Zacchaeus

I'm fascinated by this little man, Zacchaeus.

And I'm fascinated because Zacchaeus never knew about the cross,

didn't know about salvation,

never read any of Paul's epistles,

partly because they'd never been written.

I mean, that would have been tricky, agreed.

But something dramatically changed in him.

And you can bet, I mean, I know you're not gambling people,

but you can bet your bottom dollar

that when a tax man says he's going to give all the money back,

he's ripped people off, something's changed.

I have a friend who lives in the U.S.

who was the legal correspondent of the Chicago Tribune

and an intellectual atheist.

By intellectual, he wouldn't claim to be intellectual,

but he was the kind of person, because he was a legal correspondent,

who could marshal an argument that would put in jeopardy

the idea that God even existed,

never mind that he was interested in the lives of ordinary human beings.

And then something in Lee's mind went wrong,

and his wife was converted to the Christian faith.

He said that he noticed such a difference in her

after she was converted

that he couldn't help but go back over the ground

that had led him to the point where he had decided

that there was no God,

that there was no such thing as a religious thought.

It was all kind of socially constructed mumbo-jumbo.

The way his wife was

left him with a question in his head.

The question was,

is there more to this

than meets the eye?

Listen, if you've been here since four o'clock,

you've heard me droning on

about a spoken witness.

And I said at the beginning of that,

it was my kind of exclusion clause,

that of course I believe that the words we use

when we're given opportunity

and sensitively in the power of the Spirit

to try and influence others for Christ

are opportunities that we should seize.

But I also said,

it's not just about the words.

It's about the life as well that's lived.

We don't know a huge amount about Zacchaeus.

But we do know three things about him.

The first thing is,

we know he was little.

He was short.

That's the reason why,

in a kind of ridiculously comic way,

he had to climb up into a tree

just to get a sight of Jesus.

The second thing we know about Zacchaeus

was he was loathed.

Nobody liked him.

And there was a reason for this.

I mean, you know,

I'll be careful how I say this.

I mean,

I make jokes on the expensive,

you know,

last time I did it,

I made jokes at the expense of tax collectors.

It turns out there's somebody

from Majesty's Revenue and Customs

sitting on the front row

and didn't play out that well.

This is...

Look, you know,

let's just say

that probably they're not

top of everybody's Christmas card list.

But of course,

with Zacchaeus,

there was this added

kind of issue.

And that was,

he didn't just collect taxes

on behalf of the Roman occupying troops.

And they were extremely extortionate taxes.

But he also put 10% in his own back pocket.

And of course,

because he was a Jew,

he was considered to be a traitor

amongst his own people.

You only have to read your newspaper,

sadly,

a bit too often

to see

how people can construct hatred

in their hearts

and their minds

towards people

who they regard as traitors.

At least to violence

and to,

you know,

frenzied activity

on social media,

all that stuff.

Of course,

Zacchaeus didn't have to put up

with Twitter.

But what he had to put up with

is a load of people

who didn't like him.

That's why it was

that when Jesus invited him

around for tea,

sorry,

when Jesus invited himself

around for tea,

it says,

the crowd muttered.

You know what?

I have to say this

to you, church,

but the people of God

have been quite good

at muttering

for a long time now.

Zacchaeus

was very unpopular.

He was little.

He was loathed.

And the third thing we know,

because of his

deceptive habits,

he was also loaded.

As Harry Enfield would put it,

he had loads of money.

But there must have been

something about him

that felt a little incomplete,

maybe a little unfulfilled.

Maybe he'd heard some news

about Jesus,

but whatever it was,

something made him want

to put his eyes

on this man.

So he climbs into a tree.

I mean,

it's pretty comic,

isn't it?

Funny little guy

up in a tree

trying to see Jesus.

And Jesus is walking along,

and it says he looked up.

And in the

Greek New Testament,

when it says Jesus looked up,

the verb is very interesting.

What it means is

that Jesus fixed Zacchaeus

in his stare.

And something happened.

We don't quite know

what happened,

but what we do know is

that as a result

of whatever went on

in that exchange,

this man's life

was changed.

I like to think

that maybe

this little,

loathed,

and loaded

human being,

for the first time

in his life,

felt the grace of God

in the face

of Jesus Christ.

And something changed.

Let me say this

very clearly to you,

friends.

I said it earlier,

but it's worth repeating.

You will never

take up your responsibility

to be a witness

for Jesus,

either with your lips

or with your lives,

until you have been warmed

by the grace of God.

Friend,

if that's not happened

to you thus far,

if you're going to church,

has just been a matter

of sitting on,

I mean,

not every church

has business class seats

like this.

Sitting on hard pews,

thinking that maybe tomorrow

something might happen

for you.

Let me tell you,

I'm praying that something

might happen to you tonight,

that the Holy Spirit

might whisper in your ear,

and the grace of God

might warm your heart

and you might understand

that Jesus Christ

calls all his people

to be witnesses.

