1 00:00:02,160 --> 00:00:06,720 Imagine what you would do if the most powerful person in the world 2 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:15,440 invited you to a banquet, a private banquet, not an email. 3 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:17,360 You didn't get a general invite. 4 00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:19,440 You got it personally with your name on it. 5 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:26,000 The invitation had a seat reserved for you and a place was 6 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:30,860 prepared for a great banquet hall to be together for this celebration. 7 00:00:33,180 --> 00:00:37,260 Now imagine you got that and you just ignored it. 8 00:00:38,700 --> 00:00:41,500 Not because you hated the person who invited you, not because 9 00:00:41,500 --> 00:00:45,180 you objected to who they are and what they're about, not because 10 00:00:45,180 --> 00:00:46,260 you weren't interested. 11 00:00:46,260 --> 00:00:48,460 It was because you had something more pressing. 12 00:00:49,900 --> 00:00:53,540 You had a paper due, or you had to study, or you had to get to 13 00:00:53,540 --> 00:00:55,180 a practice, or you had to get to work. 14 00:00:56,250 --> 00:00:56,970 Important things. 15 00:00:58,650 --> 00:01:00,250 But because of that, you couldn't go. 16 00:01:01,690 --> 00:01:05,130 You wouldn't insult the person who invited you by just saying no, 17 00:01:05,130 --> 00:01:06,250 because that would be rude. 18 00:01:07,370 --> 00:01:11,290 Say, just quietly choose to do something else and ignore it. 19 00:01:12,410 --> 00:01:15,490 And that's the setting for this parable that we're going to 20 00:01:15,490 --> 00:01:16,810 talk about, the invitation. 21 00:01:17,290 --> 00:01:22,320 You cannot ignore the parable of the wedding banquet. 22 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:26,960 Now, Jesus said, the kingdom of heaven is like. 23 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:28,240 To start this one. 24 00:01:28,320 --> 00:01:31,120 Now, you remember in all the parables we looked at, he often said, 25 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:33,440 the kingdom of heaven is like, or the kingdom of God is like. 26 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:35,840 And they were kind of interchangeable because they were 27 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:38,240 about our life on this earth. 28 00:01:38,320 --> 00:01:40,000 But this one is on purpose. 29 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:44,000 The kingdom of heaven is like, because this is about heaven. 30 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:49,300 So he said, the kingdom of heaven is like the king who prepared 31 00:01:49,300 --> 00:01:51,060 a wedding banquet for his son. 32 00:01:51,060 --> 00:01:59,380 And the invitations went out and people shrugged, they didn't 33 00:01:59,380 --> 00:01:59,740 respond. 34 00:01:59,740 --> 00:02:00,900 They didn't really care. 35 00:02:01,300 --> 00:02:02,340 They were busy. 36 00:02:02,660 --> 00:02:04,180 They didn't argue the theology. 37 00:02:05,620 --> 00:02:07,940 They didn't protest that I don't believe in the king. 38 00:02:08,740 --> 00:02:10,420 They just went back to their schedule. 39 00:02:12,580 --> 00:02:16,250 And, you know, the parable points out that the uncomfortable 40 00:02:16,250 --> 00:02:21,290 truth is that the greatest threat to your soul is not atheism. 41 00:02:23,130 --> 00:02:25,210 The greatest threat is distraction. 42 00:02:27,290 --> 00:02:30,890 You will not likely wake up one day and say, I reject God. 43 00:02:30,890 --> 00:02:32,570 I don't want to have anything to do with God. 44 00:02:32,650 --> 00:02:34,730 You probably won't ever get to that point. 45 00:02:35,930 --> 00:02:39,370 You simply keep prioritizing something else. 46 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:44,560 And that's how the invitations from the king get ignored. 