#dcnsunday 9/3/23 With Pastor Scott Williams

Join us as Pastor Scott leads us in week 3 of our sermon series "My Jesus."
and be sure to visit our website https://defiancenazarene.org/
& did you know you could give online? https://defiancenazarene.org/online-giving/

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Like that. It just sets itin the right spot, doesn't It gets
us prepared to hear the word.I'm grateful for the opportunity to present to
you this morning. Sorry, I'mkind of melancholy right here all of a
sudden. I don't mean to bedo that. You guys know him use
a little more hyper than that.But it's just nice to come and feel

(00:22):
the spirit just working here today.And I'm so grateful for this opportunity today.
So we have been in the serieslet me tell you about my Jesus,
and so today I'm going to startoff with a little bit of recap,
just a small one taste and seewhat the Lord has done out of

(00:44):
Psalms. And then we headed tothe Bread and the Fish with Matthew.
We talked about how that was alldistributed, and I wrote some notes down
here so I would just kind ofrefresh us just a little bit of where
we've been. So Pastor Tera broughtup that Jesus not only takes care of

(01:07):
our spiritual needs, but he hadthe group of it was thousands upon thousands.
We know that right, It saysfive thousand, not including men and
children. And we discovered that thatJesus had compassion on them. Jesus,
the Jesus that we serve, hascompassion, just straight out Jesus has compassion.

(01:30):
And it's not just physical or notjust spiritual. But he took care
of their hunger needs. It saidhe had compassion on them, and they
were struggling, and he began healingthem. And I don't know, have
you ever been into a crowd ofthousands. I don't know how many people
came to Jesus and said, hey, I've got this problem. And it

(01:51):
says that by the time everything cameto pass, it was it was late
in the day, So I don'tknow how early Jesus started, but somewhere
along the line it started get inlate in the day. So Jesus had
been going and going and going,and Jesus he set aside his tiredness to
take care of the people. Infact, we know that he had gone
away because John had been killed,and he had gone away to just be

(02:16):
alone. And yet all these peopleshowed up. So Jesus is a person
of compassion. He tells the disciples, well, you feed them, and
we don't have anything. We havea couple of fish, we have some

(02:38):
loaves of bread, and he says, bring them to me, and I
can do what's necessary. And thelessons, just real quick, is when
we bring Jesus what we have,Jesus can do anything. That's a pretty
simple lesson. It doesn't matter howbig are you, or how much you

(03:00):
have or how little you have.There was a boy who had some fish
and some bread, and Jesus multipliedit to feed and take care of everyone.
I love that. I'm gonna hiton this next part here today we're
heading into tell me about Let metell you about my Jesus. Jesus values

(03:24):
you. And Pastor Tara again,she brought up the little boy in this
story. And I don't know ifyou caught this or not. I know
Brian and I caught this, shesaid. I told her I caught this,
and she said, well, Briansaid the same thing that we didn't

(03:44):
even realize that the boy had notbeen counted. It says Jesus fed five
thousand. There were five thousand there, not including the women and children.
And the boy wasn't he even countedyet. He's the one who supplied what

(04:05):
Jesus needed for the day to takecare of everyone. So let me tell
you about my Jesus. Jesus valuesyou. Jesus values you when nobody else
counts you in, nobody else countsyou in the count You ever felt that

(04:27):
way, ever felt like it didn'tmatter, ever felt like I know I
have at times. I know whenI was younger, I felt that a
lot. Tell you a couple aquick story. I remember. I don't
remember how old I was. Iwas young. I was young enough to
be sitting in my mom's lap andI asked my mom, mom, how

(04:49):
much am I worth? Kind ofa silly question, and she goes,
oh, you're worth a dollar ninetyeight. No, No, that's not
true. She's watching probably No,she said, oh, honey, there's
not enough money in the world.How valuable you are? How much you're

