Return, Return, Return, Return
Pastor David T. Elms 1/18/2026
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50:02
Summary
Pastor Elms explores the profound, fourfold call of God for His people to return to Him, contrasting the seductive pull of the world with the persistent, loving pursuit of the Shepherd King.
Key points
- •The Song of Solomon is a metaphor for the relationship between Christ (the Shepherd King) and the Church (the Shulamite bride).
- •Life presents two competing voices: the world crying 'Return' to old habits and carnality, and God calling 'Return' to intimacy and grace.
- •Pastoral grief often stems from watching believers slowly 'fade away' or 'walk away' from God despite having experienced His miracles.
- •The fourfold repetition of 'Return' in Song of Solomon 6:13 represents the highest level of divine emphasis in Scripture, signaling a desperate and loving call from God.
- •True spiritual growth requires moving beyond 'muscle memory' worship into deep, heart-wrenching communion with God.
Scripture
Repentance
Divine Love
Spiritual Drift
Restoration
Life application
Reflect on any areas where your worship has become 'muscle memory' and spend time in an 'altar moment' this week, asking God to rekindle a genuine, bone-deep hunger for His presence.
Reflection questions
- Is there a 'voice' from your past calling you to return to old habits, and how can you silence it with the Word of God?
- What does it mean to you that God pursues you even when you try to hide, like Adam and Eve in the garden?
- How can we as a church better support those who feel they have done too much wrong to ever come back home?
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Full transcript
0:00kinds of crazy things. The conference is
0:00there to help them find deliverance.
0:01Amen. Are you ready for the word of the
0:03Lord?
0:04>> You may be seated in Jesus name.
0:10>> Lord Jesus, I thank you for this people.
0:13Your word is so important to us and
0:16there is a clarity and an efficiency
0:19that you have given to us from your word
0:21but it is up to us to unpack it in a
0:25manner that we can learn. Help me do so
0:28by your grace and mercy today. And I
0:30appreciate your help in Jesus name I
0:33pray. And everybody say amen.
0:37You had a text
0:41that is uh out of a book
0:45that not many people consider very often
0:48in the Bible. Tucked in the middle of
0:50your Bible is this Song of Solomon. And
0:54it is known by some places as the Song
0:57of Psalms or the Song of Songs.
1:01And this entire
1:04story is a story of a king
1:07who pretends to be a shepherd
1:10and falls in love with the young lady
1:13known as the Schulamite.
1:15The Schulamite falls in love with this
1:17shepherd and the shepherd has to go on a
1:20long trip. While he's gone, a king comes
1:24back and declares that he is in search
1:27of a bride to become the queen. and he
1:32woos and pulls and tries to win the love
1:36of this Shulamite. He impresses her with
1:39his armies, his entourage, his palaces,
1:43and his banqueting halls. He commisss
1:45her to come visit the palace as he tries
1:49to convince her to be his wife. And as
1:52she's standing there after all of his
1:56accutrants of royalty have been handed
1:59over her, she stands and lets this king
2:03know, I appreciate your kindness. I'm so
2:07impressed with your royalty, your
2:10dignity, your majesty. The throne is
2:14amazing. The crown is stunning. Yet I
2:19must tell you, oh king, I have given my
2:21heart to a shepherd and I cannot fall in
2:26love with you. And of course later on it
2:31comes out that the king
2:34was the shepherd.
2:38And when he reveals herself to him or
2:41himself to her, there is a great love
2:44that transpires between them. Among all
2:48the books in the Bible, the Song of
2:50Solomon is an intimate story of love.
2:54The story of a communion between a king
2:58and his choice as queen. In our text, it
3:03starts out the language of a king that
3:04we do not understand very often
3:06nowadays. It starts out by saying,
3:09"There are three store queens and four
3:11store concubines and virgins without
3:14number. My dove, my undefiled one is but
3:21one. There is no woman like this one I
3:26love. of all the political
3:30adjustments that I have bought into. And
3:33I have 60 queens and I have 80
3:37concubines
3:39and I have virgins without number that I
3:42could call in as my own. There is only
3:46one that is the love of my life. It is a
3:51story of love. Love that is powerful,
3:53divine, devoted. Amazing phrases are
3:58employed in this book describing love.
4:01Love is strong as death, fierce as the
4:05grave. In it, love conquers chaos. And
4:09the communion is spoken of in very
4:12flowery languages. One, it speaks in the
4:15language of gardens and then it employs
4:18flowers and then it speaks of fruits and
4:21nuts and dates and raisins. Emotions are
4:27portrayed in this book that when you're
4:30reading through it, if you do not see it
4:32through the eyes of what it is, you just
4:34are not certain of what you're reading.
4:37Emotions are portrayed of unique
4:40confusing truths, which love is. Love is
4:45a dance. Love is something that you're
4:49continually negotiating with. If you've
4:53ever fallen in love, you know that love
4:56is not uncomplicated
4:59and yet it is extremely simple. So this
5:03true picture of love is portrayed as
5:07close and yet far away, hiding and yet
5:13seeking, koi and all the time clear. It
5:19was a hunger that encapsulated the
5:22description of love. And yet the hunger
5:24is not crude. It's always elegant. It is
5:28not explicit. It is always just the
5:31harvest of the soul, the bounty of love,
5:35and it is a description of God and his
5:41church.
