The Reason I Came is to Seek and Save

Jesus talks about this in the book of Luke chapter 4. He says, I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well. You know, the spirit of the Lord is on him to give this good news. And so he goes. And then they keep trying to look for him and he keeps saying, hey, we've got to go.

We've got to keep going because the good news needs to spread. And I hope, and actually, I know, not only hope, I know that there have been people in this congregation has been going through the book of Acts. But the Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit that moved these people here is the same Holy Spirit that has been moving you to go and be more courageous to your friends, family and colleagues.

And I can see that. I've witnessed that. And that's what given that's what's given me courage as I stand up here opening up this word, because I know the Holy Spirit is speaking to you. And so Jesus is basically saying the same thing. He says, I must go preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well.

And then he says it's for it was for this reason I was sent. It was for this purpose. And so when you understand why Jesus came, you start to really understand what we should do, how we should respond.

And actually, just he came to save. The passage I'm going to be focusing on, if I can just invite you, is again, we'll stay in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 19. Chapter 19, verse 10. If there's one verse that really sums up the whole theme of this Gospel, is Jesus declaring why he came.

It says this, for the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost. Do you have that favorite bit when the preacher just goes, hey, if you forget everything else today, you remember this.

If you forget everything else today, remember this line that Jesus said. When you look at the news later and you see that number continuing to count and you feel despair, you look and you see that's the passage that you hold on to.

That's what you cling on to. Jesus, the Son of Man, came to seek and save the lost. Of course, I want to understand a little bit more about why he said this.

So I'm actually inviting you, as we always do, to stand in reverence and awe for the word of the Lord. And I'm going to ask Juju to come up and read it for us. The Gospel of Luke, chapter 19, starting from verse 1.

He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus.

He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was. But on account of the crowd, he could not because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.

And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today. So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.

And when they saw it, they all grumbled. He has gone in to be a guest of a man who is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor.

And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold. And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the son of man came to seek and to save the lost.

This is the word of the Lord. Praise be to God. Please take a seat. Thank you, Gigi. Feels nice standing up on a stage, doesn't it? Small in stature. Small in stature. I promise you there's no reason why I asked you to read that.

Other than the spirit's leading. But that's low hanging fruit, guys. Let's not do that to Gigi. There are way better ways. As Paul says, let's not talk about his, attack his character.

That's what we do. That's how we know we love each other. This line here. So when I say that I wrote my sermon, and then it feels a little bit dated, is I've just scribbled all over it now and blocked things out.

Because one of the things that I really wanted to say, and I'll say now, but with all the care I can as I say this, is this world is not in a good place.

My words exactly here is, the world is on fire right now. And we as the church, what are we actually doing?

What are we actually doing? See, the problem is, those outside are not doing well, but then they look down at our churches, and they say, well, you're not any better. It's just filled with hypocrisy.

You aren't helping in any way. Instead of living with conviction, you've assimilated into society. You look just the same as us. Instead of having any kind of urgency, like we have been reminded of this week, we have on the most part lived with just complacency.

When the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost, and yet we kind of just go, oh yeah, well, that's what he did. But where are you going to find Christ right now?

It's his body. And so his body better understand, better, why the head came. And then, and only then can we be the change that he desires for us to be.

You see in Acts, we just read a couple weeks ago, that the Christians there, the followers of Christ, they turn the world upside down. But in order for that to happen, Christians need to first understand what Christ did for them, and for their lives, their hearts to be turned upside down, for their value systems to completely turn upside down.

And only then, if we invite Christ into our lives, and we say we are going to be Christians, we are going to be followers of Christ, then we invite him into our hearts, we allow him to move the furniture around, change everything up completely.

But so often, if we ask ourselves, we kind of did invite him, well, really, we just believed in him, and we treat him as kind of like a, an end of life, post life insurance policy. We treat him, okay, well, Jesus, if we believe in you, do you promise that we get to be with you in eternity?

But yes, we want to be with you in eternity, but we kind of don't want to be with you right now. So we're going to keep living our lives right now, but just in case, because we'd rather have that than the fire and the pitchforks. So why don't we just believe in you now?

Can you see, can you see what the world sees? Can you see the hypocrisy that they see? That we say we want to follow him, and yet we live our lives completely in the way that the world just does anyway.

We say we want to spend eternity with him, but we can't even spend five minutes with him on a day-to-day basis. Something seems off. If we are to truly understand why we as a church exist, why we gather, we must first understand why Jesus came.

