I want you to turn back in your
Bibles to Luke chapter 15, where we will for a third time engage
our thoughts on this terrible that our Lord gave to the people
that were before Him. We are, in this portion of Scripture,
in this consideration of the text, at what I consider the
apex of our Lord's discourse. the audience right where he wants
them to be mentally. This portion of the parable is,
I believe, the heart of the matter. To understand all three parables
and their ultimate meaning requires us understanding the essential
portion of this parable, which deals with the character and
nature of God our Father. The character and nature of god
our father is here set forth in luke chapter 15 under the
parable of the prodigal son And it addresses The nature of god
and the character of god as only the lord jesus christ can reveal
him the people today are privileged with an accurate view of god's
heart in relationship to repentant sinners, a view of God in terms
of his characteristics and his passion for repentant sinners
of which if we don't have this picture of God, none of us could
ever fathom God having this type of disposition towards sinners. You have never thought once in
your life of God running you down and falling on your neck
and kissing you until you stop confessing your sin. Unless God
had revealed him to us in this magnanimous parable. Can you
imagine the audience? before the Lord Jesus Christ.
I'm talking about those rebel Jews, that group of motley sinners
who were around him all their days being taught in the Tanar
and in the writings of their fathers, the Mishnah and the
different writings about God. and how that God was this transcendent
being, this infinitely transcendent being, this holy being that is
so far above us that there's no way we could even remotely
contemplate a relationship with God that is depicted by this
portion of Scripture. Are you with me so far? You and
I never thought about God like this. In fact, it would probably
embarrass us to think that God would at some point run towards
us compassion and assuage our guilt by kissing us and yet that's
precisely what the heart of the message of the gospel is all
about and I want you to understand with me today that when I say
that we are at the apex at the summit of the parable is because
we are dealing with the theme that has run through this whole
set of triads One center, center rather, repenting of his sin
causes all of heaven to rejoice. One center in his repentance
causing all of heaven to rejoice. Such a thought does not enter
into the finite minds of men and women like yourself and mine.
we might think of it being a good thing that a sinner repents. But come on, do you ever think
that all of heaven shakes in joy at the repentance of a sinner? I want your thoughts to be provoked
today by that reality, that heaven thunders with joy at the repentance
of sinners. That heaven thunders with joy
at the repentance of sinners. That God the Father is moved
by sinners who return to God. and the way our Lord masterfully
puts together this parable is to shut all of us up. Everyone
who has ever heard the parable of the prodigal son, he shut
us up. He's narrowed the lens now and
shut us up to a conversation between the father and his sons. The father and his sons. And
we might well say that our Lord took this occasion to bring out
and develop this parable in the ears of his people in fulfillment
of what is stated in the last verse of the Old Testament scriptures. The last time God spoke to Israel,
of which he wouldn't speak for another 500 years. Here's what
God said. He shall come in the spirit of
Elijah. And he shall turn the hearts
of the children to the fathers and the fathers to the children.
That's the last thing God said. I will turn them back to their
fathers. I will turn the fathers back
to their children. Don't you understand that that's
where the problem is, that that's where the enemy got in and is
today wreaking havoc in the life of eternity bound sinners right
at the heart of God's greatest institution, the family, And
wouldn't it be just like God, our Heavenly Father, to close
out the Old Testament with the greatest promise of intimacy? That I will turn them back to
me. And just in case you think that
this is merely a gender-oriented or a familial-oriented type of
prophecy in Malachi 3, the last verse, Luke's gospel puts it
this way in Luke chapter 1. He shall come in the spirit and
power of Elijah. That's John the Baptist, the
forerunner, preparing the way for him who will not only turn
the hearts of the fathers to the children, but watch this
now, the disobedient. And who is that? All of us unto
the wisdom of the just. And who is the just one? Christ. So that as we are looking at
the parable, what we are being taught is how God turns sinners
to Christ. This is the heart of our Heavenly
Father. His joy is seeing sinners come
to Christ, and in coming to Christ, they come to Him. They come to
Him. Now let's learn some things that
I think are extremely germane about our heavenly father. You
can follow me in your outline. This will help you. We are in
this portion of scripture and what I call a very celebratory
mode. The father has thrown a party.
Has he not? Do you like parties? I do. I
like everything about parties, but the after effect for knuckleheads
who show up, but I like parties. I enjoyed them thoroughly. I
love the atmosphere. I especially love the food. I enjoy parties thoroughly because
they're an opportunity for us to express appreciation and thankfulness
and happiness for the state that we are in at the moment. This
is one of the reasons why we are called as men and women of
the gospel to rejoice. And again, I say what? Rejoice,
rejoice, rejoice, rejoice. We have every reason, child of
God, to rejoice. Even in our darkest hour, We
have every reason to rejoice. Rejoice because we know Him.
Rejoice because He knows us. Rejoice because we are secure,
eternally secure in Him by Christ. If nobody in the world has any
reason to rejoice, God's people have reason to rejoice. Rejoicing
therefore is a crown on the triune God and more particularly a crown
of glory upon the Father. For this issue of rejoicing,
the cause of celebration which is the first point in our outline,
is rooted in the true nature of the repentant sinner. Look
at verse 22 through 24 of our text. This is so very important
Notice the true the cause for celebration is rooted in the
true nature of the repentant sinner Verse 22 through 24, but
the father said to his servant Bring forth the best robe put
it on him Put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet and bring
hither the fatted calf and kill it Let us eat and be what? happy For this my son was what? And is alive again. He was lost
and is what? And they began to be married. They began to rejoice. Now listen,
the father was the one who actually articulated the grounds and cause
for this party. He says this party is not simply
because I'm feeling good. My boy was lost. Did you hear
our elder? My boy was lost. Did you hear
him? And he's found now, but he was
more than lost. He was dead, dead, dead and is
alive again. There is rejoicing because repentant
sinners are brought from a state of being perpetually and unendingly
lost. The lost sinner can never ever
of his own self, her own self, their own selves return to God. We are dumb sheep. Haven't we
learned that? If you ever discover that you have been returned to
God, it was because of a good shepherd. We've returned because
the good shepherd came and got us. If you ever discover that
you are in that realm of jubilation and rejoicing because the kingdom
of God is a reality in your soul, Romans 14, 17. The kingdom of
God is what? Righteousness, joy, peace and
joy in the Holy Ghost. If those things are resident
in your life, it's because God has made you born again. Only
saved people know the joy of the Lord. Am I telling the truth?
