When I was a senior in college, I was a part of our FCA program there at the school, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and I was the president during that year, I was the one leading our FCA huddle group. And during that time, there was this freshman who had come in, and he was an athlete, and he wasn't a Christian, and he began to kind of hang out with me and a few other people from that FCA huddle. Well, we found ourselves at this game where there were other people around us, and it seemed like he was just cussing so so much. I mean, it was loud and it was obnoxious, and it was kind of getting on my nerves, and I'm worried about what everybody else around me is thinking, and as the FCA president, and I'm associating with him and all of those things. And so finally, I just turned around, after getting so irritated, and said, Man, I am sick and tired of you cussing. I mean, every other word out of your mouth is a cuss word. Why does it have to be that way? Just stop talking. And he did, and it got really awkward and really quiet.Sure he was embarrassedby the whole thing, but I felt like I was doing the right thing. I mean, I felt like this wasn't what he was supposed to be doing. It was giving me a bad name. I was standing up for Jesus. I'm a Christian. I'm the president of FCA. I can't be seen with someone like this and them doing those things. My job is to separate from people like that, people who are behaving like that. I mean, after all, I was familiar with verses like proverbs. 1226, that says, The righteous choose their friends carefully for the way of the wicked leads them astray. I knew proverbs. 1320, that said, Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm. I knew what Paul said in First Corinthians 15, where he says, Bad company corrupts good character. He was bad company.I was good character,so surely I did the right thing. That's what I'm supposed to do, right? I mean, Scripture even kind of backs it up. Okay? So the sermon will be short and sweet this morning. The moral of the story is that all of us who are Christians should just stay away from sinners. Just avoid messy people who don't have it all together. They just need to get their act together.Let's pray. You will be dismissed.Maybe, just maybe, we should ask Jesus how he would react in a situation like that. I mean to me, in my mind, I could make the argument that Jesus would react the exact same way. After all, he had a reputation to uphold, right? He didn't want to give God the Father a bad name, and so I bet Jesus would have done the exact same thing that I did. But we're going to find out today, because his word gospel of Luke, is going to share with us a situation or a circumstance that Jesus found him in. It was kind of similar to the one I'm describing to you in this moment. And we'll see how he reacts in the way he reacts well, of course, say a lot about how we live our lives today as well. Luke starts off in this section in verse 27 and he says, after this, after what, well, after what he had just written about. Remember, if you were here last week, it's where Jesus heals the paralytic. The guys, four guys, bring him through a roof to him, and he heals him, and talks about his sins being forgiven and all the above and so now he says, After that happened, here's what happened. Luke says, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. Now it's hard for you to understand today exactly what Luke is saying here, and what this situation would have really been like for someone who is Jewish traveling with Jewish companions to walk up on another Jewish man who was a tax collector. Let me just start by saying that when tax collectors were mentioned in this day and age, they were put in the same category as people who were labeled murderers, sinners, pimps, thieves, robbers, adulterers, and on and on. They were seen as some of the worst of the worst. The Jewish people excommunicated people from who were tax collectors. They excommunicated them. This was because the system was extremely corrupt. Rome just gave out the task of collecting tax. Is to the highest bidder. Hey, this is how much money we need. And if you're willing to pay us this month much, then we'll take the one who will give us that, and the highest bid over that amount. And so people would bid like, we'll give you this, and we'll offer you this, if you'll let me collect the taxes. And then they had the right if they won the bid to they had to give that money to Rome, but then they got to go out and go try to collect it back from all the people. So then they'd charge a certain amount to make sure that they get that back, and then some. And then they'd hire other people to collect and then those people would get to charge above and beyond. And it just became this whole messed up system that was corrupt. People were being taken advantage of. And so the Jewish people, especially when another Jewish man was the tax collector trying to collect taxes for Rome, the one who's occupying their land, the ones they were being oppressed by. These guys are traitors, the robbers. They hated them. They loaded them. Their blood boiled whenever they came across one. This is the situation that Jesus is coming up on, tax collector, traitor, robber. See how he reacts. Verse 27 continues. Follow me. Jesus said to Levi,and Levi got up,left everything and followed him.That's just crazy, right? I mean, a tax collector, a guy who's seen as a traitor, one of the worst of the worst people in the Jewish society. How in the world could Jesus justify inviting him into a relationship with Him?Let me tell you howwhen Jesus looked over and he saw Levi at that tax booth, he did not see someone that was a robber or a traitor or a sinner or a low life scumbag. He saw someone that was born in the image of God. He didn't see a crook.He saw a personwho was worth lovingnotice that Jesus doesn't say Levi, you're a terrible, dirty, rotten sinner. But when you get your act together, when you start following the rules, when you start behaving and doing the right thing, then you'll be invited to follow me. He just invited him to come, just as he was talk about grace, right? That's what most of us would think, right? I mean, if you're gonna walk around with this guy, then you better get buttoned up. You better start following the rules. You better start making sure that you have a better image than what you have right now, because you're in the same category as murderers, pimps, thieves, robbers, adulterers and sinners and so on and so on. But no Jesus just says, Come as you are. Dude, follow me. Evidently, Levi felt that from him, because we're told that he he gets up and he just follows him and leaves everything. I mean, evidently he was so used to having every other person look down on him and calling him names and hurl insults at him and tearing into him and his character and what it is that he was doing, but Jesussaw him differently.He heard Jesus speak to him differently. He watched Jesus not try to duck and hide or run away from him like every other Jewish person would do when they came across his presence, but actually walk towards him, move in and invite him to be a part of his life. And so Levi feels that, and he responds to it, gets up from his booth, leaves everything behind, follows Jesus. Luke tells us he's so excited about it that he throws a party. That's what he does look at verse 29 then Levi held a great banquet. It's a feast. It's a party for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with him. Now this is getting absolutely ridiculous. I mean, come on now it's one thing to make an exception for one tax collector make an exception for one guy. Kind of let them in here, but this is just going way too far. I mean, guys, Jesus is at a party. Everybody knows that good Christians don't go to parties. It'snot what we do,especially not a party filled with these kind of people. I mean, it's filled with sinners and tax Can you imagine if they thought this way of tax collectors that I just described to you, and they usually felt this way coming across one think about being in a whole room filled with them. Uh, even worse than that, Jesus was eating with them. There were rules for that kind of thing. You can't do that. We're not just talking about hanging out like they're all in one corner and we're over in this corner and kind of there together, like we're at the same table, sharing a meal. That was a huge thing in this culture and for the Jewish people, andhe wasn't fault. This is unacceptable.We cannot have Jesus running around doing this kind of thing. It will ruin his reputation. It will ruin God, the father's reputation. He's sharing a meal with sinners and tax collectors. Thank goodness the Pharisees noticed this step in to do something about it. Verse 30, but the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belong to their sect complain to his disciples. Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? Finally, somebody calls him out for it. This is unacceptable behavior, Jesus, not only are you hanging out, but you're eating and you're drinking with them. What doyou think they were drinking?It wasn't grape juice.Who does this guy think he is? He claims to be from God. These guys know these religious leaders know what every other rule follower and religious person knows, no good person would be caught dead hanging out with these kind of people.What Every good religious and rule follower knows? Well,let's see if it wakes Jesus up and gets him back on the straight and narrow path that he's supposed to be on verse 31 Jesus answered them, it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I've come not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.I guess thatactually makes sense.It's not the healthy I need a doctor, but the sick.Evidently, Jesus saying that he wasn't there to show everyone on earth that they should stay away from people like this, but that they should run to people like this and show them the hope that they could have to try to try to rescue them out of the situation that they're in. Here's the way Daryl Bach puts it in his commentary on the book of Luke. He says, In this event, Jesus showed that his mission is not accomplished by separatism. Jesus will not wait for sinners. He will seek them out. He will accept them as persons, but he will challenge sinners to meet the God who can bind up wounds and bring them back to health. Now, some may be startled at the ministry's openness. They may react that such associations taint the teacher's credentials and raise questions about his spiritual integrity, but what Jesus's actions show is the extent of his compassion and the depth of God's grace. Thus the mission extends to all people and takes the initiative in seeking sinners out. So when we see that Jesus's mission is accomplished not by separating himself from sinners and the people who weren't following the rules in the world, then what does that say about us today? Well, it certainly says a lot. I mean, the whole point about this series that we've been calling life Express is to recognize that the moment we put our faith and trust in Jesus, that He comes to dwell in us, our sins are forgiven, completely washed away. Apostle Paul said in Galatians 220 I've been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And so if Christ lives in us and begins to express his life through us, then the more we learn about Jesus and the way that he lived his life, the more we'll have an idea of the way that he's going to express his life through us today. And so when we begin to see here that if Jesus took the initiative to seek out sinners in his life, to actually build relationships with them, to point them to his saving grace, then shouldn't we expect Jesus to do the same thing through us today? Of course we should. The apostle John even records Jesus saying this in John chapter 17, talking about the disciples and praying for those who would come to believe in Him. He says they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is, though, not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I of of the world. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. In other words, Jesus. Doesn't expect us to stay separated from the world. He spiritually seats us in heaven. He takes us out of this world. This world is no longer our home. We're no longer of it. But then he sends us back into the world, as the way the Apostle Paul puts it, is ambassadors to represent Jesus. He expresses his life through us to reveal himself to the world around us so that they can know this home for them as well.And as He reveals Himself to them,He uses us to open up our lives, to get to know people, to serve them, to love them, and to share the gospel with them. I mentioned to you earlier, at the beginning of the message, how I had put this guy in his place.He wasn't a Christian.I don't know where I ever got the idea that I should expect someone who didn't know Jesus to act like Jesus, butapparently I hadit was not okay. He wasn't a rule follower. If hewould just start to follow the rules more, then hewould be a better person. Ias I began to distance myself from him, he began to distance himself from me, but thank goodness the sponsor of our FCA huddle did the exact opposite. He kept his eyes on Jesus. Knew that he lived in Him and through Him, and that Jesus moved towards sinners. And he did that. He actually invited him into his home. He cooked dinner for him. He actually got to know him and loved him and served him and engaged with him, this lost sinner, and through his invitation, after sharing the gospel with him, he came to know Jesus as his Lord and Savior. And a couple of years later, he was then the president of FCA. This is the way that Jesus will express his life through each and every one of us to invite lost sinners into our lives. So the question really is, who are the sinners that Jesus is leading you to invite into your own world. The problem is that, if you're anything like me, chances areyou don't know any you don't knowbecause your life is so filled up inside this Christian bubble. You don't know anybody out there. I don't know Jesus is leading me too. All my friends are Christians. That's what we do. Dan Kimball, pastor of another church began to notice this many years ago, wrote a book that he published about it where he had begun to build relationships with a lot of people outside the church. And he titled The book, they like Jesus, but not the church. Ouch. Here'sone of the things that he wrote in the book.He says, I began to wake up and to recognize that we in the church really only socialize with our Christian friends, and not only that, but we are often more concerned with things like how good the snow will be on our church ski trip, rather than the status of our neighbors and the people we work with every day, we are often all about making church better for ourselves and making our lives more comfortable in the Christian bubbles that we have created. He goes on to say, I fully listen, I fully understand that we need Christian friendships. Absolutely, we all need Christian community, and we must maintain Christian community in the midst of our being on mission with Jesus. But shouldn't it be that the longer we are Christians, and the longer we walk with Jesus and understand the grace of God, the more we desire to see others experience God's grace as well. It seems incredibly ironic that as we mature and get to know Scripture better and get to know Jesus better, and are transformed all the more by the Spirit, fewer non Christians get to experience those things through a relationship with us.Drew in my life.Anybody else in here?I guess is that's the case for many of you as well. I. I think the thing is, is that even though the church is good, and even though it's an important part of our lives, and even though Jesus will express his life through us to be a part of Christian community, Satan can often deceive us into thinking that that's all that our life is about. It's all just about what's going on here. I love that he brought the longer that we walk with Jesus, the more mature we get in our faith. Because, listen, we did read some passages earlier. There are passages that point to picking our friends wisely, be careful about who it is that you're really hanging out with. That's scripture. There's an aspect of that that is true, but I do have to believe that the more we grow in grace, the more that we understand this new life that we have in Christ, the more that we begin to see victory over those sin struggles in our lives. Then wouldn't Jesus begin to express his life through us in ways that are consistent with the way we see him acting here?Of course he would. It's kindof a both and thing, right? I mean, we're probably going to be closest to other believers. I mean, you see in Acts two, one of the ways that Jesus expresses his life through us, after people come to know Him, is the relationships inside the church, the bonds that are so strong in the community that's built there. It's important Jesus, he mostly hang out, hung out with the disciples, but he was also involved in relationships with unbelievers, and sought them out and entered into their mess. And so this will be one of the ways that he expresses his life through us as well, to invite sinners, the sinners and tax collectors of our day into our lives. Of course, that's going to look differently for each one of us, because we're all in different places in our walk, and we're all younger or older, even in age and that kind of thing. And I don't, I don't think Jesus is going to say, hey, go hang out at this party with all of the temptation around so that you can tell those people about Jesus and use that as an excuse to go there and knowing that's a struggle, a temptation that you're going to be dealing with, there certainly wisdom in the way that Jesus is going to lead us in those things. But again, I just think that Jesus might want, here's the question that I actually think that Jesus would have each one of us ask, Do I even have room in my life for people who are not like me? Do I even have room for people in my life who are the sinners and tax collectors of our day? I think that's an important question for each one of us to ask. I think it's an important question that we ask as a church, corporately, do we as a church have room for the sinners in the tax collectors of our day to come here, to be involved in relationships inside our church walls with us. Here's why I think this is an important question. Pastor John Burke planted a church many years ago, I believe, in the Austin area, and it was all centered around this idea of reaching people, not like him, not like Christians, mature Christians, and so he he wrote a book about his experience in building this church called no perfect people allowed. I mean, it was many years ago, probably 20 years ago. Some of you may have read it, but here's one of the things that he pointed out in the book. He says many unchurched Christians who came through the doors of our church in the early days listen to this. Could not take the discomfort of having so many seekers and sinners around them. They would hang out on the lobby after the service, strike up a conversation, slowly realize that the person they were talking to held none of their sacred beliefs regarding things like abortion and sex before marriage and evolution and other hot topics of Christian subculture and after conversations like that, they usually scared eachother off.There was no room. There was no room in their life for people not like them, for the sinners and tax collectors of our day. Now, he goes on and says, what I mentioned earlier. Don't get me wrong. I'm not advocating. He says, for throwing in the moral towel, but why expect a secular society to act like a Christian one? That'swhat you and I are going to have todeal with. That's what we would have to deal with if we're really going to be okay and trust Jesus to lead us into relationships with the sinners and tax collectors of our day. Listen, it will get messy.It will mess with you. Mess with me, mess with church. You.Let me give you some examples. In the book I just referenced, Pastor John described some of the people who were a part of His church. He describes them as part of his life group and people that were involved with and here's what he says about some of them,Brad and Lenacame to our church seeking support. Theywere in their late 20s with two kids, and it felt like they were slowly unraveling on all sides, parenting challenges, job challenges and years of drug abuse, stalking in the shadows. The first day Lena walked into our church, she said this, listen, I think all religions are equally valid. Frankly, I don't even like religious people who judge and look down on other people's beliefs. That's where I'm coming from, and so I hope that's all right with you allwould it be? Is it what if someone showed up in your Sunday school class and said, thatis there still a seat for them there? If they walked in the front doors and said, it right there? Do we have room for that, or is it you need to get down the road somewhere? Marcy and Casey were a biker couple. Cranberry red hair, sported metal spike braid. Her and Casey came to the church spiritually, spiritually seeking, very tentative, honestly, distrustful, scared of most people in our church, probably because of ways they've been treated by people in the church before, Jay and Arden were both managers with good careers, but Jay had a 10 year probation for possession with the intent to sail. Lurking in his past, he felt the grip of addiction squeezing tight. Carla and Greg well, they met in the halfway house. They were both recovering from alcoholism after living together for four years. They walked into our church on opening day seekingJesus,David Kim were a couple who came to our church small group, and as soon as they walked in, listen, asked if it was okay to take smoking breaks during the group. What about that? Do we have room in our church for someone who doesn't believe in Jesus, but obviously seeking something and showing up and listeningfor them to step out and take a smoking break?Sorry, you don't have to follow the rules. You need to get your act together first, and then you can be welcomed in, or Jesus walks up to Levi.Come follow me.Talk about being messy. It's messy. So again, do you have room in your life for people who may not be like you? Do we have room for people who are not like us in the church, people struggling with unbelief, doubts, addictions, same sex attraction, theydon't follow all the rules.Vote the same way we do.Did you know that Jesus was actually a clue? Accused is in Scripture accused by religious rule followersof being a glutton and a drunkard.People don't accuse youof being a glutton and a drunkard,unless you're in situations where you're around gluttons and drunkards.Anybody ever accused youof being a sinner because of your association with sinners? Jesus was how got a reputation to uphold. That's the exact opposite of what we're supposed to be doing, right?Apparently, Jesus wasn't real worried about his reputation. Matter of fact, here's reality, if he was, he never would have left heaven in the first place.These religious rule followers didn't have room for people in their lives.They weren't rule followers,people who weren't like them, but Jesus did.Jesus does, and if he lives in us and expresses his life through us, then he will lead usto get messy,to open up our lives to the sinners and the tax collectors of our day. Amen. Our own individual relationshipsand inside the church, I hope we have room for them.