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Welcome to Northgate Christian Fellowships Weekly Message Series. And now here is Pastor Larry Davis.

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Well, good morning, friends. A lively group today. I like it. Hey, my name is Larry, one of the pastors here, and uh we are a people in process, and our mission is to be wholehearted followers of Jesus Christ. And coming to a Sunday experience is just a part of that process on the spiritual journey as we just become closer to Him. We challenge each other, then we get into groups and the circles and really dive in and dig into what that looks like. So if this is one of your first times here, I'm glad you're here. Invite you to come every week. We're actually in the midst of a study. Um, like Vanessa was talking about, we're doing this, walking through this book called Believe, and it's really What Do You Believe In? Which is a fantastic um book. It's creating a ton of killer um uh discussion um each and every week. So um each week we're talking about a fun fundamental, fundamental thing that we really uh get to chew on. Like, what do we actually believe about that? Um, what does that look like to us? And so um this week we're gonna be in part seven. You're gonna read about it. Um, in the last couple weeks we've covered some pretty big topics and I really enjoyed it. Last week, in fact, um Ken covered uh the church uh and what the church was about and brought some um beautiful light to what that looks like here at Northgate in the faith community. And it just felt like it was missing something. Church is one of those weird words to me. If you just listen to it, you're like, hey, I go to church. It's one of those words that I think you have to use like an accent for. It's just it's more exciting. There's this guy I love that talks like Bruce the Shark. And when he says church, like you're suddenly more interested. He's like, Welcome to the chetch. You're like, Where? Come to the jetch. Well, God is at the chetch. And you're like, I want to go to chetch with you. They're way different than if I'm just like, hey, I went to church today, it was really cool. And you're like, no, but if you were like, what'd you do today? Was that the jetch? You're like, tell me about your day right now. But anyways, Ken didn't do that, so you missed out, but you kind of didn't miss out. You're welcome. Yeah, that's for you. But so we're not talking about we're not talking about the chech today. Um today we're talking about humanity. I don't know how to make that one sound good. Uh big topic humanity. Um, we're gonna cover it in 20 minutes, it's gonna be great, and uh talk about um what does God believe about humanity, what should we believe about humanity, and how can we really um challenge ourselves? Humanity is this really interesting thing because you have this verse that's super popular and famous. Most of you have heard it or you know it by heart. And it's John 3.16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only son. The world part is something I think we miss out on and get a little confused about. Um, because when we think of world most time, if you're just really honest with yourself, do a little evaluation, the world is like your own little personal bubble. That's your world. And uh, so he's like, yeah, so he loved my world, not like the whole world, because I know, I know you've been driving down the street, and you might have said to yourself, God does not love you for what you just did to everyone else on the road. But he does. Because they're part of humanity, and that's what we're gonna dig into. I actually wanted to use um this table as an example that really challenges us and invites us to ask ourselves, I'm gonna scoot it up just a little bit, um, who um do we welcome at a table? The table is like this really fun, interesting thing. Um there's a lot of intimacy at the table. Uh it's really hard to have small talk at the table, or like the because it just turns into no talk. Have you ever experienced that? Um, hopefully you have it, you know. You better have something to talk about, because otherwise you get together, you sit down, you're gonna eat, and then it's just wondering when the food's gonna come. So then you can just take your time eating the food, and well, we're done. So you know already the table really knocks down barriers uh for intimacy and getting to know another person. And my question this morning is who's welcome at your table? Who do you invite into that space, that place of intimacy at specifically your table? Um many of you guys can probably um attach yourself to this. You know, you you ever walk around uh maybe a restaurant and you notice people sitting at a table and you're like, oh yeah, it totally makes sense they go together. Or you ever walk by a table and you're like, how does that work? Right? Exactly, right? Because those people's tables are maybe a little larger. We're like, whoa, that's interesting, because there's this really interesting thing that happens when we decide um who sits at the table. We want people to like us or to be like us, right? When it comes to our table. Maybe you notice this from like grade school or high school, you were walking and you had to decide what table am I gonna sit at, right? And you had different tables that represented different people groups. And you instantaneously had to make a decision of who's who's gonna like me and who's also like me. You had like groups of people, and it was maybe all of the kids from this specific ethnicity were sitting together. Maybe, you