Zaccheus the tax collector

Text: Luke Chapter 19 verses 1 – 10

When Ivana Trump stood on the steps of the Trump tower in New York and proclaimed taxes are for the little people’ she was stating what we all know to be true anyway. There are ways round paying taxes, you can put your money in an off shore account, you can decide not to declare any earnings, or even to declare more liabilities than you have to get the money back in tax.

Jeremiah – Chapter 1 – The call and confirmation of Jeremiah

There is something special about a good book. The writer will draw you into the story; they will paint a picture where you always want to know more and as you progress through the book that drawing becomes stronger and stronger so that the further you get the more you want to read. One more page at 10pm turns into falling asleep after midnight.

Judges 6 verses 12 – 16 Gideon

Gideon is someone most people have heard of. He’s a heroic figure whose story of hundreds defeating tens of thousands strikes a legendary cord. For decades he has been held up as someone to be emulated and especially as the church becomes smaller and smaller, Gideon is one of those that preachers have said, why aren’t we more like Gideon, why cant we do the kinds of things he did and change the world around us?

Matt Chap 18 12 – 14 The Way of Sensitivity

Charles Darwin said it was part of being human to struggle and compete with your neighbours to be the best. He based this on his observations of the animal kingdom where animals compete to be number one. Anyone who looks at humanity would not disagree with that observation because everywhere you look there are people striving to be number one.

God of the impossible in big things – Exodus Chapter 3 verse 18

When you listen to speeches delivered by great people like Winston Churchill or Martin Luther king you soon realise they have an ability to lift you from where you are and present you a different but attainable future.

1 Peter Chapter 3 verses 15 Your life message

Sharing your life message

Familiarity breeds contempt. Something that one time was a novelty, if done too much becomes boring. Then people move on to the next thing, looking for a buzz of excitement and newness before that becomes boring. We have so much opportunity there’s very little that’s not boring to us, especially young people.

Would you like to go ten pin bowling? Nah that’s boring. Would you like to go to the cinema, what’s on, oh that’s boring? Want to go to the shops? Any new shops, nah that’s boring! Everything to our kids is boring because they have seen it and have done it and have bought the t-shirt.

Yet it’s not only young people because we are all susceptible to not bothering with something when it is there in front of us all the time. We take for granted what’s easily available and only appreciate treats or special occasions.

Actually our society does exactly the same thing with faith. For the majority of people around today the church has always been here. 2000 years of Christianity means people who have never been inside a church think they know what it’s all about. Oh that’s just the church….that’s what churches are like. Quite surprising how many people have an opinion of church having never actually stepped inside one.

Imagine for a moment if Christianity was totally new. No one knew or had heard of this guy Jesus. No one knew about communion or baptism.

Gathering together on a Sunday was strange since every day of the week had its own particular God or Goddess and you went to the temple of whichever God was your patron.

Imagine, gathering in someone’s house for the first time to hear about Jesus. Learning about his teaching like the beatitudes, putting into practice all the things you’ve learned. Actually you would be like a fish out of water swimming upstream.

Soon your family, your friends and neighbours would all be saying, what are they up to? Why are they doing all this different stuff, they never used to do?

And then, you can almost guarantee it; someone would come up to you and say, so what’s all this about then? Why are you doing all this new stuff?

Be ready at all times to answer anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have in you, but do it with gentleness and respect.  (1 Peter 3:15)

 

 When Peter wrote this letter to his hearers their faith was a new thing. It swept out from Jerusalem in waves, following the disciples as they travelled and people were captivated by it.

You only believe in one God? You don’t need to make blood sacrifice? Tell me more about how it’s not what you do but who you believe in that counts? This is amazing; I’ve never heard anything like it. In the same way a good story is worth listening to, this one was pretty good.

Every person who believed in Jesus and who lived a different lifestyle with different patterns stood out. There was no way someone wasn’t going to ask them what’s going on. Peter wanted them to be ready. He understood what an opportunity it was.

See the main difficulty we have is our lifestyles don’t appear to be that different to anyone else’s around us. And for that you can thank the church.

The church was so ingrained in society right up till Victorian times; it actually held the power and ordered people’s lives in ways it thought were good for them. Many churches in Victorian times were built on the sins of the people who were fined every time they stepped out of line. Every Sunday Elders would walk the streets forcing people into church. If you happened to miss a Sunday you were visited on Monday by the Elder asking where you were. Even for people out there the majority of their life’s pattern was decided by the church in days gone by… and they don’t even know it.

Before we explore in that text in more depth let’s break and sing in our next hymn.

*** BREAK ***

 

Second most scary thing that Ministers talk about, after mission, is suggesting we talk about our faith.

Just saying, you should be ready at a moment’s notice to talk about faith is placing a very heavy burden on people and it’s not natural.

For that matter if you walk up to someone in the street and say I want to tell you all about Jesus. They will either smack you or run away at the speed of light. It’s not the most effective tactic for sharing your faith.

Remember that Peter was not suggesting this kind of evangelism. He says to be ready when people speak to you about your faith. Be ready when they initiate the conversation.

The question we have to ask is what made them initiate the conversation.

It was not what they said but how they conducted themselves; the pattern of their lifestyle. Remember as well their Christianity was new, so this new lifestyle was totally different. No one had seen it before.

Our lifestyles are not so different.

So what does it mean to live a Christian lifestyle today? What kind of lifestyle will lead to people noticing something different in us?

A good example of this is Kafka the Brazilian footballer. Named the best footballer in the world he donates 10% of his salary to his church and publically admits to being a Christian. If Manchester City buy him for £100 million some small church in Brazil is going to be £10 million better of initially and £2 million per year.

Another would be Bernard Langer. He is a pro golfer but is well known for starting prayer meetings and church on the pro tour. Being away from home many Sunday’s he started a meeting for the pro golfers. Now it is going great guns.

Here’s another, his name is Church Norris. You may know him from a TV show called Walker Texas Ranger or from a huge number of martial arts shows. He was named best martial artist in the world for a few years running he is so good.

He’s a very strong Christian who sees his greatest achievement as setting up the Kirk Start foundation which teaches kids in inner city schools martial arts as a way of raising their discipline and esteem. What started in one school is now in over 30 schools with over 4000 kids being helped.

Each of these people and there were lots more to choose from, looked at their world, they looked at the abilities and interests God had given to them and tried to find a way of using their abilities in the world.

Sharing your life message is best done by looking at who you are, looking at your circumstances and finding some way to use your God given abilities in your situation.

St Francis of Assisi really got this hundreds of years ago. He famously said “use words if you have to”

Your life message is not in your words, it is in your attitude, your actions, your abilities, your hope and you aspirations and what you do with all that.

Not knowing the words to say is not a problem. The Ministry Team are trained in words, using them is our ability but what is your ability?

All Peter was saying all these years ago was simple. When you do what you do, please be able to explain it.

What were you doing on Sunday? I was in church? What were you doing in church? I was gathering there with other Christians worshipping God? Really, what’s all that about then?

Hey where are you going? I’m serving lunch to around 50 people from the community today, its Wednesday you see. Why you doing that? Come and see for yourself?

Hey wanna come out on Tuesday night, we are having a whist drive? Sorry I can’t come it’s the ladies fellowship and I’m going to meet my friends. Ladies Fellowship, what’s that? Come and see.

Remember, use words only if you have to.

Be ready at all times to answer anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have in you, but do it with gentleness and respect.  (1 Peter 3:15)

 

I think it’s really funny that so often churches have been castigated because what they say does not tie up with what they do.

That might just be because they have it the wrong way round. We don’t start with words, we start with what we do.

If you cannot articulate your faith with flowery words that really doesn’t matter. Flowery words will not impress the person needing help. Actions speak louder than words. What you do will carry infinitely more weight than anything you say.

Actually we can’t use words anyway because it’s all been said before and people out there have heard it all before.

The only thing that will make the difference is what we do.

You can be sure that whoever gives even a drink of cold water to one of the least of these my followers because he is my follower, will certainly receive a reward.”

(Mat 10:42)

 

Remember, use words, only when you have to.

Amen.