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What's your response to Bill Maher's comment on HBO? If you believe in Judgment Day, I have to seriously question your judgment. If you believe you are in a long-term relationship with an all-powerful space daddy who will, after you die, party with you forever, there is an electrical fire going on in your head.
At the end of the day, is magic underwear really that much crazier than giant arcs, virgin births, or talking bushes? You're either a rationalist or you're not. And the good news, Maher said, is a recent poll found 20 of adults under 30 say they are rationalists and have figured out that Santa Claus and Jesus are really the same guy.
What would your response be? If you could say one word to Bill Maher, what would you say? One word and one word alone. Repent. That's our topic for this morning. Repentance. We were talking about repentance last week, and I usually have some folks try to encourage me, thank you for the message I learned about the Bible today, and I appreciate that.
But I got lots of comments about the message last week saying, I want to know more about repentance. What is repentance? And we want to dig deeper into repentance. And so that's like saying sickum to a mad dog for me.
Repentance is a very important topic, and so we're going to do that this morning. And I have two simple points that I want to drive home. Number one, man is responsible to repent. And number two, man is unable to repent.
One of the greatest preachers who ever lived, Chrysostom, his name means golden mouth or golden throat, he said that repentance was the fittest subject for him to preach before the emperor. And so if that's the fittest subject to preach before an emperor, how about Bethlehem Bible Church as we continue this and discuss what is repentance.
Man is responsible to repent, but man is unable to repent. And you're going to see very quickly that is why we need Jesus. That is why we need the Savior. Since man is responsible, that means we don't repent and we're guilty before God.
And since man is unable to repent, we need God's salvation. Maybe my favorite all-time definition of repentance is found by the words of Martin Lloyd-Jones. Studies in the Sermons on the Mount. He wrote, repentance means that you realize that you are a guilty, vile sinner in the presence of God, that you deserve the wrath and punishment of God, that you are hell-bound.
It means that you begin to realize that this thing called sin is in you, that you long to get rid of it, and that you turn your back on it in every shape and form. You renounce the world, whatever the cost, the world in its mind and outlook as well as its practice, and you deny yourself, take up the cross and go after Christ.
Your nearest and dearest may call you a fool, or Bill Maher for that matter, or say you have religious mania. You may suffer, but it makes no difference. That is repentance. So let's look this morning at Luke chapter 13 to start.
Man is responsible to repent. Every unbeliever is responsible to repent. And if you're a Christian, you know you have repented, but it's good to know how to preach the gospel, what to say in light of the gospel.
Every unbeliever must repent. Every person who's ever been born, of course, except for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, must repent. Man is responsible to repent. That's point number one. You must repent and believe.
No one has ever gone to heaven without repentance. Nobody has ever received forgiveness without repentance. Nobody's ever right with God without repentance. To think differently. One of the things that Luke chapter 13 talks about is, when someone tragically dies, what's the response?
We'll all have to face, sooner or later, our own death. You can't have someone die for you now, can you? Death by proxy. You stand in for me while I die, while you die. And this passage here in Luke chapter 13, verses 1 through 5, is fascinating to me because Jesus is going to bring up the concept of theodicy.
What about evil in the world? How many people do you know that say, how could a good God allow this tragedy to happen? If God is really all-powerful and all-loving, how could He let something like this go on?
And Jesus turns the why question, why is there suffering in the world, to the question for every listener, including you, including me. Not why, but what should your response be in light of tragedy? Instead of saying, let me correct all your views on theodicy and why is there suffering, how could a holy God allow evil, ordain evil, permit evil, why do bad things happen to good people?
Tragedies, Jesus is going to say, should teach us something, and they're going to teach us, as you know this morning, in light of the context of the sermon, repentance is the key. Sudden death is possible, is probable, death is inevitable, so what's the response?
Now, before we look at 13, let me show you the context in chapter 12. Teaching a hermeneutics class on Tuesday night, I would be in grave error if I didn't set you up for the context. Luke 12, verse 4, I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do.
But I warn you, whom to fear? Fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Skip down to verse 49, if you would please, in Luke chapter 12, and you're going to see the context.