5:43It is a metaphor of the creator of the
5:46universe pursuing his bride.
5:50And it is a description of the hunger
5:53that God has for his people. It's a
5:57hunger that has played out many, many
6:00years before this book was written. In
6:03the beginning of the Bible, we read of a
6:05God who was and is and is to come. A God
6:09who had no beginning and will have no
6:11ending. A God who is as old as he'll
6:14ever be and as young as he ever was.
6:18A God who before time was was and after
6:23time is shut down still shall be. I
6:28cannot describe the attributes of God
6:31except what I've learned of him by his
6:33word and the 6,000 year of recorded
6:37history that comes to us from the
6:40beginning story of a garden placed in
6:43modernday Iraq of land that right now
6:47doesn't seem very fruitful but it was
6:49the place where God put his garden and
6:52it was called the garden of Eden where
6:55the Tigris and the Euphrates ities come
6:57together. In there was a patch of
7:00perfect soil and perfect ecosystems and
7:04perfect climate. And there he put his
7:08creation. A man who stood alone and
7:12walked the land and talked with God. But
7:15the Lord saw that man in his creation.
7:18It was not good that he should be alone.
7:21>> In fact, it was an expression of God
7:23himself. The only reason he ever made
7:25earth and made humanity was because God
7:30wanted a bride.
7:33He sought for a companion. He didn't
7:35have to have her. He didn't need her.
7:38But he hungered for a bride.
7:43So he created this garden. And in that
7:47garden, he made man and woman. And every
7:50day there he would come and commune with
7:54Adam and Eve. The Bible says in the cool
7:56of the day there were no weeds in that
7:58garden. There were only true plants and
8:00true uh true trees and fruits of every
8:04kind. And in that tree, every tree of
8:06every kind was there. There was only one
8:08tree in the midst of the garden that
8:10they were not to eat of. The tree of the
8:12knowledge of good and evil. You know the
8:15story. But what we do not understand is
8:18how desperate at the end of every day
8:22the Lord was to go and walk with Adam
8:25and Eve. They would talk to him of
8:28tending the garden, how they enjoyed
8:30this flower and how that rose and have
8:33we've got a special one that's bloom
8:35today. Lord, let's go look at this one.
8:37And Adam and Eve would speak uh to the
8:41animals by day, but they spoke to the de
8:44the deity by evening. And God came and
8:47talked with them in the cool of the day.
8:50Nobody. Nobody. Nobody. No one can
8:55portray for you the day when Adam and
8:58Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of
9:02good and evil. We know Adam and Eve's
9:04side, but what we do not know is God's
9:08side of the story. He knew the instant
9:13they ate of the tree. He's God. He's
9:17omnipotent. He's omnisient. Big words
9:20that means he has all power and he is
9:22everywhere at all times. He knew when
9:25they ate of the tree and the
9:27disappointment and the depression that
9:30COULD SWEEP OVER THE GOD OF HEAVEN WHEN
9:33HE REALIZED ALL THAT HE HAD MADE.
9:36Perfect plants and perfect ANIMALS AND
9:39NO DEATH AND NO dying and perfect
9:42climate and perfect communion and
9:44perfect joy wasn't enough.
9:48He had done his best, but his best
9:51wasn't good enough. And yet when the
9:54cool of that day came in as other days,
9:59he stepped his foot into that garden.
10:02And when the footfall of God sounded in
10:05that garden, Adam, Adam and Eve sought
10:08for a place to hide because they knew
10:12everything changed when they ate of the
10:15tree. And here here comes God.
10:20Adam.
10:26Adam,
10:29where are you?
10:32Adam.
10:35As if God didn't know.
10:37>> Isn't it interesting how we think we can
10:39hide from God
10:42and all of a sudden it's as if he can't
10:44find us.
10:47That day was the beginning of death,
10:51destruction.
10:52Every rose would now have thorns. Every
10:55true garden would now have weeds. There
10:58would be death and there would be dying.
11:01The sound of death would be heard for
11:03the first time on the earth. And now
11:06everything would be changed. And that
11:09loving communion that God had with his
11:13bride
11:14was now broken.
11:19So we come to this story
11:22of a king
11:25who comes as a shepherd, falls in love
11:28with the bride.
11:30The bride thinks he's a shepherd. And
11:33when the king comes back to woo her
11:35away, she will not give her heart to a
11:38king, nor to his wealth, nor to his
11:40power, nor to his prestige. Because she
11:44has given her heart to a shepherd, and
11:47she is loyal, and she is faithful. And
11:50it doesn't matter how much stuff you
11:52have. I'm in love with you. It with one.
11:56I It doesn't matter how much power you
11:58can give me. I'm in love with one. My
12:01love supersedes things. My love
12:04supersedes power. My love supersedes
12:08strength. My love is true.
12:12And the portrayal of this story in the
12:16Song of Solomon is one that is the true
12:21manifestation of the entire story of the
12:24Bible. Solomon writes about his love and
12:29Solomon was a type of Jesus Christ.
