In this short piece, we are going to be talking about the subject matter of ‘Glory’. When we talk about Glory, what is it we talk about? Benefactors of Glory connote those that enjoy glory — those that find glory available as a resource that helps them. When we talk about glory, what does it mean? I know as a matter of experience that, there is nobody that does not love glory, but the definition of glory to everyone might differ from person to person. Even though all of us are completely desiring glory, what is it about the glory that you desire? As much as all of us desire glory, there is something about the glory that all of us must understand and desire. The Holy Spirit wants us to understand that.
Our text will be on the parable that Jesus shared according to Matthew chapter 22 from verses 1 to 14. I know you remember that Jesus spoke a lot of parables to the multitude; when Jesus is teaching. The assignment of Jesus on the earth when He came was simple: the preaching of repentance, change of thinking, to the people; that you have been going in this direction, you need to repent for the kingdom of God is at hand — Jesus’ message was a message of Good News. Jesus came with the Good News message. The way you have been thinking, and the direction you have been going has not helped you. But there is a chance that you have a better life in God. There is the chance that you qualify for something bigger and deeper in God; if only you could change the direction of our thought.
The Bible says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” Meaning that a man’s thought is synonymous with his reality. If you want to check the reality of a man today, all you need to do is to try and do an x-ray of the thought of that man. We know that the Word of God is true; “As a man thinks”. Meaning, the present thinking pattern of any man becomes the current reality of the man. So, Jesus’ message was that a man should have a different thinking. If you want to enjoy the life that is in God, you can’t continue to do the same thing, and be expecting a different result; it will amount to madness. It is only a mad man that will be doing the same thing in the same way, and be expecting a different result.
Jesus’ message was that I am bringing a new message from God to you. But what will make you benefit from this message is that you should change your thinking; there ought to be alteration in your thinking. You will realize that, in all the parables of Jesus, it is about affecting the thought pattern of people. When Jesus met His disciple and He started discipling them, what He kept emphasizing on was a change, a shift in their thinking.
There was a time the disciples of Jesus were walking with Jesus, and some people challenged them, and two of His disciples looked at Him, and said to Him, “Should we call down fire on them just like Elija did?” And Jesus replied to their question saying, “You don’t know the manner of Spirit that you are of.” Because we don’t think like that. Our reality must be coherent with our thinking. So, Jesus made them understand that their thought pattern was wrong. And that was what Jesus did with the disciples for the 3 and half years. And that is the same work the Holy Spirit is doing with us today.
When the Holy Spirit wants to change the life of anyone, what the Holy Spirit simply does is to teach the person how to change his thinking. When the Holy Spirit succeeds with you about your thought pattern, your life must change. Because the Bible says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” Hence, if a man has a poverty mindset, his reality is poverty. If a man has an illness mindset, his reality is an illness. If a man has a rich mindset, the man will become rich, it only requires the process of time. So, Jesus’ message, pattern, was to make sure that men and women change their thinking — He will speak to them in parables to the end that men change their thinking. And after Jesus was done speaking any parable, as we are going to see in this parable, there is always a call to action.
There is something that Jesus will call people to. There is a life that Jesus will call people to start living. There is a reality that He will invite people to, that was why when two disciples of John the Baptist in John chapter 1 came to Jesus after John testified about Jesus, and they decided to follow Him, and they asked Him, “Master, where do you live?” And Jesus said to them, “Come and see.” Jesus knew that there is something the two disciples would see about Him, that will change their thinking. And that is why the invitation of Jesus to every believer is to come to Him, “all you who have labored and are heavily laden”, but not necessarily that the load you are carrying is going to disappear overnight. But when you come to me, there is something about me, there is something in me that makes the yoke easy and the burden light.
So, He said, “Come”, because if you come, there is something about mind-shift that will happen to you. But the problem is that many people don’t want to come. And we are going to see it in this parable; Matthew chapter 22:1-3 says: “And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding, and they were not willing to come.” Remember, Jesus was about to speak to their mindset, I don’t want us to read this like a story, I want you to understand the dimension that Jesus is coming from. Understand the Work that Jesus is ready to do in your life. He spoke the parable to the end that you might change your thinking.
He started the parable with an analogy so that you don’t forget the subject. So, we don’t get carried away by the story and forget the subject of the story. The focus of Jesus was the Kingdom of Heaven; where you and I have become citizens. So, it is a subject of interest. It says: “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding, and they were not willing to come.” I want you to note the Word, “willing”. Meaning, they had a choice. They were not forced. They were invited voluntarily but they were not willing to come.
