Megan Ashley (0:00)

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I'm so excited because I was as I was preparing for like this conversation that we are getting ready to embark on. The topic is actually going to be the focus of the Village, my Patreon community's Bible study and book club. We are going to be talking about the book the Prodigal God by Timothy Keller. And if you don't know who Timothy Keller is, I highly recommend that you go find out who he is. He is fantastic. He was a fantastic teacher and still, even after his death, he's still teaching and ministering through his work. And so I love Timothy Keller. He has some fantastic books, fantastic ministry, but the book that we are reading with my Patreon community right now is called the Prodigal God. And so as I was kind of preparing for what I wanted to talk about today, the Prodigal Son was just something. The parable of the Prodigal Son was something that I have been mulling over and thinking through and processing for the last few months, really. This is a. This is a parable that has been extremely significant in my life. It's a popular parable. I feel like at the end of the day, everybody knows this parable. It's actually one of the greatest pieces of literature ever written in history, this story of the prodigal son. So what's interesting to me is, like, I. I was thinking about, oh, parables. Like, I love parables, because parables are like analogies, right? It's like giving an analogy to draw a point to something. And I love that Jesus used parables because he was after people's true heart. Like he want. He gave a message in a way that if you were really trying to seek him, if you were really trying to seek truth, that you would hear it in the parable, right? It wasn't very. It wasn't direct, but it was this analogy in this, in a story that would draw to a certain point, right? And I was thinking about this earlier today, because if you go over to, like, 2nd Samuel 12 and it says, so the Lord sent Nathan to David. When he arrived, he said to him, there were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large flock of herds, and the poor man had nothing except one small lamb that he had bought. He raised her, and she grew up with him and. And was with his children. From his meager food she went. She would eat from his cup, she would drink, and in his arms she would. She would sleep. She was like a daughter to him. Now, a traveler came to the rich man. But the rich man could not bring himself to take one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the poor man's lamb and prepared for his guests. David was infuriated with the man and said to Nathan, as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die because he has done this thing. Thing. And show no pity. He must pay four lambs for that lamb. And Nathan looks at David and says, guess what, bro? You that man. So David doesn't go to Da. Nathan doesn't go to David and say, you're wrong here. You're wrong here. You're wrong here. Nathan goes to David and he's like, hey, let me tell you the story about these. About this man. And da, da, da, da, da, right? And then afterwards, David has a response, he has a reaction. And then Nathan says, you are that man. So Nathan takes this story, this analogy of the. Of. Of that he gives him in the beginning, this story. And he's drawing a point to point to David's own heart posture, right? And this is the same thing that Jesus does with parables. He takes a story and he exposes the hearts of people. And that's what I love about. I love, like, if you guys. If you guys listen to me or listen to me for a long time, you know, I love analogies. I love giving analogies. Jordan will tell you often, like when we are talking and processing through stuff, I often give her analogies. I'm always like, well, think about it like this. Think about, right? Is to help draw her heart to a specific point. And so in Luke 15, right? I'm gonna set the scene for us. In Luke 15, we have Jesus and tax collectors, and sinners were approaching to listen to him, right? So Jesus is surrounded by sinners and tax collectors, right? And we know that. That tax collectors were. They were frowned upon. They were with the Jewish community, right? So we know that these were considered bad people, right? And the Pharisees and scribes were complaining, this man welcomes sinners and eats with them. So then in verse three, Luke, chapter 15, verse three, then it says, so he told them this parable. So clearly Jesus is responding to the Pharisees and the scribes and the teachers, their. Their criticism of Jesus being surrounded by sinners and tax collectors, right? So Jesus says, all right, sorry. So. So Luke says, so then he told this parable, right? So right now we're getting ready to enter into three parables about three things being lost, okay? The first parable, the parable of the. Of the. Of the lost sheep. So we have a man who's a shepherd and one of his sheep go astray, and he goes and finds the sheep, right? Then he finds the sheep and he goes to his neighbors and he says, rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep. I tell you in the same way Jesus says, I tell you in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who is repented than 99 righteous people who don't need repentance. So Jesus gives this parable, then he draws this conclusion, right? So then the second parable, something else is Lost. This is a parable of the lost coin. Now, I think before doing some studying and digging about the lost coin, I think we thought that the coin had the same significance as the sheep, and it doesn't. If you. If you pay attention to the three parables we're getting, the things that are lost have more significance. A sheep that was lost, that was part of the game because sheep were. Were dumb. They sheep were stupid, right? No wonder why Jesus calls a sheep, right? Sheep were not that intelligent. So they would wander off, they would go do dumb stuff. If you lost one, it would be part. It would be part of the game. It's like, okay, I lost a sheep right? Now if you lost like 10 sheep, then it's like, all right, I gotta go find those 10 sheep. But one sheep being lost, it wasn't that big of a deal, right? Now, that's. The sheep being lost has a certain significance, but not great significance. The second parable is the parable of the lost coin. There's a woman who loses a coin. Now, I think, and I used to think that this coin was like losing a quarter or a nickel or a dime, where it's like, girl, you will get that quarterback or you will find another. You will find another nickel. It's not that deep. But the coin wasn't that. The coin was a symbol of relationship at that time. Women that were married, they would have certain coins and it would signify marriage, it would signify relationship. So that woman losing that coin was a. Was a symbol of relate. It mattered. It had. Had greater significance. So we see the significance increasing, right? And so anyway, the woman, the parable of the lost coin. The woman loses her coin and she looks everywhere for it. Then she finds it, and she goes to her friends and her neighbors and she says, rejoice with me because I have found the silver coin that I lost. Then Jesus says, I tell you, in the same way, there will be. There is joy in the presence of God's angels over one sinner who repents, right? So what are we seeing? What are the common things in both of these parables? Something's lost. Someone goes and finds it. When they find it, they go to their friends and their neighbors, and what happens? They rejoice. But then something takes a ship. Now there's a shift, because now we're talking about a son, and there's a shift that takes place. And this is so exciting. Me, if you guys can tell. Like, I love this parable. I'm really excited. So there's a shift that Happens. And Jesus says, a man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, father, give me a share of the estate I have coming to me now. Remember you. Let's remember who Jesus is talking to, right? He's talking to Jewish people. People who knew the significance of inheritance. People who knew the significance of what it meant for the son to be asking the father for his share of the inheritance while the father was still living. I could imagine that they gasped. I could imagine that they were. They were like, what, this ratchet little son? How dare he? Because at that time, a son asking the father for an inheritance is as if the son was as saying to the father, I wish you were dead. Because fathers didn't. Sons did not get their inheritance until after the father died. So the son telling the father, hey, I want my inheritance now is equal to him saying, I wish you were dead. Now. In that time, I think the people that were listening to this, they probably expected the story to go a little bit like then this. The father drove his son out with. With whips and harsh words, right? That would have been expected at that time. But that's not how the father responds. How does the father respond? The father. So he distributed the assets to them. So the younger son. And this is the younger son. So the younger son got a one third. The. The older son got two thirds. So the. So at that time, the father splits up the assets. Now here's the thing that probably took time, that probably was a hassle. We're not talking about going to, you know, bank of America. That's not what we're talking about. And getting your. Getting your 401k and your. All your. And like transferring money over. We can do that from our phones. Super convenient. That's not what was happening here. We're talking about land, we're talking about property and, and goats and cattle and this and all that. So it. It pro. It was a hassle, I'm sure, to do all of that, right? So he distributes the assets to them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered together all he had and traveled to a distant country where he squandled his estate in foolish living. Now, one thing I want to point out is that in the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin, the lost sheep and lost coins are quick kind of parables. It was like there was a man, he had a sheet, he lost it, he found it, they rejoiced. A lady had a coin, she lost it, she found it, rejoice. But then when we get to the prodigal son. It's like the Lord is giving some more detail. He's giving. Like I am. We are becoming more and more connected to the story, right? We're getting close. Like, we're, We're. We're really being attached to this story. He's given us more details. Right after he had spent everything, a severe famine struck the country, and he had nothing. So this son gets the assets, his inheritance, and he blows it. He goes out and he is, I mean, crab broils, hookah and. And everything. He is spending that money. He is going to the designers. I mean, he is living life. He is in Miami, turning up another night. He is in Vegas, Houston. I mean, he's having a time. He's going to strip clubs. He's. I mean, he's messing with all the women. He's got all the IG baddies. He's got him. I mean, he's living his life. And then it's like the pandemic hit. There's a. There is a famine that hits the country, right? So then he went to work for one of the citizens of the country who sent him into the fields to feed pigs. So you didn't. You