Sunday, September 25, 2016

Business As Usual?


[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 25th of September, 2016.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel, http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]


This past week we held revival services here at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  We do it every year because… well… we’ve done it every year, for a very long time.  It’s something many churches do each year, and have for a very long time.  And it’s all over for another year, right?  If we feel like that, then I’m afraid we’ve lost track of what revival is all about.

When we accepted Jesus as our Lord, we became a new person, just as the Apostle Paul describes often in his letters.  At revival, we seek to be renewed in our love for Jesus, to get back that first love we felt when we accepted Him.  We need revival every day all year long.  And we also pray for the same revival we seek for ourselves to sweep across the land, bringing non-believers to Jesus and reinvigorating those believers whose faith in our Lord may be low, or who may be straying a bit off the straight and narrow path.

I believe Paul encapsulates both these aspects of revival in his letter to the church in Ephesus.  Please listen and follow along to the lesson that Paul gave them and left for us, from Ephesians chapter 4, verses 17 through 24, and I’ll be reading from the Contemporary English Version of our Holy Bible…
17 As a follower of the Lord, I order you to stop living like stupid, godless people. 18 Their minds are in the dark, and they are stubborn and ignorant and have missed out on the life that comes from God. They no longer have any feelings about what is right, 19 and they are so greedy that they do all kinds of indecent things.

20-21 But that isn’t what you were taught about Jesus Christ. He is the truth, and you heard about him and learned about him. 22 You were told that your foolish desires will destroy you and that you must give up your old way of life with all its bad habits. 23 Let the Spirit change your way of thinking 24 and make you into a new person. You were created to be like God, and so you must please him and be truly holy.
--Ephesians 4:17-24 (CEV)

Let us pray…  Father God, we come together in the name of Your Son Jesus to worship You and to listen for Your voice in our life.  We pray to You, Father, that You might speak Your will for us into our hearts and our lives.  Help us to hear and understand Your message for us this day.  In the glorious name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.


The story is told about a man who retired after many years in the British Army.  One day a friend who knew about his long and distinguished army career decided to play a prank on him.  As the old soldier walked down the street with his arms full of packages, the jokester sneaked up behind him and shouted, "Attention!" Without hesitation, the former military man stood straight and dropped his arms to his side, and every package went tumbling to the sidewalk.  Without a conscious thought, the veteran was doing what comes naturally for a soldier.


You see, he was still stuck in the past, still wearing his military discipline and persona.  He had not made the change into his new life, the new person that he now was.  For him, snapping to attention was simply business as usual.


And then there was this new Christian who read through all the Gospels and most of the Epistles.  At that point she told a friend that she next wanted to read a book on church history.  When her friend asked why, the woman replied, "I'm curious.  I've been wondering when Christians started to become so unlike Christ."


That’s a phenomenon we’ve all seen, isn’t it?  There are plenty of folks who consider themselves to be Christian, but their normal daily lives seem to be anything but Christ-like.  What kind of example can they set for others?


You know, it really can be frustrating talking to some people about God, about Jesus and salvation.  They shrug us off by saying, "You have your belief and I have mine."  Or, "I won't tell you how to live if you won't tell me how to live."  How do we respond to that?

Well, we respond by telling them and showing them that our belief in Christ makes sense.  Our belief gives life meaning, both now and for eternity.  There are people all around us whose lives have no meaning or hope.  They're caught in Satan’s spider web of sin, living "like stupid, godless people", as we just read in verse 17 of our scripture.  Our role, as followers of the Lord Jesus, is to demonstrate that a life of faith does make sense.

In this crazy world of aimlessness and despair, we can live with purpose and hope.  But we can’t do that, nor can we set that example, if we go back to business as usual after Revival.


It shouldn’t be all that tough to talk to folks about God and Jesus.  Our heavenly Father makes it kind of easy for us.  This is what God says in the Book of Jeremiah, chapter 23, verses 23 and 24…
23 “Am I a God near at hand,” says the Lord,
“And not a God afar off?
24 Can anyone hide himself in secret places,
So I shall not see him?” says the Lord;
“Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord.
--Jeremiah 23:23-24  (NKJV)

God is always close by, not in some far off place like some people think.  He is everywhere, always near if we need Him, filling heaven and earth.  In fact, since He is everywhere, there is no place that we can go to hide from Him.  There is nowhere that He cannot see us, believers and non-believers alike.

