WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.480 You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama. 00:00:06.980 --> 00:00:09.560 Our passion is to experience and express grace. 00:00:10.080 --> 00:00:10.620 Join us. 00:00:11.700 --> 00:00:17.320 As far back as I can remember, I've longed for significance. 00:00:18.760 --> 00:00:25.179 As a kid, I always wanted to do something that really mattered, to make a big difference 00:00:25.179 --> 00:00:26.240 in the world. 00:00:26.239 --> 00:00:32.140 And that looked different originally, it was being an awesome, incredible baseball player. 00:00:32.460 --> 00:00:35.280 And that's what was really going to make a difference. 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:42.759 At other times, it was just wanting to write books that would be read across the world and 00:00:42.759 --> 00:00:45.399 for centuries after I was gone. 00:00:46.799 --> 00:00:52.119 Other times, I really just longed for my friends, the people who already knew me, to think I 00:00:52.119 --> 00:00:54.759 was really smart and really spiritual. 00:00:56.240 --> 00:01:00.000 I think we all have some of that longing in our hearts, don't we? 00:01:00.280 --> 00:01:01.400 To be significant. 00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:03.280 To be important. 00:01:04.680 --> 00:01:11.020 And it's actually a good impulse because God created each of us for significance, as Ron 00:01:11.020 --> 00:01:13.700 has reminded us from Psalm 8 this morning. 00:01:14.200 --> 00:01:15.140 To be important. 00:01:15.400 --> 00:01:16.520 To be valuable. 00:01:16.519 --> 00:01:23.780 But what I've seen in my life and in the lives of those around me is that the ways we look 00:01:23.780 --> 00:01:27.319 for and pursue that significance are often backwards. 00:01:28.759 --> 00:01:33.419 You can think of backwards ways that people strive for significance in our culture. 00:01:34.959 --> 00:01:40.459 The same is true for other cultures, including the culture of Jesus in the Bible. 00:01:40.459 --> 00:01:47.059 And in our passage this morning, in Luke chapter 14, Jesus is going to call out some of those 00:01:47.059 --> 00:01:53.079 backward ways of seeking significance through awkward moments at a dinner party. 00:01:54.199 --> 00:01:55.899 It's going to happen a few times. 00:01:56.139 --> 00:02:00.280 Let's pray together and then we'll follow the story in Luke 14 as we go. 00:02:00.280 --> 00:02:05.519 Father, we do ask again for your help. 00:02:06.920 --> 00:02:08.120 We need you. 00:02:08.979 --> 00:02:15.240 We want you to show us your truth and show us our hearts at the same time. 00:02:15.800 --> 00:02:19.420 That we might be different, that we might be changed, that we might be what you created 00:02:19.420 --> 00:02:20.800 us to be. 00:02:21.500 --> 00:02:24.620 Do that as we look to your word this morning. 00:02:24.819 --> 00:02:28.240 Speak to us, we ask in Jesus' name. 00:02:28.979 --> 00:02:29.340 Amen. 00:02:29.340 --> 00:02:29.500 Amen. 00:02:30.280 --> 00:02:30.719 Amen. 00:02:31.919 --> 00:02:36.500 Luke 14 at verse 1, the scene is set. 00:02:37.960 --> 00:02:43.659 One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching 00:02:43.659 --> 00:02:45.080 him carefully. 00:02:46.180 --> 00:02:50.740 So there's tension at this Sabbath lunch with Jesus, right? 00:02:51.039 --> 00:02:53.800 The religious leaders are trying to catch him. 00:02:54.139 --> 00:02:56.300 They're watching him carefully. 00:02:56.300 --> 00:03:01.500 And that tension leads to the first awkward moment right off the bat. 00:03:01.620 --> 00:03:04.719 One comment on these awkward moments we're about to see. 00:03:04.719 --> 00:03:11.879 If there's an awkward moment at our Sabbath lunch today, it will probably be because I tried 00:03:11.879 --> 00:03:12.879 to tell a dad joke. 00:03:12.879 --> 00:03:19.859 And got eye rolls and silence and chuckles at best. 00:03:19.860 --> 00:03:25.460 Jesus is creating these awkward moments because do you remember what we learned last week? 00:03:25.540 --> 00:03:27.780 What's his heart towards these Pharisees? 00:03:28.540 --> 00:03:30.920 He longs to gather them in. 00:03:30.919 --> 00:03:31.919 He sees the backwardness and the brokenness. 00:03:31.919 --> 00:03:36.319 He sees the backwardness and the brokenness and he wants to bring healing. 00:03:36.799 --> 00:03:42.799 So he creates these conversations, even these awkward moments, to pursue their hearts for his kingdom. 00:03:42.800 --> 00:04:12.780 Verse 2. 00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:14.800 Silence. 00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:15.520 Silence. 00:04:16.520 --> 00:04:17.360 Twice. 00:04:18.860 --> 00:04:20.040 Well, all right. 00:04:20.639 --> 00:04:23.139 Not how this event was supposed to go here. 00:04:23.280 --> 00:04:25.639 Jesus was supposed to be a friendly. 00:04:27.860 --> 00:04:32.240 Jesus sees something in the culture of the religious elite. 00:04:32.740 --> 00:04:39.180 Their joyous religious formalism with no joy there at all. 00:04:39.180 --> 00:04:43.060 Their sense of moral superiority. 00:04:44.160 --> 00:04:48.660 Their cold and calculated, dutiful religious performance. 00:04:48.980 --> 00:04:52.160 It's one way they're finding significance, isn't it? 00:04:53.280 --> 00:04:56.960 And it completely misses the heart of the kingdom. 00:04:57.600 --> 00:05:00.879 As we've seen, it misses the heart of the Sabbath, doesn't it? 00:05:00.960 --> 00:05:06.079 Which is to rejoice and rest in God's redemption and deliverance. 00:05:06.079 --> 00:05:12.979 Jesus says there's a social shift that must take place in this Jewish town. 00:05:13.659 --> 00:05:19.120 Stop playing church and start bringing the life of the kingdom to people. 00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:21.039 All the time. 00:05:21.219 --> 00:05:22.479 Especially on the Sabbath. 00:05:22.939 --> 00:05:31.180 Dream of how the joy of deliverance could bless someone who needs to experience the freedom of the love of God. 00:05:31.180 --> 00:05:39.139 Sometimes we start to think that what really matters is whether we sang the right song. 00:05:39.720 --> 00:05:41.840 Whether the sermon was too long. 00:05:42.400 --> 00:05:44.699 Whether the sanctuary was too cold. 00:05:45.259 --> 00:05:48.879 Whether we are doing church the way we're used to doing it. 00:05:49.060 --> 00:05:52.019 And feel like we ought to after all these years. 00:05:52.019 --> 00:05:55.779 And we lose the joy of the kingdom. 00:05:56.379 --> 00:06:00.180 By looking for significance in formal religious tradition. 00:06:01.699 --> 00:06:05.219 We lose the focus of the kingdom there and making it about ourselves. 