Preached in Markham Baptist Church, October 5, 2003.

Luke 15:28-32

KEYS TO THE KINGDOM - PART 3:
PARTYING IN THE KINGDOM

How can we describe the Kingdom of God? What does it look like? We have discovered that it is the rule of God in person’s life. When we say, “Not my will but your will be done” then the kingdom of God has come into a life.

But let’s be sure to note that this kingdom is not a gloomy kingdom. It is not distinguished by dark pews boring sermons and dull worship. No - that is not the kingdom of God. Unfortunately this is how the kingdom is often perceived.

Erma Bombeck tells of how during one worship experience her attention was caught by a little boy who was turning around smiling at everyone. He wasn’t gurgling, spitting, humming, kicking, tearing the hymnals or rummaging through his mother’s handbag. He was just smiling. Finally his mother jerked him about and said in a loud whisper, “Stop that grinning! You’re in church!” With that, she gave him a belt and as the tears rolled down his cheeks, added, “That’s better,” and returned to her prayers.

What is the kingdom of God like? The Kingdom of God can be described as a party – a celebration, a great feast at a banquet marked by laughter, thanksgiving and unbridled joy.

This is the picture of the kingdom that Jesus gives to us over and over again.

In Matthew 22:2-4 "The Kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son."

And again in Luke 13:29 “People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.”

The Kingdom of God is like a party – a wedding banquet. Have you been to a wedding banquet? Of course you have, and what a great time! I wish you could have been at our wedding celebration – because we got married in the morning, it was an all-day event. A great dinner at noon, feasting through the day, laughter, tears of joy, singing, and another feast with immediate family at night! And that was time. I understand if you were to go an Mediterranean wedding, not only is there feasting and laughter and singing, but there’s dancing and the celebration goes long into the night.

So the Kingdom of God is marked with great joy.

So it is that when we come to one of the most popular and most familiar of all the parables that Jesus told, commonly called the parable of the prodigal son, it is a parable that has as it’s climax a feast, a fatted calf is killed, presents are given, and all are invited to celebrate.

It is a story that Jesus tells to the traditional religionists of his day, the Pharisees. It is an invitation to them to come and join in the joy that is present in the very person of God, in the Kingdom of God.

At the beginning of this chapter we can see them in our minds eye – with their arms folded and their faces grim as they mutter these words of disapproval.

“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

And in reply Jesus tells them three parables. And you will notice that all three parables have a lot in common. All three deal with something, or in the case of the last parable, someone, that is lost but is later found. Also, all three focus on the joy that is present when what is lost is found. And there is also an invitation in each of them for all to come and share in the finder’s joy.

All of these are spoken in response to the accusation, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

And Jesus responds. “Of course! You’ve got it. Think of the joy that is in heaven when one sinner is found, when one sinner repents, when one person comes to his sense and returns home to his father in heaven? Think of the great party that is happening in the kingdom of God!

But the Pharisees would ask, “Why is there a party for sinners? Why does he welcome sinners? “

And Jesus tells us in the parables. Heaven rejoices over one sinner found because sinners are sought after! Just as a shepherd leaves his 99 sheep to go find the one sheep that he has lost. So God seeks after us sinners. Just as a woman who has lost one coin and lights a lamp and seeps the whole house to find it, so God seeks after us sinners. Just as a father watches the horizon day after day hoping that his son will return home from the distant country so God searches for us sinners to come home to his heavenly arms.

So our Lord Jesus says, “I have come not to called the righteous but sinners.” (Matthew 9:12) And in another place He says, “I have come to seek and save what was lost.” (Luke 19:10)

O, the joy that is ours in knowing that God Himself seeks us out, wants to be with us, wants to eat with us, wants to spend time with us. Us, who fail Him so often, who never ever fully live up to His laws, who sometimes fail to seek Him out. He seeks for us. And there is great joy in heaven when a sinner is found.

I have mentioned a mentor of mine by the name of Michael Cassidy. Michael is the head of a very large mission organization called African Enterprise. I first met Michael when he came to Acton to lead a series of outreach meetings. We struck up a friendship there and he is a man that I admire very much. He is a very Christ like man who has had a great influence in the country of South Africa and has an impact around the world as he has spoken to government leaders. He brings the message of reconciliation. Some time ago Janet and I were at a dinner for supporters of African Enterprise. It was a small gathering of about 30 people. Michael was there he was going to address the group after the meal. There was no assigned seating at the meal, so Janet and I took a seat at the back of the room near the door. And as we were all sitting down, Michael stood up, looked around the room, caught Janet’s eye and motioned to us to come and sit with him. There were two seats empty beside him, and he wanted us to sit with him. Do you know how that made me feel? Of all the people in the room he wanted us to sit with him, he wanted to spend the dinner with us.

I think that is a picture of how Jesus treats each one of us. Imagine sitting at a great feast, Jesus is the guest of honor and you sit at the back, near the door and as you are about sit down He stands up, looks straight at you and says, "Come eat with me. Come sit beside me. I want you to sit with me. I seek you. You are the one I have sought. I want to spend time with you." Isn’t that amazing? The king of Kings wants to spend time with you, with me?

That Jesus Christ wants to party with us? That turns the whole Kingdom into a party because Jesus Christ has sought us.

II

But not only are sinners sought after by God, they are considered valuable in His sight.

It is one thing to be sought after, but then to be considered valuable??! This is what these parables tell us. The one sheep was so valuable that the shepherd left the ninety-nine to go find it. That one coin was so valuable that the woman put aside all other duties of her day and worked until she found it.

That one son was so valuable to the Father that when he saw him, “He ran to him while he was still a long way off.”

Don’t miss the detail there. A missionary in Lebanon once read this parable to a group of villagers who lived in a culture very similar to the one Jesus described and who had never heard the story and asked them what they thought.

