Before we open God’s word, I want to give you a heads up about what’s going on with Robin over in the Philippines. We’ve been sending support to Robin for about 8 years or so, he could probably tell you exactly, but Robin has decided to take a job as a teacher in one of the universities over there in order to hopefully make more money, because what we were sending was evidently just enough for him to get by, and so since he decided to get a secular job, our support had to stop, and I would ask that you keep Robin in your prayers that he would do well and continue to be a witness as he rubs shoulders with the students and other faculty members. Robin is now 33 I believe, and we’ve known him since he was about 16 years old, so he’s become like one of our own kids in many respects. And Robin, if your listening, God bless you as you continue to serve the Lord in whatever capacity He has for you to do, and we wish you nothing but success.

Also I want to thank those of you who have been so faithful to support this ministry over the past 30 years, can you believe it? 30 years! I thought we would have been in heaven by now, but the gospel has not yet gone to the whole world, because Jesus said He would come when this is accomplished. So we have to keep working and spreading the truth until there’s no more opportunity to do so, and I hope we will all continue to do what we can to hasten the day of the His return in our area of the Lord’s vineyard.

I’d like to begin with a Scripture reading from Matthew 22:1-14. It’s the parable of the wedding supper, and the reason it’s important is because it gives the entire history of the gospel and what the final outcome is going to be for both the righteous and the wicked depending upon their choice.

Jesus was teaching in the temple on this occasion, and He had just told those assembled the parable of the tenants, and the chief priests and Pharisees who were listening understood that Jesus was speaking about them, and they didn’t like it when He said the kingdom was going to be taken out of their hands and given to another people, and they wanted to kill Him right then and there. And they would have, but they feared the multitude who was also there listening to Him, and they didn’t dare touch Him because the regular folk believed Him to be a prophet.

Matthew 22 beginning with verse 1, “And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto (or we could say, the kingdom of heaven is compared to the process or the experience people are going to go through on their way to obtain the kingdom or not) The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden (as guests) to the wedding: and they would not come. (That’s the first call) Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. (That’s the second call and it sounds like this King is pleading with His people to come, doesn’t it? Please come, my Son is getting married and I want you to be a part of the festivities. I’ve provided everything necessary and I want you to rejoice with me. But what did they do?) But they made light of it, and went their ways (ignoring the invitation), one to his farm, another to his merchandise: and the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. (And so, not only do the majority not come, but the smaller number of those who didn’t have farms or merchandise to go to, i.e., the religious leaders, killed the King’s servants. The speech of Stephen in Acts 7:52 comes to mind here when he said to the religious leaders, “Which one of the prophets have your fathers not persecuted” and killed?) Verse 7, But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: (and wouldn’t you be? The King always treated his subjects with the utmost love and kindness, and this is the way they repay Him? And so, the King was mad) and he sent forth his armies and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. (In other words, God honored their choice) Then saith he to his servants, the wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. (And because those who ignored the invitation and those who killed the servants were not deserving of such a gracious invitation, the King gave a third call that was outside the pale of Judaism) Verse 9, Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good; and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests” (or to investigate whether or not they were properly attired, which is a reference here to what? the investigative judgment, which means this wedding takes place where? In heaven while we are still here upon the earth. That’s an important point, in fact this investigative judgment is happening right now!) You can read that in The Great Controversy, page 427, but let me read it to you from the Bible so you know I’m not just pulling this out of thin air.

Go to Luke 12:35-37. Jesus said, “Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that (do what?) wait for their lord (Are we not waiting for our Lord to come back? Yes) when he will (do what?) return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.”

Are you looking forward to that day friend? I hope so, but before that happens we must be found wearing the wedding garment, that is, be clothed with the righteousness of Christ. And so, the context here is clearly the second coming of Christ, but before He gets here, it says He returns from the wedding, which means the wedding takes place before He returns, and so by then His marriage is over and His kingdom is already made up of all those who have put on Christ, as the apostle Paul says in Romans 13:14 and Galatians 3:27.

