Luke 14:15-24 NLT [15] "Hearing this, a man sitting at
the table with Jesus exclaimed, "What a blessing it will be to attend a
banquet in the Kingdom of God!" [16] Jesus replied with this story:
"A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. [17] When the
banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests, 'Come, the banquet
is ready.' [18] But they all began making excuses. One said, 'I have just
bought a field and must inspect it. Please excuse me.' [19] Another said, 'I
have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out. Please excuse
me.' [20] Another said, 'I now have a wife, so I can't come.' [21] "The
servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was furious
and said, 'Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the
poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.' [22] After the servant had done
this, he reported, 'There is still room for more.' [23] So his master said, 'Go
out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to
come, so that the house will be full."
1.
The invitation is there.
1.
The invitation was rejected by the
people of God so now the invitation is for all.
1.
Vs.15 Here is the mind of many
Christians, "what a blessing it will be to attend a banquet in the Kingdom
of God."
1.
What a blessing I am going to
encounter.
2.
What a blessing my family is going to
have, all of my family is saved, on their way to heaven, everything is just
perfect.
2.
It was customary to send two
invitations to a party: the first to announce the event, second to tell the
guests that everything was ready.
1.
These guests insulted the host by
making excuses when he issues the second invitation.
2.
Come ahead we're ready, well I don't
want to come right now!
3.
In Israel's history, God's first
invitation came from Moses and the prophets; the second came from His Son.
1.
The religious leaders accepted the
first invitation.
2.
They believed that God called them to
be his people, but they insulted God by refusing to accept His Son.
4.
Then we see this master in the story
sent his servant into the streets to invite the needy to his feast, so God sent
His Son to a whole world of needy people to tell them that God's kingdom had
arrived and was ready for them.
2.
God never asks us to suffer for the
sake of suffering.
1.
He never asks us to give up something
good unless He plans to replace it with something better.
2.
Jesus is not calling us to join Him
in the labor camp but a feast, when God and His beloved global, multicolored,
multi-racial, multi-cultural church will be joined forever.
3.
Vs. 18 I tend to think that these
invited are horrible at making valid excuses.
1.
I mean I bought a field that I've
never seen and I need to inspect it.
2.
Who does that?
1.
People then just like today want to
see the product we are purchasing, renting, or acquiring.
4.
Vs. 19 I bought oxen I never tested.
1.
As a matter of fact I bought 5 pairs
and I should probably try them out.
2.
I mean this was one of the main ways
to make money, to take care of your family and you're not quite sure what you
bought.
1.
Any one in here ever bought a car
they didn't inspect?
2.
I mean you didn't know if it ran, you
weren't sure if it would get you around and do the job you needed it to do?
1.
That's craziness.
2.
We have this thing today called car
fax cause we're so interested in knowing every detail about this kind of
purchase.
3.
If this doesn't work out are you then
going to seek a warranty?
4.
I wonder if they had 90 days with no
option to buy.
1.
Just bring those unwanted, gently
used cattle back for a full refund, no questions asked!
5.
Vs. 20 I now have a wife.
1.
Bro, I can't come.
2.
She said "yes, to the
dress."
3.
She isn't going to let me.
4.
You guys are probably gonna have
desserts at the feast, she's on a diet, and she has me on a diet, she's not
gonna let us be tempted to fail.
1.
Used to be a bachelor now I'm
married, I can't.
2.
Dude, I'd love too, it's just we had
this whole wedding thing, this whole cake thing we paid for, I have to send
thank you cards out to everyone who got us a wedding a gift.
3.
We planned and paid for this whole
honeymoon thing, I have to take her on this trip! I have too.
6.
In Jesus's story many people turn
down the invitation to the feast because the timing was inconvenient.
1.
We, too, may resist or delay
responding to God's invitation, and our excuses may sound reasonable or
irrational, work duties, family responsibilities, financial needs, or whatever
may be.
1.
Nevertheless, God's invitation is the
most important event in our life, no matter how inconveniently it may be timed.
1.
Are you making excuses to avoid
responding to God's call?
2.
Jesus reminds us that the time will
come when God will pull His invitation then it will be too late to get into the
feast.
1.
He is calling to you, He has invited
you, are you neglecting His call?
2.
You might dodge His invitation, it
doesn't mean that the invitation didn't come and is not there.
1.
He is patiently waiting for your
response.
2.
We way overcomplicate this thing we
call evangelism.
1.
The calling of God is the enabling of
God, and He wants to use all believers to bring people to Himself.
Proverbs 11:30 "The
godly are like trees that bear life giving fruit, and those who save lives are
wise."
2.
God wants you to turn others to
belief in Christ.
3.
God wants you to win souls.
1.
They made excuses.
2.
They make excuses.
3.
They will always make excuses.
1.
That does not mean that we negate the
Gospel.
2.
We don't quit telling them, we don't
quit our mission.
4.
The world is hungry for the message
we have to offer.
1.
