Week 3: The Presence
The late Dr. Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ told this story of a famous oil field
called Yates Pool:
“During the Depression this field was a sheep ranch owned by a man named Yates. Mr.
Yates wasn’t able to make enough on his ranching operation to pay the principal and interest on
the mortgage, so he was in danger of losing his ranch. With little money for clothes or food, his
family (like many others) had to live on government subsidy.
“Day after day, as he grazed his sheep over those rolling West Texas hills, he was no
doubt greatly troubled about how he would pay his bills. Then a seismographic crew from an oil
company came into the area and told him there might be oil on his land. They asked permission
to drill a wildcat well, and he signed a lease contract.
“At 1,115 feet they struck a huge oil reserve. The first well came in at 80,000 barrels a
day. Many subsequent wells were more than twice as large. In fact, thirty years after the
discovery, a government test of one of the wells showed it still had the potential flow of 125,000
barrels of oil a day.
“And Mr. Yates owned it all. The day he purchased the land he had received the oil and
mineral rights. Yet he’d been living on relief. He was a multi-millionaire living in poverty. The
problem? He didn’t know the oil was there even though he owned it.”*
I think that many Christians today—though they have salvation through Jesus
Christ—are still living in spiritual poverty because they haven’t begun to live in the power of
God’s presence within them. It is as though we are living in the land of Christianity, but unaware
that beneath the surface—in the depths of our souls—there are riches at our disposal which God
has made available to us.
Two weeks ago we talked about God’s promise and desire to be with us. From cover to
cover the Bible talks about God’s steps to have that relationship with you and with me. Last
week, we looked at our choice to be with him—that it isn’t pushed on us, but that we make the
decision on whether or not to be with him.
After that decision is made, how do we move toward living in God’s riches instead of in
spiritual poverty? The very premise of our adventure during these six weeks is that we desire a
closer relationship with God, right?
Do you know one of the most amazing verses in the Bible? It’s John 16:7. It is when
Jesus tells his disciples that instead of coming closer to them, he is going away from them. As he
tries to prepare them for his departure, he says these words:
“I tell you the truth: it is for your good that I am going away.”
Just for a moment, consider the disciples’ shock. Imagine if you were in their place.
Your life has been turned upside down by this man.
For three years you’ve been captivated by his every word.
You lived to hear him teach.
You lived to watch him heal.
You lived to see him love.
You left everything to follow him, convinced that he held the key to the future of the
human race. You’ve bet the farm on it.
And now he says he’s going to leave? That’s the end of your world!
You’ve sacrificed everything for him … and now you’re going to lose him!
But then Jesus has the audacity to add: “—and it’s a good thing.”
Sure. Kind of like what parents say before they spank their child: “This is going to hurt
you, but it’s good for you.”
But Jesus is quite serious and gives the reason why it’s a good thing that he leaves. He
says: “Because unless I go away, the counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him
to you.”
Now I want you to think about that for a moment. That’s a staggering statement.
We often think: “I’d give anything to have lived when Jesus did—to hear his voice; to see
his face; to watch him perform miracles.”
But Jesus says, “No. It is better to live in the era of the Spirit than it is to walk with me on
the earth.” Jesus is saying we are more fortunate than the disciples were. You and I have an
advantage over those who actually walked with him!
Since Jesus says it, it must be true … so doesn’t it make sense that if we want to be close
to God we had better thoroughly know and lean on the person of the Holy Spirit? Shouldn’t we
be crystal clear on his identity and ministry?
For Christ-followers to miss this would be disaster.
In the Bible, the image Jesus uses of the Spirit in our life is a river.
Take a look with me at John 7:37–39:
“On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If
anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has
said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those
who believed in him were later to receive.”
The King James version reads: “Out of his belly will flow rivers of living water.”
The word that’s used for “belly” is koilios—it means the “center of your being; the
deepest part of your authentic self.” The belly is that place that gets tied up in knots when you’re
anxious, where squadrons of butterflies fly in formation when you’re afraid, where you are
angry, or unsatisfied, or unhappy.
You may be able to manage your face. You maybe be able to make it look confident
when you’re dying inside. You may fool people by forcing your body language to appear relaxed
when you’re under stress. But your belly is not fooled. It is your inner core. It is where every
major emotion gets registered. It is where you carry the real truth about strength and weakness
with which you face life.
Jesus is basically saying, “If you follow me right down in your guts, your belly—you will
be flowing with energy, hope, love, and power.”
Did you notice in verse 39 what this picture of flowing waters stands for? The Holy
Spirit. This new kind of life is tied to the presence and work of the Holy Spirit. He’s in you.
For the most part, Israel is desert. The audience to whom Jesus was speaking didn’t see
many rivers. What they saw were wadis—troughs that ran through the sand. Wadis were usually
just dry gulches, but after a rain storm they would be filled with water.
So for the people Jesus was teaching in Israel, a full river is life. The opposite, a dry
gulch, is death.
The Bible uses the images of rivers and streams to depict spiritual reality: there is a flow
of God’s presence and power that gives life.
For example, Psalm 46:4 reads, “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of
God.…”
In Jeremiah 17:7–8 the prophet wrote:
“But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be
like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat
comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear
fruit.”
If a river flows unobstructed, all kinds of good things will happen. It will nourish trees. It
provides a home for fish and plants. It gives drinking water to human beings.
But if a river gets dammed up; if it gets blocked, obstructed, polluted, cut off—there’s
death:
“As the deer pants for the water,
So my soul pants for you, O God.” (Psalm 42:1)
In the desert country, when all the wadis are dried up, a deer is going to die if it doesn’t
find water.
The way this applies to our lives is to understand that it is not primarily a statement about
our level of desire. It’s not primarily talking about how much we want to come to church and
sing songs of worship.
It’s a simple observation of fact. It is the predicament of the human race, even if we’re
not aware of it. If the water—availability of Spirit—is blocked off, we will experience loss,
unsatisfied desire, spiritual death.
We see this again in the very last chapter of the Bible, Revelation 22:1–2:
“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from
the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of
the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And
the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”
From the opening scene of Genesis to the closing chapter of Revelation, God creates,
redeems, and then re-creates a world that is to be full of life. The life he creates and offers flows
like the power and purity of a river.
Jesus says that he came so that you would be filled with life—that if someone asked how
you’re doing you would say, “I’m living the most complete, filled up, God-centered, peaceful,
empowered life you could imagine.” I wonder how many of us would answer that way today?
Let’s look at exactly what Jesus said. Turn in your Bibles to John 10:10…
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life,
and have it to the full.”
Over the years I’ve noticed something quite interesting. In some churches almost the only
thing they say about Jesus is how he’ll get you into heaven after you die. They don’t elaborate
much about life on this side of heaven. It’s almost like a fatalistic, foregone conclusion that we
simply slog along until we finally die and go to heaven.
Yet when you read the Gospels Jesus almost never talks about getting people into heaven.
Jesus talks about getting people into life.
Of course that includes life beyond the grave. But it always starts here.
Who does the thief represent? The thief is the Evil One, Satan. We should expect
opposition as Christ followers, but not be fearful of it. The Bible reminds us that “the one who is
in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)
Turn to any book in the New Testament, and you see this picture of amazing life painted.
For example, 1 Peter 1:8 says:
“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now,
you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.”
A little later Peter says of the people he’s writing:
“You have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your
brothers.” (1 Peter 1:22)
Peter is saying that these first-century Christians have rid themselves of malice, deceit,
hypocrisy, envy, and slander. They have humbled themselves under God’s mighty hand.
How many here would say this pretty much describes you?
That you are filled with inexpressible joy?
You are ridding yourself of malice, deceit, hypocrisy, and slander?
When people are around you, they notice your belly is flowing with rivers of living
water?
If you’ve more or less mastered humility—raise your hand!
Here’s what I think happens.
Many people hear about the good news of Jesus Christ. They are overwhelmed by this
vision of hope, and they say, “Yes! I want Jesus in my life!”
And so, for a time, there’s a kind of honeymoon period. They are drawn toward Scripture
in a new way. They get excited and want to tell other people about Jesus. They love to worship.
And some things change in their life. Coarse language gets cleaned up. Certain addictions
may be overcome. They get involved in serving in the church.
But over time this process of change seems to stall. And instead of my life looking like
this amazing picture painted in the New Testament, it looks like this:
—I yell at my children.
—I worry too much about money and my job.
—I get jealous of people more successful or attractive than me.
—I use deception to get out of trouble.
—I pass judgment on people all the time.
When I read the New Testament words about putting off the old nature and being a new
creature in Christ, I’m not jumping with joy at the change. Instead of feeling inspired by them,
these words make me feel discouraged or guilty or confused or just tired.
I get overwhelmed with all the stuff I’m supposed to do. And so I’m stuck with this gap
of what I’m supposed to be as a Christian and what I’m actually experiencing. Have you ever
been there?
Do you know what people do when they’re not closing the gap? These are real strategies.
A lot of people try harder.
They think, “The problem with this gap in my life is I’m just not being heroic enough in
my effort.”
I see this in a lot of you. “I’ll close the gap by sheer spiritual elbow grease—I’ll get up
earlier, pray longer, read another book, listen to more tapes, learn new disciplines, serve more,
work hard to be nicer to my family.”
Then you hear about somebody else who gets up at 4 a.m. to pray, and you feel
guilty—so you resolve do that too. Even though you’re not a morning person.
Even though at 4 a.m. you’re dazed and confused and groggy and grumpy and nobody
wants to be around you. Even Jesus doesn’t want to be with you at 4 in the morning!
But you say to yourself, “This is hard, exhausting, and miserable—so it must be
spiritual.”
You do your absolute best to keep it up for days, weeks, or even months—but you can’t
sustain it. And when you stop, you feel guilty. Pretty soon you start something else.
I’ll tell you a secret that deep inside you may already know, but are afraid to admit—
You’re tired. Not just physically tired. You are weary in your soul.
You are one of those to whom to whom Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary
and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Those are confusing words to you right now, because for you, coming to Jesus is
exhausting. But he wants to close the gap. He wants you to experience rivers of water … the
Spirit … flowing through you. And trying harder isn’t going to sustain you in your journey.
Other people who aren’t closing the gap between who they should be in Christ and who
they are simply pretend.
They know they’re supposed to be different, so they decide to “fake it till they make it.”
When you talk to them, their life is a miracle a minute. They smile a lot. Every prayer
gets answered. Every decision is a word from God. Every sentence ends with “praise the Lord.”
These Christians get good at impression management. One woman John Ortberg knows
had a son who was going through severe depression. But his depression violated the family
image of everything they were trying to portray as “Christian.” And do you know what her
counsel was to her son? She told him to smile because “fake happiness is better than genuine
depression.”
For the pretenders, inside … when everything’s quiet … and they’re alone—the gap’s
still there.
Others try to close the gap by rededication.
One of the places you’ll especially see this in some churches is in their youth groups.
John Ortberg experienced this quite often when he grew up. Here’s how he describes it:
“We’d be sitting around a campfire and the speaker would tell a real emotional story.
He’d say, ‘Last year, there was a group of teenagers who were driving home from this very camp
who got in a car crash and died.’
“Every year it was the same story. By the end of high school it was amazing we had any
teenagers left to go to camp—they apparently kept dying in crashes on the way home!
“But the rededication didn’t close the gap between who we knew we were supposed to be
and who we were.”
Some people try to close the gap by switching spiritual venues.
I have seen this hundreds of times.
Somebody grows up in a non-charismatic church and thinks, “If I just go to a charismatic
church, where they take a different approach to tongues/healing/prayer/worship—that will close
the gap.”
Someone else grows up in charismatic church and thinks, “Things here are so experienceoriented
and shallow; if I just to a church that’s got some deep theology.…” And so they go to
real “heady” church.
Some people choose to go to a church that takes some particular approach to teaching or
evangelism or the sacraments or social action—and they think, “If I just went to another kind of
church—that would close the gap.”
Sometimes it’s like watching a giant game of musical pews.
And some people don’t try to close the gap any longer—they just give up.
They’ve tried all the supposed solutions and feel completely discouraged. Or hopeless.
So inwardly they decide such a different way of life is really not possible. They stay a
Christian. They keep going to church. They maintain their involvement in church life. They sure
hope they’re going to heaven when they die. But they decide that not much can be done about
that gap in this life. So secretly, they give up.
Some of you have.
[PAUSE]
But what if there is another way?
What if Jesus was right?
What if it is possible for you to come increasingly alive with love, joy, peace—and it’s
not by trying harder?
What if the Spirit of God is like a river, flowing all the time in your life?
What if your job isn’t to try harder or run faster or get up earlier?
What if God is at work all the time, in every place that you are?
What if your job is simply to jump in the river?
Your job is to figure out, from one moment to the next, “How do I just stay in the flow?
How do I not do those things that close me off to the Spirit? How do I keep myself aware and
submitted—so that those rivers of living water are running through my belly? How do I learn to
flow with the Spirit?”
Let’s take a look at John 16:12–15 where Jesus teaches about some of the roles the Holy
Spirit has in our lives:
“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of
truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only
what he hears, and he will tell what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what
is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the
Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.”
The Spirit is a funnel through whom the blessings of God come to us. The Christian life
is life lived in the Spirit.
In the passage I read earlier from John 16:7, the word Jesus used for “counselor,”
referring to the Holy Spirit, in the original language is parakletos. This is an extremely rich
word.
It comes from two different Greek words: kaleo—which means “to call” and
para—which means “alongside.” The picture is of someone called to come alongside another
person and stand by them.
It could be translated “comforter,” “helper,” or “advocate.” It was a word which was used
in that day in the legal arena. The parakletos was one who would serve the defendant, acting as a
character witness or a kind of legal counsel.
This word is used only one other time in the New Testament. It’s found in a shorter letter
of John called 1 John, where he writes:
“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we
have one who speaks to the father in our defense [parakletos]— Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole
world.” (1 John 2:1–2)
With the Spirit as our counselor we do not have to live in fear about judgment of God, for
Jesus stands next to us, in effect saying: “On the basis of the cross, this one is mine. They are
innocent. This one belongs to me.”
Turn to John 14:16–18 and let’s look at it together. Jesus is talking with his disciples and
he says:
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you
forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows
him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I
will come to you.”
He says he’ll send “another parakletos”! Who is the first one? It’s Jesus. And he tells his
friends that he won’t leave them as orphans. They won’t be alone and on their own. In fact, he
gives them this amazing promise about the Spirit:
“For he lives with you and will be in you.”
Jesus is saying that the Holy Spirit of almighty God is inside you. He takes up residence
in your life!
Think about your need for a good counselor. Have you ever made a dumb decision? Do
you ever worry about things even though worrying didn’t do you any good? What about people
problems?
I once saw a cartoon of a woman with frazzled hair. She wore a haggard expression and
had dark circles under her eyes. Her face was lined with care and she was saying: “When I woke
up this morning I had one nerve left and now you’re getting on it!”
Does anybody here have people problems? Do some of you have a problem managing
anger? Do some of you beat yourselves up all the time for things that aren’t your fault?
Jesus says he will send what Lloyd Ogilvie calls “the Greatest Counselor in the world.”
I believe there is a deeper adventure of the Spirit open to us. I’m jealous of that for you
and me.
Let me ask you, if you had the ideal counselor—whether a professional counselor or a
trusted friend—wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing?
For example, you would know that you are accepted. With the perfect counselor, you
could say anything and they would always listen. They’d never turn away or reject you or laugh
at you. As you spent time with that counselor, healing and change would begin to take place.
Time spent with the perfect counselor would yield perfect wisdom in your life. Your
ideal counselor could diagnose you with great accuracy. You would find yourself filled with
insight and clarity, guided toward truth and able to make decisions which yield far less negative
consequences and have exponential benefits.
With the ideal counselor, you wouldn’t be stuck with the status quo … but empowered
for change and better living.
It would be nice if you didn’t have to pay for your counselor’s time. Better yet, it would
be nice if your counselor could just go with you wherever you are.
All of this is what the Holy Spirit does.
I have said to the Spirit,
“I want to be your counselee.
I want to have deep, private sessions with you.
I’m tired of trying to solve my problems myself.
