00:00:00.000 - 00:00:30.000

[Music] Are you coming to the party? A message by Dr. Bruce W. Thielen. First, a personal word to our tape listeners. [Music]

00:00:30.000 - 00:00:52.000

On one occasion, a foreign visitor to the United States was traveling with a friend through a major city on a Sunday morning. They passed a building which was unusually modern in its architectural style. The foreigner tried to identify the building. He said he never saw a building like it before and couldn't guess what it was until suddenly the doors opened

00:00:52.000 - 00:01:07.000

and people began coming through the doors and down the steps. He immediately said, "Oh, I see it's a church." The person who was showing him through the city said, "How do you know it's a church?" And he said, "Well, I can tell by the looks on their faces."

00:01:07.000 - 00:01:28.000

That's what worship is to be, a happy and a joyous experience that changes the look on our faces. Well, this morning people are coming to the Glendale Presbyterian Church already smiling, but we think their smiles will be broader and brighter as they leave here today. We invite you to join with us in the happiness of this worship experience.

00:01:28.000 - 00:01:52.000

God bless you, my friend. Let us be upstanding for the reading of the Word of God. The scripture reading of the morning is taken from four passages of the New Testament, all of them parables of Jesus.

00:01:52.000 - 00:02:20.000

In no instance shall we read the entire parable, but only the particularly relevant portion of each. From the 15th chapter of Luke. "Now his elder son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what this meant.

00:02:20.000 - 00:02:48.000

And he said to him, 'Your brother has come home, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him safe and sound.' But the elder brother was angry and refused to go in. And his father came out and entreated him."

00:02:48.000 - 00:03:11.000

And then from the Gospel of Matthew at the 22nd chapter. "But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless.

00:03:11.000 - 00:03:38.000

Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. There men will weep and gnash their teeth, for many are called, but few are chosen.'" And then from Matthew at the 25th chapter. "And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came.

00:03:38.000 - 00:04:09.000

And those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other maidens came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us.' But he replied, 'Truly I say to you, I do not know you.'" And finally from the 14th chapter of Luke's Gospel.

00:04:09.000 - 00:04:40.000

"But Jesus said to him, 'A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, 'Come, for all is now ready.' But they all alike began to make excuses. One said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it.

00:04:40.000 - 00:05:11.000

I pray you, have me excused.'" And may God bless to us and to our understanding these readings from his word. Please be seated. Let us pray.

00:05:11.000 - 00:05:32.000

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. I'd like to talk with you for a little while this morning about parties. The Bible is great for parties, you know.

00:05:32.000 - 00:05:59.000

There are references to parties all through it. It talks about the kind of food that's eaten at parties. Bread and sweet cakes, grapes and pomegranates, fatted calves and kids being cooked on rotating spits, beers that run with oil, olive, wineskins, and indeed whole vats of wine.

00:05:59.000 - 00:06:21.000

The Bible talks, too, about the kind of clothing that should be worn to parties. It begins with a party, and it ends with a party. The blessed bliss of the party in Eden, when all is perfect, and "Come, come to the plea of the Spirit for the party of rejoicing at the end of the book of Revelation."

00:06:21.000 - 00:06:42.000

It's no wonder, then, that Jesus, in his parables, talked more about parties than he did about any other single theme. And it's no wonder, then, also, that Christ was criticized during the course of his life for being one who quite regularly was attending parties.

00:06:42.000 - 00:07:11.000

In fact, just between you and me, at one party he personally manufactured 120 gallons of wine. And that must have been some party. To enter into a relationship with Jesus, then, means to come to the party. The Bible understands loyalty to be the prelude to great joy.

00:07:11.000 - 00:07:42.000

It understands discipleship not to be a burdensome and tedious experience, but to be one that is like a festival of faith, a celebration, an enjoyment of one with God. Now, I recognize that most people do not look upon discipleship in this way. And not only that, but I recognize why most people don't look upon discipleship in this way.

00:07:42.000 - 00:08:02.000

The Bible says that to give, which is an act of loyalty, is better than to get. To give, that is, to enter into the service of the Lord, is better than to be in a situation where you are seeking to be served by others. That's what the Bible says.

