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Sermon
of 08-03-02
Hide and Seek
Jesus pursues sinners hiding from God
Scripture: Matthew 18:11-14
11For
the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.
12"What
do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray,
does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the
one that is straying? 13And
if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over
that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.
14Even
so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these
little ones should perish.
Last December I was over in Atlanta, TX having my oil changed. I received a phone call that I needed to return to Texarkana ASAP. So after they were through I jumped in the van and started flying this way. But before I was out of town, just as I rounded a corner there in Atlanta, I saw him and he saw me. Only he saw me with his gun, his radar gun that is. A lot happened in the next few minutes. First, I realized I was doing 65 in 45. Next, I saw him turn around and the third thing I saw made me sick at my stomach and I wanted to hide from this policeman's presences. I see in some of your faces you've experienced the same thing before.
Next, his lights came on. Friends, in that split second I wanted to disappear. I quickly attempted to give some excuses to the policeman of why I was speeding. But it didn't help. When that policeman asked for my license, registration, and proof of insurance I was so embarrassed. I knew every car passing me was looking at me and thinking; "Sure glad that's not me!" I was submissive to the police officer, who was also kind to me. But never the less, my excuses didn't work and I had to pay the price of my wrongdoing.
But friends, the truth is, the whole time I was sitting there, what I really wanted to do was floor it and run away and hide from his presence as fast as I could. But I didn't. I had broken the law and was about to pay for it. And pay big I did! $107.00 worth. Ha - Merry Christmas!
Why is it when we have done something wrong, we sometimes feel guilty and want to hide?
Today, kids hide from their parents. Spouses' hide from each other. People hide when their boss comes around. On and on, we sometimes feel like hiding. But the one hiding I want to center on this morning is our hiding from God when we have sinned.
Please turn with me to Genesis 3. Here is the story of where hiding first started. You're familiar with the story here. Adam and Eve had just finished eating the forbidden fruit. Then in verse 8 and 9 it says:
8And
they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool
of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of
the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
9Then
the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?"
They hid from God. They were guilty and they knew it. Just as I attempted to give excuses to the policeman of why I was breaking the laws of the land, Adam and Eve tried to give excuses to God why they had broken His law. Look at verses 10 - 13:
10So
he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid
because I was naked; and I hid myself."
11And
He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the
tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?"
12Then
the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me
of the tree, and I ate."
13And
the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?"
Friends, what could possibly motivate us to desire to hide from the One that loves us so much? We could all probably think up a lot of answers to that question. But I think biblically speaking the one key answers to that question that causes us to want to hide is - sin. That's been humanities story ever since Adam and Eve first disobeyed God.
All of us probably at different times tried to hide from God. But friends, you can't hide from the One that sees everything and everyone. So what do we do with this inner desire to want to hide from God when we had sinned? I think the answer comes from Luke 19. Please turn there with me. Luke directs us to the story of Jesus and a man by the name of Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and very wealthy. The tax collectors of that time were considered the scum of the earth. The lowest of the lowest. The story says Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector, --> which meant he could possibly have had others working below him. (see ST.1896) The Bible also tells us that Zacchaeus had cheated many people. He was the bad guy. But somewhere he had heard about the Messiah that claimed to forgive people of their sins.
There is the possibility he had heard that Jesus ate with sinners. You know the ones I mean. Prostitutes, thieves, and other riffraff of the city. Zacchaeus may have thought; but Jesus would never eat with a Jewish Tax collector.
Luke 19:3 says that Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus but he was a short man. In other words, Zacchaeus was vertically challenged. So the only way to see Jesus was to climb a sycamore tree. Ever wondered why he climbed a sycamore tree?
I read where one Bible writer says that the branches of a sycamore tree are strong and wide. The branches spread in such a way that a person in the branches could be hidden very easily. Could it be that Zacchaeus didn't want to be seen by Jesus? But friends, this story proves that Jesus can find us no matter where we try to hide. Jesus didn't care about Zacchaeus' occupation Jesus did not care about His own reputation. Jesus was only concerned about Zacchaeus' Salvation. And that is true with us. Jesus doesn't care what we have done in the past. He doesn't care where we work or play. His only concern about us is our Salvation.
You see that is exactly what Jesus does with Zacchaeus, look at verse 5.
5And
when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him,
"Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your
house."
Friends, are you hiding this morning from the Saviour? Any sin in your life you are trying to keep hidden from anyone's view? You might keep it hidden from me, your spouse, your kids, but you can't keep it hidden from God. But why would you want to keep your sins hidden from the Lord? Listen to verses 6-10:
6So
he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. 7But when they
saw it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest
with a man who is a sinner."
8Then
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."
9And
Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because
he also is a son of Abraham; 10for
the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
Friends, Jesus came to seek and save the hidden and lost people like you and me. There is no reason under the sun to play hide and seek with God. In the first place God knows where we are - no matter where we try to hide.
And the 2nd reason is the Lord wants to save you and me. He wants to forgive us of our sins. He wants to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. We all know what Romans 6:23 says;
"The wages of sin is death."
Friends, Romans 3:23 says that every person that has ever lived but One, has sinned. So we have nothing to hide that God doesn't already know about. But the verse continues and says; "but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Zacchaeus knew what sin could do to a person's life. He felt the pain that sin brings to one that tries to hold on and cover up or hide their wrongs. We all have experience the pain sin brings. We know how it can grab and tangle us up. Friends, we need to discover what Zacchaeus learned that day in a tree trying to hide from Jesus.
1st, you can't hide. And 2nd, Jesus came to seek and save the lost. That is what Salvation is all about! Salvation is being found by Jesus. Salvation is forgiving by Jesus. Salvation is being saved by Jesus. And the best part is that salvation is free. You can't buy it. You can't work for it. You can only accept is like Zacchaeus did that day.
To finish I would like to tell you a true story that took place back in the 1840s and 1850s. Seems a major portions of the United States of America were dominated by the institution of slavery, and it was expanding fast. On one occasion a young congressman from Illinois by the name of Abraham Lincoln heard about a slave auction being held near where he lived, and so he went.
As he stood at the edge of the slave auction, he observed as black Americans were led onto the block and auctioned off. Finally a young slave woman was led up to the block, and they started the bidding on her, and Lincoln bid. But somebody outbid him, so he bid higher. Somebody outbid him again, so he bid again. After a few minutes the auctioneer said, "Sold". They took her off the auction block and brought her over to Lincoln.
Lincoln ordered the chains to be removed. Then he said to her, "You are now free." She looked tip at him with a curious look and said, "Free? What does it mean to be free?" Lincoln said, "It means you can think anything you want. You can say anything you want. You can do anywhere you want."
After a few minutes it finally sunk in and so with tears streaming down her cheeks she said, "Then I will go with you." Friends, that's why Jesus made the long journey from heaven to this planet.
It was so He could find us. It was so He could forgive us. It was so He could set us free from the power of sin.
As I close I want to leave you with three questions to consider and answer before the day is up.
Are you hiding from Jesus? Have you allowed Him to forgive you? And have you invited Him home into your lives to set you free from the power of the sin in your life?
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