FOOD FOR THE SOUL

In John 4:31-38 the disciples urged Jesus to eat something, and Jesus said,

“I have food to eat of which you do not know” (32).
Then the disciples being confused asked, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?” (33).
Jesus answered, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work” (34).

Our food should be the same as our Lord’s.

Later, recorded in John 6 Jesus says, “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life” (27).
Our proper response should be the same as theirs, “Lord, give us this bread always” (34).
They wanted the Lord to teach them about this Food for the soul…

TROUBLESOME TIMES
PART 5
THE TEMPTATION TO SIN

Right up front let me say that temptation itself is not sin—giving into it is sin. The victory is realized when the Christian responds to temptation with God’s truth, faith, prayer, and obedience.

The Temptation to Sin is reality, but so is the Way of Escapef: 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” Every Christian Faces Temptation: Being a Christian does not mean we will never be tempted. It means we are empowered by the Spirit so that we do not have to surrender to temptation.

Jesus Himself was tempted.

“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb. 4:15)
Notice the difference between the right Spirit of God and the wrong spirit of this world:
When the spirit of this world presents Temptation. Sin is chosen.
James made this clear showing how temptation develops. James 1:14–15, “14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”
The spirit of temptation in this world says, “Yes, Go and do it.”
The Spirit of God, i.e., of faith says, “Stop, you must not do it.”

Yes, there are two spirits…

Jesus commands, “do not worry about your life” and I have to wonder if most of us have failed to keep the command.  

We understand that Jesus has never commanded us to do something that we don’t have the ability to do. That means we can choose to worry about everything, or worry about nothing. One thing is for sure, it is easy to say to others, “Don’t worry,” and much harder to keep ourselves from worrying. Matthew records Jesus’ teaching what is wrong with worry and how to overcome worry of the mind! Jesus would not command us to do something that we didn’t have the ability to do. It can be done. We must do it…

TROUBLESOME TIMES PART 4
OUR PURPOSE
EVERY CHRISTIAN HAS A PURPOSE, CONTRARY TO SOME TEACHING…
Christianity is not merely about being saved from something—it is about being saved for something.
God has given all Christians a purpose, a direction, and motivation, all to ultimately reach the goal of the higher calling – Heaven.

Tonight we ask the question If there is one scripture that answers this question it must be Solomon’s conclusion in Ecclesiastes twelve,  “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all.” (Eccl. 12:13)

This applies to all people, not just Jews, not just Christians – all mankind.

FROM FEAR TO VICTORY

Scripture shows that fear can paralyze a person, while at the same time Solomon says, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all.” (Eccl. 12:13).

The right kind of fear empowers us to be victorious through faith and to serve God despite our fears.

Our lesson today is titled From Fear to Victory…

Something that we all should agree on – that is

Fear Disables — Faith Enables

Paul wrote to Timothy saying, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Tim. 1:7)

Fear is a powerful emotion useful to us when it warns us of danger.
But when fear controls us it limits us:
Fear can destroy our faith, silence our testimony, and keep us from doing what God has called us out of the world to do.
The issue is not whether Christians will ever experience fear.
The issue is: Will we allow fear to control us, or will we walk in the faith that brings victory?

Example of people who were disabled by fear…

ROUBLESOME TIMES PART 3
DEALING WITH PEER PRESSURE

Jesus knew that fear of peers could cause one to lose their soul in the eternal fires of hell. That is why He said, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matt. 10:28). To this Moses wrote, “You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice” (Exo. 23:2).

Peer pressure is the pressure we feel to think, speak, dress, act, or believe a certain way because of the people around us. It can come from: Friends, Family, Coworkers, Schoolmates, Society, Social media and even other Christians.
Peer pressure is especially dangerous because we all often want to be accepted. We don’t want to be different. We don’t want people to laugh at us, reject us, or think badly of us. Isaiah was not wrong when he warned us saying, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isa. 5:20).

And let’s face it when it comes to right and wrong, morality v/s immorality this world, in our time, will often choose wrong over right, and immorality over morality. WHEN THE CROWD SAYS YES — CHRISTIANS MUST LEARN TO SAY NO! This is extremely hard to do in many cases. But every Christian must learn this important lesson: We cannot allow the crowd to determine our convictions. God must determine our convictions.

The question is not: “What is everybody else doing?” The question is: “What does God want me to do?”

Romans 12:2 says: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…”

The power then to not be let away by peer pressure – is to renew your mind by the word of God…

As Christians, many of us fear expressing any kind of doubt, yet the truth is that there are times in every Christian’s life when doubt takes center stage. It is normal for us to have our faith challenged by doubt, yet properly handled doubt becomes a door to increased faith. Question: Are you greater than the Lord’s 11 disciples who saw Him on the mountain, after the resurrection, and worshipped Him, yet some doubted (Matt. 28:17)? Is your faith greater than Peter’s who had enough faith to walk on water (Matt. 14:28-29)?

But there is an important distinction between doubt and disbelief: Doubt may visit a believer, but doubt does not have to defeat a believer. When we have doubts we must understand two things…

THE SIN OF PRIDE

Solomon wrote, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” — Proverbs 16:18. Introduction: What Is Pride?  In the negative sense: Webster: exaggerated self-esteem: Webster connects a synonym conceit as “especially excessive appreciation of one’s own worth or virtue”. God defines pride as an attitude of self-exaltation, self-sufficiency, and self-worship that puts self in the place of God. [C.S. Lewis Institute].

Key Aspects of a Spiritual View of Pride: (1) Self-Focus: It is an obsession with oneself where “there is no room for God” in a person’s thoughts. (2) Stealing Glory: It involves taking credit and glory for talents, successes, and life itself, which rightly belong to God alone. (3) Independence: It is the belief that a person does not need God’s grace or guidance, leading to spiritual blindness and self-righteousness. (4) Contempt for Others: Toward people, pride manifests as arrogance, conceit, and indifference or looking down on others.

4 Reasons why Christians and God Hate Pride…