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Thank you so much. I want to say firstly thank you 
to Pastor Jim Butler for the kind and warm welcome and invitation 
to preach God's Word to you. I first met Jim via telephone 
about a year ago, and ever since we've gotten to know one another, 
I've found a like-minded brother. You are blessed to have him as 
one of your pastors, met Pastor Cam earlier, and you are doubly 
blessed with faithful men here. This is my first time visiting 
Canada. My wife came here some years ago as a teenager. It was only a few years ago. 
But it's my very first time and I must say, I've been to the 
US many times and edit this out of any videos you're recording. 
This is a far more spectacular part of North America, I must 
say. People ask us, what have you been doing since you've arrived? 
Well, we first landed in Calgary. Someone said, what were you doing 
in Calgary? Well, it's a great starting point 
to make a journey westward. And as we started to drive west, 
was stunned by the Canadian Rockies. We spent some time in Banff and 
if you've ever been to Banff, you see the village of the town 
there and you have the mountains. There's Mount Rundle on the left, 
which I don't know if you're aware was named after a missionary 
who brought the gospel to some of the first nations here. moved 
from Banff up to Lake Louise. It's still frozen, but still 
spectacular. And we went to Emerald Lake, 
which the turquoise waters, and that's stunning. Banff is at 
1400 metres. We made our way south down to 
Kelowna, beautiful vineyards and orchards there. That's at 
400 metres. Then you make yourself to Chilliwack, 
which is only at 10 metres. And you think, you're heading 
down. Geographically, you're heading down, and yet, as we 
walked in through the doors, as we started to meet some of 
the saints, we're at the prayer meeting, you realize that even 
at 10 meters, as a pastor, as a Christian, this is the high 
point for me. For myself and my wife to meet like-minded brothers 
and sisters, those who delight to gather with the saints to 
worship God. Bath has its mountains, it has its lakes, Kelowna has 
its orchards and its vineyards, and they are delightful to me. 
And even in a fallen world, you can see the handy work of God. And yet what I see before me 
here is a work of God's grace amongst his ultimate creation, 
and that is his people. We are image bearers of God, 
and we are being remade into the image of Christ, and that 
is a wonderful thing to behold. And so it is with deep privilege 
and a deep honor to be amongst you, opening up God's word. If 
I can invite you to turn with me to Luke 15, And we'll read 
this passage together. I'm keenly aware that this is 
a portion of God's word that many of you are familiar with, 
but in Luke 15, we will see three, three parables on the lost. We 
will read the entire chapter for context. I will only focus 
on the third parable, which is the parable of the prodigal son. You may have picked up, my name 
is Michael or Mike Prodigalidad. And this is about the prodigal 
son. What's the prodigal dad about? I'll tell you afterwards. 
And if you pay attention, you may pick up the meaning of this, 
but let's read Luke 15 together. Now the tax collectors and sinners 
were all drawing near to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes 
grumbled, saying, this man receives sinners and eats with them. So 
he told them this parable, What man of you, having a hundred 
sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the 99 in 
the open country and go after the one that is lost until he 
finds it? And when he has found it, he 
lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls 
together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, Rejoice 
with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost. Just so, 
I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner 
who repents than over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance. Or that woman having 10 silver 
coins. If she loses one coin, does not 
light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she 
finds it. And when she has found it, she 
calls together her friends and neighbors saying, rejoice with 
me, for I have found the coin that I had lost. Just so I tell 
you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner 
who repents. And he said, there was a man 
who had two sons. And the younger of them said 
to his father, father, give me the share of property that is 
coming to me. And he divided his property between 
them. Not many days later, the younger 
son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country. 
And there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when 
he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, 
and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself 
out to one of the chief, one of the citizens of that country, 
who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing 
to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave 
him anything. But when he came to himself, 
he said, how many of my father's hired servants have more than 
enough bread, but I perish here with hunger. I will arise and 
go to my father and I will say to him, father, I have sinned 
against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called 
your son. Treat me as one of your hired 
servants.' And he arose and came to his father. But while he was 
still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion and 
ran and embraced and kissed him. And the son said to him, Father, 
I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer 
worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, 
bring quickly the best robe and put it on him and put a ring 
on his hand and shoes on his feet and bring the fattened calf 
and kill it and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was 
dead and he's now alive again. He was lost and he's found and 
they began to celebrate. Now his soldier son was in the 
field. And as he came and drew near 
to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one 
of the servants and asked, what these things meant? And he said 
to him, your brother has come and your father has killed the 
fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound. But he was angry and refused 
to go in. His father came out and entreated 
him, but he answered his father, look, these many years I have 
served you and I never disobeyed your command. Yet you gave me, 
yet you never gave me a young goat that I might celebrate with 
my friends. But when his son, this son of 
yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, 
You killed the fatted calf for him. And he said to him, son, 
you were always with me and all that is mine is yours. It was 
fitting to celebrate and be glad for this brother was dead and 
he's alive. He was lost and is found. Amen. May God bless the reading. 
