Participants: Hiram Rester
Series Code: AOT
Program Code: AOT000075
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00:12 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth from the 3ABN Worship Center.
00:17 His Character Counts with Hiram Rester. 00:21 Well good afternoon. 00:23 We welcome you again to the 3ABN Worship Center, 00:27 slash Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church, for the last 00:32 in our series by our pastor, or friend, Hiram Rester. 00:36 The title of this series, His Character Counts. 00:38 And we have listened to four very, very fine 00:42 very, very anointed messages. 00:44 And I was particularly impressed with this morning's message. 00:47 It was one that touched my heart. 00:48 And we have prayed with him and expect from him 00:52 nothing best than God's very best. 00:55 And we know we're going to have a good time together. 00:58 You know, we begin these little odysseys on Wednesday afternoon. 01:01 We've got five series to go through, five sermons. 01:03 And then very, very soon, all too soon, we come down to the 01:07 nether end of the meetings and it's time 01:09 for the very last sermon, and you feel a little wistful. 01:13 He was teasing backstage saying, "Well, I've 01:14 given all my best stuff. 01:16 I don't have anything more. 01:17 You can't invite me back again." 01:18 And I told him, "The same place you got this stuff from, 01:20 you can go back and get some more. 01:22 Because God does not run out, pastor. 01:24 You know that." 01:25 The same well never runs dry. 01:28 And so we are praying for a good meeting this afternoon. 01:31 We have sung Happy Birthday to him. 01:34 And this is a great way to spend your birthday. 01:39 And he is one year older and hopefully one year wiser 01:44 in the Lord. 01:45 He's a good guy, a good sense of humor, loves the Lord. 01:47 And is very, very much loved by his church. 01:50 And that speaks well for him. 01:53 Shall we pray, now, and then we'll have a song. 01:56 And then we'll listen to the man of God as he preaches. 01:58 Father God, we just thank You and praise You. 02:06 The list is almost without end. 02:10 We're thankful for life and health and strength. 02:15 We're thankful for the Sabbath. 02:17 We're thankful for an opportunity turn off the noise 02:21 of the world and tune into the voice of Jesus. 02:26 We're thankful for the call that brought us from darkness 02:30 to light, and error to truth. 02:33 We're thankful for fellowship and for friendship, 02:37 and for Christian partners to walk together the 02:40 road that leads to glory. 02:43 We are thankful for the power of the preached word. 02:47 For You have said that You have designed that through the 02:49 foolishness of preaching, men and women will be prepared 02:54 for the coming of the Lord. 02:56 And so we ask a number of things, Lord. 02:57 We ask that You will be with Your servant 03:01 whom you have anointed to speak at this point in this day 03:04 in this hour. 03:06 We ask for open and receptive ears and hearts, 03:10 not only for those who sit in this house, 03:13 but for the thousands, yea tens of thousands, 03:17 who around the world will hear this broadcast. 03:20 And we ask that our hearts and minds may be 03:23 open and receptive. 03:25 Because we don't want to be just hearers of the Word. 03:27 We want to be doers of the Word. 03:30 Because it is in the doing that we are made like Christ Jesus. 03:36 So Father, quicken our ears, quicken our hearts, 03:39 as we listen to Your words spoken with power. 03:43 And we thank You, oh Lord we thank You. 03:47 In Jesus' name, amen. 03:51 I want to do just a little song, an old Adventist standard. 03:56 It's from the hymnal. 03:57 I was teasing the pastor this morning. 03:59 He said the song that he referred to 04:00 was in the Baptist hymnal. 04:02 I said it was in the Adventist hymnal before 04:03 it was in the Baptist hymnal. 04:05 I don't know if that was true or not. 04:06 Having said so, this song is in the Adventist hymnal. 04:10 It's called, So Send I You. 04:12 It's a call from Christ that once you heard the Word, 04:14 He send us out to minister that Word. 04:27 So send I you; by grace made strong to triumph. 04:36 O'er hosts of hell, o'er darkness, death, and sin. 04:45 My name to bear, and in that name to conquer; 04:54 so send I you, My victory to win. 05:08 So send I you to take to souls in bondage; 05:16 the word of truth that sets the captives free. 05:24 To break the bonds of sin, to loose death's fetters; 05:32 so send I you, to bring the lost to Me. 05:46 So send I you, My strength to know in weakness; 05:55 My joy in grief, My perfect peace in pain. 06:03 To prove My power, My grace, My promised presence; 06:12 so send I you, eternal fruit to gain. 06:25 So send I you to bear My cross with patience; 06:34 and then one day with joy to lay it down. 06:43 To hear My voice, "Well done, thou faithful servant. 06:52 Come share My throne, 06:55 My kingdom, and My crown." 07:04 As the Father hath sent Me, 07:16 so send I you. 07:42 Amen. 07:44 Thank you, Brother C.A. 07:46 And God says, "So send I you." 07:49 As we come to the end of our series here 07:53 on His Character Counts, and as we see Him as He is, 08:00 He sends us forth to tell others. 08:05 Come see a Man, come meet my Jesus. 08:10 So Send I You. 08:11 What an excellent message in song to introduce our 08:16 last topic in this series, His Character Counts. 08:21 I would like to invite you to seek the Lord with me 08:23 once again in prayer today. 08:26 Oh dear Lord, we come before You thanking You 08:30 once again for all the blessings and the mercies You've 08:35 given to each of us. 08:37 Help us, Lord, to be more thankful, to be more aware 08:42 of your loving watch care over us. 08:46 Bless us now as we open Your Word. 08:50 And touch our hearts with Your passion and love 08:56 for each of us, and let it flow forth through us to others. 09:02 We do pray in Jesus' name, amen. 09:08 I've shared with you that my wife, Libby, and I and the kids, 09:11 we spent ten and a half years living on the road 09:16 doing fulltime evangelism. 09:18 Some for the Gulf States Conference, and Mississippi 09:21 and Alabama area, panhandle of Florida. 