WEBVTT

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Good morning. Happy Father's Day. Any dads in

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the room? All right. We are all here today for

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you guys. Hope you're blessed. Today we're going

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to be obviously taking a break from Genesis to

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honor the fathers and the dads and the... Papas

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and the grandfathers and all of those who have

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a fatherly role in the lives of their children.

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But before we get into that, I want to take an

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opportunity simply to address what's going on

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in our country today, especially around, well,

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started here in Southern California and is kind

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of blown up all over the place with ice raids

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and all of that. There's a lot of questions people

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have about... this and that and how to deal and

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should I be afraid and should I shouldn't be

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afraid and all of these things. I've been praying

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for over a week. I'm like, God, what do you want

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to say about this? And it's been a struggle because

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I'm not quite sure what to say about this except

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this. God is sovereign. God is in control of

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all things. Now, when it comes to law enforcement

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of any kind, there is good law enforcement and

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there are some bad apples as a part of it. The

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bad apples don't mean all of the law enforcement

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is bad, but also we can't discredit the fact

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that something's happened that shouldn't be happening.

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But ultimately, we don't know exactly what's

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going on because our modern media likes to spin

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things and twist things and not really tell the

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truth. But ultimately, either side of the media,

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many of us don't know because we're not there.

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But I do know this, that God is sovereign. God

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is above all things. God is in control of all

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things. You know, God tells us in his word all

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kinds of things. Romans 13, he tells us to follow

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the laws of the land. And so when there's a situation,

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any situation where somebody has broken the laws

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of the land, and this includes immigration law,

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that law enforcement is right and just. But the

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Bible also preaches mercy and grace and forgiveness

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and patience, and we also support that as well.

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We, the people who know Jesus Christ as our Lord

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and Savior, we are the ones that have the hope

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that penetrates through all the chaos in this

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world. And so regardless of where you're at on

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the situation today, I pray that you would be

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a person who takes the light and the hope of

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Jesus Christ into whatever situation you find

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yourself in. That you wouldn't fear, as the Bible

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says, to cast out the spirit of fear, that there

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is no spirit of fear. Now, I know we all have

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things that we're afraid of, and that's okay.

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But take those things to the Lord and trust him

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and his role in your life and his hand in your

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life through all of this chaos. Because I'm sure

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of just a couple things, and one of them, God

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is sovereign, but two, the devil is working overtime

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to sow chaos in our world, to sow chaos in our

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families, to sow chaos in our lives. And so I

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just want to encourage all of you to pray for

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what's going on. Pray that truth would be truth,

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that justice would be justice, that what is right

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would be right. Pray against the things that

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are wrong, the things that are evil, the things

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that aren't the way they should be. Because only

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God knows what's happening in every single heart

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that's involved in this whole situation. And

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I know it's a very difficult one. And so cling

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to the Lord. That is the best answer I could

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give you guys as your pastor. And then also what's

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going on in Israel and Iran right now. You know,

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of course, every time missiles fly, everybody

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gets excited. It's the end. Jesus is coming.

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He might. And if he does, hallelujah, I'm excited

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to go. But if he doesn't come, we're to pray

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for Israel because the Bible tells us that those

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who bless Israel will be blessed and those who

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curse Israel will be cursed. We know that Israel

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is not a perfect nation. We know that a majority

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of the nation rejects Jesus Christ as the Messiah,

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but they are still his people. And he still loves

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them as he loves everybody on this planet. And

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we pray for their redemption. They're coming

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back to their Lord and Savior as we pray for

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everybody coming to know the Lord and Savior.

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Amen. So let's pray for all of that, and then

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we'll get into the opening for our study here.

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Father God, Lord, we are people who are called

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to trust you, to trust you in all things, Lord.

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God, what's happening with these ice raids and

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stuff going on, Lord, God, we know that you created

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law, and Lord, following law is a biblical thing,

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God. Lord, we know that the very heart and the

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root of the gospel is that because we have broken

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your law, we are in the face of judgment, Lord.

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But God, the other side of your wonderful gospel

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is that you took the penalty for us, that you're

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the one that set us free, not from earthly prisons,

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but Lord, from a spiritual prison, from a forever

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in hell God. And that is the message we want

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to carry to people, that Lord, just because we

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feel one way or the other about things, that

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doesn't change truth. And the truth is, God,

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we live in a fallen world. And every human being,

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whether it's the president or Congress or our

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governor, we're all fallen people. And Lord,

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without you, we can't do anything good. So Lord,

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we pray that your spirit would penetrate all

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of this chaos, that your spirit would penetrate

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all of the confusion, that all the fear, all

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the hurt, all of it, God. Lord, that what is

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right would be right. What is wrong would be

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known as wrong. But God, we pray that through

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all of this, Lord, that instead of bloodshed

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and burning down cities and destroying property

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and all of that, Lord, that God as a country,

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we would be able to engage in our rightful right

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to protest things that we don't agree with, Lord.

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And that God, we would do that, people that would

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engage in that would do it safely and appropriately,

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Lord, and safely. But God, at the same time,

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Lord, as people are taking advantage of these

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situations to cause chaos and destruction and

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violence, Lord, I pray, God, that they would

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be caught and held accountable. Lord, I pray,

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God, when it comes to the ideas of the laws of

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our land, we would understand, Lord, especially

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as Christian people, that we are called to follow

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the laws of the land. That, Lord, biblically,

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the time we're called to stand against those

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things is when they require us to deny you. And

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God, we're not yet there. But Lord, in the confusion

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of all of it, God, I pray for every family, every

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person involved, Lord, every person that is or

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may be affected, Lord, that you would bring peace

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that surpasses all understanding, that you would

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bring hope, that through faith and trust, God,

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your people would stand as shining beacons for

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truth and the gospel. That, Lord, those that

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would want to do bad things, whether it's on

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the law enforcement side or whether it's on the

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other side of the coin, Lord, those bad characters

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who want to do bad things, Lord, would be caught

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and stopped. But at the same time, Lord, that

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we wouldn't let our feelings cause us to reject

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the law, reject, Lord, those things, but instead

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find ways to bring peace and reconciliation and

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hope through all of those things. So, Lord, we

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pray for our law enforcement. God, that you would

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work in and through them, Lord, to do their jobs

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right and appropriately, God. We pray, Lord,

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for those that are in fear that they would find

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peace in you, God. We pray for those that are

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the worst of criminals, God, that they would

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get removed, taken, and prosecuted. Lord, we

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pray for those that are innocent, that they would

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be safe, that they would be at peace. And Lord,

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we pray similar things for what's happening in

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Israel right now, Lord. God, we know that Israel

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has enemies and always had enemies and will always

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have enemies. And yet, Lord, when this military

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stuff is going back and forth, Lord, we know

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that there are collateral casualties, Lord, and

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we pray for those people and those families,

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Lord. We pray, God, peace upon them. We pray,

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Lord, that you would bring comfort and healing,

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Lord. We pray you would keep those... that may

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fall into the line of fire safe. But Lord, we

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know according to your word what is going to

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happen. We know what is coming to the end, Lord.

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And God, we just pray through all of it, Lord,

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come quickly. God, that you would end sin for

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good. That, Lord, you would give us the opportunity

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to share this hope and this gospel with everybody

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through everything that's happening in our world.

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And God, we know according to your word that

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you are going to restore your people Israel,

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and we look forward to that. But in the meantime,

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God, Lord, we just pray for peace. We pray for

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the peace of Israel. We pray for peace in the

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world, God. But for those who stand against you,

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that stand against who you are, Lord, we pray,

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God, that your will would be done in that. And

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if your will in those places, Lord, is ultimately

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judgment, Lord, then judgment would happen. God,

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we lift all of it up to you, God. There's so

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much we don't know. There's so much unknown information

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flying all over the place, God, but we do know

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you're sovereign. We do know you are holy. We

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know you're a God of justice and righteousness.

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We also know that you're a God of peace and grace

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and mercy. So, Lord, we just pray that you would

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act according to your will in all of these things,

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Lord. Ultimately, God, that you would be glorified.

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that people would come to know you, to have eternal

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life in you, God, because everything in this

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world, Lord, is temporary. You are forever. Help

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us as your people, God, the church, to stand

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for what is right, to not fall on one side or

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the other of a scenario, God, because of our

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own biases, Lord, but that we would evaluate

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everything biblically. That we would take our

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stand according to who you are and your character

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and your word, God, and nothing else. But Lord,

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today we are gathered here to just honor fathers,

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Lord. And so God, may you help us to set aside

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all of this confusion right now, Lord, that we

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would be focused on you and your word. That we

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would be reminded of you as our heavenly father,

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our perfect father. the one who receives us,

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who holds us, God, that you are perfect in all

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things. Lord, we love you. We thank you, Lord,

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for everything. It's in Jesus' name we pray.

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Amen. All right. Well, as I said, we are taking

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the break from Genesis today to honor fathers,

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and we're going to be looking at a famous story

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in Luke chapter 15, commonly known as the prodigal

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son. Personally, in reading this story again,

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I really believe that this parable should be

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better called the merciful father because although

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when we think of this parable, we always focus

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on the son, the parable as a whole is really

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a beautiful and wonderful picture of who God

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is, of how willing he is to forgive. How eager

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he is to extend grace and mercy and patience

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and all of that. And really, the wonderful opportunity

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of fatherhood in the world today is that dads,

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you get to teach your children through your example

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who God is. And you do this by modeling the attributes

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of God, our Father in heaven, as learned in his

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word. That is the high calling. You know, fathers

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and fatherhood and those who are fatherly, it's

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a critically important thing in the lives of

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our kids. You don't have to search far to see

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the statistics as absentee fathers in homes without

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dads, the effect that it has on families and

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the effect that it has on kids and the effect

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it has on so much in our society. But you see,

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it's unfortunate in our world that because of

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the difficulty some people have had with their

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fathers in their life, They have a difficult

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time interacting with God, the Father. They have

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a difficult time understanding who he is because

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their filter is how they were treated by their

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earthly fathers. You know, dads, if someone was

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to ask your kid or say to your kid one day, you

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remind me of your father, would you want your

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child to be proud or embarrassed? That is the

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question for all dads. Right? Would you want

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your kid to be proud or embarrassed? Well, today

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in the scripture we're looking at, we're going

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to see four characteristics of our father in

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heaven. We're going to see these characteristics

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that set the example for all earthly fathers

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to follow. And when they do so, they become dads.

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When you follow God's example, you will become

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the father that God has called you to be. Because

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you're following after the example of the perfect

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father. Now, for those of you that may be in

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this room today and you've had what we would

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call bad fathers, and there are many that have

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had less than ideal dads, I want to encourage

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you today to please pay attention to the scriptures

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we're looking at today because the scripture

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we're looking at today is going to tell you who

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your father in heaven is. who he is, how he is,

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how he wants to interact with you, the relationship

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he wants to have with you. And it's important

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to understand that because regardless of your

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experience with your dads here on earth, God

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is perfect. God is a perfect father in everything

00:13:30.779 --> 00:13:33.600
he does. And so be encouraged today. That's what

00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:34.919
we're going to be looking at today, but first

00:13:34.919 --> 00:13:37.100
we're going to spend some time in worship because

00:13:37.100 --> 00:13:42.679
God is worth it. God is holy. God is mighty.

00:13:43.230 --> 00:13:48.870
God is just. God is love. And we are so blessed

00:13:48.870 --> 00:13:51.929
to be his children, to be able to stand in the

00:13:51.929 --> 00:13:54.570
path of his love and his light. And that is what

00:13:54.570 --> 00:13:57.289
we get to carry forth. And so dads, today, we

00:13:57.289 --> 00:13:59.049
want to shine the light on you, to honor you,

00:13:59.149 --> 00:14:02.230
to encourage you. And all of us, as we see who

00:14:02.230 --> 00:14:04.289
God our Father is, that we would be blessed today.

