Greg Laurie - Are You a Pretend Believer? (02/15/2026)
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Pastor Greg Laurie preaches from Luke 5 about Jesus calling the tax collector Levi with the simple words "Follow me." Levi immediately left everything to follow Jesus and even threw a banquet to introduce his friends to Him. The sermon stresses that following Jesus is a daily choice of companionship, leaving the old life behind, and truly becoming a "little Christ" in a world full of distractions.
Opening Prayer and Introduction to the Message
Now, Father, we come to you as your church, as a family, as friends, together to worship and to hear from you as we open your word. You've told us in the Lord's Prayer, it's really something we should pray together: "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins." So it's important for us to be together and to pray together and to worship together and to learn together. So we commit this time of Bible study to you now. We ask your blessing on this text as we learn more about what it means to follow you. We ask all of this in Jesus' name. Amen.
All right. Why don't you grab a seat and turn in your Bible to Luke chapter 5. We're in our Gospel of Luke series that we're calling The Gospel for Everyone. And the title of the message is Simply Follow Me.
A Funny Story About Worry and Modern Distractions
I've told you this story before of a guy who had a real problem with worry. He was what you would call a worry ward. And one of his friends noticed he seemed worry-free one day. He said, "Hey man, what happened to you? You don't seem to be worrying like you normally do." And the guy responded, "Well, I don't worry at all anymore." And he said, "Wow, how did you pull that off?" He said, "I hired someone to worry for me." "Really? How much do you pay a guy like that?" He said, "I pay him $10,000 a week." "$10,000 a week? You don't make that kind of money. How do you afford that?" He said, "That's for him to worry about." Okay, so...
All right, now, I have found a way to get rid of anxiety and stress. And it involves one of these, you know, cell phone. How many of you have a cell phone? Don't hold your cell phone up. Grab your cell phone. I need to see it right now. Okay, this is how you get rid of anxiety and stress. Are you ready? Take your cell phone, put it down on the ground, and stamp on it. No, don't. Well, you can if you want. I really could care less. But you probably wouldn't want to do that.
Who Are You Really Following?
Well, the fact of the matter is, we hold our phones so much. We're looking at social media like we're in this position all the time. I think Apple's going to come up with a special brace to hold our arm up like this, right? And social media is stealing hours from your life that you can never get back. The algorithm on your phone knows exactly what keeps you engaged: one more video, one more story, one more post. It's designed to capture your attention and never let it go.
You know, we spend so many hours of our lives following people with their carefully curated highlight reels—the perfect meal, the perfect vacation, the perfect photograph, or whatever interests you. For some reason, I've gotten some weird algorithm of packages exploding on porches. Do you know what I'm talking about? I must have lingered at these videos too long where the porch pirates come. You know what I mean by porch pirates? They steal the boxes that are delivered to your home. And then as they run off with them, these boxes explode with pink something or blue or whatever. And I found it amusing. And now I have far too many of those that I've seen.
But here's the thing: Who or what are you actually following? It matters because you're going to become like those people you follow. Some people trade on vitriol and anger. They're always upset about something. And if you follow that person, you may end up feeling that way as well. So here's a way to kind of gauge it: After you've spent some time scrolling, how do you feel? Do you feel closer to God or further from God? Do you feel more at peace or more anxious?
So I don't know who you're following right now, but I have an idea for you. It's time to follow Jesus. Okay? Now you say, "Well, what platform is he on? Is Jesus on Instagram?" No, he is not. "Is he on X?" No, he's not there either. "Will I find him on TikTok?" No, he's not there. He's at MySpace still. He never left it. No, I'm just... But he can be in your space.
Where You Can Truly Find Jesus
If you want to find Jesus, you can start here with the Bible. Because the Bible says, speaking of Christ, "Lo, in the volume of the book it is written of me." You want to find Jesus? Open the Bible. You'll also find him here, too. And by here, I mean in an assembly of believers. Because Jesus said, "When two or more gather together in my name, I am there in the midst of them." And the Bible also says, "The Lord inhabits the praises of his people."
