You Have One Job
Lent 20 Coronavirus • Sermon • Submitted
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Grace and Peace to you! Good morning! Welcome to this unique online gathering. It’s not the same as being face to face, but at least you can see my face and for those of you I know, I’m picturing your faces right now. I can’t wait until we are able to safely be together again. Today being separated reminds us of how precious it is to be together. It reminds us that we live in bodies that can’t really be in two places at once. But we also remember we are all in the same boat. All dealing with the same uncertainties. All looking to the same savior. All gathered around our phones, our tablets, our computers, our TV’s. Some may still be in our PJ’s and that’s ok today. But still we are coming before God in worship so let’s really focus on him in these moments together. So you can kneel, or fold your hands or stand. Do something the let your body know this is worship. And kids, maybe Azalia and Aziya and Charles III are out there today. We welcome you too! You are also an important part of our church family.
Grace and Peace to you! Good morning! Welcome to this unique online gathering. It’s not the same as being face to face, but at least you can see my face and for those of you I know, I’m picturing your faces right now. I can’t wait until we are able to safely be together again. Today being separated reminds us of how precious it is to be together. It reminds us that we live in bodies that can’t really be in two places at once. But we also remember we are all in the same boat. All dealing with the same uncertainties. All looking to the same savior. All gathered around our phones, our tablets, our computers, our TV’s. Some may still be in our PJ’s and that’s ok today. But still we are coming before God in worship so let’s really focus on him in these moments together. So you can kneel, or fold your hands or stand. Do something the let your body know this is worship. And kids, maybe Azalia and Aziya and Charles III are out there today. We welcome you too! You are also an important part of our church family.
Let’s pray: Heavenly Father we thank you today for life and health and peace. We ask that you help us all to focus on you today. You have so much for us. Help us to not miss a thing you have for us today. Help us to think of how we can pass it on and give back in our world. We love you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Well I’m still working on getting the rights to use music but let’s try to sing a few familiar songs today. If you know the words sing along or just agree with me as I sing today.
Amazing Grace
Jesus Loves me This I know
I Love You, Lord
Tithes and Offerings
At this time we would normally receive the tithes and offerings and pray for the needs of the church. So I want to say that we still need your giving to come in one way or another. I have to get paid and Paula the bookkeeper and we still have bills for the church that need to get paid and the costs of reaching out like this as well. So you have a few options. Starting next week we will have a service called tithe.ly that will allow you to give online or through an app on your phone. You can set it up to be automatic, if you give the same amount regularly. Or you can do a one-time gift each time. It can be an electronic check or auto-withdraw, which is the best. Or you can use a debit or credit card. Using one of these options will make life easy for the treasurer during this unusual time as it can all be managed online, including your giving statements for your taxes. You’ll receive more details about this giving option in the next few days.
You can also sign up for bill pay through your bank, but this does require extra steps as your gift will be mailed to the church and we will have to deposit it and track it manually. A little more tricky than it used to be right now. But we are happy to receive it that way if that’s what you feel is best. You can also just mail a check to the church but that requires more effort on your end, but again if it’s what you need to do we are happy to receive it. Your gifts are more important than ever during this time.
We also want to be in prayer for the needs of the church. If you’re part of facebook you can join the TLC prayer group on our FairmeadowNaz page. There you will see regular updates of prayer needs.
Bob Eveland, Carol Dione, and Ryan Radabaugh have all had surgeries cancelled this week so please be in prayer for them.
Norma Goff needs an ultrasound test for her neck so please remember her.
Linda Garcia and Jorge Winandy are nurses at a nursing home in the area, on the front lines of this crisis. So please remember them as well.
As always please pray for all of us to keep following Jesus and keeping sharing hope with our world.
Let’s pray...
Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
“Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
People are fickle
People are fickle
When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.
The people want more: dance for us, miracle man! We came a long way to see you Jesus! First of all, I’m sure Jesus wanted to say, look I didn’t invite you here and maybe I was trying to get away from you people and help some other people who really need it. I’m just kidding. That’s not how Jesus thinks. But he does care about why they think they need him.
You’re looking for me because you had your fill. It sounds harsh, but something tells me Jesus isn’t wrong. I’m sure he could see it in their eyes and their body language. This is where the lie of: I’m just not being fed got started… Jesus wasn’t impressed with it then and he’s not impressed with it now.
