WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.520 --> 00:00:03.839 Good morning, saddleback. It's good to see you. I want 2 00:00:03.879 --> 00:00:06.839 to say hi to all ten of our campuses, and 3 00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:09.080 all of you in the different venues, and those of 4 00:00:09.119 --> 00:00:11.119 you outside, and those of you who are watching online. 5 00:00:11.119 --> 00:00:13.000 We're glad to have you part if you take out 6 00:00:13.039 --> 00:00:16.719 your message notes. Last week we began a new series 7 00:00:16.760 --> 00:00:19.960 I'm calling When Jesus Comes to Dinner, and it's just 8 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:22.879 a little miniseries we're doing in a couple weeks before Easter. 9 00:00:23.480 --> 00:00:27.320 You see, it was the dinners with sinners that God 10 00:00:27.399 --> 00:00:31.960 Jesus in trouble. The religious people of Jesus Day just 11 00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:36.679 couldn't stand Jesus. They're really so righteous folks. They didn't 12 00:00:36.759 --> 00:00:39.640 like him because he hung out with all the wrong people. 13 00:00:40.119 --> 00:00:43.759 He was always going to dinners with sinners. He was 14 00:00:43.799 --> 00:00:46.799 always partying with people they didn't like, people that they 15 00:00:46.799 --> 00:00:49.039 didn't think he should be hanging out with, and it 16 00:00:49.119 --> 00:00:53.359 ticked off the church goers. Last week, Pastor Buddy did 17 00:00:53.399 --> 00:00:55.799 the first message in the series. We looked at when 18 00:00:55.880 --> 00:01:00.880 Jesus had dinner with a prostitute and a pharis. Now 19 00:01:00.880 --> 00:01:04.000 that's the opposite extremes, the very self righteous and the 20 00:01:04.159 --> 00:01:07.560 very unrighteous. That would have been an interesting conversation. I'm 21 00:01:07.599 --> 00:01:10.680 sure this week we're gonna look at when Jesus goes 22 00:01:10.719 --> 00:01:15.239 to dinner with a corrupt government official that everybody in 23 00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:19.719 town hated. Next week, which is a week before Easter, 24 00:01:19.799 --> 00:01:22.159 we're going to actually look at the Passover. We're going 25 00:01:22.239 --> 00:01:24.319 to do the passover here on stage, we're going to 26 00:01:24.359 --> 00:01:28.120 have communion, and by the way, next Sunday evening we're 27 00:01:28.159 --> 00:01:31.359 going to show the passion in the refinery. So we're 28 00:01:31.400 --> 00:01:35.640 going to take it in order. The passover a service 29 00:01:35.840 --> 00:01:41.079 and then communion and then Jesus' death on the cross. 30 00:01:41.079 --> 00:01:42.560 And I hope you want to bring a friend to that. 31 00:01:43.000 --> 00:01:45.719 But when Jesus did the passover, the most important dinner 32 00:01:45.719 --> 00:01:48.959 of his life, the Lord Supper, he invites a bunch 33 00:01:48.959 --> 00:01:52.640 of rednecks. I mean, that's exactly what the disciples were. 34 00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:57.680 They weren't exactly sophisticated people. They came from Galilee. Galilee 35 00:01:57.879 --> 00:02:02.040 was Hicckville. These people were country umpkins. They watched reruns 36 00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:06.079 of Hehaw. I mean, they were illiterate. They were very 37 00:02:06.239 --> 00:02:10.479 rough hewn men. And Jesus does not gather for his 38 00:02:10.599 --> 00:02:14.840 world changing group a bunch of intellectual, very sophisticated people, 39 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:20.759 he gets a bunch of illiterate country Hicks and has 40 00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:24.360 dinner with them, you know, I can you know, in 41 00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:27.520 my life I have received a fair amount of criticism 42 00:02:27.960 --> 00:02:31.319 from bloggers and things like that for people that I 43 00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:35.560 have tried to befriend. Now, as an evangelist, I spend 44 00:02:35.680 --> 00:02:38.840 much of my time with people who totally disagree with me. 45 00:02:39.919 --> 00:02:42.319 But does that make sense? I mean, if you have 46 00:02:42.439 --> 00:02:44.159 the gift of sharing the good news, you don't just 47 00:02:44.199 --> 00:02:47.120 share it with people who already understand it. So I 48 00:02:47.159 --> 00:02:49.960 spend much of my time talking to people who totally 49 00:02:49.960 --> 00:02:53.879 