What's With the Party? 8/29/2021 11:30 AM
by Darrell W. Johns
August 29, 2021 · Atlanta West Pentecostal Church (Lithia Springs, GA)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Luke 15:25-28, Acts 2:1, Deuteronomy 16:10-11, Luke 15:7, Luke 15:10

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/darrell-w-johns--what-s-with-the-party-8-29-2021-11-30-am
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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amen what an honor to be part of the family of god and i'm humbled by the sacrifice of this church of your time and talent and treasure the amazing giving but the giving of yourselves to the lord blows my mind i'm so grateful to you and to the lord who put us together to make a difference in this world i want to welcome all of our children's ministry workers chips children in the power zone would you welcome all of our children's ministry workers and all of our kids who are normally in ships today we're glad to have you in the sanctuary every fifth sunday on this new schedule i'm glad you're here please open your bible to the book of luke chapter 15 what tremendous worship what a tremendous spirit of god amen i'm reading uh from the story of the prodigal son toward the end of that story luke 15 25. now his older son was in the field and as he came and drew near to the house he heard music and dancing so he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant and he said to him your brother has come and because he has received him safe and sound your father has killed the fatted calf but he was angry and would not go in therefore the father came out and pleaded with him the theme of this message comes from the question of the older brother to that servant he asked him what's this noise why do i hear singing and why do i hear dancing in essence he asked what's with the party and i want to preach about that again today god bless you please be seated to mostly leaders but also to our church family a few weeks ago when i spoke on a culture of generosity i said that whatever you do and say over and over creates culture whatever you do and say over and over is a reflection of your true values and as a result it creates culture now this is important in your family because you are creating a family culture it's true in your business if you shape your business whatever you do and say over and over again creates a business culture it's true in our church family it's true in our nation and if you wonder why national patriotism is waning and there is a drift away from god it probably began when we expelled god from our schools and change the national narrative to undermine national patriotism and a god-first focus of our country but that's another story at our church god has given us part of me a culture of blessing i preached about this culture of generosity for 26 years our church has been giving generously and as a result it's our culture the offering that brother joel announced a while ago that was not the result of coercion or pressure it's a result of us giving what we can god blessing what we give being able to give again more people giving more sacrificially and as a result god has just given us this culture of generosity which has become a culture of blessing in our church but if you think about it the culture of generosity is just one facet of the culture of our church what's with a party is also a part of the dna of our church it is the culture of atlanta west pentecostal church and it should be the culture of every christian church around the world amen a missional culture on august the 8th 2005. for the first time i preached the message what's with the party and the lord had spoken to me back then about our need to refocus the attention of our church on the mission of the church that we exist to seek and to save the lost the purpose for which jesus christ came into the world the great commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature that jesus gave us that is the mission of our church our mission is to preach the gospel teach the gospel tell it in a testimony and watch the gospel transform sinners into saints and then watch the power of the word of god through the church change believers into fully devoted followers of jesus christ amen a church of disciples who are also disciple makers that is the goal at atlanta west our mission is very clear the mission of atlanta west pentecostal church is to lead people into a saving relationship with jesus christ and then develop them into fully devoted followers of him at the core it is about evangelizing lost people the gospel saving them and then discipling them which is a lifelong process starting in august of 2005 we began to celebrate every person who was baptized in water in the name of the lord jesus christ for the remission of sins we know that baptism is not merely an outward sign of an inward grace it is for the remission of sins it is essential for salvation it is our culture to celebrate people who are born of water and of the spirit when a person receives the gift of the holy ghost baptized for the first time with the holy ghost we celebrate it with what's with the party from january 2005 we went back to the beginning of 05 through last sunday our meticulous records show that in all the ministries of our church since 2005 through last sunday we have witnessed 2643 people filled with the baptism of the holy ghost with the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues that's something to celebrate [Applause] amen in that same period of time we have baptized in our church 2882 people in the saving name of jesus christ amen [Applause] amen some years have been better than others but we have never lost our focus because over and over again the culture of our church is to do in our church service what makes god happy and what heaven celebrates 2020 tough year coveted no in-person church limited church attendance by registration 2021 hasn't been an easy year either but we continue to preach the gospel we continue to reinforce our mission and build the culture that this is what matters to us