1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:16,360 I knew those racks under the chairs would come in good for something someday. We had 2 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:21,160 originally hoped to put our hembooks under there, but that of course doesn't work because 3 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:25,760 the hembooks slide back too far. You can't get them out without standing up and turning 4 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:33,280 the chair upside down. That's a little disruptive to the service. So if you have one of those 5 00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:37,920 registration cards to turn in, would you please take a moment right now to put it underneath 6 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:46,000 the chair and we'll collect those after the service. 7 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:51,800 Battles rage along many lines in our day, but none is more fierce than that for our 8 00:00:51,800 --> 00:01:02,040 homes. Satan knows that our homes are not only the cornerstone of human society, but 9 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:09,800 they are also the womb of the next generation. His destructive powers have been unleashed 10 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:15,720 against the homes of our land. Dr. Don Jennings, who is president of Tennessee 11 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:19,560 Temple University and Seminary in Chattanooga, stated, 12 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:25,000 "'Since the Garden of Eden, when the devil got a foothold in the first family, every 13 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:32,320 family has been the focal point of wicked satanic attack. The devil wants families disrupted, 14 00:01:32,320 --> 00:01:39,360 divided, and doomed forever.'" Surely these last days in which we live are 15 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:47,960 characterized by a hellish assault, unequal since the days of Noah, which were before 16 00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:55,880 the Flood. God is the designer of the home. We know that. While the perfection of the 17 00:01:55,880 --> 00:02:02,600 Garden of Eden was lost in the fall and is found in no home, nonetheless the blessing 18 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:09,960 of God can be observed in some homes, that is, those homes where Jesus Christ is Lord 19 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:19,080 and King. Since most of us profess the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, we assume, naturally, 20 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:25,160 that He is also the Sovereign in our homes. But that does not necessarily follow. 21 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:32,320 That is why the theme of our false spiritual adventure is so exciting and significant—opening 22 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:41,720 our homes to Christ, that is, making Him feel welcomed and comfortable in our homes. 23 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:46,720 What we're going to talk about in the fall spiritual adventure is applicable to other 24 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:52,320 personal relationships as well. So if you're not living in the context of a family unit—maybe 25 00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:58,080 it is a dorm or the college campus or it's an apartment with other singles—what we're 26 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:03,720 going to talk about is applicable to those relationships just as well, to make Jesus 27 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:10,680 Christ comfortable in that setting where you live. 28 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:15,680 It is a decision and a commitment on our part to open our homes to Christ and to make a 29 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:24,640 commitment to His Lordship in our homes. In Joshua 24 and verse 15 in the Old Testament, 30 00:03:24,640 --> 00:03:29,860 we have an example of such a commitment. I'd like you to open your Bible and turn there 31 00:03:29,860 --> 00:03:33,120 with me if you would please. 32 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:39,000 Joshua 24, verse 15. 33 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:47,800 Moses had led Israel to Jordan, but then God called him home. He died. Joshua was appointed 34 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:54,080 by the Lord to succeed Moses and to lead the people in conquering the land of Canaan. That 35 00:03:54,080 --> 00:04:02,320 was done and the land was divided among the tribes or the family lines of Israel. And 36 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:08,600 then sometime later, near his death, Joshua called the people of Israel together for some 37 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:14,960 farewell addresses. The one in chapter 24 of the book that bears his name was delivered 38 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:22,160 at the city of Shechem in the middle of Israel. The purpose of this address was to reaffirm 39 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:30,200 the covenant between Israel and Jehovah God. On that occasion, Joshua challenged Israel 40 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:38,160 to serve the Lord faithfully. And yet he points out that there was a prerequisite for serving 41 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:47,480 the Lord. First, they had to put away the false gods among them. It may seem rather 42 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:53,760 strange to us that the people of Israel would be worshipping some false gods. After all, 43 00:04:53,760 --> 00:05:01,080 they had seen the mighty power of God as they were brought across the flooding Jordan River. 