Tell me more!

I recently heard a talk by Dary Northrope, the head Pastor at the American Timberline Church in Fort Collins. For me this talk was one of the most influential talks i have heard in my life, it just completely blew me away.

It does worry me that it might have been one of those "you have to have been there" experiences, of which I do truly hope to do it some justice on this post.

It's all about you!
Who does God care for?
We are all brought up to know that God loves us. Doesn't the old childhood song tell us this:
"Jesus loves me! This I know, For the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong; They are weak, but He is strong."

God cares for one person.

Jesus came for one person.

Now, I know that God, Jesus, came for me, but He also Loves you! Strange isn't it. The thought that He came for one person, but He also came for everybody. Jesus, although died for everybody, is only interested in the individual actions and the individual heart of you and me. We see this in Matthew 28:20 "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Jesus didn't say about numbers, He never moaned about the amount of followers He had. You never hear him say "I am a little disappointed that i asked 30 people to follow me and i only got 12!" He asked for 12 and He got 12. He valued each one, and valued them individually, asking each one of them to go out.

It's not all about you!
O.K, that was another one of those magnificant change arounds that I often do. Just a moment I was saying that it is all about us, you, and now I am saying it isn't about you! What you need to realise is the fine difference between being the person it is all about and it all being about you.

Have you ever seen that person at a party, or even in a crowd, that when they are there, it is a "HERE I AM" type of person? or How often do you start telling the person in front of you a story about something that has happened to you, to then hear the person to jump in the middle of your converstation and go " Yes, I know exactly what you are talking about, this one time with me" Your friend has a story that relates to yours and the topic of your event suddenly gets dropped and is now focused on the event of your friends! We have all been in that scenario, we have all probably been that friend. Does it bother you as much as it bothers me? Of course it does, we are a society where we are now finding it more and more uncomfortable to talk to others and to relate to them. We are brought up to find mutual ground, to find some connective with the person in front of us to put us to ease in this on going distant techno - relationships world. So, instead of being a person who keeps the conversation on to themselves, try to be a "There you are" person and ask a simple question when talking with a friend....."Tell me more!" These three words could change the world.

How often have you allowed someone to talk about something you have enquired about, they often feel happy and will have a smile on there face. Tell me more.

God is interested in all of us, all of us on an individual level, we too should be this interested in others, be open to all because God is in all of us and He loves us all. Show the world this and ask the question and make a statement. Tell me more.

Become a Child and get a better view
I would like you all to get a chance and Read Luke 19. But in the meantime I will talk about it.

Zacchaeus knew Jesus was coming to his town, he wanted to see him. We all hear the expression of Christians saying "I have found Jesus" But how do you find Him?

We see in verse 3 the Zaccahaeus is short, so short that he couldn't see over the crowd that had formed. He wanted to have a clear view of this man. He then is so desperate to see him, to see Jesus, that his next actions becomes very childlike. He climbs a tree.

He runs ahead of the crowd, runs ahead of Jesus. (Like a child running ahead in excitement) How many grown men do you know that climb trees? The excitement of even seeing Jesus was so great he climbed and sat and waited for Jesus to come into sight, to walk past.

Jesus sees us differently, He has a different perspective to the rest of the world, and we see this in this story. He walks up to the tree where Zacchaeus is sitting and looks straight up at him.

WOW! That alone must have been fantastic for him. The whole imagary behind it all is just beautiful. This man was a Tax Collector (Such a bad profession in the Bible), and he was rich, which we can probably assume that he was a good Tax Collector and therefore not a popular person in his region. This man was usually looked down upon in his community, and not just because he was short! We see the in verse 7 "All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.""

And then this wonderful man, this man he was so desperate to see, comes and speaks to him, and looks up at him! Just that little verse alone could be worked and reworked in so many beautiful ways.

Strangely, there is something even more powerful that happens here, well that doesn't happens here. There is a brief moment when Jesus is inside this mans house, and they would have spoken, so much that after Jesus see him in the tree and speaks to him that in Zacchaeus house he then changes his ways, offers up his wealth and possesions to help others. To which Jesus responds with that this man and his house now has salvation! Wouldn't you have been interested in listening to the "missed" conversation.

Jesus would have been a wonderful guest, fully present and 100% into that one person, the individual infront of him. He would have asked him the question " Tell me more" and as Jesus would, He would have seen him, like he saw him up the tree.

C.S Lewis once said "Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less"

So, if you are a here i am person, stop! Be like Jesus and say "There you are!" and "Tell me more!"