Welcome Home // Never Too Far // Pastor Keenen Worrell

Sep 13, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Jesus Crosses Into Unfamiliar Territory For You

Jesus intentionally sailed to Gerasenes, a place outside Jewish borders, to meet one broken man. This wasn’t a detour—it was deliberate. He entered a land of tombs, pagan worship, and spiritual darkness because no border could stop His pursuit. His mission wasn’t limited to the "right" neighborhoods or the "acceptable" people. Wherever you are, whatever your background, Jesus charts a course to find you. He’s unafraid of the mess. [07:32]

Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. (Luke 8:26-27a, ESV)

Reflection: Where in your life have you assumed Jesus wouldn’t go? How does His choice to enter Gerasenes redefine what you believe He’s willing to confront for you?

Day 2: Chains Don’t Define Your Proximity To Grace

The demon-possessed man wore shackles, lived in tombs, and was labeled a lost cause. Yet Jesus didn’t wait for him to “clean up” or “get closer.” He walked straight into the graveyard of his life. Our struggles—addiction, shame, cycles of failure—aren’t barriers to Jesus. Like a father wading into the shallow end to reach a terrified child, He steps into what overwhelms us. [13:46]

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! (Psalm 139:7-8, ESV)

Reflection: What “chain” have you mistaken as a wall between you and Jesus? How might His presence in the tombs shift your view of His nearness?

Day 3: Breakthroughs Unsettle Those Comfortable With Your Bondage

The townspeople preferred pigs over the man’s freedom. His healing disrupted their economy and routines. True liberation often costs relationships, old habits, or others’ approval. Not everyone will cheer when you stop playing the role they assigned you. But what you gain—wholeness, clarity, purpose—outweighs what you leave behind. [16:58]

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:36, ESV)

Reflection: Who or what has resisted your growth toward freedom? What makes walking away from those “pigs” worth the temporary discomfort?

Day 4: Your Story Is A Bridge To Someone’s Deliverance

Jesus told the healed man, “Go home and declare.” Not to a pulpit, but to the people who knew his worst. Testimonies aren’t for church buildings alone—they’re for grocery stores, family reunions, and coffee shops. Your story, even if you think it’s small, is a key to unlock someone else’s prison. [19:57]

“Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled. (Mark 5:19-20, ESV)

Reflection: Who in your everyday world needs to hear your “before and after”? What’s one specific way you can share your story this week?

Day 5: At His Feet Is Where Ashes Become Beauty

The man ended up clothed, sane, and kneeling before Jesus. Freedom began not with a formula, but with surrender. Jesus isn’t waiting for you to fix yourself—He’s waiting for you to come. Your shame, doubts, and weariness aren’t dealbreakers. They’re the reason He’s here. [31:41]

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:28-29, ESV)

Reflection: What heavy “label” (failure, outcast, hopeless) are you carrying? How might laying it at His feet redefine where your story goes next?

Sermon Summary

Jesus goes out of His way for people who seem far gone. Luke 8 opens with Jesus sailing to the country of the Gerasenes, the opposite of Galilee, beyond Israel’s borders, into Gentile territory. That trip is not random. Jesus crosses into unfamiliar, unwanted, and unclean places because people belong to Him before they even know who He is.

The man among the tombs carries everything that says hopeless. Legion has left him naked, homeless, isolated, violent, and living among the dead. The demons ask Jesus, “What have you to do with me?” but the question exposes the shame many people feel when they have been low, deep, and bound for too long. Christ’s reach is deeper than the darkest place. Jonah in the fish, Gideon in the winepress, Daniel in the lion’s den, and the man in the tombs all show that no one is too deep for Christ to reach.

God’s perspective is not limited by human fear. The pool that felt like a vast ocean to a child did not even cover a father’s feet. The enemy tells people that the struggle is too big, the bondage has lasted too long, and the distance is too great, but “who the Son sets free is free indeed.” Jesus brings the man from the tombs to His feet, clothed and in his right mind.

Freedom costs something, and not everybody celebrates it. The Gerasenes see a restored man, but they also see lost pigs, lost profit, and disrupted comfort. Their fear leads them to ask Jesus to leave. Breakthrough can offend people who liked someone better in bondage, but God’s restoration is worth more than what must be left behind.

Jesus then sends the healed man home. The man wants to stay close, but Christ says, “Return to your home and declare how much God has done for you.” A testimony was never meant to stay inside a church building. The man proclaims Jesus throughout ten cities, and years later those same regions run to Jesus with another person who needs healing. God uses one person’s obedience to open doors for an entire city.

Christ still calls people home, not because their past is clean, but because His arms are open. The feet of Jesus remain the place where healing, freedom, and a right mind begin. Christ knows every name, sees every mess, and calls the far-off to come and place their future in His hands.

Key Takeaways

1. Jesus goes wherever He must Jesus does not wait for broken people to find the right place, clean themselves up, or cross every barrier first. His trip into the Gerasenes shows that He intentionally enters places others avoid. Distance, shame, and spiritual darkness do not stop Christ from coming after those who belong to Him. [07:32]
2. No bondage is deeper than Christ Legion’s condition was not one small problem but a life overwhelmed by many things. Yet Jesus still found him among the tombs and spoke freedom over him. The enemy magnifies the depth of the pit, but Christ sees a place where His hand can still reach. [11:19]
3. Freedom may disrupt familiar comfort The Gerasenes feared Jesus because restoration cost them something they could count. Their pigs were gone, their economy was affected, and their normal was interrupted. Real freedom is not neutral, because it exposes what people have learned to value more than a restored life. [16:32]
4. Testimony belongs beyond the building Jesus sends the healed man back to the people who knew his mess and had watched him fall apart. God’s work in one life becomes an invitation for others to encounter Him. A testimony does not need to be dramatic to be powerful, because every rescue declares that Christ still brings people home. [19:57]
5. Christ welcomes the weary home The feet of Jesus are not reserved for people with polished stories and perfect faith. Healing, freedom, and a right mind begin where burdens are brought honestly before Him. Christ does not lead with accusation over the past, but with an open call to come.

## [31:27]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:12] - Never Too Far
[00:37] - The Lengths People Go for Desire
[03:01] - Waiting in the Rain for Barbecue
[05:39] - Jesus Goes Further to Find People
[06:13] - Jesus Sails to the Gerasenes
[08:56] - The Man Living Among the Tombs
[11:19] - Never Too Deep for Christ
[12:19] - God’s Perspective Is Different
[14:53] - Clothed and in His Right Mind
[16:08] - When Breakthrough Costs Something
[18:17] - Return Home and Declare God’s Goodness
[21:18] - One Testimony Reaches Ten Cities
[24:16] - Taking Testimony Into the City
[30:11] - Freedom Begins at Jesus’ Feet
[32:27] - Christ’s Invitation to Come Home

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Luke 8:26-39
Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.) Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned. When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.
[06:13] [08:45] [09:00] [09:33] [15:21] [18:08] [18:17]

John 8:36
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
[14:40] [31:10]

Mark 5:20
And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.
[21:18]

Acts 17:6
And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also,”
[24:59]

Observation questions

What details in Luke 8 show how isolated, troubled, and overwhelmed the man among the tombs had become? [09:20]
What changes do the people see in the man after Jesus frees him, and how do they respond to those changes? [15:21]
What did the Gerasenes lose when the pigs rushed into the lake, and what did they ask Jesus to do afterward? [16:40]
What did the healed man want to do, and what specific assignment did Jesus give him instead? [18:08]

