Sunday Sermon By Pastor Rajesh Mathew, 22 Nov 2020

Deuteronomy 33:23- And of Naphtali he said: “O Naphtali, satisfied with favor, and full of the blessing of the LORD, Possess the west and the south.”

• Naphtali was a tribe that was satisfied with favour. Insert your name instead of Naphtali and say these words.

Romans 5:1-11- (verse 9, 11) APMC- 9 Therefore, since we are now justified ([a]acquitted, made righteous, and brought into right relationship with God) by Christ’s blood, how much more [certain is it that] we shall be saved by Him from the indignation and wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more [certain], now that we are reconciled, that we shall be saved (daily delivered from sin’s dominion) through His [[b]resurrection] life. 11 Not only so, but we also rejoice and exultingly glory in God [in His love and perfection] through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have now received and enjoy [our] reconciliation.

• God is not a God who minimizes things in our lives. Till we are satisfied, He will fill us. I do not want you to just have the knowledge of this subject but it should become areal experience in your life. You must be satisfied. My home, my family, my children will be satisfied and will be filled with HIS favour. We serve a God who wants to see us satisfied, overflowing and increasing.

The God who left 12 basketfuls left after feeding the 5000 is able to bless you this day.

• This morning, God will drive you and hold your hand into an increase and favour that will keep you continuously experiencing satisfaction in health, finance, business.

DL Moody was an anointed man of God from Chicago. His church and home were burnt in fire. All he could save was his Bible and a few other things. People asked him why God allowed this to happen to him? To this, replied saying, I have been praying for a bigger hall and a bigger church. God got this burnt so He can give me something bigger and better. People mocked him, where will you get the money from for building this bigger church? He would answer these people by pointing to His Bible and saying that THIB BIBLE is the limitless supply of GOD’s provision.This Word will bless ME! The great MOODY BIBLE College came up after this. There are around 32500 promises in the Bible for all of us to believe and get hold of.

• In the verse above, Moses is prophesying about Naphtali. Naphtali was Jacob’s 6th son. The one born to Rachel’s maid servant. He was always behind. He wasn’t even offered his rightful in the 6th place. He was always looked down upon and treated as an inferior. Moses, the pastor is prophesying over this very Naphtali and saying that he will be filled with favour

May the full blessing of the gospel come into your life.

• A gentile writer says this about Naphtali - a happy fruitful country, of generations full of delightful gardens and fields. 100 years later, after the prophecy by Moses, the nation was blessed. Your nation and generations will be blessed. Centuries were blessed. It was the place given to Naphtali that Jesus started His ministry. On the shores of Gennesaret. • A historian says, the shore of Gennesaret is an earthly paradise and a land of good tidings.

We know that the Israelites were scattered, and in the 1940s when the Jews began to return the place that was given to Naphtali was nothing but a marshland. But because there was a blessing upon that land, today it is the most sought after, beautiful place in the land of Israel. Fruitfulness, industries, green and lush places are seen in the land promised to Naphtali. Let the barrenness in your lands leave. The place that God gives will have fruitfulness.

You have to learn to embrace favour. God just wants to release His favour.

A writer said, sin has made us workers. We feel if we don’t work, we don’t have joy or increase. But grace will make us trusters. If God has said this, YES, God is faithful. I will be blessed, in Christ; I will grow and be at peace. We find it hard to relax and enjoy the blessing of God.

• The devil is walking to and fro to the ends of the earth. We are also like that, we feel we need to keep going to and fro, worried about everything. You don’t need to run around. You can stay where you are and enjoy the blessing of God. He is faithful. I am not saying you shouldn’t work but you must learn to take refuge in God. When we do that God is touched in His heart. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. It is not useless that you pray in tongues. God is a rewarded. God will give you reward for your obedience, for you sacrifice, for your prayer.
• HE WILL REWARD ME! For kids it is easy to take refuge in their parents (if the parents are loving). They are not worried about who will feed them or care for them. Be like that. • In Mathew 6, Jesus said, Solomon too, in all his glory was not arrayed like the flowers in the garden. If god so clothes the grass of the field, why are you worried?! You are special more than the wild flowers. You are bought with the precious Blood of Jesus. You are special in the sight of God.

Ephesians 1:5-7- AMPC- 5 For He foreordained us (destined us, planned in love for us) to be adopted (revealed) as His own children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the purpose of His will [[a]because it pleased Him and was His kind intent]— 6 [So that we might be] to the praise and the commendation of His glorious grace (favor and mercy), which He so freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption (deliverance and salvation) through His blood, the remission (forgiveness) of our offenses (shortcomings and trespasses), in accordance with the riches and the generosity of His gracious favor.

• Gracious favour and salvation is not just about going to heaven or forgiveness of sin. There is healing, deliverance and prosperity attached to it.

Psalms 36:8- 8 They relish and feast on the abundance of Your house; and You cause them to drink of the stream of Your pleasures.

• Stream of God’s pleasures! We are satisfied from the riches and fatness and blessing of His House. This morning let that kind of richness be released into your lives.
• If, by the pronouncement of blessing by Moses, if Naphtali received such great blessings, how much more would His church that was brought by the precious Blood of Jesus be satisfied in the New covenant.

Malachi 3: 12- And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.

• They shall call you a delightful land. Let nothing hinder you from enjoying the presence and favour of God. Guilt, shame and burdens to leave your life. If there is no trust, there is no relaxation. God is not remembering your sins.
• If something is nagging your heart (sin, burden), there is freedom in Christ. This morning the devil may have put things into your mind and heart to trouble you, but let those voices be cancelled in Jesus name.

He is a God of much more!

• There is abundance. God is not sad to bless you. We get scared of blessings sometime. We think that if we get blessed, we will take the wrong path.

