Soul Food
Pastor Keenann R. Knox — June 30, 2024
The parable of the Banquet prepared.
Luke 14:15-24 (MSG)
15 That triggered a response from one of the guests: “How fortunate the one who gets to eat dinner in God’s kingdom!”
16-17 Jesus followed up. “Yes. For there was once a man who threw a great dinner party and invited many. When it was time for dinner, he sent out his servant to the invited guests, saying, ‘Come on in; the food’s on the table.’
18 “Then they all began to beg off, one after another making excuses. The first said, ‘I bought a piece of property and need to look it over. Send my regrets.’
19 “Another said, ‘I just bought five teams of oxen, and I really need to check them out. Send my regrets.’
20 “And yet another said, ‘I just got married and need to get home to my wife.’
21 “The servant went back and told the master what had happened. He was outraged and told the servant, ‘Quickly, get out into the city streets and alleys. Collect all who look like they need a square meal, all the misfits and homeless and down-and-out you can lay your hands on, and bring them here.’
22 “The servant reported back, ‘Master, I did what you commanded—and there’s still room.’
23-24 “The master said, ‘Then go to the country roads. Whoever you find, drag them in. I want my house full! Let me tell you, not one of those originally invited is going to get so much as a bite at my dinner party.’”
Amen good morning how’s everybody doing this
morning all right it’s impacting let
oh sorry we not in the clubs right I’m sorry I’m sorry I just went back all the
way back to 1990 uh but we’re impact and chill and this is an opportunity for us to be a
little bit more creative and to stretch our imaginations and to utilize what God has for us um because I I really believe
God is speaking to us especially in the scripture that um Mason Mason WIlliams
wrote not wrote he read uh through the script and kind of narrated that whole
piece of what God is really saying it was and it’s found in Luke chapter
14 it is where Jesus is having Sabbath dinner so we just like to say Sunday dinner right so Jesus having Sunday
dinner with these Pharisees and Sadducees and religious leaders and they
are really looking to see if Jesus is going to make a move because they they
have been hearing about Jesus doing miracles signs and wonders right and one of the things that they
wanted to do they wanted to kind of disprove who he was to try to challenge
him to make him look like he was not the Messiah and he was not um all that
everybody purported him to be here’s what they did they staged the dinner and
they invited a sick person to the dinner the Bible says this person that had the dropsy was put before Jesus and they
wanted to see if Jesus would heal them on the Sabbath
Jesus didn’t care what the people at the table were thinking and and I I was reading back to the scripture this
morning back in my office and one of the things I realize is that sometimes I think we care too much for the people we sit
with sometimes I think that we allow people who sit at tables with us to
determine who we really are so often times I I talk I call it
Christian cold switching will try to behave like the people at
the tables that we’re sitting at instead of really holding true to the Christ that’s within
us and Jesus was challenged right there right there he was challenged right there to see if he would stand tradition
or break it and what did Jesus do he broke tradition why because there was a need in the room and he tells them he
says which of you that had an ox that fell in the ditch would lead the ox in the ditch and they were all silent
because all of them jokers would have gotten an ox their Ox out the ditch so Jesus of course he heals them
and then he begins to talk talk many parables he begins to talk about the parable of the wedding feast and then he
talks about this second Parable that he says that there was this man who made a
feast and we’ll get back to what was on the table the Bible doesn’t say but I had something in my imagination I work
through a little bit later but I realized that when Jesus saw the need
there he wanted to teach them and what did he tell them he says a man made this
Feast for the people and he asks his servants to go
out and to call on the people tell them that the food is
ready but these people all of them had
excuses the first one had an excuse the first one’s excuse say he says well you
know what I’m looking at some houses I’m about to buy buy a new crib I don’t have time to come to dinner
I’m thankful for the dinner I’m thankful for the invitation I would RSVP on my app got the app and I I was going RSVP
but I realized that they G to show me this land and I’m going to have to go get it because I I want I want to
establish a house so I can tell everybody I got new
house the second one was like well you know what I’m making these trades and I’m I can get some oxen and if I get
these oxin it’s going to bring increase to my house so I I got to work in other words I can’t come to Sunday dinner
because I’m working I I’m working because that’s what feeds
me see some people are fed by things houses and cars and things some
people are fed by their jobs they find their purpose and their job they find
their their money in their jobs and you know I don’t matter if my money don’t
matter and the third one said I just got
married so I got a wife I’mma go see her but well don’t you see her every
night but okay I’m going go see her because the relationship feeds me
I I don’t I I could come to dinner anytime Reverend but the this relationship I
just got married and you know it’s me and my boo you know my boo
thing we going to hang out we going we going to go to floods and then we going
to drive down lak Shore Drive and we G to hold hands and all this cuz we just got
married I know we said what God had joined together but we going to leave God for a minute and go do do our
thing because sometimes we’re more focused on the wedding than the
marriage I’ve seen people put so much energy into weddings what kind of dance we gonna do
I mean when me and Danielle got married we was like we just G to do the mcara bump it we gonna do
something right
it was whatever because it wasn’t that serious I I our marriage in about 26 days we would be
married 28 years that’s a good place of clap you can clap for that you can clap for
that and that’s still my boo thing because though our wedding was
dope it was though we had several hundred people at our wedding we did
that we fed 250 people on a great budget we did and we partied and everybody
talked about it they did but that was one
day out of a magnificent 28 years it was a day that started it all
but it wasn’t the end all so this man said listen I would come
and eat but I got stuff other stuff to take care of and and we always have an
excuse God has stuff prepared for you and we always have an
excuse and all of those excuses you would say oh those are valid excuses Pastor those are valid excuses but
you’re saying the excuse is greater than the
meal now you say what it could have been any kind of meal well it really could have been any kind of
meal it could have been but it
wasn’t the master prepared the meal for the
guests whenever God invites you to his house he
prepares the meal specifically for his guest
I’m grateful that God loves me enough to never invite me to the house and let me
leave starving so I believe that this is not
just talking about any food it was soul food it was something that would not
just feel me but it will sustain me it’s a difference let me help you understand
the difference you ever ate I’ll just pull out a random type of food you ever ate Chinese
food and you get full but less than two hours
later is it just me I mean you eat the rice be good and
the strip and the scrimps and the chicken and whatever you eating and you eat it all and you’re like man I’m so am
full two hours later man I sure am
hungry because those calories were hollowed because though I was full for a
moment it did not sustain me and that’s what this all these other things are you
get a new house and it’s only cool while it’s
new then after a while you’re not washing dishes every day anymore after a while you’re not dusting your your wind
your window sills every every day after a while it’s just the same old house it was full in the beginning but now it
doesn’t sustain me the same thing with a job you get that new job you walk in you
you got your name on it you you got your lunch you get there 15 minutes early you stay 15 minutes late but after a
while you show up 5 minutes late and want to leave 20 minutes early
because at one day it was filling but today it’s not
sustaining you get married some of you not me some of you some of you get
married and you’re doing the selfie thing and you done ladies you done change your name all your Facebook page
and it’s all about you y’all dating every week y’all hanging out every week
you’re telling people hey it’s just me we on vacation
then after a while after kids after
issues after problems what used to keep you full
barely sustains you so we we start to understand that
not everything that we partake in sustains
us so Pastor no wonder some of these
people had it twisted and thought that the meal outside was greater than the
meal inside it’s no wonder that people think
that their lives can be fulfilled without Jesus with empty
calories there always be another house there could always be another
job and some of you approved there’s always another
spouse you got so many hyphens in your name Praise Jesus but none of that was ever
designed to sustain you was never meant to be soul food for
you it was meant to be an appetizer it’s on the table you it’s not that it
shouldn’t be on the table but it’s not what sustains
you real food that God has for you should sustain
you it should well let me cuz I’m I’m hungry I
got my table out here let me just do Uber eat
which card oh my Save card let my Save card the ZIP code
okay security code which one is it which card is it okay
okay s seven seven all
right okay I need the internet connection you it’s spinning it’s spinning okay there
we go and what’s my expected time it’s here oh
okay my food here oh man thank you so
much n bro I don’t need to buy no no
DVD no no no cuz I I got that no no no no no I don’t do I don’t have a blue- w
player do I want one no I don’t I don’t no no no no I don’t want to come to your
trunk okay I tipped you already for real I did I tipped you already bet bet all
right for real Deuces
peace love
that got to set the table cuz we got some stuff here
thank
you the master set the table the Bible
says give us this
day I’m so grateful that God gives me bread to eat that’s all going to sustain
me he said I am the bread of life
he did say that I’m the bread of life and and what God gives me he gives me his word every day to sustain me I can’t
get it from no other table but the master’s table his bread sustains
me that’s pretty good so I tried to select it in my app
they didn’t have quail they had chicken but the chicken kind of
looked like it might
be but when the master sets the quail on the table I’m reminded of him being
Jehovah Gyra the provider because when the children of Israel were hungry and they asked God to
feed them he sent them bread as Mana know they be mad at me just put
that over there this didn’t fall though Mana in
the morning and when they wanted meat the Bible says the wind
shifted and it sent the quail to walk into the
camp so that the people of God would have
uberit fool got delivered it got a piece of chicken I’m not going
to let
why I like this kind of
sermon I know y’all want say no eating in the church pastor no eating in the church but I’m reminded that on the
table the master’s table he can cause provision
to walk into your life when we don’t eat from the master’s
table we have to chase provision but when we take a seat at the table
provision chases oh I wish I had some help in this place provision chases
you tell somebody your Miracle about to catch you your Miracle is chasing you down
Deuteronomy 28 says that God will command the blessing to come on you and
overtake you that Quail is on its way that chicken is out
it’s that’s greasy that’s the anointing on that chicken it’s greasy it’s
oily thank you look there you go thank you
and God will clean you up won’t he do
it won’t he do it red
beans ah shando do I felt that
thing red beans beans and beans
baby you know what you forgot
I ain’t got no silverware okay we’ll just let it sit there we going to act like I’m going to
eat it cuz some of y’all I bet you if somebody in here here like I got I got a
knife and fork in my who got the hot sauce in their
purse who looking for a miracle so you got the red beans and
rice you like how you going to preach red beans and rice because because huh look at you
daughter wait wait wait wait you want a piece of chicken you want a piece of chicken I was going to give you a piece of chicken you you you fasting to day I
know you you a miracle you you a miracle fasting so the red beans and rice you’re
like what what’s red beans and rice it’s a mixture of two things that have never been together
before but God will draw it together there’s a people in your life you ain’t never met but when God sees that there is a
need to spice some stuff up which one of you are you the rice or
you the red beans cuz if two can be together as one I wish I had a little bit of help in
the house today to know that God has some red beans and
rice oh Lord okay okay okay let’s get let’s get
this oh wait wait wait I had to go back here let’s go just give me a second just give me a
second some something about that biscuit something about that
biscuit it is a bur
biscuit I know oh how I love the red beans and
rice I’m going to eat it
twice somebody yell soul food God will take two things but let them
agree in one place and it’ll change the
game uh what else we got in here we got something n in here
oh smashed potatoes and gravy see here here’s what I like about
potatoes because many of you don’t understand potatoes don’t grow up you got to dig for them
God said that sometimes there are things in your life that aren’t going to just come to you but he going to give you a
shovel that you can dig it up see you don’t even know it’s there see but you know if you keep digging you going to
hit it that’s what faith is you don’t have faith at any table it’s faith when you
come to the master table when you get to the master’s table and trust God to do
what only God can do if you just keep on De diing I preached this a few years ago I
know uh our Le there remember this dig means do it
God that massed potatoes represents God doing it in the
Unseen when you’re not looking God is still doing it under the
dirt you can’t get potatoes unless you dig for them you got to dig under the
dirt sometimes God said even in your mess I got a message for you even in
your mess I got a blessing for you even in your mess I got a miracle for
you yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah I love I love
and the thing about the m and gravy is the gravy don’t sit on top it seeps down underneath you got to
mix it up before you can get the full experience the Bible says that I need to
stir up the gift of God inside of me just like I got to stir up the mashed
potatoes and gravy I got to stir up my gift sometimes what does that mean sometimes I got to get in my own mind
and get in my own Spirit say God stir up the gift that’s in me whatever the devil
is trying to do to distract me I need a new stirring somebody El Stir It
Up cuz God has not given us the spirit of fear but the Lord has given
us power right Stir It Up Stir It Up Stir It Up
Stir It Up Stir It Up Stir It Up Stir It Up so we got the we got the
bread that represents God’s word we got the
chicken that is you know transferable to Quail the
cousins that talks about how God will send provision we talked about the red beans
and rice it talks about agreement cuz sometimes you out of church and you don’t have nobody to
agree with and you amongst other rice you can’t have red beans and rice without red beans you need red beans it ain’t
black beans is red beans because of the blood y’all Ain talk back to me so you need to be in a place where you
can have agreement agreeing is touching and God will be there in the midst and then you also have to believe God that
God will allow you to dig up some things that if you put the work in you
put the time in God is going to allow you to recover it all
ah now I can’t have all of
this now ask for this one I ask some pie I mean you can’t have a
meal without dessert I mean you you can’t I I got to
have some tell I got to have some dessert I got to have some dessert I got to trust God for my dessert why because
I need something sweet every now and again again I textt my wife yesterday we were at home just chilling we was you know
cuz we was at home and chill we was chilling and it was just me and her and Kindle and we was like I was like man I got a sweet too she said well I don’t
really have one but wherever you want to go I’ll go with you and she typed a little love Emoji I typed back two heart
emojis and I was like we going to go and we found this place called modern Con on
Harper and like Martin and this place they got these things called
nachos is little waffle chips waffle cone chips two scoops of ice
cream it’s three of your toppings I put cheesecake what they call it cheesecake
bites on it and I was just I I devoured it it was
gone and she was like she I was like she was like I didn’t want anything but when she got it she saw butter
pecan she was like h she
felt a little bit of a
Temptation I was like you can give up this temptation she ate she we we ate because
sometimes with a meal it could be really good but if it could be capped off
with apple pie and I was like I said I want apple
pie it ain’t no scripture I’m just as you know just I ain’t giving no no scripture on this one this is just
bonus you know how when you pray to God and ask God to bless you with something
and that God blesses you with that thing but then all of a sudden you find a
pie I love God because God always has a bonus blessing if I eat everything on my
table and I decide to believe God that the word that he gave me through his bread that I devour and I eat the
provision that God gave me and I do the work and come to agreement with my wife and pray and believe God for miracles
and start doing the work because I’m digging up for God to do it for me cuz I know If He Did It Before He’ll Do It Again if I do all of that he is still
sweeter every day with Jesus every day with Jesus is sweeter
than the day before so I know that God got some bonus
blessings for me I know that I didn’t walk into this church I didn’t go through all the hell that I went through
to that for God not to bless me if I do the work and I pray and I say my prayers
to God and I I believe and I put my faith in action I’m trusting that at the end of my meal there is something
waiting for me
ah this I ain’t going to turn my back I want the devil to see me cuz God
say he’ll make a table before me in the
presence I ain’t never preach with food in my mouth in the
presence of my enemies and I want my enemies to see me
eat my dessert they gave me too much sour for me not to enjoy the
sweets ah felt that thing they produce too much sour for me
not to enjoy my sweets it wasn’t a big pie but it was good enough for
me I felt yes sir but I can’t have all of that can you
hand me that bottle right there I can’t have all of that if I can’t wash it down
the Bible says that the word of God is like water but but it also the water also represents Holy Spirit
I have to be led by the spirit because if I’m led by the spirit I won’t have just any kind of
life but I have Pure Life I I have my choice of water this
morning I could have got smart water but being smart sometimes you make the wrong decisions I I could have gotten danani
water but it tastes nasty to me I don’t like it I I could have got Ice Mountain but I need God to move the mountains but
if I look and I have to get one water to represent it what God is about to do
whatever that was out of order God can purify purify My Heart
Lord purify my mind
Lord because sometimes some stuff will get stuck and I need Holy Spirit to move
like water just in case
some of those those things come too quick in my life and I might choke on