09:23 And then in the Texico Conference which is 09:27 right beside Exxon. 09:28 Well no, actually Texico; west Texas and New Mexico. 09:33 And we were there and that was great. 09:36 Got to do lots of meetings out in New Mexico and west Texas. 09:41 And then we spent six years traveling the nation, 09:44 traveling the United States, doing meetings all over 09:47 the country in freelance evangelism while I was 09:51 working on Master's level classes at Andrews University. 09:57 Well, during that time period traveling the nation, 10:00 one of our series was out in Colorado. 10:04 We had more than one series in Colorado. 10:06 But the one that comes to mind, we were preaching a series 10:11 there, and it was in the town of Greeley, Colorado. 10:15 We were staying just a town over or so in a little town 10:19 called Windsor, Colorado. 10:21 And the wind really blew there one day. 10:24 The wind blew there very strongly, in fact, on that 10:27 particular day that I have in mind. 10:29 We had a van borrowed that was our vehicle during the meetings, 10:35 because we had flown in. 10:36 And we had a vehicle borrowed from a church member 10:39 that we were using to get around and do the things 10:42 we needed to do. 10:43 And all of a sudden, this rain began to fall. 10:47 And then it turned into hail. 10:50 And as the hail got bigger and bigger, we thought, 10:53 "You know what? We should move the van." 10:56 Because where it was sitting, it could get dents on it. 10:59 It could get hail damage. 11:00 And so as my wife and I decided that we should move the van, 11:04 she concluded I should be the one to go move it. 11:07 As the hail was falling out of the sky, I went running out 11:10 toward the van with a towel over my head 11:12 getting pelted pretty well. 11:15 And then it stopped. 11:17 And I thought, "Okay, fine." 11:19 Just as I was getting ready to get into the van 11:21 and move it, the hail stopped. 11:23 And what's the point in moving it now. 11:25 The hail stopped, right? 11:26 So I start back into the apartment. 11:28 It was an upstairs apartment, a furnished apartment, 11:31 where we were staying during the meeting. 11:33 And just as I get under the edge of the roof... 11:37 Actually, I'm not quite under the edge of the roof 11:39 when the first ones start to fall around me. 11:41 But quickly I am under the edge of the roof. 11:43 Hail started to come down again. 11:45 But this time, no joke, it was baseball sized hail. 11:52 Yea, it totaled out the van. 11:55 Seriously, it totaled it out. Dents all over the thing. 11:59 Well, I'm standing under the edge of the roof. 12:01 I'm not going back out there now in this. 12:03 Baseball sized hail could hurt you. 12:07 It was hitting the grass and bouncing. 12:09 It was hitting the pavement and splattering. 12:12 Crazy, I'd never seen baseball sized hail. 12:15 Not in Mississippi, anyway. 12:18 And I'm standing under the stoop as it's falling all around. 12:21 The ground is quickly becoming white from the hail 12:24 coming out of the sky. 12:25 And I'm thinking Revelation and hail about the size of a talent. 12:28 Which is a lot bigger than that, but it's the 12:30 closest thing to that I'd ever seen. 12:32 Very surreal situation. 12:33 And then I look up into the sky 12:37 and I see two black birds way up in the sky. 12:46 And I'm thinking, "What are they doing out in this?" 12:51 And then I realize it's not birds. 12:55 Those are shingles. 12:57 And then I'm thinking, "How did they get up there?" 13:01 I'm a little slow sometimes, you see. 13:05 I'm heading in the house and I say, "Dear, would you 13:08 turn on the TV and see what the weather is saying. 13:12 I think there may be some really bad weather in the area here." 13:16 At the time, the power went out. 13:20 Well, I called Pastor Roger Walter. 13:23 He's now out in Vancouver, Washington. 13:25 But he was the pastor there at the time. 13:27 And I knew he lived, you know, 30 minutes or so away. 13:31 And he always had good internet at his house, it seemed. 13:36 And I thought, I'll call Roger and have him 13:38 check the weather for me. 13:40 So the phone begins to ring and I have it up to my ear. 13:44 And as I'm looking outside and the phone is ringing, 13:49 all of a sudden the garbage bags in the dumpster 13:55 begin to levitate. 13:58 That they literally start floating up. 14:04 And I'm like, this is a tornado. 14:08 I've never been in a tornado before, but pretty sure 14:11 that's what's going on here. 14:14 I yell to my wife, "Get the kids, get in the closet." 14:17 We're not even on the ground floor, we don't have a basement. 14:19 We're in a second story apartment in the meeting. 14:22 "Get in the closet." 14:23 There's a walk-in closet in the bigger bedroom. 14:26 They call it the master bedroom, but there wasn't 14:28 nothing master about it. 14:29 It wasn't grand or nothing. 14:31 It was just a walk-in closet there attached to it. 14:33 And they head in, Libby and the girls run in. 14:36 And I'm still kind of there watching. 14:40 About that time, I didn't realize I still have a phone 14:42 in my ear, Roger goes, "Hello." 14:45 And I'm like, "Roger, we're in a tornado. 14:48 Pray for us." 14:50 Now Roger knew that I liked to joke and pick around some. 14:54 And so, he's 45 minutes away with some church members 14:58 having a pristine sunny day water skiing on the lake. 15:03 And he goes, "Ha, ha. Yea right." 15:05 At which point I just look at the phone and threw it. 15:09 I don't need it right now. 15:11 I grab the mattress with all of the bedding and 15:14 everything on it, the queen mattress, 15:18 and I pick it up, my arms stretched out, I've got it bent, 15:21 and I hit that closet door full speed. 15:23 Poom. 15:25 And I go right through it. 15:26 I'm on top of Libby and the girls holding the mattress. 15:28 I roll underneath it and we're just praying out loud. 15:31 It's like a train is hitting the building. 15:34 Whoom, whoom, whoom, whoom, whoom, whoom. 15:35 Yea, everything is shaking now. 15:37 We are in the tornado and we were scared spitless. 15:43 Oh my. 15:44 It was, it was, it was... 15:46 It was one of the most scary moments of my life. 15:51 And a little bit of damage to the building we were in. 15:55 And some windows broken and that kind of thing. 