I'll tell you another place you'll find him: outside—not in front of a screen. Outside, in the elements, in his creation. The Bible says that the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows his handiwork. And if you follow him, you'll find him most importantly here—in your heart.
So basically 2.4 billion people today identify themselves as Christians or followers of Jesus. Now, are there really that many Christians in the world? I kind of tend to doubt it. But instead of judging them, maybe we should just start by judging ourselves. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 13:5, check up on yourself. Are you really a Christian? Or are you just pretending to be a Christian when you actually aren't at all?
The Origin and Meaning of "Christian"
Funny thing about this word "Christian." The believers did not coin it. In other words, they didn't get together and say, "Okay, so, like, what do we call ourselves? What are we exactly? I say Christians. Everyone who likes that, vote." No, it wasn't that at all. The name was given to them. The fact of the matter is, the first century believers were called "followers of the Way." Paul talked about persecuting those who were of the Way. And that phrase is used a number of times in the book of Acts.
And it was actually at a place called Antioch that they were first called Christians. They didn't choose the name for themselves. Nonbelievers chose it for them. And frankly, it was not meant as a compliment. It was meant more as an insult. So it was what I like to call a "complisult." Right? You know complisults. I've talked about those before.
I have people say to me, "Hey, how old are you?" And I'll say, "I'm 73." They'll say, "Oh." They're kind of like, "Oh." Then they'll say, "You look good for your age." Okay, that's a complisult. Kind of an insult wrapped in a compliment. You hear other complisults. It's like, "Well, I'm surprised you could figure that out." Oh, you just told me I'm stupid. How about this one? "I love the fact that you don't care about the way that you look." What?
And if you're in the South, and a Southern person says to you, "Bless your heart," that's not a compliment. That's a put-down. "Where are you from?" "California." "Bless your heart." And get out of my state. Everybody in America is mad because Californians are going everywhere. As I've said before, the number one export of California is Californians invading Florida, invading Idaho, invading Texas. And people are like, "Stop coming to our state, you know."
So, "Christians" was a title given to the followers of Jesus in a place called Antioch. And a literal definition of Christian means "little Christ." So, it was effectively said this way: "Look at these people, these little Christs. They're everywhere. They talk like Jesus. They act like Jesus. They love like Jesus. They're little Christs or Christians." But actually that term that was meant to be derogatory ended up being a term that we actually do use and is used in the Bible of us. And I take it as a badge of honor.
I remember when I first became a Christian and I transferred to Harbor High School from Corona del Mar High School, I was warned about the "Jesus freaks." That was not meant as a compliment either. But I think it's an honor to be identified with Jesus in any way. I'm a Jesus freak. I'm a Christian. That's just fine.
A Sobering Warning from Jesus
You know, one of the most frightening verses in the Bible—it's not frightening to me personally, because I know that I'll go to heaven when I die because I put my faith in Christ. My salvation is not based on what I have done for God, but rather on what God has done for me. And Scripture promises that if we believe in Him, we have everlasting life.
But the verse that is frightening to some is where Jesus says, "In that final day, many will come to me saying, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not cast out demons in your name? Did we not do many wonderful works in your name?'" And we could update that and say, "Were we not baptized in your name? Or did we not receive communion in your name?" And He will say to them, "Depart from me. I never knew you, you workers of iniquity."
Yeah, that's scary. You don't want to be that person. You want to be a true Christian. You want to be a true follower of Jesus. Again, check up on yourself. Are you really a Christian? Or are you just pretending to be when you actually aren't at all?
Jesus Calls Levi (Matthew) in Luke 5
Now let's come to our text. It's Luke chapter 5. This is a story of Jesus calling a man named Levi, also known as Matthew. This man was a tax collector. I'll tell you a little bit more about that in a moment. But Jesus said two words that forever changed Levi's life. And those two words were, "Follow me."
