The One Party You Can't Afford to Miss

Great that we can worship once again, here inside our worship center..

We remain prayerful with all the reports of a new wave of coronavirus cases and a surge in the numbers

Trust the Lord..

There are questions..

I believe that God remains in charge, he is the final authority and He remains good.

We say “God is good” and when you hear someone from the pulpit say “God is good” you reply “all the time!”

And indeed this time of the coronavirus is still one of those times when we can say “God is good”.

Theodicy

- Is a Theological construct that vindicates divine goodness and providence in view of the existence of evil.

It may just be harder to see how good God is in these challenging times. These are actually depressing times for a lot of people. Not only from what we hear from the news with the new outbreaks, people dying, the economic downturn, the social unrest,, people are still at a loss how to adjust with all these restrictions in society, the isolation - families cannot gather together, or travel to visit loved ones in far away places.

There is even a restriction on how many people can attend church.. people are like really? It seems there is no going back to our old life.

There can be no parties anymore, you miss those gatherings.. I think even if you are invited, you would think hard before accepting the invitation...except some of your neighbors… ZOOM

But you know what?

There is a party that you cannot miss. There is an invitation that you should not decline

What if I tell you that there is a standing invitation for all the world today for the greatest and most extravagant party ever and there are no limits to the invitees who can attend, and once you are in, there is no need for social distancing and any form of restrictions.. and it is the most joyful and most important party ever to be invited to.

One other great thing about this party, it is totally free! Not like if you are invited to a presidential banquet, that may cost $1000 per plate. This party I am talking about is even greater.

Yes there is an invitation out to that party even today. That party or banquet will be held in the visible Kingdom of God.

Jesus talked about it when He Himself was invited to a dinner party and He started talking about this future banquet through a parable.

Luke 14:15–24 ESV

15 When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16 But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’ ”

I want to faithfully exegete this passage,

Jesus was invited to dinner at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees.. they were observing Him

I love Jesus, unafraid even in the presence of His enemies..

three things took place

He healed the man with dropsy (describe)

He rebuked their choosing places of honor in the banquet.

He rebuked them for inviting only their friends and neighbors.

One who reclined at the table with him (talk thru) .. said to Him.. “blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”

and on the surface, while in the banquet with the Lord used this parable to talk of God’s invitation which Israel rejected and then was given to the and their rejection.. talk about this.

But there is a huge relevance for everyone in the world even today.

Let us study the reasons for Rejecting the Lord’s Party:

Possessions

First guy who was invited said I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it

Talk thru acquiring, maintaining, selling

b. Livelihood

Second guy said I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them.

I have to continue running this business, have to grow in my career.

c. Family

I have married a wife, I must raise my family and take care of them.

No reason can be more important, nothing can be more valuable that what God is offering!

No Reason can justify declining God’s invitation to His banquet.

What is the outcome of such a rejection? Jesus said the master of the house became angry and told His servants and invited the outcasts of society, the poor the crippled the blind and the lame. They all came.

When they came the servant said to the master, there is still room.

The master said go to the highways and invite more people and fill this place. For I tell you, none of those who were originally invited shall taste my banquet.

Listen:

There is still room for you and many more in God’s party.

Jesus told the proud pharisees that you don’t automatically enter the Kingdom because you are Jews, you have to accept my invitation..

In another occasion Jesus told the Jews that the tax collectors and even prostitutes go to Kingdom of God before them.

We can say in we can exegete this passage as an indictment to the Jews who rejected Jesus.

However...

If you study this parable carefully, the Lord Jesus told the story in such a way as to show that none of these reasons not to attend the party is actually valid..

They are flimsy reasons that they are also laughable:

First person said “I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. ”

If you think about it, who buys land or any property for that matter without seeing it first? scam..Philippines

Second person said: “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.”

Same deal here. Why would he buy the five yoke of oxen without examining them first? This is like seeing something for sale on Amazon, Ox for $49.99, but if you today there is a promo, you can get a family-pack of oxen for just $119.99, but wait, if you have Amazon prime shipping is free.. but something is not right with this product listing, first there are no pictures, there are no description, no details,.. no reviews..

would you hit the add to cart or buy now button?

It would be absurd.

Third person said: And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’

What’s wrong with marrying a wife? Why can’t you come to my party with your bride?

You see — the picture that the Lord is showing here is not just, the fact that people are rejecting the invitation to His party.. Every reason they gave why they can’t come is a foolish excuse! It is a direct insult to the master!

No wonder the master was angry!

The sad reality is this, according to preacher John MacArthur:

“God is more willing to save sinners than sinners are to be saved.” - John MacArthur

What the Lord is showing through this parable is that this is an intense and very serious issue:

There is no valid excuse to reject God’s invitation:

Why people should accept God’s invitation:

Accepting it is the most important decision you will ever make in your lifetime.

Far outweighs any good thing you can have in this life.

The invitation is only for a limited time.

We may not know the exact day and the hour of the banquet, but you can RSVP while you can

c. Absence from the banquet spells disaster.

You don’t want to think of the alternative

The urgency..

Time is short, yet with this coronavirus time is even shorter.

The invitation is out:

Where are you in Jesus’ story?

The ones invited and rejected the invitation?

The ones invited and accepted the invitation?

Actually there is a third one, you can be one of the servants inviting others to come to the banquet.

I made a decision

Couple prayed to receive Jesus