Is not that I did choose thee? Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nyberg. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
9.45 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com.
Now here's our pastor, Todd Nibert. I'm speaking from Luke chapter
19 on the story of Zacchaeus, and I've entitled this message,
The Intention of Christ. Now let me read verse 10, the
end of the story of Zacchaeus. The Lord said, For the Son of
Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Now here
the Lord identifies his intention in coming. He said, I've come
to seek and to save that which was lost. Now, if I would understand
what Christ did, I must understand what his intentions were to do. You see, his intentions are utterly
unique because whatever he intends to do, he does. We have many
intentions and it could be that none of them come to pass. But
whatever the Lord intends to do, that's precisely what he
does. So we can learn what Christ actually
has done by understanding what he intends to do And he says,
here are my intentions. I have come to seek and to save
that which was lost. Now, this was the conclusion
of this story concerning Zacchaeus. In verse 1, we read, And Jesus
entered and passed through Jericho. And behold, there was a man named
Zacchaeus, the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. Now a publican was a Jew. employed by the Roman government
to collect taxes from the Jews. And they would overcharge the
Jews, and they had thugs that made sure they got their money.
I guess it was kind of like being in the mafia. And they would
overcharge the Jews to get money from them. And this man was very
rich through his unjust ways. And you can bet he was probably
the most despised man in all of Jericho. When the scripture
speaks of publicans and sinners as the worst people around, publicans
are named first. This man was a publican, a very
wicked man, a very unjust man who was very rich at the expense
of others through unjust means. So you can imagine what people
thought about this man, Zacchaeus. Now, we read in verse 3 that
this man sought to see Jesus who he was. Now, I don't know
if this was just curiosity only. But at any rate, he wanted to
know who Jesus of Nazareth really was. No doubt he'd heard many
things about him. He'd heard of the miracles he
performed and the mighty acts that he did, and he wanted to
know who he was, and he heard he was to pass that way. So we
read He sought to see Jesus, who he was, and could not for
the press, the crowd. There was a great crowd around
our Lord as he went through Jericho. And people were at this time
celebrating him because of his mighty works. They didn't understand
the nature of why he actually came. They just thought he was
coming to establish some kind of kingdom with his power. This
is what Zacchaeus had heard of. So he tried to see him, but he
was a very short man. I kind of think of a Danny DeVito-like
character. He couldn't see over the crowd,
so he ran ahead, verse 4, and he ran before and climbed up
into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way. Now, he knew that Christ was
going to come by him, like a little boy, I guess, climbing up in
a tree, wanting to get a glimpse of the Savior. Now, look what
happens, verse 5, and when Jesus came to the place, He looked
up and saw him. He stopped and looked up and
saw Zacchaeus in that tree. And I bet when he stopped and
looked up and saw him in the tree, the crowd knew who Zacchaeus
was. They said, look, there's Zacchaeus
in that tree. What's he doing there? And then
the Lord did something very amazing. Zacchaeus was certainly amazed
by it. He said unto him, Zacchaeus. He knew Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus
was amazed. He's never seen me before. How
does he know my name? Well, he'd known Zacchaeus from
the foundation of the world. You see, he could say of Zacchaeus
what he said to Jeremiah, before you were formed in the belly,
I knew thee. He knew this was one of his elect,
one he came to die for, one he came to seek and to save. And
he said, Zacchaeus, called him by name. You see, he called his
own sheep out by name. Zacchaeus, make haste and come
down. For today I must abide at thy
house. Now this is what is known as
the effectual call, the call of his grace. You see, whom he
did predestinate, them he also called, Romans 8.30. This is
one who he was calling by his grace. And what a beautiful illustration
of this effectual call. First, it was a gracious call. Like, he's calling the very worst
man in town. That lets us know what a gracious
call it is. Now, if he calls you, it'll have
to be a gracious call or you won't ever be saved or I will
never be saved. It's a gracious call. And it's
a personal call. Zacchaeus Make haste and come
down. He calleth his own sheep by name.
When he calls you, you'll know it's him calling you. And it's
a hastening call. He says, make haste. If you can
put it off, he's not calling you. If he calls you, you'll
make haste right now. And it's a humbling call. He
said, make haste and come down. for today I must abide at thy
house. It's always a call down, down
from our pride and self-righteousness and arrogance, down to the dust
at his feet. Make haste and come down. And
it's an affectionate call. He said, make haste and come
down for today I must abide at thy house. Oh, what an affectionate
call this is. And it's an abiding call. He
says, today I must abide. I'm there for good. When he saves
you, he's with you eternally. There's no leaving. He abides
with us. And it's a necessary call. He
says, make haste and come down for today. I must abide at thy
house. Now, the only reason he must
do anything is he must do his father's will. And this is one
of his elect that must be saved. And it's an effectual call because
we read, he made haste and came down and received him joyfully.
He did what the master told him to do. Now, when he first wanted
to know the Lord immediately and see who he was, he found
out he couldn't. He was too little of stature.
And if you ever find out, if you ever have a desire in your
heart to know the Lord, the first thing you're going to find out
is you can't. You cannot, because you're too little of stature.
You can't figure this thing out. But oh, this desire to see him
will stay with you, just like it did Zacchaeus. And he climbed
up that tree, and the Lord said, Zacchaeus, make haste, come down,
for today I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and
he came down, and he received him joyfully. Oh, how happy he was to receive
him. He found out who he was. He made haste, he came down,
and he received him joyfully. Now, what does it mean to receive
the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, John tells us in John 1.12,
As many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the
sons of God, even to them which believe on His name." When you
receive Christ, that means you believe His name is your only
way into the Father's presence. You plead no other name but His
name. Now, this man received the Lord
Jesus Christ joyfully. Now, when you receive the gospel,
when you receive Christ, you do so joyfully. The things that
once made you angry make you happy. You receive him joyfully. It used to be that when you would
hear of a sovereign God who is in control of everything, you
wouldn't like that, but now you do. When you heard of God electing
a people freely, you didn't like that, but now you do. When you
hear of Christ effectually redeeming the elect, you didn't like that,
but now you do because you know that's your only hope. You receive
him joyfully. Now verse seven, and when they
saw it, the crowd. When they saw it, they all murmured,
saying that he was going to be guest with a man that's a sinner.
Well, this is awful. This crowd knew who Zacchaeus
was. They knew what a despicable man he was. And they thought,
why would he be going into his house? This man is a sinner.
This man is a preeminently sinful and wicked man, someone given
over to vice and wickedness. And why would he go to this man's
house? This man is a sinner. Thank God
their accusation is true. This man receives sinners and
eats with them. This is the glory of our Lord
Jesus Christ. He receives sinners. I'm so thankful he came for sinners. Zacchaeus was thankful he came
for sinners. And listen to this scripture.
This is a faithful saying. 1 Timothy 1.15, this is a faithful
saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners. Paul says, of whom I am the chief. I'm so thankful that there's
no adjective before sinners It doesn't say he came to save believing
sinners. It doesn't say he came to save
repentant sinners. It doesn't say he came to save
elect sinners. It doesn't say he came to save
repentant, any description, just sinners. Just sinners. Would
that be you? If you are a sinner, someone
who is nothing but sin in and of yourself, I can guarantee
you Christ came to save you. Romans 5, verse 6 says, For when
we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the
ungodly. What they were murmuring at,
he's going to be guest with a man that's a sinner. It's the best
news a sinner's ever heard. If you're a sinner, he came to
save you. If you're a good person, he didn't
come for you. But if you're a sinner, he came for you. Now watch this,
verse eight. And Zacchaeus stood and said
unto the Lord, Lord. Now remember, He wanted to see
who Jesus was, and he found out who he was by the way he addressed
him. He said, Lord. He found out that
Jesus Christ is Lord. He's the owner. He's the one who has all power
to decide. He's the one who controls everything
and everybody. He is the Lord. The Lord is not
an empty title. That means He has control over
everybody and everything. Everything is in His hands. His
Lordship was seen in creation when He willed this universe
into existence. His Lordship is seen in Providence
in that He controls everything. I'm so glad He does, but He controls
everything. There's no event of which He's
not the first cause behind. and he's most especially Lord
in salvation. That means your salvation is
up to him. It's not up to you, it's up to him. The leper understood
that. Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. And if you
ever find out that he's Lord, this is the way you'll come to
him, just like the leper did. Lord, if you will, you can make
me clean. Now this wicked man Zacchaeus
found out that Christ Jesus is the Lord. He saw who he really
was. And look what he did in verse
8. It says, Lord, behold, 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. Now, the Lord didn't tell him
to do any of these things, and he wasn't saying this so men
could see how much he'd changed, but he now saw the Lord, and
he wanted to do these things. The Lord changed his want to.
You see, he'd been given a new heart. He was born from above. He had a new nature, and he now
wanted to do these things. It's beautiful. Lord, behold,
the half of my goods I give to the poor. That's remarkable.
And if I've taken anything from any man unjustly, I restore unto
him fourfold. Now look what it says next, verse
9. And Jesus said unto him, This
day is salvation come to this house. Now, what do you think
of when you think of the Lord saying, this day salvation has
come to this house? Well, I dare say what you think,
or what I thought initially, or what I think initially, we
think, look at this man's changed life. He's gone from being a
grasping, covetous publican who would use unjust means to take
other people's money in order to enrich himself, but now he's
this generous man who gives half his goods to feed the poor, and
he's going to make restitution for all the wrong things he's
done. Surely salvation has come to this house. Look at his life.
Well, if that's what you thought, you're wrong. Christ is salvation. When Christ came to his house,
salvation came to his house. I love what Simeon said in Luke
chapter 2 when he saw the child Jesus, eight days old, in the
temple. He said, Lord, now let us, thou
thy servant, depart in peace. I'm ready to die, for mine eyes
have seen thy salvation. Christ is God's salvation. Christ is all in salvation. He's all to God. He's all any
believer whatever want or need, he himself. Christ is salvation. When Christ walked into Zacchaeus'
house, salvation walked into his house. Salvation is of the
Lord. Salvation is the Lord. Salvation is a person, the Lord
Jesus Christ, and he walked into his house. Verse nine, and Jesus
said unto him, this day of salvation come to this house for as much
as he also is a son of Abraham. Now, why was he saved? Was it because he changed? Was
it because he started giving to the poor and because of all
the good things he did? No, he was a son of Abraham. He was a true Jew. God saves every true Jew. Now, there were a lot of physical
children of Abraham that were not children of Abraham. I'd
like to read a passage to you from Romans 9, where Paul identifies
who the true children of Abraham are. He says in verse 6, not as though the word of God
hath taken none effect, For they are not all Israel, which are
of Israel." Just because someone is a physical descendant of Abraham
doesn't mean he's a true Jew. Let's go on reading. But in Isaac, Shaddassi be called. Isaac represents the spiritual
child. You remember Ishmael was the
child of Abraham, but there was nothing supernatural about Ishmael
when Abraham went into Hagar. But when Abraham went into Sarah,
she had already gone through menopause, and this was a supernatural
birth. The true children, the spiritual
seed, are the supernatural birth, those who have been born with
the spirit. Verse 8, that is, they which are the children of
the flesh, these are not the children of God, but the children
of the promise are counted for the seed. For this is the word
of promise, at this time will I come and Sarah shall have a
son. And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by
one, even by her father Isaac, for the children, being not yet
born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose
of God according to election might stand, not of works, but
of him that calleth. Now, who are the true children
of Abraham? The elect of God, the spiritual
seed, those he chose before time began to be saved. This is the
true child of Abraham. Now, he wasn't saved because
of his works. He was saved because he was a true child of Abraham. He was a true Jew. He was the
true circumcision. I love that scripture in Philippians
3, verse 3, where Paul said, we are the circumcision. which
worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no
confidence in the flesh." No confidence in fleshly salvation
by works. None at all. We rejoice only
in Christ Jesus. Now, the Lord tells us plainly
the reason salvation has come into this house is because he
also is a son of Abraham. Now look in verse 10. Remember
the title of this message was, The Intention of Christ. Verse 10, for the Son of Man
is come. Here's his intention in coming.
The Son of Man has come. to seek and to save that which
was lost." Now, I love the way the Lord refers to Himself as
the Son of Man. He takes this title to Himself
more than any other title, the Son of Man. The Son of God calls
Himself the Son of Man. He became flesh And he did so
in obedience to his father, but he did so because he loves men.