Luke 5:27-32: Later as Jesus left the town, He saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax collector's booth. And he said, "Follow me." So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him. Later Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Levi's fellow tax collectors and other guests also ate with them. But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus' disciples saying, "Why do you eat and drink with such people?" Jesus answered them, "Healthy people don't need a doctor. Sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent." We'll stop there.
So here now is the call of Levi. His life was radically changed after just a moment with the Lord. Why did he change so quickly? There's no extended conversation that precedes this call. For instance, when he called Peter, they had talked a lot. Remember, he first goes to Peter and says, "Follow me and I'll make you fishers of men." Peter agreed to that. Next thing you know, Peter's out fishing for fish. Again, Jesus calls him again. We looked at that last time in the early part of Luke 5. And again, Jesus says, "Follow me and I'll make you a fisher of men." And this time, Peter follows him.
Jesus had an extended conversation with the religious leader Nicodemus that ended up in his conversion. Jesus had an extended conversation with the woman at the well, which ended up in her believing as well. And also, he had even an extended conversation with little Zacchaeus, another tax collector. But now here with Matthew, it's just two words. He looks at him and he says, "Follow me."
Jesus as the Personal Physician
Jesus compares himself to a doctor. I don't know about you, but there are two places I don't like to go: the doctor's office and the dentist's office. Now, I happen to have a great doctor. He's a Christian. And what I love is not only is he an amazing physician, but he also prays with me. "Let's pray, Greg." I like a praying doctor. And it always reassures me.
But dentists, I don't care if they pray for me or not. I just don't like to go. I feel like they're preying on me, right? And it's just for a teeth cleaning. "Oh, let's just look you over and see how things are going." And, uh-oh, "Doctor, I have a problem." "Oh, don't call the dentist in. We need to do another X-ray." And next thing you know, they're saying, "Root canal." No! I don't like to go to the dentist's office.
So you say, "I'm not going to go at all because ignorance is bliss." No, ignorance is just ignorance. Don't. You need to go to the doctor and you need to go see the dentist because if you are true to your teeth, they won't be false to you. Take-away thought for the day.
Okay. I did hear about a guy named Phil who went to see his doctor. The doctor examined him and said, "Phil, I have some bad news." Phil said, "What, doc?" He says, "You don't have long to live." "How long do I have to live?" asks Phil. The doctor says, "10." "10 what?" asks Phil. "10 years, 10 weeks, 10 days." And the doctor says, "9, 8, 7..." Get it? 10. He's counting down. Okay, bad joke. Okay, I'm sorry.
But you know, a good doctor examines each patient carefully and has a different prescription, a different course of treatment, different medications possibly for each one. Jesus did not deal with any two people in exactly the same way. To the military man Joshua, Jesus comes as a general commanding armies. To the combative Jacob, Jesus comes as a wrestler, grappling with him through the night. To the astrologer/astronomer wise men from the east, Jesus comes to them through a star.
We already mentioned how Jesus came to Peter in a way that he understood and helped him to find more fish. There's an interesting passage in Psalm 18:25. It says, "To the faithful you show yourself faithful. To the blameless you show yourself blameless. To the pure you show yourself pure. And to the crooked you show yourself shrewd."
So if you're drowning in guilt and shame, Jesus comes to you offering forgiveness and relief. If you're lonely, he offers his friendship and his presence. If you don't get it yet, he comes with patience toward you. If you feel like you're at the end of your strength, he extends his hand to you. If you feel like you don't belong, he makes room at his table. He comes to you in a personal way. And in this case, the doctor makes a house call. Jesus goes right to where Matthew is in his little world of tax collecting. And simply says to him, "Follow me."
The Unpopular Life of a Tax Collector
Now let's talk about the career that Matthew chose for himself: tax collecting. That was not very popular then. It's not popular now either. But it was really unpopular then because it was far worse. You see, the Romans had conquered the Jewish people and were ruling over them. And they would collect taxes for Rome. If that wasn't bad enough, they would hire tax collectors, often Jews, who would collect taxes from their fellow Jews.
But if it wasn't bad enough that they collected the exorbitant taxes of Rome, they added their own personal taxes, which they would personally pocket. If the people did not pay up, the tax collectors would often use mafia-like enforcement tactics. Beat them up. Teach them a lesson. "You better pay your taxes." So these tax collectors became very wealthy and very powerful. But they were perceived by their fellow Jews as turncoats, Benedict Arnolds, if you will. Backsliders. They felt they were betraying their own people so there was deep resentment—in many ways more for the tax collectors than even the Roman soldiers.
Why did Matthew choose a profession like this? We don't know the answer. Maybe it was a cry for attention. I mean, some people seem to go out of their way to oppose God and we wonder why. I look at certain people who are atheists and it seems like their mission in life is to undermine the faith of believers. Like, what do they care if people are believers? What does it matter to them if someone believes in the Bible and has faith in God? No, they want to undermine that faith. Why do they want to do that? Well, maybe because they're just enemies of God. But maybe because they're under the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes the people that are the loudest in their opposition may be closer to the kingdom of God than you realize. There's an old saying that says, "When you throw a rock in a pack of dogs, the one that barks the loudest is the one that got hit." So after church, go throw a rock in a pack of dogs. No, don't. Do not do that. But the point is sometimes the ones who complain the most, who argue the most, may actually be closer to believing than the person who says nothing.
Case in point, Saul of Tarsus. He was a religious leader. He was part of what was called the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was like the Supreme Court of their day, but even more powerful. And a young man was brought before them with the name of Stephen. And Stephen boldly proclaimed the gospel to the Sanhedrin. And they decided to execute him by stoning, which, by the way, was a horrible way to die. It was prolonged. It was extremely painful.
And so they're stoning young Stephen. And as this is happening, the Bible says his face shined like an angel. And then he said, "Look, I see Jesus standing at the right hand of God." And then he said, "Lord, don't hold this sin against their charge." Saul of Tarsus was outraged. Finally, Stephen dies. And they lay their garments in front of Saul, implying that he was in charge of this whole event.
And right on the heels of the martyrdom of Stephen, Saul goes out to hunt down Christians, arrest them, and execute them. And as he is doing that, he's on a road to Damascus. And guess who he meets in person? Jesus. He hears a voice speak to him after a bright light shined on him. And the voice says, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" And Saul says, "Who are you, Lord?" And I'm sure he was thinking, "Don't say Jesus, don't say Jesus, don't say Jesus." And Jesus says, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." And Saul was converted that day. And he ultimately became the great apostle Paul.
But the point is, his rage and his anger at Christians was a result of him being under the conviction of the Holy Spirit. So Jesus saw behind the facade of Matthew. Others probably wouldn't even make eye contact with him. They would avert their gaze when they walked by. Jesus looked right at him. And he saw that underneath that tough exterior was a man who wanted to know God.
A Personal Story of Longing for God
Hey, I used to be that guy myself. I had this face. I don't know what it was, but teachers would actually say to me in class, "Greg Laurie, wipe that expression off your face." I didn't know what the expression was. But I think it was something probably like this. Kind of indifference, hardness.
So I would hang out down in Newport Beach at the Fun Zone, which is still there, which hasn't changed all that much. I'd lean against the wall. And I would see Christians out handing out religious literature. And in my heart, I would say, "Come talk to me." But they would never talk to me. They'd kind of walk by, give a tract to someone, talk to them about Jesus, talk to someone else, look at me, go, "Here," just give it to me, walk by. I'm like, "Talk to me." I wanted someone to tell me something about Jesus.
