Steve Gentry
[0:00] How are you? You look good. [0:03] Very attractive people, I tell you. [0:06] Next week, I’m excited. Next week we start a new series. [0:10] We’re done with No Perfect People Allowed after today. [0:13] Next week we start a series on the book of Galatians. We’re going to go verse by verse, [0:17] word by word
[0:18] through the entire book of Galatians. That could take a few weeks, [0:22] a few more weeks than No Perfect People Allowed did, but I’m excited. [0:25] Because what we’re going to do is we’re going to get together as a people and we’re going to [0:28] study God’s word together and we’re going to learn what Paul [0:32] meant through an entire letter that he wrote to a church. [0:37] And you’re going to find out over the next few weeks that the issues that he deals
[0:40] with in the book of Galatians [0:42] are issues that we are currently dealing with right here right now [0:45] in our lives in the year 2009 in the church [0:48] all over the world. It’s the issue of the life transforming grace [0:54] through Jesus. And what is required of us [0:58] is it Jesus plus anything else? Is it Jesus minus
[1:02] something? Where is it that salvation comes from? And we’ve entitled the series [1:06] Losing My Religion. [1:08] And the fact that in Jesus we lose [1:11] all of the baggage that is put on us [1:14] through trying to earn our own salvation. And I’m very excited about this. I think [1:19] we’ll learn a lot through this series. I know that I will learn a lot. I’ve already
[1:22] learned a lot. [1:23] It kind of happens to you when you read the Bible. It’s kind of like God meant it to do [1:27] that or something. I’m not really sure what that’s all about. [1:30] But if you have a Bible this morning, go ahead and open up to the book of [1:33] Luke. Luke chapter 19. Over the past few weeks we’ve taken a bit of a journey [1:42] through what we’ve kind of entitled No Perfect People Allowed. And every week has
[1:46] been Jesus [1:47] versus something. We’ve seen through the words of Jesus because every week we’ve [1:51] been dealing with a different [1:53] story or a different circumstance that Jesus himself had to deal with when he [1:58] was here. [1:59] And we have seen that all of our attempts at perfection
[2:01] and cleaning up our lives and the messes that we make are completely futile at [2:06] best [2:07] or pointless at best or at worst [2:10] our attempts to earn any acceptance with God ourselves are offensive [2:16] to God. Therefore we should stop pretending [2:20] and admit that we’re in desperate need of help.
[2:25] And the stories that we’ve looked at, Jesus presents a common theme.
[2:30] He presents the hopelessness of saving yourself [2:33] whether you attempt to be obedient as possible as you can through the law that [2:37] he’s given [2:38] or whether you attempt to hide your scars from others by prettying up the [2:42] outside and appearing like everything’s okay [2:45] when on the inside really everything is not
[2:48] or even building yourself up through working as hard as you possibly can [2:53] to maintain a lifestyle. And through the stories that we’ve gone through where [2:57] Jesus is speaking over the past few weeks [2:59] we’ve seen that Jesus confronts these things in us [3:02] where we attempt to do anything on our own to fix [3:06] the circumstances in the situation that we find ourselves in
[3:10] and that is sin. That inside of each and every one of us lies this problem [3:15] this disease of sin and that no matter what we do [3:20] no matter how we try to bathe the outside that still [3:25] lays right there for everyone [3:28] from the most moral looking the most attractive of people who seem to have it [3:33] all together
[3:33] they’ve still got that problem. To [3:36] the worst looking and worst appearing sinner [3:40] they’ve got the same problem. But there’s another side of this story [3:45] these groups of stories that Jesus give [3:49] and that side is a humble realization [3:52] of our spiritual bankruptcy
[3:55] a realization of our sinfulness in comparison to God’s holiness [3:58] and the fact that in all of these stories there is a salvation [4:02] that comes from an outside source. That salvation [4:07] from these problems, salvation or being saved from this [4:11] issue of sin does not come from inside of us [4:15] but the fact that there’s an outside source in every one of these stories that
[4:19] brings [4:19] salvation. Whether or not it was the first week when we saw [4:23] a tax collector realizing that he needed mercy from God [4:26] God being that outside source. Whether or not it was salvation that came from a [4:31] good Samaritan [4:32] that good Samaritan being the outside source to help
