Text: Luke 15: 14-16 

Introduction 

Pig, in the Jewish culture, was a symbol of uncleanness. Matthew 7:6
The worst thing it could happen to a Jew was to take care of pigs.
The Greeks, on the opposite, liked pork meat.
Nothing indicates that the pigs’ owner was Jewish.
Luke 15 talks about two pigsties.

1. Luke 15:15. We have the youngest son’s pigsty

-What’s this pigsty like?

a) It’s full of immaturity. Luke 15:12

“Father, give me my share of the estate”.
He broke his father’s heart with such attitude.
There are people who only grow physically.
Not all adults are adults.
In the process of life, we need to go through immaturity to maturity.
In all places, including the church, we find mature and immature people.
At a certain point, the person’s development was suspended. 
A shock, a trauma. It gets paralyzed. It does not get solved.
The person keeps trying to solve adult problems through immature processes.

b) It is full of pleasure. Luke 15:13

“And there squandered his wealth in wild living”.
Hedonism: total pleasure. The means do not matter.
It’s dangerous, because pleasure can kill.
He only wanted privileges. Only parties.
What are lotteries? What does Las Vegas represent? Search for total pleasure.
I Corinthians 6:12 “... not all are beneficial…”
Luke 12:20 “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you”. 

c) It is a place of guilt. Luke 15:17.

‘How many of my father's hired men…”
Feeling guilty is a powerful human emotion.
When the person chooses to do something wrong, he builds an emotional disturbance within himself.
What is wrong? Our conscience shows.
Illustration: Luke 23:41
That young man had two images of his father.

•  He is correct. His father’s purity bothered him. “I will go far away”.
•  The young man did not forget the example. It was all recorded in his mind. “I will set out and go back to my father”; he will receive me.

2. Luke 15:29 . We have the oldest son’s pigsty.  
 
-What’s this pigsty like? 
 
a) It is a place of legalism.

Luke 15:30. “You kill the fattened calf for him... I don’t accept it”.
Illustration: Matthew 12. The healing of the man with a shriveled hand.
It was not allowed to heal on Saturday. Matthew 12:9.
But you cold plot someone’s death. Matthew 12:14.   
Illustration: John 5. The healing of the man at the Bethesda well.
Bethesda means mercy. But it did not exist there. John 6:7
Mercy exists only when Jesus arrives. John 5:6.
Two more texts that help us overcome legalism.
Matthew 7:1. We should not judge.
Matthew 7:5. Take the plank out of your own eye.
The oldest son is the image of the oldest believers in the church.

b) It is a place where the performance plague exists. Luke 15:29.

“Never disobeyed your orders”...
I need to reach a standard to be accepted.
The standard is so high that the person never reaches it.
The need to “please” is nonstop. The difficulty to say no is huge.
Illustration: Apostle Paul  
Galatians 1:10. The emotional need to be recognized.
I Corinthians 4:4. It is the Lord who judges me.

c) It is a place where there’s no joy. Luke 15:25 and Luke 15:29b

He heard music and dancing, which did not please him.
He did not get in the house; he did not stand to see people happy.  
Joy is a decision I take. It is a gift from God.
In the emotional pigsty of this young man, there was no space for forgiveness.
Illustration: Phillip Yancey and the story of the baby who smiled at the church.
Romans 12:15 “Rejoice...”
He would rather have a goat to a fellowship with his brother.
We live in a world that loves things and despises people.

Conclusion   

What to do to stay away from the pigsty?
Luke 15: 22-23. Staying with the father.
There are hugs, new clothes, kiss, room, party.
Pigsties are the extreme. Stay in the center, stay with the Father.