Grosey's Messages

Call To Worship   Revelation 19:6–9 "Hallelujah!  For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.   Let us rejoice and exult  and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure"— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he said to me, "These are the true words of God."

Law and Grace Reading  Ezekiel 3:16-21   ¹⁶And at the end of seven days, the word of the LORD came to me:¹⁷ "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.¹⁸ If I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.¹⁹ But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.²⁰ Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand.²¹ But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul."

Acts 2: 24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.25 And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again.26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you,27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.

Luke 13:31-35,  14:1-24  Disciples Serve

DISCIPLES SERVE SELF-FORGETFULLY  SELFLESSLY

Those of you of my generation will remember the song by Carly Simon, "You're So Vain." Carly Simon never revealed who she was talking about when she wrote it, but she did date Warren Beatty, who dumped her. And he did call her up after the song and thanked her for writing it about him! The words say:

"You walked into the party like you were walking onto a yacht.

Your hat strategically dipped below one eye; Your scarf it was apricot.

You had one eye in the mirror as you watched yourself gavotte.

And all the girls dreamed that they'd be your partner–

They'd be your partner, and...You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you.

You're so vain, I'll bet you think this song is about you. Don't you? Don't you?

Some of you are so vain you probably think this sermon is about you, don't you, don't you?

Well, if you don't think it's about you, it probably IS!

"What's my P.Q.?" (Pride Quotient) Just check yes or no if any of these statements applies to you:

1. I enjoy being the center of attention. Y N

2. I think I deserve the best. Y N

3. Much of my conversation is filled with "I." Y N

4. I find it difficult to admit that I'm wrong Y N

5. I seldom pass a mirror without looking at myself. Y N

6. I'. stubborn–I don't like to be corrected or change! Y N

7. My feelings are easily hurt. Y N

8. I am impatient with other people's mistakes. Y N

9. I don't get enough appreciation for all that I do. Y N

10. I'm offended if I render a service and don't receive a "thank you." Y N

11. I seldom ask for help, because I can do the job better myself. Y N

12. I feel pretty good that I didn't check "yes" to every question! Y N

If you have one or more "yes" answers, it reveals the presence of pride in your life. If you don't have any "yes" answers, it simply reveals you are lying to yourself about yourself! Pride is hard to see in ourselves, but we can easily see it in others. Another problem with pride is: Proverbs 16:18, "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall."

Jesus was saying the best way to guarantee you'll fall is to let pride take over your life. I heard the funny story about a frog that wanted to go south with the birds for the winter. It was too far to hop and he couldn't fly, so he thought about it and came up with a solution. He got a couple of his bird friends to hold each end of a stick in their beaks and then the little frog clamped down on the center of the stick with his mouth. The birds took off and the frog was hanging from the stick they were carrying in their mouths. They flew over a couple of farmers who observed the scene. On farmer said to the other, "What a brilliant idea! Whoever came up with that idea is a genius. I guess it was one of those birds who had the idea!" When the frog heard that he just couldn't let the birds get the credit for his good idea, so he said, "I…I...I..." as  he fell to the ground. The moral of that story is: If someone else gets the credit for your good idea, just keep your mouth closed!

The problem for most of us is that we don't feel like the Lord Jesus felt when the Pharisees rejected Him.  The Pharisees rejected and then threatened Him.

At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you."32 And he said to them, "Go and tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course.33 Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.

Our Pride gets our hackles up. We are ready for the fight.  Or the flight!   If we were the Lord we would just blast that fox Herod and those hypocritical Pharisees just right out of the water!

But the Lord's attitude is compassionate, not passionate!

DISCIPLES SERVE COMPASSIONATELY  LOVINGLY

'34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!35 Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!'"

Instead of fighting, the Servant Invited people to come to Him. Instead of Passion He has Compassion!

And when read together, that's the next lesson the Lord teaches us about discipleship.

Servants Don't Fight

One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully.² And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy.³ And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?"⁴ But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away.⁵ And he said to them, "Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?"⁶ And they could not reply to these things.

"dropsy"—whose body legs and torso was swollen by the retention of body fluids in the stomach and chest cavities and connective tissues. Such swelling often indicates organ failure. The man was very sick, probably terminally ill. 

The Trap:   They thought they had Jesus trapped.

The Turn:   But Jesus confounded them with a single question: "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?" (v. 3). If they said yes, they would appear soft and hypocritical regarding the stringent measures they required for Sabbath observance. But if they said no, they could be accused of being inhumane and uncaring about human suffering. It was one thing for the Pharisees to condemn Jesus for healing on the Sabbath. It was quite another to take responsibility for denying recovery to a needy person. Trapped, their only response was sulking silence.  "Then he took him and healed him and sent him away" (v. 4). This must have been an amazing spectacle because "healed" here means completely healed. The watery fluids dissipated, his organs healed, the swelling disappeared! But Luke gave little detail because he wanted his readers to focus on the utter entrapment of the Pharisees and scribes by Jesus.

The Teachers Taught

Jesus' second question further sealed their lips: "And he said to them, 'Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?' And they could not reply to these things" (vv. 5, 6). Their Sabbath regulations allowed them to rescue their animals, as did the later Mishnah (Shabbath 18:3). So to forbid the deliverance of humans would have meant they treated their animals better than people.

They were actually proud lovers of self and position. None of them would make it into the kingdom unless there was a radical change in their spiritual disposition. So Jesus went after their souls.

DISCIPLES SERVE HUMBLY

Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them,⁸ "When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him,⁹ and he who invited you both will come and say to you, 'Give your place to this person,' and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place.¹⁰ But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you.¹¹ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Selfishness always reduces the importance of others and enlarges the importance of one's own life. "I'm the greatest, so where is my seat?" "I'm superior, and this place reflects my worth!" They assumed that if they did not get the chief seats, woe betide others.

The fifth-century Leviticus Rabbah I recommends: "Stay two or three seats below your place and sit until they say to you, 'Go (farther) up.' Do not begin by going up because (then) they may say to you, 'Go down.' It is better that they should say to you 'Go up, go up,' than that they should say to you, 'Go down, go down.'"⁴ This was good practical advice.

But there is more here than social wisdom. Our Lord was not concerned that his hearers merely learn to take the lower seat so they would avoid embarrassment and then achieve high human honor when they were ostentatiously ushered from the lowest seat to the highest. Neither was he teaching the Pharisees and scribes to put on a staged humility, so they would be greatly honored above their peers. Jesus hated the pride that pretends to be humble. Rather, he was imparting an eternal spiritual principle that will be evident in the end when everything is made right.  "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (v. 11).

There is something here too about why some take the lesser seats. They are conscious of their right to a better seat and so they would like to be exalted.  But everyone knows that rarely happens anyway. You won't get bumped up to first class by not asking for it. But that is the point. True humility won't ask for it. Leave it with God!  Let Him settle accounts on the last day, or before as He prefers.  Do you really trust God?   He will work it out at the resurrection "of the just!"

"But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just" (vv. 13, 14).  This is a reference to Daniel 12:2 and the second coming of Christ as Lord and King.

 "Hallelujah!  For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.   Let us rejoice and exult  and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure"— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he said to me, "These are the true words of God." (Revelation 19:6–9)

DISCIPLES SERVE EXPECTANTLY!  EXCITEDLY

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.'"

We live in view of that great day!

This parable has two applications. The first is to everyone. Everyone should come to the banquet. Make sure you are really a Christian.  And secondly every Christian is a disciple on mission with Jesus to invite others to the banquet. Every Disciple is outward focused. And the best you can do for others is to invite them to the banquet in heaven.

What can you take with you when you die?  Others!

HAVE YOU ACCEPTED YOUR INVITATION?

The parable begins with a rich man inviting guests to come to a wedding feast. It was a "great" banquet and "many" guests were invited, so it was the social event of the season. Of all the occasions in Jewish culture, the wedding feast was the most joyous celebration possible. This is not a last minute invitation. It was Jewish custom to send an earlier invitation giving the day of the banquet, but no time was set. The guests would have already accepted the invitation, and then on the day of the banquet, the servants would simply go out and announce the banquet was ready. In this parable, our Heavenly Father is the host and each of us is invited to the banquet: it's the greatest wedding banquet in history. It's the wedding celebration of His Son to the Church, the Bride of Christ.

Everything is ready–you only have to come 17, "Come, everything is now ready!"

All throughout the Bible He invites people to Himself. "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)  Isaiah 1:18,  "COME now, let us reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow..."  "The Spirit and the Bride say, 'COME!" And let him who hears say, 'COME!' Whoever is thirsty, let him COME..." (Revelation 22:17) From Genesis to  Revelation, God has been holding out His arms to sinful people saying, "Come to me"  Why don't you come to Him today?

DON'T INSULT HIM WITH STUPID EXCUSES! Vs 18  To decline an invitation from a great man was like a slap in the face, an insult. In verse 21, we are told the owner of the house became angry. God is still angered by the empty excuses people try to offer Him.

An excuse is the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie.

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.'These excuses are lame: Whoever heard of a guy buying land but not checking it out first?  "A man's life does not consist of the abundance of his possessions." (Luke 12:15)

Excuse #2: My job keeps me too busy! The second fellow indicated he just purchased five yoke of oxen, so he was going out to test them.  You and I know dozens of people who don't have time for God because they stay so busy with their jobs.  Are you using your job as an excuse for giving God 100% of your life?

Excuse #3: My family takes up my time! It was unheard of to invite a man to a wedding feast and not invite the wife.  Jesus said you cannot follow Him unless you love Him more than your mother or father, or brothers or sisters, or wife or husband or children. Family time is important. But your family need to have eternal life too, are you are depriving them of that?

DISCIPLES SERVE THE LOST

God's servants must go and deliver the invitation. Every Christian is like a heavenly Postman. God has issued the invitation to everyone–and we are to deliver it everywhere. We should take it to the down who live in the shacks, and the to the up and outs who live in the mansions. It's to everyone!  The streets and byways were the pagans and the gentiles!

