DawnCheré Wilkerson — Friend Of Sinners: Missed Message

Matthew chapter 9 reads this as Jesus was walking along he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collectors booth follow me and be my disciple Jesus said to him so Jesus got up and followed him later Matthew invited Jesus and His disciples to his home as dinner guests along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners but when the Pharisees saw this they asked his disciples why does your teacher eat with such scum when Jesus heard this he said healthy people don't need a doctor sick people do then he added now go and learn the meaning of this scripture I want you to show mercy not offer sacrifice for I have come to call not those who think they are righteous but those who know they are sinners and as we continue this collection of talks friend of sinners I want to speak to you for the next few moments on this thought mist message will you bow your heads and pray with me lord I thank you so much for every person in this room God do you know their name you know everything about them you created them with a purpose God today we open up our hearts to what you want to say let us hear your voice loud and clear we look to you Jesus and all of you Church said oh come on in all of you Church said Amen there's a story that rich tells in the book friend of sinners and you know it's not just his story it's actually both of our stories how many of you know that there's always another side to every story so I'm going to share mine now while I got the mic it was Rex's 27th birthday 27th birthday we've been together for 10 years and you know I know him pretty well at that point there's always somebody in the relationship that loves surprises there's anybody in the house love surprises okay I am with you you are my people we are in the same tribe I love it surprises I like to give surprises I like to be surprised I like to not know what's around the corner I love spontaneity I like last-minute road trips I love it all bring it on let's do it I'm ready for the adventure my husband hates surprises do you like how miserable I made that so he likes to plan and prepare I'm thankful for this characteristic in my husband it's made a big difference in our life he likes to know what's around the corner he likes to be prepared as he takes the next step and so as he turned 27 I just thought you know for his birthday why don't I give him something that I love isn't that great that's great marriage advice for all of you [Applause] the governor surprised them and so I surprised them by buying them tickets to our favorite band at the time had a concert in Miami the band's name is Kings of Leon now at the time we were just crushing their music we loved their music we played it all the time so I printed on the tickets after I bought it and in a complete girl fashion I did the scrapbooking thing where you take the tickets and you mat them on like blue paper and then you double mat them on like a green paper I probably put stickers on it I can't remember but I made it look beautiful and I put it inside the card for rich and I just waited for him to open it and when he opened it he was surprised and he actually loved the surprise that has not always been the case in our marriage and he said baby I can't wait to go on this date with you I said it's gonna be the best day ever we're gonna make a night of it like we put the tickets on our fridge we were waiting for the date to come and I planned the whole night we got ready right when we got home from work we got all done up and we went to our very favorite restaurant this Mexican restaurant in Fort Lauderdale and we ate guacamole and we ate salsa praise God and we had tacos and we had enchiladas and you know we were listening the music and we were just having the best romantic dinner and we said you know what this dinner is too good we're not gonna get there for the opening act we're gonna enjoy dinner together who cares about the opening act we're gonna get there for the main event we're gonna get there right in time for Kings of Leon to start playing and so we took our time then we got in the car we were blasts and Kings of Leon we are singing at the top of our lungs and as we started to get close we left the Fort Lauderdale restaurant we are driving to Bank Atlantic Center and as we start to get close I started thinking man for Friday night like traffic's not bad this is awesome and as we got closer and closer I was even more amazed cuz usually if the lines are crazy but then something really strange happened as we pulled into the parking lot for the Bank Atlantic Center there was not another car in the entire parking lot and reeks like to me he said babe are we here on this the right day cuz absolutely yes we are don't ask again said babe are we at the right place absolutely done Shree hand me the tickets you don't need the tickets you know how you get defensive you're trying to do something nice but you get defensive listen to me you don't need them like done Cherie let me see the tickets I hand him the tickets he opens up the envelope and he looks he says Don Shree the concert is at BankUnited Center I said that's what I said Bank Atlantic Center said you haven't lived in Miami long enough Bank Atlantic and Bank United are not the same thing Bank Atlantic centers in Fort Lauderdale BankUnited Center babe is in Coral Gables it's an hour away we've missed the concert there's no way for us to make it's Friday night with traffic we just probably should head home to wait to that moment being the strong confident woman that I am I burst into tears hysterically and now the birthday boy is consoling me on his birthday needless to say we did not make it to the concert that night but we have used that story for years and counseling other couples in marriage counseling it's actually come in handy really well how many of you know that sometimes you can miss a message how many know that's important to