Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this Thursday, one week before Maundy Thursday. The Lord blessed us with a wonderful Wednesday Evening gathering for food, fellowship, and study in His Word. It is always a thrill to study the Word of the Lord in the setting of a group that is inquisitive participatory.
This morning I am looking at Luke 19. We have the record of our Lord's encounter with Zaccheus in Jericho , the oldest city on earth. Luke 19:1-10 "Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho." Everything Jesus did had a purpose, and in Luke 19, we will find that although Jesus was heading to the cross in Jerusalem, (Luke 18:36) He made a detour through Jericho, a longer route. In Joshua 6 we find that Jericho was the first city Israel came to after they crossed the River Jordan and entered the Promised Land.
Jericho was the gateway to Canaan or in New Testament terms the stronghold or things that hold us back from appropriating the promises of God! The people of Israel were given a set of instructions for following God in order to see the city fall. The obedience of Israel to follow those instructions and see this obstacle, Jericho, destroyed was an act of faith. Hebrews 11:30 "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days." Today our strongholds come down and the promises of God are appropriated when by faith we obey God's Word.
Jesus, our true Joshua, had to pass through Jericho because it represented Satan’s Stronghold of unbelief, disobedience, and doubt. Jesus had to see these spiritual walls demolished and prove that even in the midst of the situation there He could save the worst sinner.
To say that Zaccheus was not living by faith was a gross understatement. Our passage tells us he had a reputation of being a sinner and was, in fact, the Chief Tax Collector. He was one who impoverished the people, and who mistreated and stole from them as was the custom of the day. He worked for the Romans, who represent a type of the world. So our “son of faith” was not living by faith; he was living and controlled by his senses and as such was a prisoner of Satan. Jesus was on His way to His ultimate confrontation with Satan, on His way to destroy the kingdom of Satan.
Zaccheus, who had but one obsession in life, was moved by the Spirit of Jesus Christ to desire to see the Rabbi from Nazareth. Zaccheus chose a quiet spot above the people from which to observe the Lord more closely; he climbed that sycamore tree. When Jesus passed under the particular tree in which the curious tax collector was perched, He made a point of looking up and speaking to the man in the tree. Jesus knew where Zaccheus was, knew the man’s name, and knew that Zaccheus had a house. Jesus commanded: "Zaccheus make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today." Jesus declares that it was necessary for Him to stay, and to spend time in this city of unbelief, in the house of Zaccheus the chief tax collector. He took that hardened sinner, Zaccheus, and rescued him from Satan’s clutches, and granted him new birth, new life. Luke 19:8-10, "Then 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.'"
And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
Zacchaeus had strong walls that needed to come down in his life, much as we do ourselves. But rather than have us try to scale these walls ourselves, God has placed the victory before us in and through Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:14, "For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation."
We have plenty of walls in our lives: the wall of sin, the wall of unbelief, the wall of doubt, the wall of slavery to other things, the walls of rejection, the walls of apathy. In a way, we are living in Jericho. Many people, upon receiving Christ's salvation, destroy their walls of Jericho and start to walk in the promises of God, but over time tend to rebuild those walls again. It is then that we pause and wonder where our promise is. Let Jesus reenter our personal Jericho and pull those walls down once again.
Jericho was the gateway to Canaan or in New Testament terms the stronghold or things that hold us back from appropriating the promises of God! The people of Israel were given a set of instructions for following God in order to see the city fall. The obedience of Israel to follow those instructions and see this obstacle, Jericho, destroyed was an act of faith. Hebrews 11:30 "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days." Today our strongholds come down and the promises of God are appropriated when by faith we obey God's Word.
Jesus, our true Joshua, had to pass through Jericho because it represented Satan’s Stronghold of unbelief, disobedience, and doubt. Jesus had to see these spiritual walls demolished and prove that even in the midst of the situation there He could save the worst sinner.
To say that Zaccheus was not living by faith was a gross understatement. Our passage tells us he had a reputation of being a sinner and was, in fact, the Chief Tax Collector. He was one who impoverished the people, and who mistreated and stole from them as was the custom of the day. He worked for the Romans, who represent a type of the world. So our “son of faith” was not living by faith; he was living and controlled by his senses and as such was a prisoner of Satan. Jesus was on His way to His ultimate confrontation with Satan, on His way to destroy the kingdom of Satan.
