Dearly beloved in Christ,
I greet you in the sweet name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the Holy Bible the greatness of God’s grace has been affirmed in many places, by many saints. The Lord’s answer came to St. Paul, who had prayed for the removal of the thorn brought by the devil so that his troubles might be over and his sufferings would end. He said, “...My grace is sufficient for you...” 2 Corinthians 12:9.
We should not think that grace is a miracle or a power. Grace is the mercy, kindness and love that the Almighty God grants us. Because He loved us, though we are not worthy to receive any good thing from Him. He has granted us this kindness, mercy and deeds of love. When David was in the desert, he said, “Because Your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You.” Psalm 63:3 and in Psalm 136 he repeats, “His mercy endures forever.” It is said in Isaiah 54:8 “... With everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you.” And it tells us that grace has been given to us for all eternity. In Nehemiah 9:32, we find that God keeps and guards us so that this grace is not removed or destroyed. Our Creator God, who thus loves us has granted us this grace without measure. Let us get ready to study through this message, the magnitude of this grace and what we should do to receive and to get this great gift.
I. The magnitude of grace
1. Grace helps us to live.
“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.” Lamentations 3:22
The Lord’s grace guards us from unexpected, sudden accidents, diseases and dangers.
Once I met a highly placed officer in the Army. He said that the fact that he was alive was because of the Almighty God’s wondrous act. Once this high official and his soldiers were going on a defence mission to the battlefront. All of a sudden these 23 soldiers came under enemy attack and heavy shelling from their guns. His soldiers were falling dead all around him. He lay down on the ground to escape from the gun shots. As the attack from the enemy intensified, he stopped shooting and waited. The soldiers, who were being shot dead, started falling down right over him. In a few minutes all the soldiers who had come with him were dead and he was caught under the dead bodies. He was able to see the feet of the approaching enemies. They took all the weapons from the dead soldiers and planned to set fire to the bodies. But in the end, they just left them as they were and went away. Not knowing how to escape and full of fear, he just lay under heap of dead bodies for three days. The weight of the bodies and the bad smell caused unbearable suffering. After 3 days when there was no enemy movement he escaped and reached his camp.
Yes, the soldier was granted the privilege that others did not receive. Now, he lives and worships the Lord with his family. We are not consumed because of God’s grace. His compassions do not fail. It is not because of our effort, holiness or worthiness.
2. Grace holds us up, supports us.
“If I say, “My foot slips,” Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up. " Psalm 94:18
We fall at unexpected times and the Lord’s grace holds us up at such times. The Lord who said, “...I will uphold you, with My righteous right hand.” in Isaiah 41:10 daily supports and upholds us. We know that He has said in Isaiah 46:3 & 4 “... You have been upheld by Me, from birth, who have been carried from the womb.” He has also said, “Even to your old age, I am He, and even to gray hairs, I will carry you...”
Once in our Sri Lanka ministry, we were going to Bagawanthalawa from our head office in Kotagala. After some time, while we were passing through Dickoya we saw a crowd of people on the road watching something. We had to stop for a while as there was no room to pass through. Then when we found a little gap we slowly proceeded and made enquiries about why there was such a crowd. We learnt that a car had fallen down a big ravine and the people were watching that. Suddenly the representative of our Sri Lankan ministry got down from our car saying that a member of his congregation was also standing there and he went to make enquiries. He returned after a few minutes and said that this same man had been involved in the accident. His car had gone down the pit for about 30, 40 feet and was stopped by a tree which had saved him from falling into the gully. His car was stopped by the tree and his life was also saved. Yes, the falls in our lives may be physical or related to the work of our hands or even in our spiritual life there may be a sudden slipping down. Do not be dismayed. When we slip, the God of grace is able to uphold us.
3. Through grace we find favour.
“But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.” Genesis 39:21
The grace of God is a means of our finding favour with high officials. We eagerly wait to find favour and get mercy from officers for many kinds of problems. When we are granted God’s grace, the Lord helps us to find mercy in high ranking officers and superiors.
