The Kingdom of Heaven’s Wedding Banquet

Matthew 22:1-10, 14

1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

   4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I

have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding

banquet.’

•    5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

•    8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

• 14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

You have an Invitation from God To the Kingdom of Heaven’s Wedding Banquet for Jesus Christ.

The Christian wedding ceremony can be personally designed, but it should also be an expression of worship, reflecting joy, celebration, community, respect, dignity and love.

The Wesley’s Marriages

• John Wesley married Molly Vazeille in 1751

• Unhappy and divorced - No children together.

• Charles Wesley married Sarah Gwynne in 1748

• Happy - Seven children, three survived

John officiated over Charles' wedding with the vows:

….to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, 'til death do us part: according to God's holy ordinance, and thereto I pledge you my love and faithfulness.

John Wesley was a faithful man of God.

• Rode 250,000 miles on horseback

• Gave away 30,000 pounds in English money

• Preached more than 40,000 sermons

• Published over 20 volumes of his Journal

Ephesians 5:25

My Calling

My wife

Our commitment

From Bad Beginnings to Happy Endings, by Ed Young

From Bad Beginnings to Happy Endings, by Ed Young

Dr. Willard Harley, psychologist, survey:

The wife needs:• 1. Affection 2. Communication• 3. Openness/Honesty 4. Financial Support

5. Family CommitmentThe husband needs:• 1. Sexual Fulfillment 2. Domestic Support• 3. Recreational Companionship• 4. An Attractive Wife 5. AdmirationThe spouses should give each other what they

need for happy marriage.

You have an Invitation

• A. The Kingdom of Heaven’s Wedding Banquet is A Glorious Occasion

• B. The Kingdom of Heaven’s Wedding Banquet Are Rejected by Invited Guests

• C. The Kingdom of Heaven’s Wedding Banquet Invitations is Extended without Partiality

• D. The Kingdom of Heaven’s Wedding Banquet Requires Proper Dressing Attire

A. The Kingdom of Heaven’s Wedding Banquet is A Glorious Occasion

Matthew 22:1-2

1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.

Jesus Answers the Thoughts

Jesus answered, not to what his opposers said, but to what they thought, in the parable. A king made a feast at the marriage of his son; such is the kingdom of heaven made for precious souls in the new covenant. The King is God, a great King, King of kings.

B. The Kingdom of Heaven’s Wedding Banquet Are Rejected by Invited Guests

Matthew 22:3-6• 3 He sent his servants to those who had been

invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

• 4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

•    5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business.

Wedding Feasts or Banquets or Reception

• Wedding feasts are usually rich, free, and joyful.• It was made for fullness; the design of the

gospel was to fill every hungry soul with good things.

• It was made for fellowship, to maintain a spiritual relationship between heaven and earth.

• The first miracle Christ performed was to make plentiful provision for a wedding feast (John 2:7)

Come• The feast was made for love in a reconciliation

and a token of God’s goodwill toward people. • Behold, the Spirit say, Come; and the bride say,

Come; let the person who hear say, Come; let the one who is thirsty come. Revelation 22:17.

• Grace and blessings are ready to work for our good, and Heaven is ready to receive us; it is a kingdom prepared, ready to be revealed in the last time. O come to the marriage; we beseech you, receive this grace. 2 Corinthians 6:1.

C. The Kingdom of Heaven’s Wedding Banquet Invitations is Extended without Partiality

Matthew 22:8-10

   8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

For Everyone

• The inhabitants of the city (v. 7) had refused; Go into the high-ways then; into the way of the Gentiles.

• Note, Christ will have a kingdom in the world, though many reject the grace, and resist the power, of that kingdom.

• They were gathered into one body, one family, one corporation.

• No Disparity Jew and Gentile• Male and Female Rich and poor• Young and old Saints and Sinners

Invitation

You have an Invitation from God To the Kingdom of Heaven’s Wedding Banquet for Jesus Christ.

D. The Kingdom of Heaven’s Wedding

Banquet Requires Proper Dressing Attire

Matthew 22:11-14

11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless. 13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 “For many are invited (called), but few are chosen.”

Clothe Yourself with Jesus

• The righteousness of saints, their real holiness and sanctification, and Christ, made Righteousness to them, is the clean linen, Revelation 19:8.

• Those who put on the Lord Jesus have a Christian temper of mind, and live by faith in Christ, have the wedding garment.

• Many are called to the wedding feast, but few chosen.

You have an Invitation from God To the Kingdom of Heaven’s Wedding Banquet for Jesus Christ.

He says to you “I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.”

Story of Rose's Relationship with Jesus

I am 20 years old, and I'm a born again Christian. I gave my life to Jesus when I was 13 years old. I was born in Tanzania but I currently live in Seychelles.

Rose’s Challenges

• sex outside of marriage, drugs, porn, family problems, loneliness, poverty, and more.

But, as I grow in my Christian faith, God helped me conquer many of these things.

I'm not problem free, nor am I perfect, but my God is bigger than all those things.

Rose accepted her Invitation from God To the Kingdom of Heaven’s Wedding Banquet for Jesus Christ.

You have an Invitation from God To the Kingdom of Heaven’s Wedding Banquet for

Jesus Christ. Take the vows:

I, ___, take you _Jesus Christ_, to be my Lord, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, for all eternity and we never part: according to you holy ordinance, and I pledge to you my love and faithfulness.

Conclusion

• A. The Kingdom of Heaven’s Wedding Banquet is A Glorious Occasion

• B. The Kingdom of Heaven’s Wedding Banquet Are Rejected by Invited Guests

• C. The Kingdom of Heaven’s Wedding Banquet Invitations is Extended without Partiality

• D. The Kingdom of Heaven’s Wedding Banquet Requires Proper Dressing Attire