My Grace is Sufficient for you Part-2

In continuation with the messages of the past two weeks, we will learn about more patriarchs of faith who overcame trials and tribulations for the Lord.

 The first person we will see today is Gideon. The name Gideon means ‘One who cuts’. Judges 6:34 “But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him”. Gideon was the 5th Judge of Israel. In those days, there was no King to rule over the Israelites. Hence their sins abounded and because of their sins, they were conquered by the Midianites and were in bondage for 7 years. Judges 21:25 “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes”. At that time, an angel of the Lord spoke to Gideon and he was anointed with the Spirit of God. Judges 6:12 “And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour”. Having heard this Gideon is not happy Gideon asked God, that if He was with them, then how come his people went into bondage. Hence the Lord spoke to Gideon Judges 6:13-14 says “And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? “ As promised, Lord gave Gideon victory over the Midianites and freed the Israelites from bondage. When the Lord says go, the Cherubims and Seraphims will go along with us.

The same God is with us today who promises us victory. In I John 4:4 Lord says “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world”. We can do all these thing because God strengthens us. God empowered Gideon, similarly He will empower us too. Philippians 4:13 ”I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me”. When Lord strengthens us with power, victory will be ours. Luke 24:49 “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high”. With the victory over our enemies, we can testify God’s great power and wondrous doings, to the world. Acts 1:8 ‘But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth”. Our Church ‘Rose of Sharon’ is a church of little flock. God chose this small ministry to do his marvelous work and testify to the world. God could have chosen a big church for this purpose, But ‘NO’ He chose this small ministry of ours. The more the works of our enemy abounds on this ministry, greater is the grace of God abounding on us and we can testify His Glory and Grace to the world. Gideon thus wins the great victory for the Lord, and his name is immortalized in the holy scriptures Judges 7:14 “And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host”.

Jephthah was the 9th Judge of Israel, he was a ‘Mighty man of valor’ Judges 11:11 “Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh”. He was a son of a harlot, thus his family rejected him. But his faith in God was pure and strong, thus God chose him. When his tribe chose him to be head and captainto lead them, he sorrowfully went to the Lord and poured out his heart to the Him. God loved Jephthah very much , thus we see his mention in the Hebrew 11:32 “And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets”. God can lift anyone whom He wants, but our heart must be pure before Him. No one is small in God’s sight. He chooses the meek and the humble so that His name is glorified above all. 1 Samuel 2:8 “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD's, and he hath set the world upon them”. When God chose Jephthah, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him Judges 11:29 “Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon”. Though his family rejected him because he was a son of a harlot. But before Lord’s sight Jephthah was precious thus Lord lifted him. Jephthah’s faith was such that of Daniel who in spite of all the ban to pray to God, he still opened the windows towards Jerusalem and prayed to a God whom he believed and put his faith and trust. We have seen so far that all the great valiant men viz…. Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Melchizedek, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Aaron, Joshua, Caleb and Barak who fought for the Lord and through Him alone won their victories.

Next we see the life of Samson. Samson was a promised son, Lord chose him before his birth. Judges 13:2-5 “2And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing. For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines”. Lord had said no razor shall touch his head, for the child shall be Nazarite and he shall deliver Israel from the hand of Philistines.

When God has promised us something, we have to conduct our lives with great care and purity. We must not mix with other tribes and impurify ourselves. We will see the comparison of Razor v/s Tongue. Many peoples talks are sharp like razor and it can kill. In the holy scriptures in Psalm 52:2 we see ” The tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully”. We must use our tongue very carefully, it can be destructive. We must also learn to keep ourselves away from the people of this world who can destroy our lives. As David says in Psalm 1:1-3 “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper”. We continue to see the life of Samson, Judges 13:25 “And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol”. The spirit of the lord started working mightily in Samson’s life by empowering him with great Power to do the unimaginable. Judges 14:6 “And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done”. But Samson forgot God’s grace and started mingling with other tribes and made himself unclean and fell prey to Delilah’s sweet talks. Judges 16:6 says ‘And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee”. Samson gives away his secret and loses the Great Power God had gifted him. Once again Samson pleads with God to avenge the Philistines, we see in Judges 16:28 “And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes”. Similarly, we must also ensure not to lose God’s grace in our life. When we lose God’s holy cover, the enemy will destroy us in no time, because the enemy is waiting for that weak moment of ours.

Today we meet a sister called Ruth. Ruth means “one worthy to be loved” or dearest friend. In Holy Bible 66 books in 2 books are named after ladies one Ruth and other Esther. This Ruth is a Moab who were agaist the Israelities. This people came from Lot and his daughters so God did not love them. As Abraham left his country and people and went to the land God showed him. Similarly Ruth followed and her life was fruitful. She never allowed her flesh to win and took the right decision. Ruth 1:16-17 “And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me”.

The disciples followed Jesus they became Apostles. Whoever wants to follow Jesus have to deny themselves and carry their cross daily. Revelation 14:4 ”These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstf ruits unto God and to the Lamb”. Because Rut h followed Lord and Naomi so God blessed Ruth. God gave Boaz to Ruth. They gave birth to son named Obed, Obed begat Jesse, Jesse begat David. Ruth 4:22” And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed, And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David”. And Jesus was born of David’s lineage Psalm 63:7 says ”Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice”.

Next we see the life of Samuel, 1 Samuel 1:27 ”For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him”. Hannah was barren for several years, Day and night she spent in the temple of the Lord, crying and praying for a child. God saw her tears and granted her petition. He blessed her with a son Samuel. 1 Samuel 1:20 “Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD”. Apostle Paul says in Galations 4:19 “My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you”. Isaiah Prophet also says in Isaiah 8:18 “Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion”. We see in the book of Samuel, from a little child Samuel was left to dwell in the temple of the Lord. He heard God’s voice and was obedient to it at all times. I Samuel 10:6 “And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man”. Samuel was a blessed child, he grew in the presence of the Lord and became a great prophet.
To summarize today’s message, we see the different people who lived in different eras and in different circumstances. But their common aim was to walk in great faith with God and make Him their constant companion. We have seen:

1. Gideon - God chose Gideon to deliver the Israelites from the Midianites
2. Jephthah - He was a son of an harlot. Though his family forsook him but God did not, he was chosen as a leader and captain of the people.
3. Samson - was a chosen child of God, even in his mother’s womb. God had prophesied even before his birth and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
4. Ruth - was from the Moabite tribe whom God disliked. But seeing her faith and her love for God, God chose her as a lineage for the birth of Jesus Christ.
5. Samuel - was a blessed child. He was born to his parents after several years of praying and crying by his mother Hannah. After his birth, Hannah left Samuel to dwell in the temple of the Lord, thus God used him even as a child and made him a great prophet.

Do we wish to make God our companion today. If yes, we must allow God to break us, mould us and make us the way He wants us to be. God will take away all our anxieties and fears. The enemy cannot touch us when we are under God’s shadow and protective wings. God will never let us loose to our enemy but will always give us victory in all our endeavors. May this message be a blessings to all to who read it.

-- Pastor Saroja