Help Wanted!

May 16, 2021               NOTES NOT EDITED!
Help Wanted!
Acts 11:27-30

SIS–Every Christian should have an identifiable place of service in the Church.

Years ago I read about a donut shop owner who had an employee named Eddy.  Eddy had worked at the shop for several years.  One day a regular customer noticed Eddy had not been working for a couple of weeks.  The customer asked, “Where’s Eddy?  Is he sick?”  The owner replied, “No, Eddy doesn’t work here anymore.”  Making polite conversation the customer asked, “Do you plan to fill the vacancy Eddy left.”  The owner nonchalantly replied, “No.  Eddy didn’t leave any vacancy.”

I think about that story in regard to many church members I’ve known over the years.  Sadly, when they missed church, they never left any vacancy.  Their church membership really had little or no purpose—and little or no positive affect upon the world. 

I’m sure you have asked yourself, “Why am I here? Why was I born where I was born?” Why do I have the personality I have.” Why am I good at some things, and not so good at others.” Why do I even ask ‘why’?”

Unless we suppress it, the question “why” in regard to our existence is a fundamental issue in life.  We ask “why” because all human beings instinctively know that they are not on earth by accident.  We are “created” and our soul thirsts to know “why” we were created.  The Bible explains why we were created in many different places in many different ways.  One answer to the question of “why” we were created is found in Ephesians 2:10: 

10 It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others.

God created us and saves us for a life of service.  Let me say that again: “God created us and save us for a life of service.” Until we are saved and serving [emphasis important], we will never be satisfied in life.  God’s Word teaches us that God, “made us to serve others.”

Let’s read our text together and examine three important aspects in regard to serving God by serving others: Acts 11:27-30

27 During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) 29 The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.

We will fill in some of the details as we go along, but it is clear from our text: there was a great need and the church united together in sacrificial service to meet that need.  Three aspects inform our  understanding Christian service: the NEED for service, the fact God SHAPE’s us for service, and the fact that God EXPECTS us to serve.

1.  The World NEEDS You to Serve (Acts 28, 29b)

a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world . . . . The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea.

In our text we discover that there was a “severe famine” spreading over the entire Roman world.  Hunger was gripping the people of the land and squeezing hope from their lives.  In verse 29 it says that the Christian brothers and sisters in Judea, “needed help.”  

The world needs “you.”  There is so much suffering in the world that it is impossible NOT to see it.  Only . . . many don’t see it because they hide their eyes.  One of the big tragedies in our world today is in India. Every day the media recounts the story of the tremendous suffering of the people as this nation struggles with the Covid pandemic. I just saw an article where people are covering themselves in cow dung mixed with urine to stave off the ravages of the Covid virus.  Dead bodies are floating in the Ganges River.

We live in a broken, needy world.  Every 3 seconds a child starves to death.  Every second 2 babies aborted.  Every day nearly 10,000 people die because they don’t have clean water to drink.

 And . . . America is not without need.  According to government studies 33.6 million Americans are struggling to get enough to eat.  13 million children go to be hungry every day.  1 out of every 10 households in America are experiencing the pangs of hunger.  Between 500 to 600 thousand people are homeless in America – the richest country in the world.

Our world is a needy world – and I’ve only mentioned the physical needs.  Emotional needs are just as staggering.  In the US today suicide is the third leading cause of death for those aged 15 to 24.
 
There is also the “spiritual need” of our world which is the greatest need of all because it is the only “eternal need.”  Every second about 2 people die and enter eternity—the vast majority have never had a meaningful encounter with the soul-saving gospel of Jesus Christ! 

I could spend hours outlining the needs of our world.  Need is everywhere.  The need is great, but the servants are few.  The Early Church were servants.  They served sacrificially to meet whatever needs arose from hunger to hopelessness.  Our text said that the Early Church heard of a need in Judea and they “provided help.”  One reason you must find a place of service in our world – in our neighborhood – is because people NEED you to serve. 

2.  God SHAPED you to Serve (Acts 29a)

“The disciples each according to his ability”

Everybody has different abilities to use in serving God..  Just like no two human beings are shaped exactly alike physically, neither are any two persons shaped exactly alike spiritually.  A person’s ability to serve God is as unique as his or her finger print.

The word translated from the Greek as “ability” is only used one time in the Bible which is this passage.  It refers to the “unique capacities” of each person to earn wages and contribute to meeting the needs of their world.  While all the disciples participated in serving, not everybody participated or in the same way. 

God uniquely designed us to serve.  We are His snowflakes – no two of us are exactly alike.  In our church we refer to this a person’s “SHAPE.” Each letter in the word, “SHAPE,” refers to a unique facet of how God has “designed” (made, shaped, formed, or created) us. 

Let’s look at how God “shapes” each person uniquely for service.  Consider this: human DNA molecules can unite to form 1 x 10 to the 2 billion, 400 millionth power.  That is a 1 with 2,400,000,000 zeroes.  If you right that number on a piece of paper, the paper would have to be at least 37,000 miles long!  You are uniquely “shaped” by God. Let’s look at what it means to be “SHAPE’d by God for service.

“S” in the word SHAPE refers to our “spiritual giftedness.”  The Bible says:  Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.  (1 Cor 12:7).^NIV

When God saves you His Spirit becomes one with your spirit.  Don’t ask me to explain, “how,” this can happen because it can’t be explained.  But, when God’s Spirit becomes a part of our lives in the event of our salvation He begins a spiritual process, or transformation.  We become “super-charged” after the fashion of a race car.  We get “superpowers,” sort of like the Fantastic Four, or Spiderman.  These superpowers are called, “spiritual gifts” and every believer has one, and most have a mix of spiritual gifts.  This special power from God is “for the common good” or to help us in our service to others.  Spiritual gifts are “instrumental” not “ornamental.”  Some people go through all kinds of surveys and tests to discover their spiritual gifts.  I’m not a big fan of that idea.  My theory is this: “start serving and your spiritual gifts will find you.”  Your gift may be teaching.  It may be hospitality.  It may be the gift of giving.  It may be the gift of knowledge or wisdom.  It may be a combination of more than one gift – but everybody has at least one gift. or power, to help them serve.

The “H” SHAPE stands for “heart.”  How do you know where and how you should be serving?  The key is, what is your “hearts” desire?  What do you really enjoy doing.  The Bible says, “As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man.” (Prov 27:19).  A man or woman is defined by those things they are most passionate about.  Another word for “heart” could be “passion.”  Mike Lindell, the “My Pillow Guy,” is passionate about pillows.  Mother Teresa was passionate about comforting the poorest of the poor and it defined her life and service.  God put the “desires in our heart” and they are unique to each of us.  Part of how we find what place of service is best for us is to ask, “what does my heart say?” What am I passionate about.”  Our “heart” (or desires) are part of how God has SHAPE’d us to serve Him

The “A” in SHAPE stands for “abilities.”  Notice again v29, especially the phrase, “according to his ability.”  In addition to “spiritual gifts,” every person has a measure of “natural ability.” Sadly, most people never live up to their abilities.  For example, you possess the ability to detect something with your finger that is only 1/25,000th of an inch thick. Your brain–even if it is only average–can process 15,000 decisions a second!  You are a bundle of incredible abilities.  Everyone is good at something, though everyone isn’t good at the same thing.  Any ability you have can be used to serve others from fixing a car to teaching mathematics.  Your unique abilities are part of your SHAPE for service. 

The “P” in SHAPE stands for your “personality.”  Just look at how different the original Twelve Disciples were.  Peter was outspoken and often acted before he really thought about what he was doing. Andrew, Peter’s brother, was more a people person.  Every time he is mentioned in the Bible, he is introducing someone to Jesus.  Think of the Hebrew twins, Jacob and Esau.  The Bible says,

Gen 25:27 ^(CSB)  When the boys grew up, Esau became an expert hunter, an outdoorsman, but Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home.  One a hunter, the other a home boy!

We are all different.  We are all like a piece of wood.  We all have a certain “grain” to our lives.  Woodworkers know that it is easier to work with the grain of the wood than against it.  In the same way, we would do well to find places of service that fit our personality.  Personality is a part of how God SHAPE’s us for service. 

The “E” in SHAPE stands for our “experiences” in life.  Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher wisely noted, “Life can only be understood backwards, but must be lived forwards.”  Every experience with have is a springboard for service in God’s Kingdom. God never wastes a moment of our time.  Nothing that happens to us is “meaningless” or without some educational value in our lives.  It has been 44 years since I served on a nuclear submarine, but God still uses that experience many times to help me speak with other people about their souls – the greatest service any of us can perform.  Every submariner had to learn about every system on the submarine. I know a little about a lot of different trades.  I know a little about being a machinist.  I know a little about heating and air conditioning.  I know a little about hydraulics.  I know a little about nuclear power.  It is amazing how “little” I know about so many things!   Hey!  I may only know a “little,” but as the song says

Little is much when God is in it. // Labor not for wealth or fame.
There's a crown and you can win it, // If you go in Jesus' name. 

The Bible says, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Ps 139:15-16). As I said before, God never wastes our time-every experience has value. 

God knows your next step, and the one after that.  He knows every experience you will have and when you will have it.  He will use those experiences to help you become the “super servant” He wants you to be.  Your “experiences”–both good and bad–are all a part of how God SHAPE’s you for service.

God SHAPES you for the service He expects you to perform.  He gives you spiritual gifts, your heart’s desire, unique abilities, a distinct personality, and a never-ending supply of experiences so that you can be the best servant you can possibly be in a world that desperately needs your service.

Let me remind you of something very fundamental to being a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ.  If you do not engage yourself in service to others in and through the church, there are needs that are going to go unmet. Church ministry suffers. There are unique services that ONLY YOU CAN PROVIDE.  When you don’t serve, something important is missing.  Nobody but you can be you but you!

