Well, it's good to see everybody
out this morning. Remember those who have christened prayer. I
think Cloris has a friend that passed away down in South Carolina.
I heard Julia down there. She remember then? Mississippi.
They're in Mississippi. Oh, that's a long drive. Bless
her heart. I bet it's warm down there. Happy birthday this week to Sam
and Wanda. Having birthdays this week, aren't
you? you don't remember, you don't
remember, you don't care. Next week's the last Sunday of
the month, is that right? So next week we'll have the Lord's
table after morning service and no afternoon service, so remember
that, put that on your calendars. No word on Marvin Stoniker, however,
did get a word on uh... right he's doing somewhat better
uh... both of the stroke patients are
there's a long road ahead for recovery so remember them in
your prayers other than that I can't think of anything else
so let's begin our worship service with hymn number one twenty six
rock of ages cleft for me rock of ages cleft for me Let
me hide myself in thee. Let the water and the blood from
thy wounded side which flowed be of sin the double cure. Save from wrath and make me pure. Could my tears forever In my
zeal, O languor, no, These, Lord, sin could not atone. Thou must save, and Thou alone. In my hand, no price I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling. While I draw this fleeting breath,
When my eyes shall close in death, When I rise to worlds unknown,
And behold thee on thy throne, Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let
me hide myself in Thee. After scripture and prayer, we'll
sing your handout, and that's sung to the tune of Jesus Calls
Us Over the Tumult. If you have your Bibles, turn
to Luke, Chapter 19. Gospel according to Luke, Chapter
19. verses 1 through 11. And Jesus entered and passed
through Jericho. And behold, there was a man named
Zacchaeus, which was chief among the Pelicans, and he was rich.
And he sought to see Jesus, who he was, and could not for the
press, because he was little in stature. and he ran before
and climbed up a sycamore tree to see him for he was to pass
that way. And when Jesus came to this place,
he looked up and saw him and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make
haste and come down for today I must abide in thy house. And
he made haste and came down and received him joyfully. And when
they saw it, they murmured saying, that he is gone to be a guest
of a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood and said
to 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, This day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he
also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to
seek and save that which is lost. And as they heard these things,
he added, and spake a parable, because he was nigh unto Jerusalem,
because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately
appear. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven,
blessed Lord, King of kings, who sits in majesty on the high
throne, rules this world without being hindered or altered or
frustrated in absolute sway. We thank you, Father, for what
you've done for your children. We thank you that you sent your
Son into this world to take on human flesh and die in the womb
instead of sinners, and cause them to be, because of your work,
because of your power and your might, to be the righteousness
of God in Him. We thank you, Father, for all
you do for us. We pray for those who are sick,
Going through trials and tribulations, those who've lost loved ones,
we ask, Lord, you be with them. Strengthen them, comfort them.
Pray for ourselves today, Lord, that you might be pleased to
cause us to worship you in spirit and in truth. Help us to love
one another and love you supremely. We pray in Christ's name, amen. Put your head down. Jesus calls
us over the tomb. I am vile and so unrighteous,
all depraved and full of sin. In my heart there is no goodness,
only darkness dwells within. Can there be a remedy? Far from God and so polluted
must I die eternally. Lo, the good news of salvation
in the gospel came to me. Jesus came. by his death on Calvary. Blessed tidings of salvation
in the word of God I found. God forgives the vile and guilty. What a cheering, joyful sound. By His death Christ saved His
people, washed away their sin and shame. Life He gives and
faith to trust Him, praise His sweet and precious name. I believe upon the Savior For
His blood has made me whole What a wonderful Redeemer He has saved
my sinful soul Let's pray. Father, again we
approach in the name of Jesus Christ, the unspeakable gift
you freely gave to your people, and with him you freely gave
them everything. We know that with everything
this side of an eternity of perdition is by your grace and mercy, and
we praise you for it. Help us this day to worship you
in this manner, we pray in Christ's name, amen. I invite your attention back
to Luke chapter 19. Over the last few weeks, for some reason,
I couldn't quite tell you why, I found myself humming that little
song we learned in Sunbeams in the Southern Baptist Church.
Zacchaeus was a wee little man. a wee little man was he climbed
up a sycamore tree for the lord he wanted to see and I found
myself humming that and singing the words to it and so I went
back to the book and looked up this story and thought well I
wonder when I preached on that the last time it was 19 it was
2011 when I preached on it and I'm gonna do it again so here
we come to Luke chapter 19 verses 1 through 11 we'll also look
at the remainder of the chapter before it's over But this is
simply a record of a saved sinner. This is the record of the sovereign
Lord commanding the salvation of one whom he has chosen from
the foundation of the world. And notable is that the Lord
is demonstrating precisely what he said to his disciples in chapter
18. He had said that it would be easier for a camel to pass
through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into
the kingdom of heaven. Yet on this day he saves a rich
man, a very rich man. The disciples cried when he said
that, who then can be saved? And he said, with men it's impossible. Actually he said, with men, impossible. With God, all things are possible.
This man was a rich publican. That means he had gotten rich
off of the money of the people. A publican was a tax collector. Excuse me, and you know how we
feel about tax collectors. Well, they felt that in spades
back in this day because these guys would charge taxes to the
people and overcharge, but take what was overcharged for themselves,
and they were called thieves. People just call them their bunch
of thieves. So this is the man that our Lord saved that day,
and it didn't sit well with the multitude. Zacchaeus was desperate
to see the spectacle. This man from Nazareth who worked
miracles and raised the dead and healed the sick. And Zacchaeus
was a wee little fellow. He climbed up a tree for an elevated
vantage point to ogle the master. I don't think he was interested
in anything other than seeing the Master. Salvation was not
in his thoughts. There's no indication of that.
He was looking for a magical entertainment, a miracle to come
his way. But unbeknownst to him, he was
the target of the miracle. A beam of divine light that broke
from glory before the world began spanned from eternity and pierced
time and fixed its sights on a sycamore tree for one of God's
elect because providentially a wee little man came home to
roost on a branch to see the branch, the Lord Jesus Christ. He elevated himself for a better
view, but a wondrous equation was in play. kind of divine arithmetic
sovereign geometry drawn a line between him and Christ line between
two points a straight line he climbed the tree to see Jesus
but it was the Lord according to this passage who saw him saw
him whom he foreknew and called him by his name having never
met him but known him from all eternity for he knows his sheep
and calls his sheep by name. The Lord brought him down out
of that tree to lift him up to the heights of glory. Our Lord
was not holding a revival meeting or a soul winning crusade that
day. In all the population of Jericho
there was but one thing that held interest in Jesus Christ
and that was a tiny little man who climbed up a sycamore tree. Now Providence was bringing some
destined things to their appointed end. Zacchaeus was of diminished
stature, providentially so, for he will find himself in need
of a sycamore tree. Think about that. I thought about
how long that tree had been there. It's not revealed in scripture,
but its seed was carried on the winds of predestination to that
precise plot of fertile soil. Attended by the former and latter
rains, that predestinated perch rose to its designated height
on the day when one of the vertically challenged elect would ascend
to its boughs and catch a glimpse of a spectacle that would eventuate
in his salvation. The sycamore tree bore fruit
that day, and the fruit was a redeemed sinner named Zacchaeus. And when he was called by name,
he was told to make haste and come down. And he made haste,
and he came down. And the mark of the children
of God is they come when they are called, and they sit where
they are told. Our Lord affectionately calls
His sheep. They do not need the false psychology of an invitation
system to entice them. They do not need the pressure
of so-called evangelistic chicanery. They do not need the sad story
or the plaintive melody of some altar called hymn. When they
hear the voice of the Master, they come running. They come
running. Martha, when Lazarus had dined,
she heard that Christ was near and she came running. She came
running. Scripture says that the children
of God suffer violence. The kingdom suffers violence,
and the violent take it by force. When the Savior called it did
not come in the form of an offer or some silly bargain. Zacchaeus
was a renowned thief. That's all he was. He had nothing
to bargain with. He was zero. It was, as always,
a command from the Lord. Zacchaeus, come down, for I must
abide in your house today. He didn't say, come down if you
will. He didn't say, come down if you
choose to. He didn't say, come down if you
decide to. He says, come down. You see,
when a word comes from Jesus Christ, it comes from the Lord
of all. The Lord who rules and reigns in this universe, when
He said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that's not an offer. That's not an invitation. That
can be declined. That can be set aside. It's a
command from the Lord who owns your soul. Lock, stock and barrel
this very moment. Now if I told you God loved you,
I might be lying to you. He might not. Scripture says,
Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated. Scripture also says
the Lord hates them that works iniquity. So He hates some people. He doesn't love everybody like
people and pulpits lie to people. Or if I said Christ died for
you, I might be telling you the truth, but I might not. For He
didn't die for all people. He died for His sheep. He died
for His elect. He died for His bride. He died
for His church. But if I tell you that Jesus
Christ is your Lord, I'm telling you the truth. Whether you know
Him, whether you believe Him, whether you love Him, or whether
you hate Him, He is your Lord. And you will find that out one
day. For every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that
He is Lord to the glory of the Father. Christ did not come standing
and knocking at Zacchaeus's heart door, hoping that Zacchaeus would
allow him entrance or invite him into his heart. He called
him because he was coming to abide in his house. He said,
I'm going to your house today. When he calls, let me tell you,
when he calls you, he's moving in. He's moving in, he's taking
up residence, and not only that, he's sitting at the head of the
table. It's his house. And he ain't never leaving. where
he said, I'll never leave you nor forsake you. If need be,
he would knock down the door bolt and bar, snatch the firebrand
from the burning, but no such need exists because the Lord's
people are said in Scripture to be willing in the day of his
power. When God calls, the sheep come. My sheep hear my voice, and they
follow me, and I give unto them eternal life. If he must abide,
he said, I must abide at your house today. If he must abide,
he will abide, for he does his will, he does whatsoever he is
pleased in heaven and earth and all the deep places. And on that
day, the normal reaction of religion is on full display. When it comes
to miracles, folks unanimously praise the Lord and like it.
They like miracles. They were beside themselves with
joy when our Lord gave old blind Bartimaeus his sight. It said
it was a joyful day. Everybody was full of joy in
chapter 18. But they were not at all happy
when Christ saved their enemy, the wicked publican who had gained
his riches at their poverty and became wealthy by the sweat of
their brow. It's always the same with religion. They were upset. Verse 70 says,
When they saw it, they all murmured. saying that he's going to be
the guest of a man that is a sinner. Chapter 15 and verse 2. I'm going
to turn back there. It says, And the Pharisee and
his scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and
eateth with them. That was always a problem. Always
a problem. Don't hang around them sinners.
Wretched folk don't hang around them. That's who Christ hung
around. That's who hung around Christ. And they're the only
people that felt comfortable around Him. Righteous, religious,
good folk. Didn't feel good around Christ.
He bothered them because he sat down with the worst of the lot. Remember when he was sitting
with sinners and eating with them, the Pharisees came up to
his disciples and said, Don't you know who he's eating with? Don't you see the kind of people
he's associating with? and our Lord heard their thoughts
and He looked them square in the eyes in all their beautiful
robes and all their finery of religion and all their splendid
garments and said, I didn't come for you. I didn't come to call
you. I didn't come to call the righteous,
the self-righteous. I come to bring sinners to repentance. On that day, our Lord called
this man. And he came. The willingness
of religion to claim part of that which doesn't belong to
it, to assert their entitlement, is also evident here. Religion
wants to have a part in everything. They want to share a part. Verse
9 through 11, they said this, and then they began to speak
this parable. Excuse me, got the wrong chapter,
back up one. And Jesus said to them, this day of salvation come
to this house for as much as he also is the son of Abraham.
But the Son of Man came to seek and save that which is lost.
And as they heard these things, He added, and spake a parable,
because He was nigh unto Jerusalem, because they thought that the
kingdom of heaven should immediately appear. He said, He's the Son
of Abraham. We're Jews. We're sons of Abraham,
too. This is a good thing. This is
a good thing. When our Lord said that salvation
has come to this man's house because he's a son of Abraham,
the multitude jumped on the bandwagon. They thought that being the son
of Abraham meant that the kingdom, the setting up of Israel had
come, and they were sons of Abraham too, so they thought the Lord's
salvation was theirs for the taking. It was not. But they
thought that. They thought that they'd see
the beginnings of the appearance of the kingdom of God. what they
didn't understand is they were wrong on two accounts. First,
they were wrong in believing that when our Lord said, sons
of Abraham, that He spoke of the natural lineage of Abraham.
Ishmael was of the natural lineage of Abraham. He was a son born
of the flesh. They were wrong in believing
that. The true sons of Abraham, according to the Word of God,
in Galatians chapter 3 and Romans chapter 2 and Philippians chapter
3, The sons of Abraham are those who believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's who they are. He is not a Jew who is one outwardly,
Paul said to the Roman church, but one inwardly, whose circumcision
is not of the flesh but of the heart, whose praise is of God
and not of men. Galatians 3 said all who believe
on Christ are the sons of Abraham and heirs according to the promise
given to Abraham. Paul said in Philippians Chapter
3, We, he was talking to Philippian Gentile sinners saved by grace. He said, We are the circumcision
who worship God in the Spirit, who rejoice in Christ Jesus and
have no confidence in the flesh. The sons of Abraham, who are
they? The sons of Abraham are the elect
of God. those chosen from the foundation of the world, sinners
saved by the grace of God. Secondly, they were wrong in
that they thought the kingdom of God was of this world. It
was a visible kingdom. What's wondrous about the truth
of the word of God is you don't know who the church is. The church
is the body of Christ. It's the mystical body of Christ.
If we gather together, we're a sovereign, grace-bablished
church. It's what we call ourselves. People say, well, there's the
church. Well, I hope it is, and you do, too. but there's also
tar sown among the wheat. They're there to support the
wheat, but they're there because God put them there. There must
be heresies among you that that which is true might be manifest.
That's all true. Church is invisible. The kingdom
of God cannot be seen. It cannot be seen. They thought
it could. It's a heavenly kingdom. when Pilate accused the Jews,
he said, are you the king? He said, my kingdom's not of
this world. It's not of this world. He said,
if my kingdom was this world, my people would fight you and
win. He said, but my kingdom's not of this world. And it's not.
This world passes away. Look around you. Rejoice that
you have life and you can live it. Find love and peace. All those wondrous things that
human beings can do, enjoy them. Enjoy them, but don't hold on
to them too tight. They're going away. They're going
to pass off. And if anything's left, it's
going to be melted with the fervent heat. The sons of Abraham, sinners
saved. Here also is the nature of true
repentance revealed. It's not the cause of salvation,
but the product of it. It was after Christ called, commanded,
and told Zacchaeus that he was come to abide with him that he
brought forth the fruits of repentance. He said, I'll pay back fourfold
everything I've stolen. That's twice what the law required. The rich young ruler came, but
he was not called and refused to repent when Christ crossed
his path. Zacchaeus came when he was called and immediately
confessed his sin by the repentance he displayed. He said, I've been
a thief. Stole everything I stole, I'm
gonna pay back. I'm gonna give half everything
I've got to poor people I've stole from. I'm gonna pay back
fourfold. He was granted repentance, that's
why he repented. He confessed that he was a thief.
