Faith, Love & Family
Sought Before You Sought Him: The Table God Has Already Spread
Key Scriptures
15 Now the LORD had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came, saying, 16 To morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me. 17 And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people.
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 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Reflection
In 1 Samuel 9, Saul is out looking for his father’s lost donkeys. He walks through mount Ephraim, through Shalisha, through Shalim, and finds nothing. He is ready to give up and go home. He has no idea that God is not lost at all. The LORD had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came. Saul was seeking asses. God was seeking Saul. And the reason is given plainly: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me.
Luke 14 sets that same God at a table. The servant is sent with one word: Come; for all things are now ready. Nothing is left for the guests to bring. The supper is bought, prepared, spread. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. A field. Five yoke of oxen. A wife. Not one of those things is wicked. That is what should frighten us. A man can miss the mercy of God over things that are perfectly good.
Romans 7 tells us why we need that table so badly. Paul is not describing a stranger. He is describing himself. I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind. Then comes the cry of every honest heart: O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? He does not answer with effort. He answers with a Person. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Put the three together. God moved toward Saul before Saul asked. God spread the supper before anyone was bidden. And when Paul had nothing left in himself, God had Christ. You are not the one who begins this.
So do not send an excuse today. The Lord who said, Behold the man, still calls men by name, and the house is not full yet.
The message is plain
- In 1 Samuel 9 God spoke to Samuel a day before Saul arrived, so no one comes to God who was not sought by God first.
- In Luke 14 the supper is already prepared, and the only thing left for you to bring is yourself.
- In Romans 7 Paul searches himself for deliverance, finds none, and thanks God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
- An excuse is still an answer, and the door that is open today will not stand open forever.
Application
1) Name Your Excuse
The men in Luke 14 did not say no. They said, I pray thee have me excused. Say out loud to God the good and ordinary thing you have been putting between yourself and Him.
2) Stop Trying To Deliver Yourself
Paul says, in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing. Quit rehearsing your resolutions and take his answer instead: I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
3) Come While It Is Ready
All things are now ready. There is nothing to fetch, nothing to earn, nothing to fix first. Come today, as the poor and the maimed and the halt and the blind were brought in.
4) Trust That He Sought You First
Before Saul knew anything, God had already spoken his name. If you are being drawn to Christ this morning, that drawing did not begin with you, and it will not fail.
5) Bring Your House With You
The lord said, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. Name one person in your family and invite them to the table today.
Prayer
Father, I have made excuses out of good things, and I have called them reasons. I cannot deliver myself; I have tried, and what I would do I do not, and what I hate, that I do. Thank You that You sought me before I ever thought to seek You, and that the supper was ready before I was bidden. Draw me to Christ this day, and let me come with nothing in my hands. In Jesus name, Amen.
Today’s Reading
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Karla D., Joe D.
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