Dr Greg Bahnsen - The Christian Mission: God's Incredible Mercy (Part 2)

It's more of a joy to be among you and preach God's word than I really think I have words to express. I thank you for the invitation to your pulpit. I thank you for the way in which you are interested in the same Savior as I am and share a like faith and practice with me. And I thank you for your fellowship. You've all been so very good to me this weekend. The study center for which I work has had me on the road now for a little over three weeks, which is a bit longer than I'm accustomed to, but I must say the best was saved for last. I get to go home tomorrow, but it's wonderful to be with you before that happens. I also would like to say before we pray and read God's Word, that I'm very grateful to this congregation for your generosity and support my ministry. I wanted to share that with you because sometimes those of us who are out on the road and trying to put together a ministry of education. A ministry of education rarely supports itself with the fees of the users. And ordinarily it requires those who share a perspective and want to see a particular point of view advance in this world to help out such ministries. And the recent gift that this congregation has sent to the Southern California center for Christian Studies was a real blessing to us. It would always be so. But it seems like sometimes when it appears that things are really getting down to the bottom of the barrel, a gift like that comes in that gets us through. And I only tell you that because I don't want you to think that God only answers those kinds of prayers for Pentecostalists. He does it for Presbyterians too, and we're very grateful for it. Let's go to him in prayer. We do ask, Heavenly Father, that your Holy Spirit would be shed abroad in our hearts this day to open our hearts that we might receive your word with gratitude, that we might respond to it with obedience and faith. We praise you that you have given us your life giving word. We thank you for the light that it brings to us, dispelling the darkness of our lives and the darkness of this world. And we do pray that it would have that effect among us this day. For we pray in your precious name. Amen. As we turn to God's word. I'd have you stand and turn with me to Psalm 86 in the Old Testament. Psalm 86. Hear now God's word. Bow down thine ear, O Jehovah, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my soul, for I am godly O Thou, my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee. Be merciful unto me, O Lord. For unto thee do I cry all the day long. Rejoice the soul of thy servant. For unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For thou, Lord, art good and ready to forgive and abundant in lovingkindness Unto all them that call upon thee. Give ear, O Jehovah, unto my prayer and hearken unto the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee, for thou wilt answer me. There is none like unto thee among the gods, O Lord. Neither are there any works like unto thy works. All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord, and they shall glorify thy name. For thou art great and doest wondrous things. Thou art God alone. Teach me thy way, O Jehovah. I will walk in thy truth Unite my heart to fear thy name. I will praise Thee, O Lord, my God, with my whole heart and I will glorify thy name forevermore. For great is thy loving kindness toward me and Thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest sheol, O God, the proud are risen up against me and a company of violent men have sought after my soul and have not set thee before them. But Thou, O Lord, art a God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth. O turn unto me and have mercy upon me. Give thy strength unto thy servant and save the son of thy handmaid. Show me a token for good that they who hate me may see it and be put to shame. Because Thou Jehovah hast helped me, comforted me. Amen. During the last few days, we have been exploring the subject of God's kingdom and its sure increase in this world. However, the kingdom of God as it goes forth in this world is not going to make very much progress of those who are sons and daughters of the kingdom, do not understand the enemy and do not understand the message they need to use in confronting the enemy, especially in our own day. As the church enters its 21st century, as we approach the turn of a second millennium, what great battle will the Church be confronting? I'm not a prophet, and I can't promise that my insight is infallible. That certainly makes no claim to inspiration. But as I look at the world about me, I think we're probably going to have to shift our focus as Christians because the ideological battle is going to be different in the next century. When I was growing up and I was in grade school, and junior high, high school out into my college years. I could never have imagined that we'd see the demise of communism in Eastern Europe. I could never have imagined that we would see the dissolution of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union. I could never have imagined the dissolution of the union of those Soviet Republics. Well, that of course, is just a rebuke to my small faith. We pray for those things, we hope for those things, but none of us believe it would happen. And now, praise the Lord, look what is happening in the world. It's amazing because on the political front, you see that kind of revolution which none of us can fathom the significance of. I mean, it is huge. The significance, the geopolitical significance of the demise of communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. We never could have imagined that. And yet God brings it about in just a matter of months, as a matter of fact. And then we hold back, wondering, can