Freedom Is Found in the Father: Both Sons Are Invited Home

Before we get into the word of God, I just want to say I love Journey Church. I love what God's doing because it's just it's real. It it's not just about showing up to church and going to an event. Just this week, I've heard in the last three weeks, I should say, the last three weeks, I've heard three different families who were praying for restoration and reconciliation, and they received the answered prayer. It it's it's awesome. I'm like, and I the reason I tell you this is one of the stories came just yesterday via text message. Someone real close, a friend in the house said they had been praying to restore a relationship with their daughter for 10 years. 10 years of pray, not talking, aranged, 10 years saw her daughter this week and they embraced for

a long time. They talked for a long time. Now, now I share that with you because there are times you pray day after day, week after week, month after month, and if it ends up year after year, there are times we turn on God and say, "You're not doing it." And we forget that God actually might be doing something bigger than you understand. And I'm so grateful for a praying church. So, whatever you're praying for, if you don't have it yet, may I just say persevere. I mean, just powerful stories of of the reconciliation of what only God can do and and God gets the glory and grateful for what he's doing. So, wherever you are on your journey of faith, we welcome you to Journey Church. If we haven't met yet, my name is Keith. I'm the founding pastor here and we're going to get into God's word in just a moment. But, I just wanted to make sure that you know that God hears your prayers and and the Bible tells us that God is not slow in

fulfilling his promises. So, what we do is we don't go off of our feelings. We go off of the promises of God's word. We want to receive from God what he has. And I really love what God is doing. I'm grateful you're a part of it because God works through people just like you. And you're amazing. If you brought your Bible, would you get it out right now? I tell you, if we would just take this book seriously, we would seriously change the world. Everybody, we're not here to just get some information. We want some impartation from God. We want some transformation. So, we want to receive from God what he has for us. If you brought your Bible, just hold the air. Just keep it up there like you care. Come on. God has a word for every one of us today. He wants to speak to you. So even if you didn't bring your Bible, join with me and shout word on the count of three. Here we go. One, two, three. Word. We're getting into God's word. So God's word will get into us. Come on. He's got a word for you.

Let's pray. Lord, I asking right now in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, would you speak to every one of us? Holy Spirit, I'm asking that we would not stay the same by receiving your word today, but by revelation, we would leave here really changed. Not just like a little bit, not just like a better life. I'm talking I'm asking Jesus that you would do what you do best. Wreck us with your love. Restore right relationship with you, our heavenly father. We invite you, Holy Spirit, to have your way right now in Jesus name. Somebody shout, "Amen." Amen. I am completely convinced. I mean, I believe it with all that I am. It's why I'm here today that God has a good plan for your life. I mean, I really believe it. It's in his word that God has a good plan for you. That he actually made you.

That it's not up to you to figure it out what this is. But you are God's masterpiece, his workmanship, and he actually prepared in advance good works for you to do. that God wants to include you in his will, into his way. And we could call this kingdom. That Jesus taught us that his kingdom can come, that he is the king, and he has a way of life. And he doesn't want you to experience this way just on Sundays. He doesn't want you to experience this way just sometimes. But God's kingdom can come in every thought, every action, every word, every deed, every dream that you have. That God's kingdom would be all that you are. For if he is the king and you believe in him and you understand that he made you, what does that make you? You're his kingdom.

And the longer I follow Jesus, the more I realize how much I don't know. The more I study these scriptures, the more I realize how deep God's word actually is. And I want to get to know it more. The longer I follow Jesus, the more I recognize how much God loves us, and he wants us to experience that love. And there's more to know of God's love than you fully have comprehended. The longer I follow Jesus, the more I understand that God is far greater than I understand. He is eternal. And when you get to know this eternal God, it starts to get you excited about heaven. That we're going to spend forever getting to know this good, faithful God. He is glorious. And and and you haven't come to comprehend the fullness. You you never get to. So the kingdom is understanding his ways in our lives. And this year we've been studying kingdom come. It's what Jesus preached. It's

what he prayed. It's what he told through stories called parables. And the more I study the kingdom, the more I realize that most people don't get it. In fact, most of us here today will come to church. We'll call ourselves Christians. But you're not living the kingdom. Last week we talked about the F-word. forgiveness. Jesus likened God to a king. He tells parables which are these fictional stories with a spiritual truth and he uses an imagery of God as king supreme over all but he's not like an earthly political ruler. This king is unlike any other person. This king flips things upside down. He gives mercy when you don't deserve it. He gives the gift of

grace so that when you understand you're forgiven, you're set free. But what we learned last week with forgiveness, if you don't forgive others, you don't fully understand what you've been forgiven of. You don't understand the depth of what God has done for you. For the moment you've received God's grace, you become a gracegiver. When you have God's grace, which means you are in Christ, you forfeit the right to hold an offense. You might try to justify it. You might think that you have the right to hold on to it. But the Bible says that forgiven people forgive people. And Jesus taught us last week that if you do not forgive, if you hold on to an offense, you put yourself in prison,

which means you don't experience the kingdom. So here's what we learned last week with the king. Forgiveness equals freedom. Forgiveness equals freedom. God wants you to be free. It doesn't mean what someone else has done is right or that they should have done it or or that they won't do it again. But what it means is you will not allow what someone else has done to you hold you back from experiencing the freedom God has for you. That you want God's kingdom in your life. You want freedom in your life. And today we're going to continue on that theme of freedom as we better understand who God is. And this time Jesus is going to tell another parable, another story. But this time he's not going to liken God to a king. He likens the Lord to a father.

