WEBVTT 00:00:03.669 --> 00:00:06.070 Welcome to the official podcast of the Church 00:00:06.070 --> 00:00:08.589 of Christ Wheeler area. We're so glad that you've 00:00:08.589 --> 00:00:11.070 tuned in for today's message. Whether you're 00:00:11.070 --> 00:00:13.289 on your morning commute or if you're relaxing 00:00:13.289 --> 00:00:15.269 at home, we're here to share the strength and 00:00:15.269 --> 00:00:18.250 truth of God's Word with our community. If you're 00:00:18.250 --> 00:00:19.890 in the neighborhood, we'd love to meet you in 00:00:19.890 --> 00:00:23.510 person. Come see us at 1500 South Allen L. Bean 00:00:23.510 --> 00:00:26.489 Boulevard right here in Wheeler, Texas. We gather 00:00:26.489 --> 00:00:29.510 every Sunday morning at 1030 a .m. and in the 00:00:29.510 --> 00:00:32.390 afternoon at 230 p .m. We meet again on Wednesdays 00:00:32.390 --> 00:00:35.969 at 7 p .m. Right now, let's open our Bibles together 00:00:35.969 --> 00:00:41.189 and dive in to today's sermon. We're going to 00:00:41.189 --> 00:00:46.210 be primarily in the book of Luke. Luke chapter 00:00:46.210 --> 00:00:48.990 14 will have another couple of passages mostly 00:00:48.990 --> 00:00:50.890 going to be in Luke today. So if you want to 00:00:50.890 --> 00:00:54.429 turn there and it's one of the great parables 00:00:54.429 --> 00:00:56.630 that Jesus taught and most of the things we're 00:00:56.630 --> 00:00:58.990 going to talk about today are going to revolve 00:00:58.990 --> 00:01:03.329 around things that Jesus said and so in this 00:01:03.329 --> 00:01:07.269 parable well in in the parable that's in the 00:01:07.269 --> 00:01:11.069 chapter he talks about obviously a man who has 00:01:11.069 --> 00:01:14.750 a great supper and if we've all had invitations 00:01:14.750 --> 00:01:18.090 to supper from time to time I got one last week 00:01:18.090 --> 00:01:20.409 and I went to the supper and I didn't eat nothing 00:01:20.510 --> 00:01:24.049 But that is unusual for me, but I'd already eat 00:01:24.049 --> 00:01:26.310 supper once that day so I didn't need two suppers 00:01:26.310 --> 00:01:29.189 But when we think about the words and teachings 00:01:29.189 --> 00:01:33.010 of Jesus They have of great importance to us 00:01:33.010 --> 00:01:36.189 and in the studies that we do in book of Luke 00:01:36.189 --> 00:01:38.409 14 It said now it happened as he went to the 00:01:38.409 --> 00:01:42.040 house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to 00:01:42.040 --> 00:01:44.459 eat bread on the Sabbath day, they watched him 00:01:44.459 --> 00:01:47.680 closely. This was pretty common for Jesus. The 00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:50.239 Pharisees didn't like him. They always had their 00:01:50.239 --> 00:01:53.019 eye on him. And if you'll notice specifically 00:01:53.019 --> 00:01:56.739 the context of the chapter, it is the Sabbath 00:01:56.739 --> 00:02:00.739 day. And so... in their law or their belief in 00:02:00.739 --> 00:02:02.939 their law. They couldn't be doing any kind of 00:02:02.939 --> 00:02:06.459 work. And so if Jesus was to heal someone, they 00:02:06.459 --> 00:02:08.360 would have considered that work and they would 00:02:08.360 --> 00:02:11.340 have condemned him for that. But I want you to 00:02:11.340 --> 00:02:15.069 notice he went. to eat bread on the Sabbath and 00:02:15.069 --> 00:02:17.550 they're watching him closely. That's the context 00:02:17.550 --> 00:02:21.349 of what's going on in this passage of Scripture. 00:02:21.469 --> 00:02:24.530 So he receives this invitation. It happens to 00:02:24.530 --> 00:02:27.469 be on the Sabbath day. Now it says, behold, there's 00:02:27.469 --> 00:02:33.169 a certain man before him who had dropsy. What 00:02:33.169 --> 00:02:38.449 is dropsy? I've read this passage all my life. 00:02:38.569 --> 00:02:41.370 hundreds and hundreds of times, and I thought 00:02:41.370 --> 00:02:44.009 Dropsy meant to be paralyzed. I've learned that's 00:02:44.009 --> 00:02:50.129 not the case. Dropsy, in ancient times, was the 00:02:50.129 --> 00:02:54.990 abnormal accumulation of fluid in the body. Today 00:02:54.990 --> 00:02:58.789 it's known as edema. Well, I'm not a medical 00:02:58.789 --> 00:03:00.729 person, but there's some medical people here, 00:03:00.729 --> 00:03:04.469 so I'm sure they will know what edema is. Basically, 00:03:04.669 --> 00:03:08.639 it's swelling in the limbs. especially the hands 00:03:08.639 --> 00:03:13.780 and the feet and indeed all over and it's a bad 00:03:13.780 --> 00:03:15.439 condition and I don't know how well you can see 00:03:15.439 --> 00:03:18.620 this guy here but his feet are all swollen up. 00:03:19.659 --> 00:03:23.479 He's got dropsy. It's his problem. Dropsy was 00:03:23.479 --> 00:03:27.060 a sign of heart failure. or liver disease or 00:03:27.060 --> 00:03:30.479 kidney failure. That is what Dropsy was. Dropsy 00:03:30.479 --> 00:03:33.240 wasn't just some insignificant kind of problem 00:03:33.240 --> 00:03:36.240 that you had accidentally. It was a sign that 00:03:36.240 --> 00:03:39.360 you had a real serious problem and the fact is 00:03:39.360 --> 00:03:42.259 that this man with Dropsy has a terminal disease. 