44 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:07,400 They had seen the power of God in the destruction of the city of Jericho and other cities in 45 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:14,200 the land. After seeing those great miracles, it is an amazing thing that they were still 46 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:19,680 worshipping some of the false gods, not only the Canaanites, but of the gods of Egypt as 47 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:26,040 well. Now, we think that is amazing, and it is, but it is no more amazing that we should 48 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:33,320 have false deities in our lives today. Other gods than the Lord, even if it is the God 49 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:43,080 of self with a capital S. For we too have seen the mighty power of God in our redemption. 50 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:48,760 We have heard the gospel message of Christ coming into the world, dying for our sake, 51 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:55,800 being raised from the dead, exalted to the right hand of God the Father. We have experienced 52 00:05:55,800 --> 00:06:02,800 the miracle of our faith in him, and our being born into his family, and the transformation 53 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:10,440 that he makes in the life. With all of those amazing experiences, is it not also amazing 54 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:17,200 that we also have false deities? Joshua gathers the people of Israel. He tells them that before 55 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:24,480 they can serve the Lord, they must get rid of their false gods. Notice verse 14. He says, 56 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:32,920 Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and truth. In other words, no 57 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:39,120 longer let it be hypocritically that you serve the Lord. No longer let it be with a divided 58 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:44,480 heart. No longer let it be with the words of your mouth, but with a heart that is far 59 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:51,800 from God. Indeed he goes on to say, Put away the gods which your fathers served beyond 60 00:06:51,800 --> 00:07:00,000 the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. So that is the prerequisite before you and 61 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:07,960 I can welcome the Lord Jesus Christ into our homes. Before we can proclaim him sovereign 62 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:16,120 and king in that setting, we have to deal with the false deities that we worship and 63 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:23,560 serve. Joshua goes on to the people and says to the people in verse 15, And if it is a 64 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:30,160 disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will 65 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:35,960 serve, whether the gods which your fathers served, which were beyond the river, or the 66 00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:42,840 gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But as for me and my house, we will 67 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:51,400 serve the Lord. And so before these thousands of people, Joshua boldly announced his decision 68 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:58,680 for himself and for his family. Now in that culture, he spoke for all of his family. Joshua 69 00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:05,120 was an aged man by this time. He had sons who were even old, grandsons, and undoubtedly 70 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:12,400 great grandchildren, perhaps great great grandchildren. Because he was the patriarch, he was the leader 71 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:19,280 of his family line. He announced the decision for all of them. And he said, As for me and 72 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:31,320 for my family, we will serve Jehovah. Now today it is somewhat different in our culture. 73 00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:36,280 We don't have patriarchs of families as they did in that day. But you see the principle 74 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:45,360 is still the same. The principle hasn't changed at all. We today must choose whom we are going 75 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:55,880 to serve. Jesus said, You cannot serve God in heaven and mammon money, things of the 76 00:08:55,880 --> 00:09:05,640 world. We cannot serve God and serve another deity. We cannot proclaim Jesus Christ the 77 00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:15,960 King of our lives and of our homes, and yet give allegiance, priority, preference, preeminence 78 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:22,440 to other gods in our lives that we serve. Now it may be that there are some idols in 79 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:29,400 your home. We are living in a day when idols are becoming known again in homes because 80 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:36,120 of the influence of foreign cultures upon our own. There are many people within ten 81 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:43,360 miles of this church who literally have false gods upon shelves in their homes. They cannot 82 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:54,600 serve those gods in Jesus Christ. No more than we who come from the American, quote, 83 00:09:54,600 --> 00:10:02,720 Christianized culture can serve God and the God of materialism, the God of selfishness, 84 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:08,360 the God of pleasure, the God of television, the God of entertainment, and on and on we 85 00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:19,600 go. Choose whom you will serve, either those false deities or God, one or the other, but 86 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:26,960 don't try to straddle the fence. One or the other will dominate and control our lives. 