WEBVTT 00:00:08.189 --> 00:00:11.949 chapter 14, verse 15. That's in the New Testament, 00:00:12.130 --> 00:00:15.390 kind of toward the back third of your Bible, 00:00:15.550 --> 00:00:19.089 toward the front part of the New Testament. Luke, 00:00:19.390 --> 00:00:24.129 chapter 14, verse 15. We've been kind of touching 00:00:24.129 --> 00:00:27.230 on some of the parables of Jesus off and on here 00:00:27.230 --> 00:00:30.230 over the last couple of months. And this is another 00:00:30.230 --> 00:00:33.090 one of the parables of Jesus. The parables that 00:00:33.090 --> 00:00:36.729 Jesus told were stories that pretty much everybody 00:00:36.729 --> 00:00:39.170 could relate to and understand. A lot of them 00:00:39.170 --> 00:00:41.969 had to do with farming. This one has to do with 00:00:41.969 --> 00:00:44.390 having a big party, I guess we could call it 00:00:44.390 --> 00:00:47.329 that, a banquet. And he tells a story that's 00:00:47.329 --> 00:00:50.810 really easy to understand, but they also have 00:00:50.810 --> 00:00:53.929 a spiritual application. And that's what makes 00:00:53.929 --> 00:00:58.189 Jesus so good, is he was so good at taking something 00:00:58.189 --> 00:01:02.640 simple. and make it understandable. Sometimes 00:01:02.640 --> 00:01:05.459 us preachers do just the opposite. Sometimes 00:01:05.459 --> 00:01:07.879 we take something simple and make it a little 00:01:07.879 --> 00:01:11.000 more complicated. It's not an easy thing to do. 00:01:11.079 --> 00:01:13.040 Any of you that's ever taught or if you've ever 00:01:13.040 --> 00:01:15.219 preached before, it's not an easy thing to do. 00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:18.239 So when you see how beautifully that Jesus does 00:01:18.239 --> 00:01:21.760 it, it's perfect, I guess. There's no better 00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:23.280 way to say it. So we're going to look at one 00:01:23.280 --> 00:01:26.200 of Jesus' parables today, and it's one that we 00:01:26.200 --> 00:01:28.769 can understand. Hopefully we'll... We'll see 00:01:28.769 --> 00:01:32.030 what Jesus is talking about. So let's pray, and 00:01:32.030 --> 00:01:34.629 then we'll get started. God, we come to you. 00:01:34.650 --> 00:01:38.310 We thank you for your good word. I thank you 00:01:38.310 --> 00:01:40.090 for all the beautiful people that are here today. 00:01:40.170 --> 00:01:42.390 I thank you for loving us and being good to us, 00:01:42.430 --> 00:01:45.090 dear Lord. We thank you for Jesus Christ. We 00:01:45.090 --> 00:01:48.489 thank you for your grace and your mercy. And 00:01:48.489 --> 00:01:50.489 God, maybe there are some here today, and they 00:01:50.489 --> 00:01:53.689 are really struggling. Maybe today is a sad day. 00:01:54.700 --> 00:01:56.819 Or maybe they're depressed about something or 00:01:56.819 --> 00:02:00.099 maybe they're just tired or whatever it may be, 00:02:00.180 --> 00:02:02.120 dear Lord. There's a lot of things in life that 00:02:02.120 --> 00:02:04.980 are tough. Maybe there's just good things going 00:02:04.980 --> 00:02:08.039 on, dear Lord. Things that's got our mind occupied 00:02:08.039 --> 00:02:11.560 and things that may draw us away from you. I 00:02:11.560 --> 00:02:14.000 pray, God, whatever we came in here with today, 00:02:14.120 --> 00:02:17.620 that for just a few minutes, that your Holy Spirit 00:02:17.620 --> 00:02:19.780 would let us hear your word, would let us hear 00:02:19.780 --> 00:02:23.780 this invitation that Jesus sends out to us today. 00:02:24.520 --> 00:02:27.180 So I pray that you take away any fear or pride 00:02:27.180 --> 00:02:29.419 that's within me, dear Lord, that your Holy Spirit 00:02:29.419 --> 00:02:32.539 would be among us and that everything that is 00:02:32.539 --> 00:02:35.719 said and done would be for your glory. In Jesus' 00:02:35.819 --> 00:02:40.159 name I pray it. Amen. Now a little context. You 00:02:40.159 --> 00:02:42.699 can go back and read the verses before this in 00:02:42.699 --> 00:02:46.020 Luke chapter 14 this week. Good homework for 00:02:46.020 --> 00:02:48.680 you. But Jesus is hanging out. He's eating with 00:02:48.680 --> 00:02:51.319 some folks, some Pharisees, some religious folks. 00:02:51.580 --> 00:02:55.400 And he notices something about them. Now, this 00:02:55.400 --> 00:02:57.960 is pretty easy to notice when you read through 00:02:57.960 --> 00:02:59.860 the scriptures. You kind of see these qualities 00:02:59.860 --> 00:03:02.560 about these, a lot of the religious folks, a 00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:04.580 lot of the Pharisees. They're not good qualities. 