00:03:42.379 --> 00:03:46.460 This man's dying. That's what's happening. And 00:03:46.460 --> 00:03:48.680 I've known several people over the years that 00:03:48.680 --> 00:03:52.009 their health really grew bad and towards the 00:03:52.009 --> 00:03:54.150 end of their lives or in their final days of 00:03:54.150 --> 00:03:58.490 their lives, they would, you know, put them on 00:03:58.490 --> 00:04:01.830 a machine and remove fluid from their body. And 00:04:01.830 --> 00:04:03.849 a good friend of mine, they took eight liters 00:04:03.849 --> 00:04:07.030 of fluid off of him just a few days before he 00:04:07.030 --> 00:04:09.509 died. Well, that was because his heart had grown 00:04:09.509 --> 00:04:12.659 so weak, it just couldn't move. the fluid through 00:04:12.659 --> 00:04:14.439 his body and through his kidneys and that's what 00:04:14.439 --> 00:04:17.060 drops he is and so here's Jesus he's been invited 00:04:17.060 --> 00:04:19.779 to this supper he's at this supper it's on the 00:04:19.779 --> 00:04:22.399 sabbath day by the way they look at that he shouldn't 00:04:22.399 --> 00:04:25.180 heal anyone and they put him in front of him 00:04:25.180 --> 00:04:29.819 a man who's dying what do you think Jesus is 00:04:29.819 --> 00:04:34.360 going to do he's going to use the instance to 00:04:34.360 --> 00:04:39.639 teach he answering spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees 00:04:39.639 --> 00:04:44.949 saying is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath. He 00:04:44.949 --> 00:04:46.709 knew the answer. He knew what they were gonna 00:04:46.709 --> 00:04:52.610 answer, but they kept silent. And he took him 00:04:52.610 --> 00:04:56.009 and he healed him and he let him go. So Jesus, 00:04:57.069 --> 00:05:00.610 he's gonna heal this man. That's what Jesus does. 00:05:00.649 --> 00:05:03.509 He helps people. He heals people. It's the nature 00:05:03.509 --> 00:05:06.050 of our Lord. It'd be like telling a kid, don't 00:05:06.050 --> 00:05:09.709 run out there in the foyer of the church. All 00:05:09.709 --> 00:05:16.610 right, time out. I'm glad James is not here because 00:05:16.610 --> 00:05:19.389 I dropped the remote the last time I was preaching 00:05:19.389 --> 00:05:27.310 too. So y 'all don't tell him, okay? Where was 00:05:27.310 --> 00:05:32.089 I? Oh yeah, kids running in the four -year. Okay, 00:05:32.930 --> 00:05:35.670 so this is a very natural thing for Jesus to 00:05:35.670 --> 00:05:38.149 do and you know what? It was the right thing 00:05:38.149 --> 00:05:42.750 to do, wasn't it? If you have the ability to 00:05:42.750 --> 00:05:45.730 heal someone who's dying, isn't it the right 00:05:45.730 --> 00:05:50.829 thing to do? If you have the ability to do CPR 00:05:50.829 --> 00:05:53.889 on someone who's dying, isn't it right? Isn't 00:05:53.889 --> 00:05:56.089 it right for you to save someone who's drowning 00:05:56.089 --> 00:05:58.629 if you can save them? Isn't it right to go into 00:05:58.629 --> 00:06:00.670 a burning house and pull them out of the house 00:06:00.670 --> 00:06:03.649 if you can? Isn't that right? Wouldn't it be 00:06:03.649 --> 00:06:12.610 wrong to go, well, it's Saturday. Jesus said, 00:06:12.610 --> 00:06:17.290 God made the Sabbath for man, not man for the 00:06:17.290 --> 00:06:21.069 Sabbath. And so where there were limits to how 00:06:21.069 --> 00:06:25.430 far that was to be taken. Verse five, he answered 00:06:25.430 --> 00:06:28.009 them saying, which of you, having a donkey or 00:06:28.009 --> 00:06:31.209 an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately 00:06:31.209 --> 00:06:37.149 pull him out on the Sabbath day? So he asked 00:06:37.149 --> 00:06:42.709 a question. If your ox is in a pit on Saturday, 00:06:42.829 --> 00:06:45.170 won't you go pull him out? Of course you would. 00:06:46.110 --> 00:06:48.569 And you know what? They knew that was true because 00:06:48.569 --> 00:06:52.310 they couldn't answer. They didn't say anything. 