SEPTEMBER 07 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#27 “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?” (Matthew 22:12)

SEPTEMBER 07  THE JESUS QUESTIONS    JQ#27  “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?”  (Matthew 22:12)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, You are the same yesterday and will remain unchanged even unto all eternity  — You are the “Everlasting God”, our Redeemer, the Living Waters, the Good Shepherd — You are the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE. Lord whatever I find myself in need of, You are there making provision for me to deal with my ever-changing world. In the midst of the Valley of Sickness, You provide healing and I find myself on the mountain top, when I lose my way, You are the Light and You guide my steps back to knowing that Your Grace and Mercy abound in whatever circumstance befalls me — Lord I have no desire to exist outside of Your Kingdom so I pray that my daily sins will be forgiven me, that all my strength be from You and that Your Love will be what others see in me as I yield to the filling of Your Holy Spirit.   AMEN

SEPTEMBER 07  THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus, with His 3rd Parable regarding what Heaven is like, has illuminated some of the mysteries about the kingdom of heaven in a way that gives us Spiritual Insights which can only come from God Himself. Jesus placed this parable at this point in His Masterful Lesson on the Authority of God to sum up the Truth of God that there was a perfectly good reason for the Israelites to call Him “GOD ALMIGHTY” and in reverent awe of Him, the Israelites would not even speak His Holy Name out loud. The 3rd Parable is placed at the end of 3 parables Jesus used to Teach that the God of Israel is the “Only Authority”! Jesus also includes critical points on both the problem and the cure to the world’s major sin which began with the “Fall of man” and will continue until the final solution when every soul will stand before God the Creator and be judged according to our actions. This “downfall” sin is that every soul has to decide for themselves if they are going to be their own god or are they going to let God be God. The sad part of history is that God has never done anything to cause even a shred of doubt about His Abilities while at the same time man has never been able to accomplish anything on his own that even closely resembles the work of God. Why anyone would want to take on the responsibilities of God who has proven Himself as a Just and Holy God is a big mystery to me? God has been so successful by Himself that it is also a mystery why He even “bothers” with us creatures at all? The 3rd Parable, in summation, points out the core basics of the kingdom:

3rd Parable Core Basics of the Kingdom (Matthew 22:1-14):

>God is the “King” of heaven.

>God has a “Son” and “arranged a marriage” for the Son.

>God chose a “bride” for His Son.

>God’s Plan included a list of “the invited” to attend the wedding.

>God made “all” the necessary preparations for this special wedding.

>God’s preparations were for both the spiritual and physical needs of “the invited”.

>God’s “Invitation” was rejected because “they were not willing to come”.

>God demonstrated great patience by sending out His servants “again”.

>God’s extended “Invitation” was rejected again, made light of, and murdered the king’s servants.

>God judged the wrongdoers and administered the penalty.

>God demonstrated His Divine Patience by sending out more servants to extend His Invitation to everyone.

>God’s Invitation is extended to everyone but everyone must come to the king’s wedding on the king’s terms.

>God showed He will not be “mocked” because those that come on their own terms will be judged and penalized just like the murders. 

>God never forces Himself on anyone but if we choose His Grace it must be on His Terms!!

>God Invites everyone to the wedding but few make the wise choice to accept the king’s terms.

We will end the 3rd Parable with: “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but that through Him the world might be saved. He who believes is not condemned but he who does not believe is condemned already for he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light…” (John 3:17-19a)

SEPTEMBER 06 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#27 “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?” (Matthew 22:12)

SEPTEMBER 06  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#27  “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?”  (Matthew 22:12)

LIVING FOR JESUS Daily Prayer    

JESUS, the Only Begotten of the Father, sent by the Love of the Father, and in Obedience to the Will of the Father, You gave up Your Deity to become Flesh to dwell among us and to suffer and die for our sins so that man would have a just and reasonable Sacrifice that would serve as an Atonement for our iniquities. For it is only by Belief in the Son that our sins are Forgiven and we are Free from the penalty of death that our sins deserve. Lord Jesus, You did all this for us sinners, and all You have asked in return is that we “Love One Another”!!!  All Praise, Glory, and Honor to Jesus, who died to set us Free!!! Lord, my prayer today is that the Holy Spirit will move among Your Church and we will live completely as Living Sacrifices so that the world will be consumed and AMAZED with the Love and Grace of the Living God!!   AMEN

