The Savior Seeks - And Saves, Part 2

If you have your Bible, turn with me to Luke chapter 19. We're going to finish our study of Zacchaeus today. Next week, we'll look at a parable.

And then we'll enter Jerusalem. We will look at the triumphal entry. And we will look at the last week of our Lord's life.

In doing so, it will take us a year to look at the last week of our Lord's life. Believe it or not, we will take you through every day, all the events that took place in the Bible on those days. And so the plan is to finish Luke's gospel by next year at this time. Now, whether or not we can accomplish that or not, only the Lord really knows. But there is a plan to finish it by our 20th year anniversary, which would be next year at this time. And yet, as we spend a whole year looking at the last week of our Lord's life, we are taking a moment to look at the life of Zacchaeus and Bartimaeus.

Why? Because they are two of the highlights of our Lord's last few weeks upon the earth. They are highlights that need to be highlighted because there is so much negativity that takes place. Everything about that last week and the harshness and the brutality and the negativity and the rejection is so over the top when it comes to understanding people's response to the Lord. And it will seem like we are wallowing in all that negativity and rejection, but that's exactly what takes place during that last week in our Lord's life.

And so when you come to a man like Bartimaeus, who cries out, Son of David, have mercy upon me. When you come to a man like Zacchaeus, who is a tax gatherer, he gives his life to Christ, you want to highlight those times. And then we come to the foot of the cross, we are going to look at that Roman centurion, because he too gets saved, and that thief next to the Lord, one of them, he too gets saved.

Those are the last four conversions during our Lord's earthly ministry here on earth. And so we're looking at them, we want to highlight them because they are the times in which all heaven rejoices because one sinner repents. And Zacchaeus is one of those men. Zacchaeus is one of those stories that goes beyond Sunday school songs. It's one of those stories that gives us a theological treaty when it comes to understanding the saving grace of God. Zacchaeus, only Luke records it, is that last personal encounter the Lord has before he enters Jerusalem.

And this personal encounter does a unique work in the life of Zacchaeus. And so because this man gives his life to the Lord Jesus, and because this man becomes for us a living testimony to the saving grace of God, it's imperative that we understand this man and what takes place in his life. Let me read to you again, once again, the story, verses 1 to 10, Luke chapter 19.

And he entered and was passing through Jericho, and behold there was a man called by the name of Zacchaeus. And he was a chief tax gatherer, and he was rich. And he was trying to see who Jesus was. And he was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. And he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see him, for he was about to pass through that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, Hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.

And he hurried and came down and received him gladly. And when they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, He is gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor. And if I had defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much. And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Verse 10 is the highlight of the paragraph, because it tells us about the purpose of the Son of Man. He came to seek and to save that which was lost. Our Lord is a saving God. We took you way back to the book of Exodus last week to help you understand the memorial name of God, that He is a Redeemer, He is a Rescuer, He is a Deliverer, He is a Savior of man. That's why the Jews had the Passover, because they were to remember Christ, or the Lord God, who would become that Messiah that they would understand, because He was their Deliverer.

And so they set up the memorial Passover, so they would always remember how God delivered them from bondage. And Christ would institute the Lord's Supper on the eve of the crucifixion as a memorial to the fact that He is a Redeemer and a Deliverer of man from his sin. And so even the prophet Isaiah would record these words by our Lord in Isaiah chapter 45, verse number 15, Truly thou art a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, a Savior. Verse 17, Israel has been saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation.

You will not be put to shame or humiliated to all eternity. And then verse 21, Declare and set forth your case. Indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides me, a righteous God and a Savior. There is none except me. And so we realize that God is that Savior. And Jesus Christ, who is God in the flesh, came to save man from his sin. And on this day, in Jericho, He comes to save two men, Bartimaeus and Zacchaeus.

They didn't know that, but He did. We've already seen the salvation of blind Bartimaeus. And this is the salvation of Zacchaeus. Remember, his name means clean. If we had an exam today, I would say, Okay, question number one, what does Zacchaeus' name mean?

You'd have to respond on your paper to see if you would pass or fail the exam. His name means clean, pure, innocent, and righteous. He was anything but that. But because of the saving grace of God, He would become clean. He would become pure. He would obtain the righteousness of Christ. And everything in his life would change. He would live up to the name that his parents gave him. And Zacchaeus lived in a town called Jericho, about 18 miles from the city of Jerusalem. It's the last city before Christ ascends up the mountain and goes to Jerusalem.

