Reaching the Rich | Pastor Mike Fortune | February 24, 2018

Audio

Download (right click and save as)

Video

Manuscript

REACHING THE RICH
by Pastor Mike Fortune
February 24, 2018
 
  1. Is intentional (Luke 19:1-4; Ezekiel 34:11; Luke 3:12-13; Luke 7:29; Luke 15:1; Luke 5:27-29; Luke 18:10,14)
  2. Is personal (Luke 19:5-8; John 10:3; Isaiah 43:1-2,4; Revelation 2:17; Exodus 22:4; Leviticus 25:17; 36; Ezekiel 33:13-16)
  3. Is missional (Luke 19:9-10; Luke 18:24-27; 1 Samuel 2:7-8; Pic / Quote; Luke 8:1-3; Galatians 3:7)
Luke 19:1-4
1 Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. 2 There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. 3 He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way. 
 
Ezekiel 34:11
11 For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "I myself will search and find my sheep."
 
Luke 3:12-13
12 Even corrupt tax collectors came to be baptized and asked, "Teacher, what should we do?" 13 He replied, "Collect no more taxes than the government requires."
 
Luke 7:29
29 When they heard this, all the people—even the tax collectors—agreed that God's way was right, for they had been baptized by John.
 
Luke 15:1
1 Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach.
 
Luke 5:27-29
27 Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax collector's booth. "Follow me and be my disciple," Jesus said to him. 28 So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him. 29 Later, Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Levi's fellow tax collectors and other guests also ate with them.
 
Luke 18:10,14
10 Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. 14 I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God.
 
Luke 19:5-8
5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. "Zacchaeus!" he said. "Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today." 6 Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. 7 But the people were displeased. "He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner," they grumbled. 8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, "I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!" 
 
John 10:3
3 He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
 
Isaiah 43:1-2,4
1 Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. 2 When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. 4 You are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you.
 
Revelation 2:17
17 To everyone who is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it.
 
Exodus 22:4
4 If someone steals an ox or a donkey or a sheep and it is found in the thief's possession, then the thief must pay double the value of the stolen animal.
Leviticus 25:17,36
17 Show your fear of God by not taking advantage of each other. I am the LORD your God. 36 Do not charge interest or make a profit at his expense.
 
Ezekiel 33:13-16
13 When I tell righteous people that they will live, but then they sin, expecting their past righteousness to save them, then none of their righteous acts will be remembered. I will destroy them for their sins. 14 And suppose I tell some wicked people that they will surely die, but then they turn from their sins and do what is just and right. 15 For instance, they might give back a debtor's security, return what they have stolen, and obey my life-giving laws, no longer doing what is evil. If they do this, then they will surely live and not die. 16 None of their past sins will be brought up again, for they have done what is just and right, and they will surely live.
 
Luke 19:9-10
9 Jesus responded, "Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham." 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.
 
Luke 18:24-27
24 When Jesus saw this, he said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!" 26 Those who heard this said, "Then who in the world can be saved?" 27 He replied, "What is impossible for people is possible with God."
 
1 Samuel 2:7-8
7 The LORD makes some poor and others rich; he brings some down and lifts others up. 8 He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. He sets them among princes, placing them in seats of honor. For all the earth is the LORD's, and he has set the world in order.
 
Billy Graham
I urge each of you to invest your lives, not just spend them. Each of us is given the exact same amount of seconds, minutes and hours per day as anyone else. The difference is how we redeem them. You cannot count your days, but you can make your days count.
 
Luke 8:1-3
1 Soon afterward Jesus began a tour of the nearby towns and villages, preaching and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God. He took his twelve disciples with him, 2 along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons; 3 Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's business manager; Susanna; and many others who were contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples.
 
Galatians 3:7
7 The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.