Skip to content Guest Message - Jamie Winship Jan 9 · 48 min ...more
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Empowering multimedia ministry for bold Christian living: Weekend Messages, Deep End Podcast, Deep Dive Bible Study. Tim Hatch, Lead Pastor, Waters Church, 26 years of pastoral ministry, book author.
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0:00 You are listening to Waters Church podcast. Waters Church is a multisite, multigeneration community of faith on the East Coast of America. Now for a message from our pastor.0:13 It's an honor to be here with you. You know, I that was amazing worship. I love that song, We Exalt You. I love that song. It's so beautiful. And I was thinking as we're singing that song, this, like,0:25 question came to my mind. If if Jesus was going to introduce you to me, how what would he say about you? How would he introduce0:37 you? Or or if Jesus was standing up here and he started to talk about you uniquely, like, distinctly from everyone else in this room or everyone else out there,0:49 what would he say about you that would be so unique and distinct that you would know he's talking just about you? Like, how how would he introduce you? If I said, Jesus, who is that? He would1:01 say, oh, that's how would he identify you? Do ever think about that? Here's what we're experts at. We're experts at knowing how the enemy would introduce us. We're experts at that. And1:13 we actually usually agree with his introduction to us. Like, you're this person's really not worthy, or this person's really not smart, or this person's really like, we're we're used to that.1:25 We're like, yeah. Well, yeah. That's that's kinda right. You know? But when Jesus introduces you, it would be it would be embarrassing to you what he would say about you. It you would be1:36 like, wow. Who who is he talking about? Like, you wouldn't and how do we know that? Because this is this is how what the scriptures say. This is what when God talks to people in the Old1:48 Testament and he calls them by name, they look around like, who are you talking about? And when he says, this is what I this is what I'm inviting you to do with me,2:01 they all say all of them all of them say, well, hey, we can't do that. There it I mean, think in the Old Testament, I think there's 7 times where there's a direct invitation2:13 by God for a person to do something like Gideon or Samson, like someone like that, Moses. And in all 7 times, the people in the that are being invited give the2:25 same 5 reasons why it'll never work. They don't even they're not even original in how they say why that won't work. Like, I can't do that. I'm not smart enough. I'm not good enough. And the the reply of God is always2:37 the same. Well, I'm gonna be with you. Well, I'm gonna be with you. Are n't I the ones ending you? As if you think God's giving you something to do and then saying, good luck. Let me know how it goes, which2:49 is horrifying to us because usually the thing he's inviting us into is beyond what we could do. So so, like, we we're operating typically in this wrong view of ourselves, a wrong3:01 view of God, and definitely a wrong view of what he just invited us into. Like, that's just too overwhelming. We'll never get we'll never be able to do this. And so it it would it would be beneficial to us3:12 if we really understood if God was gonna call me by name or introduce me or Jesus was gonna introduce me, what would he say about me so that when he says it about me, this is what I say. Yes.3:24 That's true. As humbling as what he just called me, mighty man of valor or deliverer of the nations or whatever he will say about you, you'll say, yeah. By faith, I'm gonna receive that.3:36 So I I so I was thinking about that. How would he introduce you? How would he introduce me? And then, well, let's, like, look at how Jesus introduces people. So I I I3:48 thought about, Zacchaeus. I wanted to do something like that's a familiar story to you, most of you, and and, you know, at least you know the song3:59 maybe. You know, Zacchaeus was a wee little man. Do you think Jesus introduced like, here look at my wee little friend here, Zacchaeus. I don't think he introduced him that way. But we've immortalized Zacchaeus as a wee4:11 little man that climbs trees. Like, oh, yeah. That guy that little guy that climbs trees, like, that's his reputation. But and when you read the passage, it's very different than that.4:23 I'm gonna read this. This is Luke 19, and then I'm just gonna we'll just observe something here. So this is Luke 19. So Luke is a historian writing this4:35 account. It says, and Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. So Jesus is moving around as he does, going from place to place. In fact, the disciples, the followers,4:47 Jesus' team, are often frustrated because he won't stay in 1 