Why> Series # 1
CHCC: September 17, 2006
Why am I Here?
Luke 19:1-10
INTRODUCTION:
The title of today’s sermon is “Why Am I Here?” I can’t hear that without remembering a Presidential Debate that happened a few years back. Ross Perot was running as an “Independent.” He chose an older fellow --- Retired Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale --- as his running mate. Vice Admiral Stockdale was a decorated former POW from the Viet Nam era. Well, the elderly man stepped up to the microphone and started off the Vice Presidential debate with these words: “Who am I … and why am I here?” Unfortunately, it came across like the old guy might really not know the answer. Late night comedians had a hay-day quoting him.
But if you think about it, Vice Admiral Stockdale had ask THE BIG QUESTION of life … for anyone who has the courage to ask it. “Who am I and why am I here?”
The good news is that the answer to that question is available … but only if we really, truly want to find the answer. If you want to know the true meaning of life, you have to be willing to break out of your routine, humdrum, status-quo kind of life. You have to be willing to “get off the treadmill”… kind of like the guy in this VIDEO…
VIDEO
Have you ever felt like Joe? (I’m not much for treadmills myself since I can’t seem to stay on them without flying off the back end.)
Today we’re going to look at a guy in the Bible who had the courage to get off his treadmill. He was a man who may very well have needed to Climb out of His Rut. He was a wealthy and successful businessman … he held a powerful position in Roman-occupied Israel. I guess you could say he was the Roman version of an IRS agent. We meet him in Luke chapter 19:
1. Climb out of our rut
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. Luke 19:1-4
Zacchaeus was the probably the kind of man that a lot of people would envy. He had risen to the top of his profession. Now, admittedly, he may not have been very popular with the general population … after all, no one likes to see the tax collector coming their way. But what did that matter? Zacchaeus was rich and he was powerful. Some people would say he “had it all.” But Zacchaeus didn’t think so. He knew something was missing…he just wasn’t sure what.
Money didn’t satisfy. Power wasn’t enough. Chances are, Zacchaeus was asking life’s most basic question: Why am I here? And some instinct told him that if he could just see who Jesus was, he might get the answer to his question.
Look at how much trouble Zacchaeus went to in order to see who Jesus was. First of all, he ran ahead. That may not have been so easy. He was probably no spring chicken. After all, it probably took a lot of years to rise to the position of chief tax collector. Running was probably not something he did every day of the week. And I think we can guarantee that climbing a tree was not part of his daily routine.
The point is, every one of us has a Sycamore Tree to climb if we really want to see who Jesus is. So let me ask you today: what is your “sycamore tree”?
In other words, what new thing do you need to do so that you can “see Jesus” this fall? The sycamore tree you need to climb may be different from the person sitting next to you.
· Maybe the sycamore tree you need to climb means turning off the TV or shutting off the computer so you can spend some time reading the Bible.
· Maybe, instead of your usual weeknight routine, you need to get together with a Pueblo group in your part of town.
· Maybe you need to get involved in a new Sunday Morning Bible Study.
· Maybe getting up on Sunday morning and getting your family to church is your “sycamore tree.”
· Maybe you’ve already climbed on board with the Financial Peace University class on Sunday or Thursday.
· Or maybe your sycamore tree is teaching a class or sponsoring the youth group or bringing your friend with you to church.
Chances are, your Sycamore Tree will have something to do with breaking some deeply ingrained habits. In his book, Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller talks about the kind of ruts a lot of us tend to get ourselves into.
He says, ‘The most difficult lie I have ever contended with is this: Life is about me…. I hear addicts talk about the shakes and panic attacks and the highs and lows of resisting their habit, and to some degree I understand them because I have habits of my own, but no drug is so powerful as the drug of self. No rut in the mind is so deep as the one that says I am the world, the world belongs to me, all people are characters in my play. There is no addiction so powerful as self-addiction.’
Do you want to see Jesus this fall? Then, like Zacchaeus, you’re going to have to climb out of your rut --- break out of your routine --- step off your treadmill. That’s what Zacchaeus did when he climbed that Sycamore Tree. And the next thing Zacchaeus knew, he was welcoming Jesus into his own home:
2. Welcome Jesus into your home
Look at verse 5 of Luke 19: When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. Luke 19:5-6
The truth is that Jesus is never content to have us just look him over from a distance. He doesn’t want us to pay brief visits to HIS World every now and then. Jesus wants to come into OUR world. We don’t just visit His house on Sundays. That’s not His plan at all.
As soon as you make some effort to be near Him, Jesus will “invite himself over.” He wants to “do lunch” every day … at YOUR HOUSE.