15:58 But the tornado then literally touched down 16:01 right across the road. 16:03 The 18-wheeler, there was an 18-wheeler parked across 16:05 the street a 100 yards away, was flipped over on its side. 16:08 The buildings were ripped to shreds. 16:10 There was a train... 16:12 We've got some pictures they may put up here in a minute 16:14 that my wife took of the damage in Windsor, Colorado 16:18 from that tornado. 16:19 And I went running through this community. 16:21 There's a train, notice the train there. 16:23 It is blown off of its axles. 16:27 I didn't know that the train and its axles would come apart. 16:29 Apparently they just sit down on there. 16:31 The axles were still on the tracks. 16:32 The train was blown off. 16:34 Talk about some serious wind. 16:36 And these houses just torn open. 16:38 And as you go through this community there, 16:41 you could hear the swishing sound. 16:46 The gas lines were broken. 16:51 And me and this group of guys I've never met before or since, 16:55 kind of ended up assembling going from house to house 16:59 getting moms and babies out of the houses 17:02 and making sure people were okay. 17:05 And after, you know, we did what we could, 17:07 I was starting to wonder why have the cops not shown up. 17:10 Where's the first responders? 17:11 I thought it had just hit this one little community. 17:14 No, it had continued a long way and ripped a lot of the town up. 17:18 And so there was too much for them to respond to. 17:20 They were responding, just not where we were. 17:22 And we continued to run from house to house. 17:26 And we're looking for one more, and then another and another. 17:30 Thankfully, very few people were hurt. 17:32 There were some injuries. 17:34 There was one fatality from that tornado. 17:37 But as you look at the damage, it could have been 17:39 so much worse. 17:40 We had a horrible tornado close to where we live now, 17:43 an hour away in Joplin, Missouri. 17:47 And, whew, that one was serious. 17:50 But any tornado, of course, is serious. 17:53 Especially if there's injury and loss of life. 17:57 But we were looking for one more, 17:59 and then another and another. 18:03 You see, ultimately, as we look at Scripture, 18:07 and turn with me to Luke chapter 15 would you, 18:10 there's something that God has placed within us 18:13 that in those situations we hope to see people rescued, 18:17 and look for one more, and then another and another. 18:22 In fact, God Himself is one who seeks to rescue and look 18:26 for those who are in trouble and those who are lost. 18:30 Look with me in Luke 15 verse 1. 18:32 "Then drew near unto Him all the publicans 18:34 and sinners for to hear Him. 18:37 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, 18:39 'This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them.'" 18:42 Oh my. 18:44 "This man receives sinners and eats with them." 18:46 This is the religious people of the day. 18:49 They didn't understand Jesus. 18:51 They did not get how awesome and loving and accepting 18:56 and forgiving and merciful His character was. 19:00 They wouldn't have eaten with the sinners. 19:02 They wouldn't have visited with the sinners. 19:05 They wouldn't talk with them. 19:06 They wouldn't have anything to do with them. 19:07 But my Jesus did. 19:11 And, my friends, they didn't understand Him. 19:14 But He was showing love to all. 19:16 My friends, His character counts. 19:20 We read on. 19:21 Verse 3, "And He spake this parable unto them, saying, 19:26 'What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose 19:29 one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the 19:32 wilderness and go after that which is lost until he find it? 19:38 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on 19:40 his shoulders, rejoicing. 19:42 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends 19:45 and neighbors, saying unto them, "Rejoice with me. 19:49 for I have found my sheep which was lost." 19:52 I say unto you...'" verse 7 of Luke 15. 19:55 "I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven 19:59 over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine 20:05 just persons, which need no repentance." 20:10 My friends, that shows one of the character 20:12 attributes of our God. 20:14 His passion and desperate love to save the lost. 20:22 My friends, Jesus in His ministry, He ministered 20:26 to the masses, but individually could not pass by the 20:31 opportunity, time and time again, to reach one more soul. 20:41 I was driving over here earlier in the week 20:45 for this weekend here at 3ABN. 20:48 Driving over from Springfield, Missouri. 20:51 It's about five and a half hours to our home from here. 20:56 And I was about four to four and a half hours into my trip, 21:02 and my phone rang. 21:03 It said, "Libby." 21:04 I'm like, "Oh, there's my wife." 21:06 I answer the phone, "Hey Babe, what's up?" 21:09 "You've got one of the keys to the house with you, don't you?" 21:12 I said, "Yea, here on the key ring." 21:15 She goes, "You may have to come back." 21:20 I'm immediately resistant to the idea. 21:23 Because it would be eight hours to drive back and get 21:26 back to where I was. 21:28 Actually, closer to nine. 21:31 She goes, "I've lost my house key. 21:34 We're here at the house, me and the kids." 21:36 And I'm picturing my wife in the driveway 21:39 with Lauren, and you know, she's eleven, 21:43 and Savannah, she's six, and Jackson, he's two. 21:46 She said, "We can't get in the house, I've lost the key. 21:49 All the windows are locked. 21:50 There's a window upstairs that may be open." 21:54 And she's going through this and I'm thinking, "Oh my." 21:57 She goes, "I'm going to need you to bring that key back." 21:59 And I'm like, "Baby, I'll probably have you break a 22:01 window out before I would drive back." 22:04 She thought that was absolutely crazy. 22:07 I can understand that. 22:09 I'm like, "Well, you know, I can call a locksmith for you." 22:12 I mean, I know locksmiths will open car doors if you, 22:16 you know, lock your keys in. 22:18 Maybe they'll unlock the house. 22:20 She said, "Well, I'm going to look for the key really good 22:23 here in the truck." 