Luke

[0:00] Amen. And after these things he went for and saw a publican named Levi sitting at the receipt of custom and he said unto him, follow me.

[0:50] Amen.

[1:20] Remember sometimes if but a request or command is given by an earthly king or queen, how rapidly, how earnestly it is attended to.

[1:33] And yet, sad to say, there are also very clear evidences that when the commands of the heavenly king are public, there are many thousands who ignore them.

[1:52] It has no meaning, no effect. You say, well then, how can it be that where the word of a king is, there is power?

[2:04] Because his command that goes forth unto those given unto him of his father to be saved from everlasting hell are those whose hearts are prepared, are moved, are wrought upon under that command.

[2:26] They hear it because their ears have been opened. They feel it because their hearts have been broken and softened. And they obey it because the spirit is imparted to them to believe that that which the king of kings speaks must ever be right and must always be obeyed.

[2:53] We mourn in these days the lack of the signs and evidences of these sinners saved by grace.

[3:10] Evidence by their walking in the ways of their kings, in the ways of their kings, in the way of his commandments, which are honourable and glorious and which will ever show forth his praise.

[3:31] I had no thought in coming of speaking from such a word as this. Nevertheless, what is laid upon our heart we have to venture with.

[3:45] And as we have been singing in the hymn just now, all things ordered, known unto him, all appointed are by him.

[3:57] And I believe that applies to the words spoken from the pulpit as much as in any other respect. God's word is appointed. Or if it is appointed of him, the king of kings and lord of lords, then it must be obeyed.

[4:15] And in being obeyed will bring forth that which he intends it to bring forth. And that is gracious fruit.

[4:26] God honouring fruit. God honouring fruit. God honouring fruit. That which is not only profitable to the receiver, but honouring to the bestower.

[4:40] So then let us turn for a moment or two in consideration of this particular case.

[4:50] It is not only one of many that is recorded. But the Holy Spirit has recorded it there for the living family of God in whatsoever state they may be at this present time.

[5:06] It's recorded there for their instruction. It might be for their comfort and encouragement. But it also might be to bring them to solemnly consider their way, their walk, their standing, as before this heavenly king.

[5:29] The Holy Spirit will guide and direct the thoughts of those who are exercised thereby to a path or to a word that will clearly show them what they have to do.

[5:52] Have you known this? I'm sure some of you have. Or you would not be where you are today. Sit in before your God with a humble fight in your heart that he has brought you hitherto.

[6:11] That he has shown you those things that are good and has blessed your soul in an idling you to receive all that.

[6:22] And therefore you come with thankful hearts. Humbled in spirit, yet thankful because of this, that that which you once feared has not transpired.

[6:34] And I can go back in our own thoughts, our own little experience, to such a time when our fears were mountain high, that there could be no mercy for such as me.

[6:52] Can there be? Can there be? Can there? Tell me, Lord, can there be amongst thy people room for me?

[7:04] Such an out-and-out sinner. By the grace of God, we've been brought into that way.

[7:18] Sometimes we still have many fears. Because we have so many slips. And because oft times a carnal heart and mind causes a darkness to descend upon our spirit.

[7:33] When a spirit of unbelief will drive away the spirit of faith. They can't walk together in harmony. And by these things we're brought again and again to beg of the Lord to make the matter plain.

[7:52] To say it again. I am thy salvation. Again to reveal to us that that grace which we humbly hope he has planted within is alive and strong.

[8:10] And will cause us amidst all the doubts and fears that beset us. Still to look to him who spoke first.

[8:23] Who spoke that word of peace and pardon into our poor heart. And gave us a humble, yet a real hope.

[8:36] That we were amongst his children. A pardoned sinner. A pardoned rebel. Made a child, yes.

[8:48] And if made a child, then such commands as that king ever will give will be. Humbly but sincerely obeyed.

[9:02] In the chapter that we read together. We have two or three instances of the Lord's almighty power.

[9:18] In several respects. We shall not dwell on them. We just note them. Because they all come from the hand and the power of this same king.

