Luke 14:8-24

[8] When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him;
[9] And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room.
[10] But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.
[11] For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
[12] Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee.
[13] But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:
[14] And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
[15] And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.
[16] Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:
[17] And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.
[18] And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.
[19] And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.
[20] And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
[21] So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.
[22] And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.
[23] And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
[24] For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

Sit not down in the highest, sit down in the lowest

In other words, learn to be humble and to prefer others to be helped and be “above” your priorities and needs when it comes to being in church. You will be rewarded for it!

That he may say “friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee”

We have to enter into the presence of God together, and enter into that higher place together, and partake of the same Godly fruitful things together! When all those pieces fall together, you have wonderful moves of the Lord!

We need to encourage and lift up those, and in the process, worship with them!

Call NOT thy Friends, brethren, kinsmen, rich neighbors (lest they bid again and they recompense thee)

People that are comfortable with others and are used to things being full and fulfilled will often times be spoiled and not care about the fact that they have wonderful circumstances, and we need not ever get to a place where we only worship with ourselves or just a few around us that we like.

When you dine in the flesh (so to speak) with those that exalt themselves, they will call (depend) upon YOU and not God for their feel-goods and pats on the back. I know that sounds harsh, but it is the reality of today. We all want a positive perspective, but life isn’t always that way.

Call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and thou shall be blessed!

Remember, some people won’t be able to pay you back for your efforts in the services, but don’t hold it against them; God will recompense you for your efforts!

Excuses, ALL in one accord!

They all in one consent began to make excuse (that’s sounds a lot like us today)

• One bought a piece of ground, and had needs to go see it
• Another bought 5 yoke of oxen, and had to go prove them
• And another married a wife, and could not come

It seems like anymore that we have every reason in the world why we shouldn’t be obedient to God now, versus the reasons why we should be. What does that tell us? Who are we really listening to? Who are we really serving?