Let's pray. Father in Heaven, We come as
your people rejoicing. The Christ is the light of the
world rejoicing that Headlight by the work of your spirit.
Shine brightly into our dead and dark hearts.
And at some point for all who are in Christ, we said we
believed we received you, Lord, Jesus as our savior.
And even today, Lord, we trust that there will be those in our
midst, or worshiping With Us online, who hear the good news
and come to saving faith. We Rejoice that those who are in
Christ will be encouraged by the means of Grace.
The table that we will soon Feast at the word of God read
and preached, the prayers that are being offered Lord.
We thank you for these means of Grace, we thank you for our
ministry partners that we get to see today in the fellowship, all
and understand more of what they're doing.
And more than that. We get to participate by praying
and supporting and giving of our gifts and our time, our
experiences to hold out. Jesus, To extend Christ For Your
Glory and the good of your people.
So Lord, we pray that you just continue to bless all the parts
of your church, this service. And little Lord is the open your
word that these familiar in clear teachings, the hard to
live would fill us with such hope and joy that we would leave
different today than when we came.
We pray this in Christ's holy name.
Mmmmm, amen. Will Carlton.
Come on over brother. This is Carlton, OB.
He serves as the president and CEO of Mercy Street.
Which is a Ministry that our church has been involved with
for a very long time, but there's a lot of new people at
our church. Maybe they haven't heard about
it and I didn't ask you to do this.
But would you give us just a quick glimpse of what Mercy
Street in the mission is all about?
And how we can pray for you all? Yes.
Thank you. So shirts.
Good morning church. Good morning, come on.
Good morning church. We got sometimes.
Warm ammo. A man means I agree.
That's right. And go to a Baptist Church.
That's right. I got it.
They said, good morning. I'm so excited to be with you
guys. My name is Carlton over.
Get the wonderful privilege to serve as the executive director
of Mercy, Street Ministries. We are christ-centered Youth
Development, organization, that serves in the west Dallas, in
South Dallas area, our hope is to raise up a new generation.
Of young people that will change their community Through
mentoring Sports leadership and we've been doing it for about 20
years this year, we'll celebrate 20 years of ministry, being
birthed out of this church. And so, we're really excited and
thankful for you guys and they'll support over the years.
So, yeah, you know, I remember January 6th, Friday was my first
day, 20 years ago, stepping into my Office, which is across the
street serving as the pastor of Youth and families and walking
around Mercy streets facility before Mercy, street onew with
Trey, he'll just praying over that.
And think 20 years later, the work continues.
The need certainly hasn't changed, is so great.
What are some ways we can be praying specifically Carlton for
you in the staff there? And the people you are
ministering to. Well, we're praying for the
spiritual transformation for every family in the Western
South Dallas area that the gospel will penetrate the hearts
of Man, every woman, every child in our communities.
That's first and foremost, their Eternal Destiny.
And then that they will live a life that honors him.
And I think those are the two strongest ways we could pray.
We obviously need people to come down and say to take their
Orthodoxy. Make the orthopraxy to say,
follow me, as I follow Christ, we need volunteers mentors.
Coaches people to speak to our young people and then people to
provide the opportunity for others financially.
So yeah, those are ways in which which, you know, people can be
praying and getting involved in the work that we're doing part
of the ministry Expo. Today is to highlight
Ministries, like, Mercy Street. And so, just take a few minutes
after the service, if you have time, it's going to be open in
the fellowship hall to 1:00 and you can meet those who lead
Ministries and serving Ministries, like, Mercy street
right there to find out how you can be involved.
Certainly in prayer, but also specific ways.
And I told the congregation in the last hour whenever someone
shares what the needs are? We have the privilege of praying
and all of us can pray. Secondly, Should always be in
the posture of Lord. Is this something that you're
calling me to engage in and you may be involved in so many other
things that the answer is no, but you might not be involved in
something or maybe you want to change what you're involved in.
So we should always have the posture of hands open.
