All right. Luke, Chapter 5. Luke,
Gospel, Chapter 5. I think you'll see why we read
Matthew 25 when we get to the end of this story. In Luke chapter 5, we have the
story of Christ calling Levi, or Matthew, one of his apostles. Let's get right into it here.
In verse 26, this was the last verse we looked at. Last week it says, they were
all amazed as they glorified God and were filled with fear,
saying, we have seen strange things today. They just saw this man sick of
the palsy, he picked up his bed and walked. And it says, after
they saw these things, they said, we've seen some strange things
today. But though they'd seen some strange
and wonderful things, they really hadn't seen anything. I mean,
this is just shocking. They're going to see a man raised
from the dead. Raised from the dead. And the
same is true of us. We've seen some. some wondrous
things. I've heard and seen some wondrous
things in our time, haven't we? But we haven't heard anything
or seen anything we haven't. Some have, haven't we, though?
We're going to see Him. We've seen some wondrous things.
We're going to see Him as He is, Scripture says. Well, after
seeing this paralyzed fellow rise up and walk, We're going
to see something even just as miraculous. We're going to see
this fellow, another fellow who's paralyzed in another way, rise
up and walk. A man held captive. All right,
look at verse 27. After these things, it says,
he went forth and saw a pelican named Levi sitting at the receipt
of custom. And he said unto him, follow
me. After these things, he, Christ, went forth and saw and said."
Now, right here, this verse sums up what the whole gospel is about,
what the whole Bible is about. He went forth, saw, and said. The whole gospel, the whole Bible,
is about Christ coming, God sending forth His Son into this world
where we are, saving us in our sin, and calling us by His grace,
and providing us, regenerating us by His Spirit. It's all right
there. He went forth, saw, and saved. All right? Back in the... I couldn't
help but think of when the Lord began His ministry, back in chapter
4. Back in chapter 4. I could not...
I turned back there. Look at this. And in light of these people
he's been healing, because this is what he said to begin with.
You remember this? In Luke 4, he's quoting from
Isaiah 61, verse 18 and 19, says, The Spirit of the Lord is upon
me, because he hath anointed me to preach. First thing he
said, preach the gospel to the poor. He hath sent me. to heal the brokenhearted, to
preach deliverance to the captives, and recover the sight of the
blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the
acceptable here in the Lord. He said preach three times, didn't
he? Preach the gospel, preach deliverance, preach acceptance. Preach deliverance, preach recovery,
preach liberty, preach acceptance to the blind, to the captive,
to the lame, and so forth. Well, here's this fellow, Matthew,
or Lehi, a publican, let's say, sitting at the receipt of custody. Publican. He's a publican. Was a tax collector who worked
for the Roman government. He was, they hired Jews to do
this work, to do their dirty work, because they thought that
people would more readily receive a Jewish tax collection. At any rate, the Jews hated these
brothers. They hated them. And right this
time, They were groups with harlots in them, just the worst. Cynics,
publicans, cynics, that's what the Pharisees said, publicans
and cynics. And so they talked about as being
the worst of people. And this fellow was a publican.
Now a publican and a tax collector, they got rich off their own people.
They were petrology ones. They take money from their own
people and collected more than was required of them. And they
didn't care who they were talking to. It felt like a huge car sale,
but it wasn't. They didn't care who it was.
They were dishonest, corrupt. This was Levi. This was Matthew,
the chief of sinners. A corrupt, wicked fellow who
lived to make money. You've known some of these money
mongers, haven't you? Some of these mindfully greedy,
lived for the dollar. Haven't you? This was Levi, this was Matthew. Now the scripture says the love
of money is the root of all evil. The love of money. It also says, Solomon said this,
and think about this statement. Solomon said, money answers all
things. Money answers all things. And we kind of paraphrase that
in our day to say that there's nothing that money won't buy. Nothing that it won't buy. That's certainly true in our
day. It can buy anything that it wants. Money, the scripture
says, is a snare. Riches are a snare, which hold
people captive. And it's never been more true
than in our generation. This is the most materialistic,
absolutely held captive by greed and money. So money is a, it's
a, a spear. And the love of money will rule
all people. And money, the love of money
will turn a man into a beacon. Money is a great beacon. I think
that's another thing that Solomon was saying. It answers all things.
