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Let's turn to John 14 then because I I'd hope to get this piece done by now, but we're running a little behind because I'm such a mouth And I want to take a look at this passage probably a little bit differently than you've heard of it There's something we've done with this passage. I think it's really unfortunate But I still so I still want us to kind of look through this passage You may not agree with my interpretation of it at the end I could do the same teaching from 16 different passages in the New Testament I love doing it from here because I think this gets to the core of it at so many levels But we've basically thrown out the first four verses of John 14 out of our life here because we pretty much said Jesus talking about heaven I go to prepare a place for you And if I go to prepare a place for you I'll come again and receive you to myself that where I am there you may be also and because we've got songs like I've got a mansion just over the hill I mean you're just convinced that what Jesus is talking about in John 14 is listen I'm gonna ascend to the father and then I'm gonna prepare heaven for you We've got Jesus like now the divine contractor up there building mansions so that he can come again at the second coming and Receive us to himself so that we can go live in heaven Which you know, I believe Jesus ascended to the father. I believe Jesus is coming again I believe we're going to be eternally with him. I just don't think John 14 is talking about that and I'll tell you why Jesus is leaving them. He's getting ready to go away, and he starts the same passage with that whole Don't let your hearts be troubled, which is easier said than done all of it. Don't be afraid I'm leaving and I mean they've left jobs They've left everything to hang out with this guy and now he says I'm going away and They just he spoke to a little bit. He's already said in John 13 and where I'm going you cannot come So he's now trying to get in now. Don't be afraid Trust God trust also in me in my father's house are many Depending on your translation. I've got rooms here. I think New American standards is dwelling places King Jimmy said mansion So that got us all thinking about eternity The word that's used here is the same word exact It's the noun form of the word used in John 15 about us remaining or abiding in the vine It's the word abide It's the verb form in John 15 Bidin me and I'll abide in you. We don't think that's future. We're not throwing that into eternity This is just the noun form of the same word. It's an abode You know, it doesn't play out as well in English, but it just in my father's house I like I think I like what New American standard does best with it are many places to dwell There's something in father's house father's heart, and if it were not so I would have told you I'm going To prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am and you know the way where I'm Going so here's the deal. Jesus is in the upper room here, and he's going away tomorrow at the cross He's coming again on Sunday, so this is Thursday. We know he didn't get killed on Friday, by the way But everybody keeps saying you got killed on Friday, huh? Yeah, because you know we got a good Friday thing already going and you can't ruin that because nobody'll get it But anyway, you don't get the three days if he dies on Thursday. Anyway, so Sunday. He's coming back the resurrection And what we're saying though Jesus skipping all this The two most important events in human history and John for he's skipping those he's talking 43 days away About his ascension and then some 2,000 plus years away his second coming And so we've got Jesus. Okay. Let's skip all this isn't important. So I'm going away. I'm going to build mansions And then we come back and get you swing all of our mansions together now If that's what John wants to mean by it, I'm fine with that because he can go build mansions if he wants I'm okay with it But I do think they're going away that he's been talking about all night and this passage is tomorrow the cross and Coming again, it's the resurrection to receive it to myself and the father's house isn't heaven It's not a mansion somewhere father's house is the place where God dwells In my father's house home The brothers and sisters I hang out with in Ireland when I go it's a great group outside of Dublin that been Walking relationally for about 25 years together and I just I love hanging out with them They have such a neat life together and on my podcast the God Journey we interviewed a couple of those brothers You can hear their story if you want to hear it. It's a fun story but They have a song they sing together and the song is about this upward path This narrow way of walking with God and enjoy his life and then the chorus God says and I will come and be at home in you and The first time I heard that absolutely gave me the chills Because I said bingo. That's what John 14 is about The best day of this trip the best day of any trip I take is the last day It's the day I get home. I Never wanted to travel I grew up on a farm in central, California never thought I'd leave the state I don't get my jollies out of traveling There's not a night as as fun as you guys might be over these days together There's not a night in my life where I'd rather not be home with Sarah When I'm away, it's because Sarah and I have both chosen that this is something God's asked me to do and I go I don't accept an invitation without both of us clearly hearing. Yeah, that sounds like God But the best day, I mean I love being at home I love walking in that door throwing my bags at the bottom of the stairs and I'm at home my wife's there my dog's there my granddaughter might be there my daughter there She's less important now that we have the granddaughter, but we still love her My son it won't be there on a Monday night. He lives about an hour away But often on the weekend he'll be home if I sometimes he comes home for weekends There's nothing like being home your chair your bed your pillow My diet coke. That's my drug of choice You know, it's whatever you enjoy and being at home and not I mean, I have a lot of fun when I travel and I'm pretty much at home wherever I hang out But there's nothing like being at home and people you can be at home with You know what I mean? I Think that's what Jesus is inviting us to here to be at home in father and for father To be at home in you This is a big statement I mean, this is the holy God of the universe and your little dirty corrupted humanity that we are and the father of the universe Wants to be at home in you and for you to be at home in him God's the safest place to be not the scary guy waiting to whack you I think if we get this if we understand what you're just saying the invitation is to be at home in Father's life. I'm going to prepare a place for you. The going is the preparing I'm going the going the cross opens the door for us to access him relationally And if I go I'm going to come again and receive you to myself the resurrection to come and say now come into this life And father and it really it's not just the resurrection alone that does it I don't really think they get it till somewhere in acts and maybe Pentecost it Maybe beyond it because even at the end of the Gospels you're still going oh boy We don't get it now you're gonna bring your kingdom now and just saying that was never about that guys But somewhere they get it in acts they get it they live this related life in father This is I think what he's talking about and this life being at home and father is how I'm to wake up every day And to be at home in him and to know this God with all my fears all my doubts all the things I'm still tempted to all the