Is there a doctor in the room?

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Matthew 9:9-13

As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.

Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, [a]to repentance.”

A man, Matthew ( also known as Levi) – A tax collector is sitting at a tax office

Jesus looks at him and say’s to him – Follow me

Of all the people Jesus would ask, He calls a tax collector

They worked for the Roman government
They were seen as traitors, they worked for the other side, the foreigners that came to take from the locals
They were charged with a certain amount and anything over, was for their keeps
They abused the system and only fed their mouths
They were despised – If you ever know or read about colonization you would understand

Let’s paint a picture, you are in America today and another country comes over and takes over America, you are now required to pay taxes to them and they pretty much own you

And some of our people decide to work with these oppressive country to inflict oppression to you

And you see Jesus the one that is supposed to save them from the Romans

And you can’t help but ask, why is Jesus talking to the sinners?

I can see why the Pharisees were asking the question- What is Jesus doing

Jesus is passing by

In Matthews life it another week, Day starts out like any other

The Bible does not tell us if Matthew had heard of Jesus before but knowing that he was powerful, it would be safe to assume so

He has his life set, but there must have been something missing on the inside

We all know that feeling when we are looking great on the outside, yet inside, there is a miss

The “thing” was not strong enough to get him up and go look for Jesus but it was enough to bring awareness that a change is necessary

He had learnt to live in this state – Afterall, he had great job, good friends, many FB friends, his Instagram was popping with luxuries and new this and the lavished life

Jesus comes by and there is a call, Matthew doesn’t know that this is what he needed but there is a stirring in his heart

We don’t know if he has been just going with the motion, if he felt caught up and there was no way out

He hears the call come and for the first time in his life, there is an opportunity to change his life

He has a choice to make, ignore the call and keep on pretending that he is complete

Or, heeds the call and let healing begin

Like some of us- We know deep inside that we are not who we ought to be, who God has called us to be

We have addictions, behaviors, places we frequent, things we look at online or in person, in a relationship that is toxic, things that we are afraid to confront

We feel like we are stuck and there is not a way out

This morning, I want let you know that Jesus is passing by

And He is speaking to you

Psalm 145:18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.

There is a doctor in the room

He rose up and followed Jesus

For Matthew, the rich, influential man following Jesus meant the unknown

He could no longer have unlimited finances

He could not longer have class (status)

I love that Matthew transformation was immediate and he prepared a great feast for Jesus

Luke 5:29 – Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them.

Matthew 9:10 Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples

The text tells us many tax collectors came to the party; we can assume that this is what they did

But on this day, Matthew was celebrating a life change, it was different kind of party, one that celebrated him being that he was spiritually dead and now he was alive

He was denouncing all these friends and business opportunities to follow Jesus

He was saying, I am ok with loosing all these worldly things and gaining Jesus

Mark 8:34-36 34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?

This morning, am speaking to someone, it does not benefit you in any way to gain the whole world, keep doing what you are doing …only to lose your life

Yes, there is a doctor in the room!

It’s open season

The Bible says “as He passed by, A window of opportunity

If Matthew wasn’t paying attention, he would have missed the opportunity

There is no telling when the next time Jesus would be passing by

He recognized the opportunity – a very rare one and he rose and followed Jesus

Today is your opportunity, here in person, listing online or listening to a recording

It happens that you are at the right place and the right time to hear Jesus calling you

Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Prayer and Fasting – so that I can have my heart still to hear God

Jesus is calling you from where you are “Follow me”

Be like Matthew, know that our lives are just but a breath, Here today and gone tomorrow.

We all want to matter but how much more it matters that the work we do is through Him

Matthew went from being a taker to a giver- he wrote Matthew and he continues to save lives to this day

Matthew left everything and go up to follow Jesus, left the temporary wealth, class etc and gained more that he could ever have done

Today, Now this is your call to get up and follow Jesus

Hebrews 3:15 (NLT) Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled

Isaiah 55: 6 Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.

Yes, there is a doctor in the room!

What do you see?

Matthew 9:11 – And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

They didn’t dare ask Jesus so they asked the disciples

Yet Jesus answered them because He knew what they were thinking

This morning Jesus knows what you are thinking

He saw a man sitting in a tax office, He turned His head towards a place, no one wanted to look

There is no direction that God cannot look. There is no part in your heart that He can’t see

This morning, Jesus knows the struggles you are going through, the questions you have in your life, the pain that you feel, he knows the true you,

He knows all of it and He still chooses to turn to you and ask you to follow Hims

I heard a Pastor say “If you ask God to guide your steps, you have to be willing to move your legs”

Matthew did and it changed his life

A rare opportunity has just opened up. Jesus is passing by

When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.

I praise God for this right here. For a long time, I walked sick, feeling an itch here and there, a cough, uneasiness in my body. Until one day Jesus came and touched me

I gave my life to Christ and I was not longer sick but living for Christ

Jesus came for you, died for you so that you may have eternal life

Its starts with acknowledging that we are all sinners and have come short of Gods Glory

To repent and turn away from our sins

To get up and walk towards Jesus – His arms is stretched out

Today I invite you to have the same transformation as Matthew and many others did

Trust in Gods ability and let Him take control

13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, [a]to repentance.”

Jesus is quoting “Hosea 6:6 For I desire mercy[a] and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings”

During Hosea’s days, God people were still great at bringing sacrifices but they forsake mercy and this was because, they gave up on the knowledge of God

What do you see? A doctor, a redeemer , savior or Jesus eating with Sinners

Luke 18: 10-14 (Nkjv)10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ 13 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be [a]humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Lord have Mercy on me. You have done it over and over, please have mercy on me
An attitude of repentance, self-awareness and reflection, does move the heart of Christ

I find it very interesting that when you want a new doctor, you have to call and see if they are accepting new patients

Sometime the wait is months away, and if you have no signs, if its for diagnostic purposes, it’s even worse.

I thank God that our Jesus doesn’t have a waiting list

Come and lay your heavy burdens, today, right now
Come He is calling you to come and follow Him, His arms are wide open

An infection cannot be hidden for long, eventually it will kill the infected or get treated