Lost In The House [Part I]
Sub Topic: Pouting And Out Of Place
Scripture Text: Luke 15:25 – 30
Introduction: The more I study this passage, the more I am apt to believe that the passage centers upon the suggestion that “lostness” is not predicated upon a position as much as it is upon a predisposition. In other words, being lost DOES NOT have as much to do with WHERE YOU ARE as it does with HOW YOU ARE. I can be lost, but as long as I can recognize that I am unfamiliar with my surroundings and place myself in a position as to where I can receive direction and instruction, then over the evolution and expenditure of time, I will maneuver out of that unfamiliar place. That’s why IF there is such a thing as “DEGREES OF LOSTNESS”, [simply for argument’s sake] we will argue that the prodigal son was NOT AS LOST as the pouting son. The prodigal son was lost, but over time he recognized that he was lost. The pouting son was lost, didn’t know that he was lost, and never set a foot outside his father’s home. This leads me to the suggestion that you can be lost in the house; as a matter of fact, that’s what happened to all three of the examples given in Jesus’ parables: the sheep was lost but still belonged to the sheepfold. The silver was lost but was still in the woman’s home. The prodigal son set himself outside of his father’s house, but the pouting son stayed at home and was lost even though he was in the proximity of his father. So, the danger MAY NOT be so much of getting out of the Father’s presence; the danger is not so much getting out of the Father’s house and doing your own thing. That may not be the danger; the danger becomes pertinent and viable when you can be lost AND STILL be in the presence of your father. Jesus even says something when He alludes to the prophecy of Isaiah in
Matthew 15:8, 9 – “‘These people draw near to me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. [9] And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
So, you can come to church every Sunday, you can sing in the choir, you can preach in the pulpit, you can stand on your post on the door, you can be a deacon, you can be a trustee, you can be a mother, you can be a musician, and it won’t matter. What’s so dangerous about being lost while in the house is that you will substitute a church service for knowing [recognizing] where you are. In other words, you can come to church for years and still be “lost in the house.” What I’ve come to discover [discern and distinguish] is that people are lost and show up in church every Sunday; coming to church is not an automatic indication that your spiritual compass is intact. So, what does the text say about being lost within the house? We pick up on where the prodigal son has repented and has made his way back home. The father meets him and receives his son, and then they head towards the house for a celebration. The father [in his exuberant enthusiasm] does his thing with the son: he gives him a ring [a symbol of perpetual covenant]; he gives him a robe [a symbol of protective covering] and he gives him shoes [a symbol of prevalent courtesy]. Let me preach there for a minute because the love of the father is so undeniable [so inexplicable]; he gave his son a ring suggesting that no matter what the child had become, he was still his father’s child. Not only did he give him a ring; he gave him a robe suggesting that no matter what the child had done, his love was enough to cover him in spite of everything his child had gotten into. Not only did he give him a ring [perpetual covenant] and a robe [protective covering], but the father also gave him shoes [prevalent courtesy], which suggests to me that it didn’t matter where the child had gone or how far he had wandered from home: the father loved his child to the degree that he looked at his child’s old shoes [a sign of where he’d been] and gave him brand new ones because he was headed in a new direction. Not only does he do all of this for his son, but the father then calls for the servants and the chefs because he knows that his child is hungry [he doesn’t eat swine, but was willing to eat what the swine ate] so the father says, “We’re all having steak and baked potatoes.” So, there is a celebration going on. [But] The text reveals how you can be lost even though you’re within the house; the prodigal son has a brother who shows me several characteristics in the midst of his brother’s return, but we’ll only have time to discuss three of those characteristics. The first thing the pouting son showed me in the text was his ABSENCE DURING HIS BROTHER’S RECEPTION.
Luke 15:25, 26 – “Now, his older brother was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. [26] So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.”