Like where does this something you might want us or me
individually to participate in. So I'm very grateful for you, we
will continue to pray for your ministry and partner with you
all but that great work. It's really the same work as the
church. We want people to know Christ
and live as becomes the followers of Christ.
To that end, we've been studying The Sermon on the Mount.
We took a break during Advent and did the oh, Auntie fonts, we
finished the sermon on the mountain just before that with
the Lord's Prayer. Remember all that.
Yeah, okay, good. And then Robbie preached on
fasting for the Lord's Prayer. Just before Thanksgiving, that
was great. Now we're moving back into the
Sermon on the Mount. And we're going to spend three
weeks where we are right now in this section of scripture in
Matthew 6. So I'm going to ask you to stand
Carlton's going to read this. Text for us.
So please stand, we're going to hear from Matthew 6:19-20.
One, thank you, sir. Do not lay up for yourselves,
Treasures on Earth, where moth and rust destroy and where
thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves,
Treasures, in Heaven. Where neither moth nor rust
destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is there.
Your heart will be. Also, this is the word of the
Lord. Thanks be to God, you may be
seated. Father, I do lift up Mercy
Street and Carlton, the staff. The many volunteers and ask that
you would continue to supply the workers, those who will live for
you in west, Dallas in South, Dallas for the sake of young
women. Women and men seeing Christ and
knowing how to follow you Jesus. We pray that that work would
bring you glory for all the ministry partners that we
support. We pray this in Jesus name.
Amen. All right as we move into The
Sermon on the Mount back into it.
Let's remember that. It's the sermon Jesus preached
and the beginning of Matthew 5 it says he went up on a
Mountainside set down his disciples came to him and he
began to teach them. Now we spent a lot of time on
the Lord's. Prayer.
Coming out of the Lord's Prayer. Jesus is now teaching about the
specific things in life. That could create anxiety.
The various needs that we have in the Temptation for how we
might seek to meet those needs. We're going to spend a few weeks
here because it's so important. One thing I really want you to
understand and it's easy to miss is that the context of this
section, which is going to run from Matthew 6:19 through the
end of Matthew, Six verse 34, the central context is how we
view ourselves in our relationship to the father.
So in Matthew 6 started, Jesus starting using the name father
over and over again. Just take your pencil or pen in
the Bible. You brought, are you doing the
Pew Bible if you want and just highlight the word, father,
Jesus is making a strong strong point that as the followers of
Christ his disciples, we have the heavenly father who is
giving us everything Thing we need, who knows everything?
We need the second part of the context, and I don't want you to
miss this has centered on anxiety.
Now, this is important. We live in a culture that is
exceedingly, anxious, and there's reasons why it's a dark
dying culture, but this is where the church, because of who the
father Son, and the Holy Spirit who they are, we should not.
Not resemble, the same response to anxiety as the world does,
but we do. So, often the way in which we
look at the circumstances of Life, the different things that
are happening, as a result of a fallen world, doesn't look much
different than the world and if it doesn't look any different,
why would anybody ever ask us about the hope we have?
In other words, if we truly have hope in Christ, that should be a
fragrance that people can smell it.
It'd be a light that people can see and when they see it if they
are part of God's children, part of his people, they will want to
know about it and they'll ask me give you an example early,
December, my wife and I took the hatton's Pete and Kristen had in
our new pastor to families to dinner just to get to know them
a little bit. We went to a very new
restaurant. It's a Wonderful restaurant and
we sat down to enjoy a great meal together.
I have a heart for waiters and waitresses I always have but I
don't always go in with great fervency of prayer for something
to happen in the conversation with the waiter or waitress from
here. I tend to go to restaurants that
are right around the church frequently just to get to know
the people that work there. And by the way, I don't want
them to know what I do. I don't want him to know.
I'm a pastor of this church for days or weeks because that can
create a pretty, pretty big wall, right?
So I just get to know them. Well, there wasn't time for
this, the Night that we're having dinner.
