Transcript
Turn with me in your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 15. The Gospel of Luke, chapter 15. Luke chapter 15. And we want to begin reading at verse 11. Luke 15 and verse 11.
Then 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 falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.
“But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’”
And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still 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 to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.”
But the father said to his servants, “Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here 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.
In January of 1989, Brian Bradley was working as a bartender at Tia’s Tex-Mex restaurant out on Midway Road. One Monday in that month, about 11:30 a.m., he happened to notice a zipper-locked bag outside of the restaurant, lying by a trash bin.
Now it so happened that one of Brian’s jobs at Tia’s was to put all of the bank deposits into a bag just like that, put it in the safe, and wait for it to be picked up by an armored car company. So Brian knew exactly what he was looking at. In fact, the name of the restaurant to which the bank belonged was on it. And a bank deposit slip indicated that the bag contained $9,856.42.
Now Brian Bradley would not have been human if the thought had not crossed his mind that he could just pick the bag up and walk away with it and no one might ever know the difference. But he said later, “I knew that I couldn’t have lived with that. I knew it wouldn’t have been right.”
And so he picked up the bag and he took it in to Joe Lloyd, the manager of Tia’s, who called the armored car company and the restaurant to which the bag belonged. After a while the armored car company came and picked it up. Apparently one of their couriers had dropped it without realizing it as he was doing his pickup rounds.
After that Brian Bradley just went home to his residence in Farmer’s Branch and he lay down in his bed. And it was apparently there for the first time that he began to imagine all of the things he might have done with that money. And right up at the top of the list was a brand new Mustang or a brand new Chevrolet Corvette.
At an interview at the restaurant he told a reporter that there was a kind of a giddiness, a kind of a light-headed happiness that he had felt when he had all that money in his hands, even though it was in his hands for only a very brief time. But the bottom line remained the same. There wasn’t going to be any new Mustang. There wasn’t going to be a new Chevrolet Corvette. Because the money was gone. The money was gone. It had been returned to its proper owners.
Now frankly, friends, I could hope that each of us, if we were confronted by a situation like that, would show the same honesty as was shown by Brian Bradley. But wouldn’t you agree with me that the chances are very good that holding that much money in our hands would be kind of exciting? And if it were taken away, if it were lost or stolen, we would certainly feel disappointed. We would certainly feel let down. We might even feel just a little bit depressed. Because the money is gone.
And this morning I want you to look carefully with me at the story of a young man for whom something bad happened and then to whom something good happened. And his story ends with feasting and music and happiness. But across that lovely, bright and sunny conclusion to his story there hangs a long, dark, slender shadow. And that shadow could be described with these words: but the money was gone.
And as you may already have guessed, that’s the title of my message to you this morning. My title this morning is this: But the Money Was Gone.
Now I strongly suspect that just about everybody in my audience this morning is very clear this may in fact be the best known of all the stories that Jesus told which are recorded in the New Testament. And we all know that we call this story the story of the prodigal son.
But before you decide that you already know all there is to know about the story and can therefore go comfortably to sleep while I preach, let me just ask you a question. Did you realize that there is a very good chance that the prodigal son was a teenager? You know why? I understand that it was customary in those days for young men to be married somewhere between the ages of 18 and 20. Very often their parents arranged for these marriages, especially if the families were wealthy.
Obviously this young man had a wealthy father. But apparently no marriage had yet been arranged for him. Apparently he leaves home by himself. He returns to the family farm by himself. And this leads to the suggestion that the prodigal son may have been about 17 years of age. Seventeen years of age.
Do I need to remind anybody in this audience that the 17th year of a person’s life can be one of the most spiritually dangerous years of their entire career? In fact the teens are particularly dangerous for Christian kids. And if you are just turning 17 or if you are already 17, then welcome to Temptation, Texas. Welcome to Danger, U.S.A.
So you see he was a young man, maybe no older than 17. And he comes to his dad one day and he says something like this. He says, “Dad, I know that I’m gonna get a lot of money when you’re old and you die. But I don’t want to wait for that. I would like you to divide your inheritance between me and my brother right now so I can have some money now.”
Now please remember that under the Jewish law of inheritance, if a family had two sons like this family did, the oldest son inherited twice as much as the youngest son. So this younger son was looking forward to about one-third of his father’s wealth and property.
Now apparently also there were arrangements that could be made to give an heir his inheritance up front. But it seems likely that if that happened he didn’t get the full amount. The father, for example, would keep control of the middle of the property. So if, like this boy, the boy was looking forward to maybe one-third or three-ninths of his father’s inheritance, maybe he turned up with two-ninths if he took it early. But whatever the amount was that he was planning to receive, he wanted it. He wanted it.
Did you notice the father of this kid doesn’t say, “Now that is just about the dumbest request you’ve ever made in your entire life. Have you forgotten that you’re 17? Well, you’ve never had anywhere near that amount of money to manage. I know how you are. You’re not mature yet. You’re not responsible yet. I don’t dare put that much money in your hands. You’ll go out and waste it for sure. No siree. Come see me when you’re a lot older than you are right now.”
