LAW VERSUS THE GRACE OF GOD!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY MARCH 13, 2023.

SUBJECT: THE LAW VERSUS THE GRACE OF GOD! 

Memory verse: "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by the faith in Christ and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified." (Galatians 2 vs 16.)

READ: Galatians 3 vs 10 - 13:

3:10: For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, “Cursed is every one who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.”

3:11: But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God, is evident, for, “The just shall live by faith.”

3:12: Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man that does them shall live by them.”

3:13: Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”)

INTIMATION:

Law is defined  as a binding decree; a universal principle; governing authority; rule of action established. God gave the Israelites His governing laws through Moses. These laws, and governing principles, and associated blessings, and curses,  are enumerated in the Book of Deuteronomy chapters 5 to 28. However, the study of Romans chapters 2 & 3 teach us that God gave the Old Testament law so that man would try to keep it, find out he couldn't, and realize his desperate need for a Savior.

In the passage we read today, the apostle Paul quoted Deuteronomy 27 vs 26, to prove that, contrary to what Judaizers claimed, the law cannot justify and save—it can only condemn. Breaking even one commandment brings a person under condemnation. And because everyone has broken the commandments, everyone stands condemned. The law can do nothing to reverse the condemnation (Romans 3 vs 20 - 24). But Christ took the curse of the law upon Himself when He hung on the cross. He did this so we wouldn’t have to bear our own punishment. The only condition is that we accept Christ’s death on our behalf as the means to be saved (Colossians 1 vs 20 - 23).

Our problem mostly is our trying to observe, and keep the law by our human efforts. In so doing we are unconsciously putting ourselves under the curse of the law. We take the good thing of the Word of God and make a law out of it. We see all that are in the Word as something we have to accomplish rather than seeing them as promises God would fulfill in us as we trusted Him and waited for His victory. 

Any time we put ourselves under the law, we are setting ourselves up for misery, and frustration. This is because the law has the ability to do one of two things: If we follow it properly, it can make us holy. But since no human being can do that, the second thing the law can do is to actually increase sin, which leads to destruction, and hence our desperate need for a Savior. 

How does that happen? We hear or read the law and conclude, "If I don't follow the law, I am going to lose my salvation" or "God won't love me if I don't behave properly, He won't love me if I am not good." We then begin to look at the Word totally opposite from the way God wants us to see it. All He wants us to do is to face the truth and say, "Yes, Lord, You're absolutely right. I need to do that. I need to change, but I can't change myself. Your Word is truth, and my life is not matching up to it. Your Word has become a mirror to me. In it I can see that I am wrong in this area, and I am sorry. I ask You to forgive me and change me by Your power and Your grace."

Most believers don't know how to do that. They don't know anything about the power of God and the grace of God. All they do is trying—trying to be good, trying to do everything that the Word said that should be done, trying to submit, trying to be more generous, trying to be holy, trying to operate in the fruit of the Spirit, trying to pray more, trying to read the Bible more, trying to understand the Bible more when we did read it, trying to be a better person, on and on.

Trying to be right with God by our own effort doesn’t work. Good intentions such as “I will do better next time” or “ I will never do that again” usually end in failure. The apostle Paul points to Habakkuk’s declaration, “...The just shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2 vs 4), that by trusting God—believing in His provision for our sins and living each day in His power—we can break this cycle of failure. 

According to Galatians 3 vs 10, we are frustrated—disappointed and actually being destroyed—because we were trying to live by a law that was totally impossible for us to keep, trying to obtain a goal and fulfill a desire that was beyond our ability. It is a vicious cycle, one that can be broken only by a proper understanding of the grace of God which is our only remedy.

Though the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good (Romans 7 vs 12), it can never make us acceptable to God. But it still has an important role to play in the life of a Christian. The law (1) guards us from sin by giving us standards for behavior, (2) convicts us of sin, leaving us that opportunity to ask God’s forgiveness, and (3) drives us to trust in the sufficiency of Christ, because we can never keep the Ten Commandments perfectly. The law cannot possibly save us. But after we become Christians, it can guide us to live as God requires.

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace to live according to Your precepts for by my strength I cannot prevail, and without You I can do nothing, in Jesus’ Name I prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Jesus Is God’s Amen

 

All the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. (2 Corinthians 1:20)

Prayer is the place where the past and future are linked repeatedly in our lives. I mention this here because Paul links prayer with God’s Yes in this verse in a striking way.

In 2 Corinthians 1:20, he says (with choppy Greek that comes through in choppy English), “That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” Let’s try to smooth that out.

Here’s what he is saying: “Therefore, because of Christ, we say Amen to God in our prayers to show that God gets the glory for the future grace we are asking for and counting on when we pray.”

