The Father’s Heart
Message Moments & Highlights
The father didn’t hesitate—he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him, even though he was still covered in filth. God’s love meets us right where we are, even when the world would turn away.
The son wanted to work off his debt like an employee, but the father refused. God doesn’t deal with us through contracts—He invites us into covenant love.
The Father’s words remind us that being with Him is the greatest gift. We can get caught up in achievements or comparison, but His heart is about relationship, not rewards.
The older brother missed was doing all the right things externally, but his heart wasn't aligned with his father's heart of compassion and restoration.
The Father’s Heart
This message paints a tender, pursuing Father whose love outruns our mistakes. In the familiar story of a wayward child, the Father does the unthinkable for his culture: he gathers up his robes and runs to meet the one still dirty from failure. He then covers the shame with a robe, a ring and sandals—clear signs of full welcome home.
A key principle is moving from “contract thinking” to covenant relationship. God is not tallying performances or waiting for us to work off our debt; he seeks a binding relationship grounded in promise, not a transaction based on merit. Covenants are relational and enduring, unlike contracts that are conditional and temporary. Practically, this frees us from trying to “balance the scales” with extra effort when we’ve failed; instead, we come honestly and receive grace.
Another warning is that “close” doesn’t always mean “connected”. The dutiful elder sibling stood near the house yet missed the Father’s joy, valuing reward over relationship. We’re reminded that what matters most to God is being with him—sharing his heart more than securing his benefits.
Align our hearts with the Father’s: celebrate restoration, open our tables, lift burdens, share what we have, and let compassion shape our routines. When our hearts align with his, our devotion becomes life-giving rather than ritual, and we find the richness of true relationship with God.
-
The Father's Heart: Understanding God's Unconditional Love
On this Father's Day, we're reminded that regardless of our earthly father experiences, we have a heavenly Father whose love knows no bounds. The parable of the Prodigal Son perfectly illustrates the depth and breadth of God's love for us.
What Does the Father's Heart Really Look Like?
Jesus told the parable of the Prodigal Son to two groups of people: the outcasts of society and the religious leaders. Through this story, He revealed something shocking about God's character that challenged cultural expectations.
In the parable, a younger son asks for his inheritance early—essentially telling his father, "I wish you were dead." In Jewish culture, this was the ultimate insult. The audience would have expected the father to harshly rebuke his son, but instead, the father grants his request.
The son then squanders everything and ends up feeding pigs—the symbol of uncleanliness in Jewish culture. Covered in filth and shame, he decides to return home, hoping to at least become a servant in his father's house.
How Far Will God Go to Reach Us?
What happens next reveals the true heart of the Father:
The father sees his son from a distance and runs to him. In Jewish culture, it was shameful for a father to run because it required hiking up his robes and exposing his legs. Yet the father willingly embraces shame to reach his son.
The father kisses his son repeatedly, despite the son being covered in pig filth—the very symbol of uncleanliness.
The father clothes his son with his own robe, ring, and sandals—covering his shame with symbols of family identity and honor.
This is exactly what Jesus did for us. He was shamed on the cross, carried our guilt, and clothed us with His righteousness. No matter how filthy or shameful our condition, God's love goes further than our failure.
Why Does God Reject a Contract Mentality?
When the son returns, he tries to propose a plan to work off his debt. But the father immediately rejects this idea. Why? Because the father understood that a contract would fundamentally change their relationship.
God doesn't want a contract with us—He wants a covenant. Here are three key differences:
Contracts are based on performance; covenants are based on promise. A contract says, "If you do your part, I'll do mine." A covenant says, "Even if you fail, I'll still keep my word."
Contracts are temporary; covenants are eternal. Like a bank that's friendly until your loan is paid off, contracts end. God's covenant with us never ends.
Contracts are transactional; covenants are relational. God says in Exodus 6:7, "I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God." He wants relationship, not transactions.
Many of us slip into contract thinking with God: "If I pray more, serve more, or attend church more, then God will bless me." But God wants us to come to Him freely, without trying to earn His love or pay off our debt.
Why Can Being Close to God Still Leave Us Disconnected?
The older brother in the parable reveals another important truth: being physically close to the Father doesn't mean we're connected to His heart.
The older son was angry about the celebration for his brother. He complained, "I've worked for you all these years, yet you never gave me even a young goat to celebrate with my friends."
The father's response is revealing: "Son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours." The older son didn't understand that what was most valuable to the father wasn't wealth or security—it was relationship.
Many of us can fall into the same trap: "God, I've done all the right things. I've gone to church, served on teams, and read my Bible. So why haven't I received my breakthrough?" We miss that the greatest blessing is simply being in relationship with God.
What Does True Alignment with God's Heart Look Like?
In Isaiah 58:6-9, God reveals what He truly desires:
"Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you; let the oppressed go free; remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help."
God promises that when our hearts align with His, "Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal... Then when you call, the Lord will answer. 'Yes, I am here,' he will quickly reply."
This is what the older brother missed. He was doing all the right things externally, but his heart wasn't aligned with his father's heart of compassion and restoration.
Life Application
This week, take time to examine your relationship with God:
Are you relating to God through a contract or a covenant? Do you feel like you need to earn God's love or pay off your debt to Him?
