A Table of Blessing

If you haven't been with us yet, or for a while.

We are in a summer sermon series on what the Bible teaches about how to be happy.

I assume many of you need help with that, so we'll talk about it.

If you'd like a sermon outline and didn't get one, just lift your hand.

The rest of you should be happy to hand you one.

If you'd like a sermon outline and didn't get one, just lift your hand.

Our ushers would be happy to hand you one, thank you.

In a Peanuts cartoon, linus and Lucy are talking and Linus said you know, I've been thinking.

Charlie Brown has been a really dedicated baseball manager.

He's devoted his whole life to the team.

We should give him a testimonial dinner.

Lucy looked at him and said how about we give him a testimonial dinner?

Lucy looked at him and said how about we give him a testimonial snack?

You know God invites us to more than a testimonial snack.

He has actually a table of blessing waiting for us.

In the Bible, enjoying a meal with others around a table is often used to describe one of God's blessings we enjoy in life.

And God has a table of blessing for us to enjoy.

And the irony is, even though our circumstances at the time may be anything but joyful.

For example, I've always been intrigued by what David says in Psalm 23.

He describes the Lord's provision, comfort and protection and peace for him in a striking contrast.

Here's what he says in verse 5.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You've anointed my head with oil.

My cup overflows.

God has prepared a table for David to enjoy, even while he's being threatened by his enemies.

His cup, he said, overflows, which is a picture of his joy.

David is experiencing the Lord's blessing at a table that God prepared for him.

Wouldn't you like to join him at that table?

That's what we've been talking about this summer.

We're invited to the table every time we see this little phrase blessed is the one who blessed is the one that the word blessed is the biblical word for what we call happiness.

But much more than happiness, it's a life filled with joy of knowing God is with us and is present in us.

And when we follow what comes after those little phrases, what's happening is we sit down at God's table of blessing.

So far, we've seen, looked at, several invitations to enjoy what we're calling heavenly happiness, which is the joy of experiencing God's presence as a result of following the teaching.

We've seen the joy we experience when our relationship with the Lord is put first in our life.

He promises his blessing, the joy we've experienced from meditating on God's word and the joy that results from receiving God's forgiveness.

Now, today we're going to go to the New Testament, where Jesus explains how to experience God's heavenly blessings from the lessons he gives us as he's observing people eating at tables.

Let me read the passage and then I'm just going to break it down and we'll talk about it for a few minutes today.

In Luke, chapter 14, if you brought a Bible, it's always helpful to follow along and look at it so you can see the context of the passage.

Luke 14 · chapter mention

But in Luke 14, chapter 14, beginning of verse 7, here's where we see him looking at these tables, and he began speaking a parable to the invited guests when he noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them you know, when you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, don't take the place of honor for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him.

And he who invited you both will come and say to you give your place to this man.

And then, in disgrace, you proceed to occupy the last place.

But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place so that when the one who has invited you comes he may say to you friend, move up higher, then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

And then he also went on to say to the one who invited him you know, when you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and you know what That'll be your reward or your repayment.

But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed.

There it is, since they do not have the means to repay you for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.

I'm going to stop there.

In this passage Jesus points to what is happening at really two different tables and what leads to God's heavenly happiness or the state of being blessed by God At the first table of blessing.

Jesus teaches us that experiencing the joy of heavenly happiness comes through our willingness to humble ourselves and serve others.

While Jesus is at the house of this Pharisee eating a meal with lawyers and other Pharisees, he's watching what the guests do.

When they came in, jesus noticed that when the man's guests sat down, they tried to get the best seats at the table.

It literally says they chose for themselves the chief seats.

In that culture, seating was very important.

The closer you sat to the host, that meant more honor for you.

Your seat at a banquet conveyed the sense of honor, position, prestige and authority.

And at this meal the guests Jesus looked at were choosing the best seats, the chief seats for themselves.

There's the key.

Seating, by the way, is important in our culture too.

Our natural inclination is to get the best seats, which is usually at the front at concerts, sports events, banquets and so on.

Even our children are sensitive to where they sit, especially who they're sitting next to.

Our choice of where we sit says something about us.

It's funny.

Over the Over the years I've learned and noticed that the best and chief seats in a worship service is the exact opposite At concerts and other great wonderful venues.

At church services, our inclination is to sit as far away from the Word of God, from the Spirit of God, as possible.

We don't want conviction.

Leave us alone.

It's all the way in the back.

Those are the chief seats.

Mac, get up here.

All right, I just had to say that, okay, sorry, I didn't to say that, okay, sorry, I didn't mean anything by it.

Oh, yes, I did.

In Jesus' illustration of seeking the best seats, he's teaching us.

Listen to me, this is the whole key to this whole thing.

Today, our natural inclination always is to be for ourselves.

It always is, that's the flesh.

Be for ourselves, to look to ourselves first and you know what that Jesus is saying that will always, always lead us away from God's blessing, blessedness always.

If we want to enjoy God's heavenly blessing, we must be willing first of all.

The point of Jesus' first table is that we must be willing to humble ourselves and not put ourselves first.

Jesus makes it clear His point is made in verse 11 of that passage.

But when you are invited, go recline at the last place.

When one is invited, he may say to you friend, move up higher, Then you'll have honor For everyone.

This is God's biblical, scriptural, prophetic through the entire Bible principle, overural prophetic through the entire Bible principle Over and over again Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled.

But he who humbles himself will be exalted.

God promised to bless those who are willing to come to this point and not put themselves first but to humble themselves In God's economy.

As we've talked about many times, the principles of God's economy are counterintuitive to our flesh, to the world, the flesh of the devil.

In God's economy, in his kingdom, the way up is down, as we'll see next in the second table of blessing.

The way to be rich with God is to be generous and give, again, the opposite of our natural inclinations.

Listen to Luke 14, 12, 14 again.

He also went on to say to the one who invited him when you give a lunch or dinner, don't invite your friends and brothers, relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise you know what.

They're just going to invite you in return and basically that's it, you're done, that's your reward.

But if you do this, invite people who can't pay you back, just for the sheer joy of being a blessing to them.

Ooh, your Heavenly Father takes note of that and you're going to be richly repaid in the resurrection of the righteous.

But I believe too, you will also be blessed now.

The joy of knowing God's favor is resting upon you.

And, as in the last lesson, what Jesus is describing here is our natural tendency it's perfectly natural, this is where we live is to get and keep things for ourselves, seek our own interests, to give only to our family and friends.

Jesus next gives us this striking alternative toward our natural tendency to selfishness.

The pathway to God's blessing is found in giving to those who we are not inclined to give, to Giving without expecting a return.

Give it not because they merit it or are worth it to get nothing for ourselves.

Now, look, it's not wrong.

Jesus didn't say it's wrong to invite your friends over.

No, no, no, do that.

Invite your family over.

He's not saying that.

He's saying you want to take it a step further.

You want to have a heavenly blessedness.

Do this At the second table of blessing.

The joy sent from heaven itself is found in sharing a meal with those in need who can't merit it or are worth it.

It's found in giving, not receiving.

God delights in blessing those who give or not expecting anything in return.

Apostle Paul shares this principle we've heard it earlier.

Shares this principle with the elders in Ephesus.

He said Acts 20, 35,.

In everything Paul says I showed you that by working hard in this manner, you must help the weak, and remember these are the words of the Lord Jesus.

He himself said this.

From the lips of Jesus Christ, it is more blessed to give than to receive.

This is a very, very curious and interesting divine principle to me.

We see in the Bible.

I've thought about this many, many times and the principle is this, and I've also experienced this and continue to work on it this principle is true the more you focus on yourself, the less happy you will be.

It's true the more you focus on making others happy, the happier you will be.

That's God's kingdom principle.

Try it.

Take a look at some of the unhappy people in the Bible.

Let's start with King Solomon, for example.

In the book of Ecclesiastes, which he wrote later in life I believe he walks us through his life he tells us that he's extremely rich.

He has accumulated everything he could ever want, everything he has done, everything he's wanted to do, and yet to him life looks so meaningless, so empty vanity.

But I got it all.

How do you explain that?

This is curious.

Author Bobby Jameson wrote a book recently Ecclesiastes and I laughed when I saw it.

The title of the book of Ecclesiastes he has.

I laughed when I saw it.

The title of the book of Ecclesiastes he has is Everything is Never Enough.

Well, that's Solomon Ecclesiastes.

By the way, I know many of you know this, but that's a hint, by the way, of what the movie Groundhog Day is really all about.

Underneath the subplot, it's about Ecclesiastes.

I know you're laughing at me.

The more you focus on yourself, the less happier you will be.

The more you focus on others, the happier you will be, and life will take on a meaning you haven't seen before, a fulfillment you've not experienced before.

Or let's take a look at the rich, young ruler in the New Testament, among unhappy people in the Bible.

He was rich, he was successful, he was successful, he was young, he was well-respected, he was very religious too, kept himself very moral, keeping all the Ten Commandments, keeping his conscience clear before God and before men.

And yet he couldn't put his finger on it.

He knew deep down he was empty, something was missing.

What is it?

So he came to Jesus.

What am I missing?

You know what Jesus said to him?

Luke 18, 22,.

When Jesus heard this, heard him describe his very successful, full life, he said you know what you still lack.

You lack one thing Sell everything you have, give it to the poor, you'll have treasure in heaven.

And then come and follow me.

Follow me, let me be the center of your life, not the riches, not the accumulated successes, the achievements.

Me, let me take care of you.

You don't need that to feel meaning and fulfillment.

You need me.

And he walked away very, very sad.

He's saying young man, you're focused too much on yourself.

Do you want to feel the fullness of heavenly blessing in your soul?

Then stop getting and start giving.

I honestly believe and have experienced countless times.

I believe God has actually hardwired this divine kingdom principle into our world and it's what we see in Jesus.

Here is God in glory.

Philippians 2,.

He did what he emptied himself, all the glorious power and riches emptied.

And, as the Apostle Paul reminds us, it's what he taught us about living in God's kingdom.

Again, the verse from the lips of the Lord Jesus himself.

He said it's more blessed to give than receive.

Lord Jesus himself, he said it's more blessed to give than receive.

We're going to have a hard time really absorbing that because of our flesh, because of our lack of faith in security and things and stuff.

We're going to have a hard time, but here's the invitation.

Here's the invitation.

Here's the invitation.

Have you ever experienced this aspect of heavenly happiness?

I challenge you to try it.

Not that you go sell everything you have, give it to the poor.

I'm just saying just start small.

Instead of focusing on yourself, why not focus?

Help somebody else just because they need it, not because they merit it or you think they're worthy of it.

Serving someone else's interests ahead of your own?

Using your resources to do good to someone, to make them happy?

I can tell you it's life-changing.

Your spirit is just transformed.

That brings us to the last table of blessing in Jesus' teaching that I haven't read yet the table of decision, which I'll read now.

The third lesson Jesus uses in the analogy of a table is not to teach us about seating or giving, but about deciding whether or not we want to be at God's table in the first place and answer his invitation to come.

So in Luke 14, 15 to 24, when one of those who were reclining at the table with him heard Jesus, the other things he was saying, the parables, he said to him whoa, whoa, whoa.

Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God.

But he said to him you know, a man was giving a big dinner and he invited many, and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say that those who had been invited come, for everything is ready now.

But they all alike began to make excuses.

First one said you know, I bought a piece of land.

I need to go out and look at it.

Please consider me excused.

Another one said.

Another one said by the way, that's the only excuse I think is valid.

And the slave came back and reported this to his master.

Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, and reported this to his master.

Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city, bring in here the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.

And the slave said Master, what you commanded has been done.

There's still room.

The master said to his slave Well then, go out in the highways, along the hedges, and compel them to come in so that my house may be filled For the hedges, and compel them to come in so that my house may be filled, for I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.

So this man at the meal attending with Jesus heard him talk about God's rewards and blessing and he's already thinking well, that's just about sometime in the future.

Jesus agrees with him, but then he says you know what?

Yeah, it'll be a blessed thing to be in God's kingdom, but you first must accept his invitation to come.

And in the parable about God's future banquet, jesus said that many are invited, but sadly they all make excuses for why they weren't able to come.

Most likely here, to be honest, jesus is referring primarily to the Jewish people at the time who are not responding to Jesus' message of salvation.

He's coming to them, inviting them to the kingdom banquet.

Jesus will reign as a result of their decision not to come to God's banquet and believe in Jesus.

God opens the door.

This is the point.

I love.

God's banquet and believe in Jesus.

God opens the door.

This is the point I love.

God's opened the door to anybody.

Come on in.

I want this place full.

Those who were not sent the invitation are now invited the Gentiles Anyone now can come to God's heavenly banquet.

All they have to do is accept the invitation, or the same fate awaits them.

God's got a banquet ready.

God's got a banquet ready.

We learn from other scriptures that we accept God's invitation to this heavenly banquet by believing in Jesus, his son, whom he sent to save us and made a way for us to be part of this banquet.

Jesus made it clear to the Pharisee Nicodemus that to enter the kingdom of God, we must must be born again of the Holy Spirit.

John 3.5,.

Truly, truly, I say to you unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he can't enter the kingdom of God, he can't come to the banquet.

He hasn't accepted the invitation.

Well, how can we be born of the Holy Spirit?

There's only one way, jesus says not by being good the rich young ruler found out.

Not becoming more religious, as Nicodemus found out.

Not by the confidence of our own merits, but by humbling ourselves as sinners before God and believing in his Son who came to save us so that we might receive eternal life.

Jesus said it many places, but in John 6, 41, one of my favorite passages, where he makes this clear, he says you know what?

This is the will of my Father.

Everyone who beholds the Son really sees him who he really is the Messiah, the Savior, the Lord of all who beholds the Son and believes in him will have eternal life.

It's not a 10-step process.

Do this and you will live.

It's believe in me and you will live.

You'll have eternal life.

Wow, and I myself will raise him up on the last day.

When we believe in Jesus, there are so many, so many heavenly blessings God gives us.

Our sins are forgiven, we become part of God's family in the church, the future bride of Christ.

We're automatically, when we believe in Jesus, automatically invited.

Come, you're in, you've got the right credentials.

Come to the banquet.

Listen Revelation 19, which we looked at before, but I love this passage, revelation 19, 6-9.

John says I heard something like the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters, the sound of mighty peals of thunder saying Hallelujah for the Lord, our God of the almighty reigns.

Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and the bride bride, has made herself ready, referring to the church.

It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen and bright and clean, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Then he said to me ooh, write this.

Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

He said to me these are true words of God Looking for happiness, take it from Jesus.

There's a happiness, not of this world, a happiness from heaven waiting for us.

Invitations throughout the scripture I'm not even able to get to all these.

Blessed is the one passages I guess I could, but I won't because I want to get back to Acts eventually.

There's a happiness from heaven waiting for us.

God has so wired life.

He's got these divine principles of his kingdom operating.

Right now Jesus is trying to tell us what they are.

If only we'll listen and connect with them, these blessed statements, we'll experience a little taste of heaven.

We'll have a joy unspeakable, a peace that passes all understanding and a grace that's indescribable.

That's what he's trying to invite us to Now.

Our story one day will end in heaven, around the marriage supper of the Lamb, as John described, a celebration banquet with the Lord, jesus Christ, in God's kingdom.

But again, I'm leaving you with this To enjoy the banquet.

Then make sure you accept Jesus' invitation.

Now the invitation has gone out.

We, his slaves, are proclaiming the invitation to people, the gospel message come, believe in Jesus for the gift of eternal life, and if you've never done that, I invite you to do that.

Accept God's invitation to believe in him.

Today.

Let's pray, father, thank you, thank you.

Thank you that Jesus was the perfect example of how to live this life, as if we were already in your kingdom, where joy is not found in promoting ourselves but in humbling ourselves, not found in getting but in giving.

Thank you that Jesus was not only our example of how to live in God's kingdom.

He actually died for our sins and rose again so we could enter your kingdom through faith in him.

We ask you, father, this day, to help us live the lives that honor our Lord Jesus Christ, so that one day we may hear him say to us well done, thou good, faithful servant.

Enter in to the joy of your master In Jesus' name, amen.