Theological Status: ACTIVE HERESY
Biblical Parallel(Archetype): Thyatira
❓ What do these grades mean?
🔍 Biblical Discernment: The 7 Church Parallels
The Cold Orthodox Parallel
Ephesus
Teaching that upholds doctrinal precision yet parallels the loss of the "first love"—the vital, motivating power of the Gospel (Rev 2:4).
The Compromised Parallel
Pergamum
Teaching that parallels churches tolerating the "doctrine of Balaam" through cultural accommodation (Rev 2:14), characterized by weak boundaries, sloppy theology, and worldly compromise.
🧐 Overview
Theological Verdict & Summary
Sermon Summary: While the sermon effectively illustrates God's desire to restore humanity, it fundamentally compromises the Gospel by teaching that Christ's sacrifice automatically saves every person, regardless of faith.
Pastoral Analysis: The sermon demonstrates strong pastoral warmth and clear application of the Prodigal Son narrative. However, it contains critical theological errors regarding the scope of the Atonement. The teaching that Jesus died to save 'every single one of us' and works salvation for 'all humanity' contradicts the biblical truth that the Atonement is efficacious only for those who believe. This error undermines the necessity of personal faith and the particular nature of God's saving grace.
Biblical Parallel (Archetype): Thyatira — The sermon exhibits active heresy through the explicit denial of particular redemption and the assertion of universal salvation. By teaching that Christ's death secures salvation for 'all humanity' and 'every single one of us,' the teaching abandons the biblical doctrine of the efficacy of the Atonement, aligning with the spiritual adultery and doctrinal compromise characteristic of Thyatira.
Big Idea: God is on a mission to restore humanity through redemption, inviting both the rebellious and the self-righteous to return to Him, as demonstrated in Genesis 4 and Luke 15. [00:08:37 ▶️ 📄]
📖 How they Handle Scripture & Jesus
- Primary Text: Genesis 4:2-15
- Usage Classification: Thematic
- Text-to-Talk Ratio: High
- Pulpit Decorum: ⚠️ CAUTION - The use of the phrase 'throw you in the trash can' is colloquial and potentially disrespectful to the dignity of the human person created in God's image, though not explicitly profane.
✝️ Christological Focus: Redemptive-Historical
"The sermon connects the Old Testament narrative of Cain and Abel with the New Testament parable of the Prodigal Son to illustrate God's redemptive mission."
Scripture Saturation: Verses Read: 32 | Referenced: 5 | Alluded: 2
📖 View 4 Passages Read Aloud
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Genesis 3:15
[00:09:34 ▶️ 📄]
"I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring. And he, the seed of the woman, this Messiah that would come will bruise Satan's head and you shall bruise his heel."
-
Genesis 4:2-7
[00:11:25 ▶️ 📄]
"And again, she, this is Eve, bore his brother Abel and Abel was a keeper of the sheep and Cain a worker of the ground. So these two brothers, they're already incredibly different. In the course of time, Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering, he had no regard. Let me pause here for a moment. I've preached entire messages just on this passage, and I don't have time to do that this morning. There's details in here that we can work through. If you have questions, I would love to talk about it. Why did Cain like one offering? Why did God like one offering and not the other? That's a question for another day, but let's keep going. So, Cain, his offering, he had no regard, and Cain was very angry, and his face fell. Then notice this in verse 6. God comes personally and asks a question. The Lord said to Cain, why are you angry? Why is your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it."
-
Genesis 4:8-10
[00:15:16 ▶️ 📄]
"Cain spoke to Abel, his brother, when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord crushed Cain. Is that what [Genesis 4](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+4&version=KJV) says? It says, then the Lord said to Cain, where is Abel, your brother? Once again, God comes and asks a question, wanting repentance, wanting confession, wanting to bring Cain back, wanting to work through this. And he says, where's your brother? God knows. God sees everything. God is not oblivious. And yet once again, he comes and he asks a question meant to restore. What does Cain say? Who am I? Am I my brother's keeper? And the Lord said, what have you done? Genesis chapter four, three times, God comes and almost does like a little counseling session. He asked this question three times, Cain, why are you angry? I can tell there's something going on. Cain, can you let me help you? Watch out. Cain, where's your brother? What have you done? Cain never tells God where his brother is. God knows. So he says, the voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground."
-
Luke 15:11-32
[00:18:53 ▶️ 📄]
"there was a man who had two sons and the younger of them said to his father, father, give me the share of property that is coming to me. And he divided his property between them, between the two sons. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had, took a journey into a far country and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country and he began to be in need. So the story goes on. He wasted everything he had and then he ends up feeding pigs, which for the Jews that are listening to the story, that is beyond low. In fact, that's the lowest of low. Pigs were considered unclean to them. They would not go anywhere near them. They would not keep them. They would not touch them. They would not even look at them. Like they didn't want to have anything to do with pigs. This guy, he gets all his money. He goes and has the time of his life, and then he runs out. And he's reduced to feeding pigs. But then he needs something to eat. He doesn't have anything to eat. So, he's reduced even further to where Jesus tells the listening crowd, he began to eat from the pig slop. And then he wakes up. He'd gotten so low that something finally clicked, and he said, I could go back home. my father's servants have it better than I do. They're not feeding pigs. They're not eating slop. They've got it better than I do. Maybe I should go back to my father. We'll see as we continue on that Jesus, as he tells this story, intends the father to be a picture of our heavenly father of God, of the creator, who's also calling us back. Verse number 20, he arose, the younger son arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion and ran and embraced and kissed him. The father wasn't just going about his everyday life. He was waiting for his son to return. In fact, he was watching. And when he saw him, he ran to meet him. And the son said to him, father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. There's no pride there. There's no self-aggrandizing. Hey, I mean, dad, I would have made it except like this economic downturn. I mean, I really had a pretty good thing going and I'm only back here for a little while and then I'm getting out of here again. The son comes back broken, ready to leave it all behind because he understands we're true goodness is found. In fact, he says, I'm not even worth anything. I'm not even worth being called your son. Just let me be a servant. Verse 22 goes on though, and the father interrupts him. But the father said to his servants, bring quickly the best robe. Do you see the heart of God here? He doesn't zap with a lightning bolt. He doesn't send a comet. He doesn't throw up his hands and walk away. He doesn't berate the son. Rather, he actually sends the servants to go prepare a feast, the best robe, a ring for his finger, shoes on his feet, and he celebrates that his son has returned. Look at the next verses, 23 and 24. Bring the fatted calf, kill it, let us eat and celebrate for this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found and they begin to celebrate. But then if we kept reading, you would see the other brother. So this story is often called the prodigal son because we watch the younger son run away and then come back. But sometimes we lose sight of the other brother. So the other brother has stayed home. He's worked out in the fields. He's done exactly what his father told him to do. And so the younger brother comes back. There's a feast happening. There's just so much commotion around the house. And the older brother comes back and says, what's going on? Oh, your brother's come back. He's returned and your father has thrown a party to celebrate. Look at verse 28. This brother, the good brother, the one who kept it all together, the one who did everything right, the one who did all the good things just like he was supposed to do, he gets angry and he throws his own little pity party. He refuses to go in. Notice the father. Do you remember in Genesis chapter four? So Cain gets angry and you can see it on his face and God comes out to Cain and says, Cain, why are you so angry? Cain, I can see, I can see you're bothered. Can we talk about this? Watch out. Luke chapter 15, one son runs away, wastes his living, comes back in repentance. This son has always done what he knew he was supposed to do. And he gets angry and the father once again comes out and entreats him. Verse 29, he answered his father, don't you see everything I've done? Look, these many years I've served you, I've never disobeyed your command and you never gave me a young goat that I could celebrate with my friends. I don't care that my brother's back. Life is about me and I've done everything I'm supposed to do. God, why haven't you done what I wanted you to do. Verse 30, when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living, your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him. It goes on and the father entreats the son, but the story finishes with the family, everyone gathered inside the house celebrating except for the older brother."
Key References: Genesis 1:1-2, Genesis 3, Genesis 4:2-15, Luke 15:1-32, 1 Corinthians
💧 Liturgy & Sacraments
Fencing the Table (Communion):
- Believers Only Stated: ✅ Yes
- Warning Against Unworthy Manner: ⚠️ None Detected
- Verbatim Warning: "The Lord's Supper is intended for God's people."
