The Last Call of the Gospel — Keith Malcomson

The Last Call of the Gospel

Praise God. I want you to turn with me to Luke chapter 14 in the New Testament here tonight. I'm gonna plunge right into this straight away. And this is my fifth and final message. We have been dealing with Russia, Magog, Tarshish.

Now I'm gonna finish this with one last message. And you may think this is radically different from dealing with Magog and Tarshish, dealing with Russia and Britain, but it's not. If anyone online is intrigued by Magog and Tarshish and not utterly captivated by this, I would say you're in serious, serious spiritual trouble.

This is my fifth and final message. And we have looked at the nations and been fascinated by some of the things and enjoyed those. But really, all of that is to bring you to one thing, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So we have prophecies 2 ,600 years old that are coming to pass and very soon will be fulfilled and accomplished. And it's happening in our day. And yet it's for one purpose these were given for us at this time, in this hour, and such accurate information.

Do you know why it is? To give you a burning zeal for the Lord Jesus Christ in a remarkable way. And can I say this? If you spend more time in researching about Bill Gates than you do about Jesus Christ, you're on your way to hell.

You've got a real problem. If you watch more videos about conspiracies than about the Lord Jesus Christ, you really have a problem. If you spend more time going through YouTube and the internet and Facebook and all of those other ulterior groups out there than spending in your Bible, you really are out of step and you're not ready.

You really are not ready. But I wanna read here tonight Luke chapter 14 for a moment. My message tonight, part five, my last part, the last call of the gospel. The very last call of the gospel. There won't be any more.

The Parable of the Great Supper

Luke chapter 14, verse one. And it came to pass as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath day that they watched him. And then jumping down to verse 16, then said he unto them, a certain man made a great supper and bade many and sent his servant at suppertime to say unto them that were bidden, come for all things are now ready.

And they all with one consent began to make excuses. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground and I must needs go and see it. I pray they have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen and I go to prove them.

I pray they have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come. So that servant came and showed his Lord all these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant go out quickly into the streets and the lanes of the city and bring in hither the poor and the maimed and the halt and the blind.

And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou has commanded and yet there is room. And the Lord said unto the servant, go out into the highways and the hedges and compel them to come in that my house may be filled.

For I say unto you that none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper. Let's just pray here. Father, we thank you Lord God for this book, this Bible, it's prophecies, it's predictions. Lord God, for all that is spoken about in this day, it's not a dead book, nor God it gives us the history of the world.

It gives us the history of mankind. It gives us the birth of man. And it also gives us all of the signs of the end of the age. It shows us Russia and Britain. It shows us the merchants of the earth and what they're gonna be doing in this very hour.

Lord God, you show us concerning wars. You show us concerning revivals. And Lord God, you certainly show us concerning the last proclamation of the gospel. We pray, oh God, that we as a church, we as individuals would be literally caught up and captivated, Lord God, in the proclamation of the gospel in an hour where we see the merchants in their place and Tarshish in its place and Magog in its place.

Lord God, I pray, oh God, that we would be in our place, Lord God, doing the right thing, preaching the gospel, in communion with you, with our eyes in the right place, reaching the lost, oh God, compelling men and women to come in.

And Lord God, if we don't do that, then what do we believe about this hour? Will you bless our word and our time together in Jesus' name, amen. I wanna deal with the last call of the gospel. I've actually had this message on my mind and heart since last October, November.

We went over and preached in London last year, you'll remember. And on the Saturday evening, as we sat somewhere in the middle of London at a little coffee shop place to eat and all the church group, we got on a red double-decker bus and found somewhere to eat and we're all sitting there and it got to the end of our meal.

You see, I'm talking about a meal, Jesus is here at a meal in what we have just read. He is invited to a meal and they're sitting eating together. Well, we were sitting eating together and we got to the end of the meal and we're all talking, having about five conversations all at the same time.

And there was a lady there and I think her husband had been an elder and they're sitting on an older lady, mature. And as we began to talk, I started to say of two things that I'd noticed over the past year and a half that amazed me, two unique things that have happened during this two-year crisis.

And as I did, she said, "'Doesn't it remind you of the last call in Luke chapter 14?'. And as soon as she said it, it hit me. It really hit me. I'd studied this before. I've spent much time on these verses before, but when she said that, it's never left me.

