First Love Church
These podcasts are messages that were preached at First Love Church in Ocala, Florida. We hope that you are encouraged and inspired by what you hear. We are a non denominational, egalitarian church that practices a generous orthodoxy. Find out more about our local congregation online at firstlovechurch.org.
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First Love Church
The Prodigal Path Home
What happens when we shift from being the grateful recipient of grace to becoming its gatekeeper? In this profound exploration of Jesus' parable of the father with two sons, we discover that this isn't simply a story about a prodigal returning home—it's about two different ways we can miss the heart of God.
The religious leaders criticized Jesus for welcoming "notorious sinners" to his teachings. In response, Jesus tells three parables about God's pursuit of the lost, culminating in this story of a father with two sons. We witness the younger son's journey from rebellion to "coming to himself" in humility, and the father's extraordinary response—running to meet him, restoring his sonship, and throwing a celebration.
But the story doesn't end with this beautiful reconciliation. The older son, dutiful and obedient, refuses to join the celebration. His complaint reveals a heart that has reduced relationship to transaction, sonship to servitude. The father's response is just as gracious to him: "Everything I have is yours"—yet the invitation to join the feast remains open-ended.
This challenges us to examine where we stand. Many of us begin our faith journey grateful for grace like the younger son, only to gradually transform into the older brother—judging those we deem less worthy of God's favor. During Lent, we're invited to replace grumbling with gratitude, judgment with joy, and to recognize that God's grace extends beyond our comfort zones.
The question Jesus leaves unanswered becomes ours to answer with our lives: Will you join the celebration? Will you allow the father's love to center you? The hope of the world depends on our willingness to enter the feast where there's music and dancing, celebrating every time someone finds their way home.
This podcast is made possible, thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would like to support the ongoing work of First Love Church you can donate at https://www.firstlovechurch.org/giving
In the service of LOVE,
Pastors Dennis and Heather Drake
Welcome to the First Love Church Podcast. This is a collection of Sunday teachings inspired by the Revised Common Lectionary and recorded weekly in Ocala, Florida.
Speaker 3:I want to read this morning to you from 2 Corinthians, chapter 5, in this fourth Sunday of Lent. Because of this decision, we don't evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and we got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don't look at him that way anymore Now we look inside and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone, the new life. Virgins look at it.
Speaker 3:All of this comes from the God, who settled the relationship between us and him, and then he called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins, and God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We are Christ representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them. We are speaking for Christ himself. Now become friends with God. He's already a friend with you.
Speaker 3:How you ask in Christ, god put the wrong on him, who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God. What a beautiful hope, and I love this invitation, that it's our responsibility to tell people what God is up to. And I want to tell you, in case you didn't remember God is up to good. God is up to restoring beauty and making things new. In John, chapter 3, the scripture tells us this that God so loved the world that God sent Jesus, his one and only beloved son, so that anyone who believed in him might not perish but have eternal life. Because God did not send Jesus into the world to condemn the world, but that the world, through Jesus, might be saved. God is up to saving the world. God is up to offering a salvation, offering a joy, offering a renewal and telling us all come home, come to the table.
Speaker 2:I'd like to remind you something, too, that the scripture just reminded you and I that we're representatives of Christ, not of the Bible, and I find that a lot of times, christians have trouble because they're arguing the Bible with people, and it didn't ask you to defend them. God doesn't need your defense. Did you ever think about that for a second? And so we tend to. You know people. Well, I don't believe the Bible. Well, you're going to hell if you don't. You start yelling at people. It's like what are you doing? We were called to be a representative of Christ, and so that is called to share love, remind them of forgiveness and grace. Grace, that's what we're to represent. And and oftentimes, uh, we will take a doctrine that we or someone else has pulled uh, man has pulled out of scripture, and we defend that thing to the death as if it is god.
