All right, so I've got to start by asking you
a question. Have you ever been excited to receive
something only to discover that it was nothing
like what you expected? Maybe it was a gift.
Maybe it was something that you had been really
excited for. For me, this was college. So I was
really excited to get to college. I had like
gone through high school thinking about how cool
college would be. and how awesome it would be
to be on my own, to be in a new place. I had
lived in the same place my whole life, to make
new friends, to study new things. And I was super
excited about college, especially the social
aspect of college. I like to have fun. I like
to have a good time. I like making friends. And
so I was really excited about college. And then
I got to college, and I realized that the coasting
that I did through middle school and high school
does not work in college. Okay, so let me give
you some background. When I was really little,
I wanted to be a marine biologist. So I took
school very seriously, like elementary school,
early middle school, took it very seriously.
But also, young Donovan had behavior problems,
so he got in a lot of trouble. And so after getting
kicked out of my first three advanced classes
in middle school, I decided, you know... it's
a lot easier to just be in the regular classes
and just do what the regular students do. So
I just did that, and I coasted through middle
school. I had kind of figured out, I don't think
I want to be a marine biologist. I just want
to be in the military. I want to be in the Navy.
I thought being a Navy SEAL would be the coolest
thing in the world. So I was like, you don't
have to go to college to be in the Navy. You
don't even have to be that smart. So for anybody
that was in the Navy, I'm sorry. For all the
Marines in the room, you love that joke. But
so... So I thought, okay, I'm just going to be
in the Navy. I don't really need college. It's
not going to be that important. And so I just
kind of coasted through high school. Around like
my junior year of high school, sophomore year,
I decided I'm going to be a minister. I felt
called to ministry. So then again, I thought,
okay, Bible college, how hard can it be? You
know, it's a small school. It can't really be
that difficult. You're just studying the Bible,
right? Because the Bible is so easy to understand.
And so I get to Faulkner and I like sleep in
and I miss some classes. I play games on my iPad
during class. I never do any assignments. First,
like, you know, you check your transcript at
the end of the first semester and you realize
that you failed, like, every class. And you're
like, okay, this is not at all what I expected.
This isn't as easy as I thought it was going
to be. This isn't as cool as I thought it was
going to be. Now, I had a lot of fun. College
was very fun. I made a lot of good friends. I
met my wife. Like, it was a great time. But the
actual, like, college part was not so fun. It
wasn't at all what I expected and it was unlike
everything that I thought I was going to get
out of this great experience. And maybe you've
had something like that. Maybe you bought a car
and you were so excited to get that car and then
you got it and you realized it was way too complicated.
Like, I want a motorcycle so bad. Eliza won't
let me have one, so any of my motorcycle people,
talk to my wife, okay? I want a motorcycle so
bad. But here's the thing. I don't know the first
thing about motorcycles. I don't know how to
ride one. And from what I understand, a lot of
them are manual. I don't know the first thing
about driving anything manual. I mean, I've had
an automatic transmission my entire life in a
car, so you just crank it up and you start driving.
You don't have to do anything. You don't even
have to think. You can just text. That's a joke.
Don't do that. But yeah, like, so I want a motorcycle,
but I just know I would get one and immediately
be like, what do I do with this? What do I do
with this? How do I work this thing? And it would
be unlike what I expect, because you expect to
just get on it and ride and feel the wind in
your face. And then you're driving and you get
bugs in your face. And it's like, I did not want
this. We sometimes set ourselves up wanting something,
envisioning something, thinking that something
is going to be exactly how we dreamed it to be.
And then when we get it, we realize it is not
at all what we were expecting. You see, I share
that to hopefully help us. Paint the picture
of what the ancient Israelites, the ancient Jews,
were experiencing when the promised Savior, when
the Messiah, when Jesus Christ finally showed
up. They had been waiting on him for centuries,
thousands of years actually. He finally shows
up to fulfill this rescue mission that God had
started from the beginning. But when Jesus gets
there and he begins his ministry in Luke chapter
4, the Jews quickly realize that this guy, this
Messiah, is not at all what we were expecting.
We've been waiting on him. We've been anticipating
his arrival. We've been dreaming and envisioning
what the kingdom will look like when it comes,
what the Savior will be like when he comes, and
we realize that he's not what we thought he'd
be. I love the song we just sang, Make Me a Servant,
Make Me Like You. They weren't expecting a servant.
