The Wedding Feast: God's Invitation Is for Everyone

hey we've not had the privilege to meet yet my name is Keith I'm the lead and founding Pastor here at Journey Church and I want to warn you that we're entering into a new era here at Journey Church God is doing something new he's the god of new he instructs us to sing a new song every morning when you wake up there are new mercies we have a god of new and I believe that God is going to do something new in your life the Lord is going to increase the faith of the people of this church do you believe that today if you want to grow in your faith God is going to show you more of who he is there's going to be more of a surrendered obedience God is going to do more than you've ever seen before as you believe in him as you trust in him

you're going to go to places you've never been and there is Bountiful blessings as you discover that God is endless in his provision we are starting today a two-year generosity initiative called more everyone shout more more we are believing God from more more in our lives more in our family more in this church we believe that God's going to do more in our day and in our time that he's not finished with us yet the whole premise of more came from a verse in Ephesians chapter 3 verse 20. Paul is praying for the church believing God's best that we would experience the fullness of God and then he comes to the end of the prayer where he reminds us who God is and what he's able to do

Ephesians 3 20 now to him our great almighty God now to him who is able everyone say Abel he's able to do far more would you shout more more abundantly than all that we ask or think according to the power at work within us do you believe it today God can God will do more than you can ask you can't pray big enough for God he could do more than you can think the world has yet to see the potential of what God can and will do through the church and how is God going to do it he wants to work through you it's God's power at work through you

now if you continue reading you'll see he gets all the glory because it's God that does the work through you on each of your seats we gave you three pieces of material I want to go through those so that you understand what this is I want you to join me on this journey as we experience more I want to start with this booklet right here it's called The Journey guide you'll see a more Journey guide this is for you I want you to make this your own put your name on it if you want to this is for you to use it's for you to abuse it's for you to take with you in fact this is for you to use not just one day but for you to use every day I would love for you to bring this back with you each and every Sunday in fact I'm going to challenge you don't miss a single Sunday the next six weeks I know that's a lot to ask in the world

that we live in but it would be worth it to make the Lord a priority the next six weeks if you're serious about your faith God is going to seriously bless you I know that some of you have sports with your kids but I'm telling you God is even greater than Sports because in eternity you're not going to remember who won that game on a Sunday morning but he he is worth making a priority some of you already have a camping Excursion planned in the next few weeks before it snows I'm here to tell you it's worth canceling your camping plans to be here for this more initiative don't miss the next six weeks it's that serious to me that I want to challenge you bring this journey god with you every single Sunday inside of here here's what you're going to find you're going to see the vision of what we're doing from my wife and I to you we believe that God's going to do more with

this church and we want to invite you to be a part of what God's doing furthermore you're going to find a prayer guide we want you to get into God's word that God's word will get into you so you can find in here daily help to pray to pray for the church to pray for our city even more you'll find at the end of this journey guide you're going to find a section for you to Doodle Draw or to write down however God speaks to you through the sermons this is important to me we all have spiritual Amnesia if you don't write it down you're going to forget all that God's speaking to you so take this journey God write down the scriptures write down how God's speaking to you and the application of how you're going to be obedient that's what the journey God is wave your journey God in the air like you just don't care now I want to move on we've got another book for you this

one's a frequently Asked question book so you'll see and hear the vision FAQ these are all the common questions that will go along with this more initiative as we enter into this I want to make sure that you know this is not about money this is about believing God's best for this community for this city and Beyond so in here if you need a reading guide to fall asleep to at night this is all the frequently asked questions so you don't call me or email me or want to get together to talk about something we answered in here we want to make sure that you take some time and you understand we want transparency we want truth and more than all these things we want Unity we are a church United Jesus is ahead and we're part of the body and then finally lastly you'll see a card in here like this it can be folded this is called an impact card today this is so important it's what this whole

initiative is all about I need you to hold on to this don't write on this yet don't look at it yet just go ahead and hold on to this and we're going to take care of this at the end of the service now friends we have many who are joining us online and on television we are so humbled grateful and honored that you join with us as well if you don't live in Central Oregon and you live outside of the region and you call Journey Church your home and you want to join us on this journey just email more at journeyandbend.com and let us know you want to join us on this journey and we'll get you all of these items as well we love you that much and we don't want you to miss what God's going to do if you take this serious God's Gonna seriously bless you I believe that today what this means for us as a church is we're believing that The Best Is Yet To Come we have not experienced all that

God has to offer for us in our lives that means more in our family we want to see more families restored in Central Oregon we want to see more addicts set free we want to see more kids come to know Jesus and pursue their calling not wait for some day or a better day but to live this out right now so who's with me are you with me well we're going to do this together we won't do this alone so I want to share with you more of Journey's story where we came from where we are what this means for us because to actually accomplish the mission of God it takes some money we want to build more classrooms for our kids we want to open up this Auditorium we want to secure our future and pay off the debt on our land we're believing God's best so I want to share with you

more of that story let's watch together [Music] good [Music] hey friends it's Pastor Keith fearless leader and founder of Journey Church from our Inception we dreamed of being a church for people who don't like church I know it may sound like an oxymoron like something that doesn't make sense we want to be a church for people who don't go to church from the beginning we sought to be a church like Jesus constantly Jesus hung out with people who were not like him yet they liked him our dream has always been to see hope for everyone not just the few but that we would reach the

people who are far from God our journey started in February 2010. we started at Bend High School with just about a hundred people now that was a small group of people in a large Auditorium we didn't just stay at Bend High School we eventually ended up at the Regal Cinemas it was there that we had our first ever spontaneous baptism in the Deschutes River well we went from the Regal Cinemas at the Old Mill back to Bend High School here we were a small struggling Church looking at where would be the best place for us to meet [Music]

you know the story of Journey Church actually didn't start with our first church service it started with a dream in 2005 our family moved to bend and we had no money we had no friends and we had a brand new baby we were driving by this Street Newport Avenue when we saw this building for sale the problem is we didn't have any money but we had bold prayers and Big Dreams and we knew this would be a great place for a church we actually parked our car walked up the stairs peeked into the windows and said one day this would be a great place to have church all we had was a little hope and a dream but Jesus says all it takes is the faith of a mustard seed to move mountains [Music]

eventually God will fulfill our dreams and we would move to this location but we wouldn't move upstairs quite yet we started off downstairs we were known as a church under the nightclub we transformed a strip club into a sanctuary we eventually bought the entire building but then we outgrew it and that's when we discovered God could do more we sold the building believing God's best is still yet to come foreign in the past 13 years we've witnessed God do more than we can imagine we've planted Journey Church in Redmond

they've seen so many lives changed and they continue to do more we've helped plant a church in iganga Uganda we've partnered with the City Church in luzira Uganda we sponsor hundreds of kids in Uganda but locally I I can't believe what God has done through our kids through our teenagers and not just with babies but baby boomers as well we have seen hundreds of lives changed by Jesus not hundreds thousands of lives changed by Jesus Kara what do you love that God has been doing in 13 years here well I love that just the transformation stories are just amazing to see people go from hopeless and broken to full of hope it's been just beautiful but also what I really love right now in this season is I have loved watching the kids

be a part of the church the kids are not the future Church the kids are the church and I think that we're actually seeing that in our midst right now that that Journey our journey kids are just rising up and they are Prayer Warriors and they are a part of our church I mean all three of our kids got baptized here they are teenagers and their uh integral part of the church here so I just love seeing that the future generation rise up in our in our midst I love that the kids are not the future church kids are the church and we are believing God's best we're believing there's more there truly is hope for everyone [Applause] [Music]

thank you God is calling us to more more in our city more in our day more in our time we are taking God at his word in Ephesians 3 20 it says now to him who is able to do more he's able to do abundantly more we're believing that that our city needs more faith more hope more love in Jesus we're believing that more lives are going to be saved by Jesus we're believing more marriages are going to be restored by Jesus we're believing that God has just gotten started with journey and with you so what does that mean we are starting a two-year generosity initiative called more we're believing

that God is going to call us to more in our day and in our time we've got a three-fold goal number one we want to strengthen our ministry currently we're witnessing God do so much in different areas we're witnessing God work through our kids and we are over capacity our services are full every single Sunday we are seeing God move within our teenagers where they're getting baptized and they're serving Jesus we're seeing God do so much we're in the prisons at Deer Ridge prison and we're believing God's going to get us into every prison but to do that it takes money our current operating budget is 2.5 million dollars so for two years that's five million dollars we need to strengthen our ministry second is we want to seize Ministry God has given us the

opportunity for ten thousand additional square feet in our current location that will allow us to expand our Sanctuary to get more than a hundred new seats in addition to that all new kids classrooms this will help us grow our families to do more Ministry with our kids and small groups throughout the week but to do that there's a cost it's going to be two million dollars for construction costs for City fees and all the renovations that we need to do this industry not only do we want to strength the ministry and seize Ministry we want to secure Ministry God has been so faithful in allowing us to purchase 38 acres in the fastest growing location and bend we currently owe 4.6 million dollars on our mortgage on the 38 acres we're believing we're going to pay it off even more

we're believing that God's going to do great work on this property we're not just going to be a church in our city we're going to be a church for our city so over the next two years we're going to strengthen this tree we're going to seize Ministry and we're going to secure our future believing God's blessed that he's going to do more imagine the opportunities that are going to happen right here so to secure our future we need to eradicate that debt of 4.6 million dollars over the next two years I believe God can do it but what we're asking is 100 participation and I literally mean that we want every child teenager and adult to be a part of more we're asking you to pray more to give more to engage more to sacrifice more

and believe more that God is able to do this so would you join me join us together to see God do more in our city through our church so I'm asking you to pray I'm asking you to seek God what is this going to look like for us what is this going to look like for me to sacrifice and see God work through us as a church in this more generosity initiative foreign [Music] God some praise for all that he's done and he's just getting started if you're visiting with us for the first

time it is never too early to be a part of this team we're really a family around here and we want you to be a part of it each person you see in that video is a real person who has a real story and God's not finished rewriting that story we really want 100 participation if you call Journey Church your home we want you to pray about your role what does that look like for you we're not asking for the same expectation of every person to give the same amount but we are asking for equal sacrifice we're saying every person can pray and say God what do you want me to do be a part of this so for all the families here today if you've got little ones in Journey kids church we have a gift for you out in the lobby there's a family table we've got a box for you that are full of of helps with journey guides for your family so that you guys can pray