00:14:04.529 --> 00:14:08.110
Let's pray. Father, we love you. We ask God that

00:14:08.110 --> 00:14:09.629
you would bless your word today and bless our

00:14:09.629 --> 00:14:13.240
time together. Lord, we want to see you. for

00:14:13.240 --> 00:14:15.940
who you are, that, God, we don't want to let

00:14:15.940 --> 00:14:19.539
experiences in our life in this earth or here

00:14:19.539 --> 00:14:21.860
on this earth, Lord, with our fathers on earth,

00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:24.720
Lord, to color how we see you, Lord. Some of

00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:27.179
us have had wonderful dads, God, and praise you

00:14:27.179 --> 00:14:29.679
for that, and others have had bad fathers, Lord.

00:14:31.080 --> 00:14:33.100
But, God, when it comes to who you are, you are

00:14:33.100 --> 00:14:36.220
perfect. You are the perfect Father, and, Lord,

00:14:36.259 --> 00:14:39.070
we want to be encouraged. that we can cling to

00:14:39.070 --> 00:14:40.750
you, that we can come to you, that we can know

00:14:40.750 --> 00:14:42.590
you, that we can turn to you in all things, always,

00:14:42.750 --> 00:14:46.429
no matter what. Because not only are you the

00:14:46.429 --> 00:14:49.809
perfect father, you're perfect love, Lord. So

00:14:49.809 --> 00:14:51.629
God, bless us today. Speak to us through your

00:14:51.629 --> 00:14:53.970
word. Especially, Lord, encourage the dads that

00:14:53.970 --> 00:14:55.549
are here in our church today. We love you so

00:14:55.549 --> 00:14:57.610
much, and we thank you. It's in Jesus' name we

00:14:57.610 --> 00:15:01.649
pray, amen. We are gonna be in Luke chapter 15,

00:15:01.809 --> 00:15:06.460
and looking at the story. like I said, that is

00:15:06.460 --> 00:15:08.720
commonly referred to as the prodigal son. But

00:15:08.720 --> 00:15:10.960
I think, at least for today's purposes, we're

00:15:10.960 --> 00:15:13.600
going to call it the merciful father. And so

00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:15.820
I want to give you guys a little bit of contextual

00:15:15.820 --> 00:15:18.740
background to the parable we're looking at, because

00:15:18.740 --> 00:15:20.899
at this point in Jesus's ministry in Luke chapter

00:15:20.899 --> 00:15:25.240
15, he was having all kinds of people draw near

00:15:25.240 --> 00:15:28.200
to him, but especially the people that were considered

00:15:28.200 --> 00:15:32.039
the gross people of society, right? The people

00:15:32.039 --> 00:15:34.200
nobody wanted to hang out with. Now in scripture,

00:15:34.700 --> 00:15:36.860
They're specifically called the tax collectors

00:15:36.860 --> 00:15:39.580
and the sinners. These were the people that all

00:15:39.580 --> 00:15:42.679
of the religious Jews were like, ew, we don't

00:15:42.679 --> 00:15:45.360
like to hang around them. And so they were flocking

00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:47.259
to Jesus, though, because Jesus was bringing

00:15:47.259 --> 00:15:50.419
a whole new message, something that their Judaism

00:15:50.419 --> 00:15:53.500
had been missing out on, especially in the face

00:15:53.500 --> 00:15:55.679
of those who were the Jewish leaders of the time.

00:15:55.720 --> 00:15:58.440
You see, because these Jewish leaders, the Pharisees

00:15:58.440 --> 00:16:01.899
and the scribes, they considered tax collectors

00:16:01.899 --> 00:16:04.980
and sinners. according to their definitions,

00:16:05.039 --> 00:16:08.879
as the real bad elements of society, conversely,

00:16:08.899 --> 00:16:12.139
they prided themselves considering themselves

00:16:12.139 --> 00:16:14.759
to be the favorites of God, right? Because they

00:16:14.759 --> 00:16:17.039
were the ones who were studying the Torah and,

00:16:17.039 --> 00:16:19.639
you know, they were following all these rules.

00:16:19.919 --> 00:16:22.840
And so they, thinking that they were the favorites

00:16:22.840 --> 00:16:26.220
of God, complained about Jesus hanging out with

00:16:26.220 --> 00:16:28.980
all of these castoffs and the despised people

00:16:28.980 --> 00:16:32.789
of society. And so in Luke chapter 15, Jesus

00:16:32.789 --> 00:16:35.350
teaches a number of parables, as he did in his

00:16:35.350 --> 00:16:38.970
ministry, to get truths about God and who God

00:16:38.970 --> 00:16:41.049
was in the kingdom of heaven and all of this

00:16:41.049 --> 00:16:44.269
across to people. And a number of these parables

00:16:44.269 --> 00:16:46.389
that he taught specifically in Luke chapter 15

00:16:46.389 --> 00:16:49.309
were all about the character of the Father. Because

00:16:49.309 --> 00:16:52.509
the Pharisees and the scribes were misrepresenting

00:16:52.509 --> 00:16:55.389
who the Father was. And Jesus obviously came

00:16:55.389 --> 00:16:57.809
to set the record straight, if you will. And

00:16:57.809 --> 00:17:00.330
so through these parables that he taught, he

00:17:00.330 --> 00:17:04.710
was demonstrating that God was not elitist or

00:17:04.710 --> 00:17:07.410
exclusive, that God was willing to forgive sinners.

00:17:07.609 --> 00:17:09.869
Not only that, he was willing to go after them.

00:17:10.009 --> 00:17:12.750
He was willing to receive sinners to himself.

00:17:13.170 --> 00:17:15.630
And then he gets to the story of the prodigal

00:17:15.630 --> 00:17:18.990
son, which is really a story that shows us something

00:17:18.990 --> 00:17:21.250
very interesting in the context of all these

00:17:21.250 --> 00:17:24.509
parables in Luke 15. You see, in Luke 15, he

00:17:24.509 --> 00:17:27.650
was talking about... God going after a lost coin

00:17:27.650 --> 00:17:29.910
and, you know, God going after different things

00:17:29.910 --> 00:17:31.950
to try and find them. But in the parable of the

00:17:31.950 --> 00:17:34.910
prodigal son, what he shows us is that the loss

00:17:34.910 --> 00:17:37.170
of relationship is of the greatest importance

00:17:37.170 --> 00:17:40.890
to God. That the loss of relationship is more

00:17:40.890 --> 00:17:43.630
valuable than losing stuff. It's more valuable

00:17:43.630 --> 00:17:46.430
than losing time. It's more valuable than losing,

00:17:46.569 --> 00:17:49.369
you know, anything else. It's just the loss of

00:17:49.369 --> 00:17:53.170
relationship matters to God. That really in the

00:17:53.170 --> 00:17:55.430
concept of our relationship with our heavenly

00:17:55.430 --> 00:17:58.009
father, we're more than possessions to him. We're

00:17:58.009 --> 00:18:00.410
not just servants in the sense of like robots

00:18:00.410 --> 00:18:02.410
who go and do things that he calls us to do.

00:18:02.509 --> 00:18:06.930
We are his children. We are beloved by him. He

00:18:06.930 --> 00:18:10.009
loves us. And so that when relationship with

00:18:10.009 --> 00:18:15.119
him is bad, God cares. greatly about that. When

00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:17.160
our relationship with him is good and restored,

00:18:17.519 --> 00:18:20.180
it's one of the greatest joys that he has. And

00:18:20.180 --> 00:18:23.200
so in the parable of the prodigal son, what we're

00:18:23.200 --> 00:18:25.920
going to see as Jesus was teaching this to both

00:18:25.920 --> 00:18:28.319
the people gathered there and the Pharisees,

00:18:28.319 --> 00:18:31.519
is we see four characteristics of the Father.

00:18:32.079 --> 00:18:35.680
Who the Father is, the reflective of the Father,

00:18:35.880 --> 00:18:39.000
God in heaven. And these are characteristics

00:18:39.000 --> 00:18:42.670
that Fathers in the world today are called to

00:18:42.670 --> 00:18:46.730
imitate, called to follow after. And really,

00:18:46.890 --> 00:18:49.829
dads, if your desire is to be a godly father

00:18:49.829 --> 00:18:53.329
in this world today, which it should be, wanting

00:18:53.329 --> 00:18:59.950
to rightly represent who God in heaven is, This

00:18:59.950 --> 00:19:01.990
is a story that's for you because it's going

00:19:01.990 --> 00:19:04.130
to show you these characteristics that not only

00:19:04.130 --> 00:19:06.690
are for you to emulate, but they're for you to

00:19:06.690 --> 00:19:09.109
emulate so that the children in your lives, the

00:19:09.109 --> 00:19:11.730
children that you are a father over, come to

00:19:11.730 --> 00:19:15.730
know who God is rightly and properly. And so

00:19:15.730 --> 00:19:17.430
we're going to pick up the story here in Luke

00:19:17.430 --> 00:19:20.029
chapter 15, verse 11, if you will read with me.

00:19:21.109 --> 00:19:25.650
It says, he also said, a man had two sons. The

00:19:25.650 --> 00:19:28.579
younger of them said to his father, father, Give

00:19:28.579 --> 00:19:30.400
me the share of the estate that I have coming

00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:33.819
to me. So he distributed the assets to them.

00:19:34.519 --> 00:19:36.759
Not many days later, the younger son gathered

00:19:36.759 --> 00:19:38.940
together all he had and he traveled to a distant

00:19:38.940 --> 00:19:42.440
country where he squandered his estate in foolish

00:19:42.440 --> 00:19:46.240
living. Now, that word foolish there in the CSB,

00:19:46.279 --> 00:19:48.240
that is the word that is rendered prodigal in

00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:50.680
some of the older translations, and that's where

00:19:50.680 --> 00:19:53.000
the story of this parable comes from, the prodigal

00:19:53.000 --> 00:19:56.539
son. Now, what that word means, prodigal or foolish,

00:19:56.839 --> 00:20:01.619
it's the idea of being wastefully lavish. It's

00:20:01.619 --> 00:20:04.519
the idea of being so self -centered that you

00:20:04.519 --> 00:20:08.859
are willing to expend all of your resources simply

00:20:08.859 --> 00:20:12.160
for a self -indulgent lifestyle. It's the idea

00:20:12.160 --> 00:20:14.819
of where you're not gonna think about saving,

00:20:15.079 --> 00:20:16.660
you're not gonna think about investing, you're

00:20:16.660 --> 00:20:18.680
not gonna think about emergencies, you're just

00:20:18.680 --> 00:20:20.640
gonna blow everything on the biggest party you

00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:22.660
can have because it just makes you feel good,

00:20:22.779 --> 00:20:25.359
right? That's what this idea of foolish living

00:20:25.359 --> 00:20:28.119
or prodigal living is all about. And so in this

00:20:28.119 --> 00:20:32.359
story, the younger son here is a shining example

00:20:32.359 --> 00:20:35.640
of wasting your life through very poor decision

00:20:35.640 --> 00:20:39.380
making. All right, now. Just to set the proper

00:20:39.380 --> 00:20:42.740
stage here, has anybody in this room ever made

00:20:42.740 --> 00:20:48.539
a poor decision? Right? Once or twice, maybe,

00:20:48.799 --> 00:20:53.480
right? So, this is us, okay? We are the poor

00:20:53.480 --> 00:20:56.619
decision makers here in this story. Now, in the

00:20:56.619 --> 00:20:59.599
story, particularly in the context, this son

00:20:59.599 --> 00:21:02.859
who leaves. probably a teenager for a couple

00:21:02.859 --> 00:21:05.059
reasons. One, we see that he's not married yet,

00:21:05.220 --> 00:21:08.960
and yet he leaves his father's house to live

00:21:08.960 --> 00:21:12.160
alone. And then we see that he was old enough

00:21:12.160 --> 00:21:14.759
to demand his inheritance, which he couldn't

00:21:14.759 --> 00:21:17.980
do as a young, young child. But even in demanding

00:21:17.980 --> 00:21:20.319
his inheritance, this whole picture of the son

00:21:20.319 --> 00:21:22.720
here is that he's acting in rebellion. right?

