Thank you, Pastor, very much. Thank all of you. Rachel, thank you. That was beautiful. I'm reminded of a story I heard about Reba McEntire when she first came on the scene back early, I think in the early 1980s. One of the first agents from Nashville that heard her sing was reporting to a group that was considering her to be their opening act. And the guy said, you know, she sings so pretty, I can't tell if her songs are any good or not. We appreciate you leading us in worship. And so we come today to the gospel according to Luke as we make our journey into the New Testament now. As I pointed out a couple weeks ago, we've broken the barrier. We made it from the Old Testament to the New. John led us through Mark last week, and now we are in Luke. And so we'll turn to chapter 19, because it's my contention that the last verse of our text today really sounds the theme for the entire gospel account. But even so, let's read together Luke chapter 19, verses 1 through 10. Reminding you that this is the Word of God. The Spirit of God has inspired it. It is therefore without error our only infallible rule of faith and practice. Hear God's Word. He, that is the Lord Jesus, entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was. But on account of the crowd, he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today. So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they grumbled. He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold. And Jesus said to him, today, salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the son of man came to seek and to save the lost. May the Lord bless this reading of his word. For the grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord stands forever. This is the word which by the gospel is preached to you. Amen. Not forgetting purpose is an important notion in life. Many, many years ago, so the story goes, there was a problem on the northern coast of Scotland. For there, on the rocky shores, many a ship would find itself foundering and people were dying, drowning at sea because of the great hazard that the coast posed there. But there was a little village nearby, and the people there became concerned about those seamen who were lost and who found themselves in need of rescue. And so they formed a group, and they had small boats at the ready. And when they heard or saw that a ship was in distress or in trouble, they would take those boats and rush out and rescue all that they could, and they would bring them in. But they still had a problem because once they got the men to the shore, they had no place to keep them. Their homes were not adequate to put them in. And so they very quickly erected a shelter there so those rescued seamen could be brought inside where they could dry out and get rest that they need. And they also would provide them with things to eat and to drink. And over time, untold lives were saved as this little village undertook the rescue operation time and again. But as time went by, people began to notice that the building itself was really not adequate for what they wanted and so they put a lot of work into it and they enlarged it and they dressed it up a bit. They painted the walls and they put carpet on the floors so that the seamen who came in would be more comfortable. And pretty soon, the people became pretty proud of that building in their midst. And they even formed an organization that itself would meet there on a regular basis. But over time, as the group began to meet, they forgot really why they were there. And at least on one occasion, a ship was foundering offshore and no one noticed as sailors drowned in the sea. But a group did notice. And they remembered their original purpose. And so when another boat, another ship came and was in distress, they rushed out. They rescued the sailors. They brought them in. But it happened to coincide at the same time that the group that had organized itself was meeting in the building. And they were rather put off that these dirty, wet sailors were brought in. After all, they were scarring up the painted walls and soiling the carpet. And they protested. They thought no one ought to be rescued during the time that they were meeting together like that. It should be scheduled for a different time. But the group doing the rescuing prevailed. A small group, discontented and angry, left. And the group that remained tidied up the building, straightened it up again, and continued to rescue those sailors who were in distress on the sea. It can become easy to forget our purpose and why we exist. We can become more focused on the outward appearance of things rather than focusing on the things that the Lord would have us to remember that we are to be about. And we can be thankful today that the Lord Jesus Christ, never in the course of his ministry or in eternity, has forgotten what he came to do and why he became one of us. Luke begins his gospel, of course, by giving us all kinds of important information which we normally look at in the Christmas season of the year. He begins by saying, inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who were from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also. having followed all these things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught." Luke wants us to understand that he's undertaken to be an accurate historian. He's not simply recording stories for us. He's giving us vital information about the Lord Jesus and about all the events surrounding his life. He meticulously researched it. But beyond being an accurate historian, of course, Luke is inspired by the Spirit, as the Spirit speaks through him and otherwise carries him along so that he writes the things that God wants him to write. He is an historian, but he is also a writer of scripture. Having accompanied Paul on his journeys, he knew the gospel message, and he had talked with those who had actually experienced the Lord Jesus firsthand. So as we read his account, we're reading words that he spent much time in writing, even as he spent much time in researching them. You know, I've learned through the course of years because I always loved hearing stories. That's no secret to you, as you've heard me preach now. I want to be careful, though, that I don't use that skyscraper method in sermon preparation. You know, story upon top of story. I don't want to go there. But I don't know why it is, but even in my earliest days, I loved listening to the older relatives tell about life experiences when they were growing up, and then a lot of things, of course, that they just told. I've said before, when I've done presentations, especially back home, I tell people by saying, I know a lot of stories, and some of them are true. But you know, I learned pretty quickly those older relatives that I could depend on to tell me accurately what had happened, and others that didn't always get it right. I can think of one older cousin who told me innumerable things about family. I listened, I wrote down, I took notes in my mind as well as on paper. And you know, it's amazing how that man has proven to be right. Since now I've been able to take advantage of research tools online, I've gone and I've found time and again that what he told me was absolutely accurate. The writer Luke has been proven accurate more times than can be told. One man, Sir William Ramsey, back in the 19th century was a skeptic, and he set out to disprove the writer Luke as an historian, particularly with regard to the Book of Acts. And he spent some 20 years in the areas and regions that Luke wrote about in order to disprove for a very important society back in England that all of it was simply made up. And yet, after all of those years, Sir William Ramsey found himself not a skeptic. He actually became a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ because he found Luke to be accurate to the most minute detail. And so as we read these words, we know we're reading God's words. The Lord Jesus came on the scene, his birth having been foretold by prophets. He was, of course, one who had the way prepared before him by John the Baptist. But let us not forget that the angel commanded that he would be named Jesus, which means the Lord saves. It's the Old Testament word Joshua, Yeshua, Jesus in Greek, Jesus in English. The Lord saves, and he lives up to his name. in every way. We remember how that night the angel appeared to the shepherds, how that he proclaimed to them that he was bringing good news, for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord. He proclaims the saving work of Christ even as the Lord Christ is brought forth into the world. We read time and again how that he came to save, how that Zechariah, who encountered him in the temple, said, blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us, a demonstration of God's strength in that the Son of God came forth to save. He is the source of salvation. And it is repeated over and over again. Zechariah, John the Baptist, Father having said that, and then also later on in the temple when the Lord Jesus was presented there, how that the very word of salvation was proclaimed also. When God's servant Simeon said, Lord, now you're letting your servant depart in peace according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all people. Time and again, the Bible declares to us that Jesus came forth to save. John the Baptist declared it when he said, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And again and again and again, the Lord Jesus demonstrates the very power of God as he undertakes his ministry in adulthood. as he heals the sick, gives sight to the blind, heals and otherwise grants hearing to the deaf, and even raises the dead to life. He demonstrates his power by casting out demons and shows that he has all power and he has all might. But in the midst of it all, he never loses sight of his true mission. And Luke doesn't want us to lose sight of it either. For when we come to Luke chapter 15, we have this glorious chapter in which we see God delighting in finding lost things. We read of the man who has a hundred sheep, but he leaves 99 of them to do what? To seek after the one that's lost. And what about the woman who loses the coin, who searches all over the house and looks everywhere, like I did for my keys yesterday, but that's another story. found them hanging in the mailbox right where I left them. Poor Kathy has a husband. You've heard of a one-track mind? I've got a half-track mind. I had the dog and I had something else I was holding and, you know, two things pretty much maxes me out. So the keys were that third thing that got left in the mailbox door. She searched everywhere for the coin and found it and rejoiced. And then that wonderful story, perhaps the most memorable short story of all time, we call him the prodigal son, but God didn't give him that name. He was simply the son who wanted his inheritance early, and he went off and he squandered it, and before long he found himself impoverished and in a far country. And how many of us have found ourselves in a far country? Maybe we never left home geographically, but boy, we left there in every other way. And