I. The Prodigal’s Party
A. Text: Luke 15:10-32
B. Clearly, there are times in life that call for a celebration!
C. In this particular parable, we are going to consider that it was the Father’s idea to celebrate!
D. Verse 10 actually goes with the previous parable Jesus told. However, I read it because of how it fits with our text and topic today!
E. Jesus said there is great rejoicing in heaven when one sinner repents and is restored to the Father’s love!
F. When the word ‘joy’ is used in the Word of God, like in this verse, it doesn’t simply mean ‘happy!’
G. Happiness and joy are not the same thing!
1. Happiness is dependant upon the circumstance. In other words, happiness is erratic; it’s unpredictable! Happiness is based upon feelings.
2. Joy, on the other hand, is an internal state of the spirit-man that is expressed outwardly. True joy that comes from the Lord is based upon one’s relationship with the Father. It is not dependant upon circumstances and is not easily changeable based upon the situation.
H. According to the Word of God, repentance and reconciliation are two of the main reasons for joy and excitement.
I. It is natural, in Father God’s economy, to celebrate the nearness and dearness of God to His people!
II. The Bible and the Party
A. What does the Bible say about partying and celebrating?
B. They are recurring themes throughout the Word of God!
C. The three main feasts commanded in the book of Leviticus are great examples: Passover, Pentecost and the Feast of Tabernacles. There are seven feasts commanded in all.
D. These festivals were celebrated in type and shadow and spoke a profound spiritual truth that would not be fully revealed until the Messiah came and the NT revealed.
E. All of the feasts were happy occasions for Jewish families celebrated as public holidays, festivals and parties. They were times of visiting Jerusalem, and vacationing with families as God commanded them, at times, to rejoice for seven days! Many of us can’t seem to get together long enough to have a birthday party these days, much less come together to celebrate for an entire week of celebrating!!!!
III. The Wedding Party
A. The celebration of the wedding feast has a great impact on the Jewish family and is found celebrated all throughout the Scriptures.
B. Weddings are profound Biblical symbols of joyous intimacy between God and His people!
C. Think about this for a moment: the Bible begins with a wedding (Adam & Eve being united together in Genesis) and ends with a wedding (when the Second Adam, Jesus Christ is united with His bride the Church, in Revelation 21).
D. No wonder Jesus’ first miracle was to create a fresh supply of the best wine at a wedding. Remember, Jewish tradition states that you don’t serve the best wine last, you serve it first, and then, as the guests become more and more intoxicated, you served the cheapest, watered-down wine. Now many would’ve supposed that the wine Jesus told them to serve was watered-down; since it was made from plain water; but the master of ceremonies declared it to be the best wine served the entire evening. This miracle is not insignificant! And, it’s not only important simply because it was His first! It was significant in that it prophesied that God is saving the best wine – the best outpouring of His presence – for last!!!!
IV. The Heart of Celebration
A. In a true celebration, the predominant attitude of the heart of each participant is one of joy!
B. It is a time of putting aside the burdens and trials of life to be together with laughter and good times, which are common expressions of joy.
C. We are seeing, in these last days, a revival of joy across the nations!
D. This is very significant in that God is taking the time to remove deep pains and problems deeply rooted in the souls of mankind. Think about it, if we can’t figure out how to have joy and truly celebrate God’s goodness here on earth, what makes us think we’ll be able to fully enjoy the celebration of heaven?
E. Jude writes: “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” (1:24-25)
F. Peter wrote: “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” (I Peter 4:12-13)
G. He also wrote: “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory…” (I Peter 1:6-8)
H. James reminds us to ‘count it all joy’ when we fall into various temptations and trials! (James 1:2)
I. It’s no wonder that Joy is an ingredient of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).
J. In fact, Paul writes: “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink (as many of us think of when we think of parties); but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” (Romans 14:17)
K. Acts 13:52 declares: “…the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.”
L. Jesus, in preaching about God’s love says to us today: “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” (John 15:11)
V. Jesus – The Party Animal?
A. Was Jesus a party animal? Well, not in the world’s definition of that term.
B. But, He did know how to celebrate!
C. In fact, the Pharisees accused Jesus of being too much of a party person – citing that He ate too much, drank too much and befriended too many sinners!
