WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.480 I don't know about you, but I love that one of 00:00:03.480 --> 00:00:05.620 my favorite things, and maybe I'm just getting 00:00:05.620 --> 00:00:10.939 old, but I love that life has purpose. You ever 00:00:10.939 --> 00:00:16.140 wonder or ever sit and go, man, I can't imagine 00:00:16.140 --> 00:00:18.980 not knowing what my purpose in life is. Maybe 00:00:18.980 --> 00:00:20.379 you're sitting here today and you go, I don't 00:00:20.379 --> 00:00:22.960 know. Well, I hope that by the end of the day, 00:00:23.100 --> 00:00:26.199 you're able to connect the dots of, hey, here 00:00:26.199 --> 00:00:30.239 is why Jesus has saved me. This is what it's 00:00:30.239 --> 00:00:33.140 for. Because the reality is Jesus could save 00:00:33.140 --> 00:00:37.359 you and just go, you're out of here, right? But 00:00:37.359 --> 00:00:41.479 he didn't. And he also knows that this isn't 00:00:41.479 --> 00:00:43.420 a great place to be because this isn't what he 00:00:43.420 --> 00:00:46.159 created it to be. That there's a lot of pain 00:00:46.159 --> 00:00:49.840 down here, right? There's a lot of pain as we 00:00:49.840 --> 00:00:52.420 walk this life. And so the reality is we get 00:00:52.420 --> 00:00:58.600 to step into, we get to step into purpose. And 00:00:58.600 --> 00:01:01.240 so part of this Christmas and part of what we're 00:01:01.240 --> 00:01:03.560 building towards and part of what we're moving 00:01:03.560 --> 00:01:05.920 towards as a church family is where is God's 00:01:05.920 --> 00:01:09.000 kingdom mission and how do I join him on kingdom 00:01:09.000 --> 00:01:12.000 mission? And so if you were here week one, you 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:15.319 heard Pastor Todd give a phenomenal message on 00:01:15.319 --> 00:01:17.780 this idea. If I could pick this up, who's in 00:01:17.780 --> 00:01:20.719 your circle? And you got one of these little 00:01:20.719 --> 00:01:24.099 newspaper things, right? And the idea was, who 00:01:24.099 --> 00:01:27.549 is God naturally placed in your life? And if 00:01:27.549 --> 00:01:30.689 you did your homework, you began to go, God, 00:01:30.829 --> 00:01:34.609 who is around me that needs some good news? Now, 00:01:34.609 --> 00:01:36.670 here's what I love about good news, right? Good 00:01:36.670 --> 00:01:39.189 news doesn't mean they don't know. It's not a 00:01:39.189 --> 00:01:41.829 category of, well, it's only if you don't know 00:01:41.829 --> 00:01:44.069 Jesus, right? Because you might have people in 00:01:44.069 --> 00:01:46.010 your life that they're just in a really tough 00:01:46.010 --> 00:01:48.590 season of life and they need to be reminded of 00:01:48.590 --> 00:01:50.590 the goodness of God. And so they need some good 00:01:50.590 --> 00:01:54.030 news. And so the idea was that you look around 00:01:54.030 --> 00:01:56.769 and you go, who in my life is hurting? Who in 00:01:56.769 --> 00:01:59.010 my life is far away from God? Who is in my life 00:01:59.010 --> 00:02:02.450 has got brokenness going on? Who in my life could 00:02:02.450 --> 00:02:04.870 use some good news? And then the goal was that 00:02:04.870 --> 00:02:07.750 you write it down. You write them by name. You 00:02:07.750 --> 00:02:09.909 write them by name on this little piece of paper. 00:02:10.129 --> 00:02:12.069 And the goal was that this little piece of paper 00:02:12.069 --> 00:02:13.530 ends up on your fridge. You know why? Because 00:02:13.530 --> 00:02:16.949 I know you eat. Right. And every time you go 00:02:16.949 --> 00:02:19.949 to eat, what happens? You see their names. Or 00:02:19.949 --> 00:02:21.650 you drive a car because you got to get to work, 00:02:21.770 --> 00:02:23.650 right? And every time you drive your car, go 00:02:23.650 --> 00:02:25.330 drop the kids off, whatever it happens to be, 00:02:25.449 --> 00:02:28.069 you see those names. The idea was that this is 00:02:28.069 --> 00:02:31.449 carried with you from week one all the way through 00:02:31.449 --> 00:02:33.189 that you are carrying the names of people that 00:02:33.189 --> 00:02:35.750 need some good news. Week two, if you were here 00:02:35.750 --> 00:02:37.870 last week, you heard Pastor Ben give a phenomenal 00:02:37.870 --> 00:02:40.990 message on prayer. All right, give it up for 00:02:40.990 --> 00:02:47.129 Pastor Ben. Amazing. And what I loved about Pastor 00:02:47.129 --> 00:02:51.659 Ben's was, okay, now. Pray by name, right? Like 00:02:51.659 --> 00:02:54.139 it's a privilege to take somebody's name before 00:02:54.139 --> 00:02:56.439 the throne of God. There is power in prayer. 00:02:56.639 --> 00:03:00.219 So you are taking both privilege and power and 00:03:00.219 --> 00:03:02.159 by name, because it may be the first time that 00:03:02.159 --> 00:03:04.199 person's ever been prayed for by name by another 00:03:04.199 --> 00:03:07.099 human being. You get to take them before God 00:03:07.099 --> 00:03:09.639 and pray by name. And this week, we're going 00:03:09.639 --> 00:03:12.159 to kind of wrap all this together and bring it 00:03:12.159 --> 00:03:15.280 to the next step this week as we move towards 00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:20.210 our Christmas gatherings. But before we do that, 00:03:20.330 --> 00:03:24.449 I got to tell you a story about October this 00:03:24.449 --> 00:03:31.430 past year. So my kids decided they, and very 00:03:31.430 --> 00:03:33.689 important you understand, my kids decided they 00:03:33.689 --> 00:03:36.129 were going to run a marathon and a half marathon. 00:03:36.490 --> 00:03:39.310 This guy did not decide that. I am not running 00:03:39.310 --> 00:03:41.430 no half marathon unless something's chasing me, 00:03:41.490 --> 00:03:44.169 right? So they decided they're going to run a 00:03:44.169 --> 00:03:48.539 half marathon. So within that, We can stop the 00:03:48.539 --> 00:03:53.780 video. I'll come back to it. So my daughter's 00:03:53.780 --> 00:03:55.379 out in California. Sierra's out in California. 00:03:55.400 --> 00:03:57.419 She's going to do the half. Pastor Noah, you 00:03:57.419 --> 00:04:00.460 guys know Noah. Noah decided that he was going 00:04:00.460 --> 00:04:02.939 to drive out there and run the full marathon. 00:04:03.240 --> 00:04:06.080 So we go out there as a family. We're going to 00:04:06.080 --> 00:04:07.780 cheer them on. Well, there's two ways that you 00:04:07.780 --> 00:04:10.319 can, I understood this went on. There's two ways 00:04:10.319 --> 00:04:13.419 you can cheer them on. You can go to the halfway 00:04:13.419 --> 00:04:17.139 point. Right. And the halfway point was a couple 00:04:17.139 --> 00:04:18.839 of blocks from where we were staying. You walk 00:04:18.839 --> 00:04:21.720 down to the beach. And when you got to the beach, 00:04:21.800 --> 00:04:25.480 you you hold signs. My kids made signs. Young 00:04:25.480 --> 00:04:27.139 kids made signs for them as they're going by 00:04:27.139 --> 00:04:29.639 all that good stuff. And then your only job was 00:04:29.639 --> 00:04:32.319 to make sure that whatever they needed to refuel, 00:04:32.339 --> 00:04:34.500 you know, that sludge that they take, you know, 00:04:34.500 --> 00:04:36.639 is there they're running the gels and all that 00:04:36.639 --> 00:04:39.079 kind of stuff. Right. And make sure they hydrate. 00:04:39.120 --> 00:04:41.240 So you're just there to kind of hand them stuff 00:04:41.240 --> 00:04:45.670 and go. I didn't understand at the time that 00:04:45.670 --> 00:04:47.949 when you do that, there is very few people around 00:04:47.949 --> 00:04:50.370 and it's an enjoyable experience because you 00:04:50.370 --> 00:04:52.750 got to walk from where you were down to the beach. 00:04:52.750 --> 00:04:56.069 It's sunny. OK, so that's that's one version. 00:04:56.370 --> 00:05:00.129 The second version was you can go to the finish 00:05:00.129 --> 00:05:03.509 line. Now, my daughter, Rylan, and our grandson, 00:05:03.750 --> 00:05:05.910 Beckham, they were going to the finish line. 00:05:05.970 --> 00:05:08.110 So I said, well, I'll go with I'll go with her. 00:05:08.610 --> 00:05:10.810 Well, we spent 30 minutes just trying to find 00:05:10.810 --> 00:05:13.920 a parking spot. Right. So we get down there and 00:05:13.920 --> 00:05:17.459 I come to realize there was 10 ,000 runners in 00:05:17.459 --> 00:05:22.060 the half marathon runners. There was 6 ,000 in 00:05:22.060 --> 00:05:26.379 the full marathon. That is 16 ,000 runners. On 00:05:26.379 --> 00:05:28.519 top of that, you had a bike race. And I don't 00:05:28.519 --> 00:05:30.759 know how many people were in that. So when we 00:05:30.759 --> 00:05:34.079 get down to the finish line, I'm sent with a 00:05:34.079 --> 00:05:37.000 mission. And the mission was given to me by my 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:41.939 wife. Make sure you get a video. of our daughter 00:05:41.939 --> 00:05:45.000 crossing the finish line. Yes, ma 'am, I can 00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:47.879 do this. What I didn't anticipate is if you have 00:05:47.879 --> 00:05:50.579 16 ,000 runners, that's a whole lot of people 00:05:50.579 --> 00:05:53.920 that showed up to see them finish. And the way 00:05:53.920 --> 00:05:56.240 this thing was set up, you could only be on one 00:05:56.240 --> 00:05:58.540 side. You couldn't get to the other side. So 00:05:58.540 --> 00:06:00.399 you are standing on this side and they're coming 00:06:00.399 --> 00:06:06.079 by here. Noah finishes first, and Rylan's like, 00:06:06.139 --> 00:06:08.000 she's like, will you take care of Beckham? I'm 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:09.759 like, that's the easiest job on the planet. Give 00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:12.680 him here, right? So I'm playing grandpa. Noah's 00:06:12.680 --> 00:06:15.959 finishing. Rylan goes to record Noah finishing, 00:06:16.100 --> 00:06:18.040 and wouldn't you know, people are so kind. Here, 00:06:18.180 --> 00:06:19.839 you can come just right to the front of the fence. 00:06:19.939 --> 00:06:22.120 So she gets right up next to the fence, captures 00:06:22.120 --> 00:06:25.600 Noah running. Well, now it's my turn. We track 00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:28.180 the GPS. Sierra's coming, and I'm like, okay, 00:06:28.259 --> 00:06:32.750 she's finishing. So I'm now standing, and I realize 00:06:32.750 --> 00:06:34.589 there's no way I'm making it to the fence. No 00:06:34.589 --> 00:06:37.709 one is letting me through. I'm eight to ten people 00:06:37.709 --> 00:06:41.730 deep. And remember, my mission is what? Get her 00:06:41.730 --> 00:06:44.769 finishing the race. So I got a video. Now, she 00:06:44.769 --> 00:06:51.009 is wearing red shorts. You see anybody with red 00:06:51.009 --> 00:06:55.790 shorts? I'm standing, holding my phone. We're 00:06:55.790 --> 00:06:58.069 going, we're going. Still no red shorts. Still 00:06:58.069 --> 00:07:01.170 no red shorts. Still no red shorts, but hang 00:07:01.170 --> 00:07:03.269 on, hang on, hang on. The finish line. And there 00:07:03.269 --> 00:07:08.230 she is. Yes. Got her crossing the finish line. 00:07:10.569 --> 00:07:18.089 Now, if you were to grade my video and did I 00:07:18.089 --> 00:07:24.709 accomplish my mission? Kind of. You did. That's 00:07:24.709 --> 00:07:28.550 a guy if I ever heard it. My wife did not think 00:07:28.550 --> 00:07:32.279 the same. Some of you have been bugged by this 00:07:32.279 --> 00:07:34.759 ladder the whole time, huh? Why'd they leave 00:07:34.759 --> 00:07:41.199 a ladder on stage? I can't worship. You see, 00:07:41.220 --> 00:07:48.779 what's interesting is in that moment, what if 00:07:48.779 --> 00:07:52.319 somebody came along and gave me a ladder? What 00:07:52.319 --> 00:07:57.600 a gift. What a gift a ladder would have been. 00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:03.740 What was I there to do? I was there to see and 00:08:03.740 --> 00:08:07.920 experience. My ability to see and experience 00:08:07.920 --> 00:08:10.399 because somebody was kind enough to give me a 00:08:10.399 --> 00:08:12.540 ladder would have changed everything. Would have 00:08:12.540 --> 00:08:13.920 changed the video because I wouldn't have the 00:08:13.920 --> 00:08:16.019 sun on my screen so I couldn't see what I was 00:08:16.019 --> 00:08:19.620 getting. It would have been right here. And I 00:08:19.620 --> 00:08:21.060 would have been able to video and I would have 00:08:21.060 --> 00:08:22.860 been able to experience instead of panicking 00:08:22.860 --> 00:08:26.480 the whole time. What a gift the ladder would 00:08:26.480 --> 00:08:31.800 have been. I know you're good church folks, and 00:08:31.800 --> 00:08:33.740 I know you got your Bible and you're ready to 00:08:33.740 --> 00:08:36.360 go. I need you to not turn to this passage, okay? 00:08:37.539 --> 00:08:39.940 I need you to hear this with as fresh of ears 00:08:39.940 --> 00:08:44.740 as you can possibly hear, okay? The words of 00:08:44.740 --> 00:08:50.559 Jesus, he says this, Jesus said to him, today 00:08:50.559 --> 00:08:55.659 salvation has come to this house because this 00:08:55.659 --> 00:09:01.000 man too is a son of Abraham. For the son of man, 00:09:01.080 --> 00:09:06.799 for Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. 00:09:08.820 --> 00:09:12.559 For Jesus came to seek and what you were just 00:09:12.559 --> 00:09:17.200 given in this moment is the purpose and the why 00:09:17.200 --> 00:09:19.879 of everything that Jesus has just done before 00:09:19.879 --> 00:09:24.100 this. What we are filled in on that Jesus, the 00:09:24.100 --> 00:09:27.159 purpose of Jesus coming and the purpose of Jesus 00:09:27.159 --> 00:09:30.039 having the intentional actions that he did is 00:09:30.039 --> 00:09:32.960 because he was on mission. You might say the 00:09:32.960 --> 00:09:36.299 same as me driving around for 30 minutes, hauling 00:09:36.299 --> 00:09:38.379 stuff down to this spot, standing with a camera. 