1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,917


2
00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:08,000
[music]

3
00:00:28,708 --> 00:00:30,500
Howdy, Mars Hill.

4
00:00:30,542 --> 00:00:36,167
Today we are
in Luke 14:12-24,

5
00:00:36,250 --> 00:00:38,167
the Parable
of the Great Banquet.

6
00:00:38,250 --> 00:00:41,167
While you're finding your spot
in your Bible or on your app,

7
00:00:41,250 --> 00:00:43,583
let me ask you a question.

8
00:00:43,667 --> 00:00:46,250
Go back with me,
think about it,

9
00:00:46,333 --> 00:00:50,333
what's the best meal
you've ever eaten?

10
00:00:50,417 --> 00:00:53,167
What's the best
party--not sinful,

11
00:00:53,250 --> 00:00:54,667
"Where did I park my car?

12
00:00:54,750 --> 00:00:56,583
Whose lamp shade is this?"

13
00:00:56,667 --> 00:01:00,917
party, but non-sinful party
you've ever been to?

14
00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:04,500
Those great, epic
banquets, feasts.

15
00:01:04,583 --> 00:01:06,167
Was it a wedding?

16
00:01:06,250 --> 00:01:08,500
Was it the birth of a child?

17
00:01:08,542 --> 00:01:10,125
Was it a birthday party?

18
00:01:10,167 --> 00:01:12,458
Was it
an anniversary celebration?

19
00:01:12,500 --> 00:01:14,792
Was it a graduation party?

20
00:01:14,833 --> 00:01:19,083
Thinking back, looking back
in your life, the biggest,

21
00:01:19,167 --> 00:01:21,083
best party you've ever been to.

22
00:01:21,167 --> 00:01:23,500
And the best meal
you've ever eaten.

23
00:01:23,542 --> 00:01:28,000
Usually the centerpiece of
a good party is a great feast.

24
00:01:28,083 --> 00:01:30,500
I asked Gracie, my wife, this.

25
00:01:30,583 --> 00:01:34,167
"Honey, what are your favorite
meals you've ever had?"

26
00:01:34,208 --> 00:01:36,583
And we had this kind
of fun conversation.

27
00:01:36,667 --> 00:01:39,417
I found out that my wife
is very high maintenance.

28
00:01:39,500 --> 00:01:43,083
She said that she loved it
when we went to The Herbfarm,

29
00:01:43,167 --> 00:01:46,000
which is supposed to be one
of the best meals, literally,

30
00:01:46,083 --> 00:01:48,667
in the country,
over in Woodinville.

31
00:01:48,750 --> 00:01:53,167
We both also like El Gaucho,
great place for a steak.

32
00:01:53,208 --> 00:01:57,625
They'll do flaming Chateaubriand
at the table for two.

33
00:01:57,667 --> 00:02:00,167
They'll do
flaming cherries jubilee

34
00:02:00,250 --> 00:02:03,583
or flaming bananas foster
at the table,

35
00:02:03,667 --> 00:02:07,000
so you get lots of fire,
which is pretty fantastic.

36
00:02:07,083 --> 00:02:09,167
The sides are amazing.

37
00:02:09,250 --> 00:02:11,167
The corn is great.

38
00:02:11,208 --> 00:02:14,333
She also said that she liked it
when we went to a place

39
00:02:14,417 --> 00:02:16,125
called Iceberg.

40
00:02:16,167 --> 00:02:17,500
It was our anniversary.

41
00:02:17,583 --> 00:02:21,083
We were in Sydney, Australia,
and we went to a place on

42
00:02:21,167 --> 00:02:23,083
Bondi Beach, where
films have been shot

43
00:02:23,167 --> 00:02:24,917
and some of the Olympics
were held.

44
00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:28,083
And it was this epic,
fantastic night.

45
00:02:28,167 --> 00:02:31,917
Sun was setting over Bondi Beach
and we were eating at Iceberg

46
00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:35,833
right on this cliff
overlooking the water.

47
00:02:35,917 --> 00:02:37,625
We had the most fantastic time.

48
00:02:37,667 --> 00:02:40,583
I've got pictures of us just
snuggled up and kissing and

49
00:02:40,667 --> 00:02:44,000
enjoying one another and having
a great anniversary there.

50
00:02:44,083 --> 00:02:47,083
She also said that one of her
favorite meals is a meal

51
00:02:47,167 --> 00:02:49,333
that we ate when
we were in Cape Town,

52
00:02:49,375 --> 00:02:51,500
one of the most beautiful cities
in the world.

53
00:02:51,583 --> 00:02:53,667
We were at Cape Town together,
again a restaurant

54
00:02:53,750 --> 00:02:55,583
overlooking the water at sunset.

55
00:02:55,667 --> 00:02:59,250
And we also had a really
beautiful meal together

56
00:02:59,333 --> 00:03:03,083
that she enjoyed when we were
in Jerusalem right on the beach

57
00:03:03,167 --> 00:03:07,083
around the time of her birthday
with some dear friends of ours.

58
00:03:07,167 --> 00:03:10,083
So when we travel, and by
God's grace we get to travel

59
00:03:10,167 --> 00:03:14,167
quite a bit, we like to go out
to really nice restaurants,

60
00:03:14,208 --> 00:03:17,750
build a fantastic memory,
have an epic feast.

61
00:03:17,833 --> 00:03:21,000
And Grace talked about those
being her favorite meals,

62
00:03:21,042 --> 00:03:23,625
her favorite memories,
her favorite times.

63
00:03:23,667 --> 00:03:29,125
Mine, well, probably my most
favorite of all was at Red Robin

64
00:03:29,167 --> 00:03:30,833
of all places.

65
00:03:30,917 --> 00:03:33,167
And that was my first date
with Gracie.

66
00:03:33,250 --> 00:03:35,500
We were 17 years old.

67
00:03:35,542 --> 00:03:38,167
It was March 12, 1988.

68
00:03:38,250 --> 00:03:43,083
We were on our very first date
and I thought she was so cute.

69
00:03:43,167 --> 00:03:46,167
At the time, she had naturally
curly hair like springs.

70
00:03:46,208 --> 00:03:48,667
If you would pull it,
it would bounce back up.

71
00:03:48,708 --> 00:03:50,917
And she was just as cute
as could be

72
00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:53,000
and I was absolutely smitten
with her.

73
00:03:53,083 --> 00:03:56,292
And it was our big first date
and here I am, 17-year-old guy.

74
00:03:56,333 --> 00:03:59,667
Got my 1956 Chevy
that I owned at the time.

75
00:03:59,750 --> 00:04:01,083
Should have kept it.

76
00:04:01,167 --> 00:04:04,083
Got rid of it, one of the
dumbest things I've ever done.

77
00:04:04,167 --> 00:04:06,417
And I picked up Gracie
and we went downtown,

78
00:04:06,500 --> 00:04:10,083
and so we went to a Red Robin
that's no longer open and we had

79
00:04:10,167 --> 00:04:12,833
our first meal together as
17-year-old high school kids.

80
00:04:12,875 --> 00:04:14,500
I think we both had burgers.

81
00:04:14,583 --> 00:04:17,667
I was so nervous that on more
than one occasion

82
00:04:17,750 --> 00:04:19,167
throughout the course
of the meal,

83
00:04:19,250 --> 00:04:21,500
I actually got up
and went to the bathroom,

84
00:04:21,542 --> 00:04:23,667
not because I had
to go to the bathroom,

85
00:04:23,750 --> 00:04:25,667
just 'cause I was
sort of freaking out.

86
00:04:25,750 --> 00:04:28,500
I really liked being with
her and I was pretty nervous.

87
00:04:28,583 --> 00:04:31,000
And looking back on it,
Gracie and I were talking

88
00:04:31,083 --> 00:04:33,000
the other night
when we were snuggled up.

89
00:04:33,083 --> 00:04:35,583
And she said--she said that
she was nervous as well

90
00:04:35,667 --> 00:04:39,167
and she wouldn't eat in
front of me because somehow

91
00:04:39,250 --> 00:04:40,750
she felt nervous and
uncomfortable.

92
00:04:40,833 --> 00:04:44,167
So she'd wait for me to go to
the bathroom and then she'd eat

93
00:04:44,208 --> 00:04:46,333
really fast and then
she'd just talk to me

94
00:04:46,417 --> 00:04:47,833
when we were back together.

95
00:04:47,917 --> 00:04:50,333
That was our first big
date time together.

96
00:04:50,417 --> 00:04:52,167
Went for a walk
along the waterfront,

97
00:04:52,250 --> 00:04:55,167
put pennies on the tracks
for the trolley so we'd have

98
00:04:55,250 --> 00:04:57,000
a little memory
of a crushed penny

99
00:04:57,042 --> 00:05:00,458
and went for a walk on a beach
in another part of the city

100
00:05:00,500 --> 00:05:02,292
and sat by the fire
and visited.

101
00:05:02,333 --> 00:05:05,292
And that was such a fantastic,
wonderful time together.

102
00:05:05,333 --> 00:05:08,083
It kind of began our life
together going in a really

103
00:05:08,167 --> 00:05:10,625
beautiful direction,
by God's grace.

104
00:05:10,667 --> 00:05:14,500
Some of my other favorite meals
and memories, more recently,

105
00:05:14,583 --> 00:05:17,333
including my 40th birthday
last fall.

106
00:05:17,375 --> 00:05:21,417
We had a chef over to the house
and had a bunch of friends over.

107
00:05:21,500 --> 00:05:24,417
Nate, my assistant,
set up something similar

108
00:05:24,500 --> 00:05:26,000
in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

109
00:05:26,083 --> 00:05:29,583
We had a great meal outside
with Pastor Dave and his family,

110
00:05:29,667 --> 00:05:31,333
and Nate and his family.

111
00:05:31,417 --> 00:05:35,333
And what I learned looking back
on it is I love to eat outside.

112
00:05:35,375 --> 00:05:37,417
I love fresh air and sunshine.

113
00:05:37,500 --> 00:05:40,417
When I was a little boy, I built
forts and literally tried

114
00:05:40,500 --> 00:05:43,583
to move out of the house into
my own place in the yard

115
00:05:43,667 --> 00:05:45,333
when I was about four or five.

116
00:05:45,375 --> 00:05:47,833
I love eating outside
if the weather permits it.

117
00:05:47,875 --> 00:05:51,125
I love eating in a place where
we're not rushed and there's not

118
00:05:51,167 --> 00:05:53,792
a crowd, but you could just hang
out with your friends

119
00:05:53,833 --> 00:05:55,167
and talk and visit.

120
00:05:55,250 --> 00:05:57,750
And if it lasts for hours,
then that's okay.

121
00:05:57,833 --> 00:06:01,458
And really, a great banquet,
a great feast, a great event,

122
00:06:01,500 --> 00:06:04,000
it really has a great place.

123
00:06:04,042 --> 00:06:06,292
So you're in a place that's nice
and conducive

124
00:06:06,333 --> 00:06:08,667
and you can hang out.

125
00:06:08,750 --> 00:06:12,833
It's also including and requires
a good meal, something to eat,

126
00:06:12,917 --> 00:06:15,792
and some friends or some people
that you're in the process

127
00:06:15,833 --> 00:06:17,500
of making friends.

128
00:06:17,583 --> 00:06:19,292
Getting to know them,
talking with them.

129
00:06:19,333 --> 00:06:21,667
People are fascinating,
curious, interesting.

130
00:06:21,708 --> 00:06:24,000
And you put those variables
together and you have

131
00:06:24,083 --> 00:06:26,583
this fantastic memory.

132
00:06:26,667 --> 00:06:29,667
Well, this leads us into
Jesus' story and I would say

133
00:06:29,750 --> 00:06:31,833
it's actually a good thing
for you.

134
00:06:31,917 --> 00:06:34,500
Be thinking about the favorite
meal you've ever eaten,

135
00:06:34,583 --> 00:06:37,583
the favorite memory you've ever
made around a banquet,

136
00:06:37,667 --> 00:06:39,000
a feast, or a holiday.

137
00:06:39,083 --> 00:06:41,333
And the Bible talks
a lot about these things.

138
00:06:41,417 --> 00:06:44,000
When it comes to issues
of eating and meals and food,

139
00:06:44,083 --> 00:06:47,458
the Bible speaks of those
things over 1,000 times.

140
00:06:47,500 --> 00:06:50,917
Just the word "feast"
and derivatives thereof

141
00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:55,000
appear over 180 times
in the Bible.

142
00:06:55,042 --> 00:06:58,125
So the Bible has a lot to say
about food and feasting

143
00:06:58,167 --> 00:07:00,083
and friendship.

144
00:07:00,167 --> 00:07:03,583
And one way of actually looking
at human history is as a course

145
00:07:03,667 --> 00:07:07,958
of meals, that everything
went bad in the garden,

146
00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:12,333
where our first parents
ate a meal without God.

147
00:07:12,375 --> 00:07:17,250
And then, later on, they--God's
people--eat a meal with God

148
00:07:17,333 --> 00:07:20,625
called the Passover, remembering
that God covers their sin

149
00:07:20,667 --> 00:07:23,750
and passes over their sin.

150
00:07:23,833 --> 00:07:27,000
This leads as well to
the coming of Jesus,

151
00:07:27,042 --> 00:07:29,167
who frequently eats with people.

152
00:07:29,250 --> 00:07:32,000
We've seen it repeatedly in
Luke, that God becomes a man,

153
00:07:32,083 --> 00:07:35,083
and a lot of his time
is spent over meals

154
00:07:35,167 --> 00:07:38,167
with friends and foes.

155
00:07:38,250 --> 00:07:41,667
Additionally, this leads all the
way up to Jesus' teaching today

156
00:07:41,708 --> 00:07:44,458
and will culminate in something
called The Last Supper,

157
00:07:44,500 --> 00:07:48,167
where Jesus sits down to have
a fantastic meal, a banquet,

158
00:07:48,250 --> 00:07:52,417
a feast, a Passover
celebration with his disciples.

