"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." Luke 14: 23
1. WE ARE COMMANDED GO.
Do you feel guilty for disobeying God? To disobey is to sin and displeases our Savior. The Lord commands us in Matthew 28:19 to " Go ye therefore..." The "go" here though a participle is in the imperative mood. It is a command. Very few sinners shall come to us so we must go to where they are. We must leave all of our comfort for the sake of souls. Going we must.
2. WE ARE INSTRUCTED WHERE TO GO.
In this verse, the instructions are that we go to "the highways and hedges". In Acts 1:8 "...and ye shall be my witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." Let us give tracts to the people we meet in the streets. Let us share with them the love of Christ wherever we are. We carry precious seed of the Word of God and we should liberally share it. Tell it to your family, friends, neighbors, work mates, I mean all and sundry. You have to determine to start somewhere driven by the desire to obey God.
3. WE ARE TOLD HOW TO DO IT.
It is not only what we tell sinners that matters but how we do it. With love we are told to compel them. Compel connotes to show necessity, show the need and constrain. The sinner must be showed the imminent danger of neglecting such a great salvation. Tell them that we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God ( Rom.3:23) . Let them know that the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life found only in the Lord Jesus Christ ( Rom. 6:23). Make a compelling invitation to the sinner to open his heart and receive the Lord Jesus Christ. Assure the sinner that if he calls on the name of the Lord, he shall be saved.
4. WE ARE ENCOURAGED TO EXPECT RESULTS
" He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." Psalm 126:6 ( emphasis mine). We are guaranteed of success so we need not fear. The Lord wants His house full and Hell de-populated. Every pew must be occupied and it gives you great joy to see those that you reached by your obedience to the Lord's command in church and growing in the most holy faith.
Our soul-winning is not invain though we may face ridicule and rejection the Lord assures us of victory. I urge you to move to the next person if one does not accept God's grace, you will have planted a seed and it shall certainly sprout one day. Never give up on souls and never allow yourself to be discouraged or contemplate surrendering.
CONCLUSION
Going to where souls are is what the Lord commands us to do. Let us go to places that are both familiar and unfamiliar to us. Stride out of your comfort-zone, learn to deny yourself for God's work. Expect an abundance of souls. The Lord wants to use you but only if you obey and GO!
