 Hi, this is Pastor David Rosales of Calvary Chapel of the Chino Valley. Matthew chapter 9 verses 10 through 13 records the story of Jesus being invited to the home of a Jewish tax collector. This man was what was called a pubicani, a man who served occupying Rome and he did so against his own people. He collected money from the Jews and was responsible for the collection of toll taxes, import duties, business license fees, both docking fees, and a variety of other fees imposed on them. Because of his job as a tax collector, he was despised. Part of the reason was because Jews could buy franchises that entitled them to levy taxes. Many were extortioners, others could be bribed easily and some became very wealthy in this way as a result. They were hated by the people. According to the rabbis, there was no hope for tax collectors and they were considered unclean. The money was tainted, defiled, and any who accepted it was declared to be an outcast. They were classed with harlots, gamblers, thieves, and the one-percenters. Now, was there really no hope for people like this? The fact is that the tax collector mentioned in the story is none other than Matthew himself, one of Jesus's chosen apostles. After Jesus had called Matthew to follow him, as a response, Matthew opened up his home and invited Jesus over for dinner, an invitation that Jesus accepted. He went to Matthew's home and Matthew records that Jesus sat at the table in the house and many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. This outraged the Pharisees. Matthew records that when the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, why does your mastery with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said to them, those who are whole do not need a physician, but those who are sick, go and learn what this means. I will have mercy and not sacrifice, for I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. This passage reminds me of something that occurred early in my Christian life. I had just discharged from the army and was living at my parents' home. As I was seated in the kitchen, I had heard a knock on the front door and I went to open it. Standing directly in front of me was an old friend, a friend I hadn't seen since I was 15 years old. We attended elementary school together, junior high, and we went to the second year of high school together. We went through our early and rebellious teen years and had experimented with drinking and taking drugs together. We lost touch when he was a sophomore in high school. It had been eight years since I had seen him last and now I had been saved for three years and he's back in my life, standing right in front of me. I remember him saying, how's it going, man? What's been happening in your life? By the way that he spoke to me, I could see he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, maybe a combination of both. Turns out he was under the influence of a combination of alcohol and barbiturates known as second dollar reds, as we used to call them. He said, I'm going to walk to the corner, to the liquor store. I'm going to buy some beer. Would you like to come with me? We can rap about old times and you can tell me what's new in your life. Immediately I thought about my reputation in the neighborhood for several, several years. My neighbors knew I was crazy, out of control. I was known for drinking, for taking drugs, just running wild. Since becoming a Christian, I'd done my best to erase that memory from their minds and really wanted to keep my new reputation for being a Christian untainted. How could I be seen walking down the street with an old friend who was staggering drunk? Those who saw me might think that I had gone back to my old way of life. At first I was tempted to just let him walk to the store alone. I thought I can have him go buy his beer and then he can come into the house when he's through drinking it. But something inside me prompted me to walk to the store with him. The spirit clearly reminded me of how Jesus was a friend of sinners. I obviously was no better than Jesus, so I did what I felt he would have me do at the time. I took a walk with my friend. When we returned, I shared the love of Jesus with him. As I shared with him, he looked at me and asked a simple question. He asked, does Jesus forgive every sin? I looked at him and said, yes, he forgives every sin. He's forgiven me of all my sins. He'll forgive you of yours too. I told him I had lied, stolen, been a drunk, did drugs, and many other sins. He forgave me all of them. He asked me then, does he forgive murder? When he asked me that, I thought, well, murder is not always an action. It's recognized as a desire of the heart. Then he said something to me that stopped me. He said, Dave, you don't understand. I murdered a man. As I looked into his face, I couldn't help but think, this isn't possible. I'd known him since we were young. How could that be possible? But he began to share with me what he thought was murder. He'd been serving in the army. He was responsible for carrying classified documents, or carrying documents someone had taken in his briefcase and tried to steal it. My friend called out for the thief to stop, and when he wouldn't, he shouted a warning and then proceeded to fire his weapon. He took the man's life. After sharing with him a few things about what murder is, and taking into consideration how he viewed his actions, we returned to the subject of forgiveness, and I shared with him, yes, God forgives every sin, and this is what you need today, forgiveness. That day my friend bowed his head in prayer and received Jesus as his Lord and his Savior. I had the joy of praying with him, and I couldn't help but thank God because he still is a friend of sinners. Today you'll have many opportunities to minister the gracious love of Jesus to those who are quite obviously sinners, and others who hide their sin well. Do not be afraid of loving those who obviously are not aware of the gracious love of God in Jesus. Why not take the opportunity of introducing our loving Savior to those who have yet to understand God's grace towards them is immeasurable love for us. Remember, as Paul said, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. This is David Rosales, pastor of Calvary Chapel of the Chino Valley.