Brown's Daily Word 11-01-10

Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this first day of November. Today is "All Saints' Day" in the Church Calendar. It was the Reformation Day yesterday.. Praise the Lord that He came to seek and save the lost. He came to transform sinners into saints. The Lord blessed us with a soul full weekend starting with a very special Saturday Evening worship service at the First United Methodist Church. We are so blessed to be part of what the Lord of the Church is doing. He is calling us to join Him in His ongoing work of grace and redemption. Thank you for praying for us. We praise the Lord for those participate with joy and gladness and with holy anticipation every weekend. We are planning for a full weekend of prayer and outreach this coming weekend, starting this coming Friday evening at 6 PM. Please uphold us in prayer.
I had an e-mail from the office of Canon Andrew White, who is the rector of St. Georges Church in Baghdad. He shared in the mail that several Christians have been killed in the hostage takeover of the Church in Baghdad. We need to claim Revelation 12:1, 11And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
The Gospel reading for yesterday was taken from Luke 19:1-10. My wife preached at Wesley yesterday. She had a slightly different take on this account which is recorded only in Luke. We are introduced to a man named Zacchaeus, whose name meant “righteous on,.” How ironic it is that he was an unscrupulous tax collector. Tax collectors in Jesus’ day were little more than government sanctioned crooks, and in the Gospels they were linked with “sinners” and “prostitutes.”

When Jesus Comes It Does Not Matter What Tree You Climb (vv. 4-5)
“So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way.” Zacchaeus, the wealthy tax collector, was a part of the crowd trying to see Jesus. Zacchaeus being a short man, was unable to see, so he climbed a tree. A nice part about being filthy rich is that he did not care what people thought. Zacchaeus, being a very wealthy man, was free to do something others might think was silly, like climb a tree.
It may be that he had heard of Jesus through the acquaintance of another tax collector, Levi (also called Matthew), who had also been a tax collector prior to becoming a disciple of Jesus (Luke 5:27-31). Perhaps Matthew, reaching out to his former circle of friends, had told Zacchaeus about Jesus and what a change he had made in his life.
It is very likely that Zacchaeus was tired of being hated. When people hassled him, he deserved what he got, but it no doubt made him miserable. In short, Zacchaeus was probably tired of living his sad little life. In verse five we read, “And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.'"
When Jesus stopped under the sycamore tree in which Zacchaeus had hidden himself, he would have naturally tensed, perhaps even broken out in a sweat. Terror is likely to have grasped Zacchaeus’ heart as he braced himself to be made a spectacle for ridicule by Jesus. Jesus, however, called him by name and invited himself to Zacchaeus’ home. Notice that Jesus did not say “I would like to stay at your home,” but he said, “I must stay at your home.” “Must” is a translation of the Greek word (dei) meaning it was necessary. This meeting was ordained before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4-6). I believe that Jesus came to Jericho for the purpose of seeking Zacchaeus.

When Jesus Invites You No Other Answer but “Yes” Will Do. (v. 6) “So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully.”
Have you ever wondered why out of all the city of Jericho that Jesus zeroed in on Zacchaeus. Though Zacchaeus may have seemed like the least honest or religious person, it is possible that he was the most hungry of a new life that only Christ could give him. In the eyes of the world, Zacchaeus was a traitorous, despised nobody, but in the eyes of Jesus he was a precious lost sinner.
This was Zacchaeus’ moment. He scrambled out of the tree, hardly believing his good fortune, delighted to take Jesus home with him. Think of all the people who, like Zacchaeus, have had their lives changed by coming out of the tree, so to speak.

