God's Opportunities Series 2
God’s Opportunities • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 1 viewNotes
Transcript
Stewarding The Master’s Invitation
Stewarding The Master’s Invitation
Text: Luke 14:15-24
Text: Luke 14:15-24
Introduction
Introduction
This parable is told from the dinner table located in the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees. While there, Jesus healed a man and taught the importance of humility. He told the one who invited him how inviting those who could not repay him for such an elaborate banquet was far more rewarding in the kingdom to come.
Jesus then respond to someone who makes an implicit statement, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.” The Jews pictured their future kingdom to consist of a great feast with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and prophets as honored guests. The Jew who spoke up hinged his confidence that he would be there one day due to his genealogical connection to Abraham.
The parable we just read is that response. What you will learn from this parable are: Jesus has extended a great invitation to salvation; Jesus’ servants have a great message to deliver; the extent of Jesus’ urgent invitation.
It is my hope that the opportunities you get from this day forward to deliver the good news of saving grace you will not pass up. The consistent reality of opportunities, you could or never again get the same opportunity again. If there is anything we need to be redeeming the time with is faithfully sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
1) The Master’s Great Invitation
1) The Master’s Great Invitation
A. The invitation was sent in advance
A. The invitation was sent in advance
In the first century, when you invited guests to dinner, you would tell them the day but not the exact hour.
The host would ahead of time sent out rsvp invitations so he would know how many to prepare for.
He had to butcher the right amount of animals and prepare of the extras.
Each of these guests had already agreed to attend.
APPLICATION
APPLICATION
Jesus has sent His invitation to receive Him as Savior in advance of His return!
Repent & Believe
Jesus wants you to fully know the invitation He has sent to the world.
John 12:32 “32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”
Jesus is calling you and waiting for you to accept.
However, much of religion has clouded how a soul is to accept the invitation of salvation.
Like the outspoken guest at the table, they base their attendance in Heaven on something different than the criteria Jesus has set forth in scripture.
Examples: Keeping of “the mass,” baptism, good works, slain in the spirit, etc…
Proverbs 16:25 “25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, But the end thereof are the ways of death.”
B. There was a great preparation
B. There was a great preparation
Preparing a big spread on the dinner table today takes a great deal of time. Imagine how long it took in those days!
This preparation was done with these guests in mind.
We could say this preparation was personal, intentional and with great love.
The man would be preparing this feast thinking about the satisfaction and fulfillment each guest would experience.
This preparation came at a great cost to the master of the house. It did not cost the guests anything!
This was a free invitation to come and dine at this man’s table.
All remained was for them to answer the call when all things were finalized.
There came a point when all preparation was complete and the servant was sent to gather those invited.
APPLICATION
APPLICATION
As the master of the story, Jesus has prepared the ONLY WAY back to oneness with the Father.
The preparation for our souls goes back before the world began into the sovereign mind of God.
1 Peter 1:20 “20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,”
Revelation 13:8 “8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”
The preparation for our souls hinged upon a chosen people being set apart to bring about the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
There were sin, famine, wars, idolatry, the devil, etc, that continued to threaten this reality the coming of our perfect Savior.
There were many prophecies of the messiah which hung in the balance of being fulfilled.
However, NOTHING was going to detour God’s plan of making a way for YOU to be forgiven.
The cross coming about was with you in mind.
It was largest statement of love to the human race.
It was a grand statement about how wicked you sin was to God.
Jesus cried out from the cross, “It is finished”
Jesus left a great commission to His followers to complete in view of His soon return.
2) The Servant’s Great Message
2) The Servant’s Great Message
A. It came from the Master
A. It came from the Master
The servants in the story we to go back to those who had agreed to come and let them know the master had finished setting the table.
The servants would have had no invitation without it coming from the master!!!
It was the master’s home, the master’s food, the master’s table, the master’s invitation!!!
