Opening Illustration: The United States Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice is a preacher’s kid. She grew up in church. But in her mid-20s, she found she had drifted from her Christian faith.
Rice told this story at a Sunday school class at National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. in August 2002:
Although I never doubted the existence of God, I think like all people I’ve had some ups and downs in my faith. When I first moved to California in 1981 to join the faculty at Stanford, there were a lot of years when I was not attending church regularly … I was a specialist in international politics, so I was always traveling abroad.
[One] Sunday morning, I went to Menlo Park Presbyterian Church [in Palo Alto]. The preacher that Sunday morning gave a sermon I will never quite forget. It was about the Prodigal Son from the point of view of the elder son.
[Read Luke 15: 10 – 32]
It set the elder son up not as somebody who had done all the right things but as somebody who had become so self-satisfied; a parable about self-satisfaction and complacency in faith, that people who didn’t somehow expect themselves to need to be born again can be complacent.
I started to think of myself as that elder son who had never doubted the existence of God but wasn’t really walking in faith in an active way anymore.
I started to become more active with the church, to go to Bible study, and to have a more active prayer life. It was a very important turning point in my life.
What was his heart condition?
1. Anger (v. 28) Ref. Ephesians 4: 26, 27 & 30, 31:
• God was angry for the right reasons (righteous anger) ~ sin & idolatry of His people.
• Do we get angry for the right reasons or wrong ones ~ e.g. Jonah.
26 "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:26-27, 31-32).
1. Anger is a God-given emotion.
2. We are permitted angry for one day, but not for two.
3. If we are angry for more than one day, we open a door up for the enemy to take control of one or more areas of our lives.
Illustration: (a) Abraham Lincoln’s secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, was angered by an army officer who accused him of favoritism. Stanton complained to Lincoln, who suggested that Stanton write the officer a sharp letter. Stanton did, and showed the strongly worded missive to the president. "What are you going to do with it?" Lincoln inquired. Surprised, Stanton replied, "Send it." Lincoln shook his head. "You don’t want to send that letter," he said. "Put it in the stove. That’s what I do when I have written a letter while I am angry. It’s a good letter and you had a good time writing it and feel better. Now burn it, and write another."
(b) Bedouin camel drivers in the mid-East understand how relationships can get out-of-balance this way. Camels are notoriously moody. Their selfish ways are legendary. From time to time a camel-driver senses his camel is fed-up with the owner. Wanting to head-off an explosion, the owner will hand his own outer coat to the camel. The camel will bite, spit-at, and trample the coat into the desert floor, until all that is left is a thread or two. Once the camel’s anger is spent, the relationship can get back on balance.
2. Complacent [self-satisfied, self-righteous, self-focused] (v. 29) Ref. 2 Corinthians 12: 20 - 21:
Symptoms of Complacency:
(i) Satisfaction with things as they are.
(ii) Rejection of things as they might be. “Good enough” becomes today’s watchword and tomorrow’s standard.
(iii) Makes people fear the unknown, mistrust the untried, and abhor the new.
Result: Like water, complacent people follow the easiest course—downhill. They draw false strength from looking back. Many followers of Christ become complacent about their spiritual growth. They need a spiritual revival to bring them back to a healthy relationship with God. The consequences of ignoring God should not be taken lightly. Whether a man is merely complacent or actively hostile, the consequences are the same: he faces the wrath of God.
Illustration: (a) Several years ago Notre Dame was the number 1 ranked football team in America. They were upset. A sports analyst said “The Notre Dame players have started believing in their mystique.” They became complacent and lost everything after that. Do we become complacent when we are highly regarded and praised by others?
(b) Several years ago a young Frenchman captured the attention of the world by walking a tightrope between the towers of New York’s World Trade Center (1350 feet high). A few months later, however, while practicing on a relatively low wire in St. Petersburg, Florida, he fell 30 feet and was injured. As he lay waiting for help, he reportedly beat his fist on the ground saying, "I can’t believe it! I can’t believe it! I never fall!"
3. Jealousy (v. 29 – 30) Ref. 2 Corinthians 12: 20 - 21:
There is a distinction between jealousy and envy. To envy is to want something which belongs to another person. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, his wife or his servant, his ox or donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
In contrast, jealousy is the fear that something which we possess will be taken away by another person. Although jealousy can apply to our jobs, our possessions, or our reputations, the word more often refers to anxiety which comes when we are afraid that the affections of a loved one might be lost to a rival. We fear that our mates, or perhaps our children, will be lured away by some other person who, when compared to us, seems to be more attractive, capable and successful.
Here the elder brother felt that all that remained was his and now his father was again parting that with the younger brother, who had already got his part of the share of the property. He feared that what he had was now being taken away and given to that person who had already received his share.
