The Prodigal and His Religious Brother — Steve Gallagher

The Parable’s Religious Audience and Jesus’ Welcome of Sinners

Now the title of my message this morning is the prodigal and his religious brother. I thought about naming it the prodigal and the pinhead. But I figured that probably ain't right. We'll get into this before we do though.

I've got a question for you used to wearing glasses. How many of you when you got into pornography that you walked away from church from any semblance of Christianity. You just went the other way four or five of you.

Okay, how many of you when you got involved in pornography you continued going to church? Yeah, I kind of figured it was like that. I just curious. So let's look at this. These parables here starting with verse 1.

Some of this has already been covered by my cohorts. Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near him to listen to him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble saying this man received sinners and eats with them.

So he told them this parable. All right, as we already heard Jesus attracted the worst of the worst you know, they were the ones that were most attracted to Jesus because He was offering them something that the religious Hierarchy had didn't have to offer and besides that they despised them.

And you know, they just were not even welcome in church so to speak. The religious leaders hated Jesus they hated him first of all because he had a way of just pulling their pants down in public and Exposing them for what they really were and they hated him for that.

They hated him for a lot of reasons really. And so what they did which is typical of demonic people is. They found the worst thing they could possibly lay at his doorstep, which was that the miracles that he performed and the healings and all that was done in the power of Satan and They would look at all these Sinners and tax collectors and all this and that would be further evidence.

See look at the people he's got around him. It's the people of Satan, you know. It's obvious this man is from the devil, but that isn't the way it was was it? Now the first two parables. Really I Could just sum them up to say that the point of those two parables is to show God's untiring efforts to seek and save the lost and when he is able to woo them into his kingdom.

The tremendous joy that he experiences when that happens. That is what thrills the Lord and I guess it's probably true that the worst The sin the more joy the Lord feels to see someone like that Recovered for his kingdom.

The Father’s House as the Presence of God

All right, but we want to look at the prodigal son because we can all relate to him Here in this place or at least most of us. So let's look here starting verse 11. Uh-huh, and he said a man had two sons.

Now I'm gonna stop right there for a minute. Because there's something that's inferred here that Isn't Expressed because Jesus, you know when he's tells these stories of these parables. He's doing it for a primary reason and something a point that he wants to get across and so there's a lot of details that he doesn't go into but it's there and That is this that the father's house represents the presence of God the father's house represents the presence of God and The word presence in the Old Testament Is pan I am and it's used over 2 ,000 times.

Not always as presence often the face of God like let his face shine upon you, right we all know that expression from Aaron's Benediction and That is the word pan I am let his pan I am let his presence shine upon you and you can say it that way.

There's nothing wrong with saying it that way. In fact, I'm not sure who came up with face, but they did and so everyone kind of ran with that. But I think it's makes more sense to me them that his presence would shine but You know think about the presence of God and let me just run through a few verses out of the Old Testament here real quick.

Or this word pan I am as used in Genesis 4 it's one of the first places. We see it Cain was driven out from the presence of God driven out man. What a frightening thought. Exodus 33 then Moses said to Yahweh If your presence does not go with us then do not lead us up from here.

Because he understood that without the presence of God they had nothing. Psalm 16 David said in your presence is fullness of joy in your right hand. There are pleasures forevermore and Psalm 27 where he's saying to the Lord when you said seek my face.

That's the word pan I am seek my what? presence. My heart said to you your what? presence Oh Lord I shall seek. Psalm 51 which we also heard about. David's main concern was that God wouldn't cast him away from his presence and Isaiah 2 I ran across this one this morning.

I spent a little yeah, I don't know a couple hours this morning I just kind of got off track from my sermon and was just lost in this whole subject of the presence of God in the Old Testament in the New Testament and And And I say it too it says men will go into caves of the rocks and into holes of the ground before.

That is actually the word pan I am and let me get to it here in a minute before the terror of the Lord and The splendor of his majesty when he arises to make the earth tremble and that is exactly Quoted in Revelation 6 at the breaking of the sixth seal that is going to happen and Probably you and I will be here to witness this.

