Pestering God

Jesus’ disciples said to him “teach us to pray.” In response, Jesus gave the Lord’s Prayer. It is a simple, sweet prayer, perfect and all-encompassing. Some say that if you just pray the Lord’s Prayer, then you know all you need about prayer. Well, I must disagree. There’s more to being a person of prayer than knowing how to pray. Knowing how to bait a hook doesn’t make you a fisherman. Knowing how to use a box wrench set doesn’t make you an mechanic. Knowing how to sew doesn’t make you a dress designer. And knowing how to pray doesn’t make you a prayer warrior. Jesus didn’t stop at the Lord’s Prayer. He dealt with other considerations as well. How can we improve our spiritual lives (that’s what our prayer life actually is—the totality of our spiritual lives) we may improve it by expanding upon one of three dimensions—by increasing our desire, by increasing our understanding of God’s power, or by increasing our persistence in seeking His help. In Luke 11, Jesus deals with all three of these dimensions-- Luke 11:5-8 Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.' "Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs. 1. We increase our desire for God's help. We don’t have people dropping by in the middle of the night, In Jesus’ day, there were no hotels or restaurants. People stayed in one another’s houses. So it was important to have extra food in the home. Not to have extra food was a serious social embarrassment. We don’t see it that way today. We just can’t fully understand why this man was so upset. So, to understand this parable as Jesus intended we must change it a little. Imagine it’s 4 A. M. You are home alone on a sultry summer night. Because you are alone and because it is hot, you are not wearing pajamas. Suddenly, you hear a thump on the door. You get up, put on a robe, and go outside to see what it is. You open your door. There is no one there. You look down and see a newspaper thrown by the paperboy laying on the porch. The paper must have hit the door. You bend down to pick it up, but there are some things you don’t realize. You do not know that the sash to your bathrobe is not securely tied Furthermore, you do not realize that the sash is caught in the front door. When the storm door closes, it catches on your robe. When you stoop over to get the paper, you bump the door, causing it to automatically close and lock, taking your robe with it. So there you are, newspaper in hand, suddenly undressed. What can you do? There’s no one in the house. Soon, your neighbors will awaken, and you will be there in front them all. First you panic, then you try and think. Desperate moments require desperate measures. So you go to your neighbor’s door, holding the newspaper in front of you. “Whaddya want?” he yells. “Please,” you say, “This is your neighbor! I need to borrow a bathrobe and a crowbar!” “At this hour?” About this time, you hear other voices. His wife and children have also awakened. His wife says “Who is it? It is a burglar?’ “No,” he says. “It’s our neighbor. I think he must be drunk or something.” “Please,” you reply. “I’m desperate.” Come back in the morning.” “Please, not. I have to have it right now!” Ordinarily, you would respect this man’s privacy and come back in the morning. But you are driven by utter extremity. You are willing to risk a friendship to save yourself from ruination. That ia closer to the way Jesus wants us to experience this parable. The reason most of us have so poor prayer lives is that we have so little knowledge of our own needs. We don’t realize how serious our sins are, how desperate our situation. We don’t see the danger we are in, so we don’t pray as we should. George Morris, formerly of Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, told of taking a high school evangelism team at Daytona on Spring break. They were scheduled for a six o’clock prayer meeting, then they would hit the beaches in teams with tracts. The first day, only a handful of kids showed up for prayer. Then they hit the beach, and it was embarrassing. Some of them were laughed at and chased off. One team was sprayed with beer. It was a humiliating first day. The next day, however, when six o’clock rolled around, the room for prayer was full. They had learned how desperate their need for prayer was. 2. We increase our view of Christ’s power. We must realize that Christ is capable of meeting our needs, and we are not. We simply do not have the wherewithal to meet our own needs. We have no other place to go. One of the most damaging phrase in the English language is this-- “I can handle it.” We are plagued with a foolish sense of independence. A couple is lost on a car trip. The wife suggests they ask directions. The man says “I can handle it.” A man is moving a couch. The wife warns him that if he doesn’t get help, he could hurt his back. He says, “I can handle it.” We were not created to exist alone. We were created to need help from God. In desperate times, we desperately need to lean on Him. How big is your God? Most people’s view of God is not very big—only a little larger than their view of themselves. When our view of God is too small, it is easy to imagine God is incapable of helping. In this parable, the homeowner had to believe that his neighbor had bread, before he could ask. We must believe that Christ is the Bread of Life, before we ask, too. Paul writes in Ephesians 3:20-21 “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!” If we want to increase our spiritual life, we just need to get a bigger God, one who is able to provide more than we imagined before. It is important that we understand where God’s power lies. Acts 4:12 “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." God’s power to save, heal, and to provide is found in Jesus Christ. 