Sermon Tone Analysis

Relationships with those outside the church!

Many years ago, I remember I was looking for a job to help support my family.

I was just laid off from my previous job and had no idea what I was going to do.

That was so scary.

I hate the unknown.

So, there I was sitting in my living room looking through the classified section of the newspaper looking for something I could do.

Then out of nowhere I saw it, CDL Trucking school.

I got to thinking, hmmm… I bet I could make good money driving over the road in a truck.

I didn’t even ask my wife if I should go (I don’t ever recommend doing something that life changing without asking your wife, learn from my mistakes so you don’t have to go through them.

Save that nugget for later!).

So, any way, I just called and set it up and the next thing I know, I was in South Bend at a two week long CDL school.

It was the best thing that ever happened to me and the dumbest!

Once I got there, I had to share a hotel room with another guy who was going through the school as well, his name was Ben.

You see at this time in my life I was not a Christian, I had no idea who God was or anything else about Him.

But, guess what?

God knew me!

This roommate of mine, Ben, was a pastor at some church in Michigan and he wanted to get his CDL to help a friend of his haul stuff for his farm on the side.

The first week of this school we had to learn all the laws and other stuff so that we could get our CDL permit.

That whole week was like sitting in a classroom trying your best to learn and take in all that you could so that you could pass.

It was that week that Ben took the time to build a relationship with me.

He never told me he was a pastor the whole first week, he just told me why he was there, to help his buddy.

But he began to talk with me and get to know me.

After the first week we got to go home for the weekend, and returned on Sunday night, except for Ben didn’t return until the next morning on Monday.

After we sat down for lunch that day, I asked Ben why he didn’t come the night before.

That’s when he told me he was a pastor and he had a service that evening so he couldn’t make it.

As soon as I heard he was a pastor, 2 things happened to me.

#1 I started playing in my mind all the bad things I said or did the week before and felt uncomfortable to stand in his presence (why do we do that?

Why do we, as soon as we hear someone is a pastor, we feel like we have to be fake around them? Like we have to be a certain way, or they will tell God that we aren’t good enough.

Please do not do that around me, I want people to be real, not fake).

Anyways, that was the first thing that happened to me, #2 is I started getting defensive.

What I mean by that is all I knew about Christians was that they were these people who thought they were better than me and I was wrong, and they were right.

That they lived this boring life and I didn’t want anything to do with it.

So, what did I do when Ben told me he was a pastor?

I turned around and walked away.

Literally, I didn’t say anything, I just turned around and walked away and I didn’t give a rip.

As I went through the rest of the day, I did my best to avoid him, I didn’t want him “preaching” to me, but I watched him.

I watched how he kept being kind to everyone and encouraging them.

I watched how he never yelled at anyone, or was rude, or got mad.

Then I remember how he was the whole week before I knew he was a pastor.

I watched how he was different than I made him out to be.

Isn’t that funny!

All my life I wanted nothing to do with Christians because they were judgy, but that’s what I was doing to Ben and every other Christian before him!

How was I any better?

But I watched him, and my walls started coming down slowly.

That night in our hotel room I apologized for how I treated him.

I told him what I thought I knew about Christians and how he was not what I perceived them to be.

Then I did the unthinkable!

I began to ask him questions about God and Jesus.

He didn’t miss a lick, he answered exactly how I needed them to be answered.

By that Friday of the second week I excepted Christ as my personal Savior.

He told me before we left that God was laying me on his heart and he had done nothing but pray for me since the moment we meet.

I remember coming home with Lisa and telling her about this new me.

I would love to tell you the rest of the story from there, but it’s not mine to tell, that’s my wife’s.

That is where my journey as a Christian begins, July of 2006.

I bet I am the only one in this room, or the only one you will ever meet who paid $6,000 to be a Christian!

How is that you say?

Trucking school cost me $6,000 and I drove a truck for a month, that is it.

I paid $6,000 to find Christ!

And I would do it again!

(Transition)

For the past couple weeks, we have been discussing relationships, our relationships with Jesus and our relationships with people inside the church.

This week we are going to discuss relationships with those outside the church.

This is probably one of the hardest relationships to build, but also one of the most important.

In the great commission speech that Jesus gave his disciple right before he ascended into heaven, Jesus told them to “Therefore

In the great commission speech, that Jesus gave his disciple right before he ascended into heaven, what did Jesus tell them to do?

He said “go and make disciples of all nations”

How are we to do that if we don’t build relationships with people outside the church?

If all we do is build relationships with people inside the church we become more like a country club, then a church.

We become inward focused and worry about what we want, rather than what God wants.

We become more like a Pharisee back in Jesus’ time and less like Jesus himself.

(Transition)

Let’s open our Bibles to

Let’s take a step back for a minute!

First of all, we can learn a huge lesson form Jesus right here.

He goes up to a tax collector and asks him to follow him, a tax collector!

Let me tell you a little about tax collector’s back in Jesus’ time.

Just like it says in verse 30, they were scum.

Jews hated them.

Tax collectors were seen as those who betrayed their nation for material gain because they collected money from the Jews to give to the Romans.

And to top it off, they could make up any price they wanted to, and take money for themselves.

The Romans would have them get a certain amount, but the tax collectors would say it was more so they could pocket the difference.

They were stealing money from them!

And there was nothing the Jews could do because if they said “no” they would go to prison.

So, to say the least, the Jews hated them!

We can relate to how the Jews felt.

We all have seen crooked politicians.

Politicians who are only out for themselves.

Who only care about self-gain

They’re suppose to be an advocate for the people, but they only care about their needs.

They pass laws, or don’t pass laws because of the lobbyist who give them money.

We sit here and work our tails off to make ends meet while they sit and do nothing and make money we only dream about making.

They are set for life!

And there is nothing we can do about it.

We go to jail if we don’t pay our taxes or follow the laws that are given.

So, we can relate to how the Jews felt.

Let’s go to the next verse

Then, we read how Levi held a banquet for Jesus and invited all his friends.

Levi had to be well off to throw a banquet for Jesus and invite all these people.

Are you kidding me!?

Levi had the audacity to throw in the faces of the Jews that he was taking their money and just blowing it on a party, when that money could of been spent on feeding their kids or expanding their land to make room for more crops,