Only many women who have been delivered out of darkness brought
into His marvelous light have the incorruptible nature of Christ
imputed to them so that joy bubbles up at a work of grace that only
God could do. Only God could do that. You see,
I'm bringing you back to the first message and the first line
and the first message. Why does God rejoice at the repentance
of sinners? Because it's His work. It's the
work of God. God is rejoicing in His own work. And thus, as a sort of inference,
please, children of God, don't ever, don't ever support sham
conversions. Don't ever support sham conversions. Always acknowledge the glory
of God in the salvation of men and women. Are you hearing what
I'm saying? Don't ever support sham and shallow conversions.
Listen to me. Remember when God, the Lord Jesus
Christ, saved that demoniac man out of that pit, that dark pit?
A great type of you I know you don't think you were a demoniac,
but you were. And you dwelt among the dead. I did too. Come on now, I did too. And we
strove like we could to kill ourselves because we didn't understand
what was going on in our life. Many of us could identify with
that demoniac. Could we not identify? And do
you understand that the Lord Jesus crossed the sea to come
get your hell-bound soul? he broke through the gates of
hell demolished the powers of darkness and brought you to himself
no wonder that demoniac that man said lord i'm coming with
you i'm coming with you i'm coming this is the only time in my life
that i ever have ever seen or felt or experienced hope i'm
coming with you that's how you know you're saved you know you're
saved when jesus calls and you follow him But our master told
that man that was possessed with the demons the legion of demons.
I want you to go back home to the uh, uh to the decapolis Back
to gentile country and I want you to tell everybody You see
see this is getting back to my point I want you to tell everybody
you see how you made a decision for jesus. You know what he says
I want you to tell everybody you see how you resolve to follow
Jesus. Is that what the text is? I want
you to tell everybody you see how you came to your right mind.
You just one day woke up in your right mind. No. Repentance is a work of God. I want you to tell everybody
you see what great things God did for you. did for you. Now you're going to bring glory
to God in the conversion of a sinner. Now you're going to be telling
the truth that if it had not been for the Lord who was on
my side, I'd still be lost, still be down, still be dead, still
be ignorant of the glory of God. See, I'm sure our Lord is seeking
to penetrate the hearts of those religious people as well as those
rank sinners with a reality of the kingdom of God that was present
among them at that time for which they were not aware. Our Lord
is rejoicing in the fact that these parables that he's laid
out before them are being fulfilled in their very eyes. Men and women are coming to Christ.
They're hearing the gospel Men and women are seeing miracles
performed of which no one has ever performed before men and
women are Experiencing the gracious words of doctrinal truth of which
they said has ever a man ever spoke like this before This must
be the Messiah great things were performed in the days of our
Lord Jesus Christ which had never been done before said before
and or after even to this hour. The people that are listening
to the parable right now are extremely privileged people. Let me say that again. The people
that are listening to the parable right now are extremely privileged
people. Are you one of them? The cause
for celebration is rooted in the nature of true repentance.
True repentance is the work of God raising the dead. True repentance
is the work of God taking the lost and bringing them back to
where God is. It is a determination, it is
a resolve, and it is a process. Just in case you are struggling
right now in the weakness of your faith, let me make it very
clear. Repentance is a lifelong work. Haven't you found that
to be the case? Haven't you been repenting since
God saved you? You wonder when you're gonna
stop repenting. I'll tell you when, when you get the glory.
Now watch this, even some of your repentance needs to be repented
of. Am I telling the truth? You get
to looking at your repentance and say, Lord, I repent of that
repentance. Cause it actually wasn't filled
with enough repentance. No, God's turning us all the
time. as our elders so eloquently put
it, we are being transformed into the image of Jesus Christ
little by little by little by little, little by little. And
we will not be there yet until we see him face to face. Lord,
continue your work of repentance. But isn't this true? If what
I am saying making some sense to you, isn't it true that God
the Father, God the Father has every reason to rejoice? Isn't
it true? I'm so thankful for Providence.
You know how the Spirit of God moves and has an elder or somebody
say something inadvertently that is just so succinct with what
I'm preaching? Don't we want all of our children
to come home? Well, why wouldn't God? Why wouldn't
God? Who did infinitely more than
you and I could ever do to see to it that that occurs. to see
to it that that occurs. All right, let's go to work.
There's some things I want you to see in this parable that are, I think, relative
to where you and I are. They're going to have some fairly
practical implications to it, but then we're going to see some
rich theological truth. This father had two sons, and you
know that's a theme that runs through scripture, right? The
two son theory. Adam had two sons, Cain and Abel.
Abraham had two sons, Isaac and Jacob. Jacob had two sons, right? I'm sorry, Isaac and Ishmael.
