THE LITTLE MAN WHO MET A BIG GOD
Lk. 19:1-10
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: Look Who’s Scary
1. Dennis Agena was browsing in a military surplus store when a young couple came in pushing a little boy in a stroller. Dennis couldn't help noticing the father, who was in full punk regalia: spiked hair, black leather gloves, snake tattoos visible on his arms.
2. Later, Dennis saw that father running through the store frantically calling for his son. Relieved when he found the boy in another aisle, he embraced him and admonished him, "Don't go where mommy and daddy aren't able to see you. A scary man might grab you."
B. TEXT
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” 8 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.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Lk. 19:1-10
C. THESIS
1. Today we’re looking at a Little Man who met a Big God! Someone said, “It’s not the size of the man in the fight, but the size of the fight in the man!” I would add that it’s the size of the man’s God that will change the outcome.
2. Follow along as we look at a little man named Zacchaeus!
I. HE WAS A LITTLE MAN...
A. LITTLE IN STATURE
1. The Bible tells us here that Zacchaeus was “short.” It’s a well-known fact that Jews are shorter than the average (2-4 cm. shorter, Jewish Encyclo.). So when JEWS say that you’re short, you’re REALLY SHORT! Now, being short doesn’t have to affect a person’s perception of themselves or make them feel inferior, but it frequently does.
2. Psychologists have coined a term to describe the mindset short men often display: “Little Man Syndrome” or “Napoleonic Complex.” To counteract their shortness, such individuals are more aggressive, are loud & talkative, and require additional attention in order to prove themselves. They like big trucks and things that make them stand out “larger than life.”
3. So Zacchaeus allied himself with the Romans and got power over his fellow Jews by being a tax collector for Caesar. He became the chief tax gatherer in that region.
B. LITTLE IN THE ESTEEM OF OTHERS
1. I’m sure that to the people of Jericho, Zacchaeus looked like he was happy, successful, and self-assured.
2. But that was just the façade he put on. In truth, he was despised by his fellow countryman as a traitor, probably despised by the Romans, and internally he was miserable. He was a wounded & unhappy person seeking for acceptance.
C. LITTLE IN HIS TRUST IN GOD
1. Zacchaeus was especially despised by the Pharisees – the most orthodox faith of the Jews. Jesus was rebuked by them for even eating with tax collectors (Mt. 9:11; Mk. 2:16; Lk. 5:30).
2. Undoubtedly the Pharisees refused Zacchaeus entry to the synagogue. His very trade aided the idolatrous Romans and their evil empire. He was considered a man who would do anything for money; a rank sinner. He was hated and despised by “God’s people.”
3. Since all God’s representatives rejected him, I’m sure Zacchaeus felt rejected by God also. But inside his heart there was the unmet cry for acceptance and reconciliation with God. This set the stage for the entrance of Jesus into Jericho and into Zacchaeus’ life.
II. ZACCHAEUS MET A BIG GOD...
Jesus proved to be bigger than Zacchaeus’ conceptions, his faults, and his idols!
A. BIGGER THAN HIS CONCEPTION
1. When Zacchaeus met Jesus, he met a Person who blew apart all his conceptions of God. Instead of a God who was plotting his downfall, he met a God who cared about him.
2. He had heard about the Prophet from Nazareth. He’d heard how Jesus was friendly to tax collectors and other kinds of “sinners.” He’d even heard that Jesus made the tax collector – Levi/ Matthew – one of His 12 apostles, or inner circle of disciples. These facts gave Zacchaeus cause for hope.
3. But what happened to him was so astronomically greater than what he thought possible that it shook his world to its foundations. When he went to get a glimpse of Jesus that day and climbed the tree, Jesus selected him out of all the great crowd, spoke to him, and CALLED HIM BY NAME (though they’d never met).
4. Jesus told him He was coming to his house and would be eating dinner with him that night. Evidently Jesus knew all about him, accepted him, and even honored him by visiting his house. Never had anyone of importance treated him this way.
B. BIGGER THAN HIS FAULTS
1. It must have been a spiritual earthquake when Zacchaeus realized that Jesus accepted him. Most people think that acceptance with God is based on how we are living, whether we’re doing good or bad. Zacchaeus had clearly been doing wrong – extorting money from the poor and cheating people when he could.
2. The idea that God would forgive him his wrongs and give him a new beginning (except by Temple sacrifices that he would not be allowed to make), was impossible to the Jewish mind.
3. Jesus’ acceptance of Zacchaeus was a verdict of unmerited mercy from God and he immediately, in joy, repented.
C. BIGGER THAN HIS IDOLS
1. Money had clearly been Zacchaeus’ god before he met Jesus. The Love of Money IS the root of all kinds of evil, and is often the last idol to fall in a person’s heart.
2. I heard of a man, when he got baptized, who kept one hand out of the water, holding up his wallet above the water! A man never really gets saved until his wallet gets saved with him!
3. What Zacchaeus did with his money is the most solid evidence that he repented. He made restitution to those he had cheated and gave up half his money to the poor.
