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Imagine this scenario from Luke 17: Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem as the time for His crucifixion drew near. As He passed between Samaria and Galilee, He approached an unnamed village. And outside that village, ten lepers were encamped in terrible squalor and shame.

Evidently, nine of these lepers were Jews, and one was a Samaritan. Now, the Jews of that day did not even touch Samaritans, let alone live with them. But apparently the common distress of these ten had brought them together in a shared misery.

I want to tell you about three men whom God used mightily — and how God used failure to produce godliness in each of them.

We hear so much talk today about how to be successful. It is time the body of Christ learns to recognize the scriptural pattern God uses to produce His chosen servants. And the hard truth is this: Pain, torment, sorrow and failure have produced the men and women of God who have stirred their generations.

Jabbok! It may not have meant anything to you before now — but after you hear this message it should become one of the most important words in your spiritual vocabulary.

Jabbok is the place where Jacob wrestled with the Lord. It is where he made his total surrender to God. It is where he got his new character, and new name — Israel. It was the place where he cast down his last idol, and won his greatest victory.

"And he rose up that night…and passed over the ford Jabbok…" (Gen. 32:22).

Right now, you may be in a spiritual wilderness, facing the powers of Satan.  You can feel his army of demonic entities thundering down on you. Yet, as surely as God opened the Red Sea, allowing Israel to walk through on dry ground, he’s going to open up your sea supernaturally. 

Embracing His Loving Kindness in Your Trial

Psalm 107 has been called “the Old Testament love feast.” It is one of the most encouraging passages in all of God’s Word, and it is meant especially for those needing forgiveness, deliverance or restoration. The final verse promises the reader an understanding of who God truly is. “Whoever is wise will observe these things, and they will understand the lovingkindness of the Lord” (Psalm 107:43, NKJV).

Isaiah was speaking of Jesus when he prophesied these words: “Thus says the Lord: In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages” (Isaiah 49:8, emphasis mine).

"Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing” (Judges 8:4, my emphasis).

Gideon’s life is a perfect example of how God creates impossible circumstances for his servants in order to demonstrate his glory. The Lord called this shy man to lead Israel into battle against an overwhelming enemy: 100,000 Midianites, compared to Israel’s army of 22,000.

I want you to consider a prayer that Paul expressed for the church of Jesus Christ. He prayed, “May God reveal to you not just the past greatness of Christ but his present greatness.”

Here is Paul’s specific prayer: “That ye may know… what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us–ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power” (Ephesians 1:18–19).

“These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God” (Revelation 14:4–5).

My wife and I were having dinner with a family friend, a woman we’ve known a long time. Suddenly, in the middle of our meal, our friend began to voice the kinds of thoughts I’ve been hearing from Christians all over the country. She said to us:

The apostle Paul speaks of a great apostasy to come upon the earth in the last days. What is apostasy? It is a “rejection of truth once believed and proclaimed.” Simply put, it is a falling away from God’s truth. Paul writes of the apostasy to come:

“We beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ…that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word …as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first” (2 Thessalonians 2:1–3).