Participants:
Series Code: HC
Program Code: HC190003A
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00:50 Hello friends. Welcome to the continuation
00:52 of our 3ABN Fall Camp Meeting. 00:54 Weren't we just blessed? 00:56 Amen! Praise the Lord! And the blessing is going to 00:58 continue as my good friend Pastor Doug Batchelor 01:01 is going to be speaking this hour... 01:03 and Climbing the Tree of Life 01:06 is the title of his message. 01:09 And we know that the Lord has a blessing in store 01:12 for every one of us. 01:15 What can I say about Pastor Doug Batchelor? 01:17 I've known him since I had black hair 01:19 and since he had hair. 01:24 I started in evangelism when I came to California 01:27 to begin ministry. Pastor Doug Batchelor invited me 01:30 out to be a part of his evangelistic team. 01:32 We worked together for 11 months 01:35 and at the end of 11 months we were separated. 01:39 I say that not in a negative way 01:41 but the Lord blessed so wonder- fully they gave Doug and I 01:46 different directions to go. 01:48 We have worked together through the years on many occasions 01:50 with Amazing Facts, and I was even in his wedding. 01:54 I see his wife Karen here. Good to see you, Karen. 01:57 Can we say Amen? Amen! 01:59 It's wonderful to have Karen here. We go back a ways. 02:02 But I know that we've traveled together on land, 02:05 we've done evangelism together, 02:07 we've flown together. You'll hear stories 02:09 how Doug and I were in a plane together running out of fuel. 02:13 And the Lord obviously pulled off a miracle 02:15 because we landed with no fuel left 02:18 and here we are: on the fuel of the Lord's grace. 02:21 And I know tonight the Lord is going to bless 02:23 in a powerful way. 02:24 Every time we get a chance to get together 02:26 it's always a blessing. 02:28 And I'm not going to take too much time from his message 02:30 because I know that there's going to be a wonderful sermon 02:34 going forth tonight to the glory of God. 02:36 And the same attention that the Lord has given to us 02:40 to listen to Elder Ted Wilson I know that He's going to 02:43 bless us as we open our hearts for His manservant 02:47 my good friend and colleague in ministry Pr. Doug Batchelor. 02:51 I'm going to have him pray, but before he comes out 02:56 I've been given the opportunity to sing a song 02:58 that has such meaning to us. 03:01 Many of you... Years ago you may have seen Doug and I 03:04 sing this song together. 03:06 I did extend an invitation for him to sing with me, 03:08 but he just came in and he said: "I'll let you sing it tonight. " 03:12 But in honor of the work that God has done through our lives 03:15 as fellow laborers in the field of God 03:18 tonight this song is dedicated to His work, 03:22 to the work God has done in us 03:23 because Only Jesus Can Satisfy Your Soul. 03:38 The world may try 03:42 to satisfy 03:45 that deep longing in your soul. 03:51 You may search 03:55 the wide world o'er 03:58 but you'll be just as before. 04:04 You'll never find 04:08 true satisfaction 04:12 until you find the Lord 04:18 for only Jesus 04:22 can satisfy your soul. 04:30 Only Jesus 04:36 can satisfy 04:39 your soul. 04:44 And only He 04:48 can change your heart 04:51 and make you whole. 04:57 He'll give you peace 05:00 you never knew... 05:04 sweet love and joy 05:07 and heaven, too. 05:10 Only Jesus 05:15 can satisfy 05:18 your soul. 05:24 If you have the fame and fortune, 05:30 all the wealth you could obtain, 05:36 but you have not Christ 05:41 within 05:43 your living here 05:46 would be in vain. 05:49 There'll come a time 05:53 when death will call you... 05:57 riches cannot help you then. 06:03 So come to Jesus 06:07 for only He can satisfy. 06:16 Only Jesus 06:21 can satisfy 06:24 your soul. 06:29 And only He 06:32 can change your heart 06:35 and make us whole. 06:42 He'll give us peace 06:45 we never knew... 06:48 sweet love and joy 06:52 and heaven, too. 06:54 For only Jesus 06:59 can satisfy 07:02 your soul. 07:06 He'll give us peace 07:11 we never knew... 07:14 sweet love and joy 07:18 and heaven, too. 07:22 For only Jesus 07:28 can satisfy 07:33 your 07:35 soul. 07:46 Amen! 07:49 Believe it or not, we used to sing that together. 07:52 But nobody would listen back then. 07:56 Well, it's so good to see each of you. 07:57 And Karen and I are very thankful to be here with you 08:00 for our Homecoming Camp Meeting 08:03 where we're going to talk about Living Above the Crowd. 08:05 There's Mrs. Batchelor. 08:07 We just flew in from Sacramento, and we're so thankful now 08:10 it's one airplane from Sacramento to St. Louis! 08:14 And so who knows... we may come more often. 08:17 But good to see each of you. It's always good to be back here 08:21 at 3ABN. It's such a miracle the way the Lord has blessed 08:24 this vision. And you know, we have a downlink there 08:28 in Sacramento. Plays 3ABN. We hear stories all the time 08:32 about people coming to the Lord 08:34 and it's just a wonderful blessing. 08:38 You know, I'm very thankful to be able to be with you tonight 08:43 and just to open the Word of God. 08:45 In keeping with the theme 08:48 Living Above the Crowd you know the Bible says that 08:52 "Straight is the gate and narrow is the way 08:55 that leads to life and few there be that find it. 08:58 Broad is the way... " The crowd is on that road. 09:01 "that leads to destruction. " 09:03 Moses told the children of Israel 09:06 "Be mindful not to follow a multitude to do evil. " 09:11 And so, you know, being a Christian 09:15 Jesus said in this wicked generation 09:18 it requires faith 09:21 and you've gotta keep your eyes fixed upon Jesus. 09:25 Now in our message tonight we're going to be talking about 09:27 Climbing the Tree of Life. 09:29 And I'm always fascinated with amazing facts. 09:34 The tallest tree and the biggest tree 09:39 and the widest tree, and I've spent a lot of time 09:42 in the woods working with trees. 09:44 Sometimes I cut one down I count the rings. 09:47 But one tree that's amazing to me 09:50 that's called the tree of life 09:52 is the simple coconut tree. 09:55 We just returned from Asia. 09:58 We were in three different countries preaching the gospel, 10:01 doing missionary training and evangelism. 10:04 And we flew over some of those beautiful islands 10:07 near the Equator. 10:09 And you can look from the window and you see the green emerald 10:12 specks in the blue and you know that there's trees there. 10:17 They used to tell the pilots during World War II 10:19 "If you get shot down 10:22 and if you are in your little life raft... " 10:26 maybe primitive life rafts or your life vests... 