And not just any father, not like an earthly father, not like any of us. He he he is unlike any of us. He is a heavenly father who is absolutely incredible. And the title of today's sermon that we'll experience through the text is freedom is found in the father. Freedom is found in the father. Freedom is found in the father. Would you say that with me? Freedom is found in the father. And today I don't want you just to know this. I want you to experience this. And Jesus is going to teach us and I'll tell you in advance before we get to the text. There are two things that will stop you from experiencing freedom in the father. The first one is the ways of this world. The ways of this world are a trap and and it simply means that you think that somehow something in this world will satisfy

you. You don't do it consciously but somehow you think a relationship, sex, a substance, something, a bigger house, a better car, a better career, that something in this world will satisfy you. And the scriptures teach us that the things of this world will never give you what God can give you. 1 John 2:15 and 16 says, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in him." And then John explains it in verse 16. For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life is not from the father, but is from the world.

This is a trap we all must be aware of that what you see with your eyes and you long for what you desire inside of you, even your own pride, which proud people often don't even know that they're prideful. It It's when you begin to play the role of God in your life that you determine and make decisions on your own instead of inviting the person of God, the Holy Spirit, to help you in this life. And if you're not careful, you'll fall into this trap and you won't know who God is as a father. You won't know the freedom that's found in the kingdom. There's a second trap that is equally as dangerous, but looks completely different. And that's moralism. Moralism comes in many different forms, often in the form of religion. It's in the forms of if you do this or you do that, then you're either better than

someone else or God owes you something because you've been following the rules. And this trap is dangerous because this is not the kingdom at all. There is no freedom in trying to follow the rules. And so Jesus is going to expose to us that he desires for us to know who he is that we would know who we are. Jesus is not a typical king. Jesus is pointing us to a father that is not typical. We have one God in three persons. The father, the son, and the holy spirit. And he wants every one of us to encounter him in a real way. And this is not just hope for some people. This is hope for everyone. This is so important you understand this and you even preach it to yourself because there will come a moment that you need to remind yourself

that I have hope. My hope is in Jesus Christ. He is my living hope. Would you say hope for everyone? Hope for everyone. We want to remember this today as we discover that freedom is found in the father. That my hope cannot be in the things of this world. My hope cannot be in better behavior or better living. My hope is found in Jesus. Today's text comes from Luke chapter 15. We're going to cover a great uh plethora of texts today. So, I need you to work with me. I need you to lean in. I need you to listen to the Lord today. I want you to work with me because I know God has a word. Luke 15. We're going to start with verse 11. We're going to make our way all the way to verse 32. Luke 11 through32. If you're able to, would you stand for the reading of God's word? I'm going to read you the text and then we'll understand the application. It's

so important that we don't just receive the text and information. We want to leave here today transformed with an application. Luke 15 11 through32. And he Jesus Jesus said, "There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, "Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me." And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all that he had, took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in the country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country who sent him into the field to feed pigs. And he

was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate. And no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself, he said, "How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough? But I perish here with hunger. I will arise and go to my father and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants." And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven

and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son." But the father said to his servants, "Bring quickly the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hands and shoes on his feet, and bring the fattened calf, and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate." For this son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found. and they began to celebrate. Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, "Your brother has come and your father has killed the fattened calf

because he has received him back safe and sound." But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and intreated him. But he answered his father, "Look, these many years I've served you, and I never disobeyed your command. Yet you never gave me a young goat that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him. And he said to him, "Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. And it was fitting to celebrate and be glad for this brother of yours was dead

and is alive. He was lost and is found. This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated. If you're just joining us, we've been trying to understand kingdom come. Jesus taught us to pray, "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Jesus preached repent for the kingdom is at hand. What is this kingdom? As we study the teachings of Jesus, he would often use parables, these fictional stories to teach us such a spiritual truth of who God is. And if you're careful, you'll see it as a mirror. It'll teach you who you are. And we come to a text today that Jesus is extremely intentional with what he's telling us about who God is and who we

are. Luke tells us at the very beginning of Luke 15:1 why Jesus is telling us this story. He tells us in verse one, "Now the tax collectors and the sinners were all drawing near to hear him." I don't know how that makes you feel, but Lucas pointed out that the people who are most unlike Jesus, the people you'd never expect at church, the ones that you can smell, you can see, you can certainly tell you've done some bad things, they were coming to Jesus. And they weren't just coming to Jesus asking for a handout. They wanted to hear what he had to say. Not just the sinners, but Luke also puts another category, the tax collectors.

