Luke 5: 27-32

     <sup>The Calling of Levi

27After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, 28and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.
29Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 30But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
31Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."</sup>
 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, good morning!

Well, today we are looking at the principles by which you can find fulfillment in your faith. We are looking together these weeks at the five guiding stars for the faithful Christian.

Oh, is it four? Well, I have to tell you what happened this week. I thought it was four, and the title of the sermon says four. But here's what happened: I was in prayer this week, and I was thinking about this series, and I was going over it point by point, and it was as if I heard a voice inside my head saying, "Wait a minute."

"Yes, Lord?"

"You forgot something."

"I did?"

"Yes. There are five, not four. You forgot the last one. Remember the scripture that says …?"
            How silly of me! Of course! I forgot the fifth star. There are five guiding stars for the faithful Christian. So, if you will make that little correction in the sermon's title. There are five, not four. We begin here at the crown of the cross. There's a star here, a star at the base, one on the left, one on the right, and one in the middle.

Through the month of November, we'll be talking about these five guiding stars. I think, by the end of it, you'll have a grasp of five things you can do, five principles you can follow, to have fulfillment in your faith and to be a truly faithful and active Christian.

I'm kind of glad that it was the fifth star I forgot, and not the first or second. I'm going to go in order, and it's going to work out just fine. Hang in there with us.

First of all, a little recap -- the first guiding star for the faithful Christian. I brought something to show you [taking out a picture of a church]. This wonderful church was made for me by one of our children in the church. Isn't it terrific? It reminds us that the first star is – worship! Worship is the first guiding star of the Christian. It's right at the top of the cross. And it means that we should come to church on Sunday. Yes, the Bible tells us so! Remember the Lord's Day to keep it holy, and that's what you're all doing. God honors you for it. And I hope your heart is fulfilled because you are here. It's the first guiding star. Come to church because God needs us to, God tells us to. Come to church because we need to be here; we need to immerse ourselves in the wonderful atmosphere of the church family. Come to church because somebody needs us. Somebody is impressed, uplifted, encouraged, inspired because you are here. There are important reasons to follow that first star. Make it a goal, won't you? Even if you've fallen down before, make it a goal for yourself. I'm going to follow that star. I am going to make worship a priority. That's the first guiding star.

Now, the second guiding star is at the root of the cross. It's at the base.  Picture a beautiful shining star. What is it? In one word, grow! See this little tree that a child gave me last Christmas? It continues to grow. See the new growth here? And some of it is falling away, like old beliefs that weren't as true to the Lord as they should have been. But new growth is forming over here. That's the way we need to be. That's the way to have joy in your faith. Grow!

What does it mean to grow? Jesus said two words to Levi: "Follow me." That's the key. When we follow Jesus, we grow. To grow means to get up and do something. To grow means not to stay still. To grow means not to go backwards. To grow means not to be stagnant but to be brighter and deeper and stronger. That's what grow means. Don't we want that, to become brighter and deeper and stronger in our faith? If you follow that star, that's what will happen for you. Wonderful things will happen in your life. You won't stay still. Blossoms will emerge. New reasons to stay strong in the Lord will appear. That's what it means to grow.

Think of a child. We look at a little baby and see such potential. And each time we turn around, the baby has grown stronger physically. He or she goes to school and becomes brighter. He has experiences. He becomes deeper. So it is with us, and we never stop growing. No matter what you're going through, no matter what challenges you're facing, you can grow in the Lord. It's a wonderful thing to do.

How do we grow? "How do we do it, Pastor? What do I need to do in order to grow?" Consider three words: Read, study, pray.  Let's look at those words. Pray – did you know that every time that you pray, you grow? Every time you say a prayer in your heart, you grow. Think about it. Before a meal, take time, in the silence, to be thankful for the food, thankful for the people around you. You grow. When you wake up in the morning, take a minute to thank God for the day, to connect with God. Every time you pray, you grow. Think of a conversation you've had with a friend recently. Wasn't that a time when the friendship deepened and got better? When you converse, your friendship grows. When you pray, you grow in your relationship to God.