struggles and failures. I have in my life this father on this day wants to be at home in Wayne and And wants me to be at home in him And if I live there that's where everything happens it transforms me people you know Paul every time he talked about this stuff He'll say oh, so it won't care about sin. Good God doesn't care about sin anymore. You haven't heard me say that God cares about sin sin is what diminishes You from the person God made you to be sin is a twist and a distortion in our lives. That's what it is Does God not care? Yes, he cares But he knows the only way he's going to transform us from sin is to love us out of it And to love us into freedom I got a great letter a couple weeks ago from a response to one of the podcasts You guys aware the podcast when I say that you know I'm talking about the God journey calm So I'm not losing but no people that it's just a radio show I do once a week with a brother We put a half an hour on the internet or 40 minutes or so He and I just talking about all kinds of garbage and it allows us to interview people It's it's a God journey.com. It's absolutely free. Just click on listen to it not charge anybody for anything We got a letter. I think it's on yeah, it's on this it's on this week Actually a letter from Brenda gallon are 50s and she'd heard of one of the podcasts We did about where's the power and she wrote and she talked about her transformation from a lesbian woman her whole life To God loving her out of that lifestyle and into his life and freedom and it is an amazing letter The struggle the intensity of the struggle wasn't easy. It wasn't great. It was just but God put her through This process that transformed her out of his love and affection So God knows that when we live in him this way is where we'll be transformed and we'll talk about more about that tomorrow So Jesus is saying I'm gonna I'm gonna receive it to myself that where and here's where I think we really get the proof of It's not just he's skipping a few events here to get to these big events But notice at the end of this that is the last part of three first part four Jesus is saying that where I am There you will be also. Where is he when he's saying that? Where is he? He's in the father geographically. Where is he? He's in the upper rooms in Jerusalem. Okay, that's geographically where he is if he was talking about this I think Jesus would have to say things as fast as that where I will be there you will be also Because he's not here. He's not heaven He's here in the upper room geographically But they don't even I mean but that's still not what he's talking about So he kind of gives him a bit of a segue and I love the way Jesus does this he says and you know the way where I'm going Now see I don't think those guys had any idea what in the blaze is he's talking about I think Jesus loves to throw that little stuff out there just to see are you gonna you want you're gonna come And I can think of Peter James and John being the guys are just saying Yes, amen. Oh, yes. Yes. We know the way where you're going because they're just those kind of guys Thomas is not that kind of guy Notice how religion belittles Thomas We call him doubting Thomas because we don't want people asking difficult questions I think Thomas is one of Jesus' favorite critters because if Thomas doesn't say we don't know where you're going So how do we know the way? We don't get the rest of this passage The upper room discourse is over there's another hmm. Amen. Amen, and we go home And then they would sing a hymn and go out see Religious folks hate people asking questions even when you don't get it. You're supposed to pretend you get it Thomas is not I love Thomas. I think Thomas ought to be the poster boy of discipleship Because this thing is hold it a minute back the truck up You know the way where I'm going. I don't even know where you're going How do I know the way that's just that is just great stuff To which jesus says and here's here's another verse. We've absolutely ruined We take it out of context. I am the way the truth in the life and no man comes to the father except by me So when phil donahue asks jerry fall well, does god hear the prayers of jews or muslims? Jerry fall well pulls out john 14 six Jews sound the way the truth in life. No one comes to the father except by me If you don't say a jesus name at the end of your prayer, he doesn't get it It's got you more on And I mean that endearingly I did not the answer to that question The answer to that question is found in ax chapter 10 peter goes to the house of cornelius Gentiles the holy spirits dumped out on the gentiles which peter didn't go there to give them the holy spirit Church is nine years old by the time we get to ax 10 Peter's gone to the house of cornelius only because god gave him this Nutty vision and then said three guys are coming to your door and I want you to go wherever they tell you to go Now he didn't have that he's not as soon as they find out to gentiles. That's he can't go That's unclean. He can't do that But he had a vision had three guys show up so knock on the door one two three, uh, correct. Where we're going? Oh, I'm supposed to go there. I'm sure he's just having a little tizzy and he goes down there And he's gonna tell him all about this great salvation that god made available to them He's not passing it out to the gentiles. It's not there. It's his And he's going to tell him about it, but he's not giving him nothing Then the holy spirit pulls one of those little oddest dump myself all over him and now you got a problem And sure enough they had a problem So peter said uh, we If the holy spirit's going to be here, I guess we better baptize them So they baptize them and then peter says now I know That god hears the prayers of men everywhere who cry out to him That's the answer to the build on a question. That's the answer God listens to people who cry out to him. That's just they don't get the code right It's got that's not all that freaked about the code This verse was not about if you don't put jesus name at the end of your prayer, you're not going to get it That's not what this is about. This is a huge statement of the culmination of this book Is a person It's not the book The book's meant to lead you to the person the person is who transforms your life He is the way the book is not the way He is the truth. The book is not the truth. The book is truth. I'm orthodox on that. This is god's words Spoken in revelation. So we would know who he is and how to follow him. I'm orthodox on this book But this book is not the conclusion of itself You search the scriptures you think in them you'll find life the life is where Jesus said the first you refuse to come to me Jesus is the last word spoken the exact representation of the father's nature the culmination of a book is a person The word of god is a person this book never calls itself the word of god It doesn't we've adopted the term because we'd rather serve the book than love the man He is the word made flesh and dwelt among us When the word divides between soul and spirit he's not talking about the book. He's talking about the man jesus christ Who divides between soul and spirit now? I love this book. I read this book almost every day of my life I study it. I know lots about this book. I will continue to read this book Because I love the man who wrote it All right Sarah's by the last person on the planet to read the jake book She normally reads everything right away and she's been very busy So she hasn't gotten to it till her school year is kind of winding down. So she's getting into it some now um Sarah doesn't not read a book. I write Because well, she knows me. She doesn't need the book Well, she doesn't really need the book She enjoys the book That'd be