country and loses all the wealth. 00:17:32.319 --> 00:17:35.039 And we don't really have any details on how he lost it. 00:17:35.839 --> 00:17:40.079 He probably met some people that were more than willing to help him spend the money. 00:17:40.319 --> 00:17:45.039 But it's probably some of his initial reckless spending that kind of attracted this crowd, right? 00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:46.960 So I'm imagining here. 00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:55.680 But imagine he walks into a marketplace and he sees some jewelry and he says, Well, I need to have that ring, and I'm gonna buy that. 00:17:56.079 --> 00:17:56.880 I'm rich now. 00:17:57.039 --> 00:18:01.759 So he buys the ring, and then he says, Well, I need to have some fancy clothes, so I'm gonna buy a robe. 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:05.680 And not just any robe, I'm gonna buy the nicest robe I can find. 00:18:05.920 --> 00:18:14.640 And if I have a nice robe, I need some nice shoes, he buys some sandals, and then he says, I need to eat really well, and so he buys the finest meal and has it prepared. 00:18:14.880 --> 00:18:17.519 And pretty soon he's spent all the money. 00:18:17.759 --> 00:18:19.759 And it's the worst possible time to be poor. 00:18:19.920 --> 00:18:28.000 A famine hits, and so pretty soon he's begging and he's feeding pigs, the ultimate low in Jewish culture. 00:18:28.319 --> 00:18:31.920 So he comes to his senses and decides, I'm gonna go back home. 00:18:32.160 --> 00:18:36.880 And he rehearses this three-part repentance speech that he's gonna give to his dad. 00:18:37.039 --> 00:18:38.880 He says, This is what I'm gonna say. 00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:42.960 Number one, Dad, I've sinned against both heaven and you. 00:18:43.279 --> 00:18:47.039 Number two, I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. 00:18:47.279 --> 00:18:53.359 So number three, will you please have me back as just a hired servant? 00:18:53.680 --> 00:19:03.519 So he comes back and makes this long journey home, and when he's still a far way off, his father sees him and runs to him and greets him. 00:19:03.759 --> 00:19:11.039 Before the son has ever spoken a word of his repentance, the father has already all already showered him with kindness. 00:19:11.599 --> 00:19:20.400 So the son launches into his three-part speech, and he says, Number one, dad, I've sinned against both heaven and you. 00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:24.880 Number two, I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. 00:19:25.359 --> 00:19:27.200 And then the dad interrupts him. 00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:31.279 So the son can't even make it to this third part of his request. 00:19:31.359 --> 00:19:34.319 You know, you will please have me back as a hired servant. 00:19:34.559 --> 00:19:42.400 It's like the father stops him right there and says, Did I just hear you say that you're no longer worthy to be called my son? 00:19:42.880 --> 00:19:44.880 You absolutely are my son. 00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:48.400 And about that point, there can be no doubt. 00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:52.160 So then, look what the father does. 00:19:52.480 --> 00:19:58.319 He says, Have the finest ring placed on his finger, the finest robe placed on him. 00:19:58.480 --> 00:20:01.279 Not just any robe, the finest one that you can find. 00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:09.039 And have sandals put on his feet and go kill the fatted calf, and that is the finest meal that we can have. 00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:11.119 And they have this feast. 00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:12.960 So, did you notice that? 00:20:13.200 --> 00:20:20.480 Wasn't this some of the same type of extravagant spending that got the young son into trouble in the first place? 00:20:20.720 --> 00:20:22.160 What's the difference? 00:20:22.960 --> 00:20:30.799 Well, obviously, in this case, you know, the father is, he's not truly reckless because he has great purpose to this, he can spend his wealth however he wants. 00:20:30.960 --> 00:20:51.519 But you've got on one hand, I mean, imagine you're the older brother, you've got the son that's trying to prove himself to the world in the far far country with this reckless type of spending, and then now the dad has this reckless spending to try to prove to the world that this is my son and prove to him that is truly his value. 