"Take a Seat" with Pastor Erwin Nanasi - July 25, 2026

An open chair. A question. "Is this seat taken?" 

We all know what it's like to take a seat. In a classroom. An airplane. A theater. Around a dinner table. Not every seat invites the same questions, or requires the same answers. Which seat do you choose most often? What does your choice have to do with worship? Perhaps more than you think... Listen as Pastor Erwin Nanasi shares a message titled "Take a Seat."

DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BIBLE?
If you're searching for a warm, welcoming place to grow your faith, Spencerville is the church for you! Have questions about studying the Bible? We want to journey with you. Reach out through our website at https://spencervillechurch.org/contact, and a team member will be in contact at your convenience. Yes! We offer in-person and online Bible studies.

LET'S CONNECT ONLINE!
If you're on social media, we'd enjoy the opportunity to connect! We want to hear your story, feedback, and how we can better serve you.

Spencerville Church website: https://spencervillechurch.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spencervillesda
...

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:06

For most sermons, the preacher is standing, and the congregation is seated. But today I thought we might switch that up occasionally. So I brought a chair, and now you are seated, and I also am seated. Have you ever stopped wondering what it means to be seated? Does it really matter where you are seated or how you are seated? If you were in a classroom, being seated there would mean you are there to learn. If you are in a courtroom, it might mean that you gotta listen carefully, something might be decided. If you're in a waiting room, it means you're patient, the outcome is not in your hands. If you're in a dining room chair, it might say, you belong at this table. If you're in a theater, the seat might say, watch what someone else has prepared for me. If you're in a boardroom chair, it might mean that your decisions carry consequences. If you're in a hospital chair, someone you love may need your presence. If you're in an electric chair, judgment has been rendered. If there was a throne, authority resides there. Now, if it's a church pew, what would that chair say? What would that pew say? Would it say watch? Would it say wait? Here to listen, learn, to belong, to worship, or would it merely say, this is just where I sit every Sabbath? If you ever wondered if it mattered where you sit, just ask a choral director if it matters where the singers sit. Don't ask the Sopranos though. No, there was a church lady, and this is a true, this is a true story that happened. We were talking with some organ consultants and acousticians, and as we were sharing, it was mentioned that there was a lady in this church who had donated much of her wealth to optimize the sanctuary in such a way that the organ could be beautifully heard, that congregational singing was optimized, and that everything was just so beautiful that wherever you would be in the church, you would have the most optimal experience acoustically. But it just went to show that even the best of buildings sometimes might have a dead spot. And it so happened that where the lady was seated was that dead spot. So I cannot believe that it's just not sounding right. And the consultant came to her and said, Would you consider perhaps just scooting down this pew so that you can hear what others are hearing? Oh no, I can't sit there. I've sat here all my life. But would you consider it just once? Well, after much back and forth, she did consider it, and what a difference it made. Sometimes it's not just where we are seated, sometimes it's also the posture that we have, the mindset that we have wherever we might be seated. Now, when you came to worship this morning, you probably came with expectations. We all come with expectations to church, don't we? What were the expectations that you came with today? Did you come that God would speak to you? Did you come prepared to surrender? Did you come hungry? Did you come thirsty? Did you come ready to be corrected? Did you come ready to be comforted? Or did you merely come because, well, that's just the way you sit on Sabbath? Turn with me to scripture, if you would, in Isaiah chapter 55. We just read the passage. But there is an invitation for everyone. It simply says, if you are thirsty, come. It doesn't say if only some of you are thirsty, or it gives some qual, it doesn't give any qualifiers, in fact. It says, Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. And he who has no money, come, buy, and eat. Isn't that good news? Even if you didn't have any money, that you could come. Now please don't raise your hand if you wish you had more money. The Bible seems to assume that people might be concerned with what they eat. They might be concerned with what they drink, they might be concerned with having money. But the Bible speaks that even those that do not have money come, buy, and eat, come buy wine and milk without money and without price. And then it keeps going as though it already knew what we were going through in the 21st century. And it says, Why do you spend money for that which isn't bread? And you labor for that which does not satisfy. It's saying, now that you have made the