00:06:53.310 --> 00:06:55.870 And so Jesus, he knows what's going on in their 00:06:55.870 --> 00:06:57.990 minds and he's convicting them. They put him 00:06:57.990 --> 00:07:00.110 in this situation on the Sabbath day at this 00:07:00.110 --> 00:07:02.529 meal in front of a guy who's dying. He heals 00:07:02.529 --> 00:07:04.430 them and they want to condemn him for it. But 00:07:04.430 --> 00:07:07.009 you know what? He's a lot sharper than they were. 00:07:08.379 --> 00:07:13.779 So he opposes the hypocrisy. I want you to remember 00:07:13.779 --> 00:07:19.639 this as we go through. Jesus knows hypocrisy. 00:07:22.240 --> 00:07:25.680 He knows it before it happened. He can see through 00:07:25.680 --> 00:07:29.279 those kind of things. They knew the answer to 00:07:29.279 --> 00:07:33.139 his question. They would all take that same action. 00:07:33.449 --> 00:07:37.810 the Sabbath day they had no compassion for the 00:07:37.810 --> 00:07:41.329 man with dropsy and the truth is they couldn't 00:07:41.329 --> 00:07:44.689 probably help him this man with dropsy but they 00:07:44.689 --> 00:07:47.449 used him they used a dying man to try to make 00:07:47.449 --> 00:07:51.569 a point about Jesus verse 7 so he told a parable 00:07:51.569 --> 00:07:54.750 to those who were invited when he noticed how 00:07:54.750 --> 00:08:00.069 they chose the best places saying to them okay 00:08:00.069 --> 00:08:04.670 he's gonna address their pride now When you are 00:08:04.670 --> 00:08:07.629 invited by anyone to a wedding feast do not set 00:08:07.629 --> 00:08:12.170 down in the best place Lest one more honorable 00:08:12.170 --> 00:08:15.069 than you be invited by him and he who invited 00:08:15.069 --> 00:08:17.589 you and him come and say to you give place to 00:08:17.589 --> 00:08:20.810 this man and Then you begin to wish shame to 00:08:20.810 --> 00:08:29.389 take the lowest place This parable He looks at 00:08:29.389 --> 00:08:33.019 all the wealthy and the The lawyers, the Pharisees, 00:08:33.100 --> 00:08:35.460 the doctors, they're sitting in the best spots, 00:08:35.580 --> 00:08:39.659 the best seats maybe, the most comfortable, closest 00:08:39.659 --> 00:08:42.120 to the food, the closest to the service, I don't 00:08:42.120 --> 00:08:45.779 know exactly. He says, when you're invited, go 00:08:45.779 --> 00:08:48.759 sit in the lowest place so that when he who invited 00:08:48.759 --> 00:08:51.179 you comes, he may say to you, friend, go up higher. 00:08:52.759 --> 00:08:54.960 Then you will have glory in the presence of those 00:08:54.960 --> 00:08:58.070 who sit at the table with you. He's teaching 00:08:58.070 --> 00:09:01.669 us a lesson about basically humility, isn't he? 00:09:02.149 --> 00:09:05.629 You should be humble. Shouldn't expect the best 00:09:05.629 --> 00:09:08.370 seat or the... closest to the good service or 00:09:08.370 --> 00:09:10.509 all those kind of things. He's showing something 00:09:10.509 --> 00:09:13.009 that's the exact opposite of their hypocrisy 00:09:13.009 --> 00:09:15.470 and their pride. They brought Jesus to this meal 00:09:15.470 --> 00:09:18.009 to try to entrap him and ensnare him. They felt 00:09:18.009 --> 00:09:19.789 like they could do that. They couldn't do that. 00:09:20.029 --> 00:09:22.549 So he begins to use the situation which Jesus 00:09:22.549 --> 00:09:25.610 was a master at to teach them about their own 00:09:25.610 --> 00:09:28.889 pride and their own hearts and a problem within 00:09:28.889 --> 00:09:31.669 their own hearts. He says whoever exalts himself 00:09:31.669 --> 00:09:34.070 will be humbled and he who humbles himself will 00:09:34.070 --> 00:09:37.240 be exalted. That's a very true that is truth 00:09:37.240 --> 00:09:39.200 all throughout scripture taught many different 00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:41.120 times in many different ways and you know what 00:09:41.120 --> 00:09:45.700 it's true today listen carefully if you exalt 00:09:45.700 --> 00:09:52.259 yourself you will be humbled it happens every 00:09:52.259 --> 00:09:56.740 time and it's a very dangerous attitude pride 00:09:56.740 --> 00:09:59.419 is a very dangerous thing and pride cause these 00:09:59.419 --> 00:10:03.700 people who came to this supper And I want you 00:10:03.700 --> 00:10:05.700 to understand this with me just for a minute 00:10:05.700 --> 00:10:11.940 these people who were dying in their sins Do 00:10:11.940 --> 00:10:19.539 not think about the problem they had They couldn't 00:10:19.539 --> 00:10:21.679 look at their own problem they couldn't look 00:10:21.679 --> 00:10:25.419 at the fact that they were dying That they were 00:10:25.419 --> 00:10:27.860 drowning in their own sins and their own pride 00:10:27.860 --> 00:10:30.600 is so great that the only thing they can think 00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:33.750 of is we got to trap this guy Who's wanting to 00:10:33.750 --> 00:10:36.889 work on the Sabbath