No Really, I'm Fine

Announcements

Fun Days: Volunteer link

Newcomer Lunch

Camps

Intro

Han Solo: You Like Me Because I’m a Scoundrel

One of my favorite characters in all of movie history is Han Solo. Who’s with me?

Really, it’s nearly any character Harrison Ford plays because most of them have a trait in common.

They are scoundrels.

Not bad guys…just not totally trustworthy, unpredictable…cool

The kind of guys who drive jags

In Empire Stikes Back there’s this moment between him and Princess Leia as they are running from the empire where he owns the title well.

“Admit it, sometimes you think I’m all right”

“Occasionally, maybe, when you aren’t acting like a scoundrel”

“scoundrel, scoundrel, I like the sound of that. you like me because I’m a scoundrel.”

“I happen to like nice men”

“I’m a nice man”

I think the cool part about a character like that is that they seem to know who they are. No denying he is a scoundrel, he owns it.

Flawed, but comfortable with it. And somehow we, as the audience, are comfortable with his flaws and cheer him on as a hero in the story.

We aren’t that way with all scoundrels though...

We tend to pick and choose a little bit which scoundrels we are good with, and which cause us to raise our guard.

I know I have my list of flaws that put me off someone.

Pause for a moment and consider what sins, what flaws, what kind of scoundrel do you allow in to your life, and which do you build walls to protect yourself from.

The answer will be different for everybody.

But here’s the thing…I touched on it a moment ago with Captain Solo…he knew he was a scoundrel…We are usually able to recognize that everyone has faults, that all have sinned…but if we are honest with ourselves…we’re scoundrels too.

Matthew West: Truth Be Told

One of the best songs to hit Christian radio in the past few years is Truth be told by Matthew West:

Lie number one you're supposed to have it all together And when they ask how you're doing Just smile and tell them, "Never better"

Lie number 2 everybody's life is perfect except yours So keep your messes and your wounds And your secrets safe with you behind closed doors

Truth be told The truth is rarely told, now

I say I'm fine, yeah I'm fine oh I'm fine, hey I'm fine but I'm not I'm broken And when it's out of control I say it's under control but it's not And you know it (SLIDE) I don't know why it's so hard to admit it When being honest is the only way to fix it There's no failure, no fall There's no sin you don't already know So let the truth be told

So keep your messes and your wounds and your secrets safe with you behind closed doors...

The biggest challenge is that we often close those doors even to ourselves.

We don’t see ourselves as scoundrels, we see ourselves as pretty ok, not perfect, but ok. While identifying others as the real scoundrels.

Today, we are going a little out of order as far as most timelines of Jesus’ life is concerned to pick up the last reference to him specifically calling one of his 12 disciples to stick with our theme of the past couple weeks.

And in this narrative, Jesus will have an interaction with a group that shares this issue of failing to see ourselves as the problem, as the scoundrels.

Jesus’ interaction gives amazing hope to the scoundrel, but a chilling warning to us when we fail to see ourselves clearly.

Let’s read.

What Jesus Does With a Scoundrel

Mark 2:13-17 CSB

“Jesus went out again beside the sea. The whole crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. Then, passing by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, “Follow me,” and he got up and followed him. While he was reclining at the table in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who were following him. When the scribes who were Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard this, he told them, “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.””

Let’s pray before we go farther

Let’s look at what Jesus does with scoundrels.

Commissions Them

Mark 2:13-14 CSB

“Jesus went out again beside the sea. The whole crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. Then, passing by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, “Follow me,” and he got up and followed him.”

Let’s talk about Levi, or Matthew as he’s more commonly known.

A sellout to a foreign power

Part of a corrupt system

Unfaithful to God and their community. Pariah.

Everybody knew Matthew was a scoundrel.

Everybody kept him at arms length.

Except Jesus. What did Jesus do? Note, he was out teaching…Levi wasn’t there. It was when Jesus was walking by and saw him sitting IN his sinful, treacherous occupation that Jesus SEES him and CALLS him… and when Jesus chooses 12 to be his core group…Matthew is commissioned by Jesus to be one of them!

