[0:00] Let us worship God. We're going to sing from Psalm 27. Psalm 27 and at verse 7.
[0:16] O Lord, give ear unto my voice when I do cry to thee. Upon me also mercy have, and do thou answer me.
[0:26] When thou didst say, Seek ye my face, then unto thee reply, Thus did my heart, above all things thy face, Lord, seek will I.
[0:40] Far from me hide not thou thy face, put not away from thee thy servant in thy wrath, thou hast unhelper been to me. O God of my salvation, leave me not, nor forsake. Though me, my parents, both should leave, the Lord will me uptake.
[1:03] O Lord, instruct me in thy way. To me a leader be in a plain path, because of those that hatred bear to me.
[1:14] Give me not to mine enemy's will, for witnesses that lie against me risen are, and such as breathe out cruelty.
[1:25] I fainted had, unless that I believed had to see the Lord's own goodness in the land of them that living be. Wait on the Lord, and be thou strong, and he shall strength afford unto thine heart.
[1:41] Yea, do thou wait, I say, upon the Lord. We're going to sing from verse 7, 6 tanzas. O Lord, give ear unto my voice when I do cry to thee.
[1:52] O Lord, give ear unto my voice when I do cry to thee.
[2:09] O Lord, give ear unto my voice when I do cry to thee.
[2:39] O Lord, give ear unto my voice when I do cry to thee.
[3:09] O Lord, give ear unto my voice when I do cry to thee. I shall not do thy heart to pass, and help them bring to thee.
[3:32] O Lord, give ear unto thee. O Lord, I shall жеItmasимо yet. O Lord, обative, I shall be demain, low and slay after aiem, may they may not upon all multiete and spears tarnate to thee. O Lord, I shall just yea, O Lord, may they may may may in��ach me at home and reign how vast seeing, The Lord will be of pain.
[4:07] O Lord, instruct me in my way. To me I enter thee.
[4:21] In the great country, our song goes. But it's great to be.
[4:39] Give me all to my heavenly's will.
[4:50] For redness is the night. And yet, be written, our hands are.
[5:07] But be the cruelty. Let us call on the name of God in prayer.
[5:23] Let us pray. O Lord God, as we come into your presence, we give thanks that we are able to sing your praises.
[5:36] And that you are a God who is ready to hear the voices of the saints elevating your name in song. We give thanks for the words of the psalmist that his desire is expressed there that he, the beauty of the Lord, would behold and admire.
[6:02] And that in your holy place that he may reverently inquire. And so it is until this day, every one of your people, they seek your face and they desire to discover more of you.
[6:18] More of your passion, more of your son, Jesus Christ, and what he has come into the world to do. We bless you and thank you that you have revealed yourself in your word to us and your will for us.
[6:35] We give thanks for the doctrines of the scripture. We give thanks for the narrative of the gospels.
[6:49] The parables and the stories that tell us of life in bygone days when Christ walked the dusty paths of this world.
[7:00] In many ways things are different, in many ways they are not. We give thanks that he speaks to us through his word and that his word is a living word.
[7:15] We remember in your presence this evening all who are in need of your ministration through your spirit. Especially those who are concerned for their souls.
[7:26] May they be drawn to your word. May your word be light to them. The Lord is my light and saving health, your servant said.
[7:40] And so your servant and every other sinner saved by grace discovered for themselves. When they saw your face. And that they discovered your willingness to reveal yourself to them.
[7:58] And we pray that that would be true of every one who, even at this time, despite their distress, despite their concern of soul.
[8:10] That they would know to look to the Lord. May it be so. We pray that there would be evidence, even in places near to us and people that we know.
[8:24] That they are concerned for their soul. Because the greatest fear that we have is the lesergy that has overtaken so many. Spiritual deadness that has left them totally at ease with this world and its ways.
[8:40] So embroiled in its activities and not concerned with what may yet await them. The word tells us that this is something to think seriously about.
[8:58] Even our lives tells us that there are things that await us in this world that we do well to prepare for. And it is foolishness that makes us go on as if these things will not come our way.
[9:15] It is even more imperative with regard to the things of the soul that we have made due preparation. To meet you to the God to whom we all must answer.
[9:28] For we are created in your image. And you are told us in your word. That the day will come when you will bring us to account. All must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, you say.
[9:42] And even those who have heard these words and know the implications of them, they distance themselves from such an appointment. And argue that it may never come their way.
[9:55] Or when it does, that they will be ready for it. We pray that you would remember all the situations that are in this world at the present.
[10:05] As nations we are aware of conditions affecting the lives of so many. Not just the ongoing pandemic but the uncertainties that arise out of a world that is lying in sin.
