Homecoming Part 5 | The Father Who Ran with Chris Schlotterbeck

He is glorious.

Behold the one who has come for us.

Welcome to Hub City Vineyard.

To get connected or to give online,

you can go to connect.hcv.church

or give.hcv.church.

If at any time during this message

you feel called to make a change in your life,

text changeme to 970-00.

Thank you and enjoy the message.

Good morning, everyone.

How's everybody doing today?

Good.

This should be the crowd that's full of energy.

It is 1130.

You've had plenty of coffee in you and breakfast.

So you're all set to go.

We're just so thankful that you're here.

If you're joining us from home, thank you for welcoming us

into your space.

And happy Easter to you as well.

Just a few additional announcements

that I want to throw out to everyone before we jump

into our talk this morning.

My children mentioned about the Good Friday Worship Night

and Baptism this past Friday.

I just want to let everyone know it's an incredible night.

We had over 47 people baptized, declaring that they are now

following Jesus.

And it was just an incredible night of worship.

So we're just so thankful.

And we're praying for all those that made that commitment.

Also, next Sunday, Luke Zimmermanfield

is called to launch HCV Riders.

So for all of you that enjoy riding motorcycles

in the warmer months, he is going

to schedule some rides for all of you

after our Sunday gatherings.

So if you would like to be a part of that group,

be sure to meet with him in between first and second

gathering next week.

Meet him at the Welcome Hub.

Then you go into the cafe to have

a discussion about the group.

And also, next Sunday, I'm excited to launch our new series

Stretch Thin.

I really feel that within our current climate of culture,

so many people are struggling with mental health.

There's mental health issues rampant in the US.

So we're going to devote a whole month

to focusing on our mental health and our thought life

as seen through the Bible and what God says about it.

So if you know someone that's struggling, stressed,

full of anxiety, whatever, be sure to invite them

to be a part of that series.

Now, I know what some of you are thinking.

I intentionally wore this outfit because I knew some of you

would be thinking, Chris, it's Easter.

I dressed up.

I'm looking good.

Put on my best.

And you're wearing your gym clothes.

So what's the deal?

Why are you wearing your workout clothes?

Well, this morning, I want to talk a little bit

about the greatest running moments in history.

And I felt it best that I wear my running gear

to connect you with the story, to bring you in.

So by show of hands, are there any runners

in the house today?

Any runners?

Just what I thought.

So this is our fourth gathering now.

And you know what I'm realizing?

HCV is not a very fit church, okay?

So it's a good thing that in May, we are going to be doing

a series on, anyone want to guess, physical health.

Yes.

So that's coming in May, right?

Because I believe that so many people say,

yeah, I know, Chris, one of these days,

I'll get back in shape.

Yeah, sure you will.

So to take it a step further by show of hands, humor me,

has anyone in the house ever run a marathon?

One.

Two.

All right, thank you.

Two people, three, yes, have run a marathon.

See, these three individuals, they're the serious runners.

I mean, 26.2 miles.

Like people who do this, that actually choose

to run this distance, that's serious,

because most of us don't even like driving 26.2 miles

if we're honest, let alone running it.

So there was an experiment that I want to bring

to your attention that took place a few years ago.

I actually watched a documentary that was filmed

regarding the experiment of whether a human being

can run a marathon in under two hours.

Okay, now the three of you that have run a marathon before,

you may have said, yeah, well, I ran mine

in just over five hours, or maybe you did it over three days,

I have no idea.

There would be different times for each of you,

but can a human being run a marathon in under two hours?

So there was a race set up in Vienna, Austria,

and this legendary marathoner,

he is actually the greatest marathoner alive today,

his name is Eliud Kipchoge, he's from Kenya,

and he set out to run a sub two hour marathon,

and let's watch the final moments of his attempt

to achieve this mark.

This humble farmer who used to run two miles

to school every day and back,

he used to go to the nearest town on his bike

to sell milk at the local markets,

and now through hard work and discipline, he's pointing,

come on, he says, Eliud Kipchoge has the hand of history

on his shoulder, he has less than 200 meters to go,

Eliud Kipchoge, let's keep an eye on the clock,

into the final 20 seconds, Eliud Kipchoge,

that's Eliud Kipchoge on his shoulder,

140, 140, the unofficial time.