disagree with me, and I would disagree with them, and 50 00:02:54.280 --> 00:02:56.240 I have you know, they've written all kinds of things 51 00:02:56.319 --> 00:02:58.840 about you know, Rick Warren has at dinner with this 52 00:02:58.960 --> 00:03:01.960 religious group for that religious group, or he's had dinner 53 00:03:02.039 --> 00:03:06.400 with you know, atheists or Gaze or worst of all, liberals, 54 00:03:06.840 --> 00:03:10.120 you know. And I mean that's like the highest sin 55 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:15.360 of alls, that's the impardonable one, okay, liberals. And and 56 00:03:15.639 --> 00:03:17.680 you know, as if you know, well, then that means 57 00:03:17.719 --> 00:03:20.479 I agree with everything everybody I've ever had dinner with, well, 58 00:03:20.520 --> 00:03:24.000 of course not. Can you imagine if Jesus we're alive today, 59 00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:26.919 what the bloggers was to say about Jesus having dinner 60 00:03:26.919 --> 00:03:31.680 with a prostitute or a corrupt government official or all 61 00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:35.319 the other quote sinners. He hung out with lepers. These 62 00:03:35.319 --> 00:03:37.879 were the off cast of society that nobody wanted to 63 00:03:37.919 --> 00:03:40.840 hang out with. It be black people who have aids today, 64 00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:43.639 who people are. I'm afraid I might get it, so 65 00:03:43.639 --> 00:03:45.560 I want to get away as far away as possible. 66 00:03:47.039 --> 00:03:50.039 And you know, Jesus his answer to all of this 67 00:03:50.240 --> 00:03:54.520 was always, Hey, the well don't need a doctor. It's 68 00:03:54.520 --> 00:03:57.280 the sick people who need a doctor. And Jesus says 69 00:03:57.319 --> 00:04:00.280 many times several times he actually says, I didn't come 70 00:04:00.360 --> 00:04:03.560 for the righteous. I came for the unrighteous. I didn't 71 00:04:03.599 --> 00:04:05.960 come for the saved. I came for the loss. I 72 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:08.080 didn't come for people who think they've got it all 73 00:04:08.080 --> 00:04:11.479 together and don't need to be saved. I came to 74 00:04:11.520 --> 00:04:14.840 save people who realize they're broken, they don't have it 75 00:04:14.879 --> 00:04:18.759 all together. The things don't always work in life. Frankly, 76 00:04:18.759 --> 00:04:20.480 people who think they don't need to be saved, I 77 00:04:20.480 --> 00:04:23.480 don't have any time for. But I came to be 78 00:04:23.560 --> 00:04:27.759 with people who know they need help. I came for 79 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:33.399 the insecure. Now, the truth is I've learned this after 80 00:04:33.439 --> 00:04:41.279 thirty years of pastoring. Everybody is insecure. Everybody in this room, 81 00:04:41.319 --> 00:04:46.040 everybody's listening is insecure. He said, Oh no, I'm not insecure. 82 00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:48.439 Oh really, Let me have thirty minutes with you and 83 00:04:48.480 --> 00:04:52.480 I'll uncover you're hidding the insecurities. I'm to do it quite quickly. 84 00:04:52.519 --> 00:04:56.879 I'm very good at discovering what people's insecurities are. It's 85 00:04:56.879 --> 00:05:00.000 the reason why people don't get help before things got 86 00:05:00.079 --> 00:05:03.160 it really bad in their life. If your marriage is 87 00:05:03.279 --> 00:05:06.480 tanking and going down and you don't get counseling, or 88 00:05:06.519 --> 00:05:09.639 your business is tanking and you don't get help, or 89 00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:11.879 you got a relationship problem with your parents or your 90 00:05:11.959 --> 00:05:15.519 kids and you don't get help and you don't get counseling. 91 00:05:16.199 --> 00:05:18.120 And why do people are afraid to go to a 92 00:05:18.120 --> 00:05:23.120 counsel because of insecurity? What if that counselor reveals something 93 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:26.120 to me that I can't handle and he points out 94 00:05:26.120 --> 00:05:28.879 a truth about myself that I don't really want to know. 95 00:05:29.240 --> 00:05:34.120 That's called insecurity. And it's the reason why people wait 96 00:05:34.240 --> 00:05:38.120 until it's too late to get help in an area 97 00:05:38.160 --> 00:05:41.759 of their life. It's because of their own insecurity. What 98 00:05:41.800 --> 00:05:45.480 can they uncover that I can't handle. Now. The truth is, 99 00:05:45.519 --> 00:05:49.240 one of your deepest needs in life is to feel secure. 