Who Knows?: Seek

Introduction

Who knows? That’s the theme of our camp this week!

The question we are asking is who knows the answer to all the questions we have? Who knows what tomorrow is going to bring? Who knows the plans and purposes of life? Who knows how life is meant to be lived and how to receive salvation?

Who knows?

God knows!

There was a time when Israel was in a foreign country because they disobeyed God and they were wondering what the plans for them were. Who knew what the plans were going to be? Who knew how to live life and if anyone still loved and cared for them.

The answer is God. God knows.

So God tells them that because He knows the plan, He tells them that they do not need to know the plan. Rather they need to know the One who knows the plan.

Jeremiah 29:11–13 (ESV)

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

God tells them to not seek out the plans. He tells them to seek Him, to know Him, to trust Him with their hearts.

Over the next several days we are going to look at what it means to seek God, to study and know Him, and to believe in Him.

Read Luke 19:1-10

Luke 19:1–10 ESV

He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

We Need to Admit Our Need for Jesus

When Jesus was on earth, He would travel around the country of Israel preaching the Gospel or the good news of salvation and He would talk with people, care for them, heal them, and meet many of their needs.

Of course, the greatest need that all people needed was forgiveness from sin and to get to know God and He would always meet that need for those who wanted to know God.

Zacchaeus - A Sinner

He was a Tax collector.

He would work for the Roman Government by collecting taxes for them.

This job was not bad in itself.

But typically, tax collectors were not honest because they would charge more than what they were supposed to collect so they could become rich off the extra money they collected.

Zacchaeus stole from people, and money and wealth were his false gods.

The Crowd -

Then we have the crowds who were there to see Jesus. They weren’t there because they thought they needed Jesus. They simply wanted to see him like you might want to see your favorite musician in concert or to see your favorite football player in person.

Jesus was a celebrity they wanted to see close up.

But they didn’t realize their need for Jesus. In fact, they would have looked down on Zacchaeus because he was a tax collector. This is why Zacchaeus couldn’t see Jesus through the crowd. They didn’t think he deserved to see Jesus. Only good people like them deserved to see Jesus, not sinners like tax collectors.

Zacchaeus could have just wanted to see Jesus because he was a celebrity, but we will see that there is more going on than that.

Zacchaeus had built his life on wealth and riches and taking extra money from those who were suffering and those things did not bring him the joy and fulfillment he thought they would.

New things:

phone

video games

clothes

makeup

toys

They are fun for a while, but eventually we lose interest in them and find they didn’t really satisfy us like we thought they would.

Like Zacchaeus, we need to realize that what we need is something better than what we try to fill our lives with, and there is only One who can meet all our needs, Jesus!

We Need to Want to See Jesus

So Zacchaeus recognizes that he needs something different than what he has been looking for and he hears about this Jesus who is coming through his town.

He thinks, “Maybe this Jesus has what I am looking for. Maybe he can give me the life and the joy that I need.”

So in verse 3 we read that he was seeking to see who Jesus was.

The Problem -

He couldn’t see Jesus because of the crowd and his size.

The crowd wasn’t going to let a terrible person like a tax collector see Jesus. They weren’t going to help someone like that.

And he was too short to see above the crowd.

What is he going to do? Is he just going to go home sad that he couldn’t see Jesus?

The Solution -

No. He really wants to see Jesus and he isn’t going to let these obstacles keep him from seeing the One who might have what he really needs.

He is going to overcome the obstacles in his way because he really wants to see Jesus.

So instead of just giving up, he climbs up this sycamore tree.

Zacchaeus isn’t going to let the crowd and his height keep him from seeing Jesus.

Has anyone ever lost something valuable like a special item or money?

Maybe it was something that meant a lot to you because someone special gave it to you. Or maybe it was money that you were saving to get something you really wanted.

When you lost it, did you shrug your shoulders and say, “Well I hope I see it again,” while you sat back on the couch and watched tv?

No, if it meant a lot to you, you would do whatever it took to find it and get it back. The greater the value of something, the more you are going to do to search and find what it is you are looking for.

Zacchaeus didn’t know much about Jesus, but he knew Jesus was very special and he was going to do whatever it took to see him. He wasn’t going to let any obstacle keep him from seeing Jesus.

Jesus Came to Seek for Us First

What we see next should surprise us. While Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, he probably didn’t expect Jesus to see him.

After all, he was this small, tax collector that no one else liked. Why would Jesus be interested in him. And surely Jesus wouldn’t look up in this tree expecting to find anyone.

And yet, that’s exactly what happened. Jesus happened to look up in the tree. And it didn’t even catch Jesus off guard to find Zacchaeus there.

It’s almost like He knew He would find Zacchaeus there.

Because He did. Jesus came looking for Zacchaeus even more than Zacchaeus was looking for Jesus.

In fact, Jesus even says right here, “the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Who is the Son of Man? That’s right, it’s Jesus.

All Zacchaeus needed was to want to find Jesus. It’s not even that Zacchaeus had to look very hard.

Why? Because Jesus wanted to be found by Zacchaeus. He loved Zacchaeus so much that He came to seek for him and he wanted to be found by him.

Jesus wants to be found by you too. All you have to do is admit that you need Jesus and want to find Him and, as Jeremiah says, you will find Him when you seek for Him with all your heart.

How do we know Jesus loves us the way He did for Zacchaeus?

It’s because of what He came to do for us. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. How? By dying on the cross for our sins so that whoever would believe in Him, whoever would trust in Him, whoever would seek for Him, would find Him and receive eternal life in Jesus.

Jesus isn’t waiting for you to clean up your act or to be the perfect kid. He simply invites you to come to Him.

Romans 5:8 (ESV)

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Zacchaeus was still a tax collector and a sinner when Jesus said, “I must go to your house today.” He didn’t wait for Zacchaeus to be good.

But what happens when Jesus goes to his house?

Zacchaeus found Jesus and the love Jesus had for him, and it changed how he lived after that. He didn’t earn Jesus’ love by being good. Jesus loved him as he was and because of that, Zacchaeus’ life was changed.

Do you realize that you are in need of Jesus’ love and grace?

Do you know that just like Zacchaeus, you are a sinner who needs to be found and saved by Jesus?

Do you want to seek and find Jesus?

What obstacles are standing in your way keeping you from seeking Jesus?

How does it make you feel to know that Jesus has come to seek you and to save you from your sin?