R1645 Finding Zacchaeus

God has an encouraging word for you and me today through the Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilton about the story of Zacchaeus.

Perhaps you've heard the story, even as a child, it's one of those wonderful stories of the Bible that talks about what it's like to pursue Jesus and then to have Jesus call you out in order to just be with you. We'll talk about that, we'll study that together with Dr. Don Wilton, our teacher here on The Encouraging Word, well-known pastor, author, seminary professor, and in these few moments I pray you just allow him to be your teacher. Again, Luke 19 is where we're headed and while we do so, take a look at our website. If you haven't been by lately, there's some wonderful resources there for you, especially the book with Dr. Charles Stanley about courageous faith and of course the latest book from Dr. Wilton as well on his time with Dr. Billy Graham, all at www.tewonline.org.

That's www.tewonline.org. And now Dr. Don Wilton. I want you to take your Bibles and turn with me to a most wonderful encounter in Luke chapter 19. I want to speak to you today on finding Zacchaeus. Finding Zacchaeus, we're going to be in Luke and the 19th chapter and I invite you to take your Bibles and to follow along with me. Needless to say, this is quite a remarkable story.

It's an encounter. We're in Luke chapter 19 and I'll begin reading at verse 1. The Bible says that Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus.

He was a chief tax collector and was very wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man, he could not because of the crowds. So he ran ahead and he climbed a sycamore fig tree in order to see Jesus since Jesus was coming that way. And 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. All the people saw this and they began to mutter saying, he's 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've cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount. Jesus said to him, Zacchaeus, 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 those who are lost.

May the Lord write that word upon our hearts. This story here is not a fable. Jesus didn't make up things.

He never had any need to do it. It's very interesting about the story of Zacchaeus because Zacchaeus and the encounter with Zacchaeus was the final stop that Jesus made outside of Jerusalem before he entered Jerusalem and would never leave again. He knew he was on mission.

He was headed to Jerusalem, the triumphal entry, and then all the events that led up to Jesus giving his life on the cross for people like Zacchaeus. So you can ask yourself a question if you knew that you were going to die in the next little while, and you had one more stop to make in your life. You had one more person to speak to. What would you say to them? Would you address the crowds? Would you be impressed by the numbers of people? Would you have somebody in mind? Would you? Would you be very focused?

Would you lazy? You'd think about your son, your daughter, or your husband, or your wife, that best friend, that neighbor. This is very significant. Why would Jesus have stopped in the desert in Jericho and this happened? And this was not the only thing. Matthew's gospel tells us that there were beggars there. Jesus encountered them. A lot went on, but essentially this issue of finding Zacchaeus connects with my heart and will connect with your heart.

Very, very much, and you're going to understand why. What happened here shows us how God brings a city, a desert, a tree, rich people, poor people, and one very unhappy searching man together to show how just one encounter with one Jesus can bring such happiness and such change. You're not listening today by accident.

Did you know that? God has positioned you. God's inviting you to get out of your tree right now. He wants to talk to you.

He wants to change your life, show you what real happiness is. This is not an accident today. God does this. This story here in the Bible is so riveting.

It happened because Jesus wanted it to happen. This is the story how God brings together a city, a town, a desert, a desert where there's nothing. A tree, one tree comes into the picture, rich people, poor people, and one very searching, seeking, unhappy, wealthy man together to meet Jesus. Back in Jesus' time, there was a huge population of very affluent, very affluent people. They really, they associated with King Herod and with government leaders, and they were in the upper, but they also had beggars everywhere. The streets were lined with people.

In fact, Matthew 20, 29 tells us about two of the blind beggars that Jesus encountered. And so right there in this town, in this city, we find a tree. One of our favorite stops when we go there is to stop at the sycamore tree. It's an amazing tree.

