The Reason I Came is to Seek and Save

Jesus talks about this in the book of Luke chapter 4. He says, I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well.

Luke 4 · chapter mention

You know, the spirit of the Lord is on him to give this good news. And so he goes. And then they keep trying to look for him and he keeps saying, hey, we've got to go.

We've got to keep going because the good news needs to spread. And I hope, and actually, I know, not only hope, I know that there have been people in this congregation has been going through the book of Acts.

But the Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit that moved these people here is the same Holy Spirit that has been moving you to go and be more courageous to your friends, family and colleagues.

And I can see that. I've witnessed that. And that's what given that's what's given me courage as I stand up here opening up this word, because I know the Holy Spirit is speaking to you.

And so Jesus is basically saying the same thing. He says, I must go preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well.

And then he says it's for it was for this reason I was sent. It was for this purpose.

And so when you understand why Jesus came, you start to really understand what we should do, how we should respond.

And actually, just he came to save. The passage I'm going to be focusing on, if I can just invite you, is again, we'll stay in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 19.

Luke 19 · chapter mention

Chapter 19, verse 10. If there's one verse that really sums up the whole theme of this Gospel, is Jesus declaring why he came.

It says this, for the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.

Do you have that favorite bit when the preacher just goes, hey, if you forget everything else today, you remember this.

If you forget everything else today, remember this line that Jesus said.

When you look at the news later and you see that number continuing to count and you feel despair,

you look and you see that's the passage that you hold on to.

That's what you cling on to. Jesus, the Son of Man, came to seek and save the lost.

Of course, I want to understand a little bit more about why he said this.

So I'm actually inviting you, as we always do, to stand in reverence and awe for the word of the Lord.

And I'm going to ask Juju to come up and read it for us.

The Gospel of Luke, chapter 19, starting from verse 1.

Luke 19 · chapter mention

He entered Jericho and was passing through.

And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus.

He was a chief tax collector and was rich.

And he was seeking to see who Jesus was.

But on account of the crowd, he could not because he was small in stature.

So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him,

for he was about to pass that way.

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.

So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.

And when they saw it, they all grumbled.

He has gone in to be a guest of a man who is a sinner.

And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord,

Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor.

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 also is a son of Abraham.

For the son of man came to seek and to save the lost.

This is the word of the Lord.

Praise be to God.

Please take a seat.

Thank you, Gigi.

Feels nice standing up on a stage, doesn't it?

Small in stature.

Small in stature.

I promise you there's no reason why I asked you to read that.

Other than the spirit's leading.

But that's low hanging fruit, guys.

Let's not do that to Gigi.

There are way better ways.

As Paul says, let's not talk about his, attack his character.

That's what we do.

That's how we know we love each other.

This line here.

So when I say that I wrote my sermon,

and then it feels a little bit dated,

is I've just scribbled all over it now and blocked things out.

Because one of the things that I really wanted to say,

and I'll say now, but with all the care I can as I say this,

is this world is not in a good place.

My words exactly here is,

the world is on fire right now.

And we as the church, what are we actually doing?

What are we actually doing?

See, the problem is,

those outside are not doing well,

but then they look down at our churches,

and they say, well, you're not any better.

It's just filled with hypocrisy.

You aren't helping in any way.

Instead of living with conviction,

you've assimilated into society.

You look just the same as us.

Instead of having any kind of urgency,

like we have been reminded of this week,

we have on the most part lived with just complacency.

When the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost,

and yet we kind of just go,

oh yeah, well, that's what he did.

But where are you going to find Christ right now?

It's his body.

And so his body better understand,

better,

why the head came.

And then, and only then can we be the change

that he desires for us to be.

You see in Acts,

we just read a couple weeks ago,

that the Christians there,

the followers of Christ,

they turn the world upside down.

But in order for that to happen,

Christians need to first understand

what Christ did for them,

and for their lives,

their hearts to be turned upside down,

for their value systems

to completely turn upside down.

