Latest / HBCWestminster / 5.2.21 Luke 14:12-24 Pastor Danny Gardner

Transcript

5.2.21 Luke 14:12-24 Pastor Danny Gardner · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  Well, Luke chapter 14 verses 12 to 24 is our text. I've called this morning's message a heavenly invitation. It will be very obvious why I've done so here in just a moment. Allow me to read our text, and if you're able to stand in honor of God's word, I would ask you to do that now. We'll read our text and then pray and begin. Verse 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.
• 0:29
  But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you'll be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just. When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God. But he said to him, A man once gave a great banquet and invited many, and at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, Come, for everything is now ready.
• 0:59
  But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, I bought a field and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused. And another said, I had bought five yoke of oxen. I go to examine them. Please have me excused. And another said, I've married a wife and therefore I cannot come.
• 1:18
  So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame. And the servant said, sir, what you commanded has been done and there is still room. The master said to the servant, go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet. And Lord, I pray.
• 1:46
  wisdom and understanding as we look to your word. Lord, we thank you for your gospel call and for those who will heed that call. Lord, thank you for the grace that you've shown to us, inviting us to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Lord, indeed, you have invited us to a great banquet. And Lord, I pray that we would be inclined to go and to join you there. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you, church. You can be seated. You ever get invited to something you don't want to go to?
• 2:17
  You scramble to come up with a good enough reason not to attend, a reason that will be acceptable to the host. I mean, you don't really want to offend, you appreciate the invite, but you also really don't want to go. You ever get invited to something you would never say no to? Here's one for me. Hey, Danny, I've got some tickets for the Rockies opening day that aren't going to be used, and I think they're even playing the Dodgers. Do you want them? I've told you that our family are Dodger fans. In fact, when we were preparing to move from California to Colorado,
• 2:49
  We were explaining to our sons why we were moving to Denver, what it would mean for our family. And I asked my oldest son, Pearson, who was 11 years old at the time, hey, buddy, how are you feeling about us moving to Denver? Right, because it was a big deal for us to move. And especially then, he's coming into junior high. It's a tough season for any kid anyway. Now to be moving, he's going to lose his friends, his school, his church, his baseball team, everything he'd really known. How are you feeling about us moving to Denver? And he said, dad, I'm good with it. And I said, really? He said, yeah.
• 3:18
  He said, the Rockies are in the NL West, and I already checked. They play the Dodgers 17 times next season. He had already looked. He's like, Dad, I still get to see the Dodgers. I'm good. You know, my wife Hallie is a hard worker, and I hope that I've earned the respect of my wife in terms of my work ethic. But she has said to me before, you know, Danny, you do work really hard. You do a lot of things. But it is incredible how flexible your schedule is for the things you want to do.
• 3:48
  Rocky's opening day against the Dodgers, you know, do you need to check your schedule, Danny? Nope, don't need to check. I'm available, right? Because anything that comes up, I am going to go. I can move whatever that stuff is. We have said that the story of Luke is the story of the gospel. We have said it is the best news for the worst people. That is the theme throughout the book, the best news for the worst people. And even that's good news, church, because we are the worst people.
• 4:16
  Romans chapter 3 says none of us is good. Not even one of us seeks after God. And the bad news communicated by scripture is that mankind is sinful. That is the bad news. That the payment of that sin is eternal destruction, eternal separation from God in hell, eternal death. But the good news is that there is hope for mankind by faith in the sinless life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
• 4:45
  Who is Almighty God and who for a period of time humbled himself became human flesh and became our substitute Absorbing the full wrath the full punishment for sin that we deserved and passing on to us his righteousness Amen, that is the gospel the best news for the worst people and in chapter 14
• 5:11
  We find Jesus at lunch with the Pharisees. We introduced this last Sunday. Just a light lunch, right? Where he sprung the Pharisees' trap, now purposely in my opinion, by healing the man with dropsy. And why? Because it was the right thing to do. We learned last week that Jesus was committed to doing the right thing, even if it was a trap, and trusting himself to his Father with the consequences.