Now back to Matthew 22:11, “And when the king came in to see the guests he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how  camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.” In other words, all are invited, but only a few accept the invitation.

These verses ought to be of intense interest to us today, and not just something that applied to the undeserving Jews who killed God’s servants the prophets and received those first two calls, one before Jesus was crucified and one after. And the reason we should consider these things deeply today, is so they might have due weight upon our minds as apostasy from the truth abounds among God’s professed people today as it did 2000 years ago.

As we study the word of God, it becomes clear that when the promised Messiah, the Son of the living God came into the world, that He came to His own people; even His own chosen nation, the Jews, but they would not and did not receive Him, and they still haven’t to this day. That’s what we’re told in John 1:11, “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.”

Our Father in heaven is that “certain King” we read about in the parable, and He made ample provision through the gift of His Son that the Jewish nation might receive forgiveness of sin and eternal life, but they would not receive it. He provided a ransom, the sacrifice of His own dear Son, but they refused. Jesus voluntarily submitted Himself to all His Father’s requirements, came into this sinful world, became a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, but they rejected Him. Jesus went about doing good the Bible says, speaking words of tenderness and sympathy and compassion; saying in the deepest and most fervent and sweetest words ever uttered, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” But no, they refused. What about us?

The point of the parable is that the wedding supper is in progress right now and the guests are being invited right now, and soon, before Christ comes, it’s going to be over, and we need to consider that, why? Because the Bible says He’s coming as a thief in the night and in an hour that we think not.

When we look at this parable in the light of history, the great King has sent forth His servants the prophets for many hundreds of years, first the two calls to the Jews and then a third call to the Gentiles, or non-Jews, after the stoning of Stephen in 34 AD, and to all who will listen He says, “Come, for all things are now ready.” But how little has the world heeded the invitation! Most make light of it today and go their ways to their worldly pursuits and worldly pleasures, the same as they’ve done for centuries.

After giving the invitation to the Jews to come, time and time again, what did they do? They not only killed the prophets that were sent to them, but they killed the King’s Son, and as a result the King gets angry and sends forth His armies and destroys those murderers and burns up their city. And the Bible warned them way ahead of time that this was going to happen because of their failure to obey His commandments. If only they would have read and studied God’s word with a sincere heart this would have never happened.

Notice what it says in Daniel 9:26. The Jews had access to the word of God in the writings of Daniel, didn’t they? Yes, and notice what Daniel says many centuries before it took place, and not long after the Messiah was to be “cut off,” or crucified in 31 AD. Daniel says, “The people of the Prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.” And that happened right on time according to Bible prophecy. 40 years after the Kings Son was cut off, prince Titus came and destroyed the city of Jerusalem and their sanctuary in 70 AD so completely, just like Jesus said would happen in Matthew 24:2, that “there would not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

When we read Josephus, who was a Jewish historian during the first century and was there at Jerusalem at the time, we find that Titus, who was indeed a “prince,” because he was the son of the Emperor, didn’t want to destroy Jerusalem and especially the sanctuary and he did what he could to save it, but because of the stubbornness of the Jews, and because of their mistaken idea that they were still God’s people, still God’s church, even after they murdered His servants and His Son, everything came crashing down for them, and the kingdom was given to the followers of Christ, or the Christian church. God’s promise, “for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap,” came true for the Jewish nation. That doesn’t mean that the Jews can’t be saved, but if they are they must be saved individually, just like we are.

And I have to ask, do we have eyes to see and ears to hear this morning? Because history is being repeated today within the great Advent movement with a church leadership who are so blind that they can’t see that they are about to receive a similar fate for the mistaken idea that they are still representatives of God’s church on earth “seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame” by rejecting the third angel’s message, and calling those who accept and proclaim it, religious terrorists.

They are representatives alright, but of what kind? Notice what God says in Testimonies for the Church, volume 8, page 68, “Jerusalem is a representation of what the church (the Seventh-day Adventist church) will be if it refuses to walk in the light that God has given. Jerusalem was favored of God as the depositary of sacred trusts. But her people perverted the truth, and despised all entreaties and warnings. . . (And as a result it says) Christ turned from them, saying: ‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how can I give thee up? (I called you twice, but you wouldn’t come) How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!’ (And then these very sad words) So Christ sorrows and weeps over our churches, over our institutions of learning, that have failed to meet the demand of God. He comes to investigate in Battle Creek, (the headquarters of the work at the time) which has been moving in the same track as Jerusalem.”

Can anyone truthfully say that the church of today, which is coddling the LGBTQ+ community and celebrating pride month at Loma Linda, and calling people religious terrorists for proclaiming the third angel’s message, and for canceling church members and even pastors for speaking out about vaccine mandates, and promoting a salvation in sin message, and teaching falsehood about the human nature of Christ, and holding membership in the World Council of Churches with its involvement in the ecumenical movement, and having a General Conference President that thinks the mark of the beast is any day other than the seventh day? He learned well from his father who consigned the Spirit of Prophecy to the historical trash heaps nearly 50 years ago, if you recall. Can anyone truthfully say that the church of today is in better shape than it was in 1898 when Ellen White said the church was “moving in the same track as Jerusalem?”

Friends, God is merciful and longsuffering and abundant in goodness and truth, it’s true, but at the same time He means what He says and He says what He means, and unfortunately everything is going to come crashing down for God’s professed church very soon now, and hopefully you are aware of what direction the leadership has been leading the membership for a very long time. Rather than me going on and on about what’s happening currently, maybe I should share a couple personal experiences with you before we continue on with the parable, because I know whereof I speak.

Back in the 1970s I was working in a water heater factory in Newark, California, and the workers had to join a labor union in order to work there. I didn’t know what the Spirit of Prophecy said about labor unions at the time and the roll they’d play in helping to bring about a time of trouble in the last days, and that you can’t possibly keep the commandments of God and be a member of a labor union. I didn’t know these things.

I was a relatively new Seventh-day Adventist and didn’t have all the various Spirit of Prophecy books, and one day I got a call from an older gentleman in the church. I was a member of his Sabbath School class and he just called me up one day. And as we were talking he asked me about various things and he finally got around to asking me where I worked. I found out later that he already knew where I worked and had done some research into the company. Anyway, he asked me if I had to belong to a labor union to work there, and I said yes. Then he said, do you know what Ellen White has to say about labor unions, and I said no. Then he asked me if I had Selected Messages, book 2 and I said no. Then he said, if I lend you mine would you read it? And I said sure, I believe Sister White was a true prophet and I’d be glad to know what she says about labor unions.

So, that very afternoon he stopped by and gave me the book and already had the place marked where he wanted me to read. It was a section that started on page 141 and I read the whole section, and I was so convicted that the next day I went into work and I gave my notice that I was quitting and why, and all the men I worked with thought I was nuts. I finished out the pay period, which was only a couple more days and as I walked out of National Steel that day, all the men in my department who knew why I was leaving were hooting and hollering and calling me all kind of names and that I was stupid for quitting. But as I walked out of there that day with a big smile on my face, all the men in the next department that didn’t know what had happened, couldn’t figure out why I was so happy while I was being treated that way.

Friends, I was happy because I was found worthy to suffer for Christ’s sake as it says in 1 Peter 3:14. And in 4:14 it says, “If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part He is evil spoken of, but on your part He is glorified.” Praise the Lord! And if you have ever had a similar experience, you know exactly what I mean.

Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 5:11 when He said, “Blessed are ye (that means happy are ye), when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.” These words of Jesus are true friends, because they were fulfilled in my life that day.

But that’s not the end of the story. The next Sabbath the news about what I had done got around to the whole church there in Fremont, California, especially to the men who were working at various jobs, most of whom belonged to, guess what? labor unions. So after church the pastor came up to me and said he thought I had made a bad decision, and what if all the men in the church did what I had done, what would happen to the church, and how would the church be supported, and how would I receive my check every month? he was probably thinking. And I said, and I give credit to the Holy Spirit where Jesus said in Matthew 10:19, “take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.” I said to the pastor, “if every person in the church did what God says to do, we’d all be in heaven by now, and wouldn’t that be better than being down here playing church?” And he just turned around with an exasperated look on his face and walked away. What else could he say?

Well, that very week my Sabbath School teacher, Lavern Young, an older gentleman who I’m sure has passed away long ago, asked me if I wanted to go to work for him; he was a painter, and I said absolutely I would, and that’s what I did. It was a better job, I made more money, and I enjoyed it much more than putting together water heaters on an assembly line.

Friends, God rewards faithfulness, and He proved it to me that day, and my faith grew as a result, and I’m thankful that Lavern Young had the courage to approach me that day and lend me his book, and I expect to see him in heaven someday soon. Because of that experience in my early years, it taught me that it was a small step in my Christian journey and helped prepare me for this next experience.

Twenty years would go by and I’m now living in Lebanon, Oregon and I’m one of the elders in my church, and because I had been reading and studying the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy a lot, I’m beginning to see that the leaders of the denomination “are moving in the same track as Jerusalem.” I had just read a little paperback book called “The Crisis of the End Time” by Marvin Moore, who was editor of Signs of the Times back then, and I thought it was a very good book until I got about half way through, and I could see there were serious errors in it regarding the human nature of Christ and the new theology of salvation in sin, which isn’t very new, it began in the Garden when the devil told Eve she could disobey God and still have life. You can still buy this book of lies in your local Adventist book center for $19.95 along with many other “books of a new order” as it says in Selected Messages, book 1, page 205, but I wouldn’t waste the Lord’s money if I were you.

Sister White wrote an article in the Review and Herald, December 24, 1889 admonishing both children and parents to give their hearts anew to Christ at the beginning of the coming New Year, and I want you to notice what she wrote, because I don’t think you’ll find a clearer statement about the true condition of those who are involved in ongoing sin than this one. She says, “Every day that you remain in sin, you are in Satan’s ranks; and should you sicken and die without repentance, you would be (saved).” You think that’s what it says? No, it says “you would be lost.” It doesn’t sound like you can have a saving relationship with Jesus, like Morris Vendon used to say, and like Marvin Moore wrote about, while you have ongoing sin in your life, does it? And friends, if you believe that Jesus had an unfallen human nature, and that’s how He was able to live without sinning, then you will never have victory over temptation and sin in your own life. Because if Jesus had to have an unfallen human nature in order to live without sin, how can we do it with a fallen sinful nature? And so, we see where this false teaching leads, and it’s rampant within Adventism today. It’s very serious to know and believe the truth about the humanity of Christ, because Selected Messages, book 1, page 244 says, “The humanity of the Son of God is everything to us. It is the golden chain that binds our souls to Christ, and through Christ to God.” And so, we must understand the truth about Christ’s humanity if we want to become like Him in character, and everyone who fails to do that will be bound hand and foot and cast into “outer darkness (where) there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

So, I talked to the pastor about Marvin Moore’s book of lies, just a young man fresh out of the seminary, and I told him about the errors I found. I even made arrangements to meet with him and the other two elders and discuss it, because Marvin Moore was coming to the area and they were going to shut down all five area churches and rent a big high school gymnasium for church on Sabbath so they could hear this man spue his errors. Shouldn’t a church elder warn the church when he sees error coming in? or should he be like a dumb dog who will not bark when he sees the approach of the enemy? Well, I decided to be a watchman on the walls of Zion rather than a dumb dog.

The day came for our meeting with the pastor and the elders and Cindy and I met them in our home that afternoon, and after sharing a few Bible texts and some Spirit of Prophecy quotes and comparing them with what Marvin Moore’s book said, both of the elders agreed with us that Marvin Moore was teaching error, but guess what? The elders still decided to support the pastor and the upcoming meetings anyway.

The pastor’s answer to all our comments was that “it’s all just a matter of semantics and Marvin Moore was teaching the same thing Ellen White and the Bible teaches.”

And so, finally we felt like we had done everything we could to correct the errors by presenting the truth in love and we were done, we had fulfilled our duty, and it wasn’t long after that that Cindy and I asked for our membership to be removed from the church rolls because we didn’t want to be held responsible for what we knew to be wrong. And if you’re wondering whether or not we made the right decision, let me read you another inspired statement from Testimonies for the Church, volume 3, page 269. “The plain, straight testimony must live in the church, or the curse of God will rest upon His people as surely as it did upon ancient Israel because of their sins. God holds His people, as a body, responsible for the sins existing in individuals among them.” It’s interesting how Sister White keeps comparing the Adventist church with Jerusalem and ancient Israel, isn’t it? And there’s good reason for it. It was true in her day, and it’s doubly true today.

And here’s another supporting statement from Patriarchs and Prophets, page 578, and remember also what the Bible says in Deuteronomy 19:15, “at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.” Here’s the second witness in Patriarchs and Prophets. It says, “Those who have too little courage to reprove wrong, or who through indolence or lack of interest make no earnest effort to purify the family or the church of God, are held accountable for the evil that may result from their neglect of duty.” I don’t want that curse resting upon me, how about you?

Well, not long after we had our names removed we decided to move to north Idaho, because land was cheaper there than in Oregon and we wanted to move to the country like we’ve been told. Not long after we got established on our new property, one of the other area pastors back in Oregon started spreading rumors that we were stockpiling weapons to defend ourselves against the government or the Catholics or some crazy thing. This was during the time when Randy Weaver on Ruby Ridge was having a shootout with Federal law enforcement, you might recall, and I guess this pastor thought we were associated with that situation, because the property we purchased was not far away from where this was all taking place. But the only thing we were stockpiling were the Scriptures and the Spirit of Prophecy, and we’re still doing that today.

It’s absolutely amazing to what lengths some people will go to in order to try to make an example of you if you dare defy church leadership. By the way, this is the tactic the papacy has been promoting through the ecumenical movement for decades, of getting church members to look to the clergy as their leaders and for their authority rather than to Jesus and to His word alone. This is the same battle the Protestant reformers had with the papacy back in the day, and some 500 years later the same battle is still going on, and Protestants are losing the battle, because the papacy has been very successful at working behind the scenes “to regain control of the world, to re-establish persecution, and to undo all that Protestantism has done.” (The Great Controversy, page 565)

You know, most people, when they’re baptized and join a church, have the mistaken idea that they’re obligated to do what the pastor says no matter what! After all, they’ve been to college and seminary and have learned Hebrew and Greek and they know better than the membership, right? Wrong! The Holy Spirit is just as willing to teach the common person the truth as He is those who partake of higher education, and I’d say more so, because those who attend today’s colleges and universities are being brainwashed by teachers who have been drinking the wine of Babylon.

Psalm 118:8 says we are to put our trust in the Lord and not put our confidence in man. And notice also what it says in Review and Herald February 10, 1891, “We are not saved as a sect; no denominational name (including Seventh-day Adventist) has any virtue to bring us into favor with God. We are saved (how?) individually as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Never forget it friend, Jesus is our only Master, and we are to listen to and obey His voice whenever there is a question or a doubt in our minds about what someone is telling us, period! If we are right, and we know we’re right based upon inspiration, we are to stand in defense of the truth though the heavens fall. And if we can’t stand up to apostasy and persecution now when it’s relatively easy, what are we going to do when we’re hauled before the courts to answer for our faith and when the death decree goes forth? We are to be preparing now through the little trials, and if we’re not faithful in the littles, we won’t be faithful when the big test comes.