It was a Friday night. The waiter didn't see, its prey
for the meal because the bill hadn't come.
As far as I know, we weren't really talking a lot about the
church or the Lord. We're just enjoying
conversation, but he was listening and we really didn't
know. He was listening until finally.
He said something to me, he said, what are you all saying
about Deliverance? That's a pretty interesting
statement for a waiter to make. What are you saying about
deliverance? And I looked at him, I said,
what do you want to know? He goes, I need delivered.
This is our waiter. Who's working in a restaurant,
that's only about a month old. This is a Friday night.
It's busy, he's they're working, but he's concerned about
something in his life and he wants to know about Deliverance.
So I just listen to the spirit and ask God to give me wisdom
for what to say before long. He tells us what is needed is
he's a recovering meth addict because of his addiction.
He lost visiting privileges. Villages with his son, who at
that time was about 10 months old, he hadn't seen him in
months. He was going to see a judge on
Tuesday, who would judge whether or not, he will build a see, his
child. So, as he told me that story, he
wanted to know what hope we had. He smelled it, he saw it, that's
what happens. And so, he knelt down next our
table. It's a Friday night.
It's a hot new restaurant. It's busy.
And I said, keep your eyes open. I don't want you to lose your
job. But I'm going to pray for you.
I'm going to pray for you, just like you and I are talking about
the menu and my wife, and Pete and Kristen, they're going to
keep their eyes open to for a few minutes.
We prayed over this man, then we exchanged cell phones, I emailed
him, text him, I'm sorry. And said what did the judge
decide a few days later? I get a picture of him with his
son, powerful powerful. We, I wish we could tell you
spent time praying that this would happen at the me.
We didn't, but it did. We who are in Christ.
Have the Living God in the fragrance of the Living God
inside us. Yet we live in a world that is
very broken. That is full of darkness and
full of Decay. One of the ways in which the
fragrance of Christ will come from us as we stand for truth in
love and show the hope that we have for the one who is
Sovereign for the one who's going to return.
Now, the reason I mentioned that is Because I think the church
desperately needs to ask the Holy Spirit to show us where in
our life. Where are we?
And our walk with Christ, where something is pressing down the
fragrance of Christ were something is dimming the light
of who he is. And the reason I started today
is because it has something to do with this teaching of Jesus
on treasures and then has something to do with Anxieties.
And I want to show you how this morning.
Imagine you're sitting and you're listening to Jesus.
He then moves out from the teaching on fasting and he says,
I'm going to read these verses again, verse 19.
Look with me in your bulletin, do not lay up for yourselves,
Treasures on Earth, where moth and rust, destroy and where
thieves break in and steal. It's not hard to understand.
This is the negative command. Do not stockpile treasure.
Others on Earth. They will not last.
They don't have eternal value. One day, they will all be gone.
This is not hard to understand, is it?
It's not, it's the negative command.
Don't store up for your thing yourself.
Things that are going to rot things that are going to waste
away verse 20, the positive command, but lay up for
yourselves. Treasures in Heaven, where
neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do.
Not break in and steal. So it's easy to see.
Christ is not teaching something complicated.
Don't spend your life on Earth. Storing up, stockpiling Earthly
Treasures, it's not going to matter eternally.
Instead store up for yourself, things that have eternal lasting
value. Where nothing can destroy them.
I think it's pretty simple. I'm not going to stop preaching
though. Because the next part reveals to
it's white so hard. He says they ever yourself
Treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy
and where thieves do not break in and steal, for where verse
21, for where your treasure is there, your heart will be also.
I'm going to tell three stories today.
The first is of a man. And all three of these people
met Jesus. The first is of a man who when
he heard that Jesus was coming, Cried out.
Have mercy on me. Have mercy on me.
He was told to be silent. He shouted louder when Jesus
came into his presence, he asked the blind, man.
What do you want me to do for you?
Now, I want to start there. If God were to ask you right
now, what do you want me to do for you?