87 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:33,560 That's the point. There's no such thing as giving 50% to God and 50% to whatever else 88 00:10:33,560 --> 00:10:40,880 we may want to do and serve and worship. One will dominate the decisions, the motives, 89 00:10:40,880 --> 00:10:48,440 the goals, our money, our time. One will dominate. And what the Word of God tells us through 90 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:55,000 Joshua, the prophet of old, is choose whom you will serve and serve that God. If it's 91 00:10:55,000 --> 00:11:02,240 disagreeable with you to serve the Lord, then don't serve Him and serve those other gods, 92 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:11,200 but don't claim to serve the Lord. That's the point. Be honest about it. Choose whom 93 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:21,800 you will serve, one or the other, but not both. I think it's important to state positively 94 00:11:21,800 --> 00:11:29,160 what you and your family believe is important and what you determine by God's grace to 95 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:37,280 do. I see Joshua doing that here on behalf of his family. He states to them that the 96 00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:43,720 worship of Jehovah is what is important in their family. And he announces to the whole 97 00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:51,320 nation gathered before him what they intend to do. We will serve the Lord, he says. I 98 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:57,600 think it's important for our families to do similar things today, to say these kinds 99 00:11:57,600 --> 00:12:06,600 of things together and to say them publicly. I have an idea for you. It's not a part of 100 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:11,640 our fall spiritual adventure discipline series, but it's an idea that you may want to try 101 00:12:11,640 --> 00:12:20,200 to incorporate this fall. I would encourage you to work together to develop such a statement 102 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:27,560 for you and your family, you and your roommate, you and the people you live with there that 103 00:12:27,560 --> 00:12:38,240 are in that apartment. Develop a statement for that grouping of yours, for your family, 104 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:45,520 which states in a few words what is important to you, what you believe, and what you intend 105 00:12:45,520 --> 00:12:54,760 to do as a family in light of that. And after you've developed that statement, let me encourage 106 00:12:54,760 --> 00:13:02,720 you to have someone print it for you or ask someone to write it in calligraphy or maybe 107 00:13:02,720 --> 00:13:08,520 in your own handwriting you'll want to put it up on the wall of your home. Frame it and 108 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:14,160 put it right there so that you can see it. It doesn't become the law, the Medes, and 109 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:20,080 the Persians. You may want to change that as your family grows. It may be that there 110 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:26,320 are some other things later that will want to be added to that. But for now, develop 111 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:31,840 a statement of what is important to you, what you believe as a family. Who is the God you 112 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:41,240 serve? And then in light of that, what you intend by the grace of God to do. I not only 113 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:45,880 encourage you to put it in a visible place in your home so that you're declaring that 114 00:13:45,880 --> 00:13:53,320 publicly, but I encourage you as a family to read it together out loud at least once 115 00:13:53,320 --> 00:14:00,440 a week at some appointed time. Maybe it's Sunday dinner when all of you are together. 116 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:04,720 Maybe it's one night during the week when you have a family night. Maybe it's at some 117 00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:09,680 particular prayer time that you have together as a family. But read it through at least 118 00:14:09,680 --> 00:14:17,440 once a week. What does that do? It reinforces in a positive statement who the God is that 119 00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:28,800 you believe in and how you together as a family will serve Him. We're going to be talking 120 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:37,840 in these upcoming weeks about doing just that, welcoming Jesus Christ into our homes as Lord, 121 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:43,640 telling Him that we are serving Him in various ways. 122 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:52,200 I think in Luke 19 we have a New Testament example of a similar commitment to Christ 123 00:14:52,200 --> 00:15:04,040 to welcome Him into the home. It is the story of the wee little man as the chorus goes. 124 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:13,080 Luke 19, verse 1, And Jesus entered and was passing through Jericho. And, behold, there 125 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:21,000 was a man called by the name of Zacchaeus. And he was a chief tax gatherer, and he was 126 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:27,320 rich. And he was trying to see who Jesus was, and he was unable because of the crowd, for 127 