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[0:00] Heavenly Father, I am challenged by what we are about to read and study. And I was challenged when we studied it. And I pray that you'd bring light to it. And that you'd change us as we read it.

[0:13] Father, there's not much point in everybody being entertained if your word doesn't change us. And so I pray that you will do just that.

[0:24] That you'll change our hearts and draw us close to you as we read your word. In Jesus' name. Amen. So we've got to Matthew 22. And we're going to read the first 14 verses, which in my Bible says the parable of the marriage feast.

[0:41] Yours will probably say something similar. I just want to draw your attention to the beginning of chapter 21 when we have the triumphal entry.

[0:54] And the Lord quoted from Zechariah chapter 9 verse 9. And said, behold, your king comes on the colt of a donkey.

[1:08] And so he was riding into Jerusalem, fulfilling ancient prophecy. But note that the ancient prophecy called him king. And then that king, he was disparaged by the Jews.

[1:26] He was asked by what authority do you do these things? And Jesus then began to speak to them in parables. And he spoke to them. He first of all caused the fig tree to wither, which was a type of Israel.

[1:39] And he caused it to wither and die because it had all the leaves, all the show, all the pomp, all the ceremony, but didn't give any fruit. And then he spoke these parables.

[1:50] And the first was the parable of the two sons. One was rebellious to begin with, but repented and changed his mind and turned and did the father's bidding in the end.

[2:03] The other was a son who said he would do the father's bidding, but just didn't. And so he lied and deceived, basically. And Israel was likened unto these two sons or likened unto the worst of these two sons is probably a better way to put it.

[2:20] So we have the parable of the two sons. And then we have the parable of the sinful vine dressers or the grape farmers, for want of a better word, who were tenants.

[2:32] They were the tenants. They were the evil tenants in the master's vineyard where they had not done a good job of looking after the grapes, the crop.

[2:43] In other words, the people who needed to receive the word of God. And when God had sent his servants to them, they had beaten them up. They killed them. And so you have this theme where the religious leaders of Israel had done nothing but kill and destroy those God had sent to bring God's word to Israel.

[3:06] Instead of being good teachers, they had hoarded things for themselves. They'd been corrupt. They'd filled their own pockets at the expense of the people they were supposed to be serving.

[3:16] And God had said to them through all this, he had said that the prostitutes and the tax gatherers are going to get into heaven ahead of you. You think you're so holy.

[3:27] You think you're so righteous. You'll be lucky if you even get in. So that's the that's the point at which he then speaks this third parable to them, which we're going to look at this morning.

[3:40] So we'll start reading chapter 22, verse one. Jesus spoke to them again in parables. Saying the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.

[3:54] And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast. And they were unwilling to come. Again, he sent out other slaves saying, tell those who have been invited.

[4:07] Behold, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fattened livestock and all are butchered. And everything is ready. And everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast. But they paid no attention and went their way.

[4:21] One to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. But the king was enraged.

[4:32] And he sent his armies to destroy those murderers and set their city on fire. Then he said to his slaves, the wedding is ready.

[4:45] But those who were invited were not worthy. Go, therefore, to the main highways. And as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.

[4:55] Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good. And the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests. But when the king came to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes.

[5:11] And he said to him, friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes? And the man was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, bind him hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness.

[5:24] In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen. Once again, he's addressing this as a parable to Israel and particularly to the religious leaders of Israel.

[5:43] There are some in Israel who will turn to Christ. But this is addressed to those who follow the lead of the evil leaders of Israel.

[5:55] And because Israel has always had this knowledge that they were the people of God. They are the invited. They're the ones who've been invited to the wedding feast.

[6:10] And so as he tells this parable, he's kind of saying to them, this is all about you. Now, how do we know that they know it's about them?

[6:23] Well, if we go back to chapter 21, verse 45, it says that they had discerned that he was talking about them. So that they knew to whom he was referring.

[6:34] Hence, they got really angry with him. And we've read it before and we'll read it again. They sought to seize him. They sought to destroy him because they got angry with him. Because he held their conduct up in front of them for them to examine and said, you know better than the prostitutes.

[6:52] You know better than the tax gatherers. And effectively, you are squandering your place in the kingdom. But using this analogy of the wedding feast, it's a fascinating one.

[7:08] Firstly, let's think about this. Now, we in the West, particularly in Great Britain, we have a kind of warped idea of what a king does and is. In our society, the king has no real authority.

