Lessons About Kingdom Expansion in Our Own Hearts

We're going to be in Luke chapter 14. We started

Luke 14 · chapter mention

last week working through these kingdom parables

of Jesus in Luke chapter 14. They're so life

Luke 14 · chapter mention

-giving, challenging. So we'll be in Luke chapter

Luke 14 · chapter mention

14. As you're turning there, I would like to

say to you... You are doing a great job. You're

a blessing. I'm really not trying to blow smoke.

I'm being honest with you. I've been in church

a long time. And I've never been around a people

that hunger for the Lord like you do, that take

the kingdom seriously like you do, that are living

lifestyles. that you really want to please the

Lord. And I just want to encourage you not to

give up. Keep going. I know sometimes it feels

like the more you press in initially, the more

pushback you get from the world, the enemy, your

own spouse, whatever it may be. I know that that's

definitely happened between Jill and I when we're

trying to press into obedience to the Lord in

some things. And I just want to encourage you,

don't go back. Don't give up. He's worth the

press. And I'm proud of you. I'm proud of you.

Could I take just a moment before we read the

scripture? Normally in the life of our church

in the month of October, towards the middle to

the end of the month, we have what we call Seek

Week. And it's a week we set aside. We set aside

one week in October and one week in spring. In

which we really just... uh deny ourselves and

really lay ourselves you know before the lord

in a in a spiritual way and just say we want

you and we fast and we pray uh as a church and

um i think god has honored that over the years

and i just feel like we're in a season of really

hungering for the presence of jesus uh and i'm

encouraging us to do that so this year instead

of seek week we're gonna have seek month okay

so This year, for the entire month of October,

we're just going to really have a focused effort

when we gather that we just are longing, hungering,

and expecting the presence of the Lord. He's

so faithful. What is that going to look like

in October? Basically, not a lot of difference

to what we're doing normally in Sequi, except

for this. Would you mark your calendars in the

month of October on Saturday nights? We're going

to have a worship night where we're not going

to set any time limits. We're just going to come

together at 6 p .m. We're going to seek after

His presence. We're going to enjoy the presence

of Jesus and we're going to minister to each

other in whatever way He wants us to. No agenda

and no time limit, okay? And we'll leave when

He's done. I hope that you'll do that with us

in October. That's every Saturday night. And

I don't know if you were here last year, but

we did on October 31st, instead of Halloween,

we did a worship night. And it was glorious.

And I said to myself, you dummy, why have we

not been doing this for the past 18 years? And

it just so happens, this wasn't really in the

plan, but the last Saturday of October is October

31st, Halloween night. So we're going to... end

our month of just loving and hungering and desiring

for the Lord with just worshiping Him on Halloween

night. So that's what October is going to look

like. Normally during Sikh week, we fast, you

know, and I encourage you to really fast from

something that hurts your flesh, not just, you

know, Brussels sprouts. I really don't think

it would be... Jesse, hush. Okay, I get it. What

I'm asking us to do in the month of October is

give God a gift that would fast from our flesh

for the entire month. So would you just be praying

about that? I prayed and the Lord was very clear.

Something that he wanted me to give up for the

entire month. So are you with me? October is

the seek week. So we're going to have worship

nights on Saturday night. We're going to seek

him intentionally together on Sunday mornings.

And we're going to give him a gift of something

that pleasures our flesh. We don't fast to manipulate

God. Do you understand that? We don't fast to

get things from God. We fast to quiet the loud

voice of our flesh so that our inner man hungers

more for God, right? And so I would encourage

you to do that. So with that said, September

27th, that week before Sikh month. in just a

few weeks, is going to be a week of just consecrating

ourselves, getting ready for the month of October.