Altar Call / Invitation Observed: Yes
- Theological Conditions: Commit to God, Repent of your sins, Find the freedom of life in Christ
- Coercive Pressure: "Commit to God. Repent of your sins and find the freedom of life in Christ." [00:35:12 ▶️ 📄]
🎙️ Sermon Content & Delivery
Word Count: 4,915 words
📌 View 15 Key Topics Addressed
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Identity and Purpose
[00:00:53 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor introduces the series 'Who Am I?' and argues that human identity is not defined by worldly metrics (GPA, BMI, etc.) but by being created by God for a purpose. -
Creation and Intent
[00:03:35 ▶️ 📄]
> Reviewing Genesis 1-2, the pastor emphasizes that humans are not accidents or products of chaos, but were intentionally created by God to be His representatives. -
The Fall and Sin
[00:05:45 ▶️ 📄]
> Discussing Genesis 3, the pastor explains that suffering and evil entered the world through humanity's choice to reject God's guidance and live according to their own way. -
Divine Restoration and Mercy
[00:08:10 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor contrasts the cultural expectation of a wrathful God with the biblical reality of a God who seeks to restore, using the story of Cain and Abel to show God's patience and desire for repentance. -
The Prot-evangelium
[00:09:14 ▶️ 📄]
> Identifying Genesis 3:15 as the first promise of a Savior, linking the 'seed of the woman' to Jesus Christ's victory over Satan. -
Divine Justice and Mercy
[00:17:06 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor explains that God is just and must punish wrongdoing (Genesis 4), but also extends mercy even while judging, as seen in His interaction with Cain. -
The Parable of the Prodigal Son
[00:18:37 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor details the story of the younger son who squanders his inheritance and returns in repentance, highlighting the father's compassionate response. -
The Older Brother's Alienation
[00:23:09 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor analyzes the older brother who stayed home but remained alienated from the father due to self-righteousness and anger, contrasting him with the younger son. -
Two Ways of Approaching Life
[00:25:49 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor identifies two common human approaches: moral conformity (self-righteousness) and self-discovery (rebellion), asserting that Jesus shows both are wrong and alienated from God. -
The Gospel and Salvation
[00:31:45 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor defines the gospel as good news, explaining that humans cannot earn salvation through good deeds or 'carbon emission certificates' of sin, but must rely on Jesus' sacrifice. -
Salvation by Grace vs. Works
[00:30:43 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor argues that humans cannot offset sin with good deeds, prayers, or money, contrasting this with the sufficiency of Jesus' sacrifice. -
The Gospel Definition
[00:31:45 ▶️ 📄]
> Defining the gospel as 'good news' specifically regarding Jesus coming to earth to love, heal, forgive, and save from sin. -
Human Rebellion and Two Paths
[00:33:00 ▶️ 📄]
> Describing the two ways people live life their own way: either through reckless indulgence (younger brother) or self-righteous moralism (older brother). -
Repentance and Restoration
[00:34:17 ▶️ 📄]
> Using the Parable of the Prodigal Son to illustrate God's plan to welcome back those who repent and return to Him. -
The Lord's Supper
[00:35:22 ▶️ 📄]
> Introducing communion as a celebration and reminder of Jesus' broken body and shed blood for freedom.
🖼️ View 11 Illustrations & Stories
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Sermon Illustration
[00:02:08 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor uses a rhetorical list of modern acronyms and metrics (GPA, IRA, PhD, BMI, PTSD) to illustrate how people often mistakenly define their identity by worldly achievements or physical attributes. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:03:57 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor contrasts the biblical view of creation with 'horrifying' mythological origins and a humorous, absurd image of a scientist knocking over a beaker in a lab to create humans, emphasizing that humans are not accidents. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:11:10 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor retells the story of Cain and Abel, specifically focusing on God's gentle, counseling-like questions ('Why are you angry?', 'Where is Abel?') to illustrate God's desire to restore rather than immediately punish. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:12:52 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor uses a relatable analogy of siblings fighting to help the congregation imagine the intensity of God approaching Cain with a question rather than a lightning bolt. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:16:21 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor recounts the biblical story of Cain and Abel, where God questions Cain about his anger and the murder of his brother, illustrating God's justice and subsequent mercy. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:18:37 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor narrates the Parable of the Prodigal Son from Luke 15, detailing the younger son's rebellion, his low point feeding pigs, his return, and the father's joyful celebration, followed by the older brother's refusal to join the feast. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:30:54 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor uses an analogy of 'carbon emission certificates' to explain that one cannot offset sin with good deeds or money, just as companies try to offset pollution with certificates. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:31:29 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor references the hymn 'Because He Lives' by the Gaithers to summarize the gospel message of Jesus coming to love, heal, and forgive. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:30:54 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor uses an analogy of carbon emission certificates, where companies buy offsets to counteract pollution, to illustrate that one cannot simply 'buy' or 'work' their way out of sin. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:31:13 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor references the hymn 'Because He Lives' by the Gaithers to summarize the gospel message of Jesus coming to love, heal, and forgive. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:34:17 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor retells the narrative of the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15), describing the younger brother's return and the father's celebration with a robe, ring, and fatted calf.
🚀 View 4 Calls to Action
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Pastoral Charge
[00:29:37 ▶️ 📄]
> Return to God and accept His redemptive plan. -
Pastoral Charge
[00:32:14 ▶️ 📄]
> The transcript cuts off before the final specific action is completed, but the rhetorical question implies a call to stop living life 'my way' and accept the gospel. -
Pastoral Charge
[00:35:12 ▶️ 📄]
> Commit to God, repent of sins, and find freedom in Christ. -
Pastoral Charge
[00:35:41 ▶️ 📄]
> Men are asked to come forward for the Lord's Supper.
🧭 Biblical Alignment Dashboard
Overall Verdict: Fundamentally in Error
| Category | Status | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Gospel Presentation | ✅ PASS | The Gospel Engine is fully intact. |
| Soteriology | ❌ FAIL | The sermon explicitly denies particular redemption and teaches universal salvation, asserting that Christ's death saves every individual automatically. |
| Bibliology | ✅ PASS | Scripture is cited and referenced appropriately, though the interpretation of key soteriological texts is flawed. |
| Hermeneutic | ❌ FAIL | The hermeneutic prioritizes a universalistic reading of 'all' over the specific, efficacious nature of the Atonement taught elsewhere in Scripture. |
| Theology Proper | ✅ PASS | The doctrine of God's character as a seeking Father is presented accurately, though the mechanism of His saving work is distorted. |
| Sacramentology | ✅ PASS | No sacramental errors were detected. |
| Confessional Depth | ❌ SHALLOW | The sermon lacks depth in distinguishing between the sufficiency of Christ's work and its efficiency, leading to a superficial understanding of salvation. |
⚙️ The Core Gospel Framework
What is this? This section checks if the sermon contains the essential building blocks of the Gospel. We look for explicit, substantive mentions of God's holy standard, human inability, and Christ's finished work on the cross.
Why it matters for the final verdict: A complete Gospel framework protects a sermon from becoming man-centered. If a preacher gives commands for good behavior but leaves out the grace and atonement of the Gospel, it often results in a 🔴 Critical or 🟠 Major error for Moralism (teaching human self-improvement rather than reliance on Christ). However, if these Gospel elements are missing simply because the pastor is preaching a highly focused, practical message to mature believers (e.g., instructions on biblical marriage), our system applies a "Safe Harbor" pardon, graciously reducing the omission to a 🟡 Minor error.
Why it matters for the final verdict: A complete Gospel framework protects a sermon from becoming man-centered. If a preacher gives commands for good behavior but leaves out the grace and atonement of the Gospel, it often results in a 🔴 Critical or 🟠 Major error for Moralism (teaching human self-improvement rather than reliance on Christ). However, if these Gospel elements are missing simply because the pastor is preaching a highly focused, practical message to mature believers (e.g., instructions on biblical marriage), our system applies a "Safe Harbor" pardon, graciously reducing the omission to a 🟡 Minor error.
✅ The Law And Wrath:
"God is a just God. He cannot ignore sin. He must punish wrongdoing." [00:17:06 ▶️ 📄]
✅ Total Depravity And Inability:
"I can't work my way into heaven. I can't be good enough. I can't do enough good deeds to outweigh my bad deeds." [00:30:43 ▶️ 📄]
❌ Active Obedience Of Christ: Not observed in the sermon.
✅ The Cross And Atonement:
"Satan sent Jesus to the cross thinking he had victory. And yet with Christ's death on the cross, Jesus works salvation for all humanity for all time." [00:09:50 ▶️ 📄]
⚠️ Theological Concerns
🔴 Critical Universalism / Denial of Particular Redemption
Root Cause: Universalism
"Satan sent Jesus to the cross thinking he had victory. And yet with Christ's death on the cross, Jesus works salvation for all humanity for all time." [00:09:50 ▶️ 📄]
The Belief/Behavior: The pastor explicitly teaches that Christ's death is efficacious for all humanity without exception, denying the doctrine of particular redemption.
Why It's Dangerous: This teaching undermines the necessity of personal faith and the specific, effectual nature of the Atonement. It suggests that salvation is an automatic result of the cross rather than a gift received through faith by the elect.
