WEBVTT 00:00:04.639 --> 00:00:07.040 Welcome to the MetaCurch Podcast. 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:08.160 My name's Clayton. 00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:10.160 I'm the pastor here at MetaCurch. 00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:18.000 And my hope is that today's podcast finds you at the perfect time in your life that God uses it to inspire and enlighten you. 00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:20.559 I hope that you enjoy today's message. 00:00:24.320 --> 00:00:26.079 If you're new with us, my name's Clayton. 00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:28.079 I'm the lead pastor here at MetaCurch. 00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:29.600 We're so glad that you've joined us. 00:00:29.679 --> 00:00:33.200 We're in this series where we are looking at the parables of Jesus. 00:00:33.359 --> 00:00:36.719 We've defined what a parable is to help us navigate this series. 00:00:36.880 --> 00:00:40.960 A parable is a simple story with a significant meaning. 00:00:41.119 --> 00:00:47.679 In our very first week, in Jesus' very first parable, he showed us just how significant these meanings are. 00:00:47.920 --> 00:00:56.799 He told his disciples, those 12 men who followed him closest, that parables teach us the secret of the kingdom of heaven. 00:00:56.960 --> 00:01:11.439 In other words, it opens our eyes and enlightens our minds to a spiritual, eternal truth that helps us to apply how to live right here and right now as a part of the eternal kingdom of heaven. 00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:17.040 Today there is a significant truth in what is probably the most famous of all of Jesus' parables. 00:01:17.200 --> 00:01:20.400 It's known as the parable of the prodigal son. 00:01:20.879 --> 00:01:30.480 What I want to suggest is that calling it the parable of the prodigal son is too limited a view of what Jesus is actually trying to tell us. 00:01:30.640 --> 00:01:36.480 And so I think a more accurate title in the title of my message today is A Tale of Two Brothers. 00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:38.000 A Tale of Two Brothers. 00:01:38.159 --> 00:01:39.439 Would you pray with me? 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:40.959 God, we love you. 00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:42.319 We thank you for loving us. 00:01:42.480 --> 00:01:44.079 We thank you for your word. 00:01:44.480 --> 00:01:46.480 God, where we're digging in to find truth. 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:52.959 We thank you for MetaCurch, this community of people who are here pursuing you and what you have for us. 00:01:53.200 --> 00:02:00.239 A community where everyone can come, even if they don't believe all of our claims about who you are and what we believe. 00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:04.879 God, I thank you for a safe place to wrestle with the biggest questions of our life. 00:02:04.959 --> 00:02:10.400 And I ask that we would lay down any pride, any unnecessary baggage that we brought in today. 00:02:10.479 --> 00:02:13.039 We believe that you are speaking, and we are here. 00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:14.240 We want to hear you. 00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:16.400 And so, God, we ask that you would speak to us today. 00:02:16.560 --> 00:02:18.159 We ask it all in Jesus' name. 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:21.120 And if you're ready to hear a tale of two brothers, say amen. 00:02:21.599 --> 00:02:22.240 Amen. 00:02:22.479 --> 00:02:29.280 Like we've done with all of these parables, to really understand the interpretation, we have to understand the context that they are set in. 00:02:29.439 --> 00:02:33.439 We find this context at the very beginning of Luke chapter 15. 00:02:33.520 --> 00:02:43.840 In verse 1, it says, All of the tax collectors and sinners, we're gonna call that group A, the tax collectors and sinners were approaching to listen to Jesus. 00:02:44.080 --> 00:02:48.159 And the Pharisees and scribes, we're gonna call this group B. 00:02:48.319 --> 00:02:49.360 They were complaining. 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:53.199 This man, Jesus, he welcomes sinners and he eats with them. 00:02:53.280 --> 00:02:58.080 And that's a big and because we don't think a lot about eating and who we eat with. 00:02:58.240 --> 00:03:04.240 But back then, who you broke bet bread with at a table was a very, very big deal. 00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:07.439 It was a sign of a serious relationship. 00:03:07.599 --> 00:03:09.039 We have these two different groups. 00:03:09.120 --> 00:03:11.919 We have the sinners and tax collectors. 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:18.879 And you know, if you like happen to work for the IRS and you always feel singled out in scripture, let me like give you a little clue of why. 00:03:19.039 --> 00:03:22.960 Number one, it's because nobody likes tax collectors. 00:03:23.039 --> 00:03:24.479 I'm sorry, you're welcome here. 00:03:24.639 --> 00:03:27.360 It's just who enjoys paying their taxes? 00:03:27.599 --> 00:03:38.560 Number two, the reason is because in that context, what it meant to be a tax collector in Israel is that you were working for Rome, who had come in with their military might and occupied all of Israel. 00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:43.680 To be a tax collector in that time was literally to make your bed with the enemy. 00:03:43.759 --> 00:03:47.120 And what they would do is, you know, I've already like sold out, I've already jumped ship. 00:03:47.280 --> 00:03:51.039 So they would overtax people and they would pocket the profit. 