(05:11):
worth? I said, no,seriously, put I'm a kid, you
know, tell me how much?Like one hundred thousand dollars, one hundred
dollars, a million dollars. Shegoes, honey, we cannot put a
price on it. You're invaluable,You're beyond anything. God created you special,
you have all this value. AndI didn't grasp that I needed a

(05:32):
dollar amount. So she said sixbucks. No, no, she made
it her point help me to understandthat there's no way that we could put
a price on the value of whoyou are today. So today, I

(05:56):
don't know how many of you inthe room are baseball fans, or when
you were chill or maybe you stillare. You collect baseball cards. So
I mostly in my junior high years, we would get on our bikes.
We would run down to what wecalled the drug store that's down in the
corner now, but it was thepharmacy that had all the snacks and all

(06:16):
the candy and everything, but theyhad thirty five cents. It started out
twenty five cent packs of baseball cardsand it had this horrible piece of gum
in it. It was hard asthe rock. And we go down there
and every dime, every quarter,every dollar that we saved up, we'd
get on our bikes. We wouldhead down to the drug store and we
would go and buy as many packsof cards as we possibly could. And

(06:42):
some of them were really valuable atthe time. You know that one's worth
like three bucks, that one's worthlike six dollars, and that one's not
worth out. Let's put that mybike pedals. All right, Well,
this I was trying to figure outtoday or yesterday and this week on how
how can I demonstrate value? Andso last night God woke me up and

(07:05):
he said do this. So I'vebeen collecting card. I stopped collecting cards
pretty much when I was in highschool. But I've held them all these
years. Now that's a long time. So I pulled out I just reached
into my box and grabbed out sixcards. I just reached down and grabbed

(07:25):
six cards, and I've got themwith me today. So I wanted to
give you an idea of value.So we'll start with stam Musal. Some
of you know who stam Musual was. He was played for Saint Louis.
And it's a nineteen sixty two baseballcard. And I said, well,

(07:46):
how much is that worth today?So I quickly looked up on the internet
and it gave me anywhere from thirtydollars I paid. My dad paid two
hundred for it, So anywhere fromthirty dollars to fifty three hundred dollars.
Okay. Then I just I happenedto grab a seventy one Nolan Ryan pitcher

(08:11):
or a seven, yeah, seventy, and it was anywhere from seventy dollars
to twenty three hundred dollars, sokind of making some bank here maybe then
oh, gotta find it Roger Clemensrookie card. Found that seventy dollars to

(08:33):
fifty four thousand dollars. Then Ihad a Mark McGuire rookie card, got
that sitting here, and that wasanywhere from the big price of nineteen ninety
nine to twenty seven thousand dollars.Again, all right, I have a

(09:03):
mic some of you know would knowMike Schmidt. I got his rookie card
here, and it's anywhere from threedollars in ninety nine cents to twelve thousand
dollars. And then the last oneI've got is a cal Rifken Junior Rookie
card that I happened to have,was anywhere from twenty dollars to four thousand
dollars. Now, this stack ofcards is worth anywhere from approximately three hundred

(09:30):
dollars to one hundred thousand dollars,more likely one hundred and fifty. I
use those cards. These were notcards that just sat in a box when
the moment I got them. They'rebent up, they're a little scratched up,
and all that. But see,the value that we place on things

(09:56):
is what like with baseball cards,is the value is what's anybody's willing pay
for it. It's worth as muchas anybody's willing to pay for it.
The value with with anything else wehave in life is how much it's it's
it values us. A good anduh partner in work is a lot more

(10:20):
valuable than a partner in work that'shorrible that never does anything. And So
today I want to talk about thisidea of value and it's and and it's
based on not what somebody is willingto pay for because it's been paid for.
It's based on what God says ourvalues at So I want to I

(10:41):
want to read this story. It'sa long story, so we're going to
read through it. So just bearwith me and put yourself in the story.
So we're gonna read the parable ofthe Lost Son in Luke. So
it'll take me a minute to readthrough it. But I want you to
picture this. It's story time.Don't just listen to me, but listen

