If you'll turn with me in your Bibles to Luke chapter 14. Luke chapter 14, I'm going to be reading the first 14 verses. And what an interesting passage this is. I'm going to be preaching it in the context of Thanksgiving Day that is coming this week. And basically asking if you're thankful. In this case, are you thankful to take the lowest place at the table when you're invited to a feast? So let's bow together for prayer before I begin with you. Father, thank you that I can preach this message to your people here just a few days now before Thanksgiving Day. It is our prayer that we would be thankful people at all times not just when the national day rolls around, but that we would be able to give you thanks each and every day and in everything give thanks for we know that this is your will. But sometimes Lord, we are not prepared to take the lowest place at the table in terms of people around us being seen more than ourselves. or praised more than ourselves, or taken notice of by more than ourselves. And so we pray that you will give us a humble heart, that you will help us to become servants of yourself and servants to each other. We pray that your name would be magnified through our lives, even in relation to having heard this sermon. May we live to your glory and humbly and joyfully serve you. with all of our heart in these days. We ask it in your precious name, Lord Jesus. Amen. Luke 14, verse one. Now it happened as Jesus went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched him closely. And behold, there was a certain man before him who had dropsy. And Jesus answering spoke to the lawyers and the Pharisees saying, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? But they kept silent and he took him and healed him and let him go. Then he answered them saying, which of you having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day? And they could not answer him regarding these things. So he told a parable to those who were invited when he noted how they chose the best places, saying to them, when you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him. And he who invited you and him come and say to you, give place to this man And then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place so that when he who invited you comes, he may say to you, friend, go up higher. Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. Then he also said to him who invited him, when you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just. So the truth that Jesus is teaching in this passage is that a true disciple of his, one who knows him and would serve him, is the person, he's a person who is humble. It's something which Christ would have each of us to learn, and I want to tie this truth in with the theme of Thanksgiving Day in this way. I believe that if you are thankful, if you are being taught by the grace of God, you will become a humble person. But I believe that in your becoming humble, you will not turn in on yourself, and become an island to yourself, but rather you will look outside of yourself to see how you might serve our Lord. So let's ask ourselves some questions in relation to this parable to determine whether we're making progress in becoming the humble and holy and loving people that Jesus would have us to be. First of all, are you thankful to have received the invitation to this wedding feast that Jesus is talking about in verses seven to nine? Jesus had been invited to the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread, and it was the Sabbath day. It says in verse one, and there were a number of Pharisees there that day, and they were watching Jesus closely. They wanted to see what he was going to do while he was there. They were so self-righteous that they were hoping that they might find something to accuse him of. Since Jesus knew that these men had added many things to the true observance of the Sabbath, he asked them a question. Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? They believed that it was not lawful. They believed that it was a form of work. which ought not to be done on that holy day. But instead of trying to answer Jesus's question, they kept silent so that Jesus would be forced to answer the question for them. And Jesus didn't hesitate for a moment. In verse four, it says that he took him and healed him and let him go. And then he gave them this rebuke, which they were so richly deserving of. Which of you having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day? So it was no doubt true that all of those who were there that day would have immediately pulled their donkey or their ox out of the pit. And so they couldn't answer him a word. And since he knew that they needed wise instruction, he went on to tell them a parable. It was a parable about those who were invited to a wedding feast. When they came to this feast, They chose the best positions for themselves. So these lawyers and these Pharisees who had come there to evaluate the righteousness of the Lord Jesus found themselves being righteously evaluated. They didn't want to receive his teaching. They were not humble. They wanted the best places at the spiritual table in Israel. They thought that they were worthy of them. So you and I, we need to understand from this that we are given this time in living our lives as Christians to learn to be humble and to receive the teaching of our Lord Jesus upon our view of ourselves. The reality for us as disciples of Christ today is that our Lord most certainly is risen from the dead. He's alive forevermore. He's seated at the right hand of God. He has been given all power and authority in heaven and earth. His eyes are a flame of fire to discern the truth concerning your heart and my heart. and your actions and my actions. And yet I trust that you know that there's a difference between those who know the Lord and these Pharisees. Many of you here today have come to know the Lord's love and his grace at work in your own heart. You have come to realize it's simple though you be, that he died for your sins and his righteousness has been imputed to you. And you stand before God as perfect and complete because of that righteousness. I'm saying you are willing to be his disciple and his follower. Remember now, this is a parable that Jesus was telling them. It was an earthly story with a heavenly or a spiritual meaning. And Jesus is not simply trying to make the Pharisees change their views of etiquette. I want you to see that. This parable was meant to show them their pride and their sense of self-importance. Jesus says in verse 8, when you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place. lest one more honorable than you be invited by him. And he who invited you and him come and say to you, give place to this man. And then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. So this actual feast to which Jesus and the others were invited was not a wedding feast. The actual feast was a Sabbath feast. Weddings did not take place on the Sabbath day. And yet the parable says a wedding feast. Why? I think it's because in his parable