didn't. You were living in the king's, like your. Your father's house, living nice. You take your inheritance, Blow it. Now you're feeding pigs, right? So now he's feeding pigs. He long to eat his fill from the pods that the pigs were eating from. He's so hungry and desperate, he's ready to eat pig food. Could imagine how desperate you have to be to eat what the pigs are eating, right? But this is the key, and this is where the story takes a change for this younger prodigal son is it says when he came to his senses, that when he came to his senses, there comes a time where you got to come to your senses, right? What is reasonable? Come to your senses, he said, how many of my father's hired workers have more than enough food? And here I am, dying of hunger. I will get up, I will go to my father. I will say to him, father, I've sinned against heaven and in your sight, I am no longer worthy to be called a son. Make me like one of your hired workers. So he's sitting here, and this pigsty, funky. He smells, his life sucks. He's hungry, and he's so desperate that he's getting ready to eat the same food. The slop that the pigs are eating right now, mind you, again, remember who Jesus is communicating this story to for that son to be working with pigs, we have to know how pigs were viewed in that, in, in that culture. So, so this is like the lowest of low, right? Jesus is drawing the attention. Very clear. This is the lowest of low. What's up in totality? Fam, it's me, Megan. Ashley. You know, lately I've been thinking I really should see a doctor more often. Between battling sleep trouble and those random aches and pains, okay, because I'm in my 30s, it feels like something is always popping up. But scheduling an appointment has always been such a hassle. Finding someone in network, checking their ratings, syncing their availability with mine, and I'm never available. It's just too much. I've discovered though ZocDoc. And it has changed the game. 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All right guys, back to the conversation. And he comes to his senses. What this tells me is, is that I'm going to, I'm going to finish the story. But I want to pause just a second and kind of point out some things that I was observing from the beginning of this parable to this point right here. When the younger son asked for his inheritance, the father should have been so offended that he drove that son away and shamed him. But the father doesn't. The father gives him his assets. He accepts the fact that his son wishes he was dead. He accepts it. He doesn't plead with him. He says okay and gives him his share. But then we see that after this, like, to me it's like, gosh, what did the son. What did, what did this? How did the son view his father? What happened in that relationship that made that son so angry with his father? But really what we're looking at is not so much of what the father did wrong, but we're looking how prideful the young son was. We were looking at how. How much selfish ambition that young son had that it overshadowed how much love the father had actually given the son, how much love the father actually had for his son. So as the younger son is in this pig pen getting ready to eat the same food slop that the pigs are eating, he remembers. He comes to his senses. In my mind, I'm like, oh, he remembered. He started to think back on how he was loved by his father, how he was provided for by his father, how he was taken care of by his father. He started to remember. I'm telling you, one of the greatest weapons that you have to fight against your own pride and a fight against the scheme of the enemy and a fight against your flesh is your. Is your memory. Think back and recall on the goodness of God. Now, I could have saved that for later, but I had to insert that right there. Sorry. But think back on how you have been loved by the father. Sometimes it takes us being at our worst, at our lowest, to remember how good the father has loved us, how well, how faithful he has been to us, right? And so this son has is. He's at his lowest, the lowest of lows. And he starts to recall how he was loved by his father. He starts to remember how he was loved by his father. And he comes to his senses. He's like, this isn't reasonable for me to stay here when I have a father who can feed me well, who will take care of me where I'm not eating with the pigs, but I'm eating with the king. So then he starts to rehearse. Okay, I'm gonna go to my dad. I'm gonna repent. Not only does he realize that he sinned against the Father, but he realized he sinned against God. So he's practicing how he's going to confess and repent to his father. He's like, all right, I'm gonna go to my dad, and I'm gonna say, God, Dad, I, I, I. I messed up. I sinned against you. I sinned against God. I am not worthy of being a son. Just accept me as a servant. I will work for you. This is so interesting to me. The reason why this is so. This hits me in a particular way, is because that day on my porch, I feel like I was at my lowest of lows, I had come to the end of myself. I had hit an emotional and spiritual and mental rock bottom. Just right outside, right here, outside those doors, I had hit a low. And I started to think back. I started to remember God. I started to remember scripture, my scriptures my mom used to pray over me. And scriptures I used to hear my mom preach when. When I was younger. And scriptures that I remember reading about God's and his faithfulness and that he's near to the brokenhearted and those who are crushed in spirit, and how he will never leave you or forsake you. I started to think about that. I started to recall God's