Excuses Luke 14:15-24 April 28^th 2002

And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. [16] Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: [17] And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. [18] And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. [19] And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. [20] And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. [21] 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. [22] And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. [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. [24] For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

God has bid many to His feast: "Whosoever will may come..."

Song of Solomon 2:4,

He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.

The table has been set, the Lord invites you to come and dine!

Eternal, abundant life is available to everyone! The lost have crowded out the gospel with their busy lives. They refuse to come for many reasons. Jesus has identified three excuses in our text.

Ask yourself this afternoon, "What is keeping me from coming to Jesus?"

Land: Personal property. Don’t let possessions keep you from coming to Christ. The Lord does not ask many to sell all they have and give it to the poor. Putting your house or possessions before the Lord and His salvation will damn you to hell. Remember salvation is a free gift that has already been paid for.

I think the problem sometimes is that the world instinctively knows that the rock CDs will have to be trashed, the rosary will need to be thrown away and the pornography destroyed after they come to Christ. If the filthy rudiments of this world are holding you back you deserve the Lake of Fire. You have traded in the blood of Christ for Satan’s junk.

Livestock: Business. Five yolk is either a business venture or this man has a very large farm, a large home based business. There are business men today who will not give up selling cigarettes so they will not come to Christ. They will not repent.

"I prefer my variety store to the Lord."

"I’d rather work at the beer store and go to Hell than turn to the LORD."

"I prefer drug money over Jesus."

I’m telling you that when Christ comes and casts you into Hell He will be just. Most folks are more concerned with public opinion than with the Lake of Fire.

Most business men today will not come to Christ because it might cost them business. They might have to stop what they are doing all together.

Lady: Not just wives but girlfriends and the ladies down at the office. Include under this heading other people as well. What will my wife think? What will my boss think? What will my girlfriend think? What will my family think? What will my buddies think?

These all made excuse and would not come. They would not come that they might be saved. These all made excuses and would not come to the Saviour. These all made excuse and would not come.

Are you going to make excuse and not go?

Are you going to make excuse and leave?

If you asked these disciples why they left, none would admit that the preaching was too strong or that the demands of discipleship were too much for them.

In the 3 ½ years that I have been pastoring I have collected a list of excuses why people quit coming:

1. You’re not loving. (Translation: I hate you and all you stand for.)
2. You put God into a box. (Translation: The Bible is too small a box for the Lord. He contradicts His word and so do I.)
3. I’m not being fed. (Translation: I am not mature enough to handle the meat of the Word.)
4. I want to learn more of how to walk with the Lord. (Translation: I will not walk with the Lord that’s why I’m not coming to church anymore)
5. You preach too much from the Old Testament. (Translation: I have a problem with math and have not learned that 75% of the Bible is O.T. I also am ignorant to the fact that all of the apostles in the Book of Acts lead people to Christ with an O.T.)
6. You don’t do things God’s way. (Translation: I’m a rebel and expect the church, the preacher and God to conform to my wishes.)
7. It’s too far to drive. (Translation: I’ll travel twice as far to work as long as there is a buck in it.)
8. I don’t understand the archaic KJB (Translation: I’ll spend months and hundreds of dollars to learn the vocabulary of my proffession but have no time to learn Bible words.)
9. You are too judgemental. (Translation: I prefer to remain in my sin.)
10. The services are too long. (Translation: I can handle three hours of videos and will not so much as get off my chair, not willing to miss a word, unless I press the pause button.)

I want a place where we have freedom of worship. (Translation: I want to worship God as the heathen do with vain repetition and physical gyrations. I do not want to obey; John 4:24)

11. I want to come and really praise the Lord. (Translation: I want ungodly rock music to permeate the song service so as to get everyone in the flesh.)
12. There are no programs here for our family (Translation: I’m interested only in what you can offer me. I’m too lazy to start anything for the Lord and unwilling to put in the effort for a teen department or a Sunday school.)
13. Your church is too small (Translation: I want to attend a church where I can get lost in the crowd and have no responsibility.)
14. I liked the preaching pastor and I’ll see you next Sunday. (Translation: The preaching was too pointed and I’m never coming back.)