God has given us honey on the ground even in this troubled world. He will complete His purpose for us. The message of grace and the finished work is so sweet. He will conform us to His image. (1 Samuel 14:24-28; Romans 8:28-35)

Speaker(s): Thomas Schaller
Sermon 12234
11:00 AM on 1/16/2022

Good morning.

I’m so glad to be here today, this morning. It’s great to be here. A week ago I was in Finland. Thank
you for your prayers. I was there for the week. Many of you know, I used to live there as a
missionary. I met friends from 40 years ago, and we just continued in our walk with Christ. They
are so precious. I’m so thankful.

Eurocon will be happening in March, Lord willing. You know how it is with all these restrictions
and everything, but the doors are open and you can find more about that on our website. I
might be in a week or two weeks go to Paris for a conference, a Greater Grace conference, so
be praying for that, too. I’m not sure but like all of us looking for God’s leading.

I want to share a few words with you from 1 Samuel 14 to kind of set the tone for our message, to
tell you what I want to preach about today. Turn to 1 Samuel 14. We have some guests here. We
have P. Glen Ernest and Patty. Just raise your hand if they’re here. Also, we have P. Stan
Collins from Argentina is here today. We’re just rejoicing in God’s family.

vs. 24. Sounds familiar, huh? People are distressed. They can be distressed. They can feel the
trouble. This was a king’s decision. It’s something he decided. I’m not going into that whether
that was right or wrong, but I want you to see something. There is food on the ground in this
story and it’s honey. Honey is on the ground. I’m going to use this as an illustration for our
message today, that it’s God’s will for us to eat the honey that is on the ground. I want to use
that as an example of Christ being in this world. We are in the world. We are in a troubled world.
Christ is here. Christ is even if I make my bed in hell, God is there in Psalm 139. He will never
leave you or forsake you. He is on your side. He is for you. And this way we see him as this
honey on the ground.

vs. 25-26. They obeyed the king, but there was somebody that didn’t hear the king’s command.
That was the king’s son, Jonathan. vs. 27. He ate the honey. He got the strength for battle and
did a really good job as you could read in the story. I want to say just a couple things this morning. There is honey in this world but some people never find it. #2. They find it but they don’t eat it. There is honey in this world. There is the
answer for everybody’s life, everybody’s problem, everybody’s state of mind. There is a solution
for us but somebody is telling you not to eat it. Somebody is saying it doesn’t exist or if it is
found, don’t touch it.

But we are looking into our Bible today and we want God to tell us to eat the honey. Take it. You
need it. You need it. You really need it. That’s all I want to say. You really need it. You really
need it. You and I need it. We really need it.
We need the spiritual life. We need Jesus Christ in our life. We need the Bible to be open to us.
We need friends. We need encouragement. We need God to answer our prayer. We need God
in our lives. And we have him. We have him. That’s what we want to say. There is somebody
saying don’t even think about it. If you find it, don’t touch it. Have nothing to do with it. We’re
here to say, no. I want to know what it is. I want to eat it cause I’m in this life for a certain
reason. I’m not going to play a game with it. I want it. I’m going to eat it and I’m going to live my
life.

My life will be better because of it cause it’s real. Christ is real. Your life is better because of
him. You’ll be a better NFL football player. You’ll be a better doctor, better teacher, better
mother, better father, better teenager, better young person. You’ll be a better student. You’ll be
better because of the honey that’s on the ground. Amen.

P. Eugene Davis –

Tomorrow is Martin Luther King Jr. where we celebrate as a nation. Proverbs
20:5, I was thinking of the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and what pastor said in this world and
there is honey. The honey is from God. In his time and in our times, there are seasons where there’s a lot of difficulty going on. There is like honey for counsel. Like pastor said, there is the
devil who says don’t find it, but if you do find it, don’t eat it.

That was an interesting statement as I thought of it. Like what happens when someone finds the
Word of God and they eat it? Jeremiah 15:16, here’s a man in a very interesting time in our country
chose to eat the Word of God and it transformed him, and not only did it transform him, but it
transformed those around him like many others. It was used by God to transform our world,
United States of America specifically. It’s awesome because this is why we come to church.
This is why we can celebrate together as the Body of Christ because of the honey of the Word
of God. It’s amazing. It’s not only for that era but it continues. The honey. A young man. A young
woman. A teenager. Whoever you are, right?

