"Our Invitation to the Party"
Luke 17:20-30
A sermon for 5/28/23 – Pentecost Sunday
Pastor John Bright
Luke 17 “20 Now at one point the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God was coming, so he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
22 Then he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 Then people will say to you, ‘Look, there he is!’ or ‘Look, here he is!’ Do not go out or chase after them. 24 For just like the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. 25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 People were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage—right up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot, people were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; 29 but on the day Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 It will be the same on the day the Son of Man is revealed.” New English Translation
Pause right there. Why are you listening to this? Do you want to become more like Jesus? The power of the Holy Spirit is available to you right now – right here! Do you want to become more like Jesus? It’s a question only you can answer.
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Have you ever thought about how an invitation works?
Here’s an example: Let’s say I get an invitation to a party. I have a choice to make. I can reply, “Yes, I will be there at the party.” I can also reply, “No, I will not be able to attend.”
Any time we receive an invitation, the choice is ours. Do you agree?
Jesus often used the language of invitation to describe the Kingdom of God.
When does the party start? v.20-21
“20 Now at one point the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God was coming, so he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
We have learned from Jesus’ interaction with the religious leaders in the Gospel of Luke that these folks would not be part of the Kingdom of God. Now, we find them questioning when this new Kingdom will begin. Jesus’ answer is revealing the plain truth that most were unable to see in that day. That truth is “THE KING IS RIGHT HERE IN THE FLESH.” Look at His answer – “For indeed, the kingdom of God is in your midst.” This is just common sense so it must have made no sense to them, for there to be a Kingdom there has to be a King. The coming of Jesus, the King, is the coming of the Kingdom:
• At the Incarnation – Matthew 2:1-2 “1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, in the time of King Herod, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem 2 saying, “Where is the one who is born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
• At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry – Mark 1:14-15 “14 Now after John was imprisoned, Jesus went into Galilee and proclaimed the gospel of God. 15 He said, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the gospel!”
• At the Cross of Calvary – many times in Matthew 27, Jesus is referred to as “King of the Jews” – “41 In the same way even the chief priests—together with the experts in the law and elders—were mocking him: 42 “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! He is the king of Israel! If he comes down now from the cross, we will believe in him!”
• At the Resurrection and the Second Coming – 1 Corinthians 15:22-24 “22 For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; then when Christ comes, those who belong to him. 24 Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he has brought to an end all rule and all authority and power.”
Sorry I had to throw so many scriptures at you up front in this sermon. It is necessary to see that we are part of the Kingdom of God as those who live between the First Coming (Incarnation) of Christ and the Second Coming (Rapture) of Christ. We are part of the Church Universal and that means we are receiving an invitation to the party that has already started.
Your invitation to the party v.22-25
“22 Then he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 Then people will say to you, ‘Look, there he is!’ or ‘Look, here he is!’ Do not go out or chase after them. 24 For just like the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. 25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.”
Wait one minute! I don’t want to miss a party! (Is this you?) I hope you feel that way. Jesus is describing the timing of what must happen. He must suffer a horrific, painful crucifixion on a Roman cross. Some time after that, there will come a day that the prophet Joel called “the great and terrible day of the Lord.” Joel 2:31 The Second Coming of Christ will be seen by all – like a bolt of lightning that lights up the whole sky. He will come on the clouds, with the sound of a trumpet, and the dead will rise before those still alive are caught up (Latin – rapturo) with Him as we read in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.
All of us who are Believers will be resurrected or raptured on that day. We are all entitled to receive an invitation to a party that has been going on for 2,000 years, but we have to make a choice.
It’s a Holy Spirit party!
Here’s the timeline for the party starting:
• Jesus is resurrected and appears to the Disciples – John 20:19-23 “19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the disciples had gathered together and locked the doors of the place because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. Just as the Father has sent me, I also send you.” 22 And after he said this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you retain anyone’s sins, they are retained.”
• After 40 days, Jesus ascends and gives the Disciples a promise – Acts 1:5 & 8 “5 For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the earth.”
• 10 days later, the promise is fulfilled at Pentecost – Acts 2:1-4 “1 Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like a violent wind blowing came from heaven and filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And tongues spreading out like a fire appeared to them and came to rest on each one of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them.”
When Jesus breathed on the Disciples, that was the day they became Believers. We each have a day like that. For many of us, it was the day we came forward to the altar of a local church and accepted Jesus as Savior. On that day, we received the “in-dwelling” of the Holy Spirit. Last week, many Wesleyans and Methodists remembered the day that John Wesley had his heart “strangely warmed” on May 24, 1738. He was at a gathering on Aldersgate Street in London, England. Martin Luther’s “Preface to the Book of Romans” was being read. Here are a couple of lines from that document: “Faith is a work of God in us, which changes us and brings us to birth anew from God (cf. John 1). It kills the old Adam, makes us completely different people in heart, mind, senses, and all our powers, and brings the Holy Spirit with it. What a living, creative, active powerful thing is faith!” It sure sounds like Luther is describing what we call salvation.
