- One of the most striking
qualities about the way that Jesus lived is not
matter who he interacted with, no matter what he was doing, he was always present in the
moment, he was fully present. He lived with what I call
an undivided attention in the moment. In fact, what I wanna
do is I wanna show you two back to back stories in scripture that illustrate his heart for the people right in front of him, being
fully engaged in the moment. In fact, the first one
we find in Luke's gospel and Jesus was walking into Jericho. And if you can imagine their
were large crowds all around. Now, the photo of Jericho was actually about 1400 years prior to this event, when the walls of Jericho went down, they went down, they came
back up after years and years. And this would just
give you a mental image of Jesus walking into this
magnificent walled city. With all of these people
gathering around him, with crowds fighting for his attention. And as he's walking in a blind beggar named Bartimaeus cries
out, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me and the
disciples were offended. Jesus doesn't have time for this guy. Jesus is going somewhere,
Jesus is too important. Jesus is too busy. Jesus has an agenda. Jesus isn't gonna stop for some guy who's begging on the side of the road and the disciples rebuked the
blind beggar and said go away. And then Jesus rebuked the disciples and he engaged with a
single hurting person, fully engaged in the moment. And Jesus stopped gave him
all of his attention and said, what would you like for me to do? And the man cries out, could you heal me? Could you heal me, could
you please heal me? I haven't been able to see my whole life. And Jesus spoke a miraculous word, of faith and healed the man. One miracle is Jesus healed him. The second thing to notice is
that Jesus stopped for a guy that no one had time for, fully engaged with the
person in front of him. The second and next story,
the consecutive story. Here's one and the next one
we see in John chapter 19 verse one, it mentions Jericho again, as Jesus entered Jericho. And this time Luke tells us that he was actually going somewhere. He was passing through. And so he was moving through,
he had somewhere to be, as Jesus entered Jericho
and passing him through, a man was there by the name of Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector
and he was wealthy. Now, if you notice, Jesus
had already been interrupted one time by a poor, blind beggar. Now he's interrupted by a
rich, corrupt tax collector. What I love about Jesus is
he's got time for the down and out, he's got time for the up and out. He's got time for anyone
and a heart for anyone. It doesn't matter where you come from, how bad your baggage is, how
dirty it is, how rich it is. Jesus cares about you. (audience clapping) And Jesus stops for this
guy named Zacchaeus. Now, if you don't know who Zacchaeus was, I wanna tell you about Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was a wee little
man, a wee little man was he. Who climbed tap into a Sycamore tree to see what he could see. If anybody was in Sunday school as a kid, you drank the Kool-Aid and
you knew who Zacchaeus was. That's the way it went. Well, he was a tax collector, which may not mean a whole lot to you in this culture because a tax
collector cab be respectable, although you probably
don't enjoy paying taxes, but during this time, this
was like the most corruptive of all people, a tax collector would've been a person who
would charge you what you owed and then add to it in exorbitant amount and keep the difference for himself. And so this was one of the most despised, most hated people around. And Jesus sees this guy and he
calls him by name, Zacchaeus. And Jesus essentially invites
himself over for lunch. And as he was going somewhere, after he'd already been interrupted once, he gives a no good sinner
his full attention. And when he is talking to Zacchaeus, Zacchaeus has this
moment of deep repentance in the presence of the son of God. And he just says something
like I've sinned so many times, I've hurt so many people
and I am so sorry, I'll do anything I can to make it up. And then he just blurts
out, you can almost feel like making it up, and he means to you, like, I'll give half my
possessions to the poor and I'll pay back four times to anyone that I stole from. And Jesus looks at this man
and says today, in this moment, right now, salvation
has come to your home. Jesus had an undivided
attention in the moment and he stops and gives people one of the greatest gifts he can give, his attention and his love. Jesus was always fully
present in the moment. And I wanna be like that. But unfortunately I'm
not always like that. And I've been praying for
some time and asking God to help me be engaged in
whatever is in front of me. I wanna be where my feet are, and I wanna not just live
for the happy moments and the up moments and
the powerful moments and the outwardly meaningful moments. But I wanna be present in all the moments, even the annoying moments. Wonder how many of you live in the middle of a lot of annoying moments right now? And you don't point at that moment, but just saying, you know, some seasons of life are
more annoying than others. I can remember in the early
years of raising six kids, Amy and I have six children. People say, you must really love kids. And I always say, I like kids, but I really love my wife Amy, and all God's people said, Amen. And I remember coming home, always being annoyed that there
were just toys everywhere, all over the house, and I
thought one day, someday, somehow I'm gonna come into
a clean, picked up house. And then I blinked. And now I have one of six
that hasn't graduated. And almost every day I come
home to a perfectly clean house. And what's interesting is some of you are doing the same thing that I did. You're complaining today about
moments you'll miss tomorrow. You're literally complaining about the very moments right
