Well, good morning again. Welcome to Blacksburg Christian Fellowship. We're delighted you're here with us this morning. If you have a Bible, a physical one or an electronic one, go ahead and open that up. At home, grab your Bible. Grab another cup of coffee for me. And let's dig into the Word of God together. This morning we'll be studying the third parable in Luke chapter 15. We'll be reading verses 11 through 32. And if you would stand with me in honor of God and His Word. This is Luke 15, starting in verse 11. And 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 the property that is coming to me. And he divided the property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country. And there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself, he said, how many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger. I will arise and I will go to my father and I will say to him, father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants. And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am 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 and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet and bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let us eat and celebrate for my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found. And they began to celebrate. 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 one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound. But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, look, these many years I have 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 came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him. And he said to him, son, you are always with me and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad. For this, your brother was dead and is alive. He was lost and is found. Father, we come to worship you this morning. We ask you now to teach us from your word, to challenge us, to rebuke us, to exhort us, to encourage us, whatever we need this morning. Would you do that in our hearts and in our minds? And in the end, Father, would we see you as this glorious, good, compassionate, loving, gracious Father? We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. You can be seated. Well, we have been going through the book of Luke. It's been a joy to just steadily walk through one of the books of the Bible. I hope you enjoy that opportunity to do that and you read along. So we continue this morning in Luke. Soon we'll take a pause for the Christmas season Advent. We'll have a special sermon series that will be focused on the King, King Jesus. And so we're working on that, and that'll start here very soon. But as we continue in Luke, let's remind ourselves briefly about last week. Last week we heard, as Jim opened up the Word for us, about the cost of discipleship, what it costs to follow Jesus. It has great potential costs for those of us who choose to follow Him. We might suffer relationships with our family. We might lose relationships for following Jesus. We might personally suffer and be persecuted as we follow Jesus. And we might even need to really renounce everything that we own, give up all possessions to follow Him as Lord. As we pick up this morning in Luke chapter 15, I want you to notice in verse one something very important. Right there in verse one of Luke 15, Luke records, now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. Now this is on purpose by Luke. Jesus just talked about how hard it's going to be to follow Him. And yet now the tax collectors and the sinners are drawing near to Him. They were not pushed away by the cost. They actually were drawn near and they want to hear more. I wonder if they actually were so intrigued, but they wondered. Who is it that can actually count the cost and follow Jesus? Is it possible for even us to follow Jesus? See, the tax collectors and the sinners were culturally outcasts. They were not accepted in the culture around them. They weren't even received in the religious culture. They weren't allowed to be a part of the Jewish religious community at the time. And this is why in verse 2 of chapter 15 that Luke records that the Pharisees and the scribes were also present. See, they wanted to check in on Jesus. They weren't happy with him. And the text says that they were grumbling that Jesus is welcoming in tax collectors and sinners. And I think they want to make sure Jesus doesn't go too far, that he doesn't give them some assurance that they actually can be accepted by God and be part of the religious community of the day. Now they're probably standing a little bit far off because they don't want to get too close and defile themselves. They're good religious leaders. They're grumbling about this. And so there's the scene. The sinners and the tax collectors have come close to Jesus, and the Pharisees and the scribes standing around looking down. And Jesus takes this opportunity, as is very typical of Jesus, and he's going to teach. And he teaches these three parables in Luke chapter 15. Our third, as you noticed, is the focus of today. Chris mentioned it, probably one of the most famous parables that Jesus has ever taught, along with the Good Samaritan. Now, when we read a parable, let me encourage you, when you read a parable, don't get lost in too many of the details. Details are helpful, but the point is not the details. The point is that Jesus is telling the story, not because he's a great storyteller. He's trying to illustrate a truth about the kingdom of God for us who are listening, who are now reading this parable. And so the first parable is about the lost sheep. and how if you were a shepherd and one sheep wandered away and you had 99 still at home, you would leave the 99 to go find the lost sheep. And then the second parable is about the lost coin. You lose this coin in your house, it's valuable, you tear up the whole house trying to find it. And in both cases, the point is, you will do anything to find that which is lost, but then there's this celebration, there's this joy when what was lost is now found. That's the point of the two parables, that in the kingdom of God there is this grand celebration in heaven when a person who is lost is found, when they repent of their sin, when they trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sin, and then they're adopted into the family of God. There's a party. That's what Jesus is trying to tell and then he continues in our third parable. He's trying to continue to emphasize