[4:35] the hurting person or whether or not it is the master of the house [4:39] who is giving everyone grace that comes to him [4:44] we always see this common thread of salvation that comes from an outside [4:49] source [4:49] the problem though with this salvation that we see Jesus talking about week [4:54] after week
[4:55] is that it brings this thing called life change [4:59] you see in each of these stories from the first week to the last like in the [5:02] first week it says [5:03] that this tax collector he went to his house justified [5:07] and if you get to the bottom of what a word like that means it means that in [5:11] a real level
[5:12] his life changed and it’s like that sounds fantastic [5:16] but in some circumstances when we look at that type of life change it causes a [5:20] problem because it means that we have [5:22] to have change and sometimes we’re not comfortable with that [5:27] because when your life changes and you allow an outside source to enter in and [5:32] change it for you
[5:33] that means you relinquish control
[5:38] and that’s a problem because I don’t know about you [5:42] but I struggle with that that’s a real solid right here one of my problems is [5:46] control [5:47] I love to be in control I don’t think I’m a control freak because I don’t want to [5:52] consider myself a freak but I like control [5:54] and when I think I’m losing control of something or someone
[5:58] I get angry and I don’t want to lose this control [6:03] I think sometimes in life we want to hold on to the steering wheel of [6:07] ourselves and even others so hard [6:09] that even if we’re headed 100 miles per hour towards a cliff [6:13] we would rather go off of that cliff and meet our demise [6:17] rather than let someone else grab it and steer us in the other direction
[6:21] because we don’t want to allow anything other than ourselves [6:25] to be in control [6:28] we want to control [6:30] our salvation and redefine it by [6:33] our standards we want to put our [6:37] own image on how our life should look
[6:40] and even how God should look inside of our lives [6:44] we use phrases like well that’s great for him [6:48] but my life’s a little different well that’s good [6:52] that the Bible says that but you know that really doesn’t fit me [6:58] and so we get to this issue of [7:01] this image that we place on God based on
[7:04] our desire to control but the question that you have to then ask well what about [7:10] God what type of image does he want to put on salvation
[7:18] so when we’re dealing that [7:21] we have to go back to the Bible we have to say who’s in control here [7:27] join me in Luke chapter 19 and I’m gonna start reading a story [7:30] about an image problem that other people were putting on God and God was trying [7:34] to put on some people [7:36] join me in Luke chapter 19 verse 1
[7:40] he entered Jericho [7:43] and was passing through and there was a man named
[7:48] Zacchaeus maybe you’ve heard this story before [7:52] it’s one of those ones in children’s church where you sing these songs about [7:55] guys climbing trees and stuff there was a man named Zacchaeus and he was a chief [8:01] tax collector and was rich and he was seeking to see who Jesus was [8:06] but on account of the crowd he could not because he was small in stature [8:13] so he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him
[8:19] for he was about to pass that way [8:22] so here we have kind of a setting where Jesus he’s just healed a blind beggar [8:26] he’s just had a discourse with a bunch of guys that didn’t like him [8:29] and now he’s entering into the city of Jericho which is a little bit of a [8:34] distance from Jerusalem you have to come down off the mountain that Jerusalem settled on [8:37] you have to go into Jericho and Jesus is about to get to Jericho
[8:41] and we have kind of this setting where the people of Jericho are kind of [8:45] gathering in the streets to see this man Jesus who’s at this point has built [8:50] quite a name because people have seen him heal [8:52] he’s had this amazing experience where people upwards of crowds of 5,000 [8:57] have gathered to hear him preach and everybody is wanting to know who is this [9:02] guy Jesus and so they’re gathering and we have this part of the story and it’s
[9:07] seemingly insignificant where this man named Zacchaeus who’s apparently really [9:12] short who’s trying to see over the heads of people and he can’t so the text says [9:21] that he goes ahead of them and he climbs up into a tree to see Jesus we see one [9:28] more thing that it tells us about him he’s a chief tax collector and he’s [9:32] rich if you were here our first week you know who the tax collectors were [9:37] they were the hated people
[9:38] nobody like tax collectors they took taxes but more than that [9:45] Rome had given who was in control of the world at this point [9:48] Rome had given tax collectors the right to kind of pad their pockets and charge [9:54] more than Rome wanted so the tax collectors would ask 10, 20, 30, sometimes [10:00] 50% more than what was needed what Rome wanted so that they themselves could [10:07] experience the wealth and be extremely rich and Zacchaeus was a chief tax
[10:12] collectors that means he was the boss of the other tax collectors and that he [10:17] probably took a fee from other tax collectors [10:20] Zacchaeus had built quite a life he was quite wealthy and he was probably quite [10:25] hated by all of those people and we see that he wants to see Jesus just like [10:32] everyone else and he climbs up into a tree [10:35] he was a wee wee little man
[10:40] verse 5 and when Jesus came to the place he looked up and said to him
[10:49] Zacchaeus hurry and come down for I must stay at your house today [10:55] so he hurried and came down and received him joyfully [10:59] so we see Zacchaeus is up in the tree and Jesus for some odd reason walks up [11:05] to it and looks up and he sees Zacchaeus and it just you know I have this kind of [11:09] picture in my head of what was actually taking place kind of maybe Jesus like [11:13] what a weirdo
[11:14] he’s up in a tree so he’s like Zacchaeus come down from there [11:18] we have no idea how he knew Zacchaeus his name [11:21] no idea the scripture doesn’t reveal to us anything like that we just know that [11:25] he knew Zacchaeus his name calls him down and says Zacchaeus I must stay at [11:30] your house today and Zacchaeus comes down and says he received him [11:36] joyfully Zacchaeus wasn’t like I would be if I haven’t been a crowd and some guy
[11:40] who’s even famous comes up and says hey Steve I’m gonna stay at your house today [11:43] and I’m like I don’t want to make another bet [11:46] I didn’t go to the grocery store this week so this is really not going to work out [11:49] I hope you have food [11:50] did you bring your own washcloth, some soap, toothpaste, I’m not letting you use my toothpaste [11:55] I’m throwing up all sorts of objections and Zacchaeus says Zacchaeus receives him
[11:59] joyfully [12:01] Zacchaeus is excited, Zacchaeus says absolutely come stay at my house this is [12:05] amazing Jesus himself is going to stay at my house [12:09] he’s excited notice though in verse 7 the reaction of the people in the crowd [12:15] because remember Jesus is doing this in front of all the people
[12:20] and when they saw it they being the crowd they all grumbled he has gone in [12:30] to be the guest of a man who is a sinner
[12:37] Jesus’s choice of who he would go and not just stay with but build a relationship [12:46] with in the eyes of those people because in this day and age in the first century [12:50] hospitality was huge in Jewish culture [12:54] it was seen as an honor to be chosen for someone to stay at your house [12:59] remember Jesus is a rabbi so he’s a teacher he’s a respected teacher [13:04] so the crowd gathers and they think Jesus is coming in
[13:09] surely he’ll stay with a rabbi surely he’ll stay in the house of a Pharisee [13:14] surely he will choose someone of his own stature [13:18] I wonder who it’s going to be and as soon as he steps foot in town [13:27] he defies their image of who they want him to be
[13:36] he goes up to the man who’s been ripping all of them off for possibly years [13:42] scripture is not clear we just know Zacchaeus is rich and he made his wealth [13:47] by being a tax collector and the crowd instantly turns against Jesus
[13:59] how dare he?
[14:04] am I not better than Zacchaeus? [14:06] shouldn’t he stay with me? [14:08] am I not more righteous than this thieving, filthy, traitorous tax collector? [14:15] Jesus must not be who we think he is [14:20] the fact of the matter is they were right [14:23] he wasn’t who they thought he was
[14:29] and this is so often where I find myself
[14:35] where my relationship with God is concerned [14:38] I throw up all these objections and I say [14:40] well God I am better than these other people [14:43] shouldn’t I have more of you or shouldn’t I be in higher standing than you [14:47] than these other people or I have struggled so hard [14:50] I have worked so much harder I have set up such a better life
[14:54] I deserve more than they do but then I’ll see someone else have something good happen [15:00] in their lives and I will grumble and say well God?
[15:06] what’s that all about?
[15:09] how dare you? [15:12] because often God is not who I think he should be [15:18] because we all sort of want God to be tilted a little bit in our direction [15:23] because shouldn’t we have it just a little bit easier than everyone else [15:28] or shouldn’t we have a little more glory than everyone else [15:31] shouldn’t we have a little more fame than everyone else
[15:34] especially those that we think are filthy [15:38] or that we think are sinful or that we think [15:42] haven’t cleaned up their outer exterior quite as much [15:46] as we have
[15:50] and so instantly you see the crowd [15:55] gathering to welcome Jesus
[16:00] oh Jesus [16:03] you jerk and that’s really what’s going on
[16:09] notice though a little bit further notice what happens though [16:15] with this crowd because you see the crowd [16:17] is obsessed with the external see [16:22] the image is built up to see what the external [16:25] will be like and according to their image of who God should be [16:29] they have built this thought up and the external of what Jesus is doing
[16:33] well it doesn’t look quite like their thoughts [16:36] on religion notice though in verse 8 [16:42] and Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord [16:46] behold Lord the half of my goods I give to the poor [16:50] and if I have defrauded anyone of anything I restore it [16:54] fourfold you see images obsessed with the external
[16:56] but Jesus seeks to transform [17:01] the internal notice what happens to Zacchaeus [17:05] you notice that there’s a life change that instantly happens as soon as Jesus [17:10] starts a relationship with Zacchaeus we see nothing we don’t see Jesus go to [17:15] Zacchaeus and give four spiritual laws [17:17] or any type of witnessing technique he just goes into Zacchaeus life and says
[17:22] that he is [17:22] I’m gonna stay with you and Zacchaeus says [17:26] says he just receives him joyfully and then all of a sudden Zacchaeus is like [17:30] okay I’ll sell half of my stuff give it to the poor and if I’ve defrauded anyone [17:33] I’ll give them back four times what I stole from them
[17:39] what happens here
[17:43] Jesus [17:44] to transform Jesus is not telling them that tax collectors are okay Jesus is [17:49] not like [17:50] hey Jericho you’ve had this thought about tax collectors and they’re pretty [17:53] bad people [17:54] but guess what they’re okay in my book so they can steal from you they can do
[17:58] whatever they want and I’m cool with that [18:00] and actually if he had done that I think sometimes we would be a little more [18:04] comfortable with that [18:05] because then that would therefore excuse some of our sin [18:08] and how we like to act and how we like to be tilted towards ourselves and not [18:12] other people
[18:13] because that’s how tax collectors lived well it’s all about me [18:16] so I want everybody’s stuff so I’ll just take it but the crowd [18:23] through their reactions sort of reveals their own selfishness [18:27] and their own self tilt towards well Jesus should have chosen me
[18:35] to what Jesus is doing is proving [18:37] that he is who he says he is. Remember all these stories we’ve been going through week after week [18:42] how Jesus comes in and he gives mercy Jesus comes in [18:45] and he saves Jesus comes in and he gives grace to people [18:49] who no one thinks deserves it from a source that no one thinks it should come [18:55] he’s doing the exact same thing right here
[18:58] it wasn’t that Zacchaeus was Jesus’ choice [19:01] of better but rather [19:04] Jesus is proving a point Zacchaeus is probably the town’s biggest sinner [19:09] and Jesus is telling the town Zacchaeus needs me more [19:13] than anyone else because look at the glory I can get [19:17] from saving someone who is such a dirty sinner
[19:21] who is so ugly to the rest of the crowd how much glory [19:25] can I get myself when I go into his life [19:28] and I save him completely because we see in verses 8 and 9 [19:34] that Jesus brings transformation
[19:40] that he does not go in [19:42] and get Zacchaeus to sell all of his stuff and he doesn’t kind of take him behind [19:46] that sycamore tree [19:47] and be like hey Zacchaeus let’s make me look good so start selling your stuff [19:51] and then I’ll give you salvation [19:53] it’s not what we see at all we see Jesus say one thing Zacchaeus
[19:57] I accept you Zacchaeus [20:03] instantly gets this joy [20:06] and that joy changes everything in his life [20:10] Jesus brings transformation [20:13] into his life and all of a sudden [20:16] everything inside of Zacchaeus’ value system
[20:20] has completely changed and now [20:23] he says I will steal no more I will give to the poor [20:28] half of my goods and I will give back everything I’ve ever stolen [20:33] he doesn’t do this to earn anything from Jesus [20:36] he does this because he’s already gotten [20:40] everything that Jesus has to offer
[20:43] and now he looks at his life how he’s built up his value system [20:47] and he says this is not a life worth living a life that I want is with Jesus [20:52] Jesus will be my joy Jesus will be my treasure [20:55] Jesus will be my absolute everything so I don’t even need [21:00] all of this stuff that I have built my life around [21:03] I’ll give it back
[21:07] and you see Zacchaeus absolutely transformed [21:11] in a moment because Jesus [21:16] seeks to transform notice that Zacchaeus [21:21] didn’t even seek Jesus out Jesus sought Zacchaeus out [21:26] because when we’re in our sin [21:29] we don’t want what Jesus has to offer
[21:33] so God comes to us [21:37] and offers us this amazing [21:39] life transformation that takes our attention off of ourselves [21:43] puts it on to God and now the amazing things that God can do [21:47] through us for himself [21:50] changes our lives and we see it change Zacchaeus’ life
[22:00] Jesus in this transformation [22:03] in verse 10 he also reveals [22:07] his mission if you look in verse 10 [22:11] Jesus has one declaration that he gives back to the crowd [22:16] they’ve grumbled and Jesus has transformed [22:21] Jesus looks to the crowd and he says
[22:23] he changes the absolute image of what the crowd [22:27] is gonna think and he says today [22:31] salvation has come to this [22:34] house Zacchaeus’ house since he is also [22:40] a son of Abraham word son of Abraham [22:45] it simply means chosen by God
[22:49] see what they thought was a son of Abraham just because they were Jews [22:52] and they had followed the laws best they could they didn’t make them a son of [22:56] Abraham [22:57] God has to make you a son of Abraham
[23:02] you’re seeing Jesus say I have saved him [23:06] then notice what he says next for the son [23:10] of man came to seek and to save [23:15] the lost
[23:20] you see the people of that day were looking for [23:23] God to come and send them a messiah and send them a savior in the rumors about [23:29] Jesus being that person [23:30] running rampant all over Judah and Jesus says [23:34] I have not come to set up this earthly kingdom [23:38] to where you will receive glory I have come
[23:41] to seek and save the lost [23:44] and the greatest example in Jericho that he could use of what the lost looked [23:49] like [23:49] was completely offensive to them because it was Zacchaeus someone that had sinned [23:54] against all of them [23:55] and Jesus says I have come for the specific
[23:58] purpose to save people [24:01] like Zacchaeus but what they didn’t realize was [24:04] is that he’s looking at them and saying I’ve come to seek and to save the lost [24:08] but Zacchaeus is not the only lost person here [24:11] you all are you’re all in the same boat as Zacchaeus and you [24:17] all need this transformation that I am offering
[24:20] to you
[24:25] and it’s offensive because Jesus [24:28] is not who they want him to be [24:32] if they’ve got the steering wheel on their life they say Jesus you line up [24:36] with my standards you line up with my values [24:40] you line up with the life that we want in Jesus saying I’m not gonna do that [24:45] because I’ve got something better my standards
[24:49] my values my mission [24:54] because Jesus came and sometimes we [24:57] kind of have this way of looking at why Jesus came as to think [25:01] that he came to set up this kingdom where it’s like [25:05] I’m saved I’ve been transformed I guess that means no more beer and rated R movies [25:11] that’s the kingdom of God morality
[25:14] let’s get a little more morality a little more morality a little more [25:16] morality [25:17] that’s the kingdom of God I guess we’re just not gonna have fun we gotta tuck our [25:20] shirts in now [25:22] and we reduce [25:24] this kingdom that Jesus came to set up
[25:27] to this simple list of do’s and don’ts so that we can look better than those on [25:32] the external [25:32] and I’m not disqualifying morality because Jesus does bring in morals and [25:37] he does clean you [25:38] from the inside out but that’s where we leave it
[25:44] and we say [25:44] well as long as I don’t watch too much television I guess I’m okay in God’s eyes
[25:52] and we reduce Jesus to the Savior who died on a cross [25:55] so that we could just be good in the eyes of the world [26:02] those are the conservatives that’s why Jesus died
[26:08] Jesus came for so much more [26:12] look at how big what he’s saying he came for is [26:16] he says I came to seek and save [26:19] the lost and [26:23] in that he gives us the greatest [26:26] joy that there is to have and that greatest
[26:30] joy is God
[26:34] now you can live life pointed towards [26:38] me God is offering [26:41] a joy that is unparalleled by [26:45] anything this world has to offer that joy is not [26:51] sex money fame or anything else that this tangible [26:55] material world has to offer rather
[26:59] this joy is wrapped up in God himself [27:02] when God comes through Jesus and says the greatest thing [27:05] that I can give you is me
[27:10] and I give that to you and you are lost [27:13] and you don’t see that you think it’s all wrapped up in you [27:17] and how comfortable you are in Jesus is saying step outside of yourself do you [27:23] think it was comfortable [27:24] for Zacchaeus to sell half of his possessions
[27:30] I don’t have anything and that would be uncomfortable for me
[27:36] I gotta [27:38] sell half of my stuff we’ve got two cars something like I got rid of one of them
[27:43] how am I gonna get to Starbucks
[27:48] uh [27:48] guess me and the wife have to make a schedule got two TVs well can’t go down [27:54] no Jesus that’s too much and here’s that kiss is a rich man living in the lap of [28:04] luxury
[28:06] he doesn’t [28:07] sell all of his stuff because all of a sudden he saved and he’s like [28:11] well there’s this new code I’ve gotta follow I guess I gotta get rid of [28:14] everything [28:15] great oh joy is the joy of the Lord I’m gonna sell everything [28:20] no because I think that’s how we look at it sometimes
[28:23] no that’s not what’s happening here notice that Jesus never says to do that [28:27] that he is just does it because remember [28:31] what was that kiss is image that kiss is image was all built [28:34] up in his riches he says I have a greater [28:40] riches now [28:44] that’s you Jesus see when salvation comes
[28:47] in it redefines how we even see what [28:50] is good because if we’re really honest [28:54] that obedience that we have to the biblical principles [28:57] if you’re a follower of Jesus that obedience you have sometimes we see it [29:01] and say [29:01] I’ll begrudgingly do this just so I’ll be moral
[29:05] but who I’d love to do the the other we have to look at our standards and say [29:13] well then why [29:14] are we doing what we are doing because sometimes our salvation doesn’t have a [29:20] whole lot to do [29:21] with joy in God sometimes we view salvation and [29:26] the transformation Jesus brings as simply
[29:29] well I certainly don’t wanna go to hell and I’ll go to heaven so [29:32] I’ll believe in Jesus but we don’t get any [29:37] joy from Jesus when Jesus says he came to seek and to save the loss what he’s [29:45] saying is [29:45] you’ve been defining your life one way let me redefine it this way [29:50] and I promise there will be so much
[29:53] joy that even the richest of people will look at their wealth and say [29:57] this is worthless compared [30:01] to loving knowing and being [30:04] in the presence of God that [30:09] is the salvation that Jesus is offering to him [30:13] and when that happens guess what everything else in our life starts to
[30:18] line [30:18] up and we [30:23] instantaneously be start becoming more moral [30:25] not because well if I’m in more I might lose Jesus [30:30] no because man immorality [30:32] compared to obeying what Jesus said that I need to live through the Bible
[30:37] all man the joy that I get out of being in his presence and I don’t want [30:41] immorality anymore [30:42] because Jesus offers me a greater life [30:47] but where does it start does it simply start [30:51] with you making a list of do’s and don’ts no it starts where Zacchaeus started [30:55] it starts with you realizing that you need to be transformed from the inside
[30:58] out and that transformation [31:01] leads to a missional life the mission is so apparent in what happened with [31:09] Zacchaeus [31:10] he is saved changed and completely transformed from one person to another [31:14] this is what Jesus said his mission was right there now look at the amazing [31:18] transformation that takes place in his life
