Sermon Tone Analysis
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*A FEAST FOR THE LEAST*
*Luke 14:15-24*
There is a spiritual hunger in every heart that longs to be filled just as surely as three is a physical hunger.
Psalm 84:2 reads, *“My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my flesh cry out for the Living God.” * Now that kind of hunger can be satisfied only through a relationship with the One True God.
Some may try to satisfy that craving through other avenues, but ultimately, they get up from the table of false gods unfulfilled.
Solomon said, *“God has placed eternity in the hearts of men.”*, and only the Lord can satisfy our hunger for the hope of eternal life, the forgiveness of our sins, and a purpose for living.
In Luke 14, Jesus told a parable in which He likened the kingdom of God to a sumptuous banquet.
The church, the kingdom of God on earth, should be a place where the spiritually hungry can be fed on a regular basis.
And it’s not the building, it’s not the atmosphere, it’s not the location that makes us the church.
It’s the food we serve here; the plain meat and potatoes of God’s Word that nourishes our souls.
So let’s look at Jesus’ parable about a banquet and I want you to see the comparison, the cancellation, and the commission of the church.
! I. THE COMPARISON
In verse 16, *“Jesus replied, ‘A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests.’”*
The church is compared to a banquet where nourishing food is served.
The Bible often compares spiritual truth to a nutritious meal.
For example in the book of Amos the 8th chapter, verse 11 and 12 we read, *“The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will send a famine through the land.
Not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the word of the Lord.
Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from North to East searching for the Word of the Lord but they will not find it.”*
Awhile back there was an article in the paper about a mainline liberal denomination that was concerned because they have lost 2 million over the last 7 years, and they’re wondering how to reclaim those people.
But it’s really not that hard to figure out.
Many at the core of the leadership of that denomination have denied the inspiration of the bible.
They have ridiculed the miracles as fables, and take moral stands that are contrary to the Bible’s teaching.
So when spiritually hungry people go into those churches, and they’re not fed the Word of God, they walk away frustrated and instinctively begin to search elsewhere for food.
And the church can change its music.
It can change structure.
It can add drama.
It can change its service times.
But people still stagger away hungry.
Nothing will satisfy the craving in the heart except the Word of God.
Jesus talked about that.
He said, *“Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”*
He said, *“I am the bread of life.
He who comes to me will never go hungry.”*
He said, *“Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”
*
Since the Bible says we’re to hunger for the Word of God, think with me about some of the analogies between spiritual hunger and physical hunger.
For instance, whether you’re talking about physical hunger or spiritual hunger . . .
*it’s a good sign to get hungry*.
A healthy person gets hungry on a regular basis.
We could eat a big meal and say, /“I don’t think I’ll want to eat for another 3 weeks.”/
5 hours later we ask, /“Are there any leftovers?
I think I could use a little sandwich.”/
If you’re healthy, you get hungry.
A person who loses his physical appetite for a long period, has serious problems.
That’s why Jesus said, *“Blessed are you when you hunger and thirst after righteousness, for you will be filled.”*
If you can go weeks without worship or the study of God’s Word, and it doesn't bother you, you are spiritually sick.
But if you miss church on the weekends and you haven't been spending regular time in God's Word and you say, /“You know, my day just doesn’t go right.
Something's missing in my week if I’m not worshipping.”/,
that’s a sign of health.
Another analogy is that *our appetite changes as we mature*.
A little baby craves milk because he’s not yet capable of eating meat.
As the child grows older he wants baby food and then more solid food.
Eventually they begin to clamor for Happy Meals.
You see, there’s spiritual milk for infants, but slowly the appetite changes.
What appealed to us 20 years ago now seems bland.
And what we couldn’t swallow 20 years ago, we now love to chew on.
I Corinthians 3 says, *“Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly, mere infants in Christ.
I gave you milk, not solid food.
You were not yet ready for it.
Indeed, you’re still not ready.”*
So, a growing church has to provide a variety of meals.
Certain Sunday School or midweek classes teach basic Bible beliefs as sort of a Happy Meal for growing Christians.
We also offer other deeper Bible studies as sort of the lobster and steak for the more mature Christians.
Our appetite changes as we get older.
Hebrews 5 says, *“Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teachings about righteousness.
But solid food is for the mature who, by constant use, have trained themselves to distinguish good and evil.”*
Another analogy is, *healthy people have different appetites*.
Comedian Jeff Foxworthy said that his little daughter brought him a peanut butter sandwich on crackers.
And since she made it, he ate it and said, /“That was yummy.
Thank you.”/
She said, /“Daddy, would you like to know how I made it?”/
And he said, /“Well, maybe.”/
She said, /“I took some peanuts and I chewed them up and put them on the crackers.
And I took some raisins and chewed them up and put them on the crackers, too.
Would you like some more?”/
He said, /“You know, honey, I’m as full as a tick right now.
But I’m sure your *mother* would like some.”/
You know, people have different tastes.
Some people like peanut butter with raisins.
Some people actually like broccoli.
Some of you prefer preaching that focuses on prophecy.
Others of you are really tuned in when the sermon focuses on the family.
We all have different tastes.
Another analogy is, *we all need a balanced diet*.
According to the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, there are four food groups; milk, meat, fruit and vegetables, bread and cereal.
And a balanced diet includes a little of each.
Now there are one-issue Christians who crave one kind of teaching and want to discard all the others.
It may be the second coming, or missions, or prayer.
But we all benefit from a balanced diet and would eat the foods even though we don’t crave it.
That’s one of the reasons we have different sermon series.
One might be doctrinal.
One might be exegetical as we work through a book of the Bible verse by verse.
One might be about the family.
That’s also one of the reasons we have different speakers thought the year in this pulpit.
It’s good for you to be exposed to different styles.
If all your food comes from the same cook, eventually everything begins to taste alike.
We need a balanced diet.
Another analogy is, *taste buds can be damaged*.
Smokers will tell you that smoking can dull the palette.
Things don’t taste as good as they once did if you are a smoker.
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