place. Like, they get to 1 place, and he's he's quite popular in the early days. And the disciples are like, wow. This is we're part of a popular4:58 movement. People are coming from all over the place, and Jesus is well regarded, and people are seeking him out. And, and, like, we should just stay here and build the empire.5:10 But then they get up in the morning, and Jesus is gone. And, like, where is he? And he's he said, I'm going to the next town. Like, I'm I'm not here to stay here. I'm here to go and move around and5:22 spread this whole thing and this movement. He's a movement maker. He's not an empire builder. He's a movement maker. Very different motivation. And so Jesus is passing through this5:34 region, Jericho. So Dawn and I my wife and I, we lived and worked in Israel. We worked with the Israeli government, and we also worked in the West Bank with the Palestinians. It was interesting combination5:46 of who to work for. And we worked in both locations. And so today, currently, Jericho is part of the West Bank, and today, Jesus, as a Jewish person,5:58 would not be allowed to go to Jericho. It's off limits. You would it's a 2 year 2 year jail sentence if a Jewish person is found in the West Bank without permission. So that's different today.6:10 So Jesus wouldn't be wandering through Jericho today with a lot without a lot of government protocol in place because it's it's we've sectioned it off and separated off as6:22 people do. But, anyway, in this passage, he's he's walking through Jericho, And it says in in this is the King James version. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus.6:34 And Zacchaeus, the name Zacchaeus, this is what it means. Literally, his name is the pure and innocent 1. That's what it means. But listen to the sentence6:46 that Luke constructs here. He says, and behold, there was a man named the innocent pure 1, which was who was chief among6:57 publicans, which is like you know, the innocent peer 1 who's the biggest scumbag dirtbag in the region because he's a tax collector who collaborates7:09 with an occupying government and extorts money from his own people. Zacchaeus, the innocent and pure 1, is an extortionist and collaborator with the empire that's7:21 destroying and killing his own people. That guy. That guy. It says Zacchaeus, which was a publican, chief a chief among publicans,7:34 and a rich guy. That's what it says. Innocent peer 1, collaborator, extorter, evil. We all hate him because he he consorts with the bad7:46 guys, and he's rich. Like, that's that's his identity. All scrambled in there, That's how Luke identifies him. That's how the people7:57 identify him. Yeah. His name's Zacchaeus, but that's not what him he he's not an innocent and pure 1 at all. His name says that, but that's not who he is. He's a guy that's stealing from us, and he collaborates8:09 with a government that kills our people every single day. That's him, that guy. So who is this guy really? Like, who is he?8:21 So it's interesting thing about him, verse 3, it says, and he, Zacchaeus, sought to see Jesus. Now the language in here, the Greek in here, when it8:33 says he sought to see, doesn't mean he just wants to watch him go by. This word to see here means to perceive, to understand, to experience. It says, and he sought8:45 to perceive and understand and experience Jesus. So he's not just he's not just a guy that just wants to go see a celebrity. He wants to8:56 encounter Jesus. That's what he wants. This is what it says. And he sought to see Jesus. And then Luke emphasizes he wanted to see who Jesus9:08 was. He wants to know who is this person. I wanna experience the reality of who this person is. Who I wanna know the truth9:20 of the identity of who this is experientially. That's what he's going for. Why? Why? I mean, Jesus is a Jew who's among the people that he's9:32 extorting money from and collaborating with the enemy against. Why does he wanna go experience who this is? I mean, I don't know what he's heard, but it can't be something that he thinks he's gonna just9:44 walk into with freedom. But it says he sought to see who Jesus and who Jesus was, but he could not for the press, the crowds,9:57 listen to this statement, because he was little of stature. Now that doesn't mean he was a short person. That's how we, I don't know, sing it, but that's not the10:09 case. It so in eastern culture, like, you know, in the Arab world or or in the Hebraic world, this phrase here, he couldn't go because of the crowd. It wasn't10:21 because he was too little and couldn't get through the crowd. What was the crowd's opinion of Zacchaeus? If he if he came out in public where there's a large group of people, Jewish people,10:33 who are looking to see a a young rabbi who's causing quite a populist movement that's actually counter to the empire and to the religious