 Anyway, Luke chapter 19, verses 1 through 10, we're gonna look at Zacchaeus. It says in verse one here in Luke chapter 19, then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a Sycamore tree to see him, for he was going to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him, and said to him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down for today, I must stay at your house. So he made haste and came down and received him joyfully. But when they saw it, they all complained, saying he has gone to be a guest with a man who's a sinner. Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, look Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor, and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold. And Jesus said to him, today salvation has come to this house because he is also a son of Abraham, for the son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. Now as we begin, I want you to notice just in verse one, we'll look at that, I'll lay an introduction, some context, we'll move into our study. But in verse one, how Luke simply tells us that Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. So he's on his way to Jerusalem, as we've been seeing since Luke chapter nine. Jesus is on his way to the city of Jerusalem, and in order to get there, as he's traveling from the north going south, he's gonna pass through the ancient city of Jericho. Jericho was situated at this time about 15 miles northeast of the city of Jerusalem. It was a beautiful city, as a matter of fact, even to this day, we've gone through Jericho many times. It is still there as an oasis, the ruins are still there and all. It's an oasis, it's a beautiful oasis, and has a beautiful climate there. It used to have a theater, it had an amphitheater, it had villas, it had Roman baths. It was beautiful, it had so many trees, citrus trees and fig trees, there were rose gardens. They were known for balsam. It was just an absolutely beautiful city, and it's a city that the Lord Jesus Christ is entering into. Now, as he's entering into the city of Jericho, verse two, we're introduced to somebody by the name of Zacchaeus. It says in verse two, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was our chief tax collector, and he was rich. And so we're introduced to a man by the name of Zacchaeus. You see, Jericho is situated on a main road, and during that day, being situated on the main road, it would give to it a good situation for it to have people who are coming back and forth, travelers there, many who are coming from across the Jordan River to the east, who would enter into Jericho, and so as they were entering into Jericho and they were bringing some goods, or when goods were being transported to the east of Jericho across the Jordan River, it was a good place to have tax collectors situated because that's where they would have the various taxes that would be paid, and so there were many publicans or many tax collectors there who were collecting taxes, and amongst them would be a man by the name of Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was a man who had enriched himself at other people's expense, and because he had done so, Luke makes it very clear that this is almost a surprising thing. I want you to see in verse two how he says, now behold, and that's to let us know that something unusual is about to take place because he's referring to a man by the name of Zacchaeus, so what he's doing is he's identifying this man in such a way as to impress us with how unusual it is that this man would be interested in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that's simply because it is unusual for rich and influential people to make such an effort to see somebody like Jesus Christ, and so notice with me how he's described. First he says he's a chief tax collector, a chief tax collector. This is a man, in other words, who held a high office and was very prominent in the nation of Israel. When you look at the nation, it was broken down into basically three tax centers, three different cities that were tax centers. You have Caesarea, you have Capernaum, and you have Jericho, three main tax centers, and he was the man who was head of the entire tax district of Jericho and the surrounding areas, and so he was a very influential man. Tax collectors paid the Romans for the position of collecting money and levying tolls. There would be a fixed sum or a fixed amount of money that would be charged for various things, exports and imports, and what would happen would be that the chief tax collectors would hire people who would collect the money, and they were known, these chief tax collectors were known for extortion and for greed, and so when he's speaking concerning him and he says that he is a tax collector, a chief tax collector, tells us he's very prominent, and then secondly he lets us know that he was a very rich man because he made his money through extortion. He made his money through overcharging people for taxes, and so that would let us know that this is a man who is greatly hated. Now, that's what makes it even more unusual for him to pay attention to a poor rabbi, especially one who was like Jesus Christ, preaching to people self-denial. That would make it very unusual because this is a man who normally it would seem wouldn't be interested in the message of Christ or the person of Christ. This was a man who was a rich man, and he was accustomed to having whatever he desired to have. He was somebody who didn't have to worry about certain things. If he were alive today, we'll say, and if somebody was similar and richest to him, he's the guy who'll go into the auto dealership and we'll look at a very expensive car, maybe a Mercedes with 12 cylinders, and he's the guy who's not gonna ask what kind of gas mileage do you get with this? He doesn't really care because he's not worried about the amount of money that he's gonna be putting into the tank because he's so rich it