It's every child's dream because that's the kind of tree you want to build a tree house in. A lot of sycamore trees were planted in parks and in gardens. Probably one of their strengths is that they're very tolerant of wind. And a very interesting thing about a sycamore tree is they are very pollution tolerant trees. So they were very appropriate to line streets, which I know is something we don't commonly identify with, but the streets, especially back in the time of Jesus, and you still see that today, can become terrible places of litter. And back in their days when they didn't have proper plumbing and things, they were very polluted areas, the main streets of these towns like Jericho.

And they were very pollution tolerant, so they were ideal trees for shelter, for food. There was a lot of usages, and so into this comes Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus comes one man. What about him?

We could say a lot about Zacchaeus. He was obviously a very smart man. He had to be. Had a lot of savvy. He made an A in math and science. He was an economist.

He had to be. Listen, this man was appointed the chief tax collector for the Roman Empire in that region, which means you can also say he was a government ally. He was a government stooge, which meant he was seriously despised by the population. They didn't like him one bit. In fact, they despised him. He would have been an outcast because he worked for the Romans. Not only that, he took money from people, and there was a free flow.

He became very wealthy at the expense of taxes, unfair taxes, and the way that they went about it. He was hated. He was feared. People avoided him. He was shunned. So he was probably a very lonely man.

Most likely, he was very isolated even though he made a lot of money. In fact, the very system that he worked in encouraged the corruption of his trade. It was a corrupt system, and here comes Jesus. Into this Jesus, Jesus comes to town.

I love this story. All of a sudden, Jesus comes to town in the midst of the political strife, in the midst of the queries, in the midst of the divisions, in the midst of the loneliness, in the midst of the search, in the midst of all the feelings, in the midst of the desert, in the midst of the blowing winds, the heat waves, in the midst of the oppressive Roman government and Herod whom they hated, in the midst of all of these things, Jesus shows up, and he's showing up right now. He's speaking to you right now. He's just showed up. He's just come into your life. He's appearing before you. Maybe right there in the midst of your hangover, maybe in the midst of your addictions and your struggles, maybe in the midst of your hurt and your pain, maybe you're grieving, and he's showing up right there in the midst of your heavy heart. Please forgive the interruption. We'll be back in just a moment with the rest of today's message, Finding Zacchaeus. But as you were listening, as I was listening to Dr. Darn, I'm thinking about the times that I'm in that heavy heart.

Perhaps that's you right now. You need to know that we're here for you and would love to pray with you. We're connecting right now on our phone at 866-899-WORD.

Take a minute, jot that down, or store it in your cell. We're available 24 hours to pray at 866-899-9673 or online at www.tewonline.org. As a matter of fact, online at www.tewonline.org, you'll discover a number of great resources that will help you grow in your faith. The encouraging word is having a summer book sale. Book prices will start at $6.

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Thank you for listening today. Now back to today's great teaching on Finding Zacchaeus with Dr. Don Wilson. And Jesus shows up.

He suddenly walks into your town. And when Jesus came to town, essentially there were three reactions. First of all, the antagonist dreaded him. They hated him. And they were going to just prove their point just a short while later when the marauding mobs would have gone howling and screaming for the blood of Jesus. Even when given an opportunity to take a convicted terrorist and criminal like Barabbas, they said, uh-uh, let's go and kill Jesus, crucify him. That's what the mob said.

That's what they say. This is the world in which we live. That's who they, we don't want any part of this Jesus. You're right there, aren't you? You've been listening to the voices. You're listening to the blasphemy. You're watching it. You're watching the antagonism.

You're listening, you're seeing our government legislate one thing after another, trying to remove Jesus and God's word from everything that we hold dear. You're watching it. You're in it.

You're part of it. And Jesus suddenly shows up. Yes, the antagonists, they dreaded him all right. But the followers, uh-uh, they followed him. They knew he was there. They knew all about Jesus. They loved him and they followed him. But there was a third group. There were seekers. What did the seekers do?