Oh, there's his wife.

Eliud Kipchoge storms into the history books in Vienna,

159.40, the unofficial time,

the first man to run a marathon in under two hours.

So he does it, right?

Now check this out, this means he ran a four minute

and 35 second mile for 26.2 miles,

and he didn't even look tired, right?

I mean, my man was just cruising along,

I'm like, that's how I look when I start,

much less after 26.2 miles,

but listen to this, it didn't count.

It wasn't an open race, it was a specifically designed race

set up just for Kipchoge.

There were thousands of people on the course,

it all looked and felt legit and official,

but they actually designed the course to be extremely flat

with very few twists and turns.

Then they hired a group of elite runners

who surrounded Kipchoge the entire race.

They broke the headwinds so he could run in their draft.

He didn't even have to stop or move over to the side

to pick up water, there was someone riding on a motorcycle

that every six miles they would pull up beside him,

give him a cup of water so he had nourishment

throughout the race.

So it's an amazing team and the sophistication of computers

which had engineered the times and distances

to break the two hour mark, this group of runners,

they knew they had to keep a certain pace,

cross certain lines, and Kipchoge would follow along.

But nonetheless, he did it and he ran the marathon

in under two hours even though it didn't count.

But don't feel bad for Mr. Kipchoge because he is a boss,

or as our younger generation likes to call,

he is him or himothy, right?

He currently holds the world record for a marathon

in an oh so slow time of two hours, one minute,

and 39 seconds, right?

Now many of us, we would have clapped there

if we were marathoners, but we can't even wrap our head

around that, so we can't even grasp it.

Let me bring everyone in, show of hands.

How many of you have run a mile before?

One mile, come on, thank you, that's a little bit better.

All right, there's hope for HTV, all right.

We're all involved.

Well in 1954, a big event happened in running,

so we're talking about big running events this Easter.

Okay, our next big one took place in Oxford, England

when Roger Bannister broke the four minute mark

for running one mile.

And please understand that this time,

many people thought would never be broken by a human being.

Roger Bannister does it just barely,

running the mile in three minutes, 59.4 seconds.

He only holds the record for 46 days

when John Landy beats Bannister's time

with three minutes, 57.9 seconds.

And for those of you who'd like to know,

I did a little research, well who's got the record now?

A Moroccan runner currently holds the mile record,

Hicham Geroju, and he has held the record since 1999,

which is quite a long time for a world record.

And his time currently stands,

for those of you who want to break it, okay,

three minutes, 43.13 seconds to run the one mile.

And many of you know that the biggest race

in the tri-state area is bigger than both of them.

It's a JFK ultra marathon, right?

We think Kipchoge's crazy.

Anybody that even attempts that

has got to have a little bit of screws loose, okay,

because that is a long way.

But since we are talking about great running events,

I want to keep it going,

so I looked up the Easter morning 1,000 meter race.

It happened in 30 AD in the city of Jerusalem,

and when the news of the empty tomb

had reached back to the disciples

who were still stuck in the doubt of Saturday,

a race broke out toward the garden.

And we can read about it in John chapter 20,

John 20 · chapter mention

because the news we are talking about today, friends,

is good enough news to send people running, right?

Today is not about hands in your pockets,

it's not about arms crossed,

wondering why Chris is wearing a tracksuit,

talking about great ideas or in the break room.

This kind of news sets people in motion,

which leads us to our first thought.

Easter sets people in motion.

Easter is the kind of day that gets people excited,

it's the kind of news that makes people want to run.

And on the very first Easter, people started running.

Look at John chapter 20, early on Sunday morning,

John 20 · chapter mention

while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb

and found that the stone had been rolled away

from the entrance.

Now notice, she ran and found Simon Peter

and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved.

That's John's way of getting a holy high five,

because he's the one writing this account,

oh yeah, the one Jesus loved.

She said they have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb

and we don't know where they have put him.

Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb.

Now please notice how they started out, right?