That brings me to my third reason for why you need to find your special place of service.  Not only does the world’s need demand it.  Not only has God uniquely SHAPE’d you to provide the service the world needs, but,

3.  God EXPECTS you to serve (Acts 11:30) 

Look closely at verse 30 and you will see something really profound in its simplicity: “This they did, sending their gift.”

This is a mundanely simple statement with profound consequences.  Remember the situation we are dealing with – a famine that was going to be particularly hard on the believers about 100 miles away in Jerusalem.  There was a need to take up a sacrificial offering and the Bible says, “This they did.” Christianity is as much what we “do” as what we “believe.”  When it needed done—“they just did it!” 

Oh, how I wish we all could be so simple and immediate in our obedience. So often the normal response in a Baptist church to feeding the hungry or clothing the naked is to set up a “committee” to discuss ministry.  We often play out the moral to an Aesop’s Fable, “When all is said and done in a committee, more is said than done.”

God SHAPE’d us for ministry because He EXPECTS us to minister.  Obedience is not optional.  God put the matter before the disciples and “they DID something about it.” 

One day the disciples were arguing about who was, and would be, greatest in the Kingdom of God.  Jesus rebuked them for their misguided ambition and said this: “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave- 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, (Matt 20:26-28).

If we are going to call ourselves, “Christians,” [meaning, those doing the business of Jesus Christ] don’t you think our lives ought to resemble, “Christ?”  Should we not love like Jesus loved?  Should we not sacrifice like Jesus sacrificed?  Should be not serve like Jesus served?  Should we not be willing to die like Jesus died?

Jesus, speaking as God the Son, said, “I expect my followers to follow My example.  I expect each of you to become a servant of all.”

It is clear from our text in Acts that the Early Church followed the example of the Servant-Savior.  They heard of a need that called upon them to deliver aid and our text says, “this they did!”

The world’s needs cry out even louder today than in the day of the Early Church–at least as much so for sure.  If we are going to use the name, Christian, we need to find a place of service and begin serving sacrificially and passionately just like Christ, Our Lord, did.

Only about 2 out of every 10 church members in a typical church are actively involved in meaningful ministry to their communities either individually or through the church.  If we are going to make a difference in our world, this statistic most change.  EVERY believer needs to find a meaningful place of service. We need “doers” not “spectators.”

Our church will be “ramping” up our discipleship training efforts and will be expecting every member to commit to training to become a better servant of Christ.

Many church members have had a genuine and radical, life-altering encounter with the Living God, but let their spiritual life slide into a ditch or get stalled by the side of the road.  There’s hope for you.  Use this time of invitation to rededicate your life to God and commit yourself to renewed service to Christ in and through the church.

Don’t be like Eddy . . . leave a vacancy when you are absent.

Mother's Day 2021: Hannah, a Model of Faith

 

May 9, 2021 (Gratitude to Pastor Brian Bill for the sermon seed)
Hannah:  A Model of Faith  (Notes Not Edited)
1Samuel 1:1-2:11

SIS—Hannah is just one of many women in the Bible who is a model of great faith for all people of faith—man or woman. 

Today, we want to honor “motherhood,” and by extension we want to celebrate the beauty, power, ingenuity, and creative problem solving of women in general.  Let me illustrate what I mean.

When a group of tourists visited a crocodile farm, the owner of the place launched a bold proposal - Whoever dares to jump, swim to the coast and survive, I'll give you $ 1 million. No one dared to move, suddenly, a man jumped into the water and desperately swam to the shore while being chased by all the crocodiles. With enormous luck he made it. He gained everyone's admiration. Then the owner announced; - We have a brave winner. After collecting his reward, the couple returned to the hotel, upon arrival, the manager told him; he was very brave to jump, then the man said; I didn't jump, someone pushed me! His wife smiled...

Moral: ′′ Behind every successful man, there's a woman who pushes him "...

1.  People of faith have real PROBLEMS (1:1-8)

Hannah is a Bible hero.  Like all Biblical heroes, she had problems.  The Bible never whitewashes the lives of its heroes.  Noah was a drunk, Moses had anger issues, Rahab was a prostitute, and Hannah was a “barren woman.”  The Bible is the real story of God dealing with real people facing real struggles.  Hannah is one such hero.

Hannah was one of Elkanah’s two wives.  The portrayal of Elkanah in the Bible is that of a “devoutly religious, God-fearing man.”  Many of the characters during the time of the judges, including kings and priests, were moral failures.  Verse 3 says this of Elkanah: 

³ This man would go up from his town every year to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of Hosts at Shiloh. 

Shiloh was the center for Israelite worship before Jerusalem was established as the Holy City years after this time.  Elkanah was a devout, God-fearing man but he was not perfect.  He had two wives.  Hannah is mentioned first so she was probably Elkanah’s first wife.  Polygamy was tolerated in the O.T., especially when a first wife was barren, or childless.  But, make no mistake about it—God’s design for marriage from the beginning was “one man, one woman for a lifetime.”  The N.T. unequivocally denounces polygamy (Mt. 19:4-5; 1Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:6 to name a few places).  Elkanah had faith but it was not perfect faith by any means.  He tried to “help God out” by taking a second, fertile wife.  This gave him a divided family.  It was a mistake.  Elkanah is yet another example of a Bible hero that was far from faultless. 