Zaccheus, who had but one obsession in life, was moved by the Spirit of Jesus Christ to desire to see the Rabbi from Nazareth. Zaccheus chose a quiet spot above the people from which to observe the Lord more closely; he climbed that sycamore tree. When Jesus passed under the particular tree in which the curious tax collector was perched, He made a point of looking up and speaking to the man in the tree. Jesus knew where Zaccheus was, knew the man’s name, and knew that Zaccheus had a house. Jesus commanded: "Zaccheus make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today." Jesus declares that it was necessary for Him to stay, and to spend time in this city of unbelief, in the house of Zaccheus the chief tax collector. He took that hardened sinner, Zaccheus, and rescued him from Satan’s clutches, and granted him new birth, new life. Luke 19:8-10, "Then 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.'"
And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
Zacchaeus had strong walls that needed to come down in his life, much as we do ourselves. But rather than have us try to scale these walls ourselves, God has placed the victory before us in and through Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:14, "For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation."
We have plenty of walls in our lives: the wall of sin, the wall of unbelief, the wall of doubt, the wall of slavery to other things, the walls of rejection, the walls of apathy. In a way, we are living in Jericho. Many people, upon receiving Christ's salvation, destroy their walls of Jericho and start to walk in the promises of God, but over time tend to rebuild those walls again. It is then that we pause and wonder where our promise is. Let Jesus reenter our personal Jericho and pull those walls down once again.
In Christ,
Brown
Join us for our weekly television outreach on Friday evening, Time Warner Cable Channel 4, at 7 PM.
Saturday Evening Worship Service:
Location: First United Methodist Church
53 McKinley Avenue
Endicott, NY
Sponsored by: Union Center United Methodist Church
Time: 6:00 PM gathering for Coffee Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship Service
Date: Saturday, March 31, 2012
The Binghamton House of Prayer team will lead in music and Word.
"The Binghamton House of Prayer" is an Interdenominational and international ministry of prayer that is engaged in prayer for our region. This group meets weekly for prayer ministry.
There will be a very special time for prayer for healing and blessing.
Special Music by Laureen Naik
This coming Sunday will be our Palm Sunday celebration. Come and join us. Invite your friends and family to join us in worship, praise, and celebration. Following the second service there will be an Easter egg hunt for the children, coordinated by Shannan Meilunas and Tegan Kraus. There will also be an Easter banquet for one and all, prepared with much love by Rodney Haines and Kathy Dence.
APRIL 5 at 6:30 PM there will be a Maundy Thursday foot washing and communion service. We will gather in the Fellowship Hall for this special service.
APRIL 6 at 6:30 PM there will be a Good Friday Service at Union Center UMC –
"Simon Peter" will be presented by our brother Jim Geer and the team. Join us for this very special presentation on the life and witness of Simon Peter.
APRIL 7 at 6:30 PM will be a very special Easter Eve celebration. This will be held at the First United Methodist Church, Endicott. The service of worship and praise will include Hymns and songs both classic and contemporary. We are blessed to have Aric Phinney at the Grand Piano, and Yancey Moore at the Pipe Organ, Dave Berry as the song leader and soloist, along with special musicians Winnie Allen and Emma Brunson. Come, Share, and Rejoice.
APRIL 8 at 6:30 AM A Sunrise service will be held at the pavilion at Union Center
Christian Church, 950 Boswell Hill Road. Rev. Marshall Sorber will be preaching. We will have special music. Mr. Katchudurian will be presenting special Easter Music on his trumpet.
APRIL 6 at 6:30 PM there will be a Good Friday Service at Union Center UMC –
"Simon Peter" will be presented by our brother Jim Geer and the team. Join us for this very special presentation on the life and witness of Simon Peter.
APRIL 7 at 6:30 PM will be a very special Easter Eve celebration. This will be held at the First United Methodist Church, Endicott. The service of worship and praise will include Hymns and songs both classic and contemporary. We are blessed to have Aric Phinney at the Grand Piano, and Yancey Moore at the Pipe Organ, Dave Berry as the song leader and soloist, along with special musicians Winnie Allen and Emma Brunson. Come, Share, and Rejoice.
APRIL 8 at 6:30 AM A Sunrise service will be held at the pavilion at Union Center
Christian Church, 950 Boswell Hill Road. Rev. Marshall Sorber will be preaching. We will have special music. Mr. Katchudurian will be presenting special Easter Music on his trumpet.
You are all welcome back to the Union Center Church Fellowship Hall for a special Easter Morning breakfast prepared and served by Jim Holmes and the team.
We will gather for Special Easter Celebration and worship at 8:30 and 11:00 AM
at the Union Center UMC. The Youth and children will be presenting a very special song for Easter morning at both services. The Adult Choir will also be singing at both services. Sunday School will meet at 9:50 AM. We will gather for Easter Morning Worship At Wesley at 9:30 AM. We have so much to celebrate. We have so much to sing about. We have so much to rejoice in. It is all About Jesus, who came, who saw, and who conquered. He is upon the Throne.
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