00:03:05.319 --> 00:03:09.680 One of the qualities that Jesus noticed is missing 00:03:09.680 --> 00:03:14.090 from them is their humility. What he sees when 00:03:14.090 --> 00:03:17.110 they are having this big party, that everybody 00:03:17.110 --> 00:03:20.090 wants to sit in the seat of honor. Everybody 00:03:20.090 --> 00:03:25.110 wants to be in the spotlight. And Jesus tells 00:03:25.110 --> 00:03:28.789 them a parable, and he says, hold up. He says, 00:03:28.810 --> 00:03:30.990 you've got to pay attention to what you're doing. 00:03:31.030 --> 00:03:34.969 This is not the way it should be. Those who want 00:03:34.969 --> 00:03:38.030 to follow God, those who want to serve God, are 00:03:38.030 --> 00:03:43.659 those who need to humble themselves. follow the 00:03:43.659 --> 00:03:47.139 examples of Jesus Christ are those who don't 00:03:47.139 --> 00:03:50.919 seek the position of honor, but seek the lowly 00:03:50.919 --> 00:03:53.919 position. And he talks about that. He talks about 00:03:53.919 --> 00:03:56.500 if somebody's having a party, if somebody's having 00:03:56.500 --> 00:04:00.000 a feast, don't just invite people for your own 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:02.919 good, right? Sometimes we kind of have that mindset 00:04:02.919 --> 00:04:05.080 in this world. I think it's natural for us to 00:04:05.080 --> 00:04:06.860 have it. Like, I'll scratch your back, you scratch 00:04:06.860 --> 00:04:10.360 mine. I'm going to invite all the people that 00:04:10.360 --> 00:04:13.020 I might want a favor from to my party, and I'm 00:04:13.020 --> 00:04:15.020 going to treat them really well, so when they 00:04:15.020 --> 00:04:18.120 have a party, they'll invite me. So I'm going 00:04:18.120 --> 00:04:20.480 to make sure to really take care of others so 00:04:20.480 --> 00:04:22.540 they take care of me, and that's what Jesus says. 00:04:22.620 --> 00:04:26.199 I'm summarizing in the verses before. But Jesus 00:04:26.199 --> 00:04:30.339 says that's not the way it should be. You shouldn't 00:04:30.339 --> 00:04:32.420 just do things for people because of what they 00:04:32.420 --> 00:04:35.740 can do for you. You should just do things for 00:04:35.740 --> 00:04:38.670 people. Because you love them. You should do 00:04:38.670 --> 00:04:41.649 things for people because maybe there's a need 00:04:41.649 --> 00:04:44.189 in their life and maybe you can help meet that 00:04:44.189 --> 00:04:48.370 need. And so Jesus says, hey, you may be tempted 00:04:48.370 --> 00:04:51.389 to go after all the rich and the famous and the 00:04:51.389 --> 00:04:54.089 powerful people that may have some benefit to 00:04:54.089 --> 00:04:56.970 you by inviting them to your get -together. But 00:04:56.970 --> 00:04:59.709 Jesus says, here's the ones I want you to invite. 00:05:00.230 --> 00:05:04.490 The poor and the maimed and the blind and those 00:05:04.490 --> 00:05:08.959 who are really struggling. Now, Jesus turned 00:05:08.959 --> 00:05:12.740 everything on its head, at least everything that 00:05:12.740 --> 00:05:16.040 so many of the religious people of his day followed. 00:05:16.319 --> 00:05:18.279 Now, the religious people of his day, like, they 00:05:18.279 --> 00:05:21.240 were really big on sitting in the seat of honor 00:05:21.240 --> 00:05:24.540 and dressing good and saying long prayers for 00:05:24.540 --> 00:05:28.199 show and making a big deal about their religion. 00:05:29.180 --> 00:05:32.939 But Jesus is so good, it reminded them, like, 00:05:33.040 --> 00:05:34.879 hey, you've kind of missed what God really wants 00:05:34.879 --> 00:05:37.660 you to know. And you better make sure you're 00:05:37.660 --> 00:05:39.740 really serving God and you better make sure you're 00:05:39.740 --> 00:05:43.300 really loving other people. And it doesn't appear 00:05:43.300 --> 00:05:45.420 as though maybe this crowd that Jesus was talking 00:05:45.420 --> 00:05:48.319 to was doing those things. And so he uses these 00:05:48.319 --> 00:05:50.480 stories about a feast, about a get -together, 00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:55.160 about a party to shift the focus and say, here's 00:05:55.160 --> 00:05:58.139 the people that God's going to be able to take 00:05:58.139 --> 00:06:00.519 care of. Here are the people who are going to 00:06:00.519 --> 00:06:04.279 be in the kingdom of God, not those who make 00:06:04.279 --> 00:06:08.139 excuses. Not those who think so highly of themselves, 00:06:08.240 --> 00:06:12.120 but those who are completely dependent on God. 00:06:12.519 --> 00:06:15.240 And that's a little background for the passage 00:06:15.240 --> 00:06:17.500 we're going to look at. Luke chapter 14, verse 00:06:17.500 --> 00:06:21.879 15. When one of those who reclined at the table 00:06:21.879 --> 00:06:24.000 with him heard these things, he said to him, 00:06:24.720 --> 00:06:27.339 The one who will eat bread in the kingdom of 00:06:27.339 --> 00:06:32.240 God is blessed. Now, this person that was sitting 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:34.730 there with him, that's a true statement. The 00:06:34.730 --> 00:06:37.189 one who eats bread in the kingdom of God is blessed. 