New Series- “I’m Talking about Everyone”…
June 3rd, 2009 eric
We kicked off a new series this week where were talking about “EVERYONE”. I mean absolutely everyone… Got your intrest? We’ll… know were not talking about them… as in did you here what she did? No were not going down that road it just doesn’t lead you anywhere… Were talking about how Everyone is INVITED, INCLUDED and is IMPORTANT.
Here at our church we are thrilled about the Multi-Cultural, Multi- Generational make up that makes this a home for everyone… Luke 15 will serve to illustrate the powerful truth that at God’s house EVERYONE is Welcome.
We believe that not only does Jesus Love you (Pretty amazing huh) but he actually likes you! Luke 15 serves up 3 parables A. Parable of Lost coin, B. Parable of Lost Sheep c. Parable of Lost son. Now regardless if this parable is a story that you’ve heard before or if this is the first time to really give them the attention they are worthy of… It is my prayer at the conclusion of this series you will be able to admit that I’m not “OK”. If you can admit that no your not perfect and no you don’t have it all together, that your not necessarily “OK”. Than Jesus say’s you may just be closer to God than the people that say I’m “OK” and I’ve got it all figured out. Many people myself included have only paid attention to the younger son in the Parable of the lost son. Tim Keller wrote a book called the Prodigal God, in this book he writes how we miss the mark and the very point of the story by only addressing the younger son. It’s really not a story about the younger or the elder son it’s a story about the extravagant love of the father.
It should actually be referred to as the parable of the 2 lost son’s. Because not only are there 2 lost son’s BUT… there are 2 very “SPECIFIC” and distinct audiences that JESUS is telling the story to. 1st Group is the “Tax Collecter’s and Prostitutes” Jesus is eating with… Luke goes ahead and calls them “Sinner’s” they are the NON-OK Crowd… They are going to relate to who the Younger or older brother? The Younger…
Now the 2nd audience who this story is SPECIFICALLY being told to are the “Pharasee’s. and they are thought of as the “OK” crowd… They are going to relate to the Older brother. This second group represents those that said Jesus is eating with people who do not meet our “OK” gauge. They felt they were ok and Jesus was not ok to be eating with the NON-OK Crowd.
Now because this word Prodigal means Recklessly Extravant…
Because of that you got to understand this is not a story of a Recklessly extravagant son… but this is a story of a RECKLESSLY EXTRAVANT FATHER! Who would mirror the fact that we have a Prodigal God! Understand what is truly Extravagant in this story is not the Recklessness of the boy’s but it is the Reckless LOVE of the Father that is truly Extravagant.
The story play’s out that the Younger son went to his father and said… Dad I want my inheritance.
Now because there were 2 son’s according to the custom here in the ancient world of this text… understand this the elder son would get 2/3the younger son would have gotten 1/3 of his father’s estate… It’s not a 50/50
Now when he is asking for his share of his fathers estate… He is essentially “wishing his Dad were DEAD!
He is SAYING DAD… I don’t want you.. I just want your things. In Jewish customs.. this would have been known as having RIGHT’s over RELATIONSHIP”.
As startling as this request is.. the only more shocking thing is the Father’s RESPONSE. The scripture say’s the father DIVIDED his property for his son and gave it to HIM.
Now Jewish tradition or custom say’s the Dad should have DISOWNED the son right then and there. The father refuses to disown him… He grant’s his request… Scripture say that..
The father grants his request… He divides his property… Actual greek word for property is bios… which means LIFE.
In ancient Jewish culture to lose part of your land is to lose part of you… your bios = Your LIFE!
Now add to that the humiliating factor of this son telling his Dad I’m more interested in what you can give me than I am of what you really are.
The younger son takes it all and goes and blows it… He wakes up in a pig pen say’s I’m going back home… I took everything that I had a right to but now I’m just missing the Father. I did everything I had a right to but I miss being at home with Dad.
When he returns home his father runs to him absorbing the shame that the son should have felt. The Father wraps a robe around him and puts a ring on his finger… Now instead of this being a joyous occasion…
Enter act 2 the Elder son… You’ll remember him he’s the one that is “OK”. This elder brother is so angry with the father because he feels like he has a right to tell the father how the robes ring’s and live stock of the family ought to be deployed…
IN the same way RELIGIOUS PEOPLE commonly live very moral lives, but their Goal is to get leverage over GOD… in a way to control him and to put Him in a position where they think HE owes THEM.
Tim Keller right’s in his book the prodigal GOD..
If like the Elder brother, you believe God ought to bless you and help you because you have worked so hard to obey him and be a good person, than JESUS may be your helper, your example, even your inspiration, but he is not your Savior.
See each of the Brother’s AS different as they were BOTH were motivated toward the same goal… they just went about it in different way’s…
BOTH ESSENTIALLY were using the Father in different way’s to get the things on which their heart’s are really fixed. They were after the STATUS and not the LOVE- They believed the wealth would make them happy and fulfilled and overlooked the relationship with the father.
My Question for you today is…
Do the Broken? Do the Marginalized, Do the hurting, Do the “outsiders” do they look in and just see a bunch of people who think there “OK”
Or do they see folks that ‘s are saying – We’re OK and you are not “OK”…
That younger brother found out what it was like to be restored to the Family, and life and community…
The Father’s LOVE and forgiveness can pardon and restore any kind of sin and wrong doing- It does not matter who you are or what you have done… It does not matter if you’ve deliberately done wrong and walked out on the father….
There is no evil that the Father’s love can not pardon and cover there is no sin that is a match for his grace.
Then it became the problem of the elder brother…
“LOOK I HAVE NEVER DISOBEYED YOU- I’m as O! K! as you can get…
That’s why it’s dangerous to define sin as breaking a list of rules..
Jesus uses the Elder brother to show us that this Elder Brother who has Violated virtually NOTHING on the List of MORAL behaviors can be EVERYBIT as Spiritualy lost as the most immoral person…
Because sin is not just breaking the rules, it is putting yourself in the place of God and you begin to trust in your own goodness more than the work of his spirit in your life…
The gospel is not about trying to figure out you’s “OK” and who’s not…
Gospel is different in that the Bible teaches that were all WRONG.
Yet Were ALL LOVED.
Luke 18:14 The humble are in and the proud are out…
Another words to receive grace and to live in grace is to confess you need it…
Why humility is demanded…
Bottom line
People who think they are “OK” are moving away from GOD… Psalms 138:6 The Lord… cares for the humble but he keeps his distance from the proud.
No wonder why everyone is welcome… We all are in need of the Extravagant love of Jesus… Church and unchurched… OK and the supposed NON-”OK”. Were all equal and in need of Him.
Next week Everyone is Included… Be Blessed and may we be a church that reaches for Everyo
As a matter of fact why don’t you invite someone to come to the out of bounds conference June 13 and 14 and let God take you beyond the boundaries of what he can do.
Tags: Forgivness, Grace, Legalism, Love, relationship, Welcome