00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:57.200 So that's that's the perspective we see in this this older son in the next part of the story. 00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:05.759 But before I get to that, um do you remember, or have you ever looked it up, what the what the meaning of the word prodigal is? 00:21:06.079 --> 00:21:09.440 We hear that and we always associate it with this parable. 00:21:09.839 --> 00:21:21.039 But the word prodigal, when I looked this up, it does not actually have anything to do with being uh disrespectful or robbing or running off to a far country. 00:21:21.279 --> 00:21:24.400 All of that is just kind of brought with the association of the story. 00:21:24.559 --> 00:21:26.960 We associate that with the younger son. 00:21:27.279 --> 00:21:30.319 But the word prodigal, you know, it's an English word. 00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:34.079 We get this from the translation, Jesus didn't didn't say prodigal. 00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:38.799 Prodigal simply means reckless extravagance. 00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:40.640 Reckless extravagance. 00:21:40.799 --> 00:21:42.640 That's why I keep using that phrase. 00:21:42.880 --> 00:21:45.200 So it's it's in relation to your spending. 00:21:45.359 --> 00:21:47.039 It's an objective kind of term. 00:21:47.200 --> 00:21:58.799 Like if you're on the outside looking in on someone else's spending habits, then you would look at it and say, that seems a little extravagant, maybe even extravagant to the point of being reckless. 00:21:59.039 --> 00:21:59.759 So, like the example. 00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:08.319 Sentence I saw in the dictionary is uh like my prodigal daughter always spends her entire uh allowance the moment she gets it. 00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:15.759 So if that's what prodigal means, why do we call this parable the parable of the prodigal son? 00:22:16.319 --> 00:22:21.920 Because you can make the argument, I think, that it is the father that is just as prodigal, maybe even more so. 00:22:22.079 --> 00:22:31.039 He's prodigal in his lavish forgiveness that he gives his son, who clearly doesn't deserve it, and even admits that he doesn't deserve it. 00:22:31.839 --> 00:22:36.319 So, what is this difference between between these two? 00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:37.839 The prodigal father. 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:42.079 Totally lost my place here. 00:22:42.319 --> 00:22:49.599 Okay, so let's go into the second part where we talk about the uh perspective of the older brother. 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:58.799 So, meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working, and when he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, and he asked one of the servants what was going on. 00:22:59.359 --> 00:23:06.160 Your brother's back, he was told, and your father has killed the fatted calf, and we're celebrating because of his safe return. 00:23:06.960 --> 00:23:19.519 The older brother was angry and wouldn't go in, and his father came out and begged him, and he replied, all those years I've slaved for you, and never once refused to do a single thing that you told me to. 00:23:20.079 --> 00:23:20.640 Yeah, right. 00:23:20.880 --> 00:23:25.759 And in all that time, you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. 00:23:26.079 --> 00:23:33.119 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fatted calf. 00:23:33.920 --> 00:23:41.359 And his father said to him, Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. 00:23:41.839 --> 00:23:43.839 We had to celebrate this happy day. 00:23:44.240 --> 00:23:46.720 For your brother was dead and has come back to life. 00:23:47.119 --> 00:23:49.839 He was lost, but now he is found. 00:23:51.920 --> 00:24:03.920 So in the earlier two stories, Jesus kind of frames them so that the audience is always kind of on the outside looking in, with maybe this perspective of okay, that's heartwarming, the sheep is found, he found the coin. 00:24:04.319 --> 00:24:06.160 But really, is this responsible? 00:24:06.240 --> 00:24:07.519 Let's keep this in check. 00:24:07.759 --> 00:24:09.119 Is it really party time? 00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:10.240 We have to throw a party. 00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:18.400 And in this third parable, Jesus cleverly uh takes the the audience and weaves them into the story as an actual character. 