“And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.’” (Luke 14:23 NASB)
Good Monday morning, my friend! Here is the Monday Short meditation that you have been waiting for, and it is just what we need.
In the fourteenth chapter of The Gospel according to Luke, verse 1-24, you will find the following topics addressed by Jesus: (1) “Concerning Inflexible People,” speaking of the rigidity of the Pharisees, (2) “Concerning Inflated People,” and (3) Concerning Indifferent People.” In verse 16-24, Jesus places an emphasis on inviting people to come to Christ for salvation. Check it out! But this morning, I want to give you an example of how the Lord verifies His instructions for us, including the Great Commission that challenges us to go and make disciples; recruit people and retain people in the kingdom. It all starts with us going out and inviting others. And to tell you the truth, when we us our mouths, when we engage in face-to face communication, as led by the Spirit of God, we will see that we don’t have to depend on social media, special TV advertising, or the sending out of countless invites to fill his house. Yesterday, Sunday at our worship service, the Lord verified that personally putting forth the time and energy to engage with people face to face, inviting them to come to Christ and to come to His church, the place where they can meet Christ for sure, works.
Here is how He did it. Sunday was “Women’s Day,” a special day. But what the Lord verified, it works every Sunday. In fact it works every day. Sunday, out attendance was nearly double the what it was the week before. The number in attendance toppled our Resurrection Day attendance. Let me be specific about the Lord’s use of an object lesson, real time proof. The number of people attending yesterday, verified that going out of our way to compel people to come into His house really works. It takes time. It take work. It takes commitment. And it takes compliance with the Lord’s instructions, and it takes a conscious awareness that the Lord desires His house to be filled.
Therefore, seeing how the Lord verified that our commitment to serving Him, not being contained by inactivity, but by involved in actively communicating, person-to person, inviting others to come to His house, it works, we, believers everywhere ought to do what we need to do individually to bring people to His house, the place of worship, the place where they can come to Jesus and find eternal life, and abundant life.
Since this is a Monday Short, I will wait until tomorrow to give you something to put in your “go ye therefore” toolbox, so when you be prepared when you face people who feel that coming to Christ; coming to know Him as their Savior or coming to know Him better will mean they have to give us something. Stay tuned tomorrow and I will show you that one gains much more than they give up when they come to Jesus. Let’s get real this week! And let’s get really busy in building the Lord’s kingdom! Have a great Monday! Be blessed!
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20 NASB)
Mark L. King