00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:25.019
He's acting in rebellion because although he

00:21:25.019 --> 00:21:27.039
was old enough to demand his inheritance, it

00:21:27.039 --> 00:21:30.099
wasn't the appropriate time to do so. So the

00:21:30.099 --> 00:21:32.599
idea here is a rebellious teenager, okay? Has

00:21:32.599 --> 00:21:35.099
anybody ever been a rebellious teenager? Great,

00:21:35.259 --> 00:21:37.500
we're talking to the right people, okay. Now,

00:21:38.569 --> 00:21:40.970
To understand the details here and how this story

00:21:40.970 --> 00:21:43.410
would hit the Jewish listeners at the time, we

00:21:43.410 --> 00:21:45.670
have to look at Jewish inheritance law, right?

00:21:45.769 --> 00:21:47.869
Because Jewish inheritance law was very particular.

00:21:48.289 --> 00:21:50.549
Some of it was very similar to inheritance law

00:21:50.549 --> 00:21:53.750
today. But basically, in the culture, if there

00:21:53.750 --> 00:21:57.470
was two sons in the family, at this time in the

00:21:57.470 --> 00:22:00.730
culture, the eldest son would get twice as much

00:22:00.730 --> 00:22:04.539
of the inheritance as the younger son. Now, earlier,

00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:06.420
we go back into the Old Testament, we find out

00:22:06.420 --> 00:22:10.259
that the eldest son got everything. That's the

00:22:10.259 --> 00:22:12.420
version I prefer because I'm the eldest son in

00:22:12.420 --> 00:22:16.480
my family. But to be biblically honest and accurate

00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:18.400
here, it was a two -third, one -third situation

00:22:18.400 --> 00:22:21.880
in this case. And so the younger son is saying,

00:22:21.940 --> 00:22:24.880
hey, I want my inheritance now. The bigger issue

00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:28.279
is that the inheritance was only to be dispersed

00:22:28.279 --> 00:22:31.359
upon the death of the father. That's how it worked.

00:22:32.319 --> 00:22:36.059
And so by demanding the inheritance early, what

00:22:36.059 --> 00:22:39.759
the younger son is doing is expressing the greatest

00:22:39.759 --> 00:22:43.839
possible dishonor he can to his dad. Because

00:22:43.839 --> 00:22:47.559
by demanding the inheritance early, by saying,

00:22:47.579 --> 00:22:49.900
give me my inheritance now, what he's essentially

00:22:49.900 --> 00:22:55.460
saying is, dad, you're dead to me. I don't want

00:22:55.460 --> 00:22:57.930
to be a part of your life anymore. I don't want

00:22:57.930 --> 00:23:00.609
to be a part of this family anymore. I want what's

00:23:00.609 --> 00:23:04.190
mine. Cash me out and I'm going to bail. And

00:23:04.190 --> 00:23:06.309
that was a huge dishonor in that culture because

00:23:06.309 --> 00:23:08.970
if you remember, the Jewish nation, they had

00:23:08.970 --> 00:23:10.930
the Ten Commandments. And one of those commandments

00:23:10.930 --> 00:23:15.650
was honor your mother and father. So honoring

00:23:15.650 --> 00:23:18.869
mom and dad was a massively important thing in

00:23:18.869 --> 00:23:21.990
their culture. It's sad that today in our culture,

00:23:22.029 --> 00:23:24.930
especially in the West, disrespecting mom and

00:23:24.930 --> 00:23:27.809
dad seems to be the norm in many cases in many

00:23:27.809 --> 00:23:32.210
places. Now in this culture, it was huge to pay

00:23:32.210 --> 00:23:36.109
honor to the father. And so when he says, cash

00:23:36.109 --> 00:23:39.309
me out while you're alive, he couldn't really

00:23:39.309 --> 00:23:43.440
do any more dishonor to his father. And in the

00:23:43.440 --> 00:23:45.900
culture, if and when something like this happened,

00:23:46.119 --> 00:23:49.440
the father would be required to do a few things,

00:23:49.480 --> 00:23:51.880
you know, amongst the community as a part of

00:23:51.880 --> 00:23:54.240
this process. If the son dishonored dad like

00:23:54.240 --> 00:23:56.380
this, he would take the son before the community

00:23:56.380 --> 00:24:00.099
and he would slap him across the face. to show

00:24:00.099 --> 00:24:02.980
that this was just so wrong and so dishonoring.

00:24:03.039 --> 00:24:05.880
And then that son would be publicly scorned both

00:24:05.880 --> 00:24:09.019
by the father and the town. The entire community

00:24:09.019 --> 00:24:12.619
would despise that kid and say he's a bad kid

00:24:12.619 --> 00:24:15.960
and just how horrible you are. He got this very

00:24:15.960 --> 00:24:19.319
negative visceral reaction from the entire community.

00:24:19.539 --> 00:24:22.519
And then in many cases, what they would do is

00:24:22.519 --> 00:24:26.220
actually hold a funeral service for that kid.

00:24:27.140 --> 00:24:29.539
Because as far as the father and that community

00:24:29.539 --> 00:24:33.599
were concerned, he is dead to us. And so then

00:24:33.599 --> 00:24:36.380
that kid would leave. That's how big honor and

00:24:36.380 --> 00:24:39.990
dishonor was in this culture. So they would be

00:24:39.990 --> 00:24:41.650
put out of the family, out of the community,

00:24:41.829 --> 00:24:44.250
considered culturally to be dead to the community

00:24:44.250 --> 00:24:47.250
and the family. And we see some of this, even

00:24:47.250 --> 00:24:49.269
though it's not recorded here that this dad did

00:24:49.269 --> 00:24:52.410
this, and I don't think he did, the understanding

00:24:52.410 --> 00:24:54.890
of what would happen in these situations is seen

00:24:54.890 --> 00:24:57.609
because later on in the story, the father says,

00:24:57.690 --> 00:25:02.869
my son who is dead is alive again. But you'll

00:25:02.869 --> 00:25:06.470
notice that despite the egregious dishonor that

00:25:06.470 --> 00:25:09.789
this son lays upon his father, verse 12, it tells

00:25:09.789 --> 00:25:12.990
us, so he distributed the assets to him, or to

00:25:12.990 --> 00:25:17.569
them. He didn't have to do that. Culturally,

00:25:17.670 --> 00:25:22.170
he shouldn't have done that, but he did it. It's

00:25:22.170 --> 00:25:24.650
an interesting piece of the story here, especially

00:25:24.650 --> 00:25:28.670
for the Jewish listener. He let his son make

00:25:28.670 --> 00:25:32.630
his choice, and he honored it. Now, this is the

00:25:32.630 --> 00:25:34.829
first characteristic that we see about our father

00:25:34.829 --> 00:25:36.970
in heaven that really is going to be the foundation

00:25:36.970 --> 00:25:38.609
for the other three that we're going to build

00:25:38.609 --> 00:25:41.549
to. This father was willing to let his son make

00:25:41.549 --> 00:25:46.470
mistakes. He could have refused. He could have

00:25:46.470 --> 00:25:48.450
said, no way am I going to allow you to make

00:25:48.450 --> 00:25:51.529
this decision under no circumstances. And I'm

00:25:51.529 --> 00:25:54.910
not saying there's never a case for saying that.

00:25:55.190 --> 00:25:57.549
But here in this story, the father instead says,

00:25:57.690 --> 00:26:02.569
okay. I may not agree with your choice, but here

00:26:02.569 --> 00:26:06.349
you go. And I understand that what I may be saying

00:26:06.349 --> 00:26:09.750
here may be an unpopular opinion, but he was

00:26:09.750 --> 00:26:12.349
willing to let his son make a mistake, right?

00:26:12.430 --> 00:26:15.349
Now, what I mean by that, I don't mean that,

00:26:15.390 --> 00:26:17.730
you know, fathers, you're to compromise your

00:26:17.730 --> 00:26:20.289
values, lower your own standards of righteousness.

00:26:20.990 --> 00:26:23.589
Like I said, yes, there are things that you draw

00:26:23.589 --> 00:26:25.710
a hard line on as a parent because otherwise

00:26:25.710 --> 00:26:28.789
your kids would probably kill themselves. But

00:26:28.789 --> 00:26:31.549
there are times, and I've experienced this in

00:26:31.549 --> 00:26:35.509
my life as a teenager, and I've seen it in other

00:26:35.509 --> 00:26:39.069
areas of life, that there are times when as your

00:26:39.069 --> 00:26:43.269
children get older, you kind of need to let them

00:26:43.269 --> 00:26:46.630
make their decisions and deal with the consequences.

00:26:47.490 --> 00:26:49.329
And sometimes they're not going to make choices

00:26:49.329 --> 00:26:53.210
you agree with, but they're going to learn through

00:26:53.210 --> 00:26:55.410
those things. When I did young adults ministry,

00:26:55.609 --> 00:26:57.349
I did young adults ministry here at Hosanna for,

00:26:58.640 --> 00:27:02.180
like 10 years or something. And one of the unique

00:27:02.180 --> 00:27:05.299
positions I got to be in during that time was

00:27:05.299 --> 00:27:09.019
working with kids who had graduated high school

00:27:09.019 --> 00:27:11.900
and were becoming young adults, and they were

00:27:11.900 --> 00:27:14.599
in that phase of life where they were now legally,

00:27:14.859 --> 00:27:18.220
right, 18, free to express their own independence

00:27:18.220 --> 00:27:20.559
and, you know, spread their wings, if you will,

00:27:20.660 --> 00:27:24.460
but they still didn't know anything. But they

00:27:24.460 --> 00:27:27.170
thought they knew everything. And so what I got

00:27:27.170 --> 00:27:29.589
to be in that ministry was a blessing because

00:27:29.589 --> 00:27:32.470
there was a lot of young men that would want

00:27:32.470 --> 00:27:35.009
to get out of mom and dad's house. And sometimes

00:27:35.009 --> 00:27:37.009
what I would see in those situations is that

00:27:37.009 --> 00:27:40.670
they were fleeing. There was a broken relationship.

00:27:40.769 --> 00:27:43.390
They were frustrated with dad. They were upset

00:27:43.390 --> 00:27:45.109
at dad and they were trying to flee the situation.

00:27:46.190 --> 00:27:49.109
I got to be a place where they could land. I

00:27:49.109 --> 00:27:51.130
was in a house and it had a bunch of rooms empty

00:27:51.130 --> 00:27:53.950
and I'd say, sure, move in. And then try and

00:27:53.950 --> 00:27:55.930
minister to them on this side of the situation.

00:27:56.210 --> 00:27:58.730
And it was a blessing in so many ways for so

00:27:58.730 --> 00:28:00.589
many years to be able to be part of that. But

00:28:00.589 --> 00:28:04.869
what I saw, what I learned through that is in

00:28:04.869 --> 00:28:08.329
a lot of cases, sometimes these kids were fleeing

00:28:08.329 --> 00:28:12.880
with broken relationship. Because they felt they

00:28:12.880 --> 00:28:15.660
weren't being given any leeway to make any choices.

