Is This Really For Me?

Praise and Worship:

Offering and Prayer:

Intro:

Our Annual theme is “The Good News”. This year we will be diving into the Gospel so that we can have a clear understanding of what God did for us. He sent his only Son, but for what reason? So this month, for our monthly theme, we will discover, “This Is Why He Came”.

However, for some, there is a challenge with Him coming to deliver the Good News. Its too different than what we know. Christ is giving us healing that is foreign to the flesh.

You see, most people don’t reject healing because it isn’t available. They reject it because they’ve decided, consciously or subconsciously, “This is just who I am.”

We lean on our past. We lean on what happened before. We lean on what was done to us.

And after a while, we stop trying to change.

But here’s the truth:

You don’t have to remain a product of your environment. You don’t have to remain a product of your past.

At some point, how you live becomes a personal choice.

And in Mark 2, two groups are standing in the same room with Jesus.

One responds.

One refuses.

Scripture:

Mark 2:15–17 NLT

15 Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) 16 But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?” 17 When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

Title, Prayer:

Is This Really For Me?

Application:

One of the questions people ask today isn’t shouted; it’s a quiet, nagging doubt:

“Is this really for me?” Or many other variations...(not how I grew up...just not religious but spiritual.

We ask this because we try to determine our future based solely on our past. We think we are permanent "products of our environment." We tell ourselves, "This is just how my family is," or "This is just the hand I was dealt." But as we mature, there comes a point where living the way we’ve always lived is no longer a "consequence"—it becomes a personal choice. Jesus came to give us the option to heal. The door is open, but the question remains: Do we receive the gift, or do we choose to keep going the way we’ve always been?

Not because they hate God. Not because they reject faith. But because life has convinced them they don’t qualify.

Sometimes people feel too broken. Or they feel too inconsistent. Sometimes they feel like they missed their chance.

But Jesus came to answer that—not with just words, but with a mission.

I’ve heard people say, “I just need to get myself together first.” My first question is, why would people think that if the church was a place that already welcomed people that think that?

Too many times the church alienates people that dont fit in, instead of welcoming people that already think they dont fit in.

Jesus didn’t call the cleaned-up. He called the conflicted.

Point One: The Magnetism of Need

Why did Levi (Matthew) just "get up and go" when Jesus called? It’s because he recognized he was sick. When you have a deep need and Christ presents Himself to fulfill it, you are naturally drawn to the offer.

Jesus said in John 12:32, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." That is the "Why" behind His coming. He was lifted up to create a magnetic pull toward grace.

But notice who stayed outside: The Pharisees. The problem with spiritual arrogance is that it switches off your "learning button." If you think you already know everything, you can't receive anything. Closed minds cannot get through open doors. The Pharisees missed the revelation because they were too busy being "right" to realize they were dying.

Life Applications:

The "Learning Button" Check: Are you approaching God as a student or as a critic?

Application: If you feel "stuck," ask God to reopen your heart to a truth you’ve been ignoring.

The Pull of the Cross: That tug you feel on your heart isn't guilt; it's Jesus drawing you in.

Application: Stop resisting the pull. If you know you have a need, admit it. Healing begins with a confession of "I am sick."

The Gift We Don't Deserve: Grace is a gift, but God respects you enough to let you reject, refuse, or ignore it.

Application: Don't let your pride keep you from a gift that has already been paid for.

Point Two: Choosing New Roots

We often act like we are stuck in the soil of our past. But look at the table in Mark 2. These weren't "good people"; these were people with bad reputations and messy histories.

Jesus came so that you don't have to continue being a product of your environment. You are invited to become a product of His Grace.

Levi had to make a choice. He had to physically leave the tax booth—the place of his old identity—to sit at the table of his new identity. Jesus provides the table, but you have to provide the "get up and go."

Life Applications:

Breaking the "Past" Narrative: Your history explains you, but it doesn't have to define you.

Application: Identify one thing from your past that you’ve used as an excuse to stay away from God. Leave it at the "tax booth" today.

The Option to Heal: Jesus doesn't force the medicine. He offers it.

Application: Are you picking the "healing option" today, or are you choosing the "comfortable sickness" of your old habits?

Maturity is Personal: Eventually, you can't blame your parents or your past anymore. It becomes your choice to live the way you do.

Application: Take ownership of your seat at the table.

Invitation: The Open Door

If you’re asking, “Is this really for me?” Jesus already answered.

If you’re tired. If you’re struggling. If you’re unsure. If you’re broken.

Yes. The Good News is for you.

But understand this—the Gospel doesn’t just welcome you. It works on you.

So don’t wait until you feel worthy. Don’t wait until you feel ready. Don’t wait until you have it all figured out.

Come as you are. And let Jesus take you somewhere new.

Because the Good News isn’t just for people who look like they have it together— it’s for people who are willing to be made whole.