Message for July 7, 2024 from Pastor Shirley

In Luke 19:1-10 we read the story of Zacchaeus.  Zacchaeus was one of the head tax collectors in the region of Jericho, and the Bible says he was a rich man.  Zacchaeus heard Jesus was in town and sought to see him.  Being of short stature he could not see over the crowd so he ran ahead and climbed a tree, figuring he could see Jesus passing below.  Jesus stopped and looked up and called for him to come down.  Jesus said to him, “I must stay at your house.”  Zacchaeus begins to confess “Look, Lord, I give half of goods to the poor, and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation I restore fourfold.”  Jesus proclaimed that today “salvation” had come to Zacchaeus’ 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. 

Romans 10:9  “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”  Salvation has come to you.  A forgiven believer now can have a completely new relationship with God and enjoy the benefits of salvation.  The benefits do not just start when we get to Heaven. We are to enjoy the benefits of our salvation now!

Salvation means, “Deliverance, preservation, soundness, prosperity, rescue, general well-being.  The word is used both in a material, temporal sense and in a spiritual eternal sense.”  The NT especially uses the word for spiritual well-being.   Salvation is a present possession with a fuller realization in the future.  

(2 Corinthians 1:6  7:19 – Romans 8:11, 1 Thess. 5:8-9)

Experiencing the benefits of salvation now is cause for great joy!