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A Seat At The Table | Preparing The Table
Last week
- Cleaning the Table
Clean the table because we want to eat on the table
But is this table ready to eat from?
- No, it’s not set
The beginning is Cleaning the table
The destination is Eating the Good dinner
How we get there is the preparation
Today we are talking about Preparing the table
Spiritual Table:
What you present to the world through your actions, words, and responses
To prepare a table for a meal requires:
- Getting plates
- Putting out utensils
- Napkins
- Sides
- Drinks
Why do you prepare in this way?
- Because no one wants to get up and down when the food arrives
- You want to be ready to enjoy what has been made
Last week was about cleaning up our SPIRITUAL TABLE
- Sin
- Throwing away the junk
- Putting things in their place
What we talk about today is the most crucial step in our Christian life
- Preparation
“If you’re proactive, you focus on preparing. If you’re reactive, you end up focusing on repairing.” ― John C. Maxwell
Here’s what you need to know
God has a plan for your life
God wants you to succeed in that plan
Your best life will be lived in that plan
Let’s look at a story that can help us understand the PROCESS OF PREPARATION
Judges 6
11 The angel of the Lord came, and he sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress in order to hide it from the Midianites. 12 Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “The Lord is with you, valiant warrior.”
13 Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened? And where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about? They said, ‘Hasn’t the Lord brought us out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.”
14 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the grasp of Midian. I am sending you!”
15 He said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Look, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s family.”
16 “But I will be with you,” the Lord said to him. “You will strike Midian down as if it were one man.”
We are introduced to Gideon
The people of Israel were under attack by a neighboring people called the Midianites
Gideon is Threshing Wheat (knocking the wheat grain off the stalk
- He is doing it in an unusual way
- Hiding from the Midianites
God had a plan for Gideon
- Was going to use Gideon to free his people
But Gideon was NOT READY
- He was no PREPARED
Let’s look at how God PREPARES Gideon for what is ahead…
1: Let God Speak To Your Future
Judges 6
12 Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “The Lord is with you, valiant warrior.”
First…
…ANGEL OF THE LORD
- Pre-incarnate Jesus
…VALIANT WARRIOR
Have you ever heard of a HIDING valiant warrior?
- NO!
- Warriors do not hide
But God called him out by speaking to his PURPOSE…
- not his current condition
God always speaks his purpose OVER you before you ever start doing it
What is spoken over us has power
- What our parents have said
- What mentors have said
- What we have called ourselves
None of that is more powerful than God’s purpose over you
God may be calling you…
- Leader
- Provider
- Friend to the friendless
- Protector
- Forgiver
- Healer
- Teacher
- etc…
<IMPORTANT DISTICTION>
- Only God has the authority to do this
- We cannot speak our own purpose for our life and expect God to honor it
- We see God and led HIM LEAD
WHAT TO DO IN THE MEANTIME?
Stay faithful
- Gideon was still working, doing what he knew was right
- That put him in the right place for God to use him
To be prepared for what God has in store for you in your next season, Let HIM SPEAK TO YOUR FUTURE…
2: Beware of Excuses
Judges 6
15 He said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Look, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s family.”
Gideon’s answer was no answer…
- Just a list of excuses
- His family wasn’t’ strong
- He was the youngest
This is a really big deal — It Shows…
God Chooses us but allows us to choose what we do
From Gideon’s perspective, he did not have what it was going to take to get it done..
We often answer God in the same way…
- I can’t right now because of…
- I will when I have the time
- If I only had some help
- If I had more talent
- That’s not part of my plan
But God’s answer to his and OUR excuses is…
Judges 6
16 “But I will be with you,” the Lord said to him. “You will strike Midian down as if it were one man.”
Problem with SELF HELP
- You can only take yourself as far as you are able
God with you means you can go farther, faster than you can ever go alone
- Because you are walking in HIS WAY, HIS PLAN, HIS PURPOSE
Don’t let excuses derail or distract you from God’s Purpose and PREPARATION
To be prepared for what God has next…
3: Maintain A Humble Heart
Judges 6
22 When Gideon realized that he was the angel of the Lord, he said, “Oh no, Lord God! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”
23 But the Lord said to him, “Peace to you. Don’t be afraid, for you will not die.” 24 So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace. It is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites today.
Gideon…
1 – RECOGNIZED GOD’S POWER AND AUTHORITY
2 – BUILT AN ALTER TO REMEMBER WHO CALLED HIM TO HIS PURPOSE
By having those things in mind, Gideon could carry a humble heart
A man/woman of God is a HUMBLE man/woman of God
Don’t rush a preparation season
- It might feel like you are wasting time
- Like God has forgotten you
- Allowing God to prepare you is crucial
1:Let Him speak to your future
2:Beware of excuses
3:Maintain a humble heart