Depending on God

God expects us to put our faith into action–which takes effort. Often He wants human cooperation in order to promote His cause. After we have done what we can, God does what we cannot.

John 6:1-15--When Jesus wanted to feed a huge crowd of over five thousand people, He tells Philip to do it. Phillip considers the enormity of the task, calculates the cost and told Jesus it was not possible. But a little boy who was ignorant of costs or the size of the task at hand, provided the solution, in simple, pure faith. Jesus prefers to work through people; if we offer nothing to God, God will have nothing to work with; those who place their trust in Him, those that fear him, and serve him faithfully, will have their needs met.   

Luke 5:4-7--When Jesus had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” “Master,” Simon replied, “we have worked through the night without catching anything. But because You say so, I will let down the nets.”  When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to tear.  So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

John 11:38-43--Jesus, once again deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.  “Take away the stone,” Jesus said. “Lord, by now he stinks,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man. “It has already been four days.” Jesus replied, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. After Jesus had said this, He called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”

Jesus knew He was going to raise Lazarus from death. So what is this ‘big deal’ about rolling the stone away? He could have told Lazarus to push away the stone and come out. Again, He was involving humans to perform one of His most spectacular miracles.

Hebrews 11:7--It was by faith that Noah heard God’s warnings about things he could not yet see. He obeyed God and built a large boat to save his family. By his faith, Noah showed that the world was wrong, and he became one of those who are made right with God through faith.

James 2:26--Just as a person’s body that does not have a spirit is dead, so faith that does nothing is dead!

We must rely on the Lord’s strength, not our own.

·       2 Cor. 4:7 We can say this because through Christ we feel certain before God. ⁵ We are not saying that we can do this work ourselves. It is God who makes us able to do all that we do.

·       Eph. 6:10 Be strong in the Lord and in his great power.

·       Philip 4:13 I can do all things through Christ because he gives me strength.

·       Colos 1:11 God will strengthen you with his own great power so that you will not give up when troubles come, but you will be patient.

Self effort is doomed to disappoint.

·       1 Samuel 2:9 He protects those who are loyal to him, but evil people will be silenced in darkness. Power is not the key to success.

      Another translation says “He keeps the feet of his saints, and the       wicked are silenced in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail”

·       Psalm 33:16 Horses can’t bring victory; they can’t save by their strength.  18 But the Lord looks after those who fear him,

·       Psalm 60:11 Those who put their hope in his love. Help us fight the enemy. Human help is useless

·       Psalm 127:1 If the Lord doesn’t build the house, the builders are working for nothing. If the Lord doesn’t guard the city, the guards are watching for nothing.

·       John 15:4, 5 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in me.

He can’t bless our self-effort, when trust more in ourselves than in God.

·       Psalm 147:10 He does not enjoy the strength of a horse or the strength of a man.

·       Jeremiah 17:5 Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD.

·       Hosea 10:13 But you have plowed evil and harvested trouble; you have eaten the fruit of your lies.

·       Matth.7:22, 23 On the last day many people will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, we spoke for you, and through you, we forced out demons and did many miracles.’ Then I will tell them clearly, ‘Get away from me, you who do evil. I never knew you.’

·       1 Corinthians 10:12 If you think you are strong, you should be careful not to fall.

Trusting the Lord means, resting in Him and letting Him do the work.

·       Exodus 14:13, 14   But Moses answered, “Don’t be afraid! Stand still and you will see the Lord save you today. You will never see these Egyptians again after today. 14 You only need to remain calm; the Lord will fight for you.

·       2 Chronicles 20:12 Our God, punish those people. We have no power against this large army that is attacking us. We don’t know what to do, so we look to you for help.

·       2 Chronicles 20:17a   You won’t need to fight in this battle. Just stand strong in your places, and you will see the Lord save you. Judah and Jerusalem don’t be afraid or discouraged, because the Lord is with you. So go out against those people tomorrow.’

·       Isaiah 40:31 But the people who trust the Lord will become strong again. They will rise up as an eagle in the sky; they will run and not need rest; they will walk and not become tired.

·       Heb 4:10 Anyone who enters God’s rest will rest from his work as God did.

Only when we cease from self-effort is the Lord able to fully work on our behalf.

·       Psalm 94:17 If the Lord had not helped me, I would have died in a minute.

·       Psalm 73:19 My body and my mind may become weak, but God is my strength. He is mine forever.

·       Isaiah 40:29 He gives strength to those who are tired and more power to those who are weak.

·       2 Cor. 1:8, 9 We had great burdens there that were beyond our own strength. We even gave up hope of living.  Truly, in our own hearts, we believed we would die. But this happened so we would not trust in ourselves but in God

·       2 Cor.12:9-10 God said to me, “My grace is enough for you. When you are weak, my power is made perfect in you.” So I am very happy to brag about my weaknesses. Then Christ’s power can live in me. For this reason, I am happy when I have weaknesses, insults, hard times, sufferings, and all kinds of troubles for Christ. Because when I am weak, then I am truly strong.

God will empty out all that you have before He will put His own into you; He will first clean out your granaries before He will fill them with the finest of the wheat. The river of God is full of water; but not one drop of it flows from earthly springs. God will have no strength used in his battles but the strength which He Himself imparts. Are you mourning over your own weakness? Take courage, for there must be a consciousness of weakness before the Lord will give thee victory. Your emptiness is but the preparation for your being filled, and your casting down is but the making ready for your lifting up. “It is not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6).

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