On Sunday, September 27th, what I'm going to

ask you to do is bring whatever God has asked

you to give up for the month of October. I want

you to bring that thing or a representative of

that thing wrapped as a gift. And during worship,

we're just going to lay those on the altar, consecrate,

which just means set ourselves apart for the

Lord for the month of October. But that's going

to be a gift of our worship. So your assignment,

if you would so choose to accept it, would be

seek the Lord. Is there something I can do without

that would quiet my flesh and make me more hungry

for you for the month of October? And on the

Sunday of September 27th, take that thing. gift

wrap it bring it we're going to get it here and

afterwards it's all going to go in the dumpster

okay nobody's going to look at nobody's going

to be like oh what did scholar bring gift wrap

there you know we're just going to give it as

our gift we're throwing the dumpster uh and that's

going to that's going to kick off our month of

worship um would you i guess i'm asking this

would you trust me because i i think i have I've

attempted for the past 18 years to never lead

us into places where I don't feel strongly the

Lord is leading us. And I just feel like this

is a season for us to hunger and desire the Lord

in a special way. And I think He's going to bless

it. And so, if you would, just be praying about

the gift you want to give Him. If you're like,

Jesse, I'm not going to do that. Okay. That's

fine. I love you. Jesus loves you. I'm just trying

to help us with some practical things that are

real life. Alright, Luke chapter 14. Let's read

Luke 14 · chapter mention

it together. Let's read verses 15 through 24.

Luke chapter 14, verse 15. When one of those

Luke 14:15

at the table with him heard this, pause, one

of those meaning he's at the house of the Pharisees

on the Sabbath, okay. When one of those at the

table with him heard this, he said to Jesus,

blessed is the man who will eat at the feast

in the kingdom of God. And Jesus replied, a certain

man was preparing a great banquet and invited

many guests. At the time of the banquet, he sent

his servant to tell those who had been invited,

Come, for everything is now ready. But they all

alike began to make excuses. The first said,

I have just bought a field and I must go and

see it. Please excuse me. Another said, I have

just bought five yoke of oxen and I'm on my way

to try them out. Please excuse me. Still another

said, I just got married, so I can't come. The

servant came back and reported this to his master.

Then the owner of the house became angry and

ordered his servants, go out quickly into the

streets and alleys of the town and bring in the

poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.

Sir, the servant said, what you ordered has been

done, but there is still room. Then the master

told his servant, go out to the roads and country

lanes and make them come in so that my house

will be full. I tell you, not one of those men

who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.

So some beautiful words of Jesus here. Let's

just ask the Holy Spirit, our teacher. Holy Spirit,

we thank you. Jesus said that you will guide

us into all truth and teach us all things. You

are a wonderful teacher. And we're asking for

a miracle right now. We're asking that by your

Spirit, you would take these words of Jesus and

touch us in such a way that we're never the same

and more like our King. And we ask it with faith

and expectation in Jesus' name. Amen. All right,

today is entitled Lessons About Kingdom Expansion

in Our Own Hearts. I really could spend a lot

of time just talking about this journey we've

been on, but I don't want to take that time.

All that to say, if you're just joining us in

the last weeks or months, we're in an assignment

from the Lord to expand the kingdom of heaven

on the earth in a supernatural way. He's worthy

of that. The world needs it. It's our assignment.

And so we're on that. And I think from time to

time it's so good that Jesus brings our focus

back home to the heart. Because if you're like

me, we can tend to get assignment or task oriented.

Like he's called us to do this thing and we're

going to do it. And obedience is Jesus' love

language. I believe he made that clear in the

Gospel of John. It's good. If obedience comes

from anything but true, genuine communion with

the Father, it will eventually be perverted and

it will dry up. Yes? That's why Jesus said the

greatest commandment is this, that you love me

with all your heart. That's the primary importance.

So, if we want authentic, lasting kingdom expansion,

does anybody want that? Do you want authentic,

lasting kingdom expansion on the earth? If we

want that, it has to originate from a heart that

genuinely loves and enjoys God. I hope that you

love and enjoy God. He is extremely enjoyable.

And He is glorious to love. And He loves us like

no one ever does. And no one ever will. And what

we want is this. kingdom expansion lifestyle

that comes from a heart that is in an intimate

relational fellowship with God through Jesus,

facilitated by the Holy Spirit. This is what

we're longing for. And I think this is the heart

of the matter that Jesus is speaking about here.

I did my best to just seek the Lord. I want to

present what I feel like are some lessons from

Jesus about kingdom expansion in our own hearts.