00:28:15.960 --> 00:28:19.640
They were being felt like, I'll say that. controlled

00:28:19.640 --> 00:28:22.420
with an iron fist, that every decision was being

00:28:22.420 --> 00:28:24.599
made for them, that they were simply being told

00:28:24.599 --> 00:28:27.740
not to do, not taught how to decide what to do

00:28:27.740 --> 00:28:30.359
in a right way. And that would come to the place

00:28:30.359 --> 00:28:32.220
where they would start to have resentment towards

00:28:32.220 --> 00:28:34.099
their fathers, and those relationships would

00:28:34.099 --> 00:28:36.519
be broken with their fathers. And, you know,

00:28:36.559 --> 00:28:40.640
sure, as a parent, right, nobody wants your kids

00:28:40.640 --> 00:28:44.160
to hurt. You don't want them to suffer the consequences

00:28:44.160 --> 00:28:48.960
of poor choices. But sometimes that's... the

00:28:48.960 --> 00:28:52.819
way we learn, and many of us can be a testament

00:28:52.819 --> 00:28:55.799
to that, especially in our own lives as we were

00:28:55.799 --> 00:28:57.700
growing up, and our parents would say, don't

00:28:57.700 --> 00:28:59.579
do that. Such and such bad is going to happen,

00:28:59.619 --> 00:29:01.079
and you thought, you don't know what you're talking

00:29:01.079 --> 00:29:02.599
about, and then you do the thing, and such and

00:29:02.599 --> 00:29:04.440
such happens exactly as I said, and you're like,

00:29:04.519 --> 00:29:08.720
oh, maybe they know something, right? But you

00:29:08.720 --> 00:29:10.799
learn a lesson sometimes through having to go

00:29:10.799 --> 00:29:13.339
through the thing, and God does this with us,

00:29:13.380 --> 00:29:18.279
doesn't he? Does God let you make your own choices?

00:29:20.960 --> 00:29:23.279
Does he let you then live with the consequences

00:29:23.279 --> 00:29:28.140
of those choices? He does, right? He makes us

00:29:28.140 --> 00:29:31.160
or allows us to be in a position where we choose.

00:29:31.299 --> 00:29:34.079
He doesn't force us to love him. He wants us

00:29:34.079 --> 00:29:37.319
to make a choice to love him. He doesn't force

00:29:37.319 --> 00:29:40.099
us to live according to his will. What he does

00:29:40.099 --> 00:29:43.480
is say, here's what I want for you. And I'm trying

00:29:43.480 --> 00:29:45.799
to teach you and help you and encourage you to

00:29:45.799 --> 00:29:48.980
learn to make the choice of obedience over sin.

00:29:49.440 --> 00:29:52.619
He presents us with truth and then encourages

00:29:52.619 --> 00:29:55.779
us to make the right choice. In the process,

00:29:55.880 --> 00:29:58.720
he's absolutely honest with us about the consequences,

00:29:58.799 --> 00:30:07.000
but then he still allows us to choose. And I

00:30:07.000 --> 00:30:09.579
think that that's an important thing for fathers

00:30:09.579 --> 00:30:12.589
to do with their kids. Not in every case. This

00:30:12.589 --> 00:30:14.410
isn't being lax. This isn't being neglectful.

00:30:14.450 --> 00:30:18.269
This isn't being non -attentive. But there is

00:30:18.269 --> 00:30:20.690
a place, a time, where there is a place to say,

00:30:20.750 --> 00:30:23.809
okay, I've raised you to this point, and now

00:30:23.809 --> 00:30:26.210
I need to let you make choices while I'm trying

00:30:26.210 --> 00:30:28.849
to teach you and encourage you how to exercise

00:30:28.849 --> 00:30:30.849
the free will God gave you to make the right

00:30:30.849 --> 00:30:34.849
choices, but still allow them to make a choice

00:30:34.849 --> 00:30:36.390
if it's something you're going, I don't think

00:30:36.390 --> 00:30:38.819
that's the right one. There's valuable lessons

00:30:38.819 --> 00:30:40.559
to be learned in those types of things and we

00:30:40.559 --> 00:30:44.039
see God do that with us. Now God allows us to

00:30:44.039 --> 00:30:46.400
make those choices but through it all he's continually

00:30:46.400 --> 00:30:49.700
encouraging us to do the right thing. He's continually

00:30:49.700 --> 00:30:52.440
encouraging us to make the right decisions but

00:30:52.440 --> 00:30:55.940
he still respects the free will. And I see that

00:30:55.940 --> 00:31:00.059
in this father in this story. And yes that means

00:31:00.059 --> 00:31:04.279
that we risk a lot. Yes that means that some

00:31:04.279 --> 00:31:07.700
of our kids choices that that they make are gonna

00:31:07.700 --> 00:31:10.279
lead to hurt or lead to regret, and that's not

00:31:10.279 --> 00:31:13.900
what we want. But what I've seen over and over

00:31:13.900 --> 00:31:16.740
just through watching and observing is that the

00:31:16.740 --> 00:31:21.460
more fathers outright deny, where they're outright

00:31:21.460 --> 00:31:24.440
rigid and outright inflexible and unwilling to

00:31:24.440 --> 00:31:28.200
even listen in helping their children learn to

00:31:28.200 --> 00:31:30.420
make the right decisions, the greater the opportunity

00:31:30.420 --> 00:31:36.680
of provoking them to wrath becomes. Now, It's

00:31:36.680 --> 00:31:40.019
interesting that the only two verses in the entire

00:31:40.019 --> 00:31:43.920
New Testament that are direct parenting instruction,

00:31:44.220 --> 00:31:48.920
the only two verses that are direct parenting

00:31:48.920 --> 00:31:52.740
instruction are to fathers. Now, there's a lot

00:31:52.740 --> 00:31:54.740
of stuff that's inferred and we draw principle

00:31:54.740 --> 00:31:57.400
from, but only two that are direct, and they

00:31:57.400 --> 00:32:01.599
say this, Colossians 3 .21. Fathers, do not exasperate

00:32:01.599 --> 00:32:03.339
your children so that they won't become discouraged.

00:32:04.750 --> 00:32:07.630
That word exasperate means to make them feel

00:32:07.630 --> 00:32:13.369
resentment resentment bitter indignation and

00:32:13.369 --> 00:32:18.869
having been treated unfairly Now this happens

00:32:21.289 --> 00:32:24.750
This happens as they're coming to those ages

00:32:24.750 --> 00:32:27.410
where they're learning to make choices and you're

00:32:27.410 --> 00:32:29.930
trying to teach them how and they want to do

00:32:29.930 --> 00:32:31.509
this and you're like, I don't know if that's

00:32:31.509 --> 00:32:33.990
the right one, do this. And sometimes when it's

00:32:33.990 --> 00:32:36.450
like, no, you can't do that. Absolutely not.

00:32:36.869 --> 00:32:39.730
And it's one of those things where it's not going

00:32:39.730 --> 00:32:41.349
to destroy their life type of thing. It's not

00:32:41.349 --> 00:32:43.750
going to cause super harm. It's just a difference

00:32:43.750 --> 00:32:46.009
in opinion or something like that. And we say

00:32:46.009 --> 00:32:49.869
no. And they come to resent because of that.

00:32:50.799 --> 00:32:53.799
They come to resent them being restricted, their

00:32:53.799 --> 00:32:56.799
free will being taken away. Ephesians 6 .4 says

00:32:56.799 --> 00:33:00.420
this, Fathers, don't stir up anger in your children,

00:33:00.460 --> 00:33:02.599
but bring them up in the training and the instruction

00:33:02.599 --> 00:33:07.180
of the Lord. Do you notice the contrast there?

00:33:08.700 --> 00:33:11.880
Stirring up anger is contrasted with training

00:33:11.880 --> 00:33:15.180
and instruction in the Lord. There's a contrast

00:33:15.180 --> 00:33:19.220
and a balance here. If you're not bringing up

00:33:19.220 --> 00:33:21.339
in the instruction and the training of the Lord,

00:33:21.519 --> 00:33:24.000
anger can get stirred up. And what I mean by

00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:27.400
that is when it's not helping them come to learn

00:33:27.400 --> 00:33:30.160
how to make those decisions, but simply commanding

00:33:30.160 --> 00:33:32.420
them as if they're a robot, anger gets stirred

00:33:32.420 --> 00:33:34.759
up. Now, that phrase anger stirred up, it means

00:33:34.759 --> 00:33:38.440
to be provoked. It's the idea of reacting in

00:33:38.440 --> 00:33:43.480
a way that suggests a challenge. I was this way

00:33:43.480 --> 00:33:47.910
when I was a teenager. I was a very bright student

00:33:47.910 --> 00:33:50.809
in school, most of the time had between a 3 .5

00:33:50.809 --> 00:33:54.269
and a 4 .0, and yet I was considered a bad kid.

00:33:54.950 --> 00:33:57.230
And I was in the principal's office and all this

00:33:57.230 --> 00:33:58.809
stuff, and I'd always get asked the question,

00:33:59.069 --> 00:34:01.549
your grades are so great, why are you like this?

00:34:02.890 --> 00:34:05.589
And this doesn't excuse anything, but I had a

00:34:05.589 --> 00:34:08.329
lot of experiences when I was a teenager where

00:34:08.329 --> 00:34:11.219
people would... expect me to be a bad person

00:34:11.219 --> 00:34:14.599
because of how I dressed. Or expect me to be

00:34:14.599 --> 00:34:16.619
a bad person because of the people I hung out

00:34:16.619 --> 00:34:19.300
with. And it happened so much, so much at school

00:34:19.300 --> 00:34:21.500
among my teachers and stuff that I was like,

00:34:21.539 --> 00:34:23.679
fine, you expect me to be a bad person, I'm gonna

00:34:23.679 --> 00:34:26.820
be a bad person. And that's the provoking, that's

00:34:26.820 --> 00:34:28.980
the, you're challenging me, then I'm gonna rise

00:34:28.980 --> 00:34:30.920
up to the challenge of being a bad kid. Completely

00:34:30.920 --> 00:34:34.760
immature, completely wrong in a stupid response,

00:34:35.179 --> 00:34:40.010
but I was a teenager, my brain didn't work. And

00:34:40.010 --> 00:34:42.869
so this stirring up the anger was, if you're

00:34:42.869 --> 00:34:44.710
gonna treat me like I can't make a good decision,

00:34:44.949 --> 00:34:48.710
well, then I'm just gonna make bad ones. Now,

00:34:48.809 --> 00:34:51.530
you know, again, because as teenagers, we were

00:34:51.530 --> 00:34:55.070
all there once. We all knew we knew everything.

00:34:55.570 --> 00:34:58.570
We knew all things, and Dad might warn us, and

00:34:58.570 --> 00:35:01.530
the harder Dad tried to restrict us, the harder

00:35:01.530 --> 00:35:05.050
we sought ways to do it anyways. Because we have

00:35:05.050 --> 00:35:07.030
this rebellious nature that's a part of our fallen

00:35:07.030 --> 00:35:12.119
sin nature, right? It says instead, bring them

00:35:12.119 --> 00:35:15.260
up. That idea of bringing them up is to nourish

00:35:15.260 --> 00:35:18.500
them, to feed them, right? And most of the dads

00:35:18.500 --> 00:35:20.219
that I know in this church, you do that. You're

00:35:20.219 --> 00:35:23.880
talking about the word. You're sharing the word.

00:35:23.940 --> 00:35:26.199
You're doing devotions in the house, and it's

00:35:26.199 --> 00:35:27.920
feeding them the training and instruction of

00:35:27.920 --> 00:35:29.960
the Lord. But the reason you do that is so that

00:35:29.960 --> 00:35:32.199
they could learn how to make right decisions

00:35:32.199 --> 00:35:34.239
on their own, not so that you can make them all

00:35:34.239 --> 00:35:38.420
for them. And again, I'll say this one more time

00:35:38.420 --> 00:35:40.420
lest anybody want to write a mean email to me

00:35:40.420 --> 00:35:44.099
later. There are definitely many situations where

00:35:44.099 --> 00:35:47.800
there's hard lines that have to be drawn. But

00:35:47.800 --> 00:35:49.679
there's a time when those hard lines start to

00:35:49.679 --> 00:35:52.360
get a little softer as you're going, you're going

00:35:52.360 --> 00:35:54.699
to be an adult. You're going to be your own Christian

00:35:54.699 --> 00:35:57.519
individual. And so if you want to make this decision,

00:35:57.739 --> 00:36:03.809
go ahead and make that decision. It's our response

00:36:03.809 --> 00:36:05.510
to the decision that we're going to see in this

00:36:05.510 --> 00:36:08.429
father's example as we go forward in this story.

