Key Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 5 NLT
10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in our bodies.
11 It is because we know this solemn fear of the Lord that we work so hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too.
Jesus was not just a good man, one of the esteemed prophets of Islam or a rabbinical teacher of the Law of Moses. Either He is the Son of God, Messiah of the Jews and Savior of the world or else He is a diabolical lunatic with delusions of grandeur and evil intentions perpetrating the biggest hoax since the creation of man. He is either the truth or a liar, he cannot be anything in between.
At the very mention of His name men are called into decision. What decision have you made? What say ye? Jesus, Liar or Lord? Your life will tell the story.
The bible records a parable in the Gospel according to Luke which I want us to look at this morning. Specifically:
Luke 14 NKJV
16 Then He said to him, "A certain man gave a great supper and invited many,
17 "and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’
18 "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 you to have me excused.’
19 "And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’
20 "Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’
21 "So that servant came and reported these things to his master. 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 in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’
22 "And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’
23 "Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
We are given to understand that the Master Who is giving this great supper is representative of none other than Almighty God. The invitation in this parable is to come and partake of the feast of salvation from the table of the Lord.
Notice the excuses given herein are progressively ruder and all have an element of newness about them - new field, new oxen, new wife, - as opposed to the old invitation of the Gospel. Often the things of this world hold a new and sweet allure when compared to the call of a narrow road walk with Christ.
A deeper study of the history, culture and customs surrounding verses 16 & 17 gives us to understand that there was of reason an initial invitation given informing all who would be guests, far in advance of the feast so as to alert them to the coming event, that they might be ready when the actual day of the feast arrived.
Then, as custom and culture still dictates, a servant is sent out once again with a message that the supper is now ready, come at once, do not delay.
Here in this parable we see these customs followed in principle and watch the unfolding scene in respect to the excuses given this fore planned event.
The four invitations of this parable include:
* First the pre-supper invitation far in advance
* Second & more personal a servant was sent to the noble leaders of the city, the well to do, those honorable citizens of the same casts.
* Third to those in the city, (in Jewry), who were not of means but lived in the streets and lanes as poor, lame, maimed and blind. This was done in haste, ‘quickly’ as is stated.
* Fourth and last to those who live outside the city, (the Gentiles), who are found out on life’s highways and in the common hedges surrounding the fields of this world.
These invitations are represented in the bible’s story of the redemption of mankind. God is inviting people to be saved:
The first invitation to salvation through the sacrifice of God’s Son was given in prophecies throughout the ages from Adam to John the Baptist. These prophecies of the Seed of a Woman, born in
The second invitation to the noble was perhaps given when Christ was born. King Herod was given the opportunity to come and worship. Or it could have been when Jesus sat with the elders and scribes at the age of 12 in the temple at
The third invitation was no doubt sent out to those on the hillsides and shores of the Galilee to the poor multitudes on the Mount of Beatitudes and to those in Decapolis,
The fourth invitation no doubt is to us. It began in the book of Acts when the call of God went out into all the world saying ‘whosoever will let him come and drink of the water of life freely’. It continues going out today, but yet there is still room. There is still room for another to say yes to this last great invitation.
Have you said yes yet? There is still room at the Gospel’s table for you, and you, and you … You have an engraved invitation - - - It is engraved on the palms of our dear Lord and Savior, Jesus.
This morning however, allow me to turn our focus for a moment to one particular word found in verse 23: This word is compel.
Luke 14:23 "Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
We are living in compelling days. This world we live in has never offered so many enticements. No other generation has ever faced the temptations made so easily available, bombarding the common life with darts of wickedness which need no solicitation.
The lure of ‘newness’ is all about. Sin on demand is offered with the single touch of a button promising and fulfilling pleasures which feed the flesh with forbidden delights, addicting the souls of the unwary all too often captured before they realize the battle.
Excuses are ever present … many rude insults offering why one does not accept the invitation of the Lord to come now and feast at the table of His love.
With these formidable opponents of the Gospel weighing so heavily on mankind, it is our duty in this hour to be more compelling than we have ever been when presenting this invitation we carry.
The word Compel means - to drive by force, threat or necessity; to drag; entreat; or constrain by permission or by other means necessary; to impose either by law, by circumstances, by argument, custom, calamity, distress or advantage.
This is our Gospel duty. To compel others to accept the invitation from God and be saved while there is yet time. There is still room, but time runs shorter and shorter each moment and every day.
Let me ask you a question for my own peace of mind this morning.
“Is there anything I can say to you that will make a difference?”
“Is there anything I can do to get you to make Jesus your Lord?”
“What has to happen, what will it take for you to believe and begin to live a compelling witness for Christ?”
* “Will a miracle do it?”
* “Will a message do it?”
* “Will a dream do it?”
* “Will a success, a failure, a victory or a defeat do it?”
“What will it be that will move you closer to God?”
For me it was a tragedy … a death … the tragic death of Jesus Christ, God’s Only Son, on the cross of
When I realized the truth, it compelled me to come to Christ.
You have been invited to the greatest feasts this world will ever know. A call has gone out and millions have answered the call and yet there is still room for you. Come to Jesus …
Stop with the excuses – don’t let this world’s new and sweet promises of riches, relaxation and pleasures lure you and lead you to miss the greatest invitation of your life.
Say yes to Jesus today. I compel you. Stop with the excuses and say yes right now! There is still room for you.