day? We've got to ensnare 00:10:36.889 --> 00:10:41.049 this man. That's what they're thinking And so 00:10:41.049 --> 00:10:44.169 he teaches about those dangers of pride and how 00:10:44.169 --> 00:10:46.169 it's going to end in your own humiliation now 00:10:46.169 --> 00:10:49.830 verse 12 Then he also said to him who invited 00:10:49.830 --> 00:10:52.769 him whoever this was that invited him when you 00:10:52.769 --> 00:10:57.009 give a dinner or a supper Do not ask your friends 00:10:57.679 --> 00:11:00.360 Your brothers your relatives nor your rich neighbors 00:11:00.360 --> 00:11:03.539 lest they also invite you back and you be repaid 00:11:03.539 --> 00:11:10.299 don't ask those people he says But when you give 00:11:10.299 --> 00:11:14.460 a feast invite the poor the maimed the lame and 00:11:14.460 --> 00:11:17.580 the blind Well, we do just the opposite don't 00:11:17.580 --> 00:11:23.460 we? We invite our friends We invite our family 00:11:23.460 --> 00:11:27.279 we we invite people who maybe are popular all 00:11:27.279 --> 00:11:29.860 those kind of things and he says don't do that 00:11:29.860 --> 00:11:36.000 invite invite the downcast invite the low notice 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:38.360 what he says you will be blessed because they 00:11:38.360 --> 00:11:41.019 cannot repay you for you shall be repaid at the 00:11:41.019 --> 00:11:45.200 resurrection of the just and so in his teaching 00:11:45.200 --> 00:11:49.039 he teaches about the righteousness and blessings 00:11:49.039 --> 00:11:53.519 that come from helping the helpless isn't that 00:11:53.519 --> 00:11:57.960 what God's all about Helping people who can't 00:11:57.960 --> 00:12:01.960 help themselves Isn't that the mission of Jesus? 00:12:02.419 --> 00:12:06.120 To help you with your sin problem who you cannot 00:12:06.120 --> 00:12:09.679 pay Help you with the challenges in your life 00:12:09.679 --> 00:12:12.779 that you cannot overcome To help the person with 00:12:12.779 --> 00:12:15.539 dropsy who cannot help himself. That's who Jesus 00:12:15.539 --> 00:12:21.039 helped And he says if you're gonna have a dinner 00:12:21.039 --> 00:12:23.399 we'll invite people who can't repay you that's 00:12:23.399 --> 00:12:26.750 right, that's good Help those who can't help 00:12:26.750 --> 00:12:29.090 themselves. That's the teaching that he's saying 00:12:29.090 --> 00:12:31.629 here the just he says will help the helpless 00:12:31.629 --> 00:12:34.629 the poor the maim the blind and the reward will 00:12:34.629 --> 00:12:38.629 be in eternity The reward will be in heaven now 00:12:38.629 --> 00:12:41.250 verse 15 when one of those who said at the table 00:12:41.250 --> 00:12:43.429 with him heard these things He said to him blessed 00:12:43.429 --> 00:12:48.129 is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God 00:12:48.129 --> 00:12:52.669 Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom 00:12:52.669 --> 00:12:57.720 of God's interesting statement in it Evidently, 00:12:57.879 --> 00:12:59.860 this man was the first person to speak other 00:12:59.860 --> 00:13:02.600 than Jesus in this whole sequence of events. 00:13:02.879 --> 00:13:05.379 They had sat down at this meal. He had addressed 00:13:05.379 --> 00:13:08.080 the man with dropsy. He spoke to them about their 00:13:08.080 --> 00:13:10.779 feelings about him. When they hadn't said a word, 00:13:10.899 --> 00:13:12.919 he asked them questions they didn't even answer. 00:13:13.279 --> 00:13:15.639 And now down here towards the middle of the account, 00:13:16.179 --> 00:13:19.009 this man says, Blessed is he that each bread 00:13:19.009 --> 00:13:22.090 in the kingdom of God's the first person to speak 00:13:22.090 --> 00:13:24.809 in this situation and he states a commonly held 00:13:24.809 --> 00:13:27.870 Jewish maxim a Jewish saying of wisdom Which 00:13:27.870 --> 00:13:29.809 is blessed as he shall eat bread in the kingdom 00:13:29.809 --> 00:13:32.409 of God They said it was frequently said among 00:13:32.409 --> 00:13:35.230 the people and you know what he's saying Happy 00:13:35.230 --> 00:13:38.149 is the person who gets to experience all of heaven's 00:13:38.149 --> 00:13:41.659 joys the person who's truly blessed is the person 00:13:41.659 --> 00:13:44.399 who ultimately makes it to heaven and enjoys 00:13:44.399 --> 00:13:48.460 all of heaven's joys. To be truly blessed, folks, 00:13:49.399 --> 00:13:52.559 is to not be invited to a great supper, but to 00:13:52.559 --> 00:13:55.279 experience the eternal supper in heaven, to hear 00:13:55.279 --> 00:13:58.899 God say, well done. That's what true blessings 00:13:58.899 --> 00:14:02.700 are. And then he's gonna give another one of 