WEBVTT 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:05.280 Thank you for joining us on the CCW podcast. 00:00:05.440 --> 00:00:11.119 Make sure you connect with us on social media to stay up to date on ministries and events happening at CCW. 00:00:11.279 --> 00:00:15.039 We hope you're encouraged, inspired, and motivated by today's message. 00:00:15.199 --> 00:00:19.120 To find out how to connect with us, keep listening after the message ends. 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:27.039 It is Palm Sunday. 00:00:27.519 --> 00:00:31.039 And the last few years we've always preached with the lights on. 00:00:31.679 --> 00:00:32.960 No, the last few years. 00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:38.399 The last few years we've always had a Palm Sunday message on Palm Sunday. 00:00:38.560 --> 00:00:41.119 And today we're not going to do that. 00:00:41.280 --> 00:00:43.439 We're going to be looking at Luke chapter 19. 00:00:43.520 --> 00:00:48.640 And in Luke chapter 19, you will find the triumphal entry and the Palm Sunday story. 00:00:48.719 --> 00:00:51.920 But we're looking at what happened just before that today. 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:54.320 So turning your Bibles to Luke chapter 19. 00:00:54.640 --> 00:01:00.799 Palm Sunday means that Holy Week is here and that next week is Easter. 00:01:01.039 --> 00:01:03.119 And today we have the fifth Sunday. 00:01:03.200 --> 00:01:05.840 So we have the K through 5th in here with us. 00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:08.480 You guys let me hear you, K through 5th. 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:13.040 Who's excited that Easter is coming, K through 5th? 00:01:13.840 --> 00:01:15.120 Yeah, me too. 00:01:15.359 --> 00:01:22.079 So this week, knowing that we were going to be doing this here this morning, I took a trip down Easter Memory Lane. 00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:27.439 And in Easter Memory Lane and the Roper household, I found this. 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:34.400 And I know that you guys can't see this, so I asked them to blow it up to see if maybe we can see it a little better. 00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:35.920 This picture. 00:01:39.439 --> 00:01:42.719 And I think it's coming in a minute. 00:01:45.359 --> 00:01:46.879 We do have the picture. 00:01:48.319 --> 00:01:49.599 Maybe we don't. 00:01:51.200 --> 00:01:51.519 Oh. 00:01:51.840 --> 00:01:54.480 Well, there is a picture back there that is not up here. 00:01:54.640 --> 00:01:57.760 If you'll turn around and you will see what I'm holding. 00:01:58.719 --> 00:02:01.200 So this is a picture of me. 00:02:01.519 --> 00:02:12.479 And if you look at the picture that's not on the screen, I hate it, but if you look at the picture, there's a big pink blow-up Easter bunny, and there are some eggs that in what look like a tree. 00:02:12.639 --> 00:02:12.960 Okay? 00:02:13.199 --> 00:02:15.039 And I am smiling great big. 00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:16.319 I'm very, very happy. 00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:21.039 And the reason that I'm happy is because there's candy all around me. 00:02:21.599 --> 00:02:26.319 And so I looked at this picture, and that was me, and I thought about this. 00:02:26.479 --> 00:02:27.360 Hey, there we go. 00:02:27.439 --> 00:02:28.879 Now you can laugh. 00:02:29.199 --> 00:02:39.759 So this kid with his grandparents would have gone over to the 2900 block of 25th Street in Inslee, Alabama, to Fairview Baptist Church. 00:02:39.919 --> 00:02:45.840 And they called it Fairview Baptist Church because you could look out and see the fairgrounds from the church. 00:02:46.080 --> 00:02:50.319 It's where the crossplex is now, for those of you who don't know about what the fairgrounds were. 00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:58.319 So you go in Fairview Baptist Church and you go downstairs and you take a right and you go back over in the corner, and that's where the kids' Sunday school was. 00:02:58.479 --> 00:03:04.560 And I know that by this age I had heard a song that went a little something like this. 00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:07.120 Zacchaeus was a wee little man. 00:03:07.439 --> 00:03:08.319 Say it if you know it. 00:03:08.479 --> 00:03:10.080 A wee little man was he. 00:03:10.479 --> 00:03:15.759 He climbed up in a sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see. 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:29.039 And as the Savior passed that way, he looked up in that tree and he said, Zacchaeus, you come down, for I'm going to your house today, for I'm going to your house today. 00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:38.800 And let me tell you that as I looked at this picture, I was born in 1978, and I said, Man, that had to be like Easter of 83. 00:03:39.120 --> 00:03:41.280 In Easter of 83, I would have been four and a half. 00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:42.319 I was a big kid. 00:03:42.479 --> 00:03:46.080 And I said, no, no, that was Easter of 84. 