00:06:05.899 --> 00:06:07.759 We're going to do it better than everybody else. 00:06:08.399 --> 00:06:11.680 And it's about our preferences instead of letting it be about King Jesus. 00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:14.759 Just like the Pharisees did. 00:06:14.759 --> 00:06:19.079 And we find ourselves critiquing others instead of blessing them. 00:06:21.019 --> 00:06:30.500 In contrast to that, a couple weeks ago I called a woman in this congregation to ask her if she'd be willing to pray at our congregational meeting last week. 00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:36.819 We'll call her Deb for the sake of this story since she may or may not be here. 00:06:37.680 --> 00:06:40.599 Deb was a little bit unsettled by that. 00:06:40.600 --> 00:06:46.120 She said, I don't really feel comfortable praying into a microphone in front of everybody. 00:06:46.800 --> 00:06:49.580 And she felt terrible about the fact that she felt terrible. 00:06:50.660 --> 00:06:54.480 Perhaps I should really get over this and do this. 00:06:54.520 --> 00:06:55.960 It's important for the kingdom. 00:06:56.120 --> 00:06:58.060 Maybe I really ought to get better. 00:06:58.780 --> 00:07:04.400 And as we talked, I heard in the background of our conversation the voice of one of our homebound widows. 00:07:05.640 --> 00:07:06.879 I said, are you with her? 00:07:06.879 --> 00:07:15.759 She had just finished giving her a bath and they were chatting together and so happy to be together. 00:07:17.180 --> 00:07:21.319 I said, Deb, you're exactly where you need to be. 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:25.980 You don't have to pray into a microphone to do something important for the kingdom. 00:07:25.980 --> 00:07:36.840 You are taking the joyful deliverance and freedom of the kingdom to those who are outcast and lonely right where God has called you. 00:07:37.980 --> 00:07:39.879 That's the kingdom showing up. 00:07:40.300 --> 00:07:43.500 That's the shift Jesus wants to see in our community. 00:07:43.960 --> 00:07:55.420 Quit thinking that a good Sunday is one where you make it through worship and Sunday school without your heart really being engaged so that you can go home and feel better than the other guy. 00:07:55.420 --> 00:07:59.580 Knowing that you're spiritually superior to the guy who stayed home. 00:08:00.980 --> 00:08:07.780 Stop seeing the law of God as a way to make you feel good about yourself and consider it as an avenue for blessing others. 00:08:08.819 --> 00:08:13.560 No more letter of the law legalism that misses the heart of the law. 00:08:13.900 --> 00:08:16.920 Love for God and love for neighbor, right? 00:08:17.520 --> 00:08:18.500 That's what it's about. 00:08:18.500 --> 00:08:22.639 That's a nice way to start off lunch. 00:08:22.899 --> 00:08:24.259 Just kind of call everybody out. 00:08:25.420 --> 00:08:27.199 Maybe we should get to the meal here, Jesus. 00:08:27.639 --> 00:08:28.600 We came here to eat. 00:08:29.480 --> 00:08:32.539 But in verse 7, Jesus gets awkward again. 00:08:34.179 --> 00:08:38.259 Now he told a parable to those who were invited. 00:08:38.500 --> 00:08:43.919 He wants to give some instructions to the guests right here in the middle of the party. 00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:48.639 When he noticed how they chose the places of honor, he said to them, 00:08:49.199 --> 00:08:53.459 When you're invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, 00:08:53.879 --> 00:08:57.099 lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him. 00:08:57.740 --> 00:09:00.659 And he who invited you both will come and say to you, 00:09:01.159 --> 00:09:02.959 Give your place to this person. 00:09:03.659 --> 00:09:07.519 And then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 00:09:07.519 --> 00:09:11.600 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, 00:09:11.899 --> 00:09:14.220 so that when your host comes, he may say to you, 00:09:14.600 --> 00:09:15.939 Friend, move up higher. 00:09:16.699 --> 00:09:20.240 Then you'll be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 00:09:20.519 --> 00:09:22.879 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, 00:09:23.179 --> 00:09:26.379 and he who humbles himself will be exalted. 00:09:27.539 --> 00:09:30.279 Now listen, we do great at this on Sundays. 00:09:30.919 --> 00:09:34.559 I've been trying to figure out for years why it is that nobody will sit 00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:36.659 on the front row in the places of honor. 00:09:36.659 --> 00:09:39.199 And it's because all of you have read this passage, 00:09:39.559 --> 00:09:42.659 and you're humbling yourselves and staying back there. 00:09:42.699 --> 00:09:43.740 I'm so grateful. 00:09:44.120 --> 00:09:45.459 Well done, Southwood. 00:09:47.139 --> 00:09:48.679 I finally figured it out. 00:09:50.500 --> 00:09:52.980 But you know, there's something about where we sit at meals 00:09:52.980 --> 00:09:55.259 that really gets at our hearts, isn't there? 00:09:56.319 --> 00:10:01.539 At the spink dinner table, there's a coveted seat between mom and dad. 00:10:01.779 --> 00:10:03.539 So we have three girls, and at each meal, 00:10:03.539 --> 00:10:07.059 only one will get to sit by both parents. 00:10:07.759 --> 00:10:10.959 And there is never any arguing about that seat 00:10:10.959 --> 00:10:13.439 except on nights where we're eating dinner. 00:10:15.199 --> 00:10:18.659 But it goes all the way back to our middle school lunch tables, doesn't it? 00:10:20.099 --> 00:10:25.039 Where the table you sit at and the people who are near you 00:10:25.039 --> 00:10:28.779 tells how important you are, how cool you are. 00:10:30.599 --> 00:10:34.740 Nowadays, for us, it's who am I seen talking with at the dinner party 00:10:34.740 --> 00:10:37.219 or whether I can dress the part while I do. 00:10:38.679 --> 00:10:42.819 It's how can I position myself to get over and talk to the guest of honor 00:10:42.819 --> 00:10:47.019 and maybe catch an Instagram picture to kind of show everybody else that I did. 00:10:47.019 --> 00:10:51.319 And this heightened social tension that we know very well 00:10:51.319 --> 00:10:54.840 was even more significant in biblical culture. 00:10:55.199 --> 00:10:58.840 The closer you were to the head table, the more important you were. 00:10:59.439 --> 00:11:02.899 And not only that, the better food you ate at the dinner. 00:11:02.899 --> 00:11:08.199 In fact, so much so that if the party was big enough, 00:11:09.019 --> 00:11:13.659 those who were not as connected, the poor, those who were less valuable, 00:11:14.000 --> 00:11:16.179 probably wouldn't even be in the same room 00:11:16.179 --> 00:11:19.819 or, as it were, ordering off the same menu as you were. 00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:26.480 Everybody knew where you sat at dinner, showed how important you were. 00:11:27.000 --> 00:11:30.919 That was the case even when the church gathered to eat. 00:11:30.919 --> 00:11:32.539 Can you imagine that? 