God's Work in the Lost Sheep (10/26/2003)
Pastor David Mitchell
Transcript
We're talking about this topic Does God work in the life of a lost sheep before the day of his spiritual birth?
That wasn't designed to be a title. I know it's too long for title, but that's the point we're on in this message
How does God work in the life who can tell me who can tell me what three kinds of people there are?
Brother Otis keep your coloring book on your lap, please Who could lost sheep
And sheep and goats Now you may know you may have not heard that before if you're not
Hadn't been around this church much because in the world today if you don't go back and read some of the older books
If you read only the modern books, you'll think there's only two kinds of people a lost person in a saved person
But that's not true if you read the Bible carefully and we'll see some of these scriptures this morning
There are three kinds of people From God's viewpoint now and not that we can always identify them by just looking at people because we're pretty good at fooling one another
Aren't we? but there are Sheep, and there are goats Jesus talked about it.
He said when I come I'm gonna separate the sheep from the goats But the sheep on my right hand the goats on my left hand and I'm gonna say to the goats depart from me and they're gonna
Say well, why we did many wonderful works in your name. We healed people in your name
Did we not do wonderful works in your name and he'll say depart from me. I never knew you
Now that's an amazing statement coming from someone who's omniscient who knows what omniscient means
All -knowing So, how can an all -knowing God say I never knew you? That's pretty amazing
Well what it teaches it means one of many places that teach the fact that there that God has children
That he has known from before the world was made from before the angels were made
From before the stars were made. In fact, he's known them for however old
God is Which is only a way of speaking as a man because we can't keep your coloring book in your lap, too
Come on, folks. Let's let's get it together I'm gonna make you all quit coloring if you're not careful
But God is eternal going back as we speak as a man.
We have to go back in time. We're on a timeline He's not he's not on the line So we can only think with regard to time.
So we call it eternity past which is a strange use of language Because eternity doesn't have a past So we talk about it from our viewpoint
When we speak of time But God is outside of time and for all of eternity
God has known his own children they're called the sheep Now he does not know the goats in the same way that he knows the sheep because in the
Bible the word no carries with it the idea of affection and intimacy It talks about the book of Genesis that Adam knew
Eve and she bore a son It has that connotation
So God has known us with an intimate love always and Then there are the goats who yeah, he knows about them when
Jesus said I never knew you He didn't mean I never knew about you. He meant I never loved you. I Never knew you with affection and love like I know the sheep and He looked at those people and he said where I go you cannot come
He didn't say you don't want to come or you won't come he said you can't come and The reason is because they were not
God's sheep and never have been they were Satan's seed So Satan has his seed and God has his and they're all around us everywhere we go
Now the great Spurgeon one of the greatest Baptist preachers of England Said that God didn't put a yellow stripe down the back of the elect.
So I don't know who they are So I witnessed everyone And that's exactly what the Lord has commanded us to do is to be a witness a light in this world but from God's viewpoint
Jesus knows exactly who they are and So it's interesting to talk about it from that viewpoint in This room today.
We have three you have at least two kinds of people. Well, we may only have one. I don't know your hearts
Let's say if we had seven thousand people in the room today like some of the churches up in Dallas, you know 5 ,000 in attendance if we had a group like that I could confidently say that we would have three kinds of people in the room
We would have some saved sheep who are God's people who who have been born again We'd have some lost sheep who are
God's people who don't know it yet You know what? I mean, they they they're still lost.
They don't love church They don't love the word. They don't love God. They don't love God's people yet because they're lost sheep
They're not saved yet But they shall be saved at some point in their life And then there may be a third type of person in a church like that called a lost goat
And that's a person who will never be saved he will go to hell when he dies and There are those kinds of people in the world now many of the people when these gospel writers spoke to a crowd
They were speaking to the same kind. They had those three kinds of people in the room and they knew it. Yes Their couples, well, they're goats, but they're they're not lost because they were never found you're right
You're too particular with language Go back to your coloring book, please But he's but he's absolutely right
So as we look at this lesson this morning, here's here's what's interesting If you look at it from the viewpoint that most modern churches do where they don't understand that there are those three kinds
They think there are only two kinds a lost person in the same person if you look at it their way
Then what most of them actually teach and I've heard this on the radio I've heard big preachers say it that God will not hear the prayer of the lost or God will not deal with the lost
He only deals with the saved Well, there's a problem with that and that is that the
Bible shows otherwise Now God even deals he even deals with the goats
I mean the goats are nothing more than pawns in his hand that he moves about on a elaborate chessboard
To cause destiny to come to pass exactly as he's for ordained that it would
The people in your life that irritates you the most other than your brothers and sisters
Are people that many of them are Satan's seed and they will never be saved.
