Title Fill My House / Luke 14:15-24
content fill my house
Bible Text: Luke 14:15-24
Jesus said that hospitality to those who have nothing to repay will be repaid in the resurrection of the righteous. One of the Pharisees who heard this said, "Blessed is everyone who eats bread in the kingdom of God." He considered himself to be part of the heavenly banquet. With this opportunity, Jesus told the parable of the great banquet.
The place where the head of the Pharisees invited Jesus and other people was an everyday meal, not a big feast. If we take the case of our people as an example, we can call it a big feast to celebrate a wedding or 60th birthday. The Jews of Jesus' day regarded marriage as important and celebrated it just like our people. No, it could be said that they were more zealous than we were. They even held feasts for several days, depending on family conditions.
The master in Jesus' parable probably held a wedding feast like this in a grand way. And many people I used to know were invited. He wanted to share his wealth and joy with those invited. And I was looking forward to meeting them at the feast.
According to the custom of the Jews at that time, the exact time of the feast was given on the day, not in advance. When the time came, the master sent his servants to those he invited. The servant's job was to lead people to the feast. From this servant we learn what the Christian role is. A Christian is to lead the people of the world to the kingdom of heaven where God will give a feast.
Our church is developing a movement to evangelize one by one by the end of the year. This text deals with some of the things you need to know to do evangelism.
First, don't be discouraged if your initial expectations are not met.
According to this parable, there are those who have already promised to attend the feast. These are people who have known the owner well before. So, when I received the invitation of the owner, I promised myself that I would be happy to go. However, when the servant personally visited and invited him back to the feast, they consistently refused with excuses. One said he couldn't go because he had to buy a field and go out to see, another said he couldn't go because he had to buy five yoke of oxen to try, and the other said that he couldn't marry. Other people's excuses were the same.
When we go out to evangelize with the Gospel, we occasionally meet people who are favorable to the Gospel, Christianity, God, Jesus, and the Church. We have the expectation that they will attend the worship service even next Sunday. When the other person even promises to attend the worship service, we rejoice and give thanks to the Lord. The problem is that it is good for them to attend on the promised Sunday, but the reality is that there are more people who do not keep their promises than those who keep them. They, like the people in the parable, use one or another excuse not to attend.
Do not be discouraged even if you encounter such a thing while evangelizing. If the Bible is the truth, then the existence of the devil and Satan is also the truth. The Devil never allows unbelievers to easily slip out of his grasp. They do everything they can to prevent them from keeping their promises. A healthy baby may suddenly become ill. You may even get a call from a friend you haven't heard from for a long time. Depending on the day, it may encourage the husband's examination and cause the couple to fight.
Second, marginalized people must also be reached.
The master told the servant to go out into the streets and alleys of the city and bring the poor, the sick, the blind and the lame, who had returned with no success. They were marginalized because of poverty and marginalized because of their physical disabilities.
Do not give up while evangelizing your family, neighbors, or friends. It is not necessary to evangelize only to people you know. There are people in the alleys. There are people in the shade too. They too are objects of God's love. Rather, they are alienated from most people, so if we approach them with a little interest, we can easily evangelize. Praise God because there are people who evangelize people with disabilities. Praise the Lord because there are people who evangelize against prostitutes. Praise the Lord because there are people who spread God's love to prisoners. There are people who spread the love of God to the North Koreans as well. Let's praise God.
Just before the beginning of the text, there are words that Jesus said while giving a lesson about hospitality.
"If you wish to celebrate a feast, rather invite the poor, the sick, the lame, and the blind, and it will be a blessing to you, for they have nothing to repay, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." (13-14) section)
If we invite them to the heavenly feast, how great will it be for us in the future?
Third, you need to force it.
There are those who do not even respond to the invitation to come. Maybe there are people who can't respond because they don't have robes. Perhaps there are people who think that they cannot respond because they are strangers. What the master said to the servant to fill the vacancy was to alleviate the concerns of these people.
?쏥o out into the streets and by the hills, and compel them to take me and fill my house.??
Don't give up if you don't get results after evangelizing once or twice. The devil and Satan are never going to be overcome. The gospel we preach is good news, and if necessary, we must force others to accept the gospel.
The fact that we are on this earth is proof that there are still empty seats left in heaven. On the day when all vacancies are filled, we will see the Lord of glory. In order to meet that day quickly, we must evangelize and force ourselves.
God is not only inviting people to the heavenly feast, but also to worship. Just as those who were invited refused the invitation with various excuses, there are some Christians who refuse the invitation to worship. How will God deal with them?
?쏷hen the owner of the house became angry?╈?(verse 21).