He loves to save sinners. And what an endearing title,
the Son of Man. The Son of Man has come to seek
and to save that which was lost. Now, remember, whatever the Lord
intends to do, that is precisely what he does. When he came, this
was his intention. He came to seek out and to save
that which was lost. Most of the preaching that is,
if you want to call it preaching, I wouldn't really call it preaching
because it's not the truth, but mostly what is said in the name
of religion is that God loves everybody, Christ died for everybody,
He intends to save everybody. That was his intention. He shed
his blood for every human being to ever live to make salvation
possible for them. That's his intention. It's his
intention for everybody to be saved. Now, if that was his intention,
he failed, didn't he? He failed. If he intended to
save somebody, if he died for the sins of somebody that's in
hell, if that were his intention, he failed. Somebody says, well,
I'm not saying that. Well, what are you saying then? That's exactly
what you're saying. If you say that he died for somebody that
winds up in hell, you're saying he failed in his intention. Beloved, Christ does not fail. As a matter of fact, the scripture
says in Isaiah 42, He shall not fail nor be discouraged. He shall see the travail of His
soul and be satisfied. He's not going to be frustrated
because His intentions did not come to pass. You see, He came
to seek and to save that which was lost. You can't get from
the scriptures that He came to save everybody. You just can't
get... You know, what about John 17, 9 when He says, I pray for
them. I pray not for the world, but for them which you have given
me. He said to the Syrophoenician woman, I'm not sent but to the
lost sheep of the house of Israel. This thing of Christ intending
to save and not getting the job done, that won't do any sin or
any good. There's no gospel in that message. Now, his intention was to seek
and to save that which was lost. Everybody was lost in Adam. In Adam, all die. When Adam fell and became lost,
everybody in him fell and became lost. God deals with you either
in the first Adam or the second Adam. And every man is lost in
Adam. Every man is lost by practice. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. Everybody's a sinner. All have
sinned and come short of the glory of God. You take the best
man alive and the worst man alive and there's no difference between
them in God's sight. All have sinned and come short of the
glory of God. So all men are lost in practice. But all men
aren't lost. All men don't see themselves
to be lost. Oh, they're in good shape. Ask
them. What's a lost man? A lost man
is a man who cannot see any way for him to get to God. He's too
sinful. He's sinned himself away. He's
a wretch undone in his own eyes. He's lost. He's lost and he can't
find his way back. He cannot see why God would save
him. That's how lost he is. He sees
no hope in and of himself. He's lost. He's lost and he can't
find his way back. He's lost. If he can get back,
he's not lost. Oh, if you're lost, if you're
lost, if you're someone that is so sinful and so evil by your
wicked works that you don't see why God would ever have anything
to do with somebody like you, you're lost. Let me tell you
something. Christ Jesus came to seek and
to save you. you lost one. He's the one, you're
the one, he came to save because he came to seek and to save that
which was lost. Now, his intention was spelled
out clearly in Matthew 121. It says, Thou shalt call his
name Jesus. For he shall save his people
from their sins. And that's precisely what he
did. When he said it is finished,
every one of his people were saved from their sins. If you're lost, you know it's
your sin that's caused you to be lost. Christ dealt with your
sin. He put it away, he bore it in
his own body on the tree and put it away. When he said it
is finished, the sins of everybody he died for were blotted out
completely. They are no more. Christ, here's
his intention, he came to seek and to save that which was lost.
And if you're lost, he came to seek and to save you. Now what should a lost man do?
I think it's interesting that the U.S. Parks and Recreation
Bureau gives us plain instructions what to do if we're lost in a
park, in the woods somewhere. It says, well, the first thing
you need to do is realize you're lost. What a blessing it is when
a man finds out he's lost. You see, any lost man, God's
going to save. So they said the first thing
to do is realize you're lost. And then try to get attention
somehow. Cry out for help. Cry for mercy. That's what a lost man will do.
Help! Ask the Lord to do something
for you. And the third thing it says to do is always move
downhill. Always move downhill. If you're
going up, up in your thoughts of yourself, you're going in
the wrong direction. Always go downhill. The way up
in the kingdom of heaven is down. And fourth, it says find shelter.
Find shelter. The only shelter there is, is
the Lord Jesus Christ. Just like being in the house
with the blood over the door. Find shelter. And when you find
that shelter, stay there. Don't move. Paul put it this
way, oh that I may win Christ and be found in him. He only
is the shelter for a lost sinner. But my dear friends, if you're
lost, Christ came to seek and to save you. Now we have this
message on DVD and CD. If you call the church, write
or email, we'll send you a copy. This is Todd Kniper praying that
God will be pleased to make himself known to you. That's our prayer. To request a copy of the sermon
you have just heard, send your request to messages at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Or you may write or call the
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