100 00:05:49.800 --> 00:05:53.279 One of your deepest needs in life is to feel valued, 101 00:05:53.680 --> 00:05:56.639 to feel valuable, to feel like your life matters, that 102 00:05:56.720 --> 00:06:00.000 it counts, that it's significant, that you're not just a sipher, 103 00:06:00.480 --> 00:06:03.319 that you're not just some kind of zero in life. 104 00:06:03.399 --> 00:06:05.959 You want your life to matter. You want your life 105 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:09.560 to have value and significance. And as a result, you're 106 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:14.399 constantly doing two things, evaluating and comparing. And you do 107 00:06:14.439 --> 00:06:17.800 it all the time. You do it consciously and you unconsciously. 108 00:06:17.959 --> 00:06:21.160 You're evaluating yourself and you're comparing yourself to other people. 109 00:06:21.240 --> 00:06:24.959 And we compare everything. It's an indoor national favorite pastime 110 00:06:26.040 --> 00:06:30.000 of Americans. And the problem is the four ways that 111 00:06:30.040 --> 00:06:34.319 we judge our value are all furious. They're all false, 112 00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:37.279 they're all phony, they're all fake. How the world tells 113 00:06:37.319 --> 00:06:41.160 you you determine your value is one hundred percent wrong. 114 00:06:42.639 --> 00:06:44.240 So let me just mention them, because I want you 115 00:06:44.279 --> 00:06:47.079 to understand that your value is not based on what 116 00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:50.480 the world says about just what God says about you. Now, 117 00:06:50.480 --> 00:06:52.399 there are four things that the world tells you you 118 00:06:52.439 --> 00:06:53.839 need to look at if you want to know how 119 00:06:53.920 --> 00:06:56.120 valuable you are, you might write these down. The first 120 00:06:56.199 --> 00:07:00.439 way we judge our wealth are our worth is by 121 00:07:00.480 --> 00:07:05.079 our appearance, and that is how do I look? And 122 00:07:05.120 --> 00:07:07.439 we think, you know, if I look good, then I 123 00:07:07.560 --> 00:07:10.000 must be good. And if I don't look so good, 124 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:12.399 then I must not be so valuable, I must not 125 00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:16.839 be important. And our society has an entire industry that 126 00:07:17.000 --> 00:07:20.560 is built on the idea that your value is based 127 00:07:20.639 --> 00:07:26.399 on your appearance. It's called Hollywood, and Hollywood says, if 128 00:07:26.439 --> 00:07:30.000 you really are ravishing, you're stunning, you're really gorgeous, you're 129 00:07:30.040 --> 00:07:33.879 really handsome, then you're really worth a lot. But if 130 00:07:33.959 --> 00:07:38.959 you're not so hot, then you're not. Oh I'm a 131 00:07:39.000 --> 00:07:43.360 poet and I don't know it. Now. The problem with 132 00:07:43.439 --> 00:07:47.199 this is there aren't that many really stunning people in 133 00:07:47.240 --> 00:07:51.759 the world. I mean, most of us are just normal, 134 00:07:51.920 --> 00:07:55.639 average looking people. In fact, everybody around you is normal 135 00:07:55.680 --> 00:07:59.720 average except you. You're stunning and you know it. But 136 00:07:59.800 --> 00:08:02.519 you are the only person in this room that actually 137 00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:05.439 really is stunning. All the rest of us are just 138 00:08:05.519 --> 00:08:09.680 kind of normal looking. Okay, we're just normal people with 139 00:08:09.879 --> 00:08:14.439 normal looks. Now, if you only have high value in 140 00:08:14.480 --> 00:08:18.959 your life, by being super attractive. That leaves most of 141 00:08:19.040 --> 00:08:22.639 us out, and the Bible says that's not what you 142 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:26.279 valuate yourself on. The second false way to evaluate your 143 00:08:26.279 --> 00:08:30.040 worth is not appearance, but by affluence, and affluence is 144 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:33.600 what do I own? And that's the myth of materialism 145 00:08:33.679 --> 00:08:37.639 that says if I have a lot of things, then 146 00:08:37.679 --> 00:08:40.399 I must be worth a lot. That if I have 147 00:08:40.519 --> 00:08:44.240 a lot of values, then my personal value is a lot. 148 00:08:44.480 --> 00:08:47.440 