What's my purpose?

Good morning!

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SERMONS BY HAL SEED

New Song Community Church - Oceanside, CA

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📷Good morning!

We are starting a brand new series today, on three chapters of the book of Luke.

If these three chapters were not in the Bible, our church might not be here today. S

So this weekend, I want to talk you through , and then...

16. If you show up for this entire series, I guarantee you will better understand the heart of our church, and God’s intentions for your life as well.

You for sure don’t want to miss next week! We are going to be together with the whole church at Westminster High School we will have a special guest speaker that I will share more about later.

starting next week we will take apart , , and then for the final two weeks we’ll be talking about . If you show up for this entire series, I guarantee you will better understand the heart of our church, and God’s intentions for your life as well.

Have you ever gone out to eat with young children?

Many of you know that it is my custom to read a portion of the Bible every morning. Usually I try to pick a book of the Bible and read it straight through, a chapter or two each day, until I’ve read the whole thing, and then I’ll move on to another book.

It’s a lesson in patience.

Well, thirteen years ago, I was reading through the New Testament book of Luke. One morning, while sitting at my desk in a church, I opened up .

A teacher at a christian school wanted to point out to her children how they should behave when they were at church. So she started out by asking the children what kind of rules that their parents might give before taking them to a nice restaurant.

One second-grader excitedly said: “Don’t play with your food.”

A young girl raised her hand: “Don’t be loud”.

And so it was that each child gave a their answers to the teacher… except one little boy was quietly sitting in the corner and the teacher wanted to include him in the discussion: "And what rule do your parents give you before you go out to eat?" she asked.

Without batting an eye, the child replied, "Order something cheap."

Here in Jesus has gone out to eat.

Read

Luke 14:1–6 NIV

One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way. Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?” And they had nothing to say.

Jesus has been invited to the home of a very prominent Pharisee and it appears that He’s not the only one to have been invited. In fact I suspect that this meal had been planned for some time – there were many people present.

In those days, it was not uncommon for a man of prominence to have a large gathering in his home. Invitations would be sent out requesting an RSVP (seeking a reply – "are you coming?") Based on the # of replies that were received, the host knew how much food to have prepared, how much refreshment he needed to have on hand, how many tables to set up, and so on.

Luke doesn’t tell us, but it appears that Jesus may have been the guest of honor at this meal. And it also seems that many of the community’s best & brightest had come just to see this new teacher.

One might think that by attending this banquet, Jesus was taking a break from hectic schedule of teaching and preaching. BUT of course, it would be a mistake to think that. Jesus didn’t have the leisure of taking a break. As Jesus told His disciples in

John 9:4 NIV

As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.

Jesus had a limited amount of time to fulfill His mission. He had just three short years from His baptism by John to His crucifixion on the cross. His time was limited and He was not about to be sidetracked by a social gathering. And so even here He is seeking to teach about the coming of his Kingdom - the Church. Even here He is seeking to help people understand what God intended to accomplish at end of the ages.

[Read .]

Luke 14:1–6 NIV

One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way. Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?” And they had nothing to say.

I. I want you to notice whatJesus does at this banquet.

Look at the text:

Luke 14:1–2 NIV

One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body.

Of course, we know that he heals a man, but there something unusual about this healing. Do you see anywhere that this man with swelling "asked" Jesus to be healed? No.

Of course, we know that he heals a man, but there something unusual about this healing. Do you see anywhere that this man with dropsy "asked" Jesus to be healed? No. Well, if he hadn’t come to this banquet to be healed, why did he come? Most likely, like everyone else, he was there to eat. He might have had it in his mind to approach Jesus later, in private, in the hopes that Jesus would take away his illness. But at this point, there is no indication that he was asking for this healing now.

Well, if he hadn’t come to this banquet to be healed, why did he come? Most likely, like everyone else, he was there to eat. He might have had it in his mind to approach Jesus later, in private, in the hopes that Jesus would take away his illness. But at this point, there is no indication that he was asking for this healing now.

Dropsy (known today as "edema" - symptomatic of congestive heart failure or some other ailment.