10:30 if you can get to one of those islands where there's coconut 10:32 trees there's a good chance you can survive 10:34 until someone finds you. " 10:36 Hopefully the right side would find you. 10:39 Because the coconut... it's amazing! 10:43 We did an Amazing Fact on coconuts. 10:46 They make, of course, you've got food. 10:48 You've got water. 10:50 You can get milk. 10:51 You've got tools. 10:53 Make cloth. 10:55 You can start a fire with a coconut tree. 10:58 They make soap. 11:00 They make baskets. 11:03 Building material. 11:04 It's just absolutely amazing. 11:06 If you go through the South Pacific 11:08 and visit some of those islands to see what they can do 11:10 with that one tree! 11:12 And so they kind of call it a tree of life. 11:15 You know, the Bible begins talking about two trees. 11:21 You've got the Tree of Life and you've got a tree that was 11:24 the forbidden tree: the Knowledge of Good and Evil. 11:27 And because man ate from the wrong tree 11:30 we were evicted from the garden. 11:33 And the whole Bible is telling us how to get back 11:36 to the garden. And you get to Revelation 11:37 it says they're back in the Garden of Eden 11:41 eating from the Tree of Life again. 11:45 Well, I'm going to take you to a story 11:48 about a man that climbed a tree of life. 11:51 It's only found one place in the gospels. 11:54 And it's really just the story of Zacchaeus. 11:58 People hear that and they think: "Oh, Pastor Doug, 12:00 I already did Sabbath School or Sunday School" 12:02 depending on your background 12:04 "and I know this story and I know the song 12:07 about the wee little man. " 12:09 But I think sometimes we forget that these stories that we 12:13 sort of relegate to the children 12:15 are absolutely erupting with profound theological meaning. 12:21 And I'd like for you to look at this story tonight 12:23 with fresh eyes. 12:26 "Jesus entered... " Luke chapter 19 verse 1... 12:31 "Jesus entered and He passed through Jericho. " 12:35 All right... gotta stop already. 12:38 This was the last journey of Jesus to Jerusalem 12:42 before the crucifixion. 12:45 When it says He passed through Jericho you realize He's at the 12:48 lowest point on the planet. 12:50 The city of Jericho is in the Jordan Valley 12:52 not far from where the Jordan river runs into the Dead Sea, 12:56 and that's 1,300 feet below sea level. 13:00 And Jesus... You could say He's reached one of the lowest 13:03 points. And the city of Jericho, one of the ancient cities 13:06 of the world, was actually a cursed city. 13:09 You remember when they marched around the city 13:11 and the walls fell, and Joshua pronounced a curse on the city. 13:15 Said: "Cursed is anyone who rebuilds Jericho. 13:18 He will lay the foundation in his firstborn 13:21 and he will set up the gates in his youngest. " 13:24 And later during the time of King Ahab 13:26 someone had the audacity to rebuild Jericho 13:29 in spite of the curse. And his firstborn died when 13:32 they laid the foundation and his youngest died 13:35 when they set up the gates. It was a cursed city. 13:38 You see, Jericho - because of its location - 13:41 is at the intersection of three continents. 13:45 You have Asia, Africa, Europe. 13:48 And you know, there's a forbid- ding deserts that's to the east 13:51 and so the only way the caravan traffic went 13:54 was through the Jordan Valley. 13:56 And so it went all the way back to the time of Rahab. 14:00 That city was known for its bad behavior. 14:05 And so as soon as we say Jericho... 14:07 You know the story of the man who fell among thieves? 14:10 He's going from Jerusalem - the city of God - 14:12 to Jericho. 14:14 And he falls on his way to Jericho. 14:18 And so Jericho didn't have the best reputation. 14:20 But Jesus knew that they needed the gospel there too. 14:24 So on His way to die He goes to the lowest city. 14:29 And the Bible tell us: "Now behold there was a man 14:33 named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector 14:38 and he was rich. " 14:42 Tell you a story: 14:43 this guy owned a fitness gym 14:47 and wanting to be a good example he was pretty built. 14:50 As a matter of fact, he was over built. He had the arms 14:53 that reached that wide and very strong; exercising all the time. 14:57 And one of the ways he would promote the gym 14:58 is he had this little challenge that he'd issue. 15:03 He'd say: "For fifty dollars I'll give you a chance to win 15:06 a thousand dollars. I am going to squeeze all of the 15:09 juice out of a lemon, and if you can get one drop of juice 15:13 out of the lemon after I squeeze all of it out 15:16 I'll give you a thousand dollars. " 15:17 And so he got some takers every now and then. 15:19 You know, these big loggers and muscle men would come in... 15:23 and mechanics and so forth, and the owner would... 15:25 he'd take that lemon and he'd squeeze it and he'd rub it 15:28 and he'd get all of it out then he'd hand the messy pulp 15:30 to someone else and say: "You get another drop out 15:32 and you get a thousand dollars. " 15:33 They never could. 15:36 And eventually this one guy comes in 15:38 and he's five feet tall. He's skinny as a rail. 15:41 He's got these big horn-rimmed glasses on. 15:43 He says: "I can do it! " 15:45 And everyone's laughing. He comes over; he plops down 15:47 his $50 for a chance to get another drop out of this lemon. 15:52 And so he goes right up there and he presses 15:54 and plip, plip, plip... three drops came out. 15:57 And everybody is dumbfounded that he was able to do that. 16:00 They said: "How do you do that? How do you get so strong? 16:02 What do you do? Are you a lumberjack? 16:04 Do you milk goats? How do you get the strength to do that? " 16:07 Said: "No... I work for the IRS. " 16:12 So... 16:19 Zacchaeus wasn't greatly loved. 16:23 He was a tax collector. 16:26 Except tax collectors back in Bible times 16:29 were loved even less than they are today. 16:32 Now you know there's legitimate people... 16:33 We had one of our head elders for years was a tax collector 16:37 and a good man. 16:39 Honest job. The Bible says there's a reason and a place 16:43 for taxes, but in Bible times 16:45 the publicans - tax collectors - their names were synonymous 16:51 with the most wicked and sinful people in Israel. 16:55 In fact, if you wanted to just put someone down and insult them 17:00 you might call them a dog, you might call them a Samaritan 17:03 then you call them a publican. 