The Unmerited Invitation: Resting in Righteousness Outside Ourselves

• The Purpose of Baptism [00:17:23 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor clarifies that baptism is not for sentimental reasons, tradition, or to guarantee salvation, but to immerse children in the 'meta story' of God's love and to point to Jesus as the source of salvation.
• Parental Limitations vs. Divine Sovereignty [00:26:21 ▶️ 📄]
  > Using the analogy of building a Lego set without instructions, the pastor illustrates that parents do not know the future or have the power to shape their children's hearts, whereas God possesses the 'picture' and the 'instruction manual'.
• Covenantal Theology [00:20:02 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor connects infant baptism to Old Testament circumcision (Abraham) and New Testament promises (Acts 2:39), arguing that God loves families and extends covenant promises to the children of believers.
• The Parable of the Wedding Feast [00:44:55 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor introduces the passage from Matthew 22, identifying it as a parable spoken by Jesus to religious leaders during the final week of his life, setting the stage to discuss who is 'chosen' in God's kingdom.
• Definition of a Parable [00:46:42 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor defines a parable as 'a story embodying some truth' that requires interpretation, noting that even the disciples often needed Jesus to explain them.
• Context of Matthew's Gospel [00:45:43 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor situates the sermon within the narrative arc of Matthew, specifically the escalating tension and discussions with religious leaders leading to the crucifixion.
• The Identity of the Son [00:50:44 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor identifies the son in the parable as Jesus, linking it to Jesus entering Jerusalem as the son of David and the preceding parable of the rejected son.
• Indifference vs. Need [00:52:46 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts those who have 'better things to do' (prosperity) with those who recognize their need for God, arguing that prosperity can deceive us into thinking we don't need God.
• Response to Repentance [00:55:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor discusses the violent rejection of God's messengers, using the analogy of children silencing their conscience when told to stop watching TV, to illustrate how people often reject hard messages.
• Worthiness and Grace [00:59:17 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that worthiness is determined by accepting the invitation, not by intrinsic goodness or badness, breaking down social walls and superiority.
• The Wedding Garment [01:03:22 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor analyzes the man without the wedding garment, interpreting the garment as a symbol of the righteousness of Jesus and the necessity of being clothed in His goodness.
• The Wedding Garment and Righteousness [01:04:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that the wedding garment symbolizes the righteousness of Jesus, contrasting those who rely on their own merit with those who accept the free gift of the invitation.
• Hypocrisy vs. True Worship [01:05:19 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor identifies the man without the garment as a hypocrite who wants to enjoy the party but does not value the King's invitation, illustrating those who want Jesus but center themselves.
• Evangelism and Expectations [01:09:02 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor provides application directions for evangelism, noting that believers should expect indifference, opposition, and hypocrisy, but also expect success from unlikely directions.
• Self-Examination and Repentance [01:10:38 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor urges the congregation to identify overlaps with the 'non-chosen' (indifferent, violent, or hypocritical) and to repent, relying not on their own goodness but on Christ's righteousness.

• Sermon Illustration [00:26:21 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor compares raising a boy to building a Lego set without the box picture, the instruction manual, and with mismatched pieces (Legos and Duplos), illustrating the confusion and limitation parents feel, contrasted with God who has the picture and instructions.
• Sermon Illustration [00:48:55 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the 2011 royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton as an analogy to contrast cultural expectations of a royal wedding (public holidays, massive crowds, expensive costs, attendance by the rich and famous) with the parable's narrative where the invited guests ignore the invitation to work on their farms and businesses.
• Sermon Illustration [00:50:12 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the analogy of a British royal wedding where a public holiday is declared, but the invited elite choose to work on their farms instead of attending, illustrating the shock of rejecting a king's invitation.
• Sermon Illustration [00:56:33 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor compares the rejection of God's message to a child or adult hearing their conscience tell them to stop watching too much TV, and their desire to silence that voice to keep doing what they want.
• Sermon Illustration [01:04:01 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the analogy of a football (soccer) match where a fan wearing the opposing team's colors might get 'bound and cast out,' to illustrate the cultural expectation of showing support through attire.
• Sermon Illustration [01:01:46 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor asks the congregation to imagine British royal servants inviting 'anybody' from Times Square in New York to a wedding, highlighting the shock of including 'bad and good' people based solely on acceptance of the invitation.
• Sermon Illustration [01:06:00 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses an analogy of sitting next to a famous person on an airplane who asks what the most important thing about you is, challenging the listener to consider if their answer includes Jesus or just their own successes and failures.

• Pastoral Charge [00:29:47 ▶️ 📄]
  > Congregation members and supporters are asked to stand and recite a vow to assist in the Christian nurture of the baptized children.
• Pastoral Charge [00:29:03 ▶️ 📄]
  > Parents are instructed to recite three specific vows acknowledging the child's need for salvation, claiming covenant promises, and dedicating the child to God through teaching and prayer.
• Pastoral Charge [00:53:56 ▶️ 📄]
  > Self-examination of whether one's life demonstrates serious acceptance of God's invitation.
• Pastoral Charge [00:57:55 ▶️ 📄]
  > To lean into difficult messages from Jesus rather than silencing them or running away.
• Pastoral Charge [01:03:04 ▶️ 📄]
  > To depend solely on Jesus for righteousness and acknowledge one's own lack of deservingness.
• Pastoral Charge [01:09:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > Share the gospel with people outside of one's usual social or comfort zone.
• Pastoral Charge [01:12:12 ▶️ 📄]
  > Repent of behaviors and attitudes that contradict God's ways.

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:00:00] This is really why we have a call to worship, because it teaches us that God is actually the one who pursues us first.
[00:00:14] He's actually come to get our attention.
[00:00:18] And even before, we've seen a worship song about Him.
[00:00:23] We actually worship a God who has already sung over us.
[00:00:27] Actually, the purpose of our worship this morning was to take it from Zephaniah 3, so we turn to page 3 of your bulletin.
[00:00:39] We're going to recite together from Zephaniah 3, so please stay if you're able and join me.

