5 Things God Can’t Do – 2) God Can’t Want your Worst. Luke 15:15-24
Gladstone Baptist Church – 9/1/05 pm
(Adapted from “Things that are impossible for God, Part 1 – It’s impossible for God to Want your Worst” by Doug Fields)
Last week we started this series on 5 things God Can’t Do. Last week we spoke about the fact that God can’t lie because it is against his nature. God is Truth. Jesus says I am the way, the truth, and the life. God can’t lie because if He did, he wouldn’t be the truth. He wouldn’t be God and God can’t not be God.
The fact that God can’t lie had some major implications for us. It meant that we could Hold onto God’s promises. We could believe them – all of them, because God doesn’t say something and then not follow through on it. We can also trust God’s motives – His motives are good. And third, we can Rest in the Truth that is God.
So God Can’t lie. That’s the first thing God can’t do. The second thing that God can’t do is to want your worst. God can’t want your worst. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done, God can’t want your worst. Instead he wants the best for you.
That is so very different from us isn’t it!!! When someone does something bad to us, we want the worst to happen to them. We want them to suffer some pain. If someone cuts you off on the road when you are driving or overtakes you at a speed that is at least 140km/hr. Do you wave nicely and blow them a kiss. No you want something bad to happen to them. Hopefully you don’t make any obscene gestures, but you might beep your horn or flash your lights to show your disapproval, all the while hoping that a speed trap is up the road waiting just for them. When someone does something bad to us, we want something even worse to happen to them. Even if we don’t do anything we think it don’t we!!!
What is this called – one little word beginning with R - We want REVENGE. Revenge – it rolls off the tongue so easily doesn’t it. Revenge is so sweet. A Bit like this picture!!! This year at SUPAWAC (Beach Mission for all you uninitiated), there were a few practical jokes happening. One day, Dave Kammolz found his tent had sought shelter inside someone else’s tent. One afternoon one of the girls dome tents had mysteriously found its way onto the end of a piece of rope and was attached to the ceiling of the shed at the Baptist Church. Dangling approximately 4m off the floor, it was relatively useless to the owners. Another morning most of the hair brushes belonging to the fairer sex had gone missing, though were soon discovered frozen in a block of ice in the freezer. Now as you can imagine, those that were on the receiving end of these pranks, did some investigating and found out who some of the key instigators were and proceeded to buy chocolates for them, pamper them with love and wait on them with hand and foot at every meal – NOT. They wanted revenge!!! They didn’t want the best for the pranksters, they wanted the worst and as a result a few other practical jokes were played on our director – John Spranklin. His tent was padlocked shut and all windows zipped shut (while he was in it) and he was left for a time to sweat in the sauna like tent. His UP’s (Underpants) were also confiscated and became gladwrapped to some of the support poles holding up the shed for all to admire – not a pretty sight. These malicious acts were perpetrated not for John’s best – but for his worst.
You see, as humans, we seek revenge. We seek to make others pay dearly for their mistakes. But God isn’t like that. God can’t want your worst. He wants your VERY BEST.
The best way I can illustrate this to you is to read you a story that Jesus told. He was trying to explain about how great God is. It’s a story of a father and of a son. Some of you who may have grown up in the church, know this story that Jesus told. Instead of dozing off to sleep because you’ve heard it like 100 times, listen to it today with fresh ears and see if God speaks to you about his love.
Jesus was describing God’s love and He tells this story. Luke 15:15, “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate’.’” Imagine going to your dad and saying, “There’s just two of us. You’re going to die and when you do, I get half and my brother gets half. I want my half now.” What a major slap in the face. The message he’s saying to his dad is “You might as well be DEAD because what you have is more important to me than who you are.” Imagine you had 2 kids and one of them said this to you. How do you think you would feel? What do you think your reaction would be? Would you want the best or the worst for your selfish son?
Vs 12 “So he divided his property between them. “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country.” Not only did he want everything now, but then he left. He REJECTED his Dad, disowned Him. Another knife in His Dad’s back. What would his reaction be? Any parent who has had a child run away or leave in unpleasant circumstances knows what this is like. My brother has MS and was diagnosed with it in Grade 12. As part of the denial process, he ran away from home and everything that was challenging Him to face up to the reality of the circumstances. He didn’t ask for his share of the inheritance, but he essentially disowned the family and treated us all as though we didn’t exist. He wanted my parents dead – Dead in respect to his life that was. That cut my parents up incredibly. They felt pain and rejection and hurt – much like what this Dad in the story Jesus told felt.
Vs 13 So the “son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need” as always happens when you spend all your money. This guy WASTED all his inheritance. The money his Dad worked had to save – was gone. Everything His Dad gave him graciously he threw away. The party life was over. What would the reaction of this Dad be?
