Matthew

[0:00] I'm seeking the Lord's help. I attract your attention this evening to the Gospel according to Matthew, reading from chapter 9 and part of verse 9.

[0:14] Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 9 and part of verse 9. And he saith unto him, Follow me.

[0:26] And he arose and followed him. And he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.

[0:39] The whole text reads, And as Jesus passed forth from then, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the receipt of custom.

[0:51] He saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him. The Lord had a purpose.

[1:11] The purpose was to use this man as an instrument in his kingdom.

[1:21] And he came and called him. He did not call him at random.

[1:34] He knew him in eternity past. He loved him with an everlasting love. We see this many times.

[1:52] Zacchaeus, come down. Today is salvation. Come to thy house. Nicodemus was loved.

[2:07] Jesus taught him. There was fruit. He carried his body to the grave. A woman at the well. There was a purpose.

[2:22] He must needs go through Samaria. And to her was given that most beautiful of all works. I that speak unto thee am he.

[2:35] As he revealed himself to her. As the Messiah. And the eternal Son of God. The Lord has a purpose. In our day and generation.

[2:49] He calls. It is. An effectual call. We see here. He called.

[3:03] Matthew directly. From the receipt of customs. Others. Were called.

[3:15] Indirectly. My mind. Went in. Considering this text. To the first chapter of the. Gospel of John. And there.

[3:28] We read of the. Disciples. And how. One of them. We read this. That the.

[3:41] John the Baptist. Speaking of Christ. Said. Behold the. Lamb of God. And there was one who heard it.

[3:54] And he followed Jesus. And he went. And spoke. To his brethren. The one that followed. Was Andrew. And he went and fetched his brother.

[4:05] Simon. Peter. Said. And if I found the Messiah. Which is being interpreted. The Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. And we know. What happened. Thou art Peter.

[4:17] Thou shalt be called. Seepers. And he was upon that rock. Christ Jesus. He was to be. Minister. The gospel.

[4:29] And the Lord was to. Send him into his vineyard. He uses instruments. His servants. To call his people.

[4:40] And there is a power. It tends. Their words. And the. Preaching of the gospel. What. A word.

[4:51] This is. It rested upon my mind. Today. And it did yesterday. Follow me. Have you followed him?

[5:01] How far have you followed him? Has he separated you? Matthew apparently.

[5:16] Was separated from the world. He was. As we read in this chapter. It was in his house. That this feast. Took place.

[5:28] And the scribes and Pharisees. Accused Christ. Of eating with public. And sinners. It was not solely. That he called such.

[5:39] Why. Apostle Paul. Was called to follow him. As a Pharisee. Brought out of him. And separated. But there was a power. That separated.

[5:51] A rested. Effectual power. That. Was a holy. Heavenly commandment. In the heart. And that resulted.

[6:03] In fruit. I was very struck. With this text. Upon my mind. In the vestry here. This evening. When our dear brother. Prayed.

[6:14] In a way. I've never heard anyone. Pray before. That. The. Preaching. Might result. In action. Each. That.

[6:41] and he arose and followed him. We are poor creatures.

[6:56] Not known for instant obedience. Known for many excuses to God. Moses eager in the court of Pharaoh to defend and lead his people Israel.

[7:20] But after 40 years in the backside of the desert excuses send whom they will. He could not see when the command came to follow Christ.

[7:37] He could not see. He was as the Apostle Paul says esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. He had respect under the recompense of the reward.

[7:49] But could he follow him? No. Couldn't obey. Wouldn't obey. Send whom they will, he said to the Lord.

[7:59] O perhaps that is in your heart. Send whom they will. And you know so often we lay down before God what we need to obey him.

[8:22] what he must do to bring us to obedience. We look at others. We think, well they had this and that blessing.

[8:35] No. We come in dependence with nothing. Utter dependence upon the Lord as Matthew did in implicit obedience to follow him in his commandments.

[8:52] Nothing doubted him. And the Lord called you read in some of the scriptures here those who were called and they said had to go back to bury their father.

[9:12] Had to go back to say farewell. all that Christ had to say about him. And we put the hand to the player looking back. Not worthy of him.

[9:28] The Lord's call is to forsake all and follow him. And this was his command to his disciples. It was implicit obedience.

[9:44] that he required and does require today. An implicit obedience. Not to say to him Lord if thou will give me this blessing or that I'll follow thee.

[10:03] Oh and the Lord calls. What a power there is in it. We know and I know and knew myself what it was to walk in disobedience.

