Parables: The Great Banquet - Invitation & Surrender

Mark: Morning. ⁓ you guys. You guys are the best. You guys are the best. Thank you. Thank you so much. Man. And you guys are as wild as ever. It's amazing. Gosh, I gotta tell you, I have missed you. I have I mean I have missed you. What a gift it was to be on sabbatical. So thankful for all of that. ⁓ I went to about seven churches in the six weeks I was there. I double churched one Sunday morning. Yes, ⁓ you're like, wow, I'm so holy. And I just wanted to go around and see what God was doing in our city, and ⁓ I want to tell you, God is showing up in churches all over our city. And it is a beautiful, beautiful thing. I'm so thankful for what I saw. It was beautiful. But I gotta tell you, I would I'd leave those churches and then I'd come like drive around hope. I'd I'd stalk you. I'd stalk you. And honestly, my heart ached to be here. I was like, who made this rule? I can't come to my own church on sabbatical. I guess I did. And ⁓ I I was just like, I wanna be with you. And I I think that that's like that's how we should feel about each other. Right? Like when we're gone, we're like, man, I miss them. I wanna be with them. It was such, such a gift, beautiful to be away, but so glad to be back. Of course, on the last week or two, I decided to go get a new hip. And ⁓ so I'm I'm a little wobbly, but I'm gonna be okay. A couple more weeks I'll be even better. And ⁓ I just decided today that if you don't like the sermon, we're gonna blame it on the new hip. Is that okay? ⁓ yeah, but I I want to just say thank you to so many people reach out to us and sent cards and meals and texts and just love and you know, Christy and I, we we just love being there for people. And so sometimes, you know, if you're a person that likes to be there for people, you don't really you don't really like to receive that all the time. But it was such a gift, it was a humbling thing to receive all that love and all that care and just What a what an amazing place Hope Church is. Here's what I'll tell you. God's moving all over our city. ⁓ and we're not about building the brand of hope, but what I realized, there's no place like hope. It's the truth. It's the truth. You are amazing people, and I love you. And I'm so glad to be back with you today. We are going to be in Luke chapter 14. If you have your Bibles, you can grab them and open them. And we're going to look at the parable of the great banquet. And ⁓ there's so many layers to that parable, and I think I'm going to hit maybe about a layer or two of it today. ⁓ but I love the parables of Jesus. Have you been enjoying the series we've started? I I love the way that Jesus uses story, the way that he uses story to open our eyes to the realities of the kingdom of God. And throughout throughout the Gospels, Jesus gives these these stories. You you read them through all the gospels, ⁓ and and some of those start like this: the kingdom is like a seed. Right? You remember that one? The kingdom is like yeast working through bread. The kingdom is like treasure in a field. It's one of my favorite ones. Mar Pastor Mark stole it, so I couldn't preach it. The kingdom is like a merchant searching for a a pearl of great price, or like a net gathering fish, or kingdom's like a ⁓ shepherd searching for one lost sheep. How many thankful for that? Or like a father running towards a rebellious son, or like workers receiving an unexpectedly generous wage. Story after story, picture after picture, Jesus uses parables to open our eyes. To open our eyes to see what the kingdom of God is really like. But he didn't tell these stories just to simply Have us understand something just mentally, he actually told these parables so that we could like enter into what he's inviting us to live in, which is the kingdom of God. So when you become born again, ⁓ and when the Spirit of God comes into you, you not only become a new creation, we spend a bunch of time on that, but you begin to learn an entirely new way of life, a new way of living. You're brought out of the kingdom of darkness and you're brought into the kingdom of light, the kingdom of God. And and ⁓ now we're learning to live in the reality of the kingdom of heaven on earth as it is in heaven. That's what we see the clash of kingdoms so often is that we're the people of God are actually living as citizens of a different place. In a in a place where we we have our citizenship here as well, but ultimately our true citizenship is in the kingdom of heaven and we're learning to live in it. And the parables help us understand what it is. They invite us first to see the kingdom and then to live in it. So, because the kingdoms of this world have a way, how many know that the kingdoms of this world have a way? And the kingdom of Jesus has a way, and the two couldn't be more different. That was one of the great misunderstandings in Jesus' day. People thought they knew what the kingdom of God was like. They