[31:20] Zacchaeus now gets to take part in this mission [31:25] because what did the crowd get to see happen in Zacchaeus’ life [31:29] they got to see his value system change [31:32] and now undoubtedly they’ve got a better Zacchaeus than they had before [31:37] he’s not stealing from them anymore and when they see [31:41] the change that happens in his life they must necessarily look and say
[31:46] what is causing this new life [31:50] see when Zacchaeus sells his riches [31:52] does Zacchaeus get the glory? No because remember what caused the transformation
[32:00] Jesus and when the people come and the other tax collectors come and say [32:05] what is going on in your life? I met [32:10] Jesus and everything changed
[32:19] and Zacchaeus now gets to be used by Jesus [32:23] to seek and save the lost [32:28] that is the mission [32:30] of Jesus he desires to define his life now [32:34] by Jesus you see if transformation leads to a [32:39] missional life what does that word missional mean
[32:42] what it means is Jesus’ mission is now [32:46] our mission
[32:51] sometimes we look at the scriptures and we see Jesus and we look back and we see [32:55] what Jesus did for us we see that he died on the cross for our sins [32:59] we see that he rose from the dead to give us salvation [33:02] we get all the benefit he gets all the glory [33:07] and we say mission complete
[33:12] and in a sense we are right but in a whole other sense [33:16] we are absolutely wrong because Jesus doesn’t say [33:19] the mission is over you know me [33:23] we are done no Jesus rather he says [33:26] my mission is now your mission [33:29] you say how do you know that? That is not in that story
[33:32] you have to fast forward you have to fast forward past his death past his resurrection [33:36] past the fact that we now can get Jesus [33:40] you have to go to Matthew chapter 28 where he says to his disciples [33:43] they are gathered on top of a mountain and Jesus is about to ascend [33:48] up into heaven where he stands before God and defends us against the schemes [33:52] of the devil
[33:53] where he stands now and he stands on that mountaintop [33:56] and he looks at his disciples and he says guys all [33:59] authority has been given to me in heaven [34:02] and on earth he says I am God [34:08] I define you and he says [34:12] therefore or because I am God
[34:16] I am going to go somewhere so that you can get the Holy Spirit [34:20] and guess what now you go
[34:25] make disciples [34:27] baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit [34:31] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you [34:36] behold I’m with you always to the end of the age [34:39] what Jesus says is I’m going up into heaven but I’m not leaving you [34:45] I’m here I’m God I’m everywhere
[34:49] and I’m gonna lead you I’m gonna guide you I’m gonna give you the riches of [34:53] my glory [34:54] and in that I want you to go and now I want [34:58] you to seek and to save [35:01] the lost because I’m gonna lead you [35:05] I’m gonna give you my mission I’m gonna transform you
[35:08] I’m gonna start or work inside of you that you cannot do for yourself [35:13] and while I am doing that I want you to show the world [35:18] what I’m doing inside of you and when that happens [35:21] people are going to want to know [35:24] what is different about you people are going to want to know [35:29] where is this hope coming from in an absolutely hopeless world
[35:35] why don’t you have the same standards as everyone else [35:39] why don’t you live exactly the same as everyone else [35:42] what is different about you and then we can reply [35:47] I met Jesus [35:50] see this is so uncomfortable for us though [35:54] because this means we have to let go of the wheel
[35:57] and we have to let Jesus drive [36:00] for us because he wants to steer our life [36:04] he wants to guide us into his mission [36:07] where we will go through this world and people will look at us and people will [36:12] see Jesus [36:12] and people will ask and like it says in Romans chapter 10
[36:16] we will have an answer because it says how will they know [36:20] if no one tells them we can respond and say [36:24] I met Jesus and he [36:28] transformed my life that’s why [36:32] we’re starting this church that’s why [36:36] we’re here is because of the mission
[36:39] of Jesus and we want to reach Midlothian with [36:45] not with empty religion not with [36:48] a list of dos and don’ts not with just we’re gonna be another church that [36:53] gathers every Sunday and we’re gonna sing some songs [36:56] and we’re gonna hear a couple of life principles and we’re gonna be able to [36:59] clean this mess
