The scripture reading for this morning is from Psalms 107. We're finishing up the second half, starting in verse 21 through verse 43, Psalm 107.

Oh, that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men and let them sacrifice the sacrifices of Thanksgiving and declared his work with rejoicing. They that go down to the sea in ships, they do business in great waters. These see the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep. For he commanded and raises the stormy wind, which lifted up waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven and they go down again to their depths. Their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro and stagger like a drunken man and are in their wits end. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then they are glad because they be quiet, so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.

Oh, that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men. Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders. He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the water springs into dry ground, a fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein. He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into water springs, and there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation. and sow the fields and plant vineyards which may yield fruits of increase. He blessed them also so that they are multiplied greatly and suffereth not their cattle to decrease. Again, they are minished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow. He poureth contempt upon princes and causeth them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way. Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction and maketh him families like a flock. The righteous shall see it and rejoice, and all iniquity shall stop her mouth. Whoso is wise and will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving kindness of the Lord.

May the Holy Spirit have understanding.

I don't know about you. I think I do. We seem to have a very common situation between you folks and myself. We know that we're sinners, and we know that there's a savior for sinners. As a sinner, it sure seems a blessing to my soul. Doesn't it to yours? to read about the conversions that God gives us in His Word, to read about conversions of a sinner by God's all-powerful grace, conversions that sinners have nothing to do with, yet God comes to them and gives them eternal life right where they are. I can relate to that. Can't most of you as well? Can you remember the time when the Lord spoke to you for the first time through the preaching of His Word? Do you remember how, when the pastor was bringing us through a passage of Scripture, where it plainly sets forth? Where there's no argument, where there's no discussion, where it's just as plain as the nose on our face. that God saved this person by His grace and His grace alone.

I can relate to that. I know that I was once, I was blind, do you? I know that I'm weak in the flesh and if God was to take His sovereign, merciful, loving hand off of me, I would begin to sink just like Peter. I know that in me, in this flesh, there is no good thing. That's something that God needs to bring to each and every one of us. It's called bringing us down. Bringing us down off of that pedestal that we all had ourselves on at one time. I'm not such a bad guy. I haven't killed anybody. I haven't done this. Oh yeah, I've done this, but I haven't done that.

To see the stories of God's converting grace that are given to us in the pages of Holy Scripture is a great blessing. We should read them often, study them with care, and ask God the Holy Spirit to teach us the wonders of His grace.

When we read about the conversions of the Samaritan woman in John chapter 4, The conversion of Paul, Saul, of Tarsus in Acts 9, or the conversion of the one called Onesimus in the book of Philemon. Do we not find our hearts saying, that is what the Lord has done for me as well?

When we read about Paul and the Lord causing him to be blind for three days, blind with scales over His eyes, closing His eyes from the things of the world that He had walked in for so long. The self-righteousness that He believed was His for so long. The brightness of God's glory in His Son, the Lord Jesus, blinding Him. Do we not see that as how the Lord may have converted us as well?

In Luke chapter 19, we read the story of Zacchaeus and his conversion by the Lord Jesus Christ. Would you join me in Luke 19 beginning at verse 1?

And Jesus entered and passed. He entered into, and then passed right on through, Jericho. And behold, there was a man named Achias, which was a chief among the publicans, tax collectors. And he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus, who he was, and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him, saw Zacchaeus, and he said unto him, Zacchaeus.

Notice first, he called him by name. Here Zacchaeus is up in a tree. Now you've got to think about this. He's above all the people. He's up above all the people. Remember how we were at one time? We weren't as bad as that other guy. We weren't as bad as those people over there. We had a pretty high thought of ourselves, did we not?

I'm pointing this out because I want you to understand that this is a picture of the Lord calling each and every one of His people to come down. He says, Zacchaeus, make haste. Don't waste time. Do it now, come down, for today I must abide at thy house.

Now, we'll come back to the next verses in just a moment. I wanna talk a little bit about this calling. He calls us by name. Folks, the calling of God is a personal call. There's a general call that goes out to everybody, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. But it also says you can't. It's against our nature.

