FOUND PEOPLE FIND PEOPLE
Notes
Transcript
No one finds God, he is not lost.
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
No one seeks God. Why?
Sin
as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands; no one seeks for God.
Satan
In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Today’s text reminds us that no one seeks after God and that God uses those who He has found to find people.
When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
But he 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 everything is now ready.’
But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’
And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’
And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’
So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’
And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’
And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.
For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’ ”
WHAT DOES THIS PARABLE TEACH ME ABOUT WHO GOD IS?
HIS INVITATION TO SALVATION IS FAR-REACHING.
But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many.
In the imagery of the parable, the many who first were invited refers to the Jewish religious leaders of Jesus’ day. These men had the privilege of studying the Scriptures. They had read Moses; they knew what the Prophets predicted concerning the Messiah. As Paul puts it in
Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God.
they had the advantage of being entrusted with the oracles of God. When the dinner hour came, God sent His messenger, John the Baptist, to say, “Everything is ready now.” But the Jewish leaders made excuses and did not come.
So the Lord expanded the invitation to the “outcasts” of Israel. The Pharisees despised these people as “born entirely in sin” (John 9:34). Many of the prostitutes, tax collectors and other notorious sinners responded to God’s invitation and were following Jesus. This proud Pharisee who invited Jesus to dinner would never have thought of extending his invitation to these outcasts (14:13), but Jesus is telling him that God’s invitation includes those whom the proud Pharisees had rejected.
But there was still room at the master’s table (14:22). And so the invitation goes still wider, outside the “city limits” of Judaism, to the Gentiles who are out in the highways and along the hedges (14:23). At His great banquet the Lord will have a great multitude which no one can count from every nation and tribe and people and tongue (Rev. 7:9). God’s invitation is a broad invitation! It includes every person from every race, no matter whether his or her background is very religious or completely pagan.
And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’
And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.
We commit a great error when we make the church an exclusive club for the religiously inclined. Have you ever looked at someone and thought, “That person would not be interested in the gospel because he lives a very ungodly life”? Or, you see someone who looks like he belongs to a motorcycle gang and you think, “That person doesn’t look like a good candidate for a Christian!” Or perhaps we see a person whose attire identifies her as a Hindu or a Muslim. We think, “She has her own religion and way of life. The gospel is not for her.” Whenever we think like that (and we all have), we’re limiting God’s FAR REACHING invitation of the gospel. His gospel will transform every sinner from every background who will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. To every person on this planet the Lord says, “Come, for everything is ready now.”
HIS INVITATION TO SALVATION IS FREE
And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’
At Christmas one year a pastor hoped to illustrate God’s free salvation. He pointed to a beautiful Christmas poinsettia setting on the platform, wrapped in red cellophane with a ribbon, and said, “Whoever wants this gorgeous flower may have it. All you have to do is take it.” He waited, but no one came forward to get it. Finally, a mother timidly raised her hand and said, “I’ll take it.”
“Great, it’s yours,” said the pastor. But then the woman nudged her son and said, “Go get it for me.” The pastor said, “No, whoever wants this plant must come and get it personally. You can’t send a substitute.” The woman shook her head, unwilling to risk embarrassment. She wouldn’t go get it for herself.
The pastor waited, pointing to this beautiful plant that would make a fine decoration in any home. It was free for the taking, but no one was coming up to get it. Someone snickered, “What’s the catch?” “No catch,” said the pastor. “It’s totally free.”
A college student asked, “Is it glued to the platform?” Everyone laughed. “No,” the pastor said, “it’s not glued to the platform. It’s just setting there, free for the taking.”
A teenage girl asked, “Can I take it after the service?” The pastor was tempted to give in, but he thought of the verse, “Today is the day of salvation,” and shook his head: “You must come and get it now.”
He was just beginning to wish that he had never started the whole thing when a woman he had never seen before stood up in the back. Quickly, as if she were afraid that she would change her mind, she strode to the front and picked up the plant. “I’ll take it,” she said. After she had gone back to her seat, the pastor launched into his message on Romans 6:23, that the gift of God is eternal life, free to all who will receive it.
After the service, when most of the people had gone home, the woman who had claimed the poinsettia came up to the platform where the pastor was picking up his Bible to leave. “Here!” She held out her hand. “This flower is too pretty to just take home for free. I couldn’t do that with a clear conscience.” The pastor looked down at the crumpled paper the woman had stuffed into his hand. It was a ten dollar bill. (Adapted from “Leadership,” Spring, 1990, p. 125.)
