Overcoming Obstacles
Luke 19:1-10
Obstacles
Life is full of obstacles. Anything that’s worth doing will have challenges that you must overcome.
What creates distance between us and God?
There are also obstacles that can keep us away from God. In our story this morning, we see Zacchaeus, another tax collector. He was standing in a crowd in Jericho waiting on Jesus. He just wanted to see him. He just wanted to meet him. However, there were some obstacles in his way. Obviously, Zacchaeus was highlighted as a sinful person as seen in verse 8. Yet, his sinfulness wasn’t one of his obstacles. Yet he had other obstacles. One thing that kept Zacchaeus from Jesus was that he was short. There were so many people around Jesus and the short people couldn’t see. Therefore, to overcome this obstacle, Zacchaeus climbed a sycamore tree so that he could see.
Another obstacle that Zacchaeus faced was his job. Why would Jesus, the one who healed many people and fed thousands, have anything to do with a sinful tax collector? Not that Jesus cared about his occupation, but it likely hindered Zacchaeus and he had to overcome his anxieties. Zacchaeus probably thought, there are rabbis, Pharisees, and faithful Jews out here. What would Jesus want anything to do with me?
And a final obstacle that Zacchaeus faced was that he was rich. He had all that he needed financially. Now, how is being wealthy an obstacle? Because when you are wealthy, it’s hard to be desperate for anything. It’s hard to be desperate for God’s forgiveness whenever you have all that you need. This is why Jesus says in Mark 10:24,25, “Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” It’s hard for a rich person to reach out to Christ. Why? Because you have to be desperate first. Why would someone who was well off do something so desperate as climbing a tree to see a poor Jew from Nazareth?
Zacchaeus had obstacles between himself and Jesus. He was short, he was hated because of his occupation, and he was wealthy. Yet he didn’t allow those obstacles to stop him from seeing the Savior.
Insignificance
What about us? What obstacles have we faced that has kept us from Jesus? I doubt that our height has ever kept us from Jesus, but I bet all of us have been looked down upon at times, feeling small and insignificant. Feeling like this is everyone else’s world and we just happen to be in it. Do you feel worthless and insignificant? This is something that many people struggle with, especially young girls. With society constantly telling girls that their worth comes from their bodies an sex appeal, they use these means to get attention and after a while they no longer respect themselves. They feel like they have no value. Yet, Jesus came into this world to restore our worth. Jesus reached out to the adulterous woman and gave her self worth. Jesus reached out to the lepers and the blind and gave them self worth. Jesus challenges us to understand that we are worth something. We are created in God’s image. Therefore, we have worth. We aren’t just rotten sinners. We have worth and Christ comes into our lives to restore that self worth. We may feel insignificant, but remember that you are a child of the living God and make in His image. Don’t let a feeling of smallness, insignificance, or worthlessness be an obstacle for you to overcome. Jesus desires to restore your self worth.
Occupation
Another obstacle to relationship with God could be your occupation. Has it ever felt at odds with your faith? I’m sure that there were days when Zacchaeus hated what he did and would give it all up to have a normal life. Not all tax collectors are bad people, but they made so much money that it was hard to get out of it and sometimes corrupted them. Do you find it hard being a Christian in your occupation?
I can remember when my mom had an interview for a job at the Miller Brewery Company. Here, she would have made significantly more money than where she was with better benefits. But she turned the job down. Why? Because she was just getting into the church and she didn’t want to spend her career making alcohol. She didn’t want her occupation to affect her relationship with God. Does your occupation, for whatever reason, hinder your relationship with God? Do the relationships there cut you off from God? Do you feel like Jesus doesn’t approve? Well, I’m not sure that Jesus approves of your job or not, but I know that your job shouldn’t be an obstacle. Out of all the people in the crowd, Jesus reached out to the Tax Collector. And Jesus never told him to quit his job. Jesus simply challenged him to do his job justly. Living in the world in the 21st century, you will always find yourself in situations where your ethical integrity will be challenged in your job. You may discover that your job is benefiting from sweat shops in China. You may discover that your job is giving large donations to causes that are contrary to your faith. There might be relationships at your job that makes it hard for you to be a Christian. So do you simply quit? I don’t think so. But I believe that you can represent Christ and try to slowly make a change. Your job can be an obstacle for your faith, but Christ calls us to go into the darkness of the world and shine his light. What better place to represent the light of Christ than at your job?
Wealth
Probably the greatest obstacle to come between us and Christ is our wealth. John Wesley said, “When I have money, I get rid of it quickly, lest it find a way into my heart.” For Wesley, and I think for Jesus, wealth can be a problem. And not just our wealth, but our status. Our reputation. Our fame. It’s not money but what money gives us. Power. It can lead us to evil. Therefore, our possessions can be a huge obstacle when we are trying to reach Christ. It’s hard to make Christ Lord of your life whenever your possessions are so valuable.
In order to seek after Christ, we must first overcome obstacles that are in our way. And whenever we overcome those obstacles, will we accept Jesus into our lives despite our flaws?
Will we welcome Jesus despite our flaws?
Zacchaeus was able to overcome his obstacles and see Jesus. And whenever he saw Jesus, Jesus looked up to him and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.”
Now, if I’m Zacchaeus, I’m probably thinking, “Wait a minute! I only wanted to see you from the comfort of my tree. Now you are calling me and inviting yourself into my house? That’s a little bit closer than I wanted.
Dirty house
Family coming 2 weeks ago
Inviting someone into your home can be a difficult thing. Especially when you don’t have any warning. Why? Because in your home, your flaws are seen. If someone just pops in unexpected, you had no time to clean up the house and to make to presentable.
God’s timing
Jesus told Zachaeus to hurry and come down. Don’t go home and clean up. I’m coming with you now. You see, if you want to know Christ, you have to be willing for him to know your flaws.
People with relationship issues
Once we encounter Christ, we are led to repentance and response.
Christ met Zacchaeus, Christ went to his home and dined with him, but after encountering Christ, Zacchaeus changed. This tax collector, well known for improper use of money, said, “Look, half of my possession, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.”
Flywheel
It’s all about relationships
Our faith is all about relationships. Relationships with God and relationships with other people. Christ calls us to repentance because our sins have separated us from others. Zacchaeus was separated from everyone else because he cheated many of them. Yet, as he paid back those who did him wrong, he mended those relationships. Who in your life do you need to reach out to to fix the relationship? You are forgiven, but what sins have you committed that you could go back and fix? What’s the point? The point is that forgiveness is giving to us so that we can mend relationships. It’s not just a status with God, it’s also a status with our neighbor. And as we overcome obstacles in our lives to get to Christ, may we tear down the walls that keep us from our neighbors.
