From the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster we present Let the Bible Speak. It's good to have you join us today as we spend time around the Word of God, preaching Christ in all His fullness to men and women in all their need. It's good to be here tonight to preach to you the Word of God. I trust that the Lord will richly bless us as we are gathered together in his name. If you would please turn with me in the Word of God tonight to Mark's Gospel, chapter two, and I want to read verses 13 through 15. So it's Mark's Gospel, chapter two, commencing to read at verse 13. Let us now hear the Word of God. And he went forth again by the seaside, and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them. And as he passed by, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him. And it came to pass that as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many, and they followed him. May it please the Lord to bless the public reading of his word to all of our hearts for Christ's sake. Amen. We'll take a moment to bow for prayer, please. Let's all pray. Our Father, we're thankful tonight for the privilege of coming again to sit under the means of grace, to sit under Thine infallible Word. We do ask of Thee to bless us richly as we turn to this interesting story before us. We thank Thee for that day when Levi was powerfully converted by Thy grace. And even tonight, as the Word of God goes forth, we pray that it might go forth in power of the Holy Spirit, and that those who hear may even have that conversion experience like one of old, and may they come to taste and see that the Lord is good. So send thy gracious Spirit to help us in the preaching of the Word of God. May everything that I said and done, may it bring glory to thy thrice holy name, for we ask these things for Jesus' sake and for God's eternal glory. Amen. Amen. In the passage before us, we find the Lord Jesus Christ in Capernaum, his adopted home and headquarters during his earthly ministry. And as he passed through the town on this occasion, Levi, the local tax collector, was gloriously saved. He was converted by the grace of God. His life was changed that day forevermore. what a memorable day it was in his experience. Now this conversion was something that just didn't last for a few weeks or a few months. It was something that lasted forever. It was a lasting work because it was wrought by the Holy Spirit. Now there's something interesting I noted as I read through this chapter. You will discover that verses 1 through 12 of the chapter tell of a work that was wrought by Christ in a house in Capernaum. The verses before us tell of a work done by Christ in a heart in Capernaum. And verses 13 through 15 describe what happened on that memorable day in a heart of a man who was a deep-dyed sinner. Notice especially the words found there at the beginning of verse 14, as he passed by. Of course, the reference is to the Lord Jesus Christ, as Jesus passed by. I feel there's something very solemn here. Jesus came, Jesus spoke, and Jesus passed by. What an opportunity it was for Levi, how unexpectedly it came, how quickly it passed. We could say that it was a passing offer of salvation. It was the now of the accepted time. Whatever your need may be today, don't miss the golden opportunity for Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. Levi was converted that day in Capernaum as he passed by. I have three very simple things I want to highlight to you from this portion of God's Word this evening. Three very simple things. First of all, let's think about what Jesus saw as he passed by. Well, what did Jesus see as he passed by that day? Verse 14 tells us, he saw Levi. Now, where did he see Levi on that occasion? If we look at the word of God again, we see he was sitting at the receipt of custom. This was the tool booth. This was the tax office or whatever kind of structure it was. Now, I also noticed an interesting thing. If you look back to verse six, you will see something interesting. Jesus saw the scribes sitting in the house. So twice we read of people sitting. And then as you go back to chapter one and the opening verses of chapter two, we see two different people. And the word of God tells us that they were lying upon their beds. Peter's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, chapter one, verse 30. And the sick of the palsy lay, chapter two, verse four. So let me try to link these things together. The scribes sat in the house with critical hearts. They were listening to the Lord Jesus Christ, and they were reasoning in their hearts. Their hearts were filled with criticism and unbelief. So they had critical hearts. And Levi, he was sitting at the receipt of custom with a covetous heart. And they speak of the heart of the sinner and what they had. The scribes, they were critical, and Levi, he had a covetous heart, and that clearly teaches me or shows to me that they had unregenerate hearts. Now the other two that we've mentioned already speak of the helplessness of the sinner. You read there about the mother-in-law of Peter and the man sick of a palsy. They were confined to their bed. They were unable to do anything to help themselves. And we can apply that spiritually because the sinner in his natural state can do nothing to commend them to the grace of God. They are hopelessly and helplessly lost in sin. And there's nothing that they can do to commend them to God's mercy and God's grace. So we have the picture of the heart of the sinner and the helplessness of the sinner, but Christ proved to be the hope of the sinner. He dealt