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:34,600 he was small in stature. And he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order 128 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:40,920 to see Him, for he was about to pass through that way. And when Jesus came to the place, 129 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:47,720 he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your 130 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:53,840 house. And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly. And when they saw it, they all 131 00:15:53,840 --> 00:16:00,920 began to grumble, saying, He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. And Zacchaeus 132 00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:06,360 stopped and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the 133 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:14,240 poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much. And Jesus 134 00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:20,720 said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 135 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:27,920 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. 136 00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:32,680 We have in verse 10 Jesus giving us His purpose for coming into the world. It's summarized 137 00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:40,400 there. It is illustrated for us in Luke 15 in the three parables of the lost sheep, the 138 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:50,440 lost coin, the lost son. And it is illustrated in this real-life incident in Luke 19. Zacchaeus 139 00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:58,320 was a chief tax gatherer for that whole region. This is the only time this particular title 140 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:06,700 appears in the New Testament. Jericho, the city, was located on a main road in the Jordan 141 00:17:06,700 --> 00:17:13,840 Valley near the Jordan River. The road that ran through it was from the Transjordan, that 142 00:17:13,840 --> 00:17:20,800 is the east side of the Jordan, up to the city of Jerusalem. Because of the city's 143 00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:28,560 location, it was a busy customs station. Zacchaeus apparently was responsible. He was the head 144 00:17:28,560 --> 00:17:35,680 honsho of this customs station in the city of Jericho on the main thoroughfare from Transjordan 145 00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:44,000 to Jerusalem. He became rich. Those two facts I've just mentioned are not necessarily 146 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:53,800 independent. He became rich because he was a tax gatherer. Lawfully he could have become 147 00:17:53,800 --> 00:18:01,120 rich, but apparently he was very rich because he gathered some of his income unlawfully. 148 00:18:01,120 --> 00:18:06,080 That is suggested at least in what he says in verse 8. 149 00:18:06,080 --> 00:18:12,040 Now why is it that Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus? Well, the answer undoubtedly is that 150 00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:22,280 he was curious about Jesus. What was the basis of his curiosity? Perhaps it was his miracles. 151 00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:28,600 But I think more likely it was that Jesus' reputation of being a friend of tax collectors 152 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:37,120 went before him. You see, tax collectors like Zacchaeus did not have many friends. They 153 00:18:37,120 --> 00:18:44,200 were not the well-liked popular people in their society. Indeed, they were hated by 154 00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:49,440 the Jews in particular because often they were Jews, as is the case with Zacchaeus, 155 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:54,440 who worked for the Roman government. And there was nothing that was more reprehensible and 156 00:18:54,440 --> 00:19:02,280 reprobate to the Jew than to do that. Zacchaeus was a man who had few friends, but he heard 157 00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:11,360 about this rabbi, this Jewish teacher named Jesus of Nazareth, who befriended tax gatherers. 158 00:19:11,360 --> 00:19:16,720 And so, as he saw the crowd approaching around Jesus, it seems that he ran ahead and found 159 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:22,880 a tree and climbed up into that tree to gain a little more advantage in trying to see this 160 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:28,800 man, for he was short in stature. I want you to notice with me several things. 161 00:19:28,800 --> 00:19:37,960 First of all, when Jesus came to that tree, he stopped. And he called Zacchaeus by name. 162 00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:44,320 There is no indication in the word of God they had ever met before. It is highly unlikely 163 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:53,200 that anyone would have pointed out Zacchaeus to Jesus. Undoubtedly, Jesus knew this man 164 00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:59,240 because as he did in other cases as God, he knew the identity of people before he met 165 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:09,360 them. Zacchaeus, he said, come down. The second thing I want you to notice is that Zacchaeus 166 00:20:09,360 --> 00:20:18,200 technically didn't invite Jesus to his house. Jesus invited himself. Jesus said, Zacchaeus, 167 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:24,160 come down. I must go to your house today. The only time that Jesus ever did that, right 168 00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:31,640 here, where he invited himself in. Notice also the joy of Zacchaeus. It says that he 169 00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:41,600 made haste. He came