Understanding the Kingdom of God (Pt 9) : The Great Feast: Why People Miss God's Invitation & Kingdom Priorities

Memories, testimonies, those we've loved, lost, released, seen, go, seen, saved, healed, restored, faith released.

For every prayer, every soul, every endeavour, every brick laid, every venture, every prayer meeting, every home group, every outreach,

every act of service, every sermon, every song sung, every friendship formed, every battle won, every dream realized,

the kingdom has advanced, heaven has seen. Sons and daughters returned home, heart healed and fruit borne.

To my wife and sons, our leaders and my friends, and our amazing congregation, thank you for everything.

And above it all, to the worthy Lamb of God, who gets all the glory and all the attention always, Jesus, you are worthy of it all.

So in the eight and a half minutes that I now have, two scriptures that we founded this church on, when God spoke to me,

the first one was Revelation 3:20. Behold, I stand at the door and I knock.

Revelation 3:20

If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and we will share meal together as friends.

Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my father on his throne.

That was a call of Jesus, knocking on the hearts of churches, trying to get church people to fall in love with him.

And I think that's something we've tried to do. The other one was Luke chapter 4 from verse 18, and it says this.

Luke 4 · chapter mention

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. I'm reading from the new living translation.

He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see,

the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord's favour has come. This was a call not to wake up the church.

This was a call to reach and save lost people. And I believe it's something that we've tried to do every single week over 30 years next month.

And it's something God's giving us space to as a church, to go and do even more. There's more opportunity to see more people saved.

We live in a desperate city, in a desperate place. Would you agree? If there's ever been a time when the gospel needs to sound out from the church, it's now.

And it's amazing. I said to Vanessa on the way to church this morning, my last time driving here to church, I said to her, you know what?

It's interesting to me that on the time when I preached, my last meeting at New Day Leading, here I have a scripture that fits in with,

that helps describe our last 30 years. But will define our next 30. And it's the parable of the Great Feast.

It's the story of Jesus saying there is a feast available for anyone who wants to come and eat.

And I believe that God wants us to be in a place where, as a church, we remember this is never about us. It's about every person who needs to receive Jesus.

The Great Feast of the Kingdom is a parable which teaches that God's kingdom is open to everyone.

And those who refuse the initial invitation will be excluded, while those who are humble and accept the invitation, even if they are considered outcasts, will be welcomed.

God has good news for the people around us. Isn't that what gets you and I up in the morning?

Isn't that what gets you to church to read your Bible, to pray, to have faith in tomorrow, is the fact that Jesus is here, that he's on his throne, that he rules and that he reigns.

If he didn't, where would you and I be? If we did not have Christ in our hearts, what confidence would we have even in our own country facing tomorrow and the next day and the next

if we didn't have the call of God upon our lives? But here's the thing. You can't force good news to people. They've got to want it. They've got to desire good news.

Have you ever had to swallow terrible tasting medicine as a child and be told this is good for you? You know that feeling and you sprit and maybe a parent, you open your mouth and shove the.

God doesn't do that with good news. What he does is he tells us parables to disarm us and get around our defenses.

And in this little story, which I obviously I'm going to give just headlines to, what Jesus is wanting to show us through this parable.

It's amazing how many people miss their true blessing. It's amazing how many people miss the greatest thing that could happen to them.

And it's amazing how people make decisions to follow trivial things rather than important things. And that's the point of this parable, which I will read in a moment.

So Jesus is about to address situation. He's at a banquet at the home of a chief Pharisee and he's watching the dinner guests jockeying for the best seats in the house,

the ones that have the most honor attached to it. And so my first point is called the pecking game. The pecking order game. Being too concerned with opinions of others.

Would you agree? Too many people are enamored by status. Enamored by wanting to be recognized. The best seats as a feast were always given to the highest social ranking.

If you sat close to the host, the head table, you knew where you were. You've ever been to a wedding? You get a seat with the kids or the grandparents. You're not important.