just doesn't matter. He's somebody who's not worried about the cost of insurance and he's not worried about medical bills, he's not worried about any of that because this is a man who is extremely rich and that's just not something he's concerned about. He's made his riches off the back of other people though. And as a result of that, those who know him as this chief tax collector have a certain fear for him but they also have a deep hatred for him. He was accustomed to getting whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. He had every material blessing that he could possibly have, anything he wanted he could purchase and he's somebody who knew what money could do. Ecclesiastes chapter 10 verse 19 says it this way, a feast is made for laughter, wine makes merry, but money answers everything. And for a lot of people, money is the answer to everything and that's how it was Zacchaeus. Money was the answer to every problem. Money was the answer for all things but he's obviously got an emptiness because in verse three it says he sought to see who Jesus was but could not because of the crowd for he was of short stature. And so Zacchaeus is in his office we'll say and as he's in the office, he hears the commotion just outside. The Christian parade is passing by once again and so as he's in his office or wherever it is that he did his business, he can hear the sound of a group of people, the parade is passing by, and it draws him out of the office, causes him to step out and look down the street. Now as he walks in he begins to look out down the street. There's a crowd of people who are now lining up that street and it's probably a beautiful street. It's got trees and everything that are shady and all and Jesus is walking and as Jesus is walking you can hear the commotion and all and people are saying here he comes and here comes Jesus, he's right over there and you can almost see what's taking place here. But the Bible makes it very clear but this is a man who's very small. So basically he's looking into the back of most of the people and he can't see Jesus who's coming down the street. He wants to see him. So you can almost see him standing on his tiptoes and trying to press between people but the minute they sense this guy behind him and they turn and they see it's Zacchaeus, they close up ranks. There's no way that this guy's gonna get to the front of the line. There's no way he's gonna be able to press his way in, shove himself in because they hate this guy. They don't want him near them and so what you can imagine was taking place of somebody that is really irritating is trying to press past you saying where is he? Who is he? There he is and you know who this guy is. Well these people cannot stand this guy. They're not about to give way to him so they're closing up ranks wherever he's pressing and as he's trying to press and see the Lord Jesus Christ not a single one of those people are allowing him to get past them and it gets frustrating. So frustrating that he begins to look on down the other direction where Jesus is headed and he makes a decision that if I'm gonna see this man I'm gonna have to do something that's a bit unusual and he moves on down until he finds a tree, a sycamore tree and quickly climbs up on top of that tree so he can get a position there so that when Jesus passes underneath that tree he's gonna have an opportunity to see him. He's interested. He moves along the crowd, a crowd that is lying in the street. He tries to squeeze in to see him but the people won't allow that to take place. They're not gonna allow him any room. So he looks down the direction where Jesus is traveling and runs and climbs on this sycamore tree and he waits for Jesus. Now obviously for a rich and successful businessman this has to be extremely humbling for him to do something like that but he's willing to do that but I want you to think about that for just a moment because that's part of what I'd like to share with you about Zacchaeus and that is in the fact that he wants to see the Lord and is willing to humble himself by climbing up a tree it shows me something about his heart. He's not somebody who's simply there trying to be a celebrity collector of any sort. This is somebody who's very interested. This is somebody who's willing to do that which is difficult in order to see Jesus Christ to have a chance to see him. You know it's possible that he had heard something of the Lord Jesus Christ and had heard that it was said of him as it is recorded in Luke chapter seven verse 34 that Jesus Christ is a friend of tax collectors and sinners. It's possible that he heard somewhere that the Lord Jesus Christ would actually be kind to him and upon hearing that it would be something that would attract him because this entire crowd wants nothing to do with him but I've heard that Jesus Christ won't turn me away. You know in Jeremiah in the Old Testament Jeremiah chapter 29 verse 13 God said this he said you will seek me and you will find me after that you have sought for me with all of your heart you will seek for me you will search for me and you will find me after that you have sought for me with all of your heart. This is a man who is willing to humble himself this is a man who is willing to seek to see and we're gonna see what takes place when somebody has a heart like that in just a moment. Now in verse five it says when Jesus came to the place he looked up and saw him and said to him hey shorty no he said he said Zacchaeus make haste and come down for today I must stay at your house. Once again we have an example of the Lord Jesus Christ actually looking for someone. With so much noise and jostling with so much confusion and energy Jesus still is concentrating his attention on just one person. Now we need to know this is not just a coincidence this isn't just an accident this isn't a chance encounter. There are other people undoubtedly on that tree line street who are doing the same thing. I'm sure that there are other people though they're not mentioned by Luke but there's gotta be other people who are climbing trees looking to see this master. And so what we have here is simply an example. An example of the Lord Jesus Christ seeking somebody out. Now remember in chapter 15 and I want you to turn that with me so I can refresh your memory. Luke chapter 15 remember something that Jesus said Luke chapter 15 beginning at verse three remember how Luke had said he spoke this parable to them saying what man of you having a hundred sheep if he loses one of them does not leave the 99 in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost until he finds it and when he has found it he lays it on his shoulders rejoicing and when he comes home he calls together his friends and his neighbors saying to them rejoice with me for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 just persons who need no repentance. Do you remember that as we looked at that how we emphasize the reality of the fact that the Lord seeks out the one that's what he's doing here in chapter 19 that's exactly what he's doing here he's seeking out the one lost sheep just the way that he saw you out. Ezekiel tells us in Ezekiel 3411 thus says the Lord God indeed I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out and that's what the Lord does that's what the Holy Spirit does that's how God works. God seeks you out. God looks for you. I've shared this with you before but I think it bears repetition at this point. A long time ago somebody was sharing with me how that they emphasize in John 316 a word that many people don't and was discussing the reality of what John 316 says for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. There were a couple of things about John 316 that you could see. One was the incredible amount of love that God has and I know that many people don't get into this at all, I know that. If we could only grab hold of this it would change your life. How much God loves us. If we could only grab hold of that it would change your life. A lot of people haven't done that. I don't know why but they don't. They don't care. They don't care. They really don't. I mean I can't tell you how many people over the years that I've had conversation with who basically when it comes down to the very end they don't really care. They don't care that God loves them. It's something my dad says. Something my mom says. It's something that the church says. It's something you say but I don't really care if God loves me or not. That's one thing I've seen that. But the Bible makes it very clear where it says God's soul of the world. That shows me the immensity of love that God has. He's so loved and secondly he's so loved the world and somebody was once saying all you need to do if you want to understand that passage is rather than simply saying God so loved the world why don't you insert your own name in there and see what kind of love God has for you. Because if you insert your own name whatever your name may be for God so loved and I insert my name for God so loved David he gave his only begotten son that changes that scripture to personalize it so that I understand what he's talking about. He's not talking about some nebulous kind of otherly experience where there's some great thing out there that has some kind of benevolence towards. He's talking about a God who is personal who has demonstrated the immensity of his commitment to saving us to the degree that he was willing to give his only precious son to die on a cross so that I might be bought back so that I might be redeemed and the cost of my redemption was his son's blood. And so the heart of Christianity rests on the reality of the love of God. The heart of Christianity is the love of God, you see. And so with Zacchaeus, Zacchaeus is an individual who's about to experience the depth of the love of God because Zacchaeus is that sheep that has gone astray that the Lord Jesus Christ so he surrounded with a crowd of people has eyes for. He has eyes for one person. The way that there have been times when I've seen my grandson or I've seen my children and they have been in the midst of several other kids, several other kids are the way that I have seen my wife Marie in the midst of many other women. But I don't see the other women, I don't see the other children, I only see that one I'm deeply in love with. I see my wife, I see my children, I see my grandson, I see my granddaughter. There could be a hundred babies in one room and there's only one baby as far as I'm concerned and every parent and every grandparent knows exactly what I mean by that. As much as you might have a general benevolence towards and even a love for those kids, there's one kid in that room that matters to you the most more than anybody else and it's your kid as ugly as they are sometimes, it's your kid. And Corinne was born and I look and I say oh my, oh may she outgrow that face. He did that with all four of them and they didn't. They're the most beautiful babies in the world. They're the most beautiful babies in the world because they're yours and they cry and they can frustrate you and they can be brats and they can do all of that but you don't turn your back on them, do you? I don't. You don't pretend you don't know them, do you? Sometimes you'd like to but they're yours, they belong to you and you'll love them with all of your heart and there's only one of them in the midst of a crowd, there's only one of them, there's only one child there and that child happens to be yours and when Jesus is going down the street and there's so much commotion, imagine it for a minute, pretend for a second that you can relate to this in a way, if you've been in crowds and I know we have where people are pressing and jostling after Thanksgiving sale and elbows are flying and women are mean but there's only one person and what's interesting is as Jesus is moving and you have