God really do great things in this world and bring the kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ to advance and to engulf the world? And we hold back, wondering if God is able to do those things. He does marvelous things. We have tokens of his goodness in history like this all along, and yet we still have in the Christian church such small faith in this big God of ours. In the 21st century, the ideology that the church will have to confront will not for the most part, be Marxist Leninist Communism. I don't think that we should pronounce all of that dead in the world. It's a little too early for that. But the fact of the matter is the focus is going to have to shift. And I would suggest to you today, if nature abhors a vacuum, I don't know if it really does. But if nature abhors a vacuum, the political world, the ideological world certainly does abhor a vacuum. And with the demise of communism, you shouldn't think, okay, now the coast is clear, it's going to be easy sailing for the Church of Jesus Christ. There is going to be another major ideological opponent out there. And as best I can see, again, no claims to prophecy, but as best I can see, I'd suggest that is going to be Islam. We will have to, as the Church of Jesus Christ increasingly deal with the growth of the Muslim faith in our world, not only because so much of economic power in this world is controlled through oil and the holdings of those countries which adhere to Islam, but because Islam is growing and those who hold to that faith have been going throughout the world carrying their culture and their faith with them. I would imagine that you see here in Atlanta the same thing we have seen in Southern California. I don't know what the comparison is, but we have a great influx of people holding to the Muslim faith into our area. And they come with them and often bring with them a great deal of giftedness, interest in education. They are often wealthy people. They assume positions of power. We see them in the medical profession, we see them in education, we see them in politics. And more and more we have to adjust then to the influx of Muslim theology and Muslim thinking. And so to prepare you for the 21st century, I brought my Koran today. Is it all right if I read this from your pulse at Joe, I'd like to read just a bit of the Koran to you so that I might better explain the message of God's kingdom that is going to be always has been needed, but is going to be really needed in the 21st century. We need to understand it with clarity, with precision, and to preach it with power. David in the 86th Psalm tells us, there is none like unto thee among the gods, O Lord, Neither are there any works like unto thy works. David holds forth for the uniqueness of Jehovah. No God can compare to Jehovah. Now, of course, in terms of existence, no God compares to Jehovah because no other God exists. He alone is God. That's what we mean by the singularity of God. In Christian theology. God alone is the eternal, unchangeable, almighty, sovereign Lord of heaven and earth. He doesn't share his glory with any other. But David is saying more than that God is the only one that exists. He is saying no other God or claims for other gods cannot match what you are like. The presentation of Jehovah as we find it in the Scriptures is unparalleled among the world religions. And that is true when it comes to a comparison of Christianity with Islam as well. And today I'd like to focus on what Muslims consider the key attribute of their God, who goes by the name Allah, and compare that attribute with that of the living and true God of heaven and earth, Jehovah of hosts. The Muslims exalt the compassion and the mercy of Allah over and over again in the Koran. In fact, the Koran opens with this exordium which every Muslim is to pray day by day. And so in Surah 1, the Surahs are the chapters of the quran. In Surah 1 we read in the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of Creation, the Compassionate, the Merciful King Of Judgment Day, you alone we worship, and to you alone we pray for help. Guide us in the straight path, the path of those whom you have favored, not of those who have incurred your wrath, nor of those who have gone astray. And so the prayer is made to Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful. And then nearly every chapter, nearly every Surah of the Koran begins in the same way. In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful. In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful. In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful. And on and on it goes. The central attribute of Allah that is set forth by those who adhere to Islam is that of mercy. Allah is allegedly a compassionate and a merciful God. In fact, the claim is made that Allah is the most merciful. In Surah 12, we read, Allah is the best of guardians of all those that show mercy. He is the Most Merciful. It's very important for us to study what is meant by the mercy of Allah, however, because when you read through the Koran and you catch on to what it is teaching, I think you will be shocked at what counts as mercy and compassion from the Almighty. Rarely do Western Christians understand the full teaching of the Koran. I'm afraid when we are presented with Muslim faith, especially unbelievers who have to compare the Muslim faith and culture to Christian culture, we have a minimizing of the differences, as though the Muslims have one God, Christians worship one God. Allah for the Muslims, is sovereign and Almighty, controls all things. And so Christians, at least Calvinistic Christians, teach that God controls all things. And so we minimize the difference between these. But if we'll look at the mercy of Allah in the Koran and then study God's holy Word, I