there we were, apart from the Father's love, eating pods with the pigs, wishing we could be back and just be one of the Father's hired servants. And so there in the midst of it, the idea came to him, I'll go home. I'll go back home to the Father. And he rehearsed the speech. You know, Dad? Just take me back. You don't have to treat me like a son. Just leave me out there in the servant quarters somewhere. I'll be happy there. I know I've messed up. And you can hear him rehearsing that speech, can't you, the whole way back home. But then there's dad, out on the front porch. He looks down the hillside, and he sees his son coming. And he does this extremely undignified thing when he gathers up the hem of his robe and tucks it or ties it or does something with it. And in a way that defies all dignity for a man of his standing, he runs to where his son is and embraces him. And the poor boy doesn't even get to give his speech. He's been working on it the whole time, and he can't even say it. And he said, my son who is dead has come home. Kill the fatted calf. Get a purple robe and put it on him. By the way, put a ring on his finger. He's going to be able to write checks on money that he's already squandered. Father God delights in finding lost things and lost people. We see how the Lord Jesus gives sight to the poor, blind Bartimaeus. But now here in Luke chapter 19, he encounters the wealthy Zacchaeus. And so right off the bat, we see how that the Lord Jesus saves regardless of standing rich or poor. He delights. in saving those who are lost. He entered Jericho. He had a purpose for going there. Jericho was on the highway. It was on the major trade route in a number of ways. And so a lot of people would pass through there. There's nothing profound about the Lord Jesus doing it, but he was there for another purpose. It wasn't that he just happened to be passing through there. Old man Saul Sutton, years ago, living out in Maggie Valley, somebody asked him how they could get to one of the communities in the county. And he said, well, you can't get there from here. He said, you're going to have to go to Waynesville and get there from there. You can't do it from Maggie Valley. It's one of those places you didn't get to just by passing by. But the Lord Jesus entered Jericho because he had a purpose. Now Zacchaeus was there, and Zacchaeus was interested in who Jesus was. But don't be under the mistaken impression that Zacchaeus is saved because he went looking for Jesus. Jesus came looking for him. And that's the wonder of our salvation. Initially, it may seem like we were seeking after the Lord. Early in our testimony in life, we may think we were the ones who found Jesus, but it is true that Jesus actually is the one who found us. He was a short man, which makes me relate to him. I also would like to think he was bald-headed, but that's something I have to read into the text. Crowd was there. He couldn't see over them. You know, can't you see him trying to stretch and say, where is the man? I know he's out there somewhere. He climbs a tree, climbs up in a sycamore tree or a sycamore fig tree. Those trees were plentiful there, we're told. The historian Josephus tells us about Jericho, how it was on this trade route, and it was a rather prosperous place. And trees were planted along the roadway just for decoration, for ornamental purposes, sort of like Southwest Florida, you know, a landscaper's paradise. Come down here, everybody's landscaping. They landscaped the place, and they had these trees there. And Zacchaeus climbed up in one so that he could see the Lord Jesus. But it's the Lord Jesus who saw him. And you know what's interesting? He said to him, come down. I must go to your house today. Now, you know, being from the mountains, we would have said something like, hey, what about us getting a bite to eat together? Of course, you know up there, if you ever run into somebody who's actually from there, and you get in conversation with them, somebody's apt to say something like, hey, why don't we go get a bite of dinner? That's not really an invitation. What they're saying is, this conversation needs to end because I'm hungry and I'll see you later. But in order to be polite, somebody will say, hey, let's go get a bite to eat. I'm just kidding. They probably do mean it. But the Lord Jesus, in this interesting way, he essentially says, I'm coming to your house. He invites himself there. Isn't that peculiar? But you see, the Lord Jesus has a purpose. It's not because he's hungry and he's saying, hey, I'm going to get a sandwich, Zacchaeus, go get it ready. He sees Zacchaeus because he sees in him the purpose that God must fulfill through him. After all, the Son of Man came to do what? To seek and to save that which was lost. And here is Zacchaeus with a name which means purity or righteousness, and yet he lacks those things because he lacks the one who can give him those things, but no more. He's known as a tax collector, not just a tax collector, but a chief tax collector, the one place in the Bible where we have this phrase, this title. And he's a man who is despised. These people were seen to have been in cahoots with the Romans, And the people were weary under the burden of taxation that had been levied against them by the Roman government. And Zacchaeus was one of those cooperating with those Roman authorities. And he was extracting from them more money than they were able to pay. At least in their eyes, that's the way they saw it. And so far from being pure and righteous, they saw him as being wicked and sinful and a