WEBVTT 00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:07.440 Hello everyone. 00:00:07.440 --> 00:00:08.880 This is Pastor Benjamin. 00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:12.000 You're listening to Sermon Audio from New City, Orlando. 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:15.439 At New City, we long to see our Father answer the Lord's Prayer. 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:20.079 For more resources, visit our website at Newcity Orlando.com. 00:00:20.719 --> 00:00:22.320 Would you pray with me? 00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:30.480 Gracious God, by your spirit, kindle our hearts that we might be a hopeful people. 00:00:30.480 --> 00:00:39.039 Through your word, keep us from growing weary, that we may not miss the glory of Christ appearing. 00:00:39.039 --> 00:00:42.159 Even so, come quickly, O God. 00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:43.200 Amen. 00:00:43.200 --> 00:00:48.880 If you are able, remain standing for the reading of God's word. 00:00:48.880 --> 00:01:00.560 As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 00:01:00.560 --> 00:01:07.840 He said, Therefore, A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. 00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:15.280 Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minus, and said to them, Engage in busyness until I come. 00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:23.359 But his citizens hate him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, We do not want this man to reign over us. 00:01:23.359 --> 00:01:34.000 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 by doing business. 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:40.000 The first came before him, saying, Lord, your Mina has made ten minas more. 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:49.840 And he said to him, Well done, good servant, because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities. 00:01:49.840 --> 00:01:54.719 And the second came, saying, Lord, your Mina has made five minas. 00:01:54.719 --> 00:01:58.640 And he said to him, And you are to be over five cities. 00:01:58.640 --> 00:02:08.080 Then another came, saying, Lord, here is your Mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief, for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. 00:02:08.080 --> 00:02:12.560 You take what you did not deposit and reap what you did not sow. 00:02:12.560 --> 00:02:17.840 He said to him, I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant. 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:23.520 You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. 00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:30.159 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest? 00:02:30.159 --> 00:02:37.120 And he said to those who stood by, Take the Mina from him and give it to the one who has the ten Minas. 00:02:37.120 --> 00:02:40.479 And they said to him, Lord, he has ten Minas. 00:02:40.479 --> 00:02:50.879 I tell you that to everyone who has more, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 00:02:50.879 --> 00:02:58.800 But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me. 00:02:58.800 --> 00:03:01.039 This is God's word. 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:03.919 Thanks be to God, you may be seated. 00:03:04.719 --> 00:03:06.479 Good morning, new city. 00:03:06.479 --> 00:03:10.080 So glad to be worshiping with you this morning. 00:03:10.080 --> 00:03:11.840 Grateful that you all are here. 00:03:11.840 --> 00:03:14.560 It's no small thing sometimes to show up to church. 00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:20.319 Uh, we have uh those of us who are parents have have kids sometimes that make it hard getting out of the door. 00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:28.639 Uh the rest of us, we have other things going on in our lives that can make it genuinely hard to invest our time uh in being present with God here this morning. 00:03:28.639 --> 00:03:36.400 Uh my wife actually told me I'm not allowed to preach anymore because we have sick kids that were all giving her a hard time as she was trying to get out the door to come here. 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:39.199 So if you don't see me anymore, you know why. 00:03:39.199 --> 00:03:41.199 I'm just kidding. 00:03:41.199 --> 00:03:44.560 She's so I'm so grateful for her and for and for my family. 00:03:44.560 --> 00:03:49.199 Uh but I want to tell you about uh Charles Wendell Coulson. 00:03:49.199 --> 00:03:50.800 Uh his name is Chuck Coulson. 00:03:50.800 --> 00:03:55.759 In the year 1969, uh he had finally arrived at life. 00:03:55.759 --> 00:03:58.319 Uh he had a corner office in the West Wing. 00:03:58.319 --> 00:04:00.560 His phone calls got returned within the hour. 00:04:00.560 --> 00:04:02.479 Uh he was called Nixon's Pitbull. 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:12.719 And he once said that he would do whatever it took, uh, even walking over his own grandmother, to get Nixon re-elected. 00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:14.159 That's something. 00:04:14.159 --> 00:04:16.959 So he breathes power, right? 00:04:16.959 --> 00:04:19.439 In those early years, he had plenty of it. 00:04:19.439 --> 00:04:23.120 Uh but here's what nobody talks about uh when they talk about Coulson's story. 00:04:23.120 --> 00:04:29.680 All of that power, that access and influence that he had was also the perfect place to hide. 00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:38.560 See if you're busy enough, if you're important enough, if you're necessary enough, you never have to sit still long enough to be found. 00:04:38.560 --> 00:04:42.240 And so the West Wing was itself a kind of cover. 00:04:42.240 --> 00:04:45.120 So go back further than Washington, D.C. 00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:47.040 Go all the way back to the garden. 00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:54.000 Adam hears the sound of the Lord walking in the cool of the day, the same presence that had always been his greatest gift. 00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:55.519 And what does he do? 00:04:55.519 --> 00:04:56.800 He hides. 00:04:56.800 --> 00:04:59.600 And when God calls out, Where are you? 00:04:59.600 --> 00:05:02.560 Adam's answer is chilling. 00:05:02.560 --> 00:05:04.480 I was afraid. 00:05:04.480 --> 00:05:08.959 See, it wasn't just guilt that caused him to hide, it was fear. 00:05:08.959 --> 00:05:17.279 That fear that if he was truly seen, truly known in his failure, that that encounter would destroy him. 00:05:17.279 --> 00:05:23.439 And so he took everything that God had given him, his dignity, his calling, his very self, and hid away in the bushes. 00:05:23.439 --> 00:05:27.199 Fear turned his greatest gift into something to be hidden. 00:05:27.199 --> 00:05:32.480 Now, first century Jericho, there's another man who understood this perfectly. 00:05:32.480 --> 00:05:34.000 His name was Zacchaeus. 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:39.439 He was the chief tax collector, he was wealthy, powerful, and hated by everybody. 00:05:39.439 --> 00:05:41.600 His neighbors called him a traitor. 00:05:41.600 --> 00:05:45.360 He was serving the Roman oppressors, he was defrauding people. 00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:49.600 And when he walked through the market, the crowd didn't part out of respect for him. 00:05:49.600 --> 00:05:51.199 It closed in around him. 00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:54.720 He was powerful but profoundly alone. 00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:59.120 And so the word comes that Jesus is coming into town. 00:05:59.120 --> 00:06:02.720 He's passing through, and something stirs in him, and he must go see Jesus. 00:06:02.720 --> 00:06:05.759 So he runs ahead of the crowd, climbs a tree. 00:06:05.759 --> 00:06:18.240 And normally we see that as good curiosity, but look again, he's ahead of the crowd, he's above the crowd, he's in the tree, hidden by the leaves, watching Jesus from a safe distance. 00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:22.160 He can see Jesus without Jesus seeing him. 00:06:22.160 --> 00:06:28.079 He can observe the encounter, evaluate it, and retreat if Jesus gets too close. 00:06:28.079 --> 00:06:32.000 He's trying to see God without being seen by God. 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:34.959 It's Adam in the bushes all over again. 00:06:34.959 --> 00:06:39.920 And I want to suggest that this is the oldest human instinct we carry. 00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:41.279 We want connection. 00:06:41.279 --> 00:06:42.720 We desperately want connection. 00:06:42.720 --> 00:06:43.920 We all feel it. 00:06:43.920 --> 00:06:52.079 But we want it at our own terms, at our own distance, we want it in our own way, and we want to be in control of how much of ourselves we give away. 00:06:52.079 --> 00:06:53.600 And that's fear. 00:06:53.600 --> 00:07:02.240 Fear takes the very thing God designed us for real belonging, real relationship, real investment with each other, honestly. 00:07:02.240 --> 00:07:08.160 And it buries it, it protects it, it hides away and keeps it safe from the risk of encounter. 00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:15.600 And so Jesus tells this parable about a servant receiving Mina from his master, a gift, an investment, a calling. 00:07:15.600 --> 00:07:17.279 And what does he do with it? 00:07:17.279 --> 00:07:18.800 He hides it away. 00:07:18.800 --> 00:07:23.439 And when the master returns, we again hear those chilling words. 00:07:23.439 --> 00:07:26.000 I was afraid. 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:32.240 See, fear doesn't just make us hide ourselves, it makes us hide what God has given to us. 00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:45.199 It takes the gifts, the callings, the capacity for real, honest relationship and puts them hidden away where they can neither grow or be lost, where they can be perfectly preserved and perfectly useless. 00:07:45.199 --> 00:07:47.680 Chuck Colson knew that place. 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:50.240 By 1973, the walls were closing in. 00:07:50.240 --> 00:07:53.439 There was a Watergate scandal, grand jury subpoenas. 00:07:53.439 --> 00:07:56.560 His name was in the newspapers for all the wrong reasons. 00:07:56.560 --> 00:08:01.920 And one August night, as everything was crumbling down, he was sitting in the driveway of a friend. 