Our Father and our God, we just want to thank You; thank You Father for the privilege that we have to be partakers of Your grace, thank You Lord for the privilege to count us amongst those that You have chosen to prepare to be with You at the end, Father, we pray God Almighty that Your labor over us will not be in vain.
My Father, my God, even as we strive in this world so that we can be with You at the end, we ask oh God Almighty, grace to make it to the end to be with You, Father grant unto us in Jesus name. We confess all our weaknesses, all our failings, all our iniquities, God of mercy, God of grace, because of us, You allowed Your Son to be put to shame and to be crucified, Father, by Your mercy, let that precious blood wash us clean in the name of Jesus.
Lord, this morning we have come to put at Your feet all our garments of filth and unrighteousness, we ask that You envelope us in the garment that only Your Son can put on us so that You will be able to see us this morning and we’ll be able to see You and receive of You the grace, the right standing that will help us to please You to the end.
We pray Lord that this word this morning will not stand against us in the name of Jesus. Father take all the glory even in advance and let Your name alone be glorified. Thank You precious Father, in Jesus name we prayed.
On behalf of our father in the Lord who is unavoidably absent because he has to be at one of our parish this morning, I welcome you all beloved brothers and sisters to the presence of the Lord this morning, and I pray that your coming will not be in vain in the name of Jesus.
Please let’s open to our text this morning which is Matthew 22: 1-14, “And Jesus answered and spoke unto them again by parables and said, 2 the kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 3and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. 4Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, tell them which are bidden (that is those who are invited), behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.
5But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise. 6And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. 7But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8Then saith he to his servants, the wedding is ready, but they which were bidden, (that is those for whom it is prepared) were not worthy. 9Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as you shall find, bid to the marriage. 10So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
11And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment. 12And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then said the king to the servants, bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 14For many are called, but few are chosen.” I pray that amongst the many that are called, you and I will be among the few that are chosen.
Now, this event took place in the temple in Jerusalem, the day after our Lord Jesus Christ rode in on the donkey into Jerusalem a few days before He was arrested and crucified. Now he was in a temple in Jerusalem, present on that occasion just like this morning, were men of religion, religious leaders, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes, the elders, and then of course the normal people, everybody was there.
The religious leaders used the occasion to try to trick Him, to entice Him, to tempt Him so that He will get into some trouble by asking questions that could bring Him into conflict with the political authorities of the day, but Jesus as usual turned the table, Jesus is a very focused man because He was now God in man, combination of humanity and divinity and everything He did is to teach us to be focused no matter the distractions that we may have in this world.
He didn’t allow all they were doing to becloud Him from the purpose of His mission on earth which is to come and prepare men for heaven. Everything about Jesus Christ – His teachings, His examples, everything that He did and tells us in the scriptures is about heaven, how we can live our lives here on earth in a manner that pleases God so that we can be beneficiaries of the mansions that He has prepared for us in heaven, and so every occasion that He spoke, all the parables that He spoke, everything is about heaven.
So this morning, this parable is not really about any physical wedding but it’s about eternity. So this morning we are talking about heaven, and the title of the message is The Man without the Wedding Garment. Now, the first thing that struck me in this scripture that really sobered me up is that the people, those who the king thought were closest to him, those for whom the wedding was actually being prepared, missed it.
Those that the king thought were his friends for so long, those with whom he had related, those with whom he had shared, those whom he had poured into and they had received and he had believed them to be loyal to be his and that come rain or shine they will be there, those who were on the VIP list, those whom he could vouch for to say these ones are mine, these ones have attended all the Sunday school, they have attended all the Bible study, they have attended all the services, they have read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, these ones, I am sure of them, I can call upon them any day.
Now, today I’m going to honor my son, who else will I call but those who had walked with me, who had been with me – my friends, so I’m going to prepare this sumptuous banquet for them but they were not there and that sobered me up.
By the way, this scripture is full of symbolisms; the first symbol there is that the king symbolizes God Almighty. The Son for whom the wedding reception was being held is our Lord Jesus Christ; the messengers, servants that were sent out to call people were men and women who have propagated the gospel right from John the Baptist, who came, prepared way for Jesus and called men to repentance so they could come into the kingdom. The Disciples of Christ, the apostles and men and women who until today are preaching and inviting men, soul winners who are inviting men to the kingdom, these are the people that are symbolized by the servants who were sent out to go and call those for whom the kingdom was meant.
You know Jesus said I have come primarily for the lost sheep of the house of Israel, those like you and I who believe or who because of our longevity in service in church, our familiarity and our positions and all that we do, we believe that we are already in the train to heaven, and people will say oh, these are the friends, in fact, we say we’re no longer servants, we’re no longer friends, we are co-heirs, we believe that our names – in fact if you call anybody now, can you give 10 names that will be in heaven? You know as man, the GO, provincial pastor, this and all that, praise the living Jesus!
So the king had his list, he said go and call these my friends but they failed him, they were not there. When it mattered they were not there, for whatever reason, all their labor, all their preparation, all the king had done to bring them up to the level, the standard of his expectation of people that can enter the palace and rub shoulders with the king, on the day of manifestation, on the day of their glory, on the day that it mattered most, when the king – when God said call my people, they were not there. That frightened me, sobered me up, will you be there? Will I be there when it matters most? May my place and your place not be taken by others in Jesus name.
This is a matter of the kingdom, a matter of sober reflection, all our activities, everything that we do as believers is not for this world, it’s not for the glory of this world, is for a day that is coming, a day that we shall meet with the One for whom we’re doing all these. A day is coming, will you be there? Will I be there? Jesus told Martha, He said do that which is needful amongst all this that you do, one thing is needful.
One thing that scared me also in the scriptures is as I was reading this and I was meditating, all these people who had been prepared, who can quote the Bible and scriptures like many of us, they missed it. But you know something, a man who never went to church, a man who never attended Bible study, a man who didn’t even know the name, he didn’t even know the Bible existed, he made it – the thief on the cross of Calvary. The man didn’t go to church, the man didn’t attend any service but he found grace to replace those who were supposed to, he took somebody’s mansion.
The Bible says in verse 14, it says many are called, that means many for whom mansions are prepared, many are called but only few made it, so what will happen to the mansions of those who missed it? The places of those whom the king invited who were missing, their places were taken by beggars, people who did not even contemplate anything. The thief on the cross at Calvary, I was thinking to myself at the gate of heaven when the angels would check the list and they found your name, how did you get in here? I don’t know.
The angels will call themselves come and see this man, he doesn’t look like one of us, he doesn’t look like one of those who attended CTL, we never saw him in church. Who was your Sunday school teacher? Sunday school teacher? I don’t know anything about Sunday school. Who is your pastor? I don’t know, because they will check us. So, how did you get there? I don’t know. One man, the man who was in the cross in the middle just told me to come and I came to take somebody’s place. May my place, may your place in heaven not be taken by another in Jesus name.
The second shocker that I have from this scripture is that those who nobody expected to be at the king’s party eventually were there. First, those for whom it was prepared, those who were supposed to be there were not there, those who are not expected sometimes when we make alter call and all that, we always look back, who is the person that they are calling, it’s not me now, it can’t be me because of our position, our status and everything, we assume, we get carried away and think that we are already made for heaven and we think the call is for some other people.
For example now, we may think that this message is for some other people, those who were not expected by any standard to be there, those that the king himself did not reckon with. Remember this is the all- knowing King, this is God Almighty, those that He didn’t even have in contemplation when He was disappointed, so those who have been written off by the world, those that doors have been shut against them, people like Lazarus, people like the thief on the cross, people that nobody expected, people that even themselves they didn’t expect they will make it, they found the messengers – come, come, you know the Bible says they went and brought the good and the bad, did you see it in the.scriptures? The good and the bad, everybody now came. Some were limping in their dirty clothes, in everything, some have not had their bath for ages, they brought them in.
The third lesson in that scripture is this, I thought about it because the king said just go and look for them and bring them in, then I perceived they didn’t have time to go and prepare, they didn’t have time to go back home to have their bath, they didn’t have time to go and change their clothes, they brought them as they found them.
When the call comes, it is sudden. You are brought in for examination as you are found, not your history, not your background, not all that you have done, not your preparation, nothing prepares you for that call because it will come like a thief in the night, nothing will prepare you. The only way you can prepare it is to consciously live every day as if Christ is coming because you never know when He’s going to come.
So when the call comes you are not going to say sorry let me go and bath, let me go and update my reading, let me go and read the Bible again for the last time, let me go and check, they brought them in as they found them. So that now amazed me, if they brought them in as they found them in their clothings in the way they were, how come only one man was turned back because of his garment? All of them came in as they were, just as Christ comes and brings us from our miry clas as we are.
It is by the grace of God Almighty that I, – every day I look at my life, I look at where I’m coming from and I say it can’t be me, I don’t deserve this. It’s not by being deserving, it’s just grace that a person like me will know Jesus, how much more being privileged to stand here to speak to God’s children, it is grace, it is mercy. We must not forfeit that mercy and that grace.
So they didn’t have time to go and prepare, the call came, so how come when they all came dirty, some smelling, all manner of ways, but they brought them in? How come when the king came, he didn’t complain about what they were wearing, he didn’t complain about everything because he said just bring them in because the time is already late, we need to start, they brought them in the way they found them which tells me that it’s not about your appearance.
Then the King, that is God, He looked at everyone, (a day will come when our God, our King, is going to look at all of us), He looked at them, He saw those that were wearing all kind of garments, some of them must have been embarrassed and they were hiding and all that, it didn’t bother Him. The scripture didn’t tell us that they distributed, I was looking for it in scriptures to see whether when the man said why are you not wearing wedding garment, I was looking to see whether the servants distributed wedding garments like an aso-ebi but there was no place in the scriptures where it says when they came they replaced their garments, no, because if they gave them garments and this man didn’t wear it you can say ah this man must be stubborn, how can he give everybody and this one did not wear, they didn’t give them physical garments because the scripture is not talking about physical garments, it’s talking about the garment of the heart.
So the King, God Almighty, looked at everyone, those that were there and then He looked at one man, friend, He called him friend still. No matter how your life is today, no matter how unworthy you are, you are still a friend to Jesus if only you will accept Him. He’s your friend, He calls you friend even when you thought you are an enemy. He still said to the man, Friend, how did you get here? If it was about physical appearance, I perceive the king would have turned to his servants and chastised them, why did you allow this man in? Don’t you know our standards? Don’t you know the rules? Why did you allow them? But he did not.
He knew it was not the fault of the servants because what he was looking for and looking at, no man could see. Only two people knew what he was looking for – you, me, that’s the man and God Himself. I know the state of my heart, you know the state of your heart and God knows, your pastor does not know your heart, your wife does not know, your closest friend does not know your heart, nobody knows your heart but two – you know it, God knows it.
So the servants dutifully brought them in, they must have fulfilled all protocols because they knew the physical protocols of the kingdom. There are things that even angels will not see on that day because they are not given to see, you can escape even the angels. So the king said, how did you get in here without the wedding garment? The reaction of the man told the whole story.
Bible says the man was speechless, he was shocked, he couldn’t answer, why? Because the man immediately knew what the king was talking about, it was simply because he was thinking, wow, so this man could see what nobody could see. So he could see what I thought I’d be hidden down in my heart? So he could see what I did long ago? So he could see what my pastors could not see? He could see what my wife, my husband could not see. The man was speechles, he had no answer.
You know there’s a way that when you are caught red-handed, you just surrender. When you are caught in help, you can still be given excuses, well, you know, I remember many years ago, should I say this or should I not say this? If you like be looking at me with that eye, that’s your business, but is my testimony. I think my wife is in the believers’ class now but I’m sharing this to the glory of God Almighty.
The days when men were still boys, I came in one day, I didn’t know, God thank You for Your grace, you know men can be careless, no matter how smart you think you are, you can be careless, and then I left something in my pocket, then my wife came, this hotel receipt, this short time, where did you get it from? I was speechless, she caught me red-handed, there was no time for me to think, what can you say to that kind of thing? Don’t look at me, many of us are in that place, yours is even worse but I thank God Jesus for His grace.
So what can God not see? The man was speechless, I have been caught, all that I have been hiding all these years, I have been caught.
Who is the man without the wedding garment? That man is a metaphor for all of us, it represents for us a caution, a potential banana peel that can send any of us to hell if you’re not careful. Is a metaphor, is a warning that all of us are potentially on slippery ground, no man is immuned.
It speaks about the hypocrite, many of us who care more about outward appearance, we carry the religiosity, we carry on, we have every paraphernalia of holiness but deep in our hearts, our hearts are dirty, they are dark. Two days ago I went to a bank nearby here and as I stepped out, one brother, maybe he’s here now with his security uniform, just came to me hello sir, hello how are you? I thought he was just one of those greetings that make you to do something, he said pastor, I said pastor, so even here, he said I attend your church, I said oh my God.
You don’t know where God has planted somebody far away, nobody knows me here, somebody will just – if that can happen, how about God. Is a metaphor for those who think they can lobby their way, they can buy their way to the kingdom of God like the sons of Zebedee who brought their mother to Jesus to say lobby for us so that in His kingdom we will sit by the left and His right hand and Jesus said that’s not how my kingdom runs, is a matter of your heart not your position, not your connection, not your status.
