Pastor Pat McFall
April 30, 2017 - W1718

Today, Pastor Pat McFall continues the sermon series of Reactive Love: Loving Out of the Overflow of God's Love. He refers to the gospels of Matthew and Luke as Jesus teaches us about His love. And he intertwines this with the story of John Newton, the author of the beloved hymn, "Amazing Grace".

Jesus said, “You have heard the law that says, 'Love you neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. In that way you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For He gives His sunlight to both the evil and the good, and He sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matt. 5:43-48)  

At times, we receive love for something that we have done. You do a nice thing and you get a thank you. You buy someone flowers and you get a kiss on the cheek. This is a transactional love--where you do and then I do. This is "normal love." In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says even evil or unjust people do this kind of "normal love". Tax collectors like (love) people who like (love) them.   But if we are children of God, what sets us apart if we only like people who like us or be nice to people who are nice to us? The Lord asks that we go above and beyond "normal love." We are to be perfect and to love as our Father in heaven.

Today, we will study that God's undeserved love is the foundation for an uncommon life. We begin with the story of Zacchaeus the tax collector.

1. The Undeserving are NEAREST to the heart of God.

The Bible says, “When Jesus came by, He looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. 'Zacchaeus!' He said, 'Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today'. Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. But the people were displeased. 'He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,' they grumbled. (Luke 19:5-7 NLT)

Tax collectors were among the most unpopular people in Israel. Jews by birth, they worked for Rome and were considered in the Jewish community as traitors. In addition, tax collectors took a "little bit from the top" for themselves to get rich. And Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector and a very rich man. No wonder the people growled when Jesus went home with the tax collector. But despite the fact that Zacchaeus was a traitor and a thief, Jesus called him to spend time together. If anyone was undeserving, it was the chief tax collector--the worst of the worst--who had sold his soul for greed and wealth; his moral compass was spinning without a north. The apostle Paul later writes about being a "chief" in this context, “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” (1 Tim 1:15)

So why does Jesus choose Zacchaeus? Love. Undeserved love. Those who are furthest from God are most pursued by Him. It is the undeserving whom God reaches to bring close to Him. It's the undeserving that are nearest to the heart of God. And Jesus came to seek and save those who are lost.  

John Newton, the author of the hymn, "Amazing Grace" was a slave trader; he bought and sold human cargo. One night as he was on his slave trader boat, he was reading a book about Jesus. There was a storm out on the sea, but it might as well have paralleled the storm that was in his own soul because of his partnership in the evil slave trade. It was that night as he pondered on Jesus that he had a conviction in his heart-- with his sin and brokenness--and submitted his life to Jesus and renounced the slave trade. Newton experienced the amazing grace, the undeserved love, and the unmerited favor of God.

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,

That saved a wretch like me.

Was blind, but now I see.”

The stories about Zacchaeus and John Newton have application for us today. We have to recognize there are "broken parts" in us and our best efforts may not be able to heal them. There are some missing pieces to our character, and no higher promotion at work or greater wealth or social status will fill the gaps in our life. We need Jesus, the one who has come to seek and to save. And those who acknowledge their brokenness are nearest to the heart of God. He is reaching and pursuing those farthest away.

2. The Undeserving depend on GRACE while the entitled are offended by it.

Luke 19:8-10 says, “Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!' Jesus responded, 'Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.'”

God's love converted Zacchaeus. The tax collector was convicted in his heart, repenting of his sin, and seeking forgiveness. And Zacchaeus depended on grace for his salvation. Like the next breath. Like a drop of water in the desert.

When we said "yes" to Jesus, we depended on grace. And after some time we started doing some good things. And we thought that it was those good things that kept us in good standing with God. After all, we had worked so hard. We begin to feel entitled. Our commitment to Him becomes one of our convenience. We begin to decide whom to forgive, when and how often. The entitled are offended by another's blessing. We forget our own state of undeserved favor. But we know it's not true. Accordingly, the Bible says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9 NASB)

3. The Undeserving respond to God in UNRESTRAINED ways.

When Jesus calls him down from the tree, Zacchaeus experienced more than transactional "normal love." He experienced the Lord's undeserved love and the unmerited favor of God over his life. He knew he didn't deserve it. And as Zacchaeus repented of his sins, Jesus brought salvation to his house. What appeared to be a life of gaining earthly riches as a tax collector, Zacchaeus now saw death in moral and spiritual poverty. As the Bible says, “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole word but are lost or destroyed?” (Luke 9:25). And Zacchaeus saw that the true treasure is giving everything to Jesus.

John Newton also experienced this spiritual conversion. From slave trader to becoming an Anglican minister with a gift for writing hymns. As he reflected back on that moment in a boat, the storm at sea, and the storm in his own soul, he remembered the undeserved love of God.

“'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear

And grace my fears relieved.

How precious did that grace appear,

The hour I first believed.”

One might wonder if Zacchaeus or Newton looked back on their lives in wretchedness. And wept. And rejoiced at who he was no longer because he was now a child of the Father. Amazing grace.

What is the response to God's undeserving love? Unrestrained giving.   Don't withhold from God: your worship, expression, emotion, appreciation, relationships, time, or money. Don't withhold from others: your encouragement, forgiveness, mercy, or words of life.

John Newton said that when he gets to heaven, he's going to see three "wonders" there. The first "I wonder if" will be to see many people there of which he did not expect to see. The second wonder will be to miss many people of which he did expect to see. And the third and greatest wonder of all will be to find himself there.

“Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; 'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far and Grace will lead me home.”

God's undeserved love is the foundation for an uncommon life. For Jesus came to seek and save those who are lost. The Lord's mission is to seek and save. In other words, "to intentionally pursue and hunt after that which is dying, perishing, or lost." Maybe you've come into a place where your heart is lost. You thought you had it. You were doing things your own way. Or maybe you are struggling with entitlement--I don't feel lost. I don't need a Savior. I don't have a reason. Open up your heart so that you can experience the abundant life and not just the average life. The uncommon life. You may not be where you should be. You may not be where you hoped to be. But in Jesus, you are not what you once was. And that is a life lived in undeserving favor and appreciation for all that God has done.  Celebrate God's amazing grace in your life. Celebrate His grace in other people's lives too. Amen.

Questions:

1. When was the last time you received something that you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that you didn't deserve? (e.g., promotion at work, word of encouragement, act of forgiveness, ice cream cone).

2. How do you know whether an unexpected provision or breakthrough was because of God's grace or just random luck? (trick question)

3. Where is the "tax collector' in your character, conduct, or conversation?

4. God's undeserved love is the foundation for an uncommon life. What is the meaning of "uncommon life"?