Matthews Mess ⎸ Pastor Jordan D. Waage ⎸ Messed Up - Part 3

Faith Alive Church: Welcome to the Faith Alive Sermon Podcast. This is a replay of a past sermon from Faith Alive Church. Whether you missed it, want to hear it again, or share it with someone you know, we're glad you're here. This sermon is by Jordan Waggy, lead pastor at Faith Alive Church. Man, it is so good to be with you at Faith Alive Church in West Branch, Michigan. Who in here loves Jesus today more than they ever have? Come on. Man, we're so thankful that you've joined us both in person and online, all around the world. And God has been good and he is moving in his church, and I'm just excited to be a part of it. Amen. Amen. Would you help me in inviting the Holy Spirit of God into this place? Father in heaven, thank you for who you are. Holy Spirit, would you descend upon this church? Lord God, that you would guide us and move us to the place that you want us to go. That you would open our hearts to all that you have in store. Lord God, whether it be kids ministry, whether it be youth ministry, whether it be kingdom builders, Lord God, whatever it may be, Lord, I pray that you would elevate us. That you would bring us to the next level in you, that you would help us see you for who you are, which is the grace-giving God, the merciful one and the king of all kings. We ask right now, Lord, that with every word that proceeds from my mouth, they would be your words, not my own. Lord God, you are worthy to be praised here today. And if you believe it, somebody say amen. Amen. Amen. Last week we started a brand new sermon series called Messed Up. We agreed that we're all a little messed up. We're all a little messed up. Whether we have messed up, whether we are currently in a mess, or we will mess up in the future. we all agreed that we've had something like that happen to us, or we've been in the chaos, or we've been. In the mess, but we've also agreed that God's grace is greater than our mess. God's grace is greater than our past. Last week we talked about a man named Peter. Peter was the epitome of a mess, yes? He denied Jesus three times in the time that Jesus needed him the most. He ran from him, he ran away from him, but God used him. To become a prominent voice in the New Testament. And today I want to talk to you about another prominent voice in the New Testament. His name is Matthew. If you want to put a title on this message, you can title it Matthew's Mess. Matthew's Mess. Now, Matthew, if you didn't know, is one of our four Gospel writers, one of the synoptic gospels. And he is a man. Who was a tax collector? He was a tax collector, which means that he was hated, that he was ridiculed, and that he was mocked. He was even outcast amongst the other Christ followers. He wasn't doing so well socially with everybody around him, but he was also, I want you to hear this, a man who gave up everything. And all that he knew to follow Jesus. And because he did, Jesus used him to become a prominent voice in Scripture and to make Jesus' name known. Turn with me in Scripture to Matthew chapter nine. We will be studying just one verse today, and that is verse nine. If you don't have your Bibles with you, it'll be on the screen. Matthew chapter nine. And verse 9, Matthew chapter 9 and verse 9. In Matthew chapter 9 and verse 9, Jesus was in Capernaum, which he referred to as his own town. Not his hometown, but his own town. Jesus worked so many miracles within Capernaum. And before he was in Capernaum, he was working other miracles. Elsewhere, if you know scripture, if you know where he came from, he was just in a home healing a paralytic. But before he healed that paralytic, before he said, Get up and walk, what did he do? He forgave him his sins. If you remember correctly, the religious leaders were looking in on Jesus and they called him blasphemous. They said, Only God can forgive. Sins, yet we see Jesus forgive sins because who in here knows that Jesus is fully God and fully man? That's Jesus. So he had just healed this paralytic. He had forgiven him his sins. And as Jesus went on from that experience, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at a tax collector's booth. And what did Jesus say? He said, follow me. Me. And Matthew got up and followed him. I want you to notice that there was no lapse in time. Matthew simply got up and followed Jesus. I'm going to read this part again. Jesus saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. Now, to fully grasp What happens after this, after Jesus sees Matthew, you have to understand not just what a tax collector is, but more importantly, what a tax collector represents. Israel, you have to know, in this time was under Roman oppression, Roman occupation, and a tax collector would collect taxes on behalf of the Roman government. It's very important for you to know. That tax collectors weren't always Roman citizens, they were Jews. So, what does that mean? Well, it means that they were taxing Jews, and the people accepting the taxes, a lot of time stuffing their own pockets, were their own people. You follow me? These tax collectors were taking for from their own people. So when these Jews would pass by when they were to give their taxes, they didn't see just a man. That was working in his career. No, they saw what? A traitor. They saw an oppressor of their own people. So when Jesus, when people rather saw Matthew, they didn't see a guy who just collected taxes. They saw a traitor. And all saw them this way. Nobody seemed to like tax collectors, except for maybe the Roman government, of course. But everybody that passed by would ridicule them. They weren't they didn't like what they were doing. All of them looked at them with disdain, except for one man. Somebody tell me his name, Jesus. See, Jesus saw in Matthew what no other person saw, his potential. He saw his potential and he saw his calling. Listen, people, I want you to make this