of his holy word to us. Please join me in prayer as we 
look at this passage together. Father in heaven, we thank you 
that you have revealed yourself to us. We thank you that you 
have given us your word, the holy scriptures, which is true, 
which is trustworthy, which is complete. And we pray, Father, 
as we examine and consider the parable of the lost son, the 
parable of the prodigal son, we pray for the help of your 
spirit. Lord, you know each and every one of us here, you know 
that which we struggle with. You know our deepest needs. And 
we pray particularly, Father, for those that may still be strangers 
to grace. We pray for those who may be 
close to the kingdom and yet not within. We ask, Lord, for 
grace and mercy to be poured out upon them, that their eyes 
might be open, not only to their sin, but they might behold the 
beauty of the Saviour. Lord, that they would see that 
He welcomes, that He invites, and He delights that sinners 
come home. We pray also, Father, for those that know and love 
you. We pray, remind us of the things that you have rescued 
us from. Remind us again of the deep love of the Father for each 
and every one of his saints. And oh Lord, may we not be left 
held in suspense like this older son. Oh Lord, may we all be found 
in your presence on that great day, rejoicing in the gospel. Lord, help us help both preacher 
and hearer alike. And we ask now for the blessing 
of your Holy Spirit in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. You would have 
noticed in Luke 15, that there are not one, not two, but three 
parables. Three parables that focus on 
the lost. Why do we have three parables 
on lostness? Well, stylistically, Scripture 
uses repetition to reinforce something that's very important, 
something that we need to understand. We need repetition to emphasize 
truths. Something about me, I'm not very 
good with my hands. Home handiwork is not my forte. Ask me mathematical questions, 
scientific questions, business questions. I'm happy to wax lyrical 
about those things, but give me a hammer. It's a 50-50 bet 
I hold the right end. But I have a friend, a fellow 
welder, who is a builder. He's very good with his hands, 
and I've seen him wield that hammer to great effect. And what 
he does is he takes the nail, he places it on where, and he 
goes tap, tap, and then tap, and it drives it home. It's not 
one big drive, and it's not even three little taps. It's tap, 
tap, and then one big drive, and he puts that nail where it 
needs to go. And I think we have three parables, 
two smaller ones, the little taps, and then one big one to 
drive the message home. Pastorally, we have three parables 
because it also reminds us of our slowness, our dullness. As 
I age, it's harder to remember things, slow to learn. And we can sometimes be stubborn 
like nails. Maybe you've heard sermons on 
these parables before. I'm sure if you've been sitting 
under Pastor Butler's preaching, you would have come across one 
of these parables. But I suspect that as we go through 
this today, And I'm mindful that if you've heard this parable, 
you may switch off. There's a great temptation to 
switch off, but there are many exhortations in the Bible that 
you've forgotten. You've been slow to learn. So 
I want to invite you, if you've read this a dozen times, to lower 
your barriers and to listen to these things afresh. The first 
parable found in verses one through to seven reminds us about a shepherd 
leaving a flock of 99 to search for one. As I drove down the 
main highway here, I saw lots of cattle. I'm told that there's 
pigs here. I don't know if there are any 
sheep farms here. Where I am in downtown Sydney, 
imagine downtown Vancouver, we do not have farm animals with 
us. When I first read of a shepherd 
leaving 99 for 1. I thought, wow, that's a poor 
return on investment. But I'm not a farmer. I guess 
for those who run dairy farms here, you run herds of livestock, 
each one is important. The second parable is now about 
a woman who has 10 coins and loses one. And she finds herself 
sweeping and stooping low to find one lost silver coin. And 
both these parables remind us of the value, the inherent value 
of each individual. Sheep, coin, but ultimately about 
sinners lost. I'm gonna remind each one of 
you here, you might be one person of seven billion on the planet, 
but God knows you. God knows your struggles. God 
knows your desires. He knows your dreams. He knows 
your ambition. You may be a number to the Canadian 
Tax Bureau or whatever they're called. You may just be a number 
in your school records or university or college, but not to the true 
and living God. You may be near, you may be far, 
but God sees you. God knows you. And he wants you 
to hear this message. In both these opening parables, 
there's much effort invested in seeking and saving the lost. And when one is found, there 
is much rejoicing. They gather the neighbors, they 
say, rejoice with me. They say that there's great rejoicing 
in heaven. But this third parable that we're 
about to look at shares similar features, but it's also unique. You would have noticed as we 
read that it's much longer than the first two parables. Why does 
Luke take us, take so much time in this third parable? Well, 
he uses all that extra papyrus to do some character development. 