If you’ve ever wondered why Christians say Amen at the end of our prayers, and where that custom comes from, here’s the answer. Amen is a word taken straight over into Greek from Hebrew without any translation, just like it has come into English and most other languages without any translation.

In Hebrew, it was a very strong affirmation (see Numbers 5:22; Nehemiah 5:13; 8:6) — a formal, solemn, earnest “I agree,” or “I affirm what was just said,” or “This is true.” Most simply, “Amen” means a very earnest Yes in the context of addressing God.

Now notice the connection between the two halves of 2 Corinthians 1:20. The first half says, “All the promises of God find their Yes in him.” The second half says, “That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.”

When we realize that “Amen” and “Yes” mean the same thing, here’s what the verse says: In Jesus Christ, God says his Yes to us through his promises; and in Christ we say our Yes to God through prayer.

THIS IS THAT BY PASTOR TOURE ROBERTS

 

BEING LED BY THE SPIRIT!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY MARCH 12, 2023.

SUBJECT : BEING LED BY THE SPIRIT! 

Memory verse: "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God." (Romans 8 vs 14.)

READ: Romans 8 vs 1 - 7; 

8:1: There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

8:2: For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

8:3: For what the law could not in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin; He condemned sin in the flesh,

8:4: that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

8:5: For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

8:6: For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

8:7: Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 

8:8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

INTIMATION:

The passage we read today shows that there are two minds; the mind of flesh and the mind of the Spirit of God. But that does not mean you and I have two brains, it simply means that we receive information from our natural mind (which operates without the Holy Spirit), and we get information from our spirit (through which the Holy Spirit communicates directly to us).

Now the mind of the flesh which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit is death; death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter. But the mind of the Holy Spirit is life and peace both now and forever. As children of God, we are not to be led by our carnal mind, but by the Holy Spirit Who indwells us. The Holy Spirit is the only One who knows the mind of God, and is the revealer of the truth. (John 16 vs 13). 

In First Corinthians 2 vs 16, the Bible says, 

"For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ." This Scripture tells us that because the Holy Spirit lives in us, you and I have the mind of Christ. The problem is that although we have the mind of Christ and know the Word of God, we don't listen to our spirit which is being enlightened by the Holy Spirit. Instead, we listen to our natural mind, which relies strictly on sense and reason without the Holy Spirit.

In every situation of life, our head will be trying to give us information. It will be yelling at us so loudly that if we don't turn our attention to our spirit we will never hear what the Lord is saying to us in that situation. That is why we must learn to live out of our spirit and not of our head.

You see, evil spirits constantly bombard us with negative thoughts. If we receive them and dwell on them, they become ours because the Bible says that as we think in our heart, so are we. (Proverbs 23 vs 7.) If we accept the lies of the devil as reality, then they will become reality to us because of our "faith," our belief in them.

That is why in moments of worry, stress and turmoil we have to simply take the time to turn to our inner man, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, and say, "Lord, what do You have to say about this?" If we listen in faith, He will speak to us and reveal to us the truth of that situation.

You and I have two huge vats of information within us. One is carnal information that comes off the top of our head. The other is spiritual information which wells up out of our heart. One is muddy. polluted water, and the other is clean drinking water. It is up to us to decide which source we are going to drink from.

Some people try to drink from both sources. That's what the Bible calls being double-minded. (James 1 vs 8.) Do you know what it means to be double-minded? It means that your mind is trying to tell you one thing, and the your spirit is trying to tell you just the opposite. Instead of saying, "I'm not going to believe that because it's a lie," you get in a cross-fire, going back and forth between the two thoughts.

If you and I are ever going to live the happy, victorious and successful Christian life the Lord wills for us, we are going to have to decide which fountain of information we are going to drink from. We are going to have to learn to live out of our spirit and not out of our head.

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for the gift of an Helper, the Holy Spirit.Give me the grace to seek the guidance and counsel of the Holy Spirit at all times in my life’s journey and His empowerment to lead my life in accordance with Your will, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

When the Potter Is for Us

 

“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’?” (Isaiah 45:9)

The majesty of God is magnified when we see him through the lens of creation ex nihilo (out of nothing). He commands nothingness, and it obeys and becomes something.

Out of nothing he makes the clay, and out of the clay he makes us — the pottery of the Lord (Isaiah 45:9) — his possession, destined for his glory, in total dependence on him.

“Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100:3). It is a humbling thing to be a sheep and a pot that belong to somebody else.

This morning I was reading in Isaiah and found another statement about God’s majesty. When I put it together with God’s absolute power and rights as Creator, there was a combustion that went off in my heart. Boom!

Isaiah 33:21 says, “The Lord in majesty will be for us!”

For us! For us! The Creator is for us and not against us. With all the power in the universe and with absolute right to do as he pleases with what he made — he is for us!

