How To Sour A Celebration
Luke 15:25-31
I. DISTANCE CAN SOUR A CELEBRATION vs 25
Lisa always wants all her children in Church for her birthday.
Our Heavenly Father longs for His children to be united in fellowship
and celebrating together in His house.
When I say Distance can sour a Celebration, I'm not just talking
about the ones that aren't here anymore. In fact, there are people
that are sitting in church but they are about as distant as they can be.
The elder brother was right outside the house complaining about
everything that was going on and pouting about the attention his
brother was getting.
Some folks sit in a church pew week after week doing the same thing.
They don't contribute, they don't participate, they don't support others,
they don't encourage the brethren, they are not involved in fellowship
and they do not rejoice when prodigals return. As Dr. Adrian Rogers
said "they just sit soak and sour!"
Distance can sour a celebration, but what can cause a person to be distant?
Anger! That's why the older brother was distant. He was mad.
II. ANGER CAN SOUR A CELEBRATION vs 28
the difference between mad and being Irate
Verse 28 plainly states that the older brother was "angry". But instead
of getting over his anger, his anger got over him.
This man should be overjoyed that his brother was back. If his heart
had been in the right place he would have been in the house with
everybody else celebrating.
If I had been out in the fields working all day and came home to a
party, my reaction would have been, “Hey brother, it's good to
see you. I'm so glad you're home. Now where is that fatted calf
and the sweet tea?”
But his deep rooted anger caused him to whine, pout and complain.
In the church today, instead of rejoicing over what God is doing in the
lives of their brothers and sisters, a lot of so called Christians let
anger to got over on them and they whine, pout and complain.
Money is not spent the way they think is should be so ...they get mad!
Decisions are made that they disagree with and ...they get mad!
Someone else gets more attention than they do and ...they get mad!
If they are not asked to serve on a certain committee... they get mad!
No one calls them when they have a runny nose, so...they get mad
Another area of ministry receives more focus than their's they get mad
The Preacher preaches about a childish man in the bible that acts just
like they do and ...THEY GET MAD!!
Once anger creeps in, it has a tendency cause grown people to act like
two year olds. That was the case for the elder brother.
III. IMMATURITY CAN SOUR A CELEBRATION v28
(the older brother) would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.
The Bible dosen't tell us his name so to most he's "the older" brother.
But you would not know it by the way he was acting. In fact, he is
acting like a spoiled brat. He stayed outside and refused to join
the celebration. As a result the father had to leave the party to
go and deal with his brat of a son!
What should have been a wonderful day for the father is hampered by
the childish response of the older brother.
Talk about souring a celebration.
The same thing can happen in the church today.
There are childish people in church but God still saves lost souls.
There are immature people but God still forgives backsliders.
But the childishness of one person can have a terrible impact on a church.
Their immaturity can cause others to leave the church. And they can
keep others from coming to that specific church.
Childish folks also have a way of causing others to become malcontents.
And, their childish ways can prevent a true spirit of worship.
People notice them and they don't want nothing to do with the church.
And you can't blame them
The root cause of anger, distance and immaturity all to often turns out to
be PRIDE! Let's consider the fact that:
4. PRIDE CAN SOUR A CELEBRATION - v29
"All of these years I have served you." "I never transgressed your
commands." - Do you know what he is saying... "I didn't do these
things but my brother sure did!"
I can guarantee you, if there is somebody showing out in the church,
pride has got something, if not everything, to do with it.
People start comparing themselves to others. They lift themselves up
and tear others down. They are not focused on the Savior they are
focused on themselves. Somewhere along the way church became
about their wants, their needs and their desires!
Pro 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit
before a fall.
Phil 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in
lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
Phil 2:4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also
on the things of others.
The older brother did not care that his lost brother had come home.
He didn't care about that which pleased the father. He didn't care
about the glory of the father, he wanted the glory for what he had
been doing.
He didn’t serve his father out of love for the father, but out of a desire
to help himself. He did not even care about the father, he did what
he did for what he could get out of it.
"for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh".Matt 12:34
If pride is in their heart, it will be apparent by what comes out of their
mouths. And their pride will sour any celebration.
As we move further we will see that:
5. JEALOUSY CAN SOUR A CELEBRATION - v29b and yet thou
never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy
living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.
These verses illustrate a major problem for this man. He was jealous
of his little brother. Not only was he jealous about the party...
he was jealous of the things that the prodigal did while he was
in that far country.
Remember, he hasn't even gone in the house. He hasn't talked to the
Father or his brother. He has no idea what the prodigal had been
up to. He accuses his brother of devouring his substance on harlots!
Where did he get that idea? Again I say - "out of the abundance of the
heart the mouth speaketh" - He accused him of this because that is
exactly what he wants to do himself!
My friend, when you spend your time looking at others instead of Jesus,
when you are focused on their abilities and their opportunities and
when you constantly look at what they have done, where they have
been, how they have been blessed and what they have that you don't,
bitterness and jealousy will consume you! And jealously will sour a
celebration every time!
Distance, Anger, Immaturity, Pride and jealousy always sour up celebrations.
They will ruin a church service, and lastly we will see that:
6. SELFISHNESS CAN SOUR A CELEBRATION - v31 And
(the father) said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that
I have is thine.32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be
glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost,
and is found.
The father listened to his son's complaint. He then informs him that all
that he has belongs to his son. But he let it be known that it was
appropriate to celebrate the return of his brother. The older brother
lost sight of what mattered to his father. He also lost sight of his
personal relationship with the father. Instead of being grateful for
what he had, he was focused on what he did not have.
Instead of resting in his privilege, he let his jealousy, pride and anger
cause him to act like a child. He was selfish
Selfishness is found in everybody that doesn't appreciate the things
that God has blessed them with. Selfishness is looking at the
negative, despite all thats positive. People who are Selfishness
will naturally have negative personalities. These are people who
find it easy to complain about little things. They forget about
what God has given them and as a result they gripe, whine,
grumble and complain.
That will always sour a celebration
You may be here today and you are a prodigal who has left the father.
You are wasting your substance with riotous living. Before long you
will find yourself in the pig pen of sin. Maybe you just realized that
you are already there .
Why don't you do what the prodigal did, get up and get back to the Father.
I can promise you He will welcome you home today. If you do, there will
be a celebration in Heaven and in here.
Maybe you are here and you have never been born again. Why don't you
come and surrender to Jesus and be adopted into God's family this
morning. If you do, there will be a celebration in Heaven and in here.
Maybe some of you have a lot in common with the older brother.
You are distant, angry, immature, prideful, jealous and selfish.
Whether you realize it or not you are helping to sour the celebration
that should be going on in here right now.
If you will repent and return then there can be an amazing celebration
here and in Heaven.
When the Father's children get right then we can experience worship
that is unexplainable and we may even see a revival that is
uncontainable!
Great things can happen when there is a celebration going on
