I'm going to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn with me back to the book of Luke chapter
15. Luke 15. Last week, last Wednesday,
I dealt with this portion of Scripture and I touched on one verse in there,
I touched on it, but I really didn't deal with it as I would
like to deal with it this evening. The Lord is speaking a parable
to two groups of people, scribes and Pharisees and publicans
and sinners. In this parable, He deals with
both groups, and God's mercy and grace to one, and judgment
found to the other. The passage of Scripture that
I'm going to look at is verse 31, and it is the answer of the
Father to the elder son, who is a picture of a Pharisee. One that came out of the group
to murmur against the Lord. The scripture says, Luke 15 31,
and he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that
I have is thine. One of these sons, the younger,
had told his father in this parable that he wanted his inheritance
now, all that was coming to him. He squandered his inheritance,
the scripture says, in riotous living, but you know in grace
and mercy was brought back to himself and then to the father.
And the fact of that regeneration of him coming to himself, that
regeneration was evidenced in his repentance. Now the other,
whose true feelings were outwardly hidden and very possibly according
to a parable, we don't know how long, maybe for years, this other
son had hidden his true feelings But whenever that younger brother
returned, the true feelings of that older brother was made evident. Now this evening I'd like for
us to just consider again that parable in part and look and
see concerning the words that were spoken by each of the boys
and then what was said back to them by the father. Words matter. The Lord Jesus Christ said to
a group of Pharisees, I went back and looked at this passage
and he was speaking to Pharisees, a believer has no condemnation. But the Lord was speaking to
a group of Pharisees in Matthew 12 36 and he said, but I say
unto you that every idle word, every malicious, every false,
every injurious word that men shall speak, they shall give
account thereof in the day of judgment. A regenerate. One referred to as being a good
man, Matthew 12, 35. A good man out of the good treasure
of the heart bringeth forth good things, and an evil man out of
the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. So the summation
of what the Lord was saying to men concerning what they said,
the words express the heart. If you want to know what a man
really thinks, just listen to him, just give him a second and
he'll tell you what he really thinks, he'll tell you what's
inside. Matthew 12.37, For by thy words thou shalt be justified,
and by thy words thou shalt be condemned of grace, and mercy,
and compassion, and peace, or animosity and anger, out of the
abundance of the heart. So what is exposed by a man's
speech? That prodigal. He revealed out
of his speech what the Lord in the parable had truly done. That
parable was a picture of regeneration for one One left to be a reprobate. A reprobate mind is a mind left
to itself. That's a reprobate mind. If they're
left to a reprobate mind, the Lord has let them do what they
wanted to do. But this boy in the parable came
to himself and exhibited his brokenness. He said in Luke 15,
18, Father I have sinned against heaven and before thee." He confessed
what he was. A sinner. I'm a sinner. Every
believer has this attitude of himself. I am a sinner against
God. A sinner in need of a Savior. His heart was exposed. And he
exposed also what he felt himself not to be. He said, I'm not worthy
to be called by Son. I'm not worthy. What believer,
sitting here tonight, says, I'm worthy? to be adopted into the
kingdom of God. I'm worthy to be God's son. No, not a believer. I'm not worthy
to be called thy son. He said, make me as one of thy
hired servants. A sinner regenerated by grace
shall in this life never rise above that feeling of unworthiness. The older we get, The more we
see of ourselves, the more we realize how unworthy we are. John the Baptist. The Lord said
of John the Baptist, there's never been a greater born of
woman than John the Baptist. Well, the Lord said that. So
when he was born of woman, but not born in Adam. There's never
been one greater than John the Baptist. John the Baptist was
the one the Spirit of God revealed, there's the Son of God. Behold
the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Listen
to what John said, John 1, 26-27. John answered them saying, I
baptize with water, but there standeth one among you whom ye
know not. He it is who coming after me
is preferred before me. Now listen to this, whose shoes
latch it, I am not worthy to unloose. He said, I'm not worthy. I'm not worthy to unbuckle his