00:08:02.000 - 00:08:26.000

But the world says exactly the opposite. The world says it's much better to get than it is to give. The world teaches us repeatedly that there's nothing better than to acquire more and more possessions. Now, let me lay on you some shocking statistics.

00:08:26.000 - 00:09:01.000

The Nielsen television surveys have just shown us that the average American watches television 46 hours a week. Luckett, commenting on that, said, "It won't be long until we'll have eyes like cantaloupes and brains like split peas." I don't know whether that's true or not, but they say that the average American watches TV 46 hours a week. Now, one-fifth of all television time is given over to commercials.

00:09:01.000 - 00:09:23.000

I know it seems like a lot more than that, but it's only one-fifth of the time. That means that the average American watches nine hours of television commercials every week. Now, who is the happy person in the commercial? Well, it's always the person who just got something new.

00:09:23.000 - 00:09:52.000

Got a new car, got a new floor, got a new toy, got a new this or a new that. The accent in happiness is always on the person who has just gotten something. Now, keeping all that in mind, that nine hours every week, the average American sees commercials and emphasizes that the great joy in life is in getting, keep that on one side of your thinking,

00:09:52.000 - 00:10:17.000

and on the other side, put this picture. If you came to church every Sunday of the year, you would be in church 52 hours a year. Now, approximately one-third of that time is given over to preaching. That means that you hear about 17 hours of preaching a year.

00:10:17.000 - 00:10:53.000

Now, that means further that if a minister preached nothing but loyalty sermons, nothing but discipleship sermons, nothing but stewardship sermons, and he did it for a whole year, that would mean you would hear 17 hours worth of giving is more blessed than getting in a whole year. But in just two weeks of television viewing, you would get 18 hours of getting is better than giving.

00:10:53.000 - 00:11:19.000

Well, it's not hard to understand when the odds are stacked like that, why it is that most people believe that it's much more blessed to receive than it is to give. And it's sad that they believe that way, for that kind of belief keeps you out of the party. If you go through life seeking to be blessed, instead of seeking to be a blessing to others,

00:11:19.000 - 00:11:42.000

well then, you never know all the joy that is to be found in real loyalty. I used to hate to preach stewardship and Loyalty Day sermons. I don't anymore, because I've come to understand that loyalty is the prelude to joy, and I want you to be happy. I sincerely and honestly do.

00:11:42.000 - 00:12:02.000

Therefore, I've got to talk to you about this, because it's the stepping stone to the happiness which a full-fledged disciple of Jesus knows. Now, any Christian who's entered into meaningful loyalty will testify to this. In fact, some people might say that that's what I ought to do this morning.

00:12:02.000 - 00:12:22.000

I ought to crowd the pulpit with individuals who would be ready to tell you about the happiness they have found in deep, committed loyalty. That is, of course, the best kind of testimony at all. There was a young man who went into a Roman Catholic monastery as a novice, who was going to learn to be a monk.

00:12:22.000 - 00:12:48.000

He went to the Father Superior and he said to him the very first day, "I will do anything you want me to do. I will hoe the fields. I will wash the dishes. I will wash the floors. I will take on any task, but please, never ask me to preach to the brothers. Never ask me to speak to a group, because that's the hardest thing in the world for me to do."

00:12:48.000 - 00:13:07.000

And his Father Superior was very wise, and so he said, "Then that is what you must do immediately. You are scheduled to preach tomorrow morning." Well, the novice got up in front of all the assembled brothers the next morning and he said, "Brothers, do you know what I am going to say?"

00:13:07.000 - 00:13:25.000

And they all nodded their heads affirmatively. He said, "Well, if you all know it, then there's no reason for me to say it. Hax vobiskum. You are dismissed." Well, the Father Superior was angry at this, so he said to the young man, "I will give you another chance."

