Father, we just praise you. We thank you for being such a good God, for being not just our God, but our dad and our father and for adopting us as your very own children. We thank you for that. Holy Spirit, we thank you for being our teacher and our counselor. And we ask you to teach each of us this morning that we can all leave knowing that we heard something directly from you for us today. And Jesus, we just uh praise you for saving us, for being the one that that allows us to reconnect with our Father and with a friend like you. And so we thank you, and it's in your name we pray. Amen. So do you ever wish Jesus would just like talk to you in a way that that it's unmistakable? You know, you just you hear it and you would just apply it, you'd believe it, whatever whatever he said, you know uh exactly what to do. If it was something he wanted you to do, we would go, we'd go do it. Um part of the way Jesus speaks to us, he speaks to us in a lot of different ways. We're all unique, and he and and and so God speaks to us in in unique ways. But the one way that he speaks to each of us is really through his word. It's why he recorded uh why the the stories that he told and what he taught is recorded and and saved for each of us. Because it's how he wants to talk to each of us. And this morning is a story that just has to have something for all of us. And we can know, wow, Jesus is saying this for me. It's one of the greatest stories ever. You know, it's the longest story that uh that Jesus told. We call it the prodigal son. Um we call that because the part about the younger son is so uh compelling. You know, and the word prodigal uh really comes from when the story was in the King James Version, and that was the word. And it just means wasteful, that he was the wasteful son, went off and wasted um everything. But a more accurate title is really the two lost sons, because it's there's not one lost uh child that was found. There was two that were lost and and could be found. And Jesus is telling the story in response to the religious elite. You know, they've been condemning Jesus. They did this a lot, and they would condemn Jesus because he hung out with people they didn't think were good enough. It would be the tax collectors, and it would be prostitutes, and it would be people that were just notorious, well known for sinning and living wild lives and and all that. And so Jesus is telling the story in response to these kind of know-it-all self-righteous uh Bible scholars. And he's wanting them to know that instead of judging these people, he should be excited. They should be excited for these people, celebrating with them. And so to explain it, he tells three stories. He he says it's like a shepherd. You know, if a shepherd has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, he's gonna worry about the sheep, and when he finds it, he's gonna be excited, and there's gonna be a celebration. You know, have any of you lost an animal? Um we have, and you know, you get kind of frantic. The uh I think I told this once, but we live in our old neighborhood. We lost uh our dog Millie. Uh uh she got out, she was kind of new, and Susan was gone and came home, and Millie wasn't there, and she called, and I was at work, and she was all frantic about it, you know, and we prayed about it, and she had driven around the neighborhood, and then I got sent to uh to print off pictures, and then we made posters. I say we, it was a we, she. She made posters and uh put them up all over the the neighborhood, and and the posters were you know it was a reward first of all, and uh and then it said uh uh please bring her back. We love her. And uh and I wasn't ready to put an amber alert out for Millie, but uh but it's just you know it just it just shows, you know, it's just a pet. It's just it's just a dog. But but we found her, she was just almost next door at the neighbor's house. Um right when she had gotten out, he had seen her. Um we weren't home, and so he put her in his garage, and then he had to leave. And so it was hours later, but we figured all that out and got Millie back, and and um but it was so exciting and and it was uh a reason to to celebrate. Um Jesus goes on and tells another story. He talks about a woman that lost a coin, and that coin was so important uh to her, and she searches the whole house and then finally she finds it and and and celebrates. You know, have you lost anything like that? You know, a wallet or uh or a purse or uh a check that that you needed and and misplaced somewhere, and you just you know you search everywhere. A phone, you know, whatever it is, you know. I just and you can't rest, you know, until until you find it. But when you find it, finally, um you're so excited. Well have you ever lost a child? I I hesitate even to ask that question because it's such an emotionally charged question for some of us, and we lost both of ours for short periods of time. Um both of them, when they were younger, let themselves out of the house and wandered off. And um and you know, for that short period of time, we were frantic, imagining the worst, searching all over. Um, and finally uh finally we found them, and we were so relieved, and we were so uh so excited. And some of us have lost children, you know, for for a longer time, where they they've died and they've gone to heaven before us. That's what's gonna make I mean that's one of the reasons that heaven