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Jesus Came for Sinners

July 26, 2015

Scripture referenced 3 passages

The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.

  • Matthew 9:9-13 the primary text, read aloud and expounded through the sermon

    9 As Jesus passed by from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax collection office. He said to him, “Follow me.” He got up and followed him.

    10 As he sat in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples.

    11 When the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

    12 When Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick do.

    13 But you go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

    World English Bible · Read it in another translation

    Keep this verse

Luke 18 (parable of the Pharisee and tax collector)

read aloud as illustration of self-righteousness versus humility before God

1 He also spoke a parable to them that they must always pray, and not give up,

2 saying, “There was a judge in a certain city who didn’t fear God, and didn’t respect man.

3 A widow was in that city, and she often came to him, saying, ‘Defend me from my adversary!’

4 He wouldn’t for a while, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God, nor respect man,

5 yet because this widow bothers me, I will defend her, or else she will wear me out by her continual coming.’”

6 The Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says.

7 Won’t God avenge his chosen ones, who are crying out to him day and night, and yet he exercises patience with them?

8 I tell you that he will avenge them quickly. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

9 He spoke also this parable to certain people who were convinced of their own righteousness, and who despised all others.

10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector.

11 The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself like this: ‘God, I thank you, that I am not like the rest of men, extortionists, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

12 I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get.’

13 But the tax collector, standing far away, wouldn’t even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

15 They were also bringing their babies to him, that he might touch them. But when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.

16 Jesus summoned them, saying, “Allow the little children to come to me, and don’t hinder them, for God’s Kingdom belongs to such as these.

17 Most certainly, I tell you, whoever doesn’t receive God’s Kingdom like a little child, he will in no way enter into it.”

18 A certain ruler asked him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

19 Jesus asked him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good, except one—God.

20 You know the commandments: ‘Don’t commit adultery,’ ‘Don’t murder,’ ‘Don’t steal,’ ‘Don’t give false testimony,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’”

21 He said, “I have observed all these things from my youth up.”

22 When Jesus heard these things, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have, and distribute it to the poor. You will have treasure in heaven. Come, follow me.”

23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was very rich.

24 Jesus, seeing that he became very sad, said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter into God’s Kingdom!

25 For it is easier for a camel to enter in through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into God’s Kingdom.”

26 Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?”

27 But he said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”

28 Peter said, “Look, we have left everything, and followed you.”

29 He said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, there is no one who has left house, or wife, or brothers, or parents, or children, for God’s Kingdom’s sake,

30 who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the world to come, eternal life.”

31 He took the twelve aside, and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things that are written through the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be completed.

32 For he will be delivered up to the Gentiles, will be mocked, treated shamefully, and spit on.

33 They will scourge and kill him. On the third day, he will rise again.”

34 They understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they didn’t understand the things that were said.

35 As he came near Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the road, begging.

36 Hearing a multitude going by, he asked what this meant.

37 They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.

38 He cried out, “Jesus, you son of David, have mercy on me!”

39 Those who led the way rebuked him, that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “You son of David, have mercy on me!”

40 Standing still, Jesus commanded him to be brought to him. When he had come near, he asked him,

41 “What do you want me to do?” He said, “Lord, that I may see again.”

42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight. Your faith has healed you.”

43 Immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God. All the people, when they saw it, praised God.

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

John 3:16-17

quoted at the close as a sending verse about God's love and salvation, not condemnation

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

17 For God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him.

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

Recap

The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.

This message centered on Matthew 9:9-13 and the question of whether God can use broken people. The preacher walked through the calling of Matthew the tax collector and Jesus' sharp response to the Pharisees who looked down on sinners. A video testimony from a man who walked through addiction, a fatal car accident, and a slow path to faith set the tone before the passage was opened.

What was said

The service opened with a video testimony from a man whose life unraveled through cocaine, alcohol, a drunk-driving crash that killed his friend and permanently injured a young woman, and the prospect of forty years in prison. He described feeling certain he had crossed a line with God that could not be uncrossed. The turning point came in a courtroom when, asked what was helping him, he looked up and said "Jesus Christ." That testimony framed the question the sermon kept returning to: can God use broken people?

Pastor Blake moved to Matthew 9:9, noting how short the account actually is. Jesus saw a tax collector, said "follow me," and Matthew got up. The brevity is the point. Tax collectors in that day were despised as corrupt thieves who overcharged their own people and pocketed the difference. Matthew was that. And yet when Jesus offered him forgiveness, acceptance, and a new beginning, Matthew left immediately. Pastor Blake kept returning to what Matthew gained rather than what he left behind, arguing there is far more to gain in following Christ than there is to lose.

What Matthew did next was just as important. He invited Jesus to dinner with his disreputable friends, reasoning that if Jesus came for someone like him, he would come for them too. Pastor Blake quoted D.T. Niles: "Christianity is just one beggar telling another where he found bread." Matthew still carried the scars of his old life, and rather than covering them up he used them as a bridge to people still living in that same wreckage.

The Pharisees watching that dinner party drew the sermon's sharpest moment. Their question, "why does your teacher eat with such scum," got an equally sharp answer from Jesus: healthy people don't need a doctor, sick people do. Pastor Blake brought in a quote from Spurgeon, that Christ receives not the self-righteous but the broken in spirit and contrite in heart, and one from Martin Luther, that Jesus never died for our good works because they weren't worth dying for, but gave himself for our sins. The good news is not that we clean ourselves up first. It is that we come as we are.

The parable from Luke 18, the Pharisee and the tax collector at prayer, was read aloud to show the contrast in posture. The Pharisee catalogued his own virtue. The tax collector would not even lift his eyes and beat his chest saying, "Oh God, be merciful to me for I am a sinner." Jesus said that man, not the Pharisee, went home justified before God. That prayer, Pastor Blake said, is the posture of anyone who is right with God.

Pastor Blake closed by drawing three things from the passage: Jesus came for sinners, Jesus changes sinners, and Jesus uses sinners. Matthew became a bridge between Jesus and people Jesus would not otherwise have reached. The man in the video, who doubted God could use someone as broken as himself, watched a Celebrate Recovery ministry grow from forty people to a hundred and fifty. The pattern is the same in both cases. It is not the person doing the work. It is Christ working through someone who has stopped pretending they have it together.

The closing encouragement was directed in two directions. For longtime believers, it was a call to keep the spirit of humility, to resist looking at another sinner as someone too far gone, and to consider letting those old scars show when they might be the thing that meets someone else in their own brokenness. For anyone hearing it for the first time, the invitation was simply to pray the same prayer the tax collector prayed in the parable.

Doing a Bible study?

Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.

  1. The man in the video said he was certain he had crossed a line with God and could never come back. Have you ever felt that way, or known someone who did? What do you think kept him from turning to God sooner?
  2. Pastor Blake pointed out that Matthew left his tax booth immediately, with no apparent hesitation. What do you think made it possible for Matthew to walk away from everything so quickly, and what makes that kind of response hard for us?

