Jesus is Seeking You Even If You Fell Away From Him (Luke 15:1-7)

 

Photo Courtesy: Romo Aloysius Budi Purnomo Pr (http://www.sesawi.net)

Sermon: April 28, 2022 

 

Story: I remember as a kid playing with my little Hot Wheels cars. I played with about 10 or 20 cars at a time. And on occasion, one would roll under the couch or get lost. And what did I do? I got upset and I did whatever I could to find that car even though I still had a whole collection of Hot Wheels cars. And if I lost it completely at the beach or at the park, my mom might say, “Son, we can get you another one just like it.” But I would say to her, “But it’s not the same. That car was special to me.”

 

Well, this is very similar in the way that Jesus views us. He cares about us so much and is very concerned if one of us is far away from him or needs restoration with Him.

 

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The Parable of the Lost Sheep

15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. ² But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

³ Then Jesus told them this parable: ⁴ “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? ⁵ And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶ and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

 

There are three principles we can take today that show how Jesus is concerned deeply for believers that have fallen away from him.

 

 

#1. You are God’s prized possession.

 

In Luke 15 verse 3, Jesus begins the parable, and He understands his audience. The house owner, who in that agrarian society would also be a farmer and owner of animals, is asked to compare himself or herself to a shepherd who has lost an animal. 

 

Sheep are always important to a shepherd, but when one is lost, its value is intensified. Money is always important to a person on a fixed income, but when a significant portion is lost, it is sorely missed.

 

Jesus says that in the parable, the farmer leaves the 99 sheep and put all of his attention into finding that one lost sheep. He didn’t say, “Oh it’s just one sheep. I still have enough. I have 99 left.” If you had 10 children and one of them was lost, wouldn’t you seek after that one child until he/she is found. Absolutely! That’s how God feels about us.

 

Story: I remember being lost at a swap meet one time when I was a child. I was panicking, crying, and had no idea where my mom was. I felt so helpless and was scared. But just imagine how my mom felt! The people at the swap meet called out on a loudspeaker and the whole place could hear the message. They said there was a lost child looking for his mom. I remember my mom coming over quickly, squeezing me so tight, and being so thankful to the people that worked there. She valued me so much. Just imagine how much Jesus values you!

 

What’s another way to know that Jesus is concerned for you if you fall away from him? #2 If just one of the people that he himself created strays away from him, he will seek that person until you decide to follow Him again.

 

 We don’t seek Jesus. He seeks us. In Luke 19:1-10, we see a chief tax collector by the name of Zacchaeus, who knew Jesus was passing through Jericho. But he was so short that he climbed a sycamore fig tree to get a better look at him. Jesus comes near the tree, tells Zacchaeus to come down and tells him that he must stay at his house. People began to mutter to themselves, “Why is he going to a sinner’s house?” Tax collectors were also lowly in society, yet Jesus didn’t care about his status.

 

 Zacchaeus welcomes him gladly to his home, tells Jesus he gave away half of his possessions, and if he cheated anyone, he would pay him pack 4 times the amount. The man is saved immediately, and Jesus confirms why in verse 10: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Remember! Zacchaeus didn’t invite Jesus to his home first. Jesus sought out Zacchaeus first and told him that he had to go to his home. He saw that Zacchaeus was curious about him and realized his heart could be changed. 

 

Also, Jesus confirms how he seeks us shortly before his death. Jesus told his closest followers in John 15:16, during what is now down as the Last Supper, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide in me.

 

And this is a reminder for Christians. If you know someone that doesn’t know Jesus or has fallen away from God, you need to pray for them and do your best to seek them out. 

 

Story: When I was in elementary school, my grandma vowed that she would never become a Christian because her boss was a Christian and didn’t care about her employees very well. However, when I had my high school graduation, a pastor preached at my graduation and I remember my grandma saying, “He almost made me want to go to church.” A light bulb went off in my mind and I saw hope that I could get my grandma to attend one church service. I prayed about it and prayed about it and when I was in college, my grandma finally agreed to attend a service with me. But even more impressive was that she started attending a Bible study with my grandpa and she got saved! Just as Jesus never gives up on people, we also need to have hope and pray for those closest to us to know Jesus more.

 

What is another way to know that Jesus is concerned if you fall away from him? #3, When you do find him, Jesus has overflowing joy that he cannot contain by himself.

