TWO QUESTIONS
1. JESUS IS CALLING. ARE YOU READY?
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.
Ready To Follow
Jesus is Calling You to Follow Him.
Following requires leaving something.
Mark 8:34-35 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.
Discipleship is always transactional.
Are You Ready to Follow?
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.
Ready To Invite
Jesus is Calling You to Share with Others Your Faith in Him.
Mark 16:15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
It is the Great Commission
1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
Look for the Opportunity
Acts 1:7-8 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Jesus is glad you want to look for His return
But more important than the end
Is being a witness while you still can!
Are You Ready to Invite Others to Know Jesus?
2. JESUS IS CALLING. ARE YOU RESISTANT?
Matthew 9:11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Resistant To Mercy
Jesus desires mercy from His followers.
When you lack mercy, you are quick to find fault.
When you are busy finding fault, you miss the point of what Jesus is trying to do.
When you lack mercy, you look at people as either insiders or outsiders.
Matthew 9:12-13 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Jesus said that He has come for the sick who need mercy.
Jesus came for all of us. We all need mercy!
Hosea 6:6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
If we are not careful, we can go from following Jesus to following religion.
James 2:12-13 So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free. 13 There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.
How will I know if I am acting like a Pharisee?
If your first response is to find fault…
If you categorize who is out and who is in…
If you think the Gospel is only available to certain people…
If you have a hard time showing mercy…
Are You Ready to Show Mercy to Others in the Name of Jesus?
Matthew 9:14 Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?”
Resistant To New
Matthew 9:15 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
Matthew 9:16-17 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. 17 Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
Jesus brings new things.
Isaiah 43:19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT) This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
If we are not careful, we can go from following Jesus to following the familiar.
Are you ready for Jesus to do Something New in Your Life?
JESUS IS CALLING YOU… Are you ready? Are you resistant?
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