On Mission – We Are All Called – Sermon

Matthew 9:9:  As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

That Jesus approached Matthew says so much. Tax collectors were seen in that culture as the worst of the worst. Tax collectors were Jews that had sold out their own people to become wealthy. The people hated them. If we could go back in time and freeze frame this scene and then pick out of the hundreds of people there who would be the last person Jesus would pick to train up and send out to change the world?  It would be Matthew.

Think NHL draft first round pick, nobody uses their pick for a second string winger. That’s Matthew, the second string winger, maybe worse.

This is incredibly significant for us? If Matthew is called,  then that means we are all called.

JD Greer in his book Gaining by Losing says,

“There is a widespread myth in the church that “calling into ministry” is a secondary experience that happens to only a few Christians. Their job is to do the ministry and everyone else’s job is to just show up and foot the bill. Few lies cripple the mission more than that one. Each believer is called to leverage his or her life for the spread of the gospel. The question is no longer whether we are called, only where and how.”

Here’s the first take away for you this morning – You are called by God! He has chosen you to be an active part of His mission. Since you’re called, you need to start asking some big questions.

1. Those in the business world – why did God make me good @ business? Surely not just to fill up your life with all kinds of comforts so you can spend the last twenty years of your life on vacation. He has given you your talents as a means of blessing others and as a platform to spread the mission.
2. If you’re a stay-at-home mom, ask yourself: What role do I play in the advance of the mission as I raise my kids?
3. The same question applies if you’re in healthcare, retail, a teacher or student.
4. Again, if your retired from the work place – this applies to you too.

God may have not put you in a vocational pastoral position but He has put you on the frontlines for mission. The word “vocation” actually comes from the Latin word voca, which means “to call.” What if you started seeing your job as an actual calling from God. For example, in the morning you could get up and take a shower, get dressed, help the kids get ready for school, go to work, and come home to prepare to do it again like everybody else. OR you could live like you were ON MISSION.

You wake up expectant of what God has in store for you today.  You spend time with God through prayer and reading His word before you do anything to listen in for his instructions he has for you that day.  You prepare your kids to live on mission to.  Then you go to work with your eyes open looking for opportunities to join God in where He’s already at work.

Now it would be awesome if God called you each morning – “What’s up God?  Ok ,talk to that person and encourage my co-worker.  Got it.”

While we were on vacation this summer, Marlee and I attended worship service at the Beach Church. One of the Pastors in His message said, “You don’t need a voice when you got a verse.” Scripture makes it abundantly clear that God wants to work through us to share his love with others. Look at Jesus’ invitation to Matthew. He doesn’t say, “get in line” or “do what I do.” He simply says, “Follow Me.” Jesus invited Matthew first and foremost into a relationship with him. The relationship was not the by product of them doing ministry together, the relationship was the assignment. The ministry is what would come from them spending time together.

That’s right, following Jesus is not about doing stuff for Him but being with Him. From Matthew’s point of view he’s obviously shocked that Jesus approached him, but it’s also remarkable how Matthew got up immediately with no questions asked. Think about this – Why drop everything? He had a good paying job, 90% of Israel was living underneath the poverty line at this point. He seemingly didn’t have to work hard. (He’s just sitting there) He was a part of something bigger. (the Roman Empire probably had a good retirement plan.) On top of that – Jesus’ invitation was a bit vague. He just said, “Follow me.” He didn’t say his name. Where they would be going. What they would be doing? Not even what would be in it for Matthew. If you look at the first words of verse 9 it says, “As he was going from there…” That this was written by Matthew himself those words are hugely significant. Whatever had just happened before Matthew would have most likely have seen. So, what had he just seen? He’d watched Jesus heal a paralyzed man. Even more importantly he’d just seen Jesus forgive that man of his sins. The question that must have been racing through Matthew’s mind was “Could Jesus forgive me of my shame?” Jesus invitation is from sitting to following. Replay this scene for a moment. Matthew is just sitting there. Then Jesus walks up. What does Jesus call on Matthew’s life require of Matthew? Movement! He must get up! He had to get up. He had to make a conscious decision to make a move. He couldn’t just stay in his seat and follow. The moment he took a step he was ‘on mission’ but a step of faith was required.

FBK, for us, God is calling us to get off the sidelines – doesn’t if feel like we’ve been on the sidelines these past couple of years? That time is over, we are being called to get back in the game of being ‘On Mission’.