These were the ones in the ancient days of Jesus that they were despised. Because to be a Jewish tax collector, you would have forfeited your family. you would have forfeited your faith to collect money from your Jewish brothers and sisters and give it to the Roman government w- which is the opposite of everything you believe. So he says the people you hate and the people you judge were drawing near to hear Jesus. How how will the religious people of Jesus day respond to this? Well, they respond in the same way they do today because it's not so much about people as it is about demonic spirits. Jesus explains to us that there is the kingdom of heaven and there's the kingdom of earth. There are not thousands of different ways in this

world, despite what we might think with religion and the thousands of religions that exist today. There's really the kingdom of heaven which is ruled by God and there's the kingdom of earth which is ruled by the prince of the earth that is Satan. And so we look at verse two. How do the religious leaders of Jesus day respond? Well, Jesus tells us or excuse me, Luke tells us in verse two, the Pharisees and scribes. These are the religious elite of Jesus day. They grumbled. The religious grumbled, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them." Grumbling is a kind way of saying grown-ups whining. It's really easy to criticize children or maybe even teenagers, but let me just tell you, most grown-ups also grumble.

We just do it in a grown-up way. We gossip. We complain. We we murmur about what's going on. And by the way, it's not new to our generation. If you read the scriptures, it's always existed since sin. God could set you free and you're on the trajectory of the promised land, but you'll find something to complain about. It's usually things like food. or the people that you're around. In this particular case, they were grumbling because Jesus was eating with the sinners and tax collectors. This is significant. In the days of Jesus, they did not have silverware like we have today. So, when you would eat meals, you would often use your hands. And without the same hygiene practices we have, there are two categories of people, the clean and the unclean. Therefore, if you eat with someone who's unclean and they put their hand in a dish and then you

put your hand in a dish that follows, if you formerly were clean, if you touch that food, you now have become unclean. So, so they're criticizing Jesus. Why is he doing what he's doing? Being with those who are unclean, doesn't that make him unclean? But he flips upside down our understanding of the kingdom. He doesn't become unclean. He makes the unclean clean. And so he goes on to tell three stories and they're absolutely powerful and they're necessary for you to understand the kingdom, who God is and who you are. The first one starts with a man with a 100 sheep. One goes missing. Now the shepherd could count the cost and say, "Well, at least I have 99.

I'll just count off the one." But instead, this man goes and he finds the sheep and puts them on his shoulders. And what Jesus says next is surprising as he proposes a question. Won't he go after the one that is lost until he finds it? Remember, he's explaining the heart of God. He's explaining who we are. And when he has found it, he doesn't beat the sheep. He doesn't condemn the sheep. He lays it on his shoulders rejoicing. Jesus used this imagery of a shepherd and sheep. And by the way, he's the shepherd and we are the sheep. And if you don't know, shepherds are or excuse me, sheep are dumb and they get lost easily.

They wander easily. They will find themselves in places they shouldn't be easily. To be lost simply means you're not in the place you're supposed to be. And it's easy to get lost and not even know it. He tells a second story of a woman who has 10 coins. It was common in the days of Jesus for a groom to give his bride a necklace with 10 coins and she loses one. She still has nine. So, she could have count the cost and just moved on with her life. But instead, this woman does everything she can to look for that lost coin. In fact, Jesus says she will light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it.

And when she finds it, she tells everyone. She invites everyone to celebrate with her. Then finally, Jesus tells a third story, and it really crescendos at this moment. He's talked about the lost sheep. He's talked about the lost coin, but now he's going to talk about a father who has two sons. We've often called this story the prodal son, but it's not about one son. It's about two sons. [snorts] And if you're really careful, we've got to be careful that we just don't take the information the editors give us at the top of our headings of scripture because those were added later. This is not even so much about the sons as it is about the father. Jesus is explaining why he does what he does. And he wants us to understand who God is, who the father is. And Jesus

explicitly teaches us in this story that freedom is found in the father. The story starts off so simply. There was a man, he says, who had two sons. In [snorts] the days of Jesus, this man would have been considered blessed because he has he he has sons that will carry on the family name. the sons of they will leave a legacy in honor of their father. But quickly Jesus turns our attention to the younger of them. Now we've got to understand in this story what it means to be the younger. Any younger children here? You understand what that's like growing up in the shadows of the older. In the days of Jesus, the younger son would receive a lesser inheritance.

For the book of Deuteronomy 21 tells us that the oldest son gets a double blessing. So if there's two sons, he would get two/3s and the younger son would get one-third. So you're already growing up knowing that you won't get it as much as your older brother. So this younger son, we're told in verse 12, came to his father and said, "Father, give me the share of property that's coming to me." We can see in the text clearly. He's simply saying, "I don't want to wait till you die to get my inheritance." In some sense, he's simply saying, "I wish you were dead. I want my inheritance now, not later." And what's wild about this story is the dad does not need to do anything. In fact, the dad could discipline the son.