They didn't say, oh well, we're in the middle of breakfast.

You know, we'll head to the tomb when we're done.

Or hey, it's cold out, we'll wait till it gets

a little warmer.

We'll head that way after the morning chores are done.

No, they were both running.

They heard the news and they began running

and they entered the Easter morning, the thousand meter race,

which is about how far it was from the place

where the disciples were held up to the place

where Jesus was sealed in a tomb.

And we must remember, they weren't running on a track,

they weren't running down a road with people ahead of them,

breaking the headwinds.

They're running through the streets

and the alleys of Jerusalem twist, turns,

they go around a cart up this alleyway.

They are running.

And John wants us all to know how the race played out.

He doesn't want us to know about marathon winners

or mile winners or running the JFK.

He wants us to know who won this day,

so he says it this way.

But the other disciple outran Peter

and reached the tomb first.

He stooped and looked in

and saw the linen wrappings lying there,

but notice he didn't go in.

Then Simon Peter, who was running behind him,

arriving in second place of course,

shows up and goes right in.

And many of us can picture Simon Peter, right?

Little out of shape, maybe a little bit of a gut, right?

Eating too many fish, right?

He's like, I don't really wanna run, but I'll run.

And then he just kind of gave up halfway through.

He didn't care about winning.

But also, he's the guy that got out of the boat,

stepped out of the boat when Jesus told him to.

He just rolls right in the tomb.

He didn't question it.

He wanted to see what was happening.

So the other disciple also went in.

He noticed the linen wrappings lying there

while the cloth had covered Jesus' head,

was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings.

Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first

also went in and he saw and believed.

So we have two guys in a sprint to an empty tomb.

And you wanna know what's amazing about this?

When they got there, Jesus was already gone.

Jesus was already alive.

The work was already finished.

They ran as fast as they could,

but when they arrived, God had already moved.

And picture this race, right?

Two men running down the streets,

one taking a little bit of lead, the other pulling away.

John maybe finds a shortcut

but Peter didn't know about it.

He takes another alley, but of course John saved up

for that final sprint, pulls away, and gets there first.

Right, he won the race.

Peter comes in second, but here's the reality.

It doesn't matter who was first or second.

It didn't matter which one of them walked

into the tomb first, which leads us to our next all.

Easter is about God moving first.

John chapter 20 verse one, early on Sunday morning,

while it was still dark, right,

Mary shows up, comes to the tomb,

and it had been rolled away.

The stone was rolled away from the entrance.

And then after the race, we read in John 20 verse 11

John 20:11

and 14 to 16, Mary, she's standing outside the tomb crying

and as she wept, she stooped and looked in.

She turned to leave and saw someone standing there.

It was Jesus, but she didn't recognize him.

And of course, Jesus, in his humorous way,

dear woman, why are you crying?

Like he knew why she was crying.

Jesus says, sir, who are you looking for?

He knew who she was looking for.

She thought he was the gardener.

Sir, she said, if you have taken him away,

tell me where you have put him and I will go and get him.

Mary, calling her by name, Jesus said.

She turned to him and cried out,

Rabbini, which is Hebrew for teacher.

See, in the midst of the race,

Jesus was already walking around in the garden.

He's already defeated death, hell, and the grave

and the story of Easter isn't about how fast

you need to run to get to the tomb.

The story is whenever you get there,

God has already gotten there ahead of you

and he is going to finish all the work

before you even arrive because today

it's not about a marathon record,

it's not about a mile record and who cares

who won the Easter morning 1,000 meter sprint?

Today is about the reality that God himself,

God Almighty is the first mover in your story

and I am so glad and I am so thankful

that we don't have to gather here today

to hear a message of what we need to do to get to God.

Our message today is God moves first in your story.

In other words, before you even knew

you needed an empty tomb, the stone was rolled away.

Before you even thought to yourself,

this isn't working, I need a savior.

God had already done the most remarkable running

that had ever been done before.

Romans chapter five verse eight tells us

but God showed his great love for us

by sending Christ to die for us while,

notice, we were still sinners.

God runs first.

