Biting The Hand That Feeds You Series

BITING THE HAND THAT FEEDS YOU

Theme Verse: For I know that as you pray for me and as the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will all turn out for my deliverance. (Philippians 1:19)

Monday: For I know: “What Do You Believe”

Tuesday: As you pray for me: “Jesus Prayed for Me”

Wednesday: As the Spirit of Jesus: “When Jesus Exhales”

Thursday: Christ helps me: “Biting the Hand that Feeds

You”

Text: Jesus said, "At my Father’s direction I have done many things to help the people. For which one of these good deeds are you killing me?" (John 10:32)

We have all heard in our lives, at one time or another, the term “Don’t Bite the Hand that Feed’s You.” We can assume that this cliche originated from the fact that when a man has a dog, and in most cases any other kind of animal, that dog will usually not bite the hand of the one that feeds it. The dog knows where its nourishment comes from and if it wants to continue to eat, it knows that it must not bite the hand of the one that is feeding it. However, we as humans beings, as intelligible individuals, have adopted this term as one that is used to tell somebody that they should not lay offense against those that are taking care of them. They should not abuse or stab the back of the person who is responsible for their day to day living. They should not hurt the one that is responsible for their well-being. In other words, they should not bite the hand that feeds them.. Have I got a witness?

But you know there is just something special about us human beings, especially us black folk. We seem to have a yearning and a capacity for hurting those that are close to us. I mean we KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that our parents are feeding us. We know that they are taking care of us. We know that they are providing for us in a way that we cannot provide for ourselves, and yet, we will do things time and time again, that we know will break their heart and cause them undue pain. We know that our husband or wife loves us. That they would give you the shirt off of their back and the shoes off of their feet. That they would do everything in their power to ensure your happiness before their own. And yet, we’ll cut out on them with another man or woman. We’ll spend more time on the phone with our girlfriends than we will with our husbands. We’ll spend more time out drinking or acting a fool with our so-called buddies than we will with our wife. And all the while, we know that we are causing them hurt. We know we are causing them pain. But we do it anyway, knowing that we are biting the hand that feeds us. Am I right about it?

And let me get you to understand tonight, that when you are fed by someone, it does not necessarily have anything to do with food. You can be fed with happiness. You can be fed with love and companionship. You can be fed with self-confidence and self esteem. You can be fed with gentleness and loving kindness. You can be fed emotionally and physically. You can even be fed spiritually, as should be the case when you come to the church and listen to the pastor deliver the Word of God. For I can hear Jesus tell that old devil that “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Yes, there are many ways that you can be fed. Have I got a witness?

And if we look at the life of JESUS, will find that He was and is the good shepherd. But He came down not only as a good shepherd, but also as the master chef who specialize in feeding his flock everything that they need.

If it’s the Word of God that you need, Jesus will feed it to you. And it really doesn’t matter how much education you think you have or how much you think you already know about the Word of God. Because if we know anything about the early days of Jesus, we should be reminded that when Jesus was still a mere child, He went into the synagogue where He started feeding the teachers and doctors the Word of God. And the Bible tells us that they were all amazed and astonished at how well this little 12 year old boy gave answers and asked questions. Have I got a witness in here?

If you need to be fed with something that will clean you up, Jesus will feed it to you. And he won’t do it like the old folk used to do it. The old folk would get all the children together, make them line up in a straight line, and then give them some the nastiest tasting stuff like Castoria and castor oil. And that was supposed to clean out all of the impurities of their bodies. But if you are washed in the blood of the lamb tonight, all you have to do is ask the LORD to clean you up. And just like the man who fell down on his knees with leprosy, Jesus will stretch forth his hands and say “Be Thou Clean.” And you will be as white as snow. Am I right about it?