From Dirty Hands To A Clean Heart

Welcome to church, everybody. How's everyone doing today? Excited to be in church? If we've not met yet, my name is Travis. I have the privilege and honor of serving on staff team here at Evangel, primarily operating as leading the ministry out at the North Dakota State Penitentiary. If you guys didn't know it, this is a church here where we have a full operating campus inside North Dakota's max security prison. Come on, somebody. And God is moving out there, let me tell you. I just wanna take a minute to invite the online campus in, and for anyone who might be watching from a correctional facility today, we see you, we love you, and even more importantly than that, God loves you and he still has great purpose for your life, amen? Today is fresh voices, which means, as the video shared, every service is a different speaker. And out of four options, here you are, stuck with me for 35 minutes. But it's gonna be great, I promise you, it's gonna be great. Before we get into today's message, I wanna take a minute to honor our lead pastors, Pastor Josh and Janae. Love you guys, appreciate you guys. There is a theme that any time somebody speaks in this house and they're a guest speaker, no matter if they've known you two for a little time

or a long time, it's the same words that come out of their mouth, meekness and humility. And I'm telling you guys, sometimes when you get a front row seat in the people's life, they aren't what they look like, these two are the real deal. They're the same on Sunday as Tuesday as Thursday morning. Love you guys, appreciate you guys. Give it up for our lead pastors. Thank you. My whole goal was to embarrass them, I think maybe I accomplished it. That way you guys can forget that I tripped up the stairs on the way up here. So today we're gonna be in the book of Luke. If you don't know anything about the book of Luke, a major theme throughout Luke's gospel is that Jesus pursues outsiders. Praise God somebody that Jesus pursues outsiders. Because at some point we've all been an outsider in our life. And so the outsiders that we see Jesus pursue in the book of Luke are, we see them pursue lepers who are believed to be spiritually rejected, he pursues women who are given lower social status in first century times, we see him pursue Gentiles, they were outside of God's covenant promises at the time, he pursues the poor, social outcasts, sinners and tax collectors. As Luke shares these accounts,

he is revealing something about the heart and the mission of Jesus. And the story we're about to read today, it's not a rare moment in the life of Jesus, it's not an isolated moment in his ministry, but the story we're gonna read today, it's exactly why he came. The story we're reading today was his mission. Another emerging theme that we see throughout the book of Luke is that entering the kingdom of God always requires two things that go hand in hand. Humility and repentance. Humility that leads into repentance. So before we jump into God's word, let us pray real quick just to position our hearts. So Father, we thank you for this time that you've set aside for us here this morning. And Father, we just pray that your Holy Spirit comes. Father, we pray for hearts to be opened, give us eyes to see, engage us in prayer, give us eyes to see and give us ears to hear. And Father, let us not leave today the same way that we walked in. In the name of Jesus, amen. All right, we pick up today's story in Luke 19, verse one. Luke 19, verse one, and it reads, he entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, and this is talking about Jesus, Jesus entered Jericho, was passing through.

And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd, he could not because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today. So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, and this is talking about the crowd, when they saw it, they all grumbled. He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. They were appalled that Jesus would hang out with a man like Zacchaeus. And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold. And Jesus said to him, today's salvation has come to this house since he also is a son of Abraham. For the son of man came to seek and save the lost. For the son of man came to seek and save the lost. I wanna give you guys a message today titled, From Dirty Hands to a Clean Heart. From Dirty Hands to a Clean Heart. And I know some of you walked in here today

and there's no dispute that there's dirt on your hands. Other of us probably walk in the church and we don't recognize that we actually have dirty hands. You see, to some extent, every one of us has dirty hands because every one of us has fallen short. In Romans, it says, we've all have sinned. We all fall short of the glory of God. And lots of times we think sin is this big elaborate action like adultery or murder or stealing or something extreme like that. But at its very core, sin is humanity choosing our own way apart from God, saying we don't need you, we don't trust you, we're good. At its very core, that is what sin is. And every one of us in some way, shape, degree or form, we walk in that from time to time. And that separation leaves a deep longing in the human soul, a longing to be forgiven, a longing to be seen, fully known and loved by God and a longing to live a life of purpose. For our lives to matter, to count towards something bigger than ourselves, to give something back to humanity. The problem is we keep searching horizontally out in the world for what can only be found vertically through relationship with God. And this looks like chasing money and chasing success and chasing pleasures of the world, power, fame, influence, fill in the blank, only to be left feeling empty and unfulfilled.