is such a joyous and happy place, is that we get reunited with the ones we love, you know, with our with our children and our parents and and friends, and we never again have to worry about about losing them, you know, together celebrating. And that is the emotion that Jesus is trying to relay in this story when he looks at and he's being condemned for for hanging out with these people and loving on these people. And we're not talking about pets, we're not talking about possessions, we're talking about children, we're talking about God's children. The people that uh Jesus was hanging out with weren't sinners to God. They were his kids that had lost their way. And so he goes on. To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story. A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, I want my share of your estate now before you die. So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. A few days later, this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. And about the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into the fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him, but no one gave him anything. When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger. I'll go home to my father and say, Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you. I'm no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant. And so he returned home to his father, and while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, Father, I've sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. But his father said to the servants, Quick, bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet, and kill the calf we've been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for the son of mine was dead and is now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found. And so the party began. This is one of the stories in the Bible that has been so compelling, I guess, to me. I remember the first time when I was reading in the Old Testament, and I saw that it says that Moses talked to God like a friend talks to a friend. And it just blew me away because I'd never even thought that a person could be a friend with God. I'd always been taught that God's up here and we're down here serving him. And it just, I don't know, it just really affected me. And then this story, you know, the first time I read it with an open heart and could see myself in it, it was so overwhelming. I still have tears a lot of times when I reread this story, you know, that that, because I can just see myself on the younger brother. And I knew God had to be sick of me and and ready to punish me. And I never need never dreamed that he loved me as a son, you know, that that he knew who I was, that that he loved me as a son. He loves you as a son. He loves you as a daughter. You know, during the Lord's Supper, Susan asked us to think of someone beautiful and just how that first instinct was to think of her child. You know, if we ask God to think of someone beautiful, he would think of you. You. You are his daughter. You are his son. He loves you. And that's why I can confidently say that in the story, Jesus is talking directly to each of us. Because we've all had different lives, but at some time, in some way, we've all been this younger son. For me, it was a lot of times in a lot of ways. So that's why this story is so beautiful, it's so compelling, it's so it's so moving and encouraging. But the focus of the story is really the older brother. You know, that's the older brother represents who Jesus is speaking to, which are self-righteous Bible thumpers that are condemning everybody around them. Now, here's another reason I can say so confidently that Jesus is speaking directly to us in this story, is it's hard to admit, but I think that also, just like there's some younger brother in all of us, I think that there's older brother at times in all of us. Certainly it's true of me. And I think we'll see that as this story goes on. Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house. Music and dancing. See, that can't be right. Up to now, Jesus had been perfect. He'd like batted a thousand, a thousand for a thousand. But every good Christian knows God doesn't like music and dancing. Or maybe he does. Because in this story, he's throwing the party, and there's music, and there's dancing, and there's barbecue. And he asked one of the servants what was going on. This is the older brother. He says, What's going on? Your brother is back, he was told, and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return. The older brother was angry and wouldn't go in. Jesus in the stories created the exact situation the Pharisees are in. They're watching Jesus celebrate with tax collectors and prostitutes and sinners and all this. They won't go in. It's the exact same situation. His father came out and begged him, but he replied, All these years I've slaved for you, and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf. If you're here Friday night at uh Ultimate Day night, I said that there'd be a truth we would see in this story that really, if we can get a hold of, can help us to have just such a happier, more joyful and light-hearted life. The older brother in this story represents these Pharisees, and the Pharisees are unhappy, bitter, resentful people. And this is how this older brother is acting. And he makes a couple mistakes that we probably all make from