PASTOR DEBLEAIRE SNELL - YOUR CALLING HAS NOT BEEN CANCELLED

[Music] man it's good to see you all in the house of the Lord today are you blessed today amen amen somebody all I can tell y'all y'all got some some lazy Thanksgiving praise today that that turkeys still waiting some of y'all down we gonna help you work some of it off there by the end of this service today amen we're grateful that the Lord has blessed us almost to see the end of another year grateful that the Lord has allowed so many of our members to travel away and make it safely and I see so many unfamiliar faces grateful that the Lord allows you to make it safely here to Huntsville and we're grateful to have you here with us as we worship our God in spirit and in truth today this morning we want to go ahead and jump right on into the word is that Alright man I'm gonna invite you to stand with me as we go to our Bibles this afternoon and I want to invite you if you don't mind we want to go to the book of st. mark chapter 2 st. mark chapter 2 and we will begin together at verse number 13 st. mark chapter 2 and we'll begin together verse 13 our prayer is that today we would have some better understanding of what Jesus is all about what the church is all about and that somebody would just know how amazing God's grace actually is mark chapter 2 and verse 13 when you get there for me and you're ready just say Amen those who don't have a Bible it is on the screen mark 2 and verse 13 the Bible referring to Jesus it says that he went out how he went out how he went out again by the sea and the multitude came to him and he taught them and as he passed by he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office and he said unto Him follow me and he arose and followed him did you notice Jesus didn't have to give him a big speech that he needed a praise team didn't need no special selection he just said come and he came and now it happened as he was dining at Levi's house that many tax collectors and sinners also came together with Jesus and His disciples for there were many and they followed him and when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and sinners they said to his disciples how is it that he eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners I'm still glad that he hangs out with sinners I just personally have a I'm glad the in the Bible says when Jesus heard it he said unto them those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick I did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance again just for emphasis verse 14 he passed by and he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax office and he said unto Him follow me and he arose and followed him today thanks for just a little I want to talk under the subject your calling has it been canceled your calling has it been canceled let's pray together father ganna ask for permission to join my human weakness and my lack to your divine strength I am praying today that we would be able to see how powerful your grace operates in all of our lives and father I pray that as a church and as a congregation that we would understand our role in the process I prayed to God that as always you would hide me in the shadow of the cross that Jesus alone might be seen that Christ alone would be heard and that Jesus alone would be praised so lord I pray that you would just bless us speak directly to us encourage us is our prayer in the name of Jesus Christ little God's children say together amen and amen you may be seated in the house of the Lord and talking under the subject your calling has not been canceled as today as we work through our text I believe we see the powerful grace of God from the very onset the word says in verse 13 that Jesus went again by the sea now Jesus has already done some great work by the sea up until this time he has already called some disciples by the sea he's already healed a leper by the sea but the word says he goes back again because his work is not complete and I believe his return to the seaside is not general but he goes back again because there's someone specific he's trying to reach the words is that he passes by the toll booth where he finds Levi sitting there and understand that Levi is not a residential tax : he is a seaside tax collector where he imposes taxes upon merchant ships as they land by the seashore so if in fact you want to see Levi you've got to spend some time by the sea if you wanted to bump into Levi you just had to hang around by the sea and the Bible says he was there before but Jesus goes again by the sea he's preached there before but he goes again by the sea and Ellen White says that Levi had heard the preaching of Jesus a number of times but he was not strong enough to leave his gain and his position of honor and even though Levi does not receive it at first Jesus goes back his way again to make sure he can win him to the gospel and the thing I love about Jesus is that Jesus never reaches out to us just one time and washes his hands of us when we don't respond the right way and mercy he comes back to us again and gives us another chance to receive him you think the truth is the claims of the law would be satisfied because he gave us just one chance justice could not protest because he gave us one chance but Jesus goes back to Matthew as a sign that God is not a God of a single chance but in his mercy God gives us another chance you see some of us are too holy to rejoice on that point so I'll assume that some of y'all got it right on the first chance but if you're like me you didn't need just one chance but you needed multiple chances to get it right with the Lord Jesus there's some of us that were hard-hearted and self-sufficient and determined to have us our own way but the good news is that God gave us a bunch of chances who am i preaching to in this room today can anybody remember where God spared your life in the club even though you would not repent there there are some of us was a test-case back- and we still held on to the same way there are some of us where God spoke to us when we sobered up every morning there some God speaks to you in every sermon and you sit through