Slideshow image

No one would’ve looked at him twice that day.

He didn’t have the robes.
He didn’t have the title.
He didn’t have the crowd’s approval.

He just had a heavy heart…
and enough faith to show up.

They probably barely noticed him slip into the temple that morning-
his head down, his hands trembling, his chest rising and falling with shallow, nervous breaths.

The only reason he was even there was because he had tried everything else-
and nothing worked.

But what he didn’t know…
was that this moment, this quiet, overlooked, no-one-would-write-about-it moment…
was about to change everything.

Jesus Told the Story Like This

Two men went up to pray.

One was a Pharisee. Respected. Religious. Revered.
The kind of guy who people nodded at when he passed by.
He prayed boldly:

“Thank You, God, that I’m not like other people...”

He listed his accomplishments.
He checked every spiritual box.
He said the right words.
And in the eyes of men, he walked out as righteous as ever.

But Jesus didn’t commend him.

Instead, He looked at the other man-
the one no one noticed.
The one who wouldn’t even lift his eyes.

The tax collector.

A traitor in his own community.
Despised.
Labeled.
Ashamed.

All he prayed was this:

“God, be merciful to me… a sinner.”

And Jesus said something that would’ve stunned the crowd:

“I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other.”
(Luke 18:14)

One Came to Impress. One Came to Encounter.

The Pharisee came to prove a point.
The tax collector came to touch the mercy seat.

And God didn’t just hear the prayers.
He responded to posture.

One man walked out with a clean record in Heaven.
The other walked out with applause from men.

We Have to Be Honest…

There have been times I’ve walked into church needing one thing-but walked out with another.

There were moments I needed healing, but settled for emotion.
Moments I needed transformation, but left with performance.
Moments I needed Jesus, but left full of religion.

And I can’t help but wonder-how many people are sitting in our churches every week…

  • Feeling unworthy

  • Staying at a distance

  • Unsure if they belong

  • Not even lifting their head

…and they are closer to revival than the person with the microphone?

You Don’t Have to Be Loud to Be Heard

The man who walked away justified didn’t preach a sermon.
He didn’t sing in the choir.
He didn’t have a title.

He just had a real moment with God.

That’s what revival looks like.

Not just a service that gives you chills-
but a moment where the mercy of God comes crashing down on your soul,
and you walk out new.

Final Word: What Justifies Us Still

If you’re tired of going through the motions-
If you’ve been checking the boxes but still feel empty-
If you feel like you don’t belong, or don’t measure up-
You’re not far. You’re close.

Justification still happens.

Not by what you’ve done.
Not by what you’ve avoided.
Not by how spiritual you seem.

But by mercy.
By repentance.
By coming to the altar with nothing but need—
and walking away with grace in your hands and freedom in your chest.

Two people can walk into the same church…
One can get goosebumps.
The other can get God.

Be the one who leaves changed.