think we'll really be blessed to see what David said, that there are no gods like unto our God. The theology of the Koran states that every single one of you has two angels that Allah has assigned to you. Two angels that are called recording angels. They record your good deeds. One records your good deeds, the other records your evil deeds. And all these will be read out on the Day of Judgment. Remember in the Exordium how we worship the Compassionate, the Merciful, the King of Judgment Day. This will be crucial for you understanding what the mercy of Allah amounts to. In Surah 99, we read, on that day, mankind will come in broken bands to be shown their labors, to be shown their works. Whoever has done an atom's weight of good shall see it. And whoever has done an atom's weight of evil shall see it also. And then in Surah 82, yes, you who deny the Last Judgment, you deny it. Yet there are guardians watching over you, noble recorders, who know of all your actions. And then in Surah 19, Allah will increasingly guide those that have followed the right path. Deeds of lasting merit shall earn you a better reward in his sight and a more auspicious end. Deeds of lasting merit are recorded, you see, by the one Angel. And on the day of Judgment, Allah is going to look at these deeds of lasting merit, compare it to your misdeeds, and decide what your ultimate fate will be. And then again in Surah 90, Have we not given man two eyes, a tongue and two lips, and shown him the two paths, the path of right and the path of wrong. Yet he would not scale the height, would that he knew what the height is. And now listen. It is the freeing of a bondsman, the feeding in the day of famine of an orphaned relation or a needy man in distress, to have faith and to enjoy courage and mercy. Those that do this shall stand on the right hand, and those that deny our revelation shall stand on the left, with hellfire close above them to scale the height and to follow the path of the right means to do good deeds to help people who are in distress. Then we read in the 92nd Surah, by the night when she lets fall her darkness, and by the radiant day by him that created the male and the female. Your endeavors have different ends. For him that gives in charity and guards himself against evil and believes in goodness, we shall smooth the path of salvation. But for him that neither gives nor takes and disbelieves in goodness, we shall smooth the path of affliction. And then one more and we'll be done with this tedious theology. That is really bad news. But you need to hear what the understanding of grace and mercy is. Finally, if you haven't caught on yet, here we read in Surah 12, Allah has been gracious to us. Those that keep from evil and endure with fortitude, Allah will not deny them their reward. For Allah to be gracious means that he will not deny the righteous their reward. Think about that. The mercy of Allah means that when the recording angels talk about your meritorious good deeds, if there are more of those than these evil wicked deeds, if you've been a very giving person, a helpful person, if you've done good works, then all these things are going to be read out. And the grace of Allah, the compassion of Allah, is he will not deny you your reward. Now, in Christian theology, we wouldn't be inclined to call that the grace of God. We wouldn't call that the mercy of God, that he lives up to what you deserve, that he gives you what you have earned by works of merit. We call that the justice of God, not His mercy. And I want to point this out, because you have to see then how perverse Muslim theology it is. It takes what we call justice and now refers to that as grace, refers to that as compassion, refers to that as mercy. Oh, this great Allah, who is so compassionate and so merciful, who threatens hell fire, has this Day of Judgment. He's the king of Judgment Day. He will not deny you what you have earned. And I say that is depressing, depressing, bad news. Even though Muslims may not admit that. Muslims go through the same kind of experience that a good friend of ours did many years ago. Remember Martin Luther? Martin Luther had heard of a theology like this too, where God will see the congruent merit of those who call upon his name and will grant them salvation. The Lord Jesus has done part of the work that is necessary. And all the sins you've committed before baptism have been taken care of by Him. But after that, God looks upon your good works and adds them, you see, to the merit of Christ so that you might be saved. And what effect did that have in Luther's life that make him really happy and joyful and worshiping God? Did it make him a person who was outgoing and wanting to see the kingdom advance? He was miserable. He was beat down because Luther was a man of integrity. He was a man of honesty. He was not deceiving himself as so many Muslims do. If God is going to weigh our good deeds and any of us think, oh, let's look forward to the Day of Judgment, what fools we are. J.I. packer very rightly says in his book, knowing God, that people who do not endorse the grace of God make much of very little in their lives. Think about that. Those who do not understand the true grace of God must make much of very little in their lives. If God has recording angels that are going to bring my good deeds and my evil deeds before him on the Day of Judgment, if my only hope is that the good outweighs the bad, I have no hope and neither do you. I mean, I'll be glad to admit that I'm as bad as any of you, but I'm not going to say that you aren't in the same boat with me here. None of us are going to match up on the Day of Judgment. Now, David says that there are none like unto thee among the gods, O Lord. Neither are there any works like unto thy