Project Joy 1/13

Today, we are also a transitioning next week back into the series on acts and so last year we did a sermon series on acts and we recognized that really what God was leading. The early church to do is is a time was thing. It's two advances Kingdom. So I look forward to jumping back into that with you next week. But today is we close out project Joy of Isaac if you could to keep with me and my controllers kind of not working, but I'll try to keep up with you as well work week. We went in the first week looking at the first Parable in Luke 15, which was the lost sheep. The second week was the Lost coin and today is the prodigal son and through all three of these Parables. Jesus was teaching a critical lesson to those two were in the audience that the joy of the Lord is discovered in really seeing the Lost redeemed to to see the Lost found and restored and brought back and It's just exciting things to see in as I was reflecting back at the end of the year on the joy that we give each other at Christmas time. The question that came up that I was wrestling with his did I bring joy to the Lord the season and so the question that we began to kind of dialogue about early as we were transitioning into 2019 was what are you doing to bring God Julie this week and I pray that that will be part of the culture for us as we move forward in 2019 and that we can do that together. But I'm Luke 15 there's these three Parables of Jesus teaches. They help us understand the things that cause God to rejoice in the heavens and the prodigal son is what we're looking at today. The prodigal son is a parable that has been studied and more commentary has been given to it than any other Parable that Jesus taught perhaps you are familiar with this. In fact, probably if you're not even a believer or not a Christian you might even recognize the title The Prodigal Son It's something that is taught in the Bible that you might even recognize if you're not a believer that that's something that Jesus taught but as you know, it's a parable that tells a story of a father and his two sons and the uniqueness of the parable though. What makes it so unique is not the sons many of us. If you look at the parable you look at the characters that exist in the parable. We recognize probably people in our own lives, maybe even ourselves as someone who reflects one of the sun's maybe, you know people who have kind of gone the Wayward path and they have left home and they are kind of living for themselves and for the world. Maybe you've seen that in your own life story or maybe you recognize that, you know people in your life who are really following and being obedient and they're being diligent and they're doing all the things that we would consider to be right we see those two examples play out in the story of the sun's but the third character that is really a fascinating to look at is character of the father you see it's the characters of the father that really draws out the uniqueness of this Parable. He's going to be the first party named in the parable and he's also going to the very last one to speak and trying to chew ends of the parable together will be the father who is drawing both son's back to himself. So if you have your Bible, I'm going to ask you to turn to Luke chapter 15 Luke chapter 15 and in Luke chapter 15. We will see how Jesus is threading this theme of bringing the father Joy after all three of these Parables and if we remember God's joy throughout all three of these Parables, you will remember that the very beginning of Luke 15, we identified there were two audiences that Jesus was speaking to the first audience were the tax collectors in the Sinners and they were coming and they were ready to listen. But the second group were the Pharisees and the religiously leak and they were grumbling as Jesus is given these three Parables back-to-back-to-back. It's fascinating to see how he has gone from a story of finding one out of a hundred to finding one out of ten in the Lost coin to now finding one out of two and there's a very powerful lesson to be seen in the way that he structuring those numbers, but the two groups are here and they're ready to listen. So Luke chapter 15 verse 11, we're going to go through and we're just going to take some time and really feed on these verses together as we look at what Jesus is saying and describing in this Parable he writes or he says this to the the group and loop record it for us. He said a man had two sons Okay, so two individuals here now, there's a common misconception. I think outside the church and how many of you have friends who are not Believers, but you may have heard them say this statement. All Christians are the same.

