MidTree Church
The sermon audio of MidTree Church in Harris County, Ga. BEHOLD // BELIEVE // BECOME
MidTree Church
Embracing Faith and the Joy of Giving | Pastor Will Hawk | November 10th, 2024
What if the labels we're given don’t define our true potential for change? Join us as we unravel the story of Zacchaeus, a wealthy tax collector often dismissed by society, yet eager to seek Jesus and transform his life. Through an insightful exploration of his story in Luke 19, we challenge you to reflect on how you are truly remembered—beyond mere appearances—and embrace the profound transformative power that comes from seeking grace and redemption.
You'll hear personal stories that resonate with Zacchaeus’ journey, illustrating the impact of grace and the joy found in redemption. Imagine a world where no one is given up on, where each individual is offered a chance to make amends and embrace change. We explore the importance of allowing room for transformation in our relationships, as demonstrated by Zacchaeus' radical decision to right his wrongs. This episode serves as a reminder of the unwavering hope present in every opportunity for change and redemption.
Finally, we invite you to reflect on the essence of generosity and service in your own life. Inspired by Zacchaeus's newfound joy in giving, we discuss the liberating power of generosity that transcends past greed and transforms it into service. This conversation challenges you to reevaluate what truly holds value and encourages a life that not only shares the gospel but finds fulfillment in selfless giving. It’s a call to action, to stand taller in faith, and to find eternal significance in our purposeful actions.
If you want to learn more about the MidTree story or connect with us, go to our website HERE or text us at 812-MID-TREE.
Amber, if you'd read our text for us.
Speaker 2:All right, good morning everybody. We are going to be reading Luke 19, 1 through 10. So if you are using a pew Bible, that's going to be on page 878. So I'll give you guys a second to turn there Luke 19, 1 through 10. All right, let's read the word of God stature.
Speaker 2: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 is the son of Abraham, for the son of man came to seek and to save the lost.
Speaker 1:This is the word of the Lord. Thank you, amber. All right guys, here's what I'd like you to do. This isn't a stand-up and meet the people around you. We need to get things set up. You got 30 seconds. Just say hello to the folks around you and then we'll hop into Luke 19 together. Thank you, all right guys. What a good morning. Am I right? I mean, how incredible Praise God. Please, by all means, do take a moment to love on Maya and on Daniel. I have been looking forward to this moment for quite a number of months, since having the opportunity to meet them in the back of the service. All right, so let's hop into Luke, chapter 19, verses 1 through 27.
Speaker 1:So, as you are looking at this text, here is what I would ask you. To begin with, most of us are a little bit familiar with the text about Zacchaeus. If you grew up in the church, you definitely colored a sheet with a dude in a tree. You may have even known a little song. But here's the question that I want you to wrestle with before we dive into the text. If you were to be described by someone else to someone you have never met, you're standing here. Somebody who knows you is right here and they are about to describe you to someone who has never met you, and they're not just trying to describe your physical attributes, but who you are as a person. What would be the first two attributes that would describe who you are? What would be the first two attributes that would describe who you are? What would be the first two things that, if it was an accurate description of you, what are the first two things that would come up? You can be as godly as you want and be like Christian first. If that's it, great, go with it. I don't know what my first two would be. Enthusiasm would be in the top three. I know that because I've been told that my entire life. When we look hey guys, if y'all want, you can go ahead and switch to me.
Speaker 1:When we look at the text on Zacchaeus, most of us would probably describe Zacchaeus like this Zacchaeus was a Evil man. Okay, now, if you have no clue what just happened and you're like I didn't see the Kool-Aid, but I feel real uncomfortable right now, all that just happened was you just met everybody who went to Sunday school and Awana, whose parents forced them to go to church on Sundays, and they probably had to wear long pants when they did. If they were a guy. That's who you just met. This is the way we know Zacchaeus. He was a wee little man. Our family recently, as of Father's Day, got a dog in our house. It is a Datsun, one of the little wiener dogs. His name is Trigger. I wanted his name to be Zacchaeus because he is a wee little man, but that is not what I got, even though I call him that occasionally.
