WEBVTT 00:00:01.520 --> 00:00:04.480 You may have noticed something a little different today. 00:00:04.639 --> 00:00:11.039 We have a family service this morning as we invite our children to come in and worship with us today. 00:00:11.199 --> 00:00:13.199 It's because it's a holiday weekend. 00:00:13.439 --> 00:00:18.239 Kids, when you came, or actually before you came in, you should have gotten one of these, a bingo card. 00:00:18.320 --> 00:00:19.359 Did everybody get one? 00:00:19.600 --> 00:00:20.000 Yes? 00:00:20.239 --> 00:00:20.879 Okay, good. 00:00:21.039 --> 00:00:24.480 You're supposed to check off the words when you hear me say them. 00:00:24.640 --> 00:00:28.800 So I thought about just going down the thing and saying all the words right at front. 00:00:28.960 --> 00:00:31.120 And then I thought, well, that would be no fun. 00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:36.719 So maybe I'll just omit one word, and then when we get to the end, see who's still listening. 00:00:37.920 --> 00:00:39.200 You have permission. 00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:43.759 I believe you've been instructed to just holler out bingo when all the words get crossed out. 00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:44.399 Is that right? 00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:45.359 Okay. 00:00:46.159 --> 00:00:48.719 We hadn't even started yet, and somebody's already got bingo. 00:00:48.880 --> 00:00:49.200 All right. 00:00:49.280 --> 00:00:54.880 Just um just holler it out whenever you get all the words X'd out. 00:00:54.960 --> 00:00:57.600 Holler it out as loud as you can and see if you can surprise me. 00:00:57.759 --> 00:00:59.759 We're in week four of the table series. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:03.119 Russ will be back with us next Sunday, and I can't wait. 00:01:03.280 --> 00:01:11.040 I'm excited to hear what God is doing in his life, and we'll also be at three services next week. 00:01:12.719 --> 00:01:13.680 So, amen. 00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:18.560 8:45, 1015, and 1145. 00:01:18.719 --> 00:01:23.359 We want all of you guys to come at 8:45 service, not at 1015, okay? 00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:24.159 Thank you. 00:01:24.319 --> 00:01:32.480 And we need as many of you as possible to park up the hill over in the mud, uh, the grass over there by the trailer or at the library. 00:01:32.719 --> 00:01:36.159 By the way, for those of you that are watching with us online, thank you for joining in. 00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:38.319 My name is Pat, and I'm one of the pastors here. 00:01:38.480 --> 00:01:46.319 I don't normally get to share a message, but because Russ is out this week and uh Joan has already preached a whole bunch of times, they asked me. 00:01:46.480 --> 00:01:47.920 But really, here's what Nathan said. 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:56.640 He said, Pat, we're teaching through this series the table, and this week we're focusing on the table as a place of mission and transformation. 00:01:56.719 --> 00:02:02.079 And I can't think of anybody better than you to share this message. 00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:05.840 So my thought was, A, I must eat a lot. 00:02:06.799 --> 00:02:08.960 Or B, he's been at my table before. 00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:15.280 You know, we've talked uh in the last few weeks about there's room for everyone at the table and acceptance for all. 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:19.039 We've talked about the fact that we don't wear masks at the table. 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:23.360 We try there's grace sufficient for everyone, so there's no need to pretend around the table. 00:02:23.439 --> 00:02:30.400 And I personally have found that people will lower their guard more when you're at a table because the focus is on the food and not on them. 00:02:30.639 --> 00:02:31.520 Isn't that awesome? 00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:32.960 At least I'm focused on the food. 00:02:33.039 --> 00:02:34.240 I don't know about the rest of you guys. 00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:42.800 And the third thing, which Jonah shared with us last week, I think it was, was that there should be no distractions at the table. 00:02:43.439 --> 00:02:45.840 It's best if we focus on each other. 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:54.159 Shocking how many times I'll go out to a restaurant with some people and I'll just see tables all around me where everybody's got their face glued to their phone. 00:02:54.319 --> 00:02:57.599 I started to pull my phone out and do it, and then I thought, no, I'm just gonna leave it over there. 00:02:57.680 --> 00:03:00.240 I don't want to be distracted while I'm up here. 00:03:01.439 --> 00:03:04.479 So um, thanks for being here. 00:03:04.719 --> 00:03:06.719 Thanks for joining us this holiday weekend. 00:03:06.800 --> 00:03:20.400 I grew up in a very large Catholic family down in Jacksonville, Florida, that consisted of 12 children, two parents, one or two dogs, depending on the stage of life, and a varying number of cats, because it seemed like every time we turned around there were more of them. 00:03:20.639 --> 00:03:29.840 We ate dinner together every evening, which was a fiasco, but in order to do that, we had to have two large dining room tables. 