The title of tonight’s message is “Welcome Home.” I love movies. Do you love movies? One of my most favorite things to do when I have free time is to watch a movie (영화). My favorite type of movies are those movies that feature comebacks. I’m talking about the characters being counted out as nothing, and throughout the movie, you know in your heart that the character was destined to lose and that despite everything the character did, there was nothing that would make you believe that the character would overcome and win.
One of my most favorite movies about striving and coming back is a movie called “Shawshank Redemption.” In Korean, it is actually titled, “쇼생크 탈출” (Shawshank Escape). It’s a story about two men: Andy and Red, who were both in jail (감옥) for committing murder (살인). The problem is that Andy never committed the murder, he was a banker (회계원), and overall a good man framed (비난) for doing something he didn’t do. His friend, Red, well he was guilty but he was repentant.
Here is what is so interesting about this movie, the main character, Andy is smart, in fact, the only reason he survives jail is because he became a bookkeeper(회계원) for the warden (감옥 감독) and did the taxes (세금을 부과) for the guards. Because he was a good person, he initially started to help even the bad people. In doing so, which he thought would gain him favor (편애), ended up giving him further isolation (외로움) and imprisonment (독방 감금). At the end of the movie, he gets redemption (구원). Andy is no longer in prison for a crime he did not commit. He is free to pursue his passion (열정) and a new life (꿈).
In the story, Red is released from prison and freed to go live a new life (새로운 삶). The only problem was that he wanted to be in prison, because that was his life. He was comfortable (편안) where he was. The prison was his home. The new life was too hard, too different. If he could go back, he would. The movie closes with Andy and Red meeting each other again, to start a new life. It’s an interesting movie describing salvation and a welcome home.
Why am I talking about a movie instead of preaching? (왜 내가 설교 대신 영화에 대해 얘기할까요?) It’s simple. It is because we all look okay, but we’re really not okay (우리는 괜찮아 보이지만, 우리는 괜찮 아니에요). It’s because we live comfortably in our daily lives, but we’re not really free (우리는 편안하게 살고 있지만, 우리는 무료 아니에요).
Doesn’t this remind you of the story of Joseph (요셉)? He was put in jail for something he didn’t do. He was framed and then forced to work and then abused again and again. It was as if God had forgotten about him in jail. Let’s think about it one minute. Joseph was chosen by God and yet he was sold as a slave and sent to jail and suffered without friend or family. Then one day, after everybody had forgotten, Joseph is welcomed home into Egypt (애굽) by the Pharaoh (파라오).
Maybe you think about Moses (모세) and how he ran away from his home because life didn’t work out when he tried to do the right thing. Maybe you think about King David (다윗 왕). He was anointed (기름 부음 왕) King of Israel and then he can’t even become the king. He has to run away and live in the shadows. Maybe, you are like Paul (바울) or Peter (베드로) or John (요한). Persecuted (핍박을 받아도) and left for dead and counted out because a poor decision (나쁜 결정), unworthy qualifications (자격없는), or simply because you chose Jesus.
Stories like this prompt me to ask God, “what did I do to deserve this?” (내가 뭘 한거지?) Why does my life look like the pits? (왜 내 인생그렇게) Why is it that this challenge I am facing seems insurmountable? (왜 그렇게 피곤할까?) I’m sure you ask something like that too.
Are you facing conflict with your friends, coworkers, relatives? 당신의 친구, 동료, 친척과 싸움하고있습니까?
Relationships are stained and you don’t know what to do? You need to be welcomed to some renewed relationships. 관계는 긴장 하고있습니까? 필요한거는 일신입니다.
Maybe your marriage is on the rocks and you feel like giving up. It is time for you to rekindle the love you once felt for one another. 결혼 생활은 안전헤요? 필요한거는 사랑에 다시 빠저여데요.
Perhaps you are overwhelmed at work–you hate your job and you feel stuck in a dead end. There is no way forward but can’t find a job. Maybe it is school and not the job that have you in the pits. You wonder if you’ll ever graduate. 사무실에서는 할일이 너무 많어. 진급시키할수업서. 가개 매상이 안조화.
Maybe the problem (사실은 문제) you are facing is deep disappointment (실망). Your life hasn’t gone the way you thought it would. You want to know which way to go (어디 가니?).
Sometimes situations (상황) like this seen like they are for a short time (짧은 시간). Other times they feel like they are forever (영원히). They drag us along in perpetuity. We want to go to a place where it doesn’t seem that way anymore. 짧은 시간이던, 오래시간이던, 우리가되고 싶지 않아.
Here’s the bad news: (문제는 인생은 감옥이다 ) you will always have problems and feel like you are in the pits. That is the problem of this world. You and me, we weren’t designed for this place. (이 세상 위해 창조하지 않았) That’s why Jesus had to save us from being condemned here in our own sin. (예수님은 우리를 구원 이유입니다)
But the good news is that when we accept Christ, we are finding a deeper solution to our problems. 우리가 그리스도를 받아 들일 때, 우리 문제아내 깊은 뜻를 받을 수있어요.
We are finding Christ in the middle of everything (예수님은 모든 것의 중간에있업니다). It is a peace, a knowledge, a hope, that understands that there is more ahead (예수님은 평화, 희망과 이해이다).
When we are low (우리가 슬픈 때 하나님은 우리에게 기쁨을 준다.) God offers His hand.
When we can’t live, God gives us a will to live (우리가 살고 싶지 않을 때, 하나님은 우리에게 생명을 제공합니다). When we are tired, God gives us rest.
We cannot get comfortable where we are in life. We cannot get comfortable with our circumstances. We cannot just accept our lives to go on without Jesus showing us Himself in His power. Your life counts for the glory of God (우리의 삶을 하나님의 영광입니다). Joseph understood that, David understood that, Peter, John, and Paul understood (이해) that. We are part of God’s greater dream and His greater story. We need to live that way now. Are you living as if that is the reality or do you not believe?
This evening I want to look at a parable (비유를) all of us are familiar with it is the story of the prodigal son. Let’s open our Bibles to Luke 15 (누가복음).
11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property (재물) that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living (허비하더니). 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine (기근) arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. (Luke 15:11-16)
This younger brother he was a horrible (무시한) person. Not only did he not deserve an inheritance(재산), but he was so worthless (못나서면) that he couldn’t even fend for himself when he needed to. This is the type of person he was—selfish (이기적인), reckless (무모한), naïve (소박한), and stupid (바보). Yet, when we think about this guy, we can’t help but to think, wow, this guy will learn his lesson and comeback from this horrible predicament. We know how this story ends(그 끝이 아니이에요). We know that this dummy’s father welcomes him home. It is a great story about being welcomed back to the place you left because you thought you were better.
This is our story of redemption. We are all this younger brother before we meet Jesus. We’ve all done selfish (이기적인), reckless (무모한), naïve (소박한), and stupid (바보) things that would have counted us out. Moreover, we’ve done these things and sat in the mud (진흙) with the pigs with nothing to eat and nobody to give us anything to eat. We worked as hard as we could but still we were hungry. This is the reality of our lives. Then we came to church. Somebody invited (초대) us, we knew about it before hand, and we met God and He welcomed us home (환영합니다). Amen and hallelujah, but that’s not where the story ends. No, that is where it begins.
Yes, when you were baptized, we had a party. When you accepted Jesus as your savior, you were on fire for God (열정). You received in your heart blessings that were a hundredfold greater than what you sowed in your life out there away from this house of God. (축복에 백배를받을) It’s fantastic. Look at where you are. Jesus died on a cross so that you can be here. So that I can be here despite who we are and what we did and how we got here. All we did was come and show up. We did nothing to earn it and we definitely didn’t deserve it at all. I want you to know that God has compassion for us to come home.
But that is not the sermon tonight. No. I think it was great that the younger brother came back home. I think it was wonderful that the father welcomed him home and had a party. I mean, if he didn’t none of us would be here at church. The sermon tonight is about the older brother. Can I talk about the older brother? Let’s go to verse 25.
25 “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ 28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29 but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes (창녀), you killed the fattened calf (살찐 송아지) for him!’ 31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’” (Luke 15:25-32)
This is the real story here. This is where most of us are now. We can’t even remember the younger brother. So I want to forget about him momentarily. We are here where the older brother is. Look at our church, we only have older brothers. 하나님에서 살고 있지만, 하나님의 마음을 몰라요.
We have people who are doing what they believe is the right thing to do (올바른 방법을 알고잍다). We have believers who don’t stray from God, at least not in public. We have people who work hard every single day trying to live by their faith. Amen, that’s perfect, except when we don’t know the heart of God.
The older brother was furious. The reason he was furious was because, let’s look at verse 29 – “All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders…” He thought sin was a breaking a list of rules.
Sin isn’t breaking rules (죄가 율법을 불순종이 안이미니다). Sin is putting yourself in the place of God as Savior, Lord and Judge (죄가 하나님의 자리에 자신을 배치합니다). The older brother thought he earned something or deserves (벌다) something better. But he didn’t deserve anything better, nor did he earn anything. Some of us do things for the sake of doing things and are disingenuous (fake) about it.
The older brother was one of those guys who always went to church and never did anything wrong, but clearly, he was wrong. Clearly, he just like the younger brother, but his plan (계획) was different than the younger brother.
The older brother thought he could get what he wanted by faking a relationship with his father. The older brother looked like a son, but he had no relationship with his father except as the caretaker of his well being. When you read the passage the biggest complaint was that he “served” without complaining and he thought he deserved to be given a prize.
This is how some of us live as Christians. We do Christian things but have no relationship with God. Our prayers are empty. Our gestures of grace and love are acts of begrudging submission. We don’t want God, we want his stuff. We say we want his grace (은혜) and be surrounded by his mercy (자비), but we don’t see the big picture of the father. Look at it in verse 31. He says that we are always with the Father. Let’s get deeper into living our lives like it. But here is the greatest thing, let’s celebrate when the younger brother comes home.
Sin, very simply is the act of avoiding God and relationship with him (하나님과의 관계), for whatever reason. Jesus shows us that a man who has violated virtually nothing on the list of moral misbehavior can be every bit as lost and sinful and spiritually lost as the guy who profligate and immoral.
You may have noticed but prison was being at home for this older brother, just like prison for the younger brother was his lack of everything. Neither brother was really free (자유). Neither brother felt like God was welcoming them home. Here is the thing, both brothers needed the father to welcome them home. The younger brother needed to be welcomed back home from a life of worthless sin. The older brother needed to be welcomed home after a lifetime of fruitlessness. God was the only one able to welcome them. There is no place in life outside of the Father’s house. There is no worth found outside God’s love.
I want you to remember tonight that God is tells us welcome home. He waits every single moment of our existence when we are away from his glory so that He could rush out and caress us in his arms. If we have been at home all these years, serving God then grow closer to him. See what he sees while he waits outside of the house every single night: see a lost brother come home. Moreover, see that you bring your younger brother home. Then come and celebrate his return with the Father.
We need come back to a relationship with God (하나님과의 관계). We may be sitting at home, but now is the time to be welcomed home by God and join the party that God is throwing for your long lost brothers and sisters. We need to looking for our brothers and sisters sitting in the mud of life and telling them to come home to our Father. That a party awaits them. We need to stop living a life of meaningless rules, and get back to a relationship with God that can enjoy praise and singing in worship for where we are in life because this is what it means to be welcomed home.
We need to see the big picture when it comes to our faith. We have to know why we come to church and why we believe in Jesus. God doesn’t ask us to follow Him blindly (맹목적으로) or trust in Him blindly, He wants us to see that He is always with me and that everything God has is ours. This is the foundation of faith. This is where we need to start our faith journey. It is a starting point.
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