00:13:25.000 - 00:13:42.000

So the next morning the boy stepped into the pulpit and he looked out at the brothers and he said, "Brothers, do you know what I am about to say?" The brothers, confused by what had happened yesterday, all shook their heads no. And the young man said, "Well, if you don't know what I'm supposed to say,

00:13:42.000 - 00:14:01.000

then I certainly don't know what I'm supposed to say. Hax vobiskum. You are dismissed." Ah, the Father Superior was really angry. And he said, "I shall give you one more chance, and you must not fail." So the young man stepped into the pulpit and he looked out at the assembled group and he said,

00:14:01.000 - 00:14:21.000

"Brothers, do you know what I'm about to say?" And some of the brothers shook their heads yes, and some of the brothers shook their heads no. So the young man said, "Well, will those of you who know kindly tell those of you who don't know?" Hax vobiskum. You are dismissed.

00:14:21.000 - 00:14:41.000

Well, I think the best witness that I could bring this morning would be to have those of you who know tell those of you who don't know. But it would take too long. And so instead, I've decided on a different method. I've decided that I'm going to hold up, just for quick looks,

00:14:41.000 - 00:15:09.000

some people whom Jesus describes in his parables as not making it to the party. Some people who miss the joy that loyalty brings. Now the first one of these people is described in Luke, the 15th chapter. Here we see the elder brother who refuses to go into the party for his younger brother because he's angry.

00:15:09.000 - 00:15:43.000

Now there are a lot of people who never enter in to real loyalty to Christ through the church, which is his body, because they're angry at the church for one reason or another. That's very sad. Because you see, there is in the Christian life what I call the law of echo, which means if you approach something in anger, you will almost inevitably receive in response only that

00:15:43.000 - 00:16:04.000

which will serve to make you more angry. A little boy came to his father and he said, "There's a boy in the other valley over there who's always calling mean things to me." And the wise father said, "Come." And they went to the edge of the hill beside the valley and he said, "Now you call across the valley, 'I'm your friend and I love you.'"

00:16:04.000 - 00:16:31.000

And the little boy did, and immediately a voice came back, "I'm your friend and I love you." It was an echo, you see. He called mean things, he heard mean things. Just so, if you approach the church in an attitude of anger, well then, almost everything that goes on in the church only serves to feed your anger. Let me tell you about the saddest man I've ever known.

00:16:31.000 - 00:16:57.000

I really mean that, too. I've been thinking for three weeks and I cannot think of anyone I've ever known who was more basically sad than this man. His name, let's call him Sam. And he was in my former church. And he'd been in that former church for about 47 years, a long time. Now across the years, some things had changed in the church.

00:16:57.000 - 00:17:21.000

They didn't do everything the way they did it when Sam joined the church 47 years before. Of course, everything was approved by the congregation. Everything was approved by the session. There was perfect Presbyterian order within the life of the congregation. But because things weren't being done to suit this man, he was full of anger.

00:17:21.000 - 00:17:40.000

Sometimes he didn't even speak to some of the members of the church. He used to come to church and he would sit in the third row. And he would wait until the time came for the sermon to begin. And when it came time for the sermon to start, he would turn around in his seat so that he was facing the side wall.

00:17:40.000 - 00:18:03.000

And he would open his bulletin and he would hold it up and read it like that all during the sermon. He must have read it four or five times at least. But that's what he'd do in an effort to show his anger. One Sunday morning I said to him, "Sam, why don't you let yourself be at peace with Christ's church?"

00:18:03.000 - 00:18:33.000

And he looked at me and he said, "Don't talk to me about Christ's church. This is my church." And of course in that one moment he said it all. He was angry, you see, because everything that went on didn't suit his particular prejudices and preferences. So he didn't give. He did not give of his time, he did not give of his talent, he did not give of his stewardship abilities.

00:18:33.000 - 00:18:58.000

He did not give. He entered with anger. He was a very childish person. You see, it is the young who study in schools which they did not build. It is the mature who build schools in which they will never have the opportunity to study. It is the young who swim in pools which they did not dig.

00:18:58.000 - 00:19:29.000

It is the mature who dig pools in which they themselves will probably never swim. It is the young who sit under trees which they never planted. It is the mature who are willing to plant trees under which they will never have the opportunity to sit. It is the young who will go along only when things go their way.