Signs of judgment. Future judgment signs are all around. Pay attention. One day you have to stand before God. It's appointed for man to die once, and then what? Judgment. Who wants to think about death, but we need to.
Verse 49 of Luke 12, I came to cast fire on the earth, and would it be already kindled, or would that it were already kindled? I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished.
Do you think, verse 51, that I have come to give peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on, in one house there will be five divided, three against two, and two against three.
They will be divided, father against son, and son against father, mother against daughter, and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.
He also said to the crowds, When you see a cloud arising in the west, you say at once, Shower is coming. So it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, There will be scorching heat. And it happens.
So you can understand times and weather and skies and meteorological things. Then he says, you hypocrites, you know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
Leading into Luke 13, how do you interpret the times of tragedy? When you see a tragedy, what's your interpretation? Well, certainly there are things like compassion, sorry this happened to them, kindness, grief.
But when the clouds start coming and you say, Hmm, there's rain, that's kind of a no-brainer. And you should also say, I see a tragedy, what's my response to the tragedy? Luke 13, verse 1. There were some present at that very time who told him, Jesus, about the Galileans.
I think Jesus was a Galilean. Whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He answered them, Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered in this way?
Now in the original language, 13 .1 has a marker that ties it back to 12. ESV just says, there were some present. But there's a marker. Some translations say, now, at that very time. Do you know the sign of the times?
How do you interpret life? When you watch the news, when you see things on TV, when tragedies come up, when the twin towers fall, what's your theological hermeneutical grid? How do you interpret these things?
Jesus now gives an illustration. Pilate, that man who ruled ruthlessly for 10 years, he had all kinds of murders in his resume. And this one is particularly heinous. You've got to go into the temple area where Gentiles aren't allowed.
Pilate sends his henchmen into this area of the temple, probably Passover, where the lay people can do their own sacrifices. And they're sacrificing things in the temple close by. And Pilate's people go through the court of the women, through the court of Gentiles, through the court of women, into the temple and kill these people.
Now remember, the Jewish folks at this time, a lot of them were like Job's friends. Job's friends would say what? Job, you're suffering? Why? Must be doing something badly. Hey, Jesus, these Galileans were really bad.
They're not even saying Pilate's really bad. They're not saying that guy is a ruthless cutthroat. He's massacring these people. What's going on with Pilate? What's going on with these Galileans? Jesus, could you give us a little political commentary?
This is O 'Reilly Factor. What would he say? Jesus doesn't do any political commentary. He says it's now time to think about your soul. Pilate, yes, was ruthless. He polluted the sanctuary of the temple, yes.
But instead of saying, you know, Pilate's bad, your leaders are bad, the government's bad, the president's bad, Jesus says life is fragile and you too face judgment. Are you right with God, Jesus says?
He responded with a question. I thought about writing a book someday, seriously, or just going through it in my mind. All the questions Jesus asked. Sometimes it's good when he asks you a question. Other times it's not so good.
And he answered them. He answered with a question. Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered in this way? Yeah, they were the bad ones. When bad things happen, you're bad.
His disciples asked him about the man blind from birth. Rabbi, who sinned? This man or his parents that he was born blind? That was the culture of the day. These Galileans, Jesus, were really, really bad.
Therefore, they got what was coming to them. Measure for measure. Now, sometimes this is true, right? Herod says, everybody worship me. Next thing you know, he's getting eaten by worms. So what's Jesus' response?
Verse 3. And here is the absolute necessity of repentance. To think differently. Verse 3. Is there really any difference between getting killed by Pilate in the sanctuary? By the way, don't you think you'd feel safe there?
Where do you feel safe and where do you feel scared? I've been in some bad places in the world where I felt really uncomfortable, where I just feel like I just want to keep looking behind my head. How do you feel today in church?
Do you feel safe? I mean, really, short of some kind of weirdo coming in here, I feel safe when I'm at church. Well, most of the time. But it's a safe place. It's a safe haven. Well, how much more the temple?
You think you're safe, you think everything's fine. And now comes Pilate's henchmen. But what's really the difference? Whether Pilate kills you, you die of old age, you die of a heart attack, you have an anaphylactic shock eating hazelnuts, you choke on food, you get a sickness.
What's the difference? Everybody dies. Every person who was alive on the planet at that time died. Stands before God. Jesus says, I tell you, no. You're trying to make the connection. Galileans were really bad.
They got what they deserved. No. I tell you, no, Jesus says. That's not the right way to think about it. The right way to think about it is, what about me? I'm going to stand before God for eternity. And then it's not going to work out so well where I said, you know, I love pleasure more than Jesus.
I love illicit sex more than Jesus. I love covetous more than Jesus. And I, on earth, acted this way. I'm willing to go to hell for my love of sin. And then there is going to be hell. Whoever would save his life will lose it.
Same kind of parish language. The judgment of God. So that's why Jesus says, I've come to call the righteous. No, but I've come to call not the righteous, but sinners to repentance. If you die when you're 20 years old or you die when you're 80 years old, what's the difference in the sense that you still have to stand before God?
That's why repentance is so necessary. No one is saved without true repentance. Disasters strike. Then what? Verse 4, there's another seemingly safe place to be. Tower of Siloam. There's a tower there by the aqueduct on the south side of Jerusalem.
So Jesus now goes to another illustration, but this one doesn't have henchmen. It doesn't have these secondary causes of bad men. This is going to be something that the insurance agents would call, what, an act of God.
So what about the act of God? We've got Pilate's henchmen and now we have the act of God. Or those 18 on whom the tower in Siloam fell. We don't know what happened. The scaffolding gave way. It could have been an earthquake.
And killed them. Do you think that they were worse? Literally the word is debtors. Remember the Lord taught us to pray. Forgive us our debts. So when we sin we have a debt against God. We owe God something.
That's the language here. Do you think that they were worse debtors or offenders, ESV says, than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? Same thing. These people have more of a debt. I have less of a debt.
They've got to pay their debt now. Jesus says the exact same thing as he does earlier. Now he says it in verse 5. No, I tell you, don't make that connection. When it's cloudy out and the clouds are coming, you say, hmm, rain.
When that wind is coming this way, oh, it's going to be really hot. When those gray clouds come over Massachusetts last night, you said what? It's going to snow afoot. And when you see someone die in a tragedy, you say what?
Jesus said to you, here's what you should say. Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Now, likewise doesn't mean just as suddenly everybody here is going to die a tragic death and the last second is going to happen, something is going to happen in one second, rather, you're going to die.
No, likewise meaning you're just going to all die. He repeats it. Verse 3, verse 5. And when you take a look at Luke chapter 13, verses 1 through 5, how many times can you count the word all? All, all, all, all.
So, of course, I have to ask you the question, have you repented? Have you repented? People flouting God and putting their fist in God's face. I'm safe. This is one of those warnings, red alerts, consider your soul, consider your ways.
You might not die quickly, you might not die suddenly, but you will die in a secure place, what you thought was secure. And if you're sitting there living life now thinking about all the people who sin more than you do, you're not thinking rightly, you're seeing the sun, the wind and the meteorological signs and you're thinking the wrong way.
One man wrote it this way. Are those 2 ,749 on whom the twin towers in Manhattan fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all the other men who dwelt in New York? We're all sinful people and we deserve judgment and we must repent.
Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to all men that all people everywhere should repent. Do you not think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?
And the good news is everyone who does repent, will they be saved? You've got to repent and if you do, you will certainly be saved. And you come to Christ, He will receive you. Man is responsible to repent.
Outline point number two. Man is unable to repent. Man is responsible, man is unable. All this is driving us to, we need the Lord and His life and death. We need a Savior. We can't do things on our own.
Man is unable to repent. Do these verses sound familiar to you? And then He said, I beg you, Father, to send Him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that He may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
But Abraham said, they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear Him. And He said, no, Father, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent. He said to them, if they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.
We have to repent, but we can't repent, so what gives? Why is repentance called an evangelical grace? Because it's a command, but it's also a gift. He to whom God exalted at His right hand as a Prince and Savior to grant repentance.
Why don't you turn your Bibles to John chapter 5, please, and I want you to just see how these go together. We're supposed to repent, we're commanded to repent, and yet we can't. So what are we going to do?
