Luke 5:27-29

Luke chapter 5 verses 27 to 29. Luke chapter 5 verses 27 to 29. And after these things, he went forth and saw a publican named Levi sitting at the precept of custom and he said unto him, follow me. and he left all, rose up, and followed him. And Levi made a great feast in his own house. And there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. May God bless to us his sacred and holy word this morning. Many years ago there was a ship sailing on the northern part. part or more than coast of the South American continent, sending out distress signals when another vessel responded to their signal, they reported they were dying of thirst and in need of fresh water, to which the captain of the responding vessel sent this message. You are in the mouth of the Amazon River, just dip up the water around you. The fresh water of the Amazon poured into the ocean at that point, making the water fresh, only they were not aware that it was so nearby. People who are perishing in their sins often don’t realize how close or how near salvation is to them. Salvation comes many times unexpectedly to the sinner. Divine grace is. about to reach out and apprehend the sinner. But he doesn’t even know it. The salvation of Levi, who is also called Matthew, according to Matthew’s Gospel, who this is the author, if you were the human author of Matthew’s Gospel, is Levi. And so he has both names. He is, here is a case in point. He had no idea. that Jesus Christ was going to seek him out and bring him to salvation. And yet, it happens all of a sudden one day. I want to talk about the call of Christ from this passage of Scripture. We see here the call of the sinner by Christ in verses 27 and 28. You’ll notice that Christ often calls the worst of sinners. Jesus was conducting his mission. ministry around Copernium. And he saw this man named Levi. Jesus fixes attention upon this man. But the Savior plans to call him to salvation. He’s one of God’s elect people. He will serve the Lord as an apostle. It seems like a chance meeting but scripture teaches that Jesus Christ came to seek and to save those who were lost. And so he seeks him out. This was purposeful. This was deliberate. Now this Levi or Matthew was a publican. This is what we would call the tax collector today. He’s thus sitting at the receipt of custody. Of course, he’s at work. Publicans were despised by the Jews because they collected taxes for the enemies of the Jews, in this case the Romans who had conquered their land, and they were under the Roman dominion. So they were looked upon as sort of traitors to the nation. Most publicans were unprincipled and covetous. They would overcharge people on the taxes and keep the extra. or the excess for themselves. So they made themselves rich by overcharging on the taxes. Made a hefty profit. And I guess the Romans didn’t care as long as they got their taxes. They’re cut. So they had an ordinate love of gain. Basically, they had the legal right to steal it from people. You remember Zakiya says, if I take it money unlawfully, I will return fourfold. you know, he knows that that’s the basic way they made money. And so though the hub of Christ’s ministry was centered around Copernium, you don’t read of Levi ever going to hear Christ. We don’t find him among the crowd. We don’t find him pursuing the Lord. He’s busy about his job. Publicans were not religious people normally. And Levi, seems to be no exception. This man is far from the kingdom of God. He’s close, but he’s far. As far as he’s concerned, as far as just looking at him, he seems to be he’s far from the kingdom of God. I remind you, when Jesus talked about excommunication of the church, the person excommunicated was to be treated as a publican. So, you know, an outcast, someone is a religious outcast. That’s how these people were looked upon. And thus we could classify him as Paul classifies himself as the chief of sinners. This man’s a sinful man. Now, the lesson we can take from this is that no one is too wicked, too worldly, too hardened, too far from God to be saved. You might despair. You might think of yourself and you might look at yourself and say, well, I’m too sinful. for Christ to save me. I’m an utterly hopeless case. Perhaps you have a sin, a dominating sin in your life. You know, maybe Levi was a very covetous man. He seems to be, that seems to be the profession that he was in. It’s very covetous, very lucrative. Suppose you have a besetting sin and it just dominates you. And you find yourself completely enslaved by it. Maybe you think there’s no way to escape it. But I remind you, the the one who called Levi still lives, and he still calls people by his grace. Nothing is impossible for Christ, and there’s no sinner who is too difficult for him to save. As Christians, we should never despair then. When we pray for people and their salvation, we see perhaps the wicked life that they live, and we’re hoping that God will be gracious to them. We know that Christ can save them. There’s no one beyond his reach in that sense. He has the power to do it. John Newton had a rather remarkable conversion. He was born in London. His mother was a pious woman who read the scriptures to him, taught him out of the catechism, but she died when he was young. his father was a sea captain. So when he was 11 years old, he took John with him onto the ship. Now, a young boy like that on a ship with rough sailors is not conducive to any godly upbringing. Sadly, he learned to curse and blasphying very quickly. He became very wild. He lived a rather degenerative, life, the worst of the worst. A complete infidel. At one point, he fell into the hands of a slave trader in Africa who treated him cruelly. After many strange and hazardous adventures, he became a slave trader himself. He was tough, he was cruel, he was profane, and he was a heartless man. Someone placed into his hands a copy of Thomas O’Kemp, the imitation of Christ. He had some exposure at this point. Then he experienced a fearful storm at sea in which his ship was almost lost. He also was delivered from severe fever in Africa where it was thought that he might die. And a host of other life-threatening disasters. And through all