1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:29,980 Let's pray. 2 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:59,980 Let's pray. 3 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:29,980 Let's pray. 4 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:55,000 Good morning. We are so glad that you are here worshiping with us this morning, and I am excited. It's Palm Sunday, the Sunday where Jesus triumphantly enters Jerusalem, and you have on that day sort of filled with both joy and conflict and sorrow. 5 00:11:55,000 --> 00:12:12,000 The people, as they watch Jesus come in, they welcome him as a king, quoting from the 118th Psalm, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord," shouting Hosanna, which is simply a prayer that God would save them. 6 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:22,000 And so when we talk about Hosanna, that's not necessarily a shout of praise, but rather this prayer from the 118th Psalm, "Save us, O Lord," we pray. 7 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:33,000 "O Lord, pray, give us success." And then it follows immediately by, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord." 8 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:47,000 And so there is joy on behalf of the crowds. There is sort of anger and jealousy on the part of the religious leaders as they look and say, "See, the whole world has gone out after him." 9 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:53,000 They will actually confront Jesus and tell him to keep his disciples quiet. 10 00:12:53,000 --> 00:13:02,000 He'll respond with, I think, probably one of their worst nightmares. If these crowds were to be silent, the very stones would shout their praises to me. 11 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:12,000 The disciples, I imagine, are finally excited, saying, "You know, this is what Jesus deserves. This is what we have been working for as we have taught and traveled." 12 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:24,000 But Jesus, as he comes into Jerusalem, he's not celebrating. He's not even intentionally trying to be in conflict with the religious leaders. 13 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:34,000 He comes, and it will say that as he comes down the Mount of Olives and looks out over the city of Jerusalem that Jesus weeps over the unrepentant city. 14 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:46,000 And he says, "I wish." And I said, "I pray if only you knew on this day what would have brought you peace." And Jesus comes to bring peace to this city. 15 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:57,000 And ultimately, throughout the events of this week, they will reject him on Friday. He will be crucified. And next Sunday, we celebrate together the resurrection. 16 00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:11,000 And so this morning, what we want to do is we want to fix our eyes on the grace that is found in Jesus, this grace that triumphs over our rebellion and over our sin and over our brokenness and over our fear. 17 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:17,000 It's the grace we see in the tears of Jesus as he pleads for the repentance of the city of Jerusalem. 18 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:33,000 It's the grace we see is on Monday, he cleanses the temple, allowing those who may not be allowed into the smaller, closer places in the temple to worship without being in the middle of a shopping mall and a thoroughfare. 19 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:43,000 It's the grace we see on Tuesday as Jesus spends his time in the temple answering questions from the very people who will crucify them, 20 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:49,000 essentially teaching them and being patient with them as he shares God's truth with them. 21 00:14:49,000 --> 00:15:01,000 It's the grace we see on Wednesday as he eats in the home of Lazarus in Bethany, and he is anointed in preparation by Mary for his death. 22 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:12,000 It's the grace we see in the Last Supper as Jesus gathers together with his disciples and as he spends time encouraging them and teaching them and ultimately breaking bread with them. 23 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:21,000 It's the grace we see as he prays, and it's the grace we see poured out for us as he is crucified. 24 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:30,000 And so this morning we're focused on the goodness of God's grace and the praise that is due to him, to the praise of his glorious grace. 25 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:38,000 And so we're going to stand, and I'm going to pray, and then we will read from the 118th Psalm together, verses 28 and 29. 26 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:44,000 Let's stand as we pray. Father in heaven, I thank you for this time to gather. 27 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:50,000 I ask that you would fix our eyes this morning on your grace and on your goodness, 28 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:56,000 that as we spend time together in Scripture, as we sing together, as we gather around the table together, 29 00:15:56,000 --> 00:16:06,000 as we open your word and dive into it, that you would show us that there is hope for the broken and the hurting and the rebellious, 30 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:12,000 and that not just that there is hope, but that you desire to be close to us. 31 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:16,000 And so we ask that you would make our hearts tender this morning as we worship, 32 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:20,000 that we would see you and praise you and be transformed by your goodness. 33 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:24,000 It is in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 34 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:31,000 Begin by reading from the 118th Psalm together, and the psalmist writes this, if you would read with me. 35 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:39,000 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you. You are my God, I will extol you. 36 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:46,000 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. 37 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:52,000 This is the word of the Lord. We're going to start by singing Hosanna. 38 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:58,000 Praise is rising, followed immediately by 10,000 reasons. Bless the Lord. 39 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:22,000 Praise is rising, eyes all turning to you. We turn to you. 40 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:43,000 Hope is stirring. Hearts are yearning for you. We long for you. 41 00:17:43,000 --> 00:18:02,000 'Cause when we see you, we find strength to face the day. And in your presence, all our fears are washed away. Washed away. 42 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:31,000 Hosanna! Hosanna! You are the God who sings us, worthy of all our praises. Hear the sound of hearts returning to you. 43 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:56,000 We turn to you. In your kingdom, broken lives are made new. You make all things new. 44 00:18:56,000 --> 00:19:16,000 Cause when we see you, we find strength to face the day. And in your presence, all our fears are washed away. Washed away. 45 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:42,000 Hosanna. Hosanna. You are the God who saves us. Worthy of all our praises. Hosanna. Hosanna. 46 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:52,000 Come every way among us. We welcome you here, Lord Jesus. 47 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:38,000 Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul. Worship His holy name. Sin like never before, O my soul, I'll worship Your holy name. 48 00:20:42,000 --> 00:21:11,980 The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning. It's time to sing Your song again. Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me, let me be singing when the evening comes. 49 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:41,980 Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul. Worship His holy name. Sing like never before, O my soul, I'll worship Your holy name. 50 00:21:42,000 --> 00:22:07,000 You're rich in love, and you're slow to end up. Your name is great, and your heart is kind. For all your goodness, I will keep on singing. 51 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:31,000 Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find. Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul. Worship His holy name. 52 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:45,000 I'll sing like never before, O my soul. I'll worship Your holy name. 53 00:22:49,000 --> 00:23:17,000 And on that day, when my strength is failing, the end draws near, and my time has come, still my soul will sing Your praise unending, 10,000 years and then forevermore. 54 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:47,000 Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul, Worship His holy name. Sing like never before, O my soul, I'll worship Your holy name. 55 00:23:47,000 --> 00:24:14,000 Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul, Worship His holy name. Sing like never before, O my soul, I'll worship Your holy name. 56 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:27,000 Yes, I will worship Your holy name. Lord, I'll worship Your holy name. 57 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:46,000 Amen. 58 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:16,000 Amen. 59 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:46,000 Amen. 60 00:30:44,000 --> 00:31:12,000 As we prepare to gather together to remember the sacrifice of Jesus who died in our place for our sins, we're going to sing in just a minute, 61 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:28,000 "Man of Sorrows." If you would like to participate in communion and have not had a chance to pick up the communion elements, they are on the table right as you enter there. We're going to sing "Man of Sorrows." 62 00:31:36,000 --> 00:32:01,000 Man of Sorrows, Lamb of God, by His own betray. The sin of man and brother of God has been on Jesus' name. 63 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:34,000 Silent as He stood accused, beaten, mocked, and scorned. Vowing to the Father's will, He took a crown of thorns. 64 00:32:34,000 --> 00:33:03,000 On the rugged cross, my salvation, where your love poured out over me. Now my soul cries out, "Hallelujah!" Praise and honor unto Thee. 65 00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:32,000 The hand of heaven, God's own Son, to purchase and redeem. And reconcile the very ones who nailed Him to that tree. Oh, that rugged cross, my salvation. 66 00:33:32,000 --> 00:34:01,000 Where Your love poured out over me. Now my soul cries out, "Alleluia!" Praise and honor unto Thee. Now my debt is paid, it is paid 67 00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:30,000 in full by the precious blood that my Jesus spilled. Now the curse of sin has no hold on me. The Son sets free, oh, is free indeed. Now my debt is paid, it is paid in full by the precious blood that my Jesus spilled. Now my debt is paid, it is paid in full by the precious blood that my Jesus spilled. Now my debt is paid, it is paid in full by the precious blood that my Jesus spilled. Now my debt is paid, it is paid in full by the precious blood. 68 00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:59,000 the precious blood that my Jesus spilled. Now the curse of sin has no hold on me. The sun sets free, oh, is free indeed. Oh, that rugged cross, my salvation, where your love poured out over me. 69 00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:28,000 Now my soul cries out, "Alleluia!" Please and all who run to Thee. See the stone is rolled away. Behold the empty tomb. 70 00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:57,000 Hallelujah! God be praised. He's risen from the grave. Oh, that rugged cross, my salvation, where your love poured out over me. Now my soul cries out, 71 00:35:57,000 --> 00:36:26,000 hallelujah. Praise and honor unto thee. Praise and honor unto thee. In Luke, the 23rd chapter, Jesus is led to the mount where he will be crucified. 72 00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:55,000 And it says, "Two others who were criminals were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place that is called the skull, there they crucified him. And the criminals, one on his right and one on his left, and Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And they cast lots to divide his garments, and the people stood by watching. But the rulers scoffed at him, saying, He saved others, let him save himself. 73 00:36:55,000 --> 00:37:24,000 He is the Christ of God, the chosen one." The soldiers mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, saying, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself." There was also an inscription over him, "This is the king of the Jews." One of the criminals, who was hanged, blasphemed at him, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us." But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?" 74 00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:53,000 "And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong." And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." And he said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise." We struggle with grace because we like to deserve, and we like to earn, and we want to be worthy of the things that are given us. 75 00:37:53,000 --> 00:38:08,000 And so when it comes to the gift of grace, that thing given to us that we do not deserve, we struggle to accept it in ourselves, and we struggle to accept it in the lives of others. 76 00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:22,000 And I just want to share with you for a moment just a very short excerpt from a sermon by a man by the name of Alistair Begg. The sermon is entitled, "The Power and the Message of the Cross." You can find it just simply by Googling it. 77 00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:29,000 And he says this in regards to this and the other accounts in regards to the crucifixion of Jesus. 78 00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:39,000 He says, "Think about the thief on the cross." I can't wait to find that fellow one day and ask him, "How did that shake out for you?" 79 00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:51,000 Because at one point you were cussing the guy out with your friend, you'd never been in a Bible study, you never got baptized, you didn't know a thing about church membership, and yet you made it. 80 00:38:51,000 --> 00:39:02,000 You made it. You made it. How did you make it?" And in fact, he'll go on to say, "That's what the angel likely said, you know, what are you doing here?" 81 00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:12,000 And the man replies, "Well, I don't know." And the angel says, "Well, what do you mean that you don't know?" And this man replies, "Well, because I don't know." 82 00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:20,000 And the angel says, "Well, excuse me, let me get my supervisor." And the supervisor angel comes and says, "We just have a few questions." 83 00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:27,000 We just have a few questions for you. First of all, are you clear on the doctrine of justification by faith?" 84 00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:36,000 And this guy goes, "I've never heard of it in my life." And then the supervisor angel says, "Well, let's go to the doctrine of Scripture next." 85 00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:49,000 And this guy just stares at him. And eventually in frustration, this supervisor angel says, "On what basis are you here?" And this man looks and says this, 86 00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:56,000 "The man on the middle cross said that I could come." Right? That's the only answer. 87 00:39:56,000 --> 00:40:08,000 And if we don't preach the gospel to ourselves every day, day by day, we begin to trust ourselves and our experience and our goodness. 88 00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:18,000 And as soon as we go to that place of trusting ourselves, it's either going to lead us into abject despair or a horrible kind of arrogance. 89 00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:25,000 And Alistair goes on to say, "And it is only on the cross of Christ that deals with both." 90 00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:32,000 The dreadful depths of despair and the pretentious arrogance of the pride of man that says, "You know, I can figure this out. 91 00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:38,000 I think I'm doing wonderfully well." And the cross says, "No." 92 00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:47,000 Because the sinless Savior died, my sinful soul is counted free. For God the just is satisfied 93 00:40:47,000 --> 00:40:54,000 to look on him and pardon me. And so as we come this morning to the table, 94 00:40:54,000 --> 00:41:01,000 our answer, I think, is the same as that thief. Why are we here? 95 00:41:01,000 --> 00:41:07,000 Because the man on the middle cross said that we could come. Let's remember Jesus and pray together. 96 00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:16,000 Father in heaven, as we pray and we look at the brokenness of our lives 97 00:41:16,000 --> 00:41:21,000 and of our struggles and of our despairs and of our pride, 98 00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:26,000 may you direct our eyes to Jesus, that he would be all of our hope, 99 00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:30,000 all of our strength and all of our future, 100 00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:36,000 that we would see how he has loved us and how he has saved us, 101 00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:40,000 and that we would look to the cross of Christ. 102 00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:45,000 Help us as we partake this morning. May we be nourished by your grace. 103 00:41:45,000 --> 00:41:48,000 I ask that you bless this bread and that you bless this cup. 104 00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:52,000 It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 105 00:41:52,000 --> 00:42:05,000 Let's partake of this bread together that reminds us of the body of Jesus. 106 00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:14,000 And let's partake of the cup that reminds us of his blood that was given for us. 107 00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:28,000 And in doing this, we're reminded of our mission to proclaim the good news of Jesus through this meal, through our lives, through our gathering, through our testimony until Jesus comes again. 108 00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:37,000 And before we dive into our message this morning in Luke, the 19th chapter, we're going to get a quick couple minute summary of that. 109 00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:43,000 So if you want to go ahead and play that. 110 00:42:43,000 --> 00:42:53,000 Uh-oh. 111 00:42:53,000 --> 00:42:59,000 Want to jump back to the previous slide, Derek, and we can... 112 00:42:59,000 --> 00:43:01,000 Yeah. 113 00:43:01,000 --> 00:43:12,000 It's an easy fix. It's one I forgot to do. 114 00:43:12,000 --> 00:43:15,000 That's awesome. 115 00:43:15,000 --> 00:43:23,000 Stories of the Bible. Zacchaeus. 116 00:43:23,000 --> 00:43:38,000 This is Zacchaeus, who was a tax collector and very rich. Tax collectors were hated because many people thought they were liars and cheaters. 117 00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:44,000 Zacchaeus lived in Jericho, and one day, Jesus was passing through Jericho. 118 00:43:44,000 --> 00:43:45,000 What's going on? 119 00:43:45,000 --> 00:43:47,000 Jesus is here! Woohoo! 120 00:43:47,000 --> 00:43:50,000 Zacchaeus wanted to see who Jesus was. 121 00:43:50,000 --> 00:43:53,000 Hey, excuse me. 122 00:43:53,000 --> 00:43:55,000 Hey, watch where you're going. 123 00:43:55,000 --> 00:43:58,000 But he was too short to see above the crowd. 124 00:43:58,000 --> 00:44:00,000 Oh, that's it! 125 00:44:00,000 --> 00:44:04,000 So he ran ahead to a place where he knew Jesus would come. 126 00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:08,000 He climbed to a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus. 127 00:44:08,000 --> 00:44:13,000 When Jesus came to that place, he looked up and saw Zacchaeus in the tree. 128 00:44:13,000 --> 00:44:15,000 Oh, hey, little friend. 129 00:44:15,000 --> 00:44:16,000 Who? Me? 130 00:44:16,000 --> 00:44:17,000 Yeah, you. 131 00:44:17,000 --> 00:44:24,000 He said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down. I must stay at your house today." 132 00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:25,000 Oh, what? 133 00:44:25,000 --> 00:44:30,000 Zacchaeus came down quickly. He was pleased to have Jesus in his house. 134 00:44:30,000 --> 00:44:35,000 All the people saw this and began to complain. 135 00:44:35,000 --> 00:44:40,000 Look at the kind of man Jesus stays with. Zacchaeus is a sinner. 136 00:44:40,000 --> 00:44:51,000 But Zacchaeus said to Jesus, "I will give half my money to the poor. If I have cheated anyone, I will pay that person back four times more." 137 00:44:51,000 --> 00:44:55,000 Jesus said, "Salvation has come to this house today." 138 00:44:55,000 --> 00:44:56,000 What? 139 00:44:56,000 --> 00:45:06,000 This man truly belongs to the family of Abraham. The Son of Man came to find lost people and save them. 140 00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:48,000 Let's pray together. Father in heaven, may you bless our time in your word. May you help us hear with clarity your word, that you would help us to see your grace, that you would help us to see that we are wanted and that you love us and you care for us and you come to save us. So just call us to yourself this morning. 141 00:45:48,000 --> 00:45:52,000 It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 142 00:45:52,000 --> 00:46:13,000 So a few days before the remarkable events of Palm Sunday, likely on the Thursday before Palm Sunday, 18 miles from Jerusalem, you get a sort of small preview of what will happen in Jerusalem in just a few days. 143 00:46:13,000 --> 00:46:26,000 Jesus, since Luke chapter 9 and verse 51, has been journeying to Jerusalem, but not like we journey, which is kind of in the straightest line as we can imagine, as fast as we can go, to get there as soon as possible. 144 00:46:26,000 --> 00:46:38,000 In Luke 9:51, it says Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem, that Jesus fixes his eyes upon the cross, and that is where he is journeying toward. 145 00:46:38,000 --> 00:46:48,000 As he journeys toward the cross, he teaches his disciples, he confronts the religious leaders, he heals the sick, he teaches the crowds. 146 00:46:48,000 --> 00:46:59,000 And just two or three days before the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, fulfilling that prophecy of Zechariah chapter 9 and verse 9, here comes your king riding on a donkey. 147 00:46:59,000 --> 00:47:09,000 Jesus comes into the city of Jericho in a very similar fashion, filled with fanfare and joy, and people are filled with excitement. 148 00:47:09,000 --> 00:47:17,000 In fact, as he's coming near to the gates of a city, there's a man who has been blind, and he is sitting there outside the city, 149 00:47:17,000 --> 00:47:25,000 and he hears the noise of the crowds begin to swell and the excitement of people talking, and because he can't see, he'll say, "What's going on?" 150 00:47:25,000 --> 00:47:35,000 And they'll say, "Jesus is coming by." And this man will begin to shout with all of his might, "Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me." 151 00:47:35,000 --> 00:47:43,000 And the crowds go, "Shh, Jesus doesn't have time for you. He doesn't want to hear from you. He doesn't want to talk to you. You're not important. 152 00:47:43,000 --> 00:47:53,000 Let Jesus do the important things." And in that moment, Jesus stops the parade of people in the midst of throngs of people who are excited to see him. 153 00:47:53,000 --> 00:48:02,000 And he heals this man, the man that the crowds didn't want, the man the crowds thought was an annoyance. 154 00:48:02,000 --> 00:48:11,000 Jesus loved, cared for, and healed. And this man follows Jesus as he moves into Jerusalem. 155 00:48:11,000 --> 00:48:18,000 And so in order to understand kind of what is happening in our text this morning in Luke chapter 19, 156 00:48:18,000 --> 00:48:23,000 we need to understand a little bit of the context of what is going on. 157 00:48:23,000 --> 00:48:32,000 And so context is just the events or the words that surround something that help us understand it just a little bit more deeply. 158 00:48:32,000 --> 00:48:39,000 So for example, right, if you're sort of talking with some friends and you say, "Oh, we're going to have a baby," right? 159 00:48:39,000 --> 00:48:45,000 And they say, "Oh, when?" and talk about it and say, "Oh, yeah, in like, you know, nine months from now we're going to have a baby." 160 00:48:45,000 --> 00:48:48,000 Everybody's kind of excited and happy to hear the news. 161 00:48:48,000 --> 00:48:56,000 However, at the end of the nine months, those words, "We're going to have a baby," take on a whole different meaning, right? 162 00:48:56,000 --> 00:49:03,000 It's like, "Grab your bags, get to the car, let's get to the hospital and have this baby," because context matters. 163 00:49:03,000 --> 00:49:12,000 And we understand it in our world, but it's also critical when we come to understanding the Word of God that we look at the context 164 00:49:12,000 --> 00:49:17,000 in which the things that we are reading and studying are placed. 165 00:49:17,000 --> 00:49:22,000 And so the context of this, think about if you've ever stood and thrown rocks into a pond, right? 166 00:49:22,000 --> 00:49:28,000 You throw a rock, and the circles just sort of radiate out from that. 167 00:49:28,000 --> 00:49:32,000 I want to sort of do that in reverse this morning. We're going to start with the big circle, 168 00:49:32,000 --> 00:49:37,000 and then we're going to move to a smaller circle and a little smaller circle and a little smaller circle 169 00:49:37,000 --> 00:49:40,000 until we get to the rock that is this text. 170 00:49:40,000 --> 00:49:51,000 And the biggest circle in this text is simply the Gospel of Luke, where Luke is writing so that we might have certainty. 171 00:49:51,000 --> 00:49:59,000 And the question is, I think, for this text about Zacchaeus, is certainty about what? 172 00:49:59,000 --> 00:50:06,000 What is Luke, in relating the story that he adds a whole bunch of extra details to that he normally doesn't do, 173 00:50:06,000 --> 00:50:09,000 what is he trying to give us certainty about? 174 00:50:09,000 --> 00:50:16,000 And I think the answer to this, and it's the same as the account of the blind man immediately before this in chapter 18, 175 00:50:16,000 --> 00:50:21,000 is that Luke wants to give us the certainty that we are wanted, right? 176 00:50:21,000 --> 00:50:28,000 There are times where you and I are invited to something out of obligation, or out of responsibility, 177 00:50:28,000 --> 00:50:36,000 and maybe people don't really necessarily care that we're there or not, but it's simply a formality to invite us. 178 00:50:36,000 --> 00:50:42,000 Luke wants us to see the truth that when God calls you to be part of his family, 179 00:50:42,000 --> 00:50:48,000 he's not doing it because, oh, you have to invite him, or you have to make sure they get an invite, 180 00:50:48,000 --> 00:50:55,000 but that he's inviting you and calling you into friendship with himself because he loves you and because he wants you. 181 00:50:55,000 --> 00:51:03,000 Luke wants us to have this certainty that the blind man nobody wants, the tax collector that nobody wants to talk to, 182 00:51:03,000 --> 00:51:13,000 that Jesus wants them. And in our negative thoughts of ourself, as we stack up our brokenness and sin 183 00:51:13,000 --> 00:51:20,000 and say, "God could never want me," Luke comes with this message of certainty that Jesus wants you. 184 00:51:20,000 --> 00:51:29,000 The medium circle in this is that Jesus is journeying toward Jerusalem, that his focus is on the cross, on salvation, 185 00:51:29,000 --> 00:51:40,000 not just for Zacchaeus, but for us. And then the circle we just talked about, that Jesus has healed a blind man, 186 00:51:40,000 --> 00:51:48,000 saying, "I want you." The crowds don't want you, but I want you. And then we come to Luke chapter 19, 187 00:51:48,000 --> 00:51:55,000 and we get a little context about Zacchaeus before we dive into this. We're going to pick up in Luke chapter 19, verse 1. 188 00:51:55,000 --> 00:52:00,000 He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man by the name of Zacchaeus. 189 00:52:00,000 --> 00:52:05,000 He was a chief tax collector and was rich, and he was seeking to see who Jesus was. 190 00:52:05,000 --> 00:52:10,000 But on account of the crowd, he could not, because he was small in stature. 191 00:52:10,000 --> 00:52:18,000 And so he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 192 00:52:18,000 --> 00:52:26,000 And so we meet Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector, right? Not just a tax collector, but the chief tax collector. 193 00:52:26,000 --> 00:52:31,000 And tax collectors in this day work for the Romans, who were occupying the land. 194 00:52:31,000 --> 00:52:36,000 So essentially, if you are going to work as a tax collector, you are a traitor. 195 00:52:36,000 --> 00:52:43,000 And also, in Jesus' day, tax collectors, by definition, were a crook who extorts people. 196 00:52:43,000 --> 00:52:50,000 So, for example, when we go to pay taxes, which is very far away on our horizon, that deadline, right? 197 00:52:50,000 --> 00:52:56,000 We know, based on earnings, what the percentage is that we will have to pay. 198 00:52:56,000 --> 00:52:58,000 There's published guidelines. 199 00:52:58,000 --> 00:53:02,000 Now, in the Roman world, there were not published guidelines. 200 00:53:02,000 --> 00:53:05,000 Your tax collecting district was taken by a bid. 201 00:53:05,000 --> 00:53:09,000 I think I can get this much taxes from people. Another guy comes, "I think I can get this one." 202 00:53:09,000 --> 00:53:17,000 They go with the highest bid. This chief tax collector now then subcontracts out to regular tax collectors. 203 00:53:17,000 --> 00:53:23,000 And so the tax system, in some cases, especially with dishonest tax collectors, is not, 204 00:53:23,000 --> 00:53:28,000 "Oh, well, you have five sheep and three cows. That's a denarius." 205 00:53:28,000 --> 00:53:30,000 It's, "Well, how much are my taxes?" 206 00:53:30,000 --> 00:53:32,000 "Well, how much do you have?" 207 00:53:32,000 --> 00:53:38,000 It was more of a shakedown and an extortion based on the threat of punishment 208 00:53:38,000 --> 00:53:42,000 than it was the kind of tax collection that we are used to. 209 00:53:42,000 --> 00:53:45,000 And we don't like paying taxes now, right? 210 00:53:45,000 --> 00:53:49,000 Can you imagine if you submit your taxes and they say, "How much do I owe?" 211 00:53:49,000 --> 00:53:51,000 And they say, "Well, how much do you have?" 212 00:53:51,000 --> 00:53:55,000 Right? Like, we already struggle paying taxes. 213 00:53:55,000 --> 00:53:59,000 What would happen if there was that kind of issue? 214 00:53:59,000 --> 00:54:05,000 Tax collectors were not liked, and Zacchaeus is the chief tax collector. 215 00:54:05,000 --> 00:54:12,000 So not only does he get a cut from the taxes he collects, he gets a cut from all of the guys who are collecting taxes. 216 00:54:12,000 --> 00:54:18,000 He is their boss, he is the worst of the worst, and he is rich. 217 00:54:18,000 --> 00:54:30,000 And it's a day and time where most people, something like 90%, live a subsistence-based life, meaning the food that you eat is from the money you earned that day. 218 00:54:30,000 --> 00:54:34,000 Right? No savings, no retirement account, no emergency fund. 219 00:54:34,000 --> 00:54:39,000 Right? You earn money that day, you eat that day. You don't work that day, you don't eat that day. 220 00:54:39,000 --> 00:54:49,000 Zacchaeus is rich. But he's also curious about Jesus. The problem is he is short. 221 00:54:49,000 --> 00:54:57,000 Now most of the time, for example, if you go to a parade, and you have children, what happens when the tall people in front see that you have children? 222 00:54:57,000 --> 00:55:02,000 Right? They say, "Oh, well, kids can come stand up in front so that we don't block their view." 223 00:55:02,000 --> 00:55:06,000 Now imagine you're a tax collector. And he's trying to sneak through to see Jesus. 224 00:55:06,000 --> 00:55:12,000 Nobody's going to let this guy through. But Zacchaeus is smart, he's clever, and he has a plan. 225 00:55:12,000 --> 00:55:18,000 So he simply climbs a tree. And this solves two of his problems. First of all, he can see Jesus. 226 00:55:18,000 --> 00:55:24,000 Secondly, likely nobody's going to see him. Right? He doesn't want to be seen. He doesn't want to be made fun of. 227 00:55:24,000 --> 00:55:31,000 He doesn't want to be attacked by this crowd. He wants to see Jesus, and he wants to do so without anybody knowing about it. 228 00:55:31,000 --> 00:55:42,000 So Zacchaeus climbs this tree. And Luke goes into a little bit more detail than normal about the background of this. 229 00:55:42,000 --> 00:55:50,000 Because he is enforcing on our hearts and our minds who Zacchaeus is and what Jesus is about to do. 230 00:55:50,000 --> 00:56:00,000 And there is this remarkable contrast. Because here's a guy who is rich and powerful. But he's climbing a tree like a child 231 00:56:00,000 --> 00:56:11,000 He wants to see Jesus. Luke wants us to see that Jesus wants the unwanted. That God's grace is bigger than our brokenness. 232 00:56:11,000 --> 00:56:18,000 And this is a little different than the story of the blind man because the crowds viewed the blind man as useless. 233 00:56:18,000 --> 00:56:26,000 The crowds viewed Zacchaeus as a man who was evil. Let's take a look at Zacchaeus' encounter with Jesus. We'll pick it up in verse 5. 234 00:56:26,000 --> 00:56:36,000 And when Jesus came to that place, he looked up to him and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today." 235 00:56:36,000 --> 00:56:43,000 And if you're familiar with the song, right? "I'm going to your house today," and you repeat it a bunch of times, and Zacchaeus is excited. 236 00:56:43,000 --> 00:56:51,000 And this, for us, we've become accustomed to it. But this is a startling thing to have happen. 237 00:56:51,000 --> 00:56:56,000 It's startling for the crowd, and you can see it in their demeanor changing. 238 00:56:56,000 --> 00:57:03,000 Jesus has just healed a blind man. Everybody is rejoicing. This is a parade. Jesus stops the parade. 239 00:57:03,000 --> 00:57:09,000 And I imagine Zacchaeus' heart stops a little bit, and then Jesus turns and looks in his direction, and his heart stops a little more. 240 00:57:09,000 --> 00:57:15,000 And then he goes, "Zacchaeus, you come down, right? Because I'm going to your house today. 241 00:57:15,000 --> 00:57:23,000 For I must go to your house. I must stay at your house." 242 00:57:23,000 --> 00:57:27,000 Now this verse to us should lift our spirits with joy. 243 00:57:27,000 --> 00:57:32,000 See what happens? Jesus knows Zacchaeus by name. 244 00:57:32,000 --> 00:57:41,000 Zacchaeus is trying to hide and remain anonymous because of the brokenness of his profession and the brokenness of sin in his heart. 245 00:57:41,000 --> 00:57:47,000 He wants to see Jesus, but he doesn't necessarily want to be seen by Jesus. 246 00:57:47,000 --> 00:57:52,000 And Jesus knows Zacchaeus' name. 247 00:57:52,000 --> 00:57:55,000 And Jesus knows your name. He knows my name. 248 00:57:55,000 --> 00:57:59,000 And he knows the depths of our souls, and he knows us better than we know ourselves. 249 00:57:59,000 --> 00:58:04,000 And he knows the depths of your hurt and your brokenness and your guilt and your shame. 250 00:58:04,000 --> 00:58:09,000 And he knows you. And here's the remarkable thing. 251 00:58:09,000 --> 00:58:13,000 He wants to know you. 252 00:58:13,000 --> 00:58:15,000 And he wants to be your friend. 253 00:58:15,000 --> 00:58:17,000 Zacchaeus, I'm going to stay with you today. 254 00:58:17,000 --> 00:58:18,000 I must stay at your house. 255 00:58:18,000 --> 00:58:21,000 And notice, this is not just an accidental chance encounter. 256 00:58:21,000 --> 00:58:25,000 That's what Zacchaeus, I mean, I think, imagines it is. 257 00:58:25,000 --> 00:58:30,000 I'm in this tree. Jesus just randomly catches a glimpse of my foot and stops and comes to my house. 258 00:58:30,000 --> 00:58:35,000 Jesus plans this. We see it because he says, "I must go to your house today." 259 00:58:35,000 --> 00:58:39,000 Right? Oh, hey, Zacchaeus, mind if I stop by? I must go. 260 00:58:39,000 --> 00:58:47,000 In the words of Jesus, you get a glimpse of the fact that this encounter is not an accident or a coincidence, 261 00:58:47,000 --> 00:58:55,000 but it is the providence of God leading to the salvation of this man, Zacchaeus. 262 00:58:55,000 --> 00:59:02,000 But I want you to see, because so many times we come to Jesus, we see it as a bunch of facts about who he is and what he has done. 263 00:59:02,000 --> 00:59:13,000 Those are wonderful and they're important, but Jesus comes for a relationship based upon the truth of those things. 264 00:59:13,000 --> 00:59:20,000 Also, just a note about this. You cannot stay curious about Jesus forever. 265 00:59:20,000 --> 00:59:25,000 One way or another, Jesus will confront you and you must make a choice. 266 00:59:25,000 --> 00:59:30,000 Yes, I believe. No, I reject you and who you are. 267 00:59:30,000 --> 00:59:35,000 Either you follow Jesus or you will not. There is no middle ground. 268 00:59:35,000 --> 00:59:41,000 That's where Zacchaeus finds himself, in a place all of us have either found ourselves or will find ourselves. 269 00:59:41,000 --> 00:59:47,000 At the place where we must make a decision about who we believe Jesus is. 270 00:59:47,000 --> 00:59:51,000 In verses 6 and 7, we see two reactions. 271 00:59:51,000 --> 00:59:56,000 He, Zacchaeus, hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 272 00:59:56,000 --> 00:59:58,000 There's reaction number one. Reaction number two. 273 00:59:58,000 --> 01:00:02,000 And when they saw it, that is the crowd, they all grumbled. 274 01:00:02,000 --> 01:00:06,000 He has gone to the guest of a man who is a sinner. 275 01:00:06,000 --> 01:00:10,000 Zacchaeus is joyful. He probably doesn't have a lot of friends. 276 01:00:10,000 --> 01:00:15,000 He has co-workers, he has subordinates, but he does not have friends. 277 01:00:15,000 --> 01:00:20,000 And these subordinates, as they spend time with him, are likely not thrilled to be spending time with him. 278 01:00:20,000 --> 01:00:24,000 Because he's taking a cut of their ill-gotten gains. 279 01:00:24,000 --> 01:00:28,000 So he's doing essentially to them what they are doing to the public. 280 01:00:28,000 --> 01:00:34,000 And now here is a man who actually wants to come and stay at his house. 281 01:00:34,000 --> 01:00:40,000 And to see the joy of Zacchaeus, contrast yourself to this situation, right? 282 01:00:40,000 --> 01:00:47,000 If somebody walks by, I'm walking by, and they come up and go, "Brandon, I'm excited. I'm coming to your house to stay." 283 01:00:47,000 --> 01:00:51,000 I'm going, "No, you're not. There's a super eight right there. 284 01:00:51,000 --> 01:00:55,000 You and your twelve friends can figure out food at the Golden Corral. 285 01:00:55,000 --> 01:00:59,000 Like, we can come hang out. Like, we can spend some time together, right? 286 01:00:59,000 --> 01:01:04,000 But I don't want you staying with me. I don't necessarily..." 287 01:01:04,000 --> 01:01:08,000 Because in part, that's a big deal for somebody to show up at your house. 288 01:01:08,000 --> 01:01:13,000 I've got to prepare. I've got to clean stuff up. I've got to go grocery shopping. 289 01:01:13,000 --> 01:01:19,000 I don't mind if you give me like a month's notice, but if you show up with your twelve bucks, 290 01:01:19,000 --> 01:01:25,000 I'm staying with you. I'm going to be like, "I don't have dinner. I don't have enough beds. 291 01:01:25,000 --> 01:01:30,000 I don't have enough people to borrow air mattresses from." 292 01:01:30,000 --> 01:01:36,000 Zacchaeus, no logistics, right? That's where my mind goes. Maybe you're different, but my mind goes logistics. 293 01:01:36,000 --> 01:01:45,000 Zacchaeus goes, "Come on." Joyfully invites Jesus. Now the crowds, by contrast, are upset. 294 01:01:45,000 --> 01:02:03,000 This word grumbling means the constant buzz of negative murmuring. Not necessarily, like distinguishable words, but there's grumbling of the people surrounding Jesus. 295 01:02:03,000 --> 01:02:10,000 Do you know why they're mad? Because in their minds, Zacchaeus doesn't deserve it. He's not on their side. 296 01:02:10,000 --> 01:02:20,000 He works for Rome against them instead of working against Rome and for them. He is the reason they don't have as much money as they should. 297 01:02:20,000 --> 01:02:31,000 Here's the reality about the grace of God is that nobody deserves grace. And as soon as you try to make grace something you deserve, it is no longer grace. 298 01:02:31,000 --> 01:02:44,000 And we struggle with grace. When we see somebody who has experienced grace and their life changes, sometimes we're skeptical and we go, "Well, we'll see how long that really lasts." 299 01:02:44,000 --> 01:02:56,000 Or, "Are they doing it for some other reason?" Right? It's not just the crowds that struggle with grace. We struggle with grace. And not just for others, but for ourselves. 300 01:02:56,000 --> 01:03:06,000 Could Jesus really love me? Could Jesus really want me? And part of the reason is we're looking at something other than Jesus. Right? 301 01:03:06,000 --> 01:03:14,000 We're looking at the lives of somebody else. We're looking at our lives and we're saying, "They don't deserve grace." Or maybe you're saying, "I don't deserve grace." 302 01:03:14,000 --> 01:03:21,000 And you're looking in the wrong place. We have to look to Jesus. 303 01:03:21,000 --> 01:03:29,000 We must test our hearts, especially as we see people come to know Jesus. 304 01:03:29,000 --> 01:03:37,000 It's easy to be skeptical. Are they coming to Christ for the right reasons? Are they really transformed by Jesus? 305 01:03:37,000 --> 01:03:43,000 We struggle with seeing grace in the lives of others. Look at what happens with Jesus and Zacchaeus. 306 01:03:43,000 --> 01:03:47,000 There's both repentance and salvation. I'll pick up in verse 8. 307 01:03:47,000 --> 01:03:58,000 And Zacchaeus stood and said, "Lord, behold," said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold." 308 01:03:58,000 --> 01:04:08,000 And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham, for the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost." 309 01:04:08,000 --> 01:04:16,000 The first thing Zacchaeus does is he repents. We talk a lot about repentance. Sometimes we don't define it very well. 310 01:04:16,000 --> 01:04:28,000 Repentance is simply this, is that we change our minds, or our minds are changed. What we once thought was good and desirable, we now leave behind and focus our minds on something else. 311 01:04:28,000 --> 01:04:37,000 But it's not just our minds, right? It's our emotions with us, because all of us have something where we say, "I know I shouldn't do that," right? 312 01:04:37,000 --> 01:04:45,000 "But I'm going to do it anyway," right? Our hearts have to change as well. Not only do I no longer desire this, 313 01:04:45,000 --> 01:04:54,000 I desire this other thing instead. And so it has to be a change of mind and a change of heart, ultimately resulting in a change of how we live. 314 01:04:54,000 --> 01:05:00,000 Repentance isn't just doing something different or stopping to do the thing you used to do. 315 01:05:00,000 --> 01:05:06,000 Repentance is that your mind changes, and what you once thought was right, you now see as wrong. 316 01:05:06,000 --> 01:05:14,000 What you once desired, you now turn your back on, and what you once did, you no longer do. It involves your head, 317 01:05:14,000 --> 01:05:21,000 your heart, and your hands doing 180 degrees differently. 318 01:05:21,000 --> 01:05:29,000 What I find interesting about Zacchaeus' repentance, because he acknowledges that he has lived wrongly, 319 01:05:29,000 --> 01:05:34,000 he says, "I no longer want to do that." You see the desire of his heart, but then he takes action. 320 01:05:34,000 --> 01:05:43,000 And one of the interesting things about this is that there are those who sort of object to the repentance of Zacchaeus. 321 01:05:43,000 --> 01:05:50,000 They look at Zacchaeus, and they're saying, "This is actually a righteous guy, not a sinner." 322 01:05:50,000 --> 01:05:57,000 And they do so based on these words, "If I have defrauded anyone of everything." 323 01:05:57,000 --> 01:06:01,000 Instead of repentance, Zacchaeus is saying, "Those people I've defrauded, if I've defrauded them," 324 01:06:01,000 --> 01:06:07,000 knowing that he has, saying, "If I've done that, I know that I have. I'm going to pay them back four times." 325 01:06:07,000 --> 01:06:12,000 They look at this as a declaration of righteousness, saying, "Odit my books. If I've done anything wrong, 326 01:06:12,000 --> 01:06:18,000 I'll pay it back." This self-righteous saying, "I've never done anything wrong." 