Speaker 1: 0:00

Now, a couple of Sundays ago, I was exhausted because our normal setup team everyone on the team could not make it to church that morning. So you want to know who set up, me and my brother and dude. We were in straight two-minute drill like we were about to win the Super Bowl, okay. So we're grabbing all the stuff, setting it up, putting the flags out, doing it, and we do it, we it and we do it, we make it, we do it in time. And then it hit me. Oh, I still got to preach, and so I preached, and I preached my little heart out, and then afterwards our teardown team crushed it. Praise the Lord for a teardown team. And so then I got home thinking, ok, I can relax, it's finally. You know, that was a busy morning.

Speaker 1: 0:46

Right when I pull up, all of my kids were ready to play, every single one. And guess what I did? I played with them. We went into the backyard, jumped on the trampoline, ran around, we pretend like we were superheroes. We were playing so hard, so long that I forgot to give them some water. And then, finally, my son Jameson. His face is like beet red and he's sweating and he's like thirsty. And so I give them some water bottles and they drink and they crush it and you can look at their little faces, this sigh of relief, like they just they're taking in every drop of it. It was great for them. Then what did we do afterwards? We played some more. We played some more until dinner and nighttime routine.

Speaker 1: 1:29

Then, finally, after I put the kids down, after Aaron and I put the kids down, I walked downstairs, I sit down, I just fall on my couch, I do a little prayer. I've examined my thankfulness journal and I had this moment of I'm so glad to be alive. I'm so glad, and it was this deep kind of just like this relief, this feeling, this joy that I had. Then Erin came down the stairs, she took the corner and she said the words that every husband doesn't want to hear we need to talk. No, it was good. We do what we call a marriage meeting on Sunday nights. But that sigh of relief, that feeling of joy, that hope that I had, man, it was a great feeling. And here's the thing, lvc, that's what our heart for you is that you will have a relationship with Jesus that will make you say at the end of your day, even when it's stressful, even when there's challenges, even when there's problems that you would say I am glad to be alive, and here you go.

Speaker 1: 2:34

The way that we get that, I actually believe, is in a way that it might not be what you think, it might not be the way you assume to have this relief. I believe this relief doesn't come from a bigger house, nicer cars, more money, more things. I think this relief that I'm talking about comes from a pursuit of holiness, of holiness. Now, when we think about holiness, I don't think we normally think about the word relief that comes with it. I think we think about some other things that might come.

Speaker 1: 3:08

Now, today, a lot of my content is inspired from one of the best books I've read, and now I know I recommend a lot of books to you guys, so bear with me this one. If you only read one book a year, this is the book that you should read. One book a year this is the book that you should read, and it is called the Other Relief of Holiness by John Elbridge. Now, I'm going to talk about holiness, but, man, I don't do any duty like how John Elbridge explains it in this book, so I encourage you to read it, but we're going to talk about this holiness and this relief of holiness. Because here you go, we're in this series called Trippy, where we are looking at this far out doesn't make sense, not logical, unconditional love from God. And today I want to talk about the relief of holiness. And again, when I say that word, most people don't associate that word with relief. They think I'll feel relief when I pay off my debt. Yeah, that makes sense. You may say I may feel relief when I get a better job, or when I finally hit my weight goals or when my kids stop being teenagers. Then I'll feel some relief.

Speaker 1: 4:15

But, holiness, what does it even mean to be holy? Because here's this most of us, when we think of the word holiness, we may think of the word legalism. That might be the first thing that pops in your head A giant rule book of things you must follow and a bunch of mean Christians pointing fingers letting you know that you're not following them. That might be the main thing we think, or we might think, or the word perfectionism might come to mind you must have your life perfect, 100% all the time. Or you may think of the word. Maybe you think of fake spiritual vibes where you look holy on the outside, but on the inside there's some things going on. Or you actually might think when you think of holiness. You might think holiness is the opposite of joy no fun, no partying, no dancing, burn the CDs. That might be what you think of when you think of holiness.