 

Looking at verse 7 it says, “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner that repents than over 99 righteous persons who do not need to repent.” Verse 10 repeats this when it says, “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

 

Notice that in these verses we see that the farmer joyfully puts that sheep on his shoulders and goes home. But he is struck with so much joy that he has to release it somehow, so what does he do? He calls his friends and neighbors and tells them to rejoice with him since he found his lost sheep. Can you imagine how I felt when my grandma was saved? It was the best feeling in the world for me and I couldn’t wait to tell my friends and my mom. It’s still one of the best memories of my life.

 

Do you know someone that hasn’t been to church in a while or do you know someone that might be frustrated with their walk with Christ? Maybe that person is you and you just don’t want to be in church right now. Jesus is wanting you to come back to him. He wants that intimacy and relationship with you again and he wants you to be honest with your feelings. He will comfort you and restore you.

 

Satan doesn’t want you to restore that relationship with Jesus. He tried hard to get Job to disown God. He will deceive you to turn you against Jesus like he did to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. But the Lord wants you to heal that relationship with Him and restore you like e did with Job.

 

If you are a Christian but haven’t had a relationship with the Lord in a long time, remember that Jesus loves you. Life can be difficult, but you need to cling to him because you can’t accomplish anything in this life without him. Maybe someone close to you has had failing health, maybe you’re having a hard time paying the bills, or you’re just overwhelmed with family issues. Don’t give up on the Lord. He knows how hard life is because he experienced ridicule, torture, and even death just for our sake. And he is waiting to put his arms around you and be full of joy when you come back to him. 

 

Later on in Luke 15, we see that the Prodigal Son abandoned his father to enjoy a life of indulgence and partying and wasted all his money on himself and got hungry. What did the son do? He went back to his father because he had nowhere to go. However, he planned to repent of what he did. In verses 18 and 19 it says, “I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” You can see the humility and guilt there. 

 

Did the father criticize or rebuke him? No. When he saw his son from a distance, he ran up to him and embraced him, kissed him, put the best robe on him, a ring on him, and put shoes on his feet. But not only that, the father got a fattened calf and celebrated his homecoming! That’s how Jesus will feel when you turn back to him. His arms are open wide for you!

 

I have a verse for you: Acts 3:19-21: ^“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, ²⁰ and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus.²¹ Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.”

 

The Lord wants to refresh and restore you and wipe your sins clean again.

 

If you aren’t a Christian, it is still your decision to follow Jesus or not. He will never force you to do anything you don’t want to do. You need to realize that Jesus loves you no matter what kind of person you are, what kind of sins you have committed, and what kinds of regrets you might have in your past. It can all be made clean today by committing your life to the one who is seeking you with all of his heart. If you make that commitment today, not only will Jesus be full of joy, but ALL of Heaven will be rejoicing, the angels will be singing, and you will be with Jesus in eternity. 

Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)

Instagram: l.a.seoulguy

 

 

"All in This Together" by Pastor Timothy Nam (January 19, 2020)

Psalm 133

God has called us to serve not for only ourselves, but for others, so we can love others. The world tells us to look out for what is best for our own interests. Yet various cultures tell us that sharing things with others and building a community is important. TV shows like Mash, Cheers, Seinfeld, and Friends are shows about people around them. All of the things around myself are meaningless unless I can share them with others.

Fellowship has its roots in Jesus and his disciples living daily and supporting each other. Real fellowship is sacrificial giving, loving, and being authentic. It's not just having a snack and enjoying small talk. Authenticity is being honest about the good and bad things. And you're supposed to ask for help when you need it.

We are awkward because we don't want people to see our pain. The masks actually hide who we truly are. We need to take risks to develop our maturity. It takes risks and it comes with honesty and being genuine. The New Testament repeats "one another" or "each other" over 50 times. We have a responsibility to love the people we are called to love. We are to give sympathy (not give advice) to others by affirming them, loving them, being patient, and doing it at times we don't want to. Yet we are self-centered, prideful, and we have egos.

Matthew 11:28-30 has Jesus giving us an invitation to come to Him because He knows we can be overwhelmed. We are encouraged to lean on and support each other in the most difficult of circumstances. In the place of grace, there is also mercy. There is no fellowship without mercy, forgiveness, or grace. We are called to do this every day with the love of Christ.

We also don't understand what people are going through. Only God and Christ completely understand, so we need to pray for mercy and grace.

Colossians 3:12-17- Jesus gave up his throne so that we could all have fellowship with one another. Let's try to remember that.

Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)

Instagram: l.a.seoulguy

What's Your Identity? (A Viewpoint from a Christian)

Human nature is very interesting. We always try to label each other or put labels on ourselves. We label each other based on gender, ethnicity, sexual preference, nationality, hometown, etc.

In Western culture, when people want to get to know you, after asking you your name, people immediately ask "Where are you from?" and "What do you do?" To answer this personally, "My name is Scott. I'm from Los Angeles and I teach English in South Korea." Based on what I just told you, people may make very assumptions about me and put me in one of their categories.

In South Korea, age, job, and family background come into play. If you went to Seoul National University, you must be very smart. If you didn't, you were one of those that didn't try hard enough. If you live with your family and have brothers and sisters, you're normal. If you don't get along with your family, then your company or the blind date that you're on might think there's something wrong with you.

When I talk to fellow expatriates who live abroad, nationality, and location is huge in how we label ourselves. Sometimes if I hear that if we're getting a British teacher, I have this hope in my mind: "I hope the teacher has the sense of humor of Mr. Bean and not too serious like Hugh Laurie." Of if I hear that we're getting an American teacher, I might think to myself, "I hope she's not from New York City. That person might be too over-the-top and obnoxious for me to handle. Lord, let that person be from the west coast because we'll be able to get along better."

My wife is from Yanji, China. She's very specific in the way that she labels herself. She's ethnically Korean, but was born and raised in Northeast China, not too far from North Korea. She is not Chinese. She's not Korean. She's Korean-Chinese. She even distinguishes between how Chinese people, Korean people, and Korean-Chinese people make dumplings. And to her credit, all three of them are very different from each other.

Christians label themselves based on denominations, which is unfortunate. My coworker asked me which church I went to. I said it was non-denominational. She looked at me funny and wondered why there wasn't a denomination attached to it. She was probably thinking "Are you Baptist, Evangelical, Methodist, Lutheran, or do you just use the umbrella term Protestant?"

A friend from church is an adopted Korean. He was born in Korea but his mother gave him up as a baby. He has American parents but came to Korea to find his roots. Although he never found his birth mother, he's still thankful that he has loving parents.

On the other hand, people struggle with their sexual identity. We have so many letters associated with someone's sexual identity that we're up to 10 letters now: LGBTTQQIAAP (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, ally, pansexual). In case you don't know what some of these mean, asexual means no sexual feelings whatsoever. Any ally is someone that is heterosexual but supports the LGBT social movements. People that are pansexual say that gender and sex don't determine their sexual attraction towards someone.

To take it even further, some people claim themselves as non-binary or gender queer. They don't think of themselves as either male or female. People want to claim science when they discuss abortion or climate change but ignore it when talking about sex.

Finally to take it even one step further, you can be a woman that identifies as a cat (See video here) or a man that identifies as a filipino woman (See video here).

The world says "as long as you aren't hurting anyone, be what you want to be." And yes, maybe no one else is hurt on this Earth is hurt by what you want to be. But people that are non-Christians forget that they are hurting someone most important: God, the author of creation. The Lord has numbered every hair on our head (Luke 12:7) and he knew us before we were even born (Jeremiah 1:5). If we receive Jesus, we are immediately children of God (John 1:12). We were created male and female in his own image (Genesis 1:27). There is no accident and God does not want us to change who we were made to be.

And to Christians, it doesn't matter where you come from, how much money you make, what kind of family you have, and how important you are to society. The only thing that matters is Jesus. Don't get sucked into the world's standards of where you think you should be (Colossians 3:1-3). Nothing matters but the blood of Jesus. Without Jesus, we would be doomed anyway. Let's remember our identity in Christ and tell others how special He is. Everyone is worthy to receive grace (a free gift) and no one needs to work for it.

Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)

Instagram: l.a.seoulguy

Never Judge a Person By One's Appearance

One of my weaknesses is that I have as a Christian is that I am very good at judging a person's character when I meet them. However, that has led me to be judgmental and even make assumptions about people even before meeting them. One example happened last Thursday.

In the morning I had an 8:00am class with a high level student. The class content was mainly about the environment. Two days prior to that day, I taught two women the same content and they didn't have much to say about the topic and the class seemed to drag. Due to that class, I sensed dread that I had to teach Unit 49 to one student, since I didn't have much to say about the topic myself.

My student, an older gentleman in his late 40s to early 50s walks in. He spoke Korean to the personal tutor at the front desk, which annoyed me. I had this assumption that because he was older, he would be a bit arrogant and that was one reason why he didn't speak English. I thought "Maybe, he's just refusing to speak English because he doesn't like being told what to do." I commented to him that he should speak English especially since he's a high level student. The personal tutor laughed, but he just proceeded to walk to the board which told him where his class number was for that morning.