So if you're taking notes, I would encourage

you to write these down. Might be helpful to

you in the future. Number one, kingdom lesson,

kingdom expansion lesson in our own heart. Number

one, reject the apathetic numbness of religion

and return to a place of wondrous awe. You and

I are invited to the banquet table of the triune

God. Can I read that again? Reject the apathetic

numbness of religion and return to a place of

wondrous awe. Why? Because you and I are invited

to the banquet table of the triune God. I'm just

asking the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to the

reality of this. God, the everlasting Father.

Jesus, the King of glory. Spirit, the breath

of God. These beautiful people have invited someone

like you and someone like me to the banqueting

table. to enjoy, to commune, to fellowship. And

somewhere along the way, in all the do's and

don'ts of religion and all the man -made portions

of what we call religion in the world today,

somewhere along the way, we lost the wonder and

the awe of the fact that you and I have the opportunity

to sit with God. In communion. And really. It's

not all your fault. It's not all our fault. Because

we live in a very. Different culture. Than what

Jesus does. And if you're like me. And you're

kind of like. An introvert. Then the last thing

you want to do. Is be in a banquet room. With

a bunch of people. It's not my favorite thing

to do. And when I think of. a great banquet.

I'm thinking of a lot of people that I have to

awkwardly struggle to make small talk with and

look like a dodo. That's what I feel like when

I get in mass crowds, right? But in Jesus' day,

in his culture, to dine with someone at the table

was completely different. It was a fellowship

of great intimacy. That's why Really, I would

encourage you, if you're going to invest two

hours of your week into your spiritual development,

I'm encouraging you to join a house church instead

of coming to this service. Because there's something

about finding a group of people around a kitchen

table and opening up your life in the intimate

fellowship and communion that you will never

receive on a Sunday morning. And when Jesus is

inviting us to the banquet table of God, I was

just doing a little online research about the

culture and about what was the significance of

banquet in Jesus' day. I was just reading this.

It says, in Jesus' culture, eating together was

an event of intimate fellowship and communion.

And a banquet was even more significant because

it signified covenant relationship, honor, and

social acceptance. In Jesus' day, that's why

the Pharisees were always like, they were always

coming with him like, why are you eating? With

tax collectors and prostitutes. Why are you eating

with sinners? Because what they were in their

culture saying, why are you inviting into your

intimate covenant these people who are in sin?

And when you invite them into your home to eat

with them, you are raising them up to social

acceptance saying, I accept you. I honor you.

And the Pharisees were saying, you cannot honor

sinners. You can't. You can't socially lift up

the prostitutes and the tax collectors. And so,

in this moment when we read this passage, we

understand that there is an invitation that we

have received. Could we turn to 2 Peter just

for... An auxiliary passage here that I think

just kind of proves the heart of God in this.

In 2 Peter chapter 3, some of you are very familiar

2 Peter 3 · chapter mention

with these verses, but it says in verse 8 and

9. 2 Peter chapter 3, verse 8 and 9. But do not

2 Peter 3:8

forget this one thing, dear friends. With the

Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand

years are like a day. And the Lord is not slow

in keeping His promise as some understand slowness.

Talking about the return of Jesus. The Lord is

not slow in keeping His promise as some understand

slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting

anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

I need you to understand that if you're taking

breath today, God wants you. If you are breathing,

you have been offered the gift of repentance

and God has invited you into His kingdom to sit

at His table. And that, I think, should blow

our minds. And should maybe stir some fresh awe

and wonder. in our hearts. Let us not be so familiar

with these words when Jesus, speaking to a Pharisee,

says, for God so loved the world that He gave

His one and only Son so that anyone who believes

in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.

There is an invitation to all of us. And here's

what I want to say to you. The Father wants a

house full of us. Your pastor, I do better in

a few of us. Like, you know, if we hang out,

there's a few of us. I struggle in crowds. But

the Father, He wants a full house. That's what

verse 23 says. When you look at verse 23, it

says, Then the Master told His servant, Go out

to the roads and country lanes and make them

come in so that My house, will be full. God wants

you at His table. Will your seat remain empty?

Can I ask you again? God wants you at His table.

Will your seat remain empty? opportunity this

week to take the congressman to a Rangers game.