00:08:01.920 --> 00:08:04.959 He was known in all of his failures. 00:08:04.959 --> 00:08:08.079 And he listened to that friend read him, read to him from C.S. 00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:13.680 Lewis about the great sin of pride, about the self that built its own whole world and its importance. 00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:15.279 And something cracked. 00:08:15.279 --> 00:08:23.600 The man who said he'd walk over his own grandmother, who walked in the most powerful corridors on earth, sat in the car and wept. 00:08:23.600 --> 00:08:26.639 In prison, he would surrender his life to Christ. 00:08:26.639 --> 00:08:30.639 And then when he got out, surrender the rest of his life to prison ministry. 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:37.440 What Lewis's words did in that driveway is exactly what Jesus' words did standing under the sycamore tree in Jericho. 00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:40.240 They made hiding impossible. 00:08:40.240 --> 00:08:45.200 Not through condemnation or accusation, but through being known and loved. 00:08:45.200 --> 00:08:51.360 Jesus stopped, looked into the branches, and said, Zacchaeus, come down, I must stay at your house today. 00:08:51.360 --> 00:08:54.080 He said, I know your name. 00:08:54.080 --> 00:08:56.559 I'm coming into your house. 00:08:56.559 --> 00:09:01.759 So you can't hide from someone who already knows your name and greets you with a smile. 00:09:01.759 --> 00:09:04.720 And that's what undoes us, not the fear of judgment. 00:09:04.720 --> 00:09:06.960 We've built defenses against that, right? 00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:11.600 It's the unexpected welcome that brings us out of that tree towards grace. 00:09:11.600 --> 00:09:13.519 Coulson stopped hiding in that driveway. 00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:19.840 Zaccia stopped hiding in the tree, and both of them, exposed, known, and welcomed, did the same extraordinary thing. 00:09:19.840 --> 00:09:22.159 They gave everything away. 00:09:22.159 --> 00:09:25.360 Because that's what happens when fear loses its grip. 00:09:25.360 --> 00:09:29.039 Sinners become saints, become servants. 00:09:29.039 --> 00:09:32.000 The Mina comes up out of hiding. 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:33.600 The gifts come back into the light. 00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:35.759 Authentic relationship forms. 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:38.879 And we have an offering for God's good purposes. 00:09:38.879 --> 00:09:48.320 So this morning we're going to look at the story of the man in the tree and the servant who buried the Mina, the one who came, as he says in verse 10, to seek and to save the lost. 00:09:48.320 --> 00:09:55.919 Both those who are lost in eternity, but also those lost parts of our hearts that we hide away that we don't want exposed. 00:09:55.919 --> 00:10:01.360 Now, all of us, we're all sinners, right? 00:10:01.360 --> 00:10:02.399 We all fall short. 00:10:02.399 --> 00:10:05.679 We all have parts of our life that we don't want to bring into the light. 00:10:05.679 --> 00:10:12.000 And we don't want to do that because our works are evil, or at least because we know we're insufficient. 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:15.759 I wonder what those insufficient parts of you are. 00:10:15.759 --> 00:10:19.759 What is keeping you from coming into the light in those parts of your life? 00:10:19.759 --> 00:10:31.039 I wonder if you're here today, maybe open to the faith in Jesus, but actually terrified to be vulnerable to ask God if He's real and if relationship with Him is possible. 00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:39.600 I wonder if you're a teenager who stays silent about your faith at school because you're afraid that people will think you're strange or judgmental. 00:10:39.600 --> 00:10:46.159 Maybe you're a young professional, but you feel unqualified to talk about Jesus because you just don't know the answers. 00:10:46.159 --> 00:10:48.799 And so you don't start spiritual conversations. 00:10:48.799 --> 00:10:58.320 Maybe you're a single young adult who loves to practice hospitality, but you fear that people will see how ordinary or lonely your life really is. 00:10:58.320 --> 00:11:06.799 Or maybe you feel overextended by normal life circumstances, and you feel ashamed of ongoing struggles at home. 00:11:06.799 --> 00:11:15.120 And so you withdraw from church community instead of letting others know your need and inviting them to support you in the midst of that need. 00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:25.120 Maybe you're an empty nester that you and you sense God's nudging towards you to mentor young believers, but you assume that your best years are already past you. 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:28.000 And so you don't move towards those who need you. 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:34.799 There's so many ways that we can hide the minas that we've been given out of fear rather than bringing them to the light. 00:11:34.799 --> 00:11:43.200 But today we're going to talk about how you don't have to be afraid, because Jesus makes saints of sinners and servants of saints. 