[10:22] We know that there is enmity in the heart of man against God. That enmity can be disguised and there is not any nation that does not know enmity against by other nations or even who have lived in the shadow of that enmity all the days of their existence.
[10:42] They are at war if they are not at war. Physically they are at war in other ways. There is suspicion. There is enmity. There is...
[10:53] There are issues that have yet to be dealt with. As far as vengeance is concerned, your word is disregarded because your word teaches us that vengeance is mine, saith the Lord.
[11:05] But men take that upon themselves and their culture and their culture and their hatred that is harboured in hearts and indelibly imprinted in the minds and the hearts of those who are young.
[11:26] And we see it in places that are constantly warring and constantly spoiling and ravaging the land.
[11:38] We pray, Lord, that you would so mercy to us and that the gospel would have free reign in these places that those who preach it would be heard and those who go into these theatres of war would be spared and kept safe from all ill.
[11:56] Remember our own nation that is desperately wicked and uncaring about the needs of the day in regard to salvation that comes from the Lord.
[12:10] Pour out your spirit upon us. Grant to us a spirit of repentance that we may turn from sin to Christ. We are remembering your presence, all that we entrust to your care and keeping, especially loved ones who may be unwell.
[12:26] Those that we know of that are in hospital and many others besides. Those that are confined to beds for the elderly. We pray for. Remember those whose role in life is to care for these.
[12:40] Give them a spirit that is Christ-like that they may go out and alleviate suffering. We are dreading those who supposedly say that they are mindful of the suffering of their loved ones and ready to usher them into eternity without not one thought for their soul.
[13:03] They do not believe that there is a soul. We know that there is suffering in the world and we do not wish any to suffer. And we pray that you would, in mercy, show your favour to such that are in the grip of death and in the grip of pain.
[13:22] We give thanks for the way that you are able to remember such. And we pray, Lord, that you would remember them body and soul. We pray for our governments.
[13:35] We pray for our parliaments. We pray for those who serve in these roles. We pray for our local council and those who serve as councillors amongst us.
[13:48] We pray for our people. Hear our prayers on behalf of others. Visit the sick in mercy. Bind the wounds of the afflicted. Heal the hurts of the grieving and sorrowful.
[14:02] Bless the gospel as it reaches out to all such. Bless your word as we read it and hear it read. We enable us to wait upon you as you are ready to bless your word as it is heard.
[14:18] Forgive us Jesus' name. Amen. We're going to read from the scriptures of the New Testament, the gospel of Jesus Christ, according to Luke.
[14:31] And we're going to read from chapter 19, down from the beginning to verse 10. Luke 19.
[14:42] And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans. And he was rich.
[14:54] And he sought to see Jesus, who he was, and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way.
[15:12] And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down. For today I must abide at thy house.
[15:22] And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, that he was gone to be a guest with a man that is a sinner.
[15:35] And Zacchaeus stood and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, thou, behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.
[15:52] And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, for so much as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man is come to seek, and to save that which was lost.
[16:11] And so on. May the Lord add his blessing to a reading of his word. To his name be the praise. For the Son of Man is come to seek, and to save that which was lost.
[16:32] This is a famous account of an encounter between Jesus and a man called Zacchaeus. And if we were to describe Zacchaeus to anyone who had not met him, or who had not heard of him, I wonder where we would begin.
[16:56] What would we give priority to? If they did not know who he was, perhaps we would begin describing his physical stature.
[17:12] What he looked like. What he looked like. Who he looked like. The one feature that's identified in the telling of the story here is that he was short of stature.
[17:26] I don't know how short he was. We're not really told. Some suggest that he was at war for. Maybe not.
[17:37] But this is the one physical feature, I believe, that we are told anything about. We are told also that he was chief among publicans.
[17:57] The chief executive, you would call him today. Probably filled with ambition. Hard-nosed. Someone who has gained success in the world because of how hard-hearted he was.
[18:18] Because this was not a, as a tax collector he would not be a popular man. So he had to have a thick skin. He had to have a drive, an acumen, no doubt.
[18:34] Endowed with skills, with figures and the ability to collect taxes. Because clearly he wasn't physically strong.
[18:46] Some people might have done it using their strength. Physical strength. But it doesn't appear that this man had that ability. But one thing that we might not see anything about.
[19:04] But that I believe was all important. And that is that that thing that was identified. Perhaps for all the wrong reasons by those who wanted to find fault with Jesus.
[19:20] Jesus. And that is that they identified Zacchaeus as a sinner. And the greatest sin that he had that they probably consorted with the Roman authorities.
[19:33] And thereby collect taxes for them. But it is not really their estimate that's important.
