CHANGING TRAJECTORY

Legacy, Our Story #3

Pastor Brandon Cross

Woodland Church

Sunday, November 15, 2026

(Luke 19:1-10) “Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”

Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”

And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

CONTEXT:

A little about the city of Jericho:

1. Jericho was a rich city.
2. It was a luxury “get away” location.                                   

A couple of things about Zacchaeus:

1. He was a chief tax collector (member of the upper ruling class).  
2. Zacchaeus was very rich.

MAIN IDEA:

When we truly seek to encounter Jesus and allow Him to change our hearts, we are able to overcome our past or our shortcomings and launch into a new trajectory for our lives; focused on serving God and serving others as Jesus commands us to. 

1.  Breaking the Old Trajectory

• Shedding the Weight of the Past 
  • He would have been ostracized and rejected by his community. (v.6)  
  • Longing/curiosity. (v.3) 
• Overcoming Obstacles (Verses 3-4) 
  • Ignoring physical and social limitations of his stature (v.3)
  • Ignoring social norms (v.4)
  • Ignoring hostility of people 
• Being Called by Name (Verses 5-6) 

APPLICATION:

If we are going to truly break free from our past, our present struggles, etc.. then we need to be desperate enough to risk our comfort, shame, loss of dignity, etc… to get close to Jesus and to be joyful in doing so.

2.  Creating a New Legacy (Verses 8-10)

• True Change produces fruit
• Redefine What Matters
• Embrace the Heart of the Mission (Verses 9-10) 

APPLICATION:

If we are truly changed by Jesus, we need to make sure that we live with our hearts aligned with His heart for other people and that we prioritize our lives to His mission to seek and save the lost at all costs!!!

MAIN IDEA RECAP:

When we truly seek to encounter Jesus and allow Him to change our hearts, we are able to overcome our past or our shortcomings and launch into a new trajectory for our lives; focused on serving God and serving others as Jesus commands us to. 

CALL TO ACTION:

1. Commit to understanding who Jesus is, what He did for us, and what He has called us to do in the Great Commission (go and make disciples) as our daily lifestyle.  We need to read and talk about it daily!
2. Commit to identifying areas of required change in our lives.
3. Commit to pray for the heart of Christ to see difficult people with His eyes/heart.
4. Commit to helping other people with at least one thing this week.