We Are Called
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”
And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!”
But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” And he arose and departed to his house.
Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.
As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.
Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
Not in his worst nightmares could he have ever envisioned that he would end up here. If you could go back in time and make different decisions he would do it in a second. His parents had turned their back on him. His friends were no longer his friends. He was even disgusted at himself. The people considered him worse than a sinner. Guys like Matthew were worse, he was a “Tax Collectors.”
One day Matthew was sitting at his post and a crowd of people were hovering in the area. Not to see him, but to see some guy called Jesus of Nazereth. He tried to listen to what this Jesus was saying. People were interrupting Him, and Jesus saw a man who was paralyzed. He looked at the man and his friends and Jesus saw their faith. He told the man “Your sins are forgiven.”
One day Matthew was sitting at his post and a crowd of people were hovering in the area. Not to see him, but to see some guy called Jesus of Nazereth. He tried to listen to what this Jesus was saying. People were interrupting Him, and Jesus saw a man who was paralyzed. He looked at the man and his friends and Jesus saw their faith. He told the man “Your sins are forgiven.”
People laughed and people started yelling at Jesus that He had no right to forgive the man’s sins. Then Jesus did the remarkable, the unthinkable. He told this paralyzed man, not only are your sins forgiven, but get up and walk and go home. At once the paralyzed man was paralyzed no more. He got up and started to walk home. The people were astonished and many glorified God.
As Matthew watched what was happening, Jesus began to walk towards his booth. It was like Jesus was walking right at him. Finally, Jesus was standing right in front of him, and Jesus simply said, “Follow me.”
It was like Matthew didn’t even think, he just got up and started to follow Jesus. He simply got up and walked away from his tax collecting booth. Matthew knew this was life changing, but he still didn’t realize what he was really doing.
Matthew was invited by God to join Him in ministry, to serve God and others. We are all called by God and when we accept that call, our lives can be transformed.
Today we are starting a new series titled Made for Mission. I believe the invitation that God is going to give us equally has the potential to be transforming for our lives.
Do you know the significance of the number 3900-4000?
That’s the estimated numbers of weeks you will spend on planet earth. Don’t you think it may be worth taking 6 of those weeks to figure out if you were made for a mission? I do hope you take the time to be apart of this series and discover the mission you where called for.
I believe God has a mission for each person’s life. There’s a purpose and a plan.
I believe God has a mission for each person’s life. There’s a purpose and a plan. Sometimes we ignore that plan, we don’t like it, or we don’t hear it, so we miss out.
Others will kind of flirt with God’s plan and purpose. They dip their toes into the water, but don’t get in the water.
Then there are those who hear the message and just jump into the water and swim away with God.
I believe we’re all seeking purpose, we’re seeking something bigger in our lives. We all want to have a purpose for what we’re doing in our lives.
We want it to be more than just getting up and going to work everyday . . . ultimately, we want it to be more than going through the motions of life and just simply existing.
We want to make a significant difference in this world. I believe that’s part of the cause for so much restlessness in this world.
Ultimately, we were created to serve, for missions!
As we begin this series to see how we are made for mission, that we are called, we’re going to look at the story about Jesus calling Matthew. After Jesus healed the paralyzed man, Matthew tells us –
As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.
9 As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and He said to him, “Follow me.”
And he rose and followed Jesus.
The fact that Jesus, a Jewish man even approached Matthew, the worst of the sinners was astonishing. Understand that Matthew was a tax collector and he was Jewish. He had sold out his own people in order to become wealthy. People hated him. You would think these would be the last people Jesus would choose to be part of His inner circle. Who would want to hang out with a tax collector?
I believe this is really important for us because some of us think God would never want me to do anything for Him. I’m not good enough. I’ve done too many bad things, I’m a really bad person. We come up with all kinds of reasons to justify not being involved.
BUT, if God called Matthew to serve Him, why not you?
In his book Gaining by Losing, J.D. Greer, the Southern Baptist Convention, president wrote, “There is a widespread myth in the church that “calling into ministry” is a secondary experience that happens to only a few Christians. Their job is to do the ministry and everyone elses job is to just show up and foot the bill. Few lies cripple the mission more than that one. Each believer is called to leverage his or her life for the spread of the gospel. The question is no longer whether we are called, only where and how.”
With that in mind, know that you are called by God! He has chosen you to be an active part of His mission. Since your called, you need to start asking some big questions.
If you’re working — why did God make you good at doing what you do? Surely not just to fill up your life with all kinds of comforts so you can spend the last 20 years of your life on vacation. God has given you your talents as a means of blessing others and as a platform to spread the message of the Gospel - which is the mission the purpose and the plan of God for your life.
