Last week we started talking about Fishing
• And we looked at Mark Chapter 4 where Jesus is walking by the shore
• And He calls out to Andrew and Peter and tells them to drop what they’re doing
• And follow Him
• And if their willing to do that, that He will make them Fishers of Men
Now these guys were professional fisherman.
• And Jesus was asking them to walk away from everything that they knew
• And to follow Him into a totally new way of life.
• Instead of fishing for fish – they would be fishing for the souls of men.
Howard Hendricks said, “In the midst of a generation screaming for answers, Christians are stuttering.”
Bill Bright, Founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, said, "Millions of surveys which we have helped to take around the world indicate that approximately 98 percent of the Christians do not regularly introduce others to the Savior."
With so few believers today sharing their faith,
• We have to get back to the heart of Christ’s mission / Christ’s passion
• Because the Church has to be the voice of truth for those who are lost.
Today we are going to look at the Five Things We have to Do to Reach People
We’re gonna look at Luke 19:1-19:10
• And This is the story of the encounter of Zacchaeus and Jesus
• And through this story Jesus teaches us five things
• That we have to do today to reach people for Christ.
Luke 19:1-10
Lk 19:1 Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town.
Lk 19:2 There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was one of the most influential Jews in the Roman tax-collecting business, and he had become very rich.
Lk 19:3 He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowds.
Lk 19:4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree beside the road, so he could watch from there.
Lk 19:5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! For I must be a guest in your home today.”
Lk 19:6 Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy.
Lk 19:7 But the crowds were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.
Lk 19:8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have overcharged people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”
Lk 19:9 Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a son of Abraham.
Lk 19:10 And I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and save those like him who are lost.”
1 Now the first thing we notice is that Jesus Sought Him out(vv. 1-5)
• Review – He was in a tree- wasn’t expecting Jesus to talk to him- watching
• Jesus was looking for Zacchaeus more than Zacchaeus was looking for Jesus!
• What Jesus shows us is that He is looking for lost sinners more than lost sinners are look for Jesus!
• This is what He is referring to in verse 10 here He said
• And I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and save those like him who are lost.”
• Paul Harvey may have said it best when he said,
• "Too many Christians are no longer fishers of men but keepers of the aquarium."
(Elab)
2 Next We see that Jesus Cared for Him (v. 5a)
• Jesus saw he had a need
• Something was missing in his life
• Zacchaeus was a rich man
• And as verse 2 tells us He was one of the most influential Jews in the Roman tax-collecting business
• Something would have had to seriously be wrong in this mans life to climb this tree (ELAB)
It’s the same in the world today, there are serious things wrong in peoples lives
• And we have to respond in the same way that Jesus did
• We have to care enough about these people to find out more about them.
• Jesus called Zacchaeus by name.
• He knew who he was
Bottom line is If we don’t care about the lost then we are sinning against God.
jas 4:17 Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.
A number of years ago President Bush
• Made a surprise visit to troops in Baghdad on Thanksgiving.
• The Commander in Chief serving his men!
• And this marries point 2 with point 3
• First we see Jesus cared for him then He fspent sometime with him
3 That’s the The third thing Jesus did and teaches us is that He Fellowshipped with Him (5b-6)
• He hung out with him
• Jesus spent sometime with him – He got to know him
If we want to make a difference in the Kingdom
• We have to be willing to do the same thing
• Leading others to Christ isnt just a matter of bringing them to church once (ELAB)
• We must be willing to go to them, into their homes, into their culture, into their circles while still being separate in our actions
Case in point Matt 9:9-13 This is how Jesus Calls Matthew
Mt 9:9 As Jesus was going down the road, he saw Matthew sitting at his tax-collection booth. “Come, be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him.
Mt 9:10 That night Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to be his dinner guests, along with his fellow tax collectors and many other notorious sinners.
Mt 9:11 The Pharisees were indignant. “Why does your teacher eat with such scum ?” they asked his disciples.
Mt 9:12 When he heard this, Jesus replied, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.”
Mt 9:13 Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to be merciful; I don’t want your sacrifices.’ For I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough.”
Notice who Jesus choose to fellowship with
In one episode of All in the Family,
• Archie is complaining, which is what it seems like Archie did a lot
• And He turns to Edith and says "That’s you all right. Edith, the Good.
• You’ll stoop to anything to be good.
• You never make nobody mad.
• You think it’s easy living with a saint?
• Even when you cheat you don’t cheat to win. You cheat to lose.
• Edith you ain’t human."
• And Edith responds by saying "That’s a terrible thing to say, Archie Bunker.
• I am just as human as you are."
• And Archie says "Oh, yeah? Then prove you’re just as human as me.
• Do something rotten."
We really do live in an Archie Bunker world (ELAB)
• But as Christians we have to act like Edith Bunker
• We have to Be in the world but not of the world!
4 Jesus Shared the Truth with Him (v. 8-9)
• This is where a lot of people mess up
• They rush this process
• When they are talking to friends, family, coworkers about Christ
• They jump right to this step
• We must be willing to say, “Thus saith the Lord!”
We Exist to Call People to Be Followers of Jesus Christ.
• We see through Jesus’s encounter with Zacchaeus
• That the truth changed him it --made a differenceand
• And the truth will change everyone who comes to the truth of Christ.
A Missionary mom wanted her children to know the importance
• Of sharing their faith with lost people.
• One day, her ten-year old son was driving imaginary race cars with his friends.
• When he came running into the house and yelled,
• "Mom, you’ve got to come quick. Isabelle wants to accept Jesus into her heart."
• Being a little skeptical of the child’s sudden interest in spiritual things,
• His mom asked,” I thought you were playing race cars?"
• "We were, Mom, but our cars wrecked.
• The accident was real bad so I asked Isabelle
• If she would go to heaven if she died.
• She said she didn’t know.
• So I told her how she could know and now she wants to ask Jesus into her heart."
5 Finally we see that Jesus Taught Him How to Live and Give (vv. 8-10)
• Its not just getting these people to a point of commitment
• Of trying to get them to sign on the dotted line
• And once the sale is made to walk away like a peacock
• Struuting around over our acomplishment
• We cannot stop
• Because at the heart of the Gospel message is about making disciples
• Disciples that know how to live for Christ obediently and to give in Christ honestly
We Exist to Disciple People Who Become Followers of Jesus Christ
A. Jesus taught Zacchaeus how to live honestly
B. Jesus taught Zacchaeus how to give generously
• We must teach new believers how to live for Christ
• He have to teach new believers how to give to Christ.
• These people are just like babies in a new world.
• They need those who have grown / who are mature to show how.
• This is our eternal investment of our life in another.
Cathy Truett, who Founded Chick-fil-a, once said
• “If you wish to enrich days, plant flowers;
• If you wish to enrich years, plant trees;
• If you wish to enrich Eternity, plant ideas in the lives of others.”
These are the foundations that we need to pray about over the next 2 weeks
• And I really hope over the last week you’ve spent some time thinking about who you are planning on bringing
• That you are starting to lay the ground work for their coming
• That you arent planning on springing it on them the night before
• That you are prepared
• That you have planted the seed and over the next 2 weeks
• You are going to water that seed
If we are going to reach people for Christ, If we are serious about making a difference
• Then we have to seek out lost people,
• We have to care for them,
• We have to spend some time with them and fellowship with them,
• Then once we have a relationship with them we can share the truth with them,
• And finally we can teach them how to live and how to give their lives for Christ.
• If we follow the example that Jesus gave us
• Each one of us will be an effective witness for Christ!