[00:00:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:00:47] Our believer and together we'll be for all.
[00:00:50] Father God of Zion, rejoice and exalt with all your heart the God of Jerusalem.

[00:01:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:01:03] He's taken away the judgments against us.

[00:01:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:01:06] He has cleared away our enemies.

[00:01:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:01:09] It shall be said in Jerusalem, fear not his eye, let not your hands grow weak.

[00:01:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:01:25] Our God is in our midst.

[00:01:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:01:31] Rejoice, be quiet in thy love, he will exult over you with loud singing.
[00:01:41] So let us worship this God who seems over us.

[00:01:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:01:44] It was finished upon that cross.

[00:05:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:05:43] I'm going to pause here.
[00:05:45] I'm going to be y'all's worship leader for a second.
[00:05:47] I'm struggling a little bit.
[00:05:48] our sound is off, is not working today. We love God so much, and he loves us, and he's called us to worship him today. And so let's, we serve a beautiful God who sent his son to die for us.
[00:06:09] And let's just sing. And those, I don't mean to call anybody out or make anybody feel uncomfortable.
[00:06:19] Love y'all, and Jesus loves us.
[00:06:21] Let's sing together to him.
[00:06:23] Amen.
[00:06:26] All right, I'm going to start it over.
[00:06:29] Two, three, four.
[00:06:33] Christ for me is righteous.
[00:08:09] Death was once.
[00:08:17] Death was once my greater.
[00:08:22] Once had the son who died.
[00:08:54] It was finished.
[00:09:35] One more time.

[00:09:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:09:39] With us, there is an abundance of sin.

[00:10:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:10:53] There is fullness of righteousness and abundance of mercy.
[00:11:00] We are spiritually poor, but you are rich.
[00:11:04] And Jesus Christ came to be merciful to the poor.
[00:11:08] Strengthen our faith and trust in you.

[00:11:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:11:36] If one of you, his son, asks him for bread, he'll give him a stone.
[00:11:45] Or if he asks for a fish, he'll give him a serpent.
[00:11:49] If you then were evil, nobody would give gifts to your joy.
[00:11:52] How much more will your Father, who is in heaven, give good things to those who ask him?
[00:11:59] And all God's people said, Amen.

[00:12:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:12:01] Thanks be to God.

[00:12:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:12:02] Let's continue to worship.
[00:12:05] I want you to come forward and collect your audience's tithes and offerings.
[00:12:08] And we'll continue with the song of thanksgiving.

[00:12:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:12:13] That God has numbered I was made.
[00:12:39] Yet I look fully treasured and forsaken.
[00:12:45] But mine is hope, and my reading of love is sure.
[00:12:58] Best has paid for, and I'd yet understood.
[00:13:29] Must travel, I see, times of need.
[00:13:45] My pain, Christ completes.
[00:13:51] Blessings flow, all creatures.
[00:17:05] He is Him, above ye.
[00:17:12] His Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

[00:17:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:17:23] I've heard it said that we are all born to be storytellers.
[00:17:49] There's really no stronger connection that can be made between two human beings than the art of storytelling.
[00:17:57] When you become a parent, you are making a commitment to being the primary storyteller in the life of another human being.
[00:18:08] Now, with the sacrament of baptism, we are making a commitment to there being one particular story that will serve as the meta story over the life of our kids.
[00:18:20] We baptize our kids in the context of worship service so that we as parents can have confidence that our children are part of a story that is bigger than them.
[00:18:32] Today, we have the opportunity, the privilege to baptize George Allison and Aidan Mickelson as children who are characters in this great meta story that is known as the work, the life, and the ministry of Jesus Christ. You know, many years ago in the gospels, we're told that Jesus
[00:18:53] gave this command. He said, let the little children come because the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. And so what we're doing in the context of the baptism and the worship service is we are immersing our kids, we're baptizing them in the context of the story
[00:19:11] of God's love for them. Now, as with the times that we actually share stories with our kids when they're little babies, they don't understand the stories that are being read to them from the earliest of ages, and this is no different here. Aidan and George probably are not going to remember
[00:19:28] this day. We don't do this for sentimental reasons, even though these boys are going to be looking really cute when they're up front. We don't do this for tradition's sake, even though this goes past all 2,000 years of church history. We don't baptize them knowing that this guarantees their
[00:19:45] salvation, right? There's really nothing magical about the waters in that silver bowl. We do this because the scriptures have laid the foundation for this practice going past all the way to the first book in the Bible. So if you look to the book of Genesis, we see God going out of his way
[00:20:02] to give Abraham a sign that because Abraham put his faith in God, it also put his children in a very special position. And so the blessing of circumcision was given not only to Abraham, but it was given to the children of Abraham as well.
[00:20:19] 2,000 years later in the person of Jesus Christ, God came to his people again to reveal himself not merely to Abraham but to all who are spiritual children of Abraham who put their faith in the person of Jesus Christ.
[00:20:34] And so we're told in Galatians 3, it says he redeemed us in order that the blessing that was given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles, that's us, through Christ Jesus.
[00:20:44] And so what you'll find throughout the New Testament, particularly in the book of Acts, is that you'll see the church continuing with this idea that God not only loves people of faith, but he loves their families as well.
[00:21:00] Acts 2, 38 and 39, the apostle Peter, he said, repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of sins.
[00:21:09] The promise is for you and for your children.
[00:21:14] Now, as I said a minute ago, baptism does not save anybody, but it points as a sign to where salvation is actually found, and it's found in Jesus Christ.
[00:21:28] The waters of baptism promise us that Jesus has the power to cleanse us from our sins as we place our faith in him.
[00:21:37] And so what we're doing in the context of our worship service is we're believing in the gospel on behalf of these baby boys.
[00:21:44] And we're going to believe in the gospel on their behalf until the day comes, some point in their lives, where they're going to look at the faith of their family, their extended family, their church family.
[00:21:55] And they're going to see these people who are believing the gospel on their behalf.
[00:21:59] And they'll have a decision to make.
[00:22:01] And our hope is that we're going to tell them that they are characters in the greatest story that has ever been told.
[00:22:07] And it's the story of what Jesus Christ has done in our lives.
[00:22:12] And so until that day comes when they hopefully put their faith in Jesus for themselves, we will do our part of telling them the story of this God.
[00:22:22] Now, one of my favorite traditions here at Midtown Community Church is we invite the parents of the children to come forward and to give a blessing.
[00:22:31] And so we'll start with the Mickelsons.
[00:22:32] if you would come forward at this time, and Owen will have you come and give a blessing on behalf of Aiden.
[00:22:44] And this mic works, so feel free to use this.

