Elijah

Matthew 6:25-27

"Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? ²⁶Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are yet not much better than they? ²⁷Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?"

What are the things that we are thinking about right now? Is it what we are going to do later in the day? Or maybe the food that we’re going to eat for lunch? We, as human beings, very often worry about what lies ahead in our future. We think so much of what we will do that we don’t pay enough attention to the now. Jesus is saying in verse 25 that we should not be thinking so much about the things that we will do in our lives because life is much more than that. Sometimes, we should just have the mind of a child who is being provided for every meal they eat, all the clothes they wear, and so on because are we not being provided for by God? We often fear what our future is going to be like based on what we do now, but how can we expect to live a good life if we are being controlled by our fear of the future? Proverbs 29:25 says, “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.” God has and always will have his hand of protection on us, but how can we expect to be protected if our faith is elsewhere? There is a saying that our fear blind us and it is so true because we do not have a clear direction when we are afraid. When we are afraid, we tend to think way too much of everything, especially the simple things. We say that if x happens then y happens, but if y happens z happens, and it can go on and on and on. So, our first task should be getting rid of the fear. At some point, we will be taken over by fear, but the only person who can rid us of that is God. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” God gives us many things, but fear is not one of them. In fact, it is just the opposite, so when we are being controlled by fear, we really are being controlled by Satan. Let us break away from the bondage we are in by not being afraid anymore. There is no reason to because God is always there for us. In verse 26, Jesus explains how God is always providing for even the birds who are worth so little compared to us. Romans 8:15 says, “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” As Christians, we have been adopted into the family of God, so we don’t have to worry about anything because God is always there to provide for us not just as God, but as our Father as well. We are worth so much to God because we are His creation and He loves us so much that He even has a special plan that is unique and tailored just for us. Why should we be thinking about what we will do in the future when we could just ask God what we should be doing to fulfill His plan. If we keep thinking and worrying about what are next step is, then we will be stuck in the same place for a long time. But on the other hand, if we were to put all of our trust in God and do whatever He asks, He will be with us every step of the way, providing for us, protecting us, and guiding us to where we need to be. We will not grow by worrying, but we grow by not being afraid of what comes next and in turn taking a step forward. In the movie Meet the Robinsons, there was a saying that was constantly repeated throughout the movie which was “Keep moving forward.” In everything we do, we need to keep progressing and getting better, but by staying afraid we will never progress. It’s the same when we hold on so tightly to the things God gives us. We don’t give ourselves the chance to move on to whatever else God will give us, and if God takes it away forcefully, we could even start to fall back. There is no benefit when we stay stagnant. Just like the Robinsons, we need our motto to be “Keep moving forward” because it’s a constant reminder that where we are right now will change. God will keep moving us to different places to meet different people or for other people to meet us, but if we don’t allow God to move us then we lose our chance and there might not be another chance like that. Especially now, the most important thing we can do is listen to God’s voice. There are so many things that we listen to that can bring so much fear, but in reality, whatever it is may not be something to be afraid of at all. Let us especially keep our ears open to God and filter out all the things that cause us to stay still and not move forward. There is nothing to be afraid of when we have God on our side, and He is always on our side. Let us trust in His plan for us and keep moving forward on our walk with God. Psalms 34:4 says, “I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” God is only a prayer away, so no matter what state we are in, whether it be happy, sad, afraid, anxious, let us go to God for everything and He will hear us.

1 Peter 3:15-22

"But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, ¹⁶ keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. ¹⁷ For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. ¹⁸ For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. ¹⁹ After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits – ²⁰ to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark as being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, ²¹ and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also – not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²² who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand – with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him "

What is the one thing that makes a Christian a true Christian? Believing in Jesus Christ yes, but not just believing he existed because lots of people may believe he existed but believing that he saved us. He died for our sins on the cross and on the third day he was resurrected. Many people that just believe Jesus existed also think that he was just a man, but what man has the power to save us from our own sin and resurrect himself from the dead. Only Jesus Christ. In this sinful world, many will challenge us on what the truth is, and we must be ready to answer these challenging questions. If I were to ask you “is God real and where is the evidence”, how would you answer that? To be prepared for this, we must constantly be in the Word and filling our head with knowledge so that when we answer those questions, we won’t hesitate or stutter, but we answer with confidence that God is real, and Jesus is our Savior. We must always have this knowledge and wisdom because we could be faced with these questions without warning and when we would least expect them. And if the people still do not listen, it would still have been better than saying nothing at all.

