Joy in Salvation | Joy with Jesus - Luke 15:11-32 | Matty Finlay

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Well, hey, good morning, and once again, welcome to Silverdale. If you and I have not met before, my name is Maddie. I have the privilege of serving as a part of the team here on our Bonnie Oaks campus, and let me be just another person to wish all of our dads a very happy Father's Day. I love seeing all of the jerseys. It's not as much orange as I was expecting, though, which praise the Lord for that. Anybody else? Amen? Just kidding. We love you anyway. For those of you that have asked, this is an England soccer jersey. I'm in my World Cup feels. We're gonna bring it home. We're gonna win it all. This is our year. Feel like a Tennessee fan. Isn't that what y'all say every year? Alright, all my Tennessee jokes are done for the rest of the month. If you've got a Bible, here's what I'd love to invite you to do. I'd love you to open it and turn to the Gospel of Luke for me. We're gonna be in Luke chapter 15 this morning. If you've been around the last several weeks, five weeks or so, you know that we are taking the month of June to talk about things in Scripture that Jesus teaches us will bring us joy. And today we're gonna look at what is a familiar passage to many of you. Maybe you've heard the story, maybe you've read it before, maybe you know it in principle, but today we're gonna look at the story of the prodigal son, and we're gonna talk about how we find joy in salvation. Many of us, maybe most all of us, are familiar with this story because of a younger brother. Right? It's a brother who acts in rebellion towards his father, takes everything that he believes he's owed, and goes off to live this life of luxury and lavishness. While all of that is true, many of us miss what God is trying to teach us in this story because we don't identify with the younger brother. We don't see ourselves as someone who's run hard and fast away from God and has found ourselves eyeballs deep in a messy, sinful life. But this isn't just a story about a rebellious younger brother. It's also a story about a religious older brother. A brother who's oblivious to the depth of his own sin, quick to judge others, and in desperate need of the same grace as his wayward younger brother. See, Jesus is often taught in parables, and in those parables we find a lot of symbolism. And Jesus says something to point to something else. He says something to represent something else. And in this story, we've got a younger brother who represents people who are lost and far from God, but we have an older brother who represents the religious people. Those who are checking a lot of boxes, so to speak, and then you've got this father who represents God. In this context that Jesus would have taught, you would have also had two very distinct groups of people listening to what he says. Look at this, it tells us this in Luke 15, verses 1 through 2. It says this. Then you've got the scribes and the Pharisees, on the other hand. They would correspond or represent that older brother. They lived by the law, they did what they were supposed to do, they were quick to look down from their religious perch on those who didn't. And what Jesus does in this parable is expose the brokenness of both groups of people. He exposes the sinfulness you find in both camps. What Jesus does when he teaches us this parable is he shows us that the love, grace, and mercy of God is available to everybody, but not only is it available to everybody, everybody is in desperate need of it. Every one of us in this room, no matter where you find yourself, is in desperate need of the love and grace and mercy of God because we are all by nature sinful and broken people. Look how the Bible teaches us this. It's in Psalm 14, verses 2 and 3. It says this that the Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man. The Lord looks on us, children of man, to see if there are any who understand who seek after God. Yet they have all turned aside. Together they have become corrupt. There is none who does good, not even one. That means the Lord looks on this group of people, this room of people, and what he sees is there's not one of us that's good. In and of ourselves, there is not a single person in the room that can say, I'm good. I gotta figure it out. I'm doing all right. The Bible teaches us that every one of us has a sin nature ingrained in the very core of who we are, into our very DNA. So, what does that mean? One of my favorite definitions of sin is actually what our kids' ministry teaches our kids, and you can write this down at the top of your outline. It's this that sin is anything we think, say, or do that disobeys God and his word. Sin is anything we think, say, or do that disobeys God and his word. Sin isn't just the big stuff. Sin isn't just the stuff we don't want to talk about in public. Sin isn't just the stuff that we hide at home. Sin is anything we think, say, or do that disobeys God and the truth of his word. And Luke 15 is gonna teach us a little about sin. So if you're taking notes, I want you to jut this down for me. Number one, that sin always begins with pride. Sin always begins with pride. Luke 15, verses 11 through 12 say this. And he said, Jesus is teaching, he said, there was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me. And then he divided his property between them. So the younger brother goes to his dad, goes to his father, and he says, Hey, I know there's a plan. I know there are traditions. I know that you've worked hard to make sure that we have an inheritance, but I know better. I've got a better plan. I want to do what I want to do, and I want to do it now. He longed, the younger brother longed for a life where he was his own authority. He didn't care who he heard in the process. This wasn't a harmless request of his dad. It was a show of disrespect. It displayed a lack of love and a lack of care. It was tantamounts to him looking at his father and saying, I wish you were dead today. I want what's mine. And for those of you who know the story, you'll know that the younger brother is given what he's asked for. He takes off to a distant country, the Bible says. He squanders it all on reckless living, ends up coming back home, to which his father celebrates. The older brother who stayed at home hears of this younger