159
00:07:52,500 --> 00:07:55,500
Jesus ultimately dies,
rises from death,

160
00:07:55,542 --> 00:07:58,667
and one of the first things
he does is he has a meal

161
00:07:58,750 --> 00:08:00,083
with some of his friends.

162
00:08:00,167 --> 00:08:02,333
He actually has
a breakfast meal.

163
00:08:02,417 --> 00:08:05,833
Jesus continues to eat with
family and friends and neighbors

164
00:08:05,917 --> 00:08:07,333
until he ascends into heaven.

165
00:08:07,417 --> 00:08:10,167
And Revelation 19 says at
the end of human history

166
00:08:10,250 --> 00:08:13,250
is going to be
this magnificent party,

167
00:08:13,333 --> 00:08:16,333
this fantastic feast,
this banquet,

168
00:08:16,375 --> 00:08:18,167
the best meal
you've ever eaten,

169
00:08:18,250 --> 00:08:20,667
the best party
you've ever been to.

170
00:08:20,750 --> 00:08:23,250
And so Jesus,
during his teaching

171
00:08:23,333 --> 00:08:26,167
while he was on the earth,
before he returned to heaven

172
00:08:26,208 --> 00:08:29,417
to get this party set up for us
in the kingdom of God,

173
00:08:29,500 --> 00:08:31,667
he taught a lot about
the kingdom of God

174
00:08:31,750 --> 00:08:35,333
and he used the language
of feasting and of festivals

175
00:08:35,417 --> 00:08:37,833
and of celebrating
and of banquets.

176
00:08:37,875 --> 00:08:42,167
And we see one of those
occasions today in Luke 14,

177
00:08:42,250 --> 00:08:45,417
where we learn that
Jesus' kingdom is a party.

178
00:08:45,500 --> 00:08:47,417
Jesus' kingdom is a party.

179
00:08:47,500 --> 00:08:51,000
Luke 14:12-14, "He said also
to the man who had invited him,

180
00:08:51,042 --> 00:08:53,083
"'When you give
a dinner or a banquet,

181
00:08:53,167 --> 00:08:56,125
"'do not invite your friends or
your brothers or your relatives

182
00:08:56,167 --> 00:08:59,083
"'or rich neighbors, lest they
also invite you in return

183
00:08:59,167 --> 00:09:00,500
"'and you be repaid.

184
00:09:00,542 --> 00:09:03,167
"'But when you give a feast,
invite the poor, the crippled,

185
00:09:03,250 --> 00:09:05,667
"'the lame, the blind,
and you will be blessed,

186
00:09:05,750 --> 00:09:08,000
"'because they cannot repay you.

187
00:09:08,083 --> 00:09:12,333
For you will be repaid at the
resurrection of the just.'"

188
00:09:12,375 --> 00:09:13,833
Here's my question to you.

189
00:09:13,875 --> 00:09:16,917
What's your picture
of heaven like?

190
00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:20,833
What's your picture
of the eternal state like?

191
00:09:20,875 --> 00:09:24,917
After we rise from death
in glorified new bodies,

192
00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:27,250
what do you think
eternity will be like?

193
00:09:27,333 --> 00:09:29,958
For some people, it
looks horrendous.

194
00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:33,750
They think it's nothing but
a long, boring church service.

195
00:09:33,833 --> 00:09:37,458
Or worse still--I don't know who
is in charge of the marketing

196
00:09:37,500 --> 00:09:40,625
for heaven, but that guy
needs to find another job.

197
00:09:40,667 --> 00:09:45,333
Maybe your view of heaven is
tragically something like this.

198
00:09:45,417 --> 00:09:47,333
Look at that guy.

199
00:09:47,375 --> 00:09:51,167
Those wings are far too small to
carry him anywhere interesting.

200
00:09:51,250 --> 00:09:54,750
And this is kind of this
stylized, idealized,

201
00:09:54,833 --> 00:09:58,417
discouraging view
of the eternal state.

202
00:09:58,500 --> 00:10:01,958
My assumption is right now if I
invited you all to this eternal

203
00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:05,958
existence and we did an altar
call, no one would come forward.

204
00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:08,792
There's nothing appealing or
compelling about that at all.

205
00:10:08,833 --> 00:10:10,500
In fact, it's ridiculous.

206
00:10:10,583 --> 00:10:13,167
One of my major achievements
in life

207
00:10:13,250 --> 00:10:14,792
was getting out of a diaper,

208
00:10:14,833 --> 00:10:17,833
and one of my primary objectives
is to never again wear one.

209
00:10:17,917 --> 00:10:20,500
What does Jesus
have to say about heaven?

210
00:10:20,583 --> 00:10:24,333
If the guys will put the slide
back of the previous verse.

211
00:10:24,375 --> 00:10:26,500
He said it's like
a dinner or a banquet.

212
00:10:26,542 --> 00:10:27,917
It's like a party.

213
00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:29,333
Who doesn't love a party?

214
00:10:29,417 --> 00:10:31,833
I think one of the reasons
that human beings love

215
00:10:31,917 --> 00:10:35,000
to get together and have feasts
and celebrations and parties,

216
00:10:35,083 --> 00:10:37,917
this includes holidays of
various sorts and kinds,

217
00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:40,917
is that we were made in
the image and likeness of God.

218
00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:45,167
Our God is a good, happy,
joyous, celebratory, living God.

219
00:10:45,250 --> 00:10:47,458
Our God knows
how to throw a good party.

220
00:10:47,500 --> 00:10:49,417
Our God is going
to throw the party

221
00:10:49,500 --> 00:10:51,667
to literally end all parties.

222
00:10:51,750 --> 00:10:54,417
And made in his image and
likeness, we long for parties,

223
00:10:54,500 --> 00:10:55,917
we desire parties.

224
00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:58,917
And one of the most atrocious
things that has happened is that

225
00:10:59,042 --> 00:11:02,917
Christians don't party as often
as they should or as well

226
00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:07,583
as they should because for us we
have what is not necessarily

227
00:11:07,667 --> 00:11:10,917
a redeemed view of a banquet,
a feast, and a party.

228
00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:13,583
And some people say, "Well, we
don't want to be gluttons

229
00:11:13,667 --> 00:11:15,333
"and we don't want
to be drunkards

230
00:11:15,375 --> 00:11:17,500
and we just don't want
to be pleasure seekers."

231
00:11:17,583 --> 00:11:20,000
And the answer is, "Well,
we want to be worshipers."

232
00:11:20,083 --> 00:11:22,792
And worshipers of God are
to live wholeheartedly,

233
00:11:22,833 --> 00:11:26,167
full-throatedly, passionately
for the glory of God

234
00:11:26,208 --> 00:11:27,583
and the good of others.

235
00:11:27,667 --> 00:11:30,792
And we are given so much grace
by God that we should have

236
00:11:30,833 --> 00:11:33,500
a sense of joy and
celebration and enthusiasm.

237
00:11:33,583 --> 00:11:35,292
And we should get
together regularly,

238
00:11:35,333 --> 00:11:38,250
not just when it's holidays,
but to enjoy one another,

239
00:11:38,333 --> 00:11:40,500
the grace of God,
throw a banquet, a feast,

240
00:11:40,542 --> 00:11:43,083
and a party in
anticipation, preparation,

241
00:11:43,167 --> 00:11:46,000
and expectation for
the eternal state,

242
00:11:46,042 --> 00:11:48,958
where we rise from death and
we're together forever with God

243
00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:50,667
and his people.

244
00:11:50,708 --> 00:11:53,667
So Jesus says it's like
a banquet or a party.

245
00:11:53,708 --> 00:11:56,167
And so what he goes on
to articulate is that

246
00:11:56,250 --> 00:12:00,583
this kingdom party,
it has a generous menu.

247
00:12:00,667 --> 00:12:02,667
It has a very generous menu.

248
00:12:02,750 --> 00:12:05,417
When he uses
language of banquet,

249
00:12:05,500 --> 00:12:09,000
he goes on to talk
as well about feast.

250
00:12:09,083 --> 00:12:14,333
He's talking about a massive
investment, a great expense.

251
00:12:14,375 --> 00:12:17,292
Some of you are too cheap.

252
00:12:17,333 --> 00:12:19,917
Some of you don't spend
enough money for big events

253
00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:21,583
and parties.

254
00:12:21,667 --> 00:12:24,250
Some of you will have
the attitude of, let's say,

255
00:12:24,333 --> 00:12:27,417
Judas Iscariot, who, when a
woman
gave a lavish gift to Jesus,

256
00:12:27,500 --> 00:12:29,917
Judas, who was the betrayer
and the thief, he said,

257
00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:32,833
"Oh, we could have given
that money to the poor."

258
00:12:32,917 --> 00:12:36,000
Well, sometimes it's good to
spend money and to spend it

259
00:12:36,042 --> 00:12:39,167
lavishly and to invite the poor.

260
00:12:39,208 --> 00:12:41,458
That's exactly what Jesus says,

261
00:12:41,500 --> 00:12:45,583
that we don't have
a greed motivating us.

262
00:12:45,667 --> 00:12:48,167
We have a generosity
motivating us.

263
00:12:48,208 --> 00:12:50,917
It's good to spend some
money, to get dressed up,

264
00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:52,958
to throw a great party.

265
00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:56,000
And what Jesus says is, "Don't
just be generous with the menu.

266
00:12:56,042 --> 00:12:57,833
"Be generous with the menu.

267
00:12:57,917 --> 00:13:00,583
Also be generous
with the guest list."

268
00:13:00,667 --> 00:13:03,625
Don't just invite those people
that are already your friends.

269
00:13:03,667 --> 00:13:06,333
It's fine to get together
with your friends,

270
00:13:06,417 --> 00:13:08,167
but not just your friends.

271
00:13:08,250 --> 00:13:09,833
Invite strangers.

272
00:13:09,917 --> 00:13:12,458
And what oftentimes happens is
we pursue for relationship

273
00:13:12,500 --> 00:13:15,583
and friendship and community,
people who benefit us.

274
00:13:15,667 --> 00:13:19,000
We want to get a meal or a cup
of coffee with somebody who's

275
00:13:19,083 --> 00:13:22,167
smarter than us or richer than
us or more powerful than us

276
00:13:22,250 --> 00:13:25,500
because then it allows us to
start to build a friendship

277
00:13:25,542 --> 00:13:28,250
because relationships
oftentimes begin

278
00:13:28,333 --> 00:13:30,417
over something to eat
and/or drink.

279
00:13:30,500 --> 00:13:34,417
And Jesus says, "Don't have
that kind of worldly mentality.

280
00:13:34,500 --> 00:13:37,083
"Don't think, 'Wow, if I could
build a relationship with them,

281
00:13:37,167 --> 00:13:40,125
this will really
be an advantage to me.'"

282
00:13:40,167 --> 00:13:44,333
Jesus says to also invite
into your life, into your home,

283
00:13:44,417 --> 00:13:47,167
into your parties
and celebrations and feasts

284
00:13:47,250 --> 00:13:51,500
and meals, people who have
nothing to repay with.

285
00:13:51,583 --> 00:13:53,917
They don't have social status.
They don't have wealth.

286
00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:57,083
They don't have affluence.
They don't have possessions.

287
00:13:57,167 --> 00:13:59,333
They may not even
have an education.

288
00:13:59,375 --> 00:14:01,125
They may be crippled,
lame, and blind.

289
00:14:01,167 --> 00:14:03,458
In that culture, these people
were not even allowed

290
00:14:03,500 --> 00:14:06,750
to be fully engaged in
the worship with God's people.

291
00:14:06,833 --> 00:14:08,667
They were considered outcasts.

292
00:14:08,750 --> 00:14:11,083
Some perhaps would even
consider them cursed by God,

293
00:14:11,167 --> 00:14:12,458
which they were not.

294
00:14:12,500 --> 00:14:14,958
They were loved by God,
but their life was filled

295
00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:16,333
with sad suffering.

296
00:14:16,417 --> 00:14:20,958
Jesus says, "Be generous with
the menu and be generous

297
00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:23,000
with the guest list."

298
00:14:23,083 --> 00:14:27,167
Include those in your circle
of friends those who are not

299
00:14:27,250 --> 00:14:29,583
yet friends, but you're
pursuing as friends.

300
00:14:29,667 --> 00:14:33,333
And this is the biblical
doctrine of hospitality.

301
00:14:33,375 --> 00:14:35,417
For some of you,
it's a spiritual gift

302
00:14:35,500 --> 00:14:37,917
and you're just hospitable,
right?

303
00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:43,333
I have a daughter and a wife who
are fully gifted in hospitality.

304
00:14:43,417 --> 00:14:46,833
When it came time to buy
a home, Gracie kindly, nicely,

305
00:14:46,917 --> 00:14:49,500
with my invitation, she
wasn't demanding anything,

306
00:14:49,583 --> 00:14:52,667
but I asked her, "Honey, what
would work for a home for you?"

307
00:14:52,750 --> 00:14:55,667
She says, "Well, we love to
entertain and we love to have

308
00:14:55,708 --> 00:14:58,083
"people over and we love to
have parties and crowds,

309
00:14:58,167 --> 00:15:00,833
but I hate it if the kitchen is
in another room,"

310
00:15:00,875 --> 00:15:03,333
because she likes to cook
and prepare and get everything

311
00:15:03,375 --> 00:15:05,333
ready, but if she's
separated from everyone else,

312
00:15:05,375 --> 00:15:07,083
she always misses out
on the conversation

313
00:15:07,167 --> 00:15:08,458
and the relationships.

314
00:15:08,500 --> 00:15:10,667
She said, "So I like
an open floor plan,

315
00:15:10,708 --> 00:15:13,083
"and maybe an island where
everybody could be helping out

316
00:15:13,167 --> 00:15:15,750
"and visiting and the kitchen
could be the center of activity.

317
00:15:15,833 --> 00:15:18,583
"And as we prepare the meal,
we're hanging out together and

318
00:15:18,667 --> 00:15:21,792
having snacks and visiting,"
and so in the grace of God,

319
00:15:21,833 --> 00:15:24,917
it took 3 moves in 5 years,
but we got that home.

