Dr. Stanley highlights the second half of the parable of the prodigal son. Though he has the appearance of a devoted son, the older brother’s heart is full of bitterness and jealousy. Don’t let self-righteousness poison your relationship with God or His children. For more messages from Charles Stanley, including this week’s broadcast, go to intouch.org/tv.
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[Music]
in touch with Dr Charles Stanley
reaching the world with the Gospel of
Jesus Christ through sound Biblical
teaching next on InTouch absent from the
party
good
Jesus was a master storyteller
not only that he knew exactly who his
audience was
when you look at the 15th chapter of the
Gospel of Luke which is where our text
is you’ll note that he knew exactly who
was in the crowd who was listening and
who was watching so that chapter begins
with these words
now all the tax collectors and the
Sinners were coming near to him to
listen to him
both the Pharisees and the scribes began
to Grumble saying this man receives
Sinners and eats with them
and then he talks about the Prodigal Son
and so we usually know this as the story
of The Prodigal Son and the first part
of it is about that
but I want you to see that there’s
another side of the story of The
Prodigal Son
we know that story that he decided that
he lived long enough it is with his
family he wanted his share of what was
coming to him and he decided he’d leave
home
he left home and the Bible says very
clearly that he wasted his substance
with wrath is living and when he had
spent everything
a severe famine occurred in the land and
he was he was poveraged and he ended up
in a Hog Pen and eating hog food pods
they call them
and so we look at that and then we see
how he finally came home and the Rejoice
thing that was going on and they what a
wonderful story of forgiveness that God
demonstrated through Jesus about the
Prodigal Son
there’s a whole nother story here
and that’s the reason why we don’t
mention very often
and I want to say this right up front
everybody can find their life themselves
in this parable
for example that is
The Prodigal Son
then there’s the father who went after
who waited for him and forgave him
then there’s another son
and that other son is the one I want us
to look at particularly today
we’ve talked about the sun coming home
and now what about the Elder son
so I want you to ask yourself the
question which one of these characters
best describes you
loving father
Wayward Son
or the son who did not leave home but
stayed there
so look at it for a moment
and as I think about that I think about
what happens here in beginning in the
25th verse
now the oldest son was in the field
and when he came and approached the
house he heard music and dancing so
think about this the part is on
nobody has invited him
he just came in and found out the party
was going on what in the world’s going
on
and so the eldest son was in the field
when he came and approached the house
and heard the music he summoned one of
the servants and began inquiring what
these things could be
so he said to him your brother
has come and your father has killed the
fatted calf because he’s received him
back safe and sound imagine what the
brother felt
but he became angry and was not willing
to go in and his father came out and
began pleading with him
but his response was this
but he answered and said to his father
look for so many years I’ve been serving
you I’ve never neglected a command of
yours and yet you have never given me a
young goat so that I might celebrate
with my friends
kind of a dad are you
but when this son of yours came who has
devoured your wealth with prostitutes
it’s interested in he didn’t name a
whole lot of sins he just named The
Horseman
you kill the fatty calf
and he said to him son you’ve always
been with me and all that is mine is
yours
but we had this we had look at this we
had to celebrate and rejoice for the
brother of yours was dead
and has begun to live and was lost and
has been found
period
so the title of this message is absent
from the party
I want you to think for just a moment
I want you to think about
what was going on
in this man’s heart in his life in his
thinking
when he came home
feeling like he’d been ostracized
overlooked well if my brother’s all that
important then why didn’t they tell me
about it
so what I want you to see is this
it’s easy to criticize other people who
are living in sin without looking at
ourselves
real easy to do
and all of us have done it we’ve looked
at other people’s sin and think how
awful that is and never stop to think
about well how do I compare that
the next
the next few words I’m going to give you
are words that describe this elder son
first of all verse 28 says he was angry
naturally he was angry he got ostracized
nobody told him about the party because
his father said we had to celebrate he
was angry
secondly
he was jealous look in verse 29 but it
answered and said to him father
look for so many years I have served you
never neglected a command of yours and
you’ve never given me a young goat so
that I may celebrate with my friends
very jealous
three he was very bitter
listen to that
but when this son of yours
who has devoured your wealth with
prostitutes you kill the fetid care for
him
resentment look in 29.
but he answered and said to his father
look for so many years I’ve been serving
you very resentful about the fact that
he had been faithful in the household
doing his job and not getting into
recognition
verse 29 rejection
so many years I have served you
you didn’t do this for me
he felt rejected and rejected his father
as a result
every single one of these the verses are
here anger jealousy bitterness
resentment rejection and unforgiving
here’s what you’ve done now look at me
very unforgiving about it in verse 30.
but when this son of yours came and
whose devoured your wealth of
prostitutes you kill the emphatic care
for him
very disrespectful look if you will in
verse 30.
but when his son this son of yours came
who has devoured your wealth
and notice he makes those words very
very pronounced this son of yours
verse 29 very accusative
look
here’s what you’ve done
you’ve never given me that
and then very self-righteous
I’ve been with you all these years I’ve
done everything you asked me to do
and then verse 30 caustic biting
piercing words
but when this son of yours not my
brother when this son of yours came who
has devoured your wealth with
prostitutes you kill the fatted calf for
him
now
when you look at his accusations
you can understand why I felt it
and sometimes we are prone to be
critical of other people when they’ve
sinned
sinned against God in in terrible ways
awful ways horrible ways sometimes
and oftentimes don’t stop to think what
about us
so I want us to look at a few lessons
here
and what Jesus is saying these Pharisees
and Sadducees you keep the law
you’re very you’re very evidently
keeping the law but what about your
attitude
and so
there are two pigpens in this parable
one’s in a far country and one is at
home
this boy was in the pig pen at home he
never left home but look at his
character anger generous bit of
resentful rejecting unforgiving
disrespectful accusative self-righteous
and caustic biting your son is what you
did for him you’ve never done that for
me
sometimes we can feel very Pious about
things
and what I want you to do is I went
through this passage looking at myself
Lord
do I have any of this stuff in my life
it’s sinful it’s wicked it’s vile has
nothing to do with righteousness or
living a holy life listen to this anger
jealousy bitter and resentful rejection
unforgiving disrespectful accused it is
self-righteous cause thick biting and
piercing and you’ve thought about
something in your own life already
I’ll bet
two Pig pins one of them was home one of
them
was away from home
and what Jesus was saying is
you can go to synagogue every Sabbath
what about your heart
what about your attitude what about your
view of others
then
think about it in this way
you can be in a pig pen and not even be
aware of it
and go to church on Sunday or do nice
things or give or whatever it might be
it’s the condition of the heart what do
I think one son was aware of his
sinfulness
humbled himself in the Hog Pen he was an
embarrassment to everybody
but his brother
who never left home
who is Faithfully serving his father
was in another kind of Hog Pen
of self-righteous
and then full of anger bitter jealousy
bitterness resentment rejection
unforgiving disrespectful accusative
self-righteous caustic biting and
piercing you say why do you keep why do
you keep bringing that to my mind
because I want us to look at ourselves
and see is any of that true of us
would you not agree that none of that
fits a follower of Jesus
none of that fits a person who’s been
born again
and I think there are a lot of people
who live
in that second pig pen
that don’t realize they’re there
all kinds of attitude and prejudices and
unbeliefs and false Doctrine and so
forth but just attitudes
even if you think about what Jesus
talked about most of all
in all of his teaching wasn’t
necessarily performing Miracles or
giving us a doctrinal statement about
something it was about attitude
Jesus knew how to drive straight to the
heart
to help us to examine ourselves
understand what’s going on
so one son was
so desperate he was feeding on the Pods
at the drop from the tree that the Hogs
were eating and he had he had to sort of
beat the hog to the pod
the other son can sit down at this
awesome meal
physically
but emotionally
it was the poison of unforgiveness in
his heart
because he may have been at home
but there was no Oneness between him and
his father
he may have done everything his father
told him to do
but what about what he felt what did he
feel anger jealousy bitterness
resentment rejection unforgiveness
disrespectful accusative self-righteous
costly bitter piercing
attitude
so the path of Freedom From The Hog Pen
of life is paved with what repentance
and surrender to the will of the father
admitted acknowledge it confess it
