The Pastor's Minute

Take Charge of Your Life - Part 2


Date: 8/25/2010
Speaker: Pastor Johnny Moore

“Taking Charge Of Your Life, Part II”

                The story of the Prodigal Son is one of the greatest stories in the Bible. Think about it...here’s a kid who on the outside, it seemed he had it made. But on the inside was a headstrong, know-it-all kid, who was determined to live life his way. So, one day he decided to ask for his inheritance and set out to “find himself.” It wasn’t long before he found himself broke, hungry, homeless and miserable.

                This sounds like the story of many others including myself. Many of you reading this are at this place right now. You’ve gone your own way, made your own choices and now, just as this boy, you have found yourself in great need. The sad thing is that we focus our attention mostly on this part of the story, and therefore, spend our lives wallowing in our problems instead of rising up and doing something positive about our situation. If we read the rest of the story, we find where this young man “took charge of his life and made something out of it.” And you can do the same. We find in this story where the boy discovered five things that helped him “take charge of his life.” Apply these simple things to your life:

                1. He discovered he had been lied to: Maybe someone told him, “If you really want to enjoy life, don’t listen to your old man, do things your way.” Luke 15:17 says, “When he came to his senses…” This lets me know that he had been living his life based on something that was not true. He had been lied to and believed it.

                2. He discovered he didn’t have to live the way he was living: Once he found out what he had been told about life was a lie, he concluded, “I don’t have to live this way anymore.” Verse 17 tells us that “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death.’” He wasn’t born to live like that and neither were you!

                3. He discovered he couldn’t succeed on his own: He needed help to fulfill his destiny and so he said to himself, “I will arise and go back to my father” (vs. 18).

                4. He discovered he had to accept responsibility for his own problem: This means not blaming others, but being responsible for your own actions. The Prodigal Son said, “I have sinned…”

                5. He discovered the best time to start is today: Verse 20 says “So he got up and went to his father…” You can take charge of your life, if you start today. The truth is that if you haven’t taken charge of your life, you are living on a loan that is coming due any day now. And when it does, you’ll have to pay up. So, why not take some advice from the Word of God and don’t wait until you get to the end of your rope—do it now! Join me next week and I’ll tell you how.


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