(11:01):
to me. Put it in yourbrain, put yourself in the situation.
Jesus has been talking to the Phariseesand the leaders of the day, and
there they're dealing with him, spendingtime with people who don't know God,
who are sinners according to Jesus,and according to the Pharisees. And Pharisees

(11:24):
are like Jesus, why are youhanging out with these sinners? And Jesus
tells them three parables, the oneof lost sheep, lost coin, and
this one of the lost son.And so we're gonna read this story of
the lost son, So let meread. Jesus continued. There was a
man who had two sons. Theyounger ones said to his father, father,

(11:46):
give me my share of the estate. So he divided his property between
them. Not long after that,the younger son got together all he had
set off for a distant country,and there squandered his wealth in wild living.
After he'd spent everything, there wasa severe famine in that whole country,

(12:07):
and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself
to himself out to a citizen ofthat country, who sent him to his
fields to feed pigs. He longedto fill his stomach with the pods that
the pigs were eating, but noone gave him anything. When he came
to his senses. He said,how many of my fathers hired servants have

(12:28):
food to spare, and here Iam starving to death. I will set
out and go back to my fatherand say to him, father, I
have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be
called your son. Make me likeone of your hired servants. So he
got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long
way off, his father saw himand was filled with compassion for him.

(12:52):
He ran to his son, threwhis arms around him, and kissed him.
The son said to him, father, I have sinned against heaven and
against you. I am no longerworthy to be called your son. But
the father said to his servants,quick, bring the best robe and put
it on him. Put a ringon his finger, and sandals on his
feet. Bring the fat and calfand kill it. Let's have a feast

(13:16):
and celebrate, for this son ofmine was dead and is alive again.
He was lost and is found.Wow, that's exciting right there. So
they began to celebrate. Meanwhile,the older son was in the field.
When he came near the house,he heard music and dancing, so he

(13:37):
called one of the servants and askedhim what was going on. Your brother
has come, he replied, andyour father has killed the fat and calf
because he has in back safe andsound. The older brother became angry and
refused to go in, so hisfather went out and pleaded with him.
But he answered his father, Look, all these years I've been slaving for

(14:00):
you and never disobeyed your orders.Yet you never gave me anything, even
a young goat, so I couldcelebrate with my friends. But when this
son of yours, who has squanderedyour property with prostitutes, comes home,
you kill the fat and calf forhim, my son, the father said,

(14:20):
you are always with me, andeverything I have is yours. But
we had to celebrate and be gladbecause this brother of yours was dead and
is alive again. He was lostand has found. Isn't that a great
story? When I was doing research, several commentaries said, this is the

(14:41):
best story, the greatest story evertold. It's the greatest story ever told.
There was a movie about that,But this is the greatest story ever
told. So today I want totake you through five observations or lessons that
I want to us to learn,And the first one is God values people.

(15:05):
God values people. In verse twenty, it says that while the sun
was a far way off, thefather ran up to him, hugged him,
and kissed him. Now, useyour imaginations. What does the son

(15:31):
look like? He was a longway away? What had he been doing?
Feeding pigs? He had no money, no place to shower, no
food, He's lost weight, hestinks he's gone on a long journey.

(15:54):
And he comes home and the father, it says, he's looking. I
always picture every time I've read thispassage. I've always looked at the father
that every morning he got up beforehe did anything else, and he got
up at the edge of the hillor the opening of the door, and
he would look out the direction hisson left. And he'd be looking each

(16:18):
day, hoping that his son wouldcome home. And it says that when
he saw him a long way off. It doesn't say the son saw him
and ran. It says the olderfather. I've got a couple adult children.
If I ran that, I don'tknow how far it was. It
says a long way. A couplehundred feet about all I got. But

(16:48):
if I'm motivated, I could pushthat. Now I may pass out,
but it says, while that hewas a long way off, he ran
to him, threw his arms aroundthe stinky boy, the smelly, awful
looking man, hugged him, hekissed him. Do you picture that he

(17:17):
looked through the ugliness. He lookedthrough the stinkiness of the boy's life,
the man's life. He looked beyondthat because he didn't see the stink he
didn't see the awfulness. He sawhis boy, and he belonged to him.

