WEBVTT 00:00:00.959 --> 00:00:01.600 Hello, friends. 00:00:01.679 --> 00:00:02.879 This is Pastor Creighton. 00:00:02.959 --> 00:00:06.160 Thank you for tuning in to Newsong Church's Sermon Podcast. 00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:13.359 At Newsong Church, we want to see Jesus lifted high in Port Perry, Ontario, as we worship, grow, and serve. 00:00:13.599 --> 00:00:18.719 You can learn more about us and find contact info at newsongportperry.ca. 00:00:29.440 --> 00:00:36.159 When Jesus went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. 00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:53.119 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him. 00:00:53.359 --> 00:01:03.359 And he who is invited you both will come to you and say, Give your place to this person, and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:11.840 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, Friend, move up higher. 00:01:12.159 --> 00:01:16.239 Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:22.879 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. 00:01:23.840 --> 00:01:36.560 He said also to the man who had invited him, When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and you be repaid. 00:01:36.799 --> 00:01:46.000 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. 00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:49.680 For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just. 00:01:50.879 --> 00:01:58.319 When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God. 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:05.599 But he said to him, A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 00:02:05.840 --> 00:02:14.319 And at the time for the banquet, he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, Come, everything is now ready. 00:02:14.960 --> 00:02:17.520 But they all alike began to make excuses. 00:02:18.319 --> 00:02:24.319 The first said to him, I've bought a field and I must go to see it, and please have me excused. 00:02:24.879 --> 00:02:31.039 And another said, I've bought five yoke of oxen, and I have to go examine them, and please have me excused. 00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:35.759 And another said, I've married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. 00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:39.680 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. 00:02:40.560 --> 00:02:51.520 And the master of his the house became angry and said to his servant, Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city and bring in the poor, the crippled, and blind and lame. 00:02:51.919 --> 00:02:56.319 And the servant said, Sir, what you've commanded has been done, and there's still room. 00:02:57.039 --> 00:03:05.439 The master said to the servant, Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:11.280 For I tell you, none of those men who are invited shall taste my banquet. 00:03:11.919 --> 00:03:13.680 This is the gospel of the Lord. 00:03:14.159 --> 00:03:15.599 Praise to you, Lord. 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:24.400 So, dear brothers and sisters, hear the invitation this morning. 00:03:25.039 --> 00:03:28.719 Come, for everything is ready. 00:03:29.199 --> 00:03:30.400 Let's pray. 00:03:46.719 --> 00:03:49.280 Dear Lord, let us learn by paradox. 00:03:50.319 --> 00:04:19.519 That the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, that to have nothing is to possess all, that to bear the cross is to wear the crown. 00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:27.759 Lord, send out your light and your truth, that they may lead us and bring us to your holy hill, to your very dwelling. 00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:29.360 In Christ's name we pray. 00:04:29.600 --> 00:04:30.160 Amen. 00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:31.759 Please be seated. 00:04:34.399 --> 00:04:41.279 Well, my experience in grade school is the best classes were the one where the teacher showed a video, so I'm gonna kick us off with a video. 00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:45.360 It's B.E.N. 00:04:45.439 --> 00:04:46.879 Welcome back to Smarter Every Day. 00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:52.160 You've heard people say it's just like riding a bike, meaning it's really easy and you can't forget how to do it, right? 00:04:52.480 --> 00:04:53.680 But I did something. 00:04:53.839 --> 00:04:55.600 I did something that damaged my mind. 00:04:55.680 --> 00:04:59.439 It happened on the streets of Amsterdam, and and I got really scared, honestly. 00:04:59.519 --> 00:05:02.560 I I can't ride a bike like you can anymore. 00:05:02.800 --> 00:05:04.399 Before I show you the video, what happened? 00:05:04.480 --> 00:05:06.000 I I need to tell you the backstory. 00:05:06.160 --> 00:05:10.319 Like many six-year-olds with a MacGyver mullet, I learned how to ride a bike when I was really young. 00:05:10.480 --> 00:05:13.120 I had learned a life skill and I was really proud of it. 00:05:13.360 --> 00:05:16.480 Everything changed though when my friend Barney called me 25 years later. 00:05:16.800 --> 00:05:20.639 Where I work, the welders are geniuses and they like to play jokes on the engineers. 00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:22.000 He had a challenge for me. 00:05:22.160 --> 00:05:25.279 He had built a special bicycle and he wanted me to try to ride it. 00:05:25.439 --> 00:05:26.720 He had only changed one thing. 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:30.079 When you turn the handlebar to the left, the wheel goes to the right. 00:05:30.319 --> 00:05:32.800 When you turn it to the right, the wheel goes to the left. 00:05:33.040 --> 00:05:36.879 I thought this would be easy, so I hopped on the bike, ready to demonstrate how quickly I could conquer this. 00:05:37.120 --> 00:05:38.800 And here he is, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. 00:05:38.959 --> 00:05:39.920 Destin Sandlin. 00:05:40.480 --> 00:05:42.639 First attempt riding the bicycle. 00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:52.000 So that's why I got the I couldn't do it. 00:05:52.160 --> 00:05:55.360 You can see that I'm laughing, but I'm actually really frustrated. 00:05:55.519 --> 00:05:58.560 In this moment, I had a really deep revelation. 00:05:58.720 --> 00:06:00.639 My thinking was in a rut. 00:06:00.800 --> 00:06:03.600 This bike revealed a very deep truth to me. 00:06:03.759 --> 00:06:08.399 I had the knowledge of how to operate the bike, but I did not have the understanding. 00:06:08.639 --> 00:06:15.040 Once you have a rigid way of thinking in your head, sometimes you cannot change that, even if you want to. 00:06:19.120 --> 00:06:20.240 There you go. 00:06:21.759 --> 00:06:24.879 Well, how do you think you'd fare on a bike like that? 00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:30.800 I can't see me doing much better than what we just saw. 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:41.199 So the quote that really stood out to me in that video is uh he says, I have knowledge of how to ride a bike, but I don't have the understanding. 00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:44.800 It's like everything in us, well, we know where we want to go. 00:06:44.879 --> 00:06:46.720 We hop on a bike, we know our destination. 00:06:46.800 --> 00:06:49.199 I mean, he just wants to go across the stage there. 00:06:49.360 --> 00:06:55.120 I know where I want to go, but it's like my understanding points me in exactly the wrong direction. 00:06:55.279 --> 00:06:59.839 It's like when I turn to the left, boom, I go to the right, and vice versa. 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:01.199 So here we are. 00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:03.680 We are in uh the Gospel of Luke. 00:07:03.759 --> 00:07:12.240 We've been journeying through Luke together these last number of weeks, coming to see who Jesus is and what his kingdom is all about. 00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:31.279 A couple of weeks ago in chapter 10, Jesus sends out 72 of his apostles to proclaim to people far and wide that the kingdom is near, that God's reign, his rule, his sovereignty is coming to bear in the world around us, that it's drawing near to us and drawing us near to him. 00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:42.319 Just last week, Matt was uh preaching on the Lord's prayer for us and the prayer that we as Christians ought to be praying daily, maybe multiple times a day, in kingdom come. 00:07:42.560 --> 00:07:45.040 The kingdom is a big deal. 00:07:45.839 --> 00:07:47.040 Uh in the words of N. 00:07:47.279 --> 00:07:47.360 T. 00:07:47.519 --> 00:07:52.079 Wright, we've if you've been uh joining us on Wednesday nights for the study, you'll be familiar with this. 00:07:52.399 --> 00:07:52.720 N.T. 00:07:52.879 --> 00:07:56.160 Wright says of this proclamation that the kingdom of God draws near. 00:07:56.319 --> 00:08:11.040 He says, God was now unveiling his age-old plan, bringing his sovereignty to bear on his people Israel and the world as he always intended, bringing justice and mercy to all. 00:08:11.519 --> 00:08:14.639 And he was doing so through Jesus. 00:08:14.879 --> 00:08:22.160 He was announcing that God's final campaign had begun and was already being put into effect. 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:26.079 The kingdom of God is drawing near. 00:08:27.279 --> 00:08:50.879 But what Luke 14 starts to expose for us is that while we desire the kingdom, while we desire to see wrongs made right, while we desire to see what's injust and unjust be met with God's true justice to see the world rightly ordered, Luke 14 starts to expose that we can have some expectations about how exactly that's gonna play out. 00:08:51.039 --> 00:08:58.000 And sometimes our expectations, like turning the bike to the left, ends up turning us to the right, and vice versa. 00:08:58.159 --> 00:09:02.879 So Jesus is sitting down, verse one, dining with some Pharisees, right? 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:09.919 Some really the they're like the best-selling Amazon religious authors of the day. 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:13.279 It's like they're the experts who ought to know their stuff. 00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:17.679 And he's dining with them on the Sabbath, the day of worship, the day of rest. 00:09:17.759 --> 00:09:26.960 And so this would be a pretty common practice to invite the rabbi, uh the preacher, to come on over for dinner and meet with the uh, you know, the leaders of the church, etc. 00:09:27.200 --> 00:09:29.039 So here's Jesus doing just that. 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:36.720 Now, in the verses that we didn't read this morning, only for time, Jesus uh is kind of set up at this dinner. 