It's about 6 miles west of the Jordan River. And so Christ would have crossed over the Jordan River. They would have entered into Jericho. Blind Bartimaeus would have already been healed and saved. The crowds around the Christ are huge. They're coming to go to Passover in Jerusalem. And because of the miracle working power of the Messiah, there are all kinds of people around. And we've called it the Jesus train because there are so many people on the train following Jesus because of his miracle powers.

And so all these people are going into Jericho. As they're coming, the people in Jericho begin to line the streets. And so blind Bartimaeus calls out, Son of David, have mercy on me. And the Messiah calls him, bids him to come to him. And he does. He heals him and is born again. And that man follows Christ. That's why he has a name, Bartimaeus. That's why Zacchaeus, the tax collector, has a name because he is born again. And he follows the Lord God and used by God. Zacchaeus is hearing all this. He sees all this.

He knows this one Jesus is coming to Jericho. And he is the chief tax gatherer. If we were to give you an exam, we would ask you this question. There were three regional tax cities in Israel. What are they? Well, one is Jericho. What's the one in the north? Capernaum. What's the one in the middle of the state on the shore? It's Caesarea Maritima. We told you that last week. How are you doing on your exam? Did you listen last week? Have you passed so far? Are you 0 for 2? Are you 1 for 2? Are you 2 for 2?

Are you understanding the word of the Lord as it comes forth to you every week? Do you get what's going on here? So here is Zacchaeus. He is a chief tax gatherer. He's not just a tax collector like Matthew was. He is the chief guy. He is the high man on the totem tax pole. He is the chief guy. So people are reporting back to him. He has defrauded so many people. He is despised and rejected by every Jew. Because he bought his tax franchise from Rome. He is sided with Rome. He is now against the Jewish people.

But he's rich. He's got all the money he wants. He's got everything this world can give him. Except he has no friends. Because all the Jewish people hate him. He can't go to the temple. He can't go to a synagogue. He can't associate with his own kind. But he's rich. He's got money. He's got everything he could possibly want from that aspect of it. But he's lonely. He's got nothing really. He realizes that. Jesus is coming to his town. This, in his mind, self-proclaimed Messiah. And maybe he's heard about the conversion of Matthew.

My guess is he has. Because the only friend a tax collector has is another tax collector. And so I'm sure he's heard of Matthew's conversion. Matthew, how he would leave his tax table there, outside of Capernaum. And follow this Messiah. This miracle worker, Jesus. And so I'm sure he's curious as to why he would do that. So he wants to see this man, Jesus. But there's a problem. The crowd is huge. And Zacchaeus is the wheel of the man. We've sung the song. He can't see. And no one's going to lift him up on his shoulders.

He has no friends. No one's going to hold him up. Everybody hates him. So what's he going to do? He's going to run to a sycamore tree. A tree, it's a fig mulberry tree. It's got a huge trunk. Huge branches. Easy to climb. If you've been with us in Jericho, you've seen this tree. And so, not this exact tree, but a tree like it. And so he's able to get up in the tree, sit in the branches, and perch himself on one of the branches like a bird. And maybe he's hiding behind all the leaves. Because he doesn't want to be seen.

But he wants to see the Savior. He wants to see the Messiah of Israel. And so he perches himself on that branch, or one of the branches of that tree. And here comes the crowd. It's huge. It's not hundreds. It's thousands. They're moving toward Jerusalem for Passover. The streets are lined with all these people. And he wants to get a glimpse of Jesus. And he's peering through just the different leaves to see which one's Jesus. And all of a sudden, the train stops at the base of the tree. And Jesus speaks.

Zacchaeus! Now, how does Jesus know his name? Because Jesus is omniscient. He's God in the flesh. And there's going to be this personal call to Zacchaeus. Would you please note this? That salvation is a personal call. It's a personal call. When God calls you to himself, it's a personal encounter with the living God. Zacchaeus. Same with Saul. Acts 9, verse number 4. Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? How does God know his name? God says in Isaiah 43.

I have called you by name. I have redeemed you. Note this. Salvation is always a personal call. On top of that, salvation is always a pure call. 2 Timothy 1, 9. You've been called with a holy calling. It's the God of the universe who's pure and holy. It's the Holy One of Israel who calls you. So the call he gives, the call he extends, not only is a personal call, but it is a pure call because it comes from a pure and holy God. Oh, by the way, it's also a purposeful call. We've been called according to his purpose.

Romans chapter 8, verse number 28. You think God just calls you and then just leaves you? No, there's a purpose behind this call. It's a personal call. It's a pure call. It's a purposeful call. But on top of all that, it is a powerful call because it takes you from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son. It is supernatural in nature. And so here is Zacchaeus. He's in this tree. He gets a personal call from the living God. Because he is the Holy One of Israel, it's a pure call.

And because God's calling him, he calls him for a purpose. It's a purposeful call. But on top of that, Zacchaeus is going to receive the most powerful call in the universe because it will utterly and totally transform his life. Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus. And I'm sure Zacchaeus was maybe even embarrassed. I don't want to be seen. But Jesus continues on and says, Hurry and come down. That's a command. It's not like, hey, hey, what is your name? I'm Jesus. Who are you? No, it's Zacchaeus. Oh, can we get together today?

Can we get together for lunch maybe? How about for dinner? It's not a question Jesus is asking. It's a command that Jesus gives. Hurry and come down. In modern day vernacular, get your tail down here, boy. It's time to go to your house. I'm going to your house because he says, I must go to your house today. And if you were with us last week, we told you. Question number three in your quiz.

It's got seven points. There are seven divine musts in the book of Luke. I wonder if you can name them this morning. I wonder if you even know where there are this morning because they are absolutely important. Why? Because they speak of divine purpose. They speak of divine sovereignty. They speak of the predetermination of God. They speak of the control of the living God. There are seven of them. It all began in Luke chapter 2, remember? I must be about my father's business. It went to Luke chapter 4.

I must preach the kingdom of God. That's important to our story today, okay? Hang on to that thought. That's Luke 4.43. We went on to move to Luke chapter 9. I must suffer. Because he was going to go to the cross. Then you go to Luke 13. I must die outside the city. I'm going to Jerusalem to die outside the city. Then we went to Luke chapter 17, which we are, I mean, 19 where we are now.

Then you go on and you go to Luke chapter 21. It has been written that the son of man must suffer with transgressors. He must fulfill Old Testament prophecy. Then at the very end in Luke chapter 24, he talks about the fact that you must see these things. You must come to grips with them. We told you last week, you must see who Jesus is. You must understand what he came to accomplish. If you don't see Christ in your study of the book of Luke, you've missed everything you need to know. These are divine musts.

I must go to your house today, Zacchaeus. Why? Because this is where, listen carefully, eternity intersects with time. Everything that God had predetermined in eternity past, which was what? The salvation of this man, Zacchaeus, who's a tax collector, because he's been elected according to the four laws of God the Father. Everything in eternity past that has been planned and purposed by God is now coming true in Zacchaeus' life. That's why he must hurry come down because we're going to your house because today is the day of his salvation.

Your salvation is a divine appointment by God. And because it is a divine appointment, guess what? You never miss it. You can't miss it because God's in charge of your salvation. God's in charge of your life. And because it's a divine appointment, Zacchaeus couldn't miss it. Zacchaeus, hurry and come down for I must go to your house today. What does Zacchaeus do? You know, I'm not so sure that's a good idea. Is that what Zacchaeus said? You don't know that I don't have very many friends here in Jericho, Jesus.

I'm not a very popular guy. I'm not so sure you want to go to my house. I'm not sure you want to be associated with me, Jesus. But remember the Bible says that Jesus is a friend of tax gatherers and sinners.

He came not to call the righteous, but the sinners to repentance. And Zacchaeus, it says, hurried and came down. I don't think he could get down quick enough. I think he was just overwhelmed, overjoyed that what happened went beyond his expectations. Because you see, he had been called by God. And when God calls you, listen, there is no hesitation. You hurry and come down. When God calls you with that personal call, the Holy One of Israel, which is pure and undefiled, which has at its base the purpose of the glory of God, you can't resist it because it's a powerful call.

It's irresistible. That's why God's call, according to Romans chapter 1, the calling of God is irrevocable. It is a permanent call, not a temporary call. It's irrevocable. The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable. It is a permanent call. And so here was Zacchaeus, gladly to come down out of that tree and go with Jesus. And what's the response? What's the response? Well, it's simple, verse 7. And when they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying he has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.

Now, remember the Messianic expectations are in full bloom. They're going to even get greater in the next day or so. But they're in full bloom. If this guy is the Messiah and he is going to Jerusalem and he is going to set up his kingdom, it is going to be awesome. But if he is the Messiah, why would he associate with someone like Zacchaeus? And so their grumbling and their murmuring is characteristic. You see, don't you realize that mumbling and grumbling is the characteristic of the unbeliever, not the believer?

Did you know that? You got to get that. Because it's the unbeliever in Scripture that mumbles and grumbles. Okay? That's why Paul says in Philippians that it's not the characteristic of the believer to do this. You don't do this as a believer. Unbelievers do this. They don't understand the plan of God. They don't understand the purposes of God. They don't understand the person of God. So what do they do? They mumble and they grumble because they don't want to digest what God himself is doing. And that's exactly where they were.

And so everything now is going to change. Read the next verse. And Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I had defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much. Look, the thief becomes the ultimate giver. Just like that. There is a dramatic change in the life of Zacchaeus. Now listen carefully. What is not recorded is the conversation that Jesus had with Zacchaeus. But that's okay. We don't have to know the conversation that was given because we already know the conversation.

We've already read the book of Luke. This is the third gospel. There's Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But we've already read the book of Luke. We know that Luke 4.43, we told you to hang on to that verse earlier, hang on to that verse because he said, I must preach to the kingdom of God, right? We know that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by a word about the Christ, the Messiah. So we know that there was a conversation from the time that Zacchaeus descends the tree and they make their way to his house in Jericho.

There's a conversation. We don't have to know what the conversation was because we've already read about all the conversations that have come before. And we know there was a conversation about repentance, we know there was a conversation about the kingdom of God, we know there was a conversation about salvation, and we know there was a conversation about who the Messiah is, and we know that there's a conversation about if any man come after me, Let him deny himself take up his cross and follow me because that is the gospel message as preached in Luke's gospel Matthew's gospel and Mark's gospel.

It's all about following me. So we know that that's in the conversation Luke skips the conversation and Goes right to the consecration Because how do you know the conversation takes effect When there's a consecrated life So Luke bypasses the conversation takes you right to the effects of what happens is that he is his life The fruit of the conversation Because the Bible says He stops In the Greek it's a word that means to stand yourself erect and to take a stand That's exactly what he did Because he says what behold Lord Calls him Lord So, how does he know that Jesus the Messiah?

is Lord Unless of course in the conversation that was revealed to him and the Lord opened his heart behold Lord If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved He's making a confession. You are Lord behold Lord he says Half of my possessions I will give to the poor Wow Wait a minute if any man came after Christ let him deny himself Right. That's exactly what Zacchaeus is doing He is denying himself Everything in his life has changed He who was once greedy is now the ultimate giver His whole life has been turned upside down Because of the supernatural power of the call of God upon his life Folks this is crucial This is more than just a story about a wee little man in a tree wanting to see Jesus This is a story of what happens in every person's life Who is saved?

without exception JC Ryle that great evangelical Anglican bishop who wrote hundreds of years ago said these words a Believer should so live that all may know that he is a believer Faith that does not purify the heart and life is not faith at all Grace that cannot be seen like light and tasted like salt is not grace, but hypocrisy The man who professes to know Christ and trust him while he cleaves to sin and the world is Going down to hell with the lie in his right hand The heart that has really tasted the grace of Christ will instinctively hate sin He's right Zacchaeus hates his sin So much so He says Lord Because he submits to the Lordship of Christ He's willing to follow Christ as Lord behold Lord Half of what I have I'm gonna give away.

I'm gonna give it to the poor What's he gonna do with the other half If I've defrauded anyone How many people do you think that is? a hundred a thousand 6,000 10,000 How many people do you think he's defrauded in his lifetime as a chief tax collector Tons of them I Will pay back Fourfold Fourfold where'd he get that idea and this is so good because you see when you become a believer What's the first thing you want to do?

You want to obey everything Jesus says? Don't you you want to do what God says book of Leviticus book of Numbers Leviticus chapter 22 if you defraud and abuse anyone you required to give them fourfold payment he knows the law of God and All of a sudden now his heart is melted because as a believer, that's what he wants to do He wants to obey the Lord He wants to obey the word of the Lord See, this is why this is so important.

Listen when you're saved, you're not like saying, you know, I'm not sure I'm gonna do that I don't know Lord. That's that's a little over-the-top this Leviticus 22 thing. That's way over the top You know, I'll pay back those people I defrauded but fourfold. Are you kidding me? I'm not doing that. No, that's not what he said Because you see when you have been called with a personal call When you've been called with the pure and holy call Because the purpose of God it's a purpose of call It's a powerful call to transform everything about you If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation Zacchaeus is an illustration of what it means to be a new creation The Apostle Paul is an illustration of what it means to be a new creation They understand salvation and so what we have in Luke 19 is an illustration of conversion of consecration of salvation of Redemption he came to seek and to save that which is lost.

What does that look like? How do you know what that looks like Bible tells you what it looks like So the question comes to us is does my life match what the Bible says?

Because if it doesn't guess what the Bible's not wrong It's not wrong. It's right. It's true. It's holy if my life does not match what the Bible says I'm wrong Not the Bible Something's wrong with me And Zacchaeus becomes that man that illustrates to us that salvation has come to your house today today Zacchaeus Salvation has come to your house twofold meaning mirror Simeon At the birth of Christ eight days after his birth holds him into his arms and says what that he is now beheld the salvation of the Lord speaking of the fact that the Messiah is salvation and he is But also the fact that salvation has come to the home of Zacchaeus.

He now is not only Receiving the one who is salvation. He is now saved himself His life has totally been turned upside down Why is this important? Because there was just a conversation about how can anybody be saved if they're rich in Luke chapter 18 When the rich man came and said what must I do to inherit eternal life Christ says keep the commandments names The latter half of the commandments.

He says I've done all that questions. Okay, one thing you select What's that sell everything you have and give to the poor? What does that kids do? Half what he had to give support, right? Still all you have he says to the rich young ruler and give to the poor and he went away sad why Because he would not get rid of the preeminent idol of his life his money his possessions He loved them too much It wasn't that he had to sell everything and give it to the poor that saved the man it was a very fact that there was another God in his life and you can't serve two masters who only serve one and God must be preeminent And that's what Christ said It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven And they said who can be saved How can that happen because they in their theology believed that you had wealth because God blessed you and if God blessed you you Must have an interest to do his kingdom.

That was how they lived their lives is what they believed And Jesus said with man's impossible, but with God all things are possible How do you know that Zacchaeus? rich man Had everything the world offered him He was willing to give it all away Because he wanted no other God, but the one true God He was willing to obey whatever the word said because it was more important to him than anything else He had denied himself He was willing to follow the Christ Meaning I'm gonna follow your word Because he had submitted to Christ as Lord of his life What a beautiful story of conversion and salvation Remember what the Bible says faith without works is what?

It's dead It's dead. There is no thing unless you're able to demonstrate it We are as workmanship Ephesians 2 10 Created into Christ Jesus for what purpose? good works Right, you're saved by grace And when the grace of God saves you Then the grace of God is demonstrated through a life that wants to please and honor the Lord God and So what does Jesus say? He says simply today salvation has come to this house because he too is a son of who? Abraham Wait He's already a Jew He's already a son of Abraham Physically, yes Genetically, yes But now spiritually He's a son of Abraham This is crucial Because what was the Jews favorite line?

We are children of Abraham And what did Jesus say? No, you're not you're children of your father the devil Now they didn't go over very well, but that's exactly what he told them. We are children of Abraham No, no, sorry. You're children of your father the devil. Wait a minute. We are descendants of Abraham. Yes, you are physically But you need to be children of Abraham Spiritually, listen to what Paul says in the book of Galatians Galatians chapter 3 Verse number 6 even so Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteous as therefore Be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham and the scripture Foreseen that God would justify the Gentiles by faith preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham saying all the nations shall be blessed in you So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham the believer Verse 29 and if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring heirs according to the promise In other word if you're a believer in Christ You are Abraham's offspring spiritually, I'm an offspring of Abraham because I believe in Christ as the Messiah the Savior of Israel the Redeemer of man's souls That's where Zacchaeus was you see You can't be a son of Abraham unless you believe that Jesus is the Messiah And so you can't get saved unless you believe that Jesus is Messiah John 20 30 and 31 make that very clear these things are written They even believe that Jesus is the Christ and that believe in him.

You might have life through his name So life comes to believing that Jesus is the Messiah. So Zacchaeus in this short conversation Maybe it was a long conversation We don't know how long it took him to get from the truth to his house But Jesus would spell out everything for him so much so that before he got to his house He would stop how long here's the question how long How long? When you look at the life of Zacchaeus How long does it take?

for a man Who was genuinely born-again To demonstrate Answer the exact same day That's the answer the exact same Day his life was flipped because that's the Transforming work of the Spirit of God in the life of a sinner that's been lost But now been found by the one who seeks and saves those who are lost Once again J.C. Ryle in his book on holiness rights Does anyone ask me what we may expect to see in true conversion? I? reply there will always be something seen in a converted man's character and feelings and conduct and opinions and daily life You will not see in him perfection But you will see in him something peculiar distinct and different from other people You will see him hating sin loving Christ following after a holiness taking pleasure in his Bible Persevering in prayer you will see him penitent humble believing temperate charitable truthful good-tempered patient Upright honorable kind these at any rate will be his aims These are the things which he will follow after however short he may come to perfection.

I Care nothing for a conversion which has neither marks nor evidence to show I Shall always say give me some marks if I am to think you are converted show me thy conversion without any marks if thou can I Do not believe in it. It is worth nothing at all You may call such doctrine legal if you please it is far better to be called legal than to be an antinomian Never never will I allow that the Blessed Spirit can be in a man's heart when no fruit of the Spirit can be seen in his life a conversion which allows a man to live in sin to lie and drink and swear is Not the conversion of the Bible It is a counterfeit conversion which can only please the devil and will lead the man Who was satisfied with it not to heaven but to hell Well, that's some good stuff That's written a long time ago by an old old man But he understood If any man be in Christ He is a new creation old things Have passed away Build all things have become new You know, it's really time For the Church of Jesus Christ to preach the message that says when you're saved it is seen Without question But because we want to obtain so many people in our congregations we don't want to preach that message But that's the message that Jesus preached Because when he touched the life everything about the life changed Let me ask you a question today is your life Changed because of the gospel has your life been turned upside down because of the gospel Are you still going down the same old paths that you used to before you were saved?

Are all things Changed not that you're perfect because it's not about perfection. It's all about progression Looking more and more like Christ as the days go on How about those close to you? How about your father your mother your brother your sister your son your daughter? Do you allow them to continue on in the lifestyle they are? Convincing them that's okay to live that way and you still have a call that's irrevocable Even though your call has not been powerful nor purposeful in your life Would you lead them away from the Lord by not speaking to them Not addressing them Allow me to continue on Or would you address it and help them to understand what the Bible says?

When it comes to a true conversion a genuine conversion Folks, this is imperative Eternity weighs in the balance Their eternal soul is at stake in at the Church of Jesus Christ Doesn't cry out and doesn't call people to the biblical standard to what God himself says then we are at fault for that We as Paul says the first Timothy are the pillar and foundation of the truth We must preach that truth We must call people to examine their lives Paul did Examine yourselves Test yourself Prove Yourself 2nd Corinthians 13 verse number 5 and see if Jesus is in you How much clearer can you can you get?

prove test examine Because you need to see if Jesus is present in you Because if Jesus is present then the characteristics of Jesus will be seen Folks this is crucial and if we as a church don't call people to that We are at fault Because we truly serve the one who seeks and saves That which is lost That's our Lord He is a seeking God. He is a saving God and we have the privilege of Representing him on this planet and may we Speak his words and live his life in our ministry. Let's pray Father God, we thank you for today Truly Lord.

You are a great God and you alone are worthy of praise Father may each person examine their life today in the light of Zacchaeus in the conversion of this man in the consecration of his life to the lordship of the Messiah May we ask ourselves is Jesus seen in us? And may we live for you and honor you We pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord our soon coming King Amen