Deuteronomy 32:9 “For the LORD's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance” God’s people are HIS wealth, just as we buy shares in the share market, God has purchased us as His shares. Jesus sacrificed his life and purchased us with His blood. He made us his inheritance (congregation). Hence, He alone rules over us and only His will and plan will be established in our lives.

Exodus 19:5 “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine”. Lord looks at his little flock and tells them that “You are my loving children, my people. You are MINE”. Its true that whole world and its people belong to God. But we are His very own precious children, purchased us by His priceless blood. How privileged are we to be called ‘HIS OWN’.  Deuteronomy 7:6-7 says “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people”. Lord God chose us and said “I am your Father, You are my sons and daughters”. We are His flock, not chosen from the large no of people, but from the least of the people. When we were yet sinners He chose us, washed, cleansed, purified and anointed us with His oil to make us His Own.

2 Corinthians 6:18 - “And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty”. The promise of our Almighty Father is that, if we remain his beloved sons and daughters, He will continue to be our Father till the end of this world. His rule breaks us, melts us, moulds us and once again makes us whole. Eg. When Queen Victoria was young, her parents sent her to an unknown school, in a small town, away from the lime light because she was to be the future Queen. Queen Victoria was not even aware of this fact. One day during her schooling, in the History class she learns the truth about her royal lineage and her inheritance. She laughed aloud when reading the lesson, so her class teacher asked her the reason for laughing. She replied, I am the future Queen. So I have to live my life carefully and diligently, only then people will honor me as a Queen. In the same way, how much more careful should we live our lives…..we are the children of the King of Kings, Creator of Heaven and Earth. Sometimes God keeps us humble, without letting us know the future that He has planned for us.

John 1:12 “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”. God has given us the power to become his children, to only those who believe in His Name. And to believe, what the scripture says in Romans 8:17 “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together”. That we must suffer for Him and die for Him, so that the crown will be ours when Jesus comes in Glory to lift up His children. No power of this world can stop His hand or Lift His hand for His children. He alone has the power to lift us and keep us where He wants us to be.

Psalm 73:26 “My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever”. Our God who held the seven stars in His right hand and walked in the midst of seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches and lampstands are the seven churches…….Can we hide from Him. He knows our works, mind and heart. He is the God who searches our heart. No one can ever hide from him. His flaming eyes are always upon His children. He knows His children inside out. The holy scriptures says in Psalm 142:5 “I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.” Yes, when we cry out, He will hear. Not only hear but answer, He is our refuge in every situation. But we only need to ‘Call Unto Him in Faith’.
Deuteronomy 32 : 10 “He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye”. God did not deliver us from a nice place, but from desert and wilderness of Egypt. From Thence, He planted us in a nice fertile land of Israel. Not when we were healthy and wealthy, but when we were in bondage. Delivered and blessed us with the green green pastures. Our God is a ‘Deliverer’. Today, He has named us His Own, we must never seek to return to our sinful past. We see an eg of boy walking home after work, along the way, day turned to night, he also became tired and sleepy and fell asleep by the wayside. But when he woke up it was bright sun shining upon him. And he found himself stuck on to the tar road (that was freshly tarred the previous evening. He screamed for help, and was pulled out and he got up and started his walk back home. Even today, some of our lives is similar to this eg quoted, Unless we scream, Lord will not rescue us again. We need to call out to Him in faith and believe He can restore our lives once again.

Yes, once God restores us, He makes us the apple of His eyes. As we the congregation of Rose of Sharon Church step into the 7th Year, we must also diligently check our lives, we must not continue in our sins, but scream to God today…to deliver us out of the miry clay and set our feet on the Rock of Salvation i.e. God. Remember our God is a good God, He is quick to forgive and deliver us. Just like we see the eg. in the scriptures of the man going to Jericho, was robbed and beaten up left to bleed by the way side. Our good God restored him, picked him up, cleaned his wounds, applied the healing wine and anointed him with oil, kept him in safety till He returns. God is going to do the same to you and me, but we must be only willing in our heart and mind to accept His Deliverance.

Lets see the name Haggar gave God Genesis 16 : 13 “Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, ‘You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees’ for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” God is our Father, we are His children, He is our ‘Redeemer’ the one ‘Who Sees’ our every move. Luke 13¨10-13 “And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God”. Jesus healed the woman suffering from an infirmity of 18 years, how she must have praised God on being healed. Someone who could not stand straight and look up to the sky, can stand erect today and marvel at her healing. Now onwards, she is bound by God’s rule. Even we, when we have experienced our redemption, we are bound by God’s rules. He is our Father and we are His children. God is good and His grace is abundance upon us. David also says that I have experienced a lot but cannot reveal much, because the eyes of the evil are always upon us. In the similar manner, our church has fought many battles and have won victory in all of them, ONLY by the Grace of God. But all the wonderful Lord’s doings cannot be told, because of the evil doers thoughts and minds.

