[0:00] Well, if we could, this evening, with the Lord's help and the Lord's enabling, if we could turn back to that portion of Scripture that we read. The Gospel according to Luke, Luke chapter 14, and if we just read again at verse 23.
[0:20] Luke 14 at verse 23. And the Master said to the servant, Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.
[0:37] Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.
[0:49] Compel them to come in. Amen. We've mentioned throughout today that we have labeled the 29th of May this year as Back to Church Sunday.
[1:04] It's Back to Church Sunday. That doesn't mean that it's going to be a different Sunday to any other Sunday. But after two years of living with COVID restrictions and two spells of our church doors being closed, with the rules and the regulations now removed and life getting back to a level of normality, many things in our country and community, they've begun opening up again.
[1:28] And in many ways, it's now time to remind our congregation and our community that the church is open too. And as we mentioned just a moment ago, that's what we're singing about in Psalm 118.
[1:42] Psalm 118, it's a psalm that was written after the temple had been rebuilt and restored to worship the Lord. And the psalmist, as we sang in verse 19, he said, Throw wide the gates of righteousness.
[1:58] I'll enter and give thanks to God. And you know, that's what we're to do as a church. We're to throw wide the door of our church and remind and reassure our congregation and our community that we've not only renovated the inside of our sanctuary, we have reopened for worship.
[2:21] Of course, since lockdown, a lot of the circumstances and situations of people's lives, they have changed because those who worshipped with us regularly, they've become unwell. And some have sadly passed away as well.
[2:34] But as you know, there are many who have just fallen out of the habit. They've fallen out of the habit of going to church. Some have fallen into the habit of sitting at home and watching online.
[2:46] But as you know, that's no substitute. Everybody who comes to church, they know that being at home is no substitute. Because this is where faith is fostered.
[2:58] This is where fellowship is formed. When we gather in person to worship God. And if we can be here on the Lord's Day, this is where we should be on the Lord's Day.
[3:12] And you know, for that reason, we come to this passage this evening. Because I believe that it's now time for us to resume our mission. And to refocus upon our mandate.
[3:23] The mandate as Jesus gives it in verse 23. Compel them to come in. Compel them to come in. And you know, next to the parable of the sower, this is my favorite parable.
[3:37] The parable of the great banquet. And I'd just like us to consider this parable this evening. Because what Jesus teaches us here, as Christians, He teaches us about honest evangelism.
[3:49] Jesus teaches us about honest evangelism. And there are three headings that I want us to think about this evening. Exposing exaltation.
[4:00] Empty excuses. And enthusiastic evangelism. Exposing exaltation. That's what Jesus does. There are some empty excuses given.
[4:14] But there's also a plea for enthusiastic evangelism. So there are three headings. First of all, exposing exaltation. Exposing exaltation.
[4:25] Look at verse 11. It says there, For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled. And he who humbles himself will be exalted. He said also to the man who had invited him, When you give a dinner or a banquet, Do not invite your friends or your brothers, Or your relatives or your rich neighbors, Lest they also invite you in return, And you be repaid.
[4:47] But when you give a feast, Invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed. Because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.
[4:59] Jesus told the parable of the great banquet, While sitting around the dinner table, In the house of one of the chief Pharisees. It was the Sabbath, And just after morning worship in the local synagogue, Jesus was invited for Sabbath dinner.
[5:18] He was invited to mix and to mingle with all the other Pharisees. But of course, for the Pharisees, There was an ulterior motive for inviting Jesus for Sabbath dinner.
[5:29] Because the Pharisees, They had actually no intention of listening to Jesus. They just wanted to look at Jesus. They wanted to watch him. That's what we're told right at the beginning in verse 1.
[5:40] That the Pharisees were watching him carefully. And they were watching Jesus carefully because they had this agenda. They had an agenda to accuse Jesus for claiming to be the Son of God.
[5:55] But you know, when you imagine the situation and the circumstance that Jesus was faced with, It was probably a very awkward Sabbath dinner for Jesus. Because as you know, the Pharisees, They were a very serious and strict sect in Israel.