Well, they climbed trees for him. You know, here's Zacchaeus. It's a lovely story. It really is. I've sat there many a time, even on our bus, looking out the window. It's like I, in my little mind, you know, I see Zacchaeus sitting up on one of those branches, and we know all the reasons there were a lot of people, and he was a man of a rather small stature, and he couldn't see through the crowds, and we get it. That's why I enjoy watching the Masters Golf Tournament on TV just as much as I do if someone invites me to go.

In fact, I seem to see it better on television because I'm just so incredibly tall and of great stature. We get it. We understand this man. So what happened to Zacchaeus? What happened? Well, here's a few things. First of all, Jesus found him.

Now, just think about this for a minute. A lot of people and a lot of people, Bible tells us there were crowds. I mean, there were lots of people. Jesus found Zacchaeus.

Do you know that's what he does? Do you feel a little lost in the crowd sometimes? Maybe today you feel as though he's, like, forgotten where you are. Maybe you've gone through something. Maybe you've lost your marriage. Maybe you've lost your life.

Maybe you feel diminished. Jesus found him. God is the great initiator. Do you know that he knows exactly where we are? He's sovereign in all his ways. He sees you. He's been watching you all the time.

He hasn't lost sight of you. Jesus found Zacchaeus. The second thing that happened was Jesus called out to him.

I love that. You know, I love that part in the Bible there in verse 5. When Jesus looked up, there's so much that we could say.

He looked up into the tree. You know, forgive me, folks. I'm just reading. I bet old Zacchaeus nearly had a heart attack right up there. Right? You think he was little. You know, I've seen Jesus stopping in the crowd, and there's Zacchaeus with all the stuff up. You know, he knows the crowd. He wants to be out of it. He's not too sure about anything. Jesus stops and says, excuse me. Hey, Zacchaeus.

Kapunk. Right? He's watching you, isn't he? You know, how do you describe when God calls your name?

I wish I could tell you what that sounds like or what that looks like, but I don't really because that's the work of the Holy Spirit. You know he's knocking at your heart's door, isn't he? And this man with all that he had, you know, back there in his own private residence, he was probably just as comfortable as he ever had everything. Probably many times, you see, you know, I don't care about anybody else. I'm okay, but he wasn't. Jesus called out to him, but there's a third thing that happened here. Jesus not only found him and called out to him, but I really want you to get a hold of this. Jesus repositioned him. I'm going to invite you to do business with God right now.

Seems to me somewhat interesting and very important. God's speaking to me about this. The Lord Jesus looked up. I say to myself, could Jesus have done everything that needed to be done right there on this? Absolutely. I mean, could Jesus have climbed up the tree and talked him up? Absolutely, but he didn't. He repositioned him.

He said, Zacchaeus, get out of that tree. Come down. In fact, don't only come down, go to your home.

I'll meet you there. He repositioned him. Do you need to be repositioned? Is God telling you to reposition yourself first?

Maybe today you're looking at me and you are living with someone who is not your wife or your husband. And God says it's wrong. It's sin. And Jesus has just told you to reposition yourself. Get out of your tree.

Stop doing what you're doing and watch what happens. So what he did to Zacchaeus, do you know, my friends, that God teaches us that we are to meet God on God's terms? Not God meet us on our terms.

We, because we're human beings, we tend to say, you know what, I'll tell you what I'll do. You climb up my tree and meet me where I am, I'll do business with you. God says, uh-uh, we're gonna do it my way.

Friend, I want to encourage you today. I just want to encourage you to just get out of your tree. Sometimes we climb up trees with the intended purpose of seeing Jesus, but that's not where he says we'll meet him. It's what we determine to do.

It's not what he tells us to do. And you'll go through life sitting up your tree. But until you come down and meet Jesus on his terms, your life won't change. You know, you can carry that analogy into a lot of things in life.