00:36:10.070 --> 00:36:16.880
But verse 13 through 16. The son goes on to do

00:36:16.880 --> 00:36:18.860
exactly what I think the father was worried about

00:36:18.860 --> 00:36:20.800
or may have been worried about, right? He goes

00:36:20.800 --> 00:36:22.920
to waste everything he was given. He finds himself

00:36:22.920 --> 00:36:25.980
with nothing, finds himself working as a pig

00:36:25.980 --> 00:36:29.360
farmer, which is especially dishonoring for him

00:36:29.360 --> 00:36:31.780
because he was Jewish. And in the Jewish culture,

00:36:31.880 --> 00:36:34.920
pigs are considered filthy, disgusting, unclean

00:36:34.920 --> 00:36:37.880
animals. And so to be working as a pig feeder.

00:36:38.639 --> 00:36:40.820
was like the ultimate dishonor, you know, somewhat

00:36:40.820 --> 00:36:43.179
ironic considering he had dishonored his father.

00:36:43.420 --> 00:36:46.059
But as his story rolls on, what we're going to

00:36:46.059 --> 00:36:49.380
see is that in the father allowing him to make

00:36:49.380 --> 00:36:53.179
this decision, it set up the situation for the

00:36:53.179 --> 00:36:56.039
father to be the place, the person that the kid

00:36:56.039 --> 00:36:59.019
knew he could return to, that the child knew

00:36:59.019 --> 00:37:01.139
he could come back to, even after he made some

00:37:01.139 --> 00:37:04.190
mistakes. That he knew that he could come back

00:37:04.190 --> 00:37:06.869
to the father and still receive patience and

00:37:06.869 --> 00:37:09.110
still receive grace and still receive those things.

00:37:09.210 --> 00:37:12.710
So verse 17, it tells us that the kid came to

00:37:12.710 --> 00:37:15.550
his senses. And he said, how many of my father's

00:37:15.550 --> 00:37:17.230
hired workers have more than enough food and

00:37:17.230 --> 00:37:20.989
I'm here dying of hunger? Now for parents that

00:37:20.989 --> 00:37:24.369
have kids that are off building their testimony

00:37:24.369 --> 00:37:28.510
and making bad decisions, this is the moment,

00:37:28.610 --> 00:37:30.889
right, that all moms and dads are praying for.

00:37:31.639 --> 00:37:33.860
Right? Just God, please let them come to their

00:37:33.860 --> 00:37:36.980
senses. And this is the moment where the kid's

00:37:36.980 --> 00:37:40.199
off. He's gone. Who knows how long he's been

00:37:40.199 --> 00:37:43.380
gone. He's blown all his money. He's working

00:37:43.380 --> 00:37:45.480
as a pig feeder. And then on one day he goes,

00:37:45.619 --> 00:37:51.780
well, this is dumb. How many of my father's hired

00:37:51.780 --> 00:37:54.300
workers have more than enough food? You see,

00:37:54.360 --> 00:37:56.219
there's some details about the father we can

00:37:56.219 --> 00:37:59.389
pull out of this. One. that the father had workers,

00:37:59.489 --> 00:38:01.889
which meant that he had some type of business,

00:38:02.050 --> 00:38:04.329
whether it was just taking care of the land or

00:38:04.329 --> 00:38:06.289
some other type of business, but he had employees.

00:38:06.429 --> 00:38:09.449
He had people that he paid to work in his business.

00:38:09.849 --> 00:38:12.130
Now, he had a number of hired workers because

00:38:12.130 --> 00:38:15.349
it's plural, right? So the idea of him having

00:38:15.349 --> 00:38:18.230
a business and having employees implies that

00:38:18.230 --> 00:38:20.309
he may have been a man of means. He may have

00:38:20.309 --> 00:38:22.489
been wealthy. Now, the fact that he was able

00:38:22.489 --> 00:38:24.349
to give two -thirds and one -third to his kids,

00:38:24.409 --> 00:38:25.889
and one of them went and lived off that for a

00:38:25.889 --> 00:38:28.679
while, It's very possible that it was a significant

00:38:28.679 --> 00:38:31.880
sum of money. We also know that he pays his employees

00:38:31.880 --> 00:38:34.880
well because the kid is remembering that, man,

00:38:34.880 --> 00:38:36.920
my father's hired workers, they have more than

00:38:36.920 --> 00:38:40.199
enough food, it says. Like, dad takes care of

00:38:40.199 --> 00:38:44.019
them well. And so, you know, if I just go back

00:38:44.019 --> 00:38:47.800
home, it'll be better being an employee than

00:38:47.800 --> 00:38:50.079
it will be starving to death out here in the

00:38:50.079 --> 00:38:55.599
pig farm. Now, in verse 13, it tells us there

00:38:55.599 --> 00:38:59.219
that he squandered his fortune. He squandered

00:38:59.219 --> 00:39:02.480
his inheritance. Squandered is the idea of scattering

00:39:02.480 --> 00:39:05.699
money loosely over an area. It's the idea of

00:39:05.699 --> 00:39:07.980
like scattering chicken feed, you know? That's

00:39:07.980 --> 00:39:10.659
what he was doing with his money. And a lot of

00:39:10.659 --> 00:39:12.239
times, that's how we could be with our money

00:39:12.239 --> 00:39:15.260
when we're being irresponsible with it, right?

00:39:15.360 --> 00:39:17.539
Instead of buying the thing we need, we buy the

00:39:17.539 --> 00:39:20.159
name brand, super expensive thing we need, right?

00:39:20.780 --> 00:39:22.800
I still don't get rich people that are like,

00:39:22.860 --> 00:39:26.699
hey, I need a bag to carry stuff. and somehow

00:39:26.699 --> 00:39:29.739
the $25 ,000 Gucci bag carries stuff better?

00:39:30.579 --> 00:39:32.679
No, it's just, oh, look, I have this thing, right?

00:39:33.159 --> 00:39:35.320
It's just, now, again, I don't know what it's

00:39:35.320 --> 00:39:37.739
like to be rich like that, but still, the idea

00:39:37.739 --> 00:39:40.039
is just like scattering money. It doesn't matter.

00:39:40.179 --> 00:39:42.619
I'm just doing it, you know, and so it was squandered.

00:39:42.619 --> 00:39:44.980
It all dried up. He's bankrupt. It does tell

00:39:44.980 --> 00:39:47.559
us between 13 and 16 that a severe famine hit.

00:39:49.460 --> 00:39:51.380
Nobody knows the future. That's why it's wise

00:39:51.380 --> 00:39:54.429
to be wise with money, but. Famine hits, and

00:39:54.429 --> 00:39:58.329
so now he's humiliated, he's hungry, he's depressed,

00:39:58.570 --> 00:40:01.449
and we get to verse 18. I'll get up and I'll

00:40:01.449 --> 00:40:03.269
go to my father, and I'll say to him, Father,

00:40:03.389 --> 00:40:05.489
I have sinned against heaven and in your sight.

00:40:06.409 --> 00:40:08.429
I am no longer worthy to be called your son.

00:40:08.530 --> 00:40:12.889
Make me like one of the hired workers. So here

00:40:12.889 --> 00:40:15.590
the son is, is out in this terrible situation,

00:40:15.929 --> 00:40:18.150
and when he hits the bottom of the barrel, where

00:40:18.150 --> 00:40:23.389
do his thoughts go? Back to his dad. back to

00:40:23.389 --> 00:40:26.130
his hardworking father, back to his warm home.

00:40:26.869 --> 00:40:28.989
You see, the dad was not just willing to let

00:40:28.989 --> 00:40:32.289
his son make the mistake and learn from the consequences,

00:40:32.510 --> 00:40:35.489
but he was also approachable after the mistake.

00:40:37.110 --> 00:40:39.369
That's a part of the letting someone make a mistake

00:40:39.369 --> 00:40:43.010
so that when they fall on their face, they come

00:40:43.010 --> 00:40:46.289
back and learn approachability. It's very important

00:40:46.289 --> 00:40:50.559
that our kids know this about God. How many of

00:40:50.559 --> 00:40:53.059
us struggle and fall and stumble into sin and

00:40:53.059 --> 00:40:55.119
when we do, we feel like, I can't go talk to

00:40:55.119 --> 00:40:57.260
the Lord. I can't run to him in prayer right

00:40:57.260 --> 00:40:59.519
now. I need to wait a few days. I need to go

00:40:59.519 --> 00:41:03.420
do some good deeds first and then come back with,

00:41:03.500 --> 00:41:05.480
here Lord, here's my offering of good things.

00:41:05.699 --> 00:41:10.579
Right? And yet God is constant through his word

00:41:10.579 --> 00:41:13.219
trying to get us to understand, I love you. You're

00:41:13.219 --> 00:41:17.699
my kid. When you mess up, come to me immediately

00:41:17.699 --> 00:41:23.679
and go, Dad, I'm so sorry. Every time. And then

00:41:23.679 --> 00:41:25.360
biblically we read that it's like you come back

00:41:25.360 --> 00:41:26.780
to me and say, Dad, I'm so sorry. And he goes,

00:41:26.880 --> 00:41:32.960
okay, I forgive you. Let's move on. And yet there

00:41:32.960 --> 00:41:36.360
are some people in this world that because their

00:41:36.360 --> 00:41:41.070
dads were harsh. and cold and critical. And if

00:41:41.070 --> 00:41:42.869
you don't do what I'm gonna say, then get out

00:41:42.869 --> 00:41:45.289
of here, cut you off. That in the very moment

00:41:45.289 --> 00:41:47.570
that they need to be able to return, in the very

00:41:47.570 --> 00:41:49.489
moment they need to be able to come back and

00:41:49.489 --> 00:41:51.889
receive love and grace, they go, I can't possibly

00:41:51.889 --> 00:41:56.769
go home because my dad will not receive me. And

00:41:56.769 --> 00:41:58.730
then those people, when they come to get saved,

00:41:58.809 --> 00:42:02.170
guess how they think of God the Father? I messed

00:42:02.170 --> 00:42:04.690
up, I can't possibly go to him, he won't receive

00:42:04.690 --> 00:42:08.039
me. That's what we're learning here in this story.

00:42:08.239 --> 00:42:11.360
But this kid, he's like, okay, I can go home

00:42:11.360 --> 00:42:15.119
and I'll tell this, I'll make this spiel to him

00:42:15.119 --> 00:42:19.079
because I believe he will receive me. Now why?

00:42:19.239 --> 00:42:22.159
This is speculative, but based upon what we read

00:42:22.159 --> 00:42:24.139
earlier in the story is that when the kid said,

00:42:24.199 --> 00:42:26.699
give me my inheritance, it dishonored dad. It

00:42:26.699 --> 00:42:28.440
doesn't read us that dad was like, what? Took

00:42:28.440 --> 00:42:30.159
him out to the public, smacked him across the

00:42:30.159 --> 00:42:33.440
face, had the whole community talk smack about

00:42:33.440 --> 00:42:35.400
him, drive him out of the town. We don't read

00:42:35.400 --> 00:42:39.980
any of that. Now, sure, I'm speculating that

00:42:39.980 --> 00:42:41.960
it didn't happen, but I don't think it did because

00:42:41.960 --> 00:42:43.659
the character of the father we're getting here

00:42:43.659 --> 00:42:46.320
is very unlike the character of the culture.