“No eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him” (Isaiah 64:4). “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

Can you think of anything (I mean anything) that is more comforting and assuring and delighting than that the Lord in his majesty is for you?

GRACE AND FAITH WORK TOGETHER!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY MARCH 11, 2023.

SUBJECT : GRACE AND FAITH WORK TOGETHER!

Memory verse: "So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you." (Luke 17 vs 6.)

READ: Hebrews 11 vs 4 - 7:

11:4: By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.

11:5: By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not sea death, "and was not found, because God has taken him", for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

11:6: But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

11:7: By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

INTIMATION:

There is a very fine line between grace and faith that is often missed by us. Because these two work together, the line between them is difficult for many to discern. And if we do miss it, our lives become confused. 

Many trust their faith to meet their needs. When their needs are not met, then they tried to have more faith because they are unable to discern the very fine line between faith and grace. They are not seeing beyond their faith to seek the grace of God (the power of God) to meet their needs.

Most people seemed to base all achievements on their faith, when, in reality, every victory or achievement is based on God's faithfulness bestowed on us by His grace—the power of God. If we frustrate the grace of God, we are going to feel frustrated. This explains why, by the grace of God, we receive our petition even when our faith is near zero: "So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there," and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17 vs 20.)

It is not the tiny faith (as tiny as the tiniest seed on earth) that will move the mountain, but the mighty power of God (the grace of God) which came through your tiny faith. All the faith story at the dawn of history, in the passage we read today, were the power of God (the grace of God) manifesting. But without faith, it is impossible to plug into the power source—the grace of God.

Jesus had faith (great faith I supposed) all the time He was suffering. He had faith while in the Garden of Gethsemane. He had faith before the high priest and Pilate. He had faith when He was being ridiculed, abused and mistreated. He had faith on the way to Golgotha. He had faith while hanging on the cross. He even had faith while His body lay in the tomb; He had absolute faith that God would not leave Him there but would raise Him up, as He had promised. 

But do you realize that for all His faith, nothing happened until the power of God came forth to bring about the resurrection? His faith only kept him stable until the Father's appointed time for His deliverance. We can have all the faith in the world, but it will avail us nothing until it is 'plugged into' the source of power, which is the grace of God. 

In order to get our needs met, in order to receive anything from the Lord, we must have both faith and grace. It is by grace through faith that we are saved. And it is by grace through faith that all our prayers are answered and all of our needs are met: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2 vs 8.)

In Second Timothy 2 vs 13, the Bible says, "If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself." The Bible is teaching us here to get our eyes off our ability to believe (as the ultimate), but rather onto God's willingness to meet our needs even though we do not have perfect faith. 

Remember the man who came to Jesus asking for healing of his son. Jesus told him that all things are possible to those who believe. The man replied, "Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief" or "Help my weakness of faith!" The man knew his faith was lacking, but he was honest about it, and Jesus healed his son. (See Mark 9 vs 17 - 24.) God's grace (power) came on the scene and gave the man what he did not deserve.

Keep your eyes on God to deliver you, not your faith. But always pray with faith for the grace of God (unmerited favor) to come upon you, and enable you to meet all your needs.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my source of everything. By my strength I cannot prevail, for without you can do nothing. My eyes are upon You. Give me the grace to have faith in Your power to help me always obtain a good testimony of Your grace working in me and for me in all things, in Jesus' Name I have prayed, Amen. 

PRAISE THE LORD!

Two Infinitely Strong and Tender Truths

 

“ . . . declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’” (Isaiah 46:10)

The word “sovereignty” (like the word “Trinity”) does not occur in the Bible. We use it to refer to this truth: God is in ultimate control of the world from the largest international intrigue to the smallest bird-fall in the forest.

Here is how the Bible puts it: “I am God, and there is no other. . . . ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose’” (Isaiah 46:9–10). And: “[God] does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’” (Daniel 4:35). And: “He is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does. For he will complete what he appoints for me” (Job 23:13–14). And: “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Psalm 115:3).

One reason this doctrine is so precious to believers is that we know that God’s great desire is to show mercy and kindness to those who trust him (Ephesians 2:7; Psalm 37:3–7; Proverbs 29:25). God’s sovereignty means that this design for us cannot be frustrated. It cannot fail.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, befalls those “who love God” and “are called according to his purpose” but what is for our deepest and highest and longest good (Romans 8:28; Psalm 84:11).

This is why I like to say that the mercy and the sovereignty of God are the twin pillars of my life. They are the hope of my future, the energy of my service, the center of my theology, the bond of my marriage, the best medicine in all my sicknesses, the remedy of all my discouragements.

And when I come to die (whether sooner or later), these two truths will stand by my bed, and with infinitely strong and infinitely tender hands lift me up to God.