People are in a spiritual search
mode, especially young people.
1.
Opportunities for sharing this
message will either be seized or lost.
1.
We must take hold of the moment or we
may lose it forever.
2.
Evangelism always begins with a burden.
1.
Acts 17 Paul was grieved to see the
absolute absence of the living God and, in His place, every conceivable
substitute.
1.
So he took action.
2.
He was greatly distressed to see that
the city was full of idols.
3.
So he reasoned in the synagogue, as
well as in the marketplace day by day Paul was burdened to the point that he
declared,
1 Corinthians 9:16 NLT "Yet preaching the Good News is
not something I can boast about. I am compelled by God to do it. How terrible
for me if I didn't preach the Good News!"
4.
We have to care, or nothing will
happen in the way of evangelism.
5.
Does your heart ache for lost people?
1.
C.H. Spurgeon said, “The
Holy Spirit will move them by first moving you.”
3.
The world is our audience.
1.
Paul went right to where these people
were and brought the Gospel to them.
1.
He took time to familiarize himself
with these people and what they believed.
2.
He examined their idols.
3.
He read their poets.
4.
He understood their culture.
5.
And He wanted to build a bridge to
them.
2.
It is important for us to have
contact with, to be out and among, the people we are speaking to.
3.
Jesus certainly modeled this.
4.
Time and time again, we see Him breaking
free from the multitudes to bring the message to one individual.
1.
From the midst of a crowd, He called
Zacchaeus out of the tree.
2.
In the blazing noonday sun, He
engaged the Samaritan woman in conversation.
3.
He managed a late-night meeting with
Nicodemus, the religious man.
1.
He reached one they reached many!
4.
God's message was relevant, is still
relevant, and will
always be relevant.
1.
Those around and about us need to
know that we are living in the same world.
2.
We don’t
necessarily want to build our message on these issues, but to completely ignore
them is to miss an opportunity.
3.
We can blast everyone which is
ineffective or we can build a bridge into their lives.
5.
Evangelism is biblical.
1.
Paul opened with a cultural
connection, but then took them to the Word of God.
Isaiah 55:11 NLT "It is the same with my word. I send
it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and
it will prosper everywhere I send it."
2.
Everything we need to know about God
is found in the Bible.
3.
We don’t
need some new revelation.
1.
The power is in His Word.
2.
Christ is the Word, the Word became
human and dwelt among us.
6.
Evangelism must focus on Jesus, crucified
and risen.
1.
An effective evangelistic message
will always make a beeline to the cross.
2.
Christ is our salvation, His blood is
the agent, His cross is the power, His resurrection is our proof.
7.
Evangelism presents the whole Gospel.
1.
Rarely do we hear about judgment in
our day and age.
2.
I am not suggesting that we preach
hellfire and brimstone 24/7, but we do want to help people fully appreciate the
good news of Jesus Christ. And to do that, they must first understand the bad
news of their situation.
2 Corinthians 7:10 NLT "For the kind of sorrow God
wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There's
no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance,
results in spiritual death."
3.
There are a lot of people who feel
remorse for their sin, but they never truly repent.
4.
Remorse is being sorry, while
repentance is being sorry enough to stop.
1.
Repentance results in changed
behavior.
Acts 26:17-18 NLT [17] "And I will rescue you from
both your own people and the Gentiles. Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles
[18] to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the
power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be
given a place among God's people, who are set apart by faith in me."
5.
Paul laid out for King Agrippa the
process of salvation, which clearly includes repentance:
1.
We must have our spiritual eyes
opened.
2.
We must turn from darkness to light
and from the power of Satan to God.
3.
We will receive, as a result, the
forgiveness of sins and an inheritance.
4.
There is a coming judgment.
1.
Our job is not just to make people
feel good.
1.
It is to tell them the truth.
1.
I would rather some one tell me the
cold, hard, unmistakeable truth in love, than to lie to me to make me feel
good.
8.
Evangelism leaves the results in the
Hands of God.
Acts 17:32-34 NLT [32] "When they heard Paul speak
about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said,
"We want to hear more about this later." [33] That ended Paul's
discussion with them, [34] but some joined him and became believers. Among them
were Dionysius, a member of the council, a woman named Damaris, and others with
them."
1.
Paul had just shared the Gospel, and
they "sneered, burst out laughing, in his face."
2.
I'm telling you no matter what we do,
share, or encourage, some people will react that way.
3.
Our job, to proclaim the Gospel
faithfully, lovingly, accurately, and then let God do His work.
1.
God has called and compelled us to go
into the highways and the byways to compel them to come in that God's House
will be filled.
2.
Full of people who need and want Him.
3.
Urge every one you find.
1.
He wants to spiritually feed them.
2.
He desire to empower them.
3.
He wants to bring healing to their
troubled minds, their troubled spirits.
4.
He desires to heal their brokenness.
5.
He wants to feed them encouragement,
truth, and life.
6.
He wants them to drink their fill of
courage, joy, and eternity.
