Are you ready to go home?
Luke 15:11-25
11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons.
12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
13 “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.
14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.
15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.
16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!
18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’
20 So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.
24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
Are you ready to go home?
This question if cast to different people it could be answered in many different ways, according to the situation they are in. (You ask me if I am ready to go home and I will say, “Yes, I am.” Actually I have already a scheduled flight home).
Amnesia is a strange condition that involves a loss of memory.
Illustration: A man in his late 50s or 60s, walked into the Victoria Hospital, Deal, on 18 August, complaining of head pains but does not have any obvious injuries. He was moved to hospital in Margate but he has told police he cannot recall any personal details. The man was wearing black jeans, a white T-shirt and beige walking boots, & had sunglasses & a walking stick.
Are you ready to go home?
l. Why should I go home?
Possible answers:
*I just arrived from home so why should I?
*I spent a lot of money, so I will just go home when I recovered it.
*If I already saved money for my business then that is the time to go home.
*Ask the prodigal if he wants to home, he would say, “No, I am still enjoying a life that is away from home.”
Illustration:
I had the conversation with a pastor who came to UAE and attend the church where I pastored. In the course of our conversation he said. “ I came abroad because I want to save money for the equipment to be used for my evangelistic program in the Philippines, such as projectors, amplifiers and all instruments needed for that evangelistic program. “ Many years had passed by and I noticed that he was still here in the country but seldom attended the church because he had lots of part time and overtime jobs. He had earned a lot of money, but why he was not yet home? I presumed that he had already forgotten his mission of coming here in the Emirates. He had suffered from spiritual amnesia.
I am afraid that there are many Christians who have a form of spiritual amnesia. They seem to forget all that the Lord has done for them. They have forgotten how wonderful life is at the Father’s house. They’ve spiritual amnesia & have no idea how to get back home.
In the story of the Prodigal Son, we are presented with the story of a young man, who suffered from spiritual amnesia.
He lives a worldly life and forgets how wonderful it is to live at his father’s house. And he had no idea when to get back to the Father’s house and enjoy the wonderful fellowship with the family that he once enjoyed.
What was the root cause of his waywardness? Isn’t it the money? Money is a blessing from God but if we are not aware it will bring us away from God.
Now he has all the money in his purse. Is there something wrong with money? No. There is nothing wrong with money. Money is relative. It is not good or bad. It is neutral. It’s how you use it that determines whether it be good or bad.
So, is there anything wrong with money? No … If you have money you can go for vacation to unwind from stress.
WORDS OF WISDOM.
When you have money- use it wisely. Unlike the prodigal son who wasted his money in wild living.
V13 “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.
What is wild living? Wild living is a life that is lived away from God.
• In Wantonness- extravagant and excessively luxurious.
• With Wine-
• With Women- V. 30
Now money was over and friends turned their back from him. As what I said that, “Money is relative.” The more money you have the more relatives you will have. When the money is gone they are all gone.
V14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.
V15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.
V16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
V17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!
He was awakened from amnesia. And returned home to his father.
Is it possible?
Man remembers who he was after 30 years of amnesia.
A man wakes up one morning just as he always does but suddenly has flashbacks to a past identity, a name he held 30 years ago. It sounds like the setup to "The Bourne Identity," but this bizarre scenario actually played out recently in real life.
A 51-year-old man with a developmental disability living in St. Catharines, Ontario, began having flashbacks of his earlier life. He suddenly remembered who he was: Edgar Latulip, of Kitchener, Ontario. When he told a social worker, she looked up his details and found a missing person's notice from 1986, CBC reported.
It turned out that Latulip went missing while on his way to Niagara Falls, when he suffered a head injury and forgot who he was.
After recovering from amnesia, “Are you ready to go home?”
II. WHEN SHOULD WE GO HOME? V11-17
A. v. 12-13a When You Leave the Father’s House Behind-
1. The example of Peter.
At that very moment, he called out to the Lord and said, "Lord, save me." When he called out to Jesus, the Bible reports that Jesus reached out and lifted Peter from the waves that threatened to engulf him. (Matt. 14:28-31)
B. v. 13b When You Begin To live Like The World-
The Context – This young man left the Father’s house and began his downward spiral. The text says that he "wasted" what he had.
V13 “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. NIV
Whenever we see that our lives start to become worldly, that is an indicator that it is time to come home to the Father.
C. v. 14 When You Lose The Father’s Blessings–
Such as: Presence, peace, provision and protection.
This boy threw all the blessings of the father away and he was left with nothing.
Prov. 13:15 Good understanding
wins favor, but the way of the unfaithful is hard.
You see, what sin will take from you:
your peace
your assurance
your joy
your devotional life
your witness and testimony
It will take everything of value and leave you spiritually bankrupt.
Ex. A Georgian got mad w/ the church & refused to go there for years. His little 6-yr-old son begged him to go to church w/ the family, but this man refused, getting verbally abusive w/ the child. One Sunday morning as this father read newspaper on the front porch, his son came & asked him to go to church. He angrily told him not to ask again. The little boy began to play in the yard, tossing a little ball into the air & it rolled across the highway. He ran after it & was hit by a car. The father witnessed this event & immediately ran to the boy & picked him up. Just before he died, the boy said, "Daddy, will you go to church w/ me?" This broke the father’s heart & there, holding the broken body of his little boy, he bowed his head & asked forgiveness from God. He came home, but it cost him his son. What will your sin cost you?)
D. v. 17 When you Long For The Father’s House.
1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
III . HOW SHOULD WE GO HOME? V18-19
A. v.18a With Resolve.
This young man made up his mind that he was going back to the Father. Just as he had left the Father in the beginning, now he leaves everything else behind to go back home.
B. v. 18b With Repentance –
Not only did this young man experience a change of circumstances, he also experienced a changed heart. He was will go to confess his sins and place himself under the authority of his father.
David – After his sin with Bathsheba, he repented of his sins, confessing them before the Lord and receiving cleansing and forgiveness in return –
Psa.32:5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”— and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
C. v. 19 With Respect –
This boy was willing to humble himself to the father. Before, he had stood defiantly before the father and demanded his own way. Now, he is willing to be a servant before the father. He is humble before him.)
Psa. 51:17 "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."
James 4:10 "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up."
1 Peter 5:6 "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:"
IV. WHAT WILL WE FIND WHEN WE GET HOME? V20-24
A. v. 20-21 We Will Find Love
This young man found something waiting at home that he had never experienced in the far country. That was the love of the Father! This love was manifested in several ways:
1. Father Who Extended the Kiss of Fellowship –
V.20 So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
This father fell on this son and despite the smell and the dirt, began to kiss him.
B. v. 22-23 We will Find Luxury
• A Robe to Cover His Filthiness. This son was adorned with the best robe. When this robe was placed on his shoulders, all the filth of the pig pen was hidden.
Christian, when you come home, the forgiveness of Almighty God covers the stains of your sins and in your appearance, it is as if you had never been away from home. What God gives is total restoration!
• A Ring to Wear On His Finger.
That ring represented the eternal love of the father. It also represented the authority of the father. The father had restored this son.
Christian, when you return home, the Father will remind you of His unfailing love and care for you. He will also restore you to a place of authority. You see, when you are out in sin, you have no witness and no authority to speak for the Father. Yet, when all is restored, He gives you back that witness and that testimony and uses you in the lives of others!
• Shoes.
Only the slaves went barefooted. This father was determined to tell the world that this boy was still his son.
Christian, no matter how far you go into sin, you never stop being a son. You may not look like it, you may not live like it, but if you are saved, you are always the Father’s child! But, when you come home, He places the shoes of sonship on your feet and restores you to that place of standing before himself and before the world. Others may not receive you.
The older brother, v. 28, but God does, and He will never be ashamed of you.
A Place at the Father’s Table.
The fatted calf was killed only at special occasions! No more pig’s feed. Now, he was restored to the Father’s table and could eat all.
Christian, There is no need for any child of God to feed in the pig’s troughs of worldliness.
The Father is waiting and His table is spread with plenty for all who will come home and join Him there.
v. 24 We Will Find Laughter –
When this son returned home, laughter filled a house that had been silenced by grief. When a believer is out of fellowship with the Lord, there is a breakdown in their joy but, when they return home, there will be great rejoicing in the Father’s house –
24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
Luke 15:10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Conclusion:
Wouldn’t you like to be the cause of rejoicing in Heaven? You can be if you make that decision to come home today.
Today, many are in the same position as this Prodigal Son. You have wandered far from home and now it is time to return. All you have to do is make that step and head for home. There, you will find the Father waiting to receive you. You will find Him just where you left Him. Will you come home?
Again: There is no claim of originality. Some points were taken from internet and sermon central. This sermon is free and PowerPoint is available upon your request.
