211-Finding Hope in Jesus#
211-Finding Hope in Jesus
(JP Text Group - Chenchen Compilation)
The topic of sharing is: Finding Hope in Jesus
Luke 19:1-10
1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And there was a man named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 He sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” 6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. 7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.” 8 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Let us pray:
Heavenly Father, we thank and praise You for preparing this time for us to worship and praise You. Renew our minds and thoughts once again. Let us receive strength as we begin a new week, gaining supply and nourishment from You. May we find hope in Jesus. Thank You and praise You, bless this time, in the name of our Lord Jesus, Amen!
The topic of sharing is: Finding Hope in Jesus
Here it mentions that Jesus entered Jericho. Do you know what kind of city Jericho was? After Joshua entered the city of Jericho, he completely destroyed it and salted the city, and from then on, that city was known as the cursed city. Anyone who rebuilds Jericho will lose their firstborn, and when they set the gates, they will lose their youngest. In short, Jericho was a cursed city (Joshua 6:26).
Jesus entering the cursed city was not to sightsee. The Bible mentions Jericho many times, with many paralyzed, lame, and blind people. Why were there so many such people? Because it was a cursed city. Jesus entered Jericho to save the souls there, specifically, Jesus went for one person, and that person was Zacchaeus.
When Jesus entered Jericho, the people of the cursed city had hope. Jesus had brought change wherever He went, including the cross. The cross, which was once a place of curse and a symbol of curse, became a symbol of salvation after Jesus was crucified, turning into a symbol of blessing.
1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And there was a man named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich.
What kind of person was Zacchaeus? A chief tax collector and a rich man. In the Bible, every name has a meaning; in Hebrew, Zacchaeus means a pure person. Does Zacchaeus's behavior match his name? What kind of position did he hold? He was a tax collector.
In that era, Rome ruled Jerusalem and the Jews, imposing heavy taxes without sending their own army to collect them; it was mainly local people who collected taxes. Zacchaeus was certainly not someone who just paid what was required. For example, if Rome required ten dollars, he might collect twenty or even more, keeping the difference for himself. Therefore, tax collectors were looked down upon by everyone, even more despised than prostitutes. Prostitutes only ruin themselves, but tax collectors harm a whole group of people, primarily exploiting the Jews and the people of Jerusalem. Moreover, as a chief tax collector, this person did not match his name at all.
In the Old Testament, many names correspond well to their meanings. For example, Jacob means "to grasp," and did Jacob's behavior match his name? The Bible also mentions a man named Nabal, which means "fool." I don't know what his parents were thinking when they named him that. Later, when David was about to kill him, he was so frightened that he died. His wife said, "My lord, do not hold it against him; his character matches his name; he is a fool."
When the Bible mentions Zacchaeus, he should be a pure person, but his actions completely contradict his name. He was a rich man. Brothers and sisters, being wealthy is not inherently bad; God does not want us all to live like Lazarus in poverty. But how did Zacchaeus become rich? Through deception and exploitation. The people were already suffering, yet he continued to deceive and exploit them. Such a person wanted to see Jesus. What I want to say is that although many people may not match their names in behavior, and many behaviors are not likable, such people can find hope in Jesus.
Have you ever thought about this question: Why did Zacchaeus want to see Jesus? Why didn't he go to the high priest? Why didn't he go to the chief priest? Because he knew that those people would not accept him; they could never accept a chief tax collector, especially someone like Zacchaeus, who was considered a traitor at that time. But why was he willing to see Jesus? Because he had heard about Jesus.
No matter what your situation is now, no matter what low point you are in life, you can come to Jesus; Jesus is your hope, and you can find hope in Him. Amen! In that era, there were soldiers, tax collectors, prostitutes, and fishermen—people who were not favored by society and looked down upon. But Jesus did not despise them; these people found hope in Jesus. Amen! At any time, we can come before Jesus.
Zacchaeus wanted to see what kind of person Jesus was. Brothers and sisters, this is the purpose of our gathering. Why do we gather? We do not come just to listen to church songs, which are no different from worldly songs, nor do we come to relax, and certainly not to hear jokes. Many churches have run out of sermons to preach, so they tell jokes from the pulpit. There is an interesting story about a pastor who always told jokes from the stage, and the audience would not be sleepy. Another pastor, whose congregation would fall asleep while listening to the sermon, wanted to learn from the joke-telling pastor, so he went to that church to see how they told jokes.