Are you close to God but not connected to His heart? Are you going through religious motions without experiencing the joy of relationship?
What would it look like for your heart to be more aligned with the Father's heart this week? How might you show the same compassion, forgiveness, and restoration to others that God has shown to you?
Remember, our heavenly Father doesn't want a Father's Day card—He wants your heart. He is the God who runs to you, embraces you in your filth, and clothes you with His righteousness. His love knows no bounds, and nothing you've done can separate you from that love.
-
A discussion guide for the sermon can be found here.
-
ll right, well, we're going to get into the Word.
Who brought a Bible with them this morning? Have you got a physical Bible with you? Come on. Praise. Hey, all the youth.
Come on. Praise the Lord. Hands up if you've got a digital Bible like me up here. Come on. We should all have a Bible one way or the other.
So why don't you open up your Bibles or your phones, your Bibles or your Bible apps. We're going to be Turning to Luke 15. Luke 15, we're going to be reading from. From verse 11. And if you guys know your Bible at all, you probably hear Luke 15 on a day like Father's Day, and you're probably thinking to yourself, oh, of course, man.
Classic, classic scripture. For Father's Day, we're going to be looking at this verse. And Luke 15 is a part of a sermon that Jesus is preaching to two groups of people. He's preaching it to a group of Gentiles, that and that being people that are not the children of God, they're people that are either Gentiles. They're not Jewish people, or maybe they were Jewish people, but they've been cast out of society for sin or whatever it is, or leprosy or whatever it is.
They've got something wrong with them. And then he's also speaking to the Pharisees, which are the religious leaders. They're the pastors, if you would, of that generation. And so he's talking to these two groups of. Of people, and he's doing this sermon, and he's preaching to the people, and he's explaining about the Father's heart.
And that's what I've entitled my message this morning, the Father's Heart. And Jesus is speaking to these people, and he's talking about how the heart of the Father is one that is consistently chasing after the lost. So he gives us three parables. The first two are about finding objects that have been lost in your life. But the third parable that he brought, the crescendo of his sermon, is this parable that I think we've all heard before, and it's the parable of the Prodigal son.
Hands up if you've heard that story before. The Prodigal Son. Yeah. See, a lot of us. A lot of us have heard this story before, and we're gonna.
We're gonna read this story, and then we're gonna break it down, because I think this is one of those stories that we've all heard before. We've all heard the message before, but I think if you really look at the details of this, it really, really encapsulates to us the heart of the Father and how that Father loves us. Amen. You ready to get into it? Before we do that, though, I need a volunteer.
I need someone that's really good at reading because I am, like, really sick of my own voice, and I need someone to read this scripture for me. So come on. Why don't we make some noise for Joash as he comes up? Come on, Joash. Get up here, man.
I always say to him, every youth night, I was like, when you dob someone else in, I'm gonna pick you. And he's pointing to Tyler, like, pick him. Pick him. I'm picking you then, man. Come on, jump up here, man.
I've got it here in front of you in albeit very small text. Otherwise, it'll be behind you. So to illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story. A man who had two sons. The youngest 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. A few days later, this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land. And there he wasted all his money in wild living.
About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything. When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, at home, even the hired servants have food enough to spare.
And here I'm dying of hunger. I will go home to my father and say, father, I have sinned against both heaven and you and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant. So he returned home to his father, and while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Full of love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.
His son said to him, father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I no longer worthy of being called your son. But his father said to the servants, quick, bring the finest robe in the house and bring. Put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet and kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and now has returned to life.
He was lost, but now he is found. So the party began. Meanwhile, the oldest son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house and he asked one of the servants what was going on. Your brother is back, he was told, and your father has killed a fat calfed.
We are celebrating because of his safe return. The older brother was angry and wouldn't go in. His father came out and begged him, but replied, all these years I've slaved you for you have never once refused to do a single thing you told me. And in all that time, you never gave me one young goat for feast with my friends. Yet when his son.
Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate my killing with the fattened calf. 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 not dead and has come back to life. He was lost, but now he's found.
Come on make some noise for Joash. What a champion. Hey, everyone, watch this kid. This kid is gonna got the hand of God on him, leadership on him. Amen.
He's one of our up and coming great youth leaders in the youth, doing a great job. Great job. Joe. Ash, I'll tell you what, it's. I mean, honestly, we could just leave it there, couldn't we?
I mean, what a powerful story. I mean, this is a quote from Jesus preaching. And so how do you really add something to a sermon that the Son of God was given? It's kind of all there. I mean, what a powerful story of the Father's heart for us.
Because of course, the point of this story is that we're meant to identify with the younger brother. We're meant to identify as one of a sinner, one that had lost our way at some point. And then when we thought it was unavailable or unattainable for us to get in reconciliation with the Father, what happens? We come to the Father and the Father comes running from to us to greet us back, welcome us back into the family and establish us as a child of God again, isn't it? Amen.
And I want to look at three things from this verse. And I know we've probably all got Father's Day plans, or a lot of us have got Father's Day plans. And so I'll preach quick so we can all get to that. So press in for 20 minutes, we'll go through a few things and then we'll finish up. Yeah.
So there's three things I want to tell you. The first is this. The father. The father. Father's heart knows no bounds.
And I know this is probably stating the absolute obvious because of course the Father's heart knows no bounds. But you know, this, this parable of the. The prodigal son. Can I tell you that it is absolutely teeming with cultural context that us in our Western society, we would totally miss a lot of what's going on in this passage. Because what you have to know is that this passage, passage was shocking to the Jewish people, absolutely shocking to these people.
This story did not go anywhere remotely near what they expected the ending of this story was going to be. And I want to explain a couple of those things to you right now. And the first is this. Obviously the younger son, he's looking for this inheritance and he's saying to his dad, he's saying, hey, I don't want to wait for you to pass away, so is it cool if I take your inheritance now? You know, what he's saying in that moment, he's just saying, dad, can you hurry up and die?
Because I really need some money. So if you can just hurry up and die or so I can get this money, that would be great. You know, this is to the Jewish people. You have to understand, this is the biggest insult that you can give someone. You are wishing death upon them.
You are saying, I don't care about you. All I care about is the wealth that you're going to give me one day, and so can I please have that wealth? This is so insulting. And what you have to understand is that for the Jewish people, they would have been expecting for the father to absolutely tear into the son the disrespect that he's showing him right here, the palazzi attitude that he has. They were expecting the father, father to absolutely tell this son off.
But what does the father do? He lets him on his way. He goes, well, son, if that's your will, if that's really what you want, then of course I'll sell off my land and I will give you that inheritance. Now, you have to understand, the connection between someone and their land was so strong in those days. It was your land.
It was a part of your being. It was a sign of all that you had accomplished, accomplished what you were producing with your land. And if we look at this story, it sounds like this father has done quite well for himself on this land. It is a part of his livelihood. It's a part of his identity.
What this son is asking is to say, can you get rid of all that you've worked for, all that you've worked hard for? It doesn't matter. I just want the money. It's super insulting to the dad. And so he goes on.
Obviously, the younger brother goes, goes on. He lives this life. He squanders all his money. He finds himself in the pig pen feeding the pigs. And he thinks to himself, what is this life that's become of me?
Hey, even my father's servants live better than this. I should return to my father. And we gotta understand what is the one thing that in Jewish culture is seen as the most unclean animal imaginable? The pigs. This guy is stuck here cleaning up after, covered in the suit of.
What is the symbol of sin. It is the symbol of uncleanliness to the Jewish people is the pigs. And here the son is, and he's found himself wrapped up in looking after these pigs. And you know, my cousins, they. Well, my dad's cousins, they used to own a pig Farm, right.
And I remember the first time I went to the pig farm and we went and visited. Man, can I tell you, the moment I stepped out of that car, that smell was unbelievably bad. It was one of the worst smells I have ever smelled in my whole life. And the pigs weren't even that close to us. We were over at the house.
The pig farm was a few kilometers away, but you could still smell the stench of these pigs in the air. And so you got to imagine that this is covered in the filth of these pigs. He's smelling like the pig. It is the symbol of the most unclean that you can. Most unclean thing in society.
And so he is covered in this filth. He is covered in this shame. He's actually the language here, when it talks about the son moving away, the language suggests that he actually went to a different country. It wasn't just that he went to a neighboring town. And so he's traveled a long way way.
So he's probably stinky. He's smelling like pig. He hasn't had a bath or a shower or anything like that. He's sweaty from all his travels. And here he is, he's coming to the father's house.
And what does the father do in that moment? He runs. Now, here's another thing that you might not understand. And to be honest, I'm going to tell you and you're going to laugh because it just doesn't make sense to us. But in a.
In our culture, but back in that culture, in the Jewish culture culture, fathers would never run. They would never run. And it's not for the reason you might think. It wasn't because they were trying to, you know, watch themselves or there was a dignity in not, you know, having to rush anywhere or anything like that. It wasn't.
They, you know, had a sore back that day. Any. They weren't trying to run. One of the big things in Jewish culture is that it was actually very shameful for a father to expose their legs. I know that seems.
That seems weird. I know. Steve, what are you doing, man? You're wearing shorts, man. In church.
That's unreal, bro. It was shameful for these fathers to show any sign of their legs. So what they would do is they would wear these long robes that went down to their feet. And so the reason fathers would never run wasn't because of any health reasons or anything like that. It was because in order to run, what they would have to do is they would have to hike up their ropes show their legs in order to get into, like, a full sprint, right?
And so this was actually very shameful for the father to do. Other people around him would have looked down upon him going, I can't believe that this father is exposing himself like that. It's like, if I came up to preach this morning and I was just wearing, like, a Speedo or something, I guarantee every single one of you would be looking away and be like, oh, my gosh. They would stop the shit stream. They turn off the lights just so you didn't have to see it.
Everybody would be thinking, well, this is shameful, as, what is this guy doing? But I got to tell you, that is like, the level of shame that was. This guy was. Was presenting himself in by hiking up his robe and running to the sun. Everyone would have been like, whoa, we don't want to see your legs, man.
That thing is hairy. We don't want to see that. But this is the heart of the father. Amen. The heart of the farmer.