And to prove that higher education would be corrupt in these last days, notice what the prophet wrote in The Great Controversy, page 606, “As the time comes for it (the third angel’s message) to be given with greatest power, the Lord will work through humble instruments, leading the minds of those who consecrate themselves to His service. The laborers will be qualified rather by the unction (or the anointing) of His Spirit than by the training of literary (or academic)  institutions.” God knew ahead of time, didn’t He?

Well, after we found out that this particular pastor was accusing us of stockpiling weapons to defend ourselves, we contacted him and shamed him into apologizing to the local churches that he had given false information to. He said he would, but whether he did or not we don’t know, but regardless, the damage was done at that point and no doubt many of the church members we used to be a part of thought for sure that we were way out in left field somewhere, and any influence we might have had with them was totally and effectively destroyed. Such is the power of lies, but there are consequences coming for those who do it.

I’ve shared these things with you this morning just so you’ll know that Cindy and I have been through the mill over the past 30 years trying to go through the “proper channels,” so to speak, as we have tried to correct the errors we saw coming into the church that are a deadly poison to the soul. But when it has come to “the leaders,” it has availed nothing, and do you know why? Again, it’s because they’ve been instructed in the papal principles of ecumenism, which is the leaders controlling the members and ultimately giving control over to Rome. That’s where this unsanctified submissive attitude of the members to the clergy is leading,  it’s the Jesuit agenda.

Now let’s get back to the marriage supper of the Lamb before we get too far off track. Matthew 22:8 says, “Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they (the Jews) which were bidden (twice) are not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways and as many as ye shall find bid to the marriage.”

Notice what it says in Acts 13:46, because what Paul and Barnabas said to the Jews here is a fulfillment of this parable at this point. “Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you (Jews, in those first 2 calls): but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.” We go out into the highways and byways and give a third call to all ethnicities, nationalities and races, to come to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

The King of the kingdom has made a marriage supper for His Son friends; He has sent forth His servants all through history to say to those which are bidden, and that includes you and me, by saying, “Come to the marriage,” and the Lord is still sending His servants all over the world today, saying to all who will hear, “Come, make ready for the great marriage supper of the Lamb,” “Come, put on your wedding garment; clothe yourselves with meekness, humility, and truth, and have yourselves clothed with the righteousness of Christ, that you may be able to appear before Him, and enter into the guest chamber with those who shall sit with Him at the wedding of His Son.”

Are you preparing for the day when your name comes up in review before God, my friends? We must all be clothed with the wedding garment in order to be accepted, lest we be found speechless. Isn’t it of greatest importance that we be found having on the robe of Christ’s righteousness? In light of these things I pray that we will heed the invitation given and make ready so we can be admitted into the Father’s house and be seated at the banqueting table and not be among those who won’t be able to taste of His supper.

But here’s the thing, we are to be among those servants of God who have already accepted the invitation and then give it to others. We are the servants that are to do the inviting and the entreating for others to come away from the alluring scenes of this vain and fleeting world, to make ready for the marriage supper.

The problem is, we’ve already been told that for the most part, they will not come. We already know that only a few will heed the invitation, so don’t get discouraged when people don’t seem to be interested, it’s to be expected, unfortunately. As we try to witness to them, most will say, “There’s no danger, what are you talking about? Tomorrow will be just like today and much more abundant and there’s no need to be disturbed. We need to attend to our farms and our merchandise, and the things of this life,” they say, “so we don’t lose what we have and become poor and suffer want.”

But these people don’t realize this one thing, or they have forgotten if they’ve ever did known, that He who cares for the little sparrows and clothes the lilies of the field, also cares for the humble, trusting soul, and will guide and direct all who are ready to do His will and to make sure they have such things as they need.