That time, the joke-telling pastor said: "There are two women I can never forget in my life." The congregation's eyes lit up, and even those who were sleepy were awake. He said, "One is my wife." The congregation responded, "Oh~~, what about the other one?" Everyone wanted to know who the other one was. The pastor said, "The other is my mother." The congregation was shocked, and the pastor continued his sermon.
Whenever the congregation started to doze off, the pastor would tell a joke. The pastor who was listening thought, "This joke is good; it can solve the problem of my congregation dozing off." After he returned, he began to tell that joke, saying, "In my life, there are two women I can never forget. One is my wife; who is the other?" He forgot that the other pastor had said it was his mother. He thought of one as his wife, but could not remember the other, which was a problem. The congregation began to gossip, thinking, "This guy must have too many women; he can't even remember who the other one is."
The congregation came to listen to the sermon, but the sermon could no longer attract them, so they relied on jokes to engage them. Brothers and sisters, what is the purpose of our gathering? It is to seek Jesus. If you come to seek Jesus, you are blessed and will surely find the answers you need. Amen!
Let’s look at a passage from Matthew 11:7-8,
7 As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
At that time, John the Baptist was preaching in the wilderness, which had no people. Many people ran to John to hear him preach. They did not go to the wilderness to see how strong the wind was shaking the reeds, nor did they go to see those dressed in fine clothes, because there were none in the wilderness.
What was the purpose of those people going to find John the Baptist? It was to hear the word of God spoken by John. At that time, John clearly said, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand; repent" (Matthew 3:1-2), because this was the first time in four hundred years that God sent a prophet to speak to the people. Many people went into the wilderness to hear John preach. I hope brothers and sisters come to hear the words of Jesus Christ.
Zacchaeus just wanted to see what kind of person Jesus was. Some people seek Jesus out of curiosity; some feel that Jesus is quite famous; some are half-believing and want to find faults in Jesus's preaching; some are angry. Although they all came to see Jesus, their situations were different. Brothers and sisters, I believe you are here sincerely seeking Jesus; you will surely find what you need from Him. Amen! Since you are able to seek Jesus, it is not to see a particular person or how the singing is here; it is simply to seek Jesus's words. The doubts in your heart, God will personally give you answers.
Look at verse 5: "When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, make haste and come down! For today I must stay at your house.'"
Because Zacchaeus was not well-received and knew that the people would not make way for him, and he was short, he climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus. When Jesus came to that place, He said to Zacchaeus, "Make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house."
Brothers and sisters, the salvation of Jesus Christ is for every person. Do you know that Jesus knows everyone's name? In the Book of Revelation, it is recorded that He will blot out some names from the Book of Life. Why does this happen? God initially gave us the opportunity to enter the kingdom of heaven, but some people refuse to accept Jesus until they die, so once their life ends, their names will be blotted out from the Book of Life.
In other words, when Jesus came to seek Zacchaeus, did He know who Zacchaeus was? Yes, He did. When He sought the disciples, He also knew their names. When Jesus comes to seek you, He knows your name; He knows what you lack in your life. Jesus sees not a crowd of people; He sees each individual; He knows everyone's name.
When Jesus said to Zacchaeus, "Make haste and come down," it was in a very urgent tone. If you carefully read the New Testament, you will find that Jesus was never in a hurry; this is the only place where Jesus said, "Make haste." This means that in terms of salvation, our Lord is more anxious than we are. Hallelujah!
If your relatives and friends have not yet believed in Jesus, and you are anxious, remember that Jesus is even more anxious than you. He is more eager for you to use your authority to command the dark forces behind them to leave so that Jesus can work in them. Amen! This is what we call intercession. When it comes to salvation, Jesus is more anxious and faster than we are.
Here it says, "Today I must stay at your house," which means it is a must, a necessity. This can be called God's obligation. Why must Jesus stay at Zacchaeus's house? Did He have no place to stay? Since Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector, what kind of people would go to his house? Sinners, a group of tax collectors.
In other words, would Jesus, a famous and sinless person, go to his house? Normally, it would be impossible. Would a priest go to his house? Would ordinary people go to his house? No, they would not, because they would think that place was too filthy; he made a lot of money, but it was all dirty money. Zacchaeus had a lot of money, but he still felt unsatisfied inside.