That is that heart of the farmer. Is that even if it's causing me shame or it's breaking the stereotypical norms. I'm chasing after my son. Yeah, I'm chasing after my son. Then what happens?
The father comes up to the son, and what does the scripture says? It says he kisses him. In fact, the grammar here. Most scholars kind of agree that the grammar here suggests that he was actually repeating kissing him. Replacement repeatedly, as if to say, oh, my gosh, my son, my son, my son.
That's how he was kissing him. But he was covered in filth of pigs. He would have smelt like pigs. He was probably covered in a little bit of pig poop. Are we allowed to say poop in church?
I don't know. But he was just covered in filth. Anybody else in society would have smelt him a fair distance away and. And tried to avoid him, but not the father. Because when the father sees that the son is coming back, he runs to him, even though it shames him.
He kisses him even though he's covered in filth. Then what's the other thing that the father does? Puts a robe over him, puts the family ring on him, the family signet, puts sandals on his feet. But what you have to understand church is that people back then, they didn't just have these luggage luxuries just laying around. It's not like if you go to Pastor Harry's house and you see his closet, he's got, like, 80 pairs of sneakers in his room.
It's unbelievable. They weren't like that. They had maybe one, maybe two pairs of sandals. Right? And so where did all of these clothes come from?
They weren't just sitting around. It was the father's robe, it was the father's ring, it was the father's sandals that he would have placed upon him. And so we get this beautiful picture of what the Father's heart really is. It's not just this cutesy, adorable love. It's this sort of love that goes, even if I have to shame myself, I'm running after you, even if you stink and the stench on you is the literal symbol of uncleanness, cleanliness.
I'm still getting up in there. I'm hugging you, I'm kissing you. When you feel naked and when you feel like you are not dressed in excellence, I will clothe you. I will put my rub over you. I will cover the shame that you currently have.
I will cover that with my robe. I will put my ring on your finger. I will symbolize that you are a part of this family again. I'll put sandals on your feet. Come on.
And isn't that just the most perfect, perfect view of Jesus sacrifice for us? Because what does the Bible tell us? Jesus was shamed on the cross. He was mocked by people. He carried our guilt and our shame and the filth that we carry.
Jesus got up in that business. He got amongst you, even though that you were the sign of uncleanliness.
Jesus got around you. He wanted to love you. He ran to you even if it shamed him.
Thanks, Harry. Harry's a sound guy. He knows I was like, what are these guys trying to tell me to do? They're all giving me these hand signals. Thanks for interpreting, Harry.
I appreciate you. Apparently I was covering the receiver at the bottom.
So this is the love of the Father, isn't it? This is the love of the Father. It's not one that is just surface level. No matter who you are this morning, no matter what you've gone through, the heart of the Father knows no bounds. Amen.
Come on, turn to the person next to you and say, God's love goes further than my failure. God's love goes further than my failure.
The second thing is this.
The second thing that we have to understand about the heart of the Father is that we have to break the contract mentality. We have to break the contract mentality. Now, what do I mean by that? Has anybody ever worked in hospitality before? Can I get a show of hands?
Who's worked hospitality before? Well, we got a lot of hospitality people Here, come on. Amen. Hospitality is probably one of the worst jobs that you can ever work in your entire life. It is miserable working hospitality, or at least that was my experience in it.
When I was in university, I used to work at a place called TGI Fridays. Anyone know that restaurant? They just recently opened up one in Frankston. And TGI Fridays, it's this place where it's kind of this American style restaurant, if you haven't been before. And really, like, the atmosphere is trying to be this very American diner atmosphere, which is, you know, overly positive and overly welcoming.
And so I was what they would call a host. So I was the guy greeting everybody at the door. And so I'd be welcoming, welcoming them in and then take him to the table. And I would just stand there. I'd be like, hey, welcome to TGI Friday.
So good to have you here. Kind of actually being like welcoming at church, actually, it's very similar. So if you've done welcoming before, you'd probably be good at TGR Fridays as well. But I would be overly positive. And it doesn't matter what my day's been like, doesn't matter how I'm feeling.
I always have to be positive, right? My hospitality people know what I'm talking about. Amen. And so I remember there was this one time my manager was. I learned a lot about leadership from manager, but because he was just so terrible that it showed me everything I shouldn't do as a leader.
There goes the water. And so I remember there was this one shift that we were doing at TGI Fridays where. And this is bad, I will admit it's not ideal, but we gave a customer a chipped glass. You ever had that where you order a drink, you get the glass, the glass is a little bit chipped, and you can kind of cut your lip on the. On the glass.
On the. Chipped in the glass. It's not good, right? Obviously, it's not something that we want, and we don't want to give people that. But one of our customers, his daughter was a young daughter, was about 10 years old, got one of these chipped glasses.
And he was angry. He went ballistic. Now, the daughter didn't hurt herself. She wasn't hurt at all. But the very mere fact that she could have got hurt set this guy off, right?
And so he was jumping up in the restaurant and he was screaming at everybody, and he was. He was saying, don't you know what you could have done to my daughter? Don't you know you could have heard her and was just really just flipped his lid, right? And so my manager steps in, and bless his heart, he. Instead of de.
