Connect With The World

Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus, who He was, but he could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him... And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." (Luke 19:1–10)

Jesus came to seek and save the lost—and He sends those He has found to do the very same.

Everyone Is Lost

I remember it clearly, though it was more than ten years ago. In the summer of 2005, after returning from serving at a Bible college in Germany, a friend told me I had to watch a new show. Before Netflix and binge-watching, I bought episodes on iTunes for $1.99 each and was mesmerized, gripped along with millions of others wanting to know who the others were and what the black smoke was. Yes, I'm talking about Lost—an alluring show with the worst ending ever.

But there is one thing about that show that is true for all of us: everyone is lost. We haven't crashed on a mysterious island, but we are all lost nonetheless. We are lost because of sin. In Romans 5, Paul says that through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because all sinned. All 7.4 billion of us start off lost, in need of someone to seek us out and find us.

As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside... There is none who does good, no, not one." (Romans 3:10–12)

Could it be any more emphatic? Paul continues describing throats like open tombs, tongues practicing deceit, feet swift to shed blood. And a few verses later comes one of the most famous verses in the book: all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The wages of sin is death. This is the woeful condition of all humanity. We are alienated from God and separated from one another.

Jesus Came to Seek and Save the Lost

It didn't start this way. In the beginning God created us to live in communion with Him, but through disobedience in Genesis 3 that connection was cut—both our communion with God and our fellowship with one another. But Jesus came to seek out and save the lost. That is exactly what we see in Luke 19:10.

There was Zacchaeus, a wee little man, climbing a sycamore tree to see this Jesus passing through. He had heard the reports of Jesus' message and miracles and wanted to see who He was. But he was an outcast—a chief tax collector, a turncoat working for the occupying Romans, seen by everyone as a sinner because of his occupation. He was most certainly lost.

Jesus looked up, locked eyes with him, and said, "Zacchaeus, quickly, come down. I'm staying at your house today." A murmur went through the crowd: How could this prophet, even the Messiah, go to be the guest of a sinner? It wasn't that Zacchaeus was secretly righteous—he was a sinner, and he didn't even object to being called one. But Jesus said, "I have come to seek and to save that which was lost." What good news. That is gospel.

There is none who seeks after God. None of us sought for Him; we were all lost, and Jesus sought us out. If you're here today, it's because Jesus has sought you out and drawn you to this place. One of the greatest hymns ever written declares it: I once was lost, but now I'm found; I once was blind, but now I see. It is amazing and awesome grace that any of us are here. If you're a follower of Jesus, it's because He sought you out and saved you.

Remember Where You Were

Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh... were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. (Ephesians 2:11–12)

Like a loving father telling his children for the billionth time, Paul says: remember. Remember what life was like before you became a follower of Jesus, before He found you. Some of you have walked with Jesus so long it's hard to remember; for others it wasn't long ago. But if you think back far enough, you can remember the fear, the shame, the anger—what it was like to be a stranger to God with no hope.

It's important to remember, because if you've been in the church for any length of time, it's easy to forget. Subtly you begin to think life was always this way, and you start looking at lost people and thinking, "I want to stay away from those people. They're strange, they talk bad, they smell." Paul says it plainly: remember where you were—without Christ, alienated, a stranger to His promises, with no hope.

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:13)

We should never forget where we came from or how we got here. You didn't get here by your good works, your good looks, your ingenuity, or your law-keeping. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast (Ephesians 2:8–9). Why remember? Because millions outside these walls are still in a place of no hope, and we've been called to the rescue team.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)

Jesus Sends the Found to Find Others

After Jesus rose, He appeared to His disciples gathered in the upper room. He simply showed up among them and said, "Peace be with you. Don't be afraid." Then His next words were powerful:

As the Father has sent Me, I also send you. (John 20:21)

What did the Father send Him to do? The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. As the Father sent Him, so He sends us. In the Great Commission He says, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:18–20). In Mark 16:15 He says, "Go and preach the gospel"—the good news, euangelion—"to every creature." And in Luke 24:46–47, that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

There are 7.4 billion people on the planet, and twenty centuries later it's hard to grasp that there are still unreached people groups who have not yet heard of the One who came to seek and save the lost. Every one of us is called to reach people who are still lost—and all of us know lost people.

The danger is that we forget we were once lost, and we begin to construct walls—not always physical—to keep those scary people out there. There's an old story of a rescue station on a dangerous coast. It started as a crude little hut with one rickety boat, and its people went out to rescue as many as they could from shipwrecks. Over time the community admired the work and improved the building—heating, showers, a beautiful place—and many joined. Then a great storm came. A small group grabbed the boats to go after the perishing, and the rest cried, "What are you doing? They're dirty and wet; we don't want them here. If you want to do that, build your own station." So quickly and subtly we forget that Jesus came to seek and save the lost and sends the found to find others.

An Impossible Mission, an Empowering Spirit

One reason we struggle is that the task looks too big. Have you ever felt inadequate? I do every day. Jesus has called us to an impossible mission. The Gospel of Luke comes in two parts—the sequel is the book of Acts.

