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Luke 527 through 32.

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After this, he went out
and saw a tax collector named Levi

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sitting at the tax booth,
and he said to him, follow me.

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And leaving everything,
he arose and followed him.

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And Levi
made him a great feast in his house.

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And there was a large company

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of tax collectors and others
reclining at table with them.

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And the Pharisees and their scribes
grumbled at his disciples, saying,

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why do you eat and drink
with tax collectors and sinners?

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And Jesus answered them, those who are
well have no need of a physician,

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but those who are sick.

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I have not come to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance.

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One of the most hurtful things
you can experience in life

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is when people say things
about you that aren't true.

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Know when they

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talk about things that you did,
only you didn't.

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Things
you said that you didn't say, things

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they're telling other people you thought
or felt that you never thought or felt.

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That's
an incredibly painful experience, in part

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because it's hurtful that anyone would do
that, would tell things about you

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that aren't true.

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It's also hurtful that people would listen
and not defend you, that

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they would believe those things,
that that's its own kind of damage.

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The Bible talks about that
a lot is called gossip and slander.

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And, one day a sermon on that will be
super helpful to all of us, I'm sure.

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But that is not this sermon.

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This sermon is actually about the times
people talk about you.

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And they're right.

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It's about the things

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people talk about that
you did actually do, that.

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You did actually say that you do
think that you do feel.

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This is about the kind of pain

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that you experience, not from rumor,
but from reputation.

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Reputation that's deserved, that's earned.

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It's about the guilt and shame

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that can often accompany
feeling like everyone is mad at you,

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or everyone has rejected you,
that you're alone because you deserve it,

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that your family is broken
and you're the one to blame.

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It's about reputation,
but it's about more than that.

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Because this spring we're spending time
talking about Jesus as Redeemer.

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Jesus is the one who sets us free.

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And so this sermon is really about
exploring whether or not Jesus can set us

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free from reputation, set us free
from guilt and shame that we deserve.

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To answer that question,
we're going to be looking at a passage

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in Luke chapter five.

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So if you have a Bible, would you take it
out and open it to Luke chapter five?

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Use your phone, your tablet,
however you want to get there.

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And hey, if you're here
and you didn't bring a Bible

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or maybe aren't
super familiar with the Bible,

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we do have Bibles available to you
in the pew in front of you

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here in the West service in the east,
service in the back of the room.

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And in those Bibles, I can tell you
today's reading is on page 809.

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Of course, the words will be on the screen
behind me if you want to follow along.

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That way.

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Also, hopefully when you walked into
either venue you got this card.

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And on this side is my outline.

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If you want to take notes
or just have reference

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for what I'm talking about, three points.
Very simple.

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I want to talk about reputation and me

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reputation and God reputation

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and them reputation and me reputation
and God reputation.

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And then I'll start with the first one.

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Reputation and me.

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This is how our passage begins
this weekend.

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It says this after this he he

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there as Jesus went out
and saw a tax collector named Levi

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sitting at the tax booth,
and he said to him, follow me.

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And leaving everything,
he rose and followed him.

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I've been thinking about this
a lot this week, getting ready

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for this sermon,
because I've been asking what?

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What kind of a man leaves his job,

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quits his job, leaves everything
just because another guy said, follow me.

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Like God.

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Like, what was that conversation
like when Levi went home

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and told his wife,
hey, I quit my job today.

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What happened?

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Well, a guy showed up and said, follow me.

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And that seemed like a good idea.

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It feels like
that would be a tough conversation.

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Why would you leave everything to go
follow a random guy?

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I think there are only two possible
answers to that question.

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The first is that you found something
so beautiful,

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so powerful, so compelling that it's worth
leaving behind.

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Whatever you had.

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Like, for example, if I told you
it doesn't matter how much you love your

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job, if I told you the church was hiring
and the job paid $1 million a year.

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Now, just full disclosure,
no one makes that here.

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Okay?

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But if I told you that job paid $1
million, you would quit your current job.

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And when they said how?