The dad could disown the son. But Jesus lets us know the character of who God is. He's not like the earthly understanding that we know. This is the kingdom and freedom is found in the father. How easy it is for us to be like this younger son and say, "I want the blessing but not the one who gives it. I want the provision of God without the presence of God. I want the gifts of God without the giftgiver." And it will happen naturally and it will even happen subconsciously. You you have a bad marriage and you say, "God, I want you to fix my marriage." But do you realize if you want the gift of a healthy marriage, it's going to cost you something. It might be surrender.

It might be that God doesn't need to fix the other person as much as he needs to fix you. Sometimes we want a financial breakthrough. God, I need you to pay my bills. I need you to show up. I need a financial miracle. But are you willing to trust God with your finances? Are you willing to take him seriously and actually tithe and and put your faith in God and say, "God, I don't just want your stuff. I want you. Give me the share of the estate." I don't know if you've ever gotten what you've asked for and realized that you weren't ready for it. Have you ever wanted a relationship and then you got it and maybe you got married young only to realize how young you were? Maybe I should have waited.

Or maybe you wanted money. Statistics have shown us that those who are broke when they win the lottery go broke again. They don't stay wealthy. Because if you don't know how to manage money before you get money, you won't know what to do when you get it. Maybe you wanted that promotion at work. You wanted that job and then you actually get that job and you realize you weren't quite ready for it. So it is with parenting. It's really easy to tell other people how to parent until you're in charge of a human. You're like, "This is a little more difficult than I thought it was going to be." I was really good at parenting other people's kids when I was a youth pastor. But then when I had my own teenagers, what's amazing is the father, verse 12,

divided his property between them and gave him that third of his inheritance. When the younger son gets his money, he doesn't thank the father. He doesn't stick around and say, "Dad, thanks. I'm going to invest this. I'm going to show you what I'm going to do with this." What Luke tells us, Jesus in the story, verse 13, he took a journey. He didn't want to be anywhere near his family. He went to a far country. Here's what's great about the story. We're all on a journey. Doesn't matter what your age is or what season of life you're in. You're on a journey. And you are a steward of what God's entrusted you with what you have in your life. And so we see with this story, this man has to get as far away as he can from what he understands of the father. He has to do his own thing and he starts to fulfill what we read in 1 John chapter 2 verse 16. We see that

he he had to experience all that the world had to offer. The desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life. This man has money. He goes to a foreign land. He looks at the girls. He gets the girls. He buys everyone a drink. And everything finally in his life was awesome until it wasn't. Because sin always promises freedom. The scriptures even tell us that sin can be satisfying in the wisdom of Solomon for a season, but that season will come to an end. And eventually we discover that sin delivers a famine. There's always a consequence.

And so we see in this particular story, verse 14, when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country and he began to be in need. In the margins of my Bible, I've got this quote. I can't give you the origins of the author, but it's always true. And it reminds us that sin will take you farther than you want to go. You think you know what will happen when you cave into your own desires, the ways of the world, but sin will take you farther than you want to go. It will keep you longer than you want to stay. For the consequences, they often last and it will cost you more than you want to pay. You end up broke. In this case, Jesus makes a point in the story that this man ends up feeding pigs.

For a Jewish person hearing the story, this is rock bottom for a Jewish man. In a world of kosher where where pigs were unclean animals, you don't eat them, let alone work with them. But he has no other options. When we start to look at the equivalent of of this today, we we we could simply say it's like someone who has it all. They have a family unit. They have a a a generational wealth coming to them, but they go out and they waste it all and they end up homeless on the streets and they have need. So, they just do what they know how to do. We can criticize them, but they don't know what else to do but to do what they do. Verse 16 says, "He was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything."

It's as if he's the homeless person on the side of the road with a sign saying anything helps, but no one gave him anything. And Jesus teaches us in this story, the truth of the days of old are still true today. That if you want to be a victim, you can be one. This world is as bad as you think it is. Because since Genesis chapter 3, there's been sin in our story. And if you're expecting everyone to treat you well and the whole world to revolve around you, you will discover soon enough it doesn't. And at some point you're going to be let down by other people. Be it your parents or a spouse or your children or a pastor or a politician. You will discover that people will let you down. And you've got to decide, will you be a victim and stay

there the rest of your life? Because it's a lot like the person who was forgiven the debt yet they find themselves in prison. You don't have to stay there. Do you have the right to be a victim? Sure you do. But Jesus in this story gives us a radical turn in verse 17. When he came to himself, come on, somebody. You got to wake up from your stuper. You got to realize, I don't need to stay here. I might be stuck right now. I might be in the miry mud, but I don't need to stay here. And in the realization of his world, he didn't even understand the fullness of who his father was yet. But what he knew was at least one step closer in his faith journey.