Many people work hard just to make money, but money cannot truly satisfy people. After many people have money, they expect to have a good reputation. Zacchaeus was rich, but could his reputation change? It could not change in his lifetime, so he could not find satisfaction in that place. When Jesus said, "Today I must stay at your house," it was a tremendous shock to Zacchaeus. He never expected that Jesus would actually go to his house.
I want to tell you that God not only blesses individuals, but He also desires our families to be blessed. After believing in Jesus, you should bless your family members and let Jesus enter your home. In the Bible, because of one person, Noah, God blessed Noah's family; because of one person, Abraham, God blessed all of Abraham's descendants. Amen! You must believe that because of you, God will also bless your family. Even if your family members may not all believe in Jesus, God can still bless your family through you. Hallelujah!
In the Book of Acts (16:29-34), there is a passage that tells us that the soldier asked the two gentlemen, "What must I do to be saved?" They said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." Does that mean if one person in the family believes in Jesus, the others will automatically be saved? No, if you read the passage further, you will find that the whole family eventually believed in Jesus.
This is what Jesus wants to tell us: even if only one person in the family believes in Jesus, because of that one person, you can bless your entire family. Hallelujah! You might say, "What if my family members have not believed in the Lord yet?" You still need to believe that God will bless your family because of you. Amen! Do not rush ahead of God. Many people are so eager for their family members to be saved that they force their family to listen to sermons, which is a very bad practice.
There are many strong-willed wives: "You must listen to the sermon! You must listen to the teacher!" Brothers and sisters, do you know what will happen if this continues? They will hate me. They will say, "That church turned my wife into a verbally abusive person." Everyone must pray for their family in this regard. Amen! Show them the love of Christ, let them see the changes in you, and one day they will be curious about what has happened and will especially want to see what kind of person Jesus is. Amen! Just like Zacchaeus.
Zacchaeus must have heard that one of his colleagues had already been accepted by Jesus; among the twelve disciples, was there not a tax collector? Zacchaeus thought, "I heard that Jesus has a disciple who is also a tax collector! I am a chief tax collector; surely Jesus can accept me too." We do not know if he thought this, but in any case, he was willing to see Jesus. He must have known that Jesus would not treat him like the chief priests and scribes; he had a little hope in Jesus. Brothers and sisters, if the world has even a little hope in Jesus and is willing to give Him a chance to know them, their lives will be completely different.
In verse 9, Jesus said, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham."
Was Zacchaeus a son of Abraham? Yes, but did the Jews acknowledge him? No, they did not. Why did they not acknowledge him? Because his behavior was too bad. They all lived under the law, and under the law, it was all about behavior: your behavior is better than mine, and mine is not so good.
Those with bad behavior felt that they were not worthy to be called descendants of Abraham. But what did Jesus say to Zacchaeus? "You are a son of Abraham." This was a great comfort to Zacchaeus. Brothers and sisters, the acknowledgment of others is extremely important. That crowd outside, were they not also descendants of Abraham? They were, but after Jesus entered Zacchaeus's house, Zacchaeus's understanding of Jesus was greater than that of those outside. We will analyze this matter in detail; as Zacchaeus continued to understand Jesus, he became a person of great faith.
When Jesus said, "Today salvation has come to this house," it is actually a double statement. The word "salvation" is actually Joshua, which means salvation, and is also called Jesus. In other words, when Jesus said, "Today salvation has come to this house," you can also understand it as "Today Jesus has come to this house," because Jesus Himself is salvation. It refers to a double meaning.
Because he is also a son of Abraham, who does He refer to? Many people think it is Zacchaeus, but this is also a double statement; actually, Jesus is referring to Himself. Jesus said He is also a son of Abraham, which means salvation has come to your house, Jesus has come to your house, and is Jesus a son of Abraham? Yes, He is. Do those outside, who are also descendants of Abraham, want to come to your house? They do not want to come, but today Jesus has come to your house; He is also a son of Abraham, and you are also a son of Abraham. Hallelujah! A double statement.
How did Zacchaeus become a son of Abraham? The people outside did not accept him, saying his behavior was not good enough, saying he was not worthy to be called a son of Abraham, but it was because he was willing to believe in Jesus's words. Amen! When Jesus said, "Today you are a child of God," do you want to believe it? When you are willing to believe, you will receive it. Hallelujah! If Zacchaeus had said, "I am not worthy; I owe too much; I am the chief of sinners," would that have been a bit too proud? Since Jesus said you are a son of Abraham, what should you do? Just accept it. Hallelujah!
In verse 3, it says he sought to see who Jesus was.
To see, I checked the Greek original text, and the original meaning is to desire, to hope for, to seek, to look for. He had been looking for a long time; he had a hope to see Jesus. The Greek word for seeking is in an imperfect tense, indicating that Zacchaeus had actually been looking for a long time. He had always hoped to have the opportunity to see Jesus. Perhaps for some other reasons in the past, he had not seen Jesus, but today he finally knew that Jesus was coming to Jericho, and his desire was fully ignited.
The imperfect tense refers to a state that has been ongoing from the past to the present; he had always wanted to seek Jesus, to see Jesus. He wanted to see Jesus not out of curiosity but to see if Jesus could accept a sinner like him. When we are willing to seek Jesus, no matter what problem you expect Jesus to solve for you, He will always let you see Him.
In Matthew 7:7-8, it says, 7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." This is our Lord Jesus. No matter who is willing to seek Jesus, He will open the door for them to see Him, because everyone who asks receives, and everyone who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
This all refers to Jesus. In terms of salvation, as long as someone is willing, our Lord will definitely open the door for them. Do not place your hope and seeking entirely on people. Always remember, salvation is like this, and victory in life is the same. No matter what problems you encounter, you must place your hope in Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!
Yesterday, a friend shared a testimony with me, saying that in their church over the past two weeks, there were two very significant testimonies: one was a person with epilepsy who was healed after prayer, and the other was a cancer patient. These people were able to receive healing because they focused entirely on the Lord Jesus. Take epilepsy as an example; the current treatment methods in the world are not optimistic. I heard that when there are epilepsy waves in the brain, a chip is implanted in the brain to prevent the waves from connecting, but that is not a final solution, and many cancers are completely incurable. Why did these people ultimately receive healing? It was because they placed their hope in Jesus. When there is no hope in man, just like Zacchaeus, do you think Zacchaeus had any hope in the hearts of the Israelites? There was no hope for people like him. No matter how hard he tried to change himself, it was difficult for people to accept him. When Zacchaeus placed his hope in Jesus, his hope was answered. Amen!
Do not place your hope and seeking entirely on people. You can see the work of Jesus through this person! For example, if you pray for someone and that person gets healed, it is actually Jesus working through us. Amen! But if we get the focus wrong, thinking that the pastor has great ability or anointing, and that we should go to him for everything, is that not getting the focus wrong? You can say, "Lord, I do not have that much faith; I hope that pastor can pray for me," and that is fine.
But you must not place your focus entirely on a particular person. Many people fall into this misunderstanding; whenever they are sick, they want to listen to a certain person's sermon, or when they want to be filled with the Holy Spirit, they listen to a certain person's sermon. Does this tie them to a person? Is it not all the power of Jesus? Do not place your focus entirely on people, including the preacher. Amen!
You cannot hold Jesus's standard against others; always remember that the person sitting next to you is definitely imperfect, but who is perfect? Jesus is perfect. When I preach to you, I am imperfect, but what I preach about Jesus is perfect. Each of us has different needs; you can find Jesus in this sermon, and Jesus can solve your problems. Amen!
But remember, do not place your focus on me, and do not place your hope on me. I can pray for you, but the one who works is Jesus Christ; He is the perfect and complete one. Hallelujah! In preaching, no matter who is preaching, you should see the perfect Jesus through that person's preaching; He can supply you, and Jesus is the model we should follow. God places great importance on this desire. Amen!
Many people always ask, "Pastor, how can I see Jesus? Do I have to dream of Jesus?" No, it is through life that you see a little shadow of Jesus through Christians; through preaching, you can see the complete Jesus in the Bible. Hallelujah! Our Lord Jesus expects us to see Him in the Bible. Anyone who reads the Bible and seeks Him with a longing heart can see Jesus. Everyone actually has the opportunity to be saved. Hallelujah!
