Grow your Hair

 In the Bible, Old Testament Judges, we study about Samson. From Judges 13 onwards we can see the life history of this Jewish person who was called by God to be the leader and Judge. When he was a boy itself, God blessed him with the Spirit. Judges 13: 24, 25. But in the next chapter we see his weakness exposed even though he was a man of God. Even though God commanded them not to marry outside Jews, he wanted to marry a Philistine woman. Satan found an opportunity to get into this person and he cashed it in.  

“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” – Mathew 26: 41.

Satan will have different ways to conquer you. He might make you to take decision suddenly and destroy you (suicide). But most of the times, he will slowly take one by one step to destroy you. God gave strength to Samson to protect Jews, but he used it for his own pleasure. He went and fought against the Philistines for getting his weak desire. These were the steps devil took to put him under. 

When devil understood Samson can be tamed, it sent Delilah to him for temptation and finally Samson failed in it. The way Satan did it; you can read it in Judges 16. Delilah did not leave Samson without letting him tell his strength. His strength was his hair and once the enemy understood it, they shaved it fully. 

Same thing happens to many one of us. When we walk with God, he gives us his Spirit and guides us to do supernatural things. But even then Satan will try to get into us. Once we open a window for the devil, he will search for our weakness to know our strength. If we give room for him he will find our strength and destroy it to finish us.

Carefully read Judges 16: 21, 22 – “The Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison. But his hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.” 

Yes, Samson’s strength was his hair and once the hair started to grow, Samson understood his strength has come back. Devil can take away our strength and make us weak. But God will give us a second chance to show our strength. The question is how you are going to use the new strength. Here in the life of Samson, he used the strength to kill all the Philistines who came to see his death and in the process he himself got died. 

Our strength may not be physical. But when it is gone, go to your basics. Ask God to change your situation and surrender unto him. Once he gives you the strength back, instead of trying to take revenge on the enemy, use the strength to do things which you are supposed to do. Use it to glorify the Lord. If your strength is music, sing and help someone to sing for the glory of God. If your strength is in doing a specific work, do it and help others to do, and make efforts to bring them to Christ.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” – Colossians 3: 23, 24

Blogged on July 2015

Mystery - The Epiphany

Mystery means something is hidden until the appropriate time comes for God to reveal it.

God created Adam and Eve, and their generations spread throughout the Earth. But these people became sinners and wicked (Genesis 6:5; Mathew 24:38). God choses Noah as he did everything according to the will of God. His generation multiplied and they also became wicked people who worshipped pagan gods.

So God choses a person called Abraham. He was old and was not having children. But God called him and told him that he is going to have a child and his offspring’s will be like stars in the sky. Abraham believed in God and God counted him as righteous because of his faith (Romans 4:3; Genesis 15:6; Galatians 3:6). Through his wife Sarah, Abraham got a child Isaac and Isaac had two sons through Rebekah – Esau and Jacob. Even though Jacob was a deceiver, at one point of time God called him and changed his name to Israel (Genesis 32:28). So God started blessing the offspring of Israel (Genesis 22:18; Genesis 35). Even though the people of Israel were not obedient to God, He did not leave them.

Through prophets God blessed Israel. In Isaiah 60:1-6, God is prophesying about future glory of Israel. He tells people will come to you with gold. Israel is blessed even today.

In New Testament, Paul tells in Ephesians 3:1-12, the great privileges in the gospel not only belong to Jews, but to the believing gentiles, even though they are not circumcised. He tells it as a Mystery of God. The mystery is that the gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ, by the gospel.

Paul tells in Ephesians 3:9, his business was to make all men see what is the fellowship of mystery which from the beginning of the world hath been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus. It is a mystery of Christ because it was revealed by him (Acts 26:16-18; Galatians 1:12).

In Old Testament we see Jews as the chosen people. When Jesus Christ came into this world as a child, gentiles came to him as wise men (Mathew 2:1-12). The respect paid to Christ by these gentiles was a happy specimen of what would follow when those who are afar off should be made high by Christ.