Speaker 1: 5:10

But what if I was to tell you that it wasn't that so, as everyday people who are learning how to become Jesus followers, why should we pursue holiness? Well, the Apostle Paul gives us a little insight to that and I love the way Eugene Peterson puts it. In the message paraphrase he says this how blessed is God and what a blessing he is. He's the father of our master Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. That sounds good. Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love. Check out this last part To be made whole and holy by his love. Did you catch that? Because it can be easily missed God's pursuit for us, our spiritual habits, our yes to God. It leads us to a place where we can become whole and holy, where we can live from a place instead of making decisions out of our brokenness and our insecurities and our doubts and fears and our want to be approved by people. We can make decisions based on a God who loves me, who has called me and he says I am whole and holy. And so here you go.

Speaker 1: 6:22

Let's continue to look at this, because this leads to a bigger question that we must answer, especially during Easter time. It leads to the question what is the purpose of the gospel? What's the purpose of the gospel? Another way to put it is what's Christianity supposed to do to somebody. Like we know, if we sign up for a diet, what it's supposed to do for us. We know if we sign up to have diet, what it's supposed to do for us. We know if we sign up to have Shaunti's insanity program, that we're supposed to have abs in 90 days. That's what it's supposed to do. We know what we know, but what's Christianity supposed to do?

Speaker 1: 6:58

What is it supposed to do to someone? Is it just moral correctness? Is that what it's supposed to do? Is it to prevent people from going to hell that they're not even thinking about? Is it just moral correctness? Is that what it's supposed to do? Is it to prevent people from going to hell that they're not even thinking about. Is it just following Jesus to get people to not sleep around? Or to give money to buy bigger buildings? Like, what's the point of Christianity? Like, why church? Why come out the church? Why Easter? What is Christianity supposed to do to someone?

Speaker 1: 7:24

And Jesus, jesus actually gives us the answer to this. He actually shows us what it's supposed to do to someone. Because here's the thing Jesus makes it clear he's dealing with the religious leaders of his day. And Jesus keeps healing people on the Sabbath. He keeps doing this thing. And the religious leaders it's driving them crazy. It's driving them nuts, because the Sabbath was a day of rest, not work, even though Jesus flipped what real rest is. But here it goes. But Jesus says to them, it says it to them and he answers the question what is Christianity supposed to do to someone? He says this now, if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, check this out.

Speaker 1: 8:01

Why are you angry with me for healing a man's whole body on the Sabbath? What's Christianity supposed to do to someone? It's the healing of the whole person. It's the healing of the whole person. Christianity isn't just your ticket out of hell. It's your ticket to a life that's truly life. It's kind of like Jesus says that he came to bring life and life to the somewhat all right, the just making it, or the prosperity where you're supposed to be riding around in your nice fancy cars and private jets. You know life to the full, a relief of I'm glad to be alive and my heart is mended. Check this out, john Elridge.

Speaker 1: 8:51

He says this in the book. He says Jesus is doing this on purpose. He waits until the Sabbath to heal people because he's trying to pierce to the hearts of the issue. What is God after His people? So Jesus provokes a debate by healing on the Sabbath. He does this as a dramatic illustration of the purposes of God. This is what I'm up to. I want to heal the whole man, the healing of the whole man. Do you see that the purpose of God is restoring the creation he made? That is what Christianity is supposed to do to a person Restore him or her as a human being.

Speaker 1: 9:26

Now, to really understand what this means to us, I got to go back to what I talked about week one of this series, when I talked about being bounded set versus centered set. Thinking, bounded set versus. Let me explain what that means. A bounded set is a closed system where the focus is on clear boundaries that defines who belongs in and who belongs out. Now the Pharisees and religious leaders in Jesus' time. They operated out of this bounded mindset. They determined who was in based on strict rules, following the law, perfectly avoiding sinners that aren't unclean. The outsiders meeting the cultural and religious expectations Check this out Proving their holiness through actions. I'm going to hit on that in a second, because there's a difference of pursuing holiness and proving holiness. Okay, here we go. It created an insider versus outsider. The sick, the poor, the sinful, the non-Jewish people were seen as out and the religious leaders became the gatekeepers, deciding who was good enough for God. And unfortunately, a lot of churches still operate the same way. But then there's center set thinking, moving towards Jesus. A center set doesn't focus on the boundaries. It focuses on the direction that people are moving in Instead of a fence.