Look at verse 10: "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
Zacchaeus was a seeker; perhaps he had always been confused in life. He said, "Others look down on me; I am short, and everyone probably laughs at me. I must make a name for myself; I want to earn a lot of money." In that era, it was not easy to make money, especially under Roman rule. He thought, "What is an easy way to make money? Being a tax collector is certainly easy. Although my reputation is bad, I can earn a lot of money." He may have indeed climbed up to that position and made a lot of money by any means necessary, but when he realized that this wealth was not his ultimate goal, he had many areas of confusion in his life.
He may have always longed for respect from others, but he never received it, so he began to seek what his life's purpose was. When he heard that Jesus accepted so many people, he began to have hope in Jesus. What we see is that Zacchaeus was seeking Jesus, but in the spiritual sense, it was Jesus who was seeking Zacchaeus. Before Zacchaeus sought Jesus, Jesus had already been seeking him. Many people say, "We found the Lord; I went to church; I believe in Jesus," but that is not the case. Before you found Jesus, Jesus had already found you. Hallelujah!
The Bible clearly tells us that "we all, like sheep, have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way" (Isaiah 53:6). Is this not a fact? The New Testament tells us that "there is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10-12). People can be saved, and there is nothing to boast about; it is because the Lord found you time and again until one day you responded to Him. Amen! You responded to Him; you thought you found the Lord, but in fact, He was moving you time and again. This is the truth of our spiritual situation.
If you think you are doing well, coming to church, and feel that your church is good, I want to tell you that if Jesus had not touched your heart, you would not be able to come here at all. We have someone here who drove for more than two hours to get here. If Jesus had not moved him, why would he come here? For us, this seems like a waste of time and money, not worth it at all! Many people even take several hours of flights to come here to listen to the sermon. Do you think they have nothing better to do? They could spend that money on something else!
Brothers and sisters, they come here just to hear what this person has to say about Jesus. Amen! To us, that seems meaningless, but Jesus touched their hearts. It is for this reason that many people are willing to traverse mountains and valleys to follow Jesus, to go hungry to hear the sermon. One time, Jesus preached all day long, and even His disciples could not take it anymore. They said, "Lord, stop preaching; it is getting dark; hurry and let the people go home; they have nothing to eat" (Matthew 15).
Why did those people have such a strong desire for Jesus? Because they saw hope in Him. Brothers and sisters, you should also believe this; it is God's grace. It can even be said absolutely that your ability to come here to listen to the sermon is itself God's grace! Hallelujah!
Do you remember what God said to Abraham? "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him" (Genesis 22:9-13). So Abraham stopped. When he looked back, he saw a ram caught in the thicket. Brothers and sisters, most of the time, we talk about how the Lord will provide. Our God did not want Isaac to die, so He had already prepared a lamb for him. But do you know that something spiritual happened? What was it?
When Abraham and his son Isaac were going up Mount Moriah, there was a ram coming from the opposite direction. In fact, that ram had already arrived there and was waiting for him. Do you understand? It was not that when Abraham was about to sacrifice his son Isaac, suddenly an angel said, "Do not kill him; wait a moment; a ram is coming." No, it was not that complicated; it had already been prepared. Many times, when we pray, we say, "Lord, when will You accomplish this for me?" In fact, God has already prepared it; we just need to open our spiritual eyes to see God's provision.
Here, I want to share a little bit about how to see that God has already prepared things around you through these matters. After you pray for something, believe that the Lord has accomplished it, and pay attention to see if there are any changes in the people or things around you. Amen!
You see, when God said to him, "Abraham, do not do this," Abraham looked back and saw the ram; the ram had already been prepared. We tell brothers and sisters, "You have already prayed for this matter; you believe that God has accomplished it for you; you should pay attention to see if there are any changes in the people or things around you. That is God speaking to you through someone or something." Amen! This is something we must see in the spiritual realm. Jesus actually expects us to have such vision. You must remember that God will never overlook you and will not let you be ashamed because He is your God; He is the one you can trust, and He is truly a loving Father who wants you to rely on Him completely.
Let’s look at a passage from Hebrews 11:6: "But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."
Today, we talk about an important word: seeking. When you are willing to seek Jesus, you will always find hope in Him. Amen! If you seek a certain person, they may solve part of your problems, but they cannot solve all your problems. If you are seeking Jesus, you will always find the answers you need in Him. "But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is." This does not only refer to salvation.