and come home to the father
and so
I look at that Passage
and remember what Jesus said come unto
me all ye that labor in the heavy Lane
I’ll give you rest
coming to me all of you
none of us are perfect we’ll never be
perfect
In this passage of scripture is so
descriptive
of those who stand on the outside and
criticize us
for our mistakes and failures
those who try out life and just mess it
up badly have to come home
in shreds emotionally
and those who appius
full of jealousy anger criticism
Prejudice you name it
and what
which of the two is in worse condition
probably if you ask Jesus
which one do you think he would have
said
I think he would have said the boy who
stayed at home and looked good
wasn’t a whole lot worse condition than
the boy who messed it up bad and was
genuinely repented and said I’m going
home
I’m going to make this right I’m going
home as a servant to my father I don’t
even deserve forgiveness I don’t deserve
acceptance
Jesus wanted the Pharisees and the
Sadducees to see
is not our status our position our
wealth our acceptance our titles
it’s the condition of our heart you can
live in a dump be a saint
you can live in a castle and not be fit
to live with it’s not all that outward
stuff
all of us at some point in our life in
some way whatever it may have been
all of us have sinned against God
and you may be seated here today
thinking
I don’t know why I showed up this
morning
I don’t feel like I’m worthy to be
sitting among a bunch of holy people
you should never feel like that you’re
so sinful you can’t come to church
you should never feel like things are so
bad for you that you wouldn’t be
accepted if you told us what you’ve done
that’s not the issue
Jesus never turned away a sincere
repentant Center
and he was sent to these Pharisees and
Sadducees
you look good
but look at your heart
this boy blew it all in a hog pan
and you all blow it all
and go to church
listen every single one of us can find
ourselves somewhere in this story
we talked about the prodigal son coming
home
and here’s the prodigal son that stayed
at home
and you may be thinking but you don’t
know how bad I am
I think God knows
and listen to this verse of scripture
for God so loved the world everybody
that he gave his only begotten son
that whoever believes in him would not
perish but have everlasting life and he
did not say except if but he says come
home and I’ll forgive you
and I want to invite you to ask the Lord
Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sin
I don’t care how far down you think you
are you think you’re helpless and
hopeless you are never hopeless as long
as God is and he’ll always be you’re not
hopeless
[Music]
you ask him to forgive you he’ll forgive
you not only that he sends his holy
spirit
into your life to enable you encourage
you cover you Shadow you energize you to
provide everything you need to live a
clean Godly life
whatever habits you may have
whatever course of action you’ve taken
is heading in the wrong direction today
you can turn around by asking for his
forgiveness surrendering your life to
him and asking him to guide you
to friends
to the right Church to listen to The
Gospel of Jesus Christ and begin to grow
in your Christian Life
you don’t have to stay in the Hog Pen
you don’t have to stay there
father
we confess that we would all be
in a big pen we’re not for your grace
Amazing Grace
it has reached down into our lives
dealt with our sin
by the blood of Jesus our sins forgiven
and name written in the Lamb’s Book of
Life
and we have you as our life
through the power of the Holy Spirit
father I pray that you speak to every
single one of us today
and that we’d be honest enough
to answer the question
am I
in a Hog Pen
out of your will
and it’s very evident no matter if you
will
or am I in a Hog Pen
sort of hidden away
and nobody knows
what I’m going through
I pray that you’ll speak to our hearts
father
and pray for somebody here today
and somebody who has been listening or
watching
knowing in their hearts
where they are spiritual and emotionally
be willing to confess their sinfulness
to you
and recognize that you have provided
grace through the cross
to forgive us of anything
and all things forever
you said if we confess our sins which
means if we agree with you about them
you are faithful and just that is you
can always be counted on to do it to
forgive us of our sins and not only that
clean us up cleanse us from all
unrighteousness all sin
and give us a fresh new beginning
no one may know
where we are in the hog pins but God you
know
and as you love both of these boys the
same
we pray
that wherever we are
in whatever Hogue pen we’re in today we
choose
to turn around
and come home
and thank you for a new beginning
in Jesus name amen
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