No decent person would have called Matthew to serve God in any kind of role, let alone a leadership one.

Let me cut right to the conclusion in this point: Jesus must choose people differently than we do.

If you turn back to 1 Samuel 16 you read about Samuel being told by God to go to the house of Jesse to anoint of his sons to be king. He sees the first and is sure that must be him. God says this to Samuel:

1 Samuel 16:7 “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what the Lord sees, for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.””

Bottom line, we are not the best equipped to rule people out for service in the Kingdom.

At HCC we believe that every member of the kingdom is called to serve. Spoiler…we know you aren’t perfect. Neither are we.

There are certainly behaviors that can limit your role, and skills and character, needed to perform some roles…but the evidence of scripture is that even a clear scoundrel like Matthew can and will be called to serve.

What is your reaction when you see a failing in someone? Especially someone who is serving? What about yourself? Do you rule yourself out of service because of your failings?

So then what?

Invests in Them

Mark 2:15 CSB

“While he was reclining at the table in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who were following him.”

Luke tells us that Levi was the host of a grand banquet.

Levi invited all the other scoundrels for a party to get to know Jesus. One of the sure signs you really understand how great the grace of Jesus is is your intentionality in sharing him.

If you really get it, you really value it, and you really share it.

Notice it says here that many of these “tax collectors and sinners” the scoundrels were following Jesus.

What did Jesus do? He invested in them. He ate with them. He talked with them.

It is often our bias as the church to blame the culture’s lack of interest in Jesus on the culture…but the worst society had to offer…were really interested in Jesus.

The more I talk with people who don’t know Jesus…the more I find that one of two things are usually true:

They really have never heard of him (beyond the name or what they have seen on tv) or had a meaningful encounter with a follower of Jesus who introduced them.

They did have a meaningful encounter with someone who talked about Jesus, but didn’t act like him.

Common thread…both of those are on us.

Jesus invests in the scoundrels.

Do we invest our time like Jesus?

Who are you investing time and energy in that is different than you?

When was the last time you had dinner with someone who did not know Jesus and wasn’t family?

When have you stopped to listen to someone’s story without trying to fix it, but just to know them

Most of you know that since last year about this time I’ve been meeting with a ministry coach. Dave Gallanter. He has one question he asks an awful lot. “Why not?”

Every time he points out an opportunity I missed or a step I could have taken and I say, no…I didn’t do that…he asks, “Why not?”

Best question ever. Moved me forward leaps and bounds the last year.

So, when it comes to investing time in scoundrels, let me ask you…why not?

Just as a point to consider, what about you is so much more special that you were worth Jesus investing in?

My repentance and real beginning of walking with Jesus came when I was at my worst. And I didn’t improve overnight. And I still…more than 25 years later have room to grow…But it started because followers of Jesus invested in a kid showing little sign of being worth the effort.

Jesus commissions and invests in scoundrels. Now here’s the best and worst news of all. He:

Prioritizes Them

Mark 2:16-17 CSB

“When the scribes who were Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard this, he told them, “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.””

The religious leaders would not have invited Matthew onto their leadership team. Never asked him to help pass the offering plate for sure…not a scoundrel like that.

They were visibly upset that Jesus was now investing time into an entire room filled with scoundrels. Totally unacceptable for someone claiming to be a teacher about God.

So they did what most do when they have a problem.

They talked to someone else about it.

They went to the disciples! But Jesus heard and gave a quick response:

It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.

To use our language today: It’s not the nice guy, but the scoundrel that I’m here for. The nice guy doesn’t need my help, the scoundrel does.

On a cold rainy night early in 2002 while playing pinochle with the Wahlstroms at our house in Sutherlin Oregon, there was a need for someone to run over to the Wahstroms place accross the parking lot to grab something…don’t remember what...

While making the run, I tripped and fell on my right hand. My elbow really hurt. but I was fine.

I sat back down to play cards.

“Maybe you need to go to urgent care?” my wife says...”Nope, I’m fine”…oh those lyrics weren’t written yet, but they would have worked.