Many people say, "I believe in the Lord too." It is not that you do not believe in God; it is whether you can believe that God can fully help you in this matter. Can you believe that God is the greatest hope? When you seek Him, you must first believe in Him and believe that He rewards those who seek Him. What does it mean to reward? It is given freely to you, not based on your good behavior, but given freely. Therefore, every time you come to seek God, when you pray to Him, you should have this heart. Amen!
It is not that I pray and let God respond to me; how much effort does your prayer need? In the Bible, Elijah had two prayers. In the first prayer, God said it was a fervent prayer. He told King Ahab, "If I do not pray for these years, it will not rain a drop." Then he left. We think that Elijah's second prayer was the fervent prayer, but do you know how fervent he was when he prayed for rain? We think it is very pious, very fervent, and very urgent. Many people invent strange terms; we need to pray fervently. What does fervently mean? Shouting loudly? Like Elijah?
How did Elijah pray at that time? He knelt down, his head between his knees. Do you know how difficult that action is? I estimate that only those who practice yoga can do that. He knelt down with his head between his knees and prayed how many times? Seven times! He prayed, saying, "Go and see if there is rain."
The servant said, "There is not a cloud in the sky."
Then he prayed again, saying, "Go and see if there is any change."
Isn't that what Elijah was doing? As we just mentioned, after praying, what should we look for? Look for changes in people or things. He looked, and there was none, so Elijah continued to pray.
On the seventh time, he said, "Go and see."
The servant said, "My lord, I see a little cloud like a man's hand coming up from the sea."
At that time, what did Elijah say? "Okay! No need to pray anymore! Hurry home; it is about to rain heavily" (1 Kings 18:44).
Most people think that this was the fervent prayer, the earnest prayer, but God clearly tells us that this was just a prayer. The first one was the real fervent prayer, which was the one where Elijah said, "I am done; God will surely accomplish it."
Before he said that, did he believe that God had heard his prayer? Yes. So here, I want to use this passage to tell everyone how to pray to God, so that you can find hope in Jesus. Every time you pray to God, you must believe that He will surely listen to your prayer. Whose name do you use? At the end, do you sign your name? Whose name do you sign? In the name of Jesus, signing in Jesus's name is equivalent to what? It is like stamping an official seal. Jesus first stamps that seal for you and says, "You can start writing whatever request you want." Do you know how powerful that is? For example, if there is a check, and it has already been stamped by a certain bank, and then you are told to write, do you know how easy that is for you?
If you turn this around, you will understand how lacking faith is. Someone gives you a check, but it has not been stamped yet, and they say, "Go ahead and write." How much can you write? You say, "How much can I write?" That person says, "It depends on your behavior." You would lose confidence, wouldn't you? At that moment, you start to estimate how much you are worth in that person's heart. You might think, "I am worth about ten dollars," so you write ten. You might think, "I estimate I can borrow a thousand; I will write a thousand." Is that not the kind of thought? After you write it and hand it to them, you are still uncertain. This is what we call many people's prayers; they do not find hope in Jesus and start to measure whether Jesus can accomplish this based on their own behavior. They are not sure.
But what is the fact? Jesus's signature is already below. It is like a check; a bank's seal has already been stamped, and then you are told, "Go ahead and write." Does that not give you confidence? When someone stamps a check and says, "Write whatever you want," do you know what that means? It is based on your faith, not my faith. Amen! When you seek God, you must have this kind of faith; you must believe that He is, and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him. This is the hope you can find in Jesus. Because the seal below is Jesus's, any prayer you bring before the Father will be accomplished by God. Please listen carefully; I am saying any prayer, and God will accomplish it in the best way for you. Do you understand?
Sometimes you say, "It is impossible; I have prayed like this many times, and God has not accomplished it for me." I want to correctly explain this meaning. God knows what is best for you at that moment. Sometimes what God gives you is beyond what you ask or think; it is just that He does not accomplish it in the way you asked. We think it has not been accomplished, but in fact, God gives you something better than what you asked for. If you believe this, you will have hope in Jesus. Every time you pray, you can find hope in Jesus because He is your guarantee. You must believe that our Father in heaven is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
I wish brothers and sisters would be willing to seek Jesus in everything in life; you will find hope in Jesus. Hallelujah! When the Israelites complained to God, saying, "We detest this worthless food; we want to eat meat," they did not like manna (Numbers 21:5). Why did they later have problems? The reason is simple: they pushed away the best food, the spiritual food, which is Jesus, and they wanted to eat quail. We have talked about how a plague occurred, and many people died. What was the issue? It was because they pushed away God's provision.
