When God Calls - 10/13/2024 Sunday Sermon

The Tabernacle Today

When God Calls

Today we are going to see Jesus take notice of a man and call Him to an eternal relationship with Himself. But in this encounter and what follows we also see that Jesus satisfies all of our human needs.

Our sin nature leads to sin choices that leads to brokenness in all of the areas we just described. When we receive Jesus, we become spiritually alive. As we intentionally follow Him, the rest of changes as well.

Matthew 9:9-13

We are living in the days between the Great Command (Matt. 28) and the Great Multitude (Rev. 5 & 7); these are the days of the Great Pursuit! Before Matthew went out on the Great Pursuit Jesus pursued Matthew!

Jesus modeled our Great Pursuit - V.9a

When Matthew wrote his gospel, he didn’t organize it in a time sequence, but by common themes. Perhaps he puts his “Jesus pursued me” moment here because in the next chapter Jesus sent the twelve out to pursue others. What he did for them they were to do to others.

In the people’s eyes, tax collectors were “Benedict Arnold” Jews. They worked for the Roman occupiers collecting taxes from their own people. They were notorious for overcharging and pocketing the difference.

In showing Jesus pursue Matthew the tax collector for salvation, the Bible is making very clear that no matter how bad your sin is in the eyes of the world, Jesus wants you to turn to Him and be saved.

When God calls, you open your mind and heart to him - V. 9b

Maybe Matthew had been thinking about Jesus with an accountant’s mind, the kind of mind that the Holy Spirit later used to give us this gospel. Matthew probably didn’t have an out-front kind of personality like Peter, but he could sift through details well.

When the gospels mention Matthew by that name or his name Levi, he is always listed 7th or 8th down the list of disciples. Not everyone can be first, but God uses everyone on His team!

When God calls, you open your home! - V. 10-13

Matthew the sinner had been saved, and he wanted his fellow sinners to be saved. So he opened his home and threw a party so other people like him could meet Jesus!

Not every sinner who hears the gospel will respond in repentance and faith – but every sinner should get to meet and spend time with Christians who can introduce them to the love of Jesus.

The Pharisees didn’t understand that they were actually the worst sinners there that day – their sin of pride that led to their judgmental spirit was actually keeping them from seeing their own need as sinners.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.” - Matt. 21:31b

“The gospel says you are simultaneously more sinful and flawed than you ever dared believe, yet more loved and accepted than you ever dared hope.” - Tim Keller