00:06:37.410 --> 00:06:40.610 Now, the kingdom of God is not just heaven. Now, 00:06:40.610 --> 00:06:42.769 the kingdom of God is going to be our eternity 00:06:42.769 --> 00:06:45.649 with God, but the kingdom of God is here now. 00:06:45.689 --> 00:06:48.730 Those who trust in Jesus Christ is part of the 00:06:48.730 --> 00:06:51.170 kingdom of God. The love and the joy and the 00:06:51.170 --> 00:06:54.970 peace and all the things that God pours out on 00:06:54.970 --> 00:07:00.029 us, there's just a certain happiness that comes. 00:07:00.759 --> 00:07:02.639 when you follow Jesus Christ. I'm not saying 00:07:02.639 --> 00:07:04.420 that every day you're just happy, happy, happy, 00:07:04.600 --> 00:07:06.420 all is good, nothing ever goes wrong. There's 00:07:06.420 --> 00:07:09.860 hard days, but there really is a certain sense 00:07:09.860 --> 00:07:13.180 of peace and a certain sense of joy. To be part 00:07:13.180 --> 00:07:15.980 of the kingdom of God means that you're living 00:07:15.980 --> 00:07:19.500 for the king, for King Jesus. And that's the 00:07:19.500 --> 00:07:21.220 opposite of being part of the kingdom of this 00:07:21.220 --> 00:07:23.740 world. Now, there are lots of people who are... 00:07:23.949 --> 00:07:26.329 In the kingdom of this world that have not followed 00:07:26.329 --> 00:07:28.990 Jesus. But that's what being a Christian is. 00:07:29.310 --> 00:07:32.269 You say, okay, in the world, I can just kind 00:07:32.269 --> 00:07:34.610 of be the king of my own life and do what I want 00:07:34.610 --> 00:07:37.589 to do when I want to do it. And that's how I'm 00:07:37.589 --> 00:07:38.949 going to live. And there are a lot of people 00:07:38.949 --> 00:07:40.949 who live that way. Maybe even some of you in 00:07:40.949 --> 00:07:44.750 here or some listening online. But when we talk 00:07:44.750 --> 00:07:46.709 about the kingdom of God, what we're talking 00:07:46.709 --> 00:07:51.170 about is that through Jesus Christ, God has established 00:07:51.170 --> 00:07:56.029 a kingdom that Jesus is the king. And when we 00:07:56.029 --> 00:07:57.810 say, hey, I want to be part of that kingdom, 00:07:57.910 --> 00:08:00.990 we're saying, I want to follow Jesus Christ as 00:08:00.990 --> 00:08:03.850 my king. So therefore, I'm not going to do what 00:08:03.850 --> 00:08:07.389 I want to do. I'm going to do what Jesus calls 00:08:07.389 --> 00:08:10.910 me to do. And so we're no longer living for ourselves. 00:08:11.720 --> 00:08:14.480 We're no longer living for the world. We are 00:08:14.480 --> 00:08:19.300 living for Jesus. So once we put our faith in 00:08:19.300 --> 00:08:21.879 Jesus Christ and we begin to trust in him and 00:08:21.879 --> 00:08:25.300 listen to him and follow him, then we become 00:08:25.300 --> 00:08:28.139 part of the kingdom of God. And there is great 00:08:28.139 --> 00:08:33.000 blessing in the kingdom of God. And we see some 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:35.159 of God's blessings here in this world, praise 00:08:35.159 --> 00:08:37.259 the Lord. We see his grace through Jesus Christ 00:08:37.259 --> 00:08:40.549 that our sins are forgiven. Those who have trusted 00:08:40.549 --> 00:08:42.570 in Jesus Christ, you've experienced his strength. 00:08:43.110 --> 00:08:46.990 You've experienced his joy. You have hope. You 00:08:46.990 --> 00:08:49.070 look around, you see bad stuff going on, but 00:08:49.070 --> 00:08:51.549 just you still have hope because you read these 00:08:51.549 --> 00:08:54.110 words in the scripture and you say, okay, I believe 00:08:54.110 --> 00:08:56.470 that God is good and he keeps his promises and 00:08:56.470 --> 00:08:58.769 I know he's with me because my life has been 00:08:58.769 --> 00:09:01.990 so hard and he's helped me through those hardest 00:09:01.990 --> 00:09:05.750 times and that kind of peace and that kind of 00:09:05.750 --> 00:09:08.200 strength is found. in the kingdom of God. Now, 00:09:08.240 --> 00:09:11.059 we'll experience God's grace and the fullness 00:09:11.059 --> 00:09:13.700 of God's glory one day when we get to heaven 00:09:13.700 --> 00:09:16.960 and get to be with him. But the kingdom of God 00:09:16.960 --> 00:09:19.960 has come near through Jesus Christ, and we can 00:09:19.960 --> 00:09:22.100 enter into the kingdom of God today. And this 00:09:22.100 --> 00:09:24.639 guy, he says, hey, look, the one who gets to 00:09:24.639 --> 00:09:26.960 eat bread at the table in the kingdom of God, 00:09:27.059 --> 00:09:29.799 that dude's blessed. And he's right. It is a 00:09:29.799 --> 00:09:31.899 blessing to be part of the kingdom of God. But 00:09:31.899 --> 00:09:35.440 since Jesus is on the