“Yeah but Pastor Dave, what does that mean?” Here’s what it means first,  It means that you consciously get up even if it may be a bit uncomfortable. That is where we are going these next three weeks – in fact that is where Pastor Marlee and I and the leadership of this Church are inviting you to go – Out there, together with Jesus, together with each other – ‘ON Mission’.

Do you know the significance of this number: 3900? That’s the estimated numbers of weeks you will spend on planet earth. We think it may be worth taking 3 of those weeks to reset after the past couple of years figure out if you really were made for a mission?

Now, I know what some of you might be thinking –  If I do that, what might happen? Let’s go back to the text here – Check out what takes place next.  

Matthew 9: 10:

While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples.

Matthew: Jesus, where are we going?

Jesus: Your house.

Can you even imagine what Matthew is feeling now??? I think sometimes there’s this fear that if I put my hand up and tell Jesus yep, I’m all in, then He’s gonna move me to Africa or Antarctica. That could happen but do you know what happens way more often than something like that ?

So often God says, “let’s just start with where I have you now.” This next scene takes place at Matthew’s house.

Who probably provided/cooked the meal they were eating? Matthew. Had Matthew probably had friends over to his house before? Yes, but this dinner would have felt different. Before he was Matthew the tax collector but now he’s Matthew the missionary. His ability to BBQ is now being used for the mission of God. When you go from sitting to following God, that is going to internally start changing the way you start seeing things in life.

God will transform how we use our resources.  God has blessed us with stuff that can be used for mission. Matthew used his house and food to be on mission. The same is true for us.
You’ll look at your finances differently.  

You’ll look at your possessions differently. Do you know we have a great group of Guys, that who on their own time, at their own expense, go into the local nursing homes here in town to minister to those residents who can’t get out….and there are others, right here  in your church that use their resources to join God in His mission, at Hospice and other charitable organizations.

And here’s the really cool part, when you start following Him ON Mission, God will transform how you see relationships. Matthew would have had many meals together with his tax collector buddies before, but this is the first time they had religious leaders join them. How do you think Matthew introduced these two groups? Maybe, “My sins were forgiven today – you could have that happen too.” What do you think the conversations looked like between those two groups? What did Matthew hope would happen? He was faced with the reality that he was probably the best chance his friends would ever have in meeting Jesus and decided not to waste this opportunity. Some of you already know this – When you join God in a life on mission you begin to realize that none of your friendships or even acquaintances are coincidental. God has placed them in your life and when you get that then you desperately want what happened to you to happen to them

Matthew 9:11:

When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

It’s crazy to realize that the Pharisees are in his home. I bet they are thinking, “what the heck are we doing in a tax collectors’ home.” They must be blown away by what they see. And so, here is a third way God begins to transform us when we move from sitting to following.

God will transform how I respond to being made fun of  or joked about by others. The Pharisees were the rule keepers. They were also kind of like the cool kids at school. The tax collectors knew that they were the bottom of the totem pole, but it still didn’t change fact that they wanted to be in good standing with the popular Pharisees. But one afternoon of following Jesus and it all changes. Now they didn’t care about approval of the Pharisees because they were too busy toasting their new friendships with Jesus.

Church, here me now – You were not made to fit in –  you were made to stand out. You’re special, God made you to stand out. When you’re on mission you’re not living for the approval of society but for God.

Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. Galatians 1:10.

Jesus faced all kinds of ridicule so wouldn’t you expect that if you’re following him, you’d experience persecution too. Yes, but I want you to listen to Jesus’ own words:

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

— Matthew 5:10-11

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of stuff against you because of me.”

For Matthew, maybe some of his tax collector friends had no interest in Jesus and that stung a little. But Imagine if even one of his friends stayed after their party to share that he wanted to have what Matthew had? How awesome would that be?

Check out how the passage ends.

Matthew 9:12: 

On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.”

What is Jesus’ mission? He’s a spiritual doctor rescuing physically and spiritually wounded and sick people. That means He came for you and me. He didn’t come to judge or pile on rules we could never attain. You know who wrote book the book of Matthew? Matthew did! He was sick and God saved him. And consider, how many millions have been saved through his writings. You have no idea the impact God might want to make through your life and I promise you, there is no greater joy in the journey of figuring it all out.

To close we want to show you one of the most impactful clips from a movie we’ve ever seen. This comes from a movie called Hacksaw Ridge that takes place during World War II. The main character is a medic who because of his faith, refuses to carry a weapon. His battalion is pretty much left for dead up on a ridge. Everyone else retreats except this one medic. He stays behind throughout the night. Check it out.