Seek And Save The Lost

Zacchaeus doesn’t just “meet Jesus” he scrambles for Him. We start in Luke 19 with a man so determined to see Christ that he runs ahead, climbs a tree, and ends up hosting the Savior at home. That story presses a simple question on us: if Jesus drew near to our town, would we be eager and desperate to see Him, or would we hang back and complain with the crowd?

From there, we get practical about Christian priorities through Genesis 2. Marriage is not an accessory relationship, and it can’t survive on leftovers after screens, sports, friends, hobbies, and constant noise take the best of us. We talk about what it looks like to treat “one flesh” as a real covenant, not a convenience, and why neglect is often the quiet root of a broken home.

We also walk through the parable of the minas and connect it with Proverbs 13:11 on slow, honest growth versus get-rich-quick loss. Stewardship is accountability: God gives, we invest, and we’ll answer for what we did with what we were trusted with. The episode then widens into Psalm 87 and a closing challenge that blends faith, public life, and American history, including Patrick Henry’s insistence on speaking plainly when the stakes are high.

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Transcript

Scripture And A Shocking Headline

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Luke 19 Starting with verse 9. Jesus responded, Salvation has come to this home today. For this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.

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Jocelyn Nungari, June 16th, 2024, Houston, Texas.

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Twelve-year-old girl was raped and strangled to death by two illegal immigrants from Venezuela. Franklin Jose Paina Ramos and Johan Jose Rangel Martinez.

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That is illegal immigration, folks.

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Hey folks, this is Jesse Cope, back with another episode of the American Soul Podcast. Hope y'all are doing well for y'all or whatever part of the day you're in. Sure do appreciate you joining me, giving me a little bit of your time and attention, a little piece of your day. I will try to use it wisely. For those of y'all who continue to share the podcast with others and tell others about it, thank you for those of y'all who continue to pray for me and for the podcast. Thank you very much. Very grateful for your prayers. Father, thank you for today. Thank you for you, Father, and your son, Jesus Christ, and your Holy Spirit.

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Thank you for your love, your mercy, your grace, your forgiveness of sins to the merit of your son, Jesus Christ. Forgive us when we go astray, Father. Forgive us when we leave the narrow path. By accident or by choice. Come find us when we get lost, Father. Show us what you want us to do each day. Help us to stay focused on that. Guide our steps. Forgive us when we focus on things that don't matter.

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Be with our leaders in the pulpit and in the state. Help them to rule in fear of you. Be with those listening to the podcast.

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Surround him with your angels, protect him from evil of any kind. Be with those who are hurting and alone. Who feel abandoned and rejected. Be with those who are sick, injured. Brokenhearted. And God, my words here, Father, please.

