And I thought, I've got something
wrong, but I don't know what it is. And Shelby held up the
bulletin, and I read it again. I read it right before I got
up here. The missionary offering is today. So you designate your
gifts, and we'll send the missionary checks out this week, Lord willing. You all understand. Well, some
of you understand, some of you won't. But I apologize for my
feeble-mindedness when it comes to trying to make announcements
of things. Let's turn together to Luke chapter 5. Luke chapter
5. In that text which Gary read
just a few moments ago, in two verses, verses 44 and 45 in John
6, our Lord tells us, No man can come unto me, except the
Father which hath sent me draw him. And then he declares, Everyone
that hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me."
Now in those verses and those surrounding our Lord teaches
these three things distinctly. No man can come to Christ. No man. No man. Not even a remote possibility. Man who is spiritually dead in
trespasses and in sins has no spiritual ability whatsoever. But any man may come. Any man
may. There are two different things
when you talk about can and may. Can implies ability, may implies
permission. You can come if you want to.
You can come if you want to. But there's a third thing stated
plainly. Some men shall come. There are
some of Adam's fallen race chosen of God and redeemed by Jesus
Christ who must and shall, at God's appointed time, come to
Jesus Christ in faith. All of them shall be taught of
God, and all who are taught of God shall come. We have an example
of that here in Luke chapter 5. We have before us this evening
the story of an immortal soul, a man who had managed to amass
a considerable amount of wealth. Wealth gained in all likelihood
by oppression, perhaps by theft and deceit, but wealth nonetheless. And yet this man was empty inside. He was troubled in his soul.
His wealth could not purchase peace or silence his conscience. He didn't know it at the time,
but this man was a chosen object of God's grace. one who was appointed
as a vessel of mercy, who must be prepared unto glory, one for
whom now the time of love had come. And so the Lord Jesus came
to him in mercy and in grace, and called him by his irresistible
grace to life and faith as only he can. Let's read together the
story of a publican named Levi, beginning at verse 27. And after these things he went
forth and saw a publican named Levi sitting at the receipt of
custom. And he said to him, Follow me. And he left all, rose up, and
followed him. And Levi made him a great feast
in his own house. And there was a great company
of publicans and of others that sat down with them, but their
scribes and Pharisees, their religious leaders, their preachers
and teachers, their scribes and Pharisees murmured against the
Lord's disciples, saying, Why do you eat and drink with publicans
and sinners? And Jesus answering said unto
them, They that are whole need not a physician, but they that
are sick. I came not to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance." Now this story ought to be of immense
interest to anyone who knows the value of his immortal soul,
to anyone who desires God's salvation. These verses describe the conversion
of Levi, Matthew, one of the Lord's first disciples. Like
Levi, you and I were born in sin. Like him, we lived according
to the course of this world, walked after the lust of our
flesh, and we were by nature children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy,
for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in trespasses and in sin, hath quickened us together with
Christ. By grace ye are saved. Had he not come to us, we would
never have come to him. Had he not called us, we would
never have called upon him. Had he not turned us, we would
never have turned to him. Had he not converted us by his
almighty, irresistible grace, we would never have been converted.
Our Lord Jesus tells us plainly that we must be converted. I speak as plainly as I know
how to you, you must be converted. Salvation, this generation has
no idea what salvation is. Salvation is not walking down
an aisle saying, I believe in Jesus, repeating the sinner's
prayer, kneeling at a mortgage bench, praying, crying crocodile
tears, any more than it is beating yourself on the back and crawling
on your knees on hot coals to some pagan altar. No, sir. Salvation
is conversion. It is a turning of your soul,
no, a turning of your being in the core and essence and fullness
of your being to God Almighty. It is a turning from unbelief
to faith, a turning of a man's heart from rebellion to surrender,
from hating God to loving God, from sin to righteousness, from
self-righteousness to the righteousness of God that's in Christ Jesus.
I ask you now, have you been converted? Have you been converted? I'm not asking did you go to
church one day when you were a little boy or a little girl
and get somebody to scare you to death and talk you into a
little profession of religion. That's, I can't say it's meaningless,
it's horrible. It's horrible. I'm not asking
have you had a religious experience. I'm not asking are you a member
of Grace Baptist Church, Danville, Kentucky. I'm not asking do you
know the right doctrine. Have you been converted? Have
you been converted? I studied and prepared this message,
and I ask this question of me. I ask it of you men who preach
here, you men who teach here. I ask it of every man, woman
in this building. Have you been converted? Converted,
turned by God Almighty. I know this. If we are converted,
we are being converted. Is God turning you to himself? This thing of conversion, you
see, is something that continues as long as we live in this It
will not be over until our conversion is finished completely, and we're
turned at last to God in perfection. Believing sinners therefore continually
cry to the Lord, Turn us, and we shall be turned. We rejoice
to declare, Thou hast taken away all thy wrath. Thou hast turned
thyself from the fierceness of thine anger. Oh, bless God. Through Jesus Christ, sacrificial
death is our substitute. God Almighty has taken away his
anger. He's turned away from the fierceness
of his just wrath, which burns against us naturally, burns against
us justly, having expended his wrath in its entirety to the
full satisfaction of justice upon our substitute. And now,
we who have experienced God's grace can identify with the words
of Jeremiah when he said, I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning
himself. Thou hast chastised me, and I
was chastised. If God deals with you, you read
it earlier in the office back there, Merle. I had pity on me,
the hand of the Lord's touched me. If God touches you, you'll
know God touched you. Thou hast chastised me, and I
am chastised as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. Turn thou me, and
I shall be turned, for thou art the Lord my God. Surely after
that I was turned I repented, and after that I was instructed
I smote upon my thigh. I was ashamed, yet even confounded,
because I did bear the reproach of my youth. And yet that same
prophet continues to cry like this. Lamentations 5 verse 21,
Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned. Oh, God, turn us. Turn us. Everything in our flesh, everything
in this world, everything in hell is constantly pulling us
away from our Redeemer. So turn us. Turn us, O Lord,
God of our salvation, and we shall be turned, renew our days
as of old." Now, hold your Bibles open here to Luke 5, and let's
see what we can learn about conversion from this story of Levi. Let's
honestly compare our experience with his. If we are converted,
the changes which were wrought in this man by God's almighty
grace are also wrought in us by that same grace. First, in
verses 27 and 28, we see the fact of Levi's conversion recorded. And after these things the Lord
Jesus went forth and saw a publican. He had his eye on him from eternity.
And now he sees him personally. A publican named Levi, sitting
at the receipt of custom, that's where you'd expect to find a
tax collector, in the tax dossier's office. And he said unto him,
follow me. And after Levi heard the master
speak, he left off, rose up, and followed him. Have you? Do you? Have I? Do I? Here is the power of Christ's
grace and effects, you will call it. Here was a publican called
by the Son of God, and as soon as he was called, he willingly
left all and followed Christ. We should never, therefore, despair
of any. Had we seen this man in this
situation, I don't doubt at all. Most of us, if not all of us,
would have looked at him and would have said, Not much hope
for him, and we'd have passed on. We'd have just left him alone. He's not going to pay any attention
to us. Let's go find somebody who looks
like they want the grace of God. Go find somebody who looks like
they want God's salvation. But that's a terrible mistake,
a terrible presumption. You see, none are too wicked,
too hardened, too worldly. too lost to be saved. None. No sins are too bad, too vile,
too many to be forgiven by Christ. No heart is too dead, too corrupt,
too consumed with the world to be conquered by the Lion of the
tribe of Judah. You see, none are beyond the
reach of God's saving arm, for with him nothing is impossible. You remember what our Lord said
concerning that rich man who came and asked him, and said,
good master, what shall I do, what good things shall I do to
inherit eternal life? And the master told him, go sell
all that you have, come follow me, and you'll be my disciple.
And he went away sorrowful because he had much riches. And the disciples
looked and they said, Well, if this man's going to hell, who
can be saved? Who then can be saved? Our Lord
said it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And I've
read the commentaries and I know all the speculations folk make
and try to make that camel's eye, or that needle's eye, something
that certainly is not intended, is what our Master said. It's
easier for a camel to crawl through that little snitch you can't
get a thread through than it is for a rich man to enter the
kingdom of heaven. That's exactly what he meant. Well, who can
be saved then? Nobody that's left up to you.
Nobody. But with God, all things are
possible. He can take the rich man and
bring him through the needle's eye as easily as you and I breathe. His arm is not shortened that
he cannot save. Are you converted? Has the Lord snatched you from
destruction, lifted you from the pit of corruption, raised
you from the dead? Have you left all and followed
Christ because he took you away from all and called you to follow
him? I urge you now, come to Christ. Oh, come to Christ without delay. The Son of God is still calling
sinners. I pray he'll call some here right
now. You see, there's still atonement
in his blood. There is still righteousness
to be found in the Lord, our righteousness. There is yet forgiveness
with our God that he may be feared. Say, but my sin is so great.
Oh, that's a good argument for forgiveness. That's how David
prayed, he said, Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
It shows the great glory of God in forgiving sin, to pardon great
sin. Pardon my iniquity, for it is
great. The Son of God, steel clothes
needed, helpless, naked sinners with the garments of his salvation.
Alright, now look at verse 29, Luke 5, 29. And here we see Levi's
celebration. No sooner did God save him that
he threw a party. I looked at this and I thought,
what a fantastic way to celebrate God's grace. He threw a party. Levi made him a great feast. Not just a back porch party,
he threw a party, a great feast in his own house. And there was
a great company of publicans and others that sat down with
him. Now, the feast, we're told in
Ecclesiastes 10, is for laughter, celebration, and merriment. Levi
regarded his conversion as a matter of great joy, a reason to celebrate. He wanted others to rejoice with
him. He wanted others to know the
grace he knew, to know the God he knew, to know the Savior he
knew. And so he threw a party. Now, no doubt, many of his friends
looked upon his conversion as a thing to be pitied. There are
always plenty who do. Oh, look at Levi. He had such promise. Boy, he
was going places. I would have never thought it
of him. He's turned into a religious fanatic, poor Levi. Hope he gets
over that. There are always plenty around
like that. But Levi knew he had reason to celebrate. There's
not a higher day. a day more to be celebrated,
more to be remembered than the day of grace. I think of days we mark, birthdays,
son or daughter turns 16 years old, boy, we throw them a party.
Graduate from high school, we throw them a party. Graduate
from college, we throw them a party. And if they ever move out, we'll
find a Thoma party. Thoma party. Thoma party. Great
days. Great days. We get married and
we rejoice. They bring a grandchild and we
sing for joy. Oh, but here's a day before which
every day pales. The day of one's birth into the
kingdom of God. My heart rejoices when I see
one born into the kingdom. See one believing God. See one who has been born of
God's grace. What mother, what father would
not rather see this day than any day possible for their sons
and daughters? Why, when a sinner is saved by
God's grace, a sinner is born into the kingdom. A life of sin
is all-forgiving. An unrighteous soul is made righteous. A filthy, polluted conscience
is washed clean and made right before God, satisfied with blood
atonement and righteousness. A troubled soul is given peace.
A son is brought into adoption. Beloved, now are we the sons
of God. What amazing grace! What amazing
grace! God has made us to be his sons. We are now crowned as kings and
priests unto God. We have been made to be accepted
into the Lord, rescued from eternal damnation. All right, now thirdly,
look at Levi's concern. This converted sinner, saved by God's free grace, was
concerned for the souls of others. He wanted other sinners to be
saved by God's grace. So when he made his party, he
invited a great company of publicans and others. It's interesting,
and others. He was most comfortable around
publicans. And most anyone else in society
despised him. The Romans didn't care for him
because he was a Jew. The Jews didn't care for him
because he worked for the Roman government and imposed taxes
on them. And most publicans, perhaps he was different, but
most publicans made their wealth by overcharging and stealing
from their own brethren, their own kinsmen, and they increased
themselves and so they were despised by the Jews as well. But when
Levi was converted, he threw this party and he invited a great
company of publicans and anybody else he could get to come. The
Jews, the scribes, the Pharisees, certainly they were all there.
We see it in the text. You see, he wanted these needy
souls to know the Master. He went to great expense and
trouble. to get his lost friends in the company and presence of
Christ. This party he threw, it wasn't taking a fellow to
McDonald's for lunch. He threw a party. As a matter
of fact, one of the writers suggested when this man left all and followed
Christ and threw this party, it appears that Levi made greater
sacrifices and expended more, gave up more in a physical sense. than any of the Lord's other
disciples. When he left all and followed the Master, remember,
he was working for the Roman government in a position which
he himself put money out of pocket to take care of a year in advance.
If he had just quit his job and left, left them holding the bag,
there would have been nothing honorable in that. Not honorable for any
man to quit an employee and walk off and leave him without someone
to take his place, do his job, that's not honorable. But Levi
was a tax collector for the Roman government, a publican. He was
the one who sat in the receipt of customs and took care of the
paperwork. He hired other folks to go out
and paid them, I am told by those who ought to know, paid them
every year in advance for the work they were going to do. So
when he left, he left everything. He left it all, and then he went
to his own house and threw this huge party at great expense to
himself, inviting sinners to come to his house, to come to
his party, not because he wanted to entertain them, not because
he wanted them to see what a fine fellow Levi was, not because
he wanted them to reciprocate, oh no, he invited them to come
to his house because he had something they needed, and he wanted them
to have it no matter the cost, no matter the trouble. He wanted
them in the company of the Savior. The earthly material sacrifice
he made following Christ was tremendous. But you see, converted
sinners are never content to go to heaven alone. I'm not, are you? I'm not. Oh, I thank God the building
of his kingdom is his work. I thank God for you who are here,
rejoicing God's goodness to us. Rejoice that God has called you,
called us by his grace into the fellowship of his dear Son, put
us in his kingdom. But I'm not content for us to
go by ourselves. Oh, no. Oh, no. I want to gather
as many as I can along the way for the glory of Christ and the
good of men's souls. We ought to make it our business
to show others the mercy, love, and grace of God in Christ Jesus.