Hannah had a big problem.  She was a Jewish woman who could not bear children—or at least that was how it seemed.  This meant that she was considered, “damaged goods,” and was looked down upon by society.  This is demonstrated by the actions of her “rival wife,” Peninnah.  Verse 6 says, 

⁶ Her rival [Pininnah]would taunt her severely just to provoke her, because the Lord had kept Hannah from conceiving. 

Motherhood is a highly esteemed and greatly valued station in life, even in our day—though motherhood, gender, and marriage are under attack today.  The fact that we have a special holiday to honor motherhood speaks to the fact of the importance of this station in life. 

There are more than a few women that desperately want to bear children but cannot.  I’m sure such women—perhaps you are one such woman here this morning—feel that “Mother’s Day” is a cruel joke.  I’m sure Hannah would have felt that way.  So heavy was this burden upon Hannah that verse 10 says,

¹⁰ Deeply hurt, Hannah prayed to the Lord
and wept with many tears.

When we experience problems, such as Hannah’s bareness or any number of challenges in life, we tend to think that God has forgotten us.  Or worse, we feel that God is punishing, even ridiculing us.  Many atheists assert that with so much evil and suffering and problems in this world there could not possibly be a god—and especially not the All-loving, All-powerful God of the Bible. 

It goes beyond my purpose this morning to discuss the apparent incongruity between the existence of an All-loving, All-powerful God and the tremendous amount of evil we see in this world.  What I want to emphasize this morning is that Hannah was a real, Bible hero but she also faced very real problems.

So, if you are experiencing great troubles, trials, and problems in life, then you just might be a Bible hero like Hannah.  People of faith have real problems.

2.  People of faith express fervent PRAYERS (1:9-18) 

⁹ On one occasion, Hannah got up after they ate and drank at Shiloh. The priest Eli was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s temple. ¹⁰ Deeply hurt, Hannah prayed to the Lord and wept with many tears. ¹¹ Making a vow, she pleaded, “Lord of Armies, if you will take notice of your servant’s affliction, remember and not forget me, and give your servant a son, I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and his hair will never be cut.” ^CSB 

Hannah did what all people of faith MUST DO when faced with soul-crushing problems—we must pray.  But, not the trivial prayers we so often pray, but we need to express “fervent prayers.”  Fervent prayers are prayers so deep they exceed the capacity of our human language.  Her prayers were more like crying out in anguish, or as the literal of verse 11 says, “Vowing a vow,” which the CSB translates as “pleading.”  This is the kind of prayer borne of deep anguish. 

Notice in verse 12 the description of Hannah’s praying, ¹² While she continued praying in the Lord’s presence, Eli watched her lips. ¹³ Hannah was praying silently, and though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. Eli thought she was drunk ¹⁴ and scolded her, “How long are you going to be drunk?  Get rid of your wine!” ¹⁵ “No, my lord,” Hannah replied. “I am a woman with a broken heart. I haven’t had any wine or beer; I’ve been pouring out my heart before the Lord.  ¹⁶ Don’t think of me as a wicked woman;  I’ve been praying from the depth of my anguish and resentment.” 

People who pray fervently, as Hannah did, go to a place with God that transcends human language and exceeds human understanding.  Many who pray fervently have been accused of “being drunk,” that is, under the influence of alcohol.  When the disciples prayed themselves into the Presence of God at Pentecost, they too were accused of being “drunk.”  (Acts 2:12-13) 

Fervent praying is Holy Spirit assisted praying.  In fact, being deep into God through the Holy Spirit is compared to being “drunk” in the N.T. 

^{Ephesians 5    18} And don’t get drunk with wine,  which leads to reckless actions, but be filled by the Spirit. 

We all know what it means to be “DUI,” but what we need in the church from people of faith today are those who are “PUI”—PRAYING UNDER THE INFLUENCE.

What does it take to “express fervent prayers to God.”  Well, as I said, for one it takes “praying under the guidance and control of the Holy Spirit.”  But it take something else to express fervent prayers.  Vs 15:

¹⁵ “No, my lord,” Hannah replied.
“I am a woman with a broken heart. 

Here’s something I learned too late in life:  you will never have a real breakTHROUGH, until you have a total breakDOWN!

God cannot fill us with His Self until we are empty of OUR self.

It is a simple principle of fervent, effectual praying that we must first come to the end of ourselves in order to experience the beginning of the fullness of God, Himself. 

Hannah faced an insurmountable problem.  Instead of letting her circumstances go to her “feet” and send her running away in despair, she let her circumstances drive her to her knees in fervent prayer. Believers must learn to “fight on our knees, not our feet.”

Hannah is a model for all people of faith because she “prayed fervently.”