thought they knew what it was going to look like. They thought, ⁓ They knew who it was for. And Jesus comes and he says, My kingdom is not of this world. The kingdoms of this world, the kingdoms of power, right? The power control. The kingdoms of this world are about manipulation. The kingdom of self prevails all over the place, right? Jesus says, My kingdom. Is not like those kingdoms. My kingdom is not of this world. Jesus says, Come follow me and I'll show you the kingdom. Come follow me and I'll show you the kingdom of God. And one of the beautiful ways that he does this is he opens our eyes through parables. And in Luke chapter 14, where we're gonna be today, ⁓ Jesus went to a party. How many know he liked parties? I don't even know what to how to respond to all that. But Jesus went to a party, and at that party, here in this passage, he told three stories about parties to the people who were partying. And Jesus was using what was around them to teach them incredibly important things about what he thought about their behavior in this life and what the kingdom of God was really like. So there Jesus is. I want you to imagine this. He's at this dinner party. He's sitting at a meal around a table at the home of a very prominent Pharisee. And can you imagine everybody's kind of packed in around him? They're all just gathered, they're drinking, they're eating. And Jesus begins watching how everybody is actually positioning themselves at this party. Like he's watching, you know, the dynamics. Do we have any people here that like to kind of watch people? Clearly, I do since I stalked you around the church. But But he begins watching how everybody's like positioning themselves at the table. Who gets the best seat? Who gets noticed? Who gets honored? He's watching all of this. He's observing all this. Can you imagine? He's probably like kind of quiet, just taking it all in. And then he he says to them, he says, Hey, don't take the place of honor. Don't take the best seat. Just don't do it. And he says, take the lower place. That's how he opens this parable up. And then he gives them this kingdom principle in verse 11. He says this: He says, For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. And then Jesus turns from talking about like the location that you sit at, where you sit, and he starts talking about who you should invite to the party. And he tells, he tells the host, when You when you give a banquet, don't just invite your friends. Don't just invite your family or the wealthy. Don't don't just invite the people who can invite you back and repay you. But Jesus says this instead, verse 13, when you give a feast, he says, invite the poor. Invite the crippled, the lame, the blind. And you'll be blessed. Because they cannot repay you. For you'll be repaid at the resurrection of the just. That's a that's a that's a big statement, isn't it? When's the last time you threw a dinner party and said, I'm not inviting anybody that could pay me back for this dinner, I'm not inviting anybody I like? I'm gonna invite people who are in need. I as I was in this this week, I was actually really challenged by this. I thought, when's the last time I invited people like Jesus said? He says, You'll you'll be blessed. Makes me think of what he said earlier in the gospels when he says, What is it if you love those who love you or do good to those who do good to you? Even the sinners do that. So, do you see what he's doing? He's like showing what the kingdom is like, and it's very different from what they were living in. He's getting their eyes off of now, and what he's doing is he's shifting it to the eternal purposes of what really matters. Jesus is giving us clarity what the kingdom of God looks like. Man, we need clarity on this. We need clarity on this. And in the kingdom of God, We don't fight for the best seat. Can I hear an amen? We don't only make room for people who can do something for us. This is the kingdom of God. It's marked, Jesus says, by humility and by generosity, by actually lowering yourself and making room for others. You want to be blessed? How many want to be blessed here today? Invite the people where you get no payback from. Outcast. Invite the poor, invite the crippled, invite the lame, invite the hurting, invite the broken. I think we should try this. Maybe it needs to start with me. And in that moment, ⁓ somebody was reclining at the table with him. I always love when I see that reclining at the table. Like, you know, I feel like at our tables, there's only so far you can go back, right? I'm just like, you know, I need somebody to come over to dinner and then I feel like Pastor Aaron would do that actually. He would make himself at home and really recline. ⁓ but can you see it? I know, yeah. This guy's reclining at the table with him amongst all these others. And this man speaks up in verse 15, and this is where we're gonna pick it up. And he says, Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God. So this guy, as Jesus is talking about all this, he's like, ⁓ okay, yeah, the kingdom that's coming one day, the resurrection. Blessed is everybody who's gonna eat bread in the kingdom of God. And then Jesus begins to speak to this. And that's where we're gonna be today, starting with verse 16. But Jesus said to him, A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet, he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, Come, for everything is now ready. But they all alike began to make excuses. Everybody say excuses. The first said to him, I bought a field and I must go out and I must see it. Please have me excused. Another said, I have I bought five yoke of oxen and I and I go to examine them. Please have me excused. And another said, I've married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. Jesus knows men like to blame their wives. I mean, let's just be honest, we have from the beginning. Sorry guys. We'll deal with that in our next Monday men's gathering. I love that, for I've married a wife. ⁓ Verse 21: So the so the servant came and reported these things to his master. And then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame. And the servant said, Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room. And the master said to the servant, Go out to the highways and the hedges and compel people to come in that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet. I want to pray. Lord, thank you for your word. I thank you that your word is alive in this room right now. Holy Spirit, we welcome you as the voice of many waters. Come on, pray with me. We invite you to come and change our hearts today with your word. I pray that this room would leave changed because of your word today. Not because of me, but because of your word, so sharp, so so deep. I pray that you would open our eyes and just change us. We want to be like you, Jesus. I pray that we would never phone in a message or a time in your house together, but God, we would say, Come, Lord Jesus, do what you want to do, have your way in us. And I pray that over us today. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Many of the parables of Jesus are around a meal. They take place around a meal. Jesus loved meals, he loved celebrations. First miracle he did was at a wedding feast, right? And of course. Revelation chapter nine tells us that the feast of all feasts is going to be the wedding supper of the Lamb that's going to happen one day. Throughout scripture, the kingdom of God is pictured as a feast. A feast. We feast in the kingdom. And that's what Jesus has shown us here that the invitation into the kingdom, the actual call to discipleship, is to participate in a banquet. Participate in a feast. And in this parable, the man that's throwing the banquet, if you didn't figure it out, represents God. He says, it's time. Jesus is announcing this. Come. Everything is ready now. I think it's really important that we hear the joy in Jesus' voice. He's like, come, everything's ready now. It's a joyful call, it's a joyful announcement. The banquet is ready. You've been invited. How many know the gospel of Jesus Christ is still the good news for all people? It is the good news for all people. People. The invitation is this come and live in the kingdom of God. Not just one day in the future, but today, here and now. Come and feast. You're invited to the feast. Come, it's ready. Right now. Now, obviously, the parable is is actually quite serious. But I think it's really important that we hear the joy as it begins. The excitement as it begins, the joyful invitation from Jesus. I'm thankful that our invitation into the kingdom doesn't begin with something we have to do, but that it's something that God has already done. The kingdom isn't, it's not a restaurant where you have to pay for the food. It's not a potluck where you have to, you know, prepare something and bring it yourself. It's completely prepared for you, but here's the deal: it has to be received. It has to be received. So Jesus is announcing the invitation's gone out. And now the table's prepared, the meal's ready. And here's Jesus with his arms wide open saying, Come, come that my house may be filled. Don't miss that. Filled. That my house may be filled. Jesus is revealing the Father's desire to fill his house. This is the heart of God, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come. That all should come to repentance. I'm asking the Lord to give us a fresh heart for the world around us, to give us his heart for the city around us. He wants his house full. His mission is still go, go into all the world. Preach the gospel, make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, teaching all that I have commanded. The passion of God is still that his house would be filled. Go to the broken, go to the hurting, go to the highways, go to the byways. Because the original people weren't receiving and responding to the