SEPTEMBER 06  THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus concludes this all important 3rd Parable on the Power and Authority of God as Jesus Teaches that God “again” extends His Invitation of Mercy, Grace, Salvation, and Bountiful Provisions for all who will accept His Graciousness, but Jesus also Teaches that God is Supreme and as such, we must Honor and Respect both the Father and the Son and “accept” the invitation to “come” on the terms that will be proportional to the Gracious Invitation sent out by the King of kings, Lord of lords, and the Almighty Creator God!!! The main problem with the world is that we want to be our own god therefore we are “not willing to come [on God’s terms]” and we “make light” of God’s Invitation. The disease of man wanting to be his own god has become so widespread that we turn a blind eye to the Truth of God that He and ONLY HE is the Final Judge and that each person will stand before God and face the consequence of our actions! These consequences have already been made well known to man, therefore our choices will result in either our condemnation or our commendation according to God’s already published terms (consequences to our actions) in His Holy Bible and not to the terms that the majority of men have “modified” in their quest to be their own god — these self-promoting modifications are now declared by those men who would be society’s god to be the law of the land as according to the “doctrines of men”, men who have usurped the Authority of God — and the sad part is that we as a society accept man’s judgement and ignore God’s Final Judgement!!! We miss the Truth that only God is the Judge and our own actions will be the only evidence presented at our trial! Jesus Teaches this in the 3rd Parable as the servants go out into the highways and byways and fill the wedding hall with guests but some came on the king’s terms and wore a wedding garment that honored the king and his son but others made “light” of the wedding and came to take advantage of the king ——— they that try to take advantage of “Grace” are the ones that feel that they are their own “king” and the rules of God simply don’t apply to them!?!? However, we read how Jesus Teaches the consistency of God and His Unchanging Character as “…the king came in to see the guests [and] he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So [the certain king] said  to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’” (Matthew 22:11-12)  Jesus wraps it all up as He warns us: “not to fear those that can kill the body” but that we should respect “Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)  Jesus finished by describing the Final Judgement: the “certain king” told his servants to “bind [the man without a wedding garment] hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 22:13) The Final Lesson Jesus Taught on God’s Power and Authority was “For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:14) Friend, our “choice” is to determine why only a few will be “chosen” — I’ll give you a clue — all who honor God and His Son and accept God’s Gift of Grace are still sitting at the wedding table in their wedding garments and feasting on the Bountiful Provisions of God while those who made “light” of Him who gave the “Invitation” are in “darkness” ——— is that the sound of “weeping and gnashing teeth” I hear coming out of the place that has no “Light” ?!?!?!?! 

SEPTEMBER 05 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#27 “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?” (Matthew 22:12)

SEPTEMBER 05  THE JESUS QUESTIONS    JQ#27  “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?”  (Matthew 22:12)

SEPTEMBER 05  LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer   

[POSTED BY LANNY LEWIS]

JESUS, Lord ever will praises for You be on my lips, for You are worthy. Lord there is nothing good in me or about me yet You have Sacrificed Your Perfect Life for my wretched soul — Lord some day the Mystery will be revealed why You would pay such an extensive price for what on the surface seems like trash and garbage, Jesus, I know that my soul has “value” only because of what You and the Father have done to purchase my pardon and set me free, Lord Jesus I pray for the Holy Spirit to fill me with the knowledge that I breathe free air only because of JESUS and keep my heart, soul, and mind forever thankful for this Grace that does “pardon and cleanse within — Grace, Grace, Marvelous Grace!”   AMEN

