Luke 15:20 And he arose, and came to his Father. But when he was yet a great way off, his Father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

The bible says the prodigal son was a far way off. He was a long way. While he was a long way off the mind activity he had was, I will arise and go to my Father. The prodigal son had lost his mind. In verse 17 it says when he came to himself;

Luke 15:17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my Father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

At this point the prodigal son in his madness of leaving the Father, after in his desperate situation he comes to himself. Sanity returns. He arose and came to his Father and when he was a great way of his Father saw him, had compassion and ran to him.

The Demoniac among the Tombs

Here is another man who has gone insane because of demons;

Mark 5:6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,

5:7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, [thou] Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.

5:8 For he said unto him, Come out of the man, [thou] unclean Spirit.

5:9 And he asked him, What [is] thy name? And he answered, saying, My name [is] Legion: for we are many.

5:14 And they that fed the swine fled, and told [it] in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done.

5:15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.

Here is a man in his right mind and they are afraid. This right mind came because he came to Jesus. We see that the Father is running to the prodigal son who is out of his mind. Yet the person who is out of his mind sees Jesus and run’s to Jesus. This is a picture of two people running towards each other.

The God that Steps off His Throne

What other god amongst all the gods of this world will run to someone who is out of their mind? What other god gets off their throne or palace and comes to an insane place? When we think of gods we think that the gods are always served and waited upon and they just sit there and everyone does everything. That is how you picture gods in this world but our God that we worship comes off his throne sees his son and he runs. What sort of a god is that? The type of God we worship that doesn’t just desire homage but relationship and he will make every effort for that relationship.

Two People Running

We see two people running. One with an insane mind and one who wants to heal.

Ephesians 2:11 Wherefore remember, that ye [being] in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;

2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

Aliens

This word aliens, think about it. An alien is something totally different. Bodily and mentally, it’s different. Without Christ we are aliens. Aliens from the commonwealth of Israel.

Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

If two people are running to each other at the same speed both would meet in the middle but I’d like to show you how fast God can run and how fast ran. He starts running while we were yet sinners. While we didn’t even seek him. Jesus came from the other side of the lake, crossed the storm and the man didn’t see Jesus until he was on the shore near him. When you see Jesus Christ, be assured he has already been running along time before you see him.

The Middle Wall of Partition

Ephesians 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition [between us];

God is not just running a distance but he is breaking down everything in between as there is a wall. He is running and there is a wall in the way. That wall is preventing him from coming into meet man and he will break that down. How does he do it?

Ephesians 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, [even] the law of commandments [contained] in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, [so] making peace;

2:17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.

Jesus Christ has come from heaven. He has not just come from heaven in the way of distance but he has broken the wall that separates humanity from heaven. The atmosphere is not just the wall it’s the enmity in the flesh. That is the wall. It says your sins have separated you from God. Sin made the gulf. It wasn’t that the earth was a certain way from heaven that God couldn’t get to it. The middle wall of partition was sin. This preacher comes a long way and the thing that prevents the message from getting through he breaks down. If all preachers were like this the world would be a different place. We have this great distance but this distance has been reduced even before we were born.

Are You Feeling After God?

Acts 17:27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

It is calling upon us to seek after God if we would find him, if we would feel after him as he is not very far from him. The demoniac just had to feel after God as he was right there. He didn’t have to go a very far distance as God had travelled. He crossed the sea, the gulf that separated the insane person from heaven. When you study the life of Christ you will find that Christ always puts himself in the proximity of those that need him. How far do you have to run?

Matthew 9:20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind [him], and touched the hem of his garment:

9:21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.

How far did the woman have to go? Jesus was walking by. He knew her. She already had crossed many oceans and deserts so to speak to see the doctors and get healed. From one end of the earth to the other and Jesus just walks right by. All she had to do was reach out and touch the hem of his garment and she knew she would be better. He is not far from every one of us.  What a God we serve that puts himself before we know our need, he knows. He has travelled all that way to get to us to put himself right near you. How far do you have to go? You have to touch him. You have to feel after him. That is how far you have to run. Not very far at all. When the bible talks about running for the prize, running to achieve heaven, that running is not to be looked at in mere distance but in effort because to reach out and touch takes that type of effort. If you want God you need to seek him with all your heart but he is not very far. You have to run and run in your mind but he is not far away. The goal is not far but it needs a major effort to achieve it. If Jesus is so close why does the bible talk about being temperate and striving and fighting the good fight of faith and all these similitudes? Why does the bible say it is so much effort yet Jesus is so close you just have to reach out and touch his garment?