little cash, I know students were probably busy during the summer making a little extra money, looking at that bank account. Well, will I spend it? Where will I invest it? Hopefully, not lose it. What will you do with it? The Bible here says that we ought to consider what we do with that which we have. Why do we spend it on things that don't actually satisfy or don't actually matter? No, superficial reading it might seem. Well, this is a pretty good deal. If we come to God and we are hungry, we're thirsty, he will feed us, he will give us drink, and we can even buy things although we have no money. That's great. It's very transactional. We just come and he gives us stuff. But then there's verse 3. And if this is not marked in your Bible, I hope that you will. Here it says, Incline your ear and come to me. What he really is longing for is not just the stuff, the things that he can give us, the gifts, the talents, the necessities of life. But he actually wants to have a relationship with us so that our soul might live. And then he says that I will make a covenant with you. That he will make a what with us? And what kind of covenant is that? An everlasting covenant. With me? With you? With us? A steadfast one? One that doesn't change? One that cannot be broken? An everlasting covenant as sure as my love for David. Now I don't know if you've read scripture lately, but David had his ups and he had his downs, didn't he? God is saying here, if your life is just like the life of David, you have your ups, you have your downs. My love toward him was steadfast. My love can be steadfast toward you. How many of you want to say, Lord, I want that kind of covenant with you? The simple invitation is, will you come? Will you come? Let's be honest. We can be physically in church, but mentally checked out. Modern life has made sitting very effortless. I mean, we sit at our breakfast table, we sit in the car. You probably drove here sitting as well. You sit at work, you sit at school, sit in meetings, you sit while looking at your phones, we sit in front of television, we sit. Americans sit about nine hours a day. And a fourth of Americans more than ten hours a day. It's a lot of hours. Excessive sedentary time comes with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, metabolic illness, premature mortality. So we're told that we should move more and sit less. Well, thanks a lot, Pastor. Here we are. Hurry up. The body responds to the posture it repeatedly assumes. So here's the spiritual lens. Could it be that when we remain inactive long enough that the body begins to accommodate the inactivity? Could it be that when we are inactive spiritually, that our mind and heart and soul accommodate to the inactivity? The body adapts to repeated posture, and so does the soul. We are shaped by what we repeatedly watch. It doesn't happen overnight. Sometimes it's just a conversation. You're listening to something that at first is jarring. I can't believe I heard that. I can't believe I saw that. And there you're walking with people, you're talking with them, and they get so interesting that you just can't let it go. You start standing with them, you have more of a conversation, and you know it's not leading to a good outcome, but you're still talking because it's just so interesting and engaging. And then before you know it, you need to be more comfortable because this conversation is really good. And then you find yourself having a seat once again. The Bible talks about that in Psalm chapter 1. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. How does that happen? It's not just a random collection of words, there's a progression. You notice it, right? First, this first walking, then they're standing, and then they're seated. When you're seated, you're settling, you're getting comfortable. Maybe something that was outrageous at first, as you've listened to it more fully, you actually have started to accept it. Maybe the counsel that seemed odd at first becomes your counsel. The attitude that you really were a bit nervous about now has become your attitude. The contempt now has become your contempt. The cynicism has become your cynicism. Their seed has become your seed. You know, sin rarely begins by asking, hey, sit down and become a scoffer. No, it might just say, come walk with me for a while. Listen to what I have to say. And isn't the world really compelling in how it's speaking to us? Television, radio, the internet, the phone. And if you're a parent, you feel this very keenly. The world wants to talk to our children. World wants to talk to us. So it does matter where we sit, doesn't it? In fact, it also matters who sits beside you, it matters who you're sitting with, it matters who you're learning from. Because every community normalizes something. And everybody's sitting together, you might not even notice. I have an example here in Scripture, Mark chapter 6. Remember that? A terrible banquet. Herod gives a feast, government officials are there, military commanders are there, prominent men of Galilee are there. They're all seated around the king's table, and a young woman is dancing. The king is rather pleased, and so is the room. Herod makes a reckless promise. Ask me for anything, I'll do it for you. Well, and she asked for the head of John the Baptist. Now Mark does tell us that he felt