SEPTEMBER 05  THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus  used a specific order of words, phrases, and actions in this 3rd Parable that reveals the character of God and of man. So far in the first section Jesus has revealed that God [a certain king] provides a bountiful  feast [arranged a marriage for his son] for all that will accept His Invitation [sent out his servants to call the invited] but the 3rd Parable also reveals mankind’s great sin against the Almighty Creator God Who Provides as Jesus states that man has rejected God’s Gracious Invitation and bountiful provisions [the invited…were not willing to come]!?!?! Jesus showed in detail in Section 1 of this 3rd Parable (Matthew 22:1-4) how God goes above and beyond the expected to provide for all that will “Come” and participate and then Jesus also goes into detail as to why and how that mankind literally condemns ourselves as Jesus Teaches in Section 2 of this 3rd Parable a list of actions that would condemn anyone and would result in a verdict of “guilty” (1) Dishonored God and His Only Begotten Son Jesus: “But they made light of [the invitation]” … (2) Rejected God’s Sacrifice and call to Repentance: “…went their own ways…” (3) Exhibited the true nature of sin which is stating: “I am my own god”  when the invited, “…seized [the king’s servants sent with the message from the king that ‘all things are ready. Come to the wedding.’”] and treated them spitefully, and killed them.” (Matthew 22:5-6) Jesus has now presented the case of God and has shown that mankind has condemned itself so now that the verdict of guilty has been passed down, the sentence must be passed down and the penalty applied as the judge “sent out [the enforcers and] destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.” (Matthew 22:7) The 3rd Parable could have ended there with a good lesson being taught but God and His Son Jesus are God and do not stop at “good” for they are “Perfect” and therefore Jesus continues to reveal more about the Character of God! We read that immediately after executing the penalty against the guilty that God does not “give up” on the world as Jesus continues the parable “Then [the certain king after punishing the guilty] said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready … therefore go into the highways and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.” (Matthew 22:8-9) Just another example of God going that “extra mile” and extending His Invitation so that “whoever calls upon the name of the LORD shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13) or you can choose to be your own god and condemn yourself to utter destruction, as always God gives you all the information you need to make an “informed” choice, you either respect God and His Invitation or you can choose to go the way of the world which anyone can observe is in a terrible mess! Don’t you think this would be a good time to secure a wedding garment and plan on attending the “Wedding Feast of the Son” instead of fighting off the beasts in this dog-eat-dog world we are living in today?!?!?!?

SEPTEMBER 04 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#27 “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?” (Matthew 22:12)

SEPTEMBER 04  THE JESUS QUESTIONS    JQ#27  “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?”  (Matthew 22:12)

LIVING FOR JESUS Daily Prayer   

JESUS, Lord Jesus, You are the Ever-Shining Light that will lead us out of the darkness  onto Your Paths of Righteousness. Lord, only You have the Words to restore our soul and to make us Know that You are the Good Shepherd that will keep us from the enemy as You draw us into Your Flock. Jesus, take these moments of sickness in our lives to teach us that You are the Great Physician. Lord I know that with life will come these issues but I also know that there is nothing that this world can do to me that You cannot fix for You have overcome the world and was victorious over the grave! So Lord Jesus my prayer is to remain fixed on You for You are even more constant than the North Star. Forgive me of my worldly shortcomings and keep me centered in Your Will and covered by Your Grace!   AMEN

SEPTEMBER 04  THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus was always getting right to the point and with Section 2 of this 3rd Parable Jesus really exposed the main problem with Israel when Jesus was Teaching in the temple in Jerusalem — as He started Section 2 “But they made light of it…” and in their self-absorbed arrogance they rejected the kings invitation and then they “…seized [the king’s] servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them…” and even though it is a parable, Jesus has identified the major problem with God’s “invited” [Israel] because they had turned to their own ways and had ignored the ways of God and all the Prophets that God had sent to show Israel her shortcomings, Israel basically “seized” God’s Prophets and had some of them killed. It is the same problem that is running rampant in today’s world as our society has taken God out of our government and they are “legislating” according to the desires of men. Our society today dishonors God and His Teachings more than any other time since the first persecution of Christians. Surely our world is making “light of” God and the world is persecuting God’s Servants on a scale never before seen! Jesus Taught about God’s “provisions” in Section 1 of this 3rd Parable and now in Section 2 Jesus declares in no uncertain terms that for those that have rejected God that “Judgement” is coming as we read: “But when the king heard about [the mistreatment of His servants and the total rejection of His “Invitation”] …” that “[the certain king] was furious.” (Matthew 22:7a) I don’t know about you but the thought of God Almighty who has unlimited Power being “furious” is one of the scariest things I can think of. Yet in our society we have been fed the “Lie” that God is “impotent” and is no longer “relevant” to our modern lifestyle so we do not think about the consequences of making God “furious” and we go about our liberal lifestyles saying God is “wrong” and our “progressive” government passes man-made laws and declare those laws that defile the commands of God as “right” because they are “legal”??? Jesus lists the consequences associated with making [the certain king] “furious” and He continues the 3rd Parable: “And [the furious king] sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.” (Matthew 22:7b) The fact that God sent out “His armies” [and not just an army] shows that God’s Punishment is going to be total for all who have transgressed the Law of God and have made “light” of His Power and Authority will feel His full Wrath! All transgressors will be “destroyed” and to make the destruction utterly complete God destroyed not only the wicked that had rejected His invitation but He also “burned up their city” — I know that when I read this passage that I have visions of Sodom and Gomorrah being leveled with an unearthly fire and the cities have never been heard of again — only God has the Power to “utterly destroy”. One must make the decision to  learn from God or listen to the world and ignore God and make “light” of Him and hope that He doesn’t really exist — for if God does exist then He has promised us a “Final Judgement” which God has already established the consequences for our actions and will administer “Penalties” and “Rewards” according to His Unchanging Law. Jesus Taught a “solution” to the problem of “rejecting” God in Parable 1 and that is to “Repent” and prepare for the wedding! 