Counsel in the heart of man is deep water. The honey goes deep and it meets our need and
transforms our lives and then it says a man of understanding draws it out. It’s for others. As we
just think of his life and I’m just blessed by a man who was willing to think with God, walk with
God and be used by God to serve his generation. That was an amazing legacy. It’s awesome.
It’s awesome to me personally. It’s awesome just as an American, as a black man. It’s amazing
but it’s the Word of God. Make no mistake it’s the Word of God. Without the Word of God, just a
common man. But with the Word of God, used by God, right? Just amazing.

Just awesome. Lastly, as we think of our giving in the offering this morning, how God counsels us regarding our
finances. We taste the honey of the Word of God and it touches our finances and we give. It’s
awesome. Never let the devil tell you you can’t give cause he’s a liar. We can give cause God
freely gave to us and we freely give in the work of God. So pray with me.

P. Schaller –

Okay. You may be seated. Have any of you maybe it’s happened to you but you’ve
said don’t talk to me about the Bible. I can’t hear it or you’ve met somebody who is like I don’t
want to hear it. Don’t tell me about it. Don’t talk to me about God or don’t say anything to me
about the Bible. I don’t want to go to the church. I can’t do it. I can’t do it. Anybody? Yeah. All
those people go out! All the goats go on that side of the room and the sheep go – okay! Turn to
Hebrews 12. It’s written in the Bible that that happened to the people of God. It’s Hebrews 12. Where
were they when that happened to them? They were at Mt. Sinai. What’s Mt. Sinai? It’s the
mountain when they came out of Egypt they went to the mountain and Moses disappeared and
was gone for 40 days. God was giving him the law. At that mountain, it was very dark. It was a
bad experience.

Look at Hebrews 12:18. Okay. This is us, the church. We have not come to that mountain that might
be touched and burned with fire nor unto blackness and darkness. vs. 19. there was actually the
voice of God, the voice of words which voice they that heard entreated that the word should not
be spoken to them anymore.” they heard it but they were like we can’t hear it. We can’t hear it.
That can happen to you, too. You could say I don’t want to hear it. It’s too hard. It’s condemning
me. My conscience troubles me. I don’t want to hear it. I can’t hear it. It can happen to us, you
know. Can you talk to your neighbor for a minute. I have a little thing this morning. I had it at the
9:00 service. Beautiful service.

Great time, but I got a sense of I think the Holy Spirit could
manifest himself very strongly but I also want you to have a good attitude toward God and be
hearing from God and be engaged with what I’m saying. Maybe it would help if you talked to
your neighbor for a minute and just say to your neighbor, you know. That has happened to me
that I kind of put my hands on my ears and said I don’t want to hear it. Or if it didn’t happen to
you, it happened to my uncle! I just talk for a second, just one minute and we’ll move on in our
message.

P. Hadley said it’s happened like a projection. Like don’t hear that. Have you ever woke up,
you’ve woken up in the morning and maybe it was gloomy. Gloomy kind of feeling. Moody.
Maybe even some depressed or darkness. Let’s go back to those words in vs. 18. Blackness
and darkness and tempest. The sound of a trumpet. Okay. I’m just saying by testimony that
there are people that have sinned and they’re very guilty about it. It’s kind of darkness and guilt.
There are people that have done bad things in their life and the things come back and haunts

them and they feel bad about it. There might also be something to do with my self-image and I
am unworthy and maybe even I’m not saved. Maybe even God doesn’t love me. I know he loves
you guys but I don’t know about me. This happens to people.
Do you know what those people need? They need to find honey on the ground cause it’s there.
But somebody told you it’s not there or if it’s there, don’t touch it. If you touch it, you’re cursed.
That’s what they said in 1 Samuel 14. If you touch it, you’re cursed. Also, don’t touch it. Don’t have
anything to do with it. But I want to say to you this morning in Rom. 8, we receive counsel. Go
first to Heb. 4 please. Bible college starts a week from Monday. I’m excited about it cause it is
like honey on the ground. Classes are not like I can’t hear them but more like I want to hear it.
Teach me. I need to be edified because I have sinned. I have failed.

I have some guilt in my heart. I feel depressed. I am afraid or I am worried about my future. They say many Americans,
I think half of them, are afraid of getting covid. Another group of people, a large number, are
afraid of losing their job. There are people that are concerned about their finances. There are
people with family – when you have a family, you worry about your family members. That
happens. Somebody has something very precious in their life and they’re afraid of losing it.
There’s no end to what kind of trouble we have in this world. But the Apostle Paul is writing in
Romans 8, but before we do I want you to see Hebrews 4:2.