00:03:51.199 --> 00:03:58.560 They were getting rich off the back of impoverished people, and they were working for the dominating force outside of their country. 00:03:58.800 --> 00:04:02.800 Tax collectors were hated along with all of the other sinners. 00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:10.479 And there was a very clear dichotomy, a very clear split between group A, the sinners, and group B, the saints, right? 00:04:10.639 --> 00:04:13.599 And if you grew up in church, maybe your church environment was like this. 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:17.519 Like we are the saints, and you grew up in that church, so you know what that actually means. 00:04:17.680 --> 00:04:21.600 Like they're actually super mean and really judgmental and will gossip and stab you in the back. 00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:23.279 But those are the saints, right? 00:04:23.439 --> 00:04:34.079 And they sequester themselves off in their little church buildings and they go to church five or six days a week to stay away from all the big, bad sinners who don't think like them and act like them and dress like them and vote like them. 00:04:34.160 --> 00:04:37.040 And so they they have this distance, and that's how it worked. 00:04:37.199 --> 00:04:47.040 The Pharisees and scribes, they were the spiritual elite, and they did not put themselves in proximity to those that they had marginalized as the sinners in society. 00:04:47.279 --> 00:04:55.040 This is one of the reasons that Jesus was such a big problem for the spiritual elite, because he quickly became the preeminent religious teacher. 00:04:55.360 --> 00:05:11.680 He surpassed all of the Pharisees and scribes in popularity, and when he would speak, thousands would show up and they would hang on his every word, and yet he would associate himself with those who were considered less than the tax collectors and sinners. 00:05:11.920 --> 00:05:23.120 That's the beginning of the context because we have to have in mind that Jesus is speaking both to group A and to group B, the supposed sinners and the supposed saints. 00:05:23.519 --> 00:05:29.199 There's also two parables that he tells that precede the parable that we usually call the prodigal son. 00:05:29.439 --> 00:05:30.319 They're very quick. 00:05:30.399 --> 00:05:32.240 I can summarize them quickly for you. 00:05:32.319 --> 00:05:36.879 The first is of a shepherd who has 100 sheep, one of them gets lost. 00:05:37.040 --> 00:05:42.000 He leaves behind the 99 to track down the one that is presumed dead. 00:05:42.240 --> 00:05:48.319 He finds the one sheep and rejoices because that which was dead is now alive. 00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:58.639 The second parable was of a woman who lost a silver coin in her home, and she basically tears her house apart, turns it upside down to find just this one coin. 00:05:58.720 --> 00:06:03.120 And when she finds it, she rejoices because what was lost was found. 00:06:03.279 --> 00:06:06.959 What was dead is alive, and what was lost is now found. 00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:10.959 And Jesus is speaking this to both group A and group B, the sinners and the saints. 00:06:11.120 --> 00:06:14.240 And they all collectively think Jesus has now been in the sun too long. 00:06:14.399 --> 00:06:18.160 He's telling these very short parables that don't really seem to make a lot of sense. 00:06:18.319 --> 00:06:26.879 And so, to cement his point, he goes into one of the longest parables he ever tells in Scripture, what we're calling a tale of two brothers. 00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:30.160 It goes like this A man had two sons. 00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:31.680 Now we focus on the prodigal. 00:06:31.759 --> 00:06:37.360 And you've probably, whether you're churched or not, you probably have some kind of reference to the prodigal son. 00:06:37.439 --> 00:06:40.240 It's even like snuck into our vernacular. 00:06:40.319 --> 00:06:44.800 We we use the word prodigal to mean someone who has gone astray or is living a wild life. 00:06:44.879 --> 00:06:46.319 But there are two sons. 00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:55.040 Verse 12, the younger of them, that's the prodigal son, said to his father, Father, give me the share of the estate I have coming to me. 00:06:55.279 --> 00:07:01.680 And so the father distributed the assets, not to him, to them. 00:07:02.639 --> 00:07:07.680 And this is the part that we blow by, because if you know the story of the prodigal, you know he demands his inheritance. 00:07:07.759 --> 00:07:08.560 It's given to him. 00:07:08.720 --> 00:07:12.879 He runs off to a far country, he lives like crazy, and then it all goes to crap, right? 00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:14.720 We know that story, but we miss this. 00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:18.319 He isn't the only brother who gets his inheritance. 00:07:18.399 --> 00:07:21.920 It's truly a tale of two brothers. 00:07:22.079 --> 00:07:24.399 There's a lot to unpack here. 00:07:24.639 --> 00:07:34.399 The younger wants his inheritance, and that goes against all of the customs because the way a family is supposed to function is that the sons stay and work the family estate. 00:07:34.480 --> 00:07:36.240 They make it more and more profitable. 00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:40.480 And someday, when the father passes away, the inheritance is divided. 00:07:40.639 --> 00:07:42.800 And it's divided like this in Jewish culture. 00:07:43.040 --> 00:07:48.160 The older brother gets two-thirds of the estate, and the younger brother gets one-third of it. 00:07:48.319 --> 00:07:51.120 And you don't get it until dad dies. 00:07:52.480 --> 00:08:00.000 Now, every once in a while, they would have an interesting situation where for some strange reason the father would feel it necessary to give that. 00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:02.399 But it never came from the child's request. 00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:13.120 The younger son going to the dad and asking for his inheritance before he dies is literally saying, I need my money and I can't wait for you to die. 00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:17.759 It's literally a death wish on the man who raised him. 00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:23.920 And the father relents, and he divides the inheritance among both of them. 00:08:24.240 --> 00:08:25.279 Now, how does this work? 00:08:25.439 --> 00:08:26.720 Because the father is still alive. 00:08:26.879 --> 00:08:27.680 Well, it's interesting. 00:08:27.759 --> 00:08:36.080 I learned something that when the father was still living and the inheritance was given in these very rare situations, the father would retain this Latin legal term. 00:08:36.240 --> 00:08:38.159 It was called usu fruct. 00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:42.480 And I practice that a lot because it's really close to sounding bad. 00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:44.799 It's a compound word, all right? 00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:52.399 Usa means use, and fruct with a T on the end means fruit or profit. 00:08:52.559 --> 00:09:07.759 And all it really means is that as long as the father was alive, the children became the owners of the possessions, but the father had the 51% vote to determine how they used the possessions. 00:09:07.919 --> 00:09:12.240 So they were the owners, but dad still had oversight. 00:09:12.480 --> 00:09:14.399 This was a problem for the younger brother. 00:09:14.480 --> 00:09:16.159 It was a problem for the prodigal. 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:24.159 He didn't really have much interest in just sticking around on the family land and working with his dad, still having him under his thumb. 00:09:24.320 --> 00:09:26.480 So he created a workaround. 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:37.200 In verse 13, it says, Not many days later, the younger son gathered together all he had and traveled to a distant country where he squandered his estate in foolish living. 00:09:37.360 --> 00:09:39.840 It says he gathered together all that he had. 00:09:39.919 --> 00:09:47.600 And Luke was originally written in Greek, and really what this translates to is he liquidated all of his assets. 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:48.799 What was he given? 00:09:48.960 --> 00:09:54.799 He was given land, he was given property, he was given buildings, he was given cattle, he was probably giving fields that had crops inside of them. 00:09:54.960 --> 00:10:04.799 And so what he did is not only demand his inheritance, he then sold all that he now had ownership of, took the money and ran. 00:10:06.240 --> 00:10:12.000 It's a lot more, it's a lot deeper, it's a lot more devastating than even when we first read the story of the prodigal. 00:10:12.159 --> 00:10:20.240 And the people who were listening to Jesus that day in that cultural context, oh, their blood would be boiling, their blood pressure would be rising. 00:10:20.399 --> 00:10:24.879 They know this is an imaginary prodigal child, but they are ready to murder this fool. 00:10:24.960 --> 00:10:37.279 Like not only do you demand your inheritance early, but then you take the very estate that generation upon generation upon generation has built as a legacy for that family. 00:10:37.519 --> 00:10:42.080 You sell it off and destroy what your father had worked for. 00:10:42.960 --> 00:10:45.759 It's a really, really big deal. 00:10:45.919 --> 00:10:54.799 But now that he has sold what he has and he has it liquid, he heads off as far from the father as he can get and he squanders it all in foolish living. 00:10:54.879 --> 00:10:55.759 What does that mean? 00:10:55.919 --> 00:10:58.639 It doesn't mean he was like foolish with his investments. 00:10:58.799 --> 00:11:01.440 It doesn't mean he was a venture capitalist that didn't hit it right. 00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:04.639 He didn't like put all his money into Enron, okay? 00:11:04.960 --> 00:11:11.120 What happened is he went and started living the most hedonistic lifestyle possible. 00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:17.200 Foolish living meant that this money disappeared because he drank it and he smoked it and he snorted it. 00:11:17.279 --> 00:11:22.799 We find out later he would spend his money on prostitutes, he was buying friends, buying fame. 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:29.039 He had developed long coattails with the money he now possessed, and he was happy for you to ride them. 00:11:29.200 --> 00:11:35.200 But this fantasy that he'd always dreamed of turned out to be nothing but a fantasy. 00:11:36.159 --> 00:11:40.159 And before he knew it, almost overnight, all that he had was gone. 00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:42.480 And that was just the beginning of his problems. 00:11:42.559 --> 00:11:50.799 In verse 14, after he had spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he had nothing. 00:11:51.440 --> 00:11:57.679 Verse 15, he went to work for one of the citizens of that country who sent him into his fields to feed his pigs. 00:11:58.639 --> 00:12:00.639 This was a young Jewish man. 00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:08.559 He was raised under the Jewish law, and to him pigs were unclean, which meant to come into contact with them would actually spiritually defile him. 00:12:08.639 --> 00:12:10.000 It was like the lowest of low. 00:12:10.080 --> 00:12:12.559 He couldn't have picked a worse possible job for him. 00:12:12.720 --> 00:12:17.120 And there he is, man, from zero to hero, almost overnight. 00:12:17.360 --> 00:12:19.840 And yet, it gets worse in verse 16. 00:12:20.080 --> 00:12:25.679 He longed to eat his fill from the pods that the pigs were eating. 00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:28.720 But no one would give him anything. 00:12:29.039 --> 00:12:37.679 Not only has he distanced himself from his family, demanded his inheritance, blown all of his money, not only is he living in a famine and can only find work in the lowest of jobs. 00:12:37.919 --> 00:12:47.600 Now he is so desperate for food, he is willing to eat the slop that an unclean animal is eating, and no one cares enough about him to even allow him. 00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:54.559 To the people of that country, he went from being the guy on everyone's radar to lower than the livestock. 00:12:56.000 --> 00:12:58.879 And this is what we would call rock bottom. 00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:06.159 And rock bottom plays an important part in our life because we all have some prodigal in us. 00:13:06.399 --> 00:13:10.480 There's two brothers in this story, and by the end of it, you're probably gonna identify with one more than the other. 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:12.799 But we all have some prodigal in us. 00:13:13.039 --> 00:13:16.720 We all have some wayward habits or rhythms in our life. 00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:21.279 We all have things about us that we're not super proud of, and yet we tolerate it. 00:13:21.440 --> 00:13:28.639 We put up with these habits and routines in our life because honestly, we don't really see the full consequence of them in real time. 00:13:29.200 --> 00:13:41.360 And we know somewhere in the back of our mind, like at a subconscious level, that if we continue to progress in these behaviors, in these patterns and rhythms, that someday they're probably gonna cost us. 00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:49.279 All of us have ways of life, maybe it's even just ways of thinking that you know they can't really sustain over time. 00:13:49.679 --> 00:13:53.360 And maybe you're just like, you know, I'm just kind of living it up, I'm young, and so on. 00:13:53.440 --> 00:13:56.080 You know, I'm not super healthy, but it's fine, you know. 00:13:56.320 --> 00:13:57.519 Maybe it's not fine. 00:13:57.679 --> 00:14:06.240 Maybe you're developing the patterns right now when you can burn it off and be just fine, that when that slows down is gonna create serious health complications in your future. 00:14:06.399 --> 00:14:12.879 And you can tolerate it right now because you can't see the end result when the rug gets pulled out and you end up at rock bottom. 00:14:12.960 --> 00:14:15.440 And it's like, look, it's just a little habit, you know. 00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:18.799 I mean, everybody, everybody looks at porn, everyone's got a smartphone. 00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:22.960 It's just every once in a while I'm just kind of looking at it, and and really, who's it even hurting? 00:14:23.039 --> 00:14:29.679 It's like a victimless crime, you know, and besides the fact that that's just absolutely not true, but but in the future, where does it lead? 00:14:29.840 --> 00:14:42.399 Because your brain works on novelty, and so you're gonna need more and more, and you're you're gonna need a variance, and and over time, if not checked, the digital becomes physical, and and now you're risking everything you've built in your life and your family. 00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:44.559 Where do these things actually go? 00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:55.120 It's like, look, I just get high because life is hard every once in a while, you know, and I just I take a hit there and a hit, and I usually don't do real hard drugs, you know, I keep it natural or whatever else, but but where does it end? 00:14:55.279 --> 00:14:56.399 Where's it taking you? 00:14:56.559 --> 00:14:57.600 What's the path? 00:14:57.840 --> 00:15:09.039 Because if there is no change in direction, the harmful behaviors and paths that we're on lead us to one place and one place only, and it's called rock bottom. 00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:12.480 And rock bottom can be a blessing. 00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:18.559 Almost anyone who has ever voluntarily checked into AA, it's because they just hit rock bottom. 00:15:18.960 --> 00:15:27.440 And what rock bottom does is when you hit it, it causes all the masks that we all wear all the time to fall off and crumble. 00:15:27.679 --> 00:15:46.879 The masks that we put on to make everyone think that we're okay and we're managing and everything's fine, and the masks to like make people think that we're actually secure, even though we're deeply insecure, and the masks of arrogance because we're actually really afraid, and all those masks, they fall off at rock bottom, and maybe for the first time, you actually have to evaluate yourself as you actually are. 00:15:47.120 --> 00:15:54.879 You come face to face with the consequence of running off into the far country and living to build your own kingdom in this world. 