Anybody have friends who are outside the church, they're not Believers not following Christ and that's kind of their the way that they think about things when they think about Chrysler the Christians people falling all you Christians are all the same. I will tell you right now that this first line the parable blows that misconception out of the water. Jesus is saying there's a father and he has two sons and you're going to see that these stones are as different as night and day but it does not change the fact that they're still sons of the father. Or something that Parable that Jesus wants to help us see here a couple years ago. I was in an active relationship discipling a guy named Alex and Alex and his wife Jen live here in Brenham and I met Alex actually eating breakfast at Denny's one day and so we're sitting there meeting a many of you have heard about Alex. You've met Alex even and Alex and I as we got to know each other he was really a new believer. He was hungry to learn and grow and as I began to sit down and meet with him if he came like painfully clear, he and I are like cut from two different sloths. Like Alex was a former gang member and I was a former employee to Sheriff's Department. Alex was a guy who had grandchildren and he was my age and I was a guy who just for kids and I was trying to figure out how to make that work for the first generation go round. It was amazing to see what we got to know each other over and over and over Alex and I would compare our lives together and we would say wow. We are perhaps his differ. As night is from day. Yet we are brothers in Christ. And there was a powerful lesson that Jesus is trying to help his audience see because keep in mind the two groups that are in this audience. There's the tax collectors and the Sinners and there's the Pharisees and the religious Elite and Jesus is telling a parable and he says a father has two sons. One of them is going to be Wayward. The other is going to be those who think that they're being faithful and diligent in their service to the father.

The younger verse 12 of the sun's said to his father father give me the share of the estate that falls to me. So the father divided his wealth between them now. It's fascinating to see what happens in this because of the ancient near East in that culture. If a person or person group were together. The order of seniority would determine what was appropriate for who would speak in line. So the fact that the younger son leaps out and begins talking among this group is already an infringement upon societal norms. People would have seen this and they would have been immediately picked up and hearing the parable. This kid is up to no good the fact that he's speaking before his father and before his older brother is not good. This is something that is immediate red flag for people who are hearing this that the younger son is jumping out. He doesn't care about Authority. He is imposing his own will and force immediately into it and not only this but he saying give me give me they are in Jewish culture in Jewish tradition. A father would pass down the inheritance the property the possessions to the sun. It was passed down through the male line. That was culturally acceptable that was a cultural norm. And typically the older son if whoever the oldest son was would receive twice the amount that any of the other Sons would receive and so in a situation where you had two sons the oldest would receive 2/3 the youngest would receive one-third now, we don't know that the amount that is being requested here and certainly the sun doesn't seem like he's acting for anything out of the norm if they follow Jewish custom and according to what Jewish Customs were for this Parable. The older son would have received the two thirds and then I would receive the amount is not the issue with the timing of the request. Because the timing of the request is this son is asking for it while the father is still breathing. In that day and age it was not acceptable for a child to come to a parent and say I demand my inheritance inheritance would be given and released when the parent was dead. And so here this younger son is coming and he is saying I and effect and writing your death certificate. To his father is a virtually unforgivable sin in Jewish Society. The father's response to this. The father could have responded a number of ways. He could have rebuked the son. He said no you are going to wait because it is not time for you to receive this inheritance. The father could have appease the sun said you know what I'll give you some money to help you out. The father could have appealed to the dignity or honor their son and said don't bring shame upon our family by doing this but the father Ops for perhaps the most extraordinary difficult way of responding to the Sun. Any response in the one way whereby which Keith believes his son might be read proclaimed. And so he allows and permits his son to have the estate to Greek words that are used in verse 12. in verse 12 the sunset as father give me the share of the estate and in Greek the Greek words what their son is asking for and requesting for is Russia which means finances or wealth, but what the father responds he says, I will I will give you and divide the wealth amongst you and the word therefore. Well with what the father is saying is actually the word bios, which in Greek is a word for life. The father is essentially saying I am dividing my life. Between you and I'm giving it to you and I'll keep that in mind because that's going to play into what does Parables all about is a good towards the end of it. John verse 13 to son squanders it he squanders that Lucia that says not many days later the younger son gathered everything together. He went on a journey to a distant country the land of opportunity that the sun was thinking about he's like, I got it all and there he squanders his estate with loose living the sun had it he had money had an anemone he had distance he could cut loose and he could live it up but sadly the following circumstances don't just happen to him. He brings them upon himself and he goes from Feast to famine in 1 verse look at verse 14 verse 14 says now when he had spent everything a severe famine occurred in the country and he began to be in part of impoverished so the land of opportunity for this younger son who is now gone out on his own has become a land of Calamity. He is recognized that he has just become from he's gone from being a wealthy tourist to being a homeless immigrant. He is in Atlanta that is foreign to him. He has no resources anymore. What was once fun has now become an abysmal State of Affairs? And says that he goes out verse 15. He goes out and he hires himself out to one of the citizens of the country. And that citizen sends him out into his field to feed swine. So the situation is so dire that he abandons the standards of his own upbringing and culture to bind himself to a foreign family to obey what they are having him do which is not only really defiling his Jewish identity to because to go serve in Indiana pigs and everything else is is not only an unclean but he's losing his Jewish identity in the process. His identity is actually being expunged verse 16. This is how bad it was for him. He's out there and he's with the pigs and he's basically sold himself into slavery to this foreign family and it says that he would have gladly fill his stomach with a pod the swine were eating because no one was giving anything to him. So not only is it going from bad to worse but now it's gone from like worsted absolute terrible is hitting rock bottom and he's saying these pods which is in the Greek is actually a word for a little horn. It was a little binding of basically animal feed that would put together and it would be fed to donkeys and we fed to pigs and this younger son is now looking at these Paws with animal sloth wrapped up in them. And he was like, I'd almost rather eat at then starve to death. Nobody's giving me anything. I have no help no one's here for me. I'm all alone and isolated.

