I'll turn with me this afternoon to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 14. We'll be looking at verses 7 to 14 in the Gospel of Luke. And let's look to our God at prayer. Lord, your glory is very great. You are able to see into the depths of your people's hearts. You are able to teach us with your secret grace. And you are able, by your Spirit, to change us to be the people that you would have us to be in word and deed. And we pray, Lord, that as we look into your word this afternoon, that we would see, and perhaps for the first time, how we can be thankful to take the lowest place in the table that you have set for us. We ask, Father, that you will give us grace so that the truth will come to our hearts of power, and that we will truly benefit from this time of study around your word this afternoon. For we pray and ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Luke chapter 14, verse 7. So Jesus told a parable to those who were invited. He was in one of the houses of the Pharisees, the rulers of the Pharisees, eating bread. 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, friends, 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. Well, Jesus had been invited to the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, it says in verse 1. There were a number of Pharisees there that day, and they were watching Jesus closely to see what he would do while he was there, so that they might find something to accuse him of, since it was a Sabbath day. And Jesus knew that these men had added many things to the true observance of the Sabbath. Things which so burdened men down that they couldn't find real rest or healing for either soul or body. He asked them a question. Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? And they believed that it was not lawful. That it was a form of work which ought not to be done. on that holy day, but instead of trying to answer Jesus' question, they kept silent, so that Jesus would be forced to answer the question for them. Jesus didn't hesitate one iota of time. It says in verse 4, He took him and healed him and let him go. And then he gave them the rebuke which they so richly deserved. 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 those who were there that day would have immediately pulled their donkey or their ox out of the pit. They couldn't answer him a word. So he went on to tell them a parable, those who were invited to this feast, when he noted how they chose the best places for themselves. They had come there to make observations on the Lord of Glory, thinking that he was a mere man. But they found themselves being righteously evaluated by one who would someday be their eternal judge. And you and I need to understand something from this as we begin our time here this afternoon. You and I are given this time in living our lives to learn to be humble and to receive the teaching and observations of the Lord Jesus, not only upon the Pharisees of that day, but also upon ourselves as well. We see the mistakes and the sins of the Pharisees, don't we? But do we see our own mistakes? And do we see our own sins? The reality for the disciple of Christ today is that our Lord is most certainly risen from the dead and has been given all power and all authority in heaven and earth. His eyes are a flame of fire, it says, to discern the truth concerning your heart, concerning my heart, concerning our attitudes and our actions, and yet I believe and I trust that there is a difference between many of you here today and the Pharisees. Many of you here today have come to know Christ's love and you've come to know Christ's grace to your sinful heart. You have been forgiven of all your sins and you are His willing hearers and willing learners. The truth that Jesus is teaching in this passage is that a true disciple of His The one who knows him and who would do service for him is the person who is humble. Do you want to do service to Christ? Then you must be one who is humble. I want to tie this truth in with the theme of Thanksgiving Day today in this way. I believe that the person who is thankful will, being taught by the grace of God, become humble. But in becoming humble, he will not turn in on himself and become an island to himself. Do you see what I'm trying to say? He will look outside from himself to see how he might serve Christ. A humble person doesn't turn in on themselves and just think about themselves and say, well, it doesn't really matter how I live. Nobody else really knows or cares about me. You see, the humble, the truly humble person will look outside of themselves and they will see how they might serve Christ. They will ask the Lord, how might I serve you? And this begins when a person comes to see how their attitudes in relation to themselves and others need to change to become more like the person who Jesus describes in this parable so that God will be glorified in their life. I want us to ask ourselves three questions this afternoon in relation to this parable to determine whether we are making progress in becoming humble, whether we are becoming more holy, more loving people as 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 7 to 9? Secondly, are you willing to show forth your thankfulness in taking the lowest position at the table? Verses 10 and 11. And then thirdly, 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. Well, first of all, are you thankful to have received the invitation to this wedding feast that Jesus is talking about here in verses 7 and 9? Remember now, this is a parable that Jesus told. It is an earthly story with a heavenly or a spiritual meaning. Jesus is not simply trying to make the Pharisees change their views on etiquette. It's meant to refute their pride, their sense of self-importance. And Jesus says, 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 save you give place to this man, and you be given with shame to take the lowest place." So this feast to which Jesus and the others were invited was not a wedding feast. It was a Sabbath feast. How do we know that? Well, it was on the Sabbath, and they didn't have weddings on the Sabbath. in that day. Yet the parable says a wedding feast. Why? I think that it's because in his parable the Lord Jesus is actually directing them 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 at that time. and to which all and everyone is invited to in our own day. That is the gospel feast, the feast of the gospel. It is not to trust in their own evaluation of themselves, but rather God's evaluation of them. It is to learn to see yourself as a sinner needing grace and salvation. And it is an invitation to which none without grace will respond to in a right way in the sense of their desiring to see their need to be saved. The Pharisees were those who thought that because of their great and affected spirituality in relation to their own outward keeping of God's moral and ceremonial law, that they were entitled to the best seats in the house of worship or at peace. And I'm saying this in a literal fashion. They literally went around trying to choose the best seats for themselves that they could find in whatever social situation or religious situation that they were in. That's just what they did. They thought themselves to be wise and righteous in their own eyes and in the eyes of others whom they believed that they were better there. And Jesus condemns them for this over in Matthew chapter 23. If you will turn over there with me to Matthew chapter 23. In Matthew 23, we find that Jesus is castigating the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. in verses 1 to 4 and then 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 enlarge the borders of their garments they love the best places at the feasts and 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 this afternoon. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. So I believe that there's more here to this parable than meets the eye. The invitation being given is being given by God Himself. And is the instruction that each man or woman is not to think more highly of themselves than they should. There are other people in the world who are more honorable than ourselves. People whom the one who gave the invitation knows should have the highest places at the table. The highest place at the table in the eyes of the Pharisees was the place which seemed most desirable to themselves in terms of the way that other men who were trying to be religious without God see things. They wanted social standing. They wanted to be looked up to and to be admired. They would choose for themselves that best position and they saw themselves as worthy of it because of their many supposedly good words and their following the traditions of other religious Jewish men and leaders. But actually in the Lord's eyes it was and is the place and the position which is bestowed by God upon those who are striving by His grace to be faithful to Him and to His word. See, that too is the best place that the table is going to be given to. It is accepting the invitation, now listen to this, it is accepting the invitation to see yourself as unworthy of the best place. unworthy to come to the table at all. And yet God and Christ invite sinners to the greatest of all feasts in the gospel. And the proof of this is in the continuation of the parable in verses 15 and following of Luke chapter 14. It says, 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 Jesus said to him, a certain man gave a great supper and invited them." See, that's the continuation of the parable, is the parable of the great feast, the gospel feast, which the Jews, by and large, rejected. The Pharisees were choosing the best seats for themselves in the synagogue, but the Lord Jesus is inviting them not to the kingdom of self-righteous men, but to the kingdom of God. That's what he's inviting them to. He is telling them that when the one who invited you, he says to them, comes himself to the feast, and he sees that you have put yourself in the place of honor, you're going to be forced to give place, he says to them. You're going to give place to another who is worthy of the honor of having the best seat at the table. There will be a sense of shame, he says, attended upon this because you had a wrong view of yourself. Now let me ask you this afternoon 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 now as an undeserving sinner? If you do not see yourself this way, you have deceived yourself. You have deceived yourself to think that you can choose the high place, the high position at the table of having eternal life, but in the end, you're going to be forced to give place someday to the people who you now think yourself to be better than. People who've come to see their need of praise. People who've come to see their need of grace. You see, our pride can lead us to think that we really deserve that higher place, when all the while the Lord has not intended it. You didn't understand his ways. This is what he's saying in effect of these Pharisees. And you spurned your need to come to the feast on his terms. His principles of promotion are far different from yours. And I would urge you this afternoon that anyone who thinks that way, the way I've just described, that you would repent and that you would rethink the presumptuous course that you have taken. Because Christ's kingdom is standing everything on its head. It's those who are humbled who are going to be exalted. It is those who exalt themselves who are going to be humbled. And that leads us to our second question. Are you willing to show forth your thankfulness? at this Thanksgiving time, and taking the lowest position at the table. And I'm speaking to us all, not just one. Verses 10 and 11. But when you are invited, Jesus says, go and sit down at 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. Now Jesus is speaking here about promotion in the kingdom of God. The feast is the invitation to come through the gospel and feed upon the grace and truth which comes to you through the Lord Jesus Christ, seeing yourself as a sinner. The issue of honor and position are still there. The issue of honor and position are still there when you come to this feast. They are set before you even after you accept the invitation and you come to Christ. You will still have to ask yourself, am I thankful enough with what grace and gifts and talents that I have gotten from God to take the lowest position at the table and not to exalt myself? You see, the person who is thankful for the great salvation which has been given to them in Christ should be willing to humble themselves to be taught and take the lowest position. And yet many Christians, both young and old, are not willing. I see this as a real problem in modern day Christianity especially. But I'm sure it's been a problem all the way down through time. Learning this principle of truth and consciously choosing to take the lowest place do not come automatically in the Christian life. They don't come when you first believe it. You'll automatically take the lowest place at the table. Now let me give you a biblical example of this. Turn with me to Matthew chapter 20 and verse 20. Matthew chapter 20 and verse 20. 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 in your right hand and the other on your 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 the sin on my right hand and on my left is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom It is prepared by my Father, and when the sin heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers." Now 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 to suffer. for his name's sake. The brothers James and John were willing to do both. But then Jesus spells it out when they tell him that they are willing to suffer for him. He says, it is not mine to give. but it is for those for whom it's been prepared by my Father." That is, God the Father has plans and purposes formed long ago with perfect faithfulness about who would sit on Jesus' right hand or on his left. God has certain people in mind to honor with high positions in Christ's kingdom, both in this life and in the next. and yet you and I do not know who they are aren't you glad? we may think that we may know we might think that we know who they are but chances are we would 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 is presently in this life. So all the people that you perhaps most admire in the Christian life may not necessarily have the highest positions in the eternal kingdom. Now that should not surprise you. And the reason is because God knows the heart, and He also knows the life, and He knows what He purposed, and He knows what He's planned, and He knows what He wants to do with that person. We do not know how God uses various things that are done by that person to fulfill God's purposes. We don't know. God can take the life of the most humble person and use it in the most mighty way. to achieve spectacular success and results if he so desires. He can do this. The one thing that we do know is that in the final analysis that God's giving these privileged positions in the coming eternal kingdom are according to the faithfulness of the person considered. Luke 19 verse 60 the parable of the minas. Do you remember that, where they were given, one was given ten, one was given five, another one? Luke 19, 16, Then came the first, saying, Master, your mina has earned ten minas. In other words, he took all that he, he had, everything given to him in gifts and graces, natural abilities and spiritual, and he did everything he could to labor it for his master. And he had earned ten more minutes, that's the rate of exchange in this case, according to his work. And he said to him, well done, good servant, because you were faithful in a very little, he says, have authority over ten cities. Now that's ten cities of people. For the one who was faithful in a little thing. In other words, you see how faithfulness to small things brings about a bestowal of a position at the head of the table. Do you see that? I hope that you see that. It's because the person humbled himself. It wasn't that he thought of himself as all that great. He'd been given great abilities and been trusted with great resources. But it's called here being good or faithful to the little things. What about attaining to positions in this life, in the church, in 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 positions that should be striven for as much as youthfulness. to the master, not the position that should be striven for, whether elder or deacon or whatever other position, perhaps even in political realm. It's not that that should be striven for, not the position itself, but usefulness in the kingdom of God. Usefulness to the master does not require position, but it may lead to it. And the requisite for great usefulness is great humility. The requisite for great usefulness is great humility. It's found in taking the lowest position, being faithful in little things that you might over time become faithful in much. That you might get to move up the table. You start out low. Nobody recognizes you. I've been reading the, starting to read the biography of George W. Bush that's just come out. Tremendous book, by the way. But he talks about his father. And he talks about his early career, how he was very willing to clean toilets and to do very small jobs. You know, that he might be faithful to the little things that he was entrusted with. I'm telling you, that is where the action is at. That is where the action is at, in terms of you're taking the lowest position and then moving up to the... asking to be moved up later on by the Lord. You're faithful in little things, the Lord can trust you with much. And He will. And so will the people around you. Let me put it this way, it's in working closely together with the elders of the church that you attend so that they can see the grace of God at work in your life, your commitment to the people of God, and to the work of Christ's church. If the Lord would have you to be in a position of elder or deacon, your faithfulness, I'm saying, in pursuing all the details of the tasks and the work of service that the Lord himself has called you to, will make it plain to everyone that you are worthy of the honor of serving Christ in one of those positions. But remember, it is the work of service that you are called to. It is not the attention and the recognition which the office might bring. All the glory for what you do should go to Christ. It's only God who can call you to go 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 Word. Boy, it's taken me a long time to learn that. You will only be brought to shame But God can give you favor in the eyes of his people and can exalt you in the proper way at the proper time. All this in connection with humility. As Augustine used to say, the first thing is humility, the second thing is humility, and the third thing is humility. Let me ask you if this is what you are striving for. to be humbling yourself and taking upon you the work of a bondservant, that's what your Master did. This is how you can show your thankfulness for all the grace that God has given to you and the privilege of serving Him. And then finally and very briefly, 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 peace, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just. You see the problem here, with the Pharisees was that they were all too prone to inviting their neighbors, their friends, and their brothers, their relatives, and their rich neighbors to the feast. They probably would very seldom, if ever, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind. So, in closing this sermon, I would ask you to consider whether you are thankful for the knowledge and the gifts and the resources the Lord has given to you and if you are, then will you not ask yourself whether you can be a host for the gospel feast do you ever invite people to dinner now listen to me do you ever invite people to dinner who really have great physical need People who, they can't do things for themselves very much. Poor people who many in society might disdain. What Jesus is saying here is that is where the action is at. The action is in these people that can't help themselves. If you would be a good gospel host, you will have them over, and you will feed them, and you will give them the gospel. And if you can make friends with them, that you will do it. Why? Because they can't repay you. But God sees it. And He will repay you at the resurrection of the just. Isn't that good? And so the questions that we have to ask ourselves in closing are these. Do we ever invite people to dinner who have great physical needs? Do we attempt to share the gospel with those who may have great difficulties in understanding all the major doctrines of the Bible? They say, well, you know, they're not Reformed. Well, how do people become Reformed? People become Reformed when they see the truth of the Reformed faith lived out in your life. That's why I became Reformed. I saw the truth of it lived out in my father's life and in the lives of other people. Do we humble ourselves to come down to the level of the poor and needy so we can truly minister to them? Those are questions that we have to ask ourselves as we come to the close of the sermon. I'm asking, 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 us ask ourselves whether we are truly thankful. And I pray it will be so with everyone. Every one of us here in this church, let's pray together. Father, we just thank you for the power of this parable. We thank you for the power of your example and your love, and yet holding steadfastly to the truth and proclaiming it. And Lord, we would be more like you. We pray, Father, that you would help us to thankfully remember the invitation that you gave us to the feast and how you brought us to your table. We pray, O Lord, that we'd be willing to take the lowest place. And we pray that we would be grateful hosts to people who are in need and people who need the Gospel. Give us the wisdom Dear Lord, in the way that we live, think, and how we can bring people like this to your table, we ask and we pray these things, asking for you to bless each one of us this year in our Thanksgiving time with our relatives and friends. We pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, let's close our worship by singing hymn number 271 together.