topic of having a big feast, 00:09:35.580 --> 00:09:39.600 a big eating, he uses the opportunity to offer 00:09:39.600 --> 00:09:45.860 an invitation. It says in verse 16, Then he told 00:09:45.860 --> 00:09:48.860 him, A man was giving a large banquet and invited 00:09:48.860 --> 00:09:52.259 many. At the time of the banquet, he sent his 00:09:52.259 --> 00:09:55.899 slave to tell those who were invited, Come, because 00:09:55.899 --> 00:10:00.779 everything is now ready. Simple, simple. The 00:10:00.779 --> 00:10:03.980 story is set. We understand it. Anybody in here 00:10:03.980 --> 00:10:06.769 ever hosted a big party? Probably so. I just 00:10:06.769 --> 00:10:09.730 went to a big party for the 4th of July. It was 00:10:09.730 --> 00:10:12.750 a big shindig. Lots of food. Lots of people are 00:10:12.750 --> 00:10:15.409 there. And I was invited. And some of you were 00:10:15.409 --> 00:10:18.470 invited. A lot of people were invited. And praise 00:10:18.470 --> 00:10:20.870 the Lord, a lot of people showed up. So we understand 00:10:20.870 --> 00:10:24.190 what it's like to have a big party and to work 00:10:24.190 --> 00:10:27.330 hard and to invite everybody and for people to 00:10:27.330 --> 00:10:30.309 show up. It's a lot of fun. Everybody just loving 00:10:30.309 --> 00:10:31.990 it and hanging out. But you know what's a bummer? 00:10:32.009 --> 00:10:34.669 And you might have had this experience too. If 00:10:34.669 --> 00:10:36.629 you ever had a party or hosted something at your 00:10:36.629 --> 00:10:39.129 house and you invited a bunch of folks and not 00:10:39.129 --> 00:10:42.629 hardly anybody showed up, that's kind of a bummer. 00:10:42.690 --> 00:10:45.009 When you've done all this work and you're so 00:10:45.009 --> 00:10:47.789 excited and you want to feed the people and you 00:10:47.789 --> 00:10:50.429 got all the chairs out and you got fans out so 00:10:50.429 --> 00:10:52.470 they won't get hot, you got everything they could 00:10:52.470 --> 00:10:55.470 possibly want to be comfortable and to be provided 00:10:55.470 --> 00:10:58.809 for and you've worked so hard and you invite 00:10:58.809 --> 00:11:02.590 them and nobody comes. That's kind of disheartening. 00:11:02.909 --> 00:11:05.470 Maybe you've had that experience before. Well, 00:11:05.509 --> 00:11:07.710 that's the experience that Jesus is setting up. 00:11:08.029 --> 00:11:11.129 Now, of course, it's representative. It's talking 00:11:11.129 --> 00:11:13.570 about God. It's talking about those who are invited 00:11:13.570 --> 00:11:16.669 to come in to God's kingdom to follow Jesus Christ. 00:11:16.990 --> 00:11:20.110 And God's prepared everything for us. And God 00:11:20.110 --> 00:11:22.429 says, come on, I want to take care of you. Everything 00:11:22.429 --> 00:11:27.250 is ready to go. So invitations were sent out. 00:11:27.309 --> 00:11:29.470 Let's see what those who received the invitations 00:11:29.470 --> 00:11:35.259 said. Verse 18, but without exception, they all 00:11:35.259 --> 00:11:39.399 began to make excuses. The first one said to 00:11:39.399 --> 00:11:42.759 him, I bought a field and I must go out and see 00:11:42.759 --> 00:11:47.299 it. I ask you to excuse me. Another said, I have 00:11:47.299 --> 00:11:49.720 bought five yoke of oxen and I'm going to try 00:11:49.720 --> 00:11:54.080 them out. I ask you to excuse me. And another 00:11:54.080 --> 00:11:58.480 said, I just got married and therefore I am unable 00:11:58.480 --> 00:12:03.259 to come. Now here's this great banquet that's 00:12:03.259 --> 00:12:06.919 been prepared, and all the ones that were invited 00:12:06.919 --> 00:12:11.620 made an excuse. Now maybe these were things they 00:12:11.620 --> 00:12:13.679 really were going to do, or maybe it's just an 00:12:13.679 --> 00:12:17.080 excuse. You've probably done that before. You 00:12:17.080 --> 00:12:19.139 get invited somewhere, and you say, man, I feel 00:12:19.139 --> 00:12:20.500 like going somewhere today. And they're like, 00:12:20.580 --> 00:12:21.919 hey, why don't you come to the party tonight? 00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:24.220 And you're like, well, I would, but I've got 00:12:24.220 --> 00:12:26.740 to water flowers tonight. Or you just come up 00:12:26.740 --> 00:12:28.919 with something. Like something that really, you 00:12:28.919 --> 00:12:32.139 can wait. But you just, you got to say something. 