Let’s continue from verse 4. It says: Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited.” So, the King did them an honor; they were not willing. He sent out invitation to them. He said, “Go to those who were invited, ‘See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding. You are not bringing anything to the wedding. You are invited as a guest, come and enjoy, and the Bible says, “They are not willing to go.” This picture in the parable that Jesus was telling in Matthew chapter 22, is the picture of the glory that is available in God.
The Bible says, “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain King.” That King is God; the Lord of lords, and the King of kings. He prepared a wedding feast for His Son Jesus Christ and invited all to come. John chapter 3 verse 16 says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes [whosoever is invited].” And accepts the invitation, “will not perish in hunger and lack, will not perish in sorrow, will not perish in shame, but will have everlasting life [glory, honor, wisdom].” Everything is encapsulated in eternal life because He has prepared His dinner. I have prepared a feast; the King was saying to all that he had invited. In the same way, God has extended the invitation to eternal life. The Bible says, “It is the Lord’s pleasure that all will believe.” Meaning, the invitation was extended to everyone, but as many as are willing to come.
What qualifies you for the enjoyment; as a benefactor of the glory, is that you are willing. And what willingness means is that you believe in your heart and you confess with your mouth. What were the servants looking for? Let us come to you today, the King has invited you, “Oh yes! It is a wonderful feast and I will be there.” What happened? Believe in your heart. Confess with your mouth, and as you come, you will enjoy what’s available; what has been prepared. The king was saying to them, his servants, this is the message you will take to them, “Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.”
Beloved, can I speak the truth to you in Christ Jesus? In Christ Jesus, all things are ready. Those whom Christ has selected, as they have believed and followed him, all things are ready. You must believe. The glory that is in God is not reserved for some General Overseers; we are all benefactors of that glory; Jesus didn’t die only for your senior pastor. He died for you, as it is true for me. His blood is potent for me as it is for you. His power is available for me as it is for you. His glory is available for me as it is for you. All that you need to do is that there is a willingness to come. Are you willing to come?
Verse 5 of our text, Matthew chapter 22, says, but they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. Why should I be seeking Jesus, why should I live my life for Jesus; be pursuing after Jesus, I have businesses to attend to.
And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them.” Why are you disturbing us? Like some people are doing to ministers of Christ in some countries, once you bring the message of Good News to them, they will seize and imprisoned the missionaries, the evangelists, and kill them. But see what the Bible says, “But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.
The wedding is ready and I am not canceling. Because some people refused to accept the invitation to my son’s wedding does not mean I will cancel it. The wedding will hold. So, He said, “The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.” What made them not worthy? It was because of their lack of willingness. Because you were not born in Israel, or that you don’t have a Bible name, does not make you unworthy. What makes you worthy is your willingness. The willingness that comes from your heart. Is your heart opened to Jesus? Such heart that believes and receives Him.
Jesus continued in verse 9:
“Therefore, go into the highways [cities, villages, markets, hospitals, schools; primary schools, secondary schools], and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.”
The amazing part of that expression is that, even if a prostitute is willing today, she will become a benefactor of glory. If a witch that had been killing people for years turned to the Lord today, and become willing, she will become a benefactor of glory. At this point, there is no exclusivity to the wedding guest. When the people refused and they ill-treated the messengers, what did God do, He threw the invitation open. “As many as you find, whether they are good or bad.” I don’t care about their past, I am not going to consult their past, to qualify them for what is going on. As long as they are willing to attend, they will benefit.
The Bible says, “Both the bad and the good.” And the wedding hall was filled with guests. This gives me great joy, even though the devil is fighting tooth and nail to make sure that the wedding hall is empty, God is raising everyday men and women that will make the hall filled. The Bible says: “Jesus has been given a name that is above every other name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow.” Even if they are not bowing now, every knee will bow. Whether they are speaking against Him now or blaspheming Him now, every knee will bow. “And every mouth will confess that Jesus is the Lord.”
Let’s continue the reading from verse 11 to verse 14:
But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So, he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
That verse 12 is important to us as disciple, a people that is longing to follow after the lifestyle of our Master. When you have come, even though the invitation is to both good and bad, once you have come in, you must wear the garment. To be a benefactor, you must wear the garment. You must be clothed with Christ. Until you have put on Christ, you cannot benefit. The glory is in Christ, Christ is the qualifier. The wedding garment is given by Christ. Even if you are coming bad, you must put on the garment. Even though you have a past, you must put on a conscious effort to put on the garment. It is only when you have the garment on, that you can actually benefit. So, what is the Bible saying to us in this place? You could be in Church, your name could be Nathanail or Benjamin, without putting on Christ, if you are not in Christ, you don’t qualify. You could say hallelujah and say amen and have our language, or even try to speak in tongue, if you are not in Christ; if you don’t put on Christ, you will not benefit.
