And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that
were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.
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.
And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and
I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.
And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore
I cannot come.
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.
And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast
commanded, and yet there is room. 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.

For I say unto you, That none of those men which were
bidden shall taste of my supper.
Luke 14:17-24

1. God is inviting you to come to a feast with Him. All
through the Bible God invites people to come to Him.
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and
I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that
heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And
whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
Revelation 22:17
Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn,
and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
Hosea 6:1
I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets,
rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now
every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and
go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell
in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers:
but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me.
Jeremiah 35:15

2. You have been invited to a feast: Little things and
little excuses keep people away from God.
Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for
our vines have tender grapes.
Song of Solomon 2:15

3. You have been invited to a feast: Your land, your
property and your business must not keep you away
from God.
And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts
be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and
cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
Luke 21:34

4. You have been invited to a feast: Your family cannot
and must not keep you away from God.
If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother,
and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and
his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:26
And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord,
suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto
him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach
the kingdom of God.
Luke 9:59-60

5. You have been invited to a feast: Unfortunately, many
reject the great invitation, therefore many unexpected
people will fill the places in Heaven.
Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn
from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his
iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
Ezekiel 33:9

6. You have been invited to a feast: It is a dangerous
mistake to reject the invitation and the love of God.
How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation;
which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was
confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
Hebrews 2:3
See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they
escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much
more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that
speaketh from Heaven:
Hebrews 12:25

Odododioodioo
There was a man called Odododioodioo who was invited to
church by his friends. He had received invitations to church from
his friends since he was nineteen years old. He always shrugged
off their invitations and asked them to invite others. On some
occasions he would laugh at them for being so religious. Yet on
other occasions he would engage in discussions with his friends,
questioning all the things they believed about God.
But his favourite response to his friends was, “Don’t worry, I
will come. I will come some day”.

Eventually, one day, he did go to church. Mind you, this
was after fifteen years of repeated invitations; and by this time,
Odododioodioo was thirty-four years old. There was something
unusual about the day he had chosen to come. On that day, the
church was packed with worshippers. The choir sang a beautiful
song entitled, “Come unto Jesus, give Him your life today”; but
Odododioodioo did not seem interested in the song. He never
nodded his head once, he never tapped his feet and he never sang
along. The pastor also preached powerfully but Odododioodioo
did not seem to hear the message. He never opened his Bible, he
never clapped his hands and he never even said “Amen” once.
Indeed there could not have been a more powerful salvation
message than the message that was preached that day. It was a
message filled with emotion, truth and anointing! There were
tears on almost every cheek and few people could control their
feelings. Odododioodioo did not laugh at any of the stories the
preacher told and neither did he shed a tear during the emotional
parts of the sermon. It was truly strange that there was not the
slightest response nor reaction from Odododioodioo. In fact he
did not seem to understand or care about anything that was going on.

The saddest of all, was the fact that Odododioodioo did not
lift up his hand to give his life to Christ during the altar call. He
did not go forward to the altar when the invitation was made.
Do you want to know why Odododioodioo did not respond to
the message of the day? Do you want to know why he did not tap
his feet or sing along? Do you want to know why he did not even
bother to say “Amen” when the pastor preached that powerful
message? Do you want to know why he did not give his life to
Christ when so many people did so on that day?
The answer is simple: Because it was Odododioodioo’s
funeral! He had finally come to church as he had promised, but
he only came in as a dead body in a coffin! He had promised that
he would come but in the end he came too late. That is why he
did not hear anything! That is why he did not feel anything! He
never responded to the invitation to come to church when he was
alive. If he had come when he was alive he would have heard
the choir singing and the pastor preaching, and he could have
responded to the altar call. It was only when he was dead that his
body was carried into the church for his funeral.
Is that what you are going to do with this great invitation?
Will you spurn the numerous calls and invitations to come to
Christ? Will you wait until it is too late?

7. You have been invited to a feast: Accept the invitation
of Jesus Christ and be born again.