But I've entitled this message, no excuses.
And I know all the time I have excuses about certain things, and they're really never any good.
And when you use excuses too much, that's all you become is an excuse.
So we're going to be in chapters 14, verse 15 through 24.
and I'm going to read that to you here real quick.
And we said, well, first of all, we talked last time, and Jesus is talking about, you know,
you can have a party, invite all your friends, right, and have a great time.
But you invite them knowing that sometime they're going to invite you back.
But Jesus said, no, you go and invite those people that are poor and can't,
you know they're not going to pay you back at all.
and that's who you need to minister to.
And so that's a hard one for us because we're American snobs.
And that's a true story.
And I even see it in my own life and I get convicted.
And so because he says, listen, but it's not all for not.
You think, well, that's not for, that's, I won't.
get anything back but notice what Jesus says how he ends verse 14 and he says for you shall be
repaid at the resurrection of the just well the first question I would have are you just are you going to
make it to that first resurrection because you want no part of the second one just say it right there's
two resurrections there's a resurrection of the just and there's the resurrection of the unjust you want
no part of that that resurrection of the unjust because at the end of the end of the
of the resurrection of the unjust, there is this thing called the second death.
And it's like an eternal death.
And you know how we don't like death now.
It's no fun.
Death's not fun.
It's the last enemy.
And so I've been having to deal with it this last little bit, and it's not, it's, it's,
It makes life precious.
Think if there was no death.
What if there was no death?
I don't know.
What would be the point of life?
But because it threatens us.
It threatens all of us.
How about Kyle Bush?
Is that crazy?
It's the craziest thing?
41 years old.
Boom.
Gone.
Just like that.
I've heard that phrase about two people's deaths this week.
Just like that.
And then our dear Eunice,
I almost called her Esther again.
Because I called her Esther for like the first year.
She went to church here and she never corrected me.
Because I knew it was an e-name from the Bible.
But she got to go home.
But Arlen told me,
just like that.
It's just like that.
We're here and we're gone.
That quick.
Young and old, it doesn't matter.
I do little juniper roses service in two weeks.
Five months old.
And so there's going to be a payment coming.
How are you doing?
Right?
How are you doing?
man i want to hear those words well done good and faithful servant but i fall short terribly terribly short
and i don't know i don't know why he would say that but he's teaching us some things here
and i think we probably should pay attention so he starts in verse 15 he says now when one of these
who sat at the table with him.
This is this place he's at, here at this Pharisees' house,
eating bread on the Sabbath.
And these things he said to him,
Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.
And then he said to him,
A certain man gave a supper and invited many
and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited,
come, for all things are now ready.
But they, with one accord, began to make excuses.
The first said to him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it.
I ask you to have me excused.
And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen and am going to test them.
Still another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
So that servant came and reported these things to his master,
when the master of the house being angry, said to his servant,
go out quickly into the streets and the lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.
And the servant said, master, it is done as you commanded and still there is room.
And then the master said to the servant, go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in,
that my house may be filled.
For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste of my supper.
Let's pray.
Lord, thank you. Thank you for these words that seem to be directed right at some of us.
Lord, just as you reminded us that the cares of this life try to get our attention and take it away from you.
And, Lord, I just pray that as we look at this passage, Lord, that we would, if we need to be convicted, that we would do so.
If we need to get our houses in order, we would do so.
Because we know that just like that, we can be gone in a moment.
And so, Father, we pray that you, by your spirit, would just convict our souls, Lord, take us deeper with you.
You have things and plans and purposes for each person's life in this room.
And Lord, I pray that we would have a hunger to desire your will with all that we are in Jesus' name.
Amen.
And so Jesus tells a parable here, but it's provoked.
It's brought on by a statement that someone makes.
in verse 15. He says, now one of those who sat at the table with him heard these things and said,
blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. Can you imagine? We get to eat in the kingdom.
Yee ha! We may eat and not even have to go potty. Wouldn't that be nice? Right? Just absorbed right into the
old carcass and there's no elimination process. Yehoo! I mean, think about it.
never mind i i better not go there it might be coarse jesting and i don't want to be i don't want to be
especially as you get older right depends is as far as i want to go
but he said blessed are those this is going to be a blessing it's going to be a blessing to be a
blessing to eat in the kingdom and and to fellowship and the the tree of life that
there that talks about the 12 fruits that bear every month, and it's going to be incredible.