like me saying well, you know, I know sarah and I love her So if she sends me an email when we don't do email when I'm When I'm stateside we got cell phones that call each other instead. You don't mess with that But when I'm overseas and it costs $200 a minute to call then we do email I don't read my email. I don't need to read your email because I know sarah and I don't need it Are you kidding every email I get from sarah, man, I can't wait to read it. I that's my link to home So it I don't think saying jesus is the word of god diminishes this my goodness But I think it puts this in its right place This leads us to him if you don't have a growing thriving living relationship with him The book can be a distraction the book can be an idol The book can be a substitute for the real thing But if you know the real thing if you know jesus and if you're you know, and that's just the journey because We all know in part see in part. We're growing in the knowledge of that the man reading everything He's written to us so that we'd understand that's a big deal But he is the way he is the truth. He is the life. It's not in the book There's life and no other first john says except the son in him. We have life. So the whole point of God's revelation is to move us to this relationship So I am the way the truth and what that means for me I this is about my third or fourth time. I've been in this area and every time I fly into this airport I've never Once rented a car from the Harrisburg airport and gone anywhere in this area. So I have no idea where I am I get picked up. Lindsay picked me up the first time I was here a second time and These guys picked me up another time and I get hauled around the place and Hopefully Monday morning I get back to the airport so I can go home and have the best day of the trip. Hopefully that'll work But you know what when I'm in this area From the ship Carmen is the way, right? I don't have to know where I'm going. I don't have to know what time I need to be anywhere If I hang out with Carmen, I'm going to be everywhere. I need to be in that, right? He's the way. Hey, it's all Jesus saying this. You know me hang out with me and I'm going to get you there. Where? Now we get the What was he talking about that where I am there you may be also No one comes to the father Except through me now. We've got the whole of this Is to be in the father the father's house The reason for this death and resurrection so he can take us to where he is is to be in father I write so neat people can read that stuff very well later You get you understand that that's what he's talking about now. I think philip little courage given him by thomas Because at the end of well, I'm in john five. How did that happen? We're back to 14 So thomas asked his question jesus feeds back to him and philip says lord show us the father and it'll be enough for us This is how we know they have no idea who he is. I don't know He says jesus answered and said don't you know me philip even after I've been among you such a long time Anyone who has seen me has seen the father. How can you say show us the father? Don't you believe that I am in the father and that the father is in me and the words I say to you are not my own rather it is the father living in me Who is doing his work? Believe me when I say that I am in the father and the father is in me or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves They say I'll tell you the truth. You're going to do greater things than these. We'll get to that later But what what he describes here is what theologians rightly call Mutual interpenetration The father is in the son the son is in the father. It's not the father's with the son The son is with the father. It's they're in each other That community that we know as god we try to describe it with all kinds of things words like trinity words like there's not even in the scriptures But there's father and son. They're in each other and we know the holy spirit The comforter is in there too, but not mentioned in this particular verse. So we're gonna and I only got two hands anyway So be easier do this Father's in the son and son's in the father. Does that make sense? This is you want to see what this community looks like read the prayer in john 17 The glory you gave me I give to you this I mean the the inter-relationship between a father and a son Is reflected as beautifully in john 17 as it is anywhere. It's a lovely moment That these two exist and the third holy spirit as well orthodox on that too, okay They exist in this incredible community that has been from all time The father absolutely loves the son the son absolutely loves the father the father trusts the son Son trusts the holy spirit holy spirit loves the father. They live in such community together That we describe that as god Father son spirit in a community jesus saying i am in the father the father is in me Now the real uptake of this i'm going to skip some of what's right there because it's just an interest of time I'm going to get down to verse 20 Uh actually let's go back to 19 says before long the world will not see me anymore But you will see me because i live you will live and on that day you will realize that i am in my father And that you are in me And i am in you Here's the offer we've been made into this relationship. I had to borrow some hands you be the father and son Okay, carmen. Can you be the father and son stuff? Okay now we've got since we got some extra hands But not a very long chord the holy spirit is in there too. Okay now. We've got that Mutual interpenetration they exist in that community of love and trust and life in relationship And now jesus says because i live you will live and my life will be you will live and in that day you will realize That you are i'm in the father and that you are in me and i am in you And he invites us to this community Not you can be with us. That's not the language You'll be in us In the community the invitation for god to invite mere created humanity flesh as it were To access that divine community and live in him. Does that make sense? I think that's the most awesome description of it. It's why the language take that little What is that i'm going to say a pronoun it's preposition take that little preposition in i in And run it through the whole of the new testament being in christ being in him Or the colossians one passage about christ in you the hope of glory going back the other way this whole mutual Interpenetration this is the life we're invited to love Without it we miss the whole Incredible beauty of the nature of this relationship that makes sense. So how do how do we How do we find that life? Because i think we've been trained really there's Because that life is scary. Wow almost hung myself. That'd be fun Because that life is scary by the way we as i said we were taping this and somebody said i'll let you guys know If if you want copies of this what i can't imagine after sitting through it You'd want copies of it But if you do or know somebody who does then we're going to make available through lifestream So you can check the website and i don't know how or when we'll get them ready Because they'll take a little bit of processing once we get home and editing and Whatever and figuring out how many discs it is and all that so i can't give you any details about it But if you want them you can write us and if you want me to write you when they're done You can leave me your email on a sheet and when they're ready i'll let you know That done with the advertisement So how do we enter into that life if that's the mutual interpenetration that's where god wants us to go Why don't we why is it difficult seemingly to get there? And uh one of one of my favorite stories in the world from the new testament If you've heard anything i've said you've probably heard me talk about this story. It's one of my favorites It's uh, we call it the parable the prodigal son But lousy title because the parable is not about a son. It's about two sons I think the parable is really about a father And the father that it's about is is a father unlike any you know, and if you don't somebody needs some help You want to get that door for somebody trying to peek their way through There we go Thanks, sorry about that We're trying to lock the rest of them out. So What will that get? Okay Luke 15 Jesus is being accused again of hanging out too much with sinners. That's the problem in luke 15 And so the religious people really don't like it when Jesus hang out with sinners Because when you spend all your life working not to be one of them you would really think you'd get special privileges This is why Pharisees are by and large pretty angry people as I was When you're working hard for god and god's still being nice to people who aren't working hard for god It's just a real issue. So they've got an issue So jesus tells them three stories one about a lost coin one about a lost sheep and then he gets to this Story which is sometimes called the lost son But this is a longer parable and I think he really blows up what's really happening in the context of this story And so I pretty familiar with luke 15 aren't we parable prodigal? Let's see how much of it we can kind of work through together. Why don't we do this? I'm not looking at him You know, I know Most people don't even bring their bibles to sunday services anymore. You know why not Because when the pastor calls out a text most people don't know how to find it And if you spend too long looking for it people know you're biblically illiterate and so it's just easier not to bring your bible I'm serious. That's why a lot of people do not bring their bibles I do workshops for educators all the time I think called bridge billers and I teach first amendment issues and public school deals and mediate disputes What I've noticed about teaching things in the world With secular folks is people don't mind brainstorming don't mind throwing out an idea if it's not right no big deal But christians are always bugged by having to have the right answer And somehow being embarrassed if we don't so I'm not doing this to like test us and see who knows the bible who does I'm just doing this guy. I think it's more fun to work through the story Try and remember as much of it as you remember from wherever you've experienced the story before Okay, so if I say well, then what happened here and you say the wrong thing Don't pass out on me because no one cares. We don't oh, that's you're a bad believer We'll mark that down so we don't have to talk to you like we really is not important to me What's important is that we are learning these things so that we can understand them But I told you there was a father. He had two sons, right? And one of those sons was up to no good. Which son was that you remember older younger Younger boy. What does he ask his dad for? His inheritance Are you doing this for your son? Let me just ask you you can do that or dad You've got sons in their early 20s your son comes and says hey dad. Give me you doing it Are you doing it? Nobody's saying no. I'm not doing it My son is 25. He comes to me next week and said hey dad. Listen. I want the inheritance. I'm inheritance There is no inheritance till I die And after I'm gone now you're not getting it julia's So there you go You know, I don't get this this this is the most incredible story in the world because the the son's up You think the father's surprised here. He doesn't know the son's going to do bad things with his money If the son is going to dishonor him that much He knows The crazy thing about this parable is the father does it He gives his son his share of the inheritance And he said and what does the boy do with it? You remember? Party party. Okay. That's one way to say it What does he do first? This tells you a lot about this boy. What does he do first? He goes to a far off country. I mean this You see this you think he has father issues a little bit a little bit a little bit a father issue Yeah, he goes to far off country and was he with the money party party He parties down. We don't know what he does riotous living is how it's described his older brother says later He consorted with prostitutes now. We don't know if he did or not. That's the older brother's view of it Jesus just said he partied down pretty well He spent it on himself I'm gonna riot just decadent living Spent not all of it. See that wasn't a total idiot. I think he saved enough to live on He kind of thought well, you know, I'm gonna need this much to live on so I'm gonna spend this much partying Didn't count on the famine Famine came through suddenly what he saved isn't enough Suddenly he's got nothing. What? Inflation. Yeah, place will kill you Cost of gas went higher than you ever imagined it could go. Yeah, gotcha. We pay a dollar more than you all do out here So I'm bringing my car out here to fill up next week and then go back Probably defeats the purpose but spends it all so he's got nothing left. What does he do? He gets a job actually becomes. Yeah, he comes a slave To a pig farmer Yeah, to a pig farm pig farmers not popular in the jewish culture get that. Yeah, okay good And then one day he comes to his senses. What brings him to his senses? He's hungry, but out of that he was hungry for a while, but what really brought him to his senses? How does he remember home? He is hungry for pig food and now when you're hungry now Blessed are you when you're at the end of your rope is this boy at the end? This boy's at the end when you sing what you're giving the pigs and you covet it Because you are so hungry You're in a world of hurt, right? So jesus said he comes to his senses And what does he decide to do? Go home to be a son again No Yeah, actually. Yeah, not even quite a slave. Actually he's Slave would be worse, but hired servant. He's gonna. Yeah, I'll just see my dad will hire me Be a hired servant He's got a speech ready. Remember his speech Hey, what does it say? Ah, no, you had soon to get heaven and earth Not worthy to be called your son anymore. Just let me be a hired servant in your house, right? And he starts home now the scene shifts now. We're not seeing the son anymore. Where are we? We're back home with the father And it says about the father when his son was yet a long ways off How does he see that? Watching told you I grew up on a farm. We had a quarter mile dirt driveway from the main road back to our farmhouse My dad was a slave driver. I'm just kidding dad Um My my my kids don't understand the absolute terror of a christmas vacation because for us it was pruning vines in the cold My kids, oh really christmas, but I would rather be in school. We just own those christmas vacation No, dad's got pruning shirts. He's out there sharpening him. I'll get you guys tomorrow sure enough Daylight we're out in the icy snow. It's no icy frost. There was no snow there, but You know great vines when you kind of cutting them off and one of those canes In the cold wind and your face is half frost spit. Yeah, it's not a good moment Dad even made us work on christmas eve and new year's eve. He would always say, you know what? When your cousins get here, we'll stop working There wasn't a moment on new year's day or christmas day if our cousins were christmas eve When we were not looking at the driveway Pruning vines. Come on. Be early. We call it. Can you hear it dad? We're Watching for him to come as soon as we see it. Say, why are you always watching? Why you see something that's a long ways off? You're always looking This is not a