The Lord Calls Sinners

A young teenager was abducted from his family and thrown onto a slave ship. He was in bondage for 6 years before he finally escaped and was able to return to his family.  Instead of becoming angry and bitter at his situation, this young man came to know Jesus Christ. Through his sufferings and trials he became aware of his sin and his need for a Savior.  He was a sinner that was called by God and trusted in Jesus Christ as His Savior for the forgiveness of his sins. This young man is known for writing this poem called the Breastplate, "Christ be within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ inquired, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger." His name was Patrick and he would bring this Christ to a lost and broken people a little island called Ireland.  Before Patrick became Saint Patrick, he was a sinner that was called by God to his service.  This Saint Patrick day, we are going to study from Luke’s Gospel how the Lord calls sinners.  First, Jesus is willing to make sinners clean.

I. The Lord is willing make you clean

Luke points out one particular story of a man full of leprosy. Leprosy was a disease of the skin. The disease made lepers ceremonial unclean which causes them to be excluded from Jewish worship.  They were also social outcasts because leprosy was contagious and needed to be separate from the rest of society. They were not able to feel the warmth of a hug from family or friends for if anyone touched a leper then they would be unclean.  It was a disease that affects one’s entire life: Physically, socially, and religiously.  So understand the emotion behind this passage.  V. 12, “While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” This man was desperate. But when he saw Jesus, something changed.  In his desperation, he was given hope.  Seeing Jesus changes everything. This man was not presumptive.  He did not demand that Jesus heal him.  He was humble and poor in spirit.

And verse 13, “And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him.” Notice Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him while saying, “I will, be clean.” The Law said in Leviticus touching the leper would have made him unclean. But Jesus wanted to show his deep care and compassion for this man. It also is a picture of the cross.  This man was unclean and the only way for this to be reversed was for another to become unclean on his behalf.  It is a great picture of what happened to Jesus on the cross.  He willfully became unclean. He willfully became our sin so we could be healed. By his wounds we our healed.

Then Jesus charged him to tell no one, but “go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for you cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” Jesus wanted this man to follow the law and be declared clean by the priest before he told anyone else.  Obviously, people would realize very quickly that this man would have been healed. And word would have spread and so it did. Verse 15, “But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities.”  He could have capitalized on his new fame.  He could have signed a deal for a made for T.V. movie and a new book deal, but instead he withdrew to desolate places to pray.  There are many reasons for this, but I think one of them is that he cared more about pleasing the Father then having a strong worldly reputation. He did not seek to fan his popularity, but to retreat into the presence of his Father.

Do you ever think that God doesn’t want you? I have talked with a lot of teenagers that have been abandoned by their parents.  Kelly’s parents were awful.  They were absence and abusive. They chose drugs, alcohol or relationships over her.  They would say things to her that she was not going to amount to anything.  Kelly responded by making horrible decisions with school and boys.  She was filled with anger and rage. After a life full of neglect, abuse, and anger, Kelly felt unwanted. She felt unloved. She was desperate like a leper; outcast from a normal life only to live a life of loneliness and pain.  Have you ever felt like Kelly? Unwanted? Unloved? Unclean? But Kelly is not unwanted. She is not unloved.  She IS unclean. But Jesus is willing to make her clean. He is willing to reach out and touch her. All she has to do is look to Jesus for he is willing. Jesus died and rose again for her. But not only is Jesus willing, he is able.

II. The Lord is able to forgive your sins

It is not enough to be willing.  Willingness goes along way, but it does not finish the job. I could be willing to dunk a basketball, but my willingness does not make me able to dunk a basketball.  Willingness is important, but not enough.  Our Lord is both willing and able.  Verse 17, “One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. 18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19 When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. 20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

That is very bold claim; Forgiving someone’s sins against God.  Jesus reputation was staring to attract some attention.  For the religious elite, the Pharisees and Scribes had come to listen to his teaching.  He was being investigated by the top scholars of the day.  And after watching this scene, they were skeptical.  Honestly, the Pharisees probably had come to expose something false in Jesus.  They did not come down with an open mind. They came down to prove that their opinion was right.  You know anyone like that?  They look for things to support their own opinion and views rather than looking for the truth. These religious elite were not sure of Jesus. Verse 21, “the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” They were half right.  Who can forgive sins, but God alone?  No one, only God can forgive sins. And that is the whole point of the scene.  Jesus was revealing himself to the crowd, but these religious people refused to see it.  Jesus Christ can forgive sins.