[00:23:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[00:23:00] This one.
[00:23:02] Aiden, Aiden, your name means fiery.
[00:23:07] We have seen you live this out already in your love for life, in your love for your family, and zeal for life.
[00:23:14] We hope you are able to put this fire in your future walk with Christ and follow the words of Jeremiah 17, 7, and 8.
[00:23:25] But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.
[00:23:30] They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.
[00:23:38] Do not fear when heat comes.
[00:23:42] Its leaves, always green, it has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.
[00:23:50] Your mama and I love and pray for you always.
[00:23:56] Amen.

[00:23:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:23:59] All right, we'll invite the Allisons to come forward at this time.

[00:24:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:24:35] George, at just nine months old, you have already filled our home with so much love and laughter.
[00:24:42] You're the happiest baby we could have asked for.
[00:24:46] Even when your brother tries to take your toys, you continue to smile through it all.
[00:24:51] You are truly joy embodied.
[00:24:53] Even with the joy you have, we are here to tell you that it pales in comparison to the love and joy that God has in store for you.
[00:25:03] Although we wish we could be perfect examples for you, we know that we are sinners and will fall short.
[00:25:10] What we can promise is to teach you about God's word, to raise you in a faith-based home, and to pray with you and for you.
[00:25:19] Proverbs 3, verses 5 to 6 tells us, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
[00:25:27] In all your ways, submit to him and he will make your path straight.
[00:25:32] We trust that God's plans for you are greater than any we could imagine.
[00:25:36] We love you and cannot wait to see what he has in store for you.
[00:25:41] We love you, buddy.

[00:25:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:25:46] All right. Now I want to give a brief charge to the Mickelsons and Allisons before we baptize their boys.
[00:25:54] So if you saw our social media, I guess last night, our son just graduated from college.
[00:26:01] And so we're at this sort of weird inflection point in parenting where we're sort of doing more looking back over our parenting than we are sort of looking forward.
[00:26:11] And as I've sort of considered the past 22 years of raising a boy, I've sort of discovered that raising a boy is a lot like building a Lego set.
[00:26:21] but it's like building a lego set when you don't have the box with the picture on the front and you also don't have the instructions that tell you how to build it and sometimes the lego pieces
[00:26:36] don't seem to fit together like you've got the regular lego pieces but you got lego duplo which is for really young kids and that's sort of what you're getting with parenting a boy no picture
[00:26:49] no instructions, and Lego pieces that don't really fit together. So let me pray for us.
[00:26:57] No, actually, that's not true. What we're doing with baptism is we're actually helping one another to live into this reality that everything that I've just described is absolutely true.
[00:27:15] You've got a task before you that feels far more difficult than you can actually accomplish.
[00:27:23] So what we do at the Sacrament of Baptism is it's an invitation for you guys, but all of us, to live into our limitations as parents.
[00:27:33] We talk a lot about the power that parents have, but there are profound limitations you have.
[00:27:39] You do not know how your boys are going to grow up in the way that God has called them.
[00:27:45] But the reason we do a sacrament of baptism is because it's our way of living not only into our limitations, but living into God's power. Because here's the reality for George and for Aidan.
[00:28:00] You don't have the picture on the front of the box, but God does. You don't have the instruction manual, but God does. You don't necessarily have the hands to figure out how these pieces fit together, but God does. And so we tell our kids the story of God's love in the knowledge
[00:28:21] that we aren't the authors of their story. God is. And so here's my charge from Proverbs 16.9.
[00:28:28] It says, the heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. And so my charge for all of you as parents is this. Lean on God and trust that he will establish every step in
[00:28:43] your boys' lives as you build these living Lego sets for their good and for your glory. All right, three baptismal vows that I'll ask that you respond with the words we do. So Mickelson's and Allison's first. You acknowledge your child's need of the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ
[00:29:03] and the renewing grace of the Holy Spirit. Second, you claim God's covenant promises on their behalf and you look in faith to the Lord Jesus for their salvation as you do for your own. Third,
[00:29:17] you now unreservedly dedicate your boys to God and promise in humble reliance upon divine grace that you'll endeavor to set before them a godly example, that you'll pray with and for them, that you'll teach them the doctrines of our holy religion, and that you'll strive by all the means
[00:29:32] of God's appointment to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. All right, now I've got a vow that'll be for the members of Midtown Community Church, as well as the family
[00:29:43] and friends who've come in support of the Mickelsons and Allisons today.
[00:29:47] So if you fit any of those categories, please stand at this time, and I have a vow for which I'll ask that you respond at the words we do.
[00:29:58] Do you, the family of the Allisons and Mickelsons and the congregation of Midtown Community Church, undertake the responsibility of assisting these parents in the Christian nurture of these boys?
[00:30:11] You may be seated.

[00:30:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:30:13] How you doing, buddy?

