267: Dennis Gillett – Zacchaeus

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Welcome to Good Chris Selfie and
talks.

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I’m Levi.
And I’m Chris.

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And I’m Brian.
Thank you for joining us this

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week on this podcast.
We select one Talk a week to

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help us get the Bible in our
Daily News feed.

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We post a new episode at the
start of each week.

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With the short intro beforehand
to kind of set the stage for the

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talk you’re about to listen to.
And now let’s talk more about

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this week’s talk.
This week’s talk is the 5th

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class in a series by brother
Dennis Colette that he gave at

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the Midwest Bible School in
1979.

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This was such a fun listen.
Thanks to Chris for digitizing

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these we Chris has taken on a
big task of digitizing a lot of

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old tapes and it’s been a great
resource for us for the podcast

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and this was a really fun lesson
on Zacchaeus.

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He kind of examines the possible
kind of headspace of Zacchaeus

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and how he would feel about
himself being that he was both,

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you know, a short man as we read
and, you know, a publican and

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maybe some shame that he would
have dealt with.

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And then how it would have felt
to have Jesus call to him

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specifically and how it kind of
relates how we, each of us, are

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called specifically, Jesus is
knocking at the door wanting to

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meet with us.
That reminds me that this is.

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I’ve talked about this before,
but there’s an old style that

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Dennis Colette uses in this talk
that I feel like I’ve only.

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Heard much older brethren do and
that’s and that’s that He

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doesn’t actually quote any
passages.

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He refers to all sorts of
passages but doesn’t give

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chapter and verse.
So it works out almost better I

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think for the podcast because
it’s a very flowing, easy to

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listen to style and this was a
great class, so really excited

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to share it.
So here is Dennis Collette on

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Zacchaeus.
Good morning, everyone.

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You may be wondering why
Zacchaeus has been included in

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this list of Bible men because I
mean only 10 verses, 10 verses

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tells the whole story of this
little known man.

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Now why is the case of this
little known man then so

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interesting?
Well, because it tells us of the

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recovery of a man from a life of
worldliness to a life of God.

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And surely no man who has had
any experience of the forces

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which arranged against the
disciples of Christ can ignore

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the implications of this story.
It has to do with a man.

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Who triumphed over his
hindrances?

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And which of us can honestly say
that we can afford lightly to

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pass over such an example?
Surely, by the very nature of

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our own lives, we are compelled
to be interested.

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Life.
Life, after all, is a varied

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trial for the temptations
within, and there are

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temptations without.
That are days of victory and

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their days of defeat.
Men are not born Saints in the

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genetic sense, and they struggle
for Saints, mortifying their

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members and fighting the good
fight of faith.

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Sometimes they fall back,
sometimes they only just hold

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their ground.
Sometimes they push forward.

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Disciples know about weights.
They know about hindrances.

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Just occasionally they live
above the snow line, but mostly

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they live in the valley, and
their experiences are, as I say,

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varied.
Winning New Hope out of failure,

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gaining strength out of the
realization of their weakness,

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resting victory out of defeat.
Sometimes men are greatest,

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sometimes in the hour of defeat.
Now the account of that

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Zacchaeus, therefore, is
interesting for people such as I

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have described, and that’s why
we’ve included Zacchaeus in the

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list, A poor rich man.
The first thing we need to

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notice, then, is a sentence in
the 19th chapter of Luke.

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It’s in verse 10, Luke 19, verse
10 for the Son of man is come to

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seek and to say that which was
lost.

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Now you could say that the world
is lost, but in this case it

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seems that the references to a
special class of people, people

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who are lost in a particular
sense.

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We are slight sleep are lost
sometimes, but is straying from

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the fold and being scattered in
the wilderness.

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Now why do I say that?
A particular cast of people?

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Well, because of the context in
which the words were spoken, and

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in particular that little
conjunction which introduces the

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words that we’ve just recalled.
The Son of Man is come, so you

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can say that which is lost now.
Notice the little conjunction

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that introduces that sentence.
It says for for the son of man

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has come to seek and to say that
which was lost.

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The word for is used as a means
of introducing an explanation of

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a proof of the things which have
just gone before now.

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Remember what had gone before,
That is before verse 10.

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The narrative which tells us of
a man who was lost in a peculiar

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sense, and the recovery of that
man from a life of worldliness.

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And I said to a life of God,
this shows us what redemption

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can sometimes mean to certain
people.

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Because Jesus said salvation has
this day come to this house and

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please God.
That may be true of every house.

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Where the Saint Sergeant and
where they assemble.

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But observe then that salvation
comes to some men in unusual

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ways because they are lost in a
special sense.

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If I could just illustrate what
I mean by being lost in a

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special sense, some men are lost
because of their own passion, as

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Balaam was by his.
Love of gold, as Saul was by his

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pride, or as Heyman was by his
envy, or as Judas was by his

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secret dishonesty.
This means that some men are

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lost because of subjective
forces within themselves, lost

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because of the nature of their
own character.

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That is to say, lost because of
internal causes.

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Some men are like that, but it’s
not always the case.

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Some men are lost because of
outward circumstances which,

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humanly speaking, make escape
impossible, mastered and

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corrupted by forces external to
themselves, and which somehow

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cannot be removed or evaded.
Now you see, the man we read

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about in Luke 19 today was in
this category, Zacchaeus.

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Zacchaeus was a man who was lost
because of external forces from

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which, humanly speaking, there
was no escape.

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That is to say, Zacchaeus was a
publican and more the chief of

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the publicans.
And you see, a publican’s

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profession exposed him to
temptation and to the forces of

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evil and to corruption in three
ways.

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I’m going to ask you to think
with me of those three ways in

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which Zacchaeus was exposed to
the forces of damnation, one in

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the way of opportunity.
You see, the public was a

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gatherer of Roman taxes from the
Jews, as you know.

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But not in the way in which our
England revenue officials

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collect taxes today.
Not in that way.

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The publicans paid the Roman
government a rent for the

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privilege of collecting the
taxes.

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They paid the Roman government a
lump sum, and then they

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themselves, as it were,
collected the taxes.

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For themselves they paid a rent
for the privilege of collecting

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the taxes, and and they bought
through that rent the right to

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take for themselves whatever
taxes they could wring and rest

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from the poor taxpayer.
There was consequently A

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temptation to overcharge and to
oppress.

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Blackmail was sometimes used to
extort tax from the victim of

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this vicious system, and in
consequence the very nature of

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the work made Republicans to be
hard men and dishonest, and men

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corrupted and men degraded.
They were the very nature of

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their work.
The avarice of it made them to

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be men without feeling, without
sympathy, and without honour.

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So that in that way, first of
all the publican was exposed to

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the forces of corruption, and
then secondly, another aspect of

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their temptation was to live
satisfied with the low morality

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which was common amongst
publicans.

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In a sense, I suppose, every
profession has its conventional

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standard of what is right and
what is wrong.

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We know this, I expect from
their own experience.

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Let me give you an example to
the kind of truth which is often

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they must be safe, mustn’t say
often, perhaps, but the kind of

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truth which is sometimes
recognized amongst lawyers seems

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to be to plain men falsehood.
Or in the armed forces, That

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which is reckoned as reasonable
to us seems sometimes to be

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unfair and twisty.
Or business.

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Business has its special kind of
honesty, if that’s the right

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word.
Which to plain men seems to be

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fraud.
Now, by these examples I mean

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there is a kind of conventional
standard of that which is right

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and wrong.
And in all these cases,

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therefore, the temptation is to
be content with the standard of

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one’s own profession or or
society.

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Indeed, that may be the
difference between a worldly man

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and a man of God.
And a worldly man accepts the

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standards of his own age and
lives below them, or certainly

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no higher than, whereas a man of
God lives above the standards of

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his own age.
But in the case of these

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publicans you see in the way of
goodness, well, very little

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would count as a great deal.
That perhaps, which would be

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utterly shameful to a fallacy,
would be reckoned as strict

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morality amongst the publicans.
So that was the 2nd way, the

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temptation to live satisfied
with the low morality which was

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common amongst the publicans,
and then the 3rd way in which

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they were exposed to corruption
and temptation.

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They made no profession of
goodness, and therefore they had

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no character to support.
See, when a man has a reputation

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to live up to, it is a spur to
keep him up to scratch.

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Indeed, it’s the only thing that
sometimes keeps people on the

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right way.
Their reputation, if they’ve got

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a reputation they’re so anxious
to.

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Live up to it that it keeps them
straight.

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But when a man has no
reputation, when he has no

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character to support, gradually
he becomes degraded.

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I mean, his fellows regard him
as bad.

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They say he is bad, and so bad
he becomes in a way.

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To stigmatize a man could very
well be to ruin him.

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To take away a man’s character
is often to take away the one

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thing that.
That keeps him good.

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When a man has lost his self
respect, when he’s no respect

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for himself, even sin becomes
much easier.

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A man who you can see this.
A man who is near the end of his

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tether financially, for example.
Think of that.

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A man who’s near the end of his
tether financially and knows it.

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You will discover that he will
indulge at the last in some

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extra, extra, extra extravagance
in the spirit.

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But it doesn’t matter.
No, the great bankruptcy is

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here.
It doesn’t matter if a man is or

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Seal feels himself to be
hopelessly bad.

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He will plunge more deeply into
dark sin.

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This is human nature.
You can test it.

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Let anybody.
And you might not be able to

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enter into this experience, I
realize that.

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But let let any man out of a
number of transgressions,

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compare the 1st and the last,
and and this will be shown to be

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true with the first, with the
first transgression of a

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particular failure, shall we
say.

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There is a an utter should that
it could happen.

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There’s a feeling of horror.
There is a violent struggle, a

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feeling of impossibility.
That’s the first.

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With the second, there is a a
feeling of impossibility.

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There is a a feeling of
revulsion, but it’s not so

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strong as the first.
With the next, the feelings are

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there, but less strong.
With the next, they are milder,

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much milder.
With the last, the job is done

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almost unconsciously, without
conscience, without remorse,

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without turning a hair.
That’s the measurement.

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It’s a picture of a man who has
lost self respect, a man with no

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character at last to believe in,
nor to support.

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In short, a publican.
Well, that’s an assessment of

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this man’s life.
These were the forces which

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compassed him about, that made
him to be lost by circumstances

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which humanly possible, provided
no escape.

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And the passage in Luke 19 is
telling us that Christ.

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Came to save such as this, the
Son of Man has come to seek and

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to say that which was lost in
this peculiar sense to deliver

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them from this present evil
world.

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And the man we see Christ
delivering is Zacchaeus.

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Now let’s notice how the
deliverance was accomplished

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00:18:02,240 –> 00:18:06,840
when Jesus came to Jericho.
He came as a Rabbi, that is, as

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00:18:06,840 –> 00:18:13,320
a teacher.
As a man of religion without

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00:18:13,320 –> 00:18:15,960
them knowing it, the Redeemer
came to Jedica.

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00:18:17,600 –> 00:18:20,600
Now it could well be that
Zacchaeus has heard had heard

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00:18:20,600 –> 00:18:23,920
about this rabbi.
It could well be that he heard

224
00:18:23,920 –> 00:18:27,960
that this one was able to shed
peace upon restless spirits.

225
00:18:28,280 –> 00:18:31,120
He was able to revive weakened
consciences.

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00:18:31,480 –> 00:18:36,240
He was able to enlighten and and
enforce.

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00:18:37,560 –> 00:18:42,960
Stifled wheels.
But there was one hindrance.

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00:18:43,640 –> 00:18:50,560
There was one difficult
Zacchaeus was a little man, as

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00:18:50,560 –> 00:18:52,200
he is.
The Bible says he was.

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00:18:52,200 –> 00:18:56,880
He was small of stature, and a
great a great crowd surrounded

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00:18:56,880 –> 00:19:00,680
the rabbi.
Therefore it says, he ran and

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00:19:00,680 –> 00:19:05,760
climbed into a Sycamore tree.
Now we ought to be thinking

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00:19:05,760 –> 00:19:08,560
that.
Carefully about this because I

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00:19:08,560 –> 00:19:11,160
do not think it was an act of
mere curiosity.

