There Is A Famine In The Land

THERE IS A FAMINE IN THE LAND

By Pastor Jim May

Luke 15:11-24, "And he said, a certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. 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. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. 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. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry."

This is one of the most familiar passages in the entirety of the Word of God. It has been taught, preached, dissected, expanded and ministered on so many times that we can’t count them. There is no one in the House of God, not even someone who has been saved only a short time that cannot tell you the story. But there is always something else to learn, something else to talk about, and tonight I want us to look once again.

One of the most devastating things that can happen in a family is for a child to become rebellious to the point that they are uncontrollable and refuse to listen to reason. I have experienced this, and I know that just about everyone who has grown children can say Amen with me. There has never been a harder battle to win than the battle for the determined will of a child to self-destruct and run from the Lord.

From the moment of their birth, parents look at their children, wishing only the best in life for them. We want them to enjoy a better lifestyle. We want them to serve the Lord. We want them to be a productive and respected member of society. We watch over them when they are too young to walk. We watch them as they learn, first to crawl, then to take baby steps, and finally as they begin their own long journey as an adult.

We may tend to think that this is just one of the signs of the times and I suppose to some degree it really is because this scenario has been played over and over again in an almost epidemic manner.

This wayward son, of a man that lived in ancient Israel, is no different from your son or daughter that is running from God right now. This problem isn’t something new to our times. There has ever been the desire in the heart of a young man or woman to leave the comfort of their nest at home and venture out into the unknown and dangerous world where the discipline and instruction of the parents can be put to the test. In fact, God has designed life so this is a natural course of events. The problem arises when we leave for the wrong reason. Leaving to make your own way is commendable and even necessary. But leaving just to join the devil’s crowd and forsake the ways of righteousness and the authority of the father is absolutely the wrong reason.

I wonder how many arguments this father had with his son before he finally gave in? I wonder if he had finally come to the place that it was just easier to give his son what he wanted, knowing that it would bring about his son’s ruin, just because he was just too tired to resist him.