[00:30:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:30:22] All right, Aidan Jeremiah Mickelson, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

[00:30:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:30:46] All right, George Pace Allison, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

[00:31:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:31:22] All right, let's pray.
[00:31:26] Heavenly Father, the love that a mother and a father has for their child is one of the most powerful loves that you can find in this world.
[00:31:36] and yet we have the sacrament of baptism as a reminder that you love the very people that we hold most dearly to each of our hearts and so we thank you for the sacrament of baptism
[00:31:47] because it serves as a reminder that even though the task of parenting is far greater than we feel like we could ever accomplish that we trust that you have the picture of what you want their lives to look like
[00:32:01] and you have the instruction manual and so all we need to do is trust that you Heavenly Father you love our children even more than we do and you are far more skilled in building boys than
[00:32:13] we could ever be so i pray that that would give especially the mickelsons and the allisons great comfort as they undertake uh this privilege but this overwhelming task of raising boys in this world would you raise them up heavenly father that there might come a day early in their life
[00:32:30] and they look at the faith of their parents their extended family their church family that they would see this story and they would see the invitation that the gospel offers and that they would choose to put their faith in you, Jesus, the one who is the author of their stories. We pray
[00:32:47] this in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, let's give them a hand. At this time, kids are now dismissed.
[00:33:04] So up through fifth grade, you'll come up to the front, find the teacher for your kids' class.
[00:33:10] While they're being dismissed, just take a moment, greet somebody new around you.
[00:33:43] All right, if everybody could take a seat at this time. Thank you.
[00:35:49] So welcome again to Midtown Community Church. My name is Lindsey Williams, one of the pastors here.
[00:35:55] If you rolled in just after our service started, we're doing a sort of modified Midtown Unplugged this morning.
[00:36:02] The sound was not working for us, so we appreciate y'all's patience with that.
[00:36:08] But we are glad you're here to worship with us this morning.
[00:36:11] I will draw your attention to page 11 and 12 of your bulletin.
[00:36:16] That is a list of announcements of things that are going on in the life of our church as we sort of steer our direction towards the summer.
[00:36:25] Two announcements I'll draw your attention to.
[00:36:28] First is the Ridgewide Picnic.
[00:36:31] And so this campus where we worship is sort of labeled, bigger picture, The Ridge.
[00:36:39] And so it's a collection of churches and organizations who use this space throughout the week.
[00:36:45] Next Sunday at noon, they're doing sort of a ridge-wide picnic.
[00:36:52] And so one of the basic commands that Jesus gave to us, right, is to love our neighbor as ourself.
[00:36:58] And so the Ridgewide Picnic is really an opportunity for us to love our neighbors here on this campus.
[00:37:06] So we would love for you as a family to come next Sunday, not only for worship, but to be with us around noon as we have a picnic.
[00:37:17] There'll be pulled chicken that is provided for all of us, as well as an opportunity for you to bring a side or dessert.
[00:37:24] So if you're like a family with kids, you can either hang out on campus for a little bit or go to one of the neighboring parks for a few minutes and then just circle back here around noon.
[00:37:35] It will be an opportunity for us as a church family to engage some of the other organizations who also use this space as well.
[00:37:42] So that's next Sunday noon.
[00:37:44] We'd love for you to stick around for lunch for that.
[00:37:47] And then the other thing I'll draw your attention to is on May 28th, One of our missions partners is a ministry called Damaris House.
[00:37:58] So if you give to Midtown Community Church, a portion of what you give goes out to support ministries who are doing gospel work both locally and overseas.
[00:38:09] One of those is Damaris House. They're located in Athens, Greece.
[00:38:14] It's led by the Petro family, and our Yeris Petro, who lives in Athens full-time and is a native of Athens, is actually going to be here in the Raleigh area May 28th, and we're going to have a dessert on May 28th for the purpose of having an opportunity to hear about
[00:38:33] their ministry, and largely what they do is they figure out how to come alongside, support, and care for women who've experienced trafficking or exploitation in some manner in the Balkan area.
[00:38:47] And so particularly if you are a female, but this will be open for anybody, this will be a great opportunity to learn about a ministry that is doing some great work, really ministering to needed women in the European area. And so if you are interested in just learning more about what
[00:39:07] they're doing, one of the things we might explore is actually having a short-term mission strip that we'll go over to minister alongside Damaris House. So if you have any interest in learning more, May 28th, we hope you'll join us for that. All right, that's it for announcements. I'm going
[00:39:25] to pray for us, and then we will turn our attention to God's Word. So let's pray. Heavenly Father, of Psalm 139. It says, I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are
[00:39:40] your works. My soul knows it very well. But Heavenly Father, we do come before you and we confess that maybe unlike David in Psalm 139, we actually don't know this very well. Sometimes we struggle to believe that we're fearfully and wonderfully made. But we do thank you for a
[00:40:04] service. We thank you for people who pray in ways that maybe are not true of us, but we want to be true. And so we thank you for the opportunity to come into a context of a worship service
[00:40:17] that we might be able to explore and relearn what it means for our souls to know very well that we're fearfully and wonderfully made. Heavenly Father, we do thank you on this particular day, Mother's Day, as it's an opportunity for us to gather together and to give thanks for
[00:40:37] all the faces of motherhood that are out there in our congregation and that are out there in this world. Jesus, you drew from the experience of motherhood when you said in Luke 13, how often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her
[00:40:58] wings. And so we thank you just for all the ways that the mothers, particularly here in our church and in our lives, have done just that. They've protected, they've gathered us in, they've nurtured us. Heavenly Father, we do acknowledge that Mother's Day can be tough for any number
[00:41:19] of reasons. Perhaps there are those who long to be a mother, but for some reason it has not happened for them. Perhaps there are those who have complicated relationships with their mothers or a mother who may have passed away. And so there's just a little bit of pain
[00:41:35] that is associated with this day because of their absence in their life. And so on this Mother's Day, we pray for those who celebrate. We pray for those who grieve. We pray for those who are waiting
[00:41:50] to be mothers. Would you be a God of comfort to all those who feel some measure of pain, even on this day. Heavenly Father, at this moment, we have the opportunity to turn our attention to
[00:42:04] your word. We're told in Psalm 90, so teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. We live in a complicated world. We need tremendous wisdom. And so we thank you for the
[00:42:16] opportunity to hear from God this morning. You are a God who speaks to us, but we also trust that you speak through us to one another. And so we thank you for your servant, Warren. We thank you for
[00:42:27] the preparation that he's put into the sermon this week. We pray that you would speak to us and through him for our good and for your glory. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

[00:42:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:42:51] Today's scripture comes from Matthew 22, verses 1 through 14. And again, Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son and sent his servants to call all those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they
[00:43:06] would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, Tell those who were invited, See I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready.
[00:43:16] Come to the wedding feast. But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.
[00:43:26] The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
[00:43:32] Then he said to his servants, The wedding feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find. And those
[00:43:42] servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man
[00:43:52] who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, bind him hand and foot and cast
[00:44:01] him into the outer darkness. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
[00:44:06] For many are called, but few are chosen. This is the word of God.

