Title: Yuljeon-dong Zacchaeus / Luke 19:1-10
Contents Yuljeon-dong Zacchaeus / Luke 19:1-10 Rev. Jang Dong-hak
The words that I regularly learn in Sunday School are the stories of Abraham, Noah, and Zacchaeus.
What kind of tree did Zacchaeus climb up to? is.
1) Pine 2) Chestnut 3) Fir 4) Mulberry? And I remember playing with the children when I played with them.
Then have you ever seen a mulberry tree? There is not.
And then I grow up and think about it sometimes. But what does the mulberry tree have to do with Jesus?
How did you feel when you read the text?
What does this have to do with Zacchaeus of Jericho and me living in Yuljeon-dong?
In a way, it doesn't seem to matter. But Zacchaeus is our story.
This is my story. Why? Simply put, there can be no grace without my story.
If you don't realize that I am Zacchaeus, you'll only hear it as an old story.
There are not many elderly people in our church. Of course, there are pros and cons. Because there are many elderly people in our mother church in Seoul, they say that they only talk about the 6.25 war and evacuation every day during sermons.
However, it is said that every day he receives grace from the word and sheds tears. That church is 6.25 every day.
Still, the grace abounds. why? Because it has to do with me.
Didn't I talk about Jajangmyeon a while ago? Then, a student sent Mel.
In the future, I want you to tell a story like a new generation rather than the story of Jajangmyeon.
And then, not long ago, I read a book about the n generation and distinguished the fifty generation from the new through food.
What is the typical food of the older generation?
What did you eat at graduation ceremonies back in the day? It is a noodle house. bubbly,
Those who are a little better eat it by adding fried dumplings. When my eldest father came, it was sweet and sour pork.
What do fortresses eat? Pizza. So, you can understand the culture through Jajangmyeon and pizza.
The Jajangmyeon generation values economic utility. Quantity and price.
Anything over 3000 won is expensive. The color is also simple. Black and white, sometimes even green if you're lucky. Little. It's peas.
Besides, do you have a classy conversation while eating jajangmyeon? Nope. It's over in 30 seconds.
But what about pizza? Eat with your eyes. The colors are gorgeous. The price will also be 10 times or more.
The pizzeria is "Let's eat and go out!" I don't do that. It's a conversation place. However, those who eat jajang say something according to the law of economic utility.' Mister! Give me a lot! Please give me a lot of pickled radish.”
The value of strengthening the ship is underlying. Multiply! Aren't you tired of just listening to the words?
How cheap is it? But did you go to a pizza place and ask for a lot of money or have you ever heard of the saying “to lose weight”?
Besides, Jajangmyeon is the same as it was 30 years ago and now.
But what about pizza? There is always something new, such as Bulgogi Pizza and Golden Pizza. different.
Living in modern times is so different, how can you know Zacchaeus without knowing the background of Zacchaeus who lived in another country 2,000 years ago? What is clear is that Zacchaeus met the Lord and was changed.
The Lord said, "Zacchaeus! Come down quickly. I must stay at your house today."
Today, I hope that you too will be able to hear the voice of the Lord and come down quickly to receive the blessing of welcoming the Lord. At least today, I hope that you will be able to conquer Zacchaeus in Jericho and show Zacchaeus in Yuljeon-dong.
First, the text shows the resume of Zacchaeus.
In verse 2, when Jesus entered Jericho, on the other hand, there was a man named Zacchaeus. His name is Zacchaeus. The original meaning of Zacchaeus was that of the pure and the upright. But what is his job? It's a salesperson. It's the exact opposite of the name.
At that time, the tax collector was a representative brigadier who collected money from the people and offered it to Rome.
And rich. What are you talking about? In a worldly sense, yes, I just succeeded.
But he was a person who had loneliness abandoned by people.
Today, we want to examine how Zacchaeus, who was having such a hard time, met Jesus and received grace.
We are just like Zacchaeus. lonely and difficult. You have to have faith, but you don't have faith. No fun either. life is tired The Lord came to meet us.
As Zacchaeus has changed today, I sincerely hope that your life will be a time to meet the Lord and be comforted.
So how did Zacchaeus change? What shape did you have?
First, Zacchaeus was curious.
Look at verse 3, "He wanted to see what kind of man Jesus was."
This is the beginning of Zacchaeus who was saved. Do you want to have faith? You must be curious.
You should be curious. What Happens When You Really Die?
You must have such curiosity to have faith. Curiosity is the seed of faith.
Think about it, when you come to church, tell the sleeper to believe in Jesus that he must go to heaven.
Will that change? It never changes. Curiosity saves the soul.
I met this person once. Every day my wife lives in the church. I was so angry.
But my husband is curious. Why the hell did Jesus change his wife like this? And out of curiosity, I followed my wife to church. And it was a blessing.
Meet the Lord with curiosity, and if you are forced to come out, you will only see negative and critical things. Everyone! More than 90% of millions of scientists are Christians. Are not you curious?
Why are they obsessed with Jesus? Everything is there for a reason. You have to come out with curiosity.