And Isaac had two sons, Jacob and Esau. And you see these two
son patterns running through the scriptures in order for us
to learn something on both sides of the sons. It is the reason
for which Paul said in Galatians chapter 4, now you remember Abraham
had two sons. Now this principle of two sons
was for the most part but not exclusively designed to admonish
Israel who I believe plays both roles in this account in its
historical context and that they are both proplicant as well as
pharisaical. National Israel Experienced what
we would call the prodigal son syndrome as well as the Pharisee
son syndrome And you and I have to have this mirror raised up
before us as well Some of us are prodigals and others of us
are Pharisees. I Know you didn't think that
was the case, but it is and some of us are a little bit of both
I'm swayed back and forth and I have a cap. You know what I
mean? I And so the lessons are laid out for us. And again, at
the apex, at the summit of it, at the center of it, is a father
who is immutable, unchangeable, resolved, and triumphant in the
securing and redeeming of them both. What a word from God. what a word from God what is
our master doing in the context of this parable as he speaks
to the multitude having two groups of people before him people who
are loving what he says on the one hand because they could never
imagine God saving such rank sinners as themselves and then
a group of people on the other hand who felt like they're all
right with God never needed to be saving in the first place
we have those categories of people with us all the time and both
of them are it were religious so as our Lord has treated the
one group he is now about to treat the other group and here's
what I want to call your attention to the fact that the two boys
the older brother and the younger brother are really one in the
same sometimes contrasts actually demonstrate for us a continuity
of and a synonymity that's worth recognizing. Sometimes an individual
who will be, let's say the prodigal, more of an extrovert, you know,
outgoing, loud, clamorous, boisterous, just, you know, that individual
who wears his emotions and his objectives and his goals on his
shoulders, sometimes that individual is highly coveted and the cause
of jealousy and envy in the other boy who is much more of an introvert,
quiet, deliberate, self-contained, always has his tie on straight,
but he really wants to be like his little brother. Are you hearing
what I'm saying? And I want you to see the parallels
here as we work our way through the account, for which if what
I'm saying is making some sense, watch this. Daddy knows both
of them very well. And yet, because we are all uniquely
objects of grace on the will of the sovereign Potter, he's
shaping us individually and uniquely according to his own design. Am I now making some sense? We
are not all exactly the same, although we come from the same
material. So in our account, I wanna show
you some things about the older brother who just ultimately broke
out and manifested the true nature of his heart. Point number two
in our outline, absent from the celebration. Do you see that?
Now everybody's rejoicing. The father's happy, that child's
happy. It's okay. We got a bunch of
children around here too. The father's happy, the servants
are happy, everybody's happy in the house except the fatted
calf. But see, we've got to slaughter
the fatted calf. Are you with me? We've got to
slaughter the fatted calf because the father and the son and folks
like me, we love sirloin steak. No, that's not the reason why.
We've got to slaughter the fatted calf because without the shedding
of blood, there's no remission of sin. Without the shedding
of Christ's blood, there's no grounds for rejoicing. In Israel's
culture and in the Middle East, and we ought to do this today,
we're told to do it, we ought to thank God for the food we
receive, but somebody or something had to die for you to eat. Am
I making some sense? And always in those cultures,
they attributed that animal that they slew to eat to God. Thank
God for that animal. The fatted calf here represents
the crucified Christ. Are you hearing me? It is only
on the grounds of Christ and him crucified that you and I
can celebrate with God the Father. We did not get brought back to
God apart from the death of Christ. If I be lifted up, I will draw
all men unto me. How did you get back to God?
God had to put his son on Calvary's tree. And so we are rejoicing. We are delighting in the fact
that not only has Christ been crucified, but he's been lifted
up high in such a way that through the preaching of the gospel,
sinners are coming back to Christ. This prodigal has returned home
and we know why. God has retrieved him by his
grace and everybody's rejoicing. By the way, let me just make
it very clear. It is the duty of the church.
I heard our elder teaching this morning on the concept of praise.
So apropos, he said, we ought not to praise God for nothing. Don't just stand up and start
going to praising God if you haven't heard the gospel. There's
no grounds for praise without preaching, without the proclamation
of the glory of God, without a manifestation of Christ and
Him crucified. The grounds upon which sinners
like you and I can rejoice and praise God is because we have
been granted an estimation of His glory. We have been able
to esteem God highly for His work's sake. All that men would
praise the Lord. for his what wonderful works
to the children of men now we have a reason to shout now we
have a reason to rejoice now we have a reason to thank God
and lift up our voice rejoicing in what God has done for us and
that praise is going to bring God glory and that praise is
going to be satisfactory to your own soul because it wells up
from not you pumping yourself up but God giving you a revelation
of Christ and your soul saying amen to God. Amen to God. So they're enjoying this wonderful
time. You can sense the father's satisfied,
right? Yeah, daddy's happy. I love it
when my kids come home for holidays and events now, because they're
all scattered abroad in the four winds. Now, most of them, got
a few at home. But when I was raising my kids, my house was
noisy. This is why I tell most of the
folks here, don't worry about your kids. I've been trained
to just overlook noise. And as my kids started leaving
one by one by one, do you know I had to readjust? To the decibel
of the volume going down Do you do you know that it was really
strange to wake up in the middle of the night and not hear argument?
And laughing mostly laughing I thank god for my family my
kids we laugh when we tell jokes and we laugh some of them corny,
but we laugh but But all that started just really diminishing
to where it's only a few of us in the house now And I had to
find another place of joy rather than the existential benefits
of my kids because it's waning down now I was just waning down
thankful for when they come around this father is rejoicing and
then all of a sudden We got an event going on the text tells
us look at what it says over in verse 25 and 26 Now his elder
son was in the field and as he came and drew near to the house
he heard music and Dancing they were enjoying themselves weren't
they? And he called one of the servants and asked, what's going
on? Now, as soon as I hear that statement,
it begs the question, how did it happen that the oldest son
did not hear about the younger son returning? I mean, you know,
the whole town would have known that the way the father ran out
and met him, which didn't happen in Jewish cultures. Men were
stoic. Dads were stoic. You had to at
least come to dad. That wasn't running out in an
indignant way after you. The whole town would have been
gossiping about that. But more than that, do you know what kind
of time it takes to prepare the fatty calf to go get the shoes? go get the best role, put on
the ring, re-establish that boy in the preeminence of his position
the same way he was before he left, after he left. It took
some time to re-establish that boy in the household's authority
and right and privileges. It took some time. And I'm wondering,
Where is this older brother having missed all this to be coming
home as it were just kind of you know Inadvertently hearing
music and noise like he was just completely out of the picture
now. There's a lesson to learn from
this Now there's a lesson to learn from this and there are
many but one I want to share with you now you can be in the
church and Be totally ignorant of the joy of the gospel You
can be in the church and be totally ignorant of the work of Christ
in the redemption of sinners. You can be in the church and
not at all be privy to or aware of how God is bringing sinners
to himself through Christ. Secondly, you can be in the church,
but not in the party. That's dreadful. You can be in
the church, in the field, and yet not in the house rejoicing
in the gospel of the glory of God in Christ. And why? Because your attitude's all messed
up. Can I tell the truth, sister?
