By Pastor Shana Wise
Luke 14:15-24 (NIV) 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 yokes 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.’”
God has prepared a table in the spiritual that must manifest in the earth through His children. The table is the Kingdom of God, and at this table, everything has been prepared through His son Jesus Christ.
Many people today still have not received the notification that the table is set and they have been invited to come, eat, and fellowship at this special banquet prepared by the King himself.
As believers and laborers in the gospel of Jesus Christ, the individual ministry that God has given us should reflect this table.
Jesus has already finished the work of reconciling us back to God, however, we still have work to do here on earth. Our job is to represent the Kingdom of God on earth by inviting others to the table through our everyday lives. Examples of this are witnessing to others about Christ, testifying on what God has done for us, praying for our loved ones, our enemies, and the world; disciplining others, giving, loving, and worshipping God in Spirit and in truth.
God is challenging our focus to go beyond ourselves and see how we can bless others. The greatest blessing that we can give someone is to offer and talk about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
We are God’s servants. It is our responsibility to go out and bring whosoever to the table of God. If some do not want to come because they are to busy, then we must continue on “setting the table” by inviting others to come and partake. This is the bottom-line ministry. The church's primary and purpose here on earth is to bring others into the Kingdom of God through his son Jesus Christ. Many of us have lost our way with this assignment because we have become more focused on everything else but souls. Jesus came to saved souls and give life to the lost. We are his instruments for accomplishing this mission on earth. That is the reason we were saved-to bring salvation to someone else.
We must take note of the servant in the text, when he followed the original instructions given by the master he came back and reported his findings. The master challenged the servant to go above and beyond to invite people to the table. To reach the hedges, highways, byways, blind, lame, poor, crippled, and others will require us to get out of our comfort zone, sacrifice our time, resources, and self-will to reach them.
Notice the master got emotional when it came to this invitation to the table-he got angry that certain individuals did not have time to come and partake of a banquet that was specially prepared with them in mind. We will run into these types of people who do not have time to make God a priority in their lives, however, we must remember who we are (God’s servants), and the instruction that was given to us to complete. We must continually go back to our master so that He can instruct us on how to reach the lost.
We must not get weary in well doing because the table at the banquet will not be available forever during our time here in this current world. We will not be able to evangelize in heaven because there will be no sin there. The work must be done now! Every day of our lives should be spent as a servant of God. We must diligently seek His will for our lives concerning our service in His ministry. Like the servant in the text, we must be determined and willing to go immediately and be faithful to the assignment given. We want to not only please our Father but rejoice when others come and partake at the Table of Life-which is Jesus Christ. No greater feeling should we have when we see our brothers and sisters in Christ come and join the Kingdom of God!
Prayer
Father God, thank you for loving us and enlisting us into your service through your son Jesus Christ. Help us to keep our eyes focused on the cross daily. Help us to be sensitive to the loss and be ready to witness according to where they are in life. Thank you for instructing us with our assignment, continue to lay out the detailed plan you have for our lives and the ministry that you have given us. Most importantly, God, we thank you for saving us through your son Jesus Christ! We know how our lives changed after the day we accepted this love you poured out to us and it is our mission to share this gift with the world! Thank you for loving us unconditionally, like the Good Father you are! In Jesus Name-Amen.
About the Author
Dr. Shana Wise is an ordained Pastor and CEO of Wise Choice Ministries (est. 2016). She is the founder of The Well Christian Women’s Network formally known as Christian Women Preachers United. Dr. Wise is the author of women’s devotional, Acts of Intercession, and The Impact of Your Election (available on Amazon). She received a doctor of divinity degree in 2019 from St. Thomas Christian University. Her passion is to teach and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, equip others to apply the Word to their lives, and demonstrate the Word through the power of the Holy Spirit. She is a televangelist that appears on social media outlets and television. Shana is married to Ron Wise and is the mother of four children.
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