You Are Invited - Religion to Redemption - Matthew S6E3

Amen and amen it's always great to hear from my elders amen if you want to hear more from them and be prayed by the prayed for by the elders be here Monday night at whatever campus you're at and like you've already been told text word prayer to 44 11 22 so we can be praying specifically for you if you got your Bibles I hope you do Matthew chapter 21 so where we're gonna be we're gonna pick it up right where we left off last week we're in episode 3 of this season called religion to redemption just to catch you up there's been a lot going on in Jesus's week he has on Sunday he comes in we call it the triumphal entry on the back of a donkey he is fulfilling well one of the prophets said that he would he would come into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey in humility he goes and he cleanses the temple he cleanses them of the religious leader makes a whip flips over tables makes all kind of ruckus he invites the lame and the blind in he begins to heal them he confronts the religious leaders he curses a fig tree all of these things have happened and that leads us right to where we are in Matthew 21 23 what's going to begin to happen is as Jesus gets closer to the cross the teaching intensifies and I know if you were here last week you may think well how can we get more intense than that my head's gonna explode I don't know but Jesus does he gets more and more intense in the beginning of his teaching ministry so my birds and flowers and so like that and by the end man he is just bringing this thing home to make sure we don't miss the point Matthew 21 23 says this and when he that's Jesus entered the temple the chief priest and the elders of the people they came up to him as he was as he was teaching and they said by what authority are you doing these things and who gave you this authority here's what they're saying who do you think you are who do you think you are to do the things that you are doing who gave you this authority there's two things here that they're asking that we got to pay attention to one is the question of authority and the reason that they asked about the authority is because the religious leaders are losing their authority because they are concerned with power and control and they don't like it and they ask this authority question because it's obvious that Jesus is claiming to be God in the flesh the Son of God and he's operating in that authority and the problem that the Pharisees are having is you can't deny the miracles that are happening the storms are being saved people are being fed lame people are walking blind people are seeing and it bothers them like crazy and so they ask him by what authority are you doing these things and I wonder what things are you talking about like what are the things that you're bothered about is it coming in on the donkey is it fulfilling the scriptures is it the healing of the people is it inviting the lame and the blind into the temple

is it now you might be mad I got about getting whipped yesterday that maybe that'll take you off is it that he teaches in an authority is it because he's receiving worship from the people from the children like what exactly religious leaders are you mad about if you remember what I said last week and I know you remember every word of everything I say we said that anger is love in motion to protect what you love most and what they love most was them like they love their authority they love their control they love their influence so they say Jesus we got a question for you by what authority do you do these things I want you to see how Jesus answers their question he's gonna answer it with a question verse 24 and Jesus answered them I also will ask you one question and if you tell me the answer then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things so Jesus says all right you want to know what I think let me ask you what you think if you answer my question I'll answer your question sounds fair right and here's what he puts before them verse 25 the baptism of John from where did it come from heaven or from man and you can't hear this in the text but the Pharisees went don't because he's got him he's got him look what happens and they discussed it among themselves saying if we say from heaven he will say to us why then did you not believe him you see because they can't deny what John the Baptist did what John the Baptist did is he pointed to Jesus as the Messiah he said behold the Lamb who's come to take away the sin that he said that Jesus is the Son of God who came to fulfill every promise and prophecy about God in the Old Testament so they're like well we can't say that because then he'll turn it back on us verse 26 but if we say from man we're afraid of the crowd because they're still living for the applause of man what man thinks to them is greater than what God thinks for they all hold that John was a prophet so they answer Jesus we don't know and Jesus Jesus said, neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. I love this so much. Let me tell you why I love this so much. Not all questions deserve to be answered. Just because somebody accuses you of things does not mean you'd have to respond to all these things. What Jesus says is, hey man, I'm not gonna play your game because I know that you are a bad actor.

And because the heart motivation behind what you're doing is you don't actually care, you don't actually want answers to the questions, you're trying to get me in trouble so I'm not gonna play your game, all right? My daddy told me one time, he said, son, don't ever fight with somebody on the internet. It's like wrestling a pig. And here's what happened. Everybody gets dirty and the pig likes it. This is what Jesus is doing. He says, I know the game you're playing so I'm not playing your game. So instead of answering your authority, what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna share three parables back to back to back. Let me tell you why this is important, okay? Here at 1122, we believe in the inspired, infallible word of God. This is the revealed word of God. The living word is Jesus. This is the revealed word of God. Every word in it is inspired by God, infallible and perfect, okay? I mean, I believe it cover to cover. I believe the leather's genuine. You understand what I'm saying? So if he says anything, it's important. But when he says the same thing three times in a row, you might wanna pay attention.

