The Heart of Heaven
Have you ever noticed how distance changes our perspective of something?
Our first impressions of something can be different at a distance than up close.
Now, think of a time when you thought you saw a friend or someone you knew at a distance and you started waving but as you got closer you got embarrassed as you realized that it wasn’t your friend. What do you do then right?
You see, brothers and sisters, our relationship with Jesus is the same. Many have a distorted view or understanding of God because for one reason or another: they only observe or see Jesus from a distance.
I want to start with a story of a man who’s view of Jesus was distorted because of distance, but how everything changed when he allowed Jesus to come close.
Luke 19:1-10:
(v.1) Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.
(v.2) A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.
(v.3) He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd.
(v.4) So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
(v.5) When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”
(v.6) So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
(v.7) All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
(v.8) 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.”
(v.9) Jesus said to him,
“Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.
(v.10) For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
What a power packed story, right?
This, among many of Jesus’ parables and interactions with people, displays the heart of heaven.
Zacchaeus was a Jew who was in partnership with the oppressive government to collect taxes and then squeeze additional money from the people. So, he was robbing his own people. And it said that he was very wealthy, so he was good at tax collecting from people for personal profit. Needless to say, he was hated by his own people. When he hears that Jesus is coming into town, he assumes Jesus wouldn’t want anything to do with him. So, when he gets up into the tree it’s purely for observation not interaction with Jesus.
The sad truth is this, my brothers and sisters: Many people settle for that type of religion and Christianity. This kind of “observation” without any interaction and connection. So, Zacchaeus assumes Jesus would just keep on walking pass, but what happens? When Jesus gets to him, He does the unthinkable!
Jesus stops, he looks straight at Zacchaeus and says, “I'm coming staying at your house!”
Zacchaeus is shocked and responds by accepting Jesus' invitation to come to his house. And this is where everything changes. . .
From “distant” rumors and stories about Jesus to having Jesus in his home and lounging for a meal, we see his life change! Zacchaeus’ life is FULLY transformed with one encounter with Jesus. He goes from stingy and withholding to giving and generous!
This transformation happened in Zacchaeus' life, but it also happens all throughout the Bible and history. This theme of God NOT wanting to stay at a distance from us, but instead, WANTING to come CLOSE is the central theme of Scripture and “the heart of Heaven”.
The BIG theme of the Bible and heart of heaven is: God loves you and wants to be close to you!
This is the cry of the heart of God: to bring you and me close to Him again.
Have you ever talked to someone and felt like they were getting bored of the conversation? Or their eyes were looking past you for a better conversation somewhere else?
Well, here’s some good news: God has never felt that about you! Not even once. He’s not trying to get out of a conversation with you; He’s trying to get into a relationship and conversation with you right “now”.
One of the greatest examples in the Bible of this reality is when Jesus is on the cross being crucified for the sin of the world. In all of the agony of that moment, and all that he would have had on his mind, and the pressure physically, there’s something that he said, and something that happened that should set in your heart about: God’s intention to be close to you.
To set the stage, remember that when Jesus was being crucified, He was on a cross in the middle of two other criminals also being crucified at the same time. Those other 2 men deserved the punishment for the crimes they had committed, and right in the middle of the most agonizing moment of Jesus' human life, one of the criminals asks him a question.
Luke 23:42-43:
(v.42) “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
(v.43) Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
This exchange of Jesus and the man on the cross next to Him is beyond comprehension. Not only does Jesus take the time to listen & respond to him, which speaks of Jesus’ heart for people, but when the criminal asks to be “remembered,” Jesus responds to this man.
Yes, in midst of Jesus’ pain and suffering, Jesus here NAILED on the cross, responds to this man!
Instead of saying something like, “with all the awful things you have done, and all the people that you have hurt, how could you possibly think that I would remember you?”
But, that’s not what Jesus says. He doesn’t even say something kinder like, “Well, I’ll consider it and we’ll see if there’s any space left in Paradise. After I consider all of the nice old women & small children, I’ll try to get you in!”
He actually says something wild and something that speaks directly to the phrase I mentioned earlier about the intention of Heaven.
Jesus says to this thief next to him: “Today you will be WITH ME.”
WHAT?! This is unbelievable & incredible and such good news! This man, the criminal on the cross provides the perfect example of what Jesus was there to do: bring humanity close again to be WITH HIM!
And then a short while later, when Jesus is about to -fully die on the cross and exchange our sin for His righteousness, something powerful happens right after His death.
Matthew 27:50-51:
(v.50) And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
(v.51) At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
The earth shook, the rocks split…
Don’t you just love this! AT THAT MOMENT!
I love that God didn’t waste a moment. He didn't wait until the next “work day” to split the curtain, He did it right then and there! God split the curtain for eternity, reminding all of us of this key message: God wanted nothing to get in-between Him and us being close. The ripped curtain now meant that ALL people can come close to him again!
If you were not sure of this before now, know this today that God wants you close! That’s not just a “saying” or just a “concept”. It’s literal “closeness” with YOU that God desires! He Calls for YOU today… no matter WHO you are, no matter how “far gone” you THINK you are. It doesn’t matter what you have done.
Return to Him.
Ephesians 2:13 says:
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
It’s “in” and “through” JESUS that we now can come close to God!
The sad reality is that too many people settle for “DISTANCE” when Jesus paid everything to bring us close.
Let’s look at 2 key things that kept Zacchaeus from Jesus. I think you may find that these can be the same things that the enemy uses to try and keep you “far” or “distant” from Jesus.
Why do we often stay at a distance from God?
The 1st reason why I believe many people stay at a distance from Jesus is what we can see in Zacchaeus’ situation. It was how he saw himself! And that’s the first reason why most of us stay distant from Jesus.
1. How we see ourselves often keeps us at a distance.
Zacchaeus saw himself as UNWORTHY, and so he didn’t even attempt to come close to Jesus. Zacchaeus was okay with that. He assumed that a “distant” relationship with Jesus is all he deserved. Because of his influence and wealth, he certainly could have been motivated to position himself to meet Jesus, but he didn’t even attempt to do that because of his sin and brokenness.
It’s true for this man “Zacchaeus”, and true for us that guilt and shame causes us to hide from God. That was the first instinct of Adam and Eve in the garden when they sinned. It was to run and hide from God rather than running to the only One who could heal & help them.
We often slip into guilt and shame and the devil will gladly help encourage those thoughts along and even add some of his own to it. Satan is a master at tempting us into sin by telling us that it’s not that big of a deal. And then once we fall for that, he’s right back there to tell us how horrible we are and unlovable we are.
And while it is true that our sin had separated us from God, our sin never changed God’s heart towards us.
Isn’t that a wonderful thing to know?
I want to encourage you that no matter what you have done or where you feel like you “missed the mark”, don’t run and hide from God, run to Him.
That thief on the cross had plenty of reasons to doubt his worth and value, but in his last efforts, he reaches out towards Jesus, acknowledging who He is and asks the Lord to be “remembered” in His kingdom.
He is a reminder for us to reach out to Jesus.
The 2nd thing I’d like to highlight as a main reason: why people stay at a distance from Jesus is not just how they see themselves, but also how they see Jesus. This is another thing that may keep us at a distance from Jesus.
There’s a powerful story we know in the book of Luke where Jesus is talking about 2 sons and specifically highlights the broken journey of one of the sons who loses his way but then makes his way back to the father. We have heard of this story many times: the prodigal son in Luke 15.
Here's a key reality as you follow Jesus: how you see Jesus will affect what you receive from Jesus.
Revelation 3:20
(v.20) Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,
I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
I think most of us just think of Jesus standing at the door and knocking on it, then we open the door and Jesus hands us a “salvation card” that gets us out of hell, and then He waves goodbye and heads off to the next home.
But, do you see the level of commitment by Jesus in this verse?
Jesus says, “if you hear my voice,”. Take notice here that Jesus is actively calling all of us to Himself. If you hear His voice and open the door, there is some personal responsibility on our part to say yes to the love and purpose that God has for us.
But then instead of moving on, He says: “if you open the door, I will come in and eat with you,” just like He did with Zacchaeus!
Now, if you’re planning to hang out with someone but you’re not sure that you want to spend a lot of time with that person you don’t offer dinner, right? You might do a coffee or something short & sweet.
But, when Jesus says “I’ll come in and eat”, that’s speaking of a long & drawn out process of eating and drinking. That is, and always has been the desire and heart of God towards the people that He loved and created.
So, don’t ever for a moment doubt the heart and goodness of God.
I want to invite you to consider your own life and where you are in your relationship with Jesus.
Are you far off away at a distance?
Today He waits for you with open arms.
Are you not worthy because you are the thief on the cross?
Reach out to Jesus now.
He remembers you.
Be with Him today.
Exodus 15:2:
(v.2) The Lord is my strength and my defense;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
One In Christ - Pastor Vameng Pha
January 26, 2025