[00:44:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:44:19] Good morning, church. It's good to see you all today. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Warren Wright. I'm one of the ruling elders here at Midtown Community Church.
[00:44:27] And today, it is an honor, it's a privilege to be able to share God's word with you.
[00:44:31] Also, as Lindsay prayed, happy Mother's Day. As a church, we're working through the gospel of Matthew with a focus on what it reveals about God's kingdom and how it might be different to what we expect. And on page 9 of your bulletins, there's an outline of today's sermon. And if you
[00:44:49] need to take notes, there's space for notes there, if that helps as well. All right, today's passage.
[00:44:55] It's about giving us a specific understanding of God's kingdom. It's about who is in God's kingdom, who are the chosen. If you remember one thing about today's sermon, remember this, who are the chosen, those who rest in a righteousness outside of themselves,
[00:45:13] those who understand that they do not deserve to be chosen. All right, well, the rest of my time up here is to try and show that from the text and the other bullet points you see on the
[00:45:24] outline. But before we dive into the actual verses, let's orient ourselves to where we are in this gospel of Matthew. All right, so Jesus has traveled around Israel. He's preached. He's taught. He's healed people. He's healed a lot of people. And then he has his triumphal entry into
[00:45:43] Jerusalem in the last week of his life. And then we see this escalating series of discussions with religious leaders. And this is very interesting because they start off a little tame and they get more and more tense. And the text talks about the hatred for Jesus growing,
[00:45:59] and that ends up in betrayal, crucifixion, and then glorious resurrection and ascension.
[00:46:04] and that's the whole gospel. Now, we heard from Madison reading a bit earlier, thank you, and we can identify that today's scripture is one of those discussions with the religious leaders.
[00:46:15] It's a bit hard to see from the actual text, it just says, and he spoke to them, but if you look at the text before and after, it's those discussions that heighten the tension with the religious leaders of the day. All right, now that we have that context,
[00:46:29] Let's dive into the text.
[00:46:33] In verse 1, it says, and again, Jesus spoke to them in parables.
[00:46:39] All right, well, there's our first question.
[00:46:41] What is a parable?
[00:46:42] Jesus told quite a few parables.
[00:46:44] And if you've been around church for any amount of time, you've heard this phrase a lot.
[00:46:48] But what is it?
[00:46:49] Well, it's a story embodying some truth, right?
[00:46:52] There's a point that we need to get out of it.
[00:46:54] But that point isn't always easy to understand.
[00:46:57] And if you look at the Gospels, you see that the disciples don't always get it either.
[00:47:03] In fact, many times they take Jesus aside and they say, what was that about?
[00:47:08] Can you explain it to us?
[00:47:10] And I think that's a great example.
[00:47:13] So if you join with me to pray again and ask Jesus to help us understand his truth.
[00:47:22] Dear God, thank you for your word.
[00:47:24] Lord, we face today a parable.
[00:47:26] We face today a truth that you want us to understand.
[00:47:30] Lord, there's gold here for us from your mouth.
[00:47:35] And Lord, we need your Holy Spirit to work in our ears, to work in our hearts, that we might uncover it and be richer and more like you because of it.
[00:47:44] Help us to see the freedom of this passage, the freedom of not needing a portfolio of goodness to be accepted, the freedom of just being invited to a party.
[00:47:55] Let us use that freedom to cast off what hinders and let us see you more clearly as the center of everything.
[00:48:02] Help me by your Holy Spirit to be a faithful messenger today and please use my inadequate words to communicate heavenly truths.
[00:48:11] In Jesus' name, amen.
[00:48:14] All right, verse 1, the stage is set for a parable.
[00:48:17] It's a story and Jesus is the storyteller.
[00:48:20] In verse 2, we get the setting of the story.
[00:48:23] It says in verse 2, the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.
[00:48:31] A royal wedding party. I mean, that's exciting, right? This is a great start. I mean, movies are made of this kind of thing. A joyous occasion. What should we expect comes next, right? Well, America doesn't have royal weddings, but there are other countries around us that do.
[00:48:47] So maybe we can look to one of them to see what happens at a royal wedding.
[00:48:51] So the British royalty have had a few examples.
[00:48:55] In April 2011, Prince William and Catherine Middleton got married.
[00:49:01] Maybe we can look at that as an example of what to expect next.
[00:49:04] The occasion was made a public holiday.
[00:49:07] The whole country could stop work and party.
[00:49:11] The overall cost was about 24 million pounds.
[00:49:15] And there were a few people in the streets between Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey, and by a few, I mean about a million lined the streets. They were so excited. About 2,000 people attended in the chapel. And you can bet that those people were rich, famous, important,
[00:49:32] and they were happy to be there. All right, let's compare that to our story. Let's look at what's the same. Let's look at what's different. What's the same? Well, the reason why we make this
[00:49:43] comparison is because it's the royal wedding of an heir, right? So that's the obvious thing that's the same. It's costly. We see in our text that the king has prepared a feast. He even talks about
[00:49:53] some of his preparations. And there's an invite list. We see, at least in this text, that the people that were invited were people of means. They had farms. They had businesses. That's the same. So what's different, at least at first? So the British declared a public holiday. No one
[00:50:12] should work. Have fun. The people in our story would rather work than go to the party. They elected to go to their farms and their businesses? How about millions in the streets, a venue packed
[00:50:25] with important people? Nope, not a soul. Can you see the immediate tension from our setting?
[00:50:34] Now, we'll be spending a good bit of time diving into the particulars of that.
[00:50:38] But before we start that, we need to focus a little bit on this last piece of the setting.
[00:50:44] Who is the son, right? The heir of a kingdom. It's a big deal who that person is. Who is the son in verse 2. Now, it's not a stretch to see that Jesus is referring to himself here as the son.
[00:50:58] When Jesus entered Jerusalem, he was called the son of David, the son of the king. There is a preceding parable about a son being rejected and even killed. And if you want, you can find even
[00:51:07] more evidence from the text that even his original audience may have been able to put together that the son here is him. And I mean, that's a big point. And why is it important? Well, if the main