elite,10:46 that crowd is gonna be pretty probably pretty anti empire and anti empire collaborators. And so if Zacchaeus wants to go out and get inside of10:58 that crowd, that's gonna be bad news for him. So the crowd prevent he doesn't wanna get in that crowd. Why? Because he was a little man. Not little like11:09 short, like of reputation. The the word there means he was less less than what he should be. That's what little of small of stature means. He's less than what11:21 he ought to be. And we don't want you here, Zacchaeus, because you steal our money from us and you collaborate with these people that are crucifying our people. And we don't want you here, you11:33 little that's how they're saying it, you little man. Not they weren't Scottish or Irish. They weren't going, we you know, you're a we, man. They weren't saying that. This is just how we misread11:45 all of this. It's like, we don't want you here. So he sees the crowd, but he wants to experience Jesus, but we're gonna watch how the crowd actually reacts to Zacchaeus. We're gonna11:57 see it in a second. That's how you know because of the context that he's afraid to go into that crowd. And so what he does instead because he's determined to experience Jesus. So what he12:09 does is he climbs a tree. So he ran before he gets ahead of the crowd to avoid them, and he climbs in a sycamore tree. And then it says12:20 again, to see him. He wants to see Jesus. He wants to there's this there's this progression of the word to see and to look as12:32 you read through the gospels into Acts. And with the advent of the Holy Spirit, the idea of seeing and looking goes to a much higher level of what it means. Because when you get into acts12:44 and after Pentecost and all that, it says it it's it's all these funny songs that we have. Peter and John went to pray. Right? Along those that and they see a beggar a beggar there. And that beautiful acts12:56 3. Beautiful. So when the spirit falls, the first thing that happens is is that there's a a public sort of mass presentation of the kingdom and of the gospel. It's the13:08 first time you really see the the disciples, the upper room people do this. They go out and in mass and then the spirit drives them into different distinct groups. It's really beautiful how the spirit13:20 disperses us evenly across the populations. The spirit never sends everybody to 1 place. Never. It's like you go to them, you go to them, and everyone knew where to go because they13:32 could speak to that group in the language of their own hearts. Very beautiful. And so so the spirit falls, they go and do that, and then the next time is the first time you13:43 see Peter and John actually sharing 1 on 1 with a person. And the whole passage is based on the word look. Not on what they said, where13:55 they looked. And when they it it says they looked at the beggar, but the word looks means for the first time, they looked from within their spirit to the spirit of this14:07 person. That's how they're looking. It wasn't just like, oh, there's a guy there. It was like, wow. They're looking at him like that. So when we were training people long ago, I'm from Washington DC and, like,14:19 how to share their faith, we would say, get on the metro, the subway, and just have a little notebook and just walk up and down and just look right into people's eyes. Don't say anything, and just try and see what you14:31 feel when you look in a person's eyes because we don't do this stuff. Even at a traffic light, you know, we sit like this. You never look over in the other car if you do it like that. In case they look, you don't want14:42 that to happen. You don't wanna look when they're looking. Like, we that isn't and so what do you think happens when our people are walking up and down the metro with a thing? Just looking14:54 at people and writing things down. How do you think the people reacted? Do you think they liked it? No. They called the police. Don't look at me. Who who came up15:06 with the don't look at me strategy? I think probably the enemy. And we're all like, that's a good idea. Don't look at them. But but the spirit makes you look at people because it's connecting.15:18 The spirit's connecting us to other people, not separating us from other people. And so it says they looked at him, and this is their first evangelistic statement to the beggar. Look at us. Look15:30 at us. And they had this just looking contest. Like, wow. And then by looking at the guy and Paul says the same thing later. It says he looked and saw that they had the faith to be15:42 healed. He could see it in them. Do you look at people like that? Do you let the lord look at you like that? How would he introduce you? So in15:54 this passage, it says, and he sought to see. And so he runs before him. He climbs up in the sycamore tree to see him for he was, Jesus, was