10-16-16 Jesus is not constructing a ‘tiny house’!

Scripture  Luke 14:15-24

         

Someone mentioned that their church had grown and they prefer a small church. My immediate response was - Jesus doesn’t. Jesus said on the rock I will build my church. I don’t think Jesus had in mind building a “tiny Church”

Matt 16:17-18

Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

2 Peter 3:9

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Luke 14:16 & 23

Jesus replied: A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests… Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.’

Let’s dive deeper in to that text:

THE SET UP BEFORE THE PARABLE

Luke 14:1-11    (Pharisees were out to get Jesus)     One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. There in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?"  4 But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him away. Then he asked them, "If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?"  6 And they had nothing to say.    (Transition to second part of set up)

          7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: (Interesting – this is not a parable – listen to what Jesus says to the Pharisees seated at the dinner table) "When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

NOW THE TEXT

Luke 14:15-24

(The next person speaking obviously had no clue Jesus was just talking to him…) When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."

          16 Jesus replied (Now we get a parable) "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.'

          "But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.' "Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.'  "Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.'  (The excuses were: I have possessions / work / and relationships that stand between me and responding to your invitation! What keeps people form putting their trust in Jesus? Possessions / work / relationships to name a few!)

          21 "The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry (God is offering eternal life – he sent his son to die so that we could be forgiven and receive life forever – Wouldn’t you be mad if people rejected your invitation after giving up so much?) and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.'

          22 (This was a good servant anticipating what his master wanted – the way the church should be) "'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.'

          23-24 "Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.'"

          The MSG version: Luke 14:23  "The master said, ‘Then go to the country roads. Whoever you find, drag them in. I want my house full!’

CONCLUSION

My dad loved to play games – 1:00 in the morning golfing under the lights – start to leave and he motions for you to stay = no no no – let’s just do one more. We can all play – it will be fun.

I see Jesus always doing that: No no no Zacchaeus, let’s go to your house for dinner. Martha, the food can wait – join Mary and I just hanging out together. To Lazarus – no no no come on – you aren’t that dead – let’s keep going. Peter, so what if you fished all night – put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.

NO EXCUSE SUNDAY: DEDICATED TO MISSING CHURCH ATTENDEES! To make it possible for everyone to attend church this Sunday, we are going to have a special "No Excuse Sunday": Cots will be placed in the foyer for those who say, "Sunday is my only day to sleep in." There will be a special section with lounge chairs for those who feel that our pews are too hard. Eye drops will be available for those with tired eyes from watching TV late Saturday night. We will have steel helmets for those who say, "The roof would cave in if I ever came to church." Blankets will be furnished for those who think the church is too cold, and fans for those who say it is too hot. Scorecards will be available for those who wish to list the hypocrites present. Relatives and friends will be in attendance for those who can't go to church and cook dinner, too. We will distribute "Stamp Out Stewardship" buttons for those that feel the church is always asking for money. One section will be devoted to trees and grass for those who like to seek God in nature. Doctors and nurses will be in attendance for those who plan to be sick on Sunday. The sanctuary will be decorated with both Christmas poinsettias and Easter lilies for those who never have seen the church without them. We will provide hearing aids for those who can't hear the preacher and cotton wool for those who think he's too loud! Hope to see you there!

Oregon, Ohio

20,291 population in 2010

90% White African American, Hispanic 7%, 1.5%, Asian 1.0%

Age 17 and under 23% / 65 and older 17 % / 18-64 60%

o   It takes the average evangelical church 100 people and one year to introduce one person to Jesus Christ.

Live churches' expenses are always more than their income; dead churches don't need much money! 
Live churches have parking problems; Dead churches have empty spaces! 
Live churches may have some noisy children; Dead churches are quiet as a cemetery. 
Live churches keep changing their ways of doing things; Dead churches see no need for change! 
Live churches grow so fast you can't keep up with people's names; In dead churches everybody always knows everybody's name. 
Live churches strongly support world missions; Dead churches keep the money at home! 
Live churches are full of regular, cheerful givers; Dead churches are full of grudging tippers! 
Live churches move ahead on prayer and faith; Dead churches work only on sight! 
Live churches plant daughter churches; Dead churches fear spending the money, time, and talent! 
Live churches outgrow their Sunday School facilities; Dead churches have room to spare! 
Live churches welcome all classes of people; Dead churches stick to their own kind! 
Live churches' members read their Bibles and bring them to church; Dead churches' members seldom do! 
Live churches' members enthusiastically support the ministries; Dead churches have no ministries--only functions! 
Live churches' members look for someone they can help; Dead churches' members look for something to complain about! 
Live churches' members reach out to share their faith in Christ; Dead churches' members don't have enough to share!