[7:24] He's a figurehead. And so King Charles is not a great parallel for this kind of king. No, I won't say what I was just about to say.

[7:37] I'll leave that unsaid. However, if you got a personal invite to King Charles' wedding back then when he married, died, before he did all the adultery and stuff, you probably would have said, wow, a personal invite from the king.

[7:56] And you'd have gone. And you'd have cancelled other stuff to go. Despite the fact that King Charles actually isn't all that. I mean, he's a sinful man and in many ways not someone you chase after.

[8:10] But you would be so honoured to receive a personal invite to the king's wedding feast that he was doing for his son. And that's a king that isn't even really a true king in the sense of a biblical king who really does wield authority.

[8:30] A king in these days had the power of life and death in his hand. At a whim, he could say, you're going to be executed today and that would be it.

[8:41] I don't like you. He didn't even need a reason. He had absolute authority. So what we're reading about here is a king who puts on a wedding feast for his son.

[8:54] Sends his servants out to say, it's already come to the wedding feast. And they're not willing to come.

[9:06] Now, if God here and the king in question is a type of God, the father, who has arranged a wedding feast for his son, Jesus.

[9:19] And of course, Jesus is telling this parable. So he understands the background to this. So this king, instead of executing the lot of them there and then, instead of being harsh with them, he sends more servants out.

[9:37] How gracious is this when you are all powerful? This wasn't just a king. Even the kind of brutal kings that they had in those days. But this is the king of all kings.

[9:53] Had more authority than any other king that had ever lived. Had the power of life and death in his hand for all kings, even. A place of utter magnificent and authority and the creator of all things, which they understood.

[10:15] They knew their Bibles. They might not have lived by them, but they knew their Bibles. They knew who this. They knew that God was king. So in their society, you would not normally dare to not turn up when invited by the king.

[10:35] In fact, if you shunned the invitation of the king, the chances are troops will turn up at your door and cart you away. And what he's saying in this parable is the king put on a wedding feast.

[10:48] And they were unwilling to come. Sent his servants to say, come on. And they were unwilling to come. Sent even more servants. And they killed those servants.

[11:01] And I'm sure this is a reference to what happened over the centuries to the prophets of God. Who were again and again and again killed. Martyred for their faith. And killed for the message they brought.

[11:13] So they had not only disparaged the wedding feast. But they had disparaged the word. The word that God brought to them for their attention. They had just said, not interested.

[11:25] We just want to keep getting the money. And we just want to keep everybody under our control. And so on. So this king, even then, doesn't immediately round on them.

[11:38] But he does say, let's get back to chapter 22. It says, in verse 7. The king was enraged.

[11:50] It says he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. So he needs a lot of persuading to become really angry. But when he does, it says, and this is prophetic.

[12:03] This is Jesus talking about something that's actually yet future by about 70 years. Sorry, by about 40 years. Because that's exactly what happened to Israel, particularly to Jerusalem and particularly to the temple in AD 70.

[12:20] It was set on fire. It was burnt to the ground. The Jews were scattered all over. The then known world, what we now call the diaspora.

[12:31] They were scattered everywhere. But they had an invite. And they said, sorry, can't come. Don't want to come.

[12:41] Got a business to attend to. I think we should ask ourselves how things are going. Because if you remember from the previous chapter, we deduced from verse 45 that the new tenants of the vineyard are the church.

[13:03] And so the people of God back then did all this dishonorable stuff and didn't respond to the invite from God to do things in a godly way.

[13:15] And so we are now in the place, the new tenants of the vineyard, where we're the ones that the world looks to for the exercise of God's word and God's righteousness.

[13:28] And I think we should ask ourselves, how is that going? And if you. We look at that on two levels, really, don't we?

[13:41] We look at it on an individual level. How am I doing? I admit that I'm continually dissatisfied with my own performance.

[13:53] But I do have a heart to get it right. And I do have a heart to accept the invite. And we'll return to that. We'll return to that theme in a moment. But looking at the church nationally, everything that calls itself Christian, how is it going?

[14:09] Is it doing things? That are pleasing to God. Is it drawing people to God? And in many places, what calls itself the church is actually no better than the world and has become indistinguishable from it.

[14:25] The divorce rate in the church is just the same as it is in the world. There are many examples where when you go to church, you get a load of compromise that doesn't lead you towards God, but actually locks you away from God because it gives you this impression that everything's OK with God.

[14:45] God's gentle. God's kind. You can be an adulterer and still lead a church. You can be a man who's married to a man and still get into the leadership of the church.

