A Tax Collector Who Became A Benefactor — Changed Lives Series #1
References: Luke 19:1-10
We live in a very busy but lonely world. Everyone has experienced loneliness; that lost and longing feeling. There is only one answer to loneliness ultimately because there is but one person who can change the life and fill the voids and fulfill the longings - yes all longings. That Person is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the maker of the human heart and He is the healer of the human heart and He is the one who is seeking and desiring to save all lost hearts.
We come upon an individual who is lost, lonely and full of longings in our text today. It is characteristic of Luke that he alone tells the story of Zaccheus. It seems that he takes particular pleasure in relating incidents which bring out the character of Christ as the Friend of sinners. So we have here the fascinating human story of a tax gatherer whose life was dramatically changed by contact with and commitment to the Savior. No one, not even Zaccheus, would have believed that his life could be so changed in one day if you would have told him so. But that is just what the Savior can do - and does do - in a life that trusts Him.
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About Olford Ministries International
Encounter is a half-hour program featuring the expository preaching messages of the late Dr. Stephen Olford. Dr. David Olford is the host of the program. These messages come out of the archives of Stephen Olford’s ministry, primarily from his years of preaching at Calvary Baptist Church in Manhattan, NY. Encounter was broadcast on many radio stations throughout the world for many years. Following his death in 2004, the radio broadcasts were discontinued.
About Dr. David L. Olford
Dr. David Olford serves as the Chairman of the Board and President of Olford Ministries International, Inc. (OMI), founded by his late father, Dr. Stephen Olford in 1976, a ministry committed to the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. He joined OMI in 1985. He also serves as the President of the Stephen Olford Ministry Legacy, formed in 2009, to preserve the preaching and teaching ministry of Dr. Stephen Olford. OMI leads Biblical Preaching Institutes and seminars at the Stephen Olford Center in Memphis, TN. and elsewhere.
David received a BA in Ancient Language from Wheaton College and an MA in New Testament Theology from Wheaton Graduate School. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Sheffield (England) in Biblical Studies. He served as the Stephen Olford Professor of Expository Preaching with Union University (TN.) from 2007 to 2016.
In 2009, David’s book, Find Us Faithful: Leadership that Leaves a Legacy was published by B&H Publishing. Together with his father, he coauthored the widely acclaimed, Anointed Expository Preaching. He also compiled the book, A Passion for Preaching, in honor of his father. As both a teacher and preacher, Dr. David Olford has shared his passion for God’s inerrant Word across the United States and in numerous foreign countries.
David Olford and his wife, Ellen, have been married since 1986 and live in Memphis, TN. The Olfords have two adult daughters, Lindsay and Stephanie.