“BY GRACE!”

Ephesians 2:4-10                                   

“But GOD, WHO is rich in mercy, FOR HIS great love wherewith HE loved us, 5 Even when WE WERE DEAD IN SINS, hath quickened us together with CHRIST, (“BY GRACE” ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised usup together, and made ussit together in Heavenly placesin CHRIST JESUS: 7 That in the ages to come HE might shew the exceeding riches of HIS GRACE in HISkindness toward us through CHRIST JESUS. 8 For “BY GRACE” are ye saved THROUGH FAITH; and that NOT OF YOURSELVES: it isthe GIFT OF GOD: 9 NOT OF WORKS, LEST ANY MAN SHOULD BOAST. 10 For we are HIS workmanship, created in CHRIST JESUS unto good works, which GOD hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

ALMIGHTY GOD has a Plan!  That phrase has been repeated by this writer many times in many places.  HIS Plan is far more intriguing than anything man could ever write, or dream; or imagine, as our finite minds aren’t capable of SEEING what only HE can do.  Humanly, we desire to “do our best” for our family, our friends, and most especially our GOD.   But JESUS said in Matthew 18:3 that unless we come as “little children”, we will NOT see the Kingdom of GOD!  My soon to be four year old granddaughters love (and are LOVED!) IMMENSELY, but all they can offer in return is to simply LOVE!  

GOD is telling me in Ephesians 2:8 that my salvation is a “GIFT OF  GOD”, not because I can give the biggest gift to HIM, not because I live more HOLY than someone else.  HE simply desires for me to LOVE HIM!  Evidence of that LOVE will be displayed in my obedience and works, but fake (or manufactured evidence) is a stench in HIS nostrils (Isaiah 65:5)! 

So why do I try to be better than “my brother” when serving ALMIGHTY GOD?   All of us can offer nothing to GOD but the Sacrificial Sacrifice of the life of JESUS CHRIST!  The often underused concept of IMPUTATION is the what everyone should be talking about!  IMPUTATION is where the RIGHTEOUSNESS of JESUS is transferred to my account and my sinful lifestyle is transferred to HIS account!  

“BY GRACE” our Salvation is made possible!  The only way we can even approach HIS Throne is “BY GRACE”!  It is not because of ANYTHING I have said or done, LEST ANY MAN SHOULD BOAST!  Our finest suit of clothes, the greatest financial support, nothing we can offer to GOD will let make up for our sinful behavior and unholy lifestyles!  We can ONLY come to HIM “BY GRACE!”

“BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO WAIT FOR HIM!”

Isaiah 30:18-19                                          (ESV)

“18 Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore HE exalts HIMSELF to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a GOD of justice; BLESSED ARE ALL THOSE WHO WAIT FOR HIM. 

19 For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. HE will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as HE hears it, HE answers you.”

There are so many instances when I believe that GOD has told me that HE is going to work in a certain manner in HIS time, then HE does something that TOTALLY and COMPLETELY goes against what I thought was the best way for HIM to accomplish HIS PLAN, and it leaves me thinking that I must have misunderstood what HE told me???  Did ALMIGHTY GOD tell Moses that HE was going to split the RED SEA to save the Israelites?  No, but GOD did tell Moses that HE was going to lead the Children of Israel to the Promised Land (Exodus 3:7-9) so that he could always remember the Promise of GOD when hardships were evident to Israel. 

In Isaiah 55:8-9, Scripture says “For MY thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways MY ways, declares the LORD.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are MY ways higher than your ways and MY thoughts than your thoughts.”  And in 2 Samuel 22:31, once again Scripture states “This GOD-HIS way is perfect; the WORD of the LORD proves true; HE is a shield for all those who take refuge in HIM.”  GOD never explained to Moses exactly what HE was going to experience on the journey, only that HE was in control and that HE would take care of HIS Children!  

GOD IS STILL GOD especially when HE is operating outside the realm of what is too be expected from the situations of “this world”!  From my personal “Red Sea” moment, when I was in a desperate situation in July 2007, GOD reversed my course and literally hours later I was dramatically better?  Since I was in a drug-induced coma, I was neither inclined to assist, nor could I assist, in my condition!  Trusting in GOD’S Plan, TOTALLY, took on a completely different meaning as I had no ability to do anything else.  Could it be that HE was displaying that HE was very capable of doing MIRACLES without my help and intervention?  