Paul understands this, and carries it a little further.  In his Book of Acts, the Apostle Luke recorded for us an address Paul gave to the Areopagus in Athens.  Listen to what Paul said in Acts chapter 17, verses 24 through 31…
24 “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. 26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ 29 Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. 30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
--Acts 17:24-31 (NKJV)

Back in verse 18 of our scripture reading from Ephesians, Paul says that those “stupid, godless people” are stubborn and ignorant, and they’ve missed out on the life that comes from God.  Well, in verse 30 of what I just read from Acts, Paul reassures us that God has overlooked our ignorance, or as Paul puts it, “these times of ignorance”.  But there was a “but” following that reassurance.  God overlooked our times of ignorance, but He commands all people everywhere to repent!

Ignorance is simply not knowing.  But now we know, and we can’t use that as an excuse.  We know all about Jesus and what He did for us.  We can no longer plead ignorance.  Nor can we continue business as usual.  We must repent, all of us everywhere.  We must turn from our sinful, disobedient ways and dedicate or rededicate our lives to Jesus!

In His revelation to the Apostle John, Jesus showed the disciple what befalls mankind after the sixth trumpet sounds, the aftermath of three great plagues.  Listen to verses 20 and 21 of Revelation chapter 9…
20 But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. 21 And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
--Revelation 9:20-21 (NKJV)

Some people will not repent, not even when the world is falling apart at their feet.  Some will not turn from their sinful, lustful ways, even if their eternal soul depends on it.  Some people are doomed to eternal torment, even though they could have so easily avoided it, if they weren’t so intent on doing business as usual.

Family, we must make sure we are not among those people.  We must try our best to keep our loved ones from being in that group.

The three nights we call “revival” have concluded for this year, but we cannot let the true revival of our spirit and our determination to serve Jesus end for the year along with it.  We can’t just step back and say it was nice and wait for early September 2017.  We have no assurance September 2017 will come around.  Jesus might come back to call His church home before then.  We don’t know, but since we don’t know, we need to redouble our efforts at saving the lost and rescuing the perishing.

Let’s not go back to business as usual.  Let’s rededicate ourselves to our Christ Jesus, our Lord.

In the holy name of Jesus.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, we need You so much right now - in our personal lives and across our nation.  Our land is torn, our people divided and pitted against each other.  Where there should be love there is animosity.  We turn to You, Father, just as we have in past times of darkness.  Help us, please Father.

Hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, repenting of our disobedient ways, praying for Your forgiveness and mercy…

Lord Jesus, You brought light into a world of darkness.  You brought love with You everywhere You went.  And it is love You expect us to show and to hold in our hearts.  Not just for those who love us, but even for those who hate us.  How else can we show Your love than by loving the unlovable, by loving those who work against us, by loving all as we love ourselves, as You love us.  Help us, please Lord, to make showing You and Your love our new business as usual.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Christ Jesus, our Lord and Master, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust.  Amen.


Sunday, September 18, 2016

Pray and Seek God's Face


[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 18th of September, 2016 - Homecoming Sunday at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel, http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]


Today is Homecoming Sunday here at Pilgrim Reformed, and tonight begins our three-day revival.  I started our revival series last week, with a message of our need to humble ourselves before God Almighty.  Today I want to play a video of Jonathan Cahn delivering a message of revival in Washington, DC on the event of the National Day of Prayer this year.

Jonathan is a pastor and a Messianic Jewish Rabbi – meaning that he is a Jewish Rabbi that believes in Jesus as the Christ, the promised Messiah.  You will hear Jonathan quote from the passage I read last week, specifically from 2nd Chronicles chapter 7, verses 13 through 14.  The New King James Version reads like this…
13 “When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, 14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
--2 Chronicles 7:13-14 (NKJV)

Before we play the video, let me provide just a little more of God’s word to His people.  It definitely applies to our nation today, and gives a little extra emphasis to what Jonathan has for us.

Please listen and follow along to a message that Moses shared with the children of Israel, from Deuteronomy chapter 4, from verse 7 through the first part of verse 9, and verses 29 through 31, reading again from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…
7 “For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? 8 And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day? 9 Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. 

29 But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice 31 (for the Lord your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.
--Deuteronomy 4:7-9a; 29-31 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, we have come together this morning in the name of Your Son Jesus, seeking Your face.  We pray to You, Father, for revival, in our own hearts and across this nation.  Help us to hear and understand Your message for us this morning.  In the glorious name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.

And now let’s listen to Rabbi Cahn…


[You may watch Rabbi Cahn’s message at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL7QFD9fNdM.]


Do you feel excited now?  Do you see the need for revival?

In a few minutes we’re going to the Fellowship Hall to enjoy a wonderful lunch together.  And tonight Pastor John Bigelow will bring his message of revival, followed by Pastor William Sowers Monday night and Pastor Steve Disher Tuesday night.  Please come each night, and invite your friends and neighbors to come along.

America needs us to all come together.  America needs revival.  In the holy name of Jesus.

Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, we need You right now, more than ever before in our history.  Our land is torn, our people divided.  Those who should be in a position to help bring us together seem not to care to do so.  We turn to You, Father, just as we have done in all our times of darkness.  We turn to You seeking Your help.

Hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, seeking Your face, praying for Your mercy…

Lord Jesus, You came to this earth as one of us to offer us salvation.  You know us, Lord, You know our stubborn and sinful ways.  Revive us, Lord.  Remind us of our place in God’s great plan.  Help us share our faith and Your Gospel with others who need You so much.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Christ Jesus, our Lord and Master, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope.  Amen.


Sunday, September 11, 2016

If My People


[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 11th of September, 2016 - Patriots Day.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel, http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]


Spend just a little time reading the Old Testament and you’ll see that the children of Israel really experienced a roller-coaster ride with God.  Their history has been a long series of ups and downs.  When times are good and they’re at a high point, they forget about God and what He commands them.  Then He takes His favor from them and they start going down, down, down.  Finally, they realize they must return to honoring and obeying God, and He begins to smile on them again and things get better.  And the cycle repeats, over and over.  They disobey and ignore God and life gets tough.  They obey and honor God and life gets good again.

The thing is, God told them this could happen.  Listen and follow along to how God warned His chosen people, as recorded in the 2nd Book of Chronicles, chapter 7, verses 13 through 22, reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…
13 “When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, 14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 15 Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. 16 For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. 17 As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, and do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, 18 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man as ruler in Israel.’

19 “But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods, and worship them, 20 then I will uproot them from My land which I have given them; and this house which I have sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight, and will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

21 “And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and this house?’ 22 Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this calamity on them.’”
--2 Chronicles 7:13-22 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, we have come together this morning in the name of Your Son Jesus and we humble ourselves now before Your glorious presence.  Speak to us, Father, the message You need us to hear this day.  In the holy name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.


A man received a promotion to the position of Vice President of the company he worked for.  The promotion went to his head, and for weeks on end he bragged to anyone and everyone that he was now a Vice President.  His bragging came to an abrupt halt when his wife, so utterly embarrassed by his behavior finally said, “Listen Bob, it’s not that big a deal.  These days everyone’s a vice president.  Why they even have a vice president of peas down at the supermarket!”

Somewhat deflated, Bob called the local supermarket to find out if this was true.  “Can I speak to the Vice President of peas, please?” he asked, to which came the reply: “Which one: fresh or frozen peas?”


I bet we’ve all had one of those humbling moments.  And I can’t help but think of the old Mac Davis song: “Oh, Lord, it’s hard to be humble, when you’re perfect in every way.”  Perhaps like Bob, we’ve made a big deal out of some accomplishment, until someone points out that maybe it’s not that big a deal after all.  Bob seems to have let his pride blind him to reality.

Our Bible warns us about being prideful.  In Proverbs 3, verse 34, wise King Solomon wrote…
34 The Lord sneers at those
who sneer at Him,
but He is kind to everyone
who is humble.
--Proverbs 3:34 (CEV)

James, the half-brother of Jesus, tells us in the 4th chapter and 10th verse of his letter…
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
--James 4:10 (NKJV)

This is what God is trying to get across to the people of Israel.  “If you would just humble yourselves before Me, I will lift you up.  “But if you don’t, things aren’t going to go so well for you.”

What about us today?  Do we take to heart what God told the ancient Jews?  Do we humble ourselves before God, praying and seeking His face?

We don’t have to take what the Old Testament provides as our only warning.  Jesus Himself makes it quite clear, as recorded by the Apostle Luke in the 14th chapter of his Gospel account, verse 11…
11 "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
--Luke 14:11 (NKJV)

If we let our foolish pride lift us up too high, we will be humbled, just like the ancient Israelis.  But if we humble ourselves before God, we will be lifted up and exalted.


Today marks the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on our nation’s soil.  That date holds a special place in my memory because this night 5 years ago was the first time I walked into this beautiful church building, the first time I had the blessing to meet this wonderful church family.  Pastor John Bigelow had invited me to bring the message on the opening night of Revival, September 11th, 2011, the tenth anniversary of 9/11.

Looking back to that infamous day in 2001, do you remember what followed?  America came together.  People flocked into churches all across the land.  They turned to God in that hour of darkness.  People were afraid, so they sought God’s protection.

It was like a great revival… only it didn’t last very long.  Pretty soon, once things settled down and new security measures were put in place and no more attacks occurred, people pretty much went back to life as normal.  We let an opportunity to return to God and His good graces slip between our fingers.  We figured we could handle it on our own after all.  We let our national pride once again get in our way.