And he doesn't repeat himself because he's lazy. He does it for emphasis and Jesus has a habit of doing this. If you'll remember in the Sermon on the Mount, he said, you are salt of the earth, light on a stand, city on a hill, three things in a row. In Luke chapter 15, when he's teaching about the character of God searching after the lost, he tells three parables, parable of the lost coin, the lost sheep and the lost son. We call it the prodigal son. In Matthew 25, we'll get there in a few weeks, he shares three parables back to back to back and he talks about how to be ready for when he returns. There's the parable of the virgins, the parable of the talents and the parable of the sheep and goats. And what he's going to do is he's gonna give three parables and they all have the same point. They just get a little more intense every time. And just in case you fall asleep and I hope you don't, I'm gonna tell you the point of the parables now. He's gonna share these three parables and the point of the parables is this, he's looking at the religious leaders and he's gonna say this, he's basically saying this, that's what he's saying. What is wrong with you? How did you miss the point? Like you had an advantage, you had a head start, you had the Torah, you had Hebrew school,

you had the temple, you had the prophets, you had the sacrifices, you had everything that you need to recognize when the Messiah, the son of God showed up on the scene and you're gonna miss the whole thing and the people that you thought were last in line are actually first in line and you're just criticizing the line, what is wrong with you? That's what he's gonna say. So he begins, it's a little bit nicer and then it gets real tough at the end. So buckle up for this. So here's his parables. Number one, he says, what do you think? A man had two sons and he went to the first and he said, son, go and work in the vineyard today. And the son answered, I will not. And some of you look at that and be like, oh wow, my son is biblical, look at that. He's just like, I've got one of those. He says, I will not. But afterward, pay attention to this, underline this in your Bible. This is key to all three parables. He changed his mind and went. The theological terminology for that is repentance. He repented. He said, I ain't going. And then he's like, you know what, I should probably go. And he changes his mind. And he was going in his own direction

and instead he changes direction and he goes in the direction of his father. This is very important. He changed his mind and he went. And then the dad goes to the other son and he said the same. And that son answered, I will, sir, but did not go. Now Jesus has a question. So which of these two did the will of his father? And they said, the first. You see, he's talking about the religious Jewish people rejecting Jesus, that's what he's talking about. But it has major applications to church people today. So don't think I'm gonna get up here and yell for an hour about a group of people that lived 2,000 years ago that can't do anything about it. What we have to do is hold up the word as a mirror and see where we can see ourselves in this. That intentions are useless, man. Intentions are useless. And I've got some really good news for you. In the gospel, it ain't how you start that matters. I hope you know that. It's how you finish. And so there's one guy that says the right thing, but he doesn't follow through. Let me ask you, are you obeying Jesus with your life? Because I'm just going to tell you, man, if you show up here every week, or not every week, but you know, like when it's convenient for you, and you sing real loud, especially the songs you like good, and you know the parts to raise your hand, and you know when

to say amen, and you kind of do all the kind of church stuff, you know, because every church kind of has a culture, and you've figured out how to do the thing and carry your Bible in, but you don't do what the Father says to do, then you're like the second kid, not the first kid. Not good. And so he goes, alright, so which one did the will of the Father? They're like, the one that followed through. And Jesus said to them, truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. Now when we hear tax collector and prostitute, it doesn't land on us like super heavy, especially if you've been around church, you know? But when they heard this, they were like, wow. I mean, Jesus is like, look here, religious people, with your fancy robes and all your things, smells and bells and all the things you have, bro, the hookers and terrorists are going to heaven, and you're not. And I know some of you are like, he said hooker, yeah. It would have been shocking to them. He's like, you're so religious, you're going to miss out on redemption, and the people that you thought were going to be looked over, they're going in before you. Verse 32, for John came to you, speaking of John the Baptist, for John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you didn't believe it. And again, John the Baptist showed up and said, I'm preparing the way of the Lord. And then he goes, there he is. John baptizes Jesus, and God the Father speaks out loud over his son, behold my son, in whom I am well pleased. And the Spirit of God, like a dove, comes and dwells upon him. And he's like, you were there, and you missed the whole thing, for John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe in him. But the tax collectors and the prostitutes, they believed him. They trusted him.