00:03:46.319 --> 00:03:48.080 That would have made me five and a half. 00:03:48.240 --> 00:03:55.520 And I got it resolved, but then I flipped it over, and in my grandmother's handwriting, it says David 4882. 00:03:55.759 --> 00:03:59.680 I was three and a half years old in that picture right there. 00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:14.639 And so let me just tell you that when I went to Fairview Baptist Church and when I heard about Zacchaeus, a wee little man, climbing up in a tree, I thought that there could be hope for me because I too was a wee little man. 00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:19.199 And I wanted to climb trees so very badly. 00:04:19.439 --> 00:04:24.000 But I want to tell you today there's more to the story than just that. 00:04:24.160 --> 00:04:26.480 Let's read it and then we're gonna talk about it. 00:04:26.639 --> 00:04:28.319 Luke chapter 19. 00:04:29.360 --> 00:04:32.319 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:38.000 Now, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 00:04:38.959 --> 00:04:44.639 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but he could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. 00:04:45.040 --> 00:04:50.720 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was going to pass that way. 00:04:50.879 --> 00:04:58.319 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him and said, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house. 00:04:58.480 --> 00:04:59.279 Verse six. 00:04:59.600 --> 00:05:02.720 So he made haste and came down and received him joyfully. 00:05:02.959 --> 00:05:08.240 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner. 00:05:08.480 --> 00:05:18.160 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, Look, Lord, I give half my goods to the poor, and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold. 00:05:18.399 --> 00:05:29.680 And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, because also he also is a son of Abraham, for the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost. 00:05:29.920 --> 00:05:30.959 Let's pray. 00:05:31.279 --> 00:05:34.959 Father, I thank you for the privilege to preach your word. 00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:46.000 And God, I just pray that you will help us for a few moments, everyone in here, whether five years old or 85, to just clear the distractions and just listen to you, God. 00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:51.920 And Lord, I pray that the words of my mouth, the meditations of my heart will be pleasing to you this morning. 00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:52.879 In Jesus' name. 00:05:53.199 --> 00:05:53.839 Amen. 00:05:54.639 --> 00:05:57.120 So you got ten blanks on your outline. 00:05:57.279 --> 00:05:58.240 Don't be scared. 00:05:58.399 --> 00:05:59.680 Normally you have nine. 00:05:59.920 --> 00:06:05.759 All right, there's one extra, and I don't have a whole lot of words to put in there, and they're all going to end in some form of I-O-M. 00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:09.120 The first blank is the introduction. 00:06:09.360 --> 00:06:12.959 I want to introduce you to where we're at and who we're talking about here. 00:06:13.439 --> 00:06:21.279 Jesus is passing through Jericho, and he has just healed a blind man named Bartimaeus, and he is on the way to Jerusalem. 00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:29.600 Jerusalem is about 15 miles away from Jericho, and Jesus is headed into Jerusalem for the final time. 00:06:29.759 --> 00:06:39.040 If you look at Luke 19, 28, just a few verses away from what we read, Jesus is gonna go with the triumphal entry that we all know about, and that's Palm Sunday. 00:06:39.199 --> 00:06:43.839 So I date this maybe just a few days, a couple days before the triumphal entry. 00:06:43.920 --> 00:06:51.920 It's one of the very last things Jesus does before he goes to Jerusalem to be crucified and to be to rise again for our sins. 00:06:52.160 --> 00:06:58.480 So, on the way to Jerusalem, he encounters Zacchaeus, and the Bible tells us some things about Zacchaeus. 00:06:58.639 --> 00:07:01.439 It tells us that he is the chief tax collector. 00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:06.240 Now, tax collectors worked for the Roman government. 00:07:06.480 --> 00:07:10.720 Rome kind of ruled a lot of the world, and Rome needed taxes from the people. 00:07:10.879 --> 00:07:15.439 And they appointed, like boots on the ground, local people, to collect taxes. 00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:24.319 Zacchaeus, I believe, is a Jewish guy who collects taxes from his people and gives some of what he collects back to Rome. 00:07:24.480 --> 00:07:28.560 Now, do you think Rome knew how much he collected? 00:07:28.959 --> 00:07:30.480 I don't think they did. 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:35.439 And I don't think Rome cared how much he collected as long as they got their portion. 