Good morning. Happy Father's Day. Any dads in
the room? All right. We are all here today for
you guys. Hope you're blessed. Today we're going
to be obviously taking a break from Genesis to
honor the fathers and the dads and the... Papas
and the grandfathers and all of those who have
a fatherly role in the lives of their children.
But before we get into that, I want to take an
opportunity simply to address what's going on
in our country today, especially around, well,
started here in Southern California and is kind
of blown up all over the place with ice raids
and all of that. There's a lot of questions people
have about... this and that and how to deal and
should I be afraid and should I shouldn't be
afraid and all of these things. I've been praying
for over a week. I'm like, God, what do you want
to say about this? And it's been a struggle because
I'm not quite sure what to say about this except
this. God is sovereign. God is in control of
all things. Now, when it comes to law enforcement
of any kind, there is good law enforcement and
there are some bad apples as a part of it. The
bad apples don't mean all of the law enforcement
is bad, but also we can't discredit the fact
that something's happened that shouldn't be happening.
But ultimately, we don't know exactly what's
going on because our modern media likes to spin
things and twist things and not really tell the
truth. But ultimately, either side of the media,
many of us don't know because we're not there.
But I do know this, that God is sovereign. God
is above all things. God is in control of all
things. You know, God tells us in his word all
kinds of things. Romans 13, he tells us to follow
the laws of the land. And so when there's a situation,
any situation where somebody has broken the laws
of the land, and this includes immigration law,
that law enforcement is right and just. But the
Bible also preaches mercy and grace and forgiveness
and patience, and we also support that as well.
We, the people who know Jesus Christ as our Lord
and Savior, we are the ones that have the hope
that penetrates through all the chaos in this
world. And so regardless of where you're at on
the situation today, I pray that you would be
a person who takes the light and the hope of
Jesus Christ into whatever situation you find
yourself in. That you wouldn't fear, as the Bible
says, to cast out the spirit of fear, that there
is no spirit of fear. Now, I know we all have
things that we're afraid of, and that's okay.
But take those things to the Lord and trust him
and his role in your life and his hand in your
life through all of this chaos. Because I'm sure
of just a couple things, and one of them, God
is sovereign, but two, the devil is working overtime
to sow chaos in our world, to sow chaos in our
families, to sow chaos in our lives. And so I
just want to encourage all of you to pray for
what's going on. Pray that truth would be truth,
that justice would be justice, that what is right
would be right. Pray against the things that
are wrong, the things that are evil, the things
that aren't the way they should be. Because only
God knows what's happening in every single heart
that's involved in this whole situation. And
I know it's a very difficult one. And so cling
to the Lord. That is the best answer I could
give you guys as your pastor. And then also what's
going on in Israel and Iran right now. You know,
of course, every time missiles fly, everybody
gets excited. It's the end. Jesus is coming.
He might. And if he does, hallelujah, I'm excited
to go. But if he doesn't come, we're to pray
for Israel because the Bible tells us that those
who bless Israel will be blessed and those who
curse Israel will be cursed. We know that Israel
is not a perfect nation. We know that a majority
of the nation rejects Jesus Christ as the Messiah,
but they are still his people. And he still loves
them as he loves everybody on this planet. And
we pray for their redemption. They're coming
back to their Lord and Savior as we pray for
everybody coming to know the Lord and Savior.
Amen. So let's pray for all of that, and then
we'll get into the opening for our study here.
Father God, Lord, we are people who are called
to trust you, to trust you in all things, Lord.
God, what's happening with these ice raids and
stuff going on, Lord, God, we know that you created
law, and Lord, following law is a biblical thing,
God. Lord, we know that the very heart and the
root of the gospel is that because we have broken
your law, we are in the face of judgment, Lord.
But God, the other side of your wonderful gospel
is that you took the penalty for us, that you're
the one that set us free, not from earthly prisons,
but Lord, from a spiritual prison, from a forever
in hell God. And that is the message we want
to carry to people, that Lord, just because we
feel one way or the other about things, that
doesn't change truth. And the truth is, God,
we live in a fallen world. And every human being,
whether it's the president or Congress or our
governor, we're all fallen people. And Lord,
without you, we can't do anything good. So Lord,
we pray that your spirit would penetrate all
of this chaos, that your spirit would penetrate
all of the confusion, that all the fear, all
the hurt, all of it, God. Lord, that what is
right would be right. What is wrong would be
known as wrong. But God, we pray that through
all of this, Lord, that instead of bloodshed
and burning down cities and destroying property
and all of that, Lord, that God as a country,
we would be able to engage in our rightful right
to protest things that we don't agree with, Lord.
And that God, we would do that, people that would
engage in that would do it safely and appropriately,
Lord, and safely. But God, at the same time,
Lord, as people are taking advantage of these
situations to cause chaos and destruction and
violence, Lord, I pray, God, that they would
be caught and held accountable. Lord, I pray,
God, when it comes to the ideas of the laws of
our land, we would understand, Lord, especially
as Christian people, that we are called to follow
the laws of the land. That, Lord, biblically,
the time we're called to stand against those
things is when they require us to deny you. And
God, we're not yet there. But Lord, in the confusion
of all of it, God, I pray for every family, every
person involved, Lord, every person that is or
may be affected, Lord, that you would bring peace
that surpasses all understanding, that you would
bring hope, that through faith and trust, God,
your people would stand as shining beacons for
truth and the gospel. That, Lord, those that
would want to do bad things, whether it's on
the law enforcement side or whether it's on the
other side of the coin, Lord, those bad characters
who want to do bad things, Lord, would be caught
and stopped. But at the same time, Lord, that
we wouldn't let our feelings cause us to reject
the law, reject, Lord, those things, but instead
find ways to bring peace and reconciliation and
hope through all of those things. So, Lord, we
pray for our law enforcement. God, that you would
work in and through them, Lord, to do their jobs
right and appropriately, God. We pray, Lord,
for those that are in fear that they would find
peace in you, God. We pray for those that are
the worst of criminals, God, that they would
get removed, taken, and prosecuted. Lord, we
pray for those that are innocent, that they would
be safe, that they would be at peace. And Lord,
we pray similar things for what's happening in
Israel right now, Lord. God, we know that Israel
has enemies and always had enemies and will always
have enemies. And yet, Lord, when this military
stuff is going back and forth, Lord, we know
that there are collateral casualties, Lord, and
we pray for those people and those families,
Lord. We pray, God, peace upon them. We pray,
Lord, that you would bring comfort and healing,
Lord. We pray you would keep those... that may
fall into the line of fire safe. But Lord, we
know according to your word what is going to
happen. We know what is coming to the end, Lord.
And God, we just pray through all of it, Lord,
come quickly. God, that you would end sin for
good. That, Lord, you would give us the opportunity
to share this hope and this gospel with everybody
through everything that's happening in our world.
And God, we know according to your word that
you are going to restore your people Israel,
and we look forward to that. But in the meantime,
God, Lord, we just pray for peace. We pray for
the peace of Israel. We pray for peace in the
world, God. But for those who stand against you,
that stand against who you are, Lord, we pray,
God, that your will would be done in that. And
if your will in those places, Lord, is ultimately
judgment, Lord, then judgment would happen. God,
we lift all of it up to you, God. There's so
much we don't know. There's so much unknown information
flying all over the place, God, but we do know
you're sovereign. We do know you are holy. We
know you're a God of justice and righteousness.
We also know that you're a God of peace and grace
and mercy. So, Lord, we just pray that you would
act according to your will in all of these things,
Lord. Ultimately, God, that you would be glorified.
that people would come to know you, to have eternal
life in you, God, because everything in this
world, Lord, is temporary. You are forever. Help
us as your people, God, the church, to stand
for what is right, to not fall on one side or
the other of a scenario, God, because of our
own biases, Lord, but that we would evaluate
everything biblically. That we would take our
stand according to who you are and your character
and your word, God, and nothing else. But Lord,
today we are gathered here to just honor fathers,
Lord. And so God, may you help us to set aside
all of this confusion right now, Lord, that we
would be focused on you and your word. That we
would be reminded of you as our heavenly father,
our perfect father. the one who receives us,
who holds us, God, that you are perfect in all
things. Lord, we love you. We thank you, Lord,
for everything. It's in Jesus' name we pray.
Amen. All right. Well, as I said, we are taking
the break from Genesis today to honor fathers,
and we're going to be looking at a famous story
in Luke chapter 15, commonly known as the prodigal
son. Personally, in reading this story again,
I really believe that this parable should be
better called the merciful father because although
when we think of this parable, we always focus
on the son, the parable as a whole is really
a beautiful and wonderful picture of who God
is, of how willing he is to forgive. How eager
he is to extend grace and mercy and patience
and all of that. And really, the wonderful opportunity
of fatherhood in the world today is that dads,
you get to teach your children through your example
who God is. And you do this by modeling the attributes
of God, our Father in heaven, as learned in his
word. That is the high calling. You know, fathers
and fatherhood and those who are fatherly, it's
a critically important thing in the lives of
our kids. You don't have to search far to see
the statistics as absentee fathers in homes without
dads, the effect that it has on families and
the effect that it has on kids and the effect
it has on so much in our society. But you see,
it's unfortunate in our world that because of
the difficulty some people have had with their
fathers in their life, They have a difficult
time interacting with God, the Father. They have
a difficult time understanding who he is because
their filter is how they were treated by their
earthly fathers. You know, dads, if someone was
to ask your kid or say to your kid one day, you
remind me of your father, would you want your
child to be proud or embarrassed? That is the
question for all dads. Right? Would you want
your kid to be proud or embarrassed? Well, today
in the scripture we're looking at, we're going
to see four characteristics of our father in
heaven. We're going to see these characteristics
that set the example for all earthly fathers
to follow. And when they do so, they become dads.
When you follow God's example, you will become
the father that God has called you to be. Because
you're following after the example of the perfect
father. Now, for those of you that may be in
this room today and you've had what we would
call bad fathers, and there are many that have
had less than ideal dads, I want to encourage
you today to please pay attention to the scriptures
we're looking at today because the scripture
we're looking at today is going to tell you who
your father in heaven is. who he is, how he is,
how he wants to interact with you, the relationship
he wants to have with you. And it's important
to understand that because regardless of your
experience with your dads here on earth, God
is perfect. God is a perfect father in everything
he does. And so be encouraged today. That's what
we're going to be looking at today, but first
we're going to spend some time in worship because
God is worth it. God is holy. God is mighty.
God is just. God is love. And we are so blessed
to be his children, to be able to stand in the
path of his love and his light. And that is what
we get to carry forth. And so dads, today, we
want to shine the light on you, to honor you,
to encourage you. And all of us, as we see who
God our Father is, that we would be blessed today.
Let's pray. Father, we love you. We ask God that
you would bless your word today and bless our
time together. Lord, we want to see you. for
who you are, that, God, we don't want to let
experiences in our life in this earth or here
on this earth, Lord, with our fathers on earth,
Lord, to color how we see you, Lord. Some of
us have had wonderful dads, God, and praise you
for that, and others have had bad fathers, Lord.
But, God, when it comes to who you are, you are
perfect. You are the perfect Father, and, Lord,
we want to be encouraged. that we can cling to
you, that we can come to you, that we can know
you, that we can turn to you in all things, always,
no matter what. Because not only are you the
perfect father, you're perfect love, Lord. So
God, bless us today. Speak to us through your
word. Especially, Lord, encourage the dads that
are here in our church today. We love you so
much, and we thank you. It's in Jesus' name we
pray, amen. We are gonna be in Luke chapter 15,
and looking at the story. like I said, that is
commonly referred to as the prodigal son. But
I think, at least for today's purposes, we're
going to call it the merciful father. And so
I want to give you guys a little bit of contextual
background to the parable we're looking at, because
at this point in Jesus's ministry in Luke chapter
15, he was having all kinds of people draw near
to him, but especially the people that were considered
the gross people of society, right? The people
nobody wanted to hang out with. Now in scripture,
They're specifically called the tax collectors
and the sinners. These were the people that all
of the religious Jews were like, ew, we don't
like to hang around them. And so they were flocking
to Jesus, though, because Jesus was bringing
a whole new message, something that their Judaism
had been missing out on, especially in the face
of those who were the Jewish leaders of the time.