00:12:32.259 --> 00:12:34.240 You can't just say, no, I don't want to come 00:12:34.240 --> 00:12:36.360 to your party. So you make up some excuse because 00:12:36.360 --> 00:12:40.360 you just really don't want to go. And these people 00:12:40.360 --> 00:12:42.419 all made some excuses. Oh, I bought some land. 00:12:42.559 --> 00:12:44.120 I got to go see it. Well, did you look at it 00:12:44.120 --> 00:12:45.639 before you bought it? I don't know about y 'all, 00:12:45.740 --> 00:12:47.059 but if I'm going to buy some land, I'm probably 00:12:47.059 --> 00:12:49.360 going to look at it before I buy it. I don't 00:12:49.360 --> 00:12:51.000 know. Maybe you really did want to go check out 00:12:51.000 --> 00:12:53.779 his land. Oh, I got some oxen. I want to go do 00:12:53.779 --> 00:12:56.750 some work. Let me go try out these oxen. Let 00:12:56.750 --> 00:12:58.669 me go get on the tractor and bush hog. Yeah, 00:12:58.690 --> 00:13:00.730 I appreciate you inviting me to come to eat ribs 00:13:00.730 --> 00:13:03.309 at the Fourth of July party, but I really would 00:13:03.309 --> 00:13:05.210 like to get out here in the 100 degree heat and 00:13:05.210 --> 00:13:08.889 work on the farm. So thanks, but no thanks. I 00:13:08.889 --> 00:13:10.710 mean, who's going to choose to work other than 00:13:10.710 --> 00:13:13.750 go to a party where everything is provided for 00:13:13.750 --> 00:13:18.190 you there? And one after another, the excuses 00:13:18.190 --> 00:13:20.850 just keep on coming. Other guy, I got married. 00:13:20.929 --> 00:13:22.330 Well, that's a great thing, praise the Lord. 00:13:22.750 --> 00:13:25.279 I got married. It might have been the same guy 00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:26.559 in the past year. He might have said, well, I'd 00:13:26.559 --> 00:13:28.240 love to come, but I got married. My wife says 00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:30.919 I got to go out and work on the farm. Can't do 00:13:30.919 --> 00:13:33.759 it. I could have done it when I was single, but 00:13:33.759 --> 00:13:36.600 I can't do it when I'm married. I'm going to 00:13:36.600 --> 00:13:38.320 tell you guys this. When you get married, you 00:13:38.320 --> 00:13:40.279 get a lot more stuff to do. Praise the Lord. 00:13:40.379 --> 00:13:43.019 That's a blessing. You get a lot more stuff to 00:13:43.019 --> 00:13:45.940 do. Maybe that's what this guy will say. Maybe 00:13:45.940 --> 00:13:47.899 all of them were lying. I don't know. Maybe they 00:13:47.899 --> 00:13:49.679 just didn't care about the party. For whatever 00:13:49.679 --> 00:13:53.100 reason, there was an invitation to something. 00:13:53.659 --> 00:13:55.720 beautiful and wonderful that they didn't have 00:13:55.720 --> 00:13:59.940 to do anything, but just go and enjoy it and 00:13:59.940 --> 00:14:03.539 let the host take care of them and provide for 00:14:03.539 --> 00:14:09.299 them. And every one of them made an excuse. But 00:14:09.299 --> 00:14:11.759 don't forget what's going on here. This is God 00:14:11.759 --> 00:14:14.039 saying, I'm sending out an invitation for people 00:14:14.039 --> 00:14:17.559 to come into my kingdom. Would you come into 00:14:17.559 --> 00:14:20.740 my kingdom? I have provided for you and I'll 00:14:20.740 --> 00:14:24.399 take care of you and I'll give you all you need 00:14:24.399 --> 00:14:29.519 if you would just come into my kingdom. That 00:14:29.519 --> 00:14:32.799 invitation is still there for you and me today. 00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:36.700 Jesus come onto the scene. The scripture says 00:14:36.700 --> 00:14:38.720 the kingdom of God has come near. Guess what? 00:14:38.740 --> 00:14:42.179 It's still near for you today. The kingdom of 00:14:42.179 --> 00:14:47.210 God has still come near. God is still. desiring 00:14:47.210 --> 00:14:49.529 to provide for you today, to forgive your sins, 00:14:49.669 --> 00:14:51.690 to take care of you, to meet your needs, to strengthen 00:14:51.690 --> 00:14:56.830 you. He still wants to do that today. But you've 00:14:56.830 --> 00:15:00.830 got to accept the invitation. Let's see what 00:15:00.830 --> 00:15:04.450 happens in the next verse, verse 21. So the slave 00:15:04.450 --> 00:15:07.210 came back and reported these things to his master. 00:15:07.830 --> 00:15:10.549 Then in anger, the master of the house told his 00:15:10.549 --> 00:15:14.070 slave, Go out quickly into the streets and alleys 00:15:14.070 --> 00:15:18.580 of the city and bring in here, The poor, maimed, 00:15:18.580 --> 00:15:25.840 blind, and lame. Isn't that interesting? Of all 00:15:25.840 --> 00:15:28.960 the people that he could say to bring in, all 00:15:28.960 --> 00:15:31.240 right, I sent you to get the ones I wanted to 00:15:31.240 --> 00:15:33.820 come, the ones I really wanted to invite first. 00:15:34.519 --> 00:15:37.860 Now go get the second best people. But he doesn't 00:15:37.860 --> 00:15:41.139 say that. He says the poor and the maimed and 00:15:41.139 --> 00:15:45.960 the blind and the lame. Now, these are people 00:15:45.960 --> 00:15:49.120 that really would have been completely dependent 00:15:49.120 --> 00:15:52.980 on others probably for their survival. I mean, 00:15:53.039 --> 00:15:58.320 when you're poor, you're poor. I mean, you struggle. 