Went to the Rangers game, and we sat in the owner's

box. I don't know if you've seen the owner's

box at a Rangers game, but it's not elevated.

It's down below, dug into the field so that your

face is level at home plate, and there's just

a net, and the players walk out of the dugout,

come by and say, hello, sir, like within feet.

And so you're watching the game from eye level

of home plate and in really comfortable chairs,

you know. And in this owner's box, not only do

you have the game like this, you have your own

private chef. And there's a private chef preparing

food. And you could have, I was just looking

at the food table because I don't get to touch

it. But I was looking at it and you could get

anything from Cracker Jacks. to sushi, diced

tuna, prime rib, barbecue. I mean, it's just

this, like, massive layout. Ice cream, Coke floats.

I mean, just anything in the, this chef's just

waiting to create for you and put together. And

I'm just sitting there because, you know, our

job, we're in the corners, you know, standing

there, you know, while all these... really wealthy,

important people enjoy the baseball game together.

And I was just thinking about that, that, I mean,

I'm just being honest, it would really be awesome

if just one time, like, the owner of the Rangers

that we, you know, we're there quite a bit, if

he said, hey, what's your name? I'm like, uh,

Jesse. He's like, hey, why don't you come over

here and sit with me? Like, let's have some prime

rib together. And he's like, hey, you want a

Coke float? I can get you a Coke float. How's

your life? Need any money? Yeah, it's just like,

I mean, that would be awesome, you know? It would

be awesome, but that's never going to happen

in my world. And yet, Yahweh, I am that I am,

is inviting each of us out of the corner where

we feel insignificant, unseen. And he's inviting

us to sit with him at a table and say, everything

that's mine is your son, daughter. Everything

I am, you have access to. Can you believe that?

This is the gospel. And we don't get to sit there

because we're good people. We get to sit there

because of the body, the torn body, and the spilt

blood of Jesus. And not only is God saying, you

wouldn't be that bad to sit at my table. He's

saying, I want you. I long for you. Can I ask

you, can I ask me, will our chair remain empty?

Number two, despite your current level of spiritual

poverty and brokenness, the invitation is for

now. Don't buy into the lie that you're not clean

or dressed appropriately or tomorrow would be

a better opportunity. The table is ready today.

What I'm asking the Holy Spirit to do right now

is to create a little bit of exigency and urgency

in our hearts. Because if we're not careful,

the religion of man will always put off the glory

of the encounter till tomorrow, till we're ready,

till we're dressed appropriately. You notice

when Jesus sent out his servants, what did he

say? He said to the servant, come back. He said,

the servant came back and reported this to the

master. Then the owner of the house became angry.

He became indignant and ordered his servant,

go out quickly. Go quick. You see the urgency

of it. Go quickly because the table is prepared

now. That's what it says in verse 17. Come, for

everything is now ready. Go out quickly and what?

Go into the streets and the alleys of the towns

and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind,

and the lame. And you know what the master didn't

say? The banquet's ready right now. Go out, find

these people. Go get the poor and make sure they

have a good job and some good income before they

come to me. Go get the lame, make sure you get

them all fixed up, cleaned up, and make sure

they can walk before they come to me. That's

not what he said. He said, go into the places

that everyone else has cut off and invite the

most poor, crippled, lame, blind people to come

now and sit at my table. Because the table is

set now. I know it's the tendency of the flesh.

It's the tendency of the religion of man. It's

the lie of the devil to say you're not worthy

to come to the table yet. You need a couple of

more weeks of sobriety. You need a couple of

more months of not looking at porn on your phone.

You need a couple of more days of fasting from

Instagram. You need to do this to make yourself

ready to come to the table. And I just want to

tell you, friend, you were never ready to be

invited in the first place. He's not waiting

for you to clean yourself up to you think is

appropriate to come to the table. The table is

ready now. And he sent his servant to go find

the poor, broken, blind. And that's us. And welcome

us to the table. Do not put off. The invitation

of God. Till you're ready? Till you're righteous?

No, no friend. The invitation is for now. And

now is the time of response. Working patrol Wednesday

night. Had a friend do a ride along with me.