00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:40.160 So tax collectors were usually people who exploited their own people. 00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:43.519 They were considered to be traitors, outsiders. 00:07:43.680 --> 00:07:47.920 I don't know for sure, but I just imagine tax collection went something like this. 00:07:48.240 --> 00:07:49.759 Hey, you owe me taxes. 00:07:49.920 --> 00:07:51.839 Oh yeah, how much do I owe, sir? 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:53.519 Well, how much do you got? 00:07:54.560 --> 00:08:00.480 Oh, that'll be enough for today, but I'm gonna send a couple guys around tomorrow, and you better have the rest. 00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:06.319 I don't know if that's how it worked, but the tax collectors could just say whatever the tax was that they wanted the tax to be. 00:08:06.959 --> 00:08:09.839 And I don't think it was like dealing with the IRS. 00:08:10.560 --> 00:08:20.000 When I think about it, the closest thing that I can think in my brain to this system might very well be that the way the mafia used to collect their money. 00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:26.000 Outcasts, outsiders, even Jesus said that tax collectors were a symbol of evil. 00:08:26.240 --> 00:08:29.360 You see it in Matthew chapter 5, verse 46 and 47. 00:08:29.519 --> 00:08:33.679 He says, Hey, if you love those who love you, don't even the tax collectors do that. 00:08:33.919 --> 00:08:35.679 Like these are bad guys. 00:08:35.919 --> 00:08:40.639 The Jewish Talmud, which is like interpretations of the Old Testament, all right? 00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:48.559 They the rabbis wrote the Talmud, and in the Talmud, they list tax collectors right in the same sentence with murderers and robbers. 00:08:49.840 --> 00:08:53.360 So, rabbis disqualified them from going to court. 00:08:53.519 --> 00:08:57.440 They weren't allowed to go to the synagogue, they were excommunicated. 00:08:57.679 --> 00:09:03.360 Now, inside of these Jewish writings, the Talmud, there's a particular section called the Nadarum. 00:09:03.440 --> 00:09:07.279 And the Nadarum deals with making vows and making oaths. 00:09:07.440 --> 00:09:18.960 And the rabbis in the Nadarum in the old days outlined a way where Jewish people who always had to tell the truth and obey the law of the land could lie to tax collectors. 00:09:19.440 --> 00:09:22.080 That's how serious of a situation this was. 00:09:22.320 --> 00:09:29.519 Now, Zacchaeus, this wee little man, cute little guy, he wasn't just a tax collector. 00:09:29.840 --> 00:09:32.480 He was the chief tax collector. 00:09:32.639 --> 00:09:35.039 He's like the tax collector boss. 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:38.000 He's like the godfather. 00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:41.600 How does one get to be a chief tax collector? 00:09:41.759 --> 00:09:42.799 I have no idea. 00:09:43.039 --> 00:09:47.600 But I know in the old 70s movie how Michael Corleone got to be the godfather. 00:09:47.759 --> 00:09:50.639 And I just think that might be a picture of Zacchaeus. 00:09:51.039 --> 00:09:53.120 This is a bad guy. 00:09:53.840 --> 00:09:57.919 Not is he only the tax collector boss, he's also of short stature. 00:09:58.159 --> 00:09:59.279 What does that mean? 00:09:59.519 --> 00:10:00.159 I don't know. 00:10:00.320 --> 00:10:03.679 We looked up how tall is the average guy back in these days. 00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:06.240 I think my son looked it up and we found like 5'5. 00:10:06.639 --> 00:10:12.240 So we're talking short stature if they note that a guy is of short stature when most people are about 5'5. 00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:23.120 If I'm casting this role in the movie for Zacchaeus today, I may be looking at Joe Pesci or possibly Danny DeVito, except not nice funny Danny DeVito. 00:10:23.200 --> 00:10:25.200 I'm talking about Danny DeVito and Hoffa. 00:10:25.679 --> 00:10:27.440 Bad little guy. 00:10:27.679 --> 00:10:29.440 That's how I picture Zacchaeus. 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:32.240 Point number two is the intention. 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:34.639 The intention. 00:10:35.120 --> 00:10:40.320 The Bible tells us that Zacchaeus sought to see who Jesus was. 00:10:40.960 --> 00:10:49.600 In Jeremiah 29, 13, God promises us that you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 00:10:50.320 --> 00:10:53.440 Jesus tells us, ask and it will be given unto you. 00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:54.799 Seek and you will find. 00:10:54.960 --> 00:10:57.039 Knock and the door will be opened unto you. 00:10:57.200 --> 00:11:02.159 Zacchaeus' intention, point two, is to see Jesus. 00:11:02.639 --> 00:11:07.679 But he can't, and that's because of number three in your outline, the obstruction. 00:11:09.039 --> 00:11:16.399 One reason he can't see Jesus is because he's of short stature, but the other reason is because of the crowd. 