The Heaviness of Hypocrisy - 12/10/25 - Pastor Charlie Branch

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Church of Walnut Cove, North Carolina.

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Pastor [music] Charlie Branch with a

word from God.

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All right. Matthew's Gospel, chapter 22.

If you would find your place there.

Matthew's Gospel, chapter 22.

I promise you, I'm telling you the truth

when I tell you that I've been trying,

searching for a Christmas sermon, but

that's just been what it is. I've been

searching for it. God ain't been sending

it. And so, and so I'm just going to

stick with what he sends me. All right?

And I know if he gives me something,

it'll be right. And uh I have come to

find out in my short day of preaching uh

three, four times a week now that if you

don't preach what God tells you, it

makes it a whole lot harder when you try

to preach what you want to preach. And

uh so I'd rather just do what he tells

me to. Amen. And uh but I love each and

every one of you. Thank you for being

here this evening. Matthew's Gospel

chapter 22 begin reading verse number

one and uh probably we'll just uh preach

a little bit tonight if that'd be all

right and uh just mind the Lord best

that we can. Matthew's Gospel chapter

number 22 verse number one.

Amen. Matthew's Gospel chapter 22 verse

one. And Jesus answered and spake unto

them again by parables and said, "The

kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain

king, which made a marriage for his son,

and sent forth his servants to call them

that were bidden to the wedding, and

they would not come again." He sent

forth other servants, saying, "Tell them

which are bidden, behold, I prepared my

dinner. My oxen and my fatlands are

killed, and all things are ready come

under the marriage." But they made light

of it, and went their ways, one to his

farm, another to his merchandise. And

the remnant took his servants, and

intreated them spitefully, and slew

them. But when the king heard thereof,

he was wroth, and he sent forth his

armies, and destroyed those murderers,

and burned up their city. Then saith he

to his servants, "The wedding is ready."

But they which were bidden were not

worthy. Go ye therefore into the

highways, and as many as ye shall find,

bid to the marriage. So those servants

went out into the highways, and gathered

together all as many as they found, both

bad and good. And the wedding was

furnished with guest. When the king came

in to see the guest, he saw there a man

which had not on a wedding garment. And

he saith unto him, Friend, how camest

thou in hither, not having a wedding

garment? And he was speechless. Then

said the king to his servants, "Bind him

hand and foot and take him away and cast

him into outer darkness. There shall be

weeping and nashing of teeth." In verse

14, our Bible says, "For many are

called, but few are chosen." Let's pray

once more tonight. Father, thank you so

much for the privilege to be in this

service tonight. Lord, for the privilege

to have this blessed Bible, Lord, in our

hands and our hearts tonight, God, I

realize, Father, just how important and

imperative it is, God, that we stay by

this book in these last days. And God, I

pray, Father, tonight, Lord, that you

would help us to uh receive with

meekness the engrafted word. I pray that

you would open our eyes that we might

behold wondrous things in thy law, and

help us to rightly divide this word of

truth. Tonight, I pray you'd get glory

unto yourself and we'd see no man save

Jesus only in this service. Exalt your

son and edify this precious church. And

for every soul that's here, I pray,

Lord, that we would all draw closer to

you as a result of this sermon tonight.

I pray for that one tonight that's here

and lost, I pray tonight would be the

night that they'd come to trust you and

be saved by the grace of God. We'll be

sure to thank you for what you do

because we ask it in Jesus name. Amen.

this text tonight that I've read to you,

I I love this story. I think the reason

why I love this story is because the

picture that it paints. And I I'll be

honest with you tonight, every time I

come to a text of scripture, I always

try to look at the big picture. But what

we read in this text tonight, chapter 22

and verse number one down through verse

number 14 is a image of the entirety of

the period of Christianity of

Christendom. And uh you see that in

verse number two where the Bible says

the kingdom of heaven is like unto a

certain king. Now we've studied that

here before and that terminology has to

do with the time period from the time

that Christ was born on this earth until

the time period that he comes back again

and sets up his kingdom here upon this

earth. And what you see in this ch in

this story, this parable that the Lord

gives in this text is a description of

that time period. It goes all the way

from the time that Christ came until the

time that Christ is coming again. And I

hope that I can show you that tonight.

And so I'll give you the three thoughts,

the three divisions of these 14 verses

tonight on the way on by way of

introduction. That way you can have this

to divided up here in your notes. I

consider in verses one down through

verse number seven. Uh I consider the

Jews time in verses one down through

verse number seven. And then in verse

number eight down through verse number

10, I consider the juncture here that's

mentioned, the juncture. And then in

verse number 11 down through verse

number 14, we consider the judgment. And

so I want to deal with these these three

thoughts tonight in this text and really

want to get to that last one with the

Lord helping us. And so let's jump in

here tonight. Consider this. First of

all, this thought of the Jews time, I

want you to notice what's mentioned in

verse number two. The Bible says, "The

kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain

king which made a marriage for his son."

Now, we know tonight what this

represents. Of course, the king is God

the Father. And this marriage here

represents the marriage of the bride of

Christ and the bridegroom, which is

Jesus Christ, the son of God. And the

Bible says in verse three that he sent

forth his servants to call them that

were bidden to the wedding. And so,

there is preparation. And in verse

number two, you find that preparation in

the word made there. In verse number

two, the this certain king has made a

marriage for his son. And so the king

has set up his will. He has ordered this

marriage. He has put together all the

pieces. And and in eternity past, we

know that God has ordained that the

church would be the eternal purpose.

That's what Paul said in the epistle to

the Ephesians. And so the marriage has

been what's in the mind of God all

through history. And so the preparation

is made in verse number two. And then we

consider in verse number three, consider

the prophets where the Bible says that

he sent forth, who does he send forth?

His servants to call them, notice this,

that were bidden to the wedding. Now,

what you find in verse number three is

the prophets. They are his servants. And

then there is this group. There's that

them that's mentioned in verse number

three, and that is the Jew. And you say,

"Well, how do you point that out?" We'll

notice the verse again. He sent forth

his servants, notice this, to call them

that were bidden. So, what do we know

tonight about the Jew? From the time

that Abraham was called out of the

Caldes, God was promising them a land.

Amen. And God had made a promise to

Abraham that he was going to bless him

and give him a seed. Amen. That was

greater than the number of the stars and

the number of the sand. Amen. And so

from that time God's people they were

bidden amen to a wedding. And so the

prophets are mentioned in verse three

are they are calling on those that are

bidden. What was the ministry of the

prophets? They were prophesying of the

bridegroom that was to come.

>> What were they doing? They were

prophesying of the marriage that was to

come. Amen. They knew there was coming a

day when Jesus would reign. And so all

of those men throughout the Old

Testament spoke. And what does the Bible

say in summary in verse number three?

Look what the Bible says. He sent forth

his servants to call them that were ben

to the wedding. And what's the summary

of it? And they would not come even

after the ministry of all the prophets.

When you get to the book of Malachi,

what happens? There's 400 years of

silence until the angel Gabriel comes on

the scene and comes to Zachariah and

Elizabeth's home to tell her about that

John the Baptist is going to be

conceived. And so because of their

rejection, the door was left open, but

they did not hear the voice of the

prophets. And so I consider the

preparation of this marriage. I consider

the prophets that spoke of the marriage.

But notice the presentation in verse

number four. Now you're going to see

this unfold tonight as we consider this.

Now look what he says. Verse four again.

All right. So he has bitten these Jews,

these his people under this wedding.

Verse three, they've already been

bidden. He's called them again by the

ministry of the prophets. And so there's

two invitations. In verse four, what

does he do? He gives a third invitation.

Look what the Bible says. Again, he sent

forth what you Bible say? Other

servants. You say, "Preacher, well, who

are those other servants?" Well, what

you find here in this text is these

servants are the apostles. And you say,

"How is that?" Well, notice the text in

verse four again. And he sent forth

other other servants saying, "Tell them

which are bidden, behold, I have

prepared my dinner. My oxen and my

fatlings are killed, and all things are

what? Ready." You know, there nothing

was ready for this marriage until Jesus

came and died

>> and rose again. And so, you know what?

Jesus gives this message to his

servants. Amen. He said, "I'm going to

tell you things that must shortly come

to pass." lesson. He said thereafter, he

said the spirit is going to guide you

into all truth. And what did he do?

Amen. He c he commissioned his servants,

his apostles to go forth and to tell

this story to do what? In verse four,

what's it say? The last phrase, come

unto the marriage. See, every invitation

by the prophets, by Jesus himself, and

by the apostles has been come. And what

is the ending verse of the book of

Revelation? Not the last verse, but the

ending question. And the spirit and the

bride say, "Come." Let him that heareth

say, "Come." Let him that is a thirst

come and take of the water of life

freely. So we know the invitation

tonight is come. And this is what we're

left with. There is a presentation in

verse number four. All things are made

ready. And but you find in verse number

five, what happens?

Verse number five, the Bible says, "But

they made light of it." Who is that?

That's the Jews. They didn't like the

message of the apostles. And what's the

story of these Jews? The Bible says in

verse 5, you'll note their priorities.

First of all, they made light of it and

went their ways. One to his farm,

another to his merchandise. And so the

countrymen went back to the field, and

the cityman went back to the finances of

the business world and the town to live

once again in his fancies. Why? because

he did not prioritize the marriage and

so they made light of it. But you see,

not only the priorities of some in verse

5 hindered them from coming to the

marriage, but you'll see in verse number

six, some rather than just being

hindered by hindered from coming to the

marriage. They desired to hurt those

that were giving the invitation and you

see the persecution in verse six. And

the remnant took his servants and

entreated them spitefully and slew them.

Are you beginning to see the image of

the apostles now?

>> Yes.

>> What did they all die? They all died

martyr deaths.

>> They all died for the gospel that they

preached.

>> That Jesus was coming again. And so some

allowed their priorities to hinder them

from coming to the marriage. Some

allowed their pride to cause persecution

to be brought forth and to hurt the

cause of Christ. But you notice out of

this, there's punishment for them. In

verse 7, look what the Bible says. But

when the king heard thereof, he was

wroth. And he sent forth his armies and

destroyed those murderers and burned up

their city. Now, if you know the

greatest, well, I guess you would say

probably the greatest destruction, you

would say the Holocaust is the greatest

destruction of the Jews as a nation. But

the greatest destruction of Jerusalem,

the city, is in verse number seven. And

this is picturing AD.70 when that man

came in there and destroyed everything

that the Jews held dear. And why was

that? Because God sent judgment on them.

>> Right?

>> And so now we come to this next period

in verse number two, verse number eight

rather. We consider the Jews time and

and like I said that that is all loosely

applied, but I think it's a good

application tonight. What you can see

pro possibly the primary interpretation.

I'm not going to say that. uh just

definitely but I think that it's very

close to it. And then I notice verse

number eight, we consider the juncture.

Verse number eight, God's still

speaking. I'm thankful. Aren't you

thankful tonight when the Jews rejected

God didn't say, "All right, that's it."

Amen. I am so glad that when the Jews

turned their back on Jesus, God didn't

say, "Well, my people don't want me, so

I guess we just going to kill them all."

You know what? He could have done that.

>> Amen. But you know what? Jesus died and

in his mind on Calvar's cross, he wasn't

just looking at the Jewish nations, but

he was seeing you and I. Amen. And he

died to save all. And so the Bible said

in verse number eight, the wedding is

still ready. Look what it says. Then

saith he to his servants, what? The

wedding is ready, but they which were

bidden were not worthy. So in this

juncture, there is a clause here that's

left. Those who are bidden originally,

the family that was invited did not

come. And what does the Bible say?

Jesus. John chapter one, he came into

his own and his own received him not.

And so because they refused him, we get

the opportunity to receive him. Notice

verse number nine. Go ye therefore into

the highways and as many as ye shall

find. Boy, I love that. Amen. You say,

"Preacher, there's not a case for world

evangelism and winning every soul in the

King James Bible." Well, right there it

is. Amen. As many as ye shall find. Just

whoever you come by, they is not the

wrong Hey, let me just take time out

right there for a minute. You can't give

a gospel track to the wrong person.

Amen. You can't witness to the wrong

person because Jesus died for all. And

he said, "As many as you find," Amen.

You bring them in because those who are

bitten didn't want to come. And so,

whosoever will, ain't that a familiar

term? Whosoever will, let him come.

Amen. And so, Jesus opens up. The

invitation, this opportunity is given to

all. Amen.

>> And I bless the name of God for it.

Amen. Don't you? So he says, "Go ye

therefore into the highways." And that

highway there is representative of the

gentile world. It's representative of

those people in low estate. Those people

that are lowly esteemed and have no they

have no fellowship. Amen. Ephesians 2

tells us that we we were without hope,

without help. We didn't have a God in

the world to help us. But aren't you

thankful now? Jew and Gentile. There's

neither Jew nor Greek. Amen. Bond or

free. But hey, we've been put into that

one new man in Christ Jesus made

different than Jew or Gentile. We're

Christians. Amen.

>> Hallelujah. And so I see this

opportunity to all as opportunity to

all. As many as ye shall find, bid to

the marriage. So we consider the

opportunity that's to all in verse 9.

Note the occupants in verse number 10 in

the juncture. Look what the Bible says.

So those servants went out into the

highways and gathered together all as

many as they found, both bad and good.

And the wedding was furnished with

guest. Now what you discover here is a

description

of what's going to happen in the end

time. This wedding here, of course, we

know this will be on earth at the time

that our Lord comes back again. And I

really believe we'll go to the judgment

seat of Christ at the rapture. And then

after the judgment seat, we'll come back

to the earth. That marriage supper is

going to take place and we'll rule and

reign with him for a thousand years on

this earth. And so in this text, what

you discover is out of all the earth,

there's people that have that are

brought in at those that are left over

in the end. You say, "Preacher, they're

going to be bad and good in heaven." No.

But when Jesus comes back, there'll

still be good and bad on the earth. And

so there's going to be people that come

in and really it does more than just

typify the wedding, but it really goes

throughout the whole period of

Christianity that in our churches there

are both bad and good. There's both

people who are saved and both people who

are lost. It's like the parable of the

drag net that I've not got to preach on

yet in Matthew 13, but it talks about

that net cast out into the sea and was

brought in all manner of fish. And you

know what happened? All manner of fish

is brought in. And then when they get it

to shore, what do they do? They've got

to get out the good and they got to

throw back the bad. Amen. And so that's

what happens in this text. There's the

occupants. The opportunity is to all.

But I note the occupants are many. In

verse 10, the Bible says that they

gathered together all as many as they

found, both bad and good. And the

wedding was furnished with guests. And

so all these people have come in and

been in this meeting time here in verse

number 10. And I noticed thirdly, we

considered the the Jews. We considered

the juncture, but now I want you to

consider the judgment. And you say,

"Preacher, what does this have to do

with the Lord coming back?" Well, notice

the first phrase of verse number 11.