Oh, they'll tell you they're a Christian If you live down here, everybody's a Christian. I'm not saying that but I'm saying they don't have a relationship with God in Jesus Christ, they do not have that relationship that moment -by -moment true relationship
They've been to church been baptized So they tell you they're a Christian a lot of those are goats a lot of them are lost sheep who will be saved later
But they're not yet, but a lot of them are goats and what they do is God uses them You say well, how can that be?
Well, because he's God He's sovereign. He's in control of everything That includes the devil that includes the demons that includes the angels includes you includes me but it also includes
Satan's seed the lost goats and What they do is they provide an appropriate amount of irritation for you and For me to cause us to run back to God realize we can't do it on our own.
That's basically what they do They cause us to realize that we're not strong enough to make it in a world with such evil
That we have to rely upon the Lord and the older you get and the more responsible you are with a family and then later
Children and then later grandchildren the more, you know, you're not able on your own, but it's all because so many times because People have done evil things to you and you've got these little ones growing up in a world that you know is evil and they're gonna chew them up and spit them out and So you come to the
Lord on your knees and you begin to pray for those little ones, don't you? you wouldn't pray near as much as if if all you had was just Whipped cream and strawberries every day so the
Lord brings us some thorns and thistles and that's
Enlarge the role of the goats. They don't know that they're just living their life doing what they want to do They don't know that they're evil necessarily.
They don't know that they're being used of God to cause you to be stronger But they're exactly where God wants them to be at any given time
The question this morning is then Did God work in your life before you got saved?
Well, we talked last time for a few moments about Jacob back in Genesis chapter 25 starting with verse 21 and it said that Isaac his father
Entreated the Lord for his wife because she was barren and the
Lord wasn't treated of him and Rebecca his wife conceived And then Jacob was going to be born and the interesting thing is we found last week that that word
Entreated means to burn incense in worship That'd be a whole topic for a sermon on prayer because that's what prayer should be
It's worship Not just asking for stuff we want
But anyway, it does include asking so he asked the Lord For his wife to have children.
She had been barren and God Had that planned? Anyway, did he not?
Would you agree with me with the knowledge that you have of the scriptures that God had already planned for him to have children?
In fact, God had already told him he was going to have children in a roundabout way because he said you're gonna be the line
Of the Messiah. Well, if there's gonna be a Messiah, that means there have to be some children born But his wife couldn't have children
So it took an enormous amount of faith on on Isaac's part to believe
That his wife could have children. So he went to the Lord in prayer and said, you know, this isn't working, right?
I'm supposed to be the line of the Messiah and I can't have any babies So therefore it's impossible.
Now, that's his human feelings So he went to the Lord and he prayed but what was he really praying when he prayed?
He was praying in God's will God Had already told him he was going to have a family
So he was merely praying what God said. He was going to do. That's why his prayer was answered and So the children were born what's interesting about it as you read the story in verses 22 through 24
It shows that Jacob and he saw That God was already dealing with them from the time.
They were within the wombs still Longtime before Jacob was as we as humans would say was saved or came to have a personal relationship with God Because he was still in his mother's womb
God was already working in his life. So we use that example now. I want to move forward to another example and that is
Well, I think let me mention a couple others for you we mentioned David Last time
King David Psalm 139 verse 13 shows that God dealt with him while he was in his mother's womb
Isaiah chapter 49 verse 1 showed that God dealt with Isaiah from his mother's womb
That means from within the womb and then as he's born and then in his young life He dealt with him all the way same way with Jeremiah you find that in Jeremiah 1 4
And then we talked about the lame man in Acts chapter 3 verse 2 We brought him up for this reason.