And only then,

if we invite Christ into our lives,

and we say we are going to be Christians,

we are going to be followers of Christ,

then we invite him into our hearts,

we allow him to move the furniture around,

change everything up completely.

But so often,

if we ask ourselves,

we kind of did invite him,

well, really,

we just believed in him,

and we treat him as kind of like a,

an end of life,

post life insurance policy.

We treat him,

okay, well,

Jesus,

if we believe in you,

do you promise that we get to be with you in eternity?

But yes,

we want to be with you in eternity,

but we kind of don't want to be with you right now.

So we're going to keep living our lives right now,

but just in case,

because we'd rather have that

than the fire and the pitchforks.

So why don't we just believe in you now?

Can you see,

can you see what the world sees?

Can you see the hypocrisy that they see?

That we say we want to follow him,

and yet we live our lives

completely in the way that the world

just does anyway.

We say we want to spend eternity with him,

but we can't even spend five minutes with him

on a day-to-day basis.

Something seems off.

If we are to truly understand

why we as a church exist,

why we gather,

we must first understand

why Jesus came.

Last week in Acts 18,

we met Apollos, right?

This gifted speaker,

probably the debate champion.

And he comes and he speaks,

and then what do Priscilla and Aquila do?

They take him aside and say,

hey, you are right,

Jesus is the Messiah,

but actually we don't think

you truly understand

how that works.

You only got to the baptism of John.

You don't understand that actually

the Spirit of Christ now lives in us,

and actually it's the Holy Spirit

that is sanctifying

and moving people towards him,

drawing people towards him.

Do you understand what the Holy Spirit

is actually doing here?

And so he, open to rebuke,

open to being trained,

humbly receives it.

All from this place where he kind of knew

what Jesus was,

who Jesus was,

but he didn't truly.

I wonder whether that's the same

for all of us.

Yes, we do know

that we need to believe in Jesus,

but we actually don't really know why.

We don't really know how to follow him.

And so here we are.

We see this account

that's an interesting one

that is, of course,

a very famous one,

probably the most famous story

about a short guy

that we can find in the Bible,

Zacchaeus.

Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector.

So we're going to break it down

a little bit.

Luke chapter 19, verse 1.

Luke 19:1

He entered Jericho

and was passing through

and behold,

there was a man named Zacchaeus.

He was a chief tax collector

and was rich.

Why was he rich?

Because he was not just a tax collector.

There was tax farming

from his own people

to collect for the Roman Empire,

but he was the chief tax collector,

which meant that he actually

had a team of tax collectors

that would collect money for him,

bring it all to him.

He would then look

and count the pot,

take what he needed for himself

or what he wanted for himself,

and then he would pass it on

to the Romans.

So he was rich.

Interestingly,

this kind of person

would not be doing

what we see he does next here.

And he was seeking

to see who Jesus was,

but on account of the crowd,

he could not

because he was small in stature.

So he ran on ahead

and climbed up

into a sycamore tree

to see him,

for he was about

to pass that way.

Imagine someone

who is rich.

Someone who is rich,

who has status,

who obviously has influence,

has power,

socially isolated

from his own people,

by the way,

banned from synagogues,

likely,

because his people

wouldn't have wanted

anything to do with him.

But maybe,

I've got a feeling

that over time,

if you live that kind of life,

your heart would have

just become hard.

Like, you know what?

If you don't want to be near me,

I don't want to be near you.

Hey, I'm doing me,

I'm living my life,

and you do yours.

What would it have taken

for someone like him

to then hear

all the hype

about this person,

Jesus,

and decide,

I really want to find out

about this person.

So whilst he was rich

and whilst he had power,

he was also desperate

for the truth.

And so he runs,

which wouldn't have been

a thing that someone

like him would have done.

And he runs,

and you can just imagine

the scene.

People are just rushing

towards Jesus.

He's trying to get there,

and he's trying to see,

but he can't see

because he's short.

He can't see.

So what does he do?

Then he sees a tree.

And so he's like,

well, I'm going to climb up

on the tree.