You see, because these Jewish leaders, the Pharisees
and the scribes, they considered tax collectors
and sinners. according to their definitions,
as the real bad elements of society, conversely,
they prided themselves considering themselves
to be the favorites of God, right? Because they
were the ones who were studying the Torah and,
you know, they were following all these rules.
And so they, thinking that they were the favorites
of God, complained about Jesus hanging out with
all of these castoffs and the despised people
of society. And so in Luke chapter 15, Jesus
teaches a number of parables, as he did in his
ministry, to get truths about God and who God
was in the kingdom of heaven and all of this
across to people. And a number of these parables
that he taught specifically in Luke chapter 15
were all about the character of the Father. Because
the Pharisees and the scribes were misrepresenting
who the Father was. And Jesus obviously came
to set the record straight, if you will. And
so through these parables that he taught, he
was demonstrating that God was not elitist or
exclusive, that God was willing to forgive sinners.
Not only that, he was willing to go after them.
He was willing to receive sinners to himself.
And then he gets to the story of the prodigal
son, which is really a story that shows us something
very interesting in the context of all these
parables in Luke 15. You see, in Luke 15, he
was talking about... God going after a lost coin
and, you know, God going after different things
to try and find them. But in the parable of the
prodigal son, what he shows us is that the loss
of relationship is of the greatest importance
to God. That the loss of relationship is more
valuable than losing stuff. It's more valuable
than losing time. It's more valuable than losing,
you know, anything else. It's just the loss of
relationship matters to God. That really in the
concept of our relationship with our heavenly
father, we're more than possessions to him. We're
not just servants in the sense of like robots
who go and do things that he calls us to do.
We are his children. We are beloved by him. He
loves us. And so that when relationship with
him is bad, God cares. greatly about that. When
our relationship with him is good and restored,
it's one of the greatest joys that he has. And
so in the parable of the prodigal son, what we're
going to see as Jesus was teaching this to both
the people gathered there and the Pharisees,
is we see four characteristics of the Father.
Who the Father is, the reflective of the Father,
God in heaven. And these are characteristics
that Fathers in the world today are called to
imitate, called to follow after. And really,
dads, if your desire is to be a godly father
in this world today, which it should be, wanting
to rightly represent who God in heaven is, This
is a story that's for you because it's going
to show you these characteristics that not only
are for you to emulate, but they're for you to
emulate so that the children in your lives, the
children that you are a father over, come to
know who God is rightly and properly. And so
we're going to pick up the story here in Luke
chapter 15, verse 11, if you will read with me.
It says, he also said, a man had two sons. The
younger of them said to his father, father, Give
me the share of the estate that I have coming
to me. So he distributed the assets to them.
Not many days later, the younger son gathered
together all he had and he traveled to a distant
country where he squandered his estate in foolish
living. Now, that word foolish there in the CSB,
that is the word that is rendered prodigal in
some of the older translations, and that's where
the story of this parable comes from, the prodigal
son. Now, what that word means, prodigal or foolish,
it's the idea of being wastefully lavish. It's
the idea of being so self -centered that you
are willing to expend all of your resources simply
for a self -indulgent lifestyle. It's the idea
of where you're not gonna think about saving,
you're not gonna think about investing, you're
not gonna think about emergencies, you're just
gonna blow everything on the biggest party you
can have because it just makes you feel good,
right? That's what this idea of foolish living
or prodigal living is all about. And so in this
story, the younger son here is a shining example
of wasting your life through very poor decision
making. All right, now. Just to set the proper
stage here, has anybody in this room ever made
a poor decision? Right? Once or twice, maybe,
right? So, this is us, okay? We are the poor
decision makers here in this story. Now, in the
story, particularly in the context, this son
who leaves. probably a teenager for a couple
reasons. One, we see that he's not married yet,
and yet he leaves his father's house to live
alone. And then we see that he was old enough
to demand his inheritance, which he couldn't
do as a young, young child. But even in demanding
his inheritance, this whole picture of the son
here is that he's acting in rebellion. right?
He's acting in rebellion because although he
was old enough to demand his inheritance, it
wasn't the appropriate time to do so. So the
idea here is a rebellious teenager, okay? Has
anybody ever been a rebellious teenager? Great,
we're talking to the right people, okay. Now,
To understand the details here and how this story
would hit the Jewish listeners at the time, we
have to look at Jewish inheritance law, right?
Because Jewish inheritance law was very particular.
Some of it was very similar to inheritance law
today. But basically, in the culture, if there
was two sons in the family, at this time in the
culture, the eldest son would get twice as much
of the inheritance as the younger son. Now, earlier,
we go back into the Old Testament, we find out
that the eldest son got everything. That's the
version I prefer because I'm the eldest son in
my family. But to be biblically honest and accurate
here, it was a two -third, one -third situation
in this case. And so the younger son is saying,
hey, I want my inheritance now. The bigger issue
is that the inheritance was only to be dispersed
upon the death of the father. That's how it worked.
And so by demanding the inheritance early, what
the younger son is doing is expressing the greatest
possible dishonor he can to his dad. Because
by demanding the inheritance early, by saying,
give me my inheritance now, what he's essentially
saying is, dad, you're dead to me. I don't want
to be a part of your life anymore. I don't want
to be a part of this family anymore. I want what's
mine. Cash me out and I'm going to bail. And
that was a huge dishonor in that culture because
if you remember, the Jewish nation, they had
the Ten Commandments. And one of those commandments
was honor your mother and father. So honoring
mom and dad was a massively important thing in
their culture. It's sad that today in our culture,
especially in the West, disrespecting mom and
dad seems to be the norm in many cases in many
places. Now in this culture, it was huge to pay
honor to the father. And so when he says, cash
me out while you're alive, he couldn't really
do any more dishonor to his father. And in the
culture, if and when something like this happened,
the father would be required to do a few things,
you know, amongst the community as a part of
this process. If the son dishonored dad like
this, he would take the son before the community
and he would slap him across the face. to show
that this was just so wrong and so dishonoring.