And that's exactly what we see in today's story in the life of Zacchaeus. He had it all by worldly standards. The Bible said he was rich. Yet he was searching for something more. He still had a foundational brokenness that only Jesus could restore. And the good news for Zacchaeus is the same good news for us here today. And that's that Jesus still redeems broken stories. Jesus still redeems broken stories. The beauty of the gospel is this. Jesus does not avoid broken stories or broken places, which means your past, our past does not disqualify us from relationship with God, and it doesn't disqualify us from stepping into God's purposes. Oftentimes, them exact same places of brokenness become the testimony of the redemption and the power of Jesus in our life. We see in Luke 19, verse one, it says, he entered Jericho and was passing through. At first, this sentence here doesn't sound profound, or like there's anything significant happening just in Jesus entering Jericho. But if you understand the Old Testament, you can see that theologically there is already a powerful redemptive work happening here just in Jesus entering Jericho. In the book of Joshua, Joshua enters into the promised land

and after he takes the promised land, he first encounters, one of his first encounters is the city of Jericho and it's walled and it's fortified and him and his army, they march around it, the walls come crashing down and they leave the city burned and in Joshua 6.26, he actually puts a curse on it and Jericho becomes known as a place of destruction, judgment, curse, and God's wrath. Yet Jesus, who theologians sometimes refer to as the greater and better Joshua, walks in the Jericho 1,400 years later and turns a place of ruin into a place of redemption. Luke 19.2 says, and behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. We also see here that the redemptive work does not stop in just where Jesus enters, it's also in who he encounters. He moves towards one of Jericho's most despised people. Tax collectors in the first century were viewed as traitors and sellouts. Just to paint a picture of how bad tax collectors were actually looked at, they became rich by stealing from their own people. So they would set up a booth, they would collect taxes for the Roman government and they would give the taxes to the government and their income came from what they stole off the top. So they stole from their own people, betraying their own nation while helping support the oppressive Roman government.

They worked for the enemy. That's not it. It gets worse. Most fellow Jews viewed them as spiritually compromised because by serving Rome, they were helping support a pagan empire that honored Caesar and worshiped false gods instead of their own God, Yahweh. So to many Jews, they were sellouts to their own people. Tax collectors were sellouts to their own God. That's how despised they were. And yet, this is exactly the kind of person that Jesus intentionally pursues. The irony of Zacchaeus' name is the original language of his name means righteous or pure before the Lord. As a tax collector, this man is anything but righteous or pure before the Lord. How often in our lives have we allowed our past shame or our addictions or our failures or the labels that the world has placed on us, believe us that God can never use us or love us. But the story of Zacchaeus reminds us that Jesus still pursues broken people. Jesus still pursues broken people. All we need to do is invite him into our life. And if you haven't done so yet, we're gonna have an opportunity at the end of today's message for an invitation to invite him into your life. And the truth is this, beneath all the success

that we might encounter in the world or beneath all our failures, there is something every one of us deeply longs for. We all want to be seen, fully known and loved by God. We all want to be seen, fully known and loved by God. And what unfolds next in the story of Zacchaeus reveals something about his heart. Luke 19 three says, and he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd, he could not because he was small in stature. Zacchaeus was seeking yet he had an obstacle. How many times in our life do we feel like there's an obstacle between us and God? Are we feel too small to enter in to his presence? I know for me personally, lots of times the obstacle between me and Jesus is my pride. It's not that I'm physically too small. Luke 19, four says, so he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. We see in this verse that his curiosity led to pursuit. It led to action. So instead of just sitting around and doing nothing, Zacchaeus took it upon himself to move towards Jesus. When was the last time our curiosity led us to lay down our pride for an encounter with Jesus? I'll tell you this, if I'm up front in worship here and I'm not lifting my hands,

it's because I'm having a moment where I'm struggling with my pride and I'm struggling to trust that the Lord can actually do what he says he can do in his word. In the first century in the Jewish world, it was actually considered shameful for a grown man to run, and yet Zacchaeus ran ahead to go have an encounter with Jesus. Jeremiah 29, 13 says, you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. This promise does not say that only perfect people would find God. Jeremiah spoke these words to a broken, rebellious people living in exile after years of sin. Yet God still invited them to return home and seek him. And the same is still true for us here today. However, culture out there, the world, tries to teach us that in order to be seen, we have to perform. To be known, we have to achieve. And we have to earn love through a right image or behavior modification or presenting a polished image of ourselves. But accomplishments, money, worldly things, and striving harder never truly satisfy that deep longing within us. Oftentimes we feel empty and exhausted trying to work our way to God.

How many of you men were at the arena last weekend, a couple weeks ago? Come on, make some noise. One of the things Kevin Myers spoke about while he was here, he said, every man and woman feels alone because he or she is. You see, there is an empty part of our heart and soul that only God can fill. Daryl Strawberry was one of the most dominant baseball players of the 80s and 90s if we got any old school baseball fans in the house. 1983 Rookie of the Year, that was a really good year. It was the year I was born. Eight-time All-Star, three-time All-Star, four-time World Series Champion, two-time Home Run Leader, known as one of the most feared power hitters of his era. Back a couple years ago, I was at a conference and I heard him share a little bit of his testimony. And he shared about how at the highest levels, he reached the highest levels of fame, wealth, and success imaginable to humankind, 10 times greater than anything he ever could have imagined. Yet internally, he was still empty and broken. Despite all the worldly success, he battled the secret drug and alcohol addiction for nearly two decades throughout his entire playing career.

That almost cost him his life. All while still succeeding publicly. Like hardly anyone even knew what was going on in his life. He's later quoted saying, I had everything the world had to offer, but nothing the world offered satisfied me. He eventually surrendered his life to Jesus. He's been preaching the gospel ever since. And he's quoted now saying, the greatest home run I ever hit was a home run I ever hit was when I gave my life to Jesus. This is a man who accomplished everything by means of the world. And still he refers to his relationship with Jesus as his greatest accomplishment. And we see the same tension that we just heard about with Daryl Strawberry in the life. life of Zacchaeus, money, power, influence, status, all the things, yet something was missing. And maybe that's true for some of us here in the room. On the outside of our life, everything looks great. Nobody would know that there's this deep longing inside us to be seen, known, and loved. You see, the deepest level of a human soul longs for relationship with God. And until we are in relationship with the one who created us, nothing else in this world will ever satisfy. Luke 19 five says, and when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him,

Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today. In the first century, entering into somebody's house was deeply relational. So as we see Jesus enter his house, Jesus isn't offering a Sunday one-hour relationship with Zacchaeus. What he's offering is closeness, acceptance, and a real covenant relationship. You see, it's not enough for us just to know Jesus from a distance. We can't ride on the coattails of other people's faith. Otherwise, we'll watch the rest of the world be transformed and step in the purpose while we miss it. And I know the idea of being fully known can feel terrifying to humanity. Because we often fear if people really knew everything about me, let alone me, everything about me, like everything about me, there's no way they could love me. If they knew everything I've ever done wrong in my life, they would reject me. Zacchaeus, like all of us, had a deep longing to be loved for who he really was. Timothy Keller said it this way. This is a great quote. To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be fully known and not loved is our greatest fear. To be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God.

You see, God does not merely know facts about you. He created you. Along with everything in the world, he knows everything about you. He knows your heart, your motives, your wounds, your fears, your thoughts, your deepest desires. He knows everything you've ever done and yet he still chooses you. He still chooses you. That's the scandal of the gospel. The reckless love of God that he fully knows you, still loves you and still pursues you despite anything we've ever done. And we cannot earn this love. We see Zacchaeus didn't have to clean himself up or fix himself to encounter Jesus. He just had to receive him through humility and surrender. We see in Luke 19, six, so he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. Joyfully. A real relationship with Jesus will produce a kind of joy that success, comfort, worldly things, and even religion can't offer. You know, many of us know how to attend church, but my question for you is, are you really letting God into the deeper places of your life? Jesus doesn't just want Sunday morning or a one hour Bible study or a prayer around mealtime. He wants all of us.

