Get Ready For The Wedding Banquet
LENT 2022 | DAY 27
Matthew 22 (NIV)
(Justin Ong, Chairperson, Mandarin Ministry)
READ:
Matthew 22:2-3, 8-13 (NIV)
2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.
13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
OBSERVE:
God’s plan for redemption and restoration of the world is like a Jewish marriage; there are 2 stages:
- Betrothal (1st coming of Christ)
- Wedding (2nd coming of Christ)
God is gracious. Out of His Prevenient Grace, the invitation by Jesus and through Jesus is extended to everyone – Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor – to come into the kingdom of God.
Accepting His invitation (Justifying Grace) is the first step to attend the Wedding. The next step is to get ready to put on the wedding clothes (Sanctifying Grace) provided by Jesus (Revelation 3:18) for the Wedding. Without putting on the wedding clothes, we will be disqualified to enter the Wedding.
APPLY:
I thank Jesus for His saving grace on the cross. It is not a one-time event of accepting Him as my Lord. I need to move from being a believer to becoming His good disciple, practising the daily filling of His Holy Spirit to live a victorious life over sin by His resurrection power for His glory.
DO:
By the Sanctifying Grace of the Holy Spirit, every day I will intentionally put off my old self which is corrupt through deceitful desires, and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesian 4:22-24)
PRAY:
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your wonderful and amazing saving grace. I surrender my will to Your Lordship every day. Teach me and lead me to be a good disciple worthy of Your calling so that I can love You with all my heart, and love my neighbours as myself. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