All driving us to the Gospel. John chapter 5. I know Pastor Steve was here not that long ago, but it's good to go back anyway to see that unbelief is just binding on people. We need a prior work of God so that we can repent.
No wonder 2 Timothy 2 says that God may grant them repentance. Men and women are depraved. Men and women are sinful and enslaved to sin. Unbelievers are just bound. You can't see the kingdom until you're born again.
You can't understand the Scriptures until you have a new nature. And look at how active this is. I call this purpose-driven life. John 5 .40. Oh, let's read verse 39 as well. Purposely driven against God.
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life. And it is they that bear witness about Me. Yet you refuse to come to Me that you may have life. You refuse it. You must, but you refuse because man has been affected by the fall.
John 5 .40. You could also translate it. You're deliberately making a choice not to come to Me. I remember when I would pick up my brothers and sisters when I was younger. And even, I guess, my own kids as well.
I can't mention them by name because I don't want to give dollars up this morning. Ever try to make yourself heavy if someone's picking you up? Ever have a brother or sister try to make themselves heavy?
I don't know if this is physically or with physics possible, but you try to pick up a kid and they're just trying to make themselves heavy. This is what unbelievers do in the face of God. I know I have to repent.
I know I have to think differently. I know I have to embrace the Son by faith and believe Him and understand how bad I am and how wicked I am. But I'm purposely going to make myself heavy, God. That's exactly what John 5 .40 is talking about.
I will not. That's why we need regeneration. That's why we need God to give us new life. Because we can't do it on our own. Reisinger said, When the Bible speaks of our being in bondage to sin, it means that our entire being, including our will, is under the bondage and power of sin.
We indeed need Christ to die and pay the penalty for our sin. Now listen. But we just as desperately need the Holy Spirit to give us a new nature in regeneration. It is the Holy Spirit's work in regeneration that enables us to savingly receive the atoning work of Christ in true faith.
All right, here's a quiz. Pretend this is Sunday school. It's a Sunday school hour. I know Pastor Steve likes quizzes. So you tell me which one of these best fits the Bible's description of how people come to Christ.
How did you come to Christ? Someone asked you, How did you come to Christ? What would you say of these right here in this list? Here's the quiz. I came by myself. I did it on my own. Any takers on that one?
Number two. I wanted to come and God helped me. I just have a little pastoral suggestion. Don't raise your hand until the very end because these now are getting harder. The first Pelagian one isn't right.
The second semi-Pelagian one isn't right. How about this one? God gave me sufficient grace to come because Christ died and I cooperated. Pelagianism isn't right. Semi-Pelagianism isn't right. Arminianism isn't right.
How about this one? God brought me and I did not resist. Sounds pretty good if you're Martin Luther. Or, finally, I'll tell you already this is the right one. God brought me to Christ. I must come to Christ with repentance and faith.
I cannot because of my sin. So God brought me. That's the answer. And, by the way, which one of those gives God the most glory? Which one of those, if we transport ourselves into Revelation 7 that Eric read this morning about wisdom and power and might and glory, who gets the praise for that?
We don't have the decisive role. We don't give God permission to save us. He gives us new life, repentance and faith. Let's turn to another passage that I just love. Acts 16 .14, please. Acts 16 .14. I'm taking another day, another Sunday to work through this issue because initially it seems difficult.
Unbelievers have to repent. Unbelievers can't repent. It seems like it's some conundrum, but if you remember what the fall does, you're going to be fine. Unbelievers must repent. Unbelievers can't repent.
That's why they need the help from Jesus, the Father and the Spirit. Acts 16 .14. Just not long ago, we were right by this little river outside of Berea that Acts 16 .14 talks about. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple.
By the way, we are in Europe where this is. Luke 16, Europe, Greece. Remember Paul? He's in Greece and he wants to go to Asia badly. Why does he want to go to Asia badly? To preach the Gospel. The Spirit of God won't let him go.
He wants to go to Asia badly. He's in Europe and he wants to go there, but he is not allowed to. So now he's in Berea in Europe and he meets his first Asian convert because the city of Thyatira is in Asia.
Acts 16 .14. Heard us. This person worshipped God. She was a monotheist and she heard us, whose heart the Lord opened. The ESV explains it this way. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshipper of God.
