If I were to ask you why does the
church exist? Well, it ought to be obvious, right? The church exists to
meet my needs and expectations, and not to bore me to death. Or maybe it
exists to protect the truth, and to never change anything, especially the
worship style! Though we may not say this out loud, but often this is the
bottom line of why we think the church exists. Too often it comes down to
personal preferences and meeting our selfish needs. It is all about what church
can do for me rather than how I can serve the Church.
Each Sunday and during the week we
get busy doing events, and churchy things that we totally forget the primary
purpose of our very existence as a Church. We often act as if we were members
of an elite club rather than belonging to a church that reflects and lives out
the primary purpose of its founder. So what is the Primary purpose of Christ in
coming to this world? And what should be our primary purpose? In order to find
out let’s turn to Luke 5:27-32(Read) Three things we can learn: A powerful
call, a radical response and the primary purpose.
I.
A POWERFUL CALL Vs 27
Chapter five begins with Jesus
calling two of his first disciples Simon Peter and his brother, who upon seeing
the miracle of the catching of huge amount of fish, left everything and
followed Jesus. Then Jesus went on to heal a social outcast and a paralytic
man. Crowds were following Jesus because of the miracles and some individuals
wanted to follow out of curiosity, perhaps impressed by His teachings, but
there were only a few people that were personally called upon to follow Him. It
was just like any other day in the city of Capernaum . A man named Levi also called
Matthew went to the tax office since he was a tax collector. Little did he know
what the day was in store for him, that by the end of the day his destiny was
going to be changed?
Matthew went on his usual business
of collecting and counting Taxes for the Roman Government. He might have been
feeling lonely and rejected thinking of what the whole Jewish community was
thinking of him, a “traitor”. For that matter all the tax collectors in that
region were treated as social outcasts. Here Matthew sitting in the tax booth
and pondering his situation; all of a sudden heard the voice of Jesus saying “Follow
Me.”
Just imagine if Jesus were to come
to you at your place of work, business, play ground, or in the kitchen and say
to you “Follow Me” how would you respond to that simple yet most powerful call?
Let’s see how Matthew responded to that powerful call.
II.
A RADICAL RESPONSE (Vs 28)
Matthew
displayed one of the most radically changed lives in the Bible in response to
an invitation from Jesus. He did not hesitate, he
did not look back. He left behind a life of wealth and security for poverty and
uncertainty. He abandoned the pleasures of this world for the promise of eternal life. That one call of Jesus
dramatically altered the life and pursuits of Matthew. Up until that time he
was shunned by everyone and no one wanted to be his friend, but here Jesus of
Nazareth of whom he may have heard of and seen his miracles now calls him to
follow Him, what joy must have filled Matthews’s heart?
He could
hardly contain that joy. He wanted his tax collectors community to know his Joy
and new found friend Jesus, so he threw a party, invited his friends and many
others to his home. Jesus was at the party eating and drinking with the so
called social outcasts and sinners in the community. That did not go well with
the Pharisees and the scribes but they could not question Jesus directly so
they grumbled at his disciples saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the
tax-gatherers and sinners? Ceasing the opportunity Jesus explained His Primary
purpose for coming to earth.
III.
THE PRIMARY PURPOSE( Vs 31-32)
Vs 31-32, “It is not the healthy
who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous but
sinners to repentance.” Jesus in no uncertain terms made it clear that He was
not there primarily to call the so called righteous people who think that they
are better than others and could make it to heaven by their good works, but he
came to call sinners. He used the analogy of a hospital where the sick will go
to see a doctor who could possibly cure their sickness. Whereas Jesus the
greatest physician not merely concerned in healing physical sickness but in forgiving
sins so that we can go to be with him in a place where there will never be any
sickness anymore.
During his time on earth Jesus time
and again made it clear to his own disciples and to the Pharisees and scribes
that he came to seek and save lost sinners. He loved sinners. He wanted them to
be saved. After His death and resurrection He commanded his disciples to go and
preach the Gospel to all creation. The same command He gives now to all his
followers.
The primary purpose of our Church,
for that matter any Church is to give a friendly invitation for sinners to
repent of their sins. The first century church understood this, and went to the
whole world preaching the good news of the gospel. But as the years went by the
church is forgetting their primary purpose and getting caught up in all kinds
of worthy activities.
In the eighteenth century the
Church of England had become so elitist and inhospitable to the common man that
in 1739 John Wesley had to take to the graveyards and fields in order to preach
the gospel. Yet Jesus met unbelievers where they were. He realized what
many Christians today never seem to realize. According to one count, the gospel
records 132 contacts that Jesus had with people. Six were in the Temple , four in the
synagogue and 122 were out with people in the mainstream of life. That shows
what Jesus’ primary purpose was.
Where do you think Jesus would
spend most of his time today if He were to come to Boston ? He may pay a casual visit to a few of
the mega churches in the city but most of the time he may spend walking around
Boston commons reaching out to the common man, the homeless, and the drug
addicts. He may even go up to the city hall and challenge some of their
policies.
What can we learn from the life of
Matthew? Matthew was a dishonest tax collector driven
by greed, until Jesus Christ chose him as a disciple. Matthew
is an example to tell us that a specific call of God can come to anyone at any
time at anywhere and when it comes it comes with power and conviction and is
irresistible. Matthew responded to that call by giving up everything to follow
his new found lord and savior. Immediately upon his transformation Matthew did
not conceal his joy to himself. He was not ashamed, neither was he afraid to
let that joy be known to his friends and fellow sinners so he threw a party.
You don’t have to be a genius and scholar to share the gospel with others, all
you need is a willing heart to do so then you will find number of ways to do
it.
All Matthew did was to invite his
friends to come and see his new friend Jesus. Matthew became an ardent,
faithful follower of Jesus. The remainder of
Matthew's life is uncertain. Tradition says he preached for 15 years in Jerusalem following the death and resurrection of Jesus, then went out on the
mission field to other countries. Legend has it that he died as a martyr in the
cause of Christ. But by writing the gospel of Matthew he lives on today.
Matthew left a legacy. His life counted.
How would you like to spend the
remainder of your life? What legacy would you like to leave behind? What is
your primary purpose as an individual, as a family and collectively as a church?
Do we know and understand why we exist as a Church?
How are we sharing the good news
of Jesus with others? You may ask where I can begin. Well the best place to
start with is your family and friends. Let them know how God changed your life,
and how he can change their lives too if they believe in Christ. How do we do
it?
In order to help you and the
Church in America
to reach their communities with Gospel, the Billy Graham Evangelistic
Association is taking up an ambitious task in November 2013. It is called “My
Hope America with Billy Graham.” It is a grassroots effort to reach neighbors,
friends, and loved ones with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Following a simple
biblical model found in Luke 5:27-32 (which we just heard about), My Hope
America combines the reach and excitement of a nationwide video event with the
power of personal relationships.
Christians across the country including
our church will invite their guests to their home, church, or favorite hangout
to share the Gospel through a program, which will feature a message from Billy
Graham. I am excited about this opportunity. Let’s see a clip of “My Hope
America with Billy Graham.”
I am excited for the opportunity for our Church to
become Mathews and get involved with “My Hope America with Billy Graham” this
fall. If God is speaking to you to be a Matthew please sign up for further
information and future training. More details next week. Amen