And there are three main characters in this story. There is a father 
and there are two sons. And as he's teaching, as Jesus 
is teaching here, he's addressing two audiences. There are the 
sinners, the tax collectors, those who live in the dark in 
the world, but he's also addressing the Pharisees and the scribes. 
And you see this in the opening verses of chapters 15. This third 
parable wants us to focus on these three characters, the father 
and two sons. And so if you're into outlines, 
it's very simple. Firstly, We will see the first 
son, the youngest son, the one who is wayward, it would seem. And we'll see that lostness, 
sheep can wander, a coin can fall off a table, can be hidden 
behind a bed. We will see that lostness is 
based on deliberate rebellious actions. We will look at the 
first son. The second thing we'll see, we 
will see the great love, mercy and grace of the Father. And 
then finally we'll see some resentments by the seemingly loyal Son. And these three things we don't 
see in the earlier parables. We see the value of the loss, 
we see that there is great rejoicing But as Luke records Jesus' words 
for us, there's much more to learn. So let's firstly look 
then at the youngest son. And if I may, let's just look 
at verses 11 to 13 again. And he said, there was a man 
who had two sons, and the younger of them said to his father, father, 
give me the share of property that is coming to me. And he 
divided his property between them. I wonder, children, what do you 
ask of your parents? It's a rhetorical question, so 
I don't want to embarrass you, but I remember maybe for your 
birthday, maybe other celebrations, you might ask, I don't know, 
box of Legos, skateboard, a new bike, new Nerf gun. I don't know 
what the gun laws are like in America, but I know they ask 
for real guns down south of the border. You've asked for ice 
cream, you've asked to spend time with one another, but this 
son is not asking for a few shekels, he's asking for his share of 
the inheritance. Have you ever thought what that 
actually means? Because when do you get an inheritance? 
My wife and I have left Sydney. We have three boys at home. You 
might think that's somewhat foolish, but they're actually quite responsible 
boys, and so that's okay. But we also say to them, look, 
if something ever happens, there is a file there, and there's 
everything you need to know. And in that file, there's a list 
of instructions, but there's also our last will and testament. If something ever happens means 
if we don't return home. A last will and testament only 
becomes effective when someone dies. Let me reinterpret what 
this young man is saying. This young man is saying, dad, 
I want my stuff. My stuff that you've worked hard 
for, but I only get when you die. Let me reinterpret that. Dad, I don't want you, I just 
want the stuff. In fact, I wish you were dead. Because I want my inheritance 
now. I want the benefits, I want the 
blessings, but I don't want a relationship with you. Friends, this is heartbreaking. 
Should be grievous, dishonorable. It's actually downright disgraceful. Imagine being the father, hearing 
this. You've given life, you've sustained, you've protected, 
you've provided. Every father, every mother in 
this room, I don't know how good or bad a father you are. You 
know what you've given up for your children. To hear that your 
son doesn't want you in their life, that would break your heart. Certainly break my heart. These 
are hard words to hear. Maybe you've experienced that 
yourself. Maybe you were like this younger son. You went through 
a phase where when you were speaking to your parents, you say, speak 
to the hand. Or maybe you were on the receiving 
end. As I've traveled, I've never met a perfect family. Every one 
of us is dysfunctional somehow, somewhere, and there are degrees 
of this in each of our lives, isn't there? But that's us in a human-to-human 
relationship. Imagine, isn't this how so many 
people live in this world and their attitude towards God? who 
gives the sun, who gives the rain, who gives food, in season 
and out of season. There are so many people in Canada, 
in Australia, in every other country that receives blessings 
from God and says, speak to the hand. If we are uncomfortable thinking 
about this in our relationships with each other, think of the 
great offense to God. that He gives you life. He gives 
you energy to breathe in and out, in and out, even whilst 
you're sleeping. And that might be you today. 
