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

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 murderers. 

>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)