Escalating the situation or trying to comp some meals for this guy, do you want to know what he did in order to resolve this problem? This is what he did. He got all of the staff working on that shift to meet him and this company customer out the back of house. So in the restaurant part where all the food's being cooked, he lined up all the staff members in a line, and then one by one, he got them to step forward, and he allowed this customer to shout at that staff member as much as he wanted. And then they just moved on to the next person.
And can I tell you, I was so furious at this guy. I was like, oh, my God. We actually had so many people quit after that incident. It was crazy. I didn't quit because it was the only job that I could find where they wouldn't get me to work Friday nights for youth and Sundays for church.
So I was like, I'll put up with the bad job. But anyway, the thing I'm trying to say is that my relationship with this guy was interesting because even though I. I'm not gonna say the word hate, cause that's unbiblical, but as close as you can get to that point, I very, very strongly dis. Disliked this guy, and I didn't respect him at all. But do you know what happened when I saw him at work the next day? Hey, mate, how you going?
So good to see you. Hey, let's have a good shift today. Because ultimately, at the end of the day, right, And I think we've all been in this position before, this is the guy that's paying me at the end of the week. So I'm still going to be nice to him. Now, even though I'm nice to him, is that a sign that we've got a strong relationship?
Relationship? Even though I'm asking him about his week, I'm asking how he's going. Is that a sign that we've got any sort of deep connection together? No. Why is that?
Because it's a contract. It's not a relationship. It's a contract. We, at the start of me working at TGI Fridays had decided, if you do X, Y, and Z, then I'm going to pay you an amount. And as long as you keep doing X, Y, and I'm going to keep paying you that amount.
And so it's a contract. And so what's really interesting about this story with the prodigal son is what happens. The son, the younger son, he comes up to the father and he starts proposing this idea that he has in order to pay off his debts, which, if we're really honest, is a good heart to have. I mean, it's good to have the heart of paying off debts, right? But he's coming to the father and he's saying, all right, dad, this is my plan.
I'm going to become an apprentice for one of your servants. I'm going to learn a trade, and then I'm just going to keep working for you until I can pay off this debt. And the heart of the father was saying, no, you are not going to do that, because that's a contract. And the father understood that if he had gone through with that plan, that the it would have fundamentally changed the relationship that he had with the son. It would have fundamentally changed their relationship.
You know, the son, anytime, he would have stuffed up in that contract, if they had gone through with his idea, he would have gotten to those points where he stuffs up, he makes a mistake. And his relationship with his father was always going to be viewed in how good or how bad he's doing. That's a contract meant. And I want to say to you today that our God, our Father, our spiritual father, he doesn't want a contract with you. He wants a covenant with you.
That's what he said to Abraham. He said, I'm gonna make a covenant with you and not a contract. And let me explain the difference here. You see three things about contracts versus covenants. One is that contracts are based on performance.
Covenants are based on promise. A contract says, if you do your part, I'll do mine. But a covenant says, even if you fail, I'll still keep my word. That's the heart of the Father. Amen.
God's heart toward us is unconditional. His love doesn't rise and fall on our performances. It rests on his promise. Amen. I love what it says in Romans 8:29.
No power in the sky above or in the earth below. Indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Come on. That's a covenant.
That's not a contract. The other thing. Second thing, contracts are temporary. Covenants are eternal. Do you ever have that relationship with your bank where maybe you've got a home loan, or you've got a car loan, or you've got some bills that you need to pay and you'll get those Phone calls from the bank saying, hey, Michael.
Hey, we're just letting you know we've got a new credit card deal that you might be interested in. End. Or we've got new terms on a loan. Maybe you want to refinance, and they'll be really nice to you and they'll be really polite to you. They might be the nicest person that you meet that week.
But the moment that you stop paying or the moment that that contract is finished, they're not calling you again, are they? The relationship is done. This is why God doesn't want a contract relationship. He wants a covenant. Amen.
Third thing, contracts are transactions. Contractional covenants are relational. A contract is about exchanging goods or services. A covenant is about binding two lives together.
God says to us in Exodus 6, 7, it says, I will take you to be my people and I will be your God. Wow. Come on. That's the heart of the fight, Father, isn't it? You actually can't do anything to earn his love.
It is freely given it to you. It's not a contract, it's a covenant. Amen. And where we can really slip into the wrong way of thinking in this is that there might be times where you might be doing all the right things, but possibly under this notion that you have a gift.
Oh, God, I just. I'm so sorry for what I did. And, God, I stuffed up this week. I did that thing that I wasn't meant to do. I fell into temptation in this way.
And so. So, God, instead of that, I'm just gonna. I'm just gonna pray because if I. If I pray, I'll feel better about myself because I'm. I'm evening the scales, right?
I'm balancing out what's happened this week. But can I tell you, that's not the sort of relationship God wants. He doesn't want the sort of relationship with you where you're just coming to him in order to balance the scale. He doesn't want you coming to him with some sort of plan to earn back your debt. Oh, God, if you would just do this in my life, then I will do this.
God, I'm willing to give you X amount of hours if you would just do this in my life. That's a contract mentality. But God wants a covenant. Amen. He wants a covenant with you.