00:09:38.440 --> 00:09:40.679 Why? Because I had a purpose and I had a why. 00:09:40.919 --> 00:09:43.259 When Jesus talks about his purpose and his why, 00:09:43.379 --> 00:09:48.519 he says, I am here to seek and to save the lost. 00:09:49.870 --> 00:09:54.950 So everything that happens before this, we can 00:09:54.950 --> 00:09:57.490 look through the lens of going, Jesus had extreme 00:09:57.490 --> 00:10:01.090 intentionality to why he moved, how he moved, 00:10:01.129 --> 00:10:04.629 and what he was moving towards. And so now if 00:10:04.629 --> 00:10:08.049 you jump in at Luke chapter 19 in verse one, 00:10:08.250 --> 00:10:12.929 you go, oh, that's the story. Jesus entered Jericho 00:10:12.929 --> 00:10:16.090 and was passing through. Remember, he's doing 00:10:16.090 --> 00:10:19.009 what? He's on mission to seek and to save who? 00:10:19.980 --> 00:10:24.039 The lost. So he is passing through. Why? Because 00:10:24.039 --> 00:10:26.820 he's on his way to Jerusalem. This is right before 00:10:26.820 --> 00:10:29.559 he's about to get on a donkey and be ushered 00:10:29.559 --> 00:10:32.399 into Jerusalem as king during the last week of 00:10:32.399 --> 00:10:35.720 his life. So the intentionality of Jesus at this 00:10:35.720 --> 00:10:39.179 moment is he is moving towards Jerusalem. Why? 00:10:39.320 --> 00:10:43.299 Because he has come to seek and to save a humanity 00:10:43.299 --> 00:10:46.509 that is lost. And so he intentionally moves. 00:10:46.629 --> 00:10:48.470 Then we're introduced to a character in verse 00:10:48.470 --> 00:10:52.149 two. A man was there. So as Jesus is passing 00:10:52.149 --> 00:10:54.690 through, a man was there by the name of Zacchaeus. 00:10:55.350 --> 00:11:00.350 He was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 00:11:02.889 --> 00:11:04.950 Isn't it interesting that just by you hearing 00:11:04.950 --> 00:11:06.950 Zacchaeus, you're like, oh, I know this story. 00:11:07.090 --> 00:11:11.529 I know what this guy does. And yet when you take 00:11:11.529 --> 00:11:13.350 a slightly different look at something, it can. 00:11:13.789 --> 00:11:16.970 Take on a different feel. You can learn something 00:11:16.970 --> 00:11:20.250 different. I've taught this, I think I was telling 00:11:20.250 --> 00:11:22.669 somebody, I've taught this at least twice at 00:11:22.669 --> 00:11:26.250 Heights, this story, and I could not be more 00:11:26.250 --> 00:11:29.370 excited to teach it to you today because there 00:11:29.370 --> 00:11:31.190 is something here that I personally have never 00:11:31.190 --> 00:11:35.730 seen. And what I love is it tells us that here 00:11:35.730 --> 00:11:38.590 is this guy, tells us by name, his name is Zacchaeus, 00:11:38.710 --> 00:11:44.960 and he was a chief. Tax collector. Okay, just 00:11:44.960 --> 00:11:47.500 for sake of understanding kind of in our context, 00:11:47.679 --> 00:11:51.139 think mafia boss. Okay, that's what this guy 00:11:51.139 --> 00:11:56.100 is. This guy is the mafia boss. Now, how many 00:11:56.100 --> 00:11:58.279 mafia bosses do you know? Well, you probably 00:11:58.279 --> 00:12:00.720 don't know any, but at least maybe if you do, 00:12:00.799 --> 00:12:05.200 let me know. But the idea of a mafia boss, right? 00:12:05.259 --> 00:12:08.600 Like one of the things that they are unsettled 00:12:08.600 --> 00:12:12.129 with is they struggle to trust. Why? Because 00:12:12.129 --> 00:12:16.210 somebody is always coming for their seat. So 00:12:16.210 --> 00:12:21.330 we can project into this story that within his 00:12:21.330 --> 00:12:25.330 role, he was hated. People did not like him, 00:12:25.389 --> 00:12:29.190 but he held a role of prestige. So he has a need 00:12:29.190 --> 00:12:31.309 in his life that he is hated. Now, people that 00:12:31.309 --> 00:12:33.769 are hated normally aren't the people that you 00:12:33.769 --> 00:12:36.090 hang out with. So there's probably a connection 00:12:36.090 --> 00:12:38.590 there that we go, man, Zacchaeus was probably 00:12:38.590 --> 00:12:44.269 lonely. He was probably isolated. That one of 00:12:44.269 --> 00:12:47.029 the realities of being hated, one of the realities 00:12:47.029 --> 00:12:51.129 of his job is that people didn't want to be around 00:12:51.129 --> 00:12:53.529 him because he was the one making their life 00:12:53.529 --> 00:12:57.149 harder. And so there was probably isolation. 00:12:59.090 --> 00:13:01.610 But if you were to see him because of his role, 00:13:01.750 --> 00:13:04.710 what we know about him is he would have had stature 00:13:04.710 --> 00:13:07.389 and status. He would have been somebody that 00:13:07.389 --> 00:13:10.769 was... notable within the community that have 00:13:10.769 --> 00:13:15.710 notoriety. And so there's this outside perspective 00:13:15.710 --> 00:13:19.370 of him, but there's this internal needs that 00:13:19.370 --> 00:13:21.570 begin to arise. Another one is that we learned 00:13:21.570 --> 00:13:23.889 that he's wealthy. Now, my understanding of this 00:13:23.889 --> 00:13:26.909 area and what Jericho was is it was extremely 00:13:26.909 --> 00:13:30.750 pivotal in the collecting of taxes because of 00:13:30.750 --> 00:13:32.909 the amount of trade that went through Jericho. 00:13:33.230 --> 00:13:36.169 So the toll in that area was extremely high. 00:13:36.250 --> 00:13:39.190 So when it says that he was wealthy, it is emphasizing 00:13:39.190 --> 00:13:42.789 that where he is doing his job, it is also very 00:13:42.789 --> 00:13:47.090 lucrative and he is doing very well at it. Well, 00:13:47.169 --> 00:13:51.889 wealth brings its own issues, right? That then 00:13:51.889 --> 00:13:55.129 if you're hated and you're isolated, then anybody 00:13:55.129 --> 00:13:57.269 who's around you is probably around you and putting 00:13:57.269 --> 00:13:59.470 up with you. Why? Because of what they can get 00:13:59.470 --> 00:14:02.169 from you. So we could say that there's a relational, 00:14:03.859 --> 00:14:07.279 deficit in who Zacchaeus is. He has some real, 00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:15.379 real needs. Church, I wonder, let's not even 00:14:15.379 --> 00:14:17.039 go outside the church because that would be, 00:14:17.179 --> 00:14:21.080 that's easy pickings. I wonder how many of you 00:14:21.080 --> 00:14:25.220 front that everything is good and the person 00:14:25.220 --> 00:14:28.919 next to you doesn't even know it's not. I wonder 00:14:28.919 --> 00:14:32.259 how many of you front, buy your clothes, Buy 00:14:32.259 --> 00:14:35.580 your cars, buy your house, buy your life, buy 00:14:35.580 --> 00:14:39.860 your job, buy your spouse, buy your family, buy 00:14:39.860 --> 00:14:41.879 your Christmas card. You ever see Christmas cards 00:14:41.879 --> 00:14:43.700 and you wonder what the story is behind the Christmas 00:14:43.700 --> 00:14:46.620 cards? You ever see those? You're like, hmm. 00:14:48.360 --> 00:14:51.220 They look happy. Was the picture actually happy? 00:14:52.159 --> 00:14:55.500 If you don't smile right now, you know, one of 00:14:55.500 --> 00:14:58.559 those. But isn't it interesting that we can be 00:14:58.559 --> 00:15:00.379 around people and not know the needs of the people? 00:15:01.769 --> 00:15:03.730 And I just wonder how many people in your life, 00:15:03.830 --> 00:15:06.990 just in this room, now extend that to your circle. 