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Church,
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every one of us knows what it's like to long for God's comfort
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while quietly hesitating at the changes his love calls us to make.
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We cherish the rest of Psalm 23, we cling to the peace of
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Philippians 4, we even hope in the promises of Isaiah
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25. But when the King gently calls us to grow, to
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repent, to release old patterns, to put on the
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garment of righteousness, something in us pauses,
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resists, whispers, "Maybe later."
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And here's the danger. We can begin to treat God's
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preceding grace, his invitation, his welcome, his open
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door, as if it were permission to stay exactly as we are.
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We can assume that because God invited us, God is already
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satisfied with us. But the collect we prayed this morning prays that
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God's grace would precede and follow us, not
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to keep us comfortable, but so we may continually be given to good
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works. In other words, grace doesn't simply open the
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door. Grace transforms the guest.
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Across our scriptures this morning, we see God exposing a reality that we cannot
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afford to ignore. The King who invites
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freely also inspects thoroughly.
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He welcomes generously, but he transforms relentlessly.
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He calls us to his table, but he demands that we wear the garment of
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kingdom righteousness. God's preceding grace
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opens the door to the royal banquet, but his pursuing grace
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demands that you put on the garment of kingdom righteousness.
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Before we talk about this garment, we need to face a deeper truth.
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That is, you cannot wear what you have not received.
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You cannot put on righteousness until you first admit you have
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none. And the only reason any of us can even come near the
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banquet hall is because the King moved toward us when we were
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moving or not moving toward him. So let's begin where
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scripture begins, with the breathtaking, undeserved initiative of
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God's preceding grace.
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Load full transcript
Isaiah reveals a millennial feast that is nothing less than
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extravagant. We read it this morning.
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Rich food, aged wine, choice meats, a table
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overflowing with abundance that we did not earn.
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And Jesus, he picks up this same imagery in Matthew chapter 22.
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He says, a king preparing a royal wedding feast for his son.
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But here's the tension that is in this text.
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Everything is ready, but nobody wants to come.
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The dignitaries shrug, the privileged ignore the summons.
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The invited guests treat the king's invitation like we treat junk mail.
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And what does the king do? He does not cancel the feast.
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He escalates the invitation. He sends his servants into the
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crossroads, to the forgotten, the unworthy, the bad, and the good, to
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people who never imagined that they would be welcomed in a palace.
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That is preceding grace. Grace that finds you in
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your poverty, summons you in your unworthiness, and invites you to a
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feast that you could never afford.
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Jesus's message is for those who walked in this morning convinced that your
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past disqualifies you, your failures feel too heavy, your history
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feels too messy, your shame even feels too loud.
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But preceding grace means God invited you.
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Before you cleaned up, before we even repented, before we even
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realized that we were starving. Come to Christ as you are.
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But we have to understand, the King loves us too much to allow us
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to stay as we are.
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Preceding grace gets us in the door, but once we step inside his
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kingdom, once we sit at his table, once we taste the goodness of
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God, that's when the battle begins.
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Because the moment that we enter the banquet hall, the world starts
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pulling at our sleeves. Old habits begin
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to whisper. Old sins start to call our name.
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Enemies begin to circle the perimeter.
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So the question becomes, who keeps us from drifting back?
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Who guards us when fear arises? Who chases you when
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temptation hunts you? That's where pursuing
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grace comes in. Grace that doesn't just welcome you but
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tracks you, protects you, and refuses to let you go.
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Let's look at Psalm 23 and Philippians 4, where God reveals the
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relentless guardrails of his pursuing grace.
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In Psalm 23, David moves from the pasture to the banquet hall.
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"You prepare a table before me," he says, "in the presence of my
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enemies." Not in the absence of my enemies, but in their presence.
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David is eating while danger watches.
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He is feasting while threats breathe around him.
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He is anointed while adversaries glare through the window.
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But how does he stay calm? How does he remain faithful?
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How does he stay seated at the table?
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This is where David gives us the secret.
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"Surely," he says, "goodness and mercy shall follow me all
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the days of my life." In our English translation, follow is too
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soft. In the Hebrew, that word literally means to chase, to hunt,
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to pursue with intensity. David is saying God's goodness and
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mercy are not strolling behind us.
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They are hunting us down with holy determination.
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It's typical of every parent who has children.
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When a child is racing off out of their protection, we naturally chase after
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them, not knowing what has their attention, but knowing that they're in danger, so
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we do everything we can to bring them back.
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When fear tries to pull us off the path, goodness runs after us.
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When temptation tries to lure us away, mercy hunts us down.
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When anxiety tries to choke out our joy, pursuing grace
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grabs us by the soul and drags us back to safety.
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Paul then picks up this theme in Philippians chapter 4.
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He says, "Do not be anxious about anything." A better translation is
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simply have no anxiety. That's not a suggestion, it is
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a command. Have no anxiety. Instead, pray.
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Instead, give thanks. Instead, lift up your requests to God.
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And when we do, the
peace of God will guard our hearts
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and minds. Guard, not soothe, not comfort,
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guard. Paul uses this military term.
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It's as if a soldier is standing at the door of your mind,
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keeping anxiety out, keeping kingdom confidence in,
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and that pursuing grace, grace that refuses to let us fall back
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into the darkness that God has pulled us out of.
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So preceding grace opens the door, and pursuing grace keeps us from
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wandering back out. But there is one moment in the banquet hall, a moment that
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every soul must face. Because the king does not simply
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prepare the feast, he does not simply protect the guest, he eventually
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steps into the room. He inspects, he evaluates,
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he searches every face,
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and the one question that he is asking above all others, "Did you
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put on what I provided?"
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That brings us to our final point. Matthew 22 takes a dramatic turn.
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The hall is full, the feast is ready, the guests are seated, but when the king
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enters, he sees a man who is present, but not transformed.
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He is in the right place, but he is wearing the wrong garment.
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The king asks him, "Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?"
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Notice in your text that this man is speechless. He is not confused.
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He is not uninformed. Speechless. Why?
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Because in ancient royal custom, the king provided garments at the door.
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Just like when we walk in and receive a bulletin, someone would be at the door with
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the garment appropriate for the banquet.
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So this individual accepted free food and fine wine, but he deliberately
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refused to put on the royal garment provided by the host.
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He didn't forget it,
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he refused it. He wanted the king's table, but without the king's
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terms. He wanted kingdom privileges, but without kingdom standards.
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He wanted grace without obedience.
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And Jesus says the king responds with judgment, "Bind him,
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her, hand and foot, and throw him into outer
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darkness."
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On its face, this looks like cruelty, but it's not.
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It is the rightful judgment of a king whose holiness cannot be
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mocked, because the garment represents the righteousness of Christ,
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death, burial, resurrection, and the transformed life that
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flows from true conversion. Paul echoes this in the
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Epistle in Philippians 4. He says, "Think about what is true, what is honorable,
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what is just, what is pure, what is lovely, what is commendable, and keep
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on doing the things that you have learned and received." In other
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words, you cannot eat with the king while wearing the rags of your old
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life. You cannot claim grace on Sunday and walk in
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gossip and compromise and unrepentant sin Monday through
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Saturday. The king expects his guests to wear
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what he provides. So the question before us is not did we receive the
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invitation, not did we enter the hall, not are we seated at the table.
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The question is far more urgent. Are you wearing what the
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king provided? Are you living the life that rightfully
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reflects the king? Because the feast is ready, the king is present, and the
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inspection has begun. Family, we have heard the invitation
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of grace, felt its protection, and stood beneath the gaze of a
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king who inspects. And as we have already prayed the collect
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earlier, let us pray it again. Lord, let your grace
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always precede and follow us so that we may continually be
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given to good works. Walk away today, family, not merely
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invited, protected, but transformed, clothed in
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what Christ has provided, covered in what he has purchased, and
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committed to what it is he commands.
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In the name of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.