The nature we come into this world with is enmity. It's the complete opposite of God. We come into this world dead and spiritually dead. And here our Lord says, Zacchaeus. He says, Juan Dean. He says, Mike Lester. He says, all the names of his people, come down. Come down off of that self-righteousness that you have lived in all of your life. Come down in that pride that has built you up and puffed you up for all the time that you've walked this earth.

For before me, he says to you and I, you're nothing. You're nothing but a worm, deserving of my wrath. You've sinned against me. And sinning against God is death. Zacchaeus, make haste. Don't waste any time. Hurry. Don't go back to your housetop to get whatever you may have left on your housetop. Don't go back into your home to get your clothes. Leave. Run now for the hills. Run from that high place that has always been in your life to Jesus Christ. Come down. Come down to me. And then he tells him why. must. Isn't that wonderful? Christ must dwell in his house, in Zacchaeus' house today.

Remember the story of the woman at the well? She was a Samaritan, a dog to the Jews, not even worthy to show up at the well during the regular hours when all the other women came to the well to collect water. She had to go there when they weren't there, because she was looked down upon. And it says, the Lord must go through Samaritan. Samaritan. Why? One of his chosen. was there that day. He says to Zacchaeus, I must abide. That word means dwell. That means have fellowship with. I must abide at. Thy house.

You know, when the scriptures speak of house, it's speaking of a picture, a picture of where we dwell. Where do we dwell? Where's our most inner, most being? It's in our heart. That old heart that we came into this world with shook our fist and we said we would not have that God, the very God who rules over all things, rule over us, had to be cut away and a new heart be given to us, a new place to dwell. Christ doesn't dwell in old stony rocks. He is the rock of salvation. I must dwell. I must abide at thy house.

Now look what He does next in verse 6. And He made haste. He didn't waste time. He was like the disciples. Remember when the disciples were fishing along the seashore? And the Lord walked by and He said, Come, follow Me. What did they do? They followed Him. When the Lord spoke to John Reeves, sitting over here in this pew, He said, come! And what did John Reeves do? He came! I didn't know what I was doing, but I did! When the Lord speaks to His people, He speaks with power. It's not that general call that goes out into all the world, that leaves the whole world without excuse. It's the personal inward call, the new heart that He speaks to, the new heart that He gives to His people that says, I love Him because He first loved me. The new heart that says, I will. Not the old heart, but the new one that says, I will because in the day of His power and the day of His love, He made me.

He made haste, and he came down, and he received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they murmured, saying that he was gone to be a guest with a man that is a sinner. If I could portray anything to the world, Mike, it's this, that I am a sinner and unworthy of God's love, but yet He loved me despite me. Oh, the Lord Jesus is gone to spend time with a sinner. Aren't you thankful He does? He doesn't come to save the righteous. He comes to save sinners. What a wonderful thing to say about this one called Zacchaeus.

Verse 8, And Zacchaeus stood and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation. Come to this house. That's my title for this morning's message. Salvation came to this house. For as much as he also is a son of Abraham, for the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost.

The key to the understanding of this whole story that we've just read here is in verses 9 and 10 right there. This day is salvation come to this house. Our Savior tells us that salvation came to His house because He's also the Son of Abraham. Who are the sons and daughters of Abraham? They are the sons of promise. They're not sons and daughters of Abraham because of what they've done, or because of their blood, or because they can purchase it, or for any other reason. It's because they are sons and daughters of the promise of God. That's what Abraham is a picture of. The promise of God. The whole idea of Abraham having a son was based on that promise. In fact, to prove that, God held back His hand of mercy upon Sarah until she was way past the age of having children. That's what that whole story is about. To show you and I that His power of promises shall come to be.

He says, all that the Father giveth me, Roger, shall come to me. That's a promise that He makes. We can see those promises, sure, and amen and amen in our Father Abraham. He was saved by the omnipotent grace because the Lord Jesus came down to seek and to save that which was lost, as we read there at the end of verse 10. And our blessed Savior never changes. What He did for Zacchaeus, He still does for sinners today. Isn't that wonderful? I have such hope for my two children that display no desire for God that if they belong to Him, He will not lose them. Just as He came to me in my 40th year and shined His light in my heart, if they belong to Him, He will not let them go without doing that.

