Beyond Imitation: Finding the Power, Not Just the Pattern, in the Story of Zacchaeus

[00:01:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
Amen.
[00:02:26] .

[00:02:47] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
.
[00:02:47] .
[00:05:00] Amen.
[00:05:59] Thank you for watching!

[00:07:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
Good morning, Cope Church.
[00:07:08] My name is Leslie, and I'm so glad that you're here.
[00:07:11] Would you stand to your feet with me today?
[00:07:14] We're about to sing to celebrate and to praise God.
[00:07:18] We invite you to open up your mouth, sing with your hands together.
[00:07:22] Come on.

[00:07:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
We have heard on earth
[00:09:29] Let him whose birth the angels sing

[00:11:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
of the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit of the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit of the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit

[00:11:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
The Word of God.
[00:12:18] In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
[00:12:28] Amen.

[00:12:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
Uncontainable, Insultainable, I've got the joy of the Lord And I've got joy on the inside Feels like the fire can't keep me deep

[00:13:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
The joy of the Lord is mine
[00:14:20] God of fire, it's always there, it won't go out, it's always there You've given me joy, it's unspeakable joy

[00:15:18] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Amen.

[00:15:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
We can sing that no matter what the circumstance because of who He is, His faithfulness, His goodness, His constant greatness in our life.

[00:15:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
The treasure of heaven, brilliant like the stars in the wintery sky.
[00:16:08] Joy of the Father, reach through the darkness, shine across the earth, send the shadows

[00:16:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
The tragedies of time Were no match for your love From great hearts of glory You saw my story And God who entered it And became one of us We sing hallelujah
[00:17:17] Sing hallelujah
[00:18:07] Alleluia!

[00:18:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
He will ransom His own Through clouds He will lead us Straight into glory

[00:19:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]:
Come on, let's celebrate Him today in this house.
[00:19:54] Sing hallelujah to the King of kings and Lord of lords, to the light of the world.
[00:20:03] Lord, we offer up our praise and our worship.
[00:20:06] We offer up a hallelujah to your name because you are a great, great God.
[00:20:12] Come on, if you believe that, I want you to join your voices to us and let's sing this together.

[00:20:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]:
Sing, how great is our God.
[00:20:37] You sound great, church.
[00:20:53] You sound great.

[00:21:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]:
Come on, let's lift up our voice one more time.
[00:21:02] Everybody.
[00:21:03] How great is our God Won't you sing with me?
[00:21:04] How great is our God And all will see How great, how great is our God

[00:22:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
The Word of the Lord.

[00:22:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
God we come to you this morning and we say how great how great you are God you're worthy of all of our praise you're all glorious you're all powerful and in this moment God we just come to you and we lift you high in this place God your presence is here with us
[00:23:00] And God, we just pray that in this busy Christmas season, God, as we walk in here right now, that we can just lay down whatever we're walking in this room with.
[00:23:11] Just lay it down at the feet of Jesus, God, and just make you the focal point this morning, God.
[00:23:16] Open our hearts to the word that you have for us.
[00:23:20] Remind us that you are the reason we sing.
[00:23:24] You're worthy of all of our praise.
[00:23:27] You're great.
[00:23:29] God, we love you.
[00:23:31] In Jesus' name we pray.
[00:23:33] Amen.
[00:23:34] You guys can go ahead and take a seat.
[00:23:41] Well, good morning, Cove Church.
[00:23:43] How are we doing this morning?
[00:23:46] I think we can do a little better.
[00:23:47] How are we doing, Cove Church?
[00:23:50] Well guys, it is so good to be with you guys.
[00:23:53] My name is Ashlyn and I'm one of our Cove students leaders.
[00:23:56] Shout out Cove students!
[00:23:58] Woo!
[00:23:59] Got the front row right there.
[00:24:01] Well we had an amazing tree lighting last night and so thank you for everybody who showed up.
[00:24:06] We had an amazing time and it was so sweet to just experience the holiday season with you guys.
[00:24:12] But you know something that's extra special is getting to experience the holiday season with our first time guests.
[00:24:18] So we just want to take a moment and celebrate any first time guests that we have in the building this morning.
[00:24:27] Hey, if it's your first time,
[00:24:29] We are really glad that you're here this morning.
[00:24:32] And we want to make sure you don't leave today without getting yourself connected.
[00:24:36] And you can do that in a couple easy ways.
[00:24:38] You can scan the QR code on the back of your seats, or you can go out to our Next Steps area.
[00:24:43] We have team members that would love to talk to you, answer any questions.
[00:24:47] And most importantly, we want you to know that you are welcome here.
[00:24:51] We want you a part of our church family.
[00:24:54] Well guys, Christmas is a very exciting time in the church.
[00:24:58] And one of the things that makes it just extra special is our toy store.
[00:25:05] And what that is, a toy store is where we have an opportunity to partner with our Cove Church families and partners in the community.
[00:25:13] And we help provide toys for families in need this holiday season.
[00:25:18] And guys, our toy store is six days away.
[00:25:21] Can you believe it?
[00:25:23] It is so exciting.
[00:25:25] We're so excited.
[00:25:25] We know it's going to be amazing.
[00:25:27] And this week, I got the opportunity to speak with just a wonderful woman who's been attending our church for 12 years now.
[00:25:33] And she shared with me her experience for the first time at the toy store.
[00:25:39] She said she walked in and she was feeling a lot of stress, but also feeling a lot of hope.
[00:25:45] And the moment she walked through those doors, she was met by team members who offered her smiles, who welcomed her, who asked about her children and helped her pick out the perfect gift for them.
[00:25:56] And she said as she filled her bag, she just felt the stress just leave.
[00:26:01] She felt her shoulders just drop.
[00:26:04] And she knew the moment that she walked out those doors, she was gonna be able to provide an amazing holiday for her children.
[00:26:11] Thank you, Cove Church.
[00:26:14] Thank you for your generosity.
[00:26:17] See, this is one of so many stories that we see God use the generosity of the church to change lives.
[00:26:24] And you guys are a part of that.
[00:26:26] But I have even better news is that the opportunity is not over.
[00:26:30] We're gonna be collecting toys till this Tuesday.
[00:26:34] You guys have three more days to collect toys and bring them in.
[00:26:38] You guys can grab a wish list out in the atrium or you can go to christmasatthecove.com and you guys can go on the Amazon link and purchase there and it'll send it straight to the church.
[00:26:50] But I encourage you guys, as you're buying these gifts, I want you to remember this mother.
[00:26:56] because there's so many families that are feeling that stress and maybe God is calling you today to be the person to show a little extra love this holiday season.
[00:27:06] You know, not only are you guys generous in that way, but I'd like to thank those of you who give so generously through your tithes and your offerings.
[00:27:13] Your tithes and offerings are what allow us to continue our mission of introducing our friends to Jesus, learning to follow Him, and celebrating His presence in our lives.
[00:27:22] So thank you.
[00:27:24] If you'd like to give today, you can do that in two ways.
[00:27:27] You can go to covechurch.org slash give, or you can go out to the atrium, and we have gray receptacles out there.
[00:27:34] Well guys, we are in week two of our Christmas series, and we have a special treat.
[00:27:38] Our Statesville campus pastor, David Porter, is joining us today.
[00:27:42] So let's give him a hand, and you guys can direct your attention to the screens.