There's going to be no downtime.
It wouldn't be cool if plants didn't have a downtime.
Farmers would dig that.
But it's like it provoked the Lord's to go and talk about this parable here.
A certain man gave a supper and invited many.
There, verse 16. And it's interesting that Matthew's version of this, this, this parable,
it's the marriage supper of the lamb. He's preparing a wedding for his son. And he invites
these people to this party. It's his boy. And it's a marriage feast.
because you and I are his bride.
And it's about the kingdom.
So he tells about this banquet.
And in Matthew chapter 22 verses 2 through 5 it says,
And the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king
who arranged a marriage for his son
and set out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding
that they were, but they were not willing to come.
and again he sent out other servants saying,
tell those who are invited.
See, I have prepared my dinner,
my oxen, my fatted cattle are killed,
and all things are ready.
Come to the wedding.
But they made light of it
and went their ways,
one to his own farm
and another to his business.
These people got priorities.
You got priorities?
What are your priorities?
Do you know?
because a lot of times this life just we just get caught up in the flow of it and it just seems to be running away with this
I don't know if you ever been on a runaway horse I've been on lots of them
lots of them this one run away with me one time his name's butt monkey
seriously that was his name
and he grabs the bit and he takes off and I'm just thinking you know I've been cowboying for quite a while
I thought I can ride just as fast as you can run yeah you know and just made him run faster
but we were coming to a fence a five-strand bobwire fence I don't know if you've seen
what bobwire can do but it it's it's brutal and this horse and I try to turn him and he's
already he set his jaw he's got a hold of that bit
I ain't turned them for all the tea in China.
And I didn't know whether to jump,
so I just closed my eyes and I hung on tight.
And I heard the wire stretch and snap.
I heard those wires snap.
He snapped three of the five.
Snap them.
He was going that fast.
And I thought, surely this dude's front legs are cut off.
And finally he got tired and stopped.
And I got off.
and he had five, five little puncture wounds in his chest.
That's all I had, just little puncture wounds.
And I thought, if you would have been a good horse,
it would have cut your front legs off.
But because you're a dink and you're going to run off with somebody else,
you live.
But when they run away with you,
it's like you can do nothing about it.
You just have to take a deep seat and get a far away look in your eye.
right because you're going somewhere maybe over the horizon
but the world and the way of the world can
catch us up and Jesus spends so much of his ministry talking about this stuff
we don't get it why do we don't get it I I don't get it
because I'm selfish and I'm I'm I'm it's all about me and it's about what I can
get in all these things.
And it's very convicting.
But if we even had a clue of what we might be forfeiting
by ignoring the invitation that God gives to you and me,
it would take our breath away.
It would be, it would be overwhelmed.
The Apostle John was having a conversation with an angel, a messenger of the Lord, and in Revelation 19.
Versus 9 and 10.
This is, because this is the marriage supper.
This is what Jesus is talking about.
This is the banquet that God is putting together for those who would fully give themselves to him.
And it says, then he said to me,
this John, right.
Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
You've been called.
You've got an invitation.
Have you RSVPed?
Because you need to.
And then you know that you know that you know you're going.
We're going to be there.
All else is going to be put behind us.
This is the focus of, of,
our very lives.
And he says,
Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of their land.
And he said to me,
these are true sayings of God.
This is a true saying.
In other words,
you can take it to the bank.
It's going to happen.
There's going to be a marriage supper.
Are you going to be there?
And it says,
after he said these are true sayings,
It says, and I fell at his feet to worship him.
This is an angel.
So the angel corrects him, but he said to me,
see that you do not do that, I am your fellow servant and your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus.
Listen, here we go.
This is the jest of the whole thing.
Worship God.
Worship him.
For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
It's all about Jesus.
I know that's elementary,
but it is all about Jesus.
All about Jesus invading our lives,
day in, day out, hour by hour, morning by morning.
It's all about Jesus.
This is a banquet, folks.
This is a party that we do not want to take lightly.
And these people seem to, right?
where he says there.
And he sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, come.
For all things are now ready.
But they all with one accord began to make excuses.
The first said to him, I have bought a piece of ground and I must go and see it.
I ask you to have me excused.
Piece of ground.
What an excuse.
So I got to back up a second
Because he said this is a great party
The word there is mega.
It's the mega party.
It's the party of all parties, right?
Exceedingly great.
And that many have been invited.