invitation. Go to the to the unlikely people. I've been thinking about this. I sat with this amazing couple couple of guys this last week. Dr. Benjamin is here, right here. Stand up, Dr. Benjamin. Yeah, and Dr. Pastor Daniel, would you stand? Amazing ministers of the gospel from India. Thank you. And they were just sharing what what the Lord is doing through them in India. And you guys, God is using these men to literally reach thousands and thousands and thousands of unreached people. Hindus are coming to Jesus. It's it's unbelievable. As I heard them, I wanted to like take up an offering for them this morning. They're like, please do. But we are we are gonna bless them. We are gonna we're gonna help in what God is doing. But You know, they showed me pictures in this video, and what I saw in there was exactly what Jesus is describing. There's so many blind people in India, and these blind people, they're ministering to them, they're ministering to the to the to the lame, to the hurting, they're calling them. It's unbelievable what they're doing. Church, it's why we're we're a part of of missions in Pakistan and Africa and all over the world. Like we're called to go. But here's what we're also called to go to right here in our city. And I think what hit me each Sunday as I was going to churches that seemed rather full, mostly full, I saw the streets were empty. Guess what? Our city is largely unreached. Our city is is largely unchurched. Undiscipled. And that's our place. As I've been reading this, I've just been like stirring in my heart, man, that we would not just be a place that's about us, but that we would be a place about reaching the city around us, the world around us. May we not be so about ourselves, but may we carry the heart of God, the mission of Jesus. That's not gonna be the the focus of the message. But it could be the focus of your heart that's released. Yet this parable, Jesus was aware that many people can receive the invitation and still allow something else to become more important. Than entering into the life of the kingdom of God. And that, I think, is the point of the parable. It's important to recognize Jesus here, He and hear me on this, he isn't speaking about people who are hearing this call for the first time. So the original invites had gone out. We need to get this. They'd already received the invite before the call came to come. It's time. So he's talking about people who have already heard this call and understood it. He's talking about people that had literally said, yes, I'll be there. But when the moment came when the invitation actually required something of them, they began to make excuses. And this is I think where the parable gets uncomfortably close to us. Because Jesus isn't only talking about people who openly reject God, he's talking about people who have said yes to the invitation, people who intended to come, people who probably even believed that they would come, but when the invitation interrupted their actual lives, something else mattered more. Church, there's a difference between saying yes to Jesus in principle and saying yes to Jesus when he calls. There's a difference between saying yes to Jesus with a word, yes Jesus, and saying yes to him with a life. It's easy to say, yes, Jesus, I'll follow you, but I'll come to the the banquet. I'll I wanna yes, I wanna live in the kingdom, but what happens when following him interrupts your plans? Like when obedience actually has to cost you something. When he asks you to forgive somebody that you don't want to forgive or surrender something that you've been holding on to. What if it's an addiction? What if it's that that relationship that he says, you got, I want you to let go of that. Come, come feast on what'll really satisfy you. What happens when when he we ask you to go somewhere that you hadn't planned to go? When the call comes, here's what I want to ask you. What's your excuse? What's your excuse? Can we be real? K we we're in church. Let's be real. We all make excuses. I do. I do. I actually believe this morning that Jesus is confronting our excuses today. How many say, get in there, Jesus, and confront my excuses? Deal with them. Tell somebody Jesus is coming for your excuses. Feel like some married people were really too happy to say that. Have you ever been invited to something and you said yes and then later you found a reason to get out of it? Like headache. Something came up, too much going on. But the truth is something else became more important. Have you ever done that? Yeah, me either. I think I think that that that's the first thing I see in this parable. Number one is this our excuses are seldom the real reason. Our excuses are seldom the real reason. Look at these excuses. The first man he says this I bought a field and I need to go see it. Really? Like you bought the property before you looked at it? You didn't inspect the land first? You didn't walk it? That's like that's like