00:15:07.070 --> 00:15:09.750 How many people have real needs that we don't 00:15:09.750 --> 00:15:14.070 even see because we're not moving at a pace to 00:15:14.070 --> 00:15:17.649 see them? And he carries on. We're introduced 00:15:17.649 --> 00:15:20.610 to another need. He wanted to see who Jesus was, 00:15:20.690 --> 00:15:23.990 but because he was short, he could not see over 00:15:23.990 --> 00:15:27.370 the crowd. Because he was short. We're introduced 00:15:27.370 --> 00:15:31.250 that he has something that is a lack in his life. 00:15:32.590 --> 00:15:34.509 This is a very tangible need that if you were 00:15:34.509 --> 00:15:36.490 there, you could tell, hey, this short guy at 00:15:36.490 --> 00:15:40.809 the back can't see over the crowd. It continues 00:15:40.809 --> 00:15:42.610 on into verse four. It says, so he ran ahead 00:15:42.610 --> 00:15:45.860 and climbed a sycamore fig tree to see him. since 00:15:45.860 --> 00:15:48.519 Jesus was coming his way. So he ran ahead. The 00:15:48.519 --> 00:15:51.019 idea of running in those days, and if you've 00:15:51.019 --> 00:15:53.460 been around stories from Scripture and men running, 00:15:53.539 --> 00:15:56.980 you know that there was this shame to it, right? 00:15:57.080 --> 00:15:59.080 Like you had to pick up your skirt to be able 00:15:59.080 --> 00:16:01.600 to run, or your robe would be a better way to 00:16:01.600 --> 00:16:03.509 say it. but you had to pick it up to be able 00:16:03.509 --> 00:16:06.870 to run. And when you ran, it was awkward. The 00:16:06.870 --> 00:16:09.429 only people that ran was not grown men, it was 00:16:09.429 --> 00:16:12.990 kids. And so there's just this shame that is 00:16:12.990 --> 00:16:15.090 instantly bought into the story that not only 00:16:15.090 --> 00:16:17.789 is this guy have other needs, but he also now 00:16:17.789 --> 00:16:20.470 is in shame and he's undignified and it's in 00:16:20.470 --> 00:16:23.809 a public setting. Then he climbs a tree. Now 00:16:23.809 --> 00:16:26.250 the sycamore fig tree, my understanding from... 00:16:26.639 --> 00:16:28.720 looking at some stuff, is it could grow up to 00:16:28.720 --> 00:16:31.740 60 feet. So it could be large. We don't know 00:16:31.740 --> 00:16:34.500 the size of the tree that he climbed. But here's 00:16:34.500 --> 00:16:36.019 what's interesting about it being a sycamore 00:16:36.019 --> 00:16:40.139 fig tree, that the only people that climbed that 00:16:40.139 --> 00:16:42.000 tree would have been children because it was 00:16:42.000 --> 00:16:44.860 childish, which again is him just being undignified, 00:16:44.879 --> 00:16:48.860 shameful. But it was also the workers that went 00:16:48.860 --> 00:16:52.740 to collect the figs. So what you have in this 00:16:52.740 --> 00:16:56.940 moment is you have him lowering his status, climbing 00:16:56.940 --> 00:17:00.500 in his fancy clothes, doing something that what 00:17:00.500 --> 00:17:04.519 was perceived was he'd hit hard times. He was 00:17:04.519 --> 00:17:06.660 in trouble because now he was doing the role 00:17:06.660 --> 00:17:10.819 of a worker. You have all of this happening just 00:17:10.819 --> 00:17:12.880 in these few verses. That's the context we're 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:17.500 given. But it says that we're given his why. 00:17:18.240 --> 00:17:23.160 And his why is that he wants to see. Jesus. Now 00:17:23.160 --> 00:17:24.759 we hear the word see and we're like, oh, you 00:17:24.759 --> 00:17:26.519 just want to lay eyes on him. Just kind of see 00:17:26.519 --> 00:17:29.559 who he is. The idea of the word in the original 00:17:29.559 --> 00:17:33.160 is that he wants to perceive who this Jesus is. 00:17:33.259 --> 00:17:36.029 He wants to. have perception that goes beyond 00:17:36.029 --> 00:17:38.970 sight to knowledge of. He wants to learn everything 00:17:38.970 --> 00:17:42.670 he possibly can about this individual because 00:17:42.670 --> 00:17:45.390 he's that desperate and that in need that he 00:17:45.390 --> 00:17:47.789 is willing now to climb a tree, look like a worker, 00:17:47.890 --> 00:17:50.670 be undignified. Why? Because he wants to see 00:17:50.670 --> 00:17:55.869 Jesus' church. What a gift. If somebody came 00:17:55.869 --> 00:17:59.230 along and went, hey, Zach, I see your needs. 00:18:00.710 --> 00:18:10.269 Here's a ladder. You can remain dignified. You 00:18:10.269 --> 00:18:14.410 don't have to shame yourself. But I would love 00:18:14.410 --> 00:18:17.009 to help you see and experience the person of 00:18:17.009 --> 00:18:20.369 Jesus today. I mean, what a gift. Just a ladder 00:18:20.369 --> 00:18:24.150 would have been to Zacchaeus, right? And it carries 00:18:24.150 --> 00:18:27.589 on. Verse five, when Jesus reached the spot. 00:18:28.619 --> 00:18:31.140 He looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, come 00:18:31.140 --> 00:18:33.279 down immediately. I must stay at your house today. 00:18:34.539 --> 00:18:40.160 When Jesus reached the spot. What do we know 00:18:40.160 --> 00:18:44.380 about Jesus? He's doing what? Passing through. 00:18:46.019 --> 00:18:48.779 He's heading towards Jerusalem. When he reaches 00:18:48.779 --> 00:18:51.779 the spot, like was there an X on the ground? 00:18:52.400 --> 00:18:56.720 Right? But when he reaches the spot. Isn't that 00:18:56.720 --> 00:18:58.640 fascinating? Why? Because what we were told at 00:18:58.640 --> 00:19:00.460 the end of this, that Jesus's mission was what? 00:19:00.500 --> 00:19:03.799 To seek and to save the lost. He's on mission 00:19:03.799 --> 00:19:08.059 for people. And he's aware that as he's going, 00:19:08.140 --> 00:19:11.579 he's aware. Why? Because it says that he reaches 00:19:11.579 --> 00:19:15.900 the spot and he looked up. You can put it this 00:19:15.900 --> 00:19:19.359 way. Jesus was present. Jesus was present. He's 00:19:19.359 --> 00:19:21.660 in the midst of what? He's on mission, kingdom 00:19:21.660 --> 00:19:24.220 mission, seek and save the lost. He is going, 00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:27.940 and as he is going, he is fully present inside 00:19:27.940 --> 00:19:29.759 of the mission that he's on. I wonder, church, 00:19:29.880 --> 00:19:31.859 are we fully present in the mission that God 00:19:31.859 --> 00:19:36.890 has us on? Like I wonder, are our eyes on us? 00:19:36.970 --> 00:19:38.809 Are our eyes on the things around us? Are our 00:19:38.809 --> 00:19:41.190 eyes already on Christmas and presents and everything 00:19:41.190 --> 00:19:43.910 else? And in the meantime, we are missing everybody 00:19:43.910 --> 00:19:46.230 that is around us. And Jesus, throughout your 00:19:46.230 --> 00:19:48.049 day, I love this, right? Like Jesus has been 00:19:48.049 --> 00:19:53.369 going along going, X, X, X. And you're just like, 00:19:53.529 --> 00:19:58.950 and you don't see one of them because you're 00:19:58.950 --> 00:20:00.890 not present to the mission that God has us on. 00:20:02.640 --> 00:20:07.240 I wonder how many X marks the spots God's put 00:20:07.240 --> 00:20:10.680 in your life this