00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:47.120 Jesus makes saints of sinners and servants of saints. 00:11:47.120 --> 00:11:50.639 Look with me at Luke 19, verse 11. 00:11:50.639 --> 00:11:58.559 And it says, As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable. 00:11:58.559 --> 00:12:03.840 Now it's really helpful when you see, as they heard these things, to ask the question, what did they hear? 00:12:03.840 --> 00:12:04.720 What is going on? 00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:09.519 This is an opportunity to lean into the whole text to get some context for what's going on. 00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:14.399 And that context is the story of Zacchaeus that I just told a little bit. 00:12:14.399 --> 00:12:21.440 And in that story, if you look at verses chapter 19, verses 1 through 10, uh Zacchaeus he climbs up into that tree. 00:12:21.440 --> 00:12:26.639 Jesus comes by, and you can imagine what is going through Zacchaeus's heart, right? 00:12:26.639 --> 00:12:31.039 He wants to see Jesus, this righteous man that some are calling the Messiah. 00:12:31.039 --> 00:12:34.799 He's doing these incredible works, he's preaching these incredible teachings. 00:12:34.799 --> 00:12:39.840 And all of a sudden, Jesus pauses and he looks up at Zacchaeus. 00:12:39.840 --> 00:12:42.639 And imagine you're Zacchaeus in that tree. 00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:43.679 You thought you were hidden. 00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:46.080 You were just there to perceive what's going on. 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:49.600 And then all of a sudden, Jesus looks right at you. 00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:52.720 I imagine his heart was pounding. 00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:55.279 Time probably slowed down a little bit. 00:12:55.279 --> 00:12:57.360 And he was fearful. 00:12:57.360 --> 00:12:58.559 I'm seen. 00:12:58.559 --> 00:13:00.720 Everybody here knows who I am. 00:13:00.720 --> 00:13:02.720 Everybody here knows I've defrauded people. 00:13:02.720 --> 00:13:04.159 I'm a tax collector. 00:13:04.159 --> 00:13:06.320 Is Jesus gonna condemn me? 00:13:06.320 --> 00:13:10.320 Because I'm worthy of condemnation. 00:13:10.320 --> 00:13:13.840 But what does Jesus say? 00:13:13.840 --> 00:13:19.519 He says, the key is hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today. 00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:22.080 Jesus invites them into communion. 00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:27.759 I can imagine the relief that washes over him, the desperation to go and be with Jesus. 00:13:27.759 --> 00:13:28.720 And you see it. 00:13:28.720 --> 00:13:32.879 He hurries down and receives Jesus joyfully. 00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:38.000 All of a sudden he has this opportunity for Jesus to come into his house. 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:39.120 Zacchaeus. 00:13:39.120 --> 00:13:42.879 This is greater than he ever thought it could happen. 00:13:42.879 --> 00:13:46.240 See, Jesus is here with us this morning. 00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:55.759 And he's inviting them out into his presence so that he might come in and you might see salvation there. 00:13:55.759 --> 00:13:58.799 But look with me at verse 7. 00:13:58.799 --> 00:14:00.720 When everyone else saw it, right? 00:14:00.720 --> 00:14:05.279 These are the people who are hearing the parable of the Minas now, they grumbled. 00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:08.960 He has gone to be in the guest of a man who is a sinner. 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:14.080 So the word sinner, uh, it's not a popular word in our culture today. 00:14:14.080 --> 00:14:17.600 Um, but sinner essentially means that you've you've missed the mark. 00:14:17.600 --> 00:14:20.240 You don't measure up, you're insufficient. 00:14:20.240 --> 00:14:21.919 And uh that's true of all of us. 00:14:21.919 --> 00:14:37.360 When we stand before a holy God who's created us to love him with all of our hearts, souls, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves, when we're created to live in holiness, to extend God's blessing over all creation, we all know that we fall short in that. 00:14:37.360 --> 00:14:40.240 And so we are all sinners. 00:14:40.240 --> 00:14:48.639 And so it can be tempting for us to look at people like Zacchaeus in our own life with judgment, or rather to simply not move towards them in love. 00:14:48.639 --> 00:14:58.960 Um but Jesus is inviting everyone present to identify with Zacchaeus, with the sinner, with those who don't measure up and are insufficient. 00:14:58.960 --> 00:15:02.799 And look what happens when Zacchaeus accepts that invitation. 00:15:02.799 --> 00:15:06.639 Uh he says, I give half of my goods to the poor. 00:15:06.639 --> 00:15:11.679 If I've defrauded anyone, uh anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold. 00:15:11.679 --> 00:15:15.120 And Jesus says, Today salvation has come to this house. 