Created For Significance pt 2
Created For Significance • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 4 viewsYou were created for so much more than you are right now... You were created to BE so much more... This world doesn't tell us these things, but God -- the Creator of the Universe -- does! You were created to do so much more than you are doing RIGHT NOW! God created you... God prepares you... and God calls you... Will you answer His call?
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Transcript
How often do you think to yourself, “Is what I’m doing important?” Is it making a difference? Am I significant in the Kingdom of God?
YES!!!!
You were CREATED For Significance!
In his book, When God Whispers Your Name, Max Lucado tells the story of John Egglen, a man who had never preached a sermon in his life before that one Sunday morning… It had snowed and the pastor wasn’t able to make it to the church. In fact, John was the only deacon to show up.
He was not a preacher, but he was faithful… So, on that Sunday morning he faithfully fumbled his way through a sermon…
God rewarded his faithfulness, and at the end of his hesitant, unscripted, and broken sermon, one young man invited God into his heart…
No one there could appreciate the significance of what had taken place that morning. That young man who accepted Christ … was non other than Charles Haddon Spurgeon,… the man who would later be called, the "prince of preachers."
God blessed his preaching and when he was still less than 30 years old he became the pastor of London’s Metropolitan Tabernacle. His sermons were so powerful that people would line up outside just to try and hear his sermons!
That amazing life of faith all started on a cold Sunday morning with the faithfulness of a deacon who had never preached a sermon before that day.
Faithfulness means being committed to what God lets us have the chance to do, whether it looks like a big assignment, or a small one.
Many of us doubt our significance… or, if we can ever even do anything significant in our lives…
Let me tell you: “You were created for so much more than you are right now… You were created to BE so much more than you are right now… You were created to DO so much more than you are right now!”
12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.
You were Created For Significance!
God did not create you to be mediocre… to be unseen and unremarkable… God created you for significance!
BUT… It is easy to get distracted… to get comfortable… to start thinking that you have it all together…
It’s easy to lose sight of God’s Call on our lives… and who He says we are supposed to be…
It’s easy to start thinking that we are “good to go”… that our ticket is punched… that we already have a seat at The Table, and that we cannot lose it, BUT....
Look at Luke 14:15-24
15 One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, “Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
16 Then Jesus said to him, “Someone gave a great dinner and invited many.
17 At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’
18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my regrets.’
19 Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my regrets.’
20 Another said, ‘I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.’
21 So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’
22 And the slave said, ‘Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.’
23 Then the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled.
24 For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.’ ”
This is such an odd story… I want you to see what is happening here…
Jesus has just finished telling them about how they should be throwing a party… how they should act… who they should invite… and then in verse 14 he says:
14 Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.”
This prompts one of the men to to say:
Luke 14:15 (NLT)
15 Hearing this, a man sitting at the table with Jesus exclaimed, “What a blessing it will be to attend a banquet in the Kingdom of God!”
You see… Just the mention of a banquet in the first century mind, brought thoughts of Heaven!
That’s because of an OT prophecy…
7 On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations;
8 he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.
And the Jewish people anticipated this promise… They looked forward to the day this would be fulfilled…
So, when Jesus talks about who to invite to the banquet, this man couldn’t help himself!!!
He is believes this prophecy is about the Jews, and in his excitement, he blurts out: “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the Kingdom of God!”
Translation — “I want to be at that banquet! I want to be at that party!”
And who doesn’t?!?
But Jesus is still agitated at these guys… Look at His response:
16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests.
17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’
18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’
19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’
20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’
21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’
22 “ ‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’
23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.
24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’ ”
This story takes on a LOT more color when we know a few things about first century banquets… so let me give you some information:
Only great people put on great banquets… Commoners (like us) might have a friend over for dinner every now and then, but only important people… only noblemen… invited large groups of people… So, the person throwing this banquet had to be important! He had to be great!
RSVP’s were critical. The process of butchering and roasting meat was time-consuming… and there was no refrigeration, so the host would only cook as much meat as the guests could eat that evening… (You know, waste not want not)
The invitation was important. If you accepted the invitation, YOU WERE COMING! You’d given your word. It was expected! You didn’t back out at the last minute…
The invitation would come days, even weeks, before the banquet… The host would total up the number of attendees, and order up the appropriate meal…
Then… just before the meal was actually served… when it was just almost ready… the host would send out a second invitation saying, “Dinner’s almost ready. It’s time to come.”
Look at Jesus’s words:
Luke 14:17 (NIV)
17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’
“Come, for everything is NOW ready.”
The second invitation had been sent… Everyone sitting at that table with Jesus knew what that meant!
They knew that everyone invited had given their word that they would be there…
But… the people backed out.
Is that us? Is that what we do?
— Hold on… don’t answer that yet… we need to understand that excuses…
18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’
Bailey states: “[That] statement is a bold-faced lie and everyone knows it! No one buys a field in the Middle East without knowing every square foot of it like the palm of his hand. The springs, wells, stones, trees, paths, and anticipated rainfall are all well-known before a discussion of the purchase begins. The purchaser will also know the human history of the field. He will be able to tell you who has owned it for generations and [even] to recite the profits of that field for an amazing number of past years. The few plots of agricultural land are so crucial to life in Arab Palestine [that] these plots had proper names.”
People in that day and time named their fields like we name our pets!
They were that well known!!!
So… When the servant came and said, “Supper’s on!” The landowner sends back an insult: “What? Are you kidding me? I have some dirt that is more important to me than you are!”
