"It’s Not About You"
Author: Dr. Neal Gray
Passage: Luke 14:12-24
Purpose: When God blesses you, He has chosen to favor you. But for what? It is for this: God blesses you that you will be a blessing to others! His blessing is about you, but it’s not about you. It’s about others that you have the privilege of blessing!
INTRODUCTION
Opening
My feeling today is that this sermon message is something like, well... something like going from the "dark side of the moon," and emerging into the light. I hope you’ll see what I mean.
Scripture
Our Scripture is Luke 14:12-24. Let’s look at what Jesus taught back then, and see if He is saying anything to us today.
DANGEROUS TO TAKE YOUR LORD FOR GRANTED
Introduction
There is a phrase in the English language that we have all heard. It sounds like this: "I took it/him/her/them FOR GRANTED."
It seems to me by reading this passage that the so-called friends of the inviting man took him for granted! Doesn’t it seem that way to you?
Bid My Friends to Come Join Me
The Scripture does not explicitly say that generous feast-giving man sent his servant to invite the man’s friends to supper. It only says: "A certain man made a great supper, and bade many," (v 16b).
But by reading further we find that THOSE INITIALLY INVITED DID NOT COME in. Only those who were in "the streets and lanes of the city," and those out in "the highways and hedges" actually came in to the supper.
So I’m guessing that...
* Those who came were not actual friends of the generous man, and,
* Those who did not come were previously acquaintances and friends of the generous man.
==> The well-to-do generous man invited his friends to join him for a lovely supper. But they all had their "own thing" to do instead.
The Lord "Calls" You to Him
In our Christian Scripture, in our Christian tradition, in our Christian experience--our Great God BIDS US TO COME CLOSER to Him.
Certainly the point Jesus wants us to get is that God calls us to fellowship with Him. Father God sets the table--a luxurious table. And then...
* He sends for His acquaintances.
* He sends for His friends.
* He sends for us!
In Scripture, the generous man’s friends reply...
* Sorry. Got to go work on my ground.
* Sorry. Got to go see how my animal is.
* Sorry. Got a new wife. Got to be with her, ya’ know.
==> What do we say? We say, "Sorry, Boss. Kinda busy right now. Can I take a rain-check? I know you’ll forgive me. See ya’ next week."
Priority Setting
I guess I’m sort of radical these days. Perhaps too much so for you. But I have to tell you how God is working in me, and how wonderfully I see God working in many of you. My feelings these days MIGHT BE a bit radical.
==> Let me tell you how I am experiencing God in my life. My feelings these days are that, from God’s point-of-view, IT’S NOT ABOUT ME AND IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU. (Poetry here? Me thinks not!)
What is the "it"? The "it" is my life. The "it" is my priorities.
I have read in Scripture:
Thus saith the LORD, "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches. But let him that glories glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight," saith the LORD. (Jeremiah 9:23-24)
==> Priorities in life: understanding and knowing God. IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU; IT’S ABOUT GOD.
I have experienced this in life: those persons whom I choose to "hang out" with are the persons that I like the most. And so I sense the Holy Spirit of Christ begging to spend time with me:
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. (Revelation 3:20)
IT’S NOT SO MUCH ABOUT YOU NOR ABOUT ME, but about being with Christ.
Dangerous to Take God for Granted
And yet in the culture I have grown up in, the Christians SEEM TO TAKE GOD FOR GRANTED. I’ve noticed it. They think, or they demonstrate by their life:
"Well, God’s mission of reaching others doesn’t really need me. God’s assembly of people can do without me on a regular basis. God’s Word and His presence in my life aren’t the top priorities in my life."
==> No wonder it took me 32 years before I became a genuine follower of Jesus. HIS PEOPLE SIMPLY DIDN’T IMPRESS ME by their lack of priorities to be genuine followers! THEY TAKE GOD FOR GRANTED.
Am I too radical when I say that YOU ARE ON DANGEROUS TERRITORY to take God for granted? Hmmm? One day you may really find that, from God’s point-of-view, IT REALLY ISN’T ABOUT YOU AT ALL--it is all about loving God.
If you and if I decide to put these puny little lives of ours ahead of God, (St. Paul counts all things lost as "dung," [cf. Philippians 3:8]); then some day we may hear God declare, "none of these shall taste of My supper."
==> Radical? Perhaps. Scriptural? It is.
Okay, enough hard reality about the "dark side," the slippery side, the dangerous side of life. I only leave this subject by saying as Jesus often said, "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."
BE BLESSED FOR OTHERS
Introduction
Let’s move over to a brighter picture, to a better side of reality. Not only brighter...it may also be a novel idea that you are about to hear.
Our God Blesses
My first statement on the "good side" surely is not something new to you: OUR GOD BLESSES PEOPLE. It seems that God loves us tremendously. He has always blessed His people. Blessing is what God does, and what God longs to do for us.
In our passage today, if we take the generous man as representing Father God, then we see that He invites His friends to dine with Him. God blesses people. IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU; IT’S ABOUT SPREADING GOD’S BLESSING.
God Blesses Through His Servant
But notice: how does this generous man invite his friends? Hmmm? Look again at verse 17: "[He] sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, ’Come; for all things are now ready.’"
This generous man, (obviously he was quite wealthy), did not go out to his friends’ homes to invite them personally. No. He "sent his servant."
The generous man wanted to bestow a wonderful blessing upon his friends. I suppose that he had cooks and table waiters to prepare the meal and the table. I can only suppose that.
==> But what is clear is that this generous man did have at least one "servant" whom he trusted to go out to his friends with notice of a blessing.