3. We increase our faith through persistent asking. Most of us are afraid of being a pest—even to God. That is why shy people are poor at getting what they want from life. They are afraid to inconvenience others to get it. But look at this parable. The homeowner came to the door, stepping over his sleeping children. This man was willing to pass over his own children to answer the neighbor. Will God answer the prayer of a sinner? Most people would say “no,” but this is not true. God does not have to answer an unbeliever’s prayer, but there are plenty of example of Him doing just that. If anyone asks of him, persistently, believing He will hear, He will pass over his own children to answer. Salesmen are taught to not take “no” for an answer. The first time a person says “no” they may not mean it. We must believe that we can get what we want, if we are persistent enough. Jesus told us not to take “no” for an answer, either in verses 9-10 "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. ask and keep on asking, to seek and keep on seeking, to knock and keep on knocking. He assures us, though that if we ask He will give. God answering prayer is not random—it comes when our need meets His power through persistent faith. If we are lacking in any of these, we will not receive. But if we expand any of these, then a perfect connection occurs, and we receive what we ask of Him. Don’t take “no” for an answer, not even from God. Keep asking, keep knocking, keep begging, and we will receive. Answered prayer is not random. Whether or not our prayers are answered may be predicted. Answered prayer comes when desperation meets faith. Once we realize that we can find help nowhere else, and at the same time recognize that God has the power to meet our needs, then wonderful things occur.

The Politics of Heaven

Luke 18:1-8 Politics is the art of getting things done in a city or state. “Polis” is the Greek word for “city.” While “tics” refers to a skill or art. Politics The practice of politics varies from place to place. However, there are some general rules regarding politics. 1. Politics is about people. A politician swims in people like a fish swims in the sea. He realizes that everyone he meets may be useful in getting things done. 2. Politics is about flexibility. In order to get someone to do what you want them to do, you must give them something that they want in return. 3. Politicians do not take “no” as an answer. What is “no” today, may be “yes” tomorrow, so he is persistent in going after what he wants. 4. Politicians seek the friendship with those who can help them the most. As we have a new administration in Washington, we have seen that the people who know the president best enjoy the spoils of victory. Those who opposed him get little or nothing. This brings us to an interesting question. If politics is universal, does it also exist in heaven? Do the laws of politics also work in the kingdom of God? The rules of politics are certainly different in heaven. But politics exists in heaven as well as on earth. Those whom God favors receive the most from him. At this point, some people will object. Does God play favorites? I am aware of Peter’s statement in Acts 10:34 “God is not a respecter of persons.” But if we read the rest of what Peter says, we discover that He does favor some. Acts 10:34-35 Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. Peter is not saying God does not have favorites. To the contrary, he is says that anyone who fears him and does what is right can be His favorite. It is not saying He does not pick and choose. He is merely saying by what criteria He chooses. He chooses the ones who fear him and does His word. But doesn’t Jesus say in the Sermon on the Mount that God “lets the rain to fall on the just and unjust, and the sun to shine on the good an the evil?” H Nevertheless. In the same chapter, he begins with this statement. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, “Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. . . . “ We all may get the sun and the rain, but God’s favorites will have earth in the end. Those who are closest to God will enjoy the victory with Him. God chose Abel over Cain. He chose Isaac over Esau. He chose Joseph over his brothers. He chose Israel over all other nations. He chose David and his line to be kings. Jesus chose twelve disciples out of seventy. He chose three over twelve. He chose Peter over the three. At every step of Biblical history, God played favorites. So we had better do like politicians do. We had better be among His favorites. The more time we we spent with Him, the close we become to him. Luke 18:1-8 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.' "For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!'" And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" Here is a woman who had to go to a crooked judge for help. He does not care about anyone. All he cares about is money and power. What chance does a widow, with no means or money, have of getting justice from this man? Yet she has to try. In Jesus included one extraneous detail in this story that is very important to us. She came for justice against her adversary. Why does he mention her adversary? There was someone in town who was no doubt petitioning the judge against the woman. Jesus is showing that a judge plays favorites. Half of the people who go before a judge go away disappointed. Is it proper to pray for something that will deprive someone else? Should a sports team pray to win a game? Should a job applicant pray to get a job, when there are a hundred other people who need it as desperately as he does? Should we pray that a hurricane divert from hitting our community, when that only means it will hit somewhere else? God does not discourage us from asking what we wish. In fact, he encourages us to ask. He says you may ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you—even over those who do not pray, or those who pray and do not seek. Not only does He not discourage prayers for selfish reasons, He encourages us to make our desires known. False modesty or phony protestations of selflessness do not become us. We are selfish creatures, and often pray for selfish reasons. So this widow prayed for justice from her adversary. At first, he petitions before this judge did no good. He would not even hear her case. She came to court and waited for her case to come up on the docket, but it never came. Instead, those who were rich were heard before her. Day after day she ame, and day after day she was overlooked. She could not bribe the judge enough to hear her case. Have you ever felt that way with God? Does it ever seem that your petitions are not being heard. Don’t give up. This is the point of the message. Keep asking. Here’s what this woman did. In the morning, when the judge was walking to work, she threw herself in front of him and begged him to hear her case. She threw herself on the ground. He stepped over her. In the evening, when he came home, she threw herself before him. ‘Judge, hear my case!” He walked around her. She was a nuisance. He locked her out of the court. She held up signs against the court window. He drove her off. Yet here she was again and again and again, pleading to be heard. At first, this woman was nothing to the judge. But she became something to him. He knew her face. When she showed up in court, he said, “I’ll hear her out, and I’ll be rid of her.” Jesus’ point is this--if the worst judge will hear your case when you keep getting in his face about it, what will the best of judges do when you do the same? How long will it take your own father to hear your case, if you persistently ask? God is not a bad judge. He is a very good judge, but like all judges, he favors those who will most persistently make their case before him. Think of it. Jesus is telling us that God wants us to be His favorite. He wants to shower us with blessings, but he asks us to be persistent in our asking. It is the relationship we have with Him which gives us the keys to the kingdom. That relationship is forged by time with Him. We must network with him to receive what He wants to give. “Ask and keep on asking, “Jesus said, “and it will be given. Seek and keep on seeking, and you will find. Knock and keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For whoever asks receives, whoever seeks, finds, and to who knocks, the door will be opened. Do we always get what we want. No. There are some conditions on prayer we must know. First, we must know that God really is sovereign. Sometimes, he does not give to us, because it is actually not part of his plan. In some contests, we are better off getting second place than first. Other times, it is better that we do not place at all. Only God knows this. We must be willing to bow to his wishes. God is not our genie in the bottle who must do our bidding. He is a sovereign, free, and wild God who does what He wishes and appears as He will. We must not think that because we are persistent that we will always get our way. Te need to have respect for God’s choices. Second, we must be flexible. What we ask may not be what God wents, but God gives great consolation prizes. He does not allow any of us to go way empty handed. He will bless all who turn to him. Getting from God is not a matter of things but a matter of the heart. He satisfies our heart first, then our cravings. People are run by insatiable cravings for lust, food, money, power, revenge, and so forth. It is these very cravings from which God wishes to free us. If he gave us according to our cravings, it would disappoint us in the end. But he gives according to our heart, and then satisfies our cravings. He would no more fulfill all our cravings than he would give a drunkard a drink. Third, we must be persistent. The secret to getting from God is to cultivate a relationship with Him. Meet him morning and evening. Meet him through the day and pester him. Get everyone you can to join with you in this pursuit. Don’t let go until you get the answer that satisfies you. The Bible has a word for this kind of persistence. It’s called faith. Faith is the belief that if we pray to God, He is listening. It is the belief that God will fulfill his promises. “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” In other words, when Jesus comes again, will anyone be waiting? Can we believe in a hope deferred enough to keep asking? This woman was persistent, and got what she wanted. We should all be willing to wait and receive. \