00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:19.200 And so you see the fruit of salvation because he's giving generously of what he has. 00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:20.559 He's become a servant. 00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:27.919 Jesus has made a sinner, a saint, and now become a servant, giving of all that he has, but even more than that, repenting, right? 00:15:27.919 --> 00:15:37.519 Jesus says the gospel is to repent, for the kingdom is at hand, and Zacchaeus is repenting, uh, giving back fourfold anything that he has defrauded. 00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:42.000 And so we likewise are invited to respond the same way. 00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:50.080 And then when we look at verse 10, Jesus says, For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost. 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:54.159 So why does Jesus tell the parable of the teen ten Minas? 00:15:54.159 --> 00:16:00.799 It's because he's inviting people to enter into his mission to seek and save the lost. 00:16:00.799 --> 00:16:13.360 Not just one time in coming to know Jesus, but all those parts of our heart, all those places of our life that we hide away from God, where we look at him from the outside looking in, and are not quite ready to bring those places to him. 00:16:13.360 --> 00:16:19.759 Now go ahead and look with me at verse 11 again. 00:16:19.759 --> 00:16:27.600 Because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:33.200 Uh, and so we see here that um there's a misunderstanding about what the kingdom of God is. 00:16:33.200 --> 00:16:47.759 Now, Jesus is coming into Jerusalem, and so people had this expectation that he, if he's the Messiah, right, he's gonna establish the Davidic kingdom again, he's gonna drive out the Roman Empire, uh, everyone's gonna be sipping my ties on the beach, and it's gonna be a good old time. 00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:48.799 This is fantastic. 00:16:48.799 --> 00:16:50.960 The kingdom is coming to us. 00:16:50.960 --> 00:16:54.159 And Jesus says, No, no, no, you misunderstand. 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:55.600 Right? 00:16:55.600 --> 00:17:03.519 The kingdom is coming and it's inaugurated, but I've chosen to depend on you to seek and to save the lost. 00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:08.720 This is your mission that I am giving you, and hence He gives us this parable. 00:17:08.720 --> 00:17:17.440 He came to turn sinners to saints and saints to servants, and to invite us into that mission. 00:17:17.440 --> 00:17:24.480 Now, you guys, uh, you if you're on social media in any sort of capacity, you've probably heard of something called teen takeovers. 00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:29.359 Um yeah, it's weird, uh, especially for us older folk, right? 00:17:29.359 --> 00:17:30.799 We're like, what in the world is going on? 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:33.359 Why are all these young'uns gathering around and causing a ruckus? 00:17:33.359 --> 00:17:35.599 Um, and it's a good question, right? 00:17:35.599 --> 00:17:36.240 We should ask. 00:17:36.240 --> 00:17:38.160 Like when these things happen, what's going on? 00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:43.279 Over Memorial Day weekend, this happened in Chicago, Milwaukee, and here in Orlando. 00:17:43.279 --> 00:17:47.359 The in Chicago, there were 53 arrests, nine weapons were confiscated. 00:17:47.359 --> 00:17:51.039 In Milwaukee, there were brawls at two locations, 13 arrests. 00:17:51.039 --> 00:18:00.000 And here in Orlando, around 1,000 teenagers showed up to ICOM Park on Saturday nights, bringing fights and substantial police response. 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:04.000 So everyone is asking the question: what is going on here? 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:09.200 Well, experts think they know, and teenagers, you can come and tell me afterwards if they do know. 00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:19.039 But uh they see teenagers flooding these streets, uh, and they realize that these guys went into lockdown during their middle school years when they were learning how to interact with the world around them. 00:18:19.039 --> 00:18:21.440 Their social space became a screen. 00:18:21.440 --> 00:18:24.319 They are lonely, they're depressed. 00:18:24.319 --> 00:18:30.000 Uh, this is the anxious generation, and desperate, they're desperate for human interaction and social contact. 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:33.519 And so one expert said these aren't random acts of violence. 00:18:33.519 --> 00:18:36.319 This isn't just chaos, it's not out-of-control youth. 00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:40.559 More often than not, it's a desperate need for connection. 00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:52.720 A 2025 global report identified teenagers as the loneliest age group in the world, and they are responding to that loneliness with frantic, sometimes violent lunge toward each other. 00:18:52.720 --> 00:18:56.880 Now, a crowd is actually, again, the perfect hiding place. 00:18:56.880 --> 00:19:01.599 You can belong to something without being vulnerable to anyone, kind of like social media, right? 