WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU
(LUKE 15:11-24)
TRANSITION TO THE TEXT
I believe that no parable in the entire Bible has been preached or taught as much as the Parable of the Prodigal son. The parable of the prodigal son is one of the greatest and most-beloved stories ever told in the human language. This parable illustrates to us that God loves and reaches out to the most wasteful of men, and that He runs to embrace any reckless son or daughter who repents and returns home. This parable touches all of us because there is a bit of rebelliousness, recklessness in all of us. We are blessed/cursed with the privilege of choice; and anytime we are left on our own to make a choice; I me and mine dominates our thinking. C’mon now, we have to admit that self thinks about self-first. What self wants is what self-strives to get at any cost. Like so many today, the young man in the text craved material things. Now, this was not wrong to do, but coveting something so bad you are willing to violate your principles just a little, leads to one’s undoing.
UNLOAD THE TEXT
There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. (Hold up) He was a young man but he was a grown man! He should have been out on his own, making his way in the world. But no, he could not even wait for his father to pass on to glory to receive his inheritance he instead insisted that his father give him his portion now. He didn’t want his father to ask him any questions; He didn’t want his father to give him any argument; He didn’t even want his father to give him any instructions. He wasn’t thinking about whether his decision to leave would hurt his mother, father or brother.
THE PRODIGAL WANTED TWO THINGS
He said “Give me my inheritance.” He wanted money and the things of the estate which he was to inherit. He wanted to get all the father would give him so that he could enjoy it now. He had not earned it, therefore he didn’t deserve it. He was selfish and self-centered, rude and unkind. He didn’t say “please” nor “may I have?” He just said “Give me.” Secondly, he was really saying, “Give me my independence.” This is what the prodigal was really after, the right to run his own life. He was tied down to his father’s property, and was held responsible for the care of his father’s property. He wanted to cut loose to be away from the father and away from the responsibility of the property. He wanted to live his own life and do his own thing. His appetite craved sensual enjoyment and make belief pleasures away from home. He was interested in self-satisfaction with no regards for the high cost or the consequences in the end. Home life became a bore to him and parental restraints irritated him. He felt like being out on his own, he would have all the freedom he wanted. He felt that being out on his own with possessions in hand would enhance his popularity. He thought being away in a far country would make him a real man. He thought that his father was too demanding and requiring too much of him; He felt that his father just didn’t understand him.
Let me take some pulpit liberty this morning and say, “He was probably encouraged by some outsiders older than himself.” They probably told him he was a grown man now, and that he should be out on his own. They probably told Him that he was not a baby tied to his mother’s apron strings. They probably told him that what his father held in trust was his and he should get it and be independent. They probably told him, “Get what is yours and get it now, and get going. Don’t be chicken, be a man. With what you have coming to you, you could put the whole world under your feet.”
They probably told him, “The high class and the socialites would gladly embrace you and welcome you with open arms.” They probably told him, “You would have money to burn if you had the nerve to tell your father, “Give me what is mine. Your father has servants and you could have servants too. Your father rides in a chariot and you could ride in one too. ”You don’t know what you are missing man, the world is just waiting to show you a good time and what living is all about. You could wine and dine with the upper crust, if you had what was yours. Man, you don’t know what living is sitting here under your father’s thumb.”
But the strangest thing is, they never told him anything about his father’s struggles to get what he had. They never told him about his father’s sacrifices in order to rear him and his brother to be men of stature; they never told him about his mother’s loving care in nursing them and teaching them the way of right. They never told him that it would break the heart of his mother and father if he left with the attitude he had; no one told him of the coldness, the treachery, the viciousness and the wickedness of the world in the far country; no one instructed him on how to conduct himself away from home; nobody told him that the world would take advantage of him once he was out from under the protection of him mother and father; nobody told him that the world would beat him down to the ground and leave him in the gutter of shame. Nobody told him that if he got in trouble, that his mother and father would be the only ones to come and see about him; nobody told him that if he got sick, his mother and father would be the only ones to give him a bed upon which to lay his head, and nurse him back to health. Nobody told him that nobody loved him like his mother and father. All they told him was, “Go get what is yours and get going.”
THIS YOUNG MAN KNEW NOTHING ABOUT THE FAR COUNTRY:
He knew nothing about the underworld; he knew nothing about the tricksters and swindlers; he knew nothing about the gamblers and midnight ramblers; he knew nothing about the pimps and the prostitutes; he knew nothing about dope and drugs; all they told him was, “go get what is yours, and get going.” All he had ever known at his father’s house was Godliness. In his father’s house, there was love, joy and peace. In his father’s house, there was security; in his father’s house, there was food, clothes and shelter. In his father’s house, he had his own bed and his own room; in his father’s house, there were fatted calves, sheep, oxen, stalled horses and servants. In his father’s reserves, there was plenty of money, a family altar, and the word of God was read; in his father’s house, prayer was the watchword and God was first; in his father’s house, this boy was a prince with a ring on his finger; in his father’s house, this boy wore the finest robe and lived a life of ease; in his father’s house, father was King and mother was Queen.
BUT THIS YOUNG MAN ALLOWED OTHERS TO FOOL HIM.
They made him drunk with the wine of flattery; they made him think that money would buy him everything; but I want to tell the young people here today, that money won’t buy you everything. Money is good in its place and necessary for some of the things we need in this life, but money is not life; money is simply a medium of exchange. Men are often measured by the money they have, and their rank in society is predicated upon money;
BUT THERE ARE JUST SOMETHINGS THAT MONEY JUST CAN’T BUY:
Money can’t buy life, time, good health, a sound mind, good memory, good eyesight, hearing, speech, touch, love or happiness. Money can buy food but it can’t buy an appetite. Money can buy a bed, but it can’t buy sleep. Money can buy a house, but it can’t buy a home. Money can’t buy dignity, self-respect, wisdom, character or common sense. Money can’t rebuild a wrecked life nor ease a guilty conscience. Money can’t blot out transgressions, forgive sins nor buy eternal life. Money can’t buy grace and the mercy of god nor sway the divine justice of god. Money can’t buy a good mother and father, a good home, nor a good husband and wife. Money can’t appease the wrath of god, nor bribe the righteous judge. Money has no value at the gates of death, and can’t pay your fine at the judgment bar. But they made him think that money could buy him everything.
So he told his father, “Give me my share of the estate.” Verse 12 and 13 said, “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.”
HE LEFT HIS FATHER’S HOUSE AND JOURNEYED TO A FAR COUNTRY.
He chose a country that was drastically different from his father’s country. He chose a country that was full of
Carousing and drunkenness; he chose a country that was full of partying and immorality, selfishness and greed, sin and shame, death and hell; in that far country, he lived a worldly and fleshly life. He was living for the pleasures of this life only. The word “riotous living” means loose, reckless, wild and extravagant living. It means careless spending and gluttonous eating; it means partying, drinking, cursing, and carousing in the forbidden bed; it means telling off-colored jokes and dressing to attract. But then verse 14 says, “After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.
THE PRODIGAL SON MET THE DAY WHEN HE SUFFERED AND WAS IN WANT. He suffered five things:
He suffered being destitute: He spent all of his money; he squandered all of his property; he wasted his talents; he wasted his opportunities; he misused his purpose; he abused his body; he messed up his mind; he clouded his thoughts. He misused all these in the lust of his flesh. The prodigal had nothing in this world to help him. He has wrapped his life up in the pleasures and security of the world, but when they were gone, there was nothing left to help him. There he stood, bare, empty alone and destitute. All he had based his life upon was now gone. He had cut himself off from his father, so he had no security from the father. He was left out in the world all alone, having spent all.
THE PRODIGAL MET THE DAY WHEN HE SUFFERED NATURAL DISASTER. The “b” part of verse 14 says, there was a severe famine in that whole country. This refers to all of the severe trials and disasters in life because of the very nature of the world. It may be a storm, sickness, accidents or death. Whatever it is, it is disastrous and causes great loss. He was all alone without god’s presence; therefore, he had to face the disaster without god’s care and help.
THE PRODIGAL MET THE DAY WHEN HE SUFFERED ENSLAVEMENT AND HUMILIATION. A Jew was forbidden by law to attach himself to a gentile. But even disregarding this prohibition, the humiliation of cleaning the hog pens was a horrible pain for a formerly right young man to suffer. This was a picture of a young Man who was spiritually, emotionally and mentally drained. So he sought refuge with a man of a far country. It was the picture of sin leading and enslaving a man to the “hog pen” of the world.
THE PRODIGAL MET THE DAY WHEN HE SUFFERED HUNGER. Verse 16 says, He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. The world’s garbage (riotous living) will always leave a man empty and hungry. The pleasures, wealth and style of the world will please the body but leave the soul empty. The world cannot permanently satisfy. The world will leave a man dissatisfied within his soul.
THE PRODIGAL MET THE DAY WHEN HE SUFFERED THE LOST OF FRIENDS. The “b” part of verse sixteen says, “But no one gave him anything. The so called friends which surrounded him when he had plenty were now gone. He thought that everyone that grinned in his face were his friends; he thought that everyone that
Patted him on his back, and spoke softly to him were his friends until he went to them for a handout, and was refused. When he had plenty, he was able to maintain the same social class of friends. But when he was not able to keep up with their standards of living, he was not welcomed. They were above him, and he was below them. Maybe they were feeling the pinch of the famine, because the Bible said, “no man gave him anything.” Let me take the time to say to the young and the old here today, be careful about your associates. Be careful about who you pick to be your friends. Don’t put anybody too deep down in your bosom; watch your so-called friends; don’t be fooled by smooth talkers;
Don’t follow the crowd; don’t buddy with just anybody; do your own thinking; learn to say “no” to yourself and your friends. Know how far to go with everybody; don’t let popularity swell your head. No matter what height you climb, keep your feet on the ground.
This young man had spent all. And there are some who will stop at nothing until they have spent all: All of their money; all of their clothes; all of their family; their entire house and every stick of furniture in it; all of their employment; their entire good mind; all of their good health and strength; All of their manhood and womanhood; all of their energy and ambition; all of their inward drive; all of their influence; all of their God-given-talents; they will stop at nothing until all is spent. Nothing can stop them: pleading won’t stop them; begging won’t stop them; counseling won’t stop them; praying for them where they can hear you irritates them; telling them about Jesus angers them; telling them about God’s love for them falls on death ears; asking them to go to church causes an argument; seeing others die from an overdose of drugs does not shake them; seeing others shot down on the streets like a junk yard dog never affects them; seeing others go to prison for life has no bearing on them. Seeing others locked in padded cells and tied to a bed is no deterrent for them; seeing others die from aids does not stop them from prostitution. Some folk will stop at nothing until all is spent.
BUT THE TEXT SAYS THAT THIS PRODIGAL SON DECIDED TO WORK HIS WAY BACK HOME.
It’s sad that he had to go through so much before he decided to work his way back home. He went from riches to rag; he went from plenty to poverty; he went from much to none; he went from a palace to a hog pen; he went from a lord to a loafer; he went from a noble man to a bum; he went from a gentleman to beggar; he went from money to mooching; he went from a home to a flophouse; he went from fame to shame; he went from food to famishing, before he decided to work his way back home. He left home rich but now he was poor; he left home with clothes, but now he was naked; he had no cattle to graze in the pasture, and no horses to feed in the stalls; he had no sheep to shelter in the fold, and no camels to roam in the fields. He had no land to call is own.
But as he sat there, he decided to work his way back home. Let us see if the prodigal son can tell you how to work your way back home. To work your way back home, you must “come to your senses.” Verse 17 says, ““When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!” he snapped out of his insanity back to reality. Jesus considers a person away from god to be mad, insane and living in an unreal world. Repentance is the beginning of sanity and reality, and the very basis for building a sound life. The beginning of repentance is “thought.” It is thinking about one’s need to repent and turn back to god. Note the words, “when he came to himself, he said”. That is, he began to think to himself. He thought long and hard upon his father and his enormous provisions. He said, how many hired servants of my father have bread enough and to spare.” He thought long and hard about his plight. He said, “I perish.” He thought long and hard about humbling himself. He said, “I will arise.” But in order to do any of those things, he had to come to himself.
To work your way back home, you must acknowledge your sins. Verse 18 says, “I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.” You must tell the Lord, “Lord, I’m guilty, of lying, guilty, of stealing, guilty. To work your way back home, you must humble yourself. Verse 19 says, “I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.” Look at this prodigal working his way back home: he was ragged, but he worked his way Back home; he was dirty, but he worked his way back home; he was broke, but he worked his way back home; he was hungry, but he worked his way back home; he was physically weak, but he worked his way back home; he was ashamed, but he worked his way back home; but before he could get home and Repent, his father saw him coming. He ran and hugged and kissed him; I can imagine the father said, “He is ragged, but he’s my son; he’s dirty, but he’s my son; he has wasted his money with riotous living, but he’s my son; He told the servants, bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his finger, and shoes on his feet. And kill the fatted calf, and let’s eat and be merry. For this my son was dead, and is alive again, he was lost and is found.” The robe restored him to a position of son ship and honor; it symbolized being clothed with the righteousness of Christ. The ring restored him to a position of authority. The son was now to represent the father and his kingdom. The shoes immediately restored and elevated him above servant hood, which means he became a free man. The celebration pictures reconciliation, full acceptance, and the great joy of the occasion.
CONCLUSION
But the prodigal son would have never been restored, if he had not returned. He would have not been restored if he had not worked his way back home. I’m glad that god made it possible for you and me to work our way back home. He didn’t kill a fatted calf, but he gave his only begotten son, and the son gave his life. Early one Friday morning, he died, so that we could work our way back home.
THE LYRICS
I keep working my way back to you Lord, with a burning love inside; yeah I’m working my way back to you Savior, and a happiness that died; I let it get away, and I keep praying every day, when you were so in love with me, I played around like I was free, thought I could have my cake and eat it too, and how I cried over losing you. See I’m down and out, and I ain’t about to go, living my life without you, hey every day I have to cry, I’m begging Lord, till the day I die. I’ll keep working my way back to you, Lord, with a burning love inside. I’m working my way back to you Father, and a happiness that died. I let it get away, and I keep paying every day. I’ll keep working my way back to you, with a burning love inside, I’m working my way back to you Lord, and a happiness that died.
PREACH CALVARY
They buried him in a borrowed tomb; he stayed there all day Friday, all night Friday night, all day
Saturday, and all night Saturday night. But early Sunday morning, he got up with all power in his hand. Power to make us sons, and if sons, heirs, and joint heirs with Christ. Power to give us positions in the kingdom of god. Power to elevate us above the level of servants, because servants don’t know what the master is doing, but he called us friends. What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and grief to bear, what a privilege it is to carry everything to god in prayer.
