Come Out of That Tree

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 9th of November, 2025.  A recording of our service may be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams for the older services or https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch3115/streams for later services.]

Last week we looked at the time when Peter walked on water, at least momentarily.  He effectively challenged Jesus to call him out of the boat and walk over the surface of the sea, just to prove that it really was Jesus calling him.  And Jesus did just that.  So Peter climbed right out of that boat and began walking on the water to Jesus.  But he was quickly distracted by the wind and waves and began to sink, only to be saved from certain drowning by the hand of Jesus.

Now, I believe it’s safe to say that Peter never had any idea that he could walk on the surface of the sea before this event.  And I bet none of us think we can do that either.  But we’ll never know if we don’t try, and if we don’t fully trust in and focus on our Lord Jesus.  If He ever does call us out of the boat, we need to climb out and start walking.

Today I want to follow up on this idea of Jesus calling us out of where we are.  Now we know that Jesus spent the vast majority of His time with common folk, and especially with those that were the worst of sinners.  (Yes, we know that we are all sinners, and that God doesn’t see any one sin as worse or less than another, but back then, and still today, some people considered some sins to be far, far worse than “normal” sins.)  Tax collectors, prostitutes, and of course the Romans, were considered the worst of the worst of sinners.  Jesus even had one of these “worst of sinners” as a disciple and apostle: Matthew, the former tax collector.  But there was another tax collector who enjoyed Jesus’ compassion and grace.

Please listen and follow along as the Apostle Luke relates the story of Zacchaeus, from the first 10 verses of the 19th chapter of his Gospel account, reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible this morning…

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.

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!”

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 19:1-10 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for sending Your Son Jesus to seek out and save the lost.    Thank You for giving us the faith to believe in and follow Jesus.  And thank You for calling us Your children because of our belief.  Father, we know we don’t always do what is right in Your eyes and it disappoints You.  We’d much rather stay in our own little comfort zone than to get out and do the work You and Jesus have for us.  Please forgive us those times and help us be more obedient to Your will, more loving, more caring, more compassionate, showing Your love to others so that they too might find salvation through Jesus.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better grasp the message You have for us this day.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Zacchaeus must have been quite good at his job, for our scripture noted that he was the chief tax collector in the region of Jericho.  Not only that, he had become very rich at it.  His position in the hierarchy was likely pretty secure.

Bits & Pieces magazine once published this little quip:  A manager and a sales rep stood looking at a map on which colored pins indicated the company representative in each area. "I'm not going to fire you, Wilson," the manager said, "but I'm loosening your pin a bit just to emphasize the insecurity of your situation."

I don't know about you, but I sure don't want God loosening my pin even a little bit!  As His Son’s representative, I want my situation to be secure.  There are times, of course, when other people are blocking our sight and we can’t see what’s important.  We may have to go higher for a better view.  But if Jesus calls us down with a task to do for Him, we need to immediately get down and to it, like Zacchaeus did.

Now, some may say, “I’m saved.  I know I’m saved by my faith.  So why do I need to do anything else for my salvation?  I’m nice and safe in this boat, I’m comfy in this tree.  Why would Jesus even ask me to do anything else, even if I felt like I could?”

I think the half-brother of Jesus can answer this.  Please hear the argument James makes in the 2nd chapter of his letter to the early church, verses 17 through 19…

17 Faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”

19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.

--James 2:17b-19 (NLT)

I love that last part – even the demons know and believe that there is only one God, yet they are certainly not saved.  Maintaining our faith requires more than that.  Listening to James, we can see that our faith drives our call to action.  We are driven to do good because of our faith.  Our action for Jesus, our good deeds, are the external indication of our internal faith.  Much like our baptism is the outward sign of our inward commitment to Jesus.

And make no mistake, Jesus calls us to action, to climb out of the boat, to come out of that tree.  He always has a task for someone, or some ones.  For instance, after sending the 12 disciples out as apostles into the villages and towns He intended to visit soon, Jesus sent 72 more disciples out on the same mission.  Here is how Luke reported this in the first 3 verses of the 10th chapter of his Gospel account…

1 The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. 2 These were his instructions to them: "The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. 3 Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves."

--Luke 10:1-3 (NLT)

This is pretty much the forerunner of our command to go into the world making disciples.  We are to be some of those workers bringing in the harvest.  Going out as lambs among wolves, we are to be humble, compassionate, and kind, even if the wolves try to tear us apart.  We are not to react “in kind” when evil strikes.

Family, we can do nothing if we don’t try.  Jesus is calling us to come out of that tree, for He has something for us to do.  He is calling us out of our comfort zone and into a new and different course in our life.  He is calling us to serve Him, with all our heart and all our souls and all our mind.  And if we love Him, we will willingly do as He commands.

So come out of that tree, and get to work.  Make a difference in the world, even if it's only for one person.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for inspiring Your Son’s disciples and apostles to record at least some of the things that Jesus said and did.  Through their letters and Gospel accounts, we can not only come to know Jesus better, but we also gain greater clarity in how He wants us to serve Him.  Sadly, though, we’re not always very willing to do what He commands.  Fear often stops us, the fear of how others will react, the fear of not knowing what to do, the fear of failure.  We confess our failure, Father, and seek Your help toward better servitude.  Please encourage us and help us reach out and share the Gospel message with everyone we come into contact with. 

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your word, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You gave us a very few straightforward commands.  We are to love others as You love us, and we are to go out and make more disciples by telling others the things You did and said.  If we truly love others, we will want them to be saved from eternal damnation, just like You wanted us to be saved.  And that means we will reach out to them, sharing the Gospel message at every opportunity.  Thank You, Lord, for keeping it that simple.  But Lord, it’s just not all that easy for us.  We love You, Jesus, and thank You for all You have done and continue to do for us, but we’re either too afraid to approach other people, especially complete strangers, or we’re just too comfortable in our life as it stands, too comfortable in the status quo.  Please forgive us when we hesitate to do what we know You want us to do.  We don’t want to disappoint You and our Father God any more.  Please help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing the Gospel message, showing Your love through our love.

Holy Spirit, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  All this we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.