The biggest concert in Canadian history is now history. Summer 2003 we saw the Rolling Stones headlined the SARS concert to tell the world that TO is SARS free, SO COME WORLD! It is safe, no fear of catching a deadly disease and then suffer and die from it, come party. This Fall 2003, Canada is going to see another big event. I wonder if you have heard about it? It is a dinner invitation. Some are saying that it is the biggest dinner invitation in Canadian history. Beginning September 15, 2003 all across this nation . Canadians of all ages, classes and spiritual persuasions will be invited to attend special events sponsored by more than 2,000 churches. Why? Let me tell you about a dinner story in the Bible…
When Jesus burst onto the scene with his first miracle do you know where it was performed? According to John 2, it was at Cana in Galilee. Where Jesus changed water into an alcoholic beverage. What was the setting? A wedding party! So John 2 says:
The next day Jesus’ mother was a guest at a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. 2 Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. 3 The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’ mother spoke to him about the problem. “They have no more wine,” she told him.
No wine that’s disaster… shame, bad planning, bad hosts, little to be joyful about… bad news… but Jesus saved that day… turned water into wine… not just cheap wine, but quality stuff, the best!
9 When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. 10 “Usually a host serves the best wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone is full and doesn’t care, he brings out the less expensive wines. But you have kept the best until now!”
John 2:11 (NIV) “This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee.” Why? I submit to you, that Jesus is making a statement. God is inviting people to a party, a dinner party, a wedding party, and it will have wine flowing, a sign of joy, of laughter, unadulterated happiness, jumping up for joy, kicking up the heels, the best feel-good blowout party! A wedding, what a perfect picture that is of love, joy, intimacy, worth, passion, romance! This is what Jesus came for, He died making that statement anticipating the wine being poured out again. Wine of his blood will flow, so that the wine of joy, of celebration of love will go unabated into eternity. In the best way He can, He is making a statement of celebration that will go on and on... Yes! The best is still to come!!! The wine of God will flow into a world that’s got no more wine, no more joy, laughter, love! That’s the story of the last supper in Luke 22 (NLT)…
14 Then at the proper time Jesus and the twelve apostles sat down together at the table. 15 Jesus said, “I have looked forward to this hour with deep longing, anxious to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. 16 For I tell you now that I won’t eat it again until it comes to fulfillment in the Kingdom of God.”
17 Then he took a cup of wine, and when he had given thanks for it, he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. 18 For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.”
19 Then he took a loaf of bread; and when he had thanked God for it, he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This wine is the token of God’s new covenant to save you—an agreement sealed with the blood I will pour out for you.
Jesus, in the intimacy of his closest companions, says “don’t forget – when wine of his blood flows at the cross, that’s not the end, the best is still to come when he will eat and drink again at wedding supper of the lamb with His bride, the church because he says the wine will flow again when the Kingdom of God comes, when it is fulfilled, and He will there drinking it again, and oh the joy the rapture, the ecstasy, the passion of that moment. I won’t eat, drink I won’t party with you until the Kingdom of God is consummated, when He will come again!
Revelation 19 in the Bible speaks of the wedding supper of the Lamb, speaking of the party Jesus is anticipating. Eph.5:25 in the context of teaching about husband and wife relationship the Apostle Paul was inspired of the Spirit of God and said “Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her” which he described as a “profound mystery” (Eph.5:32). Revelation 21 speaks of the awesome bride, the church, beautifully dressed, total knockout, literally to die for beauty, … God is inviting this world, you and me, for this ultimate party, where you and I are not the guest, nor the best man or maid of honor but the main players, the centre of attention like the bride of any wedding, for God so loved the world that He gave His Son Jesus to make sure we get the invitation, and for us to RSVP.
God’s Invitation to His party is sent out thru us. He is using personal mail, not impersonal e-mail. Coca-Cola and Nike know advertising works -- or they wouldn’t spend millions on it each year paying celebrities to give out endorsements. Nike wants Tiger Woods to say because of Nike he is a great golfer. They pay to say it personally, not just write an e-mail. They want him to appear on camera and say it. In same way Jesus has appeared in this world personally say the invitation to God’s party is here. The cross is God’s personal statement of invitation to all the world…
Wanna come?