And a lot of weddings I go to, I don't go get seated with the kids. I get the grandparents. And they always want to haul out photos of that dearly one.

And I got to watch it for an hour. It drives me insane. And I now say, please, can I choose where I sit at a wedding? But you, you know what I'm trying to say.

And people try to get close to the place of dignity. And Jesus is watching this because for some people, it matters what other people think.

And Luke, chapter 14 and verse 8. Luke 14 and verse 8. When you're invited to a wedding feast, don't sit in the seat of honor.

Luke 14 · chapter mention

What if someone who's more distinguished than you has also been invited? The host will come and say, give this person your seat.

You will be embarrassed, and you'll have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table. Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table.

Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, friend, we have a better place for you. Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests.

Jesus isn't giving a tip on how to be honored. Go take a bad place and hope someone sees you.

What Jesus wants to address about the great feast is it's amazing how many people never enter the kingdom of God because of their concern for other people and their concern for their standing in this world.

That if I become a Christian, if I'm the guy in the bungalow who goes out to read his Gideon's Bible rather than joining the guys, what do they think of me?

Oh, I don't want to be recognized as being one of those Christians. And sometimes because we want to be socially acceptable, we don't respond to the call of the gospel, which is to lower yourself.

It doesn't matter what people say. Jesus concluded by saying, those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Jesus is saying, there's a different economy in the kingdom of God. When it comes to you entering the kingdom of God, what you need to understand everything depends on,

on what's in your heart, what's in your heart. And God is promising us. There are some today who are first in everything, who will be last.

And there are Some today who are lost, unseen in what they do, unrecognized. Who in God's economy will be first in the great feast at the end?

The principle concerning God's work is this, to exalt ourselves is actually demeaning. It can be poisonous. When you're looking at an angle for. How does it work for me?

Do you remember the story of Absalom, the. The obvious king who. Solomon was going to be chosen and not Absalom?

And Absalom went and sat at the city gates and in a sense, he dishonored his father because he went to a place of always wanting to meet with people.

He sees the needs. Look, I meet with the people. They might not, but I do. And what was he trying to do? Find a place. Because something was going on in his heart.

How did Absalom die? Hanging from a tree, spear through his heart. Because if you promote yourself, it's a poisonous thing. It's not good.

And one of the main ways we exalt ourselves is by emphasizing our good qualities. The approval of man can be a trap.

And Jesus is trying to say, when you enter the kingdom of God, don't get involved in the pecking order. Don't get involved in what people will think.

I wonder even today, if God's calling some of us to do certain things. What do people think? It's a trap you'll never get out of.

When you fear and you're concerned, or you want the approval of people, don't do it. The demands of God are what counts. What does God think? What's in my heart? What does he want from me?

Remember, Jesus is talking about an invitation to a great feast. He says, when you get invited, don't look at what works for you.

Because if you look at what works for you, you may not even want to go to the feast. Because you think what they got to offer. What I've got is more important.

Number two, if you do decide to go, watch who you spend your time with. So Jesus tells us the story. Those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Then he turned to his host. When you put on a luncheon or a banquet, nice drilling this guy because he's at this.

Don't invite your friends, brothers, relatives and rich neighbors. They will invite you back and that will be your only reward.

Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind. Then, at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who couldn't repay you.

Now this guy has gone and invited all his popular people. Obviously, that's why Jesus is addressing it.

And you'll see that particularly in the Christian west, particularly in, you could say, the usa, there is a strong drive.

If someone becomes a Christian, he suddenly becomes a celebrity because we try to tell the world. Or, sorry, when a celebrity becomes a Christian, we put them on the stage very quickly

because we're trying to tell the world it's cool to be a Christian. And what that does is show that again, Christianity is for the popular when it actually isn't.

Jesus is trying to say that the church presents a banquet to people who need the banquet, which means our hearts need to be in a different place.

When you live in the kingdom of God, you will be taken care of. You won't be overlooked. You don't need to play games in order to be recognized.

You know, when I started this church, I was invited to. I was. We were part of a group of churches, and I was invited, invited to go to those meetings.

