Louie Giglio - Don't Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table
I love the power that nine words can have to change your life. You know, when God is speaking to you, He doesn’t need 909 words. Just a sentence from the Almighty can change the direction of your life. I know this to be true in my life because the message I’m carrying, and that our house is carrying, and that we’re sharing today is not just some idea that we had. This was a game-changing, life-changing word from God to me, and it is a word that I still am hanging on to and living in even today. It all resonates with what God is trying to say to us in Psalm 23 and the invitation that’s on the table today for you and for me. I know when you mention Psalm 23, most people go, «Yeah, I’ve got that in my mind somewhere.» If you pull up alongside almost anybody in life and say, «The Lord is my Shepherd,» they’re going to know, «I shall not want.» It’s in movies; it’s in culture; people know Psalm 23.
I just want to make sure again today that when we’re pulling into Psalm 23, you’re not thinking about the cross-stitch hanging on the wall behind Grandma’s dining room table. You’re not thinking about the Olin Mills photograph of Jesus in the Sunday school classroom where you grew up. Did anybody go to that church besides me? Hello! Would you like to be at that photo session with Jesus when they were saying, «Could you hold your chin up and maybe just turn this way a little bit?» They got His robe all cleaned and pressed, His beard was all trimmed, His hair was perfect; everything about the photo was great. He’s looking off into the distance, maybe towards Heaven’s Canaan land. He’s got a little lamb on one shoulder and a staff in the other hand, and He looks so detached from life. Anybody? Does anybody know what I’m talking about? You can Google it.
When you’re in seventh grade and you walk into your Sunday school classroom and that’s the guy who’s on the wall, and all the stories and all the focus are on Him, you’re thinking, «Okay, that’s my guy. That’s my shepherd.» But then you grow up, and you do life, and you realize that there come seasons of life where you’re not sure that guy in the Olin Mills photograph is your guy. You need somebody more present, more tangible, more three-dimensional, more real, more gritty, and more powerful because you’re in a mess. That’s what Psalm 23 is all about.
Psalm 23 was written by a shepherd, and David knew the relationship between a shepherd and sheep. So when he starts with, «The Lord is my Shepherd,» he knew what it meant to be a shepherd, and that’s a big perspective that you and I have to get our hearts around if we’re going to get this message today. A shepherd gave his life to protect sheep, and when God is saying in this particular context and in other places in Scripture that we’re the sheep, He’s not really paying us an enormous compliment. He’s not trying to knock you; He’s just saying it like it is. If you’ve been around sheep, here’s the thing: they can’t see well, they don’t have good balance, they’re not fast or nimble, and they don’t make the best decisions. In fact, they have gnats crawl up their noses and lay their eggs in their nostrils—wouldn’t that be awesome? They get stuck in a briar patch, wander off, and lose track of the rest of the flock. They’re easy prey for the bear, the wolf, the lion, or the fox. So sheep need help.
«The Lord is my Shepherd,» David said. And when he said that, he said more than what a lot of people are willing to say. He said, «I need help. I need somebody to do what a shepherd would do.» What does a shepherd do? A shepherd leads the sheep, feeds the sheep, protects the sheep, and provides for the sheep. God is coming into the story today; He’s in the equation today; He’s here right now, and He’s offering an invitation to everyone who can hear my voice. «I would like to be your shepherd. Would you like for me to lead you, to feed you, to protect you, and to provide for you?» If you would, I would love to be in that kind of relationship with you, and every one of us today is going to have the opportunity to say yes to that invitation and step into Psalm 23.
We need to get out of the mindset of a little bookmark that I had that my aunt gave me when I was a kid and into this moment of saying, «I need you in my life.» You know, a sheep doesn’t always make the right decision. Sometimes it’s not because they tried to make the wrong decision; they just ended up not making the right decision. For example, if a sheep saw rushing water and was really thirsty, do you know what a sheep would do? The sheep would go right to the biggest part of the rushing water and stick its head right in the river. It seems like a great idea, but the sheep didn’t realize it had a duvet on its head, and as soon as that got wet, the whole sheep went in the water, and now the sheep’s going down the rapids. Finally, the sheep is looking back for the shepherd.