Greed

Luke 12:13-37 Luke usually introduces Jesus’ parables with the story of a human encounter. On this occasion, Jesus met an unusual man. We do not know his name. He simply shouts a question out of the crowd. But consider what this man had to go through to shout out this question. He walked many miles through rough terrain. He had to make his way through a crowd of people who in faith and desperation, crowded around Jesus for salvation in bodies and souls. Many of them came, but few would get the chance to speak. Yet this man was able to speak his plea. What was his desire? Did it have to do with eternal life, like Nicodemus? Was it a plea for healing from a deadly illness? Was it the cry of a disciple “Lord, teach us to pray”? No. This was his only question “Tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me!” This may seem like a shallow question to you and I, but it was critically important to his man. It had been building up inside of him for years. This man had a father, who became ill. While the rest of the family thought of losing poor daddy, this man set his sights on what poor daddy owned. He was secretly pricing his houses, lands, and furniture. He focused his attention on his inheritance after he went. But the division was not up to him. His older brother was the first-born. It was the custom for the oldest to be the executor of the estate. He divided the goods according to custom between the other siblings. His older brother, who may well have been as greedy as he was. The older brother did not divide the estate. He kept it to himself. This made the man furious, but there was nothing he could do about it. The courts would not hear his case. So when he heard about Jesus, who might be the Messiah and was certainly a man of great power, he decided to ask him for justice. Only the man was disappointed. Here’s what Jesus. "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you.?” Even worse, Jesus made him a living example of greed. Was this fair? Actually, the man had a point. Shouldn’t his brother divide the estate? Wasn’t this man entitled to a portion of his father’s wealth? Why doesn’t anyone stand up for this man’s rights? This isn’t about rights. It is about heart. This man had no sense of proportion. All he could see was money. Consider what he had been through. He lost his father. He was cheated by a brother. He had seen the Son of God standing before him in the flesh. Yet all he can think of was his inheritance that he did not have. He did not think of himself as greedy, but he was. No one thinks of themselves as greedy. Greed is just an extension of behavior that we all share. Greed is not a quest for money--it is a quest for what money brings. Greed is the outworking of a desire for power, security, or comfort. Greed comes from a sense of entitlement--that the world owes us something. We set out to take it, even at the expense of others. If we fail to take it, then someone must have cheated us out of it.We never think of that as wrong. But Jesus says that it is. We are not meant to be secure in this life. Only God can bring true security. To illustrate this, Jesus told a tale. 16 And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17 He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' 18 "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ' 20 "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' Then he gives this moral. 21 "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." Jesus speaks about another man—a farmer. He does not start off to be greedy. But his success starts to get the best of him. He grows so much grain that he cannot use it in a season. He could give it away, of cours—he doesn’t have to keep it. But he starts to think. “If I save enough of this grain, I won’t have to worry about the future. So he keeps it. But how does he keep it, and where? There’s no room. So he builds bigger barns. But how do you build bigger barns? You hire more workers. But how do you feed those workers? You grow more grain. Now you have workers and barns, but you also have more overhead. You need more horses to work the farm. You need milk cows and chickens to feed the workers. Barns must be repaired regularly if you want to keep them. So the farmer must work harder. Soon there is on time for anything else.. Now he wonders, will I ever get to the place where I can enjoy life? Can I ever retire? He knows he can’t. One day, he will finally fill those extra barns. Then he can retire. After years of trying, he finally gets to the point where he can retire. He finally fills those extra barns. He is finally caught up. Now he can play. He jumps up and clicks his heels—--and falls over dead of a heart attack. On his grave they write. “Here Lies Farmer Jones—the Greediest Man in the County.” But he’s not greedy, is he? Jesus says he is. He’s greedy because he thought that the acquisition of wealth would bring happiness. He looked at wealth the way the Bible says we should look upon God, as the source of life, health, and happiness. He was greedy because he was worried, and he was worried because he was greedy. Jesus addresses the worry behind the greed. In verses 22-27 22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? 