• 5:39
  Then he gave a lesson on humility and really pin into the wall the guests at that party and his hosts by saying that those who exalt themselves will be humble and those who humble themselves will be exalted. And I challenged us last week to deflate our own opinions of ourselves. We said last week only the humble can be saved.
• 6:00
  those who suffer from what we called spiritual dropsy, right? Dropsy, we said, was that medical condition where people would just swell. They can't expel bodily fluids, and so they just swell. They become swollen and puffy and a very painful disease. And he said the man with the dropsy was not the man with the condition, but rather with the real problem. Rather, the ones with the problem were the ones suffering from spiritual dropsy. They were swollen.
• 6:26
  with conceit, with pride, and he says so swollen in fact that they cannot fit through the narrow door in order to be saved. You'll remember that during that lunch, Jesus said some things that brought about an awkward silence. In verse 4,
• 6:40
  Says that his hearers remained silent verse 6 says they had nothing to say It's probably even safe to assume then that when he spoke of the danger of pride and the benefit of humility That they remained silent then too, right? There was nothing they could say they were understanding that he was referring to them and in our text this morning Jesus used that silence to his advantage by giving some advice to the homeowner about how to arrange a guest list
• 7:09
  and then giving a warning to everyone there about refusing a heavenly invitation. And so notice first in verses 12 to 14, he said to the man who had invited him. So this is the ruler of the Pharisees in the region. This was a very powerful, very influential man. Okay. And so he's speaking directly to him. And he says this, when you give a dinner or a banquet,
• 7:32
  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. When you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you'll be blessed because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid.
• 7:53
  at the resurrection of the just. And so, in other words, Jesus is saying, you are invited to a heavenly banquet, but not because you're all that. In fact, you might even be invited because you're not all that. Can you hear what he's saying in this text? Can you hear his voice? You know, I'm looking around, I happen to notice that everyone at this table is pretty popular, pretty well to do. Where are just the normal people? Where's everyone?
• 8:22
  else you know church it's a pretty humbling thing to stand up in front of a congregation week after week and preach it's a pretty humbling thing i'm not joking when i say that every week i'm not kidding i do this every week i beg for god's mercy
• 8:43
  That he would give me a clear mind as I study, that I would read his word for what it says, that I would not put onto God's word my own interpretation, but rather I would communicate to you, my beloved church, my beloved friends, that I would communicate to you God's heart for you. I will even beg that he would give me the words to speak again every week. Lord, I need you to show up again because if you don't show up, I'm sunk. It's a humbling thing.
• 9:12
  Do you ever ask the question, as the Lord uses you, do you ever ask the question, Lord, why me? Why have you called me? Why have you chosen me? You could have chosen anybody. Why me? Why have you saved me? Why do you continue to use me? And in the moment, it's probably being asked in humility, but then you ponder for a little while. Why me? You receive a little bit of praise.
• 9:38
  Maybe a little bit of flattery and your flesh begins to find answers to that question. Why me? I'll tell you why me. Why me? Because whoa. Whoa. Church.
• 9:56
  Be on guard against whatever comes out of your mouth next. If you're asking the question, why me, Lord? Why would you use me? And then you begin to find answers, reasons for why the Lord should use you, beware. Beware of the because. Why me? Because. Because I'm better. Because I'm faster. I'm smarter. I'm gifted. I'm younger. I'm wealthier. I'm...
• 10:25
  Whatever it is, fill in the blank. Beware. Be on guard against whatever comes out of your mouth. In 2 Samuel chapter 7, King David thought he had a pretty good idea. He intended to build for the Lord a permanent temple, a place where his name would be worshipped on earth. But the Lord's response was kind of funny, and you'll see it here on the screen in 2 Samuel chapter 7 and verse 8.
• 10:53
  Thus you shall say to my servant David. So here's the Lord's response King David says I want to build you a house Okay, and the Lord responds thus says the Lord of hosts. I took you from the pasture from following the sheep Do you see what the Lord is saying? You were a shepherd. I found you enough
• 11:11
  field hanging out with sheep that's where I found you David and I took you from there that you should be prince over my people Israel and I've been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you and I will make for you a great name like the name of the great ones of the earth and your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me your throne shall be established forever so what happens is David says Lord I want to build you a house
• 11:38
  And the Lord says, no, David, I will build you a house. David's response is this in verse 18. Who am I, O Lord? What is my house that you have brought me thus far? For you know your servant, O Lord God, because of your promises and according to your own heart, you have brought all this greatness to make your servant know it. Therefore, you are great, O Lord God.