320
00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:27,083
It's an open floor plan.

321
00:15:27,167 --> 00:15:29,250
And Grace and my daughter
Ashley, my oldest,

322
00:15:29,333 --> 00:15:31,833
they watch the Food Network
all the time.

323
00:15:31,917 --> 00:15:33,333
You love the Food Network?

324
00:15:33,417 --> 00:15:34,833
They love all the cooking shows.

325
00:15:34,917 --> 00:15:36,250
They're always taking notes.

326
00:15:36,333 --> 00:15:38,500
They love recipes,
they love experimenting.

327
00:15:38,542 --> 00:15:42,667
When I went to Turkey
a little over a year ago now,

328
00:15:42,750 --> 00:15:47,000
they were asking for
a long list of spices.

329
00:15:47,042 --> 00:15:52,500
I went to the spice market in
the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul and

330
00:15:52,583 --> 00:15:55,292
had to get a separate suitcase
literally just to haul back

331
00:15:55,333 --> 00:15:56,625
all the stuff I bought.

332
00:15:56,667 --> 00:16:00,333
But a massive amount of what I
purchased was actually spices.

333
00:16:00,417 --> 00:16:03,000
If you go on the Turkey
trip with us this summer,

334
00:16:03,083 --> 00:16:04,417
you could do the same.

335
00:16:04,500 --> 00:16:07,625
My wife and daughter had a long
list of all these exotic spices

336
00:16:07,667 --> 00:16:11,167
that were really inexpensive at
this more than thousand-year-old

337
00:16:11,208 --> 00:16:13,000
spice market in Istanbul.

338
00:16:13,042 --> 00:16:16,667
And they had a long list as well
they wanted to give to all their

339
00:16:16,708 --> 00:16:18,417
friends and everybody else
who loves hospitality

340
00:16:18,500 --> 00:16:20,958
and loves to cook and entertain.

341
00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:24,167
And these are big values that
we have to put into our schedule

342
00:16:24,208 --> 00:16:26,917
and into our life and into
our budget because the Bible

343
00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:29,792
commands it, but also because
my wife and my daughter,

344
00:16:29,833 --> 00:16:32,958
my kids quite frankly as well,
they love to have people over.

345
00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:36,000
And sometimes when it comes
to this issue of hospitality,

346
00:16:36,042 --> 00:16:38,833
people misunderstand
hospitality.

347
00:16:38,917 --> 00:16:41,667
Hospitality is not just
hanging out with Christians.

348
00:16:41,750 --> 00:16:44,417
The word "hospitality"
in the Bible literally means

349
00:16:44,500 --> 00:16:47,500
to welcome the stranger.

350
00:16:47,542 --> 00:16:50,750
Fellowship is when you hang out
with all your Christian friends.

351
00:16:50,833 --> 00:16:53,792
And that's great
and it's good and you should.

352
00:16:53,833 --> 00:16:56,833
Hospitality is when,
in addition to your friends,

353
00:16:56,875 --> 00:17:00,917
you invite strangers to hang out
with your friends so that they

354
00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:03,667
too start to become friends.

355
00:17:03,750 --> 00:17:06,917
And that's exactly what
Jesus is talking about here.

356
00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:10,125
Hosting a party, hosting
a banquet, hosting a feast,

357
00:17:10,167 --> 00:17:14,083
having a generous menu,
having a generous guest list.

358
00:17:14,167 --> 00:17:17,958
And as we do these things, what
we're showing is something of

359
00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:22,000
the character of God, that we
can party to the glory of God.

360
00:17:22,042 --> 00:17:25,583
We can have a great time
and laugh deeply and eat well

361
00:17:25,667 --> 00:17:27,000
to the glory of God.

362
00:17:27,042 --> 00:17:29,500
And as we do, we're showing
something of the character

363
00:17:29,583 --> 00:17:32,333
of our God and something
of his heavenly kingdom.

364
00:17:32,375 --> 00:17:36,917
And what happens is most people
have this really religious view

365
00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:39,500
of heaven, that
we'll just go there,

366
00:17:39,542 --> 00:17:44,417
either sit in rows and just be
preached at for eternity

367
00:17:44,500 --> 00:17:46,917
and not have
an emotional response,

368
00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:50,083
or that sort of
bizarre cartoonish view

369
00:17:50,167 --> 00:17:52,083
that has nothing
to do with the Bible.

370
00:17:52,167 --> 00:17:54,417
And so Jesus here gives
us another category.

371
00:17:54,500 --> 00:17:57,250
The best meal you've ever eaten,
the best party you've ever

372
00:17:57,333 --> 00:18:00,125
been to, the best memory
you've ever made,

373
00:18:00,167 --> 00:18:03,125
better than that is
the kingdom of God.

374
00:18:03,167 --> 00:18:07,083
Jesus goes on to teach us, then,
that his kingdom party

375
00:18:07,167 --> 00:18:10,292
has a lot of no-shows.

376
00:18:10,333 --> 00:18:14,667
Luke 14:15-21a, "When one of
those who reclined at table

377
00:18:14,750 --> 00:18:17,333
"with him heard these
things, he said to him,

378
00:18:17,417 --> 00:18:19,125
"'Blessed is everyone
who will eat bread

379
00:18:19,167 --> 00:18:20,792
"'in the kingdom of God!'

380
00:18:20,833 --> 00:18:23,292
But he," that is Jesus,
"said to him," the man,

381
00:18:23,333 --> 00:18:25,125
"'A man once gave,'"
here's the parable,

382
00:18:25,167 --> 00:18:26,792
"'a great banquet
and invited many.

383
00:18:26,833 --> 00:18:29,458
"'And at the time for the
banquet he sent his servant

384
00:18:29,500 --> 00:18:31,458
"'to say to those
who had been invited,

385
00:18:31,500 --> 00:18:32,917
"'"Come, for everything
is now ready."

386
00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:36,750
"'But they all alike
began to make excuses.

387
00:18:36,833 --> 00:18:39,250
"'The first said to him,
"I have bought a field,

388
00:18:39,333 --> 00:18:41,917
"'and I must go out and see it.
Please have me excused."

389
00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:44,250
"'And another said,
"I bought five yoke of oxen,

390
00:18:44,333 --> 00:18:46,167
"'"and I go to examine them.

391
00:18:46,208 --> 00:18:47,500
"'Please have me excused."

392
00:18:47,583 --> 00:18:49,333
"'Another said,
"I have married a wife,

393
00:18:49,375 --> 00:18:51,000
"'and therefore I cannot come."

394
00:18:51,042 --> 00:18:52,833
"'So the servant
came and reported

395
00:18:52,875 --> 00:18:55,083
these things to his master.'"

396
00:18:55,167 --> 00:18:59,833
Now the context is this: Jesus
is actually sitting at a meal

397
00:18:59,917 --> 00:19:03,000
with a bunch of religious guys.

398
00:19:03,083 --> 00:19:05,917
And they've invited
him to be with them

399
00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:07,833
and it's really a setup.

400
00:19:07,917 --> 00:19:11,083
It says they were watching him
closely in the previous verses.

401
00:19:11,167 --> 00:19:12,792
And they brought
in a crippled man,

402
00:19:12,833 --> 00:19:16,583
hoping to get Jesus to heal him
so that they could accuse Jesus

403
00:19:16,667 --> 00:19:18,917
of sin for healing
on the Sabbath.

404
00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:21,583
The whole thing's just this
grotesque religious setup.

405
00:19:21,667 --> 00:19:24,083
Well, Jesus corrects
them, teaches them.

406
00:19:24,167 --> 00:19:26,583
He walks into enemy territory,
he deals with

407
00:19:26,667 --> 00:19:29,833
all of the crossfire
of theological conflict.

408
00:19:29,917 --> 00:19:33,500
He's without sin, he's
loving, holy, and good.

409
00:19:33,583 --> 00:19:36,417
He heals the man, he corrects
the religious people.

410
00:19:36,500 --> 00:19:40,083
And as he sits at the meal,
he says, "You know what?

411
00:19:40,167 --> 00:19:42,625
This kind of reminds me
of where I've come from."

412
00:19:42,667 --> 00:19:45,167
Because Jesus is God
come down from heaven.

413
00:19:45,250 --> 00:19:49,667
The kingdom of God is like a big
banquet and a feast and a party.

414
00:19:49,750 --> 00:19:51,583
And when we have these parties,

415
00:19:51,667 --> 00:19:53,917
it shouldn't just look like
this party.

416
00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:57,583
He's actually rebuking them,
saying that the guest list

417
00:19:57,667 --> 00:19:59,583
is not what it should be.

418
00:19:59,667 --> 00:20:01,333
There's not enough poor people.

419
00:20:01,375 --> 00:20:02,667
There's not enough
crippled people.

420
00:20:02,750 --> 00:20:06,167
There's not enough needy,
hurting, suffering people.

421
00:20:06,250 --> 00:20:10,125
There's only religious people,
people who have a degree

422
00:20:10,167 --> 00:20:12,792
and make a lot of money and
live a comfortable life

423
00:20:12,833 --> 00:20:16,417
and feel that they're better
than everyone else.

424
00:20:16,500 --> 00:20:18,500
Jesus is looking around,
"Where's the single mom?

425
00:20:18,542 --> 00:20:20,083
"Where's the kid
in the wheelchair?

426
00:20:20,167 --> 00:20:24,000
Where's all the people
that should be here?"

427
00:20:24,042 --> 00:20:28,750
He's rebuking them at their
own party for their guest list.

428
00:20:28,833 --> 00:20:31,583
And he starts talking about
heaven and the kingdom of God

429
00:20:31,667 --> 00:20:33,583
and the resurrection state
being a banquet

430
00:20:33,667 --> 00:20:35,083
and a feast and a party.

431
00:20:35,167 --> 00:20:36,833
And one religious guy
raises his hand.

432
00:20:36,875 --> 00:20:39,917
There's always one religious
guy who's trying to fix

433
00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:43,667
the awkwardness and in so doing
he makes it more awkward.

434
00:20:43,750 --> 00:20:47,250
What he says is, "Blessed is
everyone who will eat bread

435
00:20:47,333 --> 00:20:48,833
in the kingdom of God!"

436
00:20:48,875 --> 00:20:51,833
What he says is, "Yeah, Jesus,
it sounds like a great party.

437
00:20:51,875 --> 00:20:55,625
We're all so glad to be going
to your party in heaven."

438
00:20:55,667 --> 00:20:58,333
And Jesus says,
"You're not all going."

439
00:20:58,417 --> 00:21:00,667
This had to be
an awkward moment.

440
00:21:00,750 --> 00:21:04,667
"This is the best party
you're ever going to get.

441
00:21:04,750 --> 00:21:08,167
You're not going to be--not all
of you will be at my party."

442
00:21:08,250 --> 00:21:10,417
And this is an important
word for us today.

443
00:21:10,500 --> 00:21:12,833
We live in a day when,
when someone dies,

444
00:21:12,875 --> 00:21:15,417
everyone feels awkward and
basically just blurts out

445
00:21:15,500 --> 00:21:17,667
like this guy, "Well,
you know, it's good now.

446
00:21:17,750 --> 00:21:19,667
"They're eating bread
in the kingdom of God.

447
00:21:19,750 --> 00:21:22,000
"They went to heaven.
They're in a better place.

448
00:21:22,083 --> 00:21:23,417
They're with the Lord."

449
00:21:23,500 --> 00:21:25,292
Not everybody is.
Not everybody is.

450
00:21:25,333 --> 00:21:27,250
Some people die
and go to hell.

451
00:21:27,333 --> 00:21:30,000
Not everybody's
going to the party.

452
00:21:30,042 --> 00:21:33,667
And so Jesus tells this parable,
which is a little story

453
00:21:33,750 --> 00:21:36,000
that teaches a big idea.

454
00:21:36,083 --> 00:21:39,458
And he says that God is glorious
and good and he's the host and

455
00:21:39,500 --> 00:21:42,167
he's picking up the tab and he's
generous with the menu

456
00:21:42,250 --> 00:21:43,792
and the guest list.

457
00:21:43,833 --> 00:21:45,458
And he sends out
two invitations,

458
00:21:45,500 --> 00:21:48,625
and in that day you would send
out two invitations to a party.

459
00:21:48,667 --> 00:21:51,625
The first would be to get
everyone to RSVP so you'd have

460
00:21:51,667 --> 00:21:54,167
a rough idea of how many
guests you would have.

461
00:21:54,208 --> 00:21:56,667
And then you'd have to do
the preparations of actually

462
00:21:56,708 --> 00:21:58,500
collecting the food and
slaughtering the animals

463
00:21:58,542 --> 00:22:01,000
and preparing the feast
and cooking the meat.

464
00:22:01,083 --> 00:22:02,917
This is a massive process.

465
00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:06,083
They didn't have the kind of
modern kitchens and electricity

466
00:22:06,167 --> 00:22:10,458
and, you know, warehouses to go
buy large quantities like we do.

467
00:22:10,500 --> 00:22:12,917
So you would send out your
first guest list, say,

468
00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:14,667
"You're all invited.
Who wants to come?"

469
00:22:14,750 --> 00:22:16,125
People would RSVP.

470
00:22:16,167 --> 00:22:18,625
And then you'd do all
the preparations for the meal

471
00:22:18,667 --> 00:22:20,000
and once everything was ready,

472
00:22:20,083 --> 00:22:22,000
you would send out
your servant to those

473
00:22:22,083 --> 00:22:24,833
who had positively replied
to the guest list invitation

474
00:22:24,917 --> 00:22:27,333
and you would give them
the second invitation saying,

475
00:22:27,375 --> 00:22:31,167
"The meal is now ready,
please get dressed and come.

476
00:22:31,208 --> 00:22:34,333
Please get dressed and come."

477
00:22:34,375 --> 00:22:37,333
And Jesus says that what has
happened to many people is

478
00:22:37,375 --> 00:22:39,250
the invitation has gone out.

479
00:22:39,333 --> 00:22:41,250
And they've RSVP'd.

480
00:22:41,333 --> 00:22:44,167
"Yes, I believe in Jesus.
Yes, I want to go to heaven.

481
00:22:44,250 --> 00:22:48,250
Yes, I want my sins forgiven.
Yes, I want to be a Christian."

482
00:22:48,333 --> 00:22:53,458
But ultimately, when it comes
time to make that final,

483
00:22:53,500 --> 00:22:57,667
official response, the one
deep in the heart and the soul,

484
00:22:57,708 --> 00:23:01,583
the one that is life-changing
commitment, not just a moment,

485
00:23:01,667 --> 00:23:03,625
but a lifetime.

486
00:23:03,667 --> 00:23:07,292
They have lame excuses.

487
00:23:07,333 --> 00:23:09,958
He gives some examples in
the parable of lame excuses.

488
00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:13,125
One guy says, "Well, I just
bought a field and I can't go

489
00:23:13,167 --> 00:23:15,625
to the party because I
need to go inspect it."

490
00:23:15,667 --> 00:23:18,833
How many of you buy
real estate sight unseen?

491
00:23:18,917 --> 00:23:22,083
In that day, real estate
was negotiated over

492
00:23:22,167 --> 00:23:24,000
for a long period of time.

493
00:23:24,042 --> 00:23:26,750
It had belonged to
the families and was passed on

494
00:23:26,833 --> 00:23:29,500
from generation to generation.

495
00:23:29,583 --> 00:23:33,958
You didn't transact real estate
without a long, complicated,

496
00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:37,333
arduous negotiation.

497
00:23:37,417 --> 00:23:40,000
And you knew exactly what you
were buying 'cause you

498
00:23:40,083 --> 00:23:41,750
had to fix a price to it.

499
00:23:41,833 --> 00:23:43,500
That's a lame excuse.

500
00:23:43,542 --> 00:23:46,500
Another guy says, "Well I just
bought a whole bunch of oxen,"

501
00:23:46,542 --> 00:23:48,833
which are very expensive,
all right?

502
00:23:48,875 --> 00:23:50,417
These are beasts of burden.

503
00:23:50,500 --> 00:23:51,833
This is what you use.

504
00:23:51,917 --> 00:23:55,083
This is like buying heavy
machinery if you're a farmer.

505
00:23:55,167 --> 00:23:57,667
It's like getting a truck
and getting a combine,

506
00:23:57,708 --> 00:24:00,083
getting a backhoe.

507
00:24:00,167 --> 00:24:02,417
You don't just buy those
things, pay for them,

508
00:24:02,500 --> 00:24:04,833
and then go see
what they look like.

509
00:24:04,917 --> 00:24:07,333
You go check 'em out,
you negotiate a price,

510
00:24:07,417 --> 00:24:08,833
you purchase them.

511
00:24:08,917 --> 00:24:10,417
It's a lame excuse.

512
00:24:10,500 --> 00:24:12,917
And the third one is
maybe the lamest of all.

513
00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:15,792
A guy says, "Oh, I can't
come, I have a wife."

514
00:24:15,833 --> 00:24:19,417
Oh, yeah, 'cause we know that
wives hate to get dressed up and

515
00:24:19,500 --> 00:24:22,750
they hate to go to free parties
and they hate to eat lots

516
00:24:22,833 --> 00:24:24,833
of great food
and they hate to interact

517
00:24:24,917 --> 00:24:26,500
with lots of other people.

518
00:24:26,583 --> 00:24:28,167
Wives hate that!

519
00:24:28,208 --> 00:24:29,583
They just hate that.

520
00:24:29,667 --> 00:24:32,417
They'd rather just sit home
and watch TV and eat foods

521
00:24:32,500 --> 00:24:33,833
that end in -itos,

522
00:24:33,875 --> 00:24:39,167
like Cheetos, Doritos,
taquitos, things like that.

523
00:24:39,250 --> 00:24:40,667
Lame excuses.

524
00:24:40,750 --> 00:24:43,333
Here's the big idea:
an invitation has gone out

525
00:24:43,375 --> 00:24:45,167
to all of you.

526
00:24:45,250 --> 00:24:47,000
You get to go to Jesus' party.

527
00:24:47,083 --> 00:24:49,167
Jesus is right now
preparing the best party

528
00:24:49,208 --> 00:24:51,417
in the history of the world.

529
00:24:51,500 --> 00:24:53,667
He is planning the party,
preparing the party

530
00:24:53,750 --> 00:24:55,333
to end all parties.

531
00:24:55,417 --> 00:24:58,333
It's a feast,
a resurrection feast,

532
00:24:58,417 --> 00:25:02,417
celebrating the conquering
of Satan, sin, death, hell,

533
00:25:02,500 --> 00:25:05,292
through the death, burial,
resurrection of Jesus.

534
00:25:05,333 --> 00:25:08,333
All who are invited
are welcome to come.

535
00:25:08,375 --> 00:25:10,500
But how many of you really,
you're not moving

536
00:25:10,583 --> 00:25:14,125
toward the kingdom
because of a lame excuse?

537
00:25:14,167 --> 00:25:16,083
"Well, now I'm not
sure about Jesus," or,

538
00:25:16,167 --> 00:25:18,667
"I'm really busy working,"
or, "I'm in college now," or,

539
00:25:18,750 --> 00:25:22,167
"It's not a good season for me,"
or, "I'm busy with my job," or,

540
00:25:22,208 --> 00:25:24,917
you know, "I have a lot
of hobbies," or, you know,

541
00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:27,083
"I'm trying to catch
up on all the shows

542
00:25:27,167 --> 00:25:28,500
I prerecorded on TiVo."

543
00:25:28,542 --> 00:25:31,167
Life is just filled
with lame excuses.

544
00:25:31,250 --> 00:25:33,750
"I'm working on my car."
"I'm working on my house."

545
00:25:33,833 --> 00:25:35,625
"Oh, we got kids
now, I'm distracted."

546
00:25:35,667 --> 00:25:38,333
"I'm single, these are my
selfish years, they're for me."

547
00:25:38,375 --> 00:25:39,833
"Oh, our kids are grown.

548
00:25:39,917 --> 00:25:42,167
We get our selfish years back."

549
00:25:42,250 --> 00:25:46,167
Lame excuse after lame excuse
after lame excuse for people

550
00:25:46,250 --> 00:25:49,167
who at some point in their life
raised their hand and said,

551
00:25:49,208 --> 00:25:51,667
"I would like to be
a Christian," and Jesus says,

552
00:25:51,750 --> 00:25:53,333
"All right, then come!"

553
00:25:53,417 --> 00:25:55,333
And they say, "Well,
I can't make it.

554
00:25:55,417 --> 00:25:57,000
I'm busy right now."

555
00:25:57,042 --> 00:26:00,167
And those kinds of people tend
to have a presumption that,

556
00:26:00,250 --> 00:26:02,917
"Well, because I raised my hand
for Jesus at some point

557
00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:06,292
"in my life, I prayed a prayer,
I went to church as a kid,

558
00:26:06,333 --> 00:26:08,792
"I got baptized as an infant,
I cried at camp,

559
00:26:08,833 --> 00:26:10,500
"I came forward for
the altar call,

560
00:26:10,583 --> 00:26:12,667
"with my grandma I accepted
Jesus in my heart,

561
00:26:12,750 --> 00:26:15,667
"because at some point in the
past
I raised my hand, I'm fine.

562
00:26:15,708 --> 00:26:17,667
I'm going to make it
into the kingdom."

563
00:26:17,708 --> 00:26:20,167
That's the presumption of this
religious guy at the meal.

564
00:26:20,208 --> 00:26:21,667
And Jesus says, "No, no, no.

565
00:26:21,750 --> 00:26:23,500
"It's not just
a one-time decision,

566
00:26:23,542 --> 00:26:26,000
it's a lifetime pursuit."

567
00:26:26,083 --> 00:26:28,333
It's like a marriage
in that way.

568
00:26:28,417 --> 00:26:30,000
You don't just one day say,

569
00:26:30,042 --> 00:26:32,167
"I love you and I'm
going to marry you,"

570
00:26:32,250 --> 00:26:34,167
and then not pursue that
person in relationship

571
00:26:34,250 --> 00:26:35,667
for the rest of your life.

572
00:26:35,750 --> 00:26:37,833
Ultimately that's
not a marriage.

573
00:26:37,917 --> 00:26:43,125
A marriage begins in a moment
and it continues for a lifetime.

574
00:26:43,167 --> 00:26:46,125
And our relationship with God
is likened to a marriage,

575
00:26:46,167 --> 00:26:49,125
where he loves us and we respond
to him but there's that

576
00:26:49,167 --> 00:26:52,625
mutual pursuit throughout the
course of our lifetime until it

577
00:26:52,667 --> 00:26:55,000
culminates with the Wedding
Supper of the Lamb,

578
00:26:55,083 --> 00:27:00,083
the big feast in Revelation 19.

579
00:27:00,167 --> 00:27:03,083
What is your lame excuse?

580
00:27:03,167 --> 00:27:06,417
What is keeping you from
moving toward Jesus?

581
00:27:06,500 --> 00:27:09,667
What lame excuse is
getting in the way?

582
00:27:09,750 --> 00:27:14,500
What lame excuse when you die,
if you die and you're in hell,

583
00:27:14,542 --> 00:27:17,083
you will suddenly realize
that you've presumed

584
00:27:17,167 --> 00:27:19,667
upon God's grace?

585
00:27:19,750 --> 00:27:22,625
You were so busy doing
the dishes and going to work

586
00:27:22,667 --> 00:27:26,125
and laboring over your GPA
and trying to get pregnant

587
00:27:26,167 --> 00:27:28,625
that you forgot about God.

588
00:27:28,667 --> 00:27:31,167
That's the big idea.

589
00:27:31,250 --> 00:27:34,292
Jesus goes on to say, though,
that his kingdom party

590
00:27:34,333 --> 00:27:37,292
is an open invitation.

591
00:27:37,333 --> 00:27:40,667
Who's on the guest list
for the kingdom of God?

592
00:27:40,708 --> 00:27:44,000
Luke 14:21b-24, "Then
the master of the house,"

593
00:27:44,042 --> 00:27:46,500
here's the parable, "became
angry and said to his servant,

594
00:27:46,542 --> 00:27:49,417
"'Go out quickly to the streets
and the lanes of the city,

595
00:27:49,500 --> 00:27:52,083
"'and bring in the poor and
crippled and blind and lame.'

596
00:27:52,167 --> 00:27:55,000
"And the servant said, 'Sir,
what you commanded has been
done,

597
00:27:55,083 --> 00:27:56,917
"'and still there is room.'

598
00:27:57,000 --> 00:27:58,667
"And the master said
to the servant,

599
00:27:58,750 --> 00:28:00,583
"'Go out to the highways
and hedges

600
00:28:00,667 --> 00:28:03,583
"'and compel people to come in,
that my house may be filled.

601
00:28:03,667 --> 00:28:06,167
"'For I tell you, none of those
men who were invited

602
00:28:06,250 --> 00:28:08,917
shall taste my banquet.'"

603
00:28:10,750 --> 00:28:12,292
Here's the big idea.

604
00:28:12,333 --> 00:28:16,417
Jesus has sent out an invitation
and a lot of people raised

605
00:28:16,500 --> 00:28:21,167
their hands but they're really
not coming toward him.

606
00:28:21,250 --> 00:28:24,833
So he sends out a second
invitation and today God

607
00:28:24,917 --> 00:28:26,750
is sending you
a second invitation.

608
00:28:26,833 --> 00:28:28,292
"Hey, what about Jesus?
He's God.

609
00:28:28,333 --> 00:28:31,083
"He came to take away your sin.
He loves you.

610
00:28:31,167 --> 00:28:34,000
He's got a party prepared
for you forever," right?

611
00:28:34,083 --> 00:28:36,167
"But you got to
come to the party.

612
00:28:36,250 --> 00:28:40,583
You got to come to the party."

613
00:28:40,667 --> 00:28:43,125
Are you going to take
Jesus up on his offer?

614
00:28:43,167 --> 00:28:46,125
Here in the story, the religious
people he's having a meal with--

615
00:28:46,167 --> 00:28:48,583
and some of you would
think this is very cruel.

616
00:28:48,667 --> 00:28:51,583
He's sitting in a meal with a
whole bunch of religious people

617
00:28:51,667 --> 00:28:54,583
and he's telling the parable and
the parable is that the guys

618
00:28:54,667 --> 00:28:57,083
who represent them in the story
aren't going to heaven,

619
00:28:57,167 --> 00:28:58,458
they're going to hell.

620
00:28:58,500 --> 00:29:00,333
They're not going
to make the party

621
00:29:00,417 --> 00:29:01,833
because they're not moving
toward him.

622
00:29:01,917 --> 00:29:03,500
That's a big statement.

623
00:29:03,583 --> 00:29:05,583
This is bravery by Jesus.

624
00:29:05,667 --> 00:29:07,333
This had to be
an awkward moment.

625
00:29:07,375 --> 00:29:10,458
He's in a religious leader's
house at a formal meal

626
00:29:10,500 --> 00:29:13,500
for religious people and he
says, "You know what?

627
00:29:13,542 --> 00:29:16,000
"There's a party bigger, better
than this and you guys

628
00:29:16,083 --> 00:29:18,500
"were invited and because you're
not loving me

629
00:29:18,583 --> 00:29:20,667
"you're not going to make it
to my party

630
00:29:20,750 --> 00:29:23,083
"'cause I'm the host
and if you don't want

631
00:29:23,167 --> 00:29:26,458
"to hang out with me you're not
going to make it to the party.

632
00:29:26,500 --> 00:29:27,833
You're going to hell."

633
00:29:27,917 --> 00:29:31,167
Big statement.
Big statement.

634
00:29:31,250 --> 00:29:33,833
Not all of you who think
you're going to heaven

635
00:29:33,875 --> 00:29:35,667
are going to heaven.