time to time. The first is a little bit subtle, but he compares himself to his younger brother. I was good, but your son wasted your money on prostitutes. You threw a party for him, you don't throw a party for me. Heard someone say, I think it might have been Chip, but that comparison is the root of all insecurity. And it's also the root of most resentment and a lot of unhappiness. Comparing ourselves to other people. You know, if we didn't compare ourselves to other people, we would all feel smart enough, good looking enough, athletic enough, thin enough. Most of the stuff we own would be good enough. Most of our jobs would seem a lot better. Our spouses and family members would seem pretty great if we weren't constantly comparing them to our expectation of what they should be or with someone else's spouses or family members. See, the older brother's relationship with his dad didn't really have anything to do with his dad's relationship with the younger brother. But he was just comparing. He picked the things that he wanted to pick, and he compared. You can tell from the story, the dad's not a withholding type of dad. You know? I mean, he's the spoiling, uh overflowing, generous, loving kind of dad. But still, he had to pick out these few things. Galatians 6, it says, make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself. Don't compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life. In Luke 18, Jesus tells another story. It's a lot shorter than the one we're looking at. Um, but it's to the same group of people. It's another story, and it's to the Pharisees. And he says, then Jesus told the story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else. Two men went to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer. Thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don't cheat, I don't sin, I don't commit adultery. I'm certainly not like that tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income. But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, Oh God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner. I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Now, in this case, the Pharisee wasn't feeling bad because of the comparison. He was feeling proud because of the comparison. But every time we compare ourselves to other people, we're going to create some source of unhappiness, some sense of unhappiness. I can think of two stories uh that are, I don't know, come to come to mind. One was I was at a business dinner in in Fort Lauderdale, and we were uh we're eating at this restaurant, it's called Shula's. It's a it's a good steakhouse there. And had two guys, there's uh probably eight of us, but two guys, one I knew really well, and he's one of the most materialistic people I've ever known. Um but I really kind of have a soft spot for him. I and and and that wasn't so much annoying to me as it just made me a little bit sad for him. The other guy I didn't know as well. But they're both wearing Rolexes, and so they start looking at each other's Rolexes. And then the the guy says, Well, yeah, but this isn't my favorite Rolex, and he starts telling about his other Rolex, and then the guy starts telling about his other Rolex. Next thing you know, they're really having this battle about who has the most Rolexes. And and eventually they find out that they both have quite a few, but about the same amount. And so they move on, and so now they're talking about how they keep them wound, because you have to to wind them so they they stay accurate. And so this guy's got a self-winder where he puts these things in his safe and then the it gets wound. Well, the next guy, he had a better Rolex self-winder. And you can see the look on the my friend's face, the the materialistic one, because you know it's just I mean, how many people would be happy to afford a nice watch at all? And here's two guys literally miserable, just comparing themselves with each other. Uh we were on vacation once, and there was these two guys near me, and this one guy's telling the other guy about his boat. I think I've told this before. But he's got like a 20-foot uh runabout type boat, and and it's a really nice one. He's really proud of it. He's going on and on about how he got it and how he got it shipped, and he ordered it special, and he finishes the story, and the guy says, uh, he's talking to says, Man, I know what you mean. I've got uh um two of those boats. And he says, We live along a waterway, and I keep one um there behind our house, and the other one I just keep on the back of our yacht. And if you could have seen this guy's face, I mean he went from proud to miserable. I mean, I mean, wouldn't it anybody just be excited to have a nice boat to run around in? But what made him unhappy was comparison. You know, and and and these four, really the four guys I'm talking about were all miserable. And it's something they had in common with these with both of these sons. Because at one time, both of these sons are miserable. We call it the prodigal son because he was wasteful. But they both were miserable. They both were not connected to their dad that loved him. And where was the older brother? You know, when when when the younger brother's humiliating his dad publicly, where was he? Where defending his dad's honor? Or or when his younger brother's running off and is going to waste everything and ruin his life, where is he chasing him down, trying