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This is the audio from the November 26, 2023 sermon, “Good News: An Upward MOVE”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: Luke 19:1-27

Today I continued a series from the gospel of Luke as we gaze deeply into God’s Word to find the good news of Jesus shared with us by Luke the physician.  As we continue gazing into the gospel of Luke, we find the story of a man who desperately wanted to see Jesus and a parable Jesus told in response to His statement of purpose.  What began as an upward move by Zacchaeus simply so he could get a better view quickly became instruction on how we can make an upward move that leads to eternal life.  When we realize we are part of the lost which the Son of Man came to seek and to save, we turn to God with an upward . . .

• Motivation: — (Luke 19:1-4)

  • When we set out in pursuit of a God, it generally doesn’t take long before we run into one obstacle or another.  For a man named Zacchaeus, one of the obstacles in seeing Jesus was his short stature.  Rather than allowing the obstacle to keep him from Jesus, Zacchaeus was motivated to climb upward just to get a glimpse of Jesus as He passed by.  When we live with an upward motivation, we live with an unwavering pursuit of Jesus that keeps us focused on the eternal goal.

• Obedience: — (Luke 19:5-10)

  • Even with an upward motivation that helped Zacchaeus see Jesus, he was still left with a choice regarding his response to the encounter.  When Jesus stops at the very spot where Zacchaeus had climbed the tree and calls out for him to come down so that He can visit his house, a decision must be made regarding a willingness to obey.  We find that the response of Zacchaeus goes beyond simply climbing down the tree and taking Jesus home with him, he displays an upward focused response which seeks to excel in obedience to God’s Word in making things right with those he had cheated.  When we live with an upward obedience, we live with a deliberate decision to obey God’s Word in all things.

• Value: — (Luke 19:11-13)

  • As the crowds mutter about the inappropriateness of Jesus spending time with Zacchaeus, Jesus responds with a parable which shows the value of being faithful with all that is entrusted to us by God.  The people were expecting the kingdom of God to show up at any moment and to look like they were imagining it — victorious over the Roman empire.  In their version, they were the heroes and people like Zacchaeus had no place in it.  As Jesus calls us to lift our gaze upward, He shows that our opinion of who ought to be in charge doesn’t excuse us from a faithful obedience to the One who is really in charge.  The stuff of this world only has real value as we use it for the sake of the King.  When we live with an upward value, we begin to store up treasure in heaven rather than investing in the things of this world.

• Expression: — (Luke 19:14-17)

  • As the parable continues, we find that the subjects of the man who would be proclaimed king did not want him to rule over them.  Yet in the midst of such feelings, there were those who took what was given to them by the king and used it for the king’s benefit.  God doesn’t seek our approval to be King and He doesn’t need it.  In fact, even when we object through a life that seeks to serve self, God continues to entrust us with tangible and intangible gifts with a desire that our expressions of those gifts would glorify Him.  It is our upward motivation, obedience, and value which leads to the highest expression possible toward us — “Well done!”.  When we live with an upward expression, we insist on using the things of this world for the good of God’s kingdom with a goal of hearing Him say well done.

Today, how will you pursue God with an upward MOVE?