We often talk about the prodigal
son. This man, it says down here in verse 11 of
Luke 15. And he said a certain man, this
is our Lord Jesus teaching. He said a certain man had two
sons. And the younger of them said
to his father, Father, give me the portion of my goods that
fall to me. And he defied unto him his living. And not many
days after, the younger son gathered all together and took his journey
into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous
living. And then down here in verse 25,
now his elder son was in the field, and as he came and drew
nigh to the house, he heard music and dance, and called one of
the servants, and that's what these things meant. And he said
unto him, Thy brothers come, thy father hath killed the fatty
cat, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was
angry and would not go in, therefore his father came out and entreated
him. I want to talk, we've often Talked
about the prodigal many times. We're going to deal with this
elder son today. This son that was angry. And
he had these two sons. We often focus on the younger
one and how the father received him. Fell on his neck and kissed
him and had a big party for him. But one of them was lost in the
world. And his father gladly received
him home. But Warren was lost in religion.
Steeped in religion. Self-righteous religion. Self-deceived religion. Trusting
his own works and his own obedience. And in this parable, it starts
in... There's three parables here. Our Lord Jesus Christ talked
about the sheep, the coin, and the lost son. But we know that
the Father is God our Father. And the Son is the one who came
to return, bring us, and save us from sins. Jew and Gentile
alike. Ain't that what it says there
in verse 1 and 2? Chapter 15. Then drew near unto him all the
publicans and sinners for the hearing. Oh my, people like me, they got
the worst of the worst. They drove near to hear him.
And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, and this is
what his enemies say about him. This man receives sinners, and
not only does he receive them, but he eats with them. He not only receives them, but
he eats with them. And so God came to save Jew and
Gentile. And this younger son was in the
world and God gladly received him back. But the elder son is
a Pharisee, a scribe, self-righteous. He needed no repentance. knew
nothing but works, knew nothing but law, knew nothing but his
own goodness, his own morality, his self-worth, and how good
he was, and how strong he was, and how committed he was. But this elder son, look what
it says down here in verse 25, we're going to deal with him
today. This elder son, it says here, you know, they brought
the younger son came home and the father received him. And
you know, the story said, I've sinned against heaven and in
thy sight, no more worthy to be called your son. And the father
said to him, bring forth the bathrobe, put it on him, put
a ring on his feet, shoes on his, ring on his hand, shoes
on his feet. And let's bring the fatted calf, kill it, let
it sit and be married. For this my son was dead, and
is alive, and was lost as found again. And they began to be married. Now, the elder son was in the
field. He was out working. That's all
he knew to do. Didn't know anything else. Out
working. He didn't know any other way.
And then look what it says. And that's what some people do.
All they know is how to work. They don't know what it is to
rest in Christ. They don't know what it is to come enjoy in Christ. Don't know what it is to come
and rejoice in Christ. But then as he came and drew
nigh to the house. He came and drew nigh to the
house. He started home. He was going
home. He's going into the house. Gonna
go eat his dinner, eat his supper. I don't know what he's doing.
But he was drawn nigh to the house. And he was drawn nigh
to the house. And let me show you something
over here. Look what it says. And he heard music and dancing.
But look over here with me, if you will, in Mark chapter 12.
He drew nigh to the house. Then he heard music and dancing.
In Mark chapter 12 and verse 34. Look what it says here with
me. Where our Lord Jesus. And so many people come nigh
to the house. They come nigh to the house.