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How can you leave?
I thought you liked it here.

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You would say, it's not about here,
it's about what I'm going to.

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And they would say, what is the job?

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And you say, I have no idea,
but it pays $1 million a year.

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So I'm moving into that.

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It's possible to read Levi is leaving
everything behind because he's found

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Jesus to be so powerful, so compelling,
so beautiful that he's worth it.

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And Jesus is those things. But not yet.

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I mean,

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this is Luke chapter five,
not Luke chapter 25.

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Not a lot has happened
so far in the story.

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In fact, Jesus launches
his public ministry in Luke chapter four.

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So at this point when Jesus says,
follow me,

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the ministry of Jesus is 57 verses
old, 57 verses.

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Okay, there is not enough
that has happened

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that would cause a man to leave
everything out.

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Levi might have heard some stories about
Jesus, but people are always talking.

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It's not like he was following
Jesus on Instagram

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and it was aware of everything
that had been happening,

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so I don't think he leaves everything
because of Jesus.

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Not fully.

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So the second reason you would leave
everything is if you were growing

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increasingly convinced that your presence
date wasn't good enough,

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if your

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dissatisfaction was getting high enough
that anything that came along

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was better than what you currently had,

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I think that's where Levi was.

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Levi was a tax collector.

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What that means is that when the Roman
Empire would subjugate a group of people,

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one of the main reasons they would do
that is for revenue, for tax revenue.

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So they needed to collect taxes.

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And what they decided was it was better
to hire indigenous leaders to do that.

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Right.

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There's a lot of reasons for that.

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Language, culture, customs. Right.

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So they would hire Jewish people
to collect taxes from other Jewish people.

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Another reason you would do that
is because the indigenous

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leaders,
Jewish people knew who had the money.

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So maybe you could convince the Romans,
hey, it just hasn't been a good year.

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Sorry, I'd love to give more,
I just can't.

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But the local Jewish guy,
the guy you grew up with,

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he would be like,
no, I see what you're driving.

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Come on, come on, you've got more.

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So they would hire these guys and
these guys were hated for obvious reasons.

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They were seen as traitors.

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They were seeing as taking advantage
of a terrible situation,

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making it a good opportunity
for themselves.

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They would often collect
more taxes than were owed

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because they would pocket the difference
and you could get mad about it.

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But everywhere they went,
they had Roman soldiers behind them.

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So you had to pay it.

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They were thieves.

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They were basically mafioso.

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I mean, I just want you to imagine
that guy in high school that nobody liked,

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okay?

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And I want you to imagine he shows up
at your house and says, I need money.

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And he had soldiers behind him.

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That's how you would feel about Levi.

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And I imagine that Levi knew that.

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Right?

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That that people
made comments to him about.

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I bet people talk to his wife
when she was at the store or his parents.

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What kind of son
did you raise that he would do that?

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And then the only way Levi
got up in the morning and went to work

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is because he had convinced himself
they were wrong and he was right.

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No, I don't need the Bible for this.

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I do this all the time.

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When someone criticizes me.

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My first reaction, either externally
or internally, is to justify is to defend.

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I imagine
Levi went to work and said, look,

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if it wasn't me collecting taxes,
it would be somebody else.

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I mean, people gotta pay taxes and hey,
don't I deserve a little extra?

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I mean, all the
the bitterness and ridicule

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I have to deal with,
I mean, people have no idea.

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I work hard, I deserve it, he justified.

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But slowly and surely
that wasn't working for him anymore.

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So that this morning
when Jesus shows up and says, hey, follow

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me, Levi is ready for change
because Levi has moved

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from excuses to ownership.

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See, the first thing
this passage teaches us

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is that the first step towards an actual
encounter with God, the first step towards

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being set free from your reputation
is to stop blaming

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other people and to start taking
ownership for yourself.

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I don't
mean that other people haven't been wrong.

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I don't mean that other people
haven't done

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and said things they shouldn't have done
and shouldn't have said. But.