What would you say? What?
Just immediately. It's at the front of your mind.
Now don't lie about it. The Holy Spirit knows what it
is. Don't try to be spiritual if
it's not spiritual. This man said I want you to
restore my sight. Whatever your answer is likely
that's a place in your life where there is Temptation to
meet that. Need our make that thing happen
in a way that centered on making it an Earthly treasure as
opposed to Heavenly. This is important.
Every one of us here, these verses and understand it.
Of course, Earthly Treasures are going to go away.
They won't last for eternity, Heavenly Treasures.
They will last for eternity, we get it.
But every one of us, this side of Heaven struggles deeply to
make Christ Our Supreme treasure.
We struggled deeply to make Jesus our safest Refuge.
We struggled deeply to To surrender to his sovereignty.
We struggle to make him our most trusted counselor.
Now, I want to be very, very clear as we move the next few
weeks through this, you need to understand that this is not just
about money, clearly Treasures are part of it, Financial
Treasures can give the appearance of great security.
This is not just about money, for we can find our Earthly
Treasures, in so many things. For example, the praise of, man,
The Applause of others, people say, you're a great mother,
you're a great father, it could be a title.
It could be wealth for sure, and all that wealth can bring, but
it's more than that. Anything that we would pursue is
a treasure that's Earthly that would take the place of Christ
enough. Heavenly Treasures.
That's what Jesus is after. So, as we move through this,
we're going to see that when we don't trust Christ alone.
When we practice a theology that says, Jesus plus this title,
Jesus, plus this Storehouse Jesus plus the praise of, man,
we're going to see that. That's where the anxiety Creeps
in, because it will not satisfy everything.
Other than Christ is ultimately in secure in.
Christ is saying It's me, make me your treasure.
So how do we do that? We need to understand something
of the heart look with me in verse 21 for where your
treasure. Is there.
Your heart will also be so this morning if you're trying to
discern. Where is my heart?
What is most important to me right now?
What might I ask for? You need to know that it's
wherever your heart is. Charles Spurgeon says it this
way, the heart must and will go in the direction of that, which
we count precious. Listen to this.
The heart must and will go in the direction of that, which we
count precious. The whole man will be
transformed into the likeness of that for which he lives.
And we talked about, extending the transforming presence of the
kingdom of our Lord. Jesus Christ.
That's his kingdom presence in our lives.
Lives. That's the fragrance.
I'm talking about, that's the Light of Christ in us.
So, listen to that last line. The whole man will be
transformed into the likeness of that for which he lives So he
has to question. Where is your treasure?
And what do you treasure? Most This week was a very hard
week for me spiritually, not because of some dark hidden
secret. but, because Of the temptation to make something
other than Jesus Supreme. Because of trusting something
more than Christ because of the appeal, of the praise of, man.
It was a hard week and I said, I guess I shouldn't be surprised
because of where the Lord was leading me to preach.
But when I say that I'm not trying to be cute, I'm not
trying to be clever, what I'm trying to tell you, is walking
faithfully, and Christ is heart. And the reason it's hard is
because this side of Heaven, the World, the Flesh, and the devil
are coming at us with everything.
He has and wouldn't he love for you to cure a message other than
the truth of what Jesus is? Clearly teaching, of course he
would. So I felt that came out me very,
very hard. The reason is a heart, let's
listen to what scripture says about the heart Jeremiah 17:9
and 10. The heart is deceitful.
So let me just because I'm not sure you're listening, this is
not about other people. That's one of the great
mistakes. We make is Christian's.
This is really good for them to hear.
This is about you, and it's about me.
My heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick, who
can understand it? Your heart is deceitful Above
All Things. And desperately sick, who can
understand it? I the Lord search the heart and
test the mind to give every man, according to his ways according
to the fruit of his deeds. The heart is deceitful above all
things and desperately sick, who can understand it.
We can't. We can understand things about
it, but we need someone to follow our heart.