47 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:52,920 Jesus says in the parable, you see, God designed this world, designed 48 00:02:52,920 --> 00:02:56,880 this world to be perfect, designed this world to be sinless, 49 00:02:56,880 --> 00:03:01,520 designed this world to be full and abundant, and sin corrupted that. 50 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:06,250 And so God has prepared eternity with. 51 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:08,640 With him that restores that. 52 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:13,120 If you don't know much about heaven, know that it's not up there 53 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:13,800 someplace. 54 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:19,120 It is this earth restored in the way that God intended it to be. 55 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:21,040 The way he planned it. 56 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:21,920 Sinless. 57 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:29,680 And it breaks my heart to think any of you would miss that 58 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:30,320 invitation. 59 00:03:32,650 --> 00:03:39,930 Please, please, please don't trade the trinkets of this world 60 00:03:40,890 --> 00:03:42,090 for God's best. 61 00:03:43,050 --> 00:03:43,770 Don't do it. 62 00:03:43,770 --> 00:03:44,730 It's not worth it. 63 00:03:46,970 --> 00:03:49,610 But if you don't want that, that's your choice. 64 00:03:50,490 --> 00:03:51,930 And God says the same thing. 65 00:03:52,010 --> 00:03:52,970 It's your choice. 66 00:03:53,610 --> 00:03:54,970 He's not going to force you. 67 00:03:56,410 --> 00:03:59,530 But don't miss it just because you didn't respond to the invitation 68 00:03:59,690 --> 00:04:02,830 because other priorities were too pressing. 69 00:04:03,870 --> 00:04:06,630 Because you said, well, I'll get around to that. 70 00:04:06,630 --> 00:04:10,830 I'll get around to my spiritual life eventually, or after 71 00:04:10,830 --> 00:04:14,030 I'm through this, then I'll get serious. 72 00:04:14,510 --> 00:04:15,310 You know what? 73 00:04:15,950 --> 00:04:17,790 I've lived a lot more years than you have. 74 00:04:17,950 --> 00:04:19,950 There's always another this. 75 00:04:20,830 --> 00:04:23,390 Always, always, always. 76 00:04:24,910 --> 00:04:27,350 If you can't make it a priority now, you won't make it a 77 00:04:27,350 --> 00:04:28,030 priority then. 78 00:04:29,420 --> 00:04:33,820 So I want to pull from this story three insights that hopefully 79 00:04:33,820 --> 00:04:34,700 are helpful to us. 80 00:04:34,700 --> 00:04:37,820 To understand where Jesus was saying that, I want to ask three 81 00:04:37,820 --> 00:04:39,500 questions in response to Jesus. 82 00:04:40,700 --> 00:04:42,620 The first insight is this. 83 00:04:42,620 --> 00:04:44,220 The feast is prepared. 84 00:04:45,980 --> 00:04:49,100 Jesus says, the king has prepared the feast. 85 00:04:50,220 --> 00:04:51,900 Well, I don't know if you've ever had a feast. 86 00:04:52,220 --> 00:04:54,940 I had one that was so memorable, I'll never forget it in 87 00:04:54,940 --> 00:04:55,340 my life. 88 00:04:56,450 --> 00:05:02,450 I took my daughter, before she got sick, to Harry Potter World. 89 00:05:03,090 --> 00:05:04,490 She wanted to go to Universal. 90 00:05:04,490 --> 00:05:07,490 She loves Harry Potter, and her brother didn't want to go. 91 00:05:08,210 --> 00:05:11,170 Mom was glad not to go, so I did. 92 00:05:11,489 --> 00:05:14,490 So I took her to Harry Potter World and we had the biggest time 93 00:05:14,490 --> 00:05:14,850 ever. 94 00:05:15,330 --> 00:05:16,570 And she wrote everything. 95 00:05:16,570 --> 00:05:17,890 She wore her cape. 96 00:05:18,130 --> 00:05:20,290 She got picked by the guy for the wand. 97 00:05:22,220 --> 00:05:26,260 She'd go get in line and ride a ride, and I'd get in line, something 98 00:05:26,260 --> 00:05:26,780 behind her. 99 00:05:26,780 --> 00:05:29,420 So when she came off the ride, she could take my place and go again. 100 00:05:29,740 --> 00:05:33,340 We had the greatest time, and by lunchtime we were starving. 101 00:05:33,740 --> 00:05:36,580 So we went to this restaurant and they had all this stuff you could 102 00:05:36,580 --> 00:05:37,380 order and whatever. 103 00:05:37,380 --> 00:05:38,780 And they had a feast for four. 104 00:05:40,460 --> 00:05:41,820 And he started to order. 