He didn’t do that. Doesn’t that sound like a father? Come on, folks. Aren’t there thousands of fathers who would have said something like that? But according to Jesus’ story he doesn’t argue. He simply divides his livelihood.
Wouldn’t you know it? I mean, you could have predicted it from square one. After only a short time this young man turns all of his inheritance into cash. He turns it all into money and he leaves home, taking all that money with him. And he’s attracted by the bright lights of the city, the far away country. And he goes there. He’s on his own. He’s out from under his father’s control.
And the Bible says, Jesus says, he wasted his possessions with prodigal living. And again, did you notice, when he walks out the door the dad is not there blocking the way. When he walks through the gate of the farm, dear Christian parents this morning, when your kid reaches 17, 18, 19, you have effectively lost full control of their lives. And if you have not yet instilled in them your standard, your commitment to God, your love for Him, you won’t do it when they reach 17.
Now let’s be honest about this, shall we? It’s hard in our society today and our culture. It’s hard to raise a kid who will not go astray when he reaches his late teenage years. That is difficult. But it’s not impossible. It’s not impossible. But here’s what it will take.
First of all, it will take tons and tons and tons of prayer, beginning when they are very, very young and continually throughout all the years of their minority.
Here’s something else that it will take. It will take sitting down with them one-on-one, starting very early in their home, and opening your heart to them and sharing your love for God, your commitment to God’s Word, and your heart’s desire that their lives be for God as well. It takes doing that over and over again through the years that they are growing up.
And here’s something else it takes, folks. It takes living before them a godly and consistent life. And if your kids figure out that you’re a hypocrite and that you wear one personality on Sunday and you wear another personality the other six days of the week, you have lost all. You’ve lost the ball game right there.
And if you have failed to do this in the growing years of your kids, then when they become teenagers, when they become determined to wander away from God and from the standards that you hoped they would follow, you really will not be able to stop them. No matter what you do. No matter what rules you lay down. No matter how many times you ground them. No matter how tightly you pull the purse strings. No matter how many times you give them the lecture. By that time, out of necessity, they will go if they decide to go.
So in our story the father didn’t try to stop his son from leaving. He had to go. And in this story we learn something very significant about God our heavenly Father. You see, when any of us believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for the free gift of everlasting life, we’re born into God’s family. We become God’s sons and God’s daughters.
And maybe some of you, many of you, were saved when you were very young. And as you were growing up you sort of said to yourself, I love God. When I grow up I’ll serve God. But then as you reached your teenage years you looked at things differently. The far country of sin with all of its excitement and bright lights looked so good to you. So maybe you walked away from God. Maybe you turned your back on His word. Then you even left church.
And you know what? God didn’t try to stop you. He didn’t lock the door of the church. He didn’t send a posse of angels to ground you and arrest you and bring you back. What did He do? He let you go. God let you go.
Well, I kind of suspect, friends, that at first it was great out there in the far country. I mean, you’re the king. You’re rolling with money. So it’s showtime. It’s playtime. What’s on the schedule is mine. And then one morning he wakes up and guess what, folks? The money is gone. The money is gone.
This kid has spent his inheritance. He can’t remember where he did it. It might have been in the casino the night before. Like then that he stood on the gown. But it’s gone. It’s pretty hard to buy food when you don’t have any money. To make things worse, the far country was in a period of economic recession. It was famine in the far country. When you have a famine the food prices shoot up and jobs are scarce.
This guy is desperate and he’s hired by a citizen in that country. But a hiring not very much of a job. In fact, from the standpoint of the Jew, the lowest job of all. For Jews pigs were unclean and their meat was forbidden by the law of Moses. And here is this young fellow. And you find the man who will send him out to the field. And his job, he’s not worried about having pork chops for dinner. The picture is he sits there watching the pigs munching happily from those carob pods. From the carob tree. It probably didn’t taste like anything. If only somebody would give it to him.
And then guess what happened? Jesus says he came to himself. It was kind of like waking up out of a bad dream. It was kind of like having style again. And this young fella said, what a fool. What a fool I am. What have I done? Well, I’m at the hired servants back at my father’s farm. They have full meals and they have food left over. And I’m out here sitting next to a pig and I’m jealous because they’re not stopping. But I have nothing.
I know what I gotta do. I gotta go home. I gotta go back to my dad. I gotta apologize to him and tell my father, I sinned against heaven and in your sight. You don’t need to treat me like a son anymore. Just put me on as one of your hired servants and I’ll pay for everything you give me.
And isn’t it obvious, my friends? Isn’t it obvious why the father let his son leave? What good would it be to the father to force his kid to live for him if his son didn’t want to be there? When he let him go, you better believe the father was hoping that someday this kid would wake up and he would say, I’d rather be back home with Dad than where I am right now.
When you drift away from God, that’s why God lets you go. He’s not gonna tie you up and nail you to the pulpit. He’s not gonna hold you a prisoner. What good is that to God if you don’t want to have fellowship with Him? Why should He force it?