If you’re a stay-at-home mom, ask yourself: What role do I play in advancing the mission as I raise my kids? The same question applies if you’re in the military, fire department, teacher or a student. You may not be a pastor, but God has put you on the front lines of ministry.
The word “vocation” actually comes from the Latin word voca, which means “to call.” What if you started seeing your job as an actual calling from God.
Everyday we have a new opportunity to serve God. You can wake up and go through the motions. Or you could see yourself, believe that God has called you to do something significant.
It could be a simple “Hello” to someone who needed a friend. It could be a word of encouragement. It could be a number of things because there is no limit to what God can do through you for His glory and purpose.
God has called us to make a difference every day.
It begins with God Calling Us…Calling us to a relationship with Him
A Call to Relationship
A Call to Relationship
A Call to Relationship
When Matthew was called it wasn’t through an assignment, it was through the start of a relationship with Jesus.
When Matthew was called it wasn’t through an assignment, it was through the start of a relationship with Jesus. Whatever we do, is the same, we’re called firstly, into a relationship with Jesus, so that we just don’t do stuff for God, but we are present with God.
God is the one who begins a good work in us. And that good work is bring us into a relationship with Jesus.
Whatever we do, we’re called firstly, into a relationship with Jesus, so that we just don’t do stuff for God, but we are present with God.
Matthew just got up and followed Jesus. He had a great paying job. 90% of Israel was living below the poverty line. Taxes were high, and Matthew was benefitting. He didn’t have to work hard. He sat at his booth. Jesus’ invitation was a bit vague. He just said, “Follow me.” Where would he be going? What would they be doing?
Maybe as Jesus walked toward Matthew, he was thinking if He could forgive this paralyzed man’s sins, and get him up walking, then maybe He can change my life and could Jesus do the same for me . . . “Could Jesus forgive me of my shame?”
When Jesus called Matthew, he had to get up and follow Jesus. He had to make a conscious decision to follow Jesus. He couldn’t stay in his comfortable chair and follow Jesus. In many respects, Matthew had to take a huge step of faith to follow Jesus.
For many of us, God is calling us to get off the sidelines and get in the game of being made for a mission — — believing we have been called by God into a relationship with Him.
It requires us to do the same as Matthew did . . . consciously get up and follow Jesus. Even without knowing to where.
Matthew then tells us what happened next —
That’s the estimated numbers of weeks you will spend on planet earth. Don’t you think it may be worth taking 6 of those weeks to figure out if you were made for a mission? If I do that, what might happen? Check out what takes place next.
Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.
Matthew then tells us what happened next —
While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him and His disciples.
10 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples.
While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him and His disciples.
I can picture the conversation . . . Matthew asked Jesus, ‘where are we going?’
Jesus looked at him and said, “We’re going to your house for dinner. Text your friends and tell them to come by for dinner!”
It’s amazing what happened. They’re eating at Matthew’s home, and look who is there . . . tax collectors, who are the worst of the sinners, and along with them is another category, just plain sinners. They’re hanging out, having good conversation and eating dinner.
It’s not what Matthew was expecting I am sure when he followed Jesus. We sure wouldn't expect to have this crazy experience of inviting our other sinner friends over. But that is exactly what God will lead us to do, do the crazy and radical thing. Invite our sinful lost friends to come and meet this Jesus who just changed our life.
It’s not what we expect when we follow Jesus. We don’t expect to have this crazy experience of inviting our other sinner friends over. It’s different for everyone. After the dinner, every person there would be changed. They would have heard, talked to, touched the Master. They would have a choice to make. What would they do, what difference would they make?
After the dinner, every person there would be changed. They would have heard, talked to, touched the Master. They would have a choice to make. What would they do, what difference would they make?
Not only are we called to relationship but we are also Called to change.
A Call to Change
A Call to Change
God is in the transformation business. When we meet Jesus, when we form a relationship with Him, our lives change. That was the purpose of that dinner party.
I’m sure Matthew had many meals with his tax collector friends. They were probably the only friends one another had. After all, nobody wanted to associate with them. They were the worst kind of Jews . . . back stabbers, traitors, stealing from their own people. How could they? So, they and other sinners had kind of a ‘social group.’
I’m sure Matthew had many meals with his tax collector friends. They were probably the only friends one another had. After all, nobody wanted to associate with them. They were the worst kind of Jews . . . back stabbers, traitors, stealing from their own people. How could they? So, they and other sinners had kind of a ‘social group.’
Can you imagine when he calls for the dinner party, he tells them there will be a special guest there. Maybe, Matthew would tell them about the paralyzed man who was healed and walked away, physically and spiritually healed!