Third, When Jesus Moves In Some Will Not Like It. (v. 7) “But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner."
The reaction to Jesus’ choice of a host did not meet with popular approval. The religious leaders judged that Jesus had chosen to be “… a guest with a man who is a sinner" and “they all complained.” Although it is not stated, I believe that Jesus sat down to dinner with Zacchaeus. Sometime, probably after dinner, verse eight discloses that “… Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”
Let’s give Zacchaeus his due, because when Zacchaeus got saved, he got saved all over. When he got saved, he immediately put his faith into practice. Yet, it is easy to misunderstand Zacchaeus’ actions. The text says that Zacchaeus says, “… if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation,” but in the original Greek it is a first class condition meaning “it is true, I have cheated.” Roman law dictated that if you defrauded someone you were to repay them fourfold. He was only meeting the requirements of the law, where he went beyond the law was his willingness to give away half of all his goods. He in effect placed his entire fortune in jeopardy in an effort to make things right. That was entirely voluntary.
I like what Kent Hughes says concerning this verse, “Jesus said over and over that it is useless to talk about loving him and trusting him and having the sweet assurance of forgiveness and the glorious hope of Heaven unless it makes a difference in our material attachments…. Jesus’ repeated emphasis is that, though generosity is not the means of redemption, it is an evidence of redemption. In fact, generosity and giving are pillars of discipleship.” [Kent R. Hughes. Luke: That You Might Know the Truth Volume 2 (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 1998) p. 226]
Zacchaeus was not saved because he promised to do good works. He was saved because he responded by faith to Christ’s gracious words to him. The apostle Paul explained in Ephesians 2:8-10, “For by grace have you been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, (9) not of works, lest anyone should boast. (10) For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
In 2 Corinthians 5:17, the apostle Paul said, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new.” The deliverance that comes to us in the form of Jesus Christ is truly life changing.
In Christ,
Brown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWlMV-UmueM
Come Away With Me (A Time of Refreshing, Renewal & Meeting with Jesus)

When was the last time you were STILL enough to actually encounter Jesus?

No matter where you are on your Journey (Curious about Jesus or Been Walking w/Him for Yrs), This Weekend – He wants to Encounter YOU!



Once You Encounter Jesus – You Will Never Be The SAME!!

In Zechariah 4:6 it is written, "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts." As we approach the end of the year, the Lord has placed before us many open doors - for worship, for ministry, and for service. We have been blessed to have many prayer warriors in the life of the church, who are faithfully and joyfully engaged in lives of fervent prayer.
Sunita and Andy's church in Washington, DC goes on retreat together twice a year. Sunita always returns from these events blessed, refreshed, and inspired. We attempted to have our church's prayer retreat at Sky Lake, but scheduling conflicts prohibited it, so we are planning to have our upcoming prayer retreat at our own church here in Union Center. We invite all of you to come and be a part of this event. Keep praying for the Lord to refresh our hearts and renew our minds.
Praise the Lord for each one who has offered his or her time, talents, and treasures to make the upcoming prayer weekend possible. The schedule follows:
Friday, November 5 - 6 PM Supper, with Indian and Italian dishes. A love offering will be received.
6:30 PM The Prayer Conference convenes.
Saturday, November 6, 8:30 AM breakfast, prepared by Kathy Dence and team. A love offering will be received.
9:00 AM - 13 noon The Prayer Conference continues.
5 PM Thanksgiving Banquet, held at First United Methodist Church on McKinley Avenue. The menu includes homemade pies, rolls, turkey, and the trimmings. Lou Pasquale is the head chef, together with Rodney Haines as his sous chef. Sign-up sheets for the banquet are located in the Narthex, or reservations can be confirmed by calling the church office at 748-6329.
6:30 PM Worship service in the sanctuary at First UMC, Endicott. Music will be provided by Aric Phinney and the team. The speaker will be Kelly Johnson.
Sunday morning worship services will be at UCUMC at 8:30 and 11:00 AM, with Sunday School at 9:50 AM. Kelly Johnson will be speaking to a combined Adult Sunday School at that time. Worship service will be held at Wesley UMC at 9:30 AM.
12:30 PM There will be a meal immediately following the 11:00 AM service. Chefs for the meal are Jeremy and Matt Smith. The menu includes Carribean pork, braised chicken, candied sweet potatoes, salad, green beans, and rolls.

Saturday Evening Worship Service:October 30, 2010
Music by Laureen Naik and team
Preacher: Jeff Vansyckle

November 6, 2010 - ( Saturday) There will be a Thanksgiving banquet. At 5 PM a traditional Thanksgiving menu will be served, including home made rolls and pies. Chef: Lou Pasquale and team. (Reservations: Call the Church office (607)-748-6329 or email at umcgospel@aol.com
The banquet will be followed by 6:30 PM Worship
Music: Aric Phinney and the team
Speaker: Kelly Johnson from Nashville, TN.