Money is a great beacon. You want to know something about
it? Something about it? Money. And only the Lord, and it took
the Lord to set a man at liberty from money. He set a man loose
from his money, and buried his money loose from him. Only Christ can deliver a man
who's with this demon called greed and lust and materialism. Only Christ can do that. So since
Christ went forth, Christ went forth. You see that? Read it
again. Every word is significant. It
says, after these things, now he just healed this paradise
fellow, and it says, after these things he went forth. Where did
he go? Well, he went in a certain direction.
You can count on that. He went in a certain direction.
He just didn't say, well, where am I going to go now? You know,
where did he go? That's what it's called. He went
in a certain direction because there was a certain fellow, a
certain fellow, sitting in a certain seat, in a certain seat, who
was most certain of meeting Him. And he saw Him. He went forth
and he saw there, right there, Matthew, Lehi. He went after
this certain sinner. And he stayed. He stayed. Now this is all the same. I can't paint this picture unless
it's happened to you. He just walks, he just got through
an email and he walks in a certain direction, walked straight up
to a table where a fellow sitting there, this Levi sitting there,
that found me a crowd of people, had all his money, counted his
money on his hip, followed me. And walked off. That's it. And the fellow gave up and followed
me. Now that's the Bible really. That's the, that's what, that's
the sovereign cause. That's, that's an affectionate
cause. We talk about the effectual cause, right there it is, the
effectual cause. We talk about irresistible grace,
right there it is. Irresistible grace. Follower
may thank God for His almighty power that came in His appointed
hour. He calls upon a chosen few, for
them He maketh all things new. O praise and thank him for such
love which sent the Saviour from above, who saw us fit in sornful
place, and called us by his sovereign grace. He came, he saw, he called
on me, the sovereign Lord said, follow me. Christ came, Christ
conquered, Christ called. That's salvation, huh? He prayed,
he saw, he called, he followed. That's what happened. Look at
it. It said in verse 28, after Christ called him, said, follow
me, what happened? Well, time went by, but he went
through great conviction, not knowing what was going to happen. Here
it is again. This is God's salvation, huh? Follow me. Now, right here, you're going
to see three things. Turn over to 2 Thessalonians,
2 Thessalonians 2. This gospel call, which every
believer hears. Every believer hears this same
call. You know that? If you heard this
call, every believer hears this same call. This is how God saves
every single sinner. He comes to them. He purposed
to save them. That's where it started. God's
purpose was for the world again. Giving them to Christ's security
and then sending Christ down here to live and die for them.
And Christ comes back and then sends His Holy Spirit with the
gospel through a preacher and calls them. And they hear his
voice, she hears his voice and they follow him. He said, I know
my sheep, and I know them too. They hear my voice and they follow
him. They follow him. 2 Thessalonians
2, Paul says this, this is my favorite verse. We're bound to
give thanks, verse 13, we're bound to give thanks always to
God for you, brethren, the love of the Lord, because God hath
from the beginning, Chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the Spirit and belief of the truth, whereunto, or that is,
unto dissalvation, he called you by our gospel. He called you by our gospel. The gospel called every, every given sinner. Every sinner
given to Christ hears it. He comes to them with the gospel
and they hear it. But look at what Levi did now,
these three things here in Luke 5. Look what he did. And everybody does it to receive
the effective promise. These things are an option. Because
faithful is he that calleth. who will also do it. It's God which makes us willing
to obey His power. Look at these three things, verse
28. It says, He left off. Rosa followed Him. He left off. What's the first
thing you think of when you think of He left? We've just been talking
about it. He left His money. And I mean,
if you think about that, just stop and think about that. Like,
we were saving money. Love money is good for all people.
Money is bad, it's not just bad. But Christ has to redeem a man
from his money. He left his money. Huh? I mean,
this was a rich man. A rich man who poured his money,
a miser, greedy fellow, you know, he lived for the dollar. I've known these super-rich people,
but I didn't live to make count. That's what they say, a penny
saved is a penny earned. You know, I said, some miser
said that to Captain Pence. But that was Matthew, Levi. When Christ called him, Money
goes up and down. See that? Think about that. That's
his job. That was his job. He had a good
job. He had a pension plan, though.
Well, yeah, I know. He's probably been working ten
years, maybe, on his retirement, you know. Well, he had a good
pension plan. He had a hospitalization. from
the government, you know, the pre-territory prisons, I guess,
and had lots of control. Meanwhile, he had influence. He had, he knew folks
in high places. That's right. Now he's going
to have to talk with people in the lower places. He got friends
in, well, he had friends in the lower places. Well, he left all
that. What do you think about that?
Think about that. Most people leave a job. I mean,
most people leave Christ for a job. Most people. Most I hear of leave the gospel
for a better job. That's what you hear most of. You very rarely hear about anybody
quitting their job and going to the gospel. Do you? And I
tell you one thing. Every single one I've heard of
has done that, has met a good job for the gospel sake. The
Lord has restored it to a hundredfold, just like He promised. Just like
that. I mean every single one. And
now that wasn't overnight. That wasn't immediate. There
was a little trial involved. The trial of their faith, but
buddy, the Lord is not unrighteous to forgive. You know, every time,
everyone I've seen who left the gospel for a better job, go into
a town, you know, and here's what they did. This is a common
scenario. People are sitting under the
gospel, and they thank the Lord, they thank the beliefs and all
that, and they get a better job offer or some kind of transfer
or whatever. And they, I mean, they go, I
mean, they just go. And then when they get there, they start
looking for a church. Or start calling it, they call
pastors. Call every pastor they know that's
in the state of Virginia and say, we've moved up here to Lynchburg,
or we've moved here to, is there a gospel church that you know
of? I mean, this happened to me once,
this happened to me in 2003, 2005, don't know. Had to turn
it down. I've had to move, I've been transferred
up here. Is there, do you know who got me? No, no, no, no. Where'd
you go? Where do you live? Where do you
work? Where do you have a kitchen? Well, uh, Washington. My answer's always Washington. What was it
called back then? It was called C.E.O. General
Motors. Well, let's go on. Left his money,
left his job, left who else? What else? Well, we're going
to see if he left his family and friends at home. He had to,
his father cried. He had to tell them, well, this
is the sovereign call. This is the sovereign call every
time, every time. You know, I can say it, God doesn't
give any man any other choice. The text will call not an invitation.
The text will call not an invitation, it's a subpoena. You will report,
won't you? Yes, I will. Yes, I believe. And it's in an
instant. And you think about this sovereign
power of God's Word. This is the Word of God. Follow
me. Think about it. In an instant, taking a man,
a woman, a man who's passed their mind and heart set, just captivated
by things below, sets it on things above. I'm just like that. Has a man just grieved for money
and intermission with a word that sets his heart on things
above what Christ did? Now that's sovereign power. That's
the Word. The Word of His power. And look
at the next thing. It says, He rose up. He rose
up. Now look back at verses 23 through
25 again. Christ said, Which is easier,
to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or rise up, and walk? But that you may know that the
Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sin. He said unto
the sick of the palsy, I say unto thee, Rise, and take up
thy couch, and go into thy house. And immediately he rose up. Now
which is easier, Christ said? Which is easy? Now, which of
these is easier? Here we have it again. Which
is easier, to raise a man paralyzed with palsy, a man born paralyzed,
or a man dead in sin? Which is easier? To a man who paralyzed his leg,
rise up, give him new legs to walk. Or to a man who's dead
and crushed back to the steel, let him rise up and walk a new
trail of life. Which is easier? Ain't any one
of them either. Same power leads to them both,
right? But that you may know that the
Son of Man had power. To raise a dead sinner, you need
to live a new life. Rise up. Walk in newness of life. Leave your money. Leave your
job. Leave it all and just follow
me. In newness of life. He did a heart. Christ did a
heart operation on him right there. Right there. Immediately. And he arose up. Walk in newness of life. Change
your plan. A new heart. Affection set on
the crowd, a new mind. Which is easier? Change the man's
walk or change his mind? Only the Lord can change a man's
mind. Only the Lord can change a man's
will. Only the Lord. He did it right there. New life,
disciple, follower of the crowd. Not the world. That brings me
to the next thing. It says he followed him. I looked down at verse 32, and
I'm not going to get into it because I need to say something
about it. Christ said, I came not to call
the righteous but sinners to repent. And I couldn't help but think
why some haven't come to Christ. Why haven't some come to Christ,
and I guess? Well, number one, the reason
this man came is because he was called. Right? That's the first
reason. Christ called him. Another reason this man came
was because he was a sinner. Right? Christ said, I came not
to call righteous. You can't call a sinner. So here
we have the call, we have a sinner. Some people evidently aren't
sinners yet, don't know it. And he said, I came up to call
the righteous. So if a man's not a sinner, who
is he? I think he's still righteous. That young person, whoever it
may be, a boy, a girl, a young man, a woman, if they hadn't
come to Christ yet, it means they're a self-righteous person.