together you can get in the Bible together and have discussions about what this will look like because we want every kid every teenager every Widow every couple we want every person in this church to be a part of what God's doing so today from this day forward we're going to pray we're going to lean in we're going to ask God what is my what's my role in this I'll tell you my wife and I have been doing this and you'll hear from the Two of Us coming up in just a few weeks we've been praying about this and God has blessed us he's rocked us just last night we were praying about it I'll be vulnerable with you I told our prayer team I was weeping like a baby last night the glory of God just fell in our living room I'm so grateful for all that he's done and all he's going to do I want more I don't know about you but I want more Glory I don't want to just be content with saying well I've got enough of you God

there's never enough I'm expecting more and I want you to have the same expectation well we're going to get into God's word is we get to hear about the heart of God and why we're doing this today and say God what does this look like for us would you just pray with me Lord would you bless us as we get into your word that we would better understand who you are and what you want to do in our lives we thank you Jesus the year God that's for us and if you're for us who could be against us oh you you are so great in every way Lord speak to us through your word I pray in Jesus name amen you know what I love about Jesus is he constantly shares with us the heart of who he is God became a man and he's revealed himself we don't have to wonder we don't have to go look someplace to find out who he is he's shown us through his word who he is now Jesus near the end of his life right

before he gave his life to die on the cross for our sins was on a mission he wanted to make sure that we understand what as hard as life and right before he was crucified Matthew when he tells the life of Jesus Christ in Matthew chapter 22 Jesus is sharing these short stories about his kingdom now Jesus is about to surrender his life because he's done what no other man has done before he lived a sinless life he gave his life on the cross to die for our sin that once and for all there would be a penalty that was paid he is the great sacrifice for all sins that if you believe in him he will forgive your sins now he is preparing for that moment to go to the cross and before he does he

shares his heart through stories and one of the conflicts that he have is is with those who are religious and they have an expectation of whom they thought the Christ would be there are so many times in our lives that we have an expectation of what reality will look like it's a fantasy and sometimes that reality is very different than our fantasy and so it was with Jesus God had promised for many centuries even Millennia that he would send a Christ that means a messiah quite literally it means the chosen one the anointed one of God now when God sent the Christ that is Jesus he is very different than what the world thought he would look like so Jesus used these stories to share with us his heart of all the things

Jesus could do he shares stories it was his favorite method he didn't do what many preachers do today he didn't go verse by verse word by word throughout the whole Old Testament to teach principles he used stories now today I want to share with you one of those stories it's a story that's not often preached and maybe you'll see why in just a moment but it's a great story aren't you glad that Jesus gets controversial sometimes well let's get into one of those stories is Matthew chapter 22 I want to start with verse one I'll read the whole story and then we'll just break it down to better understand what Jesus is saying Matthew 22 starting with verse 1. and again Jesus spoke to them in Parables saying the Kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a King who gave a wedding

Feast to for his son and he sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding Feast but they would not come again he sent his servants saying tell those who are invited see I've prepared my dinner my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered and everything is ready come to the wedding Feasts but they paid no attention and went off one to his farm another to his business while the rest seized his servants treated them shamefully and killed them the King was angry and he sent his troops and destroyed those murders and burned their City then he said to his servants the wedding Feast is ready but those invited

were not worthy go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding Feast as many as you find and those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found both bad and good so the wedding hall was filled everyone shout filled filled with guests now if you're new to church or even new to the Bible I need to explain to you what a parable is a parable is simply a fictional story that shares a spiritual truth it would be what we call today a a short story or short movie we love these they're they're not long it's not a full-length featured film this is just a short story that's going to share a great big truth now with Jesus he did not share these Parables or these

stories for entertainment purposes it was to Enlighten us on who God is and what's interesting about Jesus when he tells a story he's the master Storyteller he will often tell a story so that you'll find your stealth immersed in that story that when Jesus tells the story you should lean in and say Where am I in this story and as he shares this fictional story about a great big truth he he doesn't leave us to wonder what is this story about he starts off from the very beginning and he tells us what this fictional story will be all about he starts off by saying the kingdom of heaven the Kingdom of Heaven would you say that with me the Kingdom of Heaven he wants you to know that what he's about to say

is all about his kingdom this is one of his favorite topics the Kingdom of Heaven if you want to know what the Kingdom of Heaven is like Jesus is going to tell us he doesn't want to leave you to your own conclusion to come up with some reality that's not real he wants you to see what the Kingdom of Heaven is like and he tells us the Kingdom of Heaven could be compared to a King who has a son this story sounds similar Jesus in John chapter 3 says for God so loved the world that he gave his only son so here we have in this story a king who has a son and he decides to throw a party in fact we're told the Kingdom of

Heaven can be compared to a King who throws a wedding feast for his son this is so important that you understand the Heart of Jesus he wants you to understand the kingdom of heaven now a kingdom implies there's a king and there's a rule and a Reign meaning there's a way to live your life there are two kingdoms there's the kingdom of heaven and there's the kingdom of this world the kingdom of this world is ruled by none other than Satan he's called The Prince of this world in the mystery of who God is and his sovereignty he allows him to rule and to Reign and the kingdom of this world and there's a contrary to Kingdom to this world it's the Kingdom of Heaven it was a favorite subject of Jesus in fact it was the first message Jesus preached in Matthew chapter 3

