Out on a Limb
Series: face to Face
Sunday Sermon, July 1st 2007
Intro: Video
Jesus was on His way to that Cross when He passed through a very famous town named Jericho.
Like a Rose day parade to witness Jesus passing by, hundreds or even thousands of people lined the street that day. They all saw Jesus with their own eyes, but only one man came “face to Face” with Jesus.
His life was never the same again.
This man’s name was Zacchaeus. And he reached out to Jesus by literally "going out on as limb" for Him.
Text: Luke 19:1-10 “He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2And there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small of stature. 4So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today." 6So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7And when they saw it, they all grumbled, "He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." 8And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold." 9And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.
I can still remember the little song we learned written by Elsie Leslie. If you know it, sing it along with me, and do the motions:
Zacchaeus was a wee little man,
A wee little man was he,
He climbed up in a sycamore tree
For the Lord he wanted to see;
And as the Savior passed that way,
He looked up in the tree,
And He said, “Zacchaeus, you come down,
For I’m going to your house today,
For I’m going to your house today.
Unlike the others we have looked, and even most of the people we can read about in the Gospels, this man had no obvious needs:
• No physical ailments, wasn’t suffering etc.
• Wealthy
• Lots of friends
• Power
Yet something was missing in this “wee” little man. Zacchaeus’s need was in his heart
Even though Zacchaeus was living in-line with the rest of his peers, he knew something was missing from his life. He listened to his heart.
How many people today ignore the inner heart?
We ignore our hearts cry to our own harm.
Rather, we should listen to the “still small voice” as God’s Spirit lead in Truth concerning the condition of our hearts.
I. Put yourself in position to see Jesus
“…he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small of stature. 4So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.”
a. You take the first step
i. Don’t put the burden of proof on someone else.
ii. Don’t put the burden of proof even on God.
iii. No one is able to “show” you Jesus.
iv. Vision of Him is sought through personal hunger and pursuit. You may see Christ-like character in His followers, yet that must remain insufficient. Go after the real thing Him.
v. If you want to see Jesus, come “face to Face” with God you move into position, you show hunger, desperation. And don’t stop. Don’t stop after even just a glimpse! Don’t be distracted.
b. Don’t let anything stand in your way.
i. Zach found a way around his short-comings. (Pun intended.)
Grown men don’t climb trees (Unless they are from Pennsylvania – “you know you’re a red neck…”)
ii. Don’t say, “If God wants me to ____ then He’s gonna have to ____”
iii. Zacchaeus could have stayed home and said, “If Jesus want’s to save me, He knows were to find me.”
When you get off your high horse and you notice it was a hobby horse all along.
“Little-dog disease” Have you ever notice how absolutely vicious a little dog can be? They aren’t afraid of anything but they always have something to prove.
iv. Zach was past that, he had the power, he had the wealth, he lived in the most luxurious town etc.
v. He does something that just invited others to laugh at him. He accentuates his weakness just to see Jesus, and it actually got Jesus attention.
II. Jesus always has time for the lost
“10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."
a. Lost people are Lightning rods for grace
i. Lightning strikes again. God steps into the life of another human, changing them for all eternity.
ii. Hundreds of spectators received nothing that day.
iii. Zach was ripe, he was “white for harvest” and Jesus had this man in His view.
iv. Jesus was approaching his final week, he had a few pressures coming to bare, a few deadlines to meet.
Last Journey to Jerusalem. Jesus’ last ascent to Jerusalem began on the eastern side of the Jordan. After crossing the river, He entered Jericho, then ascended the mountain to Bethany and Jerusalem. There He was crucified.
v. The Lost, the desperate, the hungry, the hurting get that attention. The rest stay deceptifully dull.
b. Jesus knows you by name
“5And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”
i. Do you know what the name “Zacchaeus” means? It means “pure.”
ii. Boy had this guy let his parents down.
iii. Jesus didn’t see a crooked tax collector, He saw a man who could become PURE. He saw a man who could be so generous he would give half of his money away.
iv. Jesus was willing to reach out His hand in friendship to this man who was despised.
v. Too often we find it easy to reject people, Jesus never did.
Isa.59:1 “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:”
Jesus always knows right where the sinner is. He walks right up to the tree where he was perched and called him by name. Jesus wanted to relate to Zacchaeus on a personal level.
So, what do you think they did at Zach’s house? Maybe Jesus said, “Sit there, and I’m going to preach a sermon to you on the sin of stealing money!”
Maybe yes, but probably no. Jesus went to Zach’s house to EAT with him.
I can see them sitting there sipping some wine and dipping pieces of bread into olive oil. At some point Jesus says, “Zach, tell me about your job.” And before he knows it, Zach poured out his heart to Jesus, confessing how he had been stealing from the people.
Before the conversation was over, Zach was a changed man.
III. Salvation changes your heart
“8And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold." 9And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.”
a. God’s Salvation is personal
i. Upon Zachaeus’ confession / declaration, Jesus could see that a real change of heart had come about in this man.
ii. The stronghold had broken in the man. He was walking away from his personal sin struggle; Zachaeus’ money was his struggle.
Illustration: A simmering pot and adding heat.
His guilt had simmered under the lid of his heart; until Jesus comes into his life and adds just enough heat to boil him over.
iii. It had been years of quieting down the conflicted heart, justifying himself to himself.
iv. Each of suffer from the same condition (sin,) but each of us has our own individual sin struggles. You not be tempted in the areas that I am and vise-versa.
v. But Jesus knows each of our hearts and is able to help each one regardless of what that stronghold is.
Jesus led the man were he wanted to go but didn’t know how to get there.
vi. He wanted to be free, and Jesus gave him the hope and power to do it
b. God’s Salvation brings life change
i. Zacchaeus understood that faith was more than a simple belief producing nothing but a notion.
ii. He wasn’t earning his salvation. However, his faith produced action / Life altering action.
The victims list wasn’t a short one. And the sum of money he promised to pay out was not small.
iii. In fact, Zach essentially bankrupted himself but was eager to do so.
1. Half of everything to the poor
2. 4X what he stole.
Patrick Henry, the man who said, “Give me liberty, or give me death,” once spoke concerning true riches. He said the following:
“I have now disposed of all my property to my family. There is one thing more I wish I could give them and that is faith in Jesus Christ. If they had that and I had not given them a single shilling, they would have been rich; and if they had not that, and I had given them all the world, they would be poor indeed.”
iv. The man who was bound with greed now becomes generous.
v. The man, who was willing to lie and cheat, now turns to honesty.
Matthew Henry wrote, “Those that sincerely desire a sight of Christ will use the proper means for gaining a sight of him, and will break through a deal of difficulty and opposition, and be willing to take pains to see him.”
Conclusion:
Listen to your heart and what God’s Spirit is leading you in.
Pursue God
Receive from God.