[14:57] There are so many areas of compromise which wouldn't be there if we made the word of God, both the written word and the living word, Jesus, your priority.

[15:09] And I think we need to pray for churches that have gone astray because there will be people in those churches that don't want to go astray.

[15:22] Now, what it says at the beginning of this chapter is the kingdom of God is like. So this is a comparison. It may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.

[15:35] So we have a king who is God who sent his son to get a bride. Because otherwise there'd be no wedding feast. So who's the bride?

[15:51] We are. We are the bride of Christ. He's come to get us. Now, he also came to get his people Israel.

[16:06] So there was an invitation initially to Israel. The king is here. The kingdom is here. Come and join in the kingdom.

[16:19] Well, they said no. Hence, they were deemed to be unworthy. So. So. The king.

[16:32] Then says. OK. They're not going to come. They don't want to come. They will be judged. Meanwhile, go and get anyone you can find from the streets.

[16:44] Who is the anyone else you can find from the streets? It's us. An act of extreme grace.

[16:56] Attending a wedding feast that's already been prepared. All the meat's butchered. He's even put the menu out there. And they still didn't want to come. So, yes.

[17:10] If we get to verse. Five. Sorry. Verse seven. The end of verse seven. He's going to set their city on fire, which we know he did in AD 70.

[17:21] And then he says in verse eight. The wedding is ready. But those who were invited were not worthy. So if you get an invitation and you say no to it, you then become unworthy.

[17:36] And when we share the gospel with people, and I'm sometimes exercised by this, because when you share the gospel with somebody properly and they listen. You have removed all their excuses.

[17:47] They might still not accept the invitation. Effectively, when we share the gospel with people, we're inviting them into the wedding feast that is yet to come.

[18:00] And they may or may not accept that invitation. But I can't speak for you. I get grieved in here when people come to my house, hear the gospel.

[18:14] And then go to hell. It hurts me. However, there is an invitation. We'll talk about who that invitation is given to in a moment.

[18:29] What we can note, if we just take a moment to look at Revelation 19. Keep your finger in Matthew 22. As I think Matthew 19 tallies with.

[18:44] Sorry, I think Revelation 19 tallies with. The parable that we're reading about. We're going to look, as I say, verses 7 to 10.

[18:55] Which says this. Let us rejoice and be glad. And give the glory to him. And give the glory to him for the marriage of the lamb has come.

[19:08] And his bride has made herself ready. It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean. And for the fine linen, that is the righteous acts of the saints.

[19:21] Then he said to me, right, blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb. And he said to me, these are the true words of God. Then I fell at his feet to worship him.

[19:34] But he said to me, do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

[19:44] Now that was said by an angel to the apostle John. Right. But there is to be a marriage. There's to be a wedding feast.

[19:56] And everyone that attends will be part of the bride. And will be clothed in fine linen, bright and clean.

[20:07] For the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. So there is a clothing for the saints to put on to attend that marriage. Notice he says in verse 9, go therefore to the main highways.

[20:29] And as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast. So go wherever you like and invite whoever you like. Oh, but he's not. He's not very savory. That man over there, he stinks.

[20:39] He's not very savory. Invite him. What about him over there? He's always nicking stuff. Invite him. What about this one who's committing adultery with several women?

[20:51] Invite him. This chap's quite nice. Invite him. The only qualification for attending the wedding feast is that you say yes to the invitation.

[21:05] I can't get there because I behave better than the next man. As we'll see in a moment, in the wedding feast itself, no one will be able to distinguish me from anybody else.

[21:20] In terms of conduct. It's nothing to do with how good have I been. How well have I done? How much have I given to charity? Have I cleaned the toilets in the church?

[21:33] Did I fix the stained glass windows? It's nothing to do with any work of man. It's you're invited whether you're good or bad.

[21:48] And I find that sobering because certainly as a younger man, there's a lot about me that was bad. Some would say there still is. Fortunately, the invitation doesn't depend on me achieving anything.

[22:03] It depends solely on me saying, wow, yes, thank you. I'll come. So Jesus is making this point to a load of very legalistic Jews that the ones who come are the ones who are invited.

[22:22] And that's all. You've been invited and you said no. So we're going to invite everybody, the Gentiles. It doesn't say in this scripture, but we can infer that there will be some who still say no.

[22:38] But all the ones who say yes are in. Verse 10. Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good.

[22:52] And the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests. So we have a wedding feast that was prepared for the religious leaders of the Jews and the Jewish nation who should have followed their Messiah because they were the ones who were commissioned to take the word of God, the oracles of God to the whole world.