shoes. And in response to that speech, the father, hearing the
confession of that son, the father's love to that son, who came back
broken, admitting his sinfulness, admitting his unworthiness. Here's
what he said, bring forth the best robe, put it on him, put
a ring on his hand, shoes on his feet, bring hither the fatted
calf and kill it, let us eat and be merry. For this my son
was dead and is alive. He was lost and is found and
they began to make merry. If we confess our sins And I
read this from Brother Henry, he said, there's not a believer
that'll ever confess all of his sins, but if we admit what we
are by nature. Sinners saved by the grace of
God. If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. A sinner. broken by the convicting
power of God's Spirit and made to see his need of forgiveness
before God, made to see his need of mercy. He's going to find
it. All that the Father giveth me,
the Lord said, shall come to me and him that cometh to me
I will in no wise cast out. This son, who is an example,
a picture, of the publicans and the sinners that came, the scripture
says in verse 1 of chapter 15, for to hear him. They wanted
to hear what he had to say. This is the picture that that
boy sets forth, the publicans and the sinners. And he received
the best robe, the ring, the shoes, the fatted calf. The Lord said in Matthew 23,
12, he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. But the heart of that younger
boy, as it exposed his brokenness and his unfaithfulness and his
unworthiness, and he was rewarded, the heart of that elder boy was
also exposed. And after he heard of his younger
brother's return and his confession of his unworthiness and saw what
the father did to him, what it did, it angered him. And this
boy came and started to confess his assumed faithfulness. Here was a young boy over here.
He said, I've not been faithful. This one over here said, I have
been faithful. This one over here says, I'm a sinner. This
one over here says, I've always served you. I've never disregarded
your word one time. And he exalted himself and was
therefore abased. And that's what I want to deal
with for a few minutes here. Remember again to whom the Lord
speaks, Pharisees, scribes, publicans, and sinners. One group in need
of forgiveness and one group there to murmur and to argue
and complain. The elder son confessed, verse
29 and 30, he answering, said to his father, lo, these many
years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy
commandment, and yet thou never gavest me a kid that I might
make merry with my friends. But as soon as this thy son was
come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast
killed for him the fatted calf. Now, that attitude That spirit,
no graciousness whatsoever about it. Here's what he said. I've
worked hard serving you. Here's the Pharisees. I've earned
what I deserve. I've earned it. And I've never
deviated. I've never deviated from your
wishes. And all I've ever gotten I can
see that now, for my faithfulness is being deprived. Now this just
don't make sense to me. I have been ever faithful to
you. Pride. Pride. And he said, all I've ever gotten
out of this has been cheated. I've been put on the back burner.
I've been treated like a nobody." Now that's what he said. That's
his attitude. I've been out here in this field
working all these years. You have to understand this is
the attitude of every unbeliever's heart. There's nothing wrong
with hard work. There's nothing wrong with inheritance.
There's nothing wrong. But it's the attitude that the
Lord was setting forth. This is the attitude of the religionist
that thinks that he deserves what he gets because of his work. I was baptized. I deserve salvation. I walked down the aisle. I gave
my heart to Christ. I've done this and all I've ever
gotten is nothing. I deserve everything I should
have and I'm not going to receive any of it. Now here we're going
to witness an amazing answer and this is what I'm coming down
to right now and finishing this message right here. This father
who could have absolutely done anything he wanted to do. Now
I'm telling you, you talk about a tender answer. This is the
father speaking to this elder son who is a picture of a Pharisee. A Pharisee. A self-righteous
Pharisee. And listen to the words This
parable sets forth the Pharisee's attitude and the attitude of
the father. And what he's about to tell him
is absolutely so. Listen to the words. He said
unto him, son, thou art ever with me. Truthfully. These Pharisees and
scribes were ever in the house and the place of God's ordained
worship. Think about what the Lord had
given the Pharisees, the Jews. He gave them the temple. They
had the synagogues where God's word was read every Sabbath.
They had the law. They had the prophets, they had
all the outward ordinances, but by and large they didn't know
God. But they were ever with Him. Who else had all of these blessings,
these manifestations of God's mercy to mankind? Who had that
but the Jews? They had all of that manifestation
of worship. but no inward grace and no manifestation
of that grace either. When the Lord Jesus Christ came
into this world, what was their attitude? They claimed to know
God. They claimed Abraham was their father. We've been faithful. We've been faithful with the
people of God. We have done this and we've been
persecuted. We've cried unto the Lord and He delivered us. He said, son, thou art ever with
me. Truthfully, they had. And then
he said this, and all that I have is thine. Still, that answer
just intrigued me as I look back after I preached on this last
week. All that I have is thine. Now remember, what the father
had just given that other son. He gave him the best robe. He gave him the ring, a symbol
of that family, the symbol of marriage, a symbol of oneness,
of family ties. He gave him shoes. He killed
the fatty calf. For that younger boy that came
back broken, now he tells this elder boy, all that I have is
thine. What was left? That's my question. What was left? That boy got the
fatty cap, the best robe, the ring, the shoes. What was left? The answer to this question,
I believe, is found in Genesis chapter 27. Genesis 27. There were two boys. One of them's
name was Jacob and the other one's name was Esau. Esau was
the elder brother. Jacob was the younger brother. These boys were twins. One of
them was born just a few moments before the other one. One of
them God loved. The second one God hated. Does
the potter have the right to set his love and affection
on one and to bypass the other? Yes, he does. By birth, the elder son was to
receive the blessing, the birthright. Now that blessing,
that blessing was everything. Let me tell you what the blessing
was. Through the one who got the blessing,
the Messiah was going to come. Humanly speaking, through the
one that received the blessing, the birthright, the Messiah was
going to come. You hold your place right there.
Let me just read the first two verses of Matthew chapter 1 on
the lineage of the Lord Jesus Christ. The book of the generation
of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat
Isaac and Isaac begat Jacob and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren.
No mention of Esau. Jacob. Jacob. That's the birthright. Esau was to receive the birthright. He was the older of the two.
That was just the way it was done. But Rebecca, Jacob and
Esau's mama, heard that Isaac, the dad, was going to bless Esau. And you know the story. I'm going
to just read the blessing right here. Rebecca told when Isaac,
the dad, told Esau, you go out there and I'm going to bless
you. You go out there and you kill
the deer. You make me some of that good soup you always make.
I'm going to eat. I'm going to bless you. He had
purpose to bless Esau. Esau went out to go get his deer.
Rebecca told Jacob, the one that God loved, the one that God purposed,
you're going to get the blessing. And she told Jacob, I want you
to go get me a couple of kid goats, and I'm going to prepare
your daddy some of that good soup that he likes. And I'm going
to let you go in there. You know what he told him? He
said, I can't go in there. He said, I'm a smooth man. He's
a hairy man. And so she put Esau's coat on
Jacob. And he took the skins of those
kids that she had killed and made that soup and put them on
his arms and his neck. She sent him in there. And he
goes in there and the scripture sets forth that Isaac, when he
heard the voice of Jacob come in. In Genesis chapter 27, And it says in verse 22, Jacob
went near unto Isaac his father, and he felt him, and he said,
The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.
And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy as his brother
Esau's hands. So he blessed him. And he said,
art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am. Now you know
that right here is a beautiful picture of substitution. Jacob is going to receive a blessing
at another's merit. In this story right here, Esau
is a beautiful picture of Christ. and Jacob robed in Esau's robe
is going to get blessed. He said, Art thou my very son,
verse 24, Esau, and he said, I am. And he said, bring it near
to me. I will eat of my son's venison,
that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him.
And he did eat. And he brought him wine. He drank.
His father Isaac said unto him, come near now and kiss me, my
son. He came near and kissed him.