works. All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord, and they shall glorify thy name. And what message is it that's going to draw the nations to Jehovah? That's going to make them all turn and glorify the name of Jehovah? Interestingly, if you look at the 86th Psalm, it's a message of divine mercy in verse three. That's David's plea. Be merciful unto me, O Lord, for unto thee do I cry all the day long. And verse five. For thou, Lord, art good and ready to forgive and abundant in loving kindness unto all them that call upon thee. God is good and merciful and ready to forgive. Verse 13. For great is thy loving kindness toward me, and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest sheol. Verse 15. But thou, O Lord, art a God, merciful and gracious. Is it presumptuous of me to suggest that perhaps Muhammad was stealing from the tradition of biblical theology when he uses this expression? The compassionate, the merciful. But thou, O Lord our God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abundant in loving kindness and truth. We want to see the Muslim world won over to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If we want to see any culture won over to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, let's all affirm with one heart and fully with our soul that what's going to win them over is not going to be our proclamation of God's righteous standards, though that of course should impress them that we have a just culture that others do not. But it will not be the declaration of the law of God that wins the cultures over is going to be the declaration of this God who is merciful and compassionate and none is like unto him. That is the message that's going to save the world. Not the bad news of God's righteous standards which reveal our failure and therefore the need of his wrath, but the declaration of the amazing fact that God takes those who have violated those standards and saves them and loves them and in his compassion draws them to Himself. Muslims, according to the Koran, accept the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospels. Many Christians are not aware of that. But when you're talking to Muslims, you see they've already granted the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospels to you, and therefore you need to use those when you talk with them. Now, what kind of God is presented in the Torah? Well, any number of things could be said. We could be here all day long analyzing and outlining the theology of the Torah. But I'd like to go to the heart of the matter. Israel's glory, as we read of it in the books of Moses, Israel's glory was that God dwelt in her midst. God walked with his people. When God took them through the wilderness, he went with them. He dwelt with them. In particular, the Bible tells us that God dwelt with Israel in the Shekinah glory, the cloud of fire. And he dwelt in the midst of his people when they set camp, because the Temple, or the Tabernacle, was pitched in the very middle of Israel's camp in the wilderness and eventually placed on top of Mount Zion and in Jerusalem. And in the Tabernacle, you remember, it has different chambers, but the innermost chamber was called the holiest place, the holy of holies. And in that holiest place the Ark of the Covenant was placed. And the Shekinah glory of God dwelt above the Ark of the Covenant. But we have to be more precise. More specifically, the Bible tells us that there was a lid that was made for the Ark of the Covenant. The specifications are given. They're very precise. The size of the lid is to be made of acacia wood overlaid with gold. It was a very heavy lid. In that sense, the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark got it right. The lid was extremely heavy, not only because of the gold that overlaid the acacia wood, but because two golden cherubim were forged for the sides the of. Of the lid. And the cherubim faced inward with their wings touching above. And there in the midst between the cherubim, the guardians of God's throne, the Shekinah glory of God was found. Now into the holy place, the holiest place only the high priest could go, and only once a year, and with only one intention, and that was to make atonement for. For sin. He went on Yom Kippur, the day of covering, the day of atonement. And the high priest would go in before the very presence of God, the Almighty, the Eternal, and the Holy One, and stand before him to plead for the sins of the people that they'd be forgiven. And if he did not follow precisely the instructions God had given for approaching unto him, the high priest could die in the very presence of God. So superstitious were the Jews about that that they would tie a rope around the ankle of the high priest and let it trail out underneath the veil as he went behind that final veil into the holiest place once a year to make atonement and they did that for fear that if he died, they'd have no way to get his corpse out of there. Anyone else who entered, of course, would be struck by dead as well. So they figured they'd have to pull the body out. That's superstition. But that shows you how holy, magnificent and unique an experience this was. And the Bible specified that when the high priest went in to make atonement, he specifically was to shake the blood upon the lid of the Ark of the Covenant. And then propitiation was made. This word propitiation means a turning away of wrath. When the high priest appears for the people and puts the blood on the lid of the Ark of the Covenant, right where God dwells, then mercy is shown. Now, in the Book of Hebrews, what is this lid called? We have an extended discussion of the Tabernacle and the Temple and its imagery and furniture. In the Book of Hebrew, Hebrews, this lid is called the propitiatory in Greek, where