March 24, 2002

Luke 19:1-10

Making an Incredible Faith Credible

  1. Introduction
    1. Illustration – James Moore, in Some Things Are Too Good Not to Be True (Nashville: Dimensions For Living, 1994, 97-99) wrote, Once upon a time, there were two men, Mr. Wilson and Mr. Thompson, both seriously ill in the same room of a great hospital. Both had to be kept unusually quiet and still - no reading, no radio, certainly no television and no visitors. Their only entertainment was to talk to each other. Mr. Thompson had to spend all his time flat on his back. Mr. Wilson, on the other hand, as part of his treatment, was allowed to sit up in bed for an hour each day. His bed was next to the window, and every afternoon, when he was propped up for his hour, he would pass the time by describing to Mr. Thompson what he could see outside. And Mr. Thompson began to live for those hours. Mr. Wilson would look out the window and describe ... - a beautiful park with a lake, where there were ducks and swans and children throwing them bread and sailing model boats; - softball games and football games and kites flying; - flowers and trees and stretches of grass and young lovers walking hand-in-hand; - the skyline of the city off in the distance and the cars and horse-drawn carriages making their way through the park. One day, there was a parade, and Mr. Wilson described every float, every band and all the participants in the procession. Mr. Thompson listened intently, enjoying every minute. He could visualize everything Mr. Wilson described. Then one afternoon, Mr. Thompson thought to himself: "Just wait a minute! Why should Wilson have all the fun? Why does he have all the pleasure? Why does he get to be by the window?" In a few days, Mr. Thompson turned sour. He was bitter, angry, resentful. He brooded and seethed. He became obsessed with wanting to be by the window! And each passing hour, he became more and more resentful of Mr. Wilson. Then one night, quite suddenly, Mr. Wilson died. His body was taken away the next morning. As soon as it seemed decent, Mr. Thompson asked if he could be moved to the bed next to the window. So they moved him, tucked him in, made him quite comfortable and left him alone. The minute they'd gone, Mr. Thompson struggled to prop himself up on one elbow so he could look out the window. Imagine his surprise. It faced a blank brick wall! Sometimes compassion is most powerful when it surprises. Will you try something during the next few days? In the spirit of Jesus, will you surprise somebody with your love and compassion? Jesus surprised people with his compassion, and so can we.
    2. Context – Compassion is definitely one of the characteristics that describes how Jesus dealt with everyday people. In fact, compassion is one of the things that most describes who He is. Let’s take a look at Luke 19:1-10 to see exactly how Jesus shares His love.
  1. Scripture Passage
    1. Luke 19:1-10 – Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’" 8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." 9 Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
  1. How Jesus Impacted Zacchaeus
    1. There are four characteristics of Jesus in this encounter that show us how much faith we can have in Him as God’s Son and as our personal Savior. These characteristics also show us how we can effectively share what we believe with those around us. Let’s take a look at those four characteristics.
    2. First, Jesus had credibility. The minute Zacchaeus heard Jesus was there he wanted to get a look at Him. Jesus’ reputation was so powerful that even one of society’s worst scoundrels wanted to see Him. He had talked the talk and walked the walk. He was a living evidence of God’s power and love on earth. We can trust in His message because it wasn’t given in a vacuum. Those who knew Him best believed Him the most. Jesus is credible because He lived exactly what He taught. We can believe His message is true. And if we’ve accepted Jesus as being credible and as a consequence we’re going to share what God has done in our hearts and lives, we’ve got to be walking the walk and talking the talk. In other words, we’ve got to live like Jesus makes a difference in our lives in all we say and do. We’ve got to live exactly what He taught. Easier said than done, but when our lives have credibility, people will be much more willing to listen to our words. Where are we at on the credibility scale? Do we believe that Jesus’ message is credible because His life is credible? And do we act on that belief and choose to live lives that bring credibility to our faith? One characteristic of Jesus we simply can’t afford to live without is His credibility.
    3. Second, Jesus had compassion. He didn’t scorn or reject Zacchaeus like the religious leaders and even the regular folks of the day did. When Jesus saw how interested the little tax collector was in knowing who He was, He set Zacchaeus’ reputation aside, had compassion on him, and invited Himself to his house for dinner, thereby honoring Zacchaeus. Jesus cared enough to meet Zacchaeus at his point of need. He needed to be loved and accepted just as he was, and Jesus did that for him. Jesus loves and accepts every single one of us right where we’re at. He might not approve of the choices we make, but He doesn’t let that stand in the way of His love for us. He looks on us with compassion, wanting to impact our lives and transform us because He wants the best for us. Jesus cares enough for us that He accepts us where we’re at, all the while seeing what we could be if we let Him transform our hearts and lives. And if we’ve received His compassionate love for us and as a consequence we’re going to share the impact His compassionate love has made on our hearts and lives, we’ve got to care enough to accept people where they’re at, seek to meet their needs, and communicate the powerful message of Jesus to them in ways they can understand. Where are we at on the compassion scale? Do we believe in Jesus’ compassionate love for us? And do we act on that compassion and share Jesus’ love with those around us? Compassion is another characteristic of Jesus we simply can’t afford to live without.