the appeal and the truth is that even though we said no to God we are saved today because God came back to us again and see the truth is this morning I'm not thankful for turkey or macaroni and cheese I'm thankful that God came to me again some of y'all shout overdressing and sweet potato pie I'm thankful that he came to me again I'm grateful that God does not give up his pursuit of us I'm grateful that God this cannot continue that he's continues to pursue us and the truth is that we are saved today not because we love God but we are saved because God first loved us I'm thankful that he made the first move do I have a witness today okay let me say it this way just a couple days ago around the Thanksgiving table there were a number of the couples that were telling their stories about how they first met and the husbands and wives debated about who made the first move and so one of my cousins and his girlfriend they were debating about who made the first move now she was working at the grocery store at the time and when he saw her he would continue to come into the store and eventually he worked up the courage to invite her to his art exhibit because he is an artist by trade but she declined the offer and she rejected the invitation but the thing I love about my cousin is he created ways to keep going to the store to go and see her and so he would go to the store just to buy one sweet potato he would go to the store just to buy a stick of gum he would go to the store just to get a bottle of water and he went to her aisle so many times that she began to develop a liking for him and she eventually asked him for his phone number and then all the women sided with her and said she made the first move but then he said she didn't make the first move remember she rejected my first advance she was only able to say yes because I kept coming her away yo y'all not with me see some of y'all just remember the day that you finally called out to Jesus but the only reason you were able to call out was because Jesus came again and again and again and again your way until you finally said yes to him are you hearing the word today and so today Saints I want to talk through this text a little bit and it won't take me long but there are certain lessons we've got to learn from Levi today and the first thing it teaches us is that your ugly past does not discredit your glorious future not now I understand why those of us who are new to the Bible would not quite get what I'm saying when you're new to the Bible you don't understand how notorious and treacherous a tax-collector would be or how he would be perceived not understand this Saints what a tax collector is a tax collector is essentially a government-sanctioned shakedown artist who like the IRS you don't have any real recourse against him and see the thing about a tax collector is that a tax collector was predatory in nature meaning that they would adjust the tax rate based upon your perceived ability to pay the tax in other words if you came through his line with 100 pounds of cargo today the tax might be 15 dollars but if he thought you had money when you came back tomorrow it would be $100 and so the thing about a tax collector is that they profited on people's desperation so that if you were a woman or a widow and you could not pay the tax they would impose taxes in exchange for sexual favors in fact if you were a dude and you couldn't pay taxes they would raise tax to create a debt so that you would have to be their slave or their indentured servant and see the thing about a tax collector is that their gain was considered so unclean that they wouldn't even let a tax collector give tithe at the temple now you know a tax collectors ban when they will take your money to church come on and say man and in fact I close my eyes during the offering cuz I don't want to know who's giving it are y'all hearing me today thanks in fact when they develop their own kind of moral totem pole you got to realize that tax collectors at the bottom so that you have harlots right here you have pedophiles right here you have murderers and Gentiles here and you had tax collectors at the bottom of the totem pole and see the thing that you got to get is that actually adding a tax collector actually damages the credibility of Jesus Christ CC in other words beloved you got to understand that Jesus is already on the wrong side of the establishment in other word Eric did the Pharisees and Sadducees they don't like Jesus but he has a great following amongst the masses he is the people's champ but you got to realize that even the common folk don't want to hear nothing about a tax collector being saved and so this call is so polarizing that it pushes both ends in against the middle now again let me tell you who Matt to Levi is see his surname is Levi which means some believe that he comes from the tribe of Levi which means that he was groomed to be a priest or a temple worker y'all not with me today in other words Levi is not some hardened criminal that's gone from foster home to foster home Levi is a church dude like some of us that were groomed to be grown up in church but Levi's decisions have led him down the wrong path and you got to get this that about Levi because of his past in the rise of the people he has no redeeming future in the minds of the people his past behavior will discredit his future ministry his past occupation makes him useless in their minds forever and the call of Levi is designed to teach that your glory ugly yesterday just not discredit your bright tomorrow are you hearing me today and then some of us in particular like Matthew who have made some poor like choices and as a result some live with a very painful stigma that people will not allow you to forget and as a result some of us live with um self-imposed guilt that keeps us alienated from God but the call of Levi is designed to teach that God's grace is greater than who you used to be and sin thing about the call of Matthew is the sequence messes up our faulty theology I believe that there are some of us in this room that actually ought to give God a praise that Jesus calls the most unlikeliest