The Perfect Food
Purpose Driven Life #24
Cornwall/Montreal
January 31, 2004
We like to eat. One of the most popular activities around church is our community meals- potluck meals. They are always popular and attendance is sometimes higher- maybe, often higher- on a week when we have one of those meals. We all enjoy snacks with our coffee after church, too. It seems that coffee demands something with it; even when we go out for coffee, it’s nice to have a donut, a muffin, or a cookie with that coffee.
As we think about food for a bit, I’m wondering what are some of your favourites? What are your favourite beverages? Breads? Meals? And, most importantly, what are your favourite desserts? (get comments from the congregation).
I like a great cup of coffee. I like warm cinnamon raisin bread. For a meal, I really enjoy great lasagna or tacos, when Lynn makes them. And for dessert, above all others, I enjoy Lynn’s carrot cake, butter tarts, or date squares.
I’d like you to consider the perfect meal, and it is not what any of us has suggested; it’s not even what I have suggested here today.
1 Pet.2.2- God’s Word is the perfect beverage, we’re told- it holds the milk we need.
Matt.4.4- God’s Word is the finest of bread. It’s better than manna, which was referred to as ’angels’ food’, and was, apparently, as sweet as crystalline honey.
1 Cor.3.2- God’s Word is the meat we need to seek- it’s the finest of meats. I grew up with meat and I surely do enjoy a good beef meal or a good chicken meal. As a special meal, I would enjoy a beef Wellington, and, in Korea, one meal I really enjoy is a chicken dish called samgyetang (which is baby-chicken and ginseng soup).
Psa.110.103- God’s Word is the perfect dessert, too. Meals with dessert are special meals. I know that I grew up with hardly a meal without dessert. We had dessert for dinner, and supper, as well as for snack in mid-afternoon, and sometimes before going to bed, too. In our home, now, we hardly have dessert; it is a special meal for which we have dessert. This makes it special for us and is one mark of that more special meal.
Last week, we thought about our growing and I hope you have your cards to show yourself some growth. Do you have yours? I celebrate the growth you knew because awareness, alone, is growth. (Pray about the growth and the process each went through last week.) We thought, together, about how change begins in the mind. When we think differently, we feel differently, and then we act differently. To begin to think differently, we have to put different thoughts and different information in our minds.
Acts 30.32- have someone read this. Notice how powerful God’s Word is. It gives us everything we need. Transformation takes place in our minds as we put God’s Word there. As we fill ourselves with the Word, we change. Sometimes, the change is ever so slow, but sometimes we make monumental changes in a short time- sometimes simply changing the way we look at something can make all the difference, and we’re like new people. We need to feed richly on the Word- to drink it, eat it, and enjoy it.
Let’s continue to think about the process of having a meal, since we’ve seen that the Word of God constitutes a perfect mea.
If someone is going to prepare a meal- if you are going to prepare a meal- you have to know that someone wants that meal. There’s no point making a meal if no one will be there to eat it, right? If I’m home by myself, I don’t make a meal, most of the time. I can easily rummage through the fridge and grab some leftovers and heat them and eat them while I wander around the kitchen or the house, or I can make a peanut butter sandwich, and be quite content. Jesus is preparing us a meal. Whenever we come to him, he’ll prepare something special for us, and he urges us to stay around to enjoy the meal.
John 8.31- This is what staying around for the meal is called- abiding- waiting, anticipating, and preparing to enjoy it. This is what feeding richly and fully on the Word is all about. Jesus calls on us to want the wonderful meal that he will provide.
We show him that we want this special meal through three actions.
1. We accept the idea that this is a good meal for us- for me. We believe that this is the best meal available, or the best meal that we could possibly have at this time.
2 Ti.3.16- says something special about the Word that we have seen is the perfect beverage, bread, meal, and dessert. When we accept this meal, and when we think about the Word, we are accepting its authority. In life, we all have a way we use to judge everything. Often, people use themselves as the judge. Some use society as the judge- this is what polling is all about, especially, when leadership policies are set because of certain polling results. From what I can see, to use society or myself is to use very imperfect authorities. The Word of God is a trustworthy authority. It is one that is timeless and is above me, and is above society. So, this is the standard I want to use, and I want to show Jesus that I accept the meal he gives me from it.
However, we have to understand how this is difficult for some, today. Most of us, adults, grew up surrounded by some measure of a Judeo-Christian ethic and belief structure. The result of this is that we have become what are called ’moderns’, in church circles. We tend to think in a straight line, with cause and effect in mind, and the like. But, this is not the case for those growing up around us, and who are younger- even for some of you who are younger here, today, and we have to understand this. The church of the future is being referred to as ’the emerging church’. This church, which will include our children, won’t be made up of children or youth who grow up and suddenly become moderns. They are growing up in a world where diverse ideas and even conflicting ideas are being held together. They want and believe in love and marriage, but have a hard time seeing how this in a same-sex relationship can be wrong. They see the good that exists in many philosophical frameworks or religions and find it easier to believe, than we moderns can, that there can be many roads to God. It’s a different framework.
The matter of authority of the Bible- of one source for God’s written revelation- is not as easy, therefore, for some as for others. Those we’ll minister to often won’t accept the Bible as easily as we might have. Doing the work of the gospel, therefore, becomes a much longer and more difficult process involving establishing long-term personal relationships. This is something becoming known.
