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A Modern Expression of a Timeless Tradition. A local church in the Glastonbury Neighbourhood of West Edmonton. Sr Pastor Brett Esslinger.
Pastor Brendan was talking in pre-service prayer about Jeremiah and the time and season, and Jeremiah 29, 11,. We all know that verse, but I want to just say how it starts is he writes a letter because he is not in Babylon. He writes a letter to the captives in Babylon and the start of the letter that leads to the famous verse we know says this he says, hey, build your house multiply, do the things that you would do, trust God. And he says even pray for the blessing of the place that you're stuck, and I just felt that maybe someone here this morning needs to hear this If you feel stuck, don't stop. If you feel stuck, don't stop doing the things that you know God has called you to do. Why? Because, just because you feel stuck, your hope is not in your current situation. Your hope is in Jesus. That's why it gets to verse 11. It says the plans I have for you are good and for a future. Your good plans are not in a circumstance being perfect. They're in Jesus Okay. So if that's all you get from today, that's a good message in itself. Take that home, pray about it, remember that in your life, if you feel stuck, don't stop. God's future for you and Jesus is great. Amen, amen.
How many people have a physical Bible here today? That would be good to get. If you have one, you have them in your home. If they're sitting on the back ledge of your car where they get dusty and so people can see that you're, you know you're a good spiritual person, but it never leaves that spot. You should open it, read it, but let's open the Word of God together. If you have your Bibles, turn in them to Luke chapter 14,.
Luke chapter 14, and I want to read a story here where Jesus is having this interaction in Luke chapter 14 with some people and this guy kind of gets really excited about what Jesus is teaching and he kind of just blurts out this phrase and Jesus answers with a story. He says this in Luke chapter 14, verse 15. This is hearing this because Jesus is sharing the good news of the kingdom. A man sitting at the table with Jesus exclaimed what a blessing it will be to attend a banquet in the kingdom of God. He's saying Jesus, I'm in Dinner at your house feast in your kingdom. That would be amazing To be invited to. That. I'm in. And Jesus kind of just realizes I don't know if you understand what I'm really trying to show you here. So he replies with a story. Don't you love that? So often we're like we're excited. Jesus, yes, this is amazing. And we get excited. And then Jesus is like let's just pull it back a little bit and let's walk through this story.
It says a man prepared a great feast and he sent out many invitations. Everyone say many. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests come, the banquet is ready. But they all began making excuses. One said I've just bought a field and I must inspect it, so please excuse me. Another said I've just bought five pairs of oxen and I want to try them out, please excuse me. Another said I just got married so I can't come. So their servant returned and he told his master what they had said. And his master was furious and said go quickly into the streets and the alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. And after the servant had done this, he reported there is still room for more. So, as master said, go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone everyone say anyone you can find to come so that the house will be full.
Let's pray this morning. Heavenly Father, I thank you for your word. I thank you that it's living, powerful, it's alive, it speaks to us and it leads us into your wholeness and fullness for our lives. So I pray that you would speak to us by your word, in Jesus' name. And everybody said amen, amen. So Jesus answers this guy. This guy's getting really excited about what Jesus is talking about and he's being really happy about man. If I could get invited to a banquet in the kingdom of heaven, like that would be so amazing, what a privilege it would be. I couldn't wait for that invitation. And Jesus replies with a story. Because what Jesus is really saying? Well, actually there's a call of the king and there are many invitations that have gone out, but the same enthusiasm that was once had by people, the way you're reacting and responding right now. It's very easy that when you get an invitation, that enthusiasm dwindles and wanes away.
If you have ever been invited to a wedding, you've received a wedding invitation. You know the work that goes into them. I remember my wedding. It's good that I remember my wedding 20 years ago. I remember those invitations. I remember laying in the grass in front of the parliament with a photographer leaning down over top of us and it was weird in front of the parliament with a photographer leaning down over top of us and it was weird, but that became the picture on our wedding invitation. I remember you know it was not the day like it is now, with you know, print shops and all of this stuff it was the day that we printed pictures and we put ribbon around the front and like a lot of work went into invitations and it was a big thing and you know we sent them out and we had our friends and family and people there.