last week. And I'm not preaching 00:20:10.680 --> 00:20:15.160 at you. Don't mishear this. It's me too. I can 00:20:15.160 --> 00:20:17.440 get so busy with, I got a sermon coming. We got 00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:19.160 Christmas coming. I got this meeting to that 00:20:19.160 --> 00:20:21.140 meeting to the other meeting. And it can be really 00:20:21.140 --> 00:20:28.059 easy to miss the moments. He looked up and said 00:20:28.059 --> 00:20:34.619 to him, Zacchaeus, come down. immediately. Zacchaeus 00:20:34.619 --> 00:20:38.740 come down immediately. Jesus was urgent. Okay, 00:20:38.779 --> 00:20:42.420 not only is he present, but he is urgent. Why? 00:20:42.660 --> 00:20:44.960 Because he knows that he has come to seek and 00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:46.960 save the lost, and he's heading towards the last 00:20:46.960 --> 00:20:50.220 week of his life. He's conscious of time. I wonder, 00:20:50.240 --> 00:20:55.359 for us, are we conscious of time? Like we live 00:20:55.359 --> 00:20:57.380 like time is just this thing that we have an 00:20:57.380 --> 00:20:59.640 extension of. You don't have an extension of 00:20:59.640 --> 00:21:02.519 time. Neither does your neighbor. Neither does 00:21:02.519 --> 00:21:04.960 the person you work with. You don't know. I opened 00:21:04.960 --> 00:21:09.299 Instagram this morning. It's a mistake. But I 00:21:09.299 --> 00:21:11.279 opened it. You know, the very first thing I saw? 00:21:11.980 --> 00:21:15.559 Somebody I recognize that had passed away. And 00:21:15.559 --> 00:21:17.619 somebody else mourning that person passing away. 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:23.759 Here's the point. Jesus was urgent. Why? Because 00:21:23.759 --> 00:21:26.140 he knew his mission and he knew how time worked 00:21:26.140 --> 00:21:28.599 and he knew what he was there to do. And so in 00:21:28.599 --> 00:21:30.480 the midst of being present, he's also urgent 00:21:30.480 --> 00:21:33.900 to go, hey, I can't wait, Zach. You got to come 00:21:33.900 --> 00:21:37.940 down. We got to go to your house, dog. I like 00:21:37.940 --> 00:21:40.319 there was an urgency to it. Like we got to go. 00:21:41.680 --> 00:21:44.640 And I wonder, church, when we're going to wake 00:21:44.640 --> 00:21:46.900 up and go, there's an urgency to the mission 00:21:46.900 --> 00:21:50.940 that God has called us to. There's an urgency 00:21:50.940 --> 00:21:55.000 when we talk about the 1 % and giving. Like I'm 00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:57.140 sitting here going, God, the mission field is 00:21:57.140 --> 00:22:00.059 so much bigger than my 1%. And God goes, unite 00:22:00.059 --> 00:22:01.680 it with a whole bunch of others in the kingdom. 00:22:03.339 --> 00:22:06.359 Do we have the urgency to go, hey, we're on mission 00:22:06.359 --> 00:22:08.680 in every aspect because Jesus came to seek and 00:22:08.680 --> 00:22:13.660 to save the lost and he was on mission. And he 00:22:13.660 --> 00:22:19.140 was urgent. I must. is the next two words, I 00:22:19.140 --> 00:22:24.420 must. That word must is required by obligation 00:22:24.420 --> 00:22:29.140 in the original. I am required by obligation 00:22:29.140 --> 00:22:33.880 to what? The next word is stay at your house 00:22:33.880 --> 00:22:40.180 today. I must, I'm required by obligation. Wait, 00:22:40.279 --> 00:22:43.599 what was he obligated to? To seek and to save 00:22:43.599 --> 00:22:47.400 the lost. Everything he did was moved with intentionality 00:22:47.400 --> 00:22:49.440 because he knew his why. He knew his why was 00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:51.740 to seek and save the lost. So guess what that 00:22:51.740 --> 00:22:56.660 meant? I am obligated to what? The mission, and 00:22:56.660 --> 00:22:58.940 the mission is to seek and save the lost. Zach, 00:22:59.019 --> 00:23:04.140 I am obligated to come to your house today. I 00:23:04.140 --> 00:23:07.140 must, I can't do anything else. I wonder, I wonder, 00:23:07.180 --> 00:23:10.420 do we see ourselves when Jesus saves us, he rescues 00:23:10.420 --> 00:23:12.380 us, gives us a new identity, sets us completely 00:23:12.380 --> 00:23:15.130 free. Puts us into this whole new life. And he 00:23:15.130 --> 00:23:17.390 goes, now you're on mission with me. I wonder, 00:23:17.410 --> 00:23:19.589 are we obligated to our mission or his mission? 00:23:20.990 --> 00:23:24.269 Are we obligated to, do I wake up going, man, 00:23:24.289 --> 00:23:26.630 I got a purpose. And my purpose is to build the 00:23:26.630 --> 00:23:29.329 kingdom of God. And in that purpose, I'm going 00:23:29.329 --> 00:23:31.130 to have urgency because I don't know if I got 00:23:31.130 --> 00:23:33.230 tomorrow. So I'm not going to waste today. So 00:23:33.230 --> 00:23:34.990 I got today. We're going to move towards this 00:23:34.990 --> 00:23:40.089 kingdom mission that God has us on. Why? Because 00:23:40.089 --> 00:23:44.650 I'm obligated. I have an obligation. When I said 00:23:44.650 --> 00:23:49.990 yes to Jesus, I laid down my life. When I said 00:23:49.990 --> 00:23:54.589 yes to Jesus, I laid down my kingdom. When I 00:23:54.589 --> 00:23:58.170 said yes to Jesus, I laid down my choice to go 00:23:58.170 --> 00:24:01.150 across the store, across the aisle, across the 00:24:01.150 --> 00:24:04.869 whatever. And he says that I must stay. That 00:24:04.869 --> 00:24:06.470 word stay is interesting. It means detached. 00:24:07.950 --> 00:24:11.430 That Jesus detached from passing through. Because 00:24:11.430 --> 00:24:15.029 he was obligated and he, I must stay at your 00:24:15.029 --> 00:24:18.490 house. So he gladly, verse six, so he gladly 00:24:18.490 --> 00:24:21.490 came down at once. So Zacchaeus comes down and 00:24:21.490 --> 00:24:26.170 listen to this, and welcomed him gladly. He welcomed 00:24:26.170 --> 00:24:30.390 him gladly. That gladly means with joy. Let me 00:24:30.390 --> 00:24:33.670 just ask you something. When you made that list 00:24:33.670 --> 00:24:37.589 of people, or you get that like Holy Spirit buzz, 00:24:37.710 --> 00:24:39.559 you know what I'm saying? Right? Like you're 00:24:39.559 --> 00:24:41.019 sitting somewhere and you're like, the Holy Spirit's 00:24:41.019 --> 00:24:45.160 like, go talk to them. And you're like, I don't 00:24:45.160 --> 00:24:46.559 know if I want to. And it starts buzzing inside 00:24:46.559 --> 00:24:48.059 to where you're like, okay, it's getting obvious 00:24:48.059 --> 00:24:54.099 to everybody at this point. When you walk towards 00:24:54.099 --> 00:24:55.779 them, do you think they will receive it gladly 00:24:55.779 --> 00:24:59.359 or not? Why do you think there'll be joy? I would 00:24:59.359 --> 00:25:03.240 probably say that the disposition of most believers, 00:25:03.380 --> 00:25:05.440 most Christians, most followers of Jesus, is 00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:07.319 that they are cynical that the person is going 00:25:07.319 --> 00:25:09.400 to reject what's about to come out of your mouth. 