He said to himself, "How many of my father's hired servants have more?" Everyone shout more. More than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger. Jesus is giving us the character of God. He has more than enough in this particular case. The servants have more than he has. There's more than enough for you. There's more than enough grace. There's more than enough abundance. Listen, God's not going to run out of anything at any time. There's more than enough. And in his mind, it would be better to be a servant in his father's house than to stay where he is with the pigs. Instead of eating pig slop, he could head to his father's house and he can have some bread with the other hired servants. The psalmist would give us pictures like this as better to be one day in the the house of God than a thousand others elsewhere.

It would be better to be a doorkeeper in the house of God than to do the best job anywhere else. Meaning, it's better to be in the presence of God than anywhere else. And so he says to himself, I'm not going to stay here. I will. Verse 18 says, I will arise. I'll go to my father. And then he's prepared this speech. Father, Dad, I've sinned against God. Heaven and before you. This requires humility. If you really want the kingdom of God, you have to have some humility. You You have to recognize that yes, God made you. Yes, God has good plans for you. But there are also eight billion other people here on earth. And what an honor that you have access to your heavenly father.

So in some sense there's some humility to just start right here. I have not behaved the way I could have behaved, the way I should have behaved. So I just want to start right there. And so this son starts to rehearse his speech. I'm not worthy. I want to earn a way back into this house. I don't even need to be your son. Just let me be a servant. And this is where everything changes. This is what the story is really about. And the story is really not about the son. It's more about the father. So when he arose, he thought he knew what was going to happen next. And let me just say, you might think you know what God's going to do in your life, but Jesus awakens your senses to who God is. You have no clue what God's going to do next. When he arose, he came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father, he saw him and felt compassion and ran and embraced him and

kissed him. Wait, he saw him? How did he see him if he was a long ways off? Because I've learned the older I get, the less my eyesight actually works. So this dad must have been looking. This dad must have had his telescope out. [snorts] This dad must have been sitting on the front porch day in and day out, week after week, praying and persevering and believing that my son's not just going to stay out there someday. He's going to come home. He was looking. He was waiting. And the significance of this story is when we start to understand the context that this was not in modern day America.

This was in the ancient Middle East. When when we study the scriptures and we learn about weddings, when they would do a wedding, it wouldn't just be the family and a few people invited. The whole community was invited. It was a communal uh uh time period and in this space in this place and there was a ceremony that would be practiced in Jesus day called kaza. Just Google this. Kaza ceremony was when someone had had literally abandoned their family, when they squandered their family's wealth, when they lived in sin. If that person tried to come back to their family, it wasn't that they were coming back to their family, they were coming back to community. And what people would do in the days of Jesus, a kaza ceremony means if you saw someone trying to come back home, you would meet

them with a a clay jar. Often it would have burnt uh nuts or beans inside, so it was the worst of the worst inside. You would go to that person often with the neighbors and you would smash that jar at their feet and the ceremony was symbolizing you have been broken off from this community. You are not welcome here. We will not let you go home. You are cut off from this family. You made your choice. You're broken. Leave. [snorts] Now, we could read this and say, "This is harsh. This was so barbaric what they did in the days of old." Oh, no. We do the same thing today. We just don't call it a ceremony. I know so many estranged relationships today in one form or another. Brothers and sisters and parents and kids. I mean, we are living in the days of kaza

where you have offended me. You have hurt me. I'm going to cancel you. I'm going to block you. And so, I won't answer your texts. I won't answer your emails. And I certainly am going to tell everybody else exactly what's happened. And so when this father sees his son, he wants to stop him from the shame of kaza because love runs faster than shame. I don't know what view you have of God, but some of us, we feel a little guilty for the things that we've done, but Jesus teaches us that when you confront who God is as the character of a heavenly father, he does not shame you. He does not blame you. He certainly will not condemn you. He runs after you. And Jesus actually teaches he felt compassion.

That's one of the pillars that this church is built on. Compassion in the Greek is splaggna. It means you see something and you're moved to action. We live in a world where everybody can tell you what's wrong. I tell you, you want to see people complain, go ahead and say what the church is doing with their money and everyone will tell you what the church should be doing with their money without giving their money. But splaggna is actually like, hey, I'm going to put my money where my mouth is. I'm I'm going to be moved to action here. So, so the idea of compassion is I see this and I'm going to do something with it. Love and compassion means I don't just see the problem. I I'm going to actually go do something. In this case, he ran, which in the days of Jesus, grown men did not run. It would be humiliating. You would have to raise your robe and expose your white hairy

legs to the world. In fact, in the days of Jesus, the older you got, the slower you walked because older men had wisdom. So the slower you walked, you walked with dignity. You you weren't quick to go anywhere. This was long before the days of busy and hurry. So this father running shows us what kind of a God we have. He felt compassion. He ran. He did not condemn his son. He embraced him. and he kissed him. Most dads don't do this, but this father does because this father loves the son. And love runs faster than shame.

