A strong weak man.( Philippians 4 v 13 )

Let us consider the  one I believe was  strongest  man who ever lived,Samson,he was not  a mythical figure, he was a real flesh and blood person, you can read about him in the book of Judges chap 13-16.He tore a lion apart with his bare hands.he slew one thousand of Gods enemies using a donkey's jawbone. On another occasion he uprooted the gates of a city and carried it up a hill. He didn't get his strength by going to the gym,although he was strong, why then did his enemies capture him ,and gouged out his eyes and make him their captive?.You see he had a weakness,remember strong men have their weakness'es,even strong Christian men,it can be money,sex,pride,or whatever,He was a womanizer,as was Solomon's ( 1 king 11 v 1ff,) It was a woman called Delilah who caused Samson's downfall,she found out the secret of his strength,revealed it to His enemies,and the rest is history.But id didn't stop there, for his hair grew again ,and he prayed unto God, for after all that's were his strength came from,and he brought the house down,killing many of the enemies of God,but also killing himself. It is interesting that Samson is mentioned in Hebrews 11 v32 ,as a man of faith.R.Davis writes the following as regards Samson as,' being a wild ass of a man', in many ways a man who failed yes even morally,but when he prayed,God forgive him,and granted him victory.Yes God can use us failures.

God gives the increase ( Revelation 7 v9 - 12 )

 I wonder if your like me,you pray for the unsaved, you witness to them,and you don't see many people saved.Thinking about this I prayed, I said, 'Lord I want to see people saved',and I thought I heard Him say 'you will', and I smiled.Now what does that mean?,it could mean,here and now ,before I go to heaven,but it also could mean when I get to heaven,and of course it could mean both. In John 4 v 37, our Saviour said,' One sows another reaps', and in 1 Corinthians 3 v7 we read,'God..gives the increase'.God is very patient and we must learn that ,especially when it comes to witnessing.we all have a part to play,all the witnessing I or others have done is not wasted,others will reap the benefit. One persons wrote the following ,' God uses human instruments to bring to men the message of his truth and love; but it is He alone who wakes the hearts of men to new life'.There is a great church in China and it came into being because Hudson Taylor and others went and declared the gospel in that great land,So like those of old let us go into all the world and tell others about our wonderful Saviour, trusting God to give the increase.

Are you a nobody? (James 5 v 17 - 18 )

There is a little chorus with the words,'With Christ in the vessel,we can smile at the storm, as we go saling on'.For many people, even great men of God, they struggled in the storms of life.Let me name one,Elijah a mighty man of God,He confronted a king, his prayers controlled the weather,imagine that. But when a wicked queen threatened him,he was afraid, and ran for his dear life,he lay down under a bush,and wished for God to take his life,which he didn't. A wonderful man of God ,but a man for all that,flawed and at times depressed, complaining to God that he was the only one left of the prophets,A powerful man but his power came from God,and God reminds us that in himself, he was just like you and me, with many  weaknesses .( James 5 v 17 - 18)When God looked on Elijah he did not think ,there's a mighty man, no when He looked at Elijah, He dropped the word mighty,for He just saw a man ,a man He would use  in  mighty ways. Remember ,God chooses the weak things, the foolish things so that no one can boast;(  1 Corinthians 1 v 31).So don't think God can't use you because your a nobody,the good news is, God uses nobodies.

Delayed answers.( 2 Peter 3 v 10 - 13 )

Let us consider delayed answers to our prayers,the following people had delayed  answers to their prayers,  Sarah ,she was 90 when she had her prayers answered by having a child (Hebrews 11 v11). Rebekah  Isaac's wife had to wait 20 years,before she had children,she had twins Esau and Jacob.Here is a few more ,Manoah and his wife Judges13,Hannah mother of Samuel , (1 Samuel 1).Then we  go to Luke 1, to Zechariah and Elizabeth. The Bible is full of examples of delayed answers to prayers,so the question is this why?, we have our timetable  God has  His,and it is perfect. His delay in answering our prayers will result in a manifestation of His glory , the impossible happens. It is true, delay is not denial, it calls upon us to exercise trust,and patience, as the prophet Habakkuk was told as regards the prophecy that he was given ,'it will be fulfilled.If it seems slow in coming wait patiently, for it will surely take place,it will not be delayed.(2 v 3). He is told also in 2 v 4, ' That the just shall live. by faith', we must never forget this, the non-Christian  is often filled with despair,while the Christian looks by faith to His God,who will  in His time, move in impossible ways.R .Davis, writes that the prayer we have raised to God is recorded in heaven, it is not forgotten, but will be answered in His time'.

