Parable of the Exalted Wedding Guest – Sermon Application #2

In the parable of the exalted wedding guests, all of the guests were vying for the most honorable seats. In contrast, Jesus, who was the most honorable of all, did not strive for the high place. Rather, he taught his disciples to take the lowly place and to leave the matter of honor to God.

Application by way of exhortation:

While God brings down the proud, he also promises to exalt the humble (Jas. 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5; Matt. 23:12; Luke 1:52, 18:14; Prov. 18:12;).  Humility then is a grace that opens up the door for many other graces to flow into the heart.  If we are to have any of the gracious operations of the Holy Spirit at work in and through us, we must first humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord.  One of the primary markers of humility is subjection to the will of God.  If we will not humbly submit to God’s will, but slight God’s word and treat it lightly, we are walking in pride (Jer. 13:15, 17; Jas. 1:21).  Also, if we are not humbly submitting to lawful authority, we are pridefully rebelling against God (Ex. 20:12; Titus 3:1; 1 Pet. 2:13; 2 Pet. 2:10).  The truly humble heart is not dissatisfied with humble work and subjection to authority. The Bible teaches us that if we are faithful in the little things, we will be faithful in the bigger things (Luke 16:10).  If we are faithful to do what God has given us to do with all of our heart, He can multiply the fruit of our labor and entrust us with more in due time (1 Pet. 5:6).

Application to prayer:

All through the Bible, God warns of His vengeance against the proud.  The Bible says, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall (Prov. 16:18; see also Psalms 75:4-7; Jeremiah 9:23-24, 13:15-16).”  As Pastor Vradenburgh pointed out, it is not that God has set up a universal law which causes the proud to be abased, but it is that God himself abases the proud.  He himself is opposed to them and rises up against them in judgment.  Consider some biblical examples which demonstrate God’s swift judgment against the sin of pride (Gen. 11:4; Num. 12:2,10; 2 Chron. 26:16-21; Esth. 5:11, 7:10; Dan. 4:29-32; Acts 12:22, 23).  Since we know that pride is blinding, we must pray that God will expose our pride in the light of His word (Ps. 19:12).

Application by way of exhortation:

Our pride makes us seem better to ourselves than we are and appear better to others than we are.  Thus, pride is the fuel for externalistic Pharisaic hypocrisy (Matt. 23:28).  To counter this wretched pride, we must strive to maintain a right view of self and always be on guard against the swellings of a fleshly mind.

We can fight pride by growing in the grace of humility. Charles Spurgeon defined humility as thinking rightly about ourselves.  Therefore, we should strive to come to a biblical view of ourselves.  Consider the humble self-esteem of some eminent saints in the Bible (Gen. 18:27, 32:10; Ex. 3:11; Job 42:6; Eph. 3:8; 2 Cor. 2:16; 1 Tim. 1:15; Ps. 8:4, 39:5, 144:3).  Let’s daily acknowledge what we are apart from the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit!