Worst Excuses Ever Parable
The Parables of Jesus Part 1
Luke 14:15-21       8-25-2013
Summary: The rejected rich are rejected because they are so obsessed with earthly things that when it comes down to a choice between them and the banquet, they make excuses. It is God's gifts that pose the greatest threat to keeping us out of heaven. And it is usually the wealthy who are most at risk of becoming obsessed. The ragtag replacements are the people who have nothing to offer God. You can tell which group you are in by whether your enjoyment of earthly things is a tool for enjoyment of God, or you use God as a tool to get earthly things. And also, if your joy comes from the banquet, it cannot be hindered by people or circumstances. 
Introduction
The Messianic Banquet
The Rejected Rich
The Initial Invitation
The Excuses
Obsession
The Things That Keep You From Heaven
The Danger of Wealth
The Ragtag Replacements
The Feast Goes On
The Host is not Dependent on the Guests
The Replacements
Conclusion: How To Tell Which Group You Are In
Appetite Or Excuses
Is My Joy Coming From The Banquet Or From Earthly Things?
Conclusion: Come To The Banquet!
1:25 Questions

Luke 14:15 When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, "Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!" 16 But he said to him, "A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.' 19 And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.' 20 And another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.' 21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, 'Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.' 22 And the servant said, 'Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.' 23 And the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.'" 
Introduction
Dead silence. It is supposed to be a festive, happy occasion. It is a banquet. A lot of money was spent on all this food. But no one is having a good time now. You could cut the tension in the room with a knife. It was a tense situation right from the moment Jesus walked in the door – verse 1 says He was being carefully watched. These Pharisees and leaders were hoping to catch Jesus doing or saying something wrong – that is the only reason they invited Him. Then Jesus proceeds to do exactly what they hoped He would do. He healed a man right in front of everyone, on the Sabbath, which broke their Sabbath rules. But He did it in a way that exposed their hypocrisy. He pointed out that they would work to save one of their animals on the Sabbath, but they considered it wrong to heal a human being on the Sabbath. Verse 6 says they had no answer.
But Jesus is not done making them uncomfortable. Starting in verse 7, He notices the guests trying to get into the most honored seats, and He exposes them and rebukes them in front of everybody. Jesus shows up at this banquet, insults all the guests, and exposes the hypocrisy of the leaders. The only one He hadn’t insulted yet was the host, but Jesus takes care of that in verse 12.
12 ...When you give a dinner or a banquet...
(Keep in mind - they are at a banquet. Jesus stands up in the middle of this banquet and gives instructions on how to give a banquet.) 
do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind
The host is a ruler of the Pharisees. And there are Scribes there, and other Pharisees, and there are people jockeying for position in the seating, trying to get into the positions of honor. It is all important people and wealthy people. And Jesus says, “Don’t invite people like that. Instead invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.” How many of those folks do you think were at this dinner? I promise you there were none. Pharisees did not associate with people like that. In fact, they are still upset at Jesus for healing one of those people. So imagine this scene. Jesus breaks their Sabbath rule and then humiliates them with His answer, then insults all the guests, then tells the host, “When you have one of these dinners, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind." Now silence. You are looking around - not one person who fits the description of who Jesus said you should invite to a dinner, and all the people He said not to invite. Awkward! One thing we never read about in Scripture is Jesus ever being invited back to the house of a Pharisee. They make the mistake of inviting Jesus over once - never a second time. At this point nobody is eating. Nobody is drinking. No one can manage to look Jesus in the eye - they are all just staring down at their mashed potatoes and lamb chops wishing they hadn’t come to this party. This dinner party has become a disaster. 
I don't know how long the agonizing silence of this very awkward moment drags on until finally some guy tries to break up the ice a little bit with this comment in verse 15, "Blessed is the man who will eat bread in the kingdom of God." Instead of dealing with what Jesus has said, instead of saying, “Men, Jesus is right. We need to repent,” he just changes the subject to something non-controversial. 
“Enough of this rebuking and finger-pointing. Can we all just talk about something a little more pleasant? Something we can all agree on?”
Nobody would disagree with the statement this guy makes. Yes! Amen! Blessed is the man who eats bread in the kingdom of God!