character. I came to my senses and I realized. I started to remember John 15. Apart from me, you can do nothing. I started to think about that and I came to my senses. And just like the prodigal son, and I'm sure just like many of you even listening to this right now, have rehearsed this same confession. God, if you don't. If you just save me, if you don't do another thing, I will work for. I will do whatever you want. All the attentions on being a servant. And so just like the prodigal son, we get up and we go to the father and the story continues. So he gets up and he went to his father. He leaves this pigsty because he's come to his senses and he goes back to his father's home. But this is. This is so good. But while the son was still a long way off. Think about that. He wasn't even there yet. He was still a long way off. He was still far from the father's home. While he was still afar or a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. Now, in order for the father to have seen that his son was far off, he had to have been looking. He had to have been. Think I in this parable. I'm just like, man, I wonder how many days the father sat there day after day, night after night, waiting for his son to return. So while the son was far off, the father sees him and is filled with compassion. I love. I love that Jesus points that out, that he was filled with compassion. Because you know what? Me, Megan Eli made me go through all this stuff to get his inheritance. And then he wasted. Because I'm sure the father had to have heard. Hey, hey. Your boy out there tripping. Yay. We didn't send. Seen this man buying crab royals for everybody. He didn't bought Don Julio for the whole club. I'm sure the father had to have heard about how his son was wilding out. So if I'm thinking as a parent, if it were me, yeah, I'm happy my son is home. But there is an irritation and there is, there, there's a, there's like, you better come back and apologize. I, I want to see you on your feet or your knees saying sorry after what you didn't put this family through. But no, Jesus says that the father saw him afar off and is filled with compassion. I love this because it shows us the character and the nature of the God that we serve, that he's slow to anger, he's filled with compassion and he ran. You can't skip past that. The King, the Father runs. Now in this time that is uncommon. They probably had garments, long garments. And so in order for him to run, he would have to pull his garment up and run. That was undignified. You didn't do that. Right? That's undignified. But we see Jesus points out that the Father runs towards his son who is a far off. It's not like the son was close. It says he was afar off. So the father is running far to go get his son. The father is basically saying, I'm not even going to wait for you to come to me. I'm going to come towards you. When I see, when the Father sees that, that he's, that the son is coming towards him, the father responds with compassion by going towards the son. What a beautiful depiction that is. What a beautiful. I'm, I'm getting, I mean, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me just tell the story. Okay. The father runs, he throws his arms around his neck and kisses him. This is like a full, full depict depiction of acceptance. He throws his arms around him and he kisses him. And the son is like, okay, this is, I've, I've been rehearsing this. Father, I've sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called a son. The father doesn't even acknowledge him. The Father is like, yada, yada, go get my robe to the servant. He's not, I ain't trying to hear all that. You're home. I'm not even interested in that. And I'm sure the father appreciated it, right? But he's like, I'm not even, he's not even. I don't your home. By your actions, I know where your heart is. Right? So the Father says, quick, quick, we are celebrating this now. Quickly bring out the best robe. Now, the best robe is what? The best robe wasn't just something like a. A line of robes and was like, bring me the best one. Though the best one was most likely the father's robe. So the father tells the servant, go get my robe so I can put it on my son. Now the father is clothing him in his own garment. Whoo. If you. If you know, you know, right? And put it on him. Put a ring on his finger. What does that ring symbolize? The ring of the father means. Put a ring on his fingers means, now I'm giving him authority to speak on my behalf. So not only does he restore his sonship, but now he's given the son authority. This is the son who squandered all of his inheritance. This is the son that was living it up. Prodigal, living, foolish living. That son who was in the pit. I know he smelled bad. I know he ain't have no shoes on his feet. I know he was dirty. And the father says, go get my robe. Go get my ring and put it on him. There's no explanation there. The. The. The father isn't making the son go through all these steps. You got to do this first, and you got to do that first. And then after 10 years, then maybe I'll put my robe on you. And after you've apologized and after you've worked and after you've done this, then I'll go. He doesn't do any of that. He sees his son. He runs after his son. He embraces his son. He kisses his son. He clothes clothed his son in his own clothes, puts a ring on his finger, restores his sonship, restores his authority as a son. This is incredible. I could imagine the Pharisees were like, are you kidding me? They were gagging like, are you kidding me? They were probably ready to rip their clothes and just crucify him. Now put him on the cross. Now he has lost it. What's up, you guys? This ad is brought to you by Better Help. Let's be real. Workplace stress is real, and it's only been getting louder. Between deadlines, expectations, and the constant pressure to perform, it's no surprise that 61 of the global workforce is dealing with higher than normal levels of stress. 