Biblical Correction: John 10:11 'I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.'
🔴 Critical Universal Atonement / Universal Salvation
Root Cause: Arminianism
"Jesus offered himself to save every single one of us for all eternity." [00:32:14 ▶️ 📄]
The Belief/Behavior: The pastor asserts that Jesus died to save every single person, denying the biblical doctrine of limited/definite atonement and affirming a universal scope of salvation that contradicts strict Reformed orthodoxy.
Why It's Dangerous: This error leads to a false assurance for those who do not believe and diminishes the glory of God's sovereign grace in saving His people. It confuses the offer of the Gospel with the execution of salvation.
Biblical Correction: Romans 8:32 'He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?'
✅ Commendations
Pastoral Warmth | Illustrative Storytelling
The pastor effectively uses the Parable of the Prodigal Son and the story of Cain to create an emotional and relatable connection with the congregation, highlighting God's gentle pursuit of sinners.
Application | Clear Call to Repentance
The application clearly identifies the two spiritual traps (self-righteousness and rebellion) and calls the congregation to return to the Father, providing a clear path for spiritual reflection.
📜 Full Sermon Transcript (Audit)
Use the 📄 icons next to quotes above to automatically jump to their location in this raw transcript.
[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:00:00] My name is Tom Wiggs and I'm the pastor here at Eastside and I want to say that I'm so glad you clicked on this video.
[00:00:08] We have prayed that it would be a blessing and a help to you as you grow spiritually. I also want to remind you that part of our heart here at Eastside is that you would be growing in connection
[00:00:22] with a local gathering of believers. Don't let this video be a replacement for a local church.
[00:00:30] If you're in the Mooresville area, you would be so welcome to come worship with us.
[00:00:36] And now, here's the message.
[00:00:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:00:41] Good morning. I am glad that you're here.
[00:00:44] In fact, if you're visiting with us, I am very grateful and excited you're here.
[00:00:47] And I do believe that God has something good in store for us.
[00:00:53] We have been working our way through a series this summer titled, Who Am I?
[00:00:59] all of us, every single person in existence is looking for fulfillment, is looking for purpose, is looking for why is life here? Why am I here? What is this all about? And scripture gives us
[00:01:18] a beautiful answer. It guides us into truth. And so this summer, this is week number three, we're going to take eight weeks to see where God has us. So if that's why you came this morning,
[00:01:34] then I'm grateful you're here. If you just stopped in, I'm grateful you're here. And I would encourage you to give us three weeks. Really, I'd encourage you to finish off this series with us. But I say over and over again, come for three weeks and get a glimpse at what
[00:01:49] God is doing here in our church. Get to know some of the people. You can't learn Eastside. You can't really get to know any church or anyone just by visiting one time. So, who am I? You might say it
[00:02:08] out loud. You might just have it drift through your thoughts. But what is life all about? As a person, am i defined by my gpa i only finished high school or i got all the way through college
[00:02:27] or i have a ged or am i defined by my ira or perhaps it's it's a phd or maybe it's your your bmi your body mass index and so you are overweight or you're skinnier than you want to be and or
[00:02:45] you feel like that defines who you are as a person. Or perhaps in your life, there's some PTSD. Do you love how many acronyms we've got? And do you notice that they all have something to do
[00:03:02] with how we see ourselves? If we want to understand who we are, if we want to understand why we're here. What life is all about. We have to go back to the beginning. So let me review quickly. I'm
[00:03:20] not going to re-preach the last two weeks of messages. We don't have enough time to do that.
[00:03:24] If you weren't with us the last couple of weeks, I do encourage you, get on our YouTube, go watch those. And God's word has a beautiful, beautiful message for us. Week number one in our series,
[00:03:35] we stepped into Genesis chapter one and Genesis chapter two. From the beginning of creation, God had a plan. And in fact, God's plan was beautiful. You are not here on accident. In fact, who you are is not an accident. If you walk back through mythology, there's some stories about the
[00:03:57] origin of life that are honestly horrifying, demoralizing, depressing, and disgusting.
[00:04:07] but that's not what scripture points us to. You're not the offcast, illegitimate child of some demigod. You weren't the product of some scientist walking through a laboratory, knocking over a beaker, and there was an explosion and out popped you. You're not an accident.
[00:04:36] Rather, God tells us that you were created on purpose for purpose. You were made exactly the way God intended. Men and women, big and small personalities, hair color, ethnicities, God created with all of his immense creativity, God created and it was good.
[00:05:06] And as we walk through scripture, we go back to the beginning.
[00:05:09] Genesis chapter 1, Genesis chapter 2, we see that God created on purpose for a purpose.
[00:05:15] You're not an accident.
[00:05:16] You were actually created to be the living, breathing representative of Almighty God.
[00:05:21] In past weeks, we've said it this way, that you were created by a grand God with a grand purpose.
[00:05:28] You were created to be good.
[00:05:30] You were created to rejoice in good.
[00:05:32] You were created to work for good.
[00:05:34] but we all know that that's not exactly what we experience every moment of every day now.
[00:05:45] And so last Sunday, we stepped into Genesis 3 where the Bible continues this story of life and it shows us what happened. If everything was good, if you were created good, if you were created on purpose, for a purpose, where does suffering come from? Why is there pain? What
[00:06:06] broke? Where do the dark thoughts come from? Where does wickedness and evil come from? And we see as Adam and Eve and truly throughout history, all humanity, we choose our own way. God gives us
[00:06:25] so many good gifts. The garden of Eden, when he's created, everything is beautiful. Everything is perfect. Everything is good. And God put that tree and you could have anything. He gave them everything. And he gave them a choice and said, you can have all the rest, but this one don't eat.
[00:06:48] Satan comes in and tempts and Adam and Eve, or they're questioning God. Does God really care about me? Does God really have my best at heart? Maybe, maybe God's lying to me.
[00:07:05] Did God really say that? You can become like God. You're supposed to be in charge of your own life, right? And so since Genesis 3, humanity, we have been experiencing the effects of throwing off God
[00:07:27] and of seeking to live life our own way. Doesn't it make sense that the creator God of the universe, the one who knows everything, has all wisdom, has all power. He is perfectly, infinitely good. And
[00:07:41] he guides us through this life and says, here's how life is supposed to work. Wouldn't it make sense that the greatest life would be found in him? And yet in our pride, in our rebellion,
[00:07:54] we try to find it elsewhere. So last week we walked through and discovered that. And now this week, I want us to see that God didn't throw his hands up in the air. He didn't get frustrated and
[00:08:10] walk away. He didn't slam the door. He didn't send a comet to wipe us all out. Rather, he loves us and redeems us and is working to bring us back. Who am I? Why am I here? To be a living, breathing
[00:08:37] representative of all mighty, infinite, sovereign, good, loving, wise God. But we know that sin and suffering exists. And so God is on a mission to restore. We're going to look at two passages.
[00:08:54] The last three weeks, we've really been walking our way through the first few chapters here in Genesis, looking at them in big chunks. And then we jump into the New Testament later in scripture as we see what God is doing.
[00:09:06] So Genesis chapter three, just a few verses behind where we were last week, you have the first promise of a Messiah.
[00:09:14] Some people call this the prot-evangelium.
[00:09:17] It's a big word.
[00:09:18] Basically, it means God's first promise of a savior.
[00:09:22] Right after Adam and Eve shattered the creation and sinned and God has to push them out of the garden, And he promises that there will come a redeemer.
[00:09:34] I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring.
[00:09:39] And he, the seed of the woman, this Messiah that would come will bruise Satan's head and you shall bruise his heel.
[00:09:50] Satan sent Jesus to the cross thinking he had victory.
[00:09:54] And yet with Christ's death on the cross, Jesus works salvation for all humanity for all time. And we'll talk more about that here in a few minutes. But let's step into Genesis chapter 4. Chaz was just up here. He read through it with
[00:10:12] us. This is one of my favorite stories in all of scripture is we see God and he interacts with sinners. So you might have in your mind an idea of who God is. And in fact, before we took the
[00:10:27] break for this summer series are Sundays this year, we've been working our way through the gospel of Mark. And that series is just titled See Jesus, because so many of us step through life with preconceived ideas about God that don't match up with what the Bible says. And so we want to see
[00:10:47] Jesus as he is revealed himself through God's word. But this morning, you might come in with an idea of who God is. When I sin, God's going to zap me with a lightning bolt, or God's going to
[00:11:01] finally give up on me. God's going to walk away from me because I'm no longer worthy of God's attention. And so in Genesis chapter 4, we read it a few minutes ago, we have the story of Cain
[00:11:10] and Abel. The very first murder in all of history is recorded here in Genesis 4. And how does God respond? Look at it with me. Genesis 4, starting in verse number 2. And again, she, this is Eve,
[00:11:25] bore his brother Abel and Abel was a keeper of the sheep and Cain a worker of the ground. So these two brothers, they're already incredibly different. In the course of time, Cain brought to the Lord
[00:11:36] an offering of the fruit of the ground and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his
[00:11:48] offering, he had no regard. Let me pause here for a moment. I've preached entire messages just on this passage, and I don't have time to do that this morning. There's details in here that we can
[00:12:00] work through. If you have questions, I would love to talk about it. Why did Cain like one offering?