But don’t you see, at the far country you can learn what life is all about. Hopefully at the far country you will wake up. Maybe before you wake up you’ll crash and burn. That’s what this kid did. He crashed and burned. But he woke up and he went home.
Now listen, parents. If you have kids that have gone astray, that’s what you need to hope for. That’s what you need to pray for every day, every single day of your life. Pray that God will wake that kid up and make him realize that it’s better to be close to God than far away in sin.
So what did this young boy do? Well, he did just exactly what he decided. He got out of the far country. He went back to the farm. And as he walked up the road there was his dad standing. His heart was stirred and a dark frown was not on his head. Dad didn’t say, “You’re a wreck. It’s just a collection of rags. Your face and your hair look like they’re taking care of us. And look at your feet. They’re anxious with mud. Where have you been? Out of the things.”
Hey, are not a parent, not a father, that would greet their returning children that way, am I right? You better believe it. You see, they’re so angry as a kid. They’re angry because that kid has disappointed them, caused them hurt, caused them trouble, caused them embarrassment. And they can’t wait until the kid comes back all over the place.
But not his father. Not his father. Apparently he looked down that road every day. And on this particular day at a far distance he saw a figure that he thought he recognized. And his heart was stirred with compassion. And then he did something that was very unusual for an elderly Jewish man. He ran. He ran down that pathway. But when he reached his son he threw both arms around his neck, planted kisses on each of his cheeks.
And the son is probably embarrassed by this. This was not the reception he was expecting to receive. He feels unworthy. Part of what he wanted to say, “Father,” he said, “I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I don’t deserve to be called your son.”
The father apparently listens to this in silence. And when they get back to the farm he gives his answer by saying to the servants, “Bring out the best robe and put it on him. Get a lovely ring and put it on his hand. And get a new pair of sandals and put them on his feet. And then the rest of you, hurry, hurry, hurry. Kill that fatted calf that we’ve been preparing. Prepare a dinner such as we haven’t had here in a long time. Because tonight, because the son of mine was so far away from me it was just as if he was dead. Now he’s alive. I’ve got him back. And the son of mine was lost. Today I found him.”
Maybe you’re saying as you listen to the close of this story, that’s the way God does. If I have a kid that’s gone astray from You. Maybe you’re saying it’s a great story because everything is just exactly like it was before. Everything is just as it was before. No, no it’s not. Things are not just as they were before. Oh yes, everybody is happy, feasting. But the money was gone.
This kid left the farmhouse loaded with money. He comes back a beggar. And yes, my friends, when a Christian goes astray from God, God will always take the Christian back. I’m not talking about literal money. I’m talking about spending the time, the energy and the abilities that could have laid up treasure in heaven, that could have been used for an eternal reward. Oh yes, God will receive the Christian back. But the rewards that could have been won will be lost forever.
Now remember this. God is gracious and God is forgiving. But the days that we waste will never come back to us again. The money will be gone.
Some years ago, I don’t know how many years, at the State Fair of Texas there was a young boy, I would say probably a teenager, who was displaying a prized hog. The hog was big and fat and sleek and comfortable. And the boy was skinny. He had a bad complexion. And it looked like he was trying to set a record smoking as many cigarettes as he could smoke in the shortest amount of time.
The owner of the hog, the prize-winning hog, was the father of the boy. He was a champion at raising his hogs and a failure at raising his son.
Parents, would you like to know how to raise a prodigal son or a prodigal daughter? Here’s how you do it. Never, never pray with them except at mealtimes. Never sit down and talk to them about your love for God and your hope that they will love God too. Never bring them to church. Always send them to somebody else. Cuss in front of your kids. Drink wine, drink beer, and gonna be kids. Or maybe just have it in the icebox. They don’t know what it’s about. Deny to other people in front of your kids so they can learn from you as well. Shout at your wife when you’re mad at her. Scream at your husband when you’re mad at him. Now that your kids, when they annoy you, buy your kid everything you could possibly desire hoping that that will drive it would be good. May they have such strict, strict, strict, strict rules that your kid will not be able to wait till they get out from under your control.
And please don’t forget this. Be sure that you ignore what you hear all that good stuff that you hear at church so that your kids will rapidly learn that if it’s not important for you it’s not important for them.
And if you do any of these things or if you do all of these things in your home, get ready. Prepare to shed some heavy, heavy tears as your children drift away from God.
But if they do drift away or if they have drifted away, here’s what you do. You dedicate yourself to becoming the Christian person you should have been years ago. You dedicate yourself to praying for that kid every day of your life, even if it takes years and years.
And if you do those things God will open your kid’s heart and your kid will return to the loving arms of his heavenly Father. And then you and God.
Father, we’re touching on truths from Your word here that come very close to home. Help us to understand that You are a loving heavenly Father. That even some of Your children have gone astray. And for any who have children like that in the audience let them find their hope and their expectations in Your love and Your grace for their kids. Seal to each person in this audience whatever it is that You wanted them to hear from Your word today. We ask it in Christ’s name, amen.