The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. The Lord opened her heart and she attended to the things which were spoken by Paul. True or false, Lydia listened to the Bible being preached.
She did. True or false, Lydia believed. True. Paul certainly preached to her the Gospel. The Lamb of God's gracious provision, Christ Jesus, the resurrected Savior. And here God opens Lydia's heart. She's blinded.
She's enslaved to sin. And God opens her heart. The Lord alone gets the credit for this. God is the cause and the ripple effect is Lydia's response. God is the author and the perfecter of our faith. Now here's where the rub comes and I know this is where it creates an uncomfortableness.
Here's the uncomfortableness. Man must repent. Man cannot repent unless God grants the gift of repentance. Why is one saved and another's lost? Well, humanly, one repented and the other one didn't. But divinely, God is the one who makes the difference.
Arminianism says the ultimate reason is man said no. And Paul says the ultimate reason is God says yes. That's the rub. Go to John chapter 6 if you would please. John 6, the drawing influence of the Holy Spirit.
Preach one passage that Steve already preached and preach now quickly a passage that I think he certainly wants to preach. Are you up to John 6 .41 yet? Okay, let me tell the congregation how it should be preached right now.
Alright. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. Steve said he's taking notes. I'm only going to hit the highlights so I'll let Steve unpack it. Because you know how Pastor Steve preaches, right? You want me to describe Pastor Steve's preaching?
Are you ready? Beep, beep, beep, beep. He just backs a truck up and unloads the riches of God's grace and that thing just comes into your life like a flood. Or a dumpster, dump truck, one of the two. I didn't mean dumpster.
I meant dump truck. Sorry. Okay, back to my notes. Good thing Ben's not here videotaping this thing today. But just quickly, Steve will go through it a little bit later. So the Jews, John 6 .41, grumbled about him because he said, I'm the bread that came down from heaven.
They said, is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? He's just a regular guy. How does he now say? How does this guy say? I've come down from heaven. Jesus answered them, do not grumble among yourselves.
No one, no man can come to me. Every man is spiritually impotent. Unless the father who sent me draws him and I will raise him up on that day. Does man really have the ability and the power and the strength and the courage and the fortitude to repent outside of the influence of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit?
Is God really trying to convert people and he just can't get the job done because his arm is too short to save? Ask yourself the question. Out of all the billions of the people on earth today, if Jesus is really trying to save them all but they just don't want, how weak is Jesus?
Because the majority of people, matter of fact, most everyone isn't a Christian. When I say most everyone, I'm talking about percentages. Of course, God is saving people all over the place. But if the percentages are there, why are there so many people who aren't saved?
Is the reason because God is too weak to do it? Trying to convert people, I'm just coming up short. The hymn writer Top Lady, and you know some of Top Lady's songs. A doctrine which represents omnipotence itself as wishing and trying and striving to no purpose.
According to this tenet, God in endeavoring is trying to convert sinners. May by sinners be foiled, defeated, and disappointed. If you take a look at the passage there, draw, John 6, verse 44. To draw, it means to drag.
God has to do something to the sinner to make him willing. Remember John 5, I'm not willing to come to you that I have life. John 6, the Father has to do something to that unwilling John 5 person to get him to come.
And what does the text say here? He draws, he drags, he attracts, he hauls. A fisherman drags a net, that's the word there. Paul and Silas being dragged by a mob. Rich men drag poor people into court, same word.
And the thing that's being dragged can't stop itself from being dragged. Now let's go to Luke chapter 14 as we wrap this morning up. Man is responsible to repent, man can't repent, so what has to happen?
And I want you to see the graciousness and the love of God who invites and calls unworthy sinners to dine with him. Jesus is a friend of sinners. He calls sinners from every walk to be his eternal banqueting guests.
The compassion of God. Ever think about this? The creator of the universe would want fellowship with me. God wants fellowship with me. If you're a Christian, God wants fellowship with you. How does that work in light of my past?
How many times did I have to spit in God's face for him to be angry with me? And God says, no, I want fellowship with you and I'm going to make it happen. Luke 14. Don't you love this passage? I don't know who you had over for Thanksgiving, but I guess it was probably friends and not a bunch of sinners.
