“A Place Where It Is OK To Not Be OK But Not OK To Stay
That Way”
Luke 19:1-10
Sermon Series: “Core”
Introduction: John 1:14 says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” The church belongs to Jesus and is supposed to be a reflection of Him because His people are called to be like Him. Therefore, Christians individually and the church corporately are to be people of grace and truth. However, our tendency is to be people of grace or truth. We tend to go overboard with either indulgence in the name of grace or condemnation in the name of truth. We are called to balance the upholding of God’s standards with the extension of His grace. The two cannot be divorced if we are going to be faithful to Jesus and helpful to people.
So, the good news is that Jesus meets us where we are in our falleness by His grace. It is also good news that He does not leave us where we are, but He transforms us by His grace. Those dual concepts are where the title of the message comes from. Titus 2:14 says, “Who [Jesus] gave Himself for us, that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” This type of transformation is what Jesus will do in our lives, and it is how He wants us to minister as a church. Let’s flesh this out by looking at the example of the conversion of Zacchaeus.
1. Jesus is looking for sinners. His encounter with Zacchaeus is an example of this truth. Jesus saw Zacchaeus and invited himself over to his house. Zacchaeus was looking for Jesus so these two things came together in the working of God. I believe the reality that you are here today indicates that you have this type of divine appointment with God.
2. Jesus meets us where are in order to have a relationship with us by His grace. Zacchaeus was a notorious sinner. It was scandalous to people when Jesus went to his house. 1 Corinthians 6:11 says, “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”
3. Jesus does not leave us where we are, but He transforms us.
That is the point. “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (v. 10). Zacchaeus was immediately changed after being with Jesus. True conversion brings immediate and ongoing change. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
4. The result of the work of Jesus in us is a life of repentance.
Zacchaeus evidenced this when he gave half of his goods to feed the poor and restored fourfold to those he had cheated. This was evidence of repentance. The Christian life is an ongoing life of repentance by the grace of God (Hebrews 12:16-17, 2 Corinthians 7:9-11). God is sanctifying us by His grace in the same way that He saved us by His grace.
Conclusion: Have you met Jesus? Are you trusting Him? Are you resting in His grace? Are you living a life of repentance? Are we
as a church meeting people where they are in love? Are we encouraging people to repent? Are we sharing grace and truth?