12:32Jesus said that when he literally said
12:36uh Solomon in all of his glory there was
12:39none a ar a raid like Solomon when it
12:42came to entouragees when it came to
12:44wealth when it came to houses and lands
12:47and vacation homes. when it came to the
12:50way he arrived and the way that that the
12:52whole room was filled, how the breath of
12:55kings and queens from around the globe
12:57was taken away when they saw Solomon.
13:00And the Lord said, "And yet Solomon and
13:02all of his splendor wasn't arrayed like
13:04one lily of the field."
13:08And then he said THE TRUTH, THE
13:11REVELATION THAT REALLY the story of the
13:13Song of Solomon was the story of the
13:15church and her God. because he said,
13:19"Behold, a greater than Solomon is
13:23here." In this story, Solomon is the
13:28bridegroom. And he comes and he says in
13:33our text, "There's none like my bride.
13:37There's none. There are many queens.
13:40There are many concubines. There are
13:42many virgins without number and my power
13:44and prestige could give them all to me."
13:47But there is none like the one, my dove,
13:52my
13:54undefiled.
13:58She's the only one of her mother. She's
14:01the choice one of her that bore her. The
14:06daughter saw her and blessed her. Yay.
14:09The queens and the concubines, they
14:11praised her. This is language about what
14:14the world is going to think of the
14:16church on that day when the king unveils
14:20his glory.
14:22>> And yet the king comes to a place where
14:26he is not near his bride.
14:31And he says in verse 13, "Return,
14:35return, oh Shulamite.
14:38Return, return that we may look upon
14:44thee. What is it? This return, this
14:48language. Let me tell you something
14:50about living for God. First of all,
14:53before you ever live for God, you're
14:55going to hear the cry of the Lord in
14:57your heart. Some of you, before you ever
14:59came to church, you didn't know any of
15:01the Bible, and yet you heard the voice
15:03of the Lord calling you. Because
15:06everyone alive is supposed to be in the
15:09bride of Christ. Everyone is supposed to
15:11be in the church. There's none that are
15:15not supposed to be in the church. The
15:17Bible says it is not his will that any
15:20should perish, but that all should come
15:23to repentance. And so, it doesn't matter
15:25how far you go, you're going to hear the
15:28voice of the Lord calling for you to
15:33come back to him.
15:35David said, "Though I mount up on the
15:38wings of the morning trying to run from
15:40God, you are there. If I go to the ends
15:44of the earth, behold, thou art there. If
15:46I make my bed in hell, you are there.
15:50Whether can I go from your spirit,
15:53there's nowhere that I can go that he
15:56will not be calling me." Some of you
15:58were sitting on bar stools when he
16:00called you the first time. Some of you
16:03were HIGH AS A KITE when you heard the
16:05voice of the Lord call to you. Some of
16:08you were in the biggest blessing you'd
16:10ever known and you heard the voice of
16:13the Lord call to you. It doesn't matter
16:15who you are. He's calling to you today.
16:19If you haven't come to him, he wants you
16:21to come to him. If you've not been born
16:23again, he wants you to be born of the
16:25water and of the spirit. He wants you to
16:29serve him and be a part of his bride
16:32because he's going to reveal himself in
16:35power and in beauty. But it's not just
16:38those who have never lived for him that
16:41he calls to return. There's also those
16:44who have lived for him that he has
16:47loved. when a person uh when ever a
16:51child of God crosses paths with a place
16:54of selfishness that he has memories of
16:57carnality and times go by times that
17:00have gone by. He hears the voice of the
17:04old world saying return.
17:08Come back. We have joy we can give to
17:11you. YOU CAN COME BACK AND HAVE A
17:14CONTRACT WITH CARNALITY and indulgence
17:17and have a joyful time. Come back,
17:20return. If you've ever been a alcoholic
17:23and you've been delivered by the hand of
17:24God, you know that voice is at the end
17:27of the wine aisle when you go to the
17:30grocery store. Return. Return. Come
17:33drink again. If you've ever taken
17:36cocaine and you've been delivered from
17:38it by THE HAND OF GOD, EVERY SO OFTEN
17:40you'll hear a voice come to you. Return,
17:44return. Come back to fly on our wings
17:48again and feel our freedom again. If
17:51you've ever been high on ecstasy, EVERY
17:53ONCE IN A WHILE, THE VOICE OF THAT DEMON
17:56will cry to you again. Return, return.
18:01Come sail with me on my smooth seas
18:04again. It doesn't matter who you are or
18:08where you are. There's two returns in
18:10this world. When the old world and the
18:12old crowd cries, "Return," don't be
18:16surprised. If you've been living for God
18:1850 years, don't be caught OFF GUARD.
18:21YOU'RE STILL GOING TO HEAR that old
18:22world, "Return. Return. You've lived for
18:26God long enough. Come on back to living
18:29your way now. It's your turn now. You've
18:32sacrificed enough. Return to not
18:35sacrificing. You fasted enough. Return.
18:39Don't fast with the church. If they're
18:41fasting three days, just fast one day
18:44AND DON'T FEEL BAD ABOUT IT. RETURN
18:47BACK. IF YOU HAVEN'T PRAYED THIS WEEK,
18:50DON'T FEEL bad enough. You've you've
18:52prayed enough in your youth. You prayed
18:54in your middleage years. Return
18:56[screaming] to the ways of carnality.
18:59Return to the ways OF THE FLESH. RETURN
19:02TO THE WAYS OF SELFISHNESS. When you
19:04become a child of God, you learn how to
19:06have church. You can clap your hands and
19:09everybody around you will think, "Wow,
19:11he's an old-fashioned Pentecostal." You
19:14can wave your hands in the presence of
19:16the Lord. You can even weep and it only
19:18goes about neck deep. It doesn't go all
19:21the way to your heart, but tears will
19:23come. tears that your mind will put
19:26forth but they're not soulwrenching bone
19:29deep SOULDEEP KIND OF tears because you
19:34can learn how to do it and in all that
19:36process you can learn how to walk in the
19:40house of God and be there and the habit
19:42of going to the house of God it wears
19:44out you know you've come to the Lord you
19:46made a commitment to him I'll go to
19:48church yeah but after a while ladies and
19:50gentlemen you're going to hear that OLD
19:52WORLD COME ON BACK. COME ON BACK. YOU'VE
19:55GONE to enough church. You know what
19:57they're going to be doing today. You've
19:58been there enough to know it's going to
20:00start with about three songs. They're
20:02going to have time of healing and
20:03offering. We'll go around and shake
20:05hands. COME ON BACK HERE. STAY HOME.
20:08STAY IN. Lay in today. Relax. Go to the
20:11beach. Call being spiritual sitting on
20:14the pier. You don't have to go to church
20:16anymore. RETURN BACK to your own ways of
20:20living. Don't be shocked why you're
20:23wasting time praying. That voice says
20:26you're wasting time fasting. You're
20:28wasting your money by giving to the
20:31church. Why? You believe that stuff.
20:33Come on. You gave enough when you were
20:35young. Stop giving now because you've
20:38GIVEN ENOUGH. RETURN BACK TO MANAGING
20:41your own affairs in your own way without
20:44God's story affecting or infecting your
20:48thoughts. Don't be surprised when that
20:50voice beckons you to leave your Bible
20:53and not think it's that SPECIAL AND
20:55THINK THAT IT'S JUST ANOTHER BOOK AND
20:57START THINKING THAT IT'S just a neat
20:59little thing that has some nice poetry
21:01in it instead of it being the sword of
21:04the Lord and the power of the cross and
21:07the preaching of the word. NO,
21:09[screaming] THE WHOLE WORLD SAYS THAT
21:10BOOK IT'S NICE TO HAVE, but don't OPEN
21:13IT. JUST KEEP IT AROUND and let it sit
21:15there, BUT DON'T LET it inspect your
21:18life. The Bible says in Hebrews 11 that
21:22God's people, it said had they been
21:25mindful of the country from whence they
21:28came out of, they would have had an
21:31opportunity to return. In other words,
21:35all you got to do is know when you come
21:37out of the world, the world's going to
21:39stand by the door and say, "Come on
21:42back.
21:43Forget that preacher talk and that
21:45church stuff. And now you got your job
21:48and you got your blessing and you got
21:50your bailout and you got your bride and
21:53maybe you've got your children and now
21:55you can back down because it's not all
21:58that important. You've got these things
22:00figured out and uh YOU WILL HAVE AN
22:02OPPORTUNITY TO RETURN. The voice of
22:05outer darkness will call you. COME TO
22:08THE OLD COUNTRY. COME BACK AND
22:11[screaming] LIVE YOUR OWN WAY. YEAH. And
22:15sometimes people do go back. If I have
22:19an aversion to social media, it's
22:22because when I get on social media, I
22:24see people that in the 33 years I have
22:27pastored here have decided to go back.
22:31They were mindful of the country that
22:33the Lord brought them out of. In these
22:36altars, their tears were planted. They
22:39have given in sacrificial ways. They
22:42went through courses and classes. They
22:44were part of Gideon's band and the
22:46League of Extraordinary Ministers.
22:48They've done crusades and camps. They
22:51prayed in altars at HYC's and pledged to
22:54God at youth congresses. Now they post
22:57with boldness. How they are free from
23:00that old what they call bondage of the
23:03church. They are now walking in new
23:06revelations. They're able to manage all
23:08their money instead of just 90% of it.
23:12They're able to make their own way and
23:14sleep and get extra rest on Sunday. And
23:17when I see them, there's some hurt in my
23:20heart. I preached years ago, the hardest
23:22part of pastoring. And the the answer to
23:25the question of the hardest part of
23:28pastoring isn't the funerals I have to
23:30preach. And I've had some real hard
23:32funerals. The hardest part of pastoring
23:35isn't the divorces. I've had the
23:36superintended and I've had some terrible
23:39divorces that I married them and then I
23:42had to manage the divorce. I've had
23:44adulteries I've had to help people get
23:46out of. I'VE HAD STORMS OF disease and
23:49sickness. I'VE HAD TO BURY some of the
23:52most precious people in all the world.
23:55But the hardest part of pastoring isn't
23:57any OF THAT.
23:58>> [snorts]
23:58>> THE HARDEST PART OF PASTORING IS
24:01WATCHING people tell God goodbye
24:08slowly. You can SEE IT. THE LORD SHOWS
24:12IT TO ME. THEY'RE THERE, BUT they're not
24:14there. THEY USED TO REALLY FEEL IT when
24:17they raised their hands. Oh, their hands
24:19will go up. BUT YOU CAN TELL IT'S JUST
24:22MUSCLE MEMORY. It's not heart song. And
24:25you can tell. And so you preach and you
24:28pray and you reach and you love and you
24:31hug and you give them that extra long
24:33look deep in THE EYE THAT SAYS A
24:35THOUSAND WAYS, I LOVE YOU. Don't say
24:38goodbye. And they dart THEIR EYES AND
24:42DANCE their look and you can tell they
24:45still love you and they still appreciate
24:47this house and they still think a lot of
24:49good thoughts ABOUT THIS PROPERTY. BUT
24:51AS FAR AS THE GOD STUFF,
24:54NO, we're going to fade away.
24:59Yeah.
25:00Because the text tells us there is that
25:03old voice that calls. Hebrews 11 says,
25:08"If they've been mindful of the country
25:09they came out of, after they're over
25:11their miracle, and after they're over
25:13their blessing, and after they're over
25:14their baptism, and after they're over
25:17getting to know the people in the
25:19church, they fade."
25:22But there's another text.
25:25It's found here. Another voice, a gentle
25:29voice, a tender voice, constantly
25:32calling and pleading. It's the voice of
25:36the bridegroom
25:38calling the bride. I'm talking about
25:40people who walked with him, who
25:41fellowshipped in his presence. There was
25:44a time when every moment was filled with
25:45a song of the Lord. They couldn't wake
25:47up without singing, "This is the day
25:49that the Lord hath made. I will rejoice
25:52and be glad in it." But now they're far
25:56away from God.
25:58If God's so far away, the question is
26:00asked, who moved? By and by, they were
26:05offended. They got tired of church. They
26:08got used to the preacher's voice. They
26:10got accustomed to the altar call. They
26:12got beyond the worship set. Ah, I've
26:16talked with them backsliders. They
26:19thought they would never get back to
26:20where they were. They never would go
26:23back that far. I'll never forget the
26:26time that I had to leave this pull pit
26:27on a Sunday morning and fly to Orange C
26:30County, California, which is South LA.
26:33And there I was asked to marry a a man
26:37and his wife. That young man was
26:40fighting for his soul. My wife and I
26:42encouraged him to come visit. When he
26:44got here, he was seeing success. He had
26:47watched his own family be splintered by
26:50an affair. an affair his mother entered
26:53into. So, he was kind of bummed with
26:56this church stuff. His mother had an
26:58affair on his dad. His dad was a pastor.
27:01And his mother had an affair with a
27:03pastor across town. Fion church. If it's
27:07just PEOPLE HAVING AFFAIRS, THEN I DON'T
27:09NEED any more of that. And he was bitter
27:12and he was broken and he was upset about
27:15it. So, we called him a hair and we had
27:17him visit and I took him uh to South
27:20Beach and uh at that time a member of
27:23this church had wanted me to get a very
27:25fine car and they helped me get a S550,
27:28one of the greatest Mercedes bins you
27:30can have. And I was I took this young
27:33man in my Mercedes bins down to South
27:35Beach and I took rolled down the windows
27:38and I put on smooth jazz music and I
27:41played the music kind of loud and we
27:43were driving real slow up South Beach
27:46Road up Ocean Drive or the one that's
27:49right there on the ocean. I think that's
27:50Ocean Drive. I don't know the names of
27:52them. I just know how to get to them. Uh
27:55and and so I got him and while we were
27:57going around I looked at him. I said, I
28:00called his name. I said, "Look at this.
28:04THIS IS THE BEST the world has.
28:08THIS IS WHERE ALL THE NFL PLAYERS CAN'T
28:12WAIT AS SOON AS IT'S OVER. They're all
28:13coming to South Beach. THIS IS WHERE THE
28:16NBA players want to spend their extra
28:19DAYS WHEN THEY GET OFF playing the Miami
28:22Heat because they all go to South
28:25Beach." I said, "This is it." I said,
28:29"We're riding in a fine car. We've got
28:31great music. We've got all this. We
28:34could go do anything we wanted." And I
28:36leaned forward and looked at him in the
28:38middle of his pain and hurt. And I SAID,
28:42"I KNOW THE CHURCH doesn't have perfect
28:44people in it.
28:46>> AND I KNOW SOMETIMES THERE'S OFFENSES
28:49THAT COME."
28:51>> I said, "BUT YOU GET TO CHOOSE RIGHT
28:52NOW. YOU CAN have all this
28:57or you can have the bride of Christ.
29:01And it moved him so much that as he got
29:05on the plane flying home, he text
29:07Melanie me and he said, "Thank you so
29:09much for being there." And the Lord laid
29:13a girl from the church that he had known
29:15a while back on his heart and he said,
29:17"Well, I guess I'll give this church."