And I received a message in the mail that told me that so and so out there in the east is my new spiritual father, because I changed the geographical thing.

I've never met this guy in my life. I go meet my new spiritual father, shake his hand, and every person in that room started off the conversation by saying this.

Hi, what's your name? How big's your church? Everyone. Well, everyone. And what happened was by the end of that, that greeting session, when the coffee came,

I sat at the end because our church was. Was the size of some of these guys, home sales. And they were all talking and bragging and it really was.

And I just thought, God, we can never be a church that becomes like that, where you got to find a way, where the approval, not only now the approval in the world,

now suddenly you want approval in the church. You will never fully enter the kingdom of God. You'll be taken care of when God recognizes you.

It doesn't matter what people think of you. And what it's showing us, Jesus is showing us is that people in those days invited other friends to a feast.

And those friends don't actually need to eat. They're full. They have everything they need. They're not actually the people who need to be there.

And they're well off enough to be able to pay you back. He's saying, break free of this. Start to look out for those who need what you have.

Start to put yourself into circles where what God has gifted you with other people need. So I don't come to get. I come to give. And it makes it stronger.

On my third point, by telling us this, we live in the midst of the needy, the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind. Jesus is saying, feed those who need it.

The church has a responsibility towards people who are hungry and needy. And I need to say this, begin to understand what real needs are. Not just the most obvious ones.

Everyone who's hungry today is going to be hungry tomorrow. Everyone who's cold today is going to be cold next winter again. Are you hearing me?

The real need is a person's right relationship with Jesus. Every single person who has not been born again is facing the judgment of God.

Everyone who doesn't know him, they made in his image. And if they're not receiving him, the clock is ticking the wrong way.

And the church needs to put an urgency into who we are and what we do that we understand. We go to the needy.

And you know one thing about a needy person? A needy person knows when his needs just been met. You don't have to convince him.

If I'm thirsty and I've had a drink, I'm hungry. I've had food when I couldn't see it. Now I can. When my guilt is removed, I know I don't have to say.

Do you think something's happened to you? When it's winter and you put a blanket over me, I'm warm. When my sin is forgiven, my peace is made with God.

The love of God floods my heart. The Holy Spirit enters my life. I know I've changed. So you've got to get to a place where you can recognize who are the needy.

And the fact that as a church we sent into a world to embrace the needy doesn't mean it's all about finding again the poorest on the social ranking.

It's looking into the hearts of people and figuring out where they are. Jesus met their needs. He walked among them. Isn't it biggest criticism? You eat with sinners.

How can you? We have a standard to uphold in this church. Jesus didn't seem to worry about that. He found himself in circles where other Christianese people wouldn't go.

But they didn't change him. He changed them. He went into their space to bring change for their sakes.

Jesus Degree was never shy to go to a place and let his reputation be messed up for the sake of reaching somebody for Christ. Well, for his Father, he didn't mind.

Jesus is saying the only way we get the invitation out to the Great Feast is we got to invite people who don't know they need an invitation.

Zakat, the table is very impressed by this verse 15. Hearing this, a man sitting at the table with Jesus exclaimed, what a blessing it will be to attend a banquet in the kingdom of God.

I hear you. I would love to come. What is this thing? Can you imagine? I can be seated at a banquet. God's going to feed me and look after me and care for me.

I'd love to be in this kingdom. Jesus doesn't disagree with him. Then Jesus goes on and says, I hear you. I hear your heart.

You want, oh, it would be great to go to the kingdom. But, boy, let me show you something. There are a lot of people who don't come to the feast.

You and I all know people who've immigrated today, people who've paid a big price to move from one country to another. They want freedom, abundance, security, opportunity.

We had the opportunity last year to go to Adelaide, which we turned down. I said to Vanessa yesterday, I'm on that group sa South Africans living in Adelaide,

and someone says, has anyone seen my Specialized bicycle? There's a mall there called the Marion. He said, I pedal down to the Marion, where locked it up,

went inside a bicycle, I mean, came out, my bicycle was gone. Has anyone seen my bicycle? I said to Vanessa, yeah, you probably find you lived here your whole life.