(17:37):
And then it says in verse twentytwo to twenty four, it says
that he that he said, hurry, bring him a new robe and throw
it around him. Get him somenice fresh clothes, put a ring on
his finger, and sandals on hisfeet. Meaning he doesn't even have shoes.
Most likely if the ones he has, they're probably worn out. If

(17:59):
he has any, he probably leftwith some, but who knows how long
he was gone. And again,when you're slopping pigs, they're probably not
in the best shape. He says, throw this kid is mine. I'm
gonna take care of this kid.The son was never forgotten or disowned.

(18:22):
Even though the son ran so faraway, the father always said, he's
still my son. He's still myson. I don't care how far he
is, I don't care what he'sdone. I don't care what he looks
like. He is mine and Iown him. He is mine. The

(18:42):
father was filled with compassion, itsays when he ran up to him compassion.
Jesus is filled with compassion. Theword here is that his heart beat
steadily faster. That's now mine wouldhave been just about to stop from the
run, but it says that theheart was beating faster. In the first

(19:07):
two stories I mentioned about the lostcoin and the lost sheep, if you
ever read the stories, a coinwas lost, and the lady cleans the
entire house until she finds the coinand the lost sheep. The sheep has
wandered away, and the shepherd leavesthe ninety nine behind and goes and finds
the one, and then they bothcelebrate the end. And in both those
stories, the coin was not lookingfor the owner. The sheep was just

(19:33):
wandering. It was the father,it was the lady, it was the
shepherd. Is the father who waslonging to see the coin, longing to
see the sheep, longing to seethe sun. They went out of their
way. The coin just sat there, hidden somewhere. It didn't know if
it was lost or not, butit was valuable to the owner. I

(20:03):
already mentioned that the boy last weekwasn't even counted in the five thousand.
Jesus looked beyond the crowd and sawthe one. Because each one matters,
everyone counts. The second point orobservation today is that that God loves us
like as children. It's not justI love them, but if you've had

(20:29):
children. It's okay if you havenot, but if you have children,
there's a different kind of love.And I never understood that till I had
kids. And I hear that's thesame thing with grandparents. If you're a
grandparent, that there's a different kindof love. I got Amy sitting here
holding one in her arms. It'sasleep. There's a different kind of love
that you have as a parent toa child. And that Jesus said that

(20:53):
the father in this story lays outfor us that God loves us as his
children. In verse eleven, itstarts out and it says the father had
two sons, not two servants,not to other some people that he knows,
not to just anybodies. It saysthe father had two sons and the

(21:15):
story is this picture of God,the father and his children us. It
could have easily said the father hadtwo daughters. It doesn't matter that you
put yourself in this position. Andin this spot here it says the father
had two sons, not two servants. Now servants are mentioned in the story,

(21:37):
but he specifically calls out and sayswe are his children. Verse twenty
again, and it says the fatherran to who the son? This is
the son who had said, father, I know you're not dead yet,
but I want my third of thetwo sons. The way that the estates

(22:03):
were broken up is two thirds wouldgo to the older son. One third
we'd go to the younger son.If there was two, it'd be broken
up that way, right. Theoldest son always got two portions. And
so the younger son says, father, I want mine, Now give it
to me. Now, I wantto spend it. Soon takes it and

(22:23):
goes and spends it, and goesand lives a horrible life. There's no
there's no making this pretty at all. But it says the father saw who,
not some stranger, not that son. Not. Oh I cannot believe
that guy came back. The fathersaw his son ran to his son.

