Date:23rd August, 2020
Minister: Pastor Seyi Osanyinbi
Text: Matthew 22: 1 – 14
Jesus told many parables about the kingdom of God and one of them is the parable of the wedding banquet of a king’s son. This parable talks about a certain king who planned a wedding feast for his son but got disappointed by the invited guest and had to urgently command his servants to get people from the streets to attend the wedding. This is a similitude of the story of salvation; how men and women from different places will have the privilege of coming into and becoming partakers of the kingdom of God.
There are many characters in the story but my focus for today is the man who the king found to be without a wedding robe. We were not told how others got the right wedding robe but since they were all called from the streets and no one had the thought of attending a wedding to have been dressed for one, I want to assume they were given the wedding robe as they entered into the banquet. Following that assumption, then the man who had no wedding robe came in through another means asides the designated door. Though he had sat to dine and had blended, he was spotted by the king to be lacking the robe and was sent out.
The lesson is this, when a man gives his life to Christ, he is automatically clothed with the white robe, which he must ensure does not get stained (Revelations 7:9). Being born again is the only means through which we can enter the kingdom of God (John 3:3). There are many people in the church today without their wedding garments. They have blended into the church like the character in the parable, full of activities and very religious but they have not given their lives to Christ. You must understand that it matters to God that you be born again. He will not be deceived by your religious activities. Therefore, examine your life and be sure you have fulfilled the pre-requisite for being a member of the kingdom, which is being born again.
Before anyone can be born again, he must have been convicted of his sins. He must have heard the gospel of Christ, agreed that he is a sinner and that he needs the saviour, Jesus Christ. He must have believed the testimony of God about His Son, Jesus as the provision for the remission of sins (Romans 10: 7-10; 1: 16). This is the basis of the Christian faith.
Jesus did not become the Christ by anointing but by sacrifice. So, anyone who does not accept the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross is not saved and not right with God (1 John 1: 8-10). As seen in Luke 12: 8-9, we should also be ready to make a public declaration of our faith and belief in Christ. It should not just be a private decision, but should be a public declaration.