of people that did you notice that Jesus calls easy Mary Magdalene that Jesus calls cursing Peter he calls persecuting Paul he calls cricket Zacchaeus he calls the woman by the whale and the amazing thing is he calls them before they get right he calls them before they come back to church he calls them before they start giving tide he lays the call on them before they stop sinning which means God doesn't call worthy people God is just looking for willing people mm-hmm see this messes up my church mind because when he calls those folks there is no cooling-off period he does not sit them down for a little while did you realize that Matthew is collecting taxes in the morning then he's this cycling folk that same night that Paul is destroying the church one day and then he's building the church next week did you notice the woman by the well was living with a man one day and then inviting other men to comment see a man that told me everything I ever did and I guess what I need somebody to understand is that even their call we're still binding in the mists of their sinning and in other words your sin does not forfeit the call that God has placed upon your life and see there's some of us that are under the wrong assumption that if you've made some mistakes that you've been disqualified that you've been discredited but the good news is that where sin abounds God's grace does much more abound and if God paid for you then God can still use you yep y'all still not with me today I remember just a little while ago I went over to the Burlington Coat Factory and the brothers know that there's a section where you can get the fancy socks five or ten dollars anybody know what I'm talking about today and I remember that day I got home it was raining I have a bunch of stuff in my hand and and I made a mistake and the socks fell in the dirt right there by the side of the house and when I went out the next day I noticed that the tops were filled with dirt and mud and my daughter was getting ready to take the sock and throw them in the trash and I said baby hold up don't you throw those socks away those socks are brand new I had used them yet and she replied but daddy is so dirty and I later had to let her know that even though it was dirty it was easier to clean it than it was to buy it y'all y'all not hear me today in other words the fact that I had paid for it meant that I was still planning to use it y'all got here me today and I'm gonna know that God has already paid for you and it's easier to clean you than it was to purchase you and if he purchase you that's cause he still don't use mmm 660 I need the kind of bring this thing home here for a minute because he will love the idea of God's amazing grace but one of the things that grace does is it actually tests how much you really love Jesus CC this is you the call of Levi actually shows what the cross would be offensive and a stumbling block to many because the reason some people don't like grace is that God makes it available to everybody since in other words we love the idea of indiscriminate grace as long as it's being applied to us or people that we like but do you love grace when God is giving it to those that you hate the most 60 the truth is that even the masses they don't want to hear nothing about Levi being saved as a tax collector and the reason they don't want to hear that is that as a tax collector Levi is a part of a system of Roman oppression and see the reason that some of them couldn't receive Jesus was because his message was too inclusive CC's understanding that his Jews they didn't want to hear nothing about sharing heaven with their oppressors and the truth is that there are some of us in our minds that we like God's grace when it comes down to us but there are some of us as quiet as it's kept there are certain people that we believe deserve to go to hell that they gonna get their rightful earnings see there are some of us I have a list in our mind y'all not gonna say man but you got a list in your mind of people that need to go to hell and get what they deserve come on and say man and tell the devil in other words in your mind you already got pedophiles there your ex-boyfriend your boss the head of KK Donald Trump y'all already put a damn true I mean you've already got a list in your mind about those who's supposed to be lost are y'all hear me Saints but but what makes grace amazing is that he gives it to everybody on oh yeah y'all man don't man see see the problem with the church is that we're okay with grace being applied to sinners that we deem sympathetic in other words I'm okay with the woman caught in adultery I'm good with the woman by the whale I'm good with the crippled man by the pool of the Bethesda but how do you feel weak grace is given to those that you don't feel like truly deserves it and see how many of us understand that it's not grace if it can be dessert all y'all got hearing me today see the thing about grace is that grace doesn't concern itself with your comfort grace is an aggressor to all people grace is not exclusive grace is not deserving grace doesn't come with strings attached and the only condition is that you receive it by faith and see of course it is you got to ask yourself am I willing to share heaven with those that I like the least okay y'all might require in other words you got to ask yourself what I still want to be in heaven knowing that they are going to be there and see the problem is we get angry because we feel like we deserve something that they do not as if their sin is worse than yours eg see see how many of us understand that in Jesus there are no levels of sin see the problem is we see certain sins as being worse than others in other words we think homosexuals ought to go to hell because homosexuality is an abomination but you realize the Bible says the same thing about pride all right I mean we down on old homosexual sin but what about all this heterosexual sin oh come on come on keep it real listen if you shacking which Oh phoo don't you look down on bandwidth man and woman with woman you in the same boat they are not hearing me today Saints in other words I need you to know