The Messianic Banquet
That is a reference to what the Jews referred to as the Great Messianic Banquet that would happen in the age to come. Scripture often pictures the joy of the new heaven and earth as that of guests celebrating and partying together at a table loaded with food and drink. The presence of God and the delights of heaven are described as being like food and drink because they satisfy the soul just like food and drink satisfy the body. Every appetite of the soul implies some satisfaction. God did not give us any dead-end appetites. If we crave love, that tells us that there is a love out there that would satisfy our craving. The same goes for our desire for peace, hope, honor, strength, significance and meaning, awe, success, pleasure, security, rest, knowledge, compassion. Every one of those appetites implies that there is something out there that would satisfy it that God wants us to pursue. God designed our bodies to get hungry so that we would be motivated to obtain food and eat it. He designed our bodies to get thirsty so that we would drink. He designed us to get tired so that we would rest. God gave us appetites on purpose because He wants us to pursue the satisfaction of those appetites. And that applies especially to spiritual appetites. Each one of them implies a fulfillment. The time will come when God will provide satisfaction for every one of our appetites. And that action of God providing satisfaction for all the appetites of our soul is referred to in Scripture as the great banquet.
Isaiah 25:6 On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food
That is the great Messianic Banquet. And it is talking about something far greater than a literal meal. It is talking about the time when God will satisfy the cravings of our souls in marvelous, delightful ways through personal interactions with Jesus Christ.
It is compared to a dinner because there is something special about eating with people you love. When a man and a woman go on a date, they are either going to eat a meal, or drink coffee together or something along that line. If you go over to someone’s house for dinner, that takes your friendship to levels that cannot be obtained from a year of sitting in Bible study together. This is God’s design. It is something about the combination of pleasures - the tastes and flavors, and the strengthening and feeling of satisfaction that comes from eating and drinking - all intermingled with the pleasures of fellowship and friendship and expressions of love. Having the food there gives a more relaxed feel to the conversation. If you are just standing there talking to someone, if the conversation dies down for a moment, it is over. But at a meal, if the conversation dies down you just say, “pass the potatoes,” enjoy a few bites, and wait for the conversation to come back to life. And that relaxed setting ends up generating the kinds of conversation that you just would not have in other contexts. I think God designed it so that the pleasures of eating can actually mutate into feelings of love for the ones you are eating with. Sharing a delightful thing together brings hearts close.
And so if you ask, “What does a person gain if he becomes a Christian? I mean - It costs you the world. You have to give up the world, give up your life of sin - it costs you everything to become a Christian - what do you get in return?” 
Answer - what you get in return is something that is a lot like having a dinner with God. The kinds of relational joys and pleasures that are associated with eating together - you get that with God. And so what this guy said is right on.
Luke 14:15 Blessed is the man who eats bread in the kingdom 
Revelation 19:9 says the exact same thing.
Revelation 19:9 Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
The Rejected Rich
So what the guy says is right on, but it raises a question. Blessed is the man who eats bread in the kingdom - who will that be? No doubt everyone in that room assumed they would be among those who would be part of that banquet. And so Jesus tells a parable to let them know that entrance into this feast is not going to work like they expected. They need to understand who is allowed into this banquet and who is not. Look at the concluding statement of the parable: 
24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.
When he says those men he is referring to the men in verses 16-20. We can call them the rejected rich. What did these men do to become blacklisted?
The Initial Invitation
16 "A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 
The invitation has two stages, which was a common practice. First, the host would contact those he wanted to invite and let them know about the dinner and get the RSVPs. It would be at that time that you would decline if you couldn't make it. Then, when the day arrived, once all the preparations were made and it was time for everyone to come, they would receive word that it was time to come and eat. These people had clearly all accepted the initial invitation, since they were still on the list to be notified when it was all ready. And that makes sense. This is not the sort of thing a person would normally turn down. This isn't like us, when someone invites us to diner but we are too busy. This is the sort of thing you would make time for. 
Being invited to an event like this by such a wealthy man would be significant issue with regard to social status. It is not that you were invited because you were an important person, but rather you were an important person because you were invited. Being invited was a big deal. It gave you social standing and status. And where you were seated at the banquet in relationship to the master of the banquet contributed even more to your social status. This would be like if the corporation where you worked had a big corporate banquet for the bigshots in the company, and if you got invited that means they are most likely going to offer you a position as national director or VP or something really high up. It is not the kind of thing you just say no to.