Then, less than a year later there is another event in Wesley’s life that is almost never talked about in the Methodist church. “On January 1, 1739, seven months after his Aldersgate experience, Wesley attended a love feast of the Fetter Lane society. He recounts the event as follows: Mr. Hall, Kinchin, Ingham, Whitefield, Hutchings, and my brother Charles were present at our love feast in Fetter Lane, with about sixty of our brethren. About three in the morning, as we were continuing instant in prayer, the power of God came mightily upon us, insomuch that many cried out for exceeding joy, and many fell to the ground. As soon as we were recovered a little from that awe and amazement at the presence of his majesty, we broke out with one voice, ‘We praise thee, O God; we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.’” https://firebrandmag.com/articles/aldersgate-or-fetter-lane
John Wesley wrote about a “second blessing” or “second work of grace” that was possible for the Believer after having the power of the Holy Spirit working within. This was the language used by the Pentecostal movement that began in 1901. One of the early leaders was a former Methodist minister, Charles Fox Parham. The second blessing for them was an “in-filling of the Holy Spirit” that opened the door for Believers to consistently be used in ministry through the Gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12)
I believe that the in-filling of the Holy Sprit allows the power of God to birth within us the Fruit of the Spirit – Galatians 5:22-23 “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” That sounds like abundant life in the Kingdom of God. That’s a party I want to attend!
Those who are not invited v. 26-30
“26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 People were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage—right up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot, people were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; 29 but on the day Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 It will be the same on the day the Son of Man is revealed.”
The world we live in is a picture of the “days of Noah” and the “days of Lot.” This world, this culture, is not seeking the Fruit of the Spirit. The Apostle Paul described other fruit in his day that we still see today – Galatians 5:19-21 “19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!”
Did you hear the last thing I just said – “Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!” These words are very consistent with the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:13-14 “13 “Enter through the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the way is spacious that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 How narrow is the gate and difficult the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it!”
The “in-filling power of the Holy Spirit” changed the Disciples into a band of folks that would be accused of “turning the world upside down.” Acts 17:6 The power of the Holy Spirit led preachers like John Wesley. Jonathon Edwards and George Whitfield to spark the First Great Awakening in the early 1700s. Methodists would be leaders in the Second Great Awakening and the Camp Meeting movement, but after that they ceased placing importance on the “in-filling power of the Holy Spirit.”
Could it be that we live in the days of Noah and the days Lot when the works of the flesh seem to be the real power in world? If so, we await the Second Coming of Christ and we have an invitation in our hand to a Holy Spirit party. That’s where we find the REAL POWER for Believers in this world and the REAL HOPE for those who need to be snatched from the flames of this present evil age. What will you choose? Amen.
TEACHING SHEET
"Our Invitation to the Party"
Luke 17:20-30
Teaching sheet for 5/28/23
Jesus often used the language of invitation to describe the Kingdom of God.
When does the party start? v.20-21
That truth is “THE KING IS RIGHT HERE IN THE FLESH.” Look at His answer – “For indeed, the kingdom of God is in your midst.” This is just common sense so it must have made no sense to them, for there to be a Kingdom there has to be a King. The coming of Jesus, the King, is the coming of the Kingdom:
• At the Incarnation – Matthew 2:1-2
• At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry – Mark 1:14-15
• At the Cross of Calvary – many times in Matthew 27, Jesus is referred to as “King of the Jews”
• At the Resurrection and the Second Coming – 1 Corinthians 15:22-24
Your invitation to the party v.22-25
There is a future event that the prophet Joel called “the great and terrible day of the Lord.” Joel 2:31 The Second Coming of Christ will be seen by all –1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.
It’s a Holy Spirit party!
Here’s the timeline for the party starting:
• Jesus is resurrected and appears to the Disciples – John 20: 19-23
• After 40 days, Jesus ascends and gives the Disciples a promise – Acts 1:5 & 8
• 10 days later, the promise is fulfilled at Pentecost – Acts 2:1-4
When Jesus breathed on the Disciples, that was the day they became Believers. We each have a day like that. On May 24, 1738 John Wesley was at a gathering on Aldersgate Street in London, England. “On January 1, 1739, seven months after his Aldersgate experience, Wesley attended a love feast of the Fetter Lane society. … About three in the morning, as we were continuing instant in prayer, the power of God came mightily upon us, insomuch that many cried out for exceeding joy, and many fell to the ground. As soon as we were recovered a little from that awe and amazement at the presence of his majesty, we broke out with one voice, ‘We praise thee, O God; we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.’” https://firebrandmag.com/articles/aldersgate-or-fetter-lane
John Wesley wrote about a “second blessing” or “second work of grace” that was possible for the Believer after having the power of the Holy Spirit working within. This was the language used by the Pentecostal movement that began in 1901. Galatians 5:22-23
Those who are not invited v. 26-30
Galatians 5:19-21 Matthew 7:13-14
The “in-filling power of the Holy Spirit” changed the Disciples into a band of folks that would be accused of “turning the world upside down.” Acts 17:6 The power of the Holy Spirit led preachers like John Wesley. Jonathon Edwards and George Whitfield to spark the First Great Awakening in the early 1700s.
Could it be that we live in the days of Noah and the days Lot when the works of the flesh seem to be the real power in world? If so, we await the Second Coming of Christ and we have an invitation in our hand to a Holy Spirit party. That’s where we find the REAL POWER for Believers in this world and the REAL HOPE for those who need to be snatched from the flames of this present evil age. What will you choose? Amen.