that God's grace saves all races it saves murderers it saves the girl your man cheated with it takes drug dealers and saves porn stars it saves Republic you're not hearing me it says anybody who is willing to receive His mercy are y'all hearing me today Saints I'm just playing Republicans y'all going to heaven - amen in other words let me say this way like a little while ago like the Lord pretty much had to Humble me on some stuff you know I travel quite a bit and what was happening as I was beginning to become like a a a flight or travel snob and I'm explaining you about what I mean when I say that is like I shared with you in our first start going places you know it is when you're when you're flying with the church people wait to the last minute and so what happens is they always want to put the preacher or on that last seat on the back of the plane they want to buy Travelocity or Priceline I rebuke the spirit of Travelocity in the name so I was always when that last sit on the plane by the bathroom so so in recent years those that fly Delta realize that Delta has come up recently with this little credit card even though what I'm talking about and they proselytize you in that joint they give it away to anybody that's willing to sign up for it and so recently I signed up and got to look old credit card they give it to anybody who is willing to receive it and once I got this credit card my status changed and so what happened is I got a bunch of SkyMiles for free my bags would always fly for free but the thing I liked about it is I didn't have to get on the plane last when you got this status you always go Zone one in other words when you going to zone one you go through the fancy line with the carpet on the left side some of y'all don't fly y'all don't know what I'm talking about right now in other words you get to go through the fancy side now again I've never paid attention who was going through his own one because I was always the last one to get on but then I didn't realize it until this day I'm about to fly my head is getting big my chest is stuck out and the crazy thing is when they call Zone one half of the flight gets up and they get in the line for Zone one now I'm tripping and I'm looking down my nose like how you get his own one how you get in zone number one Hawk the world all y'all get in zone one and then it does on me the same offer I received was the same offer they receive and the same way I'm looking at them they look in the same way me and a man comes Delta and lowered a standards but then it comes to me the only way I got on it's because they lowered their standards oh you're not here with me yet in other words don't look funny cuz they going to him don't look crazy cuz she got saved cause the same way you looking at them is the same way somebody looking at you and don't say God lowered his standards that's the only way you can be say hey are you hearing the word today say he lets anybody and everybody receive His grace are you with me today Saints third thing this story teaches us real quick is that sometimes all the time your mission ought to be greater than our disagreements now again that's not obvious from the onset but let me bring it down cuz me one of things I want to say to the church specifically that when there is discord or strife in the church it's not because we got so many different personalities strife or discord is because we got too many people trying to do too many different missions what are you talking about pastor Snell so we find Jesus here at this place where he is building his team that will comprise of 12 now there are a couple things that becomes clear when you look at how Jesus assembles his team the first thing that becomes clear is that Jesus does not get all choir boys your boy Dave Jesus what he does is he gets some guys that got some dirt on them that know how to reach back to those who are where they once used to be but the amazing thing that becomes very clear when you look at the team is that he does not build the team based on agreements in other words he does not get people of homogeneous thought he doesn't get everybody that thinks the same way our approaches like from the same vantage point in fact like look at it like you got to realize what it does when he lets Levi the tax collector in this team I know you today sings like you got to realize that that that Levi as a tax collector and matter of fact some of you were in the King James you actually saw the word publican the reason some versions have removed that is the belief that the word publican was actually a racial slur that was applied to Jewish tax collectors that had turned steak and start working for the government so you never realize that - so most of the Jews at that time that that Matthew would be kind of Uncle Tom or Chicken George in other words Matthew would be like Clarence Thomas and OJ Simpson mixed up in one in other words he's like us but he really are know what I'm talking about so y'all with me now but notice what he does he lets this Uncle Tom like Levi in the same group with Judas in Simon the zealot see you know who Judas was before he was the disciple he was essentially a jewish nationalist was all who's all about the overthrow of the government of rome and that's your boy simon the zealot these guys were straight-up old-school black panthers who wanted to fight the power and begin revokes or get the government of Rome so in the same team you've got an Uncle Tom and a Black Panther in the same team are y'all hear me make sense because their team wasn't based on everybody agreeing in other words in the same thing we believe that everybody on the disciple we're fishermen it's not true you have Luke who was a physician paired up with Andrew who was a fisherman you have Bartholomew who came from Noble or royal blood together with some of the other disciples who were blue-collar workers you got Philip and Andrew were who over-analytical they would not move they would be paralyzed by analysis but then you got Peter who had always act before he even thought about what he had done and it's amazing because God puts together a team that is not based upon