You might receive many blessings from God, but do not care to 
have God in your life. Well, that is a great offense, 
my friend, not to your family, but to the living and true God. Surprisingly, the father grants 
his request. I know many of you work with 
farmers or perhaps own farms yourself. Imagine someone saying, 
liquidate all your assets and give the portion to your children. I don't know how this man did 
it, but he did, even though it was a foolish request, an arrogant, 
a prideful request by the son. And the son, as much as he perhaps 
hates his father, he has a greater love. Can you see the youngest 
son attitude towards the world? Longing for it, craving for it. He sees that the grass, it would 
seem is greener on the other side. And can you see the rashness 
of it? Once he is given these things, 
it says, not many days. He thrusts himself into the world. He's impulsive, he's spontaneous. I mean, I've seen some beautiful 
lakes here, if you know anything about me. Even beaches in Australia, 
which are quite warm. I'm quite timid. I walk up along 
the sand, I dip my toes in the water, beat my chest, I better 
get in there and finally I'm in. Not this kid. No, not this 
kid. He's straight into the world. moves far away, far from prying 
eyes. Maybe that's you. I mean, you 
don't have to be 18 or 19 to do this. You could be in elementary 
school. You might not physically pack 
your bags and go to Vancouver or Toronto, but you may have 
a desire. And whilst you can't physically 
do that, maybe it's what you look up on the internet, you 
dream about doing this or going to this place and that place, 
you dream of a far country. You don't want the safety, you 
don't want the provision of your family. You don't have to be 
young, you might be older, you might be married. You might have 
desires, you might have lusts and ambitions for a better life. We've all been there. Even the Apostle Paul didn't 
know what it was to covet until the Lord told him what it was 
to covet. And we all struggle in many ways. 
Maybe you're struggling in your marriage. Maybe you're struggling 
in parenting. There are things we long for and we desire. It 
doesn't have to be going to Vegas. But this kid went to Vegas. Well, he goes to Vegas, and I 
don't know if you're aware of this, lottery winners. We were at the 
Cottonwood Mall and there was someone selling tickets for some 
lottery. We have lotteries in Australia 
as well. But the interesting thing about that was whether 
it's a million, whether it's five million, or whether it's 
10 million, whatever winnings you take, there's an interesting 
fact. Those who win, those who inherit 
great sums, often are worse off just three months down the road. 
A well-known fact, they squander it, they waste with reckless 
and extravagant living and this kid is no different. In verse 
30, the older brother suggests it's through prostitution. I 
presume he partied hard, he drank a lot, maybe there was gluttony 
and gambling, who knows? But he received from the father 
that which he demanded, he lived it up, he squanders all, and 
in God's providence, seasons change. A famine exposes his 
need. We see this in verse 14 to 16. 
And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that 
country. and he began to be in need. So 
he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that 
country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was 
longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one 
gave him anything. He's got no money for food, so 
hires himself out to be a farmhand to feed pigs. You have to understand 
how humiliating this would have been. Pigs are one of those animals 
in the category of unclean. As the Jews would have heard 
this, they would have said, oh my goodness. They would have been shocked. 
And he's also hungry. And what's he hungry for? When 
he had the inheritors, I'm sure he went to buffets, he ate, he 
drank, and he was merry. And now he's competing with unclean 
animals for food. This is a picture of a miserable 
estate and condition. And then he came to himself. He came to his senses and he 
realized his foolishness. And friends, whether you're seeking 
to escape from common grace restraints, whether you're looking off to 
a far country literally or just online or just in your head, 
one thing is true, the promises of the world are like most marketing 
and advertising. Untrue. Untrue. I suspect they do a lot of fly 
fishing around here. And kids, you know how you catch 
trout and whatever fish you have in these lakes? You just dangle 
a hook in there? Even fish aren't that dumb. You 
need to dress it up. You need to dress it up and make 
it look like an insect or something attractive. And there it is, 
the trout, the salmon, whatever it is, when it sees something 
attractive, that's all they see. They go for it, and once they're 
on the hook, the rest is history. And this is the thing, you're 
in this church, you're in godly families, the world dangles, 
dressed up hooks before you. You could be a young adult. Maybe 
you've been raised in church all your life, You've heard good 
things and yet the world offers something brighter and shinier. 
