Marcus Mecum - Having a Spirit of Return
Luke 15:13. This is God’s lost and found department in the Bible. This one chapter talks about the lost coin, the lost sheep, and the lost son. I’ve preached from this text many times and I’m excited to talk to you about it for several reasons. One, I’m gonna talk about it from an angle I’ve never talked about it before. Specifically, instead of letting the prodigal son be the star of the story, which is normally what we experience, we’re gonna push him over to the side. He’ll still find his way into the story, but I want to make the emphasis on the father’s house, the father’s house. This is the father’s house. Look at your neighbor and say, «This is God’s house». It’s important that we remember that. It’s not my house. It’s not your house. It’s his house.
So, let’s read in Luke 15:13, «And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, he journeyed to a far-off country, there he wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in the land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to the citizens of that country, and he sent himself into the fields to feed with the swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with all that the swine were eating, but no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, 'how many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough to spare and I perish here in hunger! I will arise and I will go to my father, and I will say to him, 'father, I have sinned, '» this is repentance, «'I have sinned against heaven and before you. I’m no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me a hired servant'. He arose, came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, the father saw him, had compassion, and ran, fell on his neck and kissed him».
So, if we’re going to make the father’s house the focus of the story, what I want you to notice is there had to be an atmosphere created that possessed a spirit of return that the father had to get the house ready. He had to prepare the house with a spirit of return. And that’s what I’m gonna talk to you about, having a spirit of return. If we’re God’s people, and this is his house, we need to work on preparing the atmosphere in this place, and at every location, to have a spirit of return. We would know that there are those who are in the pig pens right now. There are those who have failed. They are living a miserable life. They’re running from God. They’re wasting their life. You name it. They’re feeding off of the worst things imaginable in the world.
And the question is: how can God send those people to a place if that place has not been prepared? There are many prodigals, we all know one. We all have someone in our mind, those who have drifted away. But God has to prepare us with a spirit of return. He has to do something in our hearts to where we’re constantly saying, «I wanna be a magnet to those who need him the most». Well, the Bible here says, «He wasted». He wasted more than things. He wasted more than his possessions. He’s wasting his life. The Bible says, «He wasted his substance,» is what the King James version says. Substance is more than stuff.
The Bible says in Hebrews 11 that faith is the substance. So, substance includes more than stuff. Substance actually includes faith. The Bible says, «He wasted his substance». So, he wasted his faith. Abraham, the Bible says when he left his country in Genesis 12, «He left with his substance». What was the substance that Abraham left with? It wasn’t a donkey, or a mule, or material things. He left with the substance. Three times the Bible calls Abraham a friend of God. The Bible says, «He’s the father of our faith».
So, his substance had to do with more than just stuff. His substance was his faith. His substance was his friendship, his relationship with the father. His substance was his time, it was his energy, it was his emotion. All of that stuff, his family. It’s the substance of life. And the Bible says this man wasted all of that. He wasted his faith. He wasted his friendship with the father. He wasted his gifts. He wasted his talents. He wasted his life. He had everything going for him. There was no reason for him to go the direction that he did. But the Bible says in verse 12 that he goes to the father and he says, «Give me what’s mine». He wants something that actually isn’t his, it doesn’t belong to him. But he’s saying in his mind, «I want what’s mine».
That was his attitude. That was his mindset. «This is mine». He had a, «It’s mine,» attitude. Really, what he was saying to his dad is, «Dad, I wish you were dead». Because we know that an inheritance is not given until someone passes. So, what he’s saying is, «Dad, you’re not important to me. Stuff is important. Living a life where I’m just getting what’s mine is what’s important». And so, he leaves, the Bible says, and he goes to a far off country. This is not a story on geography. This is a story that teaches us the power of direction, that all of us have to be concerned with. That you can be close at one moment, close in one season of your life, and before you know it, you can end up far away. And it begins with my mindset, it begins with my attitude.
If I have a mindset, «It’s mine,» if I have a mindset that is pointing the direction of my life to self, then eventually I make choices, and before I know it, it’s not just my choice for a little while. It starts to lead to my life, my substance, my time, my talent, my energy, my life, my family, my relationships, all of that stuff. If I’m not careful, I start giving the substance of my life to things that are meaningless. His mindset was, «The father’s house is a waste of my time. The father’s house is a waste of my talent».
And he ends up in a far off country, far off from his convictions, far off from his relationship with the father, far off from his standards, far off from where his heart once was. Sin simply means missing the Mark. We think sin, we immediately go to the worst-case scenario, but sin is a directional word. It’s just speaking about, how does someone end up so far off from where they started? How does someone end up so far off from where they began? And it just begins with they started to feel wrong, just started to feel wrong about the father’s house, started to feel wrong about what was going on in the… And then, they start thinking wrong, «It’s mine. What about me? Why isn’t the focus on me? This is mine».
And then, before you know it, he chooses wrong and ends up far away. That’s what sin does, it takes you further than you intended to go, and it makes you stay longer than you intended to stay. You end up wasted. We know in the story that he did not get along with his older brother. So, there’s an issue between him and his brother. It seems that his mother was not in the picture. We don’t have the details of what happened, but we know that he’s disappointed. We know he’s discouraged. It seems like there’s something that has hurt him. He’s bitter. He has a broken heart. All we know is that he says, «I’m giving up on the father’s house. I’m giving up. This is a waste of my substance. This is a waste of my care. This is a waste of my time. This is a waste of my gifts. This is a waste of my treasure».
And he ends up turning his back on the father’s house. That’s what happens when faith is perverted, it goes the other way. Because the truth is, there was no substance in his life apart from the father. The truth is all the substance that he had, you name it, it was a result of the father’s house. Yet, in his mind, the father’s house was a waste. So, he gets the mindset, «It’s mine». Again, it’s direction. And before you know it, he’s a far off. But notice what the father does immediately. He immediately starts to prepare and get ready for the incredible return of his son. So, a spirit of return begins with expectation. The father was expecting the prodigal to return. We know this because the moment that the son started to return, the Bible says, «The father saw him and started running».
The only mention we have of God running is right here in this story. This is the only metaphor the Bible gives us of a God who runs. Why would the father run? It’s because he was the only one in the house that was expecting the return. He had his eyes looking down the road. The elder brother is over here shining his halo, but the father is expecting his return. Every single day he gets up, every morning he’s there looking down the road saying, «Today he’s coming back. Today he’s going to make it back».
That’s what every Sunday should be in the house of God. We should show up expecting today a prodigal is going to return. Someone’s prodigal son is coming home. Someone’s daughter is coming home. Someone’s husband, someone’s wife, someone’s mom, someone’s dad, some sister, some brother, some friend, some colleague, somebody is returning and our job as a church is to show up excited saying, «What might God do today? Whose prodigal is coming home? And if it’s not mine, my job is to create an atmosphere that is full of a spirit of return». He had to know concerning the prodigal that he was ready to return. That’s their part. That’s their job. We cannot do that. He had wasted everything he had, but he said, watch this, «I’m going to return to my father». He didn’t say, «I’m going to return to my father’s house». He said, «I’m going to return to my father».
So, he was thinking, «The house will reject me, but the father will accept me. I love the father, but I’m not so sure that the house, the atmosphere, those brothers and sisters there, I’m not so sure they’ll accept me». And that’s where a lot of people find themselves. They find themselves with the wrong mindset. They start moving in a wrong direction. Who knows what it is? A loss in life, a disappointment, something they do, something that somebody’s done to them, and they move in a direction. They start finding themselves a far off, and they failed, and they’re living in all kinds of places. And it’s not that they don’t love God, it’s that they struggle with God’s people.
If you serve God anytime at all, you have felt that stone cold, icy judgement of someone who says they love him. Nothing’s worse than that. Just judgmental, mean spirited. Uh-oh. I got the microphone now. You get on your keyboard. I got the microphone. And I’m not mad, I’m excited because I’m here to protect the atmosphere of the father’s house and say we must always have a spirit of return presenting the heart of the father to the prodigals out there. Some of you today have a prodigal into your life. It’s your son, it’s your daughter, it’s someone that you love, but know that they have an advantage. The Bible, here, says that he was not the only one in the pig pen. He was attached to the other citizens of that country that were also there because there was a famine in the land.
So, there’s a bunch of people in the pig pen, but the prodigal had the advantage, he knew how to find the road home. So, they’ve got an advantage today. Our job is to say, «By faith, I’m gonna keep looking down that road. They know the road. I don’t know when they’re going to access the road». But my job is to say, «I’m expecting. I’m expecting they’re coming home. I’m expecting they’re coming back. I’m expecting today, I don’t know when, I don’t know how, but I know at some point I’m gonna lift up my eyes and they’re going to be coming home». That daughter, that son, that loved one in your life, they are coming home in Jesus' name. My job is to feed my faith, starve my fears, and see them with the eyes of faith coming.
So, that’s our job to have a spirit of return, that means we clear the road on the way to the father’s house. There was only one road in Israel that God demanded no matter what happens they keep it open, one road that God would command, «You keep this road in good repair. You make sure the potholes are filled. You make sure if it’s snowing out that there’s all kinds of salt out on the road. You make sure that there’s boulders and debris moved off the road». And it was the road to the city of refuge. And what God was saying is, «No matter what you do, keep the road to mercy open. Always give access to the city of refuge. It don’t matter what you have to do, how many crews you have to send out, make sure that road is prepared and open. Because at some point, they’re gonna come looking and they need to see the road to mercy is open».
That’s why we say, «God, give us a spirit of return. Give me a spirit of return. Give our church a spirit of concern». One of our values is kindness. Why? Because it’s the kindness of God that leads men to repentance. That’s what it is, it’s his kindness. And you know what kindness is to us? It’s unreasonable compassion. That’s what the father doing… Is here. He’s unreasonable. «What are you doing running? What do you do out there running at… Shouldn’t you make him clean everything up, get everything right, prove himself for a little bit, and then maybe he could come home»? No, that’s not what… He’s unreasonable in his compassion.
So, here he comes, no shoes, no robe, starving, covered in the mess, in the nastiness of where he had just come from, and the father comes running to him. Look at him how weak he is. Look at him bent over. Not much to get excited about, but the father goes running. Do you see how excited the father is? He’s not fully developed yet. He hadn’t got everything quite the way it needs to be, still looks a lot like the life he came from. Uh-oh. But the father gets excited.
Why does it take us, as God’s people so much to get excited? Why does God get excited about something and we don’t? The Bible says that, «A smoking flax he will not quench». In other words, God doesn’t need a fire. He doesn’t even need a BIC lighter, just some smoke. If God sees a little bit of smoke, we don’t get excited unless there’s some big bonfire. It’s gotta be really impressive. It’s gotta be a really big deal. But not God, just a little smoke he doesn’t quench.
And the question is if it gets God excited, and the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives on the inside of us, why are we struggling to get excited? Or, is it possible that we’ve lost the spirit of return? Is it possible we’ve lost the spirit of the father? Because remember, there wasn’t just one lost son, there were two. The elder brother was equally lost, maybe more so lost. He’s keeping score. Grace doesn’t keep score, by the way. We have too many scorekeepers in the father’s house. What’s he say? «You never made me a goat». What’s the father say? «Everything in my house is yours. What are you talking about»? And what the father is saying is if you’re healthy, and you’re mature, you get off of your blessed assurance and you stir up a spirit of return.
You say, «God, if you’re running, I’m running with you. If you’re going, I’m going with you». We wanna see the prodigals return. We don’t care what they look like. We don’t care where they come from. This should be a church that has a spirit of return. When he came back, he said, «I’m going to tell my father, I’m gonna repent before him. I’m gonna tell him that if he’ll just make me a hired servant,» and he gets the repentance part out which is important, but he stopped. Before he could say, «Make me your hired servant».