brother coming home, hears of his father celebrating. And look how he responds in verses 25 through 28. Says, now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called, the older brother called one of the servants, and he asked, What these things meant. What's going on here? And the servant said to him, Your brother has come, and your father has killed a fan calf because he's received him back safe and sound. But he was angry and refused to go in. And his father came out and entreated him. The older brother hears of the party. He hears that dad is celebrating his younger brother being home and he's mad. He's angry. So his dad leaves the celebration. His dad leaves the party, comes out to find him, and look at his response. Says the older brother answered his father, Look, these many years I served you. I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who came has devoured your property with prostitutes, you kill the fat and calf for him. Just like the younger brother, pride wells up in the older brother, and he too looks at his father and says, I know better than you. I've got a better plan than you have. This is wrong. You shouldn't be doing this. You've never done it for me. You've never thrown me a party and I haven't disobeyed you. All I've done is serve you. Sin always begins with pride. And the older brother is no different than the younger brother. Sin in our lives always begins with pride, that is rooted in the belief that we know better than the father. That we have a better plan. That we should be the master of our own destiny, so to speak. See, the younger son, the younger brother, his sin's real blame. It's real obvious, right? His belief that he knows better than his father is much more obvious. He leaves his father, he leaves the safety and the protection of his home, and he goes off into a distant country. But the older brother, his sin is much more subtle. But it's no different. He believes he knows better without ever leaving the safety of his father's health. So what does that mean? It means that as we sit here this morning, yes, there are people out there who are far from God, who are living a lifestyle of sin. Who are lost as a golf ball and highweeks, separated from their heavenly father because of their sin. But it also means that there are some of us sitting in this room this morning, watching us online this morning, who are at home. And although you are checking off the boxes, you are separated from God because of an attitude that says, I know better than you. And there are lost people. Sin always has consequences. Sin has consequences. Sin is a destroyer of our lives. I can't tell you how many times I've sat in my office or across a coffee table from somebody whose life has been ruined because of sin. And sin doesn't just affect you, sin affects the people around you, sin affects your family. But I see this play out in my own life every single week. Our life is full. We have three active boys, and from 7, 10 in the morning, which is when my youngest decides it's time to go party, from that moment in the morning until 8 p.m. at night or whatever time it is that we've got going on, my boys are on the move constantly. And here's what that means: there's not a whole lot of downtime for my wife and I. And when there's not a whole lot of downtime, in the moments when I want to kick back and relax, in the moments when I want to put my feet up, and my wife needs something from me, or my boys decide they need something from me, do you know what they end up getting? A frustrated version of me. And if I'm honest with you, when my frustration shows itself, it's often in the form of being short, snappy, and sometimes, quite honestly, just unkind. Now, when I'm frustrated and unkind to Tab or the kids, it's not just me that feels the weight of that afterwards, the conviction of that. They feel it too, right? They have to deal with a frustrated dad or a frustrated husband or an unkind dad or an unkind husband. They have to deal with the effects of my sin too. Sin affects other people. Before I surrendered my life to Jesus, I lived a life that was far from God. In 2008, November 2008, Jesus changed my life. And I begin to walk with him. He begins to change me from the inside out. But I lived a life of sin prior to that moment, and there are consequences of that sin that I still have to deal with. There are relationships that I will never have because of that sin that was a part of my life. There are wounds, emotional wounds, that other people carry because of my sin. Things that I don't get to go back and fix. Things that I can't make better, I can't make right, and I have to deal with the weight of that, but so do they. Because sin always affects other people. There are consequences to our sin. Let's look and see what some of the consequences of sin are that we see in this story. Here's the first one. They're right there on your outline. There's separation from the father. So the younger brother leaves home and is separated physically, while the other brother, the older brother, stays home and he's separated emotionally from the father. There's isolation. The younger brother ends up in a far country with nobody to help him. The older brother stands outside of the celebration alone. And you've got misery. The younger brother experiences hunger, poverty, shame, humiliation, desperation, while the older brother experiences anger, bitterness, and resentment. Then you've got identity questions, right? The younger brother says, I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. When the older brother says, I'm just a slave. Both lose sight of their identity as children of their father. Then there's this loss of joy. The younger brother, there's this momentary pleasure that turns into emptiness and despair. For the older brother, he refuses to enter the joy of the celebration and instead stays outside and chooses anger and bitterness. And then lastly, there's bondage. You got this younger brother who is enslaved to sin, enslaved to the idea of being his own God. And you got this older brother who's enslaved to his performance and his pride. Both brothers in their sin find themselves living outside of the fullness of life that their father has for them, and instead end up living in the consequences of their sin. And maybe you're sitting in your seat this morning and