Anyone who would humble themselves before God,
Jew, Gentile alike, all around the world,
anyone who would, that's who's invited to this.
But especially the Jews,
because Jesus tells us that
salvation is of the Jews.
And so
there's this invitation to come,
but they don't do it.
They make excuses.
He sent out his servant, it said.
Singular.
It was a bond slave.
And this is used in the New Testament,
mainly of believers who willingly live under Christ's authority as his devoted followers.
And here comes the excuses.
Ben Franklin said,
somebody that is good at making excuses is seldom good for anything else.
And the first excuse, right?
Please have me excused.
we read it back in Luke chapter 12 when when Jesus said to them be careful and guard against all kinds of greed is life is not measured by or held together by how much one owns
and here's this guy buys a piece of ground there's nothing wrong with buying a piece of ground but it appears that the piece of ground bought him right
He's got to go, I got to go see it.
Like he didn't look at it before he bought it.
We know he probably did, right?
I don't think that's what that's, what's that's alluding to.
I don't think he was that stupid.
I mean, who buys a piece of ground without looking at it?
But, but he's, he, he's bought this piece of dirt.
And who doesn't want, I mean, everybody wants a piece of ground, right?
if you could have it.
God's not making any more of it, like the song says.
So if you're going to get some, you probably should get it.
But to use it as an excuse, a possession,
that is going to go to somebody else.
Watch it happen all the time.
Everything you have is going to end up in somebody else's possession.
Because that isn't what life.
about. Can we enjoy it? Yeah, we can enjoy it. But I think what happens here is he didn't want to go
just see it. The truth is he wanted to go rebel in his purchase. He went, look, look what I was able
to do and get this piece of property, right? Just gets all prideful about it. I'll puffed up.
Kind of like old Nebuchadnezzar. You remember Nebuchadnezzar, right? Daniel,
comes and he tells him, he says, oh, Nebuchadnezzar, I pray that this vision is about your enemies and not about
you. But if it is about you, then you better break off your sins, dude, and you better get right with God.
And it seems that he takes it to heart for 12 months. But 12 months, then he just couldn't stand it.
He had to go out on his balcony, look out over the kingdom. And he says, let's see what does he say here?
And the king spoke saying, is not this great Babylon that I have built for a royal dwelling
by my mighty power for the honor of my majesty?
The Bible says while the word was still in his mouth, he became an animal.
He became an animal and grazed eight grass for seven years.
God humbled him.
Why? Because he wouldn't humble himself.
but it was his arrogance.
Look where I got.
I'm so much better than those people down at the homeless shelter.
No, you're not.
That's so prideful and so arrogant.
Maybe you should go spend a few nights there.
Maybe we all should.
A stinking, rotten excuse.
Well, that's the way most excuses are.
They're like feet.
Everybody has them and they stink.
Then the next guy, right?
His was, it was more business, right?
And another said, verse 19,
I have bought five yoke of oxen,
and I am going to test them.
I ask you to have me excused.
Like he didn't go check him out, I'm sure.
Right?
It's a fool who buys a horse and don't look him in the mouth.
Right?
You're a fool.
Because the mouth tells a lot, doesn't it?
Your mouth, my mouth, tells a lot.
Because we usually can't keep it shut.
that's why
James' encouragement is to be slow to speak
and yet we don't
but I'm sure this guy saw that
that yoke of oxen obviously in this culture
that was pretty
prolific farming to have
five sets
that's they can do a lot of work
a lot of work
and and
bless the people that own them no it's it's like this guy no i got to go i got to go i got to go i got to
go i got to go see them and uh and test them i want to see those five yoke of oxen all yoked up
all have a implement behind him doing some work on my ground that's what i want to see
is there anything wrong with that i think if it's prideful and arrogant yes
There is something wrong with that.
The issue is the issue of the heart.
Instead of falling on their knees and praising God,
saying, you bet I'm coming to that party,
because I'm a blessed man.
I got five yoke of oxen.
I got a piece of dirt.
I was 40 when we bought our first.
first property and but I was looking for it long before that right it was a desire of my heart
yesterday I took out some trees in my my back soar and that piece of dirt is a lot of work and
I'm thinking that tent is looking better and better all the time right and the price is right
I'd call this compounded arrogance.
The third excuse, still another said,
I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
Now, Paul does talk about this.
The two shall become one, and there's times when the Lord might put a call on your
life and you can't do it because of your commitment to the marriage, which is important.
