Let me encourage to give your all to memorizing Ephesians 3:20 (NCV)- "With God's power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine."
There's a third reson we need to see ourselves like God sees us.
$3. NO MATTER WHAT I’VE DONE, JESUS WANTS ME.
That is the biggest mind blower of all. No matter what I’ve done God would want me and would want a relationship with me. Zacchaeus’ appearance made him feel lonely and insecure. And Zacchaeus ’s accusers made him feel bitter and resentful. But it was Zacchaeus’ sins, his own lifestyle, his own choices that made him feel guilty and ashamed.
So Jesus Christ did something even more shocking. He didn’t just walk up to the tree and look up and notice him. And He didn’t just call him by name and affirm him, a Pure One, in front of everybody else who hated him.
But He invited Himself to Zacchaeus’ home for dinner. This is amazing. “He said, ‘Come down quickly’ [to Zacchaeus] for I'm going to be a guest in your home today.” This was unthinkable. That Jesus Christ, the Son of God, would walk all the way through town to find the biggest scoundrel in town and say, “I'm going to go to your house. I'm going to be your guest. Out of all these people, I choose you.
The reaction of the crowd was swift and brutal. “All the people saw this and they began to complain, ‘Jesus is staying with a sinner.’” I can hear them saying the word “sinner” like they’re televangelists. And all the righteous indignation comes out: “This weasily guy? He’s going to stay at his house!”
Jesus Christ knew that Zacchaeus was carrying so much hidden guilt, like many of you are, that there’s no way that Zacchaeus would presume to invite Jesus to his house. Because in his mind he’d be thinking, “I'm not good enough to have Jesus Christ at my house. I'm not good enough to have God as my guest. You don’t know the things that I’ve done. I'm not good enough to have a relationship with Him.” And many of you have felt that way. And you think, “I'm not good enough.” But you’re wrong. You’re dead wrong! It’s not based on your goodness. It’s based on God’s incredible love for you in spite of the fact of all you’ve done He still wants you.
So Jesus takes the initiative and He says, “Zacchaeus, come on down! I'm going to your house today.”
The truth is, you’ve done a lot of things you should feel ashamed of. We have all hurt other people with our own brand of selfishness. It’s different for all of us. Sometimes it’s overt. Sometimes it’s covert. Sometimes it’s out in the open. Sometimes it’s behind the scenes. But you’ve hurt a lot of other people in your life by things you’ve said, things you’ve done, choices you’ve made. And so have I. Because at the root we’re all basically selfish until God gets a hold of us and turns us around. But Jesus is far more interested in changing you than He is in condemning you. So He looks at you and He says, “I know you, I love you and I want you in spite of all that you’ve done. And I want you to know and love Me and have a relationship with Me.”
You remember the story in the Bible called the Prodigal Son.
You’ve gotten some dirt on your life but you haven’t lost any of your value to God. And, yes, you have blown it but Jesus Christ still wants you.
Jesus says “Those the Father has given Me will come to Me and I will never, never reject them.” I will always accept them. He’s not going to reject you when you take that step toward Him in faith. He’s going to accept you in love. No matter what you’ve done Jesus wants you.
The Bible says, “So he came down at once and he received him with joy.” I love the Message paraphrase. It says, “He scrambled down out of the tree.” I think Zacchaeus was saved before he hit the ground. He thought this is a deal I'm not going to get anywhere else. Where am I going to get a better deal than this? I'm going to take advantage of it right now. I'm not going to delay, I'm not going to wait. I'm going to take advantage of it.”
With the God who made you and a God who has a purpose for your life and a God who loves you that much waiting with open arms, give me one logical reason why you shouldn’t give every part of your life to Jesus Christ from this day forward. Give me one logical reason why you shouldn’t do that! There is none. It would be stupid, it would be foolish to turn down the God who made you and loves you that much. It would be absolute insanity to do that when He’s there waiting for you.
Zacchaeus took Jesus up on His offer for a relationship. And he was changed instantly. It was immediate.
Luke 19:8-9 says, “Zacchaeus stood and he said to the Lord ‘I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor and if I’ve cheated anyone I’ll give them back four times the amount.’ Jesus responded, ‘Salvation has come to this home today.’” The moment he said that he was converted. Something had happened in his heart because the most selfish man in the city all of a sudden became the most generous man in the city – “I'm going to give half of my possessions and anybody I’ve ripped off I'm going to pay them back four times.” What happened? God's power shows up in Zacchaeus and changes his life.
Bottom line: Give your WHOLE life to God. He will never reject you. He will never leave you or burn your or let you down. I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course. ENDURE!
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