and 3 more questions in the guide

Open the study guide

Read the full transcript 5,999 words
0:00 Good. Good. Good morning, everybody. It's about that time. It's time to get started.
0:06 It's a beautiful day. Can we just start by praying? Let's give thanks. God, we praise you for a a new day. This is a beautiful day.
0:13 This is a beautiful place to be. We acknowledge your presence with us. We ask God for you, to speak to us, meet us right where we're at this morning because that is what you do. We thank you. Wanna give you praise.
0:26 Amen. Let's stand up. We'll bless the Lord.
0:56 I worship your holy name. The sun comes up. It's a new day dawn, and Let me be singing when the evening come. Bless the Lord, oh my soul. Oh, my soul.
1:34 Worship his holy name. Sing like never before. Oh, my soul. I worship your holy name. He's name is great and your heart is kind of all your goodness I will keep on saying.
2:11 10,000 reasons for my heart to find. Bless the Lord on my soul. I worship I worship your Amen.
2:48 Y'all can have a seat for a bit.
2:57 Alright, we have got some announcements this morning. Do we need to explain where Ray is? I have no idea. No. He is not here this morning.
3:11 So, I get to go through announcements with you which is always a quick fun time. So, let's get into it. Actually, I'm not I'm really not sure where Ray is.
3:19 He's in Cody, Wyoming.
3:21 He's in Cody, Wyoming. He's in Cody, Wyoming. That's where he's at. So he's not here today. We get Carl and myself to try to put this show together.
3:30 So first things first, we've got our Spanish service here today at 01:30 after lunch. You can come back. If you're a Spanish speaker or you want to bone up on the old Spanish, come check out the service. It's a great time. We want to show em lots of love and support.
3:47 This guy right here, mister Blake Morley, handsome fellow. He will be speaking at Monday night down there. Tomorrow night. 06:15. Meal music and message.
3:56 That's happening and we get to hear from Blake. Which is great. So, right here, all, for all men, young men, and old, we've got the men's fraternity barbecue and horseshoe tournament. That is Wednesday, July 29, five to eight at Mike Yockel Park. If you have any questions about that, you can contact Matt Litzelman and his number is in your bulletin.
4:18 So, sure to grab. Matt, do you want to say anything about that? There you go. If you've got a mean horseshoe game, check it out. We've got some upcoming events here.
4:27 We've got the Global Leadership Summit that the we've partnered with press the Presbyterian Church and they're it's do you wanna say anything about this? You're the one who's in charge of it.
4:38 Yep. It's a leadership summit, not just for churches but for for really anybody that's in a position of leadership. I believe all the spots are full right now, and we filled them up. But know that that it's there, and it's something that really can bring leaders well, not only together, but but sharpen our leadership. So if you would and you think of us, please pray.
4:59 It's it's it's it's gonna be a good conference.
5:01 Can you you can still get tickets online, right? In our group?
5:04 I'm not sure.
5:05 He's not sure. He's in charge. He's not sure.
5:07 He's put me on the spotlight.
5:08 Yeah. Sorry about that. He'll find out. If you have any questions, contact Carl. He could do some research and find out for you.
5:14 So, or contact Presbyterian Church Jackson Holeville though. So, then, the high school, middle school youth, mark your calendars. There's more information to come but we are taking our annual pilgrimage down to Salt Lake City for our lagoon trip where we go for an overnight. We ride rides till we're sick and then we hit up the outlet malls and get our shopping on. So, if you guys are a middle school or high school aged individual, we would love to have you.
5:42 You can talk with me. If you I'm if I'm not on if you're not on my text list getting text and information of you things and you would like to be, come see me sometime and I'll get you on that list. But yeah, Lagoon is a great time. It's going to be fun. So, just put that in your calendars, August fourteenth and fifteenth.
6:00 It is a Friday, Saturday. And always check your bulletin for everything else that is happening. And Jerilyn, areola, would you like to say? Perfect. So, the girls Sunday study.
6:13 Make sure that's happening.
6:13 Which group is that though?
6:15 Did you say fourth? Did that Andrea? Largie? Can we get a confirm? Fourth, is it fifth, sixth, and seventh?
6:22 What do you have? Fifth and sixth with there you go. Fifth and sixth. Fourth something to look forward to when you're a year older. But the older gals, also with Melissa and Geralyn.
6:35 It's a great time. Stick around for an extra hour. Get a little bit more info on your Sunday. So, that is happening. Check your bulletins.
6:42 Once again, any other announcements someone would like to say? No? Alright. You may stand up. Let's greet one another and mister Carl will bring you back in song.
7:10 Alright. What a friend we
7:11 have in Jesus. Friend we have in Jesus our sins and grease to bear. Yeah. What a privilege to give me with everything you got in prayer. Peace we often for fear, oh, needless pain we bear, all because we do not care.
