“Defined by Love”
“The family relationships we have should be defined by Love.”
Luke 15:11-32
Sunday Morning Sermon – Father’s day
06.17.07
Intro: (Start with Text and title)
Good morning. Mother’s day – the church is filled with people – everyone smiling, roses are passed out – kids are happy, Momma’s happy – if she’s happy then everyone can be happy.
I think they teach us to preach something different on Father’s day. Somehow, I’m suppose to remind you of your responsibility, I’m suppose to tell you how everything in this country that is wrong starts and stops with you. I’m supposed to kinda beat you down. This is common practice in our churches – one man leaving a father’s day service said – “If that’s father’s day, they should call the first day of deer season, Deer day.”
But I’ve got a deal for you this morning – this includes everyone – if you will simply listen – I won’t pull out the spiritual baseball bat. It is not my desire to run anyone in the ground.
This is going to be interactive – In one word the church should be defined by what? Love. (Advance)
John 13:35 – By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
So if we are loving those around us – then all men are going to know who we follow – ok, that’s simple enough. Follow me.
Another question – In one word describe God. Love. Same word. (Advance)
1 John 4:8 – Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
God is our heavenly father – men, we have someone who has given us an example, not only through the way God acts but the way Jesus acts – Jesus did only what the father told him.
If God is love – and the church should be defined by our love – shouldn’t the characteristic that defines the church and defines God – shouldn’t it also define who we are as fathers, dads, Men, people? My question this morning is: what defines your relationship with your children, with your family?
Discussion:
My dad is a truck driver for a man who hauls rock to oil rigs in North Texas. So dad will sit in his truck and think about things – and then he’ll call me. He does this often. We were talking really about this right here – I told him I wanted Hailey to know that she is deeply loved – above everything else. When she is at church camp and someone is talking to her about God’s love – and they’ll use the word “heavenly father” I don’t want everything to shut down because of her earthly father – I want her to go – YEAH, SIGN ME UP FOR THAT.
My dad was talking to my mom about her childhood and they were comparing details – and he said she couldn’t remember anything but the fighting – I think she almost killed her brother with a pitch fork. She was one of 12 kids – she honestly couldn’t remember anything but the fighting.
Dad went on to tell me about grandpa and some of the neat things they did – and then he kinda stopped. It was my turn to recall all the wonderful times – but the thing is – we didn’t really have any bad times. The few bad times we had – he was the hero, not the cause. So yeah, there were the fishing trips and the bull dozer that we spent HOURS on, and learning to drive, and all that. But if one word could describe his relationship with me – it would be love.
God looks at the church and says – Love will define you. God asks us to look at him and says Love defines me. Dads, husbands, men – Love should define your relationships with your family.
There is a story – one we have all probably heard repeated, possibly even preached – it’s a great story.
Turn with me if you have your Bibles to (Advance) Luke 15:11-32 (Read)
If there was one characteristic that the father in this story has – it’s love. I see three things this morning about the father’s love.
(Advance)
I. Love: Lets Him Go
Let me start at the beginning – Jesus is telling a story
a. A man had two sons – one older and one younger
The younger son wasn’t happy. It doesn’t say why – but he and the father were not on the same page.
i. The younger son – approaches his dad – basically says something like this: I have figured out that after you are dead, I’ll get 100,000 dollars – I want it now.
Understand something for a minute – The father was dependent on the sons to make the family estate profitable – The farm was all they had – the only source of income. Taking a huge lump of the family wealth and dividing it – was not something you asked for. This would have gotten the attention of the people hearing the story.
b. The dad –
i. Gives the son what he asked for –
The heart of the father is breaking – I told my mom I wanted to run away and she got out my suitcase and started to help me pack – I don’t see the father in this story cheering while the son leaves. Notice also in the story the further the son gets from the father the worse his life becomes.
c. The younger son
i. Takes off
1. He leaves –
He’s not just going down the road – he’s taking off his robe – removing his ring, getting rid of anything that would tell of his family. He sets off for a distant country. This is “pack your bags we’re going to Zimbabwe.” He doesn’t want anyone to recognize him, his family or his religion.
2. He squanders his wealth in wild living
He didn’t think enough of his inheritance to keep some of it, to do something productive with it. Church, this is a crime against the father. It shows how little he thought about his father, his family and his past. Jesus tells us that after he had spent everything he had – there was a sever famine in the land – He couldn’t really leave if he wanted to. He began to be in need.
ii. He hires himself out to a citizen of that country
1. He’s a pig feeder.
A Jewish kid does not feed pigs – I know that he’s stepped away from his religion – but again this is another step away – there should have been nothing more intolerable to this young man, than feeding pigs. But that’s where he finds himself – looking at the pods, probably carob – not even able to grab some to feed himself. When you find yourself slopping hogs – and your stomach is growling and the food you are feeding them looks good– SOMETHING IS WRONG.
2. It’s slow starvation
I’m not saying God causes the bad things in our lives – I think we do a good job of causing the tough situations – but he can use those situations to his glory. There was an old statement – from the rabbi’s: “Israel needs carob to be forced to repentance.” John Nollands commentary says: “The younger son has reached his lowest possible point before death.”