I must see this guy.

You can see how smart he is

because he's running,

and he's like,

I can't see.

And actually,

the Jews probably

would have seen him

and said,

well, block his way.

I would,

because I don't like him.

So I'm not going

to let you pass.

But then he's smart.

He doesn't become

chief tax collector

without being smart.

So then he sees

where Jesus is heading,

and then he cuts him off

another way,

finds a tree to climb up,

climbs up the tree.

Can you see the hunger

that comes from the,

leading to actions like that?

What that means is

he was rich,

but he was still dissatisfied.

He's still looking for,

he's still looking for,

basically,

who Jesus was.

He's still looking

for the truth.

And then the fascinating

moment comes.

Whilst he's looking

for Jesus,

Jesus walked by the tree

because he was right,

he did walk past there.

Jesus stops.

Jesus stops

and looks up at him

and says,

Zacchaeus,

hurry and come down,

for I must stay

at your house today.

Why does Jesus do this

all the time?

He just seems to do

the thing that is

the least predictable.

What's Jesus trying

to do here?

What's he trying to prove?

He's looking at Zacchaeus.

Everyone knows

who Zacchaeus is.

And yet he stops

and in front of everyone

says,

Zacchaeus,

you come down.

Well,

first thing,

he knows his name.

So it's interesting here,

when we say that

the Son of Man

came to seek

and save the lost,

it's important

that you see

Zacchaeus

as the one

who's seeking

after Jesus,

but actually Jesus

is already

familiar with him.

And that's what I said

a couple weeks ago,

right?

The moment

where you truly get it

as a Christian

is when you've been

chasing God

and pursuing God

all of your life

until the moment

you realize

actually he's been

the one who's

pursuing you.

He's been the one

who has been seeking

and pursuing you.

So he says,

Zacchaeus,

come down.

I must,

I must stay

at your house.

And of course,

Zacchaeus was filled

with joy.

It's ironic.

The name Zacchaeus

actually means

pure and righteous.

And of course,

he's anything,

but you don't get

that rich by being

pure and righteous.

You don't get

that hated by your people

by being pure and righteous.

But it's really interesting.

Jesus says,

I must come to your house today.

It's not,

hey,

I just want to acknowledge you.

No, he says,

I must come to your house today.

Do you recognize how big,

how scandalous

that would have been?

And you hear it

and you see it.

And when they saw it,

verse seven,

they all grumbled.

He has gone in

to be the guest

of a man who is a sinner.

This wasn't just,

hey,

hi,

shake your hand.

Nice to meet you.

I know you are.

This is,

I must come to your house today.

I must associate with you.

I want to move beyond

just an acquaintance with you.

Sharing a table

with a sinner.

Probably the most scandalous thing

that Jesus did

time and time again.

Hang out with people

that shouldn't be hung out with.

Why?

Because the son of man

came to seek

and save

the lost.

He didn't come

for the righteous.

He came for the sinners.

Intellectually,

in our heads,

I think we understand that.

But those of us

who have been

around the church

for a long time,

we actually don't

truly,

truly get that

because we think

actually Jesus came

for us

because we've been

working hard enough.

Because my church

attendance

is over 75%.

So Jesus came

for me.

It's because I'm not

sinning anymore,

or at least it's not

as much as I used to.

That's why Jesus loves me.

It's at that moment

we realize actually

we have missed the point

of why the son of man came.

He came to seek

and save

the lost.

What does it mean

to be lost?

As someone,

as I've said,

growing up in the late 1900s,

getting lost

was a familiar event

because you just,

there was no smartphone.

There was a map.

My father trained me

when we visited

Toronto

as a kid,

or just Canada,

just this vast expanse.

and he would sit me

in front of him,

not in front of him,

that would be dangerous

in the car,

but he would sit me

in the passenger seat

and he would give me

the map.

Or in England

there would be

an A to Z.

Deeply,

deeply confusing.

Right?

And then he'd say,

hey,

we want to get here,

tell us how.

Now,

something about directions

is you need to know

two things.

You need to first,

in order to know where,

well one,

you need to know

where you're going,

you need to know

the destination,

but maybe even more importantly

is you need to know

where you are right now.

Otherwise,

there's no point

looking at a map

because if you don't know

where you are right now,

you're not going to get

to your destination.

But those of you

growing up in more recent times

won't understand that,

right?

Because your phone

will tell you

where you're at.

In a time before

AirTags

and Google Maps,

we,

I think,

truly understood

what it meant

to be lost.

This week,

I was reminded once again

what it meant

to be lost

and helpless.

And this is what I'm saying.

I think there's some of us here

who need to,

who need to hear,

hear me loud and clear

that you have been found.

Just as what Danny said,

that Jesus came for you.

You didn't think

you could find your own way.

You knew you couldn't

find your own way.

You are the,

maybe you are the younger brother

in the parable

of the prodigal son

and you're like,

I knew I was,

I was so lost

and Jesus came

to find you

despite everything

that you did.

Jesus came to pursue you,

to seek you

and to save you.

Some of you need

to hear that.

But actually,

the creator of heaven

and earth

knew exactly

where you were

and in that moment

dragged you out of the pit

as it says

in Psalm 103.

I think some of us

genuinely need to hear that

because we're sat here

still thinking,

actually,

I don't know if I'm found.

There's another group though.

There's another group

who I think

you actually don't know

that you're lost.

Well, you might say,

well, I know exactly

where I am.

I am in

Admiralty,

Tower.

Admiralty Center,

Tower 2,

fifth floor.

By the way,

the most convenient building

in the whole of Hong Kong

for church

is my own opinion.

Because if you look

at the whole of the MTR map,

which is the station

that is most connected?

Probably Admiralty.

If you look at the MTR station,

you look and see

which exit

is probably the most convenient

that can head straight up

into the building.

It's probably exit A.

And I hope you're not here

because this is a convenient place

for you to worship.

But my goodness,

it is convenient.

But some of you

are actually genuinely lost

and I'm here to try

and convince you of that

because you might say,

well, what am I lost in?

Well, I think you're lost

in your busyness.

I think you're lost

in your productivity.

I think you're lost

in money.

I think you're lost

in your moral record.

I think you're lost

in your religion.

And the scary thing is

I don't know

if you know

that you're lost.

See, this is the crux of it.

This is the key of it.

If you are truly to understand

why we gather here,

you must first fully

be able to acknowledge

and articulate

that you are lost.

Jesus came to seek

and save the lost.

And until we are willing

to acknowledge that,

to confess that,

then we don't really truly

understand why we're saved.

Because the next question

would be, well, okay,

you're saved by Jesus.

Well, what is he saving me from?

To truly understand

why Jesus came,

we have to first understand

that we,

as it says in Ephesians 2,

that we were dead

in our trespasses and sins.

We were following

the way of this world.

We were blind.

We were lost.

And I'll tell you,

you will know it.

Maybe as a pastor,

I'll kind of give you

a little secret peek

behind the curtain.

I think I sometimes can tell

when someone who truly

is saved by Jesus

because they know

that they were lost.

It's those who are like,

yeah, I'm a Christian

and then they go ahead

and reel off all the things

that they do in life,

all the impact,

the change that they make,

all the accomplishments

they've had.

And I'm like,

oh, I don't know.

I don't know.

So when you truly understand

your need for grace,

I think some of us

are lost in our parenting.

You see or just

pursuit of family.

Our kids are the first thing.

I bumped into an old friend

this week

and who used to go to church

who no longer goes anymore.

He said,

oh, well,

in this season of my life,

I just need to focus

on my kids

and be present

with my kids.

And it all sounds so right.

And then I find myself

just thinking,

but Jesus is supposed

to be part of that.

Jesus gave you the kids.

Jesus gave you your job

and yet this season

you say,

hey, I can't focus

on Jesus this season

because the job

that he gave me

is taking me away from him.

Is in essence

often what we're trying to say.

The true freedom

that Darren talks about

is the moment you realize

that actually

you are a slave to sin.

You realize that you are actually

just completely consumed

by something

that actually is neutral.

It's a job.

It's money.

But you let that

big thing become God

and then it controls you

and then you don't realize

you're lost.

I love what Danny said there

because it reminded me

of the quote

that Keller said

that this church,

this group of people

is not a museum of saints.

We often feel like it

because we don't know

what everyone is going through

but it's a hospital for sins.

And there's such a joy

that comes with that.

I was reading an account

this week from Typo

of just someone

who waited hours and hours

not knowing whether

there would be anyone

that would save them.

And the moment that came

when a firefighter

walks through the door

that person just filled,

filled with immense gratitude.

Not just that they were

going to be saved

but that someone

actually was risking

their lives to come

and save them.

What if the objective

of the church

is to go and seek

and save

as many people

as we possibly can

because that's what

the Lord called us to do.

And yet we are trapped

in our own comfort.

We are trapped

in our own complacency.

Something else

about being saved,

this post-life insurance policy

that I just talked about,

I feel as though

we have such an anemic,

anemic view

of what being saved

truly means.

Just quoted

John 10.10

that Jesus came

to give us life

and life to the full

and yet you look around

at Christians

outside of incidents

like these

where we are grieving

but you look at us

and you just think

we are miserable.

We are miserable,

we are ungrateful,

we are just concerned

about the worldly things

and it's in those moments

I'm like,

Jesus remind me once again

of the good news.

You came to deal

with death

once and for all.

That you came to save me

when I was lost,

when I needed a savior.

I don't know if there's,

I don't know if actually

being on the pulpit

and preaching

from the word of God

is actually the thing

that convicts you.

I think it's John 16.8,

I think it's

the Holy Spirit comes

and convicts us

of sin and righteousness

to show us,

to remind us

that actually

we need God.

It's that song,

Lord, I need you.

Every moment,

every hour,

I need you.

If we're honest,

if I'm honest,

often it's just,

good God,

I want you

and it's for all

the wrong reasons.

I want you

so I can feel better

about myself.

I want you

so you can pour out

blessings upon me.

I want you

because you help

make sense of my life

for me.

I want you

because you will then

help me get the job

that I really,

really want.

That's why Luke 19.10,

almost if you want

to just distill

the whole book of Luke,

the whole Bible,

it's just,

the Son of Man

came to seek

and save

the lost

and that is you

and I

and when you

realize that,

that's when things

change.

That's when you

realize that actually

being a Christian

isn't just about

following the Ten Commandments.

It's about moving,

graduating from

the Ten Commandments.

You still do

all of the Ten Commandments

but it's moving

from the Commandments

into the Beatitudes.

When you live a life

that is free

because the Spirit

is leading you

to actually rejoice

because you are blessed

when you are poor

in Spirit

for you will inherit

the kingdom of God.

Blessed are those

who mourn

for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are those

who are meek

for they shall inherit

the earth.

When you truly understand

that upside down kingdom,

that's when we can

turn the world

upside down.

The Son of Man

came to seek

and save

the lost.

And you see here,

Zacchaeus

isn't repentant.

At least not yet.

Grace meets him first.

Right?

Grace meets him first.

He's not like,

I must meet Jesus

so I can go and apologize

to him for all the things

that I've done.

No, he just wants to find out

who Jesus is

and he's just going

and then it turns out

actually,

whilst he thinks

he's seeking Jesus,

actually Jesus

has been seeking him

all along.

And so grace meets us

first and then

the repentance comes.

It reminds me of Romans

where it says,

actually,

while we were still sinners,

Christ died for us.

That should fill us

with gratitude.

This is not my own doing.

But my faith

is a gift

from God.

That grace

is completely undeserved.

So the grace

comes before repentance

but repentance

does something

is when you are

truly repentant

your life will turn

upside down

and then it will lead

to action.