00:42:47.530 --> 00:42:50.230
This dad wasn't rigid and yielding and inflexible

00:42:50.230 --> 00:42:52.409
and condemning, and so in this kid's time of

00:42:52.409 --> 00:42:55.730
need and his time of regret, in his time of recognition

00:42:55.730 --> 00:42:58.710
that he had made a very bad decision and blown

00:42:58.710 --> 00:43:03.469
it big time, he knew he could go to his dad.

00:43:05.110 --> 00:43:10.010
He knew that... My dad is a hardworking man,

00:43:10.110 --> 00:43:11.809
and he's honest, and he's trustworthy, and he

00:43:11.809 --> 00:43:15.010
takes care of the hired workers. And so based

00:43:15.010 --> 00:43:17.329
upon what I know about him, I know he'll receive

00:43:17.329 --> 00:43:19.449
me. Now, he may have had a skewed understanding

00:43:19.449 --> 00:43:21.750
of how his dad would receive him, right? Because

00:43:21.750 --> 00:43:24.250
he was fully thinking here that, oh, man, if

00:43:24.250 --> 00:43:26.769
he just lets me be an employee, I'll have it

00:43:26.769 --> 00:43:29.010
made, right? He had no idea how his dad was truly

00:43:29.010 --> 00:43:31.610
going to respond, but at least he knew that he

00:43:31.610 --> 00:43:37.210
could go to his father. And so... He then responds

00:43:37.210 --> 00:43:41.190
or goes to his father and we're gonna read that

00:43:41.190 --> 00:43:46.769
his dad receives him. You see, we can hear the

00:43:46.769 --> 00:43:49.949
son here rehearsing this conversation in his

00:43:49.949 --> 00:43:51.349
head. How many of you have ever been in trouble

00:43:51.349 --> 00:43:52.889
and you're like, I need to go talk to mom or

00:43:52.889 --> 00:43:54.869
dad and right, you're rehearsing the speech?

00:43:55.849 --> 00:43:58.320
You've done that before? You're like, okay, I

00:43:58.320 --> 00:44:00.059
gotta say it this way, and I know she likes to

00:44:00.059 --> 00:44:01.760
hear these words, and so I'll say this, and dad

00:44:01.760 --> 00:44:03.860
likes it when I say this, and you're trying to

00:44:03.860 --> 00:44:06.500
like, you'll stage it in the most real way possible,

00:44:06.559 --> 00:44:08.699
or the way that it'll be received as possible,

00:44:08.760 --> 00:44:11.219
and we hear this kid doing it, but when we read

00:44:11.219 --> 00:44:13.260
his statements there, there's a sincerity there.

00:44:13.880 --> 00:44:16.619
I've sinned against you and God. I recognize

00:44:16.619 --> 00:44:20.829
that. I've dishonored you. And so we see in his

00:44:20.829 --> 00:44:23.789
rehearsed speech there a humility and him taking

00:44:23.789 --> 00:44:26.329
responsibility. And so because he knew what to

00:44:26.329 --> 00:44:28.550
expect from his dad, or at least had a good reason

00:44:28.550 --> 00:44:30.989
to know what to expect, because he was comfortable

00:44:30.989 --> 00:44:35.789
approaching him, he goes home. Dads, your kids

00:44:35.789 --> 00:44:39.389
should be able to do the same with you. All of

00:44:39.389 --> 00:44:43.110
them. But sadly, as I said earlier, there are

00:44:43.110 --> 00:44:46.829
times when a kid's expectation from their father

00:44:46.829 --> 00:44:51.250
is not the godly example. Instead, what they

00:44:51.250 --> 00:44:53.130
imagine because they've experienced it their

00:44:53.130 --> 00:44:55.170
whole life growing up is anger and impatience

00:44:55.170 --> 00:44:59.429
and yelling and degrading and accusing condemnation.

00:45:00.489 --> 00:45:03.070
And because they have these expectations in the

00:45:03.070 --> 00:45:05.130
very moment when they need to be able to approach

00:45:05.130 --> 00:45:09.829
you, they stay away. And then that will transfer.

00:45:10.300 --> 00:45:14.420
to their relationship with God. Don't you want

00:45:14.420 --> 00:45:16.039
your kids to know that there's a God in heaven

00:45:16.039 --> 00:45:18.119
that they can approach and come to anytime, no

00:45:18.119 --> 00:45:22.000
matter what they've done? Wouldn't you love them

00:45:22.000 --> 00:45:26.400
to know that they could boldly enter into the

00:45:26.400 --> 00:45:28.739
throne room of God to receive grace, to help

00:45:28.739 --> 00:45:30.800
in a time of need? Wouldn't you love your kids

00:45:30.800 --> 00:45:32.960
to know that, to believe that, to have that as

00:45:32.960 --> 00:45:35.239
a foundation of how they walk with the Lord?

00:45:38.340 --> 00:45:41.760
To be able to, go and ask and seek and knock

00:45:41.760 --> 00:45:44.559
and repent of their sin and receive forgiveness.

00:45:46.440 --> 00:45:49.880
Well, guess what? To teach them that approachability

00:45:49.880 --> 00:45:51.679
with their Father in heaven, they have to learn

00:45:51.679 --> 00:45:55.280
it from you. They need to learn it from you.

00:45:56.960 --> 00:46:04.260
Be firm, yes. Be real, yes. But be approachable.

00:46:05.980 --> 00:46:07.480
Because then that's going to teach them how their

00:46:07.480 --> 00:46:11.630
Father in heaven is. And incidentally, this is

00:46:11.630 --> 00:46:13.190
why a lot of people over the years that I've

00:46:13.190 --> 00:46:14.969
had the opportunity to minister to, they come

00:46:14.969 --> 00:46:17.449
to the Lord and they struggle. They struggle

00:46:17.449 --> 00:46:20.590
with this concept of being able to trust God

00:46:20.590 --> 00:46:22.590
their father. They struggle with the ability

00:46:22.590 --> 00:46:24.230
that when they've sinned, they can go to him

00:46:24.230 --> 00:46:27.150
immediately and receive love. Why? Because their

00:46:27.150 --> 00:46:29.070
earthly fathers have been a place of letdown

00:46:29.070 --> 00:46:34.949
and hurt and coldness and detachment. And yeah,

00:46:35.070 --> 00:46:37.210
if that's how someone has experienced their father

00:46:37.210 --> 00:46:39.960
here on earth, many, it's like, well, I didn't

00:46:39.960 --> 00:46:42.059
experience any of that. My father abandoned me.

00:46:43.480 --> 00:46:45.280
Then they're gonna think, well, that's what God's

00:46:45.280 --> 00:46:48.019
gonna do with me. It's hard for someone to believe

00:46:48.019 --> 00:46:50.719
God is approachable like a father should be if

00:46:50.719 --> 00:46:53.880
their father was never approachable, especially

00:46:53.880 --> 00:46:59.280
when they've blown it. So just avoid, avoid letting

00:46:59.280 --> 00:47:02.199
the bad days or the job stresses or the economic

00:47:02.199 --> 00:47:05.300
stresses or irritability or whatever, avoid letting

00:47:05.300 --> 00:47:10.989
those things cut off access to you. We can't

00:47:10.989 --> 00:47:16.289
avoid all of that stuff. But avoid letting it

00:47:16.289 --> 00:47:18.429
cut off access to you because when your kids

00:47:18.429 --> 00:47:21.010
need you, especially when they need to come to

00:47:21.010 --> 00:47:23.269
you and go, do you still love me? Do you still

00:47:23.269 --> 00:47:26.289
accept me? Am I still your child? Even though

00:47:26.289 --> 00:47:30.150
they've blown it big time, they need to be able

00:47:30.150 --> 00:47:33.289
to come to you in that moment and receive that

00:47:33.289 --> 00:47:37.090
encouragement. The time will come when they need

00:47:37.090 --> 00:47:39.449
that. And they need to know that they can approach

00:47:39.449 --> 00:47:41.849
their father. And so the next characteristic

00:47:41.849 --> 00:47:44.389
we learn about the father here is how gentle

00:47:44.389 --> 00:47:47.809
he was. Verse 20. So he got up and he went to

00:47:47.809 --> 00:47:50.469
his father. But while the son was still a long

00:47:50.469 --> 00:47:52.409
way off, his father saw him and was filled with

00:47:52.409 --> 00:47:55.909
compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his

00:47:55.909 --> 00:47:59.130
neck and kissed him. The son said to him, Father,

00:47:59.329 --> 00:48:02.289
okay. It's time for my spiel, right? I have sinned

00:48:02.289 --> 00:48:04.670
against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer

00:48:04.670 --> 00:48:08.489
worthy to be called your son. And before he could

00:48:08.489 --> 00:48:10.389
get to the, hey, let me be one of the employees,

00:48:10.510 --> 00:48:14.469
please. The father told his servant, quick, bring

00:48:14.469 --> 00:48:16.449
out the best robe and put it on him. Put the

00:48:16.449 --> 00:48:18.809
ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then

00:48:18.809 --> 00:48:21.030
bring the fatted calf and slaughter it. Let's

00:48:21.030 --> 00:48:24.510
celebrate with a feast. Because the son of mine

00:48:24.510 --> 00:48:29.579
was dead and is alive again. He was lost and

00:48:29.579 --> 00:48:33.280
is found. And so they begin to celebrate. Now,

00:48:33.320 --> 00:48:35.119
the Pharisees listening to this at this point

00:48:35.119 --> 00:48:39.679
probably fell over, right? In shock because this

00:48:39.679 --> 00:48:42.880
father's behavior was incredibly wrong from their

00:48:42.880 --> 00:48:46.280
perspective. Here's a son who visited the greatest

00:48:46.280 --> 00:48:49.519
disrespect to his dad and he has the audacity

00:48:49.519 --> 00:48:53.840
to come back, the audacity to ask to be received

00:48:53.840 --> 00:48:59.630
back. No, that is not what you do. And then typically,

00:48:59.750 --> 00:49:01.989
culturally, on the other side of what would normally

00:49:01.989 --> 00:49:03.769
happen in the culture, the smack in the face

00:49:03.769 --> 00:49:06.210
and all of that, is if and when this type of

00:49:06.210 --> 00:49:08.949
thing happened and the son came back, all the

00:49:08.949 --> 00:49:11.090
public scorn from the community would take place

00:49:11.090 --> 00:49:14.010
again. So as they're walking into the town, oh,

00:49:14.030 --> 00:49:16.210
look who's back. Oh, da -da -da -da -da. What,

00:49:16.289 --> 00:49:18.170
is it a ghost? You're dead here. You know, all

00:49:18.170 --> 00:49:21.130
that kind of stuff. And then the father would

00:49:21.130 --> 00:49:24.730
come out and be very stern, wouldn't look the

00:49:24.730 --> 00:49:27.150
kid in the eye. The kid was required to bow down

00:49:27.150 --> 00:49:31.599
on the ground. kiss his feet. And then in some

00:49:31.599 --> 00:49:35.280
cases, the child was then able to work as an

00:49:35.280 --> 00:49:37.219
employee of the house, but he definitely did

00:49:37.219 --> 00:49:39.460
not have any of the rights and privileges as

00:49:39.460 --> 00:49:43.179
a family member. And then after some time would

00:49:43.179 --> 00:49:46.119
go by, the whole community got to evaluate this

00:49:46.119 --> 00:49:49.780
kid. Are we going to welcome you back in? Did

00:49:49.780 --> 00:49:54.269
you earn your forgiveness? And that kind of explains

00:49:54.269 --> 00:49:56.949
the son's plan, right? That's what happens in

00:49:56.949 --> 00:49:58.429
our culture. I'll go back, I'll ask to be an

00:49:58.429 --> 00:50:01.429
employee. But normally no grace, no compassion.

00:50:02.250 --> 00:50:03.869
But what does it tell us about the father here?