00:25:10.160 --> 00:25:11.859 However, if you go back to week one of this, 00:25:11.920 --> 00:25:14.019 one of the stats that I thought Pastor Todd said 00:25:14.019 --> 00:25:15.779 that I just can't get out of my head is that 00:25:15.779 --> 00:25:18.380 eight out of 10 people, eight out of 10 people 00:25:18.380 --> 00:25:21.000 are waiting for somebody to give them a personal 00:25:21.000 --> 00:25:23.970 invite to church. Can I tell you something else? 00:25:24.210 --> 00:25:26.390 Christmas, we already know that the Christmas 00:25:26.390 --> 00:25:28.750 season is the easiest time to get somebody to 00:25:28.750 --> 00:25:31.490 come to church. So your eight out of 10, your 00:25:31.490 --> 00:25:34.130 80 % just jumped. I don't have the numbers for 00:25:34.130 --> 00:25:37.009 that, but it's higher than 80 % because 80 % 00:25:37.009 --> 00:25:40.170 is all year. Imagine what Christmas is. Whatever 00:25:40.170 --> 00:25:42.349 that number is, I'll take that on any test I 00:25:42.349 --> 00:25:46.329 take in my entire life. And so now what happens 00:25:46.329 --> 00:25:48.470 is, do we have the holy belief that when I move 00:25:48.470 --> 00:25:50.630 with urgency and I move towards you, that what's 00:25:50.630 --> 00:25:52.450 going to actually happen is they're going to 00:25:52.450 --> 00:25:56.349 receive it gladly? Because that's what happened 00:25:56.349 --> 00:25:58.289 here. When you look at Zach from the outside, 00:25:58.549 --> 00:26:00.869 when you look at Zach, he is from the outside. 00:26:00.890 --> 00:26:03.990 Everything about him said he's going to reject 00:26:03.990 --> 00:26:07.869 this. But remember, what had God already done 00:26:07.869 --> 00:26:12.809 in him? I want to see. I want to see this Jesus. 00:26:15.100 --> 00:26:19.480 All the people saw this and began to mutter. 00:26:20.579 --> 00:26:22.859 He has gone to be the guest of a sinner. I love 00:26:22.859 --> 00:26:25.519 the word mutter. Mutter is that I'm talking to 00:26:25.519 --> 00:26:27.220 this person, but I'm talking loud enough so you 00:26:27.220 --> 00:26:29.319 can hear it. You know, like I'm muttering to 00:26:29.319 --> 00:26:31.359 this person. I'm complaining, but what I'm really 00:26:31.359 --> 00:26:33.259 doing is I'm having a conversation with you, 00:26:33.299 --> 00:26:34.640 but I don't want to have the conversation with 00:26:34.640 --> 00:26:37.240 you because that would be weird. So I just talked 00:26:37.240 --> 00:26:39.480 to this person about that loud enough that you 00:26:39.480 --> 00:26:42.000 can hear. I wonder how many times God is sitting 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:48.579 here going, I can hear you guys. Isn't it interesting 00:26:48.579 --> 00:26:51.240 that this was more than likely the church people? 00:26:52.819 --> 00:26:54.480 This is the people that should have known the 00:26:54.480 --> 00:26:58.119 mission of Jesus to seek and save the lost. This 00:26:58.119 --> 00:27:01.180 is the people that should have known that. And 00:27:01.180 --> 00:27:03.200 what are they doing? They're on the side muttering. 00:27:03.220 --> 00:27:04.920 Why? Because they're not on the mission that 00:27:04.920 --> 00:27:08.000 God's on. They're on their own mission. And I 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:09.799 wonder how many times church people, we are on 00:27:09.799 --> 00:27:12.160 our mission. We are on a different mission instead 00:27:12.160 --> 00:27:16.650 of being on the mission of almighty God. To seek 00:27:16.650 --> 00:27:21.529 and save what is lost. We don't talk about it 00:27:21.529 --> 00:27:26.029 enough and we're going to in the new year. Heaven 00:27:26.029 --> 00:27:29.869 and hell are real. The new heavens and the new 00:27:29.869 --> 00:27:34.890 earth, it is real. And time is coming when this 00:27:34.890 --> 00:27:39.210 will be called short. And either we decide that 00:27:39.210 --> 00:27:40.890 we're gonna take what we have and we're gonna 00:27:40.890 --> 00:27:43.990 go full in on the mission of God because that's 00:27:43.990 --> 00:27:48.630 the only thing that matters. Or we're gonna continue 00:27:48.630 --> 00:27:57.450 to sleep in a slumber. But Zacchaeus, so as they're 00:27:57.450 --> 00:27:58.869 muttering, loud enough that everybody can hear. 00:28:00.679 --> 00:28:02.460 Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, look, 00:28:02.480 --> 00:28:04.319 Lord, here and now I give half my possessions 00:28:04.319 --> 00:28:06.660 to the poor. And if I've cheated anybody out 00:28:06.660 --> 00:28:08.500 of anything, I will pay back four times the amount. 00:28:08.619 --> 00:28:10.680 What this was that if you go to the Old Testament, 00:28:10.759 --> 00:28:13.039 this was the works of repentance. What he is 00:28:13.039 --> 00:28:15.220 displaying is the works of repentance that were 00:28:15.220 --> 00:28:17.160 required by law. He's actually above and beyond 00:28:17.160 --> 00:28:20.099 them, but this was the works of repentance. He'd 00:28:20.099 --> 00:28:21.960 gone, hey, something shifted on the inside and 00:28:21.960 --> 00:28:27.640 it's changing my outside. Jesus said to him today. 00:28:28.979 --> 00:28:31.039 Today, salvation. What did Jesus come to do? 00:28:31.079 --> 00:28:34.019 Seek and save who? The lost. Okay, celebration. 00:28:34.119 --> 00:28:37.059 Today, celebration. Salvation has come to this 00:28:37.059 --> 00:28:40.059 house. That word house is household because this 00:28:40.059 --> 00:28:44.660 man too, this man too is a son of Abraham. Those 00:28:44.660 --> 00:28:50.640 people muttering, they're sons of Abraham, just 00:28:50.640 --> 00:28:53.079 so we're clear. And they would be proud that 00:28:53.079 --> 00:28:56.279 they were sons of Abraham. This guy, he's a sinner. 00:28:57.609 --> 00:29:02.210 And what does Jesus do? When the lost are found, 00:29:02.349 --> 00:29:06.450 they're transformed. And what is he called? The 00:29:06.450 --> 00:29:10.009 same identity as the ones who were muttering. 00:29:10.049 --> 00:29:13.769 Can you imagine how mad they got then? I mean, 00:29:13.789 --> 00:29:15.289 it's kind of like when you're in church and you 00:29:15.289 --> 00:29:17.460 see that person come in. Right. And that person's 00:29:17.460 --> 00:29:19.799 like, yeah, I did all this bad stuff and I did 00:29:19.799 --> 00:29:21.619 this and did this and did this and did this and 00:29:21.619 --> 00:29:23.160 did this. And you're like, oh, you need Jesus. 00:29:23.380 --> 00:29:25.920 Then they find Jesus. And then you realize they 00:29:25.920 --> 00:29:27.539 have the same identity and they have the same 00:29:27.539 --> 00:29:29.579 standing with you in heaven that they're they're 00:29:29.579 --> 00:29:30.900 no further behind than you. And you're like, 00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:32.339 wait a minute. I've been here a while. You just 00:29:32.339 --> 00:29:34.420 got here and you got all kinds of stuff. Right. 