105 00:05:41,900 --> 00:05:44,180 I said, don't worry about what she wants. 106 00:05:44,180 --> 00:05:45,420 We want the feast for four. 107 00:05:45,580 --> 00:05:46,980 He said, there are only two of you. 108 00:05:46,980 --> 00:05:48,420 I said, yeah, that's what we want. 109 00:05:48,420 --> 00:05:49,660 We want the feast for four. 110 00:05:51,140 --> 00:05:52,860 And we did, and it was fabulous. 111 00:05:52,860 --> 00:05:55,900 Now she's a vegetarian, so I got all the ribs, I got all the meat. 112 00:05:55,900 --> 00:05:56,660 It was fabulous. 113 00:05:56,660 --> 00:05:57,300 I loved it. 114 00:05:57,540 --> 00:05:58,900 We ate so much. 115 00:05:58,980 --> 00:06:00,740 And then they brought four desserts. 116 00:06:01,860 --> 00:06:02,900 It was incredible. 117 00:06:04,420 --> 00:06:05,540 A real feast. 118 00:06:05,939 --> 00:06:07,940 We still teased about the feast for four. 119 00:06:08,340 --> 00:06:10,820 And she wrote on her Facebook, I got to tell you, this was a dad. 120 00:06:10,820 --> 00:06:14,260 She wrote on her Facebook afterward, best day ever. 121 00:06:15,470 --> 00:06:17,310 And I cut that out and I keep it on my desk. 122 00:06:17,550 --> 00:06:18,510 Best day ever. 123 00:06:19,390 --> 00:06:23,470 When it's lavish and it's so overwhelming, it is the best day 124 00:06:23,470 --> 00:06:23,870 ever. 125 00:06:24,910 --> 00:06:27,150 And God's kingdom is a celebration. 126 00:06:28,270 --> 00:06:29,710 Heaven is a celebration. 127 00:06:29,790 --> 00:06:34,310 If you don't know much about heaven, you need to learn about heaven. 128 00:06:34,310 --> 00:06:36,150 There's a great book, Randy Alcorn. 129 00:06:36,150 --> 00:06:37,030 It's called Heaven. 130 00:06:37,030 --> 00:06:38,750 It's easy to find on the Internet. 131 00:06:38,990 --> 00:06:42,030 Find Randy Elkhorn's book Heaven on the Internet. 132 00:06:42,530 --> 00:06:44,530 It will make you look forward to heaven. 133 00:06:45,170 --> 00:06:47,730 I'm probably going to get there before most of you do. 134 00:06:48,930 --> 00:06:52,250 And while I love this life, heaven is amazing when you really 135 00:06:52,250 --> 00:06:53,090 understand it. 136 00:06:55,090 --> 00:06:58,609 The kingdom of God in heaven is a celebration. 137 00:06:58,930 --> 00:07:00,530 The kingdom is about joy. 138 00:07:01,570 --> 00:07:02,490 It's not limited. 139 00:07:02,490 --> 00:07:03,330 It's not boring. 140 00:07:03,330 --> 00:07:04,770 It's not sitting on a cloud. 141 00:07:04,850 --> 00:07:08,570 It's about joy and fulfillment of this world as God intended it 142 00:07:08,570 --> 00:07:08,930 to be. 143 00:07:10,710 --> 00:07:14,470 But that invitation to that celebration is not earned. 144 00:07:15,270 --> 00:07:16,150 It's just given. 145 00:07:17,030 --> 00:07:18,150 It's freely given. 146 00:07:19,190 --> 00:07:21,030 It's not a prize for being good. 147 00:07:21,910 --> 00:07:25,030 It's the family coming back home together. 148 00:07:27,350 --> 00:07:31,670 But Jesus said in the parable, many refuse to come. 149 00:07:32,710 --> 00:07:34,790 Now we have the parable in Mark, which is read. 150 00:07:35,190 --> 00:07:37,270 Excuse me, in Matthew, which was read first today. 151 00:07:37,270 --> 00:07:40,770 It's also in Luke, because Jesus told these stories over and 152 00:07:40,770 --> 00:07:41,530 over and over again. 153 00:07:41,770 --> 00:07:44,730 These weren't, you know, he was an itinerant evangelist, which 154 00:07:44,730 --> 00:07:47,170 means he went a lot of different places, so he'd tell the 155 00:07:47,170 --> 00:07:47,770 same stories. 156 00:07:47,850 --> 00:07:50,970 So Matthew wrote it down one time from one version. 157 00:07:50,970 --> 00:07:53,730 Luke wrote it down another time, same story, just little different 158 00:07:53,730 --> 00:07:54,690 details on them. 159 00:07:54,690 --> 00:07:59,730 But in Luke, he says one couldn't come because they had a 160 00:07:59,730 --> 00:08:03,050 field they had to take care of, and one couldn't come because 161 00:08:03,210 --> 00:08:05,570 they had a yoke of oxen they had to take care of. 162 00:08:05,570 --> 00:08:05,850 And. 163 00:08:06,050 --> 00:08:08,210 And one couldn't come because he just got married. 