00:03:30.080 --> 00:03:34.879 Food was prepared, as you can imagine, in mass quantities and then divided among the tables. 00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:44.960 The girls sat with my parents and whoever the current baby was at one table, and the boys uh occupied a table all their own. 00:03:45.280 --> 00:03:46.960 It was kind of like the Wild West. 00:03:47.599 --> 00:03:49.840 It made for some very interesting mealtimes. 00:03:49.919 --> 00:03:56.400 I'll never forget the time that we were having English peas, and my brother Tom took a spoon and shot me and hit me with one. 00:03:56.479 --> 00:03:59.360 So I immediately retaliated and my dad caught me. 00:03:59.520 --> 00:04:01.280 And guess who got in trouble? 00:04:01.520 --> 00:04:02.719 Yeah, it was me. 00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:14.080 Um, whenever we had a friend over to eat or some of our cousins came in town for a week during the summer, we would bring out folding chairs so that they could join the spectacle that was dinner at the Harden House. 00:04:14.319 --> 00:04:31.920 The table for us was a place of inclusion, it was a place of information gathering, it was a place of meeting new people, it was a place of sharing plans for the future, of dreaming ahead, of asking questions, but more than anything, it was a place of mission. 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:41.439 And our mission was to share our family's love and loyalty with everyone who came into our dining room. 00:04:41.680 --> 00:04:43.920 That would be our family and others. 00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:48.800 When my sister Candy passed away last year, she was the first of the 12 of us to go. 00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:52.480 My little brother Pete invited everyone to his house. 00:04:53.439 --> 00:04:56.000 He said, after the service, everybody come to my house. 00:04:56.079 --> 00:04:56.959 We're having a meal. 00:04:57.120 --> 00:04:58.480 And man, did we have a meal. 00:04:58.639 --> 00:04:59.360 It was great. 00:04:59.600 --> 00:05:10.879 There were many relatives there, quite a few close friends, and all but one of the siblings attended the celebration, and we enjoyed catching up with each other around the table that was set at his house. 00:05:11.040 --> 00:05:22.639 But as you can imagine, it wasn't just one table, there was a series of tables, and there were people at all of them, letting their guard down, experiencing God's grace, sharing their life, catching up with one another. 00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:28.079 Now, fewer numbers came to my twin sister's celebration of life, which was this past June. 00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:29.839 She was the second of us to pass. 00:05:30.160 --> 00:05:39.839 But those of us that did attend sat and ate and shared stories of how Trish had influenced and impacted our life. 00:05:40.399 --> 00:05:48.879 For me, the table has always been a place of connecting or reconnecting with others, with family, with friends, with new people I've just met. 00:05:49.120 --> 00:05:54.000 Maybe some of you, those who are on the way to becoming a family or friend. 00:05:54.240 --> 00:05:57.040 Perhaps you didn't grow up in a large family like I did. 00:05:57.199 --> 00:06:04.879 Maybe your suppers weren't shared around a big table, but sharing a meal can still provide a place of connecting and celebration. 00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:09.920 So if you're like me, you might also say that your love language is food. 00:06:10.399 --> 00:06:12.319 Anybody want to amen that for me? 00:06:12.959 --> 00:06:14.160 Yeah, thank you. 00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:27.519 Now, I wrote this a couple of weeks ago asking God to help me discern what needed to be shared and the order to share it in, and what stories would best illustrate the points that I felt he was giving me from this passage. 00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:34.399 And since then, um I've had to go attend another funeral for one of my siblings. 00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:41.680 So this past week, we laid my little brother Pete, that's right, the one who hosted us all at Candy's celebration of life. 00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:44.560 He passed away very unexpectedly a few weeks ago. 00:06:44.720 --> 00:06:50.879 And so we buried him on Thursday, and of course, there was a meal to be had. 00:06:51.279 --> 00:06:54.160 And almost all the family was there. 00:06:54.399 --> 00:07:05.199 Several close friends were there, and man, what we did was talk about some of the meals and times we had shared together, about how our siblings had influenced our lives. 00:07:05.360 --> 00:07:17.040 And when my little brother Paul stood up to eulogize Pete during the service, he said, There's some of you guys who probably thought you'd never be in a Catholic church again. 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:20.800 And yet Pete brought us all together. 00:07:21.199 --> 00:07:28.480 He's probably rejoicing right now that some of you guys are back in church because you hadn't been for a long time. 00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:35.920 And had he known that this was going to bring you back, he might have checked out a lot sooner, which I thought was pretty funny, but apparently no one else did. 00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:39.839 Um, I thought I would ask a question just to kind of kick off this message. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:56.240 If you've ever shared a meal with me, whether it was breakfast at a conference we attended, lunch at a restaurant around here, perhaps a dinner that we shared together at a community group, or we had supper at one of our houses with our families, would you just raise your hand? 00:07:58.560 --> 00:07:59.199 Wow. 00:07:59.920 --> 00:08:01.279 Man, that's humbling. 00:08:01.439 --> 00:08:05.519 I'm looking around the room and uh it's it's more people than I thought. 00:08:05.759 --> 00:08:10.160 Um, Mike, we shared a meal in a in a hospital room, didn't we? 00:08:10.399 --> 00:08:12.319 Yeah, so maybe even there. 00:08:13.759 --> 00:08:18.879 I wondered how many of you guys I would have had the privilege of sharing a meal with, and now I know. 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:23.839 Um I think that I need to invite some more of you guys to come out and eat with me, right? 00:08:23.920 --> 00:08:26.639 So that we have more hands raised next time I ask that question. 00:08:26.879 --> 00:08:29.120 But let me ask you this: what are you doing? 00:08:29.360 --> 00:08:33.440 Are you intentionally inviting people to come and share a meal with you? 00:08:34.159 --> 00:08:36.399 To join you at your table? 00:08:36.879 --> 00:08:42.639 Have you ever considered that the table could be a place for mission or even transformation to happen? 00:08:42.960 --> 00:08:56.639 I've witnessed it with my own eyes, and perhaps today you will experience the same thing as we look at a meal that Jesus shares with one of the most unlikely people that leads to transformation. 00:08:56.799 --> 00:08:58.799 So today we're gonna look at a specific meeting. 00:08:58.879 --> 00:09:07.600 It's between Jesus and a guy that most good practicing Jews of the first century despised, and it happened around this guy's table. 00:09:07.840 --> 00:09:17.039 So if you brought your Bibles, open them to Luke chapter 19, we'll be reading verses 1 through 10, and we're gonna discuss the encounter between Jesus and Zacchaeus. 00:09:18.559 --> 00:09:19.200 Bingo. 00:09:19.440 --> 00:09:20.080 Bingo. 00:09:21.600 --> 00:09:23.440 Man, y'all already got bingo? 00:09:23.519 --> 00:09:26.159 I'm not even Okay, awesome. 00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:30.480 Our tables are places of mission and transformation. 00:09:30.559 --> 00:09:31.440 Let's start in verse one. 00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:32.639 Thanks for all the bingos. 00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:34.799 I hope to hear many more before the morning's over. 00:09:34.960 --> 00:09:38.879 By the way, I did say it's when you get all the words crossed out, right? 00:09:40.799 --> 00:09:41.759 Oh, yeah. 00:09:41.919 --> 00:09:45.919 It's when you cross out all the words, and I promise I haven't said them all yet. 00:09:46.879 --> 00:09:50.000 Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. 00:09:50.240 --> 00:09:52.799 There was a man there named Zacchaeus. 00:09:52.960 --> 00:09:57.679 He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:03.200 He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. 00:10:03.360 --> 00:10:10.000 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way. 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:15.440 Now we need to understand a few things before we can fully appreciate what's happening here in this passage. 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:16.799 Seriously? 00:10:17.679 --> 00:10:18.000 Okay. 00:10:18.399 --> 00:10:20.320 All right, now y'all are just picking on me. 00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:30.399 You may have heard the song about Zacchaeus being a wee little man and all that good stuff, but I don't think he's the cute little leprechaun that we all imagine in our minds when we hear that song. 00:10:30.639 --> 00:10:31.279 Right? 00:10:32.559 --> 00:10:35.759 He wasn't just a tax collector. 00:10:36.399 --> 00:10:41.840 According to those verses we just read, he was the chief tax collector in the entire region. 00:10:42.559 --> 00:10:52.480 Now, tax collectors were despised by God-fearing Jews because they made their brethren pay them the Roman tax plus more so that they could live a lavish lifestyle. 00:10:52.559 --> 00:10:59.759 Now, the chief tax collector was more hated than all of the other tax collectors, who were hated more than anyone. 00:11:00.320 --> 00:11:00.960 Why? 00:11:01.200 --> 00:11:03.679 Because he was the worst of all of them. 00:11:04.080 --> 00:11:12.399 He was the guy who decided, okay, this is how much we're going to charge you, and this is how much we're going to charge you, and this is how much we're going to charge you. 00:11:13.600 --> 00:11:21.120 Then he would tell the other tax collectors to go out and collect the taxes to keep some for themselves and then to bring some to him. 00:11:21.919 --> 00:11:27.519 This region of Palestine had achieved worldwide fame for its balsam and its dates. 00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:30.000 It was known for its incredible rose gardens. 00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:39.120 And due to their abundance and their excellence, they were heavily taxed, making Zacchaeus an incredibly wealthy man. 00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:41.840 Now he was quite small in stature. 