short timespan. He's wasted a sizable chunk of money famines hit the land. He's become a slave However long that took this father is still looking And he sees his son while he's yet a long ways off and what does he do? Are you I if you are dumb enough to give your son? Isn't it our daughter her his inheritance? They were dumb enough to go wasted in a far off country and starve themselves to death And they're walking back up the road. Are you running to meet him? I gotta tell him that's sure I am I remember disciplining that boy growing up of mine He was dumb enough to do all that and if he's on his way back to grovel a bit I think I'm of the mind to let him grovel. I gotta tell you. I think I'm standing on the porch saying I knew he'd be back And you just wait you watch him come all the way up to the house and then you know He falls on his face and he starts his little speech. You know dad. I've sinned against that Yeah, yeah, yeah done that And I'm not worried to be yours. What louder loud. I'm not sure I heard you Because to be a good dad you want to make sure the kid really learned their lesson It's not enough that they're just coming home to to be humiliated It's you just gotta load it on a little more. That's the kind of unfortunately dad. I was at times Yeah, I'm not giving him a free pass this dad Sees his son Guys already said he jumps off the porch It takes off running Now get the picture. Okay. He's not wearing trousers He's not wearing jogging shorts. He's not what's he wearing? Long ropes Yeah, long skirts now. I've never run in a long skirt. Think you'll be pleased to know that Understand it's a bit tricky. Is it some of you who have Bit tricky you got to hike that puppy up and Well for a man in this culture To hike up his robes and run down the road Was a great sign of dishonor men didn't do it See we don't want to get that because we see guys running all the time jogging old people jogging shorts that are way too short Get some longer shorts You got that going on all the time. So we don't think about this Now what historians will tell us about this time period really the son The son who took all his daddy's money And wasted it and is coming back poor And hungry and emaciated How the trounce towns people treating that kid? Not I mean Yeah, yeah, you like to see the rich kids kind of gets slapped around a bit. I gotta tell you it's kind of a deal We've had two rich kids, uh, crash their little Ferrari Testosterosis or whatever they are out in the california recently and no nobody's really crying. Oh, poor guy. You really kind of crashed him It's kind of an idiot Yeah The kid is sorry absolutely Uh, grant you that this kid's sort of sorry. He you know, again, he's negotiating for a better life is what he's doing I still don't think The lesson of this story is sunk home yet for this kid. I really don't I'll tell you why in a little bit But you're right. He's coming home at least Yeah, but he's coming home and whatever This son would be getting mocked by the townspeople. Absolutely. Oh, yeah, how'd that inheritance work out there for you, you know Because the stories would have been known the brother at least knew something about him or thought he did anyway But what the historians will tell us is whatever shame and humiliation the son bore coming home through the town Dad trumps when he hikes up his skirts and goes running down the road Whatever mockery was directed at the son would now shift to the father. Oh, look at that It's all over. He's trumped the sunshine part of the running is I'm not going to make you hurt one second longer than it took you to get back to me You're coming back. I have a piece of this from my life. Sarah and I have always Had some single folks near us that have not had family in the area We pretty well had either a single living with us or A couple of singles that came over to dinner three or four times a week We just always said hey our family's your family if you want to hang in here You get a raise at work come by here and tell us we'll celebrate with you You get fired and want to cry come over here. We'll cry with you and we've always had singles It was one of those was a young woman that was probably late 20s and She came over one day with a friend of hers to tell us that she was gay And that her and her friend were moving to hawaii And she wanted me to bless their union together And I gotta tell you we couldn't have been more shocked. We had no idea that that was part of Brenda's life. It's not the same Brenda whose letter we read actually And she was sitting at our table with her friend for lunch one day and just saying Wayne Is there any way God can bless this for us? And I just I wept for her. Sarah and I both we just said you know Brenda We love you that will never change. We'll always love you But very clearly what you're doing is outside the context of what God's revealed about himself and us And this doesn't represent health. This represents some twist in your life that God would heal for both of you No, we can't bless it But we'll love you and they they were crying and you know, they were leaving That friend wasn't crying because we didn't really know her but Brenda was Finally when we were done and they could see I wasn't going to bless their union they Went outside and got in their car and left and I hadn't seen her for three years I was in the middle of teaching one Sunday morning a group of folks that back home When about halfway through what I was sharing Brenda walked through the back door I I now know a little bit about this parable from this Because when I saw Brenda the only thing I wanted to do at that moment Let's go back and hug her. I didn't know if she had repented. I mean I could assume that she was walking through the back door Of a gathering of Christians. So maybe that was what it was about, but it really didn't matter to me And I just I stopped I took the mic off I handed somebody said would you finish this for me and what are you talking about? And I went over to Sarah who was sitting in the front row and I just said honey Brenda's here She what she looked up. Let's go. We walked through the back went and hugged her. She screamed we cried I don't know what the group did to finish the service. We didn't finish it We went outside with Brenda and after three years Brenda had just come to some incredible changes and transformational I don't ever remember Being as excited to see anyone In my life as much as I was excited to see Brenda come back in those stores at that moment other than when I get home to Sarah and um So I know a little bit about what this father felt just a little He's running down the road. He's trumped the son shame taken it on himself the mockery is going to him that People are chasing him down there. Why are they chasing him down the road? The servants remember they're behind him. Why are they chasing? Well, if you're in a school playground and you see kids running for a corner of the playground What do you usually know is going on in the corner of the playground? There's a fight. Yeah Same goes on a bunch of kids running somewhere Something's up to no good and usually two kids are beating the daylights out of each other and everybody goes to watch it Because I guess fights pretty interesting I'm sure these slaves just thought that dad's going to whack that boy good And he's running down the road. We're going to run after him to see what goes on Maybe he doesn't want his son to set foot on the property. I don't know and I don't know what the sun was feeling I can imagine the sun You know if you've got if you've got a hard conversation in front of you You probably got your head down practicing your line, right? Your opening line. I do that a lot You know, I get that make sure you get the first words