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Because this son of mine was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found. Pause. In that time, listening to Tim Keller really has given me a lot of understanding more about this, this parable. And as I was doing some studying and researching about just the meaning and the significance of this parable, when, when, when the fatted calf was like the. The most valuable that cost the most, right? That's like going on the menu when you go to like a steakhouse, right? And they have like a sirloin and they have like a. What's another type of rib or a type of steak? Sirloin. Ribeye. I don't know, Filet, Right? But then it's like. So you see the prices. But then when they got that, like wagyu. That is expensive. Have you. I remembered ordering wagyu one time we were in Vegas and I said, my God, this better be good. And it was, because it's the most fatted calf. It was it. So that, that's what this is, is the most expensive one. And that wasn't common to just eat meat in this time because it costs so much. But the father's like, hey, yo, go get my robe, go get the ring and go get the fattest calf. We are celebrating. This son of mine was dead and is alive now. Was the son dead? Yes, dead in his sins. We were dead in our transgressions. That's what the Bible says. So the. So the Father is saying my son was dead, but because he has returned home now he's alive, he was lost and now he's found. So this story alongside of the other two parables, the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son. And, and usually, usually when people preach the. The prodigal son, or where they talk about the prodigal son, this is typically where they end with the lost son getting restored. And I can imagine for the sinners and the tax collectors that are hearing this parable, they are filled with so much joy and hope that I could be far from the Lord, far from God, and come home and be restored and not restored as a servant, but restored as a son. This, yes, we all love. It's like, ah, redemption. But we have to remember going back. Let me take you back to what I was saying at the beginning of chapter 15, the tax collectors and sinners were approaching to listen to him. And the Pharisees and scribes were complaining, this man welcomes sinners and eats with them. So he. He told them this parable. He told who? The Pharisees and the scribes. So we know that the, that, that Jesus is talking to the Pharisees and the scribes, he's responding to them. So at this point in the story, once the son, once the Father celebrates the Son's return, how is this speaking to the Pharisees and the scribes? Well, it's not really. Until you get to part two of this story, and this is how he's respond, he's again, Jesus is giving this parable to draw out the motive and the. In the posture of the hearts of the people who are hearing it. Right. So then the story continues now. And now we're being introduced to someone else, which is the older brother. Now we know that this son, the younger son, that is the prodigal son, has a brother. This father has two sons. Now, the older son was in the field. As he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he summoned one of the servants. Now Pause. There's a second son and he's out working. He's headed home. He hears celebration. He doesn't go into the house, but he summons someone to come out, right? He summons one of the servants, questioning what these things meant. Like, what is going on in there? What are we celebrating? What is happening? The servant says, your brother is here. Your father has slaughtered the fatted calf because he has him back safe and sound. So the servant is telling the older son what's happening. Now, I think that if you loved your brother and you loved your father, that your response would be, oh, my gosh, great. This is. This is fantastic news. I have watched my father be in agony over my brother being lost. I have watched him be sad. I have watched him sit on. On the porch night after night, day after day, waiting for the son to come back, waiting for his son to come back. I can imagine that a good brother would be filled with compassion, just like his father. But that's not what happens. Then he became angry and didn't want to go in. He threw a fit, a temper tantrum. So much so that it says, so. His father came out to plead with him. But he replied to his father, look. Something that Tim Keller pointed out that I thought was interesting is that the older son doesn't say father. He says, look, I have been slaving many years for you. I have never disobeyed your orders, yet you never gave me even a goat. You ain't even gave me a goat. And then you didn't went and got the fattest calf for this son of yours who has squandered all of their money, inheritance, who has brought shame, I'm sure, to our name as a family, who has put you through the ringer and you give him a fatted calf. You put your robe on him and your ring. I ain't even got a goat. But the father says, son. So again, the older son doesn't call him father. He says, look, which is like, disrespectful. He doesn't even say, like, father. He said like, you know how you like your parent. You feel like your parent is wrong, but he's like, you still have respect. Like he would if he had respect for his body. He'd be like, father, I want to point out a few things. Number