Luke 19:1-10

Luke 19:1-10 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner." But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

Can bitter and sweet water come out of the same well? People who divine for water seek sweet water or that which is healthy, that which is not too alkaline or salty, but Jesus did not seek for sweet water or obedient people: He came for the sinners. And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone." (Mark 9:18) Jesus came for needy people, all of us: the bitter, the angry, the thief, the murderer, the rapist, the disillusioned, the wayward, the ornery, and the confused. He came to save and to serve sinners: US.

The crowd was unhappy with Jesus, for He was going to the house of a well-known sinner, Zacchaeus. I suspect this would be like going to a mafia don's house in our day. Jesus said to him, I must stay at your house today. Jesus wanted Zacchaeus to understand that God was telling him to stay at his house that night. (Jesus did only what the Holy Spirit told him to do.) God was telling Jesus to interact with Zacchaeus, to commune with him, to eat BREAD at his house. Jesus' willingness to stay at his house touched Zacchaeus' heart so dramatically that he exclaimed, Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount. Sweet water had begun to flow from his heart and his lips.

Zacchaeus found redemption that day. His immediate response was to recognize Jesus as Lord. He repented of his own life and literally said, I am going to turn my life around by righting the wrongs I have done. In a few words, he told Jesus he believed in him as Lord and Savior, and he was going to travel in a new direction in his life, on a path of repentance. Out of the well of bitterness that was Zacchaeus' life came sweet water. Out of a well of inconsequential activities came life-giving words of dedication and purpose. Can bitter and sweet water come out of the same well? Yes, if a bitter well finds God, sweet water can flow from the innermost being of any individual who accepts God and chooses to follow him.

Does that mean there are no areas in our lives that produce bitter water? No, we have ongoing dysfunctions and sin problems, but we must always allow the Holy Spirit to go deeper in our spirits to find the sweet water and to take away the bitter. We want the water where the Holy Spirit flows, the water of the still, small voice, the water reflecting God's nature. This water is healing, cleansing, and restorative water. This water makes us at home with Jesus. This water allows us to know our guest as Lord. Today, my friends, seek the sweet water within you; seek the Holy Spirit. Repent of your contrary actions AND THOUGHTS. Put on the whole armor of God in every part of your spirit to drive away the flesh, so the sweet water might flow in your life. My wife, Jacqueline, wrote this little song as a prayer when she spoke at a women's retreat. It fits our study today: "Let there be sweet water, flowing from my soul. Let there be sweet water, words to make me whole. Take the bitterness away; let your Spirit come to stay. Let there be sweet, sweet water in my soul." Amen!