636
00:29:35,708 --> 00:29:37,833
Not all of you who think
you're Christians are,

637
00:29:37,917 --> 00:29:39,250
in fact, Christians.

638
00:29:39,333 --> 00:29:43,417
Some of you are just religious
people who maybe at some point

639
00:29:43,500 --> 00:29:46,583
raised your hand for the party
but haven't been pursuing

640
00:29:46,667 --> 00:29:51,167
a relationship with Jesus
and moving toward him.

641
00:29:51,208 --> 00:29:55,292
And what Jesus is talking about
is this is our eternal state,

642
00:29:55,333 --> 00:29:59,292
either in hell or in the
kingdom of God, that you and I,

643
00:29:59,333 --> 00:30:02,167
because of sin, we
will die physically.

644
00:30:02,208 --> 00:30:05,167
Our bodies will go in the ground
and our souls will go

645
00:30:05,208 --> 00:30:06,917
to be with the Lord.

646
00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:09,917
Paul says, "To be absent from
the body is to be present

647
00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:11,292
with the Lord."

648
00:30:11,333 --> 00:30:14,292
There will come a day upon
Jesus' return where, like his

649
00:30:14,333 --> 00:30:20,667
resurrection from death,
we who are dead will rise.

650
00:30:20,708 --> 00:30:24,833
Daniel 12:2 says some will
rise to everlasting death,

651
00:30:24,917 --> 00:30:26,250
they're going to hell.

652
00:30:26,333 --> 00:30:28,333
Some people to everlasting life,

653
00:30:28,375 --> 00:30:31,083
they're going to the heavenly
kingdom party.

654
00:30:31,167 --> 00:30:34,625
In that party we will be
surrounded with people

655
00:30:34,667 --> 00:30:36,167
who love God.

656
00:30:36,250 --> 00:30:38,583
Jesus will, in fact, be there.

657
00:30:38,667 --> 00:30:42,750
The Bible says that we
will see him face to face,

658
00:30:42,833 --> 00:30:45,458
that there'll be no sickness,
there'll be no suffering,

659
00:30:45,500 --> 00:30:47,167
there'll be no sin.

660
00:30:47,250 --> 00:30:49,958
That Jesus says he'll wipe every
tear from our eyes

661
00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:52,625
and this world will be remade.

662
00:30:52,667 --> 00:30:55,167
There'll be a new heaven,
new earth, new Jerusalem.

663
00:30:55,250 --> 00:30:57,417
We won't just be
spirits floating around.

664
00:30:57,500 --> 00:30:59,583
We won't just be angels
sitting on clouds.

665
00:30:59,667 --> 00:31:01,625
It'll be this world, perfect,

666
00:31:01,667 --> 00:31:05,125
minus sin
and all of its effects.

667
00:31:05,167 --> 00:31:07,625
When God got done with the world
in Genesis 1:31

668
00:31:07,667 --> 00:31:09,292
he said it was very good.

669
00:31:09,333 --> 00:31:12,250
Sin entered the world and
has made much of it very bad.

670
00:31:12,333 --> 00:31:15,125
Jesus comes back to
put an end to sin

671
00:31:15,167 --> 00:31:18,167
and through the resurrection
to make all things new

672
00:31:18,208 --> 00:31:21,000
and through the new creation
to make all things new

673
00:31:21,083 --> 00:31:24,333
so that everything
is very good.

674
00:31:24,417 --> 00:31:27,583
That's why Paul says,
quote, in Philippians 1:23,

675
00:31:27,667 --> 00:31:30,083
"It is far better."

676
00:31:30,167 --> 00:31:32,667
And what I find interesting
is that throughout the course

677
00:31:32,750 --> 00:31:35,833
of history, Christians
have stressed a lot more

678
00:31:35,917 --> 00:31:38,625
on hell than heaven.

679
00:31:38,667 --> 00:31:40,917
I'll give you some examples
of people

680
00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:45,667
that are otherwise helpful.

681
00:31:45,750 --> 00:31:48,333
John Calvin,
the great Bible teacher,

682
00:31:48,375 --> 00:31:50,958
he said very little
about heaven,

683
00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:52,958
very little about
the resurrection,

684
00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:55,667
very little about
this kingdom party.

685
00:31:55,750 --> 00:31:58,125
I looked it up, theologian
Reinhold Niebuhr,

686
00:31:58,167 --> 00:32:03,167
he wrote an entire two-volume
systematic theology.

687
00:32:03,250 --> 00:32:07,083
He has zero pages committed
to the resurrection,

688
00:32:07,167 --> 00:32:09,792
the eternal state
in God's kingdom,

689
00:32:09,833 --> 00:32:12,917
and this great party
that Jesus is hosting.

690
00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:17,292
That's strange.
Didn't even mention the party.

691
00:32:17,333 --> 00:32:21,167
William Shedd, he's a theologian
who wrote his dogmatics.

692
00:32:21,250 --> 00:32:26,125
He has in his dogmatics,
87 pages devoted to hell,

693
00:32:26,167 --> 00:32:32,083
suffering and anguish and pain
and flames and fury and wrath,

694
00:32:32,167 --> 00:32:34,500
which is all true.

695
00:32:34,542 --> 00:32:37,625
He has zero pages
devoted to heaven.

696
00:32:37,667 --> 00:32:39,500
Zero!

697
00:32:39,583 --> 00:32:42,583
Nothing about the party.

698
00:32:42,667 --> 00:32:45,167
Martyn Lloyd-Jones, someone I
personally really admire, love,

699
00:32:45,250 --> 00:32:47,833
and respect and was
a great British preacher,

700
00:32:47,875 --> 00:32:51,500
he wrote a 900-page
systematic theology,

701
00:32:51,542 --> 00:32:56,833
2 pages to the resurrection
state and the kingdom party.

702
00:32:56,875 --> 00:32:58,792
Two pages!

703
00:32:58,833 --> 00:33:01,000
And Louis Berkhof's
systematic theology,

704
00:33:01,042 --> 00:33:04,667
which is sort of the gold
standard for Presbyterians,

705
00:33:04,750 --> 00:33:10,083
the entire systematic theology,
which is quite dense, has only

706
00:33:10,167 --> 00:33:14,917
one page on the resurrection
state and the kingdom party.

707
00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:17,250
Isn't that bizarre?

708
00:33:17,333 --> 00:33:21,917
Yeah, Jesus is about
not going to hell.

709
00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:25,750
But Jesus is also
about going to heaven!

710
00:33:25,833 --> 00:33:32,417
Being with God and his
people, in joy forever.

711
00:33:32,500 --> 00:33:36,083
It's about a party that an
invitation is extended to you.

712
00:33:36,167 --> 00:33:38,583
All of you who want
to go to the party,

713
00:33:38,667 --> 00:33:41,667
you're welcome to come
through Jesus Christ.

714
00:33:41,750 --> 00:33:43,500
In his book "Heaven,"

715
00:33:43,583 --> 00:33:46,167
Randy Alcorn makes
a good point.

716
00:33:46,250 --> 00:33:48,792
He's a great author
and a good man.

717
00:33:48,833 --> 00:33:52,125
He said, "Christians are kind
of like a bunch of astronauts

718
00:33:52,167 --> 00:33:54,667
"sitting on a shuttle that's
just about ready to launch

719
00:33:54,750 --> 00:33:56,417
"toward Mars.

720
00:33:56,500 --> 00:33:58,583
"And they look at
one another and ask,

721
00:33:58,667 --> 00:34:00,750
“'So what do you
know about Mars?'

722
00:34:00,833 --> 00:34:03,667
‘Nothing.’”

723
00:34:03,708 --> 00:34:05,333
Nothing!

724
00:34:05,417 --> 00:34:08,083
But that's where we're going!

725
00:34:08,167 --> 00:34:11,458
I love the fact that Jesus comes
along and says, "Dear Christian,

726
00:34:11,500 --> 00:34:13,625
"here's where you're going.

727
00:34:13,667 --> 00:34:16,167
"It really is fantastic!

728
00:34:16,250 --> 00:34:19,917
And it is forever!"

729
00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:23,000
So a couple of questions
to be answered.

730
00:34:23,083 --> 00:34:25,250
Who will attend this party?

731
00:34:25,333 --> 00:34:26,833
This great feast?

732
00:34:26,917 --> 00:34:28,500
Jesus says
the invitation goes out.

733
00:34:28,583 --> 00:34:30,083
All the nations are welcome.

734
00:34:30,167 --> 00:34:32,167
All the races are welcome.

735
00:34:32,208 --> 00:34:34,417
Gender is not an issue.

736
00:34:34,500 --> 00:34:36,167
Income is not an issue.

737
00:34:36,250 --> 00:34:37,917
Intellect is not an issue.

738
00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:39,417
The invitation goes out.

739
00:34:39,500 --> 00:34:42,750
Anybody can come to Jesus
and can come to Jesus' party!

740
00:34:42,833 --> 00:34:47,167
The invitation is exceedingly
generous unlike so many

741
00:34:47,208 --> 00:34:49,667
religions where you have to
meet certain qualifications.

742
00:34:49,750 --> 00:34:53,000
The invitation goes
out to everyone.

743
00:34:53,083 --> 00:34:55,958
Those who are healthy, those who
are sick, those who are blind,

744
00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:58,667
those who could see,
those who have means,

745
00:34:58,750 --> 00:35:00,750
those who have nothing.

746
00:35:00,833 --> 00:35:03,958
Those who could put on fine
clothes for a formal event and

747
00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:07,667
those who show up next to naked
because they are poor beggars.

748
00:35:07,708 --> 00:35:10,833
They're all welcome
to attend the party.

749
00:35:10,875 --> 00:35:13,083
The kingdom party of God.

750
00:35:13,167 --> 00:35:18,000
So anyone who really responds I
would say to both invitations,

751
00:35:18,042 --> 00:35:20,083
they do raise
their hand and say,

752
00:35:20,167 --> 00:35:21,958
"I'm a sinner and I need Jesus."

753
00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:24,958
But then the rest of their life
is actually walking toward the

754
00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:29,958
party, walking toward Jesus and
his kingdom, repenting of sin,

755
00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:32,417
reading the Bible, praying,
be a member of the church,

756
00:35:32,500 --> 00:35:33,833
be in community.

757
00:35:33,875 --> 00:35:36,750
Not that those things save you,
but they are movement

758
00:35:36,833 --> 00:35:38,417
toward the party.

759
00:35:38,500 --> 00:35:41,417
In that day when the invitation
went out you'd have to receive

760
00:35:41,500 --> 00:35:44,167
the invitation and then you'd
have to walk to the party.

761
00:35:44,208 --> 00:35:45,583
That's the Christian life.

762
00:35:45,667 --> 00:35:47,833
We call it sanctification.

763
00:35:47,917 --> 00:35:49,833
There's a moment when
you become a Christian.

764
00:35:49,917 --> 00:35:52,083
You raise your hand,
say, "I belong to Jesus."

765
00:35:52,167 --> 00:35:55,083
The rest of your life is walking
toward the party, maturity,

766
00:35:55,167 --> 00:35:57,250
obedience, holiness, growth.

767
00:35:57,333 --> 00:36:00,083
My hope, my prayer is that none
of you are like

768
00:36:00,167 --> 00:36:03,000
the religious guy in
the parable, saying,

769
00:36:03,042 --> 00:36:05,167
"Well, I know I'm going
to be there."

770
00:36:05,208 --> 00:36:07,125
Don't assume anything.

771
00:36:07,167 --> 00:36:08,958
"Work out your salvation,"
the Bible says,

772
00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:10,750
"with fear and trembling."

773
00:36:10,833 --> 00:36:15,250
Don't just assume and presume
upon the grace of God.

774
00:36:15,333 --> 00:36:18,750
Keep moving toward Jesus.

775
00:36:18,833 --> 00:36:20,333
It's not just a decision.

776
00:36:20,375 --> 00:36:24,167
It's a decision that
leads to a lifestyle.

777
00:36:24,250 --> 00:36:26,167
Number two, what's
the dress code?

778
00:36:26,250 --> 00:36:27,583
This is pretty fun.

779
00:36:27,667 --> 00:36:30,333
Revelation 19:8, it's one of
the last chapters of the Bible,

780
00:36:30,375 --> 00:36:34,833
talks about this great, epic,
fantastic feast at the end.

781
00:36:34,917 --> 00:36:37,792
It says that, "Fine
linen, bright and pure,"

782
00:36:37,833 --> 00:36:40,792
is what the Christians
will be wearing.

783
00:36:40,833 --> 00:36:42,417
White.

784
00:36:42,500 --> 00:36:44,125
White, all white.

785
00:36:44,167 --> 00:36:49,333
All the Christians wearing all
white, at least for the dinner.

786
00:36:49,417 --> 00:36:52,333
People wear white to show that
our sins are forgiven

787
00:36:52,417 --> 00:36:54,000
and our righteousness
is in Christ.

788
00:36:54,083 --> 00:36:56,000
Don't you love it
on a wedding day,

789
00:36:56,083 --> 00:36:57,917
what color does the bride wear?

790
00:36:58,000 --> 00:36:59,583
She wears white.

791
00:36:59,667 --> 00:37:01,500
Is it because she's sinless?

792
00:37:01,542 --> 00:37:04,333
Ah, no.

793
00:37:04,375 --> 00:37:08,583
She wears white to show
that she's clean in Christ.

794
00:37:08,667 --> 00:37:12,333
She's been expiated,
cleansed, made new in Christ.

795
00:37:12,417 --> 00:37:16,667
She's forgiven and declared
righteous in Christ.

796
00:37:16,750 --> 00:37:20,583
See, little girls who--little
girls who grow up waiting for

797
00:37:20,667 --> 00:37:23,167
their wedding day, preparing
for their wedding day,

798
00:37:23,250 --> 00:37:25,167
and anticipating
their wedding day,

799
00:37:25,250 --> 00:37:27,833
part of that is they really have
this innate longing

800
00:37:27,917 --> 00:37:31,000
as the image bearers of God
for the party at the end,

801
00:37:31,083 --> 00:37:35,917
the wedding supper of the Lamb,
that history has talked of like

802
00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:39,000
a wedding, like it's all about
Jesus the groom

803
00:37:39,083 --> 00:37:40,750
and the church is the bride.

804
00:37:40,833 --> 00:37:43,292
And there's a feast
and a party and a celebration.

805
00:37:43,333 --> 00:37:46,583
What a glorious
portrait of heaven.

806
00:37:46,667 --> 00:37:49,833
What's the best wedding
you've ever been to?

807
00:37:49,917 --> 00:37:53,000
The bride and the groom, they
really did love each other.

808
00:37:53,083 --> 00:37:55,333
It was fantastic.

809
00:37:55,417 --> 00:37:57,958
The after party was enjoyable.

810
00:37:58,000 --> 00:37:59,917
It was such a memory.

811
00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:03,500
Did something just resound
in your soul saying,

812
00:38:03,542 --> 00:38:06,000
"Gosh, this just feels right!

813
00:38:06,042 --> 00:38:08,000
This is wonderful!"

814
00:38:08,083 --> 00:38:11,125
Ultimately, that's a
foreshadowing and a foretaste

815
00:38:11,167 --> 00:38:15,500
of the eternal state in
the kingdom of God.

816
00:38:15,583 --> 00:38:19,167
And so God's people wear
white to show that, yes,

817
00:38:19,208 --> 00:38:22,458
in Christ we're made clean.

818
00:38:22,500 --> 00:38:23,917
You know what's curious?

819
00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:27,667
P-Diddy, Sean John, Puff Daddy,
I don't even know what his name

820
00:38:27,750 --> 00:38:31,917
is this week, he throws
these massive parties.

821
00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:33,792
His parties are
legendary in L.A.,

822
00:38:33,833 --> 00:38:35,333
at least that's what I hear.

823
00:38:35,417 --> 00:38:38,000
I'm not on the guest list,
but pray for me.

824
00:38:38,083 --> 00:38:41,167
And what he says is that you're
welcome to come to his party

825
00:38:41,250 --> 00:38:44,833
but there is a rule: everyone
has to wear only white.

826
00:38:44,875 --> 00:38:48,000
So if you want to go
to Puff Daddy's party,

827
00:38:48,042 --> 00:38:51,500
not sure you do,
you have to wear all white.

828
00:38:51,542 --> 00:38:54,833
And I was reading that on, I
think it was MTV or something,

829
00:38:54,875 --> 00:38:58,083
one of those great news sources
for insightful theological

830
00:38:58,167 --> 00:39:01,667
assistance, and it said that
you had to wear all white.

831
00:39:01,750 --> 00:39:03,500
And I thought,
isn't that curious,

832
00:39:03,583 --> 00:39:05,750
that a guy who I don't
think knows Jesus,

833
00:39:05,833 --> 00:39:07,750
I don't get any
evidence that he does,

834
00:39:07,833 --> 00:39:11,250
he's an image bearer of God and
he knows how to throw a big,

835
00:39:11,333 --> 00:39:13,458
fantastic party that's
lavish and generous,

836
00:39:13,500 --> 00:39:15,792
and he requires that
everyone wear white.

837
00:39:15,833 --> 00:39:17,417
I know where he got that.

838
00:39:17,500 --> 00:39:20,417
He got that from the greatest
meal that will ever be held,

839
00:39:20,500 --> 00:39:22,750
the greatest party
that will ever be held.

840
00:39:22,833 --> 00:39:25,750
And I hope that he, too, takes
up the invitation and meets

841
00:39:25,833 --> 00:39:28,583
Jesus and makes the party.

842
00:39:28,667 --> 00:39:32,917
How many of you ladies on your
wedding day you wore white?

843
00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:35,958
All of that was
practice for heaven.

844
00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:38,292
I can still remember
my daughter, Ashley,

845
00:39:38,333 --> 00:39:42,583
the first time she got married,
she was about 4 or 5 years old

846
00:39:42,667 --> 00:39:45,292
at Disney World in
Florida, hang with me,

847
00:39:45,333 --> 00:39:47,333
it's actually a good story.

848
00:39:47,417 --> 00:39:49,792
Don't start Twittering just yet.

849
00:39:49,833 --> 00:39:53,583
We--Gracie and I had taken her
to Orlando and we went to

850
00:39:53,667 --> 00:39:56,125
Disney World
and we had a fun time.

851
00:39:56,167 --> 00:39:58,167
I think I've told you
this story before,

852
00:39:58,250 --> 00:40:00,167
but that's what happens
when you get old,

853
00:40:00,250 --> 00:40:02,167
you keep telling
the same stories.

854
00:40:02,208 --> 00:40:05,583
And so we were in the hotel room
at night at Disney World and

855
00:40:05,667 --> 00:40:08,583
Ashley, who I absolutely adore,
she was maybe four or five or

856
00:40:08,667 --> 00:40:10,458
something at the time,
she said, "Daddy,"

857
00:40:10,500 --> 00:40:12,292
she might have
called me Papa Daddy,

858
00:40:12,333 --> 00:40:15,500
she's called me Papa Daddy for
years, "I want to go swimming."

859
00:40:15,583 --> 00:40:17,333
I was like, "Honey,
it's very late.

860
00:40:17,375 --> 00:40:20,333
"It's, you know, past your
bedtime and we had a big day,

861
00:40:20,375 --> 00:40:21,833
we got a big day tomorrow."

862
00:40:21,917 --> 00:40:23,250
She gave me that look.

863
00:40:23,333 --> 00:40:26,125
If you're a daddy you know
what that look looks like.

864
00:40:26,167 --> 00:40:27,500
"Daddy, please!

865
00:40:27,583 --> 00:40:30,458
"We're at Disney World and
you're my daddy and I love you

866
00:40:30,500 --> 00:40:32,000
and I want to go swimming."

867
00:40:32,042 --> 00:40:33,417
"Okay, we're going swimming."

868
00:40:33,500 --> 00:40:36,792
So we put our swim trunks on
and we go down to the pool

869
00:40:36,833 --> 00:40:39,292
and I'm throwing her in
the air and we're swimming.

870
00:40:39,333 --> 00:40:41,792
And they got Mickey Mouse
spitting water and just had

871
00:40:41,833 --> 00:40:43,792
this glorious little sacred
moment with my daughter.

872
00:40:43,833 --> 00:40:47,167
And came back to the hotel room
and she was standing on the bed

873
00:40:47,250 --> 00:40:50,167
and she had her swimsuit on
and I was--I got the towel

874
00:40:50,250 --> 00:40:52,667
and I was toweling her off
and drying her hair.

875
00:40:52,750 --> 00:40:55,667
And she took the towel when
I had it over her head

876
00:40:55,750 --> 00:40:58,667
and she grabbed the ends
of it, big white towel,

877
00:40:58,750 --> 00:41:02,458
and she held it and she looked
at me and she says,

878
00:41:02,500 --> 00:41:04,583
"Daddy, will you marry me?

879
00:41:04,667 --> 00:41:07,333
Will you marry me?"

880
00:41:07,375 --> 00:41:10,333
I lost it, I started crying.

881
00:41:10,375 --> 00:41:13,583
If you're a man, you shouldn't
cry if you hit your thumb with

882
00:41:13,667 --> 00:41:16,333
a hammer, but if your daughter
asks you to marry her

883
00:41:16,417 --> 00:41:18,000
you should cry.

884
00:41:18,083 --> 00:41:20,750
Pick your tears strategically.

885
00:41:20,833 --> 00:41:23,750
I thought, "Oh, my gosh, look
what's down deep in the heart

886
00:41:23,833 --> 00:41:26,000
"of my little girl!

887
00:41:26,083 --> 00:41:32,500
She wants to wear white
and she wants to be loved."

888
00:41:32,542 --> 00:41:38,500
All of that is culminated at
the wedding supper of the Lamb,

889
00:41:38,583 --> 00:41:41,792
the big kingdom party
that Jesus talks about,

890
00:41:41,833 --> 00:41:45,000
where the children of
God get to wear white

891
00:41:45,042 --> 00:41:46,833
and all their sins are forgiven.

892
00:41:46,875 --> 00:41:49,333
And they have a feast
and a celebration with Jesus.

893
00:41:49,375 --> 00:41:51,458
It's great, isn't it?

894
00:41:51,500 --> 00:41:55,583
Man, we really need to enlarge
our biblical vision of

895
00:41:55,667 --> 00:41:58,417
God's eternal kingdom.

896
00:41:58,500 --> 00:42:00,167
A couple more questions.

897
00:42:00,250 --> 00:42:01,625
What is the menu?

898
00:42:01,667 --> 00:42:03,625
I know some of you
are asking this.

899
00:42:03,667 --> 00:42:05,333
You're the foodies, right?

900
00:42:05,417 --> 00:42:06,750
You're the foodies.

901
00:42:06,833 --> 00:42:08,500
"Oh, what's the menu?
What's the menu?"

902
00:42:08,583 --> 00:42:10,667
Here it is,
Isaiah 25:6 in the NIV,

903
00:42:10,708 --> 00:42:12,667
"The Lord Almighty
will prepare a feast."

904
00:42:12,750 --> 00:42:14,625
You know it's going to be good!

905
00:42:14,667 --> 00:42:17,417
Whoever your favorite
Iron Chef is, I promise you,

906
00:42:17,500 --> 00:42:19,250
Jesus is a better cook.

907
00:42:19,333 --> 00:42:21,583
This is going to be
such a great menu!

908
00:42:21,667 --> 00:42:23,167
"Of rich food."

909
00:42:23,250 --> 00:42:24,958
Oh, I don't know
what that means,

910
00:42:25,000 --> 00:42:26,750
but it sounds pretty fantastic.

911
00:42:26,833 --> 00:42:29,500
It sounds like a lot of spices
and maybe some sauces

912
00:42:29,542 --> 00:42:34,833
and flavors and maybe a little
bit of heat and spiciness.

913
00:42:34,875 --> 00:42:37,833
Oh, this sounds very intriguing.

914
00:42:37,875 --> 00:42:40,667
"Rich food for all
peoples," isn't that great?

915
00:42:40,708 --> 00:42:43,917
Unlike a restaurant where
you get what you can afford,

916
00:42:44,000 --> 00:42:48,458
at Jesus' kingdom you get what
he gives and he's generous.

917
00:42:48,500 --> 00:42:51,167
There's going to be poor people
who are going to eat

918
00:42:51,250 --> 00:42:54,083
the first great meal
of their whole life.

919
00:42:54,167 --> 00:42:55,667
It's going to be great!

920
00:42:55,750 --> 00:42:57,333
"A banquet," of what?

921
00:42:57,417 --> 00:42:59,833
Here's the centerpiece
of the meal!

922
00:42:59,917 --> 00:43:04,667
"Aged wines, the best of meats,
and the finest of wines."

923
00:43:04,708 --> 00:43:06,917
That's fantastic!

924
00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:10,583
Red wine, red meat,
they go together.

925
00:43:10,667 --> 00:43:14,583
They're even color coded
in the goodness of God.

926
00:43:14,667 --> 00:43:17,833
And I don't know what this means
for Methodists and Nazarenes

927
00:43:17,875 --> 00:43:20,000
and Baptists and vegetarians.

928
00:43:20,042 --> 00:43:23,167
I don't know if they're going
to be at the kiddie table with

929
00:43:23,250 --> 00:43:24,583
mac and cheese or what,

930
00:43:24,667 --> 00:43:26,667
but that's what's
ultimately on the menu.

931
00:43:26,750 --> 00:43:28,292
How does that sound?

932
00:43:28,333 --> 00:43:31,292
How many of you would be pretty
thrilled if I sent you

933
00:43:31,333 --> 00:43:33,083
an invitation saying,
"You're welcome to come.

934
00:43:33,167 --> 00:43:37,333
"The best meal
in the history of the world.

935
00:43:37,417 --> 00:43:40,417
"All expenses paid.

936
00:43:40,500 --> 00:43:43,750
"Some amazing people
will be there.

937
00:43:43,833 --> 00:43:46,292
"It's free.

938
00:43:46,333 --> 00:43:51,458
"The best wine ever made
and the best cuts of beef

939
00:43:51,500 --> 00:43:54,167
in the history of the universe!"

940
00:43:54,208 --> 00:43:57,083
That's the party that
Jesus throws in the end.

941
00:43:57,167 --> 00:43:59,750
So I'll tell you what
won't be at the party.

942
00:43:59,833 --> 00:44:02,958
And I tell you this so when
you throw a party you throw

943
00:44:03,000 --> 00:44:05,500
a Christian party, you don't
throw a non-Christian party.

944
00:44:05,583 --> 00:44:08,833
And when you feast you don't
feast like a single guy!

945
00:44:08,917 --> 00:44:12,167
Single guy knows
nothing about feasting!

946
00:44:12,250 --> 00:44:15,833
So I asked the guys to go get me
some examples of what will not

947
00:44:15,917 --> 00:44:18,500
be at Jesus' feast and
when we throw a feast

948
00:44:18,583 --> 00:44:20,500
they should not be at our feast.

949
00:44:20,583 --> 00:44:23,667
And we were going to go to
the grocery store and get

950
00:44:23,750 --> 00:44:29,750
some horrible examples of what
we'll call godless snack foods.

951
00:44:29,833 --> 00:44:32,917
They're not awesome and epic and
fantastic and savory and rich.

952
00:44:33,000 --> 00:44:36,083
And so we were going to send
the guys to the grocery store

953
00:44:36,167 --> 00:44:39,250
and instead of sending one of
the guys to the grocery store we

954
00:44:39,333 --> 00:44:43,125
could have just sent one of the
single guys back to his house.

955
00:44:43,167 --> 00:44:46,167
So here's what will not
be--let's see what they got me.

956
00:44:46,250 --> 00:44:49,167
There will not be Hamburger
Helper in the kingdom of God.

957
00:44:49,250 --> 00:44:52,083
There will not be SpaghettiOs
in the kingdom of God.

