The gift of pursuit

Hey everyone, this is Josh from Encounter Church

Henley and thanks so much for tuning into our

podcast. Our prayer is that through this podcast

you can have an encounter with Jesus that'll

change your life. And now get ready for an inspiring

message from our preaching team. Or maybe it's

simply Woolworths have rearranged their shelves.

Fortunately, we now have Google Maps that can

help us when we're lost. But what if we're in

a situation where Google Maps may not be the

solution? A few years ago, I was at the public

library with my parents, and I was looking in

a separate section, and they hadn't told me that

they were both going to the toilet. I started

looking for them, and I must have had a worried

look on my face because I had at least two staff

members come up to me and ask if I was okay.

Shortly after, my parents came back from the

toilets and all was good. In that moment, even

though I was an adult and had a phone on me,

I felt lost. In that same situation, although

I felt lost, I was also on a mission to find

my parents. They had no idea I'd been looking

for them and had staff members approaching me

in their absence. While feeling like a lost sheep,

I was also seeing them out, like a shepherd looking

for his lost sheep. My parents had no idea that

their short trips to the toilet would involve

their daughter pursuing them. When I told them

I'd been searching for them and apparently looked

worried, I think in that moment they felt valued

and wanted because someone was in pursuit of

them. As human beings, we feel valued when someone

is in pursuit of us if we are being perceived

in a positive way. For example, you might be

a headhunter for a job or you might have started

coming to church because someone invited you.

You might be surprised to hear what the statistics

are for missing people in Australia. In 2024,

it was reported by the Australian Federal Police

that it's estimated 50 ,000 people go missing

in Australia every year, or in other words, 150

people each day. Fortunately, over 99 % of people

are located, but unfortunately, 1 % or 500 people

are not located. Approximately two thirds of

missing persons reported at under the age of

18. Surprisingly, one third of missing persons

go missing more than once. Jesus was constantly

in pursuit of those who were lost. He would associate

himself with the sick, the poor, the tax collectors,

and sinners, and also cry to supporters if they

existed in that time period. The religious leaders

of the day frankly disagreed with what Jesus

was doing, what he was saying and who he associated

himself with. Despite this adversity, Jesus still

valued and prioritized pursuing these people.

Just like the one third of missing persons who

go missing all at once, Jesus will pursue us

each time we stray away from him and become lost

again. When Jesus gives the parable the lost

sheep it becomes more significant when we go

to the previous chapter in Luke chapter 14 verse

Luke 14:1

1. One Saturday Jesus went to eat dinner in the

home of a leader of the Pharisees and the people

were watching him closely. He wasn't reaching

out on the street he was actually in the house

of the Pharisee. Then tax collectors and sinners

turned up to hear what Jesus had to say which

would not have impressed the Pharisees and teachers

of religious law. In the eyes of the Pharisees,

these people who flocked to seek Jesus were seen

as undesirable. Tax collectors were not highly

regarded as they helped Herod or the hated Romans,

sometimes both, in addition to becoming rich

at the expense of others. Even one of Jesus'

disciples, Matthew, had been a tax collector.

So if you know anyone who works at ATO, there's

still hope yet. In verse 2, it says that the

Pharisees and teachers of religious law complained

to Jesus about the tax collectors and notorious

citizens rocking out to hear him. To top it all

off, they were eating in a Pharisee's house.

Religious leaders eating in the undesirableness

was a big no -no because they were not only associated

with him, they had welcomed and recognized him

through this act. The undesirableness didn't

turn up just for the free food. Verse 1 says

they came to listen to Jesus teach. They were

there because they valued what Jesus had to say

about God. They were in pursuit of his knowledge

and what he had to say. He couldn't help them

if he didn't meet them and live among them. He

used this parable and the two parables following

after to address this complaint the Pharisees

had. In the parable of sheep, Jesus paints a

picture of a shepherd leading nine to nine sheep

in the wilderness when one sheep goes missing.