[9:28] In the beginning of the reading. We read of the miracle of the fisheries. How barrenness was made.

[9:43] In a moment. Into great prosperity. He spoke and it was done. But there had to be.

[9:56] Even in that which was for his praise. A manifestation of the humility of obedience. Cast thy net on the right side.

[10:09] They mourn. They said we've toiled all night. We've taken nothing. Nevertheless.

[10:21] At thy word. I will let down the death. It's the same power. Whatever. Whatever. The cause.

[10:31] Of that word. In its need. May be. That word. Is the word. That will bring you. Into that right place. It will bring you.

[10:42] As before. A heart. Searching God. Lowered his feet. To fork. And say. Show me Lord. Thy way. The apostle Paul.

[10:55] Cried. What will thou have me to do? You see. There's no. Disunity. In the way. The Lord. God almighty.

[11:06] Works. In the hearts. Of poor sinners. To bring them. To a saving knowledge. Of himself. It will always. Bring them to his feet. There. To seek.

[11:18] From him. To know. And do. His will. Not my will. But thine be done. Is the real evidence.

[11:28] That this work. Is true. With him. Well. There was the obedience. They let down the net. And a great multitude.

[11:39] Of fish. Was taken. At the net break. And they called. Their. Fellow partners. With their boat. And filled that too. Oh. Oh. We have seen.

[11:50] Strange things. Today. We read. In this chapter. They saw. Strange things. But remember. It was the fruit. Of obedience. To the word.

[12:01] Of God. And if we are given. Christ. To observe that. In all that air. God calls us. To enter into. We too.

[12:13] Shall see. Strange. Sinus. And we shall feel. The power. Of them too. In bringing us. Into that sweet place. Where this dear man.

[12:25] Was brought. Who is the subject. Of our town. He passed on. And when e'er.

[12:36] The Lord passed. On his way. It was. To fulfill. His father's will. It was. To make known. His sovereignty.

[12:48] His power. And his. Wondrous love. He never. Took one journey. In vain. He never.

[13:00] Withheld. His presence. In vain. Sometimes. That may cause. Many a fear. In the heart. Of an exorcist soul. Who. Would desire.

[13:11] To obey him. Would desire. To walk. In the way. Of his commandments. Because. He delays. Let me just. Remind you.

[13:22] And very briefly. When dear Lazarus. The friend of Jesus. Was ill. Martha and Mary.

[13:33] Sent for him. Because they knew. That he could do him good. But he waited. Two days. I won't enlarge on it.

[13:44] I think we have. Spoken from that portion. Here before. He waited. Two days. And when he did get there. Lazarus was dead.

[13:58] This is for the glory of God. And for their faith. To be made strong. And to draw forth from their heart.

[14:08] And their lips. Their confession of faith in him. That was the purpose. And he. Hides the purpose of his grace.

[14:19] Sometimes. That he might make it. Better now. He came now. On this journey. To one.

[14:30] Who was a leper. And. He had compassion on him. He does not tell us. Much of this man.

[14:42] But it does tell us this. That there was placed in his heart. A prayer to the living God. Lord.

[14:54] King. Lord. If thou will. Thou canst might be clean. And that prayer was heard. And if that is the prayer.

[15:07] Of some poor sinner's heart. To be made clean. Then you go to the same king. The same sovereign Lord. The same great physician.

[15:19] The same compassionate Savior. For he changeth not. This poor man came. And cried. And the Lord heard him.

[15:31] And he put forth his hand. And touched him. Saying. I will. I will. Ah.

[15:42] Said some. In their coming. In their venturing. Miss their fears. Do not turn away thy face. Mine's an urgent.

[15:55] Pressing case. I will. Be thou clean. And immediately. The leprosy departed.

[16:06] From him. The word of a king. With power. And if it be so. As regards. A bodily affliction.

[16:17] The Lord Jesus. In his compassion. Would deliver. This poor man. From. How much. More so. When it comes.

[16:27] To the affliction. Of sin. Upon. The conscience. Sin. Upon. Our very spirit. Bow down.

