There is a powerful revelation in Luke 14 where Jesus begins by saying in verse 16, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ But they all with one accord began to make excuses.” Our Savior has died on the cross for our sins, He has provided the free gift of eternal life, yet the majority of the world continually rejects Him. Yet Jesus knew this would happen, so He tells the parable of this man who gives a great supper. Everyone who is initially invited rejects the invitation.
The parable continues, “So that servant came and reported these things to his master. 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 here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’” When you have nothing, it seems you have nothing to lose in life. The poor and lame readily accepted the invitation, because they had nothing.
“And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’”
The work of salvation is complete. The Holy Spirit is active and alive, yet the Bible instructs us that we must compel people toward the Kingdom of God. We do not save them, Jesus does. However, we must actively live out our faith by going into the world, and compelling the lost by the word of our testimony, and showing them the love of God.
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| The Haward Family: 3 generations on Team Guatemala |
Just a few days ago, I was with one of our GI teams. We were in Guatemala, and we had the opportunity to minister in a garbage dump where over 100 people live. Throughout this year, we have had several teams go out to this area—this helps our contacts establish credibility, and allows them to build relationships with the people. This group of people has been there the entire time we have been working in Guatemala, yet we had to find them, then we had to compel them. People will not find Jesus unless we go to them.
