17th May, Sunday sermon by Pastor Rajesh Mathew

Psalm 30:5- For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But [a]joy comes in the morning

• We are living in troublesome and difficult times. Both for the believer and the unbeliever there will be hardships. But if Jesus is with us, there is a difference. If the presence of Jesus is with us, no matter what troubled times we go through, there is a peace and comfort that comes to those how have the presence of Jesus.

Jesus makes a difference.

• Written above this psalm is- A dedication of the house of David.
• Bible scholars believe that this psalm was written during the time when David was being disciplined by the Lord. David wasn’t allowed by God to build the temple, but his son Solomon was. However, David was assigned with laying the foundation stone, building the prayer altar. God gave this privilege to David.
• In the book of genesis, we see that the earth was formless and void (an unstable time) and the Holy Spirit was hovering over the waters. In the midst of that, the foundation for the recreation of earth emerged.
• Just like that, even in such unstable, uncertain and troublesome times, when you are thinking that everything is over, God is laying the foundations in some of your lives. In the midst of this, there is something certain that God will release into your life.

THERE ARE FOUR SIMPLE POINTS FROM THIS PASSAGE

1) For His Anger Endureth But For A Moment

• God’s anger is only for a moment. When you disobey Him, you can get Him upset. There are things that you can say, think and do that can make God really upset. Once when God got angry, it rained for 40 days and 40 nights non-stop. But his anger is only for a short while. It is not for years and months. But for a moment- 60 seconds.
• Aren’t you glad? Why is it so? Because Jesus came down to die for you on the Cross of Calvary. He took your and my sin on the Cross. The minute you tell him about your sin, His mercy, forgiveness come flowing to you.
• His mercy triumphs over judgement. He doesn’t stay angry He doesn’t hold a grudge against you forever.
• Some people when angry will stay angry till they die. They will remove individuals from their friends’ list, block the number, delete the number and cut off all relationships with that person. But God is not like that!
• Just like a Father, He waits for you to return to HIM.

The Holy Spirit is telling somebody: Come back to God, He is not upset with you; He is not angry with you. His love is unfailing. He loves you with tender mercies.

• Some people, if they are going through hard times, believe that God is putting them through it to make them repay for the times that I have gone against God. It is a wrong theology. He doesn’t

pay you back according to your sin, if you have put your trust in the sacrifice of Jesus. The only payment would be to go to hell for our sins.

2) God’s Favour Is For A Lifetime

• God’s favour is for a life time.

Favour means His delight, His pleasure, His ability to rejoice and celebrate with you.

• “My favour will extend all through your life”, says GOD
• God’s mercy, love, goodness is for the rest of my life!
• God will open doors that you don’t deserve. God will get promotions that you don’t deserve. Some of you will receive double promotions and salary hikes.
• The truth of God’s Word to descend into the depths of your heart.
• When you wed, raise kids, go for jobs, when you grow old, when you build house, during COVID-19, we need God’s favour. Even after the lockdown, we need His favour. We need His favour all through our lives.

There is a part when He gets angry and another part where he shows His favour. The first part for 60 seconds and the second part is for an entire lifetime.

Romans 2:4- 4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

• His Goodness leads you to repentance. “I have hurt you God. But you have shown my family, my children your mercy. You have directed me. You have given me the gift of life. Your mercies are great Lord. I have this life is because of your mercy and great love.”
• This verse stirred up several emotions in me.
• Covid 19 is not what will remain forever, but God’s favour will.
• Human anger remains for months and years. More dangerous than Covid 19 is anger, bitterness, unforgiveness. It will destroy your soul.

Your morning is coming!

HOW DOES FAVOUR COME?

Psalm 5:12- For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield.

• Because of your right standing with God (righteousness), you will receive favour.
• “Draw me nearer, it’s my song every day. Father, Draw me nearer, it’s my song every day”. Can this be the cry of your heart? The deep desire to draw nearer to the Lord.

Isaiah 3:10- “Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them, For they shall eat the fruit of their doings.

• Whether it is the time of famine or trouble that you are going through, Good will come to you. I am prophesying- It shall be well with you and your family.

Verse 11: Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, For the reward of his hands shall be [h]given him.

ONLY GOOD will come.

• The man who looks righteous is not what I am talking about. It is not to look righteous. Humility is not a look.
• God looks at your heart. In your heart, if you are humble and righteous by the Blood of Jesus, the favour of God shall be like a shield around your life. People may say you are proud but God sees your heart and the humility in it. He sends His favour your way. It may to show on the outside.
• Some people are consistently expectant of God. They are always expecting good from God

Proverbs 23:18: For surely there is a [a]hereafter, And your hope will not be cut off.

• My expectation will not be cut off

Proverbs 24:14- So shall the knowledge of wisdom be to your soul; If you have found it, there is a [a]prospect, And your hope will not be cut off.

• Some of you are expecting the worst. You have to expect from the Lord, the best!

