Excerpts from the message
The Rain of God’s Grace – 31st
August 2014
Different
definitions exist for grace, one of which is ‘unmerited favour’. Grace however
can also be defined as the kindness of God that brings us mercy, favour, and
ability.
Rom 4:16
It
is of faith, so that it might be by grace. Salvation through faith is an act of
grace in itself. God decided to bless everybody in the world through Abraham by
making salvation through faith. Keeping the law was always an issue for man. The
law was not meant to make man righteous; it was to show man that he needed God
to be righteous. Hence God allowing people to be saved by believing is an act
of grace.
Why did God choose Abraham – Josh 24:1-3
Abraham’s
father was an idol worshipper, and we can assume that he was possibly
worshipping other gods with his father. God calling Abraham therefore was an
act of grace; Abraham was called by grace not because of anything he was or he
did. The same way God called Abraham, He is calling us also whenever we hear
the Gospel. By hearing the Gospel, we are being called to obtain the glory of
Christ (2Thess 2:14). God calls us to obtain the glory of Christ; one major
purpose of grace is to glorify His name; to give us glory in Christ Jesus and
glorify His name. The reason God gives us abundant grace is so that people will
thank Him. He wants to manifest His grace in our lives so much that people will
glorify His name for it (2Cor 4:15). The purpose of grace is for God’s name to
be glorified and this is why He longs to manifest His grace in our lives. He called
us so that through our lives people will praise Him for how great His grace is (Eph
1:6; 2:4-7). He wants to use us to show off.
Grace for All
By
the grace of God He called Abraham, but He has changed the plan; the call is
now to everyone. The initial call was to Abraham and His seed (Christ), but God
started with his physical seed (Isaac, Jacob and all his children) and only the
Israelites had the blessing. Now however, the call has been extended to
everyone and the blessing is for all who are children of Abraham through Christ
(Gal 3:13-14). Grace is now for all through Christ, and all is blessed with
Abraham through faith in Christ (Gal 3:26-29).
Mercy, Favour and Ability
Mercy
is not receiving deserved punishment, negative treatment or penalty, Favour is
receiving something good that we do not deserve and Ability is capacity to function
beyond our normal ability; Favour is external while Ability is internal. The grace
of God manifests in these three dimensions. God does not just have mercy on us;
He gives us Ability to overcome sin and manifesting the gifts of the Spirit is
also as a result of His Ability. In Gen 20:1-18, we see the grace of God in all
three dimensions. Abraham was not killed after he lied to Abimelech because of Mercy;
he received what he did not deserve because of favour - Gen 20:14-16, and in
Gen 21:1-3, we see divine ability at work. They were able to perform beyond
human ability because of the grace of God.
Grace comes by the Promise
Grace
comes by promise; Abraham received the grace of God by the promise (Rom 4:13). The
promise is God’s declaration of what He wants to do. The declaration of His
ability and His will. The fall of man came about by a promise and in the same
way the rise of man comes by a promise. Grace came by the promise of God, and
in our lives we receive God’s grace by His promises. God gives us grace when we
listen and hearken to His promises (Isaiah 55). When God is speaking to us He
is giving us grace, and just as rain helps plants to grow and bear fruits, God’s
word will build our lives and make us receive our inheritance (Acts 20:32). Grace
comes by the promise.
Heb 6:11-19
We
get the rain of God’s grace by His love and His promises. His promises are
based on His love for us, and the oath is what Christ did on the cross. When Christ
was dying on the cross, He was using His blood to sign the contract and confirm
the oath. An oath empowers a promise, and the reason why God’s promises will
not fail in our lives is because Christ has settled it. If God’s promises fail,
then Christ died in vain. Our consciousness of God’s love attracts His promises
into our lives. Get into God’s presence and receive His promises. The gospel is
the gospel of grace (Gal 1:6, Acts 20:24), and whenever God is speaking to us,
He is releasing His grace to us. In 2Kings 3:9-24 God showed great grace to the
three kings in that they received abundance of water, and the water also aided
in the destruction of their enemy. But if Elisha did not get into God’s presence
and received His grace, they would have remained there.
Faith
comes by us hearing His word, and as we declare it, by His love and His
promises we receive the rain of His grace. By faith we have access into the
race of God, and He will manifest His grace in our lives when we hold on to His
promises. Because of Christ we are qualified for God’s grace, His grace is
already raining. All we have to do is receive.
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