one, I have been here. He has not. I got a goat. He gets a fatted calf. Make it make sense, please. With all due respect, he doesn't say that. He says, look, I've been slaving away. I don't even get a goat and celebrate, to celebrate with my friends. Yet this, this like ratchet son of yours, this heathen son of yours gets a fatted calf. Really? That's kind of the attitude the older son has. But the father responds and says, son, he still give. Like there's still dignity and honor and love. Their son, you are always with me and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice because this brother of yours, your brother, he doesn't even just say my son, but he says, your brother was dead and is alive again. He was lost and, and now he's found. And then it's like Jesus is like scene. And I'm sure everybody was like, so what happened? Much like how I am at the end of the book of Jonah, what happened? He kind of leaves it off on a cliffhanger. What happens to the older son. But again, a parable is to cause you to think and ponder, evaluate your own heart. He's giving the Pharisees and the scribes an opportunity to evaluate their own heart. Who's the older brother? Who's the younger brother? The younger brother is the tax collectors and the sinners that the Pharisees are complaining about Jesus being around and, and fellowshipping with. Who's the older brother? The Pharisees and the scribes. He's trying to draw their attention. Again, parable one where Jesus says, I tell you in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over a sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who don't need repentance. He says it in that parable. He says it again in the parable of the lost Coin. And then he, he draws it back to that same point. You're. We had to celebrate because your brother was lost and now he's found. Why are you not getting it? Jesus came to save. Jesus is showing them, I'm here to save you and them. Why aren't you rejoicing? What I found so interesting as I was just studying and yeah, studying this and as I've just again, I've been reading a lot about the prodigal son and reading a lot about this parable and what it means. One thing that, that Tim Keller brought out, a few points that he brought out when it comes to the younger son, right, is that the younger son is the one who is far from the Lord through self discovery. He wants to do his own thing, right? And I think that a lot of us can identify with that. I know for me personally, I can identify with that. There was a, a season of my life for a number of years where I was so I had become, my heart had become so hardened towards the things of God. I became so bitter and prideful and all the things where I just was like, I'm just gonna do what I want. I'm just gonna do what I want. I'm not gonna do it God's way, I want to do it my way. I want to discover who I am apart independent of God. I'm just gonna do my own thing. So I can identify with that. I can identify with wanting to discover who you are outside of God. And we clearly see the danger in that, right? Remember, you were created by him, for Him. You don't know you apart from knowing him. The real you, the true you, the one that he created you to be, the person that he created you to be. You can't know that person apart from God. You are the creation, he is the Creator. So the Creator has to give the purpose to the creation. I can't know myself independent of God. He's the one who created me. So there is a danger in self discovery, something that we have to be mindful of, right? Trying to seek fulfillment through autonomy is dangerous. That's a dangerous thing to do. Doing anything apart from God, doing anything independent of God is dangerous. And I can, and I, and I promise you, I can tell you firsthand, I, I, I know how dangerous it is. I know the consequences to doing life and, and doing me independent of, of God, independent of Christ. Right? Proverbs 14:12 says, There is a way that seems right to a man, but ends in, but its end is the way to death. There was a way that seemed right to this prodigal son, but look where it ended him up in. That's why the Bible says, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding. The son, the prodigal son, just like many of us was, we lean on our own understanding. We, we, we try to do things our own way and look where it ends, where we end up. Remember the Father said this son of mine that was dead and is now alive because there, if we do our own thing, we out of our own flesh, out of our own understanding, it leads to death. Tim Keller gives an insight to, to the younger son and saying asking for inheritance early is a form of rebellion in an attempt to define, to control and define happiness apart from the Father. So again, trying to have fulfillment and autonomy apart from the Father, apart from him is rebellion. And this is what that young, that the the younger son is doing. Tim Keller said that sin is not just breaking the rules, but it's putting yourself in place of God. Pause and ask yourself, in what ways have I put myself on the throne where God belongs? In what place have I tried to hold and white knuckle control when I'm supposed to relinquish that to. To the. To the Lord? When I'm supposed to allow God to be on the throne of my heart and not me or my own ambitions? Some of his insight about the older son now again, the first two parables. A lost sheep, a lost coin, and then we see a lost son. And in most Bibles it says the parable of the lost son or the parable of the Prodigal Son. But I, I think more of an accurate title would be the parable of the Lost Sons, because both are lost. Not just the one who's obviously