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Luke 15
[SLIDE – Sovereign Grace – "What do you give the man who has
everything?"]
"What do you give the man who has
everything?" The luxury end of the retail industry is fond of posing
that question in commercials. "What do you give the man who's got it
all?" cue rugged hero draped in a sultry blonde. The answer to this
question always seems to be “some kind of razor.” It always seems a
little paltry to me.
But then if the guy ACTUALLY had it
all, ANYTHING would seem paltry. You could present him with anything you
liked but if it's already his it’s unlikely he’d be overwhelmed by your
generosity. Think about it- if you were ever faced with the prospect of
getting something for the man who literally had everything, it would get
a little tricky. FIRST you'd have to steal it off him, I mean you
couldn't buy it off him- where would you get the money? It's all his.
Then you'd have to wrap it with his own stash of wrapping paper and send
it to him Cash on Delivery.
Why am I even discussing this
ridiculous idea? Well what do you give the God who owns everything?
[SLIDE –"What do you give the God who has everything?"]
We worship a Sovereign God – as Jenny
has explained to us this morning. So what is there that can we present to
Him to win His favour? How can we buy off a Sovereign God? Do we have any
bargaining chips with the eternal Sovereign LORD?
The story of human religion is the
story of people trying to answer that question in the affirmative. “Yes
we can win favour with the Sovereign Lord, and here’s how – we pray and
fast and give to charity and visit the temple and sacrifice our children
and our goats and our money and we cut ourselves and make pilgrimages and
serve god in brave and bold ways, doing mighty deeds. All of this we give
to god and he will repay us – he’ll answer our prayers or he’ll take us
to paradise.”
[SLIDE – human religion]
That’s human religion – we give to God
in some way and he repays us. And under this state of affairs there are
some people who opt into the religious system and try to be good. And
there are those who look at the demands and say “forget you God – I’m out
of here.”
[SLIDE – opt in, opt out]
Those two groups of people are
brilliantly summed up in this parable which Lee read for us. We have the
younger brother saying “stuff you, I’m outta here.”
[SLIDE – younger brother]
And we have the older brother saying “I’ll
work the system and I’ll reap the rewards.”
[SLIDE – older brother]
Look with me at the passage we’ve just
had read – Luke 15 from verse 11. You’ll see the Bible translators have
given the passage a heading: ‘The Parable of the Lost Son.’ That’s a little
misleading – as though the story was just about the younger brother. Look
at how the parable begins – v11: “There was a man who had two sons.” This
is really the parable of the two sons – the younger and the older
brother. And that’s important, because Jesus is wanting to speak to two
kinds of people. We see Jesus’ intended audience in verses 1 and 2 of the
chapter – look with me:
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to
hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This
man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.”
That is the audience for Jesus’
parable. There are some tax collectors and sinners – people who overtly
and obviously flout God’s laws.
[SLIDE – rule breakers]
And there are some Pharisees and teachers
of the law who were all about following the rules.
[SLIDE – rule makers]
Do you see the distinction? There are
those who have opted out of religion – they’re sinners and they don’t
care if the whole world knows it. And there are those who have opted into
religion – and they care very much about the system, about keeping rules
about being good. And, do you see in v2, these moral policemen, the
Pharisees are muttering: ‘This man [Jesus] welcomes sinners, and eats
with them.’
That’s the context in which Jesus
tells this parable. The religious types are incensed that Jesus welcomes
sinners! The Son of God by-passes the religious system. Jesus accepts the
people who have so publicly thrown out the rule-book. And to the
Pharisees who live by the rule-book – they are outraged.
And so Jesus tells them a story where
a loving father welcomes and eats with his rebellious son. Next week,
Jenny will look more closely at the younger brother. But this morning,
we’re going to focus on the older brother who represents all the
moralising Pharisee types.
Let’s see the conclusion to Jesus’
parable from v25. Here we find the older brother out in the field. The
field seems to be his natural habitat. He is hard working and diligent,
you can imagine him, sunburnt, aching, the sweat pouring down his face
after another long day slaving away. What a contrast with the party
that’s going on inside his father’s house. There’s music and dancing,
shouts of joy, the smell of a roast. In verse 26, he calls one of the
servants to ask what’s going on. In v27 he hears the words: “Your brother
has come and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him
back safe and sound.”
