Would you turn back to Luke chapter
14 and let me read these verses that we looked at once again.
I've entitled this message, God's Strange Guest List. Verse 12, then said he also to
him that bade him, he was eating supper in a man's home. And he
says to this man, when thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not
thy friends nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen nor thy rich
neighbors, lest they also bid thee again and a recompense be
made to thee. But when thou makest a feast,
call the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind. I tried to picture this in my
mind. A big feast. And look at the people sitting
around the table. Only poverty stricken beggars. Named means
disabled. Lame. Something's wrong with
their walk. They're crippled and blind. Nothing but people like that
at this table. Can you imagine that? This is
the Lord's banquet. This is who he calls. This is
who he tells this man to call. And he says, in doing so, thou
shalt be blessed, for they cannot recompense thee, for thou shalt
be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. Is the Lord saying
that we should never have our friends, brethren, relatives,
or rich neighbors over to eat with us? Well, you know he's
not saying that. A great part of the joy of life
is eating with our loved ones, isn't it? And the Lord frequently
ate in people's homes. You remember him being in Martha
and Mary's house. He frequently ate in people's
homes. He didn't have a home to eat
in, and he would have been invited into many people's homes. He
was invited into this Pharisee's home at the beginning of the
chapter. Our Lord is not saying Don't
eat with your friends. What he's saying is be compassionate
and generous toward the needy, the poor, the maimed, the disabled,
the lame. And that word can also be used
for those who are hesitant and depressed and dejected and the
blind. You remember in Galatians 2.10
where it was said of Peter and James and John, Paul said this,
he said, they would that we should remember the poor, the same which
also I was forward to do. Now this was something frequently
done by the Lord is remembering the poor. I think of when Judas
the treasurer went out with the bag, they just assumed he was
going out to give something to the poor. It's something evidently
that was frequently done by our Lord, and it ought to be frequently
done by us. And the Lord says, do what you
do without self-promotion, without payback in mind. without payback in mind. Do things for people who can't
do anything for you. Don't be looking for a payback.
You know, that's a hard thing for me to grasp because I don't
know that I've ever done anything. Well, as a matter of fact, I
know I've never done anything without some idea of something like that.
And it's beautiful to think of someone acting that way, isn't
it, without wanting a payback. I want to be that way. I think
I know what the word selfish means. Selfish, self-centered,
self-seeking, self-promoting, self-vindicating, self-indulgent. You know, the greatest problem
you and I have is the person we see in the mirror when we
look in the mirror. You believe that? Self. Isn't what our Lord calls on
us to do beautiful? To do something with no expectation
for payback or for recompense. May the Lord give us grace to
do that. And look what he says in verse
14. He says, you'll be blessed. You'll be blessed in doing this.
I think of what Paul said in Acts chapter 20, verse 24, when
he says, none of these things move me, neither count I my life
dear to myself, that I might finish my course with joy. The
only way you're gonna finish your course with joy, the only
way I'm gonna finish my course with joy is if I don't count
my life dear to myself. Thou shalt be blessed. You know,
the Lord said it's more blessed to give than to receive. You show me a generous man, I'll
show you a blessed man, blessed by God himself. I love that scripture,
God loveth a cheerful giver. You show me a generous man, and
I'll show you a man who has been blessed by God. And you'll notice
what our Lord says in verse 14, and thou shalt be blessed, for
they cannot recompense thee, for thou shalt be recompensed
at the resurrection of the just. I'm going to talk about that
for a few moments. Thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection
of the just. Now, if you don't know what that means,
here's what you're going to say. If you give something to somebody
that can't pay you back, resurrection, you're going to be paid back.
Is that what it means? No. No. Doesn't mean some, you
know, whatever you do good, if somebody can't pay you back,
you're going to get paid back more and some will get more on
the day of judgment because they've done more good things that are
unrecognized and unrequited and the Lord's always going to pay
back his debts. Doesn't mean that at all. Now, the word just
is the same word translated generally righteous. The resurrection of
the righteous. Turn with me for a moment to
2 Peter chapter 2. 2 Peter, chapter 2. What comes
to your mind when you think of Lot? You remember Lot, the nephew
of Abraham? Lot, the man who chose the well-watered
plain, he almost seemed opportunistic when he was given the opportunity.