Who even called for the party? I don’t think Jesus forced believe Matthew was already a changed man and wanted his friends to experience what he had already experienced. This may have been the best chance his friends would have to meet Jesus up close and personal.
In a sense, Matthew became the first missionary. He was a local missionary. He called out his friends, “you’ve got to meet this guy!” He’s already led me to change my life. Trust me, just come out to my dinner tonight and tell me what you think!”
What’s so cool is that Matthew didn’t want to keep Jesus all for himself. He wanted to share his new faith, his new hope, a new purpose with his friends who he knew needed to know Jesus.
Isn’t that what we’re supposed to be about? We don’t want to hold onto Jesus and not share Him with others. There’s plenty of Jesus to go around. He’s here and He’s there, and He’s everywhere. The Spirit of God is wherever you go, isn’t He? So, this is a great lesson that we need to share Jesus.
Matthew didn’t get in his friends face. He simply invited them to a safe place. They came to his home. We might not have that option, but we can invite a friend or friends to dinner, or out for coffee, or if it is church, we can invite them to worship and meet them at the door. Better yet, pick them up, so they don’t have to feel the strangeness of walking through the doors by themselves.
Matthew then tells us the pharisees weren’t happy —
If you thought who do I know who I could invite to a party, who would you invite? Can you do that, or even simply talk to a neighbor, or a co-worker, another student about your faith? Again, it’s not getting in their face. It’s not badgering, it’s sharing who you are in Christ. Remember everyone wants a reason for their existence. We all want a purpose.
And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Matthew then tells us the pharisees weren’t happy —
Do you remember the old program Bewitched? There was that crazy neighbor Mrs. Kravitz!! That’s how I see the pharisees. They were always getting into other people’s business. Especially Jesus’. They were nosey and yet, didn’t have a clue.
11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” –
Do you remember the old program Bewitched? There was that crazy neighbor Mrs. Kravitz!! That’s how I see the pharisees. They were always getting into other people’s business. Especially Jesus’. They were nosey and yet, didn’t have a clue.
The pharisees saw what was happening. What respectable teacher and leader would go into the homes of sinners, of tax collectors, would hang out with the sick, touching lepers, talking to prostitutes? Who in their right mind would do stuff like this? No good teacher would!!
We will face ridicule. There will be people who think following Jesus is crazy.
The Pharisees were the rule keepers, they kept the rules they wanted and made you follow the ones they didn’t. Everyone wanted to be like them. They were in with the Romans, they got breaks, they received special treatment. They had the best seats in the temple.
All others were beneath them, they were ‘WANNABES.’ The tax collectors were at the bottom of the totem pole.
Understand this, and this is a tough one to accept, because we all want to fit in with those around us, but we weren’t created to just fit in. We were made to be unique, to stand out. To let Jesus shine out in our lives.
For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.
Our faith has to be real and visible. We are serving Christ, not other people.
In , Paul said –
For am I now seeking the approval of man or of God? Or am I trying to please man?
When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ? –
Those are some of the questions before us. Our faith has to be real and visible. We are serving Christ, not other people. That’s a tough call, it’s one of those where we have to be able to speak, with kindness and gentleness the reason we have hope and faith in Christ.
Isn’t that the mission? He’s a spiritual doctor. When Jesus refers to the sick, He’s referring to those who are spiritually sick. Those spiritually sick people, as much as we don’t want to admit it . . . are you and I. It’s our family members, it’s those we love the most, it’s our friends - - - and ultimately it’s every person. We are all sick, spiritually sick, we are sinners in need of a physician, and Jesus is just the doctor we need.
11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
12 But when He heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. –
Isn’t that the mission? He’s a spiritual doctor. When Jesus refers to the sick, He’s referring to those who are spiritually sick. Those spiritually sick people, as much as we don’t want to admit it . . . are you and I. It’s our family members, it’s those we love the most, it’s our friends - - - and ultimately it’s every person. We are all sick, spiritually sick, we are sinners in need of a physician, and Jesus is just the doctor we need.
Jesus ended by telling the pharisees –
Again, the goal is when we share, we share the way Peter explained –
But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
15 Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and respect. –
Again, when we’re living that Christ like life, people notice it, and they want to know how and why? That’s the time to give the reason for the hope you have in Christ. But you do it with respect and gentleness, helping a person understand who Christ is in you.
The same is true for us. Go and learn what that means. Help others to see Jesus in you, and be ready to share with love, grace and His power the reason you are uniquely you!
Jesus ended by telling the pharisees –
13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” –
And that is exactly what we will be learning for then next 6 weeks that we WE ARE MADE FOR MISSION.
The same is true for us. Go and learn what that means. Help others to see Jesus in you, and be ready to share with love, grace and His power the reason you are uniquely you!