And he smelled the smell of the raiment. And he blessed him. And he said, see, the smell of
my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed.
And here's the blessing, verse 28, 29. Now listen to these words.
Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven and the fatness
of the earth and plenty of corn and wine. Let people serve thee,
now not Jacob, but the one that would come through Jacob's lineage,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Let people serve thee. and nations
bow down to thee. Be Lord over thy brethren, and
let thy mother's sons bow down to thee. Cursed be every one
that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee. There
was the blessing. Temporal blessing, yes. In this,
that first one, God's going to give you the dew of heaven, fatness
of the earth, plenty of corn and wine. But there was a spiritual
blessing that was bestowed through you is going to come the Messiah.
Through you. Through you, the Savior, the
Savior of sinners, the Savior of God's people, through you.
And as soon as he walked out, the Scripture says Esau came
in. And Esau came over. And he said, it came to pass,
verse 30, it came to pass, as soon as Isaac made an end of
blessing Jacob, Jacob was yet scarce gone out of the presence
of Isaac, his father, that Esau, his brother, came in from his
hunting. And he also had made savory meat and brought it to
his father, said unto his father, let my father arise and eat of
his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me. And Isaac, his
father, said unto him, who art thou? And he said, I'm thy son,
thy firstborn Esau. And Isaac trembled very exceedingly
and said, Who? Where is he that hath taken venison,
brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and
have blessed him? Yea, and he shall be blessed.
And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with
a great and exceeding bitter cry, and he said unto his father,
Bless me, even me also of my father. And he said, Thy brother
came in subtly, and hath taken away thy blessing. And he said,
is not he rightly named Jacob? For he hath supplanted me these
two times. He took away my birthright, and
behold now he has taken away my blessing. And he said, hast
thou not reserved a blessing for me? Now listen to what he's
asking. He knew what the blessing was.
He knew what it was. He said, but what about me? Haven't you reserved? Isn't there
something else for me? Listen to these words. And Isaac
answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy Lord,
and all his brethren have I given to him for servants, and with
corn and wine have I sustained him. And what shall I do now
unto thee, my son?" This is what he's saying. There's nothing
left. There's nothing left. What have
I got to give you? And Esau said to his father,
Hast thou but one blessing, my father? Is the only blessing you have
is the one concerning the Messiah? Is that all you got? Bless me,
even me also, my father. And Esau lifted up his voice
and wept. And Isaac, his father, answered and said unto him, Now
here's his blessing. Here's the blessing. Here's what
he got. Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth
and of the dew of heaven from above. You're going to prosper
in this world too. While you're on this world, you're
going to prosper. And by the sword, here's his second part,
and by thy sword shalt thou live and shalt serve thy brother.
And it shall come to pass when thou shalt have dominion, thou
shalt break his yoke. from off thy neck, you will not
submit to the one that comes through your brother. You won't
submit to him. Now, in closing, that elder son,
he came to his father and he said, this one, this younger
boy, he squandered everything. And the Father said unto him,
Son, thou art ever with me. To the Pharisees, you're ever
with me. You've got all of the, you've got the ceremony, and
you've got the synagogues, and you've got the law, you've got
the word. And all I have is thine. All I have is thine. All you have is this temporal
life. That's all you have. Christ is
all. This elder boy would not go in. He would not go into the house
of mercy. He would not submit to the Lord
that showed mercy to the younger boy. He wouldn't submit to the
authority of the Father. So all he had was what was left. Nothing. Nothing. Listen to me. Life is in Christ. Life is by grace through faith
and it is not of ourselves. It's the gift of God. If we do not submit to Him apart
from any works of our own doing on any works of self-righteousness. All that the Father hath is ours
and it's judgment. That's all that's left. Lord,
give me a heart tonight to bow afresh to Christ. Lord, keep me from the pride
and arrogance of my old heart. Lord, you who are able to keep
me from falling, keep me for Christ's sake. Amen.