Amazing Love (Part 7 of 7)

Family celebrations are to be happy occasion, but that can change quickly if anger or resentment come into the picture today on Truth for Life weekend.

Alastair Bragg explains how an older brother's refusal to join a family reunion actually revealed a lot about his spiritual condition where the final message in our series titled amazing love. Now we come to these final versus where Jesus delivers the SCUD missile to the grumbling and muttering fantasies who identified in the opening section of the chapter.

These individuals that were so sure of their own position and were able to look down their noses at everybody else about to find themselves identified with this other son had been mentioned at the beginning. It is been offstage for the whole time. I remember Jesus is been telling me stories one after another. He says it was a felony of 99 in the fold. We lost 21 to get it brought it back on his shoulders and everybody rejoiced and so there is rejoicing in heaven. Lady lost her claim she had nine but she needed the dance she got the chance he brought it all. They had a tea party. Everybody rejoiced, and there is rejoicing in heaven is gone from one and 99 to 1 and 10 to wanting to and his listeners are waiting to see other stories going ON is going to be the same way. While there's an inkling that now, perhaps with the introduction of the brother is what we're waiting for another news is going to be and when the older brother found out he rejoices well and had the most fantastic party that the family had ever seen in all of the lies, but it doesn't happen that way.

And so their ears must've parked up the older brother said Jesus became angry and refused to go in and see the contrast in the story that Jesus is telling is not a contrast between a profligate son who went away and made a hash of it, and another son who stayed home and made a great job on the contrast is between the penitent prodigal who understood his need of the father's grace and the penitent older brother who saw and himself. No such needed he could understand why this messed up brother of this would need intervention but not in and that's the contrast because the younger son is now battling to his father in a relationship of grace.

He came back up the road saying I am really prepared to be a slave in your house, and he is given his bedroom bag and it's all redecorated farm as it were, the elder son has actually been living as a slave in the house, the younger brother is united to his father by grace. The older brother is united to his father in a relationship of legal obligation. In fact, if we had longer we could go through this they would put two columns down and we could write in them. If we had time on the prodigal side. He is a son by grace on the older brother site. He is a son by law on the prodigal site he's done nothing to merit God's kindness on the older brother site.

He's done everything to act on the prodigal side. This is salvation by the sheer mercy of God on the older brother site. This is an attempt at salvation by obedience and the keeping of the commandments. Now this isn't to say that some number two wasn't at least outwardly a good steady faithful some Jesus is not here see the Pharisees were all rotten will surely have hypocrisy that was part of that existed, but they were in the visitor archetypal hypocrite on two legs. These people had given their lives to religion. These people work in San Angelo.

God, these people stayed up late in the night reading the Torah searching it out telling others how they can also live by these obligation so it's not that this older brother represents some kind of pathetic creature know we should think of them exactly as is described as a good steady faithful son. But you see when the Bible says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God that does not eradicate the degrees of difference that exists amongst men and women right. Not all of us have committed murder. We have all sinned. Not all of us have violated every command in the way. Another so that there is a distinction not a distinction in terms of whether a man is a sinner are not a sinner but all are sinners, but the sense of sin and the expression of sin works itself out in different ways and in different people's lives.

So there is a vast difference between these two brothers, but it is a relative difference right. One of them definitely lived better. You can argue that he lived better.

He stayed home he shined his shoes he went to work. He did his business.

He was present when he said he would be present his life. From one perspective was a better and a more constructive life than his brothers and made a hash of the written difference is relative because they were both equally sinners both equally in need of mercy and it was this fact that the elder brother couldn't understand because he represents the Pharisees, you see the Pharisees despised the publicans and the sinners because they given up on the low benefit of themselves. Listen we have broken so much of this law we we are so messed up. We have so many tickets in our glovebox that there is no way in in heaven. We're going to build a get ourselves out of this mess by going down this particular avenue, the law for them was a useless Avenue to God and consequently the Pharisees said you are not the people of the law.

Therefore, you are rejected by God. Therefore you have no prospect of eternity in the welcome of the father. They saw sin in quantitative terms. Therefore, they regarded salvation as the rendering of sufficient obedience to the law in order to build up enough credit in their accounts so that when push came to shove in the matter of the judgment they would be able to say yes we did this and this and this and that debit side, but we did this and this and this in the plus, and he believed that they were going to be welcomed into heaven on the strength of the so that approach is the opposite of grace.

The absolute opposite of grace.

