“THE URGENCY OF EVANGELISM” Luke 14:15-24
FBCF – 1/14/24
Jon Daniels
INTRO – "Wrong Way Reigels" – 1929 Rose Bowl – California vs Ga Tech - Roy Reigels played on Cal football team. Scooped up a fumble & ran the wrong way for 60 yards before a teammate stopped him on the 3 yard line. Ga Tech team tackled him there & blocked punt a few plays later. Cal lost game 8-7. Reigels known as "Wrong Way Reigels" for the rest of his life.
Too many Christians are running away from the goal of winning as many people to Christ as possible.
- Remember sermon series is “Don’t Stop!” – Importance of discipleship from the moment of new birth to the moment of our last breath.
- Evangelism (sharing the Gospel w/ a lost person) & discipleship (helping a saved person grow in their walk w/ Jesus) are not divorced from each other.
o Evangelism leads to discipleship & discipleship leads to evangelism.
o It’s not an “either-or” proposition – It’s “both-and.”
o You lead a person to Christ so that they will become a disciple of Jesus. And a disciple of Jesus will in turn lead others to Christ.
But the sad truth is that there are a bunch of “wrong way Reigels” in the Church today! So many of us are running away from both evangelism AND discipleship. That needs to change. And it needs to change in THIS Church today!
- In the hour that you & I are in this worship service, 6000-7000 people will die in our world.
- And the vast majority of them will die w/out knowing Jesus Christ & they will go to hell.
The Church - & THIS Church in particular – must develop a deeper compassion for the lost & a deeper urgency for evangelism. This urgency is at the very heart of “Making Much of Jesus!”
EXPLANATION – Luke 14:15-24 (Dante read passage)
This passage gives a clear picture of the Lord’s great invitation to EVERY person to come to Him & be saved. And it also shows the flimsy excuses that so many people give to that invitation.
v. 15 – “eating bread in the K’dom of God” refers to the future messianic banquet, a feast that will be given by God for all of His people.
- Revelation 19:9 – “…Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb…” – when we who are the Church, the Bride of Christ, will be forever united w/ our Groom, Jesus Christ!
This man thought he would be at the banquet simply b/c he was a Jew. Thought he was entitled – privileged – deserving – more important than others.
- Same is true today. Some think they’re going to make it to the end time party b/c they’re a good person – a churchgoer – a church member – a deacon or SS teacher – a preacher or church staff member – a person w/ a strong Christian heritage in their family – a good family man – a good mama.
o My family – 7 of us who are pastors/ministers or married to a pastor.
o But that makes us no more worthy of making it to the end time party than someone whose family is filled w/ criminals.
Jesus told this parable to correct this man’s misconception of the Great Banquet of God that is coming one day. And this parable will help us understand the urgency of evangelism that should permeate the Church today.
APPLICATION – Making much of Jesus will increase our urgency for evangelism.
WE MUST TELL THEM…. WHY?
B/C JESUS HAS FINISHED HIS WORK – v. 17 – “…everything is now ready…”
Jesus has finished His work. He’s done everything necessary to purchase & provide our salvation.
- He came to earth.
- He died on the cross.
- He shed His blood.
- He rose from the grave.
- He ascended to heaven where He’s seated at the right hand of the Father interceding for us even now.
- We are not waiting on Him to do anything else, except to return to get us one day soon.
Since everything is ready, it’s time now to issue the invitations to come to the banquet. That’s our job. We need to invite “MANY” to the banquet. And the only way anyone can come to the banquet is to know Jesus!
IN SPITE OF THEIR EXCUSES – v. 18-20 – “But they all alike began to make excuses…”
The excuses will come as soon as we start inviting folks to Jesus.
- Too wrapped up in work – v.18 – Work is not bad – in fact, it’s good. But people will use taking care of business as an excuse for not taking care of the most important business of all – the business of coming to Jesus to be saved.
- Too wrapped up in getting more stuff – v. 19 – Nothing wrong w/ having things. But people will let the acquiring of possessions be an excuse for not acquiring the most wonderful possession they can have – eternal life.