I’m tried of carrying life-draining anxieties.
I want to ruthlessly follow your counsel.
I want you to be my counselor.”
The greatest counselor in the world helps us grow. And some of the ways that people
grow in the knowledge of God and insight into the Bible is through the work of the Spirit within
them. That’s why, when someone becomes a Christ-follower, the truths in the Bible become
more clear to them—there’s a partnership taking place because of the Holy Spirit’s presence.
Listen to what the apostle John writes about this in 1 John 2:20 and 27:
“But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.… As for
you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach
you.”
Does this mean we don’t need pastors or sermons anymore? (I know some of you are
getting excited.) Does this mean we can just stop paying their salaries? (More of you are getting
excited.)
The answer to both questions is no! You see, there were people in the church who were
teaching false doctrine—they were creating dissension and fear. These false teachers claimed
that they had special authority based on a superior anointing of the Spirit.
John is encouraging the Christians to whom he was writing (and us today) by basically
saying: “You all have the Spirit. Don’t just be like sheep. Don’t let someone intimidate you by
claiming superior spirituality. You as much as anybody are in direct contact with Spirit of God.”
Another role that the Holy Spirit plays in our lives is that of guiding us.
When Jesus was teaching he referred to the coming of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit’s role
of guidance by saying:
“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.”
To illustrate, let me tell you about a young man named Scott. Scott had asked Christ into
his life when he was young, but through the years he just drifted away from God and desired to
simply control his own destiny—call the shots—live his life however he wanted regardless of the
consequences.
By the time he was in his mid-thirties everything he held onto for security was slipping
through his fingers. As a result of back surgery he could no longer work. His closest friend had
died. He was losing his home … if there was a bottom to be hit in his life he was there and
excavating to go deeper.
Full of despair, Scott was driving around town asking God to show him what to do. He
saw a road sign that said “Dead End” and that was how he felt. For some reason, he decided to
see what was at the end of the road. When he reached it, he found a church.
It wasn’t Sunday, but Scott pulled into the parking lot to cry and pray. He had tried other
churches through the years and never felt accepted. But because of his prayer for guidance he
decided to give this one a try the next Sunday.
He showed up and continued to come, week after week, and found the healing and hope
through Jesus and that community of Christians which he had longed for all his life.
The Holy Spirit can even guide drivers to their destination. You may have a GPS in your
car or use Mapquest—but they fall way short of the directing work of the Spirit of God!
What was prompting Scott to turn down that road? The Holy Spirit.
The Spirit gives us insight into truth. The Spirit gives us guidance. The Spirit also gives
us wisdom. Listen to this promise from the Bible found in the book of James:
“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without
finding fault, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5)
God gives wisdom that we need through the Spirit.
Usually we’ll approach someone and say, “I have a problem.” Then we proceed to lay it
out in great detail and finish by saying, with great emotion: “I need your wisdom on this. Please
give it.”
The Bible is quite clear that it is good to seek counsel from wise people around us. But
wouldn’t it make sense to first go to the Greatest Counselor?
Here’s what we should do.
This week when you face a situation that needs wisdom, insight, and guidance, whether
it’s a:
• Significant decision
• A tough parenting situation
• A relational challenge
• A dilemma at work
• A need for time management
First, stop. Be still—even at work, just take a moment to quiet your heart.
Ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom and insight.
And listen.
The Spirit will bring Scripture to mind. You will have insights—sometimes a nudge to
make the right choices. He’ll guide! But you must listen.
When we partner with the Spirit through the course of each day, a greater dependence on
him builds within us. We become sensitized to his presence. It is as though he is flowing through
us with the freshness of a mountain river.
No longer will we be seeking to close the gap by trying harder, or pretending, or
switching, or even giving up. But we will discover that from within rivers of living water are
flowing from our belly … and the fullness of life that Jesus promised will be ours because God is
closer than we think.
*SOURCE: Untapped Spiritual Resources, by Greg Asimakoupoulos, Naperville, IL. Citation: Bill Bright, “How to Be
Filled with the Spirit” (Campus Crusade publication)
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
god is closer than you think pt2
Week 2: The Choice
Pastor John Ortberg, who wrote God Is Closer Than You Think, tells of a relative of
his—a young woman and her husband—who bought an older home a few years ago and were
fixing it up.
The husband was going through the attic during one of those fix-up days and found an
old paper bag. Knowing it wasn’t something they had put there—and out of curiosity—he
decided to look inside. There was money in the bag. In fact, it turned out to be thousands and
thousands of dollars!
They looked at the dates on the bills and they were all from many decades ago—that bag
had been up there for ages. There was no way to track who put it there first—if it was a miser’s
savings or left over from some bank heist.
The husband said, “What are ethics of this—what do we do with it?”
John’s relative replied, “Maybe we should call John.”
The husband paused for a moment and said, “No—he’s a pastor. He’ll tell us we have to
give it back.”
Instead, they decided to call a lawyer so they wouldn’t get any ethical advice at all! He
said they could keep it.
They did end up calling John anyway. He also said that they could keep it … as long as
they tithed … to a pastor that they were related to.
[PAUSE]
Here’s the strange thing … somebody put a treasure in the attic and then forgot it was
there.
Just think about all the other owners between then and now, living in that house for years.
Imagine the flood of financial obligations and crises that existed during that time: bills, mortgage
payments, taxes, debt. There were, no doubt, some sleepless nights and anxious moments in that
house about financial concerns.
And the whole time there was a treasure in the house.
Here’s the point:
There was a huge gap between the riches available to those people … and the reality in
which they lived. They never made the effort to go to the attic. They never saw the treasure.
The reality for many people today is that there is a gap between what they are
experiencing in their relationship with God and what they know they could be experiencing.
It is as though they are living and walking around in the house knowing that there is
treasure in the attic—but it is a treasure that they have rarely, if ever, experienced. They know
that there’s something more, but haven’t been willing to visit the attic.
The choice is theirs, but they haven’t made the choice to be with God.
Last week we talked about God’s desire from the beginning of creation to be with
us—and all the different ways he has expressed that. But even with all his desire and effort, he
still leaves it up to you and me to make the choice to be with him.
And remember, God is closer than you think.
Today we’re going to talk about our choice … to go to the attic … to move toward God.
And we’re going to consider what it means to pursue a relationship with him.
Jesus said anyone who makes his way into the kingdom of God is like a man who finds
treasure buried in a field; in his joy he sells everything he owns because this is the one thing he
needs.
This guy didn’t go out treasure seeking. He wasn’t some Indiana Jones or on a hunt for
“national treasure” … it was discovered through the natural course of doing life—of working the
fields. And when he invested in the field he got a lot more in return than just a plot of land.
You see, when we make the choice to be with God, it doesn’t mean that we have to go
and sit on a mountain and learn how to chant; or eat one meal a week; or read our Bibles and
pray twenty-three hours a day … we can learn to be with Jesus through every part of every day.
As Christ-followers, as disciples, there’s a treasure to be found by being with Jesus and it
is worth everything we can invest to spend every day with him. A disciple is someone who seeks
concretely to make each day a chance to be with Jesus, to learn from Jesus …
To become like Jesus.
As we consider what it means to make the choice to be with Jesus every day, I’m going to
cover four aspects of life which illustrate how interwoven this concept can be in the fabric of our
days.
Let’s start with work. How do you work with Jesus?
Did you know that the single largest block of waking time in most of our lives is spent
working? How we work—and the way we approach our work—can actually be a life-or-death
decision for us.
This is very significant. There was a survey done which discovered that outside of
genetics, the single most important predictor of longevity of life was work satisfaction!
[PAUSE]
Now that you know that, are some of you wondering if you’re going to die at any
moment?!
Since work is such an important part of our lives, I think it’s important that we say a bit
about what work is from a biblical perspective.
Over the last few centuries, arising from the Industrial Revolution, we’ve come to equate
work with having a job which in turn yields our paycheck.
The result has been that we have sort of distinguished between those who “work” and
those who “do not work.” In fact, many people—those who are retired, or stay-at-home parents,
or the unemployed—are thought of as not working.
Do you remember in school when you were told, “There’s no such thing as a stupid
question?” Oh yes there is …
Go ask a mom of young children: “Do you work?” THAT’S a stupid question!
We have to reclaim the biblical definition of work because it encompasses far more than
our culture has defined. The biblical perspective is that work is the creation of value as I serve
God, as I care for his creation, and as I seek to benefit the lives of other people.
Work includes our paid employment. And work also includes doing household chores. It
includes study and schoolwork. It includes our volunteer service at church or in the community.
Here’s a simple test you can take right now to evaluate whether or not you are
functioning with a biblical perspective of work. Ask yourself this question:
“If tomorrow, Jesus were to show up while I’m working, looking just like me, would
things go any differently?”
Every day, no matter what work you are doing, equals an opportunity to learn from Jesus
how to do your job as he would. Every day we should be working a little bit better than the day
before. Some days it’s no more than an incremental improvement in our attitude. Other days, it’s
not robbing our employers of the energy, or focus, or time for which they are paying us.
There’s a fundamental statement about work in the Bible which serves as kind of a
recalibrating directive that I try to remember in all that I do. Here it is:
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.…
It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 3:23–24)
Rate yourself on a scale of 1–10, with 1 representing “Whatever I do I do as little as
possible when I do it” and 10 representing “I have ‘HWJW” on a bracelet, on my screensaver,
and on posters around my office and home that remind me: “How Would Jesus Work?” Where
are you on the scale?
Here’s a true story—I’m not making this up:
A husband was at home on the couch reading the newspaper. His wife, who was eight
months pregnant, was in the kitchen—on her hands and knees—waxing the kitchen floor.
His mother-in-law walks in and exclaims: “How can you let my daughter do this?”
He peers over his newspaper and replies, “I tried to help. I told her if she’d tie a rag
around her middle, she’d get done twice as fast.”
[PAUSE]
No one ever saw him again!
Dallas Willard writes this about work: We “routinely sacrifice our comfort and pleasure
for the quality of our work, whether it be ax handles, tacos, or the development of a student
we’re teaching … We do the job well because that is what Jesus would like, and we admire and
love him. It is what he would do.”
Here’s a few more questions to ask yourself:
Am I making an idol of my work?
Do I sacrifice time and energy that ought to go to my family, or friendships, or rest, or to
prayer?
How do I treat my coworkers?
If I’m in a position of authority, do I treat those who report to me as Jesus would? Am I
truthful and fair? Do I work for their growth and development?
Do I regularly ask God for help, wisdom, and guidance in my work?
Am I scrupulously honest in my work? Am I careful with expense reports? Do I
reimburse the company for personal use of phone or equipment?
Is my work in line with my sense of how God has gifted and called me? If not, what steps
can I take to move in the right direction? How can I continue to serve with diligence in the
meantime?
Whatever activity may constitute work, how we choose to do it reflects our choice to be
with God or to move away from God.
It’s important to remember that work is one of best learning opportunities most of us
have to discover truth about ourselves. It is an intensive environment which God uses to test and
shape us to become more like Jesus.
When we receive feedback, or performance reviews, and when there’s an honest
assessment of our attitudes and habits it can be very significant—if we’re truly open.
Attitude is huge.
Concerning attitude, how many of you are defensive?
Perhaps you are sitting next to someone who is so defensive they won’t admit it … so
why don’t you just raise your hand for them in a spirit of community?!
Teachability in the workplace is a key attitude which honors Christ. Asking for and
learning from honest feedback in your work is one of the greatest growth opportunities you’ll
ever have.
So tomorrow when you go to your work, take a moment before you start and say:
“Here’s my chance to learn from Jesus how to live in his kingdom.”
Now let’s turn the corner and talk about the opposite of work. Another area where we can
make the choice to be with Jesus is in our …
Recreational activities and leisure time
God did not make you to work all the time.
This may come as a shock to some of the “type A’s” here, but part of God’s will for you
is to rest, relax, create, play, and be renewed.
Each moment of free time that you have equals a chance to be with him.
But we need to be intentional, because the default mode with our time often goes toward
what one sociologist calls an eight-hundred-pound gorilla of leisure: the television. Time
researchers John Robinson and Geoffrey Godbey found that television took almost 40 percent of
American’s free time in 1995—and that was an increase of a third from thirty years earlier!
Robert Putnam, in his book Bowling Alone, writes, “Dependence on television for
entertainment is not merely a significant predictor of loss of community; it is the single most
consistent predictor I have discovered.”
Nothing—not low education, not full-time work, not long commutes, not poverty or
financial distress—is more broadly connected with loss of community and relational
disconnection than is dependence on TV for entertainment.
People who rely on TV for entertainment are least likely to volunteer, least likely to stay
in touch with friends, least likely to attend church—and most likely to give another driver the
finger.
Television is surely habit forming and may be mildly addictive. In 1977, the Detroit Free
Press was able to find only five out of one-hundred and twenty families willing to give up TV
for a month in return for five-hundred dollars.
People who do give up TV report experiencing boredom, anxiety, irritation, and
depression. One woman observed: “It was terrible. We did nothing—my husband and I talked.”
So why are we so hooked on it? Does it produce high levels of joy, growth, and meaning?
No.
In fact, in one study, researchers had subjects carry beepers, and when the beeper went
off they’d write what they were doing, and how they felt. Here’s what they discovered: TV
watching was associated with feelings of passivity and lowered alertness. It was rated below
every other leisure activity—even below work!
So why are we devoted to it? In Putnam’s book he quotes British researchers Sue
Bowden and Avner Offer who say that: “Television is the cheapest and least demanding way to
avert boredom.… TV’s dominance in our lives reflects not its sublime pleasures but its minimal
costs.”
So how can you reclaim your recreational and leisure time—and choose to be with Jesus
instead of Hollywood?
Limit how much you watch. We have rule in our house about how much the TV can be
on—decide on a limit.
Limit the number of TVs in your house.
Here’s a shocking factoid: In 1970—6 percent of all sixth graders had TVs in their
bedrooms. But by 1999—77 percent of sixth graders had their own bedroom TV!
Perhaps you would choose to go for a day/weekend/week of no TV. Take it even further
and go on a “media fast.”
As you are reclaiming the time lost to TV, ask yourself: “What are some of the activities
that God uses to breathe life into me? What do I engage in that produces gratitude, joy, and
renewal?”
Some people love to get out into nature—either riding a motorcycle, hiking, or biking.
Others enjoy cooking—so for them reading cookbooks and creating new dishes is their
way of feeling refreshed and renewed.
Maybe your deal is eating—you need to find someone whose deal is cooking and strike
up a spiritual friendship!
Tomorrow you’ll probably have some free time. Before you pick up the remote control,
stop … and say, “Here’s my chance—to be with Jesus, learn how to become like him.”
A third area where we can make the choice to be with Jesus is through our …
Lifestyle choices
We all make choices about the way we’ll spend our time. The way we spend our money.
What our pace of life will be. How much debt we’ll live in. How many commitments we’ll
make. How much pressure we’ll be under—
These have an enormous impact on whether we’re able to get closer to God, or if we are
moving farther away.
The apostle Paul basically said: “Don’t let the world squeeze you into its mold.” (Romans
12:2)
But what happens is that the world says: “Move faster!”—and so we do!
But when we move faster it cuts us off from prayer. We become more anxious and
increasingly angry … and eventually unable to love.
Media tycoon Robert Maxwell was being picked up at the airport by an employee. But
the employee was late picking him up, so Maxwell fired him. The employee was Maxwell’s own
son.
It’s not just media tycoons who wrestle with this. If Satan can’t make you defy God
outright, he’ll settle for just making you real busy.
John Ortberg tells about a time when he was in Germany for a weekend ministry
assignment. It was a full weekend—he flew out from Chicago on a Friday night and arrived
Saturday afternoon. Here’s how he describes the weekend:
“I arrived Saturday afternoon and did four talks, a question-and-answer session, a couple
of magazine interviews, and a radio broadcast in forty-eight hours. There was still one interview
left to go, so we decided to do that in the car on the way to the airport.