00:09:37.759 --> 00:09:42.960 This is a dinner full of Pharisees, and they've invited Jesus, but they've also invited this man who's ill. 00:09:43.039 --> 00:09:44.480 He's got dropsy. 00:09:44.559 --> 00:09:46.480 Some of our translations probably say that. 00:09:46.639 --> 00:09:49.039 It's like a buildup of fluid in the body. 00:09:49.279 --> 00:09:51.519 And this guy's kind of the odd man out. 00:09:51.679 --> 00:09:55.679 And I mean, maybe this guy runs with the Pharisees, maybe he hangs out with them a lot. 00:09:55.840 --> 00:10:01.519 I'm willing to bet that the Pharisees invited this guy for one reason and one reason only, and that's to set Jesus up. 00:10:01.679 --> 00:10:07.120 They know that Jesus has this pesky habit of healing on the Sabbath, which for them is a big, big no-no. 00:10:07.360 --> 00:10:09.679 That's, you know, that's just one of the principles they hold to. 00:10:09.759 --> 00:10:11.440 You don't do work like that on the Sabbath. 00:10:11.919 --> 00:10:16.960 Doesn't matter how sacred or or how God's kingdom is working, it's like you don't do that. 00:10:17.279 --> 00:10:25.519 And so Jesus asks them this question: is it right to he to harm or to take life on the Sabbath or to give life? 00:10:25.679 --> 00:10:26.639 And they're speechless. 00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:29.759 It's like they know the tables have been turned here. 00:10:29.919 --> 00:10:33.840 So Jesus heals this man and sends him away. 00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:40.559 The kingdom is drawing near, it's bringing its healing with it, just like we saw in chapter 10. 00:10:40.799 --> 00:10:48.720 And what Jesus is doing here is exposing the Pharisees' own expectations of how this kingdom is going to play itself out. 00:10:49.039 --> 00:11:08.399 These Pharisees, these Pharisees have so deeply believed that they are the prime candidates for God's kingdom, that in every way they're doing everything possible to make themselves, you know, the most desirable first-round draft picks for God's kingdom, right? 00:11:08.559 --> 00:11:11.840 It's a matter of pedigree, where you come from, they're of good stock. 00:11:11.919 --> 00:11:13.519 It's a matter of outward piety. 00:11:13.679 --> 00:11:18.000 We're doing all the outward keeping of the commandments that we need to do. 00:11:18.480 --> 00:11:24.240 Surely, surely, if anyone has earned their way to God's kingdom, it's us. 00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:34.559 And yet, what Jesus shows them and what follows is that God's kingdom so often reverses our expectations. 00:11:35.759 --> 00:11:47.440 It exposes the fact that even though the Pharisees are convinced they're turning left towards the kingdom, they're actually being taken right towards self-righteousness and self-importance. 00:11:48.480 --> 00:11:52.799 God's kingdom so often reverses our expectations of it. 00:11:52.879 --> 00:11:59.120 And what I want us to see in what follows is it reverses our expectations in the following ways. 00:11:59.840 --> 00:12:03.600 The kingdom means that the way up is down. 00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:09.840 The kingdom means that to have we must give. 00:12:16.320 --> 00:12:21.120 The way up is the way down, to have is to give, and to live is to die. 00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:27.200 In other words, the kingdom is a matter of humility, generosity, and priority. 00:12:27.759 --> 00:12:31.200 God's kingdom reverses our expectations. 00:12:31.360 --> 00:12:44.639 And so if we want to be people who come and see who Jesus is, what his kingdom is all about, if we desire to see the world made as it should be, then we need to let Jesus point us in the right direction, don't we? 00:12:44.879 --> 00:12:50.879 If we're at all willing to acknowledge that maybe our instincts point us sometimes in the wrong direction. 00:12:51.279 --> 00:12:58.639 So let's open up our Bibles, and I do encourage you to open up your Bibles, because we're going to be looking at what follows from this passage as well. 00:12:58.799 --> 00:13:01.600 But if you've got your order of service in front of you, that's great too. 00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:04.159 Let's open it up to Luke chapter 14. 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:14.639 Let's see how the kingdom of God, his reign, his rule, his sovereignty being brought to bear on earth as it is in heaven reverses our expectations. 00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:19.279 First off, the way up is down. 00:13:19.840 --> 00:13:22.799 Let's look at verse 7, chapter 14. 00:13:23.519 --> 00:13:29.919 So Jesus told a parable to those who were invited when he noticed how they chose the places of honor. 00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:33.200 So parables are stories that have double meanings, right? 00:13:33.279 --> 00:13:35.519 We're meant to glimpse a single kingdom truth. 00:13:35.600 --> 00:13:44.879 They're not meant to be overapplied, as if every kingdom truth is present in every parable, but we're meant to glimpse something that's true of the kingdom through this story. 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:52.000 So he's telling them a parable when he notices how they're vying for the best seat in the house, so to speak. 00:13:52.159 --> 00:13:59.279 Not just because, you know, they want to sit next to the host or something, but because that says to everyone else around that I'm really important, right? 