He took the better, left Abraham with the worse, thinking that
would be beneficial to him. You remember Lot pitching his
tent toward Sodom. You remember Lot lingering in
Sodom, didn't want to leave, even when he knew it was being
destroyed, and the angels took him by the hand and yanked him
out. You remember Lot staying in a cave in an incestuous relationship
with his daughters. I hate even saying that, but
that's what he did. That's where the Moabites came from. You remember
Lot. Lot does not seem like a very honorable character, does he?
As a matter of fact, I don't have any doubt that if it wasn't
for this passage of scripture, none of us would think Lot was
saved. But look what God's testimony of Lot is. This is God's testimony. And let me remind you, God's
testimony is the way things really are. You believe that? If this is God's testimony, this
is the way things really are. Second Peter, chapter two, verse six. He turned the cities of
Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes and condemned them with an overthrow
making them an example unto those that afterwards should live ungodly,
and delivered just lot." Righteous lot. Same word. The resurrection
of the just, here it is, just lot. And he was vexed with the
filthy conversation of the wicked. He was miserable in Sodom. For
that righteous man, look at God's description of this man. This
is God describing him. This is not me or you. This is
God describing him. That righteous man dwelling among
them and seeing and hearing vexed his righteous soul from day to
day with their unlawful deeds, the Lord knoweth how to deliver
the godly out of temptations. That's God's testimony of this
man. just, righteous, righteous soul, righteous man, and godly. That's how God described this
man. We would have called him all
kinds of other things, but that's not what God calls him. And let
me repeat, how God sees things are the way they are. Now what
this does is tell us something of the reality of justification. If I'm justified, that means
I'm righteous. That means I'm godly. That means
I'm just. That is God's testimony of me. Just like he would say, just
lot, he'd say, just Todd. Just like he talked about Lot's
righteous soul, he talked about my righteous soul, if I'm justified. Just like he called Lot godly,
he called every believer godly. Now this is the reality of justification. Justification is so real that
all who are justified will be rewarded on Judgment Day. I'll be rewarded. I'm going to
hear him say to me, well done, thou good and faithful servant. He's going to say that to me.
And I have a hard time with that because I think you haven't done
so well. Matter of fact, you haven't done
anything well. It's all been bad. That's what my conscience
tells me when I even make that statement. And yet I'm going to hear him say, Well
done, thou good and faithful servant. Because whatever Christ
did, I did. And that's why I will hear those
words. I'll be rewarded. Now, some maintain
that this is rewards for good deeds done upon earth. Some will
have more than others. Yikes, I heard one preacher in
Lexington, this town, say this to his congregation. He said,
some of you will be shining my shoes in heaven. And I thought,
well, one bad mistake he made, he won't be in heaven. I can
assure you that. He might be shining shoes in
hell. That'd be the top place for him, but that's not a place,
that is a complete denial of what justification is in the
first place. Most religious people say they
believe in justification. I mean, it's a word that's in
the Bible. Sure, I believe in justification. But where they're so sadly mistaken
is how a sinner is justified. If justification is God justifying
me because I fill in the blank, whatever response it might be,
that's called justification by works. If I say, well, God justified
me because I believed, that's justification by works. God justified
me because I repented. That's justification by works.
If I put God justified me because of anything I've done, I don't
care what it is, that is justification by works. But thank God, the justifying
work of Christ is so real that in the resurrection of the just,
we'll actually be rewarded for a job well done. Well done, thou
good and faithful servant. Enter thou into the joy of thy
Lord. Turn with me to Micah chapter
six for just a moment. Micah chapter six. Right after
the book of Jonah, there's Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah. After Micah comes Nahum and Habakkuk. Micah chapter six. Verse six. Wherewith shall I
come before the Lord and bow myself before the high God? Shall
I come before him with burnt offerings and with calves of
a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams
or with tens of thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my
firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the
sin of my soul? He has showed thee, O man, what
is good. And what doth the Lord require of thee? Now, he gives
three things. Number one, to do justly. Now, I used to think, well, the
Lord wants us to do what's right. It's always the right thing to
do what's right. Well, I wouldn't deny that, but that's not what
this says. It says God requires of me to do justly, not to admire
just doing, but to do justly. And if Jesus Christ kept the
law for me, he did justly, that's exactly what I did. I've done
justly. I don't just admit, well, I messed
up some. No, I didn't mess up any. I've
done justly. And look what he says next. Here's
the second requirement. And to love mercy. Do you love
being saved by mercy? Do you love being saved by the
sovereign mercy of God, God giving you what you absolutely do not
deserve? Do you love mercy? Do you love
being merciful? If you love mercy, you love being
merciful. And here's the third requirement,
and to walk humbly with thy God. How can you, a sinner saved by
grace, do anything else but walk humbly with thy God? He speaks, you will be recompensed
at the resurrection of the just. Now, the way things are now,
they're not gonna stay that way. There is a day coming called
the resurrection of the just. There's a day coming when God
will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained. That means I'm going to be set
just beside Christ. And if I'm not just like him,
I'll be cast off. The resurrection of the just. For the hour is coming, we read
in John 5, 28 and 29, and now is, when all that are in the
grave shall hear the voice, his voice, and shall come forth,
they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life, and
they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
What scary words our Lord gives us. Now, you call the poor, Mame
the lame and the blind and you'll be recompensed at the resurrection
of the just. Now if all I get out of this
is a call to help those that can't help themselves, I've missed
the part that speaks most deeply to my soul. Who does God call to his banquet? He calls the poor. He calls the disabled. He calls
the lame and he calls the blind. Look in this chapter, verse 21,
Luke chapter 14, verse 21. This is after these people made
an excuse to not come to the banquet, verse 21. So the servant
came and showed his lord these things. Then the master of the
house, being angry, said to his servant, go out quickly into
the streets and lanes of the city and bring in hither the
poor and the maimed and the halt and the blind. They were the
ones he called into this banquet. Now, look at our text again. But when thou makest a feast,
verse 13, call the poor, the lame, the lame, and the blind. Now, I love this word call. It's what God does. He calls
sinners. He calls sinners to himself. And it's a, oh, the
call of God. There's three ways to understand
this call of God. And they're all true in the scripture. First, the call of God is a summons. It's a summons, it's a command.
When God calls you, you're commanded to come. It's not something where
you have the option to say no. Lazarus, come forth. He that was dead came forth.
Well, somebody says, I resisted his call, but then he never called
you. You see, if he calls you, you'll come. This is an effectual,
irresistible call. It's a summons. He doesn't take
no for an answer. When he calls, you come. You don't have any choice, and
as long as you can, quote, reject the call, he ain't ever called
you. If he calls you, you'll come. This call is a divine summons
from God himself. This call is a gracious call,
a wooing call. Come unto me, all ye that are
weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. What a gracious
call. If any man thirst, let him come
to me. and drink." What a gracious call.
You know, it's an irresistible, invincible call, and it's a gracious
call where he's calling needy sinners to himself. It kind of
sounds like an invitation. Now, I know it's not an invitation,
but it sort of sounds like one, doesn't it? When he says, come
unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. Now, That is a gracious wooing. I'm hungry. I'm weary.
I'm weary with my sin. I'm heavy laden with my sin.
