A Seat At The Table | Pastor Nelson Bowen

Is anyone excited to be in the house of God this morning? Man, I am super excited. If it's your first time here or if you haven't been here in a while, my name is Pastor B, and I've got the wonderful privilege of pastoring, I think, one of the greatest churches on this side of heaven, Engage Community Church. And I'm just grateful and I'm excited to be here. You should look at your neighbor and say, you look really good today. You look really good today. And then the other person that you didn't talk to say, you got next week, you got next week. I'm playing. I'm playing. I'm playing. Don't say that. Don't say that. Don't say that. Oh, man. Listen, man, I'm excited. We're starting a brand new sermon series today called Guests Who's Coming to Dinner. Guests Who's Coming to Dinner. I'm pretty excited about it. We've actually done some type of version of this sermon series at least three times in the last six years, we were counting. And it's one of those things where any of y'all got like a favorite movie? Anyone got a favorite movie where you see it and you're like, yo, I don't care how many times I see it. It's going to always be this good to me. Maybe throw some of your favorite movies. I don't know. What's the one that you'll see all the time?

Devil Wears Prada, the first one. Okay. Which one? Good Burger. Good Burger. That's a good one. Oh, my gosh. But like Norbit is like that for me. I laugh at Norbit. Like I've never seen it the first time. I'll be over that joint cracking up. But he was funny. That was like one of his best ones. But anyway. So this is one of those sermon series where we've done it three times over the last six years because we just decided it's one that we would do about every other year because there's just some stuff in it that I think is important for us to know as believers. And so the whole premise of this sermon series is simple. I want to teach you or maybe even answer some of the questions to help you identify what is the role of the church, what's your role inside of the church, and then hopefully by the end of this series, you'll be able to say, you know what, I'm ready to take my next step or to move my seat on my faith journey. I've been in church a very long time. I grew up in church. Anyone else grew up in church? A few of us, right? The rest of you are like, I feel sorry for you. No, but I grew up in church and bigger than that, I just like, I know people. And one of the things that I've found is that every single person in this room is hungry for something.

You're hungry for something, whether it's success, whether it's relationships, whether it's money, whether it's pleasures, whether it's validation, whether it's attention, whether it's peace, whether it's purpose, the reality is all of us at some point will be hungry for something. Yes or no? But regardless of what the hunger is, can I give you a spoiler alert? Nothing will satisfy your hunger like Jesus. Let's be very clear. But the real tragedy is that many people will spend their entire lives looking, just searching and trying to get something to satisfy them only to find out that the thing that they thought would satisfy them never will because Jesus is the only one that can do it. And that's where this table comes into play. We're going to have some fun. That's where the table comes into play. The table, for many of us, it has great significance. The table, for some of you, this is where your families will sit down and you would have a good dinner, maybe family dinner. Maybe this was the table where you sat down and you picked your college. It was the table where you sat down and you knew if you came in and your dad or your mom was sitting at the table, it was time for a serious conversation. You know, the table, maybe if you got a spouse, it was the place where you sat across from your father-in-law now and asked for his daughter's hand in marriage. For me, I remember my grandmother, she had a table and that was the table where there would be a huge spread for Thanksgiving dinner, yes or no? And she would... I mean, we had a table in her little apartment in the Bronx, New York, and she would put a spread out. I couldn't sit at that table, though. I had to go sit at the what? Kids table.

Y'all remember that? Y'all had the same grandma? The table has always been a place naturally where people have gathered and often where food has been served. The church is a table. It's a place where people gather, but not just people, people who are in fact hungry. And when you're hungry and you come to the table, the table becomes the place where people come to get fed. Are you with me? The church is the table the table is the place where people gather and it's because people are looking to be fed Now if you go to the right restaurant emphasis on right If you sit there long enough It won't be too long before the server gonna come out with some nice hot warm bread Emphasis on right Any of y'all pick restaurants based on the bread It's not real fat like that Cuz everybody don't got the same. I don't want that hard bread. I want that Parker. Oh that nice warm Come on man, I like their bread so so so so if you sit at a table on especially the right one what happens is people will come and when they put the server when the server puts the bread down the aroma of The bread begins to fill the table If you were in the house, I don't know like like see you got to have a real grandmother You got to have a real Caleb grandmother who when they will put that bread in the oven and it will start to rise the aroma of that bread would begin to do What fill the room and so people will start making their way into the kitchen on Thanksgiving? That's how it was my grandmother that like the bread will start filling her apartment and what it did was naturally a