“On the autobahn—where there is no speed limit—we didn’t have much time to catch the
plane. I looked up—and we were driving 230 kilometers—something over 140 miles per
hour—and I’m saying into the tape recorder—
“hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day …
“you must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life …
“Next to me the German countryside is an absolute blur out the window. The guy from
Willow with me was in the front seat and he sat there thinking: This is how I’m going to die;
traveling at the speed of sound in Germany, listening to someone drone on in the backseat about
eliminating hurry from my life.”
So what’s the pace of life at which you can live and still be intimately connected to God?
What’s the pace of life at which you will be able to effectively love people and live with joy?
Another lifestyle choice has to do with our stuff. Our world says: “Accumulate more.”
We live in a consumer culture:
—Holidays, which once existed for rest and worship, are now primarily excuses to shop
and consume.
—Malls have replaced churches and town squares as gathering places.
And the rise in consumerism has led to an increase in clutter in our lives. One of the ways
that we can choose to be with God is to clear out the clutter so that we are freer to focus on him.
Go on a forty-day de-clutter campaign in your home. Clean out your closets and donate excess
stuff to charity.
Dr. Paul Pearsall writes, “You may need help with this assignment, because many of my
patients cannot seem to bring themselves to get rid of their stuff. You may require a closet
exorcist experienced in dealing with the demons of closet clutter. A trusted friend can also
prevent the ‘restuffing phenomenon.’ Restuffing happens when in the process of cleaning out
closets and drawers, we somehow are stimulated to acquire more stuff.
“One of my patients said: ‘Until I tried to get rid of all my junk I didn’t need or use, I
didn’t realize how much I didn’t have. I really had to go out shopping.’ This ‘stuff logic’ can
sometimes be blocked by a friend who is better disciplined in simplification.
“Beware of the stuff co-addicts who may see a closet cleaning as a chance to acquire stuff
for themselves from your stuff supply. Such friends are likely to go with you on a restuffing
expedition or even to trade stuff with you.”
Obviously that doesn’t mean it’s wrong to shop. It’s fine to love beauty and enjoy
excellence and fine design—those are good things.
The point is, we each need to come to the place where we can say: “I will need God’s
help to make purchasing decisions wisely.”
Carry that wisdom principle into other areas of life. A job change. Relocation. A new
relationship. Any time you make a major life decision, you need to ask the question: “How will
this impact my ability to follow Christ—as a worker, dad, friend, husband, and so on.
If you are going to make the choice to be with Jesus through your lifestyle choices,
saying yes to Jesus means you are going to have to say no to some other things.
What do you need to say no to?
—Maybe you say no to debt. Perhaps you’ll want to take a financial management course
at your church. Start to make the move from financial pressure to generosity.
—Maybe you say no to certain time commitments. There could be an activity you or the
kids are involved in—and it’s not a bad thing in itself, but it’s contributing to an overall
pace of life for you or your family that is not healthy.
—Maybe it’s a major purchase that could put you under financial pressure that would not
be healthy.
—Maybe it’s a need to honor the Sabbath.
Be sure to have times of rest or vacation with people you love that will be renewing to
you and remind you of God’s goodness. Bring a healthy rhythm to your life’s pace and balance
with your stuff. Make the choice to be with Jesus in your lifestyle choices.
The fourth area where we can make the choice to be with Jesus is in our …
Relationships
Have you ever considered that when you are with other people, you are making the
choice to either be with Jesus in those relationships or to exclude him?
Every day you are interacting with people. Every interaction is a chance to learn from
Jesus how to form a loving heart.
For instance: The moment of greeting is a very important moment. Every culture has
certain expressions or rituals or questions used in greeting that say:
“You are significant. You matter to me.”
The Bible says a lot about greetings. There was a standard greeting in the Old Testament
which was simply “peace.” The Hebrew word is shalom, which means, “I hope you flourish in
God’s good order.”
Now apparently, some people got overly zealous with their greeting and it was anything
but “peace.” In the book of Proverbs there’s a warning not to get super-spiritual in your greeting.
It says, “If a man loudly blesses his neighbor in the morning, it will be taken as a curse.”
Jesus warns of the religious leaders, saying, “They … love to be greeted in the
marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at
banquets.” In other words, the act of greeting for these pious folks was all about being sure their
sense of status and importance was propped up. Am I being greeted by the “right people” in the
“right way”? Do important people remember my name? Do they say nice things to me?
Four times when Paul wrote to the churches he instructed them to “greet one another with
a holy kiss.” It was part of their culture.
It sounds kind of weird to me. Though I’m not sure we have a lot to brag about. In our
culture, we’ve become the first in history where the standard greeting is: “Whassssup?”
Here are some ways to make the choice to be with Jesus when you greet someone:
—As you greet them, say a silent prayer asking God to bless them (I would recommend
that you not drop to your knees, clasp your hands, and close your eyes—doing this may actually
keep them from ever choosing to meet you!).
—Consider the gift of a touch. Some people never get touched. A handshake or a hand on
a shoulder can make a huge difference in a person’s life.
Go through the New Testament and see how often Jesus touches people. He especially
touches people who didn’t normally get touched—sinners, lepers, children—and they expressed
authentic joy as a result!
Another facet of choosing to be with Jesus in our relationships is through our friendships.
On March 3, 2000, the Wall Street Journal printed an article called, “Whatever Happened
to Friendship?” In it, Nancy Ann Jeffrey states that we’re living in the midst of what could be
called “the marginalization of friendship.”
“People are saying—‘It’s the one thing I can give up,’ says sociologist Jan Yager.
“They’re diminishing the value of friendship.”
Even though the TV comedy Friends was a hit, the reality is that friendships are
becoming less common. When friendships are formed, they are more short-lived and more
superficial.
A friendless life is not God’s plan for human life. When we make a choice to live with
marginalized friendships—or no friendships—we are choosing to be less “with” Jesus—because
he reveals himself to us through the community of friendship. The Bible says, “A friend loves at
all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”
Friendship is necessary for spiritual growth. In the book of Proverbs it says: “As iron
sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”
Are you devoting enough time, attention, and energy to cultivating deep spiritual
friendships?
Another kind of relationship where we not only make the choice to be with Jesus, but
cling to him is when we have to deal with difficult people.
You may not believe this, but you need difficult people in your life.
Jesus was very emphatic about this. He said (and I paraphrase), “Love your
enemies—those who are difficult for you to like. If you love only those who love you
back—where’s the goodness in that? Even the mafia does that much. And if you greet only your
brothers, what are you doing more than others? Drug dealers do the same thing.”
The ability to love difficult people is like a litmus test of spiritual growth.
This means—you need difficult people in your life. It is absolutely necessary for your
development. Through those relationships you are drawn more closely to Christ because your
new intention is to treat these people the way Jesus would, and you can’t do that apart from him.
If you’ve got some difficult people in your life—be glad.
If you don’t—we have a list here at the church. We can assign you some.
I want you to think of someone who is difficult for you to love:
Maybe someone at work.
Maybe someone in your family.
Maybe an ex-spouse.
Maybe it varies—a relationship that sometimes goes smoothly, sometimes doesn’t.
Every time you have an encounter with someone who’s difficult for you to love,
remember:
Here’s my chance to learn from Jesus how to live in his kingdom. Here’s my chance to be
with Jesus in the stuff of everyday life.
Every day, woven into the fabric of our activities and relationships, are choices to be with
Jesus or to attempt life on our own.
Every day we face choices to go into the attic where the treasure is, or to go through that
day missing the richness of life found in the choice to be with Jesus.
Moses once prayed, “Teach us to number our days aright, so that we may gain a heart of
wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)
I pray that God would help us to wake up every morning and say, “Here’s my
opportunity…
To be with Jesus,
To learn from Jesus,
How to become like Jesus.
And treasure this day.”
Pastor John Ortberg, who wrote God Is Closer Than You Think, tells of a relative of
his—a young woman and her husband—who bought an older home a few years ago and were
fixing it up.
The husband was going through the attic during one of those fix-up days and found an
old paper bag. Knowing it wasn’t something they had put there—and out of curiosity—he
decided to look inside. There was money in the bag. In fact, it turned out to be thousands and
thousands of dollars!
They looked at the dates on the bills and they were all from many decades ago—that bag
had been up there for ages. There was no way to track who put it there first—if it was a miser’s
savings or left over from some bank heist.
The husband said, “What are ethics of this—what do we do with it?”
John’s relative replied, “Maybe we should call John.”
The husband paused for a moment and said, “No—he’s a pastor. He’ll tell us we have to
give it back.”
Instead, they decided to call a lawyer so they wouldn’t get any ethical advice at all! He
said they could keep it.
They did end up calling John anyway. He also said that they could keep it … as long as
they tithed … to a pastor that they were related to.
[PAUSE]
Here’s the strange thing … somebody put a treasure in the attic and then forgot it was
there.
Just think about all the other owners between then and now, living in that house for years.
Imagine the flood of financial obligations and crises that existed during that time: bills, mortgage
payments, taxes, debt. There were, no doubt, some sleepless nights and anxious moments in that
house about financial concerns.
And the whole time there was a treasure in the house.
Here’s the point:
There was a huge gap between the riches available to those people … and the reality in
which they lived. They never made the effort to go to the attic. They never saw the treasure.
The reality for many people today is that there is a gap between what they are
experiencing in their relationship with God and what they know they could be experiencing.
It is as though they are living and walking around in the house knowing that there is
treasure in the attic—but it is a treasure that they have rarely, if ever, experienced. They know
that there’s something more, but haven’t been willing to visit the attic.
The choice is theirs, but they haven’t made the choice to be with God.
Last week we talked about God’s desire from the beginning of creation to be with
us—and all the different ways he has expressed that. But even with all his desire and effort, he
still leaves it up to you and me to make the choice to be with him.
And remember, God is closer than you think.
Today we’re going to talk about our choice … to go to the attic … to move toward God.
And we’re going to consider what it means to pursue a relationship with him.
Jesus said anyone who makes his way into the kingdom of God is like a man who finds
treasure buried in a field; in his joy he sells everything he owns because this is the one thing he
needs.
This guy didn’t go out treasure seeking. He wasn’t some Indiana Jones or on a hunt for
“national treasure” … it was discovered through the natural course of doing life—of working the
fields. And when he invested in the field he got a lot more in return than just a plot of land.
You see, when we make the choice to be with God, it doesn’t mean that we have to go
and sit on a mountain and learn how to chant; or eat one meal a week; or read our Bibles and
pray twenty-three hours a day … we can learn to be with Jesus through every part of every day.
As Christ-followers, as disciples, there’s a treasure to be found by being with Jesus and it
is worth everything we can invest to spend every day with him. A disciple is someone who seeks
concretely to make each day a chance to be with Jesus, to learn from Jesus …
To become like Jesus.
As we consider what it means to make the choice to be with Jesus every day, I’m going to
cover four aspects of life which illustrate how interwoven this concept can be in the fabric of our
days.
Let’s start with work. How do you work with Jesus?
Did you know that the single largest block of waking time in most of our lives is spent
working? How we work—and the way we approach our work—can actually be a life-or-death
decision for us.
This is very significant. There was a survey done which discovered that outside of
genetics, the single most important predictor of longevity of life was work satisfaction!
[PAUSE]
Now that you know that, are some of you wondering if you’re going to die at any
moment?!
Since work is such an important part of our lives, I think it’s important that we say a bit
about what work is from a biblical perspective.
Over the last few centuries, arising from the Industrial Revolution, we’ve come to equate
work with having a job which in turn yields our paycheck.
The result has been that we have sort of distinguished between those who “work” and
those who “do not work.” In fact, many people—those who are retired, or stay-at-home parents,
or the unemployed—are thought of as not working.
Do you remember in school when you were told, “There’s no such thing as a stupid
question?” Oh yes there is …
Go ask a mom of young children: “Do you work?” THAT’S a stupid question!
We have to reclaim the biblical definition of work because it encompasses far more than
our culture has defined. The biblical perspective is that work is the creation of value as I serve
God, as I care for his creation, and as I seek to benefit the lives of other people.
Work includes our paid employment. And work also includes doing household chores. It
includes study and schoolwork. It includes our volunteer service at church or in the community.
Here’s a simple test you can take right now to evaluate whether or not you are
functioning with a biblical perspective of work. Ask yourself this question:
“If tomorrow, Jesus were to show up while I’m working, looking just like me, would
things go any differently?”
Every day, no matter what work you are doing, equals an opportunity to learn from Jesus
how to do your job as he would. Every day we should be working a little bit better than the day
before. Some days it’s no more than an incremental improvement in our attitude. Other days, it’s
not robbing our employers of the energy, or focus, or time for which they are paying us.
There’s a fundamental statement about work in the Bible which serves as kind of a
recalibrating directive that I try to remember in all that I do. Here it is:
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.…
It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 3:23–24)
Rate yourself on a scale of 1–10, with 1 representing “Whatever I do I do as little as
possible when I do it” and 10 representing “I have ‘HWJW” on a bracelet, on my screensaver,
and on posters around my office and home that remind me: “How Would Jesus Work?” Where
are you on the scale?
Here’s a true story—I’m not making this up:
A husband was at home on the couch reading the newspaper. His wife, who was eight
months pregnant, was in the kitchen—on her hands and knees—waxing the kitchen floor.
His mother-in-law walks in and exclaims: “How can you let my daughter do this?”
He peers over his newspaper and replies, “I tried to help. I told her if she’d tie a rag
around her middle, she’d get done twice as fast.”
[PAUSE]
No one ever saw him again!
Dallas Willard writes this about work: We “routinely sacrifice our comfort and pleasure
for the quality of our work, whether it be ax handles, tacos, or the development of a student
we’re teaching … We do the job well because that is what Jesus would like, and we admire and
love him. It is what he would do.”
Here’s a few more questions to ask yourself:
Am I making an idol of my work?
Do I sacrifice time and energy that ought to go to my family, or friendships, or rest, or to
prayer?
How do I treat my coworkers?
If I’m in a position of authority, do I treat those who report to me as Jesus would? Am I
truthful and fair? Do I work for their growth and development?
Do I regularly ask God for help, wisdom, and guidance in my work?
Am I scrupulously honest in my work? Am I careful with expense reports? Do I
reimburse the company for personal use of phone or equipment?
Is my work in line with my sense of how God has gifted and called me? If not, what steps
can I take to move in the right direction? How can I continue to serve with diligence in the
meantime?
Whatever activity may constitute work, how we choose to do it reflects our choice to be
with God or to move away from God.
It’s important to remember that work is one of best learning opportunities most of us
have to discover truth about ourselves. It is an intensive environment which God uses to test and
shape us to become more like Jesus.
When we receive feedback, or performance reviews, and when there’s an honest
assessment of our attitudes and habits it can be very significant—if we’re truly open.
Attitude is huge.
Concerning attitude, how many of you are defensive?
Perhaps you are sitting next to someone who is so defensive they won’t admit it … so
why don’t you just raise your hand for them in a spirit of community?!
Teachability in the workplace is a key attitude which honors Christ. Asking for and
learning from honest feedback in your work is one of the greatest growth opportunities you’ll
ever have.
So tomorrow when you go to your work, take a moment before you start and say:
“Here’s my chance to learn from Jesus how to live in his kingdom.”
Now let’s turn the corner and talk about the opposite of work. Another area where we can
make the choice to be with Jesus is in our …
Recreational activities and leisure time
God did not make you to work all the time.
This may come as a shock to some of the “type A’s” here, but part of God’s will for you
is to rest, relax, create, play, and be renewed.
Each moment of free time that you have equals a chance to be with him.
But we need to be intentional, because the default mode with our time often goes toward
what one sociologist calls an eight-hundred-pound gorilla of leisure: the television. Time
researchers John Robinson and Geoffrey Godbey found that television took almost 40 percent of
American’s free time in 1995—and that was an increase of a third from thirty years earlier!
Robert Putnam, in his book Bowling Alone, writes, “Dependence on television for
entertainment is not merely a significant predictor of loss of community; it is the single most
consistent predictor I have discovered.”
Nothing—not low education, not full-time work, not long commutes, not poverty or
financial distress—is more broadly connected with loss of community and relational
disconnection than is dependence on TV for entertainment.
People who rely on TV for entertainment are least likely to volunteer, least likely to stay
in touch with friends, least likely to attend church—and most likely to give another driver the
finger.