And now Jesus is sending us to carry that message of invitation so that the world can RSVP “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” John 20:21 (NLT)
Look at the kind of people he sends
A. The Rock!
He immediately led him to Jesus. Jesus took one look up and said, "You’re John’s son, Simon? From now on your name is Cephas" (or Peter, which means "Rock").
Jn.1:42 (MSG)
Professional fisherman, you, Simon, you Rock!
Looking at Simon’s resume, you gotta be joking. But I like what Jesus did here, he was looking at not what Peter is all about now. He is looking to the future, of what he will become, you will rock! Solid, steady, but meanwhile he is anything but… see Luke 22 again
54 So they arrested him and led him to the high priest’s residence, and Peter was following far behind. 55 The guards lit a fire in the courtyard and sat around it, and Peter joined them there. 56 A servant girl noticed him in the firelight and began staring at him. Finally she said, “This man was one of Jesus’ followers!”
57 Peter denied it. “Woman,” he said, “I don’t even know the man!”
58 After a while someone else looked at him and said, “You must be one of them!”
“No, man, I’m not!” Peter replied.
59 About an hour later someone else insisted, “This must be one of Jesus’ disciples because he is a Galilean, too.”
60 But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about.” And as soon as he said these words, the rooster crowed. 61 At that moment the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered that the Lord had said, “Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny me three times.” 62 And Peter left the courtyard, crying bitterly.
Crybaby, steady rock, no way… steadily denying Jesus, that’s what He did!
BUT… FF to Acts 2 …
Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. 15 Some of you are saying these people are drunk. It isn’t true! It’s much too early for that. People don’t get drunk by nine o’clock in the morning. 16 No, what you see this morning was predicted centuries ago by the prophet Joel.
Peter’s words convicted them deeply, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Each of you must turn from your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is to you and to your children, and even to the Gentiles—all who have been called by the Lord our God.” 40 Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, “Save yourselves from this generation that has gone astray!”
41 Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church—about three thousand in all. 42 They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord’s Supper and in prayer. Holy Bible, New Living Translation
I thank God for the Rock story. I have done what Peter has done, chose the coward’s way, many times, but what Jesus did for Peter He did for me, restored me… and now my name has title pastor attached to it because He saw more in me, loved me and forgave me. How about you?
Many have failed… let Jesus call to you, because you rock. NO matter how far u are, crying bitterly you think you failed oh so miserably, you let down God, you let down others, u know what it happened to the best preacher God placed on earth, Peter Rock! It will happen to you! There is much grace in God! The Bible says we will have trouble, but guess what Jesus said He has overcomed the world!
Remember the Rock’s story, it is our story too, you can rock if you come to Christ and believe! Let His grace rock you, so that you can rock like Peter!
B. The Stones.
4As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him-- 5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6For in Scripture it says:
"See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame. 1Peter 2:4-6 (NIV)
You think the Mick Jaeger and gang were the first Stones, no way, the copyright for the name came right from the Bible, it’s for the church of God. The Stones, are us… picture – temple, place of worship where sacrifices are carried out. Not the picture of the cathedrals of modern times, but where blood flowed, the smell and not but it is done now through Jesus Christ and anyone who trust in him will not be put to shame! Each of us a piece of a very important puzzle and only thru Jesus Christ can we become the Stones that bring spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God. Together we become the pieces of a great puzzle the Master is putting together for the greatest party ever and He is using you and me to do it, people like Peter, like you and me!
C. The Vision.
9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)
A very dirty little boy came in from playing the yard, and asked his mom “Who am I?” Ready to play yhe game she said, “I don’t know! Who are you?’
“wow” cried the child. “Mrs. Cruz was right! She said I was so dirty, my own mother wouldn’t recognize me!”
Some of us like are like that dirty boy –been told we are washed up, a has been, dirty rotten to the core, no future, surely God can’t use you, your life is waste, whoa lousy grades, dreamer, no-good, good for nothing, low-life, many years of abuse by others, we begin to say hey maybe they’re right. Who am I? Ain’t worth very much!