calling two hours before dinner and saying, I'm sorry I can't make it. I just bought a house over the phone and I need to go, you know, see what neighborhood it's in. Right? Like you would never do that. Everybody knows that's not the real reason. The second guy he says this he says I bought five yoke of oxen and I'm gonna go try ⁓ out. Really? Like you bought ten oxen before finding out whether they could pull a plow? That's like me calling Christy, like an hour before a really special dinner maybe she prepared for us. And I'm like, hey, babe, I just bought five used cars on marketplace. I'm gonna go out in the middle of nowhere. I need to find out what the year they are, and I gotta see if they even start. Right? Like that'd be like she'd be what? Have you lost your mind? Right? The third man, I have married a wife. Just let that go. Therefore I cannot come. Like like you got married today? Yesterday? I mean I don't I don't even there's a lot of commentary we could ⁓ have on that. But he doesn't even ask to be excused. cannot come or will not come. I I think that that's actually the issue with all three. They could come, they just didn't want to come. And maybe that's the first thing that Jesus wants us to see. I think I got a slide for this one. Our excuses are often explanations we give for decisions our hearts have already made. I don't have time. Our excuses. Right? Like it's a busy season. Or maybe when work settles down or I just don't feel led. Or that's just not my personality. I'll I'll I'll deal with that later. Sometimes some of our excuses are actually legitimate reasons, but church, sometimes they're simply a nice nicer way of saying, Jesus, something else matters more than you. Something else matters more to me right now than you. And I wonder, you know, at first first glance we're like, ⁓ yeah, those excuses, but maybe the question isn't what what's your excuse? Maybe the deeper question is what's underneath your excuse? What's at the heart of your excuse? Because Jesus is always after the heart. Like sometimes we try and talk up here, but Jesus is always going for here. What's the heart of it? I think the second thing I see is this. Number two, our excuses reveal our loves. Notice what the excuse the excuses involved. They involved a field, oxen, a relationship. What do those represent? Those represent property, work, and family. And here's what's absolutely striking. None of those things are bad things. Nobody's nobody's saying, Hey, I can't come, I'm headed out to commit some really terrible heinous sin. Can't come. No. They don't come because they're distracted by good things. They're distracted by good things. And perhaps one of the greatest dangers for us as disciples of Jesus, as followers of Jesus, isn't always about choosing sinful things over Jesus. It's allowing good things to become the ultimate things. Here's what like to suggest to you. Our excuses actually reveal our loves. Can we be real? We say a lot of things, but sometimes we actually need to check the receipts of our lives. Because they reveal our priorities. Where we find identity, where we look for security, where we put our trust. They reveal what we believe we cannot live without. And eventually, what happens is our calendars, our money, our attention, and in our obedience tells the truth about what we love. I love God. We're in worship and we're just worshiping away. I love Him so much. We can say, I love you, Jesus. Jesus, you're the first in my life, but but do our excuses tell another story? You're like, maybe you should go back on sabbatical. I just, I love you. I'm I'm a shepherd to you. I I have to say the hard things. Eugene Peterson, he always said, and I've quoted this before, but he was like, if you want to be a pastor, you always have to be willing to be the person in the room saying the things nobody wants to hear. And and I believe the Holy Spirit wants to expose some things today so that we can be all in and wholehearted for Jesus. And these these excuses begin to come in and we actually don't even get to the heart of it. We think it's just up here at this or I'm too busy or this or this. Jesus like, no, no, no, we gotta get we gotta get to the the bottom of it because our excuses reveal our loves. We can say I love Jesus, but our excuses tell another story. I think we got a slide for this because what consistently gets my yes when Jesus gets my no is revealing something about my heart. That's what an idol is. Our excuses actually reveal our idols. And an idol doesn't have to be something evil. An idol is often a good gift from God that I've given God like weight in my life. Think about what we give our time to. You know when we often say, you know, I don't have time to spend with the Lord or I don't have time to read my Bible or I don't have time to to pray or I don't have time to like go to church each week, but we spend hours on this device binging. Can we just be I mean maybe you don't and