Listen church – if you are at a low point in your life – do what the young son did.
d. He had a moment
i. Realized that the hired hands on his dad’s farm have it better – have more independence – and more respect
But he also has a problem – the one who would hire him back, is the one he left. It’s hard to go back – but he doesn’t really have a choice.
e. He figures out what he’s going to say (Advance)
“Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.”
i. Notice the humility –
ii. Notice the realization that he can’t get by on his own
Love lets him go – allows the son to make mistakes – allows the son to find himself – that’s what love does. Love does something else: (Advance)
II. Love: Looks for him (20-21) (Advance)
Luke 15:20 – So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
The father – acting completely in love – looked for his son. Listen, if you understand what’s really going on – this isn’t the first time the father has looked down the road.
a. The Father
i. He wants his son to return
ii. He wants his to be safe
Maybe he knew of the famine – maybe he knew of the potential for bad living outside the structured life he provided – Here’s the point – when your son is gone – there is something deep inside that says – I want you to come home.
Church, if you would just turn off the distractions in your life, turn off the noise, turn off the responsibilities, and worries about dinner for just a minute – I bet you could hear the father say – “I want you to come home.”
The greater the distance the clearer it is that it is the father who actively initiates the restoration. The son can do no more than come within reach.
iii. Is filled with compassion
iv. He runs to the son
v. Threw his arms around him – and kissed him
The search is over – the lost has been found – The relationship restored.
b. The son
i. Says to the father – in confession (Advance)
Luke 15:21 – “I have sinned against heave and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”
Did you notice what he left out? His practice confession was different than what he actually tells the father. His practice confession – the solution was to make him like one of the hired men. He doesn’t repeat that part –
If we are children of God – and we walk away from that relationship – which is basically what happened here – and we decide to come back – it is an insult to say – I will be a servant of God not his child. When God welcomes you home, it is only as his child. The son knew it would be an insult – so he doesn’t verbalize his desire to be a hired hand.
Love lets him go – Love looks for him – here’s number 3:
(Advance)
III. Love: Lets him come home (22-32)
a. The father
i. Said to the servants
1. Bring the best robe – this could have been the sons old robe or one from the father’s closet
2. Put a ring on his finger – this is family stuff
3. Sandals on his feet – dirty, nasty, feet – need sandals
The Son has been restored to being a son again – This is a cause for some celebration. (Advance)
Luke 15:23 – Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.
A calf was only normally used in times of celebration for religious purposes. This also wasn’t a small process either – taking several hours to prepare the meat.
The father explains why this is such a good time – this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found – so they began to celebrate. Absolute love defines the relationship between father and son – What defines your relationship with your family?
It would be neat to say – everyone hugged, watched an hour of Dr. Phil and continued their celebration – but that’s not the case.
There is another son involved – while the younger son was leaving – squandering his wealth in wild living – while the younger son was financing slow starvation feeding pigs – and practicing redemption speeches – you have the other son. The one who didn’t have to come back because he never left. The good son. He over hears music and dancing as he’s working in the field. He asks a servant to explain what’s going on – and the servant says – your little brother has come back safe and sound – so your dad killed the fattened calf.
(Advance)
Luke 15:28 – "The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.
Who could blame the older brother? After all, he’s the one who worked and never left, he’s the one who didn’t commit these huge sins, he’s the one who didn’t cause the problems or create the worry – who could blame him for being angry and refusing to join the party? He’s certainly not living out the love he has been shown from his father.
b. The father – acting in love
i. Pleads with the son to come in
Love always acts in unity for the family – not treating one better than another but everyone the same.
c. The older son strikes out in anger to the father
Jay McPhearson version vs. 29:
I have slaved for you – all these years, perfect obedience. You never gave me even a young goat for celebration. But when this son of yours – spends your money on wild living and wild women – when he comes home you kill the fattened calf – The older son
i. Never wanted a goat – he didn’t want celebration with his friends
Really, what he wanted was to be noticed. I want you to notice the contrast in something – when the younger son came back – he was completely dependent on the father – there was complete humility, complete lostness, a complete understanding – that I can’t do this on my own. The older son – never went down that road. Everything to this point in his life was done by his own strength, his own power, his own will, his own righteousness.
Just because the younger son comes back doesn’t mean the older son has lost his position or status – he has gained a brother. The father explains – everything I have is yours – but we had to celebrate – your brother was dead and is alive again – he was lost and is found.
Conclusion:
So let me ask you – what defines your relationships at home? For the father in our story – it was absolute love. Why would God use that one thing to define his people, and himself – why not use pity, or compassion? But the truth is people are drawn to where love can be found. What draws the son back to the father – helplessness, hunger – I want to suggest he knew where love was. What will change your family – your home, your life – the same thing – Love. Dads – Church, I encourage you to take that journey with me and allow your relationships at home with your family to always be defined by love. Your children – those around you – your wife will be drawn to you if you act in love. Those outside our fellowship will be drawn to us – if we act in love. Let’s decide this morning – that we are going to be defined by love.
Let’s Pray.
I have full power point with this sermon, just email me if you want it for free -- jaywmc@aol.com
