Pastor Bob Farrell Text—Luke 15:11-24 The Bible gives clear instructions on how to develop a pig's lifestyle; in fact, it can be done in four easy steps: Step One: Demand what you have not earned If you’re looking to develop a pig’s lifestyle, step up and demand what you have not earned. The Prodigal Son did this in verse 12 when he said, “Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.” He’d done nothing to earn his father’s estate, yet he demanded it. Young people can do this very thing today by refusing to shop at Wal-Mart or K-Mart and demanding name-brand material possessions without regard to how hard their parents work to provide for them. Prisons are full of people who demanded what they did not earn and when they didn’t get what they felt the world owed them, they took it. You, too, can join their ranks simply by insisting you receive what you have not earned. Step Two: Get away from those that love and care for you The Prodigal Son gathered up his possessions, which he did not earn, and “… went on a journey into a distant country …” (v 13) Young people do this today either by physically running away or merely avoiding their parents, their pastors, their youth leaders and Sunday School teachers. They get away from those adults who love and care for them. Step Three: Waste your life in corrupt activities Verse 13 goes on to tell us that this young man in Scriptures “… squandered his estate [the one that he did not earn] with loose living.” There are a host of ways that youth can squander their estates today. Drugs will eat up your money, your health, your mind, your well being. There is an epidemic of sexually-transmitted diseases that are destroying the lives of people of all ages, but it is the young that are so vulnerable because they think they’re immune. Every day finds another young girl who has learned she will never be able to have children, another teen who learns he or she has Herpes—which will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Every day, another youth contracts AIDS. Indeed, you can jump into the middle of a pig sty by wasting your life on corrupt activities. Step Four: Establish wrong relationships Just like the Prodigal Son who “… attached himself to one of the citizens of that country …” in verse 15, you can hasten your descent into the pig’s lifestyle by attaching yourself to the wrong kind of people. Whether it is a boyfriend who is interested only in sex and drugs, a girlfriend who entices you to drink, or someone who keeps you away from the right relationships, find those people who are already in the pig sty and attach yourself to them—they’re not hard to find. If you follow these four easy steps, you, too, can develop a pig’s lifestyle. Interestingly enough, many find that once they’ve gone to the trouble to accomplishing the feat of "developing a pig's lifestyle, they discover that they want out … How to Escape the Pig’s Lifestyle You must make an about-face in your moral life, in your thinking, and in your activities. Turn from your sin to the Savior. Repenting is leaving something and turning to something else. It is mandatory. How do you repent? Break from wrong relationships Conserve what you still have and go back home Place yourself back under a guardian’s authority Adopt a servant’s spirit Will it work? Let’s take a look at the young man in the Scriptures: Verse 18: He broke with the wrong relationship “I will get up and go to my father …” Verse 17: He conserved what he had and returned to his father “But when he came to his senses …” He had already squandered his inheritance [which he did not earn], but he still had his wits about him. You may not think that’s much, but if you stay in your pig sty long enough, you can lose even that. Drugs and disease will eat away at your mind, your ability to think and reason. Come to your senses while you’re still able and go back home. Verse 20: He got back under parental authority “And he got up and came to his father …” If you don’t have a parent, find a pastor, a youth leader, a Christian mentor to whom you can be accountable and who will hold you up to God’s standards. Verse 21: He developed a servant’s spirit “… ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’” Have you ever tried to have some quiet time with your mom and dad? Do you think it would work if you poured out your heart’s desire to them? Take a look at what happened to the Prodigal Son when he did just that in verses 21 - 24: "And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.' And they began to be merry.” The conclusion: “… And they began to be merry.”

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