It's a tremendous thing, but let me read it Changing the English a little bit which I believe would be more reflecting the way it should be written Than the way the NAS wrote it men will go into the caves and of the rocks and the holes of the ground when the terror invoking presence of Yahweh is there the terror provoking presence of Yahweh you know, that's the side of the Lord's presence we don't think about because we've kind of made it into a Flippant superficial party in America.

And we don't think about Coming into the presence of God with fear and trembling like we should well, anyway, I wanted to bring that out because You have two sons in the father's house accustomed to the presence of God and Yet even though they were accustomed because the father represents God of course and even though they were accustomed to being in the presence Of the Lord that presence had never made its way inside of them it never got into their hearts because they kept him at a distance and this is something that's Yeah.

Yeah, it's a real I don't want to say a sore spot to me that's not exactly a source of grief is Mostly what it is to me personally. Because over these many many years in this place We have fought as a staff through much prayer through much worship through sacrificial Consecrating of our lives to God we have fought to maintain the presence of God in this place.

So that sinners could come into this house into the presence of God and be so affected That they would want to leave behind the sin that has Controlled their lives that they would want to walk away from it that they would want that presence inside them but many over the years They liked the presence and Deceived themselves into thinking because they felt the presence that it was in them when it wasn't and when they left this place.

Then they walked out of this place where the presence of God was they should have been taking the presence with them and they got out there and fell apart and We've had men leave this place and be dead within months.

It's serious business. I'm telling you guys It's serious. Well, anyway, these two sons they both Were raised in this environment this atmosphere. But it never got in to either of them as we heard All right.

The Prodigal’s Demand and Departure into Sin

Let's continue on here. The younger of them said to his father Father give me the share give me. I also did a study on that this morning. That's that's Scripture give me and that pretty much describes the way we have lived right give me give me give me.

Give me the share of the estate that falls to me. It's my right. It's my right to have as much pleasure as much of this world as I can get my hands on. It's my right and that is correct. You have the right.

It's not always the wisest thing to do. In fact, it never is. So he divided his wealth between them. All right. Leaving the presence of God Usually begins in the thought life, doesn't it? You know, it's our minds and our desires.

That's where it all begins and that's where we start drifting away. You know inwardly before we do physically and you know Once someone has decided they are gonna go after sin. There is no talking to him.

There's no talking to him when they've got their mind set. I want such-and-such whatever it is for us. It's been sexual sin, but there can be all kinds of different things. I Want to marry that man?

I want to marry that girl. I want that job. I want this. I want that whatever it may be and Once the person makes up their mind you can't talk to him and to try to reason with a person like that typically only gets them mad.

Solomon said better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his folly. You know, it's just nearly impossible to talk to someone until they end up in the pig pen. You can't reason with them. And once he made this decision that he was leaving he couldn't get away from there fast enough.

And every step he took He didn't understand and this is what a lot of guys don't understand every time every step you take away from the father's house has taken you further and further and Further from his influences from his thinking his ways and pretty soon you're way out here somewhere Thinking like the world but to you it all seems right.

It's Logical it's natural. Everyone thinks this way. These are the ones who are out of whack. You know, you don't tell you don't take it that far usually but You think your thinking is right and you know the further out there you get.

Yeah, them just the harder it is for the Lord to reach you With his thinking. And once a person forsakes the Lord, you know, we have this thing called the free will. He's given you the right as I said, he's given you the right.

You can have the world if that's what you want. You can have all the sin you want it's your right and You'll notice in this story that the father didn't go chasing after him. He didn't try to negotiate with him.

Listen, you know, maybe I've been a little too strict and and some of those rules and laws and stuff. You know, maybe maybe I've been a little overboard and maybe we can kind of you know negotiate something in between and and you know, you can just kind of live a Compromised version of my lifestyle none of that none of that.

No, it's if you're gonna be in the father's house you're gonna live the way the father lives. All right, so verse 13 and not many days later doesn't take long. That's for sure. Once he got the money The younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country a far country and There he squandered his estate with loose living and that's where that word prodigal comes from.

You know distance here is not measured by miles it's measured by affection. Because the further you go The more your affection for the Lord and the things of God. Dissipate they just lose their luster they lose their value you know and all the glittering glamour out here in the world just Looks beautiful and because you're becoming a different person.

You're becoming something different and You don't understand because it's such a subtle change as you go away from the father's house. You are becoming something altogether different and You lose the resemblance of your father.

Well, he gets there to the far country and just as he hoped all Restraints are removed there. You can do whatever you want. You can have whatever you want go for it. And his pockets are bulging with cash and man.

He gets into the party life and he's having a great time not realizing that every Trist with a prostitute every party he goes to is taking him deeper and deeper and deeper into darkness. You experience this.

Isaiah 59 says behold the Lord's hand is not so short that it cannot save. Nor is his ears so dull that it cannot hear but your iniquities have made a Separation between you and your God and your sins have hidden his face from you.

So that he does not hear. Your sins have hidden his presence from you. You get so spiritually dead that you could be in a revival and Be untouched. That's what sin does to you. What is hell if it isn't separation from the presence of God?

But that's what the trade we made. That was the exchange right. We that's the exchange we gladly made. Once we clicked on that first image We were gone. The far country is a spiritual wasteland. Nothing Lives there now when he had spent everything a severe famine occurred in that country and he began to be impoverished.

That is God. I didn't think to look it up, but I assume that's probably close to poverty of spirit. Maybe so he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country and he sent him into his fields to feed swine the worst imaginable thing for a Jewish boy and He would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating and no one was giving anything to him.

Coming to One’s Senses and Confessing Unworthiness

All right, thank God that the way the Lord created this earth life He has attached Misery to the life of sin. Thank God because you would not be sitting here if he hadn't. You would still be out there Enjoying or whatever, you know, whatever it is but sin has Written into its DNA misery dissatisfaction and frustration.

Right guys, come on you're the world's experts here. Me too, I get paid to be you know, you don't. Maybe one day. But when he came to his senses, oh when he came to his senses. When he came to his senses or literally it means when he came to himself, it's literally what it says.

But that's what it means when he came to his senses when he came into his right mind you know somehow the thought of Becoming a servant in his father's house somehow that thought I Got through all the confusion and all the delusion that was going on in his mind, you know, just a spaghetti factory of just confusion and Somehow the Holy Spirit was able to take that thought and get it into his mind and he had this thought.

Hey, you know having lost everything and And Eating the pig slop. Finally, he's willing to listen to reason. Finally, I could be a servant. Yeah, that's got to be better than this. It can only be better.

You know, he had become an unreasoning animal. Is really what he had become and he's just now starting to emerge from the sin induced Stupor that he's been in for a long time. So he had this thought. And it was a good thought it was an inspired thought it was a convicting thought and we need all those things.

I mean you won't get to first base without that, right? But That's not enough. You've got to act on them. Having good thoughts is just the beginning. So verse 18, I will get up and go to my father will say to him father I have sinned against heaven and in your sight.

I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired men. So this is what he determined as he sat there. Contemplating how can I get back in the good graces of my father? This was this kind of the scheme he gave and he didn't realize that the Holy Spirit made this.

Gave him this thought but two things he got, right. And These two things are always in place with anyone who comes to the Lord in a real way. I have sinned and I am unworthy. If those thoughts haven't been in your mind yet and haven't become a conviction.

You haven't yet crossed the line. And I tell you what it always amazes me how unwilling people are to acknowledge being wrong about anything. I mean fistfights break out over stupid little Misunderstandings or whatever and no one will back down.

Gang fights, you know just. So much goes on in this world because of pride. Just the unwillingness to say I'm wrong. And I'll tell you what if you're gonna live this Christian life those words had better be in your normal vocabulary.

Because you won't live the Christian life. Well, you'll just be a miserable person. That's all if you don't know how to humble yourself to others and say I'm wrong. You're not gonna get anywhere, you know.

It's just a very childish immature attitude that can't say I'm wrong and the place grew very quiet. You don't like it when I talk like that do you. And you know, let me just plug the Counselors here for a minute a little advertisement break, right.

Your counselor is Like a travel guide, you know what a travel guide is any of you ever gone on a travel website? One guy two or two. We have three thirty three four. Well, what a rough crowd. Travel guides, you know.

They're the people who they go out and visit countries and stuff like that and they Write down everything they learn and they learn all about it and find the nice spots to go and then they you know. Have a website and they become a travel guide or maybe they live there and they take you around and show you the sites.

Your Counselor is a travel guide. Because he's been to the far country, you know how to get to the far country. You didn't need a travel guide for that. But how to get back? He knows how to get you back.

