God Believes In You!  Part 2

Sermon Notes

October 18, 2009

Rev. Jim O’Neal, Senior Pastor

Sun Lakes United Methodist Church, 9248 E. Riggs Road, Sun Lakes, Arizona 85248 - (480) 895-8766

 

Luke 19:1-10 Egermeier’s Bible Story Book

In Jericho lived a rich man named Zaccheus, who was the head tax collector.  When news came that Jesus was passing through Jericho on his way to Jerusalem, Zaccheus wanted more than anything else to see this wonderful man.  Zaccheus stood with the crowd gathered beside the road, but he could see nothing.  He was too short to see over the heads of the people.  Down the road he ran and climbed into a sycamore tree.  Now he could surely see Jesus.

Soon travelers going to Jerusalem came along the road.  The people of Jericho watched eagerly to catch a glimpse of Jesus.  On the travelers walked until they came to the sycamore tree.  Here Jesus and his disciples stood still.  Jesus looked up and saw Zaccheus.  “Zaccheus,” called Jesus, “come down at once, for today I must stop at your house.”  How surprised Zaccheus was!  Now he could take Jesus home and talk with him.  Joyfully Zaccheus led the way.  As they went, others followed.  Some found fault because Jesus was stopping in the home of a tax collector whom they called a sinful man.  The Pharisees would not enter such a house.  They hated sinners. 

Zaccheus’ heart was changed by Jesus’ kind words.  He told Jesus, “Behold, Lord, I will give half of my goods to the poor.  And if I have taken more from any man than I should, I will give back four times as much as I took.”  Jesus was glad to hear Zaccheus say that.  Jesus answered, “Today salvation has come to your house, for the Son of Man came to seek and to save those who are lost.”

 

A.  Introduction

    1.  Charlie Brown and “Show and Tell”

        a.  In the Peanuts Comic Strip, Charlie Brown, Linus, and Lucy are on their way to school.  Lucy asks Linus if he has remembered to bring anything for “Show and Tell.”  Linus says, “Yes, I have a couple of things here to show the class.”  He then unfolds some papers and states, “These are copies I’ve been making of some of the Dead Sea scrolls.”  Holding them up for the others to see, he continues, “This is a duplicate of the scroll of Isaiah, chapters 38 to 40.  It was made from 17 pieces of sheep skin and was found in a cave by a Bedouin shepherd.”  Pulling out another piece of paper Linus says, “Here I have made a copy of the earliest known fragment ever found.  It’s a portion of I Samuel 23:9-16.  I’ll try to explain to the class how these manuscripts have influenced modern scholarship.”  Lucy responds, “Very interesting, Linus!”  She then turns to Charlie Brown who has a frustrated expression on his face, and asks, “Are you bringing something for ‘Show and Tell’ Charlie Brown?”  A dejected Charlie Brown says, “Well, I had a little red fire engine here, but I think I’ll just forget it.”

        b.  There are some here today who identify with Charlie Brown.  There are those who feel inadequate and unworthy. 

    2.  Today’s Scripture:  Luke 19:1-10

        a.  Today’s Scripture lesson, the story of Zacchaeus, speaks to a lot of issues.  It is the story of Jesus giving hope to a “little guy.”  The Lord affirms one who is an outcast.  These verses call us to repent, receive Jesus, and to lead a new life.  And finally, it is the story of a man who had low self-esteem, but then discovers his worth as a child of God.  It is to this issue of self-worth that, as last week, I focus the message.  God has a great word of hope to all who are struggling with their sense of self-value.

        b.  First, last Sunday we recognized that all of us have things that we wish we could do better.  We all have attributes that we wish were different.  Each of us has things we dislike about ourselves.  So, how do you feel better about yourself?  Jesus in today’s Scripture lesson has the answer.  Faith is not only your act of believing in God; it is also the realization that our Father in Heaven believes in you!  Affirming yourself comes from trusting these three truths:  (1)  Embrace the talents and abilities you have!   (2)  Accept the truth that God values you!  (3)  Accept the truth that God believes in you!  Again today, we affirm these three truths.  Last Sunday I spoke about embracing your talents.  Today, I will focus on the second two truths.

