Tuesday, May 29, 2012,
5:00 a.m. – The Lord woke me with the song “How can I fear?” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant
is listening. I read Matthew 22:1-14
(NIV 1984):
Jesus spoke to them
again in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a
wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited
to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
“Then he sent some
more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared
my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is
ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
“But they paid no
attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest
seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He
sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
“Then he said to his
servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to
come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So
the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could
find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
“But when the king
came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding
clothes. ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’
The man was speechless.
“Then the king told
the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the
darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
“For many are invited,
but few are chosen.”
My Understanding: The
kingdom of heaven began with Jesus’ earthly ministry and will culminate in his
return to earth to judge and to receive his saints to him (the wedding and/or wedding
banquet), at which time he will set up his kingdom reign on the earth for a
thousand years. The kingdom includes everything Jesus was and is, did and does,
and all that he will yet do. It includes his righteousness, peace, love, joy,
forgiveness of sins, and plan of salvation for the lost sinner, etc. Jesus was
the embodiment of the kingdom which is why he could say that the kingdom was
present with/in him when he was here on the earth. We enter into this kingdom
of heaven when we invite Jesus Christ, by faith, into our lives to be our Savior
and Lord (master) via repentance and a choice to walk in obedience to him.
In this parable, the king represents God the Father. His Son
is Jesus Christ. He sent his servants (the prophets, his apostles, his
disciples) to those who had been invited (the nation of Israel), but they
refused to come. He sent more servants, but the invited guests paid no
attention to them and went off to do whatever it is that they did in those
days. Some of those invited guests seized his servants (the prophets, his
apostles, his disciples) and mistreated and killed them. So the king (God the
Father) told his servants (the apostles; disciples) to go to the street corners
and invite anyone they find (the Gentiles). The servants invited the “good and
bad.” We are all sinners, so I imagine the “good and bad” had to do with those
considered good or bad in man’s eyes. We must all come to the cross of Christ,
no matter how good we may appear or how bad we may seem to man.
Who are the invited
today?
“For God so loved the
world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” ~
John 3:16
“All authority in
heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very
end of the age.” ~ Matthew 28:18b-20
“The Lord is not slow
in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you,
not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone
to come to repentance.” ~ 2 Pet. 3:9
Who are the servants
today?
Jesus said, “My
kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my
arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” ~ John 18:36
“Even on my servants,
both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will
prophesy.” ~ Acts 1:8
"We put no stumbling
block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather,
as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in
troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in
hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and
kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the
power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;
through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded
as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on;
beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making
many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.” ~ 2 Co. 6:3-10
The Servants and
Invited Today
We, as followers of Jesus Christ, are both the servants and
the invited (and chosen). We have been called of God to invite all who will
come to faith in Jesus Christ. We have been commissioned by God, as his
servants, to go and make disciples (followers of Christ) of all nations, to
baptize them in God’s name(s), to teach them to obey Christ’s commands, and to
be His witnesses to the whole world, sharing with them the truth of the gospel
of Jesus Christ. Some of those we invite to faith in Christ will refuse the
invitation. Others will ignore us, and will just continue on with their daily
lives and routines. Still others will reject, mock, oppose strongly, accuse
falsely, mistreat, persecute and even kill some of us because of our testimony
for Jesus Christ, and because we are preaching the truth of the Good News. And,
the sad reality is that many of these who refuse, ignore and/or mistreat us for
our testimony for Christ and our witness for the gospel are in the church, and
some are even church leaders who have bought into a gospel of men and so refuse
the truth of Christ.
What are our wedding
clothes?
The wedding hall was filled with guests. Yet, a man there
was not wearing wedding clothes, so he was bound, hand and foot, and thrown out
into the darkness. Jesus concluded that many are invited but few are chosen. So,
what are our wedding clothes?
“I delight greatly in
the Lord;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me
with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns
his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her
jewels.” ~ Isaiah 61:10
“Rather, clothe
yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify
the desires of the sinful nature.” ~ Rom. 13:14
“You are all sons of
God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ
have clothed yourselves with Christ.” ~ Gal. 3:26-27
“Therefore, as God’s
chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion,
kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” ~ Col. 3:12
“Yet you have a few
people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed
in white, for they are worthy.” ~ Rev. 3:4
Our wedding garment is Christ, his salvation, his
righteousness, the fruit of his Spirit, faith, repentance, obedience, death to
sin and choosing to walk in faith and obedience to Christ and to his commands.
In the parable of the sower, there were four types of soil
(heart response to the gospel). The first type of soil was like the invitees
who refused or ignored the invitation. There was no positive heart response at
all. The second and third types of soil, I believe, are like the man not
wearing the wedding garment. These are those who initially receive the
invitation with joy, but other things in this life eventually choke out or
crowd out the gospel and faith in Christ from their lives because the Word
never really took root and/or the “faith” never produced the fruit in keeping
with repentance.
And, within our churches there are many who fit into one of
the first three types of soil and/or who fit the invitees who refused, ignored
and/or strongly opposed the true gospel and Christ’s messengers. Many of these
invitees have the appearance of faith in Christ, but deny the power of Christ
in their lives. They honor God with their lips, but their hearts are far from
him. Their teaching is made up of rules by men. This kind of teaching is not
exclusive to the legalists, either. Man’s teachings are all through today’s
modern churches, and are often accepted as truth over and above the word of
God, even by many pastors and elders.
The sad reality, thus, is that many in our churches who
think they are prepared to meet Christ, like the man who showed up but was not
properly dressed, will be thrown out into the darkness and will spend eternity
in hell instead of in heaven. Too many of today’s churches are preaching a
gospel-lite that excludes repentance and obedience to Christ. Many are going to
come before God and hear the words “I never knew you” because they are not
properly clothed. These teachings of Christ are also taught in the rest of the
New Testament and serve as warnings to us to not take our salvation for
granted, thinking we have our ticket into heaven when we don’t. Jesus Christ is
quite clear: We must repent of our sins and we must follow him in obedience. We
must die to our old way of living so that we can live new lives in Christ. The
old and the new don’t mix! We have to throw the old (our lives of sin) away in
order to put on the new (our lives in Christ Jesus).
So, if today you find yourself among those who are ignoring,
refusing, and/or who are strongly opposing the truth of the gospel (the
appropriate wedding attire), I pray that you will turn your hearts and lives
over to Jesus Christ today, unreservedly, totally abandoned to Christ and to his
service, so that one day you will hear “Well done, good and faithful servant.
Welcome home!” Then, we will have nothing to fear.
How Can I Fear? /
Ron Hamilton - Patch the Pirate
How can I fear? Jesus
is near.
He ever watches over
me.
Worries all cease. He
gives me peace.
I will not fear with
Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment