Steven Furtick - Don't Forget Where You Come From (03/10/2017)
This is the first sermon in the "Consider the Source" series, focusing on the theme "Don't Forget Where You Come From." Using examples from Genesis, Isaiah, and the parable of the Prodigal Son, the preacher argues that remembering God as our ultimate source provides proper perspective for our problems, brings peace by combating worry, and restores us to our rightful place of belonging and provision in Him.
Don't Forget Where You Come From
I have so much to share with you. So many things to share with you. I was sharing my sermon outline with a friend of mine, and when I got done sharing today's sermon outline, he said, Is that the outline for the series? I said, No, it's just the first sermon. And he said, Uh-oh. Your people are in trouble. But I've been really taken with this phrase, Consider the source. I think they're going to bring out my… Yeah, they're going to bring something out for me here in a minute. I think they are.
Hey, when you hear the series titles that we're doing, I don't want you to think of it so much that I'm teaching you new thoughts, but rather giving you a new lens to look through and see what God has already said. I feel like that's my job as a preacher. And so I take this Bible, and each week I try to open it and use a lens to show you what's already there. I'm not making wisdom appear. It's not my wisdom. It's not my words. It's God's words. Touch somebody next to you and say, I don't care what he has to say. Point at me. I want to hear what God has to say.
Flipping the Phrase: God as Our Source
And the cool thing about this series is when I started thinking about this phrase, consider the source, normally that's meant in a negative way. You know, they said this or they said that. Oh, man, just consider the source. My mom taught me that phrase when I was, I believe, six or seven years old. She said, there was a kid making fun of me, and she said, boy, just consider the source. That kid is such a punk. She said, it's not that he doesn't like you. He doesn't like himself. Just consider the source. And that will really help you in life.
But I want to flip the phrase for this series and talk about God as our source and how much everything changes when, instead of approaching life, first and foremost, by considering our circumstance, which is where most of us live, which is how most of us figure things out, which is how most of us make decisions. If you start with the source, how much different would things be? And in order to unpack this first installment of my sermon, I need to go all over the Bible, but I'll start right there in the very beginning.
In the Beginning, God
Because if you open up the Bible, this idea of the source is not only prevalent, but it's preeminent. It means it comes first, in priority and in order. And so the very first verse that you'll read if you ever open your Bible, just to see what's in there, goes like this. In the beginning, God. And notice your name isn't there, and my name isn't there. And it starts with the source. God wants you to know, before you get any deeper in this thing, I got this whole thing started.
The encouraging thing about knowing that God got the whole thing started is he's responsible to finish what he initiates. And so before we read about all the characters in the Bible, God wants you to know who has the starring role. Everybody say, God is. God is. The source. The source. He said, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And it goes on and on, and it kind of gives us a play-by-play. of how God created things. How he spoke, and it was. And he spoke, and it was. And he said something, and then stuff appeared based on what he said. Only God can do that.
The Pattern of Creation: God Speaks, It Is So
And so if you go to... I'm just going to pick a few out, because we don't have time for all of them. But let's say Genesis 1, verse 11. That's a cool verse, because it says, Then God said, Let the land produce vegetation, seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit, with seed in it according to their various kinds. And it was so. God said, and it was so. God spoke to the ground and brought forth plants. Very cool. If you flip forward a few verses from that, it says in Genesis 1.20 that God said, Let the water team with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky. And it doesn't say it, but it implies that it was so. God said, and it was so.
Maybe one of the most important verses in the Bible, Genesis 1. 26, lets us know that when God finished making all of that creeping and crawling and swimming stuff, he said, Let us make mankind in our image. Very important theological concept. Imagio Dei. The image of God. Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness. And I have a screen with these scriptures that I'm looking at. I don't want you to think I have them memorized. I'm trying to fake you out. This guy is smart. So that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.
So, God makes all this stuff, and then he speaks, and here you come. God is our source. That's the title of our series, Consider the Source. That's why we come to church, to consider the source. In other words, we need a time set aside each week. We really need it daily. But at least once a week, we can do it with others, where we consider that we don't come from ourselves. And we owe a debt to one who is beyond us that we can never repay. And so we consider the source.
I feel sorry for people who don't believe in God, because I can't imagine what it would be like if the only place you had to look for solutions was within yourself. Because I am a limited resource, and you are a limited resource. But when we get in here, we connect to an unlimited source, and power flows, and provision flows, and protection becomes evident as we open our eyes to see the source of our strength. That's the series we're going to spend some time with.
Today's Title: Don't Forget Where You Come From
But for today's message, I want you to take that little note sheet they gave you when you walked in. Come on, pull it out at all of our locations, because I have three points and a poem. And I want you to use this as a title to direct our thoughts for installment one. Today I want to talk to you about, don't forget where you come from. Don't forget where you come from. I need you to nudge somebody next to you and tell them, don't forget where you come from. Oh, you're still writing. I'll give you a moment. At first I thought you were being rebellious by not participating, but then I realized you were following the last instruction.
Now that you've written it down, I want you to shake your neighbor, grab them by the nap of their neck, lift them up out of their seat, and tell them, don't forget where you come from. That's another phrase my mom taught me. It means don't you get too big for your... I won't make any comments about the tightness of my pants or your pants, but it's a Southern colloquialism. It's not to be taken literally. It's a way that people have of saying, as you move forward in life, don't forget to look back and be good to the people and cognizant of the situations that brought you where you are.
Now, I was telling my friend I wanted to call this series Consider the Source. He said, that's good. I said, I want to call the first sermon. Don't forget where you come from. He said, people don't want to hear that. He said, we live in an upwardly mobile society, and so people want to hear about where they're going. And so don't be surprised if your attendance goes down during this series. If you want to talk about don't forget where you come from. Therefore, I decided to structure this sermon in a way that will give you some reasons why it's beneficial.
Reason One: Perspective for Your Problems
One of my favorite scriptures says that we should bless the Lord with all that is within us. And watch this. Forget not all his benefits. Forget not all the benefits of belonging to him and the blessings. It says that he forgives all your sins, heals all your diseases, redeems your life from the pit, crowns you with love and compassion. Forget not all his benefits. Don't forget where you come from. Because when you remember where you come from, there are benefits that will carry you into your future. And you can't really get where you're going and have what you need when you get there if you forget where you come from.
Touch your other neighbor, the one that you ignored the first time. Tell them, don't forget where you come from. Don't forget where you come from. I want to give you three reasons you should remember where you come from today. Okay? Let's work on this a little bit. You ready to go to work? Let's labor a little bit in the Scriptures.
The first reason I want to give you today to remember where you come from and to be aware. of your source is this, because it will put your situation in proper perspective. It will put your situation in proper perspective if you remember where you come from. And see, when you forget where you come from, everything is out of context that happens in your life. One time, the prophet Isaiah was trying to encourage the nation of Israel, and they needed encouragement because they had been taken away into a strange land called Babylonia.
And so they needed some words that would give them hope. You're not going to be here forever. You're not going to die here. It won't always be like this. There is a blessing beyond where you are right now. And somebody in here needs to know that today. You're not in Babylonian captivity, but you're in credit card debt or relational purgatory, or I don't know your deal. I don't know you like that. But sometimes we need a word to remind us we're going somewhere. We're still moving. There's still hope. This isn't the end for me.
I'm not always going to feel like this. It's not always going to be like this. So here's what he tells them in Isaiah 51 verses 1 through 3. He says, Listen to me. You spend so much time listening to everything and everybody else, but consider the source for a minute. The one who spoke and it was so… Listen to me. I'm still speaking about stuff. Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord. Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn. Look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah who gave you birth.
Now, do you know about Abraham and Sarah? They were really old people who shouldn't have been able to have a baby and there was no surgery you could have or prescription medications to help the process of intimacy along. But God came to him and spoke and Sarah thought it was so crazy. She laughed in God's face and God said, Why'd you laugh? She said, I wasn't laughing. He said, Yeah, you were. I'm God. But there's a thing about God in impossible situations. He says, When I called him, Abraham, he was only one man and I blessed him and made him many.
Out of One, Many: The Faith of Abraham
There's a phrase that used to be our international motto. I don't think I can pronounce it correctly, but it's something like E pluribus unum and it means out of many, one meaning out of many cultures, one nation. God is actually giving us a motto for the kingdom here in Isaiah 51. He says, Out of one, many. So when you get in a situation and it seems that there's no way out, if you'll consider the source, you'll remember that I got this thing started with one man. See, you've got to understand something about your history if you're going to participate in your destiny.
You got to know that this whole thing called faith got started. God found one man and he said, Out of you. In fact, you should read the account. It's over around about Genesis chapter 12 and following where God said to Abraham, I'm calling you into a place and I'll show you when we get there. That could be a whole other sermon I'm talking today about. Don't forget where you come from, but I could just as easily preach. I'll show you when we get there because God will often call you from a place and take you to a place and not tell you anything about the stops along the way.
He won't map it out. He won't show you a tour book. He won't teach you the language before you go. He'll just say, You go first and I'll be right there with you along the way. And so Abraham set out. One time, God wanted to remind Abraham that I'm able to do exceeding abundantly above all that you ask or imagine because I'm your shield and you're exceeding great reward. In other words, I'm your source. So he said, Abraham, I want you to look up at the stars and count them. And Abraham must have thought, I can't count the stars. And God said, Exactly. And as many as the stars are in the sky, if you were able to number them, that's how many your descendants shall be.
But I'm just one man, but I'm the God who created all the stars you see. And just like I flung all those stars up there into space, I can take one thing in your life. I can take something that appears to be limited to you and I can fling many blessings and I can create something because I am the unlimited source. I am the source. Abraham, why don't you look down at the ground, he told him, and number the sand on the seashore. Can you count them? He said, I can count them. God said, Exactly. As many as the sand of the seashore, that's how many your descendants will be.
So in other words, if you look up, you'll see that I'm the source. If you look down, you'll see that I'm the source. And the same source that you'll see when you look up and look down God is within you, working for you. Look to the rock, God says. You're not going to be here forever. I have to read verse 3. The Lord will surely comfort Zion, that's the people of God, and will look with compassion on all her ruins. That might represent the broken places in your life today. And he will make her deserts like Eden. That's where the whole thing got started, before sin entered in. Her wastelands like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness will be found in her, Thanksgiving and the sound of singing. And see, when you consider the source and remember where you came from, it gives you a perspective for your problems. One of the best reasons you can come to church is to get perspective for your problems. And sometimes it will seem strange because you go, I have the same problems going to church that my friend has that doesn't go to church. Yeah, but you have a perspective that puts your problems in context. To realize that God is not intimidated by your problems.
And what will start to happen as God puts your problems in perspective and your situation and circumstance in context, and you begin to look to the rock from which you were cut and realize that if God called Abraham out of nowhere, if God called a nobody out of nowhere and created this whole thing that I'm a part of today, if it all started with one man, I believe that this same God can do something out of nothing in my life. And what you'll do... I'm giving you a preview. What you'll do once you start with the source instead of starting with the situation is, instead of getting down on your knees and praying and starting by telling God how big your problem is, you'll get down on your knees and start telling your problem how big God is, and it'll change everything. Then you'll get up on your feet and you'll go out in your day. But see, when you don't consider the source, when you forget where you come from, you start with your situation rather than the source. Don't forget where you come from.
Reason Two: Perfect Peace Through Connection
Number two, when you consider the source in your life... In other words, I'm saying, when you seek the Lord above all else, and when you open yourself up to the promise that God is for you and with you, and he'll never forsake you, it will keep your mind in perfect peace. I know none of you want peace, but I do. I know none of you worry about anything. I know you haven't lost any sleep in 35 years, but some of us worry.
Now, Jesus, when he was preaching the Sermon on the Mount, which is the most famous sermon he ever preached, most famous sermon he ever preached, is so good. Such a good sermon. But I only have time to show you this little bit about worry, because he talks about different sins like lust and adultery and murder. And right in that same passage where he's talking about all those horrible things, he starts talking about worry. And he almost... Not almost. Why am I saying it like that? He categorizes and classifies worry in the same sermon where he classifies adultery as a sin.
See, it starts off with God. In the beginning, God. It goes to a man, Abraham, and then it turns into a nation. And then the nation gets in trouble, and God says, Anytime you want to remember where you came from, we can get this thing back on track. By the time Jesus came along, the people had created laws and legalism, all these ways to really work and end around God. Instead of receiving from the source, they had started to trust in their own resource.
And so Jesus, one day, speaking on a hillside, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. The disciples came to him, and he began to teach them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And he taught them, and he instructed them. And then he encouraged them. Matthew 6, verse 25, he says, Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life. What are you worried about? This covers it all. Don't worry about how this dating thing is going to go or end or continue. Don't worry about your life. Let's get it all out there. Don't worry about it. Don't worry about it. Don't worry about what you will eat or drink.
Now, he doesn't say that you shouldn't think about it. He says, Don't worry about it. He doesn't say that you can't consider what you're going to eat and drink. I got a verse. I never got to go on a diet again. He said, Don't worry about what you eat. Give me some ice cream. That's not what he means. He says, Don't be consumed about it. Don't worry about your body. What you will wear is not life more than food. And the body more than clothes. Look at the birds. Oh, we read about the birds in Genesis 1. Now they're back for an encore.
He said, Check out the birds. God is always trying to get people to look somewhere other than themselves. Abraham, look at the stars. Why? Because we walk around with tunnel vision and all we can see. And God said, Would you look up for once? Would you just check out some... Would you just get some binoculars? And look at the birds. They don't sow or reap. Lazy jokers. Or store away in barns. And yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Come on, touch somebody and say, I'm better than a bird. I got that much going for me.
The Futility and Sin of Worry
And here's an interesting question. He said, Can any one of you, by worrying, add a single hour to your life? Oh God, do you remember that sermon I preached a few years ago? And I said, We should work, but we should not worry. Because worry don't work. How many of y'all heard that sermon? It's not good grammar, but it's excellent theology. Succulent. I even made up a country song about it. Do you remember my country song? It goes, Work, but don't worry. Because worry don't work. Work, but don't worry. Because worry don't work. I made up a verse last night. Look to the birds. They'll teach you a lesson. If you will trust me, I'll give you a blessing. I know. It's a hit. It's a hit. Put this on iTunes.
Then lift your eyes And look to the flowers Because I am the Lord And I have the power So work! Don't... I'll stop with it. And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow? They don't labor or spend. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon, The richest man in the world, In all his splendor, With all his Gucci, Was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, Come on. And tomorrow is thrown into the fire, Chopped up with the lawnmower, Or whatever age you're living in. If God will do it for the grass, Will he not much more. Clothe you? You of little faith.
People say that Jesus was such a simple teacher, And he was. But he also taught with great mastery. This is called an a priori argument. It's going from the lesser to the greater. If God will do it for a bird, And if God will do it for a flower, Won't he do it for you? So, here's the commandment. Do not worry. Saying, What shall we eat? What shall we drink? Or what shall we wear? For the pagans, Those are the people who don't know God, Run after all. All these things. Watch this. What are you doing running after something God is already bringing your way?
Or I'm going to tell you how God spoke it to me one night. I was up worrying about some stuff. I only do this about once every four or five years. But I was up worrying about some stuff. And God said, You do realize that you're worrying about something that I've already worked out, don't you? You do realize that you are worrying about something that I've already worked out. I think Corrie Ten Boom would want me to tell you what she said one time. She said that worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It only empties today of its strength. Isn't that a good word? And your heavenly Father knows you need them, but seek first. Isn't that what Isaiah said? Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the Lord.
Now Jesus is echoing what Isaiah said. He says, seek first. Consider the source. Get back to what matters the most. If you'll seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, guess what? All these things, all this stuff will be given you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Get ready to say amen. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Don't make me go, Sister Act 2, Lauryn Hill on you. I will sing His Eye is on the Sparrow. Another day, another day. Worry will disconnect you from the source. And you run around looking for other stuff to plug into.
The Visual of Being Unplugged
And God says, all this time, you're running around after stuff disconnected from the source. God said, I want to keep your mind in perfect peace, but you have to keep your mind stayed on me. I'm connected to the source. There it is. There it is. There's your problem. You're disconnected from the source. Look here. Brian is an excellent keyboard player. Can you see me on the camera? Zoom in the best you can. It's kind of dark back here. They keep you in the shadows. If I do this, it doesn't matter how well he plays. Watch this. And some of you are doing this in your life. And you're like, it isn't working. And I don't have any peace. And I don't know what to do. That's because you're unplugged from the source. Don't you see it? We've got to get this thing hooked back up to the right source. You don't have any power. You're disconnected from the source. Don't forget where you come from.