Friends, you can’t stuff the ten dollar bill of your good works into God’s hand to pay for His salvation banquet. He provides it all, totally free to you, but at great expense to Himself. Human nature is so inclined to boast in good works that when you tell people the good news about Jesus, you must take pains to make it clear that God’s invitation is free and only free.
HIS INVITATION TO SALVATION PROMISES TO FULFILL.
And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’
He says, “Come, for everything is ready now.” Everything! All you can eat and more besides! He makes all the necessary provisions beforehand and puts them on the table. When you walk in the door, you see a table loaded with appetizers. Help yourself! There is a full salad bar, along with soup. Go back as often as you wish. There are several selections for the main dish. Would you like prime rib or lobster? And there is pie a la mode to top it all off! It is the most fabulous feast you can imagine, all freely provided by the host for everyone who will come and eat.
What a great picture of the abundant salvation God so freely provides for sinners! When you come to His banquet table in Christ, He doesn’t just give you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He gives you the works! He is a fountain of living water to wash away all of your sins. He gives you the indwelling Holy Spirit who gives you peace to replace your anxiety, joy to replace your depression, power to overcome your sins and wisdom to make the right decisions. You have fellowship every day with the gracious Savior and the promise of eternity with Him in heaven. The apostle Peter describes it like this: “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence” (2 Pet. 1:3). Long before we ever thought of God, He thought of us and made ample provision for our salvation. His abundant provision means that you are welcome to come to His table and eat until you are satisfied.
With that kind of offer, you may wonder, “How can anyone refuse?” But Jesus’ parable clearly warns that some do refuse God’s FAR-REACHING, FREE, and FULFILLING invitation.
WHAT DOES THIS PARABLE TEACH ME ABOUT WHAT GOD DOES?
And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’
So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’
And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.
HE SEEKS FELLOWSHIP WITH ANY WHO WILL COME.
WHAT DOES THIS PARABLE TEACH ME ABOUT WHO I AM?
YOU HAVE REJECTED THE INVITATION
Each of those who are first on the invitation list responds with an excuse for why he cannot come. The first man says that he cannot come because he has bought a piece of land and he must go out and look at it. This is a flimsy excuse! Who would buy a piece of land sight unseen? Besides, why does he need to go to look at it at the same time as the dinner? If he wanted to, he could plan to do both. Clearly, he did not want to come to the dinner. He represents the person who is tied up with his possessions or investments so that he has no time for God. He forgets that this very night his soul may be required of him, and then who will own what he has worked so hard to accumulate?
The second man says that he cannot come because he has bought five yoke of oxen and he is going to try them out. Again, it was a flimsy excuse. No one would buy oxen without first trying them out. Like the first man, this man was caught up with his possessions and his work. He can’t even take time off to have dinner with Jesus. He is living for the things of this world, but he is neglecting his soul.
The third man says that he cannot come because he has married a wife. Perhaps he is saying that he couldn’t bear to be apart from his beloved for even a few hours. Maybe his wife didn’t want him to go anywhere without her. At any rate, he was making an idol of his wife, putting her above his need for God. As Jesus goes on to say, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple” (14:26).
The interesting thing is that none of these excuses was sinful, in and of itself. There is nothing wrong with buying land or animals (or machinery) to work the land. The Bible commends enterprise and hard work. There is nothing wrong with marriage and the love of family. The Bible commands us to love our families. But the point is, things that are legitimate in their rightful place can be wrong if they hinder us from getting right with God. It is not just gross, flagrant sins that keep people out of God’s kingdom. Good things wrongly emphasized will do the trick just as well. If a person gets wrongfully caught up with these otherwise good things, he can invent all sorts of excuses for not accepting the Lord’s invitation to His dinner.
There may be someone here who is so caught up with your possessions or your leisure pursuits or your career that you are neglecting your soul. Perhaps you are single and longing for a mate and you would consider marrying even a non-Christian, because you think he or she would bring you fulfillment and happiness. You would put momentary pleasure above the eternal pleasure of dinner with Jesus. You’re saying, “Lord, I can’t come to Your dinner because I have married a wife.”
To allow anything to cause you to refuse or put off accepting God’s offer of salvation is a foolish decision. The host gets angry at the refusal, because it was a rude personal insult to turn down such a bountiful invitation. God offered His own Son as the sacrifice for sinners to be reconciled to Him. As the author of Hebrews asks, “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” (Heb. 2:3). As the host here declares, “For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner” (14:24). The refusal of the first group led the host to send out the invitation to others who accepted his offer.