00:29:35.500 --> 00:29:37.220 That's what's happening here. Jesus shows up 00:29:37.220 --> 00:29:42.279 and he saves. And he transforms because that's 00:29:42.279 --> 00:29:44.019 what he does for the son of man. Verse 10 for 00:29:44.019 --> 00:29:47.339 the son of man came. to seek and to save the 00:29:47.339 --> 00:29:56.900 lost. It's beautiful. I love what happens in 00:29:56.900 --> 00:30:01.079 verse five. Because we could end there and the 00:30:01.079 --> 00:30:03.420 story's done, but jump back to verse five, humor 00:30:03.420 --> 00:30:08.460 me for a sec. When Jesus reached the spot, he 00:30:08.460 --> 00:30:13.160 looked up and said to him, what's the next word? 00:30:15.529 --> 00:30:17.210 This isn't a trick question, by the way. It's 00:30:17.210 --> 00:30:26.890 on screen. Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus. Huh. What is 00:30:26.890 --> 00:30:28.250 Zacchaeus? What were we told at the beginning? 00:30:28.369 --> 00:30:31.130 There was a man who was what? Named Zacchaeus. 00:30:31.289 --> 00:30:36.690 What is Zacchaeus? Zacchaeus is his name. Jesus 00:30:36.690 --> 00:30:43.420 comes along and calls him by name. He invites 00:30:43.420 --> 00:30:48.980 him by name. It's this beautiful moment where 00:30:48.980 --> 00:30:53.680 Jesus is so intentional. But notice what he does 00:30:53.680 --> 00:30:56.559 next. He calls him by name. He says, Zacchaeus, 00:30:56.559 --> 00:31:02.819 come down immediately. I, I must stay at your 00:31:02.819 --> 00:31:09.339 house. He calls him by name. And then, and then. 00:31:11.630 --> 00:31:15.430 He goes, Zacchaeus, join me for dinner. You catch 00:31:15.430 --> 00:31:18.809 that? He calls him by name. It's personal, but 00:31:18.809 --> 00:31:20.849 he doesn't leave it there. He doesn't go, Zacchaeus, 00:31:20.890 --> 00:31:24.509 you should go to church. He goes, Zacchaeus, 00:31:24.549 --> 00:31:27.329 I gotta have dinner with you. I, I, Jesus, still 00:31:27.329 --> 00:31:31.029 personal. Zacchaeus, by name, will you join me 00:31:31.029 --> 00:31:33.529 and will you go to dinner with me? He didn't 00:31:33.529 --> 00:31:35.269 say, Zacchaeus, come down. You gotta go home. 00:31:35.309 --> 00:31:41.490 It's dinner time. This church? This little piece 00:31:41.490 --> 00:31:45.210 of paper right here, where this piece of paper 00:31:45.210 --> 00:31:48.849 comes in, is it's blank on this side. Guess why 00:31:48.849 --> 00:31:52.750 it's blank? Because this is your invite to everybody 00:31:52.750 --> 00:31:57.029 who has been on your list. What is this invite? 00:31:57.150 --> 00:31:59.470 This invite is not, hey, we got some services. 00:32:00.549 --> 00:32:05.970 This invite is you writing them by name. Hey, 00:32:05.970 --> 00:32:12.279 Jerry, will you? This is important. Will you 00:32:12.279 --> 00:32:17.619 join me this Christmas to hear some good news? 00:32:19.700 --> 00:32:22.839 Jerry, will you come with me? This is not a, 00:32:22.859 --> 00:32:26.240 hey, Jerry, you need Jesus and here you go. This 00:32:26.240 --> 00:32:29.180 is Jerry, I've been praying for you, man. This 00:32:29.180 --> 00:32:31.299 is Jerry, I've been having you before the throne 00:32:31.299 --> 00:32:34.640 of God this week. Jerry, I need you to join me. 00:32:35.190 --> 00:32:36.970 Because there's good news that I believe you 00:32:36.970 --> 00:32:38.470 need because I see the needs in your life. I 00:32:38.470 --> 00:32:41.589 think you could use some good news, man. But 00:32:41.589 --> 00:32:49.809 Jerry, will you, will you come with me? It's 00:32:49.809 --> 00:32:52.349 personal. It's a personal invite. Please do not 00:32:52.349 --> 00:32:55.970 hand these out. Please do not take this and go, 00:32:56.029 --> 00:32:57.670 oh, good. I need to know what the service time 00:32:57.670 --> 00:32:59.509 was and put it on your fridge. Don't take one 00:32:59.509 --> 00:33:00.650 if you're going to do that because that's not 00:33:00.650 --> 00:33:04.000 what this is for. What this is for is for you 00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:06.299 to take the people that God has put in your circle 00:33:06.299 --> 00:33:08.380 that you've been praying over and for you to 00:33:08.380 --> 00:33:12.059 go, hey, by name, by name, Sally Sue. I don't 00:33:12.059 --> 00:33:13.400 know if there's a Sally Sue in the church, but 00:33:13.400 --> 00:33:17.940 Sally Sue, will you come to church? Or not church, 00:33:18.039 --> 00:33:19.500 will you come to hear some good news with me? 00:33:22.420 --> 00:33:24.460 I've got this dream, okay? And it might be dumb, 00:33:24.559 --> 00:33:26.500 but I'm gonna share it with you anyways. I can 00:33:26.500 --> 00:33:28.599 imagine nothing better than you have to attend 00:33:28.599 --> 00:33:32.460 every single Christmas service this year. All 00:33:32.460 --> 00:33:35.200 six of them. I'll be there. You can be there. 00:33:36.519 --> 00:33:38.859 But what do I mean by that? This is not a group 00:33:38.859 --> 00:33:41.059 invitation. This is not, hey, I'm going to invite 00:33:41.059 --> 00:33:43.119 everybody on my list to the same service so we 00:33:43.119 --> 00:33:45.859 can sit together. Not a group invitation. This 00:33:45.859 --> 00:33:49.140 is a personal invitation. Will you come? And 00:33:49.140 --> 00:33:51.420 if you've got six people, try and line them up. 00:33:51.579 --> 00:33:53.140 Will you come at the 4 p .m. with me? Will you 00:33:53.140 --> 00:33:56.299 come at the 6 p .m. with me? Why? Because Christmas 00:33:56.299 --> 00:34:00.299 services are not about you, church. They're not 00:34:00.299 --> 00:34:04.000 for you. I hope you come. I hope you're encouraged. 00:34:04.180 --> 00:34:06.339 I hope you feel like you got to celebrate the 00:34:06.339 --> 00:34:09.400 birth of Jesus. But it's not inherently for you. 00:34:09.739 --> 00:34:13.800 It is for the lost to be found. It is for the 00:34:13.800 --> 00:34:16.340 good news of Jesus to go out to those that need 00:34:16.340 --> 00:34:21.699 it. It's a bunch of shepherds on a hill. And 00:34:21.699 --> 00:34:28.130 if you come. And you have to attend all six services 00:34:28.130 --> 00:34:31.030 because Sally Sue came to that one and Jerry 00:34:31.030 --> 00:34:34.210 came to that one. And that's the mission God's 00:34:34.210 --> 00:34:41.369 got you on this Christmas. On your way out, you 00:34:41.369 --> 00:34:44.289 can take as many of these as you're going to 00:34:44.289 --> 00:34:48.730 invite, but please don't take more. Because this 00:34:48.730 --> 00:34:52.230 is not a blanket. Can I tell you what your invite 00:34:52.230 --> 00:34:59.110 is? Your invite is a ladder. And you are creating 00:34:59.110 --> 00:35:06.929 a ladder for people to see and experience Jesus. 00:35:06.969 --> 00:35:10.130 That's what this invite is. You're creating a 00:35:10.130 --> 00:35:12.349 ladder because they can't see right now. You're 00:35:12.349 --> 00:35:14.210 creating a ladder. Come hear some good news. 00:35:14.969 --> 00:35:17.389 Come see this Jesus that changes everything. 00:35:18.190 --> 00:35:22.570 Your invitation, your invitation is a ladder. 