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Promised Land To promised Life - Part 3
Promised Land to promised life is about increasing our circle of love and acceptance. Peter struggled with this but had a realization of the revelation of Christ he had years before. If God was helping Peter he is certainly helping us. The Kingdom of God is a net, not a fishing rod. It is all-inclusive not exclusive. It is not our job to sort it all out on the front end. We do not decide who is acceptable and who is not because all are unacceptable but have been accepted him Christ. We are becoming the church that does not care. Care about where you came from, what you did or did not do, and your grades as a student, career or lack of it.
(Luke 14:12-24) "Then Jesus said to his host, 'When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.' When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, 'Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.' Jesus replied: 'A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, `Come, for everything is now ready.' 'But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, `I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.' 'Another said, `I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.' 'Still another said, `I just got married, so I can't come.' 'The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, `Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.' ' `Sir,' the servant said, `what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.' 'Then the master told his servant, `Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.' "
Where God says something is just as important as what he is saying. The house of the Pharisee was an exclusive not all-inclusive of people. In that inclusive setting he taught them about the inclusive heart of God.
(Luke 14:12) "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do so, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid."
Behind this gathering was a small world of 'bless you bless me. I'll pay you and you will pay me. Invite me and I will invite you.' They were meeting together but not reaching anyone.
(Luke 14:13-14) "But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.'
(v16) "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests."
If you are a guest then your name and address is known. Who you are is relatively known. They gathering that Christ is describing in this story is like the one he is literally in.
(v18-20) "But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, I have bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.' Another said, 'I have jus bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.' Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come."
All those people you know by name and address will not come. We hold out for friends, family and relatives to respond to our exclusive invitation. But the exclusive circle will never fill the house.
(v21) "The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring the poor, the crippled, the blind and lame."
People who you do not know. Not their names or addresses. People who would never have dreamed that you would invite them. Go beyond the invited to the excluded.
(v22) "Sir, the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room."
Even when you invite the excluded there is still room for more. God beyond the invited to the excluded then to people beyond the immediate community.
(v23) "Then the master told the servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full."
The uninvited fill the house. Church intends to be fill the house with people you don't know at first. But how do you make people come? How do you make people come to the house that has been prepared? How do you make someone do something? You remove the choice of whether they want to or not. How do you remove the choice? Don't ask them if they want to be included but accept them and take it for granted that they are included. It is not manipulating or deceiving because it happens to you all the time but you are not aware of it.
A buffet is all-inclusive. You will pay for everything you want and everything you do not want at the door. No one will ask you how much you will be eating and what you will be eating. This does not determine the cost. The reality is that you will only eat so much of a few things. The choice has been removed and all you have to do is select what you want and leave the rest alone. But the food you will never eat is still right in front of you because the choice to prepare that was already made to make it all-inclusive. You are 'made' to look at it and smell it. If you are vegetarian the choice to cook that roast beef has already been made. I have never seen a vegetarian shouting that the buffet should be shut down just because meat was served. Meat eaters and vegetarians are both included in the buffet. Have you been to the salad bar and seen the choices that have already been made for you? Fruit salad, Cobb salad, Caesars salad, green salad, garden salad, Greek salad and chief's salad. The dressings have already been chosen thousand island, blue cheese, and ranch, Italian. The choice has been removed from you that would be exclusive to and all-inclusive. It has gone from guests who are known to faces, names and addressed that no one knows. Have you seen someone pile their plate up with food you would not touch? You might not touch it but you have paid for it.
(Song of Songs 2:4) "He has taken me into his banqueting hall…"
The table of the Lord welcomes anyone.
Some cat and dog owners will decide for their pet what it will eat based on their choices. If the owner does not like liver or kidney or tongue or rabbit the animal will never get to taste it for themselves. A church decides for people what God has for them and will never have for them based on our choices. So the choice is removed. The Day of Pentecost was a buffet.
(Acts 2:5) "Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven."
(Acts 2:7-11) "Utterly amazed, they asked: 'Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs--we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!"
An exclusive group of 120 Jews in the upper room were speaking the all-inclusive language of God that reaches every nation under heaven.
(Acts 2:41) "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."
God took away the choice and invited the excluded. My choice is taken away. I put my trash out on Thursday but no one checked with me if that was convenient for me. The city 'made me do it' but taking that choice away from me. There is a flat fee for gas, electric and water. I decide how much I will use but the flat fee is not something anyone asked me about. I can negotiate the price of a purchase but the State of Washington has taken the choice of how much tax to pay.
The excluded are included and invited There are some things you must never ask. 'How do I look in this dress?' 'Does this fit?' 'Do I look good in this?' 'Shall we have your parents around this Easter or mine?' Don't ask 'are you open' 'is it convenient' 'is the timing right' 'is this a divine appointment' 'I don't want to offend' 'I don't want to upset' never spend all you time loading up the front end with all kinds of objections like 'I have just purchased a field' 'I just got married' or 'I purchased some oxen.' Did Christ ask the 5000 if they were hungry? He included them all in the fives loaves and two fish meal that became a feast. Did he ask on the mountainside if it was all right to teach the great Sermon on the Mount? Did he ask the children if they wanted him to bless them? Did Christ ever ask you if redemption and salvation would fit into your life and schedule? He took the choice from you. While you were in your sin Christ died for you. Before you knew your life had been kidnapped he ransomed you.