164 00:08:09,410 --> 00:08:12,210 You know, none of the excuses are sinful. 165 00:08:13,490 --> 00:08:15,490 None of the excuses are sinful. 166 00:08:15,890 --> 00:08:19,450 They're about work, responsibility and relationships, 167 00:08:19,450 --> 00:08:20,210 important things. 168 00:08:23,410 --> 00:08:28,370 You see, the danger of missing eternity is not that you're not doing 169 00:08:28,370 --> 00:08:29,090 important things. 170 00:08:29,090 --> 00:08:30,610 It's misordered priorities. 171 00:08:32,540 --> 00:08:33,660 Misordered priorities. 172 00:08:34,620 --> 00:08:37,420 And so Luke says they all began to make excuses. 173 00:08:39,100 --> 00:08:40,140 Made excuses. 174 00:08:40,220 --> 00:08:42,460 That phrase is chilling. 175 00:08:43,740 --> 00:08:47,020 You see, drift is rarely dramatic. 176 00:08:48,300 --> 00:08:49,500 Rarely dramatic. 177 00:08:49,500 --> 00:08:50,460 It's gradual. 178 00:08:51,180 --> 00:08:52,860 It's shared by other people. 179 00:08:53,500 --> 00:08:55,820 It seems reasonable to put it off. 180 00:08:57,670 --> 00:09:00,150 Nobody plans to drift away from God. 181 00:09:01,030 --> 00:09:05,390 They just kind of get absorbed into the current of the culture around 182 00:09:05,390 --> 00:09:05,750 them. 183 00:09:07,110 --> 00:09:13,110 And when distraction is normal and busyness is applauded. 184 00:09:13,270 --> 00:09:18,470 In our culture, when urgency is reserved for everything except 185 00:09:18,470 --> 00:09:21,910 eternity, drift becomes invisible. 186 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:27,440 But it takes over when we're not purposeful. 187 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:31,520 We're not purposeful about the most important relationship in our 188 00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:31,840 life. 189 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:35,800 Drift begins if you're in a relationship, but I'm in a relationship 190 00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:39,080 with my wife and I'm not purposeful about that relationship, 191 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:40,080 drift will begin. 192 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:42,000 The same thing is true with God. 193 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:48,770 When we just don't pay attention, gravity takes over and 194 00:09:48,770 --> 00:09:49,930 we just get pulled away. 195 00:09:51,930 --> 00:09:56,490 If you don't anchor yourself in what matters most, life will slowly 196 00:09:56,490 --> 00:09:58,170 pull you someplace else. 197 00:09:58,490 --> 00:09:59,370 All the time. 198 00:10:01,050 --> 00:10:04,810 They won't feel rebellious, it'll just feel busy. 199 00:10:06,810 --> 00:10:08,730 That's what Jesus was trying to tell us. 200 00:10:09,690 --> 00:10:13,930 You see, spiritual erosion rarely happens at a moment of crisis. 201 00:10:13,930 --> 00:10:17,780 It happens through a thousand unexamined decisions. 202 00:10:19,140 --> 00:10:22,940 Just stuff where we just went along rather than really thought 203 00:10:22,940 --> 00:10:23,460 it through. 204 00:10:24,340 --> 00:10:29,460 The kingdom of God, Jesus is telling us in this parable, is rarely 205 00:10:29,700 --> 00:10:31,060 rejected outright. 206 00:10:31,060 --> 00:10:32,419 It's just postponed. 207 00:10:35,060 --> 00:10:36,660 It's just postponed. 208 00:10:37,220 --> 00:10:39,940 It's the tragedy of indifference. 209 00:10:41,710 --> 00:10:45,550 And then we see the seriousness of refusal in this story. 210 00:10:47,790 --> 00:10:49,870 The king responds with a judgment. 211 00:10:49,870 --> 00:10:50,750 It's pretty harsh. 212 00:10:51,070 --> 00:10:51,710 Hang on. 213 00:10:53,070 --> 00:10:56,190 The master of the house, Luke said, became angry. 214 00:10:57,550 --> 00:11:03,030 Not irritated, not inconvenienced, not frustrated. 215 00:11:03,030 --> 00:11:06,590 He became angry that people wouldn't respond to the invitation. 216 00:11:06,590 --> 00:11:06,990 Why? 217 00:11:08,670 --> 00:11:11,870 Because the indifference toward grace is not neutral. 218 00:11:12,750 --> 00:11:15,950 It's a rejection of God's generosity. 219 00:11:16,590 --> 00:11:21,350 And we cannot treat ultimate things without consequences and ignore 220 00:11:21,350 --> 00:11:21,630 them. 221 00:11:22,350 --> 00:11:23,669 You see, grace is free. 222 00:11:23,669 --> 00:11:24,310 We know that. 223 00:11:24,310 --> 00:11:25,870 We've talked about that so many times. 224 00:11:26,110 --> 00:11:29,150 Because Jesus paid the ultimate price for it. 225 00:11:30,670 --> 00:11:33,070 And because of that, it is not trivial. 226 00:11:34,070 --> 00:11:37,590 It's not take it or leave it without consequences. 227 00:11:41,350 --> 00:11:44,670 So Jesus said, when the people didn't respond to the invitation, 228 00:11:44,670 --> 00:11:48,230 he said, go out in the streets and invite everybody. 229 00:11:49,590 --> 00:11:53,510 And Luke, he says, bring the poor and the crippled and the lame 230 00:11:53,510 --> 00:11:54,390 and the maimed. 231 00:11:55,910 --> 00:11:57,590 Those words are not an accident. 232 00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:05,320 You see, those who assume they belong declined to come because they 233 00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:06,080 were busy. 234 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:11,120 Those who never imagined they belonged were welcomed. 235 00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:18,800 The kingdom entrance is not about your resume and it's not about 236 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:19,800 your family legacy. 237 00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:22,080 And they're all great going church people. 238 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:29,090 It's not about your spiritual pedigree is built on the high cost 239 00:12:29,090 --> 00:12:34,290 of grace, only on the high cost of grace. 240 00:12:35,730 --> 00:12:40,450 You see, exposure does not equal belonging. 241 00:12:41,410 --> 00:12:43,330 Attending chapel is great. 242 00:12:43,330 --> 00:12:44,210 I'm glad you're here. 243 00:12:44,690 --> 00:12:46,370 Growing up in church is wonderful. 244 00:12:46,450 --> 00:12:47,250 Glad you did. 245 00:12:48,050 --> 00:12:50,450 Being around a Christian community like this is great. 246 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:54,440 But presence is not the same as surrender. 247 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:58,680 Like we sang this morning, surrender. 248 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:05,640 You can't enter the king's banquet without surrender. 249 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:09,160 A transformation. 250 00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:14,280 And that's what he talks about when he talks about how one guest 251 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:17,440 came and was there in the banquet and didn't have on the right 252 00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:17,960 clothes. 253 00:13:18,690 --> 00:13:22,210 You see, in those days, it was very traditional for people to have 254 00:13:22,210 --> 00:13:23,250 just wedding clothes. 255 00:13:23,250 --> 00:13:25,570 The only place they'd ever wear it was the wedding. 256 00:13:25,730 --> 00:13:31,130 Or the host would provide clothes for everybody to make them 257 00:13:31,130 --> 00:13:32,370 included in the family. 258 00:13:32,450 --> 00:13:36,050 So nobody stood out as not being properly dressed. 259 00:13:36,130 --> 00:13:37,170 And that was important. 260 00:13:39,250 --> 00:13:43,850 But the scripture says, the guy came and the king said, why aren't 261 00:13:43,850 --> 00:13:44,850 you in wedding clothes? 262 00:13:48,830 --> 00:13:54,990 You know, when women get an invitation, I don't know if this 263 00:13:55,310 --> 00:13:56,110 makes sense. 264 00:13:56,270 --> 00:13:57,390 It does it in my house. 265 00:13:57,630 --> 00:14:00,510 Women get an invitation to something really fancy. 266 00:14:00,510 --> 00:14:02,590 The first thing they think is, I don't have anything to wear. 267 00:14:03,550 --> 00:14:05,550 Guys go, I just put on whatever. 268 00:14:05,630 --> 00:14:06,430 It doesn't matter. 269 00:14:06,430 --> 00:14:07,390 But not for women. 