They hadn't seen their need cried and Christ hadn't called them. See, the Holy Spirit must convict
somebody, convince somebody of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Holy Spirit, only then will they
come to Christ, confess Him, and follow Christ. Well, this
fellow did, in verse 28, and he left off. There's something
in that look, though. You know, Christ didn't just
say this to them, He looked at them. Right? You know, we don't look
under Him, but He first looks on us. Now the Lord sees me. Those omniscient eyes of his. Brother Henry, he walked up to
him, looked through to his soul, and said, Amen. Convicted of him of his sin right
there. He followed Him. Nobody says
no. He followed Him. Whoever says
He followed Him, He followed Christ. He followed Christ. Now, to be a rich man, a publican,
a Roman government employee, now you have to be, you know,
a worldly fellow. This is a worldly fellow. To
be on the end side, you've got to be on the end track. You've
got to think like, and walk like, and talk like, and with a word
or not. You've got to rub shoulders with them. You've got to dress
like them. Up to their fashion and opinion.
You know, if you want to stay there and keep Levi, you probably
remember his Roman country clothes. You don't stay there and do that. You talk like they do, have their
opinions and their thoughts and everything. He's one of them,
baby. He's one of them, just like I
was. In whatever, construction or
whatever. Just like, just one of them. One of the guys, you
know. Till Christ came and saw me. And called me. And then I said, this is my brother.
Sheep amidst a ghost. Sheep among wolves. It changes
you. It changes your thoughts, your
walk, your penance, and your pursuits. Your pursuits. Now, he was once going after
the world with all the gusto he could give. Now, if I called
him, now he's going after Christ with all the gusto he can give. You know, he may have been religious.
That's a good religious name, isn't it? Levi. Who gave him that name? Why is
he calling him that for a Jew? Hebrews are Hebrews, aren't they?
Let's name this good Hebrew Jewish boy who's going to be born into
the church. We'll name him Levi. Levi. That's a good religious
name, isn't it? Well, he followed religion. Well, he's probably Orthodox.
Orthodox Jew. He probably had his bar mitzvah
in the hospital. Whatever that is. I still don't
know what that is. But he had it. And he, you know,
circumcised and went to whatever they go to, you know. But he
was lost. What? He was lost. Orthodox was
lost. Knew all the Jewish ceremonies
and all the doctrines. Knew the doctrine, but he was
lost. Now that reminds me of David.
All of this reminds me of David. A worldly fellow, but lost, and
then lost. A religious fellow, and still
lost. Raised up in religion, but lost. Well, by God's grace,
by God's sovereign power, this young fellow left everything,
left all, from standing in the way of sinners, from sitting
in the seat of the sorcerer, to following Christ. Blessed
is the man whom the Lord has chosen. Blessed is the man whom
the Lord has chosen. Blessed is the man whom the Lord
has chosen. Blessed is the man whom the Lord
has chosen. Blessed is the man whom the Lord has chosen. Blessed is the man whom the Lord
has chosen. Blessed is the man whom the Lord has chosen. Blessed is the man whom the Lord has
chosen. Blessed is the man whom the Lord has chosen. Blessed is the man whom the Lord
has chosen. Blessed is the man whom the Lord has chosen. Blessed
is the man whom the Lord has chosen. Blessed is the man whom the Lord has chosen. Blessed is the man
whom the Lord has chosen. Blessed is the man whom the Lord
has chosen. Blessed is the man whom the Lord has chosen. Blessed
is the man whom the Lord has chosen. Blessed is the man whom the Lord has chosen.