17:06 And oh, it's just like: "Ooh, don't say that. " 17:09 Publican was as low as you could go. 17:13 Now what they did is they basically would buy a contract 17:17 from the Romans so that they could extract taxes 17:22 from their own people. And the way they did the taxes 17:24 it was kind of rough. I mean you brought a wagon into town 17:27 and you had your goats and somebody's saying: "I'm going to 17:28 charge you so much for the goats, so much for the horns 17:31 on the goats. " And they kind of made up the rules 17:33 as they went along. And they'd collect what the Romans required 17:36 and everything on top of that they kept. 17:39 And they lined their pockets by extorting their own people 17:43 and giving the money to their enemies. 17:46 So you can see why the publicans were not much appreciated. 17:50 And Zacchaeus was not only a publican. He was the chief 17:55 publican in the most lucrative city to be a publican. 17:59 And it was basically what you would call organized crime. 18:03 He was like the Dom of Jericho. 18:08 It was the underworld. 18:10 And the people that the pub- licans typically hung out with 18:13 well you know they gave Jesus a hard time 'cause He 18:15 went to a feast at Matthew's house 18:18 and they said: "Why does your Master hang out 18:21 with publicans and sinners? " 18:23 Publicans and harlots... that all went together 18:25 in one phrase. 18:28 And so Jesus goes to this town. Now Zacchaeus... 18:33 he was probably born a good Jewish boy 18:36 and something made him take a wrong turn. 18:38 His parents probably had the best of intentions for him. 18:41 His name Zacchaeus means pure, 18:46 innocent, good. 18:50 And he went bad! 18:54 And maybe it was 'cause he was short, you know. 18:56 I didn't ruin the story... you knew that part already, 18:58 didn't you? I hope I didn't spoil it for you. 19:03 But as they say: "Some people when they're short they get 19:05 something called short man syndrome. " 19:09 They say that, you know, people like Hitler and Napoleon 19:12 and Alexander the Great, they were all like 5 ft. and above 19:15 and they try to prove themselves so they over compensate by 19:18 working. And they're driven 'cause they want to be somebody. 19:21 And maybe when Zacchaeus was a boy everyone else bullied him 19:24 and teased him and so he became angry 19:26 and he just decided: "The only thing that's going to give me 19:29 power is money. " 19:30 And he did everything he could and he learned how to 19:35 manipulate and pull strings 19:37 until he was not just rich 19:40 he was VERY rich. 19:43 Well let me tell you: a man's life does not consist 19:48 in the abundance of things he possesses. 19:50 Amen! As a matter of fact, Solomon says the more you 19:52 possess the harder it is to sleep. 19:54 That's a loose paraphrase. 19:57 And you've probably heard my testimony. My dad 20:01 had millions of dollars 20:04 and at one time he owned two airlines. 20:08 And in our garage: Lamborghini, 20:11 Ferrari, Jaguar, Rolls Royce... not all at the same time. 20:16 But I mean... a yacht in the back yard. 20:18 And so there was a lot of money there. 20:22 And I'll tell you: there was a lot of misery. 20:25 He drank himself to sleep every night. 20:28 I don't want to sound disrespectful, but I could see 20:31 right away money does not bring happiness. 20:34 A lot of people have found that out the hard way. 20:36 They basically sell their souls. 20:37 Jesus said: "What profit is it to you 20:40 if you gain the whole world and you lose your soul? " 20:43 And you know it's true. 20:45 The more you have, the more worried you are 20:47 about what you have! 20:49 And time you ought to be out sharing the gospel 20:51 you've gotta stay home to grease and to monitor, to guard 20:54 all your stuff. 20:56 And the devil... basically he makes slaves 21:00 out of many in the church because they can't avoid 21:02 to leave their stuff to do the work of God 21:04 because somebody's got to stay home 21:06 to take care of their stuff! 21:10 It's not in the Bible... it's an old folk song: 21:13 Freedom is another word for nothing left to lose. 21:16 And in some ways I know I was freer as a Christian 21:20 when everything I owned fit in my backpack 21:22 and I was walking with the Lord. 21:25 And you become more... You know, you go from hippie 21:29 to yuppie, and pretty soon you have all this "stuff" 21:31 you don't have as much freedom. 21:34 Zacchaeus had arrived; he was... 21:37 I don't know if he was famous. He was infamous 21:41 and he was wealthy and he was unhappy. He was empty. 21:48 And he was isolated. You know if you're a publican you couldn't 21:51 go to the temple. If you did, everybody sneered. 21:53 You were never invited to the house of anyone respectable. 21:58 But he had heard about this Teacher from Nazareth 22:03 and he heard that He even invited one of His inner circle 22:08 from among the publicans... and that was a scandal. 22:11 Jesus walked up and asked Matthew: "Follow Me. " 22:14 And he walked away from his cash register 22:17 and he followed Jesus. And then Matthew invited Him 22:19 over to his house, and Jesus was eating with publicans 22:23 and harlots! And so Zacchaeus was thinking 22:28 "Maybe there's hope for me. " 22:30 "Maybe I'm not totally forever lost. " 22:34 And then... then he heard that Jesus told a parable. 22:38 Two men went up to the temple to pray. 22:41 One a Pharisee... now you all know a Pharisee. 22:43 They were the opposite of a publican... 22:45 at least outwardly. 22:47 They were very scrupulous about carrying out 22:51 all of the religious laws and very fastidious about their 22:53 washing and their tithe paying. 22:56 And they were religious zealots: praying long prayers in public 23:00 so everyone could see how holy they were. 23:02 Making big donations in public and blowing the trumpet. 23:05 They were all about being religious and being holy 23:08 and staying pure... outwardly. 23:11 But Jesus said they were like "whitewashed sepulchers" 23:13 many of them. And He said: "Two men went up to the temple 23:17 to pray. One was a Pharisee, another was a publican. 23:22 The Pharisee... he went up front and he stood 23:24 and he prayed with himself and he said: 'Lord, I thank you 23:27 that I'm not like other men. 23:28 I pay tithe of all that I have and I fast twice a week. ' " 23:31 And those are good things by the way. 23:33 "And I'm glad I'm not like this publican back there. 23:38 But the publican would not so much as lift up his head, 23:41 his eyes to heaven. But he bowed his head 23:44 and he smote on his breast 23:45 and he said: 'Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. ' " 23:49 And then Jesus stunned the crowd 23:51 when He said: "The publican went down to his house justified 23:57 and not the Pharisee. " 24:00 And Zacchaeus is thinking 24:03 "Maybe there's hope for me. " 24:07 And so it says that Jesus was on His way through Jericho. 24:10 Something else probably peaked His interest. 