You need Gospel preaching by the way. We need Gospel preaching. We need the grace
message. We need counsel from God’s Word, Psalm 19, Psalm 119. We need to hear and then vs. 2.
It didn’t work. It didn’t profit them. There was honey on the ground but it didn’t work for them. It
didn’t profit them. They didn’t get it. They didn’t eat it. It didn’t work. vs. 2. Mixing the Word with
faith. That’s what we are doing today. We’re going to hear it and mix it with faith. And this is like,
this is how we are rejuvenated. Our mind is renewed. How we are edified. We hear it and mix
faith with it. We live by faith and not by sight. We live by faith. Yeah, but you are – let’s go to a
little sketch here. Here’s my life and we can put all kinds of a cloud around me. We could call it
the blues. I got the blues.

Darkness, tempest. I got a problem with my family. Somebody has a
son in jail. Somebody has a cancer, covid, or they have a problem at work, their job. Housing.
Finances. General sense my conscience bothers me. My conscience bothers me. My heart
condemns me. If your heart condemns you, God is greater than your heart. Watch this. I got this
but then I got a choice. As you hear me and you mix faith with what I say, actually it’s better for
you. Yeah, but I don’t do that. If you don’t do it, you don’t do it but the end game is guaranteed.
You’ll be conformed to the image of my Son. I promise you. Well, how can you do that. I am
God and I decided it. I decided in my own mind. I decided in my own wisdom, and this will glorify
me. I am the one that is honored for this work that I am doing.

It is finished but in finishing it I am also telling you in the process of your life, you can eat it, enjoy it, experience it, know it. If you don’t know it, that’s your business. You don’t know it and you don’t have to. You can go
out the door and that’s the end. I mean you can just shut down. But it’s much more fun to eat the
honey from the ground. It’s much more fun to have your eyes enlightened and to realize God.
It’s much more fun to glorify God in your life of faith than to just live in your feelings and your
bad conscience and say that God doesn’t love me and feel depressed and worried and afraid.
Go at it. But that life isn’t as good as this one. It’s much better to believe what God is saying
here. Believe him and also gives him the opportunity to honor you in your faith. I believe you,
God. Then he says, come on. Walk with me. And we walk with him.

That’s our privilege. But I don’t want to. You don’t need to. You don’t have to. You’re saved, you’re saved and it’s
guaranteed. One day it will be that he has finished his work in you and you are perfected. That’s
when we go to heaven. We’ll be perfected with our spirit, soul, body but until then, we have the
privilege of faith in God. Get your eyes on God. Set your eyes on God. Put your affection on
things above. Have the mindset of the truth. The truth will set you free. You’ll live another kind of
life. You’ll go from faith to faith. You’ll greatly glorify our Heavenly Father in John 15. We’ll abide in
the vine and bear fruit and thereby glorify him in this life time.

Go down to the next verse. vs. 30. We have five links in the chain here. He foreknew. He
predestinated. He called. He justified. He glorified. There are five links. This means you are so
secure because none of these links depends on you. All of them are done by God. He foreknew you. He predestinated you. He called you. He justified you. He glorified you. He did it all. What
can we say to these things? vs. 31. They’re like mind blowing. They are – it has nothing to do
with the bad conscience or the tempest or I don’t want to hear this. I can’t hear. The Ten
Commandments or the law is condeming me. It’s too much pressure on me. I can’t hear it. This
is the other side. This is something else. Grace. This is God saying I gave you my Son. I
became a man so I could do it all for you cause you’re sinners. Sinners couldn’t do any of this.
But I did it all on a level you can’t even comprehend what I’m talking about. It’s the unspeakable
gift.

Let me show you something. Here’s the cross with Jesus doing his incredible work on the cross.
There are five categories of people that said come down from the cross. The common people
said it. The Pharisees said it. The soldiers said it. Let’s see. There was another group and then
the thief on the cross said it. Come down and save yourself. This is what the world says. The
world says come down. God says stay on it. Hebrews 9:14, he was kept on the cross by the Holy
Spirit. Nails didn’t keep him on the cross. The Holy Spirit kept him on the cross. The Romans
didn’t keep him on the cross. The Holy Spirit kept him on the cross. Why? Cause he was doing
this work for you and me. What work? This one. This one. He foreknew you. You are
predestinated to be like him. He called you. He justified you. He glorified you at the cross. That’s
what happened there. The cross did it. You know, like the world doesn’t see it.