7:49 We thank you God in prayer. Happy trials, And how would trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged until we get to the Lord in prayer. Can we find a friend so faithful who with all our sorrow share Jesus knows our every weakness.
8:34 Can't get to the Lord in prayer. With precious savior still I read it to the Lord in prayer thy friends, despise for saying thee. Take it to the Lord in prayer. In his arms, you'll take and shield thee. And I will find my soul I hear the savior saying thy strength in zeety small child of weakness watching friend finding me thine own change blood after spots and melt the heart of stone Jesus favor all to him I had left to crimson sang he washed it white as snow Sin after crimson stain, he washed your bodies.
11:42 Praise the one who paid our debt. Oh, praise the one who paid my debt and raises thy up from an Oh, praise the one who paid my debt and raises thy
12:45 Lord, these songs that we're singing, they communicate this very real truth of our our dependence on you, that you are are a friend to us and that you have you have paid our debt and that you wash us clean. And as we keep singing here, that verse that that comes to mind that we're looking at today in the scripture that you said, for I've come to call not those who think that they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners. I pray that you would give us a a posture of humility and brokenness before you. And if we've been walking for you with you even for a long time, that you would help us to recall how we first came to know you, become aware of our brokenness and our need for you, and how you changed us and you've given us new life. Amen.
14:06 Jesus spreading, stands to save you forfeiting love and foul. Come you thirsty. Come and welcome. God's free bounty, glorified. True belief and true repentance, hell, the grace that had brings in mind.
14:42 I'll rise. In the arms of my dear savior, there are 10,000 shorn. Come be weary, heavy laden, a lost and ruined by the phone. And if you tarry until you're better, you'll never come gone. And I'll rise and go to Jesus.
15:52 You will race me as on you. And in the arms of my dear savior, There are 10,000 charms. Let's sing that truth again. I'll rise. And I'll rise and go to Jesus.
16:17 Well, me in his arm. And in the arms of my dear savior, There are 10,000 shards. There are 10,000 shards.
16:58 Y'all can be seated. I'd just like, to ask one of our elders. This is Eric Walkup. We're gonna participate here in the worship of giving. Eric, would you lead us in prayer?
17:11 Let's pray. Father God, we are we are broken and sinful people. We need you. You died on the cross. You paid it all.
17:23 What do we have that does not come from you? You've given us you've given us everything. You've given us life itself. We praise you for new life. We praise you for the physical ways that you've blessed us with houses, with jobs.
17:40 For people without those, we lift them up to you. But because you've given us so much, Lord, we we give back to you with joyful hearts knowing that everything comes from you and and you do as you please. And so we are excited to participate in in giving our tithes and offerings back to you as a as a way of worship, as a way of saying, you are our lord, and and we acknowledge that everything comes from you. So we praise you this morning, and we give with joyful hearts. We pray these things in your name, Lord.
18:15 Amen.
18:17 So I grew up in a, I'd say, middle class home. We went to church on Sundays. Most of the time, it wasn't because I was looking for God. Was because I was looking for friends. Well, went to college.
18:27 That's when I was introduced to drugs. Cocaine became very popular for me. Just the whole bar atmosphere, I I chose to dive right into. You know, I graduated, found a job that I really started succeeding at. I was actually promoted to that job to take on different levels of responsibility around the nation.
18:44 And one of my first deployments was back in my college hometown. I'd been there for about a month, month and a half, and I ran into a really good friend of mine from college. We decided that we were going to a Jimmy Buffett concert. You know, we left and we were drinking and we were just having fun in the car. Was a college road trip, as you will, except we never really made it to the destination.
19:18 When we hit the tree, my friend went through the windshield, and the young lady that was with us was thrown about twenty, thirty five yards. She's maimed to this day. My friend obviously died, and I broke twenty seven bones, including four, five, and six in my vertebrae. You know, I'll never forget the day that my parents had to come
19:39 in in
19:39 rehab and they had the conversation that it was very possible that I was going to jail for forty years for intoxicated manslaughter and intoxicated assault. When I left the hospital, I chose to go home with my parents, and I remember the guilt hitting me like a Mack truck. I can't describe to you how far away from God I felt. Instead of turning to Jesus, I I turned to more drugs, turned to more alcohol. I was on a mission to hurt myself even more.