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:43.679 That means he wasn't very tall. 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:48.000 So he probably possessed a little bit of a Napoleonic complex. 00:11:48.159 --> 00:11:51.120 He had to prove himself over and over again. 00:11:51.919 --> 00:11:59.919 That tells me he must have been pretty shrewd to have climbed all the way to the top of the tax collector ladder. 00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:11.759 His name, Zacchaeus, in the ancient Greek or Hebrew, actually means pure or innocent. 00:12:12.559 --> 00:12:17.279 And it just doesn't seem to me like he lived up to the meaning of his name, does it to you? 00:12:19.039 --> 00:12:21.200 In fact, probably the opposite. 00:12:21.440 --> 00:12:27.200 But today we'll discover the transformation of Zacchaeus as he shares his table with Jesus. 00:12:27.360 --> 00:12:32.080 So what are some other things that we might discover from this passage that aren't real obvious? 00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:34.320 Well, I went to a few commentaries. 00:12:34.480 --> 00:12:49.600 I looked at a guy named Barclay, Criswell, Guzick, all three of those guys, and I discovered that in each one of them, the common opinion is that Zacchaeus was more than likely extremely lonely and very unhappy. 00:12:49.840 --> 00:13:01.039 The rumors swirling through the region about Jesus had awakened something in him, and he desperately needed to see for himself if the rumors were true. 00:13:01.440 --> 00:13:10.720 I think he may have even asked himself, is it really possible that someone out there could love someone like me? 00:13:11.360 --> 00:13:15.039 The most despised and hated Jew in this entire region. 00:13:16.799 --> 00:13:18.879 Yes is the answer. 00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:21.279 And we'll see that in just a second. 00:13:21.440 --> 00:13:25.679 I believe that there are three lessons, at least three lessons we can learn from this story. 00:13:25.759 --> 00:13:30.720 And here's the first lesson: Jesus seeks the desperate. 00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:38.960 He's looking for those that are desperate enough to run ahead and climb a tree, because that's what Zacchaeus did. 00:13:39.360 --> 00:13:47.919 Both of those actions are what you might expect from a child, but not from an adult male in first century Palestine. 00:13:48.159 --> 00:13:58.320 A man was to carry himself with dignity and to remain composed at all times, especially in public, as befitting his station in life. 00:13:58.720 --> 00:14:03.759 Zacchaeus had this intense desire to see Jesus. 00:14:04.720 --> 00:14:09.759 And I think he also wanted to be seen by Jesus. 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:16.879 So he ran ahead and climbed a tree, much like my eight-year-old and five-year-old grandsons do almost every day. 00:14:17.840 --> 00:14:20.799 That's rather undignified, isn't it? 00:14:22.080 --> 00:14:24.559 He became like a child. 00:14:25.759 --> 00:14:30.159 Do you remember what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 18, verse 3? 00:14:31.039 --> 00:14:33.519 Then he said, I tell you the truth. 00:14:33.919 --> 00:14:41.120 Unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven. 00:14:45.360 --> 00:15:00.960 This past week in Florida, I just naturally spent some time hanging out with some of the little great nieces and nephews and grandbabies and all that stuff that I didn't know and I hadn't had the privilege of seeing before. 00:15:01.120 --> 00:15:08.879 And these little two, three-year-olds and a couple of little less than one-year-olds, man, just got to hang out with them and talk to them and play with them. 00:15:09.360 --> 00:15:11.039 It was incredible. 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:16.480 And I noticed some of the parents and grandparents kind of looking at him like, this dude's weird. 00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:18.720 He's hanging out with the little kids. 00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:24.080 And I looked up at him and I said, you know, Jesus taught us to let the little children come unto him, right? 00:15:24.720 --> 00:15:29.519 I think you can tell a lot about someone's walk with Jesus by who they spend their time with. 00:15:29.759 --> 00:15:34.399 And the ones that are hanging around the kids are the ones that are remembering the words of Jesus. 00:15:35.759 --> 00:15:42.960 I doubt Zacchaeus knew these words that Jesus had spoken, but yet he instinctively caught the attention of Jesus by acting them out. 00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:49.360 If Zacchaeus was as unhappy as these theologians seem to believe, it makes sense then, doesn't it? 00:15:49.519 --> 00:15:52.639 That he would stop at nothing to get his way. 00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:55.440 He'd done it his whole life, it seems. 00:15:55.600 --> 00:15:57.919 That's how he became the chief tax collector. 00:15:58.159 --> 00:16:16.080 But that same drive that propelled him to chief tax collector is now propelling him to do whatever it takes to discover the truth about this guy, Jesus, and to find the peace, the happiness, and the acceptance that have eluded him in spite of his incredible wealth. 00:16:16.799 --> 00:16:19.919 As we read on, verses 5 and 6, it says this. 