that's great. But hours on binging whatever it is. And I think it's it's like Jesus is saying here in this parable, your your excuses are giving you away. This isn't legalism. Clarifying that. This is a wake-up call, I think, to come and feast on the only one who will truly satisfy you. And while we're numbing ourselves on things that might be good or okay, Jesus is like, man, your heart's longing for something more, and that ain't gonna do it. Come, I've got a feast for you. Taste and see that I'm good. Taste and see that I am good. It's an invitation to live in the reality of the kingdom of God. Stop making excuses, is what I'm hearing. You think about what you're giving your money to. You're like, ⁓ boy, here he goes. We don't often think, I know many people feel like they can't give the first of their their income to the Lord. Feel like I just I can't do that for whatever reason, or I I I can't be a generous person. I can't help this person out or that, whatever. We don't have enough money to be generous in our account. Here's here's what I'd say. Have you looked at your bank statement? I know I'm really going there. Cannot or will not? That's not for me to decide, that's between you and the Lord. Cannot or will not? Because I believe that Jesus is inviting us to live in the reality of the kingdom and the economy of the kingdom of God. And it's an otherworldly thing. All right, move on from that. Career is good, right? We're supposed to work. Amen. Family is good. Thank God for family. He who finds a wife finds a good thing. Money is useful, success can be good, rest is good, possessions can be enjoyed. I believe we're supposed to have all of that. I believe that that's there are many of these things that can be gifts from heaven, but none of them were meant to occupy the seat that can only belong to Jesus. Right? And Jesus is saying, distractions are temporary, but God's banquet is forever. It's forever. Can you surrender? what's temporary and get your eyes and your heart on what is eternal. That's the heart of this. Can you ignore your financial expansion so you can recognize that you've been invited into the kingdom of God? For once. Are good things distracting you from the most important things? And I just believe right now though, I'm just asking the questions. I believe the Holy Spirit is doing his work in all of us. I hope we have a heart to say, speak to me, touch me, change my life. Third observation I think is this number three, our excuses reveal what we think Jesus is worth. I think that that might be the deepest punch in the parable. Honestly, every excuse says something about the host. Can you imagine as these excuses are coming in to the father? 'Cause when you turn down his invitation, what you're doing is actually you're making an assessment. You're making an assessment. It's like you're saying, what I'm doing is worth more to me than what you're offering. And that's the insult in the parable. Hear me on this. The field was worth more than the banquet. The oxen worth more than the banquet. The the what's happening at home was worth more than the banquet. And I believe our excuses can do the same thing. Most of us we would never say, Jesus isn't worth it. But sometimes our lives stay for us. It's hard word. It's hard word. Think about times with my kids, you know when your kids are young and you're raising them and you're like asking them to do something and and and whatever and they're like, yeah, yeah, you hear all the words and you're like, hey, can we just be honest, kid? You know what mean? No, you never had that? No. Your kids were perfect. Be like, let's be honest. Like stop saying that because that that those words don't match up with what you're saying. Like let's let's be honest. This isn't guilt, this isn't condemnation. This is a moment where Jesus actually wants to wake us up. And he says, seek first the kingdom. And we say, sometimes we say, as soon as I get everything else established, I'll start seeking the kingdom. These people, these people thought the banquet wouldn't disturb their normal lives. Can I tell you, following Jesus will bring an upheaval to your life? They thought they could be a part of the kingdom and it wouldn't disrupt their agenda and their goals. But here's the truth: my excuses reveal what I think about God. Now my my words may say a different thing. Do I actually believe he is worth it? Do I actually believe his way leads to life? Do I actually believe that what he's inviting me into is better than what I'm holding on to? Cause that's actually the pe the tragedy of the parable is this, that they were they weren't being invited into something miserable. They were being invited to a feast. And they settled for a field. They settled for some hairy animals. Settle for a white I'm just kidding. I'll probably get a note about that. They chose oxen over abundance. They chose urgent over what was ultimate. And church, I think Jesus is still