I always took what they gave me. I shoved it in my pocket. I took it home, threw it in a drawer. It was like my "God drawer." Everything—it was literature from Christians, literature from Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Krishna, you name it, it ended up in the drawer. And every now and then, I would take that drawer, and I would pour it out on my bed, and I would sit there reading through this stuff, trying to figure it out, because I wanted to know God. I was just waiting for someone to tell me. And that's what Matthew was waiting for as well. And that day finally came.
Did you know there are so many people out there just like that right now? Statistics show that 70% of people would seriously consider attending church if they were invited by a family member or a friend. I think it's 70%. They're just waiting for a family member or a friend. Now, a stranger can invite someone to church, and that's fine, and so you should. But when you're a friend or a family member, you can leverage your relationship. You know, there's some kind of a connection there. That's very important.
80% of unchurched people would be open to discussing faith if the conversation is with someone they trust. And this is a really amazing thing. Most non-Christians say they've never had a Christian explain the gospel clearly. Wow, most people. They're just waiting for someone like you to tell them what they need to know. This data shows we overestimate hostility, and we underestimate openness. People are more open than you think they are. But you have to leave your comfort zone and start that conversation.
Now, they may not respond. They may act like they're indifferent or don't care. But you have to press on, and then you find they may be more open than you realize. That was Matthew. He was just waiting for someone to tell him.
The Moment Jesus Saw and Called Matthew
I think Matthew sat around and thought, "I wish Jesus would call me." And I say this based on his reaction when Jesus did call him. I think he thought, "I would love to be on his team. I would love to be one of his disciples, but he'd never have a tax collector." Can you imagine, "Hey Jesus, want a tax collector as one of your disciples?" Like, "No." It would be the ultimate rejection, but he really wanted to know Jesus. And God says, "Those that seek me will find me."
Finally, the day comes. Look at verse 27. Jesus left the town and saw. You can underline that word "saw" a tax collector. The word "saw" is very suggestive. It means to gaze intently upon, to stare, to fix one's eyes constantly on an object. It's almost like looking through someone.
Have you ever had someone look through you? They're called mothers. "Where have you been? Who were you with? Where did you go? Empty your pockets. Open your purse." And you'll find yourself confessing to things you actually didn't even do, right? But it's a mother looking through you.
Jesus looked through him, but it wasn't a look of scorn. I think it was a look of compassion and love. And that shocked Matthew. As I said earlier, most people wouldn't make eye contact with him. Jesus locks eyes on him, and he looks right through him. And then he says those two words, "Follow me."
Matthew could not believe what he was hearing. Jesus was choosing him. Jesus was calling him. And did you know that Jesus chose you too? 1 Peter 2:9 says you're a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God that you may declare the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
And Matthew bolted at the chance to follow Jesus, and we should do the same.
What "Follow Me" Really Means Today
What do you think that looked like? Have you ever watched The Chosen, that series about Jesus? They did a beautiful job depicting this scene when Jesus calls Matthew. Let's look at the screen and watch it. Jesus has two words to Matthew: "Follow me." And he's saying the same words to every one of us right now. "Follow me." Are we doing that?
What does it mean to follow Jesus? Does it mean the same thing in the 21st century as it meant in the first century? Well, actually, it's a unique phrase in the Greek. It means to walk the same road. And the verb is in the present tense, commanding the beginning of an action and continually, habitually in it. In other words, it means, Jesus speaking, "I command you to follow me each and every day."
Here's the problem. Some people start the Christian life, but they don't finish it. The Apostle Paul said, "I want to finish my race with joy." So Jesus wants to be a part of your life every single day. Not just on Sunday. He's not Sunday Jesus. He's Monday Jesus. Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday Jesus. Does he take Fridays off? No. He's Friday Jesus too. And Saturday Jesus. He's every day Jesus.