[19:46] Whether they consider them to be sinful or not. Because clearly their measuring stick was not really a suitable measure for anyone.
[19:57] But for Zacchaeus. But for Zacchaeus. The true nature of the encounter. The all important element of the encounter with Jesus is.
[20:12] That the Lord knew what he was through. And that is what was all important in the way that he dealt with.
[20:23] And these words of our text. Are the words that are key. To the success of the encounter.
[20:33] In verse 10. The Son of Man we read is come. To seek and to save.
[20:44] That which was lost. Whatever else you could say about Zacchaeus. Whatever else you could say about any one of us.
[20:56] And we could have a very detailed biography. Telling all kinds of things about our successes. And about our lack of it.
[21:07] One thing is true about us all. Is that we are sinners. And not just sinners in the eyes of our fellow men. And women. But sinners in the eyes of God.
[21:20] The word of God tells us. That all have sinned and come short. Of the glory of God. And for that reason alone. We should delight in the news.
[21:32] That Jesus Christ has come. To seek and to save the lost. I want us to think about this. Passion.
[21:44] That is spoken of here. And how he is described first of all. Secondly. What he has come to do. And thirdly.
[21:57] What we are reminded of. Concerning those that he has come to seek. That is all important.
[22:08] That we must understand the significance of what is being said there. We see Jesus describing himself as the son of man.
[22:20] If we are familiar with scripture. We may have discovered this for ourselves. But this is a favourite name.
[22:31] And many. Many theologians point that out. Why do you think Jesus chose this name. Or why does he use it to speak of himself in this way.
[22:46] Well in one way. I think it speaks to us of the way God. In Christ. Thought of the task that was ahead of him. We know that Jesus delights in doing the will of God.
[23:01] His father. And the psalmist when he looks forward. Anticipating the Christ. In Psalm 40 for example.
[23:14] Which is a messianic psalm in part at least. The psalmist there speaks. Of this characteristic being true of the Messiah.
[23:26] To do thy will. He says. I take delight. For thou my God that art. A delight in doing the will of God. And who could doubt.
[23:40] That about Christ. The psalmist says. I have written within my heart. That most holy law. And most certainly.
[23:52] That was true of Christ. He amazed the teachers. In the synagogue. When he was presented there. As a young man. Who heard his learning.
[24:04] Yet a knowledge of God's word. That surprised them. And he delighted. In doing the will. Of his father. But it is because of his perfect love.
[24:19] For his own people. That he assumed. Their nature. In order to redeem them. From their sins. That is. What had to be true of them.
[24:33] God the father. God the son. God the holy spirit. One God. Equal in power. And glory. God the holy spirit. And yet the son.
[24:44] The second person. Had to come to this world. And take our nature. In the gospel of Mark. We read. For even the son of man.
[24:56] Came not to be ministered unto. But to minister. And to give his life. A ransom for many. He had to take our nature. In order to redeem.
[25:06] Those who were lost. Those who were in their sins. There's no other way. By which he could save men. If he himself.
[25:17] Did not become man. He had no other way. Of dying their death. If it was not. As the son of man. Maybe we think. That God could have chosen.
[25:28] Any number of ways. And if he could. No doubt that he would. But the way that he chose. Was the way. That his glory. Would be. Highlighted.
[25:40] And his grace. Would be in evidence. Did you ever. Just stop.
[25:50] At the very first words. Of the gospels. When we read there. How Matthew introduces. The gospel of Jesus Christ. The book of the generation.
[26:01] Of Jesus Christ. The son of David. The son of Abraham. And it had to be like that. He had to be. Born of a virgin.
[26:13] He had to take. Born of our bone. Flesh of our flesh. If it was not like that. There would be no gospel. No good news. And we know that.
[26:26] When we. When we think. Of what Christ. Came to accomplish. That. That. That. That. That. The needs. That were before him.
[26:36] Could only be met. In the way. That God ordained. If there was anything. That we could do. For any of our children. Where they had a great need.
[26:50] If we could do that. At all. We would do it. If there was anything. Physically. Possible. That we could do. If there was a need. That we could meet.
[27:00] Then we would meet it. So it is with Christ. One with his people. One in flesh. One in blood. And the epistle to the Hebrews.
[27:12] The writer there. States. Wherefore in all things. It behoved him. To be made like unto his brethren. That he might be a merciful. And faithful high priest.
[27:22] In things. Pertaining to God. To make reconciliation. For the sins. Of the people. And that's what he came to do.
[27:35] To bring. Those who were estranged. From God. Back into a. Harmonious relationship. With him. By way of the cross.
[27:49] That's the second thing. We need to think about there. Some of you will have read. Many sermons. On. Various topics.