When I include you in my prayers I take the choice from you and make you part of prayer. When I include you in my thinking and fellowship I take the choice from you and include you. I never asked you. The church we have today does not have to make choices that have already been made. Would you say to someone 'I heard you were sick and we prayed for you' or would you say 'You are sick, would you mind if we prayed for you in our small group?' Take the choice from them. The crippled man never asked the four men to tear up the roof for him to get to Christ. They made that choice for him.
Promised Land To promised Life - Part 4
We can have a theology of an all-inclusive Gospel. Sing songs that echo that message. Preach and teach the value of it. We can weep and pray for those who are not saved. But in that all-inclusive way of living the church can still be an exclusive gathering.
(Genesis 6:19-22) "You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.' Noah did everything just as God commanded him."
You cannot build the ark three stories high with a deck area as big as 36 tennis courts 450ft long, 75ft wide and 45ft high to accommodate all kinds of birds, animals and every creature and then feed them food that you like. This is like singing songs that make no sense and preaching sermons that have no relevance and credibility. The purpose of bringing in all kinds was to replenish the earth. For that purpose to be achieved Noah had the job of keeping all kinds alive.
#1 - Keeping people alive
(Joshua 14:10-12) "Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the desert. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said."
Has anyone asked you 'what God is doing in your life lately?' Have you found yourself answering this question as though you have no faith because nothing exciting has been happening? Caleb had 45 years of nothing out of the normal happening. He went to work, paid his bills, loved his wife and raised his family. Never underestimate time that goes by where nothing seems to be happening for you. God is 'keeping you alive.' It was not wise for all kinds of animals to replenish the earth while still in the ark. There was no room.
(Luke 2:25-30) "Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 'Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation…"
Simeon was neither a priest a member of any sect or party. He is devout and righteous. God was 'keeping him alive' for a single and significant moment to prophesy. He is an old man but kept to a promise all his life that lasted no more than an hour.
(Luke 2:33-35) "The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: 'This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."
Mary was to see her firstborn son nailed to a cross and keep her dignity. What Simeon had to say had a lifespan bigger than his own. He would have seen many come to dedicate their sons but the Holy Spirit told him this particular couple were carry Israel's consolation. If you had asked Simeon what God was doing in his life he would have said 'he is keeping me alive.'
(Ecclesiastes 9:4-6) "Anyone who is among the living has hope--even a live dog is better off than a dead lion! For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten. Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun."
Have you ever said 'this is a dogs life?' But Solomon states it is better to be an alive dog than a dead lion. When God keep you alive it is better than being dead. But if he is keeping you alive it is not to be a dog but a lion. It is better to be an alive lion than an alive dog. Find out why God is keeping you alive.
#2 - Feeding all kinds
(Genesis 6:21) "You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them."
My food is not your food but both keep us alive. God could have kept 'all kinds' alive without Noah and the ark but in feeding all kinds there has to be an obedience on our part that that work of God is done through the hands of his people.
(John 21:15) "Feed my lambs…" (v17) "Feed my sheep…"
God could accomplish this without Peter but needs Peter to trust in him. If you capsize in your boat at sea the coastguard will come rescue you. They will not ask if you have made a donation but will fish you out the mess you are in. The Gospel in real time looks like this. What you needed was 'rescue' that was your food for the day. All kinds need all kinds of food. Feeding one kind does not go well with another kind.
Jesus had been talking with the Samaritan woman about God looking for worshippers who worship in spirit and truth. Not culture, age, style or type. At the conclusion of this great feeding time the disciples arrive.
(John 4:27) "Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, 'What do you want?' or 'Why are you talking with her?"
They did not say it but they were thinking it. Jesus turned to them and said she was eating food they had not yet tasted.
(v32) "But he said to them, 'I have food to eat that you know nothing about."
Loyalty, faithfulness and commitment do not entitle you to eat everyone else's food.
(1 Corinthians 6:13) "Food for the stomach and the stomach for food"
You will only stomach the food God has for your specific kind.
(Mark 2:16) "When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the 'sinners' and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: 'Why does he eat with tax collectors and `sinners'?"
The food is not in question but why did Jesus eat 'with' them because he did not need that food? No one is above hearing the Gospel that they already know. No one is above the food of evangelism. What you serve for others you have to eat yourself. Jesus could eat the food of children, Gentiles, tax collectors, sinners, prostitutes, Pharisees (at least twice), lepers and the sick. But the people around you will not like to see you eating that kind of food.
Coca Cola is not diet, caffeine free, diet caffeine free, cherry, diet cherry, zero, with lime, with lemon, diet lime, diet lemon, vanilla, diet vanilla. Low carbohydrate food now no one wants it as much. Carhops now drive through. It comes back to the buffet church where there is food that you don't like because its not intended for you. But you have paid for it.
(Genesis 6:20) "…will come to you to be kept live."
God brings you people into your circle because you can feed them food that they could not get anywhere else.
These teachings are part of a series Promise Land to Promise Life. Other teaching in this series can be found by clicking the links below
If you would like to see previous transcripts or hear audio available in the last series Discovery.God you can find them here.:
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