Services | Parables of the Dinner Guests

Bulletin

---

Scritpures

---

Transcript of Service

Hey man, we're here today. Not because were religious.

We're here today not because of my scintillating speaking ability, but because we have a relationship with one because he lives.

I can face whatever insurgente there is, and so we're going to talk a little more about him and his teaching. And so if you'll turn with me too.

Luke chapter

14, starting with verse one.

Jesus, it's it's interesting. He always seems to get invitations to eat at homes of people who don't like him.

So I guess some.

He can run. The pastors can relate to him because often they are invited to homes to people who don't like them annually. On the menu is roast pastor and so Jesus is very well acquainted with this and so. But notice he we don't ever see that he declined the invitation.

Even though that the Pharisees and Sadducees and the scribes and the lawyers are opposed to him and seek.

And have sought to stone him into do away with him. He continues to Minister unto them, and because he does, that he continues to minister to you and mean, and so in verse one through 6 it says this. And it happened that when he went into the House of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching him closely. You know, for you and I would probably be very uncomfortable with that, you know.

No, everything we do you know, do we take the right fork and and do we know what we're doing and they're watching it very closely?

And there in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy. Now that's not a word word really familiar with. It's basically a disease that has fluid retention. And so if if you've ever had fluid retention, you know how uncomfortable and painful and difficult that could be. And Jesus answered and spoke to the lawyers and the Pharisees saying, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?

Now he's asking the question that he's already demonstrated what he thinks of the answer. He thinks of. The answer is that it, yes, it is. Not only is he the Lord of the Sabbath, but at the word says that we are to do good on the Sabbath and there are some exceptions. If you will, from not working and he is laid those out. And so he asked them before they before he does what he intends to do.

So after asking the question but they kept silent.

Now, this is probably the first smart thing that they've ever done.

There is a saying that says that it is better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you're a fool. Then open your mouth and rid all doubt and so here there just well and quite frankly, every time that they've had a discussion with Jesus or we might call a debate, Jesus has mopped the floor with them and so much so that not only do they realize that Jesus far exceeded their abilities.

We saw in other times when the crowds said, yeah, he's right, you leaders are wrong and so they do the smart thing and just keep quiet.

And he took hold of him. Notice Jesus has healed in a number of ways. He is spoken. He has touched. He is made mud. He is done, all kinds of things. But we see in this so that it is clear that he is doing something other than speaking. He takes hold of him and healed him, and sent him away.

Then ask him to say for dinner. He said I don't want the controversy too and evolve around you. So go ahead and leave God's already done something for you. Glorify God elsewhere.

And he said to them.

Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath Day?

He's gone.

I'll give you 2 examples, I'll give you the example of your son. You probably love your son and in that day your son was your Social Security benefit. When you became old and decrepit, he was the one who is to work and provide for you. So there goes your 401K in a whole. You know, it's kind of like watching the UM.

The Dow Jones form it. OK, so he's going which one are you having? A son? Not only do you love him, but he's your economic survival. You'll get him out of the well, but even more than that, if it's just an ox, something that's a beast of burden, something that will help you to farm.

You're going to be concerned now. Hopefully it's easy to get your son out the NOx and it takes a lot of effort to get a knocks out of the hole. So he says if you will do that.

Then why is it not lawful?

To do that now, I find this constant questioning of healing on the Sabbath particularly interesting, because the Pharisees and Sadducees are always proud of being children of Abraham.

They think that there's confidence in being children of Abraham. And yet when a child of Abraham is in need, an God acts there somehow disturbed by that. Jesus isn't even healing samarian, he's not hating a Roman while he has, but on the Sabbath he's healing a person who is a child of Abraham. And yet there always seems to be opposition.

And they could make no reply to this because they know Jesus is right, but they'd rather hold onto their traditions.

Then the love of God.

And so after this happened, the people are starting to take what we would say our seeds. But in the 1st century they would. They would lay down free people lay down at the table and they would eat that way. And so he says he began speaking a parable to the invited guests when he noticed how they had been picking out the places of Honor at the table saying to them.