Christianity does not begin with “once upon a time”, but starts with Bethlehem in Judea. Jesus is not just another man, but that he was descended from a royal family, and there was a King’s blood in his veins (Mathew 2:6). Wise men, the gentile came to worship and honour a King. They did not come to see a saviour, but a King (Mathew 2:2).

In Psalms 72:1-11, we see certain characteristics of a King. In this Psalm, even though Solomon’s name is mentioned, Christ’s Kingdom is being prophesied. He has the authority which is being given by father and he is a righteous King. All the verse in this Psalm depends on the first verse – “Give righteousness to the King’s son”. In verse 3 we see prosperity as a by-product of righteousness. In verse 8 we see Solomon wants to extend the kingdom whole on Earth, which only Christ can when he comes a second time. In verse 10 and 11, all kings came and bow before him. Even though Solomon failed to go to gentiles, in the new kingdom gentiles will come, through this Mystery of God. Till verse 17 we see how kingdom will be of Jesus Christ.

In the Old Testament God held back from the gentiles the secret that they should be heirs and shareholders of the gospel and have admission into the church (his body) on the same terms as the Jewish people (Ephesians 1:10).

Difference here is that gentiles are being chosen by faith in Christ Jesus. We as gentiles don’t want to do any physical method to be the chosen ones like the Jews. We need to do is accept Christ as our King and saviour and believe that he died for our sins ad we are made righteous through his blood. When you believe this in your heart and soul, you are saved and is a new creation in Christ Jesus, and are heirs and shareholders of his body.

All gentiles are being chosen by faith (Romans 15:9,10; Galatians 3:8,9). Once you are chosen, you enjoy the life in the temple of God and are yielded into obedience to him.

We are saved by faith, not of good works. We are saved to do good works.

 

Short Sermon blogged - January 2018

God's Grace

 (1 Peter 5:10) “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you.”

            What is Grace? What do you mean by God’s Grace?

If you read (Psalm 84:11) “For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly”. This verse says all about God’s Grace. He will give something to make us glory. And that gift which he gives is Grace. We all know that we are sinners. So as sinners we cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. So in order to make us enter into his Kingdom God is showing Grace upon us.

            If you look about the life of Jesus Christ in the book of (Luke 2:40) “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him”. We should be like Jesus Christ. Grace of God should also come upon us. So if you want the Grace of God, where can you get it? If you read (1 Corinthian 1:4) “I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ”. So only through Jesus Christ we can get our God’s Grace.

            What are the characteristics of God’s Grace?

1. If you serve God you will get great grace.             (Acts 4:33) “And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all”.

2. It should reign us. When Jesus Christ reign in us, grace will reign us. If Jesus Christ wants to reign us we should serve him. (Romans 5:21) “That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord”.

3. It is by the grace of Jesus Christ that he gave his blood for our sins that we are living now. So if you allow Jesus Christ to enter, your sins will be forgiven. (Ephesians 2:8) “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God”.

This verse talks all about it. God wants us to be out of sins. So he gave his grace to us. God’s grace is Jesus Christ. So when you accept this God’s grace you will be out of your sins.

            Many people say like after getting examination results – Because of God’s grace I got good percentage. So everyone accepts God’s grace. We can say – “Because of God’s Grace I will go to the Kingdom of God”.

            After getting the results we say “It is because of God’s grace’. After saying this we will do the same thing that we did earlier. When God gives His grace to us to get out of our sins, he forgives our sins. He gives his grace not to make us sin again. Bible says (Romans 6:1) “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?”. God gave himself as a punishment for our sins. So we can do one thing. From today if you accept Jesus Christ, try not to sin. When you accept Jesus Christ try not to do sins. When you accept Jesus Christ your sins will be forgiven.

 

(Hebrew 4:16) “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need”.

 

First Sermon blogged by this ministry - January 2003.