THE PRODIGAL SON
By
JERRY FALWELL
A. INTRODUCTION: IT’S ABOUT THE FATHER, NOT ABOUT THE SON.
1. The wayward son reveals a side of God’s character which most people don’t know, i.e., His love.
2. The Father’s love does not depend on how good you are or what you do.
3. The Father’s love for all of us never changes.
“And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living” (Luke 15:11-13).
B. WHEN YOU GET EVERYTHING YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED.
The young boy finally got everything he always wanted.
1. To get away from his father’s control.
2. To have everything he’s longed to get.
3. To be in charge of his life.
4. To live where there are no rules and no regulations.
5. To party all the time.
6. To have complete freedom.
I imagine the young man didn’t walk down the road from his father’s farm, he literally ran away from everything that was “restrictive” to him. He was running towards a new freedom that he had wanted all along. He was running towards a life of fun, parties, booze and women. There was no stopping him now.
I imagine the young man was good looking, was rich, and had a lot of friends. There was music playing all the time, the wine was flowing freely; and don’t forget the money was flowing just as freely. The Bible describes this as a wild spending spree.
Why is it that what we can’t have, is what we always want. Even little kids don’t want their mommies to tell them what to wear, what to do and where to go.
A little girl was told the story of the Prodigal Son in Sunday school. Then she was asked the question, “What does it mean to waste all your substance with riotous living?” The little girl answered, “To spend everything you got on bubble gum.”
C. LIFE IS MORE THAN MONEY.
The young man had great fun while the money lasted. There were new friends, pretty girls, and something to do all the time. But the young man was in for a shock, something he didn’t expect would happen soon; probably he didn’t expect it at all. Notice the three things that hit him hard:
· His money ran out.
· A mighty famine.
· He was hungry.
When a young man is rich, good-looking and prosperous, he has all the friends he can buy drinks for. Why is it “there’s never a shortage of friends to help you spend your money?” But you need to ask yourself the question, “Are the people that spend your money, really your friends?” Remember, a true friend loves you whether you have money or not.
Life is very different for the poor of this world. The so-called “friends” don’t come around poor people. When you get in trouble, the people who used to “party” with you don’t come around. Who usually comes around when you’re broke . . . no car . . . no house . . . and you’re sick? I’ll tell you who comes around, the church of Jesus Christ; they’re always willing to help.
Let’s look at the trouble that this young man is in:
· He’s a foreigner in a strange land.
· He’s bankrupt.
· He has no friends or relatives nearby.
· No government handouts.
· He’s lonesome.
· He’s hungry.
Many young people today are “picky” when it comes to jobs. They don’t want to get up too early . . . work too hard . . . work too long . . . or wear certain clothing. I have heard of young men who turn down jobs just because their employer wouldn’t allow them to wear an earring. I’ve heard of young people who have turned down jobs because they don’t want to wear the company’s uniform. And we have heard of young people who have turned down jobs because of no perks, i.e., no health insurance . . . dental insurance . . . maternity leave . . . or enough vacation time.
When this young man was bankrupt, why did he take the only job he could find? Because he was hungry. Even the job of feeding the pigs didn’t bring in enough money to put food on the table. He was feeding the pigs, and decided to eat the pig’s food. Now how do we describe the man?
· Desperate.
· Starving.
· Miserable. “And no man gave unto him.”
Let’s ask ourselves the question if he went around to his former friends, those whom he spent time with in the nightclubs, do you think they would help him? Apparently not! What about the young women whom he went to see? Did they help him? Apparently not! He spent his money buying meals and drinks for others. Did they spend their money buying him a meal? No!
There’s an old saying, “What goes around, comes around.” Why doesn’t it apply here? Because, the young man didn’t give the mercy of God to his friends when he paid for entertainment. The problem is he “bought” his friends. He paid his good money to buy friendship. So when he went to his friends, what do you think they said to him? They probably didn’t say this, but here’s what has happened: their friendship was a business transaction. The Prodigal Son paid for friendship, and they gave him friendship in return. The Prodigal Son got what he gave. He had “companionship” for the evening. Let me tell you what the Prodigal Son probably didn’t do:
· He didn’t tell his friends that the money came from a wise, generous father who worked hard for it.
· He didn’t tell his friends of the blessing of God on his father.
· He didn’t share the faith of his father with this friends.
· He didn’t pray for his friends or was he concerned for his friends.
D. HE CAME TO HIMSELF.
“And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him” (Luke 15:17-20).
The best part about this story--a turning point--is the most important event in this entire story, “He came to himself.” The greatest thing in this story is when the young boy realized four things:
· He had made a bad decision.