But in verse 17 he comes to his senses.

This younger son having gone through the Journey that he's gone on and have been gone from living it up and having it all at his fingertips to hitting rock bottom verse 17 to come to his senses. He says this when he came to his senses, he said how many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread. But I am dying here with Hunger this Greek phrase coming to your senses actually driven from Hebrew the level which means in his heart. The son recognized something deep down in his heart and it began to motivate him to action it began to drive him to do something about his situation the coming to his senses was a kind of a wake-up call. It was a moment where he recognized. If I don't begin to change go to work Direction the way that I'm living then I am going to die in isolation.

And that change that drive is then understood in the speech that follows it and verse 18 verse 18. He begins to resolve in his mind and he says this here's what I made it. I'm going to get I'm going to go to my father and I say to him father. I have sinned against heaven and I have in your sight and I am no longer worthy to be called your son make me as one of your hired men. You see in the wake-up call that the younger son has there is now an onus of his sin. There's a responsibility that he is it recognizing. I need to own the mistakes that I have done and it's seen it all the first person pronouns that he begins to kind of put it put out there in a speech he sang I have sinned I've sinned against 7 or sending your site. I am no longer worthy to be called your son make me as one of your hired men.

He recognizes that in his heartless and disgraceful departure. He is offended is community his family his brother his father. But what's really fascinating about thinking through this and recognizing how this family has been splintered as a result of this younger son's actions is the younger son doesn't think about the community or the family or the brother? He recognizes that if any restoration is going to take place. He has to go first and foremost of the father. If he's going to be restored in any other area. He has to be restored with the father first. So verse 20 he gets up he gets up and he goes to his father. But while he was still a long way off his father saw him and felt compassion for him and ran and embraced and kissed him and I love this response because the father has not heard words of repentance yet. The father has not had the sun come up to father is certainly thinking there's action he's coming home, but the father's compassion and love drives him to run down the road when he sees his son a long way off and run and hug and embrace them. Verse 21 the sunsets of the father then after that. He's been embraced father. I have sinned against heaven and I've sinned in your sight. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. And this is perhaps the only phrase in this Parabola, but at these two boys the older son of the younger son could agree on I think of anything this is the phrase that the older son would say. Yep, you're not. You're not worthy.

Route 22, but here's what the father does he says to his slaves quickly bring out the best robe and put it on them put a ring on his hand but sandals on his feet bring the fatted calf and kill it. Let's eat. Let's celebrate for this son of mine was dead and he has come to life again. Where the father share? bios Sure life son, ask for financial wealth, but the parable was that the father shared by us life. You see the sun who had taken that life went off and the father thought for sure he is dead. But now the sun who took that life has come back and life has come back home.