Gathered people to the table the aroma of the bread Think it's just funny because when you get to John chapter 6 verse 35 Maybe now this verse begins to make sense like never before cuz Jesus said to him. I am the bread I Am the bread of what life and whoever comes to me shall not hunger And whoever believes in me shall not thirst Here's how come to tell you your soul longs to be fed and The only thing that will fill it. It's not a thing It's not performance It's not striving. It's not a religion It's not a routine the only thing that could will ever fill it is the bread and the bread is a person and the person's name is Jesus Jesus himself. He's the bread and when he declares in John 6 35 is that I am the bread of life and There's a thing in the gospel known as the I am statements And these are one of the this is probably the most important I am statement mentioned I am the bread of life what he's declaring is I am the one who will nourish you. I Am the one who will satisfy you. I am the one who will keep you alive I am the one who will sustain you so when you eat from me You'll never be hungry again And when you drink from me, you'll never be thirsty again and what happens is it's so easy people like PB You don't know what I've done There's some things in my past that I know that has kept me from the table I'm afraid to come to the table Because there's some stuff that I have like like I'm at effect. I've done some things that has kept me from tables in my own home So, I don't even know if I can come to the table and that's why verse 37 is so important Look what it says John 6 37 all that the father gives me All that the father is will come to me and whoever Comes to me. Look at this baby. I will never I Will never I

will never cast out translation at this table the church the place where people come to gather the place where people come to fit to get fed when Jesus is lifted up and they're drawn to the aroma of the bread He says this is a table that no one will ever be rejected from It's really good news Translation there's a chair for you There's a seat for you, that's why Psalms 34 8 is so important look at this he says Oh taste And see That the Lord is good. Hey, I want you to taste of me Taste it and see for yourself Just how good I am Translation you can't taste the bread from a distance You won't know how good this bread is secondhand. You can't see from someone else's faith experience, you can't see from someone else's prayer closet, you can't see from someone else's faith journey just how good Jesus is. And so, what you're going to have to do is come and pull up a seat. Can I talk to you? And taste for yourself just how good Jesus is. So, the table is the place where people gather. Now, here's what's amazing to me, is that it's for all people. At this table, the table represents the church. The church is serving or making sure that the bread is served. The bread is Jesus. It's the aroma that fills the room. And so, people begin to gather at this table, and it's not just a certain type of people that we're looking for. I'm very clear. He says, I won't cast anyone out. Are you hearing what I'm saying? So, at this table is growing people, maturing people, curious people, restored people, doubting people. Can I keep going? Unbelieving people, people who are hurt, people who got hatred, people who got different views, red people, blue people, yellow people. There's all types of people

at the table, and it's this way that Jesus wants it. It's not like you get to come and you don't. No, we all get to come and sit at the table. And the thing is, as we are sitting at this table, all of us are reaching for the bread. At least you should be. But at this table, we're saying, no, we're reaching for the bread, not a tarot card, not a crystal, not energy, not sage, not a vibe, not a universe. No, no, no, no, we're not reaching for our own hustle, and our own grit, and the psychic reading, and the palm reading, and astrology, and stuff. No, we're reaching for the scroll. We're reaching for the word. We're reaching for the bread of life. The only thing that will satisfy us, the only thing that will restore... Are you hearing what I'm saying? It's not grind, it's not hustle, it's not grit, it's not a relationship, it's only Jesus. He himself is what we are reaching for. Is this making any sense? I feel like I'm working really hard today. Now, at the table, in this chair, you got a host. Say, the host. Say, the host. The host is the dude with the food. He's the one responsible for serving the bread. In this church, can you guess who would be the host? No one guessed it. I gave you a key. Can you guess who would be the host at this table? Me, yeah. I'm the dude with the food. I'm the one serving the bread. It's important for us to really realize I'm not the bread. I'm not the bread. My job is to serve the bread. It does matter what church you go to because at some tables, the host thinks he's the bread. My job is to not get it confused. That people are not coming to this church because of how good I can preach. People are not coming to this church because of worship. They're not coming to this church because of a social media. They're coming to this church because of the aroma of the bread. The bread is being served. The bread is being exalted. The bread of life is what draws people in. And so, the tension that the host will always have to manage is that whether it's one or 1,000, you still serve. Whether it's one or 1,000, you still serve. I'm going to say it again. Whether it's one or 1,000, you still serve. And when the 1,000 show up,