But if I'm poor or I'm broke, then I'm not 149 00:08:47.639 --> 00:08:52.279 worth much as a person. Now I've told you many 150 00:08:52.320 --> 00:08:57.080 times never connect your self worth with your net worth, 151 00:08:57.399 --> 00:09:00.879 because if you connect your self worth with your net worth, 152 00:09:01.240 --> 00:09:06.600 the recession will cause depression. And I have seen that many, 153 00:09:06.639 --> 00:09:09.279 many times. I've seen a lot of people who when 154 00:09:09.320 --> 00:09:13.600 their business hits the toilet, then their personal feeling about 155 00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:18.600 themselves hits the toilet. And when they tank in their portfolio, 156 00:09:19.080 --> 00:09:21.840 then they tank and how good they feel about themselves? 157 00:09:21.879 --> 00:09:23.720 And I'm just not a very good provider, and on 158 00:09:23.759 --> 00:09:27.039 and on and on. Your value and your valuables have 159 00:09:27.200 --> 00:09:29.840 nothing to do with each other. Your self worth and 160 00:09:29.879 --> 00:09:31.879 your net worth have nothing to do with each other. 161 00:09:32.080 --> 00:09:34.600 The greatest things in life as I've said many times, 162 00:09:34.799 --> 00:09:38.519 are not things. But the world tells you you got 163 00:09:38.519 --> 00:09:39.919 a lot of money, you got a lot of stuff, 164 00:09:39.960 --> 00:09:43.320 then you are really a valuable person. Not true. The 165 00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:46.360 third thing that we judge our worth on is achievement, 166 00:09:47.320 --> 00:09:50.639 and that is what have I accomplished? And if I 167 00:09:50.679 --> 00:09:53.039 get a lot of things done, then I feel good 168 00:09:53.080 --> 00:09:55.639 about myself. And if I reach a lot of goals, 169 00:09:55.720 --> 00:09:58.799 then I feel good about myself. And if I get promoted, 170 00:09:59.320 --> 00:10:02.519 or I win, or I get an honor, and I 171 00:10:02.559 --> 00:10:05.519 have accomplished a certain thing, then I must feel good. 172 00:10:05.559 --> 00:10:08.320 And this is what creates workoholism, and it drives us 173 00:10:08.360 --> 00:10:10.759 because we want to feel good about ourselves, so we're 174 00:10:10.759 --> 00:10:16.320 trying to achieve to prove that we are worthwhile. The 175 00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:22.519 fourth is approval, and approval basing your worth on approval 176 00:10:22.600 --> 00:10:26.759 says how well am I liked? And if I'm liked 177 00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:28.960 a lot, then I must be worth a lot. And 178 00:10:29.000 --> 00:10:31.679 if I'm only liked a little, then I'm worth a little. 179 00:10:31.799 --> 00:10:34.519 And if I'm not liked by anybody, then I'm worthless. 180 00:10:34.759 --> 00:10:37.559 That's just not true. Some of you have spent your 181 00:10:37.720 --> 00:10:40.360 entire life trying to gain the approval of somebody who's 182 00:10:40.399 --> 00:10:43.519 never going to give it. And if you haven't got 183 00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:46.120 your parents' approval by now, I'm sorry you're not going 184 00:10:46.200 --> 00:10:48.519 to get it. But here's the point. You don't need 185 00:10:48.559 --> 00:10:53.120 it to be happy. Your happiness is not dependent upon 186 00:10:53.120 --> 00:10:56.720 the approval of other people. If you build your worth 187 00:10:56.799 --> 00:10:59.480 on what other people think of you, then you are 188 00:10:59.480 --> 00:11:02.519 going to be devastated every time you get criticized, and 189 00:11:02.559 --> 00:11:04.840 it's gonna hurt like the dickens. And you're going to 190 00:11:04.919 --> 00:11:07.200 tend to always be going around saying what will other 191 00:11:07.240 --> 00:11:09.759 people think? And if you're always asking that question, what 192 00:11:09.799 --> 00:11:12.879 do other people think? You're already a slave to the 193 00:11:12.919 --> 00:11:17.080 approval of other people. You've got to learn to trust 194 00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:20.440 what God says about you. Now it is true. Psychological 195 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:24.039 studies have shown that you tend to base how you 196 00:11:24.080 --> 00:11:29.039 feel about you on what you think the most important 197 00:11:29.080 --> 00:11:32.600 person in your life thinks about you. That's where you 198 00:11:32.639 --> 00:11:35.480 get most of your self esteem, what you think the 199 00:11:35.519 --> 00:11:38.879 most