Speaker 1: 10:45

Imagine a well in the middle of a desert. The goal is to be moving towards the life-giving well which is Jesus, and this is how Jesus operated. He didn't exclude based on status, race or morality. He invited everyone in. Now the pursuit of holiness is us moving towards the well. It's us moving towards God. It's when our behaviors match what we believe. It's when who we say we are, our actions match that what we worship we do. Because here's the thing you will always imitate what you worship we do, because here's the thing you will always imitate what you worship. And when we worship Jesus, we imitate what Jesus does. Okay, and so this is the well. Holiness is the well that we're moving towards. We're pursuing holiness, and it gives me clear direction to my destination, and I mean a full body, letting go of the pressure relief that comes from that. That's the first thing.

Speaker 1: 11:46

And so let's go back to these stories of the lost things that Jesus was talking about. Okay, jesus has this large crowd in front of him and there's two diverse groups listening to him tell these stories of these three lost things. Okay, check this out Now. The tax collectors and the sinners were all gathered around to hear Jesus, but the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered Two totally different groups, both needing grace, yes, both needing grace. Two totally different views of life, pathways of life, different ideas and values about life, but both need in their hearts to start moving towards the well, moving towards Jesus.

Speaker 1: 12:29

And so Jesus starts to talk about lost things and what he's doing here in these stories. I mean, it's brilliant. It's brilliant what Jesus does. He's helping both groups see how God works and how they both need God. That's what he's doing here. He says well, god, I mean, if you want to know what God is like, he's kind of like a shepherd. He's like a shepherd who if he loses one sheep, he goes after that sheep and for whatever reason that sheep leaves either, he was distracted, he was disillusioned, lost focus and he left the crowd. God is like a good, is like a seeking shepherd who goes after that one sheep and brings them back home. So he said, if you want to know what God is, that's what God is like. And then he's like well, also, if you want to know what God is like, god is kind of like a woman, and to that they'd be like skirt. What do you mean he's like? Well, he's like a woman who's lost a coin and she searches the house to find it.

Speaker 1: 13:22

Now, this is interesting because this isn't just like a penny under the couch that this woman is looking for. In modern terms, the coin would be worth around $1,200. So if you had 10 coins we're going to do some math real fast. You had 10 coins, that's $12,000. If you lost one of them, you out $1,200. See, that's why I got my GED. You would be searching too, wouldn't you, if you all of a sudden lost $1,200. Because even though the coin is lost, the value hasn't changed. Even though the coin isn't where it's supposed to be, where it needs to be it's not in my pocket the value of the coin is not gone.

Speaker 1: 14:06

And so Jesus is like well, if you want to know who God is, if you want to know what God is like, he's like a shepherd who searches, and he's like a woman who finds things that they think lost its value and restores its value. And then, on top of that, he's like well, if you really want to know what God is like, he's kind of like a father. He's like a father, and he's not just any father. He's a father of two knuckleheaded sons. He's a father of two sons that had two different views of life. You see what jesus is doing here, and so he begins to talk about this. He says this.

Speaker 1: 14:53

Jesus continued there was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father. Father, give me my share of the estate. Let me me pause real fast. Where is the young son at the beginning of this story? He's in the father's house. He's in the father's house, okay. And so if he's in the father's house, that means he has what the father has. Let's continue, all right, and so I just want you to keep that in your brain Father, give me my share of the estate. And so he divided his property between the two sons.