[00:51:19] point of this parable is who is chosen for the kingdom of heaven, then we see that wrapped up in that is an understanding, is an acceptance of wanting to celebrate with the son. When God calls,
[00:51:33] they respond. Now, it's not some ability to understand some complicated secret knowledge.
[00:51:40] It's the acceptance of a person. I think for some, Christianity has become too complicated.
[00:51:48] And for others, it has become too impersonal.
[00:51:53] How about for you?
[00:51:55] Is the core of your faith connected to a person?
[00:51:58] Is Jesus your focal point?
[00:52:02] And this is the first highlight of this passage, and indeed the first note on your outline.
[00:52:06] Who are the chosen?
[00:52:07] It's those who celebrate Jesus.
[00:52:10] They're happy to know this person.
[00:52:15] All right, now we have the setting.
[00:52:16] What happens next?
[00:52:17] In verse 3, we see this confusing turn of events from our expectations.
[00:52:23] The guest list does not show up.
[00:52:26] That's shocking by itself.
[00:52:27] Who refuses a king?
[00:52:29] But it gets even worse.
[00:52:30] The king is kind enough, in verse 4, to ask again.
[00:52:35] But it doesn't work.
[00:52:37] The invite and the repeat just bounce off.
[00:52:42] These people have better things to do.
[00:52:45] Better things to do.
[00:52:46] consider for a moment why you should accept an invitation to a royal wedding and then actually show up.
[00:52:54] I mean, maybe you're happy for the couple and you want to show your support, or maybe you just want the business opportunities that arise from being in good relationship with the king.
[00:53:03] You might not have any warm feelings, but you still go for the social and business connections.
[00:53:09] And think about if you refuse to go, even after a second impassioned plea.
[00:53:15] you're saying that you absolutely see no value in having a good relationship with the king and his son. These indifferent refusers are saying they don't need Jesus and they don't need God. Or more specifically, they don't need the message that Jesus is teaching about how to get to God. In that
[00:53:37] day, the prevalent thinking was that you get to God through your heritage, tracing back to Abraham.
[00:53:43] and Jesus is saying that the way to God is through him.
[00:53:48] And these indifferent refusers have no time for that message.
[00:53:53] What about you?
[00:53:55] What about me?
[00:53:56] Do our lives show that we take the invitation of the king seriously?
[00:54:02] Or perhaps this invitation just isn't very important.
[00:54:08] Now, for all of us good church-going people, we took the invitation, we're sitting in seats.
[00:54:12] The challenge is still very real.
[00:54:13] Where do we place the king on our priority list, right?
[00:54:19] When our culture says that the most important thing about a person is their political affiliation, well, we say that the most important thing about a person is their relationship to Jesus.
[00:54:30] Or does work or play leave little time for you to invest in your relationship with Jesus or even invest in your church?
[00:54:41] These are tough questions that are worth asking.
[00:54:45] So who are the chosen?
[00:54:46] those who don't have better things to do or better options for prosperity apart from Jesus.
[00:54:54] You see, the great curse of prosperity is that it can deceive us into thinking that we don't need God. And the great opportunity in trial, even in suffering, is that it convinces us that we absolutely do need God. And this then is the second highlight of this passage and the second
[00:55:13] notes in your outline. Who are the chosen? Those who see their need of Jesus. They don't have better options. They see their need. All right, there's another category of response, those who go beyond indifference, those who are offended. We see in verse 6, it says, while the rest seized his
[00:55:35] servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. Who does this? Who receives a wedding invite and then kills the messenger. Well, the idea of mistreating and killing the king's messengers is not new. In the previous parable to this, Jesus says roughly the same thing. And ironically,
[00:55:55] the Pharisees respond with wanting to lay hands on him and arrest him. But there's a clear link through this gospel of this mistreatment of God's messengers and linked to the martyred prophets in Jewish history and the martyred Christians to come. Simple question or the simple observation
[00:56:12] is that when God sends a messenger to say, repent, historically, people don't respond very well.
[00:56:20] How do you respond when someone tells you you're doing something wrong? So kids, those of you who are still here, when your parents say you've been watching too much TV and you need to stop,
[00:56:33] parents or any adults, when your conscience tells you you've been watching too much TV and you need to stop, is there a little part of you, a little part of me that says, if I could just silence that
[00:56:45] voice. Then I could keep doing whatever I wanted and be happy here. What about when Jesus delivers his message to repent and believe? To repent of living ways that are contrary to God's and to
[00:57:00] believe that Jesus is the only one who can reconcile you to God and you can't earn it.
[00:57:05] How do you respond? Well, as I look around, you all don't usually go around killing God's messengers and it makes me very happy because at least for today that would be me. But how do we silence
[00:57:18] God's voice. What do we do when it's not what we want to hear? There are things like we stop reading our Bible, we stop praying, might even stop going to church. We can withdraw from community,
[00:57:33] maybe even go to online church only. And maybe if there's that voice, we just find ways to not be around that person who is representing God, calling us to his standard. It goes further.
[00:57:44] People can change churches. They can move to new towns because of this kind of thing.
[00:57:49] And this is the third highlight from this passage, and the third note on your outline.
[00:57:55] Who are the chosen? Those who don't silence Jesus. When it's a hard message, they lean in.
[00:58:03] They don't run away. They don't respond with offense. All right, let's briefly examine how God responds to these violent refusers. In verse 7, it says, the king was angry. He sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
[00:58:22] Well, if you remember the setting, this isn't very surprising.
[00:58:25] I mean, killing the king's representatives, that's like open rebellion.
[00:58:29] It's sort of like declaring war.
[00:58:31] This kind of action-reaction happens today geopolitically.
[00:58:35] And by now, Jesus has made this point a few times to his audience that the mistreatment of the king's messengers is a historical theme.
[00:58:43] And here and in other places, we see that theme has disastrous consequences.
[00:58:48] God is so amazingly long-suffering until he isn't.
[00:58:55] He is long-suffering after all.
[00:58:57] He's not forever suffering.
[00:59:01] All right, so after this doom and gloom, we finally come to a happy part of the story.
