Kingdom Life -Bethel Church, Sept. 3, 2017

A Kingdom Feast

Matthew 22:1-14

O LORD, I will honor and praise Your name, for You are my God. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now You have accomplished them. You turn mighty cities into heaps of ruins. Cities with strong walls are turned to rubble. Beautiful palaces in distant lands disappear and will never be rebuilt. Therefore, strong nations will declare Your glory; ruthless nations will fear You. But You are a tower of refuge to the poor, O LORD, a tower of refuge to the needy in distress. You are a refuge from the storm and a shelter from the heat. For the oppressive acts of ruthless people are like a storm beating against a wall, or like the relentless heat of the desert. But You silence the roar of foreign nations. As the shade of a cloud cools relentless heat, so the boastful songs of ruthless people are stilled. In Jerusalem, the LORD of Heaven's Armies will spread a wonderful feast for all the people of the world. It will be a delicious banquet with clear, well-aged wine and choice meat. There He will remove the cloud of gloom, the shadow of death that hangs over the earth. He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign LORD will wipe away all tears. He will remove forever all insults and mockery against His land and people. The LORD has spoken! In that day the people will proclaim, "This is our God! We trusted in Him, and He saved us! This is the LORD, in whom we trusted. Let us rejoice in the salvation He brings!"

Isaiah 25:1-9 NLT

God celebrates the overthrow of wicked and ruthless people and demonstrates that gloom and death have been banished by spreading a feast for his people!

Revelation 19:6-9 ESV (page 1039)

Matthew 22:1-14 ESV (page 827)

- what about the guy who shows up in the wrong clothes?

For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.

Galatians 3:26-27 NLT

Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from Him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy.

Ephesians 4:21-24 NLT

- the proper clothes are provided by Jesus, the bridegroom!

- Jesus tells us that as his servants:

we will face excuses / resistance / endangerment

some of this will come from the people we least expect

- Jesus also tells us:

we are his family of servants, sent as his ambassadors

our mission is to invite others to the feast

this is the ministry of reconciliation!

we also have the message of reconciliation…

- the Gospel, the good news about Jesus

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:18-21 ESV