00:24:18.880 --> 00:24:22.480 So in Jesus' case, it's the Pharisees that are making this argument. 00:24:22.559 --> 00:24:24.960 They're the the muttering people on the outside. 00:24:25.119 --> 00:24:28.000 So in the parable, they are this older brother. 00:24:28.640 --> 00:24:37.599 So they uh so he's in a sense he's coming to them as the father and begging them to come join him in his joy. 00:24:38.880 --> 00:24:43.279 So notice that both sons in the story thought of themselves as slaves. 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:47.359 The older son just didn't need to leave the ranch to come to that conclusion. 00:24:47.680 --> 00:24:51.599 You know, his attitude is I've been a slave for years. 00:24:52.079 --> 00:24:53.680 I've always been a slave for you. 00:24:54.160 --> 00:25:00.400 And both sons refused to join the party, at least at first, that started from the joy of the father. 00:25:01.200 --> 00:25:05.440 The younger son didn't join the party initially because he didn't think he deserved it. 00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:10.240 You know, my my place is in the slave quarters, surely dad's mad at me. 00:25:10.960 --> 00:25:16.160 And the older son, he didn't join the party because he didn't think anybody should have a party. 00:25:16.480 --> 00:25:20.880 He just like categorically, that's not the kind of thing that we responsible people do. 00:25:21.519 --> 00:25:27.920 Or if he really wanted a party uh secretly, he was afraid to ever ask for that from his dad. 00:25:28.319 --> 00:25:31.759 Even though from the dad's perspective, he already owned everything. 00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:33.599 And he certainly could have done that. 00:25:34.960 --> 00:25:39.519 But from the father's perspective, his joy is targeted at just one thing. 00:25:40.079 --> 00:25:42.480 He wants to be at home with his kids. 00:25:42.880 --> 00:25:45.200 He wants them to be there with him. 00:25:46.400 --> 00:25:49.200 So it's you know, it's certainly possible to be around somebody. 00:25:49.279 --> 00:25:56.720 You don't have to travel thousands of miles away to not really know somebody that's right under your nose, to not even know your dad. 00:25:58.400 --> 00:26:05.200 Uh this is this will be a really silly illustration of a serious point, but just follow me here, it'll make sense in the end. 00:26:05.920 --> 00:26:07.519 Uh this was even longer. 00:26:07.599 --> 00:26:11.279 Uh I guess I was probably 20, 21 years old, something like that. 00:26:11.440 --> 00:26:13.279 And I was having lunch with my dad. 00:26:13.599 --> 00:26:14.799 Uh we were at McDonald's. 00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:17.920 Actually, this mc McDonald's up here on 92. 00:26:18.559 --> 00:26:21.359 Uh back when it used to be decorated as a 50s diner. 00:26:21.680 --> 00:26:22.240 You remember that? 00:26:22.880 --> 00:26:24.079 So it's just the two of us. 00:26:24.160 --> 00:26:28.640 We're having lunch at McDonald's, and uh we've got this small table right by the window. 00:26:29.039 --> 00:26:34.720 And I had ordered my my regular combo, you know, two burger fries and a drink. 00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:38.480 My dad had ordered, I think, just a burger and a drink. 00:26:38.960 --> 00:26:41.920 So we're we're talking here and the meal's winding down. 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:46.480 We've both eaten our burgers, and the only thing that's left my French fries in the middle. 00:26:47.920 --> 00:26:49.200 You can see where this is going. 00:26:49.759 --> 00:26:55.599 As we're talking, I noticed that my dad, he's he's starting to just steal some of my French fries and blatantly eat them. 00:26:57.119 --> 00:26:59.599 Totally irrelevant that my dad probably paid for lunch. 00:26:59.839 --> 00:27:02.400 These are my these are my fries. 00:27:02.799 --> 00:27:05.359 I'm a very mature 21-year-old here. 00:27:06.400 --> 00:27:06.880 Sad. 00:27:07.519 --> 00:27:13.920 And so I just, yeah, I don't know what I'm supposed to do here, so I start to eat more quickly to diminish his supply. 00:27:14.559 --> 00:27:17.839 And that doesn't work, he just increases his rate of stealing. 00:27:18.559 --> 00:27:22.240 And so I'm desperate, so I decide, okay, well, I'm just gonna bring it up in conversation. 00:27:22.319 --> 00:27:24.720 I'm just gonna make a joke of this, and we're gonna see. 00:27:24.960 --> 00:27:26.240 I must have been really hungry. 00:27:26.400 --> 00:27:30.319 So I say, Dad, what, you just gonna eat my fries? 