00:19:01.599 --> 00:19:03.759 You can control the social interactions. 00:19:03.759 --> 00:19:08.160 You can feel like you're connected without actually having genuine, vulnerable relationship. 00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:10.480 You can be present without being known. 00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:12.720 These teenagers are doing something very old. 00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:16.319 They're trying to find connection while keeping their distance. 00:19:16.319 --> 00:19:18.960 They want to see without being seen. 00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:21.119 And that's the key is up in the tree. 00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:28.240 Up in the branches, hidden by leaves, watching from a safe distance, close enough to observe Jesus, far enough to retreat if it gets too real. 00:19:28.240 --> 00:19:32.319 It looks like curiosity, but it's actually the oldest human instinct in the world. 00:19:32.319 --> 00:19:33.920 It's Adam in the garden. 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:36.960 It's I was afraid, so I hid. 00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:39.039 And this generation is doing the same thing. 00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:47.119 We're hiding behind screens, filling streets and crowds, desperate for connection, but terrified of the kind that actually costs something. 00:19:47.119 --> 00:19:50.160 And into all of that noise, Jesus stops. 00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:55.039 He looks up into the branches and he says the thing that's making us hide. 00:19:55.039 --> 00:19:57.359 He invites us to know him. 00:19:57.359 --> 00:20:07.200 And this he's inviting us to see others, to see this generation, to be those who are looking with Jesus' eyes and asking, what is being hidden and what is Jesus offering them? 00:20:07.200 --> 00:20:11.039 And I wonder what Jesus, or rather, what fear has made you bury? 00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:13.039 What are the dark corners of your heart? 00:20:13.039 --> 00:20:15.279 What are the things you don't want exposed? 00:20:15.279 --> 00:20:19.519 What are the things that you've been wanting to tell somebody but you haven't told anyone? 00:20:19.519 --> 00:20:22.640 What is the fear that's made you hide those things away? 00:20:22.640 --> 00:20:26.559 And what would it look like to let Jesus bring it into the light? 00:20:26.559 --> 00:20:29.200 Do you feel freedom for him to do that? 00:20:29.200 --> 00:20:31.680 We see what it would look like. 00:20:31.680 --> 00:20:34.480 Today, salvation has come to this house. 00:20:34.480 --> 00:20:37.680 Today, salvation comes into your heart. 00:20:37.680 --> 00:20:45.279 Today you can respond in bold joy, entering into the mission of God with generosity and boldness. 00:20:45.279 --> 00:20:53.200 So we see how Jesus makes uh saints of sinners, but he also makes servants of those saints. 00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:56.880 Look with me at Luke 19, verses 12 through 15. 00:20:56.880 --> 00:21:05.119 He said, therefore, a nobleman, which is Jesus, went into a far country to receive himself a kingdom and then return. 00:21:05.119 --> 00:21:07.759 Calling ten of his servants, right? 00:21:07.759 --> 00:21:09.359 These are disciples of Jesus. 00:21:09.359 --> 00:21:14.640 He gave them ten minas, one mina each, and said to them, Engage in business. 00:21:14.640 --> 00:21:17.440 That business is to seek and save the lost. 00:21:17.440 --> 00:21:19.920 Engage in business until I come. 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:26.240 But his citizens hated him, and they sent a delegation after him, saying, We do not want this man to reign over us. 00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:28.799 So again, here you see the setting. 00:21:28.799 --> 00:21:30.640 The sitting is the kingdom of God. 00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:32.160 This is the setting for us, right? 00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:35.519 Jesus reigns in heaven and we live in the already not yet. 00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:38.880 We experience parts of the new heavens, new earth now. 00:21:38.880 --> 00:21:40.720 God dwells in us by the Holy Spirit. 00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:42.000 He answers our prayers. 00:21:42.000 --> 00:21:50.240 We have communion with the saints, and yet we still live in a world that is lost, a world that needs us to be God's emissaries for the kingdom of God. 00:21:50.240 --> 00:21:53.359 And that's our mission to seek and to save the lost. 00:21:53.359 --> 00:21:55.119 And that's an exciting mission, right? 00:21:55.119 --> 00:22:08.160 We get to be a part of God, bringing salvation to the houses of others, God entering into their Hearts, people who long to be known and loved, experiencing the love of Jesus Christ mediated through us, his servants. 00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:10.240 But it's a good question to ask. 00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:12.559 How do we do that? 00:22:12.559 --> 00:22:18.480 Right? 00:22:18.480 --> 00:22:20.799 We all ask that question. 