Brothers and sisters, if you leave Jesus and seek God, it is difficult to obtain what you need. If you leave Jesus to seek other people, many times it will lead to disappointment, even despair. One time, the people complained again, and snakes came out and bit them, and many people died from the bites. Brothers and sisters, when they cried out to God, God told Moses, "Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live."
Look at Numbers 21:8-9,
8 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live." 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived." Amen!
Today, the focus of my sharing is not about how they were bitten. The key point I want to share is that looking represents seeking. In the original Hebrew, it does not use the ordinary word for seeing; it means to seek, to search. They were poisoned; did they not start to seek?
If you were bitten by a snake, what would you be looking for? You would be looking for which herb could serve as an antidote or relieve the pain, would you not? You would be seeking. Everyone seeks something when they encounter problems. Many people, when they have problems, seek people, medicines, or other things. After the Israelites were bitten by snakes, God gave them hope, saying, "Just look at this serpent, and you will live." Was it not that bronze serpent? As long as they looked at this bronze serpent, they would live. They might have thought, "What should we do? There is nothing in the wilderness; we are doomed." They were almost in despair, but when they looked at this bronze serpent, they lived. Do you know what the bronze serpent represents? It is still Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!
Many people do not understand how the bronze serpent could represent Jesus Christ. In fact, Jesus became the form of sin. The bronze serpent is not a snake; the difference between the bronze serpent and a snake is that the bronze serpent has the shape of a snake but does not have the poison of a snake. Just like Jesus, He became the form of sin for us, but He had no sin, so He could bear our sins. Hallelujah!
When the people looked at this bronze serpent, which represents Jesus Christ, they sought the right place and found hope, gaining hope for life. Amen! In the past, they were supposed to die, but now when they find Jesus, they find hope. So brothers and sisters, every time you seek Jesus, you will always find hope in Him.
The meaning of that passage is that they sought with hope; when they focused their eyes on the bronze serpent, their lives were saved, and the poison disappeared. Hallelujah! No matter how many times you have been bitten by snakes, it is not real snakes; it is the bitterness, complaints, and various grievances inside you. But when you focus your search on Jesus, or when you search for Jesus, all those toxins will be completely cleared away by Jesus. Hallelujah! You see Jesus now bearing your diseases, cancer, tumors, and pain; you just need to keep your eyes fixed on Him, and that disease will disappear from within you.
Just like the poison in the Israelites, as long as they looked at the bronze serpent on the pole, their toxins disappeared. Hallelujah! I expect everyone to continue to look up to Jesus; He is your hope. You must believe that Jesus has borne your diseases, so that disease cannot exist in your body. Amen!
I look forward to remembering Jesus together with everyone on Sunday. There are many ways to remember Jesus, through preaching, bringing you back to Jesus, and also through communion, anointing, and other means, such as baptism and other ways. The ultimate goal is to bring everyone back to Jesus because we believe we find hope in Jesus. Hallelujah!
When your eyes are on Jesus, the dark forces will disappear because Jesus is the light. When the light shines on you, darkness disappears. Amen! Especially during communion, every time you eat and drink the body of Jesus, you are proclaiming the death of Jesus, focusing your eyes on Jesus. At that moment, your situation will begin to change, and you will find your hope in Jesus. Thank and praise the Lord. Hallelujah!
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we thank and praise You. Thank You for this time, allowing us to place our hope in You once again. Just like Zacchaeus, he was a wandering person, a seeker, a lost person, and Jesus came to find him. Lord, when Zacchaeus wanted to see what kind of person Jesus was, Jesus personally found him. I also want to seek You. Whenever I encounter any problems, I am willing to seek You. You have been waiting for me, so I will find the answers I need in You. Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Heavenly Father, for giving me Jesus. I am also a descendant of Abraham. Jesus came to seek and save the lost.
I remove all grievances, losses, failures, and frustrations from the hearts of my brothers and sisters in the name of the Lord Jesus, for you have seen Jesus, and the light of Christ has shone in your hearts. In the new week, keep your eyes on Jesus and find your true hope from Him. Thank and praise the Lord; all glory belongs to our Father in heaven. In the name of the Lord Jesus, we pray, Amen!