Jesus answered these kinds of challenging questions and people did not listen and he suffered for it. He went through so much pain on the cross and yet he still said in Luke 23:34 “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”. He was the perfect sacrifice and he saved everyone from their sin. And not only did he save everyone on Earth, but in verses 19 and 20 it says that he also saved the people that were disobedient to God when he waited patiently in the days of Noah. God is a fair God and will even save those who disobeyed him in the past. In Romans 3:23, it says “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” No one is worthy of being saved, but by God’s grace he still saved us and will continue to save us even though we disobey him.

In verses 20 and 21 it says, that “only 8 were saved through water, Noah’s family, and the water symbolizes baptism, not the removal of dirt but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves by the resurrection of Jesus Christ”. In Luke 3:16 it says, John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one is who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire”. When we are saved, the Holy Spirit rushes into us and protects our heart from evil because of Jesus. Without Jesus, we cannot follow God. In John 14:6, “Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”. No one except Jesus can save us. He is our one and only Savior.

In verse 22, it says Jesus is at the right hand of God and the angels, authorities, and powers are all under him. Jesus is all powerful and can do anything if he wanted to. Like the saying, “with Jesus anything is possible”, it can also be the opposite way, “without Jesus nothing is possible”. In Hebrews 1:3 it says, “The Son radiates God’s own glory and expressed the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command”. In Mark 4:39 it shows Jesus’ power where he rebukes the wind and the waves by commanding it to be quiet and still. When Jesus did this the disciples were terrified and then asked each other “who is this that even the wind and the waves obey him!” in verse 41. We see just a glimpse of Jesus’ power here and throughout the new testament in his miracles like healing the sick, feeding the 5 thousand, changing water to wine, resurrecting Lazarus, and there is so much more and even more that is not written.

In knowing all these things, we should constantly be in the word and in prayer to keep us prepared for what will be happening in the future. No one knows our future except God, and he will guide us on the right direction. God has done so much for us already and will continue to work with us to reach the destination he has planned for us. Although all of us know the verse, John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus paid the ultimate price for our sins, but not just for believers but also non-believers. Everyone can become saved, but only through Jesus and I believe that Jesus would go up on the cross again for us if he had to, but he doesn’t because he’s already done it. He loves everyone and will continue to love us with unconditional love because that is who our God is.

1 Corinthians 10:12-14

"So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry."

Today, we are exposed to many temptations. Everything is of such easy access especially with the internet. But how can we avoid being tempted when its everywhere around us? We must be prepared to face these temptations whether we want to or not because Satan will through anything at us, especially when we are not paying attention. In 1 John 2:16 it says, “For everything in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-comes not from Father but from the world.” It is not God’s fault that we become tempted, but our own fault. We must stay alert for anything that comes our way because in Matthew 7:15 it says that these false prophets come in sheep’s clothing, but they are actually wolves. The false prophets could really be anything, like a friend or something that we like doing, but it ends up being a bad influence or an idol. We must watch what we become because if we associate with them for too long, we will become like them. “Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character” 1 Corinthians 15:33. We must throw away anything that are like these people or things because in the end we are not strong enough to hold steady on our own. Without God, we are very vulnerable to anything the world gives us. Whether it be served on a silver platter or in the most obscure place, somehow temptations will find its way toward us and we must avoid them.

But what if these temptations still get to us, even if we are trying to block everything out? As scary as it might sound, Satan knows us very well and he will use our favorite things, like a food or game, and twist it so that it becomes a temptation. To get through this according to James 4:7, we must “submit ourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” God is the only one that will truly block out all the temptations, but it is our job to keep God with us. Everything being of easy access is hard to stay away from and many times it is hard to tell if it is good or bad upon first glance. Sometimes we will not notice and become tempted by something. Sometimes we are so far into the temptation that it becomes an addiction and we can only get out of it with the help of God. He provides the only way out so we must trust and believe in him so that he can help us out. If we reject him, we will be stuck in a large pit with no escape. No matter how much we try by ourselves, we cannot do it without God. 1 Corinthians 6:13 says,” I have the right to do anything,” you say-but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”-but I will not be mastered by anything.” We might be able to do anything that is available to us, but that doesn’t mean we should be doing it and we should not be putting what we are doing first because God should always be first. This way there is no chance of an addiction unless we don’t have God on top. God should always be our go to when we are struggling with anything not just temptations. In Psalms 50:15 it says, “and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” God is always there for us when we most need him, it’s only a call away and he will help us through anything and everything. Matthew 26:41 says, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” We cannot rely on ourselves because we are weak, but instead if we rely on someone much stronger than us, we can do things that we were never able to do before.

