Antioch Fellowship Church | 9 August 2020

um [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] fellowship missionary for the kingdom of god helping need [Music] [Music] welcome welcome [Music] good morning antioch family and friends and happy sunday welcome to the experience of worship live we are so excited that you chose to worship with us today and we're even more excited about what god is going to do through this worship experience here in just a moment we would like to invite you to stand up on your feet and clap your hands as we participate in a moment of corporate praise and worship at that moment in time if you're either in the house or at the house we want you to sing along and lift up the name of our lord and savior jesus christ shortly thereafter we'll participate in a moment of corporate prayer at that time if you're visiting us online feel free to submit your prayer requests in the comments and then the most exciting part happens pastor chris wesley is back with his series picture this through this series if you haven't been with us and this is your first time joining pastor chris is taking us through a series of parables taught by jesus christ we're getting an in-depth look of what those parables mean today in the year 2020 and we're so excited about what god has to say and if you feel led to give remember you can do so by visiting us online at afnbc.org by texting afnbc to 779 777 or by simply using our mobile app again we are so excited that you're here with us today and we're even more excited about what god is about to do buckle up worship begins in five four three two one [Music] number six just simply says let everything oh i know y'all didn't come in here just to look at me let everything that have breath praise the lord and then if you still didn't get it it just closes out and says praise ye the lord let's go hallelujah forever [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] thank you jesus [Music] [Music] [Music] blessings thank you jesus [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] one more time [Music] forever [Music] [Applause] it just says [Music] they are [Music] [Music] [Music] blue [Music] i'm gonna say thank you i'm gonna bless him i'm gonna bless him i know that we're in a pandemic but that doesn't stop my praise even if i have to have my mask on i know y'all like well she ain't got to know now but when i do have my mask on i promise you i still give him the praise because he's worthy he's worthy do i have a witness he's worthy i know what it looks like but he's still worthy he's still worthy i will bless the lord my soul and all that is within me bless [Music] lift that up and say [Music] holy [Music] come on i know you know this song right [Music] there [Music] somebody might be asking why i'll tell you why [Music] has because [Music] i'm gonna bless this holy do i have a witness out [Music] [Music] [Applause] when there look back over my life and i think about the goodness of jesus and how he's kept me [Music] i'm gonna bless this holy [Music] i'm gonna bless this [Music] let us pray eternal god our father how we love you and we thank you [Music] god we come thanking you for doing great things thank you for doing great things through us thank you for doing great things for us thank you for doing great things in spite of us god we come now in humble submission bound before you saying thank you for being god thank you for visiting me that wasn't promised to us god thank you for things being as well as they are thank you god god we come thank you for this worship experience thank you for allowing us to engage in praise and worship god we bible for you now admitting before you that we are sinners we've done things outside of your will and so we ask now for forgiveness of our sins we ask that you will cleanse us of our unrighteousness that you will have your way within us the truth is lord we still desire to be your children so we ask that you not remove your heads of protection from around us god have your way with us god we pray now for the person who stands on our right for the person who's on our left knowing not even what they stand in need of but believing that you are god and you can do absolutely anything and so lord we lift him up before you lord i pray for everyone under the sound of my voice i pray for those who are here in the sanctuary i pray for those who are the sanctuaries of their own homes i pray that you will just have your way in our lives you know we stand in need of lord we pray now for pastor chris as he prepares to stand to declare your word we ask that you'll give him clarity of thought that you'll give him boldness of speech she'll allow him to stand and reclaim proclaim your word in such a way that our lives will be made better because of it lord we pray for the sick we pray for the berea family of faith who are going through life lord we pray and ask that you'll just have your way lord i pray that you will just continue to shine upon us that you will continue to shine through us and that you will just continue to serve as lord in our life lord we need you and we need you in a very real way lord there are some of us the truth is we are at the end of our rope lord we don't know which way to turn and so lord we look to you lord we look to you trusting and believing that you have it all under control even though things seem to be spinning out of control or just keep us in the midst of whatever it is that's going on god i pray for each and every family that's represented here i pray for those who aren't here this morning ask that you'll meet us at our point of individual need lord continue to do great things you've done it before we trust that you're going to do it again and we want to be a part of whatever it is that you're choosing to do have your way lord in the name of jesus we pray [Music] amen [Music] think about how good he's been to you to your family to your friends even to your enemies [Music] is [Music] i'm gonna bless this holy [Music] that's a good place right there that's a good place right there to give god some praise that's a good place right there to give god some praise because he's been too good he's been too kind he's been too awesome i know i'm not worthy i know i'm not worthy [Music] come on all over the house clap your hands like this we want to encourage you this morning and tell you it's going to work in your favor here we go guys come on [Music] hold on [Music] [Music] is you say it's going to work [Music] come on [Music] look at somebody and say hold on [Music] is [Music] [Music] frustrated [Music] but that's weird it's gonna work [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] yay [Music] gonna is [Music] come on take it up again [Music] is [Music] [Music] no matter what it looks like no matter what it is [Music] here we go [Music] [Music] [Music] good morning and thank you for joining us for this week at antioch for those of you who are in the building we are so happy to see your faces for those of you who are joining us online we are grateful to have you a