The Gospel of Luke chapter 14. I'll begin reading in verse 7.
The Gospel of Luke chapter 14 in verse 7. If you have a few
Bibles, it's on page 1130. Verse 7. The Lord Jesus had been
invited here to a Pharisee's house, and there were many gathered
there in this house. eating with them. And this is
the message that comes out of that meal. In verse 7, He put
forth a parable to those which were bidden. When He marked,
when He saw, took notice, how they chose out the cheap rooms,
saying unto them, When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding,
Set not down in the highest room, lest a more honorable man than
thou be bidden of him. And he that bid thee in him come
and say unto thee, Give this man place. And thou begin with
shame to take the lowest room. But when thou art bidden, go
and set down in the lowest room, that when he that bid thee cometh,
he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher. Then shalt thou
have worship in the presence of them that said it meet with
thee. For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased, and
he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. And he said also
to him that bade him, that it invited him, When thou makest
a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren,
neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors. lest they also
bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest
a feast, call the poor, and the maimed, and the lame, and the
blind. And thou shalt be blessed, for
they cannot recompense thee, for thou shalt be recompensed
at the resurrection of the just. 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. And here
begins my text. Then said he unto him, A certain
man made a great supper and bade many, and sent his servant at
suppertime to say to them that were bidden, Come, for all things
are now ready. They all with one consent began
to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have
bought a piece of ground. I must need to go and see it.
I pray thee, have me excused. And another said, I have bought
five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them. I pray thee, have
me excused. And another said, I have married
a wife, and therefore I cannot come. So that servant came and
showed 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 haught, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it
is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. 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. For I
say unto you that none of those men which were bidden shall taste
of my supper." This parable is what I want to share with you
this morning for a few minutes. Come, for all things are now
ready. That will be sort of our thought
this morning. Our Lord loved to teach in parables. Brother Larry has been going
through a parable that our Lord Jesus taught. And many of these
parables show how the Lord loves to condescend to us, to teach
us things that it would be difficult for us to understand except through
these parables. He represents Himself in a very
appealing way in so many of these parables. Remember the parable
of the shepherd? He calls Himself a shepherd.
Now, we know Jesus is not a shepherd. He never kept sheep. As far as
we know, He was a carpenter. But He said, I'm like a shepherd.
I'm like a shepherd. Isn't that very appealing when
the Lord represents Himself to us as a shepherd? If you're lost
and you need somebody to guide you to the fold, you'll appreciate
a shepherd. If you realize you're just like
a dumb sheep, Oh, you'll appreciate when the Lord Jesus says, I am
the shepherd. I am the good shepherd. I'm the
great shepherd. Another parable, he represents
himself to us as a king who made a great marriage for his son. God is like a king. He is a king. He's like a king who made a marriage
for his son. Another parable, he calls himself
a hen. A hen ready to cover her little
chicks. under her wings." What a care
in protecting God. And how condescending the Lord
is to call Himself a hen just so He can relate to us. Gathering
His little chicks. Another place He addresses Himself
as the owner of a vineyard that is concerned with the fruit of
His vineyard and protecting His vineyard. Another time he addresses
himself in a parable as the dresser of the vineyard. He's the one
that digs about the trees and fertilizes them and prunes the
trees. He's a dresser of a vineyard.
Another time he calls himself a sower who sows good seed in
his field. Another time he addresses himself
as a householder. A householder means the head
of the family. In this parable here he's called the master.
of the house, the master of the house. Another place he represents
himself in a parable, there was a certain rich man. He is rich,
isn't he? God is rich. And another place
he represents himself as a loving father who runs and falls upon
the neck of a lost son and kisses him. And our minds and our thinking
is so spiritually shallow It's so difficult for us to understand
truths, spiritual truths. They're just outside of our realm,
aren't they? But the Lord condescends to us,
and He brings these deep truths of God and these spiritual things,
and when He sets them before our minds, we can understand
these parables. We can use our imagination to
grasp these wonderful and spiritual truths. He reveals Himself under
the metaphor here in this parable as a certain man who had prepared
a great supper in bed many. Now the Lord Jesus reveals something
to Himself in this parable. He reveals something about Himself
in this parable. Here's our redeeming God. Here's
our covenant God, this triune God, and He says He's a certain
man who made a great supper in bed many. Now, what can we learn
about the Lord? What can we learn about God from
what the Lord Jesus says in this parable? Well, the first thing
we learn about Him is God is very sociable. He's very sociable. He's not standoffish from us
at all. He loves company. He made a great
supper and bade many. God doesn't need us. He doesn't
need anything, but He desires our company. Isn't that amazing? He desires our friendship. He
desires our communion with Him. How many times when the Lord
Jesus came down from heaven that He taught us to pray to our Father. To go right into His presence
and talk with Him without ceasing. And be anxious for nothing, the
apostle said, but in everything by prayer and supplication let
your requests be made known to God. He's sociable, isn't He? He desires to hear our prayers.
He desires to talk with us and commune with us. What a condescending
God is revealed to us in this parable. He made a great dinner
and invited many. The second thing the Lord Jesus
reveals about our redeeming God is this. He's a God of considerable
means. He made a great supper. And my,
when we realize how many went, what a great supper this was,
not only in quality. You can bet this was the best
supper ever been set. All these dances, all of these
foods. But the quantity of it. Can you
imagine the abundance of it? God is a God of means, isn't
He? If I was hungry, He said, I wouldn't
ask you. Cattle on a thousand hills belongs
to me. The earth is mine and the fullness thereof. The world
and they that dwell therein. He's not a skimpy God, is He?
He's a God of great means. And thirdly, our Lord represents
Himself as this, as being a God of great confidence in His ability
to provide. He wasn't nervous. about all
these people coming? You ladies, bless your heart,
you have one or two couples over at your house and you worry about
it for a month, don't you? Oh, they're coming. What am I
going to fix? Make sure the house is this. Make sure it's that.
And you just worry yourself sick. Am I going to have enough? Is
it going to be the kind of food? He never was worried. He never
was anxious. Even though he had invited many,
many, Our God is very generous. He
instructed those who were bitten, Come, for all things are now
ready. Everything is ready. This wasn't
a potluck, was it? This wasn't you bring your dish
and you bring one dish and time we add them up together. No,
He said, I will provide everything. I'm a generous God. He shall
supply all your needs. according to His riches in glory. I tell you, He's not only a rich
God, but He's generous with His riches, isn't He? He doesn't
give grudgingly. He's so generous. And our Lord represents Himself
here as having a large house. I tell you, His quarters are
not cramped. It's not uncomfortable. I remember
when we all got together at my house on I guess it was the conference
with people looking for a place to sit and they had to sit on
stools and couches just to eat their meals. It's not that way
in the Father's house. There was plenty of room. They
took all of these fellows in and they said, Lord, we've done
as You told us. We brought all these people in.
Multitudes of people and yet there's room. I love that old
song that says, though millions have come, There's still room
for one. There's room at the cross for
you. There's room. There's room. He has a big house,
doesn't He? And lastly, the Lord tells us
here that He is a God of considerable influence. This man who made
this great supper must have been a man of influence because when
He sent out His servant here to invite those that were bidden,
It doesn't really come in the form of an invitation. It comes
in the form of a command. He goes and says, Come! Come! Sounds like a man of influence,
doesn't it? And they knew him to be a man of influence because
they prayed, Please have me excused. I don't want to offend that fellow.
I know he's somebody. I pray you have me excused. This
was a man of considerable influence. integrity in the community. They responded in a way that
they did because they knew he wasn't a man to be slighted without
some consequences. I pray they have me excused. What a fit example this certain
man is of our covenant God. What a fit example, what a good
representation this is of our covenant God. Long before he
hanged the world, long before man ever failed to become the
slaves of sin, God had purposed redemption. Had He not? He knew
He would have to plan. He knew that He would have to
purpose. He knew that He would have to
provide everything that He required and everything that we needed.
He sat down. as it were before time, and he
counted the cost. What's it going to take to redeem
these people? What's it going to take to justify
them and sanctify them and bring them through a sin-filled world
to my house? What's it going to take? And
when he sat down and counted the cost, you know something?
The cost was great. It was a great cost. You and
I have just found out recently in our own life what that cost
was. What does it cost to save a sinner
from sin? What does it cost to reconcile
a sinner to God? It's beyond our ability to provide
it. We found that out haven't we? A newly created world with
all its native beauty could not provide it. All the elect angels
together, if they laid down their newborn spirits as a sacrifice,
they could not redeem us from the fall. What was needed? What was commanded? What did
God require? Of what He required, only He
could provide. God Himself provided what we
needed, what we must have to redeem our souls from sin. And
what was it? God incarnate. God incarnate. That's this supper, isn't it?
Christ and Him crucified. That's this supper. That's the
food the Lord Jesus was talking about in this supper. Listen
to these passages of Scripture. He said, My Father giveth you
the true bread from heaven. My Father's provided you with
the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which
cometh down from heaven, and gives life unto the world. I
am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in
the wilderness, and they are dead. But this is the bread which
come down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which comes
down from heaven. If a man eat of this bread, he
shall live forever. And listen to this, the bread
that I give, here is the supper, here is the supper, is my body. My body broken upon a tree. My soul in great agony, suffering
unto death. My blood poured out. That's the
bread, that's the supper which I give, why? For the life of
the world. Jesus is this supper, isn't He?
Jesus and Him crucified is this supper. Jesus the Son of God
is the provision God has provided for our eternal salvation and
everlasting happiness. And you know something? God requires
no more. There is no more. And He will
accept no less. And He sent us His Son. He gave us His Son who gave His
life, a ransom for many. And now God turns to you and
He turns to me and says, Come! Come! For all things are now
ready. All things are now ready. He's
provided all things. The devil comes to us. And he
whispers such things like this, Oh, there's mercy enough, but
not to save you. You're too big a wretch. God
has a big bank account, but he can't write a big enough check
to fill your needs. Hasn't God already counted the
cost, brothers and sisters? Has he not already counted the
cost? Would He prepare the supper and say all things are now ready
only to find when we came that it was deficient? Is there not
mercy to save everybody here this morning? Don't we read of
the depths of mercy? Can there be? Don't we read of
mercy higher than the heavens? No, He counted the cost. God
sat down and counted the cost and said how much mercy is it
going to take to save a sinner? And he found out he had it. He
had it. What about love? Is there enough
love in the heart of God to save us? Doesn't He call His love
great? Brother Larry read it this morning,
didn't he? For the great love wherewith He loved us, even when
we were dead in sin. What about grace? How much grace
is it going to take to save us? Does He have enough grace to
save me? Is He deficient in grace? Is He provided in this separate
grace? What does the Bible say? That
the heart of Jesus Christ is full of grace. How big is the heart of Jesus?
How big is His heart? It's bigger than this universe.
And the Bible says it's full of grace. The Bible talks about
abounding grace, doesn't it? Where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound. The Bible talks about a throne
of grace. Is there grace enough to save
us? It's been prepared. What about His faithfulness?
Is He faithful enough to save us? We read of a faithfulness
that never fails. What about wisdom? The Bible
says Christ is the wisdom of God. As the wisdom of God, every
question has been asked, and every question has been answered.
What about the power? Is there power enough to save
us? The Bible says the gospel is the power of God, and it's
come to us, hasn't it? It's come to us. It's come to
our hearts, and it's saved us. So what do we find in this supper?
That the Lord is rich. The Lord is rich unto all that
calls upon Him. God hath provided everything
that He requires and He hath provided everything that we need
in Jesus Christ and Him crucified. It's there already. And now He
turns to us and says, Come. Come. All things are now ready. Let me ask you this. If there's
something that's lacking, what is it? What is it? Nothing is lacking for God to
save a sinner. Isn't that so? Nothing, brothers
and sisters, nothing. Come, for all things are now
ready. And I think this is the ground
for their coming. If there's lacking, then you
may not come. You may be justified in not coming,
but this is the grounds on coming freely. God has already provided
everything that's needful, everything that He requires. Come, for all
things are now ready. That's our first point. Come,
all things are now ready. It's been prepared. Nothing is
left. And secondly, notice the urgency
of this call in verse 17. This is somewhat amazing how
our Lord said this. Look in verse 17. And He sent
His servant at suppertime to say to them that were bidden,
Come. Isn't that strange? He sent Him
at suppertime. There's no time to make preparations.
At suppertime. There's no time to prepare. Why?
There's no preparations needed. That's the point of this message
the Lord said. And really, preparations are
forbidden. If He had required preparations,
He'd have sent out a notice, now next Friday evening we're
going to have this supper. That morning he would have sent
out a message, now you need to be prepared for the supper tonight. No, he waits till suppertime
and there's a reason he does that. Everything's ready. All
that's needful now is for you to come. Come and eat at suppertime. Here was this farmer and he came
in off of his muddy fields or plowing and he's dirty. He's
put his oxen up and he comes in and he sits down in his house
and he hears this knock on the door and he opens it up and there's
this man and he says, my master has prepared the meal. Come to
the supper. It's time. And he said, oh, I'll
be there. I'll be there. I just want to
wash up my feet a little bit. And no, no, no. Don't you go back and sit down.
Don't you go back and eat any water. It's supper time. You come now with your dirty
feet. He goes in another house and
there's this housewife. She's been working all day and
she's sweaty and her clothes are dusty. And he says, Come! The Master has prepared His supper. Come now! It's ready. Oh, I'd
love to come. Let me go change my clothes.
Let me go wash up. No! No! It's supper time. Now is the
time. Come now. If you don't come now,
you'll miss supper. You'll miss supper. All things are now ready. Come. Somebody will say, well,
Bruce, I've got things in my life that I've got to get straightened
out, and then I'll come. then you'll never come. You'll
never come. I've got to prepare myself. I've
got to get my act together. I've got some things. You'll
never come. You'll never come. To come to Christ means you drop
everything else and you come to Him now. You come to Him now. The very nature of the gospel
call is one of urgency. It doesn't allow a man to think
about coming, to pray about coming. It says, now you must come. Doesn't the Bible say this? I
have heard thee in a time accepted. In the day of salvation have
I secured thee. Behold, now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation. The only way a sinner can come
to the Lord Jesus Christ, to be saved by Him, is to come immediately. You know the Bible forbids anybody
to put off coming to Christ? It's always that urgent now.
If you are delaying, you're not coming. If you're thinking about
coming, you're not coming. If you're trying to prepare yourself
to come, you're not coming. Everyone who truly comes to Jesus
Christ and to God by Him comes now, just as I am. without one plea, but that Thy
blood was shed for me. O Lamb of God, I come to Thee. I come, I come. And I come now. Come now and let us reason together. Ain't that what the Bible says?
And the reason this call is so urgent is because this is what
people think they need to do, is prepare themselves. Prepare
themselves. I've got to change my clothes.
I've got to style my hair. I've got to match my shoes with
my outfit. I've got to look pretty. I want
to impress. You know how that goes. The Lord
will not allow people to prepare themselves to come to Him. You
come to Him just as you are. What preparations could we possibly
make? And if we did, we'd be bragging
about it, wouldn't we? Can't you see this fellow? He's
washed himself up and he's plowed all day and, man, he's put on
a nice outfit. And he goes there and he's sat
down at the mill. He's not concerned so much about the mill, but how
he looks. Look at that guy over there. Why didn't he dress a
little bit better? Why doesn't he look more like
me? And there he sits. And what's he got on his mind?
Not the supper? Not such a great man that would
be pleased to invite him there, but thinking about himself? We
must come, brothers and sisters, now, and we must come immediately,
and we must come just as we Verse 18, look at the response
of these men. This first man is amazing. All
of them have different reasons for responding as they did. The
first man said here in verse 18, they all begin to make excuses. The first said, I have bought
a piece of ground and I must need to go and see it. I must need to go. Isn't it amazing
how some people think all their little needs are so pressing? Everything in their life that
happens to them, it just throws them into a tizzy. Everything
is so pressing. I can't come to the supper. I
bought this land and I must needs go and see it. Poor soul. Poor soul. Another
wasn't so depressing. had this thing pressing on him.
He said here in verse 19, another said, I have bought five yoke
of oxen. And he didn't say, I must need to go try out, but he said,
that's what I want to do. I want to do it. The first one
says, I've got to go do it. This one said, this is what I
want to do. I bought these oxen and I know that I could wait
a day or two, but I don't want to. You got those who feel like
the need is just pressing and they can't do anything else.
Then you got those who say, I just don't want to do anything but
go check these oxen out. This man loved his oxen. And
this fellow right here is something else. He said, I have married
a wife, in verse 20, and I cannot cut. I cannot cut. Why can't you? One man said,
bring her with you. Bring your wife with you. What's the real issue with these
three groups of people? It goes deeper than just buying
land, doesn't it? It goes deeper than just saying,
I've got these oxen, and boy, I just love oxen. I love to watch
them plow. It goes deeper than just saying,
I married this wife, and I can't come. There's nothing wrong with
buying a field, is there? I bought a house. I bought different
houses. Nothing wrong with buying some oxens. There's sure nothing
wrong with marrying a wife. What's this really about? When
you get down past all of these excuses, what's it all about?
Here's the real issue. The real issue is this. It was
about Him who made the supper. It was about the supper Himself.
They had no respect. They had no regard for Him who
had prepared the supper. They had no need. They had no
hungry to come and ate the dinner. This land is just an excuse. This oxen and this wife is just
an excuse. Listen, if it hadn't have been
that, it would have been something else. The real issue was this. I don't even like that man anyway. That's the problem, isn't it,
brothers and sisters? We need to confront this generation with
this. And I'm seeing this more and more in our own family, among
our children. Our young children need to be
confronted with this issue. You don't love to go to church.
We have to make you go to church. And here is the reason. You don't
want to hear the Gospel of God's dear Son. And here's the reason. You hate God. You despise God. Your unregenerate soul hates
Him. who has provided this great meal
for the redemption of sinners. Here's what this world needs
to be confronted with. The carnal mind is enmity against
God. That's man's problem, isn't it?
We go out and witness to people. We witness to our neighbor. We
give them tracts. We talk to people all the time. And they have no interest. And
yet they turn around and say, well, I love God. I don't love
Him like I should, but I love Him. No, you don't. This world is not God's friend.
This world is God's enemy. That's why men aren't flocking
to hear the gospel of life. That's why men aren't humbling
themselves to seek the Lord with all their hearts. They hate God. I am not coming. I will not come. Why? I'll give these excuses if you
will, but what's the real issue? That's it, isn't it? That's it. Men love darkness rather than
light because their deeds are evil. Sinners must be pressed on this
very issue of coming to Christ. They must be pressed. They must
be confronted with this issue of not only coming to Christ,
coming now and coming as they are. And they must be so pressed
upon this issue that they cannot remain indifferent. This man
here did not say come and then walk away and leave them in their
indifference. Did you notice that? He pressed
this issue, didn't he? He brought these men to a verdict.
You're going to either come now, you're going to walk out of that
door and follow me barefooted in your rags, dirty just as you
are, or you're going to tell me why you won't come. You're
not going to stand there without giving me an answer. I want to
hear why. If you don't come now, tell me
why. If you don't come to Christ immediately, if you don't bow
before His throne right now, then tell me why. I'm going back
to my master's house, and he's going to demand an answer from
me. Why won't you come? This is an issue, brothers and
sisters. This is an issue. Do we wonder why these people
gave this servant an excuse? It's because he demanded a verdict.
Yes or no? absolutely reject or follow me. My Master sent me to you to say
come now and you must come now or you must tell me why you are
refusing to come. We know this was an issue with
this man that made the supper because he tells us here in verse
21, the master of the house being angry. He knew what the issue
was, didn't he? The man come back, his servant
came back and he said, they won't come. He come back and he said,
the one said he had some oxen. The other said he'd married a
wife and he can't come. This man who had made the supper
knew what the issue was. He said, that ain't about the
oxen. It's about me. And boy, he got angry. He got
angry, didn't he? And he made this statement. He
said, Listen, not a one of those men that I bid shall ever taste
of my supper. Not a one of them shall taste
of my supper. You know, brothers and sisters,
there are people right now living in this world whose day of grace
has passed. Their doom is sealed. Their doom
is sealed. Some were. Some were. They have
heard the gospel with these ears. Some were in the providence of
God. The creation has called them.
They've heard the Bible preached that Christ is the only Savior.
Everything's ready. Come. Maybe the Holy Spirit has
pricked their conscience. And they said, I'm not coming.
I'm not coming. And God became angry and they
sealed their doom. You go to the nursing homes and
some of these old people, you can see it in them. You can see
it in them. And the Lord says to them, listen,
not a one of you shall ever taste of My supper. You will not taste
My saving grace. You will not obtain any mercy.
I will never reveal to you the Savior. Not a one of you. Not
a one of you. Their refusal angered God and
it sealed their doom. Do you and I suppose that God
will issue such a command in vain? Will He send this message
to sinners to come and then not hold men accountable for not
coming? Such a God will never send out
a command and then excuse men for their disobedience. Not one
single One of those men shall taste of my supper." And listen,
I'm going home here this morning, here in just a few minutes, I'm
going home. What do you want me to tell the Lord? When I go
say, Lord, surely, surely, there were some folks there this morning,
there had to be one or two folks that have never come to you.
They had never come and tasted of you. And they didn't come
this morning. What do you think the Lord's
going to say in response? Lord, I told them to come. I
told them everything was ready. I told them how welcome they
were to come. Come and welcome to Jesus Christ. Lord, they would
not come. What's He going to say to me?
Bruce, you're taking this way too serious. I didn't mean for
you to get all wound up and your heart in it like this. No, He
takes it serious Himself. This is serious business, brothers
and sisters. Our Lord in earnest sent out
this invitation, sent out this command. Come now quickly! And He was so serious that those
who would not come, He said, you will never taste. You have
sealed your eternal doom. Hell is your reward. Come now and let us reason together,
saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson,
they shall be as wool. If you be willing and obedient,
you shall eat the fat of the land. But if you refuse and rebel,
you shall be devoured with the sword." Well, here's my fourth
point. Somebody's going to jump up and
say, well, the master of the house, his plans are frustrated. Poor master of the house. He's
had to cancel his supper. He couldn't get anybody to come.
That's not the way our parable goes, is it? Look in verse 21. So that servant came and showed
his lord these things. Then the master of the house,
being angry, said unto his servant, Go out quickly unto the streets
and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor and the maimed,
and the haught and the blind. Look at the condition of these
that did come. Did I say come? Oh, yes, they come. But how did the Lord say it?
Bring them in. They were brought in. Oh, they
come, but they come because they were brought in. Bring them in. That was His command. I love
that, don't you? Brothers and sisters, the Lord
is going to have His house full. He's going to have His house
full. We're told about all these people in heaven, much people
in heaven. He's going to populate a new heaven with humanity that
He's redeemed and He's going to have them. Many won't come. That's not going to stop Him.
That's not going to stop Him. I ain't coming. That's fine. That's fine. Somebody is going
to take your place. And look at the kind of people
that come. Look at the kind of people that He brought in. The
poor! So poor He couldn't buy land or oxen. So poor He couldn't
afford a wife. Ain't that the kind of people
that comes to Him? Oh, be thankful, brothers and sisters, if He has
stripped you of everything that you could possibly bring with
you as a payment for this dinner. Be thankful to Him. If you're
poor in spirit, He's made you that way. That's the kind of
people that comes to Him. And this maimed, this word maimed,
it speaks of depraved of necessary part. To be depraved of the use
of some necessary part. Ain't that us? You know what? The Bible says we can't come.
We can't come. We're depraved of the necessary
part. What? A will? Affection? Understanding? Everything we
need to come to Him, we're depraved of it. That's why they have to
be brought. They have to be brought. And
halt, that means to be hindered, to limp along. To go with difficulty? Don't worry, dear soul. If you're
having difficulty coming, just come. We're limping along, aren't
we? We're having difficulty. But
isn't His grace sufficient? Won't He help us to come? Can
you imagine this fellow and he's dragging this one leg? He just
thinks, man, I ain't going to make it over there. I've wore
out. And maybe this servant comes and gets him by the arm and says,
I'll help you. I'll help you. Come. Right where you are this
morning, come and listen. He'll help you to come. And the blind, the blind, they
couldn't see how to come. Somebody had to lead them, the
blind. This is the kind of people that
come to Christ for salvation. These very people right here.
That's the kind of people that come to Christ. And can you imagine? This is
the best plea. The Lord Jesus has just given
us here the best plea for coming to Him. Can you see this poor
fellow that he's dragging his leg And he's standing there at
the door of this man's house, and here the guard is. You know
this place is guarded. I mean, this great man with this
great house, you know his house was guarded. And here this poor,
wretched cripple would come in dragging his leg, and he thought
to himself, man, they'll never let me in. Look at me. They'll
never let me in. And then he thinks about this.
Well, I'm here at the command of the master of that house.
And if the guard stops me and says, I don't know if I should
let you in, here's going to be my plea. He commanded me to come. Now, just like I am. Isn't that a good plea for coming
to Christ and to God by Him? You come filthy. You come laden
down with your sins and guilt, oppressed. And when the devil
says, you have no right here, say, this is my right. He commands
me to be here. He commands me to come. Everything
that I'm going to need, He's going to supply. Yes, I'm filthy,
but He supplied a fountain to worship. Yes, these rags are
stinking, but He provided a wedding garment for me to put on. Yes,
I'm poor and don't bring a thing with me, but the meal is already
set. I'm coming at His Word. Isn't
that a good plea? Why did the Lord bring this kind
of people? Well, verse 13, I read to you
in verse 14, that's what He told us, didn't He? But when you make
a feast, call the poor, and the lame, and the blind. This is
the very people that He called. And in verse 14, He tells why.
And thou shalt be blessed, for they cannot repay you. Why does the Lord call him who
He calls? Why does He strip us? Why is
it necessary to remove all means of our boasting? When we come
to Christ, we're going to say this, Lord, I can't repay You. I'm just amazed I'm here. I'll
never be able to repay You. I just thank You for calling
me in. Look at me. Look at my legs. Look at my eyes. Look what a miserable wretch
I am. I can't recompense you. I can't do anything but just
praise you. Thank you for inviting me. Thank you for bringing me
in. Ain't that what your heart says
to him? You're like old MacPhilip, Chef. Crippled in both legs. And David said, you go fetch
him. And you go set him here at my table. And what does he
do when he comes in before King David? He stands there and he
says, Well, I thought I'd accept your invitation. Jenny said something to me the
other day. We were talking. She said something about, You
don't accept a king. You bow to a king. And boy, he sat there at that
table. He was amazed. What am I? A dead dog? that I
should sit at the king's table. Lord, who am I, a miserable cripple,
blind and wretched, that you should bring me into this banqueting
house? Two or three verses, O wise Isaac,
watch him. Why was I made to hear thy voice
and enter Walther's room? when thousands made a wretched
choice and rather starved than come. T'was the same love that
spread the feast, that sweetly forced us in, else we had still
refused to taste and perished in our sins. Pity the nations,
O our God, constrain the earth to come. Send Thy victorious
word abroad and bring the strangers home. We long to see Thy churches
full and all Thy chosen race may with one voice, one heart
and soul sing Thy redeeming grace. God bless His Word. Let's pray.