00:19:29.000 - 00:20:05.000

It is the mature who will go along even when the going is lonely and costly. It is the young who will enjoy a church which they did not build. It is the mature who will keep building the church even when, in times and seasons, they themselves do not feel benefited by it. In the parable, Jesus says that it was the elder brother who did not go into the party.

00:20:05.000 - 00:20:34.000

But understand that his maturity was only in terms of age. If you want to know joy, you approach it through loyalty. Loyalty in terms of everything that you have. You drive anger out. There is no other way to the party. I mean, who can have a good time at a party when they are mad?

00:20:34.000 - 00:21:04.000

Look at another person that Jesus holds before us. This is in Matthew 22. Here is a person who is already at the party, but this person refuses to wear the kind of costume that you are to wear at the party. And so, according to Jesus, this guest at the party, it happens to be a wedding reception, is immediately thrown out, expelled. In other words, it is a costume party, and he will not play the game, so the host puts him out.

00:21:04.000 - 00:21:39.000

Now this says to us that if you are going to have a good time at the party, you must be an obedient disciple. I draw from that this very, very simple application. That to the degree that you refuse to be obedient to the commands of Christ, to that degree, you will not be knowing the joy in the Christian party that you are supposed to know. I lay this down as axiomatic. Jesus says, "Tithe of your time and your talents and your treasure."

00:21:39.000 - 00:22:06.000

Now, to the degree that you don't do that, to that degree, you are not going to know all of the joy which would be yours if you did. We had a fellow join our church two membership classes ago, who, when he was speaking to the session about his conversion, said he had been converted in a Baptist church, and they had baptized him, but at the time he had a broken leg. So when they had immersed him, he had to keep his one leg sticking up out of the water.

00:22:06.000 - 00:22:30.000

He said later he went back and had the whole job done. I thought that was good. See, there are a lot of people who never seem to have the whole job done. They never seem to get all of themselves baptized into an authentic obedience, and thus they never know all of the joy which would be theirs if they were fully loyal.

00:22:30.000 - 00:22:54.000

I've been in California almost five years now, and it suddenly dawned on me that I haven't been back east in the fall of the year at any time in those five years, until this year. And this year I've been back east three times in the last three weeks. I've been to the state of Pennsylvania twice, and this last week I've been in the state of Missouri.

00:22:54.000 - 00:23:15.000

I've been knee-deep in autumn, and it was magnificent. I've never seen the trees as splendid as they were this year. Just spectacular. Now of course, in order to enjoy the beauties of that, I had to cross the country. And then I couldn't limit myself to the cities in which I was speaking.

00:23:15.000 - 00:23:28.000

I had to get into the car and drive out into the country. And then when I got out into the country, I had to get out of the car and walk long hills, and I forgot to take along walking shoes and had the scratches to prove it. But I had to go back into the woods.

00:23:28.000 - 00:23:51.000

There were certain things that I had to do in order to enjoy all the beauties of the fall. But all of it was worth it. I kept thinking of those lines of Edna St. Vincent Millay, "Thy woods this autumn day, they ache and sag and all but cry with colors."

00:23:51.000 - 00:24:15.000

Long have I known a glory in it all, but never knew I this. Here such a passion is as stretches me apart. Lord, I do fear thou'st made the world too beautiful this year. So I would go out and I would sit amongst the leaves and preparing to preach.

00:24:15.000 - 00:24:32.000

And I was preaching three times every day. And that's hard even for a blabbering preacher like me. And yet it was one of the most successful preaching times I've ever had. And when I got back, I got a letter from a saint who's 90 years old.

00:24:32.000 - 00:24:50.000

She taught the adult Sunday school class in her church for 48 years. And she's more than a tither. I think she's a double or a triple tither. And in that letter she said something, "I hope you will not think ill of me for sharing it with you. I share it only to make the point."

00:24:50.000 - 00:25:05.000

She wrote these words. I quote her directly. "I have found some lines, Bruce," which when you're 90 years old, you know you can address people by their first name whether you know them personally or not. And so that's the way she did it in this letter.