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:35.079 Maybe you can. 00:11:37.159 --> 00:11:40.079 And Jesus comes into that context and says, 00:11:40.799 --> 00:11:44.199 my kingdom flips this social convention on its head. 00:11:44.620 --> 00:11:45.879 Don't put yourself forward. 00:11:46.419 --> 00:11:48.199 Don't rush ahead of the line. 00:11:48.959 --> 00:11:50.259 Instead, run to the back. 00:11:50.679 --> 00:11:51.620 Race to the bottom. 00:11:52.099 --> 00:11:54.699 Humble yourself and consider others first. 00:11:55.860 --> 00:11:58.379 Don't turn every conversation to yourself. 00:11:58.379 --> 00:12:02.399 Don't ignore the lonely to be seen with the influential. 00:12:04.340 --> 00:12:08.179 And at first, it can kind of sound just like a wiser strategy to get ahead, right? 00:12:08.419 --> 00:12:10.820 A way to get noticed and honored publicly. 00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:14.820 But as we go on, we'll see that Jesus is really encouraging 00:12:14.820 --> 00:12:18.439 a completely new system of significance. 00:12:18.440 --> 00:12:24.260 And, of course, he said this right there in front of guests who've just rushed ahead 00:12:24.260 --> 00:12:25.820 to the seats of honor. 00:12:26.540 --> 00:12:28.260 So, there's a lot of tension in the room. 00:12:28.520 --> 00:12:32.140 Maybe everybody except the host is feeling the awkwardness, 00:12:32.260 --> 00:12:34.900 and so Jesus turns to the host next. 00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:36.200 Verse 12, 00:12:36.200 --> 00:13:06.180 Now, I know that you find it hard to understand, 00:13:06.200 --> 00:13:11.280 how who comes to your party and whose party you're invited to 00:13:11.280 --> 00:13:13.740 can make you feel important or significant. 00:13:14.620 --> 00:13:18.400 But, apparently, that's how people often felt back in Jesus' day 00:13:18.400 --> 00:13:21.759 before we matured so much and got over that struggle. 00:13:23.040 --> 00:13:23.660 Jesus says, 00:13:23.659 --> 00:13:27.199 This social dynamic has to change. 00:13:27.539 --> 00:13:29.439 It must be different in his kingdom. 00:13:29.839 --> 00:13:32.659 Don't seek significance in social networking. 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:36.799 Instead, what's the difference going to be? 00:13:37.480 --> 00:13:42.740 Generously connect and share what you have with the least of these. 00:13:42.740 --> 00:13:46.759 How many people have been in your home recently 00:13:46.759 --> 00:13:49.240 who don't have a home to invite you into? 00:13:51.019 --> 00:13:54.080 Whom do you share your life with that brings you 00:13:54.080 --> 00:13:56.799 no tangible social benefit? 00:13:58.200 --> 00:14:00.879 When you gather people together for something, 00:14:01.100 --> 00:14:03.320 do you consider the ones most like you, 00:14:03.659 --> 00:14:05.480 whom you most want to be seen with, 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:07.799 and whom you most enjoy spending time with? 00:14:07.799 --> 00:14:14.199 Or, do you consider who most needs your time and your friendship? 00:14:16.199 --> 00:14:19.219 Can we be honest that that kind of society 00:14:19.219 --> 00:14:23.159 Jesus says his kingdom brings is a big shift for us too 00:14:23.159 --> 00:14:27.099 is not the way we usually function. 00:14:27.699 --> 00:14:29.299 We love to drop names, 00:14:30.339 --> 00:14:33.799 to feel important because of the circles that we run in, 00:14:33.799 --> 00:14:38.659 to feel we have value because someone else who has value values us. 00:14:40.379 --> 00:14:41.879 Translation of that last sentence, 00:14:42.279 --> 00:14:46.779 if Tim Keller or Dabo Swinney friends me on Facebook this afternoon, 00:14:46.779 --> 00:14:48.859 you will definitely hear about it. 00:14:48.959 --> 00:14:50.339 I will find a way. 00:14:50.459 --> 00:14:51.620 That's what I mean by that. 00:14:51.779 --> 00:14:54.719 Because it will communicate that I'm in. 00:14:54.899 --> 00:14:56.879 My heart will smile and I'll say, 00:14:56.959 --> 00:14:57.879 I've arrived. 00:14:58.719 --> 00:15:01.519 It makes me meaningful and important. 00:15:03.799 --> 00:15:05.379 Jesus says no. 00:15:06.099 --> 00:15:06.659 No. 00:15:07.419 --> 00:15:10.159 You look for the person no one else is inviting 00:15:10.159 --> 00:15:12.719 and you have them over for lunch. 00:15:13.620 --> 00:15:16.199 Except not this week because they heard this sermon too, 00:15:16.339 --> 00:15:19.439 so now no one can invite anyone for lunch in this church all week 00:15:19.439 --> 00:15:21.939 without feeling bad about why you invited them. 00:15:22.319 --> 00:15:24.219 But next week, next week, 00:15:24.339 --> 00:15:27.299 you invite that person over for lunch. 00:15:27.659 --> 00:15:29.899 You jump at the chance we get at Thanksgiving 00:15:29.899 --> 00:15:33.539 to have international college students around our table 00:15:33.539 --> 00:15:34.759 for Thanksgiving dinner. 00:15:36.039 --> 00:15:39.480 You rearrange your priorities to invest in relationships 00:15:39.480 --> 00:15:41.220 with those different from you 00:15:41.220 --> 00:15:44.600 and less socially connected than you. 00:15:45.159 --> 00:15:45.740 Jesus says, 00:15:45.879 --> 00:15:48.240 you think differently in my kingdom. 00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:51.980 It is really different, isn't it? 00:15:51.980 --> 00:15:56.360 Can you imagine how our society would be transformed 00:15:56.360 --> 00:15:58.379 if everyone lived this way? 00:15:59.399 --> 00:16:01.000 Joyfully serving others, 00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:03.180 being humble all the time, 00:16:03.700 --> 00:16:05.519 giving to those who have less, 00:16:05.759 --> 00:16:07.379 welcoming the outsider in. 00:16:07.420 --> 00:16:09.539 If that's what drove everybody all the time, 00:16:09.779 --> 00:16:10.840 what a different place. 00:16:11.840 --> 00:16:13.180 What an amazing city. 00:16:13.259 --> 00:16:14.159 What a great country. 00:16:14.159 --> 00:16:20.399 And that's a dangerously good message. 00:16:21.240 --> 00:16:23.779 One that you can hear at many churches, 00:16:24.639 --> 00:16:26.500 not to mention temples, 00:16:27.919 --> 00:16:29.519 Islamic education centers, 00:16:30.219 --> 00:16:32.740 and schools in Huntsville. 00:16:33.699 --> 00:16:39.000 There's a lot of truth in that message as we've seen. 00:16:39.419 --> 00:16:42.120 And many churches have decided because of that 00:16:42.120 --> 00:16:44.220 that that is the gospel. 