Text: Luke 15:11-32
“Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’“But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him............’
I once posited in part one of this message that "What You Practice is What You Become". To say that you know what to do but fail to do it does not mean that you will be rewarded for it. How many people would have loved to go to the moon, but would not dare to try to find out what it takes to get there? More rightly said is the fact that you cherish or detest success does not mean that you will be successful or otherwise. Everything still come back to the decision you daily make about your future.Most people have spent their lives practicing the idea to stop going forward themselves by doing what they are doing or chide away from the truth by mere excuse of "it runs in the family". Yet, when they come to Christ, their opinion never change. It still runs in the family...Then you wonder what the bible says in II Cor 5: 17 that therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
In my years of working as a law enforcement officer in the streets of New York City, I have seen people beating themselves up about doing such a good job of setting up barrier or limitation for themselves. They have become experts at not taking action and justifying their apparent failure by convincing themselves that there must be something wrong with them. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. Something is sure wrong. I have come to realize that the reason people fail is not because there's something that is actually wrong with them, but it is because they fail to realize that failure is part of the process of success. How many times people complain of the color of their skin, or their ascents, or educational background for their failure? Even in Christendom where the bible says wherever your foot tread, I will give you for possession. How many christians dare to dream and exercise their God given mandate. In the book of Genesis 1:28, God commanded the first blessing unto mankind called the five-fold blessings, Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Your Future is in your hands and what you make out of it is what you become. In this story, focus has always been on the prodigal son and the passage clearly explained how the so-called boy messed around with his future by his request. Though, he squandered what he was given but he never found it too difficult to make a U-turn and go back to his father. Many at times, in our life endeavor, we must have taken certain decisions that cost us our advancement in life, but we should rather be humble in acknowledging our faults and move on with life. Inability to make a choice in life is itself a choice as well. That was the case of the prodigal son's brother who never took the risk of asking for anything, but was very angry about the warm reception that his father gave to his younger brother.
If we take that to the church today, we see a lot of individuals in our places of worship who see others as unfit for God, behaving like Jonah. Such individuals felt like God must act certain way and refuse to extend warm hands to newcomers in their midst. A whole lot of people set up man-made barriers based on selfish ulterior motives instead of embracing the love of Christ. My encouragement with this prodigal son's brother who was very angry is that his father never wronged him because he never made any move in the first place. The bible says in Eccl 9:10 that Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going. Your Future in Your Hands. So, make a decision today because if you don't start, you won't finish.
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Your Future is in your hands and what you make out of it is what you become. In this story, focus has always been on the prodigal son and the passage clearly explained how the so-called boy messed around with his future by his request. Though, he squandered what he was given but he never found it too difficult to make a U-turn and go back to his father. Many at times, in our life endeavor, we must have taken certain decisions that cost us our advancement in life, but we should rather be humble in acknowledging our faults and move on with life. Inability to make a choice in life is itself a choice as well. That was the case of the prodigal son's brother who never took the risk of asking for anything, but was very angry about the warm reception that his father gave to his younger brother.
If we take that to the church today, we see a lot of individuals in our places of worship who see others as unfit for God, behaving like Jonah. Such individuals felt like God must act certain way and refuse to extend warm hands to newcomers in their midst. A whole lot of people set up man-made barriers based on selfish ulterior motives instead of embracing the love of Christ. My encouragement with this prodigal son's brother who was very angry is that his father never wronged him because he never made any move in the first place. The bible says in Eccl 9:10 that Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going. Your Future in Your Hands. So, make a decision today because if you don't start, you won't finish.
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