Speaker 2:It was an idea you had, based on something you or someone else read, and we're defending that and arguing. Sometimes. I think that maybe, if we would just maybe say a little bit less of that and a little bit more of the representing of Christ, I believe your witness would be a lot more effective. I think your influence on people would be greater. I'm not suggesting that we just surrender all of the things that we believe to heathens, but I'm just saying that, while we maintain our own convictions, it's not your responsibility to convict the world of sin. It turns out that's the job of the Holy Spirit. Oh yeah, my job is to be a representative of Christ, and that's a tough one because the conviction one that sounds fun and the arguing oh, I'll take a good argument anytime and we tend to maybe derail what our purpose is, and so we wonder why we're not effective.
Speaker 3:You set us up for the lectionary reading today and the intention that we see. And I remind you of this truth if it ever gets murky for you, the written word must always bow to the living word. The living word is Christ, and that is the way to the Father. Jesus is the way to the Father. Jesus in fact said I am the way, I am the truth and I am the life. And when you represent Christ to someone, when you behave like Christ did to someone, you are reminding them that there is a way home, that there is a way back to God, back to love, and to return to love as quickly as possible.
Speaker 3:So we read to you this morning in Luke's gospel, and I read you'll find it in just a minute Many dishonest tax collectors. They had dishonest tax collectors in that time. I just you. So open your holy imagination with me, just imagine, like, expand a little bit and think what that may have been like. And other notorious sinners do have to love that. They're calling them notorious sinners, since we're all sinners. There's some notoriety around what these people are doing, and so I love this idea too.
Speaker 3:Again, in hearing the text, in allowing it to form us Now the text is to us a witness of who Jesus is, and this is Luke's gospel and he's telling us something here. They've gathered around to listen as Jesus taught. The people Pay attention to that. Jesus's teachings do cause people to have interest, to be curious, because they're different than the other teachings. They're different than the way other people taught the scripture. So Jesus began to teach them and the people in charge raised concern. I just like the way that that was written. These are notorious sinners and dishonest tax collectors and we're simply raising a concern because we are good and they are not. Do you hear this kind of language where we begin to separate ourselves and say it's us and them? And so I remind you of who Jesus is and what the gift is today. I was blessed this week by someone in their leaving and they leaned over to hug me and bless me and they said I bless you, I bless your family and I bless your enemies. And I thought to myself no one has blessed my enemies before and I loved it with my whole heart. I hope you will do that to people. I hope that you will bless them, bless their families and bless their enemies, because that's the way to change the world. Beloved Jesus told us this that we are to pray for people that we disagree with, that. We are to bless people that we disagree with that. There is an invitation into so much more. But these particular folks raised concern with the Jewish leaders and the experts in the law. Indignant, they grumbled and complained. Look at how this man associates with all these notorious sinners and welcomes them all to come to him. Now, what they were absolutely concerned with is a separation. If you don't keep yourself separate from those people, you may become like them, and this is the invitation.
Speaker 3:This is where we're set up in the story, and I want to remind you about a few things. On a particular Sunday, we don't get to read all of the portions of this, but hopefully it will inspire you, the Holy Spirit will direct you and you'll go home and read this some more. So Jesus has an answer to this. He knows what people are saying, but in this particular Sunday morning, we don't get to read the whole answer. I hope you will go home and I hope that you will read it as much as you will also read Isaiah, chapter 58 again. This is the hope for us during Lent that what God wants will be so formed in us by that repetition and by that reflection that we'll be a people who live like Jesus is living like Jesus in our stead.
Speaker 3:We had someone once ask us a question because we were talking about how do we really fulfill the Great Commission? What does it look like to be people filled with God and filled with love? And they said just imagine if Jesus came to you in the morning and said it's okay, you stay in bed, I'll do all of your things today. What if Jesus made breakfast for your family? What if Jesus went to work for you? What if Jesus took your neighbor's garbage cans in? What if Jesus was in the car instead of you and then he said this? And then, at the end of the day, would anyone notice that it was not you? Because that's our intention to live. Go through this life as if Jesus were living it Our hands, our feet, our creativity, our love offered to the world.