Sometimes we think that God only deals with the biggies, you know, the big ones like Moses You know or Abraham and that we are so insignificant in our life.
He doesn't deal with us that way. That's not true He deals with every one of us he deals with us personally and Acts chapter 3 verse 2 talks about the lame man
That was saved but also was made able to walk again just an average man and no one knew
Now I want to come to some new material turn to Luke chapter 1 verse 15 Let's talk about John the
Baptist for a moment. We're still talking about this God deal with people before their salvation in earth time
Because there is a day and an hour when you get saved from our viewpoint
There is a time when you were born again Just as surely as there's a time when you were born the first time physically born
Your mom can tell you probably the hour and the day you were born physically
God can tell you the moment you were born spiritually in time So there is that time but we're looking at people even before that event happened and we can talk that About you or about me before that event happened was
God working in our lives Well John the Baptist in Luke 1 15 It says for he shall be great in the sight of the
Lord and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink and he shall be filled with the
Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb and Many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the
Lord their God His life was pretty well mapped out before he was born, wasn't it? Guess what?
Yours was to God has your life totally mapped out into the minutest detail your entire purpose for existing is mapped out
The job you will do for God is mapped out. That's whether you're a goat or a sheep this morning
Now if you're sitting there worried about being a goat, you're probably not one You probably either a saved sheep or a lost sheep
But it doesn't matter which of the three categories you're in your life is mapped out your purpose is set and Each day as you take one step forward
You're stepping into that purpose in that plan and moving towards the end of your destiny
John the Baptist it was all mapped out while he was still in his mother's womb John chapter 1 verse 29 and says the next day
John seeth Jesus coming unto him and saith behold the Lamb of God but long before God had taught him to have that kind of discernment as He was a young man a little boy even a baby
God was already working in John the Baptist life preparing him to be the man out of Israel that would recognize the
Messiah first Other than Mary I suppose But he would recognize the
Messiah the next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him and saith behold the Lamb of God Which taketh away the sin of the world?
This is he of whom I said after me cometh a man which is preferred before me for he was
Before me John the Baptist said what's interesting is that John the Baptist was six months older than Jesus But he said
Jesus existed before I did Don't miss that phrase
It shows the deity of Jesus Christ the fact that he's always existed even before he was born in that manger
So John the Baptist continues in verse 31 and I knew him not But that he should be made made manifest to Israel Therefore am
I come baptizing with water and John bear record saying I saw the Spirit Descending from heaven like a dove and it abode upon him
Jesus and I knew him not But he that sent me to baptize with water the same said to me now who was that who sent
John to baptize with water? God So he says it was
God that said unto me upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him
The same is he Which will baptize with the Holy Ghost and I saw and bear record that this is the
Son of God Now that's a great man Speaking the one who led the way for Jesus and identified him the one that Jesus himself later said there is none greater
Born of woman than John the Baptist that included Ezekiel that included
Daniel that included Elijah and Elisha That included
Moses and Abraham and Adam and Eve Maybe not
Adam. It wasn't born of woman was he? It included every Bible character.
You can think of up until the time of John the Baptist Jesus said none greater why was he so great because God had dealt with him from the womb and Shaped him for this life that he lived
Well, we know then that that's true of John the Baptist now let's
Let's think about some of the people that Jesus dealt with as disciples
If you're in Luke chapter 1 Look at verse 35
I'm gonna make sure my computer didn't play tricks on me. Make sure this is Luke 1 35 It says again the next day after John stood said it
That's not try John chapter 1 verse 35 Yeah, that's what
I thought. It's John Okay, John chapter 1
Well, let's go back to verse 29. It'll kind of pick up the same story. We were just reading about John the
Baptist John 1 verse 29 the next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him now, which it's the same story
It's just in the book of John And he saith behold the
Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world This is he of whom I said after me cometh a man which is preferred before me for he was before me now jump to verse 35
And the next day after John stood and two of his disciples and Looking upon Jesus as he walked he saith behold the
Lamb of God and his two disciples heard him say that now These were John's disciples Followers of John the
Baptist were standing with their leader and they heard their leader say that is the Messiah He pointed him out
Well when this happens verse 37 says and the two disciples heard John speak and they followed
Jesus Then Jesus turned and saw them following and said unto them what seek ye
They said unto him rabbi, which is to say being interpreted master or teacher Where dwellest thou and Jesus said of them come and see
They came and saw where he dwelt and abode with him that day for it was about the tenth hour
Now I want you to notice Andrew at this point He is the first fisher of men
Look at verse 40 one of the two One of the two disciples that were
John the Baptist disciples that turned and followed Jesus because John pointed him out as the
Messiah That's all they had to hear to be curious about it and want to follow this man and learn about him
So they followed Jesus One of the two which heard Jesus speak and followed him was
Andrew Simon Peters brother Now, we all know who Peter is. He was one of the key
Apostles Well, Peter does not know about Jesus yet But Andrew his brother just happened to be there that day when
John the Baptist pointed out Jesus in Andrew who was Peter's brother followed
Jesus and we see this story He first findeth his own brother
Simon So the first thing Andrew did when he met Jesus and walked with him spent one night in his home and listened to him talk
He knew this is somebody my brother needs to meet So he went home and he got
Peter and he said I found someone you need to meet Well, Peter was one of these outgoing
Forceful kind of people and I don't know if Andrew was he probably was not So it's difficult to talk and leader like Peter into doing anything, but Andrew did it
So Andrew got the job done And he first finds his own brother
Simon Peter and he says unto him we have found the Messiah which is being interpreted the
Christ Now what if your brother walked up to you or sister walked up you said well,
I've found the Messiah You need to come see him. What would your first reaction be? Yeah, right.
You know why our reactions that because we don't think our family's smart enough to do anything We don't think our own family than any of our brothers and sisters ever amount to anything because they can't be smarter than we are
So for them to bring something to me that I hadn't found on my own is impossible. That's human nature
So Andrew had to do a good job to get Peter to come and see And he brought
Peter to Jesus and when Jesus beheld Peter He said thou art Simon the son of Jonah Thou shalt be called
Cephas which is by interpretation a stone Now That's an amazing thing because Jesus as a man had never met
Peter before but he knew all about him He knew what his character traits were.
He knew that he was a he was cut out to be a leader He hadn't talked to him yet Hadn't even spoken to him and he says in fact your name is going to be
Peter which really means a stone And it's as if he's going to be one of the key stones that the whole church is built on and Jesus tells him that after Talking to him for three seconds
So did Jesus already know Simon by name
Did he already know that his new name would be Peter before he ever met him? So was he already watching over this man before he ever met him?
Yes, he was Now let's keep reading. We see it kind of gets even more interesting verse 43
Philip now becomes the second fisher of men the day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee and findeth
Philip and Sayeth and do him follow me Now we're gonna find some real fascinating information as we go on through this passage
Right now it just sounds like Jesus just kind of haphazardly walks along and oh, there's somebody you follow me
That's the way it reads because we tend to read from the human viewpoint. Don't we? We tend to think like we think and we tend to think
God thinks like we think but he doesn't And so here we go.
We see that Jesus finds Philip and says follow me verse 44 now Philip was a
Bethesda The city of Andrew and Peter just happened to be from the same place that Andrew and Peter were from perhaps grew up together
Philip then goes and finds Nathanael So Philip has found a good thing when he finds
Jesus and he does the same thing that Andrew did he goes and tells a buddy You got to come see this.
You got to come see what I've found. I We have found him of whom
Moses in the law and the prophets did write Jesus of Nazareth the son of Joseph and Nathanael said unto him now look here's human nature
See this see not only your family that way your best friends. Don't think you can do anything either now
Isn't that a sad lot? I hate to tell you but your best friends and your closest people in life
Family are the last people ever think you'll amount to anything Because if you do you're better than they are you could achieve more than they did and they don't think you can do that So here it happens again now, you know
Peter didn't say anything like this But you can bet he was thinking it but Philip was bold enough to even say it.
So Philip says, you know, Nathanael says come Well, where was
I lost my place here? Philip finds Nathanael. He says we found him Nathanael here it is
Nathanael said to him. Can there be any good thing come out of Nazareth?
He said you hadn't found anything You haven't found anything. The Messiah is not going to be born in that part of the woods
Philip just answered him this way Come and see that was a pretty good answer You see when your family and your friends don't believe you don't act like you're the authority
Just say come with me. Let me show you somebody knows what they're talking about come and see and Jesus saw
Nathanael coming to him and he saith of him behold now This is a man
Jesus as a man has never met yet Never seen him and Nathanael of all people knows that he's never met this man before And as soon as he walks up Jesus sees him coming.
He says behold an Israelite indeed in whom there is no guile And Nathanael said unto him whence knowest thou me?
How do you know me? and Jesus answered and said to him before that Philip called thee when thou were under the fig tree.
I saw you But the problem with that was that Nathanael knew Jesus wasn't there
No, man was anywhere around when he was meditating under that tree or whatever. He was doing taking a nap
We don't know what he was doing But Jesus said I saw you there Well at that Nathanael answered and said unto him rabbi
Thou art the Son of God. That means the Messiah Thou art the
King of Israel now that they've only known each other a few seconds and Nathaniel Nathanael says this based on what
Jesus had said to him, which was I know things about you. I shouldn't know and Nathanael picked up on it instantly
Jesus answered and said now this is kind of funny. I think it shows that God has a sense of humor
We can look at each other and know that Joe Anyway Jesus answered and said to him because I said unto thee
I saw thee under the fig tree you believe me Thou shalt see greater things than these
And he saith unto him verily verily I say unto you hereafter You shall see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the
Son of Man So my question to you is this did Jesus know Philip before Philip knew
Jesus He did did he not? So was God working in the life of a lost man?
He certainly was let's go to another one What do you think about the
Apostle Paul Well, it's kind of interesting when the
Lord deals with Paul Acts chapter 26 verse 14 and When we were all fallen to the earth,
I heard a voice speaking unto me. This is Paul giving the account of his salvation experience and saying in the
Hebrew tongue Saul Saul Why persecute is thou me it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks
So I ask you this Paul was on the road going out to find Christians to kill and put in prison.
He was not looking for Jesus. Was he and yet he was born again at that moment and Paul himself says that Jesus said to me
You know, why are you persecuting me? It's hard for you to kick against the pricks that means
Paul's conscience was bothering him That's a great indication that you're a lost sheep.
If you're not saved yet today If your conscience bothers you about not following the
Lord, that's a good sign Because even when Paul was not saved yet, his name was
Saul and he was going about killing Christians It was killing him on the inside. There was something pulling at him telling him that this is not of God But he did it anyway, because his brain told him it was of God, but his heart was telling him it's something wrong with this and Finally when he met
Jesus on that road Jesus looked at him and said why have you been persecuting me?
So my question is with Jesus watching him before he got saved. Was he dealing with this man before his salvation?
The answer is obviously yes Now Let's go to another character in the
Bible's exact Zacchaeus in Luke chapter 19 verse 1 turn over there for a moment
Now we're gonna learn something amazing in this little passage We we tend to look at all this from the human viewpoint and it's given as a story
From the human viewpoint much of the Bible's written that way But a lot of the
Bible gives us other clues that allow us to look at things from God's viewpoint From the divine viewpoint as God sees it and as you grow more and more mature in the
Lord You will tend to want to look at everything through God's viewpoint that you can Because man's viewpoint doesn't matter anymore
You want to see God's viewpoint? Well, let's look at the same thing going on with this man
Zacchaeus But we're gonna notice something fascinating as we get into the Greek language here in a minute on a certain word start with 19 verse 1 and Jesus entered and passed through Jericho and Behold, there was a man named
Zacchaeus which was the chief among the publicans and he was rich He was a tax collector all the
Jews hated the tax collectors because they took their money and gave it to Rome but that's who this man was and he the
Jews would use a publican as a form of a picture of Describing what a sinner was the worst kind of sinner you could find as an old publican
Because he steals your money and gives it to Rome and then he keeps he'll tell you your taxes $10 when
Rome really only wanted five and he keeps the other five That's they were allowed to do business that way by the
Roman government Because the Roman government knew if they gave him that incentive they'd go collect all the taxes they could find and it worked
So the Jews considered these men to be the worst sinners that they were and naturally Zacchaeus was rich He got a pretty good markup on that tax
Every dollar you were paying him. He was keeping half of it and giving the rest to the
Roman government Well this man Was so short that he could not see over the crowd and he had heard of this man named
Jesus Who was a healer is probably the reason he was interested in him and fed the multitudes
Miraculously, and he wanted to see if there was anything to this but he couldn't because he was so short
So he's gonna climb up in the tree. Now. I want to ask you something. Was he born short by accident?