00:25:05.000 - 00:25:26.000

She said, "I have found some lines, Bruce, that I feel apply to you." Now that's very much of an overstatement, as you'll note when you hear the lines. But it sure made me feel good to get the suggestion. "Let us, like the trees, adorn our lives with the gold of cheerfulness,

00:25:26.000 - 00:25:57.000

the scarlet of dauntless courage, the crimson of steadfast patience, and the fabulous green of hope and faith, remembering in whose almighty hands our times and seasons are." Well, all of us would like to be like that. But I'll tell you, the degree that we are like that will be directly dependent upon the degree to which we obey.

00:25:57.000 - 00:26:24.000

The degree to which we do the things that are required to be like that. If we won't wear the costume, if we won't obey the host, we won't enjoy the party. Loyalty begins with obedience, and loyalty is the first step to the joy of the full and radiant Christian experience. And just one last thing.

00:26:24.000 - 00:26:47.000

Jesus tells us that there are some people, and he tells us this both in Matthew 25 and in Luke 14, there are some people who never make it into the party because they're too busy doing other things. Here are five virgins who burn all their oil in other activities, so when it comes time for them to go into the party, they don't get in.

00:26:47.000 - 00:27:08.000

And here are some wedding guests who get invited to come to a wedding reception, and they say, "I'm sorry, I've got some business matters to take care of, so I can't come." There are a lot of people who never really enjoy the party that Christianity is because they're living in the thick of so many thin things.

00:27:08.000 - 00:27:30.000

I came across a profile of the average American Presbyterian the other day, which I thought was very interesting. Let me tell you a little bit about the average American Presbyterian. Ninety-one percent of us are high school graduates. Sixty-six percent of us are college graduates.

00:27:30.000 - 00:27:48.000

Fully fifty percent of us are executives or professionals. One out of six is a teacher or a student. One out of eight is a member of a labor union. Eighty-eight percent of America's Presbyterians own their own homes.

00:27:48.000 - 00:28:08.000

One-third of them earn in excess of $20,000 a year. Five-sixths of them earn in excess of $10,000 a year. Now think about that for a moment. That puts us in a pretty high class.

00:28:08.000 - 00:28:22.000

And that's a great blessing to the Church in many regards, to have so many talented people, to have so many skilled people, to have so many people who are masters of their own time, to have so many people who are at an income level where they can support the Church

00:28:22.000 - 00:28:38.000

that it might carry out its ministry. That's good. But there's a curse in that, too. And the curse is, you see, that so many times people who are successful, as most Presbyterians are,

00:28:38.000 - 00:29:00.000

become so wrapped up in their success in the world that they miss the party of real discipleship. John Wesley said this was one of the great paradoxes of his life. He says, "When a man becomes a Christian, he automatically becomes more industrious and frugal. And as he becomes more industrious and frugal, he gets more money.

00:29:00.000 - 00:29:26.000

And the more money he gets, the less Christian he becomes." [Bell rings] Please turn your cassette to the other side. The cycle goes on and on. And it will keep going until we understand that we've got to put the first thing where it ought to be.

00:29:26.000 - 00:29:44.000

That is, our loyalty to Christ, and the happiness which comes from that. And then everything else falls in line. I've been behind the Iron Curtain a lot of times. And I'll say to you quite frankly that I am very much impressed by the earnestness and the zeal

00:29:44.000 - 00:29:56.000

and the enthusiasm of many Communists and citizens of Communist countries. They really work very hard. You can't help but admire it. There's just a modicum of honesty in you.

