"The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen." (Revelation 22:21, ESV)
When you think of the sum of the Book of Revelation and all that is contained in it, there can be no better way to close the book than to say, "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen." (Revelation 22:21, ESV) When calamity upon calamity is unfolding, when the judgments of God are starting to be released, when nothing seems to be certain in the natural, one thing stands sure— the grace of God! His ability is desperately needed by all who will see the end of the age. John's closing words give so much hope to people living under severe persecution and trouble. It is what we all need when we suffer persecution or endure hardship and affliction. We need the ability of God within us to endure! The grace of God in us empowers us to wait patiently, endure calmly and overcome. It is the grace of God that helps us to maintain a focused mind on Him amid adversity. It is as if Jesus is looking over our shoulder, saying, "Steady, hold, don't move, steady! God's got this! Trust Him. You can do this through the grace given to you by faith." Oh, that God's comforting grace would fill every believer's heart in the hour of adversity and testing! May His ability in us bring Him so much glory as we pass through this life! "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen." (Revelation 22:21, ESV)
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"Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;" (1 Corinthians 12:4, ESV)
In First Corinthians 12:4, Paul teaches the Corinthian church about spiritual gifts. The Greek word for gifts is 'charismaton'. It comes from the word grace. We know grace as God's ability in us to do the things we cannot do in and of ourselves. The spiritual gifts are the spiritual abilities of God. Paul lists nine spiritual abilities that the Holy Spirit gives to the individual members of the body of Christ. These abilities come from God and Him alone. There is nothing man can do to make them happen. Therefore, when the gifts/abilities manifest or become visible, touching other people's lives, only God can get the glory! Only His name can be praised! There are varieties of abilities but the same Spirit! God is so amazing in how He has built His church. These gifts come from the Holy Spirit and are given to the body of Christ to manifest the Kingdom of God. When the gifts of God are in operation, God's goodness is revealed, and He is celebrated among His people! These abilities or gifts are supernatural. When the church moves in the gifts of the Spirit, supernatural activity is happening right before our eyes! This activity makes God visible. We can see Him at work in our lives! The Corinthian church was becoming proud of its spiritual gifts. Paul did not tell them to stop functioning, only to give God the glory for using them in these spiritual abilities! "And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people." (Acts 6:8, ESV)
One of the marks of Stephen's life is that he was full of grace and power. He was a deacon who was full of God's ability and power. Therefore, he was doing great wonders and signs among the people. How do we increase in grace? Growing in grace is all about what God is doing in us. It is His work in us that sanctifies us through and through. The more room I make for God in my life, the more of His ability/grace I possess. James 4:6 says, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." He gives his ability to the humble. To grow in grace is to grow in our understanding of what Jesus did on the cross and through the resurrection. And, it is to grow in our appreciation of the grace we have been given. Stephen was full of grace, and the following scriptures tell us how we can grow in grace. Jesus said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness" (Matthew. 6:33). Paul said, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:12–13). In Acts 2, "they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." We grow in grace by seeking to know Him more. "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8–9, ESV)
Grace is God's ability in me to do the things I cannot do in and of myself. I could not and cannot save myself! Nor can anyone else in humanity. Because we cannot save ourselves, we are without hope in this life without Christ Jesus. This is why the apostle Paul said, "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" (Romans 7:24, ESV) He knew he was hopeless in this life until he found Christ! Then he said, "Thanks be to God! I am saved through Jesus Christ, my Lord." And in Corinthians, he says, "Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15, ESV) It is the ability of God that saves us, His and His alone! My salvation has nothing to do with me other than by faith, I believe, and His grace saves me from my sin! I can only boast in, and through Him, that salvation has come to me! So many try to clean themselves up before coming to Christ. The cleaning can never even start until you come to Him. Whether you are coming to be saved or coming to be sanctified from dead works. You are saved, and continue to be saved, by His amazing grace/ability alone "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8–9, ESV)
He is my working definition of grace: Grace is God's ability in me to do the things I cannot do in and of myself. Many people say grace is God's unmerited favor. That tells me it is a free and undeserved gift, but it doesn't yet define what grace is. When I understand that grace is God's ability, freely given to me to do the things I can't do myself—it now starts to make sense!
