(Craig Miles)
Making Change - Week 1- Priority Change
Nov 4th & 6th, 2016
In Luke 19:1-10 we read the story of a man named Zacchaeus.
 After meeting Jesus, Zacchaeus was changed forever.
 Zacchaeus had been pursuing a life without God at the center. His wealth didn't fulfill him.
Ecclesiastes 5:10-11 (NLT) Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true
happiness! 11 The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth - except perhaps to watch it
slip through your fingers!
1 Timothy 6:9-10 (NLT) But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires
that plunge them into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving
money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
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It's possible for both unbelievers and Christians to be ________________ by the pursuit of material things.
Jesus interacted with Zacchaeus on a personal level that caused him to know he was loved.
o Jesus looked at him and knew his name.
o Jesus actually went to his house.
o Jesus pursued a sinner. Is this the God we _________________________ to the world?
Zacchaeus was changed for eternity, not just a moment. Jesus said salvation had come to his house.
o Early church history says that Zacchaeus became the first Bishop of Caesarea.
Jesus told us to stop pursuing wealth and pursue the things that matter.
Matthew 6:19-21 (NLT) “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves
break in and steal.20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and
steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
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God doesn’t tell us to avoid the love of money because he wants to wreck our fun. He doesn’t tell us to
avoid it because he somehow needs our money.
o He doesn’t want our heart to chase after anything but him – because nothing else fulfills us!
o God knows our heart can’t belong to him and wealth!
Matthew 6:31-34 (NLT) “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we
wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the
Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. 34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow,
for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
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Don't put your trust in material things. They give a sense of _________________ ____________________ .
Only faith in God can truly alleviate the worry we feel when life's troubles come.
“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” (Corrie ten Boom)
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Like Zacchaeus when we encounter Jesus, our life, our __________________, should be changed forever.
o Jesus changed Zacchaeus from being a taker to being a giver. He repaid those he had cheated &
gave ½ of his wealth to the poor.
As Bishop of Caesarea, Zacchaeus would have invested in people not just with his money but with his time.
o He cared about the mission of Christ to save a dying world (2 Peter 3:9, 2 Corinthians 5:18-21)
When we truly encounter Jesus, our life changes as well.
o Our perspective. Who we try to please. What you talk about. How you use your time & resources.
Questions to Consider:
Meeting Jesus impacted Zacchaeus so much that his priorities radically changed. Is that the same for you?
1. Do people see you go to church once in a while or do they see how your time is spent on the mission of God?
2. If someone took a look at how you spend your money and use your material goods would they see that you
care about the things of God more than the things of this world?
3. When hard things happen do people see someone who responds like everyone else in the world or do they
see someone who has faith in God?
Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House
Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189. All rights reserved.