Addiction or idolatry greatly separates us from God, since we are holding something that is greater over God in our minds. We might not even realize until much later how high that thing is on the scale of our priorities. And if we look at the scale again, we’ll be surprised at how low God is. This year we should rededicate ourselves to God because there are so many things that we put first and start idolizing. Even right now, I bet some of our minds are completely off the topic of God. We could be thinking of food or what we’re going to do after. In omma and oppas case, it could be their anniversary, but God is only asking for one day out of the week to really put him first. Not even one day, it’s just a couple hours of really getting in the Word. I’m not going to lie, but when I was doing the sermon it felt more like I was writing an essay instead of writing something for God, and once I changed my mindset all these thoughts kept flowing in. Everything that we do should be for God and God alone because there is not one time that God would hesitate to do something for us. He’s always available when we’re in need and he always answer when we ask him something. We may not hear him all the time, but as we keep dedicating our lives for him and putting him first in everything that we do, we will eventually start to hear him because we would only have ears for Him. So, let us put God first in all that we do, and we can do this together, and never alone.

John 14:15-17

"If you love me, keep my commands.¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever-¹⁷the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. "

Currently, many people are struggling. Especially with the Corona Virus, people are struggling to take care of their families and they are losing jobs, but who are we looking towards at this time? Are we looking for God’s help or the world’s help? We should automatically run to God for his help because he will always provide. In fact, he has already sent someone to help us, but he won’t be seen if we do not believe. We must know he is here with us to help us through any tough time. It seems like more and more people are giving up because life gets too hard or it seems like they have no part, but everyone is needed in God’s master plan. Not one person is left out because God has someone to guide us to the right direction. That someone is the Holy Spirit which God has sent into the world to not just help one individual but everyone in the world at the same time. The Holy Spirit lives in us so that we will always have someone to turn to when we need help. What’s even better to know is Jesus promised us the Holy Spirit for us and Jesus is God. As we know, God always keeps his promises, so we do not have to worry if the Holy Spirit is actually there for us. The non-believers do not know that though. In order to receive the holy spirit, they must first accept Jesus as Lord and savior. The people in this world are already struggling as it is, but without the help of the Holy Spirit they will have even more hardships and they have no guidance on how to go past those obstacles. By not having Jesus in our hearts, we block ourselves from receiving the Spirit. All of this depends on us to choose what side we are taking. In these verses (15-17), it says the word “you” 6 times, starting with an “if you”. If I do this, I will receive the Holy Spirit. If I do this, I will begin to have less hardships. These are the “ifs” we need to have in our lives to truly accept Jesus as Lord and savior. We need to follow the steps God has given us to do so in the Bible and first love God with all our heart before anything else. This is the most important part in accepting a God that we cannot see. Without love, there is nothing. Then after love, comes obeying the Father. We must do these two very simple steps in order to receive the Holy Spirit in us because everything falls into place from there. Accepting Jesus and changing into a better person will come as we continue to obey God’s word and love wholeheartedly. The Holy Spirit coming into our lives can be one of the most exciting things in the world because we have received a friend, guide, and protector for the rest of our lives on Earth. He is with us always, but not just with us watching over, he is in us protecting our souls from evil. Nowhere does it say in the Bible that he will leave us ever. How lucky are we to have someone who is always there for us and will never leave us no matter what, yet sometimes, or a lot of the time, we forget that he’s even there. So, let us not take the Holy Spirit for granted like we have been and call on him whenever we are struggling or in a tough place. The world has answers, but none of them will compare to the answers the Spirit gives to us. Instead of asking the world, we must ask the Holy Spirit because he is always there for us, so there is no reason not to ask him instead.