958
00:44:52,167 --> 00:44:55,167
There will not be Chef Boyardee
Beef Ravioli

959
00:44:55,250 --> 00:44:56,667
in the kingdom of God.

960
00:44:56,750 --> 00:44:58,250
Glory be to God.

961
00:44:58,333 --> 00:45:00,000
There will not be taquitos.

962
00:45:00,042 --> 00:45:03,000
Again, I don't think in the
kingdom of God anything ending

963
00:45:03,042 --> 00:45:07,625
in –itos-- Doritos, Cheetos,
Fritos, taquitos, are no-goes.

964
00:45:07,667 --> 00:45:09,583
Not going to happen.

965
00:45:09,667 --> 00:45:10,958
How about this one?

966
00:45:11,000 --> 00:45:12,667
Hot Pocket.

967
00:45:12,750 --> 00:45:15,667
It's hot like hell.
These will be in hell.

968
00:45:15,708 --> 00:45:18,292
These will not be in
the kingdom of God.

969
00:45:18,333 --> 00:45:20,667
Tuna Helper?
No, no.

970
00:45:20,750 --> 00:45:23,083
Jesus is your helper,
the Holy Spirit, the paraclete,

971
00:45:23,167 --> 00:45:24,500
is your helper.

972
00:45:24,542 --> 00:45:26,417
There's nothing helpful
about Tuna Helper.

973
00:45:26,500 --> 00:45:28,625
It will not be in
the kingdom of God.

974
00:45:28,667 --> 00:45:31,167
This is supposed to be
macaroni and cheese.

975
00:45:31,250 --> 00:45:34,333
And you put it in a microwave,
which immediately kills

976
00:45:34,417 --> 00:45:38,000
any sense of nutrition, not
that it started with any.

977
00:45:38,083 --> 00:45:41,167
If there is macaroni and
cheese in the kingdom of God,

978
00:45:41,250 --> 00:45:44,250
and, Lord Jesus, I humbly
request that there would be,

979
00:45:44,333 --> 00:45:48,167
it will in fact not be
frozen from the store.

980
00:45:48,250 --> 00:45:51,000
It will be made by Jesus
with good ingredients.

981
00:45:51,083 --> 00:45:52,583
What else do we have?

982
00:45:52,667 --> 00:45:54,458
Chex Mix,
not going to be there.

983
00:45:54,500 --> 00:45:59,167
Jimmy D's Griddle Sticks:
pancake batter covering

984
00:45:59,250 --> 00:46:04,167
a turkey sausage link
on a stick, okay?

985
00:46:04,250 --> 00:46:06,417
This is breakfast in hell.

986
00:46:06,500 --> 00:46:10,167
This is not going to be
in the kingdom of God.

987
00:46:10,250 --> 00:46:13,583
Spam I do not think will be in
the kingdom of God 'cause

988
00:46:13,667 --> 00:46:17,250
when it says the best of
meats, this is not it.

989
00:46:17,333 --> 00:46:20,000
I don't even know
what is in Spam.

990
00:46:20,083 --> 00:46:23,958
They don't tell you because
it's none of your business.

991
00:46:24,000 --> 00:46:26,833
Though it's scary,
frightening, and horrific.

992
00:46:26,875 --> 00:46:29,917
Swiss Rolls probably won't
be in the kingdom of God

993
00:46:30,000 --> 00:46:33,125
but that would be okay.

994
00:46:33,167 --> 00:46:35,167
How about this one?

995
00:46:35,250 --> 00:46:37,125
Oh, T.G.I.Friday's now has

996
00:46:37,167 --> 00:46:40,417
cheddar and bacon
potato skins.

997
00:46:40,500 --> 00:46:44,125
That will not be in
the kingdom of God.

998
00:46:44,167 --> 00:46:48,667
Now, the bacon may be, but it
will be among the best of meats.

999
00:46:48,708 --> 00:46:51,833
They had one in here, too, that
I really liked, where was that?

1000
00:46:51,875 --> 00:46:53,333
What is this?

1001
00:46:53,375 --> 00:46:58,083
Smucker's peanut butter
and strawberry jam sandwich.

1002
00:46:58,167 --> 00:47:02,833
At what point did peanut butter
and jelly sandwiches become so

1003
00:47:02,917 --> 00:47:07,583
time consuming, complicated, and
difficult that we had to prepare

1004
00:47:07,667 --> 00:47:11,167
them in advance so we could just
give them to the children

1005
00:47:11,208 --> 00:47:14,292
that apparently we do not like?

1006
00:47:14,333 --> 00:47:18,625
And my most favorite.

1007
00:47:18,667 --> 00:47:21,333
This will not be in
the kingdom of God.

1008
00:47:21,375 --> 00:47:23,833
This is Brown Box Wine.

1009
00:47:23,917 --> 00:47:25,667
It doesn't even have a design.

1010
00:47:25,708 --> 00:47:28,917
It says Merlot, but it's not.

1011
00:47:29,000 --> 00:47:31,125
It's not.

1012
00:47:31,167 --> 00:47:35,250
This is--this is the kind of
wine that I think that they

1013
00:47:35,333 --> 00:47:36,833
will serve in hell.

1014
00:47:36,875 --> 00:47:39,833
It will be in a box and you'll
eat it with your

1015
00:47:39,875 --> 00:47:41,167
Smucker's Uncrustable.

1016
00:47:41,250 --> 00:47:45,583
Jesus says, "Aged wines, best
of meats, finest of wines."

1017
00:47:45,667 --> 00:47:47,417
When we get to
the kingdom party,

1018
00:47:47,500 --> 00:47:50,667
it's going to be a fantastic
party with a generous menu,

1019
00:47:50,750 --> 00:47:54,417
a generous guest list.

1020
00:47:54,500 --> 00:47:56,000
And what will
the entertainment be?

1021
00:47:56,042 --> 00:47:58,000
I know some of you
have asked this.

1022
00:47:58,042 --> 00:48:00,083
"Well, what will the--will
there be a band?"

1023
00:48:00,167 --> 00:48:03,083
Some of you think we're just
going to sing the whole time.

1024
00:48:03,167 --> 00:48:05,583
Some of you are like,
"I don't like to sing!"

1025
00:48:05,667 --> 00:48:07,292
Singing is fun if you can sing.

1026
00:48:07,333 --> 00:48:09,083
Singing is fun
if you love Jesus,

1027
00:48:09,167 --> 00:48:11,292
but singing forever
does sound like a lot.

1028
00:48:11,333 --> 00:48:14,833
This is one of my
favorite, most perplexing,

1029
00:48:14,875 --> 00:48:17,125
curious verses in all the Bible.

1030
00:48:17,167 --> 00:48:20,792
Zephaniah 3:17, a little tiny
prophet in the Old Testament,

1031
00:48:20,833 --> 00:48:25,625
says, "He," that is Jesus, "will
rejoice over you with," what?

1032
00:48:25,667 --> 00:48:27,833
"Gladness.

1033
00:48:27,917 --> 00:48:30,167
"He will quiet you by his love.

1034
00:48:30,250 --> 00:48:34,583
He will exult over you
with loud singing."

1035
00:48:34,667 --> 00:48:38,000
When we sit down
for this epic meal,

1036
00:48:38,042 --> 00:48:40,583
you know who's
going to be there?

1037
00:48:40,667 --> 00:48:44,625
The saints in the Old
Testament--Abraham
and Isaac and Jacob and Moses

1038
00:48:44,667 --> 00:48:50,000
and David and Daniel
and Ruth and Rahab.

1039
00:48:50,083 --> 00:48:52,500
It's amazing.

1040
00:48:52,542 --> 00:48:57,458
And Paul and Peter and doubting
Thomas and Martin Luther

1041
00:48:57,500 --> 00:49:01,333
and John Calvin and maybe your
great-great-great-grandma

1042
00:49:01,375 --> 00:49:05,667
who loved Jesus and all
of these people,

1043
00:49:05,750 --> 00:49:08,125
people who have suffered
a martyr's death,

1044
00:49:08,167 --> 00:49:11,125
people who have given their life
to Jesus and you've never even

1045
00:49:11,167 --> 00:49:13,333
heard of, but they've got
the most fantastic stories.

1046
00:49:13,417 --> 00:49:16,333
Don't you love meeting somebody
at a party when there's no rush

1047
00:49:16,417 --> 00:49:19,458
for time, that person is really
kind of interesting and you get

1048
00:49:19,500 --> 00:49:22,167
to hear their story and you're
like, "That's fascinating"?

1049
00:49:22,208 --> 00:49:24,167
Heaven's like that.

1050
00:49:24,250 --> 00:49:27,500
It's this great party with
amazing people who have all got

1051
00:49:27,583 --> 00:49:31,250
fantastic stories
of God's grace.

1052
00:49:31,333 --> 00:49:33,000
And you get to
hear their stories.

1053
00:49:33,042 --> 00:49:35,833
Some are heroes you've always
wanted to meet and some are

1054
00:49:35,875 --> 00:49:38,750
people you didn't even know
were part of the family of God.

1055
00:49:38,833 --> 00:49:42,083
And as we're enjoying them, what
it says is that then Jesus

1056
00:49:42,167 --> 00:49:46,917
will come out and it's going
to get really quiet.

1057
00:49:47,000 --> 00:49:50,083
And we're just going to see his
face and we're going to see

1058
00:49:50,167 --> 00:49:51,958
his face of gladness.

1059
00:49:52,000 --> 00:49:55,292
You're going to see Jesus smile.

1060
00:49:55,333 --> 00:49:58,000
And you're going to feel loved
like you've never felt loved

1061
00:49:58,083 --> 00:49:59,667
in your whole life.

1062
00:49:59,708 --> 00:50:01,167
I don't care who's loved you,

1063
00:50:01,208 --> 00:50:02,958
you've never felt a love
like this.

1064
00:50:03,000 --> 00:50:05,958
And I don't know how many
people are going to be there,

1065
00:50:06,000 --> 00:50:07,958
billions say they're
Christians on the earth today.

1066
00:50:08,000 --> 00:50:09,458
We don't know.

1067
00:50:09,500 --> 00:50:11,667
It's going to be a huge party.

1068
00:50:11,750 --> 00:50:13,583
We're all going to see Jesus.

1069
00:50:13,667 --> 00:50:15,583
We're going to see
love in his eyes.

1070
00:50:15,667 --> 00:50:17,958
We're going to see
a smile on his face.

1071
00:50:18,000 --> 00:50:23,208
And it's going to get really
quiet and he's going to sing.

1072
00:50:24,833 --> 00:50:28,208
Jesus is going to sing.

1073
00:50:34,667 --> 00:50:41,250
If you love Jesus, that's almost
too much to even comprehend.

1074
00:50:41,333 --> 00:50:45,167
You think of your favorite
artist, your favorite musician,

1075
00:50:45,250 --> 00:50:47,250
the person dead or
alive that, "Man,

1076
00:50:47,333 --> 00:50:50,792
if I could just have a front
row seat to one of their shows."

1077
00:50:50,833 --> 00:50:57,167
Jesus sings over you
with love and gladness.

1078
00:51:01,042 --> 00:51:05,500
Last question, and I mean this
with all sincerity because

1079
00:51:05,542 --> 00:51:09,625
I love you, will you
make the kingdom party?

1080
00:51:09,667 --> 00:51:11,583
Have you turned from sin?

1081
00:51:11,667 --> 00:51:16,583
Have you trusted in Jesus, the
God who left this great party,

1082
00:51:16,667 --> 00:51:22,500
came down to earth to be poor,
humiliated, mocked, opposed,

1083
00:51:22,542 --> 00:51:26,917
disdained, falsely accused,
arrested, crucified,

1084
00:51:27,000 --> 00:51:30,750
murdered, buried?

1085
00:51:30,833 --> 00:51:32,583
Why did he do that?

1086
00:51:32,667 --> 00:51:36,833
To extend an invitation to you
to come to his party by paying

1087
00:51:36,875 --> 00:51:44,083
your debt of sin so that you
could be free to join with him.

1088
00:51:44,167 --> 00:51:45,750
Then he rose from death,

1089
00:51:45,833 --> 00:51:48,083
conquering all
that was against us.

1090
00:51:48,167 --> 00:51:50,333
He's our great God and savior.

1091
00:51:50,417 --> 00:51:53,167
He ascended back into heaven
and right now the Bible says

1092
00:51:53,250 --> 00:51:57,125
he has gone to prepare
a place for us.

1093
00:51:57,167 --> 00:51:59,917
He's preparing the feast.

1094
00:52:00,000 --> 00:52:02,417
He's getting the party ready.

1095
00:52:02,500 --> 00:52:05,792
And he invites you to raise your
hand and become a Christian,

1096
00:52:05,833 --> 00:52:08,292
but also then to pursue
a life of relationship,

1097
00:52:08,333 --> 00:52:11,250
walking toward him
and his kingdom.

1098
00:52:11,333 --> 00:52:14,083
And on the other side of
death, I've already told you,

1099
00:52:14,167 --> 00:52:18,083
the life that
awaits you forever.

1100
00:52:18,167 --> 00:52:19,917
Will you make the kingdom party?

1101
00:52:20,000 --> 00:52:23,667
I would just urge you--and
I mean this wholeheartedly.

1102
00:52:23,708 --> 00:52:27,333
There were many at that
party, perhaps all,

1103
00:52:27,375 --> 00:52:30,417
who had the same attitude
as the religious guy.

1104
00:52:30,500 --> 00:52:32,500
"Oh, praise God I'm
going to the party!"

1105
00:52:32,583 --> 00:52:35,083
Ah, are you sure?

1106
00:52:35,167 --> 00:52:36,667
Are you sure you know Jesus?

1107
00:52:36,708 --> 00:52:38,250
Are you sure you love Jesus?

1108
00:52:38,333 --> 00:52:40,083
Are you sure you
belong to Jesus?

1109
00:52:40,167 --> 00:52:42,833
Are you sure you've turned
from sin to trust in him?