00:14:02.700 --> 00:14:08.789 the greats along the way. Luke 14 verse 16. A 00:14:08.789 --> 00:14:11.450 certain man gave a great supper and invited many. 00:14:13.730 --> 00:14:16.149 We got invited to a wedding the other day, 700 00:14:16.149 --> 00:14:23.129 people. Big wedding. A certain man made a great 00:14:23.129 --> 00:14:29.570 supper, invited many. And he says to him, who'd 00:14:29.570 --> 00:14:32.450 he say it to? I think it was the man who said, 00:14:32.529 --> 00:14:34.509 blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom 00:14:34.509 --> 00:14:39.240 of God. So this certain, parable he tells, he's 00:14:39.240 --> 00:14:42.840 gonna, it's a great one. Alright, he continues 00:14:42.840 --> 00:14:46.080 with this supper theme and he teaches this parable 00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:49.080 of the great supper. Suppers were by invitation 00:14:49.080 --> 00:14:52.620 in the Jewish culture. Typically an initial invitation 00:14:52.620 --> 00:14:56.139 was sent and then later a servant would be sent 00:14:56.139 --> 00:14:58.669 to inform the guest. that the time for the supper 00:14:58.669 --> 00:15:02.210 had come. So maybe typically this invitation 00:15:02.210 --> 00:15:05.289 wouldn't say it's on Saturday the 13th at seven 00:15:05.289 --> 00:15:07.649 o 'clock. It would just say you're invited to 00:15:07.649 --> 00:15:11.129 a supper by this individual. And then later on, 00:15:11.350 --> 00:15:13.129 a servant's gonna come to you and he's gonna 00:15:13.129 --> 00:15:15.879 say, hey, it's supper time. It's time for it 00:15:15.879 --> 00:15:18.820 to happen. And that's the concept of suppers 00:15:18.820 --> 00:15:21.320 in the Jewish culture. And so I want to talk 00:15:21.320 --> 00:15:23.539 to you about a parable for just a minute, because 00:15:23.539 --> 00:15:27.159 Jesus teaches this parable. A parable was a comparison 00:15:27.159 --> 00:15:30.659 of a common physical thing to a spiritual teaching. 00:15:31.059 --> 00:15:34.299 He used common physical things to teach spiritual 00:15:34.299 --> 00:15:37.820 concepts. And so this happened in a lot of places, 00:15:37.840 --> 00:15:39.879 but I want you to notice this one in particular. 00:15:40.159 --> 00:15:43.740 Matthew 13 verse 24, another parable he put forth 00:15:43.740 --> 00:15:47.360 to them. The kingdom of heaven is like a man 00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:50.840 who sowed good seed in his field. But while men 00:15:50.840 --> 00:15:53.659 slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the 00:15:53.659 --> 00:15:58.259 wheat and went his way." And so Jesus tells a 00:15:58.259 --> 00:16:04.519 very common story about sowing. And he describes 00:16:04.519 --> 00:16:08.240 it as the kingdom of heaven is like. And then 00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:12.679 an enemy comes and sows bad seed or weeds in 00:16:12.679 --> 00:16:17.299 the field. And then verse 36, his disciples came 00:16:17.299 --> 00:16:20.019 to him and said, explain to us the parable of 00:16:20.019 --> 00:16:23.379 the tares of the field. They didn't really understand 00:16:23.379 --> 00:16:26.220 it. Help us to understand. What are you talking 00:16:26.220 --> 00:16:28.620 about? And so sometimes parables are that way. 00:16:28.720 --> 00:16:31.720 And then he says this, he who sows the good seed. 00:16:32.199 --> 00:16:34.639 is the son of man. The field is the world. The 00:16:34.639 --> 00:16:37.019 good seeds are the son of the kingdom. The tares 00:16:37.019 --> 00:16:39.440 are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who 00:16:39.440 --> 00:16:41.580 sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end 00:16:41.580 --> 00:16:44.899 of the age. The reapers are the angels. A very 00:16:44.899 --> 00:16:47.539 spiritual teaching, isn't he? He's teaching about 00:16:47.539 --> 00:16:49.720 the end. He's teaching about judgment. And he's 00:16:49.720 --> 00:16:53.960 using sowing seed in a field to teach about the 00:16:53.960 --> 00:16:57.200 judgment. And so, every one of these things that 00:16:57.200 --> 00:17:00.940 are so common have a spiritual connection in 00:17:00.940 --> 00:17:05.049 this And so he says, a certain man gave a great 00:17:05.049 --> 00:17:07.690 supper, invited many. He sent his servants at 00:17:07.690 --> 00:17:09.609 supper time to say to those who were invited, 00:17:09.609 --> 00:17:16.250 come, for all things are now ready. A certain 00:17:16.250 --> 00:17:22.829 man is God. A great supper is eternity in heaven. 00:17:25.470 --> 00:17:31.480 Invited many is you and I. the invitation is 00:17:31.480 --> 00:17:39.079 the gospel of Jesus Christ. He's using an invitation 00:17:39.079 --> 00:17:43.539 to supper to describe the kingdom of heaven is 00:17:43.539 --> 00:17:46.039 the gospel. He's describing the blessings of 00:17:46.039 --> 00:17:48.599 heaven. Blessed is the man who shall eat bread 00:17:48.599 --> 00:17:50.700 in the kingdom of heaven. It's exactly what he's 00:17:50.700 --> 00:17:55.839 using. Okay, so you get the setting. Here's all 00:17:55.839 --> 00:17:58.829 these Pharisees. these rulers, they're watching 00:17:58.829 --> 00:18:03.250 him, they're very proud, they're hypocrites, 00:18:03.470 --> 00:18:06.849 they're trying to entangle Jesus, and so he teaches 00:18:06.849 --> 00:18:11.190 them about humility, he teaches them about it's 00:18:11.190 --> 00:18:14.369 just to help those who can't help themselves, 00:18:15.210 --> 00:18:17.369 he goes to teaching them those things, and he 00:18:17.369 --> 00:18:21.730 set all this up as the master he is, and he's 00:18:21.730 --> 00:18:25.809 teaching this great teaching now. He finally 00:18:25.809 --> 00:18:28.269 says, his servants are those who preach the gospel. 00:18:28.289 --> 00:18:31.309 I missed that one last click. Okay, verse 18, 00:18:31.490 --> 00:18:34.490 but they all with one accord begin to make excuse. 00:18:35.670 --> 00:18:37.710 The first said, I have bought a piece of ground 00:18:37.710 --> 00:18:40.130 and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me 00:18:40.130 --> 00:18:43.670 excused. And another said, I have bought five 00:18:43.670 --> 00:18:46.509 yoke of ox and I'm going to test them. I ask 00:18:46.509 --> 00:18:49.730 you to have me excused. And still another said, 00:18:49.750 --> 00:18:52.569 I've married a wife and therefore I cannot come. 00:18:54.149 --> 00:18:58.390 So a certain man had a supper he invites people 00:18:58.390 --> 00:19:02.529 they made excuses I bought some land I've got 00:19:02.529 --> 00:19:06.609 some oxen. I have a wife. I cannot come this 00:19:06.609 --> 00:19:09.990 was the reply This was the answer to the invitation 00:19:09.990 --> 00:19:12.950 the invited guests made excuses. We are not coming 00:19:12.950 --> 00:19:23.059 You understand we're not coming But when you 00:19:23.059 --> 00:19:29.279 put it in the context, it is a refusal. You know 00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:33.599 what they're saying? I want to invite you to 00:19:33.599 --> 00:19:39.940 supper. No. No, thank you. We're not coming to 00:19:39.940 --> 00:19:42.059 your supper. We don't want to come to your supper. 00:19:42.220 --> 00:19:50.089 That's what they're saying. So that servant Came 00:19:50.089 --> 00:19:52.349 and reported these things to his master then 00:19:52.349 --> 00:19:54.970 the master of the house being angry said to his 00:19:54.970 --> 00:19:58.670 servant go out quickly Into the streets and lanes 00:19:58.670 --> 00:20:01.130 of the city and bring here the poor and the maimed 00:20:01.130 --> 00:20:10.170 and the lame and the blind And this master of 00:20:10.170 --> 00:20:13.410 the house who no doubt is God is angry by the 00:20:13.410 --> 00:20:18.130 refusal of the invited The servants are commanded, 00:20:18.289 --> 00:20:22.650 go invite other people. Who should be invited? 00:20:25.789 --> 00:20:33.049 The humble. The sick. The hurting. You know who 00:20:33.049 --> 00:20:37.769 should be invited? Those who cannot help themselves. 00:20:39.289 --> 00:20:41.450 Those who cannot feed themselves. That's who 00:20:41.450 --> 00:20:45.599 should be invited. The servant said, Master, 00:20:45.740 --> 00:20:48.440 it's done as you have commanded and still there's 00:20:48.440 --> 00:20:51.059 room. Then the master said to the servant, go 00:20:51.059 --> 00:20:53.599 out into the highways and hedges and compel them 00:20:53.599 --> 00:20:56.319 to come in that my house may be filled. I tell 00:20:56.319 --> 00:20:58.640 you what, you don't invite any of these other 00:20:58.640 --> 00:21:00.859 people again. You go out and invite the poor 00:21:00.859 --> 00:21:02.680 maimed and hot blind. We did it. He said, you 00:21:02.680 --> 00:21:07.099 go way out there then, way away. Down the highways, 00:21:07.740 --> 00:21:10.480 out into the bushes and fields and then you invite 00:21:10.480 --> 00:21:12.980 people because my house is going to be full. 00:21:13.849 --> 00:21:16.710 I've invited people to a supper blessed as he 00:21:16.710 --> 00:21:18.809 that shall eat bread in the kingdom of heaven 00:21:18.809 --> 00:21:20.910 And you don't want to eat bread in the kingdom 00:21:20.910 --> 00:21:23.250 of heaven. That's fine I'll find somebody who 00:21:23.250 --> 00:21:24.849 wants to eat bread in the kingdom of heaven. 