The Great Invitation

It's a profound song.

You think about the implications of that song?

! Christ alone, Cornerstone, He's Lord of all.

! What does that mean for you today?

What does that mean for this week?

To call Him Lord of all,

supreme,

all-sufficient, all-satisfying Lord?

If He really is Lord of all, what does that mean?

We sing the words, it's a great song,

amazing truths, but what does it really mean?

I think we know what it means,

but connecting the dots to the day-to-day parts of our life,

that's where things begin to break down a little bit, I think.

At least for me.

I was reminded this week of Jesus' ministry

throughout the time of His time here on this planet.

And through the flow of His ministry,

there were a number of occasions where Jesus was invited to participate in a meal.

He was invited to come over and to sit down,

to enjoy fellowship,

and many of those times actually were for the sake of making Him look foolish

or exposing Him in some way.

And that's what's happening in Luke chapter 14.

Luke 14 · chapter mention

Jesus was invited to the home of a Pharisee.

And through the course of the meal,

it's interesting that Jesus continues to expose the host

and then expose the people who are participating in this meal,

and then drawing their attention to the kinds of individuals

they should be really inviting to the great celebration,

the feastings that they're doing as a people.

And to change the subject,

somebody who is a part of the crowd,

because things are a little tense,

and there's a little tension in the room,

and to try to divert the subject on something they can all agree on,

someone says,

well, tell us about the kingdom.

The kingdom is coming, certainly.

That'll be a happy thought, right?

And Jesus says,

well, let me tell you a parable.

There's this parable of this great man

who invites a number of people to come

and participate in this great feast that he has.

And he sends this invitation out ahead of time

so that they can get prepared

and so they can all be ready

when it's actually time to feast together.

Well, preparations are made,

and finally the mealtime comes,

and now he sends out his servants

so that they can know now is the time

to show up and to enjoy this meal.

And if you remember the story,

you remember that in this parable that Jesus tells,

it says that the servants went out

and everyone who is invited

begins to make excuses.

There's any number of reasons

why they can't come

and participate in this great feast.

One says,

well, I've just bought some property.

I need to go and inspect it.

Another says,

well, I've just bought five oxen

and I need to test it out.

I need to take my oxen for a test drive.

Somebody says,

well, I've just gotten married

and so I'm preoccupied.

And one by one,

down the list,

everyone seems to have a reason

not to come to this great celebration.

Now, in the Jewish mind

in the first century,

this was unimaginable.

This never happens.

And the reason is because

when anyone of significance in a community

invites people to come

and participate and to fellowship with him,

you would be a fool not to comply

because business dealings

and trade and buying and selling

and position in the community

are all based upon acceptance

acceptance to these kinds of gatherings.

It would have been unimaginable

for people in that day

to have resisted such a great invitation.

And then to shock the crowd

of the hearers that Jesus is talking to

even more,

he continues to elaborate on this story

and says,

well,

in order for Jesus

to then have

the right kind of people,

the right numbers of people

at this party that he's throwing,

all the preparations have been made.

Now he sends out word

to anybody in the streets.

He says,

invite the blind

and the maimed

and the deaf

and the mute.

Let them participate

in this great celebration.

It uses the language.

It says,

go and tell them to come.

Implore them to be part

of this great feasting.

This great celebration.

This great invitation

that has been made

to them as a people.

In considering this story,

perhaps we say,

how in the world

could somebody think,

think or imagine

to deny this great invitation?

Certainly that was the thought

of those who were in the audience

listening to this story.

And yet,

there they were

looking at Jesus

in the eyes.

Looking into the face

of the Messiah

who was giving them

the greatest invitation of all.

The invitation

to participate

in relationship

with God.

They wanted nothing

to do with that invitation.

And that's the correlation

that Jesus is beginning

to draw

as he tells this story.

the unimaginable

was taking place

in the very company

in which he was telling

the story.

It harkens back

to what I want

to talk about

this morning

in terms of

the great invitation

that has been given

to you.

The great invitation

that has been given

to me.

And we find that invitation

in Isaiah chapter 55.

Isaiah 55 · chapter mention

Truth be told,

every yes

that we make

in life

is actually

a no

to something else.

And so often

the yeses

in life

are yeses

to property

and yeses

to oxen

and yeses

to marriages.

And those are good yeses.

Don't get me wrong.

But the greatest

yes

this morning

is the yes

to Christ.

And through

the last couple

of weeks

you're

coming along

on a journey

with me

because really

this is God

working in my own life

helping

to create

within me

an affection

for the things

of the Lord

and to put aside

the things

of this life

as important

as they are

so that there can be

a yes

to the most

important thing.

A yes

to the Lord.

That is the great

invitation

this morning.

Last week's

passage

in Isaiah

Isaiah 30 · chapter mention

chapter 30

went something

like this.

