Worship Call 0666 Follow Me

Mark 2:14 (NASB95) — 14 As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.

Where were you when Jesus passed by. What kind of life were you actively engaged in? what was your life up to that point? Was there any admirable qualities about you that would make Jesus stop and take notice?

If you say yes

Then Why did God call those who had no morals at all, no qualities of virtue or integrity?

Levi was very much hated. Who among the Jews would have ever thought that this one would be called by Jesus to be a Christ follower?

Who am I to have ever thought that I’d be deemed worthy of the Lord to have called me and commanded me to follow?

Who are any of us?

This is another fine day in the Lord.

Peter and Andrew, James and John all left their professions. Honest professions. They left behind much when they dropped their nets to go and follow Jesus.

Jesus has a diverse following. Not just fishermen and not just the poor or not just the rich.

But into the service God calls the most despised lot, that would in itself be somewhat curious and maybe a challenge not to take offense was a tax collector.

Such would go to the romans and would bid for the contract to collect taxes. They would be pay up front the bill which means that the Tax Collector would be one with a pretty rich account. He would then go out and collect taxes from the people. This was in the offense in a number of ways.

1. This so called jew would do business with the Romans.

2. The taxes were excessive and put drain on people’s living. This so called jew made a living and he was comfortable living off the backs of the poor.

3. The tax collectors often found clever ways to extort from the people more than what was required.

4. tax collectors were outcast, hated among the people and who would return the hatred.

5. The tax collectors having no friends would find friendship with sinners and prostitutes.

Levi was such the character.

Mark 2:14 (NASB95) — 14 As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax booth,

Levi = Joined

His name is also Matthew

Matthew 9:9 (NASB95) — 9 As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.

Where was it that the Lord found you? Where were you and what were you actively engaged in when the Lord passed by and said, “Follow me?”

Some may think that the Church building with its alter calls are the only place that one is saved and unless there is an alter call that the lost remains lost.

The Job of the Christian is not to drag the lost into the kingdom but to sew the seeds of the good news. But it is the Spirit that in the spirit’s good timing will open the eyes of the lost. And one does not know where that moment or the place where that is going to be. What activity would the one be participating in and what thoughts were at that moment would be going through the mind of the lost.

I believe that there is a perfect time and place that all of us are providentially led to when there comes the command, “Follow me.”

Notice the command was not to repent.

Notice the command was not stop what you are doing.

Notice Jesus does not lay a guilt trip on Levi.

Notice that Jesus does not tell Levi that he must abandon anything.

Two simple words

and He said to him, Akolouthei Ego

Follow me

And he got up and followed Him.

Matthew = “gift of Jehovah”.

The Gift is the command to follow. Jesus does issue an impossible command. Jesus does not say do when there is no way of doing.

What are some of the greatest spoken words that comes out of the mouth of the Lord to the most vilest offender; to you and to me?

“Come”

“Abide”

“Your sins are forgiven”

“Follow me.”

36.31 μαθητεύωa; ἀκολουθέωc: to be a follower or a disciple of someone, in the sense of adhering to the teachings or instructions of a leader and in promoting the cause of such a leader—‘to follow, to be a disciple of.’[1]

Such words spoken by the Lord is an invitation denoting that the Lord has disregarded those things that has for so long and over the course of life come define us.

The bad and terrible things I mean. The fishermen could somehow, maybe, look at themselves and even around the rough edges think that Jesus had made a could choice in choosing them. Funny as that may sound.

But Matthew could look at himself and ask,

“how could the Lord look past Matthew’s own character to care at all to want to associate with him when all the other Jews care nothing more than to spit in his face.

When Jesus call’s and says “follows me,” there is no hidden sins that Jesus does not know about. Remember that he knows all the knowable.

No. we do not invite Jesus into our hearts as though he needed a place to be. It us who needs a place to be, and it is the Lord who says follow me who says to us

“I want you in my heart.”

Yes I know that your heart is desperately sick. I know your sins. I know your past even better than you know your past. but Jesus does not consider the past he considers you and has chosen and predestined you from before the foundations of the world before you did anything good or bad. Your misdeeds will not and can not negate what God has already done.

Therefore, the only course of action is to repent forget and to follow.

But once we leave our own Tax booths the bad thing is that we take ourselves with us.

There is a distinct difference between saying that have believed in Christ for salvation and those who are following Christ.

There are many professing Christians that either are struggling with the same ole selves. They keep doing what they have always been in the practice of doing, they even beat themselves up not be able to put down the old man which is the sin nature.

There are those who have surrendered to the old man. They have surrendered and given up and have believed that self is unconquerable.

But Jesus did not lay out to Levi all the qualifications that he was going to have to do to follow Jesus

Notice the command was not to repent.

Notice the command was not stop what you are doing.

Notice Jesus does not lay a guilt trip on Levi.

Notice that Jesus does not tell Levi that he must abandon anything.

The Life that we want as Christians. The walk that we want, the abiding the overcoming that we want for our lives is accomplished by those who are Christ followers.

Disciples, learners.

Jesus did not command Levi to leave the tax booth. To square away his life. these were accomplished by the obeying the one act of obedience which is in the “Following”

We know that Levi (matthew) became a follower of Christ leaving behind his past life.

Philippians 3:13–17 (NASB95) — 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; 16 however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained. 17 Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.

[1]Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). In Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 469). United Bible Societies.

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