Every now and then we look at our lives and say `ya, God cares` as a means to encourage ourselves but not wholeheartedly but just as a passing word of affirmation. During times of success, we look around like a footballer who scored a goal to get the affirmation that his actions were appreciated - that there were the fans who cared about his goal. During disturbing times, we mop around and sulk and ask `Who Cares For Me?` or who values our lives and our actions and at times of arrogance or mischief we say to ourselves `Who Cares`. Today we shall dwell in this topic. My aim in the next 20 minutes or so is to point us, including me to a stream. For some of us this stream has not existed, a mere brook that happens to exist only during heavy rain, others find this knowledge as a faithful stream that they go to replenish daily, others among you find this as a river where you spend days at, drinking it, watching the boats of life float on it - my aim here is to take each of you a step closer and help you find the next steps so that you discover that it is not a brook, not a stream, not a river, but an ocean where we are called to fully immerse ourselves in.
The way I wish to draw your attention is to go through the Bible and slowly lead you from the brook to the ocean. After we were married and I had moved to Germany, I noticed that Sini had a poster on the wall that she had kept in her possession since the last 10 years. It was a teddy bear holding some flowers, a cute teddy with the words written on it `God cares for all little things`. It was a cute poster, had a simple message and was heartwarming. But this message would not help anyone go through a bad day when things did not work to our favour, it worked on a good day making us smile at the teddy and not at the saying because the saying was not grounded in anything. So it is when we hear people say, God cares or God bless, it does not add value but it is cute to say it. So, we agree that we need something solid.
1Kings18_44
Rain:
Elijah was told by God that there was going to be a rain. He asked his servant to see if there was a cloud 7 times and only the seventh time was there even a small cloud in the rainless land. Elijah tells Ahab to hurry to the palace before the rains stopped him. Does this section not feel small, God cared that there was time for Elijah. We will come to the portion.
Judges 6:36-40
Faith:
Gideon wanted to know if he had met God’s servant, an angel or not. So two times he asks for signs, The first time he wants dew on the wool and all around to be dry and the next time he wants all around to be wet with dew and the wool to have stayed dry.
Both these occasions it is a matter of faith. Is it God? Have I heard God? Am i doing the right thing? At Least it was for Gideon. For Elijah it was the faith he held in God. In 1 Kings 17, Elijah comes to Ahab and says against the evil and the idolatry in the land that till God’s word is proved, there would not be any rain or dew in the land. Just before the cloud incident, Elijah had prayed and God had poured fire down from heaven. Elijah says in 1 Kings 18:36 `let it be known that you are God in Israel and I am your servant and I have done these thighs by your word` Gideon said a similar sentence `If You O God will save Israel by my hand as you said ..`
The first step to knowing that God cares is knowing that God knows us. He made us in His image. We are the masterpieces of His hand. Made perfect to His plan. This is the first attribute of God we meet - God is Sovereign. He made us and we are His. Even hard core evil men or women are cared for by God. This is because of who God is. Know that we are made by God and therefore He cares for us.
So now we are at the brook, we know God cares - for us, for him, for her, for that fellow and this one. This is praise worthy. But we fear that the brook will dry up and so will it. Knowing that God is sovereign is not enough for a believer. The Bible says in Matthew 5:45 `For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike`.
More stories from Elijah
After Elijah had told Ahab that no rain will fall, Elijah had to run away. There He was tired and hungry, at two occasions, angel brought him food, then crows did. Does God care for our needs? Yes he does. This is why Jesus rebukes his disciples in Mark 8:18 when they were worried about bread. Look at Matthew 6:26-34 - what does it say in this part. God cares for our food, our clothing, our life. Does God care? He does.
After that Elijah went to the widow who was going to kill herself and her son. Jesus tells the same thing about God here in Luke 4:25 onwards. Another place is when another widow has lost her son as we read in Luke 7:14 Does God care for our family? Yes
God cares for our lives. He is Omnipresent and Omniscient - big words that mean God is everywhere and God knows all things. Does God care for lives and food and clothing? - Yes HE does.