this point by telling the story of two sons and their father. So let's just look at the younger son, the father and the older son and see what we can learn from this text. Here we have the younger son. He comes to his father and he asks his father for his share of the inheritance. Now we don't know why he asks his father for his portion of the inheritance because I don't think the motivation necessarily matters. But what is important to know is that to get the inheritance means he's done with the family. He wants to be done with his father. For whatever reason, there's a brokenness there. He wants to be finished with his father. And so he says, can I have my inheritance? Really, dad, I would rather you were dead because I want the cash. That's what he's saying. It's pretty harsh. Now, in the Old Testament, we would know this is pretty rare to ask for this, and even if the father would grant it, the firstborn, the older brother, would get two-thirds of the inheritance, and the younger, according to Deuteronomy 21, would get the other third of the inheritance. I mean, this is a shocking request. Those around would have been amazed that Jesus is telling the story, assuming they know exactly how it's going to play out. In fact, this is so unusual that if a son really did this, it would be normal for the father on the spot to disown him and kick him out of the house. That's how shocking this is. But if that isn't shocking enough, what the father does later is even more shocking, and we'll look at that. later. So the father gives him the request. Several days later, he probably takes time to sell the portion to get his cash. He leaves home and he goes to a far off country. Now, now he can live his life. He can call the shots. He can be in charge. He can do what he wants to do. And he's not burdened by this relationship with his father and his family. So he goes off into a foreign land on a grand adventure. And Jesus, in a very clean version, says he lived recklessly. The older brother doesn't filter it so much. The older brother tells us that he was out with prostitutes. So the younger son has gone to live recklessly, and in his reckless living, he squanders everything. The entire inheritance is gone. He has nothing left. And it's so bad, there's no food, there's a famine, he has to feed pigs. And he's so hungry, he just wishes he could eat the pigs' food. I mean, he is miserable. Don't get past this. This again is so shocking to the listeners around him. This would be unheard of for any good Jewish person to work with pigs, let alone want to eat their food. Jesus is a masterful storyteller. He is drawing his audience in through shock and now disgust. I can imagine the Pharisees and the scribes, probably like me and many of you, would have the same reaction. Well, the younger son got what he deserved. That's right. He should be miserable. He deserves it, asking his father for inheritance. That's what you get. But the story turns in verse 17. When the younger son comes to himself, it means he came to his senses. He realized not just his terrible situation, but he realized his sin. He realized that he had sinned against his father and against heaven, which means against God. And he's so desperate, he humbles himself. And he decides to go back home hoping maybe, maybe there's a chance his father will just hire him as a servant so that he could work each day and have a little bit of bread. And so he heads back home, miserable, humble, repentant. I think this is the part of the story that Jesus is telling for the tax collectors and sinners. I think they're the ones that know that they're sinners. I mean, you can't be more obvious when you label somebody sinners. It's clear, they know who they are. The whole world calls them sinners. And so Jesus, I think, is telling them the story so they can identify with the younger son. that they could say, yes, we have sinned as well. This is an invitation for them to realize their sin, to admit it, and to turn from it, to repent, and to come back home to God. This is what the son does. He decides to come home. Now imagine, again, put yourself in this scenario and the shock and the disgust of this story that many would have had. and now the son is on his way home, how's the father going to respond? How's he going to respond? You know, the story is so often told even by our label, as Chris mentioned, calling it the prodigal son, but really, the son is not the hero. The son is not the hero of the story because he humbles himself and he repents and he comes home. No, the hero of the story is the father. Look in verse 20, and while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him. You ever thought, how would the father know the son was coming? He's gone. The father's gone. How would he ever know today's the day my son returns? I don't think he would know. So I think what that indicates is that every day or multiple times a week, the father takes time and he goes out and he looks on the horizon trying to see, is he home today? Is he coming? Is he coming today? It's a normal habit for the father to hope and pray that his son would come home. I'm sure some of you, many of you have watched those videos of soldiers returning from deployment or war. Many are the surprise visits, but some of my favorites are when the soldier is coming home into the airport and the family's waiting in the airport for the soldier to turn the corner. And there is this huge celebration and embracing. I don't know about you, but every time those are on, my house fills with dust and I get real, I don't know what it is. But you just can't help but tear up with joy. This family is reunited. Those are wonderful stories, but that pales in comparison to what this father does with his son. He sees him, he recognizes his walk from far off, and he runs to him, and he embraces him, and he kisses him. But what about the whole, I wish you were dead thing? I mean, how could this father do this? I'm sure he might be glad he's home and he welcomes him home. But now, right, the hammer is going to fall. Punishment is going to come on the son. I'm sure the son is just waiting for that hammer to fall and he starts to confess his sin to his father. But before the son can get to the statement where he wants to ask to be a hired servant, the father interrupts him. And he tells his servants, go gather everything. We're going to have a party. My son is home. My son is home and we're going to celebrate. What kind of father