God Blesses You to Bless Others
Now, here is the novel idea: God blesses you so that you may bless others.
I’m thinking that the whole point of the mature Christian’s life is not so much to sit down, right now while we are on earth, at the Master’s table. It seems to me that the central focus of the mature Christian’s life now is to invite others to sit down at the Master’s Table in the future.
I’ll put that in more plain words. If you consider yourself to be a genuine follower of God, a genuine follower of His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, then your life is all about pointing others to the Lord. Being a blessing, indeed!
God loves you. You know that. Jesus tells you that He no longer calls you "servant," He calls you "friend," (see John 15:15). He calls you His "ambassador," (2 Corinthians 5:20). He calls you "son" or "daughter," (6:18). You are truly a blessed person by God Himself.
And since God is not personally here, as He was 2000 years ago, teaching, preaching, healing, helping; He sends you to do the good works, to teach the good words, to love others in righteousness. IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU; FOR GOD BLESSES YOU SO THAT YOU MAY BE A BLESSING TO OTHERS.
It’s Not About You
You know that you are God’s beloved person. And so, with that knowledge and understanding, remember this about your life: IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU.
You once thought that life was all about you. But now, being a mature Christian, God has exalted you to be His agent of blessing to others.
Consider the "servant" in our Scripture passage. When the generous man sent him out to invite the others in, the servant didn’t whine, such as...
"Gee, I don’t know why I have to go out and get those people. I’d rather sit at the table and wait for somebody to bring me something to eat."
No, the servant knew that he had been entrusted by "the Man" himself. For this servant, his satisfaction came from being the message-carrier. He did the work. And he surely knew that the master would not withhold supper from him.
==> No, I firmly believe that this messenger-servant was seated at the supper table along with all of the guests! He had a heart for serving the Master.
And I am glad that very many of you have this heart; I know that you genuinely want to be a blessing to others.
Recently, a couple came to our church. It was their first time to visit in our services. And, as you know, we traditionally have a time in the middle of the service for greeting one another. Well, as I made my way back to them, Steve & Denise were sitting on the pew, nobody at all talking to them. A bit disappointed, I asked them, "Hasn’t anybody greeted you?" They both looked at me with wide eyes, smiling, and simultaneously exclaimed, "Everybody has greeted us!" Of course, my heart leaped for joy at the thought of your friendliness!
==> I think you know this truth: IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU; IT’S ABOUT REACHING OTHERS FOR CHRIST.
Who Do We Reach and How
So, who are we supposed to reach out to? The generous man reached out, via his servant, to friends and acquaintances. They wouldn’t come. So, he instructed his servant to go get people whom he had never even met; those who were in "the streets and lanes of the city," and those out in "the highways and hedges."
Look at WHO JESUS ADVISES US TO INVITE to our suppers: "call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind," (Luke 14:13). If we only associate with our friends, relatives, and well-to-do neighbors; Jesus says that isn’t very good.
==> God is pleased, however, when we reach out to those who have no way of returning the favor.
Open House & Street Fair
This Saturday, (October 13, 2001; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.), we are reaching out to people whom we have never met. At our "5th Annual Open House & Street Fair" we are providing games, fun, prizes, and food and soft drinks to anybody and everybody who will come.
All of it at no cost; everything is free. Absolutely free.
Why are we spending a large sum of money to do this? Well, there are several reasons:
* We want to provide a safe place for children to have fun.
* We want to provide a place for families who can’t spend lots of money going to popular and costly amusements.
* We want to tell people about Jesus’ free offer of salvation.
* We want to invite them to come to our church, too.
==> I’m thinking that Jesus is pleased with our efforts. We’re showing the people in our community that we know IT’S NOT ABOUT US; IT’S ABOUT THE LOVE OF GOD.
CONCLUSION
Jesus Wants Us to Look Outward
I’ll conclude with two summary statements.
First, Jesus wants us to direct our attention outward. This life is not about bringing honor to oneself. The question is not, "What can I do for someone such that I receive a favor back from them?" but rather, "What can I give to meet the needs of others, especially those who have no way to pay me back?"
For the genuine follower of Jesus, service and meeting the needs of others are not options.
==> IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU, IT’S ABOUT MINISTERING TO OTHERS.
Jesus Wants Genuine Followers
Second statement: Jesus does not exclude persons from genuinely following Him.
However, many many people exclude themselves because they place higher priorities on their own interests. But others--like you and like me-- accept God’s invitation, and they will surely sit at God’s table.
==> Remember. IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU AT ALL; IT’S ALL ABOUT GOD.
Send Us Lord
May our Great God send us out further and wider to bring many more people into His assembly of blessed people. We are surely blessed by God’s love, both now and for all eternity!
==> Like the young Isaiah, may we each proclaim, "Here I am; send me!" Then...and only then, we are living on the "light side of life."
AMEN.
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| Copyright 2001 |
| Practical Holiness Ministry (r) |
| "BRINGING PRACTICAL IDEAS TO |
| THE CHRISTIAN LIFE." (tm) |
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| You may reprint or publish or hopefully |
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| not-for-profit, except that it may |
| profit one’s soul, (see Mark 8:36). |
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| Dr. Neal Gray is Pastor of the Baltimore |
| Parkville Church of the Nazarene. |
| You can reach Dr. Gray by e-mail at: |
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| mailto:drngray@earthlink.net |
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| Also, please visit the church’s website: |
| http://www.ForMinistry.com/21234BPCOTN |
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| LEARNING. MENTORING. SERVING. (tm) |
| 2 Pet. 3:18 - 2 Tim. 2:2 - Matt. 20:26-28|
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