Speaker 2:I want to interject something because you know, when you ask us to do something like that, you know I think sometimes we're half inspired and half aggravated that you're asking us to do more stuff, like pastors are standing up here asking you to do more stuff. You already do so much. But I wonder if you realize these things that we're asking you to do would be like my neighbor has a rescued fighting dog right behind our house rescued fighting dog right behind our house and it would be like me saying, you know what? I'm trying to refrain from reaching my hand over the fence and having that dog maul my fingers off. I'm really trying to discipline myself to not do. And you say, yeah, that's a pretty good idea. You should not do that. Let's try to use the season of Lent and let's offer that as a sacrifice. I'm going to stop sticking my hands over the fence. There are things here that we're asking and I don't think you realize how much benefit you have by not sticking your hands over the fence and have your fingers mauled up. We don't really understand what's at stake.
Speaker 2:I've been on this kick for about six months now about really just changing my attitude towards other drivers, and at first it seemed like just this thing that I had to do, and I lost all my enjoyment of being able to tell people what I really think In the privacy of my own car that I paid way too much money for I should have the right to direct traffic and call people whatever names I want to call them. And now I'm being encroached on this time and God is asking something of me and I'm telling you there is a peace in my car and I'm feeling God's presence where I used to just feel anger, and I'm able to allow and it's. My day isn't any longer. My trips aren't any more difficult. I in fact there's something I benefited from stopping sticking my hands over the fence and being mauled, and I'll tell something the power is not only in the transformation of you, but everyone that's around you.
Speaker 2:I was on the phone and I think I shared with you guys that I was with my brother, came and visited and he was driving my car and he was losing it on the, and so I was preaching to my brother the stuff I'm learning and I told him. I said, danny, I treat everyone like they're my brother, so that's you trying to get in there. And he goes well. I'm treating them like you and you're irritating me and you need to get out of my way. I'm like I think you're missing the point, danny. We're good, loving brothers here, but you kind of wonder how that affects people. But I was on the phone with my brother yesterday and he was driving in St Louis and he goes what is this guy doing? He doesn't realize that he's my brother yet and I got to tell you I witnessed a miracle.
Speaker 2:It was a miracle that happened because of influence, because of exposure, because of somebody else's will to allow God to do something in me that benefits me, like God isn't just up there going oh look, I made Dennis have a traffic problem and now he can't even express himself.
Speaker 2:I'm so happy, you know, god's all grateful because I didn't say a cuss word and that offends God's ears. No, it's wanting my heart to change, for me to have a joyful day, for me to walk in the grace of God. But I have to turn loose of some things. But I don't realize the thing I'm turned loose of isn't something that I don't want to stick my hands over the fence. I shouldn't realize the thing I'm turned loose of isn't something that I don't want to stick my hands over the fence. I shouldn't want these things. I don't realize how hurtful they are to me, and so I see this offer in this and when we're talking about this season and things we can give up, realize it's not just some chore so that God can see you work harder, but it's something that, if you will make that effort, will come upon you with such enveloping love and grace and joy.
Speaker 3:I remind you that during the season of Lent and these are the three pillars that Jesus talked about in Matthew, chapter six when we pray, when we fast and when we give the idea of fasting and the ambiguity of it, of what do we decide to give up. And it is not in any way to coerce God to do something for you. It is a practice in surrender of things that are not helpful to us, that are not helpful to our neighbor, that are not helpful to our enemies, and it is a practice. Thomas mentioned this morning that he's giving up grumbling, and I appreciate that so much and I love the fact that he was so very honest to say it doesn't always go as planned, Because very often we have habits that are so much a part of our life that we don't even realize what is happening. And so, by offering it up, and even when you recognize the failure of it, sometimes that's hope enough. The awareness that something is changed or something needs to be off. It's so beautiful. But I remind you that grumbling isn't necessarily always outside talking. That's complaining. Grumbling is this attitude. Sometimes it has a little low moan to it. That is a grumble. It is a low, like a frequency sound, but it is a genuine unhappiness. If someone is close enough, they can feel that frequency coming from you and the invitation is.
