WHO'S PARTY IS IT ANYWAY?
RESPECT FOR JESUS- was the topic as Jim and I shared on the radio recently, and the Lord gave me a parable to share. Picture this. You are invited to a party, a grand affair, and you are to be the guest of honor. Sort of a family reunion, but all for you!! You spend your time preparing by working hard, involving blood, sweat and tears, because you want to give your best for your family, you have a gift for them too. The time arrives and you bring your gift and your scars of your labor. You get there and there is a sign to welcome you but instead of having your name on it it says “Main Street Party”. You think it’s kind of strange but you go on in anyway. You see people visiting and talking about last nights game and comparing recipes. Some of them look dressed for a party but some of them look like they just rolled off the couch after a nap, their hair still has a flat spot in the back, some of them look like they would rather be somewhere else. The children are all there but they’re not interested, they are too busy playing to notice that you have walked in, their parents have never told them about you so why should they care? You hear your name mentioned once or twice but you feel like your invisible, there you are with your hands all scarred up holding out your gift but no one notices. Someone starts to talk a little about you but they still don’t see you or your gift. As music begins to play you think, “this is it, they are going to play my favorite song” after all you’re the one who taught them to play. But instead of singing your favorite they sing their favorite, a song you never really liked. Then they begin another song and you think, “this is it, now they’re going to sing to ME”. But instead they sing about where you live. They still haven’t noticed you but they begin to pass around a basket for everyone to put in their gift for you. You begin to tremble with excitement about the gift you have brought to them. As their basket is passed around, people put in their left-overs they can do without, things they won’t miss. That hurts but not as much as what happens next. Some one gets up and says, “does anyone have anything to say to the guest of honor?” They make a list, but then no one says it to you, then they get up and say, “we’re done let’s go eat”. All the while there was a feast spread out before them that was left untouched. Then they leave the party, leave you standing there with the nail-scars in your hands that held out the precious gift of salvation, that included healing and deliverance. This happens weekly in thousands of churches across America, don’t get self-righteous and think, “not mine”. We invite Him and then we ignore Him and we do what we want to do, sing what we want to hear, give to Him what doesn’t hurt to live without, anything but give of ourselves,
“Jesus it is your judgment that we deserve, but you give us grace instead, forgive us Lord, teach us how to focus on you, to put you first, do what you must to get our attention, we repent Lord, please forgive us.”
Therefore since we are receiving a Kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming FIRE! (Hebrews 12:28-29)
rejected by His friends
up all night with no sleep
hours of fasting
had to walk to the cross instead of drive
bad hair day
couldn’t stay home with mother
nobody would go with Him
no air conditioning
no heat
early in the morning
had to stay late
couldn’t sit for hours
uncomfortable
poor worship team
not enough intercessors
bloody
pained
suffering
standing in the gap