Our Generous Joyful God

The book of Luke, chapter 15, on page 1048.

Luke 15 · chapter mention

And we're going to be thinking together about what will be for many of us a very familiar parable.

From verse 11 onwards, but we're going to read the whole chapter.

The parable of our generous, joyful God.

So Luke 15, page 1048, beginning at verse 1.

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering round to hear him.

But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered,

This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.

Then Jesus told them this parable.

Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them.

Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?

And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home.

Then he calls his friends and neighbours together and says,

Rejoice with me, I have found my lost sheep.

I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents

than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one.

Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?

And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbours together and says,

Rejoice with me, I have found my lost coin.

In the same way I tell you there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God

over one sinner who repents.

Jesus continued,

Jesus continued,

There was a man who had two sons.

The younger one said to his father,

Father, give me my share of the estate.

So he divided his property between them.

Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had,

set off for a distant country,

and there squandered his wealth and wild living.

After he had spent everything,

there was a severe famine in that whole country,

and he began to be in need.

So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country

who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.

He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating,

but no one gave him anything.

When he came to his senses, he said,

How many of my father's hired men have food to spare,

and here I am starving to death.

I will set out and go back to my father and say to him,

Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

I am no longer worthy to be called your son.

Make me like one of your hired men.

So he got up and went to his father,

but while he 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.

The son said to him,

Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

I am no longer worthy to be called your son.

But the father said to his servants,

Quick, bring the best robe and put it on him.

And put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

Bring the fattened calf and kill it.

Let's have a feast and celebrate,

for this son of mine was dead and is alive again.

He was lost and is found.

So they began to celebrate.

Meanwhile, the older son was in the field.

When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing.

So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on.

Your brother has come, he replied,

And your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.

The older brother became angry and refused to go in.

So his father went out and pleaded with him.

But he answered his father,

Look, all these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders.

Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.

But when this son of yours, who has squandered your property with prostitutes, comes home,

you kill the fattened calf for him.

My son, the father said,

You are always with me and everything I have is yours.

But we had to celebrate and be glad

because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again.

He was lost and is found.

Stories are powerful things, aren't they?

Salman Rushdie, the author,

said that those who do not have the power over the story that dominates their lives

truly are powerless because they cannot think new thoughts.

And if we were to ask someone who was always told,

You'll never amount to anything, I'm sure that they would agree.

If we were to go into a culture where your class or your caste determines your work and your future,

your friendships, your station in life,

I'm sure they would understand that stories can become like weapons.

They can be a way to keep people down.

In a way, they can extinguish hope.

They can say, Well, we are on the side that is right and you, you are permanent outsiders.

Just ask the religious outsiders of Jesus' day.

What was the story that they heard?

When we look at these first couple of verses,

as we have the scene,

why Jesus tells the parable,

we've got tax collectors,

we've got sinners gathering round to hear Jesus

because they knew there was a different story.

And then you've got the Pharisees and the teachers of the law

complaining about Jesus spending time with the sinners

because the story that they told,

the dominant religious group,

they told the story that the world is divided into good guys and bad guys.

There is them and there is us.

The good guys, well, we are pure.

We keep God's law.

Well, God is pleased with us.

But for the bad guys,

the ones who are not like us,

well, there's no hope for you.

You can't make the grade.

You are outside of God's care.

Jesus offers hope.

But sadly, sadly, this is how some people think about Christianity.

Maybe this is the story that you grew up with, perhaps,

that Christianity is about keep these rules,

attain to this standard,

and if you do, God may be happy with you.

But if not, you are doomed to be on the outside.

Jesus is someone who knows the power of story,

which is why he tells so many stories.

He tells those stories, those parables,

to correct distortions,

distortions,

to bring true thoughts of God,

where the story of God's mercy and grace

had been sidelined.

He brings stories that bring hope,

that extend hope to all.

And Jesus also tells these stories in particular

to defend and to explain his mission.

He spends time with the social,

moral, religious outsiders,

and people looked at him

and wondered why in the world he would do that.

And so Jesus tells these stories

to say that his mission is rooted in the mission of God

and displays the heart of God to us.

So let's look at this story that Jesus tells

in order to fix the distortions that were around in his day,

perhaps distortions that exist in our own hearts

as we come to think about God.

But the story begins in verse 11

with a rejected father.

We're going to concentrate on the father in the story

and it begins with a father who is rejected.

So we discover in verse 11,

there is a man, he has two sons,

and one of those sons, the younger,

comes with a very shocking request.

Shocking in any culture probably,

but here in a culture where to disrespect

or to abandon, to fail to show care to your father

could be considered a crime,

this is a truly horrible thing to say.

Effectively saying,

Father, I can't wait till you're dead.

I want my share of the inheritance right now.

Here is a son with very little care for his father.