lost, but the older son who's also lost. And he's not lost in ratchet living like the prodigal son, but he's lost in self righteousness. He believes that his righteousness earns him the right to the things of the father, that he's owed something by his works. And we know this is wrong because we know that our righteousness is a filthy rags. We know that we are clothing in Christ's righteousness like he closed us in righteousness. We in our own self righteousness, we're going to fail every time. But the lost son doesn't. Doesn't realize that. He believes if I work, if I'm a servant, if I'm a slave, then I am owed all the things that the father has. The older son refuses to join the feast. Though extremely obedient, his heart was still far from the father. Think about that. And the reason why I feel like this, this parable is so important is because although I am, I can extremely identify with the prodigal son. I told y' all right here on this porch, same thing I recall. I remember, I start thinking about the goodness of the Lord and I'm like, I'm gonna go to my father, I'm gonna say sorry, and I'm gonna be a servant with no intentions of being a son. But then God, embrace it, runs after me even when I'm not even there yet, not even close. And he's running after me and he braces, embraces me and kisses me and loves me and clothes me in righteousness and, and gives me authority through his son and all the stuff. But I also can identify, I'm Telling y', all, I'm telling y'. All. Being in this position now, being so serious about the things of the Lord, you have to be mindful to not come to God with. Like being mindful to not go to the Lord just to be a servant. Yes, serve and do the things that God has called you to do, but do it with the right heart posture, knowing that you are a son, a daughter of God. Because not accepting that sonship, not accepting being a daughter of God can put you in the position of looking just like the older son. Where now I'm a servant. I'm doing all the things. I'm a slave to the. To the work. And now I'm bitter towards my younger brother. Or I'm. I think that my works qualify me to having the things of the father. Both of the sons were prideful and selfish. They were both in it for them or. Or in it for what they could get from the father, but not because they just love their father. Both of them are lost. And if you're not mindful, you can go from being the younger son to the older son. And the truth of the matter is, we're all guilty of both. I have been the younger son, and I've been the older son. And truthfully, it depends on the day. In one season, I'm the. I'm the younger son, and another season, I'm the older son. I want to read a few Scriptures. Isaiah 29:13. The people honored me with their lips, but their hearts were far from me. This is the older son. He did all the things. He was obedient. He did what he was, did everything he was supposed to do, yet his heart was still far from the Father. Now, I want you to picture this. And this is how I kind of pictured it. Say that here in the middle is the father's house, right where the Father is. You have over here the prodigal son, who's over here living, crazy, doing all the stuff. Then you have this son who's over here working, doing everything right, being obedient. And guess what? If the Father is here and they're both there, what's the. What's the common thing? They're both not near, they're both far away from the father. And that's the way I pictured in it in my mind, is that, yes, the older son is over here and he's working and he's technically in the father's home, but he's not in the father's home. He's still far. So is the younger son. Right. Another scripture, Philippians 3. 9. Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ. Your righteousness does not come from your works, but it comes by faith. Faith in Christ. Your righteousness is through Christ, not your works. That's what the older son was missing. The older brother is just as lost as the younger. The younger brother. It was. This is something that Timothy Keller said. And I was like, oh, my goodness. He said it was the older son's goodness that kept him away from the father, not his sins. It was the younger's sins that kept him away from the father, but it was the odor's goodness that kept him away from. Well, what do you mean? So Tim Keller says that the. The. The gospel believing Christian doesn't just repent for their sins, but they also repent for the good, the reason why they did anything good. When. When you become more intimate with the Lord, it. It's like the road becomes more narrow. So now you're not just repenting of obvious sins, but now you're repenting of motives. And this is what I feel like Jesus did when he came. It's like you had the law in the. In the Old Testament, and. And it wasn't like we're getting rid of the law, but now we're looking at Jesus was pointing to motives. Where is your heart? Yeah, you might be doing all the things, right, like the rich young ruler where he's like, I did this. I did this. Okay, well, then go give all your money away. And he was like, ah, it identified an idol motive. It like the Lord is looking at your why? And I'm telling you, this has been rocking me lately, like, convicting me lately, because I can do the right things. But my why matters? Why am I doing it? Am I doing that to please the Lord? Or am I doing that so that I get glory, so that I get praise, so that I look away? And I love that. I love that the. Like. I love that the Lord was pointing this out to them Pharisees. Y' all might be doing all the right things outwardly, but your hearts are far from the father. You are the older