Jesus stepped onto the scene and he gave the shortest sermon repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand would you all love a sermon like that he says come in and sit down and have a good day repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is a hand he says so much and so little the word repent means a change you're thinking don't think in the manners of this world don't think about what you want think about what God wants the Kingdom of Heaven is not one day it's not someday it's not even a better day Jesus taught us when you pray you should say Lord let your kingdom come and your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven Jesus is teaching us you don't have to wait to get to heaven to start to experience

Heaven his kingdom can be in your life but his kingdom Wants to Rule and reign in every area your mind your thoughts your dreams all of your finances your family when you trust in Jesus you're saying I'm letting you rule in my life I'm letting you be the king of my life not the prince of this world but you be the Prince of Peace in my life I want your way in my life now when Jesus stepped onto the scene it was so different than what the religious thought they thought that Christ would be religious like they were so many thought that if God was going to send a savior it must be a conquering King that would overrule the evil Roman Empire but when Jesus stepped into our

story the human story The Very one he created he came as a suffering servant he came to seek and to save the Lost he came to do what no one has ever done before he came to love like no other Jesus did not have a holy huddle with the Frozen chosen and say this is what it's going to look like you must look exactly like us no Jesus he saw a wee little man up in a tree do you remember him his name was Zacchaeus now Zacchaeus Was a chief tax collector Tax Collectors were hated in the days of Jesus well they're still hated Jesus was willing to hang out with those who were hated Tax Collectors Jesus also hung out with religious people John

chapter 3 Jesus is hanging out with Nicodemus Nicodemus was known as a ruler of the Jewish people so Jesus hung out with tax collectors he hung out with religious rulers but he also hung out with women which was unheard of as in his day he had to go through Samaria to meet with a woman at the well he allowed a woman to touch His Garment and she was healed he defended a woman who was caught in adultery over and over we see Jesus is the Liberator not only did Jesus hang out with tax collectors and religious rulers and women but we see he loved the little ones Jesus let little kids come and sit on his lap he protected them he blessed them but it wasn't just the children or women or religious rulers or even Tax

Collectors he went beyond this he he loved the Roman Centurion he was a military man lover that's Jesus he's not just for some people he loved those who were in the military and he even loved the blind Beggars like Bartimaeus I'm here to tell you today wherever you are on your Journey of Faith Jesus Is For You Jesus loves you he's never stopped Jesus wants you to know that he made you and he never makes mistakes he wants you to know him that you would be restored that you would be redeemed that you would believe in him and what he's done for you that's what kind of a savior you have in Jesus Christ and Jesus tells this story and he says the kingdom of heaven is like a king who has a son and he has in verse two a

king who had a wedding Feast for his son he goes on in verse 3 and says he sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast but they would not come this would be the equivalent in our age to an RSVP for a wedding I'm going to spend some money here I'm gonna I'm gonna do some work here and I want you to be a part of what I'm doing now weddings are important they're celebration they're a union of two becoming one Jesus Likens the kingdom to just that and he says it's this important that he's going to go out and send out an RSVP now an RSVP is to prepare for those who are coming now Jesus says in this story when he

sent out the RSVP if you go back to verse 3 it says when he sent this out to those who were invited the dignitaries those who are important those who knew the family they would not come they sent back the RSVP and said nope not going to make it I know you've invited me but I'm not going to come now if we could just pause for just a moment Jesus is expressing to those who are listening to the story he's talking to religious people of his day he did not say the Kingdom of Heaven is religious and you've got to follow all the rules if you really want to be a part of the Kingdom it's sort of like a school with a teacher and you've got to

pass the test to get into heaven aren't you glad he didn't use that illustration come on somebody I struggled through school so I'm so glad you don't have to be smart enough to get into heaven I'm so glad that Jesus didn't say the king of Heaven oh it's like a religious ritual ceremony where God stand up and sit down and do the right move and make sure that you do the right thing and dress the right way and as long as you're good enough you get to be into heaven he said no it's like a wedding and all you got to do is accept the invitation he didn't make it difficult he didn't make it hard he just said you've got to know that I love you enough that I want you to come celebrate with me where I'm going I want you to be a part of what I'm doing this is the Heart of Jesus when he was hanging out with tax

collectors and sinners it says the religious people were grumbling they were complaining it seems that religious people like to do that grumble and Jesus in Luke chapter 15 tells three Parables I told you he's the master Storyteller and in all three of those stories he talks about the Lost and he doesn't just talk about the Lost he shares the heart of our heavenly father he shares about a lost sheep he shares about a lost coin and he shares about two lost Sons and in each of these stories we see a God that celebrates when the Lost is found he's a God that celebrates and just to make sure we understand the heart of God Jesus at one point when he talks about the lost sheep and the shepherd defines him and he celebrates that the the lost

sheep was found he says just so I tell you just so you don't miss it there will be more joy in heaven over one Center who repents then over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance Jesus says listen if you get the invitation and you don't accept it God's not going to celebrate that you're you're too good to come to his party he celebrates for that one that accepts the invitation changes his thinking and says it's worth canceling everything to be a part of what God's doing I accept the invitation I'm coming home with the shepherd I'm coming home to the father and here you have Jesus he's speaking to those who would hear right now what the