And then that son would be publicly scorned both
by the father and the town. The entire community
would despise that kid and say he's a bad kid
and just how horrible you are. He got this very
negative visceral reaction from the entire community.
And then in many cases, what they would do is
actually hold a funeral service for that kid.
Because as far as the father and that community
were concerned, he is dead to us. And so then
that kid would leave. That's how big honor and
dishonor was in this culture. So they would be
put out of the family, out of the community,
considered culturally to be dead to the community
and the family. And we see some of this, even
though it's not recorded here that this dad did
this, and I don't think he did, the understanding
of what would happen in these situations is seen
because later on in the story, the father says,
my son who is dead is alive again. But you'll
notice that despite the egregious dishonor that
this son lays upon his father, verse 12, it tells
us, so he distributed the assets to him, or to
them. He didn't have to do that. Culturally,
he shouldn't have done that, but he did it. It's
an interesting piece of the story here, especially
for the Jewish listener. He let his son make
his choice, and he honored it. Now, this is the
first characteristic that we see about our father
in heaven that really is going to be the foundation
for the other three that we're going to build
to. This father was willing to let his son make
mistakes. He could have refused. He could have
said, no way am I going to allow you to make
this decision under no circumstances. And I'm
not saying there's never a case for saying that.
But here in this story, the father instead says,
okay. I may not agree with your choice, but here
you go. And I understand that what I may be saying
here may be an unpopular opinion, but he was
willing to let his son make a mistake, right?
Now, what I mean by that, I don't mean that,
you know, fathers, you're to compromise your
values, lower your own standards of righteousness.
Like I said, yes, there are things that you draw
a hard line on as a parent because otherwise
your kids would probably kill themselves. But
there are times, and I've experienced this in
my life as a teenager, and I've seen it in other
areas of life, that there are times when as your
children get older, you kind of need to let them
make their decisions and deal with the consequences.
And sometimes they're not going to make choices
you agree with, but they're going to learn through
those things. When I did young adults ministry,
I did young adults ministry here at Hosanna for,
like 10 years or something. And one of the unique
positions I got to be in during that time was
working with kids who had graduated high school
and were becoming young adults, and they were
in that phase of life where they were now legally,
right, 18, free to express their own independence
and, you know, spread their wings, if you will,
but they still didn't know anything. But they
thought they knew everything. And so what I got
to be in that ministry was a blessing because
there was a lot of young men that would want
to get out of mom and dad's house. And sometimes
what I would see in those situations is that
they were fleeing. There was a broken relationship.
They were frustrated with dad. They were upset
at dad and they were trying to flee the situation.
I got to be a place where they could land. I
was in a house and it had a bunch of rooms empty
and I'd say, sure, move in. And then try and
minister to them on this side of the situation.
And it was a blessing in so many ways for so
many years to be able to be part of that. But
what I saw, what I learned through that is in
a lot of cases, sometimes these kids were fleeing
with broken relationship. Because they felt they
weren't being given any leeway to make any choices.
They were being felt like, I'll say that. controlled
with an iron fist, that every decision was being
made for them, that they were simply being told
not to do, not taught how to decide what to do
in a right way. And that would come to the place
where they would start to have resentment towards
their fathers, and those relationships would
be broken with their fathers. And, you know,
sure, as a parent, right, nobody wants your kids
to hurt. You don't want them to suffer the consequences
of poor choices. But sometimes that's... the
way we learn, and many of us can be a testament
to that, especially in our own lives as we were
growing up, and our parents would say, don't
do that. Such and such bad is going to happen,
and you thought, you don't know what you're talking
about, and then you do the thing, and such and
such happens exactly as I said, and you're like,
oh, maybe they know something, right? But you
learn a lesson sometimes through having to go
through the thing, and God does this with us,
doesn't he? Does God let you make your own choices?
Does he let you then live with the consequences
of those choices? He does, right? He makes us
or allows us to be in a position where we choose.
He doesn't force us to love him. He wants us
to make a choice to love him. He doesn't force
us to live according to his will. What he does
is say, here's what I want for you. And I'm trying
to teach you and help you and encourage you to
learn to make the choice of obedience over sin.
He presents us with truth and then encourages
us to make the right choice. In the process,
he's absolutely honest with us about the consequences,
but then he still allows us to choose. And I
think that that's an important thing for fathers
to do with their kids. Not in every case. This
isn't being lax. This isn't being neglectful.
This isn't being non -attentive. But there is
a place, a time, where there is a place to say,
okay, I've raised you to this point, and now
I need to let you make choices while I'm trying
to teach you and encourage you how to exercise
the free will God gave you to make the right
choices, but still allow them to make a choice
if it's something you're going, I don't think
that's the right one. There's valuable lessons
to be learned in those types of things and we
see God do that with us. Now God allows us to
make those choices but through it all he's continually
encouraging us to do the right thing. He's continually
encouraging us to make the right decisions but
he still respects the free will. And I see that
in this father in this story. And yes that means
that we risk a lot. Yes that means that some
of our kids choices that that they make are gonna
lead to hurt or lead to regret, and that's not
what we want. But what I've seen over and over
just through watching and observing is that the
more fathers outright deny, where they're outright
rigid and outright inflexible and unwilling to
even listen in helping their children learn to
make the right decisions, the greater the opportunity
of provoking them to wrath becomes. Now, It's
interesting that the only two verses in the entire
New Testament that are direct parenting instruction,
the only two verses that are direct parenting
instruction are to fathers. Now, there's a lot
of stuff that's inferred and we draw principle
from, but only two that are direct, and they
say this, Colossians 3 .21. Fathers, do not exasperate
your children so that they won't become discouraged.
That word exasperate means to make them feel
resentment resentment bitter indignation and
having been treated unfairly Now this happens
This happens as they're coming to those ages
where they're learning to make choices and you're
trying to teach them how and they want to do
this and you're like, I don't know if that's
the right one, do this. And sometimes when it's
like, no, you can't do that. Absolutely not.