We were on the interstate. Here came this guy,

come down the interstate in a 60 -mile -an -hour

construction zone at 102. So I feel like there's

no argument in pulling this guy over. I don't

even feel a bit of shame about it. Yeah, so get

out there, initiate a traffic stop, get up to

the window, and it's just like, boom, alcohol,

right? This alcohol, the odor of alcohol, its

eyes are red. glossy and heavy his speech is

slurred I asked for his license he gives me his

debit card all right so turns into driving while

intoxicated arrest when you arrest someone for

driving while intoxicated you put them in the

back seat of the patrol car and then there's

this ridiculously long legal jargon called the

DIC 24 and while they're sitting in the back

seat you have to give them a copy so they can

read along and you have to read the DIC 24 word

for word and it's just legal jargon the whole

thing right and so you read this thing till basically

there's no alcohol left in a person's system

you know and then you get down to the end and

the end says I'm now requesting a specimen of

your breath Do you consent? And you've read this

whole thing. If they deny consent, they lose

their license for 180 days, I think it is, at

that point. And there's all these consequences

for denying. But it comes down to it. And so

this guy, he's like, I don't want to read that.

And I was like, you have to. I'll hold it in

front of your face, and I'm going to read it.

So we finally get to the end, and I'm like, all

right, I would like to ask for a specimen of

your breath. Do you consent? And he says, I don't

know. And I said, well, you can give a specimen

of your breath, and like I read, or if you don't

want to, I'll go write a warrant, the judge will

sign it, and we'll draw your blood from the hospital.

So it's really your choice. I was like, would

you like to consent for breath? And he's like,

no. I was like, okay, so we're going to do a

blood draw? He's like, no, I don't want to do

that either. I was like, sir. You have to give

consent one way or the other. And he said, what

are my options? I mean, we're having this conversation,

you know, like he's the same person. You know,

but this is all on camera. You have to be very

patient. You have to give consent one way or

the other. So we go back and forth. I mean, for

a long time, what are my options? I just told

you, here they are again. Do you consent? No.

Okay. Then we're going to, no. Oh, my goodness,

you know. And I'm getting frustrated. And so

eventually I just say to him, all right, sir.

If you do not say that you give me consent in

the next 20 seconds, I'm taking that as your

no. He's like, well, what are my options? I'm

like, oh my goodness. So he did not consent.

We had to go draw blood, the whole thing. Takes

four and a half hours to write that report, ask

some of these guys in this room. It's ridiculous.

But I feel like... I feel like in many ways I

am that person in which God is making this unbelievable

offer, an invitation that has been really crystal

clear. It's written out. It's demonstrated by

the person of Jesus. And I'm like, yeah, but

what are my options? Because I'm looking around,

right? Does anybody else feel like that? I'm

looking around at all the other things that appeal

to my flesh, that I want to do for me, that I

want to accomplish. And maybe you can relate

to that. And I feel like this morning, just the

Lord saying, hey, make a decision. Like, don't

keep putting this thing up. Some of you have

been half -heartedly trying out God and the kingdom

thing to see if it works for your lifestyle.

And I want to say, there's great mercy. We were

all there. There's great mercy. God is so patient.

He's so kind. But the invitation is now. The

kingdom is now. Listen, we don't have time to

mess around. Like, are you feeling the earth

shaking and quaking and groaning? The return

of our King is not long delayed. And there should

be a sense of urgency. People all around us,

not just in Pakistan and India and Fiji and everywhere

we're going to go on mission trips this world,

there's people around us at our family gatherings,

at our workplace, on our sports teams, in our

neighborhoods, in our sphere of influence, that

if we are not serious about the kingdom, they

will spend eternity in hell. That's a reality.

And it's not... The onus is not on you to save

people. The onus on you is to come to the table

and commune with the living God so that He will

fill you with His glory and His presence so that

when you walk into these places, the kingdom

of heaven collides with their lives. And they

see what salvation and deliverance can look like.

And they begin to hunger for the King. Does that

make sense? Jesus said, the table is now ready.