3.  People of faith experience God’s PROVISIONS (1:19-20)

¹⁹ The next morning Elkanah and Hannah got up early to bow in worship before the Lord. Afterward, they returned home to Ramah.  Then Elkanah was intimate with his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her.  ²⁰ After some time,  Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel,  because she said, “I requested him from the Lord.” 

God will meet your needs.  Provisions are what God gives us in response to our faithfulness. God will ALWAYS meet your needs with His provisions.  God’s provisions are always good.

God is not good, some of the time.  God is good all of the time! Until you understand this principle in Scripture you will never have the sense of the overwhelming satisfaction of God’s innumerable provisions.  The N.T. expresses the “promise of God’s provisions”:

^{Matthew 7    8} For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds,  and to the one who knocks, the door  will be opened. ⁹ What man among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹ If you then, who are evil,  know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! 

And, in the Book of James we see the promise of God’s provisions:

^1:17 Every generous act and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights; with Him there is no variation or shadow cast by turning. 

From beginning to end throughout the Bible we see God revealing Himself to us as the “One Who Provides.”  In Hebrew He is called, “Yaweh jireh,” God Who Provides.

Do you recall the story of Abraham’s test to take his only son, Isaac, and sacrifice him on Mount Moriah?  Abraham was faithful to God’s command.  But, remember, that an angel from heaven prevented Abraham from carrying out the sacrifice.  Instead, there was heard the bleating of a lamb in the thicket.  Here’s how that story ends:

^{Gen. 22:  14} And Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide, [Yahweh yireh] so today it is said: “It will be provided  on the Lord’s mountain.” 

God will ALWAYS provide what you need when you need it in response to your faith and fervent prayer.  Now, that is an absolutely incredible promise and truth of His Word, but one that not many people really understand—or even believe.

I am NOT saying God will always give you what you want, because what you want may not be good for you.  God is good.  God is perfect.  He always provides what we need and what is best for us which is also what will best fulfill His will.

Hannah is a model for what it means to be a person of faith.  People of faith have problems.  People of faith pray fervent prayers.  People of faith experience God’s provisions.

4.  People of faith excel in keeping PROMISES (1:21-28)

Hannah cared for Samuel until he was old enough to be independent of her, and then she took him to the Lord’s tabernacle in Shiloh, to fulfill her vow to dedicate Samuel to the Lord.  Samuel would remain at the Tabernacle permanently.  She then testified of God’s goodness to the High Priest, Eli.

²⁶ “Please, my lord,” she said, “as sure as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. ²⁷ I prayed for this boy, and since the Lord gave me what I asked Him for, ²⁸ I now give the boy to the Lord. For as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.” 

Hannah made a promise, and she kept it as difficult as it must have been to leave her three-year old son in the Temple.  It was common in that day not to wean a child until about the age of three.  This is still not uncommon in lands where food is scarce and the water lacks purity, or was difficult to obtain.

The Bible talks a good deal about “making vows” or promises.  In Psalm 15 the Holy Poet describes a person who can dwell in God’s Presence as one: ⁴ who keeps his word whatever the cost. 

The Bible warns about “making promises you don’t intend to keep”:

^{Eccl. 5:5} Better that you do not vow than that you vow and not fulfill it. 

Our word is a sacred trust.  Words are powerful which is why “promises are so powerful.”  We live in a nation where a “man’s word means very little.”  We see corporate CEO’s cheating people out of billions, large corporations reneging on debt and seeking government bailouts; we see marriage vows broken at a rate greater than they are made; and of course, every two and four years we are subjected to the “empty promises” of politicians.

We live in a nation where a person’s word means very little.  Now, here’s where it may get a bit personal:  we have people in church that do not keep their promises.  Every person that gets saved has promised to make Jesus Christ the Absolute Lord of Life, yet in a very short time after the blush of the moment fades and the hair dries from the baptism, people go back to living their own way.

So many people who have promised to make Jesus Lord barely even think about Him throughout their day—or their lives.  They completely skip out on their promise and vows.

Hannah was a model of Christian faith because she kept her promise.

People of faith have problems.  People of faith express fervent prayers.  People of faith experience God’s provisions.  People of faith excel in keeping promises.  But, most importantly:

5.  People of faith EXPLODE in PRAISE (2:1-11)

When you live as a person of faith, praise will be the natural expression of your life.  Chapter Two is called, “Hannah’s Song.” When God’s love sparks the fuse of your life you will explode in praise. You won’t be able to hold in your praise any more than a stick of dynamite can keep from exploding once its fuse is lit.  Hannah praised God saying,

2:1  My heart rejoices in the Lord; my horn is lifted up by the Lord. My mouth boasts over my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation.² There is no one holy like the Lord. There is no one besides You!

In the next nine verses Hannah explodes with praise to God for not only meeting the needs of the faithful, but for exceeding those needs. I can’t help but think today that if more of us would follow Hannah’s example of faith as a godly mother, then our lives would regularly and enthusiastically explode in praise.

The climax of God's happiness is the delight He takes in the echoes of His excellence in the praises of His people (John Piper).