it it ain’t nothing like water it ain’t nothing like I tell
people me and my wife talk about all the time water is so good because it’s pure there nothing
added to it ain’t nobody got to do nothing to it it comes straight to you and it goes straight through you
but I’m grateful grateful to God to have a Pure
Life you can live this life this all this stuff on this table it it I know it’s not the soul food you thought but
it’s soul food to me because God said I would above all
that you would prosper and be in good health even as you’re Soul prosperous so
everything God plac on that table I don’t care what kind of carbs it has I’m not counting my carbs I’m not counting
my macros I’m not doing any of that because this type of food not this
technically this type of food soul food it will not
raise your blood pressure cuz you will not get nervous you will not sweat you will not be
because the Bible says in the book of ephes in book of Philippians 4 and 6 it says be anxious for nothing so when I’m
eating God’s soul food I don’t have to worry about having high blood pressure when I’m eating God’s Soulful I
don’t have to worry about cholesterol when I’m eating God’s Soulful I don’t have to worry about getting sugar you
know that’s that’s what we say getting getting sugar y getting getting the
sugar all I have to do is do what my parents told me
whatever is on your plate eat it on that’s what being saved and being
connected to church is about every Sunday we’re trying to set a new table for you
and we’re inviting you but you going to tell me not this Sunday
Pastor I got to go look at a house and the only day it’s open the only day they’ll allow me to do
it is Sunday not this but I’m I’m preaching a
word you have been struggling and you’ve been stuck in your life and God gave me a word for you thank you Pastor I’ll
come next week because this week my my need is having a baby shower at
3:00 looking at my Gucci it’s not about that
time but that’s what they’ll say and then God will give me a word for
you you’re not in the room so you’re trying to do something that won’t sustain you because there excuse that
you’re giving is something that will fill a moment but it won’t fill your
soul Pastor I would come but you know me and my baby we we G to go out on
vacation but y’all can’t staying each other at
home what makes you think a change of venue is going to change your
attitude I’m just saying but if you get the soul
food that feeds your household things will
change if you just come to the table the old song Come On the end where the table
is spread and the Feast of the Lord is going on it’s at the
table it’s not at the bar it’s not at the club it’s at the table of God and if
we can just break the bread we can be full of his
power we’ll get up from the table ready to win the World we’ll be
connected and conquering that’s that’s the phrase God gave me for this year for you God wants you connected and
conquering you’ve been disconnected and you’ve been losing but if you
reconnect you can conquer if you just partake of the food that is placed
before you and and look at because somebody spent the time preparing
it it needs to be eaten but Jesus said if you don’t eat it somebody else
will cuz in the same Parable and I’m almost done I’m about to land in a plane in the same Parable the master says okay
now the people give the excuses go find me somebody else go get the lame the ones who
appreciate the food go get the Beggars go get the blind go get the
struggling go fill up the room because there are people that want to eat it
might not be the people you think it’s the people who need it and
some of you you don’t come to church just to be cute cuz you mastered that you don’t come to church just to walk in
this place and and and have your seat and be in a comfortable place you you came because you were hungry the Bible
says they that hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled you don’t
want to live an empty life no more you don’t want to eat an empty calorie diet anymore you want God to bless you you
want God to change you you want God to transform you and you came in to eat at
the table Hallelujah but don’t let this Sunday be the last Sunday you come and
eat don’t let this day be the last day you accept the food God has for
you cuz it’s your soul food it is it is the thing that exists
beyond your body food it is the Eternal food and if you’re not eating that then
what are you eating I talked about it yesterday right so I got up this morning and and you
know for me just for me I ate all of that ice cream yesterday and I ate all of that food yesterday and it was not
good calories and throughout the night it told me it was not good
calories and I woke up this morning and it reminded me those were not good
calories it felt good it tasted good it made me think it was good for me
but I ate it knowing knowing that the fuel was not good for
me I knew it but I didn’t care cuz I wanted that moment
of nachos and God was like that’s not
yours I got more for you and it’s the same thing all of the things we do that
are sweet to us aren’t really sustainable but God wants to fill you up
he wants to fuel you up so you can lift more anybody knows me knows I work out right I work out six days a week I am
I’m faithful to that like SI my wife tell you I am faithful to six days a week I work
out I can’t work out the way I work out and eat like I ate last night every day
because you can’t outwork a bad diet if I eat bad eventually it’s going
to catch up with me and when I crash from all those sweets and I’m in the gym
trying to lift heavy I I’ll feel like a 99 pound weakling why because I didn’t
put the right stuff in crap in crap out garbage in garbage out but if I eat
right I can carry bigger things when when I eat good I tell my wife sometimes we eat and I’ll eat like steak and
salmon all in one sit steak and salmon and rice and and vegetables and I’ll eat
really heavy that night and I say you know what I’m going to go to the gym and I’m about to lift like Hercules and
guess what I go to the gym and I lift like Hercules why because my tank is
full you’re starving because you don’t even come to the table and when you’re going through you’re crying and weeping
because you don’t even know how to handle the smallest of issues they’re overwhelming to you it created trauma
because you’re not eating right can you can we make an agreement that this summer is a summer of Soul
Food this summer is a summer where we’re going to eat to sustain us we’re not
going to eat to satisfy us we’re going to eat to sustain us a
Snicker satisfies but it doesn’t sustain we’re going to eat to sustain
this summer we’re not going to miss any Sundays if you have to miss you’re going to be watching on TV or watching online
if you’re watching online you going to push yourself to make it into service this summer cuz you want to eat at the table you don’t want to smell this not
smell a vision I mean some of y’all smell the chicken when I brought it in you smell
you like that’s real chicken some of y’all was like how many you got counting you coun in my box you
looking in my box see he got any extra cuz when Pastor hugged me today when he walked out door I hope he give me a chicken sandwich or something a chicken
biscuit because I want to make sure you’re sustained this summer plan for
impac and chill is not just to rush you out the doors but it’s for us to kind of get to know each other as a
church because we need agreement like the red beans and rice agreement is what changes
things agreement is what changes things some of you are going through
some of the hardest things you’ve ever gone through before and you’re going through all on your own and isolated that’s the devil’s plan for you
but God’s plan for you he said it’s not good for man to be alone
we are supposed to be a church together this is our church anniversary I’m push I we push for people to come into the
door that hadn’t been in the building for months we’ll see if there’s anybody in here who who got invited and came out
today but I want to encourage you to watch what tables you’re sitting
at don’t sit at everybody’s
table don’t eat from everybody’s table listen if I walk into your house
I’ll tell you at in within five minutes if I will sit down and eat at your
table if I see some things running
around I’ve been I’ve been places I would I was politely get a
plate I would politely put a napkin over my plate and I would politely say I’ll
take this home because I don’t trust the
house that prepared the food stop eating at strange people’s
houses without looking around to see if there’s any infestation but in
here we pass all the colds all the inspections when you sit down to eat
here there’s no Little Rascals running when you sit down to eat here
you eat you become full and like every Sunday nine Sundays out of 10 Sundays
when I leave here I’m so full people ask me where am I going after
church anybody know where I’m going after church to the gym why and they
like after you preach that hard after you’ve done all this I go home I change my clothes I go to the gym why because I
got energy because when I come to church I don’t come to church to eat and get the itis when I when I come to church I
come to church and I get fed and God energizes me God strengthens me to do
the work that he is placed in my hands to
do if I eat good I want to do good if I eat good I want to do good but
if I eat bad I want to sleep you get the itis you go to
sleep time is wasted the Bible said work while it is day for
the night will come when no man can work God is looking for us to do the work impact he’s got too much for you to
do so the next time you’re asked to do to come and sit at the at the table with
God don’t respond with an excuse that you’ve replaced God’s meal
with something that can’t feel you say today God rep me say today God
I changed my meal plans today God it’s not a
diet it’s a lifestyle shift today God send me the bread from
Heaven the quails that walked
in stir me up like the mased
potatoes let me come in agreement like red beans and rice
and let my day be sweeter than the apple pie come on stand your feet give God a praise all over the room