A Wee Little Man
Series: Seek & Save
October 06, 2019
Frank Foreman
Repentance is something we talk about often in sermons, Bible lessons, studies, etc. We all know Scriptures that discuss the topic of repentance, those mentioned by Jesus as well as those that are discussions and teachings of the New Testament writers. Unfortunately, we don't always go very deep beyond the surface understanding of what repentance actually is and requires of us. Truly it is feeling sorry, making a change of direction, feeling remorse, etc. Those are all the outward displays and steps we take when we feel the need for repentance, but what internal changes occur? Is there a cost for genuine repentance for us? Or is it just a response to being "found out" when we have sinned? Listen in as we look at what repentance looks like on a deeper level and how that might affect us internally and externally. We open up the Word of God and look at a very familiar story about a "wee little man" who became a much bigger man through an encounter with the Savior.
Episode Notes
Luke 19:1-10, He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received Him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Big Idea: Right repentance produces right living.
Matthew 3:8, Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
Repentance: (μετανοια metanoia) a change of mind, as it appears to one who repents, of a purpose he has formed or of something he has done.
1. Right place.
Matthew 7:7-8, Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
2. Right time.
2nd Corinthians 6:2, For He says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
3. Right heart.
2nd Corinthians 7:10, For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.
Next Step: Take seriously how your sin hurts and damages other people…
Make restitution whenever possible.
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