[23:13] And that privilege has been removed from them because they turned down the invitation that Messiah gave them when he came. And in fact, they sought to put him to death.

[23:27] Eventually succeeded in putting him to death. So you've now got this new bunch of people who've been gathered from all over the place, which has to imply the church.

[23:40] And among the church will be Jews who knew better. Jews who didn't follow the leadership because they thought they're leading us the wrong way. And they were, we know from the stories of Jesus, there were thousands of Jews saved during the time Messiah was on earth.

[23:56] So they became part of the church. Notice again, I can't belabor this too much.

[24:08] The amount of grace that God extended. Because after they'd said no, he said, come on, you know, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered and everything is ready.

[24:20] Effectively saying, there's been no expense spared. This is the best banquet you will ever come to. Now I've got other things to do. So they completely disparaged the Lord.

[24:33] They completely pushed him to one side. So they were deemed as not worthy. And then the ones that were gathered from the streets were considered to be worthy, whether they were good or bad.

[24:47] Just because they'd said yes. That's sobering and comforting, I would say. I am so glad. I remember my early Sunday school teachings where, you know, if you're a good boy, you'll go to heaven.

[25:01] It's false teaching. You can be good or bad. You need to accept the invitation. That's what you need. So he didn't trawl the streets looking for righteous people.

[25:13] He trawled the streets looking for people like me. And I hesitate to say it. But also people like you. And I'm not going to look at anyone in case I incriminate myself. But the Jewish leaders in whom he had lost interest continually protest their righteousness.

[25:33] And he didn't go looking for people who said they were righteous. People who had leaves and no fruit. He didn't go looking for any of them. He went looking for anyone who would take the invitation.

[25:44] And he invited anyone who would come. Now, in order to come to the banquet of the king, you at least have to recognize the king.

[25:58] And there were no qualifications. You could be Gentile, Jew, black, white. Anything you like you could be. But you had to recognize the king. And to be in the kingdom of the king, you also had to submit to the authority of the king.

[26:14] And you also had to trust the king, didn't you? And if we turn to Revelation again, chapter 22. And you have a sort of final message of the Bible from verse 10 onwards.

[26:33] But what we read in verse 17 is. The spirit and the bride say, come. And let the one who hears. Say, come.

[26:45] Not the one who behaves right. Or, you know, let the one who hears. Say, come. And let the one who is thirsty. Come. Let the one who wishes.

[26:57] Take the water of life. Without cost. It's not something you can buy. Your place at this table is based only on the invitation.

[27:12] And the invitation comes out to everyone. If we just flick back to John chapter 12. John's gospel.

[27:24] And verse 32. Where Jesus. Is facing his own crucifixion shortly. And says, and I.

[27:37] If I. If I am lifted up from the earth. Will draw all men unto myself. Now, some of our Calvinist brothers and sisters do some weird things with this scripture.

[27:51] But all simply means all. I will draw all. To myself. To myself. Is what it says. I will draw all. To myself.

[28:02] So the invitation goes to everyone. Worryingly in that very last verse of this passage that we're studying in Matthew 22. It says many are called but few are chosen.

[28:18] Now people do some weird things with that too. How do I know if I'm chosen? How do I know if I'm chosen? It's very simple. Everybody gets the invite. Everybody is drawn.

[28:28] If you say no. You're not chosen. It's not complicated. You don't need an ology to work this one out. If you reject the invite.

[28:40] You're not chosen. If you say. Oh yes please. You're chosen. Come on in. I choose you. And so we then come into this part.

[28:52] Going back to Matthew again. We then come to this part of the passage. That speaks of the one man who's not dressed right.

[29:05] And verse 11. When the king came to look over the dinner guests. He saw a man who was not dressed in wedding clothes. So a little bit of history.

[29:17] You see when Jesus told parables. He usually chose examples that they would understand. He didn't create some great fictional scene. That they would struggle to understand.

[29:28] He used common everyday parlance and events. As his examples. Now in those days. Anybody who was rich.

[29:39] And particularly anybody who was royal. When they had a wedding banquet. They would issue garments to everyone who was coming to the wedding. Now that's.

[29:53] There are some teachers who argue with this. But to me it's a matter. We always say the key thing in study of scripture is context. And the context of a marriage of the day was.

[30:03] If you were invited. To a wealthy person's wedding. Particularly to a king's wedding. You would be issued with a garment. That you would be expected to wear. And it would be.