And I'll never forget what my pastor, pastor Jeff Wells, said to me. He said, jeremy, I know you're broke right now and I'm like, tell me about it. I'm a third-year Bible college student getting married in between semesters while my wife's still in school, living in my mother-in-law's house and making an internship honorarium that you pay me and we all know how that goes at churches. But we were excited to get married and he just said invite as many people as you can to celebrate with you, because you want the people in your life to be present and to celebrate this amazing thing that God's doing in your life and I've never forgotten that. But I have often thought about weddings over the years because we get invitations all the time and you know, sometimes you're super excited like, oh, I got an invitation to this wedding, what a privilege. And then there's days I'm like I get an invitation, I'm like seriously out of town on a Thursday At 4 pm so I have to get a hotel, got to drive. You know, like we've all been there, we've had that thought and the generation that came after me, you love your friends way more than I love my friends. I will not go to Jasper for a three-day bachelor party and spend thousands of dollars on this and that and do the whole out of town. Like you guys, you just really love your friends and don't enjoy owning homes and buying things with your money. You spend it on your friends, I guess. But I'm kidding.
And as a pastor we've been invited to a lot of weddings. Because when you especially when you pastor young people for an extended season of time, amazing thing is they grow up, they get married Some of them. You kind of have to matchmake and push them because you know they just don't have it in them on their own to open their mouth and invite a girl out on a date. I don't know what's going on with that, but you know. Then they start getting married and get invited to the wedding and eventually you get to the point where, like it's a privilege, but one year my wife went to something like 21 wedding showers plus the weddings and all these things, and then you get the invitation. I'm like I look at it now and we're kind of past that stage of pastoring the young adults and some of the youth, and I'm like wouldn't it be better for you if you just saved the money, didn't invite me and my wife? I'll send you a gift and we all kind of break even that way and because you're like, is this invitation a privilege or a pain? Because some of you, you're inviting us because you're being nice, because we're your pastors and you want to love us. But sometimes I'm like, did you write us down? Because you felt you should? And I know you're going to put me at that table with everyone else that no one in your family can talk to, but we're the pastors, so you'll do fine there.
It happens a lot and I jest and I seriously do think it's a privilege when you walk with people to celebrate milestones in their life, everything from weddings to babies, to graduations with students and even funerals. I've done a lot of funerals in my life. It is a privilege to walk with God's people because you know you've done life with them. But there is a part of us at times where the enthusiasm wanes and we get a little bit stuck in what we're building in life and what we're doing. And it is a pain.
You see, like a wedding invitation, it's hard to say, it's a pain, but when you get a child's birthday party invitation, my goodness, generation before me, men didn't go to birthday parties. My generation it was me and Dean watching the bouncy castle while all the women had snacks and coffee and that's. I said Brent, I don't want to come to these birthday parties because it's just me and Dean and it's awkward and none of the other dads are there. And then she didn't. She just stopped telling me that who was invited? She just said we're going and so I went. But who was invited? She just said we're going and so I went. Now you all do them together because you're better than us and you know, sometimes you get that I'm like seriously. But now the Lord has a sense of humor, because jokes on all my friends that made me come to their children's four-year-old, three-year-old, two-year-old birthday party. June was one. Next week my friends are going to sit through like 10 more years of children's birthday parties because they should love me and show up, because I did it for them.
And often what was once a privilege and an exciting thing because you love people and your friends and what you're walking with them through life there are moments in time where we get a little bit more inward and self-absorbed and we get focused on what we're doing and what was once a privilege becomes a little bit of a pain. And Jesus knew this. He looks at this man who said oh, what a privilege it would be to be at a wedding feast in the kingdom of God. How amazing it would be, jesus, to do what you're doing, to be where you are, to be a part of what you want to make happen. And he says let me tell you a story then. And he starts telling a story of people who would be invited, because many were invited to be a part of the kingdom. Many were invited to be guests in his house, but when the time came, when the doors opened, when the opportunity was there, it began to happen. Those who were probably once excited when that invitation showed up at their door or they heard the buzz about what God was doing and the whole thing.
And oh well, you know, I just I bought some property and I really want to go see it and I guess that this day is the only day I can do it. I've bought some new cows. I want to go test them out. It's like, hey, I got a new car and I'd rather drive it around the Henday on a Sunday than come to church. I mean, like around Edmonton, like that's what people do, right, they just circle the Hyundai. I remember during the pandemic, I'm like not supposed to leave my house or do things. I'm like, well, my car is technically my property. I'm like I'm just going to go just circle the city for hours and pray in my truck, you know. Or this other person gets the invitation and it's time to come. So I just got married, I can't come, blames his.