Now, the shepherd has that long crook stick, remember? Why? So he can grab the sheep by the neck, pull it over to the side, get it onto the shore, and then he can say, «If you let me, I want to make you lie down in green pastures. I want to lead you beside the still water. I want to restore your soul.» This is what David said: «He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.» Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. «You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.» Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life—every Monday, every Thursday, every high day, and every low day—all the days of my life. Love and goodness are following me, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. The invitation is on the table today. Do you want to be led? Do you want to be restored? Do you want to be guided? Do you want to be protected and provided for? The invitation is on the table, and you might say, «Yeah, but right now life is crazy for me, Louie.» I love how God sees and knows that, and it doesn’t impact His promise to you today. In fact, in verse 5, it’s a little bit upside down. Had I written Psalm 23, I would have written verse 5 completely differently than the way David did. David said, «You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.» Now had I written the verse—and maybe if you had written the verse—you might have written the verse this way: «You prepare a table before me how? In your presence! Forget about the enemies. Blow the enemies away. Eject me out of the circumstance, out of the situation, out of the pressure, out of the darkness, out of the grief, out of the cancer ward. I want to get out of all that, and I just want to be in your presence.» And He says, «No, I can’t hit the eject button yet because you’re living on a broken planet. But what I will promise you is, no matter what is surrounding your life right now, right in the middle of it, I’m going to prepare a table before you, anoint your head with oil, and no matter what is going on around you, it’s still possible that your cup can overflow.»
He’s putting the table in the middle of the enemies—kind of crazy, right? But there’s such a powerful reason why He did that for you, and there’s such a powerful reason why God did that for Himself because remember, the whole story of God ultimately has a benefit for you, but all the glory ultimately is for God. Everything God does benefits you, brings goodness to you, grace to you, kindness to you; it’s the best for you, but the ultimate result of everything God does is to bring glory to God. So you get good, and God gets glory. This is the way the kingdom of God works, and we’re going to see that at the table.
I just wanted a little picture that hopefully you’ll never forget. For right now, you’re my enemy. Not in real life, but you know, you’re my enemies, guys. I’m so sorry! How can you be my enemies? You are the nicest people on the planet. A brand new teammate on our staff here. I mean, but for now, I don’t like any of you, and you don’t like me, okay? You’re trouble, and I didn’t ask for it. Your problems that I wasn’t looking for, your situations I wasn’t planning on—your interruptions to my plan that I didn’t see coming—your pressure, your criticism, you’re sticking me in the back. You sold me out on the business deal. You called me with the prognosis; you gave me the news I did not want to hear. It was death and not life. It didn’t end the way we wanted it to end. The financial situation wasn’t what we were counting on. All of that is all y’all. Right in the middle of all of that, the King of the Universe said, «Louie, I prepared a table before you.»
Think about this for a moment: the God of Heaven, the God Almighty, the Alpha and the Omega, the originator of everything that exists, prepared a table for you if you let Him be your shepherd. And you don’t have to let Him be your shepherd. We are not prone to be led by the shepherd, and we don’t like it that the first thing He says He’s going to do is make us do something. Did you notice that? «The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures.» People say, «I don’t want God making me do anything!» I know, He’s a horrible God! He’s going to make you find a nice green pasture to lie down in! Isn’t He awful? And why is He going to do that? Because I’m not smart enough left to myself to find a green pasture to lie down in. If I am left to run my life and be in charge of my life, and some of you are still saying that right here and right now, you’re like, «I don’t know who this guy is, but I make the decisions. I call the shots. I’m doing it, thank you very much, and if I need God, I’ll let him know.»
Okay, I’m going to tell you how that’s going to work out for you. Are you ready? You’re going to burn yourself out, and you’re going to break yourself down, and you’re going to break down all the people around you because left to myself, I’m not even smart enough to find a good green pasture and know when it’s time to lie down and take a deep breath and Sabbath into the goodness of God. I need a shepherd who says, «Hey, we need to chill for a minute, and I know a good spot for you.»
He’s offering today to restore—who needs to be restored in this place today? That would be 100% of the people in the room right now. You need some kind of restoration in your life, and he says, «I’ll restore your soul. Nobody else can do that, but I can do that, and I will do that.» He says, «I will guide you.» Who needs guidance today? Anyone need guidance today? He says, «I’ll guide you, but I’m not going to guide you in just any path. Every way I guide you is going to be a path called righteousness, and the end of that path is your good and my glory for my name’s sake.» He says, «I’m going to guide you that way, and if you go through darkness, if you go through the valley, if you’re in a place of danger, I’m gonna be there with you and I’ve got a rod in one hand and a staff in the other.»