special shout out goes out to our visitors and special guests not only do we appreciate your fellowship but your viewership as well and we want to stay connected so if you would please download our app and fill in the connect card speaking of our app for those who wish to give you can do so using it by going online or texting afnbc 779-77 here are some antioch updates on thursday please feel free to swing by the church between 11 and 1 or from 5 to 7 for drive-thru thursdays attention parents many students are preparing for a brand new school year what better way than to start the year with being spiritually fed so moms dads grab your tablets and log onto afnbc.org click the foundation team icon and enjoy some new content the reach dallas summit is back and in full effect but this year is 100 digitally beginning sunday august 9th through the 15th all of the content will be available on our online platforms we hope that this year you will be renewed restored and that your fervor be refreshed during the summit and beyond lastly we are all set for our summer revival but this year antioch has two revivals prepare to join us for some powerful preaching from pastor tolin morgan of the fellowship bible baptist church in georgia beginning at 7 pm on august the 18th through august 20th we will hear a word from god so you can register for an in-house experience or stream online verse 4 says black god lord have mercy verses 1 through 3 is a dead state of affairs we are callous to sin we've been controlled by satan and we've got shared corruption but god i don't even understand why you're not running in your house already because those two words by themselves present to us the whole thesis of this little easter speech here it is but is that contrasting conjunction which suggests that when i put it in this sentence whatever is on the backside changes because it's on the backside of but to change whatever was before it it means ladies and gentlemen if i was dead on the front side of but i'm coming to life on the back side if i was lifeless on the front side of but i'm coming to life again on the backside somebody oh thank god again thank you for joining us for this week at antioch my name is mikayla mcday choose to be great this week i'm gonna ask everybody in the building whether you're sitting whether you're standing to just begin to create an atmosphere of worship i'm talking about in the sanctuary in your personal sanctuaries whether you're at home whether in your car just right now begin to focus on the one true and living god you know it might be a little hard because there are so many circumstances there are so many problems pandemics that are there to disturb your worship so right now all over the building i'm just going to ask you if you would be so kind at home come on lift your hands it's a sacrifice it might hurt it might not feel good right now but lift your hands i mean lift them up to the heels from whence cometh come on lift your hands up right now and begin to concentrate and focus on the one true and living god hallelujah [Music] me [Music] you [Music] we come on with a big voice we give you all the glory sounds give you worship [Music] we give you all the glory [Music] come on everybody come on push through it push through it come on one more time [Applause] bishop [Music] [Applause] [Music] you are [Music] you are worthy [Music] we worship you [Music] we give you all the glory [Music] [Applause] [Music] sure we give you the glory [Music] said one more time everybody we give you all the glory [Music] [Music] [Music] for the lord our god [Music] [Music] hallelujah [Music] [Music] [Music] yes [Music] hallelujah [Music] him right now speak to him where you are go give him your best [Music] we give you we give you [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] [Music] hallelujah nobody but you are worthy [Music] [Music] we declare that thou art worthy o lord to receive glory and honor and power for thou hath created all things and for your pleasure they are and were created we worship you because you're worthy of our worship not based on what we're going through not based on what we've experienced not based on how we feel but based on your sovereign power and might based on your unfailing love based on your excellent greatness we respond with worship we join with the angels and declare holy holy holy is the lord god almighty we worship your name worthy is the lamb who was slain he who was and is and is to come we worship you now forgive us for being so busy with the life that we failed to do the very thing we were created to do so we pause to worship to intentionally lift our hands in submission and open our mouths with confession and declaration that you alone are god beside you there is none other you are matchless unrivaled unequaled mighty are the works of your hands we worship you jesus you holy god who could have chosen to remain separate from his sinful creation [Music] yet because of your matchless love [Music] invite us into relationship with you we are grateful and our response to our gratitude is our worship we bless your name jesus now god would you speak to us clearly so that we would be conformed to the image of your son so that we can love you deeper so that we can draw even closer how we bless you breathe now on your people posture our hearts to receive your word thank you that it will not return unto you void it will accomplish what is set out to do and help us to receive with submission and humility the word of god that has the power to save us in jesus name amen so grateful for your presence both in the building and online this morning how grateful i am that you have gathered to worship we're going to continue exploring some of the parables of jesus i invite you to matthew chapter number 22 beginning at verse number one matthew chapter number 22 beginning at verse number one as we continue looking at some of the parables of jesus when you have it will you let me know with the sound of amen this is the word of god jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables said the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding and they were not willing to come again he sent out other servants saying tell those who were invited see i've prepared my dinner my oxen and the fattened calf are killed and all things are ready come to the wedding but they made light of it and went their ways one his own form another to his business and the rest seized his servants and treated them spitefully and killed them but when the king heard about it he was furious and he sent out his armies destroyed those murderers and burned up their city then he said to his servants the wedding is ready but those who were invited were not worthy therefore go into the highways and as many as you find invite to the wedding so those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found both bad and good and the wedding hall was filled with guests when the king came in to see the guests he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment so he said to him friend