00:13:59.919 --> 00:14:08.879 So he says, when you're invited by someone to a wedding feast, that's a big deal, wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited. 00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:13.200 And then, of course, he goes to them and says, you need to go sit over here. 00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:20.000 And you, and and if you humble yourself, take the worst seat in the house, then okay, well, maybe you have a chance of being promoted, so to speak. 00:14:20.159 --> 00:14:24.159 Rachel and I remember well the tricky thing it is to plan out tables at the wedding. 00:14:24.240 --> 00:14:29.519 It's a very political exercise sometimes. 00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:35.440 You know, so on the one hand, we might hear this, you know, uh, and and sort of say, well, thanks, Jesus. 00:14:35.519 --> 00:14:36.879 I guess that's really great advice. 00:14:37.039 --> 00:14:39.519 Like that saves me from a social faux pas, you know. 00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:47.279 I I remember in high school I used to brag about how great I was at like hockey or baseball because I played exactly once and and thought I did pretty good. 00:14:47.440 --> 00:14:54.960 And then when I would, you know, I remember taking, putting the skates on, going to play later in high school and just getting absolutely wrecked. 00:14:55.120 --> 00:14:59.200 And uh all my friends are kind of going, yeah, you know, that's the way it goes, isn't it? 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:06.799 It's like maybe Jesus is saying, don't be like Creighton, you know, just just you know, aim low and you'll get promoted, so to speak. 00:15:06.960 --> 00:15:09.360 And I think there's more going on than just that. 00:15:09.519 --> 00:15:12.559 I think it's more going on than just some nice social advice here. 00:15:12.720 --> 00:15:16.399 Jesus wants to see something that's true of the kingdom. 00:15:16.799 --> 00:15:21.519 And what he wants us to see is we all desire exaltation. 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:27.200 We all desire value to be valued, to be exalted, to be lifted up. 00:15:27.440 --> 00:15:37.840 We all desire that sort of status, and all of our instincts tell us that the way to get there is to climb up the ladder and knock off anyone we need to along the way. 00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:41.600 It's been said we're in a dog-eat-dog world and we're all wearing bacon pants. 00:15:41.679 --> 00:15:44.080 It's like, get out of my way. 00:15:44.799 --> 00:15:50.080 But Jesus is saying, and the instinct for the Pharisees here is the same as true of piety. 00:15:50.320 --> 00:15:55.919 If I show all the outward signs of piety that I need to, then I knock other folks off the rung of the ladder. 00:15:56.000 --> 00:16:00.480 And Jesus is saying, you're getting pointed in the wrong direction here. 00:16:01.279 --> 00:16:04.639 Verse 11, this is the conclusion. 00:16:05.759 --> 00:16:11.279 Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. 00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:16.639 Well, we want the exaltation of the kingdom, but Jesus says you need to understand something about the kingdom. 00:16:16.720 --> 00:16:22.159 The kingdom is breaking into earth as it is in heaven, but not at the top of the ladder. 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:24.879 It's breaking in from the bottom of the ladder. 00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:42.559 So if you want to be a part of God's kingdom, if you want to participate in God's reign and rule, go to where you'll find the lowly, go to where you'll find the overlooked, go to where you'll find the marginalized, and there you'll see the kingdom starting to break in. 00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:47.519 It's not about promoting ourselves, knocking other folks off the ladder. 00:16:47.919 --> 00:16:54.879 It's about going down to serve and to humble ourselves and meet God where he meets the lowly. 00:16:55.039 --> 00:16:57.440 This has always been true of God's character. 00:16:57.759 --> 00:17:05.200 Isaiah 57, he says through the prophet, this is what the high and exalted one says, who lives forever, his name is holy. 00:17:05.359 --> 00:17:08.319 You know, the one who couldn't be more glorious if he tried. 00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:20.960 He says, I live in the high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, to revive the heart of the contrite. 00:17:21.279 --> 00:17:28.079 In other words, God says, Go to where you'll find the humble and the meek, and there you'll find me at work. 00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:31.920 See, the way up is the way down. 00:17:32.240 --> 00:17:38.319 If we desire the kingdom, we don't go by way of self-exaltation. 00:17:38.960 --> 00:17:42.319 We go by way of humility, of true humility. 00:17:42.480 --> 00:17:45.279 And true humility always refuses pride, right? 00:17:45.519 --> 00:17:48.079 Arrogance and self-centeredness and self-importance. 00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:50.160 But pride, pride can be a tricky thing. 00:17:50.400 --> 00:18:00.079 Pride can both puff us up and cause us to feel superior to everyone else, and everyone else is inferior to us, so we cast judgment on everyone else who's inferior to us. 00:18:00.160 --> 00:18:05.039 We've made ourselves the center of the universe and made this judgment, and that's pride. 