I thank God for all that He is doing in my life, and in the lives of His people. I am thankful for all of God’s messengers here in service today. It is truly an honor to have you here today.
As I labored on the Word for today, God communicated that He is calling for true transformation--a transformation that transcends space and time. God is doing a new thing and that new thing began when the shifting ended. And, yes, the shifting has ended. God broke into the atmosphere and we are living under an open Heaven. We are living in a time of revival, and God has His messengers communicating that the time is now for the transformation to occur.
God has given me a very specific assignment. One component of it is to be a truth-bearer to drive the kingdom forward. With this assignment, and my calling, as a whole, I am called to deliver the truth with boldness. Over time, I’ve found that this boldness transformed based on what the Holy Spirit directed me to communicate. In this Word, the Holy Spirit has called me to do surgery with precision.
One thing that stands out to me is that with surgery, it may be a bit painful, so as Pastor Clarence Hawkins often says, we must administer some anesthesia beforehand so that we safely do the necessary work….for surgery alone can be more harmful than the issue needing treatment. And then, once the surgery is over, we must provide the proper rehabilitation, after surgery care. So, here is some anesthesia right now...this message is going to be direct and done with precision. But don’t worry, we have more anesthesia on the way.
And, before we leave here today, there will be 5 people changed forever. True transformation will occur in, at least, 5 people.
The subject of tonight’s message is:
"The Phone is Ringing. Will you pick up?"
There is a calling on your life and you aren’t picking up the phone. The phone is ringing and you are just watching it ring. God is calling but you are busy on the phone with the world. Why aren’t you answering? Don’t you see the phone ringing? Can’t you hear it? Can’t you hear the call waiting tone? Or, did you purposely put it on “do not disturb?”
In Matthew 22:14 KJV, it states, “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
As I exegized the text, I found that the intention behind this verse in the scripture is that God is calling, but many of those called are choosing to disregard that call. They are choosing to do their own thing instead of answering the call. Moreso, they are choosing to pack up their bags and go home. Or, more devastating, they are choosing to attack everything attached to that call.
So, preacher, where are you getting this from?
Can I teach for a moment?
In the text, Matthew 22:1-14, we have Jesus teaching in the temple. We find who He was talking to by looking at the chapter immediately before--Matthew 21. In Matthew 21:23, it states that Jesus was teaching, and, while He was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him. In Matthew 21:45-46, it shows that the chief priests and the Pharisees were listening in. We also find that there was a crowd of people. We can assume that the crowd was great in number. We can make that determination because the text states that, even though the chief priests and the Pharisees began to look for a way to arrest Jesus all because they realized that He was teaching about them...and not only just teaching…..teaching about them in an unappealing light, they decided not to because they were afraid of the crowd. To be afraid of a crowd, there would have to be a number of them that greatly outnumbered those in their party.
The text shows that there were chief priests...not one...but more than one. The text shows that there were elders….not one….but more than one. The text shows that there were Pharisees….not one...but more than one. When the Bible uses crowd throughout, we often see it accompanied by a quantity that indicates it being great in number. So, the crowd outnumbered the “establishment” greatly. What made their fear intensified is that the “establishment” knew that the crowd considered Jesus God’s prophet.
Implicitly, we can assume the disciples were with Jesus, so we have Jesus, the disciples, the chief priests, the elders of the people, the Pharisees, and a large crowd of people, listening to Jesus’ teachings.
In Matthew 22, it showed that despite the intentions of the chief priests, the elders, and the Pharisees, He continued to teach. We can assume that the teachings continued to be edifying to the large crowd and a slap in the face of the “establishment.” Jesus was good at doing that. He truly had much controversy with the “establishment.”
He came to fulfill the law--not to placate man. There are many times in our calling that, instead of pleasing God, we, the church, and those in it, placate man. But Jesus shows that this isn’t the example He came here to demonstrate. To be in Jesus, we should be more like Him. Jesus, the perfect man, came to fulfill the law, which inevitably changed the status-quo. Are we being change agents or are we living a status-quo existence?
As we look at the specific text--Matthew 22:1-14, we find that Jesus teaches through yet another parable. In this parable, He is talking about a wedding banquet. For this parable, the scene is set by explaining that “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.” We can see that the king had invited people to the wedding banquet because he sent the servants out to tell all that had been invited that banquet is ready to begin, but we find that they refused to attend. For this banquet, the king prepared the best for this event. Even though the king requested the invited’s attendance, the invited chose to go about their way and some even mistreated and killed the king’s messengers. Because they chose to disregard the invitation and behave poorly, and horribly, the king opened the invitation to anyone and everyone. It was such an open invitation that both the good and bad were invited. At this point, the wedding hall was filled. But when the king spotted one not dressed in proper wedding attire (the AMP version of the Bible expands the text by explaining that the wedding clothes the king expected the attendees to wear was provided for them).... The one not dressed in the attire provided for him was thrown out into darkness.
But what is Jesus saying?
Jesus is saying three things:
1. Jesus is explaining what it will be like leading up to getting into heaven.
2. Jesus has called specific people to come. These specific people are the Israelites. When invited, they did not come and even killed the messengers sent to lead them to everlasting life.
3. Jesus opened the door for all to have access to everlasting life, but even though they showed up, one showed up without the proper attire. And that proper attire was the requirement to enjoy all aspects of the event.
Because of his failure to be obedient…..err, because of his failure to meet the requirement, he was thrown out into hell.
Not all who are called will be chosen!
So, some of you are asking, what does this have to do with me? I believe I will get into heaven. I believe that my life is righteous. I just have some things to be delivered from. But, I believe Jesus will accept me. See, I praise God on Sundays. I read the Bible. I teach people what I know. I’ve prophesied in Jesus’ name. I’ve done mighty works in Jesus’ name as well. Surely, I will have favor.
And, Jesus will say, “Yes, you did, but I never knew you.”
The text states, in Matthew 7:21-23 AMP:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day [when I judge them], ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and driven out demons in Your name, and done many miracles in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them publicly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me [you are banished from My presence], you who act wickedly [disregarding My commands].’
What I love about my Jesus is that He won’t just throw someone to the wolves for the sake of throwing people to the wolves. The Jesus I know is full of Grace and Mercy. And today, Jesus wants us to know the fullness. He wants us to see Him in His full majesty. He is granting us, today, access. The Jesus I know doesn’t want anyone to be like the one, but He is clear that He will be true to His word. And, His word is clear--Matthew 22:1-14, Matthew 7:21-23...and other areas throughout the Bible.
Today, Jesus sent me to declare that He is drawing a distinctive line in the sand. And that line is covered by His blood.
Which side of the line are you on?
Jesus said, “Tell my people that Sunday only worship won’t cut it. I need more from you. I need you to put on the requirements at all times. Worship me at all times. Let there be no other gods before me. And follow all components of the Great Commission and of my commandments.” Thus saith the Lord.
The Great Commission states:
Matthew 28:16-20 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted [that it was really He]. Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority (all power of absolute rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations [help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words], baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age.”
Jesus’ Commandments:
Mark 12:29-31 AMP
The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul (life), and with all your mind (thought, understanding), and with all your strength.’
‘You shall [unselfishly] love your neighbor as yourself.’
Our Lord and Savior is doing a new thing. He wants to pour new wine. We just have to change out the bag. We have to put on a new wineskin.
The Lord said, “There are people out in the world looking to connect to something. If they don’t connect to me, they will connect to something. Bring them to me through teaching about me. I will take it the rest of the way.”
Then the Lord said, “Tell my people that their focus on Me should not be focused inwardly. Rather, the focus should be out on others. There is brokenness that I can heal. There is pain that I can comfort. But I need my people to connect to me differently and do the work I called them to do in different ways than they’ve been doing it. They need not worry about themselves. That is my job. Just as the bird doesn’t worry about what it will eat, neither should they. ”
And this is what I am here to say to you today. There is a work to be done and you, with your new wineskin, are called to do things differently.
God is drawing a line in the sand right now, and it begins with the decision you make right here and now…..before you leave here today. Someone is depending on you to lead them to Jesus! Let your light shine brighter than it has ever shined! Just know...Jesus believes in you!
Are you answering the call or letting it go to voicemail?