with Peter Smolernov, he dealt with a man who was sick of a palsy, and he dealt powerfully with Levi the Publican. And so Christ is the hope of the sinner. And I trust that today that the Holy Spirit will take this truth and apply it to your heart as you listen to the ministry of God's word. But what can we say of the scribes? Well, we think about the hardening of a sinner. In spite of what they saw, in spite of what they heard from the lips of Christ, they continued to harden their hearts, and they rejected the Lord Jesus Christ. So we have these thoughts, these threads linked together typifying the heart of a sinner, the helplessness of the sinner, the hope for the sinner, and the hardening of the sinner. These scribes rejected the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, when you read this portion, you will discover that the Lord knew the tax collector's name. He knew his occupation as well and the spirit of condition. And the Lord knew exactly where to find him. He knows your name. He knows your occupation, your spiritual condition. And he, thank God, knows where to find you. The omniscience of Christ is brought to attention. He's the all-knowing, the all-seeing Christ. And he knows your heart. He knows your spiritual state before him. And he is the answer to every need. And I trust and pray that God tonight will meet you at the point of your need. The Word of God tells us that he saw Levi, and the word that is used there means to view or to look with attention. It's from a word from which we get our English word theater and carries the idea of gazing with a purpose. That implies a constant penetrating look. The Lord focused his eyes upon Levi and searched his soul with a penetrating perception. He saw. What did he see? He saw a tax collector that calls him a publican. Matthew in his gospel calls himself the publican. He seemed to be saying, I'm the worst of them all. I am the publican of publicans. That's a term of scorn and contempt. And today we would say that he was a civil servant working for the hated Romans. It was a position that did not come by appointment, but by purchase. It was sold to the highest bidder. And whatever was collected over and above what was required was pocketed by the individual concerned, receiving the taxes. And the whole system allowed for dishonesty. He became rich with money stolen from his own countrymen. What kind of a character was he? The Jewish tax collectors were the most hated men in Hebrew society. They could not serve as a judge or a witness in court. No one would believe them. They were not set to officiate in legal affairs. They were excommunicated from the synagogue. They were not allowed to enter the synagogue to worship. That's why I feel the publican that we read of in Luke 18, he stood afar off. He could not lift up his head in the presence of God. He was separated from God. He was a sinner. He realized that. But thank God he prayed from the depths of his heart, God be merciful to me, the sinner. The money of the publicans were not acceptable for the service of God. So his career kept him from the house of God. Reputation didn't matter. The all important thing about him and his life was riches. Work was more important than worship. Now, when we read this story, we discover that he was a man with two names. Levi, of course, it was the old name. Matthew was the new name given to him after his conversion. Levi means joined. It may have referred to the tribe that he belonged to. If it does, it designates his priestly privilege in the Jewish community. For the tribe of Levi was set apart for the service and the worship of God. What he was involved in was a far cry from what his tribe was set apart to do. It was a denial of his name. Jesus saw Levi. He saw a man who was joined to his sin. Remember the story of the prodigal? Remember what he did? He left his father's home. He went to the far country. And then when his finances ran out, The Bible says that he joined himself to a citizen of the country. Or we could say he glued himself to the citizen of the country. It was degrading for a Jew to be sent to the fields to feed swine. He left home to find freedom. But what did he find? He only found bondage. He joined himself to something. That was forbidden to a Jew. Remember over there in Hosea chapter 6 and verse 17, the Lord said about Ephraim, a name for Israel. Ephraim has joined or glued to idols. Let him alone. What happened to Israel? What happened to Ephraim? Idolatry destroyed them. And in 722, the Assyrians came and carried the people away. God judged them for their sin. And the people never really regrouped again. When Judah was carried away many years later, a remnant returned to the land of Israel to rebuild again the temple and eventually to build the city walls. But Ephraim was joined to idols, joined to idolatry. And because of idolatry, God judged them and carried them away. But here, on this occasion, the Lord Jesus Christ stopped off in Capernaum, saw a man sitting there joined to his sin, and the Lord, in mercy and in grace, took a deal with his soul, bestowed mercy upon him, and saved his never-dying soul. And he was gloriously, powerfully converted by the grace of God. What a mercy that was. So we have this whole thought before us of what Jesus saw as he passed by. The second thing is what Jesus said as he passed by. Well, what did Jesus say as he passed by? Well, if you look there at verse 14, we discover what he said. He said, follow me. It wasn't complicated. The language was simple and the message was clear. He doesn't have to be a theologian to