And look,

here's the evidence.

Four o'clockers,

forgive me for a moment's repetition,

but I said this afternoon

that you know what,

you can argue

against God.

You can argue

with clergy,

and you know,

my colleagues

have got the stripes

on their back

to evidence that.

You can argue

with bishops.

I've got a filing cabinet

full of letters.

You can argue,

but one of the things

you cannot argue against

is to transform life.

I think that's what

we see in Zacchaeus.

How do we know

his life was changed?

Listen to me.

I can't even work out

the maths.

I think that,

if I understand

the maths correctly

in Zacchaeus' little

restorative equation here,

I think he might have

ended up in debt

at the end of it.

It says here,

here and I give half

of my possession

of the poor,

and if I have cheated

anyone out of anything,

I will pay back

four times the amount.

I mean,

I can't work that out.

I'm sure Zacchaeus

didn't have a figure

in mind when he said it.

Something's happened.

And friends,

if the church

is ever going to be

the witness

that God calls us to be,

something needs to happen.

And what needs to happen

is you need to be

so warmed

by the grace of God

that you almost

cannot stop yourself

from taking those

God-given opportunities

for a word in season,

for taking those

God-given opportunities

to live the life.

I don't think

my friend

Leastro Bell's wife

said anything to him,

but the life she lived

was so different

after her heart

was worn

by the grace of God

that this

hard-bitten atheist

could do no more,

no less

than start to ask

the question,

is there

more than this

than I have

up-to-date

thought?

We'd all be

agreed,

wouldn't we,

that

although

we're constantly

reading in

newspapers

in the Western world

about the

flight away

from the Christian

faith,

you know,

when we did

the national census,

you know,

what it looked like

is that

belief in God

was rescinding.

We can all

read about that

stuff,

but listen to me,

when you read

the papers,

isn't it born

more on your

heart?

My goodness,

we might be

sophisticated,

we might be able

to split atoms,

we might be able

to do this,

we might be able

to do that,

but my goodness,

there's a lot of

need in this world.

You know,

tonight,

probably within

yards of this

church,

or your church,

wherever it is,

there'll be people

who are aching

with loneliness.

There'll be some

people,

we see,

my wife and I

see,

you know,

not infrequently

down the hill,

who clearly have

issues of poverty.

There are people

who are going

through relational

breakdown.

Some of them

might be in the

house tonight.

There are people

who suffer from

depression.

There are people

who are just

in need.

And friends,

if our witness

as a church

is simply to walk

past those who

are in need,

then I think

we will never

be the witnessing

community

that surely

somewhere deep

down inside us,

if we're healthy

disciples,

we would like to

see.

Sitting there

saying,

so,

you know what,

have you got a list

of great suggestions

for us?

Well,

my answer is,

you know,

I could give you

some suggestions,

but what I wanted

to happen for you

tonight

is for you

just to be

honest before

God

and for you

just to be

open to the

Holy Spirit

whispering in

your ear

and telling you

to wake up

and get the

coffee on.

And friend,

if your heart's

cold,

don't give up

at that.

Pray tonight

that the fire

of God

might come

upon you

and warm

your heart

in order

that you

might catch

fire.

I used to

work in

Slough

and we had

a guy in

our congregation

called Ken

and Ken

was a very

committed Christian.

He was,

I'll admit,

a bit rough

and ready

and he was

a bus driver,

he got in

trouble with

the bus

company

because he'd

stop the bus

and try and

preach the

gospel to

people who

wanted to

get to

work.

And,

you know,

you kind of

say of Ken,

he was high

on passion,

probably low

on strategy.

And I remember

one day,

our church,

the little church

got burnt out

twice whilst I

was there.

Local kids

coming in,

you know,

making a pile

of hymn books

and setting fire

to them.

And the second

time we're

all sitting

there in

this kind

of stinking

smoking mess

thinking,

this is great

because the

insurance company

will cough

and we'll

end up with

even better

hymn books

and Bibles.

That kind

of godly

thinking was,

you know,

taking mastery

of the hour.

And Ken,

so I'd be like,

let's have a time

of prayer.

Ken starts

off.

And actually,

it's my prayer

for you.

Why?

Because you're

the church.

Why?

Because each

one of you,

each one of you

could be a

meaning maker

in the life

of another

human being.

Might be

through your

verbal witness.

Might be

through the

way you

live your

life.

It doesn't

really matter

which way.

But what

matters is we

will become

meaning makers.

And friends,

the thing

about the

gospel is,

the thing

about a

verbal witness

is,

people want

to hear

about what's

changed in

your life

as a result

of your

discipleship

in Jesus

Christ.

Christ.

They don't

just want to

hear about

that,

they want

to see

some evidence

of it.

I've got a

friend and

he asks this

deeply painful

question.

He says,

what do you

like when

no one's

looking?

You know,

think about

that.

What do you

like when

you get

behind the

wheel of a

motor car?

My wife's

always offering

me corrective

therapy on

that theme,

you know,

calm down.

Right?

What do you

like when

life takes

a downturn?

Do you

hang on to

Jesus or

do you run

for cover

and get

embittered?

See,

what I love

about Zacchaeus

is,

and I'm

going to

look him

up in

heaven,

what I

love about

him is,

his heart

was warmed

and he

decided

he needed

to do

something

as evidence

that his

heart was

warmed.

And if

God ever

needed his

church to

stand up,

speak up,

and live

up to

the faith

that we

proclaim,

surely it's

such a time

as this.

church.

I remember

preaching

in this

really kind

of

intimidating

church in

Oxford called

St. Mary

the Virgin,

which is the

university

church.

And at the

back of the

church,

there are

these great

wooden

thrones,

which I

was really

hoping were

for the

bishop to

sit in,

but apparently

not.

They're for

the chancellor

of the

university and

the vice

chancellor and

the pro-vice

chancellors.

On, I

think it

was the

11th of

July,

where's

Russ,

in the

year 1746,

a young

preacher

stepped into

the pulpit.

He

announced

this text

from the

book of

Acts.

It was

the words

of one

of the

governors

who had

just heard

Paul give

an account

of the

gospel.

And this

governor

said,

Sir,

thou

almost

persuadest

me.

That

sermon

we have

in its

entirety

was preached

by John

Wesley,

and it

transpires

that it

was the

last

time that

Wesley,

who of

course was a

respectable

Anglican,

didn't believe

in stuff

like fire,

it was the

last time

that Wesley

preached in

an Oxford

church,

which was

slightly tricky

for somebody

who'd been

chaplain

of an Oxford

college.

His

ministry

went on

to

prosper.

The

sermon

is called

The

Almost

Christian.

Wesley

says the

almost

Christian

goes to

church.

He said

the almost

Christian

may even

pray on

occasions,

usually in

emergencies,

admittedly.

The almost

Christian gives

arms liberally

and is a

pillar of

the community,

but there is

one thing

that the

almost

Christian

lacks.

He's not

in love

with God.

Let me

ask you,

don't shout

out,

could you

say you're

in love

with God

or are you

in love

with a

certain way

of doing

religion?

Or are you

in love

with virtue

signaling,

as they call

it these

days,

trying to

make out

you're a

really cool

person?

Or are you

in love

with God?

Wesley

had been

ordained

for years

before it

said in

the church

in London

that Wesley

who at that

point was

reading the

introduction

to Luther's

commentary on

the epistle

to the

Romans.

I think

we'd agree,

it's not

what you

call a

potboiler,

right?

And as

he read

it,

he said,

my heart

was strangely

warmed

and I

knew

that I

was saved.

Friend,

whoever

you are,

however

old you

are,

however

young

you

are,

however

introverted

you are,

however

extroverted

you are,

you are,

you are a

disciple of

Jesus,

he has a

call on

your life

and it is

to be a

witness,

the witness

of lips

and the

witness of

lives.

And for

some of you,

you've been

doing that for

a while,

God bless you,

God bless you,

you are a

man,

but some of

us need to

wake up,

some of us

need to

understand that

if we're going

to do this,

we need the

fire of God

in our souls.

And do you know

the great thing

is?

The great thing

is we can seek

that anointing,

we can seek

that fire.

Why?

Because God's

not looking for

your ability.

What he's

looking for

is your

availability.

Who tonight

will answer

the call?

Who tonight

will say

yes to God

in a new

way and

find your

heart strangely

warmed?

Who tonight

will go out

from this

place?

You know,

one of the

things,

you know,

I'm not

making a

point here,

those of you

who are

Anglicans,

but,

you know,

at the end

of our

communion

services,

I don't

think it's

just us

that does

this anymore,

but at the

end of it,

do you

remember those

words,

go in

peace to

love and

serve the

Lord?

Words of

expulsion,

words of

propulsion,

that's about

as liturgically

near to get

as any

respectable

Anglican

would get

to saying

get lost

and get

on with

it.

I believe

God's

calling his

church,

and friends,

his church

is you,

and he

wants to

anoint you

for this

task,

and he

wants to

warm your

heart,

that you

may be so

filled with

the good

news,

so in

love with

God,

that you

cannot help

but speak

it and

live it.

And friends,

when the

church wakes

up,

when the

church wakes

up,

the world

will take

notice.

We live in

challenging

times,

and in

challenging

times,

God challenges

his church,

doesn't rant

about all the

ungodly

people,

the message

of the

Old

Testament

prophets

is,

when the

nation

becomes

godly,

God

looks at

his

church,

you and

me.

Let's

seek the

heartwarming

grace of

God tonight.

Let's

allow ourselves

to be soaked

in it afresh,

maybe for the

first time,

that we may

be so in

love with

him,

that the

evidence

in our

lives is

just hard

to miss.