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But what this passage is telling us
is if you really want to meet God,

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if you really want to be set free
from your guilt and your shame,

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you got to stop focusing on their 20%

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and start focusing on your 80%

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that Levi is ready to meet God

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because Levi is tired of himself.

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Are you there yet?

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Are you ready to admit that

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the reason you're alone
is because of things you've done and said?

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The reason your family is broken
is because of,

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at least in part,
the things you've done and said.

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Do you recognize your addiction and
the way it's hurting people around you?

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Do you see your marriage crumbling
as the fruit of your choices?

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Listen, I know that's hard.

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I know how easy it is
to make excuses and defend.

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But if you do that, that's
what this passage is telling us.

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You will miss God.

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The first step towards God is

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a step away from yourself,
a step of ownership.

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But I want you to see that if you will
deal with your release your reputation

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in that way, then second point here's
how God deals with your relationship.

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Now, we tend to think that
if we take ownership of our sin,

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if we acknowledge the things we've done,
the things we've said, if we're honest

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about our guilt and our shame,
it will cause people to push away from us.

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That's why we defend ourselves.

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We're we're vulnerable. We're insecure.

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We think if we own it, they'll reject us.

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And and maybe they will, but we'll. God.

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It's interesting.

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I'll give you an example.

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Post-Covid, I think we've gotten
much better at what I call sick etiquette.

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And here's what I mean.

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A part of my job is meeting people
for coffee and lunch, which I love to do.

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And every now and then in this winter,
which has been awful for sickness,

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I'll get a text from someone
and they'll go, hey,

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I was looking forward to meeting today,
but I'm feeling under the weather

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and I don't want to get you sick,
so let's reschedule.

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I think that's very nice.

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I mean, I have five kids,
so I've probably already had it.

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Okay, but I still. You're thinking of me.

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I think that is very nice.
We've gotten a lot better at that.

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But you would never do that
to your doctor, would you?

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Would you ever

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text your doctor and be like,
hey, listen, I know we had a 10:00,

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but I'm feeling a little under the weather
and I wouldn't want to get you sick.

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I imagine your doctor would shoot you
a text back where she would say,

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I'm not really sure you know what I do.

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Which is why it's interesting.

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We're going to skip a few verses.
We'll come back to him.

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When Jesus gets criticized
for calling Levi to follow him.

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This is what he says
the very end of our passage.

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He says this.

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And Jesus answered them, those who are

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well have no need of a physician,
but those who are sick.

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I have not come to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance.

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You see, you and I think that
if we take ownership of our sin,

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if we are honest about our mistakes,
that maybe, just maybe,

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00:12:32,818 --> 00:12:34,787
God would push back from us,

235
00:12:35,871 --> 00:12:36,388
that he wouldn't

236
00:12:36,388 --> 00:12:39,658
welcome us, that he wouldn't love us, that
he wouldn't want anything to do with us.

237
00:12:39,658 --> 00:12:42,661
To which Jesus texts back and says,

238
00:12:43,345 --> 00:12:46,348
I don't think you understand what I do.

239
00:12:46,549 --> 00:12:49,218
Jesus calls himself a doctor for the sick.

240
00:12:49,218 --> 00:12:52,171
He says he came for sinners,
not the righteous.

241
00:12:52,171 --> 00:12:55,157
For those
who are ready to own their guilt.

242
00:12:55,157 --> 00:12:57,743
He says that's his target demographic.

243
00:12:57,743 --> 00:12:58,194
Jesus.

244
00:12:58,194 --> 00:13:01,614
His message
to Levi in the midst of his reputation

245
00:13:02,665 --> 00:13:04,617
is follow me.

246
00:13:04,617 --> 00:13:06,085
That begs the question,
though, doesn't it?

247
00:13:06,085 --> 00:13:07,853
Where are they going?

248
00:13:07,853 --> 00:13:10,289
Where is Jesus taking Levi?

249
00:13:10,289 --> 00:13:13,292
Where will he take you if you are ready?