00:15:55.759 --> 00:15:57.840 And once you've hit rock bottom, there are two options. 00:15:59.039 --> 00:16:05.679 You can continue to live in the patterns that got you there and create your own version of hell on earth. 00:16:05.919 --> 00:16:14.399 Or you can change your mind and you can change directions, and you can turn your life over to a higher power. 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:15.759 Here's what people don't get. 00:16:16.879 --> 00:16:19.279 You cannot get yourself out of rock bottom. 00:16:19.360 --> 00:16:29.120 It takes something outside of yourself, it takes the goodness of a heavenly father, someone who sees you and knows you and actually has something to offer you in this life. 00:16:29.360 --> 00:16:44.639 And this young man, the prodigal, who gets such a bad rap, even though we all have some prodigal in us, he has finally hit his rock bottom, and to his credit, he allowed rock bottom to bring the clarity he needed on what to do with the rest of his life. 00:16:45.120 --> 00:16:50.159 In verse 17, it says, when he came to his senses, it's what rock bottom will do to you sometimes. 00:16:50.240 --> 00:16:53.840 He said, How many of my father's hired workers have more than enough food? 00:16:53.919 --> 00:16:56.480 And here I am, dying of hunger. 00:16:56.720 --> 00:17:04.400 And so I'll get up, I'll go to my father, and I'll say to him, Father, I've sinned against heaven, and in your sight I am no longer worthy to be called your son. 00:17:04.559 --> 00:17:05.599 And here's his plan. 00:17:05.920 --> 00:17:09.359 So make me like one of your hired workers. 00:17:10.559 --> 00:17:21.920 He has come face to face with his own behaviors, with the reality of his situation, with a father who he now needs something from, who he just got done telling that he wished he was dead. 00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:33.119 He understands he abdicated his role and his responsibility, that he destroyed a part of the family legacy, that he went out and lived in all of the ways that he knows are against God's will for his life. 00:17:33.359 --> 00:17:34.799 He's come face to face with it. 00:17:35.039 --> 00:17:36.480 Isn't it interesting? 00:17:37.039 --> 00:17:46.799 That the idea that he could go home and take back his spot as a son is such a distant idea, it does not even cross his mind. 00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:58.799 His only hope is that he could at least be hired on as a hired hand to work the land that he was supposed to own. 00:17:59.599 --> 00:18:03.279 So in verse 20, he got up and he went to his father. 00:18:03.920 --> 00:18:11.839 But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. 00:18:12.240 --> 00:18:12.880 He ran. 00:18:13.680 --> 00:18:16.880 He threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. 00:18:18.559 --> 00:18:25.200 Every time I read this, it seems to beg the question how did he know? 00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:31.039 How did the father spot him from so far off? 00:18:31.279 --> 00:18:38.480 How did he know that after all these years of living in debauchery, that he was finally on the path home? 00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:43.039 How did he meet him before he ever got to the gate of the property? 00:18:43.200 --> 00:18:44.559 How did he know? 00:18:45.920 --> 00:18:47.920 And there's only one conceivable answer. 00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:58.799 It's because every day the father was waiting and was watching and was hoping for his prodigal son to come home. 00:18:59.920 --> 00:19:04.799 Maybe you've been living the prodigal life, and you're not really sure what you think about God. 00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:19.359 Maybe you just assume that with the things you've done, the places you've been, the people you've heard, the thoughts that you have thought, that all God has waiting for you is judgment and retribution and disappointment and revenge. 00:19:19.839 --> 00:19:30.160 Jesus, we believe, was God in human flesh, which means in his parables, he is opening an actual window to the heart of your heavenly father. 00:19:30.559 --> 00:19:36.000 Jesus isn't assuming what God might think about the prodigals returning home. 00:19:36.160 --> 00:19:41.759 He is telling us the exact truth of what it means when a prodigal returns home. 00:19:41.839 --> 00:19:48.799 And no matter how far you are from God, you need to know today that He's waiting and that He's watching. 00:19:49.119 --> 00:19:50.240 He is ready. 00:19:50.480 --> 00:20:03.759 And as soon as you're ready to change your mind, building your own kingdom, living for your own status, thinking that you're making something of your life, when if you could just hit rock bottom and be honest with yourself, you are stuck playing in the pigpin of your life. 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:10.480 You are down in the rat race with everyone else who is trying to climb the ladder by stepping on the backs of those around you. 00:20:10.640 --> 00:20:16.480 You are wearing the masks to try to make yourself feel a little bit better about the fact that you have no direction in life. 00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:20.960 You don't know what your purpose is, you are unfulfilled at the deepest part of who you are. 00:20:21.039 --> 00:20:24.400 And your father, he's waiting and he is watching. 00:20:24.559 --> 00:20:30.640 And if you turn and head home, he will meet you before you get to the gate. 00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:33.039 That's who our God is. 00:20:39.599 --> 00:20:40.880 And I know that. 00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:46.319 Because I still got some prodigal parts in me. 00:20:47.039 --> 00:20:49.680 But I lived a season of my life all in. 00:20:50.720 --> 00:20:54.240 I took my inheritance, all that I was and all that I had. 00:20:55.119 --> 00:20:58.000 And I pursued all of the things of the world. 