to picture this in your mind's eye as he's walking and there are people around him and the street is lined up and people are trying to press to see him, he stops once again even as he was moving on past Bartimaeus a little earlier and Bartimaeus had said what's going on and they said Jesus of Nazareth is passing by and you know we just looked at that story and how that Bartimaeus began to cry out to the Lord Jesus Christ and Jesus stops the Christian parade and says bring him to me even so he's doing it again and this time he's doing it for Zacchaeus and Zacchaeus has made an effort, he's climbed up under that tree and as he's holding on to a trunk or whatever is sitting on the branch as he's looking down there to see this great rabbi Jesus as he's walking by stops, the parade stops and he's not with him, the crowd begins to silence Jesus looks directly up at this little man seated up there in the tree and he just speaks to him he initiates a conversation with Zacchaeus and it's interesting how it says here that he looked up, saw him and said to him Zacchaeus make hasten come down, he knew his name now somebody can say well of course he knew his name he was the chief tax collector and Jesus more than likely had been many times through the city of Jericho and that's always a possibility but I still find it interesting to note that Jesus when he looked at him didn't say hey you he spoke to him and he called him by his name and he showed him respect and he said to him Zacchaeus make hasten come down John chapter 10 verse three says that Jesus calls his own sheep by name and leads him out and so when you got saved it's because the Lord Jesus Christ is calling you by name, keep that in mind whatever your name may be again for me, David I'm calling you I mean it was a personal call it wasn't a general call it was a personal call the Lord Jesus Christ in scripture makes it very clear that he knows his sheep by name and he calls them and that's what he did he stops he speaks to him and he says Zacchaeus come down now it's interesting notice Jesus invited himself over but he also makes it clear that Zacchaeus must move now he says make haste for today I must stay at your house now Zacchaeus' heart must have been thrilled to know that Jesus Christ is gonna come to his house I wonder how many people he had come over I wonder if very many at all ever came to his home perhaps they did out of politeness maybe they received an invitation if he ever extended it a lot of people will go to a rich man's house because they know at the rich man's house they're gonna get a lot of good food probably some good entertainment but one of the things that people who are rich have a real difficulty with is ever being accepted for being who they are because they don't really know if people like them for who they are or like them for what they do I mean let me be honest you know I'm supposed to be I'm a pastor let me be honest I have seen some very very ugly men with some very very beautiful women and I asked myself why and then I realized they're billionaires they're billionaires they got lots of money and so there'll be all kinds of honeys around them but what would it be if that guy was just you know poor Warren not Warren Buffett but poor old Warren poor old Bill do you think all the girls would be lining up for him I don't think so I think they'd say that guy's a geek you know but he's got a billion dollars what a handsome geek I'd like to be Mrs. Geek they'd probably say money buys many friends we know that all of a sudden you become more attractive because you have so much more to give and every man is a friend to the one who is rich the proverb saying that's very true so I actually have a sense of compassion for those who are very rich and are not married because I have no doubt in my mind whatsoever that they don't know if somebody really ever really just likes them really cares for them or whether that money becomes the thing that is most attractive and I'm sure that Zacchaeus had numerous people over if at all because he could have guests over he could basically pay for people to come and have dinner with them but here comes Jesus here comes his rabbi here comes this man who actually knew him by name and invites himself over and I'm certain that Zacchaeus' heart must have been thrilled to know that Jesus was coming over and so in verse six tells us he made haste and came down and received him joyfully now this isn't a proud reaction of honor being shown before men there are some people enjoy that there are some people who like to be to have their names spoken in front of groups of people because they enjoy the idea of having popularity and fame and we all borrow status from those who have greater status than us so if somebody is very important and they mention that they were speaking to you and they say that on television and they say one of my advisors I was speaking to David Rosales well something inside of me is gonna go off and say yeah that's me I advise him there's just a pride inside of me and there are some people like that and some of us can fight with that kind of mentality this is not what Zacchaeus is dealing with Zacchaeus is not a person in this particular context who is becoming overjoyed because Jesus is coming over and therefore he's gonna be able to borrow from him some status and he's gonna be able to brag about how Jesus knew my name and invited himself over and spent some time with me and all of that this is not what's taking place at all because that's not a proper attitude for him to have in this context whatsoever this isn't taking place with Zacchaeus he's actually thrilled because Jesus is willing to come to his house and fellowship with him this is a man as you look at him and you'll see this in a second this is a man who has a troubled heart and he's got a bad conscience and he's in desperate need of forgiveness this is somebody who more than likely didn't sleep very well