What's it say? And when the king what

came in, when the king came in, I'm

telling you, one of these days he's

coming back. Amen.

>> You say, "Preacher, where did he come

to?" Well, notice what the Bible says.

When the king came in to see the guest,

he saw there a man which had not own a

wedding garment. Now, what you find in

this text, this whole entire story,

Christ is dealing with the Jews. He's

been dealing with them in chapter 21 and

they have rejected him blatantly, but he

is still preaching to them in mercy,

trying to get them to see their

rejection of him and their

unrighteousness. And so, he gives them

this illustration. And I I want to

preach on this thought for just a few

minutes tonight with the help of the

Lord. I want to preach on the heaviness

of hypocrisy.

The heaviness of hypocrisy. You see what

happens in all three of these periods.

You see hypocrisy in this text. You say,

"What do you mean by that?" Well, in the

Jews time, the hypocrisy is seen by

those that refuse to come to the

marriage. You say, "What do you mean?"

Well, the Bible says that they were

bidden.

>> Why were they bidden? Because they were

part of the family. Amen. And in their

hypocrisy, they claimed the name, but

they did not obey

>> and could follow the command of God. And

so because of that, they were destroyed.

Amen. Because of what they did, what'

they do? Look what your Bible says in

verse number seven. The Bible says,

"When the king heard thereof, he was

wroth and he sent forth his armies and

destroyed those what?

>> Murderers." You know when God turned his

back on the nation of Israel? He turned

his back on the nation of Israel when

they stoned Stephen

>> right

>> in Acts chapter number seven. And you

say, "Preacher, how is it that God

turned his back on the nation of Israel

as a whole?" Well, notice it again in

verse number seven. But when the king

heard thereof he was wroth, he sent

forth his armies and destroyed those

plural murderers and burned up their

plural city. He destroyed everything the

Jews were represented by. Right?

>> He turned his back on them as a nation

for a time. But you see now it becomes

differently. You see the hypocrites in

this Jewish time they they are noticed

by what they did. Second of all in this

juncture period here the time when

Christ was on the earth and the apostles

were ministering in the books book of

acts the the the hypocrites were not

known so much by what they did but

they're known by how they acted. In

verse number 10 look what the Bible

says. He said, "They gathered together

all as many as they found." Notice that

both bad and good. They were not known

by what they did, but they were known by

how they were described.

>> Good.

>> And you know what we're living in in

this day and time is this very thing.

>> There's people in our churches that they

look like us, they act like us, but you

know what? In their heart, they're not

like us.

>> Amen. Because salvation is an internal

thing. You can have the outward form, a

man of godliness, but deny the power

thereof. And I'll get there in just a

minute. But thirdly, tonight, I see

where this thing's getting more private

as we go. He judged the Jewish nation as

a whole, and these ones here in verse

number 10, both bad. He is he they are

presently being judged. And I'll say

this tonight, if you're not saved and

you're trying to live the quote unquote

Christian life, you're living under

judgment is what you are. That's misery.

Amen. to try to live something and not

really have it in your heart. Amen. And

so, but I noticed this thirdly, okay?

And we consider this judgment. Now, what

do we notice? We seen that the judgment

there of the Jews was public. This

judgment here was was in a group setting

as well, but it wasn't national. It's of

the the entirety of the apostate church,

I guess, if you would say that bad. That

has to do with the apostate church

that's present in our world. And so, but

you notice in verse number 11, when he

gets down to the judgment, isn't it

interesting how that changes? Cuz look

what the Bible says. When the king came

in to see the guest, he saw there a man.

You see, at the end of this thing, it's

going to be personal,

>> right?

>> You're not going to be judged

nationally. You're not going to be

judged in a region. You're not going to

even be judged in your family, but

you're going to be judged as a lone

fellow. You're

>> right. personally.

>> You will stand there for yourself, as

yourself, and by yourself

>> right

>> before Christ. And so I notice a few

things here tonight considering the

thought of this heaviness of hypocrisy.

Note the observation. First of all, who

is making the observation? First of all,

it is the king. The Bible says, "And

when the king came in to see the guests,

so he is looking. He comes into view."

Here are those who have made it to the

wedding in verse number 11. And the

Bible says he saw there a man which had

not own a wedding garment. Now to

understand this thought tonight, you've

got to understand the culture in which

this was written in. This wedding

garment was something number one that

would be mandatory.

Amen. This is something that every guest

would have as they would come to the

wedding feast. I would say this. Second

of all, this wedding garment was not

only mandatory, but it was made. It was

something that was prepared by the

family. And then I would say it wasn't

only mandatory and made but it was

manifested. It was given by the family

to the wedding guest that were to come

to this wedding feast. And you say,

well, what's the significance of that?