common worldview the team is based upon a common mission see some of y'all still not with me see see the problem with the church in our time is that we want this idea of a forced unity that is based upon a homogeneous worldview that says everybody has to see it the same way everybody has to view it the same way everybody has to perceive it the same way but God doesn't grow it based upon Utah our same vantage point he grows his team based on differences with me today Saints and see let me just say this to all of my leaders in the church their ties there where we get discouraged and we get upset because we don't like how our team is functioning and we focus on the house instead of the who in other words it doesn't matter how I do the mission all that matters is whose mission I'm doing or accomplishing and the reason the church struggles beloved is we got too many folks operating according to different missions instead of realizing we got one mission at First Church our mission ain't they're coming at our praise on see so we all looking surprised right now our mission is not for us to come and where I've been I best son Sabbath best our mission is to reach the world we appreciate all on this side our mission is to reach the world with the good news of Jesus Christ and even if we don't like each other we are united in our mission so there's some of y'all sitting in this room we've had very sharp disagreements but that's what we will always be brothers as long as we got the same mission I remember I first came first sure somebody was like yeah pastor I know some of those old folk are giving you a hard time I say devil is alive no they don't cuz we got the same mission in other words it doesn't matter if we different in age in the matter if you live on that town I'm out of town and I live on this one it doesn't matter if you got a degree in I told it doesn't matter if you're black and I'm white it doesn't matter if you believe this and I believe that the only thing we got to be agreed on is that Jesus Saves that Jesus is worthy that the Lord needs to know and if we've got the same fish we could be in agreement are you hearing me today sense alright let me say this way it's coming like this up in browser open house pasture to Mississippi I went down to preach down at lower Mississippi and it's right next to New Orleans and I saw this lady who for the first time I saw her cooking gumbo now all the new Louisiana folk know what I'm talking about like I'm Bo like that joint is a trip I mean they put some of everything in the same pot so they'll put like fish and chicken and seafood and sausage and all kind of stuff like in the same pot and it just seemed like Selena might tell the truth it just seems like it don't make no sense put that to taste good and so I'm looking at her make this now again she made a vegetarian one for me come on and then say to me amen and it's crazy cuz I'm seeing her put all this stuff in the pot and I'm looking at I'm like man ain't no way this is gonna match ain't no way this could take good but she said pastor the key to gumbo is this stuff that they call rubes roo-roo you X and she said essentially what it is it's like butter and oil and and some kind of fat mixed together and what it does she says it thickens the sauce it's the same thing that's in soup but she said the main purpose of the rule is assimilation Oh y'all to get it in other words the purpose of the rule is that it keeps one flavor from overpowering another it keeps one flavor from canceling out another what it does is it creates bland it creates harmony it brings everything together and how many of us know Jesus is the rule of the church and even if you believe this and I believe that if we're both dipped in Jesus and all frees us on one Accord are you here to work today Saints poor thing this teaches us and I want to say this very very carefully I'm not gonna say here long but this story teaches us the importance of persevering in prayer all right so like we said earlier your boy Levi is from the tribe of Levi he is from the priestly tribe in other words you got this PK this priest kid who has gone out of his way and I don't think it's too much of an imagination to say that his daddy Alphaeus who is named for a reason that when he sees the way his sons life has unfolded that he's been a lot of time praying for his salvation like how many of us understand that like what's that they got kids like you reach a point where you begin to define success a little bit differently like at a certain point it's about what you drive and where you live and what you wear but you reach a point where the only thing you really want is for your children to be saved and am i preaching to anybody today and so I can only imagine that this daddy who works at the temple as he sees the smoke falling from the altar of incense that he sent many a prayer up upon the behalf of his wayward son and see the thing I need you to get and hold on to your petition is for this reason because he is constantly praying for his son but the crazy thing about Levi is this is that Levi is not a residential tax collector Levi is a corporate tax collector that gets the big accounts why because he's shown the necessary ruthlessness in order to get promoted in his field and even though he is a tax collector he's got enough influence to get all of the other tax collectors under his roof so they can sit at the feet of Jesus which means he's got influence over the other tax collector and the crazy thing about it is the more his daddy prays for him the further he goes in his rebellion so much so that he is at the top of his game getting worse than more his daddy praise and the thing I want to say to praying parents is that when you pray for your kids to be saved pray with your eyes open okay the reason I'm saying don't pray with your eyes open is this is there gonna be times where you pray for your children like Alphaeus and the more you pray for them the more the enemy has a way of making them act out in ways that'll make you want to give up off of your knees and give up your petition and see the call of Levi is simply a reminder to somebody