It's a very important commitment.
But it should never supersede your relationship with the Lord, ever.
Ever.
There is, every relationship is secondary to Christ, right?
Simply because, listen, Jesus is our life source.
If I don't have Jesus, what life do I have to share with my wife or my kids?
I don't.
I don't have any.
I have to be plugged into the source.
Because he is the way, the truth, and the life.
So if you want your wife or your husband or your children to have any true life in them,
then you got to be getting filled up.
Because, I don't about you,
have you noticed you run dry sometimes?
You just run dry.
And think, well, I ain't got no more to give.
Well, of you, that's good.
Because you needs to go away,
and Jesus needs to step up and be all that you are.
Be your source of love and compassion and help
and all those things that we need in relationship.
but how dare us ever put a relationship above the Lord?
I see mammas struggle with this, with their babies.
They struggle with it.
Because, I mean, they pour their life into that little one,
just to have them grow up and leave you.
So keeping everything in proper perspective is so important.
And the only way to keep your cup full is to walk with your God and to be having him direct your path.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, acknowledge him in all your ways.
He truly will direct your paths.
So verse 21 says, so that servant came and reported these things, these excuses that people were making.
He reported this to his master.
Then the master of the house being angry, said to his servant,
go out quickly into the streets, the lanes of the city,
and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.
Go tell them all.
Come on.
There's room.
Come and dine at the master's table.
Come and dine.
Who remembers that song?
Right?
Come and dine at the master's table.
Come and dine.
And your cup will be full.
It appears here, God doesn't take too kindly, because he is the, he's the master.
He doesn't take too kindly to these excuses.
He's angry.
And so it provokes him to call the poor.
The word for poor there is worthless.
You know any worthless people?
call them the worthless maimed and crippled lame
lame meaning halted from doing what they normally can blind they can't see
and isn't it interesting when people come to Jesus
the poor
understand that they have worth with the Lord.
The maimed become whole.
The lame are sound, and the blind can see.
That's what he came to do.
That's what Jesus came to do.
To give us worth, to make us sound,
that he can make us whole,
and he can give us those spiritualized,
that we need to see.
Verse 22, it says,
and the servant said,
Master, I have done as you commanded,
and still there's room.
God has room for everyone.
Everyone.
Everyone, the whole world.
Jesus' sacrifice, it says,
not just for you and I,
did he lay down his life,
but for the sins of the whole world.
It says that.
What is there?
8 billion.
I think that we've surpassed 8 billion.
My statistician.
Right.
That is a lot of people.
And we hear all this,
you know,
these people saying you've got to have population control.
And that's just crazy
because I don't see anywhere in scripture where God
it says, okay, stop being fruitful and multiplying.
No, just keep them coming.
I like it.
I like my kids, you know, prolificating.
So, but we just have to come.
You're invited.
Come.
Whosoever will let them come.
That's what it says in Revelation chapter 22, verse 17.
The Spirit and the bride say, come.
And let him who hears say come.
And let him who thirst come.
Whoever desires, let them take of the water of life freely.
You come.
Everyone's invited.
But for crying out loud, don't make excuses.
Well, I can't.
No, you won't.
There's a big difference between cat and won't.
Right?
You won't.
God never runs out of room.
The invitation is there in Isaiah chapter 1, verse 18.
It says, now come, let us reason together, says the Lord,
though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow.
There are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
If you're a willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land.
But if you refuse and make excuses, that doesn't say that.
But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Verse 23, it says,
Then the master said to the servant,
go out into the highways and the hedges,
and compel them to come in,
that my house may be full.
filled.
Compel them.
In the parable of the great banquet, the master commands,
go out to the highways and hedges and compel them to come in so that my house will be full.
The verb portrays zealous persuasion, not coercion, that violates conscience.
The picture is of earnest, loving insistence grounded in the host's generosity.
is our lives as believers provocative to the world?
Is our lives as believers provocative to the world?
Because it should be.
People should look at your life in Jesus and go,
how do I get some of that?
Right?
I want some of that.
You remember?
I remember seeing Christians.
They're just, this one guy I was thinking today,
You know, people that have impacted my life over the years.
He's a rodeo cowboy, great guy, and had a couple of different conversations with him over the years.
And I just looked back and I'm just thinking, what he had, I wanted.
Right?
I wanted that.
He provoked me.