Now again, what's happening is it's, and we're going to see in just a moment. Then it's a wedding that'll be a wedding feast that he's going to talk about this parable, and I want you to notice. It's a parable which means that there is not only practical advice if you might say, but there is spiritual advice.

And so in our modern day, when we have a wedding fees, generally speaking, uh, there are some exceptions, but mostly when you go to a wedding feast after the wedding and you go to the reception, there are little placards where your name is, and that's where you're supposed to sit.

Now if you are close to the family, you usually get a better table.

And if you're not close to the family or the family is not particularly thrilled with you, you don't get a good table. You get one behind one of the pillars, and you can already see anything. I generally don't mind going to weddings 'cause there about 2030 minutes long I don't like receptions, 'cause they're like hours long an I'm never thrilled with dancing. 'cause I'm not that great at it, and I don't drink that much. And so I just don't party. So it's just and usually I get stuck at a table that I don't want to talk to people anyway. And so, but you're there.

And you get the idea of how valuable you are because of where your place or.

Who's placed with you?

Like if your place with the family that they don't like.

You can take your hand.

Now Jesus is saying This isn't what happens in their people. Choose their own seating and he's noticing that their choosing the better seats. There were. The seats has generally speaking in their situation. While we're in a bunch of round tables there kind of on tables with a U shape so that people can come serve and so you want to be at the head table. You don't want to be at the foot 'cause you can't hear what's going on. Can't see what's going on an the head table usually get served first.

And when the chickens cold, you get it at the end if you're lucky.

There's usually a chick in an maybe roast beef and the roast beef is always gone and you get like if you like white meat, you get dark knees, or if you like dark meat, you get white meat 'cause you just at the end, and so they're going and there's sitting at the places of honor.

You said began saying to them, when you are invited by someone to a wedding, fees do not take the place of Honor or someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him.

And he who invited you both will come and say to you, give you.

A place to this man and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place he's gone. OK, you went to the head table.

And somebody else got invited. The mayor of the town. Somebody who's more significant in you, and because everybody is taking the better seats, guess which one is left the last seat? So he's going because there's no other seats you made is you may deserve a better seat. But all the seats will be have been taken and so you're going to end up in the last one. So Jesus is giving them advice.

Act

YZ.

But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place so that when the one who has invited you comes.

He may say, do you friend move up higher? Then you will have honor in the site of all those who are at the table with you.

So he gives them advice. He says, you know, take the Lassie.

If they get at the host of the feast, sees you, and doesn't think that's the appropriate place, he's going to move you. And Jesus says when your move from the worst seat to a better seat, people that guy must be well loved or deserved or whatever. And he receives honor. And Jesus says if you take the Bessie and you end up in the last see, you gotta be disgraced. But if you take the worst seat and then you're moved up, you will be honored well, why is it that people take better seats?

Because they think highly of themselves.

Let me give you a little advice at Jesus and almost nobody thinks you're as good as you do.

Almost nobody thinks you're as great as you think. You're great.

And when you have the exception that everybody thinks you're great, you're some great evangelists are some large church pastor. Are you some wonderful speaker to women or men or whatever? And everybody? Boy, I wish I had his or her ability, or I wish I had there ministrator whatever.

That is, when you might have the problem of pride.

Because then you think that you're God's gift to God rather than your been given a gift from God.

And he says, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. Now this is a teaching that Jesus is consistently said because God hates pride. It's an abomination. Him pride goes before the fall, so it says, do not exalt yourself. Be humble, let others exalt chew. And in this case, because it is a parable.

It is spiritually meant for us to learn from.

And so.

I want to speak a moment.

To missionaries.

Who are in the field and they seem like they're not having any success at all.

Order there are passers in small churches that seem like the church does not seem to grow.

Or that there are Bible teachers by their Sunday School or others are small groups. And it seems that you're not having an impact.

Or

you are somebody who simply makes it easier for the church to have service. You do the audio visual, the technology, all those things that nobody sees you do, but yet is significant and important so that the world can see what the ministry is and we get this idea that somehow.

That their insignificant and yet the passers of great large churches or big missionary associations are evangelistic Association or or speaking, tours. An apologetic ministries, which anything OK, God is going to greatly honor them.