And study. What's the difference between study and read? I'm using the word study in the sense of getting together with other Christians and studying. We have a wonderful time at Bible study with insights they've brought about the Bible. We study the Word together and we get into it together, and we come away stronger Christians. Alba Lucia's Bible study meets on Tuesday mornings, women. It's a wonderful experience.

I've envisioned so many more! The hope of my heart is that we would have a whole bunch of Bible studies and opportunities for getting together to discuss the Bible and Christian literature. Wouldn't that be great? Study, and you will grow.

It's happening at youth group. They have fun, they have food, but they also study, and they think about the Lord. Something wonderful can happen with all the different groups in our church. So pray, and study.

And read. Won't you make a commitment with me this week to read something spiritual? Read in your Bible. Open anywhere, and seek until something speaks to you. You know, life is short and there are only 24 hours in the day – go right to the New Testament. You're surest to hit gold there. It's something that will speak right to you. Take a moment to study, and God will reward you and honor you for it.

Read good Christian literature. Have you heard the name Max Lucado? Anything that man writes is incredibly wonderful. Take a moment to read Max Lucado.

Let me share with you a book that I'm reading, called The Hand of God. This book talks about the interface between religion and science. I'm always fascinated by that subject. And when you start reading in Christian literature, it sparks ideas in your own head, and you grow. For instance, let me read briefly:

Henry David Thoreau: "With all your science, can you tell how it is and whence it is that light comes into the soul?"

From a painter: "I have a terrible need – shall I say the word? – of religion. Then I go out at night, and I paint the stars." (Vincent Van Gogh)

Here's one that will surprise you. I'll bet you thought he was an atheist. He thought he was, but listen to what he wrote. Carl Sagan: "I had an experience I can't prove. I can't even explain it, but everything I know as a human being, everything I am, tells me that it was real. I was part of something wonderful, something that changed me forever, of the universe that tells us undeniably how tiny and insignificant and how rare and precious we all are, a vision that tells us we belong to something that is greater than ourselves, that we are not – that none of us – are alone." Carl Sagan!

It sparks our ideas; it sparks our mind; it sparks our spirit. And we grow. And so, friend, won't you make a commitment with me to this second star to grow? Hold it as a value; cherish it to your heart. Read something, study something, and pray this week. Take a step up the ladder of knowledge to God. Won't you agree in your heart to make a commitment to try that this week with me?

Friend, don't delay. Don't put it off. Let yourself grow in the Spirit, because it is something that is before us. We ought not to lose the window of opportunity.

Can I tell you a story about delay? Don't delay. It seems there was a man who had a job interview the next day. He went out and bought a suit. The suit had pants that were too long and needed to be cut down and hemmed. He brought the beautiful suit home for his job interview, and he went to his wife, and said, "Honey, can you help me? I need you to cut three inches off these pants."

She said, "Are you kidding me? I worked all day just like you did. I'm tired. I do not have time for this. I'm going to sleep." She delayed.

So the man said okay. He went to his mother-in-law who also lived in the house with them. He said to her, "Mom, I have a job interview tomorrow, and what I'd like you to do is cut three inches off these pants and hem them and they'll look great."

She said, "Are you kidding me? I watched your children all day long, and you expect me to do this? I'm tired. I'm going to sleep." And she went to bed.

The man realized it was up to him. So he went to the kitchen and took a pair of scissors with orange handles, and he cut three inches off those pants, and he hemmed them. He hung them across the kitchen chair, and he went to sleep.

Well, around about midnight, the wife woke up. She said, "You know, I was too hard on him. I'll help him out." She went down to the kitchen. She found the pants and the orange-handled scissors. She cut three inches off and she hemmed them. She said, "There, that's better." She went back to sleep.

Then the mother-in-law woke up. She went down…well, you know the rest of the story. To make a long story short, the man woke up in the morning, and there were Bermuda shorts.

Don't delay. Let growth be a goal for you. Follow that star, and you will grow in Christ. God loves you. I do, too. Have a blessed week. Amen.