to pass that16:05 way. So all it's about, like, I wanna see him. I wanted Jesus. We want to see you, like, with16:17 everything that we have because we want you to look at us and see us. And then when you look at us and see us, what would you say to what would you call us? What would you call me? What would you say to me?16:29 Knowing that I'm a person who extorts money and I'm unworthy and I'm sinful and I'm dirty and I collaborate with evil, would you still look at me? What would you16:40 say? It says verse 5. And when Jesus came to the place where the sycamore tree is, he looked up.16:53 Isn't that interesting? Do you know so, like, when I was a police officer and and, you know, we do a lot of training with those types of folks in military and all that. You have to train a person to look up when they go17:04 into a room. Most people don't ever look up. They just are looking like this. Most of them are looking down actually down. So but Jesus, he's in this crowd and all these17:16 people, and he's going past the sycamore tree. And it says he came to the place, the spot, and he looked up. Why?17:27 Because he wanted to see Zacchaeus too. So he looked up, and it says, and he saw him. See that how Luke17:39 is emphasizing that look. And Jesus looked up and saw him, and the words to see here means to fully know by17:50 perceiving. Jesus looked up and said, I know who you are. You know why I know who you are? Because I made you. Because I knit you together in your mother's womb, and18:02 I know you deeper than you know yourself. And he looked up and he saw him. Imagine there's a crowd and you're there and you're in some weird position. And18:13 Jesus is in the crowd, and he looks over, and he looks at you like I know who you are. How would that make you feel? I know who you are. Past, nobody18:25 knows you like I know who you are. What would he say about you? I know who you are, and I'm gonna say who you are. When I'm when I'm with men especially and we're praying18:37 and I'll say, you know, Jesus is right here. We can pray and ask him to tell you what he thinks about you right now. Ask ask Jesus right now what he thinks of you as a father, as a husband, as a dad. Ask him right18:49 now. They won't do it. Do you know why? Why won't they he's right there. Ask him. What do you think of me what do you think of me in my current role as a dad? What do19:01 why do you think they're afraid to ask him? Because they're afraid he's gonna say, you're terrible. I know what you do. You're not a good parent. That's what they think he's gonna say.19:15 What's interesting is that's what the enemy would say. Is Jesus gonna say the same thing to you that the enemy says to you? Is Jesus an accuser of humanity?19:28 Well, he's not. So it's pretty courageous of Zacchaeus to go. I don't think he thinks this is gonna quite happen this way. He19:40 wants to perceive. He doesn't want Jesus to perceive anything about him. That would be awful. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him and said to him,19:53 hey, chief publican. Hey hey, extorter collaborator with the enemy that's murdering our people. Hey, you. He doesn't call him that. He calls him20:04 Zacchaeus. This is what he he looks up and says to him, hey, pure and innocent 1. That's what he calls him. Not the other names, this name,20:16 pure and innocent 1. That's what he says to him. That's how he introduces him. And the whole crowd is there listening to him. Oh, Jesus is looking at Zacchaeus.20:28 We know what he's gonna do. He's gonna blast him. He's gonna lay him low because that guy's the enemy of us, and Jesus is gonna Jesus is gonna is gonna take care of him in front20:40 of us. And to their disappointment, Jesus says, there's the innocent and pure 1. He's up in the tree. Isn't he cute up there? That wee little20:52 man. No. That that guy. Look at him. There's the innocent pure 1. He's introducing Zacchaeus to the crowd. What would he call you? He whatever21:04 he would call you would make you weep with humility like, oh my gosh. I didn't know you thought that way about me. And he's saying, I didn't it's not what I thought. It's what I made you to be.21:16 It's who I made you to be. And the greatest thing you could do this morning is look in Jesus. I go say what you tell me who I am. This is the great no matter what you've done or what you think21:28 of yourself or none of that. No one's Zacchaeus isn't disputing his career choice. It's horrible. He's not a good guy. But when Jesus looks at him, Jesus sees21:40 what Jesus made. Nothing can separate you from the love of God that's in Christ Jesus. No created thing can separate you from the love of God that's in Christ21:51 Jesus. And he says to him, innocent pure 1, hey. Hey. Hey. Hurry up. Come down. Get down here. Why? Listen22:03 what Jesus says here. For today, I must abide, not visit your