saying, Maddie, you said at the beginning that we're gonna talk about things that Jesus said brings us joy. This doesn't sound very joyful. Again, if you're taking notes, shut this down. Number three, salvation begins with recognition. Salvation begins with recognition. See, verse 17 in this story is a turning point for the younger brother. Want you to look at it with me. Luke 15, 17 says this. But when he came to himself, the younger brother, he said, How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger? Why don't you go ahead and circle or highlight that phrase when he came to himself, or your translation may even say, when he came to his senses? For all of us, there has to come a moment that we recognize that the life that we're living is not the way it's supposed to be. For many of us in the room, maybe we've had that moment where we've hit rock bottom. When life was so bad, when you found a situation you found yourself in was so dire that all you could say is, surely this is not the way life is supposed to be. For this younger brother, that moment came when he found himself in a pig pen, nasty and stinky, feeding these pigs. The ultimate humiliation for a Jewish boy, desperate to eat the food the pigs were eating. And there is this moment, can you imagine it? Maybe he's on his hands and knees, maybe he's throwing the food out, maybe he recognizes that he stinks, and he's like, What am I doing? Even the servants in my father's house have food to eat. There's this moment where he comes to his senses and he says, Surely this is not what life is supposed to be like. Surely this isn't the life that God had planned for me. For my friend Aaron, it came in his truck at Enterprise South with a pistol in his hand. He said, Surely this isn't the way it was supposed to be. For my friend Sean, it was in his office at his house, wrestling with the stress and anxiety that came with life and a new job and how to live for Jesus. And he's like, Surely this isn't the way it's supposed to be. I was in a college dorm room, hung over, listening to Christians down the hallway play video games and laugh and smile and joke around. Then I sat in my dorm thinking, surely this isn't the way it's supposed to be. Salvation begins with a moment of recognition. Where we sin, surely, this is not how life's supposed to be, right? The next thing we see is this that salvation is initiated by the Father. Salvation is initiated by the Father. Look at this with me in verses 20 through 24. It says this. And he arose, the younger brother, and he came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and he felt compassion and he ran and embraced him and he kissed him. And the son said to him, Father, I've sinned against heaven, and before you I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, Bring quickly the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet, and bring the fat and calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found, and they began to celebrate. Salvation is not something we accomplish in and of ourselves. Salvation is initiated by the Father. Picture the scene, right? The son was making his way home, had his speech prepared, ready to grovel and ask his dad for forgiveness, knowing his dad wasn't obligated to respond to him in any way. The son was likely unrecognizable. When he left his father's house, he likely had his nice clothes on, his best clothes, he had food in his bag, his hair was all dead, his cheeks were probably a little chunky, maybe a little red, and he set off down that same pathway that he's now coming down. But this time it's a disheveled, empty-handed. Like a messy hair, do it on his face, do it all under his fingernails. Notice what his dad doesn't ask him to do. His dad doesn't look at him say, son, you gotta get go cleaned up first. He doesn't get there and say, Oh, you're messy. Go clean up and then I'll give you a hug. He doesn't say, hey, you gotta tell me all the details, where you've been, what you've done, I want to know all the sinful things you've been a part of. His dad doesn't ask him any questions. His dad doesn't even ask him why he's coming home. His dad just loves him and embraces him. And I think there are a lot of us sitting in the room this morning that think in order for God to love us, we gotta clean up our act. In order for God to love us, we gotta kick the habit. In order for God to love us and embrace us, and for us to be welcomed by God, we gotta change the lifestyle, have it all figured out, or whatever it may be. But that could not be further from the truth. The father embraces the son as he is, loves him as he showed up, right there, right then in the mess, and then says, Alright, now let's go get you cleaned up. You're home. I'm glad you're home. I'm gonna love you in the mess that you found yourself in, but I'm gonna love you enough not to leave you in the mess that you're in. Now let's go get cleaned up. Now put the robe on and the shoes and the ring. But there are some of us in the room this morning who have never responded to the Father's love because we think we're too messy. Church, I'm begging you this morning. We've got to stop making people feel like they've got to get cleaned up before they can come home to Jesus. We've got to stop making people feel like, if they're broken and sinful, that this is not a place for them. This is the only place for them. And we've got to welcome them and love them. I don't care how bad they stink, how messy their life is, or what they're wearing. We're gonna love them as they come, and here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna do what the father says. We're gonna love them as they are, and then we're gonna say, Alright, I love you enough not to leave you that way. Let's get cleaned up. Here's the next thing that we see. Number five. Salvation brings joy. Salvation brings joy. The son has returned, he's been embraced by the Father, and the end of verse 24 tells us that they begin to celebrate. In Luke chapter 15, we see three different times that Jesus tells us there is a celebration when somebody repents. Luke 15, 7 says this. Just so I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents and over the 99 righteous persons who need no repentance. Luke 15, 10, just so I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents. And then Luke 15, 32, it