Carly spoke about Zacchaeus. Luke 19:1-10
Zaccheus, a little man meets a big God!
Zaccheus had a curiosity to see Jesus and made the most of the opportunity
by climbing a tree to catch even a glimpse of this Jesus that he had heard
something about.
As Jesus walks past he calls Zaccheus by name and insists that he comes to
his house. Very publically Jesus offers acceptance, welcome and grace to a
lonely and lost man so used to rejection. His open heart and curiosity made
him exactly the sort of person Jesus came to seek.
Zaccheus is a transformed man and one can only imagine the positive shock
waves that went through the community. The rich man got through the eye
of the needle and became a member of the family of God through his faith.
There are lots of curious people up sycamore trees looking for Jesus
amongst our friends and in our community. They might not realise they are
looking for Jesus but they are searching for love, peace, acceptance,
security, rescue, healing, help and purpose.
We can be deceived into thinking that the gospel is weak and that people
are doing just fine as they are. The gospel is powerful and totally relevant.
We need to tell them the good news! The Holy Spirit makes us bold, brave
and courageous.
How can we be ordinary people looking for curious people up sycamore
trees?
PRACTICAL conversation pointers can be helpful in starting to tell people
the gospel taken from Chris’ video message:
TWO truths
Did you know that God loves you & Do you know he has an amazing plan
for your life?
ONE question
If you were to die today would you be absolutely certain that you would
be with God in heaven?
THREE truths
- All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
- The wages of that sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus
- Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Questions
1: Read Isaiah 61 to see that what Jesus was doing in Jericho the day
Zaccheus was saved is perfectly in line with what he said he was going to do
in Luke 4:18. This is now our mandate too. How does that make you feel
particularly when considering going out into the streets of Matlock on
Sunday 17th July?
Practice Chris’ conversation starters – Remember, 3-2-1 or rather 2-1-3
2: Is your heart a bit harder than you would like it to be when considering
the lost & lonely? How do you know when your heart is hard? Even a tiny
measure of the compassion God feels for the lost can soften your heart in a
moment. Just ask Him.
3: Do you feel unashamed and brave? Bravo! If not, then why do you think
that is?
Paul could say ‘I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God
that brings salvation to everyone who believes’
If you want courage and boldness to look up those sycamore trees for the
lonely and lost then ask. He is the one that makes us brave!