YOU HAVE RECEIVED THE INVITATION.
The striking thing is that everyone who accepted the invitation could have come up with seemingly legitimate excuses for not coming. The poor man could say, “I don’t have anything decent to wear to such a feast.” The crippled man could say, “I can’t get anyone to carry me there.” The blind could say, “I can’t see to find my way.” The lame could say, “It hurts me too much to walk on my bad leg.” Those along the highways and hedges, the street people, could say, “I haven’t had a bath in days and my clothes are dirty and ragged. I can’t come.” But they all accepted the offer because the servant convinced them that they were welcome and they clearly knew their own need; they were hungry. They believed the offer and they responded personally to it in spite of the potential excuses they each could have come up with.
The servant didn’t run a background check on all these people before he invited them to the feast. Their background didn’t matter. He didn’t find out their nationality. He didn’t ask about their religious background or whether they even had one. He didn’t get a promise that they would behave and show proper manners at the dinner table. The invitation was not based on anything in the recipients; it was based totally on the goodness and bounty of the host. All that these people had to do was recognize their hunger, believe that the offer was true, and say, “Yes, I’ll come.” When they came, they found that the feast was far better than they had ever expected or imagined.
WHAT DOES THIS PARABLE TEACH ME ABOUT WHAT I SHOULD DO?
QUITE MAKING EXCUSES
One of the main hindrances that will keep you from having dinner with Jesus is that you are so full of your own goodness that you won’t acknowledge your need for His banquet. Your pride will make you say, “I’ll bring the salad and dessert.” But the Lord says, “No, I provide it all. You just come.”
It sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? It is good, but it’s also true, according to Jesus. The main catch is, you have to see and admit that you are that needy bum. Spiritually, you have nothing to commend yourself to God. Salvation is not based on anything in you. In fact, it is offered freely in spite of you. It is all of God’s free grace, not at all of your works, lest anyone should boast.
Jesus is saying to each person, no matter how great your sins, “Come, for I have prepared everything for you to be saved from God’s judgment and to dine with Me for all eternity.” Will you say, “Yes, Lord. I’ll come!”
In 1973, Gary Kildall wrote the first popular operating system for personal computers, named CP/M. According to writer Phillip Fiorini, IBM approached Gary in 1980 about developing the operating system for IBM personal computers. But Kildall snubbed IBM officials at a crucial meeting, according to another author, Paul Carroll. The day IBM came calling, he chose to fly his new airplane. The frustrated IBM executives turned instead to a man named Bill Gates, founder of a small software company called Microsoft, and his operating system named MS-DOS. The rest is history. In 2010, Bill Gates was worth more than 53 billion dollars. Of Mr. Kildall, who has since died, author Paul Carroll says, "He was a smart guy who didn't realize how big the operating system market would become." He missed a huge opportunity. In a similar way, people often don't realize how big God's kingdom will become someday. God is calling with the offer of a lifetime
For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’ ”
The same sun that melt the ice hardens the clay. See yourself for who you truly are; someone who cannot save themselves. See God the Father for who he truly is; someone who seeks rebels not to take revenge but to provide redemption. Someone who provides a great banquet to fulfill our hearts greatest appetites when He could easily leave us to be destroyed by our sinful appetites.
If you believe you have gone too far this morning and your invitation has been withdrawn; listen again to the story
And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’
I believe your hearing of this sermon is the Lord way of saying; “the invitation still stands and still there is room”
NEVER QUIT EXTENDING THE INVITATION
Inviting people to trust Christ as their Savior is most often met with rejection. Why did those invited not jump at the opportunity to attend this great banquet? They did not see it as great. There was no grandeur that captivated their attention. They saw no need to attend because they saw no benefit. No matter there excuse it should never cripple our clear call to compel. Our voice should be infused with urgency of this word compel. Our actions unfettered from all worldly distractions as we meditate on this word compel. Let us not fall prey to procrastination for today’s opportunities may not be here tomorrow.
The two essential points in His teaching are that no man can enter the Kingdom without the invitation of God, and that no man can remain outside it but by his own deliberate choice. Man cannot save himself; but he can damn himself. And it is this latter fact that makes the preaching of Jesus so urgent.
“If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.”
We must go to sinners if we expect sinners to come to the Savior.