Saul and Paul

Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future.  Those words were penned over a hundred years ago by the Irish playwright Oscar Wilde but they could very well have been written about a young man named Saul who came to a pivotal point in his life where he would have to choose to live in the past or to live in the future.

This is week two of our Down the Road series. This summer we are travelling with Paul on his journey from an obscure reference in a tragedy involving the first Christian martyr to his becoming one if not the most influential voice in Christianity.  Paul wrote the majority of the New Testament and developed and shaped the theology that would make Christianity distinct among world religions.   And over the next ten weeks or so our preaching team will be your tour guides along the road travelled by Paul and his companions.  I think W. Russell Maltby might have been thinking of Paul when he wrote “Jesus promised His disciples three things: that they would be entirely fearless, absurdly happy, and that they would get into trouble.”

Last week we looked at the death of Stephen, one of the leaders in the early church.  Stephen had been appointed by the apostles to assist them in their ministry duties within the rapidly expanding church in Jerusalem and we are told in Acts 6:8 Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people.

And it was because of these miracles and signs that Stephen came to the attention of the religious authorities and he was brought before the High Priests under the false charges that he had blasphemed against Moses and God.  And it was while he was being questioned by the high priests that Stephen preaches the longest sermon recorded in the book of Acts.  Which was really to be expected, after all they gave a preacher the floor to speak.  I’m not sure this is what they were expecting though.  Stephen had been brought to them charged with blasphemy.  And then the High Priest asks a fairly simply question, we find it in Acts 7:1 Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these accusations true?”

Now that sounds like it could be answered in only one of two ways a) “yes they are” or b) “no they aren’t”.  Instead Stephen reaches back to the Old Testament and begins with the story of Abraham.  But ultimately his message had the same recurring theme that all the sermons in the first part of the book of acts had.  “God sent his son, you killed him, say you’re sorry.” And the account of Stephen’s message concludes with these words, Acts 7:57-58 Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting. They rushed at him and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. His accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul.  Let me reiterate, if I ever preach a sermon that you really disagree with, just tell me.

But what links last week to this week are those words at the end of this section His accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul.  And then the story concludes with the first verse of the next chapter where we read, Acts 8:1 Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen . . . This is the same Saul that David read about earlier in the message, the Saul who came face to face with Jesus on the Road to Damascus. 

But, then there is nothing more written about Saul in that chapter, instead we read how Philip went to Samaria and preached the gospel and we read about the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch and how when they came to a source of water Philip baptized the man.  And then chapter 8 concludes with these words Acts 8:40 Meanwhile, Philip found himself farther north at the town of Azotus. He preached the Good News there and in every town along the way until he came to Caesarea.

Sounds like Philip is doing an awesome job spreading the gospel, maybe he will be the one who will see Christianity taken beyond the borders of Israel?  But no, the next time we read about Philip is in Acts 21:8 The next day we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the Evangelist, one of the seven men who had been chosen to distribute food.  Looks like Philip got as far as Caesarea and settled down. 

And chapter 9 begins with these words that were read for us earlier Acts 9:1 Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers.

So what do we learn?  The first thing is that Saul Had A Past When most people think of Saul they think of Paul, the man who wrote most of the New Testament, the man commonly referred to as Saint Paul.  But the story of Paul is not complete unless we also know the story of Saul.  And that is the truth with most of us.  That our future is in some ways shaped by our past, that our story isn’t complete without the early chapters.

Before I was Denn the Christ follower, I was Denny and I wasn’t a Christ follower. I would like to tell you that I consciously changed my name to reflect a new beginning in my life, and while it might be a good story it’s not the true story.  I stopped going by Denny because I felt it was a little boy’s name. 

But who I am today is partially shaped by who I was on September 1 1979, even though on September 2 1979 I was born again and made a new creation,

Don’t know what Paul had against Christians, but it coloured and shaped who he was.  We are told that he was uttering threats with every breath he took.  What could possibly have caused that much hatred?  Traditionally we are told that Paul and Jesus had never met, outside of their meeting at his conversion.  There is no mention of Paul in any of the Gospels and at no point in his writings does Paul specifically refer to a  conversation that he had with Christ. 