Salvation comes to chosen sinners because the purpose of God according to the election is sure. As I told you before, salvation came to Zacchaeus because he was the son of Abraham. He may or may not have been a Jew outwardly. We don't know for sure. We're not told. Many of the publicans were Jews. But there were also many who were Gentiles as well. Publicans were tax collectors. And the Jews especially hated the Jewish tax collectors, those who were of the Jewish blood, who went over to the other side. They especially hated them because they were traitors against the Jews. But all the publicans collected taxes. We pay taxes, don't we? I don't know of anybody who likes to pay taxes. I've never met anybody who says, let me pay more. I've met a lot of people who say, I think you should pay more. But I've never met anybody who said, here, I'm not giving enough. Let me give some more.

This publican, I know this, was a child of promise. Listen to these words from Galatians 4.28. Now we brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. That's God's Word. We're sons and daughters of Abraham as children of the promise. He belonged to Christ. He was an heir of the promise because he was numbered among Abraham's spiritual seed. Listen to Galatians 3.29. If you belong to the Lord Jesus, if He has died for your sins, if He is your substitute to stand before God in purity and perfection, then you too are of the seed of Abraham. That's what that's talking about there in Galatians 3.

He was by nature a wicked man full of sin, yet in Romans 3.23 the Lord gives us such hope for all of sin and comes short of the glory of God. And like you and I, he was a sinner by birth, a sinner by nature, a sinner by choice, a sinner by practice, but he was distinguished from all others in that crowd that day by God's distinguishing grace. The Lord called because God had from the beginning chosen him to salvation. That's what we read in Romans 8 verse 30, isn't it? Here, let me quote it for you. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, Then he also called. This is talking about the one that the Lord Jesus called by name. Zacchaeus, come down! Then he also called, and whom he called, then he also justified, and whom he justified, then he also glorified. We have before us in the conversion of Zacchaeus another display of God's marvelous predetermined grace.

Yes, Zacchaeus sought to see Jesus in who he was. He was curious to see a man about whom so much commotion was going throughout the streets about. Remember, he had saved a blind man by the name of Barnimaeus. Remember, he had saved a woman from this town of Jericho many years before by the name of Rahab. What was all the commotion? Zacchaeus was not the one who caused the commotion. It was Christ Himself who brought that commotion about. It was Christ Himself who raised the curiosity in Zacchaeus' mind. He sought to see the Lord long had come for Him to call, Zacchaeus.

Listen to John chapter 4 verse 3-4. It says, He left Judea and departed again into Galilee and He must needs go through Samaria. That's the Word of our Savior. He had to go by that. Everything God did was for purpose. He didn't do anything by accident. He didn't do anything just off, well, maybe I'll go this way, well, maybe I'll go that way. He had a purpose for every step he took in this world. This was the day that was appointed from all eternity for the salvation for this one called Zacchaeus. That's what we read there in verse 5. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw Zacchaeus.

Don Fortner wrote this, he said, oh how precious is the realization of God's prevenient grace when it is revealed to us by His Spirit. That which the world cannot see, the Spirit taught souls see as a huge volume read by His enlightened eyes telling the story of God's secret operations of grace just for them. The many wondrous works of God's prevenient grace perform for us are those things that ultimately bring us to Christ and keep us to Christ. As Jude puts it, we were sanctified by God the Father, preserved in Jesus Christ, and called. Therefore, mercy, peace, and love have been multiplied to us all the days of our lives. were called. Goodness and mercy have followed us all the days of our lives.

Have you ever stopped to look back over your life after the Lord called you out of darkness? Have you ever stopped to think about all those times He brought you through something and you didn't even know it? Bill and Sylva and I have spoken many a times together over the years about that very thing. We both had a lot of things that we could share with each other before the Lord called us out of darkness. I remember when the Lord kept me from killing myself when I had stolen my mom's car. There, that's all I'm going to tell you. I would just about bet that each of every one of you have a story similar to say about that. and know Him.

Listen to these words. Listen to these words of how the Lord keeps His people. In Ephesians 1, verses 3-7, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places, in Christ. According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him, in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself. according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved, in whom we have redemption through His blood and forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. Another familiar verse, Romans 8.28-30, and we know that all things work together for the good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose. What was Zacchaeus being called to? He was being called to God's purpose. What was the purpose of God? We know that the will of God is that the Son of God would lose nothing. Thank you. I was waiting. I just opened the door. I knew His people would step right through and answer that question. What was He here to do but to get, to earn, to take all that the Father had given Him?

