30th Mar 26 | 13:54
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LUKE 19 1-10 SEEKING TO SAVE THE LOST 20 Walk of faith
📖 Luke 19:1-10
04Dec2020 - *Walk of faith* - _Luke 19:1-10_ - SEEKING TO SAVE THE LOST 20 – Bible reading: _Galatians 3:7-9_
_Luke 19:8-10 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold." (9) And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; (10) for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."_
Jesus affirmed that Zacchaeus was a son of Abraham. Zacchaeus had repented, confessed and restituted, which were the fruits of repentance and this was the first reason for him to be a son of Abraham.
The second reason for Zacchaeus to be a son of Abraham was because he expressed faith in God.
_Galatians 3:7-9 Therefore know that *only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham*. (8) And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, "In you all the nations shall be blessed." (9) So then *those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham*._
How did Zacchaeus express faith?
His first expression of faith was in standing up, confessing, repenting and restituting.
This was not easy for any person to do. Zacchaeus was now trusting the Lord and he was now totally cast upon the Lord that he did not worry about what other people would think about him. He had to express his trust and faith in Jesus, openly and he did so.
Zacchaeus was, therefore, a son of Abraham for he had expressed faith in Jesus, so movingly.
Do you feel the Holy Spirit urging you to make such an open declaration? Maybe the Lord has been urging you to openly declare your trust in God but you have been rationalising and hesitating.
I encourage you, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to openly express your faith in Jesus, for it is in being a person of faith that we become sons of Abraham.
2nd - In releasing his money, Zacchaeus was expressing his faith in God. Till that moment, materialism and financial wellbeing was his goal and source of security. But he had been living in emptiness. Now, his dependence would be God and not his material resources.
_II Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight._ Zacchaeus had chosen to walk by faith, not by sight anymore.
The pursuit of materialistic goals is what it is to walk by sight. Walking by sight and walking by faith are mutually exclusive. If we walk by faith, we will not walk by sight and the other way around as well. The opposite of faith is sight. If we walk by sight, we will inherit fear and anxiety.
_I Timothy 6:9-10 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. (10) For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows._
3rd – Zacchaeus was now choosing to identify with the poor.
_James 2:5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen *the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom* which He promised to those who love Him?_
In choosing to walk with the poor, Zacchaeus was expressing faith in God, for this would be an entirely new experience for him. He had, till this moment, walked *over* the poor, trampling them down but now he would deal with them with respect and love. This would be foreign practise for Zacchaeus and he would need to trust God to live the new life.
Zacchaeus was being a man of faith. Being a man of faith would also make him a man of righteousness for righteousness is by faith. He would be a son of Abraham for it was Abraham’s faith that made him righteous before God.
_Romans 4:11-12 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, (12) and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised._
*Thought to ponder*
“Help me, Jesus, to identify with the new Mr Zacchaeus.”