Kingdom of Heaven should be compared to and of all the conflicts about who the Christ is who is he should I Surrender my life to him should I believe in Jesus to be the one that God chose to save the world there were so many in Jesus day that refused to believe that this reality of Jesus is the one that God sent now this conflict is still true today I see this all the time often we have a fantasy and then there's reality and at some point if your reality does not align with your fantasy you've got to change your fantasy and realize I didn't have it figured out this happens in marriage all the time we all see it two young lovers they're in puppy dog

love they enter into marriage Bliss oh how many of us have heard those vows before through sickness and in health through poverty wait maybe not poverty but through Prosperity you know we talk about I'll go through anything with you and then when the rubber meets the road and you get to see what kind of a sinner you just married that fantasy changes so you either need to change your fantasy and say wow I thought we're going to live happily ever after or you say nope we're going to go through the hard stuff together nope I made a commitment on that day on the altar at that wedding ceremony I'm gonna make it through this now I don't know why God's let me go through this but God is God and I'm going to stick with this so you change your reality or you say I didn't

sign up for this I'm going to go back to my fantasy so many changed their fantasy instead of changing the reality this is true with church when we started Journey Church we had a lot of people that were really excited to reach the Lost we were a church for those who don't like church that just made sense to Christians yeah that's who Jesus loved we're gonna go reach the city of Bend and those who aren't going to church we're going to bring to church and then we had our first church service and our second church service and it got messy and we didn't have the biggest and best kids ministry we didn't even have a youth group we didn't have a ton of Bible studies we didn't even have a building and eventually that fantasy of reaching those that don't go to church hit reality and a lot of people gave up on the reality so many said well I need a better kids ministry I need more Bible

studies this isn't exactly what I thought it's messier than I thought and so they changed their reality and when it comes to Jesus so many of us have conjured up in our minds what a Christ should be like some of us think that when things are going wrong that somehow God's against us some of us think that maybe if my life is good then God has blessed me but God wants to show us what his kingdom of heaven should be compared to so now remember no one accepts the RSVP he's speaking to religious people right now and he says in verse 4 again let's go back to the king he tries again he sent other servants saying tell those who are invited this time see I have

prepared my dinner my oxen my fattened calves have been slaughtered and everything is ready can't take it take a deep breath through your nose oh do you smell those ribs maybe it's rib eye for you maybe it's tri-tip he gets the best those things are here he's probably killed one of those this isn't the RSVP test one day we're going to have a wedding on this day the day has come we have a merciful god that makes sure

that you know you're invited he asks again and again and again this is a merciful god everything's ready come to the wedding Feast this is an invitation not just for you but for every generation we have a god of Grace that wants us to accept the invitation the king repeats the invitation he comes back again and we're told this is going to be good the best brisket you've ever had and if you pay careful attention to the illustrations Jesus is implying here he's talking about the kingdom of heaven and he says two things number one is like a wedding number two is like a feast weddings are meant to be a celebration I know every once in a while there's a

Debbie Downer that will ruin a wedding but I'll tell you they're meant to be a celebration what do you do at weddings you you dance what do you do at weddings you you congratulate you clap you you scream weddings are a celebration Jesus says you want to know what the Kingdom's like it's like a celebration sometimes we have not done the kingdom Justice in the church because the kingdom should be like a celebration it should be full of joy we should be excited it's more than just a celebration it's a feast thank you Jesus now what what's that a feast no not yoga nor exercise

what's at a feast food and not crummy food this is not a buffet of McDonald's this is a feast this is good food now the whole implication of a feast is that it's going to be pleasurable it's going to satisfy God Made You for satisfaction now track with me here because this is still an issue today 2 000 years later one of the greatest problems we have in our own country is morbid obesity we've got all sorts of food problems where people overeat people they get into addictions people have other issues where they try to give up eating we have diet pills we have all sorts of issues regarding food now God did not design us where Foods would have issues he designed us that we would enjoy food are you track them with me

now go back to the Garden this is in Genesis chapter three if you're new to the Bible it's easy to find the first book of the Bible the third chapter something happens the devil steps into the human story and he tempts Adam and Eve the first humans he does not tempt them to murder each other that would have been a real Temptation in marriage but he didn't do it he didn't tempt them to start a false religion he didn't tempt them to go commit adultery somewhere you know how he tempted them with food God gave a great feast and said you can eat absolutely everything at the buffet just not this one thing now why would God do that he's a sovereign God he wants us to choose him he has set boundaries in our lives so that we would choose him with all of our heart

you see Jesus is not a conquering King that forces you to follow him he says you follow me because I'm good my ways are good and what did Adam and Eve do they caved into the the food some of us want to say it's an apple or some other food but we all know is probably some candy or something like that that tempted them so much you see the reality is we don't often choose the kingdom of heaven we think something in this world will satisfy us other than God and we see this so clearly in this story I don't want to be a part of the king the ultimate feast of all time I might be able to find satisfaction somewhere else and they paid no attention in verse five they paid no attention and they went off

one to his farm one to another business if you want to read more about this go to Luke Chapter 14. they were busy busy busy the same issue we have today busy I'm so busy I'm so busy I can't do this and still verse 6 says while the rest sees the servants treated them shamefully and killed them now this is where the stories of Jesus get scandalous if we made this into a movie today it would easily be rated R they treated them shamefully I don't know what conjures up in your mind but they probably cursed at them they probably said some really inappropriate things they not only treated them shamefully they murdered them there's nothing cute about that some don't want to deal with this but if we look back in history Jesus is

implying he has sent priests he has sent judges he has sent prophets and when the world sees the servants whom he has sent some treat them shamefully some have even murdered them now what's a merciful god to do he's invited them to the ultimate feast of all time the celebration of the year and instead of accepting the invitation they try to silence the message I don't know about you but for me if I get real in my my personal life I can look back and say I too have tried to silence the Holy Spirit there are times that I've said you know Lord that's uncomfortable that's inconvenient and the reality is if I don't do things my way I'm not sure when you're ever going to do it and I

ultimately silence God's Great message in my life and verse 7 warns us God is merciful but he's also just the King was angry and he sent troops and destroyed those murders and burned their City this just went from a rated R movie to mature sometimes we don't like to look at God this way God is love which he is he's also just The Book of Revelation John says the eyes of Jesus are full of fire it's a metaphoric image of judgment my friends what what I'm implying here is there's a real consequence to our decisions God doesn't just Overlook you and say you know you matter to me and I made you but go ahead and do whatever you want to do and even though I made you with an eternal Soul I'm not I'm just going to overlook everything God is looking and he's saying if you reject my invitation

in fact if you go even further and you rebel against my kingdom there's a real penalty and it will impact others then verse 8 Jesus then he said to his servants he tells this story The Wedding Feast is ready but those invited were not worthy the story takes a turn what do you do when you've thrown a party and no one shows up I'll tell you what my God does if the religious don't want to come if those who have been trying to reach for many a millennia aren't going to come he says in verse 9 and this sounds so much like that Great Commission he sends us on go therefore everyone shall go go therefore to the main roads invite to

the wedding Feast as many as you find if you go to Luke chapter 14 it says go get the line let's go get the limes go get the lame and the Blind and the Beggars just combine that as the limes go get the lame the Blind and the Beggars you you go get those who would never be invited to the seat of Honor who would never be invited to the king's feast you go get those that are overlooked those that aren't even welcome inside the city I want them to see that they have a place setting I want them to see that what I have to offer I'm going to give them go get as many as you find verse 10 says and those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found everyone shall all all now some of us think all means well some

the ones we like but Jesus notes both the bad say the bad The Bad and The good I don't know which side you find yourself on but I'm judging you right now so the wedding hall was filled they filled filled with guests now don't miss this here's the heart of the king here's the heart of the king here's the heart of the king normally those you would see at the seat of Honor in God's kingdom aren't going to be the ones you think are there he has said this so many times the the first actually will be last and the last actually the first and he's demonstrated for us that whoever you are whoever you are wherever you've been whatever was done to you whatever you've done in your life if you come to Jesus you are not

defined by what you've done or where you've been or what was done to you you are defined by accepting the great invitation and you can be far from God you can be marginalized you might be overlooked by everyone but in the Kingdom of Heaven you are never overlooked you have a seat at the table God wants you to celebrate in the fullness of his Joy salvation that you would understand and he just cuts through the facade of the day he gets rid of the religious act he says quit the hypocrisy you look like you have it together he's already called them out and said oh you're whitewashed tombs you look good on the outside but you're rotting on the inside oh you're like a cup that looks clean on the outside but there's moldy stuff on the inside Jesus is simply saying this it doesn't matter how you act to the world it was what matters is inside

do you believe because when you believe it it shapes you it changes you you accept the invitation and you go where God wants you to go this is a shocking story so many just want to stop and say I I'm not sure I would follow a God that's going to burn down a city because they don't come to his wedding no he sees more than this he sees that the invitation has been given so many times he sees that his servants were treated shamefully in fact he sees that actually we live in a world of Injustice and this points us to the heart of who God is he's willing to go where he needs to go which is the story of Jesus God became a man so that you would know who he is and he compels them to come he does what needs to be done in fact what I love about Jesus is he

goes to wherever he's welcome if he's not welcome he won't show up and Journey Church we need to understand that the Holy Spirit when welcome will show up but when we think we have it figured out or we start to judge what we think God's plan is we miss the heart of God which is to go out to all people which is exactly what God did for us Matthew 20 verse 28 even as the son of man Jesus said of himself he came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many Jesus did what needed to be done that all people would get to experience the wedding Feasts now Paul makes it clear that one day the

church will experience a wedding with Jesus the church is the bride Jesus is the bridegroom we read about this later in the Book of Revelation there is going to be a great wedding Feast someday that we get to experience and if you've ever wondered am I welcome at church am I welcome by God the resounding the theme of this story is yes you're welcome here you are absolutely welcome in God's house you're welcome in God's family you are welcome in heaven all you have to do is receive the invitation believe in Jesus and what he's done for you this church does not exist so that we would live like a country club this is not about programs or Bible studies or

even doing good deeds Journey Church has a mission we exist to lead people on a journey of transformation in Jesus we want to make sure it's clear this is not a destination life is a journey is short we want you to take it serious and give your all to Jesus because this message of Hope is not for some people There's Hope for everyone and when you believe that you start living like it you're the one that goes out to the streets and lets the world know you're welcome here we want to see the world saved we're not going to stay in this place we're not going to be content with what we have we're asking God for more and as bizarre as this story might sound as we start to understand the vision and the future of Journey Church we want to find our seat at the table we want to understand where have I rejected Jesus we want to