brother. Just like when Nathan went to David and said, you are that man. Jesus is saying in this parable, pharisees, you are the older brother. How does this point to the gospel? Well, thank God that we who were lost, who were dead in our. In our transgressions, dead in our sins, that we didn't get an older elder brother like the Pharisees. Again, let's go back to the two parables that were, that were mentioned that Jesus tells us before he talks about the lost son. Notice that the common denominator or one of the common themes and both of those parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin is someone came looking for them. In the Lost Son, no one's looking for him. Jesus is trying to draw to the point that the Pharisees should be looking for the younger sons, looking for the younger brother. Go find your younger brother. And this is why we can have so much thankful gratitude, praise for Jesus who came for us, who was willing to sacrifice everything to get us back. That is the elder brother that we have. We don't have a Pharisee elder brother. We have an elder brother that came from heaven, came to earth, lived a sinless life, was persecuted, was nailed to the cross, who endured all of God's wrath, who was buried and Ray was raised from the dead on the third day, and who's coming back to get us. That is the elder brother that we have. That's the gospel. And Jesus is trying to tell the Pharisees, you're missing it. You're just as lost as the tax collector and as the sinner. You're just as lost. And I'm trying to tell you, don't be like either son. Don't try to be self. Don't try to go after self discovery through autonomy and, and, and, and squandle your inheritance. Don't do that. Don't be like the older brother who thinks that your righteousness is going to gain you something, that your works are going to earn you something. Don't be the older brother, be the one that is close. Timothy Keller said that, that God isn't looking for perfect people, he's looking for new people. He's looking for a heart that is changed and turned in the in anchored in the Lord. I'm near God, I am near the Father, and I'm not, I'm not, I'm not in the vicinity of the Father to gain the things of the Father, but I delight in being near my Father. That's where he wants us to be. Close and delight. And then when we see a younger brother that is far off, that we rejoice. That we rejoice and, or if we see a brother that is long off, that we go find them, we bring them back into the fold and when they're found, we rejoice. That is, that's the posture that God wants our hearts in. That that is, that is what it's like to be near him, to delight. I'm telling y', all, I struggle with. With learning how to just delight myself in the Lord. I'm the younger brother that was far off. And who says I'm going to be a servant and turns into the older son that just is like, I'm gonna work and I'm gonna do everything right, and, And. And. And end up still being far from the Lord. I still. I have to remind. This is why this parable just means so much to me, because I have to remind myself that the Father wants me near, just like Mary and Martha. Martha is running around doing all the stuff, and Mary's at the feet, and Martha gets mad. It's like the older sister and the younger sister. Just like the older brother and the younger brother, Martha gets mad. She's like, Jesus, would you tell her to get up and. And help? And he's like, she has chosen the better thing. She's chosen to be near. She's chosen to be close. That is what he's after. He's. He wants us. The nearness. He wants us to be near him. And so I'm excited to dive even deeper. I don't want to give everything away, because I am going through this with my Patreon community. So if you want to join my Patreon community, you can go to patreon.com meganashley and you can join our Bible study and our book club as we go through Tim Keller's Prodigal God. But I do want to challenge you that what does it look like and what does it mean to be near? In what ways have I been the younger son? In what ways have I been the older son? Where am I right now? Think about that. Mull it over. Read Luke 15. Read the parables and evaluate your own heart, because that's what the parables were intended to do. It was intended for you to evaluate your own heart. And so I pray that this episode was helpful. I pray that you. That you hear not just my heart on this, even though. Because this is such a important parable to me, I love it. But that you hear the Father's heart and. And his heart for you. If you're far off, know that the Lord sees you and that he's filled with compassion and that as you are drawing near to him, he's drawing near to you. Even with the older son, the older son is still. Won't come in the house when the celebration is happening and the father goes out of the house to the. Oh, he's always pursuing the lost. And so if you're caught up in the works, you're a servant and not a son. You're a servant and not a daughter. Know that the Lord is pursuing you as well and that he just wants you near. Now, am I saying don't serve? I'm not saying that, but I'm saying know your place as a son or daughter of the father. That's it. I love you guys. Hope you enjoyed this episode. See you next week. What's up you guys? I hope you enjoyed this episode. Thank you so much for listening and I hope you felt encouraged in some way. Be sure to like and follow into Tality Podcast everywhere you listen to your favorite shows. Follow into Tality on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and be sure to turn on your post notifications so that you can be the first to listen whenever there's a new episode.