00:27:31.119 --> 00:27:37.519 And to this he responds immediately, and I can't quite tell at first if he's joking or not. 00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:45.680 He just leans in and he says, Son, if you not understand I could drown you with French fries. 00:27:47.440 --> 00:27:48.799 And that was my response too. 00:27:48.960 --> 00:27:51.279 Y'all are perfect, y'all are perfect. 00:27:52.000 --> 00:28:00.720 I at first I was like, okay, my dad just made a quirky joke, he was quirky like that, but then I started to think about it, and I'm like, I said to him, I said, Back up. 00:28:01.519 --> 00:28:28.880 Wait, are you trying to tell me, you know, I'm an adult now and I'm looking back on my childhood all of a sudden, and are you trying to tell me that all those years of us going to McDonald's, just you and I, and having these combo meals, and you blatantly stealing my fries, robbing me of one of the things that I love most in life, that all that time, if I had simply requested a second set of fries that we could share, you would have bought more fries. 00:28:29.680 --> 00:28:32.720 And he said, Well, I don't see why not. 00:28:32.880 --> 00:28:34.559 Uh I just enjoy talking with you. 00:28:34.720 --> 00:28:36.799 I'm gonna go get some more fries right now. 00:28:37.519 --> 00:28:39.519 And I just sat there in shock. 00:28:40.240 --> 00:28:53.680 Like, it's such a sad, sad loss, you know, a sad loss of all those delicious fries, all those years that I thought I knew my dad, and then this great truth is revealed. 00:28:54.640 --> 00:29:01.119 So it's possible to be around for somebody for years, but not really know what they're like. 00:29:02.240 --> 00:29:10.480 There is uh there's a great verse in the Old Testament, uh, I didn't put this up on the screen, but it says, the joy of the Lord will be your strength. 00:29:11.359 --> 00:29:13.759 And we say we actually sing that in a lot of worship songs. 00:29:13.839 --> 00:29:15.680 I've I've sang that for years. 00:29:16.480 --> 00:29:18.400 But the joy of the Lord will be your strength. 00:29:18.480 --> 00:29:28.240 It's real easy to kind of imagine that to mean the joy that we have or we bring to before God will strengthen us because it's a good thing, or something like that. 00:29:28.960 --> 00:29:31.119 But that's really not the context of that verse at all. 00:29:31.440 --> 00:29:32.960 The joy of the Lord will be your strength. 00:29:33.039 --> 00:29:43.759 It's from Nehemiah, and real quick, the story behind that is the nation of Israel has been in captivity and they finally come home, a few of them, to Jerusalem. 00:29:44.160 --> 00:29:55.359 And this remnant, one of the things that they lost when they're in exile, was their exposure to uh the books of the law, the books of Moses, the first five books of the Bible that they had. 00:29:55.680 --> 00:29:58.640 And so Ezra the prophet knows this. 00:29:58.960 --> 00:30:11.599 So he assembles all the people, and they're standing before him, thousands of people, and he stands on this large wooden platform that's been built just for this purpose, and he reads the books of the law, and for hours he reads. 00:30:12.480 --> 00:30:25.279 And the response of the people to all of this is absolute weeping before God, and they're mourning because they listen and they're they must be thinking, we have messed this up in so many different ways. 00:30:25.920 --> 00:30:29.839 And the response of Ezra and also Nehemiah too is surprising. 00:30:30.079 --> 00:30:34.880 From from up here on this wooden platform, he stops them all and says, No. 00:30:35.440 --> 00:30:40.960 Because I'm hearing from God now as the prophet, and God says, This is not a day for mourning. 00:30:41.359 --> 00:30:48.160 He says, This is a day for rejoicing, because I, the only one in the room, I have great joy today. 00:30:48.480 --> 00:30:54.960 Because my kids have come home, and I am at home with them, and so this should be a day of rejoicing. 00:30:55.279 --> 00:31:00.480 And it's at this point that Ezra commands them from God to throw a party. 00:31:01.279 --> 00:31:12.880 And there should be food and drink and gifts, and the people go and do this, and Ezra explains and he says, I know you're weeping right now, but let the joy of the Lord be your strength. 00:31:13.759 --> 00:31:18.000 And so that's what we have to take from this that the party starts with him. 00:31:18.880 --> 00:31:26.640 The joy begins with the Father before the throne of God, and then it infects everyone around there. 