Greg Laurie - What's Your Excuse? (11/10/2017)
- Watch
- Donate
- Become Partner
Pastor Greg Laurie teaches from the parable of the wedding feast in Matthew 22 and Luke 14, exposing the lame excuses people give for refusing God’s gracious invitation to His kingdom. He breaks down the three classic excuses—possessions, career, and relationships—that still keep people from Christ today, warns about rejecting the wedding garment of Christ’s righteousness, and urgently calls everyone to stop making excuses and accept Jesus as Savior and Lord before it is too late.
Father, we have just prayed. We lift the cross, lift it high, lift it high. We raise our white flag. We surrender. And Lord, we mean that because we have come to know that Your plan, well, it is better than ours. And You love us. And You are always looking out for the long-term transformation in our life. You want to make us more like Jesus. You want to get us ready for heaven. So Lord, we pray that will happen today as we open Your Word. Give us an eternal perspective on all things we would ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
You can be seated. All right, we are back in our God Came Near series, which is a chronological look at the life and ministry and teachings of Christ from all four Gospels. And today, we are in two passages I would like you to turn to. First of all, Matthew chapter 22 and Luke chapter 14. Turn to both. We will be primarily anchored in Matthew 22 and we will also refer to Luke 14. And the title of my message is, “What’s Your Excuse?” Subtitle: “Cat did it.” I will explain that in a moment.
The Boys and the Dog
Heard a story about a minister that was walking down the street and he saw about twelve boys together, ages ten to twelve, and they were standing around a dog. So the minister thought they might be thinking about hurting the dog and he approached them and said, “Boys, what are you doing to that dog?” And one of the boys said, “Well, Pastor, we all love this dog and we all want to take him home, but only one of us can do it. So we figured, whoever here told the biggest lie gets to take the dog home.”
Well, the minister was outraged by such a thing. “How dare you? That is so wrong. Do you not know the Bible says lying is a sin?” And he went on and gave them a little sermon. And then he said, “When I was a boy, I never told a lie.” The little boys looked at each other for a moment and one says, “Okay, he gets the dog.”
Guess what? Everybody has lied. Everybody lies more than they think they do. Quick poll. How many of you have told a lie? Raise your hand. Wow, you are a deceptive group of people. No, seriously, we all have, maybe more often than we think we do.
We Learn Deception Early
Fact is, we learn how to deceive very early in life. We learn how to deceive before we can even talk. Like the little baby discovers, “If I scream really loud right now, my parents will rush into the room.” Even if there is nothing wrong. And then it is all downhill from there.
As we get older, we learn the fine art of excuse making. And what is the difference between a lie and an excuse? Not much. An excuse has been defined as the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie. Or another definition of excuse I really like: an excuse is a lie dressed up for dinner. That is all an excuse is. It is just a fancy lie. An upgraded lie, if you will.
And it is what we offer when we do not want to do something. An excuse is what we say when we do not want to participate. Or we did not get the job done. It is not a reason. It is an excuse.
Everyday Excuses We All Use
And we have used them throughout our lives. And we have heard them throughout our lives. You know, when the homework is not done, the kid says, “The dog ate my homework.” You know, did a dog ever eat homework? Ever? Is there anyone here that actually had their homework ever eaten by a dog? Any? I would just like to know more about it. But maybe that happened. Maybe it did not. But then there is the other one. When you are late, “I am sorry. My alarm did not go off.” Or how about this one? “It was just so much traffic.” That is why I am late. Yeah, but you left late. You just leave that detail out. Yeah, there was traffic, but you left late.
The fact is, lying, deception, and giving excuses have become far too common in our culture. Imagine how different our country would be if everybody suddenly started telling the truth about everything. Man, it would be shocking for sure.
Lies on Résumés and in Life
Studies show that people lie a lot on their résumés. A study revealed that 71% will increase their tenure of previous jobs on their résumé. 64% will exaggerate their accomplishments. 60% will overstate the size of the department they manage. And 53% cite partial degrees as full. And 48% inflate salary history.
A study done by USA Today revealed that one quarter to one third of all workers tell lies about tardiness and absence. And an article revealed that each of us fibs about fifty times a day.
Hall of Fame Lies
And then there are those lies we have just heard forever. They should be in the lying hall of fame.
