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Luke 14:12-24
Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."
16 Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' "But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.' "Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.' "Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.' "The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.' "'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.' "Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.'"
The concept of the invitation is as old as God's recorded word. It is in the opening chapters of Genesis; it is in the closing verses of Revelation. All the way throughout the scripture God is appealing, seeking, inviting and persuading men to come to Him.
Invitations are biblical. The Bible is filled with invitations for men to come to God. In Exodus 32:26, when Moses returned from Mt. Sinai and destroyed the golden calf, he said, "Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me." It was a clear invitation to make a public stand. After the conquest of the Promised Land, Joshua called upon the people to "choose you this day whom you will serve...as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15). It was a personal, public invitation to follow God. After the Book of Law had been found, King Josiah gave a public invitation to the people to make a covenant to keep God's commandments (2 Chronicles 34:30-32). Ezra invited the people to swear publically to carry out the reforms of God. (Ezra 10:5). At the close of his great message at Pentecost Peter gave a classic invitation. Peter delivered the body of his message and the climax is described in these words, "And with many other words did he testify and exhort" (Acts 2:40). Peter exhorted the people to act upon what they had heard. Paul reminded the people; "I ceased not to warn everyone night and day with tears" (Acts 20:31). Jesus invited, "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28-30).
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock." This invitation is applicable to all of life. He knocks at the door of life in the time of crisis, of opportunity, of grief and of joy. The only thing that keeps Jesus from entering these doors is the willingness of people to open their lives to Him.
We are invited to the foot of the cross and the center of the empty tomb.
How have you noticed God’s character of invitation working in your own life? Both ways: How has God been invitational to you, and how have you been invitational for God? Will you respond positively to God’s invitation to become more Christ like by living out these 50 character qualities we are discovering?
From the Heart,
Pastor Jeff Cooper
Love, even when rejected, remains available to you. Love is willing to come down any path to find you, unquestionable.
ReplyDeleteThe Prodigal Father ran to me and prepared a feast in my honor, no questions asked.
I give to those who thirst.
I realize more and more that God is close to me, but He waits for me to invite Him to participate in my day. He does not impose Himself on my activities but invites me to work with Him to carry out His plans. My invitation is needed, but my acceptance of His invitation is critical. Kay
ReplyDeleteAdditional Scriptures and the wheelbarrow story form the Pastor Jeff’s message on 4-10-2011
ReplyDeleteLuke 14:12-24
Exodus 32:26
Joshua 24:15
2 Chronicles 34:30-32
Ezra 10:5
Acts 2:40
Acts 20:31
Matthew 11:28-30
Matthew 6:33
Luke 19:10
2 Corinthians 3:2-3
Crossing Niagara Falls
The crowd had gathered to watch a stunt man perform at Niagara Falls. It seems that the fellow had rigged up a wire from shore to shore, right across the falls, and was wowing the crowd by walking along that wire. Back and forth he went, several times, and so, to make it more exciting, he asked the crowd if they believed he could make it across while carrying various things. First, he held up a suitcase and an umbrella, and asked, “Do you believe I can make it across the falls carrying these?” Since people had seen what he could do without anything in his hands, and it was pretty impressive, most of them shouted, “Yes, yes, we believe.” Sure enough, he got all the way across and back with no trouble. Next he picked up a violin and a bow, and asked the crowd, “Now do you believe I can walk on this thin wire, across these falls, while I play my fiddle?” Again, they had seen incredible things, and so they shouted out again, “Yes, yes, we believe.” It was just astonishing to listen to a string of bluegrass fiddlin’ wafting out over the roaring waters of Niagara. He did it!
Finally the stunt man picked up a wheelbarrow, and said, “Now I have just one more question. Do you believe I can put somebody in this wheelbarrow and balance them on wire and walk across the falls? Do you believe I can do this?” Well, the crowd went wild. They cheered and they whistled. They stomped and they shouted. “Sure. Yes. Go for it. We believe. We believe.”
“All right,” said he. “If you believe, I now need for one believer to step forward and get in the wheelbarrow.” How many do you think stepped forward?
Which just means that there is often a tremendous gap between what we say we believe and what we really believe. A disconnect between our ideas and our commitment.