Reason Three: Returning to Your Rightful Place
When you remember that you have a heavenly father... Okay, the most famous story that Jesus told, the most famous sermon was the Sermon on the Mount. But the most famous story that he ever told is in Luke chapter 15. And to give you a little context for this, this parable that Jesus gave. It says in verse 1 and 2, it says that the sinners and the tax collectors crowded around one day to hear Jesus. And they wanted to know what hope he could offer them. And I wanted to tell you that because I didn't want you to think that what Jesus shared only applied to righteous people. It never ceases to amaze me how crazy we get once we get into the family of God and how exclusive we become to those who are without.
And Jesus wasn't like that. Jesus had people crowding around him. In fact, it says, they were confused why he would eat with tax collectors and sinners. They didn't get it. And the one time he said, it's like this, the healthy don't need a doctor. I came for the sick. People coming to church, they say, you know, your church has got a lot of hypocrites in it. That's like walking in an ER and saying, did you know there are sick people here? I hope so. If there ain't no sinners here, we need to shut it down. Jesus said, Luke 15, verse 11, he said, a certain man had two sons. There was a man and his sons. I don't have time to explain to you how this is actually hearkening back to how God the Father had Adam and Jesus and Adam was the perfect son or he was the perfect son, but then there was something that drew him away from the source and instead of communing with the source, he began to be consumed with the resource and it separated him from God and how Jesus is the son who was perfect and remained perfect.
Leaving the Source for the Resource
And when Jesus is talking here about two sons, there's more going on here than just a story about two fictitious guys, but we'll have to do that on another day because our business at hand is consider the source. And I said that the younger one one day got an idea and he said to his father, father, give me my share of the estate. So he divided his property between them. And not long after that, the younger son got together all that he had and he set off for a distant country and there he squandered his wealth in wild living. So let's note what's happening. The younger son says, give me my stuff and he leaves the source. And this has happened to you and it's happened to me. We take the stuff and we leave the source.
He set out. He said, I don't want you. I want that. And so he goes out to figure out life on his own and he goes out to figure out sexuality on his own and he goes out to figure out purpose on his own. He goes out to figure out pleasure on his own and he sets out away from the source. Now here's what happens when you do that. See, after he had spent everything, because if you disconnect the resource from the source, it's just a matter of time before you get to the bottom of your pile. And he spent it all, all the resource. And there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. Sometimes this is the best thing that can happen to you in your life, that you come to a place of famine so that you can finally remember where you came from.
And it was that need that... See, some of us would never pray if we didn't go through anything. Some of you wouldn't even be in church today if your kids weren't acting crazy. Some of you would not even be in church today if your marriage wasn't in bad shape. And so, when we have resources, sometimes we forget the source, but sometimes God has to let you get to a place where you go, this ain't working anymore. So he went, and he tried to fix it. What? With more resource. He hired himself out to a citizen of that country who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. And I don't even have the space to tell you how disgraceful this was for a Jewish boy to feed pigs, but he did it because sometimes you get so desperate, you'll try anything and anyone and give yourself away at any time just to feel something, just to have something because I'm empty. And he longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating. It's gotten bad, but no one gave him anything disconnected from the source. And the resource is running out.
The Turning Point: Coming to His Senses
But the turning point comes in 17. It says, When he came to his senses, sometimes God will let your stuff dry up so you'll come to your senses. And when he came to the end of everything, he came to a senses and he said, Wait a minute. How many of my father's hired servants have food to spare? And here I am starving to death. This doesn't make sense. Doesn't make sense for me to be living like this. Doesn't make sense for me to be out here by myself. Doesn't make sense for me to be feeding on what the pigs don't want. So here's what I'll do. Watch. I will set out and go back to my father, and I'll say to him...
See, I know most of you have heard the story of the prodigal son before, and right now it's just... And you know the father takes him back. But I want you to see it a little differently today. I want you to see how he came back to the source. Once he had tried every other resource, and once he had run out of substance, he said, I know where I can go. I know where to find food. And it's not with these people, and it's not with these pigs. I'm going back home to my father, to my source, to the one I never should have left to begin with. And here's what I'll say to him. I'll say, Father, I've sinned against heaven and against you. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants. So he got up, and he went to his father.
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him. Oh, my God, this is for somebody today. See, you haven't been able to see God in your situation, but he sees you before you even take the first step into the yard. And he was filled with compassion. He's filled. See, you can trust God to be the source of your strength when you know what he's filled with. A lot of us were not taught that God was filled with compassion, so we're scared to come to him because we don't know what we're going to find when we do. And so we stay disconnected from the source. But the father was filled, and he ran to his son. And this must have been awkward. He threw his arms around him, as bad as he smelled, and kissed him.
And the son started his speech. Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, "'Quick. '" In other words, translation, "'Shut up, boy. I didn't ask you all that.'". Now, quick. Mom, any time to waste. Bring the best robe. and put it on him. And this touches me every time I read it, because I know that somebody's coming to their senses, as I do. And put a ring on his finger. Remember, sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened cap, and let's have some burgers. Let's have a feast. Let's do this right. Let's celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again. That part always confused me, because he wasn't dead. He was just gone. But maybe to be gone is to be dead. Maybe to be separated from the source is to be dead in your spirit.
You Are Unique: God Spoke to Himself to Make You
See, we started this Bible lesson with Genesis chapter 1, verse 11, where God spoke to the land. Look at it. He said, Let the land produce vegetation. So he spoke to the source, and the substance came forth. Spoke to the land, and the plants grew. Well, then in verse 20, we saw how he spoke to the waters, and the fish came forth. Look at it. He said, Let the water team with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth. There come the birds again. The birds are everywhere. He spoke to the water. The water was the source, and the substance came from the source.
But when God got ready to make you, what did he speak to? Genesis 1.26. Let us make man in our image. When God wanted to make you, he didn't speak to the ground. He didn't speak to the water. He spoke to himself. Why? Because God is your source. I need you to notify three people. Tell them God is my source. God is my source. Not a person, not a position, not an account, not a job. God is my source. Now, if you take a plant out of the ground, in other words, remove the substance from the source, what happens to the plant? Give it a little while, and it will die. If you take a fish out of water, what happens to the fish? Flop around. I thought about bringing an aquarium out and letting a fish. I thought they might put me on the news for real for that. Animal cruelty. Peter is going to raid this place. Man, I love you guys so much. Wonderful people.
Take the plant from the ground. Take the fish from the water. Take the substance from the source. The substance dies. Take you out of God. God. And what happens over time? You die. There are people here who are dying today because you're out of water. You've been plucked from the ground. We're running around each day, and we leave our house, and we spend more time picking out our outfit than we do connecting with our source. And so we go out in the world and all we can see is circumstance. And we go out from the Father's house and we die inside. But here's what will happen if you'll remember where you... Like that son in that pig pen where he said, I don't have to live like this. I've got a father and my father has stuff. So I'm going back. I'm going back where I belong. I'm going back to the place where I know there's more than enough.
And so when you remember where you come from, check out what happens. It'll bring you back to your rightful place. That's point number three. I want to leave you with this thought that God wants to reconnect you with himself to bring you back to your rightful place, to reconnect you to the source. Have you had enough of trusting in stuff? Have you had enough of trusting in substance? Have you had enough of trusting in human relationship? God says, come on back. And you don't even have to write a speech. Because when I see you, I'm coming to you. I won't make you come to me to drink. I'll spill out into your life like a river. I am your source. And your help comes from me.
For this son of mine was dead, but not anymore. He's back in the source now, and he's alive again. He was lost. He was, but he is found. So they began to celebrate. I wonder, will you celebrate too? Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music, Beyonce, dancing, the wobble. He called someone in service and said, what's going on here, man? What's all this racket about? Hey, brother has come, he replied. Your father killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound. He's kissing all over him too. It was kind of awkward, but it was touching. My older brother became angry and refused to go in, so his father went out and pleaded with him.
But he answered his father, look, all these years I've been slaving for you. The first son, the younger one, was starving. And the second one was slaving. One left the house and one stayed home the whole time, but they were both disconnected from the source. And I need you to hear this. It's very important. It's possible to be in the house, but disconnected from the source. So we've got starving sons in here today, people who have evidently walked away from God. I mean, just in life of sin and a life of all kinds of compromise, and people can see it and people know it and you can't hide it. Starving sons.
