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Pastor David Mitchell
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 the same person.
But that's not true. If you read the Bible carefully, 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 and it means is 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.
We'll 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 the 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. I 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 it will have at least two kinds of people. Well, we may only have one. I don't know your hearts. It let's say if we had 7 ,000 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. They're 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 they're 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 an elaborate chessboard.
To cause destiny to come to pass exactly as he's foreordained that it would. The people in your life that irritate 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. Everything 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 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 Rebekah 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 Esau. That God was already dealing with them from the time they were within the wombs still long time 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. 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 and 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 it 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 uh, 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 and says again the next day after John stood said it. That's not tried 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 Peter's 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. And 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 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.
Did 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 even 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 Bethsaida 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 Think I've found the Messiah. So Philip finds Nathanael and says to him 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. Nathaniel 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 Nathanael.
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.
I'm 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 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 going to 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've been to a ballgame 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 ink in the Greek language is D. If you look at it spelled out 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 Deo 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 can 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. We ask you to bless it in Jesus name. Amen.