They put their faith in him. Here's why this is important. Do you remember how, it's all the way back in Matthew chapter four, I know you remember everything I say, but just to remind you, Matthew chapter four, and Jesus began from that moment, teaching, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The kingdom of heaven is within grasp. For who? For anyone who would take hold of it. For anyone that realizes, I don't have what it takes. Then he begins his teaching ministry, oh, the sermon on the mount with this, congratulations, blessed are you who are poor in spirit, congratulations, when you realize you're spiritually bankrupt, and you realize, I can't do anything to make myself righteous, I'm busted, I need somebody to do for me what I cannot do for myself, he's like, perfect, the kingdom of heaven is right there, because you know what you need to be saved, need. And if you don't think you need a savior, man, then you won't reach out for one. He's like, if you don't know your loss, and I offer you a map, you will not receive it. This is what he is saying. It is not until your need supersedes your ego or your comfort that you will bow your knee and surrender your life to the lordship of Christ. And he says, and even when you saw it, you did not afterwards change your mind and believe in him. Repent and have faith, that's what he's saying. You see, here's the crazy thing, man, this is the crazy thing about the gospel, you ready for this? It's not that we have to repent from our unrighteousness, everybody agrees with that, right? Everybody understands, whatever you describe evil as, or bad, or sin, or whatever, everybody believes we shouldn't do those things, the gospel is that we actually have to repent of even our righteous deeds. Isaiah says that our righteous deeds are like filthy rags before God. I'm not even gonna tell you what filthy rags mean, google that for a little while, that's

fun. Here's what that means. If you think that you have a right standing before God because you do the right thing, we even have to repent of that. And these guys think that they are right with God because of their religious activity. That means God saves us from our rebellion and our religion. And the way that we're saved is when we come to him, poor in spirit, and say, I got nothing. My Sunday school attendance, and my church attendance, and how many Bible verses I know are not going to save me. I've gotta repent and believe that you saved me, that's parable one. Parable two, he just doesn't even stop, boy, he's just motoring through, ready? He goes, here's another parable, he goes, there was a master of a house, the master is God, okay? who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a wine press in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants and went into another country. Now the moment these first century Pharisees heard this, they knew that he was talking about Israel. Because Isaiah 5-7 describes this, and it just says the vineyard is Israel. So this is like bottom shelf for these guys that know the Bible, that God created the world, he fenced off a little piece of it, he gives that piece to Israel to steward for everyone, he gives them favor, that's the wine press, and he gives them power, that's the tower. Verse 34, and when the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get its fruit. And what Jesus is saying is that season is right now. I am here to seek and to save the lost.

And what you were supposed to do was to steward this thing in such a way, remember, we've talked about this a thousand times, God blessed Abraham not to be blessed, but so that he would be a blessing to the whole world. And he set up a temple system and a sacrificial system so that it would be a picture to the whole world that every family would be blessed by coming to know the one true God. That's what they were supposed to do. By the way, just as a side note, 11-22, we are in the season of harvest right now. I mean, the number of people getting saved and baptized and all the things, we are right smack dab in the middle of it, not because of us. What we're doing is not new, it's just our turn. We stand on the shoulders of faithful generations who have gone before us, who have planted seeds and planted seeds and planted seeds, but the time to receive the fruit is right now. And so Jesus is here to accomplish the point of the vineyard and not only that, what he's going to go through is pictured by this wine press. Because what you would do is you would take the fruit and you would squish it in the wine press and then the juices would flow and that's what you would make wine out of. That's what's gonna happen to Jesus. He is going to be crushed on the cross. His blood is gonna flow like wine

and then his people drink, receive that, and we are reconciled to the Father. This is what he's talking about. And so he sent his servants to get the fruit and the fruit here, the fruit of Jesus' finished work is that people, all people, all kind of people come to Christ. And what the tenants were supposed to be doing, what the religious leaders were supposed to be doing, what church people today are supposed to be doing is we are supposed to be holding open the door and being the welcome committee to all the people that God wants to bring in. The Bible says in Psalms, it's better to be a door holder in the kingdom of God than sit on the throne of iniquity. But instead of being a door holder, the religious leaders have become a bouncer. And they got a checklist, I mean I don't think you can come. And this makes the king angry. Verse 35, and the tenants, so the servants show up. You get this, the servants show up. Say hey, we're here to get the fruit. And the tenants took his servants and beat one and killed another and stoned another. By the way, what Jesus is talking about here is the way that the religious leaders treated the prophets of old. In a few weeks, you'll see that Jesus is gonna come before Jerusalem and he's gonna say, oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem.