In the book 'Who Moved My Cheese?', which is still a bestseller, there is a scene where mice lose the cheese they used to eat in the warehouse and face various conflicts in the maze. And it is the story of a mouse who has been curious about the new world of life and will enjoy another blessing.
Doesn't even the world's work begin with curiosity? I don't know if it's human nature.
As you well know, Edison became the inventor of a tool called curiosity.
Peter was also a person who walked through water out of curiosity.
Of course, he fell into the water, but he was lucky enough to walk on water. Because of curiosity.
Everything in the world starts with curiosity.
Paul said in Romans 8 that even God cannot do anything to those who think of the flesh.
If you have the mind of the Spirit, please believe that you can change.
Do you want to meet Jesus? Don't just go, I bless you in the name of the Lord that you will be able to meet the Lord with curiosity.
Second, Zacchaeus overcame a feeling of inferiority.
See the second half of verse 3. He was a short man. So I climbed the mulberry tree.
This is a very important event. Because his job is a publican, he is admired by people.
At the time, the residents did not even talk about it, because the publicans thought they were the minions of Rome.
Under such circumstances, Zacchaeus went to see Jesus. But because of his short stature, he couldn't see Jesus because of people. Then our idea is to just come back.
Everyone! How can I do better in my life of faith? You just have to let go of your inferiority complex. It's clear. Our feelings of inferiority prevent our faith from growing.
I'm tall, so I didn't feel inferior to my height, but when I get on the train these days, I'm just pressed.
When I was in high school, I remember going to school on my toes whenever a child taller than me rode. But how many wounds must the people shorter than me have?
Everyone has a sense of inferiority. The problem is that a feeling of inferiority prevents you from living your life of faith.
What's more frightening is that if you get caught up in a sense of inferiority, you do not know the blessings God has given you and you only commit sins.
Everyone! Just think for a moment, have you ever seen a person who was hurt before God and left the church?
Everyone hurts people. But who gave it? I ate it myself. for what Because of inferiority. At times, I wanted to go to church among newcomers, but I had to have money. There are people who say that. Really? don't sin It could be because of your inferiority complex. It is because of inferiority to material things, and there is no such story in the Bible.
Of course, each person's sense of inferiority is different. A feeling of inferiority due to appearance, inferiority in money, inferiority in studies, inferiority in prayer, inferiority towards children, and not being able to attend early morning worship are inferior feelings. Not being able to conduct is also a feeling of inferiority. It's just a feeling of inferiority, it's all a feeling of inferiority.
There is a book called 'We stake our lives on the little things' by Richard Carson. He has an interesting suggestion in the book. "Have fun and agree with your critique."
I feel bad when others criticize me. But just for fun, I want you to agree with that statement. If your wife says, "You talk too much for a man!" Imagine saying
"What is this woman..." Then it would be an untimely declaration of war.
But then, "Yes, I talk a lot for a man, right? That way, after a few minutes, your wife will say, "By the way, you're a nice person to talk to."
Everyone! It's hard for me to feel inferior. However, you must overcome this feeling of inferiority to meet the Lord. Funny Zacchaeus who climbed the mulberry tree despite his embarrassment! His efforts to overcome his inferiority complex led him to meet the Lord.
Everyone, how good are we when we do well? You have to be more humble. You have to let go of your inferiority complex.
The same is true of church life. Why don't you sit in the front?
But you have to be in front of the truth to receive grace. It is because of our sense of inferiority that is shameful.
Is it ignorant to pray wholeheartedly even when praying? Are you not intelligent? Pray aloud.
Please remember that you can meet the Lord only when you climb the mulberry tree and throw away your inferiority complex.
Third, Zacchaeus made concrete repentance and determination.
I have a very curious question. We receive a lot of grace. But the important thing is to momentarily forget grace. How many of us do not know grace?
Do you know why so many people get grace and move around without change?
Because you only believe in your head. So you will soon lose your grace. I live according to my opinion.
But what about? Practical action and determination are required.
Without the determination and certainty to do this, we forget grace.
Look at verse 8, Zacchaeus makes a concrete decision. If it was originally illegally exploited, you will have to pay back 20%. (Leviticus 6:5) But I promise to repay you four times the extortion.
The Lord didn't tell me to do it. After receiving grace, the appearance has changed. This is the person.
The decision to receive grace and repay it is natural.
do you know How do penguins avoid the wind when the wind blows at the North Pole?
Penguins are usually alone, but when a storm comes, they gather together. And it's a bunch.
The important thing is to block them one by one in the windward direction. But it is doing this in turn. When it's your turn, you block the wind.
Why do we have no strength after meeting the Lord? It is because there is no concrete decision.
Because we believe in Jesus only as our head. The head goes to heaven, but there is no conversion by action.
For example, smoking is bad. Everyone knows. You get lung cancer. It's not good for your family either. There is a lot of information. But even if I tell them to quit smoking, I can't.
why? Because you only have information in your head. do you know this? no.
If you really know, you should stop.
The same is true. How do you get your eggs to become chicks?