HE is STILL teaching me how much HE doesn’t need me to help or intervene in the journey HE has for me.  As much as I want to have a sign or indication of WHEN HE is going to deliver my Promised Land experience, HE requires me to WAIT UPON THE LORD!!!  “For the LORD is a GOD of justice; “BLESSED ARE ALL THOSE WHO WAIT FOR HIM” should be emblazoned on my forehead!  

“WATCH AND PRAY!”

Matthew 26:37-41                              (ESV)

“37 And taking with HIM Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, HE began to be sorrowful and troubled.

38 Then HE said to them, "MY soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with ME."

39 And going a little farther HE fell on HIS face and prayed, saying, "MY FATHER, if it be possible, let this cup pass from ME; nevertheless, not as I will, but as YOU will."

40 And HE came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And HE said to Peter, "So, could you not watch with ME one hour?

41 “WATCH AND PRAY” that you may not enter into temptation. The SPIRIT INDEED IS WILLING, but the FLESH is WEAK."”

Reverend Paul Washer has said something similar to “don’t be fooled, many people think that Hell will be eternal separation from GOD.  Hell means that we will experience the ETERNAL WRATH OF GOD!”  

JESUS knew what HE was about to experience, and HE prayed “MY FATHER, if it be possible, let this cup pass from ME”!  Now if you buy into the lie that GOD gives us whatever we want, when we want it, you would have a hard time explaining why GOD ALMIGHTY didn’t grant the request of HIS ONLY SON?!?  PLEASE note that the second part of the request from JESUS was “nevertheless, not as I will, but as YOU will!!!"  

Conformity to the WILL OF THE FATHER was always the desire of THE SON!  Why do I seem to want what my flesh wants so much?  Shouldn’t I “WATCH AND PRAY” more seeking to have my will reflect more of HIS WILL?  Instead, yielding to my weak flesh is mostly what I do, especially when my eyes are on the things of “this world”!  Peter and the two sons of Zebedee (James and John) were supposed to be watching and praying, but they were sleeping and JESUS was about to be arrested for crimes HE never committed.  Their weaknesses made HIS STRENGTH PERFECT (2 Corinthians 12:9) and HIS PLAN was completed in the end!

Even though JESUS had told HIS disciples MANY times in the prior three years, they NEVER had theirs EYES opened to SEE that HE was about to become the Ultimate Sacrifice for the sins of ALL mankind!  The weaknesses of the chosen servants of GOD were used to usher in HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS through FAITH in HIS SON.  

Now can you understand what Paul Washer is saying when he talks about how we think that hell won’t be that bad?  The punishment that JESUS went through on HIS way to Calvary, and the separation from the LOVE OF GOD, were enough to make JESUS cry out “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani”!  We need to “WATCH AND PRAY” that we are being used to Glorify HIM and not pleasure ourselves!!!

“FEAR!”

Matthew 8:23-27                                            (ESV)

“23 And when HE got into the boat, HIS disciples followed HIM.

24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; BUT HE WAS ASLEEP.

25 And they went and woke HIM, saying, "Save us, LORD; we are perishing."

26 And HE said to them, "Why are you AFRAID, O you of little FAITH?" Then HE rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

27 And the men marveled, saying, "What sort of MAN is this, that even winds and sea obey HIM?"”

April 9, 2017 marks two years since I was told by a doctor that I needed to have quadruple bypass surgery.  Two days later the surgery was performed and everything went extremely well, I would say with almost ZERO problems.  However, when I my wife and sons were hugging me right before they took me back into surgery, my emotions began to get a little shaky and FEAR of the unknown began to attempt to grip me.

The disciples were in a position that they were certainly NOT unfamiliar with.  Many were fishermen who had spent most of their lives in a boat.  Having a storm blow up had to be something they had experienced before?  But this time was different!  The disciples were relaxed because they were FOLLOWING JESUS (according to verse 23).  Yet their circumstances, the position they found themselves in, caused them to lose sight of WHO they with them as they began focusing on the wind and waves battering their boat.  

“FEAR” of the unknown is something that I would say most of us have to BATTLE to overcome.  Although I understood that I am a child of THE KING OF KINGS, not knowing the outcome of the surgery caused me to “FEAR” the results.  Of course, the results of the surgery were an amazing success and my recovery remarkable.  So why did I “FEAR”?  What was there about the heart surgery that caused me such “FEAR”?  Three weeks later, in a follow-up visit to the surgeons office, he totally released me saying “your numbers are better than anything we were hoping for” and left wishing me the best!  

What did I have to “FEAR”?  JESUS has told me that HE will never leave me, or forsake me (Hebrews 13:5)!  When we take our EYES off of HIM and begin to look at our troubles we are asking for “FEAR” to come and visit us. Hebrews 11:6 says “And without FAITH it is IMPOSSIBLE to please HIM, for whoever would draw near to GOD must believe that HE EXISTS and that HE REWARDS those who seek HIM.”  The opposite of FAITH is “FEAR”.  Seeing how GOD has delivered me through SO many “Red Sea” experiences, how can I have anything but FAITH HE will deliver me, either here on earth, or ultimately to HEAVEN?  “FEAR” has no place with my GOD!!!

“PREACH THE WORD!”

2 Timothy 4:1-5                                                  (ESV)

“1 I charge you in the presence of GOD and of CHRIST JESUS, WHO is to judge the living and the dead, and by HIS appearing and HIS Kingdom:

2 “PREACH THE WORD”; be ready in season and out of season; REPROVE, REBUKE, and EXHORT, with complete patience and teaching.

3 For THE TIME IS COMING WHEN PEOPLE WILL NOT ENDURE SOUND TEACHING, but HAVING ITCHING EARS they will accumulate for themselves TEACHERS to SUIT THEIR OWN PASSIONS,

4 and will turn away from LISTENING TO THE TRUTH and WANDER off into MYTHS.

5 As for you, always be sober-minded, ENDURE SUFFERING, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

Seeing all of the so-called “ministers” of congregations numbering in the thousands, being televised to the masses, preaching sermonettes that aren’t deep enough to convict sinners, should cause true Believers to humbly beg ALMIGHTY GOD to have mercy on the souls not hearing TRUTH!  There are very few people who attend church any longer who are seeking their lives to be changed.  Instead, people come to church to be entertained and coddled, and many parishioners find speakers who are happy to oblige them.  

The Apostle Paul probably had no idea when he wrote this letter to Timothy that his letter would be used for years to come to foretell exactly what he wrote about above.   THE TIME IS COMING WHEN PEOPLE WILL NOT ENDURE SOUND TEACHING, but HAVING ITCHING EARS they will accumulate for themselves TEACHERS to SUIT THEIR OWN PASSIONS, and will turn away from LISTENING TO THE TRUTH and WANDER off into MYTHS is not speaking about the future any longer, but about a lot of modern day houses of worship.  

When he wrote I charge you in the presence of GOD and of CHRIST JESUS, WHO is to judge the living and the dead, and by HIS appearing and HIS Kingdom: “PREACH THE WORD”; be ready in season and out of season; REPROVE, REBUKE, and EXHORT, the Apostle Paul was instructing Timothy to prepare to ENDURE SUFFERING!  He knew that true Saints would not expect to experience a life of luxury free from hardships.  

When we “PREACH THE WORD” we need to get ready to experience these same difficulties in our lives.  Romans 5:3-5 says in part “...but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because GOD's love has been poured into our hearts through the HOLY SPIRIT who has been given to us!”  ALMIGHTY GOD has provided us the HOLY SPIRIT to help us “PREACH THE WORD”, but we need to expect to ENDURE SUFFERING when we do!  Preachers and lay people as well!  

“FOR GOD!”

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14                        (ESV)

“13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear GOD and keep HIS commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

14 “FOR GOD” will bring every deed into JUDGMENT, with EVERY SECRET THING, whether good or evil.”