You stoned the prophets and attacked the messengers of God. This is the way they had treated the people of God. Look at verse 36, and again, he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did the same to them. Remember last week I talked about God is slow to anger? He's so patient, he relentlessly pursues his people. I mean, listen man, if I sent one of my staff to your house to pick up something and you beat him up, I'm not sending more staff, I'm calling the police and we gonna take you to prison. And yet God, when we reject him, continuously offers and re-offers until, verse 37, finally he sent his son to them, saying they'll respect my son. Here's why he sends his son, because to know the father is to know the son and to know the son is to know the father, and you cannot divorce the two. We live in a world right now that tells lies, I don't know if you know that. There's a lot of people like, no, we all just worship the same God. You cannot simultaneously reject God the son and say that you know God the father. The way you treat the son is what you think about the father. You ever see 300? No, y'all don't watch that? Y'all just watch House of David, that's all y'all watch? All right, thanks, sorry to wake you up.

You ever seen 300? I'm not condoning it, I'm just saying it's awesome, okay? Remember that scene when the messenger from Artaxerxes throws up, throws you up? You know, he's like super tall, bald-headed dude. Almost like he's glowing, looks like he fell into a tackle box, you know what I'm saying? He's got tattoos everywhere and piercings all over the place, and he's like, I come in the name of Lotta Tzatzis. Remember that? And what he's doing, he's just saying, you surrender, Sparta. I speak on behalf of the king. And then Leonidas is like, mm-mm, not on my watch, man. Remember this? And he begins to refute him, and the guy's like, no, no, no. If you, whatever you do to me, you're doing to the king. And then Leonidas looks over his shoulder at his wife. Wives, you don't know the power you have. And she's like, get him, baby. Remember this? And he's like, this is Sparta, bah! And then he kicks him all the way down that hole. Remember that? And then what happened? They go to war, why? Because whatever they did to the messenger,

you did to the king. So what do you think happens if you reject a son? You reject a father, this is what he's saying. But when the tenants saw the son, this is so big. So he sends the son, he sends the son. He's like, surely they'll respect the son. If they respect me, they'll respect my son. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, this is the heir, come, let us kill him and have his inheritance. This is such a big deal. First and foremost, Jesus is foreshadowing, prophesying what they are going to do to him Friday of that week. The son of God has been sent on a rescue mission and these people are going to kill the son. But it's not just that. Theologically, this is rich. This is the root of sin. Because they see the son and they say, let us kill him and let us have his inheritance. This is what religion will do, is that I just wanna take from God, I don't want what God has for me. It's the root of sin. The way that we know it's the root of sin is this is what got Lucifer kicked out of heaven. Lucifer was an angel in heaven. In Isaiah chapter 14, this is what happens. He was actually in charge of worship.

The Bible says that he was like clothed or covered in gemstones and he was supposed to refract the light, which was Christ sitting on the throne. And then one day his pride took over. He got tired of being looked through and he wanted to be looked to. And in Isaiah 14, he says this. How you are fallen from heaven, O day star. In Latin, that word is Lucifer. That's where we get his name. Son of dawn, how you were cut down to the ground. You who laid the nations low. You said in your heart, this is what the devil said in his heart, I will ascend to the heaven above the stars of God. I will set my throne on high. I will sit in the mount of the assembly in the far reaches of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will make myself the most high. And God said, no you won't. Cast him out like lightning. When we sin, that's what we do. He wanted to be worshiped, we want control. The baseline of sin is this, is we think what we want is better than what God has for us. Listen man, when you get high, it's because you don't believe

that the peace of Christ is enough, and so you go searching for it for somewhere else. When you mess around with somebody that's not your wife, it's because you don't think God's way of marriage is enough, so you think I'm gonna do this thing my own way. When you make much of yourself, it's because that's it, you want to be worshiped. You want to sit on the throne. The core of sin is we think what we want is better than what God has for us, and we want to sit on a throne that was made for him, and that's the throne of our hearts. It was made for him. And that's what these guys do. Come, let us kill him. We'll have his inheritance. And so they took him, and they threw him out of the vineyard, and they killed him, talking about the son. When therefore the owner, Jesus remember, he's talking to the religious leaders, and he says, when therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do with these tenants? What say you? Now, here's the thing, okay? Jesus, he's telling a story, and they can see it clearly because they're a little bit removed from it. You ever notice how easy it is to see sin in everybody else? But when you're in it, you're like, oh, no, hold on. And they said to him, he'll put those wretches

