Our message today is God's conquering
servant, God's conquering servant. In this passage of scripture,
the scene is at the dinner table in the house of one of the chief
Pharisees. The Lord Jesus has been invited
there for a meal. The time is on the Sabbath day. and several things happen. Earlier in the chapter, verses
1 through 6, the Lord had healed a man. And it being the Sabbath
day, he knew the attitude of these Pharisees and he put a
question to them. If your ox or ass fell into the
pit, wouldn't you pull him out on the Sabbath day? That silenced them. They would
not answer him. Our Lord knew what they were
thinking and he knew how to shut them up before they even started. They would not answer. I thought
about the Lord Jesus in this situation and I thought about
myself and I thought about every preacher. What a difficult time
it is in a preacher's life when people will not answer. Come
to church, mad as the devil. puffed up, don't speak to anybody,
and leave the same way. It's a tough time, tough time.
I've had to deal with that just a few times through the years.
But you know, our Lord, he dealt with it the entire time he was
in this world. And then in verses 7 through
11, he gives a parable. And he instructs these Pharisees
about their attitude when being invited to a wedding feast. He
said to them, don't walk in like you're the guest of honor and
take the high seat. He said, the host is liable to
embarrass you and come whisper to you and say, this seat is
taken. It's reserved. You'll have to
move back. So he said, when you come in,
take the lowest seat first. and leave it to the host to promote
you. And then he gives another lesson,
verses 12 through 14. He says to these Pharisees, when
you give a dinner, a banquet, I'm guessing this was a little
clique of them and they all just catered to one another. And so
the Lord says to him, when you give a banquet or a supper, he
said, Don't just invite your rich neighbors. Don't just invite those that
you know they'll have a dinner in a few weeks and they'll invite
you and return the favor. But the Lord said to them, said,
you invite the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind, people
that you know cannot repay you. In other words, don't give just
to get. That's what most of the TV stuff's
about. Religious channels, when it comes
to money, they'll give you as a motivation for giving that
you'll get. In other words, you send in a
little bit today and you'll get a truckload back in the mail
next week. No, our Lord's teaching, don't give just to get, but you
give because you can give. And thou shalt be blessed. Then coming to our text, verses
15 through 24, the Lord really nails these Pharisees in exposing
their attitude toward Him. Verse 15 said, One of them said,
Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. And the Lord responds. And before
we consider what this passage is saying, Let me tell you what
it is not saying. It is not a reference to the
feeble, failing efforts of men to drag people into the kingdom
of God. Not at all. It is rather about
God's way and man's attitude toward God's way. He says in verse 16, a certain
man made a great supper. Now the certain man here is God
Himself. And the great supper is for all
the redeemed, the marriage supper of the Lamb. It's referred to
in verse 14 as occurring at the resurrection of the just. And
verse 16 says here that He bade many, that is He invited many. And the many that are invited
initially are the Jews and the Pharisees. But this story applies
to the attitude of Gentiles as well. Verse 17, And sent his servant
at suppertime to say to them that were bidden, Come, for all
things are now ready. Now the certain man hosting the
great supper God himself sent his servant. Now watch the scriptures
closely when you read. Servant is singular. It's not
sent his servants, but God sent his servant. And who might that
be? We need not wonder. Isaiah 42,
1, behold my servant, whom I uphold. my elect in whom my soul delighted. I have put my spirit upon him. He shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles." God's servant, singular, is the Lord Jesus Christ. Now it says he sent him at supper
time. According to the custom of the
East, a formal invitation had been sent earlier But when the
time comes, then a messenger is sent to give notice that now's
the time. And that's what he's sent to
say, come for all things are now ready. Can I say that word
come is the most beautiful word that ever fell from the lips
of the Lord Jesus Christ to wretched sinners like you and I. Come
unto me. Come. For all things are now
ready." Now, when God should say to such as we are, go, get
away from me, depart from me, you wicked sinners. But no, he
says, come, come. And it's not come and labor,
come and work, come and plead. Come and qualify yourself. No,
it's come for all things are now ready. There's nothing else
to do but follow Christ to the Lord's table, to the Father's
table. This is spiritual language. Now,
as we already said, don't forget the setting at the beginning
of this chapter, Jesus invited to the Pharisees house to eat
bread. to eat bread. Among the Jews,
that term to eat bread did not just mean eating or taking the
meal, but it symbolized fellowship, sharing, enjoying one another's
company. So when Christ is giving this
story and the servant is sent to say, come, for all things
are now ready. It includes not just the meal,
but the fellowship of the Father in the kingdom of God for time
and for eternity. What a beautiful message, invitation. Come. Now, verse 18. And here's the attitude of all
Adam's race by nature. including you and I. Here's our
attitude toward the goodness and the mercy and the salvation
of God. Thanks, but no thanks. That's
the attitude. Look what he said. They all with
one consent began to make excuse. It's unanimous. Not some of them,
but they all, with one consent, all have agreed. We don't want
this. We don't like this. We don't
need God. We don't want God. And of course,
that's what Paul teaches us in Romans chapter three concerning
the sinful nature of man, that there's none that understand
it. There's none that seeketh after God. They're all together,
gone astray or unprofitable. They all began to make excuse. And then he gives three examples.