For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom He did predestinate, them He also called, and whom He called, them He also justified, and whom He justified, them He also glorified.

" Listen to Romans 11, verses 33-36. Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out. For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been His counselor? Or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto Him again? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Zacchaeus. was in this place just as you and I were in this place that God put us the first time we heard the gospel. He was at this place at the time because the Lord planted him there. The Lord planted that very sycamore tree just outside of Jericho for Zacchaeus and he sent him up that tree that day to see him that the Lord might say these exact words, Zacchaeus come down. Because He was coming there to save him. Because the Lord wanted His conversion to be as it were a public spectacle. He didn't do it in private like He did with me sitting in the post over here, or maybe you. He did it publicly so that you and I could see it recorded by the apostles. That we could relate to God's Word. That we could see how the Lord did these very things in our own lives.

Our Lord said in His Word in Luke 19 verse 5, And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, come down, for today I must abide at thy house. And what did Zacchaeus do? He made haste. And he came down, and he received him joyfully. It's irresistible grace. How can we resist grace and shine into this new heart when we see what we have earned before God and what we deserve before a holy God as we sang in our opening hymn and Bible study, holy, holy, holy.

Our Lord did so because God's significant grace is irresistible. He who said, today I must abide in your house, must do so. If any sinner comes to Christ and believes on the Lord Jesus Christ and to everlasting life, he does so because God has drawn him to Christ by the effectual power and irresistible grace of His Spirit. True faith is the result, not the cause, of divine grace. Saving faith is created in a person's heart by the Almighty, the Almighty Sovereign. It's His operation, the Holy Spirit, in omnipotent saving grace.

Listen to Ephesians 1, verses 17-19. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you, This takes it right out of our hands, folks. It takes everything out of our hands and it puts it in the hands of our Savior, that the God of our Savior, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. Did you catch that? What does He give to His people? He gives us the knowledge of His Son. He gives us the knowledge of Christ, who He is, what He's done, and where He is now, and His salvation to His people. In other words, plainly, simply put, Christ and Him crucified. The more we study about Christ and Him crucified, the more we Let me go on with that, with the rest of that.

After saying about the knowledge and the wisdom of Christ, he says that the eyes of your understanding, being enlightened... Folks, we can't know anything about Christ if the Spirit doesn't reveal it to us. And the Spirit does not speak of Himself, He speaks of Christ as we've seen in recent messages.

that the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance and His saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us who believe according to the working of His mighty power. Do you see that? Listen to the words of Colossians 2 verse 12,

Yet this is not true, isn't it, about all men? See, this is why grace is so precious to God's people. We know that we would not could not seek Him if He had not sought us first. Look back, we're just one page to Luke chapter 18, if you would. And look with me, if you would, beginning at verse 18. This is just before our Lord must go to Zacchaeus' house. Listen to the words that He shows us here in verse 18 of Luke 18.

And a certain ruler asked Him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit the eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, why callest thou me good? None is good save one, that is God. Thou knowest the commandments. Do not commit adultery. Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Honor thy father and thy mother. And he, this master, this rich ruler, said, all these have I kept from my youth. Notice the difference? Now when Jesus heard this, these things, he saith unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing, sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me.

Not quite the same words that he said to Zacchaeus, is it? Zacchaeus didn't give him any things about what shall I do that must be saved. He came down with faith. The Lord told him to come down, he came down. Yet this man, when asked what must I do, the Lord tells him, he says, I've done that. You know, I have no doubt that he did. Seeing as the Lord didn't rebuke him for that, he said, yet there is one thing that thou lackest, and he adds one more thing to it. Verse 23, and when he heard this, he was very sorrowful, for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, how hardly shall they that have riches enter the kingdom of God, for it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they that heard it said, who then can be saved? Look at this next verse. Look at verse 27 with me and understand. May God give you the enlightenment to understand this.