Speaker 1:Here instead is how the Bible describes Zacchaeus. It tells us that Jesus entered into Jericho and was passing through and behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was descriptor number one, a chief tax collector, and he was rich. Your song may be Zacchaeus was a wee little man. A wee little man was he? He climbed up in a sycamore tree for to see what he could see. Something like that, for the Lord. He went. All right, I didn't practice that part. That is not the song the Bible would have written. That's the song that Nana wrote. That's the song that somebody the Bible song would have said Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector, a tax collector, was he? A man about little more than lots and lots of money. I did that on the fly. Okay, I did that on the fly. That would be the Bible song.
Speaker 1:He would not have been known for his height or his stature. He would not have been known for his acumen and climbing a tree. He would have been known for these two things. He was a tax collector, which meant to the people of God, to the Jewish people. He was a traitor. And in addition to being a traitor, someone who turned his back on his people turned his back on his God. He was the chief amongst them. He was the one who was leading other people astray, leading other people to see the lavish lifestyle that he was living and to leave behind faithfulness for, instead, finances. And he was quite successful at it. He was rich and yet, for some reason, this man wants to see Jesus.
Speaker 1:Now, this should be exceedingly surprising to those of you who know Christ. It would be a little surprising, for sure, if you were here last week. Why? Because this is what we read last week Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, he was a rich young ruler. He said oh, how difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God. And with this as the basis we slide into this incredible text where a wealthy person is willing to climb a tree that he would just catch a glimpse of Jesus.
Speaker 1:By most standards, including Jesus's own standard, zacchaeus is the last person you should expect to make it into the kingdom of God. That's how you're supposed to slide into this. That's how Luke wants you to slide in. It doesn't want you to see a small guy who's climbing a tree that you did a coloring book on at some point. It wants you to see that's a guy who's never going to respond to the gospel. That is a guy who is never going to turn his back on his current life to pursue a different life. This guy absolutely not. I mean Jesus himself said it's incredibly difficult for this kind of a person to enter the kingdom of heaven. So, from the jump, what we need to realize is we ought not give up on people before Jesus does.
Speaker 1:I was going through these slides last night and checking them for typos. You guys are always welcome if you see them to tell me before second service and one of my sons was walking by and he goes dad, that isn't good and I was like what do you mean? It isn't good. He said, yeah that Jesus doesn't ever give up on people, and I was like what do you mean? It isn't good. He said, yeah, that Jesus doesn't ever give up on people, and I was like solid argument. But the reason I put it this way is because there is a moment when Christ returns, or when your heart stops beating, that if you have not responded to the gospel, it is not that Christ has given up on you. It is that you have given up on him as a potential hope, as a potential savior, as a potential savior for your sin. And so the goal here in looking at Zacchaeus, is for you to begin thinking about the people in your lives who you are prone to give up on.
Speaker 1:Most of you know me, and the person who comes to mind most readily for me would be my father. I took him to a doctor's appointment on Thursday and had been working through this text. I say this to you to let you know none of us ever graduate right, like I'm preaching this to you because this has been preaching to me all week. Okay, I'm not over this. I'm in this with you, I am under this with you, and as I've been thinking and wrestling with these things, my desire was to take my dad to his doctor's appointment and then take him back. I've done my duty, I've done my diligence, I've been a good son. He doesn't actually deserve this, but I'm going to do it anyway out of charity and out of kindness.
Speaker 1:And instead I realized I texted Keller and I was like are you guys meeting for lunch? He was like yeah, there's a bunch of us who were getting together for lunch. Thursday's 1130, country's Barbecue a bunch of guys get together for lunch. You're welcome to hop in. And so, even though his appointment ended late, I took my dad and we went to that lunch. And there was somebody at that lunch who had visited him in the hospital, who was excited to see my dad. That's, by the way, not the usual reception that my dad gets. He was excited to see my dad, my that's, by the way, not the usual reception that my dad gets. He was excited to see my dad. My dad came and he sat at the table and he asked the same question over and over and over, because his brain isn't working exactly right these days. But he sat at a table with a group of guys, some of which knew him and some of which didn't.
Speaker 1:And here was the cool thing and what I would encourage you with today. If you are prone to give up on someone in your life, invite someone else into yours who is less likely to give up on them. All people, except for me and maybe my close family, are less likely to give up on my dad than I am. So I need to be surrounded by those kinds of people, people who will look and see hope.
Speaker 1:Now, why would I say this as we jump into this text? Well, because I want you to notice how much the crowd changed at the end of this story. You see, he's seeking to see Jesus. He wants to know who he was, but on account of the crowd. In other words, there's this massive crowd. He couldn't, so he climbs up in a tree. Why is the crowd there? Because they want to know who Christ is, and maybe some of them don't really want to know who Christ is. They just want to see Jesus do something cool. They want to be a part of the story.
Speaker 1:When the headlines in the Jericho Post come out, they want to be able to point and say I was there when he did that thing. I was there when the man came back to life or the lame started walking, or the blind had sight, or we had no food, and then we had this massive feast. I want to be able to say that I was there, but watch how quickly the crowd turns Verse four he ran on ahead, climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him. 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. I must stay at your house today. This is more than general hospitality. This is Jesus saying I want to have a relationship with you. So he hurried and came down and he received him joyfully. And when they saw it, when this crowd saw that, they went from cheering to grumbling Because in a moment Jesus stopped being who they wanted him to be. I don't want you to go hang out and have lunch with Zacchaeus.
Speaker 1:People do that after church every day. There's nothing exciting about that. Not only that, you're supposed to be a prophet. If you're a prophet, you would know better than to go to this man's house. Above all, jesus, didn't you just say, like 20 minutes ago, that rich men are not likely to enter the kingdom of God? And here you are, entering into his own house. When you see this, when we see a crowd go from cheering to grumbling, it is telling us this fact Do not give up on people before Jesus does.
Speaker 1:Why? Because our Lord loves saving the least likely. That's why. Why was it hard for Maya to walk in here on day one? Because her experience was people are likely to give up on you. You either fake it until you make it or you may not as well show up in the first place. You can't be honest about who you are, what you're struggling with. My favorite part was you talking about asking questions of the Bible, one of the greatest things that every one of us whether you're a non-believer, a new believer or a seasoned believer we ought to wrestle with the Bible. We just always ought to assume it's right and not us. We ought not give up on people before Jesus does, because the Lord loves saving the least likely, because if he can save the least likely, because if he can save the least likely, he can save you.
Speaker 1:I also really appreciate the fact that Zacchaeus everybody thinks about it this way. They think about Zacchaeus and he's like man I gotta see Jesus. I'm little, so I'm gonna climb up in a tree. Just imagine him like during family portraits he's always in the front right, people are hunching down so he can make it in and he climbs up into this tree. And this is one of my favorite little sweet moments. Who would have been easier to see? Jesus or Zacchaeus? If you were in that crowd? Jesus, everything, the whole orb is moving around Jesus. If you're Jesus, it is a sea of people. If you were to fast forward it today, it would be phones being held up everywhere. He went waiting for that moment. But do you notice? It doesn't say Zacchaeus sees Jesus. It says Jesus sees Zacchaeus. Jesus is looking for Zacchaeus with more emphasis and desire than Zacchaeus. Then Zacchaeus is looking for him. Zacchaeus wondering can there be grace even for me, the chief tax collector? Can there be grace even for me, the rich one, who has put all of my hope into other things? This is an encouraging start.
Speaker 1:I am grateful that my mom did not give up on me when I was the one in school constantly getting in trouble. I had good grades, but at the bottom of every progress report and the first thing that was brought up in every teacher-parent conference, the things that caused my mom to pick up Dobson's book Raising Boys. After she left the school she went to the bookstore, picked it up and she was like I just can't do this thing. I am so grateful my mom didn't give up on me and she said if he's gonna talk a lot, let's at least give him something worth talking about and then just set it free. I am so grateful in my first job that my boss did not give up on me and say you seem to love Jesus, you seem to love the Bible. What on me? And say you seem to love Jesus, you seem to love the Bible. What's the plan? And I'm like plan. Have you ever met an Enneagram 7? This is the plan. The plan is we show up. The plan is the Holy Spirit is real. The plan is the text is good. What do you mean? A plan for discipleship? What are you talking about?
Speaker 1:Thomas, not an advocate on that. Yeah, I'm grateful that people did not give up on me and Zacchaeus changes his life. He stood and he said to the Lord behold, he's saying it to the Lord, but he wants the entire crowd to hear this Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor and if I've defrauded anyone of anything, I will restore it fourfold. He had defrauded many people of many things. And now he says I'm not gonna pay it back, I'm not gonna make it right, simply four times over. Whatever difficulty I have brought into their life, I will make right. And Jesus said today salvation has come to this house. If you wanted the family tie, I was talking about this, is it? He is also a son of Abraham. He was an illegitimate child who has become a son again. He had left his family. He has prodigaled back, for the son of man came to seek and save the lost Christians in the room. Please pay attention to this.
Speaker 1:Zacchaeus did not just say I'm sorry. That was insufficient repentance to him. Husbands, to your wives, wives to your husbands, kids to your parents and parents, to your wives, wives to your husbands, kids to your parents and parents, to your kids, to your neighbors, to those who you are not getting along with, to those who you have wronged. And then have said this but I've been saved, I've been forgiven. God has forgiven me. Yes, zacchaeus had that, and he still said it's enough for my soul. But the overflow of forgiveness must expand to the people around me.
Speaker 1:And Zacchaeus says here's the deal. So full is this newness of life that Christ has given me, so full is my heart because of the freedom that he has given me. He says I'm going to give people four times what I have taken from them, but that isn't even the best part. He doesn't just say sorry. To the best of his ability, he makes the wrong right. Some of us need to hear that he doesn't just say I'm sorry, he doesn't just say forgive me. He, to the best of his ability, to the best of his ability, tries to make the wrong right.
Speaker 1:Now, caution, you cannot earn your salvation and you do not need to try to earn it through some lavish repentance. That is not what is being put on display here. What's being put on display is that when a heart that has been burdened with the things of this world, when a heart that had looked for hope in you fill in your blank. For him, it was power, prestige and finances. You fill in whatever it is that brings you hope and comfort and everything's gonna be okay. That isn't Christ, all of these things he said.
Speaker 1:Since Christ has set me free, I therefore desire to see freedom in the people around me. I want to see those who are poor have something. I want to see those who have been defrauded find justice and if I can bring it about, may God, through his spirit, do that. And my favorite part of this is right here Half of my goods. Do you want to know why that's my favorite part? Because Zacchaeus could have just said sorry and most of us would have given him the thumbs up, the wink and the pass.
Speaker 1:He went further and he gives people four times whatever he took. He brings justice into a situation. Now we're high-fiving. Get the dude a microphone, share your testimony. He goes a step further. He says not even those that I have defrauded the poor in my life, I will give them half of my goods. He could have just cut the check. Instead, he goes back to his house and he walks into his closet, thinking of the poor that he has seen around him, and he takes one shirt and he says one for me and one for them, one pair of pants for me and one pair of pants for them. He goes into his pantry and he says a loaf of bread for me and a loaf of bread for them. He walks through all of the possessions that he has accumulated and for the first time in his life, he holds them with open hands and he gives them away. The bean counting spreadsheet, wielding P&L, pushing meticulous and crooked accountant becomes something completely different.
Speaker 1:And if you have needed to lean towards Christmas and you feel like you just haven't been able to because it's been 84 degrees outside, this is the closest thing to an Ebenezer Scrooge I think you're going to find in the text. This is Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas morning. This is him showing up to the Cratchits with a ton of food, just because he wants the joy of giving. As someone who has received the joy of receiving, the very thing that once owned him became the platform from which he served. Now I want to leave that there for a minute, because I want you to wrestle with it. I want you to look at this and I want you to start looking for yourself Now. There are two ways to look at this, three, maybe Three.
Speaker 1:If you say I don't really care, I don't want anything from God, okay, that might be you, and if that's the case, my prayer is that the Holy Spirit would continue to knock on the door of your heart and that you would find that following Christ is the only life worth living. But I think the other two and the most prominent two ways that we would look at it is like this, from the perspective of a Christian what was it that owned me, and has my relationship with Christ only been a sorry thus far? Or have I leveraged my brokenness that it would bring hope to other people? Christians, what is it that used to own you? What is it that used to pull the bridle and the bit of your, the mouth of your heart? What used to turn your head? What used to draw your affections? How did you spend your money? Where did you spend your time?
Speaker 1:Whatever the answer to that question is, it is the desire of God that it would become the platform from which you serve. You will stand upon. The very thing that stood upon you is what I'm telling you. And for the maybe brand new Christian or the person who's debating trusting in Christ and becoming a Christian, don't you want this. Don't you want the things that own you, that press you down, that weigh you back, to instead become the things that you stand taller on, to have a platform to declare how good and great Christ is. This is enough. Can I be honest with you? This is a whole sermon. We could 100% stop here, but there's a little bit of a problem as to why we can't, and the reason we can't is because because these two little becauses that appear in the text right after this, if you continue on here, is what you will see Luke 19, 11 and 12.
Speaker 1:As they heard these things what things? As they heard about a new kingdom coming. As they heard about life coming to Zacchaeus. As they heard Zacchaeus say I'm giving all of the people I defrauded four times, by the way, that is the greatest investment. I know some of you are like looking at your Bitcoin and you are so excited over the past, like four or five days, you would have been better to have been defrauded by Zacchaeus than to have had a ton of Bitcoin, because whatever he took four times over, he was going to return to you.
Speaker 1:As people are seeing all of this happen, as they hear these things, jesus proceeded to tell them a story, a story with a point. It's called a parable. Why? Because, number one, he needed to tell them the story because he was near to Jerusalem. All right, let me give you the subtext on that he's about to die on the cross. That's what the text is saying. He needed to tell them a story because he was about to die on the cross and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. I want you to really focus in on this word supposed, because this is where we can get in trouble today.
Speaker 1:They supposed that if this was happening in Zacchaeus' life, if the kingdom was coming, if new life was there, let's go. They didn't realize that for Zacchaeus to actually be rescued from his sin, christ was going to have to die for it. They'd missed that part. Spoiler alert it's kind of the biggest part the whole of Christianity is based on. Is Jesus fully God? Is he fully man? Is he an appropriate sacrifice? Does God accept the sacrifice of Christ on the cross for all of my sins, which are many?
Speaker 1:And they wanted to skip that little piece of theology. They wanted to get to the kingdom of God appearing. We need to slow down here because, so amazed at beholding Zacchaeus and his heart change in this 180 switch in their excitement, they got ahead of themselves. They jumped the gun, they counted their chickens before they hatched, they ran before they could walk, put the cart before the horse and they got out over their skis in the most theological of ways. We cannot skip supposed steps. We cannot assume that we are just going to meander into faithfulness. Yes, sanctification is a guarantee, but your effort toward it is also something that, according to the book of Jude, is expected. Here is what you've got to watch for. What steps were they wanting to skip? The crowd wanted to skip the cross and get to the kingdom. The disciples wanted to skip serving Jesus painfully and get to the reward.
Speaker 1:Hear me on this. You want your post-saved, pre-heaven years to matter. Let me show you what I'm talking about to matter. Let me show you what I'm talking about. If you're a Christian, this is all of your life. Okay, this is your whole life.
Speaker 1:If you're a Christian, at one point you came into being and I don't know, you're going to have to move the cross around a little bit. You don't really have to move the grave. You're going to have to move the cross around because for some of you in this room, you got saved so early in your life that the cross needs to take about five steps to the left, right. You were like four years old and you were like I don't want to go to hell. And so you run down the aisle and you held on to that confession and that profession for your whole life, and that cross needs to take a number of steps to the left. For some of you, you were much older in your life. The cross needs to walk this way. You spent the majority of your life outside of Christ. But here is what I want you to understand and here's what I think the text wants you to not miss. This is massively important.
Speaker 1:What you do in your life between the cross and the grave, or the return of Christ, matters in the most profound of ways, so much so that Jesus tells them this story. He said, therefore, there are going to be three characters in this story. He said, therefore, a nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return Pause, let me get your eyes for a minute to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. Pause, let me get your eyes for a minute. Jesus is going to tell a medium-length story. It's going to take two screens for you to read the whole thing. As I'm reading it, don't lose track of the image of the cross and the grave and the gap between. This is the point. As they're celebrating Zacchaeus' new life, as we are celebrating Maya's new life, there is a point of intellectual wrestling that Jesus wants you to do. He said.
Speaker 1:Therefore, a nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return, calling 10 of his servants. He gave them 10 minus. A minus was about three months wages. This is not a small sum of money. He gives them a sizable fortune and just hands it to them and then he says this engage in business until I come, until I return. But group number three, his citizens, hated him and sent a delegation after him, after the nobleman, saying we do not want this man to reign over us. That's the setting, that's the plot. You got this nobleman. Hey, we do not want this man to reign over us. That's the setting, that's the plot. You got this nobleman, hey, I've got a kingdom that I've got to go and receive my 10 servants. I'm going to give you some money, I want you to do something with it, and as I go, all of my citizens are basically hating me, spitting at me and mocking me, hoping I will not come back. Verse 15.
Speaker 1:When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him that he might know what they had gained in doing business. He's back and now he's going to look at these 10 guys and he's going to say okay, what have we done with the money? So here's the setup, noblemen, servants and citizens, and he's. This is I can tell some of you guys are writing. This is going to appear in a minute. I'm going to jump to the next part of the text.
Speaker 1:The nobleman is saying to the servants what have you done, even though you are surrounded by citizens who hate me. And here is their response. The first came before him saying Lord, your mina has made 10 minas more. And he said to him well done, good servant. What does that sound like? Well done, good servant. What does that make you think of? It's got to make you think of heaven. Right, it's got to make you think of Christ returning. Well done, my good and faithful servant. Because you have been faithful in very little, you shall have authority. I don't even understand this. I love this. I don't get this.
Speaker 1:The dude is given something like $5,000, $15,000, something like this, and he comes back and he's like I've turned it into 150 grand. And the nobleman says give me the 150. And now I'm going to give you Atlanta, cleveland, orlando, hold tight, don't leave just yet. I'd like you to take Augusta. I'm gonna throw in Phoenix City while we're at it. All right, how about LaGrange? You want LaGrange? You like that? This is how it's like. How do we even conceive? What does it mean to own a city, what does it mean to own multiple cities? And yet the nobleman says I've been given this massive kingdom, you're a faithful guy, hardworking, diligent.
Speaker 1:Step in, the second came saying Lord, your mina has made five minas. You gave me five grand and I've expanded it. You gave me 15 grand, I've expanded it at $75,000. And he said to him you are to be over five cities. Now I know that you guys are smart people, but I want you to catch up on the arithmetic here. However much they multiplied it by, that is what they received in multiplication from the nobleman. Now one thing to notice you are only given three servants. How many were there? Ten, all right, I don't know what happened to the other seven. This is my best guess. My best guess is that what you are seeing here is the high and the low of how his servants responded. So there are probably seven other folks like dropped in here somewhere. The high effort, the medium effort or ability, and then the low effort.
Speaker 1:Then another came saying Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief. I was afraid of you. You're a severe man. You take what you didn't deposit. You reap what you didn't sow. He said to him, I'll condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant. You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. And what happens to him is not good. Why, then, didn't you put my money in the bank and at my coming, I might've at least collected it with interest.
Speaker 1:What this guy did was take $15,000, put it in a ratty t-shirt and throw it in his glove box. The issue here is not laziness, it is negligence. None of you would do that. Hopefully, if it was actual money, hopefully if, as you headed out, we were like guys, we're going to live this thing out, here's $15,000 on your way out, I'm sure everybody would come back the next week. We would just need you to bring it back the next week, okay, none of you would say oh, that's great, I've got this sock my gym sock in the back of my car. I don't want to accidentally make a mistake with this. I'm going to stuff it in the sock and toss it in the back of my pickup truck. Nobody would do that, except for this guy. Why then didn't you put my money in the bank and at my coming, I could have collected it with interest.
Speaker 1:And he said to those who stood by take the mina from him, give it to the one who has 10 minas I love this part. And they said to him Lord, he has 10 minas. Can't we give it to the five guy? There's probably a two guy, there might be an eight guy. Why are we giving it to the dude who already has so much? Because? And he said to them, I tell you that everyone who has more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me, my enemies who have not wanted my kingdom to come, here is how the parable breaks down.
Speaker 1:Jesus is the nobleman Hopefully you realize that because he went to receive a kingdom, just as Christ came to receive a kingdom. He was surrounded by citizens in a world that did not love him nor want his leadership. How much do I know they didn't want his leadership. They put him on that. They didn't put him behind this, they put him on that. They didn't put him behind this. They put him on that. And yet there were these followers of him who he expected to work and receive a reward. But there's something that I want you to notice. Jesus, of course, gets the reward and he gets the kingdom. The followers get differing rewards. Some of them get 10 cities, some of them get five cities, some of them get five cities. How much did the guy who threw it in the glove box get? How much did he get? Zero. You want to know why? Because his growth went from one to one. Do you know what level of growth that is? That is zero growth, and I want you to watch this.
