Altared: Zac finds life in a tree

Introduction

The altared life:

Romans 12:1–2 The Message

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Take your life and place it before God, use me. This is what it means to be altared.

Coming into our text again today we see a classic bible story of altared life… Zacchaeus.

Luke 19:

Luke 19:1–10 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. 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.” 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.” 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.”

Pray.

I have always loved this story. It is one that I remember hearing early in childhood. VBS singing the song of the wee little man. I always loved this story with Zacchaeus or For familiarity cause we are homies, Zac. Mainly because I cannot get around the image of him climbing a tree.

When I was younger, I loved to climb trees. The only problem with loving to climb trees is that I was not a very skilled or agile climber. I just did not have the body for it. I will never forget following a friend high up in a tree when we were playing and then realizing how high I was froze. Like do you remember that moment when you turned to look back down. Getting down was always harder than getting up.

I did have a favorite tree. There was a tree in our back yard that was fairly an easy climb and in a few branches you were high enough to be hidden from sight from the back patio. This was a fun hiding place for my brothers and I…from each other and mom and dad every now and then....or we just terrorized the dog from up there.

I wonder what Zac’s experience was like. Probably looking for a place to watch from a “hiding place.” I can imagine the climb being ok, but with this holy man impossibly calling you by name, I am sure coming down was difficult.

What an incredible interaction from this chief tax collector and Jesus. Oh to be a fly on the wall…or the tree that Zac climbs. Actually, what if we looked at this from the perspective of the sycamore fig tree. A story so familiar with many of us, maybe we can see this from another angle today. And no, I have not lost my everlasting mind, stay with me...

The setting for life-change

Just another day for this sycamore fig tree, doing what I am supposed to, grow figs, shade people, etc…however as of late there have been a lot more people around. Flocks of folks trying to get a sight of some famous guy that is town. Being positioned along the road in Jericho, in the town, I get to see a lot of things. On this day I was surprised when the crowds began to grow and grow all for the hopes of meeting this man named Jesus. I can hear people buzzing with curiosity as they waited. Some murmuring about this man being the one they had been waiting for. and not just that day, I got the feeling that they thought this guy was something huge, something to do with their history and their faith. Others passing by talked of his power to heal the sick, sight to the blind, and even kill a fig tree with his words....wait, what did I hear that right?

Nah…anyways I am interested.

Finally, I hear all of this hooplah is over that man named Jesus. He is the one they say healed that blind beggar and gave him sight. Not many people paid attention to him anymore, amazing that Jesus did.

Then, as the crowd was buzzing with anticipation, all of a sudden someone begins to climb me. Oh, I recognize him, that is Zac the tax collector. Not very popular around here. It wouldnt be unheard of to see others cross the road to not have to walk by him. Small in stature, large and infamous in reputation. Jews seem him as a traitor.

I wonder why he is here. What is his curiosity with Jesus? By all appearances he seems to be self-sufficient and please with his exuberant lifestyle. I mean he does not have to come looking for my figs for food like any of the other poor people in town.

That’s when Jesus began to walk down the street. It looks like he is just passing through town, like a man on a mission. But all of a sudden, he turns and detours RIGHT TO US?! Uh oh, hide Zac!

It was just the other day that I heard Jesus have an awkward conversation with a rich young ruler. This ruler was asking what it took to get into heaven. They talked about scripture a little, sounded like the ruler understood the religious answers and then Jesus through a curve ball and told him to go sell all of his possessions to the poor. Ruler did not know what to do with that and walked away. Zac is about to lose his 401 K.

Jesus gets to the base of the tree and looks up, and says Zacchaeus, come down. It was like he knew everything about him in that moment and despite the broken things this man has done, he seemed to genuinely care and love him.

Zac’s whole posture changed, he felt seen for the first time. He quickly accepted Jesus invitation to dinner. Which by the way, I though was weird that Jesus invited himself to Zac’s house…but what do I know, I am just a tree.

Well, I guess you are going to have to read about the rest of the story in the papers because I did not get to see the rest of their interaction. But something remarkable happened because Zac did what that rich young ruler couldnt, he began to give away everything. His one day with Jesus gave him life and now he is giving life to others.