They were expecting a king that would come in
a chariot with just flames and all the theatrics,
and they thought Jesus would come, he would take
over, and he would make his rule and reign known
to the world. And when he came, he was not that.
He was a servant, and they were very surprised.
And not only was it unlikely, not only was it
unexpected, I would go as far as to say it was
pretty uncomfortable for them. It was pretty
uncomfortable for the Jews to see who they thought
was going to be this powerful, mighty warrior
of a king come and be this unlikely servant to
the least of these. And so we'll walk through
these. unlikely, unexpected ways. And there's
three key areas that I want us to see in the
way of Jesus that we're challenging for everybody
to grapple with. And I kind of characterize them
as unlikely teachings, unlikely healings, and
unlikely dealings, okay? And so we're going to
start with the unlikely teachings. So Jesus comes
on the scene and he starts teaching people. That's
kind of how he made his name known. He goes into
the synagogues and he's going around all the
areas and he's teaching. And he actually grows,
it says in Luke 4, he grows. in favor he kind
of grows in glory with the people around they
they really liked what he was saying they thought
he was great but what we'll see throughout this
series is that in these special things that Jesus
was teaching there was a lot of it that was unlike
what they were expecting There was a lot of it
that was kind of hard for them to grasp, that
was hard for them to wrap their minds around.
Here specifically in Luke 4, verses 14 through
30, Jesus begins teaching. And then in verses
14 through 15, this is what we read. Well, actually,
we're not going to read it on the screen, but
it just kind of shows us that Jesus was teaching
all throughout Galilee. He's teaching throughout
this whole surrounding area. And he's not just
teaching, he's being praised. And everything
is good until he goes to his hometown. He goes
back home to Nazareth. He starts teaching in
the synagogue there. And we're not going to read
it for the sake of time. But in verses 16 through
30, we see Jesus get himself into a little trouble.
And if you're not familiar with Christianity,
you're probably thinking, how does the guy, the
Christ that this is all based on, how does he
get into trouble? Well, that's kind of our whole
story. And so he gets himself into some trouble.
As I said, he's being glorified for his teachings
in these other places. But here in his hometown
of Nazareth, he does something bold. He actually
reads the following, which is on the screen,
from the scroll of Isaiah, which is an Old Testament
book, which is prophecy that points to... Jesus,
the Savior of Israel. And so one thing I want
us to do as we read this morning, if it's underlined,
I want you to read with me. Can we do that? Because
I think there's going to be a lot just of stuff
here, and I want to make sure you're staying
awake. Also, when you say things out loud, you
internalize them, okay? So if it's underlined,
read it with me, all right? The Spirit of the
Lord is upon me. because he has anointed me to
proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me
to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering
of sight to the blind, to set liberty to those
who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the
Lord's favor. Now, Jesus reading this prophecy
isn't the problem. They had probably read this
prophecy a bunch of times in their existence.
They had read this. They knew this. So reading
it was not the problem. The problem is when Jesus
claims that the prophecy is about him and that
he is the fulfillment of it. They weren't ready
for that. You see, what they were thinking is,
oh, Jesus is just this really smart and really
talented rabbi. But now when he claims that he's
more than just a rabbi, he's more than just a
teacher, he is the Messiah. Well, now they've
got a problem with Jesus. Because it's a pretty
bold, it's a pretty, well, let's just say, we'll
leave it at bold. It's a pretty bold thing to
claim to be the son of God, the savior of the
universe. And so Jesus claims this. He claims
that he's more than just a teacher, that he's
gonna do everything he can to not just save Israel.
but he's going to save everybody. In other words,
he has grander plans than just being the miracle
worker for his hometown. He has grander plans
than just being the teacher for those that are
like him. And so what Jesus is there to do is
what God has always desired to do. God has always
desired to rescue everyone. Every person that
numbered the earth, God wanted to rescue, even
the Gentile, even the enemy. even the outsider,
even the refugee, God desired to save all of
them. And that was pretty uncomfortable for the
Jews because they had decided, they had agreed,
they had just kind of understood that they were
God's people, that they were the people that
God wanted to save, that they were the people
that God loved. It was hard for them to understand
that God loved everyone. That God loved the person
that didn't look like them. That God loved the
person that didn't speak like them or act like
them or live like them. And so when they hear
this, this is when Jesus gets himself in trouble.
