Gregory Dickow - A Seat at the Table
Lord, we just thank You for Your presence today. We thank You that what distinguishes our lives is Your presence. What sets us apart is Your presence, not our holiness but Your holiness, Your presence. Father, we thank You that today peace will govern the earth through the prayers of Your people. Peace will fill wherever there is unrest, wherever there is war; we speak peace. Wherever there is tragedy, we speak turnarounds, breakthroughs. Wherever there is lack, we speak abundance. Wherever children are suffering, we speak deliverance in the name of Jesus. Wherever people are being harmed, mistreated, or taken advantage of, we thank You, Father, that You will not extinguish a dimly burning wick. But those who are suffering, Lord, You’ll be with them. And many are the afflictions You said of the righteous, but we thank You, Lord, that You deliver us out from them all. We thank You. There’s not one trial, there’s not one evil, there’s not one tribulation that You will leave us in without turning it around. You will deliver us. You have delivered us. You will yet again deliver us. And You are currently delivering us to Your purpose, to Your path. We thank You, Lord, where we’ve gone astray; we thank You for giving us light. Where we’re troubled, we thank You for giving us peace. Where we’re sick, we thank You for giving us health and healing. Where we’re broken, we thank You for giving us restoration. Where we’re confounded and confused, we thank You for giving us the gift of faith to be able to trust even in the darkness. And even though things seem lost, hope seems lost sometimes, Lord, we thank You that it forces us to trust You-not a bad idea since You are the God who raises the dead. We give You all the glory today. Father, we ask that You be glorified in our church, be glorified in every family, be glorified in our city, be glorified in our nation. Jesus, we thank You that You would be glorified. Thank You for the prayer warriors around this world who are praying for revival. Thank You, Father, for answering those prayers. Thank You for answering the prayers of this house for revival. Thank You for the prayers for more salvations. We pray for our loved ones, our family members, our neighbors, our friends, our co-workers, our enemies. We thank You, Father, that You will turn their hearts towards Jesus. You will turn their hearts towards the cross. You will open their hearts to receive the seed, the precious seed of Your word, the precious seed of Jesus. We thank You, Father, for stirring each and every one of us up to long for greater encounters with You, greater, deeper waters with You, deeper impact. Lord, take us further. Take us deeper. We know You’re taking us somewhere, Lord, and You’re making us ready to experience something we’ve never experienced before. We thank You. You are the God of originality. You are the God who has not finished the things that You want to do for us. You finished the work on the cross, but Lord, You’re not finished with us. And we give You all the glory for it. That You who began a good work in us will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Amen, amen, and amen.
Come on, let’s give Jesus a hand of praise. Thank You, Lord. We want to welcome, since we’re in a clapping mood now, let’s welcome our city campus joining us right now. Come on, let’s give them a big hand. Thank you for being with us, City Campus. God is doing something amazing in our city church. God is doing something amazing here among us. He’s doing something in our global community as well. Want to welcome those of you that came for the first time. We’re so grateful to have you. We have a gift for you. I know you’ve already heard this, but we have a gift for you out in the lobby on your way out, and we’d love to bless you with that gift. But more than anything, I pray that you would hear the voice of God today, that you would hear the voice of our great Shepherd, Jesus. Because Jesus said, «If they receive you, they receive Me.» Amen.
I pray to be received today so that you can receive what God wants to say through me. God wants to do something in your life that has never been done before. He wants to take you to a place that you’ve never been before. He wants to work in the depths of your heart and life, in the deepest places that have never been investigated before. You know, you can never be afraid of God pointing something out in your life because He has so much love for you that the only reason He corrects you is because He loves you, and He sees that a course correction is needed in your life. That’s right, that’s why He’s doing it. That’s why God is always working in you. When you don’t see Him, when you don’t hear Him, even in the silence miracles can happen. Even in the silence breakthroughs can occur. When there’s just a still small voice, sometimes it matters what we’re teaching today. It matters what we’re learning. It matters what we’re listening to. It matters who we listen to. Amen.