(known today as "edema" - symptomatic of congestive heart failure or some other ailment.

Body cavities swell and often there was a red blotchiness across the body. It’s uncomfortable and its unsightly, but it was not necessarily a deadly disease. It was, however, an obvious one. Everybody in the room knew this man had “swelling.”

This man doesn’t appear to have asked to be healed, but Jesus needed an object lesson. So this man was selected to receive the door prize at this meal. He’s going to relieved of this discomfort in his life.

Now, why should Jesus do this? Why heal a man who hasn’t asked for help? Because, beginning with this man, Jesus intends to teach this audience some very important facts about salvation and the coming Kingdom.

II. The first thing Jesus wanted to teach was that people are IMPORTANT to God.

You’d think this would be obvious. But, religious people sometimes forget this simple reality – people are important to God. Religious people sometimes get sidetracked doing “religious things,” mistakingly believing that this is what pleases God.

ILLUS: A tourist was being guided thru one of the great Cathedrals of Europe when he felt the urge to ask the guide how many people had been baptized there over the past year.

The guide sniffed and replied "Sir, this is a Cathedral not a Chapel."

Why would that guide think like that? Because, he believed that God was more impressed by buildings and religious activity than He would be by changed lives.

People are important to God. The Pharisees had forgotten this simple fact, because they’d gotten caught up in being “righteous.” To the Pharisee, the most important thing in the world was to keep the rules.

Jesus condemned this type of thinking in

Matthew 23:23 NIV

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

Now, for those of you not familiar with what Jesus was trying to prove here, the issue in our text had to do with a rule the Pharisees’ had about healing Sabbath. REREAD .

don’t care that he’s dying, or that his family will soon be without a father. They don’t care about the pain he’s in or the embarrassment he’s now suffering as he stands in front of them all. He’s just an object to be used to get at Jesus.

Luke 14:2–6 NIV

There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way. Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?” And they had nothing to say.

You see, this meal was being eaten on the Sabbath. And, according to the Law of God, you weren’t supposed to work on the Sabbath. It was a Day of rest. BUT the Pharisees felt that the Bible was too vague on this subject, and so they decided to help God out by defining what “work” was.

You see, this meal was being eaten on the Sabbath. And, according to the Law of God, you weren’t supposed to work on the Sabbath. It was a Day of rest. BUT the Pharisees felt that the Bible was too vague on this subject, and so they decided to help God out by defining what “work” was.

ILLUS: In Jesus’ day, the Pharisees had made a list of 1521 ways to break the Sabbath.

1. If a person walked more than 750 yards, he broke the Sabbath.

2. You couldn’t wear a heavy coat because if you took it off & had to carry it, you broke Sabbath.

3. You could not tie a knot or kill fleas or flies.

4. (And my personal favorite) A woman was not allowed to look in the mirror because she might see a gray hair and pull it out – which would have been reaping.

None of that was in Scripture, but the Pharisees taught that this was how you had to behave to impress God.

But Jesus wasn’t impressed. Speaking of the Pharisees, Jesus declared that they…

Matthew 23:4 NIV

They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

In other words:

*the Pharisees cared more about rules made by men,

than they did about men made by God.

did about men made by God. They either did not know… or they had forgotten… people are important to God. AND that is the foundation upon which the Kingdom of God would be built.

They either did not know… or they had forgotten… people are important to God. AND that is the foundation upon which the Kingdom of God would be built.

Not only are people important to God… but ALL people are important.

John 3:16 NIV

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

This was a lesson those who fought for the best seats needed to hear.

II. Secondly, not only are people important to God… but ALL people are important. This was a lesson those who fought for the best seats needed to hear.

ILLUS: I remember hearing about a minister who had had problems in the church he was serving. So, he sent out resumes to various churches that had openings. One church was very interested in him and offered a very handsome salary. It was about twice what I was being paid at the time. He said, it didn’t matter, he wasn’t going to take the job. He decided to turn them down after they interviewed him.

In the interview, they told him they weren’t interested in growing… all they wanted to do was to have a preacher who would take care of “their” needs. Visit with them at home and attend to them in the hospital. BUT they were not interested in any new people in their church.

