Sermon Central
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A Party! Invite All You Can Find Series
Contributed by Jim Luthy on Apr 28, 2003 (message contributor)
Summary: We prepare for the wedding feast of Jesus by getting dressed appropriately and inviting anyone we can find.
A Party! Invite Everyone You Can Find
Pastor Jim Luthy
I. Who Do You Listen To?
A. Protesters in Portland
1. Free Speech
2. No right to insist that others listen or agree
B. Listening and agreeing with Jesus
1. Growing credibility among people
2. Ultimate sacrifice
3. Appointment by the Father
II. What Did Jesus Say?
A. (Mt. 22:1-3) Servants are sent:
1. Prophets & Prophecy
2. Speaking prophetically in interpretation of OT and history
B. (Mt. 22:4) More servants are sent
1. Disciples and Jesus
2. Speaking prophetically of present and future
C. (Mt. 22:5-7) Israel rejects his invitation
1. Jesus sent “only to the lost sheep of Israel”
2. They paid no attention (KJV: “thought light of it”)
3. They seized, mistreated, and killed them
4. More prophecy
a) Fulfilled
1) Psalm 118: “The stone the builders rejected”
2) Peter: The stone a stumbling block
b) Foretold: Fate of Disciples
D. (Mt. 22:8-10) Gospel to the Gentiles: “Anyone you can find”
1. Prophesied by Isaiah (49:6)
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”
2. Confirmed by Paul (Eph. 3:6)
“This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.”
3. Committed to Us (Rom. 1:16)
“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”
E. Conclude: Jesus is a Prophet
III. What Did Jesus Reveal?
A. The Kingdom of Heaven is like…
1. A Place of Honor
a) Invited by the King: Cinderella’s ball
b) Congratulations! Oops, wrong groom
c) Jer. 32:41 - “I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.”
2. The Celebration of an Event
a) Rev. 19:7 – “Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! The wedding of the Lamb has come”
b) Looking forward from earth/back from heaven
c) Troubles? Look forward to the wedding
3. A Formal Affair
b) Rev. 19 – “The bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints).”
c) Isaiah 61:10 – “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness.”
IV. What Does Jesus Want Us to Do? (“Many are called, but few are chosen”)
A. Dress Appropriately (As if chosen)
1. Jack Nicholson in “As Good as it Gets”
2. Righteous acts
B. Invite Anyone You Can Find (So many are called)
1. Recruiting for TLC
a) Gresham and Lacey
b) God has arranged the parts
c) The privilege of participating as a servant
2. Inviting “anyone we can find” to the banquet
a) God chooses
b) We have the privilege of participating as servants