A lot of us skip over that, but the staff we get. That’s how you lead and you poke and you prod, and you grab and you rescue if you need to. But the rod wasn’t for the sheep; the rod was for the lion and the bear, and a shepherd knew how to wield it. So you need to get God out of the cross-stitch and into the middle of reality because He is big, and He’s bold, and He’s powerful, and He has authority, and He cares about you, and He will defend you if you will let Him lead you.
The comfort is in the rod and in the staff, meaning when I go to sleep at night, He’s got me, and when I wake up in the morning, He’s going to lead me. That’s the comfort that the world’s looking for right now. Everybody on planet Earth is looking for that comfort right now. Then He says, «I’ll prepare a table before you right in the presence of your enemies.» Imagine that! Imagine the God of the universe saying, «Would you like to sit down? Hey, come, have a seat.» Then He comes down and sits down and says something as ordinary and miraculous as this: «Are you thirsty? Could I pour you a glass of water? How are you? So great seeing you. Everything good? Man, I love you. Thanks for coming!»
Hello! Anybody got an amen? We’re talking about the God of the cosmos inviting you to the table that He booked. He prepared the meal; He sat down, and He paid the bill! Look at it—is this not great or what? I’m not skipping! No, for real, it’s incredible! I’m going to have a breadstick. Thank you! You look great! I love it when you bring these. You’re amazing! Do you bake these, or do you have somebody do that? Awesome!
This is the invitation, but you have to say yes, and you have to sit down. What we’re more prone to do because we’re busy is to say, «I had no idea! Oh my goodness! I had—wow! I wish I got—I wish I’d come sooner! This is amazing! Do you mind if I get it to go, though, for real?» But before I go, «Can I borrow your phone just one second? Thank you! Do you mind? This is incredible, by the way. This is so phenomenal! Let me make sure my Bible is on that side!» Oh man, good—okay, I’m going to go. I’m going to go portrait mode. I’m using the heavenly filter. Oh wow, this is going to be the best at brunch with the King! I’m tagging you at Almighty! That is so cool! This is amazing!
And I think, by the way, thank you for all this! It all looks incredible! You just go over the top every time! Amazing! I’ve got to jet, and I’m really sorry, but I will be back. And you’re cool; you are amazing! You’re awesome, thank you! Phenomenal! And thanks for the coffee. You guys aren’t going to believe it! Did you see my post? Not for real! Like, I was at the table, and like, He was there! Like, God and me! And like, all this time, it was unreal! And I just was like, mind blown! Could not believe it! Did you see it? Here, check it out! Check the post out! Is that not incredible?
This is our life; we’re invited to a table. Oh, I’m sorry, that’s not yours. Let’s just leave this over here for now. Let’s just stop that craziness! We’re invited to a table with the King, and we don’t even have time to sit down! But more complicating than that is how quick the enemy can get here.
I’ve told this story a lot of different ways, and it’s in the book, and it made me nervous. Even some people on my amazing editorial team said, «Can we tweak the story a little bit?» Because it was awkward. Shelly and I are at dinner, we’re in a city far away from Atlanta, in another country, having a birthday dinner for her. It’s all going perfect; we’re at a table like this with four chairs, but it’s just the two of us, and a group comes by leaving the restaurant. As the group goes by, a young man kind of turns back and looks and goes, «Louie Giglio!» I’m like, «Yeah!»
He goes, «What are you doing here?» I said, «I don’t know! Just, you know, got out of Atlanta and came on a trip!» And he goes, «I never thought I’d get a chance to meet you! I was at a conference you spoke at a few months ago, and the Lord really touched my life, and I just wanted to say thank you.» I had no idea I’d see you in here right now in another country, and I’m like, «I know, crazy, right? We went to another country!» Amazing, amazing! Here we are!
So he says hi and bye, and Shelly and I are like, «What kind of life is this that we get to be a part of God’s story in people’s lives?» Then they go, and we’re like, «Thank you for saying hi,» and off they go. A few minutes go by; we’re back to having this amazing dinner, and I see the guy coming back in the restaurant. I’m like, «Oh, that guy’s coming back. He must have left his wallet or his keys or his sunglasses or something on the table.» I’m like, «No, there’s nothing of his on the table, so I don’t know really what’s going on.»
