An Invitation - Part 1 - Beware of Making Excuses — Phil Beach Jr.

The Great Supper and the Invitation of God

Carefully, as this captures the Holy Spirit's movement in our midst today, ought to be something that God is doing in our life every day. Luke chapter 14, beginning in verse number 15, listen carefully.

And when one of them that sat at meat with Him heard these things, he said to Him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. Then said he unto him,. A certain man made a great supper. And invited many.

And sent his servant at sup come for all things are now ready and they all began. To make excuses, the first said, Oh, I have bought a piece of ground and I must go and see it. I pray thee. Have me excused.

Another said, I'm sorry. I've bought five yoke of oxen and I go to prove them. I pray thee have me excused. And another said, Oh, I've just. Married a wife. And I cannot come, and so the servant. Cain and showed his Lord these things.

Listen. Then the master of the house being angry, what made the master of the house angry? What made him angry? The master. Who prepared a great supper? And personally invited people to come. Gave him excuses.

Why they couldn't respond to the invitation. Beloved, please listen carefully this morning, right here in this old chorus room of the Pakistan High School, our master and our Lord and our Savior. Invited us every one of us.

He invited us to a great spiritual banquet. A feast where we would commune with him and he with us and we would enjoy his presence and learn of him. And be filled with things that the world cannot fill us with true joy, true peace, true love, true satisfaction.

The Holy Spirit's Call to Communion With God

But I'm wondering when the servant of the master and the servant is the Holy Spirit. He comes from the father. Sent by the father and the son and he comes and he knocks on the hearts of all men. Come.

Come. The master bids you invitation. Come. Come. The dinner is already come. You're a special guest. Come. But I'm wondering when the Holy Spirit knocked at your heart this morning. Did you? Give him an excuse.

Did you give him an excuse? What was it? Whatever it was, the master. Was not pleased. Brothers and sisters, listen carefully. What excuse are you giving God today? That's preventing you from responding to the call of the Holy Spirit to come to this great banquet of communion with the Lord.

What excuse are you giving him? We have three excuses right here. One was I'm sorry. I just bought some property. Another one. I'm sorry. I'm too involved in my career and another one. I'm sorry, my family life.

My wife, my children, my family life. Jesus in his sovereign wisdom gave us this story in order to capture the three most common excuses that are given to the Holy Spirit when he calls men and women to surrender their life to him.

Turn back from the things that they're doing and follow his bidding. The three most familiar excuses. The Holy Spirit is hearing right in our midst right here in this little group of people. The three most familiar excuses.

I'm sorry, Lord. Family has got me entangled. I'm sorry, Lord. My career. Is I mean, Lord, you did give me this job. Let's see what the master's reaction was. Response was when the servant came and said, master, I'm sorry.

God's Patience and the Danger of Delayed Obedience

I gave them the invitation personally. I gave them the invitation personally and they all gave me excuses. Is God merciful? Yes, he is. Is he forbearing? Yes, he is. Is he loving? Yes, he is. Is he patient?

Yes. But is it a risky thing to take advantage of God's patience? Yes. Is it risky to say? Well, I'll be here next Sunday. I mean, this happens regularly. I mean. I'll take care of this next week. But what happens if today?

Oh, that won't happen. What? What if he doesn't invite you next week? You say, oh, but God is merciful and he's patient and he's long-suffering. But what if he doesn't invite you? Say, well, he will.

Maybe he won't look what it says. See, this is the word. Watch. Where's my glasses? Watch this. Watch. The master of the house being angry said to his servant, go out quickly into the streets, the lanes of the city and bring in hither the poor, the maim, the whole and the blind.

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

Verse 24, please read verse 24. Listen, for I say unto you that none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper. What's he talking about there? None of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

What's he talking about? He's saying this, those who I originally invited that gave me excuses, that thought that their career is more important than saying yes to the Holy Spirit's call, that thought that their family life was more important than saying yes to the call of the Holy Spirit, that thought that their property was more important than saying yes to the Holy Spirit.

Those who gave me excuses will not taste of the supper that they were invited to. And then in order to clarify what Jesus was saying, he goes on. Listen carefully. Jesus gives his own commentary explaining his words that he just taught us in this story.

He gives his own commentary. Verse 25, watch. This is a commentary on the words of Jesus. And there were great multitudes with him and he turned and said to them, if any man come to me, you see, you can't come to the Lord Jesus without an invitation.

But see, he just got done teaching the invitation. The servant invited him. But what did they do? They made excuses. So Jesus is magnifying now. He's amplifying the excuse syndrome. And listen to what he says.

Counting the Cost of Discipleship

If any man come to me and hate not his father, mother, wife... Are we hearing this? Excuses. Why aren't we following the Holy Spirit? Why aren't we listening to the call of God? If loving your father or devotion to your father is causing you to miss the will of God, then that becomes a stumbling block.

Listen, this is the words of Jesus. That's what it means by hate not. In comparison to following the Lord, everything else must be little. What's big in your eyes? Is the biggest thing in your eyes hearing the call of the Holy Spirit and doing it?