now that you're gonna miss one day in the future, Jesus was fully engaged in the moment. You guys still here. Are you still here? If you're here, say
I'm here, are you here? Be because the statistical odds would show that I've lost some of you. They would, Harvard did a study and what they found out, their exact words is that 47% of the time, people's minds are not the same place their
feet are, 47% of the time that you're in a
conversation with someone, your mind isn't fully engaged. 47% of the time you're sitting in church or at dinner with your family or engaged with someone at work, are talking to someone in the gym or in the middle of life group. Almost half of your waking life, your mind is not fully engaged where the rest of your body is. In fact, one of the biggest
enemies of our attention I would argue is our mobile
device, our cell phone. In fact, it's shocking
to think about this, how often you can be distracted from the very place that you are. In fact, the average cell phone user studies show touches their
phone 2,617 times a day, that's a lot of times that
you're not in the moment, reaching over, reaching over, reaching over whatever's in front of you. Isn't as important as the
being or the potential look or the news thing or the stupid cat video or the conspiracy thing
your friend sent you or check in to see if you got any likes and that's just the average, the amazing thing about some of you is you are so above average, we're not at church full
it's just average people. When we go all out in our dysfunction, many of us, we go way, way out. The average is 2,617 times, but the top 10% of cell phone users, they touch their phone
more than 5400 times a day. Can I just tell you, that's gross? Like that's disgusting, wash
that dang thing right now. Thousands of times a day, you aren't with whatever or
whoever is in front of you and your mind is somewhere else. If it's not on the phone,
sometimes it's just playing games. My mind plays games, to talk
to games, my mind plays, I play the when, then game, the when then. Then the one day when,
then I'm gonna be happy. You might do that, you know,
like when your kid's like, when I get to high school and
then like, you're a freshman, like when I'm a sophomore, and it's like, when I get outta high
school, then I'll be happy. And it's like, when I get outta college and then it's when I pay off that debt. And when I get a real job and then when I get married and then when we have children and then when they're not in diapers and then when they're grown up and then when I'm in diapers, just happens, and so many of us, we are literally going through life wishing away the current moment, wishing what you have
right in front of you. Don't miss what you have now
pursuing what you want later. Jesus was fully engaged in the moment. If it's not the when, then game, I often play the what if game. It's the projecting into the future. What if this happens? You might do that, what
if I don't pass this test, then what if I don't
get into a good college, then what if I don't get a good job? And then what if I don't
attract a good spouse? And then what if we have dumb kids? And then what if we can't afford braces, gotta get a good job. And then they're gonna be crooked teeth. I've ruined my kids all because
they didn't pass this test. And we tend to do this,
what if this happens? And what if the government,
and what if the economy and what if aliens attack
and on and on and on and on. And Jesus said this in Matthew
6:34, Jesus said therefore, don't worry about tomorrow for
tomorrow has enough to worry. Tomorrow will worry about itself. Jesus says, don't worry
about what's coming tomorrow will worry about itself. What I love about Jesus is
he wasn't like anti planning. He said, I'm not telling you
out to plan for the future, but I'm telling you, don't
worry about the future. Don't worry about it. Let me just ask you again. Are you still here? Because it's really, really, really important to be
present in the moment. It's really important to
be present in the moment. Why is it do you think that
we often aren't fully present? Sometimes it's 'cause
we're plain distracted, but as I prayed about
it and thought about it, I think one of the reasons why we're often not fully
present is because we lack faith. We lack faith. We're all freaked out about
something that happened a long time ago, and I gotta
figure it out and undo it. We're all freaked out
about what's gonna happen in the future. And what I discovered as I was praying is that the only way we can
be present in the moment is to actually surrender
the past you can't change and trust God with the future
that you can't control. The only way to fully
be present in the moment is to let go of a past
that you can't change, no matter what you do and
trust that God has it, or to surrender your future
and trust that God is good, that he cares, that he's already there. And because he redeems past, and because he's good in the future, you can be fully engaged
with the person or that which is before you in the
present, it takes faith. It takes faith in God to
engage in God's calling right in front of you. In fact, I love the way James phrases it, the half brother of Jesus
in James chapter four, verse 13 and 14, he says, come now, somebody say,
now, type it in a chat. Now, come now he says, you
who say today or tomorrow, we're gonna go into such and such town and spend a year there or
trade and make a profit. Those of who used to
say that COVID happened and you didn't get to go nowhere. I mean, you who say you
got it all figured out. You don't even know what
tomorrow will bring. And he asks this pressing question, what is your life for
you're a mist that appears for a little while, and then vanishes. You're a mist, open up your mouth sometime and breathe on glass
and watch the mist come and watch the mist fade away. That's our lives. The image that really gets me often is the hourglass, and I
like to think about this. This is your life. You're here for a little while. And the life that God has
given you on this earth is passing away in the moment. And there's three things about this that are interesting to me. One is it freaks me out that the sand is going that fast right now. But the first thing is that no one knows how much sand is on the top. You think you do, but
there's a lot of people who thought there was a lot
more than there really is. No one knows is how much is on the top. The second thing is,
no matter what you do, you can't stop the sand from flowing. Time is passing. Time is passing. Time is passing, every
day is a gift from God. Today is a gift from God. And some of you're wishing it away. The third thing is once
the sand is at the bottom, you could never get it back. You could never get it back. That's why at the beginning
of the message I had you stand to celebrate the moment, that at that moment we were together in the presence of God, the
very way we are at this moment, the most important moment
of your life we could say is experiencing God right
now with God's people. And that's why I love what
David said in Psalm 118, verse 24, he said, this is
today the Lord has made, you got today. This is the day, and
because this is God's day, we're gonna be glad and rejoice, Amen. If you're still here, and
I hope you're still here, because I wanna tell you, you can't be happy where you're not, and you can't serve
Jesus where you are not, and you can't love
people the way Jesus did where you are not. This is the day the Lord has made. The most important moment is right now, the most important person is
the one right in front of you. That's the most important
moment, and the most important. And what I recognize is this, I used to live for the big
moments and the special moments and the powerful moments, but the more I've been fully present, I've recognized that the
most powerful moments are often the smallest moments, the most meaningful often
aren't the mountaintops, but the conversation I have
with someone that I love, and I've kind of been
wrecked over all four now five of my children leaving home because it happened so fast. Number five was Steven
and we connected this year in ways that were so special
and meaningful to me. I tried to get into head,
what do you want to do? What's your bucket list,
what's out there, you name it. I'm gonna try to do it. And he said a couple things, he said, I'll show you pictures. He said, one was, I wanna fly a plane. And so we've been flying planes. And he said, I wanna go
on a hot air balloon. And so we went in a hot air balloon, and those were really, really meaningful, but they pale in comparison to the moments I've had fully
engaged in conversation. One of the most recent
was right at Capacity. If your kids aren't a part of Switch, you need to repent and
get them a part of Switch. It's the best thing
going on in this church. And he was at an event and I was there and he was so overwhelmed
by the presence of God that he came running up to
me, half smiling, half crying, and he couldn't get the words out. And he said, dad, he said, can you believe how amazing our God is? And I just stopped, and
wasn't 4,000 feet up, risking our life in a plane or
riding in a hot air balloon. But just in the moment,
embracing the moment and hugged him and held
him and didn't let him go. And it was so special, guess what? He didn't even get dad awkward and try to push me away either, because we are fully
engaged in the moment. Please don't miss what you have now, pursuing what you want later. This is the day the Lord has made. And when you look at the way Jesus lived, not just the truth he
taught, but the way he lived, as he walked along, people
weren't interruptions or inconveniences, they were
moments and opportunities to engage and show the
goodness and the love of God. This moment's all that you have. This moment, this moment matters. This moment matters. To be fair I don't want you to feel like I'm trying to make you feel guilty. I get distracted like crazy,
I mean, I got ADD vibe, I can hardly be anywhere. So I'm working on it. When you think about Jesus,
if there was any time that he would've been
distracted from others, if there was any time that he would've been
consumed with himself, like we often are, it
would've been on the cross. When you think about it, he
is the sinless son of God. And people stripped him
down naked, beat him. So he didn't even look like a human being, whipped and flogged him so his back was left open and bleeding, probably his internal organs hanging out, hanging on a cross, having to push up his feet
with nails through his ankles, pull up with his wrist, with
nails, through his wrist, just trying to get a breath. As people cursed him and spit on him. And right next to him was a criminal who looked over to Jesus
and had a conversation. And the guy said something probably more than what's reported, but probably something along the lines of, I've done a lot of bad things. I feel really bad about them. I'm really, really
sorry, whatever he said, we know he said this. He looked at Jesus and he said, remember me when command your kingdom, and even in the middle of
his suffering, the worst, most painful moment of Jesus' life. He's fully engaged with
the criminal on the cross and looks over at him and says, today, today you'll be with me in paradise, fully engaged in the moment. You see, I don't know who this is for, but you can't serve
Jesus where you're not, and you can't be happy and
fulfilled where you're not. And you can't love
people where you're not. And if your mind is not where your body is 47% of the time, you're missing out on the
life that God gave you, it's right in front of you. You can't be a great
friend if you're not there, you can't be an engaged mom
or dad if you are not there, you can't have a great