And I knew I'd preach on it one of these nights and I believe it's for this series, having spent two messages on Russia in the last days and two messages on Britain in the last days. I believe this is so vital.

Complacent Churches and Awakened Outsiders

It goes here. What are the two things that I've noticed? And in my lifetime, I've watched everything very carefully. I've watched the church. I've watched the world. I've watched politics. I've watched Bible prophecy.

What are the two unique things I've watched for two years? Here they are. Number one is that the churches across Ireland and Britain and Europe and the world are fast asleep. The pastors, the teachers, the leaders of denominations, they are fast asleep and they don't know what's happening.

It's utterly perplexed me that people who once preached Bible prophecy about the mark of the beast and the return of Jesus and the signs of the times, they are fast asleep. At the very hour when all this is coming to pass, utter silence across the churches, entire denominations of 600 churches, and they are utterly silent.

What's the other sign that I have noticed? And I'm utterly amazed at this and glad and bad that over the past year and a half, I have watched and listened and it's almost a running joke like our friends here coming in the other week is that new agers are starting to come in and atheists are coming in who two years ago, atheists who did not believe this, new agers who had no time for the Bible, all of a sudden there is a mass movement across our world.

I mean, it is massive, but it is not a denomination or a church or a preacher, it is individuals everywhere being brought in all in the past two years. And I don't hear anyone talking about, I've talked about it constantly for a year and a half, saying, I see these two things, those that have been in the church 30 years and 40 years and 50 years, they're silent like dumb dogs and they cannot discern the hour.

And yet these new converts are coming out and saying, I believe the Bible, I believe in blood atonement, I believe in the cross, I believe Jesus is the only answer, I believe this is the last hour. That's why I'm bringing you to this message as we close the series here tonight.

The last call of the gospel, and I'm gonna show you this in scripture, what I've just said, because I believe it's here in this text. Follow with me, and this is a Bible study, so I want you to get into your Bible and mark it down.

It says in verse one, and it came to pass as he, that is Jesus, went out into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath day, that they watched him. Now I want you to see here that Jesus is invited to a feast at the home of a chief Pharisee.

You know, the Pharisees as a movement 300 years before were a movement birthed of God. They were a pure group. They were biblically based. They had faith in the Lord. They were raised up to accomplish something of the purpose of God in their generation, and yet by the time of Jesus, they are orthodox.

They are sound in doctrine, but something tragic has happened in that movement. I believe it's happened in our day in the evangelical, Pentecostal, Bible-believing, born-again movement. I've watched it for years.

I've preached against it for years, and there's a mass movement that has the new birth and the preaching of the Bible and all the teaching of Bible prophecy, but there is something terribly wrong with the leadership of this hour, and so this chief Pharisee, this leader amongst the Pharisees, a movement that used to be in revival, he invites Jesus to his home, and in fact, he's invited many guests to be there, and it's on the Sabbath day, and he's invited them to be in his home and to eat together, and notice what they're doing here.

They're watching him. Do you know the entire room and house is filled with Pharisees and scribes? Sorry, ladies, there are no women there. They weren't invited to this home on this day. If you weren't a Pharisee and you weren't a scribe or a scholar of the Old Testament, an expert in the scriptures, haven't been trained all your life, you weren't invited to this meal.

This is the only kind of person that were welcome in this home, at this feast, at this time, and as you read it, Jesus looking around, he could see that there were those, these Pharisees were choosing the best seats, and they're going, that's the highest seat, the most important seat.

I think I'll choose that, and notice here in verse one, they're watching Jesus. You see, I believe this is a trap. I believe they're watching him very carefully. They have invited them there, not to satisfy his hunger, not to listen to his teaching.

They actually have him there, and they're watching him. The very next verse gives us why they are actually watching him. In verse two here in our text, it says, and behold, there was a certain man with him, which had the dropsy.

The dropsy is an illness where fluid rises up, and great swellings of the body, and fluid begins to flow in ways it shouldn't flow, and certain elements of your internal organs start giving way to these swellings, and to this water.

That's what dropsy is. So they're watching him, and there's this sick man there, and it's on the Sabbath, and you know what he starts doing? He actually knows their hearts and thoughts, and he begins to say, is it wrong to heal on the Sabbath day?

After all, you've got scribes and scholars here. Why don't you answer me? Is it theologically wrong to heal on the Sabbath day, on the seventh day of the week? And they don't answer him. They refute. They just sit there quiet.