Last week in Acts 18, we met Apollos, right? This gifted speaker, probably the debate champion. And he comes and he speaks, and then what do Priscilla and Aquila do?

They take him aside and say, hey, you are right, Jesus is the Messiah, but actually we don't think you truly understand how that works. You only got to the baptism of John.

You don't understand that actually the Spirit of Christ now lives in us, and actually it's the Holy Spirit that is sanctifying and moving people towards him, drawing people towards him. Do you understand what the Holy Spirit is actually doing here? And so he, open to rebuke, open to being trained, humbly receives it.

All from this place where he kind of knew what Jesus was, who Jesus was, but he didn't truly. I wonder whether that's the same for all of us. Yes, we do know that we need to believe in Jesus, but we actually don't really know why.

We don't really know how to follow him. And so here we are. We see this account that's an interesting one that is, of course, a very famous one, probably the most famous story about a short guy that we can find in the Bible, Zacchaeus.

Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector. So we're going to break it down a little bit. Luke chapter 19, verse 1. He entered Jericho and was passing through and behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich.

Why was he rich? Because he was not just a tax collector. There was tax farming from his own people to collect for the Roman Empire, but he was the chief tax collector, which meant that he actually had a team of tax collectors that would collect money for him, bring it all to him.

He would then look and count the pot, take what he needed for himself or what he wanted for himself, and then he would pass it on to the Romans. So he was rich. Interestingly, this kind of person would not be doing what we see he does next here.

And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd, he could not because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.

Imagine someone who is rich. Someone who is rich, who has status, who obviously has influence, has power, socially isolated from his own people, by the way, banned from synagogues, likely, because his people wouldn't have wanted anything to do with him.

But maybe, I've got a feeling that over time, if you live that kind of life, your heart would have just become hard. Like, you know what? If you don't want to be near me, I don't want to be near you. Hey, I'm doing me, I'm living my life, and you do yours.

What would it have taken for someone like him to then hear all the hype about this person, Jesus, and decide, I really want to find out about this person. So whilst he was rich and whilst he had power, he was also desperate for the truth.

And so he runs, which wouldn't have been a thing that someone like him would have done. And he runs, and you can just imagine the scene. People are just rushing towards Jesus. He's trying to get there, and he's trying to see, but he can't see because he's short.

He can't see. So what does he do? Then he sees a tree. And so he's like, well, I'm going to climb up on the tree. I must see this guy. You can see how smart he is because he's running, and he's like, I can't see. And actually, the Jews probably would have seen him and said, well, block his way.

I would, because I don't like him. So I'm not going to let you pass. But then he's smart. He doesn't become chief tax collector without being smart. So then he sees where Jesus is heading, and then he cuts him off another way, finds a tree to climb up, climbs up the tree.

Can you see the hunger that comes from the, leading to actions like that? What that means is he was rich, but he was still dissatisfied. He's still looking for, he's still looking for, basically, who Jesus was.

He's still looking for the truth. And then the fascinating moment comes. Whilst he's looking for Jesus, Jesus walked by the tree because he was right, he did walk past there.

Jesus stops. Jesus stops and looks up at him and says, Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.

Why does Jesus do this all the time? He just seems to do the thing that is the least predictable. What's Jesus trying to do here? What's he trying to prove?

He's looking at Zacchaeus. Everyone knows who Zacchaeus is. And yet he stops and in front of everyone says, Zacchaeus, you come down. Well, first thing, he knows his name.

So it's interesting here, when we say that the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost, it's important that you see Zacchaeus as the one who's seeking after Jesus, but actually Jesus is already familiar with him.

And that's what I said a couple weeks ago, right? The moment where you truly get it as a Christian is when you've been chasing God and pursuing God all of your life until the moment you realize actually he's been the one who's pursuing you.

He's been the one who has been seeking and pursuing you. So he says, Zacchaeus, come down. I must, I must stay at your house. And of course, Zacchaeus was filled with joy.

It's ironic. The name Zacchaeus actually means pure and righteous. And of course, he's anything, but you don't get that rich by being pure and righteous.

You don't get that hated by your people by being pure and righteous. But it's really interesting. Jesus says, I must come to your house today. It's not, hey, I just want to acknowledge you.