important person in your life thinks about you. So 200 00:11:38.960 --> 00:11:41.840 I highly recommend you make the most important person in 201 00:11:41.879 --> 00:11:47.200 your life Jesus Christ, because he's going to tell you 202 00:11:47.240 --> 00:11:49.759 the truth, and he's going to love you unconditionally, and 203 00:11:49.799 --> 00:11:51.559 he's not going to say I love you if I 204 00:11:51.600 --> 00:11:53.519 love you, if I love you, if I love you, 205 00:11:53.559 --> 00:11:55.279 if I love you, if you love me, I love you, 206 00:11:55.320 --> 00:11:59.120 if or I love you, because that's conditional love. Jesus 207 00:11:59.159 --> 00:12:01.399 says I love you peeriod. In fact, you can't make 208 00:12:01.440 --> 00:12:04.960 me stop loving you. Now. The problem with these four things, 209 00:12:05.240 --> 00:12:09.200 appearance and affluence and achievement and approval, is that they 210 00:12:09.240 --> 00:12:16.320 are are all unstable, unreliable sources of security. I mean, 211 00:12:16.399 --> 00:12:22.039 let's just go down the list. Our beauty fades. Anybody 212 00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:27.320 want to give a testimony on that. Okay, our beauty fads. 213 00:12:27.759 --> 00:12:30.559 And if you think you're not looking so great, now 214 00:12:30.759 --> 00:12:35.840 wait ten years. Okay, all right, okay, unless you're like 215 00:12:35.879 --> 00:12:38.200 me on the Daniel plan, and in ten years, I'm 216 00:12:38.200 --> 00:12:43.600 not half the man I used to be. All right, 217 00:12:44.159 --> 00:12:50.840 Beauty fades. Possessions wear out, Okay, successes are surpassed. No 218 00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:53.919 matter what goal you reach, somebody is going to break 219 00:12:53.919 --> 00:12:57.039 your record and you're going to feel bad. Then if 220 00:12:57.080 --> 00:13:00.200 your self esteem is built on that, and other people 221 00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:01.799 are going to reject you no matter what you do, 222 00:13:01.879 --> 00:13:04.120 some people just aren't going to like you. That's their problem, 223 00:13:04.159 --> 00:13:10.000 not yours. The only solid foundation for self esteem for 224 00:13:10.080 --> 00:13:14.360 feeling good about you is understanding how much you matter 225 00:13:14.799 --> 00:13:18.480 to God. That's what we're going to look at today, 226 00:13:19.039 --> 00:13:22.360 how much you matter to God. And if you get 227 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:25.360 what we're going to look at today, it'll change your life. 228 00:13:25.360 --> 00:13:29.440 And it will set you free from the expectations of others, 229 00:13:29.759 --> 00:13:34.000 from the grip of materialism, from the pressure of workaholism, 230 00:13:34.600 --> 00:13:37.480 from the need to have to improve and always look 231 00:13:37.559 --> 00:13:42.480 your best. And every time when you see yourself as 232 00:13:42.600 --> 00:13:47.960 God sees you, it transforms you. Now, a great example 233 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:51.320 of this is a guy in the Bible named Zachias, 234 00:13:51.639 --> 00:13:54.840 and his story is in Luke chapter nineteen. If you 235 00:13:54.840 --> 00:13:57.519 have a Bible, you can turn to Luke nineteen. It's 236 00:13:57.559 --> 00:13:59.639 there on your outline. You can read the verses with 237 00:13:59.679 --> 00:14:03.480 me also on the screen. Now, Jesus is going through 238 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:06.799 a town called Jericho, and of course, large crowds are 239 00:14:06.799 --> 00:14:09.799 following Jesus wherever he goes. He's walking through these cities 240 00:14:10.120 --> 00:14:13.600 and crowds are following him everywhere. And there's a guy 241 00:14:13.639 --> 00:14:16.679 in this town named Zachias, who is the most hated 242 00:14:16.759 --> 00:14:20.000 man in the city. And the Bible tells us this 243 00:14:20.120 --> 00:14:24.879 story Luke nineteen. Jesus was going through the city of Jericho, 244 00:14:25.879 --> 00:14:31.039 and a man was there named Zachius, and he was 245 00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:36.480 the chief tax collector, and he was wealthy. Now he 246 00:14:36.519 --> 00:14:39.559 wanted to see who Jesus was, but he was too short, 247 00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:44.000 too short to see above the crowd. So he ran 248 00:14:44.039 --> 00:14:47.120 ahead of the place where Jesus would come, and he 249 00:14:47.279 --> 00:14:52.440 climbed a sycamore tree so he could see him. Now, 250 00:14:52.440 --> 00:14:55.080 when Jesus is walking through. When Jesus comes to that place, 251 00:14:55.120 --> 00:14:57.879 and then there was this sycamore tree, he stops and says. 252 00:14:57.879 --> 00:15:02.480 He looked up, and he he said to Zachias, Zachius, 253 00:15:03.480 --> 00:15:08.200 hurry and come down. I must stay at your house today. 