The Good Brother

The Good Brother?

Lk 15:11-32

INTRO: A. Prodigal’s Steps of Self-destruction

1. Self - Will 2. Selfishness

3. Separation

a. Rather be with others than be with the Father

4. Sensuality - Sin

5. Spiritual Destitution **Bad to worse Down on luck

*Raffle Hat tag A group of well-intentioned people met to discuss ways and means of helping a friend who had been down on his luck recently. Knowing him to be an extremely proud person, who would not accept money, they decided to arrange a bogus raffle. They told him that they would all draw numbered slips of paper from a hat, and the person who drew the number four would win $200. They didn’t tell him that the number “four" was on every slip.

After the drawing, each of the conspirators glanced at their slips and crumbled them up in the manner of disappointed losers. Then they waited to hear their friend announce that he had drawn the winning number. But he didn’t say anything. Finally, one member of the group asked him, knowingly,

"What number did you draw?"

He said "Six and seven-eighths," holding up…the hat-size tag.

6. Abasement: Degraded

7. Starvation: Lowest Point

B. The Father’s Love, Watching, Forgiving, Reconciling,

Restoration

1. Because HE’S God

2. Must allow Lost to make 2 decisions

a. Leave b. Return (repent) submit

3. Worked doing for us, placing love & knowledge of God’s

goodness to return to

4. The Father Saw Him coming

a. Only place in the bible see a picture of God Running

*And God Ran *Philips, Craig and Dean

Almighty God

The Great I Am

Immoveable Rock

Omnipotent powerful

Awesome Lord

Victorious Warrior

Mighty Conqueror

Commanding King of Kings

And the only time

the only time I ever saw Him run

Chorus

Was when He ran to me

Took me in His arms, held my head to His chest

And said "My son’s come home again".

Looked in my face, wiped the tears from my eyes

With forgiveness in His voice

He said "Son, do you know I still love you?"

It caught me by surprise when God ran

The day I left Home

I knew I’d broken His heart

I wondered if

Things would ever be the same

Then one night

I remembered His love for me

And down that dusty road, ahead I could see

It was the only time,

the only time I ever saw Him run

It caught me by surprise, It dropped me to my knees

When God ran

Holy God, Righteous One

Who turned my way

Now I know, You’ve been waiting

For this day

b. Do you truly see God’s great love for the lost

c. God’s heart aches to see them come to Him

*3 things about the so-called Good Brother He was…

I. He was About His Business v25

A. Assumed he’s Smarter, More Mature, He is the GOOD

Brother, The Good Son

B. Working

1. Doing what is required

a. Probably griped & moaned the whole time, "Woe is me"

1. But still did his part on the place around the house

2. Consumed His Life *Made a Career of being good**

**Giving, Attendance, sing, Church**

C. While others drinking, doping, dancing sinning, killing,

abusing, adultery, Homosexuality, wasting life’s

D. Not as SON or Brother

1. But servant, worker, laborer, employee

a. Didn’t appreciate God’s goodness, blessings,

b. Or own Position, rights, powers, blessings

c. Duty Driven

2. No Compassion or care for Lost

3. Did not look, (watch with or for the father)

4. Didn’t offer to go and seek, (infield) v25

**Bob Pierce World Vision: over 40 years born during the suffering of children in the Korean War. Wrote in His Bible

"Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God."

a. You would think that good son could see his dad’s heart

was broken

1. You’d think that good brother could see what was happening to the

Father

b. If he did see it, he ignored it. That makes his heart worse

than the rebel (the prodigal brother), in my books

Jas 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth [it] not, to him it is sin.

E. Comes home to a unpleasant surprise

1. After working in the field all day, arrives home to the sound

of a Karaoke from the house

2. Found out what it was all about

E. Not only no concern But his Anger

**A Sunday School teacher who told the story of the Prodigal son. She told about the Prodigal returning and the father hugging the son. The father put a ring on his hand, shoes on his feet and killed the fattened calf. But the older son refused to join the party. After the story it was question time. She asked the students, “Boys and girls, who was not happy because the prodigal son returned?” One little boy answered, “The fattened calf!