The Lies We Believe (2)
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The Lies Men Believe
Luke 19:1-10
My life has changed quite a bit in the past few months and God has really been dealing with me on a personal level on how to be a better man, a better husband, a better son.
A personal revival of sorts. This has happened a few times on my walk as a believer.
Over the past few months, I have learned that God wants more. He wants more devotion, more attention, more than a casual response from us.
Since God is truth, He wants us to be grounded in truth.
Since God is love, he wants us to demonstrate and share that same love.
Since God is just, he wants us to act justly.
No more superficial worship, no more half hearted attempts at pleasing him...ALL OR NOTHING.
Not lukewarm.
Either hot or cold. We either need to get in the game or get off the court.
It’s time that we stop wasting his time.
Stop playing the game.
Stop playing church.
The stakes are much too high today.
People are being led astray today in record numbers.
Families are crumbling faster than ever.
Daddies and mommies are being seduced by adulterers and the family is dying.
The enemy has found were we are most vulnerable and he is on the war path.
And his weapon of choice...deception.
We just memorialized 9/11 again. It has been 25 years. And I saw a clip on Fox News that said Fairfax county schools in Virginia, teachers were instructed to not link the attacks to Muslim or Islam. I thought, my how far we have fallen from the truth.
And it is not just that...Satan has deceived us in every area of our lives.
Adultery - Buying into the lie that the grass is greener on the other side. Truth...the grass is greener were you water it.
Homosexuality - Buying into the lie that God made us this way therefore it must be OK and we have to be true to our feelings. Truth - Homosexuality is sin, that strips away the very core of God’s plan for one man and one woman to be united for one lifetime. Satan uses our feelings to deceive us.
Pornography - A cheap counterfeit for true intimacy. Fake, not real. Truth - Sexual intimacy between a husband and wife is one of the greatest gifts God has given to mankind, meant to be enjoyed together, not separately.
I could go on and on...but I am not preaching on pornography, adultery, or homosexuality today...I am preaching on the Lies we believe. Deception. Hypocrisy, Dishonesty, Betrayel, Fraud. Ever one of these words...is the oppostite of TRUTH.
What we are going to speak on today is “The Lies Men Believe”
John 8:44 For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.
Satan is the Father of Lies. If it is a lie, it originated in Satan himself.
“If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.” ― attributed to Adolf Hitler...but probably not. That has become the philospohy of the modern media system.
“The Devil hath power to assume a pleasing shape.” William Shakespeare
“When regard for truth has been broken down or even slightly weakened, all things will remain doubtful.” - Augustine
“The naked truth is always better than the best-dressed lie.” ― Ann Landers
“Those that think it permissible to tell white lies soon grow color-blind.” - Austin O’Malley
The Lies Men Believe (Luke 19)
Here we have the account of Zaccheus. I love this story. This man had such an interesting life and so much can be gleaned about life from these few short passages.
Lie #1 - Money and Power are everything
He entered Jericho and was passing through.
And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich.
There are two main characters in this episode. Christ and Zaccheus.
Christ is in route to Jerusalem from a multi city preaching/teaching tour.
Zack: Chief tax collector, Rich man. Man of power, prominence. Satan would have us believe that the most important thing in life is our jobs. our careers. Many families have been sacrificed at the alter of a career. It is important that we work.
The bible says of you don’t work you don’t eat. So it is OK to work...in fact, it is commanded that we work. But your work should support your family, not destroy it. Our work cannot become our idol.
For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.
Paul is writing here speaking against laziness...but there is a another extreme that we often fall into...Overwork. The drive to get ahead, be rich, build wealth at the expense of our families.
So here’s the truth:
Money and Power are not everything...
Lie #2 Succeed at any cost
Where did Zack get his wealth?
Luke 3:12-13 Even corrupt tax collectors came to be baptized and asked, “Teacher, what should we do?” He replied, “Collect no more taxes than the government requires.”
Luke had mentioned earlier that corrupt tax collectors were taking more than what was required and keeping it for themselves.
We will learn later in this passage that Zach in fact HAD cheated people out of their money, thus buying into the lie that you must succeed at any cost. Even if it costs you your integrity.
“What upsets me is not that you lied to me, but that from now on I can no longer believe you.” - Friedrich Nietzsche
Lie #3 I don’t need help, I can do it on your own.
Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature.
So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way.
Remember the days before we had GPS and we had to stop and ask for directions if we were lost?
I hated that...because it implies that I am not in control, that I don’t know what I am doing. I am the type of guy that says… “hey, I don’t need direction, I can find it on my own.” That’s fine if you want to ride around all day and burn gas...but some people take that same approach to life and eternity.
No doubt, for a while, Zach thought he had the world by the tail. A prominent tax collector, wealthy, a man of position...but something was missing. Zach started to realize that maybe he didn’t have all the answers, maybe he did need some help. Therefore he was seeking Jesus.
In spite of his position, prominence, he showed that there is no shame in seeking Jesus. In fact, there are some things that you cannot do for yourself. Salvation is one. You can’t save yourself. You must trust in the Savior.
I want to stop here for a minute and chase a rabbit...