But listen to the account of the Last Supper, a scripture that we read almost every time we take communion.   In 1 Corinthians 11:23 For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread . . .   

And there are those who would tell us that Paul simply received this in some form of revelation from Jesus, maybe a dream or a vision.  But what it says is this 1 Corinthians 11:23 For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself.  Doesn’t say how he received it.  Hmmmmmmm.

Later in his story, Paul tells us that he received some of his training as a Pharisee in Jerusalem, he was close to the same age of Jesus, and he belonged to the religious groups that brought charges against Jesus. So I wonder, now understand that this is just speculation, Denn’s mind doing what Denn’s mind does. 

I wonder if the many stories that Luke told, in his Gospel, of Jesus meeting and debating with the Pharisees came from a young eye witness named Saul?  Or maybe one of the many stories that are recorded where Jesus speaks with an unnamed “expert in religious law”, if the person Jesus was talking to might have been named Saul.   Just wondering.

I wonder if Saul may have met Jesus during his ministry years and rejected his invitation to follow him?  And if that is indeed the case it might account for the hatred that Saul had for those who had met and accepted the claims of Christ. 

The bitterness that he must have felt when he saw the grace in the lives of those who had chosen to follow Christ, the same grace that he had rejected.  And so to justify his earlier decision to reject Christ he demonized those who had accepted Christ.  Just wondering.

You see, we often define Paul’s greatest sins as his persecution of the early believers, but his greatest sin was ignoring the grace of God.

Earlier this month we spent three weeks looking at the story of the Prodigal son, and we often think that what broke the father’s heart was how the younger son was behaving.  That may have been a factor, but what broke the father’s heart was that his son had rejected him.  The kid could have been a church going business man living in a big house with a wife and 2.3 kids and still have broken his father’s heart by rejecting him. 

And so we see Paul, who in the eyes of his peers was probably a great guy, a good man, a religious man, a man who sincerely believed that what he was doing the right thing, but he was still a man who was separated from God.

Twenty five years ago next month my lay assistant at Truro Wesleyan was visiting an elderly man in the hospital and had the opportunity to lead the gentlemen into a relationship with Christ before he passed away.  I was asked to do the funeral and I discovered that this man was considered by all who had met him to be a good man, a good husband, a good father a good friend.  But for over seventy years he had rejected the claim of God on his life.  And the bible tells us that being good is not enough, that we can’t “earn” a spot in heaven, regardless of how good and sincere we are.  That’s why we are told in Ephesians 2:8-9 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. Heaven is not a reward for being a good person. 

The message I preached at that man’s funeral came from this scripture that was read for us earlier.  And the title of my message was “A Good Man Made Better”.   

But it doesn’t matter what sins were in Saul’s past.  What matters is that Paul wasn’t always Paul the Saint.  That Paul was a man with a past, who if he didn’t actually kill Christians, wanted to kill Christians and watched as Christians were killed. 

Every Christian has a past.  I don’t know what all lurks in your yesterday but understand you are not alone.  And as far as I can tell the only sin that can’t be forgiven by God is the sin of rejecting the forgiveness of God. 

Maybe it was his own conversion that Paul had in mind when he wrote 2 Corinthians 5:17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

Which leads us to our second point Paul Had a future.    Who you were doesn’t have to dictate who you will be.  Saul rejected the claims of Christ and did everything he could to destroy the early church.  And then he goes on to become the single greatest force in the shaping of Christianity. 

Changed lives are the greatest miracle of God’s grace.  The old Hymn says “Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost but now I’m found was blind but now I see.” 

Jesus never leaves a person the way he found them.  Instead he forgives the past and presents them with a limitless future.  Through the years I have met scores of people who were radically changed when they turned their lives over to Jesus.  Abusive husbands and wives who have become loving partners, rebellious teens who have become friends with their parents.  People who have struggled with addictions who have been able to put those demons aside.  When they accepted the forgiveness and grace that God had to offer they became a new person, their old life was gone and a new life began.   

And not everyone could accept the change that happened in Paul’s life, there were people who never completely trusted Paul, they would always see him through glasses that had been coloured by his past.  There are people in my life who when they think of me, if they think of me, will think of things that I did or said before I met Jesus.  For better or for worse that is how I will always be defined and identified in their minds.