Let's find out. Luke 12. He said also, excuse me, Luke 14 .12. He said also to the man who had invited him, When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid.
But when you give a feast, invite the poor and the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. See where this is going? For you will be repaid at the resurrection.
Now let's see how God fills his banquet hall. How do you fill your Thanksgiving table? Let's see if it's the same way God fills his banquet hall. Verse 15. When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said, Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God.
I see, Jesus, where you're going. You're saying a bunch of Gentiles are going to have fellowship with you, but I want you to know as a Jew, all us Jews are in too. Don't forget us good Jews, Jesus. We're Jewish, you know.
We're promised the kingdom, the feasts. Jesus, you're going to say the Gentiles are invited, and I need to kind of carve out a piece for us good Jews again. The Jews are going to make it. And now Jesus is going to test the sincerity and the integrity of that man's comment.
Verse 16. Here's the test. And when Jesus tests you with parables, you better buckle up. And he said to him, A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. Remember, there are punch lines to parables.
A man gave a great banquet, invited many. And at the time for the banquet, he sent his servants to those who had been invited to come for everything now is ready. There's a huge banquet. And back in those days, they didn't have iPhones and all kinds of calendars, and so you did the double invitation.
We do that kind of today sometimes. We say we're going to have the Christmas party. We announce it two weeks early on BBC Announce, and then the day of we say what? Don't forget the Christmas party's later today.
So back in those days, we're going to have this huge feast. By the way, people were super poor back then. They didn't hardly have any food. They didn't have a variety of food. And now there's going to be a huge production put on, and this is the feast of all feasts.
We told you a couple weeks ago it's going to come up, and now everything's prepared. Don't forget. Make sure you show up. A big to-do. This is Middle Eastern RSVP, the double deal. People had big meals back in those days, not for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but for celebrations of children, weddings, victories with war, victories in war.
And I don't know if you've been to Israel with us. We hope to go back in 2015, but when you wake up and you get kind of the breakfast spread of the Middle Eastern breakfast, and fish and bread and olives and cheeses and honey and dates and figs, like those kind of things for breakfast.
Now remember, here's the big picture. God is calling sinners to fellowship with Him. God is saying, I'm going to throw a big party for you because I want to be with you. This is celebration language. Calling sinners to the heavenly feast.
Often doesn't God describe the joy of heaven as those reclining together and eating? Because we kind of get the connection. I mean, what's the best of best in life? It's when you have your family all together and you just what?
Okay, I'll say it. You just pig out. Here's the best of best that life has to offer. You just put your calorie counter away. You put the Lose It app away or MyFitnessPal away. And you just think, I'm just going to eat.
Guilt free. Pass that food over here. This is the best. With friends and family, you're just eating. We can't really describe heaven, but if food with family is good, if fellowship with the ones you love the most, surrounded by a bunch of cheese fondue and chocolate or something, I don't know what you like to eat.
If that's good, how much greater is heaven going to be? If the President of the United States invited you to have a meal at the White House, my guess is it's going to be pretty good. So what is heaven going to be like?
Joy and pleasure and satisfaction. No calories too, I'm just thinking. It's going to just be better. Nobody had watches back in those days. We're going to have a huge feast. Now it's a reminder, today's the feast.
Everything's ready. This is going to be good. Verse 17. Who does this? Who's so gracious back in those days to have this huge feast for people who... At the dinner hour, He sent His slave to say to those who had been invited, verse 17, Come, for everything is ready now.
Everyone must repent. Everyone must believe. Everyone must come to Christ. The banquet's ready. Eternal riches are for you. Christ Jesus has died on the cross for sinners like you. He's been raised from the dead.
Come and feast. It reminds me of Isaiah 65. I have spread out my hands all day long to a rebellious people. It's not a secret deal. It's not a hidden deal. Here's the feast. And Israel only had herself to blame.
And if you won't come, you only have yourself to blame. Verse 18. Luke 14, 18. But they all alike, every one of them, began to make excuses. Literally, that Greek word means to be left aside, to beg off.