No, he says, I must come to your house today. Do you recognize how big, how scandalous that would have been? And you hear it and you see it. And when they saw it, verse seven, they all grumbled. He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.

This wasn't just, hey, hi, shake your hand. Nice to meet you. I know you are. This is, I must come to your house today. I must associate with you. I want to move beyond just an acquaintance with you. Sharing a table with a sinner.

Probably the most scandalous thing that Jesus did time and time again. Hang out with people that shouldn't be hung out with. Why? Because the son of man came to seek and save the lost.

He didn't come for the righteous. He came for the sinners. Intellectually, in our heads, I think we understand that. But those of us who have been around the church for a long time, we actually don't truly, truly get that because we think actually Jesus came for us because we've been working hard enough.

Because my church attendance is over 75%. So Jesus came for me. It's because I'm not sinning anymore, or at least it's not as much as I used to. That's why Jesus loves me.

It's at that moment we realize actually we have missed the point of why the son of man came. He came to seek and save the lost. What does it mean to be lost? As someone, as I've said, growing up in the late 1900s, getting lost was a familiar event because you just, there was no smartphone.

There was a map. My father trained me when we visited Toronto as a kid, or just Canada, just this vast expanse. and he would sit me in front of him, not in front of him, that would be dangerous in the car, but he would sit me in the passenger seat and he would give me the map.

Or in England there would be an A to Z. Deeply, deeply confusing. Right? And then he'd say, hey, we want to get here, tell us how. Now, something about directions is you need to know two things.

You need to first, in order to know where, well one, you need to know where you're going, you need to know the destination, but maybe even more importantly is you need to know where you are right now. Otherwise, there's no point looking at a map because if you don't know where you are right now, you're not going to get to your destination.

But those of you growing up in more recent times won't understand that, right? Because your phone will tell you where you're at. In a time before AirTags and Google Maps, we, I think, truly understood what it meant to be lost.

This week, I was reminded once again what it meant to be lost and helpless. And this is what I'm saying. I think there's some of us here who need to, who need to hear, hear me loud and clear that you have been found.

Just as what Danny said, that Jesus came for you. You didn't think you could find your own way. You knew you couldn't find your own way. You are the, maybe you are the younger brother in the parable of the prodigal son and you're like, I knew I was, I was so lost and Jesus came to find you despite everything that you did.

Jesus came to pursue you, to seek you and to save you. Some of you need to hear that. But actually, the creator of heaven and earth knew exactly where you were and in that moment dragged you out of the pit as it says in Psalm 103.

I think some of us genuinely need to hear that because we're sat here still thinking, actually, I don't know if I'm found. There's another group though.

There's another group who I think you actually don't know that you're lost. Well, you might say, well, I know exactly where I am. I am in Admiralty, Tower. Admiralty Center, Tower 2, fifth floor.

By the way, the most convenient building in the whole of Hong Kong for church is my own opinion. Because if you look at the whole of the MTR map, which is the station that is most connected?

Probably Admiralty. If you look at the MTR station, you look and see which exit is probably the most convenient that can head straight up into the building. It's probably exit A.

And I hope you're not here because this is a convenient place for you to worship. But my goodness, it is convenient. But some of you are actually genuinely lost and I'm here to try and convince you of that because you might say, well, what am I lost in?

Well, I think you're lost in your busyness. I think you're lost in your productivity. I think you're lost in money. I think you're lost in your moral record.

I think you're lost in your religion. And the scary thing is I don't know if you know that you're lost. See, this is the crux of it. This is the key of it.

If you are truly to understand why we gather here, you must first fully be able to acknowledge and articulate that you are lost. Jesus came to seek and save the lost.

And until we are willing to acknowledge that, to confess that, then we don't really truly understand why we're saved. Because the next question would be, well, okay, you're saved by Jesus.

Well, what is he saving me from? To truly understand why Jesus came, we have to first understand that we, as it says in Ephesians 2, that we were dead in our trespasses and sins.

We were following the way of this world. We were blind. We were lost. And I'll tell you, you will know it.

Maybe as a pastor, I'll kind of give you a little secret peek behind the curtain. I think I sometimes can tell when someone who truly is saved by Jesus because they know that they were lost. It's those who are like, yeah, I'm a Christian and then they go ahead and reel off all the things that they do in life, all the impact, the change that they make, all the accomplishments they've had.

And I'm like, oh, I don't know. I don't know. So when you truly understand your need for grace, I think some of us are lost in our parenting.