It matters who we allow to be teachers and pastors and leaders in our lives. Amen. We don’t need more information. This is the information age. We’re beyond the information age. We have too much information. We know too much at one time. We’re exposed to too much of this world’s problems and trouble. Do you understand that 50 years ago, you didn’t know what was going on on the other side of the world? That’s right. You didn’t know because communication didn’t travel fast. I mean, you could see the progression from when they would ride horses from city to city to take a message to somebody. It would take days, weeks, months, years; think about that.
Now we have access to information about what’s going on on the other side of the world instantly. And we’re not wired to carry all the stress of everything that’s going on in the world. And it’s okay to tune out everything that’s going on in the world because if God needs your attention, He knows where to get you. He knows where to find you. He knows how to get it across to you. But we’re carrying too much because we’re aware of everything. And when really we were singing about, «You are my one thing.»
You know, you can never go wrong when you wake up each day listening to the voice of God. You never go wrong when you go to bed each day whispering your prayer to God, inviting Him to operate in your sleep, inviting Him to speak to you into your inner man, the inner spirit that you have that God has created in His image. Well, I pray that you take that the way the Lord wants you to receive it and hear His voice through what I’m saying. It matters what teaching we’re listening to. Jesus was a teacher. He was Lord. He was God. He was King of kings. He was Emmanuel, God with us. He was Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God. He’s all of those things. Amen. But He’s also a teacher.
And in Mark chapter 6, we spoke from this passage last Sunday, and I just want to double-click on it for a moment and get to our third point that I’ve been meaning to get to for a few weeks. But in Mark chapter 6, verse one, remember he says, «Then he went out from there and came to his own country, and his disciples followed him.» And it says, «When the Sabbath had come, he began to teach in the synagogue.» What was Jesus doing? Teaching in the synagogue. He was teaching. This is a powerful thought that he was teaching in the synagogue. Imagine anyone could come to that synagogue and listen to Jesus teach. And notice it says, «As he began to teach in the synagogue, many hearing him were astonished.» Many hearing him were astonished. Do you remember at one time when you were astonished by Jesus' teaching? Amen.
Do you remember a time in your life? Maybe it was a while ago, maybe it was yesterday, maybe it’s today, but these people were astonished at Jesus' teaching. I pray that Jesus astonishes you today. I pray that something so marvelous hits you right between the eyes, something so marvelous hits your heart in the deepest place. I pray that you are astonished, you marvel, you’re amazed, you’re overwhelmed, overtaken by Jesus' teaching. Therefore, if we’re going to be astonished by His teaching, we’ve got to make sure we’re listening to His teaching. Because you can’t be astonished by something you’re not hearing or something you’re not experiencing or something that you’re not subjecting yourself to. He was teaching in the synagogues; those that were hearing him were astonished. And then the questioning began, and they were saying, «Where did this man get these things?»
Now notice they’re astonished; that’s one moment in their lives. They’re astonished. But notice what happens next: they start saying, «Where did this man- that’s right- get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to him, and that such mighty works are performed by his hands?» You’d think this is praise, but it’s not. Sometimes we think something is praise when it’s not. First, they were astonished, but then they kept asking questions. Nothing wrong with asking questions if we’re asking Jesus the question, but they weren’t asking Jesus. They were asking one another. They weren’t asking to learn; they were asking to critique. They weren’t asking to grow; they were asking so that they could silence that seed of faith that was planted in their heart. And that’s what the devil is trying to do in each of our lives. He’s trying to silence; he’s trying to bury the seed, silence the seed, silence the still small voice, and silence you. And they began to say, «Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary?»
So now they’re putting limits on Jesus. Now they’re creating their box for him. Now they have him in a box. People, listen, Jesus doesn’t fit in a box. They couldn’t even keep him in the grave longer than 30, 48 to 72 hours, whatever it was. Jesus does not fit in your box. Jesus is not American. That’s right; Jesus is not Mexican. You understand? Come on, Jesus isn’t Irish. Cheers! They put him in a box. Jesus is not subjected to time. Time cannot limit Jesus. Geography cannot limit Jesus. Your sins, your failures, your mistakes cannot limit Jesus. They’re trying to describe him by confining him to, «Isn’t this the carpenter? So one of the apostles, one of the Gospel writers says, 'Isn’t he the son of a carpenter? ' But these guys were from his own hometown. They knew he was a carpenter too.'Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? ' Notice they don’t even mention his father here because God is his Father and not all his sisters here with us.»