And there are moments in time that we come back to the place where we understand that Jesus is talking about the gospel and how people will be invited to receive and experience all that God has for them and the cares of this life, and things will happen and, all of a sudden, what so many people thought, this will be amazing and I want to be a part of it and that enthusiasm will dwindle and it will wane. And I would say today that, even when it comes part of being God's house and being involved in the story of the gospel and the kingdom of God, the same thing happens to us Because, yes, this is talking about people receiving the gospel, but this is also talking about there is a house and there is a purpose and there is a thing that God is building in the earth and where we were once excited and we were once happy to serve and love and be a part of and get there when God called and said it's time. We're getting ready, I want to meet with you, I want to be with you.
We often find ourselves fighting a little bit of inconvenience and what was once a privilege becomes a pain. And I think it's because what God's building sometimes interrupts and interferes with what we're trying to build, the properties we're trying to buy, the life we're trying to put ahead of us, the relationships that we want to invest in. Because, let me tell you when you live long enough and you walk with God and you serve in the kingdom and you experience the gospel. The gospel is the story of God. It's not my story, it's not your story. We get to be a part of the story of God, we get to step into it and receive his goodness and grace. But often we're focused on building our story and the story of God will shake us or call us out of what we're doing at times, because he has a better and more important plan.
What I want you to know this morning is I want to encourage you, but I want to warn you that the first thing we should note about this story and the first thing we should take to heart in our lives is that busy is an enemy of being with the king. Busy in your life and my life will always be an enemy of being with the king. I remember when I was younger I used to say oh, I'm so busy. You go to university. Oh, I'm so busy. You finish university, you get married oh, I'm so busy. You start having kids I'm so busy. Can I tell you something? You will never get less busy. You will just get better capacity when you learn how to manage your life and things well. Busy is relative to the season that you're in, so let's just put this out there.
We are all busy, but we have a God who calls us to be involved in what he is doing, and our busyness often becomes an excuse and it will become an enemy from us being with the king and being in his presence and being where he wants us to be. Can I tell you, god didn't save you just so he can spend time with you in eternity. God saved you for a purpose and he's still inviting more people in. He's calling them to experience who he is. He's calling them to houses of God in his kingdom, here and now, in this side of eternity, and we can be a part of it, or we can be busy and make excuses and miss out on experiencing what God has for us and for his people.
The desire of the Father is to gather us in his presence, but sometimes we only want the one-on-one meetings so we can feel special. Oh, pastor, I just want to do what God wants for my life. I want to fulfill my calling, I want to fulfill my purpose, and then we'll say, well, then come to prayer. Well, I can't do that I got to work on this. Well, come to church, oh, but I have things to do and so often we get things to do and so often we get into this place where we want to be in the fullness of God, in the wholeness of God. But we want that one-on-one meeting. If the Lord gives me a prophetic word, if someone sits down with me one-on-one, if God told me more, if I told you that if you show up up prayer on Thursday night, someone's going to give you a prophetic word and God's going to speak directly to your next steps on your plans and your future for your life, you would come. But we tell you come, let's seek the Lord together, let's lift up his name, let's go where God's going. We have to decide oh, that means I might not get to go where I want to go because I have to go where God's going.
And we've started treating the king of kings like we treat important people in our lives. Oh, they invited me, but it was a group text, it was just a church invite. They put on Facebook or social media. I mean, that wasn't really a personal invite. If pastor sends me a text and I know there's only my bubble and their bubble and they're personally inviting me. Maybe then I'll consider it and like I'm joking, but we do.
We treat God like this. We want God to make us feel so special and you are and you're a part of the kingdom. But so often he's trying to gather us together because there's stuff and there's things and there's vision and there's purpose that he pulls us into, in being a part of his house. That we cannot do on our own and I preached a few weeks back. There's also a call of the house that goes with the call of the king, because our houses actually need to be under the vision of God's house, because if we live with our own vision, our own house, we don't have anything to stand for, we don't have any strength to stand in. Marriages break down, People lose their children, your world falls apart. Why? Because we are not perfect beings. But when we come under the vision of God and who he is and we align according to his word in his house, we have something to draw strength from to lead our houses in truth, purpose and victory.