Interpretation questions

Jesus intentionally traveled to a Gentile region opposite Galilee before meeting the man among the tombs. What does this show about Christ’s willingness to pursue people who seem far away from God? [07:26]
The man’s question, “What have you to do with me?” comes from a life marked by shame, isolation, and bondage. Why might people who have been trapped in sin, pain, or fear struggle to believe that Jesus wants them?
The people of the Gerasenes saw a restored man but responded with fear and asked Jesus to leave. Why can another person’s freedom feel threatening when it disrupts comfort, money, relationships, or familiar patterns? [16:40]
Jesus told the man to return home and declare what God had done for him. What does this reveal about the purpose of a testimony and the people God may want to reach through it? [19:56]

Application questions

Is there an area of life where shame, disappointment, or a long struggle has made you feel “too far” or “too deep” for Jesus? What would it look like to bring that honestly to Him this week? [11:39]
The man was found sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind. What burden, habit, fear, or unanswered question do you need to bring to the feet of Jesus rather than carrying alone? [31:27]
God’s perspective is greater than ours; what feels like an ocean to us may not be beyond His reach. Where have you been tempted to believe that a situation is too big for God to work in? [13:38]
Real freedom can cost something, and not everyone will celebrate it. Is there a change God may be asking you to make that could disrupt a comfortable relationship, routine, or pattern? What support would help you walk in that freedom? [17:08]
Think about your own story. What is one clear and honest example of God’s faithfulness—big or small—that you could share with a family member, coworker, neighbor, or friend this week? [26:41]
Who in your everyday life may be more open to hearing about Jesus because they know your story and have seen where you have been? What would a simple, natural conversation with that person sound like? [28:44]
Acts 17 describes believers who turned their world upside down. What might it look like for this group to carry the goodness of God beyond the church building into homes, workplaces, schools, and neighborhoods? [25:05]

Sermon Clips

44s

#BreakthroughIsWorthIt

“Your breakthrough will cost you something, and not everyone will celebrate it. The town did not throw a party. They lost pigs. They lost profit. They lost what was comfortable, and because of that, they asked Jesus to leave. Real freedom is never neutral. It costs something. It will offend and upset the people who liked you better in bondage. But I want to tell you that the cost is worth it.”

49s

#NeverTooDeepForChrist

“But what we find was true here in the scripture, and what's true even right now is no matter where you are, you are never too deep that Christ can't reach you. You are never too deep that Christ can't reach you. He reached Jonah in the bottom of a fish. Gideon, who was the lowest of lows, he found him in the bottom of a wine press. Daniel, salvation in a lion's den. And just as he was faithful, then he is faithful now. You are never too deep that Christ can't reach you.”

57s

#TestimonyOpensDoors

“And in Mark chapter seven, just a few years later, Jesus himself goes back into that same region. And this time, the people weren't, asking him to leave, and they weren't running away from him. Instead, this time, they ran to him with someone else who needed healing. It is amazing how one person's testimony can open doors in a city that once wanted nothing to do with Jesus. Can you imagine what your obedience could do? Can you imagine what your testimony could do? Could you imagine what would happen if you begin to proclaim to anyone who would listen what God has done in your life?”

50s

#DeclareHisGoodness

“That we go home and declare his goodness. Not just here, but all over this city, at your job, in your family, in your community, in your neighborhood. Imagine what your what doors your obedience could open for people to encounter the very presence of the living god. To tell them how far you were, to tell them all that you were going through, to tell them how you were in bondage, to tell them all that has happened, and let them know that no matter how far they gone, no matter who they are, no matter what they have encountered, that you are never too far for him to bring you home.”

49s

#YouCanReachThem

“Because there are people that need to be called home. There are people that need to be called home, and I don't get the opportunity to minister to them all. Because there are some people that I just won't be able to reach, but you will. There's some people that I don't have a relationship, but you do. There's some people that I won't see, but you'll see them every day at your job. You'll see them every day in your family. You see them in every family gathering. Don't pick up the phone and say, oh, let me let me have pastor talk to you. No. You open your mouth because you have a testimony. You have a story. There is something that God has done in your life.”