understand am I believing in this God of Grace and today day if you've never done that I'm going to give you an opportunity to do that today to believe in Jesus you only have to do it one time what I left out in this story is I didn't finish it Jesus goes on in verse 11 and says but when the king came to look at the guests remember the house is full it's full of people he came back to look at the guests and there was a man who had no wedding garment on and the King said to him in verse 12 I love how Jesus tells the story friend can you sense the tone of the king here friend how did you get in here without a wedding garment and he was speechless I have heard so many times in my life people say when I get into heaven I'm

going to ask God this question I'm going to tell God this no when you get into heaven you're going to be speechless you're coming before the king and the King said to the attendants bind him hand and foot cast him into the outer darkness and that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth just for wearing the wrong garments weeping gnashing of teeth darkness and then Jesus says in verse 14 for many are called but few are chosen now what is up with this ending it was strange enough with all the murders and the city burning down but now all of a sudden the king throws one guy out of the wedding Feast for wearing the wrong clothes let's make sure we understand this story context matters in the ancient Middle

East the bridegroom would often give all of the guests the same garments typically a white tunic they would wear this as a symbol of Celebration and Purity and everyone would be wearing the same thing and it would be really clear who was a part of the wedding feast the servants would wear something different Jesus comes into this wedding feasts and he sees some guy just dressed casually he doesn't look like anyone else it is really clear you are not wearing what the groom has to offer you hear me loud and clear here no one will get into heaven because of their own Deeds because of their own works or if we can metaphorically speak here what you wear it doesn't matter what you look like see the imagery in heaven is when you

give your life to Jesus he forgives you of your sins and he gives you a righteous garment this is metaphorical here that when you get into heaven God doesn't look at you and say well what good deeds did you do to get here no God looks at you and says oh you got him because of the groom didn't you Jesus gave you everything you need to get in here didn't he it's because of Jesus that you get to experience a celebration and joy and satisfaction and pleasure forever and ever amen but no one will get into heaven because well I decided to do things my way I decided to not do your way just seemed a little stuffy your way just seemed I don't really like that way Jesus says what happens is you're separated from me for eternity and when Jesus told Parables he would often use this this great imagery so

that it would resonate in your soul you know a good movie will do that I remember in college when Titanic came out people would go see that movie ten times why why would you go repeat the story something in that resonates friends let this resonate in your soul right now have you believed in Jesus because if so one day when you get into heaven it will be nothing because of what you've done the gospel means good news it's the finished work of Jesus he died for your sins and he rose from the grave He's Alive forevermore and when you believe in him you are saved and today I want to give you that opportunity right now if you were to die today do you know for certainty that you'd get to celebrate in heaven forever and ever if there's any inclusion in your heart that says I'm not sure

you can be certain right now that you're saved you don't have to be good enough you don't have to go to church enough you don't have to be born in the right family you don't look good enough for God you can come as you are and the moment you do he will save you but he cannot leave you the same from this day forward you start celebrating I'm in and you're invited and you're invited and you're invited oh but I don't look like it I I don't look like everybody else perfect you're invited and you're invited oh am I too young to go to the wedding fees nope you're invited am I too old I can't dance you're invited is it going to be loud yes but we got earplugs you're invited y'all are invited to this wedding feast but you've got to believe the Bible says believe and once you believe you take

the next step the reason we celebrated today baptisms is it's a step of public Faith a step of obedience it's just one of the many steps you don't come to a destination When You Believe In Jesus you just begun a journey of Salvation you keep growing you keep learning I'm still learning I want to give you that invitation today I'm just going to ask right now on the seriousness of your soul in the story of what Jesus shared to you today to participate in his kingdom not one day which you will if you believe in Jesus but right now just with every eye closed just close your eyes right now between you and the Lord I need you to seriously consider this have you believed in the Lord Jesus for the Salvation of your soul if you want that right now just with every eye closed I'm just going to say put your hand up nice and high and just keep it

there I want to see who it is praise God right away yes praise God praise God praise God all over anyone else right now keep your hands up for just a moment anyone else your heart's fluttering and say I'm not sure that's you the holy spirit is telling you I love you I made you praise God praise God anyone else praise God I'm so proud of you it is never too late with God he will forgive the worst of sins and give you a fresh start all over you can put your hands down I'm so proud of you keep your eyes closed we're going to pray together prayer is conversation with god it's talking with god it's listening to God you don't need the right words to talk to God you don't need eloquent words you don't even need to repeat them you just need to be real with God I'm going to pray a simple prayer and if

you believe this today would you pray with me for all those who have ever prayed something similar who have trusted already in Jesus let's do it for those doing it for the first time out loud together Lord Jesus I believe in you I received the invitation forgive me of my sins today I follow you I received the Holy Spirit I received the hope of Heaven in Jesus name amen amen amen praise God praise God yes hey if you made that decision today and there were dozens of hands today I'm so proud of you please tell someone you are not alone you are now in the family of God you can scan that QR code and your seat back and fill out a card you can go out to the next steps table if you need a Bible we would love to give you a