The next thing I know, he walks up and says, «Hey, this is going to sound crazy.» Now, when someone starts a sentence with «This is going to sound crazy,» there’s a reason why, okay? He said, «This is going to sound crazy, but I got outside and I told my friends I’ve had this vision ever since that conference about something the Lord wants to do, and I think He wants me to talk to you about it.» I thought, «Well, here we are, right now! This must be God wants me to talk to you about it, right?»
So do you mind if I just sit down with you guys? I’m just surveying the crowd right now to see who’s with me, and I thought to myself, «Well, no,» but I didn’t say that. I said, «Oh, you know, that would be awesome! But it’s my wife’s birthday.» That seems good, doesn’t it? Doesn’t that kind of say everything you want to say right there? He goes, «Oh well! Happy birthday! Anyway, do you think this would be a good time?»
By now I’m in the flesh, and I’m like, «Yeah, no, no, this won’t be a good time.» So I get back in the Spirit and I say, «You know what? I would love to have that conversation with you. Let’s just believe God’s going to give us a chance to do that somewhere down the road. Reach out; hopefully we’ll get to have that, but tonight is a really special time, and I think it’d be good if we just had our dinner.»
So that guy, super nice guy by the way, this is not about that guy at all, but it was about how fast the enemy can get to your table. That guy was not my enemy, by the way, but you can be at the table with the King, and before you know it, the enemy just pulls up a chair. You’re like, «Oh, he would never pull up a chair with you and the King of the universe!» He’s not that bold! He pulled up a chair at Jesus' table in the wilderness. He’s bold because he pulled up a chair at Eve’s table in paradise, and it worked, and so he even came at the Son of God.
Don’t think he won’t come to your table! You know how he comes? He comes very calm. He does not come the way we know him to be because of Jesus, our Shepherd. He said he comes to steal, kill, and destroy. He does not come and say, «Do you see this little honey stick I’m going to shove down your throat and choke you to death? Are you ready?» No! He says, «Hey, what’s up, man? How you doing? Do you mind? How’s life?»
Don’t we all just want somebody to ask us how life is? And he knows the game! So, «What’s going on at home? She’s still giving you trouble? I don’t know how you do it! I’m telling you if it was me, I’d been out of there! So props to you that you’re even still in there because she is crazy! Her mom hates you; that’s part of the problem!» Her and her mom are talking, «Man, you know, my mommy…» Yeah, her mom’s like «Yeah, if I were you!»
How’s work? Your boss still a jerk? Man, somebody said yes; somebody’s participating with the talk. All of a sudden, I’m telling him, «I don’t know how you work for him! I’d been out of there! But you keep going! Hang in there! Maybe he’ll change! I don’t know. Easy yet!» But here’s the thing, the shepherd was right; his plans are simple, and they are to steal everything God wants to give you and destroy everything good that your shepherd wants to provide for you.
He’s not going to tell you that in the first 15 minutes. He’s going to sell you something, mostly causing you to doubt the character of God, or he’s going to remind you of something in your past or something that somebody said, and he’s going to get you off track. He’s going to get you in doubt; he’s going to get you worrying; he’s going to make you anxious; he’s going to make you angry; he’s going to fuel your bitterness. He is going to make you stingy and selfish, and he is going to cause you to lose in the end.
So you’re saying, «Well, how would I know if he was at my table?» Five main lies. Number one: it’s better at the other table. He’s telling somebody that in this room right now. Somebody’s going to have your life changed right now because you walked in today, and you’re about to parachute out of everything that you know in life because the enemy convinced you if you leave your family and go with this other person, that’s where life’s going to be. And if that’s what you’re hearing right now, the enemy is sitting at your table.
Some of you are thinking right now, the second lie: you’re not good enough; you’re not smart enough; you’re not pretty enough; you didn’t come from the right family; you don’t have the right background; you don’t have the right ability; you’re not good enough; you failed when you had a chance; what you did to them, or they did to you, that’s part of the story, and you’ll never get over it. The enemy is at your table if you’ve heard something like this.
You’re not going to make it—anybody heard that? You’re not going to make it through this season; you’re not going to make it through this situation; you’re not going to make it through this relational tension; you’re not going to make it through this financial pressure you’re under; you’re not going to make it through this semester; you’re not going to make it through whatever it is you’re in the middle of right now. If you’re hearing that, the enemy is at your table!