Verse 22, “Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, “Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk?  But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Jesus is about to prove a point.  He gives himself the title Son of Man which is a reference to the Messianic figure from the book of Daniel.  But Jesus did make an empty claim.  He was not only willing, but he is able.  He has the authority on earth to forgiven sins.

 So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”  Now, what was more remarkable a paralyzed man getting up and walking home or that his sins were forgiven?  The most remarkable thing that happened in this story is that this sinner was forgiven by God.  The miracle of his healing was only to demonstrate that Jesus Christ has authority to forgive sins on earth.

Christopher Reeve, best known as Superman, became paralyzed on May 27, 1995 after being thrown from a horse during a competition. His paralysis was permanent.  He always believed and insisted that one day he would walk again, but he never would.  He wanted something that only God could give.  Only God could make Christopher Reeve walk again. He was willing and able, but Christopher Reeve never trusted in Jesus as his Savior. Towards the end of his life, Reeve joined the Unitarian Church. He was asked why in an interview with Readers Digest. He replied this way:

It gives me a moral compass. I often refer to Abe Lincoln, who said, "When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. And that is my religion." I think we all have a little voice inside us that will guide us. It may be God, I don't know. But I think that if we shut out all the noise and clutter from our lives and listen to that voice, it will tell us the right thing to do. The Unitarian believes that God is good, and believes that God believes that man is good. Inherently. The Unitarian God is not a God of vengeance. And that is something I can appreciate.

Reeve, felt like most Americans, that man is basically good.  Humans are not perfect, but God is not vengeful which basically means that God would never punish good people in Hell. The problem is that man is not good.  Reeves, like all humans, are sinners and need forgiveness.  God is not vengeful in the way Reeves portrays him, but he is just.  A just God must punish sin.  Jesus Christ was willing and able to make Reeves walk again. Jesus was willing and able to give Reeves a new body, a glorified, resurrected body. Jesus was willing and able to allow Reeves to run and explore the New Heavens and the New Earth, but Reeves never looked to Jesus Christ. So although Jesus was willing and able, Reeves never walked again.

Reeve was physically paralyzed, but we are all spiritual paralyzed without Jesus Christ.  Ephesians 2:1-3, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.” That paints a much different picture than all of us being basically good. Then the conversation changes with those two glorious words, BUT GOD. Verse 4, “4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.” We were all dead; spiritually paralyzed unable to move towards God. But God came down to us. Because He is rich in mercy, he gave his one and only son so that whoever would believe in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.  We can live because Jesus Christ was raised from the dead.  He promised forgiveness and resurrection to all who turn to him in faith.

Have you been forgiven?  God is willing and able.  All you have to do is turn from your sin and look to Him as your Savior and Lord.  You can be clean today. You can be forgiven today. For Jesus is calling you to repentance.

III. The Lord is calling sinners to repentance

Verse 27, “27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him,28 and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. 29 Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Jesus mission was not to heal the healthy, but the sick and not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.  Jesus came to call not those that inherently good, but those who are evil. We should not be afraid to call ourselves sinful and unrighteous, for that is whom Jesus is coming for.  We try so hard to make ourselves look better than we are, when only wants us to admit our sin and turn to Him.  He came to call you to himself.

Richard Grimes shares this story, “A Native American and a white man were deeply moved by the same sermon. That very night the Native American received Jesus as his Savior, but for days the white man refused to accept Christ. At last he, too, repented and enjoyed the sweet peace of having his sins forgiven. Later he asked his Native American friend, “Why did it take me so long, while you responded right away?”

“My brother,” he replied, “I can best explain it by this little story: At one time a rich prince wished to give each of us a new coat. You shook your head and replied, ‘I don’t think so; mine looks good enough.’ When he made the same offer to me, I looked at my old blanket and said, ‘This is good for nothing,’ and gratefully accepted the beautiful garment. You wouldn’t give up your own righteousness. But knowing I had no goodness of my own, I immediately received the Lord Jesus Christ and His righteousness.”
Dear friend, give up your own righteousness it is a shabby old blanket and good for nothing.  Turn to Jesus and accept his beautiful righteous robes of Mercy. Jesus is calling you to repentance, but he is also calling you to his mission.