it's not about you. It's not about what you've done. It's not about how great you are, how great of a communicator or an oratator. It's the fact that you keep serving the bread. The host's job is to serve the food. come to taste of him, not of me. And our job, or my job, is to never get in the way of that. Does that make sense? Now, there's three chairs at the table. First chair, say chair one. Chair one. Represents the unbeliever. So at this table, you've got a host. Table is the church, the church is the place where people come to get fed. They're feeding off of the word of God. They're feeding off of Jesus, who is the bread of life. The host's job is to make sure that he serves, this is a good movie, isn't it? That he serves the bread. And there's three chairs that make up this table. And in that first chair, chair one, it represents the unbeliever. This is the person that's searching. The person that's skeptical. The person that is spiritually distant. You attend church, but you aren't surrendered. You know that you're starving, hear me, but you don't know what you're hungry for. So you're seated at the table, but you're not yet reaching for the bread. And the tragedy of this seat is that many people

will sit at this seat and die of starvation. Not because a meal hasn't been prepared, but because they've been eating the wrong thing. Because they've been searching for so many things to fill them, only to find that they have yet to be satisfied. So they'll come to church, they have a problem with coming to church. In fact, they're searching and they're wanting to be in church. But they're struggling with, when do I start reaching for this and put down this hustle and this grind and this grit down? When do I start reaching for this and stop looking for relationships to fill me? When do I start actually getting full off of this person named Jesus? And rearrange my schedule, it's a struggle. Here's what the prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 55 verse one, this is such a powerful verse, watch this. Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and he who has no money, come, buy and eat. Come buy wine and milk without money and without a price. This is what, listen, I need you to see this. Jesus is saying, man, you can come to me and you don't have to have it together to purchase anything. This is so good. This is so good, Tony, because he's saying you can come with whatever you have

and whatever you have, it's enough. You're not hearing what I'm saying. Whatever you have, it's enough. So you might not have as much as this person, but at this store or at this table, everyone eats. Verse two though, here's where it gets dangerous. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread? You are speaking. And why do you labor for that which does not satisfy? In other words, why are you, like you're doing everything you can to flex and to flaunt and to grind and to build and to hustle. And if you're honest with yourself, you're still hungry. And the reason why you're still hungry is because Jesus is the only thing. And he's the only one that can ever satisfy that longing that you're experiencing. You got the cars, you got the house, you got the wife, you got the family, you got it all, but yet you're still trying to figure out why does it not feel like enough? And it's because you haven't yet reached for the bread. And you spent your money on everything but the bread. He says, listen diligently to me and eat what is good and delight yourself in rich food. Jesus. Look at this next verse. This might be one that you'll enjoy, maybe. Come on, let's go to Ecclesiastes. He says, all things are full of weariness.

A man cannot utter, this is Solomon, who has everything. And at the end of his life, he begins to say, man, it's all meaningless, meaningless, meaningless. He says, why? Because the eye is not satisfied with seeing nor the ear filled with hearing. In other words, I've been in a relationship after relationship and I'm still empty. I bought bag after bag and I still feel like I don't have enough. Man, I've spent job after job, I've done all this stuff. And I still feel like nothing is working. Why is that? Because you haven't tasted of the bread. And until you taste of the bread, you will not be satisfied. Here's a sign that you're in chair one. They're all over our church. How do I know if it's me, pastor? How do I know if I'm sitting in chair one? Here's how you know. You attend church, but you don't engage. You know church language, but you don't know God's personality. You're still searching for everything but the bread. You're spiritually curious, but emotionally resistant. You only come and sit at this table when life gets hard and you need God to do His big one. Let me hear you. I'm not judging you. I'm just glad you're at the table. And what I'm telling you is when you sit in a seat this time, won't you actually reach for the bread?

