Alright, if you would, open your
Bibles to Luke chapter 19. Luke chapter 19. We read the
end there of chapter 18. We saw the Lord's on his way
to Jerusalem. He's going to suffer and die.
And on his way to the cross, he passes through this city of
Jericho because he's got a lost sheep there. Just like he must
needs go through Samaria, he must needs go through Jericho.
And as he passes through, he's going to demonstrate to us the
kind of people that he's going to go suffer and to die for.
And what I want us to look at tonight is this subject, the
call of grace. Now, every one of us here is
very familiar with this passage of scripture. I cannot remember
not knowing the words to the song about Zacchaeus. He's a
wee little man, a wee little man was he. I can't remember
not knowing that this story. As I've studied this this week,
I've learned new things and been blessed by new things I never
saw before. So just because this is a familiar
passage of scripture, don't take it for granted. Let's see if
the Lord might be pleased to teach us something here. So Luke
chapter 19. 1 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2
And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief
among the publicans, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see
Jesus, who he was, and could not for the press, because he
was little in stature. 4 And he ran before and climbed
up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that
way. 5 And when Jesus came to the
place, he looked up and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus,
make haste and come down, for today I must abide at thy house.'
And he made haste and came down, and received him joyfully. And
when they saw it, they all murmured, saying that he was gone to be
guessed with a man that is a sinner. 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, forasmuch as he also is
a son of Abraham. For the son of man is come to
seek and to save that which was lost." Now the first thing I
want us to see about this call of grace, the call of grace is
a gracious call. A gracious call to a sinner. The Lord Jesus came to Jericho
and we read earlier Before he entered the city, there sat blind
Bartimaeus by the wayside, outside the city, begging. The Lord healed
him, had mercy on him, gave him his sight. In verse 1, Jesus
entered and passed through Jericho. He entered and passed through. Now, this is a pretty sizable
city, and our Lord passed through. It's not recorded that he had
any dealing with anyone else in that city. It's not recorded
he had mercy on anyone else in that city. He passed through. Passed every one of them by.
But now Zacchaeus lives in this city. And he had a desire to
see the Lord. But he was so sure. He knew he'd
never see the Lord because of the crowd that was sure to be
around him. He couldn't see over them all. And isn't that a picture
of us sinners? We're too short. We are too short. We cannot see God. We've sinned
and come short of the glory of God. It's impossible for us to
see God. We're too short. It's an impossibility. But Zaki is still desired to
see the Lord. So he went out of town. He knew
the road that the Lord should be traveling on. And he went
out out there on that road. He found him a sycamore tree.
He climbed up in it. So that when the Lord passed
by, he could see over the crowd, he'd be able to see the Lord.
Now, where do you think that desire came from? What made Zacchaeus
go to all this trouble to get out there? Here's this rich man
out there climbing a tree like a little boy to see the Lord.
What brought all this to him? It's the call of grace. The call
of grace is a gracious call. What Zacchaeus has right now
is pervenient grace, grace which goes before. Zacchaeus sought
to see Jesus, who he was. It doesn't just say he wanted
to see him. He sought to see Jesus, who he was. If you'll
find that out, if you'll seek Jesus to find out who he is,
if you find that out, you'll find salvation because Lord Jesus
is salvation. And this was on Zacchaeus' heart
because the Lord was already working on his heart. Zacchaeus was seeking the Lord
because the Lord had already begun seeking Zacchaeus. Now
that's gracious. The Lord of glory is already
seeking the sinful man, the chief publican. So Zacchaeus goes out
of town and what luck? He finds a tree in just the right
spot. Isn't that lucky? No, even the
location of that tree is pervenient grace. God Almighty planted that
tree in that spot for this purpose. He's going to save one of the
elect there. God put that there on purpose, on his purpose. Now, maybe someone here, and
I pray this is so, someone here tonight is like Zacchaeus. Everyone
who's here is here on purpose. You're not here accidentally.
You didn't just stumble in here. God's arranged for you to be
here tonight to hear the gospel as he passes by in the preaching
of his gospel. It's no accident. But maybe someone
here seeking the Lord. And maybe could be the Lord's
getting ready to cross your path so that you see he's going to
reveal himself to you. So you see, if so, the Lord's
going to call you. The same way he called Zacchaeus
right here, so that's why it's important for us to pay attention.
Every one of God's people he calls, he calls just like he
called Zacchaeus. Now you know this story well.