He wants to be a part of everything you do. Every place you go. Everything that you say. Everything that you see. Everything in your life. That's what he's calling you to be. The Apostle Paul says that we should put on the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's the idea of putting your clothes on. Right? Another translation puts it this way: "Let us be Christ men from head to foot. And give no chances for the flesh to have its fling."
So that means you start the day with Jesus. And you end the day with Jesus. You say, "But how?" Start with the Bible. Because Jesus is "lo in the volume of the book it is written of me." You want to know more about Jesus? Open his word. Psalm 1 says, "His delight is in the word of the Lord. And in it does he meditate day and night." Then in Joshua 1:8 it says, "Study this book continually. Meditate in it day and night. And you must obey everything that is in it."
So, follow him. It's a command. But then, it also means "follow with me." Which means companionship and friendship. So it's not like Jesus is saying, "Follow me." He's saying, "Come on. Come with me. Let's walk together." You know, when you take a walk with someone, it's usually someone you want to spend time with. You don't say to your enemy, "Let's walk together." No, not at all. You say to a friend, "Let's walk." Because it's usually going to be a talk.
My wife will say, "I'm going on a walk with my girlfriends." Which means I won't see her for... okay, I'm exaggerating. One day. No, but the thing is, because when the girls walk, they talk. They talk a lot. They talk so much that if I'm with them, I might fall behind and put my headphones in eventually. I can't keep up with all of it. "Walk with me." So Jesus is saying, "Let's go on a walk. Let's go on a talk. This is something we're doing together."
Leaving Everything to Gain Everything
And as Matthew does this, he leaves everything behind. By the way, Matthew gave up more materially than any other disciple. Now the others did make sacrifices, but Matthew, man, he had a cushy job. He had a very successful career built on the backs of others. So he gave up that prestige. He gave up that power. He gave up that wealth to become a follower of Jesus Christ.
And the funny thing is, Matthew never tells us that. In Matthew's gospel, he doesn't tell us what he gave up to follow Jesus, but Luke does. I love that. Matthew's kind of humble. Not going to brag, but Luke says, "I'm going to brag on him. He gave up everything." He gave up everything to follow Jesus.
And we all give up certain things to follow the Lord. But really, what do we give up? Whatever you give up to follow Jesus will be more than made up to you. I like the way the apostle Paul summed up what he gave up. In Philippians 3:8, he says, "Everything is worthless when compared to the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. I've discarded everything else, counting it as garbage so I may have Christ."
That stuff I gave up, it's garbage. And to be honest with you, garbage is a kind translation. The root word speaks of excrement. One translation calls it dog dung. I'm talking about poop here, people. Okay, sorry, I used that word in the pulpit. "Mommy, he said poop." I did. That's what it is. It's like excrement that I gave up to follow Christ. It's really no big sacrifice.
And speaking of dog dung for a moment, you know, when people walk their dogs and I notice the dog relieving itself (and I don't dwell on that, but you notice), I always wait to see if they're gonna pick it up. Am I the only one? Because if I'm in my car, I'm gonna honk at them if they don't pick it up. Why? Because I've stepped in it, that's why. It's personal now.
Now, think about it. The way I've seen them clean it up—good. Now, if you cleaned up after your dog, how many of you have dogs? Okay. How many of you take your dogs on walks? How many of you clean up after your dogs? Oh. Seems like all of you... How many of you don't? Okay, no one's gonna admit it. But once you have your little doggy bag and you put it in the bag, do you carry it around all day? "Hey, check this out. Look what my dog did." People are so weird with dogs now, it wouldn't surprise me. And we push them in strollers and have them in little strap-on carriers. Why not carry it around? No. But you don't. You want to get rid of it. And that's the old life. You just need to leave it behind you.
And there'll come a moment where you'll see it for what it really is. Another gross analogy. Sorry, two in a row. But you ever go to a gas station bathroom out of desperation? "Can I get the key?" And they're always so reluctant to give you the key. "Can I get the key to the bathroom?" They kind of look you up and down. "Oh. Here." And they put it through that little door. "Oh, thank you." And then you go and you open the door and go, "Ah!" And you back out. You're not going to that bathroom. That's the old life. That's the world in all of its glory. See it for what it is and back away from it.
