The lesson this morning will
be taken from Luke chapter 14, verses 7 through 11. Luke chapter 14, verses 7 through
11. The subject of these verses,
I believe, is a lesson in humility. Let's read these verses together,
Luke chapter 14 beginning with verse 7. And he put forth a parable to
those which were bidden. There was a supper, I believe
from the way it's written and from his parable that this was
a wedding supper. It was a fairly large event,
a lot of people invited. And he put forth a parable to
those which were bidden when he marked how they chose out
the chief rooms, saying unto them, when thou art bidden of
any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room, lest
a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him, that is, whoever
is hosting the wedding, And he that bade thee and him, his more
honorable guest, come and say to thee, give this man place,
and thou begin with shame to take the lowest seat. But when
thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room, that when
he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, friend, Go
up higher. Come on up and sit in this seat.
Then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that
said it meet with thee. That is, they'll honor you. For
whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth
himself shall be exalted. Now before we get into the lesson,
I want to say some things about what we teach and why we teach
them in a certain way. The Bible's not a book like any
other book. You can read a book on math and
it'll have certain principles and you can learn the principles
and then you can work out the mathematical problems. The same
with science books, history books, go on and on and on. They're
all the same way. But the Bible's not a book like
any other book. Its words and teaching are plain
and easy to discern, yet impossible for wise and prudent men to put
together. It's a mysterious book. It's
a spiritual book. They'll read the same words you
do, and they'll come up with a different answer. They'll come
up with a different idea. Our Lord gave thanks to His Father
that He had hid these things, these things He was teaching
from the Word of God. He'd hid these things from the
wise and prudent and revealed them unto babes. Paul quotes
from Isaiah in 1 Corinthians 2 saying, as it's written, I
hath not seen. He's talking about natural men.
The natural born sons of Adam, I hath not seen nor ear heard,
neither have entered into the heart of man, mankind. the things
which God hath prepared for them that love him, but God hath revealed
them unto us by his Spirit. This book is a spiritual book. These men were inspired of God
to write. Moses wasn't there when God created
the world. Moses wasn't there when he hung
the sun in the sky, when he created the environment, when he separated
the land from the water. Moses wasn't there, but Moses
wrote of it accurately. How did he do that? Inspired
by the Spirit of God. This book is the children's bread. Man doesn't live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Or what hinders man from understanding
it? Why can't he understand? Why
can't he just sit down? A guy told me one time, I was
telling him some things and he was talking to me back and he
said, I'm not that well versed in the Bible. Now this was on
a Friday afternoon, where it works. He said, I'm going to
go home this weekend and read the Bible. And we'll come back Monday and
we'll talk. I said, all right. You're not going to go home over
the weekend and read the Bible. It ain't going to happen. And
even if you did, you're not going to understand it. But what hinders man from an
understanding of it? Well, he receiveth not the things
of the Spirit of God. This book is of the Spirit of
God. Holy men of God wrote as they
were moved by the Holy Ghost. And man won't receive that. He'll
start arguing with you, but his arguments are based on something
his daddy said, or his grandpa said, or his grandma said, or
somebody that he loves, or some trusted church member, some old
friend. And his whole life he accumulates
information, he accumulates things, and he thinks he's learning from
this one and that one, and then he puts together what he believes
is the truth. And you start to talk to Him
and He'll start saying, no, the Bible don't say that. It says
God's not willing that any should perish. Well, that's part of
what the Word of God says. But the other part says He's
long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish.
There's a big difference. If God don't will for you to
perish, you ain't gonna perish. Period. I give unto them eternal
life and they'll never perish. That's what He said. If God's not willing, you're
not going to perish. And He's not willing that any
of His elect should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Man won't receive the things
of the Spirit of God, he won't receive the preaching of the
Gospel. I don't have to listen to some man. I'll go home, get
in my closet, read the Bible, and go ahead and see how that
works for you. But I tell you what God said.
I think we ought to believe God and let every man be a liar.
What do you think? He receiveth not the things of
the Spirit of God. The second reason that's a hindrance
to it, that's what we're talking about. What hinders man from
understanding is that he walks in the vanity of his mind. He thinks vain thoughts. He thinks
God's just like him. He uses himself as a pattern
for God. Now, he'll own up to the fact
that God's greater than he is, but God's like him. No, he ain't. No, he's not. He's not anything
like you. Not anything like you. To whom
will you compare me, God said? Who are you going to compare
me? There's none. Beside me? Who are you going to compare
me to? He walks in the vanity of his
mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from
the life of God. What's he talking about there?
He's talking about eternal life. What's that? That's to know God. He's alienated from all true
knowledge of God. That's why he walks in the vanity
of his mind. And it's because of the ignorance
that's in him. Unregenerate men and women have
a head full of preconceived notions about God, and they read using
these vain ideas to interpret the Word of God. Listen to this. They brought
the Apostle Paul up before the Romans. And they said, this man's
just going everywhere. He's just causing trouble. He's
upsetting churches. He's splitting churches. He's
the worst thing that ever come along. You need to put him in
jail. And Paul told that official that was over him, he said, after
the way they call heresy, so worship I, the living God. We don't believe alike. This
world has preconceived notions. They walk in the vanity of their
mind. They say, no, I don't believe
that. I believe this. Where's that at in the Word of
God? And so these men who had invited
Christ to this wedding, these men were deceived men. They were
men spoiled through philosophy. That's what Paul calls it. Beware
lest any man spoil you through philosophy. What else? Vain deceit. Well, where'd they
get it from? From the tradition of men. Traditional
religion. I don't care who you talk to
other than the fact some believe in tongues and some don't. Some
have different church government. They all believe the same thing.
They believe in a work salvation. That's the tradition of men. It's nothing new. And that's what Paul said, after
the tradition of men, after the rudiments or basic principles
of the world and not after Christ. So it follows after the basic
principles of the world, how men think, how men reason, how
men and women arrive at their conclusions. And our Lord said
to these men, or men just like them, you seek
to kill me. Why? Because my Word has no place
in you. That's why. That's why. My Word has no place in you,
after John 8, verse 37. And the one man who is God and
man in one glorious union was standing right before Him, had
done countless miracles, and they were present and saw Him.
They followed Him everywhere He went. They saw all these miracles
that he did, undeniable miracles, no mistake. And this man is God
and man in one glorious union, and he's standing there, and
by their worldly reason, and by this religion which is no
more than the tradition of men, after their thoughts, their natural
thoughts, they dismissed him as a demon-possessed man. He cast out devils by Beelzebub. That's what they said. He's demon
possessed. That's how he's doing this. My
brothers and sisters, we live in a world of deceived men and
women. That's my whole point. That's
the point to this whole lesson. People taken captive by Satan
at his will. brought under the deception of
false religion without even being aware of it. They don't even
know it. They're convinced that they know
God. And these men our Lord was talking to were raised, and what
they were convinced, according to their ancestors, the prophets,
wrote in the book of God. They thought they understood
the truth. They were absolutely convinced
of it. I was never so infuriated in
my life as I was standing in an old log cabin inviting a man
to come to the revival meeting. And he looked at me and he said,
why? I didn't know what to tell him. Nobody ever asked me why.
And I said, well, I'd like for you to hear the gospel. He said,
you wouldn't know the gospel if you met it in the middle of
the road. But I was absolutely convinced I knew it. And I said,
boy, you mad. I don't know the gospel. Well,
he said, if you know it, what is it? And I couldn't tell him. I couldn't tell him. The only
thing that came to my mind was experiences. Walking down the
aisle, shaking people's hands, joining the church, turning over
a new leaf. Ain't no gospel in there. Ain't no gospel in there. I realized for the first time
in my life, I didn't know the gospel. Our Lord said to these men in
John 5.39, He said, Search the Scriptures. You big on the Scriptures. You big on carrying those scrolls
around. Search the Scriptures. For in
them you think you have eternal life, and they are they which
testify of me, and you will not come to me that you might have
life. These are the men our Lord is
watching, and they're watching Him, but He's watching them. He's watching them at this supper,
religious men, duped by religious men that they knew and loved. And while He was standing there,
He's watching them, and these are men marked out by ecclesiastical
appointment. They have high positions. Chief
Counselor, Reverend, Doctor, blah, blah,
blah. They're marked out by ecclesiastical
appointment. They're marked out by church
approval, by recommendations. They were trusted by the public
to be men of God. They had titles. They had papers. They had uniforms issued to them. They were considered by men and
women to be representatives of God. You want to know something
about God? Go down and talk to Father so-and-so,
or the priest so-and-so, or the reverend so-and-so. They were
master theologians. Our Lord said to Nicodemus, Art
thou a master in Israel? What's he talking about? A master
theologian. Are you a master theologian? And you don't understand what
I said? Priests, scribes, members of
the High Council, and they believe they deserve the respect and
honor of men. They demanded it. They believe
they deserve to sit in these seats of recognition. They believe
they deserve the greetings they got in the marketplaces, Rabbi,
Master, Everything they did drew attention
to themselves, their dress, their speech, their jewelry. Has anything
changed? Am I missing something? That's
what I see. I see it everywhere. I see it
on the TV. I see it out here in the marketplaces. I see it
everywhere. But my friend, that's not how
God's servants behave. Believers are men and women who
live for and seek the glory of God. And we are to do this, to
do the seeking in love, humility, and subjection. We serve the
Lord. We serve the King of glory. God's
only begotten Son. Now to learn this lesson, let's
always look to His example. Don't pick somebody in your family
out. Don't pick me out. Look at the
Lord Jesus Christ. This was the most honored man
who ever walked the face of this earth. This was the Son of God. Listen to this, Philippians chapter
2. You can turn over there if you
will and read this with me. This is the lesson in humility.