God will never be pleased by that type of a church. And the reason I know God wouldn’t be pleased by that is because that’s the type of attitude Jesus rebuked at the Banquet.

Do you know why everybody wanted the best seats in at the Table

BECAUSE they felt they were more important that the others there. What made these seats so desirable?

The people towards the head of the table was taken care of first. They had 1st choice of the food that was passed. AND perhaps most importantly, they’d be closest to the host - and in this case closest to Jesus - and thus stand to receive His full attention.

Which of course they “deserved”. They wanted the chief seats at the banquet, because that was what met their needs at the moment.

God’s not impressed with that type of a person. In fact, in His kingdom that type of individual will NOT BE THERE.

Look at .

Luke 14:15–20 NIV

When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’

Jesus is very careful in the words he chooses in this story. The servant says, “Come, for everything is now ready.” Every person around the table the day Jesus told this story knew that what he was describing was the second invitation. And that everyone who was invited had already given their word that they would be there.

The 1st people invited to the banquet turned the host down… But why? BECAUSE…

a. One man had bought a field

this story knew that what he was describing was the second invitation. And that everyone who was invited had already given their word that they would be there.

b. Another had purchased 5 yoke of oxen

c. And a 3rd had just gotten married.

So then Jesus described the people who renege on the invitation. The first is a guy who says

Luke 14:18 NIV

“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.’

One scholar commenting on this text says this,

In other words, each one of them was more interested in their own needs (repeat this) than they were in the wishes and the desires of the host of the banquet.

The 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, stone walls, trees, paths, and anticipated rainfall are all well-known before a discussion of the purchase is even begun. 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 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 that in Arab Palestine these plots had proper names. (Bailey, p. 96)

They named the fields like we name our pets.

So what Jesus is describing in this story is that when the servant comes to say, “Supper’s on!” instead of saying, “We’ll be right there!” the land owner sends back an insult by saying, “What? Are you kidding? I have some dirt that is more important to me than you are!”

The servant goes to a second home. And at this home, the guy says, “Oh! I can’t come, either.” His response is

Luke 14:19 NIV

“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 oxen, who were matched up and trained to work together. So the guy is saying that he’s just bought ten oxen and he needs to go check them out to see how well they work together.

Teams of oxen were sold two ways in the Middle East. In some places, the team was taken to the marketplace. In that case, at the edge of the marketplace, there would be a small field where prospective buyers could test the oxen. If they couldn’t pull together, they were a worthless team. (Today we measure in horsepower, back then, it was ox-power.)

The other method of sale was to announce to your friends that you had a team of oxen to sell and that you would be out plowing your field at such and such a time if they wanted to stop over for a test drive.

In either case, a prospective buyer would always try out the oxen before bargaining on a price ever started.

In effect, this guy was saying to the party thrower, “I know I said I’d come, but I just bought five used cars, sight unseen, and I have to take them all for test drives.”

This insult is even worse than the first because land was considered precious, whereas oxen were unclean animals. The guy is saying, “Unclean animals are more important to me than you are!”

The third excuse giver says this,

Luke 14:20 NIV

“Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’

Whereas the first two pretend to be gracious by saying, “Please excuse me,” this one doesn’t even offer an apology. He just says, “I can’t come.”

Again, everyone at the dinner table with Jesus would know that this is a lie. Marriages were announced a year in advance, and no one would schedule a party for the same time as a wedding because weddings involved the whole village. If you scheduled a party during a wedding, no one would come.

In Jesus’ story, the great man who is in charge of the party says, “Fine, insult me if you want to, but I’m still holding my party.” And he sends his servant to find hurting and needy people to come to eat what he’s prepare.

So the servant rounds up all the street people and still there’s room for more. “Sir, what you have ordered has been done, but there is still more room”

Luke 14:21–22 NIV

“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.’ “ ‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’

Luke 14:22 NIV

“ ‘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 the city, on country roads and such.

So the master opens up the party to people outside the city, on the country roads and such.

When Jesus describes this part of the story, what his hearers heard was, “God rounded up the riffraff of Israel to invite to his party and there was still more room. And he also invited people outside of Israel, gentiles, into his party.”