Well, I consider in the observation the

king comes in. He sees the guest. He saw

there a man which had not own a wedding

garment. So number one, in the

observation, I would see there's a

revelation first of all of this one man.

of all the people that at that's at this

wedding feast, this one man sticks out

>> right

>> out of all of them.

And you say, "Preacher, well, if that's

the case, why didn't the servant see

it?" Because it was something that was

inward,

>> right?

>> You say, "But it's a garment." Well,

it's something only the king would

notice.

>> Amen. You see, because it's when he says

a garment, it's not necessarily an

entire big outfit,

>> but it might just be a small dowy,

>> right?

>> Something that was placed on maybe like

an, you know, a a bounter or however you

say that. I can't say bineer, however

you say that. Something small it was

placed on the guest of this wedding

feast. But you know who noticed it? The

king did.

>> Right?

>> You may fool everybody else in this

life, but I'll tell you this, you ain't

going to fool the king. Amen. His

observation reveals that this man did

not have a wedding garment. And his

observation wasn't only a revelation of

this man, but it was also a rejection of

this man. The Bible says that he he saw

there a man which had not own a wedding

garment. If you look up that

terminology, which had not own a wedding

garment, it does not it does not mean

that this man just didn't possess one or

he didn't get one. It means this man was

offered one and didn't take it.

>> Good. You look up those words and and I

ain't got time to deal with all that,

but you can consider those words that

had not on that phrase. That's what that

means. He refused what was offered to

him for this wedding. And so there's a

revelation of who this man is. The

rejection, what this man does is also

seen. What is he rejecting? Well, notice

in verse number 11, the Bible says he

saw their man which had not own a

wedding garment. Now, the typology of

this is this right here. that this man

rejected the righteousness of Christ.

You say, "How is that, preacher?" Well,

let me just give this to you again.

Remember I told you this thing was

mandatory, right?

>> This wedding garment was mandatory. Who

made it mandatory? The king did. Amen.

So, this garment's mandatory. It's it's

imperative that if you're in the wedding

feast, if you're in the wedding party,

YOU HAD THIS GARMENT ON. IT IS MADE

MANDATORY by the sovereign. But get

this. It's not only mandatory by God the

Father, but it was made by God the Son.

>> You're right.

>> Amen. You understand God made the law.

>> Yes.

>> Amen. But you see, Jesus is the one.

He's the one. He's the word, ain't he?

In the beginning was the word. And so

when God spoke and said, "Let there be."

You know who that was? That's Jesus.

>> And so when Moses on the mountain over

there wrote the law of God, you know

what that was? That was Jesus. Amen. And

he is the law. He gave the law to Jesus

or gave the law to Moses. Jesus gave

that to him. And so this thing was made

mandatory by the sovereign, but it was

made by the son. You say, "Well, how

what else do you mean by what's the type

of this preacher?" Well, it's mandatory.

It's made by the son, but it's

manifested by the spirit of God.

>> Amen.

>> You see, this dowy was offered to this

man,

>> but he refused it. And you know what?

Every sinner that dies and goes to hell

in the day of grace, having heard a

clear presentation of the gospel, you

know what's happened? The son has made a

way.

>> Amen. The father has set the standard.

The son has made a way for you to have

the wedding dowy. And what does the

spirit of God do? He presents it. That's

>> right.

>> Amen. And so the spirit of God presents

it. And what does that manifest in verse

number verse number verse number verse

number 11? He saw there a man which had

not own a wedding garment. It means that

this man refused the righteousness of

Jesus Christ.

>> Right?

>> You see the righteousness of Christ is

imputed to us means to put on.

>> Amen.

>> So when this man was offered that he

refused it.

>> And so in this observation the sovereign

he points it out.

You say, "Preacher, what's the

illustration of this?" Well, you

understand there's coming a day of

judgment on this earth.

>> You're right. Amen.

>> Turn over about three chapters and we'll

talk about it for just a minute. Chapter

25 verse number verse number 32 verse

31. When the son of man shall come in

his glory. Chapter 25:31.

And all the holy angels with him. Then

shall he sit upon the throne of his

glory and before him shall be gathered

all nations. And he shall separate them

one from another as a shepherd divideth

his sheep from the goats.

And so what's going to happen is the

sovereign, the king looks and what does

he see? There's a man there that ain't

got a wedding garment,

>> right?

>> So he points him out. Notice here in the

text, not only the observation here in

the text, but notice the objection by

the king. There's the observation of the

king, but in verse 12, there's the

objection by the king. What does he say?

He saith unto him, friend, how camest

thou in hither not having a wedding

garment? and he was speechless. Now what

does this say to us? Well, first of all,

I would say the objection of the father

is seen in his against his entrance.

Look what he says. How camest thou in

hither. What are you doing here?

You know what? There's some people come

in church and I want to ask them that.

You're

>> right.

>> You say, "Preacher, that's harsh.

Everybody should want to come to

church." Yeah, they should. But you know

what? There's some that I know they're

never going to get saved. Amen. You say,

"Preacher, you don't know that." No. If

you see the look on their face when you

tell them that Jesus loves them,

>> good.