He just wants his father's stuff.

And we see that because very quickly after,

in verse 13,

he leaves home.

He wants to run wild and free.

Life with the father is restricting my freedom.

Now the shackles are off.

Now I can have the kind of life I always imagined.

Maybe some of us have lived that story

as the father or as the son perhaps.

How does this father respond to the disrespect

and the rejection that he experiences?

He doesn't do what some in the culture would expect.

He doesn't say,

absolutely not.

Or he doesn't beat him or disown him

or throw him out.

Rather,

we're told,

the end of verse 12,

he divided his property between them.

That word property is the word bios.

It's a reminder that here he is dividing

those resources that he has for living on.

The father bears the cost of this painful rejection.

And here we find in just a few short sentences

in a couple of scenes,

Jesus invites us into the drama of human history

and the story of our rejection of our creator,

of our father.

Because all of us at some point or another in our lives

have said to God,

I will live in your worlds.

I will enjoy your good gifts.

I will take your generosity,

but I don't want you.

All of us have at different times

and in different ways said,

I love the created things,

I'm just not that interested in the creator.

There are different times

and in different ways

we have chosen to love

and honor

and value

other things

and other people

rather than

giving true worship

and ultimate value

to God.

This is our story.

To turn your back on your family,

it is one thing.

And this disrespect

perhaps shocks us

and it should shock us.

But to turn our back on our God.

And what we discover here

is that all of Jesus' audience

is included

in this rejection

of the creator.

Perhaps the Pharisees

at this point in the story

were sitting by

kind of smugly thinking,

well,

those bad guys over there

might have rejected God,

but not us.

But then you get to the end

of the story,

verses 28 and 29,

you see

the older brother,

the good living one,

the one who represents

the religious folks.

He also treats

the father shamefully.

And what we discover

is that all of us

without exception

are indicted

as we read of

a rejected father.

We're drawn into

the story.

The story moves on.

There is a rejected father,

but we see

the story

of an incredibly

generous father.

So the story

for the younger son

does not go well.

We read it there,

verses 13 to 16.

He'd hoped for freedom.

Essentially,

he found slavery.

Life without restrictions

has not brought him

the endless joy

he was hoping for.

It's brought him

into misery.

It's brought him

into shame.

It's brought him

near to death.

So that in verse 17,

there is a transition.

He comes

to his senses.

He begins to think

in his misery

and he resolves

certain things.

He resolves,

first of all,

to return.

I'm going to go back

to my father's house

because at least there

I won't starve to death.

Crucially,

he resolves

to repent.

He resolves

to acknowledge

that before God

and before his father,

he has sinned

in the way

he has treated

his father.

And he also resolves

in his own heart

that he's going to try

and repay

his father back.

He doesn't expect

to get a place

at the family table again

but he thinks,

well, perhaps

if I work for my dad

then I can repay

some of that disgrace.

Perhaps I can repay

some of the money.

So he comes

to his senses,

he makes these resolves

and he begins

to head

for home.

But what happens

as he gets near

to the family farm?

Look with me

at verse 20.

While he was still

a long way off,

his father saw him

and was filled

with compassion

for him.

He ran to his son

through his arms

around him

and kissed him.

The son hadn't

recognized

the size

of the father's heart.

He hadn't

comprehended

the depth

of his father's

love.

He hadn't

appreciated fully

the extent

of his father's

generosity.

Here we see

a longing father

who saw his son

while he was still

a long way off.

The implication,

he's always looking,

he's always hoping,

and when he sees him,

he's filled with what?

Not bitterness,

not resentment,

but compassion.

His instinct

is to love

and to show

mercy.

It's a longing

father,

it's a loving

father who embraced

this boy

in his filth,

in his shame,

in his starvation,

who doesn't

keep him at a distance

saying,

well,

I told you so.

He doesn't involve

him in some kind

of shaming ceremony.

Rather,

he embraces him

with love.

For the people

listening to Jesus,

they would have been

shocked by this

father's generous

grace.

It shocks because

it is so open,

it's so free.

This father gives

to his son exactly

what he does

not deserve.

In verse 21,

he receives

generous forgiveness.

So notice the father,

the son comes to the

father and confesses

sin.

And if the son

had been able

to continue

with his planned

dialogue,

he would have said,

well,

I know I'm not worthy

to be called a son,

but you can make me

into a servant.

But what does the

father do?

He accepts the son's

confession of his sin

and he refuses

to leave him

outside of the family.

He doesn't say,

okay,

well,

let's put you on

probation for a while

and let's see how you

go with earning

my respect

and my trust.

He doesn't ask him

to prove that he's

really sorry.

He receives

the confession

and he welcomes

him back in.

And it's a generous

welcome.

Look what happens

to the boy

in verse 22.

He's welcomed

not as a hired

worker,

but as a valued

family member.