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00:19:12,080 –> 00:19:15,680
That is to say, climbing the
tree was an act of faith.

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00:19:15,680 –> 00:19:20,680
It was an act of religion.
This was man’s part in the great

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00:19:21,640 –> 00:19:25,040
salvation.
You can see that Zacchaeus was

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00:19:25,040 –> 00:19:30,360
in earnest.
He was prepared to take steps to

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00:19:30,360 –> 00:19:33,720
overcome the difficulties which
seemed to prevent him from

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00:19:33,720 –> 00:19:37,440
seeing the Redeemer.
He was in earnest.

241
00:19:39,520 –> 00:19:42,520
He had a peculiar difficulty
being short of stature.

242
00:19:43,360 –> 00:19:46,520
He invented a peculiar means of
getting over it.

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00:19:46,680 –> 00:19:51,360
He climbed a tree.
Now that was his part.

244
00:19:54,040 –> 00:19:59,560
Let’s notice God’s part.
God’s part is expressed in these

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00:19:59,560 –> 00:20:00,640
words.
Zacchaeus.

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00:20:01,160 –> 00:20:05,360
Make haste and come down.
For today I must abide at thy

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00:20:05,360 –> 00:20:07,960
house.
It’s interesting in a way.

248
00:20:07,960 –> 00:20:13,480
That man’s part was climbing up
the tree.

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00:20:14,520 –> 00:20:17,240
God’s part was getting Zacchaeus
to come down.

250
00:20:19,320 –> 00:20:24,040
But notice two things in God’s
part, invitation and sympathy.

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00:20:25,760 –> 00:20:29,280
You might think, as you read
those verses that Zacchaeus was

252
00:20:29,280 –> 00:20:33,080
seeking Jesus.
He is running, he is looking, he

253
00:20:33,080 –> 00:20:34,960
is running, he is climbing up
the tree.

254
00:20:35,120 –> 00:20:37,360
You might think that he was
seeking Jesus.

255
00:20:38,720 –> 00:20:42,360
But surely it’s more true to say
that Jesus was seeking him,

256
00:20:44,040 –> 00:20:47,040
because for what other reason
that Jesus come to Jericho, but

257
00:20:47,040 –> 00:20:49,080
to seek and to say that which
was lost?

258
00:20:50,000 –> 00:20:53,600
You see, for long years perhaps
this man had lived in Jericho,

259
00:20:53,680 –> 00:20:58,960
this man, Zacchaeus, and in a
difficult situation and in a bad

260
00:20:58,960 –> 00:21:03,120
profession, having only perhaps
a dim consciousness of God and

261
00:21:03,120 –> 00:21:09,080
his service and his purpose.
And then one day the Redeemer is

262
00:21:09,080 –> 00:21:13,880
born into the world, comes to
Nazareth and to the synagogue,

263
00:21:13,880 –> 00:21:18,640
and then appears in Judea, and
then eventually comes to Jericho

264
00:21:19,400 –> 00:21:26,120
Zacchaeus’s town, and passes
down Zacchaeus’s street, and

265
00:21:26,120 –> 00:21:31,520
right by Zacchaeus’s house, and
write up to Zacchaeus himself.

266
00:21:33,160 –> 00:21:36,240
Now I put it to you, What is
that in God’s name?

267
00:21:36,240 –> 00:21:40,960
What is that?
But seeking the father seeketh

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00:21:40,960 –> 00:21:46,680
such to worship, and one word
was an invitation, one word,

269
00:21:48,080 –> 00:21:51,920
Zacchaeus, That was the word
Zacchaeus.

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00:21:53,400 –> 00:21:56,280
The Son of Man has come to seek
him, to say that which is last.

271
00:21:56,520 –> 00:22:01,120
Zacchaeus.
Behold, I stand at the door and

272
00:22:01,120 –> 00:22:02,920
knock.
If any man hear my voice and

273
00:22:02,920 –> 00:22:05,640
open the door, I will come into
him and shop with him and he

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00:22:05,640 –> 00:22:08,320
with me.
Self invitation.

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00:22:10,840 –> 00:22:15,680
That’s what we mean by grace in
the matter of our salvation.

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00:22:15,680 –> 00:22:19,360
God is first.
In the matter of our redemption

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00:22:19,360 –> 00:22:25,600
He has taken the initiative and
he comes to men self invited,

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00:22:25,600 –> 00:22:28,480
and names them by name, and
gives them a sense of personal

279
00:22:28,480 –> 00:22:30,920
recognition.
And the blessing is on their

280
00:22:30,920 –> 00:22:37,840
house Sacky.
I wonder how long it was, how

281
00:22:37,840 –> 00:22:42,480
many years it was that anybody
had ever said Zacchaeus in that

282
00:22:42,480 –> 00:22:48,720
tone.
Zacchaeus, this day is

283
00:22:48,720 –> 00:22:51,000
salvation.
Come to this house for as much

284
00:22:51,000 –> 00:22:57,120
as he also is a son of Abraham.
Now they did you notice the

285
00:22:57,600 –> 00:23:01,400
personal pronoun they?
Well, you know who they are,

286
00:23:01,720 –> 00:23:03,560
don’t you?
They?

287
00:23:04,560 –> 00:23:07,840
They said that Jesus had gone in
to Sup with a man who was a

288
00:23:07,840 –> 00:23:10,880
Sinner.
They were indignant.

289
00:23:11,320 –> 00:23:14,960
They were protesting.
They were shocked.