because this is what matters to god i think you can feel it the surging improved vitality of our church spiritually we are kind of coming back together the atmosphere of worship conversions of people coming into the kingdom of god we know that this takes hard work amen it is prayer and fasting it is preaching and worshiping it is sowing and reaping it is loving and leading people into a saving relationship with jesus christ but i thank god that for the last 16 plus years amen the lord has helped us keep focused on what really matters to him holy ghost field 2000 643 baptized 2882 and all the lost people that are waiting to come into the kingdom of god that's why i'm preaching this message today some people were saved but they did not stay if you think about the hundreds of lost people who have been saved through the ministries of our church it is amazing but when you consider that our constituency as of our january business meeting report is 1055 people connected to our church actively then you realize that not everybody who is saved here stays here some people are saved but they do not keep their faith some never connect to our church even though they experience salvation here some people move away and other people pass away that is part of the life of a local church but while we celebrate the new births of people coming into the kingdom of god we also need to celebrate and reinforce the new life that follows the new birth amen we want everyone who starts this christian race of faith to finish we're not just interested in celebrating a start we want to see somebody cross the finish line and be saved for eternity and enjoy heaven with jesus christ that is why today we are launching another semester of small groups small groups give us an opportunity to connect people to our church so they can get saved or stay saved small groups have helped and do help new believers become established and their faith the fellowship and the involvement of ministry helps them establish and deepen their walk with god small groups also give us the opportunity to meet people on common ground over common interests with the goal of leading them to holy ground so they can be saved so today at the end of our altar service i want to encourage you to go to the family life center peruse the displays that are there look for an interest of yours and sign up for a small group today the 9 a.m service was amazing those that went back those who signed up but there is room for you now in two weeks our church is going to celebrate a special anniversary 60 years as a local church you can thank god for that 60 years september 12th we will celebrate in service we will have a reception following each service 60 years of faithfulness i wrote about it you can read it in the messenger article today god has been faithful to us and by and large we have been faithful to god and i celebrate with what the lord has done in this church over the past 60 years as a local church we have a tremendous amount of strength and stability we have scores of mature saints who love god and they love this local church jesus said where your treasure is there will your heart be also and when i see a sacrificial commitment offering of 263 thousand dollars you were saying here's my money this is where my heart is and i thank you for that amen what you've invested for the time you've been here we have founding members who are part of our church but the tireless sharing of your time the gracious ministry of your gifts and talents the generous giving of your treasure your money has made a difference and continues to make a difference i want to thank you as a church for loving god and for loving people we're blessed to be an established church i have friends we have daughter churches that struggle to survive and have a handful of people who come to worship thank god for the myriad of ministries that we have in our church for the strong people to encourage others we are really blessed at atlanta west but i want you to understand something that longevity is good as long as a church is not merely alive organizationally but dead spiritually the autopsy of deceased churches revealed that the lack of spiritual births led to spiritual death of a church it is okay for there to be the graying of the local church as members age and are established as long as there is the cry of a baby being born over and over again in that church amen i want to assure you that we are not uncomfortable we are not confused about why we exist we exist to bring lost people into the kingdom of god so they can go to heaven amen and when we cease to reach lost people we forfeit our reason to exist jesus came to seek and save the lost the reason we celebrate the salvation of souls is that it is a high value in the culture of our church and it is a high value in heaven the lord who created the heavens and the earth is not a stoic stick in the mud he's a god that loves a good godly party he asked job one time where were you in creation when the morning stars sang together and the sons of god shouted for joy at creation heaven celebrated what god had done amen the trees of the field clap their hands of the lord and the mountains and hills bring forth praise to god that's the god that we serve and when the lord established laws and customs and principles for national israel his church in the old testament he dotted the landscape of their lives with festivals with feasts that they would celebrate especially there were three feasts a year that every male from all over the world was mandated to come and celebrate before the lord they were to come at passover that commemorated the deliverance from egypt that looked ahead to the death of jesus christ they were to look back to pentecost that happened 50 days after the passover that looked ahead to the birth of the new testament church they were to celebrate the feast of tabernacles where they would live in temporary booths and remember that we are pilgrims and strangers on this earth amen every man had to come acts chapter 2 the outpouring of the gift of the holy ghost we read about how god birthed