They don’t know it. They don’t know the honey on the ground. They don’t know there is anything more. They
don’t have anything to eat. What do they eat? Fox News and CNN and podcasts and talking and
university professors and the news and the local pub or barroom chatter. What do they know?
NFL stats. What do they know? The price of a car, the temperature outside. What do they
know? Napoleon Bonaparte was the Emperor in France. What do they know about this? They
don’t know anything about it. Just come down from the cross. We’ll believe in you. Ha, ha, ha,
ha, ha. Sure you’ll believe in me. You don’t know anything about what you’re talking about, but
I’m saying to you from our Bible that this is so incredible that Paul said what could we say about
these things? They are extraordinary.

Exceptional. It means we go to heaven. We’re forgiven. It
means our name is written in the Book of Life. It means we have the Holy Spirit all the time. All
the time we have the Holy Spirit who is our teacher and has given us something here.
Let’s go to the next verse. Romans 8:31, Let’s write here the word – if Jesus stayed on the cross
for us and he did something we can hardly understand, then he says who can be against us? I
can tell you who can be against me. Me. Myself. I’m my greatest enemy. I’m my own counselor.
Me. Myself can be against me. God would say, no. You are nothing. Your whole experience, all
your feelings, all your sins, all your complexes, all your depression is nothing to me. You have
no idea what I did on the cross.

If I am for you, who can be against you. I’ll tell you somebody
else who can be. I’ll put down here “me, myself” is against me. I’ll put down here another one.
Satan. Who can be against me? Satan can be against me. God is saying, no. He’s nothing. I
overcame him. I defeated him. He can’t be against you. Yes, he can be against you but it has no
power. He has no power over you. I mean I overcame him. How about my friends could be
against me. How about my mother, my father. How about a friend, a group of people. How
about my church could be against me, God forbid. Yeah, I wonder who could be against me.
Let’s go to the next portion, vs. 32. Let’s put here Jesus Christ is for you. How do you know he’s
for you? He stayed on the cross. Jesus Christ and God the Father. If they together are for you,
who could be against you?

Well, I listen to the voices of the world. That’s why I feel like he’s
against me. I hear my own conscience condemning me. But what does God say? He says I
don’t condemn you. I am for you. I gave my Son. Are you kidding me? I gave my Son so that
you would be free. Which are you going to believe, me or your conscience? Me or the State of
Maryland who put you in a penitentiary. Me or the local jail house that put you in jail or the IRS.
They fined you for cheating on your taxes. Or your ex-wife who says you’re a bum. You’re a
useless person. Or your ex-husband or ex-wife or your children or whatever. All these are very
real things. Come on! That’s why we are hungry.

The people were walking, not eating all day because there was a force against them eating the honey and saying you can’t eat. And if you find it, don’t eat it. And if you touch it, you are cursed. I’m telling you, this is a game changer.
When you find this and you eat it and you say I’m going to believe God now. I feel bad but I’m going to believe God. I’m in my kitchen 6:00 in the morning and it’s dark out and it’s cold and I
feel bad about a lot of things. Maybe even some people they feel bad about a thousand things.
There’s a mood of darkness, blackness, tempest. They don’t want to hear a thing. But then
Jesus speaks. I’m not against you. I’m for you. I gave myself for you. I stayed on the cross for
you. Everybody said come down but God’s ways are not man’s ways. God said stay. I stayed
and I saved you. I forgave you. I gave myself for you. I fill you with the Holy Spirit. I want to
show you the way. I am for you not against you.

This whole chapter here, we’re going to finish it up, but let’s look at it. vs. 33. Lord, I’ll tell you
who will. My mother will. She doesn’t think very highly of me. I’ll tell you who will. Satan will. He’s
not for me. I’ll tell you who will charge me. My conscience will. But then it says in vs. 33. it is
God that justified you. That’s all that counts. That’s the voice of God. I am for you. It doesn’t
mean we delight in our sin. It just means I want to get away from my sin. I want to forget it. I
want to eat honey. I want to have enlightened eyes. I want to have a new way. I want something
else in my heart. I want to be filled with your Spirit. I want the Bible to be open for my heart. I
want to learn more what the Bible says about who I am and get rid of my past and bury it. It’s
gone. Jesus’ blood was shed to atone for my sin, so I am not my sin. I am a new creation. I am
in the image of God. He is my Father.