out of syndicates heaven earth Somewhere here's the flop flop flop of sandals bearing down on him. He looks up and it's dad. He doesn't I don't think he's anticipating Oh dad, welcome home. I think he he launches into his speech right away cut the father of syndicates heaven and earth And I don't be worthy because you said Does the father ever acknowledge the speech? He never does he never does. Oh, I'm glad you've come to your senses boy. He never says a word to him He grabs him tackles him hugs him kisses him They're rolling in the dirt together as max locato describes it Just frolicking and dad's kissing his boy and hugging he jumps up and he turns to the slaves who've come looking for a fight And I haven't got one Turn to them and he says Get the robe get the ring get the sandals Like the barbecue kill the cow My son's home Now this is this is the most incredible parable to me because this father acts like no father you and I have ever known What father do you know has ever given his son an inheritance who was up to no good especially? what father I I've told this story all over the world. I actually came up one person that break time said I know a father who did this and I said Yeah, his son was 28 years old crack addict Been in and out of jail for theft and things and was in a flop house Praying for his son one day. This father felt like God said give your boy his inheritance And he went well, you just need to die doing that what you're talking about Wrestled with it for months finally concluded that this is what God was asking him to do. He had three boys So he liquidated enough of his estate to get cash for a third of it He put that third in a bank account in his son's name And he went into the seedy part of town to find his son and finally found him on an old dilapidated mattress in a flop house Went to his son was his son saw a dad come and still in this crack stupor Got all defensive and scared and know what dad was coming for and he said son. I'm not here to hurt you He went kneel down by the by the bed and he said I love you. I've always loved you I'm afraid you're not going to live long enough to see this So I brought it to you and he hands the son the check the passbook He says what is this? He says son, this is your inheritance I'm going to give it to you now to do with what you will And the dad left the story turned out great. Isn't that something I'd recommend anybody doing god tells you to do it great The son checked himself into rehab later that day Cut off crack went back and went back to university bought himself an education Turned out marvellously. I just quote amazing story Son finally had a way out But we just don't know a father like this one. What father loves their son enough to give him an inheritance when he's up to no good How could even jesus tell a story like this? Except he had already seen it In a garden called Eden God gave us everything we needed And gave us the freedom to live it without him And we did and we walked away Jesus is only telling the history of salvation. It's already been done The younger sons have already taken the inheritance and squandered it in the world on their own pleasure instead of god's life It's already been done And the father waits Till sin works its course in us and we're just tired of Living to ourselves and trying to provide for ourselves and feed ourselves and then maybe decide to turn home and Be god's slave be the father's slave I think there's amazing moments of the father Revealing himself in this verse and this portion of scripture. I'm not asking people where where do you think in the story? There's some real key moments the father Giving his son the inheritance and letting him go the father waiting over the course of years for his son to come back the son And then welcoming him home with such forgiveness and Reinstituting him as a son in the house not a hired servant at all Where in this parable? Do you think the father demonstrates his love best for the son? Where in this parable is the father love the son the most? What do you think? Huh letting him go Oh my gosh from a mother's standpoint isn't letting him go the hardest could be Anybody else thought Given yeah letting him go giving him the stuff and letting him go Could be You know I think when I read through this parable And I think it's even funny that we think of loving the most or loving the least I think what's in this parable is the father's love is the only constant thing in this parable He loves the son totally when he lets him go Loves the son totally when he waits for him to come back Loves the son totally when he comes back the drama of the parable is not driven by the rise and fall of a father's affection That's the constant That drives the drama the story is the son's perception of that love When he demands his father's inheritance, he's living as if he is less loved When he takes that inheritance to a far off country, he's living as if he is not loved by his father When he squanders it on his own amusement He's living as if he is not loved when he ends up selling himself into slavery He still does not have any idea how much this father loves him And even when he comes home to grovel himself a hired hand job He still does not understand how much this father loves him all of our wanderings and sin Result from the fact that we have no idea how much this father loves us Measure loving human terms we try to convince ourselves of god's love We all have disappointments things god hasn't done for us when we thought he could should would if he loved us We've all had disappointments. We've all had hurts, but the reason we find ourselves flailing in sin Is because we have no idea how loved we are does that son ever get it? I don't know At some point maybe eating that steak in that house Realizing he's a son again. Maybe then it finally sinks in And we also know I think now why the father gave him the inheritance and let him go to begin with How does the father do that? What does the father have with his son at the end of the parable that he does not have at its beginning? What is it? That's a relationship of affection Does he have it at the start? No son doesn't treat him with any affection. He has it for the son Son doesn't have it for him Why does he let him go? Why does he trade his inheritance? Send it off into debauchers living In hopes that a son would come home that would share this affection with his father. I think that's the deal That was so important to god I think that gives us some glimpse at why eden why A tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Why why that? Because god treasures in our relationship with him not our obedience But our affection God does not want the indentured servitude of slaves But the affection the extravagant affection Of sons and daughters whom he loves Does that make sense? It's a whole parable. I think is about this relational Engagement that god doesn't have that god wants And that god's willing to sacrifice anything to get it And he gets it with that boy But as I said, there's two sons in this passage The older son's out in the field He hears a big brouhaha going in the house, doesn't he? What does he do about that? Remember Who who checks it out? He sends a slave in Sends a slave. Go check out what's going on. Do you think he doesn't know? I'm the third of four brothers Let's tell you what my brother took an inheritance went away and wasted and came back and had a party I'd be mad too and he is mad And I think he's already thinking man fatted calf big party dead south. This doesn't look good I bet he's already thinking it's stupid brother's home. He doesn't go check it out himself Sends a servant to go in the servant comes out and says That brother hears his home. Dad's killed the fatted calf