Confession, repentance, and faith, these are all gifts of God. They
are not natural to men. Now, men will repent in the sense
that if they get caught doing something, they feel sorry they
did it, and more sorry that they got caught. The true repentance
comes from the heart, and it's a radical change of mind about
what you think about God and what you think about yourself. Religion has taught two great
truths this day. First, they were taught that
Christ came into this world to save sinners. That's the only
reason He came. to glorify His Father and the
salvation of His people. That crowd didn't think they
were sinners. They were Pharisees, after all. Secondly, they were
taught that they were ignorant of Him who stood before them,
and that since they were unwilling to employ the means that they
had before them, that the Lord was going to take away from them
what they had. That's why He added a parable to this. He explained
the whole situation. Now think about it. What's available
to Zacchaeus? a tree and he made use of it. He got up that tree so he could
see Christ and Christ saw him and called him down and our Lord
added this parable about the means that God has provided for
his people, for people to be used or to be lost. He said in verse verse 12 he
said, Therefore a certain nobleman went into a far country to receive
for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called ten servants,
and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy, stay
here, live here, do your business here, until I come again. But
his citizens hated him, and sent a messenger after him, saying
we will not have this man to reign over us. He's the master. He's the sovereign. The will
of man says I'm not going to have him reign over me. I'm going
to do what I want to do. And it came to pass that when
he was returned having received the kingdom that he commanded
these servants to be called unto him to whom he had given the
money that he might know how much every man had gained by
trading Then came the first saying, Thy
pound hath gained ten pounds. And he said, And well done, thou
good and faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful in very
little, thou shalt have authority over ten cities. And the second
came saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. and
he said likewise to him, but thou be thou over five cities. And another came saying, Lord,
here is thy pal which I have kept laid up in a napkin. For I feared thee, because thou
art an austere man. Now taketh up what thou layest
not down, and reapest what thou did not sow. In other words,
you say, well, I knew you was sovereign, and I just thought
I'd protect what you'd given me. And he said unto him, Out
of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant, that
knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that laid knot,
and reaping that I did not sow. Wherefore, when then gavest thou,
gavest not thou my money into the bank, that in my coming it
might require mine own with some usury or interest? And he said
unto him, Take from him the pound that I gave him, and give it
to him that hath ten pounds. And they said unto him, Lord,
he hath ten pounds. For I say unto you, that unto
every one which hath shall be given, and from him that hath
not even that which he hath shall be taken away. But those thine
enemies which would not that I should reign over them, bring
hither, and slay them before me. Amazing thing. First, they were taught that
Christ came to save sinners. Secondly, they were taught that
they were ignorant of Him who stood before them. He was this
Master who was going away and was going to return and left
men with gifts. The parable, much like an Old
Testament type, never sits forth a full truth. in a precise and
exact manner. It's a story. It's a parable,
a parabolic story, a comparative story. Our Lord added this parable
for those who praised Him for His miracles but rejected Him
for how He saved sinners. That tree, Zacchaeus climbs,
is a metaphor for making use of whatever means is available
to see Christ. Crow told me he was talking with
somebody recently and they told him they didn't go to doctors
much because they believed the Lord would heal them. don't you
reckon God made them doctors? God created them doctors, gave
them the mind to come up with medicines and formulas? The means
you have in this world, this is what you have. This is what
everybody, this is the only thing that anybody has, is the church. Christ's body in this world.
You want to count on something else, go ahead. This is what you got. This is
the sycamore tree. You may believe that the Lord
is sovereign over disease, and you'd be right if you did, but
unless you come to Him for salvation on His terms, He will take even
from you that which He gave, what you have, and give to His
children. Christ was passing through Jericho. Gospel churches
are here for a time for the purpose of calling Zacchaeus out of a
tree. Do not think that proximity to
salvation is salvation. Do not think that you have part
in the salvation of God if you have not made haste to come down
to where Christ is preached. Do not think that the gospel
will be there when you decide to partake of it. Christ was
passing through. He did not stop and stay. He
was passing through. stop brother recently stopped
about that scene many god may raise not many young people preach
the gospel day to three young men preach the gospel got gray
hair like me you know you ready to pass office were next she's
wrecking why maybe maybe god's done with this maybe all the
elected been called out After all, what I see in the
world today as far as the gospel having an outreach and power
and persuasion is in Africa where it all began. Maybe a full circle
has been made. But what you have is the sycamore
tree. You have the church and the gospel
and preaching. you're short. You're a wee little
person. You're short of the glory of
God, short of righteousness, short of salvation, short of
ability, and short of will. Climb that tree. Trust Christ
now for your soul's salvation. Do not presume that what is before
you now will be there tomorrow. It may not be. The Lord has commanded
all men to believe and to repent and with the command comes the
permission to do so. You'll only see Christ in one
place. That's in the truth of His gospel,
that heavenly, divine sycamore tree. Father, bless us to understand
and pray in Christ's name. Amen. God bless you.