Blessed is the man whom the Lord has chosen. Blessed is the man whom the Lord has chosen.
Blessed is the man whom the Lord has chosen. Blessed is the man whom the Lord
has chosen. Blessed is the man and study Hebrews 11. I'll teach
you all these examples. But alright, Levi believed and
followed Christ. How do you know? Look at it. Look at verse 29. When he followed
Christ, here's the first thing he did. Levi laid him a great
feast in his own house. And there was a great company
of people in the notice that sat down with him. He opened
his house up. I guarantee he would have done
this before. I guarantee it would have cost
him $333 to have a happy family. He's not going to spend it. He's going to go ahead and be
a big check-in. He's not going to do it. And
that's how he got this way. Really. Well, he made a great
decision for Christ. That's whose honor it was, it
was Paul, Christ's. And he invited all his buddies
to hear him. How do I know God saved him?
He saved everything about him. This is the sovereign power and
call of Christ to turn a man from seeking after his money
and after himself to giving him his money and seeking things
of others. If a man or woman hasn't turned
loose of their money, they haven't played no role in Christ. Period. Can't hold both. That's exactly what Christ said.
When God saves someone, they realize that everything they
are is by His grace, everything they have is by His grace, and
they start being righteous. He said, if you're free to receive,
you're free to give. Matthew 19 and Luke 19. Matthew 19 and Luke 19. I want to show you two striking,
startling comparisons here. Matthew 19 and Luke 19. All right, now the Lord didn't
tell Levi to do anything with his money, did he? He didn't tell him to leave the
money. He didn't. He didn't tell him to sell you
out. He didn't tell him to rob you
out. He didn't tell him to have you
fixed. He didn't tell him. But he did. He did. Sovereign grace in his heart
compelled him to. The heart filled with love and
gratitude. Desire to give and do and serve
and so forth. Look at Matthew 19, verse 21
through 24. Jesus said to this rich young
ruler now. Here's another fellow, rich.
He said, and he was moral. He was a good fellow. He would
have liked this fellow. Yeah, he would have liked this
fellow. And it says, Christ said unto
him, If you will be purchased, go and sell that thou hast, and
give it to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven,
and come, follow me. But when the young man heard
that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Then he said to Jesus, the son of his disciple, Verily I say
unto you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom
of heaven. Again, I say unto you, it is
easier for a camel to go through the eye of an eagle than for
a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. In verse 29 and 30, he said,
Every woman hath forsaken her house, her brethren, her sisters,
her father, her mother, her wife, her children, her land, for my
name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting
life. The minute of the first shall be the last, and the last
shall be the first. Those who don't go first ain't
gonna be there. Those who last. So there was a rich young man
here who the Lord said sell everything you got and follow that. And
he was sold. I can't do that. Now look over in Luke 19. Here's
another rich man. And people Comparatively, everybody in this
room is rich. Oh, yes we are. Yes we are. Rich. Luke 19, Luke verses 1
and 2, Jesus entered and passed through Jericho, but oh, there
was a man named Zacchaeus, who was a chief among the public,
and he was rich. See, you've got rich people. Verses 5 through 9, it says,
Christ came to the place, here it is again, your salvation,
when Jesus came to the place. He looked up and saw him. He
saw him and said, he came, he saw, he said. He said that, that's
very salvation. And he said unto him, Zacchaeus,
make haste, make haste, Zacchaeus. They say, sir, make haste and
come down. Today I must advise at your house. I'm coming on with you. And he
made haste and came down, and what did what? Received Him joyfully. You gonna grace my house? Ain't that wonderful? Read on. And Zacchaeus, here's what Zacchaeus
said. Verse 8, he said, Unto the Lord, Behold, the Lord doth
have of mine goods, I give unto the poor. If I take in anything
from any man, I will restore him whole. The Lord saved that
man. Didn't He? Huh? Pretty obvious, isn't it? You believe that? It's obvious.