Now I'm dreading the class more thinking that the class would be super boring and that the hour would feel like an eternity. I even prayed before the class and asked God to give me strength to get through the class. Then as I walked in, I was greeted with a pleasant "Good morning" and a smile. Although he saw me before, he wasn't sure if I was going to be his teacher. I asked him how his weekend was and he gave me a very detailed answer.

Then we began the class. As soon as I started the warm-up, I started to realize that my assumption was totally off. I asked him to brainstorm 10 words about the environment. Not only did he do that, but he also numbered them from 1 to 10. He followed my request to a "T".

Then we began to talk about the environmental problems of South Korea and was very well educated on the issue. He recalls that South Korea used to use the term "yellow dust" because they thought it came from the Yellow Sea on its way from China. Then he saw a news report that said that only 25% of the air pollution was caused by China. He then mentioned that the Korean government needed to do its part to solve the issue. That's why the term changed to "fine dust" instead of "yellow dust". He was also knowledgable about other environmental issues: recycling, water pollution, etc. I was stunned that this man was not only friendly, but very intelligent. The class was the best one for me despite the topic being a bit challenging. I felt guilty for making a wrong assumption about this man before I even walked into class. This was a learning experience and I wanted to share this so other people don't make this same mistake. When it comes to people, we should never judge a book by it's cover since we may be totally off with our judgments.

Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)
Instagram: l.a.seoulguy

"Free in Christ" by Pastor Andrew Gu (July 30, 2017)

Luke 4:1-21

What do you think of when you hear the word 'freedom'? People are willing to die for freedom and some argue that freedom is one of the greatest virtues. In the movie "Braveheart", the princess tries to persuade William Wallace to pledge allegiance to the King of England. His response "Every man dies. Not every man lives." He would not give up the freedom for his people and even lost his life for them.

Galatians 5:1 tells us that if you're in Christ, you're free in everything that you do. Our identity is not sin. We are all sinners, but if you seek the Lord, we can be a child of Christ even though we are still sinners. "Who you are determines what you do." Yet many times we have this backwards. If you put your identity in things besides Jesus, life will be hard. The more we walk in freedom, the more we can live for Christ.

In today's passage, we see that the devil is trying to disrupt God's ultimate plan of redemption. But we  see that Jesus knew these three facts. 1. God is the provider. 2. God is better. 3. God is always with us.

Let's start with the first one. Jesus had just been baptized and he also hadn't eaten in 40 days. We can't think straight when we don't eat food for just even one day. Satan tempted Jesus by saying that the Father wasn't providing for him and that he needed to take it upon himself to satisfy him. Jesus replied with "Man does not live by bread alone." But it was more than just that. Satan tried to convince Jesus that God didn't care. Satan wanted to get Jesus to live independently from the Father.
In Philippians 4:19, it says that God provides all of our needs and we can trust that God is our provider.

Secondly, Satan tempted Jesus by saying that he could have whatever he wanted in the world since he was in control of the world at that moment. In our lives, there's a cost for everything that we do. Many people live paycheck to paycheck and they want the easy way out to get rich and even sell their souls to the devil (figuratively and literally). Jesus didn't sell his soul to the devil (literally) because if he had given into this temptation, although Jesus would avoid dying on the cross, he would have had to worship Satan. In the Bible, it says that no one can serve two masters. He could either serve his Father or serve Satan but his Father already offered him the world as well as eternity. What the devil offered was temporary and counterfeit. He could offer the world but it was eventually going to be destroyed, so it would have been a bad investment anyway. It was just a distortion. We ourselves go on searching for things to satisfy us but what God offers is better.

Finally, God is always with us. In Exodus 17, the Israellites cried out "Massa??" meaning "Are you really with me?" They had legitimate needs because they were hungry yet they started to doubt God and their hearts wandered. Jesus didn't need to jump because he knew God was already with him. When we are filled with God's presence, we are more confident God is with us. In Romans 8:38-39, it says that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Jesus knew his identity. Jesus intimately knew his Father and knew that He loved him unconditionally. God redeemed us and we are free through him.

Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)
Instagram: l.a.seoulguy

Pastor Douglas Park's Last Sermon at NHM (May 28, 2017)

There are four things NHM taught Pastor Doug in his 7.5 years at NHM.

1. Powerful servant leaders- When I came to NHM, it was the first time he saw other church members folding bulletins, setting up chairs, etc. I saw the Holy Spirit moving people's hearts. All of NHM's ministries were begun by the members (homeless outreach, orphanage ministry, Meet and Greet, etc.). There used to be so many prostitute cards all around Gangnam Station. One blonde hair/blued eyed woman went to the police station and dropped the cards onto their desk and said "This is wrong!" The police felt some shame behind it and cracked down. You rarely see those cards now.

