Sinners wanted. . .

Lisrten here:  https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/40c23730/sinners-wanted...

If you are new to Morning Briefings, you might not know that I love engaging with people from all walks of life at my gym, in the grocery store, and on the airplane--maybe especially on the airplane because there is a since of anonymity and a safety cushion for conversation. After all, we will never see each other again, so why not just be 'real'? As a result, I have had folks tell me some deeply personal things about their lives, their feelings and struggles, and their thoughts about God.

Here is what I know to be true: people are suspicious about religion, at best. But God . . . well, there is an interest in figuring him out. The Bible? Many have believed the lie that the Bible has been mishandled, corrupted over time, and simply not true. And others - well, they admit they really do not understand it. Oh, and the church? Fuggetaboutit. It is a moneygrabbing, hypocritical, out-of-step entity that they want nothing to do with. At the same time, people are hungry for meaning in their lives, unsure where to get it, and many want to know why they are here--their purpose.

Friends, religion is a manmade construct that often messes up

pure faith and close relationship with a loving God and sacrificing Savior.

Yet another reason the pages of Luke's gospel are so life giving as we look at Jesus and learn from him. Stories that we could skim right through, thinking they have little or no application for us, suddenly spill over with meaning as we step a little closer to the gospel [good news], and consider what it might have been like to have been present, experiencing firsthand the encounters with Jesus.

We saw Jesus call his first four disciples at their place of business: the Sea of Galilee. Do not lose sight that these were simple fishermen, who likely smelled pretty bad, but they said 'yes' to Jesus. Man, don't you see? Jesus’ heart and plan for calling people to himself was so moving. Note: to answer the call of Jesus was to say 'yes' to relationship with him, and 'yes' to wanting to become more like him, 'yes' to drawing others to his life-changing message.

We look again at Luke's gospel, chapter 5: After this he [Jesus] went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.”  And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.

And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5.27-32. [wait, was his name Matthew or Levi? Which is correct? The answer is very simple. Matthew and Levi are two names for the same person. Matthew is the Greek name and Levi was the Hebrew name.1]

Jesus called the unlikely, in many cases, the unlovely—such as Matthew, a despised tax collector. (Despised because of the greedy, oft dishonest manner of extracting money from people) Jesus was not attracted to the high and mighty, nor the 'religious'.

Jesus still beckons us today to ‘Follow him’. But there is a difference in Jesus’ call to Matthew to follow him, and his invitation to us today.

Matthew’s call was to follow Jesus—literally—Jesus who was not just fully God, but also fully man. Jesus was saying, ‘Come, Matthew, be with me.’ Matthew knew what he was leaving behind to be with Jesus, and he was willing because he knew that Jesus offered him real life—a life of meaning, a life of purpose. Staggering, courageous choice made by Matthew.

Many times when we say ‘yes’ to God, we do not know the places he will take us; it certainly is a life of great adventure! Matthew became a part of what would be twelve disciples. Of course, he had no idea how God would use him to change millions of people through the writing of his account of Jesus’ life and ministry in the gospel that bears his name. Starting with the genealogy in the first chapter, Matthew was a bold writer: see ‘Scandalous from the Start’2  He painstakingly wove in 68 Old Testament prophecies, (which observant Jews would recognize), and how Jesus was the exact fulfillment of those scriptures, particularly because he wanted his people, the Jewish people, to know that Jesus was indeed their Messiah. Matthew cited details, many of them direct quotations from the prophets, that had been said of Jesus 700 years before—totally remarkable, and another element that shores up the historicity of Jesus Christ.

­Matthew had no idea that he would be with Jesus only about 3 years, and that his rabbi and Lord would be arrested, falsely tried, tortured, and crucified at the hands of men who could not handle the truth of Jesus, or the threat of Grace to their Law.

­When he said 'yes', Matthew could not know that Jesus would do what he said he would do—rise from the grave on the third day because neither death nor a tomb could hold him. But Matthew saw Jesus after his resurrection, and that is what made him a sold­out believer in the Messiah, even willing to die for him.

Today Jesus issues the invitation ‘Follow me’~

Hey, Devan, Lili, Mary, Dylan, Nick, Tony . . . your life will change forever if you say:

~> yes to the invitation

~> yes to asking God’s forgiveness for the wrong you have done.

Jesus alone is the cure for your sin. Confess it to him and receive his forgiveness. Be free. Leave shame in your rearview mirror

Then you can say:

~> yes to forgiving yourself

~> yes to obeying God,

~> yes to listening to the still, small voice that woos you,

~> yes to the voice inside that prompts you to do the right thing

~> yes to God ... even though you do not have all the answers

~> yes to forgiving others who have hurt and wronged you.

As Matthew walked away from his greed and into free living with Jesus Christ, so you too could be on to the loving adventure of doing life with God. You will discover what it means to never be alone again, and strike out toward your God­-ordained purpose!

Listen "I Believe" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuD33xMxAoY

So glad Jesus chose a sinner like me,

Christine

Luke, #22

1 - CARM - https://carm.org/bible-difficulties/was-the-tax-collector-named-mat...

2 - Scandalous from the start: http://pastorwoman.com/ReadArchive.aspx?id=1450