My Moment in God's Time

The New Testament is full of stories of those who came to follow Christ because of the influence of others and sometimes Christ Himself:

• Shepherds came to worship Him because of an angelic announcement
• Wise Men followed a Star to find him
• Many people in the city of Sychar followed because of the testimony of a Samaritan women
• Nathanael followed because Jesus came to him personally and told him He knew things no one else would know

The New Testament also records many who came from all walks of life to follow Him:

• Peter, Andrew, James and John were fishermen
• Paul was a Pharisee … as was Nicodemus
• Mary Magdalene was a demoniac

This morning we want to discuss how one of Jesus’ disciples first came to follow Him. His name is Matthew, or (in the text we’re reading today) Levi.

Now, whereas Andrew and Peter had fairly respectable jobs as fishermen, Matthew was the only man whose job was absolutely despised by everyone.

He was a tax-collector.

The Gospels reflect the low esteem tax collectors were held by twice comparing them to prostitutes, and eight times referring to sinners - and then saying that tax collectors were a separate special classification of a sinner.

These men were regarded as traitors to Israel because they collected taxes for the hated Romans. And not only were they seen as traitors, but also as thieves, because Rome only required a fixed sum but allowed the tax collectors the right to charge people any amount above that sum for their own pay… and sometimes they would charge exorbitant amounts. The people had to pay whatever the tax collectors demanded because these were the representatives of Rome.

Matthew was the only one of the 12 disciples who had this despised occupation.

Now along comes Jesus - walking down the road - and he chooses to cross the street stops right in front of Matthew’s table ...

27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, 28 and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

29 Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Luke 5.27-32 (NIV)

And He says nothing more than: “Follow me.” Matthew jumps right up, closes shop and leaves everything to follow Jesus. In fact, he gets so excited about following Christ, that he holds a meal and invites all his friends … to come and meet this Jesus.

“Matthew did not know it at the time…but this man was a chosen object of grace, an appointed vessel of mercy…for whom the time to love had come. He was about to be visited by the son of God!

--Charles Spurgeon

WHAT LESSONS CAN WE LEARN FROM MATTHEW’S STORY?

• Jesus knew where to find Matthew

Jesus only had 12 disciples… close followers that would eventually become His apostles. These were men who would becomes shepherds and primary builders of His early church. And here Jesus hand-picks Matthew to be one of those followers.

• Most people wouldn’t have picked Matthew

There are some congregations who only want ‘respectable’ people coming to their church. In fact the Pharisees saw Jesus eating with Matthew and his friends and they were offended that a supposed rabbi would stoop so low.

• Jesus saw something others didn’t

But people like Matthew were the people Jesus looked for. Not the people who felt they were better than others, but those who were sick inside and who wanted to change their lives. People that he viewed as worth walking across the street to meet.

Illustration: Anointing of David as future king of Israel (Eliab)

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

1 Samuel 16.7 (NIV)

• Jesus knew Matthew’s heart was ready for change

• We assume some people wouldn’t be interested… so we don’t invite them. We assume that things in their life, our perceptions about their character or lifestyle are indicative on one who would never surrender their life to Christ ... At least not right now. 

Lee Strobel once wrote a book where he described the Top Ten Beliefs of someone he called “Chesterfield Charlie.” Someone like Matthew that we wouldn't think would be interested in a relationship with Jesus. 

1. Charlie has rejected church, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he has rejected God.
2. He is morally adrift, but he secretly wants an anchor.
3. He doesn’t understand Christianity, but he’s also ignorant about what he claims to believe in.
4. He doesn’t just ask, "Is Christianity true?" Often, he’s asking: "Does Christianity work and how can I experience it?"
5. He is no longer loyal to denominations, but he is attracted to places where his needs will be met.
6. He isn’t much of a joiner, but he’s hungry for a cause he can connect with.
7. Even if Charlie’s not spiritually sensitive, he wants his children to get quality moral training.
8. He is proud that he’s tolerant of different faiths, but he thinks Christians are narrow minded.
9. There’s a good chance He would try church if a friend invited him.
10. He doesn’t want to be somebody’s project, but he would like to be somebody’s friend.

• We may have written them off as lost causes

ILLUS: Dr. Walt Larimore Focus on the Family Magazine November 2002

Studies show that between nine and 26 significant relationships are involved in each person who makes a choice for Christ. Nobody can be all 26, but how could I be a significant one? 

What’s he’s saying is – people often become Christians because they’ve interacted with as few as 9 people and as many as 26. Maybe you know someone who has tried to connect with them or maybe you have as well and ran into a brick wall of rejection. 

If you invite someone to church or share something about your spiritual walk - you might be first person to introduce someone to Jesus, but you might also be the 26th … and you just might get the privilege sharing something significant with them or even baptizing them into Christ. 

• Jesus knew Matthew had friends like him

Matthew had friends… not many… but the ones he did have he wanted to share his new found faith with.

ILLUS: from Newsweek article on Religion and Street Gangs

A Pentecostal preacher by the name of Rivers moved into a gang neighborhood, and he sought out a local drug dealer... and that drug dealer gave Rivers a lesson in why God was losing to gangs in the battle for the souls of inner city kids.

"The drug dealer explained, ’I’m there when Johnny goes out for a loaf of bread for Mama. I’m there, you’re not. I win, you lose, It’s all about being there.’"

The problem for many Christians is that we tend to travel with our “own kind” of believers. We are not in the habit of spending a lot of time with those who don’t share a like faith.