I hear him say that. I come. I see. I'm called to
come to this feast. And his call, it's a call of
ownership. I've called thee by name. Thou
art mine. That's what he says when he calls
you. I've called you by name. You're mine. You're mine. It's
a call of ownership. Now, when God calls sinners to
this feast, who does he call? He doesn't call everybody. Well,
who does he call? He calls the poor. He calls the
maimed. He calls the lame. And he calls
the blind. If God has called us, we will
fit this description. I'll be describing you. I'll
be describing myself. If I'm somebody God has called,
I'll fit this description. I'm poor, I'm lame, I'm lame,
and I'm blind. And if I do not fit this description,
I have no right to believe that God has ever called me. He hadn't. Everybody he calls
is just like this. Now, you remember that you can't
believe the call is for you unless you fit the character of the
one who is called. Now, I've already quoted this
scripture, come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden. And I will give you rest. Who's he calling? Somebody that's
laboring under a sense of guilt and sin. And it's a heavy burden
to them that they can't throw off. What does he say? Come unto
me. And I will give you rest. Ho, every one that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters, he that hath no money. Yea, come by and
eat, come by wine and milk without money and without price. Now
who's he call upon? Folks who don't have anything
to pay. That's who he says to come to my feast. It's a particular
person. Now somebody says, well, I don't
feel, I'm afraid I don't feel thirsty enough. Well, there you
go getting back to works. I'm making a work out of being
thirsty. If I was more thirsty, then I'd
believe he was calling me. Just stop that thinking. Are
you thirsty? Then come on, come and welcome. He calls you to his feast. Whosoever will, let him take
the water of life freely. You want him to save you? Will
thou be made whole? Do you want him to do something
for you? Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. Don't you love that word freely?
You don't have to pay anything. I love this next parable he gives
where he says, come, all things are now ready. You don't have
to bring anything. Every time somebody asks us over,
Lynn will say, you want me to bring something? Well, this is
a place where you don't bring anything. You don't bring anything. It's all provided. Come and welcome. Now, what I notice about these
people, they all have this in common. They're powerless to
recompense. If you have anything to bring
to the table, you're not invited. All of these people are absolutely
powerless to recompense. How are they? How are they described?
First, the poor. This is who's called on to this
feast. The poor. Not one single thing to recommend
you to God. Not one. The word is also translated
a beggar. A beggar poor at mercy's door
lies such a wretch as I. Not one single thing to recommend
them to God's favor. It means literally to cower.
You can't work, you're completely dependent upon the charity of
God, you have no sense of entitlement. The first thing I look for If
I do something like that, when I'm looking to see if the Lord's
really done something for somebody, I know I can't tell invalidly.
But the first thing I look for is poverty of spirit. What's
the first beatitude? Blessed are the poor in spirit,
those who have nothing. They don't have anything to recommend
them to God. They can't come up with anything.
They're powerless to enrich themselves. Poor. That's who's called to
this feast. People who don't have anything
to contribute. What do you bring to the table?
Really, what do you bring to the table? Absolutely nothing. I'm going to have to be saved
by pure, free grace. And if there's anything that
I got to bring, it's over for me because I've got nothing to
bring. I am poor. Now the next word that is mentioned
is maimed. And that word maimed means literally
disabled in the limbs. You're disabled. And you know
when God speaks to someone, you know what the first thing they
find out? They find out about their inability, their disability,
the things they cannot do. Cannot. Lack the ability. When God speaks to you, you find
out you can't believe. You can't just work it up. You
don't even know what it means. You can't repent. You can't turn. The only way you can be turned
is for God to turn you. You know that. You find out that
you're disabled. You're not excusing yourself.
Well, I'm disabled, therefore I'm not going to worry about
it. No. If you're like Zacchaeus, you want to see who Jesus is,
but you find out you can't because you're too short of stature.
You just can't see. You want to, but you can't. Our
Lord said, no man can come to me, except the Father which has
sent me, draw him. You know what I say? Lord, draw
me. I can't come unless you draw me. So draw me. Cause me to come. Turn me to yourself. You know,
when the Lord does something for somebody, they find out something
about this thing of inability. You know, the Lord said, without
me, you can do what? Did he say hardly
anything? Without me, you can do nothing. And you know, I am so convinced
of this, you never come to Christ until you find out you can't.