24:12 If you read in Luke the previous chapter 24:15 on His way into Jericho Jesus heals a blind man. 24:19 Several gospels say He healed Bartimaeus 24:22 and then another gospel says there's actually two of them 24:24 there. It's the same story. Some of the stories it talks 24:27 about two, and sometimes it tells of one of them 24:29 who may have been the vocal one 24:30 of His miracle of someone who had never seen before 24:34 and their eyes are opened. And so the crowd... 24:38 Christ is at His absolute peak. He is being thronged 24:42 and mobbed on every side 24:43 because He's just performed this incredible miracle 24:46 on His way into Jericho. 24:48 And Zacchaeus is thinking: "I'd like to see a Man like that. 24:54 Maybe... maybe there's hope for me. " 24:57 Now I can't... I can't overstate the importance of the next 25:02 verse: "And he sought to see who Jesus was. " 25:09 Seek and you will find. 25:14 The Bible tells us that 25:18 "You'll search for Me and you'll find Me 25:21 when you search for Me with all of your heart. " 25:24 Jeremiah 29:13. 25:28 He was seeking for Jesus, and Jesus knew that. 25:32 You know, if someone were to say 25:35 "What is the first step in salvation? " 25:39 I often ask our missionary trainees in our AFCOE program 25:42 "Explain to me how you get saved. What do you do? 25:45 What are the steps? " 25:47 And people say: "Repent! " 25:49 That is definitely one of the steps 25:51 but I don't believe it's the first step. 25:53 Because how can you repent unless you know there's 25:55 something to repent of? 25:59 I believe the first step in being saved 26:01 is you must see the Lord. 26:05 Because it's the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. 26:09 Amen! And when we see His goodness... 26:12 Like John the Baptist began by saying: "Behold 26:15 the Lamb of God. " 26:17 John the apostle says: "Behold what manner of love 26:21 the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called 26:23 sons of God. " We're invited to behold. 26:26 Isaiah chapter 6 it says: "In the year that King Uzziah died 26:30 I saw the Lord. " After he sees God 26:33 high and lifted up on His throne and the glory of the Lord 26:35 and the angels around God and the holiness of God 26:38 He then sees himself by contrast 26:41 and he says: "Woe is me... I am undone. " 26:45 There was a thief on the cross next to Jesus... 26:47 he'll be in heaven. You know why? 26:49 He saw the Lord lifted up. 26:53 Jesus said: "Unless you see Me lifted up... " 26:58 Elijah said to Elisha: "If you see me when I am taken up... " 27:03 Christ said: "As Moses lifted up the serpent 27:07 in the wilderness... " Why? He put that serpent on a pole. 27:09 Held it up where people could see, and when they saw... 27:13 That serpent lifted up repre- sented a defeated serpent 27:16 by faith. Then they got the victory over the venom 27:19 of the serpent. What brought about Paul's conversion? 27:23 He was on his way to Damascus 27:25 and Jesus appeared to him. He said: "I saw the Lord. " 27:29 And when he saw the goodness of God and he heard the voice 27:32 of God he then saw himself and he repented 27:34 and said: "What shall I do? " 27:37 And this is the way it is with everybody. 27:39 You really need to get a picture 27:42 of who Jesus is. 27:45 And this is what Zacchaeus wanted: 27:47 he wanted to see the Lord. Notice what it says here. 27:51 It says: "He sought to see the Lord, 27:53 who Jesus was. " It's not just what he sees 27:57 it's WHO he sees. 27:59 He wanted to know: "Who is this Man? " 28:03 "This is life eternal: that they might know Thee. " 28:07 John 17. 28:10 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. " 28:13 It's not knowledge about prophetic dates. 28:17 It's the knowledge of the Lord. 28:18 Jesus will say to the lost: "I don't know you. " 28:22 So how do we get to know the Lord? 28:24 Conversion and godly living comes from regularly 28:30 looking to the Lord. 28:33 The Bible says in Hebrews 12 "We fix our eyes upon Him. " 28:37 And that's how we're able to lay aside the sin 28:40 and to run that race. 28:42 Zacchaeus... he wanted to see Jesus. 28:46 Now he doesn't just make an ordinary effort. 28:48 He doesn't look around because he wouldn't see anything 28:52 horizontally. He has to actually look up 28:54 to say: "How am I going to see Him? " 28:56 The Bible tells us that he had a handicap. 29:00 It says: "He couldn't see the Lord because... " What? 29:04 Everyone said short, but it doesn't say short first. 29:06 It says: "the crowd. " 29:09 It wasn't that he was too short; the crowd was too tall. 29:14 Really! If there was no crowd would he have seen the Lord? 29:17 Yeah... see, you all look at it the wrong way. 29:20 You come to a traffic signal 29:22 you call it a stoplight. 29:23 But isn't it also a "Go" light? 29:27 Yeah. We don't always think of it... 29:30 You know, if you haven't heard this before it's really funny. 29:34 Karen has heard this a thousand times. 29:37 I meet people who have watched the TV program 29:39 for years and then they see me in person for the first time. 29:42 And they don't mean but they just blurt out and say: 29:44 "You're short! " 29:46 It happened again last week... it happens all the time. 29:49 Really. I don't know what it is. It's the position of the camera 29:52 in Sacramento where it looks up and it gives you 29:54 a bigger than... I don't tell them to do it. 29:56 But for whatever reason - it's not special effects - 29:58 I look bigger on TV or something. 30:01 And then they meet me and they're so disappointed. 30:05 And they say: "Why you're short! " 30:08 And I say: No I'm not! I'm concentrated. " 30:13 But I tell you: I just... I like going through Asia 30:17 because I was just in Asia. I'm not short in Asia! 30:19 I want you to know. 30:24 So... he wanted to see Jesus but he could not. 30:31 "because of the crowd for he was short of stature. " 30:36 By the way, we are all too short. 30:43 We are all falling short of the glory of God. 30:48 And unless we take some action and think ahead 30:53 we never will have that life-saving view that we need. 31:00 The Bible says that he decided he had to do something 31:03 to compensate. So how do you get taller? 31:09 Platform shoes? 31:12 That won't help much. 31:14 You know, Jesus said: "Which of you by taking thought 31:17 can add a cubit unto your stature? " 31:21 Not too many. You know a cubit's 18 inches. 31:24 I remember hearing this story once. You may have heard me 31:27 share this before. I heard it on Paul Harvey 31:31 and I always repeat it as well as I remember it. 31:33 I never saw it again; I never found it in print. 