[10:20] But there is a blessedness in submission and obedience. Here is joy and peace.

[10:33] This man was to be used of God to write this very gospel. two of the disciples John and Matthew wrote Nicodemus was beused of God to carry his body to the grave and he knew it when he spoke to him that night.

[10:55] we see here the determined counsel for knowledge of God in electing love and mercy that he has a purpose for his dear children and he will use them.

[11:09] Come what may in despite of all their rebellion he will use them. Some are solemnly left to walk in disobedience and their lives are full of sorrow and bitterness doubt and fear.

[11:32] Remember standing with my late father in the dying bed of a dear man of God I shall never forget those words the words were these I was exorcised 14 years ago I never cared if I rise from this bed I'll come he didn't as I left that house my father turned to me and said as far as I'm concerned he's baptized this solemn path of disobedience yet oh the blessedness of obedience those who came to Christ we have read of them here in this chapter the dear woman what faith if I may but touch the hem of his garment I should be whole daughter go in peace thy faith it is faith and his dear people venture to follow him it is a gift of God in the exercise of it and there is a proving of it this is the path the Lord

[12:54] Jesus walked behold the Lamb of God said John take it away the sin of the world oh how that preaching of the gospel drew Andrew and Andrew's word drew Peter and John blessed working of the spirit in the hearts of God's living family a rightening of his purposes and a bringing forth of fruit to his honour and his glory that in following him there is a taking up of a cross there is indeed the Lord calls his dear people to walk in his footsteps they'll be despised like their master they'll be hated without a cause they'll be tried and tempted as God's dear people always are constantly they will need divine help and strength in their solemn way they will need keeping by the mighty hand of

[14:19] God they will be the subject of Satan's temptation and the Lord's dealings with them in his love and in his mercy he chastens his dear people and they will have many lessons to learn it will be a conflict in many ways a bitter conflict scripture shows Peter denying his Lord with oaths and curses follow me he said as regards following Christ I go even unto death yet he had to learn what it was in following Christ he brought down at the mercy seat with a broken and a contrite heart when thou art converted said

[15:24] Christ to him strengthen thy brethren or the pathway then that the Lord called his dear disciple Peter to walk pathway of humbling yet a pathway of proving God's faithfulness pathway of convict pathway of learning but a pathway in which his Lord would always be faithful to him he would never leave him nor forsake him it was a pathway in which the flesh would be crucified the pathway which followed that ordinance of baptism in its blessed figure buried with Christ in baptism raised with him the newness of life yes old nature to be buried poor nature this was the figure death to this world and the

[16:38] Lord calls his dear church to follow him it is to be separated from this world forever by a mighty separation no longer to find their pleasure and enjoyment in the company of the godless heathen but to find their union communion with the living family of God I never come into this sanctuary of God without it rushes into my memory so many godly saints that I have known and loved here and believe they are now most certainly in glory they leave behind a precious memory they leave behind this that they endured unto the end the great hallmark of the work of God in their heart was they followed him that they were separate and separated from the world the great hallmark of so many of them was this that in love they followed him in the sacred ordinances which he had ordained in the church and walked in submission in faith in rest in himself their following was not at a distance they'd not make excuses the

[18:19] Lord was with them they were weak but they were strong in him he loved them they ventured all upon him and he kept them they fought a good fight they endured they suffered many crucifying sorrow on the cross but that was not unexpected and this they endured under the end and there was manifested in their life blessed fruit they brought forth fruit in old age they could speak well of their Lord their lips were not tightly shut the things that they had handled and tasted as John the Divine said the good word of life and they knew the

[19:31] Lord's presence with them and then they used them and does use his dear children there were those raised up in this church to be deacons upon whose shoulders fell the burden of responsibility and in Zion that we see those who followed him raised up as Matthew was here to be ministers of the gospel he came from a despised pathway he was an agent of the Roman Empire he was despised of his own people because he collected taxes for a foreign power he came from a humble background numbered amongst republicans and sinners and yet the eye of his

[20:39] God was upon him his eye was upon all of them when he called Nathaniel Nathaniel's response was hey no is they me oh he did know him he said of him behold an Israelite indeed in whom is no God but you see those called to be used in their day and generation of their God we're called to a path of blessedness with humble instruments in God's hands a blessing to his dear people not to be onlookers in Zion but to bear the burden and responsibility but there was to be joy in their pathway fruit to their labour the Lord was to move and work in their lives and he has the same purposes today there is a sweet blessedness in the path of obedience oh what a heavenly satisfaction not pride something vastly different the beauty of that heavenly word and commandment if you love me that mighty if that examination of our whole religion if you love me keep my commandment it is the love of