00:20:58.319 --> 00:21:04.720 And if I thought it had any chance of helping me gain in status and gain in popularity, then I would go all in on it. 00:21:04.799 --> 00:21:11.920 And I knew the habits and behaviors, the thought patterns that I was taking place in, they couldn't sustain me over the long run. 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:14.880 They would cost me in the long run, but I couldn't see the long run. 00:21:15.039 --> 00:21:21.759 I was focused on right here and right now and what it would mean for me to get ahead in this life. 00:21:23.920 --> 00:21:26.400 The next verse hits me so hard. 00:21:31.759 --> 00:21:34.640 And I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. 00:21:36.240 --> 00:21:38.079 Luke was originally written in Greek. 00:21:38.559 --> 00:21:41.279 I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. 00:21:41.359 --> 00:21:48.000 If you translate it literally, it reads, You deserve a son. 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:02.079 I lost all that I had tried to build. 00:22:02.319 --> 00:22:03.519 I lost all my status. 00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:05.039 I lost all my credibility. 00:22:06.079 --> 00:22:08.400 I thought I was losing my life. 00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:11.200 And I knew God. 00:22:11.680 --> 00:22:13.839 I was raised in a home with parents who loved him. 00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:15.680 Taught me about him. 00:22:17.119 --> 00:22:19.759 And I couldn't turn right away. 00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:23.039 I stayed stuck for a little while longer. 00:22:23.440 --> 00:22:29.839 Because I knew that God deserved a son who was not like me. 00:22:31.599 --> 00:22:41.200 You know, maybe the older brothers in life, the ones who always get it right, the ones who stay the course, the ones who seem kind of perfect from the outside, though they're just as jacked up on the inside. 00:22:42.720 --> 00:23:01.359 And the reason I'm here, the reason I've given my life to this mission, to this message, to this movement, is because when I turned, what I found was an overwhelming, explosive, undeniable love like I'd never experienced before. 00:23:01.519 --> 00:23:06.319 When I turned, I didn't have to try and work my way and earn my way back to God. 00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:15.119 What I realized is that the harder I was running away from my heavenly father, the harder he was pursuing me the entire time. 00:23:15.279 --> 00:23:23.759 And when I saw who my father actually was, I knew that this was what I had to pursue with my life. 00:23:23.920 --> 00:23:26.720 And I know there are some prodigals in the room. 00:23:26.799 --> 00:23:28.720 There's some prodigals watching online. 00:23:30.160 --> 00:23:31.920 And I know you're tired. 00:23:32.960 --> 00:23:34.799 The world has worn you down. 00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:37.599 The lies have worn you down. 00:23:38.799 --> 00:23:41.920 And the patterns you're in are unsustainable. 00:23:42.720 --> 00:23:55.839 And maybe if you see yourself as the prodigal, today is the day you could be convinced to change your mind, to change direction, to turn to God and watch as God runs to you. 00:23:57.119 --> 00:24:05.839 Look at how the father treats the prodigal in verse 25 or 22, it says, But the father told his servants, quick, bring out the best robe and put it on him. 00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:14.960 Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet and bring the fattened calf and slaughter it, and let's celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead and is alive again. 00:24:15.119 --> 00:24:17.200 He was lost and he's now found. 00:24:17.359 --> 00:24:20.160 And so they began to celebrate. 00:24:20.400 --> 00:24:26.000 God is ready to celebrate with the prodigals if we're just willing to come home to the Father. 00:24:26.160 --> 00:24:30.079 And this is a tale of two brothers. 00:24:30.319 --> 00:24:40.079 In verse 25, the older son was in the field, and as he came near the house, he heard music and dancing, and so he summoned one of the servants and questioned what these things meant. 00:24:40.319 --> 00:24:42.480 Your brother is here, the servant told him. 00:24:42.720 --> 00:24:48.240 And your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound. 00:24:48.400 --> 00:24:49.920 Your brother is here. 00:24:50.400 --> 00:24:58.880 What we'll quickly learn is the older brother, he doesn't consider himself to have a brother anymore. 00:24:59.680 --> 00:25:03.279 He's disowned him in his mind when he speaks of him, he'll say, Your son. 00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:05.440 Not my brother, your son. 00:25:06.160 --> 00:25:08.400 He demanded his inheritance. 00:25:08.880 --> 00:25:11.200 He sold all of his property and possessions. 00:25:11.279 --> 00:25:13.759 He liquidated the legacy of his family. 00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:16.240 He abdicated his roles and responsibilities. 00:25:16.400 --> 00:25:18.559 He went off living a debaucherous lifestyle. 00:25:18.720 --> 00:25:20.480 That's no brother of mine. 00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:23.440 His anger continues to grow. 00:25:23.519 --> 00:25:28.240 And I mean, it's understandable, but I saw something in the text this time that I've never seen before. 