The Great Physician - He Came Serving, Seeking and Saving The Lost

The Great Physician - He Came Serving, Seeking and Saving The Lost MARK 2:13 – 17 13. “Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them. 14. As He passed by, He saw Levi the [son] of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him. 15. Now it happened, as He was dining in [Levi's] house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. 16. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How [is it] that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?" 17. When Jesus heard [it], He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call [the] righteous, but sinners, to repentance."

The Great Physician - He Came Serving, Seeking and Saving The Lost INTRODUCTION 1. As we read though the first Chapter of Mark and up to the point of our text this morning we see Jesus healing those that are physically ill. 2. People are really being drawn to Him - many who are physically ill/sick. 3. He is beginning to call His Disciples and Apostles . 4. He is setting the Standard of His Ministry and what He expects of us today. 5. He demonstrates that we must be “Outward” Focused” not “Inward Focused”.

The Great Physician - He Came Serving, Seeking and Saving The Lost 6. He immediately went about preaching and healing, as He began His Ministry after John baptizes him. In doing so He called people to follow Him... a. Such as Simon and Andrew - Mark 1:16-18 b. Also James and John - Mark 1:19-20 7. And even as He did then - Jesus wants us to call people to follow Him TODAY... a. He wants All to become His disciples - Matthew 28:19-20 b. He wants All to enjoy His salvation - Mark 16:15-16

The Great Physician - He Came Serving, Seeking and Saving The Lost 8. However, when begin to consider Who are suitable prospects for discipleship and salvation what are our deciding factors? 9. We might think those who are already religiously inclined are who we should focus on. 10. Yet our text for this study (Mark 2:13-17) should serve to caution us not to limit our view of who is a prospect for the Great Healer. ARE WE GUILTY OF THIS? 11. And then there are those who feel they don’t need the Great Physician at all in their lives.

The Great Physician - He Came Serving, Seeking and Saving The Lost 7. While Jesus did heal the “Physically Sick” - Luke 19:10 reads; “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”  That was His purpose and if we wear His name, then it should be ours as well.  So in our Lesson today we do need to focus on the question - “How important is bringing souls to Christ to you?” How Important is getting them to the Great Physician so they can live eternally?

The Great Physician - He Came Serving, Seeking and Saving The Lost The teaching of Jesus changes lives. There is nothing more needed today than the teaching of Jesus. The purpose of this lesson is to motivate us at Anderson to be more zealous in reaching out to the lost all around us. Jesus went out.  Let us go out from this building and proclaim that Jesus saves. “He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them.”  Mark 2:13 (ESV)

The Great Physician - He Came Serving, Seeking and Saving The Lost The Setting of the Text A. Verse 14  “As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him,  “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.” a. Jesus was teaching by the shores of Galilee (13) b. As He passed by he called Matthew THE TAX COLLECTOR c. Levi was Matthew

The Great Physician - He Came Serving, Seeking and Saving The Lost 12.How many people do we pass by each day that need Jesus? - HOW MANY Need His Healing Power?

The Great Physician - He Came Serving, Seeking and Saving The Lost D. Levi (Matthew) was a tax collector (a publican), a profession not well-liked - Luke 5:27 a. Viewed as traitors - as Jews working for the Roman government b. Viewed as extortionists - for publicans often charged exorbitant fees c. Classed together with sinners and harlots - Luke 15:1-2; Matthew 21:31-32 E . Yet Jesus calls him to become a disciple - Mark 2:14 a. "Follow Me" - Mark 1:17-18 b. He "left all" and followed Jesus - cf. Luke 5:28 Not someone you might consider having potential as a follower of Christ!