know, like the rockers were sitting together, or the jocks were sitting together, or like the Dungeons and Dragon people were sitting together, or like the Gothic people. When I went to high school, there was a lot of goth people. They were super interesting. They never talked, but they sat together. They didn't say a word, and I was like, well, they like you and they like you for reels. Because it's just a community. Do you notice that what we look for and kind of walk in? I I experienced this. I don't know if you know this, but I'm gonna tell you something about me, but I like to go to In N Out like a lot. Like there might even be a week that I go like five times in a week. It sounds crazy. Don't judge me. I heard all that. That was just a whole lot of coming out. And in and out, you have this really interesting experience because like um there's a lot of people there sometimes, but you have like four seaters everywhere, and sometimes you find somebody who's like by themselves or with somebody else, and like you really want to sit down and eat, and so you're in that awkward little spot of like, do I ask them if I can sit there, or do I want to sit next to them? And you're making a really quick evaluation. Are these people like me? Or do they like me? Are they gonna like me? Or are we just in community together because we're part of the in-and-out nation? You know? Like that's the world we're living in. And you get into this weird space. My question for us, maybe today, is when it comes to our table, is Jesus asking us to reevaluate who's allowed at our table. Who's allowed at our table? Is maybe Jesus today, when it comes to our expanse and understanding of humanity, is he asking us who's allowed at our table? The really interesting thing is this is though our society is becoming much more diverse, um, our society is also becoming simultaneously more divided, segregated, polarized, segregated, segmented, excuse me, segregated, balkanized, and homogeneous. Even though we are a group that is becoming more and more diverse, that you're seeing more and more diversity and mix-up, um, it is becoming much more divided, much more segregated. And that's an interesting thing to think about when you come to the grasp and understanding of who is and what is humanity to a big, big God. And is God pushing us to reevaluate who's allowed on a table? Have you ever been honest about what your table looks like? Um, I know uh a place that I can like really grasp this. It's a uh I get I get to travel through certain times of the year, and that's like a really good snapshot of humanity or a table because you have multi-generational, multicultural, uh, multiple ethnicities, all in one can in the sky, right? Sharing the same air. And uh, have you ever thought about who you want to sit next to on a plane? I know you have. I am judging you right now. For real. So I'm not even judging you, I'm not allowed to, I'm evaluating you at this moment. Have you noticed like we make these really um interesting things? We all kind of show up at the airport, and then we're kind of like paying attention to who might be on the plane, right? And then when you go and you get on the plane, you sit on the plane, and you do this weird thing. Either you try to act like you're huge, or you're a weirdo. You're like the person with the fake puke bag, like oh, sorry, keep going, all right? Because you don't want anybody to sit next to you, cheater. I just called some of y'all out. You're like, some of you are like, that's a good. Um but you're making an instant uh decision on uh who's allowed around your table, who's allowed in your space, and you're watching, like and you're doing this. Maybe, maybe, no, yes, yes, dang it, maybe. As people are walking by because you're watching, we're making these decisions. The same thing when when you're coming onto the plane and you're deciding instantaneously who am I gonna sit next to? You're walking down and you're like, you're all meeting eye to eye. Like, nope, nope, nope, trying to decide where you're gonna go, right? Because that's what our table looks like. My question might be is what do we have to learn from these other groups of people when it really looks like opening our upper table? And why? Is there an example of when God said, open up your table, um, to expand that God really loves the whole world and everyone in it and wherever they're from? And so I want to talk about uh an interesting story from the Old Testament, some of you may or may not be familiar with, and uh, it's about a guy named This. And so I want you to turn to two people and just say his name right now. This is awesome. Good luck. Some of you are just like, meh. All right, you've tried. It's good. We have had debates in the office all this week because I was like, I need to say this one time really well. I've listened to probably a dozen different people read this name, and uh, we've had debate about whether that's a F for the pH or it's got a phu sound because some people read it differently. I'm gonna say it one time for you. Ready for this? Some pressure. Mephabashef. You're welcome. That's exactly how you say it. Yep. Thank you. Now I'm gonna do this for you. Hold on. I'm gonna do this for you. Yes, it is Mephabashef. Um, but if you say that really fast, it starts to get real weird. So we're just gonna refer to let's see Mephabashef as Bo. See that right in the middle? We're gonna go ahead and talk about a story about my boy Bo. It's in 2 Samuel, it's in the Old Testament, and uh this is kind of what's going on. Set the stage, set the table. Is uh there's a new