That's why we are an evangelistic church. We don't believe you should just sit around and enjoy the party–we want to invite others too. God has told us to GO, so we GO!. Proverbs 11:30, "He who wins souls is wise." Andrew Murray said there are only two kinds of Christians: Soul winners and Backsliders. Are you doing as the Master commanded? Have you delivered His invitation to anyone?

CH Spurgeon- "Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter.

Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you're not saved yourself, be sure of that!"

"Compel them to come in." The Master is saying, "Don't just invite them, bring them if you can!"  God wants us to have a sense of urgency and fervency as we go. God wants His house to be full. He wants us to keep bringing folks into His family. Here, there and everywhere!

When a church stops going and stops bringing people to Christ, they are saying: you can just go to hell for all I care.

And that is a church that doesn't have the Saviour's compassion or the Saviour's favour!

Bible readings  

Call To Worship   Revelation 19:6–9 "Hallelujah!  For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.   Let us rejoice and exult  and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure"— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he said to me, "These are the true words of God."

Law and Grace Reading  Ezekiel 3:16-21   ¹⁶And at the end of seven days, the word of the LORD came to me:¹⁷ "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.¹⁸ If I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.¹⁹ But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.²⁰ Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand.²¹ But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul."

Acts 2: 24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.25 And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again.26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you,27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.

Bible reading:  Luke 13:31-35,  14:1-24  Disciples Serve

Benediction: Acts 20:32  And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

DISCIPLES SERVE SELF-FORGETFULLY

Those of you of my generation will remember the song by Carly Simon, "You're So Vain." Carly Simon never revealed who she was talking about when she wrote it, but she did date Warren Beatty, who dumped her. And he did call her up after the song and thanked her for writing it about him! The words say:

"You walked into the party like you were walking onto a yacht.

Your hat strategically dipped below one eye; Your scarf it was apricot.

You had one eye in the mirror as you watched yourself gavotte.

And all the girls dreamed that they'd be your partner–

They'd be your partner, and...You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you.

You're so vain, I'll bet you think this song is about you. Don't you? Don't you?

Some of you are so vain you probably think this sermon is about you, don't you, don't you?

Well, if you don't think it's about you, it probably IS!

"What's my P.Q.?" (Pride Quotient) Just check yes or no if any of these statements applies to you:

1. I enjoy being the center of attention. Y N

2. I think I deserve the best. Y N

3. Much of my conversation is filled with "I." Y N

4. I find it difficult to admit that I'm wrong Y N

5. I seldom pass a mirror without looking at myself. Y N

6. I'. stubborn–I don't like to be corrected or change! Y N

7. My feelings are easily hurt. Y N

8. I am impatient with other people's mistakes. Y N

9. I don't get enough appreciation for all that I do. Y N

10. I'm offended if I render a service and don't receive a "thank you." Y N

11. I seldom ask for help, because I can do the job better myself. Y N

12. I feel pretty good that I didn't check "yes" to every question! Y N

If you have one or more "yes" answers, it reveals the presence of pride in your life. If you don't have any "yes" answers, it simply reveals you are lying to yourself about yourself! Pride is hard to see in ourselves, but we can easily see it in others. Another problem with pride is: Proverbs 16:18, "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall." Jesus was saying the best way to guarantee you'll fall is to let pride take over your life. I heard the funny story about a frog that wanted to go south with the birds for the winter. It was too far to hop and he couldn't fly, so he thought about it and came up with a solution. He got a couple of his bird friends to hold each end of a stick in their beaks and then the little frog clamped down on the center of the stick with his mouth. The birds took off and the frog was hanging from the stick they were carrying in their mouths. They flew over a couple of farmers who observed the scene. On farmer said to the other, "What a brilliant idea! Whoever came up with that idea is a genius. I guess it was one of those birds who had the idea!" When the frog heard that he just couldn't let the birds get the credit for his good idea, so he said, "I…I...I..." as  he fell to the ground. The moral of that story is: If someone else gets the credit for your good idea, just keep your mouth closed!

The problem for most of us is that we don't feel like the Lord Jesus felt when the Pharisees rejected Him.  The Pharisees rejected and then threatened Him.

At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you."32 And he said to them, "Go and tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course.33 Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.

Our Pride gets our hackles up. We are ready for the fight.  Or the flight!   If we were the Lord we would just blast that fox Herod and those hypocritical Pharisees just right out of the water!

But the Lord's attitude is compassionate, not passionate!

DISCIPLES SERVE COMPASSIONATELY

'34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!35 Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!'"

Instead of fighting, the Servant Invited people to come to Him. Instead of Passion He has Compassion!

And when read together, that's the next lesson the Lord teaches us about discipleship.

Servants Don't Fight

One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully.² And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy.³ And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?"⁴ But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away.⁵ And he said to them, "Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?"⁶ And they could not reply to these things.

"dropsy"—whose body legs and torso was swollen by the retention of body fluids in the stomach and chest cavities and connective tissues. Such swelling often indicates organ failure. The man was very sick, probably terminally ill.  They thought they had Jesus trapped.