327 01:06:18,000 --> 01:06:23,000 "I don't think I've done anything wrong, but if I have." 328 01:06:23,000 --> 01:06:28,000 And people argue that Zacchaeus, they will argue it strenuously, 329 01:06:28,000 --> 01:06:32,000 saying, "He's actually a good guy, and everybody misunderstands him." 330 01:06:32,000 --> 01:06:38,000 And I want to answer this objection, not just because it's wrong, 331 01:06:38,000 --> 01:06:43,000 but because it reveals something so important about our hearts. 332 01:06:43,000 --> 01:06:46,000 So I would answer this objection like this. 333 01:06:46,000 --> 01:06:53,000 If Zacchaeus is really a righteous guy, and his statement to repay those he defrauded 334 01:06:53,000 --> 01:06:58,000 is just a statement of righteousness, then why does everybody in town hate him? 335 01:06:58,000 --> 01:07:04,000 Why are people upset about him? If Zacchaeus is really righteous, everyone would love him. 336 01:07:04,000 --> 01:07:09,000 He would be the only honest tax collector in the entire Roman army. 337 01:07:09,000 --> 01:07:13,000 One of a kind. The only one who has ever existed or will exist. 338 01:07:13,000 --> 01:07:18,000 You don't hate the guy who's honest. You love him. 339 01:07:18,000 --> 01:07:25,000 People are moving into town to get away from the thieves and get near this guy who does the right thing. 340 01:07:28,000 --> 01:07:34,000 But that's not Zacchaeus' reputation. And that's not what Jesus says either. 341 01:07:34,000 --> 01:07:38,000 Today salvation has come to this house since he is a Son of Man. 342 01:07:38,000 --> 01:07:41,000 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost. 343 01:07:41,000 --> 01:07:49,000 If Zacchaeus is already righteous and already saved, then why does he need this salvation? 344 01:07:49,000 --> 01:07:57,000 And now this question ultimately I don't think is that important other than the fact it reveals something about our hearts. 345 01:07:57,000 --> 01:08:05,000 Why do some of us feel the need to object to Zacchaeus' repentance? 346 01:08:05,000 --> 01:08:09,000 Why do some of us have the tendency to try to explain it away? 347 01:08:09,000 --> 01:08:14,000 And here's the result, and it's true of all of us, because true repentance makes us uncomfortable. 348 01:08:14,000 --> 01:08:23,000 Because true repentance causes us to examine those places in our lives where we need to repent and we haven't. 349 01:08:23,000 --> 01:08:28,000 And when we see true repentance, we go, "I don't know if I can do that." 350 01:08:28,000 --> 01:08:36,000 And so we question it. Rather than examining our own hearts, we begin to question the hearts of others. 351 01:08:36,000 --> 01:08:41,000 Do for a minute the math on Zacchaeus with me. 352 01:08:41,000 --> 01:08:52,000 If he is giving half of his money to the poor, and knowing the reputation of tax collectors, restoring four times what he has stolen, 353 01:08:53,000 --> 01:08:58,000 there's not much left for Zacchaeus after all this happens. 354 01:08:58,000 --> 01:09:06,000 And if I look at Zacchaeus and go, "If I repent like that, what's left over for me?" 355 01:09:06,000 --> 01:09:15,000 If I turn my life around and give all of this to Jesus in obedience to him, what's left over for me? 356 01:09:15,000 --> 01:09:22,000 And Zacchaeus' repentance makes us uncomfortable, because what's left for me? 357 01:09:22,000 --> 01:09:26,000 And that's the problem. We've put ourselves in the center. 358 01:09:26,000 --> 01:09:33,000 Instead of rejoicing over the fact that this guy comes to Jesus, there's this objection, "Well, maybe he didn't really need to." 359 01:09:33,000 --> 01:09:41,000 So that we can feel like we can keep on doing the normal everyday stuff, instead of being radically transformed by the gospel. 360 01:09:41,000 --> 01:09:47,000 Let me be clear about this. This is not about Zacchaeus' money. It's about his heart. 361 01:09:48,000 --> 01:09:55,000 And for Zacchaeus, for the majority of his life, his heart was set on that money. 362 01:09:55,000 --> 01:10:00,000 Now for us, it might not be money. Maybe your heart is filled with resentment. 363 01:10:00,000 --> 01:10:16,000 And repentance means you have to let go of that, to set aside your ideas of revenge, to set aside that unforgiveness that you have harbored for so long over those people who have wronged you so deeply. 364 01:10:17,000 --> 01:10:24,000 And you have held on to that, saying, "Man, I hope they get what they deserve. I didn't deserve their wrong." 365 01:10:24,000 --> 01:10:34,000 And instead of, like Zacchaeus, letting go that thing that your heart was focused on, you just want to keep holding on to it. 366 01:10:34,000 --> 01:10:45,000 Maybe it's our pride and arrogance, how we are better, or think we're better, how we've achieved more, how we are more important. 367 01:10:46,000 --> 01:10:55,000 The question that Zacchaeus' repentance leads us to is an uncomfortable one. What is it that your heart is holding on to? 368 01:10:55,000 --> 01:11:07,000 And what I love is that Jesus comes to transform our heart. And Jesus declares, as Zacchaeus is transformed by the grace that has come upon him, 369 01:11:07,000 --> 01:11:15,000 salvation has come to this house, and not only on a small scale of this house, but to the whole world, because I come to seek and save the lost. 370 01:11:15,000 --> 01:11:21,000 And if you look at the center of your heart, and you know that there is that thing, maybe it's resentment, maybe it's 371 01:11:21,000 --> 01:11:31,000 unforgiveness, maybe it's pride, maybe it's an immorality, a sin that you just can't or don't want to let go of. And you say, "I can't." 372 01:11:31,000 --> 01:11:41,000 The answer is true, you can't, but Jesus can. It's through the transforming power of his grace that Zacchaeus is able to let go of that thing that he has set his 373 01:11:41,000 --> 01:11:49,000 heart on his entire life, and it's through the power of the grace of Jesus that you are able to let go of that thing. 374 01:11:49,000 --> 01:12:00,000 Your heart has been set on your entire life and fix it on him. Jesus comes to seek and save the lost. I love it. 375 01:12:00,000 --> 01:12:08,000 It's a picture, what Jesus says. He says, "What I'm coming to do, I'm going to come in, knock your doors down, and show you this grace 376 01:12:08,000 --> 01:12:18,000 and this love." One of the things I would encourage you this morning is not to get repentance backwards. 377 01:12:18,000 --> 01:12:26,000 It's so easy for us to think that in order for God to love us, we have to clean ourselves up. 378 01:12:26,000 --> 01:12:35,000 We have to make ourselves good. We have to change ourselves. It's ridiculous. It would be like if I am deathly sick 379 01:12:35,000 --> 01:12:43,000 and about struggling in every possible way, I say, "You know what? I'll go to the doctor, but I've got to feel better first." 380 01:12:43,000 --> 01:12:51,000 That's not how that works. When I'm sick, I've got to go to the doctor. The same is true for our hearts. 381 01:12:51,000 --> 01:12:58,000 It's not about cleaning up our hearts and coming to Jesus. It's about coming to the One who can clean up your heart. 382 01:12:58,000 --> 01:13:03,000 Don't get repentance backwards. Don't think for a minute that before you come to Jesus, 383 01:13:03,000 --> 01:13:12,000 you've got to do this or do that. Jesus's invitation to Zacchaeus is not, "Zacchaeus, get your house in order, make everything right, 384 01:13:12,000 --> 01:13:18,000 and then I'll come and talk to you as Zacchaeus. I'm coming to your house today, and I'm going to change your heart." 385 01:13:18,000 --> 01:13:28,000 Don't get repentance backwards. Secondly, there's only one thing in this world that is worth holding on to, and it's Jesus. 