This was amazingly close to home for me because the text always talks to me about what I’m dealing with and what I’m struggling with. The text says that the pouting son [this jealous brother] was in the field and he heard indications that a party was going on. I want to stop there and suggest that the son shows some tendencies that some of us have because he’s working when he should be partying. He has become so enveloped in his agenda and his ambitions that he is not partying [celebrating]. He’s so enveloped in what HE HAS going on that he cannot join in someone else’s celebration, so he has to ask somebody else what all the commotion is about. And some of you are sitting next to somebody who doesn’t understand why we have to have the music so loud and why praise should be in this place. People look at me crazy when I say that I want to go to a church where they’re waving towels and stomping their feet and shouting and running across the church…it’s not for show; it’s only an indication of celebration. [And] For your celebration to be considered authentic, you have to have a reason as to why you’re celebrating. Some of you are asking everybody else what all the commotion is about, but whether you knew it or not, you have a reason to celebrate; the pouting brother had a problem because he had a reason to celebrate, but he refused to engage in celebration because the celebration did not revolve around him. And some of you need to learn how to celebrate your neighbor’s blessing; you need to learn how to praise God for somebody else when they’re promoted, because the same Lord is rich unto all that call upon Him [Romans 10:8]. Some of us are waiting for time in the spotlight before we praise God; we’re waiting for our name to be called, but I wanted to let you know that you need to have a “praise undercover” instead of having “an undercover praise.” An undercover praise is when your praise is contingent on who’s watching you [and what’s happening to you], but a praise undercover is when you’re celebrating and NOBODY HAS A CLUE AS TO WHY you’re celebrating EXCEPT YOU. You shouldn’t have to ask anybody what the commotion is about because you know: you carry your evidence with you. You should have some “before and after pictures” – pictures of before you were in a mess and pictures after God brought you out of it. You should have pictures of before you were in that messy relationship and pictures after God brought you out of it. You should have some pictures of before you were unemployed and some pictures after God put you on “the come up” really “quick”. [I came to Jesus just as I was…] So, the text not only indicates the pouting son’s absence during his brother’s reception; the text also brings to light his ANGER TOWARDS HIS BROTHER’S RETURN.
Luke 15:27, 28 – “And he [the servant] said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’ [28] But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.”
In other words, the pouting brother DOESN’T SEEM to be too excited about his brother coming back home. It seems as though he was attempting to downplay his brother’s return because we’ve already noted that he was ambivalent to the fact that his own brother was in the house. The text doesn’t say anything about the older brother looking for his brother or praying to God to bring him back home safely. I wasn’t there, but I’m pretty sure that the news spread pretty quickly throughout the manor that the younger son was back, so I’m trying to justify and validate why the older brother was in the field while the party was going on. Let me set somebody free in here; just accept the fact that there will be some people you love WHO ARE NOT GLAD TO SEE you coming. Some of us want to live under the façade and the fantasy that everybody likes us, but the truth of the matter is that I have been to Wal-Mart and seen people I knew [who I thought I was pretty cool with] and they saw me and went the other way. I have been in church and people who have known me for years would see me with my hand extended and they would NOT shake my hand. Some of you experienced the hurt and the damage of thinking that she was your best friend and she stabbed you in your back when the Lord began elevating you. I’ve heard people [males and females] “Rainer, you’ve been a good friend”, but when circumstances changed [when I got married, when I moved into a new neighborhood, when I started making some positive moves in my life] those same people can’t stand me now. I don’t believe I’ve done anything to them; yet, they resent me because I’ve received my Father’s favor. Yet, they’re like the pouting son because little do they know that the same resources that were available unto me are also available unto them. Watch the text unfold, because after the pouting brother hears the reason behind the music [the party], instead of going in to greet his brother [and join in the celebration], he gets angry and won’t go in – like the party WILL STOP just because he’s upset. Some of you are dealing with people [and if you’re not dealing with a person, maybe