20:08 There was a girl that I was dating at this restaurant, and she came to me one day, and and I'll never forget, and she said, I'm pregnant. I remember a prayer of God, if you really don't like me this much, why are you hurting her? I remember thinking I was his guinea pig, that he was just gonna abuse me, And that for some reason I'd drawn the short straw because of the bad things I'd done in my life. I was so sure that he was so mad at me. I was so sure that I had nothing to offer.
20:46 I was so sure that I had crossed the line and that I couldn't go back. It was about three months after that, we decided to get married, much to everybody's chagrin. And during this time, God has started sending Christian men into my life, and they took interest in me. And then they would help me, and they would they would guide me in the right direction. I ended up going to trial and the judge stopped everything.
21:19 He looked me square in the eye and he said, you know, Mr. Girmer, I see a lot of these cases a year. I said, but there's something sort of different here. Can you tell me, are you in a program? Are you are you doing anything?
21:28 What seems to be helping you? And I remember sitting there for a second and dropping my head. And before I knew it, I looked up and I said, Jesus Christ. You know, in a lot of ways, that was the first time I think I ever felt peace. In a lot of ways, think that was the only time I ever felt that things were gonna be okay.
21:55 I was left with restitution. I was left with probation. I was left with some jail time and I had to go AA twice a week. Even though I was starting to experience freedom in my walk was probably the hardest one because I was dealing with all emotions that I had always shoved down through my drug addiction. I was walking through all those emotions and whatever it had done to other people's lives.
22:14 I was like this tornado that just ripped through everything and got to the other side. And when I got sober and thought everything was okay, I'd been an A for about a year. When my pastor called me in, asked me to take over for Celebrate Recovery, I was at our church. And I remember looking at him saying, Are you kidding me? I'm barely functioning as it is, and you want me to lead something?
22:36 And I remember that night going home and praying with my wife as excited as we were. I remember I remember my prayer of, God, you can't use me. How could you how could you believe in me enough to do this? Don't you know what I've done? I could barely run my own life, much much very much run a a ministry for you.
22:54 There's no possible way. Over the next four years, the the celebrate recovery that I had been asked to be the ministry leader of grew from 40 people to 150. And there were stories of freedom all around, but it was one step at a time. It was one Friday night at a time. It was one meeting at a time as as God started showing me that he could use somebody that was broken.
23:29 That is one powerful testimony. Did I grab ahold of anybody? It sure did for me and the the title of that that video is called, can God use broken people? And I think the answer is, absolutely, he can. Absolutely, he can.
23:49 I'm an example. That man in the video's example, if you're a follower of Christ, you're an example too because that's what a follower of Jesus is. It's just a person that's come before God and has said, I'm broken. I'm a sinner And we look to Jesus as the answer, the answer to save and redeem and even use broken people like us. So, this morning, we're going to look at an example in scripture of a of a broken man whom God used in a big, big way.
24:20 His name is Matthew and God used Matthew to write the gospel that bears his name so that the world would know so that we would have that testament in our hands today to know that Jesus is indeed the Messiah, that he saves, and that he redeems and even uses sinners like us. So, we're going to hear from Matthew starting at chapter nine verse nine. We're going to go to 13. There are Bibles in front of you but there's also scripture on the screen. So you can follow along.
24:51 This isn't a long passage at all but it gets right to the heart of why Jesus came and who Jesus came for. So here's what it says. You ready? As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector's booth. Follow me and be my disciple, Jesus said.
25:16 So Matthew got up and he followed him. Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, why does your teacher eat with such scum? When Jesus heard this, he said, healthy people don't need a doctor. I might get caught up a little bit because I start to see the the compassion of Christ and hearing it, it really gets me.
26:04 Healthy people don't need a doctor. Sick people do. Then he added, Now, go and learn the meaning of the scripture. I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices for I've come to call not those who think they are righteous but those who know they're sinners. Let's pray before we go any further.
26:25 Lord, I I thank you for this testimony in Matthew. I thank you for using broken people like him and like us to show the world who you are. Would you show us this this morning that grace, that mercy is greater than sacrifice, and that our posture is to be of one of humility and brokenness rather than pride and self righteousness. And I pray this in Christ's name. Amen.