You find out you can't, that's when you come. Not until then. As long as you have any ability
to do anything, you've never heard from God. He's never touched
your heart because the people who come to His banquet, first
of all, they're poor. They have nothing to bring to
the table. They have nothing to recommend themselves. And
secondly, they're disabled. They can't do. They want to. They would. You know, even Paul,
as a regenerate person, said, To will is present with me, but
how to perform that which is good. I find not. That's the experience of every
believer. Everybody at this table, they're
poor and they're maimed. And the third description is
lame. Lame. There's a limp in their walk. They're crippled. What happened
to Jacob after the Lord wrestled with him? For the rest of his
life, he had a limp in his walk. Now, you might not know whether
or not somebody has a limp in their walk by looking at them.
I can look at plenty of you and I don't see any limps in your
walk. I admire you. I think, man, they're better
than I am. I esteem them highly. But every believer knows there
is a severe limp in their walk. And if you're somebody who thinks
that you walk straight, I doubt that you've ever learned anything
about the grace of God. Every believer knows there's
a limp, there's a crippleness in his walk. He's crippled. Halt. And you know this word,
halt, it's translated, same word is translated halt. It also means hesitant. You know that where
you're halting between two opinions? You're going here, there, you're
hesitant, you're dejected, you're depressed, you have no confidence. This word halt actually implies
that, this lame. That's who's called to the feast.
What if the only people who were called to the feast were people
who are happy and full of faith and have no problems? Well, that'd
leave me out, wouldn't it? Leave you out. But thank God,
he calls the lame to his feast. That's who's there, the lame. You know, I'm so, I think of
my walk. What do you think of your walk?
You feel good about your walk? Oh, I've got this great walk.
Well, No, you don't. Let me assure you, you're wrong.
You're wrong. But what an arrogant, proud attitude. That's not the
way God's people talk. No, we look at the severity of
the limp in our walk, and it grieves us. It might be nobody
else sees it. I hope you don't. I hope nobody
ever sees the limps in your walk or in my walk. But you're aware
of them, aren't you? You're aware of them. And then
these people who are called to this feast are the blind. The blind. People who cannot
see. Turn with me for a moment to
John chapter 9. Verse 39. And Jesus said, for judgment
I am coming to this world that they which see not might see. They which cannot
see any reason whatsoever that God would ever look in favor
toward them. They can't see. Well, he came
to give them sight. And that they would see Well,
I can see why God would save me. I did this. I did that. I
intend to do this. I changed this and I straightened
up that. I gave up this and I started
doing that. I can see why God would save me. Lights turned
off for you. God made you blind. And the Lord says this, from
judgment I've come into this world, that they which see not
might see. they which say they see might
be made blind. Verse 40, And some of the Pharisees
which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are
we blind also? Jesus saith unto them, If you
were blind, what's he say? If you were blind,
You should have no sin. If you're blind, if you can't
find one reason why God would look in favor toward you and
yourself, you know what? You have no sin. Really? Really. He was manifested to
take away our sins and in Him is no sin. If I'm in Him, I have
no sin. But now you say, we see. I can see, I can see why God
would do something for me. Your sin remaineth. What a blessing it is to be blind. Until I'm blind, I'll never see. What's the first thing God did
to Paul? He blinded him. He blinded him. You know, when you're given life, the first
thing that happens is you're blinded. You can't see. You see, you've been given some
glimpse of who God really is and who you really are. And you
can't see why he would ever look in favor toward you. You're like
Peter. Depart from me, Lord. I'm a sinful man. You don't want
to have anything to do with me. Depart from me. You just don't
want to have anything to do with me. Oh, that's the person that
he's friends with. He's friends. with publicans
and sinners. Now, this great banquet, the
great banquet of God, what a table. Millions of people at this banquet,
and every one of them fit this description, poor, maimed, lame,
and blind. You know what else? Not one of them has any sin at
all. I want to be on this banquet,
don't you? Let's pray together.