250
00:13:13,442 --> 00:13:15,528
Well, I think the answer to
that is three places

251
00:13:15,528 --> 00:13:17,029
you got to read the rest of the gospel.

252
00:13:17,029 --> 00:13:18,647
But I'll give you some spoilers.

253
00:13:18,647 --> 00:13:21,383
Three places
that Jesus is going to take Levi.

254
00:13:21,383 --> 00:13:24,086
Three places
he'll take you if you are ready.

255
00:13:24,086 --> 00:13:27,423
The first is he's going
to take Levi to the cross.

256
00:13:28,524 --> 00:13:30,926
That's where Jesus's life is headed.

257
00:13:30,926 --> 00:13:34,763
He's going to go to the cross
and and as he takes Levi to the cross,

258
00:13:34,763 --> 00:13:38,100
I imagine on the way there, Levi
is going to be saying things like,

259
00:13:38,100 --> 00:13:39,835
Jesus, are you sure?

260
00:13:39,835 --> 00:13:41,687
Are you sure you want me?

261
00:13:41,687 --> 00:13:43,772
Are you sure you love me?

262
00:13:43,772 --> 00:13:46,492
Are you sure there's a place for me
and what you're doing?

263
00:13:46,492 --> 00:13:48,561
I mean, do you know what I've done?

264
00:13:48,561 --> 00:13:50,362
Do you know what I've said?

265
00:13:50,362 --> 00:13:53,732
Do you know the excuses
I've made, the lies that I've told?

266
00:13:53,732 --> 00:13:57,152
And Jesus is saying to Levi, yeah, that's
why we're going here.

267
00:13:57,152 --> 00:14:00,990
The Bible says that on the cross
God made him who knew

268
00:14:00,990 --> 00:14:04,009
no sin to become sin.

269
00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:07,496
In order that we might become
the righteousness of God.

270
00:14:07,496 --> 00:14:08,998
You see on the cross, Jesus,

271
00:14:08,998 --> 00:14:12,985
the Son of God, goes to the cross,
and he becomes for Levi.

272
00:14:13,102 --> 00:14:14,520
He becomes the traitor.

273
00:14:16,589 --> 00:14:18,474
He becomes the liar.

274
00:14:18,474 --> 00:14:20,092
He becomes the extortionist.

275
00:14:20,092 --> 00:14:21,477
He becomes the thief.

276
00:14:21,477 --> 00:14:23,212
He becomes the mafioso.

277
00:14:23,212 --> 00:14:26,899
He becomes
the guy who rationalizes and justifies.

278
00:14:27,182 --> 00:14:31,320
And he comes up under the anger and wrath
and judgment of God,

279
00:14:31,437 --> 00:14:34,974
and it's poured out onto Jesus, God
the Father, pouring it out

280
00:14:35,090 --> 00:14:40,462
unto God the Son as part of their divine
and loving plan to rescue sinners

281
00:14:40,462 --> 00:14:44,900
so that Jesus's dying words are
it is finished.

282
00:14:44,900 --> 00:14:49,188
Meaning, Levi, your guilt,
your shame has been dealt with.

283
00:14:49,188 --> 00:14:52,641
You see, if you own your sin,
God won't tell you not to worry about it.

284
00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:56,178
Just forget it.

285
00:14:56,178 --> 00:14:57,229
Let's move past it.

286
00:14:57,229 --> 00:15:00,199
That wouldn't help you, would it?

287
00:15:00,199 --> 00:15:02,251
You know it's too big for that.

288
00:15:02,251 --> 00:15:04,320
It's too dirty for that.

289
00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:06,272
You can't sweep it under the rug.

290
00:15:06,272 --> 00:15:09,441
You would still wonder
if you're really loved if you did that.

291
00:15:09,441 --> 00:15:13,946
So Jesus Christ goes to the cross
and he becomes your addiction,

292
00:15:15,681 --> 00:15:18,317
your infidelity,

293
00:15:18,317 --> 00:15:20,786
your bankruptcy,

294
00:15:20,786 --> 00:15:23,789
your lies, your anger, your pride.