throwing a party and how's the brother respond? Oh hallelujah. That's great He is livid He is so angry The father finds out about it What does the father do? Comes out to his son comes out to him. How you doing? Listen to the language of the older boy Father all my life. I have slaved for you on this farm all my life. I've slaved for you You have not once Killed this fatted calf and invited my friends and I over you haven't done it Now we see that the older brother the goody two shoes brother the brother that stayed home Slaved on the farm the brother didn't ask for the inheritance didn't go wasted on prostitutes And that that's when he finally adds by the way And this son of yours who went out and wasted your money on prostitutes comes home you throw a party for him What's the father say do you remember? Son Don't you realize that everything I have is yours First part of the parable the bad son asked for his inheritance Jesus says and the father divided it up between them both When the father says everything I have is yours. He's absolutely telling the truth The father hasn't owned anything since that younger boy left town It's all belong to the older brother He hasn't used it any better either He sees himself as a slave in father's house. He doesn't know his father any better than the younger son And how do we know that? Because on the day of his father's greatest joy Is the day of the older son's greatest anger? He doesn't get it Interesting Jesus leaves him there We don't get the end of the story. Is he coming to the father's house or not? We don't know Why? Because it's a parable. It's not a real story. It's a parable And the older brother standing right in front of him it is the Pharisees that was complaining at him for partying with sinners They're standing right there. You are the older brother. Are you coming or not coming? In my father's house are many places to dwell but we're not so I would have told you I go there prepare a place for you And if you if I go I will come again and receive you to myself that where I am there you may be also It was the father inviting The son into the same house. He's not coming Now we find out That there's two ways to hide from God one we know well It's called rebellion It's the younger brother the language of rebellion is all about in self-indulgence and self-preference and Squandering and We we know what it is to hide in our sin. We know what that is What Jesus makes clear in this parable is that there's another way to hide from God and that is to hide to God in religion Religion is what this older brother is doing. He's slaving away It's what the Pharisees are doing the ones he's done the parable for That it's just as easy to hide from God in religion as it is to hide from him in rebellion just another way of hiding And as one who's hidden a long time in religious activity for God, I know that you can work that well And miss who he is and yes, it does feel like slavery And it is very frustrating and you work hard and then some nut Who was a drug addict murdering monster when he was a kid get saved writes a book it sells more than yours Because you never murdered anybody so you don't have a near good a book to sell Yeah, that's not right We get into peace together from the new testament is There are three roads that you can choose to walk on I always thought there were only two everything I grew up was either in rebellion Or you're in the life of jesus And so by saying that we just create this whole religious veneer and we call it the life of jesus But it's the language of slavery it is the language of fear Well, won't you give me some words that go over here with religious slavery? Duty great word both duties. That would be funny, but let's not do that. Um, yeah control rules Expectation oh, I like these words approval shame guilt Pardon pressure My favorite word that we use in religious environments today accountability covering Submissiveness it's all about power. It's about control It's about pressure. It's about expectations. It's slavery. That's all what religion is Religion is all of that And it's just another way to hide from who god is Tithing there you go I've got a friend that drew me a cartoon a while back. I put on my newsletter once I don't know if it's on the website anywhere, but this is a guy said jesus is standing there He's saying come in to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you an accountability group Because that will help the reason I like jumping on the accountability thing Is because we've used it to define body life in the 21st century. We have It's all about accountability But you can't find anywhere in scripture Where the word accountability is tied to our relationship as brothers and sisters. It's not there Not anywhere. We talk the scripture talks about my accountability to god We are all going to give an account to god. It does say that that's there But what we're asked to do for each other is oh, no one nothing except to love one another if you love each other Accountability I know most people use the term accountability in terms of fellowship I mean, well, we're honest with each other and we will admonish or confront if we see somebody struggling and You know what? I think love does that. I don't think accountability is that Uh, when you're on the freeway and that highway patrolman pulls behind you and you're going down the freeway You are probably for that moment the safest driver on the road. Am I right? And you're probably as safe as you will ever be because not only are you driving better everybody around you driving better But do you enjoy it? I mean, you just when he finally pulls off at the next one at the next intersection. You're going. Oh, thank god and you Accountability does not endear you relationally. It doesn't do it my love If you and I get to know each other and have affection for each other that affection will take us everywhere we need to go If you're struggling, I will come and get you If I'm hurting hopefully you will come and get me And if I get off into some freaky airfield thing, hopefully you would come down and say, you know what Wayne? I gotta tell you I'm just not tracking where you're at and here's why and we could have a conversation about it But you wouldn't be trying to come at me like a cop and trying to compel me to action That's what accountability means It's the right to compel to action and anytime the body of christ thinks it has a right to compel people to action You end up with all kinds of horrible things that doesn't transform people it kills people Under the guise of trying to help see I think everything about religion is we're trying to help You know people come and get part of the group they go through a difficult thing to get hurt They drop out for a while so if we have a covenant then they'll have to stay even if they're hurt and that'll be good But it always turns out always turns out because Until we lose control of our own lives And live under father We'll never know how to give up trying to control our friends Or sing we're gonna talk about see we talk about some of the negative things about religion here that we're all aware of But there's a whole other piece to this that we're missing Which is the quest for righteousness But it's a righteousness that comes from south effort That's what paul talks about in philippians chapter three When he talks about whatever things were gained to me, what was gained to him? Didn't you have quite a little pedigree? Yeah You know circumcised the eighth day of the tribe of benjamin and raised a Pharisee of Pharisees as to the law found Faultless as the zeal a persecutor of the church philippians three we get paul's little pedigree there man great guy And then he says whatever was to my gain. I now cut his