[00:12:05] Why did God like one offering and not the other? That's a question for another day, but let's keep going. So, Cain, his offering, he had no regard, and Cain was very angry, and his face fell.
[00:12:22] Then notice this in verse 6.
[00:12:23] God comes personally and asks a question.
[00:12:28] The Lord said to Cain, why are you angry?
[00:12:33] Why is your face fallen?
[00:12:36] If you do well, will you not be accepted?
[00:12:39] And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door.
[00:12:44] Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.
[00:12:49] Imagine this with me.
[00:12:52] You get angry at your sibling.
[00:12:55] Most of us in here have a brother or a sister, and I'm sure that you can think of a moment, probably just one moment, but I'm sure you can think of at least one moment
[00:13:04] where you were a little bit upset, a little bit frustrated, and maybe on the edge of hurting your sibling. Maybe, perhaps, possibly, maybe you're better than I am and that never happened for you. But think back to that moment, and let's say in that moment, just when you are
[00:13:24] at your most upset, almighty God shows up and he asks you a question. He doesn't zap you with a lightning bolt. He doesn't send a meteor to strike you down and he doesn't even say you're an idiot.
[00:13:46] Stop it. He says, why are you so angry? It's a question meant to open us up, isn't it? It's like God is using this question almost like a surgeon's knife to get to the heart of the matter. We're
[00:14:09] to see it as it continues on, but God's desire over and over again is to bring us back, to help us see ourselves, to help us see what's good and right, to help us see him. But his desire is to
[00:14:25] bring us back. So here, before anything has happened, the murder hasn't even occurred yet, but God shows up and says, hey, why are you angry? I can tell on your face that you're so mad at your
[00:14:42] brother. Isn't that so real? You walk in the room, you see your kids there, and you immediately know something just happened. And so what comes out? Hey guys, what happened? Are you guys okay? God
[00:14:56] walks up and he says, why are you so angry? I can see it on your face. Watch what happens next because sin's waiting. So keep going. Verse number eight, Genesis chapter four, verse eight, Cain spoke to Abel, his brother, when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother
[00:15:16] Abel and killed him. Then the Lord crushed Cain. Is that what Genesis 4 says? It says, then the Lord said to Cain, where is Abel, your brother? Once again, God comes and asks a question, wanting repentance, wanting confession, wanting to bring Cain back, wanting to work
[00:15:36] through this. And he says, where's your brother? God knows. God sees everything. God is not oblivious. And yet once again, he comes and he asks a question meant to restore. What does Cain say?
[00:15:51] Who am I? Am I my brother's keeper? And the Lord said, what have you done? Genesis chapter four, three times, God comes and almost does like a little counseling session. He asked this question three times, Cain, why are you angry? I can tell there's something going on. Cain, can you let me
[00:16:21] help you? Watch out. Cain, where's your brother? What have you done? Cain never tells God where his brother is. God knows. So he says, the voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the
[00:16:50] ground. The passage goes on. We won't read the rest of it. You're welcome to later, but the passage goes on and God does lay consequences on Cain for the murder of his brother. It is justice. God is a
[00:17:06] just God. He cannot ignore sin. He must punish wrongdoing. But it's interesting as you continue reading on, Cain even responds to God, God, this is too much. I can't handle this. And God, in his
[00:17:20] mercy, even as he's judging wrongdoing, God extends mercy. I'll let you read that this afternoon.
[00:17:29] Let's jump now into the New Testament. Luke chapter 15. Can you go there? Turn your Bible with me to Luke chapter 15, and we're going to see a famous story. It lines up in some ways to
[00:17:40] where we are at in Genesis 4. God's heart, he's not a vindictive, exasperated judge. He's not out to crush us. He's out to restore us. He's out to call us back. He wants us to repent of our sins
[00:17:54] and be restored. In Luke chapter 15, we have another story. This is actually Jesus teaching.
[00:18:01] Jesus, the son of God, came to earth, walked on this planet with us, experienced the depths of human sin, the depths of suffering, and yet he still came to save. Luke chapter 15, he's speaking
[00:18:16] to a gathered crowd and he's telling parables. Parables are these fictional stories with deep spiritual truths. And so Jesus is the storyteller. And so he tells the story that we commonly know as the prodigal son. I think there's other titles, other names that might be more appropriate for it,
[00:18:37] but you probably know of it by the title, the prodigal son. Let's look at it together.
[00:18:46] God is on a mission to redeem. God's love is infinite and eternal. And let's see him.
[00:18:53] So Jesus tells the story and he's doing it on purpose. He said, there was a man who had two sons and the younger of them said to his father, father, give me the share of property that is
[00:19:05] coming to me. And he divided his property between them, between the two sons. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had, took a journey into a far country and there he squandered
[00:19:18] his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country and he began to be in need. So the story goes on. He wasted everything he had and then he
[00:19:30] ends up feeding pigs, which for the Jews that are listening to the story, that is beyond low. In fact, that's the lowest of low. Pigs were considered unclean to them. They would not go anywhere near
[00:19:42] them. They would not keep them. They would not touch them. They would not even look at them.
[00:19:45] Like they didn't want to have anything to do with pigs. This guy, he gets all his money. He goes and has the time of his life, and then he runs out. And he's reduced to feeding pigs. But then he
[00:20:02] needs something to eat. He doesn't have anything to eat. So, he's reduced even further to where Jesus tells the listening crowd, he began to eat from the pig slop. And then he wakes up.
[00:20:20] He'd gotten so low that something finally clicked, and he said, I could go back home.
[00:20:27] my father's servants have it better than I do. They're not feeding pigs. They're not eating slop. They've got it better than I do. Maybe I should go back to my father. We'll see as we
[00:20:43] continue on that Jesus, as he tells this story, intends the father to be a picture of our heavenly father of God, of the creator, who's also calling us back. Verse number 20, he arose, the younger
[00:20:59] son arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion and ran and embraced and kissed him. The father wasn't just going about his
[00:21:10] everyday life. He was waiting for his son to return. In fact, he was watching. And when he saw him, he ran to meet him. And the son said to him, father, I have sinned against heaven and before
[00:21:21] you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. There's no pride there. There's no self-aggrandizing.
[00:21:31] Hey, I mean, dad, I would have made it except like this economic downturn. I mean, I really had a pretty good thing going and I'm only back here for a little while and then I'm getting out of here
[00:21:42] again. The son comes back broken, ready to leave it all behind because he understands we're true goodness is found. In fact, he says, I'm not even worth anything. I'm not even worth being called your son. Just let me be a servant. Verse 22 goes on though, and the father interrupts him.
[00:22:11] But the father said to his servants, bring quickly the best robe. Do you see the heart of God here?
[00:22:21] He doesn't zap with a lightning bolt. He doesn't send a comet. He doesn't throw up his hands and walk away. He doesn't berate the son. Rather, he actually sends the servants to go prepare a feast,
[00:22:31] the best robe, a ring for his finger, shoes on his feet, and he celebrates that his son has returned.
[00:22:39] Look at the next verses, 23 and 24. Bring the fatted calf, kill it, let us eat and celebrate for this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found and they begin to celebrate.
[00:22:55] But then if we kept reading, you would see the other brother.
[00:22:59] So this story is often called the prodigal son because we watch the younger son run away and then come back.
[00:23:05] But sometimes we lose sight of the other brother.
[00:23:09] So the other brother has stayed home.
[00:23:11] He's worked out in the fields.
[00:23:12] He's done exactly what his father told him to do.
[00:23:15] And so the younger brother comes back.
[00:23:16] There's a feast happening.
[00:23:18] There's just so much commotion around the house.
[00:23:21] And the older brother comes back and says, what's going on?
[00:23:25] Oh, your brother's come back.
[00:23:27] He's returned and your father has thrown a party to celebrate.
[00:23:31] Look at verse 28.
[00:23:34] This brother, the good brother, the one who kept it all together, the one who did everything right, the one who did all the good things just like he was supposed to do, he gets angry and he throws his own little pity party.
[00:23:54] He refuses to go in.
[00:23:56] Notice the father.
[00:23:58] Do you remember in Genesis chapter four?