290
00:23:15,320 –> 00:23:20,360
They were outraged.
They thought that they knew

291
00:23:20,360 –> 00:23:25,600
Zacchaeus very well indeed.
They weighed him up, they’d

292
00:23:25,600 –> 00:23:31,120
categorized him, they’ve named
him, they defamed him and they

293
00:23:31,120 –> 00:23:39,200
dispensed with him.
Because if you will use your

294
00:23:39,200 –> 00:23:45,640
imagination, think of Zachary as
walking along the High Street in

295
00:23:45,640 –> 00:23:53,560
Jericho, and what happened was
that when they went by, they

296
00:23:53,560 –> 00:23:58,200
would lift up their skirts less.
They should be contaminated or

297
00:23:58,200 –> 00:24:03,360
step aside, or if that wasn’t
possible, crossover the street

298
00:24:03,360 –> 00:24:07,200
onto the other side.
That’s what they did.

299
00:24:09,880 –> 00:24:17,800
He was despised and rejected the
Sackies, and they knew him well.

300
00:24:18,600 –> 00:24:21,960
They said about the rabbi, he
has gone in to Sup with a man

301
00:24:21,960 –> 00:24:25,720
who is a Sinner.
But you see, here’s the mystery.

302
00:24:26,040 –> 00:24:32,560
Jesus knew him better than they
did, said Jesus of him.

303
00:24:32,720 –> 00:24:38,400
He also is a son of Abraham,
which was, which was something

304
00:24:38,400 –> 00:24:40,400
that he was not able to say
about them.

305
00:24:41,960 –> 00:24:45,640
Ye are of your children.
Ye are of your father, the

306
00:24:45,640 –> 00:24:52,040
devil.
Now this is grace.

307
00:24:53,760 –> 00:24:57,360
Notice the grace of Jesus, the
sympathy of Jesus.

308
00:24:57,720 –> 00:25:01,320
Let’s notice what happened as we
read the verses.

309
00:25:01,320 –> 00:25:05,440
We could see Jesus didn’t
conduct condole with Zacchaeus

310
00:25:06,000 –> 00:25:10,360
about his difficulties.
He didn’t talk to him about the

311
00:25:10,360 –> 00:25:14,240
state of his soul.
He didn’t preach to him about

312
00:25:14,240 –> 00:25:17,320
his sins.
They didn’t force his way into

313
00:25:17,320 –> 00:25:18,760
the house and give him a
lecture.

314
00:25:20,920 –> 00:25:23,080
Now I’ve got to pause for a
moment because you’re going to

315
00:25:23,080 –> 00:25:26,280
say Dennis Skillet said at the
Wet Midwest Bible School that

316
00:25:26,280 –> 00:25:35,240
lectures are no good.
And I’m not saying that I know

317
00:25:35,240 –> 00:25:39,120
that it’s important to condole
with people about their

318
00:25:39,120 –> 00:25:41,880
difficulties.
I know that although it’s

319
00:25:41,880 –> 00:25:44,960
important to thought speak to
them sometimes about the state

320
00:25:44,960 –> 00:25:48,840
of their soul, and I know that
we ought to be preaching about

321
00:25:48,840 –> 00:25:52,680
sinfulness, and I know well
enough that lectures are very

322
00:25:52,680 –> 00:25:56,200
important.
I know that I’m only saying in

323
00:25:56,200 –> 00:26:00,920
this case.
This was not the method the

324
00:26:00,920 –> 00:26:05,760
rabbi said to Zacchaeus, I must
abide at thy.

325
00:26:07,480 –> 00:26:11,240
In other words, he identified
himself with a rejected man.

326
00:26:12,480 –> 00:26:16,200
He identified himself with a man
who had lost his self respect.

327
00:26:16,920 –> 00:26:20,360
He identified himself with
Jacchaeus the publican, with

328
00:26:20,360 –> 00:26:23,320
Zacchaeus the Sinner.
Why?

329
00:26:26,360 –> 00:26:31,760
Well, he may be Zacchaeus the
publican and Zacchaeus the

330
00:26:31,760 –> 00:26:38,120
Sinner, but he is a man.
Say what you will he is a man.

331
00:26:39,160 –> 00:26:43,480
Perhaps he feels the cut of
harsh words as other men do.

332
00:26:45,240 –> 00:26:48,480
Perhaps he has a sense of human
honour, as other men have.

333
00:26:50,480 –> 00:26:52,680
Perhaps he longs with a kind
word.

334
00:26:52,680 –> 00:26:58,120
Sometimes, as all of us do.
Perhaps he feels the shame of

335
00:26:58,120 –> 00:27:08,160
disgrace as well as we Well,
perhaps he’s lost now.

336
00:27:08,160 –> 00:27:10,280
The Son of Man is brother to the
lost.

337
00:27:10,280 –> 00:27:15,720
That’s what the sentence means.
Salvation came that day to the

338
00:27:15,720 –> 00:27:22,160
House of poor Zacchaeus.
Did the gospel come to that

339
00:27:22,160 –> 00:27:29,160
house that day as well?
Well, I think it did on this

340
00:27:29,160 –> 00:27:31,880
occasion.
Of course not in the form in

341
00:27:31,880 –> 00:27:35,960
which it’s come to most of us,
and certainly to myself.

342
00:27:36,400 –> 00:27:41,040
Not in the form of strong
theology and doctrine and dogma.

343
00:27:43,600 –> 00:27:45,600
Not on this occasion, not at
first.

344
00:27:46,120 –> 00:27:50,160
It came at first.
In its essence the very centre

345
00:27:50,160 –> 00:27:54,800
of the gospel came to Zacchaeus,
That is the personal love of God

346
00:27:55,000 –> 00:27:59,200
manifested for this man in the
face of Jesus Christ.

347
00:28:00,040 –> 00:28:03,120
And you see, so great was the
power of it, that it caused him

348
00:28:03,120 –> 00:28:06,320
to open the floodgates of his
own heart and his own soul.

349
00:28:07,920 –> 00:28:11,880
That is to say, he was touched,
this man, to tell him the tale

350
00:28:11,880 –> 00:28:15,320
of his secret life.
He said, Behold, Lord, half of

351
00:28:15,320 –> 00:28:18,320
my goods I give to the poor, and
if I’ve robbed any man, I

352
00:28:18,320 –> 00:28:22,240
restore him full, full.
Now here is something to

353
00:28:22,240 –> 00:28:25,320
meditate upon.
Brother and her sisters was

354
00:28:25,320 –> 00:28:29,840
Zacchaeus, in those words,
revealing that he was not as

355
00:28:29,840 –> 00:28:34,400
black as he had been painted.
Touched by the sympathy of the

356
00:28:34,400 –> 00:28:38,920
Redeemer, was he constrained to
tell out the secret of his life.