So they were offended at him. I want to ask you a question. Do you remember at one time you were astonished by Jesus' teaching but now you’re offended at it? These people were astonished, but then they were offended. The things that Jesus says and does will astonish you if you don’t put limits on Him. Don’t give Him a time limit. Don’t give Him a description of how it has to be. You trust Him. Invite Him. Welcome Him. Amen.
Is it my microphone? Okay, that was a word of wisdom I just received from the Lord through the people that were watching, through Rob. Hope I got it. Yeah, you know when you begin to question what you once were astonished by, you will begin to get offended by what you were astonished by. Did you hear me? When you have been astonished by something, if you question it too much, you’ll start getting offended at it. I don’t know how God is going to meet my needs according to His riches in glory, but I know that. Amen! My God will supply all my needs according to His riches in glory. Amen! I don’t know how my healing is going to manifest. I don’t know how, and I don’t know when it’s going to show up. But I know I believe I have received it, and that’s honoring Jesus since He said, «Whatever you ask for, believe you have received it.» He says, «Believe you have received it, and it will be granted to you.»
So it’s not up to me to figure out when it’s going to be granted; I’m just receiving it, and I’m believing that I’ve received it. When it shows up, it’s God’s problem. But believing that I have received it, believe you have- even in the New American Standard Translation, it says it so powerfully. It says, «When you pray, believe you have received the things you ask for.» Therefore, I say, «You, all things which you pray and ask, believe you have received them.» That’s right, believe you have received them. Beloved, we believe what we see too much. We need to believe we’ve received even when we haven’t seen. We have a sixth sense, gang. We have our five physical senses, and then we have a spiritual sense called faith. And you don’t use your ears to see something; you don’t use your eyes to hear something. So don’t use your five physical senses to receive something; use your sixth sense. Come on, Bruce Willis, where you at? Use your sixth sense to believe you have received.
The temperature in the room changed in Mark chapter 6-not here among us; the temperature in the room changed when they went from astonished to offended. How did they get there so fast? How did they get from astonished to offended? It’s they began to put God in a box. They began to say, «This is not how the Son of God is going to come. He would never come as a carpenter. He would never come as the son of Mary. He would never come as the brother of James and Judas and these guys, and the sisters.» They said, «We know him. We know his sisters. We know his brothers. We know his mom.» And who does this guy think he is, and why does he have this kind of power and this kind of authority? And there’s nothing wrong with asking questions. I’m even going to get to that in a few minutes where it’s appropriate, and where it’s good, and where it’s powerful. But when you question everything, you’re putting yourself in a position to be offended real soon.
«Well, I don’t know about praying and prophesying.» Plan to be offended by teaching about prayer and prophesying. «Well, I don’t know about giving and tithing.» Plan to be offended when you hear the topic of tithing and giving. Because you’re questioning it rather than researching it. Be like the Bereans in Acts chapter 17, who were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians because they searched the Scriptures to see if the things that Paul and the disciples were saying were actually true scripturally. They were more noble-minded. We need more noble-minded people. We don’t need people that argue based on their emotions because that’s what spoiled children do. They can’t reason, and they don’t allow nobility. Be noble. Be noble. Because when you’re noble, that means you’re open-minded.
When you’re noble, it means you’re searching for the highest good. When you’re noble, it means that you want to search and do research to see if something’s true rather than just buying into it because of the crowd; rather than just buying into it because that’s how you grew up; rather than just buying into it because that’s your political affiliation. Think for yourself. Think for yourself. And you know what will start happening? You’ll stop getting offended. Because the people that are offended are people who do not renew their minds. They do not master their emotions, and so their emotions master them, and they behave like children. But Paul said, «When I was a child, I used to think as a child, reason as a child, behave as a child. But when I became a man, I put away childish things.» Childish things are just following the crowd; it’s a childish thing. Childish things are throwing a tantrum when you don’t get your way. Put away childish things.
Oh, is he talking about me? Yeah, I’m talking to me too. Jesus knew the temperature in the room had changed, so He continued to speak. I’m in Mark 6 still. And Jesus said to them, «A prophet is not without honor except in his own home, in his own country, among his own relatives and in his own house.» Now, because of their-because the temperature in the room changed-He could do no mighty work there. He could do no miracles there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief-their unbelief. They started asking questions that they did not allow. They didn’t ask Him; they were asking each other, and they didn’t know the answers, so they got offended. A lot of times you’re rooted in fear. The reason why you’re angry is because you’re afraid. But if you’ll research, if you’ll search things to see if they’re true, search the Scripture, search the heart of God, search your own heart, be willing to lay your own heart bare and say, «Lord, teach me. Help me to understand. I’m missing something. This is how I grew up, but this is not how you continue to grow.» You’ve got to learn new ways of growing. You’ve got to open your mind up to new dimensions of faith, new dimensions of trusting, new dimensions of learning. He marveled because of their unbelief, so He went about from town to town teaching, from village to village teaching.
Now remember that when Jesus teaches, He always illustrates what He’s trying to get across. So we see Him sitting in three places in Scripture. We’ve talked at length about two of them. For our purposes, for this series, I’m teaching from, Jesus sat at the well. A well is where your thirst is quenched, right? The well is where you receive refreshing. The well is where you find rest. The well is where you have divine encounters with God. The well is the church. The well is the word of God. The well is the Holy Spirit of God. The well is the church of God. That’s the well. Jesus sat at the well. We can’t just visit the well; we need to sit there. We need to learn there. We need to take up permanent residency, continually going to the well. Amen. Jesus, secondly, sat in a boat. He sat in Peter’s boat teaching. He sat in a boat teaching. Meaning, well, there’s a lot there; we can’t get into all of that. We did focus on that mostly last week, maybe not the week before, mostly last time, but He sat in Peter’s boat. Because Jesus has somewhere for us to go. The reason He’s in a boat is because we’re going to do some traveling. The reason He’s in a boat is because it’s a moving thing; this relationship with God moves and experiences rocky times, and waves, and winds, and storms. But who is in our boat is what matters more than where our boat goes. Because when we’ve got Jesus in the boat and we’ve got each other in the boat-because that’s what fellowship is; it’s two fellows in one ship-so stupid, I know, I know, right? That’s a dumb one, but you got it.
The third place Jesus sat is at the right hand of the Father. The right hand of God represents authority. The right hand represents blessing. The right hand represents empowerment. The right hand represents provision. There’s something about Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father. And there’s a beautiful verse of Scripture in Hebrews chapter 1:3, and it says, «And when He made purification of sins,» and we know that He did that through the blood of Jesus, «When He made purification of sins, Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.» What a marvelous moment that must have been! Jesus went to the cross, died on the cross, was buried, on the third day was raised from the dead, then ascended into heaven. And there comes to the Father, the Majesty on high, and He sits at the right hand of the Father.
You see, the Message Translation says after He finished the sacrifice for sins, the Son took His honored place high in the heavens, right alongside God, at the right hand of the Father. This represents completion, mission accomplished, battle fully won, debt fully paid, sentence fully served. That’s what Jesus meant when He said, «It is finished.» Tetelestai! And once it was finished, He goes to the Father and sits at the right hand of the Father. And He remains there perpetually except for one instance until He comes back, of course, but He remains there perpetually until He comes back with the exception of one moment when Stephen is preaching the Gospel in Acts chapter 7. And he’s preaching with such power and such passion. And he’s preaching with such love that the people that he’s preaching to get offended because they said, «Who does this guy think he is?»
Well, it’s the same people that were saying, «Who does Jesus think He is?» And the Bible says they began to stone Stephen. He falls to his ground, falls to his knees on the ground, and they were stoning him. And while they were stoning him-and you would think they stoned him to death, but the fact is they stoned him to the point where he saw heaven. And he said, «Behold, I see Jesus!» Yes! He said, «I see the glory of God.» And it says, «And Jesus is standing at the right hand of God.» Now prior to that, He was seated at the right hand of God. But when He sees Stephen take a stand for God and not turn back, as Stephen falls to his knees, Jesus rises to His feet. As you fall to your knees, Jesus will rise to your defense. As you fall to your knees, Jesus will arise and take you and fill you and flood you and bring you to the ultimate purpose that He has for your life.
It says Jesus said, «Behold, I see the heavens open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.» He was sitting, but now He’s rooting for His son Stephen. He’s rooting for this apostle. He’s rooting for this disciple. He’s rooting for this man that was technically on paper just a deacon. That’s right, who served the tables. That’s right. He was a waiter. I don’t know what they’re called now-server. Well, brother, can you send the waiter, waitress, server over? That’s Stephen! Amen. And he’s preaching with such power that Jesus stands to his feet, rallying his-how many of you have gotten-you’ve watched a sporting event and your team is losing, and then all of a sudden something turns around, something now they become so close to tie or to overtake the lead and you stand from your couch thinking that by doing so, you’ll give your team that extra push to victory.
Well, you don’t, and you can’t, but Jesus can! Amen! And they cried out with a loud voice and they covered their ears because they didn’t want to hear what he was saying anymore. And they rushed at him with one impulse and they drove him out of the city and began stoning him. And the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul, who was Paul the Apostle later. And as they went on stoning Stephen, he called out to the Lord and said, «Lord, receive my spirit!» And he fell on his knees and he cried with a loud voice, «Lord, do not hold this sin against them.» And having said this, he fell asleep. It wasn’t even the stones that killed him; he went to sleep. Jesus got up to bring him home.
And Paul-this is when Paul was conceived. Not when he was born again; it’s when he was conceived. He hasn’t been birthed through the birth canal yet. Spiritually speaking, he’s a Pharisee; he’s a religious person. He was a persecutor of all of the Christians. He hated Christianity. He was completely a Juda -he was the chief priest of Judaism. He understood the law, the old covenant. He didn’t understand the new covenant. That’s right. But he’s about to. And he may not have except for the preaching of Stephen. That’s right. And the forgiveness that Stephen ended his life with. And Saul must have seen this and been astonished but still offended! Yeah! So you can get past being offended. You don’t have to stay there. You don’t have to park there. Amen! You can get past that!
In Hebrews chapter 10:8, «Burnt offerings and offerings for sin you did not desire nor had pleasure in them, which are offered according to the law.» Verse 9 of Hebrews 10, he said, «Behold, I have come,» Jesus said, «Behold, I’ve come to do Your will, O God.» «He that is Jesus takes away the first covenant. He takes away the first in order to establish the second.» He takes away the old covenant to establish the new covenant. Amen! In His blood. And by that will, we have been sanctified. By that will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all! By that will, by that testament, is what He’s talking about. By that second testament, that second covenant, the first one He takes away that He may establish the second one, the new covenant. By that will, by that testament, by that covenant, we have all been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
How is this different than the old covenant? He says in the very next verse: he says, «Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. But He, that is Jesus, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God!» Woo! Waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet. For by one offering, He has perfected for all time those who have been sanctified! Jesus! I love this! I love this absoluteness of God. By one offering for all time! Amen! Once for all! We’re suffering from sin consciousness, not sin. Sin can cause suffering, but most people are suffering from the consciousness of their sin. They’re so aware of their sin. It almost makes them feel humble, being so aware of our sin. It’s really selfish because it’s just about you and your sin.
So you’re so aware-become more aware of His once for all time sanctification, His once for all time cleansing. For by one offering, He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. You’ve been perfected by Jesus Christ! As it has to do with standing before God, as it has to do with your habits, that’s another story. We are transformed; we’re changed day by day. We renew our minds. It changes our behavior as we change the way we think. Neuroplasticity! Our brain can change as we renew our minds. We can learn new habits. We can learn how to make breakthroughs. We can learn how to go beyond where we’ve been before. We can learn how to overcome bad habits and learn how to walk in the power and the anointing of Jesus. But make no mistake about it, as far as God’s concerned, you have already been perfected by the one offering of Jesus' blood once and for all for all time! You are one of them! I am one of them!
We’re all one of them! Anybody who’s received Jesus has been perfected for all time-for eternity! The rest of your soul, your body -that’s a process! Don’t get caught up in the condemnation of the process. Don’t be so self-judgmental and accusatory because that’s how the devil operates-the accuser of the brethren. Our focus is shaping our life. Resting-Jesus is at rest at the seat at the right hand of the Father. And I want you to think about this — sitting means rest. Sitting speaks of rest. Jesus' seated position shows divine rest and divine reigning. Jesus is not pacing nervously in heaven; He’s seated. And He’s ruling, and He’s reigning. Did you hear that? Jesus is not pacing the floor nervously in heaven; He’s seated! He’s ruling. He’s reigning. Seated means rest.
Number one, seating means you’ve arrived. Number two-who has ever here -who here has ever been late for a flight, a train, or a bus? Anybody ever been late? And you’re running, and you’re gunning, and you’re trying to make it-huffing and puffing, wishing that you would have taken cross country in high school and junior high so you could have empowered yourself with some endurance? «How far are we?» «We’ve gone 100 yards!» «Oh man! How far? How much further is it?» «It’s 100 more!» «I don’t know if I can make it 200 yards!» «You can’t make it! Hit the treadmill!» But you’re huffing and you’re puffing, and then just as the door to the plane is closing, just as the door to the train is closing, just as the door is closing on the bus, you stick your foot in or your hand in there and you stop it, and it opens back up, and you make — you jump over the jet bridge into the aisle. There’s one seat left, and it’s yours! And you sit down, and you take your seat, and you go, «I made it!» Sitting means I made it! Sitting means you’ve already arrived!
Well, you know when you get in your seat, and you’re just like, «Wow, thank You, Jesus!» You were cussing Him earlier on your way, and you’re like, «Thank You, Lord! Thank You, Lord!» «Thank You, Jesus! Thank You! I’m going to give some extra thank Yous for the things I said earlier.» You know, you can get the Catholic out of the Catholic, but you can’t get the Catholic out of the person. Amen! Father, Son, Holy Spirit! Glory to God! Love, we love- we love all denominations because we love Jesus! You know, He’s so good that He gives us the grace to see things differently from each other and yet still be the body of Christ. I don’t see things the way I did when I was a Catholic. I don’t see things quite the same way, but I see some things similar. Yeah. Like communion! There are some things about the baptism people wonder. They ask this question: «Why does God allow all these denominations? Why not just one?» Because one is robotic! But a thousand of them, a million of them, it shows God’s confidence. And He’s not insecure! He doesn’t mind us calling ourselves Methodists, Presbyterians, Pentecostals, Charismatics, Lutherans, Baptists. God simply wants us to get the job done and win the lost at any cost so we can plunder hell and populate heaven. Can anybody say amen?
You see, seated means you’ve arrived. Seated means everything you’ve longed for-belonging, recognition, security-it’s already yours because you’re seated with Christ in heavenly places! We have the fullness of Christ because Jesus sat at the right hand of God. He sat us with Him. Ephesians chapter 2 tells us that. Ephesians chapter 2 tells us, in verse- well, if we go to verse 4 of Ephesians chapter 2, and he says, «But God, being rich in mercy because of His great love for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, He made us alive together with Christ.» You were not alive when you were made alive; you were dead. That’s how-why you had to be made alive. You were made alive by Jesus while you were dead. «God being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, He made us alive together with Christ. For by grace you have been saved.» And Ephesians 2:5 goes on to say, «And you’ve been raised up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.» Notice He made us alive together with Christ, for by grace are we saved, and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
So while we see Jesus sitting at the well, we learn that we must sit and gather at the well. And we must come to the well of salvation, the well of the Holy Spirit, the well of the word, the well of the church. And Jesus is seated in the boat teaching because we’re going somewhere. We’re sitting with Him in that boat, and we’re going somewhere, and we’re never alone. That’s right! Amen. Because He’s with us. Amen! And now Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, and He did not keep that seat just for Himself. Woo! He seated us together with Him! Seated means now that you’re seated with Christ, your struggle is over. Your struggle is over!