He is for me and not against me. vs. 34. I went to Jessup prison years ago. I got in to see a group of people that were worshiping and they were Greater Grace. They wanted their fellowship – they were in for life and they wanted their fellowship to be Greater Grace Church, because the pastor that was there was working in the prison system.
Charles Law, if you remember him. P. Charles Law. He brought me there and I met these
people that were in for life. Some had two life sentences. They were Spirit filled people. They
were free. They loved. They loved. They worshiped Jesus. They were free. The sentence of
civil law is that you are guilty and you have to pay for your sin, but the sentence from God is my
Son became guilty so you would be free. My Son paid the price so I do not condemn you. You
are justified. You are forgiven. You are my child.

That’s eating the honey from the ground that many people don’t know is there. And if it is, they don’t eat it. They’re too wrapped up with their mood and their feelings about things. They say more like this, solve my problem. Solve my problem. They go to the church and they have this “solve my problem.” We go, nobody can solve your problem. You have to make a decision to live by faith, by faith in what God says. That’s not going to change anything. Yes, it
will. If you hear what God says to you and God is loving you and the Holy Spirit is teaching you,
like Jonathan it enlightened his eyes. He had a victory, a military victory because of it. I’m using
that to illustrate the fact that I don’t care about your stuff. I know about your stuff. I’m a human
being, too. I understand it and I care about it as much as we have compassion and the Spirit
leads us. But do you think that any human being on this side of heaven, do you think that any
human being is actually the one that’s going to solve your problems in your life.

Any human being is actually the solution? If you think about human beings, it’s not about human beings. It’s
about Jesus Christ and the living God for our Rock is not as their Rock, Deuteronomy 32:31. To know him
is what life is about. That I may know him. That I might be comforted by him. That I might be
loved by him. That we might forgive others. We might love others. We might say to others Jesus
is real and cares about you. He will help you. He will fill you with the Spirit instead of filling you
with alcohol. Ephesians 5:18, “be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit.”
Okay.

Let’s finish. Romans 8:35, The last “who” here. Who will separate us? I’ll tell you who. My boyfriend
will. He’ll separate me from the love of Christ. I know who. My boss. He can separate me from
the love of Christ. I know who. I, I can separate myself from the love of Christ. Really? You don’t
know what you’re talking about. Honey on the ground. Look at verse 35. Can your boyfriend?
Can your job? Can a cancer? Can death itself separate you from the love of God, the love of
Christ? Nothing can. For I am persuaded Paul said. What is he saying? These are extraordinary
things. They have to be because Christ did something extraordinary. They said “come down.”
he didn’t because he was doing something much more important. He was establishing us in him
so nothing could ever separate us from him. What was he doing? He was giving us ears and a
new heart, new footsteps, new hands. He was giving us a new life.

Now I’m saying by warning today. I’m warning all of us. You can live this life and notice the
honey is really close way down on the ground where many people live. That’s where Christ is.
He’s there. He became sin for us. He went real low. He’s very compassionate, very
understanding. He’s the one that opens your ears. So instead of saying I can’t take it. I don’t
want to hear anything. Leave me alone. I’m in my own self-life. You don’t understand me. You
have no idea what I’ve been through. I don’t want to hear it. I have no capacity for any of that.
Jesus comes really low, very close to those people and he says I’m here. I’m here. This is about
you have no idea. This is about me. I love you. I am for you. All the stuff you are talking about,
there’s nothing I can’t heal. I can heal your body. I can heal your soul. I can heal your spirit. I am
all about it. Are you kidding me? Mary Magdalene had seven demons. No problem for Christ.
Nicodemus was a Pharisee.

No problem. Zacheus was a businessman. Not a problem. Paul was a blasphemer and a murderer. No problem for God. Are you kidding? Moses is in unbelief out at the burning bush. It’s like no problem for God. Moses said how will I know? Throw your staff on the ground and it becomes a serpent. Take it up and it’s a staff. Put your hand in your
bosom, and it’s leprous. Put it back again, it’s healed. Moses, I am God. I’m not like you. I am
God. I am God. I am for you, not against you. Come on! Anybody can take me on? Who is he
that condemneth? Who can separate you from my love? I’m God. I am God. Do you get it? I am
God. He is the honey on the ground. If you don’t eat it, you won’t have the strength. You won’t
know what you’re talking about. You don’t know where you’re going. You won’t be able to do it.
He is the honey on the ground that you and I are told to eat it.

Eat it up. Take it. Eat it. It will change your life. Grow from faith to faith. But you won’t – it’s faith. The devil will say, don’t touch it. And you’ll say in your heart, I’m eating it cause Jesus said, “the hour is coming and now is,
they that hear the voice of the son of God shall not come into condemnation but has passed
from death unto life.” The voice of God that says I am for you and not against you. Okay. Pray
with me, please.

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