Because your attitude's all messed up. There are a lot of parallels
here that I want to drop before us. But you know that when your
attitude is messed up, some days your day goes really bad. You
know how you back out of the driveway and hit that pole? You know it. Listen, that pole
been there for years. It didn't just show up. And you
ran right into it. And you know how when your attitude's
all funky, messed up, just bad, and people say things and you
get it wrong even before they finish the statement? And you
know how when your attitude is messed up, it just seems like
you are in growing conflict all the day long. That nothing is
going right. There's no harmony, no continuity,
no symmetry in your life. It's difficult, isn't it? Difficult. And the worst thing about it
is you know that it really lies all in your attitude. And here's
what I'm saying. Your attitude can be a symptom
or an evidence that you are absolutely out of the will of God. Way outside of the will of God.
See, what's amazing about the parable before us is that while
the prodigal was lost in the world, his older brother is lost
in the church the exact same way. The exact same way. And I'm sure that's what our
Lord is seeking to drive home as some of his auditors are the
Pharisees and the Sadducees who are not liking the fact that
sinners are hanging on every word this man preaches. Look
at him. He receives sinners. He's eating
with sinners. He spends time with sinners.
He frequents with sinners. Haven't I said it before? Who
else is he going to frequent with? The world is filled with
sinners. If he doesn't frequent with sinners,
he'll frequent with no one. And yet a twisted notion will
have you to think that just because you're in the church, you're
not a sinner. I hear this often. Just clean this one. I'm going
to do a little work today. Can we clean up some things today?
Here's a faulty notion that goes on in the church. Just because
you're saved, you're not a sinner. Don't ever buy that notion. I'm
a saint now. I'm not a sinner. You just lied. You just Lied. Yeah, you are a sinner. And yes,
you are a saint. And they are not mutually exclusive.
They go hand in hand in order that God might get the glory.
Am I making some sense? See, because saints, saints are
sinners who give God all the glory. Saints are sinners who
are set apart by the glory of God, set apart by the power of
God, set apart by the purpose of God, not set apart by themselves.
set apart by the power and purpose of God to tell the world that
Christ alone is God's righteousness. That's what saints do. Saints
tell the truth about God and they tell the truth about men.
Am I telling the truth? Saints don't lie and say they
don't sin. Even while they're contemplating the thought, they
have to be repenting of it. I don't. No, no, no. I better
not say that. Yes, you do. You sin when you aren't even
thinking about sinning. I'm getting ready to get into that in a moment.
But listen, I just want you to understand now, don't tell people
somehow that you're not a sinner. You are. If you weren't a sinner,
you wouldn't need a mediator, a glorious high priest, whoever
lives to make intercession for you. Our God is not a Maytag
man. He's not a Maytag man. He's not
waiting to see if somebody goes sin. He ever lives to make intercession
for me. If it was just me, Christ would
have to continue praying until I'm glorified. Oh, I've got my
work cut out. I've got one sinner I've got
to work with until he gets to glory. His name is Jesse Gisten.
The rest of you guys are fine. My master's still interceding
in my behalf, making sure that I stay in the will of God by
his efficacious atonement and his mediatorial work as my great
high priest. Yes, I'm a sinner and therefore
my master teaches me in the gospel of Matthew 6 if you're gonna
pray, right? This is how you pray Our father
who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy
will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our
daily bread and Forgive us our what that's cuz you're a sinner
Tell the truth tell the truth Tell the truth. Just tell the
truth. Tell the truth. This boy did not understand the
sound because he failed to understand that only sinners rejoice in
the good news of the gospel. See, the Pharisees couldn't rejoice
in it either. Sadducees the Herodians the legalists
were watching people come to Christ and they just couldn't
get with it Are you guys with me? They couldn't get with it.
And here's what he does. The text tells me in verse 28
now watch this Verse 27 the servant says he's he's he said unto him
your brother is coming your father hath killed the fatty calf and
because he had received him safe and sound. See verse 27? That's
a message for you. The character and nature of the
gospel is that it brings the sinners back to God safe and
sound. His salvation is a complete salvation,
a perfect salvation, a total salvation, a secure salvation,
a comprehensive salvation. God doesn't save in part. He
saves in whole. When He saves a sinner, He saves
him in total. Verse 28. And the boy was angry. Do you see that? And he was angry. Now, I want you to get this in
the verb form is what is called the imperfect verb form. He began
to be angry at what he heard. He began to be angry at all that
his father had done. He began to be angry at the good
news. See, the servant is preaching
the gospel, isn't he? And this older boy is getting
upset. Because of what he heard Man,
aren't you messed up? Listen children. Listen to me
children. Aren't you messed up? we are messed up when we feel
some kind of glee and Happiness at the demise of our brothers
and sisters in Christ and we are doubly messed up when we
do not find joy at them being restored and We are doubly messed
up. And this is what our Lord is
doing as he so methodically is working in the hearts of the
Pharisees and the Sadducees and the legalists that are listening
to this message. As the Word of God is a sharp
two-edged sword, he is cutting through the facade of self-righteousness
and helping those men see their desperate state in this older
boy. He was angry. and would not go
in. See this is what we call acting
out. Isn't that right? This is called acting out in
psychology. Absent from the celebration.
