15And as he sat at dinner in Levi's house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples--for there were many who followed him. 16When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" 17When Jesus heard this, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners."
18Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" 19Jesus said to them, "The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.
21"No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins."
4Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5Not
that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us;
our competence is from God, 6who has made us competent to be ministers
of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter kills, but
the Spirit gives life.
Anymore, though, Mary and I pretty much keep up with our families and friends by e-mail. Our kids let us know what is going on in their lives, our brothers occasionally send e-mail about their lives. So, do Mary's parents. The only ones who don't are my folks. I'm not even sure Mom knows how to turn on a computer. And the only thing Dad can use (sometimes) is the remote control.
So, those letters and cards have become few and far between. I treasure every one of them. Letters tell us a lot about each other. Some are chatty, some are matter of fact, some are filled with love and messages of devotion. Those kind touch our hearts.
A few years ago there were several small books written by Bill Adler. They were entitled, Children's Letters to God. Let me share a couple.
"Dear God, was there anything special about Bethlehem or did you just figure that that was as good a place as any to start a franchise? Your friend, Jim age 12."
"Dear God, Is it true my father won't get to heaven if he uses his bowling words in the house?"
"Dear God, When you started the earth and put people there and all the animals and grass and the stars, did you get very tired? I have a lot of other questions too. Very truly yours, Sherman."
"Dear God, In Sunday School they told us what you do. Who does it for you when you are on vacation?"
"Dear God, hugging is a good thing. Did You think it up? Alice"
"Dear God, There was no clouds Saturday so I think I saw your feet. Did I really?" Kenny.
"Dear God, I think about you sometimes even when I'm not praying." (1)
Letters are fun. They can make us smile and they can make us cry. They can be serious, sad or filled with joy. They can express anger. Or they can express love. But they can be unthinking and contradictory, too. Take for example the love letter that read:
"My dearest, lovely Linda, I love you more each and every day. I love you more than all the gold in the world. Your love gives me strength. Your hugs are divine. Your kisses are so sweet that I would climb the highest mountain; cross the hottest desert; brave the coldest winter and cross crocodile infested waters for just one small kiss. I love you with all of my heart, Steve.
P. S. I'll be over at noon on Saturday, if it doesn't rain."
Why all this talk about letters? Well, in his letter to the church in
Corinth, Paul says we are God's letters of recommendation to the world.
Through Christ, We have become Love Letters From God.
A letter is filled with words. We describe Jesus as THE word. The Word made flesh. A flesh and blood, living and breathing Word that summed up God's love and grace and the sort of relationship that God wants to have with each of us.
Jesus, the Word, was a love letter from God to each of us. Jesus, the Word, was a personal invitation to an eternal party and banquet which will be held in heaven. Jesus, the Word, was a notice from the manufacturer informing us of the new and better features of this thing called Faith. The updated version was based on a new operating system, Grace. The old system, Law, had been totally rewritten with the novice in mind.
Jesus Was God's Love Letter To Us. And the whole purpose for the Word becoming flesh, was so that Jesus could personally invite us into this relationship with God.
B. The scribes and Pharisees didn't get it. But Levi, the tax collector, did. It didn't take him two seconds to make up his mind. When he saw and heard Jesus, the love letter from God, he dropped everything and followed. He became one of the staunchest disciples and wrote the first Gospel, Matthew. For Levi and Matthew are one in the same person.
I've often wondered why they different names. And I've never really found a good answer other than that he was known by both. Maybe Jesus gave him a new name, like he did Simon Peter. Jesus might have done it to put Levi in a witness protection program of sorts. Levi, the tax collector, was probably much hated. Imagine being an IRS agent who set up shop on the county line, and every time you crossed from Johnson to Tarrant County or back, you had to pay a tax. Well, basically, that's what Levi did. He was the Tax Man. And nobody likes the Tax Man, except maybe accountants.
Jesus saw something special in Matthew, and called him to become one
of his disciples. Despite the Pharisees objections, which Jesus countered
by calling them dried up old wineskins not fit for the new wine of the
Kingdom of God, Jesus sent Matthew and the other Disciples out to do what
he was doing.