00:25:28.400 --> 00:25:32.960 And it really helped me understand the anger, the anger of the older brother. 00:25:33.200 --> 00:25:38.880 Remember, when the inheritance was given, it was given to them both. 00:25:40.079 --> 00:25:41.599 Here's what that means. 00:25:41.839 --> 00:25:59.759 The celebration that the older brother doesn't even want to be happening, the robe and ring that was placed on the prodigal, the fattened calf that was killed, the barn that they used for the party, all of it technically is owned by the older brother. 00:26:00.400 --> 00:26:11.839 The father, who still had the 51% vote of how to use the property, was using the property owned by the older brother in order to celebrate the younger's return back home. 00:26:11.920 --> 00:26:14.480 And the older brother was having none of it. 00:26:14.799 --> 00:26:16.319 Verse 28, he became angry. 00:26:16.480 --> 00:26:17.359 He didn't want to go in. 00:26:17.519 --> 00:26:29.920 His father came out and pleaded with him, but he replied to his father, Look, I have been slaving, I've been slaving many years for you, and I've never disobeyed your orders. 00:26:30.079 --> 00:26:33.920 And yet you never gave me a goat that I could celebrate with my friends. 00:26:34.079 --> 00:26:40.319 But when this son of yours came, who's devoured your assets with prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him. 00:26:40.480 --> 00:26:45.119 All of a sudden, this bull shows up, it's grass-fed prime ribeye tonight. 00:26:45.279 --> 00:26:50.640 All of us, I've been slaving the whole time he's in Vegas, I'm here. 00:26:50.799 --> 00:26:52.000 I'm doing the work. 00:26:52.160 --> 00:26:54.240 I'm slaving for you. 00:26:54.400 --> 00:26:55.680 And here's the problem. 00:26:56.240 --> 00:27:00.079 We think that this is a story of a prodigal and a prodigy. 00:27:00.799 --> 00:27:05.119 One who can never get it right and one who can never get it wrong. 00:27:05.279 --> 00:27:08.000 The brother who is screwed up and the brother who is perfect. 00:27:08.160 --> 00:27:16.799 And the truth is, both of them are missing the mark because neither of the brothers understand the heart of the father. 00:27:17.119 --> 00:27:18.160 What does he say? 00:27:18.400 --> 00:27:23.759 I've been slaving away for you, and you wouldn't even give me. 00:27:24.480 --> 00:27:26.160 And the father's like, slaving. 00:27:27.279 --> 00:27:29.440 You're not a slave, you're a son. 00:27:31.039 --> 00:27:35.599 And you're not working my land, you're working your land. 00:27:36.640 --> 00:27:42.559 I can't give you a goat because all of the goats already belong to you. 00:27:43.920 --> 00:27:46.480 You know, siblings tend to break down this way. 00:27:46.960 --> 00:27:53.519 A lot of times you end up with an overachiever and an underachiever, with a prodigal in one sense and a prodigy in another. 00:27:53.599 --> 00:27:57.119 And maybe even in your own sibling group, you're like, oh yeah, man, I'm, you know, I'm the prodigal. 00:27:57.200 --> 00:28:02.480 I'm the one who's always screwed up, and I, you know, they were always smarter than me, and they're the golden child or whatever, and they're the prodigy. 00:28:02.559 --> 00:28:04.400 And maybe you're like, man, you know, I was kind of the prodigy. 00:28:04.480 --> 00:28:07.920 You know, I did pretty well, and you know, my sibling, they're really screwed up and everything else. 00:28:08.000 --> 00:28:08.880 And it divides that way. 00:28:08.960 --> 00:28:10.640 You know what's so interesting? 00:28:11.039 --> 00:28:15.680 Is that usually it's two reactions to the same insecurity. 00:28:17.119 --> 00:28:22.960 They're afraid of failure, and so one of them makes sure that they will always achieve, and one of them decides they'll never even try. 00:28:23.759 --> 00:28:29.759 They're lacking attention, so one of them says, I will stand out to get it, and one of them says I will disrupt to get it. 00:28:30.559 --> 00:28:35.680 They have the same core insecurity and fear that shows itself in two different ways. 00:28:35.839 --> 00:28:38.960 And this isn't the story of a bad brother and a good brother. 00:28:39.039 --> 00:28:46.319 It's the story of two brothers who at their core have a misunderstanding of the heart of their father. 00:28:46.640 --> 00:28:51.039 In verse 31, the father says, Son, you're always with me. 00:28:51.119 --> 00:28:56.079 And remember, everything I have, it's already yours. 00:28:56.400 --> 00:29:01.920 But we had to celebrate and rejoice because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again. 00:29:02.240 --> 00:29:03.200 He was lost. 00:29:04.160 --> 00:29:05.279 And now he's found. 00:29:05.920 --> 00:29:07.279 And remember the context. 00:29:07.440 --> 00:29:08.480 We have two groups. 00:29:08.640 --> 00:29:10.240 All the way back in verse one. 00:29:10.559 --> 00:29:14.000 Tax collectors and sinners were approaching to listen to Jesus. 00:29:14.160 --> 00:29:19.119 We have group two, and the Pharisees and scribes, the spiritual elite were complaining. 00:29:20.240 --> 00:29:42.720 The sinners and tax collectors are represented by the younger prodigal son, the ones who are searching for significance in the things of this world, who have left the Father, traveled to the far country to build a kingdom of their own, not realizing that their purpose, power, significance, and impact is actually found, partnering with the Father to build a kingdom that lasts forever and ever. 00:29:43.039 --> 00:29:43.680 Amen. 00:29:44.319 --> 00:29:57.839 The scribes and Pharisees represent the older brother who foolishly think that through their own deeds and works, that they can earn a love that the Father has already given them freely. 