One, he said, had bought a piece of property that he got to go
see about. And another had bought five yoke
of oxen He's got to try out. And another just got married,
and he said, I cannot come. The other two at least ask. They
said, I pray thee for permission not to attend. But this old boy
that got married, he just said, I can't come. I cannot come. I've married a wife. Well, what
an insult this is to the host. that everybody forfeits the invitation. They all refused. They all made
excuse. What is this saying to us? I'll
tell you what it's saying to us in the day and hour in which
we live. It is saying that by the cherished doctrine of so-called
free will, everybody goes to hell and nobody goes to heaven. Everybody makes excuse. Everybody has far better things
to do than sit at God's table. So what is this gracious host
to do? Will he throw out all this good
food No, none will be wasted. None will be wasted. He would
say, I did not sacrifice my perfect lamb. I did not prepare this
to go to waste. The feast will go on. It will be a success. My house
will be filled. We're talking about God's conquering
servant now, the Lord Jesus Christ. So he says to his servant, or
God says to his son, forget about all those we've invited. They're
not coming. I'm angry with them. Matter of
fact, that's what verse 21 says. The master of the house being
angry, he 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. Let's bring those in who would
never be invited to something like this. Those who know they could never
qualify for a banquet like this. And an invitation won't do it.
They'll never believe it. Son, bring them in. See that? Bring. Bring in hither these. Those who cannot possibly come
due to some physical ailment, they cannot come on their own
due to their moral and spiritual condition, social outcasts, failures
in life, those who are really convinced that they wouldn't
be welcome. Those who have so wasted and
ruined their lives, they're a disgrace to society. Son, go bring them
in. While this host is angry at one
crowd, he's merciful to another crowd. How blessed that he is. I want to tell you, while this
world today spits in God's face, he is yet merciful to sinners. In verse 22, again, it's the servant, singular. Christ himself says, Lord, it
is done as thou hast commanded. I went and brought them in. And yet there is room. Oh, do not miss those last four
words today. There's not many of us here.
But I want to tell you, the Lord knew that you'd be one. He's
brought you here. You're not here by accident.
And he would not have us miss these four words. Yet there is
room. You better know this today. You
better hear this today. Yet there is room. Christ has
brought in a multitude already, and yet there is room for the
likes of you. We who preach God's sovereign
election, we're often accused of making him out to be a merciless
tyrant. Not at all. I read an illustration
by A.W. Pink. He gave this illustration
I thought was good concerning election. And he said, suppose
I'm sitting at my dinner table with my family on a cold winter
night and outside in the street, there's hungry and starving children
and they're cold. And a knock comes on my door
and they say, sir, we are hungry. We are cold. Would you give us
something to eat? Would you help us? We need help. And he says, no, you're not part
of my family. I won't help you. You're not
among my elect. I won't help you. Well, Mr. Pink said, and I want to say
that picture is so wrong. That picture is so misleading. People think of God's sovereign
election as so cold and merciless. But Mr. Pink went on to say,
and this is the truth, he said, the night is cold. People are perishing. The feast is prepared. But nobody's
knocking. The neon lights are flashing.
Warmth inside. No money needed. The table is spread. No money
needed. Fellowship inside. Friendship. Warmth. No money needed. But no one knocks. No one knocks. There is room. And this is still God's Word
this morning. Yet there is room. But no one
knocks. The Father says all the room
must be filled. I want the no vacancy sign out
when this thing's over. My house must be filled. And he says to the servant, go. Do whatever you must. Go out
into the highways and hedges. Look in the ditches by the side
of the road. Go down every dark alley. Look
behind every dumpster. Look in every big cardboard box
and compel them to come in that my house may be filled. They'll confess they're not good
enough to come and won't come. They'll acknowledge they're not
fit to come and won't come. But you, my son, my servant,
melt their hearts by the power of my Spirit. Draw them. calls them to come. The Father's word to the Son
in Psalm 110 verse 3 is this, thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power. That's the only time anybody
comes to Christ is in the day of his power, the day appointed,
the day he melts that heart and draws a sinner to himself. Did not Jesus say in John 644,
no man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me
draw him? Popular religion all around us
hates that verse. John 637, all that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. Nobody else will. No man can come except the Father
which sent me draw him. That word draw is so simple yet
so rejected. It's not rocket science. A horse
drawn carriage means what? It means the carriage is not
going anywhere without the horses. That's what it means. It has
to be drawn, pulled, persuaded. You go to the well with a bucket
and a rope to draw water, as many of you have in years gone
by. And you drop the bucket down
into the well. with the rope stretched out.
There's no drawing power in the bucket. It's never going to come
up full of water by itself. There's no drawing power in the
rope. All the drawing power is from
above. From above. If there's no drawing
power from above, the bucket will never come up. That word
draw, by the way, that our Lord used, It means to drag by force. Now, we're accused of teaching
and preaching this doctrine. People accuse us of saying that
God knocks people over the head with a ball bat and drags them
into the kingdom. That's not it at all. It's not
that kind of drag. It is changing the heart. It
is persuading. You remember the Old Testament
in the land of Canaan? nation, countries where the Lord
sent hornets to overwhelm them and drove them out. Well, that
didn't mean God was there with a ball bat. No, he just sent
the hornets. And somebody said it like this,
God didn't make them go. He just made them willing to
go. You see? I mean, if you step on a yellow
jacket's nest, which I did a few weeks back, You don't have to
move, but somehow you'll be willing to. See? Draw, compel them to come in. This is the same Greek word used
in John 21 when the disciples had a net full of fish and they're
unable to draw it for the multitude of fishes. Peter jumped in the water. The
Bible said all the other disciples came and they dragged the net
with the fishes. It's the same word as draw here
in our text. Dragged, draw, compel, bring
them in that my house may be filled. Christ Himself is the
conquering servant. You say, but that violates man's
free will. No, man's will is not free. It's
in bondage to sin and Satan. Rescuing sinners calls for more
than any person can respond to, can do. If it were just a matter of free
will, of man's will. Paul just as well has said, jump
over the moon and thou shalt be saved. But no, he said, believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. But to the
natural man, one is just as impossible as the other. It cannot be. Paul said in Corinthians, the
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God.
They are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them. That's
why there's thousands of people walking around this county more
intelligent than I that have no need for God. The natural
man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. Well, in Mark chapter 3, How
does it work? I want to tell you how it works.
Christ does the work. In Mark chapter 3, there was
a man with a withered hand, a paralyzed hand. He couldn't move it. He couldn't stretch it forth. And you know what the Lord Jesus
told him to do? Stretch forth thine hand. That was the one
thing he couldn't do. That's what paralysis is. He
couldn't move his hand. And the Lord said, Move it. Stretch
forth thine hand. And the man did it. Now here
is a great truth if you'll listen to me. Boy, this kills 95% of
today's religion. Was the man healed because he
stretched forth his hand? No, he couldn't stretch forth
his hand. Was he healed as he stretched forth his hand? No,
he couldn't begin to stretch forth his hand. He was healed secretly and silently
and sovereignly before he was told to stretch forth his hand.