Or is the biggest thing in your eyes something else? Brothers and sisters, if there's anything bigger in your eyes than hearing the Lord and responding to His call, you've made an excuse before the Lord.

You've made an excuse. And you're using that excuse to say no to God. I can remember a couple years ago, I was praying for my children, and I uttered a prayer, and it was, Lord, I hope that my children don't move far away from me.

Because, you know, I see so many times families, because we're living in the 21st century, I mean, well, my father's family, I mean, they live scattered all over the country. And oh, I'll never forget, the Lord was angry.

And I said, Lord, what did I do? What did I say? And He said to me, Son, you don't have the right to pray. A selfish prayer like that. Your children are not for your pleasure. They're for my pleasure.

And the Lord asked me to repent. Now, I don't pray that prayer anymore, Bill. I don't pray that prayer anymore for my children. Now I pray, dear God, please, take my children and fill them with your Holy Spirit, and use them for your pleasure.

And if that means sending them to seven different continents in the world, so be it. This is what the heart of what Jesus is after this morning. He doesn't want anything to be devoted above our passion to know His will, and to do His will, and to follow His will.

Anything, anyone. These are not unlawful things. Is it wrong to love your father? Of course not. Husbands, is it wrong to love your wife? Wives, is it wrong to love your husband? No. What about parents and children?

Is it wrong? No, it's not. These are lawful things. But Jesus is putting His finger on lawful things, and He's saying, don't let your devotion for these things exceed your devotion for Me. You see, because if Peter loved his wife more than he did the call of God, he would have said no to Jesus.

Because I'm sure his wife would have wanted him by his side. Come on. Listen. Listen to the Spirit of God. It's a natural, normal thing for a wife to want her husband to be there. But what if her husband is called by God not to be there?

What is she going to do? What is he going to do? Who do I love more, my wife or the call of God that's telling me, don't be there? When Jesus looked at Peter and said, what's it to you, son? What's it to you what I do in John's life?

You follow Me? With those words came a solemn warning, Norman. And that was this, Peter, I have called you. I have chosen you. I have bid you to My supper. And I have given you a wife. I have given you friends.

But you will obey Me, even when it means leaving your wife. Not divorcing her. Leaving her for the call of God. Wives, are you prepared to let go of your husbands? If God should call them to devote themselves to something other than standing by your side always?

Husbands, are you prepared to say yes to the Lord? Say, is this really in the Scriptures? If any man come to Me and hate not his father, his mother, his wife, his children and brethren and sisters, yea, his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.

The Holy Spirit this morning was calling disciples. He was coming to us and He was saying, who wants to be My disciple? Who wants to receive the Holy Spirit? Who wants to yield their rights to Me? This is the depths to which God is dealing with us.

And if we resist God in this issue, we will just be given over to the form of Christianity that we have, the present measure that we have and we'll go no further with God. And there's a good chance that it will get sour.

Moving Forward With God Instead of Settling

Because you can't take what you've got so far in the Lord and package it and hold it. You can't do that. You either got to move on with God or it's going to get sour. A lot of Christians are sour. A lot of Christians are bitter because they went so far with God and then they told God, no further, no further God.

And so God said again, please come, no further, please come, no further. And finally, you know what the Lord said to His servant? Go find someone else. Leave them alone. Leave them alone. They won't come.

Something means more to them than the invitation to come. So let them have it. And you got it. You got it. The Lord's need is not met when we only go halfway. The Lord's need is met only when we follow Him all the way.

And this is God's Word. He's going to go to the depths of our being, to the depths of our heart. He's not going to leave any rock uncovered in our lives if we say we want to go on with Him. Now, Demas didn't want to go on with the Lord.

Demas forsook the Lord and Paul and he went to Thessalonica. And there's a lot of Demases today in the Christian church who refuse to go on with the Lord. And so they go to Thessalonica. They find a local church in Thessalonica where they can just sit and they can just enjoy their present Christianity, but they're not going on with the Lord.

This is a solemn, loving warning from the Holy Spirit this morning. Young people, old people, Christianity is not a religion. It is a relationship where we are moving on with our sovereign God. We are moving on.

He is conquering more and more and more of our being. He is uprooting more and more and more of our idols and our greed and our covetousness. He is establishing more and more and more His reign, His rulership and His sovereign kingship in our life.

And when our Christianity ceases from being that in a living, daily thing, it becomes stinky and smelly, old, rejected of God. Jesus, knowing how solemn this was, this is what He says. Verse 28,. And which of you, intending to build a tower, sits not down first and counts the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

Lest, happily, after he hath laid the foundation and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, but was not able to finish. Where what king, going to make war against another king, sits not down and consults whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends and what's a word in a modern translation for that? Ambassage, ambassador, conditions of peace. Now verse 33,. So likewise, whichever of you that forsakes not all that you have, he cannot be my disciple.

You know, we've been ministering for weeks and weeks and months and months in the Word of God, no part darkness. Now we're on a series in John 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17. The Lord has stopped it. And He's been doing this the past couple of weeks.

Why? Because He is so concerned that we understand the ramifications. We understand the cost of getting into the Word of God. We understand what it means to truly hear the words of Jesus. He's inviting us to follow Him.

