Morning Message Text: Matthew 22: 1-14
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying:
2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.
3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business.
6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them.
7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come.
9 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’
10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.
12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.
13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
Morning Message:
I was convinced that I would be unable to write anything this week.
Sitting at my desk was next to impossible. All week I have been lying around, unable to do much of anything. So, I turned on the news and watched and listened to the horrifying accounts coming out of Israel. I knew that evil existed and was quite prevalent in this world, but I, like all of us, was stunned at the depth of viciousness and utter distain for human life that dwells in the hearts of men. This, I thought to myself, represents total depravity and an evil that can take over the souls of mankind when God is completely absent from their hearts.
Nothing could be worse than the horror that took place and the pure savagery displayed on that Sabbath day in Israel. I was not there to witness the massacre, but in the subsequent days following this horrific act, I saw something even more frightening and of more future consequence for this nation. I saw college students marching in the streets with signs defending the horrific acts of terrorists and blaming Israel, the victims, for what happened to them. Cheering for mass murderers and condoning their actions. How is it possible to see men slaughtered, women raped and killed, babies beheaded, children burned, and think to yourself, they had it coming. These same terrorists who scream death to Israel and death to America, the very country you live in, and you defend them. We have people serving in the congress of the United States of America who fly a Palestinian flag outside of their offices. I got a post on my LinkedIn account with a picture of our flag and the caption said the true pride flag. I responded with what I felt. “This is the only flag we should take pride in. If you find this flag offensive or you don’t like what it stands for, there are plenty of other countries, you can go to and live by their laws.
There is another reason why as Christians we should pay close attention to what is taking place in Israel. I have spent much time studying prophecy. I have learned not to jump to conclusions, but as your pastor and feeling the full conviction of the Holy Spirit to warn you, the end of this age may be very near. Israel is under attack on many fronts and ante-semitism is at an all-time high. Some news organizations and governments are calling on Israel to share the little bit of land that they have. Do you know who gave them that land? Almighty God. There will be a leader who will step forward and make peace, a treaty between Israel and the world that will not be worth the paper it is written on. This leader will be the anti-Christ. Before that happens, if you are properly dressed, you will be welcomed into the king’s banquet.
In the parable of the wedding banquet Jesus is explaining the kingdom of God. Who was invited first? The Israelites: the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God did everything for them. He took them to Egypt so that they could survive famine, and he led them out of Egypt and gave them the land that he had promised to Abraham and his descendants. He showed them and taught them about the coming Messiah, but they rejected Jesus. They were invited first to the banquet, but they had no interest in God’s invitation. So, God, the king, invited everyone, this was his will all along. God, since the fall when Adam and Eve sinned and rejected his Lordship, developed a plan by which all would be invited and have the opportunity to live with him in heaven for eternity. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son so that whoever believed in him would have everlasting life.
Now listen church. This is very important right now. We have all been invited to the banquet. No one is excluded. It doesn’t matter your race or ethnic background; God the king invites everyone to come. Oh yeah, there is just one small detail. You must be properly dressed. What does this mean? Does God really care about my clothing? No, but you must put on the Lord Jesus Christ. This is an illustration; God is not so cruel that he would bring us to heaven and then kick us out. If you are not properly dressed, you will never make it off of this earth. Do you see what is taking place all around you? If you do not get dressed now you may never have another opportunity. When Jesus steps out on the clouds to rapture his church, if you are not wearing the clothes of salvation you will be left behind, and believe me, you don’t want to be here then. I will never understand why this world means more to people than eternity in heaven. I guess people simply don’t believe. I think the biggest heartache will come when every Christian is gone, and the realization sets in. I was invited, but not properly dressed.
In Christ’s Love and Peace,
Pastor Bob
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