God delights in praise so He delights in giving us that which cause us to explode in praise to Him.  God’s love and provisions light the fuse of our lives that results in an explosion of praise.

There is so much more we could glean from this passage, but time will not permit.  Let is suffice to say that Hannah is not only a great model of motherhood, but she is also a great model for people of faith—but men and women.

Let’s seek to follow Hannah’s example.

Tree People

 

May 02, 2021     NOTES NOT EDITED
Tree People
Luke 19:1-10

SIS—Responding humbly to the invitation of the Lord Jesus Christ will dramatically and wonderfully change one’s life.

Could you imagine the excitement of living in a 14-story penthouse apartment overlooking a city park?  That’s sort how it feels to visit the Korowai people of Papua, New Guinea.  [SHOW PIC] These people build their houses 80 feet above the forest floor in one of the most remote, unexplored regions of the world.  Papua, New Guinea is the second largest island in the world just east of Indonesia.  Can you imagine the sacrifice a Korwaiian husband has to make when his pregnant wife has a “craving” for a midnight snack?  Down the ladder he goes!  And, we American husbands complain when the wife wants bubblegum-flavored icecream from Vons.

I did love climbing trees as a youngster, but I’d have to think twice if the Tree People of Papua, New Guinea invited me for dinner.  Especially, since some sociologists believe they might still practice cannibalism.

Today, we are going to look at the life of a man in a tree by the name of Zacchaeus.  Let’s read that text together:  LUKE 19:1-10. 

Four characteristics describe Zacchaeus, both before and after he was saved, and Jesus offers us the invitation of grace, just like Zacchaeus. 

1.  Zaccheus was a SHORT man (v 3)

►He was a short man (v3^NIV).

The most identifiable feature of Zacchaeus was his “short stature.”  As the song says, “Zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he.”

We can view his size both literally and metaphorically.  For sure, Zacchaeus was short physically.  He was also short socially and short spiritually. We need to connect some dots in this story to understand how Zacchaeus was short socially and spiritually.  In verse 2 we read 

►² There was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.^CSB 

Being a “tax collector,” and especially the “chief tax collector” made Zacchaeus rich.  Verse 1 tells us that this incident takes place in Jericho, and that is very significant.  Jericho and the surrounding area was a very prosperous place.  As the Chief Tax Collector, this made Zacchaeus a very, very rich man.  However, being a tax collector made Zacchaeus a very hated man; it made him a social outcast or pariah.  A “pariah” is someone who is despised and rejected.   Zacchaeus was a Jew, but he worked for the Romans.  The Jews hated the Romans and anything or anybody associated with the Romans.  The Chief Tax Collector paid for the privilege of collecting taxes for Rome.  The Romans established this collection system so they would not have to deal directly with the people they ruled.  They required a certain amount from a district and the chief tax collector paid it, and then anything he could collect over and above that amount was his profit.  It was a terrible, corrupt way of doing business—much like our IRS.

The Greek construction of verse 2 draws attention to the meaning of Zacchaeus’ name.  A literal reading would be, “a man being called by name, righteous.”  Zacchaeus literally means, clean, righteous, or pure.  Zacchaeus fell far short of his name—he was anything but righteous.  Connect this with verse 7,

►“All who saw it [Jesus go to Zacchaeus’ house] began to complain. He’s gone to lodge with a sinful man.”^CSB

Not only was he a traitor, making him a social outcast, he was a sinner meaning that he came up short spiritually as well.  In fact, we all are short spiritually.  By any meaure, Zacchaeus was a “short man.”  He was short physically, socially, and most of all spiritually.

The Bible describes all unrepentant people as “short people.”  Rom. 3:23 says, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God”

2.  Zaccheus was a SPOTTED man (v5, 10). 

I don’t mean “spotted” like a Dalmatian, but spotted in the sense that someone was looking for him and found him.   Verse 5 says, 

►⁵ When Jesus came to the place, He looked up. 

Jesus did not simply happen upon Zaccheus, he was looking for him. In fact, if the grammar of the original is followed closely, it would translate as, “Jesus was looking up.”  It emphasizes an intensity of purpose and focus as continuous action (Greek participle).

We see this same intense purpose in Jesus’ life in  verse 10^CSB. 

►¹⁰ For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.” 

Jesus, that is God, is ever the seeker.  We do not “find” God, but God finds us.  He is the initiator AND sustainer of our faith.  Paul refers this to Jesus being both “the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2, ^KJV). 

The Bible tells us Zacchaeus climbed a “sycamore tree.”  This tree is distinct from the North American Sycamore Tree.  This tree is related to the fig tree. Some scholars call it a “fig-mulberry.”  An important aspect of this tree is that it has leaves year around—many leaves.  At least some scholars believe Zacchaeus intended to remain hidden and was only curious about this traveling preacher who had become so popular among the common people.  He was not “seeking” salvation, but only seeking a show.

I believe this is the proper way to view these verses.  Zacchaeus was not the “searcher.”  Jesus was.  That is always the case.  The Bible says,  there is no one who seeks God (Rom. 3:11). 