YOU ARE ONE of the people] who want the party to stop just because YOU’RE not feeling it. [But] I like the text because the prodigal brother doesn’t come out to greet the pouting brother; the father does. I can’t stop my own party to come so I can encourage you to be happy for me; there are just going to be some times when I have to send my Father to come and check on you. I’m too busy basking in the afterglow of the anointing to worry about if you’re happy for me. Some of you are focused on your favor; that’s why you can’t address every complainer and every critic who’s not feeling you. [And] Some of you have set yourselves up for attack because you’ve become addicted to the approval of your adversaries. You can’t enjoy your party when you’re trying to always get PEOPLE WHO DON’T LIKE YOU to join you; you need to just tell your Father to go and check on them. If you’re happy for me, then you’re happy for me. If you’re not, that’s okay, because that’s not going to stop my celebration; I know where I came from and I’m not willing to stop my party just because you’re MAD. You need to encourage yourself sometimes and just praise God for what He did for you; the enemy wanted you to die in your hog pen, but can you thank God that He brought you out and brought you over? Sometimes you just have to celebrate Jesus for yourself, because some people want you to HAVE ISSUES so they can feel better about themselves. [But] Make it up in your mind that you will celebrate what Jesus did; nobody can make me stop praising Him because nobody could bring me out of my mess EXCEPT HIM. When I think of the goodness of Jesus and all He’s done for me, my soul cries out with thanksgiving [in spite of the people looking at me funny – in spite of people laughing at me – in spite of people telling me it doesn’t take all that] because you don’t know how much it took when you were not in my hog pen with me. There is no secret to what God can do; what’s He’s done for others, He can and will do the same for you.
So this son was pouting and out of place because he was absent from his brother’s reception, but he was also pouting because he was angry at his brother’s return. Finally, after he exhibits his anger, we find that that’s not all: we also get to see his APATHY DURING HIS BROTHER’S REAPPEARANCE.
Luke 15:29, 30 – “So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time, and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. [30] But as soon as this son of yours came [couldn’t call him ‘his brother’] who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’”
Let me close with this because the pouting son’s apathy [his indifferent response to his brother being at home] is indicated by his usage of the word “I”. First, I wish to suggest that he was living within a state of immodest piety; in other words, he was doing right so other people would reward him for it, but when they didn’t, it gave him a reason to complain. [And] Some of us have to be careful because for those of us who have NEVER had a prodigal spirit, most of us have had a POUTING spirit. You may have never backslidden, so the prodigal message is not for you. But you remained in church and raised hell because you COULDN’T have it your way; quit pouting. You may have never wandered off and experimented with having sex with different partners, but you complained to God about where you were at a season in your life when He’s got it all in control; quit pouting. Okay, you never wanted to experiment with ecstasy, marijuana, heroin, cocaine, or crack, but you got caught looking at somebody else and coveting [wanting] what they had instead of being grateful for what God had already blessed you with; quit pouting. Okay, you never drank a fuzzy navel or a Bacardi or a scotch and soda [coke and rum], but you GOT MAD when God blessed somebody else with what YOU THOUGHT you should’ve received; quit pouting so much and give God a praise because when I see God blessing my neighbor, E. Dewey Smith said that it’s evidence that God is still in the neighborhood, and if I’m in the same neighborhood that God is in, I’m eventually going to get my blessing because God is like the neighborhood ice cream man; He’s going to make sure that He gets to every street. He may not come when you want Him to, but I can guarantee that He’s on time; not only is He on time, but He arrives IN TIME. So while you’re waiting on Him to get to your street, start thinking of all the other times He brought ice cream down your street. Start thinking of all the other times you heard the music but couldn’t see where He was coming from. Start thinking of all the other times you WANTED ice cream so badly but couldn’t get to the store; you should’ve shouted right there because when you couldn’t get to the store to get your Blue Bell, your Angel Food, your Haagen Daaz, your Turner Premium, or your Ben and Jerry’s, the ice cream man showed up. [And] When you’ve thought about all the other times He showed up on your street, you won’t pout; you’ll start praising Him because He showed up in the neighborhood…
