November 22, 2025 • 53 mins
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Pastor Dale Tunnell (00:02):
Oh, praise the Lord for that beautiful special music we had today.
When mercy walked in just makes you want to shout hallelujah, doesn't it?
Yeah.
I've been telling you a little bit about our family.
I forgot to left out last week and didn't tell you about part of our family.
I had it written on my notes, but I didn't have slides last week.
(00:22):
And so I
Forgot to share.
I thought I would share a little bit about our parents.
This is Cheryl's parents.
Uh Neil and Carol Hunsberger.
That's a good German name, isn't it?
Yes.
Uh Cheryl grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
(00:43):
Neil and Carol raised five children there in Tulsa.
Two boys were the older two, and then three daughters, and Cheryl is the middle child.
That explains a lot when you get to know her.
She is the peacemaker of the family.
(01:08):
Wonderful family.
We are going to visit uh her father over Thanksgiving because this year his birthday is on Thanksgiving Day.
Now, I don't know if his favorite Mexican restaurant will be open Thanksgiving Day, but this is one of the past uh birthdays that we celebrated with him around Thanksgiving time.
(01:31):
Uh he enjoys Mexican food.
And so uh that's the place he wants to go out to eat.
Every time you ask him, Where do you want to go eat, Dad?
He says Mexican food.
Sometimes they'll say, well, where do you want to go?
And when we suggest Chinese
(01:54):
It's not going to happen.
Neil likes his Mexican food.
My parents are Dale and Bernita Tonnell.
They currently live in Brazilton, Georgia.
If you ask where they're from, they will tell you they grew up in Texas.
(02:15):
Uh my dad is from El Paso, Texas.
My mom is from Happy, Texas, just outside of Amarillo.
Um and I tell people I'm a Texan even though I never lived there.
I say if you get two Texans together and they have a child, they're a Texan.
Uh that's I mean that happens if you get a mother rat and a father rat, they turn out a baby rat.
(02:41):
You get two Texans together, they have a
Even though I've never lived there.
They are currently pastoring in Brazzelton, Georgia.
My dad retired when he hit 70 and uh went off and did evangelism for a couple of years, and then the church that he was in
(03:08):
close to where he lived, said they wanted to plant a church.
And since he was an elder in the church, they said, would you plant a church?
And he said, I'd love to.
And so he planted a church just a mile, mile and a half from his house.
And uh they are busier now in retirement than they were as full-time pastors, if that's possible.
(03:33):
Their small church has a food pantry and they are working in that food pantry at least five days a week.
And uh so they are busy, busy.
I do have a younger brother.
No, that's not my younger brother.
That's my grandson.
(03:54):
But I do have a younger brother.
His name is Bobby.
He does live in Amarello, Texas.
He went back and lived close to my grandparents there.
And uh that happened to be where mom and dad were pastoring or living at the time when he graduated from high school.
So he got married there and uh stayed there in Amarilla all the
(04:19):
years.
That's a little bit about our parents and our families.
Let's have a word of prayer.
Our gracious Heavenly Father
For the next few minutes, Lord, I pray that the words that come out of my mouth might be pleasing to you.
Words that will
(04:42):
Be guided by your Holy Spirit.
And that will be edifying to the body that is meeting here today
Lord, I desire for you to be lifted up and exalted so that we can be drawn to you.
And that only happens if you reveal yourself, Lord.
So please show up today.
(05:07):
I ask in Jesus' name.
Amen.
They tell us this is the most wonderful time of the year.
Have you heard that?
Many times.
Have you had your radio on and heard the music?
It's the most wonderful time of the year.
You're hearing that song already?
(05:29):
And this is Thanksgiving season.
And you're already hearing that song?
Yeah, I kind of like Thanksgiving season.
It is one of my favorite times of year.
Because people are getting in the mood for what they call the holiday season, and at this point in time, they are still very cheerful.
(05:51):
When they're standing in line, they're still smiling, they're still polite, they're still kind, they're still gracious, they're still patient.
And so I like this time of year.
I like this time of year because people are talking about families.
I guess I should push the clicker here.
People are talking about families.
(06:12):
They're looking forward to getting together with their family.
They're looking forward to spending time together as they celebrate Thanksgiving.
Being thankful for what God has given to them.
Now, those that study these kind of things say that Thanksgiving is the family day, the one that is most traveled holiday of the year.
(06:43):
People will be going everywhere.
So if you don't have to travel, don't
But if you do get to travel, I encourage you to spend time with your family and be thankful for what God has given to us.
It's wonderful to have families.
(07:04):
I've always enjoyed think oh, I remember as a kid, Thanksgiving as soon as school would finish, I don't remember if school finished on Tuesday at noon or Wednesday at noon, but as soon as
s as soon as school would finish, we would get in the car and we would head to Amarilla Tex or Happy Texas.
(07:26):
to be with my grandparents there on the farm.
My grandparents raised a little bit of wheat and a little bit of cattle.
And it was always a joy to be there for Thanksgiving.
I can I can almost smell Thanksgiving on the farm.
(07:47):
I mean you go into the farm and there's that the the the fragrance of the farm.
Oh, if the wind was blowing the wrong direction.
My grandpa would go outside and he'd say, doesn't that smell good?
And I say, grandpa, that smells like the feedlots
(08:08):
And he says, no, I just smell money on the hoof.
Ah, what a wonderful smell.
That's not the Thanksgiving smell I was talking about.
It was grandma in the kitchen.
Oh, biscuits and gravy in the morning.
Pumpkin pie, apple pie.
(08:31):
It was a joyous occasion when that the cousins would come for the celebration.
It was fantastic
If there happened to be a little bit of snow in Amarilla, oh us cousins did not mind having a good snowball fight.
If there was no snow, we did not mind having a good wrestling match on the front lawn.
(08:57):
Grandma would call us and it's time for dinner.
We would go inside and the the adults would go into the formal dining room and gather around the table and
The children would go to the kitchen.
It looked like all the food was around the formal di in the formal dining table, and so I wanted to be in
(09:22):
the formal dining table because I like food.
And because there were adults there and I would rather talk to the adults than have conversations with the children.
I mean, even as a young child, I could have a good conversation with an adult.
And so I liked being at the adult table.
I liked the things they talked about rather than at the kids' table.
(09:46):
But I was always relegated to the children's table.
Any of you remember sitting at the children's table last year?
Oh, I mean, years ago.
Have you ever relegated someone to the children's table?
I mean, I don't think I got out of the children's table until I got married.
(10:11):
And then I got to sit at the adult table for a year, maybe two, and then we had a child, and I was back at the children's table.
Taking care of my child.
As I look back on that man
Just to have a seat at the table, any table.
(10:33):
It doesn't matter.
If I was sitting at the children's table, I'd be happy today to be at grandma's house.
Dee Grandma's cooking again.
Just to have a seat at the table
(10:55):
Are you looking forward to having a seat at the heavenly table?
I mean, can you imagine what that banquet table is going to look like?
I mean we talk about it, you know, extending from one end of heaven to the other.
How long is that table going to and we talk about things in college classes and stuff.
(11:16):
Are you going to be able to see the people at the other end?
You know, you think about some of the things.
Who is doing the preparing of the food for this banquet table
Who has set the table for this banquet table?
Who has produced the seating chart?
(11:39):
Those of you that have ever done that in a wedding ceremony or for a wedding reception, the seating chart is sometimes gets complicated.
Are you going to put Stephen and Paul next to each other or are you going to separate them?
Can you imagine some of the things of what it's going to be like at that banquet table?
(12:08):
Jesus told some stories and commented about the banquet table a couple of times.
I'd like for you to open your Bibles to Luke chapter 14.
Luke 14 is where we will spend most of our time today.
Luke chapter 14.
Some of them I have on the screen
So let's see if uh yeah, Luke 14.
(12:31):
Want to put it in context for us.
So Luke 14, beginning with verse 1.
It says now it happened as he went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath that they watched him closely.
Where does it say Jesus is during this mealtime?
(12:53):
At the house of a Pharisee.
Now, Pharisee, he was he was one of the Jewish leaders, one of the rulers for the Jews.
We talked previously a couple of weeks ago about Jesus going to the home of a
Tax collector, a publican, and eating a meal.
Now Jesus has gone to the other extreme and he's eating at the house of a Pharisee.
(13:19):
And people are still watching him intently to see what he is doing.
Now, I want you to skip down.
I want you to understand that context and come down with me to Luke chapter 14.
Steal and come down to verse fifteen.
It says Now when one of those who sat at the table with him heard these things, he said to him, Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.
(13:47):
Now we can say amen to that.
We're excited about.
Blessed is he that is going to eat bread in the kingdom of God.
We're looking forward to that.
But when Jesus heard it, it was one of those things that was a what do we call them these days?
A trigger for him.
(14:10):
He knew that there was something that he needed to say at this point in time.
At this house, at this place.
With the people that he was eating with.
And it says, he said to him,
(14:31):
A certain man gave a great supper, and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, Come, for all things are now ready.
But they all, with one accord, began to make excuses.
The first said to him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it.
I ask that you have me excused
(14:53):
And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them.
I ask that you have me excused.
Still another said, I have married a wife, and I therefore cannot come.
Pause for just a moment.
These sound like great excuses to not go to a banquet, doesn't it?
(15:16):
We read these things in this day and age, and we kind of look at this, and most of us have read this story before, and we shake our heads and we, oh my, what are these people thinking?
The first one has said that he has bought a piece of ground.
(15:38):
And he must go out and inspect it.
Now, some of you buy property.
If you're going to buy property, when do you expect it?
Inspect it.
Before you buy it.
Before you have made a down payment on it.
Before you have put out the investment of it.
(15:58):
I mean, that seems logical to us.
And for someone to invite me to a meal and to say, I'm sorry, I have bought a piece of property, I need to go inspect it, I mean that is just
Ludicrous.
I didn't use that other word I'm not supposed to use.
(16:21):
Sorry, those of you that were in his Sabbath school class this morning, you'll understand.
I mean
You inspect the piece of property beforehand, and if you're invited to a dinner, you go to the dinner to the banquet,
knowing full well that their the property is not going anywhere.
(16:46):
It's still, how much time does it take to go to a banquet?
I mean if you go to a really good banquet, how much time does it take?
Four, five hours?
I mean that would be
Okay, so you go six, seven hours.
(17:07):
I mean, wow.
The property is still sitting there.
You still have opportunity to go and look at it.
Why would you say?
And the same is true for the the five yoke of oxen.
I mean, if you're going to invest in five yoke of oxen, when do you inspect them?
(17:31):
When do you try them out to see if they can work together as a team
When do you you you look at them and and uh and observe them?
You do it beforehand, don't you?
Why would you even think that this is a plausible excuse?
(17:52):
Now, I said we're thinking like those of us today, maybe then
That was a good excuse.
I don't think so.
And the third excuse, I just got married.
(18:13):
I need to spend time with my wife.
Oh, great excuse.
Right?
I mean that's the only one that really makes sense.
Exactly.
I mean, if the person is inviting you to a to a dinner, surely you could say, Hey, I've recently got married.
(18:34):
Can my spouse come with me?
And the person that has given you the invitation is not going to deny you the privilege of bringing your spouse with you.
Why would you even think that was a good excuse?
We read this story and we we look at these things and we we shake our heads and we say, I would never do that.
(19:03):
Oh, but we do, don't we?
What kind of excuses do you use?
Too busy?
Too much work?
I have family issues.
My family's important.
Not enough sleep?
Yeah, that's a good one.
The weather.
(19:23):
Oh my.
I can't because it's raining.
I don't have an umbrella.
I can't, it's too hot.
I can't because I mean if you think about some of the excuses that we use
Uh I the family issue.
(19:45):
I mean, you're there in Luke fourteen.
Just go down a few verses here.
Come down to Luke 14, 25, 26.
Now great multitudes went with him, and he turned and said to them, If any one comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brother and sisters,
Yes, his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
(20:12):
What do you think Jesus thinks about your family excuse?
I know that's a little strong, isn't it?
We we we we take issue with that because we don't like the idea of
hating their father, mother, wife, children, brothers and sisters, and hating even your own life.
Notice that is there also.
I don't think.
Jesus was talking about self-hate.
(20:33):
So I'm going to put it in a different context for you.
Matthew, a parallel scripture saying
Similar terminology.
Matthew chapter 10, verses 37 through 39.
Says, He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.
And he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
(20:58):
And he who does not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.
He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.
Now that's kind of terminology that we understand a little bit better.
We we don't bristle quite as much as that hate terminology.
(21:19):
This one is, we don't love our family more than we love God.
So even that the
I've got a field.
I got a yoke of oxen.
I just got married.
I just I have family problems.
I mean
(21:40):
People use that excuse to not do what God is asking them to do.
Come back to Luke chapter fourteen
(22:02):
Come down to verse 21.
It says, so that servant came and reported these things to his master.
Reported all of the excuses.
It says, Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, Go out quickly into the
Streets and lanes of the city, and bring them in, the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind.
(22:29):
Go out and bring people in.
What you think about this?
Why is it the rich are often the first people to reject the gospel?
We remember what was said about the Laodicean church, Revelation chapter 3.
(22:54):
They are rich and in need of nothing.
They think they can do it on their own.
We ask the question, why does it seem like our church is only reaching poor people?
The reason is it's because poor people are desperate.
(23:21):
I am desperate
I have no hope other than Jesus Christ.
I know that my money will not buy heaven
I am desperate.
We are desperate.
(23:41):
We need Jesus.
And so, as a church, though, we need to keep this thing in mind.
The rich are not going to be those individuals that are coming to the door.
Let me in, let me in, let me in.
I want to be part of your your your your your community.
(24:04):
I want to be part of your church.
Those aren't usually the people.
I mean, I have a friend that he he told me, he said, Dale, he says, when I retire, he says, I'm going to start a yacht ministry.
I thought about that and I, what does a yacht ministry look like?
Is that because he he thought that nobody was trying to reach those individuals?
(24:27):
Or here because he wanted to associate with those kind of individuals.
And he was hoping to fundraise off of my church to start a yacht.
I don't know how that was going to work.
Usually we start ministries to help the poor, to minister to the poor.
(24:55):
And when we we do that, I want to tell you, Sister White says that one of the best ways to reach the rich is to minister to the poor.
And the rich will come alongside you.
Or you can come alongside them, and they will partner with you in reaching the poor.
Because they have a tender heart for that.
(25:17):
And then you have opportunity to share Jesus with the rich.
It didn't stop there.
Fourteen of Jesus didn't stop there.
(25:38):
Verses 22 and 23, it says, And the servant said, Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room in the banquet hall.
And the master said to the servant, Go out into the highways and the hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
This master wanted a a full banquet hall.
(25:59):
He wanted everyone possible there.
He wanted it to look splendid, spectacular, with it
Filled with people.
And he says to use the word compel them.
Now some people grab hold of that word compel and say, see, it's okay for us Christians to use force and force people to become Christian.
That's not what the word compel means.
(26:21):
The word compel here means to lovingly encourage, strongly encourage, forcefully encourage, still giving them the power of choice.
But letting them know the dire situation if they don't choose to come to the banquet hall of God.
(26:43):
We are to compel them to come.
Encourage them strongly.
This is the story that Jesus.
And who comes in?
When the servant goes out into the highways and byways, he compels them to come in so that the house may be filled.
(27:15):
This reminds me of Revelation 14, 6.
And I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth.
to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people.
Go out to everybody, the highways, the byways, the hedges, and let every one know
(27:39):
The time for the that the banquet is now.
Come to the banquet hall
Are we sharing the good news?
I mean, it shouldn't surprise us.
Revelation 19:9 says, He said to me, Write, Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
(28:00):
Hey, that sounds like
Well, we read in Luke 14 of the man that was sitting there with with Jesus.
Blessed are those who sit at the marriage of the Lamb.
Are we going to be there?
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Are our friends going to be there?
Are our neighbors going to be there?
Are our children going to be there?
Are we compelling them to come?
I'm not sure why the people of Luke chapter 14, the the I'm not sure why when Jesus was telling this story
why the people were surprised at what he had to say.
(28:43):
The Old Testament has this same kind of terminology.
Isaiah chapter 25.
Verses six through nine.
It says, And in this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines and the leaves.
of fat things full of marrow, of well refined wines and the leaves, and he will destroy on this mountain mountain the surface of the covering cast over all the people, and the veil that is spread over all nations.
(29:14):
And he will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from their faces, the rebuke of his people, and will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.
And it will be said in that day, Behold, this is our God.
We have waited for him, he will save us.
This is the Lord.
We have waited for him.
(29:34):
We will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
Isn't that beautiful?
Who is he calling there?
Everyone
It says there he is he is making this for all people.
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All people.
He is opening up for for every.
Why hadn't
The Pharisees seen this.
Why hadn't the Jews at the time of Jesus observed this if they were so knowledgeable of what the Old Testament had to say?
And there's more coming out of Isaiah.
(30:18):
Isaiah chapter 56, verses 6 through 8.
It says, also the sons of the foreigners.
Who join themselves to the Lord to serve Him and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants, everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath and holds fast my covenant
Even them will I bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer.
(30:43):
Their burnt offerings and their
sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for who
All nations.
The Lord God who gathers the outcast of Israel says, Yet I will gather to him others besides those who are gathered to him.
(31:06):
He wants his house to be a house of prayer for all nations.
It is not only for those of us that live in the United States of America.
Do we understand that?
(31:27):
Sometimes I'm not sure.
Isaiah sixty.
Don't you love Isaiah sixty?
Arise
Shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
Boy, one more thing to be thankful about, isn't it?
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Behold, the darkness shall cover the earth and deep darkness, the people.
But the Lord will arise over you, and his glory will be seen upon you.
Hallelujah!
We keep reading.
The sun shall no longer verse nineteen and twenty.
The sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor for your brightness shall the moon give light to you.
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But the Lord will be to you an everlasting light.
And your God your glory.
Your sun shall no longer go down, nor shall your moon withdraw itself.
For the Lord will be your everlasting light, and the days of your morning shall be ended.
Are you excited about this already?
(32:34):
Keep reading.
The Gentile shall come to your light
The kings of the brightness of your rising.
Lift up your eyes all around and see.
They are gathered together.
They come to you.
Your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be nursed.
at your side.
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Then you shall see and become radiant, and your heart shall swell with joy, because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to
to you, the wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you, the multitude of camels shall come over your land, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephra.
All those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and incense, and they shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.
(33:18):
Are you still excited?
Who are those people from Midian?
Do you know who the people of Midian are?
Abraham's grandson
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I mean Abraham's son from Keturah.
Yeah, that's it.
Abraham's son from Keturah, Ephra, is the grandson.
We often think about Abraham's son Isaac, but this is a different son that's going to come.
(34:07):
And all those from what's that next word?
Sheba.
She do we know who the Shebites are?
I mean, we remember the story about the Queen of Sheba coming and visiting
King Solomon, do you do a little bit of reading and research to see where she was from?
(34:34):
I mean, if you do the research, she's from someplace in Africa.
Many think it's someplace around uh Ethiopia.
And there's a group of individuals in Africa that if you check their DNA, they are of a Jewish descent.
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How does that happen?
Some say that Solomon sent a priest with her, priest and family.
And things occurred from there.
And soon there was a large Jewish community there in Africa.
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Some of which claim to be hiding the Ark of the Covenant at this point in history.
And other Jews went to Africa at other points through history.
It says those from Sheba are going to come.
(35:45):
Interesting to think about, isn't it?
And you keep going here, the it says, The flocks of Keter shall be gathered together to you, the rams of Nebioth shall minister to you.
They shall ascend with acceptance on my altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.
Who is Keter?
(36:09):
The son of Ishmael.
What
Nebu?
It's only recorded here in this verse.
But if you change this I in that word to a J
(36:32):
It is Ishmael's son
Hmm.
Are you expecting Muslims to be in heaven with you?
(36:54):
Yeah.
Sometimes we're divided about that.
Do you realize how much we as Seventh day Adventists have in common with Muslims?
I mean I was talking with a uh a lady, she was a school teacher in a in a Muslim school.
And she told me she had five sisters.
(37:17):
And she said four of her sisters have converted to Christianity.
One of her sisters.
Became a Seventh-day Adventist.
The other three have joined other denominations.
And she says.
She said, Pastor, she said, the only one I seem to have anything in common with is the Seventh-day Adventist sister.
(37:42):
The others seem to have.
She says I have to be careful here.
Just taking everything that America has to offer.
In the not good sense.
And she says, but the Seventh-day Adventist sister and I, we have so much in common together.
(38:06):
What we believe about the family
How the family unit is holy, what we believe about how to raise children, the instruction that we need to give to our children, how to protect them from the evil forces that are around.
Oh, I'm so glad I have a sister that is the Seventh-day Adventist that I can talk with, and I am not shunned by her.
(38:34):
You realize as a Seventh-day Adventist, we have a lot in common with Muslims
Other than, I mean, the big one that we tend to think of, we have the same dietary habits, similar lifestyle that they are taught.
Not always practice, but what they are taught.
(38:56):
They know about the the clean and the unclean.
They know about the the not drinking of alcohol.
And they're taught not to smoke.
And many times, if you begin telling them how you live your lifestyle as an Adventist, they'll look at you and say, Wow, you're more Islam than I am.
(39:24):
They know about some Christianity and they know what the c if they have studied the Quran, they know what it teaches, that there's a group of Christians that are known
in the Quran as people of the book.
And the Muslims are instructed in the Quran to go to the people of the book to gain insight and understanding.
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Well once upon a time, long, long, long, long time ago, Seventh-day Avenists were known as people of the book, weren't we?
Well we we have a connection here
Did you know that Muslims right now believe that Jesus is in heaven?
(40:13):
And they are looking forward to his soon return?
That's what they're taught.
Don't always put it in practice, but that's what they're taught.
Boy, we have we have such a connection.
And scripture seems to tell us that Ishmael's son, grandson,
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A portion of them are going to sit at the table
And if you read Daniel chapter 11 and you subscribe to the prophecies that are there as taught by
Uh Pastor Tim Rosenberg.
His understanding of Daniel 11, as he shares it, he believes that uh Muslims are going to have a uh quite an impact.
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As prophecy is fulfilled
Are we ready for them to sit at the table?
Isaiah 66 this time.
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For thus says the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river.
And the glory of the Gentiles, like a flowing stream, then you shall feed on her sides, shall you be carried, and be dandled on her knees.
And I will set a sign among them, and those among them who escape I will send to the nations of Tarshus and Pool and Lud, who draw the bow and tubal and javan to the coastlands afar off.
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who have not heard my fame nor seen my glory, and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.
Sorry, I'm looking at the clock here, and I'm not going to go back and talk about those from Tarshus, Pool, Lud, and Tubul and Javan.
I want you to get the picture that the Old Testament
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I just chose some verses out of Isaiah, but the the Old Testament is full of places that say there are going to be other nations there, not just Israel.
That's one.
Other people there, not just Americans.
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Sometimes we forget that.
And expand our thinking just a little bit.
There are people out there that need to hear.
And are longing, hungering, and thirsting to have a seat at the table to hear the the the the message that we have as Seventh-day Adventists.
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the fullness that we have of of teaching people about our Creator God.
They are longing to move from the the the partial truth that they have.
They are longing to move from the dare I say it, the children's table to the adult table.
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if we would only invite them and encourage them to come in.
They are longing for a place to sit and to be satisfied with what Jesus has to offer.
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Our scripture reading today came from Matthew 8.
Matthew 8, there the context of that is there was a Roman centurion.
That had a a servant that was sick.
And that Roman centurion came to Jesus and said, Please heal my my servant.
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And so Jesus said, Okay, I will come with you and heal your servant.
And and then
The Roman said, No, you don't have to go anywhere.
If you just say the word, I know that he will be healed.
If you just say the word, I know that he will be healed.
And Jesus said, when he heard that, he marveled and said to those who followed, Assurely I say to you, I have not found such great faith.
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Not even in Israel.
Now think about that.
Not even in Israel
That's the people that Jesus came to.
That's the people that he he he was working among.
That's the people that that were listening to what he was saying.
That's the people that he was feeding on the mountainside.
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And he says, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.
This is this is a is is an outsider
Verse 11, and I say to you that many will come from east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
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But the sons of the kingdom will be cast into outer darkness, and there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
And we'll save that for another sermon another time.
There's a place at the table for those from the east and the west.
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They're going to be sitting at the table.
And I think that the individuals that are doing the seating chart are going to have us.
Not seated by our normal comfort zone
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If we are seated with people that speak a different language, although in heaven we'll all speak Spanish, so it's okay.
I'll learn it there.
If we are seated by people that are different than us, the flavor of the food is going to taste better.
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Because we're going to get to know the people that are around us.
And the flavor of the food will be in.
By the joy of what we are experiencing because we have seen the goodness of God
And the thanksgiving that is in our heart is just going to well up inside of us.
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Jesus says, Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your soul.
I mean, Jesus is is is throwing the the gates of heaven open.
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He is he he is longing for people to come inside.
I mean sometimes we have this picture of God that God is trying to keep people out of heaven.
He's looking at you and trying to find an excuse to keep you out.
That's not true.
He's looking at you and trying to find an excuse to save you.
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He's looking at the world and he says, I want as many people here as possible.
How can I save that one and that one and that one and that one and that one and that one?
How can I save all of them?
He tried to explain it to the Pharisee that came to him at midnight
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John chapter three, John three, verses fourteen through sixteen
Jesus said, and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.
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That whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life
Did we catch that?
I mean, we know John 3.
16, but I want you to see John 3.
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14 and 15.
We don't even need John 3:16, do we?
John 14 and 15 should be enough, right?
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that whoever believes in him
should not perish but have eternal life.
But then because Jesus is an excellent teacher, and he knows some of us students don't get it very well, he continued on and said, For God so loved the world.
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That he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish.
But have everlasting life.
He says it twice.
We usually jump to John 3:16 and just jump there because that's the verse we memorized when we were six.
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But we don't even need it because Jesus had already said it.
But what he said was profoundly important.
He said it a second time for us.
Those of us that are he left.
Dense.
That's the word.
Dense.
Those of us that don't catch things the first time, those of us that are slow, he said it a second time.
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He is looking for people to come to him.
If he is lifted up.
Isaiah 55, 1 through 3 says, Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and you who have no money, come, buy, and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
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Why do you spend money for what is not bread and your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me.
And eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance, incline your ear, and come to me, hear, and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you
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The sure mercies of David.
What is the Lord saying?
Come.
This is Thanksgiving week.
Who are you going to invite to the Thanksgiving meal?
Oh, I know what you're gonna say.
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This year it's just family.
Okay, but next week.
Who are you going to invite?
People in the highways and the byways, the people in the east and the west, the people in the north and the south
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Oh man, there are so many people out there that need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ.
Are we going to be the ones that open the doors?
And invite them in.
John 12, 32 says, And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to myself.
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This Thanksgiving.
This Thanksgiving.
This week.
I encourage you to lift up Jesus.
If this Thanksgiving is only for family, that's okay.
Family needs Jesus.
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Don't they?
Oh, when I think about heaven, I think about sitting at that table, I think about if my children are not there.
If my grandchildren are not there, oh man, my heart.
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will be broken.
You know what God's heart's gonna be like?
If people that you and I have opportunities to share Jesus with and we don't, and they're not there, God's heart is going to say, oh man, I wish they were there.
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Something's missing.
It's not complete.
Friends, this Thanksgiving, my plea to you is with your families.
Or if you can enlarge it for some people from the east and west, the north and south, enlarge it.
But please lift up Jesus and encourage people to come because Jesus invites them all.
Oh, praise the Lord for that beautiful special music we had today.
When mercy walked in just makes you want to shout hallelujah, doesn't it?
Yeah.
I've been telling you a little bit about our family.
I forgot to left out last week and didn't tell you about part of our family.
I had it written on my notes, but I didn't have slides last week.
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And so I
Forgot to share.
I thought I would share a little bit about our parents.
This is Cheryl's parents.
Uh Neil and Carol Hunsberger.
That's a good German name, isn't it?
Yes.
Uh Cheryl grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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Neil and Carol raised five children there in Tulsa.
Two boys were the older two, and then three daughters, and Cheryl is the middle child.
That explains a lot when you get to know her.
She is the peacemaker of the family.
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Wonderful family.
We are going to visit uh her father over Thanksgiving because this year his birthday is on Thanksgiving Day.
Now, I don't know if his favorite Mexican restaurant will be open Thanksgiving Day, but this is one of the past uh birthdays that we celebrated with him around Thanksgiving time.
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Uh he enjoys Mexican food.
And so uh that's the place he wants to go out to eat.
Every time you ask him, Where do you want to go eat, Dad?
He says Mexican food.
Sometimes they'll say, well, where do you want to go?
And when we suggest Chinese
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It's not going to happen.
Neil likes his Mexican food.
My parents are Dale and Bernita Tonnell.
They currently live in Brazilton, Georgia.
If you ask where they're from, they will tell you they grew up in Texas.
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Uh my dad is from El Paso, Texas.
My mom is from Happy, Texas, just outside of Amarillo.
Um and I tell people I'm a Texan even though I never lived there.
I say if you get two Texans together and they have a child, they're a Texan.
Uh that's I mean that happens if you get a mother rat and a father rat, they turn out a baby rat.
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You get two Texans together, they have a
Even though I've never lived there.
They are currently pastoring in Brazzelton, Georgia.
My dad retired when he hit 70 and uh went off and did evangelism for a couple of years, and then the church that he was in
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close to where he lived, said they wanted to plant a church.
And since he was an elder in the church, they said, would you plant a church?
And he said, I'd love to.
And so he planted a church just a mile, mile and a half from his house.
And uh they are busier now in retirement than they were as full-time pastors, if that's possible.
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Their small church has a food pantry and they are working in that food pantry at least five days a week.
And uh so they are busy, busy.
I do have a younger brother.
No, that's not my younger brother.
That's my grandson.
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But I do have a younger brother.
His name is Bobby.
He does live in Amarello, Texas.
He went back and lived close to my grandparents there.
And uh that happened to be where mom and dad were pastoring or living at the time when he graduated from high school.
So he got married there and uh stayed there in Amarilla all the
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years.
That's a little bit about our parents and our families.
Let's have a word of prayer.
Our gracious Heavenly Father
For the next few minutes, Lord, I pray that the words that come out of my mouth might be pleasing to you.
Words that will
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Be guided by your Holy Spirit.
And that will be edifying to the body that is meeting here today
Lord, I desire for you to be lifted up and exalted so that we can be drawn to you.
And that only happens if you reveal yourself, Lord.
So please show up today.
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I ask in Jesus' name.
Amen.
They tell us this is the most wonderful time of the year.
Have you heard that?
Many times.
Have you had your radio on and heard the music?
It's the most wonderful time of the year.
You're hearing that song already?
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And this is Thanksgiving season.
And you're already hearing that song?
Yeah, I kind of like Thanksgiving season.
It is one of my favorite times of year.
Because people are getting in the mood for what they call the holiday season, and at this point in time, they are still very cheerful.
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When they're standing in line, they're still smiling, they're still polite, they're still kind, they're still gracious, they're still patient.
And so I like this time of year.
I like this time of year because people are talking about families.
I guess I should push the clicker here.
People are talking about families.
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They're looking forward to getting together with their family.
They're looking forward to spending time together as they celebrate Thanksgiving.
Being thankful for what God has given to them.
Now, those that study these kind of things say that Thanksgiving is the family day, the one that is most traveled holiday of the year.
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People will be going everywhere.
So if you don't have to travel, don't
But if you do get to travel, I encourage you to spend time with your family and be thankful for what God has given to us.
It's wonderful to have families.
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I've always enjoyed think oh, I remember as a kid, Thanksgiving as soon as school would finish, I don't remember if school finished on Tuesday at noon or Wednesday at noon, but as soon as
s as soon as school would finish, we would get in the car and we would head to Amarilla Tex or Happy Texas.
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to be with my grandparents there on the farm.
My grandparents raised a little bit of wheat and a little bit of cattle.
And it was always a joy to be there for Thanksgiving.
I can I can almost smell Thanksgiving on the farm.
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I mean you go into the farm and there's that the the the fragrance of the farm.
Oh, if the wind was blowing the wrong direction.
My grandpa would go outside and he'd say, doesn't that smell good?
And I say, grandpa, that smells like the feedlots
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And he says, no, I just smell money on the hoof.
Ah, what a wonderful smell.
That's not the Thanksgiving smell I was talking about.
It was grandma in the kitchen.
Oh, biscuits and gravy in the morning.
Pumpkin pie, apple pie.
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It was a joyous occasion when that the cousins would come for the celebration.
It was fantastic
If there happened to be a little bit of snow in Amarilla, oh us cousins did not mind having a good snowball fight.
If there was no snow, we did not mind having a good wrestling match on the front lawn.
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Grandma would call us and it's time for dinner.
We would go inside and the the adults would go into the formal dining room and gather around the table and
The children would go to the kitchen.
It looked like all the food was around the formal di in the formal dining table, and so I wanted to be in
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the formal dining table because I like food.
And because there were adults there and I would rather talk to the adults than have conversations with the children.
I mean, even as a young child, I could have a good conversation with an adult.
And so I liked being at the adult table.
I liked the things they talked about rather than at the kids' table.
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But I was always relegated to the children's table.
Any of you remember sitting at the children's table last year?
Oh, I mean, years ago.
Have you ever relegated someone to the children's table?
I mean, I don't think I got out of the children's table until I got married.
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And then I got to sit at the adult table for a year, maybe two, and then we had a child, and I was back at the children's table.
Taking care of my child.
As I look back on that man
Just to have a seat at the table, any table.
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It doesn't matter.
If I was sitting at the children's table, I'd be happy today to be at grandma's house.
Dee Grandma's cooking again.
Just to have a seat at the table
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Are you looking forward to having a seat at the heavenly table?
I mean, can you imagine what that banquet table is going to look like?
I mean we talk about it, you know, extending from one end of heaven to the other.
How long is that table going to and we talk about things in college classes and stuff.
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Are you going to be able to see the people at the other end?
You know, you think about some of the things.
Who is doing the preparing of the food for this banquet table
Who has set the table for this banquet table?
Who has produced the seating chart?
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Those of you that have ever done that in a wedding ceremony or for a wedding reception, the seating chart is sometimes gets complicated.
Are you going to put Stephen and Paul next to each other or are you going to separate them?
Can you imagine some of the things of what it's going to be like at that banquet table?
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Jesus told some stories and commented about the banquet table a couple of times.
I'd like for you to open your Bibles to Luke chapter 14.
Luke 14 is where we will spend most of our time today.
Luke chapter 14.
Some of them I have on the screen
So let's see if uh yeah, Luke 14.
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Want to put it in context for us.
So Luke 14, beginning with verse 1.
It says now it happened as he went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath that they watched him closely.
Where does it say Jesus is during this mealtime?
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At the house of a Pharisee.
Now, Pharisee, he was he was one of the Jewish leaders, one of the rulers for the Jews.
We talked previously a couple of weeks ago about Jesus going to the home of a
Tax collector, a publican, and eating a meal.
Now Jesus has gone to the other extreme and he's eating at the house of a Pharisee.
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And people are still watching him intently to see what he is doing.
Now, I want you to skip down.
I want you to understand that context and come down with me to Luke chapter 14.
Steal and come down to verse fifteen.
It says Now when one of those who sat at the table with him heard these things, he said to him, Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.
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Now we can say amen to that.
We're excited about.
Blessed is he that is going to eat bread in the kingdom of God.
We're looking forward to that.
But when Jesus heard it, it was one of those things that was a what do we call them these days?
A trigger for him.
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He knew that there was something that he needed to say at this point in time.
At this house, at this place.
With the people that he was eating with.
And it says, he said to him,
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A certain man gave a great supper, and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, Come, for all things are now ready.
But they all, with one accord, began to make excuses.
The first said to him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it.
I ask that you have me excused
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And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them.
I ask that you have me excused.
Still another said, I have married a wife, and I therefore cannot come.
Pause for just a moment.
These sound like great excuses to not go to a banquet, doesn't it?
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We read these things in this day and age, and we kind of look at this, and most of us have read this story before, and we shake our heads and we, oh my, what are these people thinking?
The first one has said that he has bought a piece of ground.
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And he must go out and inspect it.
Now, some of you buy property.
If you're going to buy property, when do you expect it?
Inspect it.
Before you buy it.
Before you have made a down payment on it.
Before you have put out the investment of it.
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I mean, that seems logical to us.
And for someone to invite me to a meal and to say, I'm sorry, I have bought a piece of property, I need to go inspect it, I mean that is just
Ludicrous.
I didn't use that other word I'm not supposed to use.
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Sorry, those of you that were in his Sabbath school class this morning, you'll understand.
I mean
You inspect the piece of property beforehand, and if you're invited to a dinner, you go to the dinner to the banquet,
knowing full well that their the property is not going anywhere.
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It's still, how much time does it take to go to a banquet?
I mean if you go to a really good banquet, how much time does it take?
Four, five hours?
I mean that would be
Okay, so you go six, seven hours.
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I mean, wow.
The property is still sitting there.
You still have opportunity to go and look at it.
Why would you say?
And the same is true for the the five yoke of oxen.
I mean, if you're going to invest in five yoke of oxen, when do you inspect them?
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When do you try them out to see if they can work together as a team
When do you you you look at them and and uh and observe them?
You do it beforehand, don't you?
Why would you even think that this is a plausible excuse?
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Now, I said we're thinking like those of us today, maybe then
That was a good excuse.
I don't think so.
And the third excuse, I just got married.
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I need to spend time with my wife.
Oh, great excuse.
Right?
I mean that's the only one that really makes sense.
Exactly.
I mean, if the person is inviting you to a to a dinner, surely you could say, Hey, I've recently got married.
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Can my spouse come with me?
And the person that has given you the invitation is not going to deny you the privilege of bringing your spouse with you.
Why would you even think that was a good excuse?
We read this story and we we look at these things and we we shake our heads and we say, I would never do that.
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Oh, but we do, don't we?
What kind of excuses do you use?
Too busy?
Too much work?
I have family issues.
My family's important.
Not enough sleep?
Yeah, that's a good one.
The weather.
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Oh my.
I can't because it's raining.
I don't have an umbrella.
I can't, it's too hot.
I can't because I mean if you think about some of the excuses that we use
Uh I the family issue.
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I mean, you're there in Luke fourteen.
Just go down a few verses here.
Come down to Luke 14, 25, 26.
Now great multitudes went with him, and he turned and said to them, If any one comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brother and sisters,
Yes, his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
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What do you think Jesus thinks about your family excuse?
I know that's a little strong, isn't it?
We we we we take issue with that because we don't like the idea of
hating their father, mother, wife, children, brothers and sisters, and hating even your own life.
Notice that is there also.
I don't think.
Jesus was talking about self-hate.
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So I'm going to put it in a different context for you.
Matthew, a parallel scripture saying
Similar terminology.
Matthew chapter 10, verses 37 through 39.
Says, He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.
And he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
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And he who does not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.
He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.
Now that's kind of terminology that we understand a little bit better.
We we don't bristle quite as much as that hate terminology.
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This one is, we don't love our family more than we love God.
So even that the
I've got a field.
I got a yoke of oxen.
I just got married.
I just I have family problems.
I mean
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People use that excuse to not do what God is asking them to do.
Come back to Luke chapter fourteen
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Come down to verse 21.
It says, so that servant came and reported these things to his master.
Reported all of the excuses.
It says, Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, Go out quickly into the
Streets and lanes of the city, and bring them in, the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind.
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Go out and bring people in.
What you think about this?
Why is it the rich are often the first people to reject the gospel?
We remember what was said about the Laodicean church, Revelation chapter 3.
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They are rich and in need of nothing.
They think they can do it on their own.
We ask the question, why does it seem like our church is only reaching poor people?
The reason is it's because poor people are desperate.
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I am desperate
I have no hope other than Jesus Christ.
I know that my money will not buy heaven
I am desperate.
We are desperate.
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We need Jesus.
And so, as a church, though, we need to keep this thing in mind.
The rich are not going to be those individuals that are coming to the door.
Let me in, let me in, let me in.
I want to be part of your your your your your community.
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I want to be part of your church.
Those aren't usually the people.
I mean, I have a friend that he he told me, he said, Dale, he says, when I retire, he says, I'm going to start a yacht ministry.
I thought about that and I, what does a yacht ministry look like?
Is that because he he thought that nobody was trying to reach those individuals?
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Or here because he wanted to associate with those kind of individuals.
And he was hoping to fundraise off of my church to start a yacht.
I don't know how that was going to work.
Usually we start ministries to help the poor, to minister to the poor.
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And when we we do that, I want to tell you, Sister White says that one of the best ways to reach the rich is to minister to the poor.
And the rich will come alongside you.
Or you can come alongside them, and they will partner with you in reaching the poor.
Because they have a tender heart for that.
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And then you have opportunity to share Jesus with the rich.
It didn't stop there.
Fourteen of Jesus didn't stop there.
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Verses 22 and 23, it says, And the servant said, Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room in the banquet hall.
And the master said to the servant, Go out into the highways and the hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
This master wanted a a full banquet hall.
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He wanted everyone possible there.
He wanted it to look splendid, spectacular, with it
Filled with people.
And he says to use the word compel them.
Now some people grab hold of that word compel and say, see, it's okay for us Christians to use force and force people to become Christian.
That's not what the word compel means.
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The word compel here means to lovingly encourage, strongly encourage, forcefully encourage, still giving them the power of choice.
But letting them know the dire situation if they don't choose to come to the banquet hall of God.
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We are to compel them to come.
Encourage them strongly.
This is the story that Jesus.
And who comes in?
When the servant goes out into the highways and byways, he compels them to come in so that the house may be filled.
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This reminds me of Revelation 14, 6.
And I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth.
to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people.
Go out to everybody, the highways, the byways, the hedges, and let every one know
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The time for the that the banquet is now.
Come to the banquet hall
Are we sharing the good news?
I mean, it shouldn't surprise us.
Revelation 19:9 says, He said to me, Write, Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
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Hey, that sounds like
Well, we read in Luke 14 of the man that was sitting there with with Jesus.
Blessed are those who sit at the marriage of the Lamb.
Are we going to be there?
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Are our friends going to be there?
Are our neighbors going to be there?
Are our children going to be there?
Are we compelling them to come?
I'm not sure why the people of Luke chapter 14, the the I'm not sure why when Jesus was telling this story
why the people were surprised at what he had to say.
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The Old Testament has this same kind of terminology.
Isaiah chapter 25.
Verses six through nine.
It says, And in this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines and the leaves.
of fat things full of marrow, of well refined wines and the leaves, and he will destroy on this mountain mountain the surface of the covering cast over all the people, and the veil that is spread over all nations.
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And he will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from their faces, the rebuke of his people, and will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.
And it will be said in that day, Behold, this is our God.
We have waited for him, he will save us.
This is the Lord.
We have waited for him.
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We will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
Isn't that beautiful?
Who is he calling there?
Everyone
It says there he is he is making this for all people.
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All people.
He is opening up for for every.
Why hadn't
The Pharisees seen this.
Why hadn't the Jews at the time of Jesus observed this if they were so knowledgeable of what the Old Testament had to say?
And there's more coming out of Isaiah.
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Isaiah chapter 56, verses 6 through 8.
It says, also the sons of the foreigners.
Who join themselves to the Lord to serve Him and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants, everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath and holds fast my covenant
Even them will I bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer.
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Their burnt offerings and their
sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for who
All nations.
The Lord God who gathers the outcast of Israel says, Yet I will gather to him others besides those who are gathered to him.
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He wants his house to be a house of prayer for all nations.
It is not only for those of us that live in the United States of America.
Do we understand that?
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Sometimes I'm not sure.
Isaiah sixty.
Don't you love Isaiah sixty?
Arise
Shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
Boy, one more thing to be thankful about, isn't it?
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Behold, the darkness shall cover the earth and deep darkness, the people.
But the Lord will arise over you, and his glory will be seen upon you.
Hallelujah!
We keep reading.
The sun shall no longer verse nineteen and twenty.
The sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor for your brightness shall the moon give light to you.
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But the Lord will be to you an everlasting light.
And your God your glory.
Your sun shall no longer go down, nor shall your moon withdraw itself.
For the Lord will be your everlasting light, and the days of your morning shall be ended.
Are you excited about this already?
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Keep reading.
The Gentile shall come to your light
The kings of the brightness of your rising.
Lift up your eyes all around and see.
They are gathered together.
They come to you.
Your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be nursed.
at your side.
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Then you shall see and become radiant, and your heart shall swell with joy, because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to
to you, the wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you, the multitude of camels shall come over your land, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephra.
All those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and incense, and they shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.
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Are you still excited?
Who are those people from Midian?
Do you know who the people of Midian are?
Abraham's grandson
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I mean Abraham's son from Keturah.
Yeah, that's it.
Abraham's son from Keturah, Ephra, is the grandson.
We often think about Abraham's son Isaac, but this is a different son that's going to come.
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And all those from what's that next word?
Sheba.
She do we know who the Shebites are?
I mean, we remember the story about the Queen of Sheba coming and visiting
King Solomon, do you do a little bit of reading and research to see where she was from?
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I mean, if you do the research, she's from someplace in Africa.
Many think it's someplace around uh Ethiopia.
And there's a group of individuals in Africa that if you check their DNA, they are of a Jewish descent.
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How does that happen?
Some say that Solomon sent a priest with her, priest and family.
And things occurred from there.
And soon there was a large Jewish community there in Africa.
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Some of which claim to be hiding the Ark of the Covenant at this point in history.
And other Jews went to Africa at other points through history.
It says those from Sheba are going to come.
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Interesting to think about, isn't it?
And you keep going here, the it says, The flocks of Keter shall be gathered together to you, the rams of Nebioth shall minister to you.
They shall ascend with acceptance on my altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.
Who is Keter?
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The son of Ishmael.
What
Nebu?
It's only recorded here in this verse.
But if you change this I in that word to a J
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It is Ishmael's son
Hmm.
Are you expecting Muslims to be in heaven with you?
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Yeah.
Sometimes we're divided about that.
Do you realize how much we as Seventh day Adventists have in common with Muslims?
I mean I was talking with a uh a lady, she was a school teacher in a in a Muslim school.
And she told me she had five sisters.
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And she said four of her sisters have converted to Christianity.
One of her sisters.
Became a Seventh-day Adventist.
The other three have joined other denominations.
And she says.
She said, Pastor, she said, the only one I seem to have anything in common with is the Seventh-day Adventist sister.
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The others seem to have.
She says I have to be careful here.
Just taking everything that America has to offer.
In the not good sense.
And she says, but the Seventh-day Adventist sister and I, we have so much in common together.
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What we believe about the family
How the family unit is holy, what we believe about how to raise children, the instruction that we need to give to our children, how to protect them from the evil forces that are around.
Oh, I'm so glad I have a sister that is the Seventh-day Adventist that I can talk with, and I am not shunned by her.