Speaker 1:According to the book of Matthew, this man gets lump. The book of Matthew, this man gets lumped in with these, which means, even though he looked like a follower of the nobleman, even though he may not have been vocally opposed to the coming king over the kingdom, he neither saw him as Lord of Lords nor did he treat him as king of kings. There was no growth in his life. So when Christ returned, he looked and he said you may want to wear the jersey, but your heart and your actions deceive you and they place you under your own judgment. You knew that I was a severe man.
Speaker 1:This isn't saying that Jesus is hateful. It's saying that he has very high expectations. It's saying that when it comes to following Christ, there is zero room to respond to the gospel and not live for Christ. You will not find it in the text, you can't earn it by living for it. But once you have received it, you begin to Zacchaeus out, and these three reports put that on display. That's the philosophy of this chapter. That's the philosophy of the Christian life. There is no better way to live. This is the only way that can properly be called living.
Speaker 1:Everything else is a kind of death. Everything else is a kind of death. You pick what it is. You not living for Jesus is a kind of death. If it's success, it's a kind of death. If it's prominence, it's a kind of death. If it's influence, it's a kind of death. If it's being attractive, it's a kind of death. If it's having a bright, shiny little family and kids who obey, it is a kind of death. Anything outside of living for Christ is a kind of death. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will live.
Speaker 1:As we close, I just want to ask you a couple of questions. What's it like to be the one who did nothing with what God gave him? And I know that some of you may sit in this room and you may say, will, I don't know that God has given me anything. I'm just telling you you're wrong. Every one of us had a story before we got into this thing, and it is the expectation of God that every one of us would not only have a story before getting in, but that we would have a story every day that he gives us, until he returns or we go home. This is not about laziness, this is about negligence. God has gifted every one of his children. There is not a single kid in the family of God that he accidentally missed to put a little bit of favor on. And some of you may say, will, I'm not the 10 minus guy and, if I'm honest with you, it's hard for me to serve because it seems like wherever I would serve, there's somebody who would do a better job. That's okay. That's the point. This is why Jesus tells the story.
Speaker 1:The story is not for you to serve so that you feel good about yourself. It's not that you would serve so that you can out-compete the person next to you. You want to do whatever your bit is Whether it's a massive amount or a tidbit matters, not to you, because it is for a nobleman who went to receive a kingdom that you could be a part of it. Maybe some of you are hindered to do that because you have chronic illness or it's difficult for you to be grateful when you look left and right. You have caught the bug of comparison and it has made you sick year after year. Your 15,000 looks great till you stand next to the guy with 75 or the person with 150.
Speaker 1:But your story of loss, your story of addiction, your story of mistreating others, your story of suffering, your story of pain and sickness, your story of loneliness, your story of being left out, your story of believing that there was life in something and squeezing it and finding no life in it this is the story that God wants you to tell. This is the story that God wants you to tell. This is the work that he wants you to do. You see, when we put Zacchaeus next to this parable, here is what we find. We ought not give up on people before Jesus does, because our Lord loves saving the least likely, the people in your life who look like this and they're still on the left side of the cross. Do not give up on them. If they're breathing, then Christ has yet to. And for those of you who live this life, praise God for it. Praise God that you responded to the gospel at a young age. You weren't smart, you weren't bright. That was just his plan for you. And do you know what else is his plan for you? That you fill this up.
Speaker 1:Whatever you do between the cross and the grave will be so much greater of a reward than a mutual fund or Bitcoin or compounding interest will ever give you, because it goes into eternity. Because it goes into eternity, and if you have ever bought into the concept of, I'm just ready for heaven to come, I'm ready to be done with this broken world. Hear me on this. Those words do not exist in this text.
Speaker 1:The words are I may be sick of being a part of this world that hates my Lord, but I'll be hated like he's hated. I will work, I will put effort in, I will share my story and I will share the gospel. I will serve profoundly because what I do here matters, and it matters for all time. I'm not sure If God has you wrestling with not giving up on people. I'm not sure if he has you wrestling On what lives in your life Between the cross and the grave. But, father, this is my prayer May your spirit wrestle with us as we wrestle with this, and then may we come to you with empty hands. May you make in us a group of Zacchaeus people who give everything and find joy in it. Amen.