Bible as a free gift our gift to you so that you keep continuing to grow in your knowledge of who God is or even after the service you can come to to the front and there'll be a prayer team that would love to pray with you we're almost done but the best is right now I want you to get out your impact card get out your impact card should be in your seat back I want you to get out that impact card and here's what this is for if you have already received the invitation to be a part of the wedding feast and you have the hope of heaven we want others to receive this invitation and I'm asking you today to write down five names of those who have yet to believe in Jesus on the first four lines I want you to put the name of those that have yet to receive Jesus of the savior of their lives but then on the Fifth Line here's what I want you to do I want

you to put the long shot do you know what I mean by the long shot the person that would never enter the doors of a church the person that's anti-christianity the person that's been antagonistic towards your faith because I want you to see them the way God sees them so in the first four lines you put four people your neighbors your family members your co-workers God bless you I want you to fill it out right now I want you to put the names of anyone you know that does not know Jesus and on the Fifth Line I need you to with bold wild faith believing that my God can save the person that you don't even believe in that God sees them In a Different Light

that God left his throne in heaven and came to this earth not to die for the religious not to die for those that are good Jesus came to die for the least of these for the worst of Sinners so that's going to be your long shot and here's what you're going to do fill out those right now come on you got to think of somebody if somebody doesn't come to your mind right now then we got to pray for you because all your friends are Christians all right you could put on the top there the my Barista you don't even know her name now you got a mission get to know her name you you should immediately think of five people I want you to write those down you could write it while I'm talking to you and then here's what I want you to do when you have five in there we've got two boxes on either side I want you to get up from your seat and I want every single person you're 100 participation believing God's best we're going to pray over those names you don't need to put your name anywhere on there just five

names of those that need Jesus that need to accept that invitation to the wedding Feast one day and when you have that you're going to bring It Forward if you're unable to walk if you got a walker you're unable to walk you hand it to somebody next to you they're going to bring it so come forward put it in the box right now and then we're going to pray over those not only today but in the days to come until every single person saved I want you to put in that box believing that God you're not finished with me you're not finished with my family you're not finished with the city of Bend God you're not finished with the state of Oregon you're not finished with the Pacific Northwest you're not finished with the United States of America you are a God for all nations so we're going to believe and tell every single soul is saved you can rub shoulders just come on forward and then go back to your seats put those

cards in there right now I want you to think about who do you want saved who is your long shot who are you going to celebrate when they end up coming and receiving the invitation who are you going to say thank you Jesus because I've been praying for this day thank you Jesus that you're faithful thank you Jesus that you don't give up when everyone else gives up thank you Jesus that you're willing to go to the far this reaches to the ends of the Earth thank you Jesus that you see the potential in every single person oh the Lost are going to be found oh the Sinners are going to be saved oh those without hope are going to be filled with hope oh we're believing today that God's going to do exceedingly abundantly immeasurably far beyond what we can believe he's gonna do it in your family he's gonna do it in your neighborhood he's going to do it in your workplace

he's going to do it in our city oh just wait to see the Revival that's gonna happen because we believe today God's not finished with us yet just go back to your seats and then we're going to pray over these names today oh we thank you Lord thank you Lord for all the names thank you Lord for every person represented thank you Lord for every spouse that's in this card thank you God for every parent that's represented thank you for every child that seems to be a prodigal right now but is gonna come home oh we thank you Lord for our co-workers thank you for the bosses that are mentioned here today thank you God for the courage that you're going to give every person here to believe God's best over every person here we're going to invite them Lord we're going to invite them to be a part of your kingdom come we're going to invite them to see what you see oh Lord we thank you for the young in this room believing God's

best for their generation we thank you God for every married couple that's going to believe God best for their marriage we thank you God for every Widow here every divorce he got that God you're not finished yet God you're going to bring hope to every single one of us you're the god that brings hope not for some but for everyone today Lord oh we thank you God for the gospel it is the good news for every single person oh oh Lord we thank you so much that you are able you are able you're the god that's able when we can't see it you make a way in the wilderness when it seems dry you bring streams in the desert oh we thank you God that those who seem far from you now are going to be born again they're going to be New Creations they're gonna they're gonna become who you called them to be you have created us in your image

we are your Masterpiece your workmanship and God you've prepared good works for every single person today as the Lord we celebrate you we bless you and we God we give you and surrender all these names to you today oh Lord we look forward we look forward to the day the long shots get baptized that's gonna happen lord it's gonna happen Lord we give you the glory in advance we thank you Lord for what you're going to do we thank you Lord that when we couldn't see it we believed it that faith is the Assurance of things hoped for it's the conviction of that which we cannot see so we believe it today would you pray with me right now let's pray over these names Lord we believe that you love every one of these people Jesus you taught us what your love is all about that you gave your

life willingly that you died on the cross you Rose from the grave so that we too Can Be Alive forevermore Lord we thank you so much for the faith in this room that we are believing your best over every name we're believing your best over every long shot saying there's no person too far for you to reach so we pray these things today in the name of Jesus Christ if you believe me say amen amen amen all right before you leave before you leave make a commitment to come every Sunday it's going to be special and we're not going to stop praying over these names we're not going to stop we're going to keep praying we're going to keep believing and we're going to see miracles do you believe that today if you believe it join us in that journey tonight we have Pursuit night at 5 PM

it's our new Time 5 p.m tonight we pray we worship we are on a pursuit to experience a living God you are welcome at Pursuit night tonight at 5 PM come back next week bring your journey guide with you if you want any more information on anything we talked about today there's a more kiosk we're so grateful we you came today God bless your church let your face shine upon them that they would go represent you and experience more of your love in Jesus name amen amen God bless you have a great week we'll see you next Sunday