It was the servants privilege and responsibility to let the guest know it was time for dinner.
APPLICATION
APPLICATION
You are the servant who has been sent.
Illustration: At the age of five, Hannah made an insightful statement about her newfound faith. She told her mother, “I think Jesus has moved out of my heart.” With curiosity and concern, her mom asked where Hannah thought Christ had gone. She replied, “He has moved to my throat, because all I want to do is tell people about Jesus.”
Many today proclaim a different invitation (a different gospel).
Galatians 1:6–7 “6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.”
We are God’s servants with the greatest message of hope the world has ever received!
Illustration: If someone left for you a million dollars, wouldn’t you want to know and where to find it?
Illustration: John Currier was found guilty of murder in 1949 and sentenced to life in prison. Later he was paroled to work on a farm near Nashville, Tennessee.
In 1968, Currier’s sentence was terminated, and a letter bearing the good news was sent to him. But John never saw the letter, nor was he told anything about it. Ten years went by. Then a state parole officer learned about Currier’s plight, found him, and told him that his sentence had been terminated. He was a free man.
B. It contained great promise
B. It contained great promise
The initial invitation came with a guarantee of a dinner being prepared.
John 3:36 “36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
C. It was totally rejected
C. It was totally rejected
Instead of coming, all the guest requested to be excused from the banquet.
Notice how feeble their excuses were:
First one said, “I need to go see a piece of property he had purchased.”
In the East, the purchasing of property is often a long and complicated process, and the man would have had many opportunities to examine the land he was buying. Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 230.
Since most banquets were held in the evening, the man had little daylight left even for a cursory investigation. Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 230.
Second man needed to try out his newly purchased oxen.
Who would purchase so many animals without first testing them?
Illustration: How many of you would buy a house or car without first inspecting it?
It would be too late in the day to try his oxen out.
Third guest was really brave or dumb.
He blamed the fact he was getting married.
Jewish weddings take lots of preparation, so he would have known well ahead of time he was taking a wife.
Taking a new wife would keep you from the battle field, not the dinner table.
Quote: Billy Sunday defined an excuse as, “the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie.”
Quote: “The person who is good at excuses is usually not good at anything else.” — Warren Wiersbe
DON’T MISS THIS…these guest made these excuses with the thought of receiving another invitation in the future…IT NEVER CAME!!!
3) The Master’s Response
3) The Master’s Response
A. It was an urgent message (v21)
A. It was an urgent message (v21)
Q — What would you have done if you had prepared such a great dinner?
The master sent out the servant to invite those who would appreciate the master’s preparations.
Q — What kind of people do you think the servant found in the streets?
Outcasts, homeless, undesirables, etc...
These kinds of people would be stripped of any kind excuses.
They would have nothing to say but YES.
They would choose being happy and full over being lonely and hungry.
The master never extended another invitation to the rejectors. (v24)
Luke 13:22–28 “22 And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, 24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: 26 Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. 28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.
APPLICATION
APPLICATION
You and I are the people lying in the streets, the outcast and the undesirable!
It wasn’t our value that led the Master of Heaven to extend the invitation to His table, it was simply His desire to place His love on a helpless people.
Please understand, God does not owe you any further extension of His grace.
The opportunity you pass up today may vary well be the last one God gives you!!!
B. It was a compelling message
B. It was a compelling message
What I love about verses 22-23 is that it gives us the picture of there always available room at Jesus’ table.
As long as Jesus continues to invite you, there is room for you.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Do people know you more by your job, who you are married too, your achievements, or by your professed faith?
Illustration: As D. L. Moody walked down a Chicago street one day, he walked up to a man and asked him if he were a Christian. The fellow raised his fists and angrily exclaimed, “You mind your own business!”
“This is my business,” replied Moody.
“Well, then, you must be Moody,” the man responded.
Wouldn’t it be a grand result for people to know you like they knew of D.L. Moody? Redeem the opportunities to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ!