“And when he came to himself...”

By David J. Stewart

“And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!” —Luke 15:17

      There comes a time in everyone's life when we need to wake up (i.e., come to our senses). Most people today are out of their minds. I say this, not to be unkind; but to be truthful. The more we seek after the truth, and find it, the more we realize that the masses of this world are walking in utter darkness concerning so many things. It was the Apostle Paul himself who said in Titus 3:3, "For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.” And again in Ephesians 2:3 Paul said, “Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” Thank God for the truth, and for the blood of Jesus Christ which takes our sins away. I would like to speak to you for the next few moments concerning the life-changing Biblical phrase, “And when he came to himself.

In Luke 15:11-27, Jesus told the story of the prodigal son, who had left his father's home, taking his inheritance with him. No doubt, the son had long dreamed about what he wanted to do before he left, and had illusions of a life of pleasure and bliss.  At first, all seemed well, as is usually the case with sin; but the good times would soon come to an end. The Bible says that the son "wasted his substance with riotous living" (vs. 13). 

 The word “riotous” in the Greek is “asotos” and means “unrestrained by convention or morality.” In other words, the son foolishly wasted his money on wine, women, and song. The son was soon hungry, without a job, and financially broke.  Famine struck the land (much like the economic depression of the 1930s, where only the rich thrived).  In desperation, the son begins to beg for help and meets a local resident who allows him eat with the pigs in exchange for feeding them.  The Bible says that the son was starving, literally, because no one cared about him ... “And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.”

When people finished eating the corn off the husk, they'd give the husks to the pigs to eat (i.e., their garbage).  The word "fain" in the Greek is "epithumeo" and is a very interesting word which means, "to turn upon a thing, to have a desire for."  In other words, the son loathed the idea of eating someone's garbage; but he was so hungry that he he was at the end of his rope.  It wasn't until the son was at the point of eating someone's garbage that he came to his senses ... "And when he came to himself..." (Luke 15:17).
 

Garbage Ala Carte

This is so true of sin ... Proverb 20:17 reads, “Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.” In the case of the prodigal son, it was garbage instead of gravel. Listen my friend, you can come to your senses now, before you end up eating garbage with the pigs, or having your mouth filled with gravel (the term “mouth filled with gravel” in Proverb 20:17 is referring to a person being buried, and dirt being thrown down into the grave.  Poor people in many countries today are still buried directly in the dirt with no coffin). The point is that most people take sin lightly until they get burned and suffer because of it, or their loved ones. 

Sin ultimately never leads to peace or happiness. The Word of God is a very honest book, which was given to us by God to warn us about the consequences of sin. The Bible is; therefore, a very offensive Book to the sinful world. Unfortunately, people usually don't listen to God until tragedy strikes and the damage is done; but by then it is often too late. 

The prodigal son finally came to his senses, realizing that he was going to die if he didn't reconsider his ways. It is significant to note that the prodigal son didn't REPENT until he was at the point of eating garbage to survive. This is typical of man's sin-nature. Mankind is stubborn. Sometimes God has to wake us up, to get our attention. The pleasures of sin are only for a season. “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them” (Ecclesiastes 12:1). The prodigal son didn't remember God, as most people don't today. It required harsh circumstances to bring him to his senses. 

This is exactly why the great evangelist, Billy Sunday, said “It would be a godsend if the Church would suffer persecution today; she hasn't suffered it for hundreds of years. She is growing rich and lagging behind. Going back.” (Billy Sunday, The Need for Revivals, From “Billy Sunday: The Man and His Message,” by William T. Ellis, Philadelphia: John C. Winston Co., 1914). Billy Sunday made that statement 100 years ago! The church today is in even worse condition, much worse.

I couldn't agree more with Billy Sunday when he said ... Lord save us from off-handed, flabby-cheeked, brittle-boned, weak-kneed, thin-skinned, pliable, plastic, spineless, effeminate, ossified, three-karat Christianity.” We are living in times of great apostasy, when most churches are following the world, and fewer lost sinners are truly finding salvation in Christ Jesus. True Biblical Christianity has been replaced with social clubs, political correctness, and Churchianity. As the church continues to become worldly, the world continues to become churchy
 

What Will It Take To Make You Care?

Most people today are walking in darkness (i.e., rejecting the truth). Tragically, most people don't care. Most people don't care about the evils of alcohol until its their son or daughter killed by a drunk driver. Most people don't care about the sinful dangerous of homosexuality, until society is morally ruined. Most people don't care about the blatant evils in Washington; but they WILL when their freedoms are gone. I could list hundreds of things which people don't CARE about; but they should. 