I said this at Glory Hills a couple weeks ago. I said I don't believe that men lose their families or their marriage, or their career or their drive in life, because they don't want a purpose in life, I feel like they lose their purpose, they lose sight of what it is and they let their guard down and they start scrambling and things fall apart. And so when men of God especially, make sure that their purpose and their vision is submitted to something bigger themselves, ie the purpose of God, his house I serve, I get involved. I'm going where God's leading me. I have people in my life that can speak to those areas. We see it less and less. But busy will be an enemy of being with the king.
Luke 14, verse 17 to 20 says this when the banquet was ready, he sent a servant to the guests come, the banquet's ready. But they all began making excuses. One said I've just bought a field, I must inspect it. Another said I've just bought five pairs of oxen, I want to try them out. Another said I just got married so I can't come. And I truly believe this. I don't think it's because people don't value God or his presence. But my question is do we value it enough to make it the immovable thing in our lives? Because I ask you this when was the last time you canceled your kids music lesson to do something that was important to you and your wife. When was the last time you skipped their sporting event for something that was more important? Probably never. But we all do it to the house of God, to his purpose, to the gathering of the saints, to the thing that God calls us to. And I'm saying this that it's not to be harsh or condemning, but what I'm saying is we all have values in our lives and our kids see what they are based on, the priorities of how we live them out, and they know what are the movable and the immovable things in our lives. And when your kids see a pattern, that Sunday or prayer or involvement in the house of God or being a part of a small group or walking with God's people is always the easy, movable thing. Guess what they decide when they're in junior, high and high school. That's not important. This is important, and you never said it to them, but that's what they saw. They saw what was movable and what was immovable.
I remember growing up and in my house I would pray some nights. Sometimes we'd go home. We had Sunday morning service, sunday evening service, wednesday night prayer, friday night youth. I would. Sometimes I knew mom wasn't feeling good. I'm like, oh, maybe dad will let us stay home from church tonight, because Sunday nights back then were kind of weird. It was always end times and why chips and credit cards are gonna be the end of the world and all these like that's what it was it was like. Let me be honest, the reason I served in kids church on Sunday nights is because I didn't like the Sunday night message stream. It was all fear-based and all this stuff and I was like you know what, oh, mom's not feeling good. Maybe we won't go to church tonight. Nope, not with my dad, Not with a man who doesn't say much but is so principled that if we committed to something and we were going get in the car kids, I had a dad that took three kids to church, even if mom wasn't feeling well. Why? Because it's what we did we were gonna be in the house of God, we were gonna serve, we were gonna be a part of what God was doing.
One time I didn't wanna go to youth, because at youth age your friends are stupid. Sometimes they say mean things, you say mean things. Relationships are weird and I was 16 at the time. I had my own car. I said, dad, I'm not going to youth, I can't be around them and this and that. And my dad says, okay, weird, like I finally won one. No, I didn't. He went out to my car, removed the battery, said, hey, give me your keys and you know, if you're not doing what you're supposed to be doing, you can stay home. Took about 45 minutes where I asked my dad can I have the battery in my car and the keys and I'll go to youth? He goes okay, if I find out you're anywhere else, guess what'll happen? I'm like, oh, you don't have to tell me what'll happen. So I went to youth, angry about it, but I went to youth.
But sometimes it's in those moments. It was the gathering with God and his people. You sometimes don't even want to be there, and it's not that you don't value it, but when you make it the immovable thing, you'll be surprised how much God speaks to you in your most stringent and stressful and broken moments, because you simply showed up to his presence. But busy will always be an enemy of being with the kings. And so I just ask us this it's not that we don't value him or his presence, but do we value it enough to make it our immovable. And that's not saying you never miss church, take your holidays, enjoy some things.
One of the pastors at a one-day conference we were at a week or two ago, he said this. He said one of their family values was this I will not consistently do something that consistently removes me from the house of God. I think that's a good value If it is going to consistently remove you from the things of God and what God wants your family. Maybe it's not for you, but hey, if it's a one-time thing, if it's this. But you got to be careful because you know what it's like in your schedule as soon as you say yes to something once a month, then there's two things that are once a month. Then there's this. So we have to be those that watch that and make sure that our values align with our heavenly father's values. Busy is an enemy of being with the king.