Television is surely habit forming and may be mildly addictive. In 1977, the Detroit Free
Press was able to find only five out of one-hundred and twenty families willing to give up TV
for a month in return for five-hundred dollars.
People who do give up TV report experiencing boredom, anxiety, irritation, and
depression. One woman observed: “It was terrible. We did nothing—my husband and I talked.”
So why are we so hooked on it? Does it produce high levels of joy, growth, and meaning?
No.
In fact, in one study, researchers had subjects carry beepers, and when the beeper went
off they’d write what they were doing, and how they felt. Here’s what they discovered: TV
watching was associated with feelings of passivity and lowered alertness. It was rated below
every other leisure activity—even below work!
So why are we devoted to it? In Putnam’s book he quotes British researchers Sue
Bowden and Avner Offer who say that: “Television is the cheapest and least demanding way to
avert boredom.… TV’s dominance in our lives reflects not its sublime pleasures but its minimal
costs.”
So how can you reclaim your recreational and leisure time—and choose to be with Jesus
instead of Hollywood?
Limit how much you watch. We have rule in our house about how much the TV can be
on—decide on a limit.
Limit the number of TVs in your house.
Here’s a shocking factoid: In 1970—6 percent of all sixth graders had TVs in their
bedrooms. But by 1999—77 percent of sixth graders had their own bedroom TV!
Perhaps you would choose to go for a day/weekend/week of no TV. Take it even further
and go on a “media fast.”
As you are reclaiming the time lost to TV, ask yourself: “What are some of the activities
that God uses to breathe life into me? What do I engage in that produces gratitude, joy, and
renewal?”
Some people love to get out into nature—either riding a motorcycle, hiking, or biking.
Others enjoy cooking—so for them reading cookbooks and creating new dishes is their
way of feeling refreshed and renewed.
Maybe your deal is eating—you need to find someone whose deal is cooking and strike
up a spiritual friendship!
Tomorrow you’ll probably have some free time. Before you pick up the remote control,
stop … and say, “Here’s my chance—to be with Jesus, learn how to become like him.”
A third area where we can make the choice to be with Jesus is through our …
Lifestyle choices
We all make choices about the way we’ll spend our time. The way we spend our money.
What our pace of life will be. How much debt we’ll live in. How many commitments we’ll
make. How much pressure we’ll be under—
These have an enormous impact on whether we’re able to get closer to God, or if we are
moving farther away.
The apostle Paul basically said: “Don’t let the world squeeze you into its mold.” (Romans
12:2)
But what happens is that the world says: “Move faster!”—and so we do!
But when we move faster it cuts us off from prayer. We become more anxious and
increasingly angry … and eventually unable to love.
Media tycoon Robert Maxwell was being picked up at the airport by an employee. But
the employee was late picking him up, so Maxwell fired him. The employee was Maxwell’s own
son.
It’s not just media tycoons who wrestle with this. If Satan can’t make you defy God
outright, he’ll settle for just making you real busy.
John Ortberg tells about a time when he was in Germany for a weekend ministry
assignment. It was a full weekend—he flew out from Chicago on a Friday night and arrived
Saturday afternoon. Here’s how he describes the weekend:
“I arrived Saturday afternoon and did four talks, a question-and-answer session, a couple
of magazine interviews, and a radio broadcast in forty-eight hours. There was still one interview
left to go, so we decided to do that in the car on the way to the airport.
“On the autobahn—where there is no speed limit—we didn’t have much time to catch the
plane. I looked up—and we were driving 230 kilometers—something over 140 miles per
hour—and I’m saying into the tape recorder—
“hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day …
“you must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life …
“Next to me the German countryside is an absolute blur out the window. The guy from
Willow with me was in the front seat and he sat there thinking: This is how I’m going to die;
traveling at the speed of sound in Germany, listening to someone drone on in the backseat about
eliminating hurry from my life.”
So what’s the pace of life at which you can live and still be intimately connected to God?
What’s the pace of life at which you will be able to effectively love people and live with joy?
Another lifestyle choice has to do with our stuff. Our world says: “Accumulate more.”
We live in a consumer culture:
—Holidays, which once existed for rest and worship, are now primarily excuses to shop
and consume.
—Malls have replaced churches and town squares as gathering places.
And the rise in consumerism has led to an increase in clutter in our lives. One of the ways
that we can choose to be with God is to clear out the clutter so that we are freer to focus on him.
Go on a forty-day de-clutter campaign in your home. Clean out your closets and donate excess
stuff to charity.
Dr. Paul Pearsall writes, “You may need help with this assignment, because many of my
patients cannot seem to bring themselves to get rid of their stuff. You may require a closet
exorcist experienced in dealing with the demons of closet clutter. A trusted friend can also
prevent the ‘restuffing phenomenon.’ Restuffing happens when in the process of cleaning out
closets and drawers, we somehow are stimulated to acquire more stuff.
“One of my patients said: ‘Until I tried to get rid of all my junk I didn’t need or use, I
didn’t realize how much I didn’t have. I really had to go out shopping.’ This ‘stuff logic’ can
sometimes be blocked by a friend who is better disciplined in simplification.
“Beware of the stuff co-addicts who may see a closet cleaning as a chance to acquire stuff
for themselves from your stuff supply. Such friends are likely to go with you on a restuffing
expedition or even to trade stuff with you.”
Obviously that doesn’t mean it’s wrong to shop. It’s fine to love beauty and enjoy
excellence and fine design—those are good things.
The point is, we each need to come to the place where we can say: “I will need God’s
help to make purchasing decisions wisely.”
Carry that wisdom principle into other areas of life. A job change. Relocation. A new
relationship. Any time you make a major life decision, you need to ask the question: “How will
this impact my ability to follow Christ—as a worker, dad, friend, husband, and so on.
If you are going to make the choice to be with Jesus through your lifestyle choices,
saying yes to Jesus means you are going to have to say no to some other things.
What do you need to say no to?
—Maybe you say no to debt. Perhaps you’ll want to take a financial management course
at your church. Start to make the move from financial pressure to generosity.
—Maybe you say no to certain time commitments. There could be an activity you or the
kids are involved in—and it’s not a bad thing in itself, but it’s contributing to an overall
pace of life for you or your family that is not healthy.
—Maybe it’s a major purchase that could put you under financial pressure that would not
be healthy.
—Maybe it’s a need to honor the Sabbath.
Be sure to have times of rest or vacation with people you love that will be renewing to
you and remind you of God’s goodness. Bring a healthy rhythm to your life’s pace and balance
with your stuff. Make the choice to be with Jesus in your lifestyle choices.
The fourth area where we can make the choice to be with Jesus is in our …
Relationships
Have you ever considered that when you are with other people, you are making the
choice to either be with Jesus in those relationships or to exclude him?
Every day you are interacting with people. Every interaction is a chance to learn from
Jesus how to form a loving heart.
For instance: The moment of greeting is a very important moment. Every culture has
certain expressions or rituals or questions used in greeting that say:
“You are significant. You matter to me.”
The Bible says a lot about greetings. There was a standard greeting in the Old Testament
which was simply “peace.” The Hebrew word is shalom, which means, “I hope you flourish in
God’s good order.”
Now apparently, some people got overly zealous with their greeting and it was anything
but “peace.” In the book of Proverbs there’s a warning not to get super-spiritual in your greeting.
It says, “If a man loudly blesses his neighbor in the morning, it will be taken as a curse.”
Jesus warns of the religious leaders, saying, “They … love to be greeted in the
marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at
banquets.” In other words, the act of greeting for these pious folks was all about being sure their
sense of status and importance was propped up. Am I being greeted by the “right people” in the
“right way”? Do important people remember my name? Do they say nice things to me?
Four times when Paul wrote to the churches he instructed them to “greet one another with
a holy kiss.” It was part of their culture.
It sounds kind of weird to me. Though I’m not sure we have a lot to brag about. In our
culture, we’ve become the first in history where the standard greeting is: “Whassssup?”
Here are some ways to make the choice to be with Jesus when you greet someone:
—As you greet them, say a silent prayer asking God to bless them (I would recommend
that you not drop to your knees, clasp your hands, and close your eyes—doing this may actually
keep them from ever choosing to meet you!).
—Consider the gift of a touch. Some people never get touched. A handshake or a hand on
a shoulder can make a huge difference in a person’s life.
Go through the New Testament and see how often Jesus touches people. He especially
touches people who didn’t normally get touched—sinners, lepers, children—and they expressed
authentic joy as a result!
Another facet of choosing to be with Jesus in our relationships is through our friendships.
On March 3, 2000, the Wall Street Journal printed an article called, “Whatever Happened
to Friendship?” In it, Nancy Ann Jeffrey states that we’re living in the midst of what could be
called “the marginalization of friendship.”
“People are saying—‘It’s the one thing I can give up,’ says sociologist Jan Yager.
“They’re diminishing the value of friendship.”
Even though the TV comedy Friends was a hit, the reality is that friendships are
becoming less common. When friendships are formed, they are more short-lived and more
superficial.
A friendless life is not God’s plan for human life. When we make a choice to live with
marginalized friendships—or no friendships—we are choosing to be less “with” Jesus—because
he reveals himself to us through the community of friendship. The Bible says, “A friend loves at
all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”
Friendship is necessary for spiritual growth. In the book of Proverbs it says: “As iron
sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”
Are you devoting enough time, attention, and energy to cultivating deep spiritual
friendships?
Another kind of relationship where we not only make the choice to be with Jesus, but
cling to him is when we have to deal with difficult people.
You may not believe this, but you need difficult people in your life.
Jesus was very emphatic about this. He said (and I paraphrase), “Love your
enemies—those who are difficult for you to like. If you love only those who love you
back—where’s the goodness in that? Even the mafia does that much. And if you greet only your
brothers, what are you doing more than others? Drug dealers do the same thing.”
The ability to love difficult people is like a litmus test of spiritual growth.
This means—you need difficult people in your life. It is absolutely necessary for your
development. Through those relationships you are drawn more closely to Christ because your
new intention is to treat these people the way Jesus would, and you can’t do that apart from him.
If you’ve got some difficult people in your life—be glad.
If you don’t—we have a list here at the church. We can assign you some.
I want you to think of someone who is difficult for you to love:
Maybe someone at work.
Maybe someone in your family.
Maybe an ex-spouse.
Maybe it varies—a relationship that sometimes goes smoothly, sometimes doesn’t.
Every time you have an encounter with someone who’s difficult for you to love,
remember:
Here’s my chance to learn from Jesus how to live in his kingdom. Here’s my chance to be
with Jesus in the stuff of everyday life.
Every day, woven into the fabric of our activities and relationships, are choices to be with
Jesus or to attempt life on our own.
Every day we face choices to go into the attic where the treasure is, or to go through that
day missing the richness of life found in the choice to be with Jesus.
Moses once prayed, “Teach us to number our days aright, so that we may gain a heart of
wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)
I pray that God would help us to wake up every morning and say, “Here’s my
opportunity…
To be with Jesus,
To learn from Jesus,
How to become like Jesus.
And treasure this day.”
god is closer than you think pt1
Week 1: The Promise
How many of you would like a closer relationship with God than you have right now?
(me too)
How many of you have ever thought that it seems as though God is distant or removed
from your situation? (me too)
How many of you would be willing to engage in a journey of discovery over the next
forty days that could set you on a course to grow closer to God and recognize his presence? (me
too!)
Over the next six Sundays we are embarking on a spiritual adventure. And I expect that
every single person who authentically engages in this endeavor will discover that …
God Is Closer Than You Think!
For some of us this will mean a course correction in our spiritual journey. Somewhere in
the past we started to spiritually drift away from the vibrant relationship with God that we once
knew.
For others it’s going to be a season of discovery. Maybe you’ve never been close to
God—but you’ve desperately wanted to have a relationship with him.
It could be that your relationship with God is perking along just fine. But because of your
closeness to God there is an inner drive to be even closer—for prayer to be more personal, for a
sharper awareness of his activity in and around you.
Wherever you are on your spiritual journey … the next six weeks are designed to bring us
even closer in our relationship with God.
I’m going to ask you to pray with me as we ask God’s blessing on our spiritual
expedition.
[PRAYER]
A woman at Willow Creek Community Church was telling John Ortberg about her threeand-
a-half-year-old daughter. This woman overheard the little girl talking to her sibling and
going over some ground rules for life.
“Obey God!” she said. “You must obey God! You gotta obey God! I want you to obey
God!”
After a moment’s pause, she said: “I’ll be God.”
I want to give you a chance to put yourself in God’s place for a moment.
Given all the pain and grief it caused him, why did God create the human race?
What’s he after? What’s his purpose in it all? In a sense—what does he want to get out of
it?
I’m going to tip my hand. Let me read you a recent quote from the best Christian
philosopher I know:
“The Bible is all about life ‘with-God.’ It is about how God made this ‘with’ life possible
and will bring it to pass. The unity of the Bible is discovered in the development of life
with God as a reality on earth, centered in the person of Jesus.”
For example, let’s consider the very first relationship God had with any people.
God creates Adam in the garden of Eden.
I think most people picture it this way: Adam lived in the garden—and God lived
someplace else far away called heaven and occasionally came down to earth to visit. But it was
not that way.
You see, the Bible is real clear that God is omnipresent—he isn’t restricted to any
location.
So in the garden of Eden, God and Adam—in a sense—hung out together. When Adam
worked—God was right there.
When Adam named animals, God was right there. The Bible says that “whatever the man
called each living creature—that was its name.”
God would say: “Hey Adam, good name. You’re a good namer.”
When Eve was created, and Adam first saw her—God was right there.
Adam said: “God—nice job on the woman! I had no idea you could do that.”
Adam and God were—among other things—inseparable friends.
What Adam did—he did with God.
Where Adam went—he went with God.
Until Adam and Eve’s fateful decision to disobey God. A day some people call “the fall.”
After the fall, God comes to the garden to walk with Adam in the cool of the day.
Apparently, that was part of their routine together. They’d go for a walk.
But this time, Adam is not there. And God calls out: “Adam—where are you?”
There’s a rustling behind some shrubbery and a timid voice answered God: “I heard you
in the garden, and I was afraid. So I hid.”
God wanted to be with Adam. But Adam didn’t want to be with God.
And God’s heart breaks. But God does not give up.
You see, God’s great desire was to be with Adam. And even though the relationship had
been violated because of Adam and Eve’s choice—because of their sin—God continued to want
that relationship restored. God longed for the intimacy of their walks—of just hanging out
together.
So God worked with Adam’s descendants. And every once in a while one of them would
get it. For example, the Bible says of Enoch: “and Enoch walked with God.”
Later, the Bible says of Noah: “and Noah walked with God.”
God wasn’t being elusive or developing huge hoops for a person to jump through to be
with him. The simple truth of the matter is that most people didn’t want to be with him. Mostly
they hid.
But God kept wanting to be with people.
One day, it’s kind of like God said to the angels: “Now watch this. I’m going to start a
new people—called Israel. I’m going to teach them to be with me, so everyone will want to be
with me.”
And the Bible records a new pattern of relationships with God. Talking about a
grandfather, his son, and his grandson it says that “God was with Abraham. God was with Isaac.
God was with Jacob.”
And in those relationships, God would do surprising things to teach people about what it
meant for them to be with him.
Jacob had a son named Joseph for whom life didn’t work out well for a long time, but the
strangest thing kept happening.
Joseph was sold into slavery, but “the Lord was with Joseph” in slavery.
He was put in prison, but the text says: “but while Joseph was there in the prison, the
Lord was with him.”
Later on, when the people of Israel were led out of Egypt, the text says the Lord was in a
pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night—so the people would know he was with
them.
It’s like God just keeps saying:
• I want to be with you. I want to hang out with you.
• I’ll be with you in the garden.
• I’ll be with you in the flood.
• I’ll be with you in prison, in slavery, in Egypt, in the wilderness, in the Promised
Land—
• I just want to be with you.
Moses came to prize this “life-with-God” so much that once when Israel was in the
wilderness, God told them they could go on to the Promised Land.
“Then Moses said to him, ‘If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from
here. How will anyone know that you are pleased … with your people unless you go with
us?’” (Exodus 33:15–16)
In other words: I’d rather live in the wilderness with you than in the Promised Land
without you.