00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:25.200 In our own ways, in our hearts, in the dark places. 00:22:25.200 --> 00:22:27.279 We all ask that question. 00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:29.839 How do we seek and save the lost? 00:22:29.839 --> 00:22:35.759 Well, honestly, in Acts 1, 6 through 8, the disciples uh have a similar question. 00:22:35.759 --> 00:22:40.160 They come together and they ask, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom of Israel? 00:22:40.160 --> 00:22:44.079 It's the same question Jesus is uh referring to here. 00:22:44.079 --> 00:23:00.559 And he said to them, It's not for you to know the times or the seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and to the ends of the earth. 00:23:00.559 --> 00:23:03.119 See, God dwells in us by the Holy Spirit. 00:23:03.119 --> 00:23:07.599 He's made his home in us, the Father and the Son in the Spirit, it says in John 14. 00:23:07.599 --> 00:23:11.119 Uh in Ephesians 1, Paul says the Spirit is a deposit, right? 00:23:11.119 --> 00:23:12.160 It's a foretaste. 00:23:12.160 --> 00:23:20.799 God dwells in us now and is the and uses us as the means that we can mediate his presence to the world around us. 00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:28.240 So we see we are ministers in the kingdom of God, seeking and saving the lost, along with God by the Spirit. 00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:30.400 But look with me at verse 15. 00:23:30.400 --> 00:23:39.920 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 by doing business. 00:23:39.920 --> 00:23:44.079 The first came before him, saying, Lord, your mina has made ten minas more. 00:23:44.079 --> 00:23:50.880 And he said, Well done, good servant, because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities. 00:23:50.880 --> 00:23:53.839 And the second came saying, Lord, your Mina has made five. 00:23:53.839 --> 00:23:57.440 And he said to him, And you are to be over five cities. 00:23:57.440 --> 00:24:02.160 So what I want to draw our attention to here is the well done. 00:24:02.160 --> 00:24:04.559 Now we all want to hear well done. 00:24:04.559 --> 00:24:06.720 We want to hear it from our spouses, right? 00:24:06.720 --> 00:24:11.519 That's why whenever I do tours around the house, I like I tell my spouse, I'm like, Hey, do you see all this work I did? 00:24:11.519 --> 00:24:12.799 It's awesome. 00:24:12.799 --> 00:24:15.119 She's like, Oh yeah, babe, you're great. 00:24:15.119 --> 00:24:18.240 Um, we want to hear that from our parents, right? 00:24:18.240 --> 00:24:20.480 Uh we want to hear that sometimes from our children. 00:24:20.480 --> 00:24:24.559 We want to hear that from our friends, we want to hear it from our bosses, we want to hear well done. 00:24:24.559 --> 00:24:26.880 And that's because we were created for it, right? 00:24:26.880 --> 00:24:29.039 We were created with God as our father. 00:24:29.039 --> 00:24:34.400 You know, children, babies, when they're born, they can only see up to their mother's face, right? 00:24:34.400 --> 00:24:36.079 And what they're looking for is delight. 00:24:36.079 --> 00:24:40.240 And if you've ever seen a baby, which I'm sure you have if you're at New City, right? 00:24:40.240 --> 00:24:47.680 Your natural response is to like make these goofy faces at them and be like, and people are like, what are you doing? 00:24:47.680 --> 00:24:49.279 But why do we do that? 00:24:49.279 --> 00:24:58.160 It's because we know that what this baby needs is to know they're delighted in, is to know how much they're adored. 00:24:58.160 --> 00:24:59.920 We instinctively know that. 00:24:59.920 --> 00:25:06.480 This baby instinctively knows its need, and you instinctively know that what it needs is to be delighted in. 00:25:06.480 --> 00:25:10.960 And that's the God that we love and serve, a God who delights in us. 00:25:10.960 --> 00:25:15.440 The Father said, Well done, uh, says, Well done, my good and faithful servant. 00:25:15.440 --> 00:25:20.480 In Ephesians 1, we see that we are beloved in the Lord, uh, in Jesus Christ. 00:25:20.480 --> 00:25:25.920 We're beloved before we've done anything, not because of our works, but because of what Jesus Christ has done for us. 00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:29.839 We are adopted, beloved children, and he delights in us. 00:25:29.839 --> 00:25:32.319 And he redeems our work. 00:25:32.319 --> 00:25:39.359 He invites us to be delighted in for what we do, to enter the new heavens and new earth, and to hear God say, Well done. 00:25:39.359 --> 00:25:41.839 I delight in the things that you did with me. 00:25:41.839 --> 00:25:45.599 I delight in the ways that you entered into the work of God with me. 00:25:45.599 --> 00:25:48.640 And so is he gonna say, Well done, Kenny? 00:25:48.640 --> 00:25:50.559 You got your whole to-do list done. 00:25:50.559 --> 00:25:51.440 Good job. 00:25:51.440 --> 00:25:52.640 That's not gonna happen. 00:25:52.640 --> 00:25:57.599 But if it could happen, he's gonna say, or is he gonna say, you looked impressive to those around you? 00:25:57.599 --> 00:25:58.480 Everyone liked you. 00:25:58.480 --> 00:26:00.720 They liked the words that you said, they laughed at your jokes. 