because of all the things that he'd done and how his conscience was bothering him over that because in the midst of a city, a beautiful city but in the midst of a city and in an area where there are many impoverished people he was living very well while others were not living well at all and the thing is, it wasn't because of his own industry it wasn't because he had some great plan it's not because he had some good business it wasn't because of any of that it's because he was taking advantage of them and taking their money so he could live that way had no friends, no respect of any people around him this is a guy who had a bad conscience and his heart was troubled that's what was taking place with him and so when Jesus says, I will come over and I want to spend time with you something inside of him said, this man isn't rejecting me this is a man who truly is a friend of tax collectors and sinners because he wants to spend time with me and that's how we ought to feel at the invitation of Christ that's how we ought to as believers feel with this incredible knowledge and I don't think that we've really gotten ahold of this yet I haven't, the fact that the God of the universe actually has a desire to have fellowship with me that amazes me when I think about that because some of us have been in the position where we have been around those who have power and those who are quote unquote mighty in the eyes of man and you know how you had to jump through so many hoops just to get there but here you have the most powerful person in the universe, God himself in human flesh looking at Zacchaeus, not impressed whatsoever with his wealth and riches who can see past his face into his heart and can say to him, you get down from that tree immediately I must stay with you you get out of that tree and you get down here immediately and Zacchaeus isn't used to following orders but he does this time he's thrilled he's thrilled because the Lord is gonna do something and I want you to see that with me I want you to see how he responds to that because the Bible tells us in verse six he made haste and came down and received him notice how joyfully with joy Jesus Christ is coming into my house Isaiah chapter 12 verse three says therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation with joy there's something that relieves you there's something that just thrills you it causes you to have an incredible experience with God when you finally realize that God knows your name and wants fellowship with you there's just something that happens when I got saved that's exactly what happened to me that's exactly what happened to me in the midst of all my craziness and all of that, the Lord if you will spoke out and said I must stay with you I want to have fellowship with you and this guilty conscience of mine and this evil heart of mine actually was touched by God giving to me and I think I speak for all of us who are saved in this room giving to me the privilege of having fellowship with him it amazes me to this day it amazes me because the thing that is amazing to me about the love of God is he knows everything about me and loves me anyway it's like that woman at the well the woman of Samaria when she says come and see a man who's told me everything I have ever done can this be Messiah? You remember that in John chapter four but come and see a man who has told me everything that I've ever done what's so amazing about that because inherent in that is he knows everything about me and he hasn't rejected me he knows everything about me and he still loves me he knows everything about me and he's accepted me can this be Messiah? Well that's what you have with the Lord Jesus Christ guys you have Jesus Christ ministering to somebody who is desperately in need of a friend so he's got joy in his heart but verse seven but when they saw it they all complained saying he's going to be a guest with the man who's a sinner they didn't like that at all the people around there seeing that the Lord is going to take off and go spend some time with Zacchaeus and that got them upset you see the Pharisees during the time of Christ were examples of these self-righteous but the Pharisees aren't the only self-righteous people mentioned in scripture you have some right here you have some who are so self-righteous that they're actually upset because Jesus Christ is going to minister to somebody in desperate need of him we've had people in our fellowship who get angry with us because they feel that somebody has harmed them and when we have tried to minister to the person who harmed them they get mad at us they get mad at me I've had angry letters I've had angry confrontations where people are angry how could you treat them that way don't you know what they've done how can you be that with them how come you're like that people are like that okay you've got an axe to grind I understand it somebody hurt you I understand that too it's not as if we haven't been hurt it's not as if I've never been injured but is that what I'm supposed to do as a minister am I supposed to set up and say okay this person hurt you therefore he can go to hell and you can go to heaven is that how it's supposed to be whoever injures somebody else that person goes to hell and if that person injured you they should go to hell and you should go to heaven that's how it works or aren't we both sinners aren't we all in need of salvation don't we all need to be forgiven I think so I think I need to be forgiven just like you do and I thank God that he showed me his mercy the way he showed it to you too but people don't get that there are a number of people who will get upset at you if you minister to somebody they don't like and that's what's taking place right here that's what you see taking place they complain against the Lord Jesus Christ he's got to be a guest with a man who's a sinner now when it says he's a sinner that's another way of saying he's just as bad although