I'm just begging off. Here's an excuse. Now, start thinking about it. Before you got saved, and even the people you preach to now, you must repent, and here's the riches of forgiveness, and here's who Jesus is, eternal life with Him, fellowship with God.
And you preach that to them, and what do they say? They're full of these exact same excuses, aren't they? No, you know what? I think illicit sex is better than heaven, and I'm willing to go to hell for it.
They might not say that, but that's what they mean. And by the way, these excuses here aren't really like that. These aren't people saying, sorry, later today I've got to go murder some people. I'm busy.
These are just these carcinogenic excuses. The banquet's been prepared. Salvation has been accomplished. Look at the first excuse found in verse 18, possessions. I've got necessities to go on. I've got material things that I need to take care of.
Business comes before pleasure, you know. Best regards, count me as excused. The first said to Him, I bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused. Can't wait just a few hours to go check out your field?
You really buy things without looking at them? Maybe He was trying to twist this verse in Deuteronomy 20. Who is the man who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him depart and return to his house, lest he die in battle, and another man dedicate it.
So if you build a house, you should dedicate it. And by the way, I bought a house. I've got to go dedicate it. I have to do what the Scriptures say. Excuse number two. By the way, as I'm reading these things, if you're a Christian, you had excuses just like this, and so did I, but God has overcome these things.
He's the one that gets credit for it. And another said, I have bought 20 ,000 pounds of oxen, five yoke. Ten of those. And I go to examine them. Please have me excused. You really have to go now? It's the banquet.
This is not some kind of buffet. What are some of the buffets people like to go to today? This is not like the Golden Corral. What's the best restaurant around here? Anybody? What's your favorite restaurant in Worcester?
Sole proprietor? What else? O 'Connor's? Moe's? Kind of interesting group here. This is not, I'm sorry, since we're friends, I'll say it. This isn't Moe's, even though you can have it as favorite. But this is fine food and dining.
This is the kind of dining, there are so many forks and spoons, if you're Mike Abenroth, you just wait for other people to pick them up first because you don't know the right etiquette. Nah, you know what?
Got to get that thing at work done. I have to go live my life for a while. School, excuse number three comes up. First excuse is kind of material. Second excuse, it's kind of material stuff too. Now what about family?
Family first. Family, God, and then country. And another one said, he gives really a blunt answer. I have married a wife, therefore I cannot come. I can make all kinds of comments. But it is laughable.
Here's the feast. By the way, if I could make my wife's day, it would be, you know, I just got invited by the President of the United States to have dinner with him. I get to take one person. Steve and I are going to have a great time.
Wouldn't our wives be thrilled? It's the banquet. Back in these days, they're not getting all the great cheeses and all the great olives and all the great fish. These people are living on barley cakes and little fish butter.
He says in the Greek, I'm in a state of being married. Not really a sophisticated answer. Deuteronomy 24 does say when a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out with the army nor be charged with any other duty.
He shall be freed home one year and shall give happiness to his wife whom he has taken. But wouldn't the wife be happy? I can't go serve in the army, but I'll make my wife happy. Take her out on the town.
So cheer up a bride. These veiled excuses aren't good enough. God is calling sinners to repent, and they're just full of excuses. And every excuse is essentially John chapter 5. I won't come. I refuse to come.
I won't come. I have something better to do. I'm not going to come. Yet not one of these said with their words, I won't come. But that's exactly what they meant. Archon Hughes says, why is it that when Christ offers forgiveness, peace, eternal life, and an eternal feast, so few respond?
The hardest people, listen, the hardest people to reach are those who say, blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God. Now here's the great news. God could stop there. I've invited you.
My son has done all this work. The banquet's prepared, and you won't come, so that's what I'm going to do is just leave it at that. Payday. But the kingdom of God and heaven will not lack people. So the servant came, reported these things to the master.
Then the master called off the banquet. Heaven's closed. The master of the house became angry and said to his servant, go out quickly to the streets and the lanes of the city and bring in the poor and the crippled and the blind and the lame.
Jesus is a friend of sinners, and Old Testament might have prevented these exact kind of people from coming near the temple, but they can come to heaven through the finished work of Christ Jesus. You break this down and say to yourself, I've insulted the son of God, and what does he do?
Wipe out the earth? No, go track down a bunch of sinners. Fill it with the people who are unlovable. Fill it with the outcast and the lepers. Look at the text. The poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.
Boy, he had some good servants, didn't he? Verse 22, the servant said, Sir, what you commanded has been done. Still there's room. We went every nook and cranny. There's still more room at your banqueting table.
You've got so much. You've prepared such a great feast. You're such a God with arms wide open. Magnanimous grace. Lavishing grace. There's still more room. Jesus is a friend of sinners. Master said to the servant, Go out into the highways and the hedges.
And now here we come to our text. Man must repent. Man cannot repent. Enter God the Savior. And compel people to come in that my house might be filled. Urge them. Force them. Press upon them. One man said, The word compel means whether by force, threats, or by persuasion.
Entreaties are other means. Inward compulsion. Outward compulsion. What are we seeing here? We're seeing the effectual call of the Holy Spirit. We're seeing regeneration. Give them a new life and then they'll want to do it.
Fill that house up. Load it up. One man said, Grace abhors a vacuum. God has done so much gracious things. Fill that thing up. No place will be vacant. These people are going to say to you exactly what these other folks did.
You're going to go out there and say, Come, the banquet's ready. Nah, I'm busy. Compel them. Come on, the banquet's ready. I'm married. No, you come anyway. You do not take no for an answer. And when the Father has chosen someone in eternity past, and the Son has died for them, and the Spirit of God in time goes to get them, the Spirit of God will not take no for an answer.
Aren't you glad? Think about your own life. Was there a time where you said, No, God. Stiff arm to God. I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to believe. I'm not going to be some kind of freak. Born again.
All these things. I've got my own life to live. My own sin to live. And God wouldn't take no for an answer. Because Jesus is a friend of sinners. No excuse is good enough. And God is going to fill up that table.
Verse 24. For I tell you, none of those men who are invited shall taste my banquet. Of course, the context is Israel. Oh, there's going to be a future for Israel, but these people right here, they're not going to taste.
Certainly shut out for now. God's mercy is going to go for the lower status, the Gentiles. Kind of reminds me of Hosea 2. And I will sow her for myself in the land. I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion.
And I will say to those who are not my people, You are my people. And they will say, You are my God. I'm too busy to be a Christian. The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that was lost. I won't take no for an answer.
Yeah, but how will this affect my job and my wife? She's not a believer. God won't take no for an answer. Yeah, but I'm really a good person. God won't take no for an answer. You must repent, and you can't repent.
And so God has to step in, and He will grant you repentance. Friends, I have people in my life who say no to Jesus. Now, if I'm waiting for them to come up with the notion that they should repent and believe in their own strength, friends, it's never going to happen.
They're going to bust hell wide open. But if I present the gospel to them, and I tell them who Jesus is, and I implore them to believe in whether it's friend or foe or relative or loved one or child or anyone else, and I preach the gospel, I know that they can't repent.
I know that they must repent. And I know when God the Father has chosen them, the Son has died for them, the Spirit is going to come and compel them to come in. He won't take no for an answer. Thomas Watson speaks of the captain who's the victor, Jesus Christ.
In all our fears, let us comfort ourselves with the propitiatory sacrifice of Christ's blood. Christ died both as a purchaser and a conqueror, as a purchaser in regard of God having by His blood obtained our salvation, and as a conqueror, the cross being His triumphant chariot, wherein He has led hell and death captive.
You must repent. You can't repent. God compels you to come in. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we are thankful this morning that you have granted us repentance, and through that, the forgiveness of sins.
And we were once a people who said no to you. We're too busy. We've got our own life to live. We have our religion. We have our family. We have our business. And yet, you're so gracious and so lavish in your love, you're going to fill up heaven.
You're going to fill up that banqueting table. And if food and fellowship with our loved ones is great, how much greater is heaven going to be? And you did this all while we were enemies. How much more do you love us when we're your friends?
Jesus, what a Savior. Jesus, lover of my soul. Jesus, a friend to sinners. I pray for Bethlehem Bible Church. She would be a good witness to other people, not just about your holiness and justice, but your goodness and your grace, and the sovereign spirit.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.