understand that sometimes, I think, we as preachers complicate things. But here the Lord Jesus Christ, the master preacher, he made it very simple. He simply said to the sinner, follow me. And you will notice that Christ took the initiative. He spoke first. Levi doesn't even speak in this account at all. It was not what he said, it was what he did that counted. And Matthew Henry, the commentator, wrote, we have not chosen him, but he has chosen us. We love him because he first loved us. We come to him because he first came to us. We seek him because he first sought us. And that's what we find here. The Lord came seeking this man. The Lord called him. in grace. And when God called in grace, the Holy Spirit took that message, applied it to the heart of the man who was sitting there in the sin, brought him to an end of himself, and placed him into the family of God. The multitude was addressed in a general way in verse 13. It says he taught them, Jesus taught them, that is the multitude. Levi was addressed in a particular way, verse 14. The Lord spoke to Levi personally. He said unto him. He didn't speak unto a colleague of Levi. He didn't speak to someone else in the crowd. He spoke to Levi. Levi heard his name from the lips of Christ. My sheep hear my voice. And they followed me. The word was addressed personally to Levi, and in a particular fashion, and Levi knew it. My sheep hear my voice, and they follow me. Remember the story of Mary on the resurrection morning. The Lord came and stood beside Mary. Mary thought that Jesus was a stranger until he spoke unto her. And the Bible says, he saith unto her, Mary. It was a voice she recognized. She recognized it to be the voice of her beloved. And she cried, Rabbi. Before that, she was discouraged and depressed. But when she heard from him, it changed her whole attitude. She recognized him. She turned to him. She embraced him. It was a voice she recognized at the tomb of Lazarus, the Lord Jesus Christ. cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he did that to identify the one being raised. It was a particular call. It was a powerful call. It was recognized and it was responded to favorably. On the Damascus road, the name of the individual being called was doubled, Saul, Saul. And Saul heard that call very, very clearly. Saul wasn't the only one on the Damascus road on that occasion. We read about those who stood with him, and they were speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. Now Saul was converted. But there's no record of any other conversions on that occasion. The point I'm emphasizing is this. The Lord came and he called Levi personally. It was a personal call. It was a powerful call. It was an effectual call. It brought what the Lord wanted it to, to work in this man's life. Levi was called in the midst of the activities of a questionable business. He was the most unacceptable of Christ's disciples. Yet Christ sought him out. Christ sought this man that no one else wanted to know. No one else wanted to identify with him. But the Lord, in divine grace and in divine mercy, set his love upon him. And in his sight, Levi was precious. Isn't that a wonderful thought? He was one of those given to Christ in the eternal covenant of redemption for whom he became the mediator of the covenant. And now that call has been extended. Now he's hearing the voice of the Savior calling him to himself. And it proved not only by a personal call, but a particular call and a powerful call. Jesus sought this man out that no one else wanted to identify with. What a wonderful picture we have. As water seeks the lowest place, so grace seeks the neediest soul. Think about John Newton. He was a vile, sinful man until grace intervened and is given to the world that tremendous song we often sing in church. I love to sing it. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. Hallelujah. There's power in the gospel. There's power in the blood of the Lamb. And there's power when that call is extended by grace that has a powerful influence upon those for whom it is intended. The word for follow suggests to join one as a disciple, to accompany, to cleave, to conform to as an example. And these two words in the English Bible changed the whole course of Levi's life. His word can do the same for you. Bless God. And the words, follow me, they're two words in the authorized version, but they're one word in the original. One word from Christ, from his lips, made the difference. Let me apply that. One word from Christ can radically change your life, can change your destiny. Think about another word that he spoke when he came to die on Calvary's cross. He's hanging there and begging, he's in blood. And He raises His voice. It's a loud voice again. We've mentioned that loud voice at the grave of Lazarus, calling that man from the dead. His victory over death. And now at the cross, He raises His voice. It's a loud voice. And He cries, it is finished. We have two words in the authorized version, but one word in the original. One word made the difference. The work of Christ on the cross makes the difference. Thank God through dying, he has destroyed the power of death and through the shedding of his blood, he's opened a fountain for sin and for uncleanness. Yes, there's power in Jesus' blood. To cleanse the vilest offender who truly believes that moment from Jesus, a pardon receives. What Jesus said as he passed by, Follow me. And he's still saying, follow me. The message I bring tonight is believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved on thine house. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. We've looked at two things. What Jesus saw as he passed by. He saw Levi. What he said as he passed by. He said, follow me. And then finally, what Jesus sought as he passed by. Well, what did he seek? He sought Levi. And we're told here in the word of God at the end of verse 14, And he arose and followed him. This was the Lord's intention in speaking to Levi. This was a passing opportunity. We've mentioned that. It was a personal invitation. We've mentioned that as well. And it brought forth a positive response. God is calling men and women one by one. He's building his church one by one. And inviting Levi to follow him, he sought another sheep for the flock. Another stone for the building, another son for the family, another jewel for his crown, another labor for his work, another light to shine in a dark world, another redeemed soul to populate heaven. And he's calling you tonight, you who hear his voice, that he's calling you to himself, to put your faith and trust in him. Each believer is called in a different way, at a different time, from different environments, to do a different work for God. And the voice of God, the voice of Christ, always accomplishes what it designs, yet puts no force upon the will. Levi, called by divine grace, followed Christ most willingly. He followed him most cheerfully. He was made willing in the day of the Lord's power. He was made willing by divine grace. Jesus knows where to find his sheep. He knows how to call his sheep unto himself. And the Lord found this man in the workplace. D.L. Moody was selling shoes when Edward Kimball met him in the Boston shoe store and led him to Christ. Jesus knows where to find his sheep. It was a sudden, short, simple, successful call. The Lord sought Levi. I've mentioned this before, but I stress it again. And Levi sought the Lord. He found Levi. And as a result, then Levi found him. There's nothing wrong with that statement. We find Christ when he finds us. With the word, follow me, went forth the quickening power. Efficacious grace turned Levi's heart to Christ. The good shepherd went forth. And Levi, one of his sheep followed him. Such was the power of that call that day that he left all to follow Jesus. Success was no longer important to him. His soul was the all-important thing. As Ruddy mentioned, Levi was given a new name after his conversion, the name Matthew, meaning the gift of God. It certainly reflects a change that was wrought in his heart by the grace of God through Christ. Mark never uses Levi's name again. He calls him Matthew. Matthew never uses that name in his gospel. Probably he didn't want to be reminded of a sinful past. Aren't you glad your sins are under the blood tonight? Aren't you glad that your past has been blotted out? Hallelujah to God for the cleansing power of Jesus' blood. We would be ashamed if our sins were put on the wall behind us. But our past has been dealt with effectively by the atoning blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And by using the name Matthew, He was ever reminded of the grace of God in his life. And the only incident in his life which is recorded in scripture is his conversion. But that is the most important incident of all. No event in life is more important than our conversion to Christ. And this conversion is related in all three synoptic gospels. Conversion is not joining a church. or being baptized or taking communion, it is coming to Christ. It is trusting alone in the precious atoning blood that is shed on Calvary's cross. It's putting your faith in that once and for all sacrifice for sin. It's coming to the mediator of the covenant by faith and putting one's trust in him and resting one's soul upon the atoning sacrifice of Christ. Levi the deceiver became Matthew the disciple. The greedy man became a godly man. And it all changed for him that day as he passed by. And may you have that same experience as he had. Therefore, my appeal to you is trust in Christ now. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. May you have that experience. What Jesus saw as he passed by? He saw Levi. What he said as he passed by, follow me. What he sought as he passed by, he sought Levi. He saw a sinner, and he sought a sinner, and he saved the sinner. And may the Lord be pleased and grace to save you and bring you to knowledge of Christ for salvation. May the Lord bless you, and may his word be richly blessed to all who have heard this message tonight. Amen. We'll bow for prayer, and we'll seek the Lord's face together. Father in heaven, we thank Thee for Thy Word tonight. We thank Thee for the simple message of the Gospel that has been set forth to the congregation. We pray that Thou wilt take it and use it for Thy glory. Apply this truth the way the Lord applied His Word to the heart and conscience and mind of Levi so long ago. And grant that tonight, as a result of the preaching, there will be the same results here in this place. as it was way back then when Jesus passed through Capernaum and called that man to put his faith and trust in him. And grant, dear God, that the angels in heaven will have cause to rejoice over sinners repenting of their sins and believing the gospel. Separate us with thy blessing and in thy fear, and may it please thee to bring glory to thy thracelet name, for we ask these things in the Savior's name and for God's eternal glory. Amen. Thank you for spending some time with us today around the Word of God. For further information visit our website at ltbs.tv. We look forward to joining with you next time as we seek to let the Bible speak once again.