00:16:44.980 --> 00:16:47.740 The good news of Jesus is that. 00:16:47.840 --> 00:16:49.279 He's a social revolutionary 00:16:49.279 --> 00:16:53.360 who teaches and demonstrates a new society 00:16:53.360 --> 00:16:56.200 and what it really ought to look like. 00:16:57.659 --> 00:16:59.460 But it's dangerous. 00:17:00.659 --> 00:17:04.160 It's dangerous because sometimes the story stops there 00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:07.059 and we miss Jesus as a savior. 00:17:07.980 --> 00:17:11.680 The ability to address larger, eternal problems 00:17:11.680 --> 00:17:14.519 and to enjoy true relationship with the Father 00:17:14.519 --> 00:17:15.340 through Jesus. 00:17:16.740 --> 00:17:19.660 We find ourselves trying to express grace 00:17:19.660 --> 00:17:23.700 that we haven't actually experienced ourselves first. 00:17:24.680 --> 00:17:27.320 And so we call that the social gospel 00:17:27.320 --> 00:17:30.900 because it says the good news 00:17:30.900 --> 00:17:34.060 is a transformed society. 00:17:34.059 --> 00:17:37.899 Now our denomination, 00:17:38.500 --> 00:17:40.039 the Presbyterian Church in America, 00:17:40.039 --> 00:17:41.740 was founded before I was born 00:17:41.740 --> 00:17:45.460 in part to avoid that danger, 00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:46.679 that development, 00:17:47.019 --> 00:17:49.619 and to maintain the importance of Jesus 00:17:49.619 --> 00:17:51.379 as the savior of sinners. 00:17:51.700 --> 00:17:53.519 And I thank God for that. 00:17:54.839 --> 00:17:57.440 But sometimes pendulums swing, don't they? 00:17:59.279 --> 00:18:01.579 Overcorrecting is really easy. 00:18:01.579 --> 00:18:06.539 And we can function as though Jesus came only 00:18:06.539 --> 00:18:09.339 to save us from hell and get us to heaven. 00:18:10.319 --> 00:18:13.879 In a noble effort to avoid the social gospel, 00:18:14.419 --> 00:18:16.419 we can accept its false dichotomy 00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:19.699 between eternal and temporal, 00:18:20.779 --> 00:18:22.519 spiritual and physical, 00:18:23.759 --> 00:18:25.740 spiritual and social even. 00:18:25.740 --> 00:18:28.380 And we can neglect 00:18:28.380 --> 00:18:30.579 how the good news of Jesus 00:18:30.579 --> 00:18:33.500 transforms society too. 00:18:34.039 --> 00:18:36.200 We want to worship Jesus on Sunday 00:18:36.200 --> 00:18:37.559 and then do business 00:18:37.559 --> 00:18:38.680 and throw parties 00:18:38.680 --> 00:18:40.039 and develop friendships 00:18:40.039 --> 00:18:41.039 and raise our children 00:18:41.039 --> 00:18:42.660 however we good and well please. 00:18:44.180 --> 00:18:46.680 We say we experience God's grace, 00:18:46.839 --> 00:18:48.539 but it never transforms us 00:18:48.539 --> 00:18:50.620 into people who express that grace 00:18:50.620 --> 00:18:51.900 in every area of life 00:18:51.900 --> 00:18:54.440 and expect to see society transformed 00:18:54.440 --> 00:18:55.140 as we do. 00:18:57.480 --> 00:18:59.200 Jesus says there's a third way. 00:18:59.900 --> 00:19:02.180 It doesn't have to be an either or. 00:19:03.080 --> 00:19:05.740 Jesus doesn't want only our spiritual life 00:19:05.740 --> 00:19:07.080 or our eternal destiny 00:19:07.080 --> 00:19:08.320 and our Sunday mornings. 00:19:09.140 --> 00:19:10.940 He wants our Sunday afternoons 00:19:10.940 --> 00:19:13.320 and our Friday night parties 00:19:13.320 --> 00:19:16.360 and our Tuesday night dinners 00:19:16.360 --> 00:19:18.900 and our Wednesdays at work 00:19:18.900 --> 00:19:21.340 and our Mondays at school. 00:19:21.339 --> 00:19:22.799 all of it. 00:19:23.099 --> 00:19:24.279 He wants all of that. 00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:25.339 It's hard to miss that 00:19:25.339 --> 00:19:26.619 in this passage, isn't it? 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:29.879 Jesus is our Savior 00:19:29.879 --> 00:19:33.279 and then a social revolutionary, 00:19:33.779 --> 00:19:34.359 if you will, 00:19:35.079 --> 00:19:37.740 because He changes everything. 00:19:40.579 --> 00:19:42.339 But the story's not over yet 00:19:42.339 --> 00:19:43.439 in our passage. 00:19:44.139 --> 00:19:46.139 There's one more awkward moment 00:19:46.139 --> 00:19:48.659 where Jesus is going to drive home 00:19:48.660 --> 00:19:52.120 the foundation for this whole new society. 00:19:52.560 --> 00:19:54.680 How is it that in Jesus' kingdom 00:19:54.680 --> 00:19:56.420 this actually takes place? 00:19:56.660 --> 00:19:58.540 In fact, why is it that His kingdom 00:19:58.540 --> 00:20:00.960 must function this way? 00:20:01.120 --> 00:20:02.960 And that if you function differently 00:20:02.960 --> 00:20:05.420 from the new society He's laid out, 00:20:05.480 --> 00:20:07.400 you're actually not a part of His kingdom, 00:20:07.540 --> 00:20:08.380 He's about to say. 00:20:09.460 --> 00:20:11.140 The power for this transformation 00:20:11.140 --> 00:20:12.800 comes from God 00:20:12.800 --> 00:20:15.880 who started these kinds of relationships 00:20:15.880 --> 00:20:18.440 where we experience grace 00:20:18.440 --> 00:20:22.020 to fuel our expression of grace to others. 00:20:22.200 --> 00:20:22.780 Listen to this. 00:20:23.100 --> 00:20:23.980 Verse 15. 00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:27.460 When one of those who reclined at table with Him 00:20:27.460 --> 00:20:28.800 heard these things, 00:20:28.900 --> 00:20:29.580 He said to Him, 00:20:30.020 --> 00:20:32.140 Blessed is everyone who will eat bread 00:20:32.140 --> 00:20:33.400 in the kingdom of God. 00:20:34.840 --> 00:20:36.300 What's going on is that 00:20:36.300 --> 00:20:38.120 you could cut the tension with a knife 00:20:38.120 --> 00:20:39.460 and there's always somebody there 00:20:39.460 --> 00:20:40.860 that can't quite handle that. 00:20:41.280 --> 00:20:42.240 It's getting uncomfortable. 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:45.759 And so He leans forward at family dinner 00:20:45.759 --> 00:20:46.440 and says, 00:20:47.620 --> 00:20:49.400 Here's something we can all agree on. 00:20:50.240 --> 00:20:51.759 How wonderful it will be 00:20:51.759 --> 00:20:53.920 when we're all together eating in heaven. 00:20:55.359 --> 00:20:57.140 The turkey's great, Grandma. 00:20:59.539 --> 00:21:02.779 Boy, it's a little cold around here today, isn't it? 00:21:04.819 --> 00:21:08.059 And Jesus doesn't stop. 00:21:08.059 --> 00:21:10.440 He seizes on this to tell a parable 00:21:10.440 --> 00:21:12.940 to challenge this man's presumption 00:21:12.940 --> 00:21:16.700 about being there at that kingdom feast. 