Someone to trace all the different ways, the World, the
Flesh. And the devil want to be Supreme
to be our Supreme treasure, to be our safest Refuge to be our
most trusted counselor. We can't discern it.
David knew that someone 39 David prays to the Lord.
He says search me o God and know my heart.
Try me and know my thoughts. The ESV doesn't put the word
anxious there and I think that's a mistake most other
translations do. It says search me know my heart.
Try me and know my anxious thoughts and see if there be any
grevious way in me and Lead Me in the way Everlasting.
So all of us have a heart. We've been given a heart and if
you are in Christ, Jesus, you need to hear this.
You have a new heart. Paul said, therefore if anyone
is in Christ, he is a new creation.
The old has gone. The new has come.
Now here's what that means and why it's such good news when G,
when Jesus said, Do not store up for yourself.
Treasures on heaven and have it. I'm sorry.
Do not screw up your Treasures in Earth.
But strop yourself. Treasures in Heaven. if you were
not given a new heart, you could never store up for yourself.
Treasures in Heaven. Because you've been given a new
heart friend in Jesus, you can think right?
Feel right seek, right. You actually can say by the work
of God's grace in your life. I'm not going to store up any
longer these Treasures on Earth. I'm going to store up these
Treasures in Heaven and you can mean it and believe it and do it
by his grace and for his glory. If you don't have Christ, you
can't give one cent towards Heavenly treasure, not one
nothing, so that's God's, great news.
But the problem is the same one who said, therefore if anyone is
in Christ he is a new creation. The old has gone.
The new has come. Paul also said of himself about
his own heart, what I do. I don't want to do what I do
want to do, I don't do. This Side of Heaven, we're going
to struggle. To have a heart that is fully
surrendered to the Lord and God knows it because God knows it,
he's given us everything that we need to be the people.
He's called us to be this week is hard as it was.
I knew what I had to do. I had to Avail myself of the
means of Grace, just like I do every day.
I had to pray. I had to wait.
I had to listen, I had to think I had to confess.
I had to repent all the same stuff.
Nothing different. It's always going to be God's
word and his spirit that brings the change and it came and it
came by the Lord taking me back from this very passage to a very
familiar. Psalm what I want you to do is
turn to Psalm 16. I'm not going to read all of
Psalm 16. But I'm going to ask you to do
me a favor today before the sun sets.
I want you to read Psalm 16 and as you do, I want you to ask the
Holy Spirit to reveal to you. Is there anything besides
Christ? That is my safest Refuge, is
there anything besides Jesus? That is my Supreme treasure.
Have I really surrendered to his sovereignty?
Is there anyone or anything in my life?
That is a more trusted counselor than Christ.
And here's why I preached this Psalm a few years ago.
The proposition that I used in that sermon, was from John
Piper. I'd never heard a better one
about this Psalm and this is what John Piper wrote.
God will lead you through life and through death into
Everlasting Joy, which it here. This God will lead you In life
through life and through death into Everlasting happiness.
If he is your safest Refuge, if he is your Supreme treasure, if
he is your Sovereign, Lord. And if he is your most trusted
counselor. This week when I talk about the
struggle, it was because I was seeking something and not
trusting in Christ alone as my refuge.
Another treasure had gotten in the way and it wasn't something
thats dark or immoral. But it was taking Supreme place
over the one and only one who is supreme.
I wasn't resting in his sovereignty.
I wanted to be done now and in my time, And because of that, I
was really anxious. In my anxiety was sin, not every
anxiety is don't misunderstand. But my anxiety was because he
wasn't Supreme. He wasn't my safest Refuge.
He wasn't my most trusted counsel but then he was he was
because I continue to Avail myself of his means and he took
me to this passage. And when he took me to this
passage I heard David say look with me at 16 1, preserve Me, O
God for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord.
You are my Lord. I have no good apart from you.
Do you believe that if you don't believe that, then you have
Something or someone who is a greater Refuge to you?
David then writes the Sorrows of those who run after another, God
shall multiply their drink, offerings of blood.
I will pour not pour out or take their names on my lips.
David is so wise when we have something or someone as our
safest Refuge, something or someone as our Supreme treasure
something, or someone is our most trusted counsel, our
sorrows will increase and those sorrows will increase and the
form of anxiety. Eddie, this is where Christians
by God's grace and for his glory should be different.
It's where the power of that one.
Who is supreme the power of that one?
Who is safest, the power of that one, whose counsel is perfect
means everything to us and when it does, when he does, there is
a fragrance, there is a light. Friend, take psalm 16 today.
Go before the Lord and ask him. Search me.
Is there any part of my life where you're not?
The safest Refuge, is there any part of my life?
We're not? My Supreme treasure, is there
any part of my life where I'm not surrendering to your
sovereignty? Is there any part of my life?
Where I'm trusting, someone more than you.
This Side of Heaven, is you ask the Holy Spirit to do that?
You're going to see two things you're going to see, read the
reality of God's work in your new heart.
That these are the things that you want.
You wouldn't even want them. If he wouldn't work to, you're
going to see that the sight of Heaven.
It's going to continue to be a battle until you die or Christ
returns, just because it continues to be a mad about oil.
Doesn't mean we stop fighting We fight in the power of the one
who is our safest Refuge, our Supreme treasure.
Our most trusted counselor, before we come to the table, I
want to end with the two other stories and just listen to these
for a minute. For most of you, it's going to
ring familiarity but just listen.
The blind man that Jesus spoke with.
Heard Jesus. Say what do you want me to do
for you? Lord, let me recover my sight
and Jesus said recover your sight, your faith has made you.
Well This story is sandwiched between two.
Other people who also wanted to seek Jesus.
Their eyes were open. They could see the first one
moves towards Jesus, and he plans to speak to him.
I don't think the second one had any intention of speaking to the
Lord. The first one is the Rich Young
Ruler. He moves towards the Lord and he
says this in, Luke 18, 18 and a ruler asked Jesus.
Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life.
What that tells us is that there was something in his life that
all of his wealth hadn't satisfied.
There was something bugging him in his life that was taking him
to a place that shows us. It doesn't matter how much we've
stored up. It, ultimately, won't matter in
the end, it will not satisfy. So he goes to the good teacher
and he says, good teacher. Jesus responds by saying, why do
you call me good? No one is good.
Except God Alone. The man then moves forward to
show Jesus, how good he is. I've kept all those commands,
everyone. You've listed, I've kept Jesus,
who knows all things knows about every man.
What's in a man says, you still lack one thing?
Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you
will have treasure in heaven, and come follow me.
He told him how. He told him don't stir up any
longer these Treasures on Earth, make me your treasure in order
to do that. You need to sell all that you'll
never make me your treasure. If you don't.
By the way, that's not the command he's given you.
And I That's not an expectation to all people to sell
everything, but it was to him and what happened his heart was
revealed. And his heart was exceedingly,
sad. Would you be sad?
That begins to show you how the spirit illuminates, what might
be more Supreme in your life than Christ.
He was sad. The other man was also rich.
He was a man that never expected to talk to Jesus.
I don't believe, but he wanted to see the one people were
talking about. What's his name, Zacchaeus?
Just after the healing of the blind, man, the blind man.
The healing comes after the Rich.
Young Ruler. Luke tells us the story of
Zacchaeus, Zacchaeus, the wee little man in order to see
Jesus. He had to climb up in a tree.
Tim Keller, says sometimes we got to climb above the crowd to
see the real Jesus. That's true, not just of
non-believers, it's true of Believers as well.
The reason is because Jerry Bridges would say in his great
book disciplines of Grace, We're tempted towards cruise control
Christianity. And if everybody else sees this
as okay, that will be okay to friends, that's not what it
means to be a follower of Christ, just because others are
struggling in the same way you are, doesn't mean it's okay to
continue in that struggle with no fight.