marriage if you are not there, until you recognize, this is
the day the Lord has made. Because of that, I will
rejoice and be glad in it. God has saved the best days for you. Now, now in this moment, you
can experience his grace. Now in this moment, you
can experience his mercy. Now in this moment, you can
experience his forgiveness. Now, right now, his power is
here, his freedom is here. His grace is here, oh,
his goodness is here. He is with us, can you sense it? This holy moment, God is with us now. And God sent me to tell you
that your best days are now. If you'll fully engage with the people that God bring in front of you, pouring out your heart in the moment, knowing that tomorrow is not a promise, but this is a moment
you can experience God. Your best moment can be right
now on engage in the moment. Be where your feet are and see
what God put in front of you. I promise you his goodness, his grace, his love is better than you can imagine. If you'll look for it in
this moment, this is the day. This moment that Lord has made, we will be glad and rejoice in it. If you're still here, lets
pray and go before God, father, thank you so much for your word. Would you bring us, God, on into your perfect will in the moment, so you can do exactly what you wanna do, as you're praying today
in all of our churches or watching online, if
your mind has drifted, let me encourage you to
come back for just a moment. And those who say yes, just like Jesus, the way that Jesus lived,
I wanna live and love like Jesus lived and loved. I want to be fully engaged with an undivided attention in the moment. If God is speaking to
you and you wanna see that as a reality, would you
lift up your hands right now? You can type it in the chat, help me be fully engaged in the moment. God thank you for working in the lives of so many people, here's my prayer, God, I know this is not something
we can change on our own. I pray God that you by your
holy spirit would prompt us again and again, and again God, if we have to listen to this
message over and over again, put it on repeat listen
once a day, whatever it is, you drive this deep into our hearts. And when our mind drift from
a conversation with a child, when our mind drifts from an
intimate moment with a spouse, when our mind drifts away from
what could be an opportunity to minister to someone and
we're tempted to pick up a phone or worry about the past or
obsess about the future, God help to surrender
a past we cannot change and trust you with a future
that we cannot control, and engage fully in the moment. Draw our minds to where we are, so we can love people the way you love us. God convict us, empower us, change us to be more like Jesus, to live the way that Jesus lived, fully engaged in the moment, showing your love in all that we do. As you keep praying today, we've got really good news, for some of you today in this moment, it is one of the most
important moments of your life. For some of you, it'll be the most important
moment of your life. I wanna just ask you to think about this. How are you doing with God? Some of you might say, I don't
know if I believe in God. Like wake up, look outside and ask, how did all this get here? God, how you doing with God? If you feel far from God or maybe guilty about
something that you've done. Let me just tell you
about the goodness of God in this moment, you're here, you're watching because God wants you here and he wants you watching. He knew this moment would happen. And he loved you enough to bring you to a place where there's a message that might get through to your hearts. Here's what he wants you to know. He loves you right now, no matter what you've done in the past, he loves you matter what you're
worried about in the future. He loves you, in this moment
and he showed his love for you in the person of Jesus. When Jesus who was without sin died on the cross as a replacement, as a sacrifice in your
place and in my place, he died for our sins and God
raised him from the dead, why, so that anyone, it
doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter what you've done. Anyone who calls on his
name, the name of Jesus, the son of God, anyone
who calls on his name, your sins would be completely forgiven. Not because you are good,
but because he's good, he's that good, you'd be made new. Your past is gone and you
can trust future to him, in this moment. When you call in the name of
Jesus, God hears your prayer. And in a moment, you can
move from darkness to light. You can move from shame to freedom. You can move from wondering
where you stand with God to a peace that goes
beyond all understanding. In a moment, the old is
gone and the new will come. Today wherever you're
watching, those who say, I need his grace. Something's drawing you to
God right now, what is it? That's the holy spirit, that's
God, that's his goodness. You say I want his forgiveness,
I'm ready to let go. When you call in his name,
God, hears your prayers. He forgives your sins,
you're about to be new. Now this moment, now
this moment, you know it, you can feel it, you can sense it. That's why you're here. Where ever you're watching
those who say, yes, I need his grace. Yes, by faith, I surrender my life. Yes. I give my life to Jesus. That's your prayer, lift
your hands right now. All of the places, lift
them up and say yes. As we see hands going up
in all of our churches, those of you online,
just type in the chat. I'm giving my life to Jesus. Just type that right now in the chat. And I would love it today if you would just pray this
aloud, wherever you're watching, pray heavenly father, forgive all my sins. Jesus, save me, make me new. Fill me with your spirit,
so I could follow you, to show your love, in all that I do. My life is not my own, I give it to you, in Jesus name I pray, today is the day of your salvation. Today is the day that you're new. Would you welcome those born
into the family of God today.
