The Great Banquet

Luke 14:21b "...Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame." Throughout the bible Jesus' heart has always been for those "down-and-outs", "outcasts" those kind of people that you normally wouldn't want to have around because of various reasons. But Jesus came for everyone and He is calling out ....NO, He is CRYING out to those lost souls with a desperate cry for them to hear that their sins are forgiven if they would just turn to Him. And He is also calling us to go and send them the invitation.

"Who will go for me...? Here am I Lord, send me!"

A little while back Pastor Bob Nienhuis from my church (Liberty Bible Church) gave a sermon about the parable of the great banquet and reaching out to the lost? Well, I have put together a preliminary idea of something that maybe we as a church can do. What I mean as us as the church is no matter your domination or detailed beliefs. If you have a desire to help those who are lost and need to hear about the mercy from God and what He has done on the cross for them, then that's all that matters, not what church you belong to.

Here is the idea...

The Great Supper based on Luke 14:15-24

This would be a FREE "non-formal dress come as you are" event. However, they will be treated as royalty being catered to just as if it were an expensive night out.

We want this night to communicate to them that we care about the struggles and trials of life we all go through and we want to help and that there is hope in Jesus Christ and help from those who want to follow Him.

Provide...

- Bus commutes to & from dinner    
- Biblical Counciling information booths    
- Designated testimonies on stage    
- Most Excellent Way information (support group from LBC)
- Prayer warriors standing by
- A small teaching of the symbolism of this banquet and the banquet with God (salvation)
- Invitation to receive Christ as their savor (altar call).
                                         
Promote at...
     
- Welfare offices
- Porter County Jail
- Westfield Prison    
- State Prison
- Rehabs centers
- Porter Starke          
- Trailer parks
- New Creation Men's Center
- Battered women's shelter
- Housing opportunities
- Any other places you may think of

As you can probably imagine, this kind of event may be a lot of hard work for one person, so I'm looking to see how many local people that see this post will be willing to help me pull this off. Also if you have any ideas to help to add to this or to make it happen, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Build on the Rock

Today’s scriptures:

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (Psalms 18:2)

But his bow remained in strength, And the arms of his hands were made strong By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), (Genesis 49:24)

As we go through life we are bound to have disappointments, hurt, pain, and sadness. We are guaranteed to experience earth-shaking situations that could either, in a matter of speaking, make or break us. I can say this because Jesus tells us that we will have trouble in this life (John 16:33). But then He says that it is ok that we go through times that are hard because He has overcome the world. Being that He has beaten the grave and the ways of this world and the lies of the devil, that gives Him the right position to be the Rock on which we can stand in the midst of such adversity in our own lives.

Please dear saints do not read this and hear me say so flippantly that its ok that you are experiencing great sadness and hurt because you can always turn to Jesus for your rock. Even though that is true, Jesus is not saying it so carelessly. He says it with deep compassion of knowing your great pain because He himself went through that. And He is not some vague imagination that can turn your world into happiness whenever you turn to Him. As a matter of fact, God the Father did not do that for Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane as Jesus prayed for the cup of a terrible death and separation from His Father to be passed from Him. No, Jesus had a purpose to endure the physical and spiritual pain so that you and I can be free from Hell if we embrace that gift by giving Him our life and letting Him live through us.

Today we are looking into the twenty-first topic on the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus is teaching, which is “Build on the Rock”. Matthew 7:24-27… Jesus says, “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

What does Jesus mean when He says, “I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock”?

Building your house on the rock is about intimacy with Jesus. Strengthen your faith in Him by worshiping Him with everything you do, so when the suffocating floods and the damaging winds come, and they will come, your house will not fall.

Recently I was meditating on this very thing when my wife Cyndi told me about this car accident that she saw on 80/94 by Chicago yesterday. She said this woman looked like she was in emotional agony as help was just arriving to the scene. Cyndi didn’t find out what had happened but it got me thinking maybe it was a fatal accident and it was someone this woman was close to that had died. It’s horrible enough to go through something so gut wrenching, it is even worse to face it without the hope that Jesus gives if you have a relationship with Him. He is the firmness of your strength, the stability in your weakness, and the power in your love in any and every situation you are in.

Reflection:

Well, this wraps up the teachings from the Sermon on the Mount. All of which are attitudes of the heart. Remember, attitudes come from the heart. If your attitude is wrong, that means your heart is not right. In this teaching there is an attitude of endurance as you work out your faith in Jesus and what He has done for you. The kind of endurance that will carry you through trials and that endurance only comes by you surrendering your own will and strength and let God work through you.

Challenge:

Dear saints, I challenge you to carefully consider how you are building your faith. Even people who call themselves christains can build their faith on sand having knowledge of God but not having closeness with Jesus. Talk to Jesus and ask Him to make it clear to you if you are standing firm on His foundation. Then go and win souls to the same house built on the Rock!

-Doug McGowan