[16:38] And can. In no wise. Lift up. Ourselves. Because of it. Feeling. To be. As the apostle. Declared. Not only.

[16:50] The least. Of all. Saints. But the greatest. Of sins. Oh. It is such. Characters. As these. When the Lord.

[17:01] In his mercy. Is dealing. With them. That are honest. In their confession. Of whom. I am. She. But not.

[17:12] Cast off. The apostle. Knew. The power. That attended. Early. Salvation.

[17:22] Made known. Unto. This poor man. Knew it. In his body. And Jesus. Was faithful.

[17:32] In this. He said. Go and show. Thyself. To the priest. Offer. For thy cleansing. According. As Moses. Commanded. For a testimony. Unto them. To show.

[17:43] That. The commandments. Of God. Are right. Of pure. And must be. Obigned. And he withdrew.

[17:55] Himself. Into a wilderness. And pray. And there. Followed. This further miracle. Oh.

[18:06] What a manifestation. In. Such a short time. Of the. Compassion. Of Jesus Christ. The man.

[18:17] With the palsy. Who could not. Get near. Because of the crown. But those. Who bore him.

[18:28] Those. Whose faith. Enabled them. Still. To press on. With their case. With their. Afflicted.

[18:39] Dying friends. They let him. Down through the roof. They found a way. Did they find a way? The Lord. The Lord.

[18:50] Showed them the way. He will make it plain. When every way. Seems closed up. In your coming. With a desire.

[19:00] To walk in this path. He will make it plain. One of those. Mysterious ways. Of which we sing. In our hands. They opened the roof.

[19:14] And let him down. Into the midst. Before Jesus. He came where he was. And.

[19:25] Then began. That. Discussion. By the unbelieving. Pharisees. Concerning. That which the.

[19:37] Lord Jesus. Spice. For. As you. Well. Remember. From our reading. He did not.

[19:47] Come immediately. To the man's. Compliant. In body. When he saw. Their fight. That. Enabled them. Amidst all. The difficulties.

[19:58] To bring him. To bring this man. To his feet. When he saw. Their fight. Man. He said. Man.

[20:10] Though his sins. Are forgiven thee. Oh. What a day. For that poor afflicted one. He was one of the richest men on earth.

[20:23] He had come as a poor helpless creature. Bound down by twice ten thousand toys. True. True. He was supported. By praying friends.

[20:35] But he. He in himself. Was a helpless. Dying. Sinner. But now. The healing is given. In a moment. Man.

[20:47] Thy sins are forgiven. And he could. Ignore. All the mockery. Of those about. All the arguments.

[21:00] That were raised up. And no doubt. In his own soul. He rejoiced. When. Of his Lord.

[21:10] And Saviour. For such he was. He had spoken. The word of pardon. Instead. Whether it is easier. To say. Thy sins.

[21:20] Be forgiven thee. Or. Rise up and walk. But that ye now may know. That the son of man. Have a pair on earth. To forgive sins. He said unto the sick. Of the poor.

[21:31] I say unto thee. Arise. Take up thy couch. And go into thine house. And immediately. Immediately.

[21:42] You see. Every time. At once. The king's commands. Cannot be denied.

[21:56] Referring again. To a natural king. What would happen. To such a one. Who. Refused. To obey. Or.

[22:08] Delayed obeying. When it was. The king. Who commanded it. In this matter. This matter.

[22:20] That is before us here. The king's. Business is urgent. And the messengers.

[22:31] Sent forth. To these coming sinners. These longing souls. And they deliver that message. And immediately.

[22:45] There is a rising up. It seems to stroke. A very beautiful chord.

[22:55] In the heart. This response. To our gracious king's request. Immediately. Do we find it so.

[23:07] Is that the desire. Wrote within us. Immediately. He spoke. And it was done. And that.

[23:18] In relation. To the creation. Of this world. It applies also. To that new creation. Of every.

[23:29] Heaven born soul. Immediately. He rose up. And departed. To his own house.