I. The Lord is calling sinners on mission

Jesus has not called us just to save us, but he has called us so that we would help save others.  Seeing Jesus changes everything.  Once you see Jesus, you want others to see him as well. Look again at verse 18, “Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus.” This paralyzed man could not walk and get to Jesus. He needed help.  His friends who believed that the power of the Lord was with Jesus brought him to the feet of Jesus.  These friends were determined for their friend to see Jesus.  Even when they got there and could not get through the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat into the middle of the crowd right in front of Jesus.  Now notice verse 20, “When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”  This man was healed and forgiven because of the faith of some men in the Lord Jesus.

Do you have the faith of these men?  Do you have friends or family in your life that are spiritualized paralyzed? Those who are unable to walk to Jesus?   Beloved, we must carry our friends to the feet of Jesus.  We must carry them in prayer.  Like Jesus parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18 that was finally granted justice because of her persistent pleas day and night, we must cry out to the Lord day and night for the salvation of the lost.  We must tell them the good news of Jesus Christ.  We must bring them here to the gathering that they may hear the Word from God.  Jesus has called you to himself to participate in his mission; so are you on mission for King Jesus? Are you a solider in his army?

Look at verse 27, “After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.” Jesus called a sinner Levi. Jesus was willing and able and Levi answered the call.  So what is the first thing Levi did? He had a party so his friends could meet Jesus.  Now in verse 29, “Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.” Levi knows his friends need Jesus for Jesus has not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Beloved, one of my greatest fears as your pastor is that we will not be like the men carrying their paralyzed friend to Jesus or like Levi who threw a party for his friends to meet Jesus. My fear is that we will be like the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Complaining diverts the mission of the church.  Instead of the church focusing on saving lost souls that are under condemnation, we have to worry about pleasing those of you who are complaining. Complaining hurts God’s mission. It makes us lose our primary focus of bringing the lost to the feet of Jesus through the proclamation of the gospel. Philippians 2:14, “Do everything without arguing and complaining so that we may be pure and blameless children of God in this crooked and depraved generation as we shine like stars of the universe as we hold out the word of life.”

So which best describes you?  Are you like Levi and the faithful men carrying their friend to Jesus or are you like the Pharisees who start complaining when sinners are hanging around?

By God’s grace, Saint Patrick was like the former.  One night he had a dream.  In the dream, a man came from Ireland carrying letters. He opened one of the letters that said “the Voice of the Irish” He heard a voice calling out from the letter, “Holy boy, please return to us. We need you.” A great struggle began in his soul.  How could he return to help those who enslaved him?  He knew that God calls sinners on mission. So he boarded a small ship armed with the good news of Jesus Christ and turned Ireland ablaze with the gospel.  Patrick’s ministry lasted over 29 years. He baptized over 120,000 Irishmen and planted 300 churches.
There are many ways to celebrated St. Patrick’s Day. But this St. Patrick’s Day, let us honor his life by joining him on mission.  Jesus calls sinners.  He was and is willing and able to forgive. Let’s pray.

A True Disciple

The main job of the United States Secret Service is to protect the President and other key figures in our government. Or is it?  When the Secret Service was established on July 5th 1865, its main purpose was to minimize the counterfeiting of the US currency. At the time it was estimated that one-third to one-half the US currency was counterfeit.  Current estimates believe that less than 1% of American currency is counterfeit largely due to the effectiveness of the Secret Service.   At first glance, a counterfeit bill looks like the real thing, but after careful examination it is easy to spot a counterfeit.  One may believe that the best way to discover a counterfeit bill is to study different version of counterfeit bills. Actually the best way is not to study counterfeits is to study the real thing. If you examine and know the real thing, it is very easy to spot a counterfeit.  Like the US currency in 1865, our country is full of counterfeits.  But it is not in our currency, but in our churches.  Our churches are full of counterfeit believers.  America is full of people who profess the name of Jesus, but do not look anything like the disciples in the New Testament. So this morning, we are not going to examine the counterfeit disciples, but rather we are going to carefully examine the true disciples of the Lord Jesus.   We are going to look 4 truths that should be true of all Christian disciples.  First truth…

I. A True Disciple Receives the Word of Jesus

Luke 5:1, “One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.  When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water, and let down your nets for a catch.”  Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so I will let down the nets.”
Jesus is continuing his mission in preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God.  Verse 44, “And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.”  We see from this passage that Jesus’ teaching was not contained only in the synagogue, but he used every opportunity to proclaim his message.  Jesus has started to gain a following and people were crowding around him to hear the word of God.  What a beautiful scene!! People are hungering and thirsting after righteousness, they wanted to hear the word of God.  Jesus’ disciples then and now should want to hear the Word. A mark of a true disciple is their desire to hear the word of God.

This is one the reasons why I do not understand people who profess the name of Jesus, but do not make the church a priority.  The church is where we hear God’s Word every week.  We should do whatever we can to make that a priority.  Our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world walk miles under the threat of persecution and death to hear God’s Word.  True disciples love to hear God’s word.  But true disciples not only want to hear it, they want to receive it; meaning that want to follow it. Look at how this story unfolds.
The crowd is so big that Jesus has to find a better place to teach.  So he sees some fishermen that have finished their night of fishing and are washing up their nets.  He walks over and gets into Simon’s boat and asks Simon specifically to put out a little from the shore.  Jesus taught the crowd from Simon’s boat. This is the second time in Luke’s gospel that Simon is introduced. Simon was an important figure in the early church so it is important for Luke to explain his call.

Remember Luke’s purpose to give an orderly account to Theophilus of what happened in and through the church so the calling of the first disciples is crucial and specifically the calling of the leader of the church. This scene focuses on Peter becoming a true disciple of Jesus.  Jesus chose Peter’s boat.  The calling was individual and specific for Peter as it is in the calling of all true disciples.  We do not become disciples of Christ through our parents or even our church. We all must individually receive the Word of God.  And that is what we see Peter doing.

Verse, 4, “When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Jesus, the carpenter, begins to tell Peter, the fishermen, how and where to fish.  This would not be an easy command to listen to.  It does not make a lot of sense.  Peter a fishermen, whose father was probably a fishermen and his father before him was a probably fisherman knows a lot more fishing than a carpenter from Nazareth.  Peter even implies this, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything.”

Ellen and I lived in an apartment in Washington D.C. when we first got married.  One night I was walking out of the apartment and a US Marshall, Sergeant Butch Darley, stopped me and asked me if he could use our apartment for a stake out.  Apparently our neighbors had stolen several cars and were suspects in a bank robbery.  Ellen had a friend over that she had to drive home. So while she drove her friend home, I began my very first and last stake out with Sergeant Butch Darley.  Sergeant Darley walked into our apartment and put bullet proof vest on the table. This is the real deal.  Well, I have seen a few crime movies and TV shows so I started to help. “You may want to put some guys out back because their apartment has a back door that opens to the court yard.” He looked at me and said, “We know.”  Code for I do not need help from a 23 year old school teacher.  I am a professional. I do this for a living.  It was a join operation with the US Marshalls, DC Police and the FBI.  They had a helicopter parked 30 seconds away on speed dial.  This might have been how Peter felt.  He was a professional fisherman. He knew what he was doing. The funniest thing about that story is when Ellen got back from dropping off her friend. She came sat down and said, “You may want to put some guys out back because their apartment has a back door that opens back there.” Butch rolled his eyes and I looked at Ellen and said, “We know. We know.”

