Don’t Miss the Party

BAPTISMS

Sean & Hayley Muldoon

Testimonies

Romans 6:3–7 ESV

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.

Read the Apostles Creed Together

Party - Christmas Eve

Vic Bonnard Bday

Luke 13:22-30

Luke 13:22–30 ESV

He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

THE GREAT PARTY.

Bible Passages like this can sound quaint.

“Recline at Table - Abraham and the Prophets - Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth.”

It all sounds a little archaic.

Jesus is basically talking about a party.

A big party, the great party!

Crowds of people, including superstars like Abraham, sitting down together for a feast, which was the ancient version of a party!

If Jesus was speaking today, he might say, “People will come from east to west to play backyard cricket and have snags by the pool”

God likes parties!

His parties are not hedonistic or meaningless; the kind of thing you do when life has lost it’s joy. The thing you wake up from embarrassed about.

But Jesus came and ate and drank and celebrated with people.

And, he promises to do it again. At the last supper he says he will drink wine again with his people.

In Luke 14, he will mention feasts two more times.

And in Revelation 19:9 it says, “And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.””

There is a great party coming. And today’s question is, “Will you be there?”

“HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL BE SAVED?”

A bit like asking, “Big party, or small one?”

It feels like a valid question -

As we stand here, in Adelaide in 2024, it doesn’t feel like it’s going to be a packed party!

It feels like maybe it will be empty chairs.

Like asking your friends, “Will you be there?’

Of course, if you zoom out, Christianity grows by countless numbers every year. The disciples could never have imagined how big the party would be.

Jesus treats the question as a distraction.

His only concern is to say, “Make sure you are there.”

STRIVE TO ENTER

"Strive” = Do all you can, work as hard as possible

How does that square with salvation as a free gift?

Boxing Day Sales.

50% off sale. People getting up early, pushing others aside.

The efforts don’t determine the PRODUCT or the DISCOUNT - You don’t get a percentage point off for how fast you power walk through the shops.

The effort ensures that you get the product at the price.

Sarah and the shirt

Buying tickets for an event

if we careless say, “I’ll come back for it.”

We may miss out. The sale will finish. The door will shut, and then the opportunity will have passed.

The Jews of Jesus day believed they were guaranteed the kingdom of God.

They felt sure that as Israelites they would be at that party.

But this feeling led to arrogance. The arrogance that says, “the sale won’t end” or “I’ve got a guaranteed seat”. I don’t need to strive.

And Jesus is warning them that, at the resurrection, many of them would go marching up to the door of the party, expecting to be let in, only to be told to go away.

Many will seek and not be able to enter.

Because they left it too late. They waited until after the sale was finished. They waited until after the party had started.

It’s very tempting to take God’s gifts for granted.

The Jews of Jesus day thought they were owed entry.

And plenty of people today, who grew up in church, and still turn up for Easter and Christmas, and occasionally read the bible assume that , “Of course, God owes me salvation.”

The gifts and grace of God are free, but we still have to accept them. We still have to reach out and take them.

THROUGH THE NARROW DOOR

“Strive to enter through the narrow door.”

There is only one entryway to the party.

This is not the local footy oval, with a fence you can jump at the back.

The Narrow Door is faith in, and a relationship with, Jesus.

Jesus says, it’s no good standing outside the party saying, “Hey, we saw you. We are from the same place as you.” The party host (Jesus himself) says, “I don’t know you!”

Again, it won’t do you any good to say, “I went to church, or my family is Christian, or “I’m a nice person”.

The host of the party is Jesus, and if you don’t know him, you can’t get in!

In our very soft and entitled age, it’s easy to feel that Jesus is being mean.

Why not just open the door? Why not just let them in.

But there are two problems with that way of thinking.

FIRST - It’s Jesus’ kingdom, and his party, and He’s the VIP.

That means if you don’t like Jesus, or want Jesus, or trust Jesus, you won’t want or like his kingdom.

We often image an eternity according to our own ideas.

We think of playing golf, or fishing or visiting Paris. We imagine “heaven” as just a sort of human paradise.

But, Jesus never promised “Heaven” like that. He never promised floating on the clouds, playing golf etc.

He promised a new heaven, and a new earth. He promised to remake the world, free of sin and with God at the centre.

If you don’t like God, you won’t like eternity with him.

Of course, you will like eternity without him much worse.

SECOND - Unless we repent and follow Jesus, we would ruin the party.

Jesus says, “Depart from me (go away) you workers of evil.

Why was delaying a sign of evil?

When we reject Jesus, and choose to do our own thing, we are really choosing evil.

John 3:19 ESV

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

What stops us from accepting Jesus and obeying him?

Fundamentally, it’s that we don’t want to lose control of our lives.

There is plenty of evidence for God. And abundant evidence of the truth and beauty of Jesus’ teachings.

The question - “What comes after death”, is the main one.

But people ignore, they put it off. Or they tell themselves cute stories (without evidence) of a pretty afterlife.

Meanwhile, Jesus died in front of many witnesses, and then rose again in front of many witnesses -

What stops people from following Jesus? They love darkness.

They love the world - and the world is darker than they know.

“Gnashing of teeth” as anger.

STRIVE to enter THROUGH THE NARROW DOOR

THE FIRST AND LAST

“And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

Jesus is directly talking to the Jews here.

The Jews were the first to God’s promises. They were God’s chosen people. But if they rejected Jesus, they would be last.

They would watch as people came from all over the world to join their heroes, like Abraham, and they themselves would be shut out.

The world runs on hierarchy, who’s who in the zoo.

Who’s the powerful, who’s the popular.

We all knew that popular and attractive person who got invited to every party, an

Jesus gives a warning and a promise:

The warning is, no matter how popular you are now, unless you become a friend of the host, you won’t get in.

And Jesus will decide who gets the place of honour.

I’d like a lot of people at my funeral

However, there are many people who have crowds gathered to farewell them from this life. Huge crowds gathered at the airport, or at the dock waving and cheering. “What a great man.”

Who will arrive at the other end to find nobody there to greet them.

Some will be told they are not welcome - “Go away, I don’t know you.”

Others will almost sneak in. Arriving in eternity by the skin of their teeth.

Jesus repeats this again and again in his teaching.

Store up for yourselves treasure and honour in eternity.

Because many who are first, will be last.

You can get ahead in life, and be famous and rich, only to enter eternity bankrupt and friendless.

And Jesus gives a promise - Many who are last will be first.

How often does the world choose people based on their looks, or their family, or their money or some other thing?

What tiny percentage of the people get to hob-knob at the events for rich and famous people?

But theGreat Party will be full of nobodies. Of the poor, and the powerless, and the ugly and the weak. And of course, some people who were rich and famous and beautiful.

I am completely convinced that we will have never heard of the guests of honour at Jesus’ party.

They will be ordinary people who loved and followed and obeyed Jesus.

CONCLUSION

Today we celebrated two more people getting added to the guest list.

ONE - STRIVE TO GET TO THE PARTY.

TWO - STRIVE TO KNOW THE HOST.

THREE - LOOK FORWARD TO THE CELEBRATION

Looking forward to the eternal world is not (as some modern people think) a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do.

C. S. Lewis

Mere Christianity (1952)

C. S. Lewis