he is a Jewish man he's just as bad as a pagan he's just as bad as a heathen this is a guy who has no relationship with God at all he's like a Gentile heathen and so they're upset because Jesus ministers are somebody that they hate but notice what happens now in verse 8 Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord Lord look Lord I give half of my goods to the poor and if I've taken anything from anyone by false accusation I restore fourfold now here's something for you we need to understand that Jesus is not simply walking with him and he's standing there at the door and he is now saying to him these things without hearing a message without hearing the gospel without receiving any teaching that is not what is taking place here this is a response undoubtedly Jesus has been speaking to him a message that has pierced his heart because Jesus has gone to his house in order that he might spend some time with him in order that he might share a meal with him and as he's been there sharing this meal Jesus has been opening his heart we've seen that many times already in Luke's gospel in chapter 7 for example you remember Simon the Pharisee had invited Jesus over in order that he might basically I guess investigate his claims and all you know that story you know that as Jesus was there at the home of Simon the Pharisee that this woman who was a sinner had entered in and as she had entered in into that room Simon had seen this woman as he came and began to weep and began to care for Jesus in a very personal way and remember how Simon had said within himself that this man knew who and what manner of woman this is who is touching him he would know if he was a prophet because she's a sinner and then Jesus said Simon I have something to say to you remember the story and he says we'll say on and then Jesus gives this story about two debtors and all Jesus would go to meals and you'll see this often in the scriptures and as he's there having a meal with the people he will sit down with them and he'll speak to them and he'll share with them the things of the kingdom we saw this in chapter 10 when Jesus was invited to somebody's house and it's found in verse 39 how in chapter 10 how Jesus is there at Martha and Mary's and it says in verses 38 following there it says it happened as he had went that he entered a certain village a certain woman named Martha welcomed him into her house and she had a sister called Mary who sat at Jesus's feet and heard his word and so Jesus when he would go to the meal he would normally be there and teach he would be doing that you see it in chapter 11 verse 37 when a Pharisee has a meal with Jesus and Jesus begins to share and so undoubtedly what has happened is Jesus is invited actually invited himself to Zacchaeus' and while he's there he has been sharing and as he's been sharing the word of God it has pierced the heart of Zacchaeus because the answers to his questions have finally been received and that's why he stands up and that's why he speaks and says what he says in verse 8 when it says he stood and said to the Lord look Lord I give half of my goods to the poor and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation I restore fourfold he is so moved by what the Lord Jesus Christ says that he immediately responds and notice with generosity first he says I am giving half of what I possess to the poor you have given to me something that is priceless I have something that can be of benefit to somebody else and so first I want you to know that half of what I have I'm immediately turning loose and I'm giving it to those who have great need I have something priceless I have received from you forgiveness I have received in you a friend and that is worth more than all that I have that's more than it's worth more than all that I possess to have peace with you and a relationship with you means more to me than anything I can have in modern terms having a fellowship with God is more important than anything I drive anything I put on any restaurant I eat at any house that I live in having fellowship with you is more important than all of that because what you gave to me is a priceless reality because what I have in you is something I couldn't purchase anywhere else I have peace and I have joy there are so many people that don't have either one of those peace or joy but Zacchaeus when he heard the Lord Jesus speaking he stood up and he said I'm responding to what you have to say Lord and this is what I'm gonna do I'm gonna give half of what I own to somebody else this has been called a thank offering in gratitude I am giving half of my wealth as an offering but not only that look at the second thing he restores what he has taken from others through extortion he says I give half of my goods to the poor and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation I restore fourfold now that's an interesting thing here because in the Jewish law there's something called the law of restitution the law of restitution means that if I have taken something from you I give you that value back plus one fifth I give you a 20% increase so if I stole $100 from you I give you that plus one fifth another $20 so I restore to you but that's the law of restitution you see that in the book of Numbers in chapter five and you see that in Exodus chapter 33 and in Leviticus chapter six verse five it says he shall restore its full value add one fifth more to it and give it to whomever it belongs and so he not only is following that principle but he actually is greater in his generosity and what it does is it reveals a tremendous repentance in the man's life he is absolutely repentant genuine repentance is always evidenced by change of behavior it isn't something that is just said it is something that is demonstrated keep that in mind because there are a lot of there are a lot of people who regret that they did something but they don't repent they were drinking they got pulled over