[30:14] Surprise surprise. The same. As everybody else's garment. And so at that wedding feast. There were no good performers. Or bad performers.

[30:25] There were no wealthy and poor. At least you couldn't see them. They were just people. And they were all equally valuable.

[30:36] In that event. At that wedding feast. They were all equally valuable. You see we tend to do. You know. We have a top table. Don't we.

[30:46] And we. We make something of the groom. And the groom's family. And the bride. And the bride's family. And in fact. Contrary to biblical dealings. With a wedding. We make an awful lot of the bride.

[30:58] And not very much of the groom. The biblical view is. That the one you make a fuss of. Is the groom. Because the groom. Is the Lord Jesus Christ. And there is no one greater.

[31:08] That doesn't mean. The bride can't be. Pretty. And have prepared herself. Well. But. When you turn up. At the wedding.

[31:19] You turn up. In the garment. You've been given. Provided. By the king. Turn to Isaiah. 61.

[31:32] And verse 10. Which is a. A passage that speaks. Of. The Lord.

[31:43] Exalting. His people. I will rejoice. Greatly in the Lord. My soul. Will exalt in my God. For he has clothed me. With garments.

[31:53] Of salvation. He has wrapped me. With a robe. Of righteousness. As a bridegroom. Decks himself. With a garland. And as a bride. Adorns herself. With her jewels.

[32:03] The Old Testament. Has always had this picture. Of. God. Dealing with his people. As if he was dressing them. For a wedding banquet.

[32:14] And the. And the garment. That you finish up wearing. Albeit. Not necessarily. A literal garment. Of cloth. But the robe. Or the garment. He puts on you.

[32:25] Are. Robes of righteousness. A garment. Of salvation. And it's the same. Whoever you are. Whatever you've done.

[32:36] Whether you're good or bad. Because. Whatever you do. Your best works. Are to him. As filthy rags. So he takes you.

[32:49] And. Puts. A robe. Of righteousness. A garment. Of salvation. On you. So that when you turn up. At the wedding feast. You are dressed. Right.

[32:59] And it doesn't reflect. Anything of your character. Doesn't reflect. Anything of what you've done. It only reflects. What he has done for you. He has transformed you.

[33:12] By clothing you. In a righteousness. You have not earned. Couldn't earn. Couldn't live up to. If you tried. He has clothed you. With his righteousness. That is called. The doctrine of imputation.

[33:24] He imputes. Righteousness. To you. And me. Praise God. And so. Jesus. Goes for a look. Around this. Rather God.

[33:36] Goes for a look. Around this wedding feast. And picks out this guy. Who's not got the right clothes on. This is. How did you get in here? Well you can imagine. That everybody's wearing.

[33:47] The same garments. He's going to stick out. Like a sore thumb. He's not going to be able to hide. But that's the point. One cannot hide. From the Lord. No matter how big. A fuss one makes.

[33:57] And no matter how. How can I put it. You might be making. All the right noises. But in the gospels.

[34:08] We read. There will be those. Who say. Lord. Lord. Did we not cast out demons. In your name. Etc. Etc. Etc. And he will say. I never knew you. Now there are many.

[34:21] That teaches you. This. This one man. Suddenly. The king says. What are you doing here? You haven't got the right clothes on. Now he doesn't then say.

[34:31] Go home and change. Or. Stewards. Just kick him out. Will you? He actually says. Kick him out. To the outer darkness.

[34:45] Where there will be weeping. And gnashing of teeth. Which is. A euphemism for hell. Send him to hell. And this is how we can.

[34:56] Really know. That this. The fact that he's not wearing. The right garments. Is. A model of salvation.

[35:08] Because without the right garments. There is no salvation. Now can I point out. I'm sure I don't need to point this out. In this room. But it's worth saying. Especially as it might be listened to online.

[35:19] By people who have. Unbiblical views of salvation. There is a lot of teaching out there. That say. You know. The Muslims. The Hindus. Any other church.

[35:31] So called that you could name. The Mormons. All roads lead to the top. They're all going to the same place. They're all worshipping the same God. We are all going. The same way.

[35:42] We just have a different name for it. That is absolute nonsense. There is one set of garments. Given by one king.

[35:53] That allows you to enter. The wedding feast. It comes from only one source. And so. In John 14 verse 6. You may as well turn there.

[36:06] It's a very important verse. And this is the scene. Where Thomas is asking questions of Jesus. Jesus. And in verse 6.

[36:16] Jesus says. I am the way. The truth. And the life. No one comes to the father. But through me. There is only one way.

[36:29] And there is only one faith. That is effective. And works. And we get accused of arrogance. How can you say that Christianity is the only way? Well let's face it.

[36:41] If it's true. That Christianity is the only way. To say anything else. Is to tell a lie. And you don't say it. Because you are arrogant. You say it. Because it's the truth. And you say it.

[36:52] Because you don't want them. To go to hell. You say it. To save people. You know. Don't pursue that. That will lead you to hell. Pursue this.

[37:03] Jesus Christ. He will invite you. To the wedding feast. And that invitation. Will stand. That invitation. Will count. People won't take a look at it.

[37:13] And go. No. It's a fake. Now there are some that teach. And I have some sympathy. With this idea. I cannot be sure. Whether it's true or not. But there are some that teach.

[37:25] One that comes to mind. Is Jacob Prash. Who teaches this. Although he doesn't teach it dogmatically. He does suggest it as an idea. It is that. People.

[37:36] Who are unsaved. Will get into the wedding feast. And see what it was. They could have had. And it'll make hell. All the more unbearable. When they get cast there.

[37:47] Because they will get a sight. Of what they could have had. Now clearly that was the case. For this man. So therefore. It's a possibility. I wouldn't make a dogmatic statement. About it. However. It seems possible.

[37:59] In Zechariah 3. Turn there. Now this.

[38:11] This passage is actually speaking about Jesus. One of the things you may recall. From our treatment of the feast of first fruits. On previous occasions.

[38:22] Is that. What is true of the risen Jesus. Jesus. Will eternally be true. Of all of us. That's the whole idea of first fruits.

[38:32] He's our first fruit. And in. Zechariah 3. And verse 4. He spoke and said to those. Who were standing before him saying. Remove the filthy garments from him.

[38:46] Again. He said to him. See. I have taken your iniquity. Away from you. And I will clothe you with festal robes. Now this was prophetic of Jesus.

[38:56] Because Jesus. Took our sin. So when he presented himself before the Lord. He was filthy. With our sin. And he took. The sin. Away.

[39:07] From Jesus. And presented him with. Festal robes. Now the same. Will be true. Of us. I just want to finish with.

[39:19] The last line of the chapter. And I have more notes. That I haven't used. But I'm not going to keep us here.

[39:30] I think we've covered what we need to. So back in Matthew 22. To finish with. He's thrown. In verse 13.

[39:41] He's thrown into this place. Of outer darkness. Where there is weeping. And gnashing of teeth. A clear. Description of hell. And then he says. For many are called.

[39:52] But few are chosen. It becomes clear to me. That it is the majority. That will reject the invitation. There are far more.

[40:03] And I am sure this is. Utterly offensive to God. I'm sure his heart aches. But there will be more people. That reject him. Than accept him.

[40:13] And I think it's particularly true. Of our time. Because when the Bible speaks. Of our time. It says. As it was in the days of Noah.

[40:23] So shall the coming. Of the son of man be. And in the days of Noah. People were not turning to Christ. They weren't turning to God. They were unrepentant. Even whilst watching the ark.

[40:35] Being built. So. The invitation. Goes out to all. The majority will reject him. But for those of us.

[40:48] Who said. Yes to the invite. You're in. Praise God for that. You're in. Unfortunately. The Jews to whom. This was addressed.

[41:01] Are not in. Unless they repent. Father. I just thank you. For the clarity. That this word brings. To. The whole topic. Of salvation.

[41:12] The whole topic. Of. Our inheritance. In you. Of our place. At your wedding banquet. The clarity.

[41:23] About the fact. That we can't. Earn a place. There. It's entirely. By your grace. We are. Saved. Not because.

[41:34] Of anything. We do. But in spite. Of everything. That we do. And I do pray. Lord. That. If anyone. Here. Has not. Said yes. To you. That they will.

[41:47] And I pray. Lord. For all those. Who are currently. In our peripheral. Vision. In this church. Who are not yet. Saved. Lord. I pray. I pray.

[41:57] That they'll get. The invite. I'm sure. There are people. I've not named. But. For all of them. Lord. I pray. That they'll appreciate. That they've been given. An invite.

[42:07] And I do pray. That you will. Influence their hearts. To say yes. To the invite. When it comes. Father.

[42:18] None of us. Wants our family members. To not be included. In heaven. And so. We lift them up. To you Lord. And ask you. To touch their hearts.

[42:29]  In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.