What Jesus was saying to those religious leaders was, “Some of you are going to reject God’s offer of a banquet in heaven. You can do that if you want to.

But know that it’s going to be very hurtful to him, because he will see through every excuse you offer.

know that it’s going to be very hurtful to him, because he will see through every excuse you offer.

And God will fill heaven with or without you. He is on mission to fill heaven and he is going to do it.

God’s purpose is to fill heaven with people from all walks of life.

THEN IN

Luke 14:21 NIV

“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.’

"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.’

THEN IN

Luke 14:23–24 NIV

“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. I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’ ”

remember that minister that was looking for a job? I fear for that church that the minister turned down. They had a wrong attitude. A sinful attitude. They had forgotten why they existed as a church. They believed the reason they had a church was so that their needs would be met - not God’s.

Luke 14:24 NIV

I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’ ”

I fear for that church that the minister turned down. They had a wrong attitude. A sinful attitude. They had forgotten why they existed as a church. They believed the reason they had a church was so that their needs would be met - not God’s.

You know, everybody at this banquet knew that there was only one reason they got an invitation. They were there because they were the movers and shakers in the community… they were the desirable people to have at parties. Not so, the poor… nor the crippled… nor the blind… nor the lame.

That was the attitude that Jesus saw on display at the banquet that day.

BUT that wasn’t the attitude that the host of the heavenly banquet was going to have…

Note what tells us to go out and compel them to come in?

Luke 14:23 NIV

“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.

(WHY?) so that my house will be full.’"

I encourage you to pray for those who don’t know Jesus this week. I pray to be able to show the Love of Jesus to someone this week. Not some “sharp”, but open your mouth to someone that God puts on your heart.

Close: We need to realize that our Jesus took every opportunity to tell people about the Kingdom.

We need to realize that the reason He did this was because all people were important to Him.

And we need to realize that in order to give men salvation He had to pray “Not my will, but yours be done.”

So also, we should seek out all people at every opportunity to bring them to the great banquet.

It’s why we have invites to this series, but, more importantly it’s being a light to others. Who are you sharing your faith with. Not simply and invite to church, but sharing your relationship with God with them. Share a scripture, share a kind word, share hope in a time of discouragement. Share a meal, share a coffee, share your heart, simply put, be christ like to someone this week.

I encourage you to pray for those who don’t know Jesus this week. I pray to be able to show the Love of Jesus to someone this week. Not some “sharp”, but open your mouth to someone that God puts on your heart.

And we should be willing to sacrifice our wants and our needs to accomplish that.

Our attitude should be like that John Wesley on the day he was robbed:

Our attitude should be like that John Wesley on the day he was robbed:

John Wesley was a popular evangelist in early America and often rode from one church to another to preach. On one such journey, stopped by a highwayman who shouted, "Halt, your money or your life."

Wesley got down from his horse, emptied his pockets to reveal only a handful of coins. He even invited the robber to search his saddlebags - which only carried his books. In disgust, the thief was turning away when John Wesley cried "Stop, I have something more to give you."

Puzzled, the robber turned back. Wesley then leaned towards him and said "My friend, you may live to regret this sort of life in which you are engaged. If you ever do, I beseech you to remember this: ’The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s son, cleanses us from all sin.’"

The robber hurried silently away, but Wesley got back on his horse & rode on his way praying in his heart that the word might be fixed in the robber’s conscience.

Years later, at the close of a Sunday evening service, a stranger stepped forward and earnestly begged to speak with John Wesley. Wesley recognized him as the robber who had stolen from him so long before, but now he was a well to do tradesman and better still, a child of God. Raising Wesley’s hand to his lips he affectionately kissed it and sad in deep emotion, "To you, dear sir, I owe it all."

Wesley replied softly, "Nay, nay, my friend, not to me, but to the precious blood of Christ which cleanses us from all sin."