they got a DUI and do they ever regret it they or with a girl she got pregnant they're not married he doesn't want to marry does he ever regret it there's a lot of things you can do that you regret doing and sometimes you do something and you regret not that you did it you regret that you got caught you've been taking some money from the boss you took it from the till you've been doing that for some time you got caught you don't regret that you stole money from the company you've already been justifying it for the longest time they're insured they're overcharging they don't miss this you've already been rationalizing that we had somebody in the church over 20 years ago I can share this with you now this happened more than once where somebody confessed to his wife and she came in she said we got to do something about this my husband just confessed something to me and I don't know what to do well what happened well he is a delivery individual he receives checks but sometimes he receives cash and he's been skimming money and so he came and told me that he's been skimming and stealing and I told him you've got to stop it so he was talked to and this is what he said he said I'm going to stop stealing but I need to steal $200 more because you won't believe this one because I want to buy a guitar so I can lead the children in worship in children's ministry and it was Mike Callahan and he said Mike you can't sing we had another guy we had somebody else who donated a television for our video ministry and asked for a tax receipt for it and so we said what's its value and he said it's such and so this is again about 20 years ago or so and we said so what's the value of it and he said it's X amount of dollars and so okay fine thank you we gave him a tax receipt and he claimed it on his income taxes and a year later he came and said I have to repent I stole that TV set from my employer donated it to the church and got a tax refund for it or a tax credit for it people do that it's amazing isn't it people do that and they feel bad but did they repent feeling bad is one thing repenting is another and when you repent your life actually changes Matthew chapter 3 verse 8 says bear fruits worthy of repentance your life actually changes so it's not regret you see Judas regretted what he did Judas and the apostle Peter both betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ Judas sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver and ultimately came and took the money back and threw it at the priests you know the story and he said I have betrayed an innocent man the apostle Peter denied Christ three times I do not know him may God bring condemnation on me that's what it means when it says he began to swear and bring curses it's not that he started swearing like a sailor though he was a sailor he was saying may God condemn me eternally if I know him he called down curses upon himself when he denied the Lord Jesus Christ and yet on the one hand Judas went out and hanged himself the apostle Peter broke before the Lord and was restored to ministry there's a difference between regret that leads to death the way Paul says it in 2 Corinthians chapter 7 and repentance that issues into life because when you regret something your life doesn't change it actually burdens you even more because it's one more thing that you've done that you feel bad about doing but when you repent everything changes because your mind has been changed concerning that evil you've forsaken it and your life is going to evidence that you have a relationship with God because no longer are you doing that you are now doing something that brings pleasure to him and so genuine repentance is always evidenced by a change of behavior now you can repent tonight but the fruit of your repentance may not be seen for six months, nine months or a year down the line because you have had this image for so long with your friends that even if you came home tonight and said I want you to know I got right with God tonight they're going to take a wait and see attitude they're going to say yeah you've done that before just another one of your changes right no I want you to know man my life is right with God and they will watch you because fruit takes time to be produced you know this, you go to one of the local places you know Home Depot or whatever and you go and purchase a small fruit tree and you take it to your back yard and you dig the hole and you bury it and you plant it and the next day you're not going out there making apple pies you're going to be waiting for sometimes three years until you really have some fruit that's produced you're going to be working on it you're going to be pruning it you're going to be making sure that it's well cared for you're going to do that and then over time it begins to produce that's what happens and fruit in repentance is the same way even though that tree has the ability to produce it takes time to produce fruit and even though you get saved you get right with God you repent it takes a while for that to begin running through you if you will the Holy Spirit work in producing fruit it's not going to be people who are going to watch but the fact is you will bear fruit that demonstrates repentance you will do that because you truly did repent and that's what happened with the kids so what happens well notice verse 9 Jesus said to him today salvation has come to this house because he also is a son of Abraham for the son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost Jesus makes this statement in front of witnesses that's what he's saying here and he's acknowledging something he's acknowledging that Zacchaeus had been guilty and he acknowledges that he had been sinful but he also is recognizing that he's repentant and that he has now saved he's not only a physical descendant of Abraham he is now a spiritual son of Abraham because it's very clear in Scripture that those who are born in the flesh even