God's All-Sufficiency In You

God’s All Sufficiency in You

Sunday, October 27, 2013

By Rev. James May

To begin this morning, I want to ask a question to each of you. That question is this: “Is there anything in your life that you lack in order that you may have dominion over sin and the ability to live a victorious life in Christ?” Take a moment to consider what I have asked; and then, in your mind, make a list of those things that you think you need more of.

Most people will list things like faith – we seem to always need more faith; or patience – boy, do I lack patience; or time to pray, or time to study the Bible – we never seem to have enough time for those; or maybe you would list victory over some besetting sin; something that you just can’t seem to overcome.

We hear people saying these things all of the time; it seems that nearly everyone you talk to feels like they lack something in their walk with the Lord that keeps them from having the power to overcome and to walk in victory and power before God.

When I was a young Christian, yesterday or the day before, I attended a church where we had a good pastor. I still enjoy sitting and talking with him from time to time. But my pastor was always preaching on what we should or should not be doing. Somehow I never quite measured up to the place of perfection where I would not feel like I was truly an overcomer.

Perhaps even here, some of you might feel like you are never measuring up to that place of sanctification in living for Jesus that we preach about. Somehow you just can’t be that person of great faith and overcoming power that the Bible declares you are!

Sometimes we hear the preacher say, “You just need to pray more, study more, do more and you’ll be an overcomer.” Yet the ability to do more and be more seems to always be in front of you like a carrot on a stick! It drives you always forward; ever seeking to be better; but somehow you never get to have the thrill of victory or taste that carrot! Just about the time you’re ready to take a bite, something trips you up and it’s back to square one!

Then sometime we might hear the preacher say, “You just need to trust God more. If you had enough faith and trust in God, all would be well.” And so we say ourselves, and the Lord, “Jesus, I’m going to trust you more! I’m going to believe and have absolute faith.” Then along comes a problem, and illness, or something that brings a little fear. It’s only human for fear to come when the doctor says that you have a serious illness that may not be curable. It’s only human to have fear arise when you hear of a loved one in a terrible accident. But when these things come, then the devil jumps on your shoulder and screams in your ear, “I thought you said that you would have faith and trust in God! What happened with that! You’re a miserable failure! You’ll never measure up to what the preacher says!”

The problem with both of those scenarios is that they both begin with YOU! The problem is that we think that since it’s us that is lacking; then it’s up to us to get greater faith, greater trust, greater belief and reliance on Jesus! I have to do something; but what to do, I don’t know!

I can remember hearing the preacher say on Sunday that we should do this or that, and give us a whole list of do’s and don’ts. Every time he preached, I knew that I messed up somewhere, so to the altar I’d go. I repent of whatever it was that I did whether it was to think of something that I shouldn’t have thought of; or maybe it was chewing gum in class at school; or maybe it was getting angry when somebody made fun of me and called me a Holy Roller! Then I would get up and go back to my seat feeling like all was well between me and the Lord.

Then came Sunday evening, and somehow I’d fail again. Oh Lord, I was saved this morning, but I’ve lost it already!

I would always feel guilty of something, every time the preacher would preach. I never quite measured up and only felt saved for that brief moment in time between visits to the altar in church and the next time I would feel guilty again.

Then along comes the next Sunday, and the preacher would give us another list of do’s and don’ts; and I would think, “Lord help me. I haven’t even completed the first thing on last week’s list; and now he’s giving us even more. It seems so impossible! How could I ever go in the Rapture at this rate!”