But the second thing that really struck me in this parable and in this passage was the fact that the house will be filled, but we get to decide if we're going to be present and play our part in it. You see, god will move his kingdom forward irregardless of you or me. But he is also very clear that there is a place for you, there is a purpose for you, there is a call for you to be a part of what he is doing. And when we find the servant working in the house of God, that's you, that's me. We're to be ministers, we're to be those that go out and bring in and be a part. And are we ready to set the table? Are we ready to make sure that when we gather people in the presence of God, we are putting together and we are bringing them into a full experience of what it means to know how good God is and how extravagant he is and how much he loves people and how much care he puts into things? We get a part to play in that. But it says this in verse 21 to 23,.
The servant returned and told his master what the people had said. So the master was furious. But then he doesn't go on and ramble on about how furious he is, about the excuses. He says go quickly into the streets and the alleys in the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, the lame. And after he had done this, the servant reported there is still more room. So the master said go into the country lanes behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come. Why? So that the house will be full? Can I tell you this morning if there is something in the heart of God and his purpose for people is that his house would be full, that people would know they are welcome, that people would know there is an invitation to sit under the love, the care, the presence and the leadership of the king of kings in their life. And we have a role to play. The house will be filled. I'm here to declare today that this house will be full. Glory Hills will be full. High house will be filled. I'm here to declare today that this house will be full. Glory Hills will be full. Highlands will be full. The future houses that are built because God ordains it. They will be filled and they will be full.
But we get to decide and we get to say, lord, I want to be present, I want to be a part of it, I want to build with you. I won't be so busy that I can't be with your people or be under your purpose. I have to decide that I have a part and a role to play. Being present is not enough. Will you participate? Will we serve? Will we go out and gather?
I think we get hung up in church life in a whole lot of areas. One we get stuck here. While I'm here, I'm present. What more do you want, pastor? Well, it's not what I want, it's actually what God wants for your life. I'm just telling you, your Sunday church experience in the presence of God will be much more enjoyable if you understand that worship is expressive. God wants to be praised a certain way and he wants to meet with you through that. If you come and you worship, your experience and your participation in that will lead you to a deeper relationship with God. See, because sometimes we're present but we're not really engaged and we're not really here. You've been there, you've been in those conversations, you've watched people be present but not really there with you, and we can be that way in the house of God.
In other places, people get hung up. They say, well, I'm serving, I'm doing what you asked. Well, here's the thing you can serve and you can do a lot of things, but when the heart, the attitude and the why is not understood behind it, you're just doing a bunch of things that make you more miserable. Have you ever sat back and thought about why we serve? Do you serve because you are grateful to what God has done in your life and you are loving towards people who need to experience what you've experienced in Jesus? Or do you serve because pastor said there's a sign up in the lobby and he's not going to stop talking about it until we fill up that sign up? I mean, if that's your attitude, still serve. We'll just pray that God changes along the way. We need help. We need to do this together. Will we serve? But here's the big one.
This is a tough one for churches, and we believe this, pastor Brett and I believe this. This is a tough one for churches, and we believe this, pastor Brett, and I believe this. We don't gather just to gather. We gather to scatter. And if we gather to scatter, it means when we go out, we are urging others to come in.
How you serve in God's house should be how you serve your friends and neighbors and people outside of the house. Some of us are so happy to serve people in the house of God, but, my goodness, serve your neighbor or someone who needs your help. Well, this isn't church. I don't have to serve here. Yes, you do, because you are called to go out and gather and bring them in. And I'm telling you, you will not bring them in if you do not show them that you love them and you care. And can I just say this you will not bring people into church and have them be excited about it when you don't even want to be here more than 50% of the time.
I asked Gloria Hills this. I said why would your friends and people outside of this room ever want to come to church when you hardly want to be here? And so how we participate in what God is doing becomes very important to our strategy of evangelism. And this is all because of a God who loves us. He gave himself for us. He wants us to be those who are a part of what he's doing. You know my wife will tell me this. She says say you know, don't be gone too long, come home. The reason I don't have a six-pack yet is because I have a time limit at the gym. At least that's what I'm telling people.
A brand new will say and we learned this when we were young she's like I didn't get married to be alone. I don't care if you have a six pack if it means you're never home with me and the kids. Did you know that your heavenly father invited you into his kingdom because he loves you? But he didn't do it so he could fill a room and not walk out a relationship with you? God invited us in so we can be together, so we don't have to do life alone, so we can experience and encounter who he is. And the house will be full. But will we play our part in it? There is a call for us. But the last thing is this as I read this parable, I was really asking the Lord like there's this invitation. Many are invited, the house is going to be full. You're so good, but some people, they just miss it, they don't get it. And I really felt twinged in my heart to encourage us as a church and as our church family to come back to a place where we truly embrace, in a fresh and real way, how important it is that we embrace the heart of God in filling his house, because just as busy as an enemy of being with the king, just as factual it is that God's desire is to fill his house and we have a part to play.
