Faith on the Go: Ep 12: Invitation to the Banquet: When Life's Noise Drowns Divine Calls"

0:00 Hello, and welcome back to Diary of a Black Woman podcast with our Faith on the Go series. And we are in our final episode, and that episode is titled, The Table Was Set. That episode is titled, The Table Was Set, But They Made Excuses, The Parable of the Banquet, Why Spiritual Invitations Are Missed When Life Becomes Too Loud. Welcome to Faith on the Go with me, your host, Connie Morris, where we keep it real raw and rooted in the word. If you ever felt the tug of the Holy Spirit, but told God, not right now.

0:42 You ever had good intentions to pray, to show up, to obey, but let life get in the way. Or if you ever been invited to deeper things, but settled for distractions. Well, guess what? This episode is definitely for you. Today, we're digging into a powerful parable told by Jesus in Luke 14. It's the story of a banquet, a feast that was fully prepared, but when the call went out, the guests made excuses. And that's what we're unpacking today in our Curse of Familiarity series. What happens when the holy becomes optional? when God sets the table, but we're too busy scrolling, working, hustling, or relaxing to respond. Let's go there.

1:35 This is Faith on the Go. We'll talk, we'll grow wherever you are. Let's go to Luke chapter 14, verses 16 to 24. Let's hear about this banquet that we're all invited to. A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests, but they all alike began to make excuses. One said, I bought a field. Another said, I just got married. Another said, I have work to do. And the master became angry and said, go out quickly into the street and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.

2:15 None of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet. Let's pause here for a second. God sent out the invitation to the people, right? He sent them out, but everybody's too busy. I bought a field. I got married. I have work to do, and nobody showed up. Is that the church today that everybody's too busy about maybe getting their blessings, meeting their wife, whatever, whatever. God is calling them back to the house of God. God is calling them into another assignment, but yet they are too busy.

2:55 That's the curse of familiarity. The invitation was holy. The table was already set, but the guests were too familiar with the messenger. Too comfortable in their lives to even care. And so they missed it. They were invited to the banquet of the king and they traded it for their schedule. That's a big ouch. How many times have we been so busy about busyness that we have totally forgot about the king's invitation? Adam, what are you so busy doing? Are you busy? You brought a field, just got married. You have to go to work. Isn't that the normal?

3:40 Is that the normal? What does that look like today in 2025? I want to bring it all home. Let's say this. I'll go to the prayer meeting if I'm not too tired. Does that sound like anybody? I'll fast when work isn't so busy. I'll obey God when it's more convenient. I'll answer the call once I finish this degree, this relationship, this project, whatever. We don't reject God. We just reschedule him. And that's how people miss moves of God while sitting in the pews. Familiarity turns sacred summons into background noise. I want to say this again.

4:29 We don't reject God. We just reschedule him. We just reschedule him. We just reschedule him. We just reschedule him. I said it again. We just reschedule him. And that's how people miss rules of God while sitting in pews. Familiarity turns sacred silence into background noise. Amen. Four spiritual warnings from the banquet tables. Let's find out what they mean. Excuses equal rejection. None of those invited will taste my banquet.

5:11 Luke 14, 24. God hears our excuses as rejection, even if we call them good reasons. Wow, you ever heard of that? When we get excuses, God hears them as rejections. Just take a pause and think about that. We don't even want to reject God. But when we do make excuses, we reject him. Number two, delay is still a disobedience. Delay is still disobedience. Today, if you hear his voice, do not hide in your hearts. Hebrews 3.15. A delayed yes is often a silent no.

5:57 Oh, man. Sometimes someone will ask you to do something. They'll say, can you do this? And you'll go, let me think about it. Let me pray about it. And you go, so delayed yes is often a silent no. Number three, invitations don't last forever. God doesn't chase forever. Eventually, the invitation moves to someone else, just as we saw in the story. He invited them and made excuses. He said, go out and bring me everybody, the lame, the sick. He said, go quickly and bring others in, Luke 14, 21. The invitation does not last forever.

6:39 The doors will close. The doors will close. It reminds me of the story in Matthew 25 of the five wise versions and the five foolish versions. The five wise versions brought their oil. The five foolish versions didn't. The black one was delayed. And the five foolish versions did not have enough oil. So they asked the wise version, can you give us some oil? And the wise virgin said, no, go and get your own. And so the foolish virgins went and got their own. And when they returned, the door was closed.

7:23 And they knocked on the door. Come on now, you're late. You forgot. You didn't even plan to be there that long. You didn't even prepare, right? And guess what? And he said, I'm going to renew you. Remember this, when you reject God, he has a right to reject you. And number four, God will fill the table without you. He is merciful, but he is also a king. If you won't come, someone hungry will. Let's do a quick review. Four warnings from the banquet table. Excuses equal rejection.

8:04 Delay is still disobedience. Invitations don't last forever. And God will fill the table without you. Wouldn't that just be, think about this. You were invited by the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Remember, we get so familiar. We forget that he is king. We forget the Heavenly Father rules on the throne. We forget the Holy Spirit. We forget that they are all holy. And we as humanoids, I call it, have the nerve to just reject it. You're invited to the party, but you say, no, I'm not going.

8:44 I'm not going to go. I have things to do. People see places to go. The invitation is real. The table is still set, but will you show up or will you keep saying, not yet? Wow. In 2025, don't let your plans become your prison. Don't miss what God has prepared because you're preoccupied with what can't save you. Let this year you say yes for the first time. This is like the final episode for this month, but there's 84 in my PDF.

9:32 And you can get that and really let that sink in that we get so familiar with the holy that we just reject the holy. We don't really reject it outright, but it's a rejection because we say we make excuses. I never really thought about excuses being rejections, but when I'm doing this podcast, It really comes across like a rejection is really, an excuse is really a rejection. The invitation was holy. The table was already set, but the guests were too familiar with the messenger, too comfortable in their lives to care, and so they missed it.

10:23 They were invited to the banquet, and they traded it for their schedule. They were invited to the banquet of the king, but they traded it for their schedule. I'm too tired. I'm too busy. When I finish this, I'll do it. We don't reject God. We just reschedule him. And that's how people miss the moves of God while sitting in the pew. Isn't that something? Our excuses become a barrier to missing the move of God.

11:08 I just want to go over this again because this is a powerful one. All of them are powerful. You ask me. They all are. But excuses equal rejection. None of those invited would taste of my banquet. it. It's like Jesus got mad and says, you making up excuses, don't you come asking back to get into my banquet because you uninvited yourself. You rejected me and I'm just going to reject you. Delay is still disobedience. A delayed yes is often a silent no. God doesn't chase forever. Eventually, the invitation moves to someone else.

11:54 You know, there's a thing, we'll read this one, and I'll say something, then we're going to close this out. God will fill the table without you. He will, if you won't come, someone else will. You know, God tells our calling is without repentance. He says your gift will make room for you. And so that means that, you know, he hasn't changed his mind about you. And your gift that he has given you will make room for you. But it looked like your excuses would also cause rejection and close doors for you so we as humans think that we have forever we think we can keep, rejecting God and at the end he's going to out of his great love for us going to save us and rescue us.

12:43 You know I always hear like this, like we always pray Lord let there be heaven let it be as it is heaven on earth You know, as it is in heaven, let it be on earth. You know, God wants us to experience heaven on earth. He does. He does. But I think we are so familiar with his holiness that we treat it as common. And like we sit and we miss the move of God. You know, some things I notice at the church is that people get there early to say their favorite seat.

13:23 Forget that there might be someone coming in that had never been to the church before, and then they want to sit in a different seat. They get their favorite seat. They want to have their favorite seat. You know, don't you move their stuff from that seat. They will have a fit, right? They're making it, and then think about you. Ask them to do anything else. They're serving. Don't get me wrong. They have the right to have their seats, but they sit in the same seat every Sunday. It's their assigned seat. So let's pray. And let's not miss the invitation. Let's not reject God's invitation for us so that we will be at the party. If it was any other party, we'll be there, right?

14:08 So Lord, forgive me for the times I made you wait. Forgive me for treating your invitation like optional tasks. Help me to recognize the holy in my every day. Teach me to move when you call without excuse, without delay. Make my heart quick to say yes. In Jesus' name, amen. This has been Faith on the Go with your host, Connie Morris. The table is still open. The invitation is still live. Don't let your comfort cancel your calling. Don't let your comfort cancel your calling. Be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who has been hesitating on a yes.

14:54 Connect with me on Diary of Black Women podcast on Instagram or X, and visit Diary of Black Women LLC for more devotionals, teachings, and truth that transforms. Until next time, stay ready, stay present, and keep walking with faith on the go.