to help him? They both were estranged from their family, one by immaturity and just wildness, and the other by resentment and bitterness. Two lost sons. The older brother was full of pride and resentment, both which started as he was comparing. I'm so much better compared to my younger brother. You've done so little for me compared to what you've done for my younger brother. Jesus was another time was telling another story to the same group of Pharisees. I mean, he talked to these Pharisees a lot. He loved these guys, you know, but they were so hard-headed. And so he'd have to kind of give it to them between the eyes, you know, trying to shake them out of their self-dependence and their self-righteousness so they could reconnect with the Father that loved them. And so we've talked about this story, but he's telling about an employer that hired people throughout the day. And at the end of the day, he pays them all the same. And the ones that had been there all day were just furious. And Jesus says, Should you be jealous because I am generous to others? See, these guys would have gone home happy. They didn't have a job that morning. They got one, they got paid well, they could have gone home happy, they went home miserable. Why? Because they were comparing themselves with these other guys that didn't have to work as long and got paid the same amount. And we can learn a lot from this just one part of Jesus' teaching about how anytime we compare ourselves to other people, it ends up making us miserable. Um we can ask God to help us not to compare. Let's think about that. It's so easy. You know, last night, Susan and I were talking, there was something that need to be done, and I said, Well, you're more tired than I am, I'll go do it. And it's just like a dumb little thing, but I thought, see, I'm comparing. The point really should be, hey, you're really tired, I'll go do this. You know, and it's just, I think that if we're aware that during these next week, we're going to catch ourselves, comparing ourselves, good or bad, with people quite a bit. And so the opportunity is what Paul talks about, where he says, take every thought captive. You know, if if Jesus promises us joy and happiness, but he doesn't zap us with it. I mean, he does from time to time, but we become joyful and we become lighthearted, we become happy when we apply what he teaches us. And so we can learn from this uh this one thing and this one story. The second thing is even bigger. The Pharisees had a completely wrong understanding of their relationship with God. And so that's reflected in this older son. See, the older son thought he was a servant, he talked like an employee. You know how he described his life I've slaved for you. I never once refused to do a single thing you told me. You know, Jesus is talking to these legalistic people and describing how they think about God. It's how I was taught to think about God. That he's just looking for people to do whatever he tells them. As long as we completely obey and do everything he says, then he might be happy and someday we might get a reward for performing so well. A servant, an employee. See, the older son had the relationship wrong. His father said to him, Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. Dear son, he says, You know how Jesus called God Abba Father? You know, Paul says that we can call our Father in heaven Abba Father. Well, that that Hebrew word literally means daddy. You know, so just that word tells us about the relationship. That God is our daddy father. Well, the Greek trans the Greek word that's translated here, dear son, is the word technon, which means my baby or my child. You can just picture him talking to this older son who's all mad and upset and resentful. My baby. My son. See what confused the older brother is he didn't understand the relationship. How could his dad take his younger brother back? I mean, it's because he wasn't an employee that quit. He was his child. His baby. And he, though, older son, wasn't a property manager. He wasn't the estate runner. He was my dear son, my child, my baby to the Father. And that's great news for us because this one thing literally can change our whole lives. If we can get our minds and our hearts especially around this, and we'll have more happiness, we'll have more joy, we'll be more lighthearted. If we understand what our relationship is with God. In Romans 8, it says, this resurrection life you receive from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's an adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike, what's next, Papa? God's spirit touches our spirit and confirms who we really are. We know who He is, and we know who we are. Father and children. Everything I have is yours, he tells his son. God was not holding out on him. He's not holding out on us. You know, we've just got to stop telling ourselves. God's not really interested in me. He doesn't pay attention to me. He's never done anything for me. It's not true. He knows you. He loves you. You're his dear child. Everything he has is yours. Jesus finishes the story with the father telling the older brother. We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life. He was lost, but now he is found. Two lost sons. You know, and the father went out and met them both. Embracing them, telling them how much he loved him. And so what did the older son do? We don't know. We don't