house. I must abide in your house.22:15 Do you know what abide means? Abide doesn't mean I'm passing through. I need lunch. That's not what it means. I he's saying to hey, innocent pure 1. Get down here because I must22:27 remain forever in your house. That's what he's saying to him. I'm not dropping by. I'm coming to dwell in22:39 your house. When? Now, today, this morning. Ready? Can you imagine? Jesus is here, and he looks at you, and he says calls you healer a22:51 healer of that nation. And you're looking around going, who's he talking? You. You. I'm call talking to you. You know that you know this inside of you. You know who you are. Yeah. You're my23:03 daughter. You're my son. I am so proud of you. Get up here. Altar call. Get up here right now. I must abide in your house now, today, and forever.23:15 That's what he's saying to Zacchaeus. And the crowd's like, what is he doing? We disagree. Remember, God put us here to judge23:27 all the bad people and tell God who they are. Remember, that's our job. Is it? No. That's the enemy's job. We don't wanna join the enemy.23:39 Get down here right now for I must come to your house and to continue to be present with you both now and forever. Get down here.23:51 And Zacchaeus gets it. Like, he knows he knows what's he's looking into the eyes of his creator, his redeemer,24:03 and he knows he's he this he wants to abide in my house forever, and he's inviting me to calm down so we can be together. And it24:15 it says and Zacchaeus didn't go like, well, I don't know. I don't know. If you come to my house, I don't know. You might really see what goes on there. I don't know. It says, and he made haste. And he came24:27 down, and listen to these beautiful words, and received him with joy. Right there, Zacchaeus, the innocent and24:39 pure 1, comes into the truth of who he actually is in an encounter with Jesus, and Jesus says, I wanna abide in you forever. Get down here. And it says, and24:50 Zacchaeus received him joyfully. He didn't care who's around. He didn't care what these people thought. Neither did Jesus. I I don't care what these people say and think25:01 about who I associate with. Jesus always had a problem with who he associated with, the wrong people. And so they didn't care. It was like their eyes locked on 1 another. And25:13 and Zacchaeus comes down, and he made haste. In verse 7, and when the people saw it, they were so happy. No. They were so glad to see a25:25 bad guy reap nope. Mm-mm. We want justice. That person deserves to be punished. Thank god we're not god.25:37 I mean and when they saw it, the people, they murmured, like, we're not happy about this, saying that he was Jesus was25:49 going to be the guest with a sinner. Fill in that blank that you would just be appalled that Jesus would go associate with what kind of person. I26:01 can I know Jesus loves all people, but he would not go associate with them, and therefore, I will not? Now you're wrong. If you ask Jesus who we should not associate with, he's26:13 gonna be like, nobody. Like, you should associate with whoever I invite you into. Don't tell me who's worth visiting. Remember26:24 Peter? Peter's like watching this, and then when you get over into Acts, Peter, you know, he's having the vision. The Roman, the bad guy, the Roman centurion26:36 has a prayer life. He's praying. He doesn't know exact he's praying to God. He doesn't know exactly what all that means, but he's in pursuit of this 1 that he wants to see and understand, the26:48 Roman centurion, who knows what his guys have done to Jewish people, who and he's a leader. And and and and God speaks to27:00 him and says, send your guy and go get this guy, Peter, and get him over here because the thing you're missing is Christ. And I want you to come down and meet me, Jesus. This guy27:12 needs to be a part of it. Get him. And Peter, the same time, the believer. So the the the sort of believer is, like, right away obeys. The the believer believer, the solid guy27:23 debates. Oh, I I can't go to the unclean guy. 3 times, god is gonna say, stop telling me what's clean and unclean. That is not your job.27:36 Your job is to hear and respond to what I say to you. Go visit this guy. And Peter's like, alright. Alright. And Peter gets there and watched the holy spirit27:48 fall on these Roman people. And he's shocked, and and Peter says, oh my gosh. I now see that listen. I now see28:00 Peter. How long has he been with Jesus? He has the Holy Spirit. I now see that God shows no favoritism towards people.28:11 Shocker. God doesn't like some people more than others. We do. He doesn't. And so the28:23 people are frustrated. He's gone to be a guest with a man that's a sinner. We should probably tell Jesus who the bad people are because he doesn't seem to28:35 know. I think we should have a campaign to announce to the world who