down quickly and received Jesus gladly into his home. 170 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:49,400 I also want you to notice the response of the Jewish multitude. Predictable. They grumbled 171 00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:55,360 among themselves. One translator has put it this way. They kept buzzing angrily among 172 00:20:55,360 --> 00:21:03,240 themselves. You get the picture here of a nest of hornets that has been disturbed and 173 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:10,320 they are flying around buzzing angrily because of what Jesus has done. He has entered the 174 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:18,480 home of this terrible sinner, this turncoat of the Jews who worked for the Romans as a 175 00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:27,400 customs agent. So they were angry about that and they said he has gone to be the guest 176 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:35,460 of a man who is a sinner. How can he be a rabbi and do that? 177 00:21:35,460 --> 00:21:42,760 Notice the result of the visit. The home visit occurred between verses 6 and 8. At some point 178 00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:50,400 Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, Behold Lord, half of my possessions I will give to 179 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:57,680 the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much. 180 00:21:57,680 --> 00:22:01,960 That was in strict accordance with the law Exodus 22.1. 181 00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:11,200 What do we see here? We see a man who is repentant and who shows the fruit of repentance. He 182 00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:17,720 wants to make restitution. Not only that, he has a heart of generosity. He says, half 183 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:26,480 of everything I own I give to the poor. We see the fruit here of a man who has genuinely 184 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:35,160 welcomed Jesus Christ not only into his home, but into his heart, into his life as well. 185 00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:41,560 The lesson that I see here is this. When Jesus Christ comes into a home, he transforms it. 186 00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:49,600 He makes it different. When Jesus Christ comes in, things change. 187 00:22:49,600 --> 00:22:58,120 I received a wonderful letter this last week from a lady in our church. She thanks God 188 00:22:58,120 --> 00:23:03,960 for the ministry of the church and for you, the body of believers, who are kind, loving, 189 00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:11,000 and patient. Then she goes on to say this, I am a sinner and deserve nothing. Even a 190 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:17,560 fraction of this inner peace is more than I deserve. Yet each day I am given more and 191 00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:23,520 more, and each day I think surely I will burst from so much joy and peace and happiness. 192 00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:29,480 How fortunate I am at this early age to have been given what some people strive a lifetime 193 00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:35,120 for and never reach. She is a new believer, but in that statement she said something very 194 00:23:35,120 --> 00:23:41,440 significant, to have been given what some people strive a lifetime for. There is a difference 195 00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:50,640 there, isn't there? The peace and the joy, the salvation that the Lord Jesus Christ gives 196 00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:56,520 is just that. It is a gift of grace. We cannot strive for it. We cannot work for it. We can 197 00:23:56,520 --> 00:24:02,400 try a whole lifetime to gain it and come short because it is something we simply reach out 198 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:07,600 and receive. She has got a hold of that. She goes on to say each day my awareness grows 199 00:24:07,600 --> 00:24:13,040 and I see more clearly our world as it is in reality, and I feel as if I have touched 200 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:18,400 the sky and I will live forever like this. Praise God. When I became a Christian there 201 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:23,360 was only one desire left in my heart. I thought I had all the happiness I could handle just 202 00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:27,920 knowing the Lord and was content with my new life in Christ. When I learned from the Bible 203 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:33,520 that by following the Lord He would give you the desires of your heart, I said I am happy, 204 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:37,960 I am content, and my only desire would be for my husband and I to get back together 205 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:45,080 again and have our family restored. She had been divorced. But I said, Lord, knowing your 206 00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:50,400 grace is enough for me and much more than I deserve, and I would not disobey you by 207 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:57,880 marrying a non-Christian no matter how much I loved my husband. I was content to say, 208 00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:04,080 may your will not mine be done. I was happy to obey him and be able to turn from my desires 209 00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:11,080 toward his, and I rejoiced that I had grown to be obedient to his commandments. The Lord 210 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:18,320 is so good, so loving and forgiving. I gave up my will, my ego, and my human desires concerning 211 00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:24,760 my husband, and He rewarded me with what I call my own special miracle. First of all, 212 00:25:24,760 --> 00:25:31,520 He is true to His word. He changed my husband's heart and he became a Christian. And today 213 00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:40,880 we are married, and by the grace of God our family has been restored. He can move mountains, 214 00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:49,280 planets, and people as I have seen and know only too well. 215 00:25:49,280 --> 00:25:56,840 When Jesus Christ comes into a life, when He is welcomed into a home, He makes a difference. 