Sermon: The Great Invite
Scripture: Luke 14
ICE BREAKER: Describe the best dinner you have ever been to!
REVIEW:
This week, we started a 6-week initiative called "The Great Invite." This idea came directly out of a parable that Jesus told in Luke chapter 14.
Jesus had been invited to a sabbath meal with the Pharisees (the religious leaders who were closely watching Jesus). Jesus observed these religious leaders jockeying for position in the best seats at the meal. Because of this, Jesus started sharing parables and teachings about humility and putting others first.
The Pharisees did not pick up on what Jesus was saying AT ALL! They were convinced that they were shoe-ins for heaven someday because of all the outward religious works they did. Then, Jesus told a savage parable, correcting the Pharisees to their faces!
The story was of a wealthy man who threw a large banquet. In the ancient world, going to a banquet like this was the highlight of your year, if not your life! However, when the day came, everyone made excuses for why they could not attend. The Pharisees listening to Jesus' story would have laughed out loud at the idea of someone purposefully not attending a banquet - and then Jesus' story got even crazier!
When the original invitees did not show up, the wealthy man sent his servant to get the outcasts inside the city and convince them to show up, even though they could never repay. Next, he sent the servant outside the city to people who did not even belong to the same people group! He told the servant he would have to compel the people to make the journey but promised it would be worth it!
The parable's meaning is that Israel had initially accepted God's invitation to the Kingdom banquet in eternity, but when Jesus came with the Gospel, they rejected it! Jesus was preaching, "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand," and no one was interested in attending the banquet.
The leaders of Israel rejected Jesus, but not everyone! The outcasts of society took up the call to follow the Messiah. Then, when Jesus left Earth, he told his apostles to take the gospel outside the city walls by going "to the ends of the earth."
APPLICATION:
Jesus, the King of the banquet, intentionally sent his followers to come and compel you and me to trust in Jesus and someday enjoy the banquet of eternity. Now, our job is to become servants of Christ and invite others to the party!
In 2 Corinthians, Paul explains that Jesus was reconciling the world back to God, and now that Jesus has ascended to Heaven, he has given the ministry of reconciliation to us! He even calls us God's ambassadors. This means:
WE ALL ARE CALLED TO INVITE OTHERS
Over the next six weeks, your challenge is to try and invite someone to sit with you at Meta every week! In service, we outlined three steps:
Ask If They Have a Church
Tell Your Story (Briefly)
Invite Them To SIT WITH YOU (That Sunday)
What emotions appear when you reflect on Jesus inviting you into his Kingdom?
Who are a few people in your life that the Holy Spirit is prodding you to invite to a Sunday service?
What short testimony will you share as you invite people to highlight what God has done in your life?
PRAY:
Ask God to give you eyes to see the need all around you. Remember that we were those living as outcasts outside the city, and Jesus came to get us! Thank God for how He has pursued you, and commit to pursuing others with the Gospel.
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