These are experts in the law, and they will not answer his question. You know what? He knew their hearts. Here's a sick man. It's on the Sabbath. He's invited to eat, and here, the sick man. I wonder if they brought the sick man in.

I mean, he's the only one that's not a Pharisee and a scribe, and he's the only one we know is sick, and he's the one whose Jesus' attention is on. Do you realize they don't care about the man with dropsy?

They are not looking for him to be healed. They're not trying to help the man with dropsy. They're not telling Jesus. They're not like the four that brought their friend and broke through the roof and said, we want to get him to Jesus.

They're not like that. They're not trying to help this man. They're trying to catch the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you know all through Luke, you find this many times, that several times Jesus heals on the Sabbath, very specifically on the Sabbath, because it caused them a problem.

For instance, in Luke chapter four, Jesus cast out a demon. In Luke chapter four, he also healed a fever, all on the Sabbath. In Luke chapter six, his disciples plucked grain on the Sabbath. And again, in John chapter five, he healed a layman on the Sabbath.

In Luke chapter six, he healed a man who had a paralyzed hand. And in Luke chapter 13, he delivered a crippled woman who was afflicted by a demon. And then last of all, John chapter nine, he healed a man who was born blind.

All of these were on the Sabbath. Why do you think it was specifically on the Sabbath? It's because a generation of Bible believers had grown up that cared more about keeping the Sabbath than they did about healing the sick, delivering the oppressed, and helping those that were in need.

When religion gets like that, there's something really, really bad. And when men are looking at Jesus, watching to see what he's gonna do, not urging him to heal, but they're watching him to try and catch him out.

And so here you see Jesus right in the midst of this. And he says, is it theologically wrong to do that? And they don't answer him. And then he gives a parable. And he says, don't you scribes, doesn't the word of God say that you can lift out your animals if they fall in a pit on the Sabbath day, but you think I shouldn't heal on the Sabbath day?

And they couldn't answer him anything. They just sat there quietly. And so what do you have at this meal? Don't invite Jesus to your meal if you don't want some uncomfortable conversations. Do you ever invite someone to your house?

Are we ever invited to someone's house and they are very nervous about you speaking to others in that room? I've been there. Or have you been in that situation where you invite someone who knows God and you're very nervous?

I hope they don't speak to that. I hope they don't speak to my mommy. I hope they don't speak to my brother. And you're praying. You go, oh yes, I know it would be right, but I'm cringing at the same time.

Well, here you have Jesus and he begins to deal with things in their heart, beginning with the Sabbath. And then it says he noticed that they began to choose the best seats. So what does he do? He begins preaching on when you're invited to a wedding feast or to a meal in someone's house, don't choose the best seat.

You shouldn't deal with issues that directly, should you, as a preacher? Not if you want to keep your head and be popular. Don't preach like this, especially in someone's house. And he says you ought to be humble.

You ought to choose the lowest seat. Bear to be moved up than moved down. So he's dealing with them very accurately. I'm leading you somewhere here. You see, he's dealing practically with the natural situation, but he's going to move you to the spiritual.

He is dealing with the historic, the now, here and now, but he's going to move them to the prophetic, to what's going to happen at the end of the age. He's dealing with them personally, individually in this home, but now he's going to move the whole thing to a global worldwide situation of what's going to go on, but it's the same heart.

It's the exact same heart. And then notice here, he says, when you do throw a feast, do you know who you need to invite? Don't invite your friends and your neighbor and your family and all the ones who have plenty of money and nice homes who can pay you back.

Do not invite them to a feast, but rather put a feast on and invite the poor. When's the last time you've done this? And the maimed and the halt and the blind. Just put a feast on for them. They can't repay you.

They can't see you. You're going to have to lead them into the table. You may have to carry them in because they can't walk. Why don't you take all the money that you spend on yourself and why not throw a party for a bunch of down and outs?

That's what Jesus said to all these religious leaders with plenty of money in their pocket. Do you know Jesus goes right to your heart and if you sit in a church and online, if you sit in a church and never have your heart dealt with, Jesus is not there.

I get very uncomfortable at times when I'm preparing my message because he deals with me. And you know here, God is going to deal with you, but then that's what Christ does. That's who he actually is.

