Who Does Christ Call?

Who Does Christ Call? Luke 5:27-32 Have you ever ridden a bike against the wind with the wind blowing in your face? Riding a bike in that direction can be hard because the wind is resisting you. But, if you turn the bike around, the wind will now be on your back. That same wind that once hindered you now helps you. It pushes you along. It helps give you rest. How many of us are struggling in the hills and valleys of life because we're going against the wind? Levi was someone who knew all about going against the wind because he was going against his own people, the Jews. Levi, also known as Matthew, was Jewish, but he worked as a tax collector for Rome. The Jewish people despised the tax collectors because, in addition to getting paid by Rome for collecting taxes, many tax collectors would also overcharge so they could pad their pockets and get richer. For Levi, every day would have been a struggle. I'm sure almost every day Levi asked himself if being a tax collector was worth it. I'm sure Levi even feared for his life on more than one occasion. But inside, Levi knew that he wasn't a tax collector. That was not who he was supposed to be. Have you ever felt that way? Where something is defining you or trying to define you, but you know that's not who you are. Where inside, you know that's not who you are or who you want to be. Inside you know you can do better, but at the same time feel stuck. And you get home after a long day of both internal and external battles and sit in the stillness of the night weeping for something better to come along. Maybe it was Levi's authority over others that kept him a tax collector. Maybe it was the money that kept Levi working as a tax collector for so long. I'm not sure, but one thing's for sure; Levi was tired of the life he had made for himself. He was tired of going against the wind. Someone else who was going against the wind was Jesus Christ. Jesus was going against the wind of Jewish tradition. The Jewish people had placed so much emphasis upon their tradition they overlooked their theology. They placed so many man-made laws around God's Laws that they forsook the very God they vowed to follow. The Jewish people lost sight of God, so Jesus came to bring God back into sight. When Jesus was baptized, you'll remember that Luke 3:21-22 says God the Father spoke as Jesus came up out of the water while the Holy Spirit descended as a dove upon Christ. The word used for Spirit is Pneuma (new-mos), meaning breath, air, and wind. It was the Spirit (or wind) that rested upon Christ. Jesus was going against the wind of judgmental Jews but with the wind (or Spirit) of God the Father. Just like how riding that bike with the wind provides rest, those who follow Jesus find rest because the same Holy Spirit that descended upon Christ will descend upon you, and you'll be going with the wind of God. Everywhere Jesus went, He brought with Him the breath of God, and everyone felt the Spirit's wind. Some resisted it and walked against the wind; others humbly walked with the wind and embraced Christ. And when Jesus saw the tax collector and said, "Follow Me," "Levi got up, left everything and followed Him." Now, pause here for a moment and reflect upon who the disciples were that Jesus called. Jesus looked at the heart and called people that we might have easily overlooked because people tend to look at outward appearance, strength, and social status. Let me give you an example. Back in 2002, the Oakland Athletics built a winning baseball team in a rather unorthodox way. Three top players left after 2001, and the team didn't have enough money to sign any star players. So Oakland's general manager used some often-neglected statistics to assemble a group of lesser-known ballplayers who were labeled either "past their prime" or seen by other teams as not skilled enough. Even so, that ragtag team ran off a 20-game winning streak on the way to winning their division and 103 games. This reminds me a little of the way Jesus put together His "team" of disciples. He included rough Galilean fishermen, a zealot, and even a despised tax collector named Levi (Matthew). This "team" of disciples should remind us that "God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty" (1 Cor. 1:27). God used those dedicated men (except Judas) to ignite a movement that affected the world so significantly it has never been the same nor will ever be the same again! When looking at people, the lesson is that sometimes we seek out the familiar, the influential, and the wealthy. And we tend to ignore people with less status or those with physical limitations. Jesus put some of society's less desirable people on His team but treated everyone the same. With the Spirit's power and guidance, we can honor all people equally. There are no unimportant people in the body of Christ. Matthew understood this because if you look at the disciples Jesus called, more than any