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You realize as a Seventh-day Adventist, we have a lot in common with Muslims
Other than, I mean, the big one that we tend to think of, we have the same dietary habits, similar lifestyle that they are taught.
Not always practice, but what they are taught.
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They know about the the clean and the unclean.
They know about the the not drinking of alcohol.
And they're taught not to smoke.
And many times, if you begin telling them how you live your lifestyle as an Adventist, they'll look at you and say, Wow, you're more Islam than I am.
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They know about some Christianity and they know what the c if they have studied the Quran, they know what it teaches, that there's a group of Christians that are known
in the Quran as people of the book.
And the Muslims are instructed in the Quran to go to the people of the book to gain insight and understanding.
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Well once upon a time, long, long, long, long time ago, Seventh-day Avenists were known as people of the book, weren't we?
Well we we have a connection here
Did you know that Muslims right now believe that Jesus is in heaven?
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And they are looking forward to his soon return?
That's what they're taught.
Don't always put it in practice, but that's what they're taught.
Boy, we have we have such a connection.
And scripture seems to tell us that Ishmael's son, grandson,
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A portion of them are going to sit at the table
And if you read Daniel chapter 11 and you subscribe to the prophecies that are there as taught by
Uh Pastor Tim Rosenberg.
His understanding of Daniel 11, as he shares it, he believes that uh Muslims are going to have a uh quite an impact.
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As prophecy is fulfilled
Are we ready for them to sit at the table?
Isaiah 66 this time.
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For thus says the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river.
And the glory of the Gentiles, like a flowing stream, then you shall feed on her sides, shall you be carried, and be dandled on her knees.
And I will set a sign among them, and those among them who escape I will send to the nations of Tarshus and Pool and Lud, who draw the bow and tubal and javan to the coastlands afar off.
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who have not heard my fame nor seen my glory, and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.
Sorry, I'm looking at the clock here, and I'm not going to go back and talk about those from Tarshus, Pool, Lud, and Tubul and Javan.
I want you to get the picture that the Old Testament
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I just chose some verses out of Isaiah, but the the Old Testament is full of places that say there are going to be other nations there, not just Israel.
That's one.
Other people there, not just Americans.
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Sometimes we forget that.
And expand our thinking just a little bit.
There are people out there that need to hear.
And are longing, hungering, and thirsting to have a seat at the table to hear the the the the message that we have as Seventh-day Adventists.
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the fullness that we have of of teaching people about our Creator God.
They are longing to move from the the the partial truth that they have.
They are longing to move from the dare I say it, the children's table to the adult table.
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if we would only invite them and encourage them to come in.
They are longing for a place to sit and to be satisfied with what Jesus has to offer.
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Our scripture reading today came from Matthew 8.
Matthew 8, there the context of that is there was a Roman centurion.
That had a a servant that was sick.
And that Roman centurion came to Jesus and said, Please heal my my servant.
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And so Jesus said, Okay, I will come with you and heal your servant.
And and then
The Roman said, No, you don't have to go anywhere.
If you just say the word, I know that he will be healed.
If you just say the word, I know that he will be healed.
And Jesus said, when he heard that, he marveled and said to those who followed, Assurely I say to you, I have not found such great faith.
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Not even in Israel.
Now think about that.
Not even in Israel
That's the people that Jesus came to.
That's the people that he he he was working among.
That's the people that that were listening to what he was saying.
That's the people that he was feeding on the mountainside.
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And he says, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.
This is this is a is is an outsider
Verse 11, and I say to you that many will come from east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
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But the sons of the kingdom will be cast into outer darkness, and there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
And we'll save that for another sermon another time.
There's a place at the table for those from the east and the west.
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They're going to be sitting at the table.
And I think that the individuals that are doing the seating chart are going to have us.
Not seated by our normal comfort zone
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If we are seated with people that speak a different language, although in heaven we'll all speak Spanish, so it's okay.
I'll learn it there.
If we are seated by people that are different than us, the flavor of the food is going to taste better.
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Because we're going to get to know the people that are around us.
And the flavor of the food will be in.
By the joy of what we are experiencing because we have seen the goodness of God
And the thanksgiving that is in our heart is just going to well up inside of us.
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Jesus says, Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your soul.
I mean, Jesus is is is throwing the the gates of heaven open.
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He is he he is longing for people to come inside.
I mean sometimes we have this picture of God that God is trying to keep people out of heaven.
He's looking at you and trying to find an excuse to keep you out.
That's not true.
He's looking at you and trying to find an excuse to save you.
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He's looking at the world and he says, I want as many people here as possible.
How can I save that one and that one and that one and that one and that one and that one?
How can I save all of them?
He tried to explain it to the Pharisee that came to him at midnight
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John chapter three, John three, verses fourteen through sixteen
Jesus said, and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.
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That whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life
Did we catch that?
I mean, we know John 3.
16, but I want you to see John 3.
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14 and 15.
We don't even need John 3:16, do we?
John 14 and 15 should be enough, right?
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that whoever believes in him
should not perish but have eternal life.
But then because Jesus is an excellent teacher, and he knows some of us students don't get it very well, he continued on and said, For God so loved the world.
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That he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish.
But have everlasting life.
He says it twice.
We usually jump to John 3:16 and just jump there because that's the verse we memorized when we were six.
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But we don't even need it because Jesus had already said it.
But what he said was profoundly important.
He said it a second time for us.
Those of us that are he left.
Dense.
That's the word.
Dense.
Those of us that don't catch things the first time, those of us that are slow, he said it a second time.
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He is looking for people to come to him.
If he is lifted up.
Isaiah 55, 1 through 3 says, Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and you who have no money, come, buy, and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
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Why do you spend money for what is not bread and your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me.
And eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance, incline your ear, and come to me, hear, and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you
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The sure mercies of David.
What is the Lord saying?
Come.
This is Thanksgiving week.
Who are you going to invite to the Thanksgiving meal?
Oh, I know what you're gonna say.
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This year it's just family.
Okay, but next week.
Who are you going to invite?
People in the highways and the byways, the people in the east and the west, the people in the north and the south
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Oh man, there are so many people out there that need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ.
Are we going to be the ones that open the doors?
And invite them in.
John 12, 32 says, And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to myself.
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This Thanksgiving.
This Thanksgiving.
This week.
I encourage you to lift up Jesus.
If this Thanksgiving is only for family, that's okay.
Family needs Jesus.
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Don't they?
Oh, when I think about heaven, I think about sitting at that table, I think about if my children are not there.
If my grandchildren are not there, oh man, my heart.
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will be broken.
You know what God's heart's gonna be like?
If people that you and I have opportunities to share Jesus with and we don't, and they're not there, God's heart is going to say, oh man, I wish they were there.
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Something's missing.
It's not complete.
Friends, this Thanksgiving, my plea to you is with your families.
Or if you can enlarge it for some people from the east and west, the north and south, enlarge it.
But please lift up Jesus and encourage people to come because Jesus invites them all.
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