Zack has overcome a great many obstacles so far in his pursuit of Jesus...His position, his pride, and now his Predicament…of short stature. Physical disability, ailment, impairment.
He could not press his way through the crowd…and even if he could, people hated him, he was the tax man…he was getting no sympathy from anyone. He had to be creative in his seeking.(Airplane story) So he climbs up a tree.
You can’t save yourself, but you shouldn’t let anything stand in the way of you and your Savior.
Do not let obstacles, disabilities stop you from seeing Jesus! Moses was not a great talker, but God used Him. Paul’s thorn may have been eye trouble…
Our ability to serve Christ should be measured not by our disability but by our availability. God’s not interested in what’s wrong with you…he just wants all of you!
Lie #4 - Nobody loves me, no one cares about me.
When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”
And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly.
When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”
Have you noticed how ill and hateful the world is getting these days. People are in such a hurry, never slow down, never have time for one another. And all we want to do is grumble and complain. Reminds me of the MONK story.
Notice how the people start to grumble. Zack may have really bought into this lie. Nobody loves me...no one cares about me. Truthfully, I’m sure there were many people who didn’t like Zack b/c he was a thief. But Jesus really dispells a myth here. He really puts an end to the notion that no one cares...Zach...I must eat with you today.
Notice the attitude of the people:
Judgmental: Eating w/ a sinner
Jealousy: Why couldn’t He eat w/ me
Self Righteousness
Notice the scope of the accusers: ALL of the people grumbled, not just the Pharisees and the Sadducees, but all the people (Disciples included)
What happens to our witness when we begin to exclude people from Jesus?
Let’s flesh this out...When I say exclude people from Jesus...I’m talking about excluding people from access to Jesus. Thinking that certain people CANNOT be saved. It would thrill me if every Sunday this place was full of people...sinners and saints.
But not everyone who walks in these doors will enter the kingdom of heaven. You must be saved. You must be born again.
I think everyone should have access to the gospel. Where we begin to exclude people is church membership. You must be born again to be a member here. But any one can visit. Anyone can come and hear the message. But not everyone can participate in the inner workings of the church.
This church is pastor led, Deacon served, congregational ruled.
I lead. the deacons serve...but the congregation rules. We vote as a body. Everyone person has an equal voice. And because of that...we cannot allow unrepentant sinners to be a part of a voting body that dictates the direction of the church.
So when I say, when I say “When we exclude people from Jesus, We go from being the church to being a country club” What i mean by that is thinking that some people cannot be saved or deserve to be saved. None of deserve to be saved.
And these people were trying to exclude Zack from salvation.
Think about this: We can be the reason that sinners are not coming to Christ? When the truth is, Jesus loves these folks just as much as he loves you. He loves the hippie just as much as he loves the high and mighty. The guy with his eye brows pierced...God loves him just as much as he does your piano player. That homeless man on the corner, God loves him just as much as the person in here this morning who wrote the big fat check.
Just because someone looks different, acts different, or even believes different...they deserve access to the gospel. If the churhc excluded people who believed different, Paul would have never been allowed.
Our job is to catch the fish (I will make you fishers of men), and let God do the cleaning.
We have a right and a responsibilty to let people know that they are loved.
Lie #5 - I have done too much bad, for Jesus to forgive me
Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.”
And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.
“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Zach was a cheater, “Chief Thief” But after meeting Jesus…he promises to give it all up. RYR passage: God requires it all…Lev 6. Law requires 120% of falsely obtained property…Zack gave back much more than what was required.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
“When a person sins and acts unfaithfully against the Lord, and deceives his companion in regard to a deposit or a security entrusted to him, or through robbery, or if he has extorted from his companion,
or has found what was lost and lied about it and sworn falsely, so that he sins in regard to any one of the things a man may do;
then it shall be, when he sins and becomes guilty, that he shall restore what he took by robbery or what he got by extortion, or the deposit which was entrusted to him or the lost thing which he found,
or anything about which he swore falsely; he shall make restitution for it in full and add to it one-fifth more. He shall give it to the one to whom it belongs on the day he presents his guilt offering.
How awesome it was for Zack to go out and knock on the doors and give back what he had taken…he was willing to go house to house…we can’t even go next door and tell folks about Jesus.
Concerning the past…One man said to his friend: “Say, you look depressed. What are you thinking about?” “My future,” was the quick answer. “What makes it look so hopeless?” “My past.”
Eccl 3:11 He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart
He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.
With eternity in our hearts, then we are all like Zaccheus, searching for the truth.
Zaccheus overcame
his position,
his pride,
his predicament,
other people
and his past in order to meet Jesus.
And he didn’t buy into the lies of the Devil:
telling him that Money and success was everything,
and that he must succeed at any cost.
He learned that he did need some help and that he couldn’t do it on his own,
And he also learned that true love existed and was demonstrated by Jesus...
but most importantly, Zaccheus learned that in order to have true forgiveness and freedom, you must learn also to forgive yourself.
What a great example of how to come to truth... of how to come to Jesus. Now, the question is...what will we do with it. Jesus came to save you, will you persevere through these obstacles and meet Jesus today?
When my time on this earth is over, I don’t be the one who stands before a holy God and blows in his face the smoke of a wasted life. (Dr. Jerry Vines)