propitiation is made, where the wrath is turned away and atonement is accomplished. And this gets translated in English and comes down to us as the mercy seat. And so let's go back to the Torah. What do we want to tell our Muslim friends and neighbors? We want to tell them the God we worship dwelt in the midst of his people and. And he ruled from the mercy seat. He is a God of justice. To be sure, judgment day is dreadful. Remember the threat to the life of the high priest if he didn't follow the instructions of God. He is a holy God. He is a just God, a very exacting God. But he is a God who rules from a mercy seat. Mercy is the foundation of his rule. And so we see. As David says in the Psalms, remember, they will accept the Torah of the Psalms and the Gospels. David in the Psalms magnifies the mercy of God. And I'd like you to focus on one particular element of the mercy of God. This morning, as David presents it to us. Look at verse five of our scripture reading. For Thou, Lord, art good and ready to forgive abundant and loving kindness unto all them that call upon thee. Thou art good and ready to forgive. The abundance of God's mercy and loving kindness is seen specifically in his readiness to forgive. His readiness to forgive. In the Koran, Allah will forgive, but only after you've demonstrated your worthiness be forgiven. Allah will forgive if your good deeds outweigh your evil deeds. And it has never been made clear to me how Allah can forgive those evil deeds, even though you have a Lot of good deeds to go with them. Because your good deeds do not atone for the evil you have done. That evil is still there. It's still an offense against God. It's really ridiculous to have a theology that teaches if you just do a lot of good, somehow the evil was never done. I mean, the outweighing of evil does not make for a clean record. And if you have a pure and holy God, only a clean record is acceptable. So I don't understand how that theology is helpful at all. But here's the point in that theology. If your good outweighs your evil, then Allah will forgive. He holds back. He's waiting to hear the story. Lay it out before me, prove your worthiness, and I will forgive. And here's David by contrast, saying, for thou, Lord, art good and ready to forgive, you stand ready to forgive. Muslims accept the Torah, the Psalms, and the Gospels. If you want to understand the readiness of God to forgive, turn in the Gospel, in particular to Luke, the 15th chapter. And I'd like to read for you Jesus story about a very unworthy prodigal son. We'll begin our reading in the 11th verse of Luke 15. But before I do that, might I just share with you a word of personal testimony? It's been many years now since the Lord drew me to Himself. But for all that time, I remember very vividly, as though I were there right now. Remember very vividly what it was when God finally opened my heart under the preaching of the Word to hear about his grace. A very dear man, a Southern preacher, as it turns out, was at a youth camp out in Southern California that I attended. And I was a young man. I had been going to church. I thought we were all good Christians. We went to church, we tried to lead decent lives and so forth. And it wasn't until I heard the gospel proclaimed that night that I realized that a change had to take place. But you know, sometimes when you hear of the goodness of God, our first inclination, if we know ourselves well, and it certainly was my first inclination, was to say, I'm certainly unworthy of. Of that kind of love. Why would God love me? I knew that I was unlovable. I knew that when all was said and done, I would never be able to be worthy to belong to his family. And I think what broke my heart that night is that the preacher was expounding on, when one sinner is converted, the angels in heaven rejoice. I remember hearing that and saying, the angels rejoice that I should belong to God. That is incredible mercy that God should love me enough that he throws a party in heaven because I've been won back. I think my inclination would have been to say, if Greg Bonson were found, big deal. His being lost wasn't that much of a loss. And yet somehow God, in his great mercy, loved me in such a way that it rejoiced his heart that I confessed my sins and trusted in Christ as my Savior. I don't think there's any possibility that I would ever be tempted to follow a theology like that in the Koran after that night and that experience that I had of realizing the rejoicing of God in my salvation. Jesus tells the story about the rejoicing of God in the Story of the prodigal son, Luke 15 at the eleventh verse he said, A certain man had two sons, and the younger of them said to his father, father, give me the portion of thy substance that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. But not many days after, the younger son gathered all together and took his journey into a far country. And there he wasted his substance in riotous living. And when he had spent everything, there arose a mighty famine in that country, and he began to be in need. And so he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into the fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husk that the swine did eat, and no man gave unto him. But when he came to himself, he said, how many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare? And I am perishing here with hunger. I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight I am no more worthy to be called thy son. Make me as one of thy hired servants. And so he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet afar off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the Son said unto him, father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight I am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the