John chapter 6, verse 15, watch this. «Therefore, when Jesus perceived they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.» Verse 16, «Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea. They got into the boat and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And when it was already dark, Jesus had not come to them.» Then verse 18, «The sea rose because a great wind was blowing.» Watch this! «So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat, and they were afraid.» They weren’t afraid that the wind was blowing, that the sea rose, that they were three and a half miles-three or four miles and they were only halfway across the sea and doubtful that they would make it to the other side. Except that when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to them, drawing near to the boat; they were afraid. But He said to them, «It is I! Do not be afraid!»
And notice what happens. Now, I’ve studied the map. Three or four miles is about halfway across the lake. They’re halfway! So many Christians-they’re just struggling so much. You’re never going to get all the way by your struggling. You’re never going to be able to row, row, row your boat to the other side until grace comes! Amen! And it says, «Jesus said, 'It is I! ' That’s right! „Do not be afraid!“ Then they willingly received Him into the boat. Where were they? Halfway across. And when they willingly received Him into the boat, immediately the boat was at the land where they were going. Guess what? Their struggle was over when Jesus got in the boat with them. When they willingly receive Him, if you will willingly receive Him, you will immediately get to the destination! You will immediately get to the other side!
If you will receive Him willingly, you will immediately get to the place of victory that is already because of His finished work on the cross. When you willingly receive Him, all of the struggles and all of the halfway rowing and all the anger and all the fear- all of it goes away as soon as Jesus gets in the boat. But He won’t come into the boat until you’re one of those who willingly receives Him. It says they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the other side. That’s the grace of God! That’s the grace of God! Woo! When I realized I had a seat at this table with Jesus, I knew everything I was searching for was at that table.
Sitting means leaning in. Leaning in. In John 13:23, „Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of His disciples whom Jesus loved.“ And Simon Peter motioned to him to ask who it is that-is he spoke with-somebody that was going to betray Him. And Peter was like, „Ask him! You’re next to him! Ask him who it is going to be!“ Listen! What you do when you don’t understand something -we’re learning here-what you do when you don’t understand something, lean in! So often, when a believer doesn’t understand what’s going on in his life, don’t understand what’s going on-how did I get to this place? How do I get to the other side? How do I make it? When you don’t know what to do, when you don’t understand, lean in! Because when He told them a mystery, „One of you, one of you twelve is going to betray Me,“ when He said that, gang, they didn’t understand.
So what did they do? Well, what did John do? He leaned in! So at least it was Peter’s idea; he’s like, „You ask Him! You’re close! You’re closer!“ Then leaning back on Jesus' breast, he said, „Lord, who is it? Who is the one who will betray You?“ And Jesus answered. Notice, when you lean in, you’re going to get answers. When you lean in, mysteries are going to be solved. When you lean in, something great is going to happen. God-it says leaning back on Jesus' breast, he said, „Lord, who is it?“ And Jesus answered, „It is he to whom I give a piece of bread when I have dipped it.“
So I’m going to take a piece of bread, I’m going to dip it, and whoever I give it to… that’s the person! So he takes the bread, he dips it, and he hands it to Judas. And what do they say next? None of them knew who it was that was going to betray him! He gave it to-how stupid we sometimes are when God gives us the answer! We didn’t like it that way! We didn’t want it that way! But it is that way! Accept it and move forward! He gave it to Judas. And after the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, „What you do, do quickly.“ But no one at the table knew for what reason he said this to him. He just said what the purpose was going to be. He’s going to betray Me. He just answered John’s question.