From our perspective, today, though, let me say that having one authority in our lives is good, and I believe that authority can be God, as he reveals himself in the Word. People can be quite ’put off’ by the hypocrisy and contradictions they see in people of the Word- Christians. People are people- let us not forget that. We are inconsistent, struggling, selfish people. Please don’t tar God with that brush. He is consistent and cares for you as if you’re the only person on the earth. You can understand, I think, how having yourself or society as an authority can have you whipped and ripped around from day-to-day and can be very uncomfortable. The Word is an authority you can accept and align life to that won’t let you down. Don’t accept me, as an authority. Don’t accept a church, as an authority. Accept the Word, as you learn that word and as it is accurately taught you by myself or by the church. Always look beyond people to God, but please do look toward God.
To have a meal, you have to accept, then, that the one preparing it is doing a good job for you and is giving you the best meal you can have at a particular time.
2. When you have a good meal, it’s important to take time to eat it and to enjoy the meal. Eat and run isn’t good for us with our physical food and it isn’t good for us with the spiritual food, either. It takes time, as we know, to chew and to allow what we eat to begin to digest, so lingering over a meal is wonderful to do. I know it’s not always possible, but when we have a good meal, it’s an excellent idea to take time. We know there are proven health benefits to that, and detriments to the grab and run approach to eating.
Lk.8.18- we’re to be careful how we listen. Although I’m discussing, today, in the context of physical food, we know that God’s Word, to assimilate it, requires time to listen to it, even as it takes time to assimilate physical food. Last week, we saw a verse in Proverbs that tells us to watch how we think, and now Jesus tells us to watch how we listen. God gets very personal. It’s important, though. How do we digest food? We’re not to eat too close to bedtime, not to exercise immediately after eating, and the like- there are rules to good digestion of a good meal. So, there are ’rules’ to good spiritual digestion.
Jas.1.21- we need to humbly be glad for the wonderful message we have received. We are to openly and thankfully receive the meal Jesus prepares us. We can benefit from any meal- we can benefit from any biblical teacher- I emphasize with our daughters that even if a teacher is ’boring’, you cannot shut off and not learn. You can learn something from anyone.
We know that it takes time to dine- there is a difference between eating and dining, when we might take 2-3 hours over a meal. It’s wonderful- not something we can do each meal, but wonderful when we go out and can take that time.
How can you assimilate the meal Jesus prepares for you? Take time to read each day. Do you know that if you read the Word only 15 minutes/day, you can read the entire Bible through in a year? If you double that, and drop just one 30-minute television program, you can read it twice in a year. We all watch far too much television, so that’s something to consider. Take time to read. In addition, you can get devotional guides many places and use that for some directed reading and thinking. You can think over what you have read, or a portion of what you have read- that’s called meditation- and it can even lead you to memorize some verses that you can carry with you in your heart and mind throughout the day.
The important thing to remember is that it takes some time to enjoy a good meal and to begin proper digestion. Allow Jesus time to nourish you each day.
3. Then, after a meal, you need to use the food you have. It feeds your body and gives you energy, muscle, and other body components to enable you to do things. You don’t eat to simply stay alive. You eat because you want to be able to do things.
Jas.1.22- to simply hear is not enough. We are to be doers. Let the word have its effect in your life. You are not to just hear or just study, but you are to do, as well. Jesus declared this:
Matt.7.24- if you do, then you are building your house on the Rock of Jesus Christ. In your doing, the first doing is to apply what you read to yourself. Sometimes, this is very painful, but is the place to begin. For instance, we’ve seen:
"You" watch how you think- you mean, me? "Yes, you." How? Think about it and do.
"You" watch how you hear- you mean, me? "Yes, you." How? Think about it and do.
Be personal- as hard as it might be. This leads to growing.
In addition, Christians need Christians to help them to grow. Christianity is all about community- in fact, it’s come to me of late that the entire gospel is about community- build the family of God! We need small groups for study of the Bible, care, prayer, and encouragement. So, we’ll have them.
In Cornwall, our first small group, which will be an in-town group- will meet at Sylvia’s at 7 on Feb.9 and 23. Tell her if you want to come- there’s room for only 8, and she and I are already committed. We’ll add more groups as we go along. In Montreal, one of my immediate goals is to have Small Groups available to 100% of you- right now, we have two groups. We need more and are working toward that.
Groups can be a wonderful help to your growing from the food Jesus gives you. In them, you can understand, better, what you’re supposed to do with what you’ve received.
Conclusion: Having thought about food and God’s Word, for our growth, where does it leave us, today? 1. How do you feel about the Bible- the Word of God? Do you look forward to it as much as to a wonderful special meal? Or even, as much as a nice Saturday evening meal with friends?
2. What 1 action will you take this week to increase the amount of the Word you take in? Maybe you’ll commit to reading the Bible in the morning, or to reading 15 minutes/day and reading the whole Bible in a year, or you’ll commit to joining the first small group announced in your area? What one action? Take a few moments to think about it.
God is the finest chef. He has only the finest meals to offer you day-in and day-out. It’s hare to be creative. It’s hard for those who cook in our homes to always have excellent meals. But most do. God is even better. Look forward to the meals he will offer you, and look forward to growing!