[00:23:59] So Cain gets angry and you can see it on his face and God comes out to Cain and says, Cain, why are you so angry? Cain, I can see, I can see you're bothered. Can we talk about this?
[00:24:12] Watch out. Luke chapter 15, one son runs away, wastes his living, comes back in repentance.
[00:24:21] This son has always done what he knew he was supposed to do. And he gets angry and the father once again comes out and entreats him. Verse 29, he answered his father, don't you see everything
[00:24:37] I've done? Look, these many years I've served you, I've never disobeyed your command and you never gave me a young goat that I could celebrate with my friends. I don't care that my brother's back.
[00:24:49] Life is about me and I've done everything I'm supposed to do. God, why haven't you done what I wanted you to do. Verse 30, when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living,
[00:25:05] your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him. It goes on and the father entreats the son, but the story finishes with the family, everyone gathered inside the house celebrating except for the older brother. Some people have said it this way, as we consider
[00:25:35] God's word, as we connect it, the younger son and the older son, you see two ways of approaching life that might sound familiar. One way is the way of moral conformity. I did everything right.
[00:25:49] I did everything I was told to do. And then the other is the way of self-discovery. We have a lot of that going on too, don't we? Just let me go find myself, be true to myself. Let me do what I
[00:26:00] want to do. One side of this says the people who do their own thing, the people are trying to discover themselves and just, they are their own person. My body, my choice. You can't tell me what
[00:26:13] to do. Some of us are tempted to stand here and look over there and say, they're the problem.
[00:26:22] You've wasted everything on prostitutes. You've done everything you wanted to do. And you're the reason our culture is in chaos. You're the reason my life hurts. But then if we run over here to this other side, these people are looking over there and saying, you're just self-righteous.
[00:26:41] You think you've got all the answers, but life is all about you. Doesn't that sound familiar?
[00:26:51] Our culture loves to split us into two groups and then pit those groups against each other.
[00:27:01] And what Jesus does in Luke 15 is actually he shows us that both of those are wrong.
[00:27:10] Let me explain it this way.
[00:27:11] Tim Keller, a pastor and author, he said it this way.
[00:27:15] So we have two sons, one bad by conventional standards and one good, yet both are alienated from the father.
[00:27:21] The father has to go out and invite each of them to come into the feast of his love.
[00:27:26] But Luke 15 comes to an unthinkable conclusion.
[00:27:32] Jesus, the storyteller, deliberately leaves the elder brother in his alienated state.
[00:27:37] The bad son enters the father's feast, but the good son won't come in.
[00:27:44] The lover of prostitutes is saved, but the man of moral rectitude is still lost.
[00:27:54] Church, for three weeks now, we've been walking through laying this foundation for our Who Am I series. God created us good. You were created on purpose for purpose. God made you to be a living,
[00:28:06] breathing representative of almighty God. You were meant to be good, enjoy good, work for good. It was all meant to be good. But sin comes in and we want to do life my way. I want to be God. I don't
[00:28:20] want somebody else in charge of my life. Let me do what I want to do. And even if there is a God, God, you have to do things my way because I've done everything right. Like I read your Bible.
[00:28:32] I pray every day. I'm supposed to be nice, but God, you haven't done what I want you to do.
[00:28:38] So whether you're really far from God or whether you feel like you're a really good person, many times we live life the exact same way. Fighting for what I want and caring nothing about the Father. But in Genesis 4, in Luke 15, and over and over and over again in Scripture,
[00:29:13] we see that God still loves us. Just like Cain, just like the older brother in Luke 15, God comes and says, what's going on? Will you return to me? Just like Luke 15, just like Genesis,
[00:29:37] God has a loving, redemptive plan for you and I. He doesn't leave us in our sin. He doesn't ignore our sin. God's judgment is rightly, correctly laid on top of wickedness. God will judge every
[00:29:57] wrong thing that you have ever, you are doing, or you will ever do. God is not oblivious.
[00:30:05] You can't hide the body out in the field and God somehow misses it. And yet at no moment, at no moment does God say, you are beyond my reach. I'm going to throw you in the trash can.
[00:30:21] Can I take you back to the beginning? You are infinitely valuable because God created you, but you're a sinner who's chosen to go your own way. So God made a way. I can't work my way.
[00:30:43] into heaven. I can't be good enough. I can't do enough good deeds to outweigh my bad deeds.
[00:30:50] It's not like those carbon emission certificates. Have you heard of those?
[00:30:54] Companies are putting carbon in the atmosphere, but to sort of counteract it, they buy these certificates and somehow that. You can't do that with your sin. You can't pay enough money to the church. You can't say enough prayers. You can't work your way into heaven. But Jesus sent his son,
[00:31:13] God sent his son, Jesus, to die for me. In fact, there's a song that you might know. It summarizes it so beautifully. Because he lives by the Gaithers, God sent his son, they called him
[00:31:29] Jesus. He came to love, heal, and forgive. He lived and died to buy my pardon. An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives. We're going to be done here in just a moment, but let me walk
[00:31:45] through this with you quickly. The gospel is a word that we throw around in church a lot. Gospel literally means good news. It's the good news of Jesus Christ. The fact that God, who is creator,
[00:31:58] sent his son to come down to this earth to love, heal, and forgive, to save me from my sins. Jesus came, was born in a manger, and then ultimately he hung on a cross because I could never pay my
[00:32:14] sin debt. I needed a sacrifice, someone eternal, someone greater than I am. And Jesus offered himself to save every single one of us for all eternity. Jesus cannot ignore sin, but the price was paid in Jesus. So what do we do with this? Do we live life my way? Do you live life your way?
[00:33:00] Either, however you want. You just go waste. The life that God has blessed you with, the life that God has given to you, everything that he has poured into you, you go and waste it.
[00:33:14] Maybe it's with prostitutes. Maybe it's with something else. But you just, you use it to do whatever you want to do. Or maybe you're over here on the other side, kind of like that older brother
[00:33:27] and life is still all about you. You're just very moral. Do you live life your way or do you run back to God? Who am I? I'm a grand creation of a grand God. I'm a living, breathing representative
[00:33:57] of holy almighty creator God. But I'm a sinner, rebelling against God, trying to live life my own way. It looks like different things, but God has a plan. And just like Luke 15 is that younger
[00:34:17] brother comes back and he says, I'm no longer worthy. Father, will you forgive me? And God the Father sets a party in store. He brings the robe. He puts the ring back on the finger. He kills the
[00:34:36] fatted calf. And he says, welcome home. This last slide, as we consider God's plan, as we consider who we are, can I call you to commit to God? Not to live life your own way, whether that's trying
[00:34:53] to look really good and looking better than the people over there. So if I look better than the people over there, maybe God will accept me right here. Or maybe you're over here and you're like,
[00:35:01] it doesn't even matter. And I thought I would find what I wanted here, but I got everything I wanted and everything that goes with it. And it's a mess. And I realized that I need to come back to
[00:35:12] God. Commit to God. Repent of your sins and find the freedom of life in Christ.
[00:35:22] This transforms everything about life. We're going to take the next five weeks and talk about that. But before I even give you a little teaser and a promo, we're going to celebrate the Lord's this morning. The Lord's Supper is intended for God's people. I'm going to ask our men to come
[00:35:41] forward. And the Lord's Supper is intended to remind us of what Jesus has done. The New Testament tells us that Jesus' body was broken and he shed his blood on the cross for us so that we could be
[00:35:59] free. And we're told in scripture in 1 Corinthians that as often as we do this, we're reminded of Jesus' sacrifice. And it's meant to be a time of rejoicing and a time of celebration. So we're
[00:36:14] going to pause our service, not really pausing, but we're going to take time to celebrate the Lord's Supper. Then we're going to come back. Guys, I have one last slide up there. We have five weeks left in this series, and this is where it really starts to get practical and personal,
[00:36:34] as if it hasn't been already. These next five weeks, we're going to walk through life in areas that we're tempted to find all of our identity and to wrap ourselves around these things.
[00:36:51] And I want to challenge you to commit to be here the next five weeks so that God can guide us. God can guide you. Maybe you say, you know, I feel like I understand this. I don't need this. Great.
[00:37:02] Come and hear God's truth because there's men and women around us that do need this truth.
[00:37:10] So, my relationships are changed because of who I am in Christ.
[00:37:15] Your career is freed.
[00:37:16] You're no longer enslaved.
[00:37:18] You have to do, but rather, there's new freedom.
[00:37:23] Your sexuality is transformed.
[00:37:25] Did that one catch you a little bit?
[00:37:29] God actually changes the way we view sex and sexuality.