Marriage Deserves Your Best Energy

Zacchaeus And Real Repentance

Stewardship And Using God’s Gifts

Psalm And Proverbs On True Wealth

Book Review And Listener Reviews Request

Freedom Warnings And Patrick Henry

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Your son's name we pray. Amen. Genesis 2, 24 through 25. That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. Adam and his wife were both naked and they felt no shame. There is no other relationship in this world besides your relationship with God and Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit that should get even remotely the same energy and affection and time and attention that your marriage does. And that includes sports and screens and parents and children and friends and besties and hobbies and workouts. We treat our spouse like they're an appendage, an accessory, like they're optional, and then we can't figure out why our marriage is broken and dysfunctional. Luke 19, 1 through 27. Jesus entered Jericho and made his excuse me, made his way through the town. There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector in the region. He had become very rich. He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd, so he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore fig tree beside the road. For Jesus was going to pass that way. When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. Zacchaeus, he said, Quick, come down. I must be a guest in your home today. Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy, but the people were displeased. He has gone to the guest to be a guest of a notorious sinner, they grumbled. Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, I will give half my wealth to the poor Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much. Jesus responded, Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost. I wonder, folks, if Jesus came to our town, if we would be as excited and eager and desperate to see him as Zacchaeus was. The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said, and because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the kingdom of God would begin right away. He said a nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then returned. Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver, saying, Invest this for me while I am gone. But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, We do not want to be our king. After he was crowned king, he returned and called in the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to find out what their profits were. The first servant reported, Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount. Well done, the king exclaimed, You are a good servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward. The next servant reported, Master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount. Well done, the king said, You will be governor over five cities. But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, Master, I hid your money and kept it safe. I was afraid because you were a hard man to deal with taking what isn't yours and harvesting crops you didn't plant. You wicked servant, the king roared, your own words condemn you. If you knew that I'm a hard man who takes what isn't mine and harvests crops I didn't plant, why didn't you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it. Then turning to the others standing nearby, the king ordered, Take the money from this servant and give it to the one who has ten pounds. But master, they said, he already has ten pounds. Yes, the king replied, and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, but from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. And as for these enemies of mine who didn't want me to be their king, bring them in and execute them right here in front of me. Do we want Jesus to be our king? Do we use what he has given us well? We can always ask God for help in both cases, folks, in everything. Father, help us to seek you and your kingdom first. Help us to use the talent you have given us well. In your son's name we pray, amen. Psalm 87, verses 1 through 7. On a holy mountain, on the holy mountain, stands the city founded by the Lord. He loves the city of Jerusalem more than any other city in Israel. O city of God, what glorious things are said of you. I will count Egypt and Babylon among those who know me. Also Philistia and Tyr and even distant Ethiopia. They have all become citizens of Jerusalem. Regarding Jerusalem, it will be said everyone enjoys the rights of citizenship there. And the Most High will personally bless this city. When the Lord registers the nations, he will say, They have all become citizens of Jerusalem. The people will play flutes and sing. The source of my life springs from Jerusalem. Proverbs 1311. Wealth from get rich quick schemes quickly disappears. Wealth from hard work grows over time. I think there's a lot in that proverbs today, that proverb that we don't pay attention to enough. 1311. Countryside, the book of the wise. Middle grade fantasy like Narnia, The Hobbit to Percy Jackson, Harry Potter. If you enjoy that stuff, or if you have kids or grandkids that do, this is from a review by Cindy Sowell. At the end, there are several questions left unanswered, but I think that's good because it leaves the reader eagerly anticipating the next book. My favorite character is Matt. He's sarcastic and funny, yet fiercely loyal and ready to help his friends. All the characters were real and relatable. Five-star review on Amazon. Very kind. Thank you very much. If you get a chance to read the series and you enjoyed it, too. I would appreciate that. And same thing for the podcast. If you find you're getting something out of it, if you could leave a review. May 22nd, 1853, Vicksburg, Mississippi. In the charge of the volunteer storming party. Credited to Mason City, Mason County, West Virginia, not awarded famously. Presented July, 1894. Born July 12, 1837, Mason County, West Virginia. December 24th, 1911, Liberty Center, Indiana. Buried Mossburgh Cemetery, PM, Liberty Center, Wells County, Indiana. William Balmer. Another name to add to the list. But every time I read it or stumble across a part of it where it crosses my mind, I think how much it applies today. If you noticed last week, there was another assassination attempt on the president. It wasn't very well executed, but that's really not the point. My point is that this president has had either three or four assassination attempts over the last two years. And the real point here that you need to focus on, folks, is peace and tolerance are not even remotely what followers of the left or followers of Islam are looking for. And you really get that through your head and realize that it applies not only to people that live halfway across the country from you in a different state or a different city or a different part of the state, but it applies to the people that you know in your own community who vote for the left, who vote for Islam. And it doesn't matter whether they're disinformed or misguided or whatever else, the actions at the end of the day show that tolerance are simply not what they're looking for. And so this speech by Patrick Henry, Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death, March 23rd, 1775, at St. John's Church in Richmond. This was the second Virginia Revolutionary Condition. And we're just going to read the first paragraph today. No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, of the abilities of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed us. But different men often see the same subject in different lights, and therefore it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if entertaining, as I do, opinions of a character very opposite of theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and with my ceremony, the questioning before the house is one of awful moment to this country. For the most part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery. And in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debt. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God in our country. Should I keep back my opinion through fear of giving offense, I would consider myself as guilty of treason toward my country and of an act of disloyalty toward the majesty of heaven, which we revere above all earthly kings. That's the question before us in the United States of America. If we continue down the path following Islam, it will be slavery. If we turn back to our founding principles based on God and Jesus Christ, it will be freedom and liberty. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses. We forgive those who trespass against us. And it is not to temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. God bless y'all. God bless your families, marriages, your nation, wherever you are listening. God bless the miracles. Again, real soon, folks. Looking forward to it.