Now is the test for the older brother.
What is his heart really like? If the older brother was anything like his
father, he would rejoice. That’s what the father did when the younger son
returned, look at v20:
“While he [the younger son] was still a long way off, his father
saw him and was filled with compassion for him, he ran to his son, threw
his arms around him, and kissed him.”
Would the older brother do the same?
Did he have the same gracious heart as his dad? No.
Verse 28: ‘The older brother became
angry and refused to go in.’ Here is such a damning indictment of the
older brother. Up until verse 28 it looked like the younger brother was
the bad guy and the older brother – the stay-at-home, dependable brother
– was the good guy. Here we realise the truth. The older son is not like
his immoral brother, no. But he’s nothing like his dad either. The older son
is as far from his father as the younger son ever was. The stunning twist
in this tale is that actually both sons have stolen themselves away from
the father. The younger ran away in overt rebellion. The older has kept
himself aloof through obsessive performance – but they both had a real
relationship problem with the father.
And the father who had just run out of
the house to meet the younger son is now, in v28 leaving the house again
to retrieve a lost son. This father doesn’t have favourites, he longs to
joyfully accept both son. So comes out to plead with his eldest.
But the older son is not having any of
it. In verse 29 – the older son, on behalf of all the law-abiding of this
world, puts his case. Here is the national anthem of the moralist:
“Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never
disobeyed your orders.”
Look at the record books dad. I think
you’ll find that I have done my bit. Study the accounts and you’ll see I
have slaved for you. Think back across our history together, my obedience
has been perfect. Check out my performance – the figures don’t lie.
It is clear that the older son sees
himself in terms of achievements. He judges himself and expects others to
judge him by a system of performance and obedience.
It’s so interesting that the older
brother never says “Hey dad – aren’t I your son too?!” He never talks of
his relationship to the father. He never says “Hey dad – remember those
family outings we had, don’t you love me too?!” (It's clear from these
verses that the father does love him too - but that's not the recognition
he’s looking for.) He wants his achievements acknowledged: “All these
years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders.”
The madness of the older son is that
he would rather be known as a good slave than as a loved son.
Do you see that same madness in
yourself? It’s in all of us to some extent. There is some crazy part of
every human being that would rather be a good slave than a loved child.
It is deep inside us to relate to God on the basis of our merit, our hard
work, our moral observance. And it is spiritual poison. If we let it rule
our hearts then in this life it will lead to endless striving, unease,
joylessness, self-righteousness when things go well, and self-pity when
they don’t. In the next life, it will lead to eternal separation from God
and His grace. We ought to notice that at the end of this story the older
brother is outside the father’s house, and refuses to go in. If we fail
to accept God’s grace at the end of our story, we too will be separated
from our Father in Heaven.
It’s vital that we learn the lessons
of this parable. We do not want to be like the older son. So we’ll spend
the rest of our time looking at two reasons why we ought to give up on
being an older son.
The first reason is:
[SLIDE - God does not need our good works!]
God does not need our good works!
Perhaps the best place to see this is
in Romans chapter 11. Here Paul ends a whole argument about the grace of God
which has lasted 11 chapters. This is his conclusion:
[SLIDE - Romans 11]
"Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his
counselor?"
"Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?"
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
Here Paul begins with a couple of
quotations from the Old Testament. The first is from Isaiah: "Who
has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?"
Great question - the answer is nobody!
No-one has ever given God an idea and He's said 'That's ingenius, I wish
I'd thought of that!' God does not need us to give Him our collected
wisdom.
The second quotation from the Old
Testament is from the book of Job. There it says: "Who has ever
given to God, that God should repay him?"
Again, great question - the answer?
Nobody! No-one has ever presented to God something that He didn't own
already. What do you get the man who has everything - you can't. He
doesn't owe you. God cannot owe you - you're the one who owes Him!