- Too wrapped up in relationships – v. 20 – Getting married is a good thing. Have a family & friends is a good thing. But some folks will use their relationships as an excuse for not coming into the most important relationship in the world.
Be ready. The excuses will come.
- I will do it later.
- You Christians are a bunch of hypocrites.
- I don’t want my life to change.
- I don’t understand the Bible.
- I’m not good enough.
- I’ve got to get some things right in my life first.
Don’t argue. Don’t get discouraged. Just share Jesus & invite them to come to Him.
QUICKLY – V. 21 – “…Go out quickly…”
There’s the urgency that we need to sense in our work of sharing the Gospel.
- Clear definition of the word – Go out in haste. Don’t hesitate. Don’t wait around. “Go out QUICKLY!”
- Pull up to stop light. Ambulance pulls up next to you. No flashing lights. No siren. Waits for light to change to green just like you are doing. Then slowly drives off.
- Sometimes you see an ambulance come to a stop light, but the situation is different. Red lights are flashing. Siren is screaming. Pulls up to red light, but continues through the intersection, even though the light has not changed to green. Why? B/c there’s an urgent situation happening somewhere that requires the expertise of the EMTs & the paramedics on board that ambulance. Could be that someone’s life hangs in the balance at that very moment. So, they go QUICKLY - URGENTLY!
- You & I need to go QUICKLY & URGENTLY & get to those whose eternal lives hang in the balance!
NO MATTER WHO THEY ARE – v. 21
Look at those to whom the Master sent His servant – “…bring in the poor & crippled & blind & lame…” – That’s a list of needy people – people who will need assistance – people who will require strenuous effort on our part to reach them – people who will readily admit that they need help.
We don’t get to pick & choose who we share the Gospel with.
- Might feel more comfortable sharing w/ someone who is more like us.
- Someone in same socioeconomic level as us
- Someone in same community we live in
- Someone who has same skin color as us.
- Someone who lives a similar lifestyle as us.
- Someone who sees things the way we see them.
Truth is that folks who have a lot of money in the bank may not see themselves as needy…those who are healthy…those who are popular & accepted by their peers…those who seem to be living a charmed life…
We MUST tell people – ALL people – about Jesus no matter who they are – rich, poor, black, white, straight, gay, married, unmarried, divorced, living together, Republican, Democrat, those sitting in church today, those who’ve never darkened the door of a church, those who know who Jesus is, those who’ve never even heard the name of Jesus. We MUST tell them about Jesus, no matter who they are! And…
NO MATTER WHERE THEY ARE – v. 23 – V. 22 – The servant told the Master, “We’ve still got room for more.”
- Sometimes even the poor, crippled, blind, & lame don’t want to come to Jesus. Even they make excuses. They’re too prideful or embarrassed or bitter or ashamed or mired in self-pity.
So, the Master says, “Go shake the bushes & find them!” We’ve got to go everywhere we can possibly go to tell people about Jesus – Down every street, dirt road, highway, interstate, across the street, across town, across the country, across the ocean.
FBCF – There’s absolutely NO REASON WHATSOEVER that we can’t share the Gospel w/ every person in every home, apartment, & mobile home in this town. In fact, if we don’t attempt to do that, we are being disobedient to the Lord.
Jesus says we must “compel” them to come in. Some translations – “MAKE them come in.” We don’t physically force them to come, but we compel them by the force of our preaching & sharing & passionate persuasion. And why???
B/C JESUS WANTS HIS HOUSE FILLED UP! – v. 23 – We’ve all heard the saying, “The more the merrier.” I think that applies here. Jesus wants His house full.
- 2 Peter 3:9 – “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (NIV)
B/c of His great love for all mankind, the Lord doesn’t want anyone to die w/out Christ.
- Ezekiel 33:11 – “…I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked person turn from his way & live…”
So, He keeps sending us to more & more people in more & more places so that His house will be full, every seat at the table taken, & the crowd at the party huge!
CONCLUSION
“If sinners are damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.” (Spurgeon)