I say I'm fine, yeah I'm fine oh I'm fine, hey I'm fine

but I'm not

I'm broken

Took me a long time still playing cards to acknowledge that there was a problem. My elbow was broken right up the middle.

We say we don’t need the doctor. We can claim we don’t need counseling. We focus our energy on the issues in someone else’s life because certainly they are worse than us.

Here’s the problem:

Who did Jesus come to call? - The sick, the scoundrel, the broken.

Who didn’t he come for? - the healthy.

Were the Pharisees healthy? No.

What was the investment Jesus made in them? A quick question and then he went back in the room with the sick who knew they were sick. The scoundrels who knew they were scoundrels.

It’s funny…they thought the sinners were those who most needed God, they were the broken…but they also showed no interest in introducing them…and were irritated with someone who was.

The bad news: If you aren’t the sick, the sinner, the scoundrel, Jesus didn’t come for you. That’s his words, not mine.

Now, I think there is ample evidence in scripture that this breaks the heart of God, that Jesus laments it. But these are the people who Jesus has the least ability to transform and to call into service. They are the people he is the least likely to invest meaningfully in.

Because they don’t think they need him. And God will never force anyone to love him.

And those who don’t see their own need rarely turn to God. They can be religious, they can walk the walk and talk the talk…except for loving the scoundrels.

And it is hard for someone who doesn’t see their need to be persuaded to find and follow Jesus.

I have one big exception which I’ll share in a moment.

The good news: If you are a scoundrel, Jesus came to call you. To invite you to serve the Kingdom of God, to know him and live in eternity by believing in his death and resurrection.

No matter your background, your past, your mistakes, Jesus came for you, will invest in you, and wants to commission you into the most important work in the world, being his follower and restoring the world to it’s maker.

That is some seriously good news. And some chilling news if we are not among the sick.

Here’s more good news: According to the Bible, we are all sick. We are all scoundrels. We are all sinners in need of salvation. We are all broken, all needy, all in a desperate position.

Even once we know Jesus, a Christian with a clear understanding of the word will know that our righteousness still isn’t ours…it is all from Jesus.

I mentioned a big exception to the idea that Jesus didn’t come for the “healthy”. Though Jesus doesn’t invest the same way, they still get invited. Sometimes pretty harshly, because the first step is to understand their illness, their identity as a scoundrel. So when Jesus addresses them…it can be rough.

Paul is one of the few examples of one who responded…and it was rough.

In Philippians 3, Paul writes about all his religious pedigree, his knowledge and overall coolness and then says:

Philippians 3:7-9 “But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them as dung, so that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ—the righteousness from God based on faith.”

He didn’t deserve it, earn it, study for it, work for it, climb to it, or inherit it. He did what any sensible sick person does: He asks for help and trusts the good doctor.

Worship and prayer team up

For those today who know Jesus, I’m going to challenge you to see scoundrels like Jesus did. And use your time and energy accordingly.

First, quit seeing any person as beyond reach. Don’t waste the opportunities you’ve been given. Can we quit allowing people to miss Jesus because no follower of Jesus ever bothered to invest in their life?

Jesus called the worst kinds of scoundrels.

He then invested time in them. Will you invest time? This week, let’s go back to my “why not?” who is one person who doesn’t know Jesus, who isn’t family that you can invite to a meal and have spiritual conversations with?

Do it this week. If you can’t come up with any names, why not? What will you do to change that?

For you today if you have never surrenderer your life to following Jesus, have I got awesome news for you:

The God who made this world loves you more than you can imagine. And i would love to tell you how to know him. Find me after, come forward and talk to a member of the prayer team and we will introduce you.

Don’t waste your life pretending that everything is fine when it’s not. This is a church made up of scoundrels at various points along a journey of change.

Jesus is changing each of us, but all of us still need him deeply. None of us are any better and we might be in worse shape than you. And Jesus still loves us, and we still love each other. God’s family is a great place to be a scoundrel…and to be changed.

Jesus may not like us because we’re scoundrels…but he doesn’t reject us because of it either…let’s pray.

Pray