Are you picking up on the great desire of God’s heart? On and on this theme goes, until
finally God wants to be with his people so badly he comes up with a really wild idea.
It’s like God says to the angels: “I can’t stand it anymore. I’m just going to go on down
there my own self.”
And the angels say: “You can’t do that. How are you gonna do that?”
And God says, “Watch this!”
He sneaks down. And in the middle of the night, he is born in a manger. He grows up in a
one-horse town. And then he gets a job pounding nails eight hours a day.
Do you remember the conversation the angel had with Joseph when he informed him
about Mary’s pregnancy? The angel said that Jesus would be called “Immanuel.”
Do you know what that means? It means: “God with us.” In fact, I believe a central theme
of the Bible could be called the “Immanuel Principle.” The Immanuel Principle is God’s
constant desire that we should be in every aspect a dwelling place for him.
At the end of his ministry Jesus confirmed this when he said: “Surely I am with you
always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
When you asked Jesus to be your leader and forgiver, God sent his Spirit into your life to
always be with you. Your body really is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Think about it: you can be
Beth-el, the house of God.
It’s like God is saying: “I just want to be with you.”
God’s desire is so central that at the very end of the Bible—when God sets everything
right—the fulfillment of human existence is described in the same terms:
“Now the dwelling of God is with[ human beings], and he will live with them. They will
be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.” ( Revelation 21:3)
God’s desire and plan leads all the way to eternity! Now, let’s get specific and talk about
what this means for us today—and this week.
When the Bible says “the Lord was with Joseph,” what exactly did that look like? How
do we experience that?
God can use an infinite variety of ways to express his presence: creation, other people,
Scripture, teaching, art, solitude, world events, even the joy of eating a greggs doughnut!
But the place where we always must record these expressions of his presence is in our minds and
our thoughts and feelings.
My part is to learn to continually focus my attention on God. I think about him, talk to
him, ask for his help, tell him my plans, pour out my heart; I complain about my problems; I give
thanks for what makes me happy.
So this week, start here. When you’re at work and you sense anxiety or worry—think
about the greatness of God. He’s big enough to take care of you through whatever is looming.
Talk to him.
When you’re faced with some kind of temptation—be up-front with him about the
temptation—he already knows what you’re facing. Ask for his help to show you the best route of
escape and then the courage to take it.
If you’re facing problems in your life—pour out your heart to him. He is waiting to hear
from you … let him know from your perspective how difficult or impossible it seems.
If you’re thankful or happy—tell him … and be specific.
Are you getting the idea? If I were going to boil down the practice of all spiritual life in a
single statement from Scripture, it would be this:
“I have set the LORD always before me.” (Psalm 16:8)
When I do that, there are certain thoughts that are characteristic of God that settle into my
soul. When these are present, there is a good chance that they are the result of God’s presence
with me. I want to walk through these signs of God’s presence so you can recognize them when
they come.
Start to set God always before you. One of the indicators of God’s presence is:
1. Reassurance
When God was talking to Joshua, just before Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised
Land, God reassured him of his presence and said:
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the LORD
your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
Somebody sent me a list of statements that are supposed to be actual quotes from
employee performance evaluations:
—I would not allow this employee to breed.
—This employee is not really so much of a has-been, but more of a definite won’t-be.
—He would be out of his depth in a parking lot puddle.
—This employee is depriving a village somewhere of an idiot.
—He doesn’t have ulcers, but he’s a carrier.
—If you see two people talking and one looks bored, he’s the other one.
I mention this because for a lot of people, when they think about God, they think about
him primarily as a kind of divine performance evaluator. If you think about God in this way, you
will find yourself avoiding him in your mind. You won’t talk to him much.
Understand—in the history of the universe, God has never asked anyone to do something
by themselves.
Whatever God calls you to do, he calls you to do in partnership with him. And one of the
ways you will know God is present is when you experience his reassurance.
—Somebody rejects you, but in the midst of the pain the thought occurs to you: I am
loved by God.
—You face a challenge at work—maybe even losing your job—but in the middle of all
that anxiety an idea comes into your mind: I can handle this. This will not destroy me.
—You’re in transition. Facing a big change, not sure how it will work out, suddenly you
have this sense that you’re not alone.
—It hit a man named Paul in prison one day when he realized: “I can do this. I can do all
things through Christ who strengthens me.”
When those thoughts come into your mind—whether through Scripture that you know,
through a book or tape, through another person—be open to the possibility that this is not a
random occurrence.
This is “God-with-you.” This is the “Immanuel Principle” at work.
A second sign of God’s presence with you is his …
2. Guidance
The psalmist wrote: “I will praise the LORD, who counsels me, even at night my heart
instructs me.” (Psalm 16:7)
Sometimes guidance will come to you:
—You’re in a store, there’s a clerk behind a counter that everyone treats like a machine,
and you get a sudden inclination to look her in the eye, to say an inner prayer of blessing.
—You’re stumped at work and all of a sudden an idea breaks through that is just what
you need.
—You’re feeling distant from your child, all of a sudden an opportunity to build a bridge,
reconnect is just dumped in your lap.
—You’re about to say something stupid/self-promotional/damage-inflicting when a still,
small voice in your head whispers, “Shut … up.”
Remember the Immanuel Principle and be open to the possibility that God is doing what
he said he would do. He is with you. He is reassuring you. He is guiding you.
The third sign of God’s presence with you may not feel like he is “for” you. But it is one
of the greatest expressions of his love and desire to be with you and that is …
3. Conviction
Jesus said that when the Spirit of God is present “he will convict the world of guilt in
regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.” (John 16:8)
This is the hardest aspect of God’s presence.
The truth is: my desire for God can be pretty selective. Sometimes, I want God not to be
around.
An example of this is seen in children’s behavior when they’re doing something they
know they shouldn’t do.
two-and-a-halfyear-
old Larissa who was enjoying water in the backyard with “Nana.”
Nana gently counseled her to water the potted flowers, but she had just discovered mud
for the first time by pouring the water on a small patch of dirt. Nana told her not to put water on
the dirt because it makes mud and mud will “get everything dirty.”
Well, mud it was anyway, and the little girl even put the mud into a small tub of water
nearby, calling it “warm chocolate.”
Nana, who had been reading facing away from the action, soon discovered and cleaned
up what to her was a mess. Then Nana returned to her reading, but now she was seated so as to
be facing Larissa.
But the little girl soon resumed her “warm chocolate” routine, saying sweetly: “Don’t
look at me Nana. OK?”
Nana of course agreed (Nana was a little codependent) and continued her reading. Then
Larissa would make black mud, and put some of it in the tub. Then some more.
Three times she said as she continued her work, “Don’t look at me Nana. OK?”
The tender soul of a little child shows how necessary it is to us that we be unobserved in
our wrong. Most of the evil and darkness in our lives requires hiddeness to continue to exist.
The soul that chooses wrong runs from God.
The Scripture writer says that when the face of God will no longer be avoidable, the soul
will cry out in agony “to the mountains and to the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of
him who sits on the throne.’” (Revelation 6:16).
You know, it may be that out of all the prayers that are ever spoken, the most common
one, the most quiet one, the one that we least acknowledge making, is simply this:
Don’t look at me, God.
It was the very first one spoken after Adam and Eve’s sin.
God came to walk in the garden, to be with the man and the woman, and asked: “Where
are you?”
“I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid, so I hid …”
Don’t look at me, God.
A businessman on the road checks into motel room late at night. He knows the kind of
movies that are available to him right there in the room.
No one will know. His wife won’t find out. His kids won’t see. (He knows the drill and
that hotels have a disclaimer, “The name of the movie you watch won’t be on your bill.”) Go
ahead. No one will know.
But first he has to say a little prayer: “Don’t look at me, God.”
[PAUSE]
A mom with an anger problem decides to berate her kids because she’s so frustrated,
because she will get a twisted rush of pleasure from inflicting pain—
But first she has to say a little prayer: “Don’t look at me, God.”
[PAUSE]
• An executive who’s going to pad an expense account
• An employee who is going to deliberately make a coworker look bad
• A Christ-follower who makes financial decisions that will keep him from tithing,
keep him from being the kind of steward he knows God wants him to be
• A student who looks at somebody else’s paper during an exam
• A longtime church attender who relishes the opportunity to pass judgment on
somebody else
• A couple who claims to follow God but refuses to give up sleeping together
• A participant in a bitter divorce who chooses to hang on to resentment and selfrighteousness
First you have to say a little prayer.
You don’t say it out loud, of course.
Probably don’t admit it even to yourself.
But it’s the choice your heart makes:
Don’t look at me, God.
Here’s a key question when you experience the sign of God’s presence through
conviction—will you at that moment stop?
Listen to God’s Spirit.
Be honest with God: “God—the truth is I don’t want you here right now. I want to do
what I want to do. But I’ll stop. I’m willing to surrender. I’d rather let go of my
anger/addiction/pride than let go of you.”
Spiritual growth, in a sense, is simply increasing our capacity to experience the presence
of God.
The fourth sign of God’s presence is…
4. Joy
The Bible says: “You have made me to know the path of life; you will fill me with joy in
your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” (Psalm 16:11)
Rate your joy-capacity on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being “Some people actually mistake
me for a mannequin” and 10 being “You have to paint a frown on my face for it to exist.” What’s
your capacity for joy?
[PAUSE]
Jesus said to people who refused to follow him, refused to be with him—it’s like this:
“We played the flute for you—and you wouldn’t dance.”
Sometimes, when God is present with you, you’ll know because a little voice inside your
head will say: “Dance!” —Some of you will be in your car, driving away from the church service, music playing
that makes you happy—you will be singing and dancing and looking like a fool: that will
give you joy.
—Some of you will be driving next to someone who is singing and dancing and looking
like a fool—that will give you joy!
—Others of you will have put in intense effort at work and accomplished something
significant—it’ll be really good. You get a surge of satisfaction and that will give you
joy.
—Or you see a sunset, or a tree in a forest preserve, or the face of a friend you love—that
will give you joy.
—You will feel a rush of gratitude for no reason at all. Just the sheer goodness of being
alive. And you feel joy.
God’s great desire is to be with you! He has expressed it from cover to cover in the pages
of the Bible. He has gone to extreme lengths to be sure you know it. He is showing you signs
through every day of his presence.
This week … experience the reassurance … the guidance … the conviction … the joy of
his presence.
Let’s make a commitment together … that we’ll do everything in
our power to show up for a small group—even if it’s way outside our comfort zone.
That we won’t miss a Sunday if it’s at all within our ability to be here.
That we’ll be faithful to do our reading of the book.
And that we will stretch out our hand to grasp the hand that is reaching down to us from
heaven.
God is playing the flute for you.
You’re at the foot of Jacob’s ladder.
You’re living in “Beth-el,” the house of God.
God is closer than you think.
How many of you would like a closer relationship with God than you have right now?
(me too)
How many of you have ever thought that it seems as though God is distant or removed
from your situation? (me too)
How many of you would be willing to engage in a journey of discovery over the next
forty days that could set you on a course to grow closer to God and recognize his presence? (me
too!)
Over the next six Sundays we are embarking on a spiritual adventure. And I expect that
every single person who authentically engages in this endeavor will discover that …
God Is Closer Than You Think!
For some of us this will mean a course correction in our spiritual journey. Somewhere in
the past we started to spiritually drift away from the vibrant relationship with God that we once
knew.
For others it’s going to be a season of discovery. Maybe you’ve never been close to
God—but you’ve desperately wanted to have a relationship with him.
It could be that your relationship with God is perking along just fine. But because of your
closeness to God there is an inner drive to be even closer—for prayer to be more personal, for a
sharper awareness of his activity in and around you.
Wherever you are on your spiritual journey … the next six weeks are designed to bring us
even closer in our relationship with God.
I’m going to ask you to pray with me as we ask God’s blessing on our spiritual
expedition.
[PRAYER]
A woman at Willow Creek Community Church was telling John Ortberg about her threeand-
a-half-year-old daughter. This woman overheard the little girl talking to her sibling and
going over some ground rules for life.
“Obey God!” she said. “You must obey God! You gotta obey God! I want you to obey
God!”
After a moment’s pause, she said: “I’ll be God.”
I want to give you a chance to put yourself in God’s place for a moment.
Given all the pain and grief it caused him, why did God create the human race?
What’s he after? What’s his purpose in it all? In a sense—what does he want to get out of
it?
I’m going to tip my hand. Let me read you a recent quote from the best Christian
philosopher I know:
“The Bible is all about life ‘with-God.’ It is about how God made this ‘with’ life possible
and will bring it to pass. The unity of the Bible is discovered in the development of life
with God as a reality on earth, centered in the person of Jesus.”
For example, let’s consider the very first relationship God had with any people.
God creates Adam in the garden of Eden.
I think most people picture it this way: Adam lived in the garden—and God lived
someplace else far away called heaven and occasionally came down to earth to visit. But it was
not that way.
You see, the Bible is real clear that God is omnipresent—he isn’t restricted to any
location.
So in the garden of Eden, God and Adam—in a sense—hung out together. When Adam
worked—God was right there.
When Adam named animals, God was right there. The Bible says that “whatever the man
called each living creature—that was its name.”
God would say: “Hey Adam, good name. You’re a good namer.”
When Eve was created, and Adam first saw her—God was right there.
Adam said: “God—nice job on the woman! I had no idea you could do that.”
Adam and God were—among other things—inseparable friends.
What Adam did—he did with God.
Where Adam went—he went with God.
Until Adam and Eve’s fateful decision to disobey God. A day some people call “the fall.”
After the fall, God comes to the garden to walk with Adam in the cool of the day.
Apparently, that was part of their routine together. They’d go for a walk.
But this time, Adam is not there. And God calls out: “Adam—where are you?”
There’s a rustling behind some shrubbery and a timid voice answered God: “I heard you
in the garden, and I was afraid. So I hid.”
God wanted to be with Adam. But Adam didn’t want to be with God.
And God’s heart breaks. But God does not give up.
You see, God’s great desire was to be with Adam. And even though the relationship had
been violated because of Adam and Eve’s choice—because of their sin—God continued to want
that relationship restored. God longed for the intimacy of their walks—of just hanging out
together.
So God worked with Adam’s descendants. And every once in a while one of them would
get it. For example, the Bible says of Enoch: “and Enoch walked with God.”
Later, the Bible says of Noah: “and Noah walked with God.”
God wasn’t being elusive or developing huge hoops for a person to jump through to be
with him. The simple truth of the matter is that most people didn’t want to be with him. Mostly
they hid.
But God kept wanting to be with people.
One day, it’s kind of like God said to the angels: “Now watch this. I’m going to start a
new people—called Israel. I’m going to teach them to be with me, so everyone will want to be
with me.”
And the Bible records a new pattern of relationships with God. Talking about a
grandfather, his son, and his grandson it says that “God was with Abraham. God was with Isaac.
God was with Jacob.”
And in those relationships, God would do surprising things to teach people about what it
meant for them to be with him.
Jacob had a son named Joseph for whom life didn’t work out well for a long time, but the
strangest thing kept happening.
Joseph was sold into slavery, but “the Lord was with Joseph” in slavery.
He was put in prison, but the text says: “but while Joseph was there in the prison, the
Lord was with him.”
Later on, when the people of Israel were led out of Egypt, the text says the Lord was in a
pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night—so the people would know he was with
them.
It’s like God just keeps saying:
• I want to be with you. I want to hang out with you.
• I’ll be with you in the garden.
• I’ll be with you in the flood.
• I’ll be with you in prison, in slavery, in Egypt, in the wilderness, in the Promised
Land—
• I just want to be with you.
Moses came to prize this “life-with-God” so much that once when Israel was in the
wilderness, God told them they could go on to the Promised Land.
“Then Moses said to him, ‘If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from
here. How will anyone know that you are pleased … with your people unless you go with
us?’” (Exodus 33:15–16)
In other words: I’d rather live in the wilderness with you than in the Promised Land
without you.
Are you picking up on the great desire of God’s heart? On and on this theme goes, until
finally God wants to be with his people so badly he comes up with a really wild idea.
