Haste! (Luke 14:15-24)
I help lead the cruisers group with Space City Cycling Club on Saturday mornings. We pace 15 to 18 miles an hour for 48 miles. But yesterday, only four people—including me–showed up to ride with our group. That meant we had to step up to the group which does 18-20 miles an hour.
We started heading north from Clear Lake, because winds were coming out of the northeast yesterday. Sustained winds were only about seven miles an hour, but gusts were around 20 miles an hour.
When we started, I did just fine, and I thought I’d have a pleasant ride. Then we got to the overpass on Port Road. I got left in the dust. I just couldn’t climb that overpass and keep up with everyone. I finished my ride by myself.
Have you ever struggled with slowpokes? Maybe on the freeway when you get behind Grandma Jones. Maybe when you’re in the mall and some family is meandering in your way. Maybe when you stop at Buc-ee’s because you really need a restroom and a host of folks are milling around.
Do you know where there is no place for Grandma Jones to take her time? Bringing souls to Jesus. In this morning’s parable, our Lord taught us: “You must act quickly.”
Scripture (Luke 14:16-25)
verses 16-17:
The master in the parable was wealthy and hosting a large banquet.
Banquets in antiquity were often RSVP, so everyone invited knew when the feast would take place.
Because the feast was ready, the master sent his servant to tell his guests to come.
verses 18-20:
The first man needed to examine a field he purchased. Wouldn’t he have examined the field before buying it?
The second man needed to examine five yoke of oxen he purchased. Anyone who could afford five yoke of oxen would have had people working for him. Why didn’t he send one of them?
The third man needed to stay home with his wife. He confirmed his attendance at the banquet; he should have worked out his schedule.
verse 21:
The master sent his servant to bring people quickly to the feast. The food would have been getting cold, and the landowner didn’t want his meal to go to waste.
verses 22-23:
When the servant reported there was still room in the banquet hall, the master told him to go to the highways and hedges to compel people to come. This likely refers to travelers.
Application
“You must act quickly.” When the invited guests began to make excuses, the master quickly sent his servant to find people to attend his feast. God wants his house full. You can’t sit around waiting for God’s house to be full. You must act. “You must act quickly.”
Why must you act quickly?
One: Completion
In the parable, the master told his servant to act quickly, for the feast was ready. The meal would go bad if it weren’t consumed quickly.
Likewise, Jesus has brought salvation for everyone to Completion. The night of his betrayal, Jesus prayed, “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do” (Jn 17:4). Immediately before his death, Jesus said, “It is finished” (Jn 19:30).
God does not need to do a single thing to save man. He has placed the gospel into our hands, and the response to the gospel into the hands of the lost. Because God has brought all things to Completion, you need to get busy.
Two: Competition
There is Competition for the souls of men, and only truth leads to heaven. “If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed” (Gal 1:9). “Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God” (2 Jn 9). Jesus: “This you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate” (Rev 2:6).
Why act quickly because of Competition from denominational churches? Because there are people in this world who are searching for truth and who would obey the truth, but false teachers pervert their hearts. Therefore, you need to get busy and get them FIRST! We don’t want people caught in error, so get busy!
Three: Consummation
Jesus will come without warning. “You . . . must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matt 24:44). “The day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed” (2 Pet 3:10).
You don’t know when the Consummation of all things will occur. Do you want to stand before the throne of God empty-handed? Do you want to stand before the throne of God and see your friends and loved ones cast into that eternal fire? Then it’s time to get busy!
Do you need to act quickly for your own soul this morning?
This sermon was originally preached by Dr. Justin Imel, Sr., at Church of Christ Deer Park in Deer Park, Texas.