• 12:06
  For there is none like you there is no God besides you So in other words David says you're gonna make me great No, Lord, you are the one who is great You know, I'm confused at times when I hear Christians say in reference to unbelievers Sometimes I'll hear people say I wish they would get saved. They would make a great Christian
• 12:31
  I've heard people say that. If you use that phrase, I'm not harping on you. I'm not trying to rag on you here. I understand what you mean. You mean they're very kind, they're very nice, they're very outgoing, generous, whatever. And man, what a benefit to the kingdom they would be. And no doubt they would. But it's just a funny way to say it. They would make a great Christian as if the casting call had gone out and they'd found, you'd found a great Macbeth, right? And if I could just convince them to take the role, you know, that they would act like a Christian.
• 13:02
  I was speaking to a young man just a couple of weeks ago who attended our young adults Bible study. And he only just gave his life to Christ in the last few months. He is brand new to the faith. In fact, he's brand new to the church and not just our church. I mean, any church. He was so nervous to be in my basement just a couple of weeks ago.
• 13:24
  as we worshiped, as we studied the scriptures. When I asked him why he was so nervous, he said, because this is my first time at a meeting like this. He'd never been to a Bible study like that before, ever. He'd never done it. And then he said this, and I don't know how to act like a good Christian. I don't know what to do, right? I mean, you guys all stand up at the same time. You all sit down at the same time. You guys all know the words to the songs. I mean, you know, when we say open your Bibles to wherever, you know where that is. He said, I don't know how to act like a good Christian like you guys all do.
• 13:53
  And I appreciated his honesty and catch the implication, church. You guys are good at acting like Christians. You're good at acting like Christians. He didn't mean anything by it. He wasn't trying to slam us or anything else, but I thought his word choice was really interesting. I don't fit in. Why? Because I don't know how to act like a Christian.
• 14:15
  And church, I hate to burst any bubbles here. And please don't take this to mean that somehow I don't like you or that I don't think highly of you, Highland, because I do. I think so highly of you and I love you. But church, the reality is none of us is great. Amen. None of us has anything to offer our Lord that wasn't his to begin with.
• 14:33
  Our gifts, our talents, our intelligence, our money, any other resources or tools, anything we bring to the table are all his. They're already his. And we have just been entrusted with those gifts as stewards. Martin Luther has said this, God made the world out of nothing.
• 14:55
  That's Genesis 1.1. Next in the helo, out of the void, out of nothing. He made everything out of nothing. God made the world out of nothing. And then he says, and only when we become nothing can God make something out of us. He points out here that when we are called into the kingdom, we are called not because of our great talents, not because of our greatness, church, but because of his greatness.
• 15:22
  despite our weaknesses, despite our own inadequacies. For Jesus to be sitting at the dinner table and giving advice to his host about who he should have invited to dinner?
• 15:33
  Looking around, realizing then that no one fit that bill, it would have been embarrassing, even offensive. He offended his host by accusing him of inviting his guests based on what they could reciprocate. You only invited these people because you knew. If I invite them to dinner, I know that they have some condo up in Breckenridge, right? Maybe they'll let me use their condo. Maybe I'll get something out of it. And that's exactly what was happening. And then he offended all the other guests in the very next verse.
• 16:01
  when he offered a parable saying they were invited to his banquet. And church, I love this part. It is so funny, okay? There is so much humor in this. Jesus says, when you have a banquet, invite the losers, right? The people who have nothing to give you. When you have a banquet, invite the losers. And then it's like he says, hey, that reminds me. I'm having a banquet. You should all come.
• 16:26
  When you have a banquet, invite the losers. Hey, why don't you guys come? It's so funny. Notice what he says in verse 15. When one of those, now one of those, we assume this to be a Pharisee. The text doesn't say, but one of those who was in the room finally breaks the awkward silence. Okay, it's been silent for a long time. Jesus has been talking. Finally, one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things and he said to him, blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom.
