Stand Chosen

Joanna Dorai
19-02-2017

Matthew 22:1-14
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet

22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

4 “Then he sent some more servantsand said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come.9 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.

13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

Luke 14:16-24
16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’

18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’

19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’

20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’

21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’

22 “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’

23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”

They were invited to a wedding banquet but their first response was they will not come.

In the house of the king, there was a man who was unprepared and he was speechless.

Three groups of people:

1) They make excuses. They make light of the call. I'm sorry. I cannot come.

2) They come prepared.

3) They come unprepared. 

"For many are called, but few are chosen." (Matthew 22:14)

When Jesus came to the Jews, He came to the people whose fathers and forefathers knew what it was to serve to God. 

The Kingdom call: "The time is near. The Kingdom of God is near. Follow Me."

He healed the sick. The people followed.

He performed signs and wonders. The people followed.

How then should we respond?

The chosenness comes out of an understanding what the Lord wants to call us into a place in which we can respond and follow Him wholeheartedly.

The Lord Himself wants to come and meet us personally. So come prepared and stand chosen.

The heart of God is for all. In this season of visitation, He wants to give us a Kingdom that cannot be shaken.

John the baptist understood that he only baptised with water and that there is Someone who comes after him who baptises with the Spirit and fire.

There is more because we are about to receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken.

How do we respond to the call?

Be willing to prepare our hearts and take every necessary actions to stand chosen to meet with and encounter God, and the Lord will make us greater than something we cannot imagine.

He wants to raise up a people who say, "I saw the Lord."