386 01:13:28,000 --> 01:13:38,000 One of my favorite psalms, especially in times of struggle, is this: "Whom have I in heaven but you? 387 01:13:38,000 --> 01:13:47,000 And there is nothing on earth that I desire beside you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, 388 01:13:47,000 --> 01:13:56,000 and He is my portion forever, that everything fails." My flesh, my heart may fail. 389 01:13:56,000 --> 01:14:00,000 My strength, my energy may fail. My stuff may fail. 390 01:14:00,000 --> 01:14:06,000 You know who doesn't fail? The one who holds me in His hands. 391 01:14:06,000 --> 01:14:12,000 Right? That's the message of Zacchaeus. What is your heart holding on to? 392 01:14:12,000 --> 01:14:16,000 It's not holding on to Jesus. 393 01:14:16,000 --> 01:14:23,000 There's coming a time where you're going to see that hope crumble and crash and be crippled. 394 01:14:23,000 --> 01:14:27,000 And I want you to know the hope that is found in Jesus. 395 01:14:27,000 --> 01:14:33,000 We don't know what happens to Zacchaeus. This is the only mention of him in Scripture. 396 01:14:33,000 --> 01:14:40,000 But according to early church tradition, and when I say early church, I mean the second century. 397 01:14:40,000 --> 01:14:46,000 Zacchaeus becomes the preacher and the pastor in Caesarea. 398 01:14:46,000 --> 01:14:57,000 As the Christians are scattered, he goes to the town of Caesarea, and he gives his life, not just to following Jesus, but to proclaiming him. 399 01:14:57,000 --> 01:15:07,000 See how God can transform. Take the tax collector who is hiding in a tree and doesn't want to be seen, and bring him to be the pastor of a church in Caesarea. 400 01:15:07,000 --> 01:15:14,000 Jesus can change your life. Jesus will change your life. He is the only one who truly holds your future. 401 01:15:14,000 --> 01:15:23,000 If you have any questions about Jesus, if you want to know him and you don't, I would love to answer those questions for you. 402 01:15:23,000 --> 01:15:26,000 You can do it now. You can do it later. Let's pray and we'll sing. 403 01:15:26,000 --> 01:15:39,000 Father in heaven, fix our eyes on Jesus, the one in whom our hope is found. Setting aside all of those sins and all those things that tangle up our feet as we run, 404 01:15:39,000 --> 01:15:46,000 give us the endurance to run after Jesus, who is our hope. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 405 01:15:46,000 --> 01:15:52,000 We're going to stand and sing, "I Stand Amazed." 406 01:15:52,000 --> 01:16:00,000 So if you would, go ahead and stand with me as we... 407 01:16:09,000 --> 01:16:24,000 I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene. And wondered how He could love me, a sinner condemned, unclean. 408 01:16:24,000 --> 01:16:39,000 Singing, "How marvelous, how wondrous, how marvelous a song shall ever be." 409 01:16:39,000 --> 01:16:46,000 Singing, "How marvelous, how wondrous a song shall ever be." 410 01:16:46,000 --> 01:16:54,000 Singing, "How marvelous, how wondrous a song shall ever be." 411 01:16:54,000 --> 01:17:08,000 Singing, "How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me." 412 01:17:08,000 --> 01:17:12,000 Singing, "How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me." 413 01:17:12,000 --> 01:17:24,000 He took my sins and my sorrows and made them His very own. 414 01:17:24,000 --> 01:17:38,000 He bore the burden to Calvary and suffered and died alone. 415 01:17:38,000 --> 01:17:52,000 Singing how marvelous, how wonderful, and my song shall ever be. 416 01:17:52,000 --> 01:18:06,000 How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me. 417 01:18:08,000 --> 01:18:36,000 And with the ransomed in glory, His face I at last shall see. It will be my joy through the ages, to sing of His love. 418 01:18:36,000 --> 01:19:04,000 to sing of His love for me. Singing, "How marvelous, how wonderful, and my song shall never be. How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love." 419 01:19:04,000 --> 01:19:32,000 to sing of His love for me. How marvelous, how wonderful, and my song shall never be. How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love. 420 01:19:32,000 --> 01:19:37,000 His love for me. 421 01:19:37,000 --> 01:19:43,000 Thank you. Thankful that you are joining. You've joined us this morning. A couple of announcements. 422 01:19:43,000 --> 01:19:56,000 One, Wednesday night Bible study. This Wednesday night at 6 p.m., we are walking through a little bit of the historical background of the resurrection of Jesus. 423 01:19:56,000 --> 01:20:07,000 We're going to be on the road to Emmaus this coming Wednesday, so that is at 6 p.m. Just a reminder that next Sunday is Resurrection Sunday. 424 01:20:07,000 --> 01:20:21,000 In a sense, we celebrate every Sunday, but next Sunday we are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus together, and we are excited to do that also. 425 01:20:21,000 --> 01:20:34,000 Just a reminder, we just had our most recent men's breakfast yesterday, and so we are trying to do that on a regular schedule of the third Saturday of the month. 426 01:20:34,000 --> 01:20:43,000 Our next one will be the third Saturday of April, and also our next children's church is coming up on April the 14th. 427 01:20:43,000 --> 01:20:51,000 So, we're going to go ahead and pray, and we'll read a verse of Scripture together, and then we will sing the doxology. 428 01:20:51,000 --> 01:20:56,000 Father in heaven, thank you for your church and your people, for your word, for your spirit. 429 01:20:56,000 --> 01:21:06,000 For all the good things that you have done for us, we thank you. Be with us as we leave, that you would give us strength, 430 01:21:06,000 --> 01:21:14,000 that you would call us to follow you more deeply, that we would live with joy in the hope of the resurrection of your Son. 431 01:21:14,000 --> 01:21:17,000 It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 432 01:21:17,000 --> 01:21:23,000 From Jude, verses 24 and 25, "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, 433 01:21:23,000 --> 01:21:29,000 and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory, in great joy, to the only God, our Savior, 434 01:21:29,000 --> 01:21:35,000 through Christ Jesus our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time, 435 01:21:35,000 --> 01:21:38,000 now and forever." Amen. 436 01:21:38,000 --> 01:22:04,000 Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise 437 01:22:04,000 --> 01:22:09,000 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 438 01:22:34,000 --> 01:23:03,980 Father, Son, Holy Ghost. 439 01:23:04,000 --> 01:23:33,980 Lord, Son, Holy Ghost. 440 01:23:34,000 --> 01:24:03,980 Lord, Son, Holy Ghost. 441 01:24:04,000 --> 01:24:33,980 Lord, Son, Holy Ghost. 442 01:25:04,000 --> 01:25:33,980 Lord, Son, Holy Ghost, Son, Holy Ghost, Son, Holy Ghost, Son, Holy Ghost, Son, Holy Ghost. 443 01:25:34,000 --> 01:25:44,120 Lord, Son, Holy Ghost. 444 01:26:04,000 --> 01:26:06,000 Lord, Son, Holy Ghost. 445 01:26:34,000 --> 01:26:36,000 Lord, Son, Holy Ghost. 446 01:27:34,000 --> 01:28:03,980 Father, Son, Holy Ghost. 447 01:28:04,000 --> 01:28:33,980 Father, Son, Holy Ghost. 448 01:28:34,000 --> 01:29:03,980 Father, Son, Holy Ghost. 449 01:33:34,000 --> 01:34:03,980 Lord, Son, Holy Ghost. 450 01:34:04,000 --> 01:34:33,980 Lord, Son, Holy Ghost. 451 01:34:34,000 --> 01:35:03,980 Lord, Son, Holy Ghost. 452 01:38:04,000 --> 01:38:33,980 Father, Son, Holy Ghost. 453 01:38:34,000 --> 01:39:03,980 Son, Holy Ghost. 454 01:39:04,000 --> 01:39:33,980 Son, Holy Ghost. 455 01:39:34,000 --> 01:40:03,980 Son, Holy Ghost. 456 01:40:34,000 --> 01:41:03,980 Jesus said, "Follow me." Let's pray. 457 01:41:04,000 --> 01:41:33,980 Jesus said, "Follow me." Let's pray. 458 01:41:34,000 --> 01:42:03,980 Jesus said, "Follow me." Let's pray. 459 01:44:04,000 --> 01:44:06,000 Amen. 460 01:44:34,000 --> 01:44:36,000 Amen. 461 01:45:04,000 --> 01:45:06,000 Amen. 462 01:47:34,000 --> 01:47:36,940 Thank you.