31:37 But I remember him telling this 31:38 during one of his The Rest of the Story stories. 31:43 And there was this gentleman in southern California that 31:47 for whatever reason his dream was to be 31:49 a member of the Los Angeles Police Department. 31:52 And I think he was a Filipino so he was a little shorter 31:57 than normal. And they have a height requirement 32:00 in Los Angeles Police Department. 32:03 You've gotta be a certain height. 32:05 And so... I don't know what it was. You had to be 5'8" 32:08 or something. I say that 'cause I'm 5'9". 32:10 But so whatever it was 32:12 he was one inch too short. 32:16 So he asked to enroll in the Police Academy. 32:20 And they looked him up and down and they said: "Well... 32:22 you know, technically you can go to the Police Academy 32:24 but you're never going to get hired by L.A. because they've 32:26 got this height requirement and they're very strict about it. " 32:29 He says: "No problem. " He said: "I think I'm not done growing 32:33 yet. " Well he was like 21 32:36 but he was optimistic. And he said: "It's one inch. 32:38 "I can figure something out. I can grow an inch. 32:39 I want to enroll. " And so he persuaded and he enrolled 32:42 in the Academy. And he did very well... he excelled 32:46 in all of his classes and everything. They told him 32:48 several times along the way. They said: "You realize 32:50 they're not going to hire you if you're not tall enough. 32:54 I mean, just for practical reasons. 32:56 You can understand it. If you're just real short and you're 32:59 trying to arrest a 6'9" drug dealer 33:01 it just makes it more difficult 33:03 so they've got a minimum. " 33:05 And so he said: "No problem. " 33:09 So he started doing all these things to try to grow one inch. 33:14 And he had a bar in his bedroom. And he'd hang 33:17 from his feet and he'd hang from his hands. 33:20 He'd hang hang from his feet until the blood rushed from his 33:21 head. He didn't know why he'd flip around, but he did that. 33:24 And he found out that he was actually taller in the morning. 33:28 You know, you're a little taller in the morning when you first 33:30 get up than you are at the end of the day 33:32 because the compression on your vertebrae through the day 33:34 you just shrink depending on your height up to 1/4". 33:38 So if you want to look taller get measured early in the 33:40 morning when you first get up. 33:43 And then he even got these bungee straps. 33:47 When he tried to sleep at night he had a metal-frame bed 33:50 and he'd put these bungee straps on. 33:51 He'd put them under his arms and on his legs 33:53 and he'd try and pull himself during the night. 33:56 He had a friend at the clinic at the Academy 33:59 and he'd run in and he'd get measured 34:01 so they'd put it in his chart. He said: "You know I'm really 34:03 impressed. You added a quarter inch. " 34:04 He said: "But they're not going to let you in unless you're 34:07 at the right height. " Said: "No problem. " 34:09 And he was doing everything he could to try to grow one inch 34:12 and he just wasn't getting there. 34:15 So he told his mother there's an operation. 34:19 Says: "The operation: they break your legs 34:23 and they put these braces on the outside of your legs. " 34:26 This is true. 34:27 And they slowly pull the bone apart 34:31 and the bone begins to grow in 34:34 and starts to fill in the gap. And it's very expensive 34:37 and I understand it's painful. 34:39 But some people... they've got the money and they're desperate 34:42 enough to get that extra height. You might get an inch or two. 34:46 I don't know how much the limit is... but 34:49 he said: "I want to do it. " He told his mother: 34:50 "We've gotta do this. This is my dream. 34:52 I've thought of it all my life. " He grew up watching 34:54 L.A. Chips or whatever it was and he wanted to be a L.A. 34:57 Police Department... And she thought: "We don't have 35:02 the money; this is crazy. " 35:03 So one morning she told him, she says: "I've got an idea. 35:06 I have a solution for how you need to grow. " 35:08 Oh, he was so excited. She said: "I've got the solution. " 35:11 She said: "After breakfast I want you to look out 35:14 the window and I'll show it to you. " 35:16 And so he ate a good breakfast and then he... she told him, 35:20 she said: "I want you to look out of the kitchen door, 35:23 look up the street, and you're going to see a solution. " 35:25 He opened the kitchen door expectantly. 35:26 He looked out the door and while he wasn't looking 35:28 she took a cast iron frying pan 35:31 and she walloped him over the head. 35:33 Right on top of his head! 35:35 He fell to the ground and yelled and rubbed his head 35:38 and said: "Why'd you do that? " 35:39 She said: Quick! Go to the doctor, get measured. " 35:43 It raised up a bump about 3/4 of an inch on his head. 35:50 And the doctor at the clinic saw what he was going through 35:53 to try to get that one inch. 35:56 And they said: "Look, he's going to kill himself. We'd better 35:59 hire him. " And he finally got the job. 36:03 But if someone would go through all of that 36:06 and you can only grow that much! 36:10 "Which of you by taking thought 36:12 can add a cubit unto your stature? " 36:15 There's nothing really we can do. But Zacchaeus... 36:18 he actually had a solution. 36:21 "And he sought to see Jesus, who He was, but he could not 36:25 because of the crowd for he was of short stature. " 36:29 But then he remembered 36:31 that there in Jericho on the main road where Jesus was going 36:36 He could see where Jesus was; he heard the crowd was coming, 36:39 he saw them all pressing Him and he saw where He was going. 36:43 He thought: "He's going to pass down Main Street 36:45 and there's this tree on Main Street. " 36:50 Now... I was not the tallest kid in the school 36:54 as you probably gathered. 36:57 And I went to an all-boys school in Miami called 37:01 Curley. It was a Catholic school. 37:04 And I one day was out on the field and it was during recess 37:08 and everyone was out playing. 37:09 And there was a bully in the school. 37:14 And somebody went and threw a rock or something - 37:19 I don't even know what they threw... 37:21 They were behind me, and they threw it at the bully. 37:24 And it hit him and he looked at me! 37:28 This is true. 37:30 And I thought: "No... not me! " 37:33 And I turned around. They were gone, whoever had done it. 37:35 And he started coming over to me like this. I said: "Oh, he's 37:38 going to kill me. He's a big guy. " 37:40 So I ran... and I'm very fast. 37:44 And I ran around the back of the school 37:47 and I jumped up into the branches of a tree. 37:51 And I climbed up in this tree. And I remember seeing him 37:54 with his entourage coming around. They were looking 37:56 all over for me, but I hid myself in the tree 37:59 and he didn't find me. He found me later in typing class. 