Now Jesus tells us about the greatest running story

ever recorded in Luke chapter 15

Luke 15 · chapter mention

which leads us to our next thought.

Humanity wants to negotiate with God.

So there's three stories which in my opinion

are the greatest stories ever told

and Jesus pulls them all together

telling us about a lost sheep, a lost coin,

and the lost son and if I was to say this morning,

the prodigal son, right?

All the church people in the house

would identify with that story right away.

In fact, many of you would say, hey Chris,

that's what this whole series is about

but I believe when I say prodigal son,

even if you haven't been in church for years

or you've never even attended a church,

you would be able to reference it, right?

It's that son who says to his dad,

I know I have an inheritance coming,

I don't care that you're still alive,

I want it given to me right now.

The father obliges, gives him his share of his inheritance,

immediately the son bolts,

the Bible tells us to a country far away.

Now we don't know exactly what happened

to the son in this country.

Now of course we get the older brother's take on the story,

oh he wasted it on sex, drugs, and prostitutes

but we don't really know if that's true.

Maybe he was just living too fast.

Maybe he wasn't making wise decisions

and he wasn't spending his money responsibly

because if we're honest,

there's a lot of Americans today that do that, right?

They don't spend their money wisely

but what we do know from the story

is that the younger son went broke, right?

We know that his friends bailed on him

and we do know he lost everything

that the father had given him.

We know that at some point in the story,

he looked at himself and realized,

wow, these choices I've made,

how I've been living, it's not working

and it says in verse 20 of Luke 15,

this son decided to make a change

and I believe, remember, some of you are here today

and maybe you're here because you decided,

I need a change, I need something different

and in verse 20 it says,

so the son, so he returned home to his father.

That now, we have a lot of ways

that we can interpret these words.

In fact, I've taught or shared about these words dozens

of times over the years that I've been pastoring

and sharing sermons and I've always preached

that the son came to a senses, he got it, he repented.

He got up, he turned around, he turned from his mistakes.

Remember, repent's not a bad word.

All it means is to return around and go the right way.

That's all it means and he decided,

I wanna go home and he repented before his father

but while studying for this talk over the last few weeks,

I quickly learned that the son's speech

that he shared with his father were not his words.

Okay, and notice what he says in Luke 15, 17 through 19.

He finally came to a senses, he said to himself,

at home, even the hired servants have enough food to spare

and here I am dying of hunger.

I will go home to my father and say,

Father, I've sinned against both heaven and you

and I'm no longer worthy to be called your son.

Please take me on as your hired servant.

See, these words were not the son's words.

They were actually the Pharaoh's words

that he was quoting from the Old Testament.

Pharaoh said this to Moses

when he wanted the plagues to be lifted.

Remember, Egypt is being bombarded by plagues.

Pharaoh was the leader of Egypt, he wanted them to end

so these are the words he shares with Moses.

Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron,

noticed, I have sinned against the Lord,

your God, and against you.

Please take this plague away.

And we must understand, this wasn't Pharaoh repenting.

He was trying to work out a deal with God

so that he could get some relief from his current situation

and the son was most likely thinking the same.

Oh man, I messed up.

I have to repay my dad

and I'm not making a penny living in this country.

In fact, I am so low now, I'm eating the scraps

from the pigs that I'm feeding.

I'm completely unclean, I'm so far away from God,

my family and friends.

The only way I can see me paying back my dad

is getting a job as one of my dad's servants

because let's be honest, my dad is fair and generous

and his servants get paid a very generous wage.

If I can get on with him, if I can work for my dad,

I will work off my debt so that I can pay him back

all the money that I owe him.

So suddenly when we take a step back

and learn the parable and what the son is thinking,

he had his speech ready, he knew what he was gonna do,

so he turned and returned home.

But watch what happens, which leads us to our next thought.

Easter announces God's grace.

Luke 15, 20 to 21.

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, right?

Now we're talking about a running event.

He embraced him and kissed him.

And first, let's be honest.

Many of us are stunned by the fact that when the dad

saw the son a long way off, right?

He wasn't filled with contempt for the son.

He wasn't angry with the son, rather he was full of what?

Compassion.

And when God sees us today, when God sees you today,

wherever you are in your state of life,

he doesn't have contempt for you.

He doesn't hate you, he's not upset with you.

He has compassion for you.

And it doesn't mean that consequences are not real.

It doesn't mean that God is happy about the choices

that you've made or are currently making.

It just means he sees how miserable you are.

He sees the pain in your heart.

He sees how devastating the consequences have been.

And he's looking at you saying,

I understand everything is a mess,

but my heart longs to be with you.

It doesn't matter that you lost your marriage.

It doesn't matter you got fired from your job.

It doesn't matter that you're currently overwhelmed

and stressed out with anxiety.

It doesn't matter that your kids won't listen.

I have compassion on your situation right now,

so much so that I'm gonna start running towards you.

Now many of us, again, know the three stories

that Jesus told and we know that in the first parable,

in Luke 15, four, we learn about a sheep.

If a man has 100 sheep and one of them gets lost,

what will he do?

Won't he leave the 99 others in the wilderness

and go to search for the one until he finds it?

So if we're honest, one out of 100 sheep,

one happens to get caught in a briar,

wanders off looking for water, who knows what happens.

One out of 100, many of us read about it and think,

well, that's just one, there's 100 others.

God doesn't really care about me.

He doesn't really love me.

But then suddenly if you notice in the second story,

in Luke 15, eight, where suppose a woman has 10

silver coins and loses one.

Won't she light a lamp, sweep the entire house

and search carefully until she finds it?

Suddenly notice the odds, they're getting a little better.

Now it's one out of how many?

10.

So as the furniture's flying,

as the tables are being turned over,

suddenly you see God the Father searching the house

until he finds that which is lost.

But in the final parable, we have a father

with how many sons?

Two.

So now the stakes are much higher,

not one out of 100, not one out of 10.

Now it's one out of two and this father

represents our heavenly Father, God Almighty.

And God, the creator of the universe, right,

isn't searching, isn't flipping tables,

he is running towards you.

And we have to realize, this is probably the craziest,

most absurd thing that Jesus could have said.

Because when you look through the eyes

and the lens of someone living

in the Middle Eastern Palestinian world

at the time of Jesus, no patriarchal figure

in a position of that father would ever run in public.

You wanna know why?

Because to run in public, it means that he would have to

lift up his robe, tuck it into his belt,

and while doing so, he would expose his legs

and that was straight up disrespectful in this culture

and it would never happen.

This action would disgrace the father

and to take it a step further,

be an embarrassment to the entire village.

But this father said, I could care less

what the village thinks today.

They are gonna see my ankles, they're gonna see my shins,

they're gonna see my wobbly knees

because I am running towards my son today.

I see him a long way off and I am sprinting down that road

and I'm gonna turn into the father that ran.

So, we now have a view of the greatest running event

in the history of all mankind.

Now some of you may be thinking,

well what's the big deal about the father running, Chris?

And if you feel this way, it's probably because

you see the dad living at the end of a very long

tree-lined lane with a big estate at the end.

Is that kind of the way you picture this parable?

Like when I read that parable,

it's like I see this big estate, right?

It's got a porch wrapped around it,

it's got this huge driveway that extends down,

it comes up over a hill.

And you see the father sitting in his rocking chair

on the porch and suddenly, as the son's head

just peaks up over the lane,

he hops out of his chair and begins to run.

Well friends, culturally, that's a very western view

of this story because in the days of Jesus,

people lived in community.

There wouldn't have been a long lane,

there wouldn't have been an estate.

In fact, the entire village is involved.

See, there's a community reputation at stake

and as I studied more and more over the last few weeks

on this text, I discovered there's something

in play here called kesa.

Can everyone say that?

Say kesa.

Very nice, you learned a little Hebrew this morning.

Very nice.

And Jesus doesn't explicitly mention it in this story,

but would have been in the background

of the minds and listeners, remember,

hearing this through Palestinian eyes.

Dr. Kenneth Bailey is a New Testament scholar

and has written extensively on seeing the gospel

and teachings of Jesus through the eyes of people

who lived in that culture, writes about this parable

saying that the Talmud, the Jewish law,

dating all the way back to the days of Moses,

there was a ceremony called kesa.

This ceremony would happen if a Jewish boy

married someone that the family didn't approve of

or notice, if a Jewish boy lost his inheritance

to a Gentile.

And were that to happen, if at any point

the boy decided that he wanted to go back home,

he would have to come to the village

and face the kesa ceremony at the gates of the village.

The ceremony would literally be held by the elders

of the village and notice this,

the father of the boy was not allowed to attend.

The reason for this is the father's blessing

trumped community decisions.

So the father was required to stay at home,

the mother could attend and plead for the mercy

of her son, but not the dad.

The elders of the community,

they'd hear out the boy's testimony

and remember the boy already made up in his mind

what he was gonna say, I'm gonna work for my dad,

I'm gonna work off the money,

I'm gonna be a hired servant.

But the elders decided the fate

and if they decided kesa was coming,

a word which means cut off,

they would literally take a clay pot

and they would throw it

at the son's feet.

And essentially, those elders, that community

would be saying you are kesa.

You are now cut off from our community

and our village forever.

This son knew that not only did he have to face his dad,

he knew he would have to face the kesa ceremony as well.

His only opportunity to not be cut off from the village

was to have a plan to work enough for his dad

to earn that money back to pay off the debt that was owed.

I may never make it back into my father's house,

but I will be a servant for the rest of my life.

Please let me back into the village.

Right, that's what was going through the son's mind.

Knowing this, the father, what was he doing?

He was watching the road.

The boy had decided to come home.

The news had traveled through different people

and this day, the father heard

that his son was coming home.

Now we don't know how long the journey took.

He was in a far country, maybe it was a month

or two weeks or a week, we don't know,

but the dad was watching the road, why?

Because the dad had to get to the son

before the boy got to kesa.

The only chance that the dad had to put his arms

around the boy was to get to him

before he got to the gates of the village.

And when he saw the son a long way off,

he pulled up his robe and he started to sprint,

thinking in his head, I don't care

what anyone thinks about me, I just wanna see my son,

embrace him and let him know how much I love him.

He finds him, right, down the road.

He makes it to his son before he makes it to the gates.

He throws his arms around him, kisses him

and shouts and proclaims, this boy was dead,

but now he is alive.

Put the best robe on his back, put a ring on his finger,

put shoes on his feet, this son of mine was lost,

but now is found and in that very second,

on that very road, reconciliation happened.

And all of that trumped kesa.

So when the father and the son returned together,

as they approached the gates of the village,

picture this, the boy already had on the robe

of his father's family.

He had the rings of his dad's authority on his finger.

He had the shoes that elevated him

in the culture of the day.

And with his dad's arm wrapped around him,

they walked right through the city gates,

right past kesa and the party began.

This boy did not get cut off, right?

He did not ever, he was not ever not able to come home.

Instead he experienced God's great dance floor, right?

Amazing, and how?

You know, because there's so many people

that think this whole gospel thing,

this good news, it's too easy.

That is not what's gonna happen to my son

if he decides to come home.

He's gonna pay back everything he owes me.

But if we're honest, because of our sinful nature,

that's typically how humanity thinks.

When someone makes mistakes,

they have to earn their way back into good graces.

And this is not God saying there's no consequences.

This is God announcing something called grace.

So when you fast forward to Good Friday,

now you can see and understand when Jesus hung on the cross,

what did he get?

He got kesa, his broken body, his shed blood.

He literally got cut off so much from the father

that he cried out in Mark 15, 34,

my God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

See, God smashed the pot of our sins

at the foot of the cross of his son,

and he looked at his son and said,

you are cut off so that all of us gathered

in this place today has the open arms of the father

waiting and welcoming us home for an embrace.

Jesus got kesa and we receive grace.

And then the father says in verses 22 to 24,

kill the calf we've been fattening.

We must celebrate with a feast for the son of mine was dead

and now has returned to life.

So he was lost, but now is found.

So the party began.

And again, remember, fast forward to our culture.

Many of us aren't ranchers.

Many of us don't raise animals.

Like we buy our meat at Martin's or Walmart or Sam's.