would not only welcome his son who wished he was dead, but then throw a party for him? What kind of father is this? Well, it's a father full of compassion and love and forgiveness and grace. And it's this compassion of the father that allows him to go against all these cultural norms. all the expectations and to run and embrace and kiss his son and throw a party for him, welcoming home, not as a servant, but as his son. This is the point of this story. Jesus is showing us that this father is like God, that God is a heavenly father who is gracious and compassionate, who is slow to anger and abounding in love. For any sinner who humbles themselves, any sinner who humbles themselves and confesses and repents of their sins and trusts in Christ, they will be welcomed home as a daughter or a son. They don't get welcomed back just as a hired servant. They get welcomed back as a child of the Father. This is such beautiful compassion and love and forgiveness and grace from the Father. It is scandalous. But this is who God is as our Heavenly Father. This is who He is for all who turn from their sin, trust in Christ and come home. Even now, God is waiting and watching for the return of the sinner, even a tax collector and a sinner, waiting for them to turn, to ask for forgiveness so He can embrace them, offer forgiveness, and call them His daughter or son. See, there is always hope for forgiveness and restoration with God as you trust in Christ. to pay for the sin that you deserve, if you trust in Christ, then God will welcome you home with open arms and an embrace and a kiss. You know, we don't have this kind of culture anymore, do we? Many of you know the phrase, the cancel culture. We live in a culture that if you do one thing wrong at any point in your life and it shows up again on social media or not, then you're out. You're no longer allowed to have any voice. You're not accepted. You're not respected anymore. One mistake and you're done. That's the way our current world operates. There's no opportunity for redemption in our world. And yet here, For this son who wished his father was dead, there is opportunity for redemption as he humbles himself and he repents of his sin and he comes home. What a glorious heavenly father we have who is so compassionate and so gracious and so forgiving that even if we were lost in our sin, he will welcome us home. Now this would have been an incredible story right there, we could just end it, but that's not the end of the story, as you know. There's this other son that's a part of this story. Jesus has more to say to the crowd around him. Because those who are dead and lost in their sins are not just the ones who are far off from God. But actually those who are lost in their sin are some who think they are very close to God. And in fact, they are just as lost and dead in their sins as the younger son used to be. This next part of the story is probably directed right at the Pharisees and the scribes, the religious leaders, the good guys, as they would label themselves. Now, the older son doesn't even know that the party's happening. Why? Because he's the good older son. He's out working. He's being diligent. He's doing his chores. He's doing what he's supposed to do. He has no idea there's even a party. He comes close to the house, hears the noise, asks what is going on, and he finds out not his brother is home, but his father's son is home. Did you notice that? Not my brother, but my father's son is home, and there's a party for him? Oh, and he is angry. And he refuses to go in. He just can't believe that this brother of his who devoured his father's property with prostitutes would have the fattened calf killed for him. Fattened calf was for a big celebration, a wedding, a big party. He doesn't deserve that. Why would he throw a party for him? So the older brother knows he deserves the party because he has served his father faithfully for many years. And in his words, he never disobeyed his father's commands. Not once, he thinks. He doesn't even get a little goat for his buddies. How dare his father do this? But again, the story turns in verse 31. When the father says to the son, son, you are always with me and all that is mine is yours. The older son was always with the father. He was in close proximity to the father, but he viewed his relationship with his father as one of master and servant only. And He served Him just so He would be rewarded and be viewed as the good Son. I think Jesus includes this part of the story because He wants us to understand that the older Son is just as lost, just as separated from the Father as the younger Son. He is alienated from His Father as well. While the younger son was blinded by his selfishness and greed, the older brother was blinded by his pride and his greed. The older was really living as a hired servant instead of the son of a compassionate, loving, forgiving, gracious father. It was actually his service to his father that blinded him. that blinded him, and he couldn't see the beauty of the relationship he could have with his father. It was all about him, just like the younger son had been. But I want us to notice, again, the hero of the story. How does the father respond to the fact that the older brother wouldn't come in? Well, before they even interact, you notice in verse 28, Jesus says, his father came out. and entreated him. The father doesn't let the older brother just hang outside and say, well, he can just deal with it on his own. No, the father goes to him as well. He went to the younger son and now he goes to the older son to entreat him, to beg him, come in, be a part of the family, celebrate with us. Your brother is home. The father treats both sons the same. They're lost in their sin. He goes to them. He invites them in. He welcomes them into his home. He wants them to enjoy being his child and being in relationship. Now, in the end of this parable, we don't know how the older son responded. Jesus doesn't tell us whether the older son stayed outside or came back in. We're left to wonder. But I think that's purposeful from Jesus. Because I think Jesus wants to leave His audience and us with the question, which son do we identify with? And how am I going to respond to this beautiful invitation from the Father, from God, the Heavenly Father? For those that are like the younger son, it's probably easy to see that you have walked away from God. that you decided to live your own independent life. You didn't want a