They come nigh to the Father's house. They come nigh to the
place where the Father will gladly receive them. They come nigh
to the place where there's joy. They come nigh to the place where
there's making merry and rejoicing. But that's all they get. They
just get close. They get very close. But they
never all the way come into the house. They don't come to the
father like the prodigal did. They don't come to that father,
the one that was lost and dead in sin and the father was so
happy to receive him. But look what our Lord said here
in Mark chapter 12 and verse 32. And the scribe said unto
him, Well master, thou hast said the truth, for there is one God,
and there is none other but he. And to love him with all the
heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with
all the strength, and to love his neighbors himself, is more
than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. Now listen to
what our Lord said to him. And when Jesus saw that he answered
discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom
of God. You're not far from it. You know
what the law is. You know what the two commandments
hang on. You know what it is to love God
and love your neighbor. And you know what it is that
this is more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices you
can give. You're that close to understanding. You know what the law says. You're
that close. But you're not in. And that's why you're not far
from the kingdom of God. But to not be in the kingdom
of God and be far from it is a million miles away. And that's
when nobody ever asked him another question. And that's what this,
look with me back in Luke 15. And that's what this elder son
did. He drew nigh to the house. He
was on his way to the house. And when he got there, look what
it says in verse 15. He heard music and he heard dancing. He got close enough to hear people,
all the music going on and people's feet patting the floor and dancing
and having a big time dancing. And you heard that old saying,
haven't you, that a praying knee and a dancing foot don't go on
the same leg? Well, that don't go here. These folks are having fun. They're
having music and they are dancing. And oh, listen, that's what happens
when somebody comes home to Christ, when somebody comes to Christ,
when somebody comes into that house and gets into the kingdom
of God, it's said there's more joy in heaven over one sinner
repenting in the Father's presence than anything else. And hear
this music and he's dancing. And look what it says in verse
26. He, you know, he was in the field,
he was out in the world, he was working. He called one of the
servants. One of the servants, come here, come here, come here. And he asked, what do these things
mean? He called someone who knew. Why didn't he know? Why didn't
he know about his brother coming home? Why didn't he know about
his father's rejoicing over his dead son coming back to life?
Why didn't he know? Why isn't he more involved in
his father's life? Why isn't he more involved in
what goes on in the home that he was in? Why wasn't he more
interested in his son that was lost in that? He didn't know
the joyful sound. When he heard that music and
heard that dancing, he didn't know the joyful sound of the
gospel. He didn't know, you know, blessed are they that know the
joyful sound. He didn't know the sound of the
joyful sound of the gospel. He didn't know anything of salvation
by grace. He didn't know anything about
having a robe put on him. He didn't know anything about
good shoes on his feet and a blessed ring on his finger. All he knew
was to get out there and work, get out there and work. And oh,
he had to ask somebody what in the world was going on. He didn't
know anything about salvation for a lost son. He didn't know
anything about dead people, dead sinners being brought to life.
He didn't know anything about any of those things. And what
about how many people don't know anything about salvation for
the lost? You know why they don't know
nothing about salvation for the lost? They're not lost. That's
a fella, and I'm going to meet him one of these days, and I'm
going to talk to him about this. He advertised on the radio all
the time, come try out this service, try out that service, try out
this service, try out the church here. And he said, we don't care
if you're young or old, rich or poor, redneck, you're dressed
in camo. Tattooed shorts don't make any
difference. But you know, he makes everybody
want to come try this and makes a distinct, tries to tell everybody
that there's no to come anyway you are. But one thing's missing. The most important thing's missing.
He does not say anything about Jesus Christ. And then he says, no perfect
people allowed. And the only place that you're
going to find perfection is find it in the Lord Jesus Christ.
So I myself would not be welcome, any grace that is saved by the
grace of God would not be welcome, because we count ourselves perfect
in the sight of God, in our Lord Jesus Christ. They say, well he wants to make
a decision, oh everybody counts. If you've got ear rings, if you've
got things in your ears, things in your nose, it don't make no
difference. Come back with it. But he don't know nothing about
grace. He never talks anything about sin. Don't say anything
about Christ. Come and try it. Just try it. God's not to be tried. Services are not to be tried.
You come to hear the Gospel, and you go to somebody's place
where they're preaching the Gospel, you're not going to hear this
business about, you do this thing, you do that thing, and come this
way, and come that way. There's one way to God, and that's
through His blessed Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And when a
man comes like His Son did, the one that was lost, Wasted his
substance with riotous living when he came and said, Father,
I sinned against heaven. I sinned against you and I'm not
even worthy now to be called your son. And boy, the Father just fell
on him and he made over him. But this other man, oh, that's
why our Lord Jesus, when he told Nicodemus, You must be born again. He said, how in the world can
this be? I'm an old man. Shall I enter the second time
into my mother's womb? And you know what our Lord said
to him? Art thou a master of Israel? And you know not these
things? You don't know what the Bible
teaches? You don't know what the Word
of God teaches? Have you never read where Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness? Have you never read
where Ezekiel sent to the valley of dry bones? Did you never read
that where that infant was cast out into the field and he was
laying there and I spread my skirt over him and I said, live? And you're a master. You don't know these things.
And that's what he says. And look what... Look what happens. And look what he says down here
in verse 26 again. He asks what these things meant.
What's this mean? Well, listen. The man answers
him. The servant answers him. It says in verse 27. And he said
unto him, Thy brother is come. That author just right there
and then filled him with joy. made him happy all over. Your
brother's come home. Your brother that's been gone
so long, he's come home. That brother, that brother, your
younger brother, your baby brother, he's come home. He ought to just lift and rips
it up his hands and run in the house and say, oh, just fell
on his brother and says, so good to see you. Oh, I love you so
much. I'm so glad you're back home.
That's what he should have said, but what did he say? And then
what? Thy father hath killed the spattered
can. Why? Because I hath received
him, listen to this, safe and sound. And if this brother, this elder
man, had any natural affection, he didn't even have natural affection,
If he had had natural affection, he would have fell all over his
brother. He would have went in there and just went to dancing
with the rest of them. He would have went to eat that
calf and hug his brother. He would have went dancing with
his brother. He would have had just a good
time. If he had natural affection.
If he wasn't so struck on himself and wasn't so deceived in himself.
Now look what happens in verse 28. Oh, your brother's come. They
killed the fatty cat for him because he's received him. Safe
and sound. And then look at his reaction.
And he was angry. Angry. Over his brother coming home?
Is that what upset him so bad? Or the fatty cat being killed?
Is that what I'm saying? Or was he upset, angry over them
rejoicing? Was he angry over the lost son
being found? Was he angry over the death coming
to life? Why was he angry? Why was he
angry? Look with me in Genesis chapter
4. I'll show you the same thing. It's not the first person that
acted this way. He was angry. What would make
a man angry? Why would he get angry? His brother's
home. His brother's home. And oh, they're having a wonderful
time. Why don't you go and have a wonderful
time with them? But he got angry. Look what happens
now. and in the process of time it
came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an
offering unto the Lord and Abel he also brought of the persons
of his flock and the fat thereof and the Lord had respect unto
Abel and to his offering but unto Cain in his offering he
had not respect why? because without the shedding
of blood there is no remission of sins and Cain was very wroth
He got angry. And his countenance fell. Who
is he mad at? Mad at God. Mad at God. He was bringing the best he had. He brought his own works. He
brought his own obedience. He brought the best he could
possibly do. But the best he could do was
not good enough. He has to bring blood. And you
know why he didn't bring blood? Because he wasn't a sinner. Because
he wasn't lost. He didn't need salvation. He
didn't need blood. And then he got angry. And his
countenance fell. And the Lord said unto him, Why
are you wrong? And why is thy countenance falling?
If you do well, shalt thou not be accepted? If you do what Abel
did, shall not you be accepted? And if you do not well, if you
don't do what Abel did, sin is right at your door and it's going
to stay there and it ain't going to move until you bring the right
offering. He got angry. And I'll tell you,
we're in Jonah, you don't have to look at it, but in Jonah,
you remember when Jonah, God told him to go to Nineveh and
preach? And Nineveh got on his ship and he said, hey, I ain't
going to go. He took off. Well, you all know the story.
He was thrown overboard in the belly of the whale. And he cried
out, salvation to the Lord. And the whale spit him out on
dry land. And he went to Nineveh. And he
started one side of Nineveh and all the way through. And he preached,
repent. And everybody repented. God sat
clothed in ashes. Even had their cattle been sackclothed
in ashes. And you know what happened then?
You know what Jonah did? He said, I know that's what you's
gonna do. Why don't you do it without bothering
me about it? I know you is gracious, I know
you is merciful, and I know you's gonna save these people. And he got mad at God. Because
he wanted God to actually destroy him. to make his prophecy come
true. But God had mercy because they
did repent. And in Cain, Jonah got angry. Jonah got angry again. And oh,
he would not go in. Ain't that what it says there? He would not go in. Not go in. Huh? Look at Matthew 23, 13.
Would not go in. Would not go in. Oh, would not go into the Father's
house? You mean you won't go into your
Father's house? I'll tell you. Look what He said here in Matthew
23.13. But woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of
heaven against men. For ye, neither ye go in yourselves,
neither suffer ye that are entering to go in. You won't go in yourselves,
and you won't want nobody else to go in. You want everybody
just like you. And it said here, that back over
here in our text, and he was angry and would not go in, in
verse 28. Would not go in to His Father's house? And is not
His Father's house His house? Would not go in to the feast?
Go in where there's having this great feast? Not go in to the
Kingdom of Heaven? Not go in where there's joy and
rejoicing? Not going in where the music
of the gospel is being played? The gospel of the grace of God
is when people are rejoicing over a dead man being brought
to life, a lost son being found. That's what they're rejoicing
over. They do that in glory. And all would not go in. Now look what happens then in
verse 28. Therefore came his father out. His father came out to him and
he treated him. and treated him son father came
out the father came out to him and he treated him and I noticed
something about the father didn't come out in anger didn't come out in wrath didn't
come out in judgment and he could have done any one of those things
He could have come out and said, what in the world is wrong with
you? He could have come out and said,
well, if you don't want to come in, don't come in. Not in anger, not in wrath, not
in judgment. And all three of these parents
all down through here, there's that sheep. He had to go find
the sheep. There's that coin. That coin
had to be found. And that son had to come home.
And all of them, the father coming out. But oh my, the father came
out and entreated him. Look over here in Luke 19.41. Therefore his father came out
and entreated him. This is what happens with our
Lord Jesus. This is how our Lord reacts to
men and women that's lost. This is how Christ is. And when
he was come near and he beheld the city, and look what he says,
talking about Jerusalem, he wept over it. The father come out
and said, son, he had treated him. He asked him. And to entreat
someone is to plead with them. Say nice things to them. Please,
son, what's up with you? Please come in here. Don't act
this way. Come in here and enjoy this wonderful
meal. Come in here and rejoice in your
brother coming home. Come in here and have joy with
the rest of us. Son, don't stay out here. Don't
stay out here. Please don't be angry. But look
what he says, and when he was come near, he beheld the city
and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou,
at least in this thy days, thy day, the things which belong
unto thy peace, if you had just known, but now they're hid from
your eyes, it's what's going to happen, for the day shall
come upon thee that thine enemy shall
cast a trench about you, and compassion thee around, and keep
thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground,
and thy children within thee, and they shall not leave in thee
one stone upon the other. Why? Because you did not know
when I was there. You did not pay any attention
when I was there. When God visited you, when God
visited you, And the Father came out and He treated him. And treated
him. He said, Son, don't do this. Don't act this way. Oh, my. Everything here is wonderful
in the house. Come on in. Come in. He'd do
nigh, but He wouldn't come in. Well, look what He says to His
Father. And He answering to His Father.
These many years do I serve thee. That's the first thing he said.
I've served you for so many years. And ain't that what people say
about God? I've served the Lord for 40 years. I've served the Lord and talk
about their ministry and all their accomplishments and all
the things that they've done and all the places they've been
and all the things and he says these many years do I serve you? He didn't say Father I love you
and I wish you'd have told me this was going on. But he said,
I served you. That's the way he always viewed
life. That's being somebody that had to, you know, he was serving. He was obeying. He was just,
that's all he knew. There was no love involved. There
was no, even no desire to honor his father here. He never said
a good thing about his father. He never said, Father, I love
you. And I'm sorry I feel this way.
And I'll pray you forgive me. And when I, you know, when things
come, no, no. Instead he began to commend himself. These many years do I serve,
then listen. Don't you know that the father
knew this about his son? Don't you know his father loved
his son and knew this about his son? And then look what else
he said to his father. Neither transgressed I at any
time thy commandment. Oh, I've kept it all. I've kept
it all. Everything you've ever told me
to do, I've done it. How self-deceived. What a stranger
to love. What a stranger to grace. No
love, no compassion, no tenderness shown in his heart. Oh no. That's what that young man said
to the Lord Jesus Christ when he says, you know, the Lord,
he said, I've kept all these I've kept from my youth up. What
lack I yet? What lack I yet? And that's what
people say. What do I lack? And the four
awfulest words people are going to hear one of these days. I
never knew you. And that's what's going to happen
to a multitude of people, a multitude of preachers. And you think about
this, people that said under the sound of the gospel, I, I
the Lord Jesus Christ, I God the Father, never, never knew I didn't know you in grace. I
didn't know you in mercy. I didn't know you. All I know
about you now is justice because you say, have we not kept all
these works? Have we not done mighty deeds
in your name? Have we not done cast out devils? Have we not preached in your
name? And they start telling God everything that they've done
like God didn't know. And that's what this son's doing.
He's telling his father all these things. The father knew his son. And that's the same thing Paul
said, the righteousness of the law, I was blameless until God
in sovereign mercy opened my eyes. And then he said, all my
righteousness, I count good to him. I'll tell you something,
I'm going to tell you something. He couldn't possibly be a good,
honest man to have made that statement. People say they're good and honest.