295
00:15:24,390 --> 00:15:26,642
And he deals with your guilt and shame

296
00:15:26,642 --> 00:15:29,628
by taking the punishment.

297
00:15:30,179 --> 00:15:33,449
The second place, Jesus will take Levi,
is not just to the cross,

298
00:15:33,532 --> 00:15:34,967
but to his empty tomb.

299
00:15:34,967 --> 00:15:39,021
You see, Jesus dies and three days later
he rises from the dead.

300
00:15:39,021 --> 00:15:42,992
And that's meaningful because it shows
that God has accept did Jesus's

301
00:15:42,992 --> 00:15:47,363
sacrifice for Levi, but it also shows this
which you and I need to hear,

302
00:15:47,463 --> 00:15:50,449
which is that God can do anything.

303
00:15:51,116 --> 00:15:53,519
We don't just need our guilt and shame
dealt with.

304
00:15:53,519 --> 00:15:57,873
We need to believe that God can change us.

305
00:15:58,791 --> 00:16:02,578
And the resurrection is God saying, well,
which is harder to get you sober

306
00:16:03,829 --> 00:16:06,598
or to raise the dead?

307
00:16:06,598 --> 00:16:10,803
To put your marriage back together,
or to raise the dead,

308
00:16:11,837 --> 00:16:14,123
to fix your anger or to raise the dead.

309
00:16:14,123 --> 00:16:14,957
You get the point.

310
00:16:14,957 --> 00:16:17,459
You see, Jesus says to Levi, follow me.

311
00:16:17,459 --> 00:16:21,230
Not just because he wants to forgive him,
not just because he wants to cleanse him,

312
00:16:21,330 --> 00:16:24,616
but because he has a better future
for a Levi.

313
00:16:26,001 --> 00:16:28,637
And the third place
Jesus will lead Levi in you.

314
00:16:28,637 --> 00:16:30,956
It's not just to the cross,
not just to the empty tomb,

315
00:16:30,956 --> 00:16:35,160
but Jesus will ascend into heaven
and sit on the throne of God.

316
00:16:35,177 --> 00:16:36,595
Be given the keys to heaven.

317
00:16:36,595 --> 00:16:38,781
Jesus will say to Levi, I'm a king.

318
00:16:38,781 --> 00:16:42,685
I have a kingdom,
and there's a role for you in it.

319
00:16:43,736 --> 00:16:48,507
You might imagine that Jesus,
even if he includes Levi, might tell Levi,

320
00:16:48,507 --> 00:16:50,609
listen,
I'm a have a pretty public ministry,

321
00:16:50,609 --> 00:16:52,428
so if you wouldn't
mind, stand in the back,

322
00:16:53,962 --> 00:16:55,798
blend in.

323
00:16:55,798 --> 00:16:57,983
I mean, you're welcome, Levi, but

324
00:16:57,983 --> 00:17:00,953
but I don't want any controversy.

325
00:17:00,953 --> 00:17:04,339
But actually, Levi goes on
to become one of the 12 apostles.

326
00:17:05,457 --> 00:17:07,710
You see,
God doesn't just want to forgive you.

327
00:17:07,710 --> 00:17:10,345
He doesn't just want to change you.

328
00:17:10,345 --> 00:17:13,382
God has meaning
and purpose for you in his kingdom.

329
00:17:14,750 --> 00:17:16,368
You have bought into the idea

330
00:17:16,368 --> 00:17:19,671
that because of your reputation,
your meaning and purpose is over.

331
00:17:20,873 --> 00:17:24,893
But if you will surrender to Jesus,
God says, we're only getting started.

332
00:17:25,461 --> 00:17:28,464
The most meaningful years of Levi's life

333
00:17:28,764 --> 00:17:33,652
were ahead of him, not behind him,
not because of him, but because of Jesus.

334
00:17:33,652 --> 00:17:39,241
If you're ready to say I am broken,
I am sinful, I am guilty.