Luke 15:20 “And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him”. In this scripture we see the story of the Prodigal son, the world gives him nothing, in the end offers him pig’s meal. But when the Lord sees his pain and sorrow and his repentent heart, Lord delivers him. Even the family members did not recognize him, his physical state was pathetic, beyond recognition. But when he decides to return home, it is only his father who recognizes him and welcomes him with outstretched arms. Similarly, our God’s arm is always waiting with His outstretched arms for us, he is always waiting for us to return to Him. Because only in His arms we have everlasting and peaceful life.
 
Deuteronomy 32 : 12 “So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him”. Our God did not deliver us only once in our life time, but walks with us daily, holding our hand and leading us on His path. Romans 8:14 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God”. Yes, lets give our life in His hand. He alone is our Father, who will hold our hand and lead us in the path of light. Acts 19: 2 “He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. 19:6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied”. When people said they did not know what the Holy Ghost is? Paul laid his hands upon them, Spirit filled them and they glorified the Lord. They instantly became Lord’s children. Ephesian 1:13 “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise”. Yes, if we also have believed and trusted in God, we too are sealed with Holy Spirit. But for those of us who do not believe the Holy Spirit, we are warned through the scriptures Eph 4:30 “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption”. Today, if anyone of us do not believe in the Holy Spirit, we must heed to the warning given by Paul.

Luke 8 : 27-29 “And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and wore no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.) “ When Satan attacks men, they start behaving like him. But God’s children must behave according to the will of God alone. When we were sinners, we did all the wrong thing against the rules of God, but now that we are His children we are bound by His rules alone. No flexibility in this. We cannot follow the desires of the heart, worldly ways will only take us away from God. But we are bound by His love and grace.

Psalm 119 : 105  “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path”. Our life must be lead according to the word of God, the word will teach us God’s way. Psalm 32:8 “ I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye”. Lovingly God has promised to guide us with his own eyes viz. if he wants us to turn to right we must turn to right and when he says left, we must turn to left without questioning Him.

John 16:13 “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come”. God gives us wisdom, understanding and knowledge. He is our counselor. God’s word is the lamp to our feet and light on our path. The scriptures in Revelation says : Those who do bad, let them continue to do bad. Those who do evil let them continue to do evil. And those who do good let them continue to do good. Each one will be rewarded according to his work. The Judge will come one day bringing our reward along with Him. So lets continue to walk with our Lord in His light.

John 16: 8 “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment”. When Jesus returns, He will convict the unrighteous and throw them into the burning hell fire. And the righteous- His elect, He will gather for His kingdom. Isaiah 11 :2 “And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD”. And as the scriptures promises, God’s Holy Spirit will rest upon us forever. Deuteronomy 32:13 “He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock”. Our Lord, Our Redeemer makes us walk with him every day, keeps us in high places, blesses the works of our hand, satisfies our every need and watches over us as the ‘Apple of His Eyes’. But, remember, we always need to be humble before our Lord. Viz… we see in the holy scriptures when Lucifer began glorifying himself, how God kicked him out of the heaven into this world along with him brought 1/3th of the fallen angels and today they are ones who have conquered the world. Hence, God cautions us against sins viz … pride, ego, lying lips, murderous attitude, adulterous nature, wretched minds. We must beware of all these above qualities, if we find any of this within us, we must ask God to uproot it from our hearts. Because not one of us can escape the Day of Judgment, all of us must stand before God on that day.
 
Jude 1 15-21 ”To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage. But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life”. To conclude, every praise, honor and glory in this church, must be to our GOD alone. No man can take His glory. Even today, as we complete 6th year and step into 7th year, we continue to thank God and praise God for His mercy, kindness and grace upon us and bind us with His love. We thank God that His Spirit leads us in every service done to Him. Even if the evil distracts our heart and mind eg. the sweet potato story, we must never get carried away. When we have known the Truth, ‘Truth’ alone will set us free. The Truth is that God has redeemed us, washed us, cleansed us and anointed us to be His children. He alone will help us to continue to keep us safe in His arms and put his Holy fence around us and our church.
Pray that this message will heal, strengthen our faith and we will continue to walk even stronger with the Lord. May this message bring great blessings in our lives and also to those who read this article.
Praise the Lord !

— Pastor Saroja