216 00:25:56,840 --> 00:26:04,160 He does. And He can make a difference in your life. He can make a difference in your home. 217 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:13,280 You see, it is possible for us to be Christians and not to have a Christ-centered home. It 218 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:20,880 is possible for us to be born-again believers in the family of God and yet have homes where 219 00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:28,280 Jesus Christ is not comfortable. That is why the truth that we are going to be focusing 220 00:26:28,280 --> 00:26:40,640 on in the next few months is so important—welcoming the Lord Jesus into our homes as King. 221 00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:50,240 So not only are we a home of Christians, but we are a Christian home where Jesus Christ 222 00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:57,060 is King and Lord. That is a truth that we will develop through the fall adventure during 223 00:26:57,060 --> 00:27:06,920 the Sunday preaching. There are going to be eight specific results in our homes as we 224 00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:12,520 open them to Jesus and welcome Him as King. First of all, we will discover the wonder 225 00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:20,480 of His closeness. And we are going to talk about that next week. Secondly, we will treat 226 00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:28,240 ourselves and one another with dignity as Christ does. When we open our homes to Jesus 227 00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:38,800 and welcome the King, third, we will ask daily what we can do to serve our King. Fourth result, 228 00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:44,240 when we welcome Jesus into our home, we will adjust to Christ's thinking that Sunday 229 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:54,560 is a very special day. Five, when Jesus is welcomed into our homes, we will invite those 230 00:27:54,560 --> 00:28:01,240 with needs to meet Him. And following our discussion of that emphasis, we will enter 231 00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:09,360 into our missions festival—what an appropriate spot to break and talk about missions. When 232 00:28:09,360 --> 00:28:15,080 we welcome Jesus into our home, sixth result, we will view our material possessions through 233 00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:25,280 the Lord's eyes. Seven, we will allow the Lord to manage our crises. And eight, we will 234 00:28:25,280 --> 00:28:32,520 feel unbelievably privileged when we welcome Jesus into our homes. And that Sunday will 235 00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:38,520 be Thanksgiving Sunday, and we will have a lot of rejoicing to do. 236 00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:46,280 Last week we discussed the cycle of spiritual growth. A period of growth in our lives is 237 00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:55,560 often followed by a time of resting, even testing, to see if the growth was real. It 238 00:28:55,560 --> 00:29:00,440 is true of all of us, and we need to admit it, that we do not always experience the same 239 00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:07,900 intensity in our walk with God. It seems as though God has chosen that there be a certain 240 00:29:07,900 --> 00:29:16,640 sacred rhythm to this process of our growing in Christ. And all of us know that. Our fall 241 00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:23,760 spiritual adventure is an opportunity for all of us to concentrate on growth at the 242 00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:31,440 same time. Now you stop and think about the impact of that. In any given week, there are 243 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:37,560 some of us who are in one of those periods of growth. There are probably many more of 244 00:29:37,560 --> 00:29:47,040 us that are in a period of resting or testing. But now we are coming to a time when all of 245 00:29:47,040 --> 00:29:55,440 us can choose to discipline ourselves to grow. Think of the impact that that can have in 246 00:29:55,440 --> 00:30:03,560 our church when we do it this way all together. That is why I sincerely hope that every one 247 00:30:03,560 --> 00:30:09,920 of you is planning to be an adventurer with the rest of us. Yet I realize that there are 248 00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:15,400 some of you that cannot do that. There is no coercion, there is no arm twisting, and 249 00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:19,920 certainly you will profit just by being with us on Sunday and hearing the preaching and 250 00:30:19,920 --> 00:30:27,320 going through this theme with us. But I do want to encourage you to be an adventurer. 