Sunday night we looked at some truths that brought great changes to the home of Zacchaeus, the wee little man who climbed up in the sycamore tree. Consider these truths and rejoice in the love of our Lord.
Luke 19:10
1. Jesus IDENTIFIES with us. He calls Himself the "Son of man". As the Son of God he reveals a special relationship with the Heavenly Father, and as the Son of man, He reveals a special relationship with us.
"Emmanuel" God with us. Jesus is all God.
Born of a virgin. Jesus is, at the same time, all man.
He is able to identify with our human weakness. He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin according to Hebrews 4:15. What a comfort!!
As the Son of man, Jesus is able to become our substitute. He is God's Isaac sacrificed upon the altar so that we might be saved. God has provided Himself a Lamb.
2. Jesus INTERVENES for us. "For the Son of man IS COME. . ."
He stepped in when no one would or could. He intervened.
Ephesians 2:4 makes the remarkable statement, "But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in sins hath quickened us together with Christ, by grace are ye saved." Though we were dead in trespasses and sins, God, in the person of Jesus Christ came to bring salvation.
3. Jesus INVESTIGATES. He searches. He seeks the lost. This is part of the reason why He came. TO SEEK.
In these days of the "seeker-sensitive" mentality, it is wonderful to know that JESUS SEEKS. He is really the only Seeker. There is not a man or woman who would seek after God, according to Romans 3, unless God first sought them. "We love him because he first loved us." Instead of dipping our standards and adopting unscriptural methods in efforts to win those who are lost, let's ask the Lord to magnify the Lord Jesus Christ, to shed abroad His love in our hearts so that He might do His wonderful work of seeking the lost. Certainly He uses believers in this effort.
We pray that He would give us the heart to GO THROUGH SAMARIA. He made an out-of-the-ordinary stop at Jacob's well so that souls could be saved. Why? He is the Seeker. There are places and people groups today who are neglected in our outreach, but who are loved and sought after by the Master. Who will take the path of the Savior and enter these "Samarias" for Him?
We ask that He would give us the determination to win the one. Jesus made a trip across the Sea of Galilee. He met one man, the outcast of society, the devil-possessed wild man. He delivered him. Then, Jesus sent out this one as a missionary, and returned to the other side of the sea. All that way for one, but He was still not discouraged. How often do we see the single soul saved after much effort and bow our heads in discouragement? Let us continue to SEEK the one. Phillip went out to the desert at the leading of the Holy Spirit so that one man could trust Jesus. Phillip never saw the results of this one man's witness. He rejoiced to be able to obey the Lord and lead one to Christ.
4. Jesus INTERPOSES Himself for our salvation. He is our Substitute. . .mighty to save. "For the Son of man is come to seek AND TO SAVE. . ."
The old hymn says, "He to rescue me from danger interposed His precious blood." Making the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus stepped in and took our punishment, our judgment, on the cross. He was made sin for us so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
Like a secret service agent stepping in and taking a bullet for the president, Jesus stepped in and took the weight of sin's penalty on Himself at Calvary. Beyond the terrifying physical suffering, He endured the mental and spiritual suffering as well so that you and I might be saved.
At Los Alamos, NM in 1946, a young scientist was conducting an experiment that he had done several times before. He was trying to determine the critical mass of two spheres of U-235 for the atomic project to be tested later at Bikini atoll in the South Pacific. He would normally bring the two halves together and then separate them at the last second with a screwdriver. This time the screwdriver slipped, and the pieces began to fuse sending out an eerie blue haze. Without wasting a second, the young man reached and with his bare hands he separated the two spheres averting a major nuclear catastrophe! There were 7 others in the lab with him who owe their lives to his daring feat. He said to his companions, as they awaited medical attention, "You'll come through this all right, but I haven't the faintest chance myself." Nine days later he died a horrible death. Over 2,00 years ago, the Lord Jesus walked directly into the critical mass of sin's radiation, allowed Himself to become accursed for us, laid down His precious life, and broke the chain reaction Adam had started in Eden. He broke the power of sin!!! He SAVES!!
5. Jesus ILLUMINATES our minds and hearts. He reveals that we need to be saved. You see He came to seek and to save THAT WHICH WAS LOST.
We must have our eyes opened! A young boy had a sign up: Democrat Puppies for sale. Of course such a sign drew great interest and a man stopped in to see the pups. They looked like ordinary puppies of the hound dog variety. Buying one, the man asked no questions about the "Democrat" label. But two days later, the sign read differently, "Republican Puppies for SALE". He had to stop just to find out what was going on. "I purchased a puppy from you a couple of days ago when your sign said, 'Democrat Puppies for sale', what made you change the sign? Did you not sell enough with the other sign?" "No, that was not the reason for the change," the boy replied. "I changed my sign because the pups eyes opened yesterday."
Unless the Holy Spirit of God reproves our hearts of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, we will not recognize our need of the Savior or open our hearts to Him.
God has given His Word so that we might recognize that we are lost and that Jesus saves the lost. The Good News is "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. . .". Are your eyes open?
"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:10
Let the Lord work a miracle at your house, in your heart, today.
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