Moses is not the one who fed you. The Father fed you by his grace. So if you were looking to him you would know your needs are supplied.
Just like Jesus said in last week’s message:
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Give us today our daily bread.
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you;
Matthew 6:14
So the people are revealing that they haven’t looked to God to provide their needs. If they had, they would realize who was standing in front of them and they wouldn’t be demanding a sign. They would be giving thanks. Look at what Jesus had already done for them. Look at what he has done for us...
Matthew 6:12
You had one job...
You had one job...
Right now this passage is more relevant than it has been in my lifetime here in America. For the first time we are going to shelves and finding them empty of something as basic as bread. I do think this is the result of panic and short-term thinking. I’m also hoping it’s a short-term problem. But in our culture we do have other foods available to eat. But maybe the equivalent for us is demanding that Jesus take care of this virus problem so we can get life back to normal. That’s not how things work. Jesus is not a Panera Bread short order cook for your troubles. We should come to him for our needs, but we should always think big about our deepest needs. We come to God on God’s terms, not our own. God answers prayer from devoted followers, but our level of irrational panic doesn’t necessarily determine his priorities.
We want Jesus to meet the needs we are suddenly most aware of and concerned about. Jesus says, look I truly love you. I want what is absolutely the best for you. But I care about your whole person. I care about where your life is headed. I can’t help you much unless you pay attention to my whole person. Unless you understand what I’m truly here to give you.
We want Jesus to meet the needs we are suddenly most aware of and concerned about. Jesus says, look
Don’t put your trust in Washington DC to solve all your problems. Don’t just come to God with a huge list of things you feel you need.
Jesus says, you have one job and that one job is to trust me.
Jesus calls people to believe in Him
Jesus calls people to believe in Him
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing?
Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
“Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.
Jesus is the source of life and strength. Even if some of those present don’t believe in him, he believes in them. He has given them life. He has given them love. Quite literally he had just given them bread. But he’s not a bread machine. He’s not a food basket. He’s the son of God and he’s offering them life more abundant.
John 6:32
In fairness to them, the default mode for human beings is to just be worried about right now. That’s the result of the fall. It’s how we survive on our own. But Jesus didn’t come to earth to help people survive. He came to make everyone thrive. So this crowd needs to realize what they don’t see. If they can open their eyes to who Jesus is, they can see it’s not about bread. It’s about the bread of life. It’s not about a meal for one day. It’s about feasting on the grace of God for all eternity.
If they could just realize Jesus is the bread from heaven they would stop demanding that he fill their food orders and they would humble themselves and receive a satisfying meal for their very lives.
God empowers our faith in Jesus
God empowers our faith in Jesus
The same needs and the same opportunity comes to us today. We are suddenly painfully aware of how fragile life is. But if you’ve got food in the cupboard and the fridge for the next several days, then stop worrying about the future. Be content. Give thanks. Understand that all you have received is from our holy God who loves you more than you could imagine.
Come to God in respect and trust. Come to God in prayer and listen quietly for his presence. Let Jesus be your prince of peace, then it will be much easier to see what you really need.
But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
Folks we are some day going to come to the end of our physical lives as we know them now. None of us will cheat death unless Jesus comes back and we are transformed in moment. Wouldn’t that be incredible to be alive at that moment? We can’t control any of that, but we can control this:
We can look to the Son of God, Jesus. We can believe in him. That means trusting in him more than political leaders. It means looking above our present circumstances, looking beyond the fear and actually believing that Jesus will keep us through this trial. But it means looking beyond this trial, even to more blessed days when things get back to normal and we still say:
Jesus, I trust you with my life and my livelihood. I trust you with my family. I trust you with my finances. I trust you with my daily anxieties and fears. In other words, I really trust you.
That’s what Jesus is here giving us right now. Simply receive it. I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief.
For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
Jesus will sustain your life for today. As long as you draw precious breath he will be your strength. You will enjoy the fruits of eternal life even now. Forgiveness, renewal, healing, real joy in the midst of trial. But even in the end your life is his. And he will raise us up at the last day.
He’s Jesus! Make the most of who he is in your life today. Believe him. Trust him. Right now.
So folks, we are not done yet. We are all still here in this moment. We have the grace of God. We have each other. We all have people in our lives who need what we have. Even in strange times like this we can call them. We can text them. We can keep them encouraged.