the church on the day of pentecost when the day of pentecost had fully come now passover was somewhat of a solemn feast it celebrated the death of the enemies of god in egypt as the lord killed the firstborn of everything in egypt that had not had the blood applied to their house but the lord told you how to celebrate pentecost that was more festive deuteronomy 16 10 then you shall keep the feast of weeks another name for the feast of pentecost to the lord your god with the tribute of a freewill offering not mandated not required just give as the lord leads you this is not tithe that you return to the lord is it is an offering like move the mission he said you're going to give it from your hand which the lord shall give you and as god blesses you he said you shall rejoice before the lord your god you and your son and your daughter your male servant and your female servant the levite who is within your gates the stranger that foreigner who lives among you the fatherless and the widow who are among you at the place where the lord your god shall choose to make his name abide this was a mandatory celebration but it was an inclusive celebration the lord said i want everybody to be at the party called pentecost i want you to bring everybody regardless of their rank in life whether they've been raised here or they've moved here we want everybody to be a part of this that was the culture of israel now if you happen to be a dispassionate elitist who disdains the emotion of religion i want you to think about this historically the people of god the jewish people read the book of psalms there are singing shouting instruments dancing there was celebration of all kinds but at the same time historically you may know that the jewish people have been among the most educated intellectual and successful people on the planet you don't have to just be emotional or intellectual you can marry both in your faith with god you don't have to check your brain at the door when you get saved but you worship the lord with your mind your soul your body with your entire being amen their religion was a religion of this and that they brought everything to god i love this description of pentecost to celebrate means to brighten up to be gleeful to be merry god mandates joy in the church but not everybody in israel or today celebrates the recovery of lost people i told you twice that jesus came to seek and to save the lost but there is a fallacy with the pharisees theology that put them at odds with jesus christ the pharisees and the scribes who were theologians they really believed that god hated sinners and that he longed for their destruction they thought god could not wait to cast them into outer darkness where they would be weeping and gnashing of teeth so no wonder in luke 15 they were incensed that while jesus was teaching that tax collectors whom they assumed were crooked and corrupt and many were that tax collectors were attracted to jesus and then out and out sinners who were known to be ungodly people but they were drawn to jesus christ so the pharisees when they saw this in luke 15 they asked this question this man receives sinners and eats with him i said he asked a question it was kind of a question not asked like who is he he can't be holy if he hangs out with unholy people he must not have much discernment or he would know that he is associating with filthy dirty ungodly people not spiritual holy people like us that's how they saw maybe they thought that in heaven that the angels got excited about the 99 just persons who needed no repentance maybe thought they thought that when they slid into their seat with their pious pharisaical condescending self-righteous attitude and god looked down and smiled look at that perfect person sorry that's not how god sees it so jesus had to tell them a story he told him a parable he told him three in fact he said there was a man who had a hundred sheep one of them slipped out of the fold 99 were safe one wandered away and got lost he knew he was lost he didn't know the way home but the shepherd being a true shepherd jesus says which one of you having 99 sheep safe and one loss would not leave the 99 and go after the one and you would search for it until you find it you know if you've ever thought about this good shepherds good church members are focused on lost sheep if you're in the fold if you're doing good it might be nice little lamb to get a pat on the head but you're going to be all right we're focused on the lost sheet we're focused on the herding sheep so help in that effort amen don't demand attention when it needs to go to someone else let the shepherd do his job and jesus said when he finds it he puts it on his shoulders rejoicing and then he comes back home and he calls together his friends and his neighbors and he says to them rejoice with me wasn't your sheep didn't get lost you're not going to have to have to pay for the party i will but would you rejoice with me would you sympathize with what's happened at my house and then jesus applied this he said i say to you he's talking to pharisees and scribes that there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 just persons who need no repentance heaven's happy about you but the mission is the lost sheep rejoice with me now i've thought about this i don't know how much a sheep cost what if the sheep died what if it was devoured by a lion how much actual money would the shepherd have lost did he spend more money on the party than he would have on another sheep perhaps he did but that is not the point he placed value on the lost sheep more than money could buy and didn't you understand that for god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son you may not have been worth that much but he thought you were he thought you were worth saving and he paid the price for your sins and mine heaven gets happy about that the values of heaven are often different than ours jesus is watching the pharisees and the scribes i guess they didn't get it so i told another story he said what woman having ten silver coins perhaps her dowel repel perhaps not if she