Power Of A Good Meal

Key Scripture:  “You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies.”  Psalm 23:5, The Message

Power Point:

     Have you ever been invited out for dinner and the food looks amazing? Your mouth begins to water and you take that first bite and, oh my goodness, its’ AWFUL! Then your hostess smiling says, “I hope you like snails.  I found a way to disguise them so everyone would want to try them. Yuck!

     I can see myself (or maybe you), standing before two doors.  Door #1 opens into a room with the table God have prepared for me.  I can see the enemy. I can hear him but I don’t pay any attention. I come into His presence and sit at His table and taste the true sweetness of Him.  I sample peace that passes understanding; love that knows no bounds. I drink fresh living water that refreshes me. I hear words of encouragement and hope.  I come to life from sitting at this table. I am satisfied and refreshed.  

     Behind door #2 is the enemy’s table. It’s filled with delicacies that look really good but crumble in my hand when I pick them up. The fruit is full of bruises and begins to rot in my hands even as I look at it. The problem is that we sit at the enemy’s table too often don’t we?  It looks very nice until you sit down and begin to chat with him.  He isn’t called the Father of Lies for nothing. He isn’t called The Accuser for nothing. He's very good at sugar-coating His words. He is what he is and he’s never going to change. If you sit at his table you will find yourself accusing yourself and others. You’ll find yourself entertaining strife and jealousy and hatred.  You’ll find yourself hopeless and full of fear. The table He has prepared for you is full of things that will steal your hope, kill your dreams and choke the life out of you.

     In the Garden of Eden, Eve knew God but she had no idea about the Enemy.  Everything he said to her cast doubt on what she knew about her heavenly Father. He slithered right into the perfect place prepared for them, and set up his table of rotten things disguised as good fruit. (I’m sure there were snails too.) It looked good but when she took the first bite, all hell broke loose in her life.

Where will you sit today, Beloved?  Jesus has this wonderful table with a chair there just for you. He’s waiting at the door for you to come into peace. He’s got a hug just for you, and a lavish meal based on His sacrifice for you.

It may look like simple bread and wine but it will satisfy you completely. And the flavor? Ah.  All the flavors of heaven are released as you take the first bite and sip the first sip.

The enemy knows exactly how to tempt us to choose to sit at his table doesn’t he?  He gave Eve an apple that looked perfectly good but contained evil thoughts, loss of strength and authority and ultimate death.

You get to choose where you sit today.  Which door will you open? Did you choose the wrong one?  The good news is that you can still run out of the room behind door #2 and run into the room where Jesus is waiting for you.

Power Thought:

Jesus is the best chef. Want to taste the best He has to offer? You'll never be the same.