Let us continue our worship by learning from God’s Word.
Please open your Bibles to Luke 18….
Look again at v18-23…..
We noted last week that this ruler thought he was going to heaven because he had done the best he could in the sight of men. But because he lacked full commitment to Jesus Christ, he does not go to heaven.
Today we will read in Luke 19 another wealthy man; but this one will go to heaven. I know Pastor Lee Heyward of Northbrook Church spoke on this last year, but let us learn again from this man Zacchaeus.
Read along with me now Luke 19:1-10…
We note 3 main characters in this story; the Lord Jesus Christ, Zacchaeus, and the Crowd of people. The disciples were of course with Jesus, they are noted in v11. We are like those disciples, we are in the background but our Lord Jesus is still teaching us! And as noted in Luke 18:34, the disciples needed to be reminded over and over of important things.
We are all like sheep; we are always in need of reminders.
Redundancy may be boring and may seem to be of no interest. Let us seriously ask ourselves, “Have I truly grown spiritually in the last 6 months? Am I really doing godly things that I didn’t used to do 6 months ago? Have I really changed spiritually compared to 6 months ago?” We really have not learned anything if we do not apply them. Many of us have head knowledge but we simply do not trust God enough to do what He says.
Let us be reminded of James 1:22-25….
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
Do you and I want to be blessed?
Let’s all take a moment to quietly pray about our learning and application of God’s Word.....
Lord Jesus, help me learn biblical principles which I need and truly apply them to my life!
Let’s quickly note the crowd of people in v7….
They muttered and were judgmental of Jesus and Zacchaeus. What does it mean to mutter? To mutter means to negatively murmur or grumble. Isn’t it interesting that God cites people grumbling while there was good spiritual work happening?
Let us not be surprised, even in the midst of good godly work, there will be people who will grumble! How do you handle people grumbling? Do you focus on their negativeness or look for how God is working? Your response depends on your spiritual maturity.
Let us talk about Zacchaeus last.
What can we note about Jesus in this passage?
Jesus:
v1: God walked the earth and ministered to people
And look again at v5, do you think that was just coincidence?
We noted a blind man in Luke 18 who cried out to Jesus and Jesus responded to him. Yes, Zacchaeus was short, so he climbed a tree to get a good view, but why didn’t Zacchaeus just cry out to Jesus??
I think we can note that Zacchaeus was curious (can we say Inquisitive?) but he was still trying to hide from Jesus. It was not a coincidence for Jesus to stop and talk to Zacchaeus. Jesus knows everything and every heart! No one can hide from Jesus! Why? Jesus is…
v5: omniscient
Do we try and hide from Jesus Christ?
What else can we note from v5? Jesus…
v5: instructed and invited!
And we note in….
v9-10: seeks and saves the lost!
Now, what can we say about Zacchaeus?
v2: chief tax collector and was wealthy
We noted earlier that Zacchaeus was curious but hid.
Why do you think he hid??
Zacchaeus could not have been shy! He was the chief tax collector!!! He was a powerful man who influenced many!
v3-5: inquisitive but likely embarrassed (a sense of guilt)
And what can we say about Zacchaeus in v6??
Zacchaeus heard Jesus and he responded quickly without questioning and welcomed Jesus!
And what can we note from v8? After meeting with Jesus, Zacchaeus made a commitment to repent from his sinful ways!
And again in v9, Zacchaeus was eternally blessed by Jesus Christ!
The application for our own lives is simple isn’t it?
If we desire to be eternally blessed, let us follow the example of Zacchaeus!
Yes, I will refer to it again, but I will try to make it to be a bit more of an interesting challenge for all of us. What kind of a person was the wealthy ruler in Luke 18, a KIA or a FIAT? He was a KIA, a know it all, thinking he had it all figured out and so he did not follow Jesus.
What kind of a man was Zacchaeus? Zacchaeus was not a KIA but a …… FIAT! Zacchaeus was found Faithful, Inquisitive, Available, and Teachable!
Zacchaeus was faithful because he believed in God Jesus Christ, he listened, and he did exactly what Jesus said! Faith is believing and doing what God says!
Do we desire to be blessed by God? How is our listening, believing, and most importantly doing what God says?
Zacchaeus was inquisitive about God; curious and desiring to see Jesus! We should be curious about God and look for God in everything!
How busy do people get today?? There is so much “stuff” available to us today; the whole world is at our fingertips through technology; people today are busy being busy!
Now, how busy was Zacchaeus life as a wealthy, chief tax collector? In his busy life, when Zacchaeus heard Jesus was coming, he made it a priority to see Him!
How often can we see Jesus??
How much time do we avail to Jesus on a daily basis?
Jesus did not have a problem teaching Zacchaeus! How resistant are we to God’s teaching?
Here’s the challenge: Everyday, look for a FIAT or a KIA, then think of what Zacchaeus did! You know I made this commitment a few days ago and to my surprise, I saw a number of KIA cars BUT I did not see one FIAT!
If we extrapolate this to spiritual truths, I wonder how many Christian “FIATs” are people finding these days?
When you do see a KIA or a FIAT car, Can you recall and apply the 4 things Zacchaeus did?
When you think of Zacchaeus ask yourself:
1. Am I faithful: listening, believing, and doing what Jesus says?
2. Am I inquisitive: desiring to see Jesus daily?
3. Am I available: constantly accessible to Christ?
4. Am I teachable: renewing my mind with Scriptures?