That happened for me. Even before I was a Christian. I looked at the life my mother had chosen, the life of alcoholism, drinking, smoking, getting married, getting divorced, partying her life away. I said, "I don't want that life." And then ironically, I chose a life very similar to it before I knew it. I was drinking. I was smoking. I was then using drugs. My mother did not do that. And I came to the point where I said, "I hate my life. I don't want to live this life anymore. I know this is the wrong choice and I know this is a dead-end street."
So it was like process of elimination. Before I heard the gospel, I knew what I didn't want, but what did I want? And then I heard about Jesus and I couldn't leave that old life fast enough. That's Matthew. He bolts up from his table. Without a moment of hesitation, he follows Jesus.
Yes, he gave up some things. He lost a career, but he gained a destiny. He lost material possessions, but he gained a spiritual fortune. He lost his temporal comfort, but he gained eternal life. He also lost his emptiness and his loneliness and found fulfillment and friendship with God. He gave up all the world has to offer and he found and followed Jesus Christ and he never looked back.
Matthew's Immediate Response: A Banquet for Jesus
And I love after he follows Jesus that we read these words. Luke 5:29: Later, Levi held a banquet at his home with Jesus as the guest of honor and many of Levi's fellow tax collectors and other guests also ate with them.
Hey, Jesus, I want to throw a party for you. Come on over to my house. And all of his rowdy friends were showing up that night. Fellow tax collectors, sinners—not really the cream of society, but there was Jesus comfortable in their midst because Jesus is uniquely described, not as a compliment, I might add, but he's the friend of sinners. Look at him. He's friendly with sinners. That's right, he was. Sinners felt they could approach him and they did. And he received them and changed them into saints.
You know, I love the zeal of Matthew. "I'm going to invite everybody over to hear more about you. I want them to meet you." I love the zeal of a new believer. It seems to me that often those that know the most do the least and those that know the least want to do the most.
When you come to Christ initially, your life is changed. He's filled that void inside of you. He's delivered you from your addiction. He's changed the course of your life. So you're inviting people to church. You're filling front rows. You're filling pews with people you brought. You can't do enough and you go and volunteer. "I want to serve here at the church. I'll do anything you need." "How long have you been coming here?" "Four days." "Four days. Well, maybe come a little bit longer and get grounded."
But then there are people that have been coming for five years, eight years, ten years. They can't remember the last time they brought anyone to church or volunteered for anything. Right? So we want to be those people that are volunteering.
Speaking of that, after the service today, we have something called a Serve Social. And we're going to tell you about ministry opportunities here at Harvest. And you can be a part of what we're doing. In Riverside, it's going to happen in this space. Here at Harvest Orange County, it's going to happen around the area of our cafe and over in Maui, it's happening on what we call The Deck. So check it out after this service and find out how you can serve.
But new believers need old believers and old believers need new believers. Old believers need new believers to energize them. New believers need older believers to stabilize them. We need each other. And Matthew was full of zeal and invited all of his friends over.
Jesus Still Calls Today: Follow Me
So let me close now. Right now, Jesus is still saying to people, "Follow me." He sees you for who you are. And he also sees you for who you can be. He doesn't say, "Clean your life up and come to me." Or "Get your act together." Or "Fix your past." He just says, "Follow me." You come to him as you are and he'll change you. He'll forgive you. He'll transform you. And he loves you.
So I want to pause for a moment and extend an invitation for any person here that would like to become a follower of Jesus Christ. He'll change your life. And whatever you give up to follow him will be replaced by something so much better. You won't miss it.
Jesus died on that cross for your sins 2,000 years ago. He rose again from the dead. And now he stands at the door of our life and he knocks and says, if we'll hear his voice and open the door, he'll come in. Have you asked Christ into your life?