But regardless of what some people might have thought of Paul, God had a plan for his life.  If we skip down in the story God calls a man by the name of Ananias, his job? To minister to this man named Saul who was now in Damascus.  Listen to Ananias’ response Acts 9:13 “But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem!”   Ananias knew about Saul’s past but listen as God reveals Saul’s future.  Acts 9:15 But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.”

And that’s exactly what Saul did.  For the next thirty years he would travel across the known world, preaching the gospel and starting churches.

It was Saul, who we know as Paul who would take the church far beyond Jerusalem and Israel, and nobody least of Saul would have ever expected that.  It was Paul who wrote most of the New Testament including some of your favorite verses.  Philippians 4:13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. And Romans 8:38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. And do you remember when 1 Corinthians 13 the “Love Chapter” of the bible was read at your wedding, those were Paul’s words.

Every person who comes to Christ for forgiveness and accepts the grace of God receives a blank sheet in return, a blank sheet that represents their future.  God took Saul, a man who was full of bitterness and hatred against all things Christian and used him to change the world. 

In spite of your past, what is it that God could do through you?

But there had to be something between Saul’s past and Paul’s future.  Which brings us to the third point, which if we had of kept reading in Acts chapter 9 we would have read this Acts 9:19-20 Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength. Saul in Damascus and Jerusalem Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days. And immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is indeed the Son of God!”

Paul Chose the Future Over the Past You understand that God did a lot of things to get Saul’s attention but the decision to follow Jesus could only be made by Saul himself.

God will not force anyone to follow him, he woos us, he invites us to follow him but ultimately we have to make the decision.  And that decision will forever colour who we are. 

The decision that Saul had made to not follow Christ made him the man he was, the man who we was hell bent on destroying Christianity.  And the decision that Saul made to follow Christ made him the man he would become, the man who was heaven bound spreading Christianity across Asia and into Europe.

I come back to this time after time, we are who we are because of choices we have made.  Good choices or bad choices, they each shape us.

Paul understood that when he wrote in Romans 6:16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.

Today you have the opportunity to start over.  To say “I can’t change my past but I can change my future.”  Are you willing to let go of your past?  Are you willing to define your future by your actions today?  And it’s tough, if it was easy everybody would be doing it but just as Jesus believed that the Saul could make the right choice he believes that you can make the right choice.
 The bigger question though is: do you believe that you can make the right choice?

  

Saul and Stephen Down the Road

It would appear that he had everything going for him. He was one of the leaders of the early church. He was a person of influence and integrity and he had the respect and honour of his colleagues and peers.  Think about it, how would you like to be described as “a person full of faith and the Holy Spirit?”  That’s how this man was described.

It would appear that he had everything going for him.  There was just one small problem.  He was dead. He had been murdered, cut down in his prime, killed by the very things that made him who he was, his integrity and his Godliness.

His name was Stephen and he was first introduced to us in the book of Acts as the early church faced one of its first challenges.  The story begins in Acts chapter 6, with the church going through unprecedented growth.  Literally thousands of new believers were being added to the church and the apostles were struggling with how to handle the influx.  Miracles are happening, people are getting saved, society is being influenced and then we read Acts 6:1 But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent.

Boy you gotta hate that.  So what were the grumblings about? Obviously in such a spiritual group, who lived so close to the resurrection and the Day of Pentecost it must have been something that involved spiritual issues, maybe arguments over doctrine or theology.  Nope nothing so grand and compelling, if we continue to read we discover:  The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food.

Remember at this point Christ followers considered themselves Jews and as such they felt an obligation to taking care of their own, especially the widows in the group.  In a society that was as male oriented as Palestine and most of the world was 2000 years ago a woman’s existence really depended on her husband.  He was the bread winner and the shelter provider and in many cases his wife didn’t have the ability or opportunity to provide for herself and so if she lost her husband her community had to step up to the plate to support her.  And the early church embraced that, in James 1:27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

The problem was while the church at this stage was comprised of Jews, they weren’t all the same Jews.  Hundreds of years previous the country of Israel had been conquered by Assyria and Babylon and as part of that many of their people were taken captive.  During that time they were assimilated into the culture of their captors and eventually lost their original language.  Fast forward a few hundred years and the Greeks under Alexander the Great captured most of the known world.  Instead of taking people captive the Greeks took their culture captive by simply insisting that they take on the Grecian culture and language and so Greek became the common language of the area. However the Jews in Palestine resisted and while most of them spoke Greek they still considered Hebrew their primary language and anyone who didn’t speak Hebrew was considered less of a Jew. 
Still with me?  You see, the Jews who returned to Israel at various times had lost their Hebrew and simply spoke the language of the market place and there was the problem.
While that shouldn’t have mattered in a perfect world it seemed to matter in an imperfect world.  The result was that the widows who spoke Greek complained that they weren’t receiving the same care as the widows who spoke Hebrew, kind of Star-Belly Sneetches and Sneetches without. Now we don’t know for sure that there was any actual discrimination but there was the presumption. 

The Apostles realized that they were getting more and more things on their plate and were unable to do everything well so they appointed seven men to help out, it’s interesting to note that all seven had Greek names not Hebrew names.  One of these men was Stephen.  And this is what the scriptures say about him, Acts 6:5 . . . and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit. . .

and then later Acts 6:8 Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people.

And so at that point it would appear that he had everything going for him, a sterling character and a leadership position in a dynamic growing church but then the wheels came off the wagon.  Stephen had been telling people about Jesus and the change that had happened in his life and he was accused of blasphemy and dragged before the council of high priests where he was asked to defend himself, which he did.  He preached the longest sermon recorded in the book of Acts and took the high priests on a whirlwind tour of the Old Testament.  He seemed to be on a roll and when you are learning to preach they always tell you to end strong and that may have been Stephen’s mistake.  Acts 7:51-53 “You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you! Name one prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One—the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered. You deliberately disobeyed God’s law, even though you received it from the hands of angels.”

Ouch, William Barclay the Author of the Daily Study Bible stated, “A speech like that could only have one end; Stephen courted death and death came.”   And the story continues Acts 7:57-58 Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting. They rushed at him and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him.

And Stephen went from being one of the churches first leaders to becoming the churches’ first martyr.  You understand that this was not a trial and execution, the high priest had no power to execute anyone, that is why they insisted that Pilate issue the order for the death of Christ.  This was a lynch mob, pure and simple.
So what do we learn from this story?

1) Bad Stuff Can Happen to Good People   This is the dark secret that some churches don't want you to know. Let's try that again in case you missed it the first time; “Bad Stuff Can Happen to Good People!”   According to the theology of some groups Stephen should have had everything that he wanted.  After all he was a committed Christ follower, a man of prayer who loved Jesus. So Stephen should have only experienced the very best that this life had to offer, he should have been healthy, wealthy and wise, lived to a ripe old age and died peacefully in his sleep.

He should have claimed the victory and he would have had it.  There's only one problem with that theology, it's wrong.   And it has caused feelings of guilt and discouragement in the lives of believers.

I truly believe that becoming a Christian, a serious Christian sold out to God and committed to serving him will often cause a person’s lot in life to improve.  You notice that I said often and not always, and that’s because I am convinced that all generalizations are wrong.

Godly men and women who have faithfully served God have suffered.  Have suffered at the hands of others and have suffered at the hands of fate they have suffered at the hands of illness and financial reversal.  And in many cases it’s not their fault, there is no hidden sin in their lives, there is no lack of faith they still love God and pray to him but listen up people they suffer because. . . you ready? Stuff happens.  And that’s why God never promises that we won’t go through trouble but he does promise that we won’t go through it alone.    Deuteronomy 31:6 So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

And in the New Testament we read Hebrews 13:5 For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”

And scattered in between a half a dozen times the thought is repeated.  Read it with me.  Hebrews 13:5 For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”

I wish I could stand up here and wave a magic wand and put some kind of protective dome over you that would keep you from all trouble and illness and heartache, but I can’t.  And if I stood up here and promised that all you had to do was believe in God and be faithful and live a holy life and you’d never have any troubles I would be lying to you.  Jesus said in Matthew 5:11 “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers.

Not if you are mocked and persecuted but when you are mocked and persecuted. 

2) Good Things Can Come of Bad Things  There are a couple of verses in the story of the stoning of Stephen that we would be negligent if we didn’t look at. There is one of those bizarre little details recorded in Acts 7:58 and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. His accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul.

Interesting, only two people are named in this account.  We don’t know the names of the witness who lied about Stephen, the names of the high priests aren’t recorded.  We know Stephen’s name and we know the name of the young man who watched over the cloaks of those who stoned Stephen, a young man by the name of Saul.  The last verse of chapter 7 records the death of Stephen, it says Acts 7:60 He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.

And if we skip down to the first line of chapter 8 we read Acts 8:1 Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen.

There’s Saul again.  You may or may not be aware that the young man who watched over the coats that day would later come face to face with Jesus Christ and become a Christ follower.  You might not know him as Saul but you would know him by the Greek version of his name which was Paul.  He wrote the majority of the New Testament and spread the gospel across Asia and into Europe.  Augustine said “The church owes Paul to the prayer of Stephen.”  This was the same Paul who wrote Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

I wonder if when Paul was writing those words if he was thinking back to the day that he witnessed what the grace of God could do in the life and death of a young believer named Stephen.  It was John Wesley who said The world can say what it likes about us Methodist, but they have to admit: we die well.  I don’t believe for a minute that God set Stephen up to die so that Paul would become a Christian, but He used it.  Perhaps he gave young Saul a nudge toward that particular event on that day and the Holy Spirit reminded him about what happened from time to time.

Seven years ago I sat with 30 pastors from the Wesleyan Church in Sierra Leone and they shared the horrors of what happened during the ten year civil war.  I tell people that I have not looked into the face of evil but I have looked into the face of those who have.  They had their buildings burnt, they were terrorized and forced to live in the jungles surrounding their villages and towns.  They would gather together wherever they could to worship during that time.  And when the war was over and they returned to their villages and their churches they discovered that the church had grown and become stronger during the war.  Bizarre.  By the way I am planning a return trip to Sierra Leone and will be taking a medical team along for the trip. 

If you are interested in going or helping us go please talk to me.  This commercial break was brought to you by Sierra Leone 2015. 

So to reiterate, Bad things happen to Good People and Good Things Can Come of Bad Things. 

3)  That Doesn’t Always Make it Easy  I’m not sure if Stephen was married, if he had kids, if his folks were still alive, but I’m pretty confident there were those he left behind who missed him. 

I'm not sure that if they had of known the final outcome if they would have voted in favour of the stoning.  Let’s see we will lose our loved one and in exchange a man who didn’t have the guts to step in and help Stephen will get saved. . . hmmmm.

One of the Pastor’s we spoke to in Sierra Leone was a lady named Bindy and she lost a child during the war because they could not get medical care.  Not sure if she was convinced that it was worth it.

Bad things can happen to good people, and good things can come of bad things, but that doesn’t make it any easier.  And you telling people that it should probably doesn’t help.  Illness, tragedy, death, financial problem still hurt when we are going through them, but the promise of God is still there Hebrews 13:5 For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”

4) We Won’t Always Know The End Result.  Stephen died not knowing what would happen with the church he had embraced.  He knew he had been faithful and he died with the peace of knowing he had done the right thing, even if it had cost him his life.  He knew the church was spreading through Jerusalem and having an incredible impact in that area but he probably never envisioned a movement that would affect more than Israel.  But let’s listen to how the next chapter opens  Acts 8:1 Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen.  A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria.

Up to that point the church was confined to Palestine, if the apostles had even given thought of the last words they heard Jesus speak they weren’t doing anything about it.  Remember what Jesus had told them Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”   But they didn’t, they were stuck in Jerusalem. 

Now remember the last part of Acts 8:1 . . .A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria.

It took Stephen’s death to move the church out of their comfort zone and to begin doing what they were supposed to do.   In a very real sense we are here today because Stephen was stoned two thousand years ago.  When you get to heaven be sure to thank him.
I don’t know what you are going through in your life right now, maybe you’re on a mountain top or maybe you are in the valley or perhaps you are somewhere in between.  But remember Hebrews 13:5 For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”
And you might be thinking, sure but what’s with all the suit cases and trunks?
Well today was the beginning of our summer series, which seems fitting because yesterday summer arrived and today is the first full day of summer. 
We often focus on the Gospels and over the past few summers we have very specifically focused on the words of Christ and the directions of Christ.  But if the story had of ended with the Gospels, even with the resurrection and the empty tomb it is doubtful that it would have impacted the world the way it has.   
Sometimes you will hear people talking about how amazing it is that a movement that began with a group of uneducated fisherman in a small town in a small country in the Middle East could impact that world the way that Christianity did.
But the reality is that if the movement had of stayed in the hands of a group of uneducated fisherman it would have remained in the small country in the Middle East. 
While the gospel story may have started with Jesus calling Peter and Andrew, James and John to put down their nets, that wasn’t how it was spread.  It was spread when a classically educated man by the name of Saul of Tarsus met Jesus and became the Apostle Paul.
And so this summer we are going to take a trip “Down the Road” and we will join Paul and his various companions as they plant churches, preach the Gospel and get into trouble.  We will follow Paul as he leaves the Middle East and travels to what is now modern day Turkey and then we’ll join him as he ventures even further and lands in what we now call Europe and we will finish our story in a prison cell as Paul writes letters to encourage the baby churches he had left behind. 
And through the journey we will be reminded with Paul of the truth of Hebrews 13:5 For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”  Do you believe that?  Can you claim it as your own promise today?

The Hope of the Father. The Rest of the Story Part 3

Well here we are, week three of our look at the Prodigal Son and the rest of the story. And all three of our weeks have their beginning in Luke 15:11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons.”

In week one we looked at the younger son, the “Prodigal Son”.  We always picture him as a young man, in his late teens or early twenties but there is no evidence of that.  All we know is that he was younger than his brother.  My father is the younger son, and he is 76. 

And we began with him because really the story is about him and the choices he made. You will recall that he asked his father to divide the family estate between himself and his older brother.  And the story tells us that the Father did exactly that, and the younger brother took his share and wasted it on wild living, reckless living, prodigal living, depending on the translation you use. 

But he chose to live that way, nobody put a gun to his head and forced him to spend all his money in wild living it was a choice he made, I’m sure he could identify with Oscar Wilde who said, “I can resist everything except temptation.”

And you know the story, eventually a famine came upon the land and the young man had spent all of his money.  And it is remarkable how quickly fair weather friends disappear when the fair weather ends. 

And this brother ends up, we are told, tending pigs.  Pigs!  For a Jew of that day, there would be no other job that signified the bottom of the barrel like tending pigs.  In the Old Testament we are told in Leviticus 11:7-8 The pig has evenly split hooves but does not chew the cud, so it is unclean. You may not eat the meat of these animals or even touch their carcasses. They are ceremonially unclean for you. And I would suspect that the law had a very practical purpose, it was for the people’s protection.  It would have been very difficult for pork to be cooked to a safe temperature.  And here he was taking care of pigs.  And the bible tells us that the son “Came to his senses”.  And he realized that even the hired hands back home were treated better then he was.

And so in the same way that he chose to leave home, he chose to return home.  But much to his surprise he was greeted not as a servant but as a son.  And his father threw a party for his son to celebrate his return home. 

But not everyone was happy, in particular his older brother. 

In week one we looked at why the younger brother needed to be celebrated.  That he was willing to acknowledge that he had done wrong, that he was willing to return to his father that he was willing to own up to his mistakes.

Those are the steps that still lead each one of us home to the father.

Last week we looked at the Morning after the Party.  And part of that was celebrating the faithfulness of the older son.  You know the one who took care of his parents and got up every day and went to work doing the things that needed to be done. 

And we talked about how the same God who can deliver us from sin can give us the strength that will keep us from sin, how he will and does answer the prayer, “Lead me not into temptation.”

And I mentioned how it somehow seems easier to celebrate the person who beats an addiction then to celebrate the person who never took the first drink or smoked their first cigarette.   It was Mark Twain who said “It is easier to stay out than get out.”

And that seemed like a fitting message to deliver on the day we were celebrating our High School Graduates.  “It is easier to stay out than get out.”

And both of those messages dealt with choices, good choices and bad choices but choices never the less.  And it is a reminder that kids can be raised in the same home by the same parents and still choose to take very different paths in life. 

And for all their differences in their attitudes and the choices that they made the one thing that the two sons had in common was their father.  And so today, on Father’s day it is quite fitting to look at the father. 

So let’s start at the beginning because that is usually the best place to start.  Jesus has been telling his followers how much God loves lost people and after he tells a story about a man finding his lost sheep and a woman finding her lost coin and then we read.  Luke 15:11-12 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

He Hoped for the Best for his Children  I’m not sure what the father’s first reaction was when he heard his son’s request, but he decided that this might be a good thing for his sons.  Maybe it was time that they took control of their own destiny.  And that is something we often long for; it’s part of growing up. 

I grew up in a home full of poetry, my dad loves poetry and was often reciting bits and pieces of poems, many of them nonsensical, like: I never saw a Purple Cow, I never hope to see one; But I can tell you, anyhow, I'd rather see than be one.  Or Last night I saw upon the stairs, A little man who wasn’t there, He wasn’t there again today, Oh how I wish he’d go away

But the one that seemed to resonate most with Dad was a poem called Invictus by William Ernest Henley and part of it says:

It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.

That is the desire for most of us, to be the master of our fate and the captain of our souls.  And while as parents we know that and we experienced it ourselves there is this desire for many of us to hold on as long as we can before we let go.  But eventually we need to let go.  And it’s not easy, ever.  I googled “Letting your children go” and I got 40,300 hits.

Malcolm Forbes reminds us “Let your children go if you want to keep them.”  You understand that you can’t hold unto them forever?  That was never the plan.  Way back in the book of Genesis we are told Genesis 2:24 This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. And then Jesus reiterates it in Matthew 19:5 And Jesus said, ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’   And remember this wasn’t after he graduated from high school and then did his undergraduate work, got a master’s degree and got settle in a career.  I would imagine that this wasn’t long after he became a teen and started tending his own field.

And we can and should do everything we can to prepare our kids and ourselves for that day.  But finally you have to take your hands off and hope for the best. 

How many of you as a kid ever rode your bike with no hands?  Do you remember the feeling?  You would take them off a little bit and put them right back on and then take them further back and wait a little longer before you put them back on the handlebars. 

And eventually you got to the place that you could take them off, but you still hoped for the best.

We don’t know what happened before the story began but we would suspect that he had brought his boys up right, that he had taught them spiritual values and prayed for them.  He did what he could, remember Solomon’s advice in  Proverbs 22:6 Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.

He did what he could do.  But there were things he couldn’t do, he couldn’t make the choices.  And we want to do that for our kids, mine are grown up and I still want to do that.  A few years ago Great Big Sea had a song out called Captain Kidd.  Listen to the words.   My father taught me well, To shun the gates of hell, But against him I rebelled as I sailed, He shoved a bible in my hand But I left it in the sand.

And so he took his hands off and hoped for the best.  And one of the boys settled in, joined the family business and acted responsibly.  The other not so much.  And I’m sure that there were times the father wished that he could turn back the clock? Or flip over the hour glass or whatever he would have used.

There were probably times that he wondered what would have happened if he had of waited a little longer, perhaps his younger son would have matured.  Perhaps he thought about what would have happened if he had of put conditions on how the money was spent. Or if he of just simply said “You’ll have to wait until I die”

He probably knew his son’s character, but he was willing to take a chance and hope for the best. 

Luke 15:20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.

He Believed for the Best for his Children  I wonder how many days he had waited and watched for his son’s return?  This was a time without Skype or face time, no email or telephones.  So he probably didn’t know for sure where his son was or what he was doing. 

For the matter he didn’t know if his son was dead or alive.  But there was a belief deep in his heart that someday his son would return and when that happened he wanted to be ready. 

And so he prayed and he waited.  But more than that, he prayed believing.  He had prepared for the day that his son would come home. 

He had his robe waiting, he had his ring waiting and a new pair of sandals waiting.  I wonder if the calf had been fattened for this particular moment, if there was always a calf ready for the celebration.  And how many calves had become full grown cows through the time the father had waited for his son to return? 

