I'm Off Track, And I Need To Get Back

I remember one night I was returning to college, one of the best schools in the country, The Texas A&M University. What, sermon introductions should get your attention right?

•I was returning to school and it was late. I was driving alone and I had the music playing, but I began to get sleepy.

•I’m much better now, incase my mother hears this sermon, but at that time I thought to myself, “I can make it.”

•So I continued down the highway, securely gripping the steering wheel, but my eyes started to close. I realized what was happening and I shook it off, still thinking to myself that I could make it.

•I continued down the highway and was able to stay awake, but once again my eyes started closing.

Well, determined to make it back to school so that I could get in the bed, I continued driving and I dosed off once again, but this time I was awakened by the loud and bumpy shoulder of the road and realized that I was only inches from going over the elevated road.

•Obviously terrified, I realized that I was off track, and I needed to get back, on the road. You see the danger of me being off track is that it could have led to serious injury or even death.

•Needless to say, the near death experience made me determined to stay WIDE awake until I reached my destination.

Wouldn’t you agree with me that life is a journey? Life is a journey and it’s seen as a road we travel. The roads we travel may be narrow and some may be wide, but the danger is we’re all susceptible to getting off track, and the reality is we do get off track.

•To be off track means that there is a destination you’re headed toward on the road ahead, and if you get off of the road that leads to that destination, then you’re considered off track.

•When you’re off track it hinders you from reaching that destination, and if you remain off track, chances are you won’t reach your destination.

You see if I had not been awakened, keyword, by the roughness of the road, then I would have continued off track, leading to great harm or tragedy.

•We all have a destination to reach, and if we’re not on track, it will lead to a tragic end.

•Well, I’m not here to talk to you about being off track from falling asleep behind the wheel of a car, but I would like to take a moment of your time to talk about being off track because of the spiritual condition we find ourselves in at times.

•Whether you like to admit it or not, all of us have been off track, will be off track, and may be off track right now. Does not the Bible say, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”?

So God knows that at times we will get off the road that He has set before us, but we have to realized that we’re off track, and need to get back.

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This is the situation that the young boy in our text found himself in, he was off track and needed to get back. But before we get into this parable we need to understand a few things that were going on.

•I’m sorry if you wanted to jump into the story, but I’m convicted to not only preach the gospel, but to teach the gospel as well.

•Even though many of us are familiar with this passage, someone may not be, and if you are familiar, you never know what new information or application you may find, but I’m digressing.

Luke, the author this gospel, was a Gentile Christian. A gentile was considered to be anyone who wasn’t of Jewish origin. Luke was also a traveling buddy of Paul, and some scholars say that he was a doctor as well.

•Although his occupation can be debated, one thing that we do know is that he wrote inspired words from God. The gospel of Luke deals with the history of Jesus Christ, the apostles, and the New Covenant, and in our text Luke shares with us a parable of Jesus Christ.

•A parable is a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach a truth, religious principle, or moral lesson.

•Jesus commonly taught with parables, so that those He was teaching would have an example they could understand and relate to, which then makes it easier to apply.

But in the context of our pericope, Jesus shares three parables with the growing crowd and the Pharisees. The crowd wanted to hear the words of Jesus, and the Pharisees, as usual, were trying to discredit Jesus because He had healed on the Sabbath and was associating Himself with sinners.