Or was this part of his purpose part of his destiny? Well, he sought to see
Jesus He wanted to know who he was and he could not because of the press that means the crowd
There were so many the crowd was pressing in you've been in that or you ever been to a ball game or something Where you're waiting in line to get in and it just presses against you because he was little in stature and He ran ahead you can see this little short man running ahead of the crowd and he climbs up into a sycamore tree to see
Jesus or he was to pass that way Just happened to get in the right tree, didn't he?
What a wonderful thing to come to pass You see God is orchestrating all this in our own lives
All we have to do is look back to yesterday and we see all that was orchestrated Wasn't chance we tend to look in the future and we think it's just chance.
We think boy. I hope I get lucky Doesn't work that way in the future either. The future is just as orchestrated as your past has been
It's all orchestrated by God who is in control of everything Verse 5 says and when
Jesus came to the place he looked up and saw this little man in the tree Don't you think he felt funny?
When he got noticed out of that huge crowd of thousands of people in the eyes of this man He came to see look up and lock in on his eyes.
He had to be a bit embarrassed being up in that tree But he saw him and he said unto him
Zacchaeus Out of all these thousands of people he picks this one man out and Jesus says to him make haste and come down For today
I must abide at thy house Now I'm gonna stop there a minute
But I want you to look at one word and that is the word must Jesus Christ Who is all of the fullness of the
Godhead bodily the book of Colossians tells us Jesus Christ who was God with us?
Matthew tells us Jesus Christ who was the eternal Son of God even before he was born in the manger
Has something that he must do Do you tell
God you you have to do this Now a lot of our modern theologians do that every day they teach people if you just name it and claim it
God has to give It so if you just pray for something God's obligated to give it to you.
That's what they teach. Is that true? No, can you say God you must?
But Jesus himself said I must Abide at your house this word must in the in in the
Greek language is D if you look at it spelled out, it's
D E. I pronounced day or D and what it means literally is it is necessary and binding it is necessary and Binding it comes from a smaller
Greek word Day, oh which means to bind something as if to take twine and bind it up and tie it together
The word means that this is a binding Act that must be done and Jesus is saying because God the
Father has told me this must be done So when he looks at this little man in the tree and he says come down from there.
I must Abide in your house. Jesus says I don't have a choice See when we read it from the human viewpoint it just looks like he looks up says hey take me home
I'm hungry. I need something to eat might as well eat in your house But when you look at the
Greek word, you understand God's viewpoint Jesus did not have a choice
He he was bound by God's for ordained will
The counsel of God that took place before the foundation of the world Jesus Christ was bound to have lunch in this man's house and to meet this man
And he had to do it. I Must abide with thee. Let's find out why and we'll be through this morning.
Look at John chapter 6 verse 35 and Jesus said to them
I am the bread of life He that cometh to me shall never hunger he that believeth on me shall never thirst
But I said unto you that ye also have seen me and believe not All that the father giveth me will come to me and he that cometh to me
I will in no wise cast out for I came down from heaven
Not to do my own will But the will of him that sent me and this is the father's will
Which hath sent me that of all which he hath given me
I should lose nothing but shall raise it up again at the last day and this is the will of him that sent me that everyone which beholds the
Son and Believeth on him may have everlasting life and I will raise him up at the last day
Jesus knew that Zacchaeus was one of this lost sheep
He was elected of God before the foundation of the world He was already one of God's children, but Zacchaeus just did not know it yet But Jesus knew it ahead of time and he looked up at this man and said come down.