So the Sun and coming back receives a robe. He receives a ring you receive sandals. These are all three of these things signify status and reputation and honor to receive sandals was almost an act of receiving a new identity. And I have a great big party. They celebrate the father is bringing out the fattened calf and there's a barbecue. It's on Texas style. They are doing it right and they're smoking that me and can you imagine the smell how many of you guys drive past a barbecue place sometime in the week and it's lunch time and you have your window cracked or just driving by Yaki? Yeah, you want to turn the wheel cuz you're like that just smells amazing. Okay. So here's the scent is now wafting the barbecue is on the pit is lit and they are ready to fire it up and there's a party in the works and the older son is out in the field.

What's that?

Says the older son verse 25 is out in the field and what's fascinating about this is a minor detail in this parable. But don't miss this or something huge about this. The younger son distance himself from the father, right? He was very overt about it. He said give me my wealth. Let me go I'm going to go live it up. I'm going to the land of opportunity. I'm going to just be awesome going to have wealth in the end of the movie. I can do all these things. It's going to be a mind-blowing experience.

Overly, he said you don't understand sir that I am separating myself from you. I want nothing to do with you. And here in the parable. minor clue right here in the first line of verse 25 that there's distance between the older son the father to because of sons in the field this older Sons not with the FAA. Can you going to speak very clearly that there's something very subtle. There's something very cool weren't happening with the distance that's happening with the older son. Says when he came and he approached the house, he heard music and her dancing and he summoned one of the servants and You Begin inquiring what these things could be about and the servant said to him. Your brother has come and your father has killed the fatted calf because he has received him back safe and sound. So the older brother is listening to this and he is like that's not my brother what he did. He's not my brother anymore. He's not part of the family what he did was so offencive he is no longer we disowned him. Why would we want him back? How is he being accepted right. Now? This doesn't make sense. I've been the one who has been here Faithfully serving. I've been the one being obedient to my dad. I've been the one to go out here working in the fields in and being about what the family business is about. Why would there be a party for him?

But the servant Rays is it your brother? it's not the only time that this older brother needs to be reminded about who this younger brother is because her father is going to say it to first 28 the older brother becomes angry and he's not willing to go into the party and its father came out and it began pleading with him, but he answered and said to his father look for so many years. I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours yet. You have never given me a young goat that I could celebrate with my friends. You never threw any parties for me. How many days have I work for you? How many years have I work for you? And this younger son who went and disowns you and shame the family and you did all these things went out and he did this.

When he came back worse 31 this son of yours came who is devoured your wealth with prostitutes you kill the fatted calf for him.

And he said to him. Son, you've always been with me. And all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice for this brother of yours. There's a second time the older son is being reminded of who this person is this brother of yours. Was dead. And he has begun to live he was lost and he is been found. You see this older son? Who is the offended Insider? This isn't self now a resentful Outsider. He is the one who is inside. His father's plan. He was one who is inside the father's family. And and now he is on the outside looking in. There's a great irony in it a Twist in the way the Jesus unfolds this Parable this son who has been there was been serving Faithfully who is really laid it down and being been obedient season after season year after year is now the one who was on the outside looking in in the one who was on the outside living an open Rebellion to the father is the one who is now inside and being celebrated.

The older thinks that his anger is Justified and he doesn't come to his senses. Like the younger one does therefore the father has to come to him. Notice the movement of the father to Father didn't chase the younger son out. But the father goes out to the field and meet the older song. The only capable party you can rep reconcile these two boys back to one. Another is the father.

He's the only one.

What's the parable about?

What's a parable about some things? We don't know. We don't know whether this younger son. Ends up rebelling again. We don't know whether he backslides. And goes back into sin. We know that he came back. We know there was a party but the younger son's story is is incomplete. We don't really fully see does the kiss character come to completion. We don't understand what is going to happen next for him. We don't understand whether he will be found faithful and next week or next year or next month. All we know is that when he repented and came back there was celebration.

What about the older son? What about him? Jesus doesn't wrap that story up either. We're not sure whether the older son goes back in to partake of the party. We don't understand whether or not his story is completely either because really it's the act of going in and joining with that younger son that the older going to be able to join not just the over somebody. Is it going to be able to join with the father and enjoy the long relationship with the father did not just sharing his name but to share in the celebration and a blessing in the provision.