And it's one of those things where it's not going
to destroy their life type of thing. It's not
going to cause super harm. It's just a difference
in opinion or something like that. And we say
no. And they come to resent because of that.
They come to resent them being restricted, their
free will being taken away. Ephesians 6 .4 says
this, Fathers, don't stir up anger in your children,
but bring them up in the training and the instruction
of the Lord. Do you notice the contrast there?
Stirring up anger is contrasted with training
and instruction in the Lord. There's a contrast
and a balance here. If you're not bringing up
in the instruction and the training of the Lord,
anger can get stirred up. And what I mean by
that is when it's not helping them come to learn
how to make those decisions, but simply commanding
them as if they're a robot, anger gets stirred
up. Now, that phrase anger stirred up, it means
to be provoked. It's the idea of reacting in
a way that suggests a challenge. I was this way
when I was a teenager. I was a very bright student
in school, most of the time had between a 3 .5
and a 4 .0, and yet I was considered a bad kid.
And I was in the principal's office and all this
stuff, and I'd always get asked the question,
your grades are so great, why are you like this?
And this doesn't excuse anything, but I had a
lot of experiences when I was a teenager where
people would... expect me to be a bad person
because of how I dressed. Or expect me to be
a bad person because of the people I hung out
with. And it happened so much, so much at school
among my teachers and stuff that I was like,
fine, you expect me to be a bad person, I'm gonna
be a bad person. And that's the provoking, that's
the, you're challenging me, then I'm gonna rise
up to the challenge of being a bad kid. Completely
immature, completely wrong in a stupid response,
but I was a teenager, my brain didn't work. And
so this stirring up the anger was, if you're
gonna treat me like I can't make a good decision,
well, then I'm just gonna make bad ones. Now,
you know, again, because as teenagers, we were
all there once. We all knew we knew everything.
We knew all things, and Dad might warn us, and
the harder Dad tried to restrict us, the harder
we sought ways to do it anyways. Because we have
this rebellious nature that's a part of our fallen
sin nature, right? It says instead, bring them
up. That idea of bringing them up is to nourish
them, to feed them, right? And most of the dads
that I know in this church, you do that. You're
talking about the word. You're sharing the word.
You're doing devotions in the house, and it's
feeding them the training and instruction of
the Lord. But the reason you do that is so that
they could learn how to make right decisions
on their own, not so that you can make them all
for them. And again, I'll say this one more time
lest anybody want to write a mean email to me
later. There are definitely many situations where
there's hard lines that have to be drawn. But
there's a time when those hard lines start to
get a little softer as you're going, you're going
to be an adult. You're going to be your own Christian
individual. And so if you want to make this decision,
go ahead and make that decision. It's our response
to the decision that we're going to see in this
father's example as we go forward in this story.
But verse 13 through 16. The son goes on to do
exactly what I think the father was worried about
or may have been worried about, right? He goes
to waste everything he was given. He finds himself
with nothing, finds himself working as a pig
farmer, which is especially dishonoring for him
because he was Jewish. And in the Jewish culture,
pigs are considered filthy, disgusting, unclean
animals. And so to be working as a pig feeder.
was like the ultimate dishonor, you know, somewhat
ironic considering he had dishonored his father.
But as his story rolls on, what we're going to
see is that in the father allowing him to make
this decision, it set up the situation for the
father to be the place, the person that the kid
knew he could return to, that the child knew
he could come back to, even after he made some
mistakes. That he knew that he could come back
to the father and still receive patience and
still receive grace and still receive those things.
So verse 17, it tells us that the kid came to
his senses. And he said, how many of my father's
hired workers have more than enough food and
I'm here dying of hunger? Now for parents that
have kids that are off building their testimony
and making bad decisions, this is the moment,
right, that all moms and dads are praying for.
Right? Just God, please let them come to their
senses. And this is the moment where the kid's
off. He's gone. Who knows how long he's been
gone. He's blown all his money. He's working
as a pig feeder. And then on one day he goes,
well, this is dumb. How many of my father's hired
workers have more than enough food? You see,
there's some details about the father we can
pull out of this. One. that the father had workers,
which meant that he had some type of business,
whether it was just taking care of the land or
some other type of business, but he had employees.
He had people that he paid to work in his business.
Now, he had a number of hired workers because
it's plural, right? So the idea of him having
a business and having employees implies that
he may have been a man of means. He may have
been wealthy. Now, the fact that he was able
to give two -thirds and one -third to his kids,
and one of them went and lived off that for a
while, It's very possible that it was a significant
sum of money. We also know that he pays his employees
well because the kid is remembering that, man,
my father's hired workers, they have more than
enough food, it says. Like, dad takes care of
them well. And so, you know, if I just go back
home, it'll be better being an employee than
it will be starving to death out here in the
pig farm. Now, in verse 13, it tells us there
that he squandered his fortune. He squandered
his inheritance. Squandered is the idea of scattering
money loosely over an area. It's the idea of
like scattering chicken feed, you know? That's
what he was doing with his money. And a lot of
times, that's how we could be with our money
when we're being irresponsible with it, right?
Instead of buying the thing we need, we buy the
name brand, super expensive thing we need, right?
I still don't get rich people that are like,
hey, I need a bag to carry stuff. and somehow
the $25 ,000 Gucci bag carries stuff better?
No, it's just, oh, look, I have this thing, right?
It's just, now, again, I don't know what it's
like to be rich like that, but still, the idea
is just like scattering money. It doesn't matter.
I'm just doing it, you know, and so it was squandered.
It all dried up. He's bankrupt. It does tell
us between 13 and 16 that a severe famine hit.
Nobody knows the future. That's why it's wise
to be wise with money, but. Famine hits, and
so now he's humiliated, he's hungry, he's depressed,
and we get to verse 18. I'll get up and I'll
go to my father, and I'll say to him, Father,
I have sinned against heaven and in your sight.
I am no longer worthy to be called your son.
