GO AND COMPEL SINNERS TO COME IN!
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Pastor, Christ Fellowship Bible Church
The Scripture:
LUKE 14:23
ἔξελθε εἰς τὰς ὁδοὺς καὶ φραγμοὺς καὶ ἀνάγκασον εἰσελθεῖν, ἵνα γεμισθῇ μου ὁ οἶκος·
“Go out into the highways and the hedges and compel them to come in so that my house may be filled.”
As I reflect on the duty and joyful privilege of man-fishing, I find it helpful to reflect and pray on the sweetness of Christ and the joy of calling sinners to flee from the wrath to come by looking to Christ the Lamb who bore divine judgment in the stead of hopeless sinners who repent and believe in Him.
I. the plan / the pursuit / the passion
1. GO OUT! - ἔξελθε- GO OUT / depart/ leave! “Go Out” / point from which you depart.
2. COMPEL! - ἀνάγκασον- Compel! Force! Plead! Beg! Woo! Draw! To Necessitate; to Compel; To Drive To. It is a very strong verb that demands compulsion, begging, wooing, entreating, pleadings.
II. the purpose!
*God says: so that my house my be full!
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For me, personally, here are some of my goals & ambitions as I seek to proclaim Christ:
- I make it a personal goal to share the gospel daily (a child, a gas-station, a stranger, giving out a tract, a server at a restaurant, a student, someone waiting for a bus, etc.).
- I try to make an outing of evangelism/soul-winning each week.
- I want to explain the gospel and compel sinners to respond in repentance + faith.
- I want to give them a tract; follow-up; a website; my email.
- I offer them to get together and open the Bible and talk about these things.
- I willingly pray with them if they’ll allow me at the end of the conversation.
- I greedily want souls to know Christ, rest in His efficacious cross-work & have eternal life.
- I want Christ the Lord to receive the full reward of His labors. I know that He will. So my confidence in the absolute sovereignty of God encourages me and instills confidence as I go out and labor for converts.
- I believe with all my heart that God’s Word (preached, in written tract form, or verbalized in a conversation) shall never ever return void. He will use it in accomplishing and in the outworking of His sovereignly ordained decrees.
- I personally believe there's something vitally important as a shepherd and leader to exemplify soul-winning for the believers I shepherd in the local church. I often take church folks out with me for evangelism so we can do it together and reflect on it together and sharpen each other.
2 Corinthians 5:20-6:1 -- Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