The Excuses
And add to that the fact that saying no to an invitation like this would be an extreme insult in that culture. There were some cases where a refusal to come to a banquet was considered a declaration of war. It was a very hostile thing to do in that culture. But that is exactly what happens. This is where this parable turns crazy.
17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. 
Every single person makes an excuse and refuses to come. At this point in the story the people listening to Jesus would say, “What? Everybody RSVPs at first, but then declines when the feast is ready? Where is Jesus going with this story, because this is absurd! That would never happen.” (And by the way – that is something to always watch for when you interpret a parable. When a parable is just a normal story, but it has one crazy, ridiculous detail, that detail is usually designed to drive home the point of the parable.) This just wouldn't happen. A banquet like this was the absolute pinnacle of Jewish social life. Most people would never be invited to something like that, and for those who were it was probably a once in a lifetime opportunity. And they are making excuses not to attend? No one would do that - let alone everyone. Every single person who was invited ends up making and excuse and not coming. And not only that, but listen to the excuses. Jesus gives three examples of the kinds of excuses they were giving.
18 ...The first said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.' 
You cannot come to the banquet because you bought a field? How does buying a field prevent you from being able to come to the banquet? 
18 ... I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. 
You didn't look at it before you bought it? Who buys a field without looking at it first? And even if you didn’t - it’s yours now. You are stuck with it. So why do you have to go see it tonight? Where do you think it’s going to go? Won't it still be there tomorrow? And come to think of it - isn't daytime actually a little better for looking at a piece of land anyway? This is an absolutely ridiculous excuse. 
And the next one is just as bad.
19 And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am on my way to try them out. Please have me excused.' 
The only time you can try out these oxen is during this banquet? 
And then the third excuse. And this one is the only one that even gets close to reality.
20 And another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.'
This guy leaves out the middle part of the explanation. The other two said, "I got this new thing, and I have to do this or do that, therefore I can't come." This guy just says, "I got married, therefore I can't come." He doesn’t say why - he just figures it's self-evident. At first that might sound like something you could picture happening. The wife says, "You've been gone four out of five evenings this week already; you haven't fixed the broken cart I told you to fix; you haven't spent any time with the kids; you obviously care about banquets more than me; you've never loved me..." and the next thing you know the guy is telling the servant, "Look, I can't come. Just tell the host that ... I'm married - he'll understand." We might picture something like that happening if someone invited us over for dinner at their house in our culture. But if you understand this culture, and what a banquet like this meant, this last excuse would be considered just as unlikely and ridiculous as the others. I have always referred to this parable as The Dumb Excuses Parable. But I think I like Tim Truong's title better - he calls it The Worst Excuses Ever Parable.
Obsession
So what is the point of all this? Obsession. All three of these excuses point to a person who is obsessed with earthly things. Why would you turn down a banquet so you can see a field or oxen or some new purchase? You would only do that if you are obsessed with it. Imagine a guy who has been working overtime and saving up for years for a new truck. Finally he has the money and goes to a dealer and buys a brand new $40,000 truck right off the lot. He brings it home, gets a rag to polish a spot where some fingerprints got on it, walks around it, admires it. Later that night his wife comes out into the living room and he's not there. She is looking around the house trying to find him. Finally she goes out in the garage and there he is, sitting in his new truck just taking in that new truck smell before it's gone. That is the sort of situation Jesus is describing here. That guy gets invited to the big corporate banquet, it is the opportunity of a lifetime for his career, and he says, "I'm sorry, I can't make it. 
"Why not?"
"Well, I just bought a new truck and I need to ... sit in it."
Jesus purposely makes this as absurd as can be, because He wants people to see the insanity of missing out on fellowship with Christ because of preoccupation with earthly things. Everyone is welcome at the great Banquet - except for people who are so obsessed with the things of this world that when it comes down to a choice - fellowship with God or enjoyment of their stuff, they prefer their stuff. The people in this parable represent those who say yes to the initial invitation when they hear the gospel, but when that day comes when following Christ means letting go of some earthly treasure, they make excuses.