00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:19.039 We all want to be part of a crowd. 00:11:19.200 --> 00:11:23.919 If you showed up here and you were the only person in the room, it would be weird. 00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:26.000 We all like to be a part of a crowd. 00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:28.320 Today we have a decent sized crowd. 00:11:28.480 --> 00:11:32.960 Next week we're expecting a huge crowd, and we all want to have that. 00:11:33.039 --> 00:11:40.320 But if we have next week's crowd run all the way into May, we're going to be having some meetings about what we need to do about the crowd. 00:11:40.399 --> 00:11:43.039 Because sometimes the crowd gets so big. 00:11:43.440 --> 00:11:47.120 The biggest crowd I can ever remember being in was in 2019. 00:11:47.279 --> 00:11:54.960 We went to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, and we went out to like the corner of 10 whatever street and something 45th. 00:11:55.039 --> 00:11:56.559 And it was like six in the morning. 00:11:56.639 --> 00:12:00.000 We got our spot and we just let the crowd develop around us. 00:12:00.159 --> 00:12:05.120 And when the parade finally came three hours later, there were like 10 people between us and the storefronts. 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:06.399 You couldn't move at all. 00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:08.559 And we weren't trying to, we were just standing there. 00:12:08.720 --> 00:12:15.200 But the worst crowd might have been the next day when we went to the Macy's Department Store on Black Friday and we went in the elevator. 00:12:15.279 --> 00:12:19.200 And the elevator held about 40, and there were like 700 that were going to get in it. 00:12:19.279 --> 00:12:24.799 And we just pushed as far as we could, no consideration for any kind of personal space. 00:12:24.960 --> 00:12:26.720 We were all in the crowd. 00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:29.600 And I had to get out of there as soon as I could. 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:35.039 Because here's what the crowd does: the crowd can alter my focus. 00:12:35.279 --> 00:12:37.200 A big crowd can alter my focus. 00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:42.159 I can't think about anything when I'm in a crowd, except I gotta get out of this crowd. 00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:47.759 Another thing that a crowd does is a crowd can prevent me from hearing anything. 00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:53.600 A lot of times, if I'm in a crowd and the rumble and the noise, if I want to communicate, I have to get out of the crowd. 00:12:54.159 --> 00:12:56.879 And a crowd can block your view. 00:12:57.120 --> 00:12:58.480 We see it here with Zacchaeus. 00:12:58.639 --> 00:13:03.279 I want to tell you though, I went to Nick Saban's first Alabama ballgame that he coached. 00:13:04.480 --> 00:13:05.519 It wasn't a big deal. 00:13:05.600 --> 00:13:05.919 We had a friend. 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:07.840 He called, he said, Hey, you want to go to the Alabama football game? 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:09.039 And I was like, Yeah, that'll be good. 00:13:09.200 --> 00:13:12.960 And he said, I got 50 yard line tickets, and I was like, oh yeah, that's gonna be just right. 00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:14.799 And then he said, they're on the front row. 00:13:14.960 --> 00:13:18.399 And I was like, oh man, this ain't a concert. 00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:21.120 We don't want to be on the front row at the Alabama game. 00:13:21.279 --> 00:13:26.399 But we went and we looked at the Alabama player numbers and backsides while we watched the game on the screen. 00:13:26.639 --> 00:13:33.120 Because you can't see anything going on, and it's because of the crowd of people who are participating in what is going on. 00:13:34.080 --> 00:13:36.240 Sometimes the crowd can be a little bit distracting. 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:40.080 That's why I have to sit kind of near the front because you guys are doing some very interesting things sometimes. 00:13:40.159 --> 00:13:44.639 And I'll chase squirrels and watch what somebody else is doing, and I won't see what I'm supposed to be doing. 00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:59.600 But knowing all that about crowds, how you can't hear in the crowd, and how the crowd can distract you, and how the crowd can block your view, and how it can alter your focus, it's easy to see how Zacchaeus couldn't see Jesus. 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:06.080 And he couldn't see Jesus because of the crowd of people who were following Jesus. 00:14:06.639 --> 00:14:10.159 Isn't it strange the things the devil can use sometimes? 00:14:11.039 --> 00:14:13.120 So what does Zacchaeus do? 00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:14.879 We're already to point number four. 00:14:14.960 --> 00:14:16.960 Kids, we're like halfway home. 00:14:19.039 --> 00:14:22.159 Point number four is the preparation. 