Participants: Rowland Nwsou
Series Code: FC
Program Code: FC000322
|
00:30 Hello, welcome to Faith Chapel. My name is Pastor
00:34 Rowland C. Nwosu, the pastor of the All Nations African 00:38 Seventh-Day Adventist Church in San Bernardino, 00:41 California, and also the President of the Adventist 00:44 Our International Ministries in Loma Linda, California. 00:49 I want to share, I want to ask you this day are you 00:52 satisfied or pacified? There is a vacuum, a chasm, a need 01:01 in everyone which only God can fill. There is a thirst 01:06 in everyone that, that, that that, only God can fill 01:10 and a longing that only God can fill. Jesus can satisfy that 01:16 longing anything else can only pacify, let us pray. 01:23 Father, we ask you humbly in order to be with us today 01:30 that innermost longing in our hearts, that thirst 01:36 we ask fill it up satisfy it, help us not to feel 01:42 satisfied with things that pacify, help us to identify 01:47 those things that pacify us today and concentrate and 01:55 seek and ask and pursue those things that will 02:02 satisfy. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen. 02:11 The question, are you satisfied or pacified? 02:17 There is a vacuum, a very much vacuum, a big vacuum, 02:21 a chasm in the mind, in the heart of every individual, 02:27 it is in the mind of an atheist, it's in the mind of a 02:29 child, it's in the mind of a man, a woman, 02:33 adult, and child, male and female, there is a longing, 02:38 a thirst that only Jesus can satisfy. Nothing else can 02:44 satisfy. I want to share with you a story in the 02:51 scriptures. His name was Zacchaeus, he lived and 02:57 worked in the city of Jericho and he was the 03:02 chief tax collector. The Jews hated him, even though 03:07 he was a Jew, he was a religious outcast. In fact, 03:14 he was a social outcast also when you come to the 03:20 Jewish community and was probably disfellowshipped 03:24 from the synagogues. The Bible tells us that 03:28 Zacchaeus was a rich man and he became rich through 03:33 extortion, through corruption and although 03:38 he had money he was not joyful, something was 03:43 missing in him, something he needed, some need that 03:48 had not been met. People in his profession had the 03:52 reputation of collecting more, more money in taxes 03:57 then they were supposed to. People in his profession 04:01 were viewed as cooperating with the Roman occupational 04:05 government to suppress, to oppress the Jewish nation. 04:13 He was a symbol of the Roman occupation, oppression, 04:18 and domination, and among the Jews, Zacchaeus was 04:25 viewed as a traitor. He was viewed as a snitch. He was 04:28 viewed as a friend of the enemy, Rome. I do believe 04:34 he wanted to go to the synagogues, but he could 04:36 not summon the courage to do so. Maybe because of the 04:40 attitude he received, maybe because of the judgment he 04:44 received from the people who were in church. People 04:51 from all walks of life came to John the Baptist, they 04:58 came and heard him preach and teach about the Messiah, 05:06 about a new dispensation, they came and heard him 05:10 talk, they came and heard him preach, and they were 05:16 baptized. They were baptized into the baptism of 05:19 repentance and the Bible tells us in Luke chapter 3, 05:24 verses 12 and 13, Luke chapter 3, verses 12 and 13, 05:30 that then the tax collectors also came to be baptized, and 05:35 said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?" And he said 05:42 to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for 05:46 you." Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And 05:49 what shall we do?" So, he said to them, "Do not 05:53 intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content 05:58 with your wages." Although, he had not given up his tax 06:05 collection job, Zacchaeus heard John the Baptist, 06:09 in fact Zacchaeus even heard Jesus teach and we will see 06:14 this in the context of the passage that we just read 06:21 and we will be reading, Zacchaeus heard, he heard 06:26 all these things and it was going on in his mind, 06:29 nobody else knew what was going on in his mind and 06:32 Zacchaeus was aware that Jesus had invited Matthew, 06:36 a fellow tax collector to be one of his disciples. He 06:42 had heard that Jesus was a friend to everyone. He did 06:49 not condemn them to the extent where he did not 06:52 want us to sit with them. Yes, Jesus did not 06:57 condemn all the Sadducees and Pharisees and everybody 07:03 else who didn't agree with him. He heard and he saw, 07:08 he knew what Jesus had done, he loved everyone 07:12 and had his ministry expanding, extended to 07:18 all who will hear and accept him. He wanted 07:22 to give him a shot to try to see what will happen 07:27 and the Bible tells us in Luke chapter 19 verse, 07:32 verses 3 through 10, in fact in Luke 3 beginning with 07:37 that first verse he says And he sought to see Jesus, who 07:43 Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he 07:48 was short stature. Let's get the picture clear here, 07:56 Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus. He had longed to see 07:59 this man, no doubt he must have heard from, it must 08:05 have been a talk in the tax collection agency, Matthew 08:10 what Matthew was now doing? Matthew may have 08:13 given some information about his master Jesus, 08:16 so that even increase the desire for Zacchaeus to 08:19 see Jesus and then one day it was heard, he received 08:25 a good news that Jesus was on his way to Jericho and he 08:29 wanted to see Jesus, the Bible says, he was a man, 08:33 a short man, couldn't fight and wrestle with the crowd, 08:42 he was lost in the crowd, so he decided to respect 08:46 himself and climb on a tree, lets get a picture here, 08:52 this was a city chief tax collector, a social and 08:57 religious outcast climbing a tree to see a Rabbi, 09:03 Zacchaeus had a need and this great need pushed him 09:08 to do what a lot of people thought was unthinkable, 09:15 all that would depreciate his integrity and his ego 09:19 but Zacchaeus climbed a sycamore tree to get a 09:22 look at the man whose teachings he had securely 09:26 love and secretly loved and had admired, Zacchaeus had 09:31 a thirst, money, his money could not buy, or his 09:35 influence could not buy. Zacchaeus had a need that 09:40 he knew that Jesus could only satisfy, so in his 09:44 hostile environment Zacchaeus knew 09:47 that his money, his fame, his possession could not 09:51 accomplish the thing that he wanted done, he knew 09:56 that the Pharisees could not satisfy that need and 09:59 that longing that he had, if it meant climbing the 10:04 tree Zacchaeus did climb it. He gave up, he give up, 10:11 what it was that was standing between him and 10:17 seeing the savior, he gave it up and he climbed, the 10:21 chief tax collector of Jericho climbed a tree, 10:29 the sycamore tree, just to see Jesus. He did not let 10:36 his ego come in the way, he did not let his riches 10:41 stop him, he let nothing, not even the Pharisees 10:48 could stop him, he left his house that day to see Jesus 10:55 and when his height could not let him see Jesus, he 11:01 abandoned his ego, climbed on the tree to see Jesus. 11:06 Today, there are some who deceive themselves by 11:10 feeling that because they cannot get something that 11:16 would satisfy them, they know something is lacking. 11:20 they resort to drinking, they resort to some form 11:25 of addiction or another, but I am here to share with 11:29 you today that, that will not satisfy, it can only 11:35 pacify, drinking alcohol until we are drunk cannot 11:40 satisfy, but can only pacify, smoking pot, my 11:46 dear brothers and sisters, smoking pot can only 11:50 hallucinate and pacify, but it cannot satisfy, spending 11:56 money till you drop dead or till the shops close cannot 12:01 satisfy, but they can only pacify, traveling around 12:07 the world and making all kinds of influences can 12:11 only pacify, but cannot and will not satisfy, eating 12:17 till we bloat and become big and fat and whatever 12:22 eating and exercising cannot satisfy, but they can only 12:28 pacify, searching until we die, until one dies, 12:36 education, going to school and training cannot satisfy 12:41 the innermost longing of the spirit, it can only 12:45 pacify, the only one thing that can satisfy that 12:50 innermost longing, that desire, we have is Jesus 12:56 Christ and him crucified. Lord Jesus Christ as the 13:01 lord of our lives, he alone can satisfy the innermost 13:05 longings of our lives. Zacchaeus in his hostile 13:10 environment recognized this and he did not mind his 13:15 position, he did not mind his wealth, he did not mind 13:19 that he was the city's chief tax collector and he 13:24 humbled himself, climbed a tree just to see Jesus and 13:31 the Gospel of Luke, the Gospel according to Luke 13:36 chapter 19, verses 5 and 6 tells us the situation and 13:43 describes the situation and it says that when Jesus 13:47 came to the place, as he was going down the road 13:51 of Jericho, he looked up and saw him, and said to 13:57 him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I 14:01 must stay at home, I must stay at your house." So he 14:06 made haste and came down, and received him joyfully. 14:11 Please allow me to use my sanctified imagination 14:16 here, here was Jesus, coming and you have the 14:21 disciples around him and in that culture 14:24 the children will follow and usually because the 14:26 children are short, you find the children in front. 