[28:00] Concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. And every one of them. No doubt. Will remind us. That. When he came into the world.
[28:10] He came. Willingly. And he came as one. Who. Who was sent. By God the Father.
[28:21] To. His own elect. People. But who came. In order to seek. And to save. And to save. The lost. Himself. And.
[28:33] Both of these things. Are consistent. With God's purpose. Christ's willingness. To fulfill it. He came. To seek. The title of those.
[28:44] Whom he came for. Is illuminating. He's looking for. Searching out. Seeking. The lost. The lost. Seeking. The lost. The lost.
[28:56] And. We're ever thankful. That that is what happened. Because. The lost. Would not seek him out. He is the good shepherd.
[29:09] Who goes out. To seek the lost. Sheep. Of the house of Israel. And before we can do justice to this. I would must be straight. That the condition of those he came to seek.
[29:22] And save was dreadful. They were lost. They were wayward. They were out of the way. On the wrong track altogether. The men whom he came to save.
[29:35] Had no way of saving themselves. They were sinful creatures. Falling short of the mark. The apostle Paul says.
[29:45] Christ Jesus came into the world. To save sinners. And he was chief. For a time. Although that was true of him. He was ignorant of it. He did not believe he was lost.
[29:57] He believed that he was. Of all men. Most righteous. And above. The breach of the law. The state of lostness can be very.
[30:09] Very. Deceiving. Because we can be lost without knowing it. Intellectually. You can understand what it is to lose something.
[30:21] But it requires more than to. Feel your lostness. By. More than not to feel your lostness. I remember.
[30:33] I remember when I was. In primary school. And the school went on an outing. And the outing was. To.
[30:43] Watch. I think it was. Frost County. Play. A loose select. At Goatill Park. And the school. And the school. And the school. Was decanted at the park.
[30:56] And we were given instructions. Where to meet the bus. At the end of the game. And somebody. Because I was so young. Somebody was in charge of me. But that person went off.
[31:07] Looking for. Autographs at the end of the game. And I was left there. And the crowd dispersed. And I was. Left by myself.
[31:17] And I. I thought. I had been forgotten. So I set off. To find the bus. And I went in a completely wrong direction. And I carried on walking.
[31:28] And I ended up. Heading. Rather than to Shawbust. Via Barvis. I went. Via the. Carloway Road. And.
[31:40] I carried on walking. And it was getting dark. And. Providentially. The bus. Had decided.
[31:52] Because in those days. The school was. Or catered for. Pupils. In the secondary. From. The catchment area. Of Barvis. To.
[32:02] To Carloway. So some of the pupils. Were from Carloway. So the bus. Decided. The driver just. Fortuitously. Decided that they would. Or the teachers. Decided that they would. Go via Carloway.
[32:14] And there it was. They found this. This wandering. Wave. On the way. On the way.
[32:26] To say that I was lost. And out of the way. Was an understatement. But. I didn't realise. How lost I was. It was quite. Quite.
[32:37] Quite a journey. And I remember. Parts of it still. But the thing. That I want to. To highlight is. I didn't realise.
[32:48] How lost I was. I didn't realise. How far out of the way. I had gone. Didn't realise that. That. I was in danger. As indeed.
[32:58] I could have been. If I had not. Been picked up. Like that. And sometimes. God allows us. To live in. In a state.
[33:09] Of lostness. Without us. Being able. To realise. The nature. Of that lostness. And until. Until. Until he impresses.
[33:19] Upon us. What it really is. That we are lost. In terms of. Our spiritual relationship. With himself. Then we may. Go on. In a.
[33:30] Totally. Blind. Condition. Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus. Was interested. In seeking. Christ out. But. Whether his interest. In Christ.
[33:41] Was entirely spiritual. At the time. Of him climbing. The tree is not. All that clear. Maybe.
[33:53] Tonight. You are lost. And part of that. Lostness. Involves you. In not appreciating. Your lostness. Not. Understanding.
[34:04] Your lostness. Jesus. The son of man. Has come. To seek. And to save. That which was lost.
[34:18] The H. Burgeon. In a book. Of. Of. Daily readings. Faith. Checkbook. I think. It is called.
[34:30] And. In it. He has a prayer. God. And. This prayer. Is to do. With sin. And he is wanting. God. To save him. From.
[34:41] All aspects. Of his sin. Some of the sins. You may recognize. Save me. He says. From the sins. That. I am familiar with. So that. The familiarity.
[34:51] That I have. With. These sins. May not produce contempt. I am. Paraphrasing. What he is saying. Do not allow me to.