applicable in your own life. People might look at you and they see your past. They see your mess. They seem the see the chaos that you've created in your past. And they might even write you off. They might. Gossip about you, they might talk about you, they might slander you, they might denigrate you, and understandably so you've taken in all these words from these people around you, and you've let it consume you, you've let it gnaw at your very spirit, gnaw at your heart to the point that you don't feel that you can even continue. But can I encourage you today? Can I encourage you that there is one man who does not see your past? There is one man who does not see your mass. It is one man who sees the potential in you. It is one man who has given you a calling. It is one man who deems you worthy of love. One man who has all authority in heaven and on earth and everything under the earth. One man who is still writing your story. Somebody in this place tell me his name. It's Jesus. Jesus sees you for who you are and what you are to become. Lest listen, let not this world be the source of your validation. Let the one who has knit you together in your mother's womb, the one who is the creator of all things, be the source of. Of your validation. You are not what the world says that you are. You are not what your past says you are. You are not what your mess says that you are. You are only what Christ Jesus says that you are. That's who it is. That's who we follow. Jesus says to Matthew, two simple words. Say them with me. Follow me. Follow me. This is pivotal. I want you to catch this. Matthew, in this moment. In this encounter with Jesus, is doing the thing that no one liked. He was collecting taxes. He was doing the thing that caused him all the grief. He was doing the thing that caused him all of the criticism. He was at the booth. He was currently in the mess when Jesus said what? Follow me. Please note that Jesus didn't say, Hey Matthew, get right first, then Follow me. He didn't say do this and do that before you come. He simply said, follow me. See, many of us in this place are under the impression that we need to change everything that we are and fix the mess or the past that we've had before we even follow Jesus. But can I tell you in this place that you're out of order? You're out of order. It's not It's not and never will be. Change first and follow Jesus. It will always be follow Jesus and I will change you. Christ does the transforming. Christ moves in your heart. Christ transforms your mind and your spirit. In Ezekiel chapter 36, God says to his people: I will give you a new heart and put in you a new spirit. I want you to hear this. This is noteworthy. Write it down. Tattoo it on your arm if you want to. Jesus doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called. Each and every one of you has been called unto kingdom purposes. Jesus has called you to do great things in the kingdom of God. Fall in line with what Christ wants for you. Follow first. Follow first. It will always be follow first and let him transform your heart. See, before following Jesus, Matthew had what we would consider a comfortable life. Yes, there was ridicule. Yes, there was frustration. Yes, there was anger towards him, but that booth that he sat in day after day after day provided him money. It provided him a career. It provided him, the Bible says, great. Wealth and notoriety, both in the positive and in the negative, I want you to see that the source of his grief was also the source of his blessing. This position was difficult socially, but it was comfortable financially. Yet when Jesus said, Follow me, Matthew, he rose and he followed him. There was no, let me think about it. There was no, just give me a couple of days and I'll follow you, Jesus. No, the Bible says that he rose and followed him. It wasn't like I guess I'll go and do that now. It wasn't like, I guess I'm kind of sick of this whole tax collecting thing. I'm gonna follow Jesus. No, you have to realize that Matthew gave up everything that he knew. He gave it all up. He left it all behind to follow Jesus. He gave up the comfort, the money, and the notoriety. Why? Because he found something, rather, someone who was worth. Far more. Worth far more. So my question for everybody in this room, everybody watching online, everybody listening is this: would you? Would you? Would you leave it all behind? Would you give it all up to follow Jesus? Would give everything you know? Would you give up the comfort, the notoriety? Would you give up the money? Or would you be too anxious? Would you pe be too frightened to leave it all behind? Would you be too nervous to leave your booth? That booth that Matthew walked out of represented difficulty, of course. It represented ridicule as well, but it also represented comfort and stability. Maybe for you, your booth represents the same. Maybe it is comfortable. Maybe it is stable. Yes, maybe there is some ridicule that is coming at you. And maybe there's some difficulty within it, but maybe you are still within that booth. Maybe it represents the unknown. Maybe it represents fear. Maybe you're thinking to yourself, if I give up everything, what will my parents think? Maybe you're thinking, if I give up everything, what will my friends think? you know, what will my coworkers think? Maybe your booth represents doubt. Maybe you're thinking in here this morning, I'm not good enough. I'll never be good enough. The mess that I've made is too crazy. It's too chaotic. How could an all-loving God, an all-supreme God, love somebody like me that is messed up this bad? Maybe your booth represents that doubt. Maybe your booth represents success. Maybe you just launched a business and you're too busy to attend church, or you're too busy to pray, or you're too busy to study the word. Too busy. And I know that none of us in this place would ever intentionally do that. But can I encourage you today that