A man is not good and honest who will not be honest with God.
And he wasn't honest with his father. He was standing on the
ground that he wanted to stand on before his father. The other
son stood on the ground of a sinner. Stood on the ground of being
lost. Stood on the ground of wasting
his whole life. And the father fell on his neck
and kissed him and rejoiced and had a wonderful time. And the
other one over here, he stood on the ground of words and obedience
and law and service. And then look what else he said
now. In verse 29, And yet thou never
gavest me a kid, that I might make Mary with my friends. You know, did he ever ask? Did he ever say, Father, I want
to have a bunch of my friends over? And I want to have a great,
rejoicing time. I want to bring all my friends
in. I want to have a wonderful time. And I want to kill a fatted
calf. I want to kill a kid. And I want
to have some music. And I want to have a wonderful
time with all my friends. Do you reckon he ever asked his
father that? Don't you reckon his father would
have done that if he had asked him? He said, but no, you never gave
me a kid that I might make marry with my friends. His feelings
was hurt. He thought he had some right
to some things. Thought he deserved better. But
I'll tell you something about it. It was on his mind to make
Mary. He would have loved to have made
Mary, but he was too self-righteous, too strong, too self-willed,
too good to make Mary. And then look what he says here
now in verse 30. But as soon as this thy son was
cut. He didn't say as soon as my brother
cut. He said this thy son. He didn't even call himself,
didn't call him his brother. Yes, your son. Your son. He's so jealous. He is so self-righteous. And look what he said. Which devoured thy living. No,
it wasn't his father's living, it was the son's. The father
gave him what belonged to the son. He wasted his own substance
with righteous living. And the thing is, he didn't waste
his father's substance, it was his portion. And his being the
elder, he would have received a double portion being the elder,
being the rightful heir. And then look what the father
said to him. He said unto him, son, called him son. Oh, son, you're ever with me
and everything that I have is yours. It's yours. So why? Why are you upset? Everything I have is yours. But
here's the thing. He wouldn't have what the Father
had for him on the Father's terms. He wouldn't have it on the Father's
terms. No, he wanted to pay for it. He wanted to earn it. He wanted it to be given to him
as a right. And as God gave Israel the covenant,
the oracles, the tabernacles, the priesthood, and the glory.
And then they all turned around and said, we've never transgressed.
And what this elder son is saying, I want a reward for my service,
for my labor. That's what I want. But look
what the father said to him. Everything I got's yours. But
he was so angry. and he said it was made or it
was necessary that we make Mary be glad for this thy brother
was dead see he called him brother to the son the son wouldn't call
him the elder son wouldn't call him his brother this thy son
your favorite this thy son thy brother was dead and is live
again and was lost and is found and I saw it Now look at the
difference of these two sons. The younger confessed his sin. Younger confessed his sin. The
elder said, I don't have any. The younger expected nothing. Expected nothing and got everything. The elder expected something
and received nothing. And his father entreated him,
come in from your works. Come in where grace is at. Come
in out of the field. Come in out of the world. Come
in from your self-righteousness. Come in from your obedience. Come in from your serving the
Lord. Come in. to where grace is at. Come in where joy and peace is
at. Come in where love is at. Come in where mercy is at. Come
in where there's music and dancing and the gospels. Come in where
there's freedom from the law. Come in to where the gospel is
at. Come in where Christ is honored. Come in from working and come
in and rest. Come in and rest. Come in and
rest. Our Father, O our Father, in
the blessed name of Christ, Oh Lord, we've delivered the
word. We've done what you called us to do, the voice. But oh Father, oh Holy Spirit,
only you can take it and use it. You're the only one that
can use it, make it powerful and effectual. I pray you will
for Christ's sake. Again, we pray for those that's
burdened and tried and have heavy hearts, sick in body, pray for
them again. Thank you for our Lord Jesus
Christ. Thank you for the fatted calf. Thank you for the robe, the best
robe. Thank you for the ring on the
finger, shoes on the feet. Thank you, oh Lord Jesus Christ,
for clothing us. putting the gospel of peace on
our feet, girding us with the truth, the ring of the covenant
of grace, eternal grace, given to us in Christ. Thank you, Lord
Jesus. Amen. Let's turn to 2.52. 2.52. I think that's what I want. Only trust Him. Is that it? Yeah, 252. Let's stand and let's
sing this and that's the end of the song. We need to go. He will save you, He will save
you, He will save you now. Oh Only trusting, only trusting,
only trusting