• Christ’s ministry was to the lost

ILLUS: Joyce Gleave, an art teacher from Mustang, Oklahoma, had a burden for the spiritual welfare of the 600 students she taught in the public school. So while on a trip to the Holy Land, she purchased 600 tiny wooden crosses. But when she discovered that she would not be allowed to give the crosses to her students in the class room, her witnessing opportunity seemed doomed.

Instead of giving up, Joyce embarked on an ambitious project. Armed with her crosses and gospel tracts, she visited every one of her students in their homes - all 600 of them!

“Many parents were moved to tears that I cared for their child," she said of her visits.

• Christ’s salvation was for sinners

• Jesus knew Matthew just needed a nudge

All He had to say was “follow me”.

Kind of like us saying “I’d like to invite you to worship with me”

But what’s so novel about this exchange between Jesus and Matthew is Matthew responds immediately. He packs up his goods, and leaves everything to follow Jesus.

How come?

Well, Jesus did have the advantage of being God, but He has also told us that the same thing can work for us as well.

• Our job is not to “talk people” into believing

We use terms like “win them to Christ” and “converting others” when talking about evangelism and sharing the Gospel with others. These phrases carry a sense of obligation that we have to “preach someone into grace” or to cause them to be convicted of sin. But it turns out, that isn’t our job at all.

“But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor (the Holy Spirit) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, HE will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.”

John 16.7-8

• Our responsibility is to be ready to answer

I have, in the past, used the phrase, “our job is to simply give testimony of the truth of God’s Word.” In other words, I am a glorified announcement maker. I tell my story and then leave it up to others to accept or reject the Gospel. While this is true, it is incomplete.

15 But set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess. 16 Yet do it with courtesy and respect, keeping a good conscience, so that those who slander your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame when they accuse you.

1 Peter 3.15-16 (NET)

We have to be ready for follow up questions or even introductory questions when someone inquires about both why we have faith or belief in what we profess as well as how we can be so hopeful even in the midst of seemingly hopeless situations.

We are not merely announcers or God’s truth … we are witnesses of the hope that is found in Jesus Christ—His death, burial, and resurrection.

WHAT CONCLUSIONS CAN WE DRAW BECAUSE OF MATTHEW’S STORY?

• We don’t have to CONVINCE anyone to follow after God

In a court room there’s a witness stand ... Does the judge sit in the witness stand? ... Does the Prosecutor sit in the witness stand? ... Does the jury sit in the witness stand?

Of course not! Only the witness does ... his job is simple: to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth! SO HELP ME GOD! 

• God didn’t call us to be the judge or the jury or the prosecutor
• God called us to be witnesses on His behalf

• The Spirit will CONVICT people to surrender to God

Remember, that is the task which He undertakes—to cause people to consider the consequences of their sin. That doesn’t mean every response leads to repentance and a changed life. People still have the option of ignoring the conviction of the Holy Spirit. 

For every Matthew there is also a rich young ruler. He came to Jesus with such conviction. He begged Jesus to help him know how to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him to sell everything and give it to the poor… the one thing that was missing in his life was seemingly that he was, in some way, too dependent on what he had or too dedicated to amassing wealth. Either way, the Bible says he went away sad because he had great wealth. There was clearly conviction but it did not, at least that this time, cause him to repent of his misguided dedication or dependence and abandon it all to follow Christ.

• They’ve sinned
• They need to be made righteous
• There is going to come a time of judgment 

When Jesus approached Matthew… the Holy Spirit had already been working on his heart. Perhaps he had sat at the tax collector booth for so long, longing for something to be different but resigned to what he believed was his lot in life. Maybe he knew it was wrong, maybe he felt bad about it all, maybe he wished things could be different. He needed that nudge.

And when Jesus said “Follow Me” – Matthew was primed and ready. He got up, left everything and followed… leaving everything behind. All the past schemes and lies, all the justifications and rationalizations, all the regret and shame—in an instant, they were abandoned to simply follow. His conviction, coupled with Christ’s invitation, led to repentance and resulted in a changed heart, a changed life, a changed man.

CONCLUSION

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once stated,

"Treat a man as he is, and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be, and he will become as he can and should be.”

Jesus gave Matthew something to live up to. That’s what our Savior does! And that’s the exact opposite of what the Pharisees did. They asked his disciples why he would eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners. 

The only thing the Pharisees saw when they looked at Matthew was a cheat, a swindler, a liar and a thief ... nothing more, nothing less. I think Jesus saw an innocent little boy playing with friends and a young man who once had hopes and dreams that were nothing like the reality he was now living. He sees past the past. He sees past the sin. He sees His image in us. Like looking in a mirror, God sees a reflection of Himself.

Pharisees treat people based on past performance. Jesus treats people based on future potential.  |  Pharisees give people something to live down to. Jesus gives people something to live up to  |  Pharisees write people off. Jesus writes people in  |  Pharisees see a life of sin. Jesus sees the image of God  |  Pharisees assume the worst and give up on people. Jesus assumes the best and gives them a second chance.

The Pharisees reduced this Matthew to a label, tax collector ... sinner. And sometimes we do the same. We give people political labels, sexual labels, and religious labels. But in the process, we strip them of their individuality and complexity. Prejudice is pre- judging. It’s assuming that bad stories end badly, but Jesus is in the business of turning bad beginnings into happily ever afters.

3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit ...

Titus 3.3-5 (NIV)

Illustration: Good Samaritan