You see or just pursuit of family. Our kids are the first thing. I bumped into an old friend this week and who used to go to church who no longer goes anymore.

He said, oh, well, in this season of my life, I just need to focus on my kids and be present with my kids. And it all sounds so right. And then I find myself just thinking, but Jesus is supposed to be part of that.

Jesus gave you the kids. Jesus gave you your job and yet this season you say, hey, I can't focus on Jesus this season because the job that he gave me is taking me away from him. Is in essence often what we're trying to say.

The true freedom that Darren talks about is the moment you realize that actually you are a slave to sin. You realize that you are actually just completely consumed by something that actually is neutral.

It's a job. It's money. But you let that big thing become God and then it controls you and then you don't realize you're lost. I love what Danny said there because it reminded me of the quote that Keller said that this church, this group of people is not a museum of saints.

We often feel like it because we don't know what everyone is going through but it's a hospital for sins. And there's such a joy that comes with that. I was reading an account this week from Typo of just someone who waited hours and hours not knowing whether there would be anyone that would save them.

And the moment that came when a firefighter walks through the door that person just filled, filled with immense gratitude. Not just that they were going to be saved but that someone actually was risking their lives to come and save them.

What if the objective of the church is to go and seek and save as many people as we possibly can because that's what the Lord called us to do.

And yet we are trapped in our own comfort. We are trapped in our own complacency. Something else about being saved, this post-life insurance policy that I just talked about, I feel as though we have such an anemic, anemic view of what being saved truly means.

Just quoted John 10.10 that Jesus came to give us life and life to the full and yet you look around at Christians outside of incidents like these where we are grieving but you look at us and you just think we are miserable.

We are miserable, we are ungrateful, we are just concerned about the worldly things and it's in those moments I'm like, Jesus remind me once again of the good news. You came to deal with death once and for all.

That you came to save me when I was lost, when I needed a savior. I don't know if there's, I don't know if actually being on the pulpit and preaching from the word of God is actually the thing that convicts you.

I think it's John 16.8, I think it's the Holy Spirit comes and convicts us of sin and righteousness to show us, to remind us that actually we need God. It's that song, Lord, I need you.

Every moment, every hour, I need you. If we're honest, if I'm honest, often it's just, good God, I want you and it's for all the wrong reasons. I want you so I can feel better about myself.

I want you so you can pour out blessings upon me. I want you because you help make sense of my life for me. I want you because you will then help me get the job that I really, really want.

That's why Luke 19.10, almost if you want to just distill the whole book of Luke, the whole Bible, it's just, the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost and that is you and I and when you realize that, that's when things change.

That's when you realize that actually being a Christian isn't just about following the Ten Commandments. It's about moving, graduating from the Ten Commandments. You still do all of the Ten Commandments but it's moving from the Commandments into the Beatitudes.

When you live a life that is free because the Spirit is leading you to actually rejoice because you are blessed when you are poor in Spirit for you will inherit the kingdom of God. Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are those who are meek for they shall inherit the earth. When you truly understand that upside down kingdom, that's when we can turn the world upside down.

The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost. And you see here, Zacchaeus isn't repentant. At least not yet. Grace meets him first.

Right? Grace meets him first. He's not like, I must meet Jesus so I can go and apologize to him for all the things that I've done. No, he just wants to find out who Jesus is and he's just going and then it turns out actually, whilst he thinks he's seeking Jesus, actually Jesus has been seeking him all along.

And so grace meets us first and then the repentance comes. It reminds me of Romans where it says, actually, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That should fill us with gratitude.

This is not my own doing. But my faith is a gift from God. That grace is completely undeserved.

So the grace comes before repentance but repentance does something is when you are truly repentant your life will turn upside down and then it will lead to action. And that's why we love the book of James because the book of James is very practical because all Jameses are very practical and we try and live out our faith.

And it says, well, okay, you can have faith but you can't have it without works. That's not how you're saved but once you are saved you can't help but work. You can't help but do, you can't help but run towards the trouble.

And so what you see Zacchaeus doing here is actually Jesus doesn't really say anything other than I must go to your house to have dinner. And then Zacchaeus, verse 8, I think he does hear everyone else kind of grumbling because he knows he's hated by nearly everyone.