>> The most precious truth of all eternity,

the most heartmelting, hard

heartbreaking truth of all creation.

Every the best things ever been told to

man. And they look at you like they hate

your guts.

>> That's why I'm asking, what are you

doing here?

>> God's going to look at that crowd one of

these days. And if you don't if you

think that's hard, you just know God's

going to look at them one of these days

and say the very same thing. How did you

get here?

>> Right?

>> Why did you HE WAS OBJECTING TO his

interest. He said, "Look, if you refuse

to wear what I told you to wear, why are

you here?"

You know what? That's the truth about

those of us today, even who are saved.

>> If you refuse to put on Jesus Christ,

>> you're right.

>> What are you doing here?

>> You're right. If you refuse to live the

Christian life, to submit to godly

authority and live the Christian life

and do what God tells you to, why are

you here?

>> If you do not want to grow, there should

be no reason why you go anywhere.

>> Right?

>> I'm talking about here. I'm talking

about to serve. If you will not submit,

there is no reason why you should be

here.

The church is a place for people that

want to go forward. The church is a pl

place for people that want to grow in

faith.

>> Amen.

>> Why is that so quiet?

>> I'm being real.

>> He looks at that crowd and he says,

"Friend, how did you get in here?" Look

what he says about him. He objects to

his entrance. I'll say this. He also

objects to his entitlement. Look what

the Bible says. Friend, how camest thou

in hither not having a wedding garment?

You know what this says?

Basically, what he's saying is by this

man coming into this feast without a

wedding garment, this man's saying this,

"Well, I can be here because I want to

be here."

>> Good.

>> Come on.

>> I'm going to do what I want to do. Look

how I want to look. You remember we

talked about somebody like that just the

other day,

>> right?

>> Amen. Cain brought his sacrifice of the

ground. Amen. He knew what he was

supposed to bring. But you know what? He

refused that because he was entitled

thinking that what he could do was good

enough to do what he wanted to do. And

if it was good enough for him, it ought

to be good enough for God.

>> Let me tell you something, friend. Just

because it satis satisfies you does not

mean that it will satisfy the father.

There's only one man. There's only one

message. Hey, friend, there's only one

method that satisfy the father and

that's Jesus Christ. Amen. Hey, we're

saved. We're sealed. Hey, we have the

spirit by that man and by him alone.

There's one God and one mediator.

THERE'S ONE GOETEEN. THERE'S ONE WAY.

THERE'S ONE TRUTH. THERE'S ONE LIFE AND

THAT IS JESUS CHRIST. AMEN.

>> And so in this text he says he says I he

as I object to you being here but I'll

subject to you the way you're here.

Amen. You ever seen somebody some people

like that? Amen. And and you know what I

want to be glad as a pastor when we have

a big crowd on Sunday morning say man

thank God for all these people here. And

I do I thank God for that. But you know

what? There's those people that you look

at and they're like you know they sit

there with their arms crossed say bless

me if you can.

That's their attitude.

>> That's the way they feel.

>> I'm just here because my husband, my

wife made me, my mom, my dad made me.

That's why they're here.

>> Right?

>> You know what that is? That's

entitlement.

>> Amen. They think that they deserve

something better than what they got.

That's

>> right.

>> In this text, you see, he objects his

entrance. How did you come in here? He

objects his entitlement.

But I'll say this, he also objects his

exemption.

You say, "What do you mean, preacher?"

Well, everybody else had a wedding

garment.

>> You know what he did? He willfully

exempted himself,

>> right?

>> From what everybody else

>> had? You say, "Preacher, what what are

you trying to tell me?" Well, you

remember in the text there before, the

Jews were judged because of what they

did. They were murderers.

>> Right?

>> This man right here was judged because

of what he didn't have.

>> Right?

>> You know what? You're going to be judged

by what you don't have.

>> Amen.

>> Amen. You say, "Preacher, what is that?"

Well, Matthew 25 tells about those 10

virgins. And you know what happened when

the Lord came? The Bible says that five

of those virgins, their lamps went out.

Why? Because they run out of oil.

>> Their profession on this earth only

lasted them so long. When it come time

to stand before God, all they had was a

profession. And they didn't have any oil

in their vessel. Amen. And so they

didn't have ANYTHING TO GIVE. YOU'RE

GOING TO BE JUDGED BY what you do not

have, what you have or what you do not

have.

>> Right?

>> Amen. And when you walk through the fire

as a child of God, it's going to be the

same thing. What we live our life for.

If we have salvation, yes, we'll be in

heaven, but at the judgment seat of

Christ, Paul said, "Knowing the terror

of the Lord, we persuade men." We know

that we'll be judged for every action,

for every deed of the body, whether it

be good or bad, and what you walk

through that fire with. What you have is

what you're going to have to give back

to him.

>> You're right.

>> That's what you're going to be judged

by. First of all, saved or lost, you're

going to be judged by whether you have

Jesus or not.

>> You're right.

>> Second of all, if you're saved, you're

going to be judged by whether or not you

did anything for Jesus or not.