to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits of their season. And Jesus is like, bingo, you nailed it, boys. They don't realize they're damning themselves. Verse 42, and Jesus said to them, have you never read in the scriptures the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone? this was the Lord's doing, in it is marvelous in our eyes. He's quoting Psalm 118, 22, and 23. Here's what he's saying, he goes, this stone that you are rejecting, which is me, it's gonna actually be the cornerstone of the thing that our faith is built upon. You see, you're gonna reject me, and you're gonna do this, and you're gonna nail me to a cross, and you're gonna stumble over me because I claim to be the Son of God, and the thing that you stumble over is gonna be the thing that people put their faith in, which is me dying on the cross in their place. That's what he's talking about. He says, therefore, I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruit. Commentators say this was Jesus predicting the fall of the temple, which is gonna happen 37 years later. And what he's saying is, listen,

the reason that God blessed you was to be a blessing, to share the good news of the gospel to the ends of the earth, and this movement has been for all people, and it is your religion, because you think you're better than everybody else, it's gonna prevent you from being redeemed. Verse 44, and the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush you. Yeah, you can't break the truth of the gospel, you can only break yourself against it. And the same one that came to save is coming back to judge. Please hear that. The same one that came to save, full of grace and truth, will come back to judge. And Paul says in Philippians chapter two, that when he returns, every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Every tongue will confess Jesus Christ is Lord. The question is, Lord of what? He will be your Lord. He will either be Lord of your salvation, or he will be Lord of your damnation. God will be glorified in your life, either by demonstrating his justice,

by enacting his wrath upon us because we deserve it, or a demonstration of grace, because we've trusted him to pay for our sin debt. He says, and the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him. Verse 45, and when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard this parable, they perceived that he was speaking about them. They're a little slow on the uptake. They're like, hey, wait a minute. Why are you looking at me so mean? I think he's talking about us, you think? And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds because they held him to be a prophet and still their fear of man is greater than their fear of God. This moment they could fall to their face and they could trust Christ. I love this, verse 22. And again, Jesus spoke to them in parables. They're like trying to leave. He's like, I'm not done talking. They're like, we got it. Oh, you gonna get it. So he keeps going. And again, Jesus spoke to them in parables saying, verse two, the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. Oh, this is such a big deal.

The kingdom of heaven, by the way, the kingdom of heaven is wherever the king rules and reigns. We've talked about this, our whole year's focused on this. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. So the kingdom of God is wherever the king rules and reigns. That's not just one day when he returns, but he's here now and the kingdom of heaven is here. This is why those of us in his kingdom are to pray, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And so he's like, all right, this is what it's like. This is the gospel. It's compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. This is the biggest party that they could ever imagine. This isn't just like a regular wedding, like you think you get invited to a wedding, okay? Somebody invites you to a wedding, you're like, who gets married during football season? I ain't going to that, all right? And it's like 30 minutes, and if you stay for the reception, it's an hour or something like that. This thing was like seven days long. This was a big deal, man. And if the king invited you, I mean, think about it. Even Americans are obsessed with royal weddings. Like when what's-her-name and what's-his-name got married a few years ago, I don't know the people. Because we won that war, I don't know why people are still obsessed with it.

Anyway, whatever, I don't care. But people care. And in the scripture, this wedding feast, it's talked about, man. It's talked about in Isaiah, it's talked about in Revelation. And the wedding is one of the primary illustrations of salvation, why? Because there is a union. Like in my wedding, it's between a man and a woman. In this wedding, in this great cosmic wedding, it is between the groom, Jesus, and his bride, the church. There's a union, and there's a vow, and there's love, and there's a celebration. and there's a deepening, a growing in this love over time. And this is like the greatest thing you can, listen, if you were just like a normal little first century regular person, you didn't get invited to stuff like that. You're like, where will we stay? King's like, I got you. How we gonna get there? I'm gonna send an Uber. What am I gonna wear? I got you. What are we gonna eat? Oh, we gonna eat for seven days. This is the greatest invitation you've ever received in your life. Verse three, and he sent his servants

to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come, not could not come, they would not come. It didn't make sense. I mean, from the outside, when you're hearing this prayer, you'd be like, who would skip that wedding? Think about whatever your favorite thing is. I don't know what your favorite thing is. Just imagine, any Jags fans in the house? Go Jags, anybody with me? Praise be, all right. Now listen, this is our year. So imagine if Liam called you and said, listen, man, we made it to the Super Bowl, all expense paid trip for you and your family. You're gonna fly with us, you're gonna stay with us, you're gonna be on the practice field with us when we beat whoever we're gonna beat from the NFC. You're gonna party with us afterwards. You'd be like, I think I'm gonna do that. If you're a fan, this is the kind of invitation, man. And they're like, I don't think I'm gonna go. Here's what he's saying. He's like, this is what it's like when you get invited to be a part of the family of God. And you're like, I don't think I'm gonna go. He's like, what, what are you talking about? C.S. Lewis says, listen, man, we're like a bunch of dumb poor kids playing and making mud pies in a mud puddle when the king has invited us