of the other disciples, it was Matthew who best understood the cost of following Jesus. After Jesus said, "Follow Me," don't overlook or underestimate the importance of Matthew's actions. Matthew answered Jesus by getting up, leaving everything, and following Jesus (Luke 5:28). When Matthew got up from behind his tax collectors booth to follow Jesus, he guaranteed his unemployment. Some of the other disciples could always return and go back to fishing, but for Matthew, there was no turning back. Now, I want you to notice 2 changes that happened when Matthew decided to follow Christ. First, Jesus gave Matthew a new life. Matthew was still hated and despised by those who knew him only as a tax collector, but Matthew was loved and accepted in Christ. His sinful life was gone, and as a member of this new team of disciples, Matthew participated in changing the world. Second, Jesus gave Matthew new skills. Since Matthew was once a tax collector, he would have been great at record keeping. So Jesus made Matthew a record keeper and eventually allowed Matthew to write the Gospel that bears his name. Matthew shows us that each of you are God's work in progress. What skills and abilities did you have before following Jesus that can now be used for His kingdom? There was no way Matthew knew that the skills he learned while being a tax collector would eventually serve God by recording the greatest story ever lived. When you trust God with what you have, life's real adventure begins! And when Levi trusted Jesus, he responded in the way everyone who follows Christ should respond, by telling everyone about the Lord. Levi opened up his home to everyone. He invited all his friends and family. Scripture says that "Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them." Levi left his money and the "sin that so easily entangles" (Hebrews 12:1) behind, but he didn't leave behind those who needed to know Jesus Christ. Levi left behind a worldly fortune and traded it for a spiritual fortune! Who Does Jesus Call? Everyone! And like Levi, you play a very important role in God's kingdom. You also are to call people to salvation in Christ. Jesus called Levi. Levi called everyone he knew, and Jesus sat and ate with all of them. This won't make sense to some people, and they'll get mad or question why Jesus matters so much. The Pharisees did. They confronted Jesus and asked, "Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" The Pharisees were prideful. They made themselves appear good in public by doing good deeds and pointing out the sins and faults of others. But it's Jesus who sits and spends time not with proud, arrogant people, but with people who had a sense of their own sin, were tired of going against the wind, and knew they needed God. After all, "It's not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick." Jesus came not "to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." In order to come to God, you must repent; in order to renounce your sin, you must recognize sin for what it is. God originally created this world good, but we have the world as it is today because of sin. Sin is going against the Spirit, or wind, of God. It is using your own strength and trying to do your own thing apart from God. But repentance is turning around and going with the wind of God. If you're walking against the wind, repentance is stopping, turning around, and going in the opposite direction. It's quick and simple. If you're riding a bike against the wind, repentance is still stopping, turning around, and going the other direction with the wind, but depending on your speed, it takes more time to stop and turn. You have to hit the brakes, keep your balance, stop, turn the bike in the other direction, and start pedaling again. Repentance remains the same, but it takes longer to turn. Brothers and sisters, like walking against the wind, some sins are easy to repent from. But other sins, like riding that bike against the wind, are more difficult to repent from. The process remains the same. Christ's love and forgiveness remain the same. But sometimes, the sin that entangles you is hard to escape. Sometimes you repent and don't feel like you're forgiven. Other times you want to repent but don't know why God would forgive you. Folks, God forgives all repentant sinners! Jesus didn't come to "call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." That includes you! It doesn't matter where you are or what you've done; Jesus calls you to be a disciple on His team and follow Him. But can you feel His wind? Jesus does forgive, but like Levi, you must get up and leave everything to follow Christ. So make sure you've truly repented and are not holding onto a certain sin, refusing to let it go. You don't have to be rich, successful, educated, or anything acceptable according to society because you're acceptable to Jesus. You just have to get up, turn around, go with the wind, and "Follow Me." AMEN 2