The second one says: “Oh! I can’t come either…”
19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’
Again, a blatant lie!
A “yoke” of oxen refers to two… they are matched up and trained to work together. This guy is saying that he’s just bought ten oxen and needs to go check out how well they work together… Who does that?!?!
Teams of oxen were sold in two ways: 1. The team was taken to the marketplace. At the edge of the marketplace, there would be a small field where prospective buyers could “test” out the oxen before they bought. If they couldn’t pull together, they were a worthless team…
The other method was to announce to your friends that you had a team of oxen for sale, and that if anyone wanted to see them at work, they could come by your field at a set time and date for a “test drive”…
A prospective buyer would ALWAYS try out the oxen before bargaining…
Yet this guy is saying: “I know I said I’d be there, but I just bought five used cars, sight unseen, and I have to take them all for test drives!”
How many of us would do that?!
(and if you would… then why not believe in Jesus, why ask for proof first?!)
This insult was even worse than the first, because land was precious, but oxen were unclean animals!
This guy was saying, “Unclean animals are more important than you!”
The third guy is just crazy!
20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’
He doesn’t even pretend to be gracious… he doesn’t even attempt an excuse… He just says, “I can’t come.”
Everyone at the table would know this was a lie!
Here’s why:
Marriages were a big deal! They were announced a year in advance. No one would schedule a party for the same time as a wedding, because weddings involved the WHOLE village!
look at the hosts reaction:
Luke 14:21 (NIV)
21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’
He says: “Fine! Insult me if you want to, but I’m still holding my party.” And he sends his servants to find the hurting and needy people to come to his table…
So the servant rounds up all the street people, all the poor people… all the unimportant, forgotten, and ignored people in the village… But there’s still room!
22 “ ‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’
So the master opens up the party to people outside of the city, on the country roads…
23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.
Think about what Jesus’s audience heard… “God rounded up the riffraff of Israel … and there was still room… So He invited people from outside of Israel… Gentiles… to His party…”
Do you see what He is saying?!
“Some of you guys are going to reject God’s offer of a banquet in heaven. You can do that if you want to. But… know that it is going to be very hurtful to Him, because He will see through your excuses...”
(Listen)
God will fill heaven with or without you.
He is on a mission to fill heaven and He is going to do it. With or without us!
24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’ ”
God’s purpose is to fill heaven with people from all walks of life.
The question is: “Will we be a part of it?”
“Future blessedness (eternal life @ the Table of God) depends on acceptance of the invitation.” — I. Howard Marshall
“Accepting the invitation” doesn’t mean simply “receiving it”… everyone can do that…
We all know people who have “received an invite”, hung it on the fridge, but never acted on it…
(wedding invites are a great example)
We MUST act on it!
“The greatest gift which God. in His bounty, bestowed in creating, and the most conformed to His own goodness, and that which He prizes most, is the freedom of will,...” — Dante, “Divine Comedy”
“‘Come’ is a favorite word of God. It invites, and suggests acceptance… [It] invites response...” — Ken Heer
“The destiny and direction of our lives are not predetermined. We have freedom to make the choices that determine our future…” It is a privilege and responsibility.
Our choices should be governed by Kingdom values and principles. We no longer live to please the desires that used to dominate our choices…
This is why Paul says, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” — Gal 2:20
Galatians 2:20 (NRSV)
20 and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Ephesians 5:8–10 (NIV)
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light … 10 and find out what pleases the Lord.
What pleases the Lord is acceptance of His call!
24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’ ”
Simply “believing in Jesus” — believing that He exists and even that He is the Son of God — is not enough!
Christ expects a Commitment!
16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
We are called to Holiness! Holiness is commitment!
— God knows us enough to know that we cannot be holy on our own… That’s why Jesus came!
21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.
22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law;
23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.
24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?
25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
— Salvation comes through our commitment to God!
John 3:16–17 (NIV, emphasis mine)
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever [puts their complete and total trust] in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
and
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
It’s all about His invitation, and OUR Response!
You were created for significance, but… You MUST respond when He calls!
God created you… God has a plan for you… God has given you an invitation to the table that He Himself has prepared for you…
What will you do when HE calls you to the Table?
When He calls you to action…?
When He calls you to put His calling to work in your life?
We were created for significance!
BUT… I think we have been living for something less… Banking on our “belief”… but holding back our Faith…
Look at the words of Jesus Luke shares right after telling this parable…
26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.
Have we been holding back? Making excuses? Turning down the invitation to do more? To be more? To experience more?
“God, I’m sorry for living this way. I don’t know what to do, but I want you to change me.”
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to spend the rest of my life on lesser things than God’s best for me.
I want to live the rest of my life in pursuit of God’s will for me.
Is that you? Is that your heart?
John 4:35 (NIV)
35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.
Jesus is asking us to “open our eyes”… to look around us… to actually see the harvest right here in Bonham… and to go and do whatever it takes to bring people to the table!
23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.
We have been given a seat at the Table… When we accepted Christ, when we received His forgiveness and committed our lives to Him, we accepted the invitation…
We’ve sent our RSVP…
What will we do when God calls us to be His servants?
Friends, you were created for significance.
That significance is tied to the very plan and heart of God.
Let’s play our parts… Let’s accept God’s invitation to “come”… to join Him… to participate at the Table…
Can we do that?
Can we be bold about our calling?
Can we be serious about our Faith?
Can we be intense about fulfilling our roles in the Kingdom?
Not like the Pharisees… Not to win the “best seats”… But for the purpose of honoring God and advancing His mission…