22:24 And so I get off the phone with her and I'm trying to, 22:28 you know, find a way to contact a locksmith to see if they could 22:32 open the house. 22:34 Because I've got a phone that can, you know, get on the 22:36 internet and stuff when I'm traveling. 22:38 It's an iPhone. 22:40 I like Apple stuff, for those that are into computers. 22:43 I know that PC, that stands for "problem computers." 22:45 Something like that, for those of you that are using computers. 22:49 But none the less, I was looking on my iPhone there, 22:53 and my wife calls back. 22:54 She had gotten down in the Jeep, or the truck, 22:59 on her hands and knees and was looking. 23:02 And she found that it had come off the key ring 23:05 and was underneath the seat. 23:07 She found the key. 23:09 I breathed a big sigh of relief and continued on my journey 23:14 here to 3ABN for this weekend. 23:18 But she looked fervently for that key. 23:22 Perhaps with the fervor that the woman in the next story, 23:26 or parable that Jesus comes up with, would have. 23:30 In fact, it says here in verse 8, "Either what woman 23:35 having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, 23:39 doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, 23:42 and seek..." How? 23:45 "...diligently till she find it? 23:49 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends 23:52 and her neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me. 23:57 For I have found the piece which I had lost.' 24:01 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence 24:07 of the angels of God over..." How many? 24:11 "...one sinner that repenteth." 24:17 My friends, Jesus was always looking for one more, 24:20 and then another and another. 24:22 Now in this particular parable, that was likely a dowry 24:26 for the woman, you see. 24:28 The dowry would often be paid to the father of the bride. 24:31 At which point, that would generally, in many of the 24:35 cultures, be passed on to the bride to keep as her own. 24:39 That if she was mistreated by that husband, 24:41 she could have the funds to come home to daddy. 24:45 And so this was her savings, this was her life savings, 24:52 and she'd lost part of it. 24:53 She's looking for it diligently. 24:55 And she finds it and she rejoices. 24:59 My friends, there is such joy over one sinner that repenteth. 25:07 I think of a horrible accident, not accident, but 25:10 terrorist attack that we're all familiar with 25:13 in New York City; the twin towers. 25:16 In fact, there's two ladies, Genelle and Rosa, 25:21 they settled into work in the Port Authority offices 25:26 on floor 64, I believe it was, of tower one of the 25:30 World Trade Center. 25:32 And as they were talking excitedly about the events 25:35 of the weekend, all of a sudden there was a huge noise. 25:40 It sounded like an explosion, and the building 25:42 somewhat rocked side to side. 25:45 Genelle and Rosa ran over to the glass looking out of the 25:50 building where people were gathering, noticing paper and 25:55 bits of debris coming down, falling down, outside from 26:01 somewhere up above. 26:03 The PA system came on, public address system, 26:06 with an announcement, "Everybody remain calm, 26:11 and remain where you're at." 26:15 Most of the people in the office ignored it 26:18 and were rushing out of the building. 26:20 Genelle and Rosa decided to heed the announcement and stay. 26:23 And a few minutes later, they've got the TV on there 26:26 in the conference room and they are watching the footage of 26:29 thick black smoke coming from the building they're in. 26:33 Genelle gets hold of her fiancé, Roger, on the phone and 26:37 he immediately yells, "What are you still there for? 26:39 Get out of there." 26:40 It was at that moment that there was another explosion. 26:43 Tower two was hit. 26:46 Genelle and Rosa began going down the flights of stairs. 26:49 64 floors to the bottom, right? 26:52 They're on floor 64. 26:54 They're going down the flights of stairs. 26:56 At the 13th floor, they stop to pause for just a moment 27:00 as Genelle decides to take off her shoes. 27:03 And it was at that moment that the floor buckled. 27:06 And something hit Genelle in her back. 27:09 There was a horrible rumbling. 27:12 And when the rumbling came to an end, 27:15 she found that her head was sandwiched between two 27:20 massive concrete pillars, and her leg was buried in rubble 27:23 up to her thigh, and she was unable to move. 27:28 Claustrophobia and panic set in. 27:33 As the rescue efforts began shortly thereafter, 27:37 she found herself under the rubble for 26 hours. 27:43 She would cry out until she would pass out. 27:46 And upon waking up, would once again call for help. 27:51 Finally, help arrived. 27:53 And Genelle Guzman became the fifth and final survivor to be 27:56 pulled directly from the carnage of Ground Zero. 27:59 But I remember, do you, of watching on TV as rescue 28:05 efforts continued, as the firemen and the other 28:09 rescue personnel searched for one more, 28:14 hoping to find one more, just one more person. 28:19 And always as someone would be found, 28:23 looking for another and another; one more soul. 28:31 One more person. 28:32 Well, my friends, there has been another terrorist attack. 28:36 That as awful as that was, it pales into... 28:41 Well, it's not as significant compared to this other one. 28:45 There has been a hijacking. That's part of the problem. 28:49 An entire planet flying through space has been hijacked. 28:56 What I can tell you is, presently, rescue efforts 29:00 are underway. 29:02 We read about it here in Luke chapter 19. 29:07 Luke chapter 19 and verse 10. 29:10 It says this, rescue efforts currently underway, Luke 19:10. 29:15 It says, "For the Son of man," that's my Jesus, 29:18 "is come to seek and to save that which was..." What? 29:24 Does that sound like a rescue effort? 29:26 "He's come to..." What? 29:27 "...seek..." To look for. 29:29 "...and to save..." Take to safety. 29:31 "...that which was lost." 29:34 And as the universe looks on, and the unfallen host, 29:39 they're watching what's taking place, and they see 29:42 souls redeemed by the blood of Jesus. 29:45 And they're hoping. 29:47 Every time there is salvation for one, there is rejoicing. 29:51 But they're hoping for one more. 29:55 And then another and another. 29:57 One more soul. 30:00 We see the passion, the love, as Jesus in His life would 30:05 minister to the masses, but always be looking for one more, 30:10 and then another and another. 30:11 We're here in Luke chapter 19, and so let's look at it. 30:16 We'll start here in verse 1 in just a moment. 30:18 We're going to talk about a short man. 30:23 Zacchaeus. 30:25 Do you remember the story? 30:26 I sang it growing up in the Baptist church in Sunday school. 30:31 Zacchaeus was a wee little man. 30:35 And a wee little man was he. 30:38 He climbed up in a Sycamore tree, 30:42 for the Lord he wanted to see. 30:46 And as the Savior passed that way, 30:49 He looked up in the tree and said, "Zacchaeus, you come down. 30:55 For I'm going to your house today." 30:59 Is that the first time you've ever heard someone 31:01 preach the song, "Zacchaeus was a wee little man." 31:08 Powerful, powerful story in the Scriptures. 31:12 You see, Jesus was pressed about on all sides. 31:18 So much so that the only way the man could see Jesus 31:21 was to climb up in a tree. 31:23 And you would think Jesus is ministering to too many people 31:25 to worry about this short guy. 31:28 Vertically challenged man. 31:32 But no. 31:33 We find it here, Luke 19 verse 1. 31:35 "And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 31:38 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, 31:41 which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. 31:45 And he sought to see Jesus, who He was; and could not 31:48 for the press," so many people around him, 31:51 "because he was little of stature. 31:53 And he ran before and climbed up into a sycamore tree to 31:57 see Him: for He was to pass that way." 32:02 Now, why did he climb up in a tree? 32:06 The common answer is, because he was short. 32:08 You say, "Well, it just said he was short." 32:09 Yea. 32:11 He climbed up in a tree... 32:14 Well, what sent him up the tree? 32:16 You say, "He was short." No. 32:17 You know what? 32:18 There's short people out there all over the place. 32:20 And you don't see most of them in trees. 32:24 What sent him up that tree? 32:26 He had been hearing about Jesus. 32:30 He had heard enough about Jesus that he wanted to 32:35 see Jesus. 32:38 That's what sent him up the tree. 32:40 And, yea, he was short. I'll admit it. 32:43 But we read on. 32:45 And it says here, verse 5, "And when Jesus came 32:49 to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said unto him, 32:52 'Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; 32:53 for today I must abide at thy house.' 32:56 And he made haste, and came down, 32:57 and received Him joyfully. 32:58 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying 33:01 that He was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner." 33:04 Here again, Jesus is ministering to lost souls, 33:08 and the religious people of the day are complaining about it. 33:13 Let us never be among the complainers to Jesus' ministry. 33:19 Especially in the church today. 33:22 And so we notice here what happens. 33:26 Verse 10, in this context Jesus says what? 33:31 "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save 33:34 that which was lost." 33:38 The religious people of Jesus' day, and many from today, 33:41 don't know what God is like. 33:43 They don't get His character, His loving character. 33:45 And it's so good for them, for us when we're possibly 33:50 critical of others, that God has such a loving character. 33:55 Because He'll forgive us for that too. 33:58 And He'll change us. 34:01 Thankfully, He loves the religious Pharisees, 34:05 that don't see His character as they should, 34:09 as much as the harlot and the drunkard and the tax collector. 34:14 He loves us all. 34:16 Jesus ministers to the masses, but He could not pass by the 34:20 opportunity to win one more, and then another and another. 34:24 Would you go with me to John chapter 8 and let's see it here. 34:27 Here we have a woman that's caught in adultery. 34:30 John 8 verse 1, "Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. 34:35 And early in the morning He came again into the temple, 34:39 and all the people came unto Him. 34:41 And He sat down and taught them." 34:43 So there's all kinds of people, all the people came unto Him. 34:45 People are pressing about Him. 34:47 Again, Jesus is ministering to the masses. 34:51 And His sermon gets interrupted. 34:56 Now I've thought about this. 34:58 If some people came in right now while I'm trying to preach to 35:01 you folks and interrupted my sermon, I'm afraid that 35:04 I might would get aggravated or something. 35:09 Jesus saw it as a ministry opportunity. 35:12 Right? 35:14 That's the truth. 35:16 Verse 3, "And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto Him 35:19 a woman taken in adultery. 35:20 And when they had set her in the midst, they say unto Him, 35:23 'Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.'" 35:26 They talk about the law of Moses and how she should be stoned, 35:29 and ask Jesus what to do. 35:30 And He stoops down and He writes in the ground. 35:32 And they think, you know, He's ignoring them. 35:35 And so they talk to Him some more about it. 35:38 He writes in the ground, and then He says, 35:41 "He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone." 35:47 See, Jesus was ministering to the masses. 35:53 But in this humiliated puddled mass of human flesh 35:59 sitting weeping upon the ground, my Savior could not 36:08 pass by the opportunity to win one more soul. 36:18 And so what does Jesus do? 36:20 He says, "He that's without sin, let him cast the first stone," 36:23 as the convicting power of the Holy Spirit 36:28 burned into their hearts. 36:31 From the oldest to the youngest, they slowly went away. 36:35 Jesus was the only one left. 36:38 Verse 10 of John 8, "When Jesus had lifted up Himself 36:43 and saw none but the woman, He said unto her, 36:47 'Woman, where are thine accusers? 36:49 Hath no man condemned thee?' 36:53 She said, 'No man, Lord.' 36:55 And Jesus said unto her, 'Neither do I condemn thee. 37:00 Go, and sin no more.'" 37:04 My younger brother, for quite a while, a few years, 37:09 taught at religious high school, the academies. 