A Sermon For You
By-Evangelist Gary Huckaby
The All Sufficient God
( Sermon Preached at Harris City Baptist church 1976)
"Now thanks be unto God, who always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge. For we are unto God a sweet savor of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: to the one we are the savor of death unto death ; and to the other, the savor of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not as many, who corrupt the Word of God; but as of sincerity, but as of God in the sight of God speak we in Christ." 2 Corinthians 2:14-17
2 Corinthians 12:9-10, "And he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ sake, for when I am weak, then am I strong."
What Do We mean, When We Say God Is All Sufficient?
We mean that no matter what happens to one of His children, that He can and will take care of them, if we but trust Him. Can this be true? Can God see me through my times of trial? Can He send me comfort when it is needed? Can God take care of my financial needs? Can God be my "All Sufficient Lord?" Yes, praise God He can! He can and will take care of our every need. He has for thousands of years taken care of His children’s needs. Millions could testify of the great things that God has done for them. Even some men and women in the Bible can show us His All Sufficiency. Let us look at some of them.
Sufficient For Salvation
Adam And Eve
In Genesis chapter three, one can see the story of the fall of man and woman. After their fall, God shed’s the blood of an innocent animal to clothe their nakedness, with coats of skins. Then there was a man named Saul in Acts chapter nine, who while traveling on the road to Damascus was struck by a blinding light and there he met the Saviour Jesus Christ. His name was changed to Paul, and his statement was this; "He was the chief of sinners." 1 Timothy 1:15. In His sufficiency God saved Saul, who was, "before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious; but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief." 1 Timothy 1:13.
Once there was a young boy wadding at the edge of a river, his mother sat at a picnic table gathering the left overs from the table when she heard the boy screaming for help. Help! Help me I’m drowning. A man standing on the bank took off his shirt and stood there until the boy cried Help and wend down for the last time. At that the man jumped in the water and swam out and rescued the boy. After getting back to shore, the mother frantically looked at the man who had saved her son, and asked; "Why did you wait so long before you saved my boy?" To which he answered; "Had I gone to rescue him any sooner, while he was still struggling, we would have both drowned, but when he gave up, then I could rescue him."
People are like that too. They try every means possible to get salvation in there own struggles, but it is when one gives up all self hope and truly puts their faith and trust in Jesus Christ that they are saved.
Sufficient For Material Needs
"To the one we are the Savour of death unto death; and to the other the Savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things." 2 Corinthians 2:16. Will God take care of our material needs? Yes, He will! The children of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness, needed no shoes, clothes, food, not water for forty years. God took care of their material needs and He can take care of ours today too. The story of the children of Israel can be found in Exodus chapters 16 and 17.
In 1 Kings 19:4-7, Elijah was feed by an angel after the battle with the false prophets. He was very hungry and God was sufficient to provide him with material needs. In 1 Kings 17:2-7, Elijah was feed by ravens again showing that God can take care of material needs. In 1 Kings 17:8-16 A widow woman feed God’s man, and then had plenty for her household. Again in 2 Kings 4:1-9, The prophet Elisha increases a widow’s oil and food because of her obedience to God’s leading.
In Matthew 14:15-21, Jesus feeds a hungry multitude of people after they had followed Him throughout the day. Mr.. George Muller, who founded an orphans home told of many times when God provided for the work there. God’s promise to us today is found in Matthew 6:25, "Therefore say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?"
Sufficient In Troubled Times
Is God sufficient when we are in dangerous situations? Again, I answer, Yes He is!
I think of the story of the children of Israel at the Red Sea in Exodus 14, How wonderfully He protected His own and destroyed those who were set against them. Rahab the harlot’s story of God’s protection, is found in Joshua chapter 6. Again In Joshua 10:1-14, Joshua and his army of men, when God made the sun to stand still so that they could win the battle. Think of that, The sun was made to stop, just for Joshua and his army. Gideon trust’s God for the victory over the Midianites in Judges 7. Three Hebrew men were cast into a fiery furnace because they refused to worship an idol, and God was sufficient to keep them from harm while in the fire, why He even visited these men in that fire, because the king stated, "I see four men walking in the fire, and the fourth is like the Son of God."
Daniel was cast into a lions den in Daniel 6, because he would not compromise his faith. Peter the disciple of the Lord, was with the other disciples in a ship, when Jesus came walking toward them on the water, and Peter cried out, If you are Jesus bid me to come to thee, to which Jesus replied, "Come." Peter stepped out of the ship and began to walk on the water too, until he looked at the waves around him, then he began to sink, his cry was, "Lord save me." Jesus immediately reached out and saved Peter from a watery death. Then there was Paul and Silas in the prison in Acts 16, their faith was so strong in the Lord that they began to sing and praise God at midnight, God’s response was to send and earthquake to open those prison doors. God will take care of you is you are trusting in Him. God is sufficient in times of trouble!
Sufficient In Tribulation And Temptations
2 Corinthians 12:9, says, "And he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." Again in 1 Corinthians 10:13, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." God is sufficient in testing!
Paul had great trials because of a thorn in the flesh, 2 Corinthians 12:7-9, "and lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelation, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." And then Paul goes on to exclaim in verse 10, "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in distressed for Christ sake; for when I am weak, then am I strong." What Paul’s thorn in the flesh was, we are not sure. Some have suggested that it was his eye sight for Paul said in one place, "I write such a large letter," speaking of the size of his words. Paul was almost blind when he was martyred. Others say that it was some false prophet that continually followed him in his missionary journeys. What ever his torn in the flesh was, after asking God three times to remove it, God’s reply to Paul was, "My grace is sufficient for thee."
God is sufficient in times of testing and trials in one’s life, Yes, He is an "ALL SUFFICIENT GOD!
Do you know Him as Lord and Saviour today? If you have never received Christ, bow your head and ask Him into your heart and life. Pray with all sincerity; Lord Jesus come into my heart and life, I believe you died on the cross and arose from the dead to save me from sin. I repent of my sins, and receive you now as my Lord. In Christ Name I ask it. Amen!
If you have trusted Christ as your Saviour after reading this message, write to us and we will send you some helps in beginning your new life in Christ.
Read, John 3:15-36, John 1:12, Acts 16:30-31, Romans 10:9
Write to
Huckaby’s Evangelism
P.O.Box 1011
Pine Mountain, GA. 31822
email us at: glhuck@earthlink.net
