previous teachings, please email me and I will gladly email them to you. Our text for this week is Luke 15:14. Grab your bible and let's get to it.
Heavenly Father, we come before You with open minds and open hearts. Father we ask You to give us wisdom to rightly divide Your Word. We ask that You strip away any false beliefs in all of us. We ask You for divine revelation that we may better serve You and be in Your perfect will. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Luke 15:14 "And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want."
Look carefully at the first part of the verse. He spent all that he had. Remember that he was living it up in wasteful living. Sin is expensive. There are two biblical principles I want to focus on with this section of the text. First, the boy was not working. The bible commands us to work. It does not suggest that we work. It is commanded. Look at the Fourth Commandment.
Exod 20:9 "Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:"
The theme of God expecting us to work can be found throughout both the Old and the New Testament. God is Jehovah Jireh. God our provider. But He does expect us to do our part in it. God will provide. But you have to get up and get it. Look at what God told Adam after the fall in Genesis.
Gen 3:17 "And unto Adam He said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. (vs 18) Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to the to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; (vs 19) In the seat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."
Adam blew it. The free lunch is over. Now we have to work and labor for what we get. God set the precedent for this in the six days He worked during the creation. Look at what Paul says about it in the New Testament.
2 Thess 3:10 "For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat."
This next verse deals with the topic and will give us a nice segway to the next part of this weeks text.
Prov 6:6 "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: (vs 7) Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, (vs 8) Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest."
The ant has enough sense to work and gather. To set aside for the winter, the lean times. Look now at the next part of the verse. A mighty famine arose. There is a pearl of wisdom concerning this in the Proverbs.
Prov 27:12 "A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished."
Think about that. Are you prudent? Or foolish? I am going to greatly condense this story. In Genesis, Pharaoh had a dream. He called all his magicians and wise men and demanded that they interpret the dream. None of them could. Joseph was in prison. He had interpreted some dreams while in prison, so they sent for him. He gave Pharaoh a proper interpretation of his dream. There would be seven years of plenty, followed by seven years of famine. The nation would have to manage the good years properly to survive the bad years. These events propelled Joseph into a position of power that was second only to Pharaoh. Joseph's full story is found in Gen 37-50, but I want to focus on the fact that God will warn us and give us the opportunity to prepare for the evil day. There are two dangerous positions concerning a potential crisis. The first one is to dismiss it as hype. The problem could be very real. Be prudent like the Proverb says and foresee the evil day. The other dangerous position is to think the sky is falling. It is not in our Christian nature to be fearful. Look at the second epistle to Timothy.
2 Tim 1:7 "For God hath not given the spirit of fear; but of power, and love, and of a sound mind."
As usual, the place to be, the real truth, is in the middle. Don't neglect preparing for a potential crisis, but don't let it rob you of your joy, peace, and faith. God has promised to provide for us, but do all that you can to prepare for the potential problems. I can promise you, without a shadow of a doubt, no crisis you will face is
the end of the world. It may play a role in God's plan for the end times. But it is not itself the end. This world will not pass away until the end of the 1000 year reign of Christ. And that will not begin until the end of tribulation. God will one day create a new Heaven and a new Earth (Rev 21:1). The recent past has held numerous problems, some very tragic, some mostly hype. From 9-11 to Y2K, from tsunami's to devetating hurricanes. Do your best in these types of situations and keep your faith. Let us look at two more scriptures before we move on.
Psa 37:25 "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor His seed begging bread."
Psa 46:1-3 "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (vs2) Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; (vs 3) Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah
Now look at the last section of the Luke 15:14. He began to be in want. The word "want" is "hustereo" in Greek. It means to be destitute, fail, lack, suffer in need. It is a very strong word. The English translation does not
really capture the power of it. The boy's problem was that he was cut off from his source. In the parable, the father is the source. In reality, God the Father is the source. Cut yourself off from the Father, and you will become destitute. This means more than money. Want to become emotionally, morally, physically bankrupt? Cut yourself off from God the Father and you will experience these things. Going back to money, look at what the bible defines as our source of prosperity.
Deut 8:18 "But you shall remember the Lord thy God: for it is He that giveth thee the power to get wealth,........"
It is not wise (big understatement!) to separate yourself from God and forget about Him. You will become destitute. In one way or another, or in a multitude of ways. Addiction, sexually transmitted diseases, poverty, unplanned children, possibly even death. Just a few of the possible results of sin. Let us close with a Psalm that sums up what you forfiet if you become a prodigal son.
Psa 34:1 "I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth. (vs 2) My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. (vs 3) O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. (vs 4) I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. (vs 5) They looked unto Him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. (vs 6) This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of his troubles. (vs 7) The angel of the Lord encampeth round them that fear Him, and delivereth them. (vs 8) O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him. (vs 9) O fear the Lord, ye His saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him. (vs 10) The young lions do lack and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. (vs 11) Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord. (vs 12) What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? (vs 13) Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. (vs 14) Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. (vs 15) The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry. (vs 16) The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. (vs 17) The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. (vs 18) The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. (vs 19) Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord
delivereth him out of them all. (vs 20) He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. (vs 21) Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate. (vs 22) The Lord redeemeth the soul of His servants: and none of them that trust in Him shall be desolate."
That concludes this weeks look into God's Word. Would you join me in prayer? Heavenly Father, give us wisdom to live our lives according to Your perfect will. We praise You for showing us the true meaning of Your precious and Holy Word. We ask it in the Name of Jesus and to You be all the glory. Amen.
Please contact me, Michael Norton, with comments, questions, prayer requests, or suggestions at [email protected]
If you would like to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Please pray this prayer, and as you confess it with your mouth and believe it with your heart (Romans 10:9-10), He will wash away your sin with the blood He shed for you on the cross.
Lord Jesus, I know that You died in my place on the cross. I know that You were raised from the dead. I know that there is no other way to heaven except through You, for You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I ask You into my heart to be my Savior and my Lord from this day forward. Wash me clean of all my sins and turn me completely toward You. If I died today, I know I would go to heaven and be with You. I pray this prayer in
Your Holy Name. Amen.