So Jesus says, “Listen, I know what you’re all thinking. You all believe that it’s a sin to do good on the Sabbath. But you do good on the Sabbath if it suits your purposes. If your son falls in a well, you don’t say, ‘Oh, sorry, son, hope you can tread water down there until tomorrow! I can’t pull you out today because that would be work, and you know, God doesn’t like it when we do work on the Sabbath!’”

“Come on, guys, if your ox stumbles into a hole on a Sabbath day, you go get your pulleys and wenches and you call all the neighbors to come heft him out because you don’t want it to suffer and because your economic prosperity is at stake. So don’t tell me that I should keep from healing this guy on a day like today. God is far more interested in loving people than keeping rules.”

Friends, you were created for significance. And according to Jesus, that significance is tied into the very plan and heart of God.

I was thinking to myself, “Go get ‘em Jesus,” when God’s Holy Spirit said to me, “Find yourself in this story.”

So let’s all play our parts. Can we do that? Let’s play them boldly, sincerely, and intensely. Not like Pharisees, and not for the purpose of winning the best seats. But for the purpose of honoring God and advancing his cause together.

NOTES:

📷I was thinking to myself, “Go get ‘em Jesus,” when God’s Holy Spirit said to me, “Find yourself in this story.”

So I mentally imagined the scene: one Sabbath day, Jesus gets invited to a party. As he strolls up the front walk, he notices that all the other guests have arrived early, kind of like at a surprise party when all the normal guests are told to arrive at 6:00, and the guest of honor is told to arrive at 6:30, so they can arrange everything before he gets there.

told to arrive at 6:00, and the guest of honor is told to arrive at 6:30, so they can arrange everything before he gets there.

Only instead of everybody being huddled inside the house to surprise him, all these guests are waiting for him out on the front lawn. I pictured them arrayed in a semicircle, with their arms folded in front of them. In the dead center of the semicircle is a guy who’s out of costume with the rest of them. He’s not dressed as nice, so he’s probably not from the same social class as the rest of them.

Upon closer inspection, Jesus notices that his legs, arms, neck, and cheeks are all swollen. The man has edema, or dropsy, as the text says. His body’s tissues have been absorbing excess fluids, probably because of kidney damage, so he’s all puffy. He’s obviously in pain, and he’s obviously going to die in the next few weeks or months if he doesn’t get some help.

Can you see the scene? It’s like a football huddle. All the religious leaders are arranged in a half circle, with one sick guy out front, and way out front is Jesus.

God said to me, “Find yourself in this picture.”

Well, instantly I said, “I’m certainly not Jesus.” He was perfect, and I am far from that I wondered for a second if I was the sick guy. But I quickly reasoned that I wasn’t that guy, either. I was in good health, great shape, and even better-looking, winsome and charming than I am today.

I wondered for a second if I was the sick guy. But I quickly reasoned that I wasn’t that guy, either. I was in good health, great shape, and even better-looking, winsome and charming than I am today.

And since there were only three kinds of people in the picture, I had to take a careful look at the ring of robed guys rimming the back.

These guys were Pharisees. They were highly educated, devoutly spiritual types who held positions of responsibility within the religious community. They had each spent years reading the Old Testament, the Bible of their day, and knew all of its rules and regulations, mostly by heart. They tried their best to live their lives by those laws. And they thought little of people who didn’t do the same.

As I looked at that picture, it was like God’s Spirit said to me, “This is you; you are a Pharisee.”

I had to admit he was right. (After all, he’s God and he knows me better than I know myself.) I was a religious leader. I studied the book, knew the rules, and tried my best to abide by them. I even knew the rules that weren’t in the book, like don’t smoke, drink, dance, chew, or go with girls that do.

NOTES:

📷tried my best to abide by them. I even knew the rules that weren’t in the book, like don’t smoke, drink, dance, chew, or go with girls that do.

I sat there in stunned silence and thought about that for a minute. Then I read some more. [Read ]

Luke 14:7–11 NIV

When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

God had my full attention while I was reading this story, so I was thinking about what Pharisees typically do at public gatherings. In every line of work, there is social posturing. You find it among Marines, who all know quite clearly who is the ranking officer, and who is the most junior in the company. You find it in companies where everyone knows who the CEO is, who the vice presidents are, and who sweeps the grounds. You find it in hen houses where all the chickens know who the head rooster is. They call it the pecking order.