43s

#HeCallsYouByName

“And just as he did it for them, he can do it for you. He's excited. He's ready. He's willing. He's calling your name. He knows you by name, and he's saying, come, come. I I I love you. Come, come. I I know. Come. I I I wanna set you free. Come. I I I I have a plan for you. I'm I'm excited for what your future holds. Put it in my hands. You've been doing it alone long enough.”

39s

#CelebrateBreakthrough

“The cost is worth it. And what's in store for you is much greater than anything that you will give up. God's plan is to restore you, not to leave you lacking. And unlike the people in Gerasenes, here in Woodland at Limitless, we celebrate freedom. We celebrate breakthrough, and we praise God for what he does in the lives of others and what he's going to do in your life.”

56s

#ShareYourStoryCity

“The census says that there are almost 70,000 people in this city. That means there are 70,000 people in this city that need to hear what God has done for you. You don't need a license. You don't need a ordination. You don't need a training to tell your testimony. You have already been commissioned by God. Acts 17, it is our desire here in this church that we would be the ones just like in us to turn this city upside down for Jesus. But it only happens when we take the testimonies that are happening, the miracles that are happening, the stories that are happening in this building outside of this building.”

43s

#EverydayTestimony

“And so you could think that your testimony is insignificant, but the mere fact that you are here, the mere fact that you woke up this morning, the times that you went to sleep and prayed, God protect me, and you woke up. That is a testimony, the mere fact that that that that you are here in this moment, and you you know how you was living. Come on. You know. But God saw you, and he reached out his hand and pulled you from whatever it was.”

75s

#ProclaimToCities

“What God does in us is bigger than just us. What God does in us is bigger than just us. This word, decapitis, he went away and begin to proclaim in the decapitis. This word decapitis actually means cities. cities. So he didn't just go back to his house. He didn't go back and and, tell the couple of people that were, there who may have. He went back and proclaimed the goodness of God in 10 different cities. Scripture says this was a hub. It was a hub of 10 pagan, idol, worshiping, gentile cities. He was on a mission to declare the goodness of God to anyone who would listen.”

48s

#GodsPerspectiveMatters

“Why? Because my son's perspective and my perspective was different. What seemed like a vast ocean of water to him didn't even cover my feet. Do not allow the enemy to trick you into believing that the thing is too much. The thing that you're struggling with is too big. You're too deep in whatever it is that you're in, that you've been away too long. Your perspective and God's perspective is different. It's very different. And I wanna remind you this morning, you are never too deep that Christ can't reach you, but the enemy will tell you, no. You've been gone too long.”

29s

#KeptThroughItAll

“Oh, you say, pastor, I but I I I've been doing I've been running this path my whole life. Praise that is a miracle and a testimony in itself that he would keep you, that he would keep you through everything that has happened in this world, that he would keep you through everything that has happened in your life and in your family. That is a miracle. You have a testimony.”

33s

#JesusGoesTheDistance

“And you said, pastor Keen, I don't why would you wait outside in the rain for barbecue? What I'm saying is that the lengths that we are willing to go to to get the things that we want is a lot. However, I want to remind you that it is nothing compared to what Jesus will do to find you. He will cross whatever he has to cross. He will reach down however far he has to reach down. He will absorb whatever he has to absorb just to get you home whole.”

44s

#NotEveryoneWillCelebrate

“So the people see this man. They see the same man who were terrorizing people in the tombs, the same man that was a public nuisance and an embarrassment to the country. They see him sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And instead of celebrating, instead of excitement, instead of gladness, the very next verse says, and they afraid. Which shows me that your breakthrough will cost you something, and not everyone will celebrate it.”

45s

#GoHomeAndDeclare

“There's so many of us that have stories just like this man. God has brought us out of some mess. And as excited as I am, and our team is here to hear it. As exciting as it is to see it walked out in your life in this building, it cannot in this building. The Lord calls us to go home. He calls us to go back and declare how much God has done for us.”

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