king. There was a king named Saul, he had a son named Jonathan, and David is now the king. And there was a tradition back then that um after there was a new king and Saul uh was killed in battle with his son Jonathan, that you wiped out anybody that had to do with any part of the lineage of a king, so there wouldn't be any opportunity for mutiny and overthrowing and coming back and sneaking up. And you didn't even necessarily have to give the order, it was that much of the culture at that time that it just happened. So you have David, this new king, and this is automatically just kind of happening because it's what the military knows kind of takes place, etc. And so David hasn't necessarily ordered any killings, and you find David now in this moment, who's a follower of God, and uh you find him in chapter 9 in Samuel, and he says, the king asked, this is David, is there no one still alive from the house of Saul, who used to be king, to whom I can show God's kindness? Ziba, it's not the Lion King guy, Ziba answered the king. There is still a son of uh of Jonathan. This is uh Saul's son, Jonathan. He is lame in both feet. Where is he? The king asked. Ziba answered, he's in the house of Makar, son of Amel in Lodabar. So King David had him brought from Lodabar, from the house of Makar, son of Amiel. When Bo, I know you're thankful. Son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor. David said, Bo. At your service, Bo replied. Don't be afraid, David said to him, for I will surely show you kindness. For the sake of your father Jonathan, I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table. Now, that right there is a big deal. Who's allowed at the king's table? That's a special invitation. He's saying, Hey, because I have a good, good God, I'm gonna show you kindness. We're gonna like buck some normal things that have happened, and we're gonna show you the kindness that God would show you, and I'm going to invite you, Bo, to eat at my table. And so he continued on, and he said, Bo bowed down and said, What is your servant that you should notice a dead dog like me? Do you get that? He's saying, Hey, I am a nobody. I'm a mess, I'm disabled, I have no family, I'm in a different culture, maybe I'm a different ethnicity, I am not a part of your little bubble, your little world, and a normal person at a table. So, what would you even be to notice a dead dog like me? And so David, so Bo ate at David's table like one of the king's sons from that day forward. What a beautiful picture of God's example and how to open up your table and love humanity because of God. Again, this table is like an intimate place. And you have this, you have this scene where the guy comes in as a nobody, far from, and David says, You're welcome here at my intimate place to spend time with me on a regular basis. And we learn some really beautiful things from David in this story about who God is, because David was a man after God's own heart. What we see is at first, David didn't follow tradition. David didn't follow tradition when it came to how just tradition played out. How many people do we not have at our table, or are we not opening our doors up to you and welcoming here in these seats because of tradition? Maybe even because we don't uh even really have a clear grasp as to why. It's just tradition. Tradition said that you got rid of everyone, that you killed everyone. Tradition said some outsider isn't going to be welcome to eat at the king's table. And David explicitly didn't follow tradition. That's one of the things that excites me about this next generation, the millennials, is they're willing to challenge tradition. Many of you maybe even have sat in here and maybe even excluded people from your table because really you don't know why, it's just because. Because it's tradition. I don't know why mom and dad never did that. I don't know why I haven't ever spent time with someone who doesn't look like me. I don't know why. I'm really uncomfortable when people stare at me for opening up my table to someone else. The second thing he didn't do is David didn't follow culture. How many of us get stuck in that? Following culture. Which is what culture does. It's what we should do, it's how we should respond. That's what my table should look like. But what he did do is David followed God. He followed his example. And maybe today he's challenging us to follow that same exact example. There's this um uh verse in Romans 5.12 that says, Sin entered the world because one man sinned. And death came because of sin. Everyone. Who? Yeah, yeah, everyone. That's like me and you. Sinned, so death came to all people. What people? All people. Guess what we got in common, friends? We all dead dogs. We're all just dead dogs. And we're looking at God saying, who are you that would see me sitting here just a dead dog? That's how God thinks of humanity. That's how God thinks of you. That's how God thinks of the people that don't yet sit at your table. Friends, we may not be physically disabled, but we are all spiritually disabled. And we need, we need a good, good God to open up a seat at the table for us. And then in return to follow his example. Here's the thing, friends, here's kind of my zinger for the day. I'm gonna put it right at you. This table, I'm gonna tell you right here, your view of God's right there, will be as small as the size of your table. Chew on that one for a second. Tweet that and see if you got friends. Your view of God will be as small as the size of your table. And the other side, your view of God grows as you make room for others at your table. It'll grow, and