SERMON SUMMARY
Sunday, September 9,
2007
The Year of the Invitation : The Sure Foundation
Sermon given by Senior Pastor, Dan Tabolt
Jer 1:9- Then the
LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me:
"Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. 10 See, I have this day set
you over the nations and over the kingdoms, To root out and to pull down,
To destroy and to throw down, To build and to plant." NKJV
This past week has seen the coming together of many weeks of the Lord
speaking to us as a people and as a church. It seems right that this
morning we would look at what our response needs to be from the word of
the Lord. Many people come to the Lord and never know what the next step
for them is. It is critical that we find real life expressions to what God
is saying. Without our proper response, we may lose all that God wants to
do in us and through us. In the above verse, God speaks to His servant
about what the Word of the Lord would do. He said it first would have a
destructive nature. It would root out, pull down, destroy and throw down.
After this great tearing down, there would come a new reconstruction. God
calls it, “a building and then a planting”. The first phase of
construction can be one of the hardest, but it is also the most important.
It is called, “sight preparation”. It would be easier if nothing was ever
built on a sight because tearing down and destroying an established
building can be simply irritating. I just had to replace the roof on our
home. I had to make a decision if I would tear off the old shingles or
just put new shingles on top of the old. It would have been quicker and
easier to do it that way, but if you want to do it right you should remove
the old and not just cover it up. So the lesson is removing the old ways
and patterns not just watering them down or covering them up. To build
with the best results sometimes there needs to be a tearing down first. So
if God is doing a new work in us, we too must let Him have his way with
all areas of our lives if we truly want to lay a sure foundation that can
be built up in the Lord.
Today, to help us see some of the principles of laying a sure foundation,
let’s look at a Bible story about a small man by the name of Zacchaeus. It
is found in Luke 19.
Luke 19:1-10 Jesus Comes to Zacchaeus' House
Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 Now, there was a man
named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 And he
wanted to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he
was a very short man. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore
tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came
to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come
quickly and come down , for today I must stay at your house."
6 So he came down quickly, and received Him joyfully. 7 But when the crowd
saw it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man
who is a sinner." 8 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 four time as much."
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."
I. Jericho
1. Cursed places and things that should never have been.
It is interesting, the place of this story, because it is in a city that
was never to be built again. The city of Jericho was built under a curse
from God. But yet here we see Jesus, whom the Bible teaches us, became a
curse for us to release us from all curses.
If we look at most of the things in our life that are causing us problems
we would have to say that it was not the will of God that they would be
built that way.
2. Jesus takes note of a seeking heart.
a. Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector, a rich man, and a short man.
b. Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus. Ran ahead and climbed a tree.
Heb 11:5-6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who
comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those
who diligently seek Him. NKJV
3. Can God see you’re seeking?
It was the blind man that cried out above the crowd that was healed.
The woman who pressed through the crowd that was touched.
The sinner that wept at the feet of Jesus that was forgiven.
5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to
him, "Zacchaeus, come quickly and come down , for today I must stay at
your house." 6 So he came down quickly, and received Him joyfully. 7 But
when the crowd saw it, they all complained, saying,"He has gone to be a
guest with a man who is a sinner."
II. The Table of the Lord.
Rev 3:20-2120 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My
voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he
with Me. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne,
as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
NKJV
Ps 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; NKJV
Open door to come in. We are told that Jesus has the keys of life and
death. He has made himself available forever to everyone who is willing to
come down from their high place and sit at a table of presence and prayer.
III. Has Salvation come to your life?
8 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 four time as much."
1. What must go, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw
down?
2. What must be, “Built and planted”?
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