38:03 Another story... but I got kicked out of typing class 38:05 because we got into a fight and knocked over several typewriters 38:08 but anyway... I at least temporarily hid from him 38:11 in the tree. And I thought: "Zacchaeus, you know, 38:15 he knew where that tree was! " Didn't he? 38:18 He thought: "I remember that's where I used to have to hide 38:22 from all the bullies. " 38:24 And so he made a plan 38:28 to be where he knew Jesus was going. 38:35 You know, if you put yourself in a place where you think 38:39 Jesus is going to be, there's a good chance 38:41 you're going to see Him. 38:43 The Bible says: "Where 2 or 3 gather together in His name 38:46 He is there. " 38:49 And that means every Sabbath 38:51 you be where Jesus said He's going to be. 38:54 Amen! When there's a prayer meeting 38:59 do all you can to be where Jesus is going to be. 39:03 Surround yourself with the Lord. 39:07 Now this to me is I think one of the most important things 39:09 I say. Whenever I travel I always repeat it 39:12 because it's just so basic but it's so neglected. 39:16 You won't be a successful Christian 39:19 if you don't love the Lord because you can't obey Him 39:22 unless you love Him. He says: "If you love Me, 39:24 keep My commandments. " You're not going to love Him 39:27 if you don't know Him. 39:28 You're not going to know Him unless you communicate with Him. 39:31 You communicate with Him by His speaking to you 39:35 and you're speaking to Him in prayer. 39:37 He speaks to you through the Word, through sermons: 39:39 spiritual information. 39:42 The area where I think Christians are really failing 39:44 is in feeding their souls and having an ongoing 39:47 daily relationship with the Lord 39:50 through a personal devotional life. 39:52 And you need to be plain, downright legalistic and rigid 39:56 about it. I mean, you need to say: 39:59 "I have an appointment with God. I might be tired. 40:02 It might be inconvenient. I may not feel like it... 40:05 but I am going to read His Word and I am going to pray 40:08 no matter what. " It's not that you work your way to heaven 40:12 by doing that, but you have to literally carve out that time 40:17 or the relationship's going to suffer. 40:19 You need to feed your soul. 40:22 Zacchaeus knew where Jesus was going, and he put himself 40:25 in a place where they would have a rendezvous. 40:29 And we need to make those same plans with the Lord. 40:32 So the Bible says "he ran. " 40:36 He made a superhuman effort 40:39 and he took a risk 40:42 that people might make fun of him. 40:48 He ran ahead and he "climbed up into a sycamore tree 40:51 to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. " 40:55 Now the sycamore trees in Bible time, it's not 40:59 the typical American sycamore that you see. 41:01 It was actually a primitive form of a fig tree. 41:08 They had the fancy, more cultivated figs 41:10 and then they had the cheaper figs. They called them sycamore 41:13 and it's a fig tree. 41:16 This is very interesting because 41:19 Jesus actually cursed one of those fig trees later on. 41:25 It's also interesting because what did Adam and Eve use 41:28 to cover their nakedness? 41:32 They used fig leaves. 41:34 So he goes ahead and he finds this... 41:36 You know, it's got a wide base and it's probably got some low 41:39 branches. And if he's a wealthy mafia Don 41:43 he's probably not an athlete. 41:46 And it must have been a spec- tacle to see this short man - 41:49 maybe even a little rotund - 41:51 huffing up the street. He ran. 41:54 He was in a hurry. 41:56 You know, one of the things that amazed me? 41:59 When David went to fight Goliath 42:02 the Bible says the giant "went out to meet David 42:06 and David ran. " That always just absolutely shocked me 42:11 that David would run to fight a giant. 42:14 When you come to the Lord you need to make haste. 42:18 So he ran ahead... got ahead of the crowd. 42:21 He had to get away from the crowd and he climbed. 42:25 Now he couldn't see Jesus be- cause the crowd got in the way. 42:31 What kind of crowd was around Jesus that day? 42:36 Well... is it safe to say it was a religious crowd? 42:40 Yeah... the apostles were there. 42:42 They were sort of you know the inner secret service 42:45 that were surrounding Jesus. 42:47 And then He had disciples that were with Him. 42:50 And then it even tells us there were certain women 42:52 that followed Him that ministered to Him 42:54 of their substance. And so there may have been some women. 42:57 They may have helped Him in a special way. 42:59 But He had this entourage of His inner circle 43:04 and disciples and then there were these enemies and spies 43:09 And then there were just the curiosity people 43:12 and locals. And then you get just the masses of people. 43:15 But they're all interested in this religious Teacher. 43:18 You could say it's a religious crowd. 43:20 He could not see Jesus 'cause the religious crowd 43:22 was in the way. How often does that happen today? 43:27 What do you think the biggest obstacle is 43:30 that prevents the world from seeing the goodness of God? 43:34 You know, typically the secular media... they love to 43:39 criticize Christianity. And the reason they criticize 43:43 Christianity is 'cause they point at Christians. 43:46 They usually don't have some- thing against the teachings 43:49 of Jesus per se... 43:50 but they ridicule those who claim to be followers of Jesus. 43:55 The greatest enemy of the Christian church 43:59 is professed Christians. Amen. 44:03 That they say one thing and they do another. 44:05 This is what Jesus went right to the heart of 44:07 when He began preaching is religious hypocrisy. 44:11 He started out saying: "You fast to be seen of men 44:15 and you give to be seen of men 44:17 and you pray to be seen of men 44:19 and you try to look religious 44:20 but your hearts aren't changed. " 44:23 And you wonder how many - if you were to do percentages - 44:26 what percentage of those who take the name of Christ 44:29 really know Jesus out there? 44:33 I think it's the vast minority. 44:36 So if you're going to be a witness for Christ 44:39 and if you're going to see Christ, you got to 44:40 get above the crowd. 44:42 Bartimaeus wanted to be healed by Jesus. 44:46 He heard the crowd was coming up the street to Jericho. 44:50 He said: "Who is it? " "It's the Healer, 44:52 it's the Teacher, it's the Rabbi from Galilee. " 44:55 And when he heard that he started saying: 44:57 "Son of David, have mercy on me. " 44:59 "Son of David, have mercy on me. " 45:01 And the crowd told him to be quiet! 