270 00:14:07,390 --> 00:14:08,830 I got to have the right thing to wear. 271 00:14:09,390 --> 00:14:11,470 Well, that's a pretty good concept for all of us. 272 00:14:11,940 --> 00:14:17,460 If you're going to come to the banquet, the feast that Jesus is 273 00:14:17,460 --> 00:14:21,100 offering, there has to be the right thing to wear. 274 00:14:21,100 --> 00:14:22,260 The transformation. 275 00:14:23,060 --> 00:14:26,420 But God provides the transformation. 276 00:14:26,900 --> 00:14:28,099 We don't have to. 277 00:14:28,580 --> 00:14:30,580 We just have to accept the invitation. 278 00:14:30,580 --> 00:14:33,940 And when you come, he gives you the wedding clothes. 279 00:14:35,140 --> 00:14:40,630 And as you saw heard in the scripture, if you don't wear them, 280 00:14:41,270 --> 00:14:44,150 the consequences are enormous. 281 00:14:45,590 --> 00:14:50,470 Well, it's an invitation you can't ignore because it's personal. 282 00:14:52,230 --> 00:14:55,030 The preparation is complete for the banquet. 283 00:14:55,110 --> 00:14:59,710 The excuses are predictable, Jesus says, but the consequences 284 00:14:59,710 --> 00:15:00,310 are real. 285 00:15:02,070 --> 00:15:04,310 And transformation is necessary. 286 00:15:05,100 --> 00:15:05,980 I surrender. 287 00:15:06,060 --> 00:15:08,140 All is necessary. 288 00:15:09,580 --> 00:15:12,700 You see, the difference is not access to the banquet. 289 00:15:13,100 --> 00:15:14,940 The difference is the response. 290 00:15:16,460 --> 00:15:17,580 Some are too busy. 291 00:15:19,420 --> 00:15:21,019 Some are too casual about it. 292 00:15:21,020 --> 00:15:22,060 Not that big a deal. 293 00:15:22,380 --> 00:15:23,100 No, it is. 294 00:15:23,980 --> 00:15:27,580 Some are hostile, and some are surrendered. 295 00:15:30,390 --> 00:15:36,230 You've been invited into the joy of the king in the kingdom. 296 00:15:37,110 --> 00:15:38,230 So three questions. 297 00:15:38,710 --> 00:15:44,150 First is, what excuse are you using to delay your response? 298 00:15:45,590 --> 00:15:46,549 What excuse? 299 00:15:48,390 --> 00:15:50,630 Excuses sound reasonable. 300 00:15:54,070 --> 00:15:58,420 Can't build a resume and avoid the reckoning. 301 00:15:59,460 --> 00:16:05,140 If you keep postponing Christ, postponement becomes your decision. 302 00:16:06,580 --> 00:16:07,940 You don't have to decide. 303 00:16:08,100 --> 00:16:12,340 You did just by postponing over and over and over again. 304 00:16:13,460 --> 00:16:18,380 So the question is, what in your life outranks the best thing 305 00:16:18,380 --> 00:16:19,140 in your life? 306 00:16:20,500 --> 00:16:24,500 Because if you're not connected to God and your relationship 307 00:16:24,500 --> 00:16:28,420 is not growing in Christ, something else is more important 308 00:16:28,500 --> 00:16:29,060 to you. 309 00:16:30,580 --> 00:16:31,780 Is it achievement? 310 00:16:32,820 --> 00:16:33,540 Admirable. 311 00:16:34,020 --> 00:16:35,300 Is it independence? 312 00:16:36,180 --> 00:16:37,300 Is it comfort? 313 00:16:38,180 --> 00:16:40,100 Is it your reputation among friends? 314 00:16:41,380 --> 00:16:47,540 You see, delay feels harmless, but it hardens us against God. 315 00:16:49,620 --> 00:16:53,550 We get corroded and it's harder to get back. 316 00:16:54,590 --> 00:16:57,390 The danger is not that you say no to God. 317 00:16:57,390 --> 00:16:59,230 The danger is you say, not now. 318 00:17:00,670 --> 00:17:01,390 Not now. 319 00:17:02,030 --> 00:17:04,270 I will, but not now. 320 00:17:08,350 --> 00:17:13,310 What excuses are you using to delay your response? 321 00:17:14,030 --> 00:17:14,750 Second question. 322 00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:19,240 Is this. 323 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:20,120 There we go. 324 00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:25,240 You're trying to attend the banquet without putting on the garment. 325 00:17:26,360 --> 00:17:29,080 You see, proximity is not transformation. 326 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:32,760 Chapel attendance is not surrender. 327 00:17:34,280 --> 00:17:38,400 Christian culture at a Christian university is not Christian 328 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:38,840 faith. 329 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:43,080 The man without the garments was inside. 