If God does not pursue a man, that man will never be saved.  God is the initiator, the Seeker, in salvation.  The Lord spotted Zacchaeus because the Lord was searching for Zaccheaus.  The Lord called Zacchaeus by name.  The Lord was on a mission, and the mission’s name was, Zacchaeus. 

Throw away any foolish idea that you can contribute anything at all to your salvation—even if you are not as big a scoundrel as Zacchaeus.  The Bible teaches very clearly (Eph. 2:8),

► ⁸For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift.

 

There are literally thousands, maybe millions, of people who will gather in Christian churches “looking for a religious show,” but without one clue that God is actually looking for them and inviting them to have an eternal relationship with Him.  Millions will climb the tree of religion and after all is said and done, they will continue to hide behind the fig leaves of their own self-righteousness without ever experiencing the soul-saving, life-changing salvation of God. 

Man has been hiding behind fig leaves from the first sin in the Garden when Adam and Eve tried to hide their nakedness from God by sewing together fig leaves. Zacchaeus took hiding behind fig leaves to a whole new level—the whole fig tree.  Zacchaeus wasn’t seeking salvation; he was just looking for a show.  But, Jesus spotted him hidden behind the branches, leaves, and fruit of the sycamore fig tree. 

There’s no place we can go that God’s grace will not spot us.  Psalm 139:7–8^NASB

►⁷ Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? ⁸ If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, [that is, the grave] behold, You are there.

Glory to God, when God is looking for you, God will find you—just like the Lord spotted Zacchaeus.  So, Zaccheaus was not only a short man, but he was a spotted man.

3.  Zacheus became a SAVED man (v 9-10)

 The matter before us could not be stated any more concisely, 

►⁹ “Today salvation has come to this house,” Jesus told him, “because he too is a son of Abraham.  ¹⁰ For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”^CSB

Here we discover the essence of Christianity wrapped up in a neat little package and tied with a pretty bow.  “Salvation.”  Churches do err greatly when any other program or purpose supersedes, sets aside, or any way diminishes the stated purpose of the Lord, “I’ve come to seek and to save the lost.” (v10)

We live in a world in which church has become little more than a religious version of a neighborhood bridge club, or a cheap imitation of a Las Vegas entertainment act.  Or, churches degenerate into a “social service” program or “political action committee.”  Our calling is, and always has been, “to seek and to save the lost!”

The central truth in this passage is this:  Zaccheaus was a SAVED man.  His eternal destiny was changed in one instantaneous moment that he surrendered climbed down out of his tree of pride and in humble submission surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Money didn’t matter to him.  Power didn’t matter to him.  All that mattered to Zacchaeus was, “today, salvation has come to this house.”(v9). Have you had a “come down” moment in your life?

Salvation did not come because of Zacchaeus’ good deeds—he had NONE BEFORE he was saved.  Even if we could stack our good deeds  as high as a mountain, salvation would not come to us.  Salvation comes only as a gift of grace in response to putting one’s faith and trust in Jesus Christ.  Look at the second part of verse 9:

►“because he too [that is Zacchaeus] is a son of Abraham.”^CSB 

This means, Zacchaeus, like Abraham centuries before him, placed his full trust and confidence in the grace and goodness of Jesus Christ the Lord.  Galatians 3:6 tells us:

►⁶ Just as Abraham believed God,  and it was credited to him for righteousness,  ⁷ then understand that those who have faith are Abraham’s sons.

Remember when I talked earlier about Jesus being the seeker and how we cannot save ourselves.  Let me repeat the verse I shared: 

►Ephesians 2:8-9 ⁸ For you are saved by grace  through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— ⁹ not from works, so that no one can boast. 

Everything changed in that one moment when the spotlight of God’s grace fell upon the wretched dark soul of a sinful man.  It was not a change in moral behavior that brought salvation to Zacchaeus that day, but the call of the Merciful Savior, Jesus Christ (vv 5, 9):

►⁵“Zacchaeus! Quick, come down! . . . ⁹Salvation has come to this home today!^NLT

The “good deeds” of Zacchaeus came AFTER he was saved—and they came in abundance.  Salvation changes everything—a man’s tomorrows, but also a man’s todays.  One preacher wrote of Zacchaeus:  “What a deliverance was that day! The wife of Zacchaeus had a new husband. Their children had a new father.  The community had a new citizen.”  Everything changes the moment a person is gloriously saved. 

The change might not be as sudden as it was with Zacchaeus but when a person responds humbly to the merciful invitation of Jesus Christ, his or her life will be radically and eternally changed! 

Zacchaeus climbed high up the tree of worldly success.  He was a very rich man as the world counted riches, but before meeting Christ on that day that salvation entered his heart, he was eternally destitute.  He was still a small, little, wimp of a man spiritually.

Salvation changes everything both for the here and now and forever!

4.  Zacchaeus was a SATISFIED man (vv 6,  8).

 We know that Zacchaeus was truly saved because he was, in fact, demonstrably changed as I just said.  Look again at verse 8:

►⁸ But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, I’ll give  half of my possessions to the poor,  Lord! And if I have extorted  anything from anyone, I’ll pay  back four times as much!”

Before meeting Jesus, Zacchaeus was like every other unsaved man or woman, he simply could not get enough. He was never SATISFIED. Even when he had more than he could possibly spend, he wanted even more.  He threw away his integrity and scuttled any meaningful relationships just to get more coin.  

The lusts of the lost are never satisfied.

“Today, salvation has come to this house,” Jesus declared, and Zacchaeus goes from a self-serving, striving sinner to a joyously satisfied saint.  Verse 6 tells us:

►⁶ So he quickly came down and welcomed Him joyfully.^CSB

No hesitation—no reservations!

Then, verse 8,  as we read above, demonstrates that Zacchaeus could not give away his stuff fast enough—and he had a lot of stuff to give away! He wanted to bless everybody.  He no longer sought to live like a parasite off the community, but wanted to give back to the community.  He didn’t need money and stuff to be satisfied, he was fully satisfied with Jesus.  The old hymn says,

                                       I am satisfied with Jesus, He has done so much for me:
                                     He has suffered to redeem me, He has died to set me free.

 A popular story recounts a meeting that may have taken place at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago in 1923. There is debate whether the meeting in fact occurred, but what is not in question is the actual rise and fall of the men featured in the story, who were nine of the richest men in the world at that time: (1) Charles Schwab, President of the world's largest independent steel company; (2) Samuel Insull, President of the world's largest utility company; (3) Howard Hopson, President of the largest gas firm; (4) Arthur Cutten, the greatest wheat speculator; (5) Richard Whitney, President of the New York Stock Exchange; (6) Albert Fall, member of the President's Cabinet; (7) Leon Frazier, President of the Bank of International Settlements; (8) Jessie Livermore, the greatest speculator in the Stock Market; and (9) Ivar Kreuger, head of the company with the most widely distributed securities and investments in the world.

What happened to these powerful and rich men 25 years later? (1) Charles Schwab had died in bankruptcy, having lived on borrowed money for five years before his death. (2) Samuel Insull had died virtually penniless after spending some time as a fugitive from justice. (3) Howard Hopson became insane. (4) Arthur Cutten died overseas, broke. (5) Richard Whitney had spent time in a mental asylum. (6) Albert Fall was released from prison so he could die at home. (7) Leon Fraizer, (8) Jessie Livermore, and (9) Ivar Kreuger each died by suicide. Measured by wealth and power these men achieved success, at least temporarily. But it did not surely guarantee them a truly successful life (copied).

Zacchaeus avoided dying miserable and unsatisfied when he “made haste and came down out of that tree to become a disciple of Jesus.”

He was still a short man physically, but he was a satisfied man eternally. Zacchaeus had a radical life transformation.  Zacchaeus gave up all he had to gain more than he could ever want.

Responding humbly to the invitation of the Lord Jesus Christ will dramatically and wonderfully change one’s life.

Some people are really hard cases—hard nuts to crack as the saying goes. Everything about their lives is hard, and harsh. They don’t respond to anyone’s guidance or suggestions.  They are just “hard.”  Like Clifford.

Clifford and Daisy May were married for many years. Clifford was mean, stubborn, and a know-it-all.  He wasn’t very well liked around town. Neighbors actually feared him.  Clifford and Daisy May fought a good bit.  Whenever there was a confrontation in the home, yelling could be heard deep into the night. Often Clifford would shout, "When I die, I'll dig my way up and out of the grave and come back and haunt you for the rest of your life ol' woman!!" Old Clifford liked the fact that he was feared.  He died at the ripe old age of 98. After the burial, Daisy May's neighbors, concerned for her safety, asked, "Aren't you afraid that he may indeed be able to dig his way out of the grave and haunt you for the rest of your life?"  She replied, "LET HIM DIG. I HAD HIM BURIED UPSIDE DOWN...AND I KNOW HE’S TOO STUBBORN TO ASK FOR DIRECTIONS." 

Don’t be stubborn and prideful like Clifford.  Be like Zacchaeus.  Respond humbly to the invitation of grace and let Jesus radically and wonderfully change your life—not just for eternity, but right here, right now.

In another place and another time, a beloved pastor gave this invitation after telling the story of Zacchaeus.

Come down!  Come down out of that tree of self-centeredness—living as though Jesus had never lived, or as though Jesus had never died.  Come down out of the tree of unforgiveness and unkind attitude toward others.  Come down out of laziness and apathy toward the things of Christ.  Come down out of your tree of pride.  Come down out of your tree of skepticism.  Come down out of your tree of secret sin.  Come down out of your tree of doubt.  Come down out of your tree of indifference or procrastination.  (R.G. Lee).  Come down out of whatever tree is keeping you from joyfully and sacrificially following the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you don’t know Jesus, I’d like to invite you to climb down out of the tree of self-centeredness and embrace the truth of our Savior Jesus Christ.  It will dramatically and wonderfully change your life—now, and forever.