14:29 So, I can imagine children are running and calling 14:31 Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, and they were playing and 14:34 they were calling him and Jesus was may be teasing 14:37 one or some of them and was walking and then conversing 14:40 with his disciples and you know how it goes when the 14:44 crowd is following you. There were other people at 14:46 back, there were also in that group people who were 14:49 trying to find fault with what Jesus was doing as 14:52 we will find in any congregation, as we will find in 14:55 any group, people who are there to look for fault and who will 14:58 find all the negative things to talk about and to say, that 15:01 was the kind of crowd Jesus was in. And the Bible tells 15:05 us as he was walking, as they were walking and 15:08 suddenly hush. Jesus stopped, looked up, 15:17 I can imagine all the eyes around him went up, 15:21 Zacchaeus, come down. Today, make haste, right away 15:29 he says, make haste come down, come down quickly, 15:31 don't waste time, its okay, come down. For today, I am 15:37 going to eat in your house, I am going to be with you 15:41 today in your house. Wow! Step back. How did Jesus 15:45 know his name? How did Jesus know he was there 15:51 in the tree, sitting, waiting, looking? This 15:57 man was a short man trying to hide from Jesus just to 16:00 peep and see his face and Jesus now exposed him. This 16:06 was a good exposure, something has been 16:09 happening in the life, in the life of Zacchaeus 16:11 that Jesus needed to bring out, something that had 16:14 been neglected by or even ignored by the leadership, 16:19 by the religious leaders of the day. Jesus wanted to 16:23 recognize that change and that new men that he 16:30 had, then as Jesus approached then Jesus 16:34 said something to him, come down Zacchaeus, 16:39 what a recognition Jesus gave to Zacchaeus. 16:44 He abased and humbled himself, so Jesus lifted 16:47 him up, Jesus recognized him and made him the 16:50 center of attraction that day and what a condensation 16:56 that Jesus also felt, Jesus the son of God, Jesus the 17:02 creator, Jesus the Lord, Jesus the savior, Jesus 17:07 the rabbi, the prophet as precede by many, now 17:11 guess what, Jesus comes down to recognize Zacchaeus, 17:18 who was considered a sinner, who was an outcast 17:24 in the society, who was, he was saying come down, 17:28 gives him recognition, come down, I am going to 17:32 eat in your house, it's an honor, it's a condensation 17:39 that Jesus, of Jesus Christ, his person, his glory coming 17:46 down, letting go of those and coming to meet 17:49 Zacchaeus the publican. Oh! What a condensation 17:54 The religious leaders were watching and in Luke 17:59 chapter 19, verses 7 and 8, it says, but when they saw 18:05 it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to 18:10 be a guest with a man who is a sinner." 18:14 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, 18:18 Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor and if 18:22 I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, 18:29 I restore it." Here they are, religious leaders, 18:38 religious leaders upset, complaining about the 18:43 decision Jesus had made. They questioned his 18:46 decision to socialize with someone they consider a 18:52 publicly perceived sinner. Jesus did not fit into 18:57 their, to their mode, into their little box of 19:00 righteousness and I'll define expectations of a 19:04 righteous leader, they complained, the Bible says 19:07 they left. I'd supposed the party was over, no 19:15 more following Jesus, Jesus lost some church, 19:20 I will say some cheerers that day because he paid 19:24 attention to someone who had been neglected for so 19:28 many years, someone who was seeking to be a better 19:32 person, someone who was desiring a deeper 19:36 relationship with God. The religious leaders left the 19:43 son of God, left the Messiah, left their 19:47 religious leader because he had reached out to 19:52 someone. The second point is that because of their 19:58 prejudice, I suppose they did not even see the 20:02 changes that had taken place in Zacchaeus. 20:06 The passage says that Zacchaeus was giving back, 20:11 he was given half of the goods he has stolen, he 20:14 has forcibly accused people and extorted from them, he 20:18 was giving half back and if he had done, if he had, or 20:24 he was already even paying four times more than he 20:26 had taken from those, in other words he was paying 20:29 interest on some of the things that he had taken 20:32 from them. The question I wonder, how come nobody 20:36 saw what Zacchaeus was doing, how come people did 20:41 not see the changes that were going on in the life 20:44 of Zacchaeus. I do believe that Jesus wanted to 20:50 highlight the fact that this man was thirsting, 20:54 this man wanted a deeper relationship with him, 20:58 this man had changed, this man wanted something 21:01 better, wanted to become a better person in his life, 21:05 could it be that they were blinded, that those who left 21:11 that day where blinded by their own prejudices, 21:15 blinded by their own stereotypes and their own 21:20 perceptions against tax collectors, they had 21:26 allowed their prejudices to blind them from seeing 21:29 anything good in the life of Zacchaeus and I wonder 21:32 how many people who walk through the doors of our 21:36 churches today or who come to our homes or those who 21:40 are with us at places of work, where people who are 21:44 hurting, people who are desiring a deeper 21:46 relationship, but do not have a way to communicate. 