know. It's kind of like in the story of Jonah, you know, where it just ends, and so we can kind of fill in the rest, put ourselves in the story. Well, the reason Jesus doesn't finish the story is because the Pharisees were going to finish the story. This story was for them, this story was about them. And it was up to them. What would they do? You know, not every Pharisee stayed outside the party. You know, some of the Pharisees joined the party, like Nicodemus, the one that God or that Jesus explained to him that you must be born again. And well, you know what after Jesus was crucified, it's Nicodemus is the one that's bringing the spices and the oil and preparing Jesus and retrieving his body. The Apostle Paul calls himself the Pharisee of all Pharisees. You know, but he eventually joined the party. I mean, what a party that could have been. Can you imagine the joy in that house that day? The younger son comes home, just kind of gets rid of the shame. He's fed, he's happy, he now knows the relationship that he has with his dad, how much his dad loves him. The older brother could be thrilled that his younger brother is back and he's safe and he's home. It'd be the best day in this dad's life. Estatic. His family back together, his son, who he thought was lost, is now found. Man, what a party that could be. So let's not make ourselves proud or miserable, comparing ourselves with each other. And we definitely don't want to live like we're slaves or like we're employees serving a tough taskmaster. You know, we're sons and daughters of our loving Father. And Jesus says that should make us want to party. That was the other point of all three stories, is it should make us want to party, to celebrate. Now that's why we party on Sunday. It's because we're such a messy mix of younger brothers and older brothers and younger sisters and older sisters. Some of us have, like the younger brother, have kind of crashed and burned and God's getting it back together. Others of us have have really stayed kind of close to God and tried to live uh the way that He would want us to, but maybe have been burnt by church, or maybe didn't know, had never been told what the real relationship was. That we're not his servants, we're his family. And so if we can see ourselves in the story, we can see why we should celebrate, why it's a party on Sunday, why we're excited to be together, why we're excited to have such a great God that loves us. Because we're sons and we're daughters of a father who loves us and who always will, who always will, no matter what, no matter how far you go, no matter if you catch a bad attitude, you've got a father who loves you. You're his baby, you're his child, always has, and he always will. And so if the worship team wants to come up, we'll get ready. In fact, let's stand. We will uh celebrate uh together one last time. Hey, before I forget, please don't miss next week unless you have to. You know, I think next week's gonna be a pretty cool Sunday. We're gonna finish up with this story, and I think it'll be a significant day, not just maybe in our lives, but also a kind of a significant day for us as a church. So you'll see what I mean uh next week. So in talking about the younger brother, he says that while he was still a long ways off, his father runs out to meet him. And it may be that you feel a long ways off, that you're just so separated from God, that you've gotten so far. Um He's chasing after you. We just have to be stopped. We just have to stop, and we'll be found. You know, his thing is he wants to hold us, he wants to embrace us, just like the Father in the story that Jesus told. And being found is easy. Joining the party is so simple. That's why Jesus came, it's why he gave his life. It's so we could be reconnected with the Father that loves us. And we do that really in our own words, in our own way. I get asked sometimes why, you know, when I when I talk, I don't give a prayer to repeat. And there's certainly that's a great thing to do, and a lot of people do. But the reason I don't is because our relationship with Father is a unique and personal relationship. And so when we go into that relationship, I want us to start it in a unique and personal way. It's you that he loves, it's you that he wants to celebrate over. And however you would say that to him, I'm home, help me. I'm sorry, I want to follow you, teach me, whatever that is, in your own words. The point is the reconnection. The point is trusting in Jesus to take care of all that mess. And he does. And he does the heavy lifting, and he fills us with his spirit, and he strengthens us from the inside out, and he gives us his word to teach us and each other to help each other. And we go from there and we get better and better. Sons and daughters celebrating what a great dad we have. Let's pray. Father, we do praise you, we do love you, we thank you. It's hard for me even to understand, but we just thank you for having such love for each of us, for knowing each of us intimately, for knowing our names, for knowing our strengths, for knowing the things that you're working on, and loving us just the same. Help us to see that, Father. Get that inside of us, knowing what our relationship is, that we'll never be employees or your servants, that we are your children, your babies, your dear sons, your dear daughters. We thank you, we thank you, we thank you, and we love you. In Jesus' name.

Amen.