Our greatest kindness ( James 5 v 20 )

 What is the greatest kindness one can do for anyone?, what would your answer be?,before I answer that I believe we as Christians should  remember those who have needs.James in his epistle tells up works without faith is dead (James 2 v 16 ff, our works do not save us but they are an necessary evidence that we are saved.We have still not answered the question,'What is the greatest kindness we can do for anyone?'.Here is what Albert Barnes said,'When we come to die,as we shall soon,it will give us more pleasure to be able  to recollect  that we have been the means of  saving one soul from death,than to have enjoyed all the pleasures which sense can furnish,or to have gained gained all the honour and wealth which the world can give'. Humanity's greatest need is be saved, and my greatest responsibility is to tell them of  the one who can save them. We are watchmen  who are called to warn people of coming judgement,  yes it is coming,consider the words of Jude v 14- 15,' See the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of His holy ones to judge everyone'. Charles Wesley wrote.

                                                 'My talents,gifts and graces,Lord,

                                                  Into thy blessed hands receive;

                                                  And let me live to preach Thy word.

                                                  And let my to Thy glory live;

                                                   My every  sacred moment spend

                                                    In publishing the sinners friend'

                                                     

A hard providence. ( Isaiah 43 v 2 )

Let us consider looking again on the  theme of providence ,in the life of a particular individual,his name was J C. Ryle. He was born in 1816 and died 1900,his father was a private banker.. He attended Eton college and Oxford university,he worked in his fathers business for awhile,but hoped to go into politics but that came to halt when his fathers business went bust,he lost everything. R.Davis continues the story,' He didn't know where he would live or what he was to do., he said,' if he had not been a Christian he might have found suicide inviting'.'He further said,' If my fathers affairs had prospered,and I had not been ruined,.....I  should never have been a clergyman,never preached a sermon, written a tract, or a book'.He went into the ministry because it was the only living opened to him. He noted that if had he not been ruined, he  likely would have gone into Parliament and' it would be impossible  to say what the effect of this might have been upon my soul'.I  heard this recently,'I think my Father made me for a purpose',God had a greater purpose for J. C. Ryle than being  an MP.God in His providence brought him into that purpose yes it was a hard providence,  

                                                  'Every joy or trial, falleth from above,

                                                  Traced upon our dial,by the Son of love.

                                                  We may trust Him fully,all for us to do,

                                                  They who trust Him wholly, find Him

                                                   wholly true.'.

                                                           Words . Frances  B. Havergal.

Providence.( Genesis 50 v 15 -17)

Spurgeon writing of his call to a particular Church wrote,''The call was providential, not of his solicitation'',I  am convinced that Christians do not think enough on the providence of God .I have always found it a great source of comfort, one could write a book on it ,many have. Looking back I see Gods hand in all the affairs of my life,the disappointments ,but also God's intervening in so many situations,and it will never cease. For the unsaved life can appear very fearful, the world appears to be out of control,awful things are happening, but for the Christian  there is the great comfort in the knowledge that God rules and overrules.So what about the suffering that Christians experience?,well we have plenty of that in the scriptures,and we have plenty of that in life. Consider the life of Joseph,the cruelty and the injustice he experienced, it had a very happy ending,but it is not always the case for the followers of the our blessed Saviour. In Exodus 3 ,we read of God calling a reluctant Moses to go into Egypt to bring his people out,and in v 12 He says,''I will be with you''. R.Davis writes,''Basically , God has nothing else or more to offer you.You can go through a lot with that promise,it does not answer your questions about details. It only provides the essential. Nothing about when or how or why. Only the what,or better the Who. 'But I will be with you'. And that is enough.'