00:35:25.070 --> 00:35:28.650 For people who need Jesus to come and see this 00:35:28.650 --> 00:35:38.309 Christmas. There's another table. And it's by 00:35:38.309 --> 00:35:43.369 invitation only. Because there's a table that 00:35:43.369 --> 00:35:45.409 we call communion, right? There's a table we 00:35:45.409 --> 00:35:49.590 call the Lord's table, the Lord's supper. And 00:35:49.590 --> 00:35:51.929 you realize you only sit at it because you were 00:35:51.929 --> 00:35:56.840 invited by name. to the table. Oh, what do I 00:35:56.840 --> 00:35:59.500 mean by that? That when Jesus was going to seek 00:35:59.500 --> 00:36:02.460 and save the lost, he saw you and he saw your 00:36:02.460 --> 00:36:05.300 name and the cross is your invitation that is 00:36:05.300 --> 00:36:07.440 stained red with the blood of Jesus. And the 00:36:07.440 --> 00:36:10.679 empty tomb is your invitation to new life. And 00:36:10.679 --> 00:36:12.840 what is new life? That we gather around the table 00:36:12.840 --> 00:36:16.300 with him because you have been invited. Who have 00:36:16.300 --> 00:36:19.260 you been invited by? Almighty God. You've been 00:36:19.260 --> 00:36:21.440 invited by the same Jesus that invites Zacchaeus 00:36:21.440 --> 00:36:23.900 down. You think about that early table. Everybody 00:36:23.900 --> 00:36:25.800 that sat at that table was there. Why? Because 00:36:25.800 --> 00:36:31.860 they were called by name. And so you're invited 00:36:31.860 --> 00:36:33.659 to come sit at a table. And what do you do when 00:36:33.659 --> 00:36:36.539 you get to that table? You remember that you 00:36:36.539 --> 00:36:39.199 were invited. How were you invited? By Jesus 00:36:39.199 --> 00:36:43.920 giving his life. It cost him his life for you 00:36:43.920 --> 00:36:47.079 to sit at this table, which is why the reminder 00:36:47.079 --> 00:36:54.929 of his body and the reminder of his blood. It's 00:36:54.929 --> 00:36:58.210 a reminder of how you were invited, that he loved 00:36:58.210 --> 00:37:05.590 you enough, that he urgently showed up when you 00:37:05.590 --> 00:37:17.449 couldn't, that he chose to take up the cross. 00:37:18.469 --> 00:37:22.389 He chose to let his own creation put him to death. 00:37:24.360 --> 00:37:32.460 He chose to go into a tomb. And God the Father 00:37:32.460 --> 00:37:38.840 raised him to life. Why? So that you could be 00:37:38.840 --> 00:37:41.820 invited. And so the next moments are yours just 00:37:41.820 --> 00:37:46.880 to remember that you are invited by name. That 00:37:46.880 --> 00:37:50.159 he walks with you to this moment. That he's here 00:37:50.159 --> 00:37:53.659 present. And he wants to have dinner with you. 00:37:55.459 --> 00:37:56.960 So the next moments are yours and then we'll 00:37:56.960 --> 00:39:09.590 take it all together. The imagery of that meal 00:39:09.590 --> 00:39:18.090 table and Jesus pre -crucified, even with all 00:39:18.090 --> 00:39:22.670 the urgency, slows down to still love them enough 00:39:22.670 --> 00:39:24.590 to go, hey, you're going to need this when I'm 00:39:24.590 --> 00:39:30.949 gone. You're going to need the reminder of why 00:39:30.949 --> 00:39:40.360 you sit at the table in the first place. See, 00:39:40.400 --> 00:39:42.539 I won't reach an invitation out to somebody else 00:39:42.539 --> 00:39:52.719 until I realize I've been invited. Until you 00:39:52.719 --> 00:39:55.860 realize that the bread that you hold is your 00:39:55.860 --> 00:40:01.059 invitation to remember your invitation. That 00:40:01.059 --> 00:40:03.579 it says that as Jesus sat there, he told them, 00:40:03.599 --> 00:40:06.139 this is my body and it is given. No one is taking 00:40:06.139 --> 00:40:10.019 it. I am giving it. Why? Because I'm here to 00:40:10.019 --> 00:40:15.800 seek and to save the lost. And I give it. And 00:40:15.800 --> 00:40:19.079 when you get together and you share this meal, 00:40:19.239 --> 00:40:24.559 remind yourselves that I was here. Remind yourselves 00:40:24.559 --> 00:40:27.820 that I died. Remind yourselves that I gave my 00:40:27.820 --> 00:40:31.159 body. And so he said, take, eat, do this in remembrance 00:40:31.159 --> 00:40:47.260 of me. You hold one of the things, and this cup 00:40:47.260 --> 00:40:49.860 of juice represents it, that the world is craving. 00:40:49.960 --> 00:40:55.599 You know what it is? Complete forgiveness. And 00:40:55.599 --> 00:40:59.300 when Jesus took the cup, he connected the idea 00:40:59.300 --> 00:41:02.460 of forgiveness to his blood. That when his blood 00:41:02.460 --> 00:41:07.019 was shed, when his blood ran the cross red, that 00:41:07.019 --> 00:41:09.440 what was happening is the forgiveness of you 00:41:09.440 --> 00:41:11.340 and me was being purchased for all of eternity. 00:41:12.159 --> 00:41:17.159 You hold a story to invite people to that they're 00:41:17.159 --> 00:41:21.019 craving. And we get to sit and be reminded you 00:41:21.019 --> 00:41:25.579 are completely forgiven today because of the 00:41:25.579 --> 00:41:30.199 blood of Jesus. And he said, take, drink, do 00:41:30.199 --> 00:41:37.039 this in remembrance of me. God, we come before 00:41:37.039 --> 00:41:39.960 you and God is with gratitude. Thank you for 00:41:39.960 --> 00:41:44.369 the invite to the table. God, thank you that 00:41:44.369 --> 00:41:50.710 we get to sit, that we get to remember, that 00:41:50.710 --> 00:41:55.030 we get to worship, that we get to, God, see you 00:41:55.030 --> 00:42:00.150 and experience you, God, because we've been invited. 00:42:02.889 --> 00:42:05.190 And so, God, would you, this week, would you 00:42:05.190 --> 00:42:08.170 put on our hearts and our souls and our lives 00:42:11.559 --> 00:42:16.599 Would you give us eyes to see? And as we see, 00:42:16.679 --> 00:42:19.059 would it move deep within us that we're compelled 00:42:19.059 --> 00:42:25.320 to action, that we're compelled to live on mission 00:42:25.320 --> 00:42:30.739 with you? God, would you, would you, would you 00:42:30.739 --> 00:42:34.900 lead us to those that need you today? Would you 00:42:34.900 --> 00:42:37.139 lead us to those that need to hear some good 00:42:37.139 --> 00:42:39.320 news? God, would you give us the courage to personally 00:42:39.320 --> 00:42:42.579 invite? Would you give us the willingness to 00:42:42.579 --> 00:42:48.119 get out of our comfort zone? And God, maybe that 00:42:48.119 --> 00:42:50.300 means we attend more services than we would like. 00:42:51.920 --> 00:42:54.360 But God, would you put us on mission this Christmas? 00:42:57.099 --> 00:43:02.039 And would we respond with our lives? And so God, 00:43:02.059 --> 00:43:06.030 we are grateful people. We are the people who 00:43:06.030 --> 00:43:08.389 choose to build our life on you and you alone. 00:43:09.130 --> 00:43:13.769 We declare to remind ourselves, we declare before 00:43:13.769 --> 00:43:18.469 you and others, I will build my life today on 00:43:18.469 --> 00:43:22.590 you. And so God, we just say, thank you. Thank 00:43:22.590 --> 00:43:24.429 you for loving us. Thank you for inviting us. 00:43:26.110 --> 00:43:28.449 Thank you for being here present at this moment. 00:43:28.489 --> 00:43:30.650 Holy Spirit, would you continue to speak as we 00:43:30.650 --> 00:43:33.510 sing? It's in your name we pray, everybody said. 00:43:34.159 --> 00:43:34.659 Amen.