And that's why

we love the book of James

because the book of James

is very practical

because all Jameses

are very practical

and we try and live out

our faith.

And it says,

well,

okay,

you can have faith

but you can't have it

without works.

That's not how you're saved

but once you are saved

you can't help but work.

You can't help but do,

you can't help but run

towards the trouble.

And so what you see

Zacchaeus doing here

is actually Jesus

doesn't really say anything

other than

I must go to your house

to have dinner.

And then Zacchaeus,

verse 8,

I think he does hear

everyone else

kind of grumbling

because he knows

he's hated by nearly everyone.

And Zacchaeus stood

and said to the Lord,

behold, Lord,

the good half of my goods

I give to the poor

and if I have defrauded

anyone of anything

I restore it fourfold,

four times as much.

Anyone who I've cheated

I'm going to give

four times as much

which actually far surpasses

the Levitical law

for when you actually

wrong someone

you're supposed to give

just over 20% back

but here's like four times

just take it all.

And time and time again

you see

everyone who encounters

who meets Jesus

their life is just turned

completely upside down.

So respectfully

the question I ask

for all of us

I ask myself is

is my life upside down?

Do I live in a different way?

When people look at me

do they go

oh that person is different?

That person is set apart.

That person is holy.

If I'm honest

that's a daily decision.

It's a daily decision

to take up the cross

and say I will live differently.

I will be the non-anxious

presence in the room.

I will be the one

who is inoffendable.

You cannot offend me

because Christ has already

taken the ultimate

offense for me.

So say what you will.

Try and cheat your way

to the promotion

that I deserve

it doesn't really matter

because my God is sovereign.

Do we have that kind of faith

that leads to action

that leads us

to react

in different ways?

Again it comes down to

do we truly understand

that we were lost?

Because if we truly understood

that we were lost

that we couldn't find

our own way back

that someone came

to find us

and to seek us

and to save us

then actually everything else

excuse the analogy

is house money.

I'm not afraid

of losing anything

because I don't have

anything anymore.

Everything I have

is from him.

That's why even

the stewardship conversation

about well should it be

10% or should it be

well how about this?

How about all of it

is from God?

How about everything

that you have

is from him?

Those of us

who are truly

understanding

that we are lost

will understand

that actually

that is true.

And honestly

as a parent

who has struggled

with the idol

of parenting

wanting the best

for my kids

honestly

it all comes crashing down

the moment they enter

into hospital.

The moment you realise

that you have no control

over your kids

health and safety.

But sending them

to Bremer Hill

will not guarantee

the job at McKinsey.

the whole of parenting

the whole of marriage

the whole of relationships

is all about

just surrendering

going actually

I am not in control.

I am lost.

I am blind.

I was dead.

And this is where

I'll finish.

Who is Zacchaeus?

Of course the easy one

is well Zacchaeus

is you and I.

But my question is

how do I convince you

of that?

What's the story

behind that?

If you just take

a peek with me

so that passage

is in Luke 19

but if you take

a peek with me

you see something

interesting

in Luke chapter 18

Luke 18 · chapter mention

Jesus is talking

about a lot of

different things

but he's talking

about the parable

of a persistent widow.

Hey do not lose heart

keep praying

keep praying

because God hears you.

Chapter 18

verse 8

says this

nevertheless

when the son of man

comes will he

find faith on earth.

That is what

he's looking for.

He's not looking

for perfect people.

He's not looking

for people who

truly get it

and are living

good Christian lives.

There is no such thing.

He's looking for faith.

None of us can jump

to the moon

let alone heaven.

It's do you have faith

in the one

who is the bridge?

The one who said

I am the way

the truth

and the life

you will only

get to the father

through me.

He's looking

for faith.

And then

verse 9

in chapter 18

still

he does

another parable

and he talks

about the Pharisee

and the tax collector

the Pharisee

who has given up

his life.