The shepherd demonstrates his love and perseverance

for this one sheep. constantly searching high

and low until he finds it. When he finds the

sheep he brings it back home on his shoulders

rejoicing. He calls together his friends and

neighbours to rejoice with him that his love

sheep has now been brought back home. Imagine

how heavy a sheep would be on your shoulders

in carrying it back home. The love sheep represents

a sinner who has repented and being brought back

into a relationship with God. The sheep or sinner

is carried home with the shepherd or Jesus rejoicing

over the joyful occasion. As someone returning

home to God is worthy of celebration, the shepherd

throws a party and invites his friends and neighbours,

which could be us, to celebrate with him in his

joy. The 99 sheep you didn't go missing represent

people who haven't straight away. God loves and

values all of us equally. However, when there

is a moment where one person who was lost is

now right with God, That person brings God more

joy in that moment because they were once lost

to sin, but they'll now be found in their forgiveness

by God. There is joy for those who are safe in

the arms of God, represented by the 99 sheep,

but even more joy for the one who was lost who

came back to God through repentance, represented

by the lost sheep. How good to know that there

is joy in heaven each time we repent and return

to God. Just as the shepherd went searching for

his love sheep, God actively seeks out sinners

and brings them home. He doesn't just welcome

sinners, he seeks sinners. We have been given

the gift of pursuit by God. He is actively pursuing

us so that we realise that it will not. His pursuit

of us is not just for our initial salvation,

but in living out our salvation and being formed

as disciples of Jesus in God's image. The only

difference between the missing sheep and the

rest of the sheep was that it was lost. The sheep

didn't have to earn God's love or Jesus' respect.

Instead, Jesus loved looking for the sheep and

celebrated finding it. The shepherd in the parallel

didn't just find the sheep. He searched relentlessly

for it and carried it back home. This reflects

God's love from heaven. He loves us and wants

us to have a relationship with him as a beloved

child of God. He loves and values you and me

equally, and he wants to see us every day. If

you do not yet know him, I encourage you to open

up your heart to a God who loves you so much

that he will listen to you until you are no longer

lost, but have been found. Colonel Sanders, the

founder of KFC, a peer -attendant church and

tied regularly. However, he was not yet in a

personal relationship with Jesus. He started

KFC at the age of 66 years old, but it was not

until he was 77 years old that he finally accepted

Jesus, describing it as the greatest experience

he'd had in his 89 years of life. He had realised

that his good works would not get him into heaven,

only accepting Jesus would. Colonel Sander laid

the reason why God allowed his business to prosper,

was to use his wealth for the benefit of others.

as he knew that his wealth would be of no use

to him after he died. God pursued Colonel Sanders

for a long time, seven to seven years in fact,

for him to no longer be a lost sheep and be found

by Jesus. Also, how encouraging to know that

for someone who could easily say creating wealthy

business was their greatest experience, he was

able to say that accepting Jesus was his greatest

experience. Jesus explains that we should rejoice

when someone repents. Jesus has declared through

this parable that heaven has a great party every

time that someone who was lost has come to know

God and followed him. If there is joy in heaven

for the occasion, we should also have joy that

our fellow brother or sister has come back to

relationship with Jesus. At Encounter, we have

a bustling culture where we each have someone

in mind to pray for who doesn't yet know Jesus.

If you don't yet have someone in mind, your Henley

Homework, our favourite segment, is to leave

a plus one and start praying for them. We don't

expect you to carry them to church on your shoulders,

however that would be very impressive. But pray,

intercede for them, start conversations with

them, invite them to church events. How good

would it be if you could one day throw a celebration

party for them for coming to know Jesus? Jesus

associated himself with those that the religious

leaders would not. Through Jesus making our relationship

with God right again following his death and

resurrection, God is in pursuit of all of us,

just like I was in pursuit of my parents at the

library. It doesn't matter if we are clean or

unclean, rich or poor. Thanks so much for tuning

into this week's message. If you've felt challenged

or need prayer, we'd love to hear from you on

Instagram at encounterhenley. Or if you're interested

in how you can support this ministry, please

go to our website encounteradelaide .com .au

Thanks again for listening. God bless you.