Where are we now, as a people, as a nation?  Do we humble ourselves regularly before God?  Do we pray to Him so that He might hear and pay attention to our needs?  Do we walk before Him always, doing as He commands, obeying His statutes, recognizing His judgments?  Or have we turned away from Him, forsaking His laws and commandments?  Do we serve other gods: the gods of finance, the gods of sports, the gods of fashion, the gods of pride – do we worship them?

Look across our land.  What do you see?  Unity or division?  Love or hatred?  Fellowship or enmity?  If someone were to look upon us objectively, might they ask, “Why has the Lord done thus to this land and this house?”  And might the answer be, “Because they forsook the Lord God… and embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this calamity on them.”?


9/11/2001 was a low point for this nation.  We turned to God and things got better.  We slowly turned away from God and things got worse over time.  And here we are, 15 years later, at what I feel is another low point for this land.  Sounds kind of familiar, doesn’t it – just like those ancient Israelis.

Has our national pride once again gotten the better of us?  Does our personal pride keep us from doing what should be done?  If we just humble ourselves before God, as individuals and as a nation, He will lift us up, in His time.  We might think that there’s very little we can do to affect this entire nation.  And there indeed is little we can do, as long as we think we have to do it ourselves.

We start right here – right in our own hearts.  We humble ourselves, as individuals, before God, praying to Him, seeking His counsel and guidance, obeying His voice.  And we pray for His mercy over our nation, over our people, that they too might turn back to God.


Next Sunday is Homecoming and that night we start our revival services.  During the morning service, I am going to show you a very powerful video clip calling this nation to revival.  And then our dear friends, the Reverends John Bigelow, William Sowers, and Steve Disher will deliver their own messages of revival.

But I want us to begin revival right here, right now, today!  Don’t worry about what others may think.  Don’t let pride get in the way.  We need to humble ourselves in God’s presence.

Come join me here at the foot of the cross of our Lord Jesus during our closing hymn.  Bow down there at your seat or in the aisle or here at the altar.  Let us humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord God Almighty, that He might lift us up out of this mess we have made.  In the holy name of Jesus.

Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You show us countless times in Your word that if we fail to worship You, if we turn from You and ignore Your commandments, You will remove Your gracious favor from us.  You promise that if we would only humble ourselves before You, if we would put away our pride in ourselves and our accomplishments and acknowledge that without You we are nothing, that You will once again smile upon us and heal our land.  Forgive us, Father, of our prideful ways.  Forgive us when we worship the gods of this world, the gods of possessions, the gods of lust.  Lift us up, please Father, from the depths of our depravity.

Hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, bowing before You, seeking Your mercy…

Lord Jesus, You warn us not to let our pride get in the way, but to instead be humble in all things just as You were humble.  Everything You did was for the glory of God.  Help us follow You and live the same way, in humble service and obedience to God.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Christ Jesus, our Lord and Master, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope.  Amen.


Sunday, September 04, 2016

Will Work For Food


[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 4th of September, 2016.  Look for the video on our Vimeo channel, http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]


Do you remember the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well?  This woman had a checkered past so she always went to the well about midday, to avoid the other women.  Jesus happened to be there one day and He spoke to her and offered her the Living Water.  After He told her all about her life and her past, she came to believe that He was indeed the Messiah.  So she ran back to the village to tell all the people about Him.

Just as she was leaving, though, the disciples came back after getting themselves and Jesus something to eat.  Listen and follow along to this brief interlude between Jesus and His disciples before the woman returned with other townsfolk, as recorded by the Apostle John in his Gospel account, chapter 4, verses 27 through 38, from the New King James Version…
27 And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why are You talking with her?”

28 The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, 29 “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” 30 Then they went out of the city and came to Him.

31 In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”

32 But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”

33 Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?”

34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! 36 And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37 For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”
--John 4:27-38 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, just like Jesus knew all about that woman at the well, You know all about us.  You know what we are thinking, what we are feeling, what we are going through at any given time.  Help us focus on You right now, Father.  Help us block out any distractions that will keep us from hearing Your message this morning.  In the holy name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.


The personnel manager looked across the desk at the young job applicant and said, "I'm sorry, but I can't hire you.  There just isn't enough work to keep you busy."

The young man replied back, "Oh, you'd be surprised how little it takes."