00:31:27.200 --> 00:31:47.759 So when you're not strong, when when your every instinct is just to take selfish fear and cower before God and call that righteousness, and just assume that must be the response that he wants, and there's really no sense in even talking to him about it, then at that moment let his joy be your strength, and then it will change from there. 00:31:48.559 --> 00:31:53.680 But you know, for so many of us, this isn't this isn't the father that we're really familiar with. 00:31:54.799 --> 00:31:56.640 Worship team if you want to start coming up. 00:31:57.039 --> 00:32:08.720 For so many of us, the father that we think we deserve is instead the father that would say, you know, I think you've run off for the last time. 00:32:09.119 --> 00:32:14.079 And so this is gonna be an awkward conversation, but I don't think this is really the right sheet pen for you. 00:32:14.400 --> 00:32:15.920 I'm gonna have to let you go. 00:32:16.319 --> 00:32:19.759 I think it might be wise for you to start looking around for another shepherd. 00:32:20.640 --> 00:32:40.480 Or the dad we think we deserve is the one that would say, you know, daughter, if you get yourself lost one more time, especially in some frustrating kind of way, like a a coin lost down in the air conditioning grade and into one of those dusty return ducks, then you have to understand at some point that it's just not worth it. 00:32:41.440 --> 00:32:43.119 You just aren't worth the time. 00:32:44.160 --> 00:33:04.880 Or the dad we think we deserve is the one that would say, son, if within a couple weeks of me try finally trusting you with power of attorney, you take a third of my 401k and take it all out and fly to Vegas and lose it all in a couple half drunk rounds of blackjack, I'm sorry. 00:33:05.200 --> 00:33:08.319 But you know, Thanksgiving dinners from now on are gonna be awkward. 00:33:08.960 --> 00:33:10.000 That's on you. 00:33:10.720 --> 00:33:16.160 And if you don't even make it home for the holidays this year, then I'm not sure that's really such a bad thing. 00:33:17.039 --> 00:33:19.440 Now that's the father that we think we deserve. 00:33:19.920 --> 00:33:24.160 That's the God that we can wrap our heads around and just make sense. 00:33:24.319 --> 00:33:27.440 That's the God that is not extravagant and reckless. 00:33:28.079 --> 00:33:30.240 But God's love for us is perfect. 00:33:30.880 --> 00:33:32.480 It's perfect, but we're not. 00:33:32.720 --> 00:33:34.559 So we can't fully understand it. 00:33:34.799 --> 00:33:47.039 So our action, our action item in this is just to step into his joy, step into his love, not to try to stand on the side and justify it or even fully explain it. 00:33:48.240 --> 00:33:49.119 God loves you. 00:33:49.759 --> 00:33:55.680 Don't twist that into God loves me, but dot dot dot. 00:33:56.079 --> 00:33:56.799 There's no but. 00:33:57.599 --> 00:33:58.960 God the Father loves you. 00:33:59.279 --> 00:34:03.039 Because it's at that moment, y'all stand up, we're gonna sing one more song here. 00:34:03.519 --> 00:34:14.559 It's at that moment when we are at home with God, when we make our home with him, that God possesses what for him, amazingly, is of most value. 00:34:14.800 --> 00:34:16.400 That pearl of great price. 00:34:19.360 --> 00:34:34.559 And at that moment, you know, all the other things that seemed important, uh, all the other work still to be done in the fields, and all the robes and rings and sandals that need to be replaced, and the new calf that needs to be chosen for refattening, it's unimportant. 00:34:35.199 --> 00:34:36.800 You have to hear that for yourself. 00:34:37.920 --> 00:34:48.079 You gotta boldly go into that party and corner him in one of those small tables in the back and just pull up a chair and ask him. 00:34:48.719 --> 00:34:54.480 And you'll probably start by saying something like, you know, Dad, is there any grace that you could give me? 00:34:54.639 --> 00:34:59.199 I've done so much and I've squandered so much, and he's gonna interrupt you right there. 00:34:59.599 --> 00:35:03.679 And he's gonna say, This smile erupts on his face. 00:35:04.159 --> 00:35:08.400 One of those smiles that's just all in the eyes and can't be faked. 00:35:08.719 --> 00:35:14.800 And he says, Son, daughter, don't you understand I could drown you with grace? 00:35:15.519 --> 00:35:16.719 I already have. 00:35:17.440 --> 00:35:19.840 You are the reason that I threw this party. 00:35:20.239 --> 00:35:29.920 And so our action item is to stop telling our dad when he should be happy, especially when the reason that he's so joyful is us, is you. 00:35:30.800 --> 00:35:33.440 So we're all invited to his party. 00:35:34.320 --> 00:35:35.440