His ability at work in me, by faith, accomplishes more than I can think, ask or imagine! Because it is His ability at work in me, I can take no credit for it. I can only give Him all the praise and glory! He has conquered death, hell, and the grave; therefore, His ability/grace in me causes me to be more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus too! If death reigned through the first Adam, then grace reigns through the last Adam, Christ Jesus! Grace is all His work! My work is to believe in him whom he has sent." (John 6:29, ESV) Grace, His ability in me, by faith! "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?" (Romans 6:1, ESV)
Paul answers his own question with a resounding "NO!" Absolutely not! Paul was driving home the point: "Where sin abounds, there grace abounds all the more." There is no sin so big that God cannot forgive. There is no person so vile and lost that God cannot save to the uttermost! In fact, where sin reigned in death, grace now reigns through righteousness leading to eternal life through Christ Jesus. Because this is truth, Paul asks, Shall we continue to sin so grace may abound? He does not want us to think that we should continue in sin to have grace abounding in our lives. He is making clear the idea that where grace abounds, righteousness should be clearly evident in that believer's life. When you are born again, you die to your sinful life and are buried with Christ in baptism. And just as He was raised from the dead, by the glory of God, so we are raised with Him that we might walk in the newness of Christ. A sinless life is what we aim for after being so gloriously saved! The life that we now live in the flesh we live by faith in the Son of God, who gave Himself up for us. May the grace of God abound gloriously in each of us who the blood of Christ has redeemed! "He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction." (Psalm 107:20, ESV)
God is proactive! Better said, "God is love!" Because God is love, He is proactive! He wants everyone to be saved and no one to be lost. He desires all to be healed and none to be sick. Therefore, He sent out His Word, and His Word healed and delivered. Jesus is the Word! “In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. “ (John 1:1-2 ESV) When I think about God sending out His Word, I am reminded of the following: "so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11, ESV) Knowing that Jesus is the Word, we can say that God sent out His Son, healed them, and delivered them from their destruction. Jesus will not be thwarted but will and has accomplished the very purpose that the Father sent Him out. Healing and deliverance belong to the believer! It is ours by faith! Please don't settle for less when such a high price has been paid for our salvation, healing, and deliverance. He has sent His Word to you and for you! Be healed in Jesus name! "... what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness," (2 Peter 3:11, ESV)
It is not a question of performance. It is a statement of reflection, knowing that something has the potential to happen real soon. Earlier, Peter states, "The Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night." This means that it will come unannounced and totally by surprise. You cannot prepare for it. You can only be prepared for it. Since we know that the Day of the Lord is coming, we choose to live ready for that day. John has a beautiful way of saying what Peter says, "Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure." (1 John 3:2–3, ESV) Holiness and godliness are not a work that we do, but a state of existence of being in Christ. Because we know when He comes, He will come in holiness and godliness; we choose to be like Him. Therefore, we rid ourselves of all things that defile us and put on Christ. As Paul said, "We put off the old man and clothe ourselves in Christ Jesus, in holiness and righteousness.” This is the sort of people we ought to be! "And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean." (Matthew 8:2, ESV)
Sometimes we have to deal with the giants in us before we can deal with the giants standing in our way. Take, for example, Gideon, Moses, and Joseph. God had to deal with the giants in each of them before they could deal with the giants in their land. It was no different in Matthew 8:1-13. We meet a leper and a centurion. Both expressed their unworthiness before Jesus. The leper said, "Lord if you are willing, you can make me clean." The leper felt unworthy of Jesus' presence because of his sickness. He was made to think that his disease disqualified Him from God's love. The centurion told Jesus, "I am not worthy to have you under my roof." The centurion felt disqualified to be in Jesus' presence because of his race and position in life. Both men felt a sense of unworthiness to be in the presence of Jesus. How about you? Do you feel unworthy to be in His presence? The leper required a ‘touch’ from Jesus to overcome his unworthiness. The centurion required a 'word' from Jesus to overcome his unworthiness. What do you need to overcome your unworthiness? Perhaps all you need is to see the goodness of God. God's goodness brought the leper to Jesus, the centurion to Jesus, and, if you gaze on God's goodness, He will bring you to Jesus' healing touch! "And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?" (Matthew 8:26, ESV)
Faith is a matter of surrender to the Living God. Faith does not trust in itself but in God, who demonstrates His goodness to His people through love. God desires the greatest good for all of us. Faith agrees with that fact and surrenders to the God who loves well, for He is good. When Jesus questioned His disciple's faith, it was because they were not trusting in God but in their ability to sail the stormy Galilee Sea. Jesus' objective was to lead the disciples to the place of surrender so they would trust God or have more faith in Him than in themselves. We know that faith comes by hearing the message and the message through the Word of God. (Romans 10:17) The more intimate one becomes with God, the more surrendered their life is to His will and leadership. Yet many hear the message, like the message, but never surrender to the message. Again, it goes back to the age-old problem: "Do I trust God, or do I trust myself more?" The disciples could 'see' the wind and waves but could not 'see' the God who delivers. God is looking for people who walk confidently in Him and can surrender to Him because they now 'see' as He 'sees!' A half surrender is no surrender at all. Why not raise your hands to Him now and surrender? Let Him be the Lord of your lif |
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