How about this one? “I will be ready in a minute.” Let me ask, who do you think says that more? Men or women? No, not men. Women. And I have heard this so many times. You know, I have four granddaughters. Okay. So, this starts very young. It is all about the outfit. And everything working. It is about the accessories. And my wife will say, “I will be ready in a minute.” I know that is not literal. Then she will sometimes say, “I am a little cold. I need to get a sweater.” I will say, “Let me go get the sweater. Where is it?” Because if she goes and gets a sweater, we are talking five minutes, a whole new outfit is going to come out again. Okay.
“I will be ready in a minute.” Just so you girls do not think I am picking on you. Here is another one. “I will do it in a minute.” Now, who says that more, guys or girls? Oh yeah, guys. Take out the trash. Clean out the garage. Walk the dog. “I will do it in a minute.” No, you will not. That is an excuse. You are just putting it off.
Here is another one. “Of course I am listening.” No, you are not. You were texting. Or doing something else.
Here is another one. We say it all the time. “Nothing is wrong.” Right? “Is something wrong?” “Nothing is wrong.” No, something is wrong. “No, nothing is wrong.” Yeah, something is wrong.
Here is another lie that is told a lot. “Yes, dear.” Yeah, just, you know, come on. “Yes, dear.” I am not sure what part of that is the lie. Yes, or dear, or both.
The First Excuses in History
And here are other lies that we may tell and we do not even realize it. “You look great.” You know they do not look great. Do not be lying to them. Or you break up. “We will still be good friends.” Probably not. Or to your wife, you might say, “She means nothing to me.”
How about this lie? “Hello, I am from your government and I am here to help.”
Then there are excuses. And we have all heard them at one time or another. George Washington said, “It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.” And most excuses are pretty bad.
The first excuse I can think of probably uttered in human history was from our first parents in the garden called Eden. Adam and Eve placed there by God. Adam was first. Eve came a little bit later. And they ate of the forbidden fruit which Eve offered to Adam. And the Lord comes and demands an explanation why they disobeyed Him, why they ate the fruit off the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
And Adam offers the first recorded excuse in human history. It was not a reason. It was an excuse. He said, “It is the woman You gave me.” God, this is not my fault. Okay, I take a nap, I wake up and she is here. I am missing a rib. The next thing I know I have got forbidden fruit on my face. Come on.
That was the first. Here is the second excuse offered. It was Eve. She said, “The serpent beguiled me.” Updated translation, “The devil made me do it.” Right? So we have done those.
Aaron and the Golden Calf
But I think one of my favorite excuses found in the Bible, really a lie, was actually told by Aaron in the book of Exodus. You remember that Moses led the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt and they were making their trek through the wilderness to the promised land. The Lord instructed Moses to go up to Mount Sinai to receive the commandments. And so Moses left Aaron in charge. Moses had been the spiritual leader. “Now Aaron, take care of things until I get back.”
Well, some time elapses and the people grow impatient. They say, “Where is this Moses that led us out of the land of Egypt?” And kind of a loose paraphrase, “We want a God that is tangible that we can touch and see.” And Aaron says, “Well, I have an idea. Well, get all your rings and your watches and your grills.” They did not have grills back then. You know, “Bring me all your bling in effect and I am going to melt it.” And he melts all this gold and he forms it into the shape of a calf. It is a golden calf and he elevates it where everyone can see. And he says, “Worship that.” Not doing a great job watching the kids.
Meanwhile, up on Mount Sinai, here is Moses receiving the commandments. Written by the very finger of God. Not being dictated by a strange little boy as depicted in that movie that came out. I forgot the name of it. Weird movie about Moses, I think, was the title. Gods and something. Yeah, what is it? The Exodus, yeah, it is Gods and something. Yeah, Gods and Kings, that is it. You know, I do not really care. But anyway, it was a bad depiction. Because in the movie, a strange little boy representing God is giving direction to Moses what to write. No, that is not the way it happened. God Himself wrote with His own finger on those tablets. And one of those commandments said, “You shall have no other gods before Me.”
Aaron’s Ridiculous Excuse
So as Moses is making his way down from Sinai, commandments in hand, he hears noise. Joshua says, “Man, I think there is a war going on down there.” As they get closer, Moses says, “That is not a war. That is a party.” Meanwhile, back at the camp, the Israelites have stripped off their clothes, and they are dancing naked in front of a golden calf. Probably singing, “Celebrate good times. Come on.” And Joshua is on guitar, you know.
Moses walks down, demands an explanation, and there is Aaron. “Aaron, I know this looks bad. Kind of looks like we are worshiping a false god and having an orgy. Let me explain. We threw the gold into the fire, and this calf just came out.” He actually said that. So what else could we do but strip off our clothes and worship a false god? I mean, ridiculous. But that is what an excuse is. It is really a lie.