[00:59:05] Let's find some chosen.
[00:59:07] The king still wants people to celebrate with Jesus.
[00:59:10] His A-list bombed.
[00:59:13] In verse 8, it says they are unworthy.
[00:59:17] Why are they unworthy?
[00:59:19] The invitations weren't rescinded.
[00:59:21] they weren't taken away because of prior bad behavior the invitations were still valid but they're not worthy you see their worthiness or unworthiness was determined by how they treated the invitation the a-list was a bust enter the b-list who's on the b-list anybody anybody they
[00:59:43] could find some commentators say this could be the gentiles some commentators say it could be the marginalized Jewish people, like for example those who weren't welcome in temple. Either way, the point is that the scope of the invitation was widened a lot, and it now included people
[01:00:01] that previously weren't considered worthy to be included. And this is important because if we are in this parable, this would be us. After all, most, if not all of us, are not Jewish, so we would not
[01:00:14] have been on the A list. But again, who is on the B list? Verse 10 gives another clue. It says both bad and good. So any intrinsic goodness or badness isn't what got them in or kept them out.
[01:00:35] And this might be the biggest point of this passage. So I'll say it again. Your goodness or badness isn't what gets you in or keeps you out of the kingdom of heaven. Remember the A-list?
[01:00:50] We said their worthiness or unworthiness was determined by how they treated the invitation.
[01:00:54] They chose not to go. Well, the same is true of the B-list. They are worthy because of how they responded to the invitation. They came to the party. And this gives us hope that if we,
[01:01:08] by grace, can respond to the invitation, our worthiness can be established and we can be among the chosen, feasting with the king. But hang on for a second. Let's just go back to the anybody part. For those listening to Jesus, this would have been quite shocking. Random people,
[01:01:27] even bad people, feasting with the king. So imagine that British royal wedding again, and think of the queen's servants going to Trafalgar Square, or in our context, maybe like Times Square in New York, and inviting anybody, anybody they find there. Think of Times Square,
[01:01:46] Just think of who's lying around there.
[01:01:48] Anybody gets invited.
[01:01:50] Their worthiness determined only by if they accepted the invitation.
[01:01:55] That's not how we normally determine worthiness.
[01:01:59] God's kingdom has some significant differences from how we would arrange things.
[01:02:05] The potential inclusion of just about anybody breaks down many of the walls we put up to divide people.
[01:02:11] It breaks down superiority.
[01:02:13] It breaks down reasons to withhold mercy.
[01:02:17] Does that shock you?
[01:02:19] Do you sometimes look around a church, maybe not this church, but some church, and say, there are people there, they don't belong.
[01:02:25] It's not good.
[01:02:27] Well, unfortunately, that's not how God's kingdom works.
[01:02:31] Or maybe the shock for you comes from a different angle.
[01:02:34] You think about your past, your failures, your mistakes, and you think, I don't deserve to be with the king, feasting in heaven.
[01:02:43] Well, for you, the good news is that's also not how the kingdom of heaven works.
[01:02:48] Who are the chosen?
[01:02:49] those who rest in a righteousness outside of themselves, those who understand that they don't deserve to be chosen.
[01:02:58] And this is the fourth highlight of the passage, the fourth note in your outline.
[01:03:03] Who are the chosen?
[01:03:04] Those who depend on Jesus alone.
[01:03:08] They know they didn't deserve it.
[01:03:12] All right, there's one final lesson that Jesus wants to teach about the chosen here in the last part of the story, a seemingly odd tale about a man at a wedding in the wrong clothes.
[01:03:22] Do you ever have that dream?
[01:03:25] Verse 11 through 13 says, When the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment.
[01:03:31] And he said to him, Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?
[01:03:36] And he was speechless.
[01:03:38] Then the king said to the attendants, Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness.
[01:03:42] In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
[01:03:47] So on the surface, this is a strange bit of text.
[01:03:50] One obvious point to help us understand is that, you know, going to a wedding party, one of the ways you show support in this culture was to wear the wedding garment. And so for this man to be there without the wedding garment was saying that he's
[01:04:01] there but not really supporting. Think of it like a football match, soccer, right? And if you sit with team A wearing team B's colors, you might actually get bound and cast out. But here's another
[01:04:18] detail that can aid our understanding. The phrase, and he was speechless, is often interpreted to mean that he had no defense. This is someone who knew they were making a transgression. They knew they were in the wrong. It wasn't forced on them. Another thing we can learn is that wedding
[01:04:35] garments are a frequently used symbol in scripture, and that symbol is the righteousness of Jesus, being clothed in his goodness. Now, this fits a bit better with our story so far because our story is about the worthiness of those who are invited, called, those chosen, particularly that they
[01:04:53] didn't have any worthiness in themselves. Their only worthiness was that they accepted the free gift of the invitation. And so if you apply that symbol to the story of the badly clothed man, then this man, even though invited based on no merit of his own, now claims a righteousness
[01:05:13] of his own, symbolized by not wearing the right wedding garments or no wedding garments.
[01:05:19] So this man illustrates a group of people who want to enjoy the party, but don't recognize or value the invitation from the king as being a priceless treasure. Some commentators call this group the hypocrites. The point of this feast is the sun. It is Jesus, and this hypocritical group
[01:05:38] wants it to be about them and their worth. And if we're honest, we're often tempted to do the same.
[01:05:47] To those of us who have accepted the invitation, if someone looked at you, what clothes are you wearing? Does your life show that Jesus is at the center?
[01:05:58] All right, picture this.
[01:06:00] You're on an airplane and you've sat down and the seat next to you is open.
[01:06:05] And so now you play that game of you watch everyone coming by wondering who's going to sit next to you and you hope that there's someone nice.
[01:06:11] Maybe you hope they're talkative.
[01:06:13] Maybe you don't want them to be talkative.
[01:06:15] Either way, you watch the people.
[01:06:17] And to your surprise, someone you recognize is coming down.
[01:06:20] Someone famous, someone you've always wanted to talk to.
[01:06:23] And for some reason, they're in your section and they sit right next to you.