betrayer of his own people. And so we're reminded, as J.C. Ryle tells us, no one is too bad to be saved or beyond the power of Christ's grace. So already we've realized that Jesus is the one who seeks to save, and this is love, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. But now we realize that no one is beyond God's power to save. I've talked with people like that in the course of ministry. Oh, preacher, you don't know what I've done. And genuinely feel like they're too far away from the kingdom in order to be saved. But hey, listen, if you recognize your sin and wickedness, you qualify. God's not looking for resumes. He's not looking to see what you've accomplished. When God looks at us, He sees our failures. He sees that we have fallen short. And even in the good things that we've done, we've done those with the wrong motives, and so they are tainted also. The one qualification you need to meet is that you're a sinner, and you recognize that, and you throw yourself upon the mercy of God. and receive the Lord Jesus Christ. And in that, no one is too bad to be saved or beyond the power of God's grace. As the old King James Version says in Romans 5.20, but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound, and praise the Lord for that. Paul himself said, the saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to Save people who deserved it? Save people who were doing pretty good and just needed a little bit of help? No. He came to save sinners. And Paul said, by the way, I'm the foremost of those. I'm the chief of that tribe. So never allow Satan or the world or your own flesh to convince you that somehow you're too far out there in order for God to rescue you and bring you back. Statler Brothers sing the song with the lyric, I could name you every book in the Bible, and I knew all the pretty words it took to pray. But like Zacchaeus, I was short on things that mattered, till the Lord stopped in at my house one day. Can you sympathize with that testimony? Jesus rescues, he saves us, and when he does it, he does it for all to see. Oh, they were grumbling. Why's he going to that man's house? Not only is Zacchaeus a man with a sullied reputation, but now Jesus is sullied with that same reputation because he's hanging out with him. But Jesus didn't go there to sin with him. Jesus went there to save him. And rather than grumbling, they should have been rejoicing and saying, you know, if Zacchaeus can have fellowship with the Lord, there's hope for me. But oftentimes in our self-righteousness, even though we've experienced the grace of God in times past, we lose sight, we lose focus. And instead of it being about a rescue mission, we become comfortable in our painted, carpeted building, and we get concerned about those people who come in and soil our Christian floor. And yet Jesus came to save sinners. Zacchaeus is transformed. How do we know that? He stands up in the midst of all the people that are there and says, Lord, behold, half of my goods I give to the poor. Now Jesus hadn't told him to do that at this point. He simply offers to do it out of an act of love and generosity, having had his heart transformed He wants to benefit those who are the less fortunate. And if I've defrauded anyone, and by the way, this is in an emphatic tense in the Greek, and it implies very strongly that he has defrauded people. Perhaps not to the extreme, but nevertheless, he appears to be guilty of it. But even in those cases, I'll restore it fourfold, going far beyond what the law required. Because he wants everyone to know he's a changed man. God's grace, when it's at work in our lives, is obvious to all. And so Jesus saves us. He saves us for the world to see. He says later on, before he ascends to the Father, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in Judea, and in Samaria, and to the end of the earth. He says of those who follow him, you will recognize them by their fruits, by the way they live their lives. You can, oh, drive out most anywhere. I'll pick one of the few places I know and say, go out of Mockerly Road. You go out there far enough, you'll find some orange trees out there. You know, it's amazing. They've got oranges on them. I looked them all over. I didn't see any apples on a single tree. I didn't see any pears. I didn't see peaches or cherries. Those orange trees all have oranges on them. That's how I knew what they were. That's how people know who we are, by the fruit we bear. And if we are followers of the Lord Jesus, it'll be evident in the way that we live our lives. Jesus said, so everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven. He's talking about a public declaration, a public profession, a faith. Salvation is accomplished in us in order that it may be known publicly. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. You don't see any members of a secret society here doing unspoken things. We outwardly profess the Lord Jesus and we outwardly live for him if we know him. And Zacchaeus is outwardly testifying to his faith and outwardly doing good in order that the Lord may be glorified. But of course, God is clear about what Jesus came to do. He never lost sight of it. The testimony is born throughout scripture. The father speaks at the baptism of his son and says, this is my beloved son. He speaks again at the Mount of Transfiguration and says, this is my beloved son. Listen to him. And then there's the testimony of the cross. Jesus gave his life on the cross, even as he did it. Those who hated him were hurling insults at him and said, he can save others, but he cannot save himself. Oh, they said more than they knew. He did not save himself so that he could save others. He could have. He could have called down legions of angels, even as those iron spikes had him fixed to that hard, hand-hewn wooden cross. But he didn't call upon the angels to rescue him. He called upon the Father and said, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Jesus came to save sinners. And the Bible makes it clear. The Father testifies concerning the Son, your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore, God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions. Here is the Son of God, God the Son, being praised by the Father. And, of course, this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations. And then the end will come. You think the great news of our day is about the U.S. election just passed? You think it's about the ongoing pandemic or the latest scandal that the newscasters want to cast our way? I tell you the greatest news that is going unreported in the world today is that the gospel is advancing, is that the name of Jesus is increasingly known among people everywhere. As the Bible is being translated into the languages of other people, they are hearing the name of the Lord Jesus in their own heart language. That's the great news of our day. And when that gospel truth has reached in every place that God intends it to reach, then the end will come. It's not hinging upon what the US Congress does or what happens in Europe. No. It's all about Jesus fulfilling the purpose for which he came. And that purpose is to save sinners. You know, through the years of pastoring, I've been blessed to know so many wonderful people. Many of them have gone on to be with the Lord. But I think about one man who's younger than I am, but I did his wedding when the time came. I knew his dad, who is now with the Lord, who I've said many times I hope he and several others are saving me a spot in the bass section. Because in heaven, I think I'll be able to really sing bass. I just pretend to here. Brad Sossaman, still serving in the US Army. 15 years ago, he was in Iraq. And he was in the area around Mosul. where there were a number of attacks against US forces. And it was about that time that a number of negative things were being reported about our troops in that region of the world. And while all of that bad news was circulating, I want to tell you something that Brad did. This young man, this boy serving in our nation's armed forces, found himself in an all-out battle outside of Mosul. His unit was under severe attack. But when the crossfire was its hottest, there was a young woman with a small child who ended up in the middle of the street. Now you heard about all the bad things that soldiers supposedly did in that conflict. And of course, there's no excusing that. But I want to tell you what this young man did. Above and beyond the call of duty, he went out in the middle of the gunfire. And he placed himself between the hail of bullets and that mother and small child. And he got them to safety. And I want to tell you what else he did. While he had finished what he went out there to do, he could have simply pried that little girl loose who was clinging to him. and left her there with his mother and gone back to his unit. But because that little girl wouldn't let go, he just kept holding on to her while the bullets were flying until she went to sleep. And when the battle had died down, he gave her to her mother, and he picked up his weapon, and he went back to his unit. He was awarded for bravery. I just want you to know that as we consider the sacrifices that others have made for our sakes, and as we consider those who have demonstrated courage and bravery on the field of battle, that into the chaos and the confusion of the sinful world, the Son of God answered His Father's call. He volunteered to leave the comfort and security of heaven to rescue lost children. And in a horribly wonderful moment in time, he willingly stepped between us and the deadly onslaught of wrath and took it all in order to provide us the way of escape. From conception to the cross, he went beyond all that love could possibly demand to save his own from destruction. And now amazingly, having won the war, He'll hold us and protect us until the battle is over, and He will see us safely home. Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. I trust and pray you know Him today as the Savior that He is, and that you know whether the weather is fair like we have now, or whether it's less than ideal, or whether the news from our 24-hour news cycle is good or doesn't bode so well. We have something to celebrate because we have someone who has done exactly what he came to do. And he's left none of it undone. And his shed blood is absolutely sufficient to save you from your sins. I don't know what you've done, and I don't need to know. But you need not question the power of God to do what he says he will do. And if he came to save sinners, sinners he will save. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we rejoice in Jesus Christ, your gracious son. And we thank you for the gift that he is. And pray that you will grant to us, O Lord, to know him in order that we may make him known. Draw us, we pray, to Jesus, that we may treasure him above all material things. And Father, we pray that you will continue the work a work that you've begun, a work that you've continued now throughout the ages, and we pray a work that will be accomplished in us and through us. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.