In my line of work, it’s more subtle. Pastors are supposed to be more godly and demurring, so we don’t blatantly stratify. But at every pastors conference I attend, the question people always want answered is, “How big is your church?” And then, if you’ve written books or you do a lot of outside speaking, you get some points for that too.

In Jesus’ day, the pecking order was a lot more blatant. The more important you were, the closer to you sat to the host.

And Jesus, still worked up from the charade he’d just witnessed outdoors, decides that, while he’s giving lessons on doing good, he might as well teach them how to act at a party, too. So he says, “Don’t seek the best seat. Seek the place of humility, and then let God exalt you when it’s appropriate.”

With this part of the passage, God knocked the smugness out of me.

I was the associate pastor of a church with about four hundred people. Our pastor had told us that that meant we were larger than 95% of all churches in America. I felt pretty good about that.

Whenever I got together with other associate pastors, my church was almost always bigger. I almost always got the best seat, so to speak.

And God just said, “Is that what you’re living for?”

It hadn’t started out to be the case. When I first got out of graduate school, I just wanted to serve God and love his church. But it is so easy to let your purpose drift off course or get fuzzy. Over the few years I served, I forgot to ask the question, “So what’s really important? What really matters?”

God was rattling my chain, so I read on. [Read verses 12–14]

Jesus is thinking to himself, “While I’m on a roll, I might as well tell ‘em, not just where to sit at a party, but how to throw a party.” So he says, “When you throw a party, don’t just invite all the nice, safe, beautiful, cleaned-up people who are already part of your social circle. Instead, whenever you throw a party, use the opportunity to invite some not-so-cleaned-up people who don’t know how to

NOTES:

📷where to sit at a party, but how to throw a party.” So he says, “When you throw a party, don’t just invite all the nice, safe, beautiful, cleaned-up people who are already part of your social circle. Instead, whenever you throw a party, use the opportunity to invite some not-so-cleaned-up people who don’t know how to

throw parties. If you do that, God will be pleased, because that’s the kind of party he throws. He’s looking for people to bless who are willing to invite outsiders to his party.”

As I was reading that at my desk there in the church, I was thinking about the people who attended the party we threw at the church every weekend.

You know who attended that party? Nice, safe, cleaned-up, already-convinced Christians.

In fact, all the visitors who showed up at that church were nice, safe, cleaned-up, already-convinced Christians. No seekers were even invited to the party.

I sat at my desk for several minutes, not knowing what to do.

I said, “God, I think I’ve become a Pharisee. I think my purpose in life has gotten out of alignment. And I think I’m involved in a church that doesn’t know who the party’s for.”

And I didn’t know what to do. So I just prayed a simple two-sentence prayer: “God, I’m sorry for living this way. I don’t know what to do, but I want you to change me.”

Friends, that prayer was the initial push that made me fall back in love with God and eventually take this ministry role.

In the initial core building stage of the church, before we ever went public, I shared this story with the little group that was gathering. We all agreed that whatever happened to us, we never wanted to become Pharisees; we never wanted to be part of a church where status took precedence over humility, and we never would again be willing to be part of a church that only invited the already-convinced to the party.

So when we opened the doors of this church, instead of surveying Christians about what kinds of music they enjoyed, we surveyed seekers. Instead of singing songs written by dead Germans, we sang songs with melodies that sprang from our surrounding culture. Instead of developing a predictable eulogy, we wanted to inject art, drama, and dance, so that people who went to events other than church services would feel like they understood what was going on. Instead of asking every person to know where each passage was in the Bible, we would print the page number right on the wall, so that there would be no stratification of spirituality in our midst.

Can you see why we do things a little differently than many other churches? I have learned from and my experience that:

NOTES:

Can you see why we do things a little differently than many other churches? I have learned from and my experience that:

1. God’s Word is powerful. He speaks to me through it, if I’m willing to listen and consider the truth about myself.

2. Prayer is powerful. A little two-sentence prayer changed my heart, my career, my location, my fulfillment factor, and my sense of God’s closeness.

