REVIVAL 29 August 2021 1 Peter 5: 5 Likewise, you who are younger and of lesser rank, be subject to the elders (the ministers and spiritual guides of the church)— [giving them due respect and yielding to their counsel]. Clothe (apron) yourselves, all of you, with humility [as the garb of a servant, [b]so that its covering cannot possibly be stripped from you, with freedom from pride and arrogance] toward one another.For God sets Himself against the proud (the insolent, the overbearing, the disdainful, the presumptuous, the boastful)—[and He opposes, frustrates, and defeats them], but gives grace (favor, blessing) to the humble. 6 Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you, 7 Casting the [c]whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, [d]once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you [e]watchfully. The Bible is saying “there are people that is before you in the Lord. They are there to guide you and to help you.” This is what the church should look like – It’s a body; it’s a family; and it’s all for your safety. There are people that has been where you should still get to, and these people should guide us. God calls us to be in a family that is there for you, and that loves you, and helps you. We need to clothe ourselves with humility. I believe humility is the highest rank in Heaven. Pride will keep you away from God. When we seek the Lord, first humble yourself and know that He is God, and you are not. We should also humble ourselves towards one another. As we humble ourselves before the Lord, see that you take everything of your life, and it’s placed in n basket, and you’ll be giving that whole basket to God. It’s like throwing a javelin when we cast all our cares upon the Lord. God wants us to do this so that we can have the peace of a child. God wants our cares and give us peace and joy. The Lord gives Grace, favour and blessing to the humble. We need God’ grace, favour and blessing. It’s undeserved favour; and His blessing is the power to prosper, in our lives. It means that God can empower you to prosper. This is what we need but this is the reward of humbleness. This is what you get when you humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. If you messed up, I want to encourage you to make right with God. He is always standing with open arms, waiting for the prodigals to come back. He wants to welcome you back. He is not waiting there to judge you, or to condemn you, but to bring you back into the place where you belong. Psalms 139: 23 – 24 Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. This is a prayer we pray as we humble ourselves under God. We should always check if there is idolatry going on with us. God is a jealous God. He doesn’t want us to have other gods. He doesn’t want anything in our life to be more important to us than Him. That is what we need to search for today, asking: God is there anything between us? 1 Corinthians 11: 28 Let a man [thoroughly] examine himself, and [only when he has done] so should he eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discriminating and recognizing with due appreciation that [it is Christ’s] body, eats and drinks a sentence (a verdict of judgment) upon himself. See that we have to examine our hearts before we have communion. If we don’t recognize what God has done for us on the cross, we are making cheap what He has done for us on the cross. So, while He was supposed to take our sickness and pain, we will face it if we don’t acknowledge our Saviour with the right heart. When we get God, we get everything we will ever need in life. Remember this. Get God in your life, get God on the throne in your life. Then everything else will be there for you. Matthew 5: 6 Blessed and fortunate and happy and [g]spiritually prosperous (in that state in which the born-again child of God [h]enjoys His favor and salvation) are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God), for they shall be [i]completely satisfied! Nothing can satisfy in this world, the way that God can satisfy. But we should also hunger and thirst for Him. If we eat from Facebook and the worlds new the whole time, it’s like eating fast food the whole time. We won’t ever then be in the mood for good food. Make sure to have a hunger and thirst for God. Get your appetite in the right place. Feed yourself first with the Word of God. If you only hunger a little bit, you’ll only be satisfied a little bit. Those with a huge hunger and huge thirst will get a lot more from God.