00:15:59.279 --> 00:16:02.899 You don't have much to eat. You really are kind 00:16:02.899 --> 00:16:06.200 of dependent on other people to help you. When 00:16:06.200 --> 00:16:09.720 you're maimed, if you're missing a limb or something, 00:16:09.779 --> 00:16:12.480 well, you can't work. You might not can get around 00:16:12.480 --> 00:16:15.779 very good. When you're lame, you can't get around 00:16:15.779 --> 00:16:18.759 very good. When you're blind, what are you going 00:16:18.759 --> 00:16:21.080 to do other than sit and beg? We see this in 00:16:21.080 --> 00:16:25.019 the Scripture. And the people that God says, 00:16:25.080 --> 00:16:27.820 go get these people, are people who are totally 00:16:27.820 --> 00:16:33.059 dependent on somebody else. And perhaps even 00:16:33.059 --> 00:16:37.440 still today, these are the types of people who 00:16:37.440 --> 00:16:40.240 are entering the kingdom of God. Blessed are 00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:46.019 the poor in spirit. You know, it's great to be 00:16:46.019 --> 00:16:49.259 blessed and to have a lot. Maybe some have more 00:16:49.259 --> 00:16:52.620 than others, but you start getting a little bit. 00:16:52.980 --> 00:16:55.159 You start building up some things. You start 00:16:55.159 --> 00:16:58.340 getting some wealth. It's really hard because 00:16:58.340 --> 00:17:00.960 it almost seems like the more money you get, 00:17:01.080 --> 00:17:04.680 the less dependent on God you are. The more powerful 00:17:04.680 --> 00:17:08.680 you become, the more famous you become, the less 00:17:08.680 --> 00:17:13.779 dependent on God you are. And when we're in our 00:17:13.779 --> 00:17:16.039 toughest times, when things are the hardest, 00:17:16.059 --> 00:17:18.180 it seems like that's when we are the closest 00:17:18.180 --> 00:17:22.779 to God. And the people who were asked to the 00:17:22.779 --> 00:17:25.119 banquet first refused. They had all this worldly 00:17:25.119 --> 00:17:28.299 stuff. They had a marriage and they had land 00:17:28.299 --> 00:17:31.539 and they had oxen to work the land. And they 00:17:31.539 --> 00:17:34.319 couldn't come into the presence of the banquet. 00:17:35.640 --> 00:17:38.660 But those who were completely dependent said, 00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:41.650 holy smokes, probably. Man, are you telling me 00:17:41.650 --> 00:17:43.670 I can go to this feast and get everything I need? 00:17:44.269 --> 00:17:49.329 Somebody's inviting me? And they all came. Now 00:17:49.329 --> 00:17:52.289 Jesus had just talked about humility in the verses 00:17:52.289 --> 00:17:56.390 before. When we get a little money, a little 00:17:56.390 --> 00:17:58.390 power, all of a sudden we become a little proud. 00:18:02.309 --> 00:18:04.349 Proud people can't enter the kingdom of God. 00:18:05.529 --> 00:18:07.569 But those who humble themselves before Jesus 00:18:07.569 --> 00:18:12.750 Christ can. So here he uses this example of these 00:18:12.750 --> 00:18:17.930 humble folks who are completely dependent, who 00:18:17.930 --> 00:18:20.890 are invited to the banquet. And guess what? They 00:18:20.890 --> 00:18:23.710 come to the banquet. Now what about your heart 00:18:23.710 --> 00:18:27.069 today? Invitation's still there for you to enter 00:18:27.069 --> 00:18:30.970 the kingdom of God. Are you one that's proud? 00:18:31.970 --> 00:18:35.509 Are you one that's fully yourself? Are you one 00:18:35.509 --> 00:18:38.539 that recognizes that you are? That you are poor 00:18:38.539 --> 00:18:41.460 and needy. Maybe you're not blind, lame, or maimed. 00:18:43.400 --> 00:18:45.599 But it's not just about those conditions. It's 00:18:45.599 --> 00:18:49.519 about the heart. It's about what those are representative 00:18:49.519 --> 00:18:52.019 of. Those are representative of those who are 00:18:52.019 --> 00:18:56.359 humble. It's the humble who recognize their need 00:18:56.359 --> 00:19:00.740 and know that they need to be provided for. It's 00:19:00.740 --> 00:19:05.529 those who accept the invitation. He says in the 00:19:05.529 --> 00:19:09.690 next verse, verse 22, Master, the slave said, 00:19:09.950 --> 00:19:12.529 what you ordered has been done and there's still 00:19:12.529 --> 00:19:16.890 room. And the master told the slave, go out into 00:19:16.890 --> 00:19:20.190 the highways and lanes and make them come in 00:19:20.190 --> 00:19:24.490 so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, 00:19:24.509 --> 00:19:28.190 not one of those men who were invited will enjoy 00:19:28.190 --> 00:19:33.470 my banquet. All right, he sends the slave out. 00:19:33.829 --> 00:19:37.890 Go get all the poor men blind and lame. Servant 00:19:37.890 --> 00:19:40.150 comes back and says, I've done it. There's still 00:19:40.150 --> 00:19:42.569 lots of room. What do I do? Go get everybody 00:19:42.569 --> 00:19:45.410 else. Here's the invitation. If you're out there, 00:19:45.650 --> 00:19:52.269 listen and come into my banquet. And that invitation 00:19:52.269 --> 00:19:59.269 goes out to you and I today. It's not an invitation 00:19:59.269 --> 00:20:01.490 to go sit down and eat a physical meal somewhere. 