I Am Blessed For Responding To The Call That God Has Given Me

WEEK OF JANUARY 12–18, 2010

TOPIC: “I Am Blessed For Responding To The Call That God Has Given Me” Mark 2:13-17 It is a great privilege for us that God has called us for Him and that is not fleeting; God’s call will not cease but is eternal here and in Heaven. Blessed are those who have responded to this call because it is our greatest well-being. Sometimes we think that it is a difficult burden and it really is, because the world lives comfortably, but we live according to God’s will. It is a fear that always worries us, to respond well to that call. As Christians we go a little further than a full day or what any other person may do. Our life is to walk the path that leads to perfection. When the Lord called Levi, he immediately got up and followed Him. We have the privilege of God calling us. Only a few wishes to obey His call. When God calls it is for our well-being, but to respond to that call is another thing. God’s call is a blessing that no one else can give us. There are circumstances in our life that mortals cannot resolve, the only one who can work in us in a supernatural way is God. Then, we have to respond to His call by going after Him. We can never walk in front of Him or besides Him. Like Levi, we can only walk behind Him with an attitude of humbleness. We always have to be on our knees before God, surrendered knowing that He called us. He is the powerful God who manifests, who seeks men and women who are willing to follow Him. We could never respond to His call living a life half way, between the world and God or according to our soul, because the soul depresses and confuses. Those who sustain the call do so in the difficult day, in the good day, in abundance and in scarcity; always makes the effort. It is not because of the church or men, but because God calls, He chooses us. God is holy and seeks holy men and women for Him. Matthew, Levi, was a tax collector, probably not the most righteous or honest for occupying that position. He was despised by men. Nowadays, in the same way we are despised by many. But, like Matthew, we have a call to follow Him. Being hated by many in those times, we can see the love of Jesus for him. When Matthew looked, what he saw was Jesus’ transforming expression that remained penetrated in him. He would never forget that! We shouldn’t forget when Jesus called us either. That tax collector collected everything he could filling his pocket with extra earnings. But Jesus sees deep inside us. God wants to work in us and it is us who respond. Then, He will do His work in us. There were no good qualities in Matthew, but Jesus wanted him when no one else did. God is listening 24 hours a day what our mouth speaks and watches after us, because like Matthew, He also chose us. Jesus gave His friendship to the one everyone else would have felt ashamed to have as a friend. As a “sinner” he became a friend of Jesus. (Mark 2:16) He became our friend even when we were sinners. (Romans 5:8) When Jesus presented His friendship, Matthew became a new person; Jesus made him new. When Jesus arrives, he makes us new, He gives us His peace and joy. He gives us everything. He does so that in us there will always be a disposition of responding always to His call. We prepare ourselves as we walk thru the path that He chose for us. Those pharisees would never see the Matthew they saw before. He didn’t qualify to be a rabbi because he was a sinner, but for Jesus he did

qualify to be His disciple. For many, we don’t qualify, but for Jesus we do. For that religious elite of those times Matthew did not qualify because of his indecency, but before God’s throne he was the one to receive the call and we should rejoice of this also. Matthew resigned sooner than the others because he made a quick decision. God is the provider for those He calls and that we have to believe and live. We should respond with a firm and quick decision to the call God has given us, with instantaneous and unconditional obedience like Matthew. God does not work with conditions because He knows our needs and gives us more abundantly than we can imagine. There should be no condition to follow Jesus. Levi prepared a great banquet in his house to present to his Master and his friends (sinners), but the Pharisees were there to accuse Jesus. Matthew wanted to show that now he would be following Jesus and that his life would go on according to that call that was made to him. If someone is clear about fulfilling the call, that is God. We should fight for this call. If we are distracted, we will not be able to respond to this call, let us be careful. Jesus did not come to call on the righteous, but the sinners. When we make the decision to follow Jesus, He cleanses us and we can look at everyone in the eye like Levi. He made the decision to become poor and put an end to his comforts to become a clean man. For that his mind was in peace to look at everyone. He lost everything but he found something better. Matthew pursued Jesus and wrote everything, he never left his pen. He stopped being an impious to write the history of our Lord Jesus Christ. He was capable of writing everything with many details and with precision. Better than being a tax collector, his response to the Lord’s call brought him immortal and universal fame. God is never shorthanded for those who gamble their lives for Him. Are you willing? Those who refuse Jesus’ call will be remembered only for a moment. Matthew, from a despicable profession., was admired by the whole world for being the writer of a marvelous book about his Master. Just like that man, let us respond also to our call and like him we will see God’s glory. Amen.