Come to the Banquet ~ Blog
Matthew 22
We, as believers, should understand by now that we are not just a Christian or a follower of Christ. We are also the Bride of Christ, which to most makes no sense. Many see things after the flesh (carnally) and cannot comprehend how you take both men and women and turn them into the Bride of Christ. I guess it would be similar to Nicodemus wondering what in the world Jesus meant when he said you had to be born again. He actually said, What do you mean? How can a man go back into his mother's womb? Jesus was speaking spiritually, and we have to get that or Christianity becomes confusion, which we know that God is not the author of.
As I continued reading in Matthew 22 this morning, where Jesus teaches His disciples about the parable of the Wedding Banquet, I immediately wondered, Why aren't people ready? If they know we are the bride, shouldn't they be excited about the Wedding Banquet? But as things became ready and servants were sent out to bring those who had been invited, vs. 3 tells us that they refused to come. So, the King sends more servants out again to those invited, which would be you and me, beloved, but to my astonishment, they paid no attention and went on with their busyness. Apparently, they loved their Martha lifestyle and had never allowed themselves to become a Mary sitting at their beloved's feet at all.
This time, however, they have not just ignored the invite but some, as vs. 6 tells us, actually seized, mistreated, and killed the servants (does this sound like a person who is still a Christian or Christ-like?) for sharing that the King's Banquet was prepared and ready. Now vs. 8 to me is a bit scary, as the King is now so enraged that he actually says, They didn't deserve to come. Just imagine for a minute those who say they've known the Lord for 10, 20, 30 or more years and have become so indifferent and cold-hearted toward the things of God that you couldn't care less that He is saying, "It's Time". But now you, a Christian, a Believer in Jesus, don't even deserve to come. Yikes! Vs. 10 then tells us that they gathered many.
This is where we are right now, beloved. Our Christian friends and even family members refuse to listen. Similarly to the Israelites, who decided they never wanted to hear God speak again, telling Moses that they only wanted him to hear from God. Meaning 'you just have a close relationship with the Lord for us Moses. You hear His voice, we don't want to.
Exodus 20:19 NKJV
19 Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”
We continue and find that they gathered the bad as well as the good. What does this mean for Christians? To me, it means if you don't have time for Him and if you can't bother to take the time to go to the Wedding Banquet, He will bypass you, beloved. He will go out to the hyways and byways and gather all who will listen and are willing to come. He wants us to be ready, ever watching and always expecting. He has made a way for all and wishes that none would perish, but the pride of life and the lust for other things creep in to the point where we can literally become one who, because of a heart attitude, no longer deserves to come.
I'm not going to get into the doctrine or teachings of 'once saved, always saved'. I'm not trying to preach to anyone by writing this today. When the Lord shows me something that He wants me to write about, I too am hearing what He is saying, but I clearly see through the New Testament that our choices can take us out of His favor and even His presence. One other parable just came to mind about the 10 virgins, 5 having oil and 5 not bothering to get their oil ready, speaks the same thing. If you truly read the red (the words of Jesus), I believe it is important that you see that Jesus taught that not everyone is watching for His return, and many are not ready, and I dare say, may not go.
In closing, I will just say that I am ever watching and waiting and wholeheartedly planning to go to a Wedding Banquet that the Lord is even now preparing for us all, and it is my hope that you, my family members, and many of my friends are doing the same. God is turning things around, beloved, but that does not remove our responsibility to keep waiting and watching for the return of our Beloved Jesus.
Sheryl York 🕊️
Comments
Post a Comment