They said that it was surprising that he Father ran to the son. In the Middle East, a man of stature walks with slow and stately dignity; never does he run. In Jesus story the father runs. The son is that valuable.

The sinner is that valuable to God. You and I are that valuable to God. Don’t fail to notice the emphasis upon "one" here. It is one sheep, one coin, one son. You are of infinite value to God. We must take it in that He did not come to die for the masses of this world He came to die for you and for me. For you personally, because you are of great value to Him.

WHY? Because sinners are valuable to God and he can’t wait to share with them all the beauties of heaven, and sit with them at the great feast in honor of Jesus Christ, and the thrill of being in His presence forever.

And if one of them isn’t there at the party can you imagine God’s disappointment? Sure there would be 99 other sinners there but the one sinner would be missing.

The Pharisees muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

“Of course,” Jesus said, “There is a party in heaven when the one sinner is found because the one sinner is sought after and the one sinner matters to God.

Ah but there is something else here, isn’t there? That last parable, you will notice, while being similar to the first two is different than the first two. There is an added bit, a different component to it. It ends a little differently doesn’t’ it?

There is a brother, an older son, who stayed home with his dad and worked in the fields while his younger brother went off to the far country to spend all his inheritance.

And one day when he comes in from the field after a long day’s work he hears music and dancing. So he calls to one of the servants and asks him what is going on? And much to his surprise his father comes rushing out and calls out to the servants, “Quick put the best robe on him, put a ring on his finger, and sandals on his feet, bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate for this son of mine was out in the field serving me diligently and obediently and now he deserves a rich reward.”

That’s not who it ends is it? But that’s who we sometimes think it should end though. This older brother is a wise boy, he is obedient, he is the good boy, faithful to his father to the end he deserves a party.

“The Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “this man welcomes inners and eats with them. Don’t you think the Pharisees recognized themselves in the older brother? Sure they do.

The brother stands out in stark contrast to all that have gone before him doesn’t he? To the shepherd who calls everyone to come and rejoice with him, over the one sheep that is found; with the woman who calls all her friends and neighbors together and says, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin; with his dad who throws this lavish feast for his one son who squandered everything – there in stark contrast is the one son, the older brother becomes angry and refuses to go in. No partying for him.

Sometimes it is difficult for those of us who have been in the faith for some time who have responded to the gospel message and have traveled with Christ down the long rod of discipleship, we sometimes forget the joy that is in heaven over the one sinner who repents. We forget that there is a party in heaven going on in the presence of God. We forget the length and breadth and height of God’s love for people who are sinners. And we sometimes, in our heart of hearts aren’t all that happy when the sinner comes to faith in Jesus Christ and is welcomed into the kingdom with a party. And we refuse to join the party.

We want the sinner to suffer. There is something in us that calls for revenge, that wants an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. We want some sort of retribution for the bad thing that that son has done to his father. We want to say to Jesus, “Jesus you shouldn’t be welcoming sinners and eating with them, instead you should be raining the fire’s of hell down on them.”

We want the sinner to suffer or at least squirm and it just doesn’t seem right that they have all their sins forgiven by the blood of Christ.

But that’s exactly what Christ does. That is the nature of the kingdom.

What we need to realize is that the party that is going on in heaven today for a sinner who repents today is only a continuation of the party that started when you and I gave our lives to Christ. The rejoicing that is in heaven today is simply a continuation of the joy that started when you and I gave our lives to Christ.

And sometimes we forget that we were the ones that were sought after, we were the ones who were, and continue to be considered to be valuable. And we need to let that spill over to others.

Let that party spill out into our worship. When we come to the Lord’s Supper there are really two attitudes we try to juggle, isn’t there? There are tears because we realize that we are the cause of Jesus’ death. And we fall on our knees saying, God forgive me, for Your Son died for me. But we can’t stay on our knees very long because at the same time we have to get up as we realize that Jesus Christ died for us, that Jesus Christ sought us out, that Jesus Christ loves us, that we are forgiven – we can’t just stay on our knees, we have to get up and dance for Jesus Christ has done all this for me. And we need to allow that joy to permeate all of our worship.

I guess if there is a complaint that young people have about worship it is that it is boring. It isn’t a so much a commentary on the songs that are sung or the sermon that is preached, but it is perhaps saying more about the atmosphere of the place that there lacks a spontaneity, that God would actually break in a do something new or something that wasn’t printed in the bulletin.

There needs to be the freedom that we can express what we are feeling without being self conscious of what other people are thinking of us – that we can actually express their joy at being forgiven. That they could actually shout Hallelujah in praise to God. That they could actually feel that God has made them new and they could join the party.

I am not advocating rambunctious worship, or dull worship. I have been to both and rambunctious worship can be devoid of the spirit as any other.

But the idea of allowing, as we come into worship, that party atmosphere, knowing that we are forgiven and that he has given us new life in Jesus Christ.

I heard of one missionary down in Pakistan who baptized a new believer and when that believer came up out of the water he stuck his fist up in the air and shouted “Hallelujah” and then went around and shook everyone’s hand. And the missionary said, “You know everyone now thinks that’s part of the baptismal rite.” So everyone he now baptizes comes up out of the water, sticks his fist in the air and shouts Hallelujah then immediately goes and shakes everyone’s hand. They don’t know any different.”

We need to let the party to permeate. My friends we have been sought after, and considered so valuable that we are forgiven. Let’s not be like the Pharisees, “He welcomes sinners and eats with them.” And they refused to join the party.

No, let us join the party with all our heart and soul and strength. Let there singing, let there be dancing, let there be laughter, let there be the Spirit of God as we join the party in the Kingdom of God.

Copyright MBC and Tom Cullen - October 2003