Many times we don't give him our wounds or our deepest thoughts. We're afraid to bring our shame, our guilt, our addictions, our real struggles. So my question for you is, are you allowing Jesus access into the deep places of your heart? Jesus didn't just ask Zacchaeus for a moment. He asked for access into his home, into his life, into his heart. Some of us want the comfort of God's presence without the vulnerability of real surrender of our heart to him, and we can't have both. Real freedom happens when we stop hiding and allow Jesus access into the places that we normally keep guarded. This kind of relationship will change your life. We see it in the life of Zacchaeus. And Jesus is no longer somebody that we just read about or only acknowledge in a box, in a certain time slot. But when we truly open our heart up to Jesus, he begins changing us from the inside out. He begins doing things that we cannot do in our own strength. The love of Jesus will transform you. The love of Jesus will transform you. Zacchaeus was not the same man after encountering Jesus. The mark of maturity in a believer is not the amount of years that you followed Christ or the amount of activities that you're engaged with at the church, but the evidence of maturity is obedience. And the fruit of that is a transformed heart. And there's no faking that. Ezekiel 36, 26 says, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you your old heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. This is one of the great promises of scripture, that God will give you a new heart.

He will transform your heart, that you don't have to stay stuck where you are. Zacchaeus didn't just change behavior externally, God was changing him from the inside out. And only Jesus can take a hardened heart, a prideful heart, a wounded heart, and make it new. That is the power of the gospel, that the love of Jesus would transform you from the inside out. Jesus is quoted in scripture saying, you will know them by their fruit. This concept is repeated a couple times in the New Testament. Although we see the external fruit in the life of Zacchaeus, often real fruit is rarely loud or performative. It's not titles or an image or influence on stage with a microphone, or how polished somebody appears in public. Real fruit is much deeper than that. The quiet evidence of spiritual maturity is revealed in how we love. How do we love people who can offer us nothing in return? How do we carry ourselves when nobody's watching? How do we take ourselves to God before we act or speak or make decisions? Real fruit is not merely what somebody builds externally, it's what God forms deep within us internally. And there's no shortcut or cheating that. That is cultivated through surrender, humility, repentance, and spending real time in real relationship with Jesus, giving him full access to your heart. And we see this evidence of a changed heart in the life of Zacchaeus instantly. Luke 19, 8, and Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold. You see, under the Old Testament law in Exodus, fourfold repayment was required when somebody had stolen or caused harm. Zacchaeus' response reveals a heart that is no longer hiding in sin, struggling with guilt and shame, but a heart that has authentically had an encounter with Jesus. A heart that reflects humility and repentance.

Zacchaeus was restoring fourfold what he had taken. And the first time I read this, I didn't even catch everything that he did. Because it says, not only did he restore fourfold, he gave half his goods to the poor. See what Jesus does in our hearts is never meant to be contained. It's meant to flow out into his kingdom. Blessings don't come to us just to bless us, they're supposed to flow through us to bless others. Luke 19, verses nine and 10, read, and Jesus said to him, today salvation has come to this house. Since he is also a son of Abraham, for the son of man came to seek and save the lost. Why would Jesus say today's salvation came to this house and not just Zacchaeus? Jesus says house because God's redemption often starts with one surrendered heart and then spreads outward. The fruit of our relationship with Jesus was meant to flow out into the world. Not to glorify us, but to draw attention to Jesus and to advance his kingdom. Where is the kingdom advancing because of your relationship with Jesus? Who around you is receiving blessings because of what Jesus has done for you? The mission statement of the entire book of Luke is found in verse 10,

for the son of man came to seek and save the lost. Jesus still seeks and saves the lost. Luke 15 tells us there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner than 99 righteous people who don't repent. If you're in this room here today, and you've never surrendered your heart to Jesus, I wanna give you an opportunity to do so right now. With every head bowed, if you'd like to give your heart to Jesus right now, would you raise a hand? I see hands going up. It's not only me who sees them, God sees them. He's proud. Ephesians 10, nine says, if you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and you believe in your heart that God raised him, you will be saved. Would you just tell him that in your own words right now? Jesus, I just give you my heart. I'm not even fully sure I know what that all entails, but to the best of my ability, Lord, I give you my heart. If you're in here today, and you already know Jesus, and you relate to any part of the story of Zacchaeus, feeling overlooked, feeling like maybe you're too far gone, or maybe you're in here and you just desire to be a follower of Christ in which fruit flows through you and impacts those around you, would you be so bold as to just stand up? Right now, just stand up. Or maybe you desire a deeper relationship with the Lord.

Would you just stand? Father, we thank you for every heart in this room. Father, we thank you for the work that you're doing here today. Father, we thank you for your Holy Spirit. Father, we just pray that you would see us here today, that you would know us and love us, Lord. Father, we give our lives to you, Lord. Father, we love you. In the name of Jesus, amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.