You see, God wants them to understand, even when
it was unlike what they had expected, that he
is the God of and for all people. And I want
to ask you, are there times where we struggle
to understand that God is the God of and for
all people? That God's not just the God of the
Blairsville Church of Christ. God is not just
the God of the Church of Christ. God's not just
the God of Christianity. God is the God of all
people. Now, whether all people want to worship
him and make him Lord is a different conversation.
But believe this, he is a God that desires and
loves all people. And so Jesus in this moment
is declaring that God's grace is going to reach
beyond Israel's comfort zone. It's going to reach
beyond what they were expecting. And this leads
them to trying to kill them. They actually try
to throw him off a cliff because he exposed their
assumption. He exposed the assumption that God's
power, that God's grace was exclusive to them.
I've said this before. God's kingdom is a very
inclusive kingdom. Now it takes some stuff to
get in. Now luckily Jesus paid the price of admission.
It's just up to us if we'll accept the invitation.
But it is an inclusive kingdom in the sense that
everybody is invited. Everybody is welcome. But
this unlikely teaching confronts pride. This
unlikely teaching announces this expanded territory
of grace. And so that's kind of uncomfortable.
It's hard for them to wrestle with, so hard that
they try to kill him, this guy that they loved.
And if you know the story, and I challenge you
to go read Luke 4. We don't have the time to
read it all, but it talks about how they say,
is this not Joseph's son? And what they're saying
is, is this not the kid that we watched get his
diaper changed in the back of the synagogue?
Is this not the kid that we saw snot nose in
the wintertime? Is this not the kid that we saw
get spankings because he wouldn't stop talking
during the reading of Scripture? Now, I don't
know that Mary actually spanked Jesus, but that's
just me editorializing. But they're saying, is
this not the kid we watched grow up? Yeah, I'm
going to share this story because I still think
it's funny. The first... When Eliza and I first
got married, we moved back to my hometown for
me to be the youth minister at my home church.
That was my dream. My dream and desire was to
be the youth minister at my home church forever.
That's what I wanted to do. And so we did that.
We moved down there. I was a youth minister there.
And I remember I preached a lesson. I don't even
remember what it was about. But you got to remember.
So, well, you didn't know. I didn't tell you
the year. It was 2020. And if you know anything
about 2020, COVID, and... election year. And
I said something about how we need to stop making
politics our God and how we need to stop dividing
the church over earthly systems. I said that,
and I have no regrets about saying that. Well,
I get a message from a lady. I said that in a
sermon, by the way. I get a message from a lady
from the church, and she was not very happy about
what I said. And in her message, She says, this
church helped and watched you grow up. Why do
you think you can say these types of things to
us? Yeah, I think Jesus got that when he preached
in his hometown. And I want you to know, nobody
has ever said something like that to me since
then in any other church. It was just in my hometown.
There's something to be said about trying to
bring truth to the people that are closest to
you, right? Maybe you've tried to evangelize
or to disciple someone in your family, especially
somebody older than you. And for them to accept
that maybe you know something that they don't
is kind of hard. Or maybe it's not even a knowledge
thing. It's just an understanding thing. And
so Jesus here, he says something that really
upsets the people that watched him grow up. And
he... almost dies because of it. But it wasn't
his time to die, so he keeps going. And when
he keeps going, he starts healing people. We
see this in Luke 4, 31 through 41. We also see
it in chapter 5, verses 12 through 26. So there's
a lot there. We're not going to go through that
verse by verse. Again, I challenge you to read
it. But what Jesus does in his healings is he
shows his power over the spiritual and the physical.
He starts healing people. He casts a demon out
of a man with just a word. He cures sickness,
disease, paralysis with just his touch. His power
in this display, in his healings is undeniable
because of these actions. But what also can't
be ignored is who he's healing, of who he's dealing
with. You see Jesus touch and hug and heal a
man with leprosy. And now if you know anything
about leprosy, Leprosy would not only be this
very highly contagious thing, but it was also
something that would make you unclean. And as
a Jew, there's nothing worse than being unclean.