don't give up your petition for the loss see maybe it's just me I believe that Jesus goes back again in a response to the prayers that his daddy is praying on his behalf so let me just say this to those who pray are you praying for that sponsor print your children praying for your sibling this interests thing about Jesus you know God does not force the wheel your God does not enter into the realm of conscious and tinker with it at all at all but there's some things the Holy Spirit would do the Holy Spirit will bring conviction where there was previously no conviction see understand that's what Matthew like I need you to get this matthew here's Jesus say follow me he just drops everything he does and bounces I'll see y'all to Speers y'all been reading this along like I mean I need you to think about this thing like he he just sees this guy he ain't never seen before says follow me he leaves this pigeon leaves his retirement Debbie don't bring no mind no suitcase no nothing and just decides he's just gonna go and follow him but the reason he is able to leave in public is because the Holy Ghost has been working behind closed doors in other words the Holy Spirit has been highlighting his faulty character the Holy Spirit has been causing the words of Jesus to stick in his mind the Holy Spirit has been bringing back to his remembrance the things his parents taught him as a child and let me just say this to our parents who have young kids you got to make sure you give them Jesus now so even if they strain the Holy Spirit can't bring back what has been taught but how can the Holy Spirit brings back if nothing ain't never been put there in the first place are y'all hearing midnight Saints other thing the HOS fear would do when you pray over that child is the Holy Spirit will bring conviction come on and say man the Holy Spirit one of the things the Holy Spirit is doing for your child your spouse your sibling now and you can't always see that the Holy Spirit is literally taking the satisfaction out of sand see you you're wondering how can how can Matthew just bounce and leave everything like that it's because he puts on his same fancy garments he always used to wear but now when he puts them all here and got no swagger when he wears him he goes to his expensive liquor cabinet to get his fancy wine but when he drinks it now it don't give him no more peace he wakes up to two or three exotic honey's a night and he's still his life is becoming more and more empty he is at that place now where he is literally frustrated by all of the things he's amassed and accumulated because all of his fancy art and his amazing decor is simply a reminder of how empty his light is without God on the inside and it's crazy because there I was wondering why this doesn't satisfy why this provides no relief and it's not that he is going crazy he's simply realizing that there is no help for him outside of God see it's literally Matthews at that place like like a little kid that has been sucking on a snow cone too long anybody know what I'm talking about you ever had like a snow cone from the ice cream man and they put that syrup hold on for me on there at 11:00 and put it put an ice cream syrup down in the icy and in it amazing how your suck on it for a little while and what will happen is you'll suck all the flavor out of it but then after a while you ain't got no flavor you just got ice and then the harder you suck on it then you get brain freeze because you're trying to get permanent satisfaction but temporary source and because your mommy and daddy's praying you can keep sucking but you get no more joy no more satisfaction no more peace until you turn to Jesus and see in this way I'm saying to somebody some parents some spouse some sibling don't you give up your petition you got to learn how to operate between the porch and the altar you got to learn how to pray and not faint you got a pretty girl how to call on his name and call on his name and claim his word until his word becomes a reality in your life are you hearing me today Saints it's kinda like this man one day man my kid's name when it's been a few weeks of my parents their grandparents one thing you gotta love about grandparents is they don't have no regard for the rules of your house like you know they're just certain things you don't eat after certain times I mean grandparents or a trip like they raised you under the law but then they try to raise the grandkids under grace anybody know what I'm talking about you be like wait wait all this come from where all this understanding and compassion and and mercy man I mean not now you believe in time out you like 38 years too late for that job are y'all hearing me today and it's so apparently like man when jaded with like wake up in the morning my mom would let him have cookies for breakfast and so when he comes back home he will wake up every day and be like daddy can I have cookies for breakfast I'm like dude why didn't worry you know you can have no cookies for breakfast he will wake up every day the next day and say daddy can I help cookies for breakfast I'm like no son you can't you have no cookies for breakfast he'll wake up the next day and say daddy can I help cookies for I'm like no dude you know you may have no cookies for breakfast this goes on for like a week and a half but then one day you know your kids can spot when you too tired to fight so he wakes up early one Sunday morning and is like daddy can I have cookies for breakfast this weekend Gianna just happened to be out of town I didn't feel like getting up and cooking he said daddy can I have cookies for breakfast I looked over in Gianna one there and I said son let's go down and eat some cookies for breakfast Oh y'all got here in other words he only got what he wanted cuz he kept asking and he kept petitioning he kept making this request now and I just need to know are there any states that will keep asking keep pressing keep listening keep making your request no keep laying it out keep offering it up until Jesus moves on the other hand are you hearing me today since last thing is this last thing that Levi teaches us is that the only thing church you can take from your old life to your new life is influence I'm gonna let that sink in the word says like Matthew like look at look at him Matthews version of Matthew 9 the Bible says he just leaves all and follows Jesus like I mean you don't like I'd be wondering like could I have been an apostle like he doesn't grab a handful of io u--'s and event of this and work out he doesn't stash a bag of money and you're under tree in event that this Jesus thing doesn't come through like me he doesn't get some papers just verify and make sure that his career his credentials are still in order see the one thing that Levi teaches is that you can't follow Jesus with a pair of shoes so you can't follow Jesus and have a back-up plan six to you you can't follow Jesus with no contingencies you gotta follow Jesus and leave everything behind why because Levi understands that nothing from his old life is gonna fit into his new life oh so y'all y'all said I hear me see nothing from his old life is gonna fit it to his new life see this thing I need somebody to get about the gospel cuz see this is why we're struggling see the gospel requires you to leave the old life behind why are we struggling pastor because we're not leaving the old life we're trying to merge the old one and the current one together okay see we want the blessing of the new with the indulgences of the old do I realize that the gospel is not a renovation it's a teardown the gospel is not you living a better life the gospel is you living a completely new life that's why the symbols of the gospel are death and resurrection are you hearing me say so I can play some for me listen let me take you to two scriptures and I'm done y'all stop shouting on it it's okay I'm gonna read it second Corinthians 5:17 2nd Corinthians 5:17 stay with me send Corinthians 5:17 synchronous therefore if any man isn't who he is a new one all things have passed away behold all things have become new somebody out of shot hallelujah your name somebody say I'm not what I ought to be but praise God I'm better than what I used to be going me to Roman's 6 and verse number 1 Romans 6 and verse number 1 check this out because again I need somebody understanding see God has not called you to live and improve to life God is called to live a new life all together what shall we say then Romans 6 verse 1 shall we continue in sin that grace may abound certainly not how shall we who died to sin live any longer in it are you with me church you can't merge oh the new life I gotta die to one so I could be made alive and the other or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death then were we were buried with him through baptism into death that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father even so we should walk in newness of life as he the issue with so many and on time the reason we struggled the reason I take one step forward and two steps back is I'm trying to complete a merger of lives that are incongruent and gotta say yes gotta come a time in a place where I make a break with the old life a break with the O&C we wish out on my past does not decrypt this credit my future we shout on that but you realize that only becomes the reality if I actually put the past behind me are y'all hearing me today Saints as this crazy put this quote here of long desire of Ages listen man I love man this thing and like it went deep man there was no miracle but like this is the aim of the gospel and this is where I'm trying to move the body of Christ listen she says that Matthew left all rose up and followed him watch this now you made that shot on this but it hit me there was no hesitation no Court Jesus didn't have to give him the details can I say this you'll never be able to follow Jesus if you need all the details before you make a move it will not work no thought of the lucrative business to be exchanged for poverty and hardship why says this is a shot love it it was enough for him that he was to be with Jesus that he might listen to his words and unite with him in his work seed sees reason some of y'all still hadn't shout it is because you've missed the aim of the gospel see there are some of us that respond to John 10 that says I've come to give life and life more abundantly but do you realize that abundant life does not begin with what you receive abundant life begins with who you receive you see there's some of us that won't make an earthly sacrifice until we see an earthly blessing on the other side but do you realize that the reward of the gospel is not a car it's not a house it's not a man but the reward of the gospel is Jesus all by himself so that if I never get a car our praise and cover got Jesus if I never get a house I'll rejoice because I got Jesus if I never get a new wardrobe I'll rejoice cuz I got Jesus see the problem is you're saying I'm gonna shout when I get to heaven no you realize that heaven is just the bonus Jesus is the reward heaven is the icing on top of the cake Jesus is the cake the best thing about being a Christian is not how he protects me not just how he blesses me not just how he provides for me but the blessing of the gospel it's Jesus and until we get to that place where the reward we seek cannot be stored in a bank cannot be built with wooden nails aren't simple with metal and leather but the thing that we seek more than anything else is Jesus we miss the aim and the goal of it all I see my thing to somebody name is God wants to have you walk in newness of life but there's got to first be a break with the old life I want somebody to know that it doesn't matter where you been doesn't matter what you've done your past does not cancel your calling it has not been counseled he loves you he's still moving towards you he's still got her name engraved on the palms of his hands but you simply got to be willing to say by faith I'm gonna put those things that are in the past behind and I'm gonna reach forward to those things that are before if you plan on moving forward in Christ give him a phrase in this room today [Music] here Disney [Music] things I'm a new to my surprise [Music] Oh [Applause] [Music] [Music] Oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] right now the church as a body we're standing to our feet as we get ready to close the source out but there is someone today that needs to be awakened that needs to respond to the good news of Jesus Christ there's somebody day to me has tried to convince you that your ugly past discredit is permanently your future and you're calling who are the things that Levi's call shows us is that your past does not cancel your call there's some of us that God has been reaching out to you again and again and again and some of us are like Levi you've heard the preaching of Jesus before he had heard it and God had been ripening his heart through the Holy Spirit to bring him to a place at a point where all he could do is simply respond and say yes to the good news of Jesus Christ and he did he didn't take nothing from his office he didn't take anything from his cubicle he had to make a break with the old life as he there some of us who are wandering by spiritual things seem not to work you're wondering why certain things have never taken root it's because you've never really made a clean break you've never made a complete break with the old life and you can never walk in newness of life until you died to the old life the symbols of the gospel are death and resurrection at some point I gotta die I've got to become no I gotta become no dead to the old way in order for me to be quickened and made alive in Jesus Christ so my appeal is very pointed for that person today that he said make a decision like Levi to say I'm gonna follow Jesus it's a tough decision it's not easy but the thing I like about Levi is he didn't ask anybody what he should do he didn't call nobody and say what do you think he simply acted on the culmination of where the Spirit of God had been moving in his life and so today if you're here you're the balcony on the floor you need to say yes to Jesus you need to begin following him maybe need to be baptized for the remission of every one of your sins I need you to know that His grace is more than sufficient for you I need you to know that His grace is greater than what you used to be and His grace does not discriminate and today you want to say yes to the Lord I had to stand for this reason to just make it easier just tell your neighbor excuse me if you're in the balcony you come downstairs the mother's room come just tell your neighbor excuse me come down to the front and give me your hand and give Jesus your heart today today you want to say I'm not going back I'm moving ahead I realized that he makes all things do but I gotta make a decision to go forward by faith and today you want to make that decision that choice you want to say yes to him his will his direction his leadership in your life that's you today just to neighbor excuse me I want to see I want to receive Jesus I want to say yes to him I realize that the Lord has literally been sucking all the satisfaction out of a sinful life I keep trying harder to get get something from it but I can't get enough because there's nothing else there for me and there's the Spirit of God moving upon you the SCOOTER God is whispering in your ear talking to you would you like Levi just saying hey yield I surrender Jesus I'm Yours so we're not gonna hold this bill very long until we've been even longer even if what I stated on the outset but I just want to give that brother that sister that family this Thanksgiving weekend that opportunity to enter into life if you hear today the Spirit of God is moving on you you want to say yes to the Lord just tell your neighbor excuse me come on down to the front give me a hand give Jesus your heart today for the baptism the remission of your sins to become a member of gods family to join the body of Christ if you hear today we say yes to you my last appeal is this is it's just you you're in Christ you're in church but maybe you just need to say Lord I realized what's broken in the experience I've been trying to merge old and new in the same way you can't put new wine into old wineskins certain things just don't mix and maybe it's been harder for you to make a separation from old and new because maybe all you know it's church but but you need to simply say there was a flashpoint moment when Jesus into my life and I need to let go of all everything in my past except my influence so I can help men and women who once was where I were who were who are where I was come to where I am right now and you want to simply say lord I surrender all I gave my everything to you I'm in Christ I'm in church but now I give my all to you if that's you just put your hands up put it up put it down do Jesus thank you for your word I'm grateful that your grace does not discriminate I'm thankful that you apply it to all men who are willing I'm grateful that you relaxed the standard so that a sinner like me could be saved I thank you for Jesus I'm pregnant somebody who has made some mistake some errors that they would know that their calling has not been forfeited that their past does not discredit their future I pray that as a church that we won't make agreement a prerequisite for service help us to know that we just gotta have the same mission and if we're on the same mission you bring everything under its trains I pray to God for that parent that spouse who's praying for a husband wife pray for children pray for siblings may they not give up their petition but may they continue to make their request no till you allow that person to be free from the power darkness lastly Lord would you please help us to make a clean break with everything that is old and realize that certain things don't fit into this new life you give it to us so will you please bless this congregation bless each individual that is seeking you with their whole hearts did you do a new thing in us we believe it we claim it by faith in Jesus name let all God's people say Amen

Channel: murahomesa -CHANNEL OF BLESSINGS

Views: 6,955

Rating: 4.8681316 out of 5

Keywords: sermon, preaching, evangelism, hermeneutics

Id: FGRF3DnIQhc

Length: 62min 44sec (3764 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 01 2018