The Best Decision

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Get a ladder

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Giveaways:

Game winners - chocolate

Bring most friends - chocolate

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Intro

Can you believe we’re only 8 weeks or 55 days away from Christmas!

Christmas last year kinda sucked for me…

It was 3am on boxing day I woke up needing to vomit from both ends.

I was against the wall, shaking inside my bathroom next to the toilet.

I was shaking that bd I brought back the harlem shake.

I keep feeling like it’s about to come out, but it wouldn’t.

I got fed up with the waiting game and prayed “release it Lord!”

Then, no joke, the vomit released out the front, then in quick succesion out the back.

I got it 2 days prior… I was at a Christmas party on Christmas Eve and there was this 4 year old kid who had gastro.

He was showing signs of being sick.

I got sick from the environment I was in on Christmas Eve.

The environment and choices we make can either bless our lives or infect us.

I was salty with that kid at first, and was like, “That little nugget gave me gastro.”

But the bottom line was that he didn’t intentionally make me sick.

I made a decision to be in that environment, and therefore I got sick.

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The decisions you make today will define your tomorrow.

Expound.

The Bible tells us about a man named Zacchaeus who made some bad decisions.

He was a tax collector…

In biblical times, that was someone who collected money for the Roman government, but often pocketed extra money for themselves.

So people saw them as greedy and dishonest.

The bible tells us about Zacchaeus and how one decision changed his life:

Luke 19:1–4 NIV, “Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.”

So here we learn, he was a tax collector, he was wealthy, and the bible also tells us he was “short”…

That’s pretty cold that the bible would share a detail like that.

It’s like if you could be remembered for anything, and the bible says “his middle toe was bigger than his big toe,” or “his left eye was droopier than his right eye,” or “she had a mole shaped like Tasmania on her forehead”…

Like come on, why is that necessary?!

The reason why this detail is significant is because the author is telling us Zach was “invisible” to the crowd — and it symbolised how small or overlooked he was in society.

Perhaps Zach felt small on the inside and that led him to the bad decisions he made.

So the bible tells us:

a) That he made some pretty bad decisions, and he chose to be in an environment that not only hurt his life but those around him.

b) People didn’t only not like him for what he had done, they even overlooked him for his appearance.

Maybe you can relate to Zacchaeus…

You’ve made some decisions you’re not proud about.

You feel overlooked by people or “short”, small on the inside.

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Luke 19:5–7 NIV, “When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.””

CLIMB THE LADDER (PROP)

What I love about Zach is that he made a decision to turn his life around.

He climbed a tree just to get near Jesus.

Originally Zach was trying to climb the ladder of life — chasing success, status, and money.

We do the same — we chase success, popularity, acceptance, comfort, cheap thrills, etc.

But while he was on that ladder, Jesus calls him down and invites him into a new life.

The thing about a tree or a ladder is that you can only climb so far before you can’t anymore.

The only way from there is down.

Expound.

Jesus knew him by name and He knows YOU by name!

The people said, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

The people only saw the worst in Zacchaeus, Jesus saw the best.

What have people said about you?

Because Jesus SEES the WORST of you but THINKS the BEST about you!

That’s how much He loves you!

Jesus came as a guest of Zacchaeus’ home, and left as the King of his heart.

The home Jesus truly enters is the heart.

That’s where all of life’s struggles, fears, and choices live.

When we let Jesus into our hearts, everything else starts to change.

I believe Jesus is saying, “I must stay in your home/ heart, TODAY.”

Jesus doesn’t just want to be a guest in your home, because a guest only stays temporarily… rather He wants to be the King of your heart!

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Luke 19:8 NIV, “But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

Zacchaeus had a decision: do I keep living the life I live now or do I choose something better?

Zach made a decision to allow Jesus to enter his heart and it transformed his life!

When you give your life to Jesus, He transforms you from the inside-out!

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Altar Call

Share my story

At a Youth Alive event and this girl shared about her friend who made a decision to live on fire for Jesus and make a difference in the world.

He passed away… She asked, “How will people remember you when you die?”

Luke 19:9–10 NIV, “Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.””

Tonight, salvation is available to come to the house of your heart.

Tonight you have a decision to make, and that decision will cost you either way.

Prayer and ministry time

Salvations

If you want a fresh encounter with Jesus, come to the front (worship)

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Other notes

What’s interesting is that it says Zach ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see Jesus.

In that culture, grown men — especially wealthy or important ones like Zach — didn’t run or climb trees.

Why? Because it was seen as childish and embarrassing behaviour.

But I love that Zach, for the first time in his life, made a new decision.

He was willing to become undignified and do something he’s never done.

He made a decision to be bold and put himself in an environment where he was close to Jesus.

“But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord…”

The people criticised him as “a sinner,” yet Zach made a decision to change that.