Illustration: (a) Cain & Able
(b) Irish novelist and playwright Samuel Beckett received great recognition for his work--but not every one savored his accomplishments. Beckett’s marriage, in fact, was soured by his wife’s jealousy of his growing fame and success as a writer. One day in 1969 his wife Suzanne answered the telephone, listened for a moment, spoke briefly, and hung up. She then turned to Beckett and with a stricken look whispered, "What a catastrophe!" Was it a devastating personal tragedy? No, she had just learned that Beckett had been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature!
4. Accusations Judgmental (v. 30) Ref. Revelation 12: 10: [Spiritual Pride]
Spiritual pride to be specific. For too long, the church has tolerated a certain sense of spiritual pride where we actually believe that is our job to judge the sins of outsiders. We are intolerant of anyone else’s sin, but tolerant of our pride. How does that work? How is it that we can judge others, but not see that our own lives come dangerous close to those of the Scribes and Pharisees. These were the very people who spirituality Jesus was speaking against.
We have become arrogant, and guess what the research tells us? That Christians are intolerant of outsiders sin and judge them for those sins. Christians are extremely tolerant of our own pride; we do not feel God’s anger at our own arrogance. Even though His word says this, that He:
James 4:6 “Opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Illustration: Satan ~ reminder of your past sins so that you do not walk hand in hand with Christ. He himself is jealous of your priorities for Christ His rival than for Satan himself.
(b) John was driving home late one night when he picked up a hitchhiker. As they rode along, he began to be suspicious of his passenger. John checked to see if his wallet was safe in the pocket of his coat that was on the seat between them, but it wasn’t there! So he slammed on the brakes, ordered the hitchhiker out, and said, "Hand over the wallet immediately!" The frightened hitchhiker handed over a billfold, and John drove off. When he arrived home, he started to tell his wife about the experience, but she interrupted him, saying, "Before I forget, John, do you know that you left your wallet at home this morning?"
5. Unforgiveness (v. 28 – 30) Ref. 2 Corinthians 2: 5 - 11:
Unforgiveness is a willful choice to hold on to hurt, anger, and hostility. In essence, we are denying the cross, which was the ultimate sacrifice for all sin and wrongdoing. Refusing to forgive is a sin.
34 "And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. 35 "So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses." (Matthew 18:34-35).
1. Unforgiveness opens the door to evil spirits.
2. Evil spirits are described here as the "torturers".
3. God is described as "the king" (Matthew 18:21-35) who is willing to forgive us.
4. However, when we don’t fully accept the grace of forgiveness, we hold unforgiveness toward others.
5. When we hold unforgiveness toward our fellow man, God turns us over to the tormentors (evil spirits) to harass, control, and hurt us.
6. Unforgiveness may lead to bitterness, rage, revenge, guilt, depression, and even to suicide (misery loves company).
"Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;" (Hebrews 12:15).
The Effects of Unforgiveness
• On our relationships—The bitterness caused by unforgiveness will result in others not wanting to be around us.
• On our health—Bitterness can lead to heightened stress in our lives. This may impact not only our mental health, but our physical health as well.
• On our spiritual life and relationship with God—Bitterness and anger hinder our prayers, worship, and time spent in the Word.
Overcoming Unforgiveness
• Acknowledge that you have an unforgiving spirit.
• Identify the person you haven’t forgiven.
• Surrender your unforgiveness to God.
Illustration: Chuck Swindoll reports that a seminary student in Chicago faced a forgiveness test. Although he preferred to work in some kind of ministry, the only job he could find was driving a bus on Chicago’s south side. One day a gang of tough teens got on board and refused to pay the fare. After a few days of this, the seminarian spotted a policeman on the corner, stopped the bus, and reported them. The officer made them pay, but then he got off. When the bus rounded a corner, the gang robbed the seminarian and beat him severely. He pressed charges and the gang was rounded up. They were found guilty. But as soon as the jail sentence was given, the young Christian saw their spiritual need and felt pity for them. So he asked the judge if he could serve their sentences for them. The gang members and the judge were dumbfounded. "It’s because I forgive you," he explained. His request was denied, but he visited the young men in jail and led several of them to faith in Christ.
Conclusion: What is our heart condition today?
Antidote (vs. 31 – 32): Rejoice when souls are saved, do not remind of the past – it will only reflect your heart condition.
2 Corinthians 5: 17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
Luke 15: 7 “I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.”
• Be joyful for others who repent and surrender their lives to God.
• Retrospect your own lives, whether we need change and transformation {not that mine is perfect}. For God the most important thing is the condition of our heart & soul. Are we concerned about it too? Just the way God is deeply concerned about it.
• We need to ask ourselves today ~ Are we the Prodigal in the picture?