Why? Well the concluding verses are
key:
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
God is the origin of all things, He is
the sustainer of all things, He is the goal of all things. Everything - your
life, your circumstances, your talents, they are all the gift of God.
They are His. You cannot offer Him anything He doesn't already own. That
is the sovereign grace of God. He is the giver, not us. And to the giver
goes the glory.
Are you prepared to admit this?
Everything you have has been given to you. That sweet disposition of your
character that makes you so easy to get along with. Do you know what that
is? That’s the gift of God. That easy generosity you have which so many
have benefited from: that too is the gift of God. That long-suffering
spirit you have that enables you to serve people long after others have
given up: the gift of God – to Him be the glory, not to you. Are you
prepared to admit this?
If you're not, you'll end up like this
older brother – pointing to your moral performance. You will be denying
at a fundamental level the sovereign grace of God.
God does not need your good works –
your performance or your morality. God is not a needy employer, looking
for workers. Who has ever given to God that God should repay Him?
That’s the first reason we mustn’t be
like the older son. The second reason is:
[SLIDE - God doesn’t want things from us – He wants us.]
God doesn’t want things from us – He
wants us.
Look with me at the father’s response to the older son in v31:
With two words the father sets things
straight. He says ‘My son’.
The older son had been saying “Look
what a great slave I am.” The father says “my son.” He reminds him
immediately of the relationship which he really wants.
"You are always with me, and everything I have is
yours."
That’s the flipside to the point we
saw in Romans 11. In Romans 11 we noted that everything we have is from
God. Here the father phrases it in the positive – “everything I have, I
give to you.” All he wants is for this child of his to cease his
declaration of independence and to come in and celebrate.
The older son refuses to go in because
he would rather be a slave than a son. He would rather offer things to
God than to offer himself.
But where are you on this?
Are you a Christian who recognizes the
older brother in yourself? This is such a danger. When the Bible speaks
of the sinful nature which resides in every person, it primarily refers
to this older brother mentality of trying to earn God’s favour rather
than resting in His grace. That is the sinful nature and it will kill
your intimacy with God. I find that my own prayer life can be as dry as a
desert at exactly the same time as my outward Christian obedience is
going quite well. Why is that? Often it’s because I’ve been relating to
God like an employee with something to offer, rather than as a son with
everything to be thankful for. I have forgotten that everything I have
and everything I’ve done has been a gift. I have forgotten my desperate
need of God for all things. So often I’ve had to break off a prayer-time
and remind myself that Jesus tells us to approach Him like ‘little
children.’ Unless we have that child-like complete dependence as we come
to Jesus then we will know nothing of the celebration and joy to which He
beckons us. We will be like the older son, stuck in the field,
complaining that our slaving is not being acknowledged. So to the
Christians – let’s remember the sovereign grace of God, God is not your
employer, He’s your father.
Finally, if you’re not yet a
Christian, thank you very much for coming this morning. I’d like you to
know two things as we close: firstly, the love of this father is not just
a nice idea. You are currently sitting in a room full of people who know
this love for themselves and it is more real than anything in their life.
If you want to know where they’ve found this love – it’s Jesus. Remember
Jesus tells this story to counter the allegation of verse 2: that he
welcomes sinners and eats with them. It is Jesus who can show us the kind
of extravagant accepting love that we see in the father of this story.
Jesus is the one who actually receives sinners. He is the one who
literally puts flesh and bones on the concept of the God of Grace. If you
want to know this unconditional love, then you must enquire after Jesus.
Secondly, if you want to enter this relationship of grace – understand
God’s sovereignty. Everything you have and everything you are has been
given to you. You draw another breath only because He graciously gives
you one. God does not need your morality, He doesn’t need your service.
But He does want you. Turn to Him. Enter into this relationship which
Jesus offers. Let go of the idea that you are in control. Let go of the
idea that you are good. Let go of the idea that you don’t need Him.
Outside the father’s house there is
slavery: constant striving, anger, resentment and ugly
self-righteousness. Inside the house there is freedom: self-forgetful,
child-like joy.
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