But Jesus confounded them with a single question: "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?" (v. 3). If they said yes, they would appear soft and hypocritical regarding the stringent measures they required for Sabbath observance. But if they said no, they could be accused of being inhumane and uncaring about human suffering. It was one thing for the Pharisees to condemn Jesus for healing on the Sabbath. It was quite another to take responsibility for denying recovery to a needy person. Trapped, their only response was sulking silence.

"Then he took him and healed him and sent him away" (v. 4). This must have been an amazing spectacle because "healed" here means completely healed. The watery fluids dissipated, his organs healed, the swelling disappeared! But Luke gave little detail because he wanted his readers to focus on the utter entrapment of the Pharisees and scribes by Jesus.

Jesus' second question further sealed their lips: "And he said to them, 'Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?' And they could not reply to these things" (vv. 5, 6). Their Sabbath regulations allowed them to rescue their animals, as did the later Mishnah (Shabbath 18:3). So to forbid the deliverance of humans would have meant they treated their animals better than people.

They were actually proud lovers of self and position. None of them would make it into the kingdom unless there was a radical change in their spiritual disposition. So Jesus went after their souls.

DISCIPLES SERVE HUMBLY

Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them,⁸ "When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him,⁹ and he who invited you both will come and say to you, 'Give your place to this person,' and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place.¹⁰ But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you.¹¹ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Selfishness always reduces the importance of others and enlarges the importance of one's own life. "I'm the greatest, so where is my seat?" "I'm superior, and this place reflects my worth!" They assumed that if they did not get the chief seats, woe betide others.

The fifth-century Leviticus Rabbah I recommends: "Stay two or three seats below your place and sit until they say to you, 'Go (farther) up.' Do not begin by going up because (then) they may say to you, 'Go down.' It is better that they should say to you 'Go up, go up,' than that they should say to you, 'Go down, go down.'"⁴ This was good practical advice.

But there is more here than social wisdom. Our Lord was not concerned that his hearers merely learn to take the lower seat so they would avoid embarrassment and then achieve high human honor when they were ostentatiously ushered from the lowest seat to the highest. Neither was he teaching the Pharisees and scribes to put on a staged humility, so they would be greatly honored above their peers. Jesus hated the pride that pretends to be humble. Rather, he was imparting an eternal spiritual principle that will be evident in the end when everything is made right.  "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (v. 11).

There is something here too about why some take the lesser seats. They are conscious of their right to a better seat and so they would like to be exalted.  But everyone knows that rarely happens anyway. You won't get bumped up to first class by not asking for it. But that is the point. True humility won't ask for it. Leave it with God!  Let Him settle accounts on the last day, or before as He prefers.  Do you really trust God?   He will work it out at the resurrection "of the just!"

"But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just" (vv. 13, 14).  This is a reference to Daniel 12:2 and the second coming of Christ as Lord and King.

 "Hallelujah!  For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.   Let us rejoice and exult  and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure"— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he said to me, "These are the true words of God." (Revelation 19:6–9)

DISCIPLES SERVE EXPECTANTLY!

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.'"

We live in view of that great day!

This parable has two applications. The first is to everyone. Everyone should come to the banquet. Make sure you are really a Christian.  And secondly every Christian is a disciple on mission with Jesus to invite others to the banquet. Every Disciple is outward focused. And the best you can do for others is to invite them to the banquet in heaven.

What can you take with you when you die?  Others!

HAVE YOU ACCEPTED YOUR INVITATION?

The parable begins with a rich man inviting guests to come to a wedding feast. It was a "great" banquet and "many" guests were invited, so it was the social event of the season. Of all the occasions in Jewish culture, the wedding feast was the most joyous celebration possible. This is not a last minute invitation. It was Jewish custom to send an earlier invitation giving the day of the banquet, but no time was set. The guests would have already accepted the invitation, and then on the day of the banquet, the servants would simply go out and announce the banquet was ready. In this parable, our Heavenly Father is the host and each of us is invited to the banquet: it's the greatest wedding banquet in history. It's the wedding celebration of His Son to the Church, the Bride of Christ.

Everything is ready–you only have to come 17, "Come, everything is now ready!"

All throughout the Bible He invites people to Himself. "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)  Isaiah 1:18,  "COME now, let us reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow..."  "The Spirit and the Bride say, 'COME!" And let him who hears say, 'COME!' Whoever is thirsty, let him COME..." (Revelation 22:17) From Genesis to  Revelation, God has been holding out His arms to sinful people saying, "Come to me"  Why don't you come to Him today?

DON'T INSULT HIM WITH STUPID EXCUSES! Vs 18  To decline an invitation from a great man was like a slap in the face, an insult. In verse 21, we are told the owner of the house became angry. God is still angered by the empty excuses people try to offer Him.

An excuse is the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie.