00:50:03.929 --> 00:50:06.030
He sees him a way off and he was filled with

00:50:06.030 --> 00:50:10.130
compassion. Filled with compassion. That word

00:50:10.130 --> 00:50:12.969
compassion there means that he was feeling the

00:50:12.969 --> 00:50:17.889
strongest of emotions in his guts. You know,

00:50:17.949 --> 00:50:19.869
we talk about that with different emotions where,

00:50:19.889 --> 00:50:21.820
you know, like. When you're in love with someone

00:50:21.820 --> 00:50:24.079
and the love is so powerful, you feel it in your

00:50:24.079 --> 00:50:26.340
stomach, the butterflies. Or if you love someone

00:50:26.340 --> 00:50:28.199
and that relationship falls apart, it literally

00:50:28.199 --> 00:50:29.920
makes you sick, you know, all that kind of stuff.

00:50:30.000 --> 00:50:32.380
The idea here is that this was the deepest of

00:50:32.380 --> 00:50:36.920
emotions. That as the father saw his son, he

00:50:36.920 --> 00:50:39.360
wasn't thinking, okay, he's going to get this

00:50:39.360 --> 00:50:41.420
lecture from me and I'm going to tell him this.

00:50:41.519 --> 00:50:43.420
And, you know, why can't you be like your older

00:50:43.420 --> 00:50:46.719
brother? He didn't leave none of that. No inquisition,

00:50:46.760 --> 00:50:50.989
no interrogation. No, I told you so. Just compassion.

00:50:53.289 --> 00:50:56.449
And so, verse 20, while his son was a long way

00:50:56.449 --> 00:50:58.329
off, his father saw him. That tells us that the

00:50:58.329 --> 00:51:02.010
father had been looking for him, right? Nobody

00:51:02.010 --> 00:51:05.269
said, hey, your son's coming back. He had been

00:51:05.269 --> 00:51:09.150
looking out for his son, longing for him to come

00:51:09.150 --> 00:51:12.230
back, grieving the loss of relationship. Just

00:51:12.230 --> 00:51:15.829
come home. I love you. I want to take care of

00:51:15.829 --> 00:51:18.090
you. I want to help you. Just please come home,

00:51:18.150 --> 00:51:19.690
right? And so he's looking and he's searching

00:51:19.690 --> 00:51:22.530
and he's waiting for this kid to come back and

00:51:22.530 --> 00:51:26.309
then still a long way off. That phrase possibly

00:51:26.309 --> 00:51:28.329
indicates that it was before the son even entered

00:51:28.329 --> 00:51:33.750
the town. So before the son entered into the

00:51:33.750 --> 00:51:37.389
derision, into the blame and the accusation and

00:51:37.389 --> 00:51:40.010
all of the stuff that the community culturally

00:51:40.010 --> 00:51:42.849
was obligated to do to the son, before any of

00:51:42.849 --> 00:51:47.670
that, he met his son out there. And he was gentle,

00:51:47.829 --> 00:51:53.349
runs up. I can imagine the son seeing his dad

00:51:53.349 --> 00:51:56.889
coming, he's like, ooh, I'm gonna get it. Right?

00:51:56.949 --> 00:51:58.929
When I was a kid, my dad was in a wheelchair,

00:51:59.090 --> 00:52:00.730
and so he wasn't able to come get us, and so

00:52:00.730 --> 00:52:04.510
my mom did the bulk of the disciplining. But

00:52:04.510 --> 00:52:07.489
before my dad lost the ability to walk, he was

00:52:07.489 --> 00:52:09.730
always sitting in a recliner, like the old school

00:52:09.730 --> 00:52:12.610
manual recliners. You know that sound when the

00:52:12.610 --> 00:52:20.809
feet go... If we heard that, run. Right? Death

00:52:20.809 --> 00:52:27.880
is upon us. Flee! Right? The son, I would imagine

00:52:27.880 --> 00:52:31.219
he was expecting probably something. I mean,

00:52:31.260 --> 00:52:33.400
okay, I believe my dad's character enough to

00:52:33.400 --> 00:52:36.579
come back. But still, he had done this horrible

00:52:36.579 --> 00:52:39.480
thing. And the guilt does that to us. The guilt

00:52:39.480 --> 00:52:41.699
will twist. Even though we might know who God

00:52:41.699 --> 00:52:43.519
is, we have this guilt. And even though we're

00:52:43.519 --> 00:52:45.699
like, I know God. He's loving. He's merciful.

00:52:45.820 --> 00:52:47.699
He's graceful. Every time I've ever come to him,

00:52:47.719 --> 00:52:49.280
he's been this. But every time you sin, you're

00:52:49.280 --> 00:52:51.539
like, I can't because he's gonna yell at me.

00:52:51.619 --> 00:52:54.909
He's gonna cut me down. He's gonna... Right?

00:52:54.909 --> 00:52:57.090
It's the lies and the deception that come from

00:52:57.090 --> 00:53:00.150
that. But he runs out to his son, and it's no

00:53:00.150 --> 00:53:06.389
speeches, it's just hugs and kisses. Now, this

00:53:06.389 --> 00:53:11.769
is a tough, tough point to make, but you might

00:53:11.769 --> 00:53:13.650
not be approving of what your son or daughter

00:53:13.650 --> 00:53:17.329
is doing right now, how they're living, the choices

00:53:17.329 --> 00:53:21.050
they're making. And that's fair. You're not wrong,

00:53:21.230 --> 00:53:27.230
right? You're a parent. You have a place to voice

00:53:27.230 --> 00:53:29.789
that and to bring in discipline and boundary

00:53:29.789 --> 00:53:32.550
and all of that stuff. But in spite of all of

00:53:32.550 --> 00:53:36.530
that, you have the key to your child's heart.

00:53:38.730 --> 00:53:43.389
And when they come back in any capacity, any

00:53:43.389 --> 00:53:46.210
capacity, don't waste the moment to let them

00:53:46.210 --> 00:53:50.860
know they're loved, that they're accepted. That

00:53:50.860 --> 00:53:53.739
no matter what they've done, they are still your

00:53:53.739 --> 00:54:00.500
child. Now, we'll deal with things, but when

00:54:00.500 --> 00:54:04.300
they approach, when they take that step to go,

00:54:04.380 --> 00:54:06.239
oh, I'm gonna try and approach even if I'm not

00:54:06.239 --> 00:54:09.219
sure, don't prove them right in the sense of,

00:54:09.300 --> 00:54:10.699
well, they're just gonna yell at me, they're

00:54:10.699 --> 00:54:12.119
just gonna turn me away, they're just gonna be

00:54:12.119 --> 00:54:14.260
cold, they're just gonna be harsh, but do as

00:54:14.260 --> 00:54:19.090
God does. I receive you. I wrap my arms around

00:54:19.090 --> 00:54:21.510
you. I'm so glad you're back. I don't care what

00:54:21.510 --> 00:54:23.590
you've done and where you've been. I'm glad you're

00:54:23.590 --> 00:54:29.769
here. And so lastly, we see that this father

00:54:29.769 --> 00:54:32.789
is impartial. And this deals to the son that's

00:54:32.789 --> 00:54:34.469
on the other side of the equation. Read with

00:54:34.469 --> 00:54:37.170
me in verse 25. Now his older son was in the

00:54:37.170 --> 00:54:39.570
field and he came near the house. He heard music

00:54:39.570 --> 00:54:41.730
and dancing. So he summoned one of the servants,

00:54:41.949 --> 00:54:45.090
questioning what these things meant. Your brother

00:54:45.090 --> 00:54:47.130
is here, he told him, and your father has slaughtered

00:54:47.130 --> 00:54:49.630
the fattened calf because he has him back safe

00:54:49.630 --> 00:54:52.349
and sound. Then he became angry and didn't want

00:54:52.349 --> 00:54:55.210
to go in. So his father came out and pleaded

00:54:55.210 --> 00:54:57.190
with him, but he replied to his father, look,

00:54:57.429 --> 00:55:00.590
I've been slaving many years from you, and I've

00:55:00.590 --> 00:55:03.369
never disobeyed your orders, yet you've never

00:55:03.369 --> 00:55:05.690
given me a goat so that I could celebrate with

00:55:05.690 --> 00:55:09.849
my friends. But when this son of yours, did you

00:55:09.849 --> 00:55:13.730
notice that? Not my brother, this son of yours,

00:55:14.360 --> 00:55:17.619
who has devoured your assets with prostitutes,

00:55:17.739 --> 00:55:21.559
you slaughtered the fattened calf for him. Son,

00:55:21.840 --> 00:55:24.599
he said to him, you were always with me, and

00:55:24.599 --> 00:55:27.920
everything I have is yours, but we had to celebrate

00:55:27.920 --> 00:55:30.079
and rejoice because this brother of yours was

00:55:30.079 --> 00:55:32.559
dead and is alive again. He was lost and he is

00:55:32.559 --> 00:55:36.179
found. Now this could be some of us sometimes

00:55:36.179 --> 00:55:39.260
when we see God forgiving someone else, right?

00:55:41.059 --> 00:55:43.119
The older son, who didn't disrespect his father,

00:55:43.219 --> 00:55:45.219
he didn't leave, he didn't waste his inheritance.

00:55:46.079 --> 00:55:47.860
You see, if you go back into early in the story,

00:55:47.960 --> 00:55:49.699
it says the younger son said, give me my inheritance,

00:55:49.840 --> 00:55:51.519
and then it says the father distributed it to

00:55:51.519 --> 00:55:55.739
them. What that means is the older son got his

00:55:55.739 --> 00:55:58.699
two -thirds. He didn't leave the family, he didn't

00:55:58.699 --> 00:56:00.699
leave land, but he got his two -thirds of the

00:56:00.699 --> 00:56:04.400
inheritance in that moment. And yet he's here.

00:56:04.539 --> 00:56:06.940
He's upset that his father is showing mercy to

00:56:06.940 --> 00:56:09.099
the younger brother. He's accusing the father

00:56:09.099 --> 00:56:11.260
of playing favorites, right, and treating one

00:56:11.260 --> 00:56:15.340
kid differently than the other. And the dad hears

00:56:15.340 --> 00:56:21.059
this, and what are you talking about? Like, I

00:56:21.059 --> 00:56:22.960
love you just as much. He comes out. It says

00:56:22.960 --> 00:56:25.260
he pleads with his older son. That means to encourage

00:56:25.260 --> 00:56:28.219
him or to console him, right? The pleading there

00:56:28.219 --> 00:56:32.059
was, I want you to know what you mean to me.

00:56:32.750 --> 00:56:34.650
It's similar in language to what he did when

00:56:34.650 --> 00:56:36.489
he ran out to meet the younger son. Hugs and

00:56:36.489 --> 00:56:40.110
kisses and compassion. And he says, son, you're

00:56:40.110 --> 00:56:44.269
always with me. All I have is yours. Like, how

00:56:44.269 --> 00:56:46.929
have I demonstrated that you're not as important

00:56:46.929 --> 00:56:48.989
to me as he is? You got your two thirds when

00:56:48.989 --> 00:56:54.030
he asked for his third. Like, why are you so

00:56:54.030 --> 00:56:57.190
upset? But then he says, we had to celebrate.

00:56:58.050 --> 00:57:00.510
And this is really the point here. We had to

00:57:00.510 --> 00:57:03.409
celebrate. Why? Because this isn't about money.

00:57:03.449 --> 00:57:05.090
This isn't about inheritance. This isn't about

00:57:05.090 --> 00:57:07.710
who did what. This isn't about any of that. Relationship

00:57:07.710 --> 00:57:12.449
is restored. Regardless of all that's happened,

00:57:12.590 --> 00:57:15.750
he's home, he's safe. And for us as Christians,

00:57:15.869 --> 00:57:19.510
we need to be very careful when God saves that

00:57:19.510 --> 00:57:22.769
which we consider, you squandered everything.

00:57:23.489 --> 00:57:25.269
You squandered all the blessing. I've served

00:57:25.269 --> 00:57:26.869
you. I've come to church every day for years.