    4. Third, Jesus confronted Zacchaeus’ critics. Jesus spent time with him sharing what real life was, and He knew his heart and that faith was there. So when people started assassinating Zacchaeus’ character, and everything they said was true, Jesus stood up for Him. If we’ve come to believe in Jesus’ credibility and His compassion for us and we’ve received Him as our Savior, do we let Him do the confronting when our faith is attacked? Jesus is more than able to defend our faith against the attacks that count – those that threaten to take our faith. He will confront the opponents of our faith and protect us from their attacks when we call on His help. And if we’ve received Him as our Savior and have called on Him to defend us, then we are freed to defend each other’s faith. Then when someone comes to faith in Jesus who has a bad reputation, or comes from a rough background, or is fighting to leave their past in the past, we’ve got to stand up for them. Granted, after they’ve been a Christian for a period of time we need to confront them as God leads us over sinful habits and attitudes. But new believers need to be defended, and often it is "more mature" believers who can be on the attack against them. Why? Because people who are just beginning their relationship with Jesus have a long way to go. But guess what? All believers had that far to go when they first came to faith, and all believers still have a long way to go. We’ve got to confront the critics of new believers so that their faith can be nurtured and grow. Where are we at when it comes to confronting in defense of the faith? Do we have faith in Jesus and allow Him to defend us? Then do we use His strength in defending us to defend each other’s faith? Do we defend the faith of new believers as vigorously as we do others? Another characteristic of Jesus we simply can’t afford to live without is confronting those who attack the faith of those who believe in Him.
    5. Fourth, Jesus confirmed Zacchaeus’ faith. Think of the hope that must have sprung up in the little man and his friends when Jesus announced to the critics that salvation had come to one of society’s most unlikely people. When any of us receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, it is a big deal! When any person comes to faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior, the Bible tells us there’s a party in heaven. God sends His Spirit to confirm within us that we have received salvation and that He is always with us. All any of us have to do to receive Him is to confess our sins, ask Him to forgive our sins, ask Him to come into our hearts and lives, and receive Him. That’s all! When someone receives Jesus, that is a cool thing! And if we’ve received Jesus and we see others come to faith in Him, we’ve got to do all we can to confirm them in the faith so that they can grow. We’ve got to accept them into our fellowship so that they can be nurtured. We’ve got to stand up in front of everyone and say, "I’ve seen the change in this person’s life, and I praise God that Jesus has come into their heart and life." Where do we stand when it comes to faith in Jesus and confirming it in others? Have we taken the step of receiving Jesus as our Savior and Lord and have we told others so they can confirm our faith and help us grow? Do we take the time and effort to confirm faith in each other when we see it? Confirming faith in others is another characteristic of Jesus we simply can’t afford to live without.
    6. I’m not trying to oversimplify a difficult process. But there’s a lot we can learn by watching and studying how Jesus brought people to faith in Himself. His encounter with Zacchaeus gives us a clear picture of how we can know His message is true and receive Him as Savior and Lord through His credibility, compassion, confrontation, and confirmation. Those who already have faith in Him can use His encounter with Zacchaeus to share our faith. If we simply follow Jesus’ pattern throughout every area of our lives, we will become powerful witnesses of His great love.
    7. Illustration – From Homiletics Online: In ancient China, the people wanted security against the barbaric hordes to the north, so they built the Great Wall. It was so high they believed no one could climb over it and so thought nothing could break it down. They settled back to enjoy their security. During the first hundred years of the wall's existence, China was invaded three times. Not once did the barbaric hordes break down the wall or climb over it. Each time, they bribed a gatekeeper and then marched right through the gates. The Chinese were so busy relying on walls of stone they forgot to teach integrity to their children. If we are people of integrity, we will be credible, and our lives will make a difference for Jesus Christ. The only way anyone can be credible is through faith in Jesus. We can’t live credible lives any other way. We can’t be people of integrity without the power of God transforming our hearts and lives. Then we will be credible. And when our lives are credible, then we are free to compassionate share His love, to confront those who would tear down new believers, and to confirm the faith of those who receive Jesus into their hearts and lives. We’ve got to be credible if we’re going to be able to effectively share God’s love with a world that doesn’t know Him.
  1. Conclusion
    1. Please bow your heads and close your eyes. Feel free to come forward any time you’d like to pray and to be prayed for. Where are we on the credibility scale? Where are we on the compassion scale? Where are we on the confrontation scale? Where are we on the confirmation scale?
    2. If God has been telling you that your standing in any or all of these four areas is not where He wants it to be, and you’d like to make it right with God, please come forward and pray and be prayed for. God doesn’t call us to be perfect, just to respond when He touches our hearts. If He’s touching yours this morning, come forward now.
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