Paul talks about that provocation.
And it's the love of God.
It's that cup when it's full of the love of God.
and it is it's grounded in generosity grace and mercy incredible stuff
and god's just waiting he's willing that none should perish that we would all come
second peter three nine for the lord is not slack concerning his promises as some count slackness
but is long suffering towards us, not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance.
And I'm learning this repentance thing.
It's a lifestyle.
It's like a daily thing.
Oh, God, forgive me.
That thought was terrible.
How could I think that way?
And yet we do.
Right?
Have murder in our hearts, lust.
You name it.
All the gamut of, of,
Things that go on in our life that aren't right.
Road rage.
Right?
And verse 24, we'll start wrapping this up.
For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.
I don't know about you, but that strikes fear in my heart.
Right?
Because I know I've been invited.
I've tasted and seen how good my God is.
And I've asked him, and I ask him this morning even,
oh Lord, you got to help me.
Lord, I need your help.
I need your help to breathe and to walk and to function,
not even talking about doing stuff here at the church and at the building.
And I just need these help to not get in trouble.
I'm always just this far away.
I remember my dad told me that, you know, after he turned 80, he said, son, my whole life,
I've been right on the edge.
And I'm just like, I got that to look forward to you.
Yeah, right on the edge.
Right on the edge.
So if you get a chance, take it.
If the Lord knocks on your heart, that's why the Bible says that today is now is the
accepted time. Today is the day of salvation. It's because people make excuses and they put it off and
they put it off. How many times will God let you put it off? I don't know the answer to that question.
I had put it off several times. But when you think about the guys that went into the
promised land, they got one shot at it, one shot. And they changed their mind and said, oh no, we want to
go back. We want to go into the promise land. God goes, no, sorry. You're too late.
you're too late you can't come now you can't go now that is a very healthy fear to think you would
miss that it is a very healthy it's a good fear hopefully it drives you to the foot of the cross
but if you get a chance take it I'm telling you to come that's what this servant was telling
these people. You come. There's a lot of room. Because you don't know when that last call's going to be.
You don't. Just like that. It was just like that. I heard that from Arlen and I heard that from the article that I read about Kyle Bush.
Just like that. Gone. And then
They know at that moment, they know whether they're going to be at that banqueting table or not.
So what's your excuse?
Oh, wait.
You don't have any.
Right?
You don't have any excuse.
The scripture tells us that, right?
Romans, Chapter 1.
You have no excuse simply by going out.
outside and looking at creation. The Bible says they are without excuse, not zip, not one,
no excuse whatsoever. I don't care what you've been through in this life. You have no excuse.
And the second one is in Ecclesiastes 311. He's put eternity in your hearts and you know better.
You know better. You know that this is the end. This life isn't the end. You and I know that.
Instinct intuitively, in our spirit, in our very soul, we know this isn't it.
And so I know that I am the maimed and the lame and the poor and the blind.
And I don't ever want to lose sight of that because I want to go in no matter what.
How about you?
Let's pray.
Father, thank you for an incredible life that you've given us, Lord.
You've blessed us so far beyond.
anything we ever could have imagined simply by giving us breath.
And Lord, you give us each other and you give us life and we have, in freedom here,
till now anyway, in America.
And we know these things may change.
We know that life may end as we know it.
And we know that maybe our lives might end.
And Lord, I just pray that we're all prepared for that day.
Lord, that we would be ready to join those who have gone before us in a moment,
in the twinkling of an eye.
People leave this world.
And so, Lord, I just pray that as your people, we would be on the ready,
on the ready to see you face to face, but also on the ready to speak and to invite people to come to you.
you, Lord, that they would know that there is this incredible life beyond this life, that in reality
there's no comparison, no comparison at all. So, Lord Jesus, we just, we love you this week.
Pray that you would minister to our hearts, take us deeper, convict us, Lord, where if we need
to get our house in order and put some things behind us, Lord, I pray that you would help us do that,
Lord, if we need to mend some fences and some relationships, I pray that you'd help us to do that.
Lord, help us to not put anything in front of you because we know that you truly are our life
source. We pray in Jesus' mighty name. Amen. Amen. Hey, you need a touch from the Lord. The prayer team's
going to be up here. We're going to do this last song. I'm just going to have you sit tight.
I want you to listen to this song, right? You don't have to sit. You can stand.
But because we're going to be a little country fight on this one.