Luke 19:1-10, vs. 9 “Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
If salvation is of the Lord, then we can tell when He is saving someone, we see repeated patterns. They are not satisfied with what they have and where they are, they are awakened to something bigger. What brought them satisfaction before cease to bring them satisfaction anymore.
The sin they once loved they no longer love. Matthew 5:6, says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled”, for someone to hunger and thirst, there has to be something that drives that hunger. If the Lord is the seeker, then He is the One who puts those new desires. A cow thirsts for water when it leaks on salt. The shepherd that provides the salt is the same that leads to the water He has prepared.
We see this with Zacchaeus, the bible says, vs. 4, “So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way”. Those who sincerely desire a sight of Christ, like Zacchaeus, will break through opposition, and take pains to see him. They are hungry and thirsty for something bigger than what they have acquired. We see this also with Paul in Philippians 3:7-8 say, “7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ”
If Christ is seeking the unbelievers, He will draw them as He gives them new desires. Ezekiel 36: 26, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them”. John 6:44, “ No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day”. In these verses note the “I”, “My”, “Me”, again to show salvation is all God’s doing through His Son by the Power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus had just said how hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God, here we see Him seek a tax collector who is an outcast yet rich to save him. Christ guides by His grace those who seem to be furthest from it, He is the seeker. Vs., 5 And 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.” 6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully”. In the midst of that great crowd, He knew Zacchaeus and called him by name. What a strange mixture of passions must Zacchaeus have now felt, hearing one speak, as knowing both his name and his heart and would give him attention despite who he was. Knowing he did not deserve anything, Christ invited Himself to his house as his guest and he received Him joyfully. I am glad that salvation is the best decision Christ ever made for me. He sought me, convicted me of my sins, gave me repentance and granted me faith to believe. He bought me with His redeeming blood. He came to dwell in a heart He had prepared and He gets all the glory.
Whenever Christ comes He opens the heart, and inclines it to receive Him. He that has a mind to know Christ, shall be known of Him. Those whom Christ calls, must humble themselves, and come down. We may well receive Him joyfully, who brings all good with Him. Then what do we do with our unsaved loved ones, friends and those we meet? Three things 1. Live a sample of grace before them, 2. Labor in prayer for their salvation, 3. Faithfully evangelize them. If we know that salvation is of the Lord, these three are all we can do for them. Whatever is impossible with man is possible with God. It’s not WHAT saves but WHO saves, God is faithful to save like He saved Zacchaeus, keep trusting Him with those you want to see saved. Blessings Ev
He Has Magnified His Word 