3. It’s easy to become a Pharisee; to get to the place in your life where you think you know what the rules are and then start living as if the rules matter more than people do.

4. It’s easy to get fuzzy on the purpose of life.

5. God always wants outsiders invited to his party.

As we get ready for Verse 2 of our church’s history, I hope you’ll embrace those lessons with me. Will you?

Will you let God’s Word into your life? Will you set aside a time each day to read it and listen for what God might be saying to you in it?

Will you pray? Would you be willing to pray this prayer if your life isn’t perfectly aligned with God’s purposes?

“God, I’m sorry for living this way. I don’t know what to do, but I want you to change me.”

It’s a powerful prayer. Maybe some of you’d want to pray it sort of under your breath right now.

And will you invite outsiders to the party here on weekends?

The rest of Jesus’ experience at the Sabbath dinner is contained in a story he told just before the meal was over. [Read verse 15]

For first century Jews, just the mention of a banquet (like Jesus mentioned a few minutes earlier in verse 13) brought on thoughts of heaven. Because in a

prophecy in the Old Testament, the Bible describes a banquet that will take place in heaven, and all Jewish people anticipated this. It says,

On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples,

A banquet of aged wine – the best of meats and the finest of wines.

On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, The sheet that covers all nations;

He will swallow up death forever.

The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces;

NOTES:

📷The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces;

He will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. ()

So when Jesus talks about who to invite to a banquet, one of the guys at the table thinks about this prophecy and blurts out, “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God!”

Translated, “I want to be at that banquet. I want to be at that party!”

Well, again, Jesus is a little agitated at these guys, so he tells this story. [Read verses 16–24.)

It’s kind of a colorful story. But it takes on a whole lot more color if you know just a few things about first century banquets, one of which is that only great people put on great banquets. Commoners might have a friend over now and then, but only important people, only noblemen invited large groups of people. So the person who put this banquet on must have been a great person. Everyone around that table who heard Jesus tell this story would think so, at least.

Another thing to know is that RSVP’s were very important in that day. Because the process of butchering and then roasting meat was so time-consuming, and because there was no refrigeration, a party-giver would only cook as much meat as could be eaten by his guests that evening. So the type of meat served at a banquet was actually chosen after the number of guests were known.

Here’s the formula, according to the ancient version of Julia Childs:

Number of guests:

2–4 = chicken

5–8 = duck

10–15 = goat

15–35 = lamb

35–75 = beef

I’m glad I wasn’t alive then. Because if they had a party and only 15 accepted the invitation, you’d have to eat goat.

But you can see from this how important the invitation was. If you accepted the invitation, you were coming. You’d given your word.

So that invitation would come several days before the banquet, the host would total up the number of attendees and order up the appropriate meat. And then, just before the meal was actually served, the host would send out a second invitation. As the meat was being cooked, he’d send his servant around to your home to say, “Dinner’s almost ready. Time to come.”

Jesus is very careful in the words he chooses in this story. The servant says, “Come, for everything is now ready.” Every person around the table the day Jesus told

NOTES:

📷Jesus is very careful in the words he chooses in this story. The servant says, “Come, for everything is now ready.” Every person around the table the day Jesus told

this story knew that what he was describing was the second invitation. And that everyone who was invited had already given their word that they would be there.

So then Jesus described the people who renege on the invitation. The first is a guy who says, “I have just bought a field and I must to go and see it. Please excuse me” ().

One scholar commenting on this text says this,

The 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, stone walls, trees, paths, and anticipated rainfall are all well-known before a discussion of the purchase is even begun. 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 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 that in Arab Palestine these plots had proper names. (Bailey, p. 96)

They named the fields like we name our pets.

So what Jesus is describing in this story is that when the servant comes to say, “Supper’s on!” instead of saying, “We’ll be right there!” the land owner sends back an insult by saying, “What? Are you kidding? I have some dirt that is more important to me than you are!”

The servant goes to a second home. And at this home, the guy says, “Oh! I can’t come, either.” His response is, “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 oxen, who were matched up and trained to work together. So the guy is saying that he’s just bought ten oxen and he needs to go check them out to see how well they work together.