254 00:15:09.720 --> 00:15:13.360 Zachias came down quickly, and he welcomed him gladly. Now, 255 00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:17.440 now all the people who saw this, they began to complain, 256 00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:23.159 Jesus is having dinner with the sinner. Jesus is staying 257 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:27.799 with a sinner. But Zachiah stood and said to the Lord, 258 00:15:29.399 --> 00:15:31.679 this is at his house. I will give half of 259 00:15:31.720 --> 00:15:36.559 my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, 260 00:15:36.679 --> 00:15:40.919 I will pay them back four times as much. And 261 00:15:41.039 --> 00:15:45.600 Jesus says to him, Salvation has come to this house today. 262 00:15:46.919 --> 00:15:50.799 This man is a true son of Abraham. In other words, 263 00:15:50.840 --> 00:15:53.600 he's the real deal. He's in with us and I, 264 00:15:54.080 --> 00:15:57.600 the son of Man, have come to seek and save 265 00:15:58.600 --> 00:16:07.440 people like him who were lost. This is an amazing story, now, Zachias, 266 00:16:08.200 --> 00:16:11.080 of the four ways that we judge our value, this 267 00:16:11.159 --> 00:16:13.919 guy has struck out on three of them. Okay, he's 268 00:16:13.919 --> 00:16:19.120 struck out. He is wealthy because of his corruption, but 269 00:16:19.240 --> 00:16:21.320 he has struck out in three different ways. In the 270 00:16:21.320 --> 00:16:25.799 first place, Zakias doesn't like his appearance. The Bible tells 271 00:16:25.879 --> 00:16:28.279 us he was short. In fact, he was so short 272 00:16:28.519 --> 00:16:32.320 he couldn't see above the crowd, and he was shorter 273 00:16:32.440 --> 00:16:34.840 than everybody else in the city. In fact, tradition tells 274 00:16:34.879 --> 00:16:38.639 us that Zakias was the shortest man in the city 275 00:16:40.320 --> 00:16:43.200 of Jericho. In fact, the Greek word here for short, 276 00:16:43.600 --> 00:16:48.519 describes the body of an underdeveloped child. This man is 277 00:16:48.559 --> 00:16:51.120 not just short, like a lot of people short. He 278 00:16:51.200 --> 00:16:55.879 is abnormally short. He's a little person, probably dwarfed. He's 279 00:16:55.919 --> 00:17:02.320 abnormally short, an undeveloped, fully develop body. Now because of that, 280 00:17:02.440 --> 00:17:06.119 he's probably teased and ridiculed his entire life about his height. 281 00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:11.079 Can kids be cruel and ruthless on the playground, Oh 282 00:17:11.119 --> 00:17:14.880 you can remember it. Kids can be meaner than adults, 283 00:17:15.880 --> 00:17:18.240 and on the patio they can say all kinds of 284 00:17:18.279 --> 00:17:20.160 mean things about the way you look, or the way 285 00:17:20.200 --> 00:17:23.839 you dress, or what you did. And probably Zachias's entire 286 00:17:23.880 --> 00:17:28.000 life was given hurtful, cruel nicknames, and he learns real 287 00:17:28.079 --> 00:17:31.480 quickly don't worry about the opinions of other people, because 288 00:17:31.480 --> 00:17:34.680 he was constantly made fun of. He didn't like his appearance. 289 00:17:35.079 --> 00:17:42.200 He's abnormally short, stunted, he falls short second. Zachias was 290 00:17:42.359 --> 00:17:46.039 not liked by anybody else, so the approval factor is zero. 291 00:17:46.960 --> 00:17:49.519 In fact, he was the chief tax collector, and that 292 00:17:49.559 --> 00:17:52.920 means he's hated by everybody. Now, tax collectors are never 293 00:17:53.079 --> 00:17:55.240 popular people. I mean, you don't just call up the 294 00:17:55.279 --> 00:17:59.200 irs and say come over for dinner and do an audit. Okay, 295 00:17:59.559 --> 00:18:02.440 that's not it's something you normally normally want to do. 296 00:18:02.920 --> 00:18:06.599 But in those days it was even worse because the 297 00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:11.400 Roman tax system was one hundred percent corrupt to the 298 00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:14.920 core in the first place. In order to become a 299 