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:24.720 What does Zacchaeus do? 00:14:24.879 --> 00:14:27.519 I mean, duh, we've all sang the song just this morning. 00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:28.480 He climbs a tree. 00:14:28.559 --> 00:14:30.159 He climbs up a sycamore tree. 00:14:30.399 --> 00:14:32.080 For the Lord he wanted to see. 00:14:32.559 --> 00:14:35.360 But he doesn't just climb a tree. 00:14:35.600 --> 00:14:44.559 If you read verse four carefully, you will see that he ran ahead to a place that was in the path of Jesus. 00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:48.320 A place where he knew that Jesus was going to pass through. 00:14:48.639 --> 00:14:51.679 He moved in the direction that Jesus was going. 00:14:51.840 --> 00:14:55.840 And I believe today you can know the direction that Jesus is going. 00:14:56.000 --> 00:15:00.960 He tells us that in Matthew chapter 18 that where two or more are gathered together, I will be with them. 00:15:01.200 --> 00:15:10.240 And in John chapter 5, Jesus says that God the Father shows him what he's doing, and that Jesus will show us even more greater works than these. 00:15:10.799 --> 00:15:17.919 So God shows Jesus where he's working, and Jesus in us Christians, he will show us where the Lord is working. 00:15:18.080 --> 00:15:27.679 And according to Henry Blackerby, who did the experience in God study back in the late 80s and early 90s, when God shows you where he's working, he's inviting you to join him. 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:35.440 You can know where God is working, and then you're supposed to run ahead and get yourself in the path of the Lord, just like Zacchaeus does here. 00:15:36.080 --> 00:15:42.879 So, if you don't know where to start, I mean, obviously church is a pretty good place to start. 00:15:43.039 --> 00:15:44.960 I believe the Lord works through the church. 00:15:45.039 --> 00:15:46.639 He tells us he does in the Bible. 00:15:46.799 --> 00:15:52.000 But sometimes the church can be crowded, and sometimes the church can be loud, and sometimes the church can be distracting. 00:15:52.240 --> 00:16:04.720 So there are other places: small groups, informal gatherings, breakfast, service projects, coffee at McDonald's at 7.30 on Tuesday morning, but I think that crowd's getting kind of large. 00:16:04.879 --> 00:16:06.639 You guys who know, you know. 00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:15.440 So Zacchaeus runs ahead to the place where he knows that Jesus is going to be going, and then he climbs a tree. 00:16:15.600 --> 00:16:21.360 And when I see that he climbs a tree, what I see is that he rises above the crowd. 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:24.080 He gets a better vantage point. 00:16:24.320 --> 00:16:29.519 He makes the extra effort, he takes the extra steps, he puts himself at a little bit of risk. 00:16:29.679 --> 00:16:31.279 He likes to put himself out there. 00:16:31.440 --> 00:16:37.519 People are gonna notice, but it seems like he's no longer content to keep doing what everyone else has been doing. 00:16:37.759 --> 00:16:46.399 He doesn't care what people think, he removes himself from the cover and the safety and the protection of the obscurity of the crowd. 00:16:46.559 --> 00:16:48.240 And he's a spectacle. 00:16:48.559 --> 00:16:49.519 Set apart. 00:16:49.759 --> 00:16:54.320 Here he is, the Godfather, short stature, climbed up in a tree. 00:16:54.799 --> 00:16:56.480 What's gonna happen? 00:16:56.960 --> 00:17:00.639 Point number five, the observation. 00:17:03.200 --> 00:17:08.720 I wonder sometimes if Zacchaeus wanted Jesus to see him. 00:17:09.519 --> 00:17:12.480 Or did he just want to see Jesus? 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:16.799 Do you ever feel like God isn't watching you? 00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:19.200 Like you aren't being seen? 00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:22.400 Do you ever hope he's not? 00:17:22.720 --> 00:17:25.359 Like, hey guys, can we stop rolling just for a minute? 00:17:25.519 --> 00:17:26.319 Cut that thing off. 00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:29.599 We don't want to say, I got something I gotta say, and then we can get right back to it. 00:17:29.920 --> 00:17:32.160 Unfortunately, that's not the way the Lord works. 00:17:32.319 --> 00:17:37.839 Proverbs 15:3 tells us the Lord is in every place watching the evil and the good. 00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:40.720 God sees you and he's watching all the time. 00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:49.680 Even when you don't feel like he is, and even when you wish that he wasn't, his eyes are upon the ways of a man and he sees all of his steps. 00:17:50.160 --> 00:18:00.720 Jesus knew exactly where Zacchaeus was, and as the Lord passed by that way, he looked up in that tree, and he said, Zacchaeus. 00:18:01.759 --> 00:18:04.480 Let's just stop there because I don't want you to miss that. 00:18:04.640 --> 00:18:06.960 He didn't say, Hey, get out of that tree. 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:09.440 He didn't say, Why don't you come down? 00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:12.799 He called Zacchaeus by name. 00:18:13.039 --> 00:18:15.039 I don't think Jesus was from here. 00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:21.359 And I think a lot of the people in the crowd probably knew Zacchaeus, but Jesus to know this guy's name? 00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:23.440 How is that even possible? 00:18:24.160 --> 00:18:28.960 There's nothing that gets your attention, I don't believe, like someone calling your name. 00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:32.880 It rings in your ears more than anything else when someone calls your name. 00:18:33.039 --> 00:18:36.720 I thought I heard my name earlier today and I was looking around for who called my name. 00:18:36.880 --> 00:18:37.680 Because that's my name. 00:18:37.759 --> 00:18:39.440 And if you call it, you must want me. 00:18:39.680 --> 00:18:44.400 It's the most beautiful and maybe the most recognizable word in the language to you. 00:18:44.559 --> 00:18:48.160 It makes me feel honored and important when someone remembers my name. 00:18:48.319 --> 00:18:53.519 It shows a level of care and connection that somebody has thought to remember my name. 00:18:53.759 --> 00:18:57.440 And so, guys, I'm not good at it, but I do try to remember names. 00:18:57.599 --> 00:19:02.880 And I've developed some things that I've read in books and seen different places that try to help me remember names. 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:08.079 The first thing is to maybe say the name five times when you first meet the person. 00:19:08.400 --> 00:19:10.400 This can get a little weird, but there's a process. 00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:12.079 You shake their hand, you say, Hey, I'm Dave. 00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:13.039 They say, I'm John. 00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:14.480 Oh, John, where are you from? 00:19:14.720 --> 00:19:16.480 All right, how long have you been living there, John? 00:19:16.640 --> 00:19:18.079 Do you have any family here with you, John? 00:19:18.240 --> 00:19:19.440 John, it's been very good to meet you. 00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:20.880 Hey, this is my friend John. 00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:25.119 I think that comes from how to win friends and influence people many, many years ago. 00:19:25.359 --> 00:19:27.119 Say their name over and over and over again. 00:19:27.279 --> 00:19:31.440 Another thing you can do is to make a crazy connection. 00:19:31.680 --> 00:19:34.880 Like you might say, John jumps jackrabbits. 00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:43.839 So then I picture John as a big jackrabbit, and he's in a pack of jackrabbits, and he's just jumping them, and I try to picture his face with big ears jumping, jumping, jumping. 00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:49.839 And when I see him, hopefully, I can remember that John jumps something or something's jumping, and then I can go with the John. 00:19:49.920 --> 00:19:50.559 I don't know. 00:19:50.799 --> 00:20:01.200 The one I use the most that I use just this morning is I'll talk to you and I'll get your name, and then I will say, it looks like I got an important message on my phone, and I'll turn and I'll write your name down. 00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:03.759 Darren and Heidi, good to meet you. 00:20:04.880 --> 00:20:10.799 Another thing you can do if you know that you're supposed to know the person's name, and you have to be very careful with this. 00:20:11.119 --> 00:20:13.599 But you know, you've met them over and over. 00:20:13.839 --> 00:20:17.440 You can say, Man, can you tell me how to spell your name? 00:20:17.759 --> 00:20:20.000 But they might say B-O-B. 00:20:21.920 --> 00:20:23.440 And then you're in hot water. 00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:25.759 Cat's out of the bag at that point. 00:20:26.400 --> 00:20:30.799 Jesus knows your name, and he doesn't have to use any tricks to remember it. 00:20:30.960 --> 00:20:38.960 Isaiah 43:1 tells us, this says the Lord who created you, O Jacob, the one who transformed you, O Israel. 00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:43.680 Fear not, I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name, and you are mine. 00:20:44.079 --> 00:20:52.400 Jesus told his disciples in John chapter 10, verse 3, the sheep hear Jesus' voice, and he calls his own sheep by name, and he leads them out. 00:20:52.559 --> 00:20:54.079 Jesus knows your name. 00:20:54.319 --> 00:20:55.680 He calls his sheep out. 00:20:55.839 --> 00:20:59.839 The question is, are you in a place to hear it? 00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:08.079 Can you hear and recognize Jesus' voice, or does it get lost in the rumbling of the crowd? 