2 Samuel 12:7-8 – And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; 8 And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.

• David had sinned. He tried to kill the lady’s husband
• God will give us time to repent and change as several chances after we sin. After a few days, the prophet came to David and he confessed. Even after all this had happened, the Lord says “if this had been too little, I would have given you more!” God is speaking to us like a father to his children. God blessed David materially too- Houses, castles, camels, sheep, animals, vehicles and much more!! David, when he sacrificed, did not have a dearth of animals. He was so increasingly blessed. I would have given you more, the Father says!

2 Chronicles 25:6-9- 6 He also hired a hundred thousand fighting men from Israel for a hundred talents[a] of silver. 7 But a man of God came to him and said, “Your Majesty, these troops from Israel must not march with you, for the Lord is not with Israel—not with any of the people of Ephraim. 8 Even if you go and fight courageously in battle, God will overthrow you before the enemy, for God has the power to help or to overthrow.” 9 Amaziah asked the man of God, “But what about the hundred talents I paid for these Israelite troops?” The man of God replied, “The Lord can give you much more than that.”

• Amaziah, king of Judah was looking tog o for battle. Only two tribes were in it (Judah ad Benjamin) They were ready for battle but he knew he may not win with just two tribes. So, he suggests ‘let us all go together and include even the other 10 tribes’. For the troops from Israel, I will give 100 talents of silver. He gave the money and one pastor comes and tells him, the soldiers from Israel should not go for war. The prophet says ‘don’t go, God won’t go with you.’
• He asked an honest question- But what about the money I have already paid for them?? Sometimes we are like that. When we have made plans, spent money, made investments and God tells us not to go ahead, we wonder what would happen to all that resource and time you spent!! But the Lord says, that and more than that is possible for ME to give! MUCH MORE. You entered business and spent money. The Holy Spirit is saying don’t do it, but we still want to do it. If God says no, just don’t worry about the investment you have made or the time that you have pent thus far. God is able to give you more than that. He is able to restore much more unto you. People ask me, ‘Pastor, I took loan from the bank how can I repay? God is able to restore you greatly. Supernatural debt cancelation in your lives and in your businesses, in Jesus name! • Let there be a change in your losses. Let God restore double to you.

The Holy Spirit told me, it doesn’t matter even if you made bad investment. It doesn’t matter what you have lost, God will pay you back!

Joel 2:25- “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten— the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm[a]— my great army that I sent among you.

• I will restore unto you the years that the locusts have eaten. Everything that the locusts, the canker worm, and the caterpillar have eaten will be restored to you. Years may have passed by without you seeing any fruit of your labour but God says I will restore you!
• You may be worried if you will be put to shame. He will restore unto you the years that the locusts have eaten. Even the health that you think you have lost, God will restore.

BASIC POINTS

Romans 5: 9- How much more. (read from 1-11)

Romans 5:1- 5 Therefore, having been justified by faith, [a]we have peace with God through Jesus Christ

Peace = prosperity

Prosperity with God. This is the basic and foundation. He is not counting your sins and weaknesses against you. By faith you are justified you and made righteous and HE has made you stand in peace with God. You are free. God is not seeing you as a sinner, you are justified and you have peace with GOD. The Father says, I see JESUS in You.

1. God is not against you. He is not looking to destroy you or curse you. God is not working against you.

• You are made righteous by the Blood. Not by your good works, not because you bought a shirt for pastor but because of the Blood of Jesus Christ

Romans 5:2 -through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

2. Into to His grace (state of God’s favour)- AMPC- Into this favour by faith. This is basic • God says I look upon you with love. I have given you the grace. Grace = the power of God; Grace= favour of God (divine influence in your life). God has given me entry into this by faith. Is it possible for you to change your heart? How can a heart that desires sin be changed into a holy heart (it is not you but this grace)

• It is God’s grace that gives you divine influence. It is a basic truth. You need this grace to be a good father. To be a good mother. We have access to God’s favour for it. You can’t automatically become a good husband! Without grace you will continue to be a selfish man.
• You have access to this grace- that means admission, you get a ticket. When you feel like firing everybody, if you have grace, your ways will change (you won’t give into that desire).

3. “hope of the glory of God”: There is a hope for God’s glory. ‘You will know that nobody else, only God could have done this’.

• For a born-again person, there is always hope, no matter what challenges and problems one faces. Even in the entire medical report is negative, you will still have hope. You will refuse to give into the negativity; you will have that eternal hope that no matter what and in the midst of every difficult situation, God will bring out something good.
• “I can’t wait to see what God will do in the midst of this.” God will do something awesome even in the midst of the problem. “This child will grow up to be someone, even though he is causing trouble to me God is do something.”

I have expectation that Bod will show up and show off.

• A dead Lazarus---if you believe, you will see the glory of God. He was not just referring to the day of His resurrection but to every circumstance that is seemingly dead in your life. There is hope, God is able to send a miracle in the midst of your dead situation.
• Rejoice—Many people think that the shortest verse in the BIBLE is ‘Jesus wept’. But according to the Hebrew language, the shortest verse in the Bible is 1 Thessalonians 5:16- rejoice always and at all time. Rejoice evermore. That means to leap and spin around Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice!

4. Verse 6 to 9- see what follows verse 7 and 8- 6 For when we were still without strength, [a]in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then,having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

• Now we know Jesus, we are baptized, we walk with God. How much more after all this! He will help you and HE will save you.

Mathew 7:7-9- Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door shall be opened

Just think for a minute--- what is the biggest thing that you want God to do for you? How much more than that will HE DO!!!

Ephesians 3:20- Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

He will do exceedingly abundantly, more than what you can think or ask!

Favour increases your Confidence in God.