I come back to that question I asked earlier. Are you a Christian? Check up on yourselves. Are you pretending to be a Christian when you actually aren't at all? Become a real Christian. Become a real follower of Jesus and ask Christ to come into your life. You'll never be alone again.
Let's pray. Father, I pray for anyone here, anyone watching wherever they are, if they don't know you yet, if they don't have a relationship with you yet, let this be the moment they believe, we pray.
Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed, maybe there's someone here that wants Jesus. You want to be his follower. You want a relationship with him. You want your sin forgiven. Maybe you've recently come to the end of yourself and you've seen the emptiness of the lifestyle you've chosen. And you're ready to make a change. Well, Jesus is saying, "Follow me. Let me help you. Let me transform you." But you must come to him.
If you've never asked Christ to come into your life, but you would like to, if you would like him to forgive you of your sin, if you would like to follow him and know that you'll go to heaven when you die, would you just raise your hand up right now wherever you are? And I'd love to pray for you. Raise your hand up higher. I can see it saying, "I want Jesus today." God bless you. God bless you. And you. And you. There in the back. God bless you. Anybody else? God bless you. I see you. Raise your hand up. Let me pray for you today. God bless you.
You guys that are watching on the screen right now, I can't see you, of course, but the Lord sees you. Take that little step of faith. Raise your hand up saying, "I want Jesus today. I want to follow him." Anybody else? If you haven't raised your hand yet, raise it now. Let me pray for you. God bless you. God bless you.
You that have raised your hand, if you would, please, would you just stand to your feet, and I'm going to lead you in a prayer where you'll be asking Jesus to come into your life. Again, stand up. If you raised your hand, even if you did not raise your hand, you can stand up if you want to invite Christ into your life today. Let me pray with you. Stand to your feet wherever you are... God bless you. Others are standing, so you won't be alone. Anybody else? You won't regret this. Stand up. Stand up. Let me pray with you. I'll wait one more moment. Anybody else? Stand up. You want to ask Jesus to come into your life. I'll lead you in this prayer. God bless you. I'll leave you standing.
I want you to pray this prayer out loud after me. Again, as I pray, pray this out loud after me. Pray these words: "Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner, but I know you're the Savior. I want to follow you, Jesus, from this moment forward. Be my Savior and Lord. Be my God and my friend. Thank you for calling me and loving me and accepting me. In Jesus' name I pray." Amen.
God bless you that just prayed that prayer. God bless you. God bless you. You can sit down.
Okay, so listen. After the service is over, we're going to give you this. It's called the New Believers Bible. It's a special edition of the New Testament filled with notes that I wrote that will encourage you in this commitment or recommitment you just made. So, here at Harvest Orange County, you'll go to this room over to my left. At Harvest Riverside, you'll go to a room in the back corner. Your campus pastor will tell you more when we end the service.
But as you can see, we're getting ready to have a communion service. Look at all these good-looking gentlemen standing up here, ready to serve you. You laugh at that? You should applaud, not laugh.
I come back to that question that we raised earlier where Paul says, check up on yourself. Are you really Christians? And then I come to another statement of the Apostle Paul that he tells us to ask ourselves as we receive communion. He says, "Let a man examine himself and then let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup."
In a moment, we're going to hold bread, symbolizing the body of Jesus. The cup, the fruit of the vine, symbolizing the blood of Jesus that was shed for us. He said, "This do in remembrance of me." So, that's why we receive communion together. And what am I to do? Examine myself. Not for condemnation, but just to say, am I where I need to be spiritually? Is there a sin I need to confess? Is there a change I need to make? Is there a person I need to forgive? This would be the time to deal with that as we receive these elements that represent the body and the blood of our Lord.
So, we'll serve you all. Take the bread, take the cup, hold on to them until we're all served. And then we'll partake together. So, let's worship the Lord.