Wouldn't come to the celebration. Wouldn't rejoice in the celebration.
Angry at the celebration. Look at the next clause. And
would not go in. I ain't going in there. I'm not
going in there. I'm not going to affirm my little
brother. I'm not going to affirm the heart
of my father. I'm not going to affirm all these
people. I'm not going in there. This boy has a problem, doesn't
he? Now, we could leave it there
and work with it a bit more, but here's what the next clause
says, which is just utterly remarkable. He wouldn't go in, but the father
came out. Do you see it? Do you see it? Do you see the love, the magnanimity
of the Father? He comes out. Now we begin to
understand the richness of the aim of God the Father in the
salvation of sinners. This will help your theology
a little bit. Are you ready? God saves proplicit sinners,
prodigal sinners, and pharisaical sinners also. God saves proplicit sinners.
the folks who just have given themselves over to the holly
trees of the world, and he saves pharisaical sinners too. He saves
both kinds. He is passionate about both,
since both of them are alike in reality. There's no difference. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. Isn't that what the doctor says? And so when
the father goes to save a sinner, he looks at the core of his problem,
not the symptoms. God's not deceived by the facade
of religion. God knows your heart. He knows
that you are lost in the church as well as those that are in
the world. He knows it. The good news of this parable is that
the father comes out after the son. Lord, thank you for putting
up with hard-headed religious sons. Let me say that again. Lord, thank you for putting up
with hard-headed, self-righteous religious sons and daughters. Thank you for putting up with
us. This is glorious. How does the Father go out after
sons like this? where he goes out after sons
like this the same way he went out after sons like the other
one. In the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the ministry
of the gospel, in the preaching of the truth of the gospel. See,
the remedy for the prodigal is the remedy for the Pharisee.
Am I making some sense? The remedy for the prodigal is
Christ taking on a human nature Occupying the office of prophet
priest and king coming to where sinners were preaching a glorious
gospel of himself to them The remedy for the pharisees is christ
taking on a human nature Occupying the office of prophet priest
and king and coming to the pharisees where they are and giving them
the same message See both groups are in the audience. Am I telling
the truth? Both groups are in the audience the self-righteous
legalistic pharisaical sons who are really deluded, as well as
the prophet's son, who now has experienced repentance. And I
tell you, the thought of God the Father coming after the Pharisees
is just tremendous. Look at verse 28, the third line. Therefore came his father out
from the party. He left the party. he saw the urgency of the need
of the moment and he left the party and he went after his son
and Notice what the text says he entreated him Now we got things
upside down Because he's the father he possesses authority
he doesn't have to entreat his boys but he does in the same
way he kissed his returning prodigal and He has compassion on the
returning prodigal. Now he's entreating his blind,
pharisaical son. we come to the blind pharisaical
son is the entreaty of the gospel of the redeeming work of God
in Christ. We entreat men who think that salvation can be obtained
by their own good works, by letting them know that salvation is not
by works of righteousness, which we have done, but by his mercy
hath he saved us. That your works are filthy rags
and that you will perish under the wrath of God should you trust
in your works. We let them know that by entreating
them that there's another way a better way the way of Christ
The way of grace the way of faith the way of looking to God in
Christ That's the way and we entreat him that way Mark how
our father deals with that and see if what I'm saying is not
the truth brethren. Listen to it He entreated him
he entreated him and he answering said to his father lo These many
years do I serve thee? Do you see that? these many years
do i serve thee neither transgress i at any time thy commandment
and yet you never gave me a kid that i might make merry with
my friends do you see that now let me let me develop this in
point number four here's the proposition and let's develop
it are you ready dead words are a wrong motive for service Dead
works are a wrong motive for service. Do you notice how the
boy commends himself to his father when his father comes out to
entreat him? You notice what he says? Now
watch this. He says, father, all these many years, he's keeping
calculation of all the time that he's put in with his dad. He
got a time clock. He got all the hours. He got
the overtime in and everything. All these years have I served
you. Do you see that? And in fact,
in the original language, that's our Greek term doulos. It's a
derogatory term in this context because the boy feels as if he
was a slave to his father. these years have I slaved for
you now let me help you with this because I've shared it before
but I want to drive it home there is a danger to good works of
which you must avoid and it's twofold I'm gonna give you the
first one briefly then I'm gonna talk about the second one then
I'm gonna go back and develop the first one the danger of good
works that you must avoid is that you are not called to do
them that's point number one you are a fool if you think that
God did not create you in Christ Jesus under good works. You are
a fool if you think that the gospel is merely a ticket to
heaven and you are not called to bear witness to the glory
of God in your life. You are an absolute fool. And
if you really believe that in the core of your being, you're
still lost. You're still lost. Secondly, however, never ever
view good works as a basis of meriting righteousness. For if
you do, you will find yourself angry with God because you can
never be satisfied with your good works in your conscious
when it comes to God's holiness. When it comes to God's righteousness,
when it comes to God's standard, your good works will never, ever,
ever match what the scriptures have said. therefore if you are
inadvertently working to get right with God you want God's
favor because you tithe or you give or you do and you do this
and you do that if you want God's favor on that basis God will
always disappoint you see the text is clear that the boy somewhere
had bought into a faulty notion that he should be getting the
eye of his father based on what he did instead of who he was And religious folk do that all
the time. See, your attitude will get messed up if you really
value your good works. If you value your good works,
you will be an idolater and the center or focus of idolatry will
be yourself. You will start with the big I
commending yourself. I have labored low all these
years. Am I making some sense? Can you
see how Jesus is going after his pharisaical brethren? Seeking
to demolish every imagination and every notion of thought that
they would erect, as it were, to commend themselves before
God? Can you see how he's tearing it down? I got two brothers I
can think of right now. He was successful with that act.
Remember Nicodemus? Lord, we know that you are a
teacher come from God. Here he is, commending his knowledge
now, right? Christ said, you don't know anything.
just immediately knocked him upside the head. You don't know
anything, boy. We know you're a teacher come from God. He says,
except you be born again, you've never seen it nor entered in.