Once a lady was unable to find a job worthy of her teacher’s training and education and was working for a very small salary. These days it is impossible to get a teaching job and that too without spending money. God by His grace showed mercy to this girl. Suddenly the government held an exam for this teachers’ post. By God’s grace she found favour in the officer’s eyes and without any recommendation or any obstruction she got the job. Yes, God’s grace paves the way for finding favour in the eyes of high officials.
If God’s grace abounds, we are not consumed but the Lord upholds us and we receive mercy. Abundant grace makes us increase because of God’s kindness and blessing.
4. God’s grace saves us.
“Even when we were dead in trespasses, God made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved.” Ephesians 2:5
The Lord who saves us is God, the Most High and Mighty. There are people who think salvation is something strange. Salvation is perfect and complete redemption and freedom. We have been committing many sins since we were young. The wages of sin is death. Then one has to receive eternal condemnation but if we are saved, our sins are forgiven and we receive new life. With the certainty of sins being forgiven, gladness, peace and joy, we live a life of freedom and liberty. That is why a great change is seen in a person’s life after being saved. This change, liberty and the certainty of sins forgiven come to us through grace. We should humble ourselves in God’s presence to receive all the blessings that come through this grace without disregarding the salvation that is also received through grace. Only when the God of unchanging grace removes our sins and creates a new life within us we will have perfect and true peace and joy. So let us dedicate ourselves to live a life of witness so that others too, like us, may be saved by this grace.
The Lord created mankind of one blood and according to His plan, has established all people in different parts of the earth. As said in Acts 17:26, “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their habitation.” we know that their times are also fixed. When all the babies in the town were killed and destroyed, only Moses was saved by grace. His mother was paid by the Princess of the land to nurture him. This is God’s grace. Moses who received grace, and had by the same grace was called so that he might not remain in the king’s palace any longer. Yes, our God calls us by His grace for His great and wonderful service. His powerful and His mighty arm wonderfully chooses and calls us and helps us to run along His appointed way.
Once a young man was brought for prayer in regard to his higher studies or for him to get a good job. When I earnestly prayed for the boy, I had a vision of him serving in a church for the Lord. So I told them, “God has a plan for him to serve as a pastor in a church. I can only see you in that robe.” The young man said that he was not fit for that service but only his brother was. However after a few years he joined a Theological College and after completing the course, he was given the charge to serve as the minister of a church. By grace we receive the call to do the Lord’s ministry. By grace, as His child, we receive this call.
Thus by God’s grace we are not consumed but we are upheld, we find favour, we are saved and we receive God’s call.
Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. “And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace” John 1:16, 17. “...I will give you the sure mercies of David.” He has thus spoken” says Acts 13:34. We must receive this grace and grow in it. II Peter 3:18 reinforces it by saying, “... Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” So let us dedicate ourselves to receive and grow in grace.
II. What should we do to receive Grace?
1. To receive grace, we must trust God.
“...He who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him.” Psalm 32:10
We have to trust God to receive and to have grace. We have so many different kinds of beliefs but the Holy Bible clearly and definitely says, “Blessed is the man who trusts in Him. Blessed is he who makes the Lord his trust.” On what is our trust? Or on whom? Nowadays trust in created things is on the increase. A great many people have this kind of misplaced trust, forgetting the Creator. Many are those who say and think, “It is because of my experience, my wisdom, my education.”
Once I had the opportunity to converse and pray with a farmer. He said, “With my experience I will do these things to increase my yield and so this time there will be a great increase in crops in my field” I prayed for God’s grace to uphold him. But in a few days, most unexpectedly, the fields and the crops were attacked by pests. Yes, when our trust is in wrong things, we meet with difficulties and losses. But when we do things trusting God, we achieve victory in wonderful and surprising ways. Another farmer grew crops as the Lord impressed on his heart. Many people laughed at him and made fun of him. But God’s grace surrounded him and he reaped a wonderful harvest. Let us put our trust in the Lord. We shall receive His grace. It is eternal, abundant, perfect and lasting. Let us trust the Lord Jesus Christ, to receive grace and then go about our work.