They’re like, «How are you so authoritative in my life?» I’m not; I just know there’s a shepherd who invited you to sit here and said even though we go through the valley of the shadow of death, I’m going to be there, and we’re going to make it! So if you’re telling somebody, «How do you know the enemy’s at your table?» Just ask your friends because they’ll tell you back what you’re saying to them. If you sat at coffee this week with somebody—back to your coffee, thank you—and you said, «Man, I don’t know,» they said, «How are you doing?» You’re like, «I don’t know!»
Can you imagine that? I mean, we say that like it’s just part of life. «I don’t know, man! I don’t know!» How many times have we said that? «How you doing?» «I don’t know.» «Man, I don’t know.» «I don’t know, I don’t know.» «I don’t know, I don’t know.» Not one time did the shepherd—never, ever, ever before time, in time, after time, not in all of time—did the Alpha Omega say, «Good morning, I don’t know, man! I don’t know!» Never! One time has Heaven uttered that phrase! «Good morning, Jesus! Thank you for this amazing table! Are we going to get through this?» Never! One time did He say to one person in all of eternity, «I don’t know, man.»
So if I’m saying, «I don’t know, man,» where did I get «I don’t know, man»? I didn’t get an «I don’t know, man» from the Son of Man; I must have got an «I don’t know, man» from the dude that slipped up to my table! And now when you’re saying, «How you doing?» I’m saying, «I don’t know if I’m going to make it.» And when I say, «I don’t know if I’m going to make it,» I’m just repeating what he told me when he said, «I don’t know if you’re going to make it.»
I want to know, I don’t know if I’m going to make it either! And then when you ask me, I told you «I don’t know if I’m going to make it,» and the shepherd said, «No, you’re going to make it! We’re going to make it; we’re going through the valley!» Whatever the situation, you and me, we are going through it to the other side! So if you’re saying, «I’m not, I don’t know if I’m going to make it,» then the enemy’s at your table.
Two other big lies: If you’re saying, «I’m surrounded and there’s no way out,» the enemy is at your table. And if you’re saying, «Everybody’s against me"—is that person here today? «Everybody hates me! Everybody’s against me! Nobody loves me! They’re family; they don’t like me! The people at work where I used to work, they didn’t like me! The people where I used to live, they didn’t like me! Nobody likes me; everybody’s against me!» It’s kind of me against the world—the enemy! He’s at your table, and he’s eating your lunch!
You can take authority over your table: You know, I was in a stretch about six or seven years ago where Shelly and I had just been through a long season of hardship. It was frustrating, and some things were said, and we said some things, and you know in a season like that, at the end of the day, you’re just going to hang in there and believe that sooner or later, everything’s going to wash out right. Maybe four, five, six months in of this long season of just doubt and frustration and feeling like there was tension and feeling like there were some enemies around, I was riding home one day from the office, and I got a text from somebody, and the news just totally vindicated something.
I was like, «Yep, there it is.» Have you ever gotten that text before? You’re like, «Uh-huh!» That’s exactly what I knew was going to happen! So I wanted to share that good news real fast with somebody, so I waited until I got home, pulled into the garage, got outside of my car, and stood at the top of our driveway. I texted a friend a very long text and said, «You’re not going to believe what happened today! I just heard from so-and-so! Isn’t it interesting how these things work out?» It was just like we said it was going to be; I just needed some commiseration.
Anybody? Can I get an amen? I hate to admit it, but I was just reaching out, and what I wanted back was a text that was proportionate to the one that I had sent that took me about a half hour to write. I did not want an emoji back! I’m staring at the phone! If you ever sent that text where I’m like, «I’m not putting the phone down! I’m going to stand here until you text me back, whether it takes all day or all night.» And finally, a little bit later, bam! There comes the text! I see the wheel spinning! I’m like, «Ready for all of my, you know, 'Hey man, you’re amazing! Isn’t God good? Yes! It’s exactly the way you thought it was going to be! '»
And the text comes, and I just look down. It’s just this little short blurb. I’m like, «Okay, next text is going to say, 'Oops, sorry, hit send too soon! Here’s the rest of your text! '» So I’m waiting for that to happen, and that doesn’t happen, and now I’m like, «Huh? You’re telling me that’s what I got?» And so I look down, I focus on my phone and I read the nine words: «Don’t give the enemy a seat at your table.»