Everything you have concerning who I am or what the Word of
God says is mere speculation. Until a man of a person is born
of God and that is a great work of transformation where your
soul is renewed regenerated and brought into Vital contact and
union with the true and the Living God you can't even think God's
thoughts after him So he knows that the Pharisee Nicodemus was
just fishing in the dark Lord. We know you nobody can do these
He says you don't know But by and by he drew Nicodemus to himself,
didn't he? That man fell in love with Christ,
didn't he? There's another brother we love
infinitely for God having saved. The greatest Pharisee of them
all was the Apostle Paul, whom God continued to knock down and
knock down and knock down by the prick and prod of the gospel.
Ultimately, he said to Paul, when Paul, our Saul said, who
are you, Lord? I'm Jesus. That's who I am. I'm
Jesus. and it is impossible for you
to kick against the goals. Saul became Paul and Nicodemus
were two trophies of grace out of that pharisaical bastion that
God brought to himself in the same way in which the father
is pleading with the son. And listen, I want you to understand
what's going on with our son's confession. He's talking about
what he has done. He's revealing his heart. In
essence, ladies and gentlemen, he's producing, I want you to
watch this now, and this will affirm our context as well, he's
producing the basis upon which he is angry with his father.
He's angry with his father, are you ready? Because he thinks
his daddy owes him something. And that's what legalistic self-righteous
works religion does. Have you ever met legalistic
religious folk? They're some of the angriest
people on planet Earth. Party? No. Ain't no time for
partying. I need to get paid. And I've
said this before. I want you to get this because
this goes on in your family too. I'm not going to leave this.
I'm going to treat this now because I may not see you next week. Husbands and wives, you can be
legalistic toward one another. And you will refuse to rejoice
with your spouse because they owe you something. Are you hearing
me? Mamas and daddies you will be legalistic with your children
and you will stay angry until those children acknowledge all
The labor you lay out for them When you grab it, just thank
me for doing all I did for you now watch this and the children
happy, they're at home, they love you, they're doing what
they do, enjoying the household, that ought to be enough for you.
You know, sometimes I lay my head on my pillow and I think,
thank you, Lord, that they didn't leave the house and end up dead,
they made it back home. See what I'm getting at? The
dynamic between a vital family relationship and all of the externalities
of a religious set of protocols that will destroy, destroy, destroy
any real connection. This boy is exposing to us all
that was in his heart. Now notice what else he says,
and then we're gonna move on to our next point quickly. He
says, I have served you all these years, and I have never once
transgressed at any time your commandments. Can somebody tell
me what world was this boy living in? Well, he wasn't living in the
Bible world. He couldn't have been living in the Bible world,
could he? In the Bible world, we are told
that the wicked go astray from the womb, speaking lies, that
we are born and conceived in sin, that there's none righteous.
No, not one. You want to be a nun? There's
none righteous. There's none that seek it after
God. There's none that understand. There's none that do it good.
There you go. Now you are none. You are nothing apart from Christ. You got that? That's what you
are. That's what a sinner is. He's a none, a fly none, a dumb
none, a stupid none, but a none. Nothing, nothing apart from the
grace of God in Christ. Nothing, and yet he had the audacity
to frame his lips and as it were conjecture this delusion to his
father. See how self-righteousness can
deceive you? You can actually think you are
in a state that you are not in whatsoever. You will even talk
to God like you're alright. Remember the parable of the Pharisee
and the publican? Lord, I thank you that I'm not
like other men. Isn't that crazy? I'm not like
other men. I'm not like other men. No, you
are just like other men. Very much like other men. This
boy is pleading to his father on a grounds of delusion that
really is rooted in his own selfishness. Now, before I go to the father's
response, I want to share with you what I know parallels between
his little brother who was an extrovert just profligate sinner
and himself absolute parallels that cannot be avoided notice
what he says in verse 30 but as soon as this your son was
come do you see that now the construction is instructive as
well now mamas and daddy see y'all do that you know when mom is mad at Papa
What she says about the children is your children been doing something
wrong. You need to get with your boy
because your boy is doing something like that ain't her boy. Your
daughter is acting a fool like that's not her daughter. She
forgot all the pain she went through having that child. And
this young man is disowning his brother by referring him to his
father. But this your son and invert
and uh, inadvertently or maybe intentionally saying to the father.
Are you ready? You don't treat me like i'm your
son See all of that stuff is going on didn't all that stuff
is going to watch it But as soon as this your son was come which
has devoured all your living with harlots He just extrapolates
just extrapolates And many commentators would seek to suggest that this
was not true. But I would beg to differ. I
don't know what a profligate sinner is going to do when he
takes the resources that are given to him monetarily or intellectual
resources and leaves the church and goes into the world other
than spend it with harlots. To me that is a logical conclusion. This world is depicted by a great
whore. Isn't that right? And so spending
money with harlots is what you do. Wine, women, and song is
what the carnal man seeks out there. And the devil gives it
to anyone who wants it. Aren't you amazed, ladies, how
quickly our daughters will give themselves over to being prostitutes
and whores in this world just for a few dollars? Silence, huh? But it's true. It's true. Our daughters will
quickly lift their skirts up higher than they should be, wear
their pants tighter than they should, position themselves in
a way that is totally inappropriate by the behest of the consensus
of this culture, thinking that they can gain or acquire the
attention of a man by their body parts. This is nothing but harlotry. And our boys are taught that
it's alright to satisfy their hormonal drives in that way. I am telling you the truth this
time. I am telling you the truth this
time. And this is where the battle is for our children. This is
where the battle is for our culture. We have to help them understand
that their satisfaction is only found in Christ! In Christ! their satisfaction
only found that's both for the boys and the girls and so this
older boy while he may have been extrapolating he was telling
the truth yeah he might have paid somebody to go hunt down
and spy out on his little brother which is the hypocritical part
that I'm getting ready to get to now your boy that went out
there and scandalized himself living with harlotutes and prostitutes
and all And yet in reality, the condition of both him and his
brother is precisely the same. Pharisees and propagates are
two sides of the same coin. One runs around butt naked without
fig leaves on. One is scandalous, but the other
one is hypocritical. Both are selfish. Both are angry. Both are murderous. We're going
to see that here in a moment. Carnally driven one sales his
soul to the secular whores of this world The other plays with
porn on the internet while doing theological chats and debating
on the doctrine of sanctification We have an epidemic in the church
starting with the pulpit of no power to enjoy and find satisfaction
in Christ alone Both have a problem. Both have a problem. By the way,
it's both in the pulpit and in the pew, unfortunately. So I
know I've stepped on somebody's shoes. But here are the parallels.