Again

we hate too much

on the Pharisees

because they are

such good people

they have such

good intentions

they've sacrificed

their whole lives

committed their lives

to studying

the word of God

living a life

that is set apart

and different.

They just didn't

understand that

Jesus was the answer

to all of this.

they searched

the scriptures

they just didn't

know that he

was the key

to eternal life.

But it's funny

we all have

those of us

who have been

in the church

for a long time

we all have

that Pharisee

inside us

because we look

at someone else

we look at someone

else and we go

hmm

at least I'm

not that person.

I have sinned

I am still sinning

but at least I'm

not sinning

as bad as him

or her.

And Jesus is

saying no no no

that tax collector

he can't even

look up to God

and he's beating

his chest

and he's saying

God be merciful

to me

a sinner.

And he says

for everyone

who exalts

himself will be

humble

but the one

who humbles

himself will be

exalted.

Can you see

the upside down

nature again

of how Jesus

looks at things?

And then he says

little children

come to me.

So I loved

what my brother

said that actually

we value the

next generation

we pursue the

next generation

we want to

create space

for the next

generation.

That's why

honestly it feels

just as crowded

in here

but at least

we know

that upstairs

we have this

space where

the kids

can feel

valued.

And again

in that culture

it would have

been hey kids

get away

do you know

who this guy

is?

He's going

to be

internationally

renowned.

Get away

from him

he has nothing

to say to

you.

And then

Jesus says

no no no

you've got it

wrong again.

Let the little

children come to

me.

And then of

course the

rich guy

comes.

The rich guy

that everyone

would have

known and

everyone would

have respected

and everyone

wanted to be

friends with.

And this

rich guy

actually seems

like a nice

guy.

Good teacher

what must I

do to

inherit eternal

life?

And then

Jesus says

well wait

why are you

calling me

good?

There's only

one who's

good.

And this

guy says

I have

done

everything.

And Jesus

says well

you know

the commandments

do not

commit adultery

do not

murder

do not

steal

do not

bear

false

witness

honor your

father and

mother.

And verse

21 the

rich guy

says all

these I have

kept from

my youth.

I have not

skipped a

single youth

group.

I've gone

to church

every Sunday.

I've even

helped with

AV.

I've helped

with the

kids.

Gone to

BSF.

Led us

through

Leviticus.

I've done

everything.

And then

Jesus says

one thing

you lack.

And this

is what

sends

chills down

every person

who has

any kind

of possessions.

One thing

you lack

sell all

that you

have and

distribute

to the

poor and

you will

have treasure

in heaven

and come

follow me.

It's I

know what

you've given

but you're

still holding

back.

Do you

understand

it's not

about what

you can

give or

what you

can do.

It's not

about how

good you've

been.

The one

thing that

you're holding

back from

me, that's

the thing

that I

want.

I want

your heart.

Actually, we

don't quite

know where

that guy

ends up

because Jesus

says something

says.

He says

verse 23,

but when

he heard

these things

he became

very sad

for he

was

extremely

rich.

Jesus

seeing

that he

had

become

sad

said

how

difficult

it

is

for those

who have

wealth

to enter

the kingdom

of God

for it

is easier

for a camel

to go

through the

eye of a

needle

than for a

rich person

to enter

the kingdom

of God.

Now

that's

sad.

He's

sad,

yes,

but I

can see

how sad

Jesus is

because

Jesus

until he

realizes

that everything

that he

has comes

from me

he's not

going to

truly get

it.

He still

lacks that

one thing

faith in

me,

not in

money,

not in

politics,

not in

status,

not in

wealth,

in me.

That's the

one thing

that he

lacks

because he

thinks he

has it

but he

doesn't.

And then

the rest

of the

people who

are less

rich

than this

guy

say,

well,

what chance

do we all

have?

What hope

do we have?

Then who

can be

saved?

But then

Jesus says

this,

what is

impossible

with man

is possible

with God.

Carrying

on,

chapter 18,

he meets

a blind

beggar and

the blind

beggar,

again,

the same

spirit as

the parable

of the

tax collector

says,

Jesus,

son of

God,

have mercy

on me,

have mercy

on me.

