Practical Theology: Conclusion| Pastor Mike Lane

Man, what's going on? Everyone doing all right? Yeah. Come on. Can we praise the Lord this morning for all that he is doing, man?

Thank you, worship team, for leading us. Thank you for Heather Ryan in the place. Hey, go ahead and jump to your feet. We're gonna go ahead and dig into God's word. We are in the last week of a series called Practical Theology.

Look at your neighbor say practical theology. I want to give you a heads up because next week, everybody say next week. Not only is there the fall kickoff, but we are starting a brand new series where we're going to be going verse by verse through the book of Mark. Does anybody, like, love a verse by verse type of content? Come on.

I'm excited. Daniel's excited. So listen, I encourage you. We're probably going to be in there for, like, probably a little more than a year. Maybe we'll see how things go.

But I'm excited. But I want to tell you, like, next week is Fall kickoff, and I know, like, we're in the middle of travels and people coming in and out, but I just want to encourage you. Next week are two opportunities. Number one is that maybe you've been coming and you've been trying to plug in. I'm telling you, like, I want to make it impossible for you to walk out of this place next week and not know the next step and how to connect into a community, how to jump in and serving with us, how to really make this place a home.

The second thing is this, is that I recognize that, man, if you're in here, in some ways, you're trying to figure this thing out. But how many of you guys know we belong to a city that in a lot of ways, is lost. And my challenge for you today, we got so much room, and this is where we're going today in the passage. But I encourage you to jump in on the mission. Our mission is this.

It's not extravagant, but it is serious that we exist to help ordinary people become passionate followers of Jesus Christ. I'm not. I'm not looking for the super spiritual elitist. I'm telling you. I'm looking for the ordinary person that wants to follow Jesus.

And as we follow Jesus, we can't help but be the same, because every time you're with him, you're changing. Every moment that you're with him, you're being transformed. That's what we're about. We want transformation happening as our gaze get at him. Is that cool?

You guys down for that? So next week, man, bring a co Worker, bring a parent, bring a friend, bring your boo. I don't care who you bring, but make sure they're here. Amen. All right, hey, Luke 14 is where we're going to be at today.

And I almost, I almost wish I had a lot of time to just break down this entire chapter. But I want to focus in on verse verses 15 through 26 just to give you some context. When we meet Jesus. Jesus is sitting at a table at one of the Pharisees leaders houses and he's been invited into this home. And I want you to picture this room because where Jesus is surrounded by, he's surrounded by a bunch of religious leaders that are in the room.

Important people that are in the room. People who know the scriptures, they are in the room. People who have spent their entire lives thinking about God and talking about God and teaching other people about God, they're in the room. And while everyone else is trying to figure out where they're going to sit, they don't realize that the king of the universe, the king of all kings, is sitting at a table in their midst. And he gives them three pictures.

The first one is this. He gives them this picture of an invitation. When you're invited to a wedding, don't sit in the place of honor. How do you guys know that's really good, right? But go sit to the lowest place.

And here's the point for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted. The second thing he does is that he says when you throw a banquet, don't invite people that can just pay you back, but invite the poor crippled lame and you will be blessed. Here's the point for you will be paid when the resurrection of the just comes. But, but here's the third one. And this is what we're going to be at this morning.

When Jesus is there. He, he hears one of the guys, he's leaning back and he's, he's about to give you one of his most exciting scenarios. He says, man, I, I cannot wait for the blessing that comes when we eat bread in the kingdom of God. In other words, he's literally looking at Jesus, which this is an indicator of Revelation 19 with the, the, the, the supper lamb like that moment. And he doesn't realize it's Jesus in front of him.

He's like, man, you know what would be really cool is that one day I could break bread with the Messiah. Like that'd be really cool. And Jesus hears this and he begins to Tell this story with the hope of opening their eyes. So Starting in verse 16, it goes like this. It says.