330 00:17:44,030 --> 00:17:45,390 He was inside. 331 00:17:46,350 --> 00:17:50,910 And Jesus said, no, you're not dressed properly. 332 00:17:52,430 --> 00:17:54,510 You're going where there's gnashing of teeth. 333 00:17:56,110 --> 00:18:00,350 You can't enter the kingdom wearing self reliance. 334 00:18:01,790 --> 00:18:07,550 Christ provides the garment, but pride refuses to put it on. 335 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:14,440 The most dangerous place you can be is to be close to the truth, 336 00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:16,760 but unchanged by it. 337 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:21,400 Hear that? 338 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:26,520 The most dangerous place you can be is to be close to the truth 339 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:31,080 like you are here, and be unchanged by it. 340 00:18:34,120 --> 00:18:37,470 Are you trying to attend the banquet without putting on the garment? 341 00:18:38,190 --> 00:18:40,190 Just being around it doesn't get you there. 342 00:18:40,430 --> 00:18:41,390 Scripture's clear. 343 00:18:45,070 --> 00:18:46,190 Well, the third question. 344 00:18:48,750 --> 00:18:52,110 If you understood the urgency, would your life look different? 345 00:18:54,030 --> 00:18:57,870 When something's truly valuable, urgency follows naturally. 346 00:18:59,550 --> 00:19:02,360 Heaven is not indifferent. 347 00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:04,440 It's insistent. 348 00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:06,040 You got to be ready. 349 00:19:07,080 --> 00:19:10,920 What you treat as urgent reveals what you believe, ultimately, 350 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:12,520 where your core values are. 351 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:19,440 And if grace isn't amazing to you, the invitation's not going to 352 00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:19,960 move you. 353 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:24,280 You have to understand how amazing grace is. 354 00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:30,190 That we are sinners, separated from God, who is holy and pure, and 355 00:19:30,190 --> 00:19:32,190 we can't be reconnected with God. 356 00:19:32,190 --> 00:19:36,390 Except that Jesus paid the price on the cross for our sins. 357 00:19:36,550 --> 00:19:38,070 We should be on that cross. 358 00:19:38,310 --> 00:19:42,790 He paid the price on the cross for our sins and gives us grace to 359 00:19:42,790 --> 00:19:48,550 be rejoined with the Father who made us and loves us. 360 00:19:51,590 --> 00:19:53,030 Grace is amazing. 361 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:56,880 Don't ever let it not be amazing to you. 362 00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:03,600 Well, it's an invitation we really can't ignore. 363 00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:08,480 So the question is not whether God has spoken now. 364 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:10,160 These are words of Jesus. 365 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:11,040 He's real clear. 366 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:14,320 The question is, will you respond to the King? 367 00:20:15,520 --> 00:20:17,680 Will you receive the grace provided? 368 00:20:19,370 --> 00:20:21,050 Will you treat it as urgent? 369 00:20:22,650 --> 00:20:25,290 The excuses are reasonable. 370 00:20:26,170 --> 00:20:28,650 The drift is quiet. 371 00:20:29,450 --> 00:20:30,570 Nobody's going to notice. 372 00:20:30,730 --> 00:20:31,930 Maybe you won't notice. 373 00:20:32,890 --> 00:20:34,650 And the delay feels safe. 374 00:20:36,730 --> 00:20:40,330 The delay feels safe until it's not. 375 00:20:42,250 --> 00:20:43,210 Let's pray together. 376 00:20:43,370 --> 00:20:44,330 Our benediction. 377 00:20:45,090 --> 00:20:50,130 No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what 378 00:20:50,130 --> 00:20:52,850 God has prepared for those who love him. 379 00:20:53,090 --> 00:20:53,770 God bless. 380 00:20:53,770 --> 00:20:54,610 Have a good day.