[01:06:26] And after that awkward moment of figuring out where the seatbelts go, you strike up a conversation.
[01:06:31] And in order to get to know you, they ask you this question.
[01:06:35] What is the one most important thing about you from your perspective?
[01:06:48] What would you say?
[01:06:52] Would your answer include Jesus?
[01:06:56] I mean, this is hard.
[01:06:57] We really want to tell people about our successes, our family, our education, our hobbies, our jobs even.
[01:07:02] We don't want to tell people about our sins and failures.
[01:07:05] not even if we can talk about a God who saved us from them.
[01:07:11] And so who are the chosen?
[01:07:13] Those who come to the party to celebrate Jesus who wear the righteousness visibly that they didn't earn.
[01:07:20] And this is the fifth and final highlight from this passage and the last notes in the outline.
[01:07:26] Who are the chosen?
[01:07:28] Those whose lives show Jesus.
[01:07:30] When you look at them, spend a bit of time with them, you'll see something of Jesus.
[01:07:37] So we come to the last verse.
[01:07:39] Here in verse 14, where Jesus clearly states the main point of this whole parable.
[01:07:44] In verse 14, he says, For many are called, but few are chosen.
[01:07:50] Commentator Matthew Henry summarizes this way.
[01:07:53] Of the many that are called to the wedding feast, if you set aside the profane and all the hypocritical, you'll find that they are few, very few, that are chosen.
[01:08:05] What separates the called from the chosen?
[01:08:08] We saw from the setting, this is a party, that the chosen are those who celebrate Jesus.
[01:08:13] We saw from the indifferent refusers that the chosen who instead of being indifferent, they see their need of Jesus.
[01:08:23] And then there were the violent refusers that taught us that instead of responding to the offense with violence, the chosen are those who don't silence Jesus.
[01:08:33] They lean in.
[01:08:35] And we see from the people that eventually attended this wedding feast that the chosen are those who depend on Jesus alone.
[01:08:42] And lastly, we saw from that wrongly dressed guy that the chosen are those whose lives show they display Jesus.
[01:08:52] What does this mean for us?
[01:08:55] Before I get to the conclusion, I'd like to give you two application directions.
[01:08:59] The first is about evangelism, right?
[01:09:02] This is a story about messengers spreading good news, and we are called to share the good news of the gospel.
[01:09:09] But there are some people who don't respond well, and so that teaches us that we should also expect some negatives.
[01:09:14] we should expect some indifference we should expect some opposition and even some hypocrisy and this can be disheartening and this is how I have felt at times but remember the story doesn't only give negatives there are also some positives and let me highlight two the first good expectation
[01:09:35] for your evangelistic efforts is that true response comes from unlikely directions from people who you didn't think should be on the initial invite list. And so for you, the take home there is share Jesus even outside of your comfort zone. The second good expectation,
[01:09:56] one of my favorite verses because it's so hopeful, is verse 10. It says, the wedding hall was filled with guests. Filled with guests. Expect success. Even in the face of indifference, opposition, and hypocrisy. Expect success. And this is a huge encouragement
[01:10:17] to me as well. The second application direction is inward. So I've asked many questions throughout the sermon, things like, is Jesus your focal points? How do you silence God's words? What's the one most important thing about you? And I hope that throughout this sermon, you, like me,
[01:10:38] have been able to identify overlap between yourself and the non-chosen? Can you see what you have in common with the indifferent refusers, or perhaps even the violent refusers, or the hypocritical acceptors? Now, this might sound odd. Surely I would want you to see that you're chosen
[01:10:56] and you can go away happy. Well, I do want you to leave happy. The gospel is good news after all.
[01:11:02] But not because you look at the bad examples and say, well, I ain't that bad. No. For those of you who are tempted to look at the murderers and say, oh, God must be happy with me. I don't go around
[01:11:15] killing people. And while it is good that you restrain yourself, and that does get you invited to some parties, you know, like the ones outside of prison, recall that the only worthiness that gets you into God's party is simple dependence on Christ. For others who did feel convicted,
[01:11:36] they saw the overlap and they say to themselves, I try to depend on Christ, but the evidence of my life shows that I have a lot of tendencies to not put God first, to avoid inconvenient,
[01:11:48] annoying things about Christ, and to celebrate me and not Jesus. To you, to us, remember that your goodness or badness isn't what gets you in or keeps you out. Your failures cannot disqualify you any more than your successes could have qualified you. And so, yes, repent of living
[01:12:12] contrary to God's ways. But then you get to put on that garment, the garment of Christ's righteousness. Now you're in your party clothes. Enjoy the party. Enjoy the feast. So in conclusion, the chosen are those who see their need of Jesus, who hear rather than silence him,
[01:12:32] who trust in Jesus alone for the righteousness that they could not earn themselves.
[01:12:38] And as Christ changes their hearts from inside out, their lives begin to reflect his, and their hearts cannot help but joyfully celebrate their King forever. So then, whether for the first time or once more today, like every day, come simply as you are, needy, trusting, listening, following,
[01:12:59] and rejoicing in the King, in the King whose invitation stands open to all who will come.
[01:13:07] Let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for throwing Jesus a party and inviting us.
[01:13:18] forgive us for our indifference where we don't see the value of being in a relationship with you forgive us for our self-righteousness where we think that you should be happy with us because of our good deeds
[01:13:31] and forgive our hypocrisy where we think that people should really be celebrating us, not Jesus change our hearts to simply rest in Jesus help us to simply repent and return to this truth every time that we stray
[01:13:46] stir us up also to be good messengers that we might share this good news to all May we live lives that celebrate in Jesus.
[01:13:56] Lord, the cares and trials of this world make it hard sometimes to celebrate.
[01:14:00] They distract us.
[01:14:02] But please help us to see the joy of being in a relationship with you.
[01:14:07] Help that joy to infuse every part of our being.
[01:14:11] May it shine through.
[01:14:13] Your grace is more than powerful enough to accomplish all of this.
[01:14:17] Thank you, in Jesus' name, amen.

[01:14:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[01:14:23] This song is about the day when we will see our bridegroom face to face. It's called The Sands of Time Are Sinking.