Then he told him a man was giving a large banquet and invited many. At the time of the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those who were invited, come. Everybody say come, because everything is now ready. But without exception, they all began to make excuses. The first one said to him, I have bought a field and I must go out and see it.

I ask that you excuse me. Another one says, I bought five yoke of oxen and I'm going to try them out. I ask that you excuse me. And another one said, I just got married, therefore I'm unable to come. Verse 21.

So the servant came back and reported these things to his master. Then in anger, the master of the house told his servant. He said, go out quickly into the streets and the outlays of the city and bring in here the poor, the maimed, the blind, and the lame. For master. The servant said, what you have ordered has been done, and there is still more room.

Then the master told the servant, go out into the highways and the hedges and make them come in so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, not one of those people who were invited will enjoy the banquet. Can we pray? Jesus, Lord, help us. Help us, Lord.

Open up our eyes and our ears and our hearts. This morning, in Jesus name. And everybody said, amen. Amen. High five of your neighbor and say, let's do it, Man.

As we look at the text this morning, there are a lot of avenues that I could have gone. But this morning I want us to focus in on this phrase. The God who invites. The God who invites. There's something about invitations.

Does anybody in here love invitation time? Like, does anybody love, like, watching invitations come into the mail? Right? Not a lot of us, because what. It forces us to make a decision.

Now, I'm going to be real with you because there are one of two decisions that come when invitations come in our way. The, the, the first way is the invitation comes, and immediately, if we're honest, you. You're already thinking of reasons as to why you can't go. You ever had a moment where somebody kind of asks you in front of like, hey, you know, you want to go to lunch? And you're like, when?

Like, man, next Saturday? You're like, ah, baby, you know, you know, we got that thing. And she's not even like, in the zone. She's like, what thing are you talking about, girl? We wide open.

You're like, no, no, no, like that thing, right? There are certain invitations that we give at times where we're already thinking about the occupation of what our time might require or the things that maybe we should give ourselves to. Like, there are invitations where you're already trying to cancel out of them, and yet there's also other invitations, if we're honest. Can we just be honest just for a moment? Right?

Some of y', all, like, man, that has never happened. I always accept the invitation. Stop lying. But then there's the other side of invitations, where when you get invited to something, you're not necessarily wanting to check the calendar, the channel, the calendar, no matter what is on there, it is going to get cleared because the invitation matters. For example, if somebody invites you to Game 7 of the NBA Finals, how many of you guys know you're not checking your calendar?

You're, like, replying as soon as possible, like, yo, bro, hey, tell me when, where, and how. Like, I'll pay for parking. I'll get babysitting. You start figuring out the details. Why?

Because the invitation, not only is it awkward, it communicates value.

Invitations, they communicate value. And so when we look at this text, we are looking at Luke, chapter 14, and Jesus is telling this story that is so relatable because he's sitting at the table, and one of the men, he's leaning back in his chair, and he makes this big statement. He says, in other words, you know what would be like a Game 7 type worthy of experience? It would be to break bread with the Messiah in the kingdom of God. That's the invitation.

That's the table. That's the moment that I'll give anything for. And Jesus is in the moment. He's like, mm, I don't know about that. And this is where Jesus begins to tell this story.

In verse 16, he says, a man once gave a great banquet and invited many. Jesus is about to talk and tell a story about someday that is going to confront them here and now. By the way, I just want to pause because the analogy, the parable that God is using in this moment, he's talking about a banquet. He's talking about a party. Can we just even just celebrate that?

The fact that, like, when Jesus is coming to reveal the nature of the kingdom, he is not talking about an eternal choir. He's not talking about, one day you're just going to be singing alto, soprano. Can you imagine the picture that Jesus is setting for us? He's like, hey, the kingdom of God is like a banquet. As a matter of fact, one of the first miracles that Jesus performs when he's establishing his kingdom is what he turns water into wine.

The first revelation that we get from God is that the kingdom of God is like a party.