Those words just cut straight through all the nights I’d been up in the middle of the night having imaginary conversations with all the people involved that I was doing fantastic in, by the way, in every conversation. It just cut right through my sense of, «I’ve got to manage all this and control all this!» It cut right through all the anxiety, all the stress, the resentment that was starting to build up. Just cut right in! I was like, «What am I doing?» I’m standing at the top of my driveway, and I’m like, «Thank God for a friend who knew I didn’t need commiseration; I needed a wake-up call! I needed somebody to say, 'Hey, you’re not an orphan; you’re a son of a King! What are you doing? '»
I realize in a heartbeat I have let the enemy have a seat at my table! And worse than that, I’ve been having a conversation with a killer. Wow! I’ve been in dialogue with somebody who’s trying to take me out when I had an invitation to sit with a shepherd who said, «I’ll lead you all the way through!» And I realized standing there, not in my own power and authority, but in the power and the authority of Jesus who has won the victory over every lie, who has power through resurrection over every stronghold, and who has given me spiritual weapons that are divine and powerful to tear down those strongholds and to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Jesus.
Through him, I stood at the top of the driveway and said, «I’m taking back my table! I am taking authority over my mind and over my thoughts!» The Scripture says that the enemy prowls around looking for somebody to devour, right? There’s nowhere in Scripture that says I have the power or the ability to stop him from prowling around. But I know I have the authority to make sure that he is not sitting down anymore at my table!
And how do I do that? I do it by locking my eyes with the King, opening this Word, and listening to His voice and rewriting my story based on His story of my life. You do not win the battle of your mind by fighting against the lies of the enemy. You win the battle of your mind by filling your mind with the truth of God’s Word!
Can I show you real fast? We’re out of time, but can I show you real fast a practical way to do this? Just going back to one lie—do you mind if I could? I thank you! Okay, we’re good! Here we go! Can I write anywhere? Thanks, G! The very newest member of our staff team, Gennaro!
Okay, one of the lies is, «You’re not enough.» I know when I said that earlier, I could feel it in the room. Everybody in this room looks amazing! I mean, look at you; everybody looks incredible! But I wonder how many of us in this room right now—in a place of worship where we came to sing songs of praise, and this is not a negative space; it’s a positive space—but still, I wonder how many people are sitting in this space or sitting in your living room right now and you’re still living out the narrative, «I’m not enough.»
I invite you to get in God’s Word, and I invite you to literally take a pen and paper and write the narrative that you’ve been living in down. And it might be something like this because first you have to identify the lie. So maybe your narrative has been, «I am defined by my scars; therefore, I fail. Shame.» Because if he sits there long enough, he’s going to get down underneath, and he’s going to zero right in on that spot, and he’s going to say, «Let’s all just keep this in mind.» And the way you’re going to know you’ve heard it is you’re going to operate out of, «I failed. I’ve done my best since, but I can’t quite get over it—how I failed. I’ve tried to just shake it off, but I can’t get rid of the shame.»
The enemy just keeps taking me back. So, let’s not forget about that. That’s you, man! But the Shepherd, He has a different word, and so you’ve got to find it, you’ve got to eat it, you’ve got to believe it! And then you need to write it above this narrative. And I’m going to write this narrative above here: «I am defined by Your scars.» How do you know? He has scars. Because when He said the other morning, «Would you like bread? Want some bread?» And when He handed it to me, I noticed again the scar in His wrist, and I knew it was for me.
I saw Him again yesterday, and I knew that I am defined by Your scars—not by my scars! Oh, my scars are real; I did fail, but I’m defined by Your scars. Therefore, my new story is: «I am forgiven, and I am loved.» And then I want to encourage you to take the same pen and to scratch out your old story and to circle your new story.
And when someone says to you, «So, tell me about your life,» you say, «Well, I had a few bumps in the road. In fact, I had a real big train wreck in a few places, but you know, my main story is that I don’t see myself being defined by my scars. I see myself as being defined by the scars of my King. Jesus took my scars for me to the cross, and I know because of that no matter what is in my story, I know I am forgiven, and I know I am loved.» And I’m living out of forgiven and loved, not out of failed and ashamed.
I found that in His Word! I loved that place where He said it to me! He said, «Louie, you got to get this again today: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!» And I went, «I have a new story! I have a new narrative!» And I’m telling you, you can do this for every lie, for everything that the enemy has told you, for every narrative, «Nobody ever wanted you.» Write it down! «Nobody ever wanted me; I was abandoned, and I was left behind.»