00:20:02.269 --> 00:20:04.289 Although we'll be doing that again in a few weeks 00:20:04.289 --> 00:20:06.130 for something. I'm sure we'll come up with some 00:20:06.130 --> 00:20:09.990 reason to eat. But this invitation is not about 00:20:09.990 --> 00:20:13.029 eating a meal. It's about entering into the kingdom 00:20:13.029 --> 00:20:20.789 of God. And the proud resists that. But the scripture 00:20:20.789 --> 00:20:23.829 also says that God resists the proud but gives 00:20:23.829 --> 00:20:29.109 grace to the humble. This is the greatest invitation 00:20:29.109 --> 00:20:34.170 you'll ever receive. The invitation is this, 00:20:34.210 --> 00:20:38.930 is that we're sinners. We have done and said 00:20:38.930 --> 00:20:42.710 really bad things. We have thought things. We 00:20:42.710 --> 00:20:46.730 have done some of the darkest and deepest, most 00:20:46.730 --> 00:20:52.130 horrible things you can ever imagine. And you 00:20:52.130 --> 00:20:54.289 would cringe today if everybody in here knew 00:20:54.289 --> 00:20:56.430 some of the things that you have done, some of 00:20:56.430 --> 00:20:58.150 the things that you've thought. Every one of 00:20:58.150 --> 00:21:01.910 us would because we're pretty evil. And we've 00:21:01.910 --> 00:21:07.329 done some evil things. But praise the Lord that 00:21:07.329 --> 00:21:10.049 the scripture says that God sent Jesus Christ 00:21:10.049 --> 00:21:12.329 so that our sins could be forgiven. You don't 00:21:12.329 --> 00:21:16.109 have to live with that pain and regret. You don't 00:21:16.109 --> 00:21:21.130 have to let your sin just weigh you down. Jesus 00:21:21.130 --> 00:21:23.670 offers a beautiful invitation. If you'd come 00:21:23.670 --> 00:21:26.509 to him, if you were weary and heavy laden, and 00:21:26.509 --> 00:21:28.369 he will give you rest. Some of you need rest 00:21:28.369 --> 00:21:31.789 today. Some of you are afraid today. Some of 00:21:31.789 --> 00:21:34.329 you are just worn down today. Some of you are 00:21:34.329 --> 00:21:38.089 overcome with sin and you just don't feel like 00:21:38.089 --> 00:21:41.289 you can overcome your temptations and your addictions. 00:21:41.329 --> 00:21:43.789 But I want to tell you that through Jesus Christ, 00:21:43.970 --> 00:21:46.670 through his strength, he gives you the power 00:21:46.670 --> 00:21:50.049 to overcome. You cannot do it on your own. Some 00:21:50.049 --> 00:21:52.869 of you today may not have any hope. You look 00:21:52.869 --> 00:21:54.670 around and you say, man, life is tough and the 00:21:54.670 --> 00:21:56.890 world is bad and I've got all these struggles 00:21:56.890 --> 00:21:59.549 and I don't know what I'm going to do. Well, 00:21:59.549 --> 00:22:01.329 I want to tell you today that there's hope in 00:22:01.329 --> 00:22:04.289 Jesus Christ. And if you'd seek him, you'll find 00:22:04.289 --> 00:22:08.710 a peace and a joy that you cannot imagine. And 00:22:08.710 --> 00:22:10.549 if you seek him and if you put your trust in 00:22:10.549 --> 00:22:13.529 him, you just continue to go back to that well 00:22:13.529 --> 00:22:16.130 of living water. You just continue to experience 00:22:16.130 --> 00:22:20.069 that peace and joy over and over. You have to 00:22:20.069 --> 00:22:22.250 go back there so many times. Maybe some of you 00:22:22.250 --> 00:22:25.049 are already a follower of Jesus Christ, but maybe 00:22:25.049 --> 00:22:28.099 today you just need to go back to the well. Maybe 00:22:28.099 --> 00:22:29.880 today you need to go back and you need to say, 00:22:29.940 --> 00:22:32.559 Jesus, I'm really struggling right now. I'm really 00:22:32.559 --> 00:22:35.759 having a hard time right now. I just need you 00:22:35.759 --> 00:22:39.240 to help me. I want to tell you today that Jesus 00:22:39.240 --> 00:22:42.980 invites you to do that. That you're invited to 00:22:42.980 --> 00:22:45.200 enter into the kingdom of God and experience 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:50.119 the blessings of the kingdom of God. That invitation 00:22:50.119 --> 00:22:55.759 is open for each and every one of us today. Will 00:22:55.759 --> 00:22:58.910 you humble yourself? And accept that invitation. 00:23:00.710 --> 00:23:04.569 It's not an invitation you want to miss. It's 00:23:04.569 --> 00:23:08.750 not an invitation you want to pass up. At the 00:23:08.750 --> 00:23:12.170 end of the story. It says those who were invited 00:23:12.170 --> 00:23:15.630 first. They're not going to be entering into 00:23:15.630 --> 00:23:20.109 the banquet. Because they refused. They missed 00:23:20.109 --> 00:23:23.849 their opportunity. They missed their invitation. 