The Slave in the House: A Different Kind of Lost
But you know what else we've got in the house? We've got slaving sons. Not starving for food, but starving for love. Not starving for food, but starving for affirmation. Not starving for food, but starving for grace. Starving for relationship. The son said, I never left this home. And the father says, but yeah, you never got what I wanted you to have, because whether you leave the house and starve or stay in the house and slay, you're never satisfied. I never disobeyed your orders. You never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours, I won't even say his name, who has squandered your property with prostitutes, come home. You kill the fattened calf for him. And this verse changed my life because the father said to the son what the father wants to say to every slaving son in his house today. My son, you are always with me. And everything I have is yours. I am your source. What do you need? Take it. It's all in the fridge. It's all in the pantry. Take it. I'm here, and you're here, and I'm your source. What do you need? It's yours.
A Personal Illustration: The Father's Desk
I asked my mom a few weeks ago, do you still have that old desk? She said, your dad's desk? I said, yeah. Can I have it? And she said, get the shop. Please. She said, I don't know why you want it. All the times you heard him cussing at that desk trying to pay bills. You want that thing? And I said, yeah, I want it. I want a reminder. I want to put it in my new house. Now that my dad isn't here anymore, I want to put it up in my office at the house. just so I can remember where I came from and the sacrifices that you guys made for me to have the opportunities that I had. And I just want to look at that. I want to remember how my dad, I used to see him sit at the desk. You remember? He would pay all his bills. And then on Wednesday, which was his day off from the barbershop, he would go out and he'd pay all his bills in cash and we'd ride with him. I always thought that was kind of suspicious, but he's a barber and so we'd look past that. I have a lot of memories of this desk. My mom said, yeah, you can come get it. She said, did you know it was your grandfather's desk before it was your dad's? I said, no. She said, yeah, he used to write his sermons at that desk. She said, and I just had your Uncle Russell refinish it. Come get it. I said, cool. I want to, I want it. And I came and got it.
But what I didn't tell her, and I want to tell you, the real reason I wanted this desk is because a conversation that my dad had with me right before I went to college. My dad was not a rich man. He worked hard. My mom worked hard. I had a good life growing up, but I think partially because he grew up without much. He never wanted me to feel limited like he did. One time somebody told me I would probably not get to go to college because of money. And I remember he looked at that person and said, you shut your stupid mouth and don't ever tell my boy that again. Now you probably won't hear that parenting advice and focus on the family, but it worked. I never forgot it. Shut your stupid mouth in Jesus' name. I'm not going to have anybody limiting my life with their words.
And so when I finally did go off to college, he called me in to the office where the desk was one day, and he said, now, boy, you've never been away from home before. He said, when you get out there, don't you be broke and not tell me about it. Don't you get out there and not have what you need and don't tell me. I know you don't think I have much, and maybe I don't have as much as some other people, but he said this, if I have money, you have money. I never forgot that. I never had to ask him for any, but just knowing it gave me a confidence.
The Father's Promise: If I Have It, You Have It
Now, I wish I could sit down with each one of you individually and speak this on behalf of your heavenly father to your life today, that if your father has it, you have it. So don't you be out there in the world starving with the pigs, and don't you be in the house slaving because the father said, you're always with me, and all that I have is yours. If I've got it, God says, and I'm unlimited. There's nothing you can need that I don't have, and if I've got it, you've got it. God says to you this day, ma'am, I don't know what you need, I don't know what you have need of, I don't know what you're up worrying about, but God says, if you need it, I've got it.
If God has joy, you have joy. If God has peace, you have peace. I'm going to keep screaming until somebody celebrates. If God has wisdom, you have wisdom. If God has supply, you have supply. If God has grace, you have grace. If God has mercy, you have mercy. If God has forgiveness, you have forgiveness. Come on home, boy. Come on home. Don't forget where you come from. I'm still here. I never left. I'll meet you in the front yard. I'll throw my arms around you. I'll celebrate your arrival. I don't care what people say about you. I don't care what they think about you. I don't care where you've been. I don't care how you smell. I don't care what you've lost. I will restore everything that was taken away. Don't forget where you come from. There's grace in the house. There's provision in the house. There's a new beginning in the house.