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.'These excuses are lame: Whoever heard of a guy buying land but not checking it out first?  "A man's life does not consist of the abundance of his possessions." (Luke 12:15)

Excuse #2: My job keeps me too busy! The second fellow indicated he just purchased five yoke of oxen, so he was going out to test them.  You and I know dozens of people who don't have time for God because they stay so busy with their jobs.  Are you using your job as an excuse for giving God 100% of your life?

Excuse #3: My family takes up my time! It was unheard of to invite a man to a wedding feast and not invite the wife.  Jesus said you cannot follow Him unless you love Him more than your mother or father, or brothers or sisters, or wife or husband or children. Family time is important. But your family need to have eternal life too, are you are depriving them of that?

DISCIPLES SERVE THE LOST

God's servants must go and deliver the invitation. Every Christian is like a heavenly Postman. God has issued the invitation to everyone–and we are to deliver it everywhere. We should take it to the down who live in the shacks, and the to the up and outs who live in the mansions. It's to everyone!  The streets and byways were the pagans and the gentiles!

That's why we are an evangelistic church. We don't believe you should just sit around and enjoy the party–we want to invite others too. God has told us to GO, so we GO!. Proverbs 11:30, "He who wins souls is wise." Andrew Murray said there are only two kinds of Christians: Soul winners and Backsliders. Are you doing as the Master commanded? Have you delivered His invitation to anyone?

CH Spurgeon- "Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter.

Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you're not saved yourself, be sure of that!"

"Compel them to come in." The Master is saying, "Don't just invite them, bring them if you can!"  God wants us to have a sense of urgency and fervency as we go. God wants His house to be full. He wants us to keep bringing folks into His family. Here, there and everywhere!

When a church stops going and stops bringing people to Christ, they are saying: you can just go to hell for all I care.

And that is a church that doesn't have the Saviour's compassion or the Saviour's favour!

LUKE 13  DISCIPLES REPENT

1 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.2 And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

This may be the forgotten word in many churches, but it is not forgotten in the Bible; Nine hundred and sixty-nine times we are enjoined in the Bible to repent.

THE MANDATE TO REPENT.

We have had Vaccine Mandates…a Mandate is a command.

Now there were some people who were put to death by Pilate and, there were others who were in a catastrophe when a tower fell on them and they died. And people were talking about it in the market place and in their homes and in the streets. They were saying, I wonder what these people had done that was so terrible, so horrible because they were killed. And Jesus said, do you think that's why this tragedy happened because they were sinners more than other people? And do you think because no particular tragedy has happened to you that you may not be a sinner because you are just sailing along finely? He said no, they didn't die because they were sinners more than others. And you, because a tower doesn't fall on you or some calamity does not happen to you, because you are sailing along, does not mean that you do not need to repent. The key is in verse 3 and verse 5. "Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish."

What is the mandate for repentance? May I tell you that Jesus here commands it, that Jesus warns that we must repent? The first sermon that Jesus preached, the very first sermon that Jesus preached was repentance. That ought to tell you something.  Matthew  4:17, "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." From the time Jesus began to preach, the first words out of His mouth are repentance. That ought to tell us something.

Now that was His first message. What was the last message that Jesus gave to the church? Don't say the Great Commission. That was not the last message Jesus gave to the church. That's the last message Jesus gave before His ascension. But the last message that Jesus gave to the church is found in the book of the Revelation. Revelation 3: 19. "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent." Now doesn't that say something? The very first message that Jesus preached repentance. The very last message that Jesus preached is repentance. Now you may not think that repentance is important but I will tell you what those people in hell think. Those people who are in hell right now, and there are some in hell right now, they think you ought to repent. Luke 16:30. There was a man in hell who asked Abraham that a messenger might go and give the message and this is what he wanted. "And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent." Do you know what the people in hell think the people in this church ought to do? They think they ought to repent. The mandate for repentance is this, that Jesus Christ began His ministry concluded His ministry. Those in hell believe that we ought to repent.

THE MEANING OF REPENTANCE

Many of us don't know what repentance means. Luke 13: 3, "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." Now we need to understand, first of all, what repentance is not so we can understand what it is.

REPENTANCE IS MORE THAN CONVICTION OF SIN

You can be convicted of sin and still not repent. There was a man named Paul. Paul preached to a ruler of his day. The ruler's name was Felix. And Paul opened the Bible and Paul preached so much that this man literally trembled. Acts 24:25. And as he reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, "Go away for the present. When I get an opportunity I will summon you." Paul preached and this man literally trembled but he didn't get saved.

There is no record in the Bible that he ever got saved. I sincerely believe that Felix is in hell. He trembled under the preaching of the Word of God. He was convicted but he did not repent. Repentance is more than conviction of sin.

REPENTANCE IS MORE THAN CONFESSION OF SIN

You can confess your sin and still not repent. There are a number of episodes where men used these words "I have sinned." They confessed their sin but none of them repented.

Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them  "I have sinned this time: the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked."

Now do you think he repented? He said, "I have sinned." When did he say this? When the thunder was rolling and the hail was falling and the fire was flashing through the land. When God took away the thunder and the lightening and the hail, notice what happened. In Exodus chapter 9, verse 34, "And Pharaoh, when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants." He said, "I have sinned." And God took away the thing that was plaguing him and he sinned all the more. He confessed his sin but he did not repent.  I have seen that happen so many times, people who get in a bind. Perhaps a wife will leave home, perhaps a child will be hit by an automobile, perhaps some tragedy will come and they say, "Pastor, pray for me. Oh, I need to do something about my sin." And as soon as the problem is past they go back into deeper sin.

There is another man who said I have sinned. His name was Judas.

Matthew 27 :3,4 Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders,4 saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." They said, "What is that to us? See to it yourself."5 And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself. This was the hopeless confession. It was a confession of remorse. Judas had committed the unpardonable sin. Judas had crossed the deadline. Judas filled a suicide's grave. And he said, "I have sinned." But he never repented. Repentance is more than confession of sin. Every one of these men that I have mentioned used those words "I have sinned" and not a one of them repented.

REPENTANCE IS A HEART CHANGE

The word repent—metanoia—is a combination of two words, which means a change of mind or a change of heart. It is a turning from sin to Jesus. There is a negative and there is a positive. Acts 20 :21. Paul said we are to be "testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." Repentance and faith are heads and tails of the same coin. You cannot repent toward God unless you turn to Jesus Christ. You tell God that you are sorry for your sin and turn to Jesus Christ for forgiveness. Again, let me give you another scripture that shows you the heads and tails. I Thessalonians 1:9, "For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had among you, how you turned to God from idols to serve the true and living God, the living and true God." Repentance and faith are heads and tails of the same act.

Genuine faith must be a heart change. And it is whole-hearted change. Ezekiel 14: 6 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations."

REPENTANCE IS A CONTINUING CHANGE OF HEART

6 And he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.7 And he said to the vinedresser, 'Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?'8 And he answered him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure.9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"

And I will tell you something else. Repentance is a continuing change of heart. It is not something that you do once. It is not something that you do in order to get saved and then forget it. Jesus was speaking to the church in that last command when He said, "Repent" that I told you about. Repentance is a crisis followed by a process. We live repenting day-by- day-by-day. I have done far more repenting after I have gotten saved than I did when I got saved because I know more about me and I know more about God.

THE MOTIVE FOR REPENTANCE

THE COMMAND OF GOD

Acts 17: 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."

THE CURSE OF GUILT 

Isaiah 57:20 "But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up

mire and dirt." 

You wonder why you can't sleep. You wonder why you are irritable. You wonder why you have no joy. But it is more than just discomfort now.

"No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

Hell is an awful place

Hell is an agonising place

Hell is an always place.

THE CONDITION OF GRACE

"No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

Here is an invitation to not perish.  It is gracious of God to provide us away out from perishing. And the way out is to turn from our idols to the Lord Jesus Christ the only Saviour.   Repentance is turning from all else to the Lord Jesus. 

THE MISSING OF REPENTANCE

Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.11 And there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself.12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your disability."13 And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God.14 But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, "There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day."15 Then the Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it?16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?"17 As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.

"You hypocrites"

They missed it. The synagogue ruler was indignant about little stuff and couldn't see the glorious things the Lord Jesus was doing right in front of him.  

"Now, for the love I bear His name, 

What was my gain I count my loss. 

My former pride I call my shame 

And nail my glory to His Cross. 

Yes, and I must and will esteem 

All things but loss for Jesus' sake. 

O may my soul be found in Him, 

And of His righteousness partake."

Luke 12:35-59   Disciples Are Expectantly Hopeful

35  "Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. 37  Blessed are those servants  whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39  But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he  would not have left his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

 41 Peter said, "Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?" 42 And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? 43  Blessed is that servant  whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 45 But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. 47  And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. 48  But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

49  "I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! 50  I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! 51  Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

54 He also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, 'A shower is coming.' And so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat,' and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

57 "And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 58  As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. 59 I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny."

"Are you a Christian or a Muslim? I am a Christian, but I am not a fanatic."

Christian cults. Channel 7 spotlight.. Providence. Korean Cult leader.  Michael Usher.   JMS  30 principles of life identifying JMS as the Second Coming of Christ.   JMS is god the Messiah the Saviour and he alone can solve the world's problems.  

Now we can easily recognise a cult. But does that mean all fanaticism is wrong?

The Christian life is to have several motivations. One is the assurance that we have in our pardon through the Lord Jesus Christ.  We know that we have eternal life and the forgiveness of sins through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. We know He is the Christ. He is the promised Messiah. He is God the Son come into the world to save us from our sins. And that motivation drives us to love the Lord Jesus. Consequently we are His willing disciples. This gives us hope of eternal life.