00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:13.119 Does it get mingled in and drowned out by the other voices and the other noise? 00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:15.039 Is there too much distraction? 00:21:15.519 --> 00:21:25.759 Do you ever remove yourself, set yourself apart, get out of the crowd, shut off the noise, or is your life just so busy and loud that you can't hear the shepherd calling? 00:21:26.400 --> 00:21:29.359 Seek the Lord with all your heart and you will find him. 00:21:29.519 --> 00:21:32.000 That is a promise from Jeremiah 29, 13. 00:21:32.240 --> 00:21:33.359 Ask and it will be given. 00:21:33.519 --> 00:21:34.480 Seek and you will find. 00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:36.640 Knock and it will be open to you. 00:21:36.799 --> 00:21:41.440 And for me, I'm just gonna be honest, that doesn't happen in the crowd. 00:21:42.079 --> 00:21:47.119 And it doesn't happen when I'm reading my Bible app on my phone and I'm getting text message alerts. 00:21:47.359 --> 00:21:50.400 And it doesn't happen at night when I'm about to fall asleep. 00:21:50.640 --> 00:21:57.200 For me, it happens early in the morning with paper and a pencil and a notebook and my Bible. 00:21:57.519 --> 00:21:59.119 That's how it works for me. 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:04.720 For me, it happens when I am doing something called practicing solitude. 00:22:05.359 --> 00:22:11.039 I want to talk a little bit about solitude because I think God speaks a lot when we're practicing solitude. 00:22:11.200 --> 00:22:14.240 There's a difference in solitude and isolation. 00:22:14.480 --> 00:22:18.400 You can be isolated, that's when you're involuntarily alone. 00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:21.440 And you can be isolated in the middle of a big crowd. 00:22:21.680 --> 00:22:26.480 But solitude is purposeful, intentional, alone, quiet time. 00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:32.720 And we see four places in the Bible where Jesus, five actually, where Jesus practiced solitude. 00:22:32.880 --> 00:22:34.400 And I'm going to give you some examples. 00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:35.599 We're not going to turn to him. 00:22:35.680 --> 00:22:36.559 I'm going to give you the verse. 00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:37.359 You write it down. 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:38.720 Please check this out. 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:52.720 In Matthew chapter 4, after Jesus was baptized and before he began his public ministry, he spent 40 days in the wilderness by himself, praying and fasting and waiting to be tempted. 00:22:53.039 --> 00:22:58.319 So, Matthew chapter 4, Jesus practiced solitude to prepare. 00:22:59.519 --> 00:23:04.720 In Luke chapter 6, verses 12 and 13. 00:23:05.039 --> 00:23:10.960 Luke 6, 12 and 13, we find Jesus on a mountain and he prays all night long. 00:23:11.119 --> 00:23:17.279 And then when the morning comes, he calls his people together and he picks the 12 out of the people who were following him. 00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:25.680 When Jesus needed to make an important decision, important decision, he practiced solitude and sought the word of the Lord. 00:23:25.759 --> 00:23:28.799 So prepare, make an important decision. 00:23:29.680 --> 00:23:38.160 In Mark chapter 6, specifically verse 46, we find that Jesus has had a long day, I believe. 00:23:38.400 --> 00:23:45.759 He's fed the 5,000, and he sends his disciples away while he goes up to a mountain to pray. 00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:49.039 And I just read that that Jesus needed rest. 00:23:49.440 --> 00:23:52.480 So he sought solitude for a time of rest. 00:23:53.279 --> 00:23:58.720 Recapping there, we've got preparation, we've got making decisions, and we've got resting. 00:23:59.119 --> 00:24:05.920 In Matthew chapter 14, we find that Jesus hears that John the Baptist has died. 00:24:06.480 --> 00:24:10.799 And he tries to get away to a deserted place by himself to mourn. 00:24:10.960 --> 00:24:14.000 So in times of mourning, practice solitude. 00:24:14.079 --> 00:24:15.680 Let God comfort you. 00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:20.640 And of course, the Garden of Gethsemane. 00:24:20.799 --> 00:24:25.440 Jesus carried Peter, James, and John and told them to pray and watch while he went away by himself. 00:24:25.599 --> 00:24:29.039 That's preparation, but it's like a different level preparation. 00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:29.519 Right? 00:24:29.920 --> 00:24:31.359 He's preparing to die. 00:24:31.599 --> 00:24:35.200 And he goes to be alone, to clear the noise, get out of the crowd. 00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:41.759 He's always up high, it seems like, risen above the crowd on a mountain to hear the Lord. 00:24:42.559 --> 00:24:45.519 So, practice solitude. 00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:48.240 Breathe and listen. 