Well, Jesus doesn't care. He hugs the man with
leprosy. To give you an idea of how bad leprosy
is, they would actually take people with leprosy
and put them outside of the city walls to keep
them away from everybody else because they didn't
want you even near. people, much less touching
them. And so when this great rabbi, this great
teacher, this Messiah who is supposed to be obeying
Mosaic law, when he comes and hugs the leper,
that's problematic for them. That's an issue
for them. He then heals a paralyzed man with
just a word, which by the way, I want us to talk
about how awesome it is that the paralyzed man's
friends bring him before Jesus and lay him at
his feet. You need some friends like that. We
need some friends that will bring us in our broken
state before the feet of Jesus for healing. But
so this paralyzed man, his friends bring them
to the feet of Jesus and they ask Jesus to heal
him. And Jesus doesn't have to do the Mr. Miyagi,
rub your hands together, put them on him. He
doesn't have to say any, you know, magical words.
He doesn't have to do anything. He didn't give
him anything. He just says, get up and walk.
And he gets up and he walks and he goes out of
there. But the point there is that Jesus touching
the untouchable and forgiving the sins of those
who are very undeserving of sin or undeserving
of forgiveness. There's something special there.
Forgiving the sins of and healing society's worse
so that they also can experience new life. You
think about the leper that again, they would
put them on the outside of the city walls. Imagine
if you were so ostracized from your city that
they decided to kick you out. Imagine if you
are so broken down that you've got to be carried
around, that you need people to bring you to
get healing because you can't bring yourself.
Imagine being that lowly. And the Son of God,
the Savior of the universe, decides to take time
to put his hands on you, to speak to you, to
say your sins are forgiven, get up and walk,
to say, I love you, I want you to be healed,
I want you to experience life like everybody
else gets to experience life. That Savior takes
the time to touch your life, even when society
considers you worthless. Even when society considers
you too broken, too unclean to mess with. That's
who Jesus was. It's who Jesus is. It is the way
that Jesus lived. So you can imagine, even for
Jesus' followers, that's got to be pretty uncomfortable
because they've got to stay in close quarters
with this guy and now he's just touched a leper.
And now he's just claimed that he can forgive
sins. This is some pretty powerful stuff that
he's doing, but for them, it's uncomfortable.
And if that wasn't enough to help you see why
Jesus' way was so different, I want us to look
at who he worked with. And this is what I call
his unlikely dealings. Jesus is having these
relationships, these work -like relationships
with people. In Luke 5, verses 1 -11, we see
Jesus call a few fishermen to be his disciples,
to be his followers. He doesn't call scholars.
He doesn't call priests. He doesn't call businessmen.
He calls fishermen. He calls blue -collar guys,
maybe some guys we can relate to, right? He doesn't
call the Bible scholar. He doesn't call the rabbis.
He doesn't call the religious elites. He doesn't
call the wealthy. He calls fishermen. And I love
the way, if you haven't watched The Chosen, I
really want you to. I love the way The Chosen
portrays this because it shows Peter and his
friends and family, they're all in debt. Like
they're struggling to get out from under the
debt that they have in Rome. And also it's a
tax debt. So that's, hold on to that. for the
next person that Jesus calls. But the way the
chosen portrays it is they're really struggling
to just make ends meet. And so they're trying
to catch fish, but they're not doing really well
at catching fish. And so Jesus comes on the scene,
he helps them catch fish, and he tells them,
hey, if you'll follow me, I'm gonna do something
far greater in your life than make you a good
fisherman. In fact, so he calls these ordinary,
unassuming men to follow him. And then in verse
eight, Simon, also known as Peter, one of these
fishermen, he declares himself sick. Sinful and
unworthy. And this is what he says. We've got
some underlying words here, so read with me.
Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
He says, I'm not worthy to be in your presence.
I'm not worthy to be near you. You are great.
You're so great that me and all of my sin is
undeserving of your fellowship. But Jesus responds
in an incredible way, like he always does in
verse 10, and we've got more underlying again.
So do not be afraid. From now on, you will be
catching men. So Jesus tells him, I'm not just
asking you to follow me. I'm enlisting you into
the mission that I'm on. And so this is why I
call it dealings because Jesus is bringing him
into this business that he's about. He's saying,
I need you to do more than just follow behind
me. I need you to work alongside me. And so if
you're Peter and if you're the people watching
this, you're thinking there is no way that this
son of God, this Messiah would want me to be
a part of his mission. Do you ever feel that
way? Do you ever feel so unworthy? Do you ever
feel so sinful, so broken, so lost that there
is no way that God would want to use you. I feel
that way just about every day. In fact, every
Sunday morning before I get up here, I think
there is no way that God has allowed me, has
blessed me to be able to share his word with
people that know more than I do, that have probably
lived way better lives than I have. There's no
way. But then I have to remember that Jesus loves
to work in the no way. Jesus loves to work with
the mess. You've probably heard this before.
He wants to use your mess as a message and your
test as a testimony. And you see that in scripture.
Jesus loves to use the unlikely. He invites them
to work with him to catch and rescue all men.
But that's really not even close to as crazy
as this. process goes. Jesus is going to recruit
somebody else that is way, way, way, way, way
worse than Simon. In verses 27 through 32, we
see Jesus meet this guy named Levi. You may know
him as Matthew. And the thing that makes Jesus
calling Levi crazy is Levi was looked at as scum
of the earth. By the people closest to him. Well,
let me rephrase that. He didn't have people close
to him because he was scum of the earth. Levi
was viewed as the worst of society because he
was a tax collector. And I know how much we all
love the IRS. If you work for the IRS, I'm sorry.
We don't love the IRS because nobody likes to
pay taxes. But the thing that is like at least
helpful for us with paying the IRS is at least
like some of that money goes to help us, right?
Like it does a little bit of good for us, you
know, good roads and things like that. For the
Jews, paying Rome taxes did no good for them.
All it did was increase Rome's power, which increased
the oppression that the Jews were under. And
so when Jesus calls Levi, a tax collector, who
was Jewish, by the way, so the Jews hated him
because he was doing Rome's work, but he was
supposed to be one of them. So Jesus calls Levi,
and Levi accepts the call. So now Jesus has shown
everybody that he doesn't mind interacting with
the filthy. He doesn't mind interacting with
the lowly, with the scum of the earth. He doesn't
mind associating with the disease. He doesn't
mind working and living with sinners, working
with tax collectors. He has no problem with this.
And all of this makes the Jews angry. All of
it makes them mad, especially the religious elites.
And they say as much in Luke 5, verse 30, when
they say, why do you eat and drink with tax collectors
and sinners? First of all, I know they don't
believe that he's the Messiah, because remember
they tried to kill him and everything. I know
they don't believe that he's the Messiah. But
could you imagine questioning God? Oh wait, we
do that all the time. We question who God would
use. We question who God would call into his
kingdom. We question who God would call into
his ministry. The religious elites question Jesus
on why he hangs out with who he hangs out with,
why he does what he does, why he is willing to
fellowship and work with tax collectors, the
worst of the worst, and sinners, not as bad as
the tax collectors. So they're confused why Jesus
would do this. And I love the way Jesus responds
in Luke chapter 5, verses 31 through 32. Because
right here, Jesus is going to let every single
person listening know exactly what he's all about.
He's putting it all out there. He's making it
very, very clear to them. Those who are well
have no need of a physician, but those who are
sick, I have not come to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance. You see, Jesus essentially
said, I didn't come to hang out. and rub elbows
with the people who think they've got it all
together. I didn't come to hang out with the
people who feel like they deserve my grace. I
didn't come to hang out with and live life with
and fellowship and save the people who think
that they are deserving. I came for the broken.
I came for the sick. I came for the sinner. I
came for the outcast. I came for the one that
nobody wants to touch. that nobody wants to associate
with, that nobody wants to help, that nobody
wants to deal with. I came for those who know
they need healing. And here's the truth. We all
need healing. Every single one of us needs the
healing that Jesus provides, that only Jesus
provides. Every single one of us needs to feel
the touch of Jesus on our lives. We all need
to hear the words, Get up. Your sins are forgiven.
We all need to hear the words. Don't worry about
the sins of your past. I'm bringing you into
something so much greater than what you have
been a part of before. We all need to know that
no matter how far off we are, no matter how broken
we are, we need the grace of Jesus. And we are
not good enough. We're not healthy enough. We
are not mighty enough. We are not powerful enough.
We are not good enough to deserve. but because
Jesus is who he is, the unexpected, the unlikely,
the uncomfortable servant that he is, we can
all be a part of his family. We can all be a
part of his mission because there is nobody too
far for Jesus' grace to touch. So Jesus offers
healing. and relationship to everyone, not just
the Jew, not just the religious elites, not just
the ones who look like or sound like or feel
like they deserve this grace. He brings it, he
gives it to those who society looks at as undeserving.
And that's who Jesus was. That's who he is. That's
the nature of Jesus. But you know what's really
fascinating is that none of this should have
surprised them. None of it should have surprised
him. So remember, I said, Jesus read from Isaiah
prophecy about him. And we talked last week about
how there were dozens and actually hundreds of
prophecies about the coming Messiah. Would you
know, in all of those, it tells us exactly what
Jesus was going to be like. And then when he
gets here, he actually lives it out. And he's
exactly like what the prophecy said. None of
this should have surprised them. Isaiah told
them, the prophets told them, scripture told
them, and they were people that knew their scripture.
They knew the word way better than any of us
could. They knew scripture, so they should have
known who Jesus was going to be. But when Jesus
shows up, he lives out the heart of God in front
of them, they're offended. They're shocked. Why
in the world would this offend them? And as I
was studying, I thought, why does it offend us?
Why does it offend us when we see Jesus being
who Jesus is? and who He said He would be. And
the truth is, it offends them, and I think it
offends us, because they didn't just want a Savior.
They wanted a Savior on their own terms. They
wanted a God that looked like what they thought
God should look like. They wanted a Jesus that
acted like they thought Jesus should act like.
They wanted a Messiah for their... people. They
wanted power without having to change. They wanted
healing without having to be humble. They wanted
to be blessed without having to surrender. Again,
they were thinking Jesus was going to come in
riding in a chariot with flames and arrows and
ready to go to war for the Jews. But what they
got was a meek Savior who said, I'm going to
save everybody, not just the Jews. Because think
about it this way. If Jesus had come in, let's
use modern examples because chariot's kind of
lame. If Jesus had come in in a tank, ready to
just wreck shop and war, let's say he annihilates
everybody but the Jews. Does he save anybody
but the Jews? No, he destroyed them. Did Jesus
come to destroy or did he come to save? John
3 .16, the Son of Man came to save everyone,
to give everyone everlasting life. And so if
we believe that everyone peace, if we believe
that God desires to save all people, then we've
got to get it out of our heads that God desires
to save some people, that God desires to save
certain people. The truth is that the invitation
is for everyone, even those we don't expect.
And God works in ways that are not like what
we think He should do. God works in so great
of a way that we can't understand it. And so
when Jesus doesn't fit the mold that they had
built, they try to throw him off a cliff. They
tried to kill him for being exactly who God said
he would be. And as we know, if you are familiar
with the gospel story, if you're familiar with
the Bible, you know that Jesus did end up dying
because he was who God said he would be. And
we can't judge them because we do the same thing.
We love the idea of Jesus until his teaching
confronts our pride. We love the idea of Jesus.
until His grace extends to people we don't think
deserve it. We love the idea of Jesus until he
asks us to follow him, even if it makes us uncomfortable,
even if it requires us to sacrifice, even if
it requires us to let go of some of our other
loyalties and be solely devoted to him. We love
the idea of Jesus until he disrupts our preconceived
notions of what life in Christ is supposed to
be like. We love the idea of Jesus until Jesus
is not what we think of. And so the unlikely
way of Jesus is this. He teaches in ways that
confront our assumptions. He heals in ways that
restore the outcast, that restore the sinner.
He calls people we would never put on the team.
I think about, you know, when I was little in
PE, I actually... you're not going to believe
this, never was last pick in PE, unless we're
playing basketball. I'm really bad at basketball,
and everyone knew that, so I was last pick in
basketball. But if we were playing football,
if we were playing dodgeball, I was always kind
of at the top of the line, right? But there was
always the kid that was the last pick, and maybe
you've been there, and that's okay. You're probably
way smarter than me. The other day, I thought
7 plus 10 was 20, so it's okay that you weren't
the first pick. You got other gifts. In PE, you
would have, you know, you'd pick your teams,
and there was always the one who was last pick.
I like to think Jesus would have picked that
kid first. So if you weren't the first pick in
dodgeball, just know you'd have been on Jesus'
team, and he would have been glad to have you.
You see, what this is all really about is grace,
the unlikely way of Jesus. is a way of unexpected
grace, undeserved grace. It's a grace that crosses
boundaries, a grace that touches the untouchable,
that calls the unqualified, that forgives the
unforgivable, that heals the unhealable, that
gives inclusion to the outsider, that reaches
people like me, that reaches people like you.
That's the way of Jesus. And sadly, that seems
to be problematic for some of us today. Because
we don't get to reshape Jesus into something
comfortable, even though we do that sometimes.
We don't get to. We shouldn't do that. We don't
get to reduce Jesus to a hometown miracle worker.
We don't get to limit his grace and who gets
to have it. We don't get to edit his mission
to a way that fits my desires and that fits my
schedule, fits my comfortability. We either reject
the way or we follow the way. You either get
on board or you stay off of the journey. Which
one is it? And so when Jesus calls people like
Peter, he calls people like Levi. What he's trying
to illustrate to everybody around is you can
follow me regardless of where you are. You just
have to follow. You just have to accept. You
don't get to reshape this. And you'll see throughout
the gospels, the apostles definitely tried to
reshape the mission, but especially Peter. So
it's really funny that he's like one of the first
call. You don't get to reshape it. You either
follow or you don't. And here's a really cool
truth. The same grace that offended the proud
people in Nazareth is the same grace that saves
sinners today. It's the same grace. It's the
same God. The same Jesus who said, I've come
to call sinners to repentance. He is still calling.
He's still healing. He's still forgiving. He
is still inviting. And maybe that is the most
unlikely thing of it all, that he would invite
us. Not because we've gotten it all right spiritually.
Not because we've done all the assignments and
we've checked all the boxes and we've made sure
to do everything right. Not because we've shown
up perfectly, but because we are sick, we are
unqualified people who he loves. And so here's
the question I want to leave us with today. The
grace has been extended. We've been invited.
The invitation is in all of our mailboxes. The
question for us, though, is are we willing to
follow the unlikely way? If we're going to say,
I follow Jesus, if I'm going to say I'm a Christian,
if I'm going to say I'm a disciple of Christ,
a follower of Christ, am I willing to actually
follow? Am I willing to receive a savior who
doesn't fit my expectations? Am I willing to
extend the same grace that Jesus extended to
me to other people that I don't feel like are
deserving? Maybe today you're like Simon and
you're saying things in your head to Jesus like,
depart from me, Lord. I'm a sinful man or I'm
a sinful woman. Jesus's response to you is the
same. Don't be afraid. You can follow me. Maybe
you feel like Levi, unqualified, disqualified,
judged, labeled, scum of the earth. And to all
of us, wherever we are, Jesus is still saying,
follow me. Maybe you've been standing in the
crowd, you've been watching, but you've been
comfortable with the religion that you know.
You've been comfortable with just sitting in
the seat and not actually following our teacher.
Maybe you've even been resistant to repenting
of the sins that you've been holding on to. Jesus
is inviting you into something deeper than just
sitting idly by and being a pew potato. He is
inviting you to be a disciple, a follower, a
student. So here's the invitation today. The
unlikely way of Jesus begins with repentance.
admitting that we have done wrong and turning
away from it, and trusting our teacher, trusting
the one who has called us out of our sin. It
begins with admitting, I need a doctor. I need
somebody who can heal me in a way that nobody
else can. It continues with following wherever
Jesus takes you, and it grows as we become the
kind of people who carry that same unlikely,
uncomfortable grace into the world. And so today,
if you've never trusted Jesus, this is your chance.
If you've kept him at a distance, this is your
chance. If you have tried to shape him into something
safer, something more convenient to your schedule
or your lifestyle, this is your chance to surrender
it all, to lay your pride down, to lay your release.
to lay your comfortability down and ask Jesus
and ask the church to help you simply follow
this unlikely way because it is uncomfortable.
It may be uncomfortable, but it is the only way
that leads to life. Let's say that again. It
is the only way that leads to life. And church,
I need to say this. And I say this with as much
grace as I can. The church, not just this church,
the church in general for far too long has been
sitting and watching Jesus. We have been cheering
Jesus on from the stands, saying, yes, he can
save. Yes, he does save. Yes, he does transform.
And we have been talking about Jesus the same
way I talk about LSU football when I have never
put on a uniform for LSU and played a single
snap. But I will cheer them on. I will tout about
how great they are, except this season. I will
tell you how awesome they are, and I will watch.
But I'll never get on the field. Jesus is asking
us to step out of the stands and get on the field.
And I think for far too long, the church has
been sitting idly by, cheering Jesus on, but
not actually working alongside Jesus. And the
unlikely way of Jesus is a way that works. It
is a way that goes. It is a way that leaves everything
that is comfortable and goes to what is uncomfortable,
that leaves our boundaries and goes where grace
goes. And what Jesus shows us in Luke chapter
four, chapter five, and really all throughout
his ministry is that his grace goes to everyone.
And so church, are we willing to go to everyone?
I shared this on Wednesday night and this has
nothing to do with the lesson, although it kind
of does, maybe. I know of a church that used
to be, we'll just say over a thousand people.
It was the biggest church in town, was like the
church in town, had the greatest ministries,
greatest programs. But over time, and let's just
call it like 25 years, they have now dropped
down to less than 400 people. How does that happen?
You know how it happens? It happens from people
saying we're disciples, but actually just sitting
in a pew. watching Jesus, consuming Jesus, but
not actually being Jesus. And the reason it's
so easy to fall into that temptation, and all
of our churches have, that's why the church is
not in incline, it is in decline. The reason
that is so easy to do is because it's comfortable.
It's comfortable to sit in these chairs. It actually
is really comfortable to sit in these chairs.
It's comfortable to sing a few songs for an hour
on Sunday. It's comfortable to listen to somebody
talk because usually the guy talking is not challenging
us to do anything. It's comfortable to just sit
and watch Jesus while not actually being Jesus.
But what Jesus has been calling people to do
from the beginning is to be uncomfortable. Maybe
you've heard it said that comfort will be the
thing that will make a king fall. And so my prayer.
for our church, for our congregation, and for
the church globally is to be a people that get
in the weeds, that go to war with Jesus, not
just consume him. There's an entire community
out there that needs to know Jesus wants them
to be a part of his family too. Jesus wants them
to be a part of his kingdom too. He wants them
to be on mission too. And to invite them to be
a part of it, just like Jesus did with the tax
collector, just like Jesus did with the leper,
just like Jesus did with the lowly fishermen.
Jesus is calling us to get out of these seats
and go to work. It's a shame we've got an invitation
song and a Bible class after this, because I'm
tempted to just say, hey, let's go knock on some
doors and tell people about Jesus. Let's go sit
in the restaurant and tell a waitress about Jesus.
When is the last time you told somebody, hey,
I don't know what you've got going on in your
life, but Jesus wants you to be on mission with
him. Jesus wants to save your life. It is the
only way that leads to life. It may be uncomfortable.
It may not be as cool as sitting in a chair,
listening to some songs and talking, but it is
the only way that leads to life. I heard it in
the podcast last night. I promise I'm going to
be quiet. He said, it's not necessarily saying
you're not saved, that you just sit in the pew.
But you're not being like Jesus. And he had to
clarify that he's saying that with a lot of grace.
And I need to clarify, I'm saying this with a
lot of grace because I'm guilty of this too.
Some of us are content with just being saved.
But we are not disciples. We were called to be
disciples, not to be saved. So this week, will
you follow the uncomfortable way? Will you follow
the unlikely way and go to the unexpected, the
unlikely person, even when it's not convenient,
and say, I want to talk to you about Jesus Christ.
I want to talk to you about the only way that
leads to life. That's the challenge for you today,
and I just completely messed up my invitation.
I don't care. If you need prayer, if you need
Jesus to redeem your life, if you need the church
to help hold you accountable to being a disciple,
not just a Christian, and as I like to say, not
just a pew potato, but a disciple of Christ,
if you need prayers of the church because you've
been struggling with life, whatever you need
this morning, I'm inviting you. We are inviting
you to come. And as we read earlier in Acts 4,
to allow us to pray for you in a way that shakes
this room and shakes this community. Whatever
it is you need, please come as we stand and as
we sing.