00:21:18.539 --> 00:21:20.240 But Jesus said to him, 00:21:20.579 --> 00:21:22.359 A man once gave a great banquet 00:21:22.359 --> 00:21:23.240 and invited many. 00:21:23.899 --> 00:21:25.139 And at the time for the banquet, 00:21:25.639 --> 00:21:27.279 he sent his servant to say to those 00:21:27.279 --> 00:21:27.899 who'd been invited, 00:21:28.059 --> 00:21:29.559 Come, for everything is now ready. 00:21:29.799 --> 00:21:30.559 That's what happened. 00:21:30.659 --> 00:21:31.819 You'd get an invitation, 00:21:32.019 --> 00:21:32.940 you'd RSVP, 00:21:33.179 --> 00:21:35.039 and then weeks later when the party came, 00:21:35.119 --> 00:21:35.839 the day of, 00:21:36.139 --> 00:21:37.319 the servant would come to say, 00:21:37.319 --> 00:21:38.439 Now we're ready for you. 00:21:40.099 --> 00:21:42.279 But they all alike began to make excuses. 00:21:43.200 --> 00:21:44.299 The first said to him, 00:21:44.399 --> 00:21:45.319 I have bought a field 00:21:45.319 --> 00:21:46.659 and I must go out and see it. 00:21:46.879 --> 00:21:48.220 Please have me excused. 00:21:48.419 --> 00:21:49.139 And another said, 00:21:49.179 --> 00:21:50.539 I've bought five yoke of oxen 00:21:50.539 --> 00:21:51.720 and I go to examine them. 00:21:51.799 --> 00:21:53.059 Please have me excused. 00:21:53.700 --> 00:21:54.339 And another said, 00:21:54.379 --> 00:21:55.259 I've married a wife 00:21:55.259 --> 00:21:56.720 and therefore I cannot come. 00:21:57.399 --> 00:21:58.539 So the servant came 00:21:58.539 --> 00:22:00.480 and reported these things to his master. 00:22:01.460 --> 00:22:03.179 Then the master of the house became angry 00:22:03.179 --> 00:22:04.220 and said to his servant, 00:22:04.639 --> 00:22:06.159 Go out quickly to the streets 00:22:06.160 --> 00:22:07.180 and lanes of the city 00:22:07.180 --> 00:22:08.300 and bring in the poor 00:22:08.300 --> 00:22:10.480 and crippled and blind and lame. 00:22:10.960 --> 00:22:12.019 And the servant said, 00:22:12.320 --> 00:22:14.120 Sir, what you commanded has been done 00:22:14.120 --> 00:22:15.540 and still there is room. 00:22:16.620 --> 00:22:17.940 And the master said to the servant, 00:22:18.320 --> 00:22:19.980 Go out to the highways and hedges 00:22:19.980 --> 00:22:21.560 and compel people to come in 00:22:21.560 --> 00:22:23.480 that my house may be filled. 00:22:24.040 --> 00:22:25.060 For I tell you, 00:22:25.460 --> 00:22:27.580 none of those men who were invited 00:22:27.580 --> 00:22:30.200 shall taste my banquet. 00:22:30.200 --> 00:22:32.759 Jesus tells a story 00:22:32.759 --> 00:22:34.860 about that kingdom banquet. 00:22:35.420 --> 00:22:36.740 And that last verse 00:22:36.740 --> 00:22:38.720 is the most pointed one of all, 00:22:38.799 --> 00:22:39.120 isn't it? 00:22:39.519 --> 00:22:41.279 What you can't tell in English 00:22:41.279 --> 00:22:43.340 but is pretty clear in the Greek, 00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:44.720 in verse 24, 00:22:44.920 --> 00:22:46.380 it's not the master speaking 00:22:46.380 --> 00:22:48.080 to the servant anymore. 00:22:48.799 --> 00:22:50.400 It's actually Jesus 00:22:50.400 --> 00:22:52.340 having finished the parable, 00:22:52.480 --> 00:22:53.460 turning and addressing 00:22:53.460 --> 00:22:55.080 the dinner party. 00:22:55.079 --> 00:22:58.099 It's a direct warning. 00:22:58.799 --> 00:23:01.179 And it's also a direct reminder 00:23:01.179 --> 00:23:03.639 that the banquet in the kingdom 00:23:03.639 --> 00:23:05.119 is about Jesus. 00:23:05.539 --> 00:23:06.039 He says, 00:23:06.299 --> 00:23:08.119 It's my banquet. 00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:10.839 It's his wedding supper, 00:23:11.000 --> 00:23:11.419 isn't it? 00:23:12.220 --> 00:23:13.419 And God the Father 00:23:13.419 --> 00:23:14.500 is the one 00:23:14.500 --> 00:23:16.559 who at his son's wedding supper 00:23:16.559 --> 00:23:18.379 has insisted on inviting whom? 00:23:19.140 --> 00:23:19.740 The poor, 00:23:20.300 --> 00:23:20.760 crippled, 00:23:21.080 --> 00:23:21.540 blind, 00:23:21.740 --> 00:23:22.380 and lame. 00:23:22.740 --> 00:23:25.000 Jews and Gentiles, 00:23:25.480 --> 00:23:27.780 haves and have-nots. 00:23:28.740 --> 00:23:29.800 It's so much so 00:23:29.800 --> 00:23:31.180 that he has to compel 00:23:31.180 --> 00:23:32.740 these people to come in. 00:23:32.880 --> 00:23:34.880 It's not because he's angry at them 00:23:34.880 --> 00:23:36.440 or because they don't want to come 00:23:36.440 --> 00:23:37.800 but because socially 00:23:37.800 --> 00:23:39.340 they're such that they know 00:23:39.340 --> 00:23:40.740 they couldn't pay him back. 00:23:41.260 --> 00:23:43.160 They couldn't invite this guy back over 00:23:43.160 --> 00:23:44.020 so they're hesitant 00:23:44.020 --> 00:23:45.300 to accept something 00:23:45.300 --> 00:23:47.060 so much so that he has to come 00:23:47.060 --> 00:23:47.720 and in a sense 00:23:47.720 --> 00:23:48.740 take them by the hand 00:23:48.740 --> 00:23:49.440 and insist, 00:23:49.860 --> 00:23:50.960 No, I want you here. 00:23:51.579 --> 00:23:52.700 I want you in 00:23:52.700 --> 00:23:53.779 at the party. 00:23:56.299 --> 00:23:57.460 That kingdom banquet 00:23:57.460 --> 00:23:58.880 is going to look different 00:23:58.880 --> 00:24:00.819 from what many of us 00:24:00.819 --> 00:24:01.620 would expect. 00:24:02.579 --> 00:24:04.559 It's those kinds of people 00:24:04.559 --> 00:24:06.759 whom Jesus has come to rescue 00:24:06.759 --> 00:24:08.579 to bring into a relationship 00:24:08.579 --> 00:24:09.940 with his Father 00:24:09.940 --> 00:24:11.779 so that they are at this feast. 00:24:14.440 --> 00:24:15.680 And then look how this action 00:24:15.680 --> 00:24:16.259 of the Father, 00:24:16.259 --> 00:24:17.859 how what he does 00:24:17.859 --> 00:24:18.940 in gathering these people 00:24:18.940 --> 00:24:19.720 into his feast 00:24:19.720 --> 00:24:22.119 leads to the transformed society 00:24:22.119 --> 00:24:23.680 we've been talking about. 00:24:23.859 --> 00:24:25.140 Just briefly read this 00:24:25.140 --> 00:24:26.400 gospel foundation 00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:27.759 back into what we've seen 00:24:27.759 --> 00:24:28.660 already this morning. 00:24:28.799 --> 00:24:30.079 We're going to go in reverse order 00:24:30.079 --> 00:24:31.920 back through the passage, okay? 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:32.539 Hang with me. 00:24:33.879 --> 00:24:35.000 Don't try to climb 00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:36.420 the social ladder 00:24:36.420 --> 00:24:40.000 to get selfish gain. 00:24:40.240 --> 00:24:41.180 Instead, do what? 00:24:42.039 --> 00:24:43.460 Reach generously 00:24:43.460 --> 00:24:44.799 to the least of these. 00:24:45.240 --> 00:24:46.140 Now why? 00:24:47.920 --> 00:24:48.799 Well, God, 00:24:49.259 --> 00:24:50.120 the highest 00:24:50.120 --> 00:24:51.840 and most significant 00:24:51.840 --> 00:24:53.660 has already reached down 00:24:53.660 --> 00:24:54.120 to them. 00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:56.480 They've been at his feast 00:24:56.480 --> 00:24:58.200 so they're valuable. 00:24:58.799 --> 00:24:59.740 They're not lesser people 00:24:59.740 --> 00:25:00.259 than you. 00:25:01.680 --> 00:25:02.460 In fact, 00:25:02.519 --> 00:25:03.660 they're actually like you 00:25:03.660 --> 00:25:06.539 because if you're 00:25:06.539 --> 00:25:07.380 at the king's feast, 00:25:07.500 --> 00:25:08.920 you too were crippled, 00:25:09.240 --> 00:25:10.360 poor, blind, 00:25:10.359 --> 00:25:11.000 and lame, 00:25:11.240 --> 00:25:12.240 living outside, 00:25:12.459 --> 00:25:12.859 as it were, 00:25:12.919 --> 00:25:14.139 until he compelled you 00:25:14.139 --> 00:25:15.059 to come in. 00:25:15.240 --> 00:25:16.919 So it's not some big request 00:25:16.919 --> 00:25:18.219 to humble yourself 00:25:18.219 --> 00:25:20.799 and take a seat further down. 00:25:20.859 --> 00:25:22.059 It's just the truth. 00:25:24.279 --> 00:25:25.740 And you can be confident 00:25:25.740 --> 00:25:26.559 as you do 00:25:26.559 --> 00:25:27.740 that he will exalt you 00:25:27.740 --> 00:25:28.879 because your significance 00:25:28.879 --> 00:25:29.959 comes from the invitation 00:25:29.959 --> 00:25:30.799 of the king. 00:25:32.500 --> 00:25:33.299 So finally, 00:25:33.399 --> 00:25:34.000 what's the basis 00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:35.619 for the joyful celebration 00:25:35.619 --> 00:25:36.519 of deliverance? 00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:37.879 Why is that what our lives 00:25:37.880 --> 00:25:38.600 should be about, 00:25:38.980 --> 00:25:40.560 characterized by all the time? 00:25:41.180 --> 00:25:42.260 That the kingdom of God 00:25:42.260 --> 00:25:43.120 itself is what? 00:25:43.620 --> 00:25:44.300 A party. 00:25:45.220 --> 00:25:46.020 A feast. 00:25:46.920 --> 00:25:47.780 A banquet 00:25:47.780 --> 00:25:49.640 where the king is intent 00:25:49.640 --> 00:25:51.240 not on getting all those 00:25:51.240 --> 00:25:51.980 who will rigidly 00:25:51.980 --> 00:25:52.760 and coldly follow 00:25:52.760 --> 00:25:53.360 all the rules. 00:25:53.960 --> 00:25:54.760 Who's he intent 00:25:54.760 --> 00:25:55.360 on getting there? 00:25:56.300 --> 00:25:57.700 Those who will celebrate 00:25:57.700 --> 00:25:59.520 his son joyfully 00:25:59.520 --> 00:26:00.880 and passionately. 00:26:00.980 --> 00:26:01.860 That's what he wants 00:26:01.860 --> 00:26:03.400 at his feast. 00:26:03.960 --> 00:26:04.940 He wants his house 00:26:04.940 --> 00:26:06.520 filled for the party. 00:26:06.519 --> 00:26:08.599 And no one who finds 00:26:08.599 --> 00:26:09.900 the cares and concerns 00:26:09.900 --> 00:26:10.720 of life 00:26:10.720 --> 00:26:11.700 more important 00:26:11.700 --> 00:26:12.460 than his son, 00:26:13.519 --> 00:26:14.299 more important 00:26:14.299 --> 00:26:15.200 than his kingdom, 00:26:16.220 --> 00:26:17.039 will be there. 00:26:18.339 --> 00:26:19.379 More from Jesus 00:26:19.379 --> 00:26:21.200 on that next Sunday. 00:26:21.339 --> 00:26:21.859 Watch out. 00:26:23.539 --> 00:26:24.279 But the king 00:26:24.279 --> 00:26:25.480 is inviting people 00:26:25.480 --> 00:26:26.740 into a celebration 00:26:26.740 --> 00:26:28.559 where his son 00:26:28.559 --> 00:26:29.700 and the work 00:26:29.700 --> 00:26:30.440 of deliverance 00:26:30.440 --> 00:26:31.400 that he achieved 00:26:31.400 --> 00:26:32.299 for these people 00:26:32.299 --> 00:26:33.680 is treasured 00:26:33.680 --> 00:26:34.599 above all else 00:26:34.599 --> 00:26:36.240 and joyfully shared 00:26:36.240 --> 00:26:37.459 with all others. 00:26:39.919 --> 00:26:40.819 See, the church 00:26:40.819 --> 00:26:42.579 should be a taste 00:26:42.579 --> 00:26:43.199 of this new 00:26:43.199 --> 00:26:44.059 and different kingdom. 00:26:44.659 --> 00:26:44.819 Right? 00:26:45.519 --> 00:26:46.899 A picture of this 00:26:46.899 --> 00:26:49.439 kind of transformed society. 00:26:49.939 --> 00:26:52.480 This counter-cultural community. 00:26:53.480 --> 00:26:54.459 And shame on us 00:26:54.459 --> 00:26:55.359 when we aren't. 00:26:56.779 --> 00:26:58.240 As we confessed earlier, 00:26:58.759 --> 00:27:00.559 when we don't live like this 00:27:00.559 --> 00:27:02.039 because we've stopped 00:27:02.039 --> 00:27:03.039 seeing ourselves 00:27:03.039 --> 00:27:03.799 as poor, 00:27:03.960 --> 00:27:04.440 blind, 00:27:04.619 --> 00:27:05.099 and naked, 00:27:05.399 --> 00:27:06.519 we better repent. 00:27:07.279 --> 00:27:08.379 Something's got to change. 00:27:08.460 --> 00:27:09.159 It's not the way 00:27:09.159 --> 00:27:10.460 the kingdom works. 00:27:11.619 --> 00:27:12.399 We heard on the video, 00:27:12.559 --> 00:27:13.440 if we don't love 00:27:13.440 --> 00:27:14.000 our neighbors, 00:27:14.139 --> 00:27:14.659 there's something 00:27:14.659 --> 00:27:16.179 we're missing about God 00:27:16.179 --> 00:27:17.980 and how he throws a party. 00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:19.879 The gospel 00:27:19.879 --> 00:27:20.799 is what drives us 00:27:20.799 --> 00:27:22.019 to throw the kind of parties 00:27:22.019 --> 00:27:23.379 that we've been invited to. 00:27:23.919 --> 00:27:24.200 Right? 00:27:24.919 --> 00:27:25.700 The gospel 00:27:25.700 --> 00:27:26.720 is what drives us 00:27:26.720 --> 00:27:27.659 to make strangers 00:27:27.659 --> 00:27:28.440 family, 00:27:28.440 --> 00:27:29.900 to find our neighbors 00:27:29.900 --> 00:27:30.519 to be both 00:27:30.519 --> 00:27:32.080 those we naturally run into 00:27:32.080 --> 00:27:33.440 and those 00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:34.240 we intentionally 00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:35.100 go out of our way 00:27:35.100 --> 00:27:35.900 to run into. 00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:38.200 To seek the flourishing 00:27:38.200 --> 00:27:39.019 of others 00:27:39.019 --> 00:27:39.960 of different races 00:27:39.960 --> 00:27:41.960 or socioeconomic levels, 00:27:42.200 --> 00:27:42.940 even on the back 00:27:42.940 --> 00:27:44.259 of my property value 00:27:44.259 --> 00:27:45.500 because of the gospel. 00:27:46.480 --> 00:27:48.960 God did all this first. 00:27:50.180 --> 00:27:51.420 Jesus rescues sinners. 00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:53.000 He restores them 00:27:53.000 --> 00:27:53.840 to relationship 00:27:53.840 --> 00:27:54.620 with the Father 00:27:54.620 --> 00:27:56.360 and then empowers them 00:27:56.360 --> 00:27:57.320 by his Holy Spirit 00:27:57.319 --> 00:27:58.720 to go transform society. 00:27:59.460 --> 00:28:00.779 That's the gospel. 