[35:03] Lose my horror. Of these sins. Because that's what sin does. If we're. If we're. Familiar with it. If we're. Constantly. Engaged in.
[35:13] Such sin. Then we might not. Think anything of it. He wants us to. To have a horror of sin. Do not. He says. Allow us to.
[35:25] Have. Secret sins. That I do not. Recognize. As sins. And maybe that is. A snare. For many people. They are sinners.
[35:36] There's no question. The scripture says. They are sinners. But the sins. That they are guilty of. Are there. Without them actually. Recognizing them. To be sins.
[35:49] If you look at. Some of the bird. Kingdom. There are many. Birds. Some are plain. Some are. Some have got. Plumes. Some have got.
[36:01] Outrageous colors. Peacock feathers. All kinds of colors. And. You know. Some are. Are. Bland.
[36:11] And plain. And ordinary. Some are outrageous. But they are all feathers. And we may not think. Any of the feathers.
[36:22] That are. Are just dull. And grey. And bland. But the others are more attractive. Now that is the way it is with sin. Some sins. We can see.
[36:33] For their. Outrageousness. And we. We recognize them for what they are. But when they are ordinary. And when they are. Insignificant. In our eyes. Then.
[36:43] That is when they are most dangerous. Help us. Help us. Help us. Help us. Help us to recognize. Our sins. Keep us from.
[36:55] All kinds of sins. Because. The more we sin. The more we meet. Salvation. That is the final thing here.
[37:07] Jesus Christ. The son of man. Has come. To seek. And to save. And to save. The lost. To seek. And to save.
[37:17] The lost. It is because of the lostness. That God has sent his son. To seek. And to save.
[37:27] To recover. Jesus makes plain. That it is not the righteous. But to. The sinner. That he has come. To call the sinner.
[37:39] To repentance. And if you are literally lost. And someone gives you a map. Or directions. To recover. And you then proceed. To discard them.
[37:49] The fault is yours. No one else's. Accountable to him. Who came for the salvation. Of your souls. I was reading in the afternoon. I think it was.
[38:02] It is attributed. To D.L. Moody. He was speaking. Of his son. And his son. I think it was anyway. Or a child anyway. And his child had. A dirty face.
[38:14] And he told the child. Your face is dirty. And the child said. No. It's not dirty. He refused to believe. The description. That was given to him. Of a dirty face.
[38:26] And until he took him. To the mirror. And showed him his face. The child would not believe. That there was dirt there. But this was what Moody said. It is not enough.
[38:36] To take him to the mirror. Having seen himself. In the mirror. He then has to wash his face. And sometimes. I think the point.
[38:47] That was being made there. Is that. We need to go. To God's word. To discover. The truth. That we are sinners. But then.
[38:58] Having discovered. The truth. That we are sinners. We need to go. To Christ. Who is in the world. To seek. And to save the lost. Because only he can do it. And not us.
[39:09] Not one. Can save himself. Spurgeon tells. The story. Of a minister. Who was in a theatre. Called him.
[39:20] A graceless minister. Remember. This was in Spurgeon's day. He was in a theatre. Watching a play. And one of the characters. In the play. Was a sailor.
[39:33] And the sailor. Was due to be. Hung. And I don't know. What kind of. Jail he was in. But he asked. For a glass of gin. Maybe a last request.
[39:47] And before he was hung. He pronounced. Remember. This was a work of fiction. A play. Here's to the prosperity.
[39:57] Of the British nation. And the salvation. Of my immortal soul. That was his toast. But the one who was.
[40:09] The minister. Who was there. The words. That. The words. Spoken. In the play. Were the words.
[40:19] That were used. To strike home. Like a dart. To his heart. We are told.
[40:30] In God's world. That Jesus Christ. Came into the world. To seek. And to save the lost. And many suppression.
[41:04] He has found. Many. Many. Is a person. Met with Christ. In the most. In likely way. But only. Because.
[41:15] They met with him. Is their salvation. Today. Something. Of which. They can speak. We give thanks. For the gospel. That speaks.
[41:25] Of that Christ. And teaches us. That he is able. To seek. Save to the uttermost. All who come to God. By his way. May he bless to us.
[41:36] These few thoughts. May Christ. In his mercy. Remind us. Of his willingness. To seek. And to save. Let us pray. Most gracious God.
[41:49] Help us to. To do everything. In our power. Like Zacchaeus. To seek this Christ. For ourselves. And to find him. That he might.
[42:01] Seek us. And find us. Bless. Your word. To that end. Bless all. Who. Are engaged. In the proclamation. Of truth. That all.
[42:12] May come. Under his power. Forgive us. Every sin. In Jesus name. We ask all things. Amen. Amen.