though their lineage can be dated back or traced back to Abraham just because they are physically related to him does not mean that spiritually they are his children because to become a child of God in the same way that Abraham was requires faith in God that's not an automatic thing in Romans chapter 4 Paul makes it clear verses 3 through 5 what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness now to him who works the wages are not counted as grace but as debt but to him who does not work but believes on him who justifies the ungodly his faith is accounted for righteousness so he became a child a son of Abraham not because of physical descent that he could physically say he's Jewish but because spiritually he had put his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and thus is now saved that's why Jesus in Matthew 1032 said he and I will also confess before my father who's in heaven and so that's what the Lord is doing here he's confessing the reality of a relationship that he has with this man and he says finally in verse 10 the son of man has come to seek and save that which was lost this is the precise reason why he came in the first place to seek and to find his lost sheep and his love for them that's why he secured him a place on a cross I was reading something that I thought I would quote somebody wrote concerning Zacchaeus an entire town using hatred and ridicule could not keep the little man from oppressing them through the extravagant gains he made as a tax collector Jesus walks in and tells him that he would have a meal with him God's love not an entire town's rejection caused him to change that's how it works one of the reasons one of the reasons that I have the kind of outspoken faith that I have which it is outspoken from the time I was just saved hardly knew anything other than I was once blind and now I see I was lost, now I'm found I was dead, now I'm alive that's about it just starting to read the Bible but talking to my parents and saying you need Jesus Christ talking to my brother Frankie Frankie is my older brother Frankie you need the Lord Jesus Christ talking to my sisters you guys need the Lord you need to get saved you need to get right with God talking to my friends you know what guys I was going to hell and now I'm going to heaven and you can go to heaven too if you give your heart to Jesus Christ talking to strangers going into the military and talking to my sergeant talking to fellow soldiers talking to my drill sergeant you need the Lord Jesus Christ because without him you're going to perish going to college going as a freshman coming out of high school with a D minus average the only book I ever read was JR Tokens Trilogy I wasn't a reader I stopped reading comic books I read a lot of those but I didn't read any books that really stretched me and I'm going to college and I'm telling philosophy professors you know the Lord Jesus Christ will save you English professors social psychologists and I was just an ignorant sophomore an ignorant junior what do I know I know I was blind and now I see I know I was lost and now I've been found I know that you may have a Ph.D. but you never read the Bible and I know that if you went on Jeopardy you'd lose the Bible category because you never read it and I know God's word is true and I know God changes people and I know He can change you where'd that come from where'd that come from well part of it is because as a hippie I didn't care if you liked me or not because we were not liked we were actually literally hated dirty, smelly stinky, long hairs was something I heard all the time some of you are old enough if you were hippies you know what I mean they didn't like us my dad couldn't stand the fact that his son is a long hair doper didn't like it I don't blame him but he didn't and I didn't care I didn't care if you liked me I didn't care if you loved me I didn't care what you said to me it doesn't matter to me you see then I got saved and guess what happened it doesn't matter if you liked me it doesn't matter if you care for me because somebody does and his name is Jesus Christ and that gives me courage to say this is the truth this is the truth and Jesus said he said what went to you when all men speak well concerning you thus they spoke concerning the false prophets you're not always going to be popular you're not always going to be liked there are going to be people who think you are a freak an idiot stupid intellectual hillbilly and you know what I have to be honest with you it's not like you don't have feelings of course you do I'm not a hillbilly I'm everything else stupid ignorant but the bottom line is your security is not in man's opinion your security is in the word of God and your desire is to hear one person say well done my good and my faithful servant that's what motivates me and that's what motivates a believer and so people may not like and they don't they don't like what I say they don't like me it's not that I want them not to I'd like them to like me if they don't well there's somebody who does his name's Jesus and that's the one I want to please secondly I do believe that without Jesus you perish somebody has got to tell you the truth somebody has got to speak the truth in love and if the pastor doesn't who's going to and so we need to speak the truth in a world that's gone crazy with lights the church speaks the truth there are many men like Zacchaeus men who are lonely have all the appearance of success they have everything but they're waiting for Jesus to stop and say I must spend some time with you today and today's salvation will enter into your house that's what the church is supposed to do today, stop look around and find the Zacchaeus and say this day the Lord will spend time with you in your house tell them the truth and they will stand up and they will bless God and thank you for loving them enough to bring them the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