LIVE | இரட்சிப்பு வந்தது - Salvation Has Come | Bilingual | Pastor. Benny Visuvasam | 22-12-2024

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SALVATION HAS COME Luke 19:9-10 'And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.' The Lord has given salvation to his children. As we are in advent season of Christmas, where we are preparing for festive activities and weather is also changing. We might have a lot of things to do this Christmas but we should not forget to share. The Lord expects his children to share things with each other. We need to share the blessings we receive from the Lord. We read in John 3:16, that the Lord so loved the world so he gave his only begotten son. Let us not be self-centered this Christmas. We need to be selfless and share things with each other. We need to pray to the Lord that he changes us as a blessing to others. It is very immature when we do things with greed wanting everything. More than everything, we need to share the gospel to others. We need to boldly share our testimonies and gospel to other people in this Christmas season. When we receive Jesus, we also receive salvation. This salvation will change a person, his family and his entire life. In this Luke chapter 19. we read about Zacchaeus and how he learns about Jesus. Through this, he receives a salvation. During that time, there is nobody to tell Zacchaeus about Jesus. Let us meditate some truths in the life of Zacchaeus and the learnings thereof. Desire to know Jesus Luke 19:2-3 'Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature.' Over here we see about the chief tax collector Zacchaeus. Although he was wealthy, he had a desire to see Jesus. When we have the desire to know Jesus, we can receive the salvation of the Lord. Usually, tax collectors are ruthless and not liked by the people. But Zacchaeus is not just a tax collector but he was chief tax collector. Traditionally, if the tax collectors are honest, they will be not be rich. But Zacchaeus was rich. We can understand he was not honest and he has been cheating people. He is someone who did illegal things and kept collecting money for himself. Common people did not have a good opinion concerning Zacchaeus. He was considered to be a thief. Ironically, the name Zacchaeus means pure one. He was living a life opposite to the meaning of his name. But here we read Zacchaeus wanted to see who Jesus was. Everyone was thinking, Zacchaeus only cared and looked for money. But he had a desire to see Jesus. Even in our lives, we might lead a wicked life and committing the acts of sin. But when we have a desire to know about Jesus, we can receive the salvation from the Lord which will cleanse us from all sins. Zacchaeus had money, power and position in his life. He was living a luxurious life. Despite having all the things in his life, he was looking for something. There are lot of things that can change in our lives. We can see there a change in time, season, people , finances and everything else. But the Lord is constant. The Lord will remain unchanged. Zacchaeus witnessed Jesus and received a revelation at that moment. It was that time, he received the salvation from the Lord. Today, it is our duty to share the gospel to others. We read in John 16:33 'These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.' The Lord who is an unchanging God overcame this world which was changing everyday. Today, it our duty to spread the gospel to people. May the Lord give us his strength to do that in our lives. Obstacles in knowing Jesus Luke 19:3 ' And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature.' This passage talks about the situation of Zacchaeus. There are many obstacles in knowing Jesus. In this verse, we see about two obstacles. Firstly, he was of short stature which is a personal obstacle. Secondly, an external reason where people where blocking him in seeing Jesus. We need to be ones who lead people to Jesus but we should not be a barrier for others to reach Jesus. The reason why people abandon church and Christianity is because of people who act as an obstacle. We the children of the Lord should live a life according to the words of the Lord. For our communication should be yea yea and nay nay as per the scripture. Many people claim they come to Jesus only after they sanctify themselves and they will never come to Jesus. How can we overcome the obstacles ? We read in Jeremiah 29:13 'And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.' When we whole heartedly seek Jesus, we will surely find him. Our Lord does not hide himself from us. When we seek him faithfully, we shall see him. We will understand that he has revealed himself to us already. When Zacchaeus sought Jesus, he found him. We all try to picturise ourselves as good characters in the scripture. In the life of Zacchaeus, we should not imagine ourselves as Zacchaeus. But need to be like the tree which helped Zacchaeus to find Jesus. When Jesus saw Zacchaeus, he not only spoke to him also he came to his place. When we direct people like how the tree directed Zacchaeus, the Lord will do the rest. The Lord can do wonders and can create big impact anywhere in this world. When we live according to the biblical principles, the Lord will give you faith to handle things better in our lives. Jesus transforms Lives Luke 19:9-10 'And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.' Over here Jesus reveals a great truth to Zacchaeus and he transforms his life. The deeds of Jesus never stops and he keeps leading us through the Holy Spirit. When we say we received the salvation of Christ which means the Lord has transformed our lives. Only our Christ Jesus can transform our lives. During worship time, the music and songs can only shake your life. But only the spirit of the Lord can transform our lives. All these while Zacchaeus was a sinner, he was a cheater, he was a dishonest person. But the moment he met Jesus, his life was transformed. The city he was living was flourishing and he lived a wealthy life. His hands was full but his heart was empty. The day he surrendered his life to Jesus, his heart was filled and he gave away all his possessions from his hands to the people. We read in II Corinthians 5:17 'Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.' When Jesus spoke to Zacchaeus that he is visiting his place, Zacchaeus knew the risk taken by Jesus. He saw the sacrifice that is made by Jesus. Our Lord Jesus did not care about the reputational damage he might get if he visits Zacchaeus. All his life, Zacchaeus was so calculative and he numbered the people to collect money. But at this moment Zacchaeus thought Jesus has rejected hundreds of people and he spoke to him. Zacchaeus knew Jesus did not consider the profits but he wanted to meet him out of compassion. When Zacchaeus witnessed the sacrifice made by Jesus, he was ready to give away everything he had in his life. Even in our lives, our Lord Jesus has sacrificed his life for all of us thousands of year ago. Considering the sacrifice, we are forever indebted to him. We read in Matthew 6:33 'But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.' When we notice people with a small desire to know about Jesus, we need to reach them and introduce Jesus to them. We need to be like the tree which can lead people to Jesus. Out duty is to introduce Jesus to people and Lord Jesus will lead them to eternal life. Amen.