251 00:30:27,320 --> 00:30:31,040 And I hope that the enthusiasm that we are going to have for the adventure in the weeks 252 00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:35,600 to come will not be offensive to those of you who choose for some reason not to be a 253 00:30:35,600 --> 00:30:41,440 part of it at this time. But we are going to be enthusiastic. We are going to talk about 254 00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:46,880 it. And so I ask, have you gotten your journal yet? They are available today. Some of you 255 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:51,800 got them last Sunday night. But we have plenty of them. We ordered a certain number. They 256 00:30:51,800 --> 00:30:57,120 sent us 400 more by mistake. So we have got plenty of them. We can send back what we don't 257 00:30:57,120 --> 00:31:03,520 use. But there is a journal for you waiting. Have you determined to do all five of the 258 00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:11,680 disciplines we talked about last week? Or which ones of the five you will do? The Word 259 00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:18,520 of God says in 1 Timothy 4, 7, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness. That 260 00:31:18,520 --> 00:31:25,920 is our responsibility. By the grace of God to discipline ourselves for the purpose of 261 00:31:25,920 --> 00:31:35,440 godliness, you will be able to measure your progress in the next several weeks by use 262 00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:40,840 of this adventure journal. You will be able to look back and see exactly what God has 263 00:31:40,840 --> 00:31:45,800 done in your life and measure that progress. I want to tell you, that will be an encouragement 264 00:31:45,800 --> 00:31:51,080 to you. I believe this is going to be one of the most exciting, encouraging things you 265 00:31:51,080 --> 00:31:56,080 have ever done in your Christian walk. The next Sunday we are going to talk about the 266 00:31:56,080 --> 00:32:03,800 wonder of the closeness of our King. We are going to ask God to open our eyes to see that 267 00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:12,920 He is here, that He is working through circumstances in our lives to prove Himself every day. And 268 00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:16,520 we are going to talk about a very special discipline that I hope all of us will do, 269 00:32:16,520 --> 00:32:20,200 even if you are not going to do all five. Here is one I hope you will do. It is called 270 00:32:20,200 --> 00:32:27,000 the God Hunt. We will talk more about that next week. For now I want to know if you will 271 00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:34,200 ask the Lord every day this week to make this spiritual adventure a time of accelerated 272 00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:42,600 growth in your life, number one, and in our church's body life. You say, well why are 273 00:32:42,600 --> 00:32:49,640 we concerned about the church? Well the fact is that the church, any local church, is only 274 00:32:49,640 --> 00:32:57,880 as strong as its weakest member. Did you know that? Any church is only as strong as its 275 00:32:57,880 --> 00:33:05,280 weakest member, just like a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. And so as we 276 00:33:05,280 --> 00:33:10,960 emphasize growing individually, the purpose of that is so that we as a church also may 277 00:33:10,960 --> 00:33:19,600 grow and be stronger. I believe that this will could be a key to revival in our church. 278 00:33:19,600 --> 00:33:25,520 People all around are hungry for the personal presence of God in their lives. Many right 279 00:33:25,520 --> 00:33:32,080 here. That is what revival is all about. It is being hungry for God. It is being willing 280 00:33:32,080 --> 00:33:38,040 to be broken before God and say to God, whatever you want Lord, that is what I want. Your will 281 00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:46,200 be done in my life, in my home, and in my church. Of course it is unconfessed sin that 282 00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:54,320 hinders that. And we need to bring it before the Lord. Bring it before the Lord even right 283 00:33:54,320 --> 00:34:01,120 now so that we can be ready to grow together for the glory of God. Would you bow together 284 00:34:01,120 --> 00:34:11,280 with me please? I would like us to have just a few quiet moments so that you personally 285 00:34:11,280 --> 00:34:21,920 can respond to God. Perhaps you are here and like Zacchaeus, you are curious about Jesus. 286 00:34:21,920 --> 00:34:29,200 You have heard about Him. He would come to your house today. He would come into your 287 00:34:29,200 --> 00:34:35,800 heart and save you. Will you invite Him to come in? Would you by faith reach out and 288 00:34:35,800 --> 00:34:44,320 say Jesus I receive you as Savior, as Lord of my life. No other gods do I worship but 289 00:34:44,320 --> 00:34:53,200 you. Save me from my sin. Many of you are children of God already. Are you willing to 290 00:34:53,200 --> 00:35:01,320 confess sin if it is there? To bring it before Him in confession? Are you willing to pray 291 00:35:01,320 --> 00:35:09,480 and ask Him to make this time of spiritual growth real in your life and in our church? 292 00:35:09,480 --> 00:35:36,480 Let's talk to the Lord right now individually. Lord, because a child is born, a child is 293 00:35:36,480 --> 00:35:54,080 raised, and a child is raised, I pray that you will make these next few weeks significant 294 00:35:54,080 --> 00:36:01,560 times of growth in our lives so that we individually can be stronger, so that our homes and personal 295 00:36:01,560 --> 00:36:07,360 relationships can be stronger, and so that our church will be stronger and experience 296 00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:20,080 the revival of awareness of your presence with us. Be the King, the Sovereign, the Lord, 297 00:36:20,080 --> 00:36:26,960 and if there is anything in our lives, Savior, which hinders your working, which grieves 298 00:36:26,960 --> 00:36:37,240 and quenches your spirit, oh do now make that known to us in such a powerful way that we 299 00:36:37,240 --> 00:36:46,400 will acknowledge it and repent and bring forth the fruit of repentance. In Jesus' name we 300 00:36:46,400 --> 00:36:57,440 pray, Amen.