45:05 What did he do? 45:07 Cried louder. You've got to be louder than the crowd. 45:11 And he cried out. You know, Jesus heard him the first time 45:14 but He let him keep crying. 45:16 God hears every prayer you pray but you've gotta keep praying. 45:19 And He said: "Bring him to Me. " 45:22 Said: "What do you want that I should do to you? " 45:24 Said: "Lord, that I might receive my sight. " 45:26 "Be it unto you according to your faith. " 45:28 And he follows Jesus. 45:32 So woman... she has a personal problem. 45:38 Think I'm talking about that later this week. 45:40 Wants to talk to Jesus but the crowd's in the way. 45:44 Has to get by the crowd. 45:46 Jesus is in a house. 45:48 He's teaching. They bring a paralyzed man. 45:51 Can't get to Christ. Why? Crowd is in the way. 45:54 What kind of crowd? Religious crowd. 45:57 Have you ever met people they stop going to church 45:59 because someone in the church hurt their feelings? 46:01 Yeah, we all... That's a serious problem. 46:06 I never did understand it 46:09 because they say: "I like the Lord and I want to follow 46:13 the Lord but I'm not going to church any more because of 46:15 what they did to me. You know, they're all hypocrites 46:18 and so I'm just going to be lost. 46:21 And then when they're in the City of God and that lake 46:25 of fire is creeping up around my ankles I'm going to point 46:27 to them and say: 'See, this is your fault! 46:29 That's why I'm here! ' " 46:30 As though you're going to get some relief from that? 46:32 Why would you want to get even with the church by being lost? 46:39 If you are trying to teach the hypocrites something 46:41 in the church then be genuine. 46:45 But so many people get discouraged. 46:48 And Jesus said: "If anyone makes even one of these little 46:52 ones stumble it'd be better for them if they weren't even 46:55 born or if a millstone were hung about their neck 46:58 and they were cast into the depths of the sea. " 47:00 Gotta be very careful that we're not doing anything 47:02 to wound people that are young in the faith, 47:06 are coming to church. 47:09 So he said: "I'm not going to let the crowd 47:11 keep me away. " Now what did the crowd think of Zacchaeus? 47:14 Not very highly. 47:17 He probably normally had bodyguards 47:20 because here he's taken all the tax money... 47:23 taken all the money from everybody. 47:25 But he wanted to see Jesus so he climbed a tree. 47:31 "For He was going to pass that way. " And then Zacchaeus is up 47:35 there and you know he's probably huffing and puffing. 47:37 He gets into the tree and he finds an overhanging limb. 47:40 And he's somewhat hidden by the leaves, but he 47:41 sees the entourage coming up the street 47:44 and Jesus stops and says a word to someone every now and then 47:47 and He's pressing on. And everyone's looking 47:50 and there's commotion and a lot of noise and some rejoicing. 47:53 And finally they're passing up the narrow streets 47:57 and they come right underneath where Zacchaeus is. 48:01 And it says Jesus stops. 48:03 When He stops the whole crowd has to stop 48:05 because He's the - you know - guest of honor. 48:07 They're all going to run into each other. 48:10 And he thinks: "Oh great! I'm going to get to not only 48:13 see Him I'm going to get to hear Him say something. " 48:17 But Jesus slowly lifts His head and He looks directly 48:20 at Zacchaeus. And He preaches a very short sermon 48:24 but it converted Zacchaeus. 48:26 You know what the sermon was? 48:28 "Zacchaeus... " First of all He knew his name. 48:31 So Zacchaeus just about falls out of the tree. 48:33 In fact, he may have fallen out of the tree... 48:35 and I'll explain later. 48:37 "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down. " 48:41 When He says that He's saying: "Come to Me. " 48:44 "for today I must stay at your house. " 48:50 I think that his heart stopped 48:53 and he thought: "God knows that I'm looking for Him. 48:57 This answers all the questions and the prayers 49:00 in my heart is He knows me, 49:03 He loves me! " And Zacchaeus is so overwhelmed 49:08 with the fact that God would not only know him 49:10 but that Jesus would want to be with him. 49:14 Probably coming down out of the tree... I don't know if he fell 49:17 right from the branch or fell on his way down 49:19 but a little later it says: "Rising... " 49:21 So in order for him to rise from the ground 49:24 he has to be on the ground. 49:25 Does that make sense? 49:28 So I think he came out of the tree and everybody's snickering. 49:30 Here's this publican in his Calvin Klein robes 49:35 and he's fallen out of the tree. And everybody thinks 49:37 "Oh, what's going on here? " 49:39 "He made haste and he came down... " About as fast as you 49:42 can... "and he received Him joyfully. " 49:47 How do we receive the Lord? 49:49 Joyfully. 49:53 The gospel's good news. 49:54 Amen! 49:56 And the incredible thing to me is 49:58 he receives Him joyfully and look at what happens. 50:02 It says: "When the people saw it they were all complaining saying 50:06 'He has gone to be a guest with him who is a sinner. ' " 50:08 Well what did they think they were? 50:10 This is the religious crowd. 50:11 Was there anyone in this crowd that wasn't a sinner? 50:14 But we think some people are worse sinners than we are. 50:18 All sin will separate us from God. 50:21 Zacchaeus did not let the church discourage him. 50:25 They're talking, they're murmuring... hah, nothing new. 50:29 He says: "Jesus wants to be at my house. " 50:32 By the way, you know Jesus wants to be in your house. 50:35 Amen! Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. 50:38 Jesus wants to abide in your house. 50:41 The Bible says "He stands and He knocks at the door, and if 50:44 anyone opens the door, He will come in and sup with them. " 50:47 He wants to abide with you. 50:49 The Bible says: "Unless we abide in Him 50:52 and He in us we can't bear fruit and have eternal life. " 50:58 Zacchaeus is so overwhelmed with gratitude 51:01 that Jesus wants to be his friend, 51:03 that He would receive him, it says: "He stood 51:06 and he said: 'Lord, look... half of my goods I give to 51:09 the poor, and if I've taken anything from anyone 51:13 by false accusation I restore him fourfold. ' " 51:16 Now why does he say that in particular? 51:19 Because you know, it tells us that in the Hebrew law 51:23 if you took something from somebody illegally, 51:26 if you extorted money and you robbed somebody, 51:30 that you would have to pay it back fourfold when you did that. 51:35 And so he was willing to give up everything. 