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The Call

The Call

Words of Faith 4-10-18

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2018

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

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   After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, [28] and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

 

     Do you remember the sound of the Ice Cream Man? When I was growing up in central Florida the Ice Cream Man would come driving through our neighborhood about every summer afternoon. Like a sort of Pied Piper, his truck played a silly but recognizable song and kids would come running from all over. The Ice Cream man was a great old guy who loved kids. He was the sort of fellow that would always let you have the ice cream bar even if your pennies and nickels came up a little short of the price. When we heard the silly song, no matter what we were doing, we responded immediately and without thought.

     The response of Levi reminded me of that childlike response. Jesus came along one day and with a word He turned this seasoned tax collector into a follower. Levi came along like a kid going after the Ice Cream truck. He left his money, books and tax stand right there.  

     One thing is clear. When Jesus comes along, He does not intend to leave us where we are. He is going to call us. Luke wanted us to be sure we understand what the response looks like.

       Luke also wants us to see the struggle with religion that was going on. There were those around Jesus who were offended by His actions and by who He called. These religious folks were not very open to God, His call, or His movement. We begin to see that the religious spirit is easily offended, has sets of rules, and is self protective. Luke wants to be sure and tell us about the call of God, about how to reach people and the response of the religious spirit.

     Luke shows us the call of God in Levi's life yet there is much we do not know. What made Jesus choose Levi? We don't ever know the answer to that question. Surely he saw in Levi something he wanted to use. Was it his attention to detail? His ability to write that would one day deliver the Gospel of Matthew into our hands? We don't know. It is not beyond possibility that Jesus chose Levi largely to startle the religious people. Selecting Levi was much like choosing a gangster. It was a scandal. Tax collectors were hated. They were known or assumed to be dishonest collaborators with the enemy, Rome. Jesus may have chosen him to make a point.

   What made Levi respond? This is the unexplainable as well. We have a hunch that the other disciples had an opportunity to hear and know Jesus somewhat, but we do not know about Levi. Levi may have listened to Jesus from the edge of the crowd or across the way. All we really know is that when the call came, Levi arose like a kid on a hot summer day listening to the call of the Ice Cream truck.

     Let's be clear that this call was an invitation. It was not a threat or a warning. If I said to you, "Excuse me, but your seat is on fire," you would get up. But you would not necessarily follow me. No, there was something compelling in this invitation that allowed Levi, later called Matthew, to see a freedom he had never known.

     God spoke to Levi and he responded. Luke has by far the largest vocabulary of any New Testament writer. Luke is meticulous in describing the response as three separate motions-- standing, leaving, and following. This is in sharp contrast to the Pharisees and teachers of the Law. You could not move them with the voice of Mount Sinai itself. A religious spirit argues, complains and resists, but the spirit of a Disciple stands, leaves and follows.

   STANDING. Sometimes the hardest part of responding to God is getting up. To begin the motion, especially if you have been in a place a long time, is difficult. We get stuck. Momentum is everything when you don't have it! Levi was not sure where he would go or what he would do. He might have said, "Pardon me, I have a few questions," but instead he got up out of his stuff. The Greek is interesting because this is the same word used to describe resurrection and the miracle of raising a little girl who was dead. So this standing is something God does in us to raise us. We cooperate with God to be sure. But it is His grace and power that raises us.

   LEAVING. The Greek here means literally to forsake. It means to "leave down, leave behind, clear, forsake everything". The image is like when you run out in a rush and forget your coat. There is no struggle. What is left behind is no longer in your mind. It is to leave without thought. In Levi's case it meant leaving a fine and lucrative career. But it also meant leaving behind a life of loneliness and being outcast by religious people.

   FOLLOWING. The Greek here actually means literally to be "joined in road" or to "be in the same way with" or "to accompany". It meant to be where Jesus was. It does not mean "walking behind." One of the principles shared by Henry Blackaby in "Experiencing God" is that we experience God when God invites us to be involved in what He is doing and we adjust our life to do so.

     Levi did just that. God invited him and he adjusted his life so that he was with Jesus and could accompany Jesus. Many times we want Jesus to accompany us with our plans and designs, but that is not the way it works.

     Rising, leaving, and following may not mean the sort of dramatic change that Levi experienced. We will not all go "on the road." The call of Jesus is also not a license to throw off responsibility. Jesus taught clearly that we are responsible to the vows of marriage and for care of our families. But the call of Jesus will be radical in many other ways. We are called to rise up out of the stuck place, leave behind the stuff that once was important and join Jesus in the work of God.

     Is Jesus calling you? Is He inviting you to get involved in what He is doing? The response involves standing-- rising from the stuff you have been involved in. The response involves leaving-- forsaking some of the old ways and old hurts that have held you back. The response involves following-- joining the road of Jesus to walk with Him.

 

     Father God, I thank You for the call. Give me grace that by Your power I may rise up from where I have been, leave behind that which has held me back, and walk with Jesus. In Jesus' name.