And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, behold, Lord, the good half of my goods I give to the poor and if I have defrauded anyone of anything I restore it fourfold, four times as much. Anyone who I've cheated I'm going to give four times as much which actually far surpasses the Levitical law for when you actually wrong someone you're supposed to give just over 20% back but here's like four times just take it all.

And time and time again you see everyone who encounters who meets Jesus their life is just turned completely upside down. So respectfully the question I ask for all of us I ask myself is is my life upside down?

Do I live in a different way? When people look at me do they go oh that person is different? That person is set apart. That person is holy. If I'm honest that's a daily decision.

It's a daily decision to take up the cross and say I will live differently. I will be the non-anxious presence in the room. I will be the one who is inoffendable.

You cannot offend me because Christ has already taken the ultimate offense for me. So say what you will. Try and cheat your way to the promotion that I deserve it doesn't really matter because my God is sovereign.

Do we have that kind of faith that leads to action that leads us to react in different ways? Again it comes down to do we truly understand that we were lost? Because if we truly understood that we were lost that we couldn't find our own way back that someone came to find us and to seek us and to save us then actually everything else excuse the analogy is house money.

I'm not afraid of losing anything because I don't have anything anymore. Everything I have is from him. That's why even the stewardship conversation about well should it be 10% or should it be well how about this?

How about all of it is from God? How about everything that you have is from him? Those of us who are truly understanding that we are lost will understand that actually that is true.

And honestly as a parent who has struggled with the idol of parenting wanting the best for my kids honestly it all comes crashing down the moment they enter into hospital.

The moment you realise that you have no control over your kids health and safety. But sending them to Bremer Hill will not guarantee the job at McKinsey.

the whole of parenting the whole of marriage the whole of relationships is all about just surrendering going actually I am not in control.

I am lost. I am blind. I was dead. And this is where I'll finish. Who is Zacchaeus?

Of course the easy one is well Zacchaeus is you and I. But my question is how do I convince you of that? What's the story behind that?

If you just take a peek with me so that passage is in Luke 19 but if you take a peek with me you see something interesting in Luke chapter 18 Jesus is talking about a lot of different things but he's talking about the parable of a persistent widow.

Hey do not lose heart keep praying keep praying because God hears you. Chapter 18 verse 8 says this nevertheless when the son of man comes will he find faith on earth.

That is what he's looking for. He's not looking for perfect people. He's not looking for people who truly get it and are living good Christian lives. There is no such thing. He's looking for faith.

None of us can jump to the moon let alone heaven. It's do you have faith in the one who is the bridge? The one who said I am the way the truth and the life you will only get to the father through me.

He's looking for faith. And then verse 9 in chapter 18 still he does another parable and he talks about the Pharisee and the tax collector the Pharisee who has given up his life. Again we hate too much on the Pharisees because they are such good people they have such good intentions they've sacrificed their whole lives committed their lives to studying the word of God living a life that is set apart and different.

They just didn't understand that Jesus was the answer to all of this. they searched the scriptures they just didn't know that he was the key to eternal life. But it's funny we all have those of us who have been in the church for a long time we all have that Pharisee inside us because we look at someone else we look at someone else and we go hmm at least I'm not that person.

I have sinned I am still sinning but at least I'm not sinning as bad as him or her. And Jesus is saying no no no that tax collector he can't even look up to God and he's beating his chest and he's saying God be merciful to me a sinner.

And he says for everyone who exalts himself will be humble but the one who humbles himself will be exalted. Can you see the upside down nature again of how Jesus looks at things? And then he says little children come to me.

So I loved what my brother said that actually we value the next generation we pursue the next generation we want to create space for the next generation. That's why honestly it feels just as crowded in here but at least we know that upstairs we have this space where the kids can feel valued.

And again in that culture it would have been hey kids get away do you know who this guy is? He's going to be internationally renowned. Get away from him he has nothing to say to you. And then Jesus says no no no you've got it wrong again.

Let the little children come to me. And then of course the rich guy comes. The rich guy that everyone would have known and everyone would have respected and everyone wanted to be friends with. And this rich guy actually seems like a nice guy.

Good teacher what must I do to inherit eternal life? And then Jesus says well wait why are you calling me good? There's only one who's good. And this guy says I have done everything.

And Jesus says well you know the commandments do not commit adultery do not murder do not steal do not bear false witness honor your father and mother. And verse 21 the rich guy says all these I have kept from my youth.

I have not skipped a single youth group. I've gone to church every Sunday. I've even helped with AV. I've helped with the kids. Gone to BSF. Led us through Leviticus.