He gets

the indicators

of being part

of the family.

He gets

the ring.

He gets

the quality clothes,

the robe,

and the

sandals.

This is a

personal message

to the son

who was afraid

of what response

he would get.

You are my son

and I love you.

And this is also

a very public message

because the whole

community will be

involved in the feast

and the whole community

will see this father

receiving the son

back with joy.

This grace is to be

celebrated and shared

and there is this

celebration.

And again,

it's not just

the basics.

The boy comes back

starving close to death.

The father doesn't

throw him a crusty

loaf of bread.

What he does

in verse

23 is

he orders

that the fattened

calf

be killed.

That there be this

great feast

where only the best

will do.

This fattened calf

usually saved maybe

for a family wedding.

Here there is

celebration because

this boy to all

intents and purposes

was dead.

But now

to the father

he is alive.

And so

there is

celebration.

What is Jesus

doing here?

He's recovering

for us

the true

story

that the Pharisees

had lost.

The true story

of God's

character.

Of God's

heart.

God is not

mean

spirited.

If that's your

picture of God

then it's not

a true picture

as Jesus

points out

to us.

God is

generous

to prodigal

sons.

To prodigal

daughters.

To those

who have

made a

mess of

life

perhaps.

He doesn't

leave us

asking

have I

been

sorry

enough?

Have I

repented

enough

that God

will

take me

to be

one of

his?

Rather

what we

discover

this is a

love that

is not

earned.

It's a

love that's

freely given

to all

who come

to him.

And it's

a love

that it's

extravagantly

given.

Grace

is beautiful

in its

expansiveness.

So here

is hope

for prodigals

everywhere.

A hope

that the

Pharisees

tried to

deny.

The hope

that a

works-based

religion

most certainly

denies.

There is

hope

here.

No matter

who we

are,

no matter

what we've

done,

no matter

what our

experiences

have been,

here is

a loving

father.

God the

loving

father with

arms open

wide to

receive any

who like

this son

will say

sorry for

sin,

who will

turn to

him in

faith.

Here is

hope to

for our

prodigals,

the family

members,

the friends

that cause

us heartache

because of

life choices

and where

they're at

right now.

Here is a

reminder to

us,

God is

generous in

his grace,

so we are

to keep

praying for

them,

to keep

loving them,

to keep

looking to

this father

that Jesus

speaks of,

to remember

the hope of

the gospel

and Jesus,

the one who

goes to the

ends of

the earth

in order

to bring

people back

home to

God.

How do we

see this

generosity

working itself

out in the

story of

Jesus?

In verse

24 we have

these words

from the

father,

this son of

mine was

dead and

is alive

again,

he was

lost and

is found.

How is it

that spiritually

dead people

find life?

How is it

that people

who are

lost and

far from

God are

found by

him and

find a way

home?

What's

through Jesus?

Remember,

this parable

is Jesus

defending his

mission and

what characterizes

Jesus'

mission?

It's a

rescue mission

of grace.

That's why the

Pharisees couldn't

understand him.

He spends

time loving,

serving,

seeking to

save the

weak,

the lost,

the sinful

because that's

what he came

to do.

That's what he

came to do

for us.

He came to

do that

ultimately

at the

cross.

He would

give himself

to death

for our

sin so

that through

him we

might know

true life.

He was the

one on the

cross who

became lost

to his

father so

that through

faith in him

we might be

found by

the father

and welcomed

home with

joy.

The generosity

that is spoken

of in this

parable we

see most

clearly at

the cross.

That's the

generosity that

we are invited

to respond

to.

Jesus knew

the generous

grace of

God and he

came to

demonstrate for

us the

generous grace

of God.

That influenced

his rescue

mission.

For those

of you who

are part of

this church I

hope you had a

chance to read

the latest

newsletter from

Emmanuel

Rianno, one

of our members

who's serving

in Colombia.

If you haven't

it's out on

the board

there.

There's a

great story

there of a

pastor, a

pastor by the

name of

Pastor Amilcar

and he felt

God calling

him into a

new sphere of

service, called

to go and

make disciples

of a particular

kind.

And so what

Pastor Amilcar

now does in

his Colombian

town is he

will drive

around in his

pickup truck and

he'll look for

the guys who

are lying drunk

on the pavement

or drugged on

the pavement,

those who are

kind of in a

real state because

of various

circumstances.

And he'll take

them into his

pickup, he'll

take them back

to church, he'll

give them a meal,

he'll wash them

up and he'll share

the good news

of Jesus with

them.

Why?

Because he is

somebody who has

known the grace

of the Lord Jesus

in his own life

in that same

way.

God's rescue

mission to us

influences the

rescue mission we

are to engage in

for others.