And I thank God that the way he has depicted our heavenly
father in this text, I'm just gonna give you this little caveat
before we go back to the father, is he stands there and he listens
to everything his older son says. Doesn't argue with him. Doesn't
fight with him. doesn't rebuttal. Are you guys
following me? Doesn't rebuttal. He just listens. That's what you have to do when
they open them. You know, one of the things we
struggle with when our children get old enough to be more, uh,
practically deceitful. Watch this parents. This, this,
this CD is going to be good. Get it. Listen to it 10 times.
These will give you some skillsets. You know how they shut their
mouths on us and go quiet. Right? They go quiet, don't they? You try to talk to them and it's
like trying to pry open the shellfish, right? They just won't talk,
right? I don't know. I'm fine. I'm okay, I guess. Boy, talk
to me. Girl, talk to me. I ain't got
nothing to talk about. Oh yeah, but you stay on that
little chat room all day long. You texting for hours on end. You sleep texting. right? Right? Am I telling you? They
can talk like the waters that endlessly run over Niagara Falls. They can talk all day long. Then, when they get in the car
with mom and dad, keep talking. I want to hear what's going on
in your life. Now, see, I know I'm opening up another can of
worms too cuz all all you diaprax moms and dads will say, well,
they would talk to you if you would much more nice. No, they're
not gonna talk because if they open up their mouth out of the
abundance of the heart that the mouth speak I know that and then
I'm gonna be obligated to be daddy. Not just your partner
You would talk if I was just your partner then you would end
up saying things that you know are not right But you would hope
that I would condone those things or endorse those things, but
you know your daddy not gonna do that So I'm gonna keep my
mouth shut on daddy, which is a form of respect but I'd much
rather you tell me what you're struggling through and But I'm
going to tell you what's right. I'm just going to tell you what's
right. Just going to tell you what's right. And so this older
son is laying out a vision to his father that would suggest
that he doesn't have any problems. But the parallels between the
older boy and the younger boy are just startling. Here are
some of the parallels. Are you ready? The youngest son
went out I'm gone. That's what verse 13 said. He
packed up everything and he left. I'm out of here. They all want
to get out, don't they? And some of them, they get out
with fanfare, right? Burning rubber and starting fires. I'm trying to be humorous because
I know this stuff touches deeply in us. But you know, they'll
leave with blazing saddles, you know, shooting the guns all over.
I'm out. I'm out. I'm out now. My horrible parents, I'm glad
to be gone. So that's the prodigal, right? But when it came time, the older
son did the same thing by saying, I'm staying out. The first boy
went out, the second boy stayed out. Remember the text? He would
not go in. And so both of the boys scandalized
their father. The whole city is saying that,
man, ooh, look at Pastor Jesse. Boy, his boys are a mess. One
of them just running the street like hell. The other one, look
at, he getting ready to break out too. Let's just watch and
see what he do. See, you got to have a little sympathy
for the father here, because the father's standing strong,
and he just got to deal with the storm. I love him, don't
you? He just got to deal with the
storm. But there is an infinite amount of wisdom that is developing
in the father because he did the right thing long time ago
He sold the gospel in them long ago Long ago. He sold the gospel in them and
he's standing on the promises of the gospel now He's waiting
for the gospel to work right now and in the midst of this
parable. Our master is teaching the jewish people They don't
understand it, but god is calling them and gentiles back to himself
through jesus christ. They don't see it, but he is
The father is appealing, he's entreating them, he's kissing
some, he's hugging others, he's drawing them all to himself in
the person of Jesus Christ. Right where they are. Right where
they are. Right where they are. What are
the parallels? Well, the younger boy ran out, the older boy stayed
out. They both were angry with their
father. The younger son, as we learned
last week, said to his father, for all intents and purposes,
I wish you were dead. That's the only way you can get
the inheritance. According to the Levitical code, Deuteronomy
and Numbers, to get the inheritance, the father had to die. For that
boy to say, I won't mind now, he said, Daddy, I wish you were
dead. But the older boy is just as bad, because when he didn't
go inside the house, he was saying, I wish my little brother had
stayed dead. See, when you and I are not rejoicing
in the gospel, his power and efficacy to save sinners, we
are rejoicing in the death of men and women. He stayed out
because he didn't want to rejoice in the fact that his brother
had been raised from the dead. See what I'm getting at? And
then here's another parallel. The little brother said, I want
mine. Give me mine. Isn't that what we learned? Give
me mine. Well, the whole articulation and discourse on the part of
this older brother in the verses we have just read was give me
mine. Daddy, I want mine. I've labored for you all these
years and you didn't give me mine. They both wanted theirs. What are we talking about? We're
talking about the core problem of the whole human race and it's
this. Until God shows you his glory, it really, truly, I don't
care how you wrap it and package it, it's all about you. Until God shows you his glory,
I don't care how you package it in religious terms and vow
open terms. It really is all about you. And our father stands solid on
the grounds of his predetermined purpose and counsel not to move
because he is determined to save sinners from both camps. Notice
that the father does not appeal to the Older Boy on the grounds
of the Older Boy's allegations. I want to close out with the
last point. Here it is. The gospel is the priority of
the Father. The gospel is the priority of
God the Father. The gospel of the glory of God
in Christ is the priority of our heavenly father. Our heavenly
father has no conversation with any of us apart from the gospel. It is through the gospel that
we are reconciled to the father. Only by the gospel can we know
the will of the father. It is by the gospel that the
father knows you and the father knows me. He cannot actually
have any communion with you or me apart from the gospel He's
stuck on this one act of wisdom that if he is going to have fellowship
with rebel sons, it's going to be through the gospel. It is
for this reason that the conversation that the father now has does
not even address his son's allegations, but he goes right back, right
back to the heart of the purpose for which he is now celebrating. Look at verse 31 and 32, are
you there? And he said unto him, what's the word? Son. How many
of you have in your Bibles the capital letter S in your Bible?