hear the message for what it's truly saying and when it came to that night you know the two of us going on a date birthday present Bank Atlantic Bank United the consequences weren't that serious but when it comes to missing the message of Jesus how many know the consequences are very very serious Jesus came to earth with a specific message he didn't come to earth to give a generic message that could be interpreted as you choose Jesus came to this earth 2,000 years ago with a very specific message and if we're not careful with all of our good intentions we can misinterpret the message and we can miss the message Bakke Atlantic Bank United I ended up somewhere I never intended to be and when we miss read the message of the gospel it can lead us to places that we never intended to go come on put your hands together if you believe our God is specific with the gospel he is clear if we will only open up our ears and our eyes to seek it what is the message of Jesus Christ some people believe that the message of Jesus is a message of good works that we achieve salvation do we have to keep measuring up keeping up this facade that everything is okay and that we are perfect and the message of Jesus is fake it until you make it work it until you're able to earn it some people believe that the message of Jesus is a holier-than-thou country-club religion that here we are and we're hanging out and enjoying each other because we've found salvation and everyone else out of these doors they're sinners and they could be judged meanwhile we're just gonna do life together other people believe that the message of Jesus is one of just good philosophy that he was a good philosopher and he had great things to say and men too bad he messed with the institution only the good die young some people actually believe that that's who Jesus was some people believe that the message of Jesus was just a message that Jesus took a stand against evil that he was an icon that stood for good and that is he gave His life he made a statement maybe that's where you stand today but I would encourage you Jesus his message was far more simple than all of those concepts yet far more powerful than every single one of those concepts we have to ask ourselves what was Jesus trying to say what was he trying to get across to you and I like when he walked and taught for three and a half years in this tiny nation in the Middle East what was he trying to say what was he trying to say when He healed others what was he trying to say when he declared freedom what was he trying to say we he invited others to follow him what was he trying to say to you and I when he died on the cross and then rose again it's very important that you ask this question and maybe today you sit in your seat there probably many people in this room and you're skeptical thank Jesus is who he said he was all God all men the savior of the world but regardless of where you sit today I think we can all agree that Jesus made an imprint on history unlike any other man that the world has ever seen I mean for some reason Jesus's life and death split histories chronology for some reason people on every single continent testify that the teachings of Jesus bring positive impact and change in their life for some reason every single country and neighborhood people report that they pray to this Jesus and that this Jesus actually answers their prayers just like we testified today how many of you believe that we serve a God who hears us who answers us who delivers us who leads us this is our God for some reason this Jesus he's quoted people say the words that he first spoke not even knowing that they quote Jesus himself he's made an imprint on history this is our God but the question is what is his message and who is it for because as you discovered it might just change your life forever to answer this question today I want to look at the life of Matthew you know as we open up the Bible and return to the New Testament the first four books are Matthew Mark Luke and John all four of these are up close looks at the message of Jesus through his very life and Matthew one of the books was written by Matthew now Matthew was a follower of Jesus he was a disciple of Jesus he did a lot of great things with his life but before he knew Jesus he was a terrible evil man you say Don Shri that's pretty messed up you have to know the story of Matthew's life to understand just how awful of a life he lived before he encountered the truth that's found in Jesus let me give you a little bit of history on the time in which Matthew and Jesus lived at that time Israel was occupied by the Roman Empire Rome had come in and occupied taken over and if you know anything about the Roman Empire that was the world superpower at the time when they would come into a nation and when they would overtake it they were brutal and they were barbaric they would come in and kill all the men they would rape the women and not only that then they would begin to tax all the local people receiving money from them that the people could not afford pushing them into poverty while filling their pockets with that foreign nation's wealth this was the way of the Roman Empire and the way they did so was by creating tax collectors in every neighborhood in every city there would be local tax collectors who were local people who had lived in the city themselves and who were now gathering money from the locals there this is what Matthew did for a living the Bible tells us that Matthew was a tax collector and you know what Matthew wasn't his real name well it was his Greek name but his first name was Levi that was his Jewish name but because Greek was now the language of the day Matthew became his name as he became the tax collector no longer was he Levi the Jew he was Matthew the tax collector and tax collectors were crooks I know it's tax season but this is nothing that you know about this was a different day and age because the Roman Empire allowed the tax collectors to once they gave a Rome what belonged to Rome they could take whatever they wanted to take they were criminals they were the people that no one wanted to associate the scum of the city they were the people that women and mothers would hide their children from no one wanted to have anything to do with these sinners these crooks these gangsters let me make it really clear for you today imagine that our city is overtaken by a foreign nation they come in and they murder the men they rape the women and then all the sudden the neighbor that you've lived next to your entire life the one who used to come over to your house to barbecue on the weekends the one who your kids used to play together all the time all of a sudden he starts to work for that foreign power and he starts to demand that you pay this foreign power taxes and not only that he starts to demand because he knows you so well that you continue to pay even more to fill his own pockets and you start to scrape by and you can't put food on your table for your children meanwhile he's got a Porsche in the driveway next door this is the picture of what a horrible man Mathieu was before he met Jesus this is the picture of how people really felt about him would you invite that person to church would you invite that person over to dinner would you be welcoming that person with loving and open arms and me neither but we read that that's exactly who Jesus reaches out to so startling to all of us that Jesus seeks out someone like Matthew he didn't just talk to people like Matthew he reached out to them he loved them he called them by name he chose them he purposed them come on how many of you know our God's love is greater than anything that we can imagine or even comprehend so here's how Matthew himself in his own book describes this encounter with Jesus Matthew chapter 9 verse 9 we already read it but now you've got fresh vision and context as to what we're actually reading as Jesus was walking along he saw a man named Matthew he's talking about himself how gangster is that sitting at his tax collectors booth follow me and be my disciple jesus said to him so Matthew got up and followed him later Matthew invited Jesus and His disciples to his home as dinner guests along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners but when the Pharisees saw this they asked his disciples why does your teacher eat with such scum when Jesus heard this he said healthy people don't need a doctor sick people do then he added now go and learn the meaning of the scripture I want you to show mercy not offer sacrifice learn for not offer sacrifices for I have come to call not those who think they are righteous but those who know they are sinners notice that Jesus doesn't give Matthew an application to fill out notice Jesus doesn't say hey pinkie promise me that you won't extort any more money from your neighbors notice jesus said to make him pull his life together Jesus doesn't ask him to return all the money before he extends an invitation Jesus says follow me and I will make you my disciple how many of you are thankful that the hands of God are extended to us right where we stand right where we sit this very moment God reaches out with his love and says follow me follow me with your brokenness follow me with your shame follow me with your sin I will make you a new creation stand up and follow me this sees the invitation that Jesus gifts you know what matthew follows him just like that but immediately you hear the voice of the religious the people who know God start to speak up God what are you doing with him they said they'd go to Jesus Jesus why are you having dinner with such scum that's in the Bible and you know what I think it's the pg-rated version because I'm sure they were saying all sorts of insert insults towards him because they hated this man they hated this man and they could not understand why Jesus would associate himself with a sinner like Matthew it's so funny you know when people that are in the spotlight mention that they love Jesus how quickly the religious world is quick to go oh wait a second he can't live for Jesus she can't be living for Jesus he's been married three times I know she's on drugs do you know all the things that they say have you seen what they were a part of and we start to question whether that person has the right to be called a son or daughter of God that is not our position in Christ that is not our role in this story that God is telling and to be honest with you so often we can get in the way of others coming to know Jesus because we feel like we have the right to disqualify people from the invitation that God is extended I grew up in a family to play sports my dad is a football coach all my brothers I have five brothers I have an older sister all my brothers play sports they played baseball they played football and so you know being in the family I had to play sports I wanted to play sports but my intention and my purpose of playing those sports were a little different than my brothers I played tennis to get a tan softball was a social gathering and in middle school I decided hey I want to get serious about this thing someone did my dad I said dad softball seasons coming up I've been playing left field I'm a lefty it's cool it's been working but I want to be the picture so my dad being the coach that he is said okay are you serious I said I'm serious he went got a bean bag this is true he wouldn't got a bean bag and in one of the rooms in our house there was a bookcase he put the bean bag in the bookcase right at the right place and he said okay I want you to pitch inside the house yeah inside the house I want you to pitch every day with your softball and I want you to hit right in the bean bag that's a sweet spot if you can hit it there it's a strike I want you to practice every single day so I would stand [Applause] and I would repeat to myself every day as I did it back around release so