So he says, go get the poor. And then one of these Pharisees in verse 14 spoke up. In fact, there's Jesus. He says, and thou shalt be blessed for they cannot recompense thee for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.

He has just moved them to the last day. Jesus is dealing with a feast in your home, practical, natural, human, and what seat you choose. And then he moves you right to the end of the age to the resurrection.

This parable that I read tonight is about the resurrection, the time of the end, the last generation, and what's going to happen with the call of the gospel and what I said at the beginning. Look at verse 16.

Then said he unto him, a certain man made a great supper and bade many. He's telling a parable. What's a parable? It's a natural story to illustrate a spiritual truth. He's moved them to the end days, the resurrection.

You know, one of them put his hand up and says, praise God, I'm going to be blessed. I can't wait to eat in the kingdom of God. And that's why Jesus told the parable. You'll always get someone in that environment who isn't inviting the poor, never will invite the maimed, and they'll say, praise God, let's spiritualize it.

It's getting a bit hot in this room tonight. I'm getting hot under the collar. So let's spiritualize the whole thing and say, yes, we're all going to eat. Let's spiritualize it all. Oh, we'll spiritualize it all, but it'll have a greater application when Jesus actually does that.

And so he tells this spiritual parable. There was one that sat at meat with him, heard these things, said, blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. But Jesus gives this parable about a man hosting a great supper.

And he's in the midst of one naturally in that house, but he's telling a story, a parable to illustrate spiritual truth. And he sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden or who had already been bidden, come, for all things are now ready.

The Two Calls of the Gospel

In those days, when a great man threw a great feast, there were two calls to the feast. First of all, an invitation was sent to you personally, and it was written up with your name. It had your address on it.

It was carried to you personally, individually. It had your name on it, and you were called to the feast. Now we're told here that the servants went out to many guests and invited them. And I believe it's very clear here, they all responded positively because the servants are gonna go back again and remind them on the day.

You see, in those days when they held a feast, the second call always come on the day. So you're warned ahead of time. And then this rich man, this great man, always sent a servant out at the 11th hour or at the time when the feast was ready.

And he would say, come, come, drop what you're doing. And believe me, when you got an invitation, if you got an invitation to Parliament or to the Queen of England or to some great gathering, I assure you, to treat that lightly is very, you may never get that call again in your entire life.

You know, Candice, you remember she got that invite to the Queen's Tea Party at Buckingham Palace. You only get that once in your lifetime. You don't get lots of invitations to tea unless you're very close in with Auntie Liz.

But if you're not, if you're a stranger, you'll get one invitation in your entire lifetime to get in there and to have access. And so here is this invitation, it is unique, it's a privilege, it's unusual, it is a blessing.

And all of these people responded positively. I'll be there, I'll be there, I'll be there. I think they put the invitation up on their fridge. No, they didn't have fridges then. I think they put it up on their wall.

And all their friends who come in said, look, at least at the beginning, at the beginning. I say, guess who was at my door yesterday? And guess the invitation that I got? And guess who has called me? I'm called to the marriage feast.

I am called to this great feast. I'm gonna eat there at this wonderful feast. But you know, as time goes on, you begin to interpret that call. And you begin to show what you think of that call. And what do you think that calling actually means?

There are two calls, that initial call, that they do to the great supper. And they receive it, they were presented to them, it was offered freely. And they gladly and freely received it. Do you know what that is?

That's the call of the gospel. Jesus is given a parable, but he's talking about when the gospel comes to an individual, and it's astounding, it's shocking, and they're so glad to receive it. They wanna frame it.

They say, I am called to the marriage feast. Do you know what this great feast he's speaking about here? The feast is in the future. You're gonna get an immediate short warning that it's time, it's ready, it's provided, and that you're to come immediately to that feast.

You see, the call is the gospel of redemption of what Christ has done. I'll forgive you, I'll save you, I'll change you. I love you, that's what the call is. But it's all in preparation for that day when everything is ready.

What is the second call? It is at the end of the age. It is feast time or the time of the resurrection. It is the time at the very end of the age when we are gonna enter in fully. Do you know you're called?

We are engaged as a church, we're not married yet. The Bible teaches that we're in the betrothal stage. Oh yes, you're really born again, but we as God's people are betrothed. There's yet to be a marriage day.

There's yet to be a great feast. That's when we enter into all the fullness of that. But you now are the called of God. You've been chosen, you've been called. It's a privilege, you don't deserve it. It's unique, it is absolutely free.

But then the second call comes. He sends out a servant at that time, at the time of the feast, at the time when everything has been made ready. And he says, come, you received the invitation a long time ago, but now you're receiving.

Enter in and enjoy this. Wouldn't you be glad? Do you know what it says in verse 18? It says, and they all with one consent began to make excuses. Jesus is talking about those who received the call or at least thought they had, at least outwardly.

They received the call and they actually stepped in like the Pharisees and they said, oh, from this day forth, we believe the Bible and we believe in heaven and hell. And we believe there's a day of judgment and we believe in the blessing of God.

And we believe in praying and going to synagogue and listening to preaching and reading the law of God. We believe all that. Do you know what Jesus is talking about? At the end of the age, there's gonna be a people like the Pharisees of the first generation that are sound in doctrine.

But when that second call comes to say, are you ready? Everything is prepared, this is the time. You're gonna be shocked at the excuses. I believe that's what we're seeing in our world today across the denominations and the churches and the preachers, I'm hearing excuses.

They all received the call of God. And when it comes to this hour, it's shocking. There is a state of unreality in the church at the moment. Now for the first time in my lifetime and any lifetime, the world powers and governments and politicians and businessmen are going public saying we wanna chip you all.

First time of any generation. First time in my lifetime that they're stating it publicly and they're putting it out in the public arena. And now what we have is the entire church denominations, Baptist, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Evangelical, you name it.

And you know what they're living, they're going, this isn't real. This isn't real. They were happy to accept until this hour, the pastors, the preachers, the leaders, the teachers, they used to believe this, but now when it's here, there's a sense of utter unreality.

You see, they're not gonna appear, they're not gonna attend, they're not gonna come because they don't believe it's real anymore. They have carried the invitation for 30 years and 20 years and 10 years and five years and now in this hour, that invitation means nothing to them because Christ, the same one that gave them the invitation says now as they are, they don't believe it anymore.

They literally do not. They say it's impractical, it's unreal. We're not prepared, we're not ready. It's not for us. Try somebody else and they don't realize what they're actually dealing with. They're going AWOL.

You see, there's three men dealt with here and I believe Jesus is talking about the church and the Christians of this hour, the Bible believers of this hour. He gives three examples of three men and I believe I see that church in this hour.

The First Excuse: Possessions and Church Buildings

But thank God there's some others outside of that. These three men had gone AWOL. All three of them were in unity. They each had a different excuse. This could be called the parable of excuses. In fact, there's a lot of parables with a lot of people making a lot of excuses why they're not ready and not doing the will of God.

Do you know how many times Jesus deals or tells a story or gives an example or a teaching where somebody makes an excuse of why they're not doing what they're told to do? Do you know how many times he does that?

An awful lot of times. You need to be very careful. These three men are in unity and excusing themselves from responsibility. They have logic, they have reasons, they have arguments, they have a lot of words, a lot of reasons.

You need to be careful who you're giving the excuse to, the Lord Jesus Christ. It says that they began to make excuses. The word began means to rehearse from the beginning. You ever had someone? Sorry, I hope none of you ever think I'm talking about you because it's always someone else.

It's never anyone in here or on camera or who watches the videos later. I need to put a copyright or some legal statement on there. If you think I'm talking about you, I'm definitely not. Don't worry about it, but maybe God is.

Do you know, it says they rehearsed from the beginning. They went into great, they went ripe. I can imagine the servant stand there. Come, come, he's calling for you now. Let me just tell you the reason I'm not coming.

They must be going, oh God, help us. Why'd I have to be sent to this bunch? Coming out with all of this and they start to tell this long, detailed, rehearsed story. Really, they should have just said, no, I'm not coming.

But no, they've got intricate reasons. The word for excuse here means to decline, which really is a rejection. Oh, sorry, I'll decline to come. No, you're rejecting the gospel. Oh no, I'm too busy. No, you're not.

You're rejecting the master who first gave you the invitation. To excuse themself is to seek to lessen the blame attached to any of their actions or reasons. It is a reason or an explanation given to justify a fault or a defense.

That's what an excuse says. When you begin to excuse, Brother Keith, you need to understand why I don't do that. I know Jesus says it, but this is the reason why I don't do it. You're in real trouble.