Ok, you ready for me to stop being a sycamore fig tree? That’s fine, but just to make sure we get everything out of our metaphor today.... let me offer you this, maybe the altared life is about being a sycamore fig tree. “Ok JW, you had your fun, but now I am a tree.?” Yes, when you get home and you think about today, I want you to think about this tree.

A tree that was known for providing to the poor. Poor people would eat the figs that came in probably 6 harvests a year. A tree that produced fruit year around. A tree that poor people used for building shelter from the wood.

Maybe the tree can show us the characteristics of the altared life.

The Altared Life:

Consistent Obedience

Like the tree we are called to be consistent to be planted in who he has called us to be. Day in and day out producing the fruit of a life devoted to Christ. He does not call us to obedience so he can have a little army of cogs, he calls us to obedience because that is where we are our best and most available to see God do miraculous things in and through us. You never know when you might be the catalyst for someone meeting Jesus.

Stay obedient, keep praying, keep studying, keep leaning into him every day. Young people, do not be paralyzed with the thought of figuring out everything you are going to do in your life, instead make obedience to God your pursuit.

Humble Servants

Like the tree, sometimes we might have the opportunity to let “bad” people climb on us. People that are “less deserving.” The altared life is about the one that has been set free to love without any guarantee of getting love in return.

Philippians 2:5–8 NIV

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

Philippians 2

I think you know your life has or is being altared when you love out of your love for God and from God instead of some selfish pursuit. Like when you are free to love irregardless of who someone is because you know that Jesus has done it all for you and there is a chance that you could be the setting for that encounter.

Shelter for the lost

Like the tree, sometimes we are shelter from the world for people being mistreated. It is the religious folks in this story that are pointing fingers at this interaction and going, ugh why is he hanging out with him?

Stop judging the appearances and be a shelter of life. If you spend more time discerning whether someone deserves help, than actually helping then we have a problem. Being a safe place, a shelter, a person who will listen and care, opens up the opportunity for a meeting with Christ.

Invitation to life

Like the tree, sometimes we get to be a part of the invitation to Christ. We may not see it all play out....it may play out years down the road.

Story of me contacting my youth director

All of it is a means to Him. Thats where many in the Christian church are getting it wrong....it is not enough to provide shelter, it is not enough to champion these great social justice movements if they were not a means to which we introduce Jesus Christ. Zac’s life is not transformed in the tree. His life is altared when he knew Jesus saw him. When Jesus called him. This is always the end of our pursuits.

It does not mean that every homeless person you buy a meal for, you give them a salvation track and pray the sinners prayer with them. Not sure that is helpful, but it means that in my bones there is an ache for others to know this life.

I found one Botanist that said this about the sycamore tree:

the Sycamore Tree symbolized "regeneration." When transplanting a Sycamore Tree, you must do it quickly, as the roots dry out very rapidly. On the other hand, the Sycamore Tree has an amazing ability to regenerate itself. If the sand covers one of its branches, it will establish new roots and reproduce a whole new tree.

Regeneration is also a theological term that we use to talk about what happens when we are born again in the Spirit. Coming to life in Christ. What if we could become like the Sycamore fig tree— a source and setting for life of others.

Zac’s Altared Life

Now, if you are here in this space this morning and maybe you are Zacchaeus. Still figuring your way through it all. Still keeping faith at arm’s distance. Be Zac, dont try to be anything else right now.

Before we can ever be anything significant or meaningful to someone else, our life must be altared.

Money

Yes there is a theme about wealth in this chapter of Luke. The reason why wealth is talked about so much in the NT and specifically by Jesus is because it is so powerful. Being wealthy is not sinful. It isnt. But dang it makes it hard to enter the kingdom of God because you have more to love besides God. It is so easy to be controlled by our money....and to deny it. That is why Jesus presses on the rich young ruler.

Lauren and I just went down to one income which was challenging.

This passage is about money, but then again, it’s not. It is about someone being so altared by Christ that they cut the chains that held him.

Zac’s in the room, I want you to picture Jesus coming to Zac again.....for those in the room, as we began, that are trying to hide, or maybe you are looking down and it seems too hard to step down.... Jesus sees you.

Jesus was passing through....and yet he stopped for Zacc. Jesus finds the insignificant and hidden folk. The people on the side of the road. If you are in this place and you feel insignificant, or looked over, or not good enough. Even if you have tried to make up for it in many other ways....Jesus sees you.