00:21:24.970 --> 00:21:29.650 That's the idea and so his servants go out to 00:21:29.650 --> 00:21:34.049 the ends of the earth and This is what he says 00:21:34.049 --> 00:21:39.849 I say to you That none of those men who were 00:21:39.849 --> 00:21:49.769 invited shall taste my supper Here's the thing. 00:21:51.470 --> 00:21:58.750 We take for granted the love of God. We take 00:21:58.750 --> 00:22:04.950 for granted the grace of God. And we want to 00:22:04.950 --> 00:22:10.670 wait to obey Him. We want to make excuses. And 00:22:10.670 --> 00:22:12.869 we're going to tell ourselves, I'll go to another 00:22:12.869 --> 00:22:15.130 supper. I'll go to some other supper. I'll do 00:22:15.130 --> 00:22:18.920 it some other time. I will submit to God when 00:22:18.920 --> 00:22:21.839 I get ready Well, I'll tell you that ain't how 00:22:21.839 --> 00:22:25.200 God looks at it I invited you to my supper and 00:22:25.200 --> 00:22:27.319 you're gonna say no. I tell you what you'll never 00:22:27.319 --> 00:22:47.289 taste of my supper Never There is great danger 00:22:47.289 --> 00:22:55.829 in making excuses to God. If you remember one 00:22:55.829 --> 00:22:59.490 thing, remember this one. There is great danger 00:22:59.490 --> 00:23:03.490 in making excuses for not obeying and submitting 00:23:03.490 --> 00:23:08.490 to God. He may just say, you're never gonna make 00:23:08.490 --> 00:23:15.849 it. What's Jesus teaching? The excuse makers 00:23:15.849 --> 00:23:18.029 will never make it. That's what he's teaching. 00:23:22.630 --> 00:23:27.250 A few lessons. Jesus is the great healer. There 00:23:27.250 --> 00:23:31.650 can be no question about that. The proud will 00:23:31.650 --> 00:23:36.589 be humbled. That's very true. The humble will 00:23:36.589 --> 00:23:40.710 be exalted. I believe that's true. Blessed is 00:23:40.710 --> 00:23:42.869 he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. 00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:45.779 I believe that's true. You have been invited. 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:48.759 That's certainly true. Accept the invitation 00:23:48.759 --> 00:23:52.839 while you can. You know, you have an opportunity 00:23:52.839 --> 00:24:00.460 today. You've been invited to enjoy the blessings 00:24:00.460 --> 00:24:02.779 of heaven. And you know where that starts? Right 00:24:02.779 --> 00:24:07.759 here. Right here. That starts with accepting 00:24:07.759 --> 00:24:11.240 Christ and whatever He asks you to do. You can 00:24:11.240 --> 00:24:17.059 make excuses. You can do whatever you want, but 00:24:17.059 --> 00:24:20.319 the invitation has been given rejecting the invitation 00:24:20.319 --> 00:24:24.299 is very dangerous Because the excuse makers will 00:24:24.299 --> 00:24:29.880 never make it into heaven never never And and 00:24:29.880 --> 00:24:33.500 you have an opportunity you today Have been given 00:24:33.500 --> 00:24:36.519 an invitation by the king of heaven He says I 00:24:36.519 --> 00:24:39.299 want you to come and be with me and you can you 00:24:39.299 --> 00:24:42.180 can answer two things Yes, I want to do that 00:24:42.180 --> 00:24:46.690 or you can say no. Thank you No. And that's one 00:24:46.690 --> 00:24:50.250 of the great lessons from this parable. The excuse 00:24:50.250 --> 00:24:53.529 -makers won't make it. So I want you to think 00:24:53.529 --> 00:24:55.829 carefully about that. Today, if you're here and 00:24:55.829 --> 00:24:57.630 you're not a Christian, today, if you've not 00:24:57.630 --> 00:24:59.750 obeyed the gospel, you need to think about that. 00:24:59.970 --> 00:25:02.150 So I'm gonna show you another attitude that we 00:25:02.150 --> 00:25:04.849 find from a slightly different group of people. 00:25:05.210 --> 00:25:07.289 And this is the other passage we're gonna look 00:25:07.289 --> 00:25:10.380 at, Matthew 20, and it's not very long. This 00:25:10.380 --> 00:25:14.099 is Jesus again. This is a little different set 00:25:14.099 --> 00:25:17.960 of circumstances. As they went out of Jericho, 00:25:18.140 --> 00:25:22.839 a great multitude followed Him. Behold, two blind 00:25:22.839 --> 00:25:25.500 men sitting by the road, when they heard that 00:25:25.500 --> 00:25:28.740 Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, Have 00:25:28.740 --> 00:25:33.710 mercy on us, O Lord Son of David. So here's the 00:25:33.710 --> 00:25:36.490 setting Jesus is traveling along from Jericho 00:25:36.490 --> 00:25:38.910 and all these people are with him and as he's 00:25:38.910 --> 00:25:41.130 walking down this old dusty road There's a couple 00:25:41.130 --> 00:25:43.009 of blind guys sitting there and they can't see 00:25:43.009 --> 00:25:45.890 Jesus They can't tell who's coming but they hear 00:25:45.890 --> 00:25:48.369 that it's Jesus and as soon as they hear it's 00:25:48.369 --> 00:25:56.049 Jesus They said have mercy Have mercy and The 00:25:56.049 --> 00:25:59.990 multitude says be quiet what is wrong with you 00:25:59.990 --> 00:26:06.349 be quiet They didn't be quiet. They cried out 00:26:06.349 --> 00:26:10.910 in the morgue. Have mercy, oh Lord, son of David. 00:26:13.289 --> 00:26:16.549 Now I'll tell you a different attitude we have 00:26:16.549 --> 00:26:22.710 from the blind. The blind. There's the attitude 00:26:22.710 --> 00:26:28.309 of the rich Pharisee, of the doctor and the lawyer. 00:26:30.049 --> 00:26:36.269 Make excuse. I've got a wife. I've got oxen. 00:26:36.309 --> 00:26:39.009 I've got land. I can't come. Here's the blind 00:26:39.009 --> 00:26:43.450 going, please, please take me. Please. Father, 00:26:43.809 --> 00:26:46.369 help me. And when people say be quiet, oh no, 00:26:46.470 --> 00:26:49.009 no, no. Just doing that's going to make me a 00:26:49.009 --> 00:26:51.970 little louder. And Jesus stood still and he called 00:26:51.970 --> 00:26:54.049 to them and said, what do you want me to do for 00:26:54.049 --> 00:26:59.069 you? What do you need? And they said, Lord, that 00:26:59.069 --> 00:27:03.420 our eyes may be opened. We can't help ourselves. 00:27:04.099 --> 00:27:07.500 We can't see. We want to taste the supper. That's 00:27:07.500 --> 00:27:09.960 what they're saying, isn't it? Isn't that the 00:27:09.960 --> 00:27:13.859 question? We want to go to heaven. We want to 00:27:13.859 --> 00:27:16.099 go taste the supper. That's what they're saying. 00:27:16.400 --> 00:27:19.599 Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes and 00:27:19.599 --> 00:27:22.720 immediately their eyes received sight and they 00:27:22.720 --> 00:27:28.480 followed Him. That's what happened. So I want 00:27:28.480 --> 00:27:33.660 to talk to you about these two attitudes. One 00:27:33.660 --> 00:27:39.740 man going, nah, sorry. Another man going, please, 00:27:39.960 --> 00:27:46.059 please, please help me. And you know what? I 00:27:46.059 --> 00:27:47.960 can look at all you people and I can see all 00:27:47.960 --> 00:27:50.460 your faces, and I cannot tell which one you are. 00:27:50.759 --> 00:27:54.880 I have no idea. I'll tell you what, God, Jesus, 00:27:55.039 --> 00:27:58.200 looking down from above, knows which one of you 00:27:58.200 --> 00:28:02.829 is going, no thanks. And he knows which one is 00:28:02.829 --> 00:28:09.029 going, please help me. Please. He knows the difference. 00:28:10.670 --> 00:28:12.970 And that's a lesson that we need to take home. 00:28:14.150 --> 00:28:16.890 And we need to remember, the humble will be exalted 00:28:16.890 --> 00:28:20.250 and set at the table with Jesus in heaven. The 00:28:20.250 --> 00:28:26.309 proud, no. He won't accept. You have an opportunity 00:28:26.309 --> 00:28:29.089 today. It's a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful 00:28:29.089 --> 00:28:33.289 opportunity. You can have the blood of Jesus 00:28:33.289 --> 00:28:35.789 applied to your heart. You can be cleansed in 00:28:35.789 --> 00:28:38.930 that blood. You can name the name of Jesus. You 00:28:38.930 --> 00:28:42.230 can confess His name and be washed of your sins 00:28:42.230 --> 00:28:44.970 in baptism. You have such a wonderful, I want 00:28:44.970 --> 00:28:47.890 to tell you, the price of that ticket right there 00:28:47.890 --> 00:28:54.109 is worth millions, trillions. It's worth everything 00:28:54.109 --> 00:28:59.650 you have or can have. Because I tell you what, 00:28:59.980 --> 00:29:03.200 The day you stand before God and He says, you'll 00:29:03.200 --> 00:29:05.880 never taste my supper. You would give it all 00:29:05.880 --> 00:29:09.599 up then, just like that. So why not lay it down 00:29:09.599 --> 00:29:12.039 today? Thank you for listening to today's sermon 00:29:12.039 --> 00:29:14.500 from the Church of Christ Wheeler area. We hope 00:29:14.500 --> 00:29:16.759 this message encouraged you and strengthened 00:29:16.759 --> 00:29:19.160 you in your faith this week. Don't forget the 00:29:19.160 --> 00:29:22.359 door is always open at 1500 South Allen L. Bean 00:29:22.359 --> 00:29:26.109 Boulevard. at 10 30 a .m on Sundays, 2 30 p .m 00:29:26.109 --> 00:29:29.309 on Sunday afternoons and recharge with us midweek 00:29:29.309 --> 00:29:32.890 on Wednesdays at 7 p .m. For more information 00:29:32.890 --> 00:29:36.150 or to hear past messages follow us on your favorite 00:29:36.150 --> 00:29:39.329 podcast platform. Look us up on Facebook and 00:29:39.329 --> 00:29:41.910 Instagram. We hope you have a blessed week and 00:29:41.910 --> 00:29:42.930 we'll see you next time.