357
00:28:39,600 –> 00:28:44,000
But while he was being slandered
and despised and scorned, there

358
00:28:44,000 –> 00:28:47,680
were acts of secret benevolence
in his life which he’d never

359
00:28:47,680 –> 00:28:51,480
paraded, and through which he’d
never sought to be vindicated,

360
00:28:53,920 –> 00:28:56,440
and, being touched by the
sympathy of the Lord, found

361
00:28:56,440 –> 00:29:00,920
himself no longer an outcast.
You see the tense of the words

362
00:29:00,920 –> 00:29:07,320
in that passage, the tense, the
present tense suggest that that

363
00:29:07,320 –> 00:29:12,600
is what Zacchaeus meant.
In the minds of some Bible

364
00:29:12,600 –> 00:29:15,960
students, that is.
Some Bible students think that’s

365
00:29:15,960 –> 00:29:21,040
what he meant.
Now I must tell you that for my

366
00:29:21,040 –> 00:29:26,800
part I am in trying to the view
that Zacchaeus was not telling

367
00:29:26,800 –> 00:29:31,600
out what his life had been like
hitherto, but what it was going

368
00:29:31,600 –> 00:29:37,920
to be like hereafter.
He was confessing A reformation,

369
00:29:38,920 –> 00:29:45,400
He was revealing a conversion,
He was to be a changed man.

370
00:29:47,680 –> 00:29:51,720
So that really the tense, for
the very nature of the case is

371
00:29:51,720 –> 00:29:54,480
future.
Behold, Lord, half of my goods I

372
00:29:54,480 –> 00:29:58,200
will give to the poor, and if I
have in the pasture of any man,

373
00:29:58,400 –> 00:30:02,840
I will now restore him.
For for Zacchaeus was the man

374
00:30:02,840 –> 00:30:08,440
who was lost, and it wouldn’t
have been true to have called

375
00:30:08,440 –> 00:30:12,240
him lost, if secretly he was one
of the best men in Jacob.

376
00:30:15,720 –> 00:30:18,720
He was a man not only who was
lost, but who had lost his self

377
00:30:18,720 –> 00:30:21,200
respect.
As I said, a man despised A

378
00:30:21,200 –> 00:30:26,560
rejected man by his fellow
citizen, a man who was rich, as

379
00:30:26,560 –> 00:30:33,120
it says, but really desperately
poor, without friends, without

380
00:30:33,120 –> 00:30:43,120
love, without hope.
And then, on a certain day, on a

381
00:30:43,120 –> 00:30:47,200
certain day in the calendar of
God, the Redeemer, whose high

382
00:30:47,200 –> 00:30:50,600
purpose is to seek and to say
that which is lust, came to

383
00:30:50,600 –> 00:30:57,040
Jericho, sought him, found him,
named him Zacchaeus, and saved

384
00:30:57,040 –> 00:31:00,280
him the process of personal
recognition.

385
00:31:00,920 –> 00:31:04,920
The rabbi identified himself
with a despised publican.

386
00:31:05,120 –> 00:31:10,480
It was the divinest sympathy of
the divinest man, the fellowship

387
00:31:10,480 –> 00:31:15,680
of the Son of God.
Now it could well be that

388
00:31:15,680 –> 00:31:19,240
Zacchaeus had spoken to God from
the loneliness of that Sycamore

389
00:31:19,240 –> 00:31:23,000
tree should never know.
Perhaps he spoke to God, heart

390
00:31:23,000 –> 00:31:27,440
to heart, and pulse to pulse,
and the son of God had sensed

391
00:31:27,440 –> 00:31:31,040
it, knew it, and treated him
like a son of Abraham.

392
00:31:31,040 –> 00:31:35,680
And so the God of Abraham
pronounced upon that lonely man

393
00:31:35,680 –> 00:31:39,160
the benediction of grace, and it
fell from the lips of the man

394
00:31:39,160 –> 00:31:41,360
who once said before Abraham
Watts.

395
00:31:41,360 –> 00:31:48,520
Oh yeah, well, that’s that’s the
story of Zacchaeus as it appears

396
00:31:48,520 –> 00:31:53,320
to me.
The thing to ponder now is on

397
00:31:53,320 –> 00:32:00,040
this day, so long afterwards,
how shall we mark it and measure

398
00:32:00,040 –> 00:32:02,200
it?
Remember at the beginning I said

399
00:32:02,200 –> 00:32:07,320
we are concerned with this story
because it reveals a method of

400
00:32:07,520 –> 00:32:10,680
triumph over hindrances.
That’s why it’s interesting.

401
00:32:11,840 –> 00:32:15,560
There is a man who triumphed
over his hindrances, the things

402
00:32:15,560 –> 00:32:21,120
which were setting He triumphed
over them, mastering the forces

403
00:32:21,120 –> 00:32:25,640
which we call weights, which
hold us back, which impede our

404
00:32:25,640 –> 00:32:28,800
progress.
Now what does it teach us, this

405
00:32:29,040 –> 00:32:32,040
narrative of Jericho about
mastering hindrances?

406
00:32:32,960 –> 00:32:36,080
Well, this surely, brother
sisters, that in the process

407
00:32:36,080 –> 00:32:40,920
there is God’s part and there is
man’s part, and both are

408
00:32:40,920 –> 00:32:44,760
essential.
What I mean is, the divine Grace

409
00:32:44,760 –> 00:32:50,000
cannot dethrone that which we
insist on not repudiating.

410
00:32:50,680 –> 00:32:54,960
The Divine Mercy cannot master
that which we insist on nursing

411
00:32:54,960 –> 00:32:59,480
ourselves.
So man’s part is your part and

412
00:32:59,480 –> 00:33:03,680
my part.
Now it may not be identical your

413
00:33:03,680 –> 00:33:08,360
part, but in principle it will
be the same.

414
00:33:08,360 –> 00:33:12,040
I mean, no man ever tried
exactly the path of his brother.

415
00:33:12,240 –> 00:33:17,520
Every life is a new life, every
day is a new day, every case is

416
00:33:17,520 –> 00:33:21,600
a new case.
But making allowance for that

417
00:33:22,040 –> 00:33:27,200
our part, it seems to me, is a
definite act of commitment, to

418
00:33:27,200 –> 00:33:30,800
detach ourselves in some way
from the forces which are

419
00:33:30,800 –> 00:33:34,600
hindrings facing the forces
which are hindering us.

420
00:33:34,800 –> 00:33:39,680
We have got to make an effort to
detach ourselves to some extent

421
00:33:39,800 –> 00:33:43,320
from those forces.
I know it may not come all at

422
00:33:43,320 –> 00:33:46,920
once, but we’ve got to commit
ourselves to an act of

423
00:33:46,920 –> 00:33:50,960
detachment, a clear act of our
will.

424
00:33:50,960 –> 00:33:55,040
Now I know it’s not easy.
I know when you’ve lingered in

425
00:33:55,040 –> 00:33:58,200
the valley, the light on the
hills gets dim.

426
00:33:58,200 –> 00:34:07,120
I know it may mean going home 2
miles further round in order to

427
00:34:07,120 –> 00:34:08,960
avoid the thing which is
tempting you.

428
00:34:12,440 –> 00:34:16,600
Perhaps after all, you’ll just
have to tell the truth that

429
00:34:16,600 –> 00:34:21,480
you’ve been hindering so long.
You better come out and tell the

430
00:34:21,480 –> 00:34:24,400
truth and take the consequences
and be done with the

431
00:34:24,400 –> 00:34:26,600
association.
Finish it.

432
00:34:29,199 –> 00:34:32,520
Perhaps after all, you will have
to refuse the claimant cry of

433
00:34:32,520 –> 00:34:36,880
the fresh, because if you refuse
it once, then the next time it

434
00:34:36,880 –> 00:34:43,159
is less claimant.
But there is no escape from this

435
00:34:43,159 –> 00:34:47,239
act of detachment.
The fight is in the economy of

436
00:34:47,239 –> 00:34:50,719
your salvation and my salvage
who?

437
00:34:50,920 –> 00:34:54,199
What does hinder you?
But you should not obey the

438
00:34:54,199 –> 00:34:59,960
truth, said the apostle.
We, you and I, we have got to do

439
00:34:59,960 –> 00:35:03,720
it sooner or later, and later is
bad.

440
00:35:05,920 –> 00:35:08,080
So here is an argument to help
us.

441
00:35:09,120 –> 00:35:14,680
You see, the awful thing about
hindrances is this, that to go

442
00:35:14,680 –> 00:35:19,840
on keeping them and to go on
nursing and to go on fostering

443
00:35:19,840 –> 00:35:27,160
them is in the end to defame
Christ on the highways and in

444
00:35:27,160 –> 00:35:30,680
the city.
And everywhere we go we name His

445
00:35:30,680 –> 00:35:32,400
name.
We are called after His

446
00:35:32,400 –> 00:35:34,920
brethren.
We we own his allegiance.

447
00:35:35,240 –> 00:35:41,240
And yet other men, seeing our
unloveliness, noticing our two

448
00:35:41,240 –> 00:35:47,080
facedness, measuring our
emptiness, will think badly of

449
00:35:47,080 –> 00:35:53,360
the one we profess to follow.
They will esteem his gospel of

450
00:35:53,360 –> 00:35:56,040
no value because we have
devalued it.

451
00:35:57,120 –> 00:36:00,880
That is the awfulness of
persistent refusal to face

452
00:36:00,880 –> 00:36:06,200
hindrances.
So whatever our individual

453
00:36:06,200 –> 00:36:11,000
problem is, the one problem we
must all face and master is this

454
00:36:11,520 –> 00:36:19,600
problem of procrastination.
There is in the Hebrew letter in

455
00:36:19,600 –> 00:36:24,280
chapter three one word which you
will remember well.

456
00:36:26,240 –> 00:36:29,080
Or it’s about verse 12.
As I remember it, chapter

457
00:36:29,080 –> 00:36:33,840
Hebrews say about verse 12, and
there’s one word in the sentence

458
00:36:33,840 –> 00:36:38,640
there which is dignified with a
capital letter in the middle of

459
00:36:38,640 –> 00:36:42,760
a sentence, dramatically
speaking, it’s an unusual thing

460
00:36:43,240 –> 00:36:46,480
because the word itself does not
deserve a capital letter.

461
00:36:46,720 –> 00:36:49,840
And yet the Hebrew man has given
it a capital letter, and it’s

462
00:36:49,840 –> 00:36:52,560
the word today.
Today, if you will hear his

463
00:36:52,560 –> 00:36:59,080
voice harden not your hearts.
Today is a word warning us

464
00:36:59,080 –> 00:37:02,120
solemnly of the possibility of
peril.

465
00:37:02,320 –> 00:37:05,800
But also it’s the good news of
immediate possibility, of good.

466
00:37:07,840 –> 00:37:10,960
If we put it off any longer, we
may lose the sense of urgency.

467
00:37:10,960 –> 00:37:14,040
And if we lose the sense of
urgency, we may lose the

468
00:37:14,040 –> 00:37:17,880
resolution.
Too often, I think it’s been

469
00:37:18,600 –> 00:37:22,000
like this.
We’ve said to ourselves, the

470
00:37:22,000 –> 00:37:24,960
thing must be done.
Yes, it shall be done.

471
00:37:27,840 –> 00:37:31,440
And it’s not done.
That’s the trouble.