if you want to follow Jesus with all that you are, if you want to follow Jesus with everything that you have, if you want a deeper and more amazing relationship with Jesus, stand up and get out of your booth. Leave it all behind. Matthew went from tax collector to disciple. One of the greatest transitions that we see in scripture, he went from sinner to follower of Jesus. He went from rejected to chosen. Think about that. And that the foundation of everything that we see in Matthew's transformation is the grace of God. It's the grace of God. That grace that was lavished upon Matthew, that grace that was given to him, hear me, is the same grace that is given to you. Where would we be, Faith Alive Church, without the grace of God? The mercy of God. See, I want you to know that none of us in this place are worthy of heaven, but Christ Jesus gave it to us anyway. He said, I love you. So let me take your place. Let me step in front of this for you. Let me give you hope. Let me give you a future. The grace that God gives us doesn't only change what you're saved from, it changes what you're saved for. To you have great plans in store for you, whether you know it or not. I guarantee you that Matthew never thought that he would ever be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Each and every day, ripping people off, each and every day being ridiculed, being mocked. I bet you anything that Matthew never thought that he would be walking alongside Jesus, being one of the most prominent voices in the New Testament of God's holy book. That makes me think that how many in here have that same kind of future? I bet you there are people in these seats, people that are watching online, people that are listening online that have that same calling in their life. That God wants to use you as a prominent voice in the Christian world. And you might not even know it yet. So I want to ask you again: would you leave it all behind? Now hear me in this. This doesn't mean quit your job, okay? I'm not saying that. But I am saying devote yourself unto Christ and He will guide you in that. Trent, you can come at this time. Thank you. Maybe you've built your identity around that booth that you're in. Maybe it's fear, anxiety, success, whatever it may be. I bel you believe that it's it's who you are. This is my very purpose. This is who I am. Your maybe, may, maybe it's your past mistakes. Maybe you find. That's who you are, your past mistakes or the mistakes that you've made, whatever it may be. I want you to know, I need you to know that Jesus ain't walking by your booth and pointing blame at you. That he's not saying, look at what you've done in your past. He's not looking at you saying you'll never amount to anything. He's not saying that you're a loser. He's not saying that. All he's saying is, follow me. I love you. Follow me. Follow me. I have a calling for you. Follow me. If you follow me, you will find purpose. If you follow me, you will find success. Maybe not in what the world says is successful, but if you follow me, I will show you what true success is. I will show you that you have a home in heaven. Leave the booth. Leave the booth. You know, when I was when I was before before Jotty and I got got into youth ministry, we Just were serving in in in the youth ministry. And it was right at that time that the youth pastor moved to a different state. And Jotty and I said, all right, we will step in and we'll help where we can. And at that time, that was all it was. The God'll get you like that. But we stepped in and we stepped into interim youth director positions and we led and we guided, and that was really it. That's all we thought. And as we continued to step in and as we continued to get to know these kids, and as we continued to minister, God really got a hold of our hearts and he called us at that time into full-time ministry. And if you remember my story from from last week, I finally said yes to Jesus. And I remember going to the pastor and I said, Hey, Pastor, I know that we are probably the least likely people to take on this position, but we want to throw our names in the ring. And he said, Wow, you're exactly right. You are the least likely people to take over this position. He goes, I appreciate your vigor. I appreciate your passion. serve. But I just want you to know that we'll continue to interview youth pastors. Our intention is to bring in somebody with minister ministerial experience and somebody that has a little bit more knowledge. And Joddy and I said, Okay, that makes sense. And they did. They brought in youth pastor after youth pastor. And for some reason or another, They came in and they went out. They came in and they went out. They came in and they went out to finally when the pastor said, all right, I'll give you a shot. You have none of the experience. You have none of the knowledge, but I see all of the passion inside of you. So he walked us through a rigorous interview process. Six or seven interviews in front of parents, in front of boards, in front of the church. It was intense. Here's my point. Is that my previous pastor took a chance on me? And look where I'm standing today because I said yes. Because I left it all behind to follow Jesus. Now that's not look at me, look what I did. Please don't, please don't hear that. My point is that Jesus is doing the same for you, is that he is calling you up of wherever you are, your past mistakes, your frustration, your anger, whatever it is, he's calling you up out of that. All you have to do is leave your booth and follow him. Thanks for listening to the Faith Alive Sermon podcast. We hope this message encouraged you. If it did, be sure to subscribe or share it with someone else who may need it. If you want to get connected or reach out to one of our pastors, go to our website at faithalive.church. We'll see you next time.

Matthew 9 · chapter mention Matthew 9 · chapter mention Ezekiel 36 · chapter mention