27 "Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. God has give us all a superabundance of wealth. The problem is, what we don’t see it. Worry comes between us and the vision of God’s abundance. The birds don’t worry. As a result, they enjoy more blessings than we. The lilies don’t worry—yet look how beautiful they are. God provides for them. If you want to know happiness, look at your dog. He runs around naked and eats dog food out of a bowl on the floor, but at the end of the day, when you have been working so hard to get the best for your family and life seems to want to crush you under its load, your dog is curled up on the rug with a silly smile on his face, enjoying life. If you want to trust, look at a baby. All a baby needs is milk and mamma. He doesn’t’ care if he is dressed in rags or silks. All that matter to him is who is holding him. Jesus takes that moral and applies it to our lives. 32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “For where your treasure is”. Where is your treasure. Our treasure is what we treasure. Do we treasure things, or do we treasure relationships/ God in His good grace has first of all given Himself to bless us. Lean upon him like a child leans on his mother’s breast. Lean upon him like a dog looks to his master. In this,w e will never be disappointed. Ditch the baggage of life. You don’t need it. God has given you the kingdom. Put your treasure in your heart, not in things. Trust God and he will hold you up.

The Boy Who Stayed Home

There are two kinds of “good” people in this world. There are people who are simply “good” (relative to others, of course. All people are sinners, and there are none that are truly good). These try to do what God requires of them. Then there are “goody-goods”. These are the ones who believe themselves better than everyone else, and never let anyone else forget it. Not really righteous, they are self-righteous. Jesus gives us a picture of their souls in the last half of the story of the Lost Son—Luke 15:25-32. Not all who break fellowship with God wander away. It’s possible to stay in God’s house, be a good person, even be a minister or missionary yet still be lost to God. “Good” people can be just as lost as the prodigals, and not even know it. The Pharisees and other “goody-goods” are just as lost as the people they criticize. At the end of the story of the Lost Son, Jesus adds the story of the older brother in verses 25-28 "Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.' "The older brother became angry and refused to go in.” How would you feel if you came home from work and heard a party going on in your house? When the older brother learned the reason for the celebration, he became angry. However, being a so-called “good” son, he didn’t complain. What is he upset about? It wasn’t his brother’s return. He was angry with his father. His father was treating his wayward brother as if he had done something great, even though all he had done was to just show up. In part, I agree with the older son. If you work hard, you should be rewarded. We should welcome the sinner, but do we have to give him the front row? People say, “Why are we so interested in getting new people in the church? They’ll just mess up what we’ve got! We’ve worked hard to be worthy of our place!” Without knowing it, we give the returning sinner the impression that he is not as welcome as those who have stayed. The older brother was right, but only half right. He was right in thinking that the father loved them. They are wrong about why. He thought his father loved him for his goodness. He did not realize that he didn’t have any goodness. His goodness was an illusion. He was just as lost as his brother. What’s wrong with the “good” son? He has three attitude problems Look closely verses 28-29. “So his father went out and pleaded with him. “But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders.” 1. In his relationship with God, he substitutes obedience for affection. Notice the good son’s choice of words. They tell us of his attitude “I slaved for you” “I was obedient”. Can you imagine if all you could say about your father was “I obeyed him”? What if all you could say about your wife only that she was obedient? Would you say only of your children that they minded you? Isn’t there a lot more to a relationship than being a slave? This boy had the mindset of a servant, not a son. He believed rewards and punishments were based on obedience. He deserved the fatted calf, not his brother, because he’d been “good”. God made us, not to obey, but to enjoy Him. Without love, obedience is useless. There was another problem with this boy. He had no interest in his father’s company. Listen to what he says next. 2. He substitutes friends for fellowship. “You never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.” When the lost son came home, there is no mention of inviting his friends. The whole point of the party was to rebuild the family and include the lost son. Can you imagine someone who wouldn’t go to a family reunion without having a