the bad people are. That way, at least, god will know.28:47 Isn't that so shortsighted, so in league with the enemy. So the people are actually28:59 affirming the false identity that Zacchaeus has developed for himself. They're affirming it. Yeah. You are a dirtbag. Yeah. We affirm it. Come to our synagogue. We'll affirm it right in front of29:11 you. Yeah. You are, and we don't want you here, and we don't even want Jesus to meet you. But Jesus and Zacchaeus29:22 too late. Zacchaeus wants Jesus to come and abide in his house forever. Let's go. It says in verse 8, and Zacchaeus stood when they get to his house and said unto29:34 the lord, behold lord, half my goods I will give to the poor. Where is he coming up with this? Jesus is like, I'm gonna come to your house and I'm gonna take a tithe when I get there. He that's29:46 Jesus is like, I wanna abide in your in your house forever. Let's go. And the innocent pure 1, when Jesus comes into his house, the innocent pure 1 begins to act29:58 like who he really is. His true identity comes exploding out of him, not because Jesus magically made it happen, but because Jesus is calling forth the only thing that was30:10 ever true about Zackeys. You've only ever been an innocent pure 1. Why are you acting like this? Be who you really are. When I come to your house, I'm coming to visit the real you.30:23 So let the real you talk. Not the worried about money, self protection, self promotion. I got God's not gonna help me. I gotta do whatever I can to survive. Not that false guy, the30:35 real guy. And so the real guy, the innocent peer one's like, you know what I'm gonna do because my being is gonna inform my doing? The real me is gonna actually live out in day to day life,30:46 real life, not just talk out of my head. Yeah. God can supply all my needs, but I'm on my own. Really? Not that. The real guy. And so the real guy stands up, the innocent pure 1, he says, you know what I'm gonna do? This30:57 is like the Samaritan woman who realizes who she really is when she meets Jesus. And and Jesus says, worship here. Get your identity from me, the 1 that's31:09 standing in front you, not from these people up there. Get your identity from me. You're not an object of men. You're a leader of men. What would you do if you were really a leader of men? And she goes up into the town.31:18 Jesus doesn't tell her to do this. She goes up into the town, and the very men that would have objectified her, she leads them to Jesus. Jesus31:30 said, let me give you a quick course on how to share your faith. It's like, in your in the truth of who you are, what would you be doing? In this false, you're stuck here forever. You're the object of men. Nobody31:42 wants you. You're dirty. You're filthy. This this false thing where you're isolated and alone, be who I made you to be. If you will drink from me, receive me. From you31:54 will flow the rivers of living water, and you could go win that whole town because I'm a Jew and they won't let me in there. But you could go in there, and you could do as much or more than I32:06 could do there. What do you say? Off she goes. All the men come back with her, and she says, come see the 1. Come see the 1 that knows everything about me32:18 and how he introduced me. It's be it's it's mind blowing to me. Come see the 1. Maybe he'll say the same thing to you. And they come and they believe not because of32:30 her, but because now they see him. They perceive him, and he wants to abide in all of their houses.32:41 That's what Zach is just doing. The real him starts to talk, not the false him anymore. We're tired of hearing the false. Who are you really? Only Jesus can reveal that and open it up for you, and then32:53 go. And he stands up. He's not a hoarder. Zacchaeus is a giver. A hoarder is a giver who's lost their true identity.33:05 And they start to just accumulate for themselves because they've lost who they are. But if they knew who they really were, they reversed it and become givers. And Zacchaeus stood and said, will33:17 behold the Lord, half my goods I give to the poor. And if I've taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold beyond what the law requires. Why is he doing this? Jesus33:29 didn't ask him to do it. Why is he doing it? Because it's who he really is. It's who he's always been. Jesus is like, welcome back. In this impure 1, welcome back.33:41 Don't need this other stuff. And Jesus said to him, when he says all that, Jesus says to him, this day is salvation come to this house. For as much as33:53 you, Zacchaeus, are not only the innocent pure 1, you are a true son of Abraham. For Jesus to say that to a traitor to the people of34:04 Abraham is remarkable restoration. Not only are you the innocent pure 1, which you are and you always have been, but you are I'm proud to say you are34:16 a real son of Abraham. You