00:28:02.139 --> 00:28:02.980 So we find 00:28:02.980 --> 00:28:04.439 this transformed society 00:28:04.439 --> 00:28:05.259 to begin where? 00:28:06.079 --> 00:28:07.079 Not with us 00:28:07.079 --> 00:28:09.119 walking out of church 00:28:09.119 --> 00:28:10.259 to change the world 00:28:10.259 --> 00:28:11.579 in our own strength, 00:28:12.039 --> 00:28:14.519 but with our Father 00:28:14.519 --> 00:28:16.439 who began it all 00:28:16.439 --> 00:28:17.200 reaching out 00:28:17.200 --> 00:28:18.220 to rescue us 00:28:18.220 --> 00:28:19.399 and pull us 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:20.980 into the kingdom celebration 00:28:20.980 --> 00:28:22.519 that transforms 00:28:22.519 --> 00:28:24.139 all of society. 00:28:24.140 --> 00:28:25.720 that's the true 00:28:25.720 --> 00:28:27.580 and social gospel 00:28:27.580 --> 00:28:29.259 and don't let anyone 00:28:29.259 --> 00:28:30.120 take the social 00:28:30.120 --> 00:28:30.920 away from you 00:28:30.920 --> 00:28:32.320 and don't let anyone 00:28:32.320 --> 00:28:33.120 take the gospel 00:28:33.120 --> 00:28:33.900 away from you. 00:28:33.940 --> 00:28:34.120 Amen? 00:28:35.940 --> 00:28:36.860 That's the good news 00:28:36.860 --> 00:28:37.420 of Jesus. 00:28:38.140 --> 00:28:38.900 Not of us. 00:28:39.520 --> 00:28:40.080 It's not the good news 00:28:40.080 --> 00:28:40.520 of me 00:28:40.520 --> 00:28:42.140 or my gifts 00:28:42.140 --> 00:28:43.060 that I bring to society. 00:28:43.160 --> 00:28:43.640 It's the good news 00:28:43.640 --> 00:28:44.240 of Jesus 00:28:44.240 --> 00:28:45.759 that comes and rescues us 00:28:45.759 --> 00:28:46.680 and changes everything. 00:28:47.600 --> 00:28:49.360 And it's that good news 00:28:49.360 --> 00:28:51.960 that is why we come here. 00:28:51.960 --> 00:28:53.140 Is it any wonder 00:28:53.140 --> 00:28:54.600 that the picture 00:28:54.600 --> 00:28:55.259 of the kingdom 00:28:55.259 --> 00:28:56.100 that God has given 00:28:56.100 --> 00:28:56.840 his people 00:28:56.840 --> 00:28:58.200 is a meal? 00:28:59.380 --> 00:29:00.180 A feast. 00:29:00.559 --> 00:29:02.039 A feast that celebrates 00:29:02.039 --> 00:29:03.079 the person and work 00:29:03.079 --> 00:29:03.759 of Jesus. 00:29:04.880 --> 00:29:05.600 Elders and ushers, 00:29:05.680 --> 00:29:06.340 you can hang tight 00:29:06.340 --> 00:29:07.160 for just a second. 00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:08.340 I know I walked down here 00:29:08.340 --> 00:29:09.340 but I'm not done yet 00:29:09.340 --> 00:29:10.500 and I want you to hear this. 00:29:11.380 --> 00:29:12.279 I promise I'll pray 00:29:12.279 --> 00:29:12.840 in just a minute 00:29:12.840 --> 00:29:13.720 and you can move then. 00:29:16.700 --> 00:29:17.759 See that the kingdom 00:29:17.759 --> 00:29:18.500 of God 00:29:18.500 --> 00:29:20.460 as a celebratory feast 00:29:20.460 --> 00:29:22.039 is a theme in the Bible 00:29:22.039 --> 00:29:23.759 from cover to cover 00:29:23.759 --> 00:29:25.559 where meals in the Bible 00:29:25.559 --> 00:29:27.340 are such a powerful picture 00:29:27.340 --> 00:29:28.519 of inclusion 00:29:28.519 --> 00:29:30.420 and significance 00:29:30.420 --> 00:29:32.160 and I won't give you 00:29:32.160 --> 00:29:32.940 all the examples 00:29:32.940 --> 00:29:34.039 for sake of time 00:29:34.039 --> 00:29:34.880 but just a couple. 00:29:35.319 --> 00:29:36.340 All the way back 00:29:36.340 --> 00:29:37.500 to Mount Sinai 00:29:37.500 --> 00:29:38.740 in Exodus 00:29:38.740 --> 00:29:40.400 when God has delivered 00:29:40.400 --> 00:29:41.640 his people from Egypt 00:29:41.640 --> 00:29:43.240 but they've already 00:29:43.240 --> 00:29:44.440 started to rebel 00:29:44.440 --> 00:29:46.180 and to engage 00:29:46.180 --> 00:29:47.740 in rampant idolatry. 00:29:47.740 --> 00:29:50.440 when God establishes 00:29:50.440 --> 00:29:51.000 what it's like 00:29:51.000 --> 00:29:51.539 for them to have 00:29:51.539 --> 00:29:52.620 this special relationship 00:29:52.620 --> 00:29:53.039 with him 00:29:53.039 --> 00:29:53.680 you know what he does? 00:29:54.200 --> 00:29:55.120 He invites Moses 00:29:55.120 --> 00:29:55.700 and Aaron 00:29:55.700 --> 00:29:56.519 and his sons 00:29:56.519 --> 00:29:57.660 and 70 elders 00:29:57.660 --> 00:29:58.779 up to have dinner. 00:29:59.960 --> 00:30:00.680 These people 00:30:00.680 --> 00:30:02.059 who deserve to be run off 00:30:02.059 --> 00:30:03.220 from God's presence 00:30:03.220 --> 00:30:05.120 he eats 00:30:05.120 --> 00:30:06.539 and drinks 00:30:06.539 --> 00:30:08.160 with them. 00:30:09.099 --> 00:30:10.319 You know when Jesus comes 00:30:10.319 --> 00:30:10.920 what does he do? 00:30:11.160 --> 00:30:12.059 He's known for eating 00:30:12.059 --> 00:30:12.579 and drinking 00:30:12.579 --> 00:30:13.880 with tax collectors 00:30:13.880 --> 00:30:14.480 and sinners 00:30:14.480 --> 00:30:16.279 inviting into relationship 00:30:16.279 --> 00:30:17.319 those who others 00:30:17.319 --> 00:30:18.500 are running off 00:30:18.500 --> 00:30:20.220 and so it's 00:30:20.220 --> 00:30:21.000 because of that 00:30:21.000 --> 00:30:22.519 that in 1 Corinthians 11 00:30:22.519 --> 00:30:23.839 when Paul is talking 00:30:23.839 --> 00:30:24.960 about this table 00:30:24.960 --> 00:30:26.139 the Lord's Supper 00:30:26.139 --> 00:30:27.759 he says to the Corinthians 00:30:27.759 --> 00:30:28.899 y'all aren't even 00:30:28.899 --> 00:30:30.079 eating the Lord's Supper 00:30:30.079 --> 00:30:30.680 you know why? 00:30:31.180 --> 00:30:32.319 Because the rich 00:30:32.319 --> 00:30:33.000 are getting there 00:30:33.000 --> 00:30:33.940 and getting drunk 00:30:33.940 --> 00:30:34.779 and the poor 00:30:34.779 --> 00:30:35.639 are going hungry 00:30:35.639 --> 00:30:36.960 in the back room 00:30:36.960 --> 00:30:37.660 that doesn't get 00:30:37.660 --> 00:30:38.500 the real food. 00:30:38.500 --> 00:30:40.299 You're not eating together 00:30:40.299 --> 00:30:41.279 and considering 00:30:41.279 --> 00:30:42.119 each other. 00:30:43.779 --> 00:30:45.160 That's how important 00:30:45.160 --> 00:30:45.839 it is 00:30:45.839 --> 00:30:46.859 that you create 00:30:46.859 --> 00:30:48.199 that kind of community 00:30:48.199 --> 00:30:49.419 with each other 00:30:49.419 --> 00:30:50.740 they must wait 00:30:50.740 --> 00:30:51.699 and consider each other 00:30:51.699 --> 00:30:52.699 around God's table 00:30:52.699 --> 00:30:53.720 and that's what we're 00:30:53.720 --> 00:30:54.559 going to do 00:30:54.559 --> 00:30:55.359 and why we gather 00:30:55.359 --> 00:30:56.799 here this morning. 00:30:57.720 --> 00:30:58.599 But before we do 00:30:58.599 --> 00:30:59.199 one more 00:30:59.199 --> 00:31:00.980 glorious passage 00:31:00.980 --> 00:31:02.159 that tells us 00:31:02.159 --> 00:31:02.879 this dinner 00:31:02.879 --> 00:31:04.119 is a rehearsal dinner 00:31:04.119 --> 00:31:06.099 that we're practicing 00:31:06.099 --> 00:31:06.919 as it were 00:31:06.919 --> 00:31:08.579 for the great banquet 00:31:08.579 --> 00:31:09.599 coming one day 00:31:09.599 --> 00:31:11.079 Isaiah prophesies 00:31:11.079 --> 00:31:12.519 about that feast 00:31:12.519 --> 00:31:13.919 on this mountain 00:31:13.920 --> 00:31:15.240 the Lord of hosts 00:31:15.240 --> 00:31:15.820 will make 00:31:15.820 --> 00:31:17.160 for all peoples 00:31:17.160 --> 00:31:18.560 for the nations 00:31:18.560 --> 00:31:20.000 for the Gentiles 00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:20.880 what's he going to 00:31:20.880 --> 00:31:21.400 make for them? 00:31:21.779 --> 00:31:22.400 A feast 00:31:22.400 --> 00:31:23.680 of rich food 00:31:23.680 --> 00:31:24.680 a feast 00:31:24.680 --> 00:31:26.320 of well-aged wine 00:31:26.320 --> 00:31:27.539 of rich food 00:31:27.539 --> 00:31:28.320 full of marrow 00:31:28.320 --> 00:31:29.420 of aged wine 00:31:29.420 --> 00:31:30.360 well refined 00:31:30.360 --> 00:31:31.560 and he will 00:31:31.560 --> 00:31:32.380 swallow up 00:31:32.380 --> 00:31:33.039 on this mountain 00:31:33.039 --> 00:31:33.660 the covering 00:31:33.660 --> 00:31:34.320 that is cast 00:31:34.320 --> 00:31:35.320 over all peoples 00:31:35.320 --> 00:31:36.480 the veil spread 00:31:36.480 --> 00:31:37.300 over all nations 00:31:37.300 --> 00:31:38.200 he will swallow 00:31:38.200 --> 00:31:39.860 up death 00:31:39.860 --> 00:31:41.200 forever 00:31:41.200 --> 00:31:42.500 and the Lord God 00:31:42.500 --> 00:31:43.240 will wipe away 00:31:43.240 --> 00:31:43.920 tears 00:31:43.920 --> 00:31:45.279 from all faces 00:31:45.279 --> 00:31:46.340 and the reproach 00:31:46.340 --> 00:31:47.000 of his people 00:31:47.000 --> 00:31:48.080 he will take away 00:31:48.080 --> 00:31:48.940 from all the earth 00:31:48.940 --> 00:31:49.799 for the Lord 00:31:49.799 --> 00:31:50.519 has spoken 00:31:50.519 --> 00:31:51.900 it will be said 00:31:51.900 --> 00:31:53.019 on that day 00:31:53.019 --> 00:31:54.100 behold 00:31:54.100 --> 00:31:55.500 this is our God 00:31:55.500 --> 00:31:56.480 we have waited 00:31:56.480 --> 00:31:57.059 for him 00:31:57.059 --> 00:31:57.940 that he might 00:31:57.940 --> 00:31:58.740 save us 00:31:58.740 --> 00:32:00.380 this is the Lord 00:32:00.380 --> 00:32:01.660 we have waited 00:32:01.660 --> 00:32:02.259 for him 00:32:02.259 --> 00:32:03.640 let us be glad 00:32:03.640 --> 00:32:04.819 and rejoice 00:32:04.819 --> 00:32:06.299 in his salvation 00:32:06.299 --> 00:32:07.460 that's what happens 00:32:07.460 --> 00:32:08.100 at that table 00:32:08.100 --> 00:32:09.319 at that wedding supper 00:32:09.319 --> 00:32:09.640 right? 00:32:09.640 --> 00:32:11.640 death is swallowed up 00:32:11.640 --> 00:32:13.060 tears are wiped away 00:32:13.060 --> 00:32:14.180 we rejoice 00:32:14.180 --> 00:32:14.880 and say 00:32:14.880 --> 00:32:15.940 this is the God 00:32:15.940 --> 00:32:16.780 we have been waiting 00:32:16.780 --> 00:32:18.380 for to deliver us 00:32:18.380 --> 00:32:21.700 that's the feast 00:32:21.700 --> 00:32:22.360 you need to be 00:32:22.360 --> 00:32:23.340 dreaming about 00:32:23.340 --> 00:32:24.540 as you come 00:32:24.540 --> 00:32:25.160 to this one 00:32:25.160 --> 00:32:28.540 one last thing 00:32:28.540 --> 00:32:31.360 that's actually 00:32:31.360 --> 00:32:32.300 the true significance 00:32:32.300 --> 00:32:34.680 that you long for 00:32:34.680 --> 00:32:35.900 it's not that 00:32:35.900 --> 00:32:36.600 you don't matter 00:32:36.600 --> 00:32:37.720 you actually get 00:32:37.720 --> 00:32:38.759 that true significance 00:32:38.759 --> 00:32:39.759 you know how 00:32:39.759 --> 00:32:42.099 who you sit by 00:32:42.099 --> 00:32:44.680 by being invited 00:32:44.680 --> 00:32:45.480 by the king 00:32:45.480 --> 00:32:46.259 of creation 00:32:46.259 --> 00:32:48.019 the most high God 00:32:48.019 --> 00:32:49.259 to sit at his table 00:32:49.259 --> 00:32:50.400 and look him 00:32:50.400 --> 00:32:51.000 in the eye 00:32:51.000 --> 00:32:52.460 and sit next to him 00:32:52.460 --> 00:32:53.299 and eat 00:32:53.299 --> 00:32:54.240 and drink 00:32:54.240 --> 00:32:55.519 a rich feast 00:32:55.519 --> 00:32:56.119 with him 00:32:56.119 --> 00:32:57.019 forever 00:32:57.019 --> 00:32:59.079 that's where 00:32:59.079 --> 00:32:59.980 your significance 00:32:59.980 --> 00:33:00.859 comes from 00:33:00.859 --> 00:33:01.579 so you can throw 00:33:01.579 --> 00:33:02.359 parties the way 00:33:02.359 --> 00:33:03.339 God throws parties 00:33:03.339 --> 00:33:04.779 and not even risk 00:33:04.779 --> 00:33:05.779 losing your significance 00:33:05.779 --> 00:33:07.059 nothing can take 00:33:07.059 --> 00:33:08.000 that away from you 00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:10.039 you get to invite 00:33:10.039 --> 00:33:10.920 other people into that 00:33:10.920 --> 00:33:11.839 as one who 00:33:11.839 --> 00:33:13.519 whose eternal significance 00:33:13.519 --> 00:33:14.299 is secure 00:33:14.299 --> 00:33:15.599 you get to share 00:33:15.599 --> 00:33:16.279 with others 00:33:16.279 --> 00:33:17.799 what it means 00:33:17.799 --> 00:33:18.740 to be invited in 00:33:18.740 --> 00:33:19.640 and have a taste 00:33:19.640 --> 00:33:21.059 of the king's feast 00:33:21.059 --> 00:33:22.640 let's pray 00:33:22.640 --> 00:33:23.279 and we'll celebrate 00:33:23.279 --> 00:33:23.980 this together 00:33:23.980 --> 00:33:27.180 Jesus thank you 00:33:27.180 --> 00:33:28.680 thank you that you 00:33:28.680 --> 00:33:29.440 gave yourself 00:33:29.440 --> 00:33:30.619 thank you that you 00:33:30.619 --> 00:33:31.400 gave us 00:33:31.400 --> 00:33:33.079 simple elements 00:33:33.079 --> 00:33:34.079 like bread 00:33:34.079 --> 00:33:35.220 bread and wine 00:33:35.220 --> 00:33:36.699 to remind us 00:33:36.699 --> 00:33:38.619 that we're invited 00:33:38.619 --> 00:33:40.939 to the feast 00:33:40.939 --> 00:33:42.740 it's the only way 00:33:42.740 --> 00:33:43.559 we could get in 00:33:43.559 --> 00:33:45.220 by you giving your life 00:33:45.220 --> 00:33:45.919 for us 00:33:45.919 --> 00:33:48.339 swallowing death 00:33:48.339 --> 00:33:48.960 forever 00:33:48.960 --> 00:33:51.000 and so we rejoice 00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:52.339 and we come to celebrate 00:33:52.339 --> 00:33:54.779 remind us of that 00:33:54.779 --> 00:33:55.699 and give us joy in it 00:33:55.699 --> 00:33:56.960 we ask in Jesus name 00:33:56.960 --> 00:33:58.039 amen 00:33:58.039 --> 00:34:03.299 for more information 00:34:03.299 --> 00:34:04.579 visit us online 00:34:04.579 --> 00:34:05.879 at southwood.org 00:34:05.879 --> 00:34:07.039 you