00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:18.279 tax collector, you had to bribe an official to get 300 00:18:18.279 --> 00:18:21.519 that job, because once you got it, you were going 301 00:18:21.559 --> 00:18:23.039 to make an all a lot of money. But you 302 00:18:23.119 --> 00:18:25.880 had to bribe an official to become a tax collector, 303 00:18:25.880 --> 00:18:28.359 so you had to be dishonest justs to get the job. Then, 304 00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:32.640 in the Roman tax collection system, Rome didn't care how 305 00:18:32.720 --> 00:18:36.119 much you collected as long as they got their percentage, 306 00:18:36.440 --> 00:18:39.400 and you could collect two, three, four, five, up to 307 00:18:39.480 --> 00:18:42.200 ten times as much as Rome required and keep it 308 00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:45.880 all for yourself. So really, a tax collector in this 309 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:50.599 days is more like a mafia extortionist. He can come 310 00:18:50.599 --> 00:18:53.279 to your house and say you're gonna pay me this 311 00:18:53.359 --> 00:18:55.440 amount of money when Rome's only said this much, and 312 00:18:55.759 --> 00:18:57.680 he said this much, and if you don't do it, 313 00:18:57.720 --> 00:19:00.079 I'm going to throw you in jail. I'm going to 314 00:19:00.079 --> 00:19:03.559 make you an offer you can't refuse, and you will 315 00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:07.440 pay tribute to me. So everybody hated the tax collectors 316 00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:11.480 because not only did they represent Rome, which was the 317 00:19:11.519 --> 00:19:14.920 invading country of Israel, and they were under subjugation by 318 00:19:14.960 --> 00:19:17.680 a foreign country, so they hated Rome. But second, the 319 00:19:17.759 --> 00:19:20.440 Roman tax collector was corrupt, and you knew that that 320 00:19:20.519 --> 00:19:23.039 guy was going to get rich off of you by 321 00:19:23.079 --> 00:19:26.920 being dishonest, and you couldn't stop him. He could extort 322 00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:29.920 all he wanted to from you. Now for a Roman. 323 00:19:30.119 --> 00:19:33.559 For a Jew, which Zachias is, to become a Roman 324 00:19:33.680 --> 00:19:38.400 tax collector is like treason. It's like going over to 325 00:19:38.440 --> 00:19:42.519 the enemy's side. No who self respecting Jew would ever 326 00:19:42.640 --> 00:19:47.200 become a Roman tax collector. It was unthinkable, without a doubt. 327 00:19:47.880 --> 00:19:52.079 Zachias was disowned by his family because no family is 328 00:19:52.079 --> 00:19:54.720 going to have a son who represents Rome in the 329 00:19:54.759 --> 00:19:59.200 most corrupt area of taxes. So he's disowned by his family. 330 00:19:59.240 --> 00:20:02.480 In fact, in those days, you were barred from going 331 00:20:02.519 --> 00:20:05.880 to worship if you worked for Rome. You could not 332 00:20:05.960 --> 00:20:09.880 go to the Jewish synagogue because they believed you had 333 00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:13.240 sold out. In fact, Jewish law in that day meant 334 00:20:13.279 --> 00:20:17.079 that the Roman anybody who was a tax collector for 335 00:20:17.200 --> 00:20:20.400 Rome that wasn't considered in the same class as a murderer. 336 00:20:21.519 --> 00:20:25.440 So he is not a popular This is the most hated, 337 00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:30.079 unpopular man in the entire city of Jerusalem. So he 338 00:20:30.160 --> 00:20:33.200 not only has an appearance problem, he's got an approval problem. 339 00:20:33.279 --> 00:20:35.440 He's not doing good. And worst of all, notice it 340 00:20:35.480 --> 00:20:39.799 says he was the chief tax collector, which means this 341 00:20:39.839 --> 00:20:42.200 is the guy on top who runs the whole scam. 342 00:20:43.279 --> 00:20:46.240 You couldn't pick a more hated person in the city 343 00:20:46.480 --> 00:20:49.880 of Jericho that Jesus stops to talk to and invite 344 00:20:49.960 --> 00:20:54.480 himself to dinner. Now, not only Isachius, he doesn't like 345 00:20:54.519 --> 00:20:58.039 his appearance and he has no approval. He's hated by everybody. 346 00:20:58.119 --> 00:21:01.799 But Zacchius doesn't like himself self. How do we know that? 347 00:21:01.880 --> 00:21:04.400 Because he's not a proud of his achievements. He's got 348 00:21:04.480 --> 00:21:07.000 all this wealth, but he got it by stealing from people, 349 00:21:07.480 --> 00:21:11.440 from extorting it from people. You cannot be happy and 350 00:21:11.519 --> 00:21:15.519 guilty at the same time. You cannot give up your 351 00:21:15.559 --> 00:21:19.880 integrity and have harmony and happiness in your life. He 352 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:21.960 knew he'd ripped off people. He knew that all his 353 00:21:22.039 --> 00:21:27.359 success was achieved by cheating others. So he lost all 354 00:21:27.359 --> 00:21:31.240 his self respect and he didn't like his life. And 355 00:21:31.480 --> 00:21:33.720 he's got a lot of money. He's got a lot 356 00:21:33.720 --> 00:21:38.200 of money, but he's a very lonely, very unhappy man. 357 00:21:38.319 --> 00:21:43.200 He's miserable and he feels pretty hopeless about his life. 358 00:21:43.480 --> 00:21:49.279 But on one single day, his life does a one 359 00:21:49.240 --> 00:21:53.440 to eighty and in one snap of a finger, bam, 360 00:21:54.119 --> 00:21:59.680 his life is transformed. What happens Jesus shows up. Jesus 361 00:21:59.720 --> 00:22:04.960 is walking through Jericho that day, and of all the 362 00:22:05.039 --> 00:22:08.359 people he stops to talk to, and of all the 363 00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:11.440 people he pays attention to, and of all the people 364 00:22:11.640 --> 00:22:16.119 he invites himself to their home, he chooses the most unloved, 365 00:22:17.000 --> 00:22:24.119 the most disrespected, the most evil, the most unappreciated person 366 00:22:24.440 --> 00:22:29.599 in the entire city, a guy named Zachias. Now he's 367 00:22:29.640 --> 00:22:35.319 walking through town, and when he comes to the tree 368 00:22:35.359 --> 00:22:39.559 that Zachias is in, he stops. He looks up and 369 00:22:39.599 --> 00:22:41.680 he says, Zachias, I want you to come down now. 370 00:22:41.759 --> 00:22:45.920 This story teaches us four truths about how much you 371 00:22:46.079 --> 00:22:49.720 matter to God. You need to write these down. Four 372 00:22:49.799 --> 00:22:53.640 truths about how much you matter to God. Number one, 373 00:22:53.720 --> 00:22:56.720 The first thing we learn is that no matter how 374 00:22:56.880 --> 00:23:03.640 small I feel, Jesus notices me. No matter how small 375 00:23:03.759 --> 00:23:07.960 I feel, Jesus notices me. Now, as I said, Zachias 376 00:23:08.039 --> 00:23:11.200 is very wealthy, but he's very lonely. And so when 377 00:23:11.200 --> 00:23:14.160 he comes he hears Jesus's come the city. He wants 378 00:23:14.200 --> 00:23:16.839 to see him, but being so short, he can't get 379 00:23:16.880 --> 00:23:20.880 a glimpse. So he does two things that no Middle 380 00:23:20.920 --> 00:23:26.359 Eastern wealthy man would ever do. First thing, he runs. 381 00:23:27.000 --> 00:23:29.920 He runs ahead of the crowd. Now, in those days, 382 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:34.880 running was for slaves. No wealthy, self respecting Middle Eastern 383 00:23:34.920 --> 00:23:39.599 man would run. But Zachias doesn't care. He runs ahead 384 00:23:39.720 --> 00:23:42.799 of the crowd and he finds a tree, a sycamore tree, 385 00:23:42.799 --> 00:23:44.920 and he climbs up in a tree. Second thing he does, 386 00:23:45.079 --> 00:23:48.759 he climbs up in a tree. No self respecting Middle 387 00:23:48.759 --> 00:23:52.440 Eastern businessman would climb up in a tree. That's what 388 00:23:52.519 --> 00:23:54.680 you have a slave do. By the way, if you 389 00:23:54.720 --> 00:23:57.160 want to ever see a sycamore tree, go over here 390 00:23:57.160 --> 00:24:00.799 to the Ministry Center, because we planted one. Because outside 391 00:24:00.799 --> 00:24:04.319 of that building are fifty seven different elements to teach 392 00:24:04.359 --> 00:24:08.119 Bible stories to our kids. And they planted a sycamore 393 00:24:08.160 --> 00:24:10.400 tree when they built that building so they could teach 394 00:24:10.480 --> 00:24:14.920 this story. And there're actually fifty seven different elements around 395 00:24:14.920 --> 00:24:18.559 that building that teach different stories from the Bible. So 396 00:24:18.599 --> 00:24:22.359 we have a sycamore tree here on this property. Now 397 00:24:22.799 --> 00:24:25.359 he's shocking. He's just hoping for a glimpse of Jesus. 398 00:24:26.039 --> 00:24:30.160 But Jesus does something even more shocking, and the Bible 399 00:24:30.200 --> 00:24:34.599 says this verse three, and Luke nineteen Zaccheas was too short. 400 00:24:34.920 --> 00:24:36.920 But when he climbs up in a tree. But when 401 00:24:37.000 --> 00:24:42.880