So it says that verse 17, at the time of this great party, he sends out his servant to say to those that have been invited, come, for everything is ready. Now, I know we look at this on first glance. You're like, man, like, listen, you're gonna send out a bunch of invitations, and like, yeah, like, it's expected that maybe you might get 40% or 60% back in terms of confirmation. But listen, I need you to look a little bit deeper, because when we look at the culture of invitations, and especially in this day, even though it happens in this day here, we know that this invitation is not a single invitation. It's actually a double invitation, which means when he says, come now, everything is ready.

This is not the first time that they would have heard this. Why? Because during that day, logistics and the amount of energy that it would take to get everyone at the same place at the same time, it actually requires something like a save the date. And so what will happen is when the master or the host wants to send out this great invitation, what does he do? He gets the servant and he makes two rounds of invitation.

The first one is to say, hey, listen, my master, my host, he wants to invite you to this grand party. The king wants to invite you to this grand celebration, Save the date. Don't go nowhere. Make sure you got your tux ready. Make sure you got your heels and makeup on point, like, save the date.

And so the entire expectation was is that in between these times, between the save the date and the actual event, you would have been preparing for this day. So I want us to imagine right now that when we're hearing this, this is not a one time. These are people that are making excuses after they've given their commitment and their yes.

And so the servant goes out, and on the first glance, they say yes. But then on a second glance, when the servant comes and he knocks on the door and he says, come, for everything now is ready, they all began to make excuses. The same people who said yes to the banquet a week ago couldn't find room in their lives for a banquet. Now, that's the tension of this parable. This is the heart of where I feel like Jesus is speaking for.

Because if we're honest, the same Jesus that we made room for in our adolescence, we find troubling to try to make room for him here and now. I don't know about you, but like, man, this is at times a struggle. The same God that we surrendered to at youth camp, or the same God that we surrendered that put together our marriage. When everything is going, how many of you guys know it's so easy to forget about the invitation that God has given you. It's so tempting for us to respond to the first invitation of like, hey, God, I come to you.

And yet, how many of you guys know the process of following Jesus is an ongoing communication and invitation that says yes to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. This is what we're at right now. Jesus is in this moment. He is responding to this man's request by being as real as possible. Because what Jesus knows is that you can want for something and still not value it enough to rearrange your life for it.

And I wonder if the tension that Jesus is wanting everyone to at the table to feel in this moment is maybe the tension that he wants us to feel in the room right now. Because most of us in the room would say, we want Jesus and we want his presence and we want his purposes and we want our lives for His. And yet has Jesus become that valuable to us that we can say yes over and over again? Because what we see with invitations, what we value, eventually shows up in what we're willing to. To move.

I want you to listen to me. What you value in this life. Don't tell me you follow Jesus. If the rest of your life is immovable, what you value plays into what you are willing to move.

As I was praying for us today, I feel like with. With all of the story of God's faithfulness in my life and with all of the faithfulness that I know he is doing in your life, here's the big idea today is that what the Father has prepared for you and what the Son is inviting you into is worthy of rearranging your life. For I don't know what you're dealing with in this life right now, but I'm telling you, what the Father has prepared for you and what the Son is inviting you into is worth rearranging your entire life for. I know that some of you are in seasons right now where you can't feel that. But I'm telling you, if you can get on the other side of what God is wanting to do in your life, what God has prepared for you in this life, before you ever took a breath in this natural world here, he knew you.

He formed you. He knows everything about you. What God has Prepared for you is not just good, it is for his glory. And what the Son is inviting you into in this moment, in this season, in this career, in this moment, it is worth everything. As a matter of fact, you are most alive when you're on mission with God and doing what you've been called to do.

To do. Amen. Two points today and I'm out of here. Two things that I want us to see about the invitation of Jesus that I think we can bank on, number one is this. Everybody say one, the invitation is better than you think.

I want to pause just right there. The invitation that Jesus is giving you is better than you can think or imagine.

Now here's what I find interesting. Nobody in this parable is asking the question on whether this banquet is going to be good. I don't know about you. I like to eat. Anybody in here like to eat?

Like I'm being honest with you. Like, if there is one thing I'm going to ask about a party or a celebration, I'm asking man, what's for dinner? And everybody say, and who's cooking? Now that's important too, right? Like you could tell me the spread, but like man, depending on who's cooking, depending on who's cheffing in the back, like that determines whether I need to stop at a fast food or something like that on the way there.

Like, you know, like there's in this moment, like nobody's asking if the banquet is good.

They don't ask. Nobody in Jesus story asks us. Nobody says, man, what's on the menu. Nobody questions the quality of the banquet. And I think I want to pause here because Jesus has already told us what we needed to know.

He says that he prepared a great banquet. Look at your neighbor, say great. Now I don't want to rush past this because this isn't just about a meal. This is the teaching about the kingdom. Those wondering what the kingdom is like.

He is giving us a picture. He is letting us know that the banquet that is revolving in this moment is a picture. The table that's revolving in this moment, it's a picture of the host that is hosting is a picture. Which means we have to ask if Jesus calls the banquet great, what makes it great?

I know sometimes we go to a wedding and as anybody, maybe it's just me, you know, when we go to the reception, I want to know who's at my table? Is anybody else like that? You know? You know, because like the people around you, they, they make it fun or they make it dull, right? Like, but Jesus, he doesn't.

What makes this banquet wait is not the host or the guests. Because we know the guests are coming up with excuses. What makes this banquet great? Well, is it their responses? No.

Because they're about to start making excuses. So what makes the banquet great? And here's what I come to tell you today. The thing that makes the banquet great. It's not the guests.

It's not the responses, but it's the host.

Because there's something we all understand about banquets. The quality of the banquet tells you something about the resources of the one who is preparing it. Which means when he says that there is a great banquet, what we can understand about the host is that this host, when he is putting together this party, he is sparing no expense for the pleasure of the people he's invited. Listen, if you invite me to your house, or better yet, if I invite you to my house, and you come to my house, and you're saying, like, hey, man, what we cooking for dinner? Like, man, I just want some lobster and some wagyu steak.

I'm gonna tell you, like, hey, you need to find another house.

Sometimes my son wakes up and is like, daddy, I want this. I'm like, no, no, no, buddy, you got oatmeal. Like, that's what you got.

You got some Whole Food cereal. You know, you try to do as best you can. You know, like, I grew up on Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops. You know, I'm like, hey, man, you got the 40% less value sugar Froot Loops. You know, like, that's what you got today, right?

But when we look at this, this king, and when he invites you to his table, he's dealing with an entirely, entirely different resource. Because the table reflects the resources of the host. Don't miss this. So if the host is generous, that means that the table is going to reflect it. If the host is abundant, that means that the table is going to reflect it.

If the host is gracious, it means that the host and the table is going to reflect it. Mike, what's the big deal? The big deal is that Jesus is not just talking about a party. He is revealing something about the nature of your heavenly father, your God. Your heavenly Father is generous.

He is gracious, he is patient. He wants to pour out love on you. But none of that matters if the framework of who you're worshiping is distorted. Which is why I have to ask this question. What kind of God do you believe is inviting you to this party?

Because how you see the host determines how you're gonna receive when he says this word, come for everything is ready. How many of you guys know, like, if you feel like God is angry at you when he says come, you're not going to be so thrilled to go and be with him. How many of you guys know that if you think God is constantly disappointed with you, I don't know about you. Like, one of the things that I do not like is when I get that text that just says, hey, we need to talk. I'm like, hey, like, as a pastor, as a husband, I'm like, oh, my gosh.

Like, I'm in trouble, you know? So don't do that. Y' all. Don't send me those text messages. Because what I would want is, I want to know some context.