29:19He had a lot of things going for him. He
29:21owns a a a a a State Farm um insurance
29:26franchise right now. Very very
29:28successful. Very very successful. He was
29:31already successful then. BUT HE SAW I
29:34GAVE HIM THE OPTION. I SAID, "MONEY, YOU
29:36got it. You can do Vegas every weekend
29:39if you want to choose it." There's two
29:43voices. One saying, "Return
29:47to the world." And there's a gentle one
29:50saying "Return return
29:54return,
29:55return to me, sayeth the Lord." He fell
29:59in love and he said, "If I'm getting
30:01married, I want you to marry me." So on
30:03Sunday afternoon, my wife and I flew all
30:05day. The time change helped us. We
30:07landed as fast as we could get a rental
30:10car. We drove to a chapel on the seaside
30:13there on the Pacific Ocean. Very
30:15unbelievable place to get married. But
30:17there his wife's father who had also had
30:20an affair who had been a pastor, a
30:23Pentecostal apostolic pastor. He had
30:26been a presbitter in a district. He had
30:30served on a national board. BUT NOW HE
30:35fell and instead of getting back up in
30:38mercy, he threw it all to the wind and
30:42he cursed LIKE A SAILOR. PROFANITIES YOU
30:45WOULD NEVER hear him say when he filled
30:48pullpits on Sunday came soaring out of
30:51HIS MOUTH. AND NOW EVERY SUNDAY HE SPENT
30:54ON barroom benches. HE WOULD SPEND THEM
30:59GOING AND GAMBLING AWAY HIS MONEY when
31:02he used to give his money to THE LORD.
31:04AND ALL OF THIS TIME HE WAS BITTER. And
31:07when I walked into that chapel, there I
31:11saw the bride's dad and I saw the
31:14groom's mom and all OF THIS MESS THAT
31:19HELL HAD PUT IN THE CHURCH
31:22because people thought I can live MY WAY
31:27AND STILL HAVE earthly pleasures.
31:30And I walked in and I looked at his dad
31:34in-law and I thought, "You ought to be
31:38marrying your daughter, sir."
31:42But everything in me grabbed him and
31:46hugged him. I said, "Greetings.
31:49I love you, sir."
31:52And in his ear, I whispered, "You know
31:55where home is.
31:58You're always going to be loved back
32:01home.
32:03He hasn't changed to this point. His
32:06daughter has had to tell him when she
32:08brings her grandchildren around, she
32:10wishes he would clean up his language.
32:14Ah, grew up, graduated Bible school,
32:16anointed licensed ordained but
32:20fallen.
32:22AND ALL THE TRAGEDY THAT I JUST
32:24DESCRIBED TO YOU IS UNBELIEVABLE.
32:28And yet the scripture tells us that
32:31standing somewhere in the shadows,
32:35you'll find a shepherd that says,
32:39"Return,
32:41return,
32:42oh Shulabite,
32:44oh bride of Christ, oh child of God,
32:49return,
32:50return." See, there's some emphasis in
32:53the scripture. Whenever you hear a word
32:55said twice, it's spoken of as an exe
33:00or a special emphasis for attention.
33:02Throughout the book of John, you'll read
33:04Jesus saying, "Verily, verily," which
33:06means in our modern day language,
33:08"Truly, truly," in other words, Jesus is
33:11saying, "What I'm about to tell you is
33:14true." And it is really true. He said,
33:18"Truly, truly, I say unto you, you must
33:23be born again."
33:26>> Again and again, he emphasizes two
33:28words. But when you read things that say
33:32three words, it means there's AN EXTRA
33:36EMPHATIC. THEY call it the emphatic
33:38triplet. It the highest degree of
33:41emphasis. It's far beyond the double and
33:44TANDRE AND THE DOUBLE REPETITIONS THAT
33:47YOU GET IN SCRIPTURE. Jeremiah says, "Oh
33:51earth, earth, earth, hear the word of
33:54the Lord. Of all the things you hear,
33:59HEAR
34:04the word of the Lord." Jeremiah was
34:07talking to a church that was used to
34:09going to church, but they were trusting
34:11in their attendance instead of the God
34:13of the church. And he said, "Trust not
34:15in lying words, saying the temple of the
34:19Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple
34:21of the Lord." AND SO THESE PEOPLE WERE
34:24LEANING ON THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD TO
34:26BAIL THEM OUT. Ezekiel is talking about
34:29the coming Messiah. And he said,
34:31"Messiah says, I will overturn overturn
34:35overturn the unjust."
34:38There's coming a day every valley is
34:40going to be brought up. Every hill's
34:41going to be brought down. AND THE
34:43MESSIAH IS GOING TO OVERTURN every wrong
34:46THAT'S EVER BEEN DONE. OVERTURN.
34:49OVERTURN. OVERTURN.
34:51REVELATION. John the Revelator said, "I
34:54beheld an angel FLYING OVER THE
34:56INHABITANTS OF THE EARTH." And he was
34:58speaking to them AND HE SAID, "WHOA,
35:01WHOA WHOA."
35:05To the inhabitants of the earth who have
35:06forgotten God. Isaiah and Revelation got
35:11a peak into heaven. And the angels are
35:14always saying, "Holy,
35:18holy,
35:20holy."
35:24two
35:26very important
35:28three
35:30the triplet of emphasis
35:33but one place in the entirety of the
35:37scripture does God repeat himself four
35:41times
35:42one
35:45right here in our text when the
35:49bridegroom
35:50is called to his bride and he says says,
35:54"Return return
35:56oh Shulamite.