Speaker 3:In fact, if you look at the first Testament, God has some things to say about grumbling. That's not the way that he wants any of us to live. There is an invitation to live in peace. There is invitation to live in something else and I think if you will look at these verses there, the people here were complaining and grumbling. This is not right that Jesus is sitting with these people, talking with them. I don't want to see them around here.
Speaker 3:This is the time for serious study. We are people who are devoted to God and to the ways of God, and Jesus, with the way that he's teaching, is letting all of these people just in, and this was their complaint. And so Jesus, in response to this complaint of notorious sinners and tax collectors and people that were outside being allowed to hear the message, to be in the presence of God. I love that. The person this week said to me I want a blessing for your enemies, Because I can't think of a greater blessing for my enemy than the presence of Jesus, Whoever they are, whatever they've done in the presence of Jesus. We see this in Saul, who became Paul the apostle. We see this many times. What our world needs, what we need, what our enemies need, is an invitation to sit in the presence of all loving jesus you know when we talk about these things, and so I just want to.
Speaker 2:You know, we're getting ready to give an illustration and it's reading, just uh, the illustration that jesus gave. So we could do no better. But I want us to uh, uh, see what we can glean from that, because, you know, I think the problem sometimes with our religion is that we get this idea. Okay, you're right, I've got to give up grumbling. But what do I give it up to? Just stop it. Like you said, sometimes habits are so strong that, as willful my intention is to give it up, it still comes back. So there really has to be replacement theology. Heather, and I call it, you find that thing that you're going to do instead, and so I hopefully that in these illustrations, you'll find things that could be practical. Oh, I hear you, lord, I'm going to write that down. That's the thing I'm going to do For me and Heather. We have made gratitude something. That is our intention, and it will absolutely swallow up grumbling and be the replacement that, if you're doing it, you can't do the other. If I'm so busy being grateful, it changes and shifts my spirit, and so I don't stay in that mulligrub, I don't stay negative. I don't stay focused because I've just changed my focus to what I do have and that lightens up and brings joy, and so, if we can make that shift, I had something happen recently.
Speaker 2:There's somebody that is a part of this church, but they they live far away and so they just kind of watched online. But they had contacted me because they were having a legal issue that has been droning on for months and months without any kind of response or any kind of change or whatever. It's just hanging over them. And they called us and said would we pray? And about a week later this individual called me back and said you know, I asked you to pray and we got a response. In fact, the very next day we got a response. It wasn't the response I was looking for. I wanted the green light go ahead. It wasn't the opposite though. The stop it's over, you're sunk. It was just we need a little more information and a little more time. We need a little more information and a little more time.
Speaker 2:And he said to me he goes, you know, for a day or two. I was so disappointed that I didn't get my answer and that wasn't exactly what I wanted. But he didn't say this. But what happened is he shifted into gratitude Because he said to me he goes. I realized I didn't get an answer, a single response, in 10, ten months, but after I had called my friends for prayer is it a coincidence the very next day? If it is, it's a really awesome coincidence, and prayer provides a lot of awesome coincidences a lot of the time. And so go with these awesome coincidences.
Speaker 2:If you consider the benefit, and what happened was he started to meditate on man. I had nothing and I was so stirred and though it wasn't the answer I wanted, now I know at least what next, because for 10 months I had no idea and now I know the next step. So, in rehearsing this gratitude he goes. Then it dawned on me I need to call and encourage the folks that had prayed for me. And so I got that call of an encouragement and it was a place of genuine gratitude and giving God glory. And we tend to, if we don't get the perfect answer, we're still mad. But can you find, on the path to glory, some things to be grateful for? If you learn that habit, it's transformative.