 

B.  Accept the truth that God values you! 

    1.  Rejected Youth Named Marie

        a.  Jim Burns in his book, RADICALLY COMMITTED, shares this story.  There was a girl named Marie who had been in his class since elementary school.  To his knowledge Jim had never spoken to her.  She was very intelligent, but not very attractive, and many of the kids made fun of her.  This caused Marie to withdraw and shy away from people.  Marie lived around the corner from Jim, but they never once walked home together.  In fact, Jim confessed that if he saw her he walked on the other side of the street.  Then during Jim’s senior year in High School, some major changes took place.  The year before he had become a Christian, and he came to realize that God called him to be “other-centered.”  He was to love all people, and especially those deemed “the least of these” by society.  So one day at lunch, as he walked to sit with his friends, he spied Marie eating alone. He stopped and spoke to Marie.  She was startled and wary.  Her look seemed to say, “Why would you, a social snob, talk to me after all those years?”  The next day he decided to bring some of his friends together to eat lunch with Marie.  His group ended up eating with Marie all week, and then they invited her to come to Christian Campus Life Club.  She accepted.  Soon eating with her was a regular thing, and she was an active attendee of Campus Life.

        b.  One evening Jim took several other kids home from a Campus Life meeting including Marie.  He dropped off the other kids, and then took Marie to her house.  Instead of hopping out of the car, she reached over and turned the ignition off.  She then asked, “Why are you and your friends doing this to me?”  Jim stuttered and stammered something about his newfound faith in Christ.  Marie, holding back tears, said, “No one has ever eaten lunch with me from the seventh grade until the time you and your friends sat with me last month.”  Jim could not fathom the thought that here was a person who had eaten alone at school every day for five and a half years.  His experience had been so different.  Eight years after Jim’s conversation with Marie he was speaking at a Campus Life Camp in Southern California.  After his first talk one of the leaders of the camp came up to him.  It was Marie.  She was now in charge of the Women’s Ministry of Campus Life in Southern California.  She said, “Thanks for having lunch with me ‘way back then.’”

        c.  I can hear Zacchaeus saying the same thing to Jesus, “Thanks for having lunch with me.  Thanks for valuing me enough to spend time with me and include me in your Father’s family.”  And that’s the same thing Jesus does for you.  He affirms you and includes you.  He sees you as a precious, valuable, handcrafted creation of God.

2.  Burned Child

        a.  Several years ago, a “Visiting Teacher” was asked to call on a child in the hospital.  She took the boy’s name and room number, and was told by his classroom teacher, “We’re studying nouns and pronouns in class now.  I’d be grateful if you could help him with his homework so he doesn’t fall behind the others.”  It wasn’t until the visiting teacher got outside the boy’s room that she realized it was located in the hospital’s burn unit.  No one had prepared her to find the boy terribly burned and in great pain.  She felt that she just couldn’t turn around and walk out, so she stammered. “I’m the visiting teacher and your school teacher sent me to help you with nouns and pronouns.”  She gave the boy a short version of the lesson and then left.  The next day the boy’s doctor called her on the phone.  He asked, “What did you do to that boy?”  She started to apologize and the doctor interrupted her.  He said, “You don’t understand.  We’ve been very worried about him, but ever since you were here yesterday, his whole attitude has changed.  He’s fighting back, and is now responding to treatment.  It’s as if he’s decided to live!”  The boy later explained that he had completely given up hope until he saw the teacher.  It all changed when he came to a simple realization.  With joyful tears he expressed it this way:  “They wouldn’t send an English teacher to torture a boy by making him learn the difference between nouns and pronouns if he were dying.  So I knew I was going to live!”

        b.  God would not have sent Jesus to save you from your sins, if God did not believe you were worth it!  You know the words of Jesus:  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 RSV)  God loves and values you. 

 

C.  Accept the truth that God believes in you!

    1.  Snoopy:  Still a dog!

        a.  Snoopy, Charlie Brown’s beloved pet in the Peanuts Comic Strip is sitting, slumped over in the door of his doghouse.  He says to himself, “Yesterday, I was a dog.  Today, I’m a dog.  Tomorrow, I’ll be a dog.”  He sighs and thinks, “There’s so little room for advancement!”

        b.  That’s how many people feel about themselves.  However, that is not how God feels about you.  God believes that you have tremendous potential.  You have tremendous potential to do good, to accomplish great things, and to bless others.  You have the possibility of a truly joyous and meaningful life.

    2.  The Doctor believes Grandma can walk!

        a.  Bennet Cerf once told a story about a bad tempered and negative thinking eighty-year old woman, who was admitted to a hospital in San Diego.  She came through the minor surgery with flying colors despite her own dire prognosis.  Her doctor told her it was his rule that the first day after surgery she would have to walk for ten minutes, and do this for several days before he would release her from the hospital.  When the woman heard this she bitterly complained.  However, she finally got out of bed, and tottering around under her own steam she walked for ten minutes.  The second day she walked for twenty minutes.  By the end of the week she was roaming all over the hospital, and even going places she was not supposed to.  She was then sent home.  Her son called the doctor and speaking for the entire family said, “Thanks for the miracle you performed with mom.”  The doctor said, “Nonsense.  It was a routine operation.”  The son replied, “It’s not the operation we’re marveling over.  It’s her walking.  The old girl hadn’t taken a step in six years!”

        b.  The doctor examined the woman and believed she was ambulatory.  God knows how God made you and God believes in you.  Jesus the Son said this:  “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know what his master is doing.  But I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I heard from my Father.  You did not choose me; I chose you.  And I gave you this work:  to go and produce fruit, fruit that will last.  Then the Father will give you anything you ask for in my name.  This is my command:  Love each other. ” (John 15:15-17 NCV)  God believes you can respond to the love of Jesus.  God believes that you are capable of doing great things and of sharing much love; love that endures!  You have tremendous potential and God believes in you!

 

D.  Conclusion

    1.  Words of Hope:  Again today, I encourage each of you to embrace the truth that God believes in you!  This week, include in your daily prayers the affirmation:  “God loves me, and God affirms me.  And I believe that God believes in me!”

    2.  Recap.  From last week and today remember these three truths:

        a.  There are things we dislike about ourselves.

        b.  Embrace the talents and abilities you have!

        c.  Accept the truth that God values you! 

        d.  Accept the truth that God believes in you!

Luke 19:1-10 Egermeier’s Bible Story Book

In Jericho lived a rich man named Zaccheus, who was the head tax collector.  When news came that Jesus was passing through Jericho on his way to Jerusalem, Zaccheus wanted more than anything else to see this wonderful man. 

Zaccheus stood with the crowd gathered beside the road, but he could see nothing.  He was too short to see over the heads of the people.  Down the road he ran and climbed into a sycamore tree.  Now he could surely see Jesus.

Soon travelers going to Jerusalem came along the road.  The people of Jericho watched eagerly to catch a glimpse of Jesus.  On the travelers walked until they came to the sycamore tree.  Here Jesus and his disciples stood still.  Jesus looked up and saw Zaccheus. 

“Zaccheus,” called Jesus, “come down at once, for today I must stop at your house.”  How surprised Zaccheus was!  Now he could take Jesus home and talk with him. 

Joyfully Zaccheus led the way.  As they went, others followed.  Some found fault because Jesus was stopping in the home of a tax collector whom they called a sinful man.  The Pharisees would not enter such a house.  They hated sinners. 

Zaccheus’ heart was changed by Jesus’ kind words.  He told Jesus, “Behold, Lord, I will give half of my goods to the poor.  And if I have taken more from any man than I should, I will give back four times as much as I took.”

Jesus was glad to hear Zaccheus say that.  Jesus answered, “Today salvation has come to your house, for the Son of Man came to seek and to save those who are lost.”

 

God Believes In You!

 

1.  There are things we dislike about ourselves.

 

2.  Embrace the talents and abilities you have!

 

3.  Accept the truth that God values you!

 

4.  Accept the truth that God believes in you!