The Invitation

Psalm 62:1; 2 Timothy 1:9-10; Titus 2:11-12; 2 Peter 3:9; Acts 4:12

Jesus tells an interesting parable in Matthew 22 as an example of the kingdom of heaven, about a king that holds a wedding feast for his son. The king sends servants to call on those who had been invited, but the guests refuse to come. He sends them out again with a mouth watering invite, announcing all of the wonderful preparations that have been made; a celebration you do not want to miss! Yet, they still refuse to come. Some were just too busy to bother coming, while others mistreated and killed the servants. The king is enraged and sends out his army to destroy the murderers, and their city. The king sends out more servants, this time to the highways, and tells them to invite all who will come. The hall was filled with guests.

There is so much truth here in this little parable. God's desire would be that all would come to accept salvation through His wonderful grace. He provided for your salvation through the death of His Son on a cruel cross. Sin brought death into the world, and the only one worthy enough to pay the price for your sin and my sin was God Himself. He had to send His Son Jesus Christ, to lay down His life so that you and I could have a relationship with Him once again. That truly is His amazing grace. 

But this story doesn't end here. Jesus goes on to say that the king comes in to look over the guests and notices one that is not dressed in wedding attire. He asks for an explanation and the man was speechless. He was bound hand and foot and thrown out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ (v. 13)

At first glance, this may seem cruel. How could the king be so brutal? But if we look at the context during the time that this was written, those that were invited to the wedding were given wedding clothes to wear. The king would have made sure that everyone had the opportunity to be dressed properly for the occasion. This man had just decided that he didn't want to play by the king's rules. He wanted in without wearing the proper attire. Of course, the analogy would be that our King provides us with a garment of salvation. We are all invited to come to the wedding feast. We are provided the gift of salvation (clothed in righteousness) through His Son. But we have to first accept the invitation, and then trust in His Son Jesus Christ as our savior, trading our filthy unrighteousness for His perfect righteousness. Have you made the decision to come? Have you trusted Jesus Christ for your salvation? The invitation is currently open but will be ending one day soon. Don't wait another day. Today is the day of salvation!

Revelation 19:7–9 (NASB)“Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ ” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.”

Pastor Mike Deese