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:34.080 Like when you're reading scripture to yourself, doesn't Jesus have that kind of voice? 00:16:34.399 --> 00:16:36.000 Zacchaeus, come quick. 00:16:43.919 --> 00:16:47.200 By the way, that's one of the words in case you weren't paying attention. 00:16:47.600 --> 00:16:53.679 Here's the second lesson that I think we can learn here is Jesus speaks to the despondent. 00:16:54.639 --> 00:17:02.879 He recognizes and looks for the desperate, and then he speaks to those who are despondent and downtrodden and depressed. 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:06.160 Although, did y'all notice how all those words started with D? 00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:06.880 Thanks. 00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:08.559 I'm trying to be alliterative here. 00:17:08.720 --> 00:17:16.400 Although the crowd appeared not to have noticed Zacchaeus, Jesus certainly did, and then he spoke directly to him. 00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:20.160 Notice the first thing that Jesus speaks. 00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:21.440 What is it? 00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:24.480 His name. 00:17:25.359 --> 00:17:28.240 He calls him by name Zacchaeus. 00:17:28.720 --> 00:17:34.559 Would it surprise you to know that Jesus knows your name intimately? 00:17:34.799 --> 00:17:36.559 He knows what it means. 00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:39.839 He knows how what you were created to be. 00:17:40.559 --> 00:17:43.599 I remember a guy threw me out of his house one time. 00:17:45.039 --> 00:17:47.119 Thought I'd wait there for laughter. 00:17:47.359 --> 00:17:52.880 Um because I had been invited by his wife to go over and share my faith in Jesus with him. 00:17:53.039 --> 00:17:54.319 We were both raised Catholic. 00:17:54.400 --> 00:17:58.960 She thought that meant we had this common bond, and so I did too, and I went. 00:18:10.559 --> 00:18:16.480 I know it doesn't look that way, but um compared to him, he was he's 6'5 ⁇ 380. 00:18:16.640 --> 00:18:21.200 So he was big and mean and quite profane. 00:18:21.440 --> 00:18:26.720 And he shared some choice words with me as he ordered me out of his house. 00:18:27.119 --> 00:18:35.359 Um time later, we were all part of a Sunday school class, and sometime later that year we decided it it's almost time for a Christmas party. 00:18:35.519 --> 00:18:38.720 Well, you know, do y'all want to have it here at the church building? 00:18:38.880 --> 00:18:40.160 Do you want to go to somebody's house? 00:18:40.319 --> 00:18:43.839 And this little lady popped her hand up and said, We'll host it. 00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:47.839 And my thought was, and so he can throw us all out, right? 00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:52.640 And she said, No, I've already spoken to my husband, and he said he loves to grill. 00:18:52.880 --> 00:18:56.799 He invited us to all come, bring our own meat, and he's gonna grill it all for us. 00:18:56.960 --> 00:18:58.960 So we all went, Oh, that sounds great. 00:18:59.119 --> 00:19:02.880 And in my mind, I'm thinking, I wonder if this means I'll get to talk to him again. 00:19:03.920 --> 00:19:07.200 I mentioned it was almost Christmas when we had our party the week before. 00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:08.480 It was bitterly cold. 00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:15.119 There was uh frozen rain, sleet, and snow all mixed together, and that's the night we're meeting, of course. 00:19:15.359 --> 00:19:24.640 So we bring all our meat over there, he takes it out in the backyard, and I look outside and he's this hulk of a guy just standing out there grilling. 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:27.200 Everybody else is inside. 00:19:28.720 --> 00:19:34.559 So I went out there with him, started talking to him, just me and him and his can of beer. 00:19:34.799 --> 00:19:38.160 And we stood there and talked while he grilled and drank. 00:19:38.400 --> 00:19:40.079 And it it was awesome. 00:19:40.319 --> 00:19:42.160 We had a great discussion. 00:19:42.400 --> 00:19:49.200 Now, I invited him to come have dinner with me and my family because we found out we really did have a lot in common. 00:19:49.519 --> 00:19:52.960 But he didn't he didn't accept my invitation. 00:19:53.680 --> 00:20:01.599 But about six months later, a little boy in the class that he was teaching at school passed away in a car accident. 00:20:02.240 --> 00:20:08.240 So this big hulking guy got in his car and drove to the funeral home the night before the service. 00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:16.000 And as he's on the road to the funeral home, he hears his name spoken out loud in his car. 00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:19.279 So he might have been in a little altered state of mind. 00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:21.839 He pulled over and thought, that's weird. 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:23.279 That's never happened before. 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:27.519 He gets out and starts looking all through his car, thinking someone's hidden a speaker or something in there. 00:20:27.599 --> 00:20:28.720 He can't figure it out. 00:20:28.880 --> 00:20:29.519 Nothing. 