[00:27:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Tis the season.
[00:27:54] You know what that means.
[00:27:56] There is shopping to be done, meals to cook, company to entertain, and Santas to go visit.
[00:28:02] Traffic will be slow, checkout lines long, and calendars full.
[00:28:07] Christmas can so quickly feel hectic, stressful, and even overwhelming.
[00:28:13] Yet when you look at the manger, isn't it always still, quiet, peaceful, hopeful?
[00:28:22] Truthfully, we haven't changed that much.
[00:28:25] Mankind used to imagine what the coming of the Messiah would look like.
[00:28:29] They knew he would come as a fierce warrior, a king, a conqueror here to turn the world on its head.
[00:28:36] No one could even imagine his grand entrance.
[00:28:39] And instead, Jesus came in the most normal way you could imagine.
[00:28:45] We will always be drawn to the loud, the craziness, and the unbelievable.
[00:28:51] But maybe this Christmas we would be better served to focus on something simple.

[00:29:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
All right, well, good morning.
[00:29:02] How's everyone doing today?
[00:29:03] You guys good?
[00:29:05] We want to take a moment and welcome those joining us right now.
[00:29:10] We have those watching online.
[00:29:12] We have my hometown, Statesville.
[00:29:15] Hope you guys are doing great today.
[00:29:16] We have Tim Beal.
[00:29:17] He's actually preaching live at the Salisbury campus.
[00:29:21] And Josh Hassel is preaching live at his campus in Denver.
[00:29:26] So it's just us here in Mooresville, and it's us together in Statesville.
[00:29:32] So come on, one more time.
[00:29:33] Are y'all excited to be in church today?
[00:29:37] Always excited to be here.
[00:29:39] Hey, how many of you guys are like excited about Christmas?
[00:29:46] Okay.
[00:29:48] 25 maybe are excited.
[00:29:52] You know, this should be, this should be the time of year where we have joy.
[00:29:59] We should all just be walking around every day with smiles on our faces, right?
[00:30:05] We should be taking this moment to take in all the Christmas decorations, being able to sit around our homes drinking coffee and hot chocolate and watching the greatest Christmas movie of all time.
[00:30:29] So for those who are watching on video, somebody said die hard.
[00:30:35] No.
[00:30:36] No.
[00:30:37] And no.
[00:30:38] Elf.
[00:30:42] Thank you.
[00:30:42] Let's bring it back to reality.
[00:30:45] Elf.
[00:30:46] Like we should have this joy of just experiencing all these things that Christmas has to offer.
[00:30:53] We should be able to go shopping and just enjoy Christmas with smiles on our faces.
[00:31:00] But there's something that gets in the way of this joy, and that's people.
[00:31:07] You know what I'm talking about?
[00:31:08] Like, come on, can we admit, there's some people out there during the Christmas season, they're a little bit crazy.
[00:31:15] I'm not talking about anybody here.
[00:31:17] None of us are crazy, but everybody else is crazy.
[00:31:21] If it wasn't for everybody else, we'd have a lot more joy and a lot more celebration and a really good time during the holiday season because people tend to get a little wild during this time.
[00:31:30] Come on, the traffic is a little crazy.
[00:31:32] Walmart and Target.
[00:31:35] A little crazy, even the grocery store is wild right now.
[00:31:39] It's like you don't really experience a lot of that of joy and celebration right now because of all the things that are happening and going on.
[00:31:48] And for those of us who are not crazy, which is us in the room today, we get to this place of we're in good shape, but during holiday season we start to have a short fuse.
[00:31:59] We get to be a little bit angry with everybody else.
[00:32:03] And what we want to see during this time when we see something wrong or someone doing something wrong in traffic or in the stores, we want to see them punished now.
[00:32:11] Before the rest of the years, no, they were good.
[00:32:14] But now in December, we want to see them punished for their crimes.
[00:32:18] For example like the other day I was going down 77 and this dude was like going in and out of traffic like he was auditioning for Fast and Furious 25.
[00:32:28] I don't know how many of those movies they are but anyway like he's weaving in and out of traffic and I'm like he's gonna hurt somebody.
[00:32:36] You know what somebody needs to call 911 and report him right now.
[00:32:40] And then a couple miles up the road I see him pulled over by the cops
[00:32:48] And me as a pastor, say God is good.
[00:32:52] Like he deserved it.
[00:32:55] Or you could be in line at Target or Walmart and you're just sitting there and someone cuts in front of you.
[00:33:02] Does that not make you mad right now?
[00:33:03] Because you've got things to do.
[00:33:05] Someone cuts in line and you're just deep down, you don't want to admit it, but you're praying their card declines.
[00:33:11] You know what I mean?
[00:33:11] Like you have these things.
[00:33:13] I was watching, this is how like amped up I am right now in the short fuse I have.
[00:33:17] I was watching a documentary the other day about Christmas.
[00:33:20] And this guy moves into the neighborhood, I forget the name of it, and he has all these lights, and he's doing this big event, and he's talking to his neighbors, and him and his neighbors get into it, and the whole time he's talking about how he's a Christian, that he's basically, I'm a Jesus follower, and then he starts talking about how his neighbors are idiots, and how he's more intellectual than they are, they're basically stupid, and I'm like, in that moment, I'm like, you're a jerk.
[00:33:48] Like you really are.
[00:33:49] And I'm sitting here and the whole time during the documentary, they all of a sudden, he takes his neighbor, entire neighborhood to court.
[00:33:56] And I'm like, there's no way this guy can win.
[00:33:58] There's no way.
[00:33:59] Well, the judge has his verdict and the guy won.
[00:34:02] Can I tell you, I'm sitting on the couch, I am fuming.
[00:34:06] Because I'm thinking this guy is guilty.
[00:34:08] He deserves punishment.
[00:34:10] And then a few minutes later in the show, probably about 10 minutes later, another judge comes in, reverses the verdict, and now he's guilty.
[00:34:19] Can I tell you, I was jumping basically off my couch.
[00:34:22] I looked at my wife and I said, what do you think?
[00:34:24] She said, he's guilty.
[00:34:25] And I said, yes, he's guilty.
[00:34:26] And I was just in this place of like, he deserves punishment.
[00:34:32] And this is for us today.
[00:34:34] I think we're in this mindset and what we have to watch out for is we, from a spiritual standpoint, from Jesus followers, and it's going to be pretty difficult for us who say that we are followers of Jesus today, we can get in the mindset that people who do not act like us, who do not talk like us, who do not live the lifestyle that we live as Jesus followers, they should be punished.
[00:34:59] That there should be justice because we want justification for that.
[00:35:04] We wanna see people who are doing things in our eyes that if they're doing something wrong, that something should happen to them.
[00:35:16] Something should take place.
[00:35:18] They should be punished.
[00:35:21] And from a spiritual standpoint for us today, we can have that same mindset where if someone's not doing or living like we're living as Christians, then this person should be punished.
[00:35:34] Their lifestyle, their living should be punished.
[00:35:39] And what we have to understand today and what we're going to look at, we're going to look at the life of Jesus.
[00:35:46] Because what was taking place when Jesus walked into this world is that he had the religious, he had the Pharisees, that they thought that when the Messiah was going to show up, that he was going to show up, walk alongside them, look at others and see the wrong.
[00:36:05] Look at others and point and say, you are guilty.
[00:36:10] But see, Jesus came in a different way.
[00:36:12] Instead of having the religious and the mindset of the Pharisees, he came to be a friend of sinners.
[00:36:24] This wrecked the religious mindset and what they thought should take place and should happen.
[00:36:33] So what I want us to look at today is a very familiar story.
[00:36:38] Many of you may know it, but I want to see it from a different lens today and pull out a couple of things that even for me for the very first time that I saw.
[00:36:47] And I want us to see three ways that Jesus became a friend of sinners and how those of us who say that we're Christians, that we're Jesus followers, to live out the same life that he has called us to live out from those who are walking right now in our workplace, in our schools, wherever it may be, who are far from Christ.
[00:37:13] So we're going to be in Luke 19, and I'm going to read verses 1 through 10.
[00:37:20] So if you have your Bibles, go ahead and turn to Luke 19, or it's going to be on the screen as well.
[00:37:27] It says, He entered Jericho.
[00:37:29] This was Jesus.
[00:37:30] He entered Jericho and was passing through.
[00:37:33] Behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus.
[00:37:36] He was a chief tax collector and was rich.
[00:37:38] He was seeking to see who Jesus was.
[00:37:41] But on account of the crowd, he could not, because he was of small in stature.
[00:37:47] So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.
[00:37:53] And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.
[00:38:00] So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.
[00:38:04] And when they saw it, they all grumbled.
[00:38:06] The crowd, the Pharisees, the religious leaders, they grumbled.
[00:38:09] He has gone to be a guest of a man who is a sinner.
[00:38:14] And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor
[00:38:19] and if I have defrauded anyone of anything I restore it fourfold and Jesus said to him today salvation has come to this house since he is also a son of Abraham for the son of man came to seek and save the the lost there's so much to him unpack in this story I want to get into it today so if you're taking notes point number one is this about what Jesus does in these moments Jesus notices the unseen Jesus notices the unseen
[00:38:50] Luke tells us that Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector.
[00:38:54] He wasn't just any tax collector.
[00:38:57] He was the chief tax collector.
[00:38:59] He was the top of the ladder.
[00:39:02] He was the one who was deceitful.
[00:39:04] He was the one that was taking money, shaving off the top from his own people.
[00:39:09] Not only his own people, but the tax collectors below him.
[00:39:14] So everyone not only despised Zacchaeus, they actually hated him for what he had done.
[00:39:21] They hated him for who he actually was.
[00:39:25] But Zacchaeus in this moment, he hears about Jesus.
[00:39:29] Zacchaeus wants to put his eyes on Jesus.
[00:39:32] He wants to just see him.
[00:39:34] Now think about this for a moment for Zacchaeus.
[00:39:37] What does the scripture say?
[00:39:38] It says that he was rich.
[00:39:41] So you would think, why does Zacchaeus need to see Jesus?
[00:39:44] He has everything that he could want.
[00:39:46] He has any lifestyle that he could live, but there was something about Jesus back then that drew people to him.
[00:39:54] So even though Zacchaeus had everything that he could possibly want or imagine, he still wanted to see who this Jesus was.
[00:40:05] And Zacchaeus done something that we don't realize today that would have been humiliating for men to do back then.
[00:40:13] Number one, he ran.
[00:40:15] And they said running for a man back then was humiliating because they wore a tunic.
[00:40:20] So they would have to wrap the tunic up and then they would have to run.
[00:40:24] And then climbing a tree would have seemed childish.
[00:40:28] So it would have been humiliating.
[00:40:30] A man who has everything in this moment was willing to be humiliated to see Jesus.
[00:40:38] Something about Jesus drew Zacchaeus to him.
[00:40:42] He just wanted to see Him.
[00:40:46] So I wonder for us today as Jesus followers, a question that we should ask.
[00:40:52] Are there people in our life
[00:40:57] In our work, in our school, wherever.
[00:41:01] And we say we're Jesus followers.
[00:41:04] The people who are far from God want to be near us.
[00:41:10] People who don't follow Jesus, people who don't go to church, is there something about us that they are drawn to?
[00:41:22] Maybe our arms are extended and be like, you know what?
[00:41:25] I don't want anything to do with you because I don't agree with you.
[00:41:29] I don't want anything to do with you because I don't agree with your lifestyle.
[00:41:33] We have to ask ourselves as followers of Jesus, are we approachable?
[00:41:37] Are people drawn to us or are we intimidating?
[00:41:42] Do we have a tendency to look down on others that are less than?
[00:41:49] You know, this is where my story hits me a little bit.
[00:41:54] At one time I was working in a factory and I was doing my best.
[00:41:59] I was going to church.
[00:42:00] I was trying to do my best to follow Jesus.
[00:42:03] So I was trying to be a witness.
[00:42:04] I was trying to share the gospel.
[00:42:06] And there was a lot of guys that I worked with, they didn't go to church.
[00:42:09] They didn't believe in God.
[00:42:10] They didn't want to hear anything about it.
[00:42:12] But there was some opportunities that I had to be able to have a conversation with them.
[00:42:16] And one day as I was talking to a group of guys, we're talking,
[00:42:19] and can I tell you in that moment they were frustrating me a little bit I was getting a little bit angry especially with one guy and as we're talking he just had pushback after pushback and he had all these just degrading remarks about church and about God and it was frustrating and I finally got to the point I looked at him and I said I'm telling you right now I'm I will never ever talk to you about God again and he looked at me said are you serious I said yeah I said I'm sick and tired
[00:42:49] Every time we have a conversation, you say this, this, this.
[00:42:53] You don't want to listen.
[00:42:54] You don't want to understand.
[00:42:55] So I'm never talking to you about God again.
[00:42:58] And I walked away.
[00:43:00] Now this is what I would love to tell you today.
[00:43:03] That there was a redemptive story that took place.
[00:43:08] The week later I walked in and I shared the gospel with him and all of a sudden he accepted Jesus and from that day on we sang Amazing Grace together every single day at work.
[00:43:21] Can I tell you that didn't happen.
[00:43:26] Because from that moment on I avoided him.
[00:43:29] Can I tell you as a believer, I didn't live out the fruit of the Spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and self-control.
[00:43:37] I wasn't living any of that out.
[00:43:39] And that is a story that I can tell you to this day that I regret because I walked away instead of walking to, instead of continuing to have a conversation out of love and out of grace, but I walked away.
[00:44:01] And I wonder for us, how many people like Zacchaeus have we walked away from?
[00:44:10] How many people like Zacchaeus have you walked away from?
[00:44:17] People you said, you know what, they're not where I am spiritually.
[00:44:25] They're living a lifestyle of sin I don't believe in.
[00:44:31] They're doing these things outside of church.
[00:44:35] Number one, they don't even go to church.
[00:44:36] And it's just like, it's gonna push them away.
[00:44:42] Do we have a Zacchaeus in our life right now?
[00:44:46] Who is your Zacchaeus that maybe you've looked over?
[00:44:50] Because what do we see in scripture that takes place?
[00:44:52] What do we see the example of Jesus?
[00:44:55] Jesus didn't walk away, Jesus looked up.
[00:45:00] So what I want us to understand and walk away from today in the hope and prayer is that we don't look down on people that we look up.
[00:45:08] That we don't walk away from people that are not like us that we look up and we recognize them and see that they need hope.
[00:45:20] That they need to understand what joy looks like and what peace can be like in their life.
[00:45:26] And why do we do it?
[00:45:27] Because that's what Jesus
[00:45:30] did for us, amen?
[00:45:36] Your personal Zacchaeus may be a person just like it was for me at work.
[00:45:40] It may be someone at school.
[00:45:43] It may even be a family member.
[00:45:47] It may be that person that you know that has a different lifestyle than you.
[00:45:52] Here's what we have to understand and realize.
[00:45:55] The person that we've pushed away, the people that we've looked down on, if Jesus right now would walk into your work, into your school, would he walk away from that person?
[00:46:08] He wouldn't walk away, he would walk right to them.
[00:46:12] And I know that's challenging.
[00:46:13] I know that can be difficult.
[00:46:15] And it's like, you don't understand what that is.
[00:46:18] You don't understand what that looks like.
[00:46:20] You don't understand how hard that would be.
[00:46:22] Can I tell someone today, the gospel, the good news of Jesus is not easy.
[00:46:30] Sharing the gospel, sharing the good news about Jesus can be a little bit messy.
[00:46:35] And what we have to understand as Jesus followers, sometimes it takes us to get our hands a little bit dirty for someone else to experience the power and the love and the grace and the mercy of Jesus.
[00:46:49] Think about this.
[00:46:50] Somebody had to get their hands dirty and get a little bit messy to share the gospel with you.
[00:46:58] Somebody did with me as well.
[00:47:01] See, this is what following Jesus looks like.
[00:47:06] What if this week we just started our day with a prayer every morning to say, Jesus, help me see the person I usually overlook.
[00:47:15] Help me see the neighbor I'm frustrated with, the person at the gym.
[00:47:21] Help me see them.
[00:47:22] Help me give them a kind word.
[00:47:24] Just, God, allow me to have the courage to have a conversation out of grace.
[00:47:32] to pray that everyone else may look over this person.
[00:47:37] But I'm not gonna look down.
[00:47:39] I'm gonna run to them.
[00:47:41] I'm gonna look up and I'm gonna share the gospel.
[00:47:47] Because when we look and see the story of Jesus, it's shocking of what he continues to do.
[00:47:53] I want to read verse 5 again.
[00:47:54] It says, And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.
[00:48:03] So he hurried and came down and received Him joyfully.
[00:48:05] Point number 2 is this.
[00:48:07] Jesus embraces those the world considers unworthy.
[00:48:13] When Jesus says must, I don't want us to overlook this word.
[00:48:18] Must in Greek means day.
[00:48:21] Day means a divine purpose.
[00:48:25] And in this story that means that there was a divine appointment.
[00:48:30] There was a divine purpose and a divine appointment.
[00:48:34] It means that Jesus knew that he was going to meet Zacchaeus.
[00:48:40] Jesus knew Zacchaeus
[00:48:43] Before Zacchaeus ever climbed that tree.
[00:48:47] Jesus knew his name before Zacchaeus ever looked down from that tree and saw Jesus.
[00:48:54] Can I tell someone in this room today, you may not realize it, you may not feel it, but can I tell you, Jesus sees you right now.
[00:49:03] Jesus sees you in your doubt.
[00:49:05] Jesus sees you in your fear.
[00:49:07] Jesus sees you in your failure right now at this very moment.
[00:49:12] And maybe for some of us in this room today, you're in that tree and you're searching.
[00:49:18] You may be Zacchaeus in that tree.
[00:49:21] Can I tell you that he loves you right now where you are?
[00:49:26] And I don't know about you, but I'm thankful that there was a time before I was ever searching for Jesus that He knew me, that He knew my name, and that He was searching for me.
[00:49:36] Amen?
[00:49:39] I'm so thankful for that.
[00:49:42] And I don't want us to miss this either, that Jesus, when He invited Himself into Zacchaeus' home, that would have been unheard of.
[00:49:51] Because what is Jesus saying by doing that, by sitting at his table, by eating with Zacchaeus in his home?
[00:49:59] It means that I accept you.
[00:50:01] He's saying that there is friendship.
[00:50:03] He's saying there's belonging.
[00:50:05] He's saying, Zacchaeus, you can belong before you believe.
[00:50:10] He's saying, I am accepting you right now, even before you believe.
[00:50:17] He's offering relationship before repentance.
[00:50:22] because that's who Jesus is.
[00:50:23] This is what I love about our church.
[00:50:25] One of our core values is we love people unconditionally.
[00:50:29] And I see it so often.
[00:50:31] You're going to see it if you're taking place in the toy store, how people walk into these rooms across all of our campuses who have no hope, but all of a sudden the church shows up and truly being the hands and feet of Jesus.
[00:50:43] I see over and over again throughout the week, not just on Sunday, where people that others would look down on, that others would run from, I see people running to people
[00:50:55] and looking up and saying, I see you.
[00:50:58] I love you right where you are.
[00:51:01] A few years ago, we had a life group basketball taking place at our Statesville campus.
[00:51:06] We actually met at the Statesville High School.
[00:51:09] And we had this basketball group that would get together.
[00:51:11] And all of a sudden, some of the guys in the community that didn't go to church, they didn't know Jesus, they would show up.
[00:51:18] Now, before we played basketball, we had about a 15 minute devotion that you had to be a part of before you played ball.
[00:51:25] So we would do that, and then all these guys would show up.
[00:51:28] They'd be part of our devotion, and then we'd be playing ball.
[00:51:31] And can I tell you, it was not the whole, if you get bumped, if you get hit, it's like, oh, I'm sorry, Jesus loves you.
[00:51:39] If they block your shot, it's not like, oh, I'm sorry I blocked your shot.
[00:51:42] God is good.
[00:51:44] It wasn't that.
[00:51:45] I'm like, these dudes were dropping words that I've never heard before.
[00:51:50] I'm going, you just invented cuss words.
[00:51:52] I don't even know what that is.
[00:51:52] Was that a cuss word?
[00:51:54] And I'm sitting here and I'm hearing it and we're still playing ball and at the end we had a couple of guys come to me and say, listen, we can't have that.
[00:52:02] We can't have anybody in here cussing.
[00:52:05] And I was like, I'm sorry, yes we can.
[00:52:08] Can I tell you, it's beautiful.
[00:52:10] Can I tell you, it's lovely.
[00:52:12] And they're like, what are you, are you crazy?
[00:52:14] What are you talking about?
[00:52:15] I'm like, because there are people that are not like us.
[00:52:18] There are people who are not following Jesus.
[00:52:21] So what is happening?
[00:52:22] They are walking in these doors.
[00:52:24] They are hearing about God before they ever play ball.
[00:52:28] It's not up to us to fix them.
[00:52:31] It's up to us to spread the gospel and the good news and not for us to change them, but Jesus to change them.
[00:52:37] Because I know because I was once them.
[00:52:40] I was once there.
[00:52:41] But this is what we are supposed to do as a church.
[00:52:45] Because guys, this is what Jesus does.
[00:52:49] This is what he did, and this is what he calls us to do.
[00:52:55] So what is that person this week that you need to be intentional to move to, to look up?
[00:53:05] Maybe that person you've written off, but maybe you need to ask him out for a meal.
[00:53:10] cup of coffee just an invitation one invite maybe even around your table one act of grace not someone that looks like you acts like you or talks like you or even believes like you someone maybe that you have overlooked or others have overlooked someone else that deserves grace in their life because when grace is shown transformation becomes possible
[00:53:40] But what we see in this story is not everyone celebrates grace.
[00:53:45] Verse seven, this is the religious leaders and the Pharisees.
[00:53:48] When they saw what they grumbled, he has gone to be the guest of a man who was a sinner.
[00:53:54] This wrecked the religious mindset.
[00:53:57] And this is not the first time.
[00:53:58] If you go in Matthew, Jesus walks past Matthew and Matthew at the time, he's a tax collector.
[00:54:06] And he's sitting there and he says, Matthew, come follow me.
[00:54:10] Matthew gets up and he follows him.
[00:54:11] And then all of a sudden they're in this home once again and they're eating together.
[00:54:15] And then the religious leaders are sitting back as Jesus is talking to sinners and tax collectors and everyone else who's far from God and not following the religious mindset.
[00:54:26] And they're sitting back and the religious leaders, I can imagine, they had their arms crossed and they look at the other disciples and they're like, who is this man that eats with sinners?
[00:54:38] Jesus overhears, and this is what Jesus says.
[00:54:42] He says, but when he heard it, he said, those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
[00:54:48] Go and learn what this means.
[00:54:49] I desire mercy, not sacrifice, for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.
[00:54:54] Jesus does not see sinners as the problem to punish.
[00:54:58] He sees them as patients to heal.
[00:55:01] Could you imagine going to your doctor with a cold?
[00:55:04] Could you imagine going to your doctor with a fever or a runny nose and have a little cough and say, hey, here's my symptoms?
[00:55:12] And the doctor looks at me and is like, I don't want to get near you.
[00:55:16] I really don't want to take care of you.
[00:55:19] I don't want to prescribe you anything.
[00:55:22] We would look at that and say, well, that doctor's horrible.
[00:55:27] But Jesus says, I want to draw people who are far from me.
[00:55:34] I want to draw them closer to me.
[00:55:36] I want them to experience the grace that they actually deserve.
[00:55:42] See, we start to make so often invisible lists of who's acceptable to reach out to.
[00:55:49] We start posting or liking harsh comments and we call it standing for the truth.
[00:55:55] We withdraw from sinners or those far from God and we call it holiness.
[00:56:00] We refuse grace to people that Jesus actually ran to.
[00:56:04] But we have to understand this.
[00:56:07] If our version of holiness keeps us away from those far from Jesus, then we may not be as holy as we think we are.
[00:56:19] We may not be as holy as we think we are because that is not the holiness of Jesus.
[00:56:27] Jesus didn't stand on the outside demanding change.
[00:56:30] He stepped inside offering grace to all of us.
[00:56:37] So it may be the friend who's making mistakes over and over.
[00:56:41] It may be the child who keeps running away from church and God who keeps breaking your heart.
[00:56:46] It may be the coworker you've avoided or the person you're frustrated with.
[00:56:52] And here's the thing guys, grace does not mean you agree with them.
[00:56:59] Grace does not mean you accept everything they're doing.
[00:57:03] Grace does not mean you accept their lifestyle.
[00:57:06] But what grace means is you don't give up on them.
[00:57:11] Grace means you look up.
[00:57:14] Grace means you don't run away.
[00:57:17] Because why?
[00:57:18] This is what Jesus did.
[00:57:20] This is the example as a Jesus follower that we actually follow.
[00:57:25] and something powerful happens in the life of Zacchaeus.
[00:57:30] This is where transformation actually takes place.
[00:57:32] This is my third and my last point.
[00:57:37] It says Jesus transforms and restores.
[00:57:40] He transforms and restores.
[00:57:44] Zacchaeus finally encountered grace from someone for the very first time.
[00:57:49] And the transformation that we see in his life is immediate.
[00:57:53] In verse 8, And Zacchaeus stood and 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.
[00:58:02] Look at what grace does to Zacchaeus.
[00:58:07] He says, I will return fourfold of what I have taken.
[00:58:12] I will repay.
[00:58:12] This is radical transformation that takes place in his life.
[00:58:18] This is heart change.
[00:58:19] This is repentance in action.
[00:58:23] Here's the thing.
[00:58:24] Jesus doesn't demand Zacchaeus.
[00:58:27] He doesn't force him.
[00:58:28] He doesn't guilt him into this.
[00:58:31] What does Jesus do?
[00:58:32] He just offers this man grace.
[00:58:36] He offered this man this idea of, hey, I see you when no one else does.
[00:58:43] I love you when no one else cares.
[00:58:45] I accept you when everyone else has run away.
[00:58:48] This is all that Jesus does.
[00:58:52] And Zacchaeus' greed turned to generosity.
[00:58:56] Grace has done what religion could never do when he met Jesus, because this is what Jesus does.
[00:59:06] I'm thankful grace showed up in so many people in my life
[00:59:13] so many people's lives around me you know I want to share this story really quick and I've shared it I think a couple years ago but I there's something as I was studying and reading this about Zacchaeus that just was changed even the story even greater in my life
[00:59:31] Before my mom and dad accepted Jesus, they wanted nothing to do with church.
[00:59:37] They wanted nothing to do with God.
[00:59:39] They didn't want to even talk about it.
[00:59:40] Have you ever heard of, especially my dad, have you ever heard of somebody, of course, being rough around the edges?
[00:59:48] Man, they just rough around the edges.
[00:59:49] My dad was rough to the core.
[00:59:53] Just rough.
[00:59:55] Very hard to be around at times.
[00:59:58] To be honest, very hard to live with.
[01:00:02] And in this moment of the difficulty of that season of growing up and living in that household, there was a lady that my mom worked with that would try to say, hey, won't you come to church?
[01:00:15] And would tell her about God.
[01:00:18] And my mom would resist.
[01:00:20] She wasn't near like my dad was, but she resisted.
[01:00:22] And then finally she said, okay, I'll go to church.
[01:00:25] So I got in a vehicle with her and we went to church one Sunday.
[01:00:30] And we started going a few times and we'd come home and my dad would say, don't tell me anything about it.
[01:00:36] And after a while of going to church, my mom finally accepted Jesus.
[01:00:42] And then it was next level for my dad.
[01:00:45] He said, don't you ever mention anything about God in this house.
[01:00:49] And my mom's friend would stop by and they'd pull into the driveway and my dad wouldn't even let them in the house.
[01:00:57] That's how bad it was.
[01:00:59] But we continued to go to church.
[01:01:01] But at the same time, my dad had a coworker that had gave him a small pocket Bible and was talking to him about God and dad refused, he resisted.
[01:01:10] And then after a few months passed, we continued to go to church.
[01:01:14] But then my dad, out of nowhere, we don't even know what happened, he said, you know what, I think I wanna go see what this is about.
[01:01:21] So my dad showed up at church and he continued to go.
[01:01:23] And all of a sudden, something weird started happening with my dad.
[01:01:28] He actually started talking about Jesus, but had never accepted Jesus.
[01:01:33] And he would go around to like our family, and he would say, hey, you should come to church.
[01:01:39] Anybody he met, he'd say, hey, you should come to our church.
[01:01:42] And they would say, dude, are you saved?
[01:01:44] Like, are you a Christian now?
[01:01:46] He said, absolutely not.
[01:01:49] Which was so weird.
[01:01:51] And they're like, okay, and then...