are a real Jew. I don't Zacchaeus must have just withered when Jesus paid him that honor, which34:28 who was 3 hours, 5 hours before hiding from the crowd because of how how his fear of what they thought of him. Jesus says this, and Jesus said unto34:40 him, this day salvation has come to this house. For as much as you also are a son of Abraham and then he Jesus closes this out by saying this, for the34:52 son of man did not come for the son of man has come to seek and to save the lost. Don't ever forget it. I'm not here for the good35:04 people. I'm not here for the right. I'm here for the lost. Wow. What a relief. Do you know why he's here for the lost? Because you're35:16 not lost. Not really. You've never been lost. You think you're lost. You believe you're lost. You're not lost. And I wanna look in your eyes, and I wanna tell you who I made35:28 you to really be. And let's be that because I wanna abide in your house forever. But I can't abide in the false place. I can only abide in the true place.35:40 And you come down with joy to receive that. Yes. Isn't that beautiful? Isn't that an amazing story?35:53 Wow. Jesus is walking around looking at you and me. He's like, what do you come over here. Come down. Get oh, come over here.36:05 And he calls you by the name that he calls you. What is that name? Not the name the world calls you. The enemy calls you. You call yourself. What does he say about you?36:17 Come to me. I wanna abide in that true identity that I gave you in your mother's womb. And when I abide in that true identity that I gave you in your mother's womb, you watch what happens36:29 out of your life. You watch what and it's it'll be organic to you. I won't have to tell you what to do. You'll know what to do. Wow. It's incredible.36:41 What what good news. Like, is this real? I mean, so when we lived so we lived in Israel and, and worked in with Palestinians and Israelis and all36:53 that. And but particularly among Palestinians that lived inside of Israel, so not West Bank, not that, but is Palestinians born in Israel and, that37:05 live inside the old city of Jerusalem. And so 1 of the guys that we worked with or met there was actually this this guy. He was a I don't know, in his twenties at the time. And we met with I met him37:17 through some different friends, and we started talking together. And he he was small of stature, meaning he thought very lowly of himself because he had been in he tried to go to a37:28 college, but because he was palace Palestinians that are born in Israel have a different ID. They don't have citizenship in Israel even though they're born there. And so he can't go to, like, Hebrew University. He can37:39 only go to a Palestinian university, which are not accredited and really worthless. But they still that's the only place they can go. So he goes there, he's a terrible student, and he never passes the class. So when I37:48 meet him, his whole opinion of himself is he's stupid. He's Palestinian. He's not smart. He's never gonna have a good job. He needs a driver's license, but young Palestinian men are it's very hard for them to get a38:00 driver's license in Israel for lots of different reasons. So he can't get a driver's license. So we're meeting together, and my whole goal is for him to see Jesus just like this. That's38:12 my whole goal. And so we're meeting, and we start reading the scriptures together. And I said, you know, you need to understand how Jesus sees you. Because the way you see yourself is38:24 destructive to you, and it's not how Jesus views you. He doesn't view you as a Palestinian and all this stuff. He he views you as what he made inside of you. But for this guy, this Muslim guy, it was so hard for him to38:34 grasp that because they have to experience Christ themselves. You can't just explain it to people. That doesn't really transform people, my brilliant explanation. And so 1 day, he's38:45 with me, and we're reading actually the story of Abraham. And he says he says, do you think do you think Jesus could help me get a driver's license? And I'm like, I don't know. Like, he's good at lots of stuff. I don't38:57 know. The driving test, I don't know. In Israel, and you're a Palestinian, I don't know. Because what happens is when he he'd already tried this 3 times, the Palestinian young guy. He would go stand in line, which39:09 took all day. He had to leave his job, the little job that he had, stand all day in line. And when he gets up and they say, show us your ID, and he shows the ID, and they see he's Palestinian, they go, get out. He can39:20 legally get a license, but they have to let him take the test. But most of the time when they see that he's a Palestinian, they're like, get out. You're not getting a license here. And he said, I've done it 3 times. DoShow more
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