00:20:29.759 --> 00:20:33.279 He gets back in the car and he's gonna pull out on the roadway and he hears it again. 00:20:33.599 --> 00:20:34.559 Says his name. 00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:41.359 And then the voice says that this boy, and it called him by name, he died so you could live. 00:20:41.839 --> 00:20:43.759 That's what the voice said to him. 00:20:43.920 --> 00:20:45.039 Out loud. 00:20:46.319 --> 00:20:48.640 By this time, he's freaked out. 00:20:48.960 --> 00:20:59.680 He drives to the funeral home, he gets to talk to the mom, and she grabs him and hugs him and says, Oh, coach, he loved you so much, he prayed for you every day. 00:20:59.839 --> 00:21:03.759 Then he got to speak to the youth pastor, and the youth pastor said, Oh, you're his teacher. 00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:05.119 Boy, did he love you. 00:21:05.279 --> 00:21:08.000 He prayed for you every single Sunday at the altar. 00:21:08.559 --> 00:21:10.960 Man, this coach was just wrecked. 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:23.839 The next day he went to the service, and at the end of the service, the youth pastor gave an invitation, and that six foot five, three hundred and eighty-pound man came right up to the foot of the altar, and he said, I need Jesus. 00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:29.680 And he recognized that it was Jesus who called his name. 00:21:30.400 --> 00:21:34.240 His name is David, which means beloved by God. 00:21:36.319 --> 00:21:40.960 And from that point on, David's life was transformed. 00:21:42.559 --> 00:21:58.799 You see, Jesus is in the transformation business, and he's looking for those who are desperate and despondent, and he wants to come in and eat with them and share with them and transform them and show them how the table can become a place of mission. 00:21:58.960 --> 00:21:59.680 We shared a lot. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:03.039 Of meals after that transformation, by the way. 00:22:03.279 --> 00:22:16.240 It's clear that Jesus actually invites himself into the home of Zacchaeus, but I think the presence of Zacchaeus in the fig tree tells us that he was kind of asking Jesus to invite himself into his home, wasn't he? 00:22:17.119 --> 00:22:26.240 He couldn't stand the thought, perhaps, of being denied by the one who's supposed to be radically different than any other rabbi, so he doesn't offer the invitation. 00:22:26.480 --> 00:22:29.119 He waits for Jesus to invite himself. 00:22:29.279 --> 00:22:30.960 And why did he do that? 00:22:31.359 --> 00:22:35.680 Because Jesus understood the desire of Zacchaeus was to know him. 00:22:35.920 --> 00:22:39.680 So he invited himself over to share his table. 00:22:39.839 --> 00:22:44.880 And the immediate response from Zacchaeus is incredible. 00:22:46.559 --> 00:22:47.920 Look at what he does. 00:22:48.079 --> 00:22:51.359 He scrambles down from his perch as quickly as possible. 00:22:51.519 --> 00:22:58.720 And according to this passage, he displays joy with every fiber of his being. 00:22:59.039 --> 00:23:01.359 Can you imagine what's going through his mind? 00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:02.799 This little guy? 00:23:03.279 --> 00:23:06.000 He's probably thinking, he noticed me. 00:23:07.039 --> 00:23:08.960 He knows my name. 00:23:09.599 --> 00:23:12.079 Hey, he wants to hang out with me. 00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:16.079 And probably all this is happening just in nanoseconds. 00:23:16.559 --> 00:23:19.680 And then he goes, Oh wow. 00:23:20.240 --> 00:23:22.640 He's coming to my house. 00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:27.359 Jesus is coming to my house. 00:23:28.799 --> 00:23:31.200 Is Jesus speaking to you today? 00:23:31.519 --> 00:23:32.880 Does he know your name? 00:23:33.119 --> 00:23:35.519 Has he been invited into your house? 00:23:36.160 --> 00:23:39.119 Have you been living a lie like Zacchaeus? 00:23:40.720 --> 00:23:45.279 His name means pure and innocent, but he's a liar, a cheater, and a backstabber. 00:23:45.440 --> 00:23:46.640 He's a thief. 00:23:47.519 --> 00:23:50.000 But he desired something more. 00:23:50.640 --> 00:23:56.880 He was looking for change in his life, and it makes me wonder: are you looking for something to change in your life? 00:23:58.240 --> 00:24:03.519 Let's look at what happens when Jesus gets around the table of Zacchaeus, and we'll wrap this up. 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:08.720 Verses 7 through 10 of Luke 19, it says this, but the people were displeased. 00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:12.960 He is gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner, they grumble. 00:24:13.119 --> 00:24:15.599 That's just how I imagine people sound when they grumble. 00:24:15.839 --> 00:24:22.160 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, and this is kind of how I imagine Zacchaeus' voice, because he's a little guy. 00:24:22.319 --> 00:24:24.960 I'll give half my wealth to the poor, Lord. 00:24:25.279 --> 00:24:27.279 Doesn't that sound like it could be him? 00:24:27.920 --> 00:24:34.000 If I've cheated people on their taxes, now there's a there's a statement, right? 00:24:34.400 --> 00:24:36.799 I will give them back four times as much. 00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:46.480 And Jesus responded, Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. 00:24:46.720 --> 00:24:51.119 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost. 00:24:51.839 --> 00:24:58.240 See, I never knew that statement was in the Bible when I was growing up as a practicing Catholic. 00:24:58.480 --> 00:25:04.720 Some of my Protestant friends used to use some of this terminology around me, and I thought, ah, they don't even know. 00:25:04.799 --> 00:25:05.920 They're not going to heaven. 00:25:06.079 --> 00:25:07.279 They're not Catholic. 00:25:08.160 --> 00:25:14.079 And then lo and behold, I started reading the Bible for myself after I accepted Jesus as my Savior. 00:25:14.880 --> 00:25:21.440 And wow, when I read that verse, I said, oh, they're not using some Protestant terminology. 00:25:21.680 --> 00:25:23.839 These guys are just speaking what's in the Bible. 00:25:23.920 --> 00:25:34.240 And here's the third lesson that I think we can learn from this is that Jesus saves and transforms the spiritually dead because that's what he did for me. 00:25:34.799 --> 00:25:39.839 Zacchaeus is humbled by the presence of Jesus in his home, even though Jesus had invited himself. 00:25:40.160 --> 00:25:44.000 And remember, that didn't just mean Jesus, that meant his whole entourage. 00:25:44.240 --> 00:25:49.839 So we know there's at least the 12 apostles with him, and probably a few hangers on. 00:25:50.079 --> 00:25:57.759 Jesus is on his way right now in this passage to Jerusalem to make the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. 00:25:57.920 --> 00:26:05.440 But he stops along the way to eat with a guy who hates his own life and desperately wants to be different. 00:26:06.319 --> 00:26:09.839 Is there somebody in here that maybe you would say that about yourself? 00:26:10.079 --> 00:26:12.960 I hate my life and I wish everything was different. 00:26:13.200 --> 00:26:16.799 I have conversations with people a lot who feel that way. 00:26:17.440 --> 00:26:22.240 But the people gathered around to see and to hear from Jesus, and you know what? 00:26:22.480 --> 00:26:24.000 They're astonished. 00:26:24.240 --> 00:26:26.960 I mean, here they are, we're going to gather and hear from Jesus. 00:26:27.039 --> 00:26:28.480 What's he going to teach us? 00:26:28.799 --> 00:26:32.640 And he stops and looks at Zacchaeus and says, Hey, buddy, come down. 00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:34.000 I'm going to eat with you today. 00:26:34.160 --> 00:26:39.599 Well, the people react quite negatively to the way that Jesus handles his encounter with Zacchaeus. 00:26:39.680 --> 00:26:44.240 And according to verse 7, they all complained. 00:26:44.640 --> 00:26:47.519 Not just one or two, but all of them. 00:26:48.400 --> 00:26:50.240 But this isn't unusual. 00:26:50.400 --> 00:26:52.720 Jesus has hung out with sinners before. 00:26:52.960 --> 00:27:00.480 It's caused a great deal of animosity among the religious elite and is what has prompted them to come up with a plan to take his life. 00:27:00.720 --> 00:27:07.279 But this one act of eating with the chief tax collector has enraged everyone. 00:27:08.720 --> 00:27:09.599 There we go. 00:27:09.759 --> 00:27:10.480 I like it. 00:27:10.640 --> 00:27:12.160 Now that could be true. 00:27:12.400 --> 00:27:15.039 Oh no, it can't be true because you're missing the word acts. 00:27:15.119 --> 00:27:16.559 Oh, I just said it. 00:27:17.519 --> 00:27:19.359 They're all grumbling. 00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:21.039 I hear you. 00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:22.720 Oh, okay. 00:27:22.799 --> 00:27:23.599 Everybody, all at once. 00:27:23.680 --> 00:27:27.119 One, two, three, bingo! Yeah, we got it. 00:27:27.359 --> 00:27:29.200 They're all grumbling. 00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:38.559 But Zacchaeus is transformed by the presence of Jesus at his table, and he immediately gives evidence of his transformation. 00:27:39.759 --> 00:27:43.279 Acts 26, 20, see, that's where that was supposed to be. 00:27:43.680 --> 00:27:50.960 Teaches us that we're to repent and be transformed, and our transformation should include evidence of our repentance. 00:27:51.359 --> 00:28:00.480 So that's exactly what Jezacchaeus does as he proclaims, I've been changed by Jesus, and I'm now going to give half of what I own to the poor. 00:28:00.640 --> 00:28:05.200 And if I've defrauded anybody, I'm going to give them four times as much as I extorted from them. 00:28:05.359 --> 00:28:08.960 I don't know about y'all, but that sounds like transformation to me, doesn't it? 00:28:09.599 --> 00:28:11.119 Yes, thank you. 00:28:11.680 --> 00:28:16.240 I pray that we never become a church family that grumbles and complains. 00:28:16.880 --> 00:28:17.920 You hear me? 00:28:18.799 --> 00:28:25.519 I pray that we as a church family are a family that invites other people to the table to share with us. 00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:34.319 To share what God has blessed us with and to share the transformation that He's currently doing in our lives right now. 00:28:34.640 --> 00:28:43.599 I pray that we're a family who will always celebrate transformed lives, regardless of what people look like or where they belong in the social strata. 00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:51.680 A group came on mission with us while we served in Romania some years ago, and the pastor leading the group told me he'd read a book that described our ministry. 00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:52.880 I'm like, really? 