Even Animals Make Excuses
You know, people are not the only ones that offer excuses. Animals do it too. I read an article in the paper about a gorilla in a zoo. This is a true story. Named Coco. And this is amazing. This gorilla communicates through sign language. They can actually sign with this gorilla. And so they bought the gorilla a little pet, a companion, a little cat. And one day the gorilla, Coco, got angry about something and ripped the sink off the wall. That is why you never want to get a gorilla mad, okay? Rip the sink off the wall.
So they came and they signed to Coco. “Why did you do that?” And Coco signed this back. This is absolutely true. Coco signs back, “Cat did it.” I love that. That is why the subtitle of the message is, “Cat did it.”
You know, our little grandson Christopher is two years old. And there is a little cat that wanders around in our neighborhood. Pretty fat cat, fat cat. And probably chowing down on mice and such. And it is pretty friendly. It will come up to you when you call it. So we gave him a little bowl of milk to take to the cat. And he set it down. And the cat is lapping up the milk. And oh, Christopher is so excited. Petting the cat while he drinks the milk. And then Christopher tried to sort of pick the cat up. Which is not a great idea. And the cat knocked the milk over. So off the cat went.
So a day later we said, “Christopher, how did the milk get spilled?” And Christopher said, “Cat did it.” So it is the same thing as Coco the gorilla. See? By the way, you cannot cry over spilled milk. So just, never mind.
The Parable of the Great Banquet
Okay, so. Here is our story now. In Matthew 22. Why do I talk about excuses? Because we are going to read three big excuses that people offered. They were invited to a royal wedding feast. A party among parties. A great honor to be invited to such a thing. But they would not attend. And they offered the lamest excuses ever.
But the big picture of this story is the kingdom of God. The ultimate party, if you will. The ultimate feast is offered to all of humanity. And people hide behind the same three excuses that these people offered 2,000 years ago.
So we are going to look first at Matthew 22, verse 1.
“The kingdom of heaven. This is Jesus speaking. It 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.” This is the key. They were not willing to come.
“Again, he sent out other servants saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and fatted cattle are killed. All things are ready. Come to the wedding.’ But they made light of it and went their ways. One went to his own farm. Another to his business. And the rest seized his servants and treated them spitefully and killed them.
When the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies and destroyed those murderers and burned up their city. And then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready. But those who were invited, they are not worthy. So go into the highways. And as many as you find, invite them to the wedding.’ So the servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both good and bad. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.”
We will stop there.
A Royal Invitation
So verse 4 tells us the king sent out his servants. This was an epic event. To be invited to this royal wedding was the ultimate opportunity. See, this was a great honor. This was a celebration that would go on for weeks. And you would be fed the finest food in the land. Made by the greatest chefs. You would be entertained by amazing musicians. And you would even have clothes provided for you to attend the wedding so you would be dressed appropriately. I mean, everything was there. All you had to do was say yes.
So it was an honor to be invited. Now back in this culture, they would extend two invitations. The initial invitation, then the follow-up invitation. But these people could have cared less about this. But here is what makes it bad. Initially they said yes, and later they said no. In other words, they RSVP’d, as we would say today. “Yeah, I am coming.” But then when the date was announced, they said, “I cannot come.” And they offered up lame excuses.
Now the problem is great expense was involved in this. And so to be invited to an event of this kind and then not attend was really an insult. But it was a joke to these people. Verse 5 says they made light of it and went their ways. The Greek word for made light of means to be careless, to neglect, to not even care.
The Three Specific Excuses
And here is what their excuses were. Flip over to Luke 14 and we will find them. Verses 18 to 20, here are their excuses.
One guy said he bought a field and wanted to inspect it. So he wanted to be excused.
Another said he bought five pair of oxen and wanted to try them out.
Another said he had just been married so he could not come.
Hey, these are not even good lies. What are you talking about?
See, but here is the bottom line. These men were thinking only of themselves. Verse 5, back there in Matthew says they made light of it and went their ways.
The first two excuses that are offered have to do with material possessions. And the third with affections. Possessions and affections cover virtually every reason by which people say no to God.
There is nothing wrong with having a career. There is nothing wrong with having a home. There is nothing wrong with having a family. In fact, those are things that God can bless. But they should never become more important than God Himself.
It has been said, “The good is often the enemy of the best.” In the same way, there are those that will not come to Christ and they will offer up a plethora of excuses.
Excuse One: Possessions Over God
Let us go back to these guys and what they said. Category number one. Verse 18 of Luke 14. He said, “I bought a field and I want to inspect it.” Excuse me.
For this man, possessions were more important than God. Possessions were more important than God. “I bought a field and now I am going to go look at it.” What are you, an idiot? You bought something without looking at it first.
Have you ever done that? I have. Because I have ordered online. And have you ever ordered something online that you thought would be one thing and it was another altogether? “I did not order this.” “What? No, you did order it. But you were mistaken, you see.”
And I remember when I was a little kid, I used to read comic books. And there was this one ad that was on a lot of comic books on the back cover. It was an ad for these World War II soldiers that you could order. The offer was 200 World War II soldiers for $1.98. I saved my money up. I want 200 World War II soldiers. I envisioned these large figures and tanks. I got them, they were like the size of ants. They were the smallest soldiers I had ever seen.
But there was another ad that you have probably seen. It was about sea monkeys. Ever see the sea monkeys? And they had a little drawing of a daddy and a mommy monkey and little baby monkeys. And they had all these promises of what would happen. You just add water and it is instant life. They said, “This little sea monkey family will entertain you endlessly.” And you could even get the micro view ocean zoo. And you could watch them. And they had sea monkey race tracks. And they would compete. Man, I am not kidding. This is awesome. So I ordered them. You know what they were? They are brine shrimp. You know what brine shrimp are? It is what you buy in the pet store to feed your fish. Your tiny little shrimp. I was not endlessly entertained. There were no sea monkey races. None of the things they promised happened. And by the way, the micro ocean zoo was just a plastic jar. So it was a rip off.
Well that is stupid. You have to see something before you buy it.
Real Estate Excuses Today
I love the amazing descriptions that realtors come up with to describe homes. You ever had that? It sounds one way and you get there and you are going, “Are you kidding?” You read the words, “retirement haven.” I love that. That is a 30-year-old Sunbeam trailer. “Retirement haven.”
“Ocean view.” “Ocean view.” At this price, you get there. Yeah, if you are standing on the roof with a high-powered telescope, there is an ocean view.
How about this one? “Steps to the beach.” “Steps from the beach.” They just do not tell you it is 250,000 steps from the beach. You could drive there faster.
Here is another: “cute fixer-upper.” That is a pile of lumber with some plants maybe thrown in.
So this guy, come on. “I have to go look at a piece of land I already bought?” Yeah, that cannot be true.
But by the way, he was polite about it. Verse 18. He says, “excuse me.” And it is implied in the original language. “Please excuse me.”
You know, there are people you will approach with the message of the gospel. And they will be hostile. They will be angry. They will be argumentative. And they will be just a real pain to talk to. And then you will talk to other people and they are just so nice about it.
So we will conclude, “Oh man, that person who yelled at me, who argued with me, they are so far from ever coming to Christ. But this nice person, they are so pleasant about it.”
You say, “Would you like to hear about Jesus Christ?” And they say, “Yes, please tell me.” So you share the gospel. And then you say, “You know, I would love you to come to church with me sometime. Would you ever come?” “I would love to.” “Really?” “Yeah.” “So if I picked you up, you would come to church with me?” “Absolutely.” They give you their address. You go the next Sunday. You knock on the door. They have not done anything. They are ready. “Oh, I forgot. It is this Sunday. I am so sorry. Could we do it next Sunday?” Okay. You go back the next Sunday. “Hey, you ready?” “I am sorry. I just bought a piece of land. I have to go look at it.”
You start getting the idea. They are never coming.
Polite Refusal vs. Hostile Reaction
Here is a little insight. Sometimes the people that are nice about it are further from the kingdom of God than those that are hostile about it. See, sometimes the people that are nice about it, they do not want to say no, but they really are saying no. But the person who is hostile might be under the conviction of the Holy Spirit and that is why they are hostile.
You know, there is an old saying, “If you throw a rock into a pack of dogs, the one that barks the loudest is the one that got hit.” And sometimes the person that is barking the loudest, if you will, that is arguing the most is the one that is closer to the kingdom of God than the person who is sweet and nice about it, but never comes.
But this first guy, he is being held back by possessions. And in his case, it was real estate. A man’s love for real estate is often an indication of his real estate before God. But for somebody else, it could be something else, not real estate, it could be a car. For another person, it could be a toy. For another person, it could be computer stuff. For another person, it could be fill in the blank here. It is just stuff. It is things. They are more important to you than God Himself.
The Emptiness of Stuff
And one day, what if you get all that stuff? Does that really bring happiness?