[37:00] up so that we can be more comfortable no we’re here for the mission of Jesus we [37:05] are here for those [37:06] who feel that they are far from God so that we can tell them [37:10] you can come close to God through Jesus look at what he has done inside of us [37:17] we want to be [37:19] those people who sometimes step outside and give up control
[37:24] and say Jesus you take over guide us [37:27] in your mission and that might [37:32] be totally foreign to what you’ve heard and what you’ve built your life [37:36] on the question is first have you experienced the transformation [37:41] Jesus has to offer if you’re like well I’ve been trying to follow Jesus but [37:46] I don’t get I don’t get it I struggle I can’t stop
[37:49] living for myself what is wrong with me have you experienced transformation [37:54] has Jesus really come into your life and cleaned you up [37:59] from the inside out because guess what you cannot do it [38:04] it is impossible remember last week [38:07] when Jesus said with man this is impossible [38:10] but with God all things are possible because what he’s saying is
[38:14] salvation does not depend on you it depends on [38:18] me and I have to go into your life [38:21] and fix it and set you on the right path because you cannot [38:26] in some people try for [38:29] years and they find [38:32] that this faith and this religion is empty
[38:36] and they walk away and sometimes we say why do they walk away
[38:42] because they never really experienced [38:45] that transformation took place [38:49] was that key is was instant [38:53] he was truly converted from one life to another [38:58] because that’s what salvation looks like to mean that everything’s all clean all [39:02] of a sudden
[39:02] now may take takes life I’m not anywhere near [39:06] where I’m supposed to be or or where God desires for my life to be [39:10] but it starts somewhere in Zacchaeus it started with his possessions but my [39:15] question you has it started [39:16] anywhere if not [39:20] you need to meet him because when Jesus comes in
[39:25] cleans up he changes everything [39:30] and secondly when you experience that transformation [39:34] and many of you’ve probably experienced that transformation guess what [39:37] his mission it’s now your mission
[39:43] you don’t exist simply to be moral [39:47] you exist to be so much more than that [39:51] you exist to be on his mission
[39:57] you need to start today [39:59] we invite you to be on that mission [40:02] with us as a community striving [40:06] to go towards God and striving [40:10] to live his mission [40:14] let me caution you with this you can
[40:18] only experience his mission [40:22] if he has transformed you but if he has [40:28] you’ll live that life [40:30] let’s pray [40:35] father
[40:41] you have sent your son [40:45] you have given us [40:48] life you have given it [40:52] more abundantly than we can ever experience God but we [40:56] must give you control we must [40:59] allow you to define your mission
[41:03] we must allow you to transform [41:07] us
[41:11] father
[41:15] I pray that we would be like Zacchaeus
[41:20] I pray [41:21] that we would experience you in a new way today [41:25] that we would say yes God you came to seek and to save the lost [41:29] and you have given us that mission yes we want that for our lives because we [41:34] realize that that is the only life that will give us [41:37] everything that we have ever wanted even those things we didn’t know we wanted
[41:42] but you define life so that is the best [41:45] life possible Lord if anyone in here [41:51] has never truly been transformed by you [41:54] has never truly been given a new life by you and they’re still holding on to [41:58] that wheel saying [41:58] I have to have control I can’t give it over to God
[42:03] God go into their life right now and draw them [42:07] towards yourself because today [42:10] could be the day of salvation and transformation
[42:19] we’re gonna sing a couple songs now during that time [42:24] I don’t know how you feel but I feel that the weight of God is just [42:29] on us right now if you need to sit down and pray if you need to grab someone if [42:34] you need to grab me [42:35] if you need to just talk to someone we’re here we’re available
[42:42] because today could be the day [42:45] where you get a new mission in life no matter how young [42:49] no matter how old it’s a beautiful thing about God [42:52] he uses us all and he wants [42:55] us all and it’s never too [42:59] late as we’re worshiping
[43:05] sing with us sit there and pray [43:09] do whatever you need to do