Your seat at His table is your spiritual position in Christ that you need to occupy.

• Having a seat at His table: You are important. You are valuable. You are included.
• Your role as a believer is to occupy that seat and leave that seat empty.
• An empty seat or an unoccupied seat at the table is a symbol of sadness: A life gone too soon; A calling never fulfilled; A destiny never reached, or simply a no-show.

Luke chapter 14: The banquet

One Sabbath day Jesus went to eat dinner in the home of a leader of the Pharisees, and the people were watching him closely. There was a man there whose arms and legs were swollen. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in religious law, “Is it permitted in the law to heal people on the Sabbath day, or not?” When they refused to answer, Jesus touched the sick man and healed him and sent him away. (Luke 14:1-4 NLT)

• Can God break tradition and religious barriers? Yes!
• Jesus broke tradition and heal the uninvited guest: he was in need of a miracle and he was a child of God.

Then he turned to them and said, “Which of you doesn’t work on the Sabbath? If your son or your cow falls into a pit, don’t you rush to get him out?” Again they could not answer. (Luke 14:5-6 NLT)

Jeus made a point: I am the Lord of the Sabbath.

Then he turned to his host. “When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,” he said, “don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.” (Luke 14:12-14 NLT)

• Today Jesus would challenge the church: Don’t allow religion to keep my people away from my table.

The Parable of The Great Feast

“A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘COME, THE BANQUET IS READY.’ (Luke 14:16-17 NLT)

• In God’s house, the banquet is always ready. In God’s house, everyone is invited!
• Everyone receives an invitation from the King, but unfortunately not every will accept God’s invitation.

But they all began making EXCUSES. One said, ‘I have just bought a field and must inspect it (POSSESSION). Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out (BUSINESS). Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ (FAMILY) (Luke 14:18-20 NLT)

• Excuses – We all make them:
• An excuse is always an empty seat in the of God.

“The servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was furious and said, ‘Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’

• The Master did not want an empty seat…He said…Go find those whom religion has kept out kept out: The lame, the poor, the crippled.
• Unfortunately, we see have the same barriers in today’s church culture.

We keep people out because of their status and looks, or we kick people out because of they do not measure…our excuse is that we the church must keep standards.

After the servant had done this, he reported, ‘There is still room for more.’ So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, SO THAT THE HOUSE WILL BE FULL. For none of those I first invited will get even the smallest taste of my banquet.’” (Luke 14:22-24 NLT)

Takeaway from this parable:

• Having an invitation means you have your name on that seat but does not mean that you will occupy that seat
• Occupying that seat means you have accepted the invitation from Jesus to sit at His table.

CONCLUSION
What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message?