>> Right?

>> And he points him out. He objects to

him. Let me say this to you sinner

tonight.

Jesus loves you tonight. But if you

stand before him this day, you'll stand

before him in holy wrath.

>> And he will object to every reason that

you bring. You say, "Preacher,

there's so many things I want to tell

him that day." Preacher, I I I know what

my answer is going to be to him. Well,

see what this man's answer was.

Verse 12, "Friend, how camest thou in

hither not having a wedding garment?"

What's your Bible say? He was

speechless.

Let me tell you something. When you

stand before a thrice, holy God,

>> Yes. with nothing.

>> Yes.

>> Bible says we'll stand before him and

this is not physical sense but he we'll

stand before him naked. That means we

will have nothing and nobody

>> right.

>> No works, no words.

It's going to be time for him to talk.

>> Right?

>> You know what you're doing right now?

You're just heaping up wrath

to the day of wrath. You can do a lot of

talking now, but you know what? There's

going to come a day when you can't say a

word.

>> Right.

>> Amen.

Notice in our text, and I'm moving

tonight, we consider the observation of

the king. We consider the objection of

the king, but notice the order of the

king in verse number 13. Then said the

king to the servants. Now, these

servants here represent the angels, of

course. And the Bible says, the king

said to his servants, "Bind them hand

and foot and take him away. Cast him

into outer darkness. There shall be

weeping and nashing of teeth." The king

orders his servants to bind this man,

this this guest who did not have a

wedding garment. He comes in there. He's

unwelcome because he rejects the free

gift that was to be offered to him at

this wedding so that he could be

present. You understand something? This

king was not unrighteous in doing so

because the requirement had already been

made before the wedding day was ever

set. You hear what I'm saying? The

sovereign was right LONG BEFORE ANYBODY

EVER SHOWED up at the marriage. AND LET

ME JUST SAY THIS TO you right now. I

don't know if we're 5 minutes or 5,000

years away from the judgment, but let me

tell you this right now. I can promise

you this. The king will be right. Amen.

Let God be true and every man a liar.

>> Amen. And so he's going to be right. And

this man, he's going to be bound. He's

going to be broken. They're going to

take him away and cast him into outer

darkness. He's going to be there

begging, begging for just a drop of

water like that rich man in LUKE 16,

JUST BEGGING FOR SOME MERCY. WHY?

BECAUSE HE REFUSED THE OFFER OF THE FREE

GIFT TO go into this marriage. You're

>> right.

>> And at the order of the king, he's going

to be taken away.

And you know what? There'll never be

another word heard out of this man.

You say, "Preacher, what's the point of

the message tonight?" Well, I'm talking

about the heaviness of hypocrisy.

You say, "What what does that mean by

this?" Well, you see, this man pretended

to be something that he wasn't.

>> That's good.

>> And everybody else might have thought he

was welcome there, but you know what?

When the king showed up, he really

pointed him out, didn't he?

>> Right?

>> He knew him amongst admits everybody

else. Let me say this, three things

about the heaviness of hypocrisy.

I'll say this. Number one, the heaviness

of hypocrisy is seen because hypocrisy

is simply attendance without acceptance.

>> You say, "What do you mean?" Well, he

was there,

>> but he was not welcome.

>> Right?

>> Amen. He was there in the wedding feast,

but he was not welcome. You know what

I'd hate to do? I'd hate to live my life

lost, sat on a church pew in the Bible

belt and people think I'm saved. People

think that I'm all right, but live my

life out and one of these days the king

look at me and all the all everybody

else think that I'm okay,

>> but the king look at me and say, "Well,

you was there,

>> but I wasn't with you."

>> Amen.

>> The heaviness of hypocrisis is seen

because it's simply attendance without

acceptance. I would say this, the

heavens eye hypocrisy is seen not only

because it's just attendance without

acceptance. It's also seen because it's

just simply presence without power.

>> You're just here, but you have no life.

>> Good.

>> You have no life. There's nothing on the

inside.

You can be here for every service, every

meeting that we have from now until

Jesus comes,

>> right? But if there is no power on the

inside,

>> Bible says that men in the last days

that have a form of godliness.

>> Amen.

>> But denying the power thereof.

>> Right?

>> You see, I would say number one, this

acceptance, its attendance, without

acceptance, you're not welcome. Its

presence without power, you do not have

the word. But thirdly, I would say this,

and I think this is the most sad one.

Hypocrisy is heavy because it's just

labor without lordship.

>> It's you working so hard to look like

something, to be like something, but

really not knowing the one that'll make

you like him.

>> Matthew Henry said this, and I'm done

tonight.

He said hypocrites go by the light of

the gospel itself down to utter darkness

and hell will be held to such a

condemnation more intolerable.

If you live out your life a hypocrite,

never really believing, never really

trusting, you know what you're doing?

The gospel is shining a light on your

road. You're

>> right.

>> And it'll lead you straight there.

>> Right.

I don't know of anything more sad than

that.