You say, that looks interesting. I use the phrase, do you have 
the phrase here, the grass seems greener on the other side? Every 
farmer knows why it's greener on the other side. Some of you look confused. You 
need more manure to make it green on the other side. Well, this kid, by the grace 
of God, comes to himself. He comes to himself and realizes, 
what am I doing here? Back home, he thinks back and 
says, the hired hands have enough food, but I'm far away, hungry, 
humiliated, homesick. Now, at this point, Many can 
be sorry for a messed up life. Last weekend, my wife and I were 
in Sacramento. There are some areas there where 
some homeless people, those struggling on the street. I suspect many 
of them, like there would be in Vancouver or here in Chilliwack, 
in any major city, would be feeling sorry for themselves. That's 
natural. That's worldly sorrow, that unless 
you come to the Lord Jesus Christ, simply leads to death. But godly 
sorrow, this kid's sorrowful, but godly sorrow leads to repentance. And we see this in 18 to 19. 
He says, I'm going to get up. I will arise and go to my father. And I will say to him, remember 
last time he said, I want my money. Probably the last words he said 
to his dad, I want my money. Now, he's saying, Father, I have 
sinned against heaven and before you. I'm no longer worthy to 
be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired 
servants. This is what's playing out in his head. This is what 
he's thinking. That's the realization. He realized 
he has messed up and messed up bad. He realizes he has sinned, 
not only against his father, but against heaven. And now we 
see repentance. I'm sure many of you are familiar 
with one of the catechisms, the shorter catechism states that 
repentance unto life is a saving grace. Repentance is a gift of 
God, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, an apprehension 
of the mercy of God in Christ doth with grief and hatred of 
his sin turn from it unto God with full purpose of an endeavor 
after new obedience. True repentance has several parts. 
One must see must genuinely see the awfulness of their sin, not 
in an abstract form, but in particular forms. We need to know why we 
have grieved, how we have grieved and sinned against a holy God. 
In some circles, people have a very light view of sin. In 
other circles, They have a really true understanding of sin, but 
they might struggle, you might struggle with an other aspect 
of repentance. You not only have to have a true 
sense of your sin, but you must have a true sense of the mercy 
of God. You must understand, yes, I have 
sinned, we all have sinned, and awful sins, and we would never 
want to see them projected for all to see. But repentance also 
requires us to see the beauty of the Savior. We need to see, 
as it were, God with open arms welcoming us back. And this kid 
has done some awful things. Have you ever experienced that? Have you ever hit rock bottom? 
Have you seen your sin and realize you are deserving of God's judgment. Does it lead to despair? But does it also turn you to 
God? This kid's in the gutter and he's looking back to his 
father. Let's look then, let's look then 
at the father. How will the father respond, 
this earthly father, after being hurt and rejected by this son? You know, many families are destroyed 
by lesser things. Some of the most awkward situations 
are weddings and funerals, right? The weddings are celebration, 
funerals, there's obviously grief, but there's a secondary grief 
that's often worse. It's when you bring family members 
together because there's things that have been unresolved. There's 
uncle so-and-so, there's this brother, there's this sister, 
father and son in the room for the first time after many years. 
As I said earlier, many families are plagued by the effects of 
sin. And it would be natural, it'd be understandable for this 
young man to question, to question, given all that I've done, all 
that I've failed to do, how will my father respond? And yet, with whatever questions 
he has in his mind, he starts making his way back home. And what's the response? Verse 20, and he arose and came 
to his father. But while he was still a long 
way off, his father saw him. and felt compassion and ran and 
embraced him and kissed him. The earthly father has compassion. He's moved, he's overjoyed to 
see his lost son. He still has a love and concern 
for him despite his prideful demands. And how do we know this? Because 
he runs to him. Whilst he was far off, he doesn't 
know why the kid's coming back. The boy has not opened his mouth. 
Was he there for more money? Was he there for a second instalment? 
Was he there to abuse the father? Even before he's heard this boy's 
confession of wrongdoing, he starts running. Now, of course, 
in these days, for a father to be running like this, it would 
have been shameful. The family comes to him, not 
the other way around. But this father doesn't care. 
He's not there to impress people. He has such a concern and a love 
for his son that he goes to him. He embraces and kisses. This is not clean cut boy coming 
home. What's the last job on his resume, 
on his CV? I mean, feeding pigs. When was 
his last shower? What was he wearing? I bet he 
sold the best clothes that he had just to get by an extra meal. Just imagine that. Haven't been 
to Vancouver yet, but like I say, I can imagine like every major 
city, there are areas where the homeless gather. How many of 
you would stop by the side of the road and hug and embrace? It's confronting, isn't it? Yes. This son has sinned greatly. We do not wanna minimize that. But the father's love, concern, 
compassion is far greater. This is something beyond what 
we learn about lost sheep and lost coins. It's that tap, tap, 
tap. And it's written to assure any 
here Anyone, you can be the youngest in the room, you can be the oldest 
in the room, this could be your very first time, or you've been 
here for 10 years. It's to assure each and every 
one of us if we repent and turn from our sins, we will not be 
rejected. You will not be turned away. 