37:14 He's now back in Mississippi teaching at the public 37:17 middle school where my mom taught. 37:19 He just wants to be back in Mississippi. 37:22 For me and my wife to have traveled all over the country 37:24 is really not in harmony with our heritage. 37:28 My mom still lives in the same county she was born in. 37:31 Worked at the same institution her entire work career, 37:34 and retired. 37:36 My dad is the one that moved away from home. 37:38 He lives there, him and my mom, in the county she was raised in. 37:42 Twenty-five minutes from where he grew up. 37:43 I mean that's... You know, wow. 37:47 So Libby and I having went all over the country. 37:50 My brother, he has traveled around too, but he went back 37:54 to Mississippi this year. 37:56 But he was telling me he did an experiment in one of the 37:59 academies where he was teaching Bible. 38:01 My little brother, he's a brain. He's a walking brain. 38:06 Really, a brain. 38:07 He's way smarter than me. 38:10 He plays 37 different musical instruments. 38:13 I've watched him get up and play recorder. 38:17 He's got a big one that he stuffs in his shirt, 38:20 and one in each hand, and played a song in harmony. 38:30 And he just had one note on the big one, 38:32 but when he didn't need that note, he would cover that 38:34 recorder's opening with his tongue. 38:38 So on and off with that one, and then the others. 38:40 He plays like 37 different musical instruments, 38:43 and all of this. 38:44 My little brother was teaching Bible at this academy 38:49 and he had about 200 students that he was working with. 38:53 And he had them write something down, I believe it was. 38:56 And it was about the woman caught in adultery, 38:58 and what did Jesus say to her? 39:01 And do you know what 98% of our young people wrote down 39:05 out of the 200 sample that he was working with? 39:08 What do you think they wrote down that Jesus said to the 39:11 woman caught in adultery? 39:14 "Go and sin no more." 39:19 There was only 3 or 4 out of 200 that wrote, 39:22 "Neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more." 39:29 My friends, let us not make a mistake that we get to thinking 39:34 that God is looking at us when we have sinned 39:37 and fallen into sin, and His response is, 39:41 "Don't do that anymore." 39:44 His response is, "Neither do I condemn thee. 39:50 Go and sin no more." 39:52 When we're feeling condemnation, and we think that's coming from 39:56 God, we don't have the freedom to obey from the heart. 40:02 And we're going to be trapped in a salvation by works experience 40:07 if we don't realize the loving character God has for us. 40:12 You say, "Are you advocating sin?" 40:13 No. 40:15 He said, "Go and sin no more." 40:17 But, my friends, if we emphasize that without bringing out 40:22 that Jesus says, "Neither do I condemn thee," 40:25 we've left out the part that gives victory over sin 40:29 from the heart, and we create legalists. 40:35 As we look here, Jesus was ministering. 40:37 This is about the character and love of God. 40:40 Go with me to John chapter 3. 40:42 Let's see it again, John 3. 40:45 You know, I use to think that ministers don't really work. 40:50 I don't know if any of you have ever experience that. 40:51 I've got some church members that probably just think 40:53 I work on Sabbath. 40:55 They think, "You get paid pretty good working one day a week." 41:00 I grew up hauling hay and hauling watermelons 41:04 in the, you know, Mississippi sun and the humidity, the heat. 41:08 And, whew, those were some hard days of work. 41:13 Building fence, oh man. 41:16 And at the end of the day, when you lay down to go to sleep, 41:20 you're just exhausted. 41:22 It just feels so good to stretch out and lay down. 41:25 And sleep comes quickly. 41:28 In ministry, you get just as exhausted, 41:30 but in a different way. 41:31 Your body may not be tired, but your mind is drained. 41:37 The emotional energy it takes to be ministering to people and 41:41 to meet their needs. 41:43 Jesus had been ministering to the masses 41:46 here in John chapter 3. 41:48 And finally, he had some time in the evening, some solitude. 41:54 And there's a man that comes to Him. 41:55 This man had been too embarrassed to go and 41:58 see Jesus in the bright of day. 42:00 In the light of day, he wouldn't come and see Jesus. 42:03 He comes sneaking up at night. 42:07 A leader of Israel, Nicodemus. 42:11 And what happens here? We see it. 42:14 Verse 1 of John 3, "There was a man of the Pharisees 42:17 named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 42:19 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto Him, 42:21 'Rabbi, we know that Thou art a teacher come from God. 42:23 For no man can do these miracles that Thou doest, 42:25 except God be with Him.' 42:27 Jesus answered and said unto him, 'Verily,'" or truly, 42:30 "I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot 42:33 see the kingdom of God." 42:35 Jesus didn't mince words with him. 42:37 Jesus cut right to the chase. 42:40 You know, I would have been tempted, I must admit, 42:43 "You know, what are you doing calling me on my time off? 42:47 This is my time, I've been ministering and I'm empty." 42:51 I'll tell you, as a minister there are times I turn 42:54 my cell phone off. 42:56 Because I've just given everything I feel like 42:58 I have to give and I need some recharge time. 43:02 I say, you know what? 43:04 I'll check the messages and catch up tomorrow. 43:06 But you know, Jesus, after having the crowd pulling 43:09 at Him all day, He didn't say, "Hey dude, you need to 43:15 come back during business hours." 43:17 No. 43:19 Now He did cut to the chase. There's no doubt. 43:22 But He saw in this gentleman an opportunity 43:27 to reach one more person. 43:30 And that was something my Savior, 43:32 it's part of His character, could never pass up; 43:37 the opportunity to reach one more soul. 43:41 Oh how beautiful it is. 43:43 And I'm glad that Jesus talked to him, 43:44 not just for Nicodemus' sake, but right here in this chapter 43:50 we find such verses as verse 16, "For God so loved the world, 43:54 that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth 43:56 in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." 43:59 That most famous verse in the Bible was from right here, 44:02 because Jesus couldn't pass by the opportunity 44:05 to win one more soul. 44:07 And He had that conversation with Nicodemus. 44:10 And in the next chapter, we find this attribute, 44:13 this passion that our Savior has for the lost and dying world. 44:17 We find it again, the woman at the well. 44:20 You can read about it here in verse 5, John 4 and verse 5. 44:24 "Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, 44:29 near to the parcel of ground that Jacob 44:31 gave to his son Joseph. 44:33 Now Jacob's well was there." 44:34 Notice verse 7, "There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water. 44:38 Jesus saith unto her, 'Give Me to drink.'" 44:41 And the woman is shocked. 44:42 Why would a man, a Jewish man, speak to a Samaritan woman? 44:48 I mean, no way. 44:51 And furthermore, to ask her to do something for Him. 44:54 But here, our Savior again could not pass by the opportunity 45:00 to win one more soul. 45:02 And what did that lead to? Verse 39 of John 4. 45:05 "And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on Him 45:08 for the saying of the woman, which testified, 45:10 'He told me all things whatsoever I did.' 45:13 So when the Samaritans were come unto Him, they besought Him 45:16 that He would tarry with them. 45:18 And He abode there two days. 45:19 And many more believed because of His own word." 45:23 And then in John chapter 5, the next chapter of this book, 45:28 there was a man at the Pool of Bethesda who had been there, 45:31 who had been sick, he had been sick for 38 years. 45:37 And Jesus had been ministering to the masses, but He saw 45:40 in this man the opportunity to reach one more, 45:46 and then another and another. 45:49 Jesus was again speaking and preaching and 45:52 ministering to the masses. 45:54 He was in a house and the house was full of people 45:57 as Jesus taught. 45:58 So many people they were standing around the 46:00 door and outside. 46:03 And again, Jesus' sermon gets interrupted. 46:06 There's a paralyzed man. 46:07 In Mark 2, it tells us about it. 46:10 And his friends literally climb up on top of the building and 46:13 tear the roof back. 46:16 Security or something would stop them if they tried 46:18 to do that in our building today. 46:20 Right? 46:24 They tear the roof back and lower the paralyzed man down. 46:32 Jesus couldn't pass by the opportunity 46:36 to reach one more soul. 46:39 That's something I've been trying to learn from Jesus, 46:41 is Jesus saw interruptions as opportunities. 46:46 And I have a personality where my first reaction to an 46:49 interruption is frustration. 46:52 And went, "Jesus change me. 46:53 Help me to be more like You. 46:56 Help me flow with whatever comes my way and 46:59 respond in a way that You would that shows Your love and 47:02 compassion to a lost and dying world." 47:07 Mark chapter 5, let's look there. 47:10 Mark chapter 5. 47:13 We see another example. 47:15 I mean, time and again, as Jesus would minister 47:19 to the masses, but then He couldn't pass by the 47:22 opportunity to win one more soul, 47:25 and then another and another. 47:26 We look here in Mark 5 verse 24, "And Jesus went with him." 47:33 Now, there was the ruler of the synagogue, Jairus, 47:36 and his daughter was sick. 47:37 And Jesus was going with him to heal his daughter. 47:39 His daughter died in the meantime, but Jesus 47:42 still went and then He resurrected the young lady. 47:44 But right in the middle of that story, we find another one. 47:48 Verse 24, "And Jesus went with him. 47:51 And much people followed Him, and thronged Him." 47:53 Notice, how many people are around Him? 47:56 He can't hardly move. 47:58 People are gathered around Him. 48:00 "And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, 48:05 and had suffered many things of many physicians, 48:08 and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, 48:12 but rather grew worse, when she had heard of Jesus, 48:18 came in the press behind and touched His garment." 48:24 The masses thronged about Jesus. 48:31 But Jesus perceived that virtue went forth from Him, it says. 48:34 Let's read on, verse 28. 48:37 "For she said, 'If I may touch but His 48:39 clothes, I shall be whole.' 48:41 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up. 48:44 And she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. 48:47 And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that virtue had 48:51 gone out of Him, turned about in the press, and said, 48:54 'Who touched My clothes?' 48:58 And His disciples said unto Him, 'Thou seest the multitude 49:02 thronging Thee, and sayest Thou, who touched Me?'" 49:06 "Jesus, You see all these people around. 49:08 What do You mean, who touched You? 49:09 Everybody is touching You." 49:11 But this was a different touch. 49:12 It was a touch of faith. 49:14 "And He looked round about to see her 49:17 that had done this thing. 49:18 But the woman fearing and trembling..." 49:20 Now why do you think she was fearing and trembling? 49:23 If she had an issue of blood... 49:26 We won't get into fully what that is here today, but if she 49:28 had an ongoing bleeding, then she's considered, 49:33 according to Mosaic law, as... What word? 49:37 ...unclean. 49:38 And if you came and touched someone and you were unclean, 49:42 what was the penalty for that? 49:46 Could be stoned for that. Yes or no? 49:49 Serious. And now she's very fearful. 49:53 Verse 33, "But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what 49:56 was done in her, came and fell down before Him, 49:58 and told Him all the truth. 50:00 And He said unto her, 'Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole. 50:06 Go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.'" 50:11 Again, He couldn't pass by the opportunity 50:14 to reach one more. 50:17 I mean, we could think about, you know, where the name for 50:20 modern hearing aids probably came from. 50:23 You know, Miracle Ear. 50:25 Peter chopped off the servants ear when they came to 50:30 take Jesus into custody. 