CHARACTER QUALITY # 39 Missional

Scripture:     Matthew 28:18-20
     Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

"One word that will change your life”

Luke 19:1-10

Jesus entered Jericho [place of fragrance, in the midst of a vast grove of palm trees. It was the most important city in the Jordan valley and the strongest fortress in all the land of Canaan. It was the key to Western Palestine.] *and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. (Sinner) [Strike 1 - An agent who collected taxes for the Oppressive Roman government. Most tax collectors were usually not very wealthy. They were probably familiar to the people from whom they collected taxes.  They were classified as "sinners

because they were allowed to gather more than the government required and then to pocket the excess amount. John the Baptist addressed this when he urged tax collectors to gather no more money than they should.  Jesus, set a new precedent among the Jews by accepting and associating with the tax collectors. He ate with them, bestowed His saving grace upon them, and He even chose a tax collector (Matthew) as one of His twelve disciples. ZACCAEUS was a Chief Tax Collector] 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. (Short) [Strike 2 – austrisized by his physical stature] 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. (Seeker) [Isa 55:6 Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.] 5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today."  6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, "*He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.'" 8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! 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." (So Giving) [Jesus saw in him what no one else did.  Jesus was not surprised by his response as we would have been.]  9 Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. (Saved) [Gen 15:6   Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.]  10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

* Jesus was missional – this entire story happened as he was GOING:

Matt 28:18-20      Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

          Jesus didn’t wait for Zacchaeus to come to church – instead, he went to his town, met him in the streets, and even went to his house. To be missional, we must get going out of the church.  We must Go Go Go Go Go!  Jesus word to change our lives and the life of FirstB is “Go!” It describes what it means to be missional.  To be American Baptist means to Go.  To be a Christian means to Go. To be like Jesus was with Zaccheaus – Go!

Notes:

HOW DID JESUS SEE ZACCHAEUS?

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What word will change your life?

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From the Heart,
Pastor Jeff Cooper