CH Spurgeon notes: "If the Gospel were a mere propriety of ceremonies, a truth which would slumber in the creed or lie entombed in the brain. If it were not a spiritual principle which lays hold upon the innermost nature, rules the emotions and fires the affections–if it were not all this it would remain unopposed. But because it is so living and forcible a principle, the powers of evil are in arms to stop its course. The subject then, of this morning's meditation will be the fiery nature of the religion of Jesus Christ! And to bring this clearly before you we shall first and foremost CONSIDER THE HISTORY OF THE GOSPEL. Practically, so far as the most of us are concerned, it begins with a revelation contained in this Book–we come to the Bible, therefore, to find out what the Gospel is. Bending over the pages we are struck with the extraordinary doctrines revealed. We find them far from being matters for the curious and the philosophical, but practical truths, touching upon everyday life and bearing upon common human nature. Truths, indeed, so powerful over humanity that they seem to wear the key of man's heart hanging at their belt. We find in this Book the master Truth of the love of God plainly and repeatedly stated.  Right golden are these words, "God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." We see revealed to us a love of God so vast as to be incomprehensible! So generous as to be a theme for adoring wonder throughout eternity, since the Father gives up His equal Son that He may bleed and die that we, who are rebellious and undeserving, may live through Him! As we believe the doctrine of Divine love, we feel it to be a Truth which sets the soul on fire with joy, gratitude and love. As we peruse the Gospel, we perceive that Divine love has been manifested in connection with a most astonishing display of justice and severity towards sin.  We see God willing to forgive, but not willing to allow His Law to be dishonored, and therefore giving up His onlybegotten Son to die a death of pain and ignominy, in order that the penalty of a broken Law might be rendered to justice and yet mercy displayed to rebels! We behold the Savior bleeding on the tree as much to manifest the justice as the love of God. And now, as we behold our Lord's passion, thoughts that burn full into our bosom–holy detestation of sin lifts the torch of heart-searching and the flame of true love burns up our lusts. He dies, the Friend of Sinners dies! Murdered by human sin! Who will not, therefore, loathe the murderous thing? It is impossible to read aright in the illuminated volume of the Cross, printed in crimson characters, without feeling our hearts burn within us with an ardor unquenchable."

49  "I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! 50  I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!

But there is another motivation to being a disciple of the Lord Jesus; there is our assurance of salvation and there is the expectation of our Saviour's return for us.

This expectation is a driving force. It gives us a hope that overcomes the world. It gives us hope that there is a culmination to all things. That all things are purposely heading towards a final destination. The Sovereign reign and rule of our Lord and Saviour.  The same Saviour who died and rose again is coming back for us one day, and He will set on order all things.

In this parable, the bridegroom has slipped away to get his bride, and we must wait for him to return to the house. We don't know when he's coming back, so we must stay dressed up and keep our lamps burning so we can welcome him when he appears. For sure, the servants of the bridegroom would have been anxiously waiting and watching. They would be filled with joyous anticipation. Is that the way you feel about the Second Coming? Are you excited about it, or is it something that makes you afraid to think about? There really is going to be a wedding feast in heaven–and it will be an experience of joy and celebration. John saw a glimpse of this future wedding celebration when he wrote in Revelation 19:7, 9: Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready ... (remember, the church is the bride) Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!"

It will be a time of rejoicing. It's worth getting excited about.

Do you know what the last recorded words of Jesus are? In Revelation 22:20 we read the last recorded words of Jesus: "Yes, I am coming soon." Then notice how the Apostle John responded. He said, "Amen! Come, Lord Jesus." Is that your attitude? Are you as excited as a servant at a wedding celebration as you await the return of your master, your friend?  Maranatha was a Christian way of ending a speech or letter.

1Corinthians 16   21 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. 22 If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come!  Maranatha!!

Are you longing for His coming? Are you excited about it?

1 It may be at morn, when the day is awaking, When sunlight through darkness and shadow is breaking, That Jesus will come in the fullness of glory, To receive from the world His own.

Refrain: O Lord Jesus, how long, how long Ere we shout the glad song,
Christ returneth!  Hallelujah! hallelujah!  Amen, Hallelujah! Amen.

2 It may be at midday, it may be at twilight, It may be, perchance, that the blackness of midnight Will burst into light in the blaze of His glory, When Jesus receives His own.

3 While hosts cry Hosanna, from heaven descending, With glorified saints and the angels attending, With grace on His brow, like a halo of glory, Will Jesus receive His own. [Refrain]

4 O joy! O delight! should we go without dying, No sickness, no sadness, no dread and no crying, Caught up through the clouds with our Lord into glory, When Jesus receives His own.

Once a farmer was lying in bed and he listened and counted as his old grandfather clock began to chime the hours at midnight. Due to a malfunction, the clock struck thirteen times. He jumped to his feet and woke up his entire family saying, "Wake up! It's later than it's ever been before!"

It's later than it's ever been before! 

AN EXPECTANT HOPE WILL ENTHUSE YOU TO RELIABILITY

 "Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. 37  Blessed are those servants  whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39  But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he  would not have left his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

Dressed for action: You know how Romans wore togas: flowing robes which are always getting in their way. They could not walk without being tripped up, so that, if a man has a piece of work on hand, he just tucks in his toga:  like rolling up your shirtsleeves and preparing for work. That is the way to wait for the Lord, ready for service.