The Great Physician - He Came Serving, Seeking and Saving The Lost THE TAX COLLECTOR HOSTS JESUS... 1. Levi (Matthew) gave Jesus a great feast in his house - Mark 2:15; 2. There were many tax collectors and sinners present - Mark 2:15 3. The scribes and Pharisees are shocked - Mark 2:16 a. Luke says they "complained" - cf. Luke 5:30 b. They wondered how Jesus could eat with tax collectors and sinners 4. Jesus' response - Mark 2:17 "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick, I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance“

The Great Physician - He Came Serving, Seeking and Saving The Lost Jesus' words reveal why Levi (Matthew) was a prospect for discipleship; He was sick He was a sinner He is who Jesus came seeking He needed the Healing of the Great Physician

The Great Physician - He Came Serving, Seeking and Saving The Lost III. Lessons from the Text Some do NOT believe or feel that they have a real need for the Healing of Jesus by their actions, their deeds, by their words or lack thereof. They feel that others do not have this need or deserve the “Healing of Jesus” as demonstrated as above. "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick, I did not come to call the righteous,………….” (17) Jesus has an interesting attitude toward those of that mind set. He says , “I did not come to call them…..” Interesting!!!

The Great Physician - He Came Serving, Seeking and Saving The Lost 5. Are you so good that you do not need a Jesus? Matthew 9:12-13 “When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” Where is our heart?

The Great Physician - He Came Serving, Seeking and Saving The Lost Repentance – the changing of one’s life, to turn to God. The Great Physician’s call, is a call to repentance. Acts 3:19 “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” Bumper sticker: "If you're headed in the wrong direction, God allows U-Turns"

The Great Physician - He Came Serving, Seeking and Saving The Lost JESUS IS LOOKING FOR SINNERS... “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance“ a. In regard to the disease of sin, we are all sick - Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Mark 2:17 "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick“ Jesus is that Physician He is Looking For Me and YOU, the Great Physician is ready to heal those willing to repent of sin!

The Great Physician - He Came Serving, Seeking and Saving The Lost How do we turn our focus outward and not inward? By sharing Christ with someone who needs him.  a. How many sitting around you in our Bible classes need to hear the basics of Christ? 2. Share Christ at our meals.  (Private and Public) 3. Let us focus on those visiting with us. (It may be the only opportunity) 4. Our focus should be more on lost souls than popular issues. Our emphasis should be more on seeking the lost than pampering the mature.  (There have been times when I spend much more of my time on the congregation than the lost.  Should it be so?)

The Great Physician - He Came Serving, Seeking and Saving The Lost 6. We need a renewed mind set of how we can bring the lost to Jesus. Instead of declaring and figuring out everything that won’t, doesn’t, work, we need to be planning what does or will work. 7. When we do get someone we then need a plan to train and keep them close to Jesus. 8. We need an outward focus.  We need to look beyond the needs of the church of Christ - Anderson and it’s physical property and see the harvest of lost souls that surround us.

A Personal Thought One of the things that has really grabbed my attention over the past 10-15 years is the number of times that I and other preachers are told that we need to not have so many “negative” sermons. (I agree, there needs to be balance) However, I am also intrigued as to how many times I hear the phrase from Church Members, “We have tried that and it doesn’t work.” regarding differing ways to present the message of Life The list has become so long and mentioned so often that I now ask myself if we just need to “close shop” and forget the whole thing based upon these “opinions”. Yet, What is clear to me from reading all the statistics, bulletin articles, books, and differing pieces of literature that has now been generated about how the Church is declining during this “NEW and IMPROVED” approach that I cannot help but wonder what we are really focusing on? For people to APPRECIATE THE MESSAGE OF LIFE THEY MUST APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT THEY ARE DYING WITHOUT THE GREAT PHYSICIAN!!!!

Conclusion 1. Sin is sickness that brings death ROMANS 3:23 2. Jesus' interaction with the tax collector should serve to remind us... a. We are never too sinful to be saved by Jesus b. We must be willing to reach out to those who are lost c. Good prospects are family, friends, and co-workers 3. Are you willing to let Jesus be your Great Physician? 4. Are you willing to join Him in seeking and saving the lost...?

What MUST You Do to Be Saved? Hear The Word Of God Romans 10:17 Believe His Word Mark 16:16, John 8:24 Repent of your sins Luke 13:3, Acts 2:38 Confess your belief Romans 10:10, Acts 8:37 Be Baptized Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38 For the Remission of Your Sins Acts 22:16 Galatians 3:26, 27 Live Faithfully Titus 2:11-14