D. Listen to what Jesus’ response was to their criticism: “And the Lord said, whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? And to what are they like? They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, ‘We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept.’ For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, ‘He hath a devil.’ The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!” (Luke 31:34)
E. In other words, Jesus was declaring that John came and preached and his ministry was strict and serious. And they rejected him. Then Jesus came. His ministry represented children playing wedding games – with music, joy and celebration! His point was that God had offered them strictness and discipline through John and joy and freedom through Himself, yet the Pharisees, bound to their own legalistic traditions, rejected both!
F. I’m glad John 15:11 shows us that Jesus is a joyful Savior…aren’t you?
VI. What Of Laughter?
A. Many people are quite critical of what come to be known as ‘the laughter movement.’
B. Folks, laughter in the Holy Spirit is not a new thing!!!!
C. Laughing in the Holy Ghost has been around since Abraham!
D. If you were to read of his laughter, in Genesis 17, you would see it was a different type of laughter than Sarah’s laughter in Genesis 18.
E. They both laughed when God told them she would bare a child in her old age.
F. However, when Abraham laughed, God did not rebuke him. He may have questioned God, but there was no rebuking.
G. Yet, in chapter 18, when Sarah is told, the Bible declares that she, too, laughed, but it made God angry enough to question her laughter! In fact, 15 of that chapter declares that she was fearful of God when He asked why she laughed – so she lied to Him and said that she didn’t laugh – He responded with “Oh, but you did!”
H. Have you ever heard the statement: “Laughter is the best medicine?”
I. That’s because Proverbs 17:22 declares “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”
J. There have been several medical studies done recently that show that endorphins are released when a person laughs, resulting in a direct and positive effect on the physical body? It really is good medicine to laugh and be joyful!
K. It’s no wonder, then that the Psalmist wrote: “…in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” (Psalm 16:11)
L. Mark wrote that, while the Pharisees and the ‘religious people’ of the day rejected Jesus, the common people gladly received Him! (Mark 12:37)
VII. The Joy of the Father
A. The eldest son could not seem to understand why the father would throw such a lavish party in honor of his long lost rebellious brother.
B. That really sounds like a lot of Christians today. We cannot seem to understand why it is that Father God blesses the new convert so much while we still struggle in our faith-walk.
C. Maybe it’s because we’re too much like the eldest son. We are too busy with the work in the field that we don’t take the time to realize that we can have a celebration with the Father any time we want!
D. Fact is, we live in Kingdom so we often get numb to the very presence of God – in Whom there is fullness of joy!
VIII. Party Poopers!
A. With every celebration, there is always a party pooper somewhere!
B. There have actually been people who have said, in recent years, that ‘surely too much laughter and joy cannot be of God!’
C. How sad! To think that joy and laughter is not of God!
D. One person once said, “Do you know what happens when fundamentals drift away? They loose their fun and become de-mental!”
E. Psalms 34:8 says, “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.”
F. God desires to keep you and I free from the religious bitterness of the older brother so that we may enter into the joy of the Blessed Father!
G. In the book of Esther, King Xerxes prepared a party and gave special invitations to everyone with His realm of influence. He wanted everyone to freely share in this celebration as he displayed his kingly splendor and the glory of his majesty as king. However, in chapter 1, verse 8, he invited everyone to drink in his own way. In other words, for the first time in the history of the kingdom, everyone was invited to the King’s party and was permitted to drink however they wish. You see, when you are invited to dine with royalty, you must eat as the royals do. Fine linens, vessels of gold, etc. often dominate a royal celebration. But, in this case, King Xerxes was giving permission for the commoners to drink as they usually do, but in his presence. This was quite unexpected.
H. Folks, what this says to you and I today is that it isn’t the containers or the method of drinking that matters in these last days. Rather it is the extravagance of the King that determined how long the party lasted. In the case of King Xerxes party – it lasted 180 days! He provided the wine, as long as they provided the vessels.
I. Let’s not become distracted with the containers, the diverse religious/denominational preferences, but rather let us become attracted to what is being poured out….the new wine…the precious presence of the Holy Spirit!!!!
J. In that same text in Esther, the Word declares that the queen, Vashti, King Xerxes’ first wife, refused to attend and quickly drew a crowd of others into her rebellion. She didn’t want to be associated with the commoners in that manner!
K. So, the king got rid of her. And, she was never allowed back into the privilege of the king’s presence.
Folks…when I think of what God has done for me, I think of this one thing: It’s party time! It’s time to celebrate! It’s time to rejoice! Let’s not allow the angels to out party us shall we!?
