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Scripture Reading: Luke 14:16-17; 15:3-4, 8, 20-24; Matt. 22:1-3
Luke 14:17 says, “Come, for all things are now ready.” This is a declaration of God in the universe: “Come, for all things are now ready.” This is a precious utterance. The words come and ready refer to both God and us. God is ready, but we need to come. I hope that we all can recite this sentence: “Come, for all things are now ready.”
Today it is not my intention to preach the word or to study the Bible; I only desire to give a testimony. The Lord in His grace has led me in my living and work to see, understand, and live according to one matter. Therefore, I am happy and willing to testify concerning this matter, which the Lord has enabled me to see, obtain, enter into, and enjoy.
I want to speak of God’s need. When I first began to work for God, I did not see God’s need; I saw only man’s need. It is easy to understand that man has needs, but do we have a sense of God’s need? For example, preachers pay attention to man’s need when they speak of the salvation that is available for sinners. Their speaking is based on the thought that human beings have failed and are in need of victory over sin or that human beings are indifferent and in need of encouragement. In addition, they also speak of man’s need for power, love, faithfulness, holiness, vigor, and so forth. Even when we receive light in reading the Word or in listening to messages, our light almost always relates to man’s need.
Consequently, since our heart is focused on man’s need, our eyes see only man’s need. It is easy for us to see that people are cold and indifferent and that they are not filled with the Holy Spirit. It is also easy for us to see the need to preach the Word. It is not uncommon for a preacher to say, “The harvest is ripe, but the workers are few. There are so many people in need of salvation! These human souls are precious. I cannot bear to see them being cast into the lake of fire. Therefore, I need to preach.” Everywhere I go, I meet people who say, “We are weak, and we have many failures. We need you to come and help us.” This shows that our focus is on man’s need.
Today by the Lord’s grace we need to turn our eyes from the earth to heaven to see a need that is immensely greater than man’s need — God’s need. Without seeing God’s need, it is difficult for people who do not have a sense of need to be saved. Furthermore, without seeing God’s need, it is difficult for those who are saved to have a heavenly living or to obtain power and faith. May these words lead us to see the need on God’s side so that our attention can be shifted from man to God.
Some may ask, “Who has a greater need in the universe, man or God?” The Bible shows that God’s need is primary, whereas man’s need is secondary. Let us compare and see who has a greater need.
We know that sinners need salvation, but have we ever considered that salvation needs sinners? Yes, sinners need salvation, but salvation needs sinners. We often say that a certain person needs the power of the Holy Spirit, but conversely, we should ask, “Does not the power of the Holy Spirit need a person?” Likewise, many people think that a wandering son needs his father, but very few think that the father needs his wandering son to return.
In Luke 15 there is a story of the prodigal son whose garment was worn and who was hungry, thirsty, and filthy. In response to these needs his father prepared the best robe, a ring, sandals, and a feast of a fattened calf. Still I would ask, “Whose need was greater — the son’s or the father’s?” The son was not happy without his father, but the father was not happy without his son. Those who know God would say that the father had a greater need. When the prodigal son returned home, there was a robe waiting for him. The son was not even expecting the robe. When the son returned, he said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son” (v. 21). Without waiting for the son to finish his speaking, the father said to his slaves, “Bring out quickly the best robe and put it on him” (v. 22). The word the in verse 22 is precious because it shows that a robe was prepared by the father and was waiting for the son. While the father was preparing the robe, perhaps he said, “I have made a robe for my older son, but I have to make another robe, which will be the best robe, because my younger son is wandering outside and has not returned.”
The father did not even have to tell the slaves where to find the robe. The father only said, “Bring out quickly the best robe.” It seems as if the slaves knew where to find the robe because everyone knew that the father had prepared a robe, the best robe, for his son. This is the reason I say that it was the robe that was waiting for the son, not the son who was waiting for the robe. This speaks of the father’s need, not the son’s need. We should not see merely man’s need; we need to see God’s need even more. We all need to go and cry out to the world, “God needs man!”
In the Bible God likens His salvation to a dinner (14:16). Have you ever heard someone invite a guest, saying, “I would like to invite you to dinner because I am concerned that you have nothing to eat”? If someone invited me in this way, I probably would rather be hungry than eat dinner with him. We do not invite someone to dinner because he is in need of our dinner but because our dinner needs him. We invite people to dinner because we want them to come and enjoy our dinner, not because they are hungry.
It is not unusual for employees to refuse to work or for students to refuse to go to class, and it is not too strong to say that we often refuse God’s invitation to dinner. This really grieves His heart. If we were to see God’s need, we would realize that it is quite easy to be saved. This is because God needs man even more than man needs Him. If we see this, we will say, “Thank the Lord, it was not me but God who was more concerned that I needed to be saved. It was not me but God who was more concerned that I needed power. It was not me but God who was more concerned that I needed faith. It was not me but God who was more concerned that I needed to be fervent.”
We need to see that God truly needs us. Actually, there is no one who feels that he needs God, and there is no one who seeks God (Rom. 3:11). There is none. It is God who seeks man, and it is God who finds man. It is not we who want God; it is God who wants us. It is not we who choose God; it is God who chooses us. It is not we who love God; it is God who loves us. Our Lord was incarnated so that we could receive Him.
If we see that God needs us more than we need Him, we will realize that it is quite easy to be saved and to be faithful. We will even be able to say, “O God, it is not me who needs You; it is You who needs me. It is not that I need Your grace because I am weak but that Your grace needs my weakness.” We should be able, like Paul, to say, “Most gladly therefore I will rather boast in my weaknesses that the power of Christ might tabernacle over me” (2 Cor. 12:9). The power of Christ cannot be manifested without our weaknesses. We should thank God that our weaknesses give Him the opportunity to shine forth. Although we certainly cannot do anything without God, He cannot be expressed to others without us. The more Paul boasted in his weaknesses, the more God shined forth from him. Paul even declared, “Where sin abounded, grace has superabounded” (Rom. 5:20). It is not light bulbs that need electricity; it is electricity that needs light bulbs in order to express its power as light.
If you think that your children are so troublesome, you need to realize that the more children you have, the more opportunity there is for you to be connected to God, just as a light bulb is connected to electricity. If you are afraid of being bothered by people, you need to realize that every troublesome person whom you encounter is another opportunity to be connected to God. God supplies us according to our need. This is a principle. When we are weak, His strength can be displayed. When we fail, His victory can be displayed. When we are poor, His riches can be displayed.
We need to come, for all things are now ready. There is no need for us to bring anything or to exert any effort, because the Lord has prepared everything for us. We should not only come but also open ourselves to fully enjoy Him. If a person is not saved, he needs to come and receive salvation, and if a person is saved, he needs to come and enjoy salvation. Some are saved but are not overcoming; some are saved but are not filled with the Holy Spirit; some are saved but are not living a heavenly life; some are saved but are without peace. We need to come as we are, without struggling and striving, no matter what our condition is. If we lack power, if we lack faith, or if we lack a fervent pursuit, we need only to come because all things are now ready.
One day two foreign soldiers came to the meeting place in Tsingtao to buy wine. The brothers who were there told them that the meeting place had no wine for sale. The soldiers were surprised because a verse written on the outside wall said, “Come, for all things are now ready.” They asked the brothers, “Does this not mean that people can come and buy wine to drink?” When they asked this, the brothers encouraged them to come and receive salvation. Like these soldiers, we need to come because all things are now ready. We need to come to the Lord with our sins and with our weaknesses so that we can meet His need to be expressed through us.