Teams of oxen were sold two ways in the Middle East. In some places, the team was taken to the marketplace. In that case, at the edge of the marketplace, there would be a small field where prospective buyers could test the oxen. If they couldn’t pull together, they were a worthless team. (Today we measure in horsepower, back then, it was ox-power.)

The other method of sale was to announce to your friends that you had a team of oxen to sell and that you would be out plowing your field at such and such a time if they wanted to stop over for a test drive.

In either case, a prospective buyer would always try out the oxen before bargaining on a price ever started.

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📷In either case, a prospective buyer would always try out the oxen before bargaining on a price ever started.

In effect, this guy was saying to the party thrower, “I know I said I’d come, but I just bought five used cars, sight unseen, and I have to take them all for test drives.”

This insult is even worse than the first because land was considered precious, whereas oxen were unclean animals. The guy is saying, “Unclean animals are more important to me than you are!”

The third excuse giver says this, “I just got married, so I can’t come” ().

Whereas the first two pretend to be gracious by saying, “Please excuse me,” this one doesn’t even offer an apology. He just says, “I can’t come.”

Again, everyone at the dinner table with Jesus would know that this is a lie. Marriages were announced a year in advance, and no one would schedule a party for the same time as a wedding because weddings involved the whole village. If you scheduled a party during a wedding, no one would come.

In Jesus’ story, the great man who is in charge of the party says, “Fine, insult me if you want to, but I’m still holding my party.” And he sends his servant to find hurting and needy people to come to eat what he’s prepare.

So the servant rounds up all the street people and still there’s room for more. “Sir, what you have ordered has been done, but there is still more room” ().

So the master opens up the party to people outside the city, on country roads and such.

When Jesus describes this part of the story, what his hearers heard was, “God rounded up the riffraff of Israel to invite to his party and there was still more room. And he also invited people outside of Israel, gentiles, into his party.”

What Jesus was saying to those religious leaders was, “Some of you are going to reject God’s offer of a banquet in heaven. You can do that if you want to. But

know that it’s going to be very hurtful to him, because he will see through every excuse you offer.

And God will fill heaven with or without you. He is on mission to fill heaven and he is going to do it.

So the final lesson I learned from was:

5. God’s purpose is to fill heaven with people from all walks of life.

I didn’t know what to do. I had a very safe, comfortable existence in a safe, comfortable church. But from what I just read, I knew God wanted there to be more for me.

And later, as I heard more from him on this subject of the purpose of life, I began to believe that God has and wants more for all of his children in terms of their commitment to him and the effort they put into knowing him, following him, and advancing his kingdom.

NOTES:

📷And later, as I heard more from him on this subject of the purpose of life, I began to believe that God has and wants more for all of his children in terms of their commitment to him and the effort they put into knowing him, following him, and advancing his kingdom.

I didn’t know it that day, but months later I found myself in a newly rented house, and I was feeling the smile of God on me like I had never felt it before.

Here’s the prayer I prayed that day: “God, I’m sorry for living this way. I don’t know what to do, but I want you to change me.” I didn’t really know where I was going with that. I just knew that I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life on lesser things than God’s best for me.

And I have found since then that I have never felt free except when I have been doing God’s will with all my heart.

So with what I have of the rest of my life, I want to live it in pursuit of God’s will.

I want to invite you to join me in doing that. Over the past ten years, lives have been changed, marriages have been saved, children have been helped, people fed, and an eternity with Christ in heaven has been written into the books of over one thousand lives.

And it started with fourteen people who prayed some bold prayers and lived some bold lives. Can you imagine what the next verse could be like if we start it with one thousand people praying bold prayers and living bold lives?

Because, friends, you were created for significance. And according to Jesus, that significance is tied into the very plan and heart of God.

So let’s all play our parts. Can we do that? Let’s play them boldly, sincerely, and intensely. Not like Pharisees, and not for the purpose of winning the best seats. But for the purpose of honoring God and advancing his cause together.

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📷 📷 📷 📷