Sitting means leaning in. Sitting means, and I’ll close with this, sitting means you’ve been invited to the table -not the kids' table anymore! You’ve been invited to the main table. There’s a seat at the table reserved for you. In 1 Samuel chapter 9, when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him, „Behold, the man of whom I spoke to you, the one shall rule; this one shall rule over My people.“ Then Saul approached Samuel at the gateway and said, „Please tell me where the seer is.“ And Samuel said to Saul, „I’m the seer. Go up before me at the high place, for you shall eat with me today. And in the morning, I’ll let you go, and I will tell you everything that is on your mind. And as for the donkeys that wandered off three days ago,“ I always love to share that verse in the King James. We don’t have time to mess around now! „Do not be concerned about them, for they have been found. And for whom is everything that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s household?“
Saul replied, „I’m just a Benjamite, a Benjaminite of the smallest of the tribes of Israel. My family is the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin. Why then have you spoken to me in this way?“ Then Samuel took Saul, his servant, brought him into the hall, and gave them a place at the head of those who were invited, who were about 30 men. And Saul said to the cook, „Serve the portion that I gave you about which I said to you, 'Set it aside.'“ So Samuel says to the cook that-remember the piece of meat that I said-set it aside? Give it to this guy. Bring the portion that I gave you that I said, „Set it aside.“ Then the cook took up the leg which was on it and placed it before Saul. And Samuel said, „Here is what has been reserved for you! Place it before you and eat it because it has been kept for you until the appointed time.“
This guy, Saul, this is a different Saul, right? We understand this is Saul, the first king of Israel. He didn’t do anything to get invited at the table. He didn’t do anything! God spoke to Samuel the prophet and said, „That’s the guy! Teach us and Saul!“ And then Samuel said to the guy Saul, „Here’s the portion reserved for you. It has been set aside for you! It has been kept for you until the appointed time!“ Your portion has been reserved for you. It has been set aside for you, and it has been appointed for you, and there is an appointed time.
And so don’t get nervous and don’t get insecure because there is a portion reserved for you! There’s a seat reserved for you! There’s a table reserved for you! There’s an anointing set aside for you! There’s a provision that is waiting for you that God prepared before you even knew what He was doing with your life. When you just listen to the prophet, listen to the Word, listen at your church, you’ll realize, there’s a portion reserved for you! It doesn’t matter how old you are; it doesn’t matter how young you are! There’s a portion reserved for you! It’s been set aside for you! And it’s been kept for you until the appointed time! Who believes this? God has a portion reserved for you! God has a portion set aside for you! And God has a portion that has been appointed a time for you! If you believe that, stand to your feet!
And I want you to say this: In the name of Jesus, I have been seated with Christ in heavenly places! That means I have a seat at the table! I have a seat at the table! It has been reserved for me! It has been reserved for me! It has been set aside for me! It has been set aside! And has been kept for me! It has been kept for me! For the appointed time! For the appointed time! Lord, I open my life! Lord, I open my heart to the appointed time! I open my heart to the appointed time! I thank You! I don’t have to live in insecurity anymore, wondering if there’s a portion for me! Because You have it reserved! There’s enough for everybody! My portion-my portion is reserved for me! It is reserved for me! My portion-my portion is set aside for me! My seat-my seat is with Jesus! It is with Jesus! At the table! At the table! And I trust You! And I trust You! With the appointed time! The appointed time! For my provision! For my provision! My purpose! My purpose! My calling! My calling! I trust Your timing! I trust Your timing! I do the trusting! I do the trusting! You’ll take care of the timing! You’ll take care of the timing!
What is that portion that you need? What is that for you today? Is it your healing? It’s been set aside for you! Is it a breakthrough? It’s been set aside for you! Is it salvation? That’s been set aside for you! Everybody’s welcome! Everybody can come! No one is left out! If you don’t want to be left out, you’ll never be left out! Those who willingly received Him made it to the other side. Just say that: I willingly receive You, Jesus. I willingly receive You, in the midst of my storms! No matter what it looks like! No matter what it looks like! I willingly receive You! I willingly receive You! In the boat! In the boat! And I willingly take my seat with You! For You have seated me with You in heavenly places! In heavenly places! And I will walk in! And I will walk in Your destiny, Your purpose for my life! In Jesus' name!
Now, if you’ve never prayed to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, if you’ve never been born again, Jesus said, „Unless you’re born again, you cannot enter the kingdom of God.“ If that’s true about you, I’m going to pray for you now. Everybody, pray this out loud for those that are praying for the first time. Your life is going to change! Your heart is going to change! God’s going to take the old heart out and put a new heart in! It’s called being born again! It simply comes from believing that Jesus is the Son of God and Jesus is risen from the dead. I want you to-everybody pray this: Say, „Heavenly Father, I invite Jesus into my life! I believe- I believe Jesus is Lord! My sins have been washed by the blood of the Lamb! From this moment forward, I am a child of God! Jesus, You’ve been raised from the dead, seated at the right hand of the Father! And now I’m seated with You! By Your invitation, I accept! In Jesus' name!“