26:51 So I chose this text knowing that it would be a familiar text to a lot of us. Probably we've heard it many times in our lives before. But I want us to be reminded of it again and again throughout our lives because we are human. And in our humanity, pride and self righteousness can just easily make their way into our lives and affect the way that we think and act even to the point where we look down on others. When the fact is we're all on equal ground at the foot of the cross that not one person is better than the other.
27:33 I wanna get into that a little bit later, but I first wanna start with this calling of Matthew. In verse nine, look at that verse again. So as he's walking along, Jesus sees a man named Matthew. He's sitting in his text collectors booth. Follow me and be my disciple.
27:48 Matthew got up and followed him. That's all we've got. I mean, that's a pretty that it's pretty short. That's pretty small. Not exactly a detailed testimony, but that interaction implies so much more than than what's written right there.
28:03 Because as you read through the gospels, you see tax collectors weren't popular in Jesus' day at all. These guys were despised. They were corrupt. Many of them overcharged their own people, and then they keep the prophets for themselves. That was Matthew.
28:19 He was a thief. His own people didn't like him. And I'll venture to say that he was a very unhappy thief. Because when Jesus came to him and asked him to follow him, be my disciple, he said, yes. Knowing full well that he was going saying goodbye to his past life for good to begin a new life with Christ.
28:50 Because Jesus offered him something that his past life could not buy. He offered him something that the world could not give Matthew. He offered him forgiveness. He offered him redemption. He offered him acceptance.
29:08 He offered him peace and wholeness. He got a new beginning. He got a new beginning. And that is the wonder, the beauty of the gospel is to have a new beginning in Christ. We exchange our brokenness for his redemption.
29:26 That's not a fair trade. That is not a fair trade but that is the beauty of grace. That's the beauty of grace. It cannot be earned. It is a free gift of God and you think about the things that come with it like forgiveness and to be accepted by God and to have peace and wholeness that only Christ can give.
29:52 Friends, that's the good news of the gospel and I want you to be reminded of it again. Jesus came for sinners. He came to exchange our brokenness for his redemption.
30:04 But
30:08 but there has to be a turning point. There's gotta be a turning point in our lives like Matthew, like that man in that video where we surrender our lives to Christ, where we follow him wherever that might take us. You think about that example of Matthew. He didn't say, well, just let me do this for a little bit longer. You know?
30:32 It was like, alright. I know this is wrong. I I I I know that I need a fresh start. I know that I I need forgiveness. He left the old.
30:40 He began the new. Does this make sense? There was a turning point in his life. Following Christ wherever he might take us. And you know what?
30:48 As I was thinking about that and giving thought to it, I thought that's scary. That can be a very scary thing. But here's what I want. I want us to get us thinking about what do we gain when we follow Christ? Now now what did I what do I lose and what what is back here?
31:04 Paul said, I'm not looking back there. I'm going forward. I want us to think about what do we gain when we follow Christ? Because honestly, there is so much more to gain than there is to lose when we follow Christ. Like Matthew may have lost a lucrative career, but he gained a new life in Christ.
31:30 He gained forgiveness for all those things that that he had done wrong. He gained acceptance into God's kingdom. He gained peace of mind because he was no longer cheating people but now he was serving God and he gained wholeness that only Christ could give. Like, here we are as a church. Our stories are all different and some are super dramatic and others are not at all.
31:57 But the one thing that we all have in common is that we come to that point where we realize our need for him. And we come to the end of ourselves. And then we ask Christ to take over that right there. And then when that happens, we are a walking testimony of the goodness of God. And I love what Matthew does next year.
32:25 Check this out. Verse 10. So later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to come to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. Matthew thought, hey, if Jesus can reach out to a sinner like me, well, then certainly he's gonna reach out to my wayward friends. And he invites him and Jesus shows up.
32:52 Doesn't this show you the character of Christ? This pursuit of Jesus after us? DT Niles said, Christianity is just one beggar telling another where he found bread. I've always loved that quote. I'd probably say it too much, but I I I really that's that's the story right there.
33:20 Matthew didn't have anything to boast about in his own life. He didn't. There just wasn't anything that was really honorable about his life. He was a cheat. He he steal.