I think we need to be reminded how deeply the Father sees an empty seat as a serious matter. You look around this room and you see an empty seat next to you, or three or four in your row. And we look around. Can I tell you that to the Heavenly Father, an empty seat is a serious matter. I stole that phrase from Pastor Willie George Church on the Move Years ago. I heard him preach on this and it says this in Luke 14, 22,. The servant came back and he tells the master, he says I've done what you've asked, but there is still room for more. And he sends them out again and again and he says go pull them in, go ask them to come, go invite them in. Why? Because my house needs to be full. Can I tell you this when your seat is empty on a Sunday, let's just preface that you don't own your seat. When you're not here and your seat is empty, the body is not complete. An empty seat is a serious matter.
See, I remember being a young pastor and I'd ask my friends or I'd ask people hey, where were you last Sunday? We missed you, and they'd get all defensive about it. Well, I had this or that and I'm like, no, no. And I finally said to Dean I mentioned once before it's one of my best friends. I said, dean, I said I don't care that you missed church because I think, oh, you're not serving God or how dare you miss church. I said I know, by the type of people that you and your wife are, if you were not here, there were probably a half a dozen to a dozen people who never got encouraged, talked to or welcomed, because I simply can't talk to everyone. And I said you are those people and you are a gift to this church and you are a part of the body and when you're not here, it is actually a big deal to someone. And some of us don't look at ourselves this way.
But if we actually started looking at our purpose, our life, that the connections that we're supposed to have, every person in church, one of the main holding factors for people in church is that they have three or four good friends that they do life with and when you disappear, those people feel like part of them is missing and part of the body is missing and we have to get better at being that, realizing that me not being here isn't just about me taking a break, me doing this Like that's fine, go away. You know we live in Alberta, you have to get to a beach, probably once a year, and not Alberta Beach or Pigeon Lake. You know they're not real beaches, but do you ever wonder that when you're not there, sometimes wonder am I missed? Like do people even care that I'm not there? Or do you actually have the feeling man, if I'm not there, I hope so-and-so is doing okay and I hope their family got through that situation and I man, I should text them because I wasn't there on Sunday and I'm just interested and involved in their life.
That is being the body. It says this in Scripture that in Ephesians 4.16, he makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow. Why? So that the whole body is healthy, growing and full of love. I believe this is the call of every church. We need to get healthier, we need to be growing and we need to be full of love and we all need to do our part to be able to do these things. And we do it when we allow God to fit us together. So each part does its work. But an empty seat is a serious matter because God cannot fit you into the people, the relationships, your part, your call if you're not present, and so when you're not here, the body's not complete. But I would say this when the seat next to you is empty if we could have the band come back up it really means that there's someone in your life, there's someone in this city, there's someone in this region who still needs Jesus and is outside, and they're far from God. And we should look at this scripture where he says go, get the blind, the lame and the crippled and bring them in to the house Church.
There are people so broken, so desperate, they don't even know they need Jesus. They don't know how to find him because they can't see past what they're going through. They can't get here on their own because they would not even think to drag themselves to the presence of God. There are people that need to know who Jesus is as their healer, as their savior, as the one who sets them free. But they need people who will go out and say hey, I see what you're struggling with. I know this is tough right now, but let me guide you, Let me lead you to someone who can change everything. Let me bring you to a place where you can experience wholeness and freedom, and he will give you a fresh vision for your life. He will heal the broken areas of your walk. He will set you up and lead you forward in all that he has for you. Why? Because he has good plans for you. He is a God who loves you and though you feel stuck and though you feel broken, and though you feel outside there is a body of believers.
There are people who have been invited into the house and they've been told by the master go out and bring them in. Go out and show them that there is still room in my house, that there is a provision, there is a call. Why? Because God wants his house to be full, because he wants relationship with people, and so I'm here to challenge us. I'm here to challenge us today. There is a call of the king. There is an invitation to be a part and to play our part in his story and what he is building. But we cannot be under his direction, we cannot be healthy and we cannot be growing when we are not present with him and with his people. So let me ask you this morning, as we stand, please stand. I want to pray for some people that need to be invited in this morning, but I feel for some of you this morning. I believe the Holy Spirit is going to speak to your heart and I think you need to ask the Holy Spirit to show you the answers to these questions. The first question I would like you to ask the Holy Spirit is this the first question I would like you to ask the Holy Spirit is this as we worship, as we pray, would you say, holy Spirit, would you show me any areas in my life where busy has been an enemy of being in your purpose and my part in your story, because we all have it story because we all have it.
I remember a time as a young adult that God told me stop watching that TV show. Weird thing, wasn't sinful, wasn't a bad show, all this stuff. And I said, god, why, like it's not even bad. He goes, no, because you're at service on Monday nights at young adults and you're worried about whether the preacher is going to go long because we didn't have PVR and recording and all that stuff. I'm old now but he says you're more focused on can you get home for that than what I want to do in the moments and you're called to lead people in my presence and you've got to get rid of the things that are stopping you from doing what I've called you to do. And I didn't pick up the phone and call Pastor Brett and my friends and be like. God says no one should watch this TV show.
No, I took that in my heart because that was an area where God was showing me that there are heartstrings being pulled and there are areas that I have made busy in my schedule that have kept me from a purpose that God has for me and that's between you and the Lord. But I would challenge you and this is dangerous but say, holy Spirit, are there any areas in my life where busy has become an enemy of me being with you or stepping into my full purpose? The second thing I'd like you to ask yourself is this If an empty seat is a serious matter, I would like you to ask yourself, lord, who is that empty seat is a serious matter? I would like you to ask yourself, lord, who is that empty seat for and who should I be going out to, gather and bring, and and start inviting and calling to your presence because he wants his house to be? These are very important things for us to ask ourselves as believers. But lastly, I want to ask, with everyone's head bowed and everyone's eyes closed maybe you're here today and you kind of feel like you've been outside.
I don't know how you showed up here today. Maybe you thought it was a good idea, maybe someone drug you here, maybe someone brought you here. But I need you to know today that there is an invitation from the King of Kings to come be a part of his house, to come be a part of his family. The Bible says that God so loved the world he sent his son Jesus to die, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but should have everlasting life. But the next verse after John 3, 16 says God did not send his son into the world to condemn it but to save it. Through him and through Jesus Christ, you can have a relationship with the one who loved you, created you, made you the way that you are, can show you why you're facing the brokenness that you feel. He can bring healing to your heart and no one else will be able to do that for you.
And if you're here today and you've never received Jesus into your life as Lord and savior and you say I need to be in relationship with my Heavenly Father. I need to know that I'm invited in. There is an invitation today and I want to give you an opportunity to surrender your life to say God, I want to walk with you. I want to experience your love, your grace, your plan. I want to find my purpose in you, because he created you with unique gifts, talents and abilities and he created you a human being spirit, soul and body as someone he loves and he desires to be in relationship.
So, with everyone's head bowed and eyes closed, today if that's you, and a countdown backwards from three, and when I get one, if you could lift up your hand, we want to pray with you. Three, it's the best decision you'll ever make. Two, you'll never be the same One. You want to give your life to Jesus. Today, you want to become a part of his family, part of his house. Can you just slip up your hand all across this room? Thank you, looking across. Thank you, family, part of his house. Can you just slip up your hand all across this room? Thank you looking across. Thank you, can't really see in the balcony, but as we pray together, I'm going to say this, if maybe you didn't slip your hand up or maybe you're going to pray this prayer with us and you need to talk to someone about it. There's a banner out in the lobby says I have decided and someone would love to talk with you there about what it means to make that decision to follow Jesus. So please, afterwards maybe if you just have been struggling, go talk to someone there. But right now we're going to pray a prayer together. Everybody, head bowed, eyes closed. Let's say this together Dear Jesus, I need you now more than ever.
Would you come into my life? I give you my wins, I give you my success, I give you my sin and I give you my failure. Lord, I'm all yours. Jesus, would you save me, would you heal me? Heal me, would you lead me, would you help me to follow you one step at a time, all the days of my life? So, jesus, thank you for inviting me. I invite you into my life. I make you my Lord. Thank you for being my Savior. In Jesus' name, amen. Let's give it up for these individuals this morning.