The Jesus Way: Finding the Way of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke | Donovan Rillion | The Unlikely Way

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

Luke 4 · chapter mention

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

Luke 4:14–30

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

Luke 5:1–11

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

Luke 5:30

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

Luke 5:31–32

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.