Speaker 1: 15:26

Now group one would hear this story and say, dang, this kid is crazy. But yeah, I would do the same. If it's mine, I spend it. That's what he's thinking. That's what they're thinking. Group two is like yes, finally, jesus is about to tell a good story. This is a story about how the father smites the wicked. See, this story of the lost son was not original to Jesus. This is a classic Jewish story that demonstrated the wrath of God. So group two is like finally, he's about to tell a story and these guys are going to get it. For a second. I thought Jesus might have been a heretic and I was going to post about him a second. I thought Jesus might have been a heretic and I was going to post about him on my YouTube channel, but maybe not, maybe not, and so check this out it says.

Speaker 1: 16:09

Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had set off on a distant country, squandered his wealth and, while living doing the stinky leg after he spent everything, there was a severe famine in the whole country and he began to be in need. So he went out, hired himself out to a citizen of the country who sent him to the fields to feed the pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the paws that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. I want you to see something here. The young son takes the father's money and he goes and does things on his own. And we usually think of the older brother as the religious rule follower in this story and we will get to him in a second. But the younger son also get this.

Speaker 1: 16:59

I want you to get this also bought into bounded set thinking Just from an opposite angle. Here you go, let me explain. His logic went like this I broke the rules, I crossed the line, so I'm out of the circle. I'm out of the circle. I'm out because of what I did. I'm no longer worthy to be called a son. This is classic, bounded, set thinking. You're in when you're clean, obedient, successful. You're out when you've sinned, failed and hit rock bottom.

Speaker 1: 17:39

So when he says I'm going to come back when the Bible says he came to his senses and he says I'm going to go back as a hired servant, that's not humility, that's disqualification. Because he was bound and set, thinking he's like well, I'm disqualified, well, at least I can be a servant, at least I can come back as a servant. And so he lost his wealth, meaning identity crisis. Who am I without my money? Another way to put it is he felt like a sheep who wandered off from the group. He's like who am I without my sheep? Then he lost his family, relational disconnection. Where do I belong? Another way to put it I feel like a coin who is lost, without value. Then he lost his belief. He was a Jewish man. Jewish people did not associate with pigs. Now he's working with them and longing to eat what they eat. You can say he's a son who's lost his home, bound it and no relief. And unfortunately, so many of us live in that same spot. If only I do more, god, if only I do better, if only I perform, because that's the gospel, isn't it? No, that's just the American way, bound it.

Speaker 1: 19:06

Group one is like, yeah, yeah, I can relate to that. Group two is like, good, you should feel bad. And Jesus, who is the well, is drawing the crowd closer to him. Luke 15, 20. So he got up and went to his father. That pollen is real outside, guys, sheesh.

Speaker 1: 19:43

And group one is like, yep, this is where he gets beat by the father, this is where it's coming. And group two is like, yep, this is where he get beat by the father. Shmite him, shmite him, lord, shmite him, shmite him. But wow, here we go. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him. Whew, whew, whew, whew, mending every heart. It ain't just a song we sing, it's a reality that you can live in. Whew, he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. And group one is like wait, what? And group two is like what? And Jesus is like if you really want to know what God is like, he's like a father who runs to his unclean child and hugs him and kisses him.

Speaker 1: 21:12

I want you to see this. I want you to see this LVC. What is Jesus doing here? The son said to him Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Yep, all true, but justification, justification. You've been saved by grace alone, by faith alone and Christ alone. Justification, you are right, absolutely, that's true, but you've been justified. You came to your senses and the moment you came to your senses, you stepped out of the bounded set and started moving towards the well. You started moving towards the well, you started moving towards the well.

Speaker 1: 21:51

But the father said to his servants quick, bring the best robe and put it on him. The robe represented restored identity, your true self. What a relief to live in your true self, and not your performance self, not the self that you put on to make sure everyone loves you, to seek approval from people who aren't even thinking about you, but my true self. I don't have to run to an addiction to find meaning. I don't have to run to this thing to find purpose, but my true self is found in the presence of my Father and he put a robe on. What a relief. My true self is found in the presence of my father and he put a robe on him. What a relief.