He wants a deep relationship with you. One of the things that I'm really proud about in Gabzoniah Mass, marriage. Like, we had a. We had an argument this week, right? And we had an argument we were fighting about something.
And, you know, one thing I'm proud of is that our fights never really escalate like to shouting or anything like that. But, you know, after that, that fight ended. We were laughing about it 10 minutes later. We just allowed God to move in in that argument. And then when God sorted out our hearts and, you know, realigned both of us so we were on the same page.
We were laughing about it. We were acting as if it never happened. Can I tell you, that's covenant thinking, and that's the sort of thinking that God wants from you. You might have already been forgiven, but you're wrapped up in the guilt of what's happened before. Can I tell you, God wants the sort of relationship with you where it's just forgive and forget.
Forgive and forget. I love that message that Pastor Allen was sharing with us a couple of weeks ago about God forgetting it. Does he actually forget? No, he doesn't. He knows everything, but he's acting as if he's forgotten it.
And so you need to act like you've forgotten it as well. Don't act like you're under this burden, like you're under this debt. God just wants you to come to him freely. Amen. Amen.
Third thing is this. Third point is this, and then we'll finish up. The third thing is that close doesn't mean connected. Close doesn't mean connected. You see, if we look at the story of the prodigal son, a lot of the time we emphasize the younger son because that's really the person that we're all meant to relate to, the person that lost their way and has been restored into relationship with the father.
But, you know, I don't think we actually talk about the older son enough, because actually, the older son, his heart and where he's at, I think is very relatable for a lot of us. You see the oldest son, he's working in the fields. He comes back at the end of the day, he's worked a hard day, and he goes, oh, man, I smell the barbecue. We're cooking meat tonight. Ribs are on the grill, man.
This is a good day. So he goes off to his servant and he's got, oh, here, D dancing. We're having a party. What are we having a party for? And he goes to one of his servants and he says, hey, what are we doing?
We're celebrating what's happening? And the servant tells him, hey, your brother's come back. Actually. How good is that? Your brother has come back and your father has Restored him back into the family.
And his whole demeanor changes.
Whole demeanor? What? What do you mean? My brother's back and we're. And he goes to the dad.
He rushes to the daddy, dad, what's going on? Why have you slaughtered the fattened calf? What's going on? And that might not really make sense to us again in our culture because, you know, we have meat often, right? Unless, you know, dietary, you're not doing it.
But generally, in our society, we're eating a lot of meat, right? But what you have to understand about these people in the time that they were living is that meat was seen as the absolute luxury. It was an absolute luxury. And the cream of the crop of that luxury was beef. Oh, man, that was the most expensive meat that you could have back then.
And so his brother is going to the dad, and he's going, dad, you wouldn't even give me a goat when I wanted to celebrate with friends. And yet this brother's coming back and you're giving him the fattened calf. See, we have to understand is that meat back then was kind of like the person who. With the pool. Not every family has a pool.
And you might not go. You might not ever. You might spend a whole year and not go into a pool, but you want to be friends with the person that has the pool. Amen. If it's a hot summer day, you want to know someone with a pool because you're all congregating together and you're jumping in that pool for maybe a once in a year pool party.
Am I right? You know, this is like what meat was. It was like not every family was ever going to have meat in their just, like, general diet, ever. But you wanted to know the person that had meat because when they had meat and when they chose to eat meat, it was seen as such a delicacy that they wouldn't keep it for themselves. They would open it up to the whole community.
It was such a rare event, and it was only done for the absolute most highest celebrations. And so what does the older father teach us about the heart of the father? You see the older part, Brother. He didn't understand what was happening because really, he was thinking to himself, if there's anything that we should be, that we should be celebrating, should be me, shouldn't be the younger brother. Dad, haven't you seen what he spent his money on?
All the heinous things that he's done with his life? Dad, I've been the one that's been working in the fields. I'VE been the one that's been the good son. I've been the one that's been doing all the right things. How come we're not using this calf to celebrate my life and the things that I've done?
Even when I wanted to celebrate? You wouldn't even give me a goat yet you're doing it for this.
And the father's response to this is really interesting because he says, son, you were with me this whole, whole time.
And on top of that, everything that I have is yours. I already gave your brother's inheritance share to him. So guess what? Every other thing that I have is yours. But what's the first thing he says?
I was with you the whole time. See, the son didn't understand that what was most important to the father was not wealth, was not security, was not things. It was just relationship. The thing that was really valuable in this moment was not the things. It was the fact that he didn't go a single day without deviating from his relationship with his dad.
See, he was close to the father, but he wasn't connected to the father's heart. He didn't understand what was truly important to the father. And this older son, in his arrogance, has really lost in touch with what's really valuable, what life is really all about. Amen. And I wonder how many of us can be like that sometimes in our walk.
God, I've done all the right things. God, don't you see how many times I've gone to church? Don't you see that when I'm praising and worshiping, I'm lifting my hands, I'm singing the songs, I serve on the Catholic team. I'm doing welcoming, I'm there at the alpha groups. I'm doing all the right things.
So, God, how come I haven't gotten my breakthrough?
How come you haven't blessed me in the same way you've blessed this other person?
