I felt the need to post this because it is speaking on so many lives right now. This word was delivered at my churches revival where we are celebrating our 32 anniversary. Evangelist/Pastor Adrian Starks delivered and awesome word, I will start with the passage and go into the message. Be advised this is what I got out of the message because I can’t say everything he said word for word, but I know you will get what was being delivered.

Mathew 22:1-14

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet

1Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2"The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

4"Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.'

5"But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

8"Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.' 10So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

11"But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless.

13"Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

14"For many are invited, but few are chosen."

How did you feel when you first got your invitation to follow Christ? DO you remember when you began to love him and let him take lead in your life and guide you with the Holy Spirit? Some of us need to take the time to rediscover the joy we received when you got the invitation to become apart of the body of Christ. Take a look:

Luke 2:10-12

10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for ALL the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ^[a] the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Mathew 11:28-30

28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

We are so laden with burdens in our lives that we can’t bring our gifts to the Lord. We are restless, and why, don’t you have the joy God promised you? Didn’t you hear weeping may endure for a night, but JOY…… come on now. God has promised us too much to be sitting around moping and carrying on. Despite my circumstances this week, I have still kept my joy even when I felt like crying all night. But the Lord thy God has promised us everlasting peace if we bring our burdens to him and lay them down.

There may be certain people in your life who are sucking away your joy. You’re trying so hard to please them that you’re walking away unhappy while they are gloating in their mess. You go to church on Sunday unhappy because of your guilt from what you’ve done, but we shall not be the same going out as we came in. If you come out of church the same way you came in, you’re not basking in the joy God has given you. You know all too well “the joy of the Lord is your strength”, so why not praise him through your storm. Praise him because you are still kicking no matter what the devil tried to hit you with.

Psalms 67:1-7

1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine upon us,
Selah

2 that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.

3 May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you.

4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples justly
and guide the nations of the earth.
Selah

5 May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you.

6 Then the land will yield its harvest,
and God, our God, will bless us.

7 God will bless us,
and all the ends of the earth will fear him.

How can you expect to bare a harvest when you’re fruit is stuck in some junk that needs to be loosed? You can’t bare fruit if your roots are exposed. The branches (people, jobs, worries, hardships) that don’t bare fruit God takes away. Every branch that bares fruit he purges it to bare more. When you’re afflicted, come to the Lord with Joy and gladness, not pain and misery, why do that; then you’ve let the enemy win. Too many people let their affliction steal their joy. And see, when you get that joy back, Oh what a day that will be.

People will know Jesus lives in you. You will have a (glow); your countenance will show in your face.

Isaiah 10:27

27 In that day their burden will be lifted from your shoulders,
their yoke from your neck;
the yoke will be broken
because you have grown so fat.

John 15:11

11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

We have our troubles, but in Jesus I have joy because I still woke up this morning. I may be single, but I still have joy because God promised me a King who will love me as they love him. I may not have millions, but the joy of the Lord gives me faith that my needs will be met. Everyday when you wake up you need to be thanking the Lord. OOOOwee I got carried away and got a message inside a message going. But see I have found so much peace because the Lord has been fighting my battles. I’ve lost some sleep, but in the morning it is still my God who graciously gives me life even if just one more day. My worries are almost gone because I know he promised to provide.

Wow, I am still so in awe of what God can do. When you think there’s not another message that can speak to you, when you feel your purpose is gone, when you feel your life has just stopped right before you, the God that I serve steps in and gives you peace!