the Lord Jesus is actually directing them and us to a greater feast than the one that these Pharisees were presently attending. He's directing their attention to the wedding feast which all Jews were invited to in that time and to which all and everyone is invited to in our day also. It's a gospel wedding feast of seeing your need to partake of the grace of Christ and to be spiritually married to him. He's saying that to be a partaker of himself and his salvation and to follow him, it's not good to trust in your own evaluation of yourself. Rather, you must think of God's evaluation of you. God would have you to see yourself as a sinner needing grace and salvation for the forgiveness of your sins. And further, you will also need grace in order to live the Christian life in a manner pleasing to God. The Pharisees didn't like the thought that they needed grace from Christ. The Pharisees were those because they thought that they were spiritual by their own keeping of God's law, that they were entitled to the best seats. in this place, that they were at that time the best seats in the house of worship or at any feast. So I'm saying this in a literal as well as a spiritual fashion, this is just what they did They thought themselves to be wise, they thought themselves to be righteous in their own eyes, and in the eyes of others whom they believed they were better than. And Jesus condemns them for this over in Matthew 23 and verses 1 to 4 and in verse 5. He says to the multitudes and to his disciples, but all of their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and they enlarge the borders of their garments. They love the best places at the feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, rabbi, rabbi, And then down in verse 12, he repeats the same words that he uses in this parable that we're studying, and whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. So I believe that there is more here to this parable than meets the eye. The invitation which is being given is being given by God Himself. And it's the instruction that each man or woman is not to think more highly of themselves than they ought. There are other people in the world who are more honorable than we are. They are people whom God knows should have the highest places at the table. The highest place at the table in the eyes of these Pharisees was the place which seemed most desirable to themselves in terms of the way that other men would see them. That is those men who were also trying to be outwardly righteous. and who trusted in their own righteousness. They would choose for themselves that best position to be seen by other religious men as great. And they saw themselves as worthy of this position because of their many supposed good works and their following the traditions of other religious Jewish men. Actually, the highest place in the Lord's eyes was and is the place and position which is bestowed by God Himself. I hope that you can see this. God knows who is worthy of the highest position. And the persons who are worthy are striving by God's grace to be faithful to Him and to His Word. So I'm trying to show you that it's by accepting the invitation to see yourself as unworthy of the best place, unworthy to come to the table at all. And yet God in Christ invites sinners to the greatest of all feasts in the gospel. The proof of this is in the continuation of the parable in verses 15 and following it says there, Now, when one of those who sat at the table with him heard these things, he said to Jesus, blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. And then Jesus said to them, a certain man gave a great supper and invited many. It's the parable of the gospel feast. These Pharisees were choosing the best seats for themselves. in the synagogues, but the Lord Jesus was inviting them not to the kingdom of self-righteous religious men, but to the kingdom of God. He was telling them that when one, the one who has invited them, himself comes to the feast, meaning himself, if they truly understood it, and he sees that you have put yourself in the place of honor, that you will be forced to give place to another who is more worthy. of the honor of having the best seat at the table. In other words, we must all ask ourselves whether we have a wrong view of ourselves. Let me ask you if you are thankful for the gospel. Are you thankful for the invitation which God has extended to you to come and sit at the table in the eternal kingdom of God? Are you thankful? that your pride has been humbled and that you see yourself as an undeserving, unworthy sinner. If you do not see yourself this way, I'm sure that you have deceived yourself to think that you can choose the high position at the table of having eternal life. But in the end, Jesus says that you will be forced to give place someday to the people who you now think yourself to be better than. people who have come to see their need of Christ and His grace. So, what is it that leads men to this? It's their pride, isn't it? That they really think that they deserve that higher place when all the while the Lord didn't intend it for them. They didn't understand His ways. They spurned their need to come and to come to the feast and have it on gospel terms. God's terms in Christ. So God's principles of promotion are far different from ours, is what I'm trying to show you. And I would urge you to repent and rethink this presumptuous course that you have taken if you really think that you deserve the higher place. when all the while the Lord hasn't intended it. Come to the feast and seat yourself at the lowest position. This brings us then to our second question. Are you willing to show forth your thankfulness in taking the lowest position at the table? Verses 10 and 11. But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place so that when he who invited you comes, he may say to you, friend, Go up higher, then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. So Jesus is now speaking about promotion in the kingdom of God. And the feast is the invitation to come through the gospel and feed upon the grace and truth which comes to you through our Lord Jesus. You see yourself as a sinner. The issue of honor and position are still there. set before you. So even after you accept the invitation and come to Christ, you'll have to ask yourself, am I thankful enough with what grace and gifts and talents I have been given by you, my God, to take the lowest position? at the table. So you see, the person who is thankful for the great salvation which has been given to them in Christ, I'm saying, should be willing to humble themselves to be taught and take the lowest position. And yet many Christians, both young and old or not, I'm trying to say that learning this principle of truth and consciously choosing to take the lowest place do not come automatically. in your living the Christian life. Let me give you a biblical example of this. I want you to turn with me over to Matthew chapter 20, and I'll begin reading to you in verse 20. It says, Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from