We don't understand what a fattened calf is, right?

It doesn't add up, but in Jesus' culture, listen,

when you are anticipating a great celebration,

you know what they would do?

They would start fattening up one of the cows.

Get it ready, because we are having a party

on March 31st, 2024.

No, get him a little fatter.

We need more weight on him because it's celebration time.

Right, the people, they're not looking around

for what they need.

No, the calf has already been fattened, right?

They have it there ready because they're expecting a party.

God, what is he?

He's the first mover in your story.

So that on the day you decide to return home,

on the day that you recognize you need forgiveness,

on the day that you recognize you need a savior,

God's not gonna get caught off guard, right?

He's not gonna throw an impromptu party for you.

He's not gonna get in the fridge and get leftovers, right?

Who likes leftovers?

No one.

If you like leftovers, come on.

You want the fattened calf, right?

No, he's gonna throw a party for you

that's gonna be the best party you could ever imagine,

which leads us to our final thought.

Today, God is welcoming you home.

Kill the calf we've been fattening

and we'll celebrate with a feast.

The son of mine was dead and has returned to life.

God is saying, I already anticipated your return.

When the father saw his son coming home,

he knew the boy was coming back

and he expected his son to come home.

He had been praying for his son.

See the light, let him be changed.

I've been fattening up this calf the whole time

and as soon as he found out his son was coming,

he started double fattening the calf

so that on the day that he came over that hill,

that calf was ready for the party.

And when we read in Revelation 13 verses eight through nine,

and all the people who belong to this world

worshiped the beast.

They are the ones whose names were not written

in the book of life that belongs to the lamb.

Remember the lamb is referencing Jesus

who was slaughtered before the world was made.

Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.

We understand that when we were ready to look for God,

listen, God's already looking for us.

He has been fattening up his son

for the sins of the entire world

so that that sacrifice, right,

that broken body, that shed blood,

it already took place on the cross.

When we decide to turn into God's grace,

we are accepted in and welcome and forgiven.

The price has already been paid.

Everything has already been done.

A party is being thrown in the very moment

that you choose to return.

Jesus got

Keza

and we get welcomed home.

I wanna tell you in the simplest way possible

why this is good news.

Because we were created by God.

And friends, our lives will terminate at our creator.

The scripture tells us it doesn't matter

what the culture has told you.

The Bible tells us today.

It is disappointed for humanity to die once

and then to stand in judgment.

But unfortunately, so many people believe

that they can make up their mistakes in life

by negotiating with God.

Listen, friends, there's no pearly gates.

Like when people make jokes about pearly gates,

that's what they are, their jokes.

At the end of our life, we're gonna stand before God

in judgment at his seat

and we're gonna give account for everything

that we've done in our lives.

And we're not gonna be able to quote Pharaoh,

oh God, I sinned against heaven, I sinned against you.

I'm sorry, I did those bad things.

I didn't get it right, I didn't respond to you,

I didn't listen to you, I made some mistakes,

I hurt others.

It doesn't work at the judgment seat of Jesus.

God is holy.

And that is why he had to run to you

when you were a long way off.

That's why he had to get to you

before you got to the gates.

So that when you get to the gates,

when you're in that relationship with Jesus,

you have the robe around you,

you have the ring on your finger,

you have the shoes of the gospel of peace on your feet,

and God's arm is around you

as you walk into the kingdom of God

already covered in the Father's blessing.

Because the Father's blessing trumps Chezzah

every single time.

Praise God for Easter.

I love the way the song, this song says it,

it says, oh what a savior, isn't he wonderful?

Sing hallelujah, Jesus is risen.

Bow down before him, for he is Lord of all.

Sing hallelujah, Jesus is risen.

And I want to tell all of you this morning,

it doesn't matter where you are in your walk of life,

God doesn't hate you, He doesn't have contempt for you,

He loves you.

And He desires to embrace you,

and not only does He desire to embrace you,

He is running towards you with His grace and His mercy,

and He's saying, friend, come home.

The King of Glory is here, come and be whole.

The King of Glory is here, come and be whole.

The King of Glory is here.