Jesus explained this in John 14: 23 when he told His disciples, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”
The word for “make our home” is rarely used in the New Testament.
It’s the same word used in John 14:2 when Jesus promised, “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.”
When Jesus makes His home with you, He is not just stopping by for the weekend. Jesus wants to move into your house permanently… forever. That’s a long time!
Whenever you invite someone over to your house – you naturally think about how much work it’s going to be – and how long they’re going to stay. It’s nice to see company come – but sometimes it’s even nicer to watch them go.
But Jesus is an unusual kind of houseguest --- the kind you never want to let go. It’s a little bit like the year when our daughter, Kaysha lived with us. When she and Chris and little David moved in, Susan told Kaysha, “It’s probably not a good idea for two women to try to share a kitchen. So, how about this… it’s all yours!” I have to admit it was great to have a houseguest who had delicious meals ready when we got home from work, and who took care of cleaning up, too.
Jesus is that kind of houseguest. When Jesus makes his home with you, he is like the ultimate cleaning machine right there in your house. Jesus is willing to keep your houses completely holy and clean for all of your life. The Holy Spirit will show you what is right and wrong so you can live a healthier life. The Father will guard and protect you from all kinds of temptations and dangers. Instead of giving you more work, your Heavenly Houseguest gives you new energy. His presence fills your home with love and joy that you could never imagine before He moved in. Joel Pankow (Sermon Central)
Zacchaeus got a big payoff for climbing out of his rut and up that Sycamore Tree. The Son of God invited himself over for dinner. That must have been surprise enough. But Zacchaeus could hardly foresee that his whole world was about to be turned upside down. Look at verse 7:
3. Get ready for an Extreme Makeover
All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a ’sinner.’ "
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."
Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." Luke 19:7-10
When Jesus comes to your house, don’t think you’re going to be able to sit back, relax and just soak in the grace of God. Once Jesus moves in, get ready for major renovations! In the case of Zacchaeus, the Spirit of God convicted him of his sins, and he didn’t waste any time in taking action.
You see, Zacchaeus had heard the answer to the BIG question: Why Am I Here? Just standing there in the presence of Jesus, he suddenly saw his purpose in life.
He had lived so many years thinking he was here to succeed in business … to amass a fortune … to climb the ladder of success. You can almost hear the wheels of his brain whirling. I’m not here to serve my own wants and desires. I’m here to be a blessing to others.
And almost before that realization could settle into his mind, he was blurting out: “Look, Lord! I get it! I’m not here to GET, I’m here to GIVE!”
He wasn’t just talking in the abstract. This guy was an accountant. He thought in financial terms. When he said he was going to give half his possessions to the poor, he probably knew down to the penny how much he was going to give away.
When he promised to repay anyone he had cheated, he knew exactly who those people were. It was common in that time for a Tax Collector to demand extra so he could pad his own pockets. We can only imagine what it was like when the TAXman went door-to-door paying his own “back taxes” … with 400% interest.
Zacchaeus welcomed Jesus into his home, and the next thing he knew, he was undergoing an Extreme Makeover. In fact, it reminds me of that show on TV called “Extreme Makeover- Home Edition”
If you’ve ever seen the show, you know that Ty Pennington and a construction crew come in and re-make a house for a deserving family. Sometimes the remodeling involves knocking out a few walls and constructing a few cabinets. Sometimes it means leveling the whole house and starting all over from the foundation up.
The highlight of the show comes when we watch the family touring their transformed house. At the very end of the show, they usually show the family a very special room that has been designed specifically to meet their unique needs and wants. The room includes all kinds of innovative technology and creative design. You could think of it as a “grace room”… a room that is more than the homeowner ever dreamed or imagined.
That’s the way it works when Jesus makes His home with you. The main difference is that his Extreme Makeover of YOUR home will take longer than just a couple of weeks. At first, you may notice that He’s clearing out some clutter. Then He starts cleaning the walls and adding new color.
Then one day, just when you’re getting comfortable with the changes, you come home and a whole wall’s been knocked down.
Rooms are enlarged. Windows are added. As time goes by, your house is so completely transformed that you can hardly remember the dark little hovel you used to call home.
CONCLUSION:
Jesus told Zacchaeus, Salvation has come to this house.
Has salvation come to your house?
You can count on this:
· If you will climb out of your rut and go out of your way to see who Jesus is,
· And if you welcome Him into your home, the way Zacchaeus did,
· The next thing you know you’ll know the answer to the question, WHY AM I HERE?
You’ll hear the same answer that Zacchaeus understood. The answer is the same for you as it is for me. We are all here to enjoy close fellowship with God, and to give ourselves in loving service to others.
