Golden Text – ACTS 5: 39
“But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.”
WE SUFFER BECAUSE WE DISOBEY GOD
1. Beloved, this gospel intends to reveal to you that quite often, we fight against God in an attempt to correct one another.
2. If we look around, most of the things we do in the world today amount to fighting against God, but we think that we are mending.
3. Today, a child is fighting against the mother, the father against the child, and so on; all in a purported attempt to correct one another. The party that fails in the process accuses the other of using diabolical means.
4. How true is this accusation? This other person who succeeds, does not use “means”; he is simply directed by God, while the one who was fighting against him, was fighting against God.
5. Very often, God asks us to deliver something to someone He wants us to love, but because the person hates us, we refuse, and as a result, we suffer a great loss and defeat.
6. On several occasions as well, our spirits speak to us, but we listen to the flesh instead, thus fighting against God.
7. Lest you be found willingly fighting against God, leave everybody to his purpose, and take everything as you see it. Whether you classify the event as good or bad, allow it to come off naturally.
NONE CAN OBSTRUCT GOD
8. If you are told that thieves are coming to burgle your house at night, do not try to prevent them by going to a necromancer for protection, or packing your things to somebody else’s house, remain there.
9. If you are told that you will be ill, do not buy medicines to prevent it. Thus, by not allowing anything to disturb your mind, you will have peace.
10. As long as we cannot prevent death, we cannot prevent anything from happening, for everything including death is God’s work.
11. None can obstruct God in His work, and none has ever done it since creation. God does everything in the way He thinks best.
12. While man is ignorant of what is good or bad for him, God knows and does what is best for man.
13. Our only obligation should be for us to surrender completely to God’s will. Man’s continuous attempt to choose what is good for himself has often plunged him into regrettable mistakes, and endless troubles.
GOD MAKES NO MISTAKES
14. God does not make mistakes and has no problem or difficulty whatsoever. If He promises to give you money, you will have it.
15. If He wishes to take all your wealth from you, He can do so very easily. Nobody can prevent Him. This being true, we should always say, “May God’s will be done”. Else, we shall be in the same position as our forefathers, unwillingly fighting against the Holy Spirit.
Illustration: THE FORTUNE TELLER
16. A certain young king asked and obtained from God a dog that could foretell the future. One good year, the dog said to his master: “Thieves will burgle your palace tonight sir”. The king was very disturbed and took action.
17. Without asking the dog what should be done, he set about gathering heavy bodyguards, soldiers, and watchmen around himself. When the thieves came, they were repelled.
18. And the king was happy. Two years later, the dog prophesied again, “Master, a fire will consume all your things tomorrow”.
19. And again, without asking what should be done or what future such an incident was destined to bring, the king equipped himself with fire-fighting equipment and brigade in preparation for the impending mishap.
20. He placed fire extinguishers in every home throughout his kingdom, and asked all his subjects to stand by for any emergency.
21. In time, the fire burst out and was immediately put out through the mobilised operation by his subjects. No damage was done to life or property. Again, the king was very happy.
22. But after another two years, an announcement came and the king was at his wit’s end. “Master, you will die tomorrow” announced the future-telling dog, looking sorry, yet stating clearly with his usual candour.
23. “What!” the master exclaimed. “What shall I do, dear dog?” ‘Nothing’, replied the dog. And the dog added, “It would have been wise for you to have asked about what should be done in the cases of the thieves and the fire.
24. “You would have been advised to let go of your riches, for only by that means did God plan to take away your present riches, so that your life might be spared to enjoy more riches afterward. But you did not allow it. See whether you can save your life now”.
25. The king could not save his life and died the next day as predicted. My dear brethren, if that young king had known that the thieves and fire were God-sent prevention of his death, he would not have looked for soldiers, fire brigades and guards to protect his wealth.
26. He would have allowed the thieves to steal, or the fire to burn his properties. But the fact that he prevented them, caused him a lot of uneasiness, left him no peace, and finally earned him his death. Read the lesson.
Golden Text – ACTS 5: 39
“But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.”
27. The above text and the illustration are for us to see how disastrous it is to fight against God by trying to obstruct whatever He sends us daily as our lot in life.
28. It may be our lot to be involved in a court case, imprisonment, suffer losses by thieves, or a fire, or ill-treatment by a fellow person.
29. Whatever the case, we should not complain or find fault with anybody. Leave your wife, husband, and child to his or her way, and do not be worried about how to prevent anything from happening to you, else you will be fighting against God.
Brethren, one stroke of a cane is sufficient for the wise. Those who have ears, let them hear. May God bless His holy words. Amen.
Thank You Father.