50:32 And what did Jesus do? 50:34 He's about to be taken in and mistreated and tortured, 50:37 and everything else, but He couldn't pass by the opportunity 50:40 to minister to one more. 50:42 Hence, we have a miracle ear. 50:46 My Savior, He would minister to the masses, 50:49 but the love that flowed forth to him. 50:52 I remember, as the masses gathered about Him, 50:55 there was a blind man, here in the book of Mark chapter 10, 51:00 I believe it is, blind Bartimaeus. 51:04 And he says, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." 51:07 And the people are like, "Go away blind man. 51:09 Leave the Master alone. Are you serious?" 51:13 But Jesus heard his cries. 51:16 If you're turning there, I believe it starts in verse 46, 51:19 probably, of Mark 10. 51:23 It goes to the end of the chapter. 51:24 But, Jesus couldn't pass by the opportunity 51:28 to reach out and win one more, and then another and another; 51:32 to minister to this man. 51:34 Jesus was the one that had the children brought into Him. 51:38 Children weren't considered of much value in biblical times. 51:42 And the disciples were seeing the kids brought to Jesus. 51:45 He said, "Suffer the little children to come unto Me. 51:48 The character of God flowing forth through Jesus. 51:51 He couldn't pass by the opportunity 51:54 to win one more soul, one more, and then another and another. 51:59 I want to share with you a quote from one of my favorite books, 52:03 possibly my favorite book. 52:05 It's called, Christ's Object Lessons. 52:07 And this particular quote, actually took the time 52:10 to write in the back of my Bible because I like the quote. 52:13 I gather up stuff and write things in. 52:15 That's not uncommon. 52:16 I like to do that. 52:18 And so, for me that's not uncommon. 52:21 And it's from page 196 of the book called, 52:23 Christ's Object Lessons. 52:25 And it says, "The value of a soul, who can estimate? 52:31 Would you know its worth, go to Gethsemane, and there 52:37 watch with Christ through those hours of anguish, 52:42 when He sweat as it were great drops of blood. 52:45 Look upon the Savior uplifted on the cross. 52:50 Hear that despairing cry, 'My God, My God. 52:54 Why hast Thou forsaken Me?' Mark 15:34. 52:58 Look upon the wounded head, the pierced side, the marred feet. 53:07 Remember that Christ risked all. 53:11 For our redemption, heaven itself was imperiled." 53:16 I can hardly contemplate what that means. 53:18 I mean, I know what it means, but I can hardly contemplate it. 53:21 "At the foot of the cross, remembering that for 53:24 one sinner Christ would have laid down His life, 53:29 you may estimate the value of a soul." 53:37 That's the one more, and than another and another. 53:42 Go with me, would you, to the book of Luke chapter 23. 53:45 I have to show you this. 53:47 Oh, I have to get this in. 53:49 This is exciting to me. 53:51 This just blows my mind. 53:54 It is so amazing, so awesome. 53:56 Go to Luke chapter 23. 53:58 I mean, if there was ever a time that He would have 54:02 had more on His mind. 54:03 We're talking about on the cross, okay? 54:05 If there was ever a time when He'd say, "Ah, hold on here. 54:08 I've got to focus on what I'm really here for." 54:11 What? 54:12 Folks, if you could even contemplate that, you don't 54:14 understand His character. 54:16 What was He there for? 54:17 He was there to save one more, and then another and another. 54:20 If there was ever a time He would have had 54:22 more on His mind, it would have been here. 54:24 But no, my Savior, while dying for the sins of the whole world, 54:30 my sin and your sin, could not pass by the opportunity 54:35 to win one more soul. 54:39 Here it is, check it out. This is neat. 54:41 We see in Luke 23 verse 39, "And one of the malefactors 54:45 which were hanged railed on him, saying, 54:47 If Thou be Christ, save Thyself and us.' 54:50 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, 54:52 'Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the 54:55 same condemnation?'" 54:56 Verse 41 of Luke 23, "And we indeed justly; 54:59 for we receive the due reward of our deeds. 55:02 But this man hath done nothing amiss." 55:04 He's done nothing wrong. 55:05 Verse 42 "And he said unto Jesus, 'Lord, remember me 55:09 when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.' 55:11 And Jesus said unto him, 'Verily I say unto thee 55:16 today, shalt thou be with Me in paradise.'" 55:19 Jesus was giving him the assurance that very day 55:21 that he would be in paradise with Him. 55:26 This was actually a gift, I believe, from the 55:28 heavenly Father to the Savior to encourage Him 55:32 right there, "This is what You're dying for." 55:35 But see, I see this, and He's bleeding and He's injured, 55:41 and He's in the most exquisite of physical pain, 55:44 as well as the separation He's experiencing 55:47 from the Father on the cross. 55:49 And then there's this guy over here saying, "Remember me." 55:52 If there was ever a time He would have had more on 55:54 His mind and say, "Hey, I'm busy here right now. 55:56 I'm dying for the whole world. 55:58 You're on your own." 56:02 That's inconceivable that my Savior would be able to 56:07 be that way. 56:08 What passion, what compassion. 56:11 The others-centered, absolute love of God. 56:18 Always searching, always looking, 56:22 for one more, and then another and another. 56:26 That's really the basis of outreach and evangelism, 56:28 my friends, is that Jesus wants to reach the masses. 56:32 And even then, as the signals from 3ABN go out around 56:36 the world, He's still not done because He wants to reach 56:38 one more, and then another and another. 56:41 One more soul. 56:44 Are you that one more soul listening today? 56:47 Is that you? 56:49 Oh, don't say no to Him. 56:51 Say yes to the Savior. 56:54 Is your neighbor, is your work associate, one of your 56:58 family members, that one more soul? 57:00 And you need to reflect the love of Jesus to them and 57:03 share a piece of literature or a sermon of truth with them? 57:09 My friends, Jesus is searching for one more, 57:12 and then another and another. 57:13 And as I see the passion of Jesus, I see my own selfishness. 57:18 And I'm drawn out of myself to serve Him 57:22 and His heart of infinite love. 57:24 I am the one more soul. 57:27 And so are you. |
Revised 2014-12-17