00:23:25.869 --> 00:23:28.660 Perhaps you've had it. Experiences in your life 00:23:28.660 --> 00:23:31.339 where there were things you were invited to, 00:23:31.440 --> 00:23:33.079 there were things you could have taken part of, 00:23:33.200 --> 00:23:37.720 and you said no, you made excuses. Maybe you 00:23:37.720 --> 00:23:41.220 regret some of those things today. It's a bummer 00:23:41.220 --> 00:23:44.279 to pass up on a cool experience and know you 00:23:44.279 --> 00:23:48.460 may never get to do it again. Well, it's one 00:23:48.460 --> 00:23:51.019 thing to miss a get -together in this world and 00:23:51.019 --> 00:23:53.059 miss a cool experience in this world because 00:23:53.059 --> 00:23:56.160 of your excuses or because... You rejected the 00:23:56.160 --> 00:24:00.039 invitation. But this is far more serious than 00:24:00.039 --> 00:24:05.619 that. This is God himself. God himself through 00:24:05.619 --> 00:24:08.599 his son who died on the cross, Jesus Christ. 00:24:09.460 --> 00:24:13.740 It's God himself in this word saying, I invite 00:24:13.740 --> 00:24:17.740 you to come and to be part of my kingdom. Would 00:24:17.740 --> 00:24:20.619 you humble yourself and enter into my kingdom 00:24:20.619 --> 00:24:25.339 today? Let's pray. God, we come to you. We thank 00:24:25.339 --> 00:24:28.859 you for your good word. I pray, dear Lord, that 00:24:28.859 --> 00:24:31.480 you would help us to examine our hearts. Maybe 00:24:31.480 --> 00:24:35.799 there is some pride lurking in there today. Maybe 00:24:35.799 --> 00:24:37.799 it's hidden beneath the surface. Maybe it's front 00:24:37.799 --> 00:24:40.319 and center, God. Maybe we know it's there and 00:24:40.319 --> 00:24:42.220 we feel convicted. I pray, God, that you would 00:24:42.220 --> 00:24:45.599 not allow us to fall into the trap of feeling 00:24:45.599 --> 00:24:49.200 religious and proud in our own works and what 00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:52.880 we can do, dear Lord. Because our works are... 00:24:53.180 --> 00:24:56.359 Not good enough to please you, God. Our works 00:24:56.359 --> 00:24:58.839 can never atone for our sin, but the works of 00:24:58.839 --> 00:25:02.480 Jesus Christ can. So, dear Lord, I pray that 00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:04.740 you'd be with any today who do not know Jesus 00:25:04.740 --> 00:25:07.019 Christ. Maybe today they are in the middle of 00:25:07.019 --> 00:25:10.119 a dark valley of a tough time when things are 00:25:10.119 --> 00:25:13.359 really hard for them and they don't know where 00:25:13.359 --> 00:25:15.839 to turn. I pray today, dear Lord, that they would 00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:18.339 have heard through your word that they can turn 00:25:18.339 --> 00:25:22.150 to you, that they are invited. to come into your 00:25:22.150 --> 00:25:24.329 presence, to enter into your kingdom where everything 00:25:24.329 --> 00:25:27.809 that they ever need will be provided for them, 00:25:27.829 --> 00:25:30.869 dear Lord. Not that life will always be easy, 00:25:30.910 --> 00:25:34.289 but you will always help them. Dear Lord, maybe 00:25:34.289 --> 00:25:36.630 there are some that know you. They already know 00:25:36.630 --> 00:25:40.190 Jesus Christ, and they just need to seek you 00:25:40.190 --> 00:25:42.609 today. I pray that they would. I pray that they 00:25:42.609 --> 00:25:44.630 would humble themselves before you this morning. 00:25:46.210 --> 00:25:49.109 God, I pray that if there are any that do not 00:25:49.109 --> 00:25:52.559 know Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit is working on 00:25:52.559 --> 00:25:54.440 them, tugging on them today, that as we sing 00:25:54.440 --> 00:25:57.200 this song, that they would just come forward, 00:25:57.279 --> 00:26:00.799 dear Lord, and make that decision to follow Jesus. 00:26:01.240 --> 00:26:04.259 Maybe even now, as I've prayed, they've repented 00:26:04.259 --> 00:26:06.140 of their sins, dear Lord. That's what you call 00:26:06.140 --> 00:26:08.839 us to, to repent, to turn from our sins, and 00:26:08.839 --> 00:26:12.839 to turn to Jesus. God, maybe there are some today 00:26:12.839 --> 00:26:15.059 that just need to pray, that need to come to 00:26:15.059 --> 00:26:17.240 you. I pray that as we have this song of invitation, 00:26:17.539 --> 00:26:21.500 dear Lord, if anybody's decided to to trust in 00:26:21.500 --> 00:26:23.460 Jesus today that they would just come forward 00:26:23.460 --> 00:26:26.720 as we sing and confess that to the whole world, 00:26:26.740 --> 00:26:29.839 dear Lord. And I ask these things in Jesus' name.