Vs 15 “… So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.” That’s hitting the bottom. That’s desperation. You’ve had all your money, you’ve had all this fun. Now all of a sudden you’re looking at a pig farm going, “That’s not a bad life.” It is even more striking that this kid was a Jew. It was against all the laws for Jews to eat Pork or Ham or even to associate with pigs. They were unclean animals. But here is this kid – down and out – tending to unclean animals – talk about DISGRACE to the family name. I don’t know if you see the desperation that Jesus is trying to create in the story. The guy had everything and now he has nothing and then he’s lusting after pig food. What would His Dad’s reaction be?
So as he’s feeding these pigs, he comes to his senses. Vs 17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: 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.’ So he got up and went to his father.” How would his Dad react? This kid had insulted his Dad, He’d rejected his Dad, He had wasted all his Dad’s money and he had disgraced the family name – How would his Dad react? How would you react? You would be seeking some revenge or restitution wouldn’t you!!!
But Listen to the response of the father. Vs 20 “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.” Why did he do that? His son had just stabbed him in the back numerous times. Why did the father run and embrace him and kiss him? Because his father wanted the best for his son. Remember that this is a picture of God. God can’t want your worst – he always wants what is best for you.
Let’s examine the reaction of this perfect father more closely. Vs 20 says that this Father ran to his son. Running was most undignified for Jewish noblemen, but this Dad didn’t care – he was so happy to see his son, he didn’t care about his reputation or status in society. He had no SHAME.
Imagine you did that to your family. You take the car, you crash the car, you waste all the money, you disgrace the family name and then you come back to live at home. Don’t you think there would be some conditions on you coming back? Yes, there would! “You can’t drive the car. You have curfew. You can’t hang out with those friends. You have to bring your grades us. You better not give me any attitude.” You’d only be welcome under certain conditions. But that is not what his Father does. There is no conditions, only open arms of ACCEPTANCE and love. Then there is the kiss. The fact that the father kissed the son shows that he is reconciled and forgiven. A servant would kiss their master’s hand or feet, but for a master to kiss another shows respect and love and a RELATIONSHIP.
Vs 21 ““The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. ’
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
This Father wasn’t after revenge. His son had brought hurt, pain, disgrace and insult, but that didn’t change the love that this father had for his son. At the first opportunity, the father welcomed his son back and celebrated with him. This Father didn’t want the worst for his Son, He wanted the very best. The best robe, which was undoubtedly His own robe which was worn on special occasions. He was given a ring. The ring he gave him would have likely been a signet ring. It gave him AUTHORITY AND POWER, rights and financial credit. He put sandals on his feet as sign that this was not a slave, but a FREE MAN. Then he took the best calf and killed it. It was the calf that was being fattened up for a special occasion. The amount of food from this beast was far more than what a single household could eat. The amount of food meant that all in the community would have been involved in the celebration and feast. The Son was being restored back into relationship with the COMMUNITY Then the Father threw the best party. Everyone Celebrated with the Father and Son for the Son had been resurrected from the dead.
What a reaction!!! And Oh so different to our normal reaction. But God is like that!!! He can’t want your worst. He wants your very best.
This story tells us 6 things about God’s character that you’ve got to hear…
1. God eagerly WATCHES you.
You are not a number to God. God knows everything about you. The Bible says that God knows even the hairs on your head. For some of you that’s an easier job for God than others. But He knows everything about us. He eagerly watches you.
From the day you were born, God looks at you with pride and love. He doesn’t care what others say, he things you are number 1. Even when you put distance between the two of you and run off to a distant land, God is watching over us. In reality, there is nowhere that we can go that God can’t see, but he longs for that time when we return back to his loving arms. God thinks you are so special that he eagerly watches you .
2. God is wildly CRAZY ABOUT you.
You’ve got to know this about God. Some of you who have been brought by friends, you don’t know what Christianity or God is like. You think God is this angry god who sits in heaven just waiting to wipe you out. You’re so wrong! So wrong. God is absolutely crazy about you!
Hey do any of you have a favourite band or a soapie star or sporting hero. Are you crazy about them? Do posters of them adorn your room. Do you collect their albums or autographs or articles about them. If they came to town, would you be there in the front of the crowd – craning for a look, stretching out for a touch, swooning at their glance. This same excitement and passion is what God has for you. He is crazy about you.
Look at what it said about the Father in our story, “Filled with love and compassion the father ran to him.” He wasn’t concerned that in societies eyes he was making a spectacle of himself. He ran to meet his wayward son. Why? Because he was crazy about him.
Not only is He eagerly watching for you and is wildly crazy about you but...