And that brings to mind a certain church where the new pastor was nothing at all like the former pastor.  He didn't care to do the repairs and mowing around the church and parsonage.  He hired someone to do those chores.  The additional cost concerned the church Deacons.  One of them approached the new pastor and addressed this issue, saying, "Our previous pastor mowed the lawn himself.  Have you considered this approach?"  The new pastor responded, "Yes, I'm aware of this.  And I asked him.  But he doesn't want to do it anymore."


Many hold to different definitions of “work”, it seems.  I believe some consider it a vulgar four-letter word.  Some even seem allergic to work, and try to avoid it as much as possible.  I’ve seen some folks that worked harder trying to keep from working than if they’d just gone ahead and worked!

A couple weeks ago we talked about the people who stand at busy intersections holding signs that say, “Will work for food”, and we wonder if their need is real or they’re just pulling a scam, trying to keep from doing a real job.  And then there are those who seem quite content letting someone else do all the work.

None of these describe Jesus, though, do they.  So if we’re going to be more and more like Him, then none of this should describe us either.


Jesus was certainly no stranger to work, not even before He came to earth as one of us.  He was there at the very beginning, helping His Father God create the universe and all that is in it!

Do you remember what happened after all that work of creation was completed?  Listen to the words Moses recorded in his Book of Genesis, chapter 2, verses 1 through 3…
1 Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. 2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
--Genesis 2:1-3 (NKJV)

After all the work was done, they rested – not before.


Jesus broke all kinds of rules of the day when He stopped and talked to that woman at the well.  But He had a reason, He had a specific job to do.  And He completed that little piece of work quite well.  The entire village was saved that day stemming from that conversation with the woman, and then her spreading the message and bringing folks to see Jesus, to see for themselves.

But this little interlude - after their conversation and while the woman ran off to tell the others - this provides a powerful message for us.  Remember that Jesus was fully man, even while fully God, and as a man He too had to eat to be physically nourished.  But what does He tell us here?  The nourishment of our soul is more important than the nourishment of our body.  It is more to our ultimate advantage that our eternal soul be fed rather than our mortal body.

And how do we feed our soul?  Do we just eat plenty of soul food?  No, the food for our soul is to do the will of God!  And if we truly understand that Jesus is God, then we will see that doing His will, as He commands, also provides food for our soul.

In his Gospel account, the Apostle Matthew describes how Jesus sent His disciples out to do His will.  Listen to what Jesus says in this account, from Matthew chapter 10, verses 7 through 10…
7 “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9 Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, 10 nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.”
--Matthew 10:7-10 (NKJV)

Jesus said to go and preach the Gospel, and don’t worry about money or what you might have to wear or any other material things.  He also said a worker is worthy of his food.  And while we can take that to mean that folks who do the work of God should be compensated for their efforts, at least to have their mortal body fed,  I believe He also means that doing the will of God makes a person worthy of the food the Father will provide for their eternal soul.


Jesus told the Samaritan woman that He could give her Living Water, for which she would never again thirst.  And of course we know He means that through Him, she and we can have eternal life in heaven.  When His disciples brought lunch, He told them that He had food they didn’t know about, meaning that doing God’s will was the food He needed and received.

Let’s look just a little further ahead in the Gospel account of John, to soon after Jesus had fed 5000 men and their families with only five loaves of bread and two small fishes.  Listen to what Jesus said to the people, in John chapter 6, verses 26 through 27, 32 through 33, and 35…
26 Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”

32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”
--John 6:26-27; 32-33; 35 (NKJV)

The food of God, the food that will nourish our soul, is Jesus!  Jesus is the bread of life.  Those who come to Him will never hunger; those who believe in Him will never thirst.  He is the living water; He is the bread of life.  Through Him our eternal soul is fed and nourished.

Let’s not hold up a sign that says, “Will work for food”, hoping the world will take note.  Let the world see our work, so that they too will hunger after righteousness.  Show them where to go to be fed.  Show them Jesus.

In His holy name.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for helping us see enough of Your will in our lives that we may work according to Your great plan, doing as You would have us do, feeding our eternal souls by Your word and our works on Your behalf.  Continue to bless us, please Father, that we might see more of Your will.  Nourish us with Your Bread of Life, Your Son Jesus.

Hear us now, Father, as we come before You in this quiet place with bowed heads and humbled hearts.  Please listen to our prayers, spoken silently from our hearts, and speak to us Your word…

Lord Jesus, You are the Bread of Life and all we need.  You send us out into the world to do our Father’s work, and You provide for our needs so that we might not worry about worldly material things.  You bless us so much that we have more than enough to bless others in their need.  Help us be more of a blessing in this hurting world, Lord Jesus.  Help us bring more of the lost back to You and Your redeeming love.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior, our Master, in whom we place all our trust, and all our hope.  Amen.