Speaker 3:In the first testament it talks a lot about gratitude. In the second testament it also reminds us of this In everything, give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Let that be an effort that you do for the rest of your life. Find a way in everything to give thanks, not necessarily for everything it doesn't ask us to do that but in everything While you're suffering, for however, it ended up that you're there. In everything, give thanks, because this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Speaker 3:But in response to this grumbling, this accusation against Jesus, jesus gives them this illustration. And then we go to verse 11. And I want to tell you what happened between 3 and 11. Jesus said God is like a shepherd who leaves the 99 and goes after the one. God is like this beautiful, tender shepherd. In fact, in the prophet Isaiah he said the one that you should follow, the Messiah, will lead his flock like a shepherd and he will draw them tenderly to himself and he'll be gentle with those that are with young. And so Jesus is telling the people, they're reminding them. God is like the shepherd. And then Jesus says God is like a woman who has lost a coin and tears up the house until she finds that coin. And when she finds it, she calls her neighbors and they have a party, because what was lost is now found. And then Jesus gives this illustration, and I think it's essential for us, as followers or people who are paying attention to the witness, to not exclude this. It's not an either, or God is as a shepherd, god is as a woman who looks for a coin, god is as a father who has two sons, and this is where we go. I invite you this morning to pay attention to a few things.
Speaker 3:Perhaps you've heard this. In fact, sometimes in our Bibles, over the top of it it'll say this is the story of the prodigal son. That is not true, beloved. This is the story of a father who has two sons. And there are two sons and they are a beautiful invitation for us. And in this metaphor, there is something so powerful about the metaphor and what it offers to us. We listen, for the goodness. I hope that you'll hear an all-loving father tell this part of the story.
Speaker 3:The younger son came to his father and said Father, don't you think it's time to give me your share of the estate that belongs to me? So the father went ahead and distributed among the two sons their inheritance, and shortly afterward the younger son packed up his belongings and traveled off to see the world, and he journeyed to a faraway land where he soon wasted all that he was given in a binge of extravagant and reckless living, with everything spent and nothing left. He grew hungry, for there was a severe famine in the land, and so he begged a farmer in that country to hire him, and the farmer hired him and sent him out to feed the pigs. At this particular point in the story we've heard it so much, it becomes callous to us. But to the story, to the people sitting there, jesus would have lost them. At this point they would have been like no, no, that didn't happen. I mean, we got with metaphor. We're good with sheep, we're good with women finding coins, we're not going with a son who eats with pigs. In fact, many people at that particular time, because of their religion, wouldn't even say the word that they used as pig. And so Jesus began to talk about how far this son had gone and how loving the father actually is. But again, people's the neck, the hairs on their neck would have been up. They would have been in a huff and you know, if there were children around, maybe they were covering their ears like we're not going to talk of this.
Speaker 3:The son was so famished he was willing to eat the slop given to the pigs because no one would feed him a thing. This is a horror like this is a horror story to the people who are sitting there. There's an indictment here on the neighbors and on his brothers and on his countrymen who would not feed him. He was forced to go to the table of the pigs. People would have been again tuning out no, this is not for me. This has nothing to do with God. Because again, here's the very beginning, one of the beginning questions where is your brother? This person is doing without so much and it says because no one would feed him a thing.
Speaker 3:We could all look at that and go well, he should have been getting food for himself. He's an adult, he had the opportunity and he wasted it. I mean we could make up lots of reasons why no one would feed him and again, jesus is clearly indicting the people in this story and saying the reason he had to sit at the table of the pigs was because no one else would feed him a thing. Humiliated, the son finally realized what he was doing and thought and I love in another translation it says when the son came to himself, that is one of the prayers that I pray over myself may I come to myself. May I come to, for whatever illusion I have remembered, whatever kind of amnesia I have suffered, may I come to myself. And he thought there are many workers at my father's house who have all the food they want, with plenty to spare, and they lack for nothing. Why am I here dying of hunger, feeding the pigs and eating their slop?
Speaker 1:We pause here for a moment to thank you for joining us today. If you're finding this episode meaningful, would you take a moment to share it with a friend? This podcast is made possible thanks to the generosity of people just like you. If you would like to support the ongoing work of First Love Church and the continued work of our podcast, visit us online at firstlovechurchorg, reminding you to like, follow and subscribe.