00:26:00.720 --> 00:26:01.920 So good. 00:26:01.920 --> 00:26:09.759 Is he gonna say, good job, you you appeared to have your life together? 00:26:09.759 --> 00:26:13.039 Financial security, home ownership, married, three kids, and a dog. 00:26:13.039 --> 00:26:15.920 I'm speaking uh into the dog thing. 00:26:15.920 --> 00:26:18.079 My wife doesn't want one, but we'll see. 00:26:18.079 --> 00:26:21.599 A social life, staying fit, whatever, you know? 00:26:21.599 --> 00:26:24.400 No, he's not gonna say, well done for those things. 00:26:24.400 --> 00:26:25.920 He's gonna say, Well done. 00:26:25.920 --> 00:26:32.240 You didn't get that to-do list done, but you did stop to bless your neighbor again and again. 00:26:32.240 --> 00:26:41.359 You sometimes look like a fool, but you magnified me in the midst of it by humbly owning your shortcomings and depending on me in prayer. 00:26:41.359 --> 00:26:50.079 You didn't always measure up in your work, but you did listen and obey me in your work by being present and discipling your family and others. 00:26:50.079 --> 00:26:55.839 You sometimes struggled financially, and sometimes you struggled with a social life or just getting up in the morning. 00:26:55.839 --> 00:27:00.640 But you were always faithful with what I gave you and were generous to others. 00:27:00.640 --> 00:27:05.920 These are the things that when we get to heaven, God will say, Well done, my good and faithful servant. 00:27:05.920 --> 00:27:07.440 Well done. 00:27:07.440 --> 00:27:12.960 And he's gonna say, On all of these people are here to testify because you are present with them. 00:27:12.960 --> 00:27:14.720 You mediated my presence to them. 00:27:14.720 --> 00:27:17.279 You were involved in my mission to seek and save the lost. 00:27:17.279 --> 00:27:22.400 And there will be people there we don't recognize because we impacted one person in a way we didn't realize. 00:27:22.400 --> 00:27:24.559 And that person went on to impact other people. 00:27:24.559 --> 00:27:33.519 And we will get to the new heavens and new earth and rejoice with them, with Jesus, for the fruit that that bore in our lives and in the in all that God was doing. 00:27:33.519 --> 00:27:41.279 This is what God is inviting us into, to see his delight in our participation in his work to seek and save the lost. 00:27:41.279 --> 00:27:45.039 Look with me at Luke 19, verse 20. 00:27:45.039 --> 00:27:54.000 Then another came, saying, Lord, here is your Mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief, for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. 00:27:54.000 --> 00:27:57.599 You take what you did not deposit and reap what you did not sow. 00:27:57.599 --> 00:28:03.759 And then a little further down, Jesus says, Take that Mina from him and give it to the one who has ten minas. 00:28:03.759 --> 00:28:05.920 And they said to him, Lord, he has ten minas. 00:28:05.920 --> 00:28:14.720 And he said, 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. 00:28:14.720 --> 00:28:22.160 But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me. 00:28:22.160 --> 00:28:24.799 See, we see again fear. 00:28:24.799 --> 00:28:27.839 Fear drives him to hide his Mena away. 00:28:27.839 --> 00:28:37.519 The book of Hebrews says that um for those who have received the Holy Spirit and then rejected Jesus, uh, they cannot uh return back. 00:28:37.519 --> 00:28:42.960 Um Jesus also says the only sin that cannot be forgiven is blaspheming against the Holy Spirit. 00:28:42.960 --> 00:28:52.160 We also hear that the gospel, when it comes into our hearts, it needs to take root uh if it's going to produce fruit in salvation. 00:28:52.559 --> 00:28:52.799 Right? 00:28:52.880 --> 00:28:54.799 And so how does the gospel take root? 00:28:54.799 --> 00:28:57.440 How do we know that the spirit lives and dwells in us? 00:28:57.440 --> 00:29:12.480 It's as we listen and obey, as we listen to the words of God, as we take the Mina that He's given us, as we dwell and abide with Him in the Spirit and participate in community and go outward in commission, in His mission to seek and save the lost. 00:29:12.480 --> 00:29:14.720 So I wonder what fear keeps you from doing? 00:29:14.720 --> 00:29:18.079 Does it keep you from speaking up against injustice? 00:29:18.079 --> 00:29:26.240 From sharing the gospel when you have the opportunity, from generosity from those who have asked or have not asked, from hospitality, right? 00:29:26.240 --> 00:29:30.960 I had a friend tell me recently, if you want to come over and spend time with me, just give me like one day's notice. 00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:34.559 But if you want to come over and spend time with my house, give me like two weeks. 00:29:34.559 --> 00:29:35.119 Right? 00:29:35.119 --> 00:29:40.559 I mean, especially if you have kids, you understand like getting your house in order, it's a difficult task. 00:29:40.559 --> 00:29:48.960 And yet God is inviting us to ask what his will is in all of these areas of our life, to risk. 00:29:48.960 --> 00:29:51.200 Just say, God, what do you desire? 00:29:51.200 --> 00:29:52.319 What is your mission? 00:29:52.319 --> 00:29:53.920 What are you inviting me to? 00:29:53.920 --> 00:29:56.480 Who are you inviting me to move towards? 00:29:56.480 --> 00:30:00.559 I also want to address him saying that God is severe. 00:30:00.559 --> 00:30:05.039