When we pray for our kid’s salvation do we pray believing? Or do we pray hoping?  You might remember a story in the book of Acts.  It’s in Acts chapter 12, King Herod has had James the brother of John executed and now he was Peter arrested and thrown into prison to await his execution.  And the church comes together to pray for their leader.  We are told in Acts 12:12 that they had gathered in the home of John Mark’s mother Mary, specifically to pray for Peter.

Well if you know the story Peter is miraculously delivered from prison and shows up at Mary’s house, listen to the response of those praying for his deliverance.  Acts 12:12-15 When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer. He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it. When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!” “You’re out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.”

They were hoping he would be delivered but didn’t actually believe it would happen. 

The father knew that one day his son would return and he was ready.  We don’t know how long he had watched and how long he waited but when his son returned he was ready.  I wonder what would have happened if the day before he decided that it was never going to happen and he gave away the robe, the ring and the sandals and released the fattened calf?

If your prodigal child showed up in church today would you be surprised?

Let’s go on with the story.

Luke 15:28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him . . .   

He Worked for the Best for his Children  So we know the story, younger brother asks for his inheritance and the father divides his estate between the two boys.  The younger brother heads for the big city and over a period of time blows his inheritance on cigarettes and whisky and wild wild women, or the like.  A famine comes across the land and he is now broke and friendless ends up working for a pig farmer where he comes to his senses and returns home where he is welcomed back with open arms and a celebration.  But not by everyone.

The older brother, the faithful brother gets his nose out of joint and gets a pout on.  Now the father could have said “well boys will be boys, they’ll get over it.”  But he knew how important this was and he wasn’t leaving this one to chance, Cain and Abel didn’t get over it. 

He knew that this was a relationship that needed to be mended.  They would live together and work together.  And sibling relationships are complicated.  Love the story of the Sunday School teacher who was teaching her class the Ten Commandments and after talking about honour your mother and your father asked the kids if there were any commandments that applied to the children’s brothers and sisters.  To which one little guy responded “do not kill”. 

I would suspect that until you move out and get married there isn’t anyone that you spend as much time with as your siblings.  You play with them, you fight with them, you go to school with them, you even might share a room with them. 

And in most cases it will be the relationship that last longer than any other.  I was talking to a gentleman the other day who was in a dispute with his brothers and sisters over the division of their mother’s estate.  And lifelong relationships are in danger because of stuff.

And I’ve seen that happen over and over again.

And this is a tangent but make sure you have a will and make sure that your kids know what’s in it.  And don’t make promises or allude to promises that you don’t intend to keep.  In our case we are going to make it simple, we are going to spend it all before we die.

There are times that we can’t just hope and believe for our kids, sometimes we need to intervene.  And the father knew he couldn’t force the older brother to like his younger brother, but he could show him the truth of the relationship. 

So listen to the conversation that the Father has with his eldest.  Luke 15:28-30 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’

Now listen to the father’s response in the next two verses.  Luke 15:31-32 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

Did you catch what I missed for years?  When the older brother is airing his complaints he makes this statement.  Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes . . .This son of yours, your son did this.  But listen to the father’s response, For your brother was dead and has come back to life!  He not just my son, he’s your brother.  The brother you played with, the brother that you shared a room with, the brother that you fought with and fought for.

It probably wasn’t an easy conversation for the father to have, but because he wanted the very best for his sons he was willing to have it.

Sometimes we hope for the best for our kids and we pray and believe for the best for our kids, but do we actually take the time and do the work? 

Have you ever talked to your kids about their spiritual needs?  Have you ever asked them the hard questions about their eternity or do you hope Pastor Marilyn and her crew will do it on Sunday in Jr. Church, or Pastor Ben will do it Wednesday nights at youth group or I will do it on Sunday Morning?

So we are we today, on this Father’s Day 2014?  And really this isn’t just for fathers it for parents and it’s not just for parents it for any one of you who has a loved one or friend who doesn’t have a relationship with Jesus. 

Do you pray in expectation that one day they will cross over the line to begin a relationship with Jesus?  And have you invited them to.