Like, hey, tell me what's going on. How can we pray together? Like, hey, have me thinking, right? Because the nature of the. We need to talk.

I'm not thrilled. You may see a smile on my face when we meet and we sit down, But I'm not thrilled because I'm wondering, man, is, are they disappointed? Are they leaving? Like, man, the list goes on. And in the same way, in our nature with God, when we get a mindset that God is disappointed in us, everything after that gets skewed.

So this is why I believe Jesus is trying to correct our picture of the host. The thing you need to understand about this host, about this king, about your heavenly Father, is that when he throws this big party, nobody has to go on the side of your heavenly Father and say, you know what? Are you sure you want to throw this party? No, no. Like, nobody has to talk God into that.

Nobody has to convince him to make room. Nobody has to beg him to send invitation. This was his ideal. Friends, the good news about the invitation that is before us today is that before you ever thought about coming to this grand party, he was already preparing the table. Table for you and I.

Come on, can we say, like, amen? Praise God. Before you ever thought about attending this party, God was already preparing the table for you. And that's why in verse 17, it hits differently when we understand that this Heavenly Father, this King of kings that loves us, that adores us, that is for us. It hits different when he says, hey, son and daughter come for everything is.

Is ready, man. Mike. What? What I. What do I got to bring?

No, no, like, you don't have to bring anything. Bring you yourself and I. The preparation comes before the invitation. Some of y', all, you breathe easily right now hearing that because how many of you have ever been to a party, you got invited and they tell you, like, hey, show up at 1 o' clock and then you get there at 1 o' clock and what happens? Nobody's there.

You walk in the door and they give you a broom and they say, let's get to work, right? Like, hey, I forgot something. Can you. Can you drive back to Publix for me? You're like, ah, that's why half of y' all come, like an hour late, you know?

Like, you know why? Because we know that we're gonna have to prepare ourselves to be. To be you. We're gonna bring something to the table that's not like your heavenly Father. Your heavenly father, when he invites you, he has already prepared everything.

Well, Mike, do I have to clean myself up? No, no, no, Just come. Well, Mike, do I have to get myself together? No, no, just come. The invitation comes after the preparation.

Point number one is that the invitation is better than you think. But here's the next thing we can bring down. I only got two points is if we know that the invitation is good. I also want to warn you, because what keeps you from accepting the invitation is closer than you think.

What keeps you from accepting the invitation is closer than you think. Now, this is where the story starts to get a little interesting and a little uncomfortable. Because remember, these are not people that have rejected the first invitation. They said, yes. They said, count me in.

They said, save me a seat. They say, girl, I'm coming. Like I'm there. I wouldn't miss this for the world. Like, the first invitation is there.

But now that everything is ready, the servant comes back. And when the moment has finally arrived, let's look at this. In verse 18, the first guy says this. He says, I can't come because I bought a field and I must go out and see it. I bought a field.

I must go out and see it. Now, hold on. I just want us to think for a moment. Because in first pass and first glance, we look at this and we're like, oh, man, that makes sense. Like, he bought a field.

It's important. But what person actually pays cash on a property that they have not seen? Does it make sense? Right? Like when you start thinking about, like, Jesus is so strategic in his moment.

Like, hey, why would you drop, especially in this economy, why would you drop a bunch of money for a property you have not seen? But here's the next one. The next one says, I bought five yokes of oxen and I go to examine them. Not Making sense either because in this day, to buy one oxen or one yoke of oxen would have been a half of years salary. So don't miss this.

What? His excuse is that, hey, I've spent about two and a half years worth of salary on these yokes of oxen and I can't come because I haven't seen them yet. I need to go and examine them. You would not drop that amount of money on something you have not seen. Here's the last one.

I can't come because I've just gotten married. Please have me excused. Now, I want to speak on this just, you know, just in my understanding of it, because all I know is that when my wife and I got married, the places she wanted to go were places where she can get dressed up and show her ring.

