In a heartfelt sermon, Pastor David shared a powerful message about the importance of relying on God, especially during times of crisis. Drawing from his personal experiences over the past few years, he emphasized how we often lean on our own strength and understanding instead of turning to God first. Through his journey, Pastor David discovered that true strength and peace come from surrendering to God and trusting in His divine purpose, even when circumstances seem overwhelming.
Full Transcript..
Its no accident that we have gathered here. You have brought us here with a plan and purpose. Lord. Knows you have to speak to us. Lord, speak to us. And you have to change us. Lord Jesus, as we leave this place. We should see a transformation in our life. Father, God help us. In Jesus name I pray.
Amen.
Yeah. I want to share something that, what God is doing in my life, you know, it’s more like a testimony than a message. I could say, you know, I was just, in the last couple of years, especially after Corona. I was just, thinking about, a lot of the things I did with my own strength, like, you know, I was we had a lot of issues, related to the government and so I went and met a lot of, politicians, and, and then I met a lot of, bureaucrats and, you know, officials and, and, I was thinking that they can help me with this problems and, and also, we had some issues in the churches and, so we went to try to meet those people and the people related to them. And now what does examining what what all what all I was doing in the past 4 or 5 years and, and the final conclusion is all the efforts I took, was a failure.
The politicians promised a lot. And they were working against me. Later on, I found and the government officials who said, we will help you. And they were also, you know, they hate us and they were working against us. And we need some, you know, license of the school to be renewed and we need a fresh license for our orphanage. And they were denying it. And, you know, and all the terms I was making was a failure. And also, we had some issues in the, you know, some of our village churches with the local government people. And, you know, we went and talked with the elders and leaders and they all said, yes, yes, yes. But nobody helped us and was a failure and failure and, you know, and, and also after Corona, my health was also not so good.
I had some issues in my stomach. I really don’t know what it is. And, I went and visited a few doctors and every time, you know, if the doctor does not help helping me, I used to go to the next doctor. He won’t believe I changed ten doctors and, And the last doctor. He said your problem is not your. Your problem is your. And one other doctor he gave me tablets is supposed to given to people who have depression and, you know, and, I was seeking the Lord. And, you know, I was reading through Isaiah and I, I, I stumble upon this verse and really got with stuck, talk to me, Isaiah chapter three, verse 15.
This is what the sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel says in repentance and restitution, salvation in quietness and trust is your strength. But you would have none of it.
When I read this verse, you know, God start to talk to me. My problem is. It’s difficult for me to be quiet. Whenever there is some crisis, I want to find a solution for it. I went to the politicians. I went to, you know, higher officials and everywhere. And, you know, it doesn’t mean that I am not praying. I pray in the night and the next morning, early morning, and go run to meet somebody to get my problem solved. And, you know. I can say, thank God nothing worked out. Because I believe sometimes. In a believer’s life, the cause of our problem can be God himself.
We all get problems in our life, difficult situations in our life, and we don’t know the origin. Maybe it’s from the devil or from God, or from maybe a natural problem. But unless God allows, nothing can harm us. Nothing can come and affects us. And if if in an A in a in a believer’s life, if something goes wrong, I think God is allowing it. And the question is, you know, are we going to try to solve our problem with our intelligence, with our influence, our, our, our strength, or are we going to depend upon God?
You know, I strongly believe God’s agenda towards is on each one of the believers is God wants us to be like His Son, Jesus Christ. We can be we can have a lot of agendas over our life, but God’s agenda for our life is he wants to change us. When I was reading Romans 20, Romans eight chapter. Chapter eight, verse 28, I think every one of us, we knew this was all. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose in other lives, in all things, God works for the good. Before that, Paul writes about all the trials and tribulations and all the hardships and anything and everything, everything. God works hard for good and, you know, for many years I was thinking that good is my problems will be over and from now onwards I will have a comfortable life. That was my expectation. That was that was for me and meant I was thinking. But when you read the next verse. It says for those God for new. He also read this time to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. So God, it’s concern is that we all should become like Jesus Christ. And he will do everything so that will be changed. And many times we want to take the bypass.