And here's this

wonderful reminder

that no one is

beyond the grace

and forgiveness

of our generous

and joyful God

that by trusting

in this Jesus

to forgive and

save us

that you and I

we can be

welcomed into

the family of

God, whoever

we are, whoever

we've been, because

God is this

generous Father.

So it's the story

of a generous

Father, it's also

the story of a

joyful Father.

Father.

It's a really

interesting parable

this one because

it almost has

two endings.

You know we

could stop at

verse 24 and

we'd have the

happily ever after

ending, the

ending most of

our children's

storybook Bibles

have.

But this

parable has

a twist.

It's got as it

were a second

ending because it

reminds us there's

another brother in

the story and as

the story goes,

as this brother

hears the good

news of his

brother being

safe and alive

and there being

joy.

We see in

verse 28, we

see anger, we

see refusal to

come in, we hear

this brother's

accusations against

the Father, we

feel his anger and

injustice burning.

What's happened is

the generous grace

of his father has

now exposed what

lurks in this

elder brother's

heart.

heart.

So he'll say to

his dad, this

dad, this dad that

we've just met,

verse 29, you're

like a slave driver.

That's how distorted

his thinking was

about his father.

He thinks that a

place in the family

is based on

earning approval.

He's got it so

badly wrong.

And this father, this

generous father, this

joyful father, in

verse 28, goes out

to plead with this

son, saying to him

in verse 31, my

son, you're always

with me and

everything I have is

yours.

In other words,

remember the right

to sonship is

yours.

Just ask.

Don't stay outside in

your misery and your

anger.

Just ask.

And you too can be

experiencing this

joy.

And then he says to

this son who's

harboring so much

anger, who's so

disgruntled, verse

32, we had to

celebrate and be

glad because this

brother of yours was

dead and is alive

again.

He was lost and is

found.

It is essential to

the character of his

father.

It's essential to the

heart of his father

that he had to

rejoice at this

great restoration

that's taking place.

That he gets to

welcome this son

home.

But we have an

older brother who's

miserable.

He's miserable

because he's

trying to earn by

merit what can

only be enjoyed by

grace.

And that's a

miserable place to

be.

Where you're always

comparing just like

this brother.

Well hang on a

minute.

I live better than

this guy.

Never confident of

the father's

unconditional love

because we make it

about ourselves

rather than the

generous grace of

father God.

That was the way the

Pharisees minds

worked.

And that's the way

a religious system

based on works and

performance operates.

that I can feel

good if I think

that I have made

the grade.

But will I ever

know if I've made

the grade?

And then there's

moments of despair

when things go

badly.

Perhaps again this is

your idea of how

Christianity operates.

And Jesus tells this

story to bring us

true thoughts about

God.

And true thoughts

about the way into

God's kingdom.

It's not God's way

that we have to

slave and earn to

be accepted.

Jesus teaches God's

joy in forgiving and

God's generous grace.

Jesus as it were wants

to give us new lenses

through which to view

reality.

You know if I take my

glasses off to

snipe that's quite

disconcerting.

If I do that two

things happen.

One is immediate.

Everybody becomes

fuzzy.

Really fuzzy.

And two if we were to

continue this out on the

street I would most

likely walk past most

of you without knowing.

Because I cannot see

clearly the reality in

front of me.

Jesus is trying to do

that with this parable.

He's trying to bring

reality into sharp

clarity for us.

To see on the one

hand that when it

comes to God truly we

are guilty.

That none of us can

stand before God and

say my record is good

enough for you to

accept me.

And also to see with

clarity God's generous

grace.

And he is telling us

this story so that we

won't walk by.

So we won't think well

it's all right.

That we would see this

as a wonderful, as a

glorious thing.

That it would change

our hearts and our

lives.

So Jesus in this story

is pointing us to the

problem of our hearts

whether we are sort of

the religious good guys

by nature or whether

we're the not religious

the bad guys of the

story.

That both whoever we

are in different ways

reject and treat the

father, our father, the

creator, shockingly.

So that everybody stands

in need of grace and

forgiveness.

And the good news is that

everybody is freely

offered that grace and

forgiveness in Jesus.

So here is Jesus giving

us this beautiful picture

of the love of God.

Here is a father who pays

the price to restore

relationships that have

been broken.

Here is a God who goes

seeking and searching for

those who are lost and on

the outside.

Here is one who forgives

generously and joyfully

welcomes prodigals in.

Stories are powerful.

The stories of Jesus are

powerful because they point

us to great truth.

And in this truth there is

freedom.

Freedom to live with hope

and to live with joy.

Knowing that we've been

forgiven and accepted if

we're trusting in Jesus.

And also to live with

purpose.

Because this is a story not

just for ourselves.

This is a story for

everyone.

So our mission is to take

this great story.

This great gospel story.

And to share it with

others.

With our friends.

With our community.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.