It's the pride of younger are the pride that the older son has that keeps him on the outside. And I think that many of us. We can share in some of that perspective that the older son has many of us have walked with a father for many years many of us have seen God's plan in motion and many of us have Faithfully served season after season after season after season. And we can get upset and we can get jealous when we see God do something radical in the life of a young believer. It's easy for Ministries even to get next to each other. And for one Ministry just say, you know, we have this older group of believers who have been serving the lord faithfully and God is just we've been so just casual in in in in in our obedience and we kind of just gone to the routine over and over and over again that it's now just part of the way that we understand living get we see a young Ministry, long side in the young Ministries vibrant and it's exciting and you see these people who are broken and wicked people coming to Faith and God does exciting things in the ministry explodes and it's easy to see an older established Ministry get upset about it. It's also easy to see our enemies those who we would look at those who probably in my own flash several years ago working in law enforcement seeing a man like Alex and recognizing. This is a guy who does nothing but bring hurt and pain to people to see an image of visual like him and I would say he doesn't deserve it.

It's the father alone. They can bring these two parties back and reconcile the relationship and healed a relationship. That's the father alone who can offer forgiveness and restoration.

How often do we think that we sure we should we are owed a reward for our service? Is he the father and the father alone is the only characters actually finished in this parable. Younger sons in complete the older Sons in complete, but the father is finished. He's done everything that he can and needs to get done to restore the family. The parable is really about his love. For us and it prompts us to wrestle with our response to him. as we were thinking about these Parables and we think about who Jesus is speaking to he speaking the tax collectors and sinners any speaking to the Pharisees in the religiously. And these three Parables he gifts. the lost sheep one out of a hundred that goes out. Well, it's not my job to go look for him. But yeah cording to Ezekiel. The Lord says you should be the shepherd's we're going out and looking. Your job is to say yes, it is my job to go look for that which is lost. Can understand that the joy that God has a recovering that sheep is when he sees it he picks it up because he was overwhelmed with joy that he is found the lost sheep and when it's restored and brought back apart erupts. With the Lost coin, here's a woman who sacrifices she goes in and she recognizes I got to clean up the house. I have to use lighting material. I have to use my resources. I got to use my time. I've got to humble myself and get in the dirt and look for the coin that is lost. It requires me to self-sacrifice and step in and not just say, you know what the Queen's going to get found in a week or a month. But no, I am going to look for it tonight. I'm not even wait for daylight to to come. I'm going to look for it. Now. You see what brings God Joy are people who not only recognize it is my responsibility to go look for what's lost but it's my responsibility to go look for them right now to understand there's a known as aren't that Jesus Christ is coming back and when he comes back we are going to understand a whole new understanding of what reality is all about and there might not be much time. For people to turn back to him. Our job is to be active and just seek those who are lost and ready to listen now. And when the woman finds a lost coin she throws a party 1 out of 10. but here now in The Prodigal Son What's fascinating to me? And I read this Parable over and over and over is to see these two audience groups listening the story and Jesus is narrowing it down to one or two. And he saying those who were Wicked and we're pursuing the world and pursuing the Flesh and in sin. They have come back. They're ready to listen, and the father is ready to receive them. Why because the father is receiving life that which was dead is now come back to life life has come home. And the older son it was there. Who's the one who's been serving? Year-after-year Faithfully is saying what gives? And he's distancing self from father.