And then you just write right above it, «God chose me before the foundation of the universe, and He left Heaven and came all the way to Earth on a rescue mission because I matter to God.» And then you scratch out the bottom, and you circle the top and say, «I’ve got a brand new story!» Some of you have been living in, «I just can’t, I just can’t, I just can’t, I just can’t…» I’m sorry, but I can’t! Write it out! «I can’t, therefore I’m weak, and therefore I won’t!»
And then write above it, «You can! You live in me! You’re able! You are my God!» Therefore, I’m scratching out «I can’t,» and I’m circling «You can,» and I’ve got a new narrative today because I’m not going to give the enemy a seat at my table! You’ve been here long enough; you’ve been lying to me long enough; you’ve been trying to woo me into a story of failure long enough! No, you’re out! You’re in! Thank You, Jesus, for inviting me here!
I lock my eyes on You; I lock my gaze on You; I lock my heart on You; I will trust in You! How I’m asking you, can anybody leave this building and ever believe again that you’re not enough when He’s saying to you, «The good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep!» This table is not about what’s on the table; it’s about who’s at the table! And the one who’s at the table paid everything to be able to sit here with you.
So, why do you put it in the middle of the enemies? Weird, right? Hey, your enemy’s getting a front-row seat of how good your King is! So that then they can have a revelation? They’re all around! So that they can know that you’ve got abundance!
Hey guys, I’m not sure whether you like me or not, but guess what? I brought a charcuterie board here! Please, take the whole board! I’m good! Would everybody like one of these little guys? Here, have one! All of you—no, everybody gets one! Everyone on this row gets one! Yes! Absolutely! Have something on me! Why? I’m good! I’m fantastic! I’m great! I dropped one, but I got one left for me! Is this the last one? Oh no, you can make a whole another orchard! Enjoy that!
So they can see what the kingdom looks like! God’s not operating in any scary scarcity mentality; God’s operating in an abundance mentality! And God wants your enemies to see that! He wants them to see you take delight in Him even in the storm! Are we minimizing the storm today? No! Grief is real, cancer is real, death is real, depression’s real, struggles are real, life is real! We’re not minimizing any of that; we’re just maximizing the fact that God is in it! And if I’m looking at you, the stress, this grief, this struggle, then guess what’s on my face? Stress, struggle!
But if in the middle of it all I’m looking at Him, what does the psalmist say? The psalmist said, «Those who look to Him are radiant, and listen, their faces are never covered in shame!» And so now, in the middle of it all, the world can see me! Oh, they’ll start by looking at you! You want to flip some people out? And be like, «What in the world? You can pass that down if you want, or not, just either way!» They’ll start by going, «How is she doing this? Why is she not hitting everybody back? Why is she not getting down on their level? Why is she being so kind? Why, how is she making it through this situation? What is going on with her? What is her deal?» And eventually, they’re going to stop looking at you and asking questions about you, and they’re going to start looking at the person you’re looking at and asking questions about Him!
And they’re going to go, «What is going on here? Because whoever’s in that chair is making a real big difference in the person that’s in that chair, and I want to know if that person in that chair can make that same difference in my life because I’ve got the same stuff going on around me as they do!»
And at the end of the day, this table brings all this good to you, and at the end of the day, this table brings all the glory to Him! And so He said, «I’m going to put it right in the middle, right in the middle, and I’m going to give you the authority in Jesus' name to take back your table starting now!»
This is not a message for you to go home and think about! This is not a message for you to have coffee with a friend on Thursday! This is a message for you to say, «I’m not giving the enemy a seat at my table one more day! I’m done! You’ve planted that seed long enough! You’ve got that root down in my heart for long enough! You’ve been stealing away from me everything God has given me long enough! You’ve been destroying the good that God wanted to bring into my life! You’ve been making me crazy and making me hateful and making me spiteful and making me dreadful and making me have no confidence long enough!
I am not an orphan; I am a son! I am a daughter of the King of the Universe! I am at a table with the God Almighty, and He is with me! So today, right here, I received the text! Did anybody get that text from Heaven today? I am so grateful to that friend! I honestly might not be here preaching this message without that friend! And I wonder if anybody got that kind of a text from Heaven today, and you might not change everything in a minute, but I believe in one minute everything can begin to change!
And if you want to say today, „I’m done! I’m taking my table back in Jesus' name,“ then I want to pray for you, and I want to pray with you because that’s step one!