got it still got it I would practice every day and I would dream of the day I was gonna get called in from left field now the season started first game left field second field second game left field third game left field fourth game halfway through the game something happened and the picture couldn't stay on the mound my coach comes out he takes the ball out of her hands I wasn't really paying attention so I don't know why she got pulled out but he took the ball out of her hands and all of a sudden I hear my name yelled on Sheree and I'm like this is my moment it's like the voice of God like chose me I run from the left field like see y'all later I run to the pitcher's mound my coach puts the ball in my glove and he goes to go for it I got I got this and I looked straight at my opponent I said today you die [Applause] this was my moment and I started the pitch I'd practiced so many times I could just envision it I could envision the ups and strike and I said back around release and as the ball flew forward guys it was going so fast I could have been in the majors I know it I had what it took it was flying forward and I expected to hear that whiff of the baseball bat swinging but instead I heard a shrill scream at the top of her lungs I had nailed the girl in the back she fell to the ground like she'd been shocked don't feel bad for her she's fine as she started to run towards first base this was the worst part of all my coach comes walking out to the mound I had one chance I'd only pitched one ball and he walks out and he goes I'm gonna need that ball back said head on out to left field [Music] this is my position this is I need another chance I need another turn but I didn't get another turn because he had made the decision can I be honest with you too often as Christ followers we can place ourselves in the judgement seat and we can decide to disqualify people from the position that God has given them as sons and daughters of God let me tell you today it's not our invitation it's God's invitation it's not our message the way that we want to preach it it's God's message and God's messages is that you have been chosen you have been ordained you have been picked up and you have been purposed by God religion Mason you only have a few chances the relationship with God says you have a choice stand up and follow Jesus come on can I get a witness in this house today we have a choice to follow and may we never be the church that sits and goes oh no you got your chance now you're disqualified you don't have the right to follow Jesus you don't have the right to be associated with Jesus and maybe you're on the other side of it today and maybe today you feel like you have so disqualified yourself God brought you here today so that you could know the true message of Jesus Christ what is the message of Jesus it's the message of grace grace that flows like a river grace that can't be stopped that can't be contained Jesus came to this earth two thousand years ago so that you could hear loud and clear that our God does not just speak grace but Jesus is personified as grace meaning where he walks their grace walks also where he walks freedom walks also where he speaks the voice of truth speaks also this is who our Jesus is grace levels the playing field grace is the message of Jesus maybe you thought the message of Jesus was that the good are rewarded and the batter judge you have missed the message the message of grace is that we are all lost without our Savior the we are all desperate and that while we may feel disqualified ourselves or while the world and the religious may point their fingers and say that you have been disqualified you no longer deserve to have relationship jesus walks in the room and where he walks relationship is restored if you choose to follow he is standing and waiting to lead you today the message of Jesus it's grace every single season of your life there's grace there's empowerment and yes as you meet Jesus your life will change and yes as you meet Jesus your old ways pass away and yes as you meet Jesus people start to perceive that there's something different about you and yes as you meet Jesus the fruit of the Spirit begin to develop and the things that marked you as following the world now have been changed to mark you as following God but don't get it twisted you can't do it on your own it's a work that starts on the inside and then shows on the outside we are not the judges of when that starts and when it ends we can only look to the life of Jesus and see that he continually extends his hands Sims his hands - Matthew Jesus is our message back to the story of Matthew aren't we glad Matthew responds to Jesus Matthew responds he says okay I'll follow you and then the Bible says that he goes and he throws a party for Jesus he invites Jesus to his house and he doesn't just say hey guys other tax collectors gangsters all my buddies I'll see you later I'm going to have dinner with Jesus and His disciples because that's me now it's not what he did he got on the phone and he invited every single one of his friends I can just hear him now you got to come meet this Jesus you got to come meet him he saved me he chose me he invited me to follow him I don't know how or why he must not know who I am but he somehow he does he knows who I am and he still invited me here me the most recent recipient of grace will always be the most willing to share will always be the most excited every single day God's grace wants to pour out on you so that it pours out to the world around you and this is what happens with Matthew he throws a party and it's tax collectors and other disreputable sinners is what the world what the word says and then it's Jesus and the twelve disciples and you know Jesus walks up in that party like I'm here like I'm not hiding I'm not ashamed to be at your house Matthew I'm not afraid of guilt by association I'm not afraid of people seeing on Instagram that I was spotted with you I'm not afraid of what other people say about you I've come to your house with my crew and we are hanging with you tonight Jesus isn't afraid because that was actually his mission that's actually why he came to the earth people have asked us before how can you hang with people who are so against what you preach who don't follow Jesus who don't live for Jesus and it's a really easy answer and a hope but the same is said for you you can take this because Jesus did and then they say oh no no no no Jesus did but he did so because they always changed their life they always repented he went there because when they met him he changed their life and they went the other way and then they followed him and it was good Jesus didn't just going hanging obviously you haven't read your Bible closely enough because the end of this story is not that Jesus walked into the dinner party stood up preached a sermon and had an altar call and every single one of those tax collectors and sinners got saved the end of the story is that Jesus walked in and that he sat with them and he ate with them because he loved them and whether they accepted him or whether they rejected him grace is who he is he always shows up for the loss he always shows up for those in need he always shows up for the people that no one else wants to be associated with grace is his name and Jesus shows up and he shows out at the party you can be seated for two more minutes I want you to think it through though because you need to think of the implications of his message Jesus was God if he was God that he knew who was gonna reject him he knew that he was gonna heal hands that were gonna go and hurt people he knew that he was gonna heal lame feet that were gonna then run away from him he knew that he was gonna open up blind eyes that were then gonna lust again he knew that he was reaching out to people that many them would not respond and follow yet Jesus chose again and again to reach out and to love them because that's exactly who he is he loves deeply he loves unconditionally he's consistent we can't close today without looking at the full scope of the story because there's not just two groups it's not just a story about Jesus and Matthew we have Matthew and the tax collectors we have Jesus and His disciples but we see a third party there and that is the party of the Pharisees the Pharisees were the religious leaders of the day they were esteemed they were held in high regard they followed the law of God they did what was pleasing but because they had lived their life achieving through the law their hearts had become critical and judgmental they hear me today I think often the Pharisees get a bad rap they were trying to live a life that was pleasing to God but they missed the message they missed the message and it took them to a place that they never intended to go and now they are attacking the very Messiah that they are awaiting so they speak up and they say hey why are you eating dinner with this scum to which Jesus responds his response is so powerful he says it's not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance you may have heard that a million times often that verses misinterpreted and to be honest I bet the Pharisees heard that and said ah ok thank goodness he knows who they are he knows they're sinners ok ok good Jesus he is he is aware that they are bad that he should not be associated at least he's going to help them he's trying to give them some help he's trying to love on them ok as long as he knows as long as he knows who they are they miss the message that Jesus said because Jesus didn't say that to the tax collectors Jesus delivered that message to the Pharisees because it was a message for them because he said I did not come to call those who are righteous but I have come to call sinners to repentance what Jesus was saying to the Pharisee is that you too are a sinner and until you realize that you're just as desperate for a Savior as the tax collector that I sit at dinner with tonight you will never be able to realize the saving grace that I've come to put within you you can't receive it until you actually realize that you are dead without me you see we say grace levels the playing field but the longer we walk with Jesus the more we can misconstrue the gospel and start to take on the Spirit of the Pharisee oh I know what's going on in her life and we start to categorize sin we started to put specific specific things on each different sensing this is better this is worse this is okay this is awful this is what the Pharisees had done because they followed the law you can't mix the law in grace you can't take a mixed message because a mixed message is a missed message you will never end up in the freedom that God gave his life for you to understand and as Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees I know he's gone hey don't miss it I'm not talking about the tax collector I'm talking about you I gave my life so you who are so used to achieving - measuring up can I understand you'll never reach my grace unless you surrender your life to me you're a sinner your sinner but I am the friend of sinners Jesus is a friend of me Jesus is a friend to you today his grace is extended to you who are you in this story are you Matthew have you felt disqualified because of your past because of the present that you stand it are you a Pharisee who your heart has been full of criticism or judgment even without knowing it this is not an us-and-them it's all of us in him we're all in this together all of us in our humanity are in need of a savior thank you Jesus that he is a friend of sinners come on do you believe it today put your hands together for our God

Channel: VOUS Church

Views: 9,828

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Keywords: dawnchere wilkerson, vous church, friend of sinners, missed message

Id: fILT3wxJcWQ

Length: 38min 3sec (2283 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 12 2018