these things, God worked in his life and saved his soul and called him to be a minister to preach in England, his own home country. He seemed like a hopeless case. And yet, he was the one God chose to save. So Christ often calls the worst of sinners. We just don’t know what he’s going to do. Christ’s call, we see, also, is effectual. You’ll notice here is an example of Christ, the great shepherd who came to seek and to save. his lost sheep. And Levi, though he’s busy about his tax work, and he’s not interested that we can tell in the ministry of Christ at all, never attending in the crowds that followed Christ, he’s absorbed with the things of the world. And yet Christ finds him and calls him by his grace, and it’s put so simply in this passage of Scripture, he passed by, he saw Levi, he said unto him, follow me. That’s about as simple as you can get. But what we have to realize is this truth, that the sun quickeneth, he giveth life to whom he will. John 521. Life-giving power accompanied the words of Christ when he said, follow me. This is why it had such a dynamic effect upon this man, that he would leave all. For sake it all just to follow Christ from this simple statement. Follow me. There’s an irresistible power that turns the heart of the sinner immediately. And you are drawn to Christ so that you will live for him and obey him. That’s what we see. grace works powerfully. It works freely so that you’re not coerced. You’re not forced. You’re not forced to comply against your will. But as the scripture says, God’s people is elect, are made willing in the day of his power. Psalm 110, verse 3. So he complies eagerly with Christ’s call. Follow me, and next thing we know, he’s following me. Eventually he’s an apostle. My sheep, hear my voice. John 1027, and I give under them eternal life, John 1028. How is it that you came to believe on Jesus Christ for salvation? How does a person, dead and trespasses and sins, lifeless, somehow come to life, and place his life, trust in the Savior. How is that possible? How did you respond to the gospel when you heard it? The answer is that you responded the very same way that Levi did. Because you heard Christ’s voice through the preaching that you heard. Christ exerts the power of his grace, and you willingly comply. Christ says that your dead heart live, and it lives. Christ says to your faithless heart, believe, and you believe. It’s sort of just like the story of Lazarus, who’s died, who’s in the grave, in the cave, being raised by Christ in John chapter 11. He hears Christ’s voice. He’s awakened. He’s dead. He’s awakened by Christ’s voice. And hears Lazarus come forth and he immediately complies. That’s. That’s the way it is spiritually with people. Christ’s call is effectual. Christ’s call results in you following him. He said unto him, follow me, and he left all, rose up and followed him, the scripture says. My sheep, hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. That’s what the scripture says. John 1027. Friends, let this clearly be understood. this is a characteristic of all who are safe without exception. You know, I was, when I was in seminary, there were those that were involved in what we call easy-believesm. You know, they go out, maybe winning, you know, 10 or 15 souls a week, uh, going to people’s houses, talking them, leading them through a sinner’s prayer. And I said to the one young student that, was in the dorm with and he went out with the dorm parent and they were supposedly winning all these people to Christ. I said, well, are they coming to church? No, they’re not coming to church. I said, well, how do you know they’re saved? I said, if they were really saved, they’d be hungry for the word. They wouldn’t want to be where God’s people are. They didn’t get it. If you were truly called by Christ, you’re going to follow Christ. It’s not that difficult. it’s straightforward. Sheep always follow the shepherd, wherever he leads them. Remember we studied in a song of Solomon 1-7, Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou fath thy flock to rest it. Where are you? That’s the way the heart of the believer is. Where are you? That I may follow you. That I may be with you. There’s an eagerness to follow the shepherd. Now, what does this following Christ mean. Well, obviously means obeying Christ’s commands. He is Lord now. Of your life. It means following his example. You would be like him. It means forsaking all that would hinder you from following him. Maybe they’re, you know, job, family, friends. It could be wealth. It could be a lot of different things. whatever it is that hinders you from following Christ, it means also mortifying sin. The things that would separate us from Christ, we mortify. We put to death. It means denying self and taking up your cross. There may be sacrifice involved in following Christ, and we must be willing to pay the price. You remember when Peter said to the Lord, lo, we have left all and followed thee. And Jesus said this, verily I say unto you, there is no men that have left houses or parents or brethren or wife or children for the kingdom of God’s sake, who shall not receive manifold more in this present time and in the world to come life everlasting. It may cost you something to follow Christ. Years ago, in a mission station, in what was at that time called Belgian Congo, a converted native was heard praying this prayer, Lord Jesus, thou art the needle, and I am the cotton. So the missionary thought, I better ask him, well, what does he mean by this? Strange language. It turned out that the native had visited the mission school at that time, and he had watched the girls sew. And it interested him was that the needle, the thread, always followed the needle. wherever the needle went, the thread went. In the same way, he wanted to follow Christ wherever Christ went. So he saw himself as the cotton, and Christ is the needle. How is it with you? After all, this is the great question. Do we have this mark? Are we following Christ? Perhaps you’re still outside of Christ. You’re wondering whether or not you can follow Christ. You’re wondering if the cross may be too heavy for you to better. Maybe you’re hesitating and