 But Peter did not respond as a professional fisherman. He responded with humility. He said, “But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”  This is a response of a true disciple.  He does not understand all the details. He may not make sense to him. But it was said by Jesus, His Master, so that was good enough for Peter. Peter is leading the others in the boat.  He says, “I will let down the nets.”  A true disciple follows Jesus in the midst of his friends.  He cares more about the word of Jesus than anything.
A True Disciple receives the Word of God.  Are you receiving the Word of Jesus? Are you following your Master’s Word?  It is enough to hear it, true disciples receive it.  Our second truth…

II. A True Disciple Recognizes the Divinity of Jesus

Verse 6, “When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.  So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.” This is incredible.  Only a few hours earlier zero fish were caught.  They labored all night and caught nothing and now they have so many fish that the nets are beginning to break and the boats are beginning to sink.  This was a miracle.  We do not know if this was a miracle of knowledge meaning that Jesus knew where the fish were going to be or a miracle of power in that fish were drawn to the nets.  But what we do know was this was a miracle.  This miracle made an incredible impression on the fishermen.  They knew that this was something special. Verse 9, “For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partner.”

Peter, James and John recognized that Jesus was the Lord. Peter responded by falling at Jesus’ knees (an act of worship) and called him Lord. Before one can become a true disciple of Jesus one must first recognize his Divinity.  This was God in the flesh.  Peter had heard Jesus’ teaching and seen his miracles. Jesus came face to face with the One True and Living God.  The most important person for a true disciple is Jesus Christ.  All true disciples love and worship Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, the one true living God.
Our culture does not like Jesus and his disciples because of his exclusive claims on being God.  Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  All other religions according to Jesus are wrong.  There is only one way to God the Father and that is through His Son, Jesus Christ.  If you do not believe in the exclusive claims of Jesus Christ then you cannot be a true disciple.  Third mark of a true disciple…

III. A True Disciple Recognizes their Sin before Jesus

The closer one gets to Jesus Christ, the more one recognizes their own sin.  Verse 8, “When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus knees and said, “Go away from me Lord; I am a sinful man!” When sinners enter into the holy presence of the Lord, our own sin is magnified.  We see this same reaction from Isaiah in the 6th chapter of his prophecy:
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train[a] of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”[b] 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

In the holy presence of God, a sinner cannot escape their own sinfulness.  A true disciple does not attend to hide their sin or justify their sin.  A true disciple is undone and grieved with their own sinfulness. Peter and Isaiah both recognize that they cannot stand in the presence of the God.  They realize that because of their sin that they should be cast out of the presence of the Lord.

Every true disciple must recognize their own sin and the consequences of that sin.  Our sin against God condemns us to Hell.  We rightly deserve to be cast into outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. If we don’t understand what our sinfulness deserves, we will never fully follow Jesus.  People do not want to hear about their sin.  They want to hear positive message of hope. But the hope that we have in the gospel is real hope.  The Bible exposes that we are far more sinful than we could ever imagine, but we are far more loved than we could ever dare dream.  Our sin is great, but God’s grace is greater.

Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,
threaten the soul with infinite loss;
grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
points to the refuge, the mighty cross.

Grace, grace, God's grace,
grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
grace, grace, God's grace,
grace that is greater than all our sin!



We should never be afraid to admit the wickedness in our own heart.  We don’t want to believe it’s there, but it’s there. And when we do not acknowledge our sin, we hinder our ability to love Jesus.  Jesus tells this parable:

“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly… He, who is forgiven little, loves little.” (Luke 7:41-43;47 ESV)

We love Jesus move when we realize how much we have been forgiven.  So when we admit the depths of our sin, we able to more clearly see how much we have been forgiven. And then we can sing:

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain—
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

 And how are we forgiven?
We are forgiven through the faith in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Our sin brought judgment for the wages of sin is death.  We all deserve death because of our sin. And God being fair and just must punish our sin. So God sent Jesus to be punished for us. He died in our place. And after his death, God raised him from the dead conquering the grave for anyone who would put their trust in Him.  Jesus took our death that we deserved and he accredited his righteousness by faith to us.  We are forgiven by shed blood of Jesus; all of our sin; past present and future. All of our shameful, wicked, perverse sins were forgiven by faith in the Son of God.
A true disciple does recognize his sin before Jesus. And then, lastly…

IV. A True Disciple Repents and Follows Jesus

Not everyone is forgiven.  Forgiveness comes only to those who repent of their sin and follow Jesus.  To repent means to turn. Literally it means to change your mind.  To repent means to turn away from your old way of life and to turn to living for the Lord Jesus. Verse 9, “9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.” A change happened in Peter and his friends.  The Lord Jesus extends his hand of grace.  Listen to those words, “Do not be afraid.”  Remember Peter rightly understood his sinfulness before Jesus and he rightly responded with fear.  There should be fear when sinful man enters into the presence of a Holy God. But with four words Jesus extends grace, “Do not be afraid.” Those who turn to Jesus do not have to be afraid because Jesus will accept them with open arms and forgive them.

