Matthew 22:1-14 God Invites us
1. God invited Israel
• God's invited Israel to attend the wedding banquet of his Son ...
• To begin, this invite goes out to everyone. But some reject the invitation
• But they offered excuses, and even executed God's messengers.
2. God is an Inviting invitational God
• God is always inviting us to come: come to the waters, come home, come to the banquet, come to an abundant life, come to eternal life, come to worship, come to God himself.
3. God takes great measures for this banquet God is so excited about his banquet.
• The calf has been fattened and slaughtered, the wine has aged, the tables are set,
• God can't wait to get the invitations out.
• God is just that way. God seemingly is pumped It's just the way God rolls. This is the God we love, worship and serve -- a God who invites us to the dance, invites us to be a part of what God is doing. How great is that?!
• God has made preparations for the feast, God wants everyone to be present to honor the Son and his bride ... God is not willing for any to miss this event.
4. God is always inviting. Every day is an invitation. So, what is God inviting us to?
• An invitation to service (Matthew 28:19)
• An invitation to an abundant life (John 10:10)
• An invitation to worship (Psalm 100)
• An invitation to eternal life (John 3:16; 2 Peter 3:9; Romans 10:13)
• An invitation to enjoy the presence of Jesus (Revelation 3:20)
• An invitation to experience rest (Matthew 11:28)
• An invitation to pray (Philippians 4:6)
• An invitation to turn to God in time of need (Jeremiah 33:3)
5. Let’s think about who God invites?
• After all, this is the wedding of the king's son! This is the event of the decade! This is huge! And you're going to treat this invite with nonchalance and even hostility? Seriously? Are you stupid, or are you just ... incredibly stupid? What could be more important than an invitation to this event?
• What we have is the most important invite, and yet, people ignore, or tell us to go away.
• . The text says that the king's servants "went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad, so the wedding hall was filled with guests" (v. 10). So before we start making judgments about those who deserve to be on the guest list, let's remember that it's only by God's grace and mercy that we ourselves are included among that number!
• God invites us in spite of our background.
• God invites us without respect to our level of education.
• God invites us without regard to our bank account.
• God invites us without regard to our race or gender. And so on ...
• God is building something for us. God is building a future for us. God is building a present for us. God is inviting us to come to his banquet, to be present in what God is doing.
• The last thing we would want to do is to treat such an opportunity casually, indifferently or even with hostility.