He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father... for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. (Acts 1:4–5)

And what was the disciples' response? "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" They wanted a prophecy update. Nothing has changed in 2000 years. Jesus says, "Go reach dying people," and we say, "Let's sit down and talk about the rapture." So He has to redirect them:

It is not for you to know times or seasons... But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (Acts 1:7–8)

We're so easily distracted—we've got church ADD. But you cannot accomplish this mission in your own strength, and Jesus doesn't ask you to. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. Not only that, He has placed us in the church, where He equips us. He gave some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11–12). Many wrongly think the work of ministry is the pastor's job. No—the pastor's job is to equip the church for the work of the ministry, which is to seek and save the lost.

How We Connect With the World

For three weeks we've explored our vision: life in connection with God, one another, and the world through Jesus. This week our focus is connecting with the world. So how do we reach lost people?

Evangelism. An evangelist is the person who shares the gospel. When we hear the word, we think Billy Graham, D. L. Moody, George Whitefield, Charles Spurgeon—not ourselves. Yet every one of us is called and empowered by the Holy Spirit to speak the good news. You know lost people I will never meet, who may never walk through these doors unless you share the gospel with them. What is the good news? I once was lost, and now I'm found. It's simple. One of the worst things to happen in the last thirty years of American Christianity is that the apologetics movement—good as it is—made many afraid to share their faith, thinking they need an answer for every question. The answer is the one the blind man gave in John 9: "I don't know all that other stuff. All I know is I once was blind, but now I see." We even named our daughter Evangeline Grace—good news and grace.

Charity. We connect with the world by giving in Jesus' name for those in need. The church has done this for centuries, and churchgoers in every study are far more likely to be charitable than those uninvolved in church. Why? Because Jesus teaches us that it is more blessed to give than to receive—a foolish thought until you know Him.

Compassion. A few years back, a prominent news person claimed that if your pastor preaches social justice you should leave that church. That's the worst thing I've ever heard, so I changed "social justice" to compassion—you have a hard time fighting against compassion. In Matthew 25, Jesus separates the righteous and says, "I was sick and you took care of Me; hungry and you fed Me; thirsty and you gave Me drink; naked and you clothed Me; in prison and you came to Me." When they ask when, He answers, "Inasmuch as you did it to the least of these, you did it to Me." Jesus sees your kindness to someone in need as kindness to Him.

Friendship. All of these can be summed up in friendship. One devastating trend in American Christianity is deciding we can only befriend Christians. Someone will object with James 4:4—"friendship with the world is enmity with God." But Jesus was accused by the hyper-religious of His day of being a friend of sinners. There's a difference between friendship with the world and being a friend of sinners. So the simple question is: who are you connected with that you're seeking to connect with Jesus?

Our pastoral team has often noted the danger that pastors never spend time with non-believers. We have to intentionally get out of our Bible bubble. I serve as a chaplain with the fire department; Pastor Mark talks with people down on the docks. We're intentionally reaching out—how do we connect with people in order to connect them with Jesus? That's what we're called to.

Partners in the Work

I want to introduce you to two ministries we partner with as a church. One is Alternatives Women's Center, a pregnancy resource center here in Escondido we've supported since its inception. They reach out to women in crisis pregnancies and show them there are alternatives to abortion, which our culture says is the only option. This is not a political issue but a moral one: we are wholeheartedly against the killing of babies in the womb, and always will be. You helped buy the bus in our parking lot that extends their outreach.

I also want you to meet Pat and Sherry Bailey, partners of ours for about ten years, who serve the Lord in Mindanao, in the Philippines, reaching unreached people groups—Muslims and the Bajau people—through medical clinics, schools, feeding programs, vocational training, and most importantly, preaching the gospel and planting churches. Among the Bajau, $75 a year feeds a child his entire school lunch, keeping kids in school and off the streets. In their medical clinics, every patient is prayed for individually in the name of Jesus, and over a thousand Muslims have come to ask Jesus to forgive their sins—because they pray to a god who doesn't answer them, but when prayer is offered in the name of Jesus the Messiah, God answers. Sherry told of an entire Muslim village whose children were covered in lesions; after they were prayed for, mothers came running the next morning holding their healed children, crying, "Look what your Jesus did." God is moving, and we're blessed to partner in this work.

Closing Prayer

Father, we rejoice in the testimony Patrick and Sherry have shared, and the good things You're doing—there are hundreds of stories like this. Thank You for the work You're doing through them and the other missionaries we're connected with. Bless them; pour out Your Spirit upon them while they're here on furlough; bless them financially, spiritually, emotionally, and physically for the next stretch of ministry. Go before them and open doors no man can shut, in the Philippines, in Pakistan, and everywhere You lead them. Use them mightily.

And, Lord, we pray for this church, Cross Connection, as we prepare to go out into the mission field here in North County and throughout San Diego this week. Use us to be bright shining lights. Give us opportunities to be compassionate, to be charitable, and to share the good news of who You are. Help us to be friends to those who are lost and in need, that we might show them the way to You. We praise You and thank You, Jesus. And now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of His Holy Spirit be with all of you. And all God's people said, Amen.