A Culture of Honor, Part 3

The gospel should draw on the heartstrings of lost people, not beat them up with condemnation, guilt and shame. The gospel is good news, not bad news. Had Jesus not honored the much-hated tax collector, Zacchaeus, like He did; but continued to address him on the same course that the townspeople were accustomed to, Zacchaeus potentially would never have come to faith. His story is found in Luke 19

Note with me in verse 7 that the people were used to coming at Zacchaeus in a very dishonoring and self-righteous manner: “He (Jesus) has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” His reputation preceded him, and his chances for reconciliation and a better life were minimized. The Spirit of God, by all indicators, was dealing with the heart and attitude of that little man, or he would not have been there in the first place.

Something inside the tax collector caused him to show up that day when he heard that Jesus was coming; and desperation for life change drove that little guy up a tree! What was going inside this wretched tax collector went way beyond natural curiosity. Jesus would testify later concerning Zacchaeus that “Today salvation has come to his house…” (verse 9). Something supernatural was pulling at his heartstrings. Jesus Christ honored the much-despised man. He honored him by informing the unsuspecting loner of his dinner plans. What’s so significant about the Master inviting Himself to dinner? The Son of God loved him for WHO he was, not WHAT he was! Jesus showed him honor!

Believe me, this little man probably lived in a gated community, or at least a gated parcel of property with high fences around his home. He probably lived on the outskirts of town, where human interaction would be minimized. Where the taunts and threats of angry people could not be heard.

We can well imagine that nights were spent alone, and every night represented a new eternity for the little man who had no friends and the friends he did have were fair-weather – hearts as crooked as his and ready to sell one another down the river if it meant more corrupt wealth. Rome certainly did not care about Zacchaeus. If he were murdered, there were always others to take his place. Zacchaeus was disposable and a human target.

His dimly lit home would only intensify the darkness of his already broken life. Zacchaeus would later testify that money fell short of a meaningful life: “Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount” (verse 8).

The crowd that day directed a calculated slur against the Master when they said, “He has gone home to be the guest of a sinner” (verse 7). Comically, Jesus invites himself to Zacchaeus’ home for dinner! While this may be frowned upon in modern day life – viewed as socially inappropriate – the Master touched a heart-string that caused the little man to come alive on the inside. “You mean, you want to come to MY house tonight? MY house? You’re coming to MY house?” Jesus Christ, in a display of honor overlooked WHAT Zacchaeus did for a living to honor WHO he was! Jesus honored the man’s personhood. When someone honors us, we open our hearts to him.

In today’s church, if we will honor those God sends us, I’m convinced we will see more conversions to Christ than ever before. That’s why we at Hope Community continually stress servant leadership that places the needs of others over ours. People are frantically searching for significance. “Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).

Do you know him today? Jesus Christ knows how to get your attention. He knows what pulls on your heartstring. He will address you at the point of what captures your heart’s attention and draw you toward saving faith. Jesus turns significance into salvation!

Regrets

Before his death in 1985, famed actor Yul Brynner made a video, which aired posthumously.  In this 30-second appeal, Brynner urged smokers to quit.  At one point in his life Brynner smoked five packs of cigarettes a day.  The star, especially known for his stellar performances in the “King and I” and the “Ten Commandments,” expressed deep regret over his life-long habit.

“Good Morning America” first aired the video wherein the 65-year-old actor claimed that cigarette smoking was the culprit that prematurely stole his life.  Lung cancer had worked its deadly toll.  The tone of the video was that of deep regret.

Regret.  It’s not my favorite word.  It ranks up there with the word, “If.”  Both inspire a sense of deep sadness.  Both speak of what might have been.

We all have regrets – things we wish we could change if we had it to do over.  Things we would not say or do.  But the fact of the matter is we can’t undo anything!  And this is where Satan does some of his most damaging work.  He loves to use past regrets and mistakes against us.

He downloads our past, clouds our present realities, and wants us to continue defining our future by our past.  It’s brutal! 

I have good news!   We do not have to be prisoners of our past.  Our past sins, mistakes, failures, and poor choices no longer have to be a ball and chain about our feet.  John Wesley included these words in his beloved hymn, “O, For a Thousand Tongues:”  “He breaks the power of cancelled sin, He sets the prisoner free; His blood can make the foulest clean, His blood availed for me.”

The blood of Jesus cancels the hold of our sin – past, present and future.  We have been forgiven because of His perfect and shed blood.  One of my all-time favorite verses is 2 Corinthians 5:21.  Paul writes, “For he made Him who knew no sin to be sin, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

This verse challenges our propensity to allow past regrets and failures to haunt our “todays and tomorrows!”  Not only have we been forgiven, we now have become righteousness.  We are no longer defined or shackled by our regrets, but we ARE righteousness.  He is Christ in us, the hope of glory!  We no longer see ourselves through the lens of our past, but WHO He is in us!

We have been forgiven!  God casts our sins into His Sea of Forgetfulness (Micah 7:19), and remembers them NO MORE.  God through Christ declares us to be righteousness.  Our past sins, regrets and failures can no longer be held against us.  Our Great Advocate, Jesus Christ, declares us “NOT GUILTY” at His bar of justice.  Our past, when placed under the blood, can no longer indict us today.

How about you?  How many times have you allowed the enemy to bring up past regrets and use them against you?  I have and often!  But when I remind God of my sins, He says to me, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”  For you see, He now looks at us through the blood of Jesus and declares that we are righteousness.  We are not what we used to be.  We are who He declares us to be – righteousness.  God literally has amnesia when it comes to our sins!

We are no longer held captive by our past sins and regrets, but are new creations in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17).  Regrets be gone!  We are now righteousness and a new day has dawned, one that is not driven by regret, but rather free from sin’s stronghold.  Do not allow past regrets to imprison you.  You are free in Jesus’ Name!