21:51 Who is the tax collector in our lives, who do you 22:00 represent and who do you resent, who do you not 22:07 like, who would you consider as a tax collector 22:13 in your life today. If you have any hatred or 22:18 prejudices in your heart against that person, is 22:23 there something good you can find in that person you 22:26 can highlight. When people, when couples come to me for 22:33 counseling and depending on what situations and 22:37 circumstances that exist. I want to, I've tried to do 22:42 this, I asked the couples to write something, maybe 20 or 25 22:49 points, 25 things they appreciate, they like about 22:53 they're a couple, but beyond that I ask them not to put 22:56 a 'but' in it. Often times people have difficulty 23:01 finding positive things in the lives of somebody 23:05 they do not like. The Jews complained and left, I wish 23:14 they had remembered God's statement to Samuel when he 23:19 went to anoint David as king and in that instance 23:29 when Samuel went to anoint David king in the house of 23:34 Jesse, his brothers pass by and Samuel looked at 23:38 those young people and he felt, Oh! This one is the 23:41 one, until David came, there was something God 23:48 told him, First Samuel chapter 16 verses 7 and 8, 23:53 First Samuel 16, verses 7 and 8, it says, but the 23:59 Lord said to Samuel, do not look at his appearance 24:05 or at the height of his stature because I have 24:09 refused him, for the Lord does not see as man sees, 24:14 for man looks at the outward appearance but 24:17 the Lord looks at the heart, who is your tax 24:22 collector. Are you just seeing the outside 24:28 expressions of somebody's inner life or character, are 24:33 you making a judgment, do we make judgment of 24:36 somebody based on what we see rather than what is 24:42 in the heart. God says I look on the inside, ah! 24:48 The Bible says, "judge not, thus you shall not be 24:52 judged," and in verse 9, that takes me to look at 24:56 chapter 19 verse 9, verse 9 that we have that 25:01 chapter that we are discussing, look chapter 9, 25:05 19, verse 9 and Jesus said to Zacchaeus that day 25:12 salvation has come to your house today, salvation has 25:18 come to this house because he also is a son of Abraham, 25:23 for the son of man has come to seek and save that 25:28 which was lost, that day my friend, Jesus said to 25:34 Zacchaeus, salvation has come to you today, you no 25:40 longer have to dwell in that isolation, that vacuum 25:46 that you have experienced no longer need to exit, 25:49 exist, I will fill it up today, you have been 25:54 neglected it has, it is now over, you have been 25:58 accepted in the family hood of Abraham. You see, the 26:06 Jews even though you are a Jew, seemingly Jesus said, 26:10 even though you are a Jew by birth or by descent, but 26:14 he that is a Jew, like apostle Paul said, is one who has 26:18 relationship with Abraham, who has the faith of 26:20 Abraham, now Zacchaeus today you have that 26:23 relationship with Abraham, you not just, you are no 26:27 longer just a descent from Abraham, but you also 26:31 possess his faith. My dear friends, Jesus wants to 26:37 come to our house, Jesus told Zacchaeus today I 26:42 am going to your house, Zacchaeus left home that 26:45 day not knowing that Jesus was going to come to his 26:48 house, Zacchaeus left home that day, I wonder how 26:52 Zacchaeus' home was, I don't know if his room was made 26:58 up, if his room was clean, but if he was already 27:01 changing and pay him back, if his emphasis, if he was 27:06 looking up for, if his life was changing and he was 27:10 looking forward to eternity, Zacchaeus prepared his 27:14 house, his house was ready, I do not know what Jesus 27:21 will find in your house, Zacchaeus was ready, what 27:27 will Jesus find in your house, what TV programs 27:30 will he find in your house, what CDs and DVDs and 27:36 videos will he find in your house, what will be in the 27:40 Inbox of your computer, what will Jesus find in 27:44 in your bedroom, I know that of all these things 27:49 there is only one thing that will satisfy, Jesus 27:52 Christ alone will satisfy, everything else will pacify. |
Revised 2014-12-17