Speaker 2:I think one of the greatest things that God does in our lives, if we'll allow him to, is, through awareness, bring change. And that's kind of the practical thing that I would like for you to consider as a takeaway, because there are things you're struggling with and until you really become aware of how painful they are to others and how they're hurting you, you'll just continue to stay in that place. The problem with awareness is realizing you're naked and you have no way to clothe yourself. You know what I mean. There's such an embarrassment there that humility, you know it's just humiliating. But awareness is, I think, a requirement for transformation.
Speaker 2:I know that there were issues in my life of anger and how it was damaging my children and my wife was profound, but I would swear to you I had no anger problem. Look, I have never, ever struck my wife. I cussed out the family, but I don't get drunk and beat anyone, so I don't have the anger, there's other people. And then when I really became aware that even just to someone who grew up in an abusive home, like my wife did, just raising your voice brings back that recall and it's and it's tormenting and and for my children being so little, they don't know what their dad's gonna do if one minute I'm quiet, the next minute I'm yelling, turning over tables, that that creates an atmosphere of uncertainty. So I didn't realize, you know, because I could say, well, you know, look, I provide for them there. You know about what do they got to complain about? I take him to Disney, yeah, but if I terrify them in the car, ride over because I'm getting out of the car to fight somebody in on the turnpike, you know, but all those I could justify, because I've seen people do worse and I've seen people do a lot worse. So if you can justify, as long as you hang around some super, super bad people, then you're fine.
Speaker 2:And the thing about it is when you actually come to yourself and you say, and you allow yourself to become aware how painful that is and how much you need God. That's when change starts to happen. But it takes awareness and sometimes we would rather just departmentalize and not even consider, and so many people they close doors off in their own minds and in their life. I'm just not even going to deal with that. Yeah, that stuff happened. That's something I'm ashamed of. But you know what? In the grace of God, I'm forgiven and so I'm just moving on and I'm telling you we have to open that door and become aware of how much we need God's intervention in that space and that thing. I'm telling you from personally experiencing it, and we see it over and over this is what scripture is reminding us here, this person, I've become aware of how much I have fallen and where I could be if I would allow God to bring transformation, if I would return home.
Speaker 3:I want to go back home to my father's house and I'll say to him Father, I was wrong, I have sinned against you. Now he begins this particular little idea or thought pattern. He says I have sinned against you. And then he uses an ancient rabbinical prayer and he begins rehearsing what his teachers taught him Father, I have sinned against you and against heaven and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. He begins to say this type of prayer. He said this is what he has. He's practicing how he'll approach his loving father and perhaps win some mercy back. I will never be worthy to be called your son. Please, father, just treat me like one of your employees.
Speaker 3:So the young son set off from home, from a long distance away. His father saw him coming, dressed like a beggar. I love that part. His father saw him coming. I'm telling you, beloved, this is a story of a loving father who is watching for the son to come home. Who is out there waiting, watching for the son to come home. Who is out there waiting for that son to come back, not so that he can repent, not so that he can say he was wrong, but so that he would be back in the father's house.
Speaker 2:His father saw him coming. I just want to interject that I believe that's that place where you know, for much of our lives we feel like we've got to beg God and nothing seems to be happening. And I really believe, with that humility of awareness, it's not a beg at all. I have seen over and over when someone truly repents and truly brings one of those areas of brokenness to God in humility, God is waiting from afar off to come and resolve that thing. It's not going to be.
Speaker 2:I'm telling you because maybe some of you tuned me out, but if there's anybody here that's really listening and going, yeah, there's an area in my life which I'm scared to, but I know I need to bring awareness to. I'm telling you the path, know I need to bring awareness to. I'm telling you that the path is not long like you feel like it might be, or you're going to beg and beg and get no transformation. It's a thing where, once you're really aware of how much you need God, it's that space is made and God will come, fill it and really drive out those things that hinder us from returning home.