Very often these people do not even realize they are in this category. They think they are committed, full-blown Christians. And they do not realize they are like these people in the parable, because most of the time it does not come down to a choice between earthly pleasures and following Christ. These people all fully planned on going to the banquet, and they did not realize what a grip earthly distractions had on their hearts until it was too late.
The Things That Keep You From Heaven
This is a startling parable when you think about the kinds of things that threaten to keep us out of heaven. These people are not saying, "I can't come to the banquet because I'm busy stealing oxen.” Or, "I can't make it because I'm busy filing for divorce." Overt sins like stealing or sexual immorality or things like that can keep people out of heaven as well, if they are not willing to repent. But that is not the issue here. Here the problem is not the fact that they have these things, but rather the fact that they are preoccupied with them. 
John Piper: "The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night. For all the ill that Satan can do, when God describes what keeps us from the banquet table of his love, it is a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, and a wife. The greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts.  ... these are not evil in themselves. ... These are gifts of God. They are your basic meat and potatoes and coffee and gardening and reading and decorating and traveling and investing and TV-watching and Internet-surfing and shopping and exercising and collecting and talking. And all of them can become deadly substitutes for God. ... For when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable, and almost incurable."  
Jesus made the same point in another parable - the parable of the soils. In that parable Jesus talked about people who hear the gospel, and they receive it with joy. They come forward in an altar call with tears of joy streaming down their face. They get baptized. They are so excited.
Luke 8:14 ...but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.
How do you know if a conversion is genuine? One way is to watch what happens when the moment of truth comes when the person has to decide between Christ or some earthly thing. All these people said yes to the initial invitation. They did not say no until the invitation came in conflict with their enjoyment of earthly treasures. That is when you find out where your heart really is.
This is one of my concerns about the seeker friendly church growth movement. It has produced millions of people who think they are saved because they said yes to the initial invitation, but who make excuses when the rubber actually meets the road and following Christ means giving up some earthly treasure.
The Danger of Wealth
One great thing about the gospel of Luke is that it really helps open our eyes to the deadly dangers of wealth and health and prosperity and comfort. It is usually when we have those things that we are at greatest risk of becoming preoccupied with them. You can tell these people making the excuses are rich people. They are purchasing real estate and oxen. Five yolk of oxen (total of 10 animals) – that is lots of oxen. That would be like someone saying, “I just bought five cars, and I need to try them out so I cannot come.” These are the upper crust, well-to-do folks - the people you would expect would be invited to an event like this. But they end up being forever rejected - not because they were rich, but because their riches gave them access to the things that caused them to become so preoccupied. People who can only afford a $1500 car usually are not the ones who become obsessed with their car. When the rich young ruler came to Jesus and asked how he could have eternal life, Jesus said:
Luke 18:22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." 23 When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. 24 Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
Of course, it is possible to be poor and still become preoccupied with earthly things. But it is especially common among those of us who are blessed with a lot of earthly things. The more you start realizing the “American Dream” the more you find yourself having to spend time thinking about your yard, and you need to clean out your three-car garage because you have so much stuff in there, and your car needs attention, and now your dishwasher, and it’s time for new furniture, but that takes a lot of time and money and attention, and now you want to remodel your bathroom, and you have to make plans for your vacation, and every day you are watching to see how your stocks are doing, and you want some newer clothes and nicer shoes ... and it just never ends. These things can captivate your attention so 90% of your day is focused on earthly things. I can tell you, one of the greatest threats to my spiritual life is Craigslist. I love finding good deals on things and buying and selling, and I can get so my heart is more eager to find deals on Craigslist than it is to meet with the living God. For you it might be sports. Or shopping. Or movies. You find out someone in your prayer group is in need, and you know the Lord would have you be the one to go visit them, but you are on your way to a movie. 
“Please excuse me, Lord, I cannot come to that banquet - that fellowship with You that comes from visiting your child in need right now. I’ve already purchased tickets to the AMC and my friends are coming, and it’s the opening night...”
The banquet table that will bring joy and satisfaction to your soul comes very often in the form of ministry, and giving of yourself to those in need. It does not seem like it will be fulfilling or satisfying. And so out come the excuses.
“I cannot come to the banquet right now, Jesus; I paid $100 for these Broncos tickets. I can’t just let them go to waste.”
What would happen if God called you to the mission field?
"I can't make it to that banquet at this time Lord. How would I pay off all my debt? And where would I store all my stuff?"
"God I know You are calling me to spend some time alone with You in prayer, but I can't come to that banquet right now because I'm tired and I need to unwind and my show is on TV."
“Lord, I know You are calling me to focus more on my family, but please excuse me, I cannot come to that banquet because it would slow down my career." Or "It would cut into my leisure time.”
Or maybe it’s the other way around.
“Lord, I know You are calling me to focus more on my family, but please excuse me, I cannot come to that banquet because it would cut in to my work time too much.”
Or maybe it’s the other way around.
 “Lord, I know You are inviting me to the banquet on Wednesday nights, and you want me to be a part of that ministry, but please excuse me. I cannot come to that banquet because that would cut in to my family time.”
Some people in the church tend to hold up family as if it were supreme above all things in importance and just trumps everything. But family can distract from God just like anything else. Look at the very next section:
Luke 14:26 If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple.
Obviously that does not mean you are supposed to have negative, hateful emotions toward your family. But it does mean that if it comes down to a choice between family or Christ, you choose Christ so fast that it looks like you hate your family in comparison.
The Ragtag Replacements
The Feast Goes On
So how does the master of the banquet respond?
21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry 
He spent all this money and went to all this trouble, and they all prefer their lame little obsessions to his great feast. So what is he going to do? Cancel? No way.
21 ...and said to his servant, 'Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.' 
The Host is not Dependent on the Guests
This event is going to happen. One thing I can discern right away is this guy is not a pastor. I know that for sure, because if he were a pastor, I know exactly what he would do. Any time we have an event and it looks like there is going to be poor attendance, our first question is, "Well, should we cancel?" If by this time we didn't have one single person signed up for the church retreat, we would just cancel. Why? Because our events are dependent upon the attendees for success. If I have a dinner at my house, and I invite a bunch of big celebrities, if they show up - that might put me on the map socially in this culture. But if none of them show, then my event is nothing, because there is nothing special about me. In the social world of our culture, I am nobody, so my events depend on those who attend. But if you are somebody important, it's the other way around. If the Queen of England was going to throw the greatest gala of the year, and she invited you as an honored guest, you would be in the news. And if you didn't show, nobody would think the less of the queen. The event would go on as scheduled, and people would just think you were a fool. That is how this was. These people decline, and the master of the banquet just fills his house with other guests.
The Replacements
And look who he chooses.
21 ...and said to his servant, 'Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.' 
Let's call this group the ragtag replacements. This part is just as absurd and unrealistic as the excuses. This would absolutely not happen. No one would invite people like this to a banquet. Why? Because, if those are the only people you could get to come to your banquet, that would be a huge embarrassment.
But that is who God invites - the poor in spirit. Is that an embarrassment for God? Does that diminish God’s greatness? No, just the opposite. Look again at this description: poor, crippled, blind, and lame - where have we heard that bunch mentioned before? Backup to verse 13. Jesus said, "When you have a banquet, don't invite your rich neighbors, because they might repay you.
13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you.
That is the same list - the poor, crippled, lame, and blind. That is who you should invite to your meals, because they cannot repay you, and those are the same people God invites to His banquet, and for the same reason. God only wants people who obviously cannot pay Him back. Now of course, no one could pay God back for salvation, but many people think they can. But these types - the destitute and beggars - they are people that are so poor that it is clear to everyone that they have nothing whatsoever to offer God. And that brings greater glory to God because it shows His riches and generosity. He neither needs nor desires any form of repayment. He is so wealthy He can afford to give His greatest riches to people who have nothing to offer Him. And He is so generous and kind that He is willing to give these treasures to the rejects of society. And so anyone who thinks he has something to offer God to contribute to his own salvation is excluded from the kingdom of God. Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount by saying, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs and theirs alone is the kingdom of God" (Mt.5:3).
How To Tell Which Group You Are In
So these are the people who get the seats of the rejected rich. We can call them the ragtag replacements. So are you one of the rejected rich, or one of the ragtag replacements? How can you tell which one you are? If you want to be one of the ragtag replacements, does that mean you can never buy a field or marry a wife? No, it is possible to enjoy God's gifts and also enter into His banquet. The key is to use God's gifts to enjoy God Himself - as opposed to using God to enjoy His gifts. Jesus is not saying here that we cannot enjoy any earthly things. No more new trucks, no vacations, no remodeling your kitchen, no getting married – that is not what He is saying. It is possible to enjoy those things in a way that is actually entrance into the feast, rather than a distraction from the feast.
Appetite Or Excuses
So how do you know which one you are doing? First, ask yourself this: Does my enjoyment of God’s gifts increase my appetite or increase my excuses? After watching the football game or going to the mall or the movie - are my desires for prayer and fellowship and ministry and Scripture higher or lower? When you are enjoying God’s gifts the right way, it makes temporal, earthly things grow strangely dim, so they just do not feel very important. And it makes eternal things, heaven and God’s will and ministry and reward and fellowship - it makes those things seem more real and more important and more desirable and delightful and satisfying.
But when you do it the wrong way - your vacation, hanging out with friends, your music, eating - after indulging in those things the things of heaven grow strangely dim, and now suddenly church seems less appealing, God’s promises seem less real and less motivating to you, and the things of this world feel really big and really important - and so you start making excuses about why now is not a good time to pursue the things of God. That means you are enjoying earthly things in the way the rejected rich enjoy them. They are having a choking effect rather than a feasting effect.
Is My Joy Coming From The Banquet Or From Earthly Things?
So ask yourself – Is this activity suppressing or increasing my appetite for the things of God? 
A second test - Is my joy coming from the banquet or from earthly things? And the way to discover that is with this question: Can my enjoyment of this thing be spoiled by people or events? If I go on vacation, and I am truly using that vacation as a tool to enjoy fellowship with God, so that the joy comes from my nearness to God and my delight in His attributes, then nothing can take that joy away. It can rain all day every day of my vacation, I can have car trouble, people can treat me poorly, I can miss my flight - any of those things can happen and I will still have joy. Why? Because if my joy is from taking delight in God’s attributes, those attributes are still there whether I make my flight or not. God is still the same whether people treat me well or treat me poorly. If things do not go according to plan, I may see different attributes of God than the ones I was expecting to see, but God is just as marvelous no matter what. So if I am enjoying God’s gifts in the right way, nothing can take away my joy.
But if I am like the rejected rich - if I am like the weedy soil, then my happiness is in the fields and the oxen and the wife, rather than in God. So if my oxen die, or my field burns, or my wife doesn’t treat me well, my joy is gone. So ask yourself, does your enjoyment of your marriage depend on how your spouse acts? Does your enjoyment of ministry depend on how people around you act? Does your enjoyment of money, your car, your house, vacation - do they depend on things going a certain way and people acting a certain way? That is a sign you are snacking on the world rather than feasting on Christ.
Conclusion: Come To The Banquet!
So, if all signs are pointing to you being one of the rejected rich - preoccupied with earthly things and prone to make excuses why now is not a good time to pursue the things Christ said will satisfy, I want to urge you - let go of your grip on this world. The pleasures of this world are a lie. They promise pleasure and fulfillment, but that fulfillment is so temporary, and so easily destroyed by people or circumstances. It is not going to make you happy. And it is going to make you miss the banquet. Let go of those things while there is still time - before the Master of the banquet becomes angry and says those horrible words, “You will never enter My banquet.” Open your eyes to the absurdity of the excuses, and pursue the Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart.
And if you are one of the ragtag replacements - nothing in this world means anything to you unless it helps increase your enjoyment of fellowship with Jesus Christ - if that is you, rejoice! Shout for joy, because you have access to the feast, and no person, no circumstance, no amount of time, nothing can block that access if you don’t let them.
Benediction: Isaiah 55:2-3 Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. 3 Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live.

1:25 Questions
1.	Which earthly pleasures are the greatest threats to your enjoyment of the feast (the things you are most likely to become preoccupied with to the point of making excuses not to pursue fellowship with Christ.)
2.	Which earthly pleasures do you find it the easiest to enjoy the right way - so that after your enjoyment of them the things of earth are growing dim and the things of God become more desirable and real in your eyes?
3.	In what areas do you find that your joy seems dependent on circumstances and people?