1110
00:52:42,875 --> 00:52:46,458
Are you sure you're going to see
Jesus on the other side of death

1111
00:52:46,500 --> 00:52:49,000
and you're going
to see him smiling

1112
00:52:49,042 --> 00:52:50,833
and not shaking his head?

1113
00:52:50,917 --> 00:52:53,000
Are you sure?

1114
00:52:53,083 --> 00:52:55,583
So I'd invite you to give
your life, your heart,

1115
00:52:55,667 --> 00:52:58,500
your eternity to Jesus today
and to take him up on his

1116
00:52:58,583 --> 00:53:01,250
salvation invitation
to his great party.

1117
00:53:01,333 --> 00:53:04,458
And lastly, I'm going to give
you a couple of things to do

1118
00:53:04,500 --> 00:53:05,833
and pray for.

1119
00:53:05,917 --> 00:53:08,083
We're going to have a little
kingdom party practice.

1120
00:53:08,167 --> 00:53:10,083
Most Christians are known by
what we're against

1121
00:53:10,167 --> 00:53:11,458
rather than what we're for.

1122
00:53:11,500 --> 00:53:13,458
And we tend to
oppose all the parties.

1123
00:53:13,500 --> 00:53:16,500
"Oh, we don't like Mardi Gras
and we don't like New Year

1124
00:53:16,583 --> 00:53:18,333
"and we don't like
Fourth of July.

1125
00:53:18,417 --> 00:53:20,583
"We don't like these things
because people get drunk

1126
00:53:20,667 --> 00:53:22,500
"and they eat too
much and they sin

1127
00:53:22,542 --> 00:53:23,958
and they do things
they shouldn't."

1128
00:53:24,000 --> 00:53:26,958
Well, we don't need to receive
parties as the world has them.

1129
00:53:27,000 --> 00:53:29,458
We don't need to reject
them because of the way

1130
00:53:29,500 --> 00:53:30,833
the world has them.

1131
00:53:30,917 --> 00:53:33,083
We need to redeem them
like God has them.

1132
00:53:33,167 --> 00:53:36,000
We need to throw parties
like Jesus threw a party.

1133
00:53:36,042 --> 00:53:39,167
So, number one, I'm going to
ask you to throw a great party.

1134
00:53:39,250 --> 00:53:41,750
Practice for the kingdom of God.

1135
00:53:41,833 --> 00:53:43,417
You could do this by yourself.

1136
00:53:43,500 --> 00:53:45,167
You could do this
with your family,

1137
00:53:45,208 --> 00:53:47,667
maybe invite your neighbors
and people you don't even know

1138
00:53:47,708 --> 00:53:50,333
and coworkers and strangers and
people who are around you.

1139
00:53:50,375 --> 00:53:52,333
Or this could be with
your community group,

1140
00:53:52,375 --> 00:53:53,833
you all get together
and say,

1141
00:53:53,875 --> 00:53:55,667
"Okay, Pastor Mark gave
us an assignment.

1142
00:53:55,708 --> 00:53:57,167
"We're going to throw a party.

1143
00:53:57,250 --> 00:53:59,500
"What's the menu?
What's the theme?

1144
00:53:59,583 --> 00:54:01,333
Who are we going to invite?"

1145
00:54:01,375 --> 00:54:03,958
Jesus says the poor, the
lame, the crippled, the blind.

1146
00:54:04,000 --> 00:54:07,167
Invite some people who don't get
invited to a lot of really nice

1147
00:54:07,208 --> 00:54:09,250
parties that are free.

1148
00:54:09,333 --> 00:54:10,917
Be generous with the menu.

1149
00:54:11,000 --> 00:54:12,458
Be generous with the guest list.

1150
00:54:12,500 --> 00:54:14,417
You could do this
at someone's home.

1151
00:54:14,500 --> 00:54:17,292
You could go to--I don't
know where you want to go.

1152
00:54:17,333 --> 00:54:20,083
You want to go to a retirement
home, a convalescent home?

1153
00:54:20,167 --> 00:54:21,792
You want to go to a hospital?

1154
00:54:21,833 --> 00:54:24,000
You want to go to
a battered women's shelter?

1155
00:54:24,042 --> 00:54:26,667
You want to go to a drug and
alcohol rehabilitation center?

1156
00:54:26,708 --> 00:54:28,500
Where do you want to go?

1157
00:54:28,583 --> 00:54:31,500
Do you want to go help those
who are already in need?

1158
00:54:31,583 --> 00:54:33,750
Do you want to bring
the party to them?

1159
00:54:33,833 --> 00:54:35,958
Do you want to bring
them to your party?

1160
00:54:36,000 --> 00:54:38,625
I want you as a community group
and maybe even linking

1161
00:54:38,667 --> 00:54:41,125
with other community groups,
maybe five or six or eight

1162
00:54:41,167 --> 00:54:43,125
or ten community groups
get together and say,

1163
00:54:43,167 --> 00:54:46,125
"We're going to have a huge
party and we're going to rent

1164
00:54:46,167 --> 00:54:48,625
"a space and we're going to do
something really big

1165
00:54:48,667 --> 00:54:50,417
"and we're going to invite
people in.

1166
00:54:50,500 --> 00:54:52,917
And as God's people, we're
going to pay for it."

1167
00:54:53,000 --> 00:54:55,417
And if you struggle financially
with this and you can't

1168
00:54:55,500 --> 00:54:58,250
afford it, your community group
leader can let us know.

1169
00:54:58,333 --> 00:55:01,000
We've set aside an amount of
money to actually provide

1170
00:55:01,042 --> 00:55:04,292
some resources to help you throw
your party because we don't want

1171
00:55:04,333 --> 00:55:05,958
money to be the issue.

1172
00:55:06,000 --> 00:55:07,667
We do want you to be generous.

1173
00:55:07,750 --> 00:55:09,458
So, number two, invite
old friends, strangers,

1174
00:55:09,500 --> 00:55:10,833
people in need.

1175
00:55:10,917 --> 00:55:13,083
Number three, if you want,
write a one-paragraph report

1176
00:55:13,167 --> 00:55:15,417
and send a photo to
party@marshillchurch.org.

1177
00:55:15,500 --> 00:55:17,167
You know what we'd like to do?

1178
00:55:17,250 --> 00:55:19,250
Just show those on
the campus websites.

1179
00:55:19,333 --> 00:55:23,083
God's people having fun with
other people whom God loves.

1180
00:55:23,167 --> 00:55:25,833
And if anyone asks you, "Why
are you throwing this party?

1181
00:55:25,917 --> 00:55:27,250
"What is the hook?

1182
00:55:27,333 --> 00:55:29,458
"Are you trying to get
me to join something?

1183
00:55:29,500 --> 00:55:31,292
Sign something?
What's the hook?"

1184
00:55:31,333 --> 00:55:33,833
Because Jesus said early on,
everybody who throws a party,

1185
00:55:33,875 --> 00:55:35,667
usually they got
an ulterior motive.

1186
00:55:35,750 --> 00:55:38,417
They're trying to get
something in return.

1187
00:55:38,500 --> 00:55:41,250
Tell them, "You know what?
Jesus is a good God.

1188
00:55:41,333 --> 00:55:43,083
"He went to parties.
He threw parties.

1189
00:55:43,167 --> 00:55:45,792
"He's throwing the biggest
party ever at the end of time.

1190
00:55:45,833 --> 00:55:48,750
"And as Christians, one of the
things that we believe in is

1191
00:55:48,833 --> 00:55:51,125
"Jesus wants us to throw some
really good parties

1192
00:55:51,167 --> 00:55:54,458
and love people, so he said
to throw this party for you."

1193
00:55:54,500 --> 00:55:57,750
And then lastly, be praying
for our biggest party ever.

1194
00:55:57,833 --> 00:56:02,667
We are going to throw on
Easter, by the grace of God,

1195
00:56:02,708 --> 00:56:07,000
if God wills, the biggest
party we've ever thrown.

1196
00:56:07,042 --> 00:56:09,000
It's going to cost
a lot of money.

1197
00:56:09,083 --> 00:56:13,583
It's going to be a generous
menu and a generous guest list.

1198
00:56:13,667 --> 00:56:16,458
We're going to invite anyone
and everyone in the entire

1199
00:56:16,500 --> 00:56:20,750
Puget Sound to join us
for one Easter service.

1200
00:56:20,833 --> 00:56:23,625
Our friends at the Albuquerque
campus, our family there,

1201
00:56:23,667 --> 00:56:26,625
unless they want to fly out,
they're going to just do their

1202
00:56:26,667 --> 00:56:29,292
own service with Pastor Dave
and the leadership there.

1203
00:56:29,333 --> 00:56:30,667
But here's what we've done.

1204
00:56:30,750 --> 00:56:32,667
We've rented Qwest Field.

1205
00:56:32,750 --> 00:56:35,083
The football stadium.

1206
00:56:35,167 --> 00:56:37,167
The baseball stadium was taken.

1207
00:56:37,208 --> 00:56:38,667
There's a game later that day.

1208
00:56:38,750 --> 00:56:40,583
The football stadium is open.

1209
00:56:40,667 --> 00:56:43,833
We'll be able
to seat over 20,000 people

1210
00:56:43,917 --> 00:56:46,958
and just take one section
of the stadium with

1211
00:56:47,000 --> 00:56:51,292
all of the seating, put the
stage on the 50 yard line.

1212
00:56:51,333 --> 00:56:53,833
We're going to open
it up as a free event.

1213
00:56:53,875 --> 00:56:56,792
There will be special
musicians and activities.

1214
00:56:56,833 --> 00:56:58,625
We're working on some
fantastic guests.

1215
00:56:58,667 --> 00:57:00,917
As soon as everything is booked,
we'll notify you

1216
00:57:01,000 --> 00:57:03,417
and make it all official.

1217
00:57:03,500 --> 00:57:06,000
Our goal is 20,000 plus people.

1218
00:57:06,083 --> 00:57:09,167
This entire church, Mars Hill,
has not come together

1219
00:57:09,208 --> 00:57:14,167
for one event, one service,
one party since 1996.

1220
00:57:14,250 --> 00:57:17,458
The first year we started, we
had one service and before long

1221
00:57:17,500 --> 00:57:19,167
we went to two services.

1222
00:57:19,250 --> 00:57:22,333
And since that time, we've
never all been in the same room.

1223
00:57:22,375 --> 00:57:26,667
So all of the Puget Sound
area campuses,

1224
00:57:26,750 --> 00:57:30,417
thanks to the unity among
all of the campus pastors,

1225
00:57:30,500 --> 00:57:35,667
have agreed to all come together
on Easter morning for what

1226
00:57:35,708 --> 00:57:39,583
I believe will be the biggest
church service in the history

1227
00:57:39,667 --> 00:57:41,500
of the Pacific Northwest,

1228
00:57:41,583 --> 00:57:44,417
the biggest party
that's ever been thrown.

1229
00:57:44,500 --> 00:57:46,958
And we're going to pay for it
and everybody else

1230
00:57:47,000 --> 00:57:49,167
is going to be able
to come for free.

1231
00:57:49,208 --> 00:57:50,792
We're going to have
fantastic music.

1232
00:57:50,833 --> 00:57:53,292
Of course the gospel of
Jesus Christ will be preached,

1233
00:57:53,333 --> 00:57:56,833
an invitation will be made
to the biggest party of all,

1234
00:57:56,917 --> 00:57:58,667
the kingdom of God.

1235
00:57:58,750 --> 00:58:02,792
And we hope and pray that more
than 500 people will meet Jesus

1236
00:58:02,833 --> 00:58:08,000
and be baptized right there in
the football stadium on Easter

1237
00:58:08,083 --> 00:58:11,167
as a party, practicing
for the big party,

1238
00:58:11,250 --> 00:58:13,583
thanks to the resurrection
of Jesus.

1239
00:58:13,667 --> 00:58:15,917
So be in prayer for that.

1240
00:58:16,000 --> 00:58:19,167
Father God, I pray
for us as a people.

1241
00:58:19,250 --> 00:58:23,917
Some of us have only
partied in a sinful way.

1242
00:58:24,000 --> 00:58:27,917
Some of us have
not partied enough.

1243
00:58:28,000 --> 00:58:33,958
Teach us to party, to celebrate,
to feast, to laugh, to eat,

1244
00:58:34,000 --> 00:58:39,292
to enjoy in a way that glorifies
you and is good for us.

1245
00:58:39,333 --> 00:58:42,167
Jesus, I thank you for this
parable where we get to see

1246
00:58:42,250 --> 00:58:45,167
the kingdom is like the
best meal we've ever eaten

1247
00:58:45,250 --> 00:58:48,125
and the best party
we've ever been to.

1248
00:58:48,167 --> 00:58:52,667
Jesus, it just reminds
us of your grace.

1249
00:58:52,708 --> 00:58:54,917
I pray for those of us
who are religious,

1250
00:58:55,000 --> 00:58:57,625
that are just assuming we're
going to be at the party

1251
00:58:57,667 --> 00:58:59,917
when, in fact, we may not be.

1252
00:59:00,000 --> 00:59:04,667
I pray for us, God, that
Mars Hill would be a place where

1253
00:59:04,750 --> 00:59:07,667
it feels like a kingdom
party, that Jesus,

1254
00:59:07,750 --> 00:59:10,667
you're alive and your grace is
poured out and the kingdom is

1255
00:59:10,750 --> 00:59:13,167
open and the invitation
has gone out.

1256
00:59:13,250 --> 00:59:16,167
I pray for the parties that
will be thrown by the people

1257
00:59:16,250 --> 00:59:18,667
in this church, that they would
really get to know

1258
00:59:18,750 --> 00:59:20,125
and love some new people.

1259
00:59:20,167 --> 00:59:22,625
I pray for the biggest party
we've ever thrown, God.

1260
00:59:22,667 --> 00:59:26,292
By your grace, may Jesus get the
glory and may we get the joy and

1261
00:59:26,333 --> 00:59:30,333
may people accept the invitation
to the greatest party of all.

1262
00:59:30,375 --> 00:59:33,167
In Jesus' name, amen.