[6:10] And around the dinner table, There would have been all these very stiff and very stern looking men. And they would have been very stiff and stern looking, Especially when this unnamed and unknown, And as we're told, unwell man, He just walks into the Pharisees' house unannounced.
[6:28] And as Jesus watches this man with dropsy coming in, He asks the serious and stiff and strict, stern looking Pharisees, He asks them, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?
[6:44] You know, what a question. What a question to ask at the dinner table. And of course, the Pharisees would have said straight away, Well, no, it's not. Because the Pharisees, They had invented and implemented all these extra, And what you could say, excess laws.
[7:00] And they turned the Sabbath from being a blessing to being a burden. But instead of being willing to speak, The Pharisees were told they just stayed silent.
[7:11] They watched Jesus silently to see what he would do. And when Jesus heals this unnamed and unknown and unwell man, He asks a second question at the dinner table.
[7:24] Jesus asks them, Well, which of you, Which of you, having a son or an ox That has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, Will not immediately pull him out? And again, instead of speaking, The Pharisees stay silent.
[7:39] But the thing is, The Pharisees weren't the only ones watching what was going on. We're told that Jesus was watching what was going on. He was watching the Pharisees and their table etiquette.
[7:54] And how they elevated and exalted some of the Pharisees, But they demoted and downgraded others. And what we read is that Jesus sought to expose their exaltation.
[8:07] He sought to expose their exaltation by telling a parable about the kingdom of God. Jesus says in verse 8, Jesus immediately exposes the exaltation of the Pharisees.
[8:50] And he says that in the kingdom of God, In the kingdom of God, It's not about honor. It's about humility. It's not about position. It's about posture.
[9:02] It's not about status. No, it's all about service. Therefore, says Jesus with the application in verse 11, In the kingdom of God, Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled.
[9:16] And he who humbles himself will be exalted. But then as we keep following the narrative, Jesus continues talking at the dinner table.
[9:28] And he exposes their exaltation even further. Because he then turns to the one at the head of the table, The chief Pharisee. The one who had invited him to dinner.
[9:40] The host of this Sabbath dinner party. And Jesus says to this man, Verse 12, When you give a dinner or a banquet, Do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return.
[9:57] And you be repaid. But when you give a feast, Invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed. Because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.
[10:12] And you know, when you stop and think about what was going on, You know, I often wonder what all these other dinner guests that were there for Sabbath dinner, You often wonder what they thought about Jesus when he said those words to the one sitting at the head of the table.
[10:27] Because to turn to your host, the host of this dinner, and to turn to him and tell him how to serve Sabbath dinner, they would have probably thought, Well, Jesus is very disrespectful.
[10:40] He's very dishonoring to this chief Pharisee. And yet, as we know, Jesus was the most humble man who ever lived. Jesus was speaking directly to these men.
[10:55] And he was speaking to their soul. And you know what he was reminding them of? Their self-righteousness. Because Jesus knew that they had, that all their moves, where they were elevating and demoting, Jesus knew their moves and their motives.
[11:14] And he knew that they were selfish. Because the Pharisees, they only ever invited those who were as religious and as righteous as them. In other words, you can see here that Jesus exposes their exaltation by saying to the Pharisees at their own dinner table, he says to them, Your church is a clique and a club.
[11:36] That's what he said to them. Your church is a clique and a club. Which is why Jesus says that blessing comes when you reach out to others.
[11:50] Blessing comes when you share food and fellowship with those who aren't in your clique or your club. Those who are crippled, lame, blind, and poor.
[12:02] Blessing comes when you invite them to your dinner table and get to know them. Blessing comes when you see that the kingdom of God is not about religion. It's about relationships.
[12:16] And you know, my friend, Jesus here, he's teaching us the greatest form of evangelism. He's teaching us the greatest form of evangelism because it's honest evangelism.
[12:28] And it's based around the dinner table. And you know, when you read through the Gospels, where do we find Jesus most? We find him around the dinner table. And you know, as Christians, we're being reminded here that we're to reach out to those who are outside our church.
[12:47] Those who are spiritually poor, crippled, blind, and lame. And we're to invite them to dinner. Whether that's inviting them to the dinner table of the Gospel, or that's inviting them to church, to tea after church, or to a congregational dinner, or to a curry night, or to a barbecue, or whatever it is, even inviting them into our own home.
[13:12] We are to invest our time and we're to invite people to our table. We're to invite the spiritually poor, crippled, blind, and lame so that we get to know them.
[13:27] And that we build a relationship with them. Because as Jesus taught the Pharisees at their dinner table, it's not about religion. It's about relationships.
[13:38] And it's about a relationship not only with people, but building a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. You know, Jesus here, he's exposing exaltation to the exclusion of others.
[13:54] Jesus is exposing exaltation to the exclusion of others. They were exalting themselves and ignoring the poor, crippled, blind, and lame. And you know what?
[14:06] We take it to ourselves. If we speak in a language that people don't understand, we are exalting ourselves and excluding others. If we use theological terms and phrases in church, so if I do that with no explanation, we're exalting ourselves and excluding others.
[14:26] If we're stiff and stern-looking in church rather than warm and welcoming, we are exalting ourselves and excluding others. If we're silent and just staring at people as they come into church rather than speaking to them, we're exalting ourselves and excluding others.
[14:44] If we only come to church to be seen and not to serve, we're exalting ourselves and excluding others. If we're only concerned about being righteous rather than building relationships with people that we see, we are exalting ourselves and excluding others.
[15:04] My friend, if we're a nasty neighbor or a fickle friend or a worldly work colleague, then we are exalting ourselves on Sunday and excluding others.
[15:16] And you know, my friend, I look at this. I read this. I see what Jesus is doing. And I think, Murdo, sort it out. And my friend, we need to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees because by exposing exaltation, Jesus is reminding us that our evangelism must be honest evangelism.
[15:39] Our evangelism must be honest evangelism. We must just live it out. Be Christian in the way we conduct ourselves.
[15:53] You know, the thing about honest evangelism is that when you're honest with people, you often encounter and experience many empty excuses, which is what we see.
[16:05] Secondly, empty excuses. So exposing exaltation, then secondly, empty excuses. Look at verse 16. Jesus said to him, A man once gave a great banquet and invited many.
[16:20] And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, Come, for everything is now ready. But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, I have bought a field and I must go out and see it.
[16:34] Please have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen and I go to examine them. Please have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come.
[16:48] So as Jesus here, as he continues talking at the dinner table in this Pharisee's house, he says that blessing comes when we invest our time and when we invite people to our table, when we invite the spiritually poor, crippled, blind and lame.
[17:04] Because as Jesus explains, it's not about being religious, it's about building relationships so that they will have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. And Jesus says, this is possible.
[17:17] This is possible because in the kingdom of God, God has prepared a great banquet. God has prepared a gospel banquet. That's what he says in the parable.
[17:29] And he says, it's a full banquet and it's a free banquet. It's an all-you-can-eat banquet. It's a perfect preparation with a perfect provision.
[17:41] Because on this great gospel table, this banquet, is the full and free offer of forgiveness of sins. And as we know, it has been perfectly prepared through the cross of Jesus Christ.
[17:54] And now we have on the table for everybody to come to, we have the offer of reconciliation. We have the offer of redemption. We have the offer of restoration. The offer of righteousness and the offer of a relationship with God.
[18:08] It's all on the table. And all these blessings and benefits of the cross, they are all given alongside the promise of comfort and consolation.
[18:19] The promise of help and healing. The promise of peace. And the promise of adoption and acceptance with God. All these promises. It's all there. It's a perfect provision.
[18:30] A provision of grace by the way and glory in the end. God has prepared a gospel banquet. That's what Jesus says. And he has sent his servant.
[18:43] He has sent his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He has sent him to invite everyone to come to this table. And that's what Jesus did.
[18:56] We read through the gospels. We see that the son and the servant of God, Jesus Christ, he issued the invitation and he issued the imperative to come.
[19:09] What does Jesus say? Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Jesus says, whosoever comes to me, I will not cast out.
[19:22] Jesus says, whosoever thirsts, come. Come to the wedding feast. Jesus says, come out to meet him. Come and see. Yes, my friends, salvation is of the Lord.
[19:35] Salvation all belongs to the Lord, but the good news of the gospel is that it brings to us an invitation that is full of imperatives. You read through the gospel and you will be reminded of every single invitation and every single imperative where the Lord says, ask, seek, knock, repent, believe, look, live, love, listen, come, call, confess, commit.
[20:07] They're all there. It's a great banquet. It's a gospel banquet. It has been issued with so many invitations and all these invitations are full of imperatives.
[20:22] which means that there's nothing that can be added. There's nothing that can be subtracted from the great gospel banquet. My friend, your righteousness is not required and your sin is not restrictive because all that's asked of you, as we were saying to the children this morning, if you were listening, we are to come as you are.
[20:47] Come as you are. We're to come to the gospel table just as we are. And that's what Jesus says in the parable. The gospel banquet has been prepared.
[21:01] The servant has been sent out to say to everyone, come, for everything is now ready. But you know, as Jesus explained this to the Pharisees, they're sitting around the dinner table, they're listening to this parable that Jesus is telling.
[21:19] And he knows their hearts, he knows their minds, just like he knows what's in our heart and what's in our mind. And Jesus knew that the Pharisees, they were the ones who would give these empty excuses as to why they couldn't come to the gospel banquet.
[21:35] And the reason they couldn't come is because they were too self-righteous to come to the great gospel banquet. They were too self-righteous to humbly accept such a full and a free offer.
[21:50] They were too self-righteous to respond to this invitation and the imperative to come. And you know, you read this passage and you think, well, there are many people like them in our congregation and in our community where they are too self-righteous to respond to the invitation and the imperative to come.
[22:18] Because the truth is, my friend, our self-righteousness keeps us from self-recognition. Our self-righteousness keeps us from self-recognition.
[22:35] Our self-righteousness assures us and affirms to us, I'm a good person. I don't hurt or harm anyone. I'm a good neighbor. In fact, I support and serve lots of people.
[22:48] I'm certainly better than some Christians I know anyway. I'm a good person. Therefore, I'm good enough for God. But you know, and you know, that's the frightening thing about the devil, how he blinds our minds in unbelief.
[23:04] Do you know, if we actually knew how heinous and horrific and hellish our sin and self-righteousness before the sight of a holy God, we would immediately humble ourselves and humbly accept what is on the table.
[23:24] We would humbly accept this full and free offer of salvation at the great banquet. so much so that we wouldn't need to be asked twice.
[23:40] But you know, it's our self-righteousness that keeps us. It keeps us from self-recognition. Our self-righteousness keeps us from self-recognition. And you know, Jesus warns the self-righteous person who has received and rejected the gospel many times before.
[23:58] He says at the close of the parable, verse 24, I tell you, none of those men, none of those self-righteous men who were invited shall taste my banquet.
[24:12] That's Jesus' words, not mine. He says, I tell you, none of them who were invited shall taste my banquet.
[24:23] In other words, those who receive the gospel invitation but reject it because of their own self-righteousness. Jesus says the invitation will be given to others and they will come.
[24:39] They will come. And you know, my unconverted friend here or at home this evening, Jesus is passing by in the gospel as he always does.
[24:51] But again, don't let him pass you by. Don't allow self-righteousness to hold you back from self-recognition because self-recognition sees that you need everything on this table and you need to come to it and receive it all.
[25:09] Don't allow your self-righteousness to give you empty excuses because, you know, that's what happened when this servant issued the invitation to come to the great banquet.
[25:20] We're told that they all alike began to make excuses. And they're empty excuses. We see that they're empty excuses because no one buys a field or buys five yoke of oxen without first going to see them and getting married.
[25:36] Well, that's not an excuse at all. They're empty excuses. But you know, if we were to translate these empty excuses that were given, if we were to translate them into more modern empty excuses, they would be, well, I'm too busy with life.
[25:54] I'm too busy with work. I'm too busy with family. I'm too tired to come. I'm too comfortable on my couch to come. And of course, some would be more direct than that and say, well, I don't believe in God.
[26:07] I'm an atheist. Your God is a bigot. Others would say, I don't need your gospel. I don't want your Jesus. It's not for me. I'm not interested. Others would say, I'm a Catholic.
[26:19] I'm a Muslim. I'm a Hindu. I'm a Jew. I'm a good person. But you know, as Christians, as servants of the servant, Jesus Christ, we are not called and commissioned to be Christian apologists who understand all the thoughts and theories of the 21st century.
[26:39] It's good to know a little about these things, but that's not our calling. That's not our commission. Because what we are called, commissioned, and commanded to do is issue the invitation to come.
[26:51] That's all we're to do. We are called, commissioned, and commanded to issue the invitation to come.
[27:02] That's our mission. That's our mandate. Compel them to come in. Compel them to come in. The rest is the Lord's work.
[27:14] Our role, our responsibility, is to issue the invite, to compel them to come in. Therefore, we need to be enthusiastic evangelists, which is what I'd like us to consider lastly.
[27:30] So Jesus is teaching about honest evangelism in this chapter, and he's teaching it under three headings. Exposing exaltation, the exaltation of the Pharisees, the empty excuses that were given, and then lastly, enthusiastic, evangelism.
[27:48] Enthusiastic evangelism. Look at verse 21. So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.
[28:08] And the servant said, Saul, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room. And the master said to the servant, Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in that my house may be filled.
[28:22] So as Jesus sits around the dinner table in this house of the Pharisee, he exposes the exaltation of the Pharisees. He exposes their empty excuses and he now teaches us that as sinners who have been saved, as servants of the servant, as Christians who follow Christ, we are to be enthusiastic evangelists.
[28:47] We're to be enthusiastic in our evangelism because the call, the commission, and the command of the Christian is that we are to go. We're to go and make disciples.
[28:59] That was the commission Jesus gave to his church. Go and make disciples of all nations. We're to go into the world and preach the gospel. And you see that when you read it, even at the resurrection of Jesus, the angels at the tomb said, Come, see, go, tell.
[29:14] Come, see, go, tell. All these imperatives. Come, see, go, tell. We're to go to the streets and to the lanes of the cities. We're to go to the highways and hedges of the country.
[29:27] We're to go to everywhere and to everyone. We're to go to all people anywhere. We're to go out, says Jesus, and compel them to come in.
[29:38] We're to go out and to compel them to come in. That the master's house, we're told, may be filled. But, you know, as Christians, we come to this and we think, I'm not qualified for that.
[29:53] That's not my remit at all. And we might be like the Pharisees with our empty excuses. I'm too busy.
[30:05] I'm too tired. What's the point anyway? They know we're here. They know we meet here. Salvation is of the Lord.
[30:16] Why bother? But, my friend, we're not called, commissioned, and commanded to have empty excuses. We're called, commissioned, and commanded to be enthusiastic in our evangelism.
[30:28] And I say that we have to be enthusiastic in evangelism for a good reason. The word enthusiastic or the word enthusiasm, it comes from the Greek phrase entheos, which means in God.
[30:47] En-theos-ism. In-God-ism. En-theos, it means in God, which means that we're to be enthusiastic in our evangelism because everything we do is to be done by the grace of God, with the word of God, through the spirit of God, in the strength of God, to the glory of God.
[31:15] We're to be enthusiastic in our evangelism because everything we do is to be done by the grace of God, with the word of God, through the spirit of God, in the strength of God, to the glory of God.
[31:28] We are to be enthusiastic in our evangelism. It's all to be in God. But there's also to be an urgency with our evangelism because as we all know and as we have been reminded again and again over the past while, with all these funerals we've had to attend, time is short.
[31:49] Time is short. Life is short. As we were teaching the children last Lord's Day, it's like a vapor. Here for a moment, then it vanishes. We're all on borrowed time.
[32:02] And that's why Jesus said, he says in the parable, go out quickly. Go out quickly into the streets and the lanes and the highways and the hedges and compel them to come in.
[32:13] Go out quickly, says Jesus. So there's to be an urgency in our evangelism because sinners are going to hell. Sinners are going to a lost eternity in hell.
[32:27] Now as we learn from Rico Tice on Tuesday evening at A Passion for Life, and I hope you'll come, because what we'll learn is that it's not our role and responsibility to convince or to convert anyone.
[32:39] Our role and responsibility is to invest in them and to invite them. It's not our role and responsibility to convince or to convert.
[32:50] It's our role and responsibility to invest in them and build a relationship with them and invite them to come. And the thing is, we can all do our role.
[33:02] We can all invest our time. We can all invite people to come to the gospel table. We can all invest in people. We can all invite people.
[33:13] We can all compel them to come in, to come to the gospel banquet. And of course, that's not easy. But we're looking here at what Jesus is saying to us, not what Murdoch is saying.
[33:27] Jesus is saying that our calling, our commission, and our command is to be enthusiastic in our evangelism. And you know, I love that phrase, boys and girls, the word compel them.
[33:40] The phrase compel them, it literally means lovingly invite them. Lovingly invite them. Everybody you invite to church should know why you're inviting them.
[33:55] You're not inviting them to tick a box. You're inviting them because you love them. And your heart's desire above all things is that they will be saved. You are lovingly inviting them.
[34:07] You are compelling them to come in. And the thing is, if we don't compel them, if we don't lovingly invite them, if we're not urgent and enthusiastic in our evangelism, do you know, I sometimes wonder, does it show them that we don't actually love them?
[34:25] I remember speaking to a, she's not a Christian, I wish she was, but she said to me once, nobody speaks to me about my soul anymore. Christians in the past used to, but they don't now.
[34:41] And I wonder if they love me or if they have a care and a concern towards me. Do you know, my friend, we're to love people, we're to lovingly invite them, we're to compel them.
[34:52] And, you know, we might say that we do love them and we pray for them, but if we never speak to them, if we never say anything to them, if we never invest in them, or if we never invite them, do we really love them?
[35:05] Now, they might say no. They might say, get lost. They might say, forget it. They might say, I'm Church of Scotland. If they're Church of Scotland, tell them to go there. There's a church open there too.
[35:19] But our mandate, our mission, is compel them. compel them to come in. You know, my Christian friends, silence is not an option. Silence is not an option anymore.
[35:35] Because our God-given mission and mandate is to compel them to come in. I'm sure you're all familiar with the statement of that well-known missionary, C.T. Studd.
[35:47] He once said, only one life will soon be passed. Only what's done for Christ will last. Only one life will soon be passed.
[35:59] Only what's done for Christ will last. And you know, you might be thinking this evening, well, Murdo, that's easy for you. You're in the pulpit. You've done the theological training.
[36:10] You're a minister. But as I've said to you many times before, I never find evangelism or speaking to people about Jesus or inviting them to church easy.
[36:24] Never. In fact, evangelism, evangelists don't find evangelism easy. That's why I want to conclude this evening by quoting from a brilliant book by the evangelist, Rico Tice.
[36:39] As I said, he's leading the message on Tuesday evening at A Passion for Life. He's the face of Christianity explored. He's also written this book. It's a book called Honest Evangelism.
[36:51] Honest Evangelism. And I think it's a book that every Christian should read. It's an easy read. Everything that Rico Tice writes, it's easy to read because he wants us to digest it.
[37:04] He wants us to use it. And it's a book that everybody should read. And Rico Tice says, he says, right at the beginning of the book, I find evangelism hard.
[37:16] The problem with being an evangelist, he says, is that people assume that you find evangelism effortless. But I don't find it easy, he says, and never have. There may not be persecution, but in our culture, we have a growing hostility to Christianity.
[37:31] It's not just apathy we face. It's antipathy. People don't really like the gospel. Sometimes they express that politely, but sometimes not at all.
[37:42] So if you're going to talk to people about Jesus, he says, you're going to get hurt. There's a pain line that needs to be crossed. But we all want to stay on the comfortable side of the pain line.
[37:56] We don't want to cross the pain line. That's the main reason, he says, we don't do evangelism. But I want to be honest, says Rico, in honest evangelism.
[38:07] If you tell non-Christians about Jesus, you will have to cross the pain line. And it will be painful. Painful for you.
[38:19] But it's honest evangelism. It's honest evangelism where we lovingly invite them. And we compel them to come in.
[38:31] It's honest evangelism. And you know, it's all based upon Jesus' teaching here. His teaching about exposing exaltation, that everyone who exalts himself will be humbled.
[38:43] He who humbles himself will be exalted. It's all about empty excuses, dealing with these empty excuses. And it's all about enthusiastic evangelism. We're doing it by the grace of God and in the spirit of God.
[38:59] Friends, Sunday the 29th of May, we have labeled it Back to Church Sunday. And it's just an opportunity. Don't view it as an obstacle.
[39:10] View it as an opportunity. An opportunity to resume our mission and to refocus upon the mandate that Jesus has given us to go out quickly and compel them to come in.
[39:26] Compel them to come in. Well, may the Lord bless these thoughts to us. Now let us pray. O Lord, our gracious God, help us, we plead.
[39:41] Help us, Lord, to be faithful witnesses. Help us to be urgent evangelists. To be enthusiastic in what we are doing. And realizing that without Thee we can do nothing.
[39:54] But that with Thee all things are possible. And that is the great promise of Thy Word. That we are not to fear in what we are to say. But the Lord will give us words to speak at the time.
[40:07] And Lord, help us, we pray, to invite people to come. Help us to be bold and to be strong. Because the Lord is on our side. And as Thy Word assures us that greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world.
[40:22] O Lord, help us to love our neighbours, to love our friends, to love our work colleagues. They might say no, but Lord, help us, we pray, to cross the pain line and to invite them, to compel them to come in, that the Master's house may be filled.
[40:40] Ode is our longing for more and more to come, to taste and to see that Thou art good and to trust in Thee and be blessed. Hear us then, we pray.
[40:51] Watch over us in the week that lies ahead, a week that is unknown to any of us. But Lord, we commit ourselves into Thy care and keeping. Go before us, for we ask it in Jesus' name and for His sake.
[41:03] Amen. We're going to bring our service to a conclusion this evening. We're going to sing in Psalm 67. Psalm 67, it's in the Sing Psalms version, page 84.
[41:26] As we said, all of our psalms this evening, they focus upon the theme of God's house. And this is the prayer that should come from God's. house. This is a prayer for our community and our congregation.
[41:42] Psalm 67, God be merciful and bless us. Shine upon us with Your face that the earth may know Your actions and all lands Your saving grace. O God, may the peoples praise You.
[41:54] May all peoples sing Your praise. For You judge the nations justly, ruling over every race. We'll sing the whole psalm to God's praise.
[42:05] Amen. God be merciful and blessed. God be merciful and blessed.
[42:17] God be His Son, O Lord, may the peoples' shalts. That the earth may know Your nations, Your saving grace.
[42:41] Oh, may the peoples praise you. May all peoples say your praise.
[42:56] For you judge the nations justly. Looking over every race.
[43:14] May they sing with joy and kindness. May they all rejoice as one.
[43:29] Oh, may the peoples praise you. And may all unite in song.
[43:45] Then the land will yield its harvest. God will pour his gifts abroad.
[44:01] God, our God will surely bless us. All the earth will be our blood.
[44:18] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all, now and forevermore.
[44:29] Amen. So you got the answer. Yes. Okay.
[44:40] Question one. Whose house was Jesus at for dinner? Who was it? The Pharisees. Yeah.
[44:50] And he was the chief Pharisee. Okay. What does the word compel mean? Lovingly invite. So that's what we're to do.
[45:01] We're to lovingly invite people to come to God's house. And when is our back to church Sunday? I couldn't think of a question. 29th of what? 29th of May which year?
[45:13] Good work on our. 2022. Yep. That's when we're back to church Sunday. It's 29th of May. What time? 11.
[45:24] Not 7. 11 o'clock. 11 o'clock.