[00:37:33] it's not about all of what I want and yet God created it it's beautiful and good my gender is understood masculinity femininity I don't have to be swayed by culture because I understand who God designed me and created me to be and then my ethnicity is appreciated join us these next
[00:37:58] five weeks as we see God's truth in everyday moments. It will be powerful. I do encourage you, as I said earlier, grab one of those cards on your way out and bring someone with you. All
[00:38:12] people, I'm not just making this up, everyone everywhere is searching for fulfillment. They're searching for purpose. They're searching. They're trying to answer the question, who am I? Some of us have found answers and yet some are following lies, living life their own way. Let's see Jesus.
[00:38:35] Commit to these next five weeks and I promise you it will be powerful. We're going to come up, we like to conclude with a song. So Ricky, the worship team is going to come back
[00:38:45] and we're going to finish singing and then when we're done, you are dismissed.
[00:00:00] My name is Tom Wiggs and I'm the pastor here at Eastside and I want to say that I'm so glad you clicked on this video.
[00:00:08] We have prayed that it would be a blessing and a help to you as you grow spiritually. I also want to remind you that part of our heart here at Eastside is that you would be growing in connection
[00:00:22] with a local gathering of believers. Don't let this video be a replacement for a local church.
[00:00:30] If you're in the Mooresville area, you would be so welcome to come worship with us.
[00:00:36] And now, here's the message.
[00:00:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:00:41] Good morning. I am glad that you're here.
[00:00:44] In fact, if you're visiting with us, I am very grateful and excited you're here.
[00:00:47] And I do believe that God has something good in store for us.
[00:00:53] We have been working our way through a series this summer titled, Who Am I?
[00:00:59] all of us, every single person in existence is looking for fulfillment, is looking for purpose, is looking for why is life here? Why am I here? What is this all about? And scripture gives us
[00:01:18] a beautiful answer. It guides us into truth. And so this summer, this is week number three, we're going to take eight weeks to see where God has us. So if that's why you came this morning,
[00:01:34] then I'm grateful you're here. If you just stopped in, I'm grateful you're here. And I would encourage you to give us three weeks. Really, I'd encourage you to finish off this series with us. But I say over and over again, come for three weeks and get a glimpse at what
[00:01:49] God is doing here in our church. Get to know some of the people. You can't learn Eastside. You can't really get to know any church or anyone just by visiting one time. So, who am I? You might say it
[00:02:08] out loud. You might just have it drift through your thoughts. But what is life all about? As a person, am i defined by my gpa i only finished high school or i got all the way through college
[00:02:27] or i have a ged or am i defined by my ira or perhaps it's it's a phd or maybe it's your your bmi your body mass index and so you are overweight or you're skinnier than you want to be and or
[00:02:45] you feel like that defines who you are as a person. Or perhaps in your life, there's some PTSD. Do you love how many acronyms we've got? And do you notice that they all have something to do
[00:03:02] with how we see ourselves? If we want to understand who we are, if we want to understand why we're here. What life is all about. We have to go back to the beginning. So let me review quickly. I'm
[00:03:20] not going to re-preach the last two weeks of messages. We don't have enough time to do that.
[00:03:24] If you weren't with us the last couple of weeks, I do encourage you, get on our YouTube, go watch those. And God's word has a beautiful, beautiful message for us. Week number one in our series,
[00:03:35] we stepped into Genesis chapter one and Genesis chapter two. From the beginning of creation, God had a plan. And in fact, God's plan was beautiful. You are not here on accident. In fact, who you are is not an accident. If you walk back through mythology, there's some stories about the
[00:03:57] origin of life that are honestly horrifying, demoralizing, depressing, and disgusting.
[00:04:07] but that's not what scripture points us to. You're not the offcast, illegitimate child of some demigod. You weren't the product of some scientist walking through a laboratory, knocking over a beaker, and there was an explosion and out popped you. You're not an accident.
[00:04:36] Rather, God tells us that you were created on purpose for purpose. You were made exactly the way God intended. Men and women, big and small personalities, hair color, ethnicities, God created with all of his immense creativity, God created and it was good.
[00:05:06] And as we walk through scripture, we go back to the beginning.
[00:05:09] Genesis chapter 1, Genesis chapter 2, we see that God created on purpose for a purpose.
[00:05:15] You're not an accident.
[00:05:16] You were actually created to be the living, breathing representative of Almighty God.
[00:05:21] In past weeks, we've said it this way, that you were created by a grand God with a grand purpose.
[00:05:28] You were created to be good.
[00:05:30] You were created to rejoice in good.
[00:05:32] You were created to work for good.
[00:05:34] but we all know that that's not exactly what we experience every moment of every day now.
[00:05:45] And so last Sunday, we stepped into Genesis 3 where the Bible continues this story of life and it shows us what happened. If everything was good, if you were created good, if you were created on purpose, for a purpose, where does suffering come from? Why is there pain? What
[00:06:06] broke? Where do the dark thoughts come from? Where does wickedness and evil come from? And we see as Adam and Eve and truly throughout history, all humanity, we choose our own way. God gives us
[00:06:25] so many good gifts. The garden of Eden, when he's created, everything is beautiful. Everything is perfect. Everything is good. And God put that tree and you could have anything. He gave them everything. And he gave them a choice and said, you can have all the rest, but this one don't eat.
[00:06:48] Satan comes in and tempts and Adam and Eve, or they're questioning God. Does God really care about me? Does God really have my best at heart? Maybe, maybe God's lying to me.
[00:07:05] Did God really say that? You can become like God. You're supposed to be in charge of your own life, right? And so since Genesis 3, humanity, we have been experiencing the effects of throwing off God
[00:07:27] and of seeking to live life our own way. Doesn't it make sense that the creator God of the universe, the one who knows everything, has all wisdom, has all power. He is perfectly, infinitely good. And
[00:07:41] he guides us through this life and says, here's how life is supposed to work. Wouldn't it make sense that the greatest life would be found in him? And yet in our pride, in our rebellion,
[00:07:54] we try to find it elsewhere. So last week we walked through and discovered that. And now this week, I want us to see that God didn't throw his hands up in the air. He didn't get frustrated and
[00:08:10] walk away. He didn't slam the door. He didn't send a comet to wipe us all out. Rather, he loves us and redeems us and is working to bring us back. Who am I? Why am I here? To be a living, breathing
[00:08:37] representative of all mighty, infinite, sovereign, good, loving, wise God. But we know that sin and suffering exists. And so God is on a mission to restore. We're going to look at two passages.
[00:08:54] The last three weeks, we've really been walking our way through the first few chapters here in Genesis, looking at them in big chunks. And then we jump into the New Testament later in scripture as we see what God is doing.
[00:09:06] So Genesis chapter three, just a few verses behind where we were last week, you have the first promise of a Messiah.
[00:09:14] Some people call this the prot-evangelium.
[00:09:17] It's a big word.
[00:09:18] Basically, it means God's first promise of a savior.
[00:09:22] Right after Adam and Eve shattered the creation and sinned and God has to push them out of the garden, And he promises that there will come a redeemer.
[00:09:34] I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring.
[00:09:39] And he, the seed of the woman, this Messiah that would come will bruise Satan's head and you shall bruise his heel.
[00:09:50] Satan sent Jesus to the cross thinking he had victory.
[00:09:54] And yet with Christ's death on the cross, Jesus works salvation for all humanity for all time. And we'll talk more about that here in a few minutes. But let's step into Genesis chapter 4. Chaz was just up here. He read through it with
[00:10:12] us. This is one of my favorite stories in all of scripture is we see God and he interacts with sinners. So you might have in your mind an idea of who God is. And in fact, before we took the
[00:10:27] break for this summer series are Sundays this year, we've been working our way through the gospel of Mark. And that series is just titled See Jesus, because so many of us step through life with preconceived ideas about God that don't match up with what the Bible says. And so we want to see
[00:10:47] Jesus as he is revealed himself through God's word. But this morning, you might come in with an idea of who God is. When I sin, God's going to zap me with a lightning bolt, or God's going to
[00:11:01] finally give up on me. God's going to walk away from me because I'm no longer worthy of God's attention. And so in Genesis chapter 4, we read it a few minutes ago, we have the story of Cain
[00:11:10] and Abel. The very first murder in all of history is recorded here in Genesis 4. And how does God respond? Look at it with me. Genesis 4, starting in verse number 2. And again, she, this is Eve,
[00:11:25] bore his brother Abel and Abel was a keeper of the sheep and Cain a worker of the ground. So these two brothers, they're already incredibly different. In the course of time, Cain brought to the Lord
[00:11:36] an offering of the fruit of the ground and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his
[00:11:48] offering, he had no regard. Let me pause here for a moment. I've preached entire messages just on this passage, and I don't have time to do that this morning. There's details in here that we can
[00:12:00] work through. If you have questions, I would love to talk about it. Why did Cain like one offering?