00:24:49.119 --> 00:24:53.119 Number six, the instruction. 00:24:54.960 --> 00:24:58.880 Jesus says, Zacchaeus, you come down, for I'm going to your house today. 00:24:59.039 --> 00:25:01.279 That's not exactly how it goes in the Bible. 00:25:01.359 --> 00:25:02.720 That's the way we know it from the song. 00:25:03.039 --> 00:25:07.920 But Jesus says, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house. 00:25:08.160 --> 00:25:13.359 This is the only time in the Bible that you're going to see Jesus invite himself over. 00:25:14.160 --> 00:25:16.880 And whose house does he invite himself over to? 00:25:17.119 --> 00:25:18.079 The Godfather. 00:25:18.400 --> 00:25:20.079 We little man up in a tree. 00:25:20.319 --> 00:25:21.440 Very strange. 00:25:21.680 --> 00:25:27.119 But the Bible tells us that God has chosen the foolish things of this world to put to shame the wise. 00:25:27.279 --> 00:25:31.119 So this is just another one of those foolish things that God has chosen to use. 00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:33.519 Would your house be ready for this? 00:25:35.200 --> 00:25:39.519 Or would you need to run ahead, straighten up a few things? 00:25:39.920 --> 00:25:52.000 Do you hide in the crowd and the safety and the comfort of the obscurity because you're worried that if you stand up and stand out, that Jesus might recognize you and say, I'll be over in a little bit? 00:25:53.519 --> 00:25:56.480 Are you embarrassed about how your house looks? 00:25:57.039 --> 00:26:03.039 Some people think they need to clean up before they have a relationship with Jesus, but this story tells us just the opposite. 00:26:03.279 --> 00:26:07.759 Jesus seeks an intimate relationship with one of the worst dudes that you can think about. 00:26:08.319 --> 00:26:12.960 He's taken Zacchaeus and his house just like they are right now. 00:26:13.359 --> 00:26:18.000 And of course, by now, I'm certain you know I'm not talking about like a real house. 00:26:19.279 --> 00:26:23.920 If you know Jesus today, the body says that you're a temple of God. 00:26:24.319 --> 00:26:25.519 You were bought at a price. 00:26:25.599 --> 00:26:27.200 How's the temple looking? 00:26:27.599 --> 00:26:29.839 Do you keep it in good condition? 00:26:30.880 --> 00:26:33.839 Is there room in the temple for the Savior? 00:26:34.559 --> 00:26:37.440 Is there time in the temple for the Savior? 00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:40.319 Do you need to straighten some things up? 00:26:40.559 --> 00:26:42.799 Or maybe take out some trash? 00:26:43.359 --> 00:26:48.480 And you're just hoping that Jesus won't knock on the door today, like he says in Revelation 3.20. 00:26:48.640 --> 00:26:50.319 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. 00:26:50.400 --> 00:26:54.640 If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in with him and dine with him. 00:26:54.799 --> 00:26:56.319 Are you ready to open the door? 00:26:56.640 --> 00:26:58.319 Would you be able to do that? 00:27:01.279 --> 00:27:02.559 Number seven. 00:27:03.680 --> 00:27:05.279 Hold tight, kids. 00:27:05.759 --> 00:27:07.519 The last ones are quick. 00:27:08.640 --> 00:27:09.920 The decision. 00:27:10.319 --> 00:27:11.519 Number seven. 00:27:12.079 --> 00:27:15.359 We got Zacchaeus, we got Zacchaeus in a tree. 00:27:15.599 --> 00:27:18.240 We got Jesus saying, Come down, make haste. 00:27:18.319 --> 00:27:20.480 I've got to go to your house today. 00:27:20.880 --> 00:27:23.599 Zacchaeus has a decision to make. 00:27:24.319 --> 00:27:26.160 Will he obey? 00:27:27.200 --> 00:27:30.160 And the answer, as we see in the Bible, is, oh yes. 00:27:30.400 --> 00:27:32.480 He made haste and came down. 00:27:32.640 --> 00:27:34.079 Here's what he didn't do. 00:27:34.319 --> 00:27:35.519 He didn't have to pray about it. 00:27:35.680 --> 00:27:38.720 He didn't look over his shoulder to see if there was another Zacchaeus. 00:27:38.799 --> 00:27:40.319 He didn't say how unequipped he was. 00:27:40.400 --> 00:27:41.759 He didn't say he was too busy. 00:27:41.920 --> 00:27:47.359 He didn't say he needed to clean up his house or clean up the office or close down the shop or go get the kids. 00:27:47.519 --> 00:27:49.279 Can I please take a rain check? 00:27:49.359 --> 00:27:50.079 No, no. 00:27:50.480 --> 00:28:01.039 He was ready right then, right when Jesus called, and he did exactly what Jesus said to do at the time Jesus said to do it, because he had already prepared himself. 00:28:01.599 --> 00:28:08.720 He had already made himself ready to hear and obey the voice of the Lord, so he was ready to do it immediately. 00:28:09.839 --> 00:28:11.519 But wait, there's more. 00:28:11.680 --> 00:28:13.200 It's like that night commercial. 00:28:13.359 --> 00:28:14.240 There's more. 00:28:14.799 --> 00:28:18.640 It doesn't just say that he made haste and came down immediately. 00:28:18.960 --> 00:28:24.000 The Bible says that he received Jesus joyfully. 00:28:25.119 --> 00:28:31.599 Sometimes thoughts go things like, man, I have to go over to the church again. 00:28:32.480 --> 00:28:34.480