you'll get to see what a big, big, big God that you serve. And how much mercy he has, and how much grace he has, and how much love he has. And how reckless it is, as we just sang. Some of you kind of struggle with this of like, oh, you're pushing my buttons. This is getting a little uncomfortable. Um, and this is usually why, because this is such an intimate space and place in our homes and our lives, that really one of the things that comes out of it is this fear that you can't hide behind. People are gonna look at you and say, Oh man, you are a mess. Like you are a broken mess. If I would have known this about you, I would have said you are a mess. And we hide behind this mask, and we can't hide behind this mask at the table because people might actually hear how broken, how lost, how dead we've been in our life, and the things that we've done, and the things that have broken us or made us, and we're afraid to reveal that. We're afraid they might see who we really are. You know this too, like how many people you really want to look into your refrigerator? Right? Looks good on the outside, but only special people get refrigerator rights. You know what I'm saying? Because that just, it just, you know, it tells a lot of. Come on. Whoever conceals their sin is just gonna eat you up. You're not gonna prosper, but the one who confesses, the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy. That's a beautiful thing about a table, friends. Whoever conceals it and hides it and wears this mask. They try to represent the humanity, a world that they live in, doesn't prosper. But friends, when you confess it, when you renounce it. When you welcome the seat that you've been given at the table, you find mercy. And for some of you, for some of us, right now, God might be pulling at our heartstrings and saying, Hey, guess what? I need you to be that. Person for somebody else. I need you to open and give away this seat to somebody else and allow them to not hide. Because the table's an intimate place. And humanity is that big and people are that important. Let them prosper. Invite them in so they can see your mess. Let them look at your refrigerator inside and your brokenness. And then let them see how a big, good God recklessly gives you mercy. Let people see that. That's what humanity is. That's how big it is. Who's at your table? How big is your view of God? Ask yourself that. Did you know that he made room for everyone? Some of you might be in here today. Some of you know someone in here today, and they're not really sure that they have a seat at God's table. They're sitting here saying, I'm lost, I'm broken, I feel dead. I want to tell you, friends, our theology is super simple, straight to the point. When it comes to humanity, when it comes to God's love, his grace, his mercy, there is nothing so lost in your life that God cannot find it. That he cannot bring it back into light. Maybe that's where you're at today. Maybe you have had a seat at that table with God, and you slowly kind of wandered away and did your own thing, and now you're just feeling lost. I see it over there. Am I really allowed to go take a seat back there? Yes. You can never get so lost. You can never lose yourself so much that God can't find you and shine light on that. Some of you, you're broken. You're broken in spirit, you're broken in mind, you're broken in body. Maybe you're going through grief. Maybe you're going through anger or hardship. You're just feeling broken. Maybe you don't even know why you're broken. I want to tell you, friends, Grace wins. There is nothing so broken in your life that this God at that table can't mend. There's nothing. Maybe you're here today and you need to know that. Or maybe you're here today and you need to send that message to somebody else. I gotta tell you something, Grace is gonna win this battle. Maybe some of you are in here, you just feel dead. I just feel dead on the inside. I'm searching, I'm filling, nothing's working. There's nothing so dead in your life that God cannot resurrect it and redeem it. There's nothing so dead in your life that's gonna keep you from prospering. That's gonna keep him from giving you mercy. And maybe you're here today and you need to hear that. And maybe you're broken, you're lost, or you're dead. And today, friends, is the day that you allow yourself to be a part of God's big story, part of his big world because he so loved it, and allow him to start doing a transformational work in your heart and your life today. Somebody need to come back? Some of you need to come for the first time. The first time. And friends, today's the day because he so loved you that he gave his son, not to condemn you, but to rescue you and to save you over and over and over again. You're all welcome at the table. That's a big God. Would you bow your head? God. Wow. Mind blown. Why? At times I don't even understand why or how. And that's the most beautiful part of you, God. Thank you for showing us how big and mighty you are. That we can't understand why or how, but we just know because love. God, may you just give us grace, may you give us mercy. May you give us peace and knowing that we're welcome at the table. And may you challenge us, my friends today, myself, this faith community, to open our table up. We love you and we thank you. In your name, we pray. Would you stand up with me?

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Thank you for listening to this week's message. We trust that you'll join us again soon for another uplifting message from Northgate Christian Fellowship, located in Venetia, California.