But He's saying count the cost, count the cost, count the cost. And so as we bring this morning to a close, at least here, asking the Holy Spirit to continue to minister in our hearts. Again, I want to say this as we close.

Surrendering Rights, Possessions, and Family to God

Please, undivided attention to the Lord at this moment. The Lord has sent His servant, the Holy Spirit. He has bid us to come. What excuses? Remember earlier we talked about rights, laying down our rights?

We think it's our right to demand. But when our demands are against the will of God, then we have to lay them down. What excuses are we making today? Listen, you don't own anything. When you get over this ownership mentality, you'll be free.

You don't own your life. You don't own your wife. You don't own your children. You don't own your money. It's all the Lord's. And so when we get over this ownership thing, we're no longer afraid that we can lose anything.

How can you lose something you don't own? Tell me. How can you lose something you don't own? You can't. If I don't own anything, I can't lose anything. And so the whole struggle with giving up and surrendering is rooted in the false mentality, the false idea that we own, that it's ours.

But when the Holy Spirit can come and free our hearts from that horrible grip... Listen, everyone, ask God, let go, let go. Husbands, let go. Wives, let go. Let go by the power of God. Let go of everything.

And say, Lord, everything has been entrusted to me, but it's yours, not mine. And I give it back to you like Hannah did, Samuel. Lord, I give Samuel back to you. You lent him to me, and now I give him back to you.

Let's all do that now in the presence of the Lord by faith. Husbands, we give our wives to you. Wives, give your husbands to God. They're not yours. They're God's. Listen, your highest dream for your husband ought to be that he would be a man of God and serve God, willing for him to do the Master's bidding.

Is that the way it is? Husbands, your highest aspiration for your wife is that she would be a godly woman in tune with God. You should free her so she can serve the Lord. Grow up. Men, it's time to grow up.

Stop placing demands on your wife that keeps her bound. Free her so she can spend time with God. Free her so she can seek God. Have a radiant spirit. I'll never forget when I heard a certain man, no one here, said to me recently, my wife better have a dinner when I get home or she'll hear about it.

Oh my, he wasn't even a Christian, so I really couldn't get upset. But I tell you guys, God help you if you have that attitude. You should be thankful if she puts a piece of bread in front of you. A piece of bread.

Thank you. Thank you, Lord. We're so finicky. We're so picky and choosy. Parents, don't raise your kids to be finicky and picky. Teach them to be thankful. Thankful to God. That finniness and being picky is going to hinder them when they get older in the Lord.

Because they're going to come to the Lord's table and they're going to go, I don't want this. I don't want that. I want this. It will carry right over. Teach them to be thankful. Come on, you who have a business.

Give it to God. Give it to God by faith. Lord, this is yours. Listen, business owners. Your business is not going to stand by your strength. If you think you're holding it together, you're wrong. You better let go.

Because I'll tell you what's going to fall. Not the business, but you. Homeowners, parents, let go of your children. Let go of your own life. See how sweet this is? Can you taste the sweetness of this if you get it?

The sweetness of being owned by nothing. Being free so that the Lord is the one who owns everything. And all you want to do is be faithful to love Him and serve Him. And do what's right in the eyes of God.

A Prayer of Total Consecration

Okay, Lord, by faith. We surrender everything to You. We want You to destroy the excuses in our life, Lord. That we're making why we can't serve You. Destroy them, Lord. We give everything to You, Lord.

Forgive us, Lord, for holding on to things that You've given us. As if they're for us. They're not for us. They're for You, Lord. Help us to reaffirm that our highest goal for our children is not that they would have great careers and make millions of dollars.

And God, help us if we're parents and we're encouraging our children to pursue that. Help us, Lord, to encourage our children to love You with all their heart and to be true servants of God in their generation.

Help every husband here to give his wife to You and every wife to give her husband to You. We pray in the mighty name of Jesus, Lord, that You'll do this. In Jesus' name. Amen. Everyone together, let's sing this song.

Do it, Lord. Hallelujah. Thank You, Lord. Well, we're running out of time. We do want to stop pretty soon so we have time to get up. But I want to encourage you to hold on to what the Lord has done this morning.

Practicing a God-Centered Family Life

This is a significant importation of the Lord. Every husband here, I want you to make it a point to pray and encourage your wife to spend time with God. Sweetheart, go spend some time with the Lord. I'll take care of this or we'll get some of the kids to do it.

Every wife, listen, every wife, you should encourage your husband, he especially, being the priest of the house. When was the last time, wife, you said to your husband, sweetheart, I want you to spend some time with God.

I think you're getting a little too busy. Go ahead and spend some time with the Lord. I want you to be a husband. I need you to be a husband full of God. Full of God so that you're hearing from God. Go ahead.

Parents, encourage your children to spend time with God. Teach them how to spend time with God. And I'll tell you, brothers and sisters, God will be with us and He'll make it work. He'll do it. So God bless everyone.

Give someone a big Holy Spirit filled hug today. And may God perform all that He did today in our hearts. In Jesus' name, Amen.