335
00:17:39,241 --> 00:17:42,561
What they say about me,
at least most of it is true.

336
00:17:42,561 --> 00:17:45,347
If you're ready to stop
looking at what they get wrong

337
00:17:45,347 --> 00:17:47,549
and to start
looking at what they get right,

338
00:17:47,549 --> 00:17:50,853
if you'll take that to Jesus,
Jesus says, we'll go to the cross.

339
00:17:50,936 --> 00:17:51,737
I'll pay for it.

340
00:17:51,737 --> 00:17:52,671
We'll go to the tomb.

341
00:17:52,671 --> 00:17:54,740
I'll change it. We'll go to the throne.

342
00:17:54,740 --> 00:17:57,059
I'll give you something better to do.

343
00:17:58,110 --> 00:18:00,145
Are you ready?

344
00:18:00,145 --> 00:18:00,896
Listen to this church.

345
00:18:00,896 --> 00:18:04,466
We don't push for decisions
because everybody has their own journey,

346
00:18:04,466 --> 00:18:06,118
their own pace, their own story.

347
00:18:06,118 --> 00:18:10,105
But that doesn't mean every now and then
it isn't worth looking at you and saying,

348
00:18:10,105 --> 00:18:13,108
why wouldn't you go to Jesus today?

349
00:18:15,060 --> 00:18:17,629
But if you're open to that,
let me warn you.

350
00:18:17,629 --> 00:18:20,432
That's my third point reputation.

351
00:18:20,432 --> 00:18:25,187
And then I wish I could tell you that
if you are ready to give Jesus your life

352
00:18:25,187 --> 00:18:30,776
to let Jesus deal with your reputation,
then everybody would welcome that.

353
00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:33,228
But this passage tells us that isn't true.

354
00:18:33,228 --> 00:18:36,231
Let's go back to the verse as we skip
this is what they say.

355
00:18:36,348 --> 00:18:39,468
And Levi
made him a great feast in his house.

356
00:18:40,319 --> 00:18:43,288
And there was a large company
of tax collectors and others

357
00:18:43,288 --> 00:18:45,507
reclining at table with them.

358
00:18:45,507 --> 00:18:49,278
And the Pharisees and their scribes
grumbled at his disciples, saying,

359
00:18:49,461 --> 00:18:52,614
why do you eat and drink
with tax collectors and sinners?

360
00:18:52,764 --> 00:18:56,118
This passage tells us,
if you let Jesus change your life,

361
00:18:56,218 --> 00:18:59,037
some people will love it
and some people will hate it.

362
00:19:01,073 --> 00:19:02,574
The ones who love it will be

363
00:19:02,574 --> 00:19:06,178
those like you who know they need change.

364
00:19:06,445 --> 00:19:09,264
Those who like
you know they need forgiveness.

365
00:19:09,264 --> 00:19:11,717
No, they need meaning and purpose.

366
00:19:11,717 --> 00:19:14,253
They will be drawn to you.

367
00:19:14,253 --> 00:19:16,488
They will want to know who did you meet?

368
00:19:16,488 --> 00:19:19,374
What do you know what is changed?

369
00:19:19,374 --> 00:19:20,425
How can I meet him?

370
00:19:20,425 --> 00:19:22,861
How can I know it? How can I change?

371
00:19:22,861 --> 00:19:26,632
Levi throws a party
and everyone like him comes

372
00:19:26,632 --> 00:19:29,718
because they have the same guilt
that he had.

373
00:19:30,752 --> 00:19:34,173
I'm telling you, this is one way that God
will give you meaning and purpose.

374
00:19:34,323 --> 00:19:35,190
Is that what if?

375
00:19:35,190 --> 00:19:38,694
Not only does God want to forgive
you and change you and give you meaning,

376
00:19:38,810 --> 00:19:41,997
but what if he wants to use you
to bring that into your entire family?

377
00:19:44,700 --> 00:19:47,703
You have no idea what he can do,

378
00:19:48,437 --> 00:19:51,240
but some people will hate it.