You know, there was a black lady named Harriet Tubman who was a slave and She somehow made it up into the north and had freedom and Instead of just staying there and enjoying herself she Spent the rest of her life making trips forays back into the south.

Finding these poor slaves that are wandering around trying to find their way north. Hated by everyone around them. At least that's the way they felt and she would go down there and get these bands of black people and she knew the Underground Railroad to get them up to Ohio.

And they have an underground museum right up there in Covent. Covent. No, Cincinnati, and that's what she did and that is what your counselor is. I hope you love and respect him and that you are very very very Grateful that he is spending his life in this place instead of wasting it on living for self.

He's spending it here for you. I hope you appreciate him. So after the service come up to him and give him a big wet kiss right on the face. He'll really appreciate that. Especially Gabe. He's already getting excited there.

Okay, I'm getting a little Little too graphic here moving on the biggest Challenge these counselors have is when they get someone who won't acknowledge being wrong won't Listen to any advice they know everything.

They don't need to be taught how to get back to the father because they already know it all. What a challenge that is. I just heard some of these testimonies Thursday night. You know some of you guys one of you guys if I could find the guy Who's yeah, I'm not sure who it is.

Maybe it's you. I'm not sure who got no I can't ask you that a bunch of you got baptized. Anyway, whoever it was was saying how what a knucklehead he was and wouldn't listen and stuff but his Ken was his counselor patiently Worked with him Confronting him on occasion.

Is this ringing a bell to someone? Who is it? Okay, you you you are one. Maybe I'm getting stories mixed up. All right, I better get on. I'm really getting all out of whack. You know the best way to come into a counseling session if you want to have it go really smoothly.

Just walk in and say this to your counselor. I have sinned and I'm not worthy and Man, things will go so smoothly, right? Won't they go smoothly? Oh, yeah. It would just be so much better if you learned how to say that.

But not only I have sinned. But Lord every day I see the sinful tendencies in my heart please keep purging the love of sin out of my heart and Not just say I am unworthy but say I am unworthy Lord when I look at the Selfishness of my life my lack of true concern over others my constant focus on myself and what I want lack of willingness to sacrifice For your sake.

Yeah, what can you say, but I am unworthy of your love and your goodness to me, you know and Never disparage the pigpen. Because the pigpen is the secret entrance into true Christianity. It's where you first see what God is really like and it's where you first see what you are really like.

Repentance as Turning Back to God

It's also where you learn to deny self and pick up your cross and follow Jesus that happens in the pigpen so there's a word in the Old Testament that Describes this life this this experience. The word is soob and it's usually Translated as turn or return.

It's used like over a thousand times in the Old Testament. For instance 2nd Chronicles 714 you all know this verse. If my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face right seek my presence and turn From their wicked ways.

Then I will hear from heaven will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Psalm 19 7 the law of the Lord is perfect restoring the soul returning the soul back to the Lord. Rebuilding the soul into what it should be.

That's what the Word of God does. Psalm 78 when he killed them then they sought him and returned and searched diligently for God. And Lord, I pray that that is happening in Israel right now. Isaiah 55 let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return to the Lord.

And he will have compassion on him and he will abundantly pardon. Joel 2 yet even now declares the Lord Return to me with all your heart and with fasting weeping and mourning and rend your heart and not your garments.

Now return to the Lord your God for he is gracious and compassionate. Slow to anger abounding and loving kindness and relenting of evil you know, but You don't do that. You don't rend your heart if you're in a delusion thinking that you're right with God verse 20.

So he got up and Came I'm gonna stop right there because You know Jesus again, like I said before he can't fill in all the details, but right there between those words Got up and came To his father right.

There is a long journey a long journey the prodigal had plunged deeply into the far country and Now he must retrace his steps all the way back. I Know for myself I lived in that for 10 years or 12 years.

I can't remember 10 years. Whatever. It was a long time you know every time you Look at some image on the internet or Do some give yourself over to some sin every time you do something like that you're going further and further and further away from God and You know the wonderful thing as we've already heard that when we repent God Graciously instantly forgives us right there.

He forgives us. But you still have to face the consequences of a lifetime of rebellion and Iniquity and the stain of iniquity and it takes God years To undo what you have done to yourself to your soul the way you've marred your soul with sin and You've done it to yourself.