friend along? What does it say of us when we can’t enjoy our family without having friends? People who don’t know God have no desire for His company. They substitute companionship with people for companionship with God. They’ll always spend time at a social, but not with God in prayer and the Word. This may explain why church socials are more popular than prayer meetings. Those who see God as a distant taskmaster do not seek His warmth and affection, but look for affection in others. Who wants to gets friendly with your judge? How can enjoy being with those that we fear? It is a subtle idolatry when we love our friends more than we love the Father; when fellowship becomes something that we have at the dinner table, and not on our knees, or when we measure our distance from God by our attendance in church rather than our enjoyment of prayer. If we do this, then we have wandered from the Father. We need to rebuild our relationship with Him, before we criticize another. We do not need to work harder for him. We need to enjoy Him more. 3. We substitute money and sex for love. In verse 30, we see a third problem with the older son’s attitude. He was more interested in material things than his Father’s love. As he complains about the younger son, he really reveals what is important to himself. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!' Notice how he describes his brother, “This son of yours.” He can’t bring himself to call him “Brother” To him “brother” was something that should be earned. He has two complaints about his younger brother--(1). He wasted money. (2) He went out with prostitutes. Both are legitimate complaints, but are they really the worst sins the boy committed? What about breaking fellowship with his father? What about the hurt he caused his father? The only this brother can think about is money and sex! When we think about sins, we think about the four big ones—sex, violence, addiction, and greed. But these are not the worst sins people commit. Behind these sins is a greater one--breaking fellowship with the Father. No sin can be forgiven without restored fellowship. A person who is peaceful, faithful, cold sober, but doesn’t love God is harder to reach than the worst drunkard or a persistent adulterer. The younger son came home and mended his relationship with the father. The “good” son didn’t even know that it was broken. How does the father respond? First, He assures him of unfailing love. Look at verse 31 "'My son, 'the father said, 'you’re always with me, and everything I have is yours.” The father is a gentle with the “good” son as he is with the wild child. For the second time, the father goes out to meet a son. Then, when he finds him, he gives him a gentle reassurance that he is loved. “You are always with me” The father reminds him that the greatest gift he can give he has already given—himself. This boy has always been in the father’s house, and he has never understood the blessing of it. Second, he blesses him with unending riches. “All that I have is yours”. The older son didn’t have to wait to be given a fatted calf to feast with his friend. Any time, he could have had it for the asking. Anything he wanted, he could have received from the father. He didn’t have because he never asked. When we have the mindset of a servant, we don’t ask. God has promised to provide all our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus, but He wants to be asked. “Good” people worry about money. They don’t believe that God gives money for free. If you want a calf, you have to earn it. But this isn’t so. You can’t earn God’s grace, any more than you can earn the stars in the sky or a morning breeze. Some things are too beautiful to precious to be earned, they can only be received as a gift. God’s grace is so wonderful that you can never earn it, no matter how hard you try. Third, he promises relationship and family. Verse 32 says “But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'" “This brother of yours” Having a brother is more important than all the money in the world. Recovering a person you love is a cause to celebrate. It takes a tragedy to sometimes to help us realize the importance of loved ones. We go along with our daily worries and forget that the most precious thing in life--the relationships right before us. Then, when that relationship is broken, we see just how important it was. God wants your love more than your obedience. If he has your love, he will have your obedience. But you can have obedience without love--and that is a great tragedy. “My boy was dead, and now alive again. He was lost and now is found.” If only the older brother knew that these words applied to him as well. He was just as dead as the prodigal, and just as lost, too. He was dead to his Father’s love, even while he lived in his father’s house. He was lost to his father’s example, even while he was beside him. So are many of us. We are loved by our Father and never notice. We are surrounded by our God’s abundance, and yet starving to death. What do you have to do to go to heaven? Nothing. Jesus has already done it all. What do you have to prove to God? Nothing. God has already proved his love to you. He loves you, He rejoices in you. He is happy with you, because he has forgiven you. Don’t hold yourself away. Come and join the party!