2. To receive grace, we should have the quality of humility
“He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6
We must have humility to receive God’s grace. We know that the Lord Jesus Christ humbled Himself and came to the world to save us. He who had all authority and power was born into a poor family. Our family pride brings many evil things in our lives. Some are proud of their education while others are proud of transient and worthless things, their jobs, their position. The angel Lucifer filled with power, beauty and wisdom was cast out, unwanted because of the pride in his heart. When Nebuchadnezzar boasted “This is the great Babylon I have built” he lost his kingdom and was cast out from men.
Once when I was working as a P.T.Master, I tasted the grace of God. I coached our school students in foot-ball. That year in the inter-school competition, the Lord gave our boys victory in the final match. It was held in the school premises where the final match was to be played, the students chosen from all over the state had been given special training and coaching as well as lodging and nutritious food in the Sports Hostel. These were students from standards 11 & 12. We had to play the final match against this special team. So everyone thought that we would surely be defeated. When the day of the final match arrived. I prayed with my school team. I encouraged them to play boldly and sensibly and sent them on to the sports field. At that time the coach of our rival team spoke very proudly. He called out to the students he had coached for a few years not to score more than 10 goals and sent them on to the ground. In just a few minutes after the play commenced, my school players played extraordinary well and by God’s grace made a goal. After the half time again, my school players made another goal. That day by His grace my school team won the match. Whenever we are humiliated God’s grace increases. The P.T.Master of that school commended me saying “This P.T.Master who trains and coaches well won this great victory because he has Jesus Christ with him.”
Dear brother and sister! Man looks at the face; God looks into the heart. When we trust him with a humble heart, the unchanging God gives us grace. The God of grace lifts you high in your work place where people look down on you and belittle you saying “what can this fellow do.?” When you are cast down, God, by His grace will grant you honour and success.
3. To receive Grace continually we must accept Jesus Christ as our shephered.
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life...” Psalm 23:6
For mercy and grace to follow us we should accept the Lord as the shepherd of our life. The Lord Jesus Christ has said, “I am the good shepherd.” To have Him as our shepherd means we have to place Him first in our life and always follow Him. To follow Him we have to be filled with His qualities. We should surrender ourselves so that all the qualities found in Him such as His humility and love should be also found in us. If we want to follow Him, in addition to going along His path, we should also learn to know His voice. Thus we qualify ourselves to receive His grace continually in our life, when we place Him before us, follow Him by knowing His voice and make Him our shepherd. It is wrong to follow Him at certain times and to leave Him out of certain things and times. If we live as David said in Psalm 16:8 “I have set the Lord always before me,” we receive an unshakeable blessed life through grace.
Once a brother was able to hear the Lord’s voice during a train journey. He was blind. He had accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour. That day during the journey he heard the Lord’s voice, telling him to get off the train. Recognizing the Lord’s voice, he gathered his things and got ready to disembark. His fellow passengers urged him to continue the journey as they had not reached his destination yet. However, because he had the Lord as his shepherd, he got off the train. Later he took another transport and reached his destination safely. Then he heard a shocking news: That train was involved in an accident. Many hundreds of people lost their lives. By grace, he was not consumed or killed. As his name was in the list of passengers travelling in that compartment, everyone thought that he too would have died. But God’s grace was at work and he escaped. For this grace to continue, let us offer ourselves to accept Jesus as our shepherd.
4. Grace is increased by Praise
“For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:15
We know that as we praise and thank God, grace increases. We should praise God as a family. We should praise God as a Church. When we praise God in great numbers, grace abounds. We should think of all the good that God has done and praise Him. We should praise Him for all His mercies. When we praise God who dwells in the midst of the praises of Israel, when we praise Him who is worthy to be praised, grace increases.
5. Grace is increased by witness
“And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.” Acts 4:33
We are duty bound to bear witness of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. We are witnesses for Christ in this world. Often times we are bashful about witnessing for Him. “I died but I live for ever” said our loving Lord Jesus Christ for whom we should bear witness in word and in deed. When we bear witness, others also receive blessings through it. Let us witness for Him for God’s grace to be perfected in us. Let us be blessed.
May the Lord bless us.
In the service of Christ Jesus,
Late Bro. C. Ebenezer Paul
(Message originally published in May 2002)