4. The Lord was right in observing, “Today salvation has come to this house...”
5. My question for you today is, “Have YOU met the God who’s bigger than your conceptions, your faults, and your idols?”
III. HAVE YOU MET THE “BIG GOD” YET?
A. BIGGER THAN YOUR WORLDVIEW
“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?” “Who will you compare Me to, or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One. “Look up and see: who created these? He brings out the starry host by number; He calls all of them by name. Because of His great power and strength, not one of them is missing.” Isaiah 40:12 (NIV); 25-26, (HCSB)
B. YOU HAVE A GREAT DESTINY
1. You have a destiny that spans the galaxies and supersedes the laws of space/time! YOU BELONG TO GOD! You’ve been “bought at a price” 1 Cor. 6:19. You’re “God’s Property!” God’s going to take His property with Him to Heaven in the Rapture before the Antichrist arises.
2. GOD HAS A PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE. “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” Jer. 29:11.
3. Even if we mess up and “mar the vessel,” God, the Great Potter, is able to remake the vessel to suit His purposes, Jer. 18:4.
4. God's not finished with you yet! He’s developing a NEW plan for your life, taking you from where you are today, and moving you forward to a great future.
C. YOU’RE A WINNER, NOT A LOSER
1. “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world” 1 Jn. 4:4.
2. In Adam you were born a loser, but in Christ you were born a winner! God isn’t a loser, so you can’t be a loser. You’re not an accident; You’re not a mistake. Before time began, you were a part of God’s plan. You were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.
3. When you were born again, you were born in God’s image, created in His likeness and born of His Spirit. You’re a child of the Most High God; you’re a King’s kid, Royal Blood now flows in your veins! You’re not average!
4. You’re an Overcomer! The term "overcomer" doesn’t mean someone who wins every battle. In fact, this term was used of those who went from one defeat to another to another. But they kept on fighting until eventually they won the war!
5. ILLUSTRATION
a. Like World Federation Wrestling; it’s all staged. Before the wrestlers ever go out, the winner has been picked.
b. The contenders go through the battle for entertainment purposes but the point of the battle is not to decide who will win but to give the crowd a show.
c. The winner of the match does not battle for victory but from victory. He battles knowing that he's already won.
d. Those who come to Jesus Christ have already won. God allows us to go through our Christian walk, not to win the victory but to show off to the world, that He that’s in us is greater than he that’s in the world! [Tony Evans Bk. Of Illus., p. 337.]
D. THE WORD IS WORKING IN YOU
1. The Word of God is the most powerful thing in the universe. Heb. 4:12 says, “12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword...” But that Word Jesus made the universe. And that same Word is working inside of you to transform you into God’s image!
2. So don’t build your future around your past. Everything you’ve gone through - the battles, the afflictions, the tests, the setbacks, the strange trials, and abnormal hindrances that you’ve experienced -- is the enemy trying to slow you down, or God trying to speed you up! “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world” 1 Jn. 4:4.
3. Cooperate with God; pray, read your Bible, stay in church, witness about Jesus. Phip. 1:6 says, “He who BEGAN a good work in you will carry it on to COMPLETION until the day of Christ Jesus!” PTL!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. Rev. Billy was speaking at a conference and had to rent a car at the airport. He rented the smallest car they had.
2. The lady at the car rental desk asked if I'd like a free upgrade. I answered, "Nah. I'm five feet tall. What would I do with extra leg room?” She smiled a knowing smile & handed me some keys.
3. I made my way out to the lot & found my numbered spot, but in the place where my little car was supposed to be, there sat the biggest Lincoln I've ever seen.
4. I wondered if the lady had given me the upgrade or if I was at the wrong spot. The key worked, so I put my luggage into a trunk big enough to hold a revival meeting.
5. I slid onto the leather seat and couldn't help but smile. I was sitting on a car seat that used to be a cow. I could see the cow in the Chick Filet ad trying to get me to, “Eat more chicken” & sit on chicken skins, not leather!
6. I loved the control panel: lights, knobs, buttons and digital gages. I felt like the Captain of the Starship Enterprise. I finally put it in gear. “Engage.”
7. The funny thing was that I asked for "small;" I got big. Isn't that how God is? God forgives big. He loves big. He gives us life in the biggest way. It's a turbo-charged.
8. May we learn we can ask as big as we can think. He loves to answer BIG. I wonder what would have happened if I had asked "big" at the car rental place? Would I have gotten a TANK? (By Rhonda Rhea)
B. THE CALL: TURN ON THE SWITCH!
1. Most things that are powered by batteries have an on and off switch. If the batteries are included when an item is purchased, then it is ready to be used immediately.
2. However, it still must be activated by the switch. As Christians, our switch is faith. When we turn on our faith, we are able to access the power included in us. (Tony Evans #272)
3. Are you ready to turn on your faith? What do need from God today? Do you need salvation? Do you have a situation at home where you need God? Financial need? Let’s take it to God!
4. PRAYER