And he said, the things which are impossible with men are possible with God. Two rich men! Isn't that what we read about Zacchaeus? He was a rich man. Two rich men, yet two different scenarios. Two complete, different outcomes. One grace. Why is this so important? Why is it so important?

To God's people, we bank everything on this. God is gracious and saves and has mercy upon whom he will have mercy. Every time. I have an opportunity, I pray I can stand before people of God and say this, grace, grace, grace, grace, because that's what I wanted to hear. All the years that I sat in the pews under the listening of the gospel, if I determined it was the gospel, it was always grace, grace, grace.

Faith, belief of the truth is not something we can purchase, not something we can learn of men, it is a gift of God, as it says in Ephesians 2 verse 8, we are saved by grace through faith. This creation of faith in the heart by which a person is drawn to Christ is what we call effectual calling or irresistible grace. The effectual calling of the Holy Spirit is that sovereign, gracious, irresistible work and operation of God, the Holy Spirit, which changes a man's heart and will cause him to come to Christ and be saved.

The effectual calling is the tender influence, overpowering love, compelling grace, and irresistible power of God, the Holy Spirit, which causes For Christ must dwell in this house. Look over at John chapter 10. Turn over to John chapter 10. Oh, went the wrong way. You know, if you go the wrong way, you can't find it. Another familiar story. Look at verse 22.

But I want you to understand there are two We've been looking at Matthew. We've been studying the book of Matthew for the last several weeks, actually, year. And we've just come through that part where the Lord in the end times will be separating the goats from the sheep. The sheep will be on His right, the goats will be on His left. Look at what it says here in John 10, verse 22. And it was at Jerusalem, the Feast of the Dedication, and it was winter, and Jesus walked in the Temple of Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews round about Him and said unto Him, How long dost Thou make us to doubt? If Thou be the Christ, tell us plainly."

Now look at this. Look at these words carefully. Jesus answered, He says, I told you, folks, we could be this very camp right here. This could be the camp that you and I are walking in. We walked in it for some time in this world already. How long do you cause us to doubt, O Lord? Tell us plainly." And he says, I told you, and ye believed not. In fact, the works that I do in my Father's name, it bears witness of me. How many times have we read God's word where it says only God can commit such a miracle? Men would look at it and say, he must be God. He must be God in the flesh. No other man has ever done such a thing. No other man has sat on top of a hill and fed 5,000 people and 5,000 men and their wives and their children with two small baskets of food. But ye believe not, he says. Verse 26, because ye are not of my sheep.

And then here's what blesses me so much. Here's the grace of God. Here's the grace of God just magnified above all things. Verse 27, my sheep hear my voice. Zacchaeus was a vessel of mercy. He was a sheep, not a goat. chosen from before the foundation of the world. I ask you this this morning. Do you know anything of the love of God and His calls of our omnipotent Savior? If you belong to Him, it's impossible not to know them. The soul that hears the voice of the Son of God, though he never heard it before, knows the sweet sound of the Shepherd's voice. When the Savior speaks to a sinner dead in trespasses and sin, he speaks with a loud voice that cannot be ignored.

Look over at John 11, verse 43. The very voice that the Lord used to call Zacchaeus. The very voice that the Lord used to call John Reeve. The very voice that He uses to call each and every one of His people. Verse 43, And when He thus had spoken, He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. What a powerful voice that cannot be resisted. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters, it says. The God of glory, I need the Lord, is upon many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful. The voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord bringeth the cedars. Yea, the voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. He maketh them also to skip like a cow. Lebanon and Syria, unlike a young unicorn, the voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire. This is Psalms 29, verses 3-11.

Yet that loud voice, that voice that echoed out in your mind when the Lord called you out of darkness as He did with Zacchaeus, it can still be a small voice as it is spoken of in 1 Kings 19. Elijah had heard but a small voice at the mouth of the cave. It's a sweet, loving voice. a winning voice to open the heart as spoken in Solomon's love letter to his bride. Psalm of Solomon 5-2. And it's a personal voice that is known by the wine he's called. Isn't that what he says? My sheep hear my voice.

has salvation come to your house. If Christ has called you as He has Zacchaeus, with the power of the Holy Spirit, with the purpose of His life, the Gospel, then this table that we're about to come to is for you.