Remember the first fur humans wore, who made it? God - but why? Because He cared that Adam and Eve do not grow cold outside. Their clothes, their understanding or survival were inadequate. It also showed the need of someone to cover their shame. God covers their shame and Jesus covers our shame. Does God care for our shame? - Yes He does
God's care for his sheep
In Matthew 17:24-27 it was time to pay taxes and Jesus told Peter to fish and take the first fish and in its stomach Peter would find a silver coin and that was enough for their taxes. Did Jesus not care for other people who were to pay taxes? He did, this may not be a good example so let me tell another one. John 10:28, Jesus says that He is the good shepherd and that no one would snatch His sheep from His hand. What does this say to us?
We are used to the great saying in Romans 8:28-30 `And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to become conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first-born among many brethren; and whom he predestined, these he also called; and whom he called, these he also justified; and whom he justified, these he also glorified.` We know from this portion that we were called to follow God from the past. But we also know that we were sinners and because God does not sin nor has sin , He is Holy - That is his attribute - or who God is. We also know and believe that we are not saved because we want to be Christians or we want to be good people but because Jesus saved us and he took our sins on him and because God being Merciful - that is also an attribute, we do not receive the punishment for our sins. That is because he cares for our salvation. He loved us - because (1 John 4:8,16) say that God is the embodiment of Love. Love has a body and it is God. Love is not a mere emotion. This is why He saved us. John 3:16 - God loved the world so much that HE gave Jesus to stand as mercy for us, so that we may not die in our sins but be transformed by Jesus into being Holy. Does God care? - He does
We are now by the river. It is huge and mighty. But we are not in it yet. It is because we do not understand what God has done, so we still fear the waves in this river.
How does God save us? Through adoption. God has adopted us. This is what Jesus did. See Ephasians 1:5 `he predestined us ( or he decided in advance ) for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will`. Let us not lose sight of this. We are not just saved like getting a visa into heaven where we will have to wait to get a PR and then a citizenship. We are made the royal family in heaven. There is no visa, no border check, no passport control, nothing just a private jet to your father. Please do not try to make a theology from my last sentence. It is just to emphasise the fact that we are adopted and are full hiers (Rom 8:17) with Christ - having all heavily richness and value. This is what God has done. If you are a believer, then God cares not for you just as his creation, He loves you like his child. And like every father, he disciples only those whom he loves (Heb 12:6). Does God care?
In Eph 1:5 - it says God cares according to His will. What does it say about God? God has a plan for us. He says it many times.- I will not leave you as orphans and send us the Holy Spirit - look at Romans 5:3-5 - in God's plan even our sufferings have a meaning. Are you at the moment being under pain and asking yourself if God cares? The verse says, we take joy in our suffering because what God is going to do to us, not fake, but real stuff here - suffering makes us persevere - if Appu is in pain who does he run to - his father - we do not realise that God cares for us because we run elsewhere when we suffer - what is the perseverance - it is the cement that puts the rocks of faith together - this will let us come and wait on God - we will have to wait - because God uses this to shape us - to produce in us a character that says I am not going to be on the river bank , i am going to walk in it - this brings us hope - that even if the current is hard, i will be in this river - the river of knowledge of God and the knowledge that He is Good and that He is Good for me - because God has promised us not a life jacket or a lifesaver ring - but a swimmer beside us - the Holy Spirit to take us deeper. A few weeks ago I went swimming, it had been a long while since I swam and I forgot that and I enjoyed the swim and reached a place where I could not touch the ground. I was one cm too short. I panicked, I thought that my life was done, I started to flap around, then I felt God telling me to stop and take a deep breath. I knew then what to do, I took a few deep breaths, kicked my foot on the floor and swam to safety. What is the point of this story? You are meant to go deep, the waters will overwhelm you, you will want to look for a sort of life jacket, but this is where God wants you to know that he cares - that is why you come to Church - because God cares - you need to know him - you need to spend time with the Holy Spirit - He is not a life jacket, He is God with you caring for you. He cares in ways that we do not see, not the way we expect, but in a perfect way.
Today when you go back, take just this one thing, God Cares - immensely more deeper and eternally that he chose you from the past so that you can be with Him. This is the God who then is worthy of all praise and honor and worship. God cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7 cast your anxiety, your cares, on Him because He cares for you. Know that He is Good, He is not just a father, but your Father and therefore He cares for you.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/10pSX_BrFpE5_B3oBEERWJ4gO19j5T3ZO1ktzGWe_yKY/edit?usp=drivesdk
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