Gerry van der Wende: How did Jesus witness?

Title: How did Jesus witness?
Date: January 13, 2013
Text: Luke 19:1-10

Introduction

Last week I posted on facebook
If each Christian in Susanville led just one person to Jesus each year, in three years Susanville could be totally Christian!
This is an achievable target
I know not everyone will accept Jesus, that is their choice. But if we do it right we will increase the chances of them making the right chopoice
Down through history, there have been times when the church was asleep, and there have been times when the church was on fire
We have been called to preach the gospel to all nations and make disciples of them and teach them all Jesus has taught us
This is not just for pastors, it is for all Christians
We as Grace Fellowship have this charge, as well! So during this next year let's do our part to bring this to fulfillment!
But how do we go about this?
How did Jesus witness and share the gospel?
Today we will look at the story of Zacchaeus and see some things that made a difference for Zacchaeus

Reading

Who was Zacchaeus?

Verses 2-3 - Zacchaeus means "pure"
This was how his mom saw him
But he was short
Short people sometimes get an inferiority complex, and consequently try to make up for it by manipulating and controlling others
Zacchaeus dealt with this inferiority by becoming a tax collector, he joined the IRS
Not only that, he was collecting taxes not for the Jews, but for the Romans
He was seen as a traitor, working for the enemy
He basically betrayed his mom, he betrayed his friends, and he betrayed his fellow Jews
He had robbed his friends by exacting more than was necessary, and lined his own pockets
Zacchaeus must not have felt very good about himself
He was hated by his former friends and his family
He is at a low point in his life
He doesnt know how to turn the clock back
His only option is Jesus

How does Jesus approach Zacchaeus?

Jesus comes around the corner, and sees Zacchaeus up a tree on the edge of the crowd
He sees that short little Zacchaeus is in need
He has compassion on him
Jesus calls out to Zacchaeus to come down from that tree
This day Jesus the holy rabbi is going to have dinner with Zacchaeus the unloveable, and is going to stay in his house
Jesus did not look down on Zachaeus
He does not ask him, are you going to repent and make amends?
You have done all this bad stuff, how are you going to set things straight?
Instead, Jesus accepts Zacchaeus and shows him love
Zacchaus the betrayer, the thief, the traitor, the failure suddenly experiences love
The love Jesus offers changes Zacchaues and he responds by repenting and changing his ways

This is how we evangelize

We don't evangelize by reading scripture to people, though we should be ready to answer questions

We evangelize by being ourselves and just loving people
When we love people and don't show judgment or criticism, they will respond
This is what is meant by shining our light
People see the difference because the world is a dark place with not a lot of love around

Conclusion

Allow your love for them to seep down inside of them and melt the icicles of distrust
Show yourself to be a true friend
The love you show will lead to questions which gives you a chance to tell about the difference Jesus makes in your life
Focus on one person, and show you truly care about them.
God will do the rest.

Prayer

Gerry van der Wende