Believing God

The Virtuous Woman - Proverbs 31:10-31

 

Sermon by Sonny Simak, Pastor at Grace Church Southall, preached on 15.02.26

 

https://youtu.be/QTiXjdFCbrQ

 

 

At the beginning of this year, we decided to think through the wisdom literature section of the Old Testament. We may continue with this theme for a while.

 

Proverbs 30:7-9

YouTube: https://youtu.be/XcS5sgyhQKk

Proverbs 24:30-34   Preached this sermon at Grace Church Southall on 26th Jan 2026 as we continue to think through the book of Proverbs.

 

YouTube: https://youtu.be/K0x5AN9LtsM

I start every year with the reading of the book of Proverbs for my personal devotion time, so I decided to preach a few sermons from the book of Proverbs at my local church. Sorry for the background noise as the microphone was playing up a bit. 

Proverbs 3:1-10 - True Prosperity

Youtube: https://youtu.be/ErGHtWvQ88w

Romans 15:22-33   Thinking about our fellowship with one another. It is important to understand when the Lord comes in our life, He doesn’t come alone, He comes with His people in our life. We need to show affection and kindness to one another and serve the Lord together as we await the coming kingdom of Christ. Amen.

Do check out our latest video of our time in Africa earlier this year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrpmWTERN00&t=120s

Romans 15:14-33

Part 1

 

 

Can anything good come out of our suffering?

 

We are told in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 that if we suffer it is not only for our pruning but also to the benefit of others as they see us suffer faithfully, not only they are encouraged by our testimony but also to grow in their faith in the Lord.

 

There are so many so called “faith-healers” in churches today. They don’t have any power to heal anyone, but these preachers certainly have the power to lead people in error.

 

However, we do thank the Lord for His faithful people who are able to be the light and the salt of this earth as the Lord tells us in Matthew 5:16. Every Christian can be an encouragement to others.

 

Here is an example of one faithful Christian who despite her suffering was able to share the message of salvation with her ‘neighbour’ whilst being admitted in the hospital. Helpfully shared by Brother Tim who is an elder at Hayes Lane Baptist Church in Bromley, UK.

 

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cfCyQin0dc&t=34s

How can we encourage those who may be going through suffering?

The New Testament letters are full of the ‘One-Another’ statements.

We are called to encourage one another for the sake of our Lord and Saviour – Jesus Christ. The Lord cares for His people, and one of the main ways of Him encouraging us is through His body on earth – the Church.

The Apostle Paul encourages the Ephesians (Ephesians 5:19-20) to encourage each other with prayers, singing of Psalms and Hymns. He tells the Galatians (Galatians 6:2) to bear each other burdens and he encourages the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 4:17-18) and Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 5:11) by pointing them to the eternal Christ.

Our dear friend, Brother Michael - Missionary in Mexico shares his experience of helping others and being helped by others when he needed to be encouraged.

Video link: https://youtu.be/6gbwmKiyclc

What does it mean to 'focus' on God during suffering?

King David is one of the most prominent human characters in the Old Testament. We are familiar with his trials that are mentioned in the Bible. We are also familiar with Psalms of David. I am yet to meet a Christian that has never found Psalms to act like a soothing balm to their spiritual wounds.

Kind David was a man in great distress in 1 Samuel 27. He was running to save his life from King Saul and in doing so he falls into the enemy's territory. 

How did David cope? And what lessons can we learn from the life of David in trusting the Lord and focusing on His goodness?

Pastor Olawale Akinrogunde of Grace Church Walthamstow, London explains.

 

Why do 'good' people suffer?

First of all, we need to realise that none of us are good (Mark 10:18), only God is good and this where we start to understand why we suffer in this fallen world.

There was only ONE good man who ever lived on the face of this earth and His Name is Jesus Christ. He did not deserve to suffer but He suffered on our behalf so that we may become righteous in God's eyes. 

We were created to know and glorify the Son of God. God is glorified in our life when we are saved. 

Pastor Joe Zbinden of Steel City Missionary Baptist Church in IL tells a story of a blind man in John's Gospel chapter 9, how God was able to use this man blindness to bring not only healing but salvation in his life. 

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQE90m-53l4