And God's just there going, don't you get that the whole point of this is just relationship with me? It's not about the things that I give you. It's not about the inheritance you get from me. This is about the relationship. Don't you see that that is the most important thing?
That that is so much richer than any of these other things that I could give you. You had relationship with me. You know, one of our youth kids asked me a couple of weeks ago, and it was just really funny. They were saying to me, me, hey, Michael, don't you think sometimes it's unfair that we. That are Christians that have been living a good life, that we do all the right things, but then someone might be doing all the wrong things and they get all the pleasures of the world and they're out partying and having a good time, but then at the end of their life, they become saved and then they almost get the best of both worlds.
I just said to this guy and I was like, bro, you missed the whole point. Don't you see that it's just about the relationship with the Father. All those other things are worthless in compared to the relationship with the Father. Amen. With that sort of Father that.
Whose love is so strong, that is so great that he chases after us even though we're covered in filth, we're covered in muck, and restores us into the family of God. Even when we didn't deserve it, even when we have all the debt in the world, even when we squandered every good thing that he's given us, he still chases after us. Amen. That's what it's about. It's what the older brother didn't understand.
He was close to the Father, but he wasn't connected with the Father. Can I say to you tonight there was a great terror temptation to feel like we're doing all the right things in life and to feel like we're owed something by God.
Can I tell you this morning that that is a. It is a great temptation, but can I tell you to stay away from it because you're going to rob yourself of an incredible relationship with our Heavenly Father. Amen. I want to show you one more verse and then we'll finish up. And I think, to me, this is one of the coolest things verses in the Bible.
And it really shows to me the heart of the Father and what the Father wants from us. And I'm just going to show you the first line of this verse and I want you to guess what God's about to say here. It comes From Isaiah, chapter 58, verse 6 to 9. Bit of context here. The Israel people, the Israelites, God's people, they're talking about and they're boasting about how good they are at fasting, how they are suffering for God and that they are going with hunger and they are really diligent in fasting and they're wearing burlap and they're making a big show and dance of it.
And God has this response to them in Isaiah 58 and all the fasting that they're doing, and he says to them, no, this is the kind of fasting I want. And we might think if we just read that first line that God is saying, no. The type of fasting that I want is someone that's diligent in prayer. It's someone that just comes before me in private and is reading their word and is studying me and is seeking me and is spending time with me. We might think that that's what God is about to say to them here.
But that's not what he says. He says this. No, this is the kind of fasting that I want. Free those who are wrongly imprisoned. Lighten the burden of those who work for you.
Let the oppressed go free and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help. Then he says, then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.
Then when you call, the Lord will answer, yes, I am here. He will quickly reply, see, what I feel like God is trying to say to us in this passage is that you can be doing all the right things. You can be making all these decisions that on the outside are really great and are really in line with what God wants for your life. But can I tell you this? This morning, if you're doing all of those things and your heart isn't aligned as well, then God doesn't care about any of that.
God doesn't care about any of that. Isn't it true what it says in 1 Samuel 16:7, man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the the heart. You could be doing all the right things. You could be saying all the right things. You could be serving in all the right ways.
You could be reading your Bible every single day. You could be praying, you could be doing this, you could be doing that. But ultimately, in the end of the day, if your heart doesn't align with the heart of God, then it's all for nothing. This is what the older brother didn't understand. He was close to God, but he wasn't connected with the heart of the Father.
He wasn't connected to God.
So I want to encourage you this morning. There is a deep, deep wealth. There is a deep richness that is obtained when our heart is in line with the Father's heart. Amen. When we submit ourselves to the authority of the Father, Father, and we enjoy it with our heart, man, there is a lot of wealth that is obtained in that.
But it's hard to do. It is extremely hard to do. That's why I thank God that every single day that I chase after him, he changes my heart little bit by little, bit by little bit, day after day after day.
And can I encourage you, Church? And this is gonna not sound like an encouragement, but it is encouraging encouragement. I really think that this is maybe one of the biggest concepts that's affecting the modern church at the moment.
Because I see a lot of people doing the right things. I see a lot of people making good decisions and doing the things that we would consider to be holy and acceptable, but their heart is in a total different place.
You see, I really believe that if we truly were in line with the Father, if we truly were in line with the heart of the Father, we would never miss a Sunday of church. I guarantee it. Because I know that this moment, right here is an opportunity for heaven to meet earth. Why would I want to miss out on that? If I'm.
If I'm in line with the heart of the Father, why would I ever want to miss out out on that? Do you know, in my marriage, if I'm truly in line with the heart of the Father, we're praying together, we're seeking God together, we're sharing revelations together. And in that we find a wealth, a wealth of riches that is far greater than any inheritance that we could get. Amen. If we were truly in line with the heart of the Father, we would be doing those things that it says in Isaiah.
Free those that are wrongly in prison. Lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free. Remove the chains. Share your food with the hungry and give shelter to the homeless.
Give clothes to those who need them. And do not hide from relatives who need your help. I mean, that's just a very obscure list, but we can see what God is trying to say to us today morning, isn't it? We can see what he's saying.
If your heart is in line with me, then you will naturally do these things. And what does God say after that? He says to us, then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. In other words, the things that you've been praying for, they will come to pass. But you have to be in line with the heart of the Father.