It’s like God says to the angels: “I can’t stand it anymore. I’m just going to go on down
there my own self.”
And the angels say: “You can’t do that. How are you gonna do that?”
And God says, “Watch this!”
He sneaks down. And in the middle of the night, he is born in a manger. He grows up in a
one-horse town. And then he gets a job pounding nails eight hours a day.
Do you remember the conversation the angel had with Joseph when he informed him
about Mary’s pregnancy? The angel said that Jesus would be called “Immanuel.”
Do you know what that means? It means: “God with us.” In fact, I believe a central theme
of the Bible could be called the “Immanuel Principle.” The Immanuel Principle is God’s
constant desire that we should be in every aspect a dwelling place for him.
At the end of his ministry Jesus confirmed this when he said: “Surely I am with you
always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
When you asked Jesus to be your leader and forgiver, God sent his Spirit into your life to
always be with you. Your body really is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Think about it: you can be
Beth-el, the house of God.
It’s like God is saying: “I just want to be with you.”
God’s desire is so central that at the very end of the Bible—when God sets everything
right—the fulfillment of human existence is described in the same terms:
“Now the dwelling of God is with[ human beings], and he will live with them. They will
be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.” ( Revelation 21:3)
God’s desire and plan leads all the way to eternity! Now, let’s get specific and talk about
what this means for us today—and this week.
When the Bible says “the Lord was with Joseph,” what exactly did that look like? How
do we experience that?
God can use an infinite variety of ways to express his presence: creation, other people,
Scripture, teaching, art, solitude, world events, even the joy of eating a greggs doughnut!
But the place where we always must record these expressions of his presence is in our minds and
our thoughts and feelings.
My part is to learn to continually focus my attention on God. I think about him, talk to
him, ask for his help, tell him my plans, pour out my heart; I complain about my problems; I give
thanks for what makes me happy.
So this week, start here. When you’re at work and you sense anxiety or worry—think
about the greatness of God. He’s big enough to take care of you through whatever is looming.
Talk to him.
When you’re faced with some kind of temptation—be up-front with him about the
temptation—he already knows what you’re facing. Ask for his help to show you the best route of
escape and then the courage to take it.
If you’re facing problems in your life—pour out your heart to him. He is waiting to hear
from you … let him know from your perspective how difficult or impossible it seems.
If you’re thankful or happy—tell him … and be specific.
Are you getting the idea? If I were going to boil down the practice of all spiritual life in a
single statement from Scripture, it would be this:
“I have set the LORD always before me.” (Psalm 16:8)
When I do that, there are certain thoughts that are characteristic of God that settle into my
soul. When these are present, there is a good chance that they are the result of God’s presence
with me. I want to walk through these signs of God’s presence so you can recognize them when
they come.
Start to set God always before you. One of the indicators of God’s presence is:
1. Reassurance
When God was talking to Joshua, just before Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised
Land, God reassured him of his presence and said:
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the LORD
your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
Somebody sent me a list of statements that are supposed to be actual quotes from
employee performance evaluations:
—I would not allow this employee to breed.
—This employee is not really so much of a has-been, but more of a definite won’t-be.
—He would be out of his depth in a parking lot puddle.
—This employee is depriving a village somewhere of an idiot.
—He doesn’t have ulcers, but he’s a carrier.
—If you see two people talking and one looks bored, he’s the other one.
I mention this because for a lot of people, when they think about God, they think about
him primarily as a kind of divine performance evaluator. If you think about God in this way, you
will find yourself avoiding him in your mind. You won’t talk to him much.
Understand—in the history of the universe, God has never asked anyone to do something
by themselves.
Whatever God calls you to do, he calls you to do in partnership with him. And one of the
ways you will know God is present is when you experience his reassurance.
—Somebody rejects you, but in the midst of the pain the thought occurs to you: I am
loved by God.
—You face a challenge at work—maybe even losing your job—but in the middle of all
that anxiety an idea comes into your mind: I can handle this. This will not destroy me.
—You’re in transition. Facing a big change, not sure how it will work out, suddenly you
have this sense that you’re not alone.
—It hit a man named Paul in prison one day when he realized: “I can do this. I can do all
things through Christ who strengthens me.”
When those thoughts come into your mind—whether through Scripture that you know,
through a book or tape, through another person—be open to the possibility that this is not a
random occurrence.
This is “God-with-you.” This is the “Immanuel Principle” at work.
A second sign of God’s presence with you is his …
2. Guidance
The psalmist wrote: “I will praise the LORD, who counsels me, even at night my heart
instructs me.” (Psalm 16:7)
Sometimes guidance will come to you:
—You’re in a store, there’s a clerk behind a counter that everyone treats like a machine,
and you get a sudden inclination to look her in the eye, to say an inner prayer of blessing.
—You’re stumped at work and all of a sudden an idea breaks through that is just what
you need.
—You’re feeling distant from your child, all of a sudden an opportunity to build a bridge,
reconnect is just dumped in your lap.
—You’re about to say something stupid/self-promotional/damage-inflicting when a still,
small voice in your head whispers, “Shut … up.”
Remember the Immanuel Principle and be open to the possibility that God is doing what
he said he would do. He is with you. He is reassuring you. He is guiding you.
The third sign of God’s presence with you may not feel like he is “for” you. But it is one
of the greatest expressions of his love and desire to be with you and that is …
3. Conviction
Jesus said that when the Spirit of God is present “he will convict the world of guilt in
regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.” (John 16:8)
This is the hardest aspect of God’s presence.
The truth is: my desire for God can be pretty selective. Sometimes, I want God not to be
around.
An example of this is seen in children’s behavior when they’re doing something they
know they shouldn’t do.
two-and-a-halfyear-
old Larissa who was enjoying water in the backyard with “Nana.”
Nana gently counseled her to water the potted flowers, but she had just discovered mud
for the first time by pouring the water on a small patch of dirt. Nana told her not to put water on
the dirt because it makes mud and mud will “get everything dirty.”
Well, mud it was anyway, and the little girl even put the mud into a small tub of water
nearby, calling it “warm chocolate.”
Nana, who had been reading facing away from the action, soon discovered and cleaned
up what to her was a mess. Then Nana returned to her reading, but now she was seated so as to
be facing Larissa.
But the little girl soon resumed her “warm chocolate” routine, saying sweetly: “Don’t
look at me Nana. OK?”
Nana of course agreed (Nana was a little codependent) and continued her reading. Then
Larissa would make black mud, and put some of it in the tub. Then some more.
Three times she said as she continued her work, “Don’t look at me Nana. OK?”
The tender soul of a little child shows how necessary it is to us that we be unobserved in
our wrong. Most of the evil and darkness in our lives requires hiddeness to continue to exist.
The soul that chooses wrong runs from God.
The Scripture writer says that when the face of God will no longer be avoidable, the soul
will cry out in agony “to the mountains and to the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of
him who sits on the throne.’” (Revelation 6:16).
You know, it may be that out of all the prayers that are ever spoken, the most common
one, the most quiet one, the one that we least acknowledge making, is simply this:
Don’t look at me, God.
It was the very first one spoken after Adam and Eve’s sin.
God came to walk in the garden, to be with the man and the woman, and asked: “Where
are you?”
“I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid, so I hid …”
Don’t look at me, God.
A businessman on the road checks into motel room late at night. He knows the kind of
movies that are available to him right there in the room.
No one will know. His wife won’t find out. His kids won’t see. (He knows the drill and
that hotels have a disclaimer, “The name of the movie you watch won’t be on your bill.”) Go
ahead. No one will know.
But first he has to say a little prayer: “Don’t look at me, God.”
[PAUSE]
A mom with an anger problem decides to berate her kids because she’s so frustrated,
because she will get a twisted rush of pleasure from inflicting pain—
But first she has to say a little prayer: “Don’t look at me, God.”
[PAUSE]
• An executive who’s going to pad an expense account
• An employee who is going to deliberately make a coworker look bad
• A Christ-follower who makes financial decisions that will keep him from tithing,
keep him from being the kind of steward he knows God wants him to be
• A student who looks at somebody else’s paper during an exam
• A longtime church attender who relishes the opportunity to pass judgment on
somebody else
• A couple who claims to follow God but refuses to give up sleeping together
• A participant in a bitter divorce who chooses to hang on to resentment and selfrighteousness
First you have to say a little prayer.
You don’t say it out loud, of course.
Probably don’t admit it even to yourself.
But it’s the choice your heart makes:
Don’t look at me, God.
Here’s a key question when you experience the sign of God’s presence through
conviction—will you at that moment stop?
Listen to God’s Spirit.
Be honest with God: “God—the truth is I don’t want you here right now. I want to do
what I want to do. But I’ll stop. I’m willing to surrender. I’d rather let go of my
anger/addiction/pride than let go of you.”
Spiritual growth, in a sense, is simply increasing our capacity to experience the presence
of God.
The fourth sign of God’s presence is…
4. Joy
The Bible says: “You have made me to know the path of life; you will fill me with joy in
your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” (Psalm 16:11)
Rate your joy-capacity on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being “Some people actually mistake
me for a mannequin” and 10 being “You have to paint a frown on my face for it to exist.” What’s
your capacity for joy?
[PAUSE]
Jesus said to people who refused to follow him, refused to be with him—it’s like this:
“We played the flute for you—and you wouldn’t dance.”
Sometimes, when God is present with you, you’ll know because a little voice inside your
head will say: “Dance!” —Some of you will be in your car, driving away from the church service, music playing
that makes you happy—you will be singing and dancing and looking like a fool: that will
give you joy.
—Some of you will be driving next to someone who is singing and dancing and looking
like a fool—that will give you joy!
—Others of you will have put in intense effort at work and accomplished something
significant—it’ll be really good. You get a surge of satisfaction and that will give you
joy.
—Or you see a sunset, or a tree in a forest preserve, or the face of a friend you love—that
will give you joy.
—You will feel a rush of gratitude for no reason at all. Just the sheer goodness of being
alive. And you feel joy.
God’s great desire is to be with you! He has expressed it from cover to cover in the pages
of the Bible. He has gone to extreme lengths to be sure you know it. He is showing you signs
through every day of his presence.
This week … experience the reassurance … the guidance … the conviction … the joy of
his presence.
Let’s make a commitment together … that we’ll do everything in
our power to show up for a small group—even if it’s way outside our comfort zone.
That we won’t miss a Sunday if it’s at all within our ability to be here.
That we’ll be faithful to do our reading of the book.
And that we will stretch out our hand to grasp the hand that is reaching down to us from
heaven.
God is playing the flute for you.
You’re at the foot of Jacob’s ladder.
You’re living in “Beth-el,” the house of God.
God is closer than you think.
Thursday, April 08, 2010
The prodigal God pt5
The Feast of the Father
Text : Luke 15:11-32 NIV
Al t erna t e Ti t le: We Had to Celebra t e
Int roduc t ion: We have looked at the story of the younger brother, then we put it into its context
with the story of the elder brother. Then we put the story of the two brothers into the context of the
whole chapter. Each time we saw another important part of Jesus’ message. But we are not quite
done. We need to see the story in the context of the whole Bible. Jesus was immersed in the
Scriptures, and in this story he is giving us the essence of the whole Biblical storyline in one vivid
narrative. If we see that, we will get a 30,000 foot view of what the Bible is all about. We learn about
1) the human condition, 2) the divine solution, and 3) the new communion.
1. The human condi t ion—verses 13-17.
• The younger brother’s sin turned him into an exile from his home. He had disgraced his family
and the entire community would have been outraged. He would have had to take his money and
go far away, and he did.
• When he did so, he became an image of the human race. For we were made for life in the Garden
of Eden. Our true home is in the presence of God. But we have lost our home. We are all exiles.
• “Home” is the place that truly fits and suits us. We were made to know and serve God, to live in
his presence and enjoy his love and beauty.
• However, because we wanted to be our own Saviors and Lords, we lost God, and therefore
we wander in the world and experience what the philosopher Heidegger called
unheimlichkeit. The word is translates as “eeriness” or “uncanniness” but literally it means
“away from home.” Heidegger is referring to the anxiety and spiritual nausea that comes
from never feeling at home in the world.
• This world doesn’t address the needs of our heart. We long for a love that can’t be lost, for
escape from death, for the triumph of justice over wrong. But such things will never be
found here.
• When the younger brother “came to his senses” he realized that he needed to go home, but
how? He realized he was an outcast, so why would they receive him? Still, he went home.
2. The divine solut ion—verses 31-32.
• The centerpiece of the parable is a feast. The father throws a feast, filled with “music and
dancing” and the greatest delicacies, to mark the reconciliation and restoration of his son. He
says that when the younger son came home, “we had to celebrate.” There was no choice. Why is
the feast so important?
• In the Old Testament, meals ratified covenants, celebrated victories, and marked all special
family occasions and transitions, such as births, weddings, and funerals. Also, a feast was
established to mark the greatest event in the salvation history of God’s people to that time—the
Passover. Why were meals so important?
• In ancient times, meals were prolonged affairs that lasted all evening, usually until bedtime—
since there was little else to do after the sun went down and after a strenuous day of
labor. So evening meals became the center of family life and therefore both a symbol and
practice of intimacy.
• But we don’t need to be people of the first century to grasp all this. It is at meals that you
most feel at home. In a meal your body is getting what it needs—the pleasure and
nourishment of food and rest. But also, at meals your heart is getting what it needs—
laughter and friendship. Even today, if you have a family reunion or some kind of
homecoming—you eat. And it is at those great feasts that no matter what else is going
wrong in our lives, we feel almost at home.
• The feast means that God will bring us home some day.
• As Jesus says: “Many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the
feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 8:11). Because of our
true elder brother, God will some day make this world home again. He’s going to wipe
away death, suffering, and tears, and will give us bodies that run and are never weary.
• And when we get there, we will say something like what Jewel the Unicorn said at the end
of the Chronicles of Narnia: “I’ve come home at last! I belong here. This is the land I’ve
been looking for all my life, though I never knew it!”
• The younger brother did not expect to be brought back into the family, he did not expect a
feast, since he had sinned. But that is what he gets. And the elder brother objects. Why?
• Because meals signified acceptance and relationship, the religious leaders forbid believers
from eating with “sinners.” To eat with someone was to receive him, virtually as family.
How could you do that for someone who has rejected God? Besides that, didn’t everyone
know that you become like the people you love and spend the most time with? If you eat
with sinners, it was reasoned, you would become a sinner.
• The Jewish dietary laws were extremely elaborate. They were seen as quite effective in
keeping Jews from being polluted by the pagan practices of their neighbors. In fact, during
the time between testaments, leading up to Jesus’ day, preoccupation with ritual purity
increased, as Judea came under the boot of one set of pagan masters after another. Meals
more and more became boundary markers between the righteous and sinners.
• But Jesus shattered this practice, as we see in Luke 15:2. He eats with the notoriously
wicked and the marginalized. How can he do this? How can sinners be included in the
feast?
3. The new communion—“thi s brother of your wa s dead and i s a l ive aga in.”
• Jesus leaves his own true home (Phil. 2), wanders without a home (Matt 8:20), and is finally
crucified outside the gate of Jerusalem, a sign of exile and rejection (Heb. 13:11-12). Jesus
experiences the exile that the human race deserves. He is alienated and cast out so we can be
brought home.
• On the cross, Jesus loses fellowship and communion with the father. He cries out, “My God, my
God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt 27:45). He is forsaken and “cast out” of the family, so
that we can be brought in.
• As we can see from the parable itself, Jesus calls younger brothers to repent. He does not only
eat with them for the sake of “inclusiveness” or just to defy convention—rather he calls people
to change.
• And he gives us the foretaste of that great feast, what we call “The Lord’s Supper” or
Communion. To sit at the Communion table you don’t have to be perfect, only repentant. So
anyone can come, and anyone does come.
• Think of it like this—the ultimate son, who was dead and cut off, is now alive again. So we have
to celebrate! And the way we celebrate what he has done for us, is to create a new community of
forgiven sinners, in which anyone can be a part. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve
done, it doesn’t matter what your race or class or background is. Any repentant sinner can come
and be a brother and a sister, because of the death and resurrection of our true elder brother,
who took our exile and punishment upon himself.
• The death and resurrection of the Son, and the love of the Father, create a new community of
men and women who regularly break bread together to celebrate the new life and common
union they have through Jesus. It is not enough just to have an individual personal relationship
with God through Christ. You have to be an active part of the feast, the new community, the
family of God. That is where together we become conformed into the image of the one who did
all this for us.
Text : Luke 15:11-32 NIV
Al t erna t e Ti t le: We Had to Celebra t e
Int roduc t ion: We have looked at the story of the younger brother, then we put it into its context
with the story of the elder brother. Then we put the story of the two brothers into the context of the
whole chapter. Each time we saw another important part of Jesus’ message. But we are not quite
done. We need to see the story in the context of the whole Bible. Jesus was immersed in the
Scriptures, and in this story he is giving us the essence of the whole Biblical storyline in one vivid
narrative. If we see that, we will get a 30,000 foot view of what the Bible is all about. We learn about
1) the human condition, 2) the divine solution, and 3) the new communion.
1. The human condi t ion—verses 13-17.
• The younger brother’s sin turned him into an exile from his home. He had disgraced his family
and the entire community would have been outraged. He would have had to take his money and
go far away, and he did.
• When he did so, he became an image of the human race. For we were made for life in the Garden
of Eden. Our true home is in the presence of God. But we have lost our home. We are all exiles.
• “Home” is the place that truly fits and suits us. We were made to know and serve God, to live in
his presence and enjoy his love and beauty.
• However, because we wanted to be our own Saviors and Lords, we lost God, and therefore
we wander in the world and experience what the philosopher Heidegger called
unheimlichkeit. The word is translates as “eeriness” or “uncanniness” but literally it means
“away from home.” Heidegger is referring to the anxiety and spiritual nausea that comes
from never feeling at home in the world.
• This world doesn’t address the needs of our heart. We long for a love that can’t be lost, for
escape from death, for the triumph of justice over wrong. But such things will never be
found here.
• When the younger brother “came to his senses” he realized that he needed to go home, but
how? He realized he was an outcast, so why would they receive him? Still, he went home.
2. The divine solut ion—verses 31-32.
• The centerpiece of the parable is a feast. The father throws a feast, filled with “music and
dancing” and the greatest delicacies, to mark the reconciliation and restoration of his son. He
says that when the younger son came home, “we had to celebrate.” There was no choice. Why is
the feast so important?
• In the Old Testament, meals ratified covenants, celebrated victories, and marked all special
family occasions and transitions, such as births, weddings, and funerals. Also, a feast was
established to mark the greatest event in the salvation history of God’s people to that time—the
Passover. Why were meals so important?
• In ancient times, meals were prolonged affairs that lasted all evening, usually until bedtime—
since there was little else to do after the sun went down and after a strenuous day of
labor. So evening meals became the center of family life and therefore both a symbol and
practice of intimacy.
• But we don’t need to be people of the first century to grasp all this. It is at meals that you
most feel at home. In a meal your body is getting what it needs—the pleasure and
nourishment of food and rest. But also, at meals your heart is getting what it needs—
laughter and friendship. Even today, if you have a family reunion or some kind of
homecoming—you eat. And it is at those great feasts that no matter what else is going
wrong in our lives, we feel almost at home.
• The feast means that God will bring us home some day.
• As Jesus says: “Many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the
feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 8:11). Because of our
true elder brother, God will some day make this world home again. He’s going to wipe
away death, suffering, and tears, and will give us bodies that run and are never weary.
• And when we get there, we will say something like what Jewel the Unicorn said at the end
of the Chronicles of Narnia: “I’ve come home at last! I belong here. This is the land I’ve
been looking for all my life, though I never knew it!”
• The younger brother did not expect to be brought back into the family, he did not expect a
feast, since he had sinned. But that is what he gets. And the elder brother objects. Why?
• Because meals signified acceptance and relationship, the religious leaders forbid believers
from eating with “sinners.” To eat with someone was to receive him, virtually as family.
How could you do that for someone who has rejected God? Besides that, didn’t everyone
know that you become like the people you love and spend the most time with? If you eat
with sinners, it was reasoned, you would become a sinner.
• The Jewish dietary laws were extremely elaborate. They were seen as quite effective in
keeping Jews from being polluted by the pagan practices of their neighbors. In fact, during
the time between testaments, leading up to Jesus’ day, preoccupation with ritual purity
increased, as Judea came under the boot of one set of pagan masters after another. Meals
more and more became boundary markers between the righteous and sinners.
• But Jesus shattered this practice, as we see in Luke 15:2. He eats with the notoriously
wicked and the marginalized. How can he do this? How can sinners be included in the
feast?
3. The new communion—“thi s brother of your wa s dead and i s a l ive aga in.”
• Jesus leaves his own true home (Phil. 2), wanders without a home (Matt 8:20), and is finally
crucified outside the gate of Jerusalem, a sign of exile and rejection (Heb. 13:11-12). Jesus
experiences the exile that the human race deserves. He is alienated and cast out so we can be
brought home.
• On the cross, Jesus loses fellowship and communion with the father. He cries out, “My God, my
God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt 27:45). He is forsaken and “cast out” of the family, so
that we can be brought in.
• As we can see from the parable itself, Jesus calls younger brothers to repent. He does not only
eat with them for the sake of “inclusiveness” or just to defy convention—rather he calls people
to change.
• And he gives us the foretaste of that great feast, what we call “The Lord’s Supper” or
Communion. To sit at the Communion table you don’t have to be perfect, only repentant. So
anyone can come, and anyone does come.
• Think of it like this—the ultimate son, who was dead and cut off, is now alive again. So we have
to celebrate! And the way we celebrate what he has done for us, is to create a new community of
forgiven sinners, in which anyone can be a part. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve
done, it doesn’t matter what your race or class or background is. Any repentant sinner can come
and be a brother and a sister, because of the death and resurrection of our true elder brother,
who took our exile and punishment upon himself.
• The death and resurrection of the Son, and the love of the Father, create a new community of
men and women who regularly break bread together to celebrate the new life and common
union they have through Jesus. It is not enough just to have an individual personal relationship
with God through Christ. You have to be an active part of the feast, the new community, the
family of God. That is where together we become conformed into the image of the one who did
all this for us.
The prodigal God pt4
The True Elder Brother
Text : Luke 15:1-6, 25-32 NIV
Al t erna t e Ti t le: Everything I Ha ve Is Yours
Int roduc t ion: We have been looking at the story traditionally called “The Parable of the Prodigal
Son.” We’ve said that you will miss the radical message of the story if you don’t see that it is about
two sons—one immoral and “bad”, one very moral and “good”—who are both alienated from the
father and therefore spiritually lost. That is a remarkable message. But there is much more—though
it too is easy to miss. We must remember that this is the third of three parables, told to the same
audience, meant to be pondered all together. What do we learn if we do that? We learn: 1) the cost
of reconciliation, 2) that there is a missing elder brother, and 3) that we have a true elder brother.
1. The cost of reconc i l i a t ion—verses 29-31.
• What did it cost to bring the younger brother home?
• At first glance, it seems not to have cost anything. There is no punishment—he is just taken
in. The father opens his arms, puts new clothes on him, and that’s that. It’s free.
• Many people have pointed this out and then argued like this: “God in heaven is like this
father. He just accepts and forgives anyone who asks. There is no need for the classic
Christian doctrine of the atonement. Christians have taught that God cannot simply
forgive, that there must be payment for sin—but here we see that reconciliation is
completely free.”
• However, this is a great mistake. The reconciliation is free to the younger brother. But it is
very costly for someone else.
• The elder brother is furious with the father for receiving his younger brother back into the
family. He alludes to it when he says, “you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate
with my friends. But… you kill the fattened calf for him!” The elder brother is angry because of
the cost of this reconciliation.
• Remember—the father had given the younger brother his entire legal part of the
inheritance. And it was all spent—all gone.
• Yet now the father is restoring him into the family. He has already put a robe on him, and
given him a ring, which was probably the signet ring with which family members ratified
contracts. The younger brother’s fair share of the wealth is all gone, but now he is back, and
every robe, ring, fatted calf is coming out of someone else’s pocket.
• Everything the father has, now is legally the elder brother’s. He is the only heir of all the
father has left. So every robe, every ring, every fattened calf, every cent of the father’s, is
ultimately the elder brother’s. When the father says to the elder brother, “everything I have
is yours” (v.31) he is speaking the literal truth.
• So the salvation of the younger son is not free after all. It has already been extremely expensive—
look at the feast. And it will be extremely expensive. The father cannot forgive the younger
brother, except at the expense of the elder brother. He is the one who must bear the cost of the
reconciliation.
2. There i s a mi ssing elder brother—verses 1-10.
• The elder brother knows all this—that forgiveness and reconciliation is never free. Someone has
to pay. Either the younger brother has to come and earn his way back into the family, as he
offered to do (see verse 19) or he can come back in immediately, through forgiveness, and then
the elder brother will have to bear the cost. Salvation cannot be free. Someone has to pay, either
the sinner or his elder brother.
• The elder brother knows this and refuses to do it. So we listen to the story and see the elder
brother “being a Pharisee,” and we are saddened. But that is not where Jesus wants our minds
and hearts to remain.
• Jesus told his listeners three parables together—the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son.
• In each of the first two parables there is a lost object and someone who goes out, searches
for it, and brings it home with joy. The shepherd searches until he finds the lost sheep. The
woman searches until she finds the lost coin. So when we get to the parable of this lost son,
the listeners fully expect that someone will set out to search for the lost brother and bring
him home.
• To our surprise, no one does. Jesus is leading us to ask, who should have gone out to search
for this lost boy? And the answer would have been quite clear to 1st century listeners: it
should have been the elder brother.
• That was the reason that the oldest son got the lion’s share of the estate. It was his job to
sustain the family’s unity and its place in the community. It is the elder brother in the
parable who should have said something like this: “Father, my younger brother has been a
fool, and now his life is in ruins. But I will go look for him and bring him home. And if the
inheritance is gone—as I expect—I’ll bring him back into the family at my expense.”
• Jesus doesn’t put a brother like that into the story. Instead the younger son and the father have
to deal with a recalcitrant, resistant, self-righteous elder brother.
• But we don’t. The elder brother in the story is there to make us long for a true elder brother,
one who, if we go astray, won’t hold it against us but seek us and bring us back at any risk and
any cost to himself.
3. We ha ve a t rue elder brother.
• Think of the kind of elder brother we need. We need one who would not just go into a far
country, but who would come all the way from heaven to earth to find us. We need one who
would not just open his wallet for us, but pour out his life. One who would pay not just a finite
cost but an infinite debt, to bring us back into God’s family. And we do! It’s Jesus.
• See! When the father says to the elder brother “everything I have is yours” that is literally true of
Jesus. Jesus had all God’s glory. He had equal glory with the Father, but he emptied himself
(Phil 2:4-10.) He lost it all—for us.
• How do we get the father’s robe? Because Jesus was stripped naked on the cross. How do we get
the father’s feast? Because Jesus took the cup of wrath that might have the cup of joy. He is our
true elder brother—and he says so. Hebrews 2:11 says, “Both the one who makes men holy and
those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.
He says, ‘I will declare your name to my brothers’.”
• Jesus came to earth and truly obeyed his Father and never disobeyed his orders. He truly had the
right to all the Father owns. But instead, he came out and searched for us, and found us in the
pigsty, and carried us home on his shoulders singing with joy. And he gave us his robe, his ring,
his place, his wealth—it is all at his expense.
Text : Luke 15:1-6, 25-32 NIV
Al t erna t e Ti t le: Everything I Ha ve Is Yours
Int roduc t ion: We have been looking at the story traditionally called “The Parable of the Prodigal
Son.” We’ve said that you will miss the radical message of the story if you don’t see that it is about
two sons—one immoral and “bad”, one very moral and “good”—who are both alienated from the
father and therefore spiritually lost. That is a remarkable message. But there is much more—though
it too is easy to miss. We must remember that this is the third of three parables, told to the same
audience, meant to be pondered all together. What do we learn if we do that? We learn: 1) the cost
of reconciliation, 2) that there is a missing elder brother, and 3) that we have a true elder brother.
1. The cost of reconc i l i a t ion—verses 29-31.
• What did it cost to bring the younger brother home?
• At first glance, it seems not to have cost anything. There is no punishment—he is just taken
in. The father opens his arms, puts new clothes on him, and that’s that. It’s free.
• Many people have pointed this out and then argued like this: “God in heaven is like this
father. He just accepts and forgives anyone who asks. There is no need for the classic
Christian doctrine of the atonement. Christians have taught that God cannot simply
forgive, that there must be payment for sin—but here we see that reconciliation is
completely free.”
• However, this is a great mistake. The reconciliation is free to the younger brother. But it is
very costly for someone else.
• The elder brother is furious with the father for receiving his younger brother back into the
family. He alludes to it when he says, “you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate
with my friends. But… you kill the fattened calf for him!” The elder brother is angry because of
the cost of this reconciliation.
• Remember—the father had given the younger brother his entire legal part of the
inheritance. And it was all spent—all gone.
• Yet now the father is restoring him into the family. He has already put a robe on him, and
given him a ring, which was probably the signet ring with which family members ratified
contracts. The younger brother’s fair share of the wealth is all gone, but now he is back, and
every robe, ring, fatted calf is coming out of someone else’s pocket.
• Everything the father has, now is legally the elder brother’s. He is the only heir of all the
father has left. So every robe, every ring, every fattened calf, every cent of the father’s, is
ultimately the elder brother’s. When the father says to the elder brother, “everything I have
is yours” (v.31) he is speaking the literal truth.
• So the salvation of the younger son is not free after all. It has already been extremely expensive—
look at the feast. And it will be extremely expensive. The father cannot forgive the younger
brother, except at the expense of the elder brother. He is the one who must bear the cost of the
reconciliation.
2. There i s a mi ssing elder brother—verses 1-10.
• The elder brother knows all this—that forgiveness and reconciliation is never free. Someone has
to pay. Either the younger brother has to come and earn his way back into the family, as he
offered to do (see verse 19) or he can come back in immediately, through forgiveness, and then
the elder brother will have to bear the cost. Salvation cannot be free. Someone has to pay, either
the sinner or his elder brother.
• The elder brother knows this and refuses to do it. So we listen to the story and see the elder
brother “being a Pharisee,” and we are saddened. But that is not where Jesus wants our minds
and hearts to remain.
• Jesus told his listeners three parables together—the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son.
• In each of the first two parables there is a lost object and someone who goes out, searches
for it, and brings it home with joy. The shepherd searches until he finds the lost sheep. The
woman searches until she finds the lost coin. So when we get to the parable of this lost son,
the listeners fully expect that someone will set out to search for the lost brother and bring
him home.
• To our surprise, no one does. Jesus is leading us to ask, who should have gone out to search
for this lost boy? And the answer would have been quite clear to 1st century listeners: it
should have been the elder brother.
• That was the reason that the oldest son got the lion’s share of the estate. It was his job to
sustain the family’s unity and its place in the community. It is the elder brother in the
parable who should have said something like this: “Father, my younger brother has been a
fool, and now his life is in ruins. But I will go look for him and bring him home. And if the
inheritance is gone—as I expect—I’ll bring him back into the family at my expense.”
• Jesus doesn’t put a brother like that into the story. Instead the younger son and the father have
to deal with a recalcitrant, resistant, self-righteous elder brother.
• But we don’t. The elder brother in the story is there to make us long for a true elder brother,
one who, if we go astray, won’t hold it against us but seek us and bring us back at any risk and
any cost to himself.
3. We ha ve a t rue elder brother.
• Think of the kind of elder brother we need. We need one who would not just go into a far
country, but who would come all the way from heaven to earth to find us. We need one who
would not just open his wallet for us, but pour out his life. One who would pay not just a finite
cost but an infinite debt, to bring us back into God’s family. And we do! It’s Jesus.
• See! When the father says to the elder brother “everything I have is yours” that is literally true of
Jesus. Jesus had all God’s glory. He had equal glory with the Father, but he emptied himself
(Phil 2:4-10.) He lost it all—for us.