I've told this story before. Years ago, our family went with a youth group of Journey Church to a water park over in the valley. It was an indoor water park and the kids played all day and when it was time to go, uh, we were with all three of our kids and my wife and I collected our two oldest kids, but the youngest one could not be found. Now, we could have counted the cost and said, "Two out of three is not bad." But we didn't. We said, "We got to find the third one." And so, we looked around for the third one. We looked everywhere. We looked in the pools. We looked in the bathrooms. We looked on the water slides. We could not find her anywhere. So eventually I went and waited in line to talk to an employee and it took a few minutes and by the time I got to the employee I let the employee know, listen, I need some help. My youngest child is missing. And I kid you not, the response of the

employee was they looked me in the eyes and they said, actually we can't help you right now. We've got several other kids missing. I was like, wait a second. I went from frustration to infuriation. You're telling me that other kids are more important than my kid? I didn't stay and debate this employee. I knew he was making minimum wage. So, I went out and I decided, I got to find my kid. And so, our family split up and we started looking in places we didn't want to look. We looked at the bottom of the pool. Like, did the lifeguard miss? My mind went to places that it shouldn't have gone because I've watched too many 48 hours in Dineine and I imagined that someone tricked my daughter and lured her with some candy and they went into some gross van and went somewhere doing something that I literally went to the darkest places in my mind. So much so that I wondered, is my daughter dead?

And after looking what felt like hours, but it was more like a few minutes, one of the kids found her and they brought her to me. And when they brought her to me, I looked at her and I raised my voice and I said, "Where were you?" She looked at me with the most beautiful blue eyes that just swelled up with tears. And she said, "I was in line for the water slide." And I got down on my knees and I realized it wasn't her fault. I embraced her. She didn't even know she was lost. I hugged her in my arms and I whispered her ears and I said, "I'm sorry, sweetie. I'm sorry. We were just looking for you. We didn't know where you were. But now you're found. You're okay. And I let her know that I love her.

I I shouldn't have raised my voice at her. And it's in this story that Jesus is giving us a glimpse that no matter where you've been, no matter what you've done, the father loves you. And he tells us in verses 22 through 23, this is what the father does. He shouts, "Go bring the robe. The robe in the scriptures is really significant. In the Old Testament, we see the symbolism of the robe as a picture of praise. It's also the same word as salvation. That when you're wearing the robe of God, this is spiritually speaking. It's a picture of a covering. That when you have the robe of God, you are saved and you have a reason to praise. You're not in a season of grieving. It's why we sing that song, garment of praise. You don't need to wear a sackcloth like you're grieving or you're dying or that you're dead in your sin. You are saved. In the New Testament, the robe is an image of righteousness.

That because of Jesus, the father has clothed you with righteousness. So, you don't have to earn your righteousness. You don't deserve your righteousness, but there is a robe of righteousness that God has placed upon you. And then we're told he calls for the signant ring. You go get a ring on his finger. This is a picture of authority. This means you can do what dad does. This gives your identity. This would probably have the family name or the the the the the first letter of the the family's uh first name of the father. This is an identity. This is the authority that what I have is yours. And go get him sandals for his feet. For servants did not have the money for sandals. And the dad is declaring before the son can do anything. You're not a servant in this house. You are a son.

And here's the culmination of the story. You go get that wagoo cow which is ready to be slaughtered and let's have a barbecue. Let's get some brisket and some tri tip and some t-bone and some ribeye. We're going to cut up every portion of this cow and we're going to celebrate. This is something we learn and rooted. This is a part of disciplehip. Some of you think of God as a distant deity. You think of the guy God as the big guy in the sky, but Jesus shows us we have a God of celebration that when you know who you are, God invites you to the table and he eats with you. He doesn't wait until one day or someday. He wants you to know right now.

You see, even if you've messed up miserably, the father's not going to put you on probation and say, "As long as you're good enough for this period of time, then you could be free." He restores your place at the table. And there is food. Now food if you don't know is a picture of abundance. Food is a picture of celebration. Food is what we all know gives us satisfaction. In fact, some of us have strongholds with food because it feels good. And the imagery here is that what you've been looking for out in the world is only found with the father. Freedom is found in the father. And so we see his heart when he gives his own speech back to the son. For my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is f found. And they began to celebrate. You know, we just sang the song made for more. There are some people in this world, you won't believe

it, uh who will grumble at some of the songs we sing. It's called the religious spirit. And they will try to break down theology and say why you shouldn't say the things that you say. Like you shouldn't say that you're made for more. You should just talk about how great God is. And God is great, by the way. But we don't need to grumble and complain that we are are made for more. You're not made for the pig slub. You're made to celebrate not because of anything you've done, but because of what was done for you. So, you're allowed to sing, "I am made for more." And when those grumpy, grumbling religious spirits say that, you don't need to debate them. You just need to get back into God's word and say, "I know who I am because of who he is." Now, here's the twist, and I don't have a lot of time to tell you about this, but we're going to go there because there's a lot of messed up people in the world. And if you can just acknowledge