35:58Return return."
36:01In all the record of scripture,
36:04he knows who you are and he wants you to
36:09come to him. If you've never lived for
36:11him, he wants you to know he made you.
36:15He knows the number of hairs on your
36:17head. He knew you before your mother
36:20knew you. HE KNOWS YOUR THOUGHTS. HE
36:23FORMED you in your mother's womb.
36:26>> HE DOESN'T WANT YOU TO WALK IN
36:28SELFISHNESS AND IN WAYWARDNESS AND YOUR
36:30OWN DESCRIPTION OF HOW TO BE SAVED AND
36:32YOUR OWN DESCRIPTION OF HOW TO LIVE FOR
36:34GOD AND YOUR OWN IDEA OF WHAT PRAYER
36:36looks like. HE WANTS YOU TO FIT INTO
36:39WHAT HIS word is and say prayers like he
36:42taught US TO PRAY. WORSHIP LIKE HE
36:44TAUGHT US TO WORSHIP. BE BAPTIZED LIKE
36:47HE TAUGHT US TO BE BAPTIZED. BE FILLED
36:49WITH THE HOLY GHOST LIKE HE SAID. EXCEPT
36:52A MAN BE born of the water and the
36:54spirit, he cannot even see the kingdom
36:57of heaven.
36:59>> Some folks don't believe in this
37:02business of going to the altar. But I
37:05can't live without an altar. I go to
37:07altar at general conference. Every
37:09general conference, I'm going to go to
37:11that altar somewhere. Every camp
37:13meeting, you can find me going to the
37:15altar. Every district conference, WHEN
37:17I'M NOT PREACHING, I'M JUST OUT IN THE
37:19CONGREGATION. YOU'RE GOING TO LOOK UP
37:21AND DAVID Elms will have walked TO THE
37:23ALTAR. WHY DO WE FIGHT TO HAVE A PRAYER
37:27SERVICE AT the end of every service?
37:29Because I you could fool everybody. Some
37:32of you RIGHT NOW IN YOUR MIND, you've
37:34already wandered from the church. You're
37:36just here because of variable things
37:38that need to hold you here, but your
37:41heart is gone. Maybe the one you love
37:43doesn't even know that you've wandered
37:45far away. I've come to tell you in the
37:48Holy Ghost today, there's a shepherd
37:50that's standing before you and he's
37:52saying "Return return
37:56return,
37:57return.
37:59I need I need you. I miss my time with
38:04you.
38:06Those moments together.
38:10I want to be with you each day.
38:14And it hurts me when you say you're too
38:19busy
38:21busy trying to serve me.
38:26But how can you serve me
38:29when your spirit's [singing]
38:32empty?
38:36There's a longing in your heart.
38:40Wanting more than just a part.
38:44It's true.
38:50I miss my time
38:54with you.
38:59Isaiah said,
39:03"I was cold in my heart. Everything
39:06around me looked bad. I was in the midst
39:09of an unclean people.
39:11They were all doing their own thing and
39:14I was the ONLY ONE THAT WAS GOOD enough
39:18until he saw the Lord.
39:23And when he saw the Lord,
39:26he said, "I I'm undone.
39:29FORGET ALL THE THINGS THAT OTHERS HAVE
39:32DONE. Me looking good." Oh, when I see
39:36how much he loves me,
39:40when I SEE HOW EVERY DAY HE WANTS TO
39:43MEET ME IN THE cool of the day.
39:48And the Bible said that Isaiah saw an
39:51angel with tongs go to the altar and
39:56take a hole of fire off of that altar.
39:59And he came down and he touched Isaiah's
40:03mouth. And from that point forward,
40:06Isaiah said, "I need you, Lord.
40:11HEAR MY CRY, OH LORD."
40:14AND THAT'S WHEN ISAIAH WROTE THINGS
40:16LIKE, "COME, LET US REASON TOGETHER.
40:21Though your sins be as scarlet, they
40:23shall be white as snow."
40:25I'm praying this morning that the angel
40:27with THE TONGS
40:30GOES TO THAT ALTAR IN HEAVEN AND WALKS
40:32DOWN INTO THIS CHURCH
40:35>> WITH A CALL [screaming] OF FIRE FROM
40:37THAT ALTAR AND TOUCHES SOME OF YOU
40:40WHEREVER YOU'RE SITTING THAT THERE'S A
40:43PURIFYING, PURGING, PURITY, POWERFUL WAY
40:48OF GOD THAT SWEEPS OVER YOUR SOUL.
40:52RETURN. RETURN,
40:55RETURN,
40:57RETURN,
40:58RETURN.
41:01A mama in
41:03British Columbia
41:07had talked to her daughter. Her
41:09daughter's name was Emma.
41:12Emma called her and said, "Mama, I want
41:14to come home." And she said, "That's
41:17You can, Emma. Come on home. We'll make
41:20a way for you. you can you can make it.
41:24She would hang up and then she would
41:26call her mama back and say, "Mama, you
41:29don't know what all I've done. There's
41:32no way I can face you. After what I've
41:34done to you, I can't face you. I won't
41:37face you."