It says,

Thus says

the Lord God

the Holy One

of Israel

in repentance

in rest

is salvation.

In quietness

in trust

is your strength.

But you

were unwilling.

Just as those

who Jesus

held out

the invitation

to in that parable

the invitation

to participate

in the great

fellowship

with himself

he offers

the same

to the people

in Jerusalem

in 700 years

before Christ

he offers

them the

invitation

to participate

in him.

But at least

in the moment

in the immediate

time

it says

they were

unwilling.

The same

invitation

is to us.

Is there

willingness?

Is there

tenderness?

Is there

receptivity

on our part?

A willingness

to surrender

over the

things

that we

hold so dear

so that we

can embrace

the wonder

of our

great God?

It's almost

imaginable to me

that

unimaginable to me

that God

has to plead

with us

to embrace

something so

amazing

as relationship

with him

but that is

what he does

time and time

and time again.

He shows up

to extend

this great

invitation.

So turn

with me

to Isaiah

Isaiah 50 · chapter mention

chapter 50

55.

We can see

again this

invitation of

our Lord.

Beginning in

verses 1

to 3.

Isaiah

55

1

to 3

it says

this.

Come

everyone

who thirsts

come to

the waters

and he

who has

no money

come

and buy

and eat

come

buy wine

and milk

without money

and without

price

why do you

spend your

money for that

which is not

bread

and your

labor for that

which does not

satisfy

listen

diligently

to me

and eat

what is

good

and delight

yourselves

in rich

food

incline

your ear

and come

to me

hear

that your

soul

may live

and I

will make

with you

an everlasting

covenant

my

steadfast

sure

love

to David

here we

find again

an invitation

a great

invitation

immediately

to the

people of

Jerusalem

immediately

to the

people living

700 years

before Jesus

but I want

to demonstrate

that that

invitation

that great

invitation

during Isaiah's

day

and to the

people there

in immediate

earshot

of these

words

was just

the beginning

of what God

intends

and desires

to work

through in

all of our

lives

even here

today

it is

God's

desire

for us

to set

aside

the scheduling

and the

saturated

agenda

that we

have

that is

so

built up

with good

things

with our

working for

God

even

perhaps what

God is telling

us this

morning is

that instead

of working

we just

need to be

waiting

we just

need to be

trusting

we just

need to be

to be

offering

ourselves

yielding

ourselves

to his

invitation

enjoying

the benefits

of all

that God

would have

to give

and then

we'll experience

the salvation

and strength

of God

in a couple

of weeks

from now

we'll look

at Isaiah

Isaiah 40 · chapter mention

chapter 40

it says

those who

wait upon

the Lord

will renew

their strength

real

strengthening

comes

as we

begin

with waiting

so we

saw

last week

in Isaiah

Isaiah 30 · chapter mention

chapter 30

that's what

we'll see

again this

morning

in Isaiah

55

my guess

is as we

continue to

look at

the themes

of scripture

they'll continue

to scream

out

wait on

me

trust me

stop

taking matters

in your own

hands

and begin

experiencing

the presence

and the power

of God

in every

part

of your

life

and here

again

God

is calling

us

to the

most

significant

things

he is

calling

us

to what

truly

matters

I was

reminded

even this

week

as I was

reading

through

Facebook

and some

of you

as you

were

posting

reminded

me

of the

story

in Luke

Luke 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10

Jesus'