Speaker 1: 22:32

The son comes home dirty, smelling like pigs, rehearsing his servant's speech and before he can finish, the father says bring the best robe, not just a robe, but the best one, probably the father's own robe. And why is this? Because grace covers before shame can speak. The robe says you're not what you did, you're who I say you are. Before he earns it, before he tries to fix it, he's covered in. What a relief, what a relief. Put a ring on his finger. Ring meant sonship and inheritance. Wait, wait, didn't he burn through his inheritance with his wild, living, stinky leg? He basically said to the father you're dead to me, took his share and blew it. And yet again, when he returns, the father still gives him a ring, which means holiness isn't about earning your place.

Speaker 1: 23:25

Holiness. Isn't God saying now go prove your holiness. It's God saying let me remind you who you are. In light of this, holiness becomes not behavior management, not spiritual performance, but returning to your true identity as a beloved child of the most high God. And there's a difference in that Wholeness being restored to your true self, holiness living from that identity day by day.

Speaker 1: 23:56

And sandals on his feet, bring the calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. The father gives him sandals and says let's throw a party. This isn't just kindness, this is theology. The sandals, that's freedom. Slaves go barefoot, sons walk tall. The father says you're not crawling anymore, you're mine, you're going to walk like it. And the feast, that's joy. He's not on probation, he's not being tolerated, he's being celebrated, and that's what wholeness feels like. Dignity restored, that's what holiness looks like. Freedom and joy.

Speaker 1: 24:34

For this son of mine was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found and they begin celebrating Group one, shocked and hopeful. Oh, wait, wait, wait. The father ran to the son. He didn't lecture him. Tears are probably coming out of some of their eyes.

Speaker 1: 25:03

When Jesus described the father embracing and kissing the broken son, it's like God would do that to me. Identification, that's me. When Jesus described the father embracing and kissing the broken son, like God would do that to me, identification, that's me. I'm the son and he wants me back, which leads to relief. Finally, a spiritual teacher who isn't saying that God is shaming me, but God wants me and pursues me. For the sinner in the crowd, this story felt like living water and if you drink from it, you'll never go thirsty again. For the religious person in the crowd, the story was deeply unsettling. They thought Jesus was going to set the sinners straight and instead he's setting them straight. And this leads to the part of the story that we don't preach often, or at least I don't preach it often.

Speaker 1: 26:00

It's actually where Jesus is trying to land all three of the lost things stories, and it's about the older son. The older son hears the party is happening, there's a celebration going on, and he stays out of the father's house. He stays out of the house and he's upset, and maybe rightfully so. I don't know, but check this out. The older brother became angry and refused to go in. I want you to see this. So his father went out and pleaded with him.

Speaker 1: 26:38

Guys, where is the position of the father in both stories? He runs to the son and he goes out to the other son. In both cases, the father always pursues. The father is always in pursuit, he's always going after, he's always saying hey, here I am, I'm making myself available. God is not a distant father, he's not a neglectful father, he's not a father that makes promises but doesn't follow through. He is a father who pursues and goes after. And so again. So notice, that's the posture.

Speaker 1: 27:14

But he answered his father. Look, all these years I've been slaving for you. When did the father ever ask him to slave? And never disobeyed your orders. You never gave me a young goat, not even a New York strip so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours he don't even got a name, no more. This son of yours who has squandered your property, and he gets real, we're prostitutes. Let's say what he's really been doing. Out there Comes home. You kill the fattened calf for him. Check this out, check this out my son.

Speaker 1: 27:56

The father said you are always with me and everything I have is yours. Notice the response of the father. You're always with me. Wholeness is presence, not performance. The father doesn't lead with rebuke, he leads with relationship. He's saying you never had to earn your place. You always been in the house, you always been mine. The older son lived in the house, but he wasn't living in the love of the father. He was close in proximity but far in intimacy. Let me say that one more time he was close in proximity but far in intimacy.

Speaker 1: 28:39

And you can be going to church, raised in church, all the church stuff, but your heart could be moving away from the father, and what we got to do? But here's the good part. Here's the good part You've been raised in church, been belonging to church, been in church. You're all up against the well. All you got to do is just change your heart and get close to intimacy with the Father. Because what intimacy does? What intimacy does? It provokes healing, it provokes change, it provokes you asking questions that you don't want to ask. That's why I talked about silence and solitude last week, the reason why we need the habit of silence and solitude, because when we go to God without the noise, without the distractions, and then we have to begin to ask ourselves what am I really feeling here? What's really happening here? Not whether the distractions can distract me from, but God, what are you trying to tell me here? It's intimacy.

Speaker 1: 29:31

Wholeness is about living in the presence and nearness of God, not just doing stuff for God. And I've been in church long enough to know I could be doing the work of God and be missing the work of God. I could be doing the work of God oh, I'm serving but missing what God is doing. Lvc, we're going to keep asking the question Father, what are you doing? What are you up to? Can we be about your business? Can we be about what you're doing? Not just what the trends are doing, not what just this person on social media is doing. But what are you doing, god? What are you doing in our city, in our lives, in our communities? The Father reminds him everything I have has always been available to you. You've been living like a servant, when you're actually a son.

Speaker 1: 30:28

Holiness is not working harder to earn God's favor. It's living from the richness of your relationship with him. We don't obey to earn the inheritance. We obey because we already received it. Holiness, living from your inheritance, not towards it. The older brother lived in the house but missed the heart in holiness. Without the heart of the father, we'll always turn into bitterness. The sinners are being invited in, the religious are being invited closer. So the relief, the relief of holiness, so I can become closer to God.

Speaker 1: 31:06

Now, I don't often do this in my preaching, but today I did. I'm going to end my message. I got four action steps, four points and four questions of application. I'm not trying to sprinkle them through the whole message. I wanted to hit them all at the end for us today. Okay, here you go.

Speaker 1: 31:25

Relief number one move towards the well. We got to move towards the well. Holiness isn't about staying clean inside a fence, it's about turning your heart to Jesus. So ask yourself, which direction am I heading? Am I heading towards intimacy, towards the Father, or not?

Speaker 1: 31:44

Relief number two receive the robe, ring, sandals and feasts. Don't resist grace, receive it. Receive it and ask yourself which gift do I struggle to believe is mine right now? Identity, inheritance, freedom and joy. Relief number three let go of the bounded set. Thinking For the person, far from God. Let go of shame. You're not too far gone For the religious. Let go of striving. You're not a servant, but you are a son or daughter of the most high God. Ask yourself am I living like a son or daughter or a servant? And then, relief number four come home, come home. Where does Jesus want to take both sons in this story? Back to the house. Back to the house. Just come home, come home, ask. Do I need to come home for the first time? Or come closer?

Speaker 1: 32:52

You pray with me, god, jesus, holy Spirit, jesus, you're the well, you bring life. When I drink from you, you, I'm never thirsty again and I just feel the Holy Spirit saying but there's many wells you can drink from the well of bitterness, the well of shame For someone specifically. You've been drinking from the well of what someone you love said about you a long time ago. You've been trying to be on course correction, come, holy Spirit, but Jesus invites us to the well. He says come to me All who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Speaker 1: 34:09

So, jesus, we thank you. We thank you for your goodness, we thank you for your love, and that's why the Holy Spirit is saying he wants to mend every broken heart and he wants to mend every broken heart. There is an enemy who is ruthlessly after your heart, but there's a father who is ruthlessly going after your heart. He comes to you, whether you're like the son who came back home or the son who left the home. He pursues you Because you're valuable. So, god, we thank you. We thank you for that. We love you in this place today, in Jesus' name, amen, amen. Let's give God some praise in here today.