loss Actually said I count his manure It's a better word In view of the surpassing value of knowing christ jesus my lord And be found in him not with the righteousness of my own derived from law. He's talking about religion Not that not it's it's it's not just a quest of religion to control because that's there We've been hurt by but even the religious idea in me that if I try harder and work harder for god I can be better for him religion as an attempt to know god better Is still a way to hide from god because we hide in our self effort we may not want to hide But we are so paul says I don't want to be found in him with the righteousness of my own derived from the works of the law But I want to be found in him With the righteousness that comes from faith And then we'll talk more about this because now he begins to define what I think is the third road These two roads both of them. We'll talk about this more are the roads that are under the law of sin and death And that's language that the new testament uses we'll talk a little bit about it And neither one of these white white paul writes the galatians with such passion you foolish galatians who's bewitched you He's writing because you think this is going to get you closer to jesus It's not There's a whole another way of living which we're going to find just to keep the r's cute relational To live out of the relationship with god. There's a whole another way to live this like this one promises life The self-righteous part of this it promises good things. You'll be different. You'll be better You'll work hard, but it doesn't give you life. It doesn't get there Life is in the sun. That's supposed to be an arrow. Man, that is a mess Uh, we'll fix it at break time. Um That's what we're going to talk about how to live out beyond this not here Not there how to live in the life of relationship and what you're going to notice I hope is not all these are the bad guys Those are the bad guys and we're the good guys Because I think any one of us on this day could say It's still part of me that lives in rebellion against god. It's part of me that does It's part of me that's hooked into religion and I know these religious things coming and going and god And I got to sort that out and there's part of me that's even when I was caught up in that religious stuff There was a part of me that touched some reality in god that stirred my heart with hunger So this is not either or propositions here. These are here's two ways to run from god Here's the only way to get closer And so let's let's learn to give more and more to this in our lives But it's not about oh now we can divide the whole world up. There's them rebellious center pagans out there Is all them religious people who do all that, you know religious gobbledygook morons But we're relational people because we meet in littler groups or what what's that? absolutely And someone's asked me a question today I won't exactly tell you what the question was but we were talking about we can use the word relational It's the one I use a lot There are a lot of people now using the word relational and when they describe it it's this Because here's the relational yet covenants a good way to do it and commitment is a good way to do it And it we use the word relational now gets a popular word Or relational I use the I use the language when I was here Because what we're hoping for I didn't get into religion to control people. I really didn't I got into religion Because there were some ways that god touched my life even as a young man where I knew he was alive in the universe And I wanted to know him And religion was the only way I was given to know him So I worked that thing man. I mean I worked it on others. I worked it for me. I worked it hard And it left me always frustrated every night of my life God what more do you need from me? After all I've done for you man. I still dead in here I'm trying hard. I'm denying myself. I'm not doing lots of stuff. My friends are doing Why do I not have more life? I mean this this was sheer torture for me not the pursuit of religious control I mean I wanted god And I was told this is the way to do it I was taught that the more righteous you can be the more relationship with god you can have isn't that true And the new testament the whole uproom discourse is exactly the opposite of that It is the more relationship you'll have with god The more righteous he'll make you to be It's how do we live with god at our most broken? How do we live with god through my greatest failure if I can't live with him there? I won't be transformed if I've got to earn it to get there if the road to relationship lies through Performance and getting the stuff right believing the right things doing the right thing if it lies through that we have no hope They're just not that bright enough people That's why when jesus says in john fortie right where we stopped reading jesus says if you love me you'll keep my commandments Now religion can take that and say If you love him you'll do what we're telling you to do Here's the commands and you take Ephesians and philippians and old man new man stuff and they say okay These are the new rules now. We're new testament principles. We call them. It's still a law It's still we're going to get better by understanding what we should be doing and then doing it It's still performance the problem is it doesn't work because what needs to change in all of us Is deeper than law could ever touch somebody else might need to help getting in the back door there Whatever help we need it's we're just not good enough bright enough Whole enough only out of this real relationship with jesus Does he begin to untangle sin at its core level? It's not what i'm doing It's why i'm doing it I can resist it but resisting it is not living free of it And we're going to find language in romans 8 flipping chapter 3 the church at laodicea describes Isn't it describes i would rather have you cold or hot But not lukewarm see jesus according to revelation 3 church at laodicea this is the worst place to live Because you think you've got it right And you're missing it And you don't know jesus that i never Who understands laodicea when you're pastoring a group of people My god, i'd rather have you lukewarm than cold. I'd rather have at least you're picking a little body here pretending you're trying to get hot What what's the value of cold? The value of cold is you're living the reality of what your life is It's that boy in that Far-off country eventually in that pigpen. He's living who he really is He is closer to coming home here than this boy is who's slaving and feeling like i'm the goody chuchu chuchu's kid He's my that's why she said i would rather have you cold or hot but so New testament paints three ways to think this thing through and I think i missed that most of my life i read galatians saying oh my gosh, that's the jews Galatians that's the problem is judeism And then when you got a little wiser and you're like, oh, it's really just legalism. So well, that's the catholics Or the presbyterians or somebody else not me And lo and behold realized that i was pastoring the church at galatia. It wasn't good Didn't know i was Closer you are to the truth the more the poison in it is is subtle and Deceptive So we'll come back and sort out this i think the road we want to be on How do we live relationally in the life of the love of the father this is Live loved and love that's that simple live loved and love And live loved and love and then everything that needs to be changed in you gets changed Everything god needs you the work good works. He's prepared for you in advance to do get done as you are loved and love They don't get done as you're trying to jump through hoops to earn it make sense okay