41:40So they found
41:43in 2012
41:46Emma's backpack and laptop and diary and
41:51cell phone and special shoes out beside
41:55the road, but nowhere was Emma. EMMA HAD
42:00CALLED HER MOM BACK AND FORTH. Her mom
42:02knew SHE WAS WRESTLING WITH I WANT TO
42:05COME HOME. WOMAN then she WAS WRESTLING
42:07WITH I CAN'T YOU YOU WON'T MAKE IT WHERE
42:09I'M ABLE to
42:11and so
42:13Shelley Philippop
42:16rented billboards all over Canada that
42:19says they they they say EMMA
42:23COME home
42:27find
42:28Emma
42:31I want her to come home
42:33it doesn't matter
42:35Emma, you can come home. And as we sit
42:38here right now, Emma Philip has not been
42:41found. Not her body, not her bags, not a
42:46story. JH Osbbor is a wonderful preacher
42:49and he preached it because of the times.
42:51The story of his daughter who at 18 had
42:54served God, had stood on praise
42:56platforms and did all the worship music.
42:59SHE TAUGHT SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS GROWING
43:01UP. SHE WORKED ON THE presentation
43:03system and it was her senior year of
43:05high school. Brother Osborne knew she
43:08was fighting things in her spirit, but
43:09he didn't really know what and he just
43:11loved her and kept reaching out to her.
43:13But they THEY TOOK HER AND DROPPED HER
43:15OFF ONE DAY of her senior year. And when
43:18the school day was over, they went to
43:23pick her up. musicians come. And
43:28when they waited, she never came out.
43:33So they waited and they called around.
43:35Was she there? Yeah, she was there in
43:39the first part. They called the last
43:41teachers. Oh, she wasn't in today.
43:45TO THIS DAY, RIGHT NOW, TO MY KNOWLEDGE,
43:49Brother Osborne doesn't know where his
43:50daughter is. She sent word back through
43:54proxies, "I'm alive, but don't try to
43:58find me."
44:01She walked away from a loving home,
44:04a loving church.
44:07Somewhere in those years,
44:09she was there,
44:12but her heart was wandering.
44:16So now, Brother Osborne,
44:18literally in a spirit, preaches from a
44:22broken spirit.
44:24Every birthday, he signs her a card and
44:27puts money in it and sets it on the
44:30mantle over the fireplace. Every
44:33Christmas he writes her a card. Every
44:36Easter, every special day, he writes her
44:40a letter. And on his mantle today
44:44is a stack cards and letters because his
44:49daughter will not tell him where she is.
44:54Return. Return.
44:57Oh shamite.
45:00Return.
45:08return.
45:14Read about a mama.
45:17Actually, it was a friend going to visit
45:19a house of a friend. She knocked on the
45:21door.
45:23A little girl run up forward and
45:25answered the door. She said, "Can I talk
45:28to your mama?"
45:31A little girl.
45:33She said, "Mama told me to tell you
45:36she's not up here."
45:43God bless our kids. They can't even lie.
45:45Good. Well, that's wrong. I had four of
45:48them that were the best in all the
45:49world. [laughter]
45:53It's amazing how easy it is to lie when
45:55you're a kid. They're sitting there with
45:58chocolate all over their face. I didn't
45:59eat it.
46:21Lord, he told me to tell you
46:25he's not here.
46:30And the Lord still
46:32stands at the door
46:34>> and knocks.
46:42I've wandered so far
46:46away from God,
46:50but now
46:52I'm coming
46:55home.
47:00The path
47:03of sin
47:06too long
47:09I've tried.
47:13Now Lord
47:16I'm coming
47:20home.
47:25Coming
47:28home.
47:31coming
47:34home.
47:36[crying]
47:37Never [singing]
47:40more
47:42to Rome.
47:49Please open
47:52wide
47:54thine arms
47:57of love
48:01cuz Lord
48:04I'm coming
48:08home.
48:11Shall we stand all over this building
48:12[music]
48:14>> sits people who know the various places
48:16you are with God.
48:18And I hear a shepherd
48:21>> standing at the door. Return.
48:26Return.
48:29Oh
48:31child,
48:33you're supposed to be my bride.
48:36You're supposed to be my queen. You're
48:39my dove.
48:41There's none like you when you're
48:43walking with me. [music]
48:46Return.
48:49Return.
48:52He's calling today.
48:54I'm opening this altar for a season of
48:56prayer. If you will come and open your
48:59heart,
49:01get in his [music] presence.
49:04Let him know how much you love him.
49:07Let him know, [singing] oh God, even
49:09though the world is calling [music] me.
49:12I'm not bored with you. I'm not bored
49:16with church.
49:17I'm not bored with going to the altar.
49:20I'm not bored with prayer. I'm not
49:23bored. I'm not over giving
49:26sacrificially.
49:27I'm not past serving you with diligence.
49:32Oh God, [music]
49:33I'm home and I'm answering the door
49:36[singing] right now. I want you in my
49:39heart. I want you in my life. This is a
49:42month of consecration and rededication.
49:45This is a month of assessing ourselves
49:48[music] whether or not we're walking
49:50with God as we ought to. Return, return,
49:54return, return, [music] sayeth the Lord.
49:58>> Let's come back to him right now.
50:00[singing]