What qualifies us is that you are putting on Christ. There are many people in the wedding hall, in the Church, in various denominations, that don’t have the wedding garment, there are many people without the wedding garment, that if you were to look at your life critically, you will know that you have been practicing religion, but you don’t have Christ. The Bible says, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” That is how you become a benefactor: “Christ in you, the hope of glory”. There is no hope of glory without Christ. Without Christ are crisis.
Even though you could say hallelujah, you remember the 7 sons of Sceva, they mentioned Jesus, but they were not in Christ. They wanted to enjoy the glory, oh, that we could exorcise demons. And they went to that demon-possessed, and they said, “We exorcise you in the name of Jesus that Paul preached.” And the demon looked at them, “Paul we know, Jesus we know, but who are you?” “We can’t find you in Christ.” “You don’t have the wedding garment”. And the men were speechless. As disciples of Christ Jesus, it is important and we must be conscious of this because this is how we benefit. The Bible says, “I have prepared my dinner.” In this parable talking about God the Father, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready.”
When God says all things are ready, He is not joking. God prepares to the degree of who He is. If He says, “The cattle on the 1000 hills are mine”, then you know that oxen and cattle are child’s play where God is concerned. But what qualifies us, is that we have the wedding garment. That we are not just seated in the wedding hall, and you think, you will be served. The Bible says, “But when the king came in to see the guests,” He saw a man there who didn’t put on the wedding garment, he said, Afterall, I have entered the hall, and I must be served — I must get my own portion. That is what many believers are doing, you come to service and you pray, I want to get my own portion, and there is no wedding garment, and it seems you are praying to sealed heaven.
The heavens over the children of God are always opened because what qualifies us is Christ. The Bible says, “We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus”. Every time you show up, you show up in Christ, and anytime God sees you, He sees Christ in you. So, there is no refusing you. Why? You are coming in Christ. With your wedding garment, you get served. Sir, what do you need to be served in your life, or what do you need God to attend to in your life? God says, “All things are ready”. But do you have your wedding garment? Are you sure that you have your wedding garment? This is how we know that we are the children of God; by His Spirit that is in us. This is how we know that we are sealed, that we are guaranteed, that we belong to God by His Spirit within us.
The Bible says, “It is the Spirit that bears witness with our own spirits that we are sons of God.” That we are the children of God; that we are worthy. We are worthy, not that we have worked for it, we are worthy not because we have worked for it, what qualifies us is the mercy of God and His grace. That is why the Bible says, “When you come, come boldly before the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help us in the time of need.” What is it that you are longing to receive, God is not withholding it from you because He hates you? God is a God of order, no matter how much you cry, it wouldn’t change the person that God is, no matter how much you fast, it doesn’t change who God is, God is principled God, God is God of order. There is a way to do things, even though He wanted the wedding hall to be filled, He sent out a man. See the stress He went through, He invited some special quest when the people refused to come, He said, “Go and find anybody, both good and bad.” Still, when He came to the wedding hall, He wouldn’t look away from a man without the wedding garment — that is God!
Iniquity cannot stand before Him and be justified. Sin cannot stand before Him and be justified. And this is what King David knew, he said, “Create in me a clean heart, Oh Lord, and renew a right spirit within me, cast me not away from your presence”. If I don’t have a new heart, I will be cast away. That was what happened to that man, the king said to his servant, “Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” As believers, we need to continue to evaluate ourselves. Do we want to benefit from the glory that is in Christ? Then we must put on Christ. It is not time to be assuming; going off and on in Christ; I think I am there, I think I love the Lord, this life I am living, I am not even sure, no, you must be sure that you are Christ, if not you will become a reprobate. When the King comes into the wedding hall, He can send you out. What makes you worthy is that you have your wedding garment.
How many of us want to be served by God ‘you desire that God attend to you’? Do you know that the Bible says, “With God All things are possible with God?” What it means is that there is no kind of delicacies, that is not prepared and available in God. But all that will separate you from being served is that you don’t have your wedding garment.
I pray that the Lord help us in Jesus’ name!
