September 1 2019 Luke 14.1,
7-14 “By Invitation Only” Pastor Jacqueline Hines
It is wonderful that
you have accepted the invitation to come and worship this morning! [ slide # 1 you’re invited]
You have accepted the divine invitation to feast in the fellowship, to feast on
the fruit of the Holiest Spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness (generosity), faithfulness, gentleness and even self-control. We must
all agree that we have been invited to a wonderful place!
You do understand that
not everyone has been invited. Don’t you remember the invitation you received a
while back? It may have read something like,
28 “Come to me, all you
who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you
and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest
for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” [slide # 2 come to me all] Matthew 11:28-30 New
International Version (NIV)
Or you may have
received one that said:
18 “Come now, and let
us reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are
like scarlet,
They shall be as white
as snow; [slide # 3 come
let us reason] Isaiah
1:18 New King James Version (NKJV)
Or, perhaps you heard
the same invitation that Peter heard when he was afraid to walk onto deep
waters. Jesus told him “Don’t’ be afraid. It’s me. Come…” [slide # 4 Jesus inviting Peter
]
You are here because
you have accepted a royal invitation to worship the King. We are in the
presence of royalty, angels of mercy and the heavenly host of those who’ve gone
on to their reward are ever in our hearts and on our minds. Our music glorifies
God, God’s people gather here like bright lights in a dark world, each of our
footsteps have left an anointing of good wherever we have traveled, and our
love for Jesus and our love for one another is real and tangible. [slide # 5 greatest of these ]
You are here today in
the presence of God and there is no better place to be or to be invited. Why
have WE been invited?
We have been invited
for three reasons: to LOVE Jesus, to
LIVE Jesus, to LEAVE Jesus.
We have come to love
Jesus. [slide # 6 to love
Jesus] You have heard it before. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not
envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not
self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices
with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always
perseveres. We have been invited to love Jesus which is the only way we can love
another. We have come to love Jesus.
We have come to live Jesus. [slide # 7 to live Jesus]
Jesus said in verse 8 of this morning’s scripture…8“When you are invited by
someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case
someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host;
We are learning that we are not better than
anyone and no one is better than us. When we put others first, we are simply
making room for them in God’s circle of love where we are all on the same
level.
Loving Jesus and loving one another becomes our
lifestyle. We live Jesus. We serve humbly behind the scenes. We serve in the
kitchen with a dish towel in one hand and a spatula in the other; behind the
audio booth with one arm reaching for the microphone and the other clicking the
keyboard for the next slide; we are behind the scenes accompanying one another in
doctor’s offices, hospital beds, standing with those who are home alone; lending
a listening ear – Bethel’s particularly good at that - helping someone to drown
out bad news and bad times if only for an hour. We can empty ourselves into the
lives of others; we can take care of one another without fear of being a loser because we are confident
that God fills our cup even to overflowing as God takes care of us. That is how
we can live Jesus.
We have been invited to love Jesus, to live Jesus,
and finally, we have come to leave Jesus. [slide # 8 leave Jesus] We leave the convenience
and bliss of our comfort zones and go into a world to invite others to the same
kind of banquet feast that we have enjoyed. We go not knowing what will be
demanded of us and what the future holds, but like Peter we are invited to do
great things.
We know if we want to walk on water, we first
need to get out of the boat. [slide
# 9 time to get out of the boat] We are blessed to be a blessing. Jesus
tells the disciples in verse 13 “when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the
crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14And you will be blessed, because
they cannot repay you.” That is not the way the world does it. The world gives only
to those who can give back or in order to get something back. Christians give
what God has given, and we give when the Spirit says give because we know God
gives us so we can share with others. We know that as we give to those who do
not give back, God will provide.
[slide
# 10 banquet table ] So as we go and plan our banquets whether with
200 or with two or three, we again remember that our motivation is the
superhuman, supernatural, superabundant love of God that we hear again and
again in I Corinthians. This time listen from the Message version: [slide # 11 heart – love]
Love never gives up.
Love cares more for
others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what
it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled
head,
Doesn’t force itself on
others,
Isn’t always “me
first,”
Doesn’t fly off the
handle,
Doesn’t keep score of
the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when
others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the
flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the
best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the
end.
8-10 Love never dies.
We have been invited to
something wonderful; we have feasted on the banquet that God has provided. Now
let us do for others what God has done for us. And we do not have to worry
about the church, whether it is big or small, or rich or poor, thriving or on
life support. All we need to do is love because love never fails. [slide # 12 love never fails] Amen. [slide # 13 love never fails.]
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