[01:01:54] and then my dad continued to go to church and then that one night I'll never forget it he walked up front and he accepted Jesus to be the leader of his life and here's what I realized this is what changed in the story for me my dad was Zacchaeus in the tree guys he didn't know Jesus prior to
[01:02:20] but he was in the tree searching and looking and the story of their salvation story is beautiful with my mom and dad but can I tell you what's more powerful is my mom's friend and the guy at work who's praying for my dad they didn't run away someone who could have easily ran away from my dad looked up
[01:02:51] Can I tell you, I don't think I would be on this stage today preaching the gospel, preaching the good news, if it was not for those two people years ago.
[01:03:02] I don't think that my kids, I don't know, but I don't know if my kids, my two kids, would have ever accepted Jesus if it wasn't for those people who looked up years and years ago.
[01:03:13] Three generations of lives have been changed because somebody took that opportunity to look up.
[01:03:26] Guys, Jesus is calling us to look up, not run away.
[01:03:31] You can be a part, as a Jesus follower in this room, you can be a part of someone's salvation story.
[01:03:40] that they could be sharing 40 years later.
[01:03:46] That's the impact of your story.
[01:03:48] That's the impact of the gospel.
[01:03:52] 2 Corinthians says this, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
[01:03:56] The old has passed away, behold, the new has come.
[01:03:58] I love those words, new creation, in this verse.
[01:04:02] And how it ties to Zacchaeus' story.
[01:04:04] Verse 9 again, And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, since he is also a son of Abraham, for the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.
[01:04:14] You talk about something that would have blew the religious minds, the Pharisees' minds, was when he called him the son of Abraham.
[01:04:22] What was Jesus meaning when he said the son of Abraham?
[01:04:26] It meant that he belongs to God's covenant family.
[01:04:29] Zacchaeus was a Jew.
[01:04:31] They saw him as an outsider.
[01:04:34] They saw him as a traitor.
[01:04:36] But Jesus says, no, I'm inviting you back in.
[01:04:41] I haven't left you.
[01:04:44] I declare you as an insider.
[01:04:46] Jesus is in this moment restoring Zacchaeus publicly before everyone.
[01:04:53] The whole crowd hears it.
[01:04:55] Jesus is rewriting and restoring his name and his identity in front of the people who erased him.
[01:05:06] So we can look at Zacchaeus' life and see, okay, he's a sinner, he's impure, that he should have been found guilty.
[01:05:16] Okay, this is what I found in this, and I love this.
[01:05:19] I don't know if you guys will like this or not, but it blew my mind.
[01:05:22] Does anyone know what Zacchaeus' name actually means?
[01:05:28] Okay, Dawn, I'll share it with you.
[01:05:31] His name means to be pure and innocent
[01:05:36] Before, what did I say?
[01:05:37] Zacchaeus was impure and he was guilty.
[01:05:40] Zacchaeus wasn't just saved, he was restored.
[01:05:45] Jesus restores him to what his name actually signified.
[01:05:51] That blew my mind.
[01:05:54] And you may be like, well how does that relate to me today?
[01:05:56] Who does Jesus call all of us?
[01:05:59] He calls all of us his masterpiece.
[01:06:03] He says we are all His children.
[01:06:09] So I want to tell someone today, it doesn't matter how far you've gone or what you've done, can I tell you, He can restore us back to who He has called you to be.
[01:06:22] And for those of us in the room who are already Jesus followers,
[01:06:28] My challenge for us today is to have the courage to look up.
[01:06:35] God has already placed that person on your heart that you've ran away from.
[01:06:39] God has already placed those people that you may tomorrow morning look down on.
[01:06:48] But my hope and my prayer is that you look up.
[01:06:51] That you see them, that you show grace to them.
[01:06:58] I want to close to someone who might feel like Zacchaeus in the room.
[01:07:03] You may have been like my dad.
[01:07:08] You may be up in a tree looking down.
[01:07:15] And you may be searching.
[01:07:18] And you may be trying to find hope and joy in your life.
[01:07:24] Just a little bit of peace in your life.
[01:07:29] I want you to know once again, He sees you.
[01:07:37] God knew you would be in this place looking and searching before you even got up this morning.
[01:07:46] Because He loves you.
[01:07:48] And He loves you right where you are.
[01:07:51] Maybe you walked in here today feeling unworthy, ashamed, and feel far from God.
[01:07:59] Maybe you feel like you're hiding and watching from a distance.
[01:08:03] Maybe you feel like no one sees you.
[01:08:07] Maybe you feel stuck or you feel ashamed.
[01:08:10] He sees you.
[01:08:14] He knows your fear, He knows your doubt, and He knows your failures.
[01:08:21] I want us to take this moment, I want us to bow our heads here across all of our campuses today.
[01:08:27] I want anybody moving around
[01:08:32] This is a defining moment for someone's life today.
[01:08:38] This is a moment for someone's life to be changed and transformed by the power of Jesus.
[01:08:51] Because He wants to save you today.
[01:08:55] To restore you.
[01:08:57] He wants to rewrite your story.
[01:09:01] You don't have to climb anymore.
[01:09:03] You don't have to hide anymore.
[01:09:05] You don't have to pretend anymore.
[01:09:07] Grace right now at this very moment is reaching for it.
[01:09:11] And today can be your moment.
[01:09:15] Jesus came to seek and to save the lost.
[01:09:20] Today is a day to say I want to put my yes on the table.
[01:09:24] That I don't have a relationship with Jesus.
[01:09:27] The gospel is Jesus loves you right where you are.
[01:09:30] He died for you.
[01:09:36] Today can be your day.
[01:09:38] A defining moment.
[01:09:43] A day that you will know when you walk out of here, no matter what the rest of your days hold, that He will be with you.
[01:09:50] that no matter at the end of your day when you close your eyes for the very last time that you know your eternity will be with Him.
[01:10:03] So head bowed and eyes closed, if that is you and you're ready to accept Jesus to be the leader of your life today, would you have the courage just to lift up your hand on the count of three?
[01:10:13] One, two, three.
[01:10:14] Just raise your hand and keep them up.
[01:10:17] Amen, amen, amen.

[01:10:22] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Amen.
[01:10:24] Amen.
[01:10:30] Amen.

[01:10:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_13]:
Amen.
[01:10:37] Amen.
[01:10:37] Amen.

[01:10:41] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
I see you brother.

[01:10:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
I see you.

[01:10:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_13]:
Amen.

[01:10:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Acts chapter 2 says this, whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
[01:10:52] We'll be saved.
[01:10:55] So today I want us to pray this prayer together.
[01:10:57] I want us to encourage those who are going to be praying this prayer for the very first time.
[01:11:01] I want us as a church to pray this out loud here and our Statesville campus as well.
[01:11:05] Let's pray this prayer together.
[01:11:07] God, forgive me of my sins.
[01:11:10] Today I'm confessing with my mouth that Jesus is Lord.
[01:11:16] I believe He is the Son of God.
[01:11:21] that he died on the cross and rose on the third day.
[01:11:27] Thank you, Jesus, for saving me and setting me free.
[01:11:34] In Jesus' name, and everybody said, amen, amen.
[01:11:38] Come on, can we celebrate with those who prayed that prayer and accepted Jesus to be the leader of their life?
[01:11:44] It's a big deal.
[01:11:46] And if that is you, I want to personally say welcome to the family of God.
[01:11:50] What we'd love for you to do is stop by the Next Steps area, get a Bible and a free devotion book that will help you with the next steps in following Him.
[01:11:58] Hey, I love you guys.
[01:11:59] I hope you have a great rest of your day.
[01:12:01] But come on, as we leave out of this place, come on, let's give Jesus the praise and the glory and the honor that He deserves.
[01:12:06] Come on.

[01:12:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Excuse me for a minute, but I've got a song to sing.
[01:12:45] It might not be on key, but it's from my heart.
[01:12:46] No one else can tell me what the Lord has done for me.
[01:12:47] This might take all day, so I better start.

[01:12:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
Heaven's coming down, down, down, and it might get loud.
[01:13:23] Somebody said it might get loud.
[01:13:23] Heaven's coming down, down, down, and it might get loud.
[01:13:24] Oh, I don't got halo.
[01:13:25] No, I'm not a perfect man.
[01:13:25] But I'm just glad to be a child of God.

[01:16:15] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Why can't I praise the Lord?
[01:16:23] Why can't I praise Him?

[01:16:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Let's pray.

[01:17:24] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Will you scare me by this step into eternity?

[01:19:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
I believe it, I receive it, I believe it

[01:20:01] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy

[01:23:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
We can hardly wait.
[01:24:05] Come flood this place.
[01:24:06] We're ready now.
[01:24:16] It's all about to change.
[01:24:17] Let your kingdom come.
[01:24:17] Let your will be done.
[01:24:18] Let your fathers fall.
[01:24:18] Let your fathers fall.

[01:24:59] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Let's do it!

[01:25:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
They told me pow rum pum pum pum A newborn king to see pow rum pum pum pum Our finest gifts we bring pow rum pum pum
[01:26:22] So to honor Him, power up the pom-pom When we count on Him, on Him, on Him, on Him, on Him, on Him, on Him

[01:27:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
I have no gifts to give