But Jesus not only accepts and forgives us, he changes us. He says, “From now on you will fish for people.” A change occurred.  They were now followers of Jesus.  For, “they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.”  True disciples leave everything and follow Jesus.  Jesus demands our full allegiance.  Everything is reoriented under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  Peter is still a fisherman, but he is now a fisher of men.  Leaving everything does not always mean that you have to change jobs or neighborhoods or friends, but it does mean that the purpose of your job, neighborhood and friends have changed.  They are all given to Jesus and used for his purposes.  True disciples repent and follow Jesus.
This is so important especially for the traditional church.  Traditional churches across America are largely missing one thing: young people.  Younger people typically are not drawn to traditional churches because they want something real, authentic, and true. They do not want just to gather on Sunday morning, but they want to give their lives for the cause of Christ. They want to be called to do something great for the Lord Jesus Christ.  They are hungering and thirsting to find something real.  They are sick of counterfeits and are desperate to find real faith, real community, and real followers of Jesus Christ. If we want to reach the next generation, we must be a church full of true disciples. This whole story is a picture of the harvest that God wants to bring to his churches.  The fisherman Peter experienced a catch so large that the nets started to break and the boats began to sink.  And right after that amazing catch, Jesus looks at Peter and says now you will be a fisher of men.  You thought catching fish in abundance was amazing, just wait and see what it is like catching men.  Think about Pentecost; 3,000 Souls crossing over from death to life. God is not done with Park Baptist Church.

This church is full of true disciples. I have learned so much of what it means to be a true disciple by watching your faithfulness to God.  I have seen your faithfulness in: your willingness to live simply so you can give generously; your commitment to this church for longer than I have been alive; in your commitment to your marriages and families; in your commitment to faithfully pray for children that have walked away from Jesus; in your consistent care for one another in the face of death and sickness. This true church is full of true disciples.

I do think the younger generation sees clearly the faithfulness of our forefathers. But one of the things that the younger generation does see is the importance of being on mission with God. They enter into our church buildings and they see what we have built, but they do not see how we are going outside these walls to reach a lost world.  They feel traditional churches are more social clubs than missionary outposts and they want something more. Following Jesus means participating in his mission: to be fishers of men.

In 1954, Thomas Wedel told this parable, “On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a little life-saving station. The building was primitive, and there was just one boat, but the members of the life-saving station were committed and kept a constant watch over the sea. When a ship went down, they unselfishly went out day or night to save the lost. Because so many lives were saved by that station, it became famous. Consequently, many people wanted to be associated with the station to give their time, talent, and money to support its important work. New boats were bought, new crews were recruited, a formal training session was offered. As the membership in the life-saving station grew, some of the members became unhappy that the building was so primitive and that the equipment was so outdated. They wanted a better place to welcome the survivors pulled from the sea. So they replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in the enlarged and newly decorated building.

Now the life-saving station became a popular gathering place for its members. They met regularly and when they did, it was apparent how they loved one another. They greeted each other, hugged each other, and shared with one another the events that had been going on in their lives. But fewer members were now interested in going to sea on life-saving missions; so they hired lifeboat crews to do this for them
Eventually, most of the members wanted to stop the club's life-saving activities, for they were unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal fellowship of the members. Other members insisted that life-saving was their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called a life-saving station. But they were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save the lives of all those various kinds of people who would be shipwrecked, they could begin their own life-saving station down the coast. And do you know what? That is what they did.

As the years passed, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old. It evolved into a place to meet regularly for fellowship, for committee meetings, and for special training sessions about their mission, but few went out to the drowning people. The drowning people were no longer welcomed in that new life-saving station. So another life-saving station was founded further down the coast. History continued to repeat itself. And if you visit that seacoast today, you will find a number of adequate meeting places with ample parking and plush carpeting. Shipwrecks are frequent in those waters, but most of the people drown.