him. And he said to her, what do you wish? She said to him, grant that these two sons of mine may sit one on your right hand and the other on the left in your kingdom. But Jesus answered and said, you do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said to him, we are able. So he said to them, You will indeed drink my cup and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with. But to sit on my right hand and on my left is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by the father. And when the 10 heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. Now I want you to notice how Jesus does not say that there is no high and privileged position such as sitting at his right hand or his left in his kingdom. He simply says first that it takes being able to take the lowest place at the table and to suffer for his namesake. The brothers James and John, they actually were willing to do both. They said we're willing. But then Jesus spells it out to them When they tell him that they are willing to suffer for him, he says, it's not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my father. That is God the father has plans and purposes formed long ago with perfect faithfulness and what God has purposed, it shall stand. No purpose of his shall be thwarted and especially in relation to what position men have in his son's kingdom. Let me ask you whether you have grasped this idea, that God has certain people in mind to honor with high positions in Christ's kingdom, both in this life and in the next. And you and I do not know who they are. Now we may think that we might know who they are, but chances are we will be wrong. Why? Because God's evaluation of them will take vastly more into consideration than present gifts and talents and how popular a person presently is in this life. You and I, we cannot see the picture of a man's whole life. like God does. We do not know how God uses various things that are done by that person to fulfill God's purposes. The one thing that we do know is that in the final analysis, God's giving these privileged positions in the coming eternal kingdom are according to the faithfulness of the person considered. Luke 19, 16 says, then came the first saying, Master, your mina has earned 10 minas. And he said to him, well done, good servant, because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over 10 cities. So you see how faithfulness to small things brings about a bestowal of a position at the head of the table. What about attaining two positions in this life in the church and the work of the kingdom here and now? Is it not God who raises up men to these important positions? Yes, it is. But it is not the position that should be strived for as much as usefulness to the master. Usefulness to the master does not require position, but it may lead to it. And the requisite for great usefulness is great humility. That's what I'm trying to show you here. It's found in taking the lowest position, being faithful in the little things, that you might over time become faithful in much. It's in working closely together with the elders of your church, for instance, so that they can see the grace of God at work in your life. They are looking at your commitment to the people of God and to the work of Christ's church here in this place. If the Lord would have you, to be in a position of elder or deacon, he will be looking at your faithfulness, is what I'm trying to show you, in pursuing all of the details of the tasks and the work of service that he has called you to. And he will make it plain to everyone that you are worthy of the honor of serving Christ in one of those positions. But you should remember that it is to the work of serving that you are called. It's not for the attention, it's not for the recognition which the office might bring to you. All the glory for what you do should go to Christ. It's only God who can call you up higher so that you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. You never need to exalt yourself. in Christ's work. God will know how to promote you. Psalm 75, verses six and seven, promotion or exaltation comes neither from the east nor from the west, but God is judge. He puts down one and exalts another. Now third, let's think about this question. Will you continue to have A thankful spirit looking to do the Lord's bidding as you wait to go up higher at the table to which you have been called. Verses 12 to 14. Then he also said to him who invited him, when you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back. and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed because they cannot repay you. For you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just." So the problem here with the Pharisees was that they were all too prone to inviting their friends, their brothers, their relatives, and their rich neighbors to their feasts. They would probably, very seldom if ever, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind. So we need to consider whether we are thankful whether we are thankful for what knowledge and gifts and resources that the Lord has given to us in particular. And we do that by asking whether we are being hosts for the Lord's Gospel Feast. Do we ever invite people to dinner who really have great physical needs? Well, we had a good example of this just the other night at our Thanksgiving supper. And what a wonderful thing it was, wasn't it? To be able to have Jim Johnson come to the supper, and Jim Smith come to the supper, and see so many of you helping them get in and get out of the building. What an amazing thing it was. Do we attempt to share the gospel with those who may have great difficulties in understanding all the major doctrines of the faith? Do we humble ourselves to come down to the level of the poor and the needy so that we can truly minister to them? Let me ask this as I close this message. Will you continue to have a thankful spirit, showing forth your thankfulness by doing the Lord's bidding in this regard? As we celebrate Thanksgiving this year, let each of us ask ourselves whether we are truly thankful. And if you are, then even now begin to think of how you can be thankful even if you take the lowest place. Well, let's pray together. Father, we thank you for this wonderful message coming to us from the lips of the Lord Jesus that we should, as believers in you, be content and even thankful to take the lowest place at the table. We thank you for Thanksgiving, which is coming this week, and we pray that we would, even during the time that we're with family or friends or others that we might invite to celebrate Thanksgiving with us, that we would remember these things that have been preached this morning, that we would be those who are thankful to take the lowest place and even to serve. And we know that eventually you will say to us one day, come up higher and you will promote us if we are faithful in a way that you only can and which is best for us. So we pray that you will help us to see these things clearly and to rejoice in the truth of them. In Jesus name we ask it, amen.