It's hard for us, hard for me, it's hard for you, because we are people of not only habit, but most of us, could we be honest with each other? Most of us say, listen, this is what I think, as far as I'm concerned. I don't think Jesus is, I don't see Jesus standing in the street looking up into the tree condemning Zacchaeus, not for a minute. But in order for Zacchaeus to be totally changed and to receive the salvation of the law for him, he had to get out of that tree.

Again, I'm reading into this, and I beg my pardon, I don't intend to do that. If Zacchaeus maybe, like us, had said, now wait a minute, Lord, you don't know who I am. God would have said, I know exactly who you are. In fact, in many ways, I think Jesus was being very kind to this man. He took him into his own home, into the sanctity of his own home. He actually took him away from the very crowds that despised him.

I wish that I could have heard the whole conversation. I do know this, Jesus found him, and Jesus called out to him, and Jesus repositioned him, and then Jesus changed him. He said, today, you've received salvation, you've met me. And as a result of that, everything about this man changed. I don't think he lost anything.

I think he gained everything. So I'm gonna just ask you four personal questions. Can I do this? I'm gonna ask you four personal questions. Here's question number one, are you seeking? Are you perhaps looking? You're still engaged in that argument. Are you still putting your superior knowledge up against Jesus? Are you still determined to plow your own field, go your own way? You know better than that.

You know better. Stop it because you're seeking. Are you seeking? You answer that before the Lord. Here's question number two, are you up a tree?

I don't know how else to ask that. Are you sitting in a tree? Can you define your tree right now?

You can. And up that tree is not where Jesus wants you. We are a strong willed people, folks. America today, we are determined to show each other just how right I am. Jesus said, get out of your tree. Are you up a tree? Number three, are you willing to come down to where Jesus wants you to be? Number four, are you ready to say yes? Would you bow your heads with me today? As Dr. Don instructs that, maybe you're at a place where you can bow your head and begin to take in what God has taught through his servant, Dr. Don Wilton, today in the Word of God. But I also pray that you'd open your heart to what Dr. Don wants to share with you next. You know, I love this opportunity to be able to share with you like this. And I want to thank you for tuning in and for listening. God is speaking, isn't he?

Even in our day and age today. And he sees you and he loves you. Jesus died for you. So I'm going to ask that question. Are you ready to give your life to Christ? Do it right now.

I'd love to be able to help you. No prayer can save you, but God can. You pray this prayer. Make it your own prayer. Dear God, I know Jesus died on a cross for me.

I believe. I accept what you say and I'm hearing you speak to me. Today, I repent of my sin and by faith, I receive you into my heart. In Jesus' name. Isn't that amazing? You know what? God has just heard your prayer and because of Jesus, you now, my friend, are saved. Your name is being written in God's book in heaven.

Isn't that fantastic? So here's what I'm going to ask you to do. You can visit me. Visit us at TEWonline.org.

TEWonline.org. Here's another one. You might want to write it down and make note. You can call us at 866-899-9673. Listen, people tell me numbers all the time and I can't write them down quick enough. So here it is again.

866-899-9673. I'd love to hear from you. We're on standby. We're there for you. We're part of the same family. God bless you, my friend. Perhaps you were praying along with Dr. Wilton moments ago to give your life to Christ or rededicate your life to Jesus. We are so excited for the way God is working through the encouraging word. For some of you, it's welcome to the family.

For some of you, it's welcome home. Either way, Dr. Don has prepared wonderful resources he wants you to have absolutely free if you'll give us a call at 866-899-WORD. Now that number is 866-899-9673. Jot it down.

Store it in your cell. It's not only good right now during the broadcast, but 24 hours a day, it'll connect you with one of us happy to talk or listen or pray or connect you with things like those free resources Dr. Don wants you to have. 866-899-9673. And before we get away, I pray you'll drop by our website. It's www.tewonline.org. A perfect place to sign up for the daily devotional from Dr. Wilton, also a place to connect with resources that'll help you grow in your faith, and you'll discover more about who we are at The Encouraging Word. We would love to connect with you.