(22:48):
Verse twenty says he loved him,kissed him, hugged him. Romans nothing
can say separate us from the loveof God. Right, nothing, nothing's
going to ever separate me from thelove of my kids. Just not.
It's just not. I will lovethem no matter how they feel about me,

(23:12):
no matter how what they've done,no matter what they they've gone through,
no matter what they've said to me. Oh, it'll hurt. Oh,
the father was hurt in this story. The father was hurt. Oh,
he said, you know, whathave I done? What have I
done to deserve this? That myson would just want to just get up

(23:33):
and leave and want everything? Now, how can he even say that to
me? And then he just getsup and leaves, and then he comes
back. There's pain there, Butit says the father loved him, he
ran to him, he hugged meand kissed him and so forth. Oh,

(23:57):
the father loves us as his children. Third observation is that we need
to recognize that God values us.See, this isn't just a story.
This isn't just a story. Someof us have grown up in great situations.

(24:25):
And again, my mom valued me, my parents valued me, my
grandparents valued me. But I knowpeople in my family as well, not
in my immediate family necessarily, butmy family. I know people in this
church. I know people who grewup in situations that they they had no

(24:47):
value. They were never felt theywere never made to feel like they were
worth anything. They were treated horror. They went through bad situations and people
said mean things, and people peopletreated them unfairly. And because of that,

(25:12):
they've held onto this feeling that Ihave this low we call it low
self esteem nowadays, that I'm notgood enough. I don't I don't measure
up. We all have that.I never measure up. I'm not as
good as so, and so I'mnot as good as that person. I
can't do this, and I can'tdo that. Oh, I'm just I'm

(25:36):
I'm not talented here, I ISome of you are understanding that. I
think we all understand that to somedegree, and and we hold on to
that, and we try to realizethat that because somebody said that, then
that's true. This story that we'veread here, in verse twenty one,

(26:00):
it says this, the son saidto him father, I have sinned against
Heaven and against you. I amno longer worthy to be called your son.
I'm no longer worthy to be calledyour son. Somewhere along the line,

(26:22):
he felt like he was worthy becausehe says, I'm no longer worthy
to be your son. He feltlike he had worth. And then because
of the mistakes he made, hefelt like that his worth shrink because of
the mistakes he had lived out becausehe was selfish, that he's no longer

(26:49):
worthy. And for some reason,in his mind, he thinks his value
in life is based on the thingshe's done and the people he's hurt,
instead of realizing that his value wasnot based on what he owns or what
the father owns. It's not basedon what he's done or where he's been.

(27:12):
But his value is strictly based onthe fact that he is the son
of the father. And the fatherdoes not say, oh you have wealth,
you're my kid. Oh you've messedup. You're not my kid.
Do you understand that? And somewherealong the line, many of us in

(27:34):
this room, many of us whohear my voice today, think that our
value is based on how good Ican be, or how somebody else looks
at me, or how somebody elsetreats me. I'm telling you today you
have value simply because your God's child, and you have value, and you

(28:03):
need to recognize that. I markeddown here. I thought this was interesting.
It says when he came to hissenses, when his brain caught up
to the reality that I am stillI still know that guy. When he

(28:30):
came to his senses is when heheaded home. Now, he didn't have
it all figured out. He said, I just need I just need three
square meals a day. I'm justhungry. But when he came to his
senses, he came to the father, and the father did not see him

(28:53):
as a servant, but he sawhim as a son. And that's how
God sees you. Come to yoursenses. Come to your senses. Stop
living this life of I don't measureup. Nope, You're not as good
as me at some things, andI'm not near as good as you are
at some things. People keep bringingin all this food. Have you guys,

(29:15):
gotten the tomatoes in the corn.Some people know how to grow stuff.
My garden looks like a desert.It's just pathetic. People know how
to do things I don't know howto do. That does not make them
more valuable. At times, Ithink so because I get free meal out

(29:37):
of it, but it doesn't makethem more valuable. Nor does the fact
that I can stand before you andspeak in front of a crowd where some
of you are like no chance inthe world I'll ever get in front of
anybody doesn't make me more valuable thanyou. Our value is not based on
our skills, our our abilities,our talents, our giftedness. Our value