relationship with him. You wanted to take care of yourself. You wanted to be completely in charge. You certainly didn't want to pay any kind of price of following Jesus. No way. I don't want to give up my life. I don't think he's worth it. But if you were to come to your senses, you would see the miserable state of your life in your sin and that you are separated from God. And without repentance and trusting in Christ, you will forever be separated from this God who loves you, who is filled with compassion. He's just waiting for you to turn, to repent, to trust in Christ and to come home. And then you could experience the joy of the God who created you embracing you, welcoming you into His family as a daughter or a son. He will then provide for your every need. Never again will you ever want for anything you need. He will take care of all your needs. So Jesus tells the story to the tax collectors and the sinners, who are some of us, and says, will you come home? And when you do, this is what will be said of you. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you, but but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. Yes, you have sinned against God, but if you repent and turn, God will welcome you in. He will wash you clean. All your sins forgiven on the cross with Jesus. And he makes you his child. What kind of father is that? Oh, a glorious father who is worth everything in our life. So what do you do with that story if you made that decision years ago? You praise God. Even if you were four years old when you trusted in Christ, you praise God that he's washed you. that He sanctified you, that He justified you, and that He's adopted you into His family. Praise God. But maybe, maybe you identify with the older son. Maybe you're the one that has done all the right things, and that you're convinced that your religious fervor Your consistent viewing of worship services or attending church worship services makes you good. You make sure that you tithe your 10%, and so you are doing the right thing. You have all the right views that are important in the world. You know how everything should work in the world. You've got it figured out. And if people would just listen to you, then all the problems would be solved. I mean, you're the one that's holding firm to true religion and service to God. You don't engage in any kind of filth in your life. Maybe you're like the older brother, that deep in your heart, you believe because what you have done for God, you deserve the party. The problem is, is that just like the older brother, you are blinded by pride. and greed of your own, that you think your attempts at being a servant of God are what make you acceptable to God. The scriptures are clear. All have sinned. Everyone has sinned. And the problem is because you think that your service to God is what makes you acceptable, that you're better than the tax collectors and the sinners. That's the problem. And because of that, you've missed the true relationship that is available to you with God, the Heavenly Father, through Christ. This Christian thing becomes a box-check thing. You just check off the boxes, do all the right things. How do you know if you're an older brother type? Well, maybe when you see a sinner, you think they get what they deserve. Yeah, they're getting what they deserve instead of bowing your knees, begging God to save them for their sin. Maybe you're angry and bitter and frustrated when people are celebrated when they shouldn't be because they're sinners. Maybe you've lost your first love and now you're treating church and Christianity merely as this to-do list instead of a love relationship with your Heavenly Father. Well, if this is you, God is coming to you as well. He's inviting you to repent from your sin of pride and arrogance and saying, admit your sin. Repent from your sin. Nothing you can do will please me. Your works are filthy rags to me, but Christ, He did all the work that was required perfectly. And if you trust in His work, then you too can receive forgiveness and be welcomed home into the family. No longer am I just a master to serve, God says to you, but I'm a father who loves you. So will you come home? Will you come home and be in my family? Many of you know that our youngest, Caleb, is adopted. And those of you that have adopted children, you know that there is a special joy in adoption, a unique challenge in adoption as well. One of the aspects that I find so incredibly beautiful about adoption is who becomes the parents of the adopted child. You know, on Caleb's birth certificate, Lisa and I are named as his parents. Lisa did not give birth to him, but we are on his birth certificate as his mother and his father. He has been brought in to our family. He is our son. What what an incredible joy it is to know that at one point he was not our son and now he is our son and we love him and we will do everything we can to take care of him. But how much greater it is to be adopted into God's family. how much greater is it is. Paul wrote in Ephesians 1, in love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace with which he has blessed us in the beloved. You can be made right with God. You can be forgiven of your sin. You can be sanctified and washed clean. But then like these boys, you can be welcomed in to the family with God as your loving, compassionate, gracious, forgiving Heavenly Father. Regardless of who you are, tax collector, sinner, Pharisee, or scribe, Trust in Christ and you too will have God's name written on your new birth certificate as your heavenly father for all of eternity. Praise God. Father, we love you. We thank you that in spite of our sin, whether we were religiously serving you thinking that's what made us worthy of your love and forgiveness, or whether we squandered everything and rebelled against you, that regardless, You come to us. You invite us in to repent, to turn from our sin, and to trust in Christ, who lived the life we never could live. And it's His work on the cross that now covers us, pays for our sin, is the payment we should have paid. He paid it. And His shed blood covers us, washes us clean. We're made right in Your sight. And not only that, Father, we are now adopted. When we trust in Christ, we are adopted into your family. And your name is written on our new birth certificate. Father, thank you that you are so loving, so gracious, so compassionate, so forgiving. We give you all the praise and the glory. In Jesus' name, amen.