Make me like one of the hired workers. So here
the son is, is out in this terrible situation,
and when he hits the bottom of the barrel, where
do his thoughts go? Back to his dad. back to
his hardworking father, back to his warm home.
You see, the dad was not just willing to let
his son make the mistake and learn from the consequences,
but he was also approachable after the mistake.
That's a part of the letting someone make a mistake
so that when they fall on their face, they come
back and learn approachability. It's very important
that our kids know this about God. How many of
us struggle and fall and stumble into sin and
when we do, we feel like, I can't go talk to
the Lord. I can't run to him in prayer right
now. I need to wait a few days. I need to go
do some good deeds first and then come back with,
here Lord, here's my offering of good things.
Right? And yet God is constant through his word
trying to get us to understand, I love you. You're
my kid. When you mess up, come to me immediately
and go, Dad, I'm so sorry. Every time. And then
biblically we read that it's like you come back
to me and say, Dad, I'm so sorry. And he goes,
okay, I forgive you. Let's move on. And yet there
are some people in this world that because their
dads were harsh. and cold and critical. And if
you don't do what I'm gonna say, then get out
of here, cut you off. That in the very moment
that they need to be able to return, in the very
moment they need to be able to come back and
receive love and grace, they go, I can't possibly
go home because my dad will not receive me. And
then those people, when they come to get saved,
guess how they think of God the Father? I messed
up, I can't possibly go to him, he won't receive
me. That's what we're learning here in this story.
But this kid, he's like, okay, I can go home
and I'll tell this, I'll make this spiel to him
because I believe he will receive me. Now why?
This is speculative, but based upon what we read
earlier in the story is that when the kid said,
give me my inheritance, it dishonored dad. It
doesn't read us that dad was like, what? Took
him out to the public, smacked him across the
face, had the whole community talk smack about
him, drive him out of the town. We don't read
any of that. Now, sure, I'm speculating that
it didn't happen, but I don't think it did because
the character of the father we're getting here
is very unlike the character of the culture.
This dad wasn't rigid and yielding and inflexible
and condemning, and so in this kid's time of
need and his time of regret, in his time of recognition
that he had made a very bad decision and blown
it big time, he knew he could go to his dad.
He knew that... My dad is a hardworking man,
and he's honest, and he's trustworthy, and he
takes care of the hired workers. And so based
upon what I know about him, I know he'll receive
me. Now, he may have had a skewed understanding
of how his dad would receive him, right? Because
he was fully thinking here that, oh, man, if
he just lets me be an employee, I'll have it
made, right? He had no idea how his dad was truly
going to respond, but at least he knew that he
could go to his father. And so... He then responds
or goes to his father and we're gonna read that
his dad receives him. You see, we can hear the
son here rehearsing this conversation in his
head. How many of you have ever been in trouble
and you're like, I need to go talk to mom or
dad and right, you're rehearsing the speech?
You've done that before? You're like, okay, I
gotta say it this way, and I know she likes to
hear these words, and so I'll say this, and dad
likes it when I say this, and you're trying to
like, you'll stage it in the most real way possible,
or the way that it'll be received as possible,
and we hear this kid doing it, but when we read
his statements there, there's a sincerity there.
I've sinned against you and God. I recognize
that. I've dishonored you. And so we see in his
rehearsed speech there a humility and him taking
responsibility. And so because he knew what to
expect from his dad, or at least had a good reason
to know what to expect, because he was comfortable
approaching him, he goes home. Dads, your kids
should be able to do the same with you. All of
them. But sadly, as I said earlier, there are
times when a kid's expectation from their father
is not the godly example. Instead, what they
imagine because they've experienced it their
whole life growing up is anger and impatience
and yelling and degrading and accusing condemnation.
And because they have these expectations in the
very moment when they need to be able to approach
you, they stay away. And then that will transfer.
to their relationship with God. Don't you want
your kids to know that there's a God in heaven
that they can approach and come to anytime, no
matter what they've done? Wouldn't you love them
to know that they could boldly enter into the
throne room of God to receive grace, to help
in a time of need? Wouldn't you love your kids
to know that, to believe that, to have that as
a foundation of how they walk with the Lord?
To be able to, go and ask and seek and knock
and repent of their sin and receive forgiveness.
Well, guess what? To teach them that approachability
with their Father in heaven, they have to learn
it from you. They need to learn it from you.
Be firm, yes. Be real, yes. But be approachable.
Because then that's going to teach them how their
Father in heaven is. And incidentally, this is
why a lot of people over the years that I've
had the opportunity to minister to, they come
to the Lord and they struggle. They struggle
with this concept of being able to trust God
their father. They struggle with the ability
that when they've sinned, they can go to him
immediately and receive love. Why? Because their
earthly fathers have been a place of letdown
and hurt and coldness and detachment. And yeah,
if that's how someone has experienced their father
here on earth, many, it's like, well, I didn't
experience any of that. My father abandoned me.