Lamps Burning The picture is that if the Master is late, we are to be sitting up waiting for Him. We don't slacken off and grab some sleep, we are always expectantly waiting, even if it seems like His coming is 2000 years late.  Really it isn't, and His return has never been closer.  When the King comes, have your lamps burning, to meet the royal Bridegroom and escort Him to His home! If we are to watch for the Lord as we ought, it must be with lamps burning. Are you making your light to shine among men? Do you think that your conduct and character are an example that will do your neighbors good and are you trying to teach others the way of salvation?

Ready For Action   When Jesus returns will He find you hard at work?

Jesus says in verse 43: "It will be GOOD for that servant whom the Master finds doing so when He returns." (Luke 12:43) What will be so good about it? Jesus says in verse 37 that He will dress as a servant and serve them! I believe He's speaking of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb we read about in Revelation 19. It's exactly what Jesus did at the Last Supper. On the night before He was crucified, He took off his robe and took a servant's towel and went around washing the disciple's feet. Can you imagine the King of the Universe serving you?

AN EXPECTANT HOPE WILL ENTHUSE YOU TO DEPENDABILITY

41 Peter said, "Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?" 42 And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? 43  Blessed is that servant  whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 45 But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. 47  And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. 48  But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

If you don't consider the near return of the Lord Jesus, then you could become

An Abusive Bully

44 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 45 But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants,

An Alcoholic Binger  and to eat and drink and get drunk. Where the things of this world take up all our thoughts and imaginations.

AN EXPECTANT HOPE WILL ENTHUSE YOU TO LOYALTY

49  "I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! 50  I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! 51  Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

DEVOTION TO JESUS MAY ALIENATE YOU FROM OTHERS!

Jesus is the Prince of Peace and when the angels announced His birth they said, "Peace on earth, goodwill to men." But..the truth about Jesus divides humanity, into those who Love Him and those who do not.  Jesus divides humanity into just two groups. When He spoke of a family of five being divided, they weren't divided into three groups, or four groups, or as five separate individuals, but into two groups. Jesus said it would be, "two against three, or three against two" or He could have said "four against one." The point is that Jesus divides the entire world's population into two groups. Jesus is not intentionally dividing them, but people choose themselves which of the two groups they will join. Remember Jesus said, "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters."  Are you a Christian and are you a fanatic?

AN EXPECTANT HOPE WILL ENTHUSE YOU TO ACTIVITY

54 He also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, 'A shower is coming.' And so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat,' and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

"When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, 'It's going to rain,' and it does. And when the south wind blows, you say, 'It's going to be hot,' and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time? The Jews missed the signs of Christ's First Coming And You Could Miss Being ready for His Second Coming. There were over 300 Old Testament Scriptures predicting the first coming of Jesus. There are over 1,000 scriptures predicting the events of the Second Coming of Christ. The Bible isn't hard to understand once you have the key. The key is all the Bible is about Jesus. The Old Testament says: Someone is coming. The gospels say: Someone has come, and His name is Jesus. The Epistles and Revelation tell us: Someone is coming again–get ready!

AN EXPECTANT HOPE WILL ENTHUSE YOU TO AUTHENTICITY

57 "And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 58  As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. 59 I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny."

If You Are Looking for His coming you keep short accounts.  It's what you do with mastercard debt. You can pay late and pay 23% interest per month.. or you can keep short accounts and pay up each month and pay no interest each month. The Lord is saying keep short accounts… Many years ago a fellow said to me he was convinced the return of the Lord was close so he bought a brand new car entirely on credit and a boat and a new tv and .. I said, you can't afford that.. He said I won't have to pay for it when the Lord returns next month.. He paid for it. With much interest.  But the Lord is speaking to you about relationships. There are debts we owe in relationships that we need to get sorted out early.  "Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right? As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled to him on the way, or he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you in prison. I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny." In this context, Jesus isn't talking about lawsuits with one another; He is using a parable to communicate the importance of being reconciled with God. Don't wait until you are before the Judge to plead your case–settle it out of court. Each of us stands accused and guilty The Bible says we are sinners by nature and by choice. If you want to relate to God on the basis of your own goodness you would have to be absolutely perfect and sinless because God is Holy and sinless. So each of us stands accused and guilty–we are going to have to face the Heavenly Judge–your case is already on the docket. Hebrews 9:27 says: "It is appointed unto man once to die, and after that–the judgement." That's the bad news. But the good news is that God has given you an opportunity to settle your salvation case before you lose it in court. Make sure that you are reconciled before your case comes before the Judge. Here's the wonderful offer:

The Judge offers you a perfect lawyer and a pardon. In other words, the only way to avoid standing before the Eternal Judge will demand absolute perfection of us is to settle our case out of court. He offers to pay the penalty for us.  He has already paid it!  What are you going to do with His perfect payment for your sin?

Are you looking for Him? Are you longing for Him? Are you  living for him,  Learning of His Coming, Looking for His Coming, watching, are you working, are you warning? Like John can you say, "Amen, even so, come Lord Jesus!"