See, the reality of that chair is that you can be close to the bread and still be starving. You can be close to the bread and still never eat. Hopefully, though, at some point, you journey from being an unbeliever to now being a new believer. That's chair two. Say, new believer. I'm going to spend a whole sermon series on this chair right here. I mean, whole sermon. Give me two weeks, and I promise you, it's called Get Off the Milk. My grandmother said something else, but I can't say that on a Sunday, so I'm just going to say Get Off the Milk. But we're going to spend a whole sermon doing that. So at this point, it's you've gotten saved, but you still need to be fed. You got saved, but you still need somebody to come in. We're going to have so much fun that week. I cannot wait. See, you're saved, but you're unstable. You're excited, but you're inconsistent. You're passionate, but you're fragile. You love God, you just don't know how much yet. And there's nothing bad about that chair. There's nothing bad about even what I just said. The reality is that it's a part of your spiritual progression. See, this is the chair where, like, your faith is still emotional, where your church attendance is still inconsistent, where your prayer life is still like, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not. You've got very little Bible understanding. See, when you're in chair two, your diet is that you just live off Sunday sermons only. Oh, man.

You still need constant encouragement. It's the chair where you have not yet learned to feed yourself. This isn't the chair that you're supposed to stay at. It's the chair you're supposed to start at. The problem, though, is that many believers are stuck somewhere between an unbeliever and a new believer. I'm kind of like, I got one foot in the world and I got one foot in church. Can I help you out, though? If you got one foot in the world and one foot in church, that's two feet in hell. It's not me, like, trying to condemn you. It's me trying to teach you and help you understand that you got to actually get this foot from away from this unbelieving chair and get two feet posted up right here and just say, okay, I might be fragile, I don't know a lot, but I am willing to learn. We stay somewhere between being an unbeliever and still drinking the applesauce out of the package. And 1 Peter, here's what he said. This is good teaching to me. 1 Peter, here's what he said. He said, like newborn infants, here's what I want you to do. I want you to long for pure spiritual milk that by it, you're going to, look at this, grow up into salvation. I love it because what he's saying that salvation doesn't just come all at once. Oh, you got me, that's what I'm saying. Like the sanctification, the process of really learning and becoming a mature believer, it doesn't just come all at once. It's something you grow into. It's something that, like, as you begin the journey and begin to really hear from God and learn God, that you actually begin to look like him. Peter says that this is one of the stages of your progression,

that you will actually get sick of what the world gives you, and you'll start longing for this pure spiritual milk that the way... The club used to satisfy, the way that music used to fulfill you. See, at one point, when Beyonce was going on concert, you was waiting by the screen. You eventually grow up to see that for what it really is and say, I can't have nothing to do with that. You'll begin to long for this pure spiritual milk. It's a chair where we actually begin to crave the presence of God. We begin to crave reading God's Word. We begin to crave, like, it's slow but subtle, and it just begins to happen. You change your stations. You change the stuff you listen to. You change the stuff that you watch. It's just naturally, your friend circle just begins to change. It's not like, man, it's not even that I don't like you. It's just that I got to put myself around some people that'll help grow me up so I can grow into this salvation that I have. But it should be a stage. We'll talk more about it. First, Corinthians chapter 3, 1 through 3, because here's the stage as I get to chapter 3, it says, if indeed you have tasted. Okay, brothers and sisters, when I was with you, watch this. I found it impossible to speak to you as those who are spiritually mature people. See, Pete was telling us that there's a progression. Like, yeah, this chair is cool, but it's not where you should stay. We'll talk about it as we get to chair 3, and Apostle Paul starts talking about it, like, I was having a hard time talking to you because I was suspecting spiritual maturity, but I found out that your mind is still dominated by the flesh. And because you are immature infants or still sitting in chair 2 in Christ, watch this, I had to nurse you and feed you with milk,

not the solid food of more advanced teachings because you weren't ready for it. In fact, you're still not ready to be fed solid food. Verse 3, watch this, for you are living your lives dominated by the mindset of the flesh. No, it's not. Well, let's see. Ask yourself this, is there jealousy among you? Do you compare yourselves with others? Do you quarrel like children and end up taking sides? If so, what it proves is that you're living your lives centered on yourselves, dominated by the mindset of the flesh, and look at this, and behaving like those sitting in this chair over here. This series is going to be so good. How do I know if I'm sitting in chair 2? I'm just trying to help you identify where's your seat at as we go on this journey. How do I know if I'm sitting in chair 2? Here's how you know. Are you easily offended? Are you easily discouraged? Are you emotionally led? Do you need constant reassurance? Do you not read your Bible without prompting? Does faith depend on how you feel? Do you start strong but stop often? See, the reality of this chair, this is going to hurt some people. Here's the reality of this chair. The reality of this chair is that it doesn't matter how long you've been sitting here, it doesn't determine if you're mature. Okay, I'll say it this way.

I don't care how long you've been in church. It doesn't mean you're spiritually mature. I don't care how long you've been sitting. Okay, okay, can I help you out? I don't really care how old you are. See, the kingdom is one of the few things where age does not determine maturity. And an elder can be someone who's younger than you because they have, in fact, advanced themselves in the spiritual things. Does that make sense? So, that's chair two, that's the new believer. Can you guess what chair three is? Hopefully, the mature believer. Chair three is the mature believer. This is the person that is growing. It's the person that's consistent, stable, learning as a disciple. They feed themselves. They pray and worship often. They serve without applause. They're tithing to their church. They're becoming spiritually dependable. This is the person who knows how to prepare their own food. They know how to reach for the bread and serve themselves. This is the person who has moved from emotions to devotions. They've moved from milk to meals. They've moved from... Consumers to contributors. Here's what Psalms 1, 2, 3 says. This is good to me. Psalms 1, he says, but his delight is in the law of the Lord. And on his law, look at this, he meditates day and night.

Verse 3, come on. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in season and his leaves does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. Someone asked me a question yesterday. They said, what do you ask me this question? That's why I threw it in there. He asked me, he said, what do you do if you're planted somewhere and you don't see the progress and you don't see the fruit yet? And I told him that, you know, at my neighborhood, I pay the HOA, but I ain't participate in this party. They had a tree planting party. So they had all these trees that they were planting. And how many of you know them trees, little old sticks, little just... What's incredible to me though is that when you come to this neighborhood 15 years from now, that tree is going to be so mature, right? And it's going to be shades and people are going to be the nurse from it. They're going to be able to... Birds are going to nest in it. Here's the thing though, the tree never decided where it wanted to be planted. You just missed it. You just missed it. All it did was stay put. And when it stayed put, eventually what happened is it caught some rain, it caught some sun, it caught some nourishment. See, your job is to just get planted by a river that is serving the bread of life. And as you stay there, God will send you everything that you need. God, don't get caught up in petty offenses. Don't get caught up with patty-chatties. Don't get caught up with all...

No, no, no, I just stay put. I stay planted. I stay planted. Okay, James 1, 22, I got to hurry up. But he, but be doers of the word, not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. How do you know if you're sitting at chair three? You can hear a hard truth and not leave. You tithe consistently. You serve faithfully. You seek God daily. You forgive quickly. How about this? You're stable in a storm. The reality of this chair is that you no longer have to be carried because you've learned to walk with God. You no longer have to be carried because you've learned to walk with God. So naturally, after a presentation like this, the question becomes, how do I move chairs? How do I get from chair one to chair two to chair three? The answer is this, not by yourself. I'm going to talk about this chair three, baby, because some people get in chair three and think this is the end of the road. And what I'm going to talk about here is that from chair three, you get up, you get out the chair and you put on an apron. But I'm going to talk about that next time because some of y'all think it's because you got saved and you got matured that it's all over and the church ain't for you and I can't learn anything anymore. No, it's time for you to start serving, but we'll talk about something else. You cannot move a seat, hear me, through spiritual information alone. You move through accountability, you move through relationships,