(29:59):
is it's rickly based on the factthat we are sons and daughters of the
most high King. Everything about whowe are, every part of who you
are is when I sat on mymom's laud and said, Mom, how
valuable I am? I? Howmuch am I worth? Oh? Honey,
you are worth much more than thisworld can ever contain, and so
are you. You need to recognizethat today some of you are hanging on

(30:25):
to the past and you cannot letthat go. You can't seem to ever
let that go, and it's holdingyou back. Oh I Pastor Elisa gave
them the story and the questions withtheir kids. Oh, I've got to
be good enough to come to Jesus. Nope, the son was not good
enough to come to the Father.The son was a wreck, He was

(30:48):
a disaster. It's when he cameto the Father though, that he got
a new robe, he got anew ring, he got new sandals,
and he got a party thrown forhim. That's our value. You're catching
me. Oh, I'm getting alook excited up here, getting a little
excited. The next observation is Godvalues others. And I put this even

(31:14):
those not like us. Oh,this one hit hard. God values others,
even those not like us. Inthe first part of the chapter of
Luke fifteen, we have the Phariseestalking Jesus with the tax collectors, and
the Pharisees are like, Jesus,I cannot believe you're hanging out with these

(31:40):
sinners. The whole story, thewhole point of all this is they are
just as valuable as you. AndI'm with them because they need me.
They need to recognize that, becausethey are sinners, because of their lostness,
because they were the lost coin,because they were a lost sheep,

(32:00):
because they were a lost son,that they need to know that the Father,
Ah, God love you no matterwhat. And we have a hard
time with that, right. Idon't necessarily like people who aren't like me.
I don't. I mean, Isee people and they do things,

(32:22):
horrible things. There are horrible thingshappening in this world by people out there,
and I go, what in theworld? God loves them anyway.
God loves them anyway. He doesn'tlike our sins, he doesn't like our
mess ups, he doesn't like ourfailures. He doesn't like that. But
he sure does like us. Hesure likes us. Verse twenty eight in

(32:50):
fifteen says the older brother became angryand refused to go in, so his
father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, Look
have we done this? Haven't wedone this? Look all these years I've
been serving you God, and nowthis guy, Look what he's done.

(33:12):
Look how horrible that person is.God, Look how awful they are.
Look how stinky they are. Lookwhat they've done. I've been I like
the word, he says, I'vebeen slaving for you. As the father
reached literally just said the older sonwas just literally talking to a servant.

(33:36):
All these years, I've been slavingfor you, father, and you wouldn't
give me anything. You wouldn't evengive me a little goat so I can
party with my friends. This isthe patheticsness of it all, my son,
The father said, You're always withme, and everything I have is
yours. People, you're always withhim and everything he has is yours.

(34:06):
The problem with the older son ishe didn't take it. He didn't acknowledge
it. He didn't real he neverrealized his status as one who is valued
by the father. He lived inthis spot, in this space that he
just thought, Oh, I'm justa slave here for my dad, waiting
for him to die so I canget the inheritance one day. He won't
even let me have a party withmy friends. Right. He had it

(34:31):
made. He had it made.We haven't made. We have a savior
who came and died, rose again. We forgave me for all the horrible
things I've done. I've got itmade. I've got it made. No
matter what happens to me from hereon out, I've got it made.

(34:52):
The older son didn't think the youngerwas valuable anymore. That person that looks
different from you, that person who'son the news who's doing horrible things,
the person who's done awful things toyou, God loves them. He just
wants them to come home. Andwe've got to get to the place.