that, then you also got to go look in the mirror. Come on, somebody. Now, his older son, remember, there was two sons. We often call this the prodical son because the story of restoration, reconciliation, celebration, but there is an older son. He was in the field doing what he was supposed to do. You know those people that just do what they're supposed to do, but they don't look happy. And as he came, he didn't go into the house, but he was coming to the house. He heard music and dancing. Now, you know it's a party when you hear the dancing. Come on, somebody. That's a party. I don't just hear the music. I also hear the dancing. He hears the celebration. He doesn't go in, but

he begins to ask why. Why is there music? What's the celebration? It's not Shabbat. It's not a feast. Why is there a C? Why do I smell this glorious smell that I What's going on? And a servant told the older brother, "Your brother has come home and he's not dead. He's safe and sound." And this is where we see the devil trying to get us and not experiencing the kingdom. He held an offense. And Jesus says in verse 28, he was angry. He could have celebrated. He could have enjoyed the food, but instead he was angry and refused to go in. This is the image of what happens when you hold an offense towards someone.

You're not helping anyone, even yourself. You are forfeiting the kingdom of God. You are not set free. You are not experiencing all that God h offers for you in the inheritance. You refuse to go in. And my friends, I know many Christian brothers and sisters, and some of you may be here today that justify why you're angry at somebody. And you can justify it all day long. And you might be even right. I know people that are extremely sincere, but your sincerity doesn't mean you're experiencing the kingdom. You could think you're sincerely right and actually be sincerely wrong. Jesus [snorts] is making a point in this parable. Don't miss this. One son is

rebellious and the world knows it. But one son is religious and he doesn't know it. He doesn't even know what he's missing out on. The younger son knows what he's done and says, "I've sinned too much." And the older son says, "I've not sinned at all." When he gives a speech to his father, verse 29 and 30, look, all these years, I've never ever ever done that. I've never smoked this. I've never drank that. I've never done this. I've never done any of those things. Then he says, "But verse 30, when this son of yours," he can't even call him a brother. That's when you know you got problems. And by the way, the nation we live in right now has some problems.

[snorts] We are a divided people of red and blue. We see things like happened last night with with with our own president and people want to mock, laugh, be angry. Let me just tell you, when we have lost human dignity over division, this son of yours. It's It's the pointing of fingers. Look what he did. He squandered it on prostitutes. I don't know about you, but it's easy to judge what somebody else has done and not to judge what you've done. And and you're going to give him the best of the best of the best. You're going to give him grace. You're going to celebrate with him. See, religion will always say that if you obey God, God will bless you. Oh, but that's not grace, my friends. That's a self-righteousness and you cannot earn your way into heaven.

All of us have a debt that we can't pay and it's been forgiven by the grace of Jesus Christ. And let's be careful because the older brother had access to all that the father had including the father himself. Yeah. Which tells us you can be close to God and actually miss the character of God. And the father explains to the older son, in fact, did you notice this? He entreats him. He begs him. God doesn't leave the religious to go do their own thing. He wants them to come have a seat at the table, too. He wants them to turn that frown upside down. He He wants them to know the joy that's found in Jesus. And so he explains, "It was fitting, come on, when we come here and we throw up our hands to God as a father and like a child asking for more of the presence of God. It was fitting to celebrate and

be glad." Because here's what I know. I was dead, but am now alive. I was lost, but I'm now found. You see, if you you read between the the lines here, if Jesus was in our day, the things we think he might rebuke, he actually might say, "Oh, no. That's a celebration. Maybe we should stop criticizing one another and start getting into the word and asking God who he is. Jesus explained earlier in the stories of the lost sheep. And then he says with the woman with the lost coin, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. This is the heart of God. And we are reminded that freedom is found in the father. And so I say today, no matter who you are, no matter what you've done, you might feel like the younger son and think that you don't belong here,

whether it's your first time at church or maybe you've been coming to church for a while, but you know what you've done. And maybe you've even rehearsed that speech to God and you've begged for forgiveness. You've asked God over and over, "Forgive me." But you don't feel forgiven. Let me tell you, faith is not about your feelings. You are forgiven even if you don't feel it. It's time to release off your own offenses and say, "I am forgiven. I am a beloved child of God." And it's time to start acting like it. But it's also time for some of those who are religious to repent of your self-righteousness, your pride, and to simply say, "I don't deserve God's grace." And like David came to the conclusion in Psalm 23:5, "You prepare a table before me.

You're the one that's done all this, God. Jesus warns the church in Revelation 3. This is to the church. He says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." How did he get outside? But he says, "If you would hear him, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to eat with him." There's the imagery of eating. Jesus wants to do life with you. And he is a God of abundance. I will eat with him and he with me. Oh my friends, God's heart is not just to forgive you. God's heart is to liberate you so [snorts] that you would know who he is. One God in three persons, the father, the son, Jesus [music] Christ, and the holy spirit.