00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:07.200 But pride can also do something in reverse. 00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:16.079 It can have the reverse dynamics where we put ourselves at the center of the universe, we're the judge of all things, and I judge myself inferior to everyone else. 00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:18.480 And everyone else is superior to me. 00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:26.079 And so suddenly we think, well, we can confuse low self-esteem of one sort with humility, and it's not. 00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:28.240 It's another form of pride. 00:18:28.640 --> 00:18:38.000 Because I've judged myself inferior and you to be superior, just like on the other end, I can judge myself superior and I can judge you inferior. 00:18:38.160 --> 00:18:40.240 Both is a self-centeredness. 00:18:40.400 --> 00:18:41.200 Both is an area. 00:18:41.680 --> 00:18:42.799 Do you catch that? 00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:46.640 True humility pushes both aside. 00:18:46.880 --> 00:18:55.519 True humility is about a true knowledge of ourself before God, before others, even with regards to our own self. 00:18:55.680 --> 00:18:57.680 Here's what the good Bishop J.C. 00:18:57.759 --> 00:18:59.440 Ryle has to say about humility. 00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:03.200 He says, the root of humility is right knowledge. 00:19:03.519 --> 00:19:17.759 The man who really knows himself and his own heart, he who knows God and his infinite majesty and holiness, who knows Christ and the price at which he was redeemed, that man will never be a proud man. 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:28.880 In other words, knowing our faults keeps us from being puffed up, but knowing our value keeps us from feeling like we are desolate and at the bottom of the barrel. 00:19:29.119 --> 00:19:34.000 True humility is acknowledging our faults and our value before God. 00:19:34.160 --> 00:19:36.880 That's a true self-knowledge. 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:44.319 So we go to what's true, we go to the meek, we go to the lowly, because therein lies the kingdom. 00:19:44.799 --> 00:19:47.119 The way up is the way down. 00:19:47.519 --> 00:19:50.480 But to have, we must also give. 00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:53.279 The way of the kingdom is a generous way. 00:19:53.440 --> 00:19:56.240 Let's look at verses 12 to 14 here. 00:19:58.559 --> 00:20:11.440 Jesus said to the man who had invited him, When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and you be repaid. 00:20:18.720 --> 00:20:20.799 Should I be canceling those at this point? 00:20:21.519 --> 00:20:23.039 And the answer is no. 00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:25.680 Remember, this is a parable. 00:20:25.839 --> 00:20:29.359 Jesus wants us to give us a glimpse into the kingdom, right? 00:20:29.599 --> 00:20:35.599 And so we need to glimpse the truth of the kingdom and not, you know, overapply, let's say, the parable. 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:38.880 You know, John Calvin observes this of this passage. 00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:47.200 He says, it is not unfeeling but barbarous to exclude relatives from the hospitable table and to class them only with strangers. 00:20:47.440 --> 00:20:58.720 He says, Christ did not intend to dissuade us from everything courteous, but merely to show that acts of civility which are customary are no proof whatever of charity. 00:20:59.440 --> 00:21:07.599 So, in other words, invite your friends, invite your family, invite folks, and have community and enjoy dinner together. 00:21:07.759 --> 00:21:14.000 But let's not confuse gathering together with our friends and relatives for an act of generosity. 00:21:14.240 --> 00:21:16.960 We're meant to glimpse that the kingdom is about generosity. 00:21:17.039 --> 00:21:19.759 It's not about quid pro quo, right? 00:21:20.160 --> 00:21:24.880 And that's the glimpse here is if I do something for you, you're gonna do something for me in return. 00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:27.440 And let's bear in mind where Jesus is saying this. 00:21:27.519 --> 00:21:30.160 He's saying it at the dinner of the Pharisees. 00:21:30.319 --> 00:21:32.400 Who have the Pharisees invited? 00:21:32.799 --> 00:21:34.079 Other Pharisees. 00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:37.759 And this guy with dropsy because they had a plan in mind. 00:21:38.559 --> 00:21:44.880 In other words, this whole dynamic is using one another to get ahead. 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:51.440 You're as useful to me as I can use you to get ahead or climb up the ladder. 00:21:51.680 --> 00:21:54.720 And Jesus is saying that's not how the kingdom works. 00:21:55.119 --> 00:21:59.519 The kingdom works when we give without expectation of return. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:13.920 And that's why he says, verse 13 and 14 When you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just. 00:22:14.079 --> 00:22:16.880 We want the blessing of the kingdom. 00:22:17.519 --> 00:22:20.240 To be blessed, we must give. 00:22:20.640 --> 00:22:26.000 And the only way it seems to do that is to have this eternal perspective that Jesus talks about. 