exceedingly sorry, but he still went ahead and did it anyway. You know what the Bible says? He did it for the sake of those which sat with him. Herod knew what was right, but he became more conscious of those who sat with him than of God who ruled above him. He feared embarrassment, he feared appearing weak, he feared losing faith, perhaps he feared the judgment of the table, so he silenced the voice of truth to preserve the approval of the room. Here's the great irony. The man who occupied the highest seat was enslaved to everyone seated around him. Herod had a throne, but no freedom. Herod had authority but no courage. He could command soldiers, but he could not command himself. He could sentence John, but he could not overrule public opinion. He looked powerful, but the room owned him. That's not merely peer pressure. That's going after allegiance. That sounds like worship to me. Whose approval matters most to you? Whose judgment do you fear? Whose word governs your choices? Herod placed the approval of the table above the authority of God. Because of those who sat with us. Parents can compromise because of those that sit at their table. Pastors can compromise because of those who sit in their sanctuary. Leaders can compromise because of those who sit in their boardroom. Students can compromise because of those who sit at the lunch table. Believers can compromise because of those who sit in their political camp. Yes, it is possible to have the most impressive chair in the room and still worship who's in the room. How much authority have you given to others when it comes to your conscience? Have you handed it over to those that are with you in the same room? Time fails me to give you more examples, but you think of Pilate. Jesus, in fact, is standing in front of Pilate, and Pilate is seating. From all appearances, it looks like Pilate is in charge. Yet Jesus is in front of, and Pilate puts himself in this position of examining and evaluating Christ, the truth, the word himself. Don't we make that mistake sometimes? Well, if the commandments are convenient, we'll keep them. Well, if what's in the Old and New Testament, you know, makes sense, then of course we will say yes to it. Sitting isn't always bad, neither is walking. In fact, walking can be very helpful. Enoch walked with God, Abram walked by faith, Israel walked through the wilderness, Jesus walked through villages and cities. Perhaps the message is move more and sit less. I remember one time when I was uh at the Newstart program in Northern California, and people would come in, patients would come in, and uh they would want to make changes to their lifestyle so that they would have better health and a better life. There was one individual, he had a hard time walking, even lifting his hands. In fact, it was hard for him to just take a hundred steps around the flagpole. And so when I would sing, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, oh, he couldn't stand. So can you move your arms? He said, I can move my arms. So he started with his arms. But he was really committed. He wanted to make everything possible so that he would have more mobility. And after three weeks, with tears in his eyes, he was sharing a testimony and said, I want you all to know that today I had a pebble in my shoe. And we thought, that's typically something that people are upset about because they want to get the pebble out. Tell us more. And then he shared, Well, for years I could not feel what was in my shoes. But today I was able to feel a pebble in my shoe. God is good. Ellen White, way ahead of her time, over 120 years ago, said, Walking in all cases where it is possible is the best remedy for diseased bodies. Powerful. Why do I bring up the body so much? What's so important about the body? Well, it appears that when the rich young ruler, actually, it was the lawyer last week that we talked about, the lawyer that asked Jesus, he said, How do I have eternal life? He responded to him and said, Well, how do you read? And he responded and says, Well, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, essentially with everything you got. And the body is a part of that. God doesn't just want a fraction of us, he wants all of us. He wants everything about us. Wholehearted worship. That's why singing can be so powerful. Have you realized? It's a full-body experience. Truly, sometimes we are seated when God is telling us go. But sometimes God is saying, no, it's time, it's okay to wait. You remember the disciples in the upper room? He told them to wait for the Holy Spirit before going. There's a nuance. Sometimes it's appropriate to sit at someone's feet, and today you got a glimpse of that. There are many students that have sat at Dr. Bingham's feet, learning about worship, learning about music. Paul sat at the feet of Gamaleo. Mary sat at the feet of Jesus. Nothing is really more humbling than being a teacher, isn't that true? Jesus, he humbled himself and came down to this earth to teach us about salvation. He took the form of a servant, he humbled himself, became obedient unto death, even the death on a cross. We cannot worship the one who took the lowest place while we constantly fight for the highest place in our lives. Who is sitting on this chair in your life? Is it you? Is it success? Is it prestige? Is it status? Is it safety? You know what's powerful? The Bible then shares that as Jesus came, he lived, he died, he rose again. You know what the Bible says in Hebrews? He was then seated at the right hand of the Father. Above every principality, above every power, above every empire, ideology, institution, ruler, above fear, above death itself. And God wants us to be raised and seated next to Jesus in the heavenly places. Isn't that powerful? It's making the comparison that priests might be standing in service, they're still working. But Jesus is seated at the right hand. When he died for us, he said it is finished. When he's inviting us to the heavenly place, he's inviting us to be seated with him, next to him. That is his grace, that is his mercy. That's the beauty of the gospel. You know, some people are performing for approval, they work for identity, they serve to prove their words, they obey and hope that God would finally love them. But the gospel story is very clear. Christ has done everything for us that we do not deserve. And through his grace, he gives us a seat right next to him. In Christ, you are not working toward this acceptance, you are living from acceptance. You do not obey so God might begin loving you. You obey because in Christ you have been loved already. You do not fight in the hope of creating victory, you stand in the victory Christ has already won. The work of redemption is finished. Grace has given you and me a place that I could never earn. That's the beauty. That's something worth singing about. That's something to worship. In fact, I don't know about you, but when I go through the book of Revelation, I enjoy Revelation chapter 4. Take a moment to look over it sometime. Revelation chapter 4, no matter if there are wars or rumors of wars, no matter if there's panic, no matter if there's revolt, it doesn't matter. In the throne room of heaven in Revelation chapter 4, God is seated on his throne. The elders worship him, the four living creatures worship him. Are they panicking? They're not panicking. Praise rises to word, crowns are cast before him. The throne gives order to the room, and worship gives order to life. When God is at the center. And he asked him all sorts of questions about tactics, about current events, about literature, about technical fields, all sorts of questions, and he did fairly well. For two hours this interview went on. And then the admiral finally asked him how he ranked in his Naval Academy class. Well, he told him, sir, I stood 59th in a class of 820. He expected recognition. He expected congratulations. None of that came. Then the admiral looked at him and he asked him, Did you do your best? Well, Carter's first instinct was to say yes. But he knew he would not be honest. He remembered moments where he could have studied more, he remembered that he could have learned more, prepared more, applied himself more, and so he finally admitted, no, sir, I did not always do my best. The admiral paused and indicated that the interview was over. He looked at him and simply said, Why not? Jim Carter never responded to the question, but the question also never left him. In fact, he wrote a book entitled, Why not the best? You know, one day we will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. He won't be deceived by our appearance. He knows exactly what's in our heart. He knows exactly who we have loved, what we have loved, what we have pursued, what we have pursued. He knows what we have done or didn't do because of those that sat with us. He knows when we ran ahead and didn't stop. He knows when we were seated and he said, Go. He knows all of that. And I'm wondering if at that point we would be like Jimmy Carter. Well, in comparison to all others, we're doing really well. I'm doing really well. But giving our best to God is in fact just coming to him. And giving him our heart, our soul, our mind, our strengths, our opportunities, our influence, our bodies, our attention, our worship. Grace does not make wholeheartedness unnecessary. Grace makes wholeheartedness possible. Jesus didn't stop before the cross. He didn't leave us with divided attention. He gave everything. He gave everything for us, just like we heard in these beautiful songs. I love the children's story too. Where friends might have given a symbol or something that was precious to them to say, I love you, and here is a token of that. Well, how much more with God, who has paid the ultimate price, to say, I love you. I've given it all. So the question then is, are you worshiping God with all you got? Perhaps today you're thinking, well, I want to learn how to love Him with all my heart, how to seek after Him with all my mind, how to trust Him with all my soul, how to honor Him with all my strength. And if right now you'd have to answer that, no, I'm not doing that right now, don't despair. The good news is in Isaiah, God is saying, if you're thirsty, come. If you're hungry, come. If you don't have any money, come. Where you are, come. Because He wants to have a relationship with you and He wants to have a relationship with me. Come and live. That's the appeal. Will you come to Him? Will you remember Him when you rise up? Will you remember Him when you lay down? Will you remember Him when you go out? Will you remember Him when you come back? Everyone worships something. The question is What do you worship?