was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead and is alive, he was lost and is found. So you've got the younger brother, wayward lost, sinful, recognizes the desperation of his situation, turns back to come home and accepts the love of his father. However, there's something fascinating to me about this story. You see, the younger brother and the older brother, their stories mirror each other up until this point. Pride has riddled them both in different ways that has caused them to sin. Their sin had consequences, which led to separation from the father, misery, isolation, amongst other things. Both even had a recognition of the situation that they found themselves in. But their stories take different paths at one critical moment. And it's how they respond to the father. See, the father ran to the younger son to welcome him home, to love him, to embrace him, and the younger brother responded to his love, accepted his gift, put on the robe, put on the ring, put on the shoes, and went into the party. He was brought back into a relationship with his father. The father then comes out to the older brother, who, in his sin, in his pride, stays outside, who, in his pride, looks at his dad and says, I've done everything right. I've done what I was supposed to do, but he's frustrated and angry at the response to the younger brother. And the passage ends with the father explaining to him why he has responded to his brother in the way that he has. And here is the scary part of this story to me. It's not that we'll have younger brothers, it's not that people will get caught up in their sin, get lost, and live lives that are far from God. It's that there is no indication that this religious older brother, the guy who seemingly done everything right, ever accepted the invitation of his father to come back inside. There's no indication that this religious older brother who had checked all the boxes ever responded to the father's love for him. So what does that mean for us this morning? What it means is that there are some of us in here today who would, like the older brother, say, I've done all the right things. I've served you. I've checked off the boxes. But before, holy God, we have never responded to the Father's love for us because our attitude of pride says, I'm good enough. I've earned it. My performance, my good outweighs my bad. I'm good, God. We have never acknowledged that we are just as broken, just as sinful, and just as in need of a savior as the younger brother. And because of that, we have never surrendered our lives to follow Jesus, and we have believed that is our performance that will make us right with God. And there will be a day when you and I stand before the King of Kings, before the throne of God. And Matthew 7 may be true with you, which says this not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. But the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven, on that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty works in your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. The older brother assumed he had the father's love because of the work he had done. The older brother assumed he had the father's love because he felt that he'd earned it, not just because the father had freely given it to him. So he stands outside in his pride, believing I should be in the party. In fact, the party should have been filmed for me because I checked all the boxes. Some of us in the room think we're gonna get to heaven because we've checked the boxes, and God's gonna say, Man, I've been waiting for you to get here. I needed you this whole time. But in actual fact, what we're gonna hear is, I never knew you. We never had a relationship. You never accepted my invitation to be loved by me, and you never came inside. You showed up at church, you went to a small group, but you never came inside. I never knew you. So here's how we're gonna close this morning. I recognize that in the room this morning, there are some younger brothers. There are some of you, and you've shown up here, maybe for the first time, maybe you've been here a couple weeks, and you are eyeballs deep in your sin. Can I tell you something this morning? Welcome home. We're glad you're here. And what I would encourage you to do this morning is to respond to the Father's invitation to be loved by Him. What I'd encourage you to do is to respond to the invitation, to understand that you don't have to clean yourself up before coming to God. God loves you, God wants you just as you are. Maybe you're already four or five shots deep in this morning. Welcome home. We're glad you're here. Maybe even right now, this morning, you're hiding your alcohol in your Yeti cup. We are glad you are here. Welcome home. But there are younger brothers in the room that you need to surrender your life to Jesus this morning. He has called you here for purpose to accept his invitation. And then there are older brothers in the room. And you know who you are, because even right now you're sitting there, you're mad at me. Who do you think you are to tell me that? I just told you what the Bible says. I didn't write the story, I didn't tell the parable, Jesus did. But in your pride, you're gonna sit in your seat and you're gonna say, I don't need that. I'm good. I got it all figured out. I'm okay, Maddie. Me and God, we're good. He knows the school. And that pride is gonna keep you separated from God now and in eternity, unless you set it aside and accept the invitation to come inside and come home. Accept the invitation to the gospel that Jesus died on the cross in your place and for your sin. So I'm gonna pray for us. And we're gonna have pastors and encourages down front that would love to pray with you, love to talk to you about any decision it is that you wanted to make. But if you would, if you'd stand, I'm gonna pray for us and then you can respond to how God leads you. Let's pray. Father, thank you so much for the truth of your word this morning. God, we are grateful for your invitation. That whether we are eyeballs deep in our sin or have allowed pride to deceive us into thinking that we are good because we are a good person. God, we pray that you would tear down those walls this morning. You would make us all aware of our desperate need for you and that we would respond in obedience to that. It's in Jesus' name that we pray and everybody said. Amen.