And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

Bring Them In

(Preached on Sunday Morning, June 12, 2011 at Hope Baptist Church of Bettendorf, Iowa)

Luke 14:21-24 So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.

And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.

And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

Lu 14:23* And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

We sing the old hymn:

Hark, 'tis the Shepherds Voice I hear,

Out on the mountains dark and drear'

Calling the sheep who've gone astray,

Far from the Shepherd's fold away.

Bring them in, bring them in!

Bring then wondering ones to Jesus!

This is more then just a great old song; it is a Biblical mandate.

Intro: Three parts to the Lord's command

1. Go

2. Compel

3. (Purpose) "that my house may be filled."

Bring Them In

1. Everyone can go

Mark 16 - go ye

2. Everyone must go

If not me, them who? If not now, then when?

3. They are out there

"and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind."

The poor

Ps 34:6* This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.

Isa 25:4* For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

The poor have nothing to offer. You will not gain materially reaching the poor. But as one Pastor taught me, "Jesus went to the poor; the rich came to Him." In His sermon in the mount in Matthew 5 Jesus began with, "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." When it comes to God, none of us have anything to offer Him that would make Him richer.

"Evangelism is just one beggar telling other beggars where to find Bread."

The Maimed and the halt

Isa 61:1* The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

Eze 34:16* I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.

People are wounded. People are hurt and hurting. God's people have the remedy. Would a doctor withhold medicine from the sick?

The blind

Isa 42: 5-7 ¶ Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:

I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;

To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

Isa 42:16* And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

Mt 11:5* The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

Mr 10:51* And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.

4. The alternative is horrible

Lk. 14:24 For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

Conclusion: We are compelled to go. We are compelled to bring them in. You don't really have to go far to find someone who needs Christ. Go find them!

Bring them

Compel them

That my house might be filled!