Come Home Again
By: God (Spoken by: Michael Flowers)
- I really want a million dollars.
- I can only think of all the things that I would do with all of that money.
- I would buy a car, a house, and probably a few stores full of things too, while I was at it.
- Everyday I wait for the voice to come over the phone, "Hi, this is Regis Philbin. Our latest contestant on ‘Who Wants to Be A Millionaire’ turned down the million dollars. He said to pick a random phone number and whoever answers wins the million. Congratulations, Mr. Flowers, you are a millionaire.”
- I’m pretty sure that would never happen, but every time the phone rings, my heart beats a little faster.
- So far no one named Regis has ever called my house, and I have never seen a cent of the money that my parents say I have for college.
- But I’m pretty sure I could live the rest of my days on a million dollars, no problem.
- Money seems to make people happy; people find new ways to spend it everyday.
- If you have money, you can have whatever you want, as it seems.
- People find other people with a bunch of money more attractive.
- A wallet full of money is sought after more than anything else is on this planet.
- But I ask you, what good is money after you die?
- The green in your wallet may buy you a house, a car, or something to drink.
- Money will not keep you from dying.
- Everyone is appointed once to die.
- You can buy medicine to make your life longer, but there is no medicine that will keep you from dying.
- Money can buy you a hospital bed, and doctors to take care of you.
- Money can buy you a nice funeral, a pretty flower arrangement, and a casket.
- But what about the more important things in life?
- Money can’t buy love.
- Money can’t buy true happiness.
- But after you die, money will make no difference to you.
- After you die you go one of two places: heaven or hell.
- Money can’t buy heaven, or a ticket there.
- During your lifetime you can change your course in eternity.
- We all start life in a world full of sin.
- We are part of the sin from birth, we are natural sinners.
- We are lost in a world full of sin.
- There was once a young man who had a very rich father.
- He got tired of living under his father’s rules, so he asked for his share of his father’s wealth, and left home.
- When he set out on his journey, he thought he would have enough money to last a lifetime.
- He underestimated a lifetime.
- The young man went looking for a job, but he found none.
- The money was running short and he was getting desperate.
- Finally he stopped to see if a farmer needed help.
- The farmer gave him permission to move into the house and feed the pigs.
- The farm had no running water, and what little water the farm had was used to water the animals, and for the families baths.
- Pretty soon the young man began to smell of pigs; the farmer could no longer stand the smell of him. The farmer moved the young man into the pig house to sleep.
- One night the young man laid down to sleep amongst the pigs with his stomach growling. He began to dream of his brother and father back home.
- He dreamt of them sitting at the dinner table eating at an enormous feast.
- He then saw himself under the table of the feast sitting on his knees picking up crumbs that fell off the table with his finger.
- The young man awoke in pains of hunger.
- He realized that life was much better under his father’s roof and regulations.
- He ran into the house and woke the farmer. The young man told the farmer that he would be leaving.
- He sat out that night for his home.
- He walked non-stop for days on end, crossing mountains along the dusty road, until he saw his house on the horizon.
- With his feet blistered and bleeding, he picked up his dragging pace and eventually was able to pick out a man in the field next to his house.
- It was his father.
- His father turned away from his work and began running as fast as his feet could carry him towards his long lost son.
- With his arms open wide the old man met his long lost son at the end of the road to the house and embraced him.
- Between sobs the young man began to make excuses, but his father silenced him and called for his servants to bring the best robe and sandals, and prepare a feast.
- He proclaimed " My son was dead, now he is alive again; he was lost and now is found!”
- The older son came in from the fields and laid his eyes on all of the commotion going on inside the house.
- A servant walked by, and he grabbed the servant by the arm and asked, "What are they doing in there?”
- "Sir, your brother has returned home! Rejoice and be merry! Come join us in celebration.”
- The older brother became angry and refused to go in.
- Shortly thereafter his father came out and asked him why he did not come in.
- The son responded "Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.”
- The father responded, "Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.”
- The oldest was jealous of his younger brother.
- The oldest had always been good and obeyed his father, but when the son who had wasted all of his father’s money returned, the people rejoiced and killed a calf for a feast.
- The oldest brother did not realize one simple thing, his brother had returned home.
- Maybe some of you are sitting there wondering the same thing.
- Why is that so important?
- In the same way that the father loved his son, God loves us.
- We may ask for forgiveness and run away from God thinking we no longer must follow God’s rule.
- We spend our time making our own rules, and setting our own standards, and having "fun”.
- God watches and waits for us to return to him.
- Then suddenly the convicting spirit falls upon us and we realize that under God’s roof and rules, life was better.
- We return to God crying and sobbing, and God shuts us up and reminds us that HE IS GOD!
- He holds us in his arms and takes away the sin, and all of the angels in heaven rejoice because we were once lost and we are now found.
- We were dead, and through Christ Jesus WE ARE ALIVE AGAIN!
- Jesus took our sins on his shoulders as He hung on the cross.
- He took our pain and hung there; He was beaten and mocked, so we would not have to be.
- He gave the gift of His life, so that we might live forever.
- The sad thing is some never received his gift in the first place.
- The sad thing is people think their life means anything at all without Jesus.
- They say "There are too many rules,” or "That’s no fun.”
- People think Christians are a bunch of stick-in-the-muds because God calls them to stand out and shine a light to the world.
- And they are afraid.
- People constantly look out for themselves, and don’t want to admit that they are wrong and God is right.
- It is so simple yet so hard for those.
- And they will go to hell after they die.
- I can say with firm assurance that I will go to heaven after I die.
- Why? I, as a 9-year-old boy let go of the reigns of my life and let God take control.
- I confessed my sin to God and confessed my need for Jesus.
- And now I know I will go to heaven to spend eternity with God.
- Do you have that assurance?
- Do you know for certain that you will go to heaven after you die?
- If not, I want to tell you that it is never too late to come to Jesus.
- It is never too late to come home to God.
- While you walk this earth, you can lay down your life for God’s; you can choose to come out of the pigpen and come home.
- The road may be rough, you may get blistered, but in the end God will be there with arms open wide.
- You will eat the feast with me, all other Christians, and God himself.
- But once you die without Christ, it is too late.
- Hell is eternal separation from God in a lake of fire.
- No one wants to go there, I hope.
- So join me in a prayer to ask God to take you back.
- Do not be afraid, God wants you to come back more than anything.
- His arms are open wide. Won’t you come home?