you move through encouragement, you move through correction, you move through discipleship, you move through proximity. Here's the major key, here's what I'm trying to say. Transformation happens in community, not isolation. You will not move a seat by praying harder. You won't move a seat by trying harder or even doing better. Those are good things, but failure will come. And it's not because you didn't try hard and it's not because you didn't pray hard, it will be because you did life alone. You did life alone. Acts 2.42 says this, and they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of, so they sat at tables with each other, breaking bread, getting in community, talking about Jesus, finding accountability. They were coming together saying, hey, man, here's my hardships, here's my truths, here's the things that I'm working on, here's the things that I need prayer for. Everyone, here's the places where I need communities. What we're really saying is that the church, before it ever grew to crowds, it sat in circles. I don't know, sounds like groups to me. Ecclesiastes chapter four, verse number nine, it says, two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil. Watch this. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow, but woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another person to lift him up. Woe to the person who's not doing life in community, who's not doing life in groups. I'm getting ready to be done, y'all.

Let's throw this chart up. Don't y'all love when I do this? Chair one, chair two, chair three. If you're an unbeliever, if you're sitting in this chair, here's what you need. The community that you need is a community that will help you belong before you ever believe. A community that creates a safe space for you to ask questions and experience love and hear testimonies and encounter Jesus through his people. That's how you'll move from unbelief to faith. If you're sitting in chair two, here's the kind of community that you need, discipleship and consistency. A community that will provide accountability and teaching and prayer and encouragement and correction in love. That's how you move from unstable faith to spiritual maturity. And if you're a mature believer, you need a community that's gonna have responsibility and purpose, a community that's gonna help you reveal your gifts and create leadership opportunities and provide places to serve and disciple others. That's how you're gonna move from a consumer to a contributor, and here's what's amazing to me. As soon as you leave this auditorium, we got communities that fit all three chairs. So it would behoove you to sit here and say, hey, I heard all of this stuff

about the type of discipleship that I need. It would not be wise or smart to just walk past a community that is around me to help me grow. Yes it is. God, hallelujah, Jesus. Amen. I'm done. Because the way we're ending this sermon is by you finding a group. The way we're ending this sermon is by you finding a group. I said the way we're ending this sermon is by you going into that Life Center and saying, here's the people that I'm gonna spend the next six to eight weeks with so that I can get on the way of mentoring from one seat to another, by you. God, thank you so much for being so good. You're so awesome. You're so great. God, I pray in this moment that you'll help us find community, that you'll help us get into a place where we understand which chair we're sitting in and how we can progress. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Hey, I wanna pray for one more person. No one looking, no one trying to figure out what's happening, just have a moment with me, you, and God. Maybe you're here and you're like, yo, I'm that first chair, I'm the unbeliever.

I'm the one that needs a table to come sit down and start reaching for the bread. If that's you, I wanna pray for you today. See, cause here's what I believe, that you're not here by accident, you're here on purpose. And you're here so that you can actually see that there is something that will satisfy you. And it's a person, his name is Jesus. Maybe even as I'm saying this now, your heart's racing and you're like, what is this? It's simply Jesus knocking on the door of your heart. And here's what he's saying, would you allow me to please come in? So if that's you, we're not gonna do anything spooky, we're not gonna do anything scary. I just want you to be bold in this moment and just raise your hand on the count of three and say, pastor, that's me, man. I'm ready to make a decision to give my life to Jesus. No one looking, between me and you. On the count of three, let's make this happen. One, God loves you. Two, your life will never be the same. Three, if that's you, raise your hand. Awesome, awesome, come on, let's celebrate. Come on, let's celebrate. All I'm saying is I gotta say, God, today, I give you my life. I believe in my heart and confess in my mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Come on, let's celebrate. Hey, the sermon continues in the Life Center. Would you please stand up? If you want to worship out and on your way out, please make sure to stop at a table and pick a group. God loves you. I love you. I'll see you on Tuesday or Wednesday.