I think the lesson is this if we're to place ourselves understand where God is putting us in this is this I will join the celebration. I will join the celebration even when my enemies receive God's forgiveness and Grace. It's not easy to celebrate and rejoice when you see God bless someone who was your enemy. Many of you probably haven't had really serious enemies in life. I was like somebody who's really trying to do you harm you if you probably have the closest I would say I ever came to having someone who is really pursuing me to try to do physical harm happened several years ago. There was an individual my wife and I had just recently moved from the Carolinas to to Texas to go to Seminary and the individual that we moved in to rent to rent a house from ended up being someone who attacked us with lawsuits and everything else and come to find out he was a Perpetual offender where he would put conditions on living in his rentals that were so crazy that people would leave and then he would sue them for infringement of the lease and he had done it over and over and over again and we didn't know it when we went there and we got in this situation and this guy was pursuing us. He was attacking us. I would see him outside. He would curse me out. He sued us for $10,000 and we're in seminary and we have no work employment for no full-time employment and I'm like, how am I going to get through this? You see what's crazy. And what's radical about this is. If I saw God work in his life, I'm called to go in and celebrate. This guy who wanted to take the shirt off my back this guy who was my enemy this individual who did all the things to wrong me. I should be willing as an older brother as one who's following. The Lord is one of the serving him to say, you know, what if you're bringing this enemy of mine back into the family and life is returning home. I need to celebrate. That's what you called me to do. It's difficult because we live in a culture were very much for the most part. We are at peace with one another you might have a neighbor that gets on your nerves and you might have a property line or fence issue or you might have dogs that go in and do their mess on your neighbor's lawn and those things can get on your nerves but those are not your real enemies. I mean, there are real enemies in this world and what this Parable is all about. His understanding that this Parable is a call for us to radically jumping in the celebration when an enemy comes to Faith. It's a powerful Parable and it's a powerful threading of these Parables together that we should celebrate the brother who is dead is now alive again, and then restoring the family God has created a new family and got a sharing life itself. And when it comes back when life returns home, all of Heavens Rejoice righteousness is not achieved by Worthy obedience. It's a gift conferred by The Father's Love and it's received by joining in the banquet. It's not coming back to the table together and that's what makes communion really such a beautiful thing. When we observe that the first of the month is because everyone who is Professor faith in Christ is now a brother or sister in Christ and we share the table, which is really a preview of a banquet that's going to happen in the heavens.

When we join a table, we bare the father's name and we join in the father's Mission. So the question really for us as a church family throughout this year. Is this how did you bring God Joy this week? Where did you do, Lee Davis has some free by five cards. I'm going to have him pass those out. And so just grab a couple of them passing down the aisles and what I'd like for our church family to do I want to collect different ideas from our church family. How do we bring God Joy the course at 2019 East Repairables have been all about what brings the father Joy Church is a ministry as we going to different seasons as we enter into a new year with fresh opportunities and things that are before us we have the challenge ahead of us to say, hey, we're going to be on Mission regardless of the season the things that we are trying to be faithful and doing in years past we want to be continued in that mission of that effort. But what are the things that we can look at for 2019 that we recognize you know what this is going to be something I want to do to bring God Joy. And maybe you have a person's name that God is laying on your heart. And so what I'd like you to say they are right on that 3 by 5 card is I will bring God Joy by and then fill in the blank and if you want to use specifics you want to use someone's name. Feel free if you want to share a situation that's going on in the workplace jot that down. And what I like to do is for us to compile. All of these is the church and where to put them up when we praying about them in the weeks to, we're going to be asking questions. Hey, how did it go? Did you have any opportunity to share the conversation? A couple weeks ago I might have been last week. I was sharing about project joy and how I could see it play out and in part of the woman who is searching for the Lost coin one Dynamic of of that Parable is the intentionality, but that woman had that she was being very specific and intentional and how she was looking and I talked about how we could even take a conversation with a stranger. And before we even get deep into conversation. We can have an intentionality in it to see where God's leading and I and I share the story with view of big dishwasher and I think Dave's here today. Where is Dave there is he's in the back but I shared a little bit of a man who is a real real estate developer in you he was working with you for business to try to figure out some things for easements or whatever else that you were talking about and in the process of it you mention Something to him and you said hey God taught me something at church tonight. Maybe I can help you, but maybe it won't but everything that he's entrusted me.

And you and the guy begin to talk on the phone and the guy who came really intrigued this developer who's doing some things here in Texas and Dave, today, and he doesn't even know I shared that with you guys last week's warning. You know what he told me this morning. He said, hey we talked again and the guy wants me to come over to his house after church today. And go meet with him. How are you bringing God Joy?

How's look for you? I was going to come up and close this out here in a few minutes. And take a minute write some things down that card. How do you see you bring yourself as far as what you're doing and how will God leading you that people that are in your life. How are you bringing God you are this year and Dave if you would collect the cards as people are heading out and we'll start to do some things and we'll put together some areas where we can see our church fans recognizing God is leading them to bring them Joy this year.