Your godliness will lead you forward. It will lead you to victory. You will get wisdom beyond your years, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind. Then when you call, the Lord will answer. Yes, here I am.
He will reply quickly. Come on. Who knows that we don't have anything without the heart of the Father in our lives? We don't have anything without the relationship of God in our lives. And can I encourage you this morning?
Maybe you're here this morning and you've been facing the same problem. You've been going around the same problem time and time and time again and you feel like you're doing all the right things. You feel like you're making the right decisions. But if you were honest with yourself this morning, you might say, yeah, but my heart's not quite there. Maybe this has just become ritualistic for you and there's no shame in that.
It happens to a lot of us. Happens to everyone, I would say. But the important thing is that we've got to recognize it. Am I coming to Sunday because it's another thing off the to do list or am I coming on a Sunday because I really want to get closer with the God, with the Father of my life? Am I doing these things?
Am I loving on other people just because I feel like that's the right thing to do? Or have I allowed God to truly transform my heart and that I actually get joy out of it? Because can I tell you, it's a hard thing to achieve. If you continue to press into God, continue to open up your heart, he will do that for you. Amen.
Come on. If we could just all close our eyes where we are. We're gonna finish up in just a moment. If you could bow your heads and close your eyes. I just would hate to leave this opportunity when maybe we've got people here this morning that don't know what the love of the Father is like.
Maybe you're here this morning and the whole idea of Father's Day or the love of a father, it's just something that fills you with dread because that's not been your experience. You haven't seen that love from a father. You haven't seen that idea of a good father before in your life. Can I say to you that wherever you are this morning, that it is absolutely 100% true. True.
That there is a God in heaven that calls himself your father.
You know, one of the biggest joys in my whole life is my 6 month year old Raya, my little baby girl, just saying over her that I am her father. That is how she identifies with me. I am her father. It gives me such joy to be able to say that. Can I tell you, our God says the same thing about you?
This morning, it fills him with such joy to call himself your father. Because he is the God that even when you're covered in filth, even when you're covered in muck, even when you are dirty, smelly, you are totally full of shame. Can I tell you that same God still loves you enough to run up to you, throw his arms around you, kiss you on the neck, and call you his child, because that is what you are this morning. So come on, if you're here this morning and you've never known that love, you've never given your life over to God, you've never considered yourself a Christian, and you would like to do that this morning while no one's looking around, could you just raise your hand where you are? I would just love to pray for you this morning.
If you've never known the love of God and you're saying, yeah, I want that in my life this morning.
Awesome.
So good. You can put your hand down. Hey, we just going to say a prayer. And that's awesome that you want to make that decision this morning. It says in the Bible that when you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, that he will save you, save you from your sin, save you from that filth, he will be that person to throw that robe over you to cover your shame, to put that family ring on your finger and call you his child.
And so we're just going to pray a prayer and we're all going to repeat after me. And I especially want those that just raised their hand to really mean this and say this in their heart, because you're accepting God into your life. So everybody repeat after me, say, dear God, I thank you that you are the good, good Father. Lord, would you continue to guide me in my life? Father, I give my life over to you this morning.
I repent of all my sins, I repent of my shame, and I just hand all my guilt over to you, God. Jesus, I recognize you as dying on the cross. Would you save me this morning? I give my life over to you in Jesus name. Come on.
And everybody said amen. Come on. Can we give a round of applause for those that made that decision for the first time? How awesome. Can I tell you it's the greatest decision that you'll ever make in your whole life, putting your love and trust in God.
I know we've all got plans for celebrations today. So before I let you go, can I just pray over you this morning? God, I just pray for these people this morning, God, I just pray that as they leave this place that you would just place a seat of this word in their heart. Father God. Father God, I just ask that right now that you would just lead all your people and fill them with wisdom and show them your heart.
God, would you show them that you are the God that runs after them, that kisses them repeatedly, that puts that robe over them, that wants a covenant with them, not a contract? That you would show them that there is so much richness and wealth that is found in aligning with your heart. That's so, Father God, I pray for everybody here. I pray that as we celebrate Father's Day, those who have good experiences with fathers, those who have bad experience with fathers. God, I just pray that all of us alike can know and celebrate that we have a good father in heaven that loves us, that cares for us and is running after us.
And so, Father God, we thank you for all that you're doing in our lives. Come on. And everybody, he said, in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you, Church.
Come on. Why don't we all stand to our feet, Turn around to the person behind you. Say, it's good to see you this morning. Introduce yourself to someone new this morning. Stick around for coffee and morning tea.
We'll see you next week. We love you, Church.
Related Bible Verses
Luke 15:11–32 (NLT)
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.
“A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.
“When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’
“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. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’
“But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.
“Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, and he asked one of the servants what was going on. ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’
“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!’
“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!’”
Read on Bible.com
Isaiah 58:6–9 (NLT)
“No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people.
Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.
Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.
Then when you call, the Lord will answer. ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.”
Read on Bible.com
1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV)
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Read on Bible.com
Romans 8:38–39 (NLT)
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.
No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Read on Bible.com
Exodus 6:7 (ESV)
I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
Read on Bible.com