how did you come in here without a wedding garment and he was speechless and the king said to the servants bind them hand and foot take them away and cast them out to the other utter darkness out of darkness there will be weeping and national teeth for many are called but few are chosen for a few minutes just want to talk to you from this thought chosen for the party chosen for the party the earthly ministry of jesus is quickly coming to its glorious completion matthew 21 jesus triumphantly enters jerusalem to the adoration of a multitude that is gathered to celebrate the passover upon his entry to the city matthew details for us the series of events that take place on the first few days upon his arrival jesus would arrive in jerusalem go into the temple and drive out those who had turned the house of prayer into a den of thieves while while the corrupt were incensed the pure and heart began to celebrate there in the temple area children began to sing hosanna hosanna the religious leaders heard the song of praise and became irate they um show that it's very interesting the things that religious people get angry about they had nothing to say about the misuse of the temple but had an attitude about praise in response to their indignation jesus asked if they had ever read the scriptures before said they should be reminded that god said out of the mouth of babes god has ordained praise he then sees a fig tree and um that did not bear fruit he cursed it it immediately withered and died and then he retreated to bethany to rest the next morning he gets up goes to teach in the temple and while there in the temple the bible says that the religious leaders show up again and when they show up they show up to ask jesus who gave him the authority to teach and heal and preach like he had who told you you could do that under whose authority in whose name do you have the power to do what you're doing without having the answer to us essentially they asked jesus who do you think you are jesus um while choosing not to directly answer their questions begins to tell a couple of parables these these two parables that conclude matthew 21 are harsh rebukes of the religious leaders he he essentially tells them that they uh would not enter the kingdom in fact the lowest common denominator of jewish society would have greater access to the kingdom than them jesus said the the prostitutes and the tax collectors will get into the kingdom before you he he rebukes them for rejecting john's message that the kingdom was at hand he he he rebukes them for refusing to repent the parables he shows them that they are hypocritical corrupt thieves by the end of matthew chapter 21 the the religious leaders are fully aware of what jesus feels about them and they were ready in the moment to arrest him and have him killed these these jewish leaders these pharisees and scribes have become opposed to jesus so much so that they have entrenched themselves against him they could not be converted they would not be moved they had made the decision to not only ignore his invitation to the kingdom but to violently reject it they've all but decided to kill jesus and according to john's gospel they've even started to plot to kill some of his followers they made a clear decision on which side they would stand on interestingly enough these leaders who were said to study and know the word couldn't recognize them wrapped in flesh they spent their lives studying the scriptures that were to bear witness of the one that they had decided to oppose the the foolishness of this rejection is that they these religious leaders by their own admission were waiting for the messiah to come these leaders knew that somebody was coming to save them but unfortunately they failed to recognize and realize that jesus was the one that came through 42 generations of jewish heritage and legacy to be the person that they've been praying for he said out of his own mouth that he came for the lost sheep of israel jesus intended to bring this salvation to his people yet it had become abundantly clear that his message would be rejected by many of those he came for how foolishly heartbreaking it is that after centuries of awaiting the good news the promised messiah they would reject him for centuries they were promised that the one who saved them from their sins was to come and you would think that jesus's proclamation and demonstration to prove that he was who they had been waiting on would be the type of announcement that would bring excitement and celebration but instead since the arrival of jesus these religious leaders were opposed to the message that they had been waiting for jesus knowing their hearts and intentions begins to tell the parable that is the subject of our text today in matthew chapter 22. the king of a certain kingdom had arranged a marriage for his son and sent the servants to proclaim this news throughout the kingdom the marriage of the king's son was important because it would have far-reaching impact on the future of the kingdom when the servants arrived to announce invitations for the original guest they refused the invitations but instead of getting angry the king started to prepare the meal he prepared this meal he laid out this glorious feast and once the feast was prepared he sent word to the invited guest again telling them it was time to show up one group of invited guests decided that this wedding wasn't important enough for them to leave their businesses and their farms another group of invited guests decided to not only reject the invitation but to attack the messengers so the king was irate and he destroyed them and burned up everything in their town since the original guest decided not to show up the king said invitation to anyone in the highways and the hedges that wanted to show up soon the banquet was filled with joyful guests but there was a man who was unprepared and was cast out jesus concludes this story by saying many are called if you were chosen as we seek to understand the meaning of this parable we first got to clarify the message of this parable number one there is friends and arranged marriage that is the central event of all of human history and the most important union of all time that is the marriage between christ the son of the king and his bride the church as we approach our text today this wedding day was quickly approaching jesus will soon take a cross up calvary's mountain to declare his vows over his bride before giving himself for that covenant to be established this wedding this wedding that should have been joyfully anticipated was finally nearing the big moment as christ has triumphantly come into jerusalem to take his bride this moment that all of history was waiting for was on the horizon second thing you need to understand about this parable is that in the ancient near east it was coming place for an event to be announced without giving the date and time so so so the messengers would go out to declare that an event was coming but they wouldn't necessarily say when and and and the announcement of the wedding had gone out it had been proclaimed for centuries they didn't know when they didn't know how all they knew is that there was a wedding coming there was something happen it was prophesied for centuries god sent the prophets god sent the word god sent the law to tell them that something was on the horizon and when he sent his prophets when he sent his word they ignored it and rejected it they had no interest in living their lives like the wedding day was coming they rebelled against god they ignored his warning they walked away from his ways and they lived like it was never going to happen the other thing you got to understand about this parable is that even though the king's initial invitation was rejected he still prepared a pete a feast for the very people who told him no he prepared blessing for those who would ultimately reject him in the same way god has prepared blessing for those who would accept his invitation to come and be a part of this wedding not only does he prepare a meal he extends another invitation to the same people once the meal was prepared in the ancient near east the first invitation would go out to say the wedding or the event was coming the second invitation would go out once everything was prepared and it was time for them to show up this this parable is jesus telling the people it's time to show up because wedding day is here and god in his infinite love extended multiple invitations to the same people he invites us to come after him over and over and over and over again this second this second uh announcement goes out in the text says that based on this second announcement there are different responses and we'll we'll cover the different responses during our time together but the heart of this message is simple your response to the invitation of the king has profound impact those who respond like the religious leaders of the day will have to endure punishment from the king but the text also makes it clear that there's a particular response that will change the way you're identified in the eyes of god you you'll be called chosen simply put there are only two categories you'll have an opportunity to fit into they and it's based on your response to the invitation or your response to the gospel and your response to the gospel will determine whether or not you're in group a who jesus calls the called or group b who jesus calls the chosen allow me to unpack the text and then i'm done the text says that when the second message or invitation goes out the the first group of invited guests says i i would rather i would rather go back to my farm or go back to my business now in order to understand why this is so uh why this is such a terrible decision you got to understand we're talking about the kingdom jesus in matthew chapter 5 6 and 7 declares his opening statement for the kingdom in a sermon called the sermon on the mount it literally lays out what the kingdom is and one of the kingdom principles that jesus lays out in his first manifesto is the birds don't have to worry about where their next meal is coming from i take care of them so so you if you want to be a part of the kingdom need to seek first the kingdom and all of his righteousness and everything else will be added to you here we are as jesus prayers go to the cross in matthew chapter number 22 and here's jesus saying here's the problem the problem is a lot of people have decided to try to make their own way for themself and in doing that they reject the abundance of the king how foolish it was for them to go back to forms to try to create what the king had already provided because you do know that the second announcement made it clear friends that the king had already laid out a meal but instead of going to get what the king had they tried to make it for themselves and because they tried to make it for themselves they missed the party friends hear me and hear me well do not allow the busyness of your life do not allow the goals that you set for yourself do not allow your pursuits to keep you from missing the party there are a lot of people there are a lot of people who miss what god is trying to give them because they feel like they got to grind hard enough to get it for themselves but what you will discover is you will work forever and achieve nothing and discover that the king has everything you need and all you have to do is accept the invitation and walk into relationship friends be very careful that you don't prioritize the wrong thing and allow your lack of priorities to cause you to miss abundant life [Applause] they they miss the wedding trying to provide for themselves they tried to provide for themselves a feast when god had already laid one out and the punishment was watch this i need you to see it the punishment was they died the same death that those who violently rejected the message to him what are you saying if if he's not lord over at all he might as well not be lord at all if you prioritize your pursuits you have made your pursuits your god and if your pursuits are your god that means the living god is your enemy lord have mercy y'all don't put any other god before me the god of your money the god of your job the god the god of your goal don't don't put those things above the true living god because when you do it it is to say to god i don't care anything about you i am your enemy and god know what the text says this is good all right the bible says that as a puddle as a as a penalty for this god goes in the king goes in and burns their city now now now he he clearly didn't burn everything in the city because the next invitation had to go out to people in the city what it suggests is hear me well god burnt down everything they tried to build whenever you put your goals above your god god will burn down your goals until he becomes your god [Applause] that there was a group who has some wrong priorities but then the text says that that there's another group who um who gets this invitation and instead of simply saying no they take the king's messengers they treat the king's messengers badly they torture and kill the king's messengers now now jesus is is pointing to something that has happened something that's about to happen and something that will continue to happen uh you remember when uh uh jesus shows up um in matthew chapter three matthew chapter three um teaches us about this guy named john the baptist john the baptist is in the wilderness declaring that the kingdom is at hand he is he is declaring that the marriage is coming he is declaring that the wedding day is approaching and do you know what happens to john the baptist john the baptist is arrested and beheaded because he was declaring that the kingdom is coming it wasn't because he broke a law it wasn't because he did anything wrong he was killed for declaring that the kingdom was coming in a few days they will arrest jesus beat jesus call jesus to carry a cross up calvary they're going to in their minds kill jesus for declaring that the kingdom is coming if you study throughout the book of acts you will discover that all of the apostles and the disciples are ultimately mistreated arrested beaten jailed and martyred for declaring that the kingdom is coming and if you live for jesus today it is to suggest that if you declare that the kingdom is coming people will mistreat you people will talk about you people will have negative things to say about you people won't like you because you declare a counter culture jesus says it's going to happen no this is not the shouting point of the sermon whenever you align your life to the purposes of the king and the kingdom you will discover that the purposes of the king and the kingdom are contrary to the purposes of earth so so jesus said don't be surprised when you do the right thing and people hate you for it don't be surprised when you make a right decision and you get backlash for it don't be surprised if they fire you for doing something right don't be surprised if they walk away from the relationship for doing the right thing don't be shocked in a world littered with prosperity feel good gospel i need you to understand that jesus in the scriptures wanted you to know that if you do things for my sake you will be persecuted for it but i need you to see something in the text oh even though there was opposition the messengers didn't have to fight back because the king was going to take care of it now i need you to see something about the character of the king in the text what i need you to see about the character of the king in the text is he didn't mind rejection a no didn't make him mad messing with his messengers god okay y'all okay i thought see i thought this was the part you would be happy about so so god will take more kindly to a note than he will for somebody messing with you for doing what he told you to do and all i stopped by to tell somebody is to remind you that you don't have to defend yourself god got you this is this is a theme throughout the course of history you remember the three hebrew boys don't you they decided not to bow they were gonna stand for the purposes of the king and when they got arrested they simply said king we really don't need to defend ourselves in this matter you do whatever you want to do to us but this is what i know my god will step in my god we'll have his way god can't deliver us and even if he doesn't deliver us we still won't buy i'm just looking for a few people who will say no matter what they say about me no matter what the cost is i still won't bow talk about me lay me off walk away from relationship decide to scandalize my name i still won't bow do what you want to do say what you want to say but i still won't bow because my god is able to deliver me and even if he doesn't even if he lets you go through with it even if he lets the thing happen i'm still not going to bow to you because i understand the king and the kingdom there the character of the king is such that he will defend his name by defending you the text says that when when they when they decide to when they decide to treat his messengers unkindly he sends his army in to kill the murderers and burn down what they've built but then the text says something interesting the text says that the king goes to his servants and says the first people that that were slated to get the invitations weren't worthy they were unworthy of the invitation um they weren't worthy now um you would think that that would cause the king to go further into the upper echelon of society to find people who were worthy but but instead of that the king tells the servants to go into the places where the common people hang out go to the places uh where the scum hang out go go to the places uh where the tax collectors and the prostitutes hang out go go to the places that uh that that that the people who you would think aren't worthy would be and invite them he said let's go invite the misfits if i didn't have more points i could stop right here because right through here uh uh a few people and y'all can't see it on camera but there's some folk who didn't need exegetical or homological uh trickeration to get excited about the fact that god decided to invite some misfits to the party don't worry about it i'll deal with that later so so so he goes into the places um where where the the common people were but it begs the question if the elite weren't worthy what makes the misfits worthy it would suggest to us that worth is not attached to what it is you have in status your worth is directly connected to your response to the invitation okay all right i'm not really good i'm not really good at illustrations so let me try it this way let me try it this way um uh you don't have to be worth a whole lot on your own but when you say yes to come in with the king your value skyrockets [Applause] god help me in here [Applause] i'm just glad that the moment i said yes to god my worth increased my my property value went up you you you can only see me now for who i'm with not what i was thank god that our value is increased when we say yes to the king all right i got to move so so the king sends his servants i'm almost done to invite these misfits and the text says that all of a sudden the banquet hall is full these people have come off the highways off the corners out of out of the the lower segment of society and have come in and people who were on the corner at one moment in time are now with the king in another god almighty they they were outcast and shunned and ignored and rejected and despised but now they're having court in court with the king so the king shows up to see the banquet hall field and uh he sees a man that's not dressed for the occasion he he sees a man that showed up but he's not dressed for the occasion now now i hear some of y'all saying well wait a minute uh pastor that seems unfair that that the king would be mad that the man wasn't dressed because if he came in from poverty he wouldn't have anything to wear i hear you i hear your argument here's the problem with your argument why was everybody else dressed i have an answer you ready this is gonna bless you if this doesn't do it for you i have wasted my time today all right this is gonna bless you here's why the king could get mad because in the ancient near east it was customary for the king to provide attire for his invited guests [Applause] meaning when he showed up to dine with the king the king gave him royal robes to put on suggesting that when god invited you in he didn't expect you to be righteous he put his righteousness on you he didn't expect you to have it all together he gave you what you needed to fit into space aren't you glad that when you show up in here you don't have to have it all together but god will clothe you with his righteousness he'll give you imputed righteousness so your righteousness may be a filthy rags but that's why we are the righteousness of god in christ jesus [Applause] now lest you shout too early let's get back to the text because it says that somebody showed up got a royal robe and rejected it to live in the rags he was comfortable with [Applause] so he knew he could come how he was but when given access to an upgrade he decided to stay how he was and i don't know who i'm talking to yes you can come as you are yes you don't have to have it all together but at some point you ought to grow up and learn how to put on righteousness and if you still acting the same way you've been acting since you showed up if you refuse god's righteousness there is only one response of the king you got to get out of here because you don't fit in i know y'all don't like this kind of talk but at some point when the king shows up he ain't looking for perfect people he's just looking for covered people people who have put on his righteousness and if you're not covered you can't stay [Applause] he's saying if you gonna stay how you are you can't stay here y'all sit down so jesus says and i'm done jesus says that uh at the at this invitation you can reject it or you can show up but if you show up you got to put on my clothes of the bible jesus says many are called few are chosen we gonna shout i gotta teach first okay cause what happens when people see that in their minds they somehow try to connect it to some sense of spiritual superiority that that that everybody can come but because i'm chosen i get a mic [Applause] that that that's not what the text is about that's why we got to read the whole scripture and stop trying to take pieces out that fit what we want anyway that's not about this listen listen text says that jesus concludes this by saying many are called group a is the called the call suggests that the invitation went out to a bunch of people that that everybody gets the call so many people got invitations many are called many are invited but but most of the called rejected the invitation and have since been destroyed they were called but they did not answer the call um the call can i teach the call is i got time okay the call is the call is um you you remember you remember in john chapter 11 when when jesus shows up to the tomb of lazarus the bible says that jesus shows up to the tomb he tells him to move move move the stone and he calls lazarus by name lazarus come forth invitation lazarus was dead but the voice of jesus cut through death and at the moment lazarus heard his name at the moment he was called he was awake but then he had to make the choice to respond to the call or stay in the tomb so when jesus says many are called he's suggesting that i've called a lot of people from death to life but they're still laying in the tomb many are called many a call many have heard this gospel and they chose not to respond they chose to stay where they are but few are chosen now now to the naked eye in context you would think that chosen is probably the wrong word here you would think that jesus would say something more along the lines of many are called but few respond it's not what he says many are called but few were chosen suggesting that the ones that showed up were hand-picked to show up this word chosen is really closely translated to the word elect elect many are elected many are hand-picked or few are hand-picked many are called but but the chosen are the elect those who have been hand-picked by god to show up and i hear the question now wait a minute pastor chris that don't make sense because if they were hand-picked why didn't they get the first invitations all right here's why i need you to hear jesus came through 42 generations to offer salvation through a god to his chosen people first verse of the jews they would reject it but god knew they would reject it because god sits outside of time he sees the end at the beginning he knows who will say yes before he gives out the invitations but he is not going to be guilty of not inviting everybody he's going to give everybody the option to say no but he'd already chosen those who are going to come in okay y'all still not catching it so let's let's do it this way because because this should cause a different type of response so let's try it again all right so god knew that the people in the first invitation would reject him so he had already properly placed the right people in the highways in the city to receive the invitation because that's who he always intended to throw the party for [Applause] all right this is what i'm trying to tell y'all because y'all looking at me crazy here's what i'm trying to get y'all to see you were on god's mind to show up to the party before the foundations of the world that that should cause a different type of response come on t here's why here's why here's why you ought to be happy right through here and here's what it says about the king and i'm done i'm a all a good afternoon here it is the text will suggest to us that when you know you're chosen uh uh the chosen people the chosen people are to respond with joy when they show up to the party and here's why here's why the chosen people should show up with joy when they get to the party y'all ready i'm done chosen people are to respond with joy when they get to the party because god extended an invitation that you know you don't deserve ought to have some witnesses right through here that can say when god called my name i knew i wasn't fit to live and i knew i wasn't ready to die but because he loves me so much he gave me an invitation to experience a new life and life more abundantly i should be on my way to hell but because god loves me he extended an invitation that i'm not worthy of and i just wonder if there's some witnesses here who can help me preach this thing and say if it had not been for the lord who was on my side i don't know where i would be but he extended an invitation to me that i wasn't worthy of but then what the king did is extend an invitation to me and after he extended the invitation to me when i showed up to the party i discovered that he laid out a bunch of blessing for me that i did not deserve when i showed up to the party i discovered that the table was spread and everything i could ever want to need i could find in the presence of the king after i made a bunch of mistakes i've discovered that mercy invited me but grace provided for me while i was with the king is there anybody here who can testify that when you said yes to the king you saw him blow your mind you saw him open up the windows of heaven and pour out blessing you didn't have room to receive the bible said bless the lord us up with benefits and i'm just wondering if anybody's seen the benefits of the lord has the lord made a way for you has the lord paid your bills has the lord opened some doors has the lord granted you some peace when you showed up to the party didn't the lord make a way out of no way didn't the lord blow your mind i'm done when i tell you that not only did the king invite you by his mercy not only did the king provide by his grace but the last bit of good news is that the king gave you his righteousness that he clothed you in righteousness what do you mean preacher i don't understand what you're saying here's all i'm trying to tell you you deserve to die your righteousness can't give you access to the king if you gonna show up to the king's house you gotta get dressed up you gotta put on your best but because of your sin you didn't have anything in your closet that you could wear to the king's house and you couldn't afford to go buy it so let me tell you what jesus did i said let me tell you what jesus did he knew you didn't have clothes to wear to the king's house he knew you didn't have clothes to wear for the wedding and he knew that you didn't have enough money to go buy the clothes you needed so jesus paid it all oh to heal my own sin left the crimson stain but can i tell y'all what he did i said can i tell you what he did he washed yes he did didn't he wash you didn't he clench you didn't he put his righteousness on you i'm out of here y'all but can i ask you my question is there anybody here that's grateful for the blood that's grateful for the cross that's grateful for his righteousness that gives me what i need to have access to the king if you're saved today it's not because you're righteous but it's because jesus put his righteousness on you so you are a sinner but now you've been justified and since you've been justified you're gonna be sanctified and when it's all over you'll be glorified tell somebody i'm grateful now because of the righteousness of god i couldn't have done it for myself but didn't he do it for you i said didn't he do it for you didn't he make you chosen aren't you glad that god chooses people that the world may reject it but you still got an invitation so the bible says come unto me all who labor and are heavy laden and i will give you rest won't the lord give your soul rest won't the lord give your soul rest you've been toiling for a long time trying to figure out how to be righteous but if you come to jesus he'll make you righteous i said if you come to jesus he'll make you righteous if you say yes to the invitation he'll make you righteous and the reason i know is because you're looking at somebody who didn't deserve an invitation the reason i know is cause you're looking at somebody that should have been left out on the street but because of jesus and i know i'm not the only one help me testify to somebody and say neighbor oh lord we don't went here i said say neighbor i gotta tell you my story and then i'm getting off your nerves but here's my story i was sinking deep in sin far from the peaceful sword very deeply stained within seeking to rise no more but the master of the sea heard my despairing cry and from the waters i said from the waters he lifted me he lifted me anybody been lifted in here anybody been lifted out there now safe safe am i and i'm saved by his power divine saved to new life sublime i was on the street but now i'm in the palace and i declare life is now sweet and my joy is complete cause i'm safe [Music] [Music] [Music] and i just wonder if there's anybody glad that they decided to show up to the party if there's anybody that's glad you decided to say yes to the invitation if you can look back over your life and see how different your life has been since you said yes to the king's invitation before you said yes to the king's invitation life looked one way but since you said yes yes you have to go through some things yes you have to endure some things but you discovered that even if you're troubled on every side you're still not in despair because you got an invitation from the king and i just wonder if there's anybody who can help me testify to somebody and say if you'll just say yes he will change your life if you just say yes he'll change your life your old saints used to say since i said yes he picked me up turn me around place my feet on solid ground if you say yes to jesus won't the lord take care of you if you say yes to the king won't the lord provide for you if you say yes to the king won't he be a present help in trouble if you say yes to the king won't he be the doctor that heals you if you say yes to the king won't the lord pick you up if you say yes to the king lord have mercy won't it turn you around if you say yes to the king won't he do it i said or won't he do it i said won't he do it won't he make your enemies your footstools won't he make death behavior won't he bring you up won't he bring you out won't he forgive your sins if you say yes to the king though your sins be scarlet if you say yes to the king won't he make you white as snow i just wonder if there's anybody here that's learned how to say yes and once you said yes didn't he turn your life around somebody said yes a few years ago and they might have seen the lightning flashing and they might have felt the thunder roll you might have felt sin breakers dashing trying to conquer your soul but since you said yes to the king haven't you watched him make a way somehow won't you say yes to the king won't he change your life [Music] so somebody ought to have a yes lord in your soul i said somebody ought to have a yes lord in your soul i'll say yes lord yes to your will and to your way i'll say yes lord yes i will trust you and obey when your spirit speaks to me with my heart i'll agree and my answer will be yes yes lord yes lord yes i accept lord yes lord and once you said yes lord we might have to keep saying yes but i discovered that he'll make every yes worth it as a matter of fact he's calling somebody now so help me encourage somebody with your praise and say every yes to god he'll make it worth it every yes true god he'll make it worth it all you have to do is accept his invitation and watch the lord all right somebody here can help me testify and say i started out a long time ago and there is no doubt in my mind that the moment i decided to make jesus my choice he turned everything around he turned everything around so some folk would rather choose houses of land some would rather choose silver or gold but tell somebody i decided to make jesus my choice i said i decided to make jesus my choice and he hadn't steered me wrong yet and i'll choose him again no matter what's going on i still choose jesus because jesus chose me i said i still choose jesus because jesus chose me i wasn't worthy of it but since he chose me i'll say yes to him [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] so aren't you glad that in spite of you he still chose you to come into the saving knowledge of jesus to invite you to the wedding what's interesting what's interesting about this text what's interesting about this parable is that the king arranged the marriage the king chose the bride [Music] the king chose the bride but with all the characters in the parable we never meet who the bride is and the reason is because it was meant to suggest that the bride are the ones who showed up to the party almighty that that the marriage god arranged for the son was for the people that he hand-picked to show up to the party [Applause] whoa so god shows the bride based on the invitations to those who will come whosoever will [Music] the good and the bad according to the text that some people were okay they had made some okay decisions and and others weren't they were they were despised but no matter what the good and the bad had access to be a part of the wedding [Music] paul would write it this way whosoever whoever decides to call on the name of the lord shall be saved today that that can be you you can come to the party i'm standing today as a messenger for the king saying that he's invited you to the party he's invited you to the wedding all you have to do is say yes in person or online if you would say i i need to make a decision for the lord jesus today i i'm ready to give my life to the lord jesus christ i want to come to the party online all you have to do is email us at membership afnbc.org send us a message and we're going to talk to you we're going to talk to you privately about what the decision you're making is and if you're in the room you can see all you have to do is walk this way there are decision counselors ready to safely walk you through the decision that you're going to make today for if you would say i feel like the lord is calling me to unite with this body of believers thank you jesus that the lord is calling me to unite with this body of believers you can email membership at afnbc.org or you can come now and join our family of faith we would love to be the place where your disciple where you grow into completion thank you jesus they're coming in person you can come now online this is your opportunity to be a part of the party as the music ministry shares would you would you please respond to the invitation from the king [Music] [Music] i feel like going on i feel [Music] like going on going on the trials they come [Music] on everything [Music] like going going on can i say it one more time [Music] going on don't know about you but i feel like i feel like going on [Music] [Applause] [Music] going on [Music] sometimes but i feel like coming home [Music] [Music] is [Music] see [Music] sometimes [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] still like going home [Music] oh i feel like going on [Music] even in the midst of this pandemic i feel like i feel like going on hallelujah hallelujah let's celebrate those who responded this morning to the invitation to come to the kingdom i think it's easy to forget to celebrate god's grace toward us it's mercy that invites us because trials do come pray this morning that you are encouraged to go on thank you jesus thank you worship again we thank god for all those who responded to to the king's invitation today listen there um just a couple of announcements i want to want to remind us of but first i want to celebrate pastor pervy and the team for impact that put together an incredible conference this week for our students virtually crave crave was exceptional and actually looking forward to doing the same thing for our annual brother-to-brother uh manhood conference and for our sister summit so you'll get more information about that in days ahead as you heard in the announcement today pastor told morgan will be here a couple of weeks and you can register to be in the sanctuary like we would on a sunday morning or you can stream online you do not want to miss our time together with pastor told morgan now this week is is reach week reach dallas uh reach dallas summit and if people if you want to know what it is it is essentially us equipping uh the body to evangelize we want to we're going to talk through some tools that will help you become confident in our efforts to extend the invitation of the king to the world um yes it is difficult we have to deal with some rejection sometime but every night at six o'clock this week starting tonight you'll be able to go online and be encouraged and equipped by these sessions designed to help us be messengers for the king to share the invitation it is not just supposed to happen here it is our job as believers to share this good news to share this glorious gospel and invite people into the kingdom and we believe that as a church all of us should be a part in that work and so if you would please every evening starting tonight at 6 pm you can go to our facebook our youtube our website and see these and impactful and powerful sessions as we attempt to reach dallas we want to reach the world around us amen amen all right so thank you to the team that put that together as well as we get ready to conclude service don't forget to give there are so many ways that you can give you can give via text take some afnbc to 77977 you can download our app and give through the app our app is an incredible tool it's very functional to keep you engaged and updated on what's going on around here or you can go to the website or give it a drive through thursday but let's continue to be obedient to god's instruction um to to give and as you know as you give the more you give the more he gives back and so let's let's continue to be be faithful in that if you had a birthday this past week including today uh happy birthday throw your hand up at me let me see you happy birthday happy birthday if you're online happy birthday if you're online let us know um if you got a job a job promotion this past week including the day let us know hey if this you're celebrating the wedding anniversary this past week including the day let us know throw your hands somebody in the back hey all right happy birthday i can't see you who they you know these masks in this distance but happy anniversary um you got a chance to retire let us know uh congratulations and again we're going to be continuing to pray for those of those who are in the military who are home and those when abroad and those who are serving publicly trying to battle this pandemic let's continue to pray for our front line workers in order to keep them safe and covered and that we will see a cure or to this quickly amen um if there's nothing else let's receive our benediction the lord bless you and keep you and cause his face to shine upon you and give you grace and peace lord lift his countenance on you pray that the lord will establish you bless your going god in your coming in pray that the lord would open up the windows of heaven and pour out blessing you don't have room enough to receive i pray that the lord would establish you and give you unusual favor this week that he will blow your mind that you will experience him as the god of wonders and miracles this week i pray that the lord draw you into intimacy this week that you will return to a place of worship and prayer and the lord will reveal himself to you in unusual and intimate ways in jesus name amen on behalf of our senior pastor pastor chris wesley and the entire antioch family thank you for tuning in it is our prayer that you were blessed by today's worship experience we also pray that you would apply the word that was offered today to your life god be with you until we meet again my name is alex smith and have a blessed [Music] week [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Antioch Fellowship Church

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Length: 120min 15sec (7215 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 09 2020