>> You know, people talk about the child of

God, and I really I come to grips with

this today, Sister Betty Jean. They talk

we talk about the child of God. We say

this, we say, "Well, his word's a lamp

to our feet and a light to our path."

You know what it is,

>> right?

>> But you know what? That ain't just for

the saved.

>> That's right. Amen.

>> That hit me like a ton of bricks today.

The lost man, when he takes the word of

God, you know what it's doing? It's

showing him where he's at.

>> That's good.

>> And it's showing him where he's going.

>> Right.

>> Amen.

>> And he said it right. He said a

hypocrite will have the light of God

shine on them all the way to hell.

>> You're right.

>> Every head bowed and every eye closed

tonight. I'm not going to give a lengthy

invitation, but I just want to ask you

tonight, Christians are praying.

You say, "Preacher,

I know that I don't have life.

Preacher, I

I'm here.

My attendance is is good. I'm I'm here.

I'm present. I'm listening to what you

have to say, but I don't I don't have

I'm not accepted, preacher. I I know

that God does not accept me. He's not

accepted me because I've not accepted

him, preacher. I know that I'm here, but

I don't have any power. There is no I

cannot defeat the sin that's in my life

because I have no power.

And preacher, I do not know. I work so

hard,

but I can I will not I do not have the

leadership of the Lord Jesus Christ in

my life. Let me ask you tonight, do you

need to be saved?

The stillness of this time, nobody's

looking around but me.

All right, you slip your hand up

tonight. I want to pray for you. Okay,

preacher. I need to be saved. I know

it's Wednesday night,

but it's just like I told you, your

presence does not mean that his presence

is on the inside.

>> You can be here. You can do all the

things, but if you do not know him,

the king will look at you one of these

days and say, "What are you doing here?

What are you doing here?" Would be

anybody be honest between them and God?

Preacher, I'm not saved. Just slip your

hand up. I want to pray for you. All

right.

Look, okay, you're not fooling anybody.

All right, you say, "Preacher, you're

trying to make me doubt." No, I don't

want anybody to doubt. If it's an if in

your mind, just go ahead and quit

thinking about it. But if God's telling

you, "Hey, you need to trust me."

You better ask him.

Say, "Preacher, would you please pray

for me? I'm not saved." Anybody be

honest.

Let me ask you this tonight, child of

God. Maybe you're here tonight. You

said, "Preacher, I know that I'll not

stand before him without a wedding

garment that day, but those truths that

you stated about the fact that so many

times in my life, I refuse to live for

Jesus. So many times

I have his life on the inside, but I do

not allow his life to show on the

outside.

Say, "Preacher, would you pray for me

that God would help me to live a better

Christian life?" God sees that. God sees

that.

I'll tell you this tonight, child of

God, if you truly are saved, I can

promise you. I can promise you this

tonight. The Bible says that Jesus is

the light of the world. And he looked at

those disciples and he said, "You are

the light of the world. A city that set

on a hill cannot be hid." If there is

light on the inside of you, it will

shine.

>> Amen.

>> But you got to let it. Father, I pray in

Jesus name tonight, Lord, if this altar

needs to be used, I pray your people

would be mindful, God, to use it. And

Lord, I pray you'd help all of us

tonight as we consider this truth. God,

that hypocrisy is a heavy thing. Lord,

we don't have to go around bearing that.

Lord, help us to be real. God, this

world needs real Christians. God, we we

fail and fall just like everybody else.

Lord, we our attitudes, Father, are not

always right. And and things we say, our

actions are not always right. Lord, I

and God, help us to be real. Father,

help us to walk closer with you, Lord.

So that the world can see there is

something different about us. Yes, we

fall, but Lord, we get back up again and

we go on for the glory of God. Lord,

help us to be real, to be right with

you. And Lord, I I'm so thankful. I'm so

thankful, Lord, that when you offered

that wedding garment to me, Lord, I know

there's a seat that's there waiting for

me one of these days. And I bless your

name for that. I pray that you'd help

us, Lord, as we depart this place

tonight. I pray for my precious folk,

Lord. Pray you'd bless them. Thank you

for each one of them that's here

tonight. And Lord, I pray, God, for

those that couldn't be here for whatever

reason. I pray you'd bless them tonight

and draw them back to the house of God.

And Lord, I pray, Father, you'll

strengthen us. Give us boldness to serve

you. Help us to hand out a track to

somebody, Lord, to to witness, Lord, to

be bold because, Lord, you were bold for

us. And I thank you for it. Lord, I love

you. I ask it in Jesus name. Amen.

>> Thank you for joining our service today.

We'd love it [music] if you'd join us in

person the next time you are able at

Meadows Baptist Church. Our physical

[music] address is 2988 Stewart Road in

Walnut Cove, North Carolina. [music]

Our service times are Sunday school at

10:00 a.m., Sunday morning worship at

[music] 11:00 a.m., Sunday evening

worship at 6:00 p.m., and Wednesday

evening Bible study at 7:00 p.m. For

more information, [music]

visit us at meadowsbaptisturch.com.

Thanks again for tuning in.