The Parable of the Cook Part 2

One thing that the cook could never seem to understand is why, after so many meals and so many restaurants built, that the patrons seem obese, the cooks seem discouraged, and the owner is not pleased. The owner, in His Manual, has promised that those who hunger would be filled, blessed, protected, led, and strengthened. The patrons long for that, but they find themselves separated from the very thing they cry for. Why? Is it the sovereign will fo the owner for some to be blessed and others to struggle? Is there any place for miracles in this age?
The owner set physical boundaries in place and then treats them like suggestions. He creates gravity and then walks on water. When a storm interrupts His nap, He commands it to stop and it does. The laws of nature bend and not just for Him. There are those who cry out, press in, simply believe, and it stops His world as He acknowledges their faith and miracles happen. In Luke 17:5 the disciples, awed by what they saw Jesus do and realizing that there was this one thing that impressed Him, saw the key and they make a request. "INCREASE OUR FAITH." Jesus let’s them know that it’s not the size but the quality. If you have faith the size of a seed you can alter the laws of nature. A seed that never takes root, or has to compete with weeds won’t do much good, but as long as the soil of your heart is fertile, amazing things will happen. Then Jesus tells an unusual story that addresses the patrons even today. He says, “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at the table’?  Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’?
In modern times, we are accustomed to coming to church to receive from God. We think the restaurant is for us. We come for what we get instead of coming to minister to Him first. In the Old Testament one would have never thought to go to the temple without the intention of offering a sacrifice. I may be drawn to gathering with others for what it does for me. I ought better to be drawn to gather to worship for what it does for Him. There’s nothing wrong with coming to a place for ministry but as a way of life it builds in you an expectation to be served and builds in leadership and expectation to make people happy and neither are Kingdom values.
To increase faith, bring an offering of sacrifice to Him first of all. God’s not interested in dead animals but the yieldedness of the heart. Isaiah 60:18 is the context for a key in Isaiah 62:8-10. The sacrifice of praise and worship creates a highway that draws others into the very presence of God. The instrument of your body as a living sacrifice reflects the yieldedness of the heart. To come to a worship service and do nothing is a tragedy. Lift your head, lift your voice, lift your hands, do the pious sway. “But the enemy is hindering my worship,” many people say. The man of the Gadarenes had a legion of demons who couldn’t keep him from worshipping Jesus. We worship both to BE set free and because we ARE set free. This is why you can’t tell the level of spirituality by someone’s expression of worship. You CAN however tell a lot about a persons yieldedness in their expression of sacrifice for in true worship there must be an offering.
Servants, you’ve worked hard in the fields. Now let’s set a meal for Him. And if we eat, great, but if all we do is to prepare a meal for Him, it’s reason enough to gather. The promise, though, is true. Prepare and serve Him first, and afterward, you will be filled.