There is a beauty in having a multi-generational church. Older and younger members help us balance one another to ensure we always live as true disciples. Beloved, lets continue to leave everything and follow Jesus.

God has a Plan!!

“This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” Acts 2:23-24 

Beloved,

God has a plan!!  God has always had a plan. In Genesis 3, we learn that man fell into sin bringing a curse upon this world.  The rest of the Bible, Genesis 3 to Revelation 22, shows God’s plan to overcome the curse the redemption in the Lord Jesus Christ.  God had a plan from the beginning to redeem this cursed world and to purify for Himself a people of his own possession who are zealous for good works (Titus 2:14).  

God sent Jesus Christ into the world to die.  His death is our victory for God did not abandon Jesus to the grave, but God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death.  The word “loosing” means to set free, release or to destroy.  God’s plan from the beginning was to send his Son to set us free from the pain of death.  We have been set free from death. Death no longer holds power of you for to live is Christ and death is gain (Philippians 1:21). Death is Gain.  Think about that.  We are sinful people.  We are rebels against a Good King.  And we deserve eternal death because of our sin.  Stop and let the weight of that rest on your heart. But God has turned our death from punishment into gain. 

Praise to His glorious grace, according to His definite plan, he had Jesus crucified by the hands of lawless men. His death was our death.  His resurrection is our resurrection.  THAT IS AWESOME!!! Beloved, do not let our familiarity with the gospel this Easter lose our wonder in the riches of God’s grace seen in his eternal plan of redemption.  

In Christ,

Pastor Dave

Never is a Strong Word

“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23

Beloved,

Never is a strong word.  We probably use the word more frequently than we would care to admit.  It is easy in an argument to say something like, “You never appreciate me or you never follow through on things I ask you to do.” But never is a strong word.  It is very hard for a “never” statement to be true because of the permanence of that word. Never is defined as not ever; at no time; not in any degree’ not under any condition.

Now read the verse above.  “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end.”  The steadfast love of the Lord will not cease or end under any condition; not ever.  Wow!! That is a strong statement.  God’s mercies will never come to an end, but are new every morning.  Are you in a bad season? Have you been struggling with sin?  Have you pushed the Lord to the side?  Listen, the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases and his mercies never end; they are new every morning.  Turn back to God and embrace his mercy for He is waiting to let you experience his mercy anew.   

Spring is a time of renewal.  Spring is a time of new life.  This spring we are close to celebrating Easter Sunday and the new life we have in Jesus Christ.  The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases because Jesus Christ has overcome the grave. Our new life in Christ will never end.  Great is God’s faithfulness.  O God my Father, There is no shadow of turning with Thee; Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not. As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be. Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided— Great is Thy faithfulness,  Lord, unto me!

Beloved, God is faithful to fulfill his promises.  Let’s rejoice in God’s never ending mercy and steadfast love this Easter season.  

In Christ,

Pastor Dave

Amazing Love!!

“But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5

Beloved,

On Sunday May 21st, 1738 Charles Wesley at the age of 31 wrote in his journal, “I now found myself at peace with God, and rejoiced in the hope of loving Christ.  I saw that by faith I stood.”  Two days later Wesley started to write a hymn about his conversion.  We do not know for sure which one of his hymns he started to write, but most historians believe it was our song of the month, “And, Can It Be?”
Stop for a minute and think about your own conversion. Do you remember when God saved you?  Listen to the 4th verse:

Long my imprisoned spirit lay, fast bound in sin and nature’s night; Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; My chains fell off, my heart was set free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

What beautiful imagery!! Our chains have fallen off and our hearts have been set free.  The Lord has set us from the bondage of sin and death.  He called us and we rose went forth and followed Him.  God has saved us in Jesus Christ.

Beloved, as God has saved you, he will save others. Please pray for God to open blind eyes and free enslaved hearts.  Pray specifically for family members and neighbors who do not know Jesus to come to hear the message of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead this Easter.  The resurrection changes everything.  Jesus Christ has overcome the grave for you and for others who will trust in Him.  Rejoice in your conversion and pray that as God saved you, he will save others.  God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God should die for me?

In Christ,

Pastor Dave