Matt's House Church: Arbutus, MD

Rescue - Stop Hiding!

Reading: Genesis 3:8-11

Transition: Adam and Eve’s natural, instinctive reaction after betraying God’s trust

was to Hide!

Download Introduction

Last week we explored the REALITY that Jesus, the Shepherd, will leave the 99 to

Search for and Rescue the 1.

Your Challenge was two fold…

1) You are THE ONE, that Jesus left the 99 to Find.

2) Jesus INVITES you to join Him in the Search & Rescue of THE ONES.

Transition: Just because you’ve been found, doesn’t mean God’s Search & Rescue

Mission for you has ended.

Question: Have you ever committed a wrong and hid?

Illustration: The Baseball and the Shattered Window

I remember playing a pick up game of baseball as a kid and hitting the baseball

right through my neighbors back window. Our immediate reaction was to run and

hide… Feeling scared because I didn’t know what was going to happen and

ashamed because I did something wrong.

Point: Hide, that’s what we human beings do when we’ve done something wrong.

• Hide - Because we know we were wrong and we don’t want to face the

consequences or embarrassment;

• Hide - Because we want to punish the one we’ve broken relationship with.

- Illustration: That friend who betrayed you, that you are angry at…instead of

seeking out and getting to work mending the broken relationship — you ignore

their texts, phone calls, emails, FB-Messages…YOU HIDE TO PUNISH THEM for

WRONGING YOU!

Bible - Zacchaeus; Luke 19:1-10

Good News - Jesus Seeks and brings Rescue to both types of HIDERS

Transition: Zacchaeus was a HIDER that lived in Jericho

Tell the opening of the story…

Reading: Luke 19:5-7

• vv.5 - Come Down = Act Now! It’s TIME TO MOVE! Don’t Delay!; Must = Be

Necessary (Present, Active, Indicative)

• vv.6 - Gladly = Rejoicingly

• vv.7 - Mutter = Grumble, Criticize, Complain; S/A Word as Lost Sheep Parable

(Lk 15)

(NOTE: Some information obtained from: “Love Beyond Reason,” by John

Ortberg.)

Question: Why were All The People muttering?

• Immoral Career Listing: Gambler with Dice; Usurer (Exploits the poor); Pigeon-

Trainer (Form of Gambling); Tax Collector (Bottom of the List);

• As a despised trader, Zacchaeus was deprived of his political and civil rights he

could not serve as a witness or a judge in court and a devoted God Follower

would not allow the hem of his robe to touch a tax collector.

• Collecting taxes for Rome; over-taxing to take his cut.

• Building his financial and material wealth “Driving Force” of his life, but he was still

empty, without dignity, rejected by the religious, therefore rejected by God, filled

with shame and guilt because of his crooked business dealings and still hiding…

from God and people.

 

Reading: Luke 19:8

• Law Required: Repay what he took + 20%; extreme response pay back 400%

• Extreme Generosity - Gives away half of everything to those in need.

Reading: Luke 19:9-10

Experiencing The Cross - Stop Hiding

Challenge: Why your running doesn’t matter…fear of consequences,

embarrassment or to punish… It’s time to Stop Hiding! And come out wherever

you are; “Ollie, Ollie Oxen Free…”

Exercise - Whatever it is that is keeping you from Connecting to or Growing more

Intimate with God must be written down and nailed to the Cross

• MH - Leaders, take the initiative, if we aren’t willing to do what Adam did when he

heard God calling, “Where are you?” Respond like Adam, “I heard you in the

garden, I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”

• We BLOCK God’s Rescue and become a stumbling block for others, like those

who muttered when Jesus told the parable of the 99 and 1; and those who

muttered about Jesus Seeking Out, Finding and Rescuing Zacchaeus.

• MH - People