The father stopped him. Why did the father stop him? Because he’s letting him know, «You left as a son and you’re returning as a son. You’ve got lost, you’ve got regret, but you’re still my son». That’s what preparing the house with a spirit of return looks like. It says, «I’m getting ready». Every time the doors are opened, if this is the father’s house and I’m part of the family of God, I need to be clear every single week. Number one, the spirit of return means you’re accepted when you show up. That doesn’t mean that the father approved of the things his son had done, but he was still his son, and he made it clear to him.
Secondly, a spirit of return means that those who return are going to find the love, not only the love of the father, on the road, but they’re gonna find the love of the father in the house as well. And number three, a spirit of return celebrates. It throws a party. That’s what church is supposed to be. It’s supposed to be a celebration. Read the rest of the story. It’s supposed to be a celebration that removed the bitter aftertaste from people’s mouths and says, «This house is a place we celebrate the people that returned». Because why would God send anybody anywhere if they’re not ready to receive those he sends them? The Bible says, «Whoever will, let him come».
Imagine if it would have been the elder brother that met the prodigal on the road, he would have never even let him in. I don’t want my attitude to be that. I don’t want my attitude when I come to God’s house to be an attitude that keeps people out of his presence. Did you know it’s a fact that people can feel your spirit when they walk in? They can feel a spirit of rejection. They can see it on your face. They can feel, «Ah, I’m not really sure they look the part». But they can also feel a spirit of return. Let’s create a spirit of return in this church. This is the father’s house and let’s get over whatever things you have to get over, but let’s always keep this a place that people when they show up it’s truly, «Welcome home. Welcome home. We celebrate that you’re here».
So, this is a story of two brothers, a story of two brothers. It’s the story of the father’s heart and the story of two brothers. There’s another story of two brothers that you can look into that happened in the mid-1800's. A man by the name of Edwin Thomas was one of the greatest actors of his time. In New York city he had performed hamlet on over a hundred consecutive nights in a row.
Edwin had two brothers who were also successful actors though not as successful as he was. And one of his brothers would make a decision that would not only change his life but would change the course of an entire nation. His brother, John, would walk into a theater on a cold night in 1865 and fire a shot at the head of Abraham Lincoln. The last name of these two brothers was booth, Edwin Thomas booth and John Wilkes Booth. That night would Mark our nation forever and would force Edwin into an early retirement. He might have never returned to the stage if it was not for an almost unbelievable turn of events. He was in a train station in New Jersey, was a cold night.
A well-dressed man is pushing through the crowd to get to the train. He loses his footing and falls in between the platform and the moving train. Without hesitation, Edwin sees this happens, he locks his legs around the railing, pulls that young man out just in the nick of time away from that train, pulls him to safety. The famous Edwin Booth did not recognize who the young man was, but the young man seeing him in shock knew exactly who he was. Edwin would not discover who this young man was until three weeks later when he would receive a letter that he would carry to his grave. He would get a letter from the chief secretary of Ulysses s. Grant. And in that letter, he would thank Edwin Booth for saving the son of the American hero, president Abraham Lincoln.
The boy he yanked to safety was Robert Todd Lincoln. One brother killed the president, another saved the life of the president’s son. The question is always the same, which brother are you? When God looks at a church, what’s the spirit in this place? What’s the spirit of this house? What kind of… Are we the kind of brother that walks around just shooting bullets at everybody that’s not quite the way we think they need to be, just harsh judgments all the way, unrealistic expectations? Just, «Me, it’s mine, it’s mine,» just setting the direction of our life in a way where no matter how hard we try, can’t nobody please us and we end up further, and further, and further away from where we start.
Who made you judge and jury? Who made you the executioner? Who made you to be the one that you’re the know-it-all of all know-it-alls? Let me help you. This story was not a sermon about the prodigal that went and wasted his life. It was ultimately a story about the brother who sat there in a seat and missed the point. Our job is to say, «God, don’t let us miss the point. I wanna be the kind of brother that wraps my legs around the railing and reaches down to a lost generation with a moving train headed right at him, and I wanna pull him out». And you don’t have to like it. You don’t have to think anything about it other than, «My job is to say, 'i want to have a spirit of return'».