The Kingdom of God is now ready—but we get lost in the chaos of the transitioning world: wars, rumors of wars, famines, economic struggles, nuclear threats, problems in our schools, etc.
In Jesus’ time, the Roman Army was occupying Israel, and the religious leaders of the Jews had compromised with Rome. The regular Jews were angry! In Luke 14:15, a man said to Jesus, ““Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God,” referring to a hoped-for, far-off future kingdom that is supposed to be better than the present. But God has power to move and work today!
In the Parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14:15-24), a host invites many guests, but they make sorry excuses for why they can’t attend. So the master tells his servant to go and gather the uninvited. Then he calls for the servant to go out even further and compel others to come—but not to allow any of the invited guests to enter. For centuries, the Jews had awaited a messiah to come. When Jesus and the Kingdom did arrive, many Jews weren’t ready. They opposed him, weren’t interested, had better things to do… So Jesus had to call for the uninvited.
Jesus said, “Come, for everything is now ready.” Nobody came. What about today? We have mega churches, churches on every street corner, all the programs and technology we could want, internationally renowned worship leaders, educated and charismatic preachers. Everything is now ready. We could have a move of God that could change our world today! We just need people who want the move of God—revival—but they just make excuses.
NOW is the hour for a move of God. Everything is ready, but everyone’s making excuses. Will you be compelled today and grab hold of the Kingdom? Or will God have to look for others?
The Parable of the Great Banquet15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”
16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests.
17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’
18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’
19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’
20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’
21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’
22 “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’
23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”
Questions:
Have you made any excuses to God?
How will you respond to God’s invitation today?
What are some ways you can change so that you are “now ready”?
Action Point: Write down and study what else the Bible (specifically Jesus in the Gospels) says about the Kingdom of God.
