Repent and Believe

Speaker: Pastor Darin Browne

Luke 19:1-10
He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

THE KINGDOM AND THE GOSPEL

Mark 1:14-15
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Today I want to examine what Jesus was talking about. Our theme for this year is Kingdom Growth, and according to Jesus, it involves repenting and believing the gospel. You do this when you first come to Christ, but we should also do this every day.

We talk about the Gospel all the time in church, but what exactly is it? The Bible calls the gospel the good news, which let’s face it, we need plenty of these days in this country. Paul describes the gospel as the power of God…

Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Paul states that the gospel is for all of us, Jews and Gentiles. It’s the good news that, although we all deserve to die, Jesus stepped in and paid the price for us. Let me explain the gospel, because it really is simple, and it really is good news for every one of us.

THREE CIRCLES: THE GOSPEL IN A NUTSHELL

The gospel can be summarised in one key verse, and three circles…

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

CIRCLE 1 – GOD’S DESIGN

Represents God’s original, perfect intention for the world and human life. For us to be close to and in harmony with Him. But something happened. We know we are not in this first circle. Just look at the world around us.

CIRCLE 2 – BROKENNESS

This circle illustrates the result of sin, where people depart from God’s design, leading to pain, and struggle. God calls it sin, and every one of us has done this.

Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

The penalty for sin is death, eternal death, separation from God and Heaven for eternity.

We cannot hope to reconcile with God by our own efforts, and a just and Holy God cannot change the rules, just to save us. But He has a solution, He’s going to keep His laws, but still save us, even though we don’t deserve it, and this is good news for every human.

CIRCLE 3: THE GOSPEL

Centres on Jesus Christ, his death (represented by a downward arrow and a cross), and resurrection (upward arrow), which provides our only way out of brokenness. He paid the price for us, the price we could not pay ourselves.

Romans 5:8
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

We don’t have to keep a bunch of rules and regulations to be reconciled to God. All we have to do is, as Jesus said, repent and believe.

Romans 10:9
if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

The Word confess is Greek HOMOLOGIO, which means to say the same as, so confessing means agreeing with God about our sin.

So, the questions to ask are: Which circle are you in? Which do you want to be in? What is stopping you from repenting and believing right now and moving from death to life?

ZACCHAEUS WAS A BIT SHORT

Zacchaeus was rich, powerful, successful and deeply lost. The Bible tells us he was a chief tax collector. That means he wasn’t just disliked – he was despised. Tax collectors worked for the Roman occupiers, and many of them cheated their own people. Zacchaeus had money, sure, but it came at the cost of his reputation, his relationships, and his peace. But he knew he had something missing. I bet there are some here who look at your life and see something missing.

Luke 19:3
And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature.

That one sentence changes everything…seeking to see Jesus.

1: A SEEKING MAN, IN A CROWDED WORLD

Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, but there was a problem – the crowd. The crowd blocked his view and reminded him of his past. The crowd probably whispered, judged, and rejected him. “Look at the pompous short dude!” He didn’t fit in.

I bet some here feel like that. Do you feel the sting of others rejecting you, others letting you down, judging you, maybe betraying you? You might look good on the outside, but inside you’re hurt. I have learned that putting faith in man most often leads to betrayal and disappointment. You must take your worth from who you are in God, not what mankind thinks of you.

Psalms 56:3-4
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?

Well, Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus. He knew he had a God shaped hole in his heart and he recognised that only Jesus could save him. He knew he had barriers; he knew what the others were saying; he knew of his past mistakes, his shame, his fear of being exposed.

LOOKING BACK ON YOUR LIFE

Some here are like that. Look back on your life and be honest with yourself. Do you feel guilt, do you feel shame? Do you want to wallow in it. Have you just been doing things to try and please people, and failing? Do you want to be emotionally crippled forever, or do you want to flip the script right now. Words are made of letters which we spell, so words spoken over our lives are spells, evil spells used by the devil to cripple our walk with God.

Zacchaeus wanted to change so badly, he does something unexpected, and undignified. He climbs a sycamore tree. Maybe he was sick-o-more of the same pain and rejection in his life. This is undignified behaviour for a rich man. Important people don’t run. Powerful people don’t climb trees. But desperation will make you do things dignity never will. Faith sometimes looks foolish before it looks faithful. As it turned out, Zacchaeus didn’t care how it looked – he just was desperate to see Jesus. This morning, are you? Are you truly desperate?

2: A SAVIOUR WHO STOPS

Here’s the miracle of the story: Jesus stops. Jesus saw Zacchaeus as a valuable person. He knew him, knew his background, knew his conduct, deeply knew his sin. Out of all the people lining the road, Jesus looks up – not around, not past, but up – and He calls Zacchaeus by name.