saying, come. Come, everything's ready. Come. I like to ask you today, I just, between you and the Holy Spirit. Where are you making excuses? Where you making excuses? Where's Jesus saying come? But you're still saying, I would, but but Listen, eventually our excuses expose our true loves. This is why Jesus goes on to say these even harder words a little bit later in verse 26. He says this. He says, If if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Then he he he really exhorts them. He exhorts them to count the cost. And then verse 33 says this so therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. Now, I want to be clear about this. Most of us understand this. Jesus isn't telling us to despise our families, to actually hate them. He's using shocking language about our first allegiance. That's what this is about. Jesus isn't asking to become one priority among many. He isn't asking to be added to your life. He's asking for your entire life. The invitation is free, but I'm telling you, church, following Jesus will cost you everything. There's a lot of places around our country that are telling a different gospel. This is the gospel. This is the truth. This is the blessed life. Die to you, live in him. This is the way. This is the cross. This is the way forward. Life is not about me any longer. Life is about feasting at the banquet in the kingdom of God right now on earth as it is in heaven until he comes. This is where the true life is. This is where the true life is. In church, what could possibly be worth missing the banquet for? And yet Jesus says many are going to. What could you possibly be holding on to that that could be better than Jesus? Whatever I refuse to surrender to Jesus has the potential, hear me, to become that thing that keeps me from fully following him. I wonder if today is a a day to to stop standing outside the banquet clutching things that you're not gonna be able to keep anyway. He Come everyone. Everything's ready. She stand with me. I wanna just invite the ministry team to come this morning. We're gonna worship in just a minute, just for a few minutes. I just love to ask that we don't have anybody else leaving right now because I just I just want to have a holy moment here. I know some of you have to go, and if you need to go, you can go right now. But I just want us just to be still for a minute because I believe the word of God really demands a response. I really do. And I believe He's He's moving here today and He's speaking to us. Maybe. Maybe he's speaking to you. He says, Come, everything is ready. Everything's ready. Maybe you're here today and you have never responded to that invitation to come to the banquet. Maybe you've never responded to Jesus. I believe there could be people in this room that do not know the Lord. Maybe you've walked away from him. Maybe you've been far off. I want to tell you today's your day. And that'd be the best choice you could ever make. Can I hear an amen from the church? If you're here, I want you to know today Jesus loves you. The kingdom is open to you. The invitation goes out to you today to come in. In just a minute, I'd love to pray for you and have you respond, and this team will be here for that. You can come and pray with any of us if you want to make that decision today. But the second thing is that I want to talk, speak to, is that maybe you're here today and you have never responded to, or maybe you responded once. You know, maybe you you you said yes to Jesus at some altar call. Maybe it was a youth camp or something. Maybe you've attended church your entire life. But somewhere along the way, other loves, other priorities, maybe other pursuits took first place. Maybe you said yes somewhere. There's a lot of people that make decisions to follow Jesus that actually don't follow Jesus. And maybe you're here and you're like, you know what? I I've really not changed. I'm not changing. I'm not growing. I've I I've never really had an increasing love for the Word of God or the presence of God. And maybe I've never had a decreasing love for sin and the things of this world. I just I believe actually the Holy Spirit is here today speaking maybe to you. Maybe he's putting ⁓ his finger on your excuse today. Something that's that's maybe in that first place that needs to get slotted back down from him. How many, how many just be honest today and just say he's confronting some excuses and My life, would you be honest and lift your hand if that's you? I'd love to see it because I think there's something about us saying, Yeah, yeah, all over the room. I believe he is. I believe he's doing that. We're gonna just sing this simple little worship song, and it just says, Give me Jesus. And I'd love for us, just before we even respond to this, to lift our hands up in the room if that's your heart, and we're just surrendering, and we're just gonna sing, give me Jesus, sing it out.

Luke 14 · chapter mention Luke 14 · chapter mention