If as you, I'd rather fall on my face and say, have mercy upon me, a sinner. That person always gets through. The person with an intellectual, well-organized, well-rehearsed argument, they never get through.

They're always in serious trouble. It's a reason for not fulfilling an obligation or a duty. It's reasons to excuse basic disobedience. Let me deal with these three men here. First of all, the first man is in verse 18.

The first said unto him, and this to his servant, poor preachers have to listen to all excuses. I have bought a piece of ground and I must needs go and see it. I pray they have me excused. Remember, these three men represent, I believe in this, our entire movements of churches, entire movements of leaders, entire movements of Christians.

This isn't about sinners. This is people who received the call, believe in the call, who answered the call years ago. They're all caught up in this. They are living out the call of God, but not according to how he said, because at the hour, they're not ready.

At that hour, they haven't prepared themselves. At that hour, it's a dead thing. They've destroyed the call of God on their life. This first man is not a wise man. Look what he done. He bought a piece of land without seeing it.

Oh, sorry, I can't come tonight to the feast. I actually have to go see that bit of land I bought. What, you didn't look at it before buying it? He's not a wise man, I want to tell you. Jesus knows, remember Jesus talking about spiritual issues of the heart amongst those that call themselves by his name.

I'll be in the kingdom, I can't wait to be in the kingdom, drinking and eating with the Lord. Really, you think you're going to be there? Look at this first movement in today's church, the buy ground.

Now goes to see it, when? Evening time. Would you go to see with your eyes a bit of ground that you bought with all of your precious money? And when are you going to do it? Right at evening time as the sun is going down.

Brilliant timing. You've only got a short bit of time, but it's so urgent. You go, oh, there's only a little bit of light. I need to go do that. Then you're going to miss it all. Big time, you are in real trouble.

He invests without preparation or without thought. What does this first man represent? He represents possessions that destroy the call of God. Possessions. What does he say? I must. I met people in the church say, Brother Keith, you don't understand, I must.

But Jesus said, what about what he said? Oh no, I must. I need to go see something. I need to go do this. You don't understand. I understand, all right. I really understand. He's pressed with urgency, this first man, with things natural, carnal, temporal.

He paid for the land. The feast was free. It's eternal. It's everything given to you freely. What does he do? He buys a bit of land. And he said, I paid a lot for that. Yes, and now it's cursing you. You are bound to something that you paid a price for, and now you're rejecting something that is free, eternal, and from the Lord.

What a disaster. He's a victim of life's pressures. I must. I must. I'm bound into this. I've committed myself. What does this represent in today's church? I believe the possession of this bit of land, this purchase of a bit of land, it represents church buildings.

I believe it represents organizations of churches. I believe it represents titles and positions of ministry gained through the first call. Remember, all of this came about through the first call. They're not sinners.

They're not drunkards. They're not harlots. They come later. This is clean living people who say they believe the Bible, and they've received the first call. They believe the first call, and that actual call leads them in a direction where they're gaining church buildings and titles and organizations, and here they are spending an awful lot of money upon it.

What a disaster. What another disaster. You see, that is the first call brought them to this place where they're consumed with possessions of natural things, of human things, and yet it's not sinful. Is it sinful to buy a field?

Absolutely not. In fact, all three of them, they don't do anything sinful. They're not sleeping around. They're not getting drunk. They're not stealing. This man has worked hard. This man is paying for the land, not stealing the land.

This man wants to go see the land, but exposes that they're not ready for the second call. Do you know the church building movement of the Western world? Billions, billions, billions spent on buildings.

Buildings are a practicality. I'm not against buildings. I'm not against land. I'm not against buying. There's nothing sinful with buying it, but when you get so caught up in buildings and organization and all of this and paying a price and earning this and working hard for it, and then the call comes and you're not ready, and the call comes and you're not winning sinners, and the call comes and you're not inviting the prayer into your house, you've really missed it.

This can be right until they assume a wrong priority. See, caught up in the wrong focus. I need to see the land. That's where your eyes are. What's your focus and your thoughts and your concentration?

And what are you paying for? All of yous are paying for something. Doesn't matter how rich or how poor. All of you are paying a price for something, but what are you purchasing in this life? You see, the first call can make you a possessor of natural possessions, and you could get mesmerized.

You could miss the call of God. The second man, in verse 19, and another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen. Oh no, here we go again. I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them. I pray they have me excused.