33:32 He stole. Sorry. He steal. Oh, I want Ray back. He's good at grammar.
33:40 But listen, he still carried those scars from his old life. He got a new scar he had a new start, but he still was carrying some of the some of those scars from his old life. Just like that man in the video. Just like us. We've got some scars from our old life.
34:07 Friends, don't cover up those scars. They're there for they're there for a reason. My prayer for us is that we would have a spirit of humility and brokenness rather than pride and self righteousness so that the world can see not us but Christ in us. How God redeems sinners. Jesus was sharp with those pharisees, wasn't he?
34:43 He was sharp with those people who thought that they were righteous because of their own works and their own good deeds. Verse 12, sharp. Healthy people don't need a doctor. Sick people do. Spurgeon summed it up well.
35:04 He said, Christ receives not the self righteous, not the good, not those who dream that they do not need a savior, but the broken in spirit and the contrite in heart, those who are ready to confess that they've broken God's laws and that they've merited his displeasure. Why send a physician to a man who is not sick? A friend of mine recently woke up. He had a rash on his skin. And throughout the day, it got worse and it got worse.
35:35 And he was going, what is going on with me? To the point where he said, I'm I'm done with this. I it's getting worse. I've gotta go to the doctor. His house got fumigated for bed bugs yesterday.
35:47 I I asked him if I could use him as a sermon illustration today. Isn't that terrible of me? The point is he realized that something was wrong in his life, and he needed help. And that is the story of a Christian. We're sin sick.
36:08 We need a savior because our own good works aren't good enough to earn eternal life. Quote from Martin Luther. This is a person who once depended on his own good works. He said, Jesus never died for our good works. They weren't worth dying for.
36:28 But he gave himself for our sins according to the scriptures. It's about faith and the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. That's the message of the gospel. That's the good news of the gospel. But again, there needs to be a response on our part, an acknowledgment of our shortcoming and our need for Christ as our physician.
37:04 Why would God send a physician if we didn't need him? Perhaps the best illustration of this whole passage is one that Jesus tells in Luke 18. I wanna share it with you. It's the the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee. And I invite you to just listen as as I read it.
37:29 It'll be on the the screen too. Blake will move those slides. Here's what he says. Jesus told the story of some who had great confidence in their own righteousness, and they scorned everybody else. They were looking down on them.
37:46 Two men went to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and he prayed this prayer. I thank you God that I am not a sinner like everyone else. I'm laughing because Really?
38:10 I I wonder if there was a little bit of humor in Jesus as he read it. Anyway, for I don't cheat, I don't sin, I don't commit adultery. I'm certainly not like that tax collector. I fast twice a week and I give you a tenth of my income. But the tax collector stood distance and he dared not even lift his eyes to heaven.
38:33 And as he prayed, instead he beat his chest in sorrow saying, oh God, be merciful to me for I'm a sinner. I tell you this sinner, not the pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted. That is the prayer of a Christ follower. Oh, God, be merciful to me for I am a sinner.
39:05 That is a person who is justified before God. Those who acknowledge their need for him. It is not a message of easy believism. Oh, yeah. I believe in Jesus.
39:21 He's cool. Go on living how I did. It it is not that. There is a change. I wanna get into that.
39:28 Last verse here though. Verse 13. Real important. Now go and learn the meaning of the scripture. I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.
39:41 I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices. I have come to call not those who think that they are righteous, but those who know that they are sinners. As I comb through this passage, there were some truths that popped out on me, and I I wanna close by sharing them with you. And there were three of them that I they just kinda they grabbed me. That Jesus came for sinners.
40:14 Jesus changes sinners and Jesus uses sinners. Came, changes, uses. He came for sinners. He didn't come for the righteous, but those who know that they're not. He changes sinners.
40:32 Matthew had a change of heart when he met Jesus. He left the old and he began the new. Kind of a scary journey it can be sometimes. But he's saying, I'm not looking back. I'm going forward with Christ.
40:49 And then Jesus uses sinners. Matthew became a bridge for Jesus' message to reach Matthew's unreached friends. Isn't that cool? How Jesus uses broken sinners as a bridge between his message and then other people. Like that man in the video.