00:22:26.160 --> 00:22:28.720 You'll be repaid at the resurrection of the just. 00:22:28.880 --> 00:22:33.839 What's the only reason to be generous to someone who can't be generous in return? 00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:38.880 Well, it's knowing that at the end of the day, the outcome belongs to God. 00:22:39.359 --> 00:22:42.480 And God is good and he's trustworthy. 00:22:42.720 --> 00:22:46.960 And I can trust him to right what's wrong with the world. 00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:54.799 This isn't karma, you know, putting out some good vibes into the universe by being generous so that I can expect to get some good vibes in return. 00:22:55.039 --> 00:23:04.880 This is about trusting our living God, who is working in history to move us towards his ultimate redemption at Christ's return. 00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:17.680 So to have, to have this blessing, gain or security or status, whatever it is that we desire most, we must be those who give. 00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:21.920 Who give generously, who give without expectation of repayment. 00:23:22.079 --> 00:23:26.160 And this just reverses our brains, doesn't it? 00:23:26.480 --> 00:23:35.359 Because everything in me tells me that if I want to feel secure, if I want my status, it's like I need to do everything I can for myself to get ahead. 00:23:35.680 --> 00:23:36.319 Right? 00:23:38.480 --> 00:23:45.680 The image here is uh so I'm I'm just by no means like an outdoors guy. 00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:49.279 That might surprise some of you, but shouldn't. 00:23:49.680 --> 00:23:58.000 But uh what I know about you know outdoor survival stuff I get from bear grills or I get from like, I don't know, YouTube videos or something. 00:23:58.079 --> 00:24:00.160 But here's one thing I do know. 00:24:00.319 --> 00:24:02.240 Um correct me if I'm wrong. 00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:03.839 No, I think I know this one. 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:11.839 Um if you're looking for drinking water out in the wild, you don't go to where the water pools, you go to a stream, right? 00:24:12.319 --> 00:24:18.400 We know because where the water pools, things have a habit of festering, of souring, right? 00:24:18.720 --> 00:24:23.359 So you go to where the water is being poured out, and that's where you'll find clean drinking water. 00:24:23.440 --> 00:24:25.119 In a way, Jesus is saying this. 00:24:25.279 --> 00:24:31.920 We're meant to be conduits of blessing, not reservoirs of blessing, right? 00:24:32.400 --> 00:24:39.680 When we pour ourselves out, that's when we enjoy the clarity and purity and goodness of God's blessing. 00:24:39.839 --> 00:24:45.359 When we try and hoard it for ourselves, protect it and shove other people out of the way. 00:24:45.519 --> 00:24:49.519 That's when we have a way of seeing it sour and fester. 00:24:49.839 --> 00:24:57.759 We're meant to be conduits and not reservoirs, and maybe that's why Jesus can say to us that it's more blessed to give than to receive. 00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:01.599 See, true generosity is this spiritual reversal. 00:25:01.920 --> 00:25:07.440 You know, it's it's an attitude of my greatest good is the greatest good of my neighbor. 00:25:07.680 --> 00:25:11.839 So I'm gonna pour out rather than try and suck in. 00:25:13.839 --> 00:25:16.000 Okay, I'm feeling kind of bruised at this point. 00:25:16.160 --> 00:25:17.200 Are we feeling bruised? 00:25:17.519 --> 00:25:21.119 I was feeling bruised when I was preparing this sermon, I'll admit this this week. 00:25:21.200 --> 00:25:23.359 I'm feeling I'm feeling uncomfortable. 00:25:23.599 --> 00:25:30.640 Because this just pushes against some of the most fundamental instincts of self-preservation that I have. 00:25:30.960 --> 00:25:34.559 And if you're feeling uncomfortable like I'm feeling uncomfortable, then guess what? 00:25:34.640 --> 00:25:38.720 We're in good company because the guests at the table are feeling uncomfortable. 00:25:38.960 --> 00:25:43.039 Verse 15 one of those who reclined at the table with Jesus heard these things. 00:25:43.119 --> 00:25:47.599 He said to him, Blessed is everyone who eats bread in the kingdom of God. 00:25:48.319 --> 00:25:49.920 I don't know if he said it like that or not. 00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:51.359 That's how I imagine it. 00:25:52.640 --> 00:25:54.480 But maybe we've had those moments. 00:25:54.559 --> 00:25:56.240 We, you know, had Thanksgiving recently. 00:25:56.319 --> 00:26:05.039 It's like we've got that maybe one relative who's inclined to just go off on that rant, and everyone's like, okay, you know, it's like, here's something we can all agree on. 00:26:05.119 --> 00:26:06.000 That's the move, isn't it? 00:26:06.079 --> 00:26:10.960 It's like, we're something we can all just defuse the situation here, and I think that's what's going on here. 00:26:11.200 --> 00:26:17.839 Jesus is laying into the kingdom looks nothing like what you expect, nothing like what you're practicing, Pharisees. 00:26:18.000 --> 00:26:20.240 And he goes, Well, here's something we can all agree on, right? 00:26:20.319 --> 00:26:22.000 Wow, we all want to be in the kingdom, right? 00:26:22.079 --> 00:26:23.440 We all want to feast in the kingdom. 00:26:23.519 --> 00:26:25.119 Wow, we can all agree on that, right? 