This is how we're to walk and serve God. Philippians chapter
2. Verse 3, let nothing be done through strife
or vainglory. You think you're going to accomplish
something by putting that robe on when you get behind the pulpit? When you put that, or have your
servant put that cross, that big golden chain with that cross
on it over your neck, hanging down? Put your ring out for somebody
to kiss. That's vain glory. Let nothing be done through strife
or vain glory, outward show. But in lowliness of mind, what's
that mean? That means having right thoughts
about yourself. Who am I? How'd I get here? Having right thoughts about you
and having right thoughts about your Lord. That's lowliness of
mind. Let each esteem other better
than themselves. You take the lowest seat because
that's where you think you deserve to sit. Look not every man on
his own things, but let every man also look on the things of
others. Let this mind be in you which
was also in Christ Jesus. What was on his mind that day? What was on his mind? He was
the only one there who could have walked in and sit in the
high seat and not worry about somebody unseating him. He deserved
it. But the fact is he didn't have
a seat at all. He wouldn't even issue it. He
couldn't even sit in the lowest seat. Let this mind be in you
which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God. This is God standing
there in human flesh. But made himself of no reputation. None. No. Took upon him the form of a servant,
and was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion
as a man. Oh, my soul, I think of the humility
involved for the living God to assume the body of a man. Boy,
that's coming down. That's coming down. He didn't
take on him the nature of angels. They're a higher race than we
are. He took on him the form of a servant. He appeared in the body of a
man, in union with the body of a man, made himself of no reputation,
took upon him the form of a servant, was made in the likeness of men,
and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself. How much lower can you go than
that? He humbled himself as a man. He didn't stand as a man among
men. Being found in fashion as a man,
he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly
exalted him, giving him a name which is above every name. That
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow at things in heaven
and things in earth and things under the earth. That every tongue
should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the
Father. Now in these verses is a picture
of what's taking place every day in this world. Every day. The gospel is a calling of men
and women to a great supper. It's a supper of a great king.
The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. In Proverbs 25, verses
6 and 7, it says this, and this is the key to this parable that
he's given. Our Lord spoke from the Word
of God. And here's what he put. This is the key to this parable.
This is where it's coming from. Put not forth thyself in the
presence of the King. This wasn't just the man giving
the supper, this is the king giving the supper. King of kings, Lord of lords,
blessed and only potentate. This is his supper. For better
it is that it be said of thee, come up hither, than that thou
shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine
eyes have seen. Their eyes saw the Prince of
Glory. They thought they had orchestrated
the supper. But I'm going to tell you something.
God orchestrates everything. Yes, in their head they did.
In their head they laid a trap for Him. In their head they had
a snare there. They're going to trick Him and
trap Him. Let me tell you something. The one organizing that whole
thing is God. It's His supper. This is his
supper. We're coming to a supper by personal
invitation, by royal calling. Who's coming? All kinds of folks.
All kinds. Educated, uneducated, black,
white, yellow, red, male, female, old and young, rich and poor,
all kinds of people. But most assuredly, nobody at
this supper is there by his own merit. We're not there because of our
merits. This call is a merciful call, a gracious call, a call
to undeserving sinners. And so we arrive, and we get
to the palace. We come into the king's house.
Where are we going to sit? Huh? Where are we going to sit? We're going to go up there next
to the king and sit down? Where are we going to sit? We
don't even deserve to be there. We're asking ourselves, why?
Why did I get this invitation? Why am I here? All my friends
are out there. Why am I here? How come I got
called and they didn't? How many millions did he pass
up to call me? What am I doing here? Am I going
to run up and sit in the chief's seat? Uh-uh. I'm going to sit
way back in the corner because I still think there's some kind
of mistake. He couldn't possibly have called me to this. I'm not
dressed for it. I don't deserve it. What am I
doing here? I'm going to go back here and
sit down. It's the king's house. And we
see certain seats in certain places, obviously, there for
honorable guests. Whose seat am I going to sit
in? Am I going to run up and sit in John the Baptist's seat,
the forerunner of Christ? I'll just sit in his seat. I
preach. He preaches. I'll sit in his
seat. I'll sit in Isaiah's seat. I better look around for my seat.
And I tell you right now, it's way in the back, way in the back. Way in the back of the room,
there's some seats for whoever. Nobody special. No recognition. Their names never mentioned.
How many saints of God's names were never mentioned in the Word
of God? Huh? Lived in dens and caves. Gave
their self up to martyrdom. Huh? Their names weren't even
mentioned in the Word of God. Where will you sit? Our Lord marked how they chose
out the chief rooms, Luke 14, 7, and he gave a parable concerning
their attitudes. And this parable is a lesson
in humility. They thought they were arranging
this, but God was arranging it. He'd arranged this supper for
his son, and everybody was there to that end. And there was two
people at the supper who were honored guests. who actually
deserved to sit in the chief seat. One was our Lord. The other
was a man with a dropsy. The man they just were absolutely
disgusted with and they wanted to use him as a means to expose
Christ as a fraud. They were going to get him to
heal this man on Sabbath day so they could show him what a
lawbreaker he was. This poor, helpless sinner chosen
of God to salvation. Anybody who feels like they're
deserving to be in the king's house, sitting at the king's
table, at the king's personal invitation, can you imagine? Everybody in Mephibosheth's family
was slain. All of them. They were all dead.
But here's this man, lame on his feet, ruined by the fall. Somebody said his nurse dropped
him. Couldn't walk. Had to be carried. And they come
to get him. And he thinks he's going to come
up before the king and be slain. He knows what he deserves. But
what happens? They get him to the palace and
they put clothes on him. A royal parish. And they take
him in and they set him down at the king's table. And he's
sitting there and wondering, the servants come and, oh, Mr. Mephibosheth, Would you like
this or would you like that? And he's just looking around.
I'll take whatever you got. He doesn't feel like he deserves
to be there. Why me? What am I doing here?
How did I ever come to this palace? I'm in the king's house. Well,
I then presumptuously go sit in the high seat. Well, I just reach out and pull
up the chair of a pastor? I'm going to be a pastor. Really? I'm going to be an evangelist.
I'm going to do this. I just presumptuously pull up
the chair of my choice, whatever it is. I'll sit down here. Where will I sit? Well, I'm in
the king's house by royal invitation. I'm in the presence of God and
his only begotten son, the Prince of Glory. Where will I sit? Well, don't sit in the highest
room, because when one more honorable than you comes in, the king's
going to say, hey, get up. That's not your seat. Your seat's
over there. I've seen pastors in my life
who presume to sit in the seat of a pastor, and I've seen God
unseat them and take this lowly person who nobody thought was
ever going to preach and put him in that seat. I've seen it
happen. I've seen church members that
men marked out as so special, so faithful, so deserving, and
I've seen them just absolutely be kicked out. Huh? Don't presumptuously sit
in those high seats. You're in the king's house. You're
in the king's house. You take the lowest seat in the
house, and if the king chooses to honor you, he'll come to you
and he'll say, friend, you can't imagine that king. Can you even
imagine God coming over you, putting his arm around you and
say, friend, friend? He called Abraham his friend.
Oh, my soul. When I think about the honor
and dignity of God and receiving a call from Him to be in His
house, we're in His house this morning. I'll tell you the humbling thing
to me. Our Lord who thought it not robbery
to be equal with God made himself of no reputation and took on
him the form of a servant. Servants don't sit down. That's
what he's telling us here. Servants don't sit down, they
serve. What was our Lord doing? He was serving. He was serving
this poor sinner. He'd given that sinner something
to eat that nobody else in that house ate. He was doing something
for that poor sinner that nobody else in there was a partaker
of. He was a servant. Oh, he was made in the likeness
of men and being found in passion as a man. He humbled himself
and become obedient. At the king's house, the most
honorable man served the chosen sinner and made him an honorable
guest. receiving the very favor of God
and unseating that whole crowd, that whole crowd. Oh, our great
God and Savior, teach us something about humility.