Most of you do, then you got a pretty good Bible. Although
in the original language, there's no warrant for it. In the Greek
language, there's no warrant for the capital letter. The translators
placed that capital S there because the Greek term son gives us an
insight into the way in which the Father viewed this hardhead
Pharisee. He said, Son, listen to me, ladies
and gentlemen, God the Father cannot talk to you and I apart
from the Son. He can't communicate with you
and I apart from the Son. There's no reconciliation apart
from the Son. There is no dialogue apart from
the Son. If the Father looks at you and
looks at me outside of the Son, nothing but wrath, nothing but
justice, nothing but indignation, nothing but hell for us outside
of the Son. Am I making some sense? The Greek
term is technos. And it's the term of endearment
that is rooted in the likeness of that child to his father.
I've told you about the Greek terms. Nepios is the Greek term
for being born again. A little child not being able
to speak. No one is to be a nepios in the
pulpit because they have not been taught. A paideion is someone
who has been instructed from 3 years old up to 20 years old
where they have been taught the truth of the gospel. Now they
are able to what? Teach. A huios is the term for
the son who takes on the sufferings, the sufferings, the sufferings
of Christ. When you and I enter into a huios
state, you and I will be ready to suffer for Christ's sake,
suffer for God's sake. But we are called technons because
we have received the incorruptible seed of Christ and the way the
Father views us is in Christ. this is why john says in first
john all through first john second john third john ready my little
children my little children my children in the faith christ
used that term several times this is where christ said in
john chapter eight when he said to the pharisees who said we
never be in bondage to no one he says you're not abraham's
techno you're his sperm but you're not his techno because if you
were his techno you'd look like abraham look And Abraham looks
like Christ. And everyone who is in Christ
looks like Christ. Now watch this. In the eyes of
the Father, are you guys ready for this? In the eyes of God
the Father, we who are His, whether profligate or Pharisee, look
like Christ. And He only deals with us in
terms of our standing in Christ. And it's for this reason he did
not rebuke his son when his son said these words. Watch it now.
Listen to what his son said. He says, lo, these many years
have I served you. It was true, but not in himself. Neither transgressed I at any
time your commandments. It was true, but not in himself. Do you hear what I'm saying?
Neither have I at any time transgression or commandments. I've served
you lo these many years and yet you never gave me a kid that
I might make merry with my friends. It's true But only in Christ
you see Christ is the one who served God Christ is the one
who never violated God's commandment and because of it God had to
put him on Calvary Street God had to bring the wrath of God
upon the one who was obedient and The one who never transgressed
God's law the one who never left the father had to bear the father's
wrath Both for the prodigal and for the pharisee That's why the
father didn't say anything Because it's true, but it's only true
In christ in christ. I have never ever transgressed
god's law in christ. I have never left god In Christ,
I have never done anything wrong. In Christ, I've always kept God's
commandments. But not in myself! In myself,
I have never done one good thing. In myself, I've never kept one
of God's commandments. In myself, I could never say,
which of you can convince me of sin? In myself, I'm full of
sin. And in fact, in myself, all of my good works, which I
must do, and should do, and will do, by the grace of God, Christ
working in me, in myself, is nothing but sin. Nothing, but
sin nothing but sin so on the side of the propagate That's
me and on the side of him who never broke God's commandment
ever in his life That's me too in the person of Jesus Christ.
Isn't that good now watch the father as I close watch it now
watch it Watch it. The father says son Are you ready? You are ever with me. I Thank God that he chose a people
for himself before the world began and placed them in Jesus
Christ, placed them in Christ in such a way that even before
they sin, God had provided a righteousness for them in his son, Jesus Christ,
so that when they did sin, he retrieved them in Christ before
they did sin. I'm so glad that God had a son
who never violated one of his commandments so that when we
ran away from God in Christ, we were ever with him, ever with
him. This is why the proverb says
in Proverbs chapter eight, and I was with him as one brought
up with him and I was daily his delight. The father has always
seen the son who is the revelation of the invisible God, face to
face, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And God has
always seen all of His people as always righteous and always
with Him in the person of His Son Jesus Christ. But that blessed
union with Christ does not get to be rejoiced in until sinners
come home in repentance and faith. It is this basis and foundation
for which the Father has chosen in time to rejoice. He rejoices
in sinners coming home. He rejoices in the repentance
of sinners. The heavens rejoice in sinners
coming home because their coming home is their coming home by
virtue of him who never ever left and never ever sinned against
God so that he could be their mediator. He could be their representative. He could be their surety. He
could be their substitute. He could be the object of God's
wrath, the satisfaction of God's holiness and justice, the basis
for which God could say to every one of us, I have loved you with
an everlasting love. Therefore, with cords of a man,
have I brought you to myself. Before the world began, I knew
you. chose you and called you and kept you and preserved you
you are mine and you have always been mine only in Jesus Christ
Look at this Heavenly Father not moved by the Pharisee not
moved by the prodigal Completely happy. Here's the word in the
Sun Amen We're gonna stand down and sing our last hymn