The promise for the month of December is 1 Samuel 7:13. The mighty Hand of God subdues the enemies of His chosen ones. This Hand moves on behalf of those who know their God. Pastor Paul Dawson teaches on this grave truth and encourages us to learn how to seek the Mighty Hand of God.
THE HAND OF GOD
How our amazing God confirms His prophetic Word. When I came and sat here, Jenny sang a song which said, “Lord let Your hand be on me.” That is what we will be looking at for this month – The Mighty Hand of The Lord.
In 1 Samuel 7:13 we read, “So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the coast of Israel: and the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.” The hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the time of Samuel. When Samuel died, the Philistines rose again.
There are many hands which are working against the people of God. In Exodus 18:10 we read, “And Jethro said, Blessed be the LORD, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.” These Egyptian hands were working against the people of God. In Deuteronomy 1:27 we read, “And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the LORD hated us, He hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.” The hand of the Amorites were also against the Israelites. There was first Pharaoh at a time when Egypt was a world power. At that time there were seven great world powers. The first power was Egypt during those days. They ruled. Even now you can see the pyramids. God allowed the Egyptians to have control over the world. It was that hand of the Egyptians that was against the Israelites.
However God raised them up. Romans 9:17 records, “For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew My power in thee, and that My name might be declared throughout all the earth.” God raised up Pharaoh and he was against the people of God.
Let us look at another man in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10, “And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.” Jabez was a wise man. His name was sorrow. All his youth, his name was sorrowful and so he was. Yet 1 Chronicles 4:10 records, “And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that Thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that Thine hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.” Jabez knew how to be wise. His main prayer request was that God’s hand should be with him.
When God’s hand is with you, many things will happen. The Philistines did not enter the place of Israelites, as long as Samuel is alive. This is God’s plan. If one man can believe, it will happen. We are not believing simply because we take one verse, this is God’s Word for us. We will see the hand of the devil paralysed, the Egyptians’ hands paralysed, the Amorites’ hands paralysed and even the Pharaoh’s hand cannot function. No hand can function against you when God’s hand is for you.
The time has come for God’s hand to move on behalf of God’s people. Definitely for those who are God’s people, who work for eternity, God’s hands will move on their behalf. The time has come. We have been teaching about eternity all these days. Now the time has come to focus on His hand. It is such a beautiful verse. All the days of Samuel because something was there in Samuel, God moved. God moved for Jabez and He will move for us. God knows everything. The way God sees things is different from what man sees.
I am 100 % sure God’s Word is going to work in our lives. Let us be full of thanksgiving. Let us keep praising God. Don’t forget God did this for Samuel. Even for Moses, as long as he was alive, God did it. Even for Joshua ,God it. There are reasons why God moves for certain people. We have to learn this secret well.
To put it in a nutshell, concentrate on eternity and God’s hand will move for you. Just imagine God’s hand is upon your child. Why do you want to think about your child? God’s hand will keep moving more powerfully than you can ever do for your child. Jabez was named sorrowful. It doesn’t matter what you are named. God will answer your prayer. Let us be wise. God is a good God so let us all seek Him.