Is a symbol for those who have been carried away by their status and their positions who think because men applaud them, because you are a big man, because you are a captain of industry, because you hold a big post in church, because everybody calls you daddy, mommy, they bow down for you, you yourself have gotten confused. You know your heart, you are not born again but you have gotten confused and you think that you are going to heaven.
This is a metaphor for you that the day will come, everybody will say oh, he’s a very humble man, he’s very good, he contributed most to building of the church, he’s very kind and generous. But on the day when the King comes, He’s not going to look at your generousity, He’s going to look at your heart.
It’s a metaphor for those who pride, you can be quiet and yet be proud; pride is a euphemism for not having the wedding garment. You may be gentle and quiet and bow and say sir and ma to everybody, yet your heart may be standing and Bible says God resists the pride. It could be a matter of pride. That man could have even said ah me I’m a big man, let me not dress like all the other people, let me put on a very beautiful garment out of pride, I want to be separate, not knowing that, that’s not what impresses God, that’s not what God is looking for, He’s looking at the heart.
What is the state of my heart this morning? What is the state of your heart devoid of all other paraphernalia? Because the day that the King will come and you know it can be any time, if you look at all the parables of Jesus including the parable of the ten virgins and all of them, is all about being ready when He will come. 1 Samuel 16:7 says, “God looks at the heart to judge,” it’s all about the heart.
This morning at the workers meeting, I became convinced that this message is from the Lord because it spoke about the heart, even the open heavens is about the heart, so that God is looking to us to check our hearts constantly. What can we do? The only thing we can do is to live every day searching our hearts, making corrections, sanctifying our hearts, making sure that nothing stands in our heart that God can look at on that day and say, “Ah, despite all that you have labored for, how can your heart be like this? You cannot make it.”
He says not all those who call me Lord, Lord will be mine on the day. I know my sheep, they know me, they know my voice. Will He recognize your voice on that day?
Let’s rise to our feet. Brethren, let’s bow our heads as we think for a minute, reflect on this message, if the invitation comes now, will I go in? If I go in, I gate crash, I lobby my way in, nobody sees me, when God comes and searches, what will He find in my heart? Begin to talk to God. Father, help me, correct my heart, give me the grace, the humility, give me the grace to live in such a way that my heart condition will be amenable to Your call.
While we do that, bowing our heads and closing our eyes, I want to call on some of us who are here…
[Altar call]
I want us to pray this prayer, say Father, whatever is in my heart that is unworthy of Your presence, by Your mercy this morning, correct it in Jesus name. Proverbs 4:23 says, above all else, guide your hearts for everything you do flows from it.” Guide your hearts. Say Father, whatever I need to do to guide my heart from sin, from evil, Father, this morning, grant me that grace to guide my heart. Give me the grace, the strength, the ability, the enablement to guide my heart so that whatever is there will not destroy me.
Pray that prayer for yourself. Lord, help me to guide my heart. Say Father, I know that no matter how long I travel on this false road, I cannot make it, so this morning, extend Your grace to me, take me away from the wide path of destruction, put me on the narrow path of eternity, help me Lord. Whatever the devil has placed on my path to stop me from the path of Your kingdom, from the paths of eternity, Father, take it away, put me firmly on the path of eternity.
Finally, we’re going to say Father, on the last day when You come to examine, Father, let me not be found wanting, my place, let another not take in the name of Jesus.
Heavenly Father, we thank You. Father, it is by grace, Your word says we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, it is grace we need, it’s not by power, it’s not by action, is not by force, but this morning even as we have heard Your word and we are determined to walk the right path, every grace that is needed, by Your mercy give unto us in Jesus name.
Every garment of falsity, garment of pretention, garment of lie, garment of a fake life, garment of pride, garment of the things of this world that may becloud us from Your kingdom, Father, help us to put them aside in Jesus name.
Lord, there was a man that came to Jesus, a good man, very good man, generous, obeyed all the commandments, but Jesus gave him the condition, he could not comply, he wanted to come to heaven on his own terms and he missed it. Father, today grant me the grace not to come to You on my own terms, but on your own terms.
Pray that prayer for yourself. Father, give me the grace to come to You, not on my own terms but by Your own terms. On your own terms, oh Lord, not on my own terms, grant me grace to come to You only by Your own terms. The grace to comply, to fulfill, to abide, to surrender, to submit to Your own terms, Father, give me that grace. So shall it be, in Jesus mighty name we prayed. Somebody shout a big hallelujah!