Now you may think, well, what can I do? I don't know. I don't know. But Merle, you
and I can both do what we can. We can do what we can. I don't
have a lot of talents, a lot of abilities, but God's given
me a gift to preach, given me the ability to do it, and I can
preach. Somebody calls me up, just real
regular, asks if I'll come preach this. How many folks do you have
to have? What do you have? Nothing. Just up here in Rochester
last week, Brother Mark asked me, he said, is there enough
folks here for you to come back? I said, Brock, I'll come back
and preach to you. I don't care whether anybody else is here or not. I'll come
back and preach to you and be honored to do so. I'll do what
I can. I can preach. I can tell sinners about the
gospel of God's free grace in Christ. As Moses said to Hobab,
you and I can put our arms on the shoulders of our father-in-law,
mother-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law,
and come down with us. We'll do you good. Oh, come on.
Come with us. Well, no, I won't come. Well,
next week when I say I'll put my arm around you again, say,
come with us. No, not next week. Come on, we'll do you good. Promise
you, we'll do you good. As the Samaritan woman said to
the men of the city, you can, every one of you, say to those
around you, come, see a man who told me all things that ever
I did. Is not this the Christ? You can say to your family, to
your friends, to your brothers, your sisters, what Andrew said
to his brother Peter. Tell me what you find about Andrew
in the scriptures. What do you know about Andrew?
What did he ever do? What book did he ever write?
What letter did he ever write? What did he do? Who's Andrew? He's that brother whom the Master
first found, who came to his brother Peter. Now he wrote some
things. He preached some things. He did
some things. But Andrew said to Peter, We
found him of whom Moses in the law spoke. Come see him, come
see him. Oh, what an honor it'd be to
be Andrew. Andrew comes and says, We found
him of whom Moses in the law spoke. We found the Christ. And
then fourthly, in verse 30, we see Levi's critics. They're hardly
worth mentioning, but since they are barely mentioned by Luke,
I'll barely mention them too, because there's something to
be learned here. I had a note from a friend of mine in another
country. None of you would know him. Sensitive
man, given to depression and melancholy. He had been severely
criticized and slandered by some folks, and it just devastated
him. He wrote to me. I wrote him back and I told him,
I said, well, I found for me the only way I know of to handle
carping critics. You know, I, somebody asked me,
said, how things go in New York? Well, it went great. Went great.
Had some folks say some things, but they didn't say them to me,
so I didn't pay attention to them. They just said it about
me. That doesn't matter. That doesn't matter. How do you
handle them? Don't. Don't. Don't. I've made it my practice
for 30 years. I don't try to answer what folks
say in their yit-yak, get in the corner and yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-yit-y So look at Levi's Christ and
his answer. Verse 31, Jesus answering, said
unto them, They that are whole need not a physician. Healthy
folks don't go to the doctor. Well, they do today in this day.
They eat them old stuff, but when you had to pay it out of
your pocket, they didn't. Healthy folks don't go to the doctor.
Only sick folks. I came, he says in verse 32,
not to call the righteous. but sinners to repentance. That
takes care of the critics. The Lord Jesus came here to save
sinners. None but sinners need Christ,
and none but sinners come to Christ. And every sinner, every
sinner, every man, every woman in this world who's made to see
himself He's coming to Christ. The only reason you don't come
to Him is because you don't need Him. That's exactly right. You
don't need Him. You're still healthy. You're
still in good shape. Now back to the doctor. Man,
I feel good. Now back to find a substitute.
Who needs one when you're righteous? Now back to find a Savior. Who
needs one when you're not a sinner? Got nothing to be saved from.
But oh, if God ever strips you naked in the presence of His
glorious holiness and exposes your corruption and defilement
and sin, you see yourself a sinner before the august glory of God
Almighty, you'll flee to Christ just as fast as you can get to
Him. Every sinner comes to Christ, and every sinner who comes to
Him is saved by Him. Well, Preacher, what about us
now, since we've been converted? Us old hands, we've been around
a long time. How do we come to Him? Just like
you did to start with. Just like you did to start with.
How do we approach Christ? Don't ever, ever, ever even think
about rising above a sinner. Don't ever think about it. How
did you receive Christ at first? How did you first come to Him?
Came naked, come that way now. How did you first come to Him?
Empty handed, that's the only way to come. How did you first
come to Him? Sinful, dirty, vile, needing
grace. As ye have received Christ Jesus
the Lord, so walk ye in Him. You can't walk with God any other
way. And that's what it is to be converted. Amen. All right, Lindsey, you
lead us in the hymn. We'll observe the Lord's table
together. Number 96 in the Songs of Grace
book. Number 96. Thank God for love,
His sovereign love, of that love which predestined
that I should be one of the chosen few.