• How do we get the father’s robe? Because Jesus was stripped naked on the cross. How do we get
the father’s feast? Because Jesus took the cup of wrath that might have the cup of joy. He is our
true elder brother—and he says so. Hebrews 2:11 says, “Both the one who makes men holy and
those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.
He says, ‘I will declare your name to my brothers’.”
• Jesus came to earth and truly obeyed his Father and never disobeyed his orders. He truly had the
right to all the Father owns. But instead, he came out and searched for us, and found us in the
pigsty, and carried us home on his shoulders singing with joy. And he gave us his robe, his ring,
his place, his wealth—it is all at his expense.
the prodigal God pt3
The Elder Brother
Text : Luke 15:25-32 NIV
Al t erna t e Ti t le: He Refused to Go In
Int roduc t ion: Most people who read and study The Parable of the Prodigal Son concentrate
completely on the character of the younger son, his repentance, and the father’s forgiveness. And yet
look at the text. It doesn’t end with the return of the prodigal. Almost half of the story is about the
older son. The story is about two sons, who are both alienated from the father, who are both
assaulting the unity of the family. Jesus wants us to compare and contrast them. The younger son is
“lost”—that is easy to see. We see him shaming his father, ruining his family, sleeping with
prostitutes, and we say, “yes, there’s someone who is spiritually lost.” But Jesus’ point is that the
older son is lost too. Let’s learn from the text: 1) a startling new understanding of lostness, 2) what
the signs of it are (so we can recognize it in ourselves), and 3) what we can do about this condition.
1. A st a rt l ing new underst anding of lostness—verse 28.
• The elder brother would have known that the day of the prodigal’s return was the greatest day in
his father’s life.
• The father has “killed the fattened calf”, an enormously expensive extravagance in a culture
where even having meat at meals was considered a delicacy.
• The older son realized his father was ecstatic with joy. Yet he refused to go into the biggest
feast his father has ever put on. This was a remarkable, deliberate act of disrespect. It was his
way of saying, “I won’t be part of this family nor respect your headship of it.”
• And the father had to “go out” to plead with him. Just as he went out to bring his alienated
younger son into the family, now he had to do the same for the older brother.
• Do you realize what Jesus is saying to his listeners, and to us? The older son is lost.
• The father represents God himself, and the meal is the feast of salvation. In the end, then,
the younger son, the immoral man, comes in and is saved, but the older son, the good son,
refuses to go in and is lost.
• The Pharisees who were listening to this parable knew what that meant. It was a complete
reversal of everything they believed. You can almost hear them gasp as the story ends.
• And what is it that is keeping the elder brother out? It’s because: “All these years I’ve been
slaving for you and never disobeyed...” (v.29). The good son is not lost in spite of his good
behavior, but because of his good behavior. So it is not his sin keeping him out, but his
righteousness.
• The gospel is neither religion nor is it irreligion; it is not morality nor is it immorality. This
was completely astonishing and confusing to Jesus’ hearers at the time—and it may even be
astonishing and confusing to you.
• Why is the older son lost?
• The younger brother wanted the father’s wealth, but not the father. So how did he get what
he wanted? He left home. He broke the moral rules.
• But it becomes evident by the end that the elder brother also wanted selfish control of the
father’s wealth. He was very unhappy with the father’s use of the possessions—the robe, the
ring, the calf. But while the younger brother got control by taking his stuff and running
away, we see that the elder brother got control by staying home and being very good. He
felt that now he has the right to tell the father what to do with his possessions because he
had obeyed him perfectly.
• So there are two ways to be your own Savior and Lord.
• One is by breaking all the laws and being bad. One is by keeping all the laws and being good.
• If I can be so good that God has to answer my prayer, give me a good life, and take me to
heaven, then in all I do I may be looking to Jesus to be my helper and my rewarder—but he
isn’t my Savior. I am then my own Savior.
• The difference between a religious person and a true Christian is that the religious person
obeys God to get control over God, and things from God, but the Christian obeys just to
get God, just to love and please and draw closer to him.
2. Wha t the signs of thi s lostness a re—verses 29-30.
Some people are complete elder brothers. They go to church and obey the Bible—but out of
expectation that then God owes them. They have never understood the Biblical gospel at all. But
many Christians, who know the gospel, are nonetheless elder-brotherish. Despite the fact that they
know the gospel of salvation by grace with their heads, their hearts go back to an elder-brotherish
“default mode” of self-salvation. Here’s what the elder-brotherish attitude looks like. It is:
• A deep anger (v.28—“became angry”). Elder brothers believe that God owes them a
comfortable and good life if they try hard and live up to standards—and they have! So they say:
“my life ought to be going really well!” and when it doesn’t they get angry. But they are
forgetting Jesus. He lived a better life than any of us—but suffered terribly.
• A joyless and mechani c a l obedienc e (v.29—“I’ve been slaving for you”). Elder brothers
obey God as a means to an end—as a way to get the things they really love. Of course, obedience
to God is sometimes extremely hard. But elder brothers find obedience virtually always a joyless,
mechanical, slavish thing as a result.
• A coldness to younger brother-t ypes (v.30—“this son of yours”). The older son will not
even “own” his brother. Elder brothers are too disdainful of others unlike themselves to be
effective in evangelism. Elder brothers, who pride themselves on their doctrinal and moral purity,
unavoidably feel superior to those who do not have these things.
• A l a ck of a ssuranc e of the fa ther’s love (v.29—you never threw me a party). As long as
you are trying to earn your salvation by controlling God through your goodness, you will never
be sure you have been good enough. What are the signs of this? Every time something goes
wrong in your life you wonder if it’s a punishment. Another sign is irresolvable guilt. You can’t
be sure you’ve repented deeply enough, so you beat yourself up over what you did. Lastly, there
is a lack of any sense of intimacy with God in your prayer life. You may pray a lot of prayers
asking for things, but not sense his love.
• An unforgiving, judgment a l spi ri t . The elder brother does not want the father to forgive
the younger brother. It is impossible to forgive someone if you feel “I would never do anything
that bad!” You have to be something of an elder brother to refuse to forgive.
3. Wha t we c an do about thi s spi ri tua l condi t ion.
• First, we have to see the uniqueness of the gospel.
• Jesus ends the parable with the lostness of the older brother in order to get across the point
that it is a more dangerous spiritual condition. The younger brother knew he was alienated
from the father, but the elder brother did not.
• If you tell moral, religious people who are trying to be good, trying to obey the Bible so
God will bless them—that they are alienated from God, they will just be offended. If you
know you are sick you may go to a doctor; if you don’t know you’re sick you won’t—you’ll
just die.
• Moralistic religion works on the principle, “I obey, therefore God accepts me.” The gospel
works on the principle, “I am accepted by God through Jesus Christ, therefore I obey.”
• These are two radically different, even opposite, dynamics. Yet both sets of people sit in
church together, both pray, both obey the Ten Commandments, but for radically different
reasons. And because they do these things for radically different reasons, they produce
radically different results—different kinds of character. One produces anger, joyless
compliance, superiority, insecurity, and a condemning spirit. The other slowly but inevitably
produces contentment, joy, humility, poise, and a forgiving spirit.
• Unless a person and a congregation knows the difference between general religiosity and
the true gospel, people will constantly fall into moralism and elder-brotherishness. And if
you call younger brothers to receive Christ and live for him without making this distinction
clear, they will automatically think you are inviting them to become elder brothers.
• Second, we have to see the vulnerability of Jesus.
• Remember, again, whom Jesus is speaking to (vv.1-2). Jesus is speaking to his mortal
enemies, the men he knows will kill him. On the one hand, this is an astonishingly bold
challenge to them. He’s talking to those who want to kill him and telling them that they
are lost, that they fundamentally misunderstand God’s salvation and purpose in the world,
and that they are trampling on the heart of God.
• But at the same time, he is also being so loving and tender. When the father comes out to
the older brother, that is Jesus pleading with his enemies. He is urging them to see their
fatal error. Jesus does not scream at his enemies, or smite them, but lovingly urges them to
repent and come into his love.
• And so we have a foreshadowing of that great moment on the cross when he says, “Father,
forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). This love toward
his enemies made him vulnerable and cost him his life. On the cross, instead of blasting his
enemies, he lovingly took the penalty of their sins on himself. While we were his enemies,
Christ died for us (Rom 5:10).
• Knowing what he did for us must drain us of our self-righteousness and our insecurity. We
were so sinful he had to die for us. But we were so loved that he was glad to die for us. That
takes away both the pride and the fear that makes us elder brothers.
Text : Luke 15:25-32 NIV
Al t erna t e Ti t le: He Refused to Go In
Int roduc t ion: Most people who read and study The Parable of the Prodigal Son concentrate
completely on the character of the younger son, his repentance, and the father’s forgiveness. And yet
look at the text. It doesn’t end with the return of the prodigal. Almost half of the story is about the
older son. The story is about two sons, who are both alienated from the father, who are both
assaulting the unity of the family. Jesus wants us to compare and contrast them. The younger son is
“lost”—that is easy to see. We see him shaming his father, ruining his family, sleeping with
prostitutes, and we say, “yes, there’s someone who is spiritually lost.” But Jesus’ point is that the
older son is lost too. Let’s learn from the text: 1) a startling new understanding of lostness, 2) what
the signs of it are (so we can recognize it in ourselves), and 3) what we can do about this condition.
1. A st a rt l ing new underst anding of lostness—verse 28.
• The elder brother would have known that the day of the prodigal’s return was the greatest day in
his father’s life.
• The father has “killed the fattened calf”, an enormously expensive extravagance in a culture
where even having meat at meals was considered a delicacy.
• The older son realized his father was ecstatic with joy. Yet he refused to go into the biggest
feast his father has ever put on. This was a remarkable, deliberate act of disrespect. It was his
way of saying, “I won’t be part of this family nor respect your headship of it.”
• And the father had to “go out” to plead with him. Just as he went out to bring his alienated
younger son into the family, now he had to do the same for the older brother.
• Do you realize what Jesus is saying to his listeners, and to us? The older son is lost.
• The father represents God himself, and the meal is the feast of salvation. In the end, then,
the younger son, the immoral man, comes in and is saved, but the older son, the good son,
refuses to go in and is lost.
• The Pharisees who were listening to this parable knew what that meant. It was a complete
reversal of everything they believed. You can almost hear them gasp as the story ends.
• And what is it that is keeping the elder brother out? It’s because: “All these years I’ve been
slaving for you and never disobeyed...” (v.29). The good son is not lost in spite of his good
behavior, but because of his good behavior. So it is not his sin keeping him out, but his
righteousness.
• The gospel is neither religion nor is it irreligion; it is not morality nor is it immorality. This
was completely astonishing and confusing to Jesus’ hearers at the time—and it may even be
astonishing and confusing to you.
• Why is the older son lost?
• The younger brother wanted the father’s wealth, but not the father. So how did he get what
he wanted? He left home. He broke the moral rules.
• But it becomes evident by the end that the elder brother also wanted selfish control of the
father’s wealth. He was very unhappy with the father’s use of the possessions—the robe, the
ring, the calf. But while the younger brother got control by taking his stuff and running
away, we see that the elder brother got control by staying home and being very good. He
felt that now he has the right to tell the father what to do with his possessions because he
had obeyed him perfectly.
• So there are two ways to be your own Savior and Lord.
• One is by breaking all the laws and being bad. One is by keeping all the laws and being good.
• If I can be so good that God has to answer my prayer, give me a good life, and take me to
heaven, then in all I do I may be looking to Jesus to be my helper and my rewarder—but he
isn’t my Savior. I am then my own Savior.
• The difference between a religious person and a true Christian is that the religious person
obeys God to get control over God, and things from God, but the Christian obeys just to
get God, just to love and please and draw closer to him.
2. Wha t the signs of thi s lostness a re—verses 29-30.
Some people are complete elder brothers. They go to church and obey the Bible—but out of
expectation that then God owes them. They have never understood the Biblical gospel at all. But
many Christians, who know the gospel, are nonetheless elder-brotherish. Despite the fact that they
know the gospel of salvation by grace with their heads, their hearts go back to an elder-brotherish
“default mode” of self-salvation. Here’s what the elder-brotherish attitude looks like. It is:
• A deep anger (v.28—“became angry”). Elder brothers believe that God owes them a
comfortable and good life if they try hard and live up to standards—and they have! So they say:
“my life ought to be going really well!” and when it doesn’t they get angry. But they are
forgetting Jesus. He lived a better life than any of us—but suffered terribly.
• A joyless and mechani c a l obedienc e (v.29—“I’ve been slaving for you”). Elder brothers
obey God as a means to an end—as a way to get the things they really love. Of course, obedience
to God is sometimes extremely hard. But elder brothers find obedience virtually always a joyless,
mechanical, slavish thing as a result.
• A coldness to younger brother-t ypes (v.30—“this son of yours”). The older son will not
even “own” his brother. Elder brothers are too disdainful of others unlike themselves to be
effective in evangelism. Elder brothers, who pride themselves on their doctrinal and moral purity,
unavoidably feel superior to those who do not have these things.
• A l a ck of a ssuranc e of the fa ther’s love (v.29—you never threw me a party). As long as
you are trying to earn your salvation by controlling God through your goodness, you will never
be sure you have been good enough. What are the signs of this? Every time something goes
wrong in your life you wonder if it’s a punishment. Another sign is irresolvable guilt. You can’t
be sure you’ve repented deeply enough, so you beat yourself up over what you did. Lastly, there
is a lack of any sense of intimacy with God in your prayer life. You may pray a lot of prayers
asking for things, but not sense his love.
• An unforgiving, judgment a l spi ri t . The elder brother does not want the father to forgive
the younger brother. It is impossible to forgive someone if you feel “I would never do anything
that bad!” You have to be something of an elder brother to refuse to forgive.
3. Wha t we c an do about thi s spi ri tua l condi t ion.
• First, we have to see the uniqueness of the gospel.
• Jesus ends the parable with the lostness of the older brother in order to get across the point
that it is a more dangerous spiritual condition. The younger brother knew he was alienated
from the father, but the elder brother did not.
• If you tell moral, religious people who are trying to be good, trying to obey the Bible so
God will bless them—that they are alienated from God, they will just be offended. If you
know you are sick you may go to a doctor; if you don’t know you’re sick you won’t—you’ll
just die.
• Moralistic religion works on the principle, “I obey, therefore God accepts me.” The gospel
works on the principle, “I am accepted by God through Jesus Christ, therefore I obey.”
• These are two radically different, even opposite, dynamics. Yet both sets of people sit in
church together, both pray, both obey the Ten Commandments, but for radically different
reasons. And because they do these things for radically different reasons, they produce
radically different results—different kinds of character. One produces anger, joyless
compliance, superiority, insecurity, and a condemning spirit. The other slowly but inevitably
produces contentment, joy, humility, poise, and a forgiving spirit.
• Unless a person and a congregation knows the difference between general religiosity and
the true gospel, people will constantly fall into moralism and elder-brotherishness. And if
you call younger brothers to receive Christ and live for him without making this distinction
clear, they will automatically think you are inviting them to become elder brothers.
• Second, we have to see the vulnerability of Jesus.
• Remember, again, whom Jesus is speaking to (vv.1-2). Jesus is speaking to his mortal
enemies, the men he knows will kill him. On the one hand, this is an astonishingly bold
challenge to them. He’s talking to those who want to kill him and telling them that they
are lost, that they fundamentally misunderstand God’s salvation and purpose in the world,
and that they are trampling on the heart of God.
• But at the same time, he is also being so loving and tender. When the father comes out to
the older brother, that is Jesus pleading with his enemies. He is urging them to see their
fatal error. Jesus does not scream at his enemies, or smite them, but lovingly urges them to
repent and come into his love.
• And so we have a foreshadowing of that great moment on the cross when he says, “Father,
forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). This love toward
his enemies made him vulnerable and cost him his life. On the cross, instead of blasting his
enemies, he lovingly took the penalty of their sins on himself. While we were his enemies,
Christ died for us (Rom 5:10).
• Knowing what he did for us must drain us of our self-righteousness and our insecurity. We
were so sinful he had to die for us. But we were so loved that he was glad to die for us. That
takes away both the pride and the fear that makes us elder brothers.
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