(35:16):
We've got to get to the placewhere we begin to value them too.
We've got to begin to value them. And that's my next point. God
expects us to value others. InLuke ten twenty seventy, he answered,
love the Lord your God, withall your heart, with all your soul,

(35:38):
with all your strength, and withall your mind. And hate everybody
else, No, and love yourneighbors yourself. He's called us to love
the neighbors of ourselves. And Idon't know if you know all your neighbors,
but some of them are really toughto love. But God has called

(36:01):
us to love them as ourselves Matthewtwenty five, thirty four to forty.
Then the King will say to thoseon his right, come you who are
blessed by my father. Take yourinheritance the kingdom prepared for you since the
creation of the world. For Iwas hungry, and you gave me something
to eat. I was thirsty,and you gave me something to drink.
I was a stranger and you invitedme in. I needed clothes and you

(36:22):
clothed me. I was sick andyou looked after me. I was in
prison and you came to visit me. Then the righteous will answer him.
The righteous will answer him. LordWhen do we see you hungry and feed
you at thirsty and give you somethingto drink? When do we see you
a stranger, invite you in orneeding clothes and clothe you. When do
we see you sick and in presentand visit you? The King will reply,

(36:45):
I tell you, whatever you didfor the least of these brothers and
sisters of mine, you did forme. We are called to love those
who are different than us. Thesun can I come back to the father?
If they did not have a relationship, they didn't have a relationship in

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the first place, the son neverwould have come home. They never would
have come home. The truth isthe son felt loved. The son felt
like he had a safe place togo. And people cannot come to us
unless they feel the same. Unlesspeople feel like we are a loving,

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safe place, they'll never come tosee our Jesus. If the Christians can't
do that, then they don't wantour christ I like the fact that the
father does not point out the failures. You know who does? The older
brother, the one who's in.He points out the failures of the ones

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who walked away. The older brotherhas jealousy. What about ism? It's
not fair? He made bad decisions. He deserves it. These are the
Pharisees. Now here's a thought.Now the younger son is in with the

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father and the older son is not. The younger son is celebrating with the
father for the older one can't.Who's on the outside looking in. Now,
the older brother overvalued himself. Hewas self righteous, proud. People

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will never serve the God we loveuntil we love them like the God we
serve. This story had two requests, Give me and make me. Where
are you at in this story?God, give me everything. I'm gonna

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do this my way and I'm gonnatake everything and I'm gonna be that way
or coming back the other way around. Father, make me into a servant.
I think you guys know which oneweek God wants. God doesn't want
us to be selfish people. Hewants us to be made into his image.

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Now I'll wrap it up with thesefour questions for you. This is
this is our response time for Doyou think about if you felt valueless today?
You need to start recognized that youare valuable and start today and that
your value is not based on whatyou have or what you've done or not
done. You have value because Godmade you in his image period. Second

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thing, if you have felt likeyou were unworthy, today's the time to
return to the father and find youvalue in him. The son felt unworthy.
I am no longer worthy to becalled your son. All he had
to do is walk back. Thirdthing, if you've not valued someone else,

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seek forgiveness. First, God,forgive me I've treated somebody as if
I was more important than them.I didn't mess up they did. And
then begin to show them some valueand love them. Go out of your
way, find somebody. And thefourth when I put here is if you
feel you're more valuable than others.The older son felt like he was more

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valuable than the others. He feltlike he was more valuable than his brother,
that's for sure. Recognize that andgo into the party. Don't be
stubborn. Recognize that I'm not anymore valuable than that person. With all
their struggles. God wants us allto party together. That's what he wants

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from us. I hope you caughtthat today. I hurt for people who
can't seem to grab a hold ofwhether or not a two ninety nine card
or a fifty four thousand dollars cardyou're worth more than anything to God.

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Let's stand and pray together. God, you are good, and I want
to give a moment here. God, if there's somebody who needs to just
respond to one of those four statementsat the end, that they have an
opportunity. God, they can cometo the altar, or they can come

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and talk, or they can justspend some time right there and their chairs
the God. I pray that theyrecognize how valuable they are. I pray
they recognize God, how valuable peopleare around them. And God, I
truly hope and pray that they recognizehow much you love them. Today,

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God, help us to celebrate withthe Father in Jesus name.