Overcoming Discouragement Through God's Grace and Advocacy

I want to testify today that one of the results of being filled with the Holy Spirit which I experienced in a very Vivid way nearly 50 years ago and uh of going more intensely into the scriptures to see how much God has loved me has delivered me from both of them so I made a little poster here for myself which I keep in front of me all the time to no entry roads, we all obey traffic rules you know when you see the no entry sign you never enter that road because it lead to Collision here are these two no entry roads, discouragement and self-condemnation. [00:01:28]

God is on your side against the devil that's the thing that I keep reminding myself however much you've been defeated God is your father and he's always on your side against the devil that never changes even if you're in the depths and there are enough examples in the scriptures consider the fact of Peter denying the Lord do you know who Jesus said he would deny before the father in the final day he never said if you commit adultery I'll deny you before my father okay you can repent of that and come back. [00:02:42]

He never said if you kill someone I'll deny you before my father but he said If you deny me before men I will deny you before my father so denying Jesus before others to me was the greatest sin of all and Jesus allowed Peter to fall into that greatest sin of all you turn with me for a moment to Luke's gospel in chapter 22 where Jesus spoke to Peter about this and he said Luke 22 and verse 31 if you can turn in your Bibles Luke 22 and verse 31 Simon Simon Jesus said to him Satan has demanded permission to to sift you like wheat. [00:03:34]

But I have prayed for you and he still doing that the Bible says Jesus is always praying for us never forget that sometimes we tend to forget that at the right hand of the father we have an advocate he's not the adversary the adversary is the devil we have an advocate 1 John Chapter 2 verse1 and he is always praying for us and he says here I have prayed for you that your faith should not fail that's the most important thing that the Lord is praying for every one of us whatever else you may lose you lose your money you lose your health. [00:04:51]

The Lord says I don't want to lose your faith I don't think the Lord prays that we should not lose our money he'll always provide enough for our needs if you seek God's kingdom first in his righteousness he will provide for all your needs I mean I've proved that in my life I've been in full-time Christian work for 57 years and I'm 84 years old now and I can testify before God that he's provided all my needs without my receiving a Sal and without my sending prayer letters to anyone I've just trusted God like those early Apostles did. [00:05:34]

And he's provided all my need in a poor country like India and most of our churches are in the poor Villages of India extremely poor people and God has provided my need that's all I can say and taking care of my family taking care of my children and enable them to get an education and everything else I can testify to that and I want all of you to be able to testify to that to your children and to others around you that God provides all need he prays for us that our faith should not fail at any time that's what he prayed for Simon Peter. [00:06:06]

I believe if we can believe Romans 8:28 that everything God does is with a purpose and it's not something he has to think of now the Bible says he chose us before the foundation of the world before Genesis 1 verse one it says in the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth there is another sentence before that in the beginning that's Ephesians 1:4 he shows us before the foundation of the world so the first verse in the Bible is not Genesis 1 verse1 the first verse in the Bible is Ephesians 1:4 please turn to that verse. [00:12:01]

Ephesians 1:4 it says God chose us in Christ before Genesis 1 verse1 before the world was created so I say Ephesians 1:4 is the first verse in the Bible what is that before creating Heaven and Earth I wish we would be gripped by this the first thing that God did was choose me choose you that can bring such a tremendous confidence and Assurance into our life to remember that always the devil doesn't want us to know that I thank God we have the scriptures. [00:12:43]

He chose us to be holy and Without Blame before him in love having predestined us to be his children that's not the result of my choice some years ago I accepted Christ 64 65 years ago but long before that millions of years ago he chose me he knew my name he he put my name in The Book of Life and yours too and he chose me to be his child and that was the good pleasure of his will I said I decided to accept Jesus yes but long before I decided he decided to choose me both are true of course one cannot be without the other. [00:16:23]

It's like the two wires that touch in an electrical switch when the light comes on one wire alone is not enough all that you do when you put on a switch is put the two wires together and they touch and that's God's Will and my will the moment that they touch I'm saved but God's will was first the electricity flows from there and as soon as it touched I was saved but it was the good pleasure of his will and here's the expression which I want you to think of this was to the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he has made us accepted in his beloved Son. [00:17:39]

That's the expression which has come to my heart many many many times I'm accepted in the beloved Son of God I'm accepted I'm accepted you know how orphans in orphan homes feel so discouraged because they've never had a father or mother to hug them and many Christians act just like orphans they're discouraged because they don't realize they've been accepted in the Beloved those who have adopted children sometimes say that this the adopted children when they they other their own children also they feel a little odd and sometimes an adopted child May sit up at night in the middle of the night in bed wondering will daddy and mommy send me out because I'm not really that child it's not like that with God never never never he has accepted us in the Beloved. [00:18:41]

Please remember that dear brother and sister in the times when the devil tries to discourage you remember this expression Ephesians 1:6 I have been accepted in the beloved Son it doesn't mean that I can do what I like no but it begins with acceptance then God changes me and makes my will to be conformed to his will I'm not teaching you know that whether we like it or not God's chosen us to be with his him forever I don't believe in that type of predestination I I see you know recently I had a discussion with someone about this matter of once saved always saved which I don't believe in about predestination and the Free Will of man and I pointed out to him this verse. [00:19:40]