Matthew 6
Authorized (King James) Version
6 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4 that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18 that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 25 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? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

1 Samuel, chapter 28, contains what must be one of the strangest stories in the Bible.

The prophet Samuel was dead and the king, Saul, with the Israelite army, found himself going to war with a fast-approaching Philistine army.

Although Saul was an experienced soldier and army commander, on this day he “was afraid; terror filled his heart” (v 5). So, we are told, “He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets” (v 6).

Saul tried accepted ways of seeking God at the time. For example, he would have known the story of Joseph and how God spoke by way of a dream to Pharaoh. Perhaps Saul and his men had slept, and no dream had presented itself.

The Urim and Thummin were stones or sticks, one black and one white, kept in the high priest’s breastplate that were tossed to the ground to seek God for a yes or No answer. We are not quite sure how it worked but obviously, it did not give a satisfactory result for Saul.

Saul would have known about Balaam as a prophet and more recently Samuel as people able to interpret the times through prophecy. If there were prophets present – nothing helpful was given that day.

Saul inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer.

And that can be true for us. God may never answer us about some things (For example, why did this or that happen?) Or if He does answer, it may not be straight away.

Sometimes the Lord answers, but we fail to hear, or understand.

What might we do during such times?

Most would agree that Saul’s next decision was the worst one ever. He found a medium, explicitly against God’s law (“Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God” – Lev 19:31), and the woman obeyed Saul’s command to “bring up Samuel” (1 Sam 28: 11).

Putting aside theological questions about whether a dead person can be “brought up” (a separate devotion, perhaps?) Samuel proceeded to repeat words that the Lord had previously spoken through him while he had been alive but went further to inform Saul that the battle with Philistia will not turn out well. In fact, he and his sons will die.

I wonder if he regretted consulting the medium!

So, what can we learn here? What can we do when God is or appears to be silent? Let me suggest two things.

First, as we study 1 Samuel, we see that Saul was not a humble man, and his downfall came as a result of disobedience to God’s instructions. So, let’s learn from that and adopt a posture of humility. For some, that might mean confessing sins. For all of us it surely means taking time to worship God.

Second, we can obey him. Maybe God has spoken to you in the past and you haven’t yet done what He said. We can also go back to Bible verses or stories that have spoken to you in the past and meditate on them.

Job was a man who hit the silence of God. For 37 chapters, we saw him sitting in pain, having lost everything; desperate for answers; battling with unhelpful advice from his friends, and feeling that even God had abandoned him – and not knowing why.

But God did eventually speak to Job and although He didn’t answer all of his questions, he said enough to remind him that the Lord is sovereign over all the Earth.

Sometimes, when God is silent, that’s all we need to know.

Were you blessed by last week’s service?

In that sermon, Pastor Prince reminded us from 1 Peter 1:5–8 that even though we may face trials and tough times, we can still greatly rejoice in the midst of them because we are in Christ!

Don’t miss tomorrow’s service, as Pastor Prince continues to expound on the true meaning of life and how we can live it to the fullest in a message titled, Live Life Above the Sun (September 17, 2023)*. Hear powerful truths from the Song of Songs about God’s heart for us to see Jesus and His love for us every day.

So, join us tomorrow and discover how our Lord Jesus is the answer to our search for meaning in life. Also, if you know someone who needs to be encouraged by the Word, invite them to tune in together too!

See you tomorrow!

KEEP LOOKING TO JESUS!!!

 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² The same was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴ In him was life; and the life was the light of men. ⁵ And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

James 1:5

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Deuteronomy 31:8Authorized (King James) Version

⁸ And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

1 Corinthians 13

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. …

Ephesians 2:8-9Authorized (King James) Version

⁸ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ⁹ not of works, lest any man should boast.

 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. ³⁶ But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. ³⁷ Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; ³⁸ pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.