51:37 Exodus 22:1: "If a man steals an ox or a sheep 51:40 and slaughters it and sells it, 51:42 they will restore 5 oxen for an ox and 4 sheep for a sheep. " 51:46 And it says in II Samuel 12:6: 51:48 "He will restore fourfold. " That's what David said 51:52 when he heard the parable of Nathan. 51:54 So Zacchaeus knew the Bible. 51:57 He knew what the law was. 51:58 He knew what he had done. 52:00 He said: "Half of my goods I give to the poor. " 52:02 And why'd he keep the other half? 52:04 Because he says: "If I've taken anything from anyone 52:07 by false accusation... " 52:09 There's going to be a very long line in Jericho! 52:13 He had to be very rich to be able to do that. 52:16 Now this is a fascinating thing because if you go back 1 chapter 52:20 there is a rich young ruler who is a good, church-going 52:23 young man. And Jesus loves him and He says: 52:26 "If you would have eternal life, go sell what you have. 52:28 Give it to the poor... you'll have treasure in heaven. " 52:31 He couldn't do it. 52:32 He went away rich and sad. 52:35 And Jesus said: "How hard it is for those who have riches 52:38 to enter the kingdom of heaven. " 52:39 And the disciples can't believe that Jesus is saying this 52:42 because they've been hearing this "prosperity" gospel. 52:46 The Pharisees said: "You know, if God blesses you, 52:48 then it's OK to rob widows. " 52:50 Didn't Jesus say you're the ones who robbed widows' houses 52:54 and for a pretense you make long prayers? 52:56 God blessed us! 53:01 And so here Jesus... the disciples are saying 53:04 "Who then can be saved? " 53:06 The Bible answers that question in the next chapter 53:09 with Zacchaeus. So here you've got the biggest sinner in town! 53:12 He accepts Jesus. Jesus does not ask him to sell anything. 53:15 He does not ask him to give anything to the poor. 53:17 But he is to thankful, like Naaman after his healing from 53:20 leprosy, he has to go right back to give something. 53:23 He's overwhelming with gratitude and he's willing to unload 53:26 everything he has 'cause he's realized: 53:29 "I had everything and it didn't make me happy. " 53:33 And so one of the signs that salvation had come to his house 53:38 is he is sorry for his sins. 53:40 He repents of his sins 53:43 and he wants to make everything right. 53:45 He publicly confesses: "If I've taken anything... " 53:47 A little bit of a veiled confession but he's confessing. 53:51 They all knew. "If I have taken anything 53:54 from any man by false accusation 53:56 I will restore him fourfold. " 53:57 And Jesus said: "One of these days salvation 54:01 will come to this house. " 54:03 This is the last verse... it's so important. 54:06 It summarizes the mission of Christ. 54:08 "Today salvation has come to this house 54:12 because he is... " Not he will be... 54:15 at the moment that he received Jesus joyfully 54:19 Jesus said: "Salvation has come to this house. 54:21 He IS a son of Abraham. " 54:24 He didn't say: "I'm putting you on probation. " 54:26 That means as soon as a person surrenders and accepts 54:30 Jesus they receive adoption. 54:34 He was being told: "You are a child of Abraham 54:37 and I'm going to abide in your house. " 54:40 And his whole heart was utterly transformed. 54:44 So the message is Climbing the Tree of Life. 54:47 All of us are too short. 54:51 How do we add a cubit unto our stature? 54:54 Jesus said: "If any man would follow Me, 54:57 let him deny himself, take up his cross. " 55:02 Where do you take your cross? 55:05 To your crucifixion. 55:07 Do you want to get taller? 55:08 You've gotta climb a tree. 55:11 But when you take up your cross 55:12 you are climbing a tree of life. 55:16 You know, Zacchaeus was not exactly what you would 55:20 think of when you're looking for fruit in a fig tree. 55:24 But that was really the kind of fruit Jesus was looking for. 55:28 He cursed the fig tree that was fruitless. 55:30 But Jesus said: "I have come to seek and to save 55:33 the lost. " What qualifies you to be saved? 55:37 You need to know you're lost. 55:40 Zacchaeus knew he was lost 55:42 and he was so happy that Jesus would receive him 55:45 and forgive him. He thought: "What profit is it 55:47 if I gain the whole world and lose my soul? " 55:49 He was willing to give everything away 55:51 that he might have that great gift of eternal life. 55:56 You've probably heard before the incredible story 55:58 of the testimony of John Newton. 56:02 The one who wrote Amazing Grace. 56:06 And he was a... He actually was a slave trader. 56:10 Raised a Christian. Mother prayed for him all the time 56:12 but he totally rebelled 56:14 and he just became a scoundrel. 56:17 As a matter of fact, he was such a bad sailor the bad sailors 56:20 didn't even like him. 56:23 He was so bad that once when a ship was shipwrecked 56:26 they said: "If we have to turn to cannibalism 56:28 the first one we're going to eat is him. " 56:33 But he went through a dramatic conversion. 56:36 Of course, pastored a church. Wrote a number of songs 56:39 including Amazing Grace. 56:41 And when he got older he started losing his memory. 56:46 And it got pretty bad. He'd stand up to preach 56:49 and he'd lose his way in the sermon. 56:51 And finally he got to the point where he'd stand there 56:54 and he'd say: "You know I don't remember very much 56:56 any more but I remember two things: 56:59 Jesus is a great Savior 57:02 and I am a great sinner... 57:05 and Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. " 57:09 If you come to Him and you say: "Lord, I surrender 57:11 and I'll take up my cross" you climb that tree of life 57:15 He promises that He can declare to you 57:18 that you are today forgiven. You are a child of Abraham. 57:23 And He wants everyone here to have that experience. 57:27 Is that your desire, friends? 57:28 Amen! Can I pray with you as we close? 57:32 Father in heaven, we're so thankful for the promise 57:34 in Your Word that You have come to seek and to save 57:38 the lost. That Your arm is not shortened that You cannot 57:42 save. That there is no sinner 57:45 that You cannot reach if we're willing to repent 57:49 and to come to You. Lord, I pray that we'll all make 57:52 that decision to seek after You as Zacchaeus did. 57:56 To want to see You; to want to know You. 57:59 And Lord, You promised that if we draw near to You 58:01 You will draw near to us. 58:03 That's what we're doing here this week. 58:05 Please bless us with Your presence. 58:06 I pray that everyone here, everyone watching, 58:09 might make that decision 58:11 to take up their cross, to climb that tree 58:13 that they might see Jesus and experience the joy of salvation. 58:18 We thank you and pray in His name, Amen. |
Revised 2019-11-18