Then they're gonna think, well, that's what God's
gonna do with me. It's hard for someone to believe
God is approachable like a father should be if
their father was never approachable, especially
when they've blown it. So just avoid, avoid letting
the bad days or the job stresses or the economic
stresses or irritability or whatever, avoid letting
those things cut off access to you. We can't
avoid all of that stuff. But avoid letting it
cut off access to you because when your kids
need you, especially when they need to come to
you and go, do you still love me? Do you still
accept me? Am I still your child? Even though
they've blown it big time, they need to be able
to come to you in that moment and receive that
encouragement. The time will come when they need
that. And they need to know that they can approach
their father. And so the next characteristic
we learn about the father here is how gentle
he was. Verse 20. So he got up and he went to
his father. But while the son was still a long
way off, his father saw him and was filled with
compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his
neck and kissed him. The son said to him, Father,
okay. It's time for my spiel, right? I have sinned
against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer
worthy to be called your son. And before he could
get to the, hey, let me be one of the employees,
please. The father told his servant, quick, bring
out the best robe and put it on him. Put the
ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then
bring the fatted calf and slaughter it. Let's
celebrate with a feast. Because the son of mine
was dead and is alive again. He was lost and
is found. And so they begin to celebrate. Now,
the Pharisees listening to this at this point
probably fell over, right? In shock because this
father's behavior was incredibly wrong from their
perspective. Here's a son who visited the greatest
disrespect to his dad and he has the audacity
to come back, the audacity to ask to be received
back. No, that is not what you do. And then typically,
culturally, on the other side of what would normally
happen in the culture, the smack in the face
and all of that, is if and when this type of
thing happened and the son came back, all the
public scorn from the community would take place
again. So as they're walking into the town, oh,
look who's back. Oh, da -da -da -da -da. What,
is it a ghost? You're dead here. You know, all
that kind of stuff. And then the father would
come out and be very stern, wouldn't look the
kid in the eye. The kid was required to bow down
on the ground. kiss his feet. And then in some
cases, the child was then able to work as an
employee of the house, but he definitely did
not have any of the rights and privileges as
a family member. And then after some time would
go by, the whole community got to evaluate this
kid. Are we going to welcome you back in? Did
you earn your forgiveness? And that kind of explains
the son's plan, right? That's what happens in
our culture. I'll go back, I'll ask to be an
employee. But normally no grace, no compassion.
But what does it tell us about the father here?
He sees him a way off and he was filled with
compassion. Filled with compassion. That word
compassion there means that he was feeling the
strongest of emotions in his guts. You know,
we talk about that with different emotions where,
you know, like. When you're in love with someone
and the love is so powerful, you feel it in your
stomach, the butterflies. Or if you love someone
and that relationship falls apart, it literally
makes you sick, you know, all that kind of stuff.
The idea here is that this was the deepest of
emotions. That as the father saw his son, he
wasn't thinking, okay, he's going to get this
lecture from me and I'm going to tell him this.
And, you know, why can't you be like your older
brother? He didn't leave none of that. No inquisition,
no interrogation. No, I told you so. Just compassion.
And so, verse 20, while his son was a long way
off, his father saw him. That tells us that the
father had been looking for him, right? Nobody
said, hey, your son's coming back. He had been
looking out for his son, longing for him to come
back, grieving the loss of relationship. Just
come home. I love you. I want to take care of
you. I want to help you. Just please come home,
right? And so he's looking and he's searching
and he's waiting for this kid to come back and
then still a long way off. That phrase possibly
indicates that it was before the son even entered
the town. So before the son entered into the
derision, into the blame and the accusation and
all of the stuff that the community culturally
was obligated to do to the son, before any of
that, he met his son out there. And he was gentle,
runs up. I can imagine the son seeing his dad
coming, he's like, ooh, I'm gonna get it. Right?
When I was a kid, my dad was in a wheelchair,
and so he wasn't able to come get us, and so
my mom did the bulk of the disciplining. But
before my dad lost the ability to walk, he was
always sitting in a recliner, like the old school
manual recliners. You know that sound when the
feet go... If we heard that, run. Right? Death
is upon us. Flee! Right? The son, I would imagine
he was expecting probably something. I mean,
okay, I believe my dad's character enough to
come back. But still, he had done this horrible
thing. And the guilt does that to us. The guilt
will twist. Even though we might know who God
is, we have this guilt. And even though we're
like, I know God. He's loving. He's merciful.
He's graceful. Every time I've ever come to him,
he's been this. But every time you sin, you're
like, I can't because he's gonna yell at me.
He's gonna cut me down. He's gonna... Right?
It's the lies and the deception that come from
that. But he runs out to his son, and it's no
speeches, it's just hugs and kisses. Now, this
is a tough, tough point to make, but you might
not be approving of what your son or daughter
is doing right now, how they're living, the choices
they're making. And that's fair. You're not wrong,
right? You're a parent. You have a place to voice
that and to bring in discipline and boundary
and all of that stuff. But in spite of all of
that, you have the key to your child's heart.
And when they come back in any capacity, any
capacity, don't waste the moment to let them
know they're loved, that they're accepted. That
no matter what they've done, they are still your
child. Now, we'll deal with things, but when
they approach, when they take that step to go,
oh, I'm gonna try and approach even if I'm not
sure, don't prove them right in the sense of,
well, they're just gonna yell at me, they're
just gonna turn me away, they're just gonna be
cold, they're just gonna be harsh, but do as
God does. I receive you. I wrap my arms around
you. I'm so glad you're back. I don't care what
you've done and where you've been. I'm glad you're
here. And so lastly, we see that this father
is impartial. And this deals to the son that's
on the other side of the equation. Read with
me in verse 25. Now his older son was in the
field and he came near the house. He heard music
and dancing. So he summoned one of the servants,
questioning what these things meant. Your brother
is here, he told him, and your father has slaughtered
the fattened calf because he has him back safe
and sound. Then he became angry and didn't want
to go in. So his father came out and pleaded
with him, but he replied to his father, look,
I've been slaving many years from you, and I've
never disobeyed your orders, yet you've never
given me a goat so that I could celebrate with
my friends. But when this son of yours, did you
notice that? Not my brother, this son of yours,
who has devoured your assets with prostitutes,
you slaughtered the fattened calf for him. Son,
he said to him, you were always with me, and
everything I have is yours, but we had to celebrate
and rejoice because this brother of yours was
dead and is alive again. He was lost and he is
found. Now this could be some of us sometimes
when we see God forgiving someone else, right?
The older son, who didn't disrespect his father,
he didn't leave, he didn't waste his inheritance.
You see, if you go back into early in the story,
it says the younger son said, give me my inheritance,
and then it says the father distributed it to
them. What that means is the older son got his
two -thirds. He didn't leave the family, he didn't
leave land, but he got his two -thirds of the
inheritance in that moment. And yet he's here.
He's upset that his father is showing mercy to
the younger brother. He's accusing the father
of playing favorites, right, and treating one
kid differently than the other. And the dad hears
this, and what are you talking about? Like, I
love you just as much. He comes out. It says
he pleads with his older son. That means to encourage
him or to console him, right? The pleading there
was, I want you to know what you mean to me.
It's similar in language to what he did when
he ran out to meet the younger son. Hugs and
kisses and compassion. And he says, son, you're
always with me. All I have is yours. Like, how
have I demonstrated that you're not as important
to me as he is? You got your two thirds when
he asked for his third. Like, why are you so
upset? But then he says, we had to celebrate.
And this is really the point here. We had to
celebrate. Why? Because this isn't about money.
This isn't about inheritance. This isn't about
who did what. This isn't about any of that. Relationship
is restored. Regardless of all that's happened,
he's home, he's safe. And for us as Christians,
we need to be very careful when God saves that
which we consider, you squandered everything.
You squandered all the blessing. I've served
you. I've come to church every day for years.
You come once a month, and then God's gonna bless
you when you come back? Yeah, because God loves
them just as much as he loves you, and vice versa.
There's no favoritism with the Lord. God loves
all his children equally, and he wanted the older
son to know, like, I love you both. You're both
special to me. You're both accepted. You're both
received. You're both all, and dads, just make
sure all your kids know you love them equally.
You don't favor one over the other. Sometimes
it can be easy to experience that. The one who's
doing everything you ask them to do and making
the right decisions, doing everything, you're
like, oh, they're the good kid. Then the bad
kid goes away and, you know, it's like, well,
why can't you be like your brother? Don't say
stuff like that. That hurts. You know, if they
come back, they already know they're doing something
silly. I don't need you to compound the guilt.
And so this father here, he's like, look, everything
I have is yours. I love you just as much. And
so what we see in this story here is that this
father, he was merciful, he was loving, he was
patiently flexible, he was approachable, gentle,
he was impartial. And this is the father that
both of these sons needed. And this is the picture
of who our God in heaven is like. That's why
Jesus told this story. That's why I'm reading
it today. This is who our Father in heaven is.
And the great call, the great responsibility,
the great opportunity, dads, that you have here
on this earth is to show your kids that that
is what God in heaven is like by being the same,
by exhibiting the same attributes. Being a dad
who, although you're doing boundaries and teaching
and raising, When the time comes, you don't simply
keep stripping them of free will, but you teach
them how to exercise the free will, and that
involves letting them make mistakes. Letting
them make those choices, and you're like, I know
how this is going to turn out, but you're not
listening to me, and I'm going to let you make
the choice. And it's hard to do that, but do
it. Of course, following the leading of the Lord,
but when those times come, you do it without
condemning and lecturing and holding an arm's
length. But instead, you're always still nurturing
and teaching and training and encouraging. Why
do you allow that to happen? Because they need
to know when they come back. That when they come
back, they need to know that there's a Father
there they can approach. That there is a father
there who as gently as he lets you go and make
that dumb decision, he's equally as gentle when
you come back and say, Dad, I made a dumb decision.
Be approachable. Receive them back. Because that's
what God does with us. Constantly over and over.
Full of grace and full of mercy. Be a dad who
is gentle and impartial. Because what's more
important than did you learn and da -da -da -da
-da, those things are important. But what's more
important than that is is the relationship restored?
Is the relationship reconciled? Is relationship
whole? Because all the other stuff we'll deal
with. But is the relationship there? And that's
what God wants nothing more than us. He wants
that relationship restored. So, Dad, your desire
to... Keep your relationship with your kids intact
and keeping the doors open, all of that. It's
gonna teach them the same thing about their father
in heaven and that's a lesson they're gonna need
their whole life. Not just in coming to know
the Lord as their savior but their whole life
as they're walking with him. To have learned
the lesson that God is not just continually mad
at them or continually scowling at them or continually
condemning but He may be brokenhearted, he may
be sad, but he wants nothing more than the relationship
to come back. And the reason I think God wants
dads to be this way is because they're gonna
blow it. They're gonna stumble, they're gonna
fall, they're gonna mess up big time, but if
they have learned that despite those mess ups,
they are still loved, they are still accepted,
they are still welcomed, then they're gonna live
or grow in grace through their lives. They're
gonna grow to live in that grace and not in a...
perpetual state of condemnation. So be the good
model. Be the good example. Be the one that they
need to see. As God says to you, do as I do.
He also gets to say, do as I say, right? But
do as I do. Be the dad that's going to then be
able to honestly say that to your kids as they
grow up and move on to start their own families.
Hey, do as I did because I learned it from my
father in heaven. Amen? Well, God bless you dads.
God bless you fathers. God bless you father figures.
I pray your day is awesome. I was kind of going
to be like, what's the biggest gift I could give
to a dad today? And I said a 10 -minute Bible
study, but I just couldn't do it. So enjoy your
day, and I pray that you receive all the honor
that is due to you. For those of you that have
strained and broken relationships with your kids
and today might not be the best of days for you,
pray for your kids. Pray that they would come
to their senses. Pray that they would know that
they can approach you and that God would open
up that door for reconciliation. Let's pray.
Father, we love you so much and we thank you,
God, for who you are. Lord, you are the good
father. You're the perfect father. You're the
perfect example, Lord. God, we know and all the
dads in this room know that none of us are perfect.
None of us can be perfect, Lord. The more we
cling to you, the more we stay close to you,
the more we, Lord, know that as you've allowed
us to make bad decisions, we could come back
to you in repentance and come back to you and
know that you're gonna receive us, Lord. We know
that you're gonna be gentle with us. We know,
God, that you're gonna extend to us the same
grace and mercy you extend to everybody else,
Lord, as we know that, as the fathers in this
room know that. Lord, may they extend that to
their children. May they heed the two verses
in the, Entire New Testament, God, that you wrote
for them to not discourage their children through
causing them to feel wrongly challenged, Lord,
to not stir up the anger, God, in them, but instead
to teach them what is right, to example for them
what is right, to encourage them to make the
right choices. But when, not if, Lord, when they
make a bad one. May the dads here, God, through
the power of the Holy Spirit, be a place of healing
and hope and reconciliation. God, we love you.
We thank you for everything. We thank you for
the fathers in our lives, and we thank you for
being our good father. It's in Jesus' name we
pray. Amen. Let's worship church.