This same King who sent His servants to the Jewish nation and to the Gentiles afterward is still sending out His servants today, and we have to ask, are we one of them? Because through His servants who have already answered the call, He is inviting His other guests today, saying, “Come, for all things are now ready.”

The Lord of the marriage is soon coming friends, and He says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” It’s very dangerous not to open that door when we hear the knocking, because who knows if it will be the last time He knocks? He might turn away and knock on someone else door who’s more receptive and we not be able to enter the marriage feast.

Will you make ready for the coming of Him who has said, “Behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give to every man according as his work shall be”? And will you then be one of those He will use to reach others with the gracious invitation to come to the supper?

If we neglect our spiritual interests and neglect to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service, we’ll become entangled with the cares of this life just like those who said I must attend to my farm and my merchandise. If we neglect our daily duty of calling upon God for His divine aid and for His care and protection, we will lose the sweet, melting influence of God’s Holy Spirit and we’ll be more apt to feel discouraged, and you can bet that the enemy of our souls will be right there ready to take advantage of us and bring us into captivity to sin.

The way life goes, sometimes we feel cumbered about with much serving like Martha, don’t we? There’s so much to do and so little time to do it and with no one help sometimes, but how much better was the act of Mary, who sat and listened to the teachings of Jesus.

How many times the things of this vain, deceitful world come between us and our eternal interests! How many times the temporal things of this life spring up within our hearts and choke those things that are spiritual and permit the enemy of righteousness to persuade us that we should attend to the things of this life as more important than the future life.

If we have our hopes centered on things above and our conversation is in heaven whence we look for the coming of Jesus, who has bidden us to the marriage, and has gone up on high to prepare mansions for all those who love Him and keep His commandments, we can then enter into the wedding feast with Him, that where He is, there we may be also. But if we turn away from those calls and invitations, what will be the consequence?

If we put God’s work from us, and judge ourselves unworthy of everlasting life, we have no reason to expect an entrance into the kingdom, it’s just that simple. And Luke 14:24 says that those with that kind of attitude, even though they were bidden, “shall not taste of the Lord’s supper.”

Jesus said our Father in heaven has prepared a marriage feast for Him, and again I ask, will we give heed to the invitation? or will we make light of it? Knowing what we know, why would we refuse to make ready for the marriage of the Son of God? All indications are that the banqueting hall is not going to be crowded. There’s room at the table for all who will accept the invitation, and no one will be able to say they weren’t invited, because John 1:9 says the truth about Jesus lightens every man that comes into the world. At some point everyone will have the opportunity to hear the invitation of the Holy Spirit at least once, and some perhaps many times, only God knows, but remember, Luke 13:25 says when Jesus returns, those who are ready will go in to the feast, and the door will be shut and those who come too late will hear Him say, “I know you not.” How terrible will it be to hear those words, friends? To know that you will never have another invitation, another chance to surrender all to Jesus and prepare for the greatest supper that’s ever been provided?

And we need to remember also that there are two suppers, the one we’ve been talking about and the one mentioned in Revelation 19:17, 18, and we are all going to be at one or the other. Let’s read that quickly before we close. “And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.”

This is the fate of all who refuse the invitation, and to prepare themselves as guests at the wedding supper of the Lamb. We are either going to sit down and eat with Christ, or have our dead bodies eaten by the birds. We’re all going to be at one of those two suppers, and it’s pretty easy to choose which one we want to be at, isn’t it? One takes some preparation and the other requires nothing but to just sit back and live according to the flesh. And yet, nearly the whole world is going to be at the wrong supper.

Just before Israel was to go in and possess the promised land of Cannan, Moses instructed them to be careful to follow all of what God had given him, and notice what he said in Deuteronomy 30:19, and are we not about to inherit the promised heavenly Cannan? He said, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.”

You’re Invited