Father said to his servants, bring forth quickly the best robe, 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 make merry. For this my son was dead, and is found alive, lost, and is found. And they began to make merry. But his elder son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house. He heard music and dancing, and called to one of the servants and inquired what these things might be. And he said unto him, thy brother is come. Thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. But he was angry and would not go in. And his father came out and entreated him. But he answered and said to his father, lo, these many years do I serve thee, and I never transgress the commandment of thine. And yet thou never gavest me a kid that I might make merry with my friends. But when this thy son came, who hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou killedst for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, son, thou art ever with me, and all that is mine is thine. But it was appropriate to make merry and to be glad for this thy brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found. In this, perhaps the favorite parable of Jesus in all the New Testament, Jesus graphically portrays, and a heart touching way, the good news that we set over against the bad news of the Koran. The good news, as David put it, that God stands ready to forgive. Ready to Forgive. In verses 11 and 12 of Luke 15, we read of a custom among the Jews which was not universally followed, but often enough was that an inheritance could be divided to the sons of a family even before the father died. It could be distributed upon the death of the father, or he could cash out a portion of the estate to his sons, and with respect to the real estate that he had, grant ownership to a son or sons, even though he would exercise sovereignty over the land until his death. And here we read, apparently of a younger son. And you children who are with me today, you may want to remember this. It seems to go in families. The younger children tend to be more impetuous. The older children tend to be the overachievers. That's not a universal law of psychology, but there's enough credibility to it that I mentioned that to you. The younger son comes and he wants his father to hurry up the process. Very impetuously, says father, divide the estate. I'd like to know how much I have coming. So the father does so, and lo and behold, just a few days after father gets up one morning and the son is gone. Split, takes his money and he runs. He really loses no time wanting to get out from under the authority of his father. He wanted to be away from the watchful eye of Daddy. He knew that if he spent the money the way he wanted to his father would not be pleased. And so he exchanged true freedom under the love of his father and the protection and the care of his father for what turned out to be a life of bondage and a profligate way of living. And so he took the good gifts of the Father, undoubtedly earned over years of responsible investment and hard work. He takes the good gifts of his friends father, and now waste them in a deceptive life of happiness away from the Father. Deceptive because he pursues a life of pleasure, thinking that really is the highest good. This is really what's going to make me happy in this world. But then of course, as you know, when you are spending money and you're not replenishing, when you're not investing and making good use of the resources God has given you, when you spend and spend and spend, do you need a PhD in economics to figure this out? What happens? You run out of money. And he ran out of money. And he probably thought he had earned himself a lot of friends who were going to stand by him there and really help him out. But of all things, not only did he run out of money living a life that would be displeasing to his father, but then a famine hit the land and he looked around one day and lo and behold, there weren't any friends, nobody there to stand by his side and to pick him up and to help him out. He was left impoverished and scared and lonely and above all, destitute. Jesus tells this story I think because he wants us to know what it is like when people run away from the Heavenly Father. They think they've got a good life, they think this will give them happiness and they end up lonely people and they end up destitute. Even if they have a lot of money. By the way, obviously this is a picture about spiritual realities. Even if they happen to have a lot of money, they end up destitute. It'd be good for us to remember that portrayal when we are evangelizing, giving the good news to people. Don't listen to the unbelievers evaluation of himself or herself. Don't let them do their own analysis as to what's wrong with their lives. Don't believe the bold and the kind of the macho front that they often put out there. Oh yeah, everything's all right in my life. Why would I need God? And so forth. People without the watchful care of a heavenly Father are lonely people. They are destitute, they are confused and they are scared. And this son of the wealthy father has gone off Thinking he's going to make it perfectly all right on his own. He, above all, wanted to be autonomous, wanted to be a law to himself, wanted to live his own life, make up his own decisions, define good and evil for himself. And here's how he ends up destitute. But it's worse than that. He loses all his money. Famine comes to the land. He has nothing to eat, and he has to go to work. And of all things, he has to accept servile work. Remember back at his father's house, he had servants to do all of that. And now he has to go out and do servile labor. But it's worse than that, because this is a good Jew boy. He knows how to follow the kosher laws. And what he ends up doing is servile work, tending the swine. Unclean. To touch the swine would, in a way, pollute him. And yet he had to go out there and tend them and care for them and feed them. And if that isn't bad enough that he's so humiliated in his sin and his rebellion against his father that he has to go deal with swine, but they eat better than he does. You remember when you became a Christian? I'll bet you you can recall looking at the way the world lived and saying, what is so attractive about all this? I'm out here living on my own, and the pigs are eating better than I am. And he wanted to eat what the pigs did. He'd rather have those carob pods than what came to him. That was beneath contempt. Verse 17 tells us, when he came to himself, he finally comes to his senses. He goes, what's wrong with me? And he feels the utter shame of his situation, what he has done. The Bible teaches us that the first step toward true repentance is that we become conscious of our shame and our misery and that it is our own fault. You see, the boy feels intrinsic defilement at his situation. But he knows that he has no rights. He has no excuse to offer. He doesn't go and say, well, it would have worked out if this had happened. Or if that had happened, if the famine hadn't come, if my friends hadn't betrayed me, if this, if that. You know people like that, don't you? Maybe you know yourself. You look in the mirror and you so often say, I wouldn't have been so bad if this, if that. That's not repentance. And it's not even a step toward repentance. It's a step away from true repentance. When we make excuses for our sin and our rebellion, this boy comes to his senses and he says, it's my fault. I will arise and I will go say to my Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. No ifs, ands and buts about it, no qualifications, categorical admission that it was his fault. And in that remorse that makes him say, it is totally my fault, I have no one to blame but myself. In that kind of remorse, he admitted that he was unworthy to receive anything. As he's looking at the pigs, eating and thinking about his empty stomach and coming to his senses, the young boy says, I'll go back and say to my father, I'm not worthy to receive, be your son. Would you be so gracious as to let me be your servant? And so he doesn't moan over his distress, he just returns to the Father, hoping that his Father would be merciful enough to accept his confession of guilt and allow him at least to come home and to be a slave, because then he would eat and have enough. He doesn't return to his Father making excuses. He doesn't return to his Father with any sense of dignity. He returns to his father broken, crushed, admitting his unworthiness, and he expects nothing. And really, everything that I've said thus far this morning has been to build up to now the 20th verse of Luke 15, which is really the heart of what I want you to take away this morning. It's one of the most glorious verses in all the Bible, and it breaks my heart every time I read it. Because we read that this Son arose and came to his Father and listened. But while he was yet afar off, his Father saw him and was moved with compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. What sinful man would ever, ever dream of that kind of reception from a holy Heavenly Father? The Bible would indicate, apparently, in terms of the parable, that the Father had continued to look for his sin son to come home because he was out watching. And when he saw his son across the fields, you know, there are days when you just loathe what's in you when you see it in comparison to your Heavenly Father. And I have to admit, if I were in that situation, being a father, I would undoubtedly want my son to come back. But I don't think I'd be ready to forgive. I think I would let the Son come and scrape and bow and make his confession. And I would want to, in a kind of begrudging way, say, well, now, how can I be sure this isn't going to happen again. Aren't you ashamed of yourself? That's in you too, isn't it? That's how far we are from the character of God. I mean, I can just imagine not being a father that runs across the field, but is kind of seeing the Son and then just kind of waiting, you know, and tapping my foot, saying, all right, this will be good. Let's hear it. You did what? And how can I be sure that won't happen again? Well, perhaps we can put you in a program that if you pass probation, eventually we could make you one of our servants, right? A kind of a begrudging forgiveness. And that's why this verse is so tender to me. Because the Father doesn't wait for the Son to make his confession. He runs after his son and falls on his neck and kisses him. Now we know what the Son had already practiced in his mind to say to the Father. He had planned to confess his unworthiness and ask to be a servant. And I love the fact that as you read this, he doesn't get it all out before he can even ask to be made a servant. The Father is already turning to the real servants and saying, bring out a robe to put on him and put a signet ring on his hand, and you'll love this, shoes on his feet. Because in ancient Hebrew society, slaves didn't wear shoes. He'll be no slave to me. Put shoes on his feet. Make him my son again. And remember that calf that we've been fattening up for a great day to have a party. Let's kill that calf now and enjoy it. You see, the Father doesn't offer minimal forgiveness to his repentant son. He rejoices in the return of his son. He celebrates the return of his son, and he restores him not just to a position of favor, but restores his dignity and indicates that this is not a begrudging forgiveness. This is not just, oh, well, finally at last you come to your senses. But it's a time of great rejoicing because the party goes on. I can just imagine the younger saying, I can't believe the incredible mercy of my father. This is the man that I ran away from. This is the one that I didn't want watching over me when I lived my life. That's the kind of God that breaks hearts and draws people to himself. But not everyone will come. Before we end this morning, we have to take account of the end of the story. There is this overachiever older son who now comes in from the Field. And he hears the partying inside the house. And he calls the servant Angles, what's going on? The servant explains, you, brother has come home. And your father is so delighted, he's thrown a party. Come on in. No, he won't go in, Adamantly refuses. And eventually the father comes out, this heavenly father comes out and pleads with this self righteous toot of a son, comes out and says, come, come into the party. We're having a great time. What a day of rejoicing. And here's the response of the older son. Lo, these many years do I serve thee. And I never transgress the commandment of Thine. But you didn't ever give me a kid or make merry with my friends. But when this your son came, the one who devoured his living with harlots, you kill for him the fatted calf. Isn't that amazing? What? You could almost make a Muslim out of this kid. I never transgress the commandment of Thine. I have so many good deeds. I've been working here on the land this whole time. Haven't you been counting up my goodness? Oh, what a good boy am I. What are you doing? Honoring your son. Isn't that wonderful? The way he puts it. He won't identify himself with this other boy by calling him my brother. It is your son. But you know, that kind of insulting remark proves to be a self judging remark too. Because that is true. This repentant boy was the son of the father. And the older son refused to make himself a member of that kind of family. There are so many people in our day and age that are like that. The Jews and Jesus, they were like that. They didn't want a gospel of salvation. They wanted a gospel of human merit. They wanted a gospel that dignified people because they had done so well, they had followed the law, they had earned so much merit before God. You could take that Jewish works righteousness message and you could just translate it. In fact, I think that's probably, probably what Mohammed did. Translated that Jewish works righteousness to another book and call it the Quran or call it anything you want. But when all is said and done, it's horrible bad news. The Son will not come in, will not make merry because he figures that he should be honored for what he has done. I praise God that he changes hearts and I praise him that he changed minds so that I wouldn't have such a self righteous attitude as to think eventually the day will come when God will have to honor me for what I have done. It's a very humiliating experience. But you know, it's the most wonderful experience in the world. To finally repent and admit that you're the one who has messed up your own life. That you're the one, you see who has violated the holy commandments of God. You're the one who thought you can make it on your own. You're the one who deserves nothing from God. Because those who admit that they deserve nothing end up being given everything. Everybody wants to know who God is. Everybody wants to know what he is like. And as we compare the gods of the heathens to the God that we worship this Lord's day morning, I hope that you remember the testimony of the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospels, that we have a God who sits upon a mercy seat. That's the kind of God he is. A God who is praised for his loving kindness and his readiness to forgive. That he doesn't begrudge us forgiveness, but actually runs across the field to embrace us and to throw a party for us when we are willing to admit our sin and to accept his offer of grace. I mean, it is so hard to read this kind of thing about Allah the compassionate, the merciful. If there were a truth in labeling law that applied to religion, we'd have to bring charges against this book. That's not mercy. The only mercy that anyone will ever know is the mercy of this Father that loves his children enough to accept them when they repent, who is amazingly ready to forgive, incredibly, remarkably shows us amazing grace. Oh, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. Let's pray. Lord, we do look forward to the day which your kingdom will cover this earth as the waters cover the sea. We thank you that you have so ordained that that will come about. But we thank you above all that the way it will come about is through the sweetest message that has ever been proclaimed. The message of divine forgiveness and mercy. We don't know why you are so compassionate to us. We do not deserve it. We confess today that we are unworthy of all of your goodness. We certainly have not earned our way back into your favor. We come back to you empty handed and ashamed, indeed contemptuous in your sight. And yet by your grace, through our Savior Jesus Christ, we come back to you and you are willing to forgive, indeed eager to do so, and that in itself humbles and breaks our hearts. We pray that you would fill us with gratitude as we remember that this day there is still rejoicing going on in heaven because you loved us so much and welcomed us back after we were lost but now are found. Help us to enter into that joy, not to hold back with the self righteous attitude of an older son. Help us to enter into your joy and to rejoice with you so that people might see the gladness of heart. We have the experience of compassion and mercy that we have enjoyed and they might be drawn to the light of your goodness as well. For we pray in Jesus name most Holy name, Amen.