I've done everything. And then Jesus says one thing you lack. And this is what sends chills down every person who has any kind of possessions.

One thing you lack sell all that you have and distribute to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me. It's I know what you've given but you're still holding back. Do you understand it's not about what you can give or what you can do.

It's not about how good you've been. The one thing that you're holding back from me, that's the thing that I want. I want your heart. Actually, we don't quite know where that guy ends up because Jesus says something says.

He says verse 23, but when he heard these things he became very sad for he was extremely rich. Jesus seeing that he had become sad said how difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God for it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.

Now that's sad. He's sad, yes, but I can see how sad Jesus is because Jesus until he realizes that everything that he has comes from me he's not going to truly get it.

He still lacks that one thing faith in me, not in money, not in politics, not in status, not in wealth, in me. That's the one thing that he lacks because he thinks he has it but he doesn't.

And then the rest of the people who are less rich than this guy say, well, what chance do we all have? What hope do we have? Then who can be saved? But then Jesus says this, what is impossible with man is possible with God.

Carrying on, chapter 18, he meets a blind beggar and the blind beggar, again, the same spirit as the parable of the tax collector says, Jesus, son of God, have mercy on me, have mercy on me.

People telling him to be quiet, but he says, no, have mercy on me, I will not be silent, I need you, Lord, I need you, I need to be saved, I'm it's funny, if you look at the whole context of the scripture here, you've got the persistent widow, you've got the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, you've got the children, you've got the rich ruler, you've got the person who can't see, and almost to hammer home his teaching point, he meets Zacchaeus, who was rich, who couldn't see, who couldn't get to Jesus by himself, so had to become as a child to climb up on to the tree, and though it does seem very hard to reach this Jesus, with man it is impossible, but with God it is possible, he almost hammers home that point, don't you love a teacher who just lives out what they teach, and says, hey I've just told you how hard it is for you, but now I'm going to show you that actually, it's me that's going to save you, look at

Zacchaeus, he couldn't see me, he couldn't get to me by himself, but I have come for him, and if he's come for Zacchaeus, he's come for us, we just need to have the heart and the repentance of Zacchaeus, to recognize that truly there was someone who decided to give up his life, the son of man came to take our place, who stands with us in the deepest grief, and so that even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we do not fear evil, we do not fear anything, because the shadows are only just that, they are just shadows, death is not the end.

Do we believe that? Do we understand that truly in our hearts? If we do, I think if we truly understand why Jesus came, if we truly understand that we would then understand why we are here, why we are gathered here, and what we must be to those around us, to be the light of the world.

All he needs is faith. Final, final thing. Jesus, in the book of Revelation, talks to the different churches, and the one that maybe is the most famous is in chapter three where he says, you guys are all lukewarm.

Lukewarm, it just doesn't taste nice, it's just, I'd rather spit you out of my mouth. because you don't get it. You don't realize that you're lost.

You don't realize that you're blind. But then, he doesn't finish there and kind of close his Bible and extend the sermon there. He says, behold, I stand at the door and knock.

Anyone who opens the door, I will come in and I will sit with him and eat with him. Just like he did with Zacchaeus, he does with us.

The trick here, and this is where the gathering scattering paradigm comes back into play. We've been invited to sit at the table with Jesus, but there are so many people out there who don't know him, who haven't been invited to the table yet, who actually know they are invited, but aren't able to come in for whatever reason.

Would we just enjoy the time that we have with the Lord in these times here on these Sunday mornings, but then can we go out and live with the sense of urgency, live with the sense of conviction that is appropriate in response to what our Lord came to do.

Can I pray for us? Lord, that is the reason why you came, to seek and to save the lost.

We sit here grateful for that because we were lost. Sometimes we still are lost.

Holy Spirit, would you stir up in our hearts a passion for your name and a passion for the people in this city.

that we would welcome them just like you welcomed us, that we would pursue them just like you pursued us. because there truly is good news.

Even though every time I open up this SCMP app and I hold my breath as I anticipate more bad news, I remember that there is truly, truly good news that surpasses all the bad news.

And as Joe prayed earlier, that we would be people who hold those things in tension, that we would be people of grief because the world is broken.

But that there would be hope, there would be gratitude. And that we can truly say as one body, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for us.

God who didn't just die die, but who also lives. Thank you, Lord, we worship you, our living hope.

you