[00:12:05] Why did God like one offering and not the other? That's a question for another day, but let's keep going. So, Cain, his offering, he had no regard, and Cain was very angry, and his face fell.
[00:12:22] Then notice this in verse 6.
[00:12:23] God comes personally and asks a question.
[00:12:28] The Lord said to Cain, why are you angry?
[00:12:33] Why is your face fallen?
[00:12:36] If you do well, will you not be accepted?
[00:12:39] And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door.
[00:12:44] Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.
[00:12:49] Imagine this with me.
[00:12:52] You get angry at your sibling.
[00:12:55] Most of us in here have a brother or a sister, and I'm sure that you can think of a moment, probably just one moment, but I'm sure you can think of at least one moment
[00:13:04] where you were a little bit upset, a little bit frustrated, and maybe on the edge of hurting your sibling. Maybe, perhaps, possibly, maybe you're better than I am and that never happened for you. But think back to that moment, and let's say in that moment, just when you are
[00:13:24] at your most upset, almighty God shows up and he asks you a question. He doesn't zap you with a lightning bolt. He doesn't send a meteor to strike you down and he doesn't even say you're an idiot.
[00:13:46] Stop it. He says, why are you so angry? It's a question meant to open us up, isn't it? It's like God is using this question almost like a surgeon's knife to get to the heart of the matter. We're
[00:14:09] to see it as it continues on, but God's desire over and over again is to bring us back, to help us see ourselves, to help us see what's good and right, to help us see him. But his desire is to
[00:14:25] bring us back. So here, before anything has happened, the murder hasn't even occurred yet, but God shows up and says, hey, why are you angry? I can tell on your face that you're so mad at your
[00:14:42] brother. Isn't that so real? You walk in the room, you see your kids there, and you immediately know something just happened. And so what comes out? Hey guys, what happened? Are you guys okay? God
[00:14:56] walks up and he says, why are you so angry? I can see it on your face. Watch what happens next because sin's waiting. So keep going. Verse number eight, Genesis chapter four, verse eight, Cain spoke to Abel, his brother, when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother
[00:15:16] Abel and killed him. Then the Lord crushed Cain. Is that what Genesis 4 says? It says, then the Lord said to Cain, where is Abel, your brother? Once again, God comes and asks a question, wanting repentance, wanting confession, wanting to bring Cain back, wanting to work
[00:15:36] through this. And he says, where's your brother? God knows. God sees everything. God is not oblivious. And yet once again, he comes and he asks a question meant to restore. What does Cain say?
[00:15:51] Who am I? Am I my brother's keeper? And the Lord said, what have you done? Genesis chapter four, three times, God comes and almost does like a little counseling session. He asked this question three times, Cain, why are you angry? I can tell there's something going on. Cain, can you let me
[00:16:21] help you? Watch out. Cain, where's your brother? What have you done? Cain never tells God where his brother is. God knows. So he says, the voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the
[00:16:50] ground. The passage goes on. We won't read the rest of it. You're welcome to later, but the passage goes on and God does lay consequences on Cain for the murder of his brother. It is justice. God is a
[00:17:06] just God. He cannot ignore sin. He must punish wrongdoing. But it's interesting as you continue reading on, Cain even responds to God, God, this is too much. I can't handle this. And God, in his
[00:17:20] mercy, even as he's judging wrongdoing, God extends mercy. I'll let you read that this afternoon.
[00:17:29] Let's jump now into the New Testament. Luke chapter 15. Can you go there? Turn your Bible with me to Luke chapter 15, and we're going to see a famous story. It lines up in some ways to
[00:17:40] where we are at in Genesis 4. God's heart, he's not a vindictive, exasperated judge. He's not out to crush us. He's out to restore us. He's out to call us back. He wants us to repent of our sins
[00:17:54] and be restored. In Luke chapter 15, we have another story. This is actually Jesus teaching.
[00:18:01] Jesus, the son of God, came to earth, walked on this planet with us, experienced the depths of human sin, the depths of suffering, and yet he still came to save. Luke chapter 15, he's speaking
[00:18:16] to a gathered crowd and he's telling parables. Parables are these fictional stories with deep spiritual truths. And so Jesus is the storyteller. And so he tells the story that we commonly know as the prodigal son. I think there's other titles, other names that might be more appropriate for it,
[00:18:37] but you probably know of it by the title, the prodigal son. Let's look at it together.
[00:18:46] God is on a mission to redeem. God's love is infinite and eternal. And let's see him.
[00:18:53] So Jesus tells the story and he's doing it on purpose. He said, there was a man who had two sons and the younger of them said to his father, father, give me the share of property that is
[00:19:05] coming to me. And he divided his property between them, between the two sons. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had, took a journey into a far country and there he squandered
[00:19:18] his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country and he began to be in need. So the story goes on. He wasted everything he had and then he
[00:19:30] ends up feeding pigs, which for the Jews that are listening to the story, that is beyond low. In fact, that's the lowest of low. Pigs were considered unclean to them. They would not go anywhere near
[00:19:42] them. They would not keep them. They would not touch them. They would not even look at them.
[00:19:45] Like they didn't want to have anything to do with pigs. This guy, he gets all his money. He goes and has the time of his life, and then he runs out. And he's reduced to feeding pigs. But then he
[00:20:02] needs something to eat. He doesn't have anything to eat. So, he's reduced even further to where Jesus tells the listening crowd, he began to eat from the pig slop. And then he wakes up.
[00:20:20] He'd gotten so low that something finally clicked, and he said, I could go back home.
[00:20:27] my father's servants have it better than I do. They're not feeding pigs. They're not eating slop. They've got it better than I do. Maybe I should go back to my father. We'll see as we
[00:20:43] continue on that Jesus, as he tells this story, intends the father to be a picture of our heavenly father of God, of the creator, who's also calling us back. Verse number 20, he arose, the younger
[00:20:59] son arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion and ran and embraced and kissed him. The father wasn't just going about his
[00:21:10] everyday life. He was waiting for his son to return. In fact, he was watching. And when he saw him, he ran to meet him. And the son said to him, father, I have sinned against heaven and before
[00:21:21] you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. There's no pride there. There's no self-aggrandizing.
[00:21:31] Hey, I mean, dad, I would have made it except like this economic downturn. I mean, I really had a pretty good thing going and I'm only back here for a little while and then I'm getting out of here
[00:21:42] again. The son comes back broken, ready to leave it all behind because he understands we're true goodness is found. In fact, he says, I'm not even worth anything. I'm not even worth being called your son. Just let me be a servant. Verse 22 goes on though, and the father interrupts him.
[00:22:11] But the father said to his servants, bring quickly the best robe. Do you see the heart of God here?
[00:22:21] He doesn't zap with a lightning bolt. He doesn't send a comet. He doesn't throw up his hands and walk away. He doesn't berate the son. Rather, he actually sends the servants to go prepare a feast,
[00:22:31] the best robe, a ring for his finger, shoes on his feet, and he celebrates that his son has returned.
[00:22:39] Look at the next verses, 23 and 24. Bring the fatted calf, kill it, let us eat and celebrate for this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found and they begin to celebrate.
[00:22:55] But then if we kept reading, you would see the other brother.
[00:22:59] So this story is often called the prodigal son because we watch the younger son run away and then come back.
[00:23:05] But sometimes we lose sight of the other brother.
[00:23:09] So the other brother has stayed home.
[00:23:11] He's worked out in the fields.
[00:23:12] He's done exactly what his father told him to do.
[00:23:15] And so the younger brother comes back.
[00:23:16] There's a feast happening.
[00:23:18] There's just so much commotion around the house.
[00:23:21] And the older brother comes back and says, what's going on?
[00:23:25] Oh, your brother's come back.
[00:23:27] He's returned and your father has thrown a party to celebrate.
[00:23:31] Look at verse 28.
[00:23:34] This brother, the good brother, the one who kept it all together, the one who did everything right, the one who did all the good things just like he was supposed to do, he gets angry and he throws his own little pity party.
[00:23:54] He refuses to go in.
[00:23:56] Notice the father.
[00:23:58] Do you remember in Genesis chapter four?
[00:23:59] So Cain gets angry and you can see it on his face and God comes out to Cain and says, Cain, why are you so angry? Cain, I can see, I can see you're bothered. Can we talk about this?
[00:24:12] Watch out. Luke chapter 15, one son runs away, wastes his living, comes back in repentance.
[00:24:21] This son has always done what he knew he was supposed to do. And he gets angry and the father once again comes out and entreats him. Verse 29, he answered his father, don't you see everything
[00:24:37] I've done? Look, these many years I've served you, I've never disobeyed your command and you never gave me a young goat that I could celebrate with my friends. I don't care that my brother's back.
