Homeward Bound Oh Brother! April 9, 2006 Speaker: Randal Myers

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Oh Brother - Luke 15:25-31

The older son had:

• Overriding bitterness & resentment
  • "The older brother became angry and refused to go in." - Luke 15:28
  • What caused the anger? He harbored resentment and became bitter.
    • For as churning the milk produces butter, and as twisting the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife." - Proverbs 30:33
    • That's why it's important to resolve conflicts.
• Apathy for his brother's condition
  • "The older brother became angry and refused to go in." - Luke 15:28
  • Concern seems to be replaced with contempt.
• Disregard for his father's will
  • So his father went out and pleaded with him. - Luke 15:28
  • Even if there were issues between the brothers, if he had the right regard for the Father, things would have been different.
  • You can't have a healthy relationship with the Father while having an unhealthy relationship with your brother.
    • If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. - 1 John 4:20-21
• Unhealthy attitude toward service
  • But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders.' - Luke 15:29
  • The older brother didn't consider his work to be a joy -- he looked at it as "slavery."
  • He robbed himself of the blessings he should have enjoyed by seeing his work in the Father's house as a burden.
• Unwholesome view of his deservedness.
  • All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. - Luke 15:29
  • He exaggerated his own goodness and his brother's wickedness.
  • Jesus spoke of those who had an inflated view of themselves as they compared themselves to others (Luke 18:9-14).
• Failure to recognize his benefits
  • 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.' - Luke 15:31
  • The older brother had everything but still wanted more.
  • When we discount God's blessings in our lives, discontent and unhappiness will follow us every day.

Conclusion

• This parable is really about two lost sons: one who physically left home and one who left home in his heart.

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