Our Message

Most of you have seen those extreme make-over programs where a few "lucky" people go through all kinds of pain to get their undesirable physical features totally re-arranged. In the Gospel of Luke you can reconnect with a familiar story to see what happens when an extraordinary encounter with Jesus leads to an extreme make-over of a different sort. Please take a moment and read: READ LUKE 19:1-10.

If I could distill this story down into one simple sentence, it would be that Zacchaeus got A SPIRITUAL MAKE-OVER because Jesus came to dinner! Zacchaeus got saved, because Jesus entered into his life! And that's something everyone should pay attention to. When Jesus enters your life, things are going to change - AND CHANGE FOR THE BETTER! That's exactly what happens every time a person genuinely repents of sin, receives Jesus Christ, and begins living daily for Him as personal Savior and Lord.

This story should remind us that when Jesus SHOWS UP and becomes PERSONALLY PRESENT as He did that day in the city of Jericho; people are going to GET CHANGED! People who are open to Him are going to get a spiritual MAKE-OVER! And that is especially going to happen to the very ones everybody else has given up on. WHY? Because it's always the ones who are most DESPERATE who get to see Jesus! Are you DESPERATE for more of Jesus today?

Consider this: How many people in that crowd do you believe thought Zacchaeus, as chief tax collector, was anything other than a hopeless case - spiritually? You know they all hated him. You know they all murmured against him. And oh, how they murmured against Jesus when the Master publically announced His dinner plans! What did they say? They said: "He's going to the house of a dirty, rotten, low- down sinner." That's not exactly what they said; but pretty close! When you read the story in the Book, you can't hear their tone of voice. But it certainly isn't hard to guess what they were thinking. And knowing the way people love to talk - you can be sure they said a whole lot more than that! Right or wrong? Unfortunately, people love to talk and exaggerate. Unfortunately, people love to put others down. Even though they know it's wrong, they go right ahead and do it anyway.

In this story, Zacchaeus is said to be the short guy. But I want you to see, that when people treat one another as they treated Zacchaeus, it becomes obvious, and it becomes evident, who gets the shorter end of the deal. Who's the short guy now? Jesus said, "I have come to seek and to save those who have lost their way, those who have gone off course, those who have come up short. And I've got a TOTAL, SPIRITUAL MAKE-OVER prepared for them." Praise God! When Jesus Christ shows up personally, in His power and His love, lives are going to change when people stop their murmuring and start getting desperate to see the Master for who He really is. That's the first thing I want you to see.

The second thing I want you to see is that doing the work of Jesus is not as difficult as many people may think. In this story, Jesus clearly demonstrates that getting God's grace into the life of another person, and helping that person experience the vital, spiritual make-over they really need, can be as simple as an invitation to dinner. And to me, that's a pretty startling revelation. To me, that makes ministry a lot simpler, and a lot more accessible than many of us have been led to believe. Look at it like this: Many Christians have spent a lot of years sitting in the pew thinking that was all they could do as a believer in Jesus Christ - JUST SIT THERE! Thinking that because they had no special gifts, no special talents, no special degrees from a college or a seminary, they had no special ability to do the work of outreach, or evangelism, or ministry in the lives of other people. That kind of work has always been reserved for those SPECIALLY called of God, and it's for the rest of us just to sit there when the service begins. RIGHT?

What does the Bible have to say about that? WRONG! Don't you just love that passage from Romans 12:3, where the apostle Paul wrote about the way grace and faith should operate in the life of the believer? Listen to what he said: "Therefore, by the grace given me, I say to everyone one of you, utilize, take advantage of, place in operation, the measure of faith that God has given to every one of you to impact the lives of others through service" (Amplified Version). In other words, God has given each person a different measure of grace, through faith, so that every single one of us can use that grace pro-actively to make a difference in the lives of others for the sake of Jesus Christ. Out of the multitude of people that Jesus could have picked, why did He only single out Zacchaeus? I believe it was because Zacchaeus was ready, open, and desperate to receive the grace that came with Jesus. Others missed it! Because everybody else in that crowd was thinking about how unworthy Zacchaeus was, and how wrong Jesus was to choose him.

Everybody else was focused on the wrong things. Zacchaeus was focused on the right things! They all had their preconceived ideas of what Jesus was supposed to do, and how Jesus was supposed to act, and who Jesus was supposed to get close to, and who Jesus was supposed to stay away from. And when Jesus didn't conform, a lot of people didn't like it. That's why Jesus chose Zacchaeus, a guy desperate and up a tree, because he, more than all others, was ready for a PERSONAL MAKE-OVER WITH JESUS!

And the greatest thing is this: It only took a simple DINNER INVITATION to put him over the edge! I've said it before, and I'm going to say it again. You don't have to have special gifts, talents, or degrees, or anything else to do the work of Jesus! You simply need a willingness to do the simple things; something as simple as inviting someone to dinner and letting the Lord take it from there.

In the story of Zacchaeus, a person who had it all, except a right relationship with God and people, was dramatically changed. This conversion experience led him to do something radical. Zacchaeus gave back four times more than what he took, which is a sure sign that a person is really saved: ZACCHAEUS TURNED HIS FAITH INTO DEEDS OF COMPASSION. When you get saved, your faith will lead to deeds of compassion directed toward others. Only then did Jesus joyfully declare, "Today, salvation has come to this house!"

Today, if you're in need of a spiritual make-over, I pray you'll take one step closer to Jesus right now, because in Jesus, you will get everything you need. If you've been thinking that you're saved, but sitting in the pew is all you can do about it, please think again. There are simple things you can do every day, to extend the love of Jesus toward others. It could be as simple as saying a kind word, rather than saying something unkind. Maybe you could turn aside for 15 minutes to visit a shut-in who is lonely. Maybe you could invite someone over for a cup of coffee with someone who is hurting and in need of a little conversation or a simple word of spiritual encouragement. Maybe you could offer to pray for someone who is discouraged. Maybe you could greet someone you don't know at church on Sunday, before you greet somebody you do know. How simple is that? It might make someone feel more welcome and more included in Christ.

Pray and ask God what you could do. Remember: There are small things every Christian can do, no matter what gifts you think you do or don't have, that can make a difference in the lives of others. If this story teaches us anything at all, it should teach us that when Jesus shows up, people can change, people can be MADE-OVER, and people can be lovingly re-directed. But the best news is: It's often the simplest act of kindness that gets it all started. Are you ready to take the first step?

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Join us this Sunday at 10:00 a.m. for an inspirational service of worship. We are located at the Corner of Pine and Stanton Roads - 3 miles west of U.S. 31 and 2 1/2 miles north of U.S. 6. Our mailing address is 69531 Pine Road, North Liberty, IN 46554. If you would like to give us a call, you can dial us up at 574-784-2806. At Pine Creek Church we're touching hearts through sharing Christ. We hope to see you on Sunday!