Your bike never got stolen. You go to Australia, poop, your bike's gone. Who took my Specialized? The kingdom of God is a far greater country.

Those in the hall of fame of Hebrews, chapter 11, they had a vision of the reality of the kingdom. And I read from verse 13.

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They didn't receive what was promised, but they saw it from a distance and they welcomed it.

They agreed. They were foreigners and nomads here on Earth. Obviously, people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own.

If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland.

That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. The Hebrews legends in chapter 11 warms my heart as to how we should live on the earth.

But by comparison, Jesus is saying, I've invited a whole lot of people to a banquet. And you know what? None of them had a compelling vision of the Kingdom of God.

They didn't understand the city of God that's now available. The message goes out, come and live in the Kingdom of God.

But there were people who said there were things that were too important for them, and we can Have Christians even on the outside.

I believe in Jesus, I'm going to heaven, but I'm not going to give my life to his purposes. I don't see the value of the kingdom. Carry on.

Verse 16 Jesus replied with a story. A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests,

come, the banquet is ready. But they all began making excuses. One said, I've just bought a field, I must inspect it. Please excuse me.

Another said, I've just bought five pairs of oxen. I want to try them out. Please excuse me. Another said, I just got married, so I can't come.

The servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was furious and said, go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town

and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. After the servant had done this, he reported, there's still room for more.

So his master said, go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and earn anyone and urge anyone you find to come that the house will be full

for none of those I first invited will get even the smallest taste of my banquet. I want you to just take note that those who said no had received the invitation sometime before.

They didn't say they're not coming. Isn't it true some people said in church, they received the invitation, God's calling you to more. They just don't respond.

They get the invite, they just sit there. They don't respond and look at the illogical excuses. I've bought a field and I must inspect it.

Why didn't you go and see the land before you bought it? Why now? I bought five pairs of ox and I want to try them out. Why do you wait until you've bought the animals to try them out?

Surely you've done that. The other one I just got married, I can't come. I can understand that one bring your wife with. Here's my thing.

The excuses are not reasons that dodges. In every example listed by Jesus, these people offered small, questionable obstacles that could have been easily solved in order to say no to a great opportunity.

They had something more important to do. They didn't care about the person inviting them. And what Jesus is trying to do, in his clever way,

is trying to bring us back to answer the most important question. Do we love God and do we love the kingdom of God?

Would you and I be willing to pay any price Jesus requires of us to do what he's called us to do? It's a soul Searching question do we love him or do we love something else more?

Because he'll never force the kingdom down your heart, down your throat. Sorry. And I want to close with this.

Sometimes people do not enter into a fullness of the kingdom of God because of trivial pursuits, little good sounding things.

And I put off service in the kingdom till later so that I can do the thing that grabs me now. And some problem is trip with trivial things is they can be good things.

It's not bad to buy land, buy oxen, try them out, get married, stay at home with your spouse. Those aren't bad things, they're wonderful things.

These oaths giving excuses weren't saying I can't come because I've got to go rob a bank with me. The excuses they were giving were valid, they were solid, but they weren't good enough.

And sometimes we give our time and our energy to things that are not central. This parable is not so much only about missing out on the kingdom for those on the outside.

It's about those on the inside who miss out on the kingdom they don't live in the benefits of the kingdom of God.

When Jesus knocked on the door and I read it to you in Revelation 3:20, Look, I stand at the door and I knock.

Revelation 3:20

He was inviting the people in the church who are too busy doing other things to come and look at him. Come and fellowship with me as being that which is of first importance.

And I don't have time to read it. But you know the story of Martha and Mary before Jesus. Martha resented Mary. She's distracted.

Martha says the Lord said, my dear Martha, you're worried, you're upset about these details. There's only one thing being worth being concerned about.

Mary has discovered it won't be taken away from her. Mary has discovered the privilege of sitting at my feet before you serve. Sit at my feet.

There's time and space for both. Friends. The kingdom of God has got to be something you and I are excited about, that we can share it with others to to make them excited about the kingdom of God.

And even as we move to our new home and next week we're over there, there's going to be new prices God wants us to pay. There are going to be new people God wants us to reach.

I think everyone who's going to drive past this road in 30 years has driven past now they know this place. Now we're going to go and pop up somewhere else

and make a whole lot of noise in a whole new place and see thousands of new People come to know Jesus. But I want to tell you it's going to cost you.

And I like it has here. And it's going to cost us by first coming to him and seeing what he has for us and not getting distracted by stuff.

Now I didn't want to bring the scripture, but let me bring it to you. In Genesis 25, verse 29 read a very sad story.

Genesis 25:29

One day when Jacob was cooking some Stewart, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry. Esau said to Jacob, I'm starved. Give me some of that red stew.

That's how also Esau got his other name, Edom, which means red. Alright, Jacob replied, betrayed me your rights as the firstborn son.

Look, I'm dying of starvation, said Esau. What a load of rubbish. He went out to hunt and he's come back. I'm dying of starvation.

Ever had a five year old, an eight year old in your home? Supper's there. They can just wash your hands for his. I'm dying.

What good is my birthright to me now? But Jacob said, first you swear your birthright is mine. So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother Jacob.

Then Jacob gave Esau some of the bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn.

Esau wasn't going to die. It's an exaggeration. What was Esau's problem? Esau became obsessed with what he wants now.

And when Esau saw something now, he would pay whatever price to get now what he wants. He'll give it up. Because he lived for the temporary. He lived for the now.

How many times does the spirit of God speak a word to someone in this room? That's going to adjust the way you live. That's going to cause a fruitfulness in other people's lives.

But you neglect the word. Because my eye is on something else. Red stew. And I've considered that stew to be what I want.

And we become the loser because we miss out on the invitation to come and feast with God. Jesus said, I have food to eat. You know nothing of I feast in the kingdom of my Father.

My last point is simply this. There is finality in our choices. When you decide, I would rather eat than walk into my birthright as a child of God than go eat.

But another son for whom it wasn't intended will walk in the blessing you were meant to walk in. Because many are called and few are chosen.

And I wonder how Many of us in this room today, we're moving venue, we're moving 4km that way. But how many of us are moving in our hearts to embrace what God wants us to embrace?

And my counsel to you is leave behind the little lentil stew of now. Leave it behind for that which is eternal.

And rather pay a price to obey God and feast with him that others can benefit from the way you live your life. Stand with me.

Thank you so much for being a part of our meeting today. Can I just ask two things? The first is, if today the message has in any way been useful to you,

would you mind just maybe liking it or putting perhaps a statement down or a comment down that we can know how the ministry has helped you,

Maybe a thumbs up, maybe you can subscribe to the channel, do whatever, just so we can know what impact this message may be having on you.

And secondly, you may be someone who's saying, greg, I hear you. And this hope that Jesus has for us can come into my heart and it can change me.

But the reality is that I don't even know if I know Jesus. I want to say two things to you right away. The first is he's near you right now.

The Bible says if you believe in your heart that he is the Lord, and if you confess him with your mouth, you will be saved.

Which means you just need to where you are. Turn to the Lord Jesus Christ even now and just say, lord, here I am. I recognize who you are.

I confess my sin to you. I acknowledge you as Jesus Christ, the Lord of all, the Son of the living God. And I want to follow you.

I want to become a disciple of yours. I want to. I want to give my life to you, Lord. And you can pray that prayer right now between you and the Lord.

Secondly, you can get hold of us. You can see the telephone number. You can get hold of us and say, hey, I've given my life to the Lord. Can you help me from here on out?

And we could either send you some material, we can put you in touch with a really good church near you. If you live in our area, you can come to us, you can follow us on YouTube.

But it is good to get connected into the family of God, to get connected into a local church that your life changes being surrounded with the family of God.

Please stay in touch. God bless you.