[22:37] Christ and love to Christ that constrains poor sinners to follow him to venture on him as the dear hymn writer says venture holy let no other trust in truth all the solemn antithesis antithesis of this is unbelief leads to darkness and sorrow but the powers of obedience are the powers of peace and joy in the Lord they're the powers of venturing on him for strength and grace and oh when we see in so many of the cases in the scriptures these dear saints they touched the hand of his garment many as touched him were made whole they ventured all on him they came to him and they knew what the woman knew virtue has gone out of me they knew what it was to enter into his strength in their weakness they knew what it was to know those everlasting arms of love and mercy upholding them they walked in the ordinances of his house in that heavenly peace that one day they'd be called to pass through more than the figure the actual valley of the shadow of death and there to know that same

[24:21] Jesus in all his faithfulness his love and his mercy we don't read that these men of God when they were called in these early days of their life and any peculiar particular blessings the Lord called them by his spirit read on the day of Pentecost many whose hearts were touched by the word the dear eunuch in the desert when Philip went to speak to him under divine erection came to that most blessed of all places what doth hinder me to be baptized died the only word that Philip gave to him was this if they believe it with all thine heart thou may and his response was this

[25:29] I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God the path will be a path of trial it must be it will be to take up our cross and to follow him but if you and I are to follow in the footsteps of Christ what a blessed path to be called into nothing more precious than this nothing more precious in the Lord's eyes than walking in this earth in a humble path of dependence in faith upon him resting in him all the way finding him to be that faithful unchangeable friend how blessed it is to walk in his paths and to prove the sweetness of those eternal and everlasting arms underneath us and to know that divine help and strength to be able to say with the apostle

[26:49] Paul I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me oh when the Lord calls how we see the solemnity of those who disobey those who followed him so far but not all the way those who followed him at a distance how solemn were there footsteps very struck in reading in the gospel of John of the Lord's conversation with a rich young man he loved him he had much of the things of this world the Lord said to him go sell all that thou hast to give to the poor and come thou and follow me but he was sorrowful and went away all the solemnity of those who followed him for the loaves and fishes he challenged them with it but I thought of those who followed him in love irrespective of what the world thought those dear women

[28:22] Mary Magdalene Mary the mother of Jesus they came and followed him right to the cross the blessedness of those who had been so long secretly disciples the fear of the Jews it hid their light under a bushel in vast unbelief and disobedience yet he did not despise them but when the time came he brought them out into the open to follow him I believe this they never went back to be a secret disciple no longer were they silent their lips sealed they now joined the body of the disciples and went to their own company under the work of the spirit and how blessed that the

[29:29] Lord should have chosen two such men to come out and reveal the fact they were his followers in that hour of great danger and to take his body to the tomb what glorious sacred divine privilege these were the men he called they had been so fearful others who followed him like doubting Thomas what a character he was I'll not believe unless I see the Lord had such mercy and compassion on him how we often say I'll not do that unless the Lord gives me a word how solemn the Lord had mercy on Gideon he asked for signs and the Lord gave them to him be not angry with me he said oh when the Lord moves and works he requires implicit obedience and he calls his dear children into that same pathway that he walked himself obedient unto death even the death of the cross who had a right realization of the majesty and glory of

[31:03] God and how he looks upon sin and rebellion and defiance and disobedience the extent of his mercy merciful gracious long suffering plenteous in goodness and truth forgiving iniquity transgression and sin oh he forgives the wanderer Moses with all his disobedience at the burning book he gave him Aaron to speak for him but oh how solemn ever I believe must he have thought as he listened to

[32:03] Aaron speaking for him of his unbelief his unreadiness and unwillingness to trust his God and to bring him into those paths of obedience these are solemn things Matthew obeyed implicitly what a beautiful word it is and he arose and followed him he came in love to his God to walk in those paths the Lord had ordered and it's a blessed thing in Zion when there is the grace of submission when there is the exercise of faith when there is a trust in him and when there is a venturing in his holy name and when there is follow me and it is heard in the heart there's no lingering the Lord requires all the heart or nothing the Lord has begun with us let us not turn back or linger or bring to him anything but simple submission and obedience for he delights in this

[33:55] I know that he himself is touched with the feeling of our infirmity in Gethsemane he said if it be possible let this cut pass from me but I would point out to you this that was not all he added nevertheless not my will but thine be done and he said unto him follow me and he arose and followed him Amen