Luke 19:5
And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”

Zacchaeus was looking for Jesus, but Jesus was already looking for Zacchaeus. Jesus knew his name. Jesus knew his address. He knew his story, his background, his reputation.

And Jesus didn’t say, “Fix yourself first.” He didn’t say, “Give the money you’ve stolen back first.” He didn’t say, “Prove you’ve changed.”

Grace always comes before transformation. And that’s the gospel. It does not matter what you are doing or have done, Jesus loves you. You don’t have to be good enough, Holy enough, rich enough, talented enough. Jesus seeks you just as you are.

Luke 19:7
And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”

And as always when grace is given, the crowd complain. He doesn’t deserve it. He a short, bad dude, Jesus! They laughed at him, mocked him and despised him, but Jesus loved him, and forgave him. Listen, your friends can laugh and mock you into hell, but they can’t laugh and mock you into eternal life. The gospel is a gift to all people.

But Jesus doesn’t follow the crowd – He follows compassion. As we meet in our Life Groups, let’s follow compassion. Let’s love like Jesus loves. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

John 13:34-35
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

3: A CHANGED HEART THAT PRODUCES A CHANGED LIFE

Luke 19:8
And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”

This is called repentance. Repentance is the action that follows a heart decision. Notice that Jesus never demanded this. He never said, “I won’t save you until you give back what you’ve stolen.” No, this action came from the grateful heart of Zacchaeus, and he meant it!

Real encounters with Jesus aren’t just feelings or spur of the moment ideas. They are life changing encounters with the Holy Spirit of God, and they lead to changed lives. Salvation is not just about forgiveness; it’s about restoration. Not restoration to what you once we’re before you sinned. It’s restoration to what you should have been all along. It’s reaching your destiny and fulfilling the reason why you’re alive.

2 Corinthians 7:10
For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

It’s not enough just feeling sorry for yourself. True repentance is not a slight deviation, it is a 180 degree move, from heading one way to heading the complete opposite. Repenting and believing lead to eternal salvation and leave no regret. I have seen many people who have had shameful pasts walk free be use they truly repented. Repentance restores relationships, restores integrity, restores purpose.

WHAT IS TRUE REPENTANCE?

Zacchaeus doesn’t just say, “I’m sorry.” He says, “I’m making it right.” I want you to notice the order here. Jesus did not say, “Do the righteous things I want and then I will save you.” He said, “I will save you, now let your changed life reflect our relationship.” This is critical; you cannot be saved by doing good things. So, what are the Ten Commandments and the law about?

The law is like a mirror. When you look in a mirror, it shows you that you need to brush your hair, wash your face, and straighten your clothes. But it can’t do any of those things for you. The mirror shows your faults, but it can’t fix them. That’s what the law does for sinful people. It reveals our problem, our disobedience. But it can’t enable us to obey. Sin and the law make you slaves, but grace sets you free from slavery. Some people are set free from the prison cell of sin, only to turn around and walk back in. Don’t let that be you. Repentance doesn’t save you, believing does, but repentance shows the evidence of that. So, Jesus then says…

4: SALVATION HAS COME TO THIS HOUSE

Luke 19:9-10
And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Salvation came to Zacchaeus and his house for free, as a gift of faith, and then as a response, as an act of repentance, Zacchaeus gave back money he had stolen. And God wants you to know that whatever you’ve done, however far you have wandered from God, He is always offering His salvation to you. His promise to restore the years the locusts have eaten still applies. You might think it’s too late, that you’re too far gone, that God is through with you. Zacchaeus was that far gone and more, but Jesus called him to repent and believe, and He calls you to do the same today!

The crowd labeled Zacchaeus by his sin. Jesus labeled him by his identity. And then Jesus gives us the heart of the Gospel…

THE MISSION: SEEK AND SAVE THE LOST

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

That’s the mission. That’s the message. That is the hope. Jesus seeks the overlooked. Jesus saves the rejected. Jesus calls the broken by name.

Today He is calling you. Maybe today, you are like Zacchaeus. You know that inside you have pain, you have rejection. Perhaps you have walked away from God in the past, but today, you can hear that He is calling you, calling you by name.

The good news, the gospel, is that you don’t have to measure up and be good enough to be saved from your sin. You just have to say yes and allow Him to change your life.

Jesus is still passing by. Jesus still stops. He still looks up. He still calls you by name.

And when Jesus comes into a life, nothing stays the same.

So today, why don’t you come down from the tree. Open the door. Let grace do its work. Because the same Jesus who found Zacchaeus is still seeking today.

If you’ve never asked Jesus into your life, let today be the day. Maybe you did at some time in the past, but you’re not sure. Perhaps you are distant from him. Let today be the day that you make sure. Repent, and believe.