People

telling him

to be

quiet,

but he

says,

no,

have mercy

on me,

I will

not be

silent,

I need

you,

Lord,

I need

you,

I need

to be

saved,

I'm

it's

funny,

if you

look at

the whole

context of

the scripture

here,

you've got

the persistent

widow,

you've got

the parable

of the

Pharisee

and the

tax collector,

you've got

the children,

you've got

the rich

ruler,

you've got

the person

who can't

see,

and almost

to hammer

home his

teaching point,

he meets

Zacchaeus,

who was

rich,

who couldn't

see,

who couldn't

get to

Jesus by

himself,

so had to

become as

a child to

climb up on

to the

tree,

and though

it does

seem very

hard to

reach this

Jesus,

with man it

is impossible,

but with

God it

is possible,

he almost

hammers home

that point,

don't you

love a

teacher who

just lives

out what

they teach,

and says,

hey I've

just told

you how

hard it

is for

you,

but now

I'm going

to show

you that

actually,

it's me

that's going

to save

you,

look at

Zacchaeus,

he couldn't

see me,

he couldn't

get to me

by himself,

but I

have come

for him,

and if

he's come

for Zacchaeus,

he's come

for us,

we just

need to

have the

heart and

the repentance

of Zacchaeus,

to recognize

that truly

there was

someone who

decided to

give up his

life,

the son of

man came

to take

our place,

who stands

with us

in the

deepest

grief,

and so

that even

though we

walk through

the valley

of the

shadow of

death,

we do

not fear

evil,

we do

not fear

anything,

because the

shadows are

only just

that,

they are

just

shadows,

death is

not the

end.

Do we

believe that?

Do we

understand that

truly in

our hearts?

If we do,

I think if we

truly understand

why Jesus

came,

if we

truly understand

that we

would then

understand why

we are here,

why we are

gathered here,

and what we

must be to

those around

us,

to be the

light of

the world.

All he

needs is

faith.

Final,

final thing.

Jesus,

in the book

of Revelation,

talks to the

different churches,

and the one

that maybe is

the most famous

is in chapter

three where he

says,

you guys are

all lukewarm.

Lukewarm,

it just doesn't

taste nice,

it's just,

I'd rather spit

you out of

my mouth.

because you

don't get it.

You don't

realize that

you're lost.

You don't

realize that

you're blind.

But then,

he doesn't

finish there

and kind of

close his

Bible and

extend the

sermon there.

He says,

behold,

I stand at

the door

and knock.

Anyone who

opens the

door,

I will come

in and I

will sit

with him

and eat

with him.

Just like

he did

with Zacchaeus,

he does

with us.

The trick

here,

and this

is where

the gathering

scattering

paradigm comes

back into

play.

We've been

invited to

sit at the

table with

Jesus,

but there

are so many

people out

there who

don't know

him,

who haven't

been invited

to the

table yet,

who actually

know they

are invited,

but aren't

able to

come in

for whatever

reason.

Would we

just enjoy

the time

that we

have with

the Lord

in these

times here

on these

Sunday mornings,

but then can

we go out

and live

with the sense

of urgency,

live with the

sense of

conviction that

is appropriate

in response to

what our Lord

came to do.

Can I pray

for us?

Lord, that is

the reason why

you came,

to seek and

to save the

lost.

We sit here

grateful for

that because

we were

lost.

Sometimes we

still are

lost.

Holy Spirit,

would you

stir up in

our hearts

a passion

for your

name

and a

passion for

the people

in this

city.

that we

would welcome

them just

like you

welcomed us,

that we

would pursue

them just

like you

pursued us.

because there

truly is good

news.

Even though

every time I

open up this

SCMP app and

I hold my

breath as I

anticipate more

bad news,

I remember

that there is

truly, truly

good news that

surpasses all

the bad news.

And as Joe

prayed earlier,

that we would

be people who

hold those

things in

tension,

that we