2. The preciousness of people- I originally wanted to be a megachurch pastor, not a church of a megachurch. G.K. Chesterton said, "Meaningless does not come from being weary of pain. Meaninglessness comes from being weary of pleasure." What's the point of having numbers at church without having disciples? These are God's precious treasures. I need to take care of them. When Jesus left this Earth, he only left one thing: his disciples. Love the people, invest in them, and disciple them. David Gibbons said that many pastors use people to accomplish their own dreams when they should use God to accomplish the potential in people.

3. The goal is to raise up leaders and not just members.- The more leaders NHM has, the stronger NHM will be. We are all leaders. We should all be a good influence on others.

4. I've been impacted by the transformation of this church.- Different nations, cultures, and different backgrounds yet we are all one community. The pattern of this world is to follow money or your job. Yet one member extended his contract an extra year because he realized NHM was his home. NHM has also helped to restore marriages, comforted me, accepted my weaknesses, and supported my family. Whatever you sow, you will reap. Thank you for 7.5 years at NHM.

Sermon Title: "When Storms are Only Showers"

What's the biggest problem you're facing or have faced? How did you handle it or are handing it? What's the biggest problem Jesus faced? Betrayed by 30 pieces of silver? All 11 of his disciples abandoning him? Beaten, spit on, and mocked? When the Father looks away because he couldn't look at the sin Jesus was taking upon Himself? Jesus faced real problems and struggles but never gave the impression that the problems were out of his control. There wasn't any problem that was too big for Him. We need to realize that all of our problems are small and they are in the hands of a big Father.

Matthew 7:24-27- If you listen to Jesus and follow his commands, it is like building our house on solid rock.  Different problems will come at us, but we need to build our house on the rock.

John 16:33- Let your focus not be on the wind, rain, etc. Let your focus always be in Christ. He has already overcome the world. Jesus took upon the sins of the world and the death on the cross.

We need to set our foundations on Christ. We shouldn't just believe it, but we need to live it out. If we don't, we will be tossed to and fro by this world. God gives us a standard not to be a killjoy but because he knows what we need as our Creator.

Hebrews 9:27- Jesus always prayed and was intimate with his Father and he obeyed. "Father forgive them for they do not know what they're doing." God can use our problems to glorify his name.


Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)
Instagram: l.a.seoulguy

"Choose the Good Portion" by Pastor Eddie Chun (May 21, 2017)

Luke 10:38-42

What was on your mind while you were on your way to church? What should have been on your mind? Hopefully God or preparing for worship. We should be thinking "What does God want to say to me today?" We're really distracted people. We are so easily swayed by lesser things.

In the Bible, Martha has the same problem that we all have. Martha was distracted or in the Greek "pulled away from what she should have been focused on." Martha was probably distracted because she invited 13 men (disciples) to provide a meal for. She was busy but she was also excited to have Jesus and probably wanted to provide the best meal for him. Martha's busyness wasn't the problem. Her distraction was the problem.

Jesus was very busy in his ministry but he wasn't distracted. See John 6:38. Jesus was focused on doing his Father's will.

How many of you consider yourselves "busy?" Many of you. But the question is "Are you busy for the Lord's will or your own will?"

Martha starts off with good intentions. She saw Mary sitting and listening to Jesus while Jesus kept teaching Mary. She says to Jesus, "Lord do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?" She went from wanting to please Jesus to complaining to him and commanding him. Her busyness turned into a distraction. What was God's will for her? Possibly to worry about the food later. Jesus never told her to prepare the food quickly. She put that on herself.

What are some things that distract us from being with Jesus (Facebook, Instagram, sports, TV, etc.)? We are distracted by many things but Mary chose the good portion. Only one thing is important. Life is found in Jesus. When was the last time you sat down at Jesus's feet? When was the last time you spent uninterrupted time (shut your phone off) with him? Take the time to spend time with him or you will get further and further away from Jesus. You might get slammed with work, have grades to enter, have a sermon to prepare for, etc. When did you just STOP and spend time with Christ?

Don't put your identity in your performance. Your identity is in God's performance in you. It's not about a checklist. It's a lifestyle. Even though we know it mentally and logically, we still choose things to distract us. What could inspire us to spend more time with Jesus? Think about how much Jesus wants to spend time with us. He chose the worst portion. See Romans 5:6. Jesus chose willingly to lay down his perfect life to forgive our sins so we can be with him. If that doesn't motivate you, then I don't know what will. Everyday, preach the Gospel to yourself. Set reminders for yourself to remember how much God loves you.




Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)
Instagram: l.a.seoulguy