SEPTEMBER 03 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#27 “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?” (Matthew 22:12)

SEPTEMBER 03  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#27  “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?”  (Matthew 22:12)

SEPTEMBER 03  LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, Lord I pray that as I stand in the shadow of sickness that You will hold my tongue that I might not project anger or hurt to those around me, Your Salvation is so much greater than any sickness, Lord I pray that You will make Yourself manifest in my attitude with those around me, especially in this time of healing — anyone can praise You on the mountain top but Lord Jesus I know how important You are to my day-to-day life, sick or well, so Lord I am still Praising and Thanking You for this wonderful life You have provided for us, I just don’t want to blow my witness by showing others “self-pity” because of any “physical ailment” or “temporary sickness”— instead I am going to keep Your Praise on my lips that is Due to the King of kings and Lord of lords, my Redeemer Jesus Christ and our Forever Father!!!   AMEN

SEPTEMBER 03  THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus Teaches this all important 3rd Parable (Matthew 22:1-14) on the “Authority and Power of God Almighty” in two sections and again the order of these 2 sections teach us even more about the character of God. Section 1 of the 3rd Parable covers Matthew 22:1-4 and contains the introduction of God’s Invitation to the “arranged marriage” of His Son and all the many “preparations” God has made for this “wedding”. The fact that this wedding feast parable is the 3rd of 3 Parables that Jesus is Teaching the religious rulers (who were questioning Jesus’ “Authority”) is significant. After the discussion of the Baptism of John and the Lessons Jesus Taught with the first two parables, everyone must come to the conclusion that Jesus is using all the parables to Teach the Truth of God that God alone is the Supreme Power and Authority and that God’s Plan for His creation includes His Son ——— God has chosen to express its significance in common terms that everyone can understand — Marriage — but if we consider that it is the Supreme Power and Authority that is “arranging” this “marriage of His Son”, then we do a great dishonor to both the Father and the Son if we reject the “Invitation” to the “marriage” — especially when it is so obvious that the Father has “prepared” the “wedding” in such great detail as we see in Section 1 of the 3rd Parable! However, the second section presents what is the major problem in the world today so Section 2 is a mirror for our modern society and our “rejection” of God’s “invitation”!!! We do not recognize God as the Supreme Authority and Power and we listen to the same lie Satan deceived Adam and Eve with in the Garden of Eden when Satan gave them this line which I will paraphrase here; “Adam and Eve, it’s your life and you can choose for yourself (Pro-Choice), I know God told you that if you eat of the fruit you will die but you won’t (calling God [Pro-Life] a liar). In fact, if you choose for yourself to eat of the fruit then you will be like God and there will be no penalty to pay.” Genesis 3:1-6   A close reading of the “Fall of Man” shows that Eve misquoted God even before Satan called God a liar and in the end it was Eve who made the decision based upon her observation that “the tree was good for food (lust of the flesh), that it was pleasant to the eyes (lust of the eyes), and a tree desirable to make one wise (the boastful pride of life), so she took of its fruit and ate.” (Genesis 3:6) So in the 3rd Parable, Section 2 shows God has not changed a single bit from His Character that was revealed in the Garden of Eden, God said that Adam and Eve would die and the Bible records that they did not die physically but they did die spiritually “the day they ate of the forbidden fruit”. Here in Section 2 of the 3rd Parable we read that all those that reject God’s invitation are going to have to pay the penalty for not accepting God’s Invitation and questioning the Power and Authority of God Almighty — like Adam and Eve paid for their disobedience to God in the Garden when they rejected God’s Authority when they disobeyed God’s Single Command to “not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil”, for after the king had prepared the “wedding” and said “All things are ready. Come to the wedding” (Mathew 22:4)  that we read about the people’s rejection of God’s Authority: “But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business {Parable 1}. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully and killed them {Parable 2}.” (Matthew 22:5-6) God has proven over and over that His Word will stand and everyone that is so proud of themselves that they think that they do not have to listen to God, will be in for a Great Fall themselves! If Jesus is Teaching that God is the Supreme Power and Authority, do you not think that God will show His True Character and administer punishment for those that reject God’s commands? God is Merciful and He is Gracious but if we forget that He will hold us accountable and that GOD HAS THE SUPREME POWER AND AUTHORITY and WHAT GOD SAYS  WILL HAPPEN WILL COME ABOUT, we will be making the same mistake that everyone who questions God makes!!!!  So we should read Section 2 of this 3rd Parable to see the character of God that everyone thinks can be ignored by establishing “popular traditions” and legislating by man-made rules the moral standards of a society by the “doctrines of men” — the Commands of God are as valid today as they were the day they were Spoken by God the first time! Before you decide that this “wedding” is not worth attending you might want to read in Matthew 22:5-14 and see what happened to those that did not accept the “Wedding Invitation” in Section 2 of this 3rd Parable on True Power and Authority!?!?!?!?!?

SEPTEMBER 02 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#27 “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?” (Matthew 22:12)

SEPTEMBER 02  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#27  “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?”  (Matthew 22:12)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer

JESUS, consume me, guide my every thought, may all that I do be to glorify You and praise Your Name, the Matchless Name of Jesus. You Lord are the Great Teacher, in You is all Truth and Wisdom. Through You the Love of the Father is manifest, His Grace and Mercy given to a lost and dying world by His Only Begotten Son, for it is through Faith in God’s Son Jesus that we may have fellowship with the Most High God. Jesus, You are the Way, and every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess You. Lord, the world also will proclaim Your Glory as will the Heavens and every living thing under Heaven and in Heaven will worship the King! Praise be to Him who comes to set men free!   AMEN

SEPTEMBER 02  THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus introduced in His 3rd Parable a list of 15 Phrases that makes us look at our daily lives and all the things that we accept in the way of the “traditions of men” and typical family values that do not require us to “figure-it-out” but these are the things we do day-in and day-out. Jesus is demonstrating that we can know God by looking at our daily lives, God has established the institution of family and has proven that He will provide everything we need if we will simply accept His “Invitation” to the marriage. The last 4 Phrases - {Phrase 6-9} gave us great insight into how we typically respond to His “Invitation” and the next 6 Phrases demonstrate the great effort God has extended to us — {Phrase 10” “…[the certain king] prepared…” and beyond preparing everything needed for the “Wedding Supper” God has prepared in detail above and beyond anything we could prepare for ourselves as Jesus gives details of the “preparation” as He lists {Phrase 11} “…my dinner…” and {Phrase 12} “…my oxen…” {Phrase 13} “…and [the] fatted cattle are killed…” then He sums it all up with {Phrase 14} “…all things are ready…” When you look at these 5 Phrases together we see that God has provided not only for our physical needs with a “dinner” for food for our bodies but also the spiritual needs of our souls God provides the “oxen” and “the fatted cattle are killed” thereby providing sacrifices for our spiritual needs for the remission of sin ——— Friends, God has done everything necessary for our Eternal Joy and Salvation  but we must do our part and {Phrase 15} “…Come to the wedding…” !!! All preparations are made on God’s Part, all that’s left is for us to honor the King by wearing the “proper wedding garment” ——— Jesus has Taught that if we will “Accept” God’s Invitation that we will be clothed in His Righteousness which is just another thing God Provides for all who Repent and Believe that Jesus is God’s Son!!!!    Indeed, what is man that God would love us so much and sacrifice so much of Himself to insure our inheritance in the Kingdom of Heaven? The hardest thing for us to do is to admit to ourselves that we are not kings and queens — we are your average run-of-the-mill sinners — the really GOOD NEWS is that it is not because of our “merit” that we are invited to the “Wedding” — IT IS BY THE GRACE OF GOD WHO FORGIVES!!!

SEPTEMBER 01 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#27 “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?” (Matthew 22:12)

SEPTEMBER 01  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#27  “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?”  (Matthew 22:12)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer   

JESUS, the world without You is a sad thing — my life without You is worthless and has no meaning — Lord I can see much clearer now how differently my day goes when I am letting You live through me than when I try to go through the world on my own strength and understanding — Lord it is becoming a “no brainer” for me and yesterday when I in my arrogance thought I would “go to war” with the worldly forces that I knew were going to attack, all I ended up with was “war”, but when I yielded my arrogance to Your Humility and let Your Peace enter into my dealings with the world and its war then the battlefield became a walk in the park and “Your Joy and Peace” returned to my daily walk and I knew You had returned my steps back to Your Path of Righteousness — Lord Jesus, all I can do is Praise and Thank You and pray that each encounter with the world will more quickly be resolved from “war with the world” into “peace with God”!!!  {{The Holy Spirit says to my soul—}}  “The world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:17)       AMEN

SEPTEMBER 01  THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus is indeed “Masterful” in using circumstance to “Teach” and once Jesus begins a Lesson we must “hang on every word” for Jesus never used words or circumstances lightly and there never was a Teacher like Jesus and there never will be another Teacher that can Teach any truth greater than the “Truth of God” that Jesus literally Taught not only with His Words, but with His Perfect Life, and never will anyone ever match the Death, Burial, and Resurrection that Jesus used to “Teach God’s Truth” to a lost and dying world. Jesus had just put together a sequence of 4 phrases that has a huge message if the phrases had to stand alone by themselves as a separate Lesson as Jesus taught in the 3rd Parable ——— {Phrase 6} “…the invited were not willing to come…” {Phrase 7} [BUT] “…[the certain king] AGAIN…” {Phrase 8} “…sent out other servants…” [TO] {Phrase 9} “…tell the invited…” which these 4 phrases by themselves reveal God’s Merciful Character. The Holy Scriptures are full of example after example of God making provisions for His people and the people rejecting God (and His “abundant life”) [BUT GOD] after each “rejection” provides yet another opportunity for His people to “relent of their rejection” of God and REPENT — at which point God Proves He is Forgiving and Faithful as His Character of Mercy surfaces AGAIN and AGAIN! One can look at each Phrase and see the Truth of God such as {Phrase 6} “…the invited were not willing to come…” reveals to us that God has done His part for He has “invited” us to “Come” but we judge ourselves because we the “invited” pronounce our own sentence; we know we are “invited” [BUT] we are “not willing to come” !?! God has done His part in extending His “invitation” and we do not listen to God and choose to live our lives independent of God — How can we hope to be protected from the storms of life if we refuse to get under the umbrella provided for us by God to keep the world from raining down on us??? In {Phrase 7} “…again…” we cannot miss the fact God never gives up on us (we only give up on God) then {Phrase 8} + {Phrase 9} “…[the certain king after being rejected] sent out other servants [to] tell the invited…” What is interesting here looking at this sequence of phrases is that not only did God try “again” but He also sends out “other servants to tell the invited…[to COME]” and we will see by looking at the rest of the phrases that there is the same “invitation [from God] to come” but it is presented in a slightly different way ——— God is trying everything so that He can say when we stand face-to-face with God at the final judgement that we will hear God say in His “still small voice” — “I invited you AGAIN and AGAIN but you rejected My Invitation to “COME” as many times as I gave it — so you leave me no choice — if you don’t want Me in your life then I will let you spend your eternity without Me, if you don’t want to live My Way then it will now and forever be ‘your way’ and I will not bother you any more!” (Personally I find living without God for even part of my day is “hell”, I could not imagine what an eternity without Him would be like ?!?!?!?!?!) God is inviting you to a wedding feast and celebration, what better thing do you have to do — go get a wedding garment and “come” to the feast while the invitation is still being extended by the KING!!!