You have to expect it before you experience it!

• Expect your healing and deliverance this morning.
• Your expectation shall not be cut off.
• He frustrates the expectation of the wicked. (Book of Job)
• If you expect it, that is faith.

Philippians 1:20- 20 according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.

• Paul is saying is that no matter what I go through, I am expecting good through Christ and that I shall not be ashamed of anything. God will not allow me to be put to shame.
• If you started that business by faith, or you started building that house by faith, no matter what the world is experiencing, God will not allow you to be ashamed.
• His favour and love is descending into some people’s heart. I have seen that those who love God and the church, they will see favour.

1 kings 3:3- 3 And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places.

• The one who loved received favour.
• God loves everybody, but there are some people that He really likes. There is a special liking towards some people.

1 Chronicles 28:4- 4 However the LORD God of Israel chose me above all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever, for He has chosen Judah to be the ruler. And of the house of Judah, the house of my father, and among the sons of my father, He was pleased with me to make me king over all Israel.

• He liked me to make me king...There was something that God liked.
• Pastor says, “I love everybody in church. But there are some who I particularly like because eof their attitude, their love for God, their honour etc”

THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT ATTRACT THE FAVOUR OF GOD

1. Humility

• Oral Roberts’s mother said- God will use you mightily but always stay small in your own eyes.
• People will celebrate you but do not let that get into your head. Be small in your own eyes.
• Some people are behaving bigger than who they really are! Try to correct them. If you can’t, you will know that they have become arrogant and their heart is hardened.
• Lord help me to sit humbly at your feet, I surrender! Favour is attracted to such people.
• In ministry, never tried to sit in the driver’s seat. Always sit in the passenger’s seat. Allow the Holy Spirit to drive you. Don’t try to sit and control everything.
• God, thank you for calling me into this ministry let your Holy Spirit drive it.
• If you have that attitude, God’s favour will come upon you. Receive that in the Name of Jesus.
• Some people have come up by their own strengths and talents and have received inheritance from their families. But then there are those who have come up only by God’s favour.

2. They will know how to be with the right people

• Just like there are different types of giftings, there are different levels of favour among different people. Those who walk with the favoured will see that the same anointing rubs on them. Anointing is caught and not taught.

Don’t sit with the dogs, you will wake up with fleas.

• Keep company with those that serve God, honour the children of God and the Man of God and love the Word.
• His Favour of God is for a lifetime.
• Academic favour, marriage favour, financial favour, health favour, God’s love, miraculous jobs, miraculous doors opening up! May that be your portion.
• Supernatural blessings from the Lord to be released over your life.

Let this week be a week of favour. May you receive messages this week on favour.

3. Thanks Living attitude

• Not just thanksgiving, where you keep thanking God for what HE gives you. But in every season os your life, you are thankful to him.
• Even in the midst of the wilderness, there were few among the Israelites who thanked the Lord.
• In this season, have a thanks living attitude. My food, my water is His provision and it is His mercy and His love. It is not His anger, it is His favour. God will increase such.

3) Weeping Might Endure For A Night

• Weep means ‘to drip’.
• Between Psalm 23 verse 1 and verse 6, is weeping. Broken relationships, broken health, financial issues, and other problems are seen in some of your lives. There may be times you have been weeping.
• Hold on to this Word. Memorise this.
• Ensure means to stop over. Have you heard of kids going for sleep overs to their friends place for a night or two? It is not them totally shifting to their friend’s place but only staying there one night.
• Weeping also comes for a sleep over and not to dwell forever.
• The sun will rise again over your life. God will do something for you. It is not a permanent residence for weeping.

Circumstances of life have been making you weep. The Holy Spirit is saying to someone who is crying about the life’s circumstances, it is only a stopover. It won’t take residence in your life. Light is coming into your life. Blessing is coming!

• Looks at the matter that is making you weep—and say this---this is only a short while!
• You need to endure it. Just endure it for some time. It is not forever. Your failures are not forever.

4) Joy Is Coming At The Break Of The Day

Acts 28:11- 11 After three months we sailed in an Alexandrian ship whose figurehead was the Twin Brothers, which had wintered at the island

• Paul, you are shipwrecked. You are at Malta, the Island. You are bitten by a viper but don’t be upset. An Alexandrian ship has been sent by God only for you. Only kings and nobles could travel in those ship. Paul, there may be a criminal records against you, you may have lost many things in the sea, but you are not entering Rome as a criminal. God is sending forth an Alexandrian ship.
• God has kept joy for you in the morning.
• We can praise Him when our prayers are answered, when our house is built or healing has manifested. But even when you are in the dark, if you can still worship and thank Him and if you can praise Him even before you see the Light, morning will come for you.
• In faith, excitement and joy, tell someone---hold on till the morning,
• A new dimension of God’s favour and blessing into your life.

The Holy Spirit is saying that the sun is rising over you and your morning is coming. Don’t look at your past failures.