[00:24:49] Life is about me and I've done everything I'm supposed to do. God, why haven't you done what I wanted you to do. Verse 30, when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living,
[00:25:05] your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him. It goes on and the father entreats the son, but the story finishes with the family, everyone gathered inside the house celebrating except for the older brother. Some people have said it this way, as we consider
[00:25:35] God's word, as we connect it, the younger son and the older son, you see two ways of approaching life that might sound familiar. One way is the way of moral conformity. I did everything right.
[00:25:49] I did everything I was told to do. And then the other is the way of self-discovery. We have a lot of that going on too, don't we? Just let me go find myself, be true to myself. Let me do what I
[00:26:00] want to do. One side of this says the people who do their own thing, the people are trying to discover themselves and just, they are their own person. My body, my choice. You can't tell me what
[00:26:13] to do. Some of us are tempted to stand here and look over there and say, they're the problem.
[00:26:22] You've wasted everything on prostitutes. You've done everything you wanted to do. And you're the reason our culture is in chaos. You're the reason my life hurts. But then if we run over here to this other side, these people are looking over there and saying, you're just self-righteous.
[00:26:41] You think you've got all the answers, but life is all about you. Doesn't that sound familiar?
[00:26:51] Our culture loves to split us into two groups and then pit those groups against each other.
[00:27:01] And what Jesus does in Luke 15 is actually he shows us that both of those are wrong.
[00:27:10] Let me explain it this way.
[00:27:11] Tim Keller, a pastor and author, he said it this way.
[00:27:15] So we have two sons, one bad by conventional standards and one good, yet both are alienated from the father.
[00:27:21] The father has to go out and invite each of them to come into the feast of his love.
[00:27:26] But Luke 15 comes to an unthinkable conclusion.
[00:27:32] Jesus, the storyteller, deliberately leaves the elder brother in his alienated state.
[00:27:37] The bad son enters the father's feast, but the good son won't come in.
[00:27:44] The lover of prostitutes is saved, but the man of moral rectitude is still lost.
[00:27:54] Church, for three weeks now, we've been walking through laying this foundation for our Who Am I series. God created us good. You were created on purpose for purpose. God made you to be a living,
[00:28:06] breathing representative of almighty God. You were meant to be good, enjoy good, work for good. It was all meant to be good. But sin comes in and we want to do life my way. I want to be God. I don't
[00:28:20] want somebody else in charge of my life. Let me do what I want to do. And even if there is a God, God, you have to do things my way because I've done everything right. Like I read your Bible.
[00:28:32] I pray every day. I'm supposed to be nice, but God, you haven't done what I want you to do.
[00:28:38] So whether you're really far from God or whether you feel like you're a really good person, many times we live life the exact same way. Fighting for what I want and caring nothing about the Father. But in Genesis 4, in Luke 15, and over and over and over again in Scripture,
[00:29:13] we see that God still loves us. Just like Cain, just like the older brother in Luke 15, God comes and says, what's going on? Will you return to me? Just like Luke 15, just like Genesis,
[00:29:37] God has a loving, redemptive plan for you and I. He doesn't leave us in our sin. He doesn't ignore our sin. God's judgment is rightly, correctly laid on top of wickedness. God will judge every
[00:29:57] wrong thing that you have ever, you are doing, or you will ever do. God is not oblivious.
[00:30:05] You can't hide the body out in the field and God somehow misses it. And yet at no moment, at no moment does God say, you are beyond my reach. I'm going to throw you in the trash can.
[00:30:21] Can I take you back to the beginning? You are infinitely valuable because God created you, but you're a sinner who's chosen to go your own way. So God made a way. I can't work my way.
[00:30:43] into heaven. I can't be good enough. I can't do enough good deeds to outweigh my bad deeds.
[00:30:50] It's not like those carbon emission certificates. Have you heard of those?
[00:30:54] Companies are putting carbon in the atmosphere, but to sort of counteract it, they buy these certificates and somehow that. You can't do that with your sin. You can't pay enough money to the church. You can't say enough prayers. You can't work your way into heaven. But Jesus sent his son,
[00:31:13] God sent his son, Jesus, to die for me. In fact, there's a song that you might know. It summarizes it so beautifully. Because he lives by the Gaithers, God sent his son, they called him
[00:31:29] Jesus. He came to love, heal, and forgive. He lived and died to buy my pardon. An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives. We're going to be done here in just a moment, but let me walk
[00:31:45] through this with you quickly. The gospel is a word that we throw around in church a lot. Gospel literally means good news. It's the good news of Jesus Christ. The fact that God, who is creator,
[00:31:58] sent his son to come down to this earth to love, heal, and forgive, to save me from my sins. Jesus came, was born in a manger, and then ultimately he hung on a cross because I could never pay my
[00:32:14] sin debt. I needed a sacrifice, someone eternal, someone greater than I am. And Jesus offered himself to save every single one of us for all eternity. Jesus cannot ignore sin, but the price was paid in Jesus. So what do we do with this? Do we live life my way? Do you live life your way?
[00:33:00] Either, however you want. You just go waste. The life that God has blessed you with, the life that God has given to you, everything that he has poured into you, you go and waste it.
[00:33:14] Maybe it's with prostitutes. Maybe it's with something else. But you just, you use it to do whatever you want to do. Or maybe you're over here on the other side, kind of like that older brother
[00:33:27] and life is still all about you. You're just very moral. Do you live life your way or do you run back to God? Who am I? I'm a grand creation of a grand God. I'm a living, breathing representative
[00:33:57] of holy almighty creator God. But I'm a sinner, rebelling against God, trying to live life my own way. It looks like different things, but God has a plan. And just like Luke 15 is that younger
[00:34:17] brother comes back and he says, I'm no longer worthy. Father, will you forgive me? And God the Father sets a party in store. He brings the robe. He puts the ring back on the finger. He kills the
[00:34:36] fatted calf. And he says, welcome home. This last slide, as we consider God's plan, as we consider who we are, can I call you to commit to God? Not to live life your own way, whether that's trying
[00:34:53] to look really good and looking better than the people over there. So if I look better than the people over there, maybe God will accept me right here. Or maybe you're over here and you're like,
[00:35:01] it doesn't even matter. And I thought I would find what I wanted here, but I got everything I wanted and everything that goes with it. And it's a mess. And I realized that I need to come back to
[00:35:12] God. Commit to God. Repent of your sins and find the freedom of life in Christ.
[00:35:22] This transforms everything about life. We're going to take the next five weeks and talk about that. But before I even give you a little teaser and a promo, we're going to celebrate the Lord's this morning. The Lord's Supper is intended for God's people. I'm going to ask our men to come
[00:35:41] forward. And the Lord's Supper is intended to remind us of what Jesus has done. The New Testament tells us that Jesus' body was broken and he shed his blood on the cross for us so that we could be
[00:35:59] free. And we're told in scripture in 1 Corinthians that as often as we do this, we're reminded of Jesus' sacrifice. And it's meant to be a time of rejoicing and a time of celebration. So we're
[00:36:14] going to pause our service, not really pausing, but we're going to take time to celebrate the Lord's Supper. Then we're going to come back. Guys, I have one last slide up there. We have five weeks left in this series, and this is where it really starts to get practical and personal,
[00:36:34] as if it hasn't been already. These next five weeks, we're going to walk through life in areas that we're tempted to find all of our identity and to wrap ourselves around these things.
[00:36:51] And I want to challenge you to commit to be here the next five weeks so that God can guide us. God can guide you. Maybe you say, you know, I feel like I understand this. I don't need this. Great.
[00:37:02] Come and hear God's truth because there's men and women around us that do need this truth.
[00:37:10] So, my relationships are changed because of who I am in Christ.
[00:37:15] Your career is freed.
[00:37:16] You're no longer enslaved.
[00:37:18] You have to do, but rather, there's new freedom.
[00:37:23] Your sexuality is transformed.
[00:37:25] Did that one catch you a little bit?
[00:37:29] God actually changes the way we view sex and sexuality.
[00:37:33] it's not about all of what I want and yet God created it it's beautiful and good my gender is understood masculinity femininity I don't have to be swayed by culture because I understand who God designed me and created me to be and then my ethnicity is appreciated join us these next
[00:37:58] five weeks as we see God's truth in everyday moments. It will be powerful. I do encourage you, as I said earlier, grab one of those cards on your way out and bring someone with you. All
[00:38:12] people, I'm not just making this up, everyone everywhere is searching for fulfillment. They're searching for purpose. They're searching. They're trying to answer the question, who am I? Some of us have found answers and yet some are following lies, living life their own way. Let's see Jesus.
[00:38:35] Commit to these next five weeks and I promise you it will be powerful. We're going to come up, we like to conclude with a song. So Ricky, the worship team is going to come back
[00:38:45] and we're going to finish singing and then when we're done, you are dismissed.
