Inviting All to God's Table of Grace

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``See, a table is a sacred space. A table is a place for relationship. And when we come to a table, it's a moment when we stop all the hustle, all the bustle, all the things that we've been running after in our ordinary day. And we shut out the rest of our lives for just a moment. And we sit down and we huddle with other people and we come face to face, eyeball to eyeball with other people. And when somebody welcomes us to their table, we feel seen, we feel known, we feel loved. That's the power of a table. [00:33:41] (43 seconds)  #SacredSpaceOfConnection

Throughout most of human history, the table has been the universal symbol of love and belonging. And so I find it interesting when I read throughout scripture, when God wants to describe what life is like with him, when he wants to talk about what it means to have a relationship with him, over and over and over again, when he wants to paint this picture of his kingdom and his presence and his love with people, he uses a familiar image throughout scripture. He uses the table. [00:34:24] (29 seconds)  #TableAsDivineSymbol

Jesus is teaching us that there are people out there in our world who are searching for God. People who actually want to come to the table. People who are actually longing for what the father can give. People who would love to walk into that space and take their seat at the table. But they didn't even know that they were invited to the feast. [00:44:44] (25 seconds)  #LongingForTheFeast

And the host looks around the empty seats and he sees the gaps at the table. He looks around the room and he sees those that are missing. He looks around the space and he says, there's something that needs to be done. There's still empty seats here. And he sends the servant back out again. And I want to read this again. Here's what it says. And the master said to the servant, Go out to the highways and the hedges and compel people to come that my house may be filled. Do you see the father's heart? In the kingdom, the father wants his table full. [00:47:35] (46 seconds)  #FillTheFather’sTable

Because once you've tasted a love like that, once you've been welcomed to the feast, once you've come and taken a seat at the table, you can't help but want to invite somebody else to taste it too. [00:56:16] (15 seconds)  #JourneyWithGrace

Not one person you're going to come across as a project to get converted. They're a person made in the image of God who you are simply journeying with as the Holy Spirit works in their life. You become a guide on their journey. You get an opportunity to ask spirit-filled questions at the right time. You get an opportunity to speak truth at the appropriate time when God gives you an open door. You get an opportunity to walk with them as they wrestle through what God is bringing into their life. And you don't have to feel the pressure to convert them. You don't have to feel the pressure to be the one that seals the deal like you're trying to close a business deal. You just simply have to walk with them in relationship. You just simply have to compel them with love. You just simply have to be a friend who prays for them, who asks hard questions, who speaks truth into their life, and who shows up in their life in the hard times and in the good times. [01:01:41] (56 seconds)  #FatherLovesTheWorld

See, that's the heart of a father who refuses to give up on his lost child. And this is the heart of God the Father for his lost children, that he'll search the highways and the byways and the peaks and the valleys and the hedges. And he's unrelenting until he finds his sons and daughters and he brings them home. And listen to me, you are his messenger that he's sending with his heart to bring them home. And he sends you out and he says, seek them, search them, draw them, compel them to come home to the table. [01:06:34] (39 seconds)  #OvercomingBarriersWithLove

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