379
00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:54,176
And I have to tell you, the biggest sucker
punch of all of this is that

380
00:19:54,176 --> 00:19:58,197
the people who hate it will be the ones
you thought you could count on loving it.

381
00:19:58,197 --> 00:20:00,866
It will be religious people.

382
00:20:00,866 --> 00:20:01,800
What's the story?

383
00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:04,219
Religious people hate it. Do you know why?

384
00:20:04,219 --> 00:20:07,940
Because of one of the most common
human ways of not owning

385
00:20:08,207 --> 00:20:11,210
your sin is to be religious.

386
00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:16,465
The thinking goes like this
if I, I won't ever have to actually deal

387
00:20:16,465 --> 00:20:20,369
with my stuff if I do enough good things
to drown it out.

388
00:20:20,369 --> 00:20:23,522
It's like when your house stinks
and you spray orange

389
00:20:23,522 --> 00:20:26,508
air freshener you think you've covered
at the rest of us.

390
00:20:26,508 --> 00:20:28,493
No, it just smells like orange bad stuff.

391
00:20:29,928 --> 00:20:30,512
My right.

392
00:20:30,512 --> 00:20:32,547
I'm right.

393
00:20:32,547 --> 00:20:35,601
Religious people
will hate the change in you.

394
00:20:35,601 --> 00:20:37,319
They'll hate the freedom in you.

395
00:20:37,319 --> 00:20:39,171
They will hate the new conscience.

396
00:20:39,171 --> 00:20:40,522
The clean conscience.

397
00:20:40,522 --> 00:20:45,444
They will hate the idea that God can use
you because you are challenging them.

398
00:20:45,444 --> 00:20:49,131
You're saying,
what if God isn't looking for the good?

399
00:20:49,131 --> 00:20:52,284
What if God is looking for the guilty?

400
00:20:53,418 --> 00:20:53,936
And for them?

401
00:20:53,936 --> 00:20:56,421
That will mean starting all over
and they will hate it.

402
00:20:56,421 --> 00:20:59,808
Listen, I want to tell you something
that isn't about you.

403
00:21:00,926 --> 00:21:03,595
It's about them.

404
00:21:03,595 --> 00:21:05,480
It isn't about you.

405
00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:08,133
It's about them.

406
00:21:08,133 --> 00:21:10,319
You keep moving.

407
00:21:10,319 --> 00:21:13,488
The religious crowd hated Jesus,
so count it

408
00:21:13,488 --> 00:21:16,792
joy when they include you with him.

409
00:21:17,843 --> 00:21:20,128
But church family, you must know that.

410
00:21:20,128 --> 00:21:23,131
That's the point of this story
for us, isn't it?

411
00:21:23,215 --> 00:21:26,218
How will we respond to Levi's

412
00:21:26,551 --> 00:21:31,323
when God brings people into this church
whose reputation we know,

413
00:21:31,890 --> 00:21:34,376
people in our family
and our network, people whose

414
00:21:34,376 --> 00:21:37,562
reputation includes things
they've done to us.

415
00:21:37,562 --> 00:21:40,849
When God forgives them,
when God changes them,

416
00:21:40,849 --> 00:21:44,186
when God cleanses
them, we respond with joy.

417
00:21:46,488 --> 00:21:46,938
I think this

418
00:21:46,938 --> 00:21:50,842
passage is telling us that the best
indicator of how you really view your own

419
00:21:50,842 --> 00:21:54,379
sin is how you respond to the redemption

420
00:21:54,379 --> 00:21:57,382
of others.

421
00:22:00,319 --> 00:22:00,836
Because you see,

422
00:22:00,836 --> 00:22:03,889
if Jesus is our leader
and I think we would say that, right?

423
00:22:04,473 --> 00:22:07,526
I mean, my job title is lead pastor,
but if somebody said

424
00:22:07,592 --> 00:22:11,029
who's in charge of KCC, I would say Jesus.