Their approach is one of contentment under legal obligation and that explains the predicament of the older brother because he failed to see that sin is not simply acts of wickedness and disobedience, but sin is a heart of rebellion against the father and he had a heart of rebellion against his father expressed differently from the rebellious heart of his younger brother, but nevertheless he was in this saving predicament, and he was in need of the same mercy and what he deserved. He should not be asking for and what God was willing to give. There was no basis for him to see well I hope you're following that there was for him a discovery that he didn't want to make all know he's not back is there was for him a sympathy that he could not express the absence of a forgiving heart on the part of the elder brother is an indication of the fight that the elder brother himself had never understood. Forgive, you will never be a forgiving person. I will never be a forgiving person until I have discovered the amazing forgiveness that is granted me in the Lord Jesus Christ and the way in which you offer forgiveness to others the way in which I respond to others and forgiveness. If it is a grudging mean-spirited stand against for the rest of your life forgiveness. It is an indication of the five that I have not understood the way in which God throws his arms around me, smothers me in kisses and calls for a party to begin.

There is no human explanation for this you know is you see it's grace it's grace the danger of certain chunks of American evangelical fundamentalism is that it is actually never understood grace and in the absence of grace.

It is live with lists and it is lived with obligations and it is lived with siblings and it is lived with accretions and it is lived with rules and it says the people of you will do this and if you will meet that and if you will come there and if you will fulfill this then there's a chance you know which is nothing at all about the way the father grabs the boy up the street. It's all grace he deserves a hiding. He gets a hug he desires to stay down and not mess is given a new bedroom. He desires to walk the streets of this sorry outfit and with a stinking smell of the pigs on them and he is given a bath and is given all of the radians of his father's welcome is a wonderful story and you would think that anybody would want to go to this party, especially his brother, but he refused to well. Why was that will finally, because the very necessity of it all.

He couldn't understand or he refused to accept he resented the irresponsibility and rebellion of his younger brother.

After all he was the picture of loyalty and responsibility in faithfulness and obedience.

The elder brother saw himself as spiritually sound if you like, and healthy. Therefore, he couldn't grasp the reason for which the father so joyfully welcomes the prodigal home because he couldn't see that he was in marked as much in need of grace. Is this useless brother's see the proud and the self-righteous always feel that they are not treated as well, as they deserve the store and looked at this event. This party the celebration in terms of rewards. After all, that's the way he viewed his relationship with his father. If I do this I get so many points and once I get a certain number of points I get my frequent flyer miles. Then maybe I'll get the fattened calf something is gone horribly wrong here for this guy has drawn down all of his credit points.

He has no credit points. He's now in the Dumbarton relationship to credit points and suddenly is let the good times roll and the party has begun. What in the world is going on here. The ends of his grace what he receives.

He doesn't desire the younger son was able to sing a song which is older brother had never fathomed. So the father explains to the boy. He says listen this is no reward. This is a must need to understand the nature of salvation itself, what it happened. Of course, is what happens today.

The fact that this older brother realized that his younger brother had a relationship with God that was based on something he didn't understand pointed out to him the fact that his relationship with his father was not as it should be for those of you have recently been convicted and you have discovered God's grace in all its truth and you're no surprise that your husband or your father or your brother or your sister are resentful of you in a way that you cannot fully fathom. After all, you simply told him that you have found the answer to your life that you have discovered forgiveness for your sins. What is the problem with this why we did not come to the baptism.

Why would they not participate in the celebration I'll tell you why because you have become a catalyst in their life's for showing them that they do not have a relationship with God.

They now realize if this is what it means to know God. I don't know if this is what it means to love the father. I don't love it if this is what it means to be welcomed by his goodness. I never and instead of drawing them in instead of them falling down at his father's knees and say father I am in need of the selfsame grace that you bestowed upon my younger brother because although I haven't been with is gone, although I haven't seen what he saw, although I haven't participated in what he participated in five that I have to tell you, I've been living like a slave in your house.

I've been resentful of you.

I been doing things so that people would see. Didn't he do well I've been refraining from doing things simply because I was afraid that I would get caught but from my heart. Father, I live like a slave in your house I'm a Pharisee, the father would take them in an instant when after all it had been a big day for the data earlier in the day running down the road. The people say what happened to Samuel what's going on in the street. Then they see them coming up the road with an unrecognizable stinky character and then a few hours of elapse and suddenly people are falling up the sick could you turn the music down, please turn the music down what you things going on here when on the Samuel now and then some of them said you know I was watching on my window. I was looking out the kitchen window. I know what it is. The younger boys back to back a royal mess, but apparently a huge part. The older boy came by and the last I saw the father and the older boy standing on the doorstep. Having an unbelievable argument and it looked to me like a father was saying to them and treating them on command and the last I saw was the older brother turned his back on his father.

Instead away with you and all of this and each storm dropped back out into the field. Would anybody choose hell rather than heaven. Yes, why pride if I go in I am going to have to admit that the only way in is on my knees if I go when I'm going to have to admit that iron Mountain master characters. Well, I am not a perfect little daughter.

I am not the exemplary little housewife all sure. I've kept it going. Yes the people looking say yes 10 points for this, and five points for that, but inside of my heart says the individual. I know what I'm really like and if I am to go in.

Then I'm going to go in on my knee although I would much rather go in with my head held high, with the people clapping in cheerleading and congratulating say hey your maintenance well done like that seen in Tommy boy when it starts and he goes on to the University that whatever it is and and is looking on the board to see the results of these pushing forward and pushing for the dreadful sad life of Chris Farley, but there is a pretty barman eventually looks because IDID I'm going to graduate. I'm going to graduate only goes up running through the campus. I'm going to graduate.

I did this coming to church. You try to get a D you give up on a long time ago. A B+ is passed you by you down to a BC average C- you now hit the you know that the chances of making it are dwindling with every passing endeavor to try and live like a slave when the father welcomes you as a son, you see this message. This SCUD missile this thing in the tail brings in many of us who were reared in Christian homes who've learned to play the game who've learned to talk the talk, who've learned to get by on our witness.

But when our friends have come now to Christ and many of them have been radically changed. They have been a catalyst to show us. We don't actually know the father and instead of bowing our need and crying out to the father furnace. We retreat to our enslavement and our activities. All of our endeavors. The fact that we are surrounded by so many like us should hold no safety for us, but it is a broad road that leads to destruction, and it is a narrow road that leads to life.

You see God the father here in all of his beauty, the judgment of God is not God sorting out the human race into our group that he likes that go to heaven in a group that he doesn't like the go to hell. Rather, the picture of them. Here is a father overflowing with grace and generosity and opening his arms to all the boy who did a bunk and made a hash of it. He got lost to the boy who stayed home and lost out a father who overflows with grace and generosity description of God's amazing love from today's message on Truth for Life weekend with Alistair Begg.

Please keep listening.

Alister will be right back to close with prayer. We hope that listing to Truth for Life fits conveniently into your weekend schedule.

There are additional options for listing that can make it even easier now here Truth for Life on your Apple watch if you have an Apple watch series 3 or later. Open the podcast app on your phone search for Truth for Life programs and subscribe where you can access it on the watch. Find out more by going to Truth for Life.org/Apple watch and as a reminder this is the final weekend will be offering Nancy Guthrie's latest book titled God does his best work with empty. This is an encouraging book that shows how when we feel empty because of loneliness or loss, or discouragement. That's never a problem for the Lord. In fact, he often uses our emptiness as a way to draw us into a deeper relationship with him.

When you get to the final chapter in this book is an opportunity for you to deepen your relationship with the Lord. Following a written prayer the prayer uses Scripture as a basis for talking to God about the emptiness that invades each of our lives.

When you read God does his best work with empty you will be challenged to look upward, rather than inward requester copy today by visiting Truth for Life.org.

Now here's Alister close in prayer. Once again I him helps me marvelous grace of our loving Lord grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt.

They are on Calvary's mound outpoured. Therefore, the blood of the lamb was still marvelous, infinite, matchless grace freely bestowed on all who believe you that are longing to see his face, will you this moment his grace receive grace grace God's grace grace that will pardon and cleanse with grace, grace, God's grace, grace that is greater than all hours. Father we pray that you will look upon is in your nursery this night do not treat as is our sins. That is, there we recognize that we need to be born from above.

Otherwise we cannot see nor enter the kingdom of heaven come down no love divine, and seek though the soul of mine and visited with thine own article, Lord, grant that those of us who have been away down the road and in a royal mess may come back on our knees and discover the wonder of your loving embrace. For those of us who been trapped in a form of self-induced slavery and were in the horns of a dilemma now because most of our friends think we are Christians that we do know you help us Lord fall down by our beds before we go to sleep tonight and say father I want to know you. I want to live my life to show all the love I only seeker of your and then when the morning sun rises over the trees will do that for which we've been created. We will glorify. We will enjoy your photograph. We will praise you still in Jesus name we pray for Bob Lapine.

Thanks for joining us next weekend as Alister takes us to Psalm 119. He'll address the common and yet crucial question. How does the Bible apply to my life. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life learning is prolific