Like. Like who is who? Whose wife is saying, hey, I don't want to go to this thing? And not only that, just to be honest with you, when my wife and I got married, we were broke. Which means anytime there was an invitation for some free food, we were there.

Now, that might not necessarily be happening here, but we can understand the, the challenge of the day. All of these things, they are, they, they're good excuses on the surface, but they're stretch. They're stretch. I don't want you to miss what Jesus is doing here. They.

He uses things like a field and oxen and a wife and property and career and relationships. Does that sound familiar? Here? Now, none of these things are simple things. And yet what makes this parable dangerous?

Because if Jesus would have said, like, hey, they missed the deadline because they love wickedness, we'll all be breathing easily, like, oh, man, like that makes sense. They were wicked. No, no. But he uses these things that are good things that are not sinful things. But Jesus is not letting us get away with this.

Because to Jesus, even good things can become ultimate things when they're not willing to be rearranged for Jesus. Let me say it another way. The greatest competition for Jesus and your life friends, it may not be something bad. Can I just say that, like, the greatest competition in your life with Jesus, it may not be bad, it may not be sinful, it may not be treacherous. It may be something good that you've allowed to become ultimate.

Let me say it another way. Your career can be good, but your career is dangerous. When it becomes ultimate, your marriage can be good, but when it becomes ultimate, it's a dangerous thing. Your children are a gift from God. Even on their worst days, they are A gift from God.

Amen. But don't let them become ultimate. Your house can be a blessing for both your home and your community. But don't let it become ultimate. Your ambitions are God given.

They're a blessing. God has put these things on you. Like, listen, your ambitions, they reveal, like, eternal work that God is doing in you when they're stewarded, right? But don't let them come ultimate things, because good things that become ultimate things will destroy you and everything in his path.

I don't want us to miss this because none of these sentences say, I don't want Jesus.

But you don't have to reject Jesus with your mouth to rearrange him in your life as if he does not matter.

Some of you guys are like, man, but Mike, I love Jesus. And Jesus says, I know, but if you love me, what actually moves when I call is Jesus. Game seven, front row seat worthy. We'll find out not by necessarily what you sing or what you say, not just because you check yes on the invitation. We find out when he actually calls you to move and if you will obey.

Because what you say you value and what your life demonstrates you value at some point is going to collide together. So what's got you? As the worship team begins to come up this morning, I want to ask you what. What has you. When Jesus calls to you and he says, hey, I need you, I need to touch this one thing.

What is the thing, thing in your life that says, but God or man? Like, God, just wait. Like, what is the thing that God is stirring up in you? Even right now? There might be some priorities that God is wanting to shift.

What is it in your life?

Because good things can become ultimate things when you're not willing to rearrange them for God.

Listen to me.

There's something about when you first start following Jesus. I'm telling you, man, like it. Everything in your life, for a split second, for a moment, it becomes under control. There's a joy that fills your heart. I remember the first time I really started following Jesus in college.

I remember that Monday I'd given my life to Jesus on a Friday. And that Monday I'm on campus, y'. All. University of Florida. I pledge the fraternity.

I'm like, got a little bit of status or clout. But I'm telling you, man, when he fills your heart, I'm over here spinning around on campus like I'm in a Disney movie. I'm not lying. I'm being honest. When I first met Jesus and he filled my heart and I recognized that I was dead in my sins.

But there was a free gift of God through Jesus Christ that would come into my life. There was a joy.

I don't think Jesus is after your initial joy. I think he's after your sustained joy. Where do you value him? Not in the first month or the first year, but 20 years down the road. Does he still have your gaze?

If he comes into your life today, right now, in this moment, and he says, hey, Mike, I just. I'm noticing that thing there is. It's like poison. And I know you don't get it yet, but I just need you to do something with this now. Do you love him enough to do something about it now?

