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You're Invited to a Feast: Why We Say No to God's Best · In the Stillness Podcast

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  Hey y'all, welcome back. Happy Friday.
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  We made it to the end of another week and today we are going to
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  be in Matthew chapter 22 verses one through 14.
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  And I want to say this right from the start that this is
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  hands down one of my favorite passages in scripture.
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  I feel like I have a lot of favorite ones, but as I'm
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  reading this it just fires me up.
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  And I think part of why I love this parable so much is it's a
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  lot easier for a lot of us to understand.
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  It's the parable about the wedding.
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  Banquet and weddings are common in society today.
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  Invitations are familiar and most people can clearly envision
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  what Jesus is describing here. And frankly, during my quiet
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  time, I wrote so much on this passage that I genuinely feel
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  like I could write an entire book on this one story.
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  But for today, I'm going to try to highlight the key things that
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  the Lord impressed on my heart and this parable.
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  It is not just a story that Jesus told back then.
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  It is truly such a rich invitation that we're still
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  responding to right now. So with that being said, we're
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  going to get right into it. Starting in verse one, Jesus
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  spoke to them again in parables saying the Kingdom of heaven is
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  like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.
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  He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the
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  banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
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  Then he sent some more servants and said, Tell those who have
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  been invited that I've prepared my dinner, my oxen and fattened
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  cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready, come to the
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  wedding banquet. But they paid no attention and
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  went off 1 to his field, another to his business.
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  The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them.
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  The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed
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  those murders and burned their city.
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  Then he said to his servants, the wedding banquet is ready,
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  but those I invited did not deserve to come.
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  So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you
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  find. So the servants went out into
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  the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad
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  as well as the good. And the wedding hall was filled
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  with guests. But when the king came in to see
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  the guests, he he noticed a man there who was not wearing
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  wedding clothes. He asked, How did you get in
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  here without wedding clothes, friend?
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  The man was speechless. Then the king told the
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  attendants, Tie him hand and foot and throw him outside into
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  the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth,
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  for many are invited, but few are chosen.
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  OK, there is so much happening here. 1st I'm going to give you
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  all some biblical context. We see the King and that is
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  representing God the Father. The Son is Jesus and the
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  servants are the prophets and even for us today, followers of
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  Jesus. So this wedding feast, it's
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  pointing to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
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  This is when Christ returns for his bride, the church.
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  And we can read all about this in Revelation now.
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  Something that stood out to me as I was reading commentary, it
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  was explaining that in this culture, wedding banquet
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  banquets typically came with two announcements.
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  There was one invitation and then another was letting the
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  guests know that the feast was fully ready and prepared.
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  These invites, they were deeply personal and not like the ones
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  that we get today for weddings typically.
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  So in this parable, there are actually 3 invitations and each
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  one is turned down. Honestly, that part kind of made
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  me sad when I was reading it because I just imagined the king
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  being so excited and generous and eager to celebrate his son,
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  yet being rejected every single time.
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  So why were the invitations rejected y'all?
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  It's because people had other priorities.
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  It says in the passion translation that they were not
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  impressed. And that phrase just stopped me
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  in my tracks because their excuses actually sounded very
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  familiar. Work, business, money, It said
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  fields. And in the passion it puts it as
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  a farming enterprise. And when you define enterprise,
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  this is a pursuit or a plan, an endeavour.
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  So today, that pursuit or plan might look like a packed
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  schedule. Social activities, exercise
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  routines, your phone and social media, TV shows, shopping,
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  partying, dating. Just for fun without intention,
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  y'all? I'm giving y'all an exhaustive
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  list. And I just want to be clear that
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  not all of those things are bad. God wants us to enjoy the life
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  that He's given us. But there is a time for rest,
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  for travel, laughter and fun. But the question is, have these
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  things become replacements for time alone with Jesus?
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  Or even worse, have they become excuses for rejecting His
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  invitation? Because His invitation is not
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  just about salvation into heaven one day, it's an invitation into
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  His presence right now. And I say this honestly because
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  some of these things that I listed above, they were robbing
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  me of that too before. And I want to put it into
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  perspective. Let me ask you this question.
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  If you were invited to a royal wedding, would you skip it?
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  Would you trade it for another quote UN quote fun night out at
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  the same bar that you always go to or binge watching ATV show
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  that maybe you've already seen? Because I believe that a lot of
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  people do not fully grasp what they're saying no to.
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  If they did, they would have serious FOMO.
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  Here's the thing, you're being offered a feast.
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  VIP dining. Think the best steak, the finest
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  wine, guaranteed joy and refreshment.
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  Yet people still choose their routine, their same old mid
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  meal. Guys, God is inviting you to His
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  table to experience something incomparable to anything offered
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  on this earth. Yes, it's even better than the
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  newest Maserati, the priciest red wine, or the most memorable
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  night out that you can imagine. This is not just any meal or one
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  time thing. It is a lavish feast.
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  And many never realize that there's something better because
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  they remain so closed off in their heads, assuming that they
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  already have what is best. And when that happens, you
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  compromise, you settle, and you accept less than what's offered
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  freely. That's why Jesus says at the end
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  of this parable, many are invited, but few are chosen.
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  Now I know that this might sound confusing because following
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  Jesus does take sacrifice. Yes, you're giving up things
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  that you're used to, but it is an exchange for something that
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  lasts forever, eternally. And this is unlike the temporary
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  things that you're trading in. And like I've mentioned in
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  previous episodes, this invitation is for anyone and
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  everyone. It's for the good and the bad.
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  It does not matter what you've done in your past, how long
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  you've ignored him, or how many times you've turned down this
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  invite. Jesus has not returned yet,
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  therefore the offer and the invite still stands.
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  But here's something important. If you're invited to a wedding
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  and you want to be there, you would think that you dress
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  accordingly. And in that culture, guests were
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  actually given special garments to wear at these banquets.
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  And we see this man without wedding clothes.
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  He wasn't forgotten or overlooked, but he refused what
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  was offered to him and that refusal showed disrespect to the
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  King. We have to remember God is holy
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  and to attend His banquet we need holy garments.
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  Jesus Christ, His one and only Son, came and sacrificed Himself
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  on that cross to make a way for us.
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  He takes our filthy, stained clothes and He gives us robes of
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  righteousness instead, so that when God, our King, looks at us,
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  He sees his righteous Son. But we still have to choose to
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  put these on. We cannot accept the invite
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  while refusing to honor and respect the King.
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  It's an open invitation, but it's still sacred.
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  And once you experience this feast, yo, I don't want you to
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  miss this. You do not want to leave the
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  feast. The best part?
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  You don't have to leave it, ever.
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  It doesn't end. Everything else starts to taste
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  stale in comparison. Not to say that you will not be
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  tempted to go back to your old way of life, but once you've
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  seen what you have access to, you don't view those things the
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  same way that you once did. Once you taste and see that the
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  Lord is good, as it says throughout scripture, you
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  realize that there is always more of Him.
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  There's always more wisdom that He's willing to give you.
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  More joy, more freedom, and honestly it reminds me of an all
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  inclusive resort in a way. I know this probably sounds
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  funny, but the rounds they just keep on coming.
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  You can order whatever you want because there's always more
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  revelation and more understanding with the Lord.
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  There's more peace. And suddenly you begin to
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  realize This is why I'm here. This is why I exist.
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  You're meant to be in the presence of your King, and
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  you're meant to invite others to join.
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  This is why you may have heard people say my purpose to know
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  him and to make him known. So I want to leave y'all with
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  this closing challenge. Are you going to accept the
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  invitation and attend the ongoing banquet?
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  And if you already have, are you truly putting on the robes of
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  righteousness that you've been offered, or are you continuing
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  in what feels good, familiar, or maybe enough instead of honoring
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  the King fully? Y'all, we cannot say yes to the
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  invite while refusing to throw off what entangles us.
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  You may have heard the term the grass or the phrase the grass is
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  isn't always greener, but it is greener in a true relationship
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  with Jesus at his table in his banquet preparing for his return
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  and the wedding and the marriage of the lamb.
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  So I'm going to end reading first Peter 4 three through 5
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  over y'all. It is a very powerful one, but I
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  think it's good to sit with and to remember.
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  It says you have had enough in the past of the evil things that
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  godless people enjoy, their immorality and lust, their
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  feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible
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  worship of idols. Of course, your former friends
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  are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild
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  and destructive things they do, so they slander you.
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  But remember that they will have to face God, who stands ready to
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  judge everyone, both the living and the dead.
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  Wow, that is a good one. And you might want to re listen
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  over that section or go and read it.
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  But I'm going to end in prayer right now.
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  So bow your heads. Heavenly Father, thank you so
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  much for your invitation, not just to heaven someday, but into
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  your presence right now, today. Forgive us for the times that
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  we've been distracted, unimpressed, or too busy to come
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  When you call us. Lord, help us to throw off
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  whatever entangles us, whatever is hindering us from going all
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  in with you. Jesus, may we be willing to put
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  on the righteousness that you have provided for us.
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  Lord, we choose your table over everything else.
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  Educate us to honor You fully and to invite others into what
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  you have prepared. We praise you God, we give you
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  all the glory. We ask this all in your name,
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  Jesus. Amen.
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  OK, I hope that y'all enjoy this one.
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  It is one of my faves and there is a lot to consider.
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  So go and ask the Lord what He wants to continue speaking over
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  you and into your heart. And I hope you all have a
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  blessed weekend.