“15 And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. 16 Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: 17 And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. 18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. 19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. 20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. 21 So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. 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 hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. 22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. 23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.” – Luke 14:15-24

Today I want to share with you the message I titled “The Great Invitation”. If we study the Scripture above, from the verse 14 the Bible says that a master prepared a great feast and he invited people to come. The master of this banquet is God and the Bible says he sent a servant who in the person of Jesus Christ to go preach and invite the people but the people began to give excuses despite everything was free and ready for them. Verse 17 “And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready…” Child of God, I want you to know one very important thing, and that is, in the kingdom of God everything is ready. God has prepared everything for all of us. Beloved, what you needed yesterday, and whatever you are in need of today, and what you thought of asking for tomorrow is already prepared and ready for you. Hallelujah

Now let us look at the excuses. The first excuse in verse 18. “…The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused “This is a businessman and we can see that he is a farmer who has acquired a big land. However, he has forgotten that the land he has received is from God. That is a life of ungratefulness. What God gives to us, we don’t misuse it.

The second one said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.” Now, this another businessperson and in those days, if you had cattle and donkeys, you were considered rich. They were very vital in plowing of farmlands and other useful commercial activities. If we are to bring it to our day, it is as you having a car, a truck or a van for business. God knows all these people have great possessions and needs but He still mads provision for them. He gave much priority to them, and requested their presence to come for more. However, this man said No, “I want to go and test it. I want to go and enjoy it. I want to go and try it”

Another said “… I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. Of course, marriage is one of the necessities and everyone needs a partner. God gave this man a partner, and that became his hindrance to refuse God’s invitation. Now, when you move on, the Bible says that when the master was informed he got angry. God says, how come? These are my people that I have blessed, and I want to bless them more. Why are they not honoring my invitation? He told the servant, now go to the streets and bring those who are low in society. In the Hebrew custom, these people are the marginalized in the society. Now remember the first group of people are the great people, very influential in the community and their society. So God is saying that if the people I have blessed and are high up in society, the people who have cars, those who have businesses, if they cannot come now then let’s go to the low in society. Go for the poor, go for the sick, go for the homeless, and bring them in.

Therefore, the servant went again. He brought them all in but there was still enough empty space. The master once again commanded the servant to go to the highways. First, it was a street corner. In Hebrew, it means the ghettos. Go to the ghettos. Those who are smoking, those who are on drugs, bring all of them in. Those that are hopeless, those who think they have no more life, bring them now. There is a Greek word used in the verse 23 “Compel them’’. The Greek word is Anakazo, which means force them. Beloved, we are to compel people to come to church. If they like it or not, let them know of your intention. Find every means to bring them using your time and resources. The Bible says that after going into the streets, and into the ghettos, carrying people by force, the house finally was filled.

If you are a born-again Christian and a child of God, know that the master wants his house filled. The master does not want to see hundreds of empty chairs and only 50 people occupying them. The master is not happy about that. In the verse 25, he said for I say unto you, that none of those men, which were bidden, shall taste of my supper. This is a dreadful statement from God to people He has blessed yet they still refuse to worship him. I keep telling people that if you have two cars and you desire to have more, if you can believe God, you may get additional two cars. However, if you think it was by your own strength that you acquired all your wealth and all your cars, hence the need not to worship God, then very soon depreciation will set in. You will begin to have problems in life. However, if you keep following God, He is able to provide more unto what you already have. They shall not taste of God’s supper. It means that there is a latter glory; and that latter blessing will not fall upon them. Anytime I read the Bible and I get to this scripture, I am careful to examine my current state and stand in God, that I still need God. Hallelujah.

I would like to end here and continue next week. Have a wonderful week and stay blessed.

Shalom.