words

to Martha

he says

Martha

Martha

you are

worried

and troubled

about many

things

troubled

about many

things

but one

thing

is needed

and Mary

has chosen

what is

good

which will

not be

taken

from her

there is

one

thing

this morning

that matters

and so

often

my life

is about

doing

everything

else

but what

really

matters

there is

a great

invitation

this morning

an invitation

for us

to participate

to experience

to enjoy

to delight

to savor

the relationship

that God

intends

and desires

to give

to each

of us

today

the question

is

will we

come

will we

come

I want

to look

at this

passage

in

three

different

movements

first I

want to

take a

look at

the urgency

of the

invitation

that we

see in

verses

one to

three

I want

us to

look at

the

urgency

of the

invitation

look again

as it

says

at verse

one

come

everyone

who thirsts

come to

the waters

and he

who has

no money

come

buy

and eat

come

buy

wine

and milk

without

money

and without

price

now

what you

can't see

in the

Hebrew

text

is

what

begins

this

passage

is an

interjection

the

ESV

doesn't do

a very

good job

translating

it for

us

but the

New

King

James

actually

does

I

believe

the

word

in the

New

King

James

is the

word

ho

or

lo

or

it's

really

the

word

hey

listen

up

pay

attention

you

can't

miss

this

don't

let

this

pass

you

by

this

is

important

hear

me

hear

what

I

have

to

say

there

is

an

urgency

to

the

invitation

not

only

described

by

the

way

this

passage

begins

it

it's

beginning

with

an

exclamation

point

you

can't

miss

what's

coming

next

this

is

essential

for

Christian

life

don't

let

it

pass

you

by

so

the

call

of

God

in

our

life

is

to

listen

up

there

is

an

urgent

call

and

we're

going to

see

throughout

this

passage

there

are

there

are

12

commands

in

the

first

three

verses

and

they

kind

of

fall

within

three

groups

the

first

group

is

the

call

to

come

we're

going to

look at

these

briefly

one

at a

time

but

first

the

call

to

come

we

see

that

here

come

everyone

who

thirsts

come

to

the

waters

come

by

and

eat

come

by

wine

and

milk

and

then

later

on

we

see

in

verse

three

it

says

incline

your

ear

and

come

to

me

there

should

be

no

misunderstanding

what

the

call

on our

life

is

to

do

and

that

is

to

come

to

come

to

him

for

our

lives

to

be

bowed

down

for

our

attention

to

be

fixated

on

him

and

notice

how

broad

this

invitation

is

we

see

it

there

the

very

first

line

come

everyone

who

thirsts

does that

include

everyone

in the

world

at

some

point

or

the

other

there

is

a

thirsting

not

only

a

physical

thirsting

but

as

we

begin

to

see

through

this

passage

there

is

a

spiritual

thirsting

that

happens

for

everyone

in

this

life

there

is

a

broadness

to

this

invitation

notice

it

says

in

verse

one

buy

and

eat

those

who

are

hungry

also

can

be

satisfied

in

some

way

as

they

come

notice

in

verse

four

it

says

I

have

made

him

a

witness

to

the

peoples

who

are

those

peoples

it

elaborates

in

verse

five

surely

you

will

summon

the

nations

you

know

not

and

that's

where

you

and

I

come

in

that's

the

wonder

of this

passage

this

morning

is that

the initial

call is

for the

people of

God

in

Israel

but as

they begin

to recognize

and embrace

the call

on their

lives

as they

begin to

experience

the benefits

of

God's

calling

on their

life

now

the

nations

are brought

in

the nations

are affected

and you

and I

as part

of

those

outside

of the

covenant

Israel

have been

blessed

because

of this

promise

and so

the invitation

is to us

as well

the invitation

for us

to come

but there

is also

conditions

the first

condition

is that

they

come

and it's

an all

inclusive

list

of invitees

those who

are thirsty

and those

who have

no money

but the

condition

is

first of

all

you must

recognize

your need

you must

recognize

that there

is thirstiness

in you

that can

only be

satisfied

in him

and second

there is

an exchange

that is being

referred to

it says

come

and buy

we'll talk

about that

in a moment

we need

to understand

our bankruptcy

that we're

buying

without

the

collateral

that really

is meaningful

in the

spiritual realm

there is

personal

bankruptcy

but there

is an

exchange

nonetheless

but fundamentally

this is what

keeps us

from enjoying

the invitation

is it not

what keeps

us from

experiencing

the invitation

is that

we get

in the way

we refuse

to come

as we've

been invited

to come

it's not

as though

the invitation

was not

given

it's not

as though

the offer

was not

extended

to all

of us

the

difficulty

is that

we refuse

to do

what we've

been

encouraged

and commanded

to do

we have

really no

taste

for the

things of

God

and we

have no

time

for the

things of

God

that is

what stands

in our

way

but he

calls us

to come

I don't

know about

you but

the thought

of a

supreme

being

begging

and pleading

and yearning

with his

people

to come

to him

how does

that strike

you

this morning

doesn't

sit well

with me

and yet

this is

the posture

of God

the posture

of God

to call us

in to

what is

truly

significant

it marked

the ministry

of Jesus

as we

see in

Matthew

Matthew 23 · chapter mention

chapter 23

as he's

weeping

for this

same city

this city

of Jerusalem

and he

says

oh Jerusalem

Jerusalem

the one

who kills

the prophets

and stones

those

who are

sent to

her

how often

I wanted

to gather

your children

together

as a hen

gathers

her chicks

but you

were

not

willing

sound

familiar

is there

a willingness

in us

to participate

in the

great

feast

this great

invitation

of experiencing

our God

what keeps

us

from the

nourishment

and the

life that

is offered

by God

is that

we refuse

to come

there is

not

willingness

in us

there is

a call

to come

but there is

also a call

to buy

notice that

here too

come

buy

and eat

come

buy wine

and milk

without

money

and without

price

on the

surface

this is a

confusing

statement

how does

a purchase

take place

how does

a transaction

happen

without

money

and without

price

what is

this exchange

that

Isaiah

the prophet

is talking

about

how do

you make

this purchase

without

money

well maybe

it would be

helpful to

see this

from a

New Testament

perspective

I think it's

easier in

terms of

proximity

and familiarity

with the

New Testament

to understand

what God

is talking

about

how about

the familiar

verse in

John 3

16

for God

so loved

the world

that he

gave his

only begotten

son

that

whoever

believes

in him

thank you

kids

for helping

whoever

believes

in him

should not

perish

but have

everlasting

life

who is

the invitation

given to

whoever

believes

it's an

open

invitation

there's

accessibility

it is

broad

it's

expansive

in its

ability to

be applied

directly to

life

but what

was the

cost

what is

the cost

to you

well

the cost

to us

is

free

right

it's a

free gift

of God's

grace

but the

cost

to him

was

everything

it cost

him

his life

now what

we don't

have the

benefit

of in

Isaiah

Isaiah 55 · chapter mention

chapter

55

is

understanding

the

context

it flows

from

Isaiah

Isaiah 53 · chapter mention

chapter

53

and those

of you

who know

what Isaiah

53

is talking

about

you'll

recognize

the

connection

the

connection

of the

crucified

savior

the

crucified

servant

leading to

the joy

and the

benefit

of this

broad

and

expansive

invitation

Jesus

in coming

to the

earth

so many

years ago

the cost

for him

was great

the cost

to us

is free

the free

gift

of grace

and yet

there is

an exchange

to be

made

when

speaking

about

discipleship

Jesus

doesn't

mince

words

the

marks

of

discipleship

will

play

out

in

life

whoever

builds

a

tower

and

doesn't

consider

the

cost

who

does

that

Jesus

says

what

king

goes

to

war

and

doesn't

consider

whether

or not

he's

able

to

stand

so

likewise

whoever

of you

does

not

forsake

all

that

he

has

cannot

be

my

disciple

that's

the

exchange

that's

the

exchange

for

every

believer

who

desires

to be

a

disciple

of

God

to

be

part

of

this

great

invitation

there

is

a

great

exchange

not

something

that

can

be

bought

with

money

but

a

price

of

surrendering

your

life

completely

to

him

what

stands

in the

way

of

your

enjoyment

this

morning

it's

not

that

the

offer

the

invitation

has

not

been

extended

it

is

that

you

refuse

!

to

take

it

up

that's

what

stands

in

the

way

of

enjoying

the

benefits

and

the

pleasures

of

God

you

stand

in

the

way

I

stand

in

the

way

of

myself

enjoying

the

pleasures

of

God

my

ideas

my

passions

my

desires

my

love

for

comfort

my

infatuation

with

immediate

gratification

that

stands

in the

way

of

true

satisfaction

but

what

stands

in

the

way

of

true

satisfaction

is

keeping

us

this

great

exchange

is

so

amazing

that

we

if we

really

understood

what the

exchange

was

we

would

be compelled

to it

exchanging

corruption

for

immortality

exchanging

futility

for

fruitfulness

exchanging

captivity

for

freedom

and guilt

for

cleansing

aimlessness

for

purposefulness

isolation

for

fellowship

folly

for wisdom

sorrow

for joy

anxiety

for peace

and judgment

for grace

that is the

exchange

and it's

worth

every cost

it's worth

every cost

it is a

happy exchange

but it is

an exchange

nonetheless

there is a

come to

buy

there is a

called

there's a

called to

come

being called

to buy

there's also

being called

to listen

now there seems

to be a shift

in the language

as we get to

verse

at the end

of verse 2

where we

move from

from the

from the

dining room

to the

classroom

it seems

we move

from the

table

to the

lecture

hall

we move

from eating

to listening

from

enjoying

and participating

in fellowship

to this

learning

that seems

to be

happening

now in

the end

of verse 2

and 3

and as

the shift

in language

is taking

place here

the prophet

Isaiah

and God

himself

wants us

to understand

that what

he is

talking

about

are not

two

competing

truths

but two

companion

truths

because as

we come

to understand

what this

invitation

is all

about

we begin

to realize

that you

can't have

one without

the other

you can't

have true

joy without

experiencing

the benefits

of fellowship

but also

the benefits

of learning

and growing

and abiding

and being taught

by him

and in

three different

ways

it's being

emphasized

at three

different times

and three

different words

word constructions

are being used

to help

describe

the kind

of listening

that we're

to be doing

as God's

people

it begins

with

listen

diligently

to me

listen

diligently

to me

now

those of

you who

have the

NIV

you might

have

it says

listen

listen

to me

and that

is to try

to emphasize

what is really

taking place

in grammatically

is these

two words

side by

side

that are

reinforcing

one another

to help us

recognize

the significance

of listening

diligently

listening

diligently

it needs

to be

something

that we

work at

do you

find yourself

being

distracted

your mind

is kind

of going

from one

thought

to the

next

is kind

of this

ADD

thing

that happens

we can't

seem to

keep

our mind

focused