And yet God tells us to whom much is given much is required in to whom little is given. Little is required, and so I think.

One of the things that we need to learn from this is that the we're going to be invited to a wedding feast. It's called the wedding feast, or the bride celebrates.

Her savior.

And that's going to be take place in Heaven, and we're going to be in a feast and I'm sure that they're going to be a number of significant pastors, significant, not necessarily in the size of their ministry, but in the size of their mind.

And that surely God would want them to take the place of honor.

But I am convinced the people we don't know people who have been prayer Warriors on their knees day after day, year after year that we've never heard of, and people who have been missionaries who have thought their entire time was a failure, and Sunday school teachers and others who thought that no child ever understood what they were teaching and couldn't wait to get out of the classroom. I'm convinced that there's going to come a time when they're going to think.

At that wedding feast of the Lord, that they're gonna sit at the lower table because after all we didn't have much success.

We couldn't compete with the Mega Churches in the Mega Ministries and the blowhards on TV.

And I think there's going to come a time at the wedding feast when Jesus.

The ground will come to a person or persons that we've never heard of.

And say friend move up.

You're entitled to much more honor than you think you are, but because they have humbled themselves now, unfortunately we often time humble ourselves because we think of a lack of success. We should humble ourselves, not because a lack or betterment of success, but it's be cause that we know that whatever we have done is because God has gifted us.

We save no one, so when there's an altar call in thousands may come. It isn't a great preacher. It's a Holy Spirit that brought those people.

You are simply an instrument, and we're going to see in a few weeks.

That they.

Servant will say I only did what you told me to do.

And so he tells us.

Weather in our ministry or in our day-to-day lives.

Humble yourself.

That others exalt you.

Or Swabey said he also went on to say to the one who invited him. So now he's just not talking to everybody. He's talking to the to the Pharisee who invited him.

When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or relatives or rich neighbors. Otherwise, they may also invite you in return.

And that will be your repayment.

Notice, Jesus says if you hold a party and you invite people to the party and they invite you to their party, you just got repaid for inviting them to the party.

So he says.

But when you give a reception invite to pour the cripple the Lane, the blind and you will be blessed since they do not have the means to repay you or you will be repaid at the resurrection of the Righteous. Jesus says when you invite the poor, when you invite the cripple, when you invite the blind, they don't have the means to be able to repay you in this life. So God says I'm going to.

And let's face it, I would rather be repaid by God. Then go to your party.

I don't care how good you cook, I don't care how good the spread is. I don't care. All awesome the drinks are.

God's blessing in repayment.

Is eternal.

I'll be hungry before I leave the party.

But notice also.

That God is telling us to be like our father.

Because who of us deserve to be invited to his banquet?

We are poor, we're lame. We're crippled. We are blind, and yet he has invited us to his.

Banquet.

So if God so invited us.

Then we should invite others in the same condition as we are.

In

When one of those were reclining at the table with him, heard this, he said to him, blesses everyone who will eat bread in the Kingdom of God. Now I could think this is great.

He doesn't say Jesus, you're right, I'll change my thing the next time I have a reception on invited. He goes blesses the people who eat bread in the Kingdom.

Basically saying isn't it great when we all get to heaven?

But until we all get to heaven, there sealed war there, still blind there still cripple there still blend wine there. Still all these people who need the love of God and yet we are so wrapped up in someday will be in heaven. We forget to love people now.

But he says, isn't it gonna be blessed and it is a man. It's gonna be blessed to eat in the Kingdom of God. It's going to be one heck of a party.

And it's dark and you don't have to worry about curfew.

But forget about later until later. As one person said, We are so heavenly minded where no earthly good.

And so.

This person says praise God, but doesn't change his actions.

And then he gives one more parable about guests at a dinner.

But he said to him, the one who said isn't gonna be awesome.

Tea bread in the Kingdom, but he said to him, a man was giving a big dinner and invited meaning and after dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited come for everything is ready now.

But they all began a likely excuse is the first one said him. I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it. Please consider me excuse now.