seeking Christ for salvation. My friend, when Christ calls you to salvation, he enables you to forsake the pleasures and the things of this world to follow him. Indeed, you will willingly forsake all because he is the shepherd of your soul. You look at Levi. When he is granted spiritual life, he left all without hesitation. Now, your coronal heart may think, I don’t know if I can give him. up that pleasure. I don’t know if I can give up this worldly delight. Of course. That’s the way it is now. But if you’re ever regenerated by Christ, if Christ calls you, you will willingly forsake all these things that follow the Lord. You’re a new person. You will take up Christ’s cross and you will follow him and it’ll be done easily and willingly at that point. The call of the sinner by Christ. That’s what we see here. And then we see the effect of salvation upon the center in verse 29. And Levi made him a great feast in his own house, and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. The them there is Jesus and his disciples. As Matthew’s gospel tells us, they went to the feast. It’s not as clearly stated here in Luke, but Matthews’ gospel. gospel indicates that’s the case. So a feast is made. Levi says this is a time of celebration. Now we have Thanksgiving feast that normally most people celebrate. It’s a joy’s occasion. You remember how God preserved the pilgrims when they first came over here and during their first winter in America, they almost perished and now God spared them. Levi regarded here the wonderful salvation that he has been granted by the Lord as an occasion for rejoicing and he wished others to rejoice with him. Jesus said there is joy in heaven in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repentant. Why shouldn’t it be the same way on earth? When the prodigal son came back, the father said, we got to have a celebration. celebration. Levi gathers his family. He gathers his relatives. He gathers his friends. He gathers other Republicans that he worked with, I guess, or new, and has them come to this celebration, and Jesus and the disciples join in this celebration. If you want to check that, you can check Matthew 9, 10, and you’ll see that that is the case. Indicating to us, of course, that this feast was a good and right thing because our Lord wouldn’t go to it if it wasn’t. There is nothing that we celebrate more than our salvation in Christ. Not your birthday, not your anniversary, not the birth of your child or your graduation from college. Nothing is, uh, should succeed or go before, let’s put it this way before this, Christ’s salvation that he gives granted that should be the, the most important thing we celebrate. Your soul has been given spiritual life. You’ve been rescued from the of hell. You’ve been adopted in the family of God. You’ve been made a king and priest by your Savior. Remember the prodigal father saying this. He said, it was meat that we should make Mary and be glad for this thy brother was dead and is alive again, was lost and is found. We were dead once. We’re alive. By God’s grace. So every new conversion really should be a joy’s occasion for a child of God. We see somebody coming to Christ, it should be a joy. thing for us. It’s only proper and right. We would rejoice at such an event. And notice here, not always as a joyous occasion, but there’s their desire, it seems, for others to be saved. A great company of publicans of others sat down with them. We don’t know what Levi’s friends, fellow co-workers here, thought of his salvation. His giving up. such a lucrative job, forsaking all. But he invites these people to the feast who were publicans and sinners. And he asks Christ, you know, it’s like he’s saying, Lord, would you be so good as to come? Sit at the head of the table and talk to my friends. So the call of Levi was Christ’s way of bringing a number of lost people to the knowledge of the truth here. It wasn’t just Levi that’s affected, but immediately we see there’s an influence upon the others that Levi knows. Having found salvation, he wants his friends to be saved as well. This desire Levi will always be a motivation, I think, for every Christian. If your soul has been touched by divine grace, how can we not think about our family, our relatives, our friends, our co-workers? who were still lost. Can we be satisfied that our soul alone is saved? While others around us are perishing? I read a story about many years ago there was a terrible ship wreck off the English coast. And it seems that a mother and her children were crossing the waters there, and the mother was washed up on shore. She had survived. However, she found to her design. May that all her children had drowned in the shipwreck, along with many of the other passengers. She telegraphed an urgent message to her husband, and it contained only two words. The first word was hopeful, saved, but the second word was full of misery, alone. Saved, alone. Now, if I could just put that in the spiritual realm for you. you this morning. Would you be happy or satisfied if you were saved alone with regard to your family, with regard to your relatives, your friends, your coworkers, just you? When you get to the shores of heaven, is it just, I’ve been saved alone? That’s it? it? Isn’t our desire to see that some others saved as well? May the Lord help you as you reach out to witness to those around you who are unsaved in your circle of friends and family. Do what you can to bring the gospel to bear, to reach out to others, for soon this life is going to be over, and the opportunity for you to witness to them will be gone. So here’s the effect of salvation upon the center. Well, let me close this morning. that ship sailing off the South American coast was at the mouth of the Amazon, didn’t realize there’s fresh water right there. People perishing in their sins don’t realize that salvation is near. Divine grace can reach out and apprehend them in a second. The calling of the sinner by Christ is still occurring. The sinner here is granted the Savior’s life-giving purpose. power and brought to salvation. And it should be a joyous occasion. And we should desire to see others saved as well. Let us close with a word of prayer.