Most professed Christians don't care about which Bible they use, and as a result false doctrine abounds everywhere.  The King James Bible is God's preserved Word in English. All modern versions are corrupt! The New International Version (NIV) is straight out of the pits of Hell. Most professed Christians fail to realize that the Republican party is just as corrupt and evil as the Democratic party, and no Christian should vote for either party. To vote for either party is to vote for abortion

It's been said ... The biggest problem in the world today is apathy; but who cares? The hallmark quality of a Christian is CARING. Christ-honoring believers CARE about the truth, CARE about the Word of God, CARE about their families, CARE about their marriage, CARE about people, CARE about their reputation, and CARE about everything that God cares about.  As the church slips away further into apostasy (i.e., away from God and His Word), professed Christians care less and less. This is why MOST churches are silent concerning the evils of abortion (the woeful American holocaust!). This is why MOST professed Christians today are silent concerning the sin of homosexuality. Satan's greatest advantage is the silence of Christians.  Rise up oh Christian, let your voice be heard! 

I love this picture above. A group of Christians gathered in Salt Lake city to expose the Mormon cult at the Olympic games. This is a good picture showing exactly what we need to be doing as Christians ... exposing Satan's works of darkness. We read in Ephesians 5:11, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.”  Here's another faithful Christian brother below, taking a Biblical stand against gay-marriage.


Have You Come to Your Self?

“And when he came to himself...”

Oh that people would come to their senses today! So many people are walking in darkness, eating garbage with the pigs at the Devil's table. It's time to come to your self, to your senses, and to repent towards God. 

The world has gone insane! Never before have we seen such crazy things going on around the world. I recently read about a city ordinance in a suburb of Rio De Janeiro in Brazil which will require businesses to install a third kind of restroom—for transvestites. It's no better in America. Recently, flaming homosexual Rosie O'Donnell said that radical Christianity is AS MUCH a threat to America as radical Islam, and the audience applauded in agreement. A sicko organization called GLSEN is teaching teens all across America in public schools how to have "fist sex" in homosexual relationships. 

America is headed for imminent DESTRUCTION! Our government has run amuck. Our public schools have become prisonhouses of lies, brainwashing, promiscuity, and wickedness against God. More pornography and smut oozes out of America than any other nation on earth. Americans account for 25% of all world-sex-tourism. Las Vegas is so wicked that they even dubbed their city, “SIN CITY! What sin-seeking tourists don't realize is that What Happens In Vegas ... Is RECORDED In Heaven! Sodomite homosexuals parade up and down the streets of cities all across America—spitting in God's face, desecrating the Word of God, condemning Christianity, and celebrating one of the most horrible sins imaginable. First the homosexuals wanted tolerance towards them (civil rights), then they wanted acceptance in society (by asking to adopt children and get married), now they want approval (by corrupting the Word of God into a lie in an attempt to do so ... “Who changed the truth of God into a lie...” Romans 1:25). 

Sodomites today are actually claiming that homosexuality is a form of love, and God is love; therefore, they allege that love cannot be a sin. Can you imagine a man looking at another man's hairy butt and saying, “I think I'm in love”? It is sickening. Homosexuals have even formed a man-boy sex organization called NAMBLA! These perverts are known as “pederasts.” There is a definite connection between homosexuality and pedophilia! Bible-believing Christians need to stand firm against the vile and disgusting sin of homosexuality. There is hope in Jesus Christ, who is able to deliver the sinner from the farthest depths of sin, if that man will be saved. 

The prodigal son came to himself. Oh to God that husbands and wives would come to their senses concerning the sin of divorce. It is a sin for a spouse to abandon their marriage. In Hebrews 13:5, God promises to NEVER leave nor forsake us. If we are to be like Christ, then we must have the same loving and forgiving Spirit of Christ. This is the Holy Spirit which indwells each and every believer. Marriage is not just a relationship, it is a lifetime commitment ... “'Til death do us part.” Sadly, many people are liars and break their marriage vows by divorcing. Divorce is especially a horrible sin, because it perpetuates for a lifetime. Many people will weep in bitter tears before the Judgment Throne of God because of the sin of divorce. 

Oh that people would come to themselves concerning the evils of false religion. It is rare nowadays to hear professed Christians speak out against false religion. Islam teaches that Jesus never died on a cross, and that God has NO son. 1st John 2:22 exposes Islam as a LIE. There are an estimated 1,000,000,000 Islamic Muslims in the world. Islam and Christianity are diametrically opposed to each other, and DON'T worship the same God! 