00:26:25.200 --> 00:26:29.839 And Jesus says, if you want to know about the kingdom, let me tell you. 00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:35.519 In the kingdom, to live, we must die. 00:26:36.799 --> 00:26:39.119 To live, we must die. 00:26:40.880 --> 00:26:44.079 Verses sixteen, verse sixteen here. 00:26:44.240 --> 00:26:46.799 Jesus said to him, A man once gave a great banquet. 00:26:46.960 --> 00:26:47.920 He invited many. 00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:54.240 At the time for the banquet, he sent his servant to say to those who've been invited, Come, everything is now ready. 00:26:54.960 --> 00:27:05.759 So uh customary in the first century, if you were throwing, you know, a banquet or a feast, Matthew, interestingly enough, casts this as a royal wedding feast, which is something to think about. 00:27:06.160 --> 00:27:09.119 Um, in the first century, you're throwing a big banquet, a big party. 00:27:09.279 --> 00:27:17.519 You'd send out your servant well ahead of time to say, Hey, on this date at this time, we're gonna be having this party, because you know it's before Google Calendar and you can't just put it in there. 00:27:17.599 --> 00:27:18.960 So the servant goes out and says that. 00:27:19.119 --> 00:27:27.920 And then day of, because you're not gonna get an alert on your Google Calendar, the servant goes out again and says, Hey, remember that party that you said you were so excited for that you said you weren't gonna miss? 00:27:28.079 --> 00:27:29.680 It's this afternoon, two o'clock. 00:27:29.759 --> 00:27:30.319 We'll see you there. 00:27:30.400 --> 00:27:31.519 We're looking forward to it. 00:27:31.759 --> 00:27:41.279 And what is it that all of these folks who've been invited who said, I will be there, I can't wait for it, what is it that they say to this servant who's coming to them right at this moment? 00:27:41.759 --> 00:27:43.759 Well, they start to make excuses. 00:27:46.480 --> 00:27:50.960 Come, for everything is now ready is the invitation, but they all alike began to make excuses. 00:27:51.440 --> 00:27:55.839 The first said to them, Well, I've bought a field, I must go out and see it, please have me excused. 00:27:56.000 --> 00:27:58.880 And another said, I've bought a yoke of oxen, please have me excused. 00:27:59.039 --> 00:28:02.400 Another says, Well, I just got married, so obviously I can't come. 00:28:02.559 --> 00:28:07.839 You know, honeymoon's happening, the you know, five-star resort's been paid for. 00:28:08.960 --> 00:28:19.599 So invitations are accepted, but day of the servants met with excuses. 00:28:20.960 --> 00:28:34.400 In other words, here are folks who want the benefit of the banquet, they want to, the benefit of the feast, they want the benefit of the celebration, but really not on the master's terms, on their terms, right? 00:28:34.960 --> 00:28:38.240 Because when the day comes, it's like, well, I got stuff to do. 00:28:38.400 --> 00:28:39.279 I'm sorry. 00:28:39.519 --> 00:28:40.880 These are my priorities. 00:28:41.039 --> 00:28:43.920 And here's the thing: these are legitimate priorities. 00:28:44.160 --> 00:28:48.640 You know, I got I got work I got to attend to, I've got investments I need to manage. 00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:50.480 It's like I've got family I need to worry about. 00:28:50.559 --> 00:28:52.319 It's like those are all legitimate. 00:28:52.480 --> 00:28:58.720 Jesus is not saying, you know, give up your livelihood, give up your investments, you know, don't bother with your family. 00:28:58.880 --> 00:28:59.440 Of course not. 00:28:59.599 --> 00:29:04.079 These are all legitimate occupations of our attention and energy and time. 00:29:04.559 --> 00:29:11.759 But when we confuse these good things with the ultimate thing, then we end up missing out on both. 00:29:12.480 --> 00:29:12.640 C. 00:29:12.799 --> 00:29:12.880 S. 00:29:12.960 --> 00:29:20.079 Lewis very famously wrote that when we aim at heaven, we get earth thrown in, but if we aim at earth, we get neither. 00:29:21.279 --> 00:29:27.599 Here are folks who want the benefit of the banquet, but want it on their terms. 00:29:29.599 --> 00:29:31.359 And so it's a tragedy. 00:29:32.079 --> 00:29:36.480 The benefactor's response, by the way, is not to cancel the banquet. 00:29:36.559 --> 00:29:40.400 He's got every right to just say, banquet's over, we're done. 00:29:41.039 --> 00:29:46.799 No, his response to this situation is to take the invitation even further. 00:29:47.039 --> 00:29:52.240 Go out into the streets, go out into the laneways, go invite everyone in this city to be a part of this banquet. 00:29:52.319 --> 00:29:54.079 And the servant says, Well, we've already done that. 00:29:54.160 --> 00:29:55.519 And the master goes, good. 00:29:55.839 --> 00:30:00.079 Go out into the countryside, invite everyone far and wide. 00:30:00.240 --> 00:30:03.039 We need to fill this house. 00:30:04.720 --> 00:30:08.799 God's heart is to see the house filled. 00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:15.519 So he offers relentless invitation. 00:30:16.400 --> 00:30:19.599 Let me quote from the good bishop Ryle again. 00:30:19.920 --> 00:30:26.240 He says, The offers and invitations of the gospel are most broad and liberal. 00:30:26.720 --> 00:30:30.960 The Father is ready to receive all who come to him by Christ. 00:30:31.200 --> 00:30:35.599 The Son is ready to cleanse all from their sin who apply to him by faith. 00:30:35.839 --> 00:30:39.119 The Spirit is ready to come to all who ask for him. 00:30:39.680 --> 00:30:49.519 These in an infinite those in an inf there is an infinite willingness in God to save man if man is only willing to be saved. 