• 16:54
  of god now his remark was probably intended to break that tension of the moment as we've said before jesus never minded saying what needed to be said doing what needed to be done despite how his audience would feel about it and certainly they were on their heels a little bit and so he just breaks the silence with this statement that surely everyone would agree with blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of god it's like he would have been saying despite our differences
• 17:23
  won't it be nice when we're all at the king's table eating and drinking together in modern vernacular he was asking can't we all just get along i mean we're all going to end up at the same place anyway right we're all on our way to heaven so why are we qua you know kind of quibbling and quarreling here what this doesn't make any sense we're wasting time we're all going to end up the same place but jesus pops that balloon pretty fast
• 17:50
  I'm always curious about those whose theology states that all people end up in heaven. There are so many Coloradans and Denverites who hold to that. Everybody just ends up in the same place, right? There's no difference between any of these religions. They all end up in the same place. And it's always curious to me why they would believe that. What about the people who don't want to go? They end up there too? The reality we find in our text is that
• 18:20
  Not everyone will end up in heaven. Not everyone will. Everyone will be invited. Everybody is invited. But not everyone ends up going because not everyone ends up accepting the invitation. Look what Jesus says in verse 16. A man once gave a great banquet and invited many, right? There was this wide, wide inclusion in that invitation. Everybody was invited, the whole town.
• 18:49
  Verse 17, and at the time for the banquet, he sent his servant to say to those who'd been invited, come, for everything is now ready. You know, in ancient times, and we've actually discussed this before regarding marriage feasts, in ancient times, there were two invitations typically sent. The first one announced the coming banquet like a save the date. The second announcement was that everything was prepared, the hall has been decorated, the food has been cooked and laid out, and so come.
• 19:17
  The banquet is prepared, right? The first one is the banquet is coming. The second one is the banquet is ready. Come, come right now. You're invited. Come right now. Now, Jesus understood, or Jesus' hearers here understood perfectly well that he was speaking about them.
• 19:32
  They understood that the banquet to which Jesus referred was the banquet in the kingdom of God. His parable was connected, you find, to verse 15, the man's statement that we will all eat bread in the kingdom of God. And so then he says, there's a parable, right? I'm going to talk to you about that banquet. So you understand that this invitation is being sent for them to enter the kingdom of God. They also knew.
• 20:00
  these hearers that the old testament prophets had already sent the first invitation for centuries they had warned israel that their disobedience and idol worship would end in tragedy they were on the receiving end of this general invitation that had gone out that first invitation jeremiah had talked about it isaiah had talked about it they had stood on the stage of human history and had said there is a banquet being prepared
• 20:29
  There is a kingdom being established and the word is that you're invited to it. And so that first invitation had already gone out. And now Jesus says here in a very dramatic fashion that everything is ready in verse 17. Come, verse 17 says, for everything is now ready. In other words, God's timetable, which had been static, seemingly static for centuries, had just gotten kicked into high gear. The message.
• 20:59
  that God's people Israel had heard for so long that the kingdom was coming had now changed to the kingdom is here. It is right now. The prophets have been inviting you for centuries to be prepared, but I'm telling you it's already here. So understand then, church, as we come to the excuses in the next verse.
• 21:21
  Understand, church, that these excuses being offered were not simply a declination to attend a marriage feast, but rather a snubbing of the master's invitation to attend the wedding feast, the marriage supper of the Lamb. Pick up in verse 18. Jesus continues, but they all alike began to make excuses. And so apparently that...
• 21:48
  First invitation had gone out and they'd all replied, they'd all RSVP'd, yes, they had intended on going. But as soon as he said, okay, it's ready, come now, they just begin to come up with excuses and all kinds of excuses. Continue, the first said to him, I bought a field. I got to go out and see it. Please have me excused. Another said, I've bought five yoke of oxen. Now, honestly, church, if a man had bought five yoke of oxen, this was a very, very wealthy man. I got to go and examine those. Please have me excused. Another said, I've married a wife.
• 22:17
  Therefore, I cannot come. They began producing every excuse in the book. Property, animals, a wife, anything, anything not to go to the banquet. And you know, church, if I could just take a short aside here. It's just kind of a parenthetical thought. We come up with all kinds of excuses not to answer the Lord's call.
• 22:45
  We feel the conviction the Lord brings on us through the preaching of his word, through his Holy Spirit just convicting our hearts over sin. We feel that conviction and we just begin to come up with excuses. All the reasons we can't, all the reasons we can't obey, all the reasons we can't go, all the reasons we can't be faithful. And we also, as the people of God, hear every excuse in the book.
• 23:10
  You take a stack of our little church invitations, and we have these little invitations. If you don't have some, grab some the next time you're at the church, right? Come and grab a stack of them. They're kind of be our guest cards. It talks Highland on one side, hand it to somebody, say, hey, I invite you to my church. It's got some basic information on there. You hand them out at work or at school. You will hear every excuse imaginable if you're persistent.
• 23:33
  Eventually, your neighbor or coworker may even agree to come and you'll show up at church all excited. And I know this is how it goes because this happens all the time. It happens almost every week. Somebody will come to me, Pastor Danny, to be praying. You show up all excited. Let me know that you've got some friends coming. They're supposed to come to the late service, but then they don't show. They've promised to come, but then they don't come. And church, there's no reason to get mad at them. I mean, they just don't know yet.
• 24:01
  They haven't tasted the gift that the church really is, that you and I have. They don't understand yet what we mean when we say that the church is family. But church, keep inviting. You're going to hear excuses like these, right? I've got something come up. Oh, I can't go. I got a business deal. Oh, I got to go buy a new car. Or I just bought five new cars. I got to go check them out, right? I mean, that's the excuse this guy gives. It's unbelievable.
• 24:28
  i i just got married now listen if you just got married okay you can miss one sunday all right that's that's not a big that's not what i'm saying but man they just come up with every excuse anything that anything they can not to go you just keep inviting you just keep faithfully throwing it out there keep faithfully handing out those cards keep faithfully sharing the gospel if they say no then go to the next one invite them to and remember church that your faithfulness is not determined by their
• 24:58
  response let me say it again your faithfulness is not determined by their response you notice the servant of the master was being faithful he wasn't castigated here for being an unfaithful servant do you see that he had gone out and invited people just like the lord had said and so the lord's disappointment the master's disappointment was not toward his servant but rather toward those who refused the invitation the servant's faithfulness was not determined by the hearer's response
• 25:29
  During one of the big snowstorms last year, my son Zach decided he was going to go to the neighbors with his shovel. He was going to offer to shovel off their driveways. He was trying to earn money at the time to purchase his first car. He trudged through the snow with his shovel for about two hours. Two hours. He knocked. In that two hours, he knocked on 28 doors. 28 doors. And he heard no 28 times.
• 25:58
  All 28. He went to 28 neighbors over the course of two plus hours, and he heard no 28 times. And he came home so discouraged. So discouraged. I mean, honestly, he just wanted to give up. Like, this is pointless. I'm wasting my time. But church, when I found out about that, what do you think my response to him was as his father? What do you think my response was?
• 26:25
  Was I mad at him? Was I discouraged? Or was I proud? You know, honestly, church, I was so proud of him.
• 26:39
  In fact, I might have even been prouder of him because of the negative responses. It would have been one thing if he had gone to the first door, they had said yes, they had given him a bunch of money, and then he came out, right? And then he went to the next one. Well, of course he would go to the next one because of the response that he got. He got a positive response. Hey, this is working. But he got negative responses and he continued anyway, going and going and going and going. I'm not giving up. 28, 28 of them.
• 27:09
  And man, what a lesson for us in there. Don't give up, church. Can you imagine if I as his dad had said, Zach, man, you are one pathetic loser, right? Oh man, I can't believe you didn't get any. What's wrong with you? Nah, the problem wasn't with Zach. The problem was with our neighbors. And honestly, I was a little bit mad at them. I thought, man, some kid shows up at your door.