472
00:37:32,560 –> 00:37:38,760
We’re always going to do it.
That’s my experience, and we

473
00:37:38,760 –> 00:37:42,480
don’t.
Did you hear that story about

474
00:37:42,480 –> 00:37:47,000
the philosopher who was
instructing his students one

475
00:37:47,000 –> 00:37:49,960
day?
And he said to them, my sons,

476
00:37:50,280 –> 00:37:54,760
the real point of our philosophy
is that we shall be ready for

477
00:37:54,760 –> 00:37:58,160
death when it comes.
And one of the students said, O

478
00:37:58,160 –> 00:38:00,720
master, thou has spoken wisely
and truly.

479
00:38:01,120 –> 00:38:03,840
I intend to be ready for death
when it comes.

480
00:38:04,680 –> 00:38:08,360
And the master was very pleased.
And he said, well done, my son.

481
00:38:08,360 –> 00:38:10,560
And when do you intend to start
preparing?

482
00:38:10,560 –> 00:38:14,160
And he said, well, about 12
months before I die.

483
00:38:16,720 –> 00:38:20,920
It makes us laugh.
Yes, it makes us laugh.

484
00:38:21,040 –> 00:38:24,760
And you know, too many of us are
living on that philosophy.

485
00:38:27,520 –> 00:38:30,920
We’re going to do it.
There’s always time.

486
00:38:31,120 –> 00:38:34,800
We’ve measured it, and the truth
is we don’t have that sort of

487
00:38:34,800 –> 00:38:41,000
calendar.
I believe that more people miss

488
00:38:41,000 –> 00:38:44,760
the highest and descent of the
lowest through this matter of

489
00:38:44,760 –> 00:38:47,480
postponement of the one thing
that ought to be done.

490
00:38:47,800 –> 00:38:52,920
And for any other corps,
Zacchaeus was short of stature,

491
00:38:53,720 –> 00:38:56,640
but he was not short of
resolution.

492
00:38:57,520 –> 00:39:00,960
He ran to the trees.
It says Every word in the Bible

493
00:39:00,960 –> 00:39:03,160
is important.
He ran to the tree.

494
00:39:03,160 –> 00:39:05,960
That was his eagerness.
He had a sense of urgency.

495
00:39:07,480 –> 00:39:09,640
That’s why he dined with the
Redeemer that day.

496
00:39:09,680 –> 00:39:16,760
And doubt this will dine again.
Now burn the sisters.

497
00:39:16,760 –> 00:39:21,160
If you’ve read your Bible
carefully and reverently, if you

498
00:39:21,160 –> 00:39:24,880
prayed humbly and sincerely, if
you’ve listened to your

499
00:39:24,880 –> 00:39:30,240
enlivened conscience openly and
attentively, then you will not

500
00:39:30,240 –> 00:39:33,160
need any speaker to tell you the
one thing you have to do,

501
00:39:33,400 –> 00:39:35,800
because it’s not his business
and he wouldn’t know anyway.

502
00:39:36,160 –> 00:39:40,040
You know, if you’ve done those
things that are just related,

503
00:39:40,200 –> 00:39:43,520
you know that Christ has put His
finger upon the thing which you

504
00:39:43,520 –> 00:39:47,520
have got to do.
It may be the thing that must be

505
00:39:47,520 –> 00:39:49,640
abandoned.
It may be the new duty which has

506
00:39:49,640 –> 00:39:52,520
got to be faced, or the new
attitude which has to be

507
00:39:52,520 –> 00:39:55,560
assumed, or the restitution that
must be made.

508
00:39:55,560 –> 00:40:00,920
You will know, And now the word
which He speaks to you and to me

509
00:40:00,920 –> 00:40:02,840
in the light of the realisation
is this.

510
00:40:02,960 –> 00:40:08,320
Today, today, if you will hear
His voice, pardon not your

511
00:40:08,320 –> 00:40:12,800
heart.
Now that is your part and my

512
00:40:12,800 –> 00:40:15,920
part in the process of
overcoming hindrances.

513
00:40:18,160 –> 00:40:20,400
Let’s think finally of God’s
part.

514
00:40:21,800 –> 00:40:25,000
God’s part is discovered in the
sentence from the lips of the

515
00:40:25,000 –> 00:40:29,040
king today.
I must abide at thy house.

516
00:40:30,600 –> 00:40:33,240
He is the same yesterday, today
and forever.

517
00:40:34,880 –> 00:40:37,400
He was susceptible then in
Jericho.

518
00:40:38,000 –> 00:40:41,520
He is susceptible today in
Midwest.

519
00:40:42,320 –> 00:40:45,720
If that’s not true, then we have
been grossly deceived and LED

520
00:40:45,720 –> 00:40:49,440
astray.
So let’s be sure there is

521
00:40:49,440 –> 00:40:52,480
nothing in our house that makes
his present impasse, his

522
00:40:52,480 –> 00:40:56,120
presence, impossible.
And then we can depend upon the

523
00:40:56,120 –> 00:41:00,600
promise.
It means in practice that in

524
00:41:00,600 –> 00:41:03,360
your act of resolution you will
be encouraged.

525
00:41:03,760 –> 00:41:07,320
You will be strengthened.
You will be fortified by His

526
00:41:07,320 –> 00:41:12,320
word, by commerce, with heaven
in prayer, by the fellowship of

527
00:41:12,320 –> 00:41:14,720
the Saints in this place and
everywhere else.

528
00:41:16,360 –> 00:41:19,160
And if that’s not true, then the
Bible is false.

529
00:41:21,200 –> 00:41:25,360
It says that if we yield to
Christ’s words, we can translate

530
00:41:25,360 –> 00:41:30,120
our resolution into victory.
Faith creates power.

531
00:41:30,120 –> 00:41:34,160
That’s what it says.
It’s doubt and procrastination

532
00:41:34,200 –> 00:41:37,000
that make for weakness and
cramps their energy.

533
00:41:37,840 –> 00:41:41,000
This is the victory which
overcometh the world, the

534
00:41:41,000 –> 00:41:47,160
hindrances, our faith.
You know, in the Philippian

535
00:41:47,160 –> 00:41:51,400
letter the great Apostle Paul
said something with superlative

536
00:41:51,400 –> 00:41:54,360
confidence, which you’ve already
remembered this week.

537
00:41:54,360 –> 00:41:57,840
I know I can do all things
through Christ which

538
00:41:57,840 –> 00:42:02,800
strengtheneth me.
Now surely that’s he wouldn’t

539
00:42:02,800 –> 00:42:06,920
deceive us, would he?
Not this man, he said.

540
00:42:06,920 –> 00:42:09,600
I can do all things through
Christ which strengthens me.

541
00:42:10,920 –> 00:42:16,760
He wouldn’t deceive us again.
Now unto him who is able to

542
00:42:16,760 –> 00:42:21,880
guard you from stumbling, would
such a good man lead his

543
00:42:21,880 –> 00:42:27,320
comrades astray?
But again, work out your own

544
00:42:27,320 –> 00:42:29,640
salvation, for it is God that
worketh in you.

545
00:42:29,920 –> 00:42:33,640
Would you expect you don’t?
Isn’t this?

546
00:42:34,520 –> 00:42:38,560
Isn’t this the truth?
Isn’t it telling us something

547
00:42:38,560 –> 00:42:41,160
vital?
That is, telling us that the man

548
00:42:41,160 –> 00:42:46,080
or woman who truly progresses is
the man or woman who is truly

549
00:42:46,080 –> 00:42:49,800
linked with God.
Acknowledge him in all thy ways,

550
00:42:49,800 –> 00:42:54,520
and he shall direct thy paths.
And when he directs, it must be

551
00:42:54,520 –> 00:42:56,200
for our good and for our
victory.

552
00:42:57,800 –> 00:43:00,120
It’s in the path of progress.
Always, Of course.

553
00:43:00,360 –> 00:43:04,080
Not always in the way we would
have expected, nor perhaps in

554
00:43:04,080 –> 00:43:08,000
the way we would have wanted.
Many a disciple has lived to

555
00:43:08,000 –> 00:43:11,040
thank God that he didn’t grant
their most urgent appeals.

556
00:43:11,600 –> 00:43:13,760
They’ve lived to see that had he
done so, it would have been a

557
00:43:13,760 –> 00:43:18,800
disaster.
An act of love was that which

558
00:43:18,800 –> 00:43:24,320
provoked the answer.
No, he refused their most urgent

559
00:43:24,320 –> 00:43:29,760
appeals for Love’s sake.
He is so careful about your

560
00:43:29,760 –> 00:43:34,120
progress that he will make no
truce with anything that can

561
00:43:34,120 –> 00:43:37,280
hinder and harm those upon whom
his love is set.

562
00:43:39,000 –> 00:43:41,840
Our God, it says, is a consuming
fire.

563
00:43:43,560 –> 00:43:46,240
Now that might seem to be quite
out of harmony with what I’ve

564
00:43:46,240 –> 00:43:50,360
been saying about his tender
care and compassion, but it

565
00:43:50,360 –> 00:43:54,480
isn’t.
He is a consuming fire for the

566
00:43:54,480 –> 00:43:58,760
destruction of that which halts
and hinders and hurts the

567
00:43:58,760 –> 00:44:02,640
progress of his servants.
If they will yield themselves to

568
00:44:02,640 –> 00:44:06,680
him, he will restore the years
that the Cankerwormeth Eaton.

569
00:44:08,280 –> 00:44:12,160
His care is constant.
He care for you.

570
00:44:14,720 –> 00:44:19,000
Either that’s true or this is
false.

571
00:44:22,480 –> 00:44:30,160
Not the Prince of poets.
Yes, the Prince of Poets once

572
00:44:30,160 –> 00:44:36,120
said, love is not love, which
alters when it alteration fine,

573
00:44:38,360 –> 00:44:46,840
and his love never alters.
His love does not falter when we

574
00:44:46,840 –> 00:44:51,080
fail.
It may be that the Voice is

575
00:44:51,080 –> 00:44:57,000
saying to somebody in this house
today, today I must abide at thy

576
00:44:57,000 –> 00:45:03,240
house, and that self invitation
a sense of personal recognition,

577
00:45:03,240 –> 00:45:11,680
Zacchaeus, or your name upon the
soul who is willing to respond

578
00:45:12,200 –> 00:45:17,560
Now upon search, upon search,
wherever they are, in whatever

579
00:45:17,560 –> 00:45:20,720
condition they may be.
If they respond, he will

580
00:45:20,720 –> 00:45:24,560
pronounce his benediction.
And so, for our souls sake,

581
00:45:24,560 –> 00:45:28,280
brothers and sisters, let us
each one now this day avow

582
00:45:28,280 –> 00:45:34,120
ourselves to be his.
More and more listen to the

583
00:45:34,120 –> 00:45:36,960
voice which speaks to us the
thing we must next do.

584
00:45:36,960 –> 00:45:40,160
We shall know.
We shall know without any doubt

585
00:45:40,160 –> 00:45:44,760
what it is.
Let’s listen carefully, and

586
00:45:44,760 –> 00:45:49,440
knowing it, let us be true, and
let us do it, consenting without

587
00:45:49,440 –> 00:45:57,240
demur without argument.
This one thing I do, said the

588
00:45:57,240 –> 00:46:02,280
man.
I forgot This one thing I do,

589
00:46:02,840 –> 00:46:08,480
forgetting the things which are
behind I press forward toward

590
00:46:08,480 –> 00:46:10,760
the mark of the high calling of
God in Christ.

591
00:46:13,120 –> 00:46:20,280
May God grant to us this day to
feel in our deepest heart that

592
00:46:20,280 –> 00:46:36,880
that is true.
Thank you for listening to the

593
00:46:36,880 –> 00:46:38,480
good Christadelphian Talks
Podcast.

594
00:46:39,280 –> 00:46:41,720
We hope this talk helped you in
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595
00:46:41,720 –> 00:46:44,080
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596
00:46:44,080 –> 00:46:45,840
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597
00:46:46,240 –> 00:46:49,480
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611
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