loses one coin does not light a lamp sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it she doesn't set a timer she just keeps looking until she finds it and when she does she calls her friends and neighbors together sound familiar saying rejoice with me for i have found the peace which i have lost then jesus applies the story likewise i say to you there is joy in the presence of the angels of god over one sinner who repents shepherd and the woman called everybody together to celebrate with them it was not their lost sheep but it was a cause to celebrate because that woman and that shepherd recovered what was lost jesus is watching the pharisees and the scribes he can read their very thoughts they don't get it so he tells another story there is a certain man he had two sons the younger son went to his father and he said father give me give me the portion of goods that fall to me divide the inheritance i want what belongs to me now i don't want to wait till you die and get my inheritance then i want it all now the father divides the inheritance and he gives the younger son his portion of the inheritance not many days after the boy leaves the house he goes to a far country he wastes his possessions he lives recklessly riotous living the king james says and he spends everything he had he gets hungry then there's a famine in the land and he begins to be in what he gets a job working for a pig farmer no good jewish boy would ever go to work for a pig farmer but he is desperate and he does he's so hungry he wants to eat the food that the pigs eat but nobody will give it to him so he is there destitute perhaps he's dying and then he comes to himself he wakes up we ought to be careful how much we enable prodigals who god is allowing to starve so they will come to themselves don't prolong the work of the spirit and their life well god is working inside of him he gets hungry he comes to himself and he said you know what back at my dad's house those hired servants have it better than me they get they eat better than i eat he said i'm going to arise i'm going to go to my father and i will say to my father father i have sinned against heaven and before you i am no more worthy to become your son make me like one of your hired servants when he left he said give me when he came back home he said make me if you've got to give me attitude be careful you ought to have a make me attitude and let the troubles you go through make you more like jesus christ he gets up he's coming to his father but he's way down the road he's a great way off his father has been waiting on them he's been looking for him he ran to him he had compassion on him he fell on his neck and kissed him and the boy started his speech father i have sinned against heaven and in thy sight and i am no more worthy to be called your son but the father basically interrupts him and he calls the servants and says bring the best robe that one that we've been saving for a day like this go get the signet ring that restores him to sonship not servanthood go get some shoes for his bare feet i want to restore this boy to a place of relationship amen this is the spirit of the father and go get the fatted calf that one we put up in a stall we've been getting him ready for a day just like this we're going to eat we're going to be merry for this my son he was dead and now he's alive again he was lost but now he's found hey there was a party in the house that day pharisees and scribes are listening to this story intently they're hearing the heartbeat of god but then there's a twist in this story there's a surprise ending unexpected direction luke 15 25 on the screens you've already read this at the text but now his older son was in the field as he came and drew near to the house he heard music and dancing so he called one of the service and asked him what these things meant essentially the older brother asked the question what's with the party why are we celebrating it's not passover it's not pentecost it's not tabernacles it's it's not a holiday why are we doing this and the servant explains your brother has come your brother and because he has received him safe and sound your father has killed a fatted calf the older brother the bible said but he was angry and would not go in therefore his father came out and plead with him the younger brother was a prodigal in a far country the older brother was a prodigal in his attitude living in the father's farm they were both estranged from the father but for different reasons the older brother should have been thankful for an understanding and patient father part of me was to tell the older brother to stay out there just simmer with that solid attitude but the father loves the older brother and wants him to come in the house and join the celebration the father has gone to a lot of trouble to throw a party like this there's neighbors there family members there friends are there it's embarrassing that the older brother is on the outside showing such an awful attitude about the resources that were being invested on his younger unworthy brother why are we spending so much money on these young people all these children on these new people the older brother speaks so he answered and said to his father lo read the story of the one talent man when he said lo here i have it load these many years i have been serving you it doesn't talk about relationship he's a son who sees himself as a servant i've never transgressed your commitment commandment at any time and yet you never gave me a young goat that i may make i might make merry with my friends but as soon as this son of yours he doesn't call him his brother as soon as this son of yours came who has devoured your livelihood with harlots he makes an assumption you killed the fatty cat for him you never did that for me the father says to the older brother son you are always with me and all that i have is yours your brother wasted his inheritance everything that's left belongs to you you've never left the house why didn't you ever ask for a fatted calf why did you sit there and not celebrate why did you not enjoy the