3. God wants a RELATIONSHIP with you.
“The father embraced him and kissed him.” This is a picture of a relationship. You don’t embrace people and kiss people that you don’t know. This is a picture of a relationship. Some of you guys are freaking out right now. You don’t even want to be seen by your dad let alone him chasing you down and kissing you.
This is an image of God who wants a relationship with you. God doesn’t care if you’re religious. God wants a relationship with you. That’s what the Bible is all about. Religion usually equates to rules about behaviour about worship about life. God wants a relationship with you; He wants intimacy with you. That’s a picture of God. He doesn’t want your worst. He wants your best. He can have your best when you have that relationship.
4. God is actively PURSUING you.
“He ran to his son.” Some of you in here you think you’re here by accident. You think a friend just invited you here. You think it’s by accident. No, it’s not. God is actively pursuing you. It is no surprise. God is not in heaven going, “I can’t believe he’s here. What a surprise!” No, it’s not a surprise. He’s been pursuing you and He’s going to pursue you until you turn to him or reject him forever.
God is polite by nature. He loves you enough to give you free choice. He doesn’t bust down your front door and demand you follow him. He stands there and knocks and waits to be invited into your life.
But even though he gives you the choice, he wants you to choose Him. He wants you to choose life and so He pursues you. Just like the father who ran to his son. And one day when you look back on your life, you will be able to see where God was pursuing you.
5. God wants to CELEBRATE you.
The father didn’t get mad. What did he say? “Bring the finest robe! Let’s party!” He wants to celebrate you. We love celebrating other’s lives and achievements. We have birthday parties, graduation dinners, marriage banquets, etc. God has so much greater love than any human does. He wants to celebrate you.
6. God is generous with HIS GIFTS.
Even when the Son had wasted half his Dad’s money, his Dad kept giving. He supplied him with his immediate physical needs – cloths and food. He gave him back his status – that of son. He showered him with gifts that gave him back his honour and He restored him back into community.
God is generous. Some of you in here know how generous God is, but others are thinking … “If God is generous with his gifts, how come He hasn’t given me everything I’ve ever wanted?” Good question. Here’s the answer: Because He wants the best for you. If He gave you everything you ever wanted it wouldn’t be the best for you. You think it would but it’s not.
What happens to a child when they get everything they ever want? They are spoiled. They usually turn out to be selfish, inconsiderate brats. While God could give you everything you ever wanted, He doesn’t because God doesn’t want to spoil us.
If you look at this list of six things about God - you’ve just got to know that He wants the best for you.
Some of you are thinking – It all sounds good, but I’m too bad. No you are not. The son in this story was a complete disaster. But his Father still watching out for him. His father was still crazy about Him. His father wanted a relationship with him so bad that he was pursuing Him. And when he did return home, His father had the biggest party and gave the greatest gifts. You can’t be too bad for God. He can’t want your worst. He wants your very best – all the time.
This is great news that should make you so happy. But I don’t want you to just rejoice. I want you to do something with this information. My job is not just to make you smarter Christians… I don’t teach you the Bible so you can win Bible survey questions. No, I want you to put it into action in your life.
So what does this mean for my life:
1. Recognize God’s OUTRAGEOUS love.
Most people don’t recognize and accept God’s love. They think that they need to earn God’s love. But it is not like that. If you realized how crazy about you God is, you wouldn’t live your life that way. You would live your life to honor the God who is wildly in love with you. If you realized how incredible his love was for you. That’s the issue.
We all need to understand that God loves us no matter what we’ve done and no matter how much of a failure this world says we are.
2. Run into GOD’S LOVING ARMS if you’re a seeker.
Once you recognise how much God loves you, you need to return to God’s loving arms. If you have wandered away, stop and think about what it was like to be close to God. Go back to where you left him. He is waiting there for you – watching for your return.
If you have never been in God’s loving embrace, maybe it is time to seek it. Life doesn’t make sense without God. I know that some people need to be the prodigal son – to go and experiment with life on their own. For some of you, that is the only way that you will ever find out that you need God’s love. It is the only way you will find out that there is no love that is better than God’s love. And when you do, God will be there to welcome you back – so will we. We won’t say, “Where have you been?” We’ll say, “Welcome back.”
3. Follow the LEAD of our Father.
Remember that God can’t want your worst. He only wants you best. That means that where he leads you will be good. What he asks you to do will be beneficial. How he asks you to live will be healthy. Who he asks you to love will be encouraging to you and them.
You want the best argument I can give as to why you should give your life to Jesus without reservation? Because God can’t want your worst.
Rom 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, a who b have been called according to his purpose”.
God works for your best not for your worst. Do you want the best? Well recognise His love, run into His loving arms and follow His lead. God can’t want your worst. He wants your best.