00:28:53.200 --> 00:28:55.440 Because no one ever asked me if they could write a book about it. 00:28:55.599 --> 00:29:05.039 He said it's called A Meal with Jesus by Tim Chester, and it explores the Gospel of Luke, where Jesus is either on his way to a meal, sharing a meal, or coming from a meal. 00:29:05.200 --> 00:29:11.279 And it's all the many different people who sat around a table with Jesus like Zacchaeus. 00:29:12.079 --> 00:29:25.680 Later, years later, I was challenged by someone to be more intentional about the practice of inviting people to my table to share with us rather than just doing what had been ingrained in me as a child. 00:29:26.480 --> 00:29:34.160 So I've started practicing intentionality by having lunch with some of the guys from our church or guys from my community group. 00:29:34.240 --> 00:29:37.680 And here's what we do before we eat we bless our food. 00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:40.480 Some of you guys have been on those lunches with me, right? 00:29:40.640 --> 00:29:42.240 What do I normally do? 00:29:43.200 --> 00:29:46.240 I ask our server, how can we pray for you, right? 00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:56.960 A couple of times the server, which just happened a little over a week ago, actually stayed and prayed with us as we blessed our food and prayed for them. 00:29:57.359 --> 00:29:59.759 I invite every one of them to come here to the grove. 00:29:59.839 --> 00:30:08.799 I can't tell you how many cards I passed out in the last month or so, but I've invited them to come, to share a Sunday morning with us, to worship God, and to enjoy each other's fellowship. 00:30:08.960 --> 00:30:12.000 Because to me, there's no place I'd rather be than here. 00:30:13.680 --> 00:30:18.240 So, how can we apply the beauty of this whole series to our lives? 00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:23.359 I think the best way is to invite someone to share a meal with you. 00:30:23.680 --> 00:30:26.400 Invite somebody to come and eat with you. 00:30:26.720 --> 00:30:31.440 Take time to listen to them, to see them, to get to know them. 00:30:32.079 --> 00:30:37.920 I pray daily for God to open my eyes to see the people around me in need of a friend. 00:30:38.240 --> 00:30:45.599 Because with God's help, I might be the friend that they're looking for, and the friend that may be able to introduce them to Jesus. 00:30:45.759 --> 00:30:50.000 Now I'm gonna ask you to pray with me in just a second, but before I do, I thought I would share one more story. 00:30:50.160 --> 00:30:51.119 Let's see, how long? 00:30:51.359 --> 00:30:53.359 Oh, I'm doing pretty good actually. 00:30:56.319 --> 00:30:59.119 Where were you 33 years ago today? 00:30:59.920 --> 00:31:01.920 I know, random question, right? 00:31:02.079 --> 00:31:06.400 Some of you guys, it's your birthday today, and so you probably know exactly where you were 33 years ago. 00:31:06.480 --> 00:31:08.240 I know exactly where I was. 00:31:08.960 --> 00:31:22.559 I was in Lawrenceville at the Gwinnette Medical Center Women's Pavilion, and I was sitting on a little stool, and my wife was in labor, and the doctor was letting me deliver my baby girl. 00:31:23.359 --> 00:31:29.440 Man, when she popped out, and I'm sitting there holding her and looking at her. 00:31:29.759 --> 00:31:33.359 This thought comes in my mind, she ain't breathing. 00:31:34.319 --> 00:31:35.279 She's blue. 00:31:35.440 --> 00:31:45.200 And I thought, I didn't know we were gonna have a smurf, but uh I mean, all this happens in a half a second, and the doctor's telling me something, but I can't understand what he's saying. 00:31:45.920 --> 00:31:49.359 He's uh Indian, but I mean he spoke English perfectly. 00:31:49.519 --> 00:31:55.839 I just couldn't understand him because I'm mesmerized by this little bundle that's not breathing. 00:31:56.240 --> 00:32:03.759 And finally it dawns on me when he yells in my ear, bottoms up! I'm like, I'm not a doctor, I don't understand medical terminology, you know. 00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:06.720 And then I realized, oh, he's telling me bottoms up. 00:32:06.799 --> 00:32:11.519 So he takes my hands and bottoms up, and he suctions out her airway. 00:32:11.920 --> 00:32:16.480 And my little Kelsey Brianne took her first breath in my hands. 00:32:18.319 --> 00:32:27.039 Man, the joy, the love, the fulfillment that I felt at that moment can hardly be described. 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:33.519 But I know it's the feeling that God has every time one of us is reborn. 00:32:34.720 --> 00:32:41.759 Jesus teaches in John chapter 3 that in order to see the kingdom of heaven, we must be born again. 00:32:42.480 --> 00:32:48.160 So as we close in prayer, I want to ask you to think to yourself have I ever been born again? 00:32:48.400 --> 00:32:52.799 Or am I still desperate and despondent and dead? 00:32:53.519 --> 00:32:56.480 If I am, then Jesus wants you. 00:32:56.799 --> 00:32:59.039 He's calling your name right now. 00:32:59.279 --> 00:33:01.599 So please join me in praying. 00:33:02.400 --> 00:33:08.799 Father, please open our hearts to receive Jesus and the transforming power that he offers us. 00:33:09.519 --> 00:33:11.759 Father, forgive us for our sins. 00:33:12.240 --> 00:33:14.240 Show us true repentance. 00:33:14.720 --> 00:33:18.000 Teach us how to live a transformed life on mission. 00:33:18.160 --> 00:33:25.119