00:29:59.039 --> 00:30:08.400 And the older brothers among us cannot celebrate a prodigal coming home because they didn't earn it. 00:30:08.640 --> 00:30:10.400 And we think we did. 00:30:12.400 --> 00:30:15.440 And so I wonder which brother you see yourself in. 00:30:15.519 --> 00:30:19.920 And the truth is, we're all a little bit prodigal and we're all a little bit prodigy. 00:30:20.079 --> 00:30:22.799 Life isn't simple enough to divide like that. 00:30:23.039 --> 00:30:26.079 But maybe you resonate more with one than the other. 00:30:26.400 --> 00:30:43.519 If you see yourself as the older brother, the overachiever, the one who has a hard time when someone comes from under and has success, the one who has worked so hard to stay in good standing with God that you're not too sure how you feel about people showing up on their first Sunday and already getting baptized. 00:30:44.079 --> 00:30:50.960 If you're the older brother, you have to realize you cannot work your way into the Father's grace. 00:30:51.200 --> 00:30:59.920 If you are the prodigal, stuck in the pigpin of life, stuck in the far country, wasting your life, all that you are, and all that you have. 00:31:00.240 --> 00:31:05.599 You must realize today you cannot sin your way beyond his grace. 00:31:07.839 --> 00:31:11.200 You deserve a son that is not like me. 00:31:11.599 --> 00:31:12.960 And that's true. 00:31:14.319 --> 00:31:16.000 But grace is a free gift. 00:31:16.400 --> 00:31:21.680 And that free gift is always unable to be deserved. 00:31:21.839 --> 00:31:25.440 You cannot deserve it by definition. 00:31:25.680 --> 00:31:27.200 God's grace is free. 00:31:27.519 --> 00:31:35.119 And whether you're the older brother or the younger or some mix of the two, it is time to get a clear view of who your father is. 00:31:35.200 --> 00:31:42.480 And the secret of the kingdom of heaven that Jesus showed in this parable is that your father is waiting and he's watching. 00:31:42.640 --> 00:31:47.599 All that he has, he wants to give you if you're just willing to come home. 00:31:47.920 --> 00:31:49.119 Would you pray with me? 00:31:49.359 --> 00:31:51.759 With your head bowed and your eyes closed. 00:31:51.839 --> 00:31:53.039 There's nothing magic about that. 00:31:53.119 --> 00:31:56.880 It just creates some space for you to really do some work with God. 00:31:57.200 --> 00:32:02.559 And I want you to really wrestle with the question: which brother am I? 00:32:03.200 --> 00:32:05.599 Where do I see myself struggling? 00:32:05.839 --> 00:32:08.640 Perhaps you've never put your faith in Jesus. 00:32:08.880 --> 00:32:10.960 You don't have a relationship with God. 00:32:11.200 --> 00:32:18.160 And you honestly believe that even if God really is real, he would want nothing to do with you. 00:32:18.319 --> 00:32:20.079 You've simply gone too far. 00:32:21.039 --> 00:32:23.759 Maybe you see yourself more as the older brother. 00:32:24.000 --> 00:32:29.599 You have been trying and trying to earn a gift that God is wanting to give you freely. 00:32:30.400 --> 00:32:35.200 You often, if you're honest, see yourself as superior to others. 00:32:35.519 --> 00:32:37.039 You really feel like you've earned something. 00:32:37.119 --> 00:32:40.480 And if someone else doesn't earn it, then it doesn't count with you. 00:32:42.880 --> 00:32:51.920 It's time to realize that our Heavenly Father, the grace He has offered us to bring us in as His own children, it cannot be earned. 00:32:52.079 --> 00:32:56.559 You cannot earn your way into it, and you cannot send your way beyond it. 00:32:56.960 --> 00:33:06.000 You have the opportunity to join with the Father to build the kingdom that will change this world and that will one day rule this world. 00:33:06.079 --> 00:33:12.720 And if you've never put your faith in Jesus, let today be the day that you start wrestling. 00:33:12.880 --> 00:33:15.759 Today's the only day that you have been promised. 00:33:17.039 --> 00:33:22.880 If you will change your mind, if you will turn to him, he will run to you. 00:33:24.400 --> 00:33:28.400 In that cultural context, it was inappropriate for men to be seen running. 00:33:29.759 --> 00:33:31.200 It was indistinguished, you know. 00:33:31.599 --> 00:33:33.680 They would walk slow and with purpose. 00:33:34.559 --> 00:33:38.000 Yet the father saw the prodigal coming. 00:33:39.440 --> 00:33:40.960 He slipped off his sandals. 00:33:41.359 --> 00:33:42.720 He hiked up his robe. 00:33:44.079 --> 00:33:49.200 He sprinted until he met the son who he'd been waiting and watching. 00:33:49.519 --> 00:33:52.000 Oh sinner, come home. 00:33:52.480 --> 00:33:53.519 Come home. 00:33:53.759 --> 00:33:56.000 Out of the pig pen, come home. 00:33:56.240 --> 00:33:58.319 Out of your worst ways, come home. 00:33:58.480 --> 00:34:00.480 Out of your broken habits, come home. 00:34:00.720 --> 00:34:04.799 If you will turn to him, he will meet you where you are. 00:34:05.200 --> 00:34:06.160 It's time. 00:34:06.559 --> 00:34:08.639 It's time to come home. 00:34:12.000 --> 00:34:14.719 Thanks so much for listening to the message today. 00:34:14.960 --> 00:34:20.159 If this was helpful to you and you want to help us get the word out, you can subscribe to this podcast. 00:34:20.320 --> 00:34:23.280 You can rate and review or share it with your friends. 00:34:23.519 --> 00:34:30.239 If you want to get connected further with what MetaCurch is doing, you can go online to metachurch.tv. 00:34:30.400 --> 00:34:32.639 There you can learn how to take next steps. 00:34:32.800 --> 00:34:36.559 You can learn where our different venues are at if you ever wanted to visit. 00:34:36.639 --> 00:34:40.559 And you can also give financially to help push this movement forward. 00:34:40.800 --> 00:34:44.239 And I love you guys, and I hope you have a great rest of your day.