Sin in the Flesh!

Ephesians 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, [even] the law of commandments [contained] in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, [so] making peace;

Abolishing in his flesh the enmity. What is that? Enmity is opposite, its enemy. It’s extreme repelling. The two opposite poles repel each other. This middle wall of partition. If I was to say that my friend and I are half a metre apart from each other yet there is a wall between each other, are we close? In distance we are close but in ability to touch each other we are a long way away. Jesus Christ has destroyed this wall by abolishing in his flesh the enmity.

Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

There is something in Jesus Christ that can free us. In order to break down the middle wall, he had to have a wall between him and God. Because the wall must be broken from the inside out. If you want to spoil the house you must first go in and bind the strong man. It has to be an inside job. If God came from without and broke down the wall to get to the person, consider that a violent way. The wall separates us from God is to be broken from the inside out. For Jesus to break this wall down, he had to come from the inside. He had to come as a man in sinful flesh. He condemned sin in his flesh because we couldn’t do it because we were all flesh. Flesh couldn’t pull this wall down. The divinity in Christ in sinful flesh had to condemn sin.  We have no power within ourselves to break this wall down. Jesus Christ was born with the divine mind inside the house, inside the flesh where this wall was so he could break it down;

Romans 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

8:5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

8:6 For to be carnally minded [is] death; but to be Spiritually minded [is] life and peace.

8:7 Because the carnal mind [is] enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

The carnal nature is enmity with God. What wall did he break down in Ephesians? The enmity in the flesh, abolishing the carnal nature. If Jesus Christ comes down from his own accord into the carnal flesh and with his divine mind breaks down the wall and condemns sin in the flesh in his experience then this effort, this running, this breaking down of the wall then needs to be done by us when we have been empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

8:10 And if Christ [be] in you, the body [is] dead because of sin; but the Spirit [is] life because of righteousness.

8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

We have a wall as we are born with this human flesh. This carnal mind is insanity like the demoniac and prodigal son they had lost their minds. This is opposing to God. This separates us from God. Jesus has broken down the wall through his experience which is ours. He took upon him the carnal nature and destroyed it. Now he is offering to give his Spirit.

The Holy Spirit Can Go Through a Wall

The Holy Spirit can dwell in your mind but the wall is still there because it has to be broken from the inside out. God is very close this to you but you are still afar off.  By the Holy Spirit he takes of Jesus and shows it to us. He shows what Jesus destroyed. The Holy Spirit comes in with the power to break this wall down. Now it’s up to us what we are going to do. God has come down from heaven and he has broken down the wall between humanity and God so he can get access. There is an individual wall between everyone and God.  The Holy Spirit can go through to your mind if you let him. When that Spirit is in you, you have to make a decision. Will I reach out and touch the garment of the physician or like the demoniac will I run to the Saviour who has already come onto my land? If the Spirit dwells in you then it gives us the ability to destroy the wall. We have to make a choice.

Romans 8:15 For ye have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our Spirit, that we are the children of God:

8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our Spirit, that we are the children of God:

8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified together.

 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

The Holy Spirit is come to lead us to destroy this wall through Christ and what he did in his body. If we live after the flesh we will die but if through the Spirit we mortify the deeds of the body, we will live.

Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

The Holy Spirit wants us to condemn the sin in the flesh. The things that separate us from God, the sour habits and our attitude. Christ received those sins in himself and he destroyed them in him. Christ has all the program of how to do it and the Holy Spirit takes that program and comes to you and now you have to use what Christ used to destroy those things in you. When we have these annoyances, when we have grievances, when we have irritations, these things that send us insane, do you have things that make you insane? The things don’t make sense and I think Lord I have to mortify these things that are really annoying. I have a choice. Let them annoy or I can be led by the Spirit of God to destroy them. This is what we have to do with running. If we don’t destroy them we are not going to Christ. He has already come so close to us. But yet we are not touching. I have to touch him. We can see God’s movements, we can see and feel God but unless you feel after him, he won’t save you. If you will do the deeds of the flesh you are dead.

Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

The Holy Spirit is giving us the power to destroy these annoyances, not the circumstances, but destroying them in side of you. The servant sees but sees not. It’s not getting into him. Jesus says the devil has nothing in me. It was all around him and the flesh was there but it didn’t get to him. Are things getting to you? The only thing that needs to get to you is God. The things that get to us should be killed in our minds. If you kill it in your mind and say; ‘I won’t consider this any more, this is wasting my time, this is not what God desires.’ Someone that is led by the Spirit of God starts walking the way the Spirit leads. When this is stopped in the mind, guess what happens? You are in your right mind. The demoniac was sitting clothed and in his right mind. Every day we can be having annoyances in the family, work or what have you. We must say these annoyances that get to me, I’m going to cut it off. The wall has been dropped inside of you. It was what Jesus did in demolishing the human wall in a general sense. There is an individual decision if you want that wall to be pulled down or not.

Jesus Died for the Sins of the Whole World but…

Jesus died for the sins of the world but the whole world don’t give him their sins. Jesus broke down the wall but not everyone’s wall has been broken down because of their choice.

You have the world aspect and then the individual aspect. Are you going to God? He has done everything to come as close to you as he can and now asks you to reach out to him. If you don’t want him, he will go away. The demoniac is in his right mind and the people are scared. If you destroy the middle wall of partition in your mind people will be afraid of you as you will become weird to them.

Stop Talking About the Pigs!

These two people that fled, I’m sure they spoke more about what happened to the pigs rather than the demoniac. The pigs this and that. Its people talk about sometimes, the pigs.

Mark 5:13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean Spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.

5:14 And they that fed the swine fled, and told [it] in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done.

They had an opportunity for missionary work but they were talking about the pigs. Seeing something has happened and you run around telling everyone about the pigs. Seeing what Jesus has done but you don’t talk about it but the pigs.

Mark 5:15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.

5:16 And they that saw [it] told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and [also] concerning the swine.

5:17 And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.

They didn’t want the middle wall broken down. They didn’t want their right mind. They wanted Jesus to go away. We make this choice every day of our lives. When these things getting to us, whether we just let it happen, or really telling Jesus to go away.

The Sleeping Woman

Jesus came to the woman who was sleeping in Song of Solomon and she saw his hand at the door but wouldn’t get up and open and Jesus went away.

Song of Solomon 5:2 I sleep, but my heart waketh: [it is] the voice of my beloved that knocketh, [saying], Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, [and] my locks with the drops of the night.

5:6 I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself…

Imagine if you went to a house and knocked at the door and you heard footsteps and then nothing and you knocked again and the blinds shut. You knock again and yell out – It’s me@! You can hear more noises inside but no one answers. You knock more and they don’t come out to see you. You try their phone and it rings and answers and then they hang up. They haven’t told you to go away but you get the feeling they want you to go away. You start walking down the street and you look back and you see them looking out the window. To not entertain Jesus is to tell him to go away. Jesus can see everything you’re doing but you just don’t want him anymore. Our God has made this marathon run so short that yet we still don’t want to run it. He has made every provision possible for our salvation. All we have to do is to allow the Spirit to lead us and we don’t do it. We don’t mortify the deeds of our flesh we don’t pull down the wall and let him touch us. We tell him to go away.

Jesus Will Go Silently

Mark 5:17 And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.

5:18 And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him.

When they asked him to leave, the next he was in the ship. There is no record of Jesus saying anything to them. All you read is that he went into the ship. Jesus will go silently. He has come across that ocean. Jesus wanted to save the whole town but when they told him to go away, he was silent. He went back to the other side where he came from. If you don’t want Jesus, he will go back to where he came from. This is a an encouragement for us to not let Jesus go back, he has come so far, he has gone through so much effort. We were afar off and he has made us nigh. All we have to do is feel after him. Allow the holy Spirit to activate in our lives to destroy those things that annoy us.  In all sorts of examples in life. Whether business, relation with other people these things alway s come up. The gospel always talks about the same thing. Get rid of it. Destroy it through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit knows how. Take from Jesus as he did it. He destroyed sin in his flesh that you and I might destroy sin in our flesh. Let us walk with Jesus.

Amen.