00:29:56.000 - 00:30:24.000

You've got to admire it. But I come away terribly depressed because they are so heavy-handed and so leaden-footed and so dull and so joyless and so utterly without the kind of happiness which ought to belong to a child of God. Well, I know some Presbyterians who are like Communists--hard-working, zealous,

00:30:24.000 - 00:30:45.000

throwing themselves into everything that they do in the world, but they're without the joy which comes from real discipleship, real loyalty. I wish I had the courage of that Baptist minister down in Georgia who had a man in his church named John--John was a pillar of the church--on the official board,

00:30:45.000 - 00:31:05.000

superintendent of the Sunday school, a tither, giving much of his time and his talent and his treasure again and again to the church, loved by everybody, very much involved, and as almost invariably happens to people like that, he prospered in his business. Soon he had another outlet beside his original little store, and then he had four outlets,

00:31:05.000 - 00:31:19.000

and then he had six outlets, and as he had more and more outlets, he had to travel more and more to be there, so he wasn't able to be at church every Sunday morning. He thought it best if he dropped that official board, so he did. And then, of course, he couldn't keep up with the responsibilities in the Sunday school,

00:31:19.000 - 00:31:39.000

so he laid that aside, too. Now, he had been a tither, and he continued to be a tither--well, a kind of tither. The funny part of it was that even though his income went up, the amount of his tithes stayed exactly the same. He became more and more successful, and less and less involved in what loyalty and discipleship mean.

00:31:39.000 - 00:31:54.000

Until finally, one day, his minister went to see him. He said, "John, we miss you. There's a weakness in our fellowship because you're not there. Why can't you be with us like you used to be?

00:31:54.000 - 00:32:08.000

Well, I've got so many outlets now, and there's so many people working for me, and I've got to keep my eye on them all, and your tithe, it never seems to change. Why, if I was to tithe out of what I'm making now, I couldn't afford it. There'd be so much to give."

00:32:08.000 - 00:32:25.000

The minister said, "John, will you pray with me?" He said, "Certainly, Reverend." So they bowed their heads, and the minister said, "Dear Lord, you've made John too successful. I pray, God, please burn down a few of his stores.

00:32:25.000 - 00:32:48.000

Make sure that no one is hurt, but burn them to the ground. Please, Lord, inflict upon him some real failures. You see, Father, he's become so successful that he depends more and more on himself. He needs some good, shattering defeats,

00:32:48.000 - 00:33:10.000

so he can come to depend upon you and upon those who are with you some more. Lord, won't you..." Just then the man interrupted, and he said, "I'll finish the prayer." And he prayed a prayer of repentance, and he came back fully into loyalty again.

00:33:10.000 - 00:33:32.000

And with that loyalty came a new joy in his life. And that's all I'm trying to say this morning, that discipleship is loyalty, and loyalty is to come to the party. We call this Loyalty Day.

00:33:32.000 - 00:33:59.000

We might just as well call it Party Time. And that card that you get to fill out really isn't a faith promise card. It's an invitation signed by God to everything that joyous discipleship can really mean. Here's the opportunity, you see, to be like God.

00:33:59.000 - 00:34:19.000

It's the difference between being an eagle and a chicken. Do you ever have a little boy that found an eagle egg and put it under a hen and hatched, and the eagle grew up on a chicken pen and always thought he was a chicken, acted like a chicken, ate like a chicken, couldn't make noises like a chicken, but tried his darndest?

00:34:19.000 - 00:34:38.000

Never once did he spread his mighty wings to try to fly out. He lived and died a chicken. Last Thursday I was in Mound City, Missouri, and that's a great national game preserve where all the Canadian geese and ducks that migrate across the United States stop on their way south.

00:34:38.000 - 00:35:02.000

Literally millions of them. Never saw so many birds in all my life. And those wings of theirs just keep them going on and on, mile after mile, how strong those wings must be. And if the wings of a Canadian honker are like that, think of what the wings of an eagle must be like. Yet that eagle never got outside of the pen, never soared gloriously,

00:35:02.000 - 00:35:38.000

never knew all the freedom and the power that were intended to be his. Never got into the party because he insisted on acting like a chicken. So, today you get God's invitation, and written at the bottom are four small letters. R.S.V.P.

00:35:38.000 - 00:36:12.000

That's what this whole morning is about. Are you coming to the party? Our Father and our God, we pray that some word that has been uttered might find lodging in a heart that's willing to hear. And if I would accompany that word with all the joy which comes from real loyalty.

00:36:12.000 - 00:36:28.000

We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. [BLANK_AUDIO]