Are you in a relationship right now? You're saying, but God, maybe I could just fix it by myself. But God, you don't know. You don't understand. You don't know me.

You don't know my desires. As if you're talking to someone that is human and doesn't have a godly element to him.

What are you willing to move? Zacchaeus. Luke tells this story as Zacchaeus, this tax collector that in a lot of ways had a lot of wealth and everyone hated. And when Jesus is passing through Jericho, you know what happens? Zacchaeus, he go ahead.

And he climbs up a tree. You guys heard this before. And he's looking for Jesus. And all of the disciples and all the ones that were following Jesus, they would never call Zacchaeus by his name. You know, they call him every time they saw him, say, hey, man, that's a sinner.

That's a troublemaker. That's a sinner. And yet this one day, when Jesus is traveling down his lane, Zacchaeus, while he was looking for Jesus, Jesus comes up to him and he calls him by name. Zacchaeus was looking for Jesus, but did not realize that the one who was about to give the great invitation was looking for him. Jesus says, zacchaeus, I must come into your home and eat with you.

And it's crazy, because Zacchaeus literally jumps down, and while all the other haters are there, he opens up his home for Jesus to come in. Here's what. Here's what matters. In the middle of his awareness of being with Jesus, you know what happens? Zacchaeus has this moment where conviction kind of feels his heart.

He says, jesus, I just. I want to sell everything. I want to give half of everything. Like, I want to. I want to make things right.

Here's the thing. Here's what I know changes and we're about to go into a moment of worship in just a moment.

Sermons are good. But you know what's even better than a sermon is when we can encounter the presence of God. The reason why I say this is because Zacchaeus never heard a sermon from Jesus in that moment. All he gotta do for however long he was there, was to get his eyes fixed on the one who was inviting him in. And it is the love of the Father through the Son that actually changes the heart from the inside out.

It is not your performance. It is not your good deeds. It is not your effort. It is not your willingness. Things will break today when you can get in the presence of God and allow him to rework your heart.

I don't know who's here and who's represented. I get it, man. There's a lot of you who are believers and you are following him. But listen to me. I imagine there's some of us that are dealing with some strongholds in our life.

We're dealing with some. Some things that feel immovable. Listen to me. What I want to make space for today is not your effort, but I want to get your eyes fixed on the presence of God. Let me end it like this.

The only thing that Zacchaeus did was he met Jesus.

Watch what the host does. In verse 21, it says, when these people decided that they didn't have room in their lives for the banquet, guess what happens? The host doesn't cancel. Instead, he starts looking for more people. In verse 21, he says, Go out quickly to the streets, into the lanes of the city and bring in the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.

And then in verse 22, it says, sir, what you've commanded has been done. But check out these next five words. And this is the heart of the Father. And even next week, I'm hoping that. That this lane would even be spoken for us.

In this city. The servant hears the Master say, and still there is more room. There is more room for the poor. There is more room for the broken. There is more room for those that have felt overlooked.

There is more room. The invitation keeps coming because there is still more room. But the thing today is that I want to end us with is how can the. How is there so much room and everything at this banquet can still be ready? How can guilty people sit at God's table?

How can broken people like you and I be welcome to sit at God's table? And the answer is this. It's because somebody paid for the banquet. Somebody paid for the banquet. And the question that we have to ask that I want our eyes to get fixed to is who in their right mind can absorb such a cost?

There's a great banquet that. Inviting everyone in. There's lots of room man who. Who can pay for that? Who can absorb it?

And here's the. The twist of the parable today, and this is what I want her eyes fixed on, is that the one who invites us in, who comes and prepares the way, the one who invites us in is also the one who takes on the term on the firm, the. The form of a servant. The one who invites us in is the same one who paid the cost so that you could have a seat at the table. Don't miss this.

The same one who is inviting is the same one who absorbs the cost so that you and I could have a seat at the table. The seat. Seat was free, but the cost wasn't free for the host. Don't miss this. The one issuing the invitation is the same one that pays the price.

Jesus took your place so that you could have his. Earlier in Luke 14, where everyone was fighting for recognition, they were fighting for a place of honor. They. They wanted to sit at the highest place. The twist of the story is that God so loves you that while everybody was aiming for the highest place, he took the lowest place.

Philippians 2 said that man, he did not account equality with God as something to be grasped, but he humbled himself, becoming obedient to even death on a cross. Your God so loves you that when everyone else was asking for a seat at his table, he took the humble position, and he took your debt, and he took your sin, and he took your wretchedness, and he exchanged you with a ticket to a seat at the table. That's how he works. Would you stand up with me this morning? Because he is just that good.

He is just that good. We're about to go back into worship, and I want us to, just for a moment, I want us to worship him like he is just that good. The one that invites you is the one that pays the cost. Would you close your eyes? The one that invites you is the one that pays the cost.

The one that invites. I know. It's always like the struggle, like man. Are you sure I'm welcome? Are you.

Are you sure there's nothing I have to bring? Listen to me. The one that invites you in is the one that pays the cost. He says, hey, the only thing you have to bring is yourself. As a matter of fact, you could bring your Baggage you could bring your mess.

A lot of us like, man, but I gotta go home. I gotta get ready. I gotta get dressed. He's like, hey, listen, come to me messy and broken. Because the message of the gospel is not you preparing for the party the best way you know how.

All of our preparations, they end in the same way. Isaiah says they are like 50 rags. But God so loves you that while you were still in your mess, while you were still in your junk, God prepares a place for you. Three things that I want to do today. Number one is this.

There might be some of you with every head bowed, every eye closed. There might be some. Some of you in here where the invitation for you today is to simply come to the table.

To come to the table.

And I want to give you this warning because the invitation is to come.

But I want to make sure you come the right way. Because in. In verse 25, it says, Now a great crowd accompanied him. And he turned and said to him, if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father, our mother, our wife, our children, our brother and sister, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Now I know at first glance we're like, man, Mike, are those two stories even connected?

Yes, they are. Because what Jesus is saying, if you want to actually come after him, and I bet you, you might be like me, where you come after Jesus a thousand times growing up. You grew up in church and you came every Sunday. But man, the. The difference between a fake surrender and a real surrender.

Jesus says the invitation to come means that you're willing to put him above everything else in your life. I don't know about you. If you hosted a party and you sent out rsv, there's nothing more frustrating than when someone comes and says that, hey, I'm gonna come to the party. And then they get there and they have other priorities. They knock on the doors like, hey, we only gonna be here for like a quick second.

You're like, no, no. Like, listen, I prepared for you to sit and to stay. And I just want to even just tell you right now, if you're in here and you're like, man, Mike, I've just had a season of just pass bys. Like, I stopped by with Jesus here for a few minutes and then I could just go and do my own thing. I listen.

The. The difference right now that maybe God is trying to invite you to, is for you to actually come and come with him as the ultimate priority. The second thing is this. Maybe some of you need to just make space in this moment. We created extra space in our service just to respond in worship.

Maybe this is a moment where you just sing in gratitude to Jesus, saying like, hey, thank you for saving me. Thank you for giving me a space. Gotta respond like, don't move too quickly. But then the other thing is. And I can get, like, some of our prayer team on the side.

Maybe you just need a brother or sister to agree with you in prayer. We're gonna go back into worship, and I believe God is doing all three of these things. But the first one is this. I just want to know with every head bow if you're in here, and it could be one, it could be many. You're like, man, like.

I just feel the invitation to truly come after him. Today is that day. Would you just rave at me? Would you just look at me and just put your hand in the air? Ready?

One, two, three. If you're like, hey, man, today is the day that I'm just choosing to come after him. I see your hands, you're like, hey, I'm just choosing to follow him, Father. Right now, God, as we go into this time of worship,