That's important. It's so important.
This is the keas climbs up above the crowd, to see Jesus into his
great shock, Jesus, turns and comes towards him, it's a great
picture of the Gospel where the Lord pursues us, Jesus didn't
begins to speak to him. First for Zacchaeus ran, on
ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Jesus for
he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came by the
place, he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus Zacchaeus, hurry
and come down for, I must stay at your house today.
So he hurried off and came down and he received him joyfully
Joyfully, joyfully the Rich Young Ruler exceedingly sad.
And unless something changes eternally.
Sad Zacchaeus he sees Jesus. Here's Jesus cause name, here's
Jesus. Say come down down, he came.
Then what happens is interesting.
Jesus gives him no command about any of his Earthly.
Treasures, not one command. And Zacchaeus response.
Behold Lord, the half of my goods.
I give to the poor and if I have defrauded anyone of anything and
he had every day, if I have de frauded, anyone of anything, I
will restore it for fold. And Jesus said to him today,
salvation has come into the house this house, since he also
is a son of Abraham for the son of man came to seek and to save
the lost, that's such good news. For those who have been sought,
and those who have been saved, we've been given a new heart, a
sign of that new heart, understanding the depth of the
Gospel is that we take it everywhere, he enables us to go.
We want our waiter or waitress, to hear about Jesus.
We want the children that are part of Mercy Street and West
Dallas in South. Does to hear about Jesus.
We want the Prisoners, the inmates that Paul Miller spoke
about at 9:30 to hear the good news of Christ along with our
neighbors and our family members because we get the depth of his
love. And our need.
He would save one whose Heart Like Mine is so fickle, but it's
a new heart. One other verse I want to show
you before we come to the table. When the Rich Young Ruler went
away exceedingly, sad. Jesus seeing this 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.
And those who heard it said this.
And I want you to hear this. Then who can be saved?
Jesus responds. What is impossible with man?
Is possible with God. Zacchaeus Was saved.
He climbed up above the crowd to see the real Jesus, some of you
need to do that. It wouldn't be many many days
before he would, probably not see.
But here that the Jesus, that called him by name and told him
to come down would now be the one up in a tree.
Hunger by nails. so, that all Who would trust in him?
Could live forever. because they saw, That they had a sick heart.
A heart that needed. Not just a refuge the safest
stretchy Refuge not just a treasure.
This supreme Eternal treasure. Not just a counselor, but the
omniscient all-knowing. All-wise God.
Who reveals himself to us. And when he does and we receive
him, we've been given a new heart and that new heart as a
witness to that work once. To bring glory to God.
Because you've been given a new heart.
For all who are in Christ. You can bring God glory in ways
beyond what you can even imagine right now.
By abiding in him, listening to him, asking him to show you any
part of your life, that doesn't connect, and trusting him.
Some of you have never received Jesus as your savior.
But God has you here, perhaps today to hear the message.
And if you desire him as you haven't before, simply pray,
This prayer Jesus, I'm a sinner. Forgive me of my sins.
Save me from my sins. Be my Lord.
The table that we're about to come to is for all who have made
that profession, it's not a presbyterian table, it's not a
table for perfect people, but it is a table for people with new
hearts hearts that have been saved by the Lord.
And if you've not received Jesus alone for salvation, we would
urge you not to come forward and partake of the elements.
But instead, think about all you've heard less, you would eat
and drink judgment on yourself. For those who are in Christ,
this meal is a meal of Celebration.
It is a meal that the father has given us as you come think about
what the father is done and your life.
To save you and rejoice. Father, as we come to the table,
I'm grateful for the work that you've done Even in our midst
today. And I pray the Lord that if
there any right now who know they need you that you would
hear their prayer, call them your own, give them yourself,
save them. What for those who are in Christ
but maybe just feeling a bit disconnected.
Drifting. Lord use this time to draw us
back. Give us the sweet Fellowship.
That is ours in Christ. We pray in Jesus name amen.