He saved him and everything he had. Right? It's not mine. He gave it to
me. That's what salvation teaches
us. And he wanted the Lord in his
home. And the Lord's people. He kept his high honor and great
privilege. He kept the blessed, most blessed man on earth. He
kept the Lord in his home. Have you ever wondered why some
people seem to me to abound? I was just in the home of a couple. So this man, I'm not going to
tell you who he is, but this man abounds. grace in faith, in love, in character,
in every grace. He had much of it. You ever wonder
why that is? Well, we know God is on board,
huh? He's given it to make every man
separately as He will. And you know what He said though?
He said to the merciful, I'll show myself to you. To the gracious,
I'll be gracious. Matthew 25, Him that hath, and I'll give you more. And He'll
have the money. He that hath, or in other words,
has it and uses it, like those cows, that man had five and he
used it and he had gotten the rest, ten. And he that hath,
more will be given till he has his money. And he that hath not, vice will
be taken from him what little did he has. That's serious business. But so needful. So needful. And that's not the reason we
give or do, it shouldn't be. Gratitude or love, grace is the
reason we give or do. But these are much-needed words
of affirmation to everyone. What we have, we have not received.
Now, we freely receive, freely give. He that loves much, and
has been forgiven much, will love much, and do much. And as
much as he does it on the lease of one of these my brethren,
he does it to me. He does it to me. Lord, come be at my house. All right, let's sing. Our Heavenly Father, we thank
you for sovereign grace. You are sovereign grace. You're our sovereign God and
you are gracious. We thank you for the gospel call. Thank you for calling sinners,
dead sinners, to life. Thank you. We should be left alone, just
like so many others. This world, so many have been
left to themselves, left to this world to pursue after it. No way seems right to end this
destruction. Oh Lord. We long to walk and lead the
way through the light. Call us to follow thee. Call
us by your grace. Call someone who hasn't been
called for your glory. Call them. Look upon them in
their deadness and call them by your gospel and call them
to follow you all the days of their life. And it is in Christ's
name that we've met together tonight. Give Him that. Give Him that. You know, it's like, you know,
talking about, you know, some of my friends, like, too, you
know, this is my business, and so on, and so forth, and so on,
and so on, and so on, and so on, and so on, and so on, and
so on, and so on, and so on, and so on, and so on, and so on, and
so on, and so on, and so on, and so on, and so on, and so on, and so on,
and so on, and so on, and so on, and so on, and so on, and so on, and so on, and so on,
and so on, and so on, and so on, and so on, and so on, and
so on, and so on, and so on, and so on, and so on, and so on, and so
on, and so on, and so on, and so on, and so on, and so on, and so on, and so Thank
you. Thank you. I agree with that. Did he say anything that wasn't
true? He did give that to me. We'll get it out. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You know... Thank you. I think a lot of people don't
get that anymore. Stand your ground. Stand your ground. Stand your ground. Stand your ground. This was a man-made decision,
a man-made work of art. It was a man-made decision, a man-made work of
art. It was a man-made decision, a man-made work of art. It was
a man-made decision, a man-made work of art. It was a man-made
decision, a man-made work of art. It was a man-made decision, a
man-made work of art. It was a man-made decision, a man-made
work of art. It was a man-made decision, a man-made work of
art. It was a man-made decision, a man-made work of art. It was
a man-made decision, a man-made work of art. It was a man-made
decision, a man-made work of art. It was a man-made decision,
a man-made work of art. It was a man-made decision, a
man-made work of art. It was a man-made decision, a man-made
work of art. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I love you. How you doing? I don't know. It's a good thing that I found
out I was broke when I was in high school. That's a good thing. Well, that's a good thing. It's a good thing. It's a good
thing. It's a good thing. It's a good
thing. It's a good thing. I'm going
to tell you a story. I'm going to tell you a story. Thank you very much. We were going to get one, but
it didn't work. I'm sorry. Do you know what I'm saying? Do you know what I'm saying? Thank you very much. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.