Speaker 1: 0:01

Welcome to the Daily Blade. The Word of God is described as the sword of the Spirit, the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil. Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson, and they stand ready to equip men for the fight. Let's sharpen up.

Speaker 2: 0:20

All right, guys. As you should know by now, this week we are focusing on the sermon entitled Compel them to Come In, by the august Charles Spurgeon. The focus of that sermon is the parable of the great banquet that we see in Luke 14. In it, jesus is describing a banquet host, which is God, who invited people to a great banquet, only for them to come up with excuses when it's time to show up. The host then sends out servants to gather a bunch of unkempt whosoevers and bring them to the banquet instead. Let's get back into the sermon by Spurgeon.

Speaker 2: 0:48

It will be a hard thing to die without Christ. I cannot help thinking of you. I see you acting the suicide this morning and I picture myself standing at your bedside and hearing your cries and knowing that you are dying without hope. I cannot bear that. I think I am standing by your coffin now and looking into your clay, cold face and saying this man despised Christ and neglected the great salvation. I think what bitter tears I shall weep then if I think that I have been unfaithful to you, and how those eyes, fast closed in death, shall seem to chide me and say minister, I attended the music hall, but you were not in earnest with me, you amused me, you preached to me, but you did not plead with me. You did not know what Paul meant when he said, as though God did beseech you by us. We pray you in Christ's stead. Be ye reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5.20. So we're getting pretty serious and direct here. Even in this short passage we see the word picture of this great pastor being negligent and not sharing the good news of Jesus when he had the chance. His subject is now dying and eventually is dead, and he's only left with tears of regret and that's all he has to comfort himself. He entertained and he preached to the subject, but he did not compel him to be reconciled with God.

Speaker 2: 2:05

Let's get back to the sermon just a bit here, back to Spurgeon. But do you spurn it? Do you still refuse it? Then I must change my tone a minute. I will not merely tell you the message and invite you, as I do with all earnestness and sincere affection. I will go further.

Speaker 2: 2:21

Sinner, in God's name, I command you to repent and believe. Do you ask me whence my authority? I am an ambassador of heaven. My credentials, some of them secret and in my own heart, and others of them open before you this day in the seals of my ministry, sitting and standing in this hall where God has given me many souls for my hire. As God, the Everlasting One, hath given me a commission to preach His gospel, I command you to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, not on my own authority, but on the authority of Him who said Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, and then annexed the solemn sanction. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. Reject my message and remember he that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses. Of how much sore punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden under the foot of the Son of God? An ambassador is not to stand below the man with whom he deals, for we stand higher If the minister chooses to take his proper rank, girded with the omnipotence of God and anointed.

Speaker 2: 3:28

You guys listening to this, the moment that anyone commands you to do something, your fight or flight instinct starts to kick in, and it's pretty light on the flight, if you know what I'm saying. But still, many of you can control yourselves even then, just as long as they don't start threatening you, but back to Spurgeon. But does not this avail? Are all our entreaties lost upon you? Do you turn a deaf ear? Then again, I change my note, sinner. I have pleaded with you as a man pleadeth with his friend. And were it for my own life, I could not speak more earnestly this morning than I do speak concerning yours. I did feel earnest about my own soul, but not a whit more than I do about the souls of my congregation this morning, and therefore, if ye put away these entreaties, I have something else. I must threaten you. You shall not always have such warnings as these.

Speaker 2: 4:32

A day is coming when hushed shall be the voice of every gospel minister, at least for you, for your ear shall be cold in death. It shall not be any more threatening, it shall be the fulfillment of the threatening. There shall be no promise, no proclamations of pardon and of mercy, no peace-speaking blood, but you shall be in the land where the Sabbath is all swallowed up in everlasting nights of misery and where the preachings of the gospel are forbidden because they would be unavailing. I charge you then, listen to this voice that now addresses your conscience, For if not, god shall speak to you in his wrath and say unto you in his hot displeasure I called and ye refused. I stretched out my hand and no man regarded. Therefore, will I mock at your calamity? I will laugh when your fear cometh. Sinner, I threaten you again. Remember, it is but a short time. You may have to hear these warnings. You imagine that your life will be long, but do you know how short it is? Have you ever tried to think how frail you are? I mean boom, wow. I mean guys.

Speaker 2: 5:43

Remember the first passage I read earlier about the guy lamenting that it's too late now to share the gospel because his subject is already dead. That man is lamenting because he did not do everything in his power to compel him to come in. He never went scorched earth, he never commanded it and he certainly never threatened the subject. Never went scorched earth, he never commanded it and he certainly never threatened the subject, but he now wishes that he would have. What are the wages of sin? Death, and not just earthly death, but forever death, forever separation from our creator. What is our only hope to avoid that? Putting our faith in Christ and repenting of our sins. If you are listening to this and have yet to do so hear me, you have no other hope apart from Christ. None. Okay, put your faith in him, say that he is Lord, repent of your sins. I compel you, I command you and I threaten you. Your seat at the great banquet is still available.

Speaker 1: 6:47

Thank you for listening to today's episode Before you go. If you want to help equip other men for the fight, share this podcast around and leave us a five-star rating and review. Stay sharp.