Who am I??? Those of you who believed Christ died for you… the Bible says chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. Chosen – denotes care in choosing quality – see that at T and T Supermarket – this lady going thru mountains of fruit, choosing the best. Speaks powerfully of how God sees us the church as quality – God did choose junk, he chose you, born again of His Spirit, regenerated with new life in Christ. Royal priest – represent majesty of God, you are the ambassador, the one who carries the authority for others to enter God’s presence, mediator, carrying the message from the King of kings. a holy Nation – set apart from the rest of the world, significance. Other world, not just from China, India or Canada but set apart from others, totally special. No comparison. Like the glory of a celebrity, of a Michael Jordan set apart from the rest of the NBA, like the greatest thing. People belonging to God – speaks of security in a terror filled world. You belong to God, God sees you as precious, totally His, He’s npt sharing you with Satan, church is his bride, church is His!
No longer dirty, no longer unknown, unworthy, chosen, royal blood, representing God, set apart, secure!
WHY?
D. The Purpose!
“…that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)
Blackout in the East… NY, Toronto, Ottawa – power outage…cell phones went dead, but it is significant that people were lining up to use old fashioned land lines. Why? Calling loved ones, friends. Do they call Ghostbusters? Do they call for pizza? Do they call to cancel reservations to dinner?
God’s calling, hello, in the darkness, calling you out because you are precious to him, the living stones, do you hear??? Nicky Gumbel -- who originated Alpha through Holy Trinity Brompton Church in London, England -- was in Canada to promote the new campaign. “I think we all know, deep down, that relationships are the most important thing in life," Gumbel told host Rhonda Glenn, "and our relationship with God is the most important of all." Jesus, he said, "came to make it possible for us to have that relationship; and when we find that relationship with God, through [Christ], everything else falls into place.
"Until we find it, nothing else satisfies. People think that maybe success will satisfy, or a happy family, or a great career, or money, or sex. These are good [things], but always leave us empty and unfulfilled."
Calling us out to the most important thing in life – relationship with God- for His praise, to worship, to declare to the world God rocks, and we rock because God rocked this world first… anticipating that we living stones are gonna rock and we join in the that wedding party and what a day that’ll be!
God’s inviting u to dinner, to join in to declare the praise…
E. What we are called for?
We are called for this - to RSVP to God’s invite! Because you rock, according to Jesus, you are the Stones that he wants to be a temple for Him, precious stones, you are the vision - chosen, royal, set apart, you belong, secure. The purpose - he is on the line calling you out of darkness! Put your name on that card, I am coming to rave of the ages, blow-out, singing the praise of the one who loves me!
A woman was walking along the beach when she stumbled upon a bottle. She picked it up and rubbed it, and lo-and-behold a Genie appeared. The amazed woman asked if she got three wishes. The Genie said, "Nope, sorry three-wish genies are a story-tale myth. I’m a one-wish genie. So...what’ll it be?"
The woman didn’t hesitate. She said, "I want peace in the Middle East. See this map? I want these countries to stop fighting with each other and I want all the Arabs to love Jews and Americans and vice-versa. It will bring about world peace and harmony."
The Genie looked at the map and exclaimed, "Lady, be reasonable. These countries have been at war for thousands of years. I’m out of shape after being in a bottle for five hundred years. I’m good but not THAT good! I don’t think it can be done. Make another wish and please be reasonable."
The woman thought for a minute and said, "Well, I’ve never been able to find the right man. You know, one that’s considerate and fun, likes to cook and helps with the house cleaning, is romantic and gets along with my family, doesn’t watch sports all the time, and is faithful. That’s what I wish for .. a good man."
The Genie let out a long sigh, shook his head and said, "Let me see that map again."
A good man has come, His name is Jesus… He brings along a party invite… and He says whoever has an ear let Him hear . Rev.22:17 (NLT) says: The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let each one who hears them say, “Come.” Let the thirsty ones come—anyone who wants to. Let them come and drink the water of life without charge.
We are called to COME, and we are to say to Jesus “ Come.” Like thirsty people, dive in and soak it in the love of God. The biggest dinner party in Canada Sept 15 says come, have you RSVP yet? Be part of the Alpha team get excited about the greatest dinner in Canadian history which is just a preamble to the best blowout ever with God as the host, the bridegroom.
I trust today - you have captured the party spirit of God.
He is the wine that will flow in a world of no more wine.
Feel used up, let the wine of God flow - breathe in the words of God, see His vision of you - chosen, royal, holy, belonging to God - let those words penetrate deeply in your soul. Hear Him calling us out of the darkness...
remember he is looking forward to party on with us!
And now we are sent to tell of God’s invite... tasting His wine in us, thisrting for more for the best is still to come.