Speaker 3:From a long distance away. His father saw him coming dressed as a beggar. I love this about God. No matter how we come, he recognizes us as sons and daughters. It doesn't matter what disguise we have on, what we've decided to wear, we are recognized as beloved children and a great compassion swelled up in his heart. Over and over again, we see this with Jesus, who tells us that our God is merciful, our God is full of compassion, our God is full of empathy toward us. In fact, it is one of the things that Jonah, when Jonah was having a tussle with God, was most upset about. In fact, jonah says to God after God relents and does not judge the people. He said I knew you were like this. I should have stayed home because I knew that once these people turned that you would relent. He said I knew you were full of mercy. I love this about God and you should too, and this is for us an invitation.
Speaker 3:But Jesus is telling us again in this story, in this metaphor, he's reminding us of this father who is so loving that great compassion swelled in his heart for his son who was returning home. So the father raced out to meet him. He swept him up in his arms. He hugged him dearly and he kissed him over and over with tender love. And the son said Father, I was wrong. I have sinned against you. I would never deserve to be called your son. Just let me be. And the father interrupted him. I love that we can have all these words planned for God. We can have all these plans on how we will come back. And the father interrupted and said son, you're home now. This is the good news, this is the gospel. I remind you. This is so reminiscent of Peter, who is going to tell these Gentile believers about God and about how they need to turn from their way of living, and the Holy Spirit falls on them. Before Peter can start talking, the Holy Spirit interrupts the plan. And here is this man who is also I've got a plan for repentance. And God is like you're home now. Turning to his servants, the father said quick, bring me the best robe, my very own robe, and place it on his shoulders. Bring the ring, the seal of sonship, and I will put it on his finger, and bring out the best shoes that you can find for my son. Let's prepare a great feast and celebrate, for this beloved son of mine was once dead and is now alive again. Once he was lost, but now he was found and everyone celebrated with overflowing joy. And now the older son was out working in the field when his brother returned and as he approached the house he heard the music of celebration and dancing. And he called to one of the servants and asked what's going on and the servant replied it's your younger brother, he's returned home and your father is throwing a party to celebrate his homecoming. And the older son became angry and refused to go in and celebrate. I just let that sit there with you.
Speaker 3:Sometimes we have a bad case of older brother-ishness. We do. When somebody returns and God is just the blessing of their sonship, it angers us. Instead of causing us to join with the Father and welcome and party and celebrate with joy, the older son becomes angry and refuses to go in and celebrate. And I want to ask in your life, where are you refusing to go into God and celebrate? Where are you holding back joy because you just don't think it's right? We should not be celebrating. We should be getting this right with this son. He should not have done that. We should all have been out working in the fields. The older brother became angry and refused to go in and celebrate. So his father came out.
Speaker 2:I want you to kind of see that the beauty of what the father did for the younger brother, because he had that robe of the beggar. And so he gives him this new robe, this new identity. And he does that for us, doesn't he? And then all is forgiven when your debt is paid, you're back in the family. In fact, we're going to throw a party, kill the fatted calf. The best is given to us, and so a lot of us want to identify as the younger brother, and I bet there's a portion in your life where you have experienced this kind of grace, and it was probably the time that you came to the Lord, and so you have an understanding of that story. And so the story becomes really one-dimensional in the fact that I see the Father, I see how he forced grace, because we see ourselves as that younger brother all the time. But time goes on in your Christian walk and I think that you didn't realize that you switched All of a sudden. Some of you are now older brothers, older sisters, because you were that young one, but that was a few years back now, as I recall. Young one, but that was a few years back now.
Speaker 2:As I recall I was back in Chicago when I was you know, 20, and I walked in that church and they gave me that Bible and they told me that I was loved and I just cried on everyone's shoulder and was just so grateful that I was forgiven. And then I went off to Bible school and I learned some stuff. I realized there were some do's and don'ts, and so I started doing the do's and not doing the don'ts. Then I started noticing there was other people doing the don'ts and not doing the do's. I'm like, hey, you're not paying your do's and you're stepping all over me with your don'ts and I'm doing such a better job. I think I ought to be recognized here as a doer and I I think I ought to be recognized here as a doer and I think nobody ought to recognize the donors.
Speaker 2:And and all of a sudden we make a shift where, whether we realize it or not, and then we become, as I looked around, a whole room filled with older brothers and room filled with older brothers, and then we go oh, this part of the story doesn't apply to us. I just remember fondly when I was taken back, and so I celebrate my testimony and I miss the meat of this story, because we become so judgmental of those people that did it wrong. Because we've done some things. Right now We've got a little bit of right under our belt, just enough right to see ourselves as so much better than those wrong doers.
Speaker 2:Now Heather might have to run out and get the car started and get us out of here, because there's about to be a mutiny. It looks like on your faces Because I am talking to each one of you and I'm talking to myself. Don't miss the lesson that the open-ended story here because we don't really ever see whether the older brother goes into the party or not, because that is waiting to be answered in your life and in mine. How are we going to handle this?
Speaker 3:so the father comes out and pleads with him come and enjoy the feast with us. I think everybody there would have remembered the wedding that, at least we heard about, was full of really good wine. There was a lot of celebrating, there was a lot of joy in that particular time, and Jesus is again giving this beautiful metaphor of the father who is coming out and is pleading with his son come into the joy, come in. And the son come into the joy, come in. And the son said Father, listen, how many years have I been working like a slave for you, performing every duty that you have asked as a faithful son, and I've never once disobeyed you. And I remind you, it is the religious leaders to whom Jesus is talking.
Speaker 3:These are people who obeyed the rules and beloved. There were a lot of them. At least they obeyed the rules that they agreed with or the rules that they felt like they could do, and I've never once disobeyed you. But you've never thrown a party for me because of my faithfulness. Never once have you given me a goat that I could feast on and celebrate with my friend, like he's doing now. But look at this son of yours. It's important that we see where he puts the relationship. He does not say look at this brother of mine, look at this son of yours, and he shows separation in that word it's not my brother, it's your son.
Speaker 2:And it's so easy to choke on that grace that other people get. This is for us to wrestle with.
Speaker 3:And he comes back after wasting your wealth on prostitutes and reckless living. It's a little bit of a stretch.
Speaker 1:I mean, we don't.
Speaker 3:This is the way the older brother's telling the story about his own brother. How does he know? Does he have spies? Did he know that's what he did? I mean, the guy wasn't there, I'm just hearing.
Speaker 3:This word is like we assume a lot about other people and what they've done with what God has given them. And here you are throwing a great feast to celebrate for him. And the father said my son, you are always welcomed with me by my side. Everything I have is yours to enjoy. I have is yours to enjoy, but it is only right to celebrate like this and be overjoyed. Beloved.
Speaker 3:When is the last time someone talked to you about the fact that God loves celebration, that God is a God of joy, that God is a God of all love, that God is a God of mercy? This is the God we are calling people to saying. Come home to God, come home to joy, not come home to a bunch of rules that you are going to feel overwhelmed by. Come home to joy because this brother of yours see here's where the story corrects him he said this is your son and he said this is your brother. Again, here we have this restoring of right relationship, of right report of priorities.
Speaker 3:This brother of yours was once dead and gone, but now he's alive and back with us again. He was lost but now is found and we don't get to hear if the older brother goes into the party, because the choice is ours. Will we go into the feast, will we go back to the father's house, will we allow the father's love to be what centers us? This is the hope of the world that we would take our place in the joy, in the celebration, in the hope that those that were once gone will now come home. To the father that we who were once suffering with older brother Ishnus would say thank you for reminding me of who I am. Let's go into the feast. I hope they both ran back into the house where there was music and dancing. I hope he no longer refused to part.
Speaker 1:We hope you've enjoyed this week's sermon. If you would like more information about us, visit us online at firstlovechurchorg.