There are real estate agents who would love to sell you property.

But almost every agent makes you see it first.

You're kind of foolish to buy property unseen. You see, I'm old enough 'cause I know there now apps online that you can buy a car.

Because you've seen it on your after you go, I like that car nuba. I'm an old guy, I like to kick the tires. I want to see the car I'm gonna buy.

Why don't you want to see the land you're gonna buy before you buy it? So this guy is foolish, but I'm going to go back to him in just a minute 'cause I wanna talk about all three of them.

Please consider me excuse another one said I have bought 5 yoke of oxen and I am going to try them out. Please consider me excuse now. Notice this is dinner time. It's getting close to the time when you shouldn't be working and now he's saying well, I bought these oxen.

I gotta find out if there good. Well maybe you should have test driven the oxen before you bought them.

Just saying.

An and another one said.

I am married, a wife and I'm him pet.

No, that's not what he says. He says. I have married a wife and for that reason I cannot come.

All of 'em gave excuses. Now it's interesting they got invited before the place the dinner was ready.

They seem to all have what we call the California, yes.

The California years is, I'll tell you yes, until something better comes along or I don't want to go.

And so apparently they all receive the invitation and nobody RSVP time not coming.

The only RSVP they're not coming after the dinner was already prepared.

But you know, that seems to be the way.

Humanity is.

We allow.

Things in our life to interfere with the invitation that we've been given.

God has invited us all.

Into relationship with him. He is invited us all to be his sons and daughters. He is invited us all to his banquet and yet there are times when we say please, I have an excuse. Now the problem with, quite frankly, none of these excuses are good. Quite frankly, there is no excuse that's good enough to not meet the father.

Then the one.

And in the in the same came back and reported this to his master.

Then the head of the household became angry. You see God doesn't take this lightly.

He invited you, he prepared everything for you.

And you come up with a flimsy excuse.

So God doesn't take the rejection.

Neutrally.

He's angry.

And said to his slave.

Notice he doesn't say to save, go out and make them come.

He says go out at once into the streets and the lanes of the city and bringing here the poor and the crippled and the blind and the lame. The various people we should have been inviting to our meal. This is who God is now inviting because the invited guests didn't come because they gave excuses.

And the slaves, headmaster, what you have commanded has been done, and still there is room.

So is one we've gone everywhere we've gone to the streets we've got the lanes we've gotten to the small places and we, everybody that we can compel become they've come over there still room for this banquet.

And the Master said to the slave, go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be full.

Or I tell you none of those men who are invited jaw taste of my dinner.

So.

The moral to this parable is this.

The Gospel was presented to the Jew first.

Jesus presents himself to the Jew first.

But because the Jews and the leaders of the Pharisees and Sadducees are so enamored with them being children of Abraham.

They declined the invitation and because of that declination, you and I are invited.

We who are not worthy to have initially been invited because of the rejection by those who should have known who the Master is an except not only accepted but then came to the feast. you and I have been invited.

And he invites more notice. We see only three people in that bided. And yet.

When inviting the crippled in the Lehman, the blind in the floor.

Which are usually vastly more numerous than those who can afford land. Those can afford by Vox and those who get married.

He says fill it up.

And so sometimes.

The ignorance.

And the sinfulness of others.

The sauce being benefited.

Because they proud.

Sons of Abraham.

Declined the invitation.

You and I.

Are not only welcomed.

We are compelled to come.

And so.

5.

Song of reflection is come to the table.

Because he's invited us to come to his table. LA Times, we think about that table as the table related to the.

Communion service, but his table is also the wedding supper of the lamb.

And he calls us to come and he calls those of us who are unworthy.

Who don't deserve to be invited?

And yet, because we can't repay, we are invited.

So I encourage you.

If you feel the spirit.

Hall into your soul.

To not only accept the invitation.

But to move towards the table.

And if you found yourself because of the.

Years of this life, or because of your wanting to get ahead, you find yourself having put aside the invitation.

I encourage you to dust it off.

And say, Lord, I'm coming to the table.

Even though I don't deserve it.

Because I know how much you love Maine.

And all God's people said.