to a vacation at the beach. He says, our problem is not that our dreams are too big, but we're satisfied with so little. Like mud pies. When eternal life is hanging in the balance. It happens at church every week, man. Now, here's the thing, in this context, he's talking about the religious Jewish people who have been invited. In this context, I'm talking about church people that hear the gospel all the time. The invitation of the king to be a part of his family. And you're like, eh. He sent his service and he called those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they wouldn't come. And again, he sent other servants. How patient is God? Mamas, look at me, mamas, all the mamas look at me. What do you do when you cook dinner for your kids and you're like, all right, dinner's ready, and they don't come? Do you just think, well, they might not be ready. I should just ask them again. I tell you what I do at my house, I feed it to the dogs. Yeah. I'm like, y'all won't starve to death. You better get here when I say come. Not Jesus. Look at this.

And he sent other servants saying, tell those who are invited, see, I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast. Ain't a vegetable in here, bro. It's already at great cost to the king. These people, it would actually be like a seven-day meal. This is what this is. Verse five, but they paid no attention and they went off, one to his farm and another to his business, while the rest seized the servants and treated them shamefully and killed them. Let me give you a big fat warning right here, okay? Some people respond with outright rejection. And you can see these people in this world, they outright reject Jesus. They're anti-Jesus. They hate the church. They hate Christians. You write anti, they hate it. But if you're here, you probably don't. But the number of church people that get an invitation, they hear the good news of the gospel and think, man, you know what? I mean, I got other stuff to do. One went to his farm and another went to his business. One guy's like, I got a boat. I mean, I got stuff to do.

I'm not anti-Jesus. I mean, if I come to church, I think it's, you know, occasionally when I can, I think it's good. I think I got kids. I certainly wanna raise them in it. I mean, our country's lost its mind. So at least I can hear some true things at church, but I'm not in. I'm just kinda, I'm kinda busy. Here's the warning, church. The result for the one who rejects and the one who ignores is the same. It's the exact same. Is that when the party starts, when you breathe your last, whether you just ignore Jesus or you outright reject it, that result is the same. That the party has started eternity begins and you are not a part of it with him Verse 7 and the king was angry. He's slow to anger. We talked about it last week he's slow to anger, but there is a day coming when the invitation is over and the judgment begins and You do not know when that day comes You do not know when that day comes and the king was angry And he sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city And then he said to his servants the wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy So, what does it take to be worthy Like how do you get on the list are you worthy? You want to hear the scandal of grace You know what it takes to be worthy to go to the wedding feast Just accept the invitation. It's a crazy thing. You've ever heard him in your life. Yeah, you know what I've done. Oh, he knows

Look watch go. Therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you can find as Many as you can find sometimes people ask me why is your church got to be so big? We just trying to do what the king said man. We just want to invite as many as we can find Good my favorite thing to say when we go that why is it so big? Who do you want me to uninvite? Because you're at the top of the list right now scooter. All right This is why we're gonna keep planting churches and campuses and do all the things because we are about the father's business and Then look who the people they find it says and those servants went out into the roads and they gathered all whom they found Both the bad and the good Anybody bad in here Me too. Look at us Anybody good? You know, you just raise your hand in your heart You know you did I Got good news, man It don't matter who you are what you've done or what you've believed or whatever it is Then we all get invited both the good and the bad are invited. I mean think about it Can you imagine the people are out there and like yeah, but what about him? He's like, uh, he's like a one-percenter in a bike gang Kings like bring him She works at the strip club bring her Kings like bring him She works at the strip club bring her They they have an addiction bring them. This was in prison. Bring them. That's a Sunday school teacher. They can come to This person's a member of the HOA come on How about a Florida fan the good and the bad everybody's invited This is the scandal of the gospel and here's the thing here's why man It's not actually about being good and bad Some of you are good at being good. I Married one of those people some of you're good at being bad. My wife married one of those people It ain't about good and bad. That's about It's about life and death