The Catholic Church boasts of over 1,000,000,000 members worldwide. They worship statues of Mary and the saints, a violation of the 2nd Commandments not to BOW to any graven images (Exodus 20:4-5). Catholicism requires the keeping of the 7-sacraments, good works, and church membership to go to Heaven. In sharp contrast, the Word of God states in Romans 4:5 ... "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." God does NOT require anything from us to be saved, just that we believe upon Jesus Christ, who justifies the ungodly with His shed blood (1st Peter 1:18,19). 

Therefore ... Catholicism is a LIE!  Islam is a LIE! The Jehovah's Witness religion is a LIE! Mormonism (The Church of the Latter-Day Saints of Jesus Christ) is a LIE! Scientology is a LIE! Freemasonry is a LIE! Christian Science is a LIE! The Seventh-Day Adventist religion is a LIE! Hinduism is a LIE! The New Age religion is a LIE! Wicca is a LIE! Buddhism is a LIE! Zoroastrianism is a LIE! Lutheranism is a LIE! Why are the churches silent? Billions of lost sinners are members of these damnable false religions and must be warned! Without exception, every one of the religions just mentioned ADD works to faith alone in Christ Jesus, thus perverting the Gospel, "...but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ" (Galatians 1:7). 

I am so sick and tired of so-called "Christians" who are making millions of dollars selling "Christian rock" (which is a misnomer--all rock music is of the Devil). Christian rock, rap, hip hop, is nothing more than worldly music repackaged. I've yet to find one mainstream Christian rock star, or group, who presents the Gospel of Jesus Christ on their website. They are imposters, exploiting Christianity to make a buck. It is evil. Amy Grant stated that she's not a preacher, and it wasn't her responsibility to preach the Gospel. 

"I’m a singer, not a preacher. I’M NOT LOOKING TO CONVERT ANYBODY. I feel people come to hear my music, not to hear me talk" (Amy Grant, St. Petersburg Times, Florida, April 7, 1984, p. 4).

What a sorry excuse for a Christian, if she is one at all. Billions of lost sinners are bound for an eternity without Christ, and Amy Grant is not looking to convert anybody. Proverb 11:30 says, "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise." Miss Grant needs to wake up, as did the prodigal son, because she is living in spiritual poverty with the pigs. 
 

Making Wrongs Right

Jesus stated in Matthew 5:23-24 ... “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother...” A Christian cannot be right with God and wrong with man (i.e., if you have wronged someone, you need to make it right. Please notice that the Bible speaks of “reconciliation,” which is often much more than just an apology. Restitution must be made, which is taught extensively in the Old Testament civil laws. You can't defraud someone out of thousands of dollars and then expect to make things right, without first making restitution before asking for an apology.  We read in Micah 6:8, “...what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” The word “justly” means JUSTICE, i.e., to be fair and just. 

It is tragic how some people can stab others in the back, and then go on with their life as if nothing happened. The Word of God is very clear that such people will not prosper, "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy" (Proverb 28:13).

Proverbs 24:12 warns that God ponders (stares upon) one's heart. God monitors your every thought. A person who hurts others may seem to be blessed; but don't kid yourself, God will judge them in due time ... “Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment ... For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecclesiastes 11:9;12:14). 

Justice is often symbolized by a scale, with two opposing weights. When we wrong someone, the scales are unbalanced, i.e., there is an injustice. This is why Proverbs 11:1 says, "A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.” Many people need to come to themselves in this matter of justice and reconciliation, for they are living in sin by refusing to right their wrongs against others. 
 

We Need To Come To Ourselves!

Oh how we need to come to ourselves today, as did the prodigal son in the Bible. We need to come to ourselves concerning the sins plaguing America, and our responsibility to stand against them. We need to come to ourselves concerning the evils of false religion, and the importance of exposing them. We need to come to ourselves concerning the sin of divorce, and the importance of never giving up on anybody. We need to come to ourselves concerning soulwinning, and our Biblical duty to share the Gospel with others. We need to come to ourselves concerning the sinister evil saturating BOTH the Republican and Democratic parties. 

We must not play their game of lies, deceit, and blatant injustice anymore. The recent leaders of BOTH parties have all been members of occult organizations, such as Skull and Bones (a Satanic Nazi group), and the larger Satanic organization, Bohemian Grove in California. Why do Christians continue to support such evil people? It's because they haven't come to themselves yet? I made this website for the Lord, to help wake people up concerning THE TRUTH. Thankfully, some people are being awaken and are "coming to themselves." Truly, people are "sheeple" who are easily deceived. May the Lord bless you with a desire to seek after the truth that you may be enlightened. Wake up! Wake up America! 

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." —Isaiah 53:6


"And when he came to himself..."

Ye Must Be Born Again!