Urgent Imminence

Real Dudes,
Below is the message that I shared at our Maundy Thursday get together. 
Enjoy!
Nate
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As a father of six daughters who have played multiple sports, we have become pretty familiar with a place called Urgent Care. Some of the injuries they’ve experienced needed immediate attention…there was an urgency about it all. 
Not tracking with me, then here’s something y’all might relate better with concerning the topic of URGENCY!!! = The board game Perfection: If you’re not familiar with it, then here’s a video to help introduce you to the game and the importance of having a sense of urgency when playing it.

• https://thechive.com/video/kid-experiences-his-first-devastating-heartbreak/

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf5jTb00Wls

So, when Pastor Rob asked me to preach at Maundy Thursday, the name Zacchaeus immediately popped into my head. So where does this story about Zacchaeus land in scripture? 
Just Before our passage…
In Luke 18:31-34 (CSB) is recorded for us The Third Prediction of His Death
And then Shortly after our passage…
We read in Luke 19:28-40 (CSB) about The Triumphal Entry
Now, smushed between those two passages is our passage of focus…
Luke 19:1-10 (CSB) Jesus Visits Zacchaeus…beginning in verse one, we read that 
He [Jesus] entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 There was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he was not able because of the crowd, since he was a short man. 4 So running ahead, he climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus, since he was about to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down because today it is necessary for me to stay at your house.” 6 So he quickly came down and welcomed him joyfully. 7 All who saw it began to complain, “He’s gone to stay with a sinful man.” 8 But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor, Lord. And if I have extorted anything from anyone, I’ll pay back four times as much.” 9 “Today salvation has come to this house,” Jesus told him, “because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”

Out of all the people directly in front of Jesus, God Perfectly popped up one single man that Jesus could focus on. Jesus looked up, saw Zacchaeus, and said to him in verses 5 and 6… 

• Next SLIDE…Here’s the Urgency right before He goes to the cross 

• Hurry; Come Down; Today (see also vs. 9); It Is Necessary; and Quickly Came.
• The urgent imminence (meaning something that can happen at any moment)
  • Zachhaeus needed a Savior…God knew that. He also knew that…
  • Jesus needed to meet with Zachhaeus before He went to the cross. 
  • You see, The cross was just around the corner as was…
  • His return to Heaven. 
• Each of these express imminence…Do we share that same urgency to extend the salvation message to those God perfectly pops up right in front of us? 

[Transition into Communion]

What’s the Urgent Imminence within the Lord’s Supper?
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (CSB)
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

The urgent imminence is His Return (He is coming again soon…at any moment) for those who have received Him as Savior.
What are we doing in preparation for that day?
Are we sharing the Good News with others verbally or maybe even nonverbally by partaking in the Lord’s Supper?
Let’s keep these questions and thoughts in mind as we partake as the Lord leads…