41:18 He said, I can barely I can barely run my own life. How am I supposed to do this? Because it's not you, it's Christ in you. Is this making sense? Again, I know that this is a a very familiar passage to a lot of us and I know that many of us have prayed the sinner's prayer long ago.
41:47 And if that is you, I've I've said you're saying I've been a believer for a long time. Can I encourage you this morning? Can I encourage you to keep that spirit of humility and brokenness? Can I encourage you to be quick to show mercy if you ever feel tempted, if we ever feel tempted, me, to look down on another sinner and say, oh, they've crossed the line? There's no coming back.
42:22 Uh-uh. Can I encourage you to keep that spirit of humility? Show mercy. Maybe roll up those sleeves and show those scars. We're all on equal ground at the foot of the cross.
42:50 Christ followers, the world is looking at us. Whether you know it or not, the world is looking at us to see how we treat those who are not Christ followers. And one of the best ways to show Jesus is to point out our own brokenness and share the hope of how Jesus is changing. I don't know. I guess it's on my mind, but that whole stuff, everything in the past.
43:31 Sure. You could rug you you could sweep it under the the rug. Never talk about it. I think there are times when we should and there are times when we shouldn't, but it can be a pretty pretty big testimony to someone else. And it may meet them.
43:51 It may be the bridge to them. It may meet them in their their brokenness when they can see yours. And so I ask you to consider that. K? Pray that we're never too proud to do that.
44:04 And really, if there's anyone who's going, I'm just I'm just hearing this for the first time. I I didn't grow up in church. I don't know anything about this stuff. If that's you, I wanna encourage you too. There is no better time than now if you go, man, this message has arrested me.
44:20 I'm I'm there. I'm I'm with Jesus. This is me. If that's you, can I encourage you? Now would be that simple.
44:31 Now would be the time to pray that simple prayer. Oh, God, be merciful to me for I'm a sinner. God knows your heart. He hears your heart. I wanna invite the the worship team to come for one last song.
44:49 And and while they're coming up, can I give us just a moment to pray silently? Can I allow you to have some time with the Lord right where you're sitting, eyes closed, who however you pray, you could open your eyes and lift your head to heaven? I don't care. But would you take a time to pray silently? And then I'd like to pray aloud.
45:47 Lord, what good news you've given us this morning. I'm so thankful. And as I'm standing up here, I can't even believe you've given me a platform to speak. Thank you for Matthew's testimony. Thanks for reminding us of how you came for sinners like him and like us.
46:07 And I pray that we would respond like Matthew did, that we'd recognize our need for you. There has to be a turning point in our lives where we follow you and we say, I'm gonna leave the old. I'm gonna begin the new with you, And you begin to change us.
46:23 Not all
46:24 not always at once, not always at one time, and we bear the scars from the past, but you begin to change us and make us more like your son. It's amazing. Thank you for the change, the life change that you give. Lord, I pray for a spirit of humility for us as a church, please. Humility, brokenness, repentance on our part that we would be quick to show mercy if we're ever tempted to look down on another sinner.
46:52 Thank you for forgiveness. Thank you for acceptance. Thank you for peace. Thank you for wholeness that you give. In Christ's name, amen.
47:03 How about we stand up? We're gonna close in one last one.
47:20 And everyone needs compassion, a love that's never failing. And then mercy foregone me. And everyone needs forgiveness, the kindness of savior of the hope of nation. Forever. Author of salvation, heroes and conquer the grave.
48:07 Jesus conquered the grave. So take me as you find. So take me as you find. Hold my fears and failures and fill my life again. I give my life to fall everything I believe in.
48:42 Now I surrender. Savior, he can move the mountains. My God is mighty to save. He is mighty to save forever. Author of salvation, He rose and conquered the grave.
49:10 Jesus conquered the grave. Shine your light. Shine your light and let the whole world see. We're singing for the glory of the risen king. Jesus, shine your light and let the whole world see.
49:30 We're singing for the glory of the risen king. Tailor, he can move the mountains. My God is mighty to say, he's mighty to say forever. Author of salvation, he rose and conquered the grave. Jesus conquered the grave.
50:15 Can I leave you this verse before we part? For God so loved the world, he gave his only son that whoever believes in him in any state, in our broken state, shall not perish but have eternal life. And catch this one, for God did not send his son into the world to condemn it, but to save the world through him. Would you go in the grace and the peace of Christ this this week? Love you guys.

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Written up from the message given at First B Jackson. If something here reads oddly, the recording is the record.

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