425
00:22:12,197 --> 00:22:14,132
But if Jesus is a doctor,

426
00:22:14,132 --> 00:22:17,119
then what does that make this place?

427
00:22:18,887 --> 00:22:21,323
A hospital,

428
00:22:21,323 --> 00:22:23,392
a place for Levi's?

429
00:22:23,392 --> 00:22:26,211
Listen,
that's what every Minute Matters is about.

430
00:22:26,211 --> 00:22:28,647
That's what the way we do
Ministry is about.

431
00:22:28,647 --> 00:22:31,800
God bring more and more Levi's.

432
00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:34,052
Are you in with that?

433
00:22:34,052 --> 00:22:37,039
Do you have your scrubs on?

434
00:22:37,406 --> 00:22:38,540
I mean, that's why we give.

435
00:22:38,540 --> 00:22:39,841
That's why we serve.

436
00:22:39,841 --> 00:22:43,261
That's why we we do the things we do
so that God might change.

437
00:22:43,261 --> 00:22:45,897
More people rescue more families.

438
00:22:45,897 --> 00:22:48,900
Are you in with that?

439
00:22:49,017 --> 00:22:50,602
I'll give you one practical way.

440
00:22:50,602 --> 00:22:53,672
I mean, we're at capacity last week

441
00:22:53,672 --> 00:22:56,992
and I said 700 seats across four services.

442
00:22:56,992 --> 00:22:59,628
We are at capacity in a hospital.

443
00:22:59,628 --> 00:23:00,862
Here's what that means.

444
00:23:00,862 --> 00:23:05,150
You will say to me, Zack, where
do you have the most seats in a service?

445
00:23:05,150 --> 00:23:06,051
And you'll go to that one.

446
00:23:08,336 --> 00:23:08,837
You'll sit as

447
00:23:08,837 --> 00:23:11,840
close to the front as you possibly can.

448
00:23:12,841 --> 00:23:16,311
You'll make sure there's if there's there
is room on your row, it's on the end.

449
00:23:16,578 --> 00:23:20,132
And you will say to God, put a Levi
in that seat.

450
00:23:21,116 --> 00:23:24,019
Last week I was helping
someone find their seat at 1130.

451
00:23:24,019 --> 00:23:25,187
I had to walk them all the way down

452
00:23:25,187 --> 00:23:28,824
to the front and sit next to Joe,
and my heart broke because I saw it.

453
00:23:28,974 --> 00:23:31,009
And I do this too,
because I do it too. I'm not judging you.

454
00:23:31,009 --> 00:23:31,726
We're all the same.

455
00:23:31,726 --> 00:23:32,277
I do this too.

456
00:23:32,277 --> 00:23:34,796
I thought none of us have thought
about this family.

457
00:23:34,796 --> 00:23:37,799
When I stopped them, they said, it's
okay, we'll stand in the back.

458
00:23:40,652 --> 00:23:42,471
It's not about me.

459
00:23:42,471 --> 00:23:44,489
It's not about you.

460
00:23:44,489 --> 00:23:47,509
This place is a hospital for the sick.

461
00:23:48,360 --> 00:23:51,830
Because that's who Jesus is.

462
00:23:52,831 --> 00:23:53,999
Let me pray for us.

463
00:23:53,999 --> 00:23:57,919
Father God, thank you so much
for the story of Levi, the tax collector.

464
00:23:59,070 --> 00:24:01,673
I know there are people here right now
who came in thinking

465
00:24:01,673 --> 00:24:03,408
you could not possibly love them.

466
00:24:03,408 --> 00:24:07,279
You could not possibly forgive them
that the truest thing about them

467
00:24:07,279 --> 00:24:08,513
was their reputation.

468
00:24:08,513 --> 00:24:14,269
God made the truth of the resurrection
drown out the truth of our reputations.

469
00:24:14,269 --> 00:24:16,254
This morning,

470
00:24:16,254 --> 00:24:18,323
in the name of Jesus we pray.

471
00:24:18,323 --> 00:24:18,690
Amen.