When ALMIGHTY GOD judges us at the Great White Throne Of Judgement, HE won’t be considering the good we THINK we have done.  According to Scripture, our ABSOLUTE BEST (our righteousness) is but filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) before a HOLY GOD!  When I hear people respond when asked why THEY THINK they should be allowed into Heaven and they respond “Well, I’ve been a pretty good person”, my heart sinks because their goodness, just like my righteousness, will not be enough to erase any of our sins, let alone the multitude of sins that JESUS paid for!  

Listening to the pain and suffering that JESUS endured used to seem unrealistic to me?  Why would a HOLY GOD sentence HIS ONLY SON to die a death so brutal for people who denied HIM, such as I have?  GOD is HOLY, therefore HE demands retribution for unholiness, and my sin had to be paid for by someone qualified!  JESUS CHRIST was the ONLY perfect, spotless LAMB OF GOD, and yet HE humbled HIMSELF to death, yea, death on the cross (Philippians 2:8) because GOD loved me so much HE wanted to spend eternity with me praising JESUS’s NAME!  

Certainly, I don’t deserve to have the DIVINE BLOOD of JESUS shed for me, but GOD chose me and CALLED ME OUT OF THE DARKNESS INTO HIS MARVELOUS LIGHT (1 Peter 2:9)!  When GOD observes me, the miracle of IMPUTATION (Romans 4:9-12) occurs and HE SEES the righteousness of CHRIST!  When I am judged THAT DAY, GOD will SEE JESUS instead of my filthy rags and welcome me into HIS KINGDOM with “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23).  

All the problems of this world will cease one day as the enemy and his followers will be cast into the lake of Fire!  HIS WORD declares it (Revelation 20:11-15)!  Don’t try to assume that you have a good sense of how things will transpire when things start unfolding.  Only by TRUSTING IN HIS WORD and HIS PROMISES will any of us be saved!  “FOR GOD” has declared!!!

“GOOD SUCCESS!”

Joshua 1:6-8                              (ESV)

“6 Be STRONG and COURAGEOUS, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.

7 Only be STRONG and very COURAGEOUS, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the RIGHT hand or to the LEFT, that you may have “GOOD SUCCESS” wherever you go.

8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall MEDITATE on it DAY AND NIGHT, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have “GOOD SUCCESS”.”

Sitting in my recliner at 1:45AM, I am reading Scripture, the same Scripture that my Sunday School lesson was on yesterday.  There are always many points of a lesson that I think would have been addressed, but Bible Study only lasts for one hour, meaning that you can’t cover everything in the time allotted. 

“Do not turn from it to the RIGHT hand or to the LEFT” is one of those things that I might have addressed.  In the current political world, the LEFT are considered the more liberal, while the RIGHT is known as the more conservative.  Yet GOD IS told Joshua, LONG BEFORE either side existed, that turning to either side wasn’t the way to go!  The LEFT or RIGHT isn’t anything to strive to be, only after TRUTH is what our objective should be!  

The “natural man” has their own beliefs about what “GOOD SUCCESS” should mean.  A fine house, a new car, plenty of money in the bank, and a life free from health concerns would be a good place to begin!  But list me some Spiritual giants who would identify with any of these characteristics?  Abraham was wealthy, but had trouble having children with Sarah.  King David was wealthy and successful on the battlefield, but only lived to be 70 years old.  The Apostle Paul was possibly one of the greatest FAITH WARRIORS ever, but had to work as a tent makers assistant just to survive.  Most people today would classify people of great FAITH as the underprivileged of society, ones that were REQUIRED to look to GOD for their well being!  

In Joshua 1, ALMIGHTY GOD plainly states what is needed for HIS CHILDREN to expect “GOOD SUCCESS”, beginning with being STRONG and COURAGEOUS!  But notice GOD also emphasized that we should MEDITATE on it (the Book of the Law) DAY AND NIGHT!  It doesn’t say anything about building vast amounts of wealth, or tricking people out of their money.  MEDITATE DAY and NIGHT on HIS WORD!

Recently I was asked what to do when you couldn’t sleep!  I responded that I liked to read the Bible, as the enemy NEVER wanted to see me in GOD’S WORD!  He would much prefer me to sleep that to be growing my FAITH!  Tonight I have the opportunity to put my advice to a friend into practice!  FAITH tells me that “GOOD SUCCESS” will be measured by what GOD says, not what this world declares as “GOOD SUCCESS”!!!