And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)
The Disciples and early Church understood that to be their mission and their purpose. They never questioned it. Their whole purpose was to introduce others to a life changing, life giving relationship with Jesus Christ, the Son of God who came to take away the sins of the world.
B. That's still our mission today. Thursday night, a number of us were privileged to hear Rev. John KcKellar remind us of our mission in a very powerful way. At the conclusion of the Metropolitan board of Missions report. John preached a brief message entitled "Mission Or Monument," in which he described two types of Churches.
The first is the New Testament type church which is mission minded. Mission churches are future oriented. Mission Churches are growing and never have enough room. They know their purpose is the same as the early disciples, to save the world. To reach out with the Good News of Jesus Christ to as many folks as possible, in as many ways and places as possible. They are folks who, like Jesus, are walking love letters for God.
Monument churches on the other hand, focus on the past. They preserve what has already been accomplished. They have become monuments to the saints before. They always have more than enough room, but never enough people or resources. Their mission has become saving the Church building and memories, not saving the world. They are museums of the love letters written by others. And consequently they are dying.
As I look at our Church, I realize that we are a Mission Church. Our
Church is filled with people who, like Jesus, are walking love letters
for God.
Jesus went to people, like Matthew and the other disciples and said, "Follow me." And they did. They dropped everything and followed. But it was all simply because Jesus asked.
George Barna is a Christian statistician who has taken several surveys both of the Church and of the American people. And has written a number of books about the Church. And he's found out some pretty interesting things.
92 percent of Americans think having a close relationship with God is "very or somewhat desirable."
84% believe it is important to be a member of a church or a synagogue.
69% actually Claim membership in a church or synagogue.
A Gallup Poll indicates that although the number of unchurched has increased to about about 78 million Americans, 58% of them indicated that they would become active in a church or synagogue if they were properly approached!
George Barna makes a very basic conclusion: "The most effective means of getting people to experience what a church has to offer is having someone they know who belongs to the church simply invite them to try it. Call it whatever you wish: word-of-mouth, personal invitation, friendship evangelism, this is indisputably the most effective means of increasing the church rolls." (2)
Simply put, it's doing the same thing Jesus and Paul did, inviting folks to be a part of this journey.
B. You wrote down the names of five people to pray for. And hopefully, you've been lifting them to God everyday. Now we'd like you to take the next step. Get a piece of the P.I.E. so to speak.
All we'd like is for you to invite these folks to worship, or, if they are out of town, call them and ask them to go to a church near them. You might even look in the phone book for one that's close to them. Begin by telling your friends or neighbors, that you and another person have been praying for them for the past three weeks. And that we have lifted them up to God every Sunday in prayer.
Then as the conversation continues, ask them to attend with you. I know it's hard but would you ask them to go to the movies or to the Mall? This really shouldn't be any different. Invite them to experience our church. We don't want you to get into a great theological debate. We just want you to invite them to church. Practice what Jesus practiced.
And who knows, your friends or neighbors might be one of those 58% who
said they would join if approached properly. Help them to experience the
new wine, like Matthew did. Invite them to church. Personal Invitation
Evangelism really works. I'm proof of that. I'm here today because Mary's
grandparents, invited me to church with them. So, you see, you never know
what will happen when you invite someone to church.
Some letters we get can be funny or even disappointing but we don't have to be. We can be Love Letters From God to a world in need of unconditional love. If we put it all into the hands of God, we don't even have to be the body of the letter, all we have to be is the envelope and the salutation. The rest is up to Jesus.
Offer yourself as a Love Letter From God. Be an invitation. get a piece
of the P.I.E. and invite those folks you have been praying for to church
with you. You've got a 58% chance of being successful.
1. Autoillustrator and Bible Illustrator for Windows.
2. Taken from Marketing the Church, by George Barna, published by NavPress, Colorado Springs, 1988, pg. 109 ($7.99)
3. Autoillustrator
4.