joy of the lord why did you not enjoy the privileges of being in the father's house he said it was right that we should make mary and be glad for your brother he's not just my son he's your brother he was dead he's alive again he was lost and now he's found thank god for a father who loves both brothers [Applause] and the story ends it ends with the older brother on the outside the pharisees and scribes are sitting in stunned silence they get it this story is about them this story is about people who love religion but not god this story is about people who do not understand the heart of god they are angry that the father would welcome a prodigal home that he would make him a son and not a servant why the older brother reasons would you waste such precious resources on a dirty possibly diseased unworthy prodigal but this is the heart of god jesus loves lost sons and daughters his first business is to seek and to save the lost amen and we want to be a church that shares our father's love for lost people we have a choice we can celebrate with him and heaven or we can boycott the party with the older brother i don't want anyone to ever feel pressured to celebrate the return of lost sons and daughters if you want you can pout with the pharisees you can sulk with the scribes but i can just tell you that around here you're going to be very lonely because we love what god loves and we celebrate what heaven celebrates so right now would you take a moment to celebrate what god has done through the ministries of this church to reach lost people [Applause] amen well that that wasn't bad but it was a little lame so i think we can do better than that what do you think so i need a little music right now i need some lights right now i need some props right now so would you look as they come down the aisle we've got a little help for you pharisees to come on in the house and celebrate with our heavenly father [Music] let's see if we can do this a little bit like heaven does this amen [Music] that's it that's it keeps celebrating keep celebrating are you ready one two three what's with the body [Music] these are the people god is saved this year i thank god that the doors of the church are open and the protocols can come home what weird party [Applause] [Music] that's it was your retort in the lord [Music] hey if you want to be a part of the celebration in heaven would you join me if you're able in this altar proceed and rejoice and to give praise to our great god bring your help with you hey i'm trying to get us out of the rat and back on track to the purpose of the church would you celebrate your salvation and the salvation of all souls [Music] that's it [Music] we will need it [Music] celebrated [Music] and make a joyful noise [Music] like [Music] for me [Music] so come on testify in this room make some noise [Music] for doing it in my life you jesus you see me [Music] so we rejoice today and we celebrated [Music] dance now yes [Music] thank you yes you did it your miracle is always [Applause] me [Applause] [Music] and again i say [Music] [Applause] i rejoice reject it rejoice in the heart he picked us up he turned us around he said our kingdom's holy crown he established our heat amen hallelujah he put a song in our hearts giving a praise to our god [Music] thank you jesus [Music] [Applause] [Music] praise the lord if we'll worship like this when it's time to worship it will create an atmosphere that will draw people into this house [Music] amen [Music] we're glad you're here today we're glad you're watching online but if you've never been baptized in the name of the lord jesus christ for the remission of sins we want you to be baptized today we're ready to baptize you i preached this entire message we've orchestrated this celebration for lost people amen remind us of our mission and of heaven's joy if you've never received the gift of the holy ghost jesus will fill you with this spirit today i thank the lord he's renewed all of us amen i love to be renewed over and over and over in the spirit amen the celebrations that jesus told about in luke 15 did not happen by accident they were the result of intention on the part of the shepherd who went searching for a lost sheep the celebration of the coin was the result of the intention the diligence of the woman who swept the house until she found it the celebration of the restored son was the result of a father who never gave up who kept the ring and sandals in a in a garment kept a fatted calf we were just waiting we're waiting as a church for us to have a celebration like this over and over and over and over requires us to do the hard work of going to people prodigals can come back home but the church goes to lost sheep we go after lost coins lost in the house backsliders right wherever they are however you want to apply the three stories but this kind of party that i know you're all for happens because we adopt the heart of our heavenly father and regardless of what how regardless of how the world values that lost person we placed heaven's value on them that jesus gave his blood his precious blood for them he must love them a lot and we love them in jesus name would you thank the lord again for his presence for the perspective of why we celebrate what's with the party [Music] [Applause] hey man i know that you've almost starved it to death right now but would you take some time before you leave today to go to the family life center look around at the small groups that are being offered this semester and if you're able to sign up it will be good for you and who knows how god may use you to strengthen someone else or lead someone else to the lord by the common ground of small groups let's lift our voices again and let's give god the highest praise right now you can celebrate with your noisemakers your party favors you can clap dance shout yes jesus do it again and he can and it can and again and again and again and again [Applause] thank you jesus don't you stay with me now what we're the party [Music] i love you let's make this a great week [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you