And so we say, where am I in this story? Maybe you've not squandered everything in your life, but let me just tell you, you still need God's grace. If you ever come to church and you think, "Well, I don't need this today." You've become the older brother. If salvation ever gets normal, if celebrating God ever is not exciting, there's something that needs to be stimulated inside of your own soul that like the prophets of old would say, "Wake up, oh sleeper. Have the fear of the Lord because God is great." Don't think that somehow in doing all these things that it forfeits your opportunity [music] to celebrate.

And this older brother is blaming the dad for not celebrating him when any day he could have had his own party. Any day he could have had access to the father. Any day he could have enjoyed all that he had. You know what I love about Jesus is he's the master storyteller. He doesn't tell us what happens to the older brother. It's easy to read this story and say, "Oh man, he missed it." But you know, in Acts chapter 15, we read that in the church after Jesus ascends into heaven and gives us the power of the Holy Spirit, do you know who has a seat at the table in Acts 15 and the council of the early church? Pharisees [music] and scribes.

There were some that surrendered their hearts to Jesus. So we don't just conclude like, oh, the religious don't have access to the table. No, you have the same access to grace today. There's nothing greater than watching someone turn from grumbling to God's grace. And so I welcome you today to realize who God is and to come home wherever you are. That this would be a church that believes in revival. that if God can do it with me, he can do it with anyone. We cannot leave a seat empty here without wanting someone to know the hope of Jesus. Praying and not giving up like God didn't give up on you.

I want to invite the worship team up here as I ask you the most serious question of our time today. Have you believed in Jesus? It it's so sincere that this is a matter of heaven and hell. See, the Bible tells us that without the hope of Jesus Christ, you will be eternally separated from God. There's no need to scare you into heaven because you should want to embrace the gift that God's given you. Forgiveness. Forgiveness equals freedom. And today, if you want to be set free from your sins, [music] if you want to be set free from the tyranny of the kingdom of this earth and put your hope on Jesus, it's yours. I I can't make you do this. Going to church doesn't save [music] you. And certainly being a good person will never get you into heaven. It's Jesus that

will get you there. And it's not just a free ticket into heaven. It changes your identity. You have a robe of righteousness. You You have this metaphoric ring on your finger that God gives you his authority. You're no longer a servant, but you are a child of God. And you no longer need to live like God can't provide for you. He can heal. He can provide. There's nothing that God can't do. Jeremiah [music] said, "Is there anything too hard for God?" And so once you understand your place in [music] the father's house, you start saying that to yourself. Is anything too hard? And don't give up on God because he hasn't given up on you. With every eye closed, if today I close your eyes because I need you to actually think about this eternally. Are you saved? Have you believed in Jesus?

If you would like to receive this gift of grace today, we want to rejoice with you and rejoice with the father. God loves it when his kids say yes. If that's you today, would you just raise your hand? Say yes. That's me. I want to be forgiven. I want the hope of salvation. Praise be to God. Yes. He restores you. Praise God. Keep your hand up. We'll be happy to get you a little booklet that tells you this is the best decision you've ever made. Praise God. Praise God. Yes. So grateful. I tell you, one step closer to the father, you get the father. For in the book of James, he tells us, if you draw near to God, he'll draw near to you. Which implies that God has just been waiting for you to turn to him. So this isn't about a moment at a church service. The moment you leave here, God

is for you. And the Bible says, if [music] God is for us, who could be against us? Keep coming back to the father. Be led by the spirit. Get into the word of God. Take him [music] so seriously that the whole world wonders what happens to you. And you say, "I was dead, but I'm now alive." Be unashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the power to save even the worst of sinners and the most religious of sinners. So Lord, I thank you for this moment today. Thank you for salvation and celebration. Thank you God that you didn't leave us in our own understanding, but you are the one that goes after the lost. You are the one that does what needs to be done. So today, we receive your gift of grace. For those of you who raised your hands, you've got to make your faith personal. I'm going to ask that you confess it out loud as we pray to the Lord. Anyone who's believed in Jesus, let's join with them. Repeat after me.

Lord Jesus, I believe in you. Forgive me of my sins. You are my Lord. You are my King. You are my [music] Savior. You are my father. and you are my friend in Jesus name. Lord, so as we as we prepare to leave here, I'm asking in the name of Jesus that Holy [music] Spirit, you would stir our hearts in such a way that we just can't keep living the same. Oh God, may we take your word so seriously, not just on Sundays, but I'm asking for a hungry church that would hunger and thirst for righteousness. [music] And Lord, we would not be satisfied in the things of this world, but repent and we'd be satisfied in you and you alone. I know you hear that prayer and you are the God that answers. So I say thank you that revival is here. Thank you that

central Oregon shall be saved in Jesus