"Am I Qualified for Heaven"

Matthew 22:1-14

Any bride can tell you that even the simplest, smallest wedding still requires a lot of time and energy. A wedding is a huge celebration. It’s a party, celebrating the love that two people have for each other and, despite what marriage has become, celebrating the highest, most sacred bond that we as humans can enter into together.

Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son."

Who would ever refuse an invitation to a Kings wedding?

Have you ever been invited to a party of some sort and you found four letters: RSVP? Sometimes those invitations will say "formal attire required."

If you want to go to the greatest party in history, God’s party, you must RSVP and put on your spiritual clothes now, the party could start at any time.

God was summoning the Jews to a feast in honor of his Son and they refused to come.

When we get to God’s party, there wont be any classes of people, or any race or age or gender or denominations. There will only be sinners who have responded to God’s invitation.

Once we have responded we have to be ready for when God’s preparations are done.

The clothes are symbolic of what is required of us to enter into the presence of the King, to have a relationship with God.

ISA 61:10 "I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."

Our invitation says, RSVP – Spiritual Attire Required.

Spiritual clothing is a kind of witness to show people around us we belong to Christ.

The Dress Code for the Feast are the garments of righteousness and holiness that only come through Christ.

"Let us rejoice and be glad and give glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)" Revelation 19:7-8

The invitation of God to come in to His Kingdom is an open invitation. But, our sins have to be covered and we have to be holy.

Titus 3:5 tells us - God will save us "not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit"

To accept the invitation is to accept the terms. Many people want to know God, they want to enjoy eternity in heaven, they want God to answer prayers, but we want to do it on our own terms and it simply doesn’t work that way. We accept grace on God’s terms, not ours.