I am bound by the Predestined will of God to have lunch with you and you're going to be saved today
He didn't say that but God Jesus was thinking that and it did in fact come to pass
And you go on and you read in this man's life back in Luke where we were
Luke 196 it says and this little man made haste and he came down and received
Jesus Joyfully, that's irresistible grace You see when
God moves in upon you as a lost sheep and he opens your blind eyes and he opens your deaf ears where you can hear for the first time and He brings you to the ability to look and see
Jesus Christ You can't resist him
He is irresistible Therefore if you have resisted him up to this point, you haven't seen him yet You just think you've heard about him.
You haven't heard him yet If that bothers you in the least that's a good sign
Because if you're a lost sheep Jesus is already watching you he already knows what tree you climbed
In fact, he put you in the tree And He's going to invite you
To have you invite him. Did you hear what I said? He's going to invite you
To have you invite him Into your house your heart
That's the way it always happens and if you're a lost sheep Jesus said my sheep hear my voice and they follow me and just as this man joyfully received
Jesus said yeah Come on to my house He had no choice. There's no other way. He would have it once he saw
Jesus for who he was He wanted him with all of his heart And then you follow the story on down and what you find is fruit
Immediate fruit is found in this taxpayers life in Luke 19 7
It says and when they saw it, they all murmured saying that he was gone to be a guest of a man.
That is a sinner That's the way the religious people are and verse 8
Zacchaeus stood and said unto the Lord behold Lord the half of my money
I'm gonna give it to the poor. You see there's already a change in this man's life His inside has been changed so that his outward actions are changing and that's what we can see
He says and if I've taken anything from any man by a false accusation as a tax collector
I am going to restore it to him fourfold Now this man wasn't this way when he climbed in the tree
But when Jesus came into his house his heart was this way instantly and Jesus said to him this day is salvation come to this house
For so much as he also is a son of Abraham who was the father of faith you see
But the Son of Man has come to seek and save That which is lost
No accident that that man was in that tree That's how God deals in your life.
If you're here, and you know, you're saved. You're already a saved sheep Then you can look back and see how
God orchestrated all that in your life. I could have a testimony from everyone It's had that experience if you're here, and you haven't had that experience
If it's bothering you this morning, that's a good sign, but you need to know this that Jesus Will have you in the right place at the right time
And when you do see him at that first moment and your heart desires him for the first time
It's because he's invited you to invite him in your heart He's opened your eyes
He's opened your ears where you can hear God's Word for the first time He's taken you who were dead and he's made you alive
And that's time to rejoice and tell all your friends and neighbors and family and they may not even believe you when you tell them
Especially if it hasn't happened to them yet That's how salvation works let's stand and have prayer together
If you ever come to the place where you desire Jesus Then all you have to do is desire
Jesus Yeah, you will talk to him just like Zacchaeus did you'll have your first real talk with him
And you'll say Lord I want you to be my boss I want you to run my life because you can run it better than I can
I'm gonna give half my money away if I've ever wronged anybody. I'm gonna make it right. I'm gonna change. I'm gonna give up all this
I'm gonna follow you whatever you want me to do Lord. What would you have me to do? That will be what you say the first few moments of your knowledge of your own salvation
And so don't hold that back when the Lord brings it let's pray father we thank you so much for Your word which guides us each step of the way
Guides us through the false teaching of our modern day It keeps us in the old ways like our forefathers a hundred years before us used to believe
Keeps us out of modernism and false religion Lord, but most of all your word keeps us right with you
It keeps us in fellowship with you. It allows us to hear your voice as you speak to us by your word
And Lord it helps us to be the light that you want us to be in this life So Lord accomplish a work in our hearts today that we would be different when we leave this place and we thank you for The fellowship we're about to have the meal we're about to have together.