Just like I did. And I'm 69 years old and I still pay the price for the things I did 40 years Ago and further I Still pay the price in some ways. I know things I wish I wish I wish I wish I didn't know.

Pope a commentator said Oh You who are forsaken Christ if you really be his You will have to come back. But no joyous journey will that be for you? No indeed. It never has been never can be still Blessed be the Lord who forces you to make it Difficult and hard though it be it is the hand which was nailed to the cross.

And the heart which there was pierced for you that now wields the scourge. Which compels you in sorrow and in shame to come back to him whom you left. You know guys You're not gonna get cheap promises in this place if you haven't noticed that.

We're not here like some cheap sidewalk huckster. Selling salvation to you making all kinds of grandiose promises and stuff. No, we're not gonna do that. We tell you the truth. What we tell you the truth in this place.

It's hard. It's a hard journey. It's gonna be a battle for you. Learning to fight for a life of Purity is not for the faint of heart but the Alternative is unthinkable. And you better get that drilled deeply into your heart.

The Alternative is unthinkable. You will never have another opportunity like you have right now and If any of you are thinking about you know, I've just about had it with this place. I understand it's difficult.

But you know what you guys just like myself. You've been going the easy route in life for a long time. It's time to man up and do the hard thing you got to do. Or you will be going around the same mountain ten years from now.

I know I have talked to men who I ministered to 30 years ago, and they're the same person. They sat in these chairs and I meet them now same person. Same struggles same delusion same habits. Only now they're just far worse.

Don't squander what God is giving you in this place. All right. Let's talk about the older brother. And all the guys in the program say. These two couldn't be more unlike each other. The younger brother was impulsive and impetuous while the older brother was cautious and reserved.

The Older Brother’s Religion and Rule-Keeping

The younger brother was outwardly rebellious while the older brother kept his willfulness under wraps. The younger brother Was willing to flagrantly pursue sin while the older brother kept himself under control.

The younger brother's life was defined by the sin he pursued. While the older brother's life was defined by his religion the older brother's life. You know, he was morally upright. And he was proper. The problem is he was religious minded instead of being spiritually minded.

Let me just take a minute to describe what I'm talking about being religious. The religious person is more concerned about presenting an image of godliness to other people around him than in truly living in the presence of God.

A Religious person has never been to the pig pen where they come face to face with their sinfulness and unworthiness. A religious person mistakes moral uprightness for godliness. A Religious person is self-righteous and I define self-righteousness as embracing a form of righteousness to please self rather than to please God.

A Religious person can easily become not always but can become stiff and stodgy rather than pliable. They can be sanctimonious and petty minded rather than big-hearted and compassionate. It's possible that they are stuck in traditions rather than being open to the Lord working in ways they haven't experienced and Maybe above all else a religious person tends to build his Christian life around rule keeping.

Now this is difficult waters to navigate because The Bible's full of commandments and we're supposed to obey them, right? To disregard his commandments would make us just lawless like the Call the culture out there.

Just look the world. So we know that's not right. But commandments are a means to an end not the end in themselves. The point of obedience is to draw near to God and to dwell in his presence. That's the point of obedience.

It's to please someone who you love. You don't Let me say it this way people who are rule keepers by nature and you know by nature that's not necessarily a bad thing, but They want the boundaries. They don't feel safe unless they have clear-cut boundaries to live in.

You know and again. Some godly people are rule keepers by nature. That's not bad in itself but the problem is when that becomes everything and God becomes small in sight of the rule system and As we heard earlier from God's perspective.

The older brother really wasn't much better off than the younger brother. All right. So here's what I want to get at. Here's what I've been aiming for and we heard about this already also there. Is someone that I want to talk about is worse than either of these two brothers.

The Religious Sinner’s False Assurance

I'm talking about the religious sinner. He's religious in appearance, but inwardly he's given over to sin. In other words physically he's in the father's house, but his heart is in the far country. He's worse than the older brother because he's polluted his mind with sin or Pornography and he's worse than the prodigal because he's got this outward penchant for keeping the rules and that has deceived him into thinking and really believing that he's in good standing with God and That false assurance has kept him out of the pigpen the very place he needs to be in.