00:30:50.559 --> 00:30:59.279 There is an infinite willingness in God that we would be a part of this feast if only we have the willingness to be there. 00:30:59.519 --> 00:31:08.160 To be at this feast might mean we die to some of our own terms, some of our own priorities, some of those things we think this is that's most important. 00:31:08.640 --> 00:31:12.640 We need to ask, is it more important than the kingdom itself? 00:31:13.039 --> 00:31:19.039 If we aim at heaven, we will get earth thrown in, but if we aim at earth, we will get neither. 00:31:42.160 --> 00:31:47.759 If you've got your Bible out in front of you, probably your heading is the cost of discipleship. 00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:49.440 And there you have it. 00:31:49.759 --> 00:31:58.559 Verse 27, he's gonna say, Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 00:31:58.799 --> 00:32:06.880 And verse 33, therefore, if any of you who do if any of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. 00:32:07.200 --> 00:32:09.920 In other words, this is a total thing. 00:32:10.400 --> 00:32:17.359 The kingdom is not a Sunday morning between 10 and 11:30 if the preacher is running short, kind of thing. 00:32:17.599 --> 00:32:20.000 The kingdom is a total thing. 00:32:20.640 --> 00:32:22.720 It is an application of the whole self. 00:32:22.799 --> 00:32:25.519 And there's no part of life that's not touched by the kingdom. 00:32:25.759 --> 00:32:31.440 To live in this kingdom, we must die to those terms we might otherwise have. 00:32:33.039 --> 00:32:37.119 God's kingdom reverses our expectations. 00:32:37.519 --> 00:32:38.799 Is that land heavy? 00:32:39.279 --> 00:32:41.279 Boy, that land's heavy for me. 00:32:41.680 --> 00:32:46.400 Because I got priorities, I got terms, I got expectations. 00:32:47.279 --> 00:32:49.039 And the call is to live. 00:32:49.440 --> 00:32:53.680 If you want to live, great, you have to be willing to die. 00:32:55.200 --> 00:32:57.039 Friends, we all have expectations. 00:32:57.200 --> 00:33:07.200 We want the exaltation, we want the blessing, we we want the celebration, the feast, the banquet, all of its benefits, but we want them on our terms. 00:33:07.839 --> 00:33:12.799 And what we're being told is the handlebars in your bicycle have been reversed. 00:33:13.119 --> 00:33:20.880 All of the ways I want to secure them for myself is just leading me towards self-righteousness, self-importance, Phariseais. 00:33:23.440 --> 00:33:25.039 But here's the good news. 00:33:25.279 --> 00:33:27.920 There is good news for us, friends. 00:33:28.720 --> 00:33:37.200 There is good news that God meets us exactly where we are, that the kingdom isn't far off to those who try their hardest. 00:33:37.359 --> 00:33:44.000 God did not set up these rules to be as um unintuitive and difficult as possible. 00:33:44.240 --> 00:33:47.920 This is a God who says, Let's fill this house. 00:33:48.079 --> 00:33:51.200 This is a God whose heart is not stingy towards us. 00:33:51.359 --> 00:33:56.000 This is a God whose kingdom draws near so that we might draw near to him. 00:33:56.640 --> 00:34:02.480 This is a kingdom being inaugurated in Jesus, who is telling this parable. 00:34:03.440 --> 00:34:09.920 Jesus, who tells us the way up is down, is himself the humble bridegroom. 00:34:10.239 --> 00:34:16.239 Ephesians chapter 5, Paul is writing instructions to the Ephesians, and he points out an image of Christ. 00:34:16.320 --> 00:34:18.639 He says, Husbands, love your wives. 00:34:18.800 --> 00:34:20.159 How should we love our wives? 00:34:20.320 --> 00:34:27.840 Paul says, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, Christ gave everything for the sake of his beloved. 00:34:28.000 --> 00:34:34.320 There was no low too low for him to go to rescue his beloved. 00:34:35.280 --> 00:34:42.000 And Christ is this generous benefactor who is putting on this feast, who invites us to come. 00:34:42.559 --> 00:34:47.599 One of my favorite verses in 2 Corinthians 8, you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:34:47.760 --> 00:34:49.119 What is his grace like? 00:34:49.360 --> 00:34:56.480 That though Christ was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. 00:34:56.639 --> 00:35:04.400 In other words, there is no gift too generous for those who are desolate, for those who are spiritually bankrupt apart from Christ. 00:35:05.039 --> 00:35:21.280 And Christ who tells these parables, who is the king of this kingdom, is also the relentless servant who goes to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near, to gather us sitting here today to himself in his kingdom. 00:35:21.519 --> 00:35:25.039 There is no cost too great for those who have been invited. 00:35:25.199 --> 00:35:26.639 He has paid it himself. 00:35:27.119 --> 00:35:31.519 He invites you to come, for all is ready. 00:35:32.960 --> 00:35:34.719 This is our Lord Jesus. 00:35:34.960 --> 00:35:39.920 He has satisfied every requirement that we may be at this feast. 00:35:40.400 --> 00:35:43.119 Would that we put our trust in him? 00:35:45.199 --> 00:35:52.079 God's heart is that the house may be filled, that we enter the kingdom through Jesus. 00:35:52.880 --> 00:35:55.199 This kingdom reverses our expectations. 00:35:55.360 --> 00:36:01.440 It challenges us to live lives of humility and generosity and lives of obedience. 00:36:02.079 --> 00:36:04.800 But God enters into our world and reverses things. 00:36:04.960 --> 00:36:09.039