Go quickly and bring them in. Go quickly. Let's

just take a moment. If you need to repent for

like just testing this thing out and the Holy

Spirit right now is just speaking to your heart

and you're getting a sense of urgency that this

has to become real for you. Or if you would like

a little more hunger than you currently have

for it to be real for you, just an honest prayer

to God. Would you just be honest with them? Say,

Jesus, I hear you saying the table is now ready.

Would you make my heart hungry to come? Would

you give me boldness to make the decision to

count the cost and be all in? Amen. Proud of

you. Number three, truth number three, supernatural

expansion of the kingdom in our own hearts. Don't

let the pursuit of wealth, a career, a to -do

list, or inferior relationships distract you

from your invitation to sit with the only one

who can fulfill your heart and give your life

purpose. When we look at Jesus sends these invitations

out, And we see their response. Jesus is telling

this parable. The servant goes out and says,

Come, for everything is ready right now. And

this is their response. But they all alike began

to make excuses. I don't know if we have this

slide up there, but I did like the English word

excuses, and I gave like the Greek, thank you,

thank you. This is right out of Strong's Greek

Concordance. The word excuses here in the Greek

means to deprecate, which means to make little

of. I didn't know. I had to look that one up.

To decline, to shun, to avoid, to make excuse,

to refuse, to reject. And I guess that very first

definition is what hurts my heart the most. That

if we're not careful, we have this invitation

from the Father that we make little of. because

of these other things in our life and listen

to their excuses i have just bought a field right

i just bought a field i mean it's the same today

as it was then real estate is one of the most

sure ways to protect and and withhold your wealth

right and so he's saying hey i hear the invitation

to come to the banqueting table but right now

i've got a field that i bought and i just want

to challenge you Jesus was very clear that the

seed of the message of the kingdom was choked

out by the cares of the world and the deceitfulness

of wealth God is not opposed to money he's not

opposed to very wealthy people because money

is required to advance the kingdom on the earth

just like anything else in this world But the

scripture is also very clear that the love of

money is the root of all evil. And so you want

to be careful. Yes, we have things that we're

doing. We have projects. There's things God's

called us to. We want to leave an inheritance

for the kingdom and for our children. But be

careful that in the American way, that pursuit

of wealth does not so distract you that you don't

say yes to the invitation to come. Would anybody

just be bold enough to say, Jesse, my pursuit

of wealth has distracted me from my invitation

to the table? Anybody? I'm raising my hand. It

absolutely has. And I'm just coming to Jesus'

words here. And the pursuit of a career, right?

I just bought five oxen, right? I mean, five

teams of oxen. I think that, you know, you can

look at that as like... There's things that I'm

wanting to do. Projects to get done. Giving a

to -do list. It says I just got married. How

many of you know that God loves marriage? Yeah?

Okay, that was a freebie and nobody said anything.

Okay, if you didn't know, God loves marriage.

Okay, He created it. He loves it. But your spouse

is an inferior relationship in comparison to

your invitation to sit at His table. Every relationship

is inferior to the One. The One who truly fulfills

us and gives us purpose. Yahweh, the Great I

Am, has personally invited us to commune with

Him. What possible excuse is worth making little

of His invitation? I'm just challenging you.

if you're like, hey, I don't have any excuses.

I'm up at the table right now. I'm scooting up

closer. Then pray for the rest of us. Because

we tend to be extremely distracted from the offer

of communion. Sometimes communing with God just

doesn't seem like enough to get our blood flowing,

to get our excitement, our adrenaline. Oh, we

have missed it. I don't get very many personal

invitations to, you know, like, I don't know,

hang out with really important people. But when

we got back from our combat tour, we got... invitations,

personal invitation on two -star general letterhead

to every NCO in our brigade combat team to come

to the general's house for drinks and cigars.

Now, whether you're against drinks and cigars,

whatever you think in that, but when a two -star

general invites you to his house for drinks and

cigars and you're an E -5, the last thing you

do is make an excuse of why you can't come. Now,

you don't have to drink, you don't have to smoke

a cigar, but you're going to be there, right?

When you get an invitation from a two -star general

to come to his house, and it's glorious, you

know, the housing, the military housing for two

-star generals are quite impressive, quite impressive.

But to go and be in that place and to be invited

to his house and to sit at a table with him,

there's no way, there's no way that I'm going

to let, whatever it may be. And I think you get

the point. Some two -star army general that nobody

can remember his name of now, Pels in comparison.

to the invitation that Yahweh is continually

giving us, what possible excuse do we have to

not come to the table? And can we lay that down?

Can we lay that down? Can we just... I think

repentance is an appropriate response in this

time. Like if we've been giving God excuses,

and I know we're not saying out loud, God, I'm

not going to spend time with you because of X,

Y, Z, or G. I don't know. It depends on how drunk

you are in the alphabet thing. But I know we're

not spelling that out, but I'm talking about

how we live our lives, right? Could we just take

a second, hear what Jesus is saying in this parable

about the kingdom, and say, Jesus, it's alright

if you need to put your finger on that thing

in my heart. So Father, we just ask for the gift

of repentance to come to our hearts right now.

I'm just thinking about the excuses I've made

lately. I repent. I know that the only thing

enjoyable and fulfilling in the morning is not

my hot coffee, it's your presence. I know that

you're the only one that gives my purpose in

life, God, and I'm sorry for making excuses.

And I receive your invitation. Amen? We don't

really have time for number four. Can I just

read it to you and then you can take it to the

Lord and meditate on it for you. Number four.

Warning. I believe Jesus is teaching that those

who are in covenant relationship with the Father

and continually reject His invitation will be

passed over for those who will bear fruit for

His kingdom. The context here is Jesus talking

to the Pharisees who were in an old covenant

relationship, but God was inviting them into

more and they were continually saying no. And

so he said, those people will not even taste

anything at my banquet. It reminded me of a passage.

Can we turn here? Matthew 21. Matthew 21, verse

Matthew 21:42

42. through 44 i mean just read this passage

this week it's phenomenal of course it's the

bible but you know what i mean like it's really

impactful verse 42 jesus said to them have you

never read in the scriptures the stone the builders

rejected has become the capstone the lord has

done this and it is marvelous in our eyes therefore

i tell you the kingdom of god will be taken away

from you and given to a people who will produce

its fruit He who falls on this stone will be

broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will

be crushed. I understand the direct context is

the Jews rejecting God, so God's saying, I'm

going to now take the Gospels to the Gentiles.

That's the direct contact of the passage. Would

you just seek the Lord and see if there's not

also a biblical stewardship principle in there?

That God says, we're in covenant relationship,

but if you continue to reject my invitation,

I'll find somebody who will steward it well,

who will bear the fruit of the kingdom, and I'll

use them. Because I believe that that's a biblical

principle. So you take that to the Lord, and

I know the Spirit will guide you in that. But

I don't know about you, I don't want to risk

it. I don't want to be that person. I want to

be the person that says, I'm hungry, Lord. I

accept your invitation, Lord. I will joyfully

come to your table, Lord. I will bear fruit for

your kingdom. If that's you today, let's just

close in this way. Actually, why don't all of

us stand up? I don't want to isolate anybody.

I'm not interested in manipulating you in one

bit, in one way. But if it's your desire to say,

here am I, Lord, send me. I want to bear the

kingdom fruit. I say yes to the invitation. I'll

scoop my chair up to the table this week. I want

to know you more. I want to love you more deeply.

I want to be more devoted in my heart to you

so that the outflow of my life is production

for your kingdom. If that's you, would you just

make that commitment in your heart to God right

now? Would you just say yes to Him? Father, I

thank you for these beautiful people that are

saying yes to you. Thank you for this invitation

today. Thank you for this invitation every day.

Thank you for grace and mercy and the gift of

righteousness that makes us able to approach

the glory of your presence. I pray for my friends

this week. I pray a ridiculous amount of grace

from your heavens to stir in our hearts hunger,

to come to the table. I pray for encounters with

them at the table, times in Your Word, times

in prayer that shake them, that shape them. Father,

I ask that we would so be overwhelmed by the

beauty of Your presence that our lives are changed

and so is our sphere of influence this week.

Would You do it in them and would You please

do it in me, Father? We ask these things for

the glory of your name. Thank you for today.

Thank you for your presence. Thank you for your

word. We'll love you forever until we get to

see you face to face. Amen.