April 25, 2007

Spilling Your Guts

Evel Knievel – As I was watching The Hour of Power on The Christian Television Station, they had Robert Evel Knievel as their guest. The Hour of Power is the weekly Sunday Church Service for the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Groove California.   Evel Knievel is America’s legendary motorcycle daredevil.  He has jumped over lots of things including 14 Greyhound buses at King’s Island in Ohio which is the all time ABC’s Wide world of Sports TV viewing audience record.  52% of the households watched that jump in 1975. 

Evel was on stage with Robert Schuller, the retired pastor of the Crystal Cathedral, his son Robert Jr. is the pastor now.  As Dr. Schuller Brought Evel up to interview him, I was shocked how old Evel is now.  He has some type of breathing alignment.  He seemed to lose his breath quickly.  I was thinking to myself is he going to be okay as I was watching. 

Evel was more than okay.  He started to spill his guts about how he received Christ into his life.   He mentioned that his ex-wife was praying for him along with her church and she would let him know it.  His daughter and her church were praying for him.  He use to get letters from fans that would end by saying we are praying for you Evel because he didn’t believe in organized religion and he didn’t believe in Jesus Christ.  The fans would say you have to believe in Jesus Christ.  

Evel mentioned that he just came to believe in Jesus Christ recently.  He didn’t even know when exactly he started to believe but he stood on the stage testifying that he now believes in Jesus Christ and he is not ashamed to say it.  He mentioned that he wrote a book called, Evel Ways.  In the book Evel said, “ I’ve had a life better than any king, any president or any prince.”  He said it was hog wash because he didn’t have Jesus Christ in his life.  Evel said he had five Rolls Royce’s, five Lamborghinis, five Ferraris, five Stetsons and two jet airplanes.  He said that he use to fly his jet planes next to each other so he could see his name on the side of the other plane. 

Evel said he had diamonds, gold, racehorses, women, and booze but he was empty.  He told the congregation that he had been a real sinner but not anymore.  I was in tears as I listened to Evel Knievel spill his guts before all the people and before God.

I was moved by God and started to think about spilling your guts.  I thought to myself, what does it mean to spill your guts?  It could mean to tell the truth when you have been caught doing something wrong.  It could mean really saying you’re sorry for something you had done that hurt someone.  When you spill your guts, you do some soul searching and get honest with yourself and with the person you hurt or the person you are asking to help you.  You really speak from the heart and this gets God’s attention.  If you want to get a hold of God, speak from the heart and you will have His undivided attention.  I see this in Evel Knievel and I see this in the life of Zacchaeus in the Bible in the book of Luke.  We are going to look at Luke 19:1-10.

Luke 19 (New King James Version)

Jesus Comes to Zacchaeus’ House

1 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short 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,[a] 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.”

Zacchaeus was in an odd place for a person of his status in society.  He was rich and probably had a reputation to uphold.  In verses 3 and 4 we read that Zacchaeus even though he was rich as verse 1 says was in a Sycamore tree because he was short and wanted to see Jesus.  People usually don’t hangout in trees let alone rich people who are so image drivcn.  Why was Zacchaeus in a Tree?  I believe Zaccheaus was at a crossroads and was in a position of doing some soul searching and he heard Jesus was coming by so just maybe Jesus could give him the answers he seeks.  He heard that Jesus could be the Messiah and if he were then Jesus would definitely be the person that could satisfy his soul.  When you are doing soul searching, being in ridiculous situations don’t even matter because the pain is too much to deal with without God.

In verse 8 we see Zacchaeus get honest with himself and with Jesus.  Zacchaeus spills his guts before the Lord and says Lord I give half my possessions to the poor and if I have cheated anyone, I will repay four times the amount.  Zacchaeus is doing some serious business with Jesus.  He is speaking from the heart and he is at a point where he spills his guts because he realizes that the life he worked so hard to have was not life at all.  Zacchaeus had a lot to live on because he was rich but had nothing to live for.  Now he found the reason for living and that was in the person of Jesus Christ. 

Jesus says some very profound words in verse 9.  Jesus says that Salvation has come to this house meaning to Zacchaeus himself.  Jesus sees the soul searching, the honesty, and the speaking from the heart Zacchaeus had done.  The Lord sees that Zacchaeus was spilling his guts and he really meant business with God.  I believe Zacchaeus’s life flashed before him and he saw how empty he was.  All the riches he had just didn’t do it anymore. When you’re empty you may just need to climb a tree so you can see Jesus because sometimes to see God clearly you have to get to higher ground where there is less stuff in the way of you and God. 

When’s the last time you spilled your guts to God?  When’s the last time you spoke to Him from your heart?  When’s the last time you did some soul searching?  Where you laid it all down and said Jesus help me because I need you more then life it self. 

Only you can answer that but I know that just as Jesus called Zacchaeus down from the tree and said I must eat at your house today.  Jesus is saying the same thing to you.  Come down from that tree so I can eat at your house today. 


Be Blessed,


Joey