That's the only way he could have done it. and stretching
forth his hand was the evidence that healing had already took
place. At the Pool of Bethesda, John
chapter 5, you say, I don't quite see it that way. Well, just hold
on. At the Pool of Bethesda, John chapter 5, a man laid for
38 years. And the Lord Jesus come along
and said the strangest thing to him. Take up thy bed and walk. Well, don't you think if that
were possible, he'd have done it before now? But the Lord said, take up thy
bed and walk, and he did it. Was he healed because he took
up his bed and walked? No, he couldn't take up his bed
and walk. He was healed before he was told
to take up his bed and walk, or else he couldn't have done
it. He couldn't have done it. This is a sovereign work of our
Lord. People want to credit the healing
to the man's obedience, but apart from the healing, he couldn't
have obeyed. See, that's the order. Give you one more. at the tomb of Lazarus. Here's
a man dead and buried, been dead for four days, even his sisters
testify by this time his body stinketh. And here comes along the Lord
Jesus Christ who says the strangest things. at the most inappropriate times,
humanly speaking, he comes along and says, Lazarus, come forth. Well, was Lazarus made alive
because he obeyed the Lord and came forth? No. and came forth because he had
already been quickened and heard the word of the Lord, heard the
commandment, and obeyed Lazarus come forth. What's the point
in telling a dead man to come forth? He's not coming. But having
been quickened to life, he hears and comes. John 6.63, Jesus said,
the words that I speak unto you. their spirit, their life. What does all this mean? I'm
going to tell you what it means. Those who can obey God do. Those who don't obey God can't. That's what it means. Compel them to come in that my
house may be filled. We're talking about the success
of the Lord Jesus Christ, God's conquering servant to fill the
Father's house. Brother Tom Hayes has a song,
I was in the miry clay of sin when he found me and brought
me in. That's exactly how it was. I get so sick of hearing this
stuff. Well, I finally decided to turn my life around. Yeah,
you and who else? I heard this testimony that I
got back in church, I finally got back in church fully on getting
back in church. Has the Lord Jesus Christ done
anything in your heart? Excuse me. From proud religionist. who are making the grade. I'm
here because Christ made the grade. He conquered. In my heart, John 5, 21, as the
father raises up the dead and quickeneth whom he will, even
so the son quickeneth whom he will. Thank God for his quickening
work. Thank God for his convicting
work. Thank God for the gift of repentance. Thank God for the peace in my
heart. Thank God for the blessed hope
I have in his son. Oh, yes. Christ is God's conquering
servant. What did he conquer? Well, he
went to the cross. He conquered sin. He conquered
Satan. He conquered death. He conquered
hell. He conquered the grave. But guess
what? In God's time, When it pleased
God, as Paul said, he conquered my cold, dead, rebellious, sinful,
hard heart. And I am here this morning by
his conquering grace. Verse 24, the Lord Jesus finishes
the story. He says concerning those who
first received the invitations, pointing to the Jews and these
Pharisees. It's also applicable to Gentiles,
to all humanity who's rejected the Son of God. I say unto you that none of those
men which were bidden shall taste of my supper. Not now, not ever. Concerning these Jews, Matthew
21, 43, therefore say I unto you, unto national Israel, the
kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation
bringing forth the fruits thereof. Now that nation is not the United
States of America, please. No, that nation is a spiritual
nation. That nation is quickened sinners,
Jew and Gentile, God's elect, bringing forth the fruits thereof. What are the fruits? It is responding
in spiritual life, which God has given to God, to His Word,
to His Son, to His Gospel. It's living. and responding as
a people who have been snatched from the jaws of hell and know
it, a people thankful to God, a people worshiping God in His
abundance of mercy and grace. But he says here, but none of
those bidden, none of those men which were bidden. is going to come. Those who claim
to have a standing invitation to come to Jesus whenever they
please, they will never taste. To all the free will crowd, God
says they will never change their will. None shall taste my supper and
yet The father's house shall be filled. There'll be no empty
seats at the marriage supper." I've heard these old, they call
them gospel songs, it's just religious songs, or it is. All about, oh, I searched all
over heaven for you and I had a dream and I looked to see if
you, hey, there ain't going to be no dreaming and there ain't
going to be no looking. The father's house will be full.
Every seat at the marriage table will be filled. There'll be none
missing. You say, well, what about my
family that died and went to hell? You'll have no memory that
they ever existed. But we're talking about the success
of God Almighty in his eternal purpose to redeem an elect number
of Adam's fallen race. And I promise you every single
one for whom Christ died will make it. Christ did not die in
vain. No, there will not be one that
he shed his blood for that will perish. Why? Because those who Christ died
for are already in Him, already made it, already seated with
Him in the heavenlies. The table is spread, the elect
are feasting, fellowshipping with our God. And it's all so
because of one, and that one is the Lord Jesus Christ, God's
conquering servant. They can talk about communism.
They can talk about the Muslim world. They can talk about heathen
Africa. They can talk about all these
places that we're supposed to be so pitiful about because them
people hadn't heard about Jesus. I'll tell you something. God's
conquering servant, the Lord Jesus Christ, has covered every
inch of this earth, and he's still covering it, land and sea,
calling out his people, convicting and changing hearts. Everything's
running right on schedule. I say this often, God is still
on plan A, and he does not have a plan B. And it's going to be just like
it's supposed to be. When eternity dawns, the devil will not have
a single one that God wanted for himself. God is saving his
people. Bless his holy name. Talking
about Christ, God's conquering servant. He goes out, he brings
them in. The father's house is filled.
Stand with me.