You might think you will be, But that's the devil speaking 
to you, messing with your minds. Another false piece of advertising. 
You know, it's often said that when we move away from God, the 
devil says, he's gracious, he's merciful, he'll have you back. 
Then we start eating pig food and we want a return. And then 
he says, oh, he's just and he's holy and he'll never have you 
back. Flip that around, flip that around. When you're tempted 
to sin, think of the judgment and the holiness of God, but 
also think of the grace and mercy when we have messed up badly. 
And we've all messed up. The least sin before a holy God 
is worthy of eternal condemnation. And yet I've done 51 laps of 
the sun, My sins are too great to count and number, and yet my confidence is your 
confidence, that the Father has promised to receive all who would 
turn to Him. Don't make God out to be a liar, 
because that's what we do when we say, He'll reject us. God is delighted when sinners 
return to Him. Now, this is a parable, parable 
has limitations. Is this literally what God is 
like? Physically running, feeling compassion, 
embracing, hugging, kissing, is that what God is like? I'm 
sure there's a bad Christian song out there that sort of encapsulates 
this of God, but I know you had my good friend James Dolezal 
here recently, I'm sure he's battered that out of you. No, 
this is not literally what God is like, but it is, framed in 
language that we all understand. It's communicating a truth to 
us. God doesn't have physical arms 
and legs. He doesn't hug, He doesn't kiss 
in this way. It's analogical. And similarly, God doesn't have 
an emotional response to the Son. He's unmoved, He's impassable. I have to throw that in there 
because James might watch this and he'd go, he missed an opportunity. 
No, we affirm God does not have body parts or passions. No, this 
picture may not be literal, but still instructive to us. God 
is not reluctant nor hesitant nor slow to forgive. And depending 
on your tradition or your background, that is something you might struggle 
with. And this portion of God's Word is saying, don't struggle 
with this. Believe it by faith. Yes, you know your sin, but know 
the Savior who forgives from sin and who will wash and cleanse 
and purify. Makes us whiter than snow. You may have been rolling around 
in pig food and lesser things. You may have been in the gutter. 
I don't know what your story is. I don't know what you've 
drank or eaten or pumped through your veins, God knows. And his 
promise of forgiveness is still to you. His promise of salvation 
is not just to middle class or upper class or certain tax bracket 
sinners. Remember, prostitutes, sinners, 
tax collectors, they're sitting around. And for them, this is 
good news, and it's good news for you too. Even as the son is speaking in 
verse 21 to confess his sin, and he's declaring his unworthiness, 
look how the father wants us to know that he rejoices. He 
says, he doesn't just say, welcome back son, get back in the work 
line. He could have done that. He could 
have done that. No, he celebrates, he rejoices. It's captured for us in verse 
22. But the father said to his servants, 
bring, bring quickly, not any robe, the best robe and put it 
on him and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet and bring the fatted calf and kill it. and let us eat and 
celebrate. For this, my son was dead and 
he's alive again. He was lost and he's found and 
they began to celebrate. I mentioned earlier, this is 
known as the story of the prodigal son and people say, what's prodigal 
mean? And when people meet me for the first time, they say, 
where are you from? Well, that's an interesting name, 
where do you come from? I tell them I was born in the Philippines, 
came to Australia, but the name comes from my parents, the Philippines, 
and they say, oh, Prodigal Son, sorry, Prodigalidad. And I say 
to them, I use it for gospel opportunities, and I say, there's 
a story in the Bible about an extravagant, lavish son. I said, but your name's Prodigalidad. The son was extravagant and lavish 
in his sin. That's what prodigal means. I understand why it's called 
the prodigal son. But I remind people that as lavish 
and as extravagant as this man was in his sin, the father's 
mercy and grace was far more extravagant. The purpose of the celebration 
is it is a great reversal. Death has been overtaken by life. What was lost is now found. And we praise our God, that although 
he can condemn us, rightly condemn us for our sin, and we would 
have to rejoice and praise him for his justice and holiness, 
this God has also revealed himself. as a redeemer, as a rescuer, 
as a seeker of the lost. But there's a snatch, there's 
a catch, there's a bit of a sting in the story. I'm sure you picked 
up on it from verse 25 to the end. There's a third character 
that we want to look at briefly. Not everyone is happy. We must 
turn to another son, an older son, And his response is captured 
in verses 25 to the end. This boy's been hard working 
at it in the field, and in the distance he hears music, he hears 
laughter, celebration, and then he hears that the youngest son 
has returned. And he's perplexed. I suppose 
some of us might be perplexed. What's going on here? Let's read 
verse 28. But he was angry and refused 
to go in. His father has explained, his 
son, sorry, his father came out and he treats him. He's saying, 
son, come in, come in. Verse 29, but he answers his 
father, look, these many years I have served you and I never 
disobeyed your command. Yet you never gave me a young 
goat that I might celebrate with my friends. This son has a chip on his shoulder. 
He's upset. Those of us with multiple children 
may have observed something like this. You know what I'm talking 
about? You have your first child, everyone 
rejoices, everyone's happy, they're the apple of your eye, all the 
attention. Then you're blessed with a second 
child, and you bring them home. You know what the oldest sibling 
usually does? It takes some adjustment, but the initial instinct is usually, 
what's this thing? Add 20 years, maybe 30 years, 
that's what's going on here. But more than this, he knows 
his younger brother's gone off and squandered everything whilst 
he's been working hard. So he's a little upset. He's 
so upset, he's not even prepared to call him his brother. He says, 
your son. It's like, he's not my brother, he's your son. He notes that he's never been 
given an animal to celebrate with his friends, but kind of 
begs the question, did he ever ask his dad? Did he ever ask his father? You 
know, there's some teaching of Jesus like when a father, when 
a child asks his father for bread, doesn't give him a stone. Did 
he ever have the confidence, the relationship with the father 
to ask for a goat to celebrate with his friends? There are lots 
of questions in this. Most commentators note that this 
is probably addressed to the second group. Remember, there's 
tax collectors, sinners, prostitutes there, and there's another group. 
I can say they're probably sitting on different sides of the room, 
right? This is probably addressed to 
the scribes, the Pharisees. Why? Well, their outlook on life 
is built not on grace, but on works. and they think pretty highly 
of themselves. Maybe that's you today. It was certainly me before 
I was converted. I thought pretty highly of myself. 
I thought I was a good kid, I studied hard, I didn't do the sins that 
those other kids did, but I thought fairly highly of myself. Maybe 
that's you. When you think highly of yourself, I don't know what the optometry 
term is, when you can see far off, but you can't see close 
by. You can see the sins of others, but you can't look in the mirror 
and see your own sins. That's probably this kid. He declares he's faithful. I've 
been working hard. I've been doing double time. 
In fact, since the youngest son's gone, I've been doing more work 
than all the others. What's up, dad? He fails to see the Father's 
grace and love. And despite being resistant to 
the Father, did you notice how gracious and 
how gentle the rebuke is from the Father? Says to him in verse 31, son, 
you're always with me. and all that is mine is yours. It's fitting to celebrate and 
be glad for this, your brother, he's reminding him, this is your 
brother, was dead and he's alive. He was lost and he's found. He's not a harsh father. He doesn't say get your act together, 
pull your head in, whatever the phrase is here in Canada. Just 
gentle and gracious. Now note how the parable ends. 
It ends with uncertainty. We don't know. We have no idea 
whether the older brother goes into the house or he doesn't. 
That's how it ends. And I think that uncertainty 
is helpful for us. Because how will it end for any 
of us here in this room? Let's just try to tie these things 
together. Have you run away from God? Do you want to run away from 
God? Do you want to live far away? Want to enjoy the world? There are many attractive things 
that draw our attention, that tempt us. Can I assure you, if you go exploring 
the far country, if you start drinking waters from broken cisterns, 
if you start eating and delighting in the things offered only by 
the world, and do not find your satisfaction in Christ and Him 
alone, you will be dissatisfied. I pray that you will be dissatisfied 
in this world that you might turn to God so that you are not 
dissatisfied for all eternity. God is saying, why would you 
eat pig food when I'm prepared to sacrifice the fatted calf 
for you? I mean, I love my slow cooked 
pork, but pig food, Not for me. And it shouldn't be for you. 
You can put whatever topping you want and the world will put 
all sorts of dressing on that pig food, but it is still pig 
food. Don't eat that. Why would you 
eat that? There's many pictures in the 
Bible that says he's preparing a banquet. A banquet. And there are many people that 
are gonna be gathered there. Why should we be clothed in filth? When he has the best robe, the 
robes of righteousness for you, to cover all your sins, your 
sores, your shame. And look, I'm not into jewelry, 
and I don't know what this ring looks like, but it sounds good. 
He's got a ring for you. A ring that symbolizes you're 
part of the family. You're not some stranger, you're 
not just some servant, you are part of the family of God. Do you doubt the Father would 
accept you? Hey Mike, you don't know what 
I've been up to. You don't know what I was doing 
last Saturday night or six months ago. If you only knew. You don't 
need my forgiveness. And God is far more gracious 
and forgiving than me or anyone in this room. God knows, and he still offers 
you redemption and rescue. Remember that picture? He's running. 
The father is running towards the son. He's saying, come home. Come home today. My arms are 
open. I'll wash you, cleanse you, make 
you whiter than snow. And all the things that plague 
your mind, that give you trouble sleeping at night, that you were 
worried someone will find out about, God already knows. And 
He says, He's prepared to wipe the slate clean. And more than 
this, He's prepared to impute to you the righteousness, all 
the good works of Christ. So when He looks upon you, He 
looks at you as His son and daughter. And there's no greater privilege 
than to be called a son or daughter of the living God. Come home. Friend, come home. But maybe you've already returned. 
Maybe you have come home. Maybe you've forgotten what you've 
been rescued from. Maybe in your mind, Your salvation 
is just a small thing. I've seen a lot of some bad people 
saved. I was never that bad. I'd encourage 
you to reflect on the darkness, the awfulness of your sin, where 
God has rescued you from, and marvel again at the goodness 
of God. Those who've been forgiven much, 
Love much. If you struggle to love God, 
you love God, but your heart struggles a little, reflect upon 
the great salvation that God has secured for you in Christ 
Jesus. And remember, it wasn't a fatted calf. It was His only 
begotten Son that was sent to die for us. And are you happy? Do you rejoice 
when unbelievers repent of sin? Not just your kids, not just 
your family members. When you hear reports of people 
being saved in this church or that church, do you rejoice? Or are there elements in my life 
or your life where we're a little bit like the older brother? I'm 
happy for some people to be saved, but less so others. We've had some interesting people 
visit our church over the years. Some of them haven't smelt the 
best or look the best or spoke the best. I don't know, Chilliwack, but 
how would they feel if, how would you feel if some of those people 
were sitting here? These things challenge us, and 
rightly so. Would you be a little disturbed 
if the unclean came amongst us? I did a series on 1 Corinthians 
years ago, and I called it Messy Church, because that's what church 
is like. We're a little bit messy. Some of us are a lot messy. But 
God has no other options. He always works with messy people, 
because that's all there is. And He slowly, by God, by His 
grace, sanctifies and conforms us to the image of His Son. We ought to praise our God, our 
maker, our redeemer for sending the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only as a substitute for 
sinners, but the Bible reminds us that he is the true older 
brother. You realize that, don't you? 
He's a bad older brother. The true older brother was prepared 
to give up his life, to lay down his life, yes, to forgive, yes, to reconcile 
us, but to make us co-heirs, co-heirs with him. We share his kingdom spoils that 
none of us have worked for, but we receive by grace and grace 
alone. If you are a lover of Jesus, 
if your faith is weak or it is strong, but it is genuine faith, 
we are co-heirs with our older brother, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us pray. Our Father, we bless 
you, we praise you, we worship your great name. Your dealings 
with us are marked by grace and mercy. We thank you for this 
reminder that you seek and you save the lost. We're reminded 
of the stupid and foolish and sinful decisions we often make. Father, forgive us for when we 
stray into the far country, but we bless you. that you invite 
us back to turn from our sins and to return to you. We thank 
you for this affirmation, this reminder that you are a God with 
open arms that beckons us home, that calls us home, that commands 
us to come home. For those who are still far off, 
be gracious to them and irresistibly draw them to yourself and carry 
them home like that lost sheep, throw them on your shoulder and 
carry them home. And for those of us who are already 
part of the family, may we rejoice. May we rejoice in our salvation 
and rejoice in those that are being added to the kingdom this 
day. Oh Lord, help us to glorify and 
honor your name and help us to apply this parable, this portion 
of your word to each of our lives, and we ask this in Jesus' name, 
amen.