Sermon Central
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Howto Ruin A Good Meal
Contributed by Johnny Creasong on Apr 12, 2006 (message contributor)
Summary: Don’t you just love the Food Network? Every Meal has a desired outcome! Jesus has a Great meal prepared for us with a planned outcome!
How to Ruin a Good Meal
7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.
8 Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover."
9 "Where do you want us to prepare for it?" they asked.
10 He replied, "As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters,
11 and say to the owner of the house, ’The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’
12 He will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make preparations there."
13 They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.
14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table.
15 And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God."
17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you.
18 For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."
19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."
20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
21 But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table.
22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him."
23 They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.
24 Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.
25 Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors.
26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.
27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.
Don’t you just love the Food Network? The one thing I have learned from the Food Network is:
Every meal has a DESIRED outcome.
There is something that the cook intended to accomplish by preparing this meal. What makes a birthday dinner special? Or a wedding reception? Or that special date? The meal can make all the difference. Yet the very things that can make a meal great can also ruin it!
The Three “R’s” of ruining a meal:
RECIPE
RECEPTION
RELATIONSHIPS Conflict & Competition
(an argument at the table)
Luke 22:24 “Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.”
They all wanted to be Numero uno, number one. What is worse they each thought he was! Each one wanted to be Jesus’ right hand man, his Chief of Staff!
“What is causing so much disharmony among the nations
is the fact that
some want to beat the big drum,
few are willing to face the music,
and no one wants to play second fiddle!”
- Henry Kissenger
The disciples had their own view of the Kingdom. They wanted Jesus to be KING over the Jews, the Romans, the Greeks, every political power. They didn’t realize that He already was. He didn’t have to overthrow thrones in order to be King. His Kingdom is “Not of this World” (John 18:36). He rules His Kingdom by spiritual relationship. The disciples thought they should be leaders. Jesus is looking for lovers and lifters!
Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy’s Hamburgers, wrote: “I got my MBA long before my GED. I even have a photograph of me in my MBA graduation outfit—a snappy knee-length work apron. I guarantee you that I’m the only founder among America’s big companies whose picture in the corporate Annual report shows him wielding a mop and a plastic bucket! That wasn’t a gag; it was a case of leading by example. At Wendy’s, MBA does not mean Master of Business Administration. It means Mop Bucket Attitude!”
The Lord has a GREAT MEAL planned for us!
28 You are those who have stood by me in my trials.