We all have smart phones, we use them for texting, taking pictures , then posting those pictures , we use them for and Google maps for directions .
But one of the last things we use our phones for is actually making a call and actually speaking to each other .
Literally people get annoyed when they receive a call, It’s like I’m not taking this call .REJECT
BUT after the call there is always , proof I called you .
I don’t need to leave a message, it’s right there on your screen Carl , Missed call from Pastor Mike.
You ever exchange numbers with someone and they hand you their phone and say put your number in my phone for me? For some reason I get that a lot.
I used to put my number in and then for the contact name Pastor Mike.
Now I do something different when people hand me their phone I put in different title, so when I call it reads Mr. Cool.
So when you look at your phone missed call from Mr. Cool,
Matthew 22: 14“For many are called, but few are chosen.”
The point is that everyone receives a call but are in the habit of rejecting it
God knows He place a call into you; And you know you received a call from Him .
This is an important call; it’s about your extended warranty,
But this time instead of it being about your car, it’s about on your soul .
And just like all those robbo calls people hit reject reject reject reject .
I mean this is the mind set right why would I need a warranty when my car is running just fine.
And this translates today about Jesus , Why would I need Jesus when I am getting by just fine?
But here’s the catch , you can’t get a warranty when your transmission leaves you stranded on the side of the road stranded , or worse yet when your car dies it’s just too late
Luke 14:16But He said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; 17and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ 18“But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.’ 19“Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’ 20“Another one said, ‘I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’ 21“And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22“And the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23“And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled. 24‘For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.’”
As you can see there are a lot of reasons why people hit reject and even today people have a million and one excuses.
But the number 1 excuse people reject God is…
This sounds like Letterman’s top 10
The number one excuse people don’t answer God’s call is that you didn’t think the call is for you
And you are partially correct ---tell them what they won
it’s not for the Old you , or even for the WHO you are right now
You see you are not called for who you are; you are called for you will become .
You see the Bible never teaches that He is going to improve you, or make a better you a better person or the best version of you
It teaches that you will become a NEW person.
Ephesians 4:20But you did not learn Christ in this way, 21if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
You know there was this time in history of our great country , oh about two generations ago when kids did the unthinkable, they played outside .
I would get a new pair of jeans and it was almost a battle to see how many grass stains ,how long it would take before I ripped new holes in them.
Because the denim in those days was a lot thicker and stiffer, it was like they were permanently starched and they could latterly stand up on their own.
It would take a few months of washing and beating them up to get them worn in and comfortable
Maybe that’s why kids wear ripped jeans today to look like they play outside
But my mom would save my old jeans to patch up my new Jeans.
And It just never looked right and everyone could tell, she tried patching from the outside and then patching from the inside .
The worst were those iron patches, hated them because eventually they would start to peel off and you would be flapping down the road.
But you see that’s what a lot of Christians are doing, because they are comfortable in their old self, they would rather patch up their old life then to put on the new self .
The problem is that everyone can tell , they can see you coming a mile away
Matthew 9:16 "But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results.
What this verse is saying is that Jesus isn’t Iron patches, you can’t act all gangster and keeping your old ways , and the worse tear is that now you have entered the hypocrite zone . You are a Christian acting like your OLD Self
So you think that when your life tears up I’ll just just patch some Jesus over here, and then some Jesus on this and some Jesus on that .
Sooner or later , the Old you won’t be able to take another patch and you just have to throw it away .
2 Corthinians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
The Old you is gone, the days of patching it up are over
It’s a brand new day and a brand new you
Remember when Jesus said to His disciples come follow me
Luke 9:57As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” 58And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 59And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” 60But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” 61Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” 62But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
You ever see those things and riddles on facebook and it says don’t give it away just comment got it .
And you look at it and look at it and you just can’t figure it out and you feel like you are the last one to figure it out .
Well Jesus doesn’t mean that He doesn’t want you to go to your father’s funeral or visit with your family.
But what He does means is the old man inside of you dead and your old ways ya they won’t work anymore.
You have changed, your priorities are changed and but this is the point your always the last one to figure it out.
Fortunately we have a loving Father who has been waiting for Him .