You know, years ago, I went to visit a home where a suicide had taken place. It was one of the most tragic scenes I had ever witnessed. It happened in a luxury home. This family really did have an ocean view. And as I was called to the home, the woman had a perfectly ordered home. I just noticed how everything was in its place. It was decorated perfectly. Everything was just right. And tragically, before she took her life, she hand-wrote suicide notes to every member of her family. And then she died in her car, her luxury car, in her garage, turning the engine on. She was asphyxiated. And she died in the seat of this luxury car in this beautiful home overlooking the ocean.
So I come to this family, and I ask where the husband is. “Oh, he is out sailing on his yacht.” And the kids had all kinds of problems. I ask them, “Do you guys ever go to church?” “Yeah, we go on Christmas.” And he said, it was so sad.
But here are people that had what so many dream of. And yet, here was this emptiness. And this woman, so miserable, she wants to check out of life.
Jesus says, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?”
It is not wrong to have stuff, but it is wrong when stuff has you. And here is the thing. We will look at someone who has a lot of things and we will say, “Well, that person, they are materialistic.” Yeah, maybe they are. But then you can look at somebody else who does not have that much and say, “Well, they would never have a problem with stuff.” No, it is not what you have, it is what has you. You see?
The Bible says, “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, which while some have coveted after, they have erred from the faith and they have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” That verse does not say, as it is often quoted, money is the root of all evil. No, it is not. The love of money is the root of all evil, which while some have coveted after, they have erred from the faith. They may not even have it yet, but all they think about is stuff. And that can keep a person from God.
The Rich Young Ruler
That is what kept the first person from God. Perfect illustration. The rich young ruler. Guy comes up to Jesus. Now, to be a ruler, you had to be at least 30. But he is young, so he is in his early 30s. He is very successful. Cruises up in his customized chariot. It was lowered, custom wheels, exhaust, the whole deal. Dressed head to toe in designer clothing. You know, all kinds of bling on him. Probably holding a latte, you know. Cruises up. “Hey, Lord, how is it going, man? Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus looks at this kid. Says, “Well, you need to keep the commandments.” And then He gives some of the commandments the young man ought to keep. And this young guy shoots back. “All these commandments I have kept from my youth.”
And then I love it because one gospel says, Jesus looked at him and loved him. That is interesting to me. It would have made more sense if we read, Jesus looked at him and smacked him. “You liar. You have broken them all. What are you talking about?” He loved him. He saw right through this guy.
“Okay, I will tell you what, buddy. Take all of your stuff, sell it. Give the money to the poor. And follow Me. You will have treasure in heaven.” He called his bluff. Because this man was in love with stuff. And he went away sorrowful. Too bad.
Excuse Two: Career Over God
Excuse number two. Career is more important than God. Back to Luke 14:19. Guy says, “I bought five pair of oxen. I wanted to try them out.”
Who buys oxen without trying them out? What if one was lame? What if they were not healthy? It would be like buying a car without driving it first. Would you be suspicious? “Well, I like this car. Ready to buy this car.” “Can I take it for a test drive?” “No, you cannot.” “Why not?” “You just cannot. Just buy the car. Give me the money. Sign on the dotted line.” “Wait, wait, wait.” You should be suspicious. Test drive the car.
This guy, this obviously was not a reason. This too was an excuse.
Look, people have to work. In fact, the Bible says if a man does not work, he should not eat. And not only do people need to work, but people need to work hard. And you know what? I think Christians should be the hardest workers of all. The hardest workers. Because the Bible says whatever you do, you do it for the glory of God.
And as you work hard and you are productive and God is blessing you, that is a good thing. And then you can take those resources He has blessed you with and be faithful in your tithing and your giving and you can use what God has blessed you with to impact lives around the world. It is a win-win situation.
But sometimes people become so obsessed with success they forget about God. And pretty soon they do not have time anymore for anything spiritual. “Hey, let us go to church.” “I have got to work Sunday.” “Let us go to midweek study.” “I have got to work then.” “Well, let us get up in the morning and read the Bible.” “I have got to work then.” Wait. You are not working. You are using that as an excuse.
And now that thing that is a good thing has become a bad thing because it has taken the place of the best thing and the most important thing.
Excuse Three: Relationships Over God
Finally, excuse number three, relationships are more important than God. Back to Luke 14:20. Another said, he had just been married and he could not come.
I like this guy. Not like “I have a field I have to go look at.” Now, “I am married. My life is over. I just cannot. I am married. I am dead to the world.” Hold on.
Now, if I went home and said to my wife, “We have just been invited to have dinner at the finest restaurant in California, all expenses paid, you ready to go?” Hey, my wife would be happy. She would not even say “just a minute.” We would go. The meatloaf can wait. Right? That is a good thing.
So this guy’s wife, “Hey, guess what, dear? We have been invited to a royal feast and they will even give us the clothes to wear. Let us go.” “Oh, no, I cannot come. I have a wife.” That was a lie.
But, you know, here is the truth. Sometimes people will let relationships get in their way with a relationship with God.
Listen, if you are in a relationship right now with any person that would be jeopardized if you followed Jesus, you need to rethink that relationship.
This is why a Christian should never marry a non-Christian. Because the Bible says, “What fellowship does light have with darkness or righteousness with unrighteousness?” So the Bible says, “Do not be unequally yoked together with non-believers.”
You say, “Well, no. I am going to bring them to the Lord.” Maybe. That does happen. But in more cases, I have seen believers dragged down in relationships with non-believers.
Listen, girls, if you are single, do not even think about a guy who is not a follower of Jesus Christ. I do not mean a token Christian. Look for a man of God. That is what you want.
Guys, do not even consider a girl that does not love the Lord. Look for a virtuous woman. Because as time passes, and yes, beauty fades, she will be more precious to you and more beautiful to you. And his qualities will become more impressive to you. That is what you need to look for.
Putting God First in Marriage
My wife says, I said this to her once, and I do not remember it, so I am going to go with her version. It is not very romantic, but we were just going out together, and Kathy says, I said to her, “Kathy, I am going to tell you something. If you ever get in the way of my relationship with God, you are out of here.”
I said, “I said that?” She says, “Yes, you did.” “Wow.” She said, “You know what? I loved it.” I said, “You loved it?” “Oh, yeah.” She said, “I was always able to kind of manipulate guys, kind of control guys, get them to do what I wanted to do. And I thought, here is a guy that knows what he believes, and God is more important to him than me. That is the kind of guy I want to marry.”
I said, “Okay.” And I am glad I said it.
Then my wife tells me I never officially proposed to her, and I do not remember this either. But instead of getting down on one knee like a proper man proposing to a woman and pulling out the little ring box and flipping it open and saying, “Would you marry me?” She says we were having dinner, and I said, “Well, I guess we are going to get married, right?”
I said, “I really did that?” She said, “Yeah, that is what you said.” And that was the first time I realized, Kathy speaking, that you wanted to marry me.
Well, we have been married 50 years now, so it is not... it worked out. Do not try this at home. I am a professional idiot.
If You Are Already Married to an Unbeliever
Let me say something to you girls who may be in a relationship with a non-believing man. You have married him. Now what?
Well, now, according to Scripture, you should try to win him to Christ. You should not leave the marriage. You should try to win him over. But what about a man that says to you, “You can no longer go to church. And I do not want you to read the Bible. And I do not want you to talk to our kids about Christ.” Do you have to obey that? Answer? No, you do not.
Because the apostles were told on one occasion to no longer preach. And they said, “We must obey God and not man.”
God has established a structure in the marriage relationship. And the man should be the spiritual leader of the home. But having said that, if a man would try to keep you away from your relationship with God, you do not want to submit to that. You want to keep yourself strong spiritually. And you want to keep your kids strong spiritually too.
If he says, “Well, I do not want to go to church on Sunday.” “Okay, honey, bye. See you when we get back. I made a little meal for you.” Do not do it in a mean way. You are going to church. You are taking the kids to church. You are not going to let that drag you down spiritually.
Some guys watching online now going, “Curse you, Greg Laurie.” While he is drinking his beer. Go, go, go, go, go, go.
Do not let those things hold you back.
The Man Without the Wedding Garment
There is one final movement. And we are done in this story. We are back in the Matthew version now.
So now the wedding is starting. The big feast is beginning. And the king came to see the guests. This is a big deal. The king himself. He sees a man there who does not have on a wedding garment.
This would imply that there was a similarity in the garments that were distributed to all of the people. So here is one guy standing out like a sore thumb.
He says to him, “Friend, why did you come in here without a wedding garment?” And the guy was speechless.
Again, let me emphasize, the garment was provided. It is not like he had to go and buy it or even rent it, like at a tux shop. No, it was given to you. “Here you go. Just for you. Wear this garment.” This guy refused. “No, I am not going to wear that garment. Let everybody else grovel before the king. I will dress the way that I want to dress.” And I will walk right in.
So the king sees him. He stands out. And there is a friendliness on the part of the king. “Friend, why did you not take the garment that was provided for you?” Really, it was an insult. “Friend, why would you insult me? I am the king. Why would you do this? You did not have to come.”
The guy thought, “Well, I want all the free stuff. That is why I came.”
There are people like this with God. “Yeah, I want forgiveness. I want heaven. I want peace in my heart. But I want to live the way that I want to live. I want to go to heaven, but I want to live like hell.” That is not going to work.
The Garment Is Christ’s Righteousness
Because God has offered you a wedding garment, if you will. And what that means is, He has offered you a way into heaven. And there is only one way into heaven. And that is the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. And if you will turn from your sin and ask Jesus to be your Savior and Lord, you are welcomed in to the greatest celebration of all time.
But if you say, “Well, I do not need Jesus Christ. And I do not need this forgiveness. I will get in through my own good works or whatever.” You will never make it in at all.
There was an offer. And the offer was rejected.
Do you think that God in heaven would have allowed His Son to suffer and die on a cross if all roads led to heaven? Do you think that God, the Father, would send Jesus to atone for our sins and be murdered in cold blood after He had been flogged if I could get into heaven through good works?
The only reason Jesus had to go through all of that for me was because there was no other way to satisfy the righteous demands of God. And for me to reject this offer of forgiveness is an insult to God.
Listen to this verse in the Bible, Hebrews 10:29. “Think how much more terrible the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God and have treated the blood of the covenant as if it were common and unholy. Such people have insulted and enraged the Holy Spirit.”
You may be nice about it. “Well, I am a nice person. And I try to do nice things. And, you know, I do not care about the death of Jesus, His blood, whatever. I will get there on my own.” That is an insult to God.
Let me take it a step further. You are enraging the Holy Spirit. That is like a slap in the face of God for you to think you can get there without the help and forgiveness of Jesus Christ.
So this man is saying, “Why did you reject this garment?” Now I must reject you. And he turns the man away. And the man is speechless. No smug remarks. No clever comebacks.
There Is No Good Reason to Say No
People offer their reasons why they do not come to Christ. But they are not reasons, friend. And they are lame excuses. They are lies dressed up for dinner. That is all they are. There is no good reason.
You know, when we are young, we are preoccupied. We are having fun. We say, “Well, I am too young to think about that. I will think about it when I am really old, like 30.”
And you hit your 30s. And you are thinking, “Well, I am really busy, man. And, you know, my career is getting off the ground. And we have got a mortgage now. And, you know, I am married. I have a kid. And so I am too busy. I will get to it later.”
Then you get a little bit older, like 50. And you are saying, “Well, you know, I do not know. Retirement is within striking distance. And, you know, when I am really, really old, maybe I will believe in Jesus.”
And then you hit 70 or maybe 80 or maybe even 85. Now you just think, “Ugh, too old to change. Set in my ways.”
See, there is always an excuse. “Oh, when I am older,” “Oh, I should, you know, do it now.”
This is the time to come to Jesus.
There might be some of you that have been allowing other things to keep you away from Him. And I am saying nothing is more important than your relationship with God.
An Eternal Perspective
Because I will tell you what, if you have got a call, go ahead and clap for that. Go ahead. If you have got a call from your doctor Monday morning, God forbid, and he said, “We have run those tests and I need you to come in immediately.” And if we were to sit you down and say, “I have really bad news, you have one month to live.” All your priorities would change.
Your career, it is a non-issue. Your stuff, now you are just going to worry about who is going to get it when you are gone. All those relationships, those are going to be over with soon enough.
That would be a sort of an opportunity to get an eternal perspective, the big picture.
Here is my point. Maybe you will never get that call. Maybe you will. But life could just end like that. And if you keep putting this off, you will have missed the greatest offer. It is better than a wedding feast. It is better than a party. It is an invitation to spend all eternity with God in heaven in perfection.
But you must come and accept His offer. Have you asked Him to forgive you of your sin?
Responding to God’s Invitation Today
As you are listening to me right now, and most of you are, except Pastor Jeff, who is asleep in the front row. He just woke up. Welcome back. It is because you were snoring. I have heard you for the last five minutes. And that, by the way, is very offensive. I made all that up. I have been preaching online. I just lied for twelve seconds, just there. But it was a joke, so it is okay. That is another one. “I was just kidding.”
Now I forgot what I was saying. Ah.
If you are listening to this right now, and you are not sure that your life is right with God, if you are not certain that you will go to heaven when you die, if you do not know with complete confidence that your sin is forgiven, respond to this opportunity as we close in prayer.
Let us all bow our heads.
Father, thank You for loving us so much. You sent Jesus. And Lord Jesus, thank You for coming and laying Your life down for us on the cross. You suffered. You died for us. And now You offer us Your forgiveness. All we have to do is take it and receive the gift of God, which is eternal life through Jesus Christ. Help those who have never received it, who have never taken it, to do so now. We ask.
The Invitation and Prayer of Commitment
Well, our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying. How many of you would say today, “I am ready to accept God’s forgiveness? I am tired of hiding behind lame excuses. I am ready to say yes to Jesus Christ. I want my sin forgiven. I want to know that when I die, I will go to heaven. I want my guilt taken away. I am ready to accept His offer. Pray for me. I want Jesus Christ in my life.”
If that is your desire, wherever you are sitting, would you raise your hand up and let me pray for you? You want Jesus Christ to come into your life and forgive you? Raise your hand up. I will pray for you. God bless you. Anybody else? Raise your hand up higher where I can see it. God bless you. God bless you.
How about up in the balcony? God bless you guys up there. God bless all of you.
You that are watching in the satellite sites, you raise your hand up. I do not see you, but it does not matter. God sees you. Take your little step of faith. Raise your hand up. You want His forgiveness. Anybody else? God bless each one of you.
Now, while we are still praying, I am going to ask every one of you that has raised your hand, if you would, please, I want you to stand to your feet. And I am going to lead you in a prayer of commitment to Christ. Just stand up. If you raised your hand with me during that moment, stand to your feet. Stand up. Wherever you are, stand up. We are going to settle this right now. We are not putting it off until tomorrow. We are doing it now. You want to get right with God? You want your sin forgiven? You want Christ to come into your life? Stand to your feet, wherever you are. Stand up, quickly. And I am going to lead you in a prayer. God bless you that are standing.
By the way, you will not be the only one standing if you do, because others are. One final moment. Stand now, and we will pray together. God bless all of you standing.
Now, as I pray, I want you to pray this prayer out loud after me. And this is where you are asking Jesus Christ to be your Savior and Lord, and you are choosing to follow Him. Again, as I pray, pray this out loud after me. Right where you stand, you guys. Pray this now.
“Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner, but I know that You are the Savior who died on the cross and shed His blood for my sin. I turn from my sin now. I choose to follow You, Jesus. From this moment forward, be my Savior, be my Lord, be my God, be my friend. Thank You for loving me and accepting me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”
God bless you guys that prayed that prayer. God bless you. God bless all of you.
Next Steps for New Believers
Listen, we have a gift for all of you that just prayed that prayer. It looks like this Bible I am holding right here. This is the New Testament. Along with some notes that I wrote that are really designed for someone making a commitment to Christ. It is called the New Believer’s Bible. We want to put one of these in your hands to take home and start reading.
We also have some folks standing by that want to talk with you about what it means to be a Christian. You probably have a lot of questions and that is great. We are here to help.
Now over to my right, your left, here in the sanctuary, you will see a little sign that says “New Believers.” That is a room we want you to go to. And I am going to ask all of you that just prayed that prayer with me, if you would please, right now, get up out of your seat and head over to that room. We are going to give you the Bible and we are going to talk to you. We will wait on you. We are not leaving yet.
So you that prayed that prayer, just go on over to that room. If you are in the balcony, go on down the stairs. If you are outside, come around to the back and go into the room. If you are one of our counselors, go into the room. It is okay. Go on over there now. Get your New Believer’s Bible. God bless all of you.
And if you choose to, when we are dismissed in just a few moments, you can go over there after the service as well. But do not leave the campus today without your New Believer’s Bible.
And the rest of you, if you see someone walking around with one of these, give them a hug and welcome them to the family of God. Will you not? Amen.
Go and Invite Others
You know, part of this story is the original guests that were invited did not show up. So the king said, “Hey, go out to the highways and the byways and urge people to come. Call others.”
We are all called to do that. To bring the gospel to our generation. And let us continue in that. As we see great opportunities. And also, as we believe the coming of the Lord is near.
We are going to continue our worship right now as the ushers come forward. And we will receive our morning tithes and offerings.
Let us pray.
Father, we have heard how important it is to put You first. And I know, Lord, when we put You first in our finances, is that You will bless us. You tell us in Scripture to bring the first fruits of our increase. What that means is we bring the tithe. We bring the offering. And we say, “Lord, everything I have, it has come from You. Now I give back.” Because I want more people to hear the same gospel message that has changed my life. So, Lord, would You bless this time of giving now. And use it for Your glory. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.