and the reality is Before a holy and perfect God, none of us are good because even our good deeds are like filthy rags before him And we realize that I'm not a bad person that just needs to do better I'm a spiritually dead person that needs life and Christ came that we may have Life and so they found all kind of people both bad and good. And so the wedding hall was filled with guests And let me tell you man if this parable ended right here, this is the feel-good hit of the New Testament Get him Jesus You walked in there and you kicked out all those religious people They sorry didn't you invited in all of everybody good and bad and then But he wants to make the point very very clear and so he is gonna turn the screws in And so the wedding hall was filled with guests verse 11, but when the king came in To look at the guest he saw there was a man who had no wedding garment And this doesn't make a lot of sense today. It's not like there was a certain dress code That's not what it's talking about in the first century the way this thing would go Especially if you got invited to the king's wedding remember he's out on the road He said you'll come to the wedding dudes like man. I'm just like in my jeans and stuff I can't go to the king's wedding and he's like, oh the king has a garment for you and so what would happen in order to honor the bride and the groom and to honor it was the father of the groom that put it on right and so As a as a guy with a daughter, maybe we'll get back to that one day. But anyway And so what they would do is they would provide wedding garments and a part of it It was because all of the attention was gonna go to the bride and the groom And so the real rich people would you like silk suits on or whatever? You know that didn't want you getting all the attention and they didn't want anybody feeling bad if they were just kind of ratty so everybody would put on the same thing and if it was a king's wedding garment man this would be probably like a white robe it would be incredible be a gift that you would get to give and in order so what you would do when you get to the wedding

obviously is you would take off the clothes that you had and you would put on what the king had given you seems easy enough and so the king's strolling through the party and it's packed man it's thumping and then there's one person and they ain't got the wedding garment on but what you doing and here's what this represents this guy got the invitation here you need to put this on he went now what I've got is good enough it's not gonna go good for this guy let me just put it on the bottom shelf what he is doing is he is he is saying what I bring to the wedding is enough I don't need what you provide for me for the Pharisees the fair this is why they don't bend their knee to Jesus because what you need to be saved is need and they're thinking I don't need you mine's good enough and the gospel is this my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness dressed in his righteousness alone faultless I stand before the throne are you faultless I'm not faultless in fact it was because of all my faults all my sins every single time I wanted to sit on his throne every single time I thought well I was I what I wanted was better than what he had for me that's my sin so how in the heck do I get to stand faultless before the throne is because I'm wrapped in the righteousness of Jesus Christ that God made him who was without sin to be sin for us that we would be made the righteousness of Christ and so here's what he says he says friend how'd you get in here without a wedding garment God speaks us you see all throughout the gospel there's this picture of God clothes us in the righteousness of Christ I'm gonna read a bunch of them to you because you can't go wrong reading Bible verses Galatians 3 27 for all of you who were baptized immersed submerged into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ Romans 12 beginning verse I mean Romans 13 beginning of verse 12 the night is far gone the day is at hand so then let us cast off works of the darkness and put on the armor of light verse 14 but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to gratify his desires Colossians 3 8 through 10 but now you must put them all away anger and wrath and malice and slander and obscene talk seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and

have put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator in Jesus's most famous parable we call it the parable the prodigal son you remember the kid rejects the dad dad you're dead to me give me my inheritance the father gives it to him and then he thinks what he wants is better than what the father has for him and the father would love him enough to let him find out and he goes and squanders everything he has and what the Bible calls reckless living in a land far away and he's alone and he's feeding pigs and he's busted and he's broke and he's jealous of what the pigs are eating and then finally the Bible says the boy comes to his senses and he's like man even my father's servants he better not do so he repents he changes his mind he changes direction and when he comes back home the father has been scanning the horizon and while he was still a long ways off the father runs to him wraps his arms around him covers his face with kisses and then the first thing that he does the boy tries to apologize father I've sinned against heaven and sinned against you and he says shut your home boy and then the first thing that he do he says go and get my robe and he wraps this robe around him and nowhere in the Bible does it say that the boy stopped at a Holiday Inn Express and got himself cleaned up before he came home he came back a mess and and the father would love him enough that he wraps his robe around him it's a picture of the righteousness of Christ so that when everybody saw the boy they didn't see the mess of his life they saw the righteous perfection of the father this is the gospel and if you want to stand before your king and say nah my good works are enough I don't need your wedding garment I got this friend how did you get here without a wedding garment and he was speechless and then the king said to the attendants bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth he goes to hell that's what that means you try to earn your way to heaven you won't make it there's only two options everybody spends forever somewhere either in eternity with Christ, that's what we call heaven.

Or eternity separated from him, that's what the Bible calls hell, weeping and the gnashing of teeth. And then look at 14, for many are called, many are called, and few are chosen. I just wonder, even this weekend, the tens of millions of people that will sit in churches and hear the good news of the gospel, they will hear the invitation from a servant of God, saying, won't you come to the wedding feast? And there'll be some people in our world that outright reject it, but they're probably not going to church this weekend. And there'll be a lot of church people, but I mean, we got stuff to do, and just ignore it. You see, here's the scandal of grace, in this wedding feast that none of us deserve to be at. First of all, everybody's invited. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever would believe in him wouldn't perish but have eternal life. He says, go and fill this place up, everybody's invited. Yeah, but what about my past? He knows. What about, I used to believe, okay, that's fine. No matter how you start, everybody's invited. And then, secondly, everybody gets in the same way. It's like, if you grew up this way, you got a plan, and if you grew up that way, you got a different plan.

Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me. Everybody's invited, everybody gets in the same way, and then the best part of all, and the price has already been paid. So are you worthy? You're like, no. Except in the kingdom of God, all it takes is for you to say yes to the invitation. I was preaching on the imputed righteousness of Christ years ago, and a guy named Jack Johnson texted me, not banana pancakes guy, but there's a guy in our church named Jack Johnson, and he says, the only paperwork that matters in heaven is your RSVP. Not your resume. Not, look what I did, Lord. And it's not your birth certificate. Well, I mean, you know who my grandma is? We grew up in the church. I didn't get you in. It's simply responding to the invitation of Christ to just lay down your life, to first and foremost admit it, I need you, I need you. I am poor in spirit. I'm not just a bad person that needs to do better. I'm a spiritually dead person, and I need you to do for me what I cannot do for myself, and I cannot make myself right before God. I need your righteousness counted for me.

And I believe that when you died on the cross and you pushed up on your nail-pierced feet and you said, it's finished, I believe that somehow, by faith, that counted for me. And I want to say yes to the invitation. I call on the name of the Lord. The Bible says all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. And to call him Lord doesn't just mean, it's not just, if you just say the words, you're not in. It's in like some kind of magic trick. It's not like a witch's incantation. You can just say the right words. No, no, no, to call on the name of the Lord means I'm surrendering my life to you. I'm gonna take off my old self and say, that ain't it. I'm gonna put you on and say, you are my Lord. And whoever does that will be saved. Here's the thing that keeps me up at night, because we've got so many people and so many services and so many campuses and all the things, man. I feel like everybody on the planet's watching us online right now. And there's so many people that are just kind of flirting around the edges with the Jesus thing, you know? And those are like the people that hear the invitation and be like, nah, I'm good. And the real question is, have you put your faith in Jesus? Have you followed him? Have you surrendered your life to the Lordship of Christ?

And so I'm just like one of these sermons that has been sent on behalf of God. To say that you are invited to the marriage banquet of the Lamb. That's what it's called in the book of Revelation. that God is inviting you right now to put your faith in him and to be a part of his family. And for anyone who believes that when Jesus died on the cross, that counted for you. For anyone who believes, trusts, then you receive the right to become a child of God. I wanna give you that opportunity right now. Would you bow your heads? Would you close your eyes? And if that's you, whether you're good or you're bad, and that's you, and today that you know that you have been invited. And it's not just because of the sermon that I just preached, it's because that you know that deep in the deepest place of your heart and soul, you know that the God of the universe is inviting you to surrender your life to him, to not bank your eternity on your good works, but to bank your eternity on the finished work of Christ. And today, you wanna say yes to the invitation to surrender your life to Christ, to be with him forever and ever and ever. If you're ready to do that,

I would invite you to lift your hand as high as you can and just call on the name of the Lord. You can say in whatever words you want to, Lord Jesus, save me, and that is a prayer that he answers 100% of the time. Our good and gracious heavenly Father God, we love you more than anything. And God, we rejoice with you and all the angels in heaven, because even in this moment, Lord, people are saying yes to your invitation. Lord, I pray that you would always make us the kind of church that is on the welcome committee, that is going out into the streets in every place, inviting all that we could find to come to the wedding banquet provided by you, our Savior and our King. God, we love you because you love us first. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. Church, would you please stand? When you would go to a wedding feast, they would celebrate and they would party. And one of the ways they would do that is they would sing, and we're gonna sing, and we need to sing like saved people. And a part of the way we respond to the gospel is we bring, one, it's just because he is worthy of it. He gave us his first and his best in Jesus Christ, so we gladly bring our first and best. And a part of what that does is that helps facilitate us going to every tribe, every tongue, every nation, taking the good news of this gospel,

saying, hey, won't you come to the wedding feast? And we pray. And listen, man, our prayer time at the end is not just for you, if you're on the struggle bus. If you're on the struggle bus, come and pray. Cast all your cares upon him, because he cares for you. But a legit reason to come down here and get on your face before the Lord and humble yourself is that you're just overwhelmed with gratitude that the king would even invite you. So let's sing, let's bring, let's pray. Let's respond.