[23:41] Glorifying God. Oh. This is the path. That we. Prior. Earnestly. The Lord. Will make clear. In this dark day. That we might see.

[23:52] These humble. Subjects. Of the king. Rising up. Immediately. To glorify. Their God. To go. Forth.

[24:02] And declare. Of what he has done. For them. He has done. Great things. For me. Whereof I am glad. Oh. There's something. To speak of.

[24:14] However feeble. We might be. Tongue tied. In many ways. When the Lord. Works. And then. Commands.

[24:25] Then there's liberty. We sang in our. And in hymn. Concerning. Being loose. For the bondage. Oh.

[24:35] Is there a soul. In bondage. Whose prayer. Is unto this. King of kings. Lord. Come where I am. Speak the word.

[24:46] Unto me. That I may be healed. Bless soul. If it is so. We will not leave you.

[24:57] Beyond the appointed hour. Going back to Martha. And Mary. You remember. Oh that. When Jesus did come.

[25:09] We read that Mary. Rode up immediately. And ran unto him. That's the way. That's the fruit of this work. Oh.

[25:22] You cannot go before God. That is a sin. That is presumption. But when he speaks.

[25:34] Then you cannot delay. You dare not delay. So it was. With Matthew. Levi.

[25:45] As he's named here. Here was a chosen vessel. Unto God. One who was. One who was. Sovereignly appointed.

[25:57] In the councils of Jehovah. To be. A messenger. To go forth. And declare. The wonders of grace. Which he was brought.

[26:08] To know. And to enjoy. A preacher. Of the gospel. What an unlikely character. Yes.

[26:19] But as the Lord Jesus. As we just tried to. Set before you. Dealt. With. Poor bodies. In their healing.

[26:31] So he deals. Graciously. With. Poor. Needy. Souls. It's a divine command.

[26:43] That's needed. Nothing else will do it. Not all the blandishments. Of men. The persuasions. Of men. The entoistments. Of men.

[26:54] In what they call. A gospel invitation. Will bring this to pass. This is a way. That God alone. Appoints.

[27:06] And he himself. Divinely direct. But now he came. He went forth. Again. Another journey.

[27:17] And saw a publican named Levi. Sitting at the receipt of custom. And he said unto him. Follow me. Follow me.

[27:31] Remembering first. What. A Levi was. A poor. Despised. Sinner. A collector.

[27:42] Of taxes. He was one. That. The rulers. Would have nothing. To do with. But the friend.

[27:53] Of sinners. Who had chosen. Him. And redeemed. Him. Now comes. To call him. By his name. To walk out.

[28:06] And walk in. Those divinely. Ordered paths. That should be. For. God's eternal.

[28:17] Price. Follow. Me. Oh. We see. God's sovereignty. In this wonderful work of grace.

[28:30] Toward this poor. A tax collector. No doubt. Jesus had passed this way. Many times before. But now.

[28:42] Is the appointed hour. It was so for Matthew. For Levi. Now is the appointed hour. And not only.

[28:54] Did he hear the command. But that work of grace. That works deep within. The heart of man. Brought.

[29:05] Compliance. To that command. There was no hesitation. Immediately. And he left all.

[29:18] Rose up. And followed him. You know. It's so. Simple. As it's set.

[29:29] Before us here. And yet. It is one. Of the deepest. Exercises. That a man. Can be brought into.

[29:41] But where the word. Of the king is. There is the enabling. Grace. That power. That power. That it tends. Must. Avile. It will.

[29:52] Conquer. All that my. Opposed. Ah. Here. Was a character. Described. By the prophet.

[30:03] Isaiah. Of old. Sort out. Jesus. Sort me. One. And if you are. A child of God. You will be able.

[30:14] To say. Jesus. Sought me. One. Stranger. Wandering. From the fold. Of God. He.

[30:24] To save. My soul. From danger. Interposed. His precious blood. Now. There have been. No deep instruction. To Matthew. We don't read.

[30:35] Of any. Teaching. He'd receive. Concerning. Of this vital truth. Yet. The very. Issue.

[30:45] Of it. Proves. That there was. Made known. Unto him. The power. Of. Christ's salvation.

[31:00] We read. Without the shedding. Of blood. There could be. No remission. Of sin. But. Is the Holy Spirit. Unable. To come.

[31:12] In a moment. To. Enlighten. A sinner. Stone. No. All power.

[31:23] Is given. In heaven. And in earth. Both. To. God. The Son. And God. The Holy Ghost. In the. Bringing. To pass.

[31:33] And bringing. To fruition. Of that. Which in the. Councils. Of a Jehovah. Was. Always. For day. My.

[31:45] She. Hear. My. Voice. And they. Follow. Me. We have it here. The. The appointed.

[31:55] Time. Jesus. Was. Unsought. By Matthew. I doubt. Whether he had even given it.

[32:06] A consideration. Whether he. This. Despised. Tax. Gatherer. Should. Follow. This.

[32:17] Man. Of whom. So much. Was. Spoken. And yet. He was so. Despised. By the. Religious. Leaders. All.

[32:28] That is. Of. No. Vale. At all. It means. Not a thing. His thoughts. His desires. The Lord.

[32:38] God. Almighty. Says. My thoughts. Are not your thoughts. And. My ways. Are not your ways. He left all.

[32:52] Rose up. And. Followed him. And remember. Jesus. Looked upon him. Just as he was. He saw him. As a sinner. But.

[33:04] He saw him. Not only. In his. Sin. And the love. Of that sin. But. He saw him. As his. Disciple. Follow.

[33:16] Me. By these. Means. These. Gracious. Loving.

[33:27] Means. All opposition. Is broken down. And that soul. Will. In love. In love. To that.

[33:38] Which is revealed. Unto him. By the spirit. Of truth. Concerning. Jesus Christ. God's dear son. In whom.

[33:48] All the fullness. Of salvation. Dwell. Will. As Matthew. Did. Leave all. Rise up.

[34:00] And follow. Love. But there was. There was something more. And we should only have time to briefly mention it. He went from that place.

[34:12] As a follower. A disciple. Of Jesus Christ. Oh. It was an immediately effective. A command. But once it brought its fruit.

[34:25] Levi. Made him a great feast. In his own house. And who did he call? There were great company.

[34:35] Of publicans. And of others. That sat down with them. And that incurred the wrath of the Pharisees. They knew not.

[34:49] That secret work. That had taken place. In this man's heart. They knew not. That. Which he had been called to. A follower.

[35:00] Of the land. Walking. In loving obedience. Whatsoever. He saith unto thee. Do it. They said.

[35:13] Why do ye eat and drink. With publicans and sinners. And Jesus answered. Thy that are home. Need not a position.

[35:27] Thy that are sick. And it is these sin sick souls. Whom Jesus loves. To whom this command comes.

[35:40] I came not to call the righteous. But sinners. To repent. To repent. Oh. Have we ever blessed God. For that. Truth made known to us.

[35:53] To cause sinners. To repent. The very purpose. Of his coming into this sinful world. His name shall be called Jesus.

[36:05] For he shall save. His people. From their sin. And saving them. They.

[36:16] In their turn. Must. Follow him. For in him is life. And light. And liberty.

[36:26] Even. Even while they traverse. Of this wilderness here. But in keeping close. To him. Of these dear sheep.

[36:37] Of the fold. Hear his voice. Receive their food. Know his protection. And have the comfort of this.

[36:50] That when the journey is done. The door of the fold. Was open for them. The door of his mercy. Has been open now.

[37:01] But the door of that heavenly fold. Will then be opened. Through Christ Jesus. Whom they follow. And they shall be. Safe and secure.

[37:12] But the time's gone. These are but a few broken thoughts. But I trust. They were of the Lord. And if so. And who can tell.

[37:25] That we may. Sigh. We have seen strange things. Today. All that soul. That were to Jesus. Press.

[37:36] Must keep this firm. And sure. That his command. Is to be obeyed. Amen. Amen.

[37:51] Amen. Amen. Amen.