00:57:28.170 --> 00:57:30.489
You come once a month, and then God's gonna bless

00:57:30.489 --> 00:57:35.750
you when you come back? Yeah, because God loves

00:57:35.750 --> 00:57:38.110
them just as much as he loves you, and vice versa.

00:57:38.929 --> 00:57:41.469
There's no favoritism with the Lord. God loves

00:57:41.469 --> 00:57:44.610
all his children equally, and he wanted the older

00:57:44.610 --> 00:57:47.630
son to know, like, I love you both. You're both

00:57:47.630 --> 00:57:49.849
special to me. You're both accepted. You're both

00:57:49.849 --> 00:57:55.489
received. You're both all, and dads, just make

00:57:55.489 --> 00:57:57.110
sure all your kids know you love them equally.

00:57:59.099 --> 00:58:01.000
You don't favor one over the other. Sometimes

00:58:01.000 --> 00:58:03.579
it can be easy to experience that. The one who's

00:58:03.579 --> 00:58:05.480
doing everything you ask them to do and making

00:58:05.480 --> 00:58:06.920
the right decisions, doing everything, you're

00:58:06.920 --> 00:58:08.659
like, oh, they're the good kid. Then the bad

00:58:08.659 --> 00:58:11.239
kid goes away and, you know, it's like, well,

00:58:11.360 --> 00:58:17.059
why can't you be like your brother? Don't say

00:58:17.059 --> 00:58:23.480
stuff like that. That hurts. You know, if they

00:58:23.480 --> 00:58:25.139
come back, they already know they're doing something

00:58:25.139 --> 00:58:28.739
silly. I don't need you to compound the guilt.

00:58:28.860 --> 00:58:31.019
And so this father here, he's like, look, everything

00:58:31.019 --> 00:58:34.480
I have is yours. I love you just as much. And

00:58:34.480 --> 00:58:37.480
so what we see in this story here is that this

00:58:37.480 --> 00:58:40.579
father, he was merciful, he was loving, he was

00:58:40.579 --> 00:58:42.880
patiently flexible, he was approachable, gentle,

00:58:43.079 --> 00:58:45.639
he was impartial. And this is the father that

00:58:45.639 --> 00:58:49.420
both of these sons needed. And this is the picture

00:58:49.420 --> 00:58:52.019
of who our God in heaven is like. That's why

00:58:52.019 --> 00:58:54.260
Jesus told this story. That's why I'm reading

00:58:54.260 --> 00:58:57.989
it today. This is who our Father in heaven is.

00:58:58.090 --> 00:59:00.530
And the great call, the great responsibility,

00:59:00.710 --> 00:59:03.130
the great opportunity, dads, that you have here

00:59:03.130 --> 00:59:06.070
on this earth is to show your kids that that

00:59:06.070 --> 00:59:10.809
is what God in heaven is like by being the same,

00:59:11.030 --> 00:59:18.010
by exhibiting the same attributes. Being a dad

00:59:18.010 --> 00:59:20.909
who, although you're doing boundaries and teaching

00:59:20.909 --> 00:59:24.300
and raising, When the time comes, you don't simply

00:59:24.300 --> 00:59:27.000
keep stripping them of free will, but you teach

00:59:27.000 --> 00:59:30.260
them how to exercise the free will, and that

00:59:30.260 --> 00:59:35.800
involves letting them make mistakes. Letting

00:59:35.800 --> 00:59:37.900
them make those choices, and you're like, I know

00:59:37.900 --> 00:59:39.820
how this is going to turn out, but you're not

00:59:39.820 --> 00:59:42.739
listening to me, and I'm going to let you make

00:59:42.739 --> 00:59:49.340
the choice. And it's hard to do that, but do

00:59:49.340 --> 00:59:52.840
it. Of course, following the leading of the Lord,

00:59:52.920 --> 00:59:54.360
but when those times come, you do it without

00:59:54.360 --> 00:59:57.000
condemning and lecturing and holding an arm's

00:59:57.000 --> 01:00:01.139
length. But instead, you're always still nurturing

01:00:01.139 --> 01:00:04.059
and teaching and training and encouraging. Why

01:00:04.059 --> 01:00:05.679
do you allow that to happen? Because they need

01:00:05.679 --> 01:00:09.900
to know when they come back. That when they come

01:00:09.900 --> 01:00:11.500
back, they need to know that there's a Father

01:00:11.500 --> 01:00:15.800
there they can approach. That there is a father

01:00:15.800 --> 01:00:18.940
there who as gently as he lets you go and make

01:00:18.940 --> 01:00:21.099
that dumb decision, he's equally as gentle when

01:00:21.099 --> 01:00:22.900
you come back and say, Dad, I made a dumb decision.

01:00:24.659 --> 01:00:27.760
Be approachable. Receive them back. Because that's

01:00:27.760 --> 01:00:30.099
what God does with us. Constantly over and over.

01:00:30.280 --> 01:00:33.679
Full of grace and full of mercy. Be a dad who

01:00:33.679 --> 01:00:38.619
is gentle and impartial. Because what's more

01:00:38.619 --> 01:00:41.260
important than did you learn and da -da -da -da

01:00:41.260 --> 01:00:42.840
-da, those things are important. But what's more

01:00:42.840 --> 01:00:44.699
important than that is is the relationship restored?

01:00:44.820 --> 01:00:49.739
Is the relationship reconciled? Is relationship

01:00:49.739 --> 01:00:52.980
whole? Because all the other stuff we'll deal

01:00:52.980 --> 01:00:57.219
with. But is the relationship there? And that's

01:00:57.219 --> 01:01:00.380
what God wants nothing more than us. He wants

01:01:00.380 --> 01:01:03.619
that relationship restored. So, Dad, your desire

01:01:03.619 --> 01:01:07.170
to... Keep your relationship with your kids intact

01:01:07.170 --> 01:01:10.670
and keeping the doors open, all of that. It's

01:01:10.670 --> 01:01:12.690
gonna teach them the same thing about their father

01:01:12.690 --> 01:01:14.409
in heaven and that's a lesson they're gonna need

01:01:14.409 --> 01:01:18.610
their whole life. Not just in coming to know

01:01:18.610 --> 01:01:21.090
the Lord as their savior but their whole life

01:01:21.090 --> 01:01:24.369
as they're walking with him. To have learned

01:01:24.369 --> 01:01:27.269
the lesson that God is not just continually mad

01:01:27.269 --> 01:01:30.369
at them or continually scowling at them or continually

01:01:30.369 --> 01:01:34.280
condemning but He may be brokenhearted, he may

01:01:34.280 --> 01:01:37.420
be sad, but he wants nothing more than the relationship

01:01:37.420 --> 01:01:41.659
to come back. And the reason I think God wants

01:01:41.659 --> 01:01:43.159
dads to be this way is because they're gonna

01:01:43.159 --> 01:01:45.420
blow it. They're gonna stumble, they're gonna

01:01:45.420 --> 01:01:47.719
fall, they're gonna mess up big time, but if

01:01:47.719 --> 01:01:49.880
they have learned that despite those mess ups,

01:01:49.940 --> 01:01:51.519
they are still loved, they are still accepted,

01:01:51.659 --> 01:01:53.659
they are still welcomed, then they're gonna live

01:01:53.659 --> 01:01:57.800
or grow in grace through their lives. They're

01:01:57.800 --> 01:02:00.579
gonna grow to live in that grace and not in a...

01:02:00.960 --> 01:02:04.559
perpetual state of condemnation. So be the good

01:02:04.559 --> 01:02:08.079
model. Be the good example. Be the one that they

01:02:08.079 --> 01:02:11.559
need to see. As God says to you, do as I do.

01:02:12.539 --> 01:02:15.320
He also gets to say, do as I say, right? But

01:02:15.320 --> 01:02:19.900
do as I do. Be the dad that's going to then be

01:02:19.900 --> 01:02:22.239
able to honestly say that to your kids as they

01:02:22.239 --> 01:02:24.099
grow up and move on to start their own families.

01:02:24.280 --> 01:02:26.960
Hey, do as I did because I learned it from my

01:02:26.960 --> 01:02:30.500
father in heaven. Amen? Well, God bless you dads.

01:02:30.659 --> 01:02:34.139
God bless you fathers. God bless you father figures.

01:02:34.619 --> 01:02:37.940
I pray your day is awesome. I was kind of going

01:02:37.940 --> 01:02:39.659
to be like, what's the biggest gift I could give

01:02:39.659 --> 01:02:41.480
to a dad today? And I said a 10 -minute Bible

01:02:41.480 --> 01:02:46.440
study, but I just couldn't do it. So enjoy your

01:02:46.440 --> 01:02:48.920
day, and I pray that you receive all the honor

01:02:48.920 --> 01:02:51.340
that is due to you. For those of you that have

01:02:51.340 --> 01:02:53.679
strained and broken relationships with your kids

01:02:53.679 --> 01:02:56.820
and today might not be the best of days for you,

01:02:56.900 --> 01:02:59.380
pray for your kids. Pray that they would come

01:02:59.380 --> 01:03:02.000
to their senses. Pray that they would know that

01:03:02.000 --> 01:03:03.980
they can approach you and that God would open

01:03:03.980 --> 01:03:06.179
up that door for reconciliation. Let's pray.

01:03:06.400 --> 01:03:09.239
Father, we love you so much and we thank you,

01:03:09.239 --> 01:03:14.679
God, for who you are. Lord, you are the good

01:03:14.679 --> 01:03:17.679
father. You're the perfect father. You're the

01:03:17.679 --> 01:03:22.000
perfect example, Lord. God, we know and all the

01:03:22.000 --> 01:03:24.679
dads in this room know that none of us are perfect.

01:03:24.880 --> 01:03:27.760
None of us can be perfect, Lord. The more we

01:03:27.760 --> 01:03:29.599
cling to you, the more we stay close to you,

01:03:29.659 --> 01:03:33.320
the more we, Lord, know that as you've allowed

01:03:33.320 --> 01:03:35.179
us to make bad decisions, we could come back

01:03:35.179 --> 01:03:37.780
to you in repentance and come back to you and

01:03:37.780 --> 01:03:39.559
know that you're gonna receive us, Lord. We know

01:03:39.559 --> 01:03:41.420
that you're gonna be gentle with us. We know,

01:03:41.460 --> 01:03:43.739
God, that you're gonna extend to us the same

01:03:43.739 --> 01:03:45.659
grace and mercy you extend to everybody else,

01:03:45.679 --> 01:03:47.659
Lord, as we know that, as the fathers in this

01:03:47.659 --> 01:03:52.059
room know that. Lord, may they extend that to

01:03:52.059 --> 01:03:56.139
their children. May they heed the two verses

01:03:56.139 --> 01:03:58.860
in the, Entire New Testament, God, that you wrote

01:03:58.860 --> 01:04:03.000
for them to not discourage their children through

01:04:03.000 --> 01:04:08.360
causing them to feel wrongly challenged, Lord,

01:04:08.460 --> 01:04:11.119
to not stir up the anger, God, in them, but instead

01:04:11.119 --> 01:04:14.920
to teach them what is right, to example for them

01:04:14.920 --> 01:04:16.820
what is right, to encourage them to make the

01:04:16.820 --> 01:04:22.039
right choices. But when, not if, Lord, when they

01:04:22.039 --> 01:04:25.980
make a bad one. May the dads here, God, through

01:04:25.980 --> 01:04:28.760
the power of the Holy Spirit, be a place of healing

01:04:28.760 --> 01:04:33.400
and hope and reconciliation. God, we love you.

01:04:33.579 --> 01:04:36.119
We thank you for everything. We thank you for

01:04:36.119 --> 01:04:38.360
the fathers in our lives, and we thank you for

01:04:38.360 --> 01:04:40.860
being our good father. It's in Jesus' name we

01:04:40.860 --> 01:04:43.360
pray. Amen. Let's worship church.