Roman 9:16 – So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. Many times we try to think that we can do all things. We say I can do this, I can do that, but soon we realise that we have failed miserably. That’s why the Bible very clearly says in the above verse that we are able to pull on in this world not because of our strength or our will power but only because of the Lord who sheweth mercy. The Bible says in Ps 86:15 that our God is full of compassion, gracious, long suffering and plenteous in mercy. We can all the time count on His mercy, because His mercy does not fail (Lam 3:22). My dear brother, sister, do you say that you are not able to do anything for the Lord, do you say that you are a total failure, if you will only drop on your knees, you will soon realise that you have depended too much on your ability, too much on your wisdom and strength and those have been the reasons for your failure. But today if you would only cry for His mercy and grace the good Lord would take upon Himself the responsibility of leading and guiding you in a marvellous way. You would be able to do much more for the Lord than at any other time. So every goodness that we receive and blessings that we enjoy is only because of God’s mercy and not because of our goodness. Let us briefly see how we are to depend upon God’s mercy for all our blessings:

1. SALVATION:- Ps 3:8 says that salvation belongs to the Lord. Eph 2:8 says that we are saved by grace and not of ourselves it is the gift of God. God saved us through His son Jesus Christ because of His great mercy. Yes the mercy of God had saved the worst kind of people, people who were considered cast away by the society. Once I heard the story of a person who was saved even while he was fully drunk. The Lord called him by name and revealed His salvation to him. Today he is still alive and 90 years old having done great things for God and His kingdom. Yes God can save the worst kind of people. This goes to prove that salvation totally belongs to Him. Dear sister do you say that your husband is a drunkard, do you say that he can never be saved. Don’t be disheartened, there is no case which is too difficult for God to save because He is rich in mercy. His mercy can save your daddy, your mummy and everybody, because salvation belongs to God.

2. STRENGTH AND POWER: Ps 68:35 says the God of Israel is He that giveth strength and power unto His people, because power belongeth unto God (Ps 62:11). It is this power that enables us to live a victorious life. Many times we fail in our Christian walk because we fail to wait for God’s power and strength. He alone can send His power on us which will give us a heart of obedience. God says in Ez 36:27 that He will put His spirit within us and cause us to walk in His commandments. It is He that causeth us to obey His words. Are you struggling to obey His word. Yes it will be a struggle as long as we depend on our strength. But once we stop living by our strength and start living by His strength and power, then all our struggles would cease. I remember when I was 17 years old, I attended a youth camp at Tanjore. I went there not knowing anything about Jesus, His Holy Spirit or His salvation. But I was longing holiness in my heart. One afternoon, suddenly the Lord Jesus Christ poured out His Holy Spirit upon me and my life was totally changed. God does this, time and again to prove that His anointing and power belongs totally to Him. Nobody can take credit for what he does. Dear reader you too can have this power. It belongs to the Lord Jesus. Just depend on His mercy and He will suddenly pour His spirit upon you and your struggle will cease.

3. FRUITS OF OUR MINISTRY: 1 cori 3:7 says “Neither he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth but God that giveth the increase”. Many times we feel discouraged because we do not see many souls in our ministry. In spite of our hard and sincere work we do not reap enough harvest. Even here we are to depend totally on God’s mercy. The above verse tells us that it is only the Lord Jesus Christ who giveth us the increase. He alone is the captain of souls; hence we have to depend entirely on Him. I had the opportunity of studying in the Jesus calls institute of power ministry. On the last day when the dear servant of God brother D.G.S Dhinakaran laid his hands and prayed for me, this is what the Lord Jesus spoke through him, “My son many times you said that you cannot speak fluently in Tamil as well. How am I going to win souls? It’s not your business, it’s my business, only believe”. What a wonder! From that day onwards, I began to preach fluently in Tamil as well. Yes winning souls is His business it is not our business. Our business is only to preach the word. He takes the entire credit for the soul He saves. So let us not be disheartened, but let us depend entirely on the Lord Jesus Christ for the souls and He will encourage us by increasing the fruit of our labour.