HoHum:
When D.L. Moody was directing his Sunday School in Chicago, one boy walked several miles to attend; and somebody asked him, “Why don’t you go to a Sunday School closer to home?”
His reply might have been used by the publicans and sinners in Jesus’ day: “Because they love a feller over there.”
It is significant that Jesus attracted sinners while the Pharisees repelled them. (What does this say about some of our churches today?) Lost sinners came to Jesus, not because He catered to them or compromised His message, but because He cared for them. He understood their needs and tried to help them, while the Pharisees criticized them and kept their distance. The Pharisees had a knowledge of the Old Testament Law and a desire for personal purity, yet they had no love for lost souls.
Thesis: Let’s talk about stewardship principles from Luke 15
For instances:
I. Avoid the extremes by keeping our focus on God and others
Might get the idea from this series that we want everyone to be miserly, penny pinchers, and tight wads. No, might need to be that way for a time to eliminate debt but over the long haul to be miserly, an Ebenezer Scrooge type, is not good or biblical.
“The man who fears God will avoid all extremes.” Ecclesiastes 7:18, NIV.
Our relationship with God and others should always come before stuff that money can buy. Remember the Great Commandment: “Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Matthew 22:37-39, NIV.
On the parable of the prodigal son, the youth group went over this modern day setting (from Generation Change video by Dave Ramsey):
Your invited to a party, a welcome home kind of party, a cake, live music and tons of people kind of party. It’s being thrown by the big man in town himself, Mr. Williams. He’s the one with the nice house and the booming family business. His oldest son Josh works with him. His youngest son Blake used to work with him too but he’s been gone for a while. Josh is a nice guy, he doesn’t ask for much, but he’s mixed up when it comes to money. Truth is he’s kind of a tight wad. But Blake on the other hand is the typical baby of the family, he’s all about having a good time. Blake spends every dollar he gets on an all consuming quest for fun and adventure. So one day he asked his dad for some money, and not just 20 bucks but his entire inheritance. Mr. Williams was sad but he handed it over and Blake left to find himself with pockets full of money. So now Mr. Williams works alongside one son who has a death grip on every dollar he makes, and the old dad really misses another son who hit the road spending everything he has on nothing that really matters, caring only about partying with his so called friends. Josh is pretty steamed. He works long and hard everyday for just a tiny portion for what Blake got for free. But Blake’s ride on the wild side just ended, he just founded himself with no money, no friends, and no food. Right now pig slop is looking pretty tasty. Well tonight he’s coming home. With a deep breath Blake turns onto the driveway of that amazing family home, he’s just hoping to get a job as a butler in the old man’s house. But then out of nowhere Blake sees his dad. In a flash Mr. Williams is up and running. Blake is shocked. He can hear his dad’s shouts and laughter all the way down the driveway. The father wraps his arms around his son and immediately calls for a huge celebration and invites Blake inside. But Blake seeing Josh on the porch stops short. He watches as his dad talks with Josh. Blake knows the expression on his brother’s face. He’s mad, really mad. Blake is not sure to run inside or run away. Guilt, anger, regret, pride. Will the brother’s even come to the party, would you come to the party? Maybe you are like Josh, hard work and money matter so much that it is easy to forget where your blessings really come from. Or maybe your like Blake, you think you can only be happy if cash is falling out of your pockets, and a dozen fake friends following behind you. But Mr. Williams, grace flows from him, he’s not controlled by money, he’s knows how and when to use it, he doesn’t keep it all to himself or throw it all away, you see when we live like Josh or Blake we are basing our identity around stuff, how much stuff we have or earn or save or spend or buy. Our focus is on the gift and not the giver. And that is how we come to the Father, with all of our pride, selfishness, mistakes and grief. But every time he hears us, he corrects, he forgives, he listens, he comforts. Whether you have hidden all of our money in a sock drawer or you have gone on a wild and crazy spending spree and blown all you have, he doesn’t just see our mistakes, he sees you. We have a Father who is inviting us to place our identity in him alone, to follow his ways of handling money, to come to the party, you are standing at the door and all you have to do is step inside, this is your invitation.
II. Salvation should be our top priority
In the parable of the woman with the lost coin, unique to Luke, the woman finds her coin. What was she looking for? A drachma- worth a day’s wages. It would take some effort to find this. We have all had this kind of situation with keys, wallets, etc. When she finds that coin, what does she do? Vs. 9 A celebration takes money, maybe others helped, but in the end this lady had to take that same coin and spend it to provide for her guests. What?
Is this what God is concerned about? Sheep and money. No these parables are illustrating the importance of salvation. Vs. 7, 10
We are scandalized by grace- scandalized because really bad people can find forgiveness. Remember Ted Bundy? He was a serial killer, murdering over 30 young women, many of them college students, across the United States between 1974 and 1978. Typically, Bundy would bludgeon his victims, then rape and strangle them to death. Bundy asked to be interviewed by p James Dobson on January 24, 1989, less than 24 hours before prison guards strapped Bundy in a chair and sent 2,000 volts of electricity through his body. In that interview, he described the agony of his addiction to pornography. He went back to his roots, explaining the development of his compulsive behavior and how it fueled the terrible crimes he committed. At one point in the interview, Dobson said: “You told me... that you have accepted the forgiveness of Jesus Christ and are a follower and believer in Him. Do you draw strength from that as you approach these final hours?” Bundy answered: “I do.” How would we like it if the first person we met in heaven was Ted Bundy?
Our sense of justice says: “They should have to pay something. They should at least be required to suffer the consequences of their actions for a while. We’ve worked hard at being good. They should have to work just as hard.” It is a scandal to us that God gives undeserving people such an incomprehensible great gift. It offends our sense of fair play. It upsets our system of merit and justice. It is a disgrace.
Why kill the fatted calf and throw a party for one who had done such terrible things with his father’s inheritance? Vs. 32
Might be setting us up for Luke 16- the parable of the dishonest manager which we will look at next week- “I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” Luke 16:9, NIV. What does that mean?
III. Our inheritance is in heaven
I said several weeks ago that if our children want something of ours, give it to them before we die. Need to minimize disagreements between our family members after our death so this is a good idea. However, what this father did in the parable of the prodigal son is not good.
Where do we want our inheritance, here on earth or in heaven? This son got his inheritance on earth and it ruined him. I do not imagine the conversation between the father and the younger son requesting money to be a calm, cordial dialogue. Rather, I envision a son pestering his father for weeks or months to give him his share. Although the father does not think it is in his son’s best interest, eventually he gives in to his son’s demands. We like to think that God only gives us what is good for us; however, the Bible clearly states that God gave in to Israel’s desire for a king. God warned the Israelites that a king would oppress and tax them, yet they were undeterred in their demands. God yielded to their demands and allowed them to learn for themselves that God’s plans are the best plans.
Our inheritance is in heaven. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you,” 1 Peter 1:3, 4, NIV.
““But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.” Luke 6:24-26, NIV.
“So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.” Luke 16:24, 25, NIV. Talk about this more in a few weeks.
Go to 1 Timothy 6:6-10 and then 1 Timothy 6:17-19. May more people “come to their senses” and realize that our inheritance is not here but in heaven- vs. 17
““Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” Matthew 25:34, NIV.