Not only is he deluded by the deceitfulness of sin, but he's deluded by his religiosity. He's got just enough religion to keep him from seeing his need. And from really turning to the Lord. All right, so I asked at the beginning for a show of hands.

Of course, I knew how it would go. How many of you were in church going to church week in week out singing hymns? Singing hymns of worship to God. Hearing sermons may be powerful sermons. Hearing the Word of God week in and week out.

Maintaining an image of godliness to those around you while at the same time. Going into websites and looking at the most wicked things most Polluted things imaginable. Doing both at the same time. Did I ask for a show of hands again?

Did it sound like that? Were you just being voluntary? Well, it's good that you are because I want you to see what that's like and. And what has that done, you know, not to not to lay this on you guys individually, but just you know.

What has happened to the body of Christ man? The church has veered so far from what it once was and I believe a big part of that is that millions of Christian professing Christian men are Regularly filling their minds with filth, you know, I don't know if you knew this but PLM has pig pens all over this place.

There's pig pens out on the prayer trail. Pig pens in your counseling session. In fact, Gabe has a special place for his pig pen. You're welcome to go there pig pens. When you're studying your Bible, there's even pig pens at Leslie's believe it or not.

But my years of experience in this ministry I can tell you this there's no Pigpen. No place better to meet with God than at the altar right here. Because this is where God is speaking. His presence is Felt most strongly in this place.

And I believe he's speaking this morning. I know that you guys had a wonderful service Sunday night. I wish I would have been here and the Lord has spoken, but you know guys, I'm just telling you you're gonna have to keep having these moments with God.

This is gonna be the rest of your life if you're gonna live in victory. You are going to repent and repent and repent and repent. You know why because what you've given your flesh over to is in your mind.

You know and you're gonna have to keep coming back to God and saying Lord forgive me. I don't know why I allow my mind to Just sit and Let that filth fester inside me. Forgive me Lord. You're gonna find yourself coming back to the Lord over and over and over again.

You might as well get used to it and you're gonna have to know what it means to repent to people. I had to repent to someone this morning. Actually have to repent to my wife pretty regularly. It's just gonna become a lifestyle guys of saying I'm wrong.

I'm wrong. Lord forgive me. So I am gonna open the altar up for you guys this morning. I'm not looking to you know, yeah, I'm not looking to try to get you guys all up here or something. But I do want to make it Conducive for you.

The Altar Call and a Prayer for Transformation

Come on up Josh. Let's all stand up. Maybe you guys on the front row should head to the back. Just in case I know that the Lord met with you guys Sunday night and Something happened for many of you. But I want to give you another opportunity.

If you feel like the Lord has put his finger on something this morning. Then I want you to come up and just have it out with the Lord. Just come up right now. Just slip out the Lord speaking to you about.

The way you've lived your life. The things still going on in your heart. The way you're interacting with your counselor. The attitudes you've had towards staff or this program or whatever. The attitudes you've had towards the Lord.

The attitudes you've had towards family members. This is the place to make things, right? Get before God you guys can. Yeah, you can kneel down right there right in the hall the aisle way Lord. I just lift these men up to you.

They wasted years Pursuing sin and running from you. Running from the lifestyle that you had graciously offered to them and they rejected it and they Rejected you because they wanted their own way. They said give me Give me what's mine.

I want the world. That's what they said in their hearts and yet at the same time At the same time while their hearts were far from you at the same time they would sit in your churches and Sing hymns that meant nothing to them and hear sermons that meant nothing to them.

Because they had such a hold on that sin that idol. Help these men Lord. I pray that you would dig deep with your scalpel and cut that filth out of their hearts. Cut the love of sin out of their hearts Lord dig deep.

I pray Purge it out just as if they were vomiting up a nice worth of alcohol. Purge it out of them God. Sweat it out of them Lord. All the poison that's in their soul that's in their system. Sweat it out God.

Just push it out. So they can become clean Clean and live the rest of their lives Pure before you Lord. Do the mighty work that only you can do God. I thank you Lord that you're so Humble and gracious and willing to forgive just like pastor Ed said I could just see that got the Picture in my mind of you standing right on the edge of the kingdom of God in the kingdom of darkness Looking out there hoping for some to return to you always hoping hoping.