He don’t want to go through the process. And you know, that changed his words. In Isaiah 3015 it says in repentance and rest, repentance and rest is your salvation is not about salvation of our soul. You know, salvation of our problem. God says, when there is a crisis in your life, you have to come to me and ask God, what is the thing that is not pleasing to you in my life? And ask the Holy Spirit to reveal that to us and ask for forgiveness, and ask the Holy Spirit to help us to come out of that issue. And just leave it in God’s hand and wait for the salvation of our problems. Many times we bypass all this process in Jesus. We want the salvation. We want to come out of the problem.
And in quietness and trust, when, when, when you know that God hears your prayer and you know God is working in your life and getting you, you know, out of this issue that is not pleasing to him, you have a peace and you can trust him. And then in this trust, you can be quiet and you have an assurance that God is going to do a miracle in your life and many times in him. The problem is he want to go to the next step and the next verse. It says, you said no. Isaiah 3016 you said, Lord, we will flee on horses. Therefore you will flee. You said, we will ride on swift horses. Therefore your pursuers will be swift.
Instead of going to God and getting solved, getting reconciled with God, we want to solve our problems with our own strength and God is prophesying. Nothing will work.
Because I have a purpose. That’s why I’m allowing you to go through this issue, allowing you to go through this crisis. But if the crisis is, you know, you want the crisis to be resolved, but the main issue you are not worried about.
Now, we sang this song, the special song. You know, God’s word has come to make a change. Like the rain comes and make a change on this earth. And unless the change is happening, the word will not go back.
And similarly, I think for every believer has had true believers life. You will have a problem, will not get solved unless it brings a change in our life. So I want to make this statement. It will be a little bit hard.
The difficulties in a true believers life is a gift of God. Sometimes it’s very hard to understand it, but I believe. God is working on our lives. He’s transforming us. And sometimes we need difficulties. We need crisis.
The problem with the people of Israel was, is. And when we read Isaiah one four, and oh, when you read the book of Isaiah from chapter 1 to 39, it’s talking about the time when Isaiah was living. And after 39 you can see he was writing about the future. This was I can say it summarizes the whole book of Isaiah.
It says, and one for all sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption. They have forsaken the Lord. They have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him. One also verse that is coming again and again, and Isaiah is, my people have forsaken me. My people have forsaken me. They turned their back. But if you go and ask the people of Israel, who is your God, they will say, Jehovah is our God. But God is telling, you have forsaken me. For the Israelites, God is just like a figurehead. Or he’s like a, you know, a person in their life. It looks important, but he’s not important to them.
And in India, India was India got independence in 1947. And then we elected our own prime minister after that. But still, India was under the Queen’s Queen Elizabeth’s rule. And, you know, it was not a republic country and Queen was having control. She has to sign the final paper or something. And then in, after few years, when India became a republic, they don’t want to have the Queen’s interference in ourour country.
And we had our own. Now we have our own president in India. We have a president and a prime minister and the president. He’s now we have a lady president. She’s the first citizen they call her and everything. But she’s not having any power on the day to day affairs of the country, or she is not having any power to make any rules or regulations.
Only the Prime Minister, a democratically elected prime minister, has all the rights. But we have a president. If you go to India and ask, what’s the name of the president? Most of them, they don’t know the name itself. She’s just there. We call her Rubber stamp. She’s that only to for namesake. But everything our Prime Minister Modi he does he has having all the power and everything.
The president because they say that he she reigns. But Modi rules, and many times why I’m telling this many times in them, you know us, believe us, we have God who reigns. But he is not ruling our day to day life.
Many times, you know.
We make all of decisions in our life.
But we say Jesus is the center of my life. And you know, in India, some believers on Sundays, they are a different person from Monday to Saturday. And they are totally a different person. And Sunday Jesus is number one in the life. He’s the center of their life. And no, without him, nothing I will do but the moment I leave the Sunday service, it’s a different story.
They want to have control over their life, and they want to do whatever they want to, to do. And this is the problem with Israel. They they are telling we have our God. But God says, my people have forsaken me.
And that’s why, you know, God wants to draw their attention towards him. And that’s why he allowed the people of Israel, Israel, to go through a kind of crisis. During the time of Isaiah, Israel was not a one country. It was the northern kingdom and Judah, the two countries. And, On the left hand side, there was a big superpower called the Assyrians.
And the right hand side, there was another superpower, the Egyptians, and there was a king called Piglet. So we can read it. And I think Second Kings, first Chronicles and second Chronicles, he wanted to make a severe, a bigger country. So he was conquering all the smaller nations. And, you know, he was conquering everywhere. And the in that region.
He came up to tire and Damascus, he conquered everything. And a few generations later, his grandson Sennacherib or something, he he came and he conquered the Northern Territory. And now Judah is in a big crisis because the next target for him is Judah. And what God was expecting from Judah is to repent of the ways. And what God was expecting is to go to God and ask, Lord, in what way we have failed, why we have this crisis.
Please help us. And God was expecting that they have to go to God and repent. Do you know what they did? They ignored God. They neglected God. They know how to solve this problem. So they started seeking the help of the Egyptians and the Pharaoh.
And God was really angry. You know, God allowed this crisis to happen to them because to draw their attention when you read verse 20. Isaiah 3028 says, although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, so this affliction and the adversity is coming from God to draw the attention of his people, to make them come back to him, they’re neglecting him.
He feels that he’s forsaken, so he wants to draw them, and he wants them to come back to him and seek him. The word repentance means return or come back home. In Hebrew, in in Greek it’s called metanoia. Change your mind and that is what God is expecting. But what they are doing is they are bypassing God and trying to solve the problem with their own efforts.
And that’s why, you know, when you read Isaiah 30 123.
God is telling all to the obstinate children, declares the Lord, to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my spirit, heaping sin upon sin, who go down to Egypt without consulting me, who look for help to Pharaoh’s protection, to Egypt, seeds for refuge. But Pharaoh’s protection will be to your shame.
Egypt shade will bring you disgrace. And you know I am allowing this crisis in your life. But you are not bothered about the crisis. You are not bothered to come to me. But you want to resolve your problem with your intelligence, with your strength, with your power, and with your ability. And God is prophesying. Pharaoh is going to disappoint you.
Your problem is not going to get solved.
When you read the next chapter, Isaiah 31 one, it says, woe to those who go to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their their chariots, and in the great strength of their horsemen. But do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord.
It’s a very difficult message to preach. I hope you will, and you, you know God loves each one of us. How he wants to express his love is he wants to change us. He wants to, you know, he wants us to bring good fruits in our life. That is his ambition. That is his, you know, wish for our life.
But our concern is we have our own dreams and we have we want to live those dreams. That is our concern. And we want God to bless us, bless us, bless me more. And we are not that much, you know, worried about. Our inner man. And God wants to. God’s agenda is that he has determined to change us, change our inner man.
He wants us to produce fruit. Now, when you read Isaiah.
I’m taking long time and reading Bible verses. You know, there’s a song in chapter five. It goes like this. I will sing for the one I love, a song about his vineyard. My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dig. He dug it up and cleared it of stones. And planted it with the choice wines.
He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes. But it is only bad fruit now, you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard, what more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes?
Why did it end? Only bad. Now I tell you, you what I am going to do to my vineyard, I will take away its hedges and it will be destroyed. I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. And it will, it will, it will make it a wasteland. Neither prune nor cultivated. And brier and thorns will grow.
There I will command the cloud not to rain. On the vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the house of Israel. And the men of Judah are the garden of his delight. You know, here is a metaphor. God is telling that, you know God is a gardener and he’s planting a vineyard. The only expectation from God is that it should it bring forth good fruits.The problem that people of Israel were having was the problem was they were not looking to God. They were neglecting God in the life.
And second thing is, they were not leaning on God. He wanted to sort out the problem with their own strength and efforts. And because of that, they stopped listening to God. I think that’s the problem. We also have. We think we know God, but we are neglecting him in many ways. And when a crisis comes, we want to neglect him in other mode.
And by passing and try to solve our own problem with our own efforts and the process, we are stop listening to God. And God wants to change this in our lives. And you know, all we have to do is we have to understand our situation and we have to ask God, change this. Lord, purify me.
You know, I just feel like singing this song, purify My Heart is a small chorus and, you know.
I want you to sing with me. Purify my heart means, Lord, give me some crisis.
When you really want to pray that prayer. You can stand up and pray with me. And. You. Purify my heart. Let me be as God a precious. And to me from my home. Let me just go. To the refiners. Fire! My heart’s one desire I choose to be holy. Say I pray for you, Lord. I choose to be holy. Said set upon. For you are my master ready to do my duty. Purify my heart. Purify my heart.
Let me be as close. Consisting of. Purify my heart. Say let me be as close. To come. Reach trials. Fire in my heart. One desire I choose to be wholly separate for you. Lord, I choose to be holy. Set apart. For you are my master ready to do. You’re in. Thank you, Lord, for your word. Thank you for challenging our hearts.
Lord, thank you for setting things right in our spirits. God, Lord, may we run to you in all things. Maybe. Will you be the first place we turn to God wherever we go that you would do in us what only you can do? Lord, we pray that you would glorify your name. Lord, that you would purge all the things that needs to be purged.
God that we would see you glorified in this next season, in our lives and in our families. And we thank you. We praise you in Jesus name, Amen. And.
The Dangers of Self-Reliance
Pastor David opened with a candid reflection on his own struggles. He spoke of the many challenges he had faced, from navigating complex political situations to dealing with health issues. In each case, he initially relied on his own efforts and networks to find solutions. He sought to fix things through his connections, knowledge, and human ingenuity, only to find that his efforts were often in vain.
He realized that he was missing a critical element: true reliance on God. Like many of us, Pastor David found himself caught in the trap of self-reliance, believing that he could handle his problems on his own. Yet, time and again, his plans failed, and he felt like he was “trying to dig a hole with a spoon,” never making real progress. This experience led him to a profound realization: that God was allowing these difficulties to persist, not to punish him, but to draw him closer to Himself.
God’s Invitation: “Return to Me”
Pastor David turned to Isaiah 30:15, a verse that became a central theme in his message: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.” He explained that this passage was addressed to the people of Israel, who, during a time of crisis, sought help from Egypt instead of turning to God. They looked to human alliances and wisdom rather than placing their faith in the Lord. God’s response was simple yet profound: “Return to Me. In repentance and rest, you will find salvation.”
Pastor David reminded us that, like the Israelites, we often seek solutions outside of God’s will, believing that we can control our circumstances or manage our way out of difficulties. Yet, God’s invitation is to come back to Him, to rest in His presence, and to trust in His strength. It is in this place of surrender that we find true peace and security.
The Gift of Crisis
One of the most striking parts of Pastor David’s sermon was his perspective on crises and hardships. He referred to them as “gifts” from God, meant to shape us and draw us closer to Him. He acknowledged that this is a challenging concept for many of us to accept. How can pain, loss, or difficulty be a gift? Yet, Pastor David argued that it is through these very trials that God reveals His strength, deepens our faith, and molds us into the likeness of Jesus Christ.
He shared the story of the vineyard from Isaiah 5:1-7 as a metaphor for God’s care and expectations for His people. God, the gardener, planted a vineyard with the hope of producing good fruit. But when the vineyard failed to yield what was expected, God allowed it to face consequences — removing its hedge, breaking down its walls, and withholding rain. This parable illustrates that God desires fruitfulness in our lives, and sometimes, He allows us to experience hardship to correct our path and bring us back into alignment with His will.
The Call to Repentance and Trust
Pastor David’s message resonated with a call to humility and repentance. He highlighted that many of us, even in our faith journey, tend to neglect God. We might know about God, attend church, or read Scripture, but when a crisis hits, our first instinct is often to rely on ourselves or seek solutions outside of God’s will.
He emphasized that God wants us to recognize our need for Him, to turn back in repentance, and to place our trust fully in Him. This is not just about acknowledging God in words but truly depending on Him in every aspect of our lives — in our decisions, relationships, and daily struggles.
A Prayer for Purity and Dependence
Pastor David concluded his sermon with a song, “Purify My Heart,” inviting the congregation to join in a prayerful reflection. The lyrics spoke of a deep desire for purity and holiness, a commitment to be set apart for God, and a willingness to go through the “refiner’s fire” to be cleansed and made whole. He encouraged everyone to pray this prayer sincerely, asking God to purify their hearts and transform their lives through His refining process.
Finding Strength in Surrender
Pastor David’s message was a powerful reminder that our strength is not found in our abilities, resources, or understanding, but in our surrender to God. In times of crisis, instead of turning to our own solutions, we are invited to rest in God’s presence, trust His plans, and allow Him to work in us for His purposes.
God uses every situation, no matter how difficult, to shape us into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. Our role is to remain humble, repentant, and fully reliant on Him, trusting that He will bring about His perfect will in our lives.
Closing Reflection: A Call to Trust God in All Things
As we reflect on Pastor David’s sermon, let us consider how we might be relying on our own strength rather than trusting in God. What areas of our lives need repentance and a return to God’s presence? How can we embrace the difficulties we face as opportunities for growth and transformation? Let us pray for the grace to surrender fully to God, finding our strength in His quietness and trust.
Study Guide:
Ice-Breakers:
- Share a Challenge: Can you share a recent situation where you tried to solve a problem on your own? How did it turn out?
- Describe a Season of Waiting: What’s a time in your life when you felt God was asking you to “wait” or “be still”? How did you respond?
- Name a Time of Learning: Can you recall a moment when a personal crisis led you to a deeper understanding of God or your faith?
Discussion Questions:
- Pastor David mentioned feeling like his efforts were in vain. Why do you think God sometimes allows our plans to fail?
- In Isaiah 30:15, it says, “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.” What does this mean to you in your current circumstances?
- Pastor David talked about relying on his own strength instead of God’s. What are some ways we can shift from self-reliance to God-reliance?
- Why do you think God uses crises and difficulties in our lives to draw us closer to Him?
- How do you interpret Romans 8:28-29 in light of Pastor David’s message that “God’s agenda is to make us like Jesus”?
- Pastor David shared that the Israelites tried to solve their problems without consulting God. What are some modern examples of how we might do the same?
- How can we better listen to and seek God’s guidance when we face challenges?
- Pastor David describes difficulties as a “gift” from God. How do you feel about this idea, and can you see any personal examples where a challenge was a gift in disguise?
Sermon Summary:
Pastor David shared a personal testimony about his struggles in the past few years, where he relied heavily on his own strength and connections to resolve various problems—from political issues to health concerns. These efforts, however, resulted in repeated failures. He realized that God was teaching him an important lesson about dependence on Him.
The sermon is centered around Isaiah 30:15, which states that salvation and strength come from repentance, rest, quietness, and trust in God. Pastor David emphasized that God often allows crises to draw us closer to Him and transform us into the likeness of Jesus Christ. The people of Israel, during the time of the prophet Isaiah, also tried to solve their problems through alliances and their own wisdom, but God wanted them to turn back to Him in repentance and trust.
Pastor David calls believers to recognize that God’s ultimate purpose is not always to resolve our problems immediately but to change and transform us through them. He invites the congregation to seek God first, rely on His strength, and allow Him to work in their lives for His greater purpose.
Short Prayer:
“Lord, we thank You for the message shared today and for reminding us of the importance of trusting in You completely. Help us to turn to You first in every situation, to rest in Your presence, and to find our strength in quietness and trust. Transform our hearts to be more like Jesus, and guide us through every trial, knowing that You are with us. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.