• 27:31
  You know, give him 10 bucks. What's the big deal? I mean, I even thought about, man, if I'd have known, I'd have gone ahead of him handing out $20 bills. Listen, my son's about to come knock on your door and you're going to say no. Here's $20. Say yes and encourage the kid. Right? I mean, I would have preferred that, but nevertheless, it was a learning experience for him. What a beautiful picture here of the faithfulness of the servant just to go out and invite the way that his master had said. You'll notice, finally, Christ says, you're invited.
• 28:01
  You're invited, right? The whole point is you're invited. Here's a heavenly invitation. You're invited, but you're going to notice that that invitation expires. Look at verse 21. So the servant came and reported these things to his master, right? Nobody wants to come, Lord. Nobody wants to come. 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.
• 28:27
  It's the same list from verse 13. When you throw a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, the lame, those who can't pay you back. So he goes out and invites the same people. And the servant said, sir, what you have commanded has been done.
• 28:40
  and still there's room so he says i did that lord i went out and invited all of those people they're still empty seats and so the master said to his servant go out to the highways and the hedges and compel people to come in that my house may be filled now the highways are the major lanes through and then out of the city the hedges are what surrounds vineyards and orchards you're talking about way out in the country go out and invite
• 29:04
  everybody, those in the city and those out of the city. And then here is the heart of the master and very much the heart of our Lord church in terms of the kingdom. Verse 23 says that my house may be filled, that my house may be filled. Our God is fundamentally a saving God. Now I prayed, honestly, church, I prayed over that word fundamentally because I wanted to make sure that it was doctrinally accurate.
• 29:34
  is this sound doctrine to say that fundamentally at his core, our God is a saving God. And I'm going to use that term with confidence. I believe that he is. The kingdom tables will be filled. They must be filled. And those who don't want to come are not going to be forced. You don't want to come? Fine. The tables will instead be filled with those who otherwise would have been excluded. The poor, the blind.
• 30:04
  the lame. Even those Gentiles he was making reference to back in verse 29 of chapter 13, right? People will come from east and west, from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. The poor, the blind, the lame, the crippled, the outcast, even the Gentiles, he says, from all over the world. Now listen, just raise your hand. Even at home, raise your hand if that's you.
• 30:29
  That's me. I'm not the wealthiest. I'm not the most powerful. I'm not the smartest. I'm not the fastest I'm not the youngest. I don't have much to offer I'm not from the right family. I mean, I just I just don't have much to offer and yet I am included I'm included in the kingdom of God the host the master
• 30:52
  The Lord, in the parable, sent his servants to collect the dredges of the city, and after that they still had room, so he sent his servants all over. All over. He sent his servants everywhere. The parable, I believe, shows the heart of the king to save. 2 Peter 3 9 says, The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach.
• 31:22
  repentance that is the lord's heart for mankind he doesn't want any to perish none but all to come to repentance and the lord had promised in the old testament the messiah jesus would come for the entire world
• 31:38
  Isaiah chapter 49 and verse 6 says, I will make you as a light, in reference to Messiah, I will make you as a light for the nations that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. It has always been the Lord's heart that the gospel would go everywhere to the furthest ends of the earth. And certainly the Lord has done that. But notice here how the Lord ends in verse 24.
• 32:03
  For I tell you none of these men who are invited shall taste my banquet. They were invited they refused and he says, okay, then you won't come Daryl Bach has said that this parable is a painfully tragic description of opportunity missed Many in the nation of Israel He says missed entering into blessing when the time came because they failed to see the importance of the invitation that came there
• 32:26
  way and church i believe the beauty of this parable thereby the beauty of the gospel is that the kingdom will be filled and it will be filled with those you never would have expected not the beautiful or the wealthy or the influential not the intelligent not the powerful but that the gospel is the best news for the worst people and the great news is church that that is us we are the poor the blind
• 32:54
  the lame we are the ones who the lord found out in the field tending the sheep we we are the ones we're the fools that god uses to shame the wise so that any boasting should be in the lord you come up with the church you ask that question why me the answer is because of him and lord thank you you are a faithful god you are a caring compassionate and patient god with us the god thank you that your heart
• 33:21
  Thank you that your heart is that all will find repentance, that all will be saved. And Lord, I pray that we would just be faithful ministers of your gospel, the best news for the worst people. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.