The Lord came out of town and he came right to the spot where
Zacchaeus was sitting in that tree and he called Zacchaeus. The Lord didn't call one other
person from this city of Jericho, but he called Zacchaeus. Who is this man? He's the chief
publican. The publicans were Jews who collected
taxes for the Romans, and typically they cheated people, you know,
when they collected those taxes. Zacchaeus is the worst guy in
town. Everybody in this town knows
this man is a sinner. He cheated honest, hardworking
people by overtaxing them and skimming off the top for himself.
Everybody knows this man is a sinner. People in this day put a publican
on the same moral plane as they put a harlot. This man is the
chief publican, the chief harlot. He's the worst of the worst.
And when our Lord goes to his house, they say, they all murmured
in verse seven, he's going to be desked with a man that's a
sinner. That's how they identify Zacchaeus.
He's a sinner. The fact that the Lord would
be guest with the man that's a sinner, the fact that our Lord
receives sinners and eats with them, makes these self-righteous
religious people angry. But that's a great comfort to
a sinner, isn't it? Oh, the Lord's got to be guest with the man
that's a sinner, who's sinful just like I am. That gives comfort
to a sinner who needs grace. And this is exactly who the Lord
always calls. He calls the lowest of the low. He calls sinners. Zacchaeus was
the most unlikely candidate in that town for mercy. That's the
one the Lord always calls. The one who's the most unlikely.
Why did the Lord call Zacchaeus? Because verse 10, the Son of
Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. Zacchaeus,
like all of us, is lost. Lost in sin, lost in shame, and
if he's going to be saved, it must be by grace. Salvation is
by grace. If there is anyone who was sought
and saved without having done anything to deserve it, it's
Zacchaeus and the thief on the cross. But that's who God saves. Those who are undeserving. He
saved both of those men. because of a gracious call. Secondly,
the call of grace is a personal call. Zacchaeus, you come down. The Lord came to the very spot
where Zacchaeus sat, and he looked up there in that tree, and Scripture
says he saw him. That wasn't the first time our
Lord saw Zacchaeus. Christ saw Zacchaeus in his Father's
eternal will. and purpose. He saw Zacchaeus
chosen in grace before the world began. He saw Zacchaeus lost
in Adam. He saw Zacchaeus up a tree and
called him by his grace. Later that day, he saw Zacchaeus
in a state of grace. And right now, he sees Zacchaeus
in glory because of this amazing, gracious call. And it's a personal
call. And you'll notice the Lord knew
exactly where to find Zacchaeus. Just like the Lord knew exactly
where he'd find that Samaritan woman at the well. When the Lord
went to call Matthew, he knew exactly where he'd be collecting
taxes. He saw Nathaniel. Before Nathaniel ever saw the
Lord, the Lord saw Nathaniel sitting under that tree. He knew
exactly where he was. When the Lord went to call Peter
and Andrew, He knew exactly where they'd be fishing. When he went
to call those sons of Zebedee, James and John, he knew exactly
where they'd be mending their nets. And he knew exactly where
Zacchaeus was sitting in this tree. He knows his sheep. The
Lord knows exactly where to find all of his sheep. His sheep are
lost. But now, he's not looking for
something he lost and doesn't know where to find it. You know,
I'm looking for my keys and I lost them and I don't know where they're
at. The sheep are the ones who are lost. They don't know where
they're at. They don't have any idea how
to get back to the shepherd. They're not lost to the Lord.
He knows where all of his lost sheep are, and he's going to
get every one of them. He's going to find and save every
last one of them, just like he found Zacchaeus. The Lord knew
where you were when he called you, didn't he? Aren't you thankful? Aren't you thankful? It wasn't
up to me to know where to find the Lord. He knew where to find
me. He came and got me where I was. Now there is such a thing as
a general call of the gospel. Everyone here tonight is hearing
a general call of the gospel. When you hear me preach, that's
a general call of the gospel. A commandment to come to Christ.
But now those of you who believe, you may have heard the gospel
many, many times. And then one day you heard One
day he saw the Lord Jesus Christ with the eye of faith. What happened? What was different that day than
all those other days? It was a personal call of grace. Roy, come down. Cecil, come down. Mike, come
down. It's a personal call of grace. The Savior called Zacchaeus by
name. He didn't just use a shotgun
approach, you know, scatter as much out there as you can, hoping
he might hit something. God uses an arrow of grace and
he hits the mark every time. The Lord didn't come to that
tree and cry, whosoever would like to be saved, you'll come
to me. He said, Zacchaeus, come down. Now, don't you bet Zacchaeus
was shocked. He'd never seen the Lord before.
He was seeking the Lord to see who he was. He didn't know who
he was. How did the Lord know his name? He had to be just shocked.
Of course he knew his name. Zacchaeus name was already written
in the Lamb's Book of Life. He put it there. Look over in
Isaiah 43. Of course he knew his name. Isaiah 43, verse 1. But now, thus saith the Lord
that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel,
fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy
name, and thou art mine. Zacchaeus was not a religious
man, I'm pretty confident of that, but could be. He had heard
these verses read, but it never dawned on him. that the Lord
would know his name. But he did. And the Lord called
him, a gracious call and a personal call. Third, the call of grace
is an urgent call. Zacchaeus, make haste and come
down. Make haste. A sinner is in grave
danger. And that danger requires that
sinner to make haste and come to Christ. It is dangerous to
delay, dangerous. Scripture says today if you will
hear his voice, harden not your heart. Exhort one another daily
while it's called today, lest any of you be hardened through
the deceitfulness of sin. In Acts 24, this is such a sad
story, Felix trembled at the preaching of the Apostle Paul.
Paul got done and this man trembled. But what did he say? Paul, go
your way for this time. And when I have a more convenient
season, I'll call for you. Tomorrow never came. Make haste. Make haste while the Lord's passing
by. The Lord never passed by that
tree again. Make haste. None of us are guaranteed
tomorrow. The Lord told that rich man in
the parable, thou fool, this night Thy soul shall be required
of thee. Make haste. Come to Christ now
and beg mercy for your sinful soul. The call of grace is an
urgent call. For the call of grace is a call
downward. Zacchaeus, make haste and come
down. Now isn't it amazing that empty,
vile sinners who get so puffed up with pride that we have to
be told to come down. We're already, you can't get
any lower than we are by nature. You'd think it would be natural
for a sinner to be, he's already down. But dead sinners have everything
upside down. And we've got to be commanded
to come down before God will ever call us up. The Lord must
strip us of our filthy rags before He'll ever clothe us in the righteousness
of His Son. God will never allow the righteousness
of His precious Holy Son to be mixed with our works, the filthy
rags of our righteousness. We've got to be strict of those
things before He'll ever clothe us in the righteousness of His
Son. The Lord must empty us. We must see ourselves as completely
empty of anything good before He will ever fill us with His
Son. The Lord must slay us. We've
got to die before He will ever give us eternal life. We must
come down. Now listen, you cannot climb
up to heaven. You can't do it. Not through
your good deeds, not through your church membership, not through
your good attendance, not through your knowledge of the Scriptures
and knowledge of doctrine. You can't climb to God through
those things. You must come down. Down, down,
down, down, down. I remember the first time Donny
Bell preached there at Williamsburg. Janice started laughing as soon
as I sat down. And those folks were shocked by Don Bell. He
came, I won't do this, I cannot be as demonstrative. He came
around from that podium and got down on his knee and started
slapping the floor. He said, you've got to come all
the way down to the rock bottom before that's where you find
mercy. God will never have mercy on anyone that's not all the
way down. If you think anyone is worse
than you, if I think anyone's worse than me, I've not come
down far enough yet. You've got to come down till
there's no one worse than me. I've got to come down till I
am the chief of sinners. That's a person who's a candidate
for grace. The call of grace is a call downward. All the way down. to what we
really are. Fifth, the call of grace is a
call from the king. That's a very different call
than the call that religion puts forth today. Today, so-called
preachers call on you to do something. Won't you let Jesus into your
heart? Won't you make Jesus the king of your life? Did the Savior
say anything like that? Look what he said here at the
end of verse five. You make haste and come down, for today I must
abide at thy house. I must. This is not optional. I must. Now, this is a picture
of the new birth. I must abide in your heart, in
you. How important is the new birth?
How important is it that Christ be formed in you? It's a necessity. I must abide at thy house." Now,
did the Lord just invite himself over to Zacchaeus' house? He
did, but more than that, he told Zacchaeus he's taking up residence,
not just in his house, but in his heart. And where the Lord
Jesus Christ takes up residence, brother, he rules. Now, he's
king, and he sits on the throne and rules as sovereign king.
Felix could tell the Apostle Paul, tomorrow, I'll call you
at a more convenient season. He wouldn't say that if God called
him. You can tell John and you can tell me and Dale and Eric,
you know, I'll listen to you tomorrow, next Sunday, next Wednesday.
You won't say later if God calls you. This is a call from the
King. It's not an invitation. It's
a commandment. You come down. I must abide at
thy house. And it's a good thing. It's a
good thing. Salvation is from the king. It comes from the king. He makes
his people willing in the day of his power and he comes in. He doesn't wait for you to invite
him into your heart. He comes in. He has a new heart
and he abides, never leaves. This is the call from the king.
Look what he says here in verse 9. And Jesus said unto him, This
day is salvation. Come to this house. Salvation
came to you, not because you wanted it or you deserved it.
Salvation didn't come to you because you decided to accept
Jesus. Salvation came to you in grace and power sent by God
to every one of his lost sheep. Every one of his lost sheep has
this call of grace from the king. This call is a commandment. Sixth,
the call of grace is an effectual call. It gets the job done. Look at verse six. And Zacchaeus
made haste and came down and received him joyfully. Wasacchius,
there was no debate about a more convenient season, was there?
This was the best season there was. He made haste and came down
to the Lord. This rebel had become an obedient
son and he obeyed quickly. And he received the Lord joyfully. Of course he did. What greater
joy could there be than the Lord to say, I must abide at your
house today? Zacchaeus' joy is not money,
it's not power, it's not influence. There is a new sheriff in town.
His joy now is the Lord Jesus Christ. Look back at chapter
15. This was Zacchaeus' joy. But you know there was joy in
heaven at this moment too. In chapter 15, look at verse
8. Either what woman, having ten
pieces of silver, If she lose one piece, does not light a candle
and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it.
And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors
together, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the peace
which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, There
is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner
that repented." There is joy in his heart, just like there
is joy in Zacchaeus' heart. There is joy in heaven. Here
is a sinner who repented at the call of grace. Seventh, the call of grace is
a life-changing, life-giving call. Look at verse 8. Zacchaeus
stood and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my
goods I give to the poor. If I have taken anything from
any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. If you've taken anything by false
accusation, if. You know he did. This is how
this man became rich. This man's a son of Jacob. He's
a cheat. But I love this. No one sat down
that afternoon and told Zacchaeus, now Zacchaeus, in order to be
saved, you've got to do this and you've got to do this and
you've got to do this. You've got to give this much, you've got to do this
much. Nobody told him that. He just willingly, from a willing
heart, Made this statement. I'm going to give half of my
goods to the poor. If I've wronged any man, I'll restore him fourfold.
Why did he make that statement? He had a new want to. Zacchaeus
never wanted to give away money before. He always wanted to hoard
it up. Now he's giving it away. What happened to Zacchaeus? Look
over 2 Corinthians 5. What happened to give this man
new desires, new loves? He's a new creature. That's what
happened to him. Second Corinthians 5 verse 17. Therefore, if any man be in Christ,
he's a new creature. He's a new creation. Old things
are passed away. Behold, all things are become
new. That's what happened to Zacchaeus.
He is born again. And now all things became new. He's got a new heart. He's got
a new love for the Lord, a new love for other people. He's a
new person. Now, Zacchaeus went to bed that
night with a much smaller bank account. But he went to bed that
night with riches untold. The Lord was abiding in him. Look over to chapter 18. We just
read this at the opening of the scripture, Luke 18. Verse 25. Our Lord says it's
easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for a rich
man to enter into the kingdom of God. It must be hard, but
it's not impossible because the call of grace is a life-giving,
life-changing call of grace. And Zacchaeus is saved. This
is not speculation on our part. Our Lord said so. Look here at
the end of verse 9. For as much as he also, salvation
has come to this house, for as much as he also is a son of Abraham. Of course, he's a son of Abraham.
Zachary has always been a Jew. He's always been a physical descendant
of Abraham. That's not what our Lord's saying.
He's been born again. Now he's a spiritual son of Abraham. He's a son by faith, the same
faith as Abraham. Now, in closing, let me ask you
this. Have you heard the call of grace? If you have, give thanks. Oh, give thanks. God, His mercy
and grace has made you a son of Abraham, just like He made
Zacchaeus a son of Abraham. Leave this place and go home
joyfully. God's blessed you beyond measure.
I don't know about your bank account, but I know if you have
Christ, you are exceedingly rich. See, wealth untold. And if you
haven't heard this call of grace, my advice to you is this. Find
you a sycamore tree where you can perch yourself and stay there
and see the Lord as He passes by. The people driving up and
down this road, this building might not look like much, I grant
you. But this place is a sycamore tree. that God Almighty passes
by every week when His gospel is preached. And if I was you,
and I hadn't heard this call of grace, I'd make it my business
to be where the Savior's preached. If not here, I'd find me another
place. I'd find me a sycamore tree,
and I'm telling you, there I'd perch and beg God to do to me
what He did to Zacchaeus. Right? Come down, make haste
and come down. Today, I must abide at your house. Could be he'd call you like he
calls Zacchaeus. And if he does, it's going to
be through the preaching of his gospel. It's going to be through
the preaching of his gospel. I'd make it my business to be
right here, wouldn't you? All right. I hope the Lord blessed
that too.