· He was in bad shape.
· He had no future.
· He remembered the blessings of his father’s house.
This is probably the first time--ever--that the boy has ever had a good thought about life. He realizes that he was in a bad way, and realized that people in his father’s house were in a good way. Even his father’s servants were better off that he.
There are people who are listening to me today that are in bad shape. Like the boy in the story, you’ve made bad decisions, you’re in bad shape, and you have no future. I want you to know that the servants in the father’s house have it better than you, and you can have what they have.
The boy had a two-fold realization. First, he realized that he had sinned against his heavenly Father. To say that “he had sinned against Heaven” is to say that you have sinned against the commandments of God, against the purpose of God and to sin against God, Himself.
But there was a second thing. The boy had sinned against his earthly father. His father had done everything for him, but the boy rejected his father’s love . . . his father’s protection . . . his father’s plan for his life . . . and his father’s God.
What had the earthly father done for the boy?
· He had worked hard to accumulate an estate for the boy.
· He had prayed for the blessing of God to pass onto his boy.
· He had protected the boy from worldly influences and temptations.
· He had planned a prosperous future for the boy.
The boy displayed greater humility and courage when he came to himself. He came to a difficult decision, all because he had learned a great truth about himself. What he learned about himself was the greatest knowledge of all. Socrates had said, “Know thyself,” and he meant it in a good way.
The boy learned one of the greatest lessons in life, he learned that the human nature is like “beauty and the beast” and the human nature is like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The boy had experienced his sinful nature, he had given in to his selfish flesh, and now had suffered the consequences of rebellion. He had given into the beast, not yielded to the beauty. He was the monster Hyde, not Dr. Jekyll.
When the boy came to himself, he realized two great truths. First, “I am no more worthy to be called thy son,” he knew he had violated his birthright and his inheritance. He knew that he had lost all. The second thing, “Make me as one of your hired servants,” the only thing that he wanted was to be a servant to his father. This is what I called “repentance.”
E. NOT A SLAVE, BUT AN HONORED SON.
At the beginning of this sermon, I said that is was about the Father and his love. Notice the father saw him a great way off. This tells me that the father was sitting on the front porch, with an eye always on the distant road. The father had hope that his son would return. If the father had forgotten about the son, he wouldn’t have been watching to see him “a great way off.” The son would have probably slipped into the farmyard unnoticed. The searching watch of the father tells me how much he loved the son, and how much He loves you.
Notice what the father didn’t say to his son:
· I told you so.
· So, you finally came home.
· You should have known better.
· Why didn’t you listen to me?
There is no trace of a regret in the father, no trace of anger, no trace of punishment. You only feel the father’s love and compassion toward his wayward boy who has come home. Here you get a glimpse of the love of almighty God in Heaven for you. What is the Father willing to do for you?
· Forgive.
· Forget.
· Restore.
· “Fall on your neck, kiss you and restore you.”
Notice what is missing in the text. The son makes a very short speech, i.e., “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.” The father cut the son short, and didn’t let him finish his speech. What was the rest of the speech? The son had planned to say, “Make me as one of thy hired servants,” but he never got to say that. Why? Because the father said, “Bring the best robe, the ring, new pair of shoes, and let’s have a banquet.”
Let me say to you parents, never be revengeful, hateful, unforgiving when your child comes back looking for love and compassion. I believe in the law of God, but I don’t want to be a legalist that uses the law to beat up my kids. If you use the law to beat up your kids, you’re wrong . . . terribly wrong. This story is about the heavenly Father’s love for his wayward son or daughter.
I am talking to a young boy or girl who plans to run away as soon as you can because you don’t like the way your father and mother run the home, and make demands on you. You think you want to be free, but there is no freedom out there in the world. You may run away from a home that has some Christian rules, but you will find out that the god of lust . . . greed . . . and sex . . . is a demanding god who will never make you happy and who will never give you peace. But if you do run away, God will receive you back and love you.
Now let me say something about a prodigal in this audience. You’re spiritually bankrupt. I am happy to tell you that your heavenly Father is sitting on the porch of Heaven, looking for you to come back home. As a matter of fact, if you’ll take the first step towards home, the heavenly Father will get up and run to meet you halfway. This parable is about the love of your heavenly Father who is willing to accept you back.
If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God. Contact us and ask for a copy of The How To Book or use The How To Book Online (Falwell.com). It is a booklet that will answer many of the questions you are sure to have about living the Christian life. And when you contact us, tell us about your salvation experience so that we can rejoice with you.
