Jesus Keeps His Sheep

 

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:31–32)

Though Peter, in fact, failed miserably, by denying Jesus three times, the prayer of Jesus preserved him from utter ruin. He was brought to bitter weeping and restored to the joy and boldness that showed itself in Peter’s message at Pentecost. Jesus is interceding for us today in the same way that our faith might not fail. Paul says this in Romans 8:34.

Jesus promised that his sheep would be preserved and never perish. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:27–28).

The reason for this is that God works to preserve the faith of the sheep. “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

We are not left to ourselves to fight the fight of faith. “It is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

You have the assurance of God’s word that, if you are his child, he will “equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ” (Hebrews 13:21).

Our endurance in faith and joy is finally and decisively in the hands of God. Yes, we must fight. But this very fight is what God works in us. And he most certainly will do it, for, as it says in Romans 8:30, “Those whom he justified he also glorified.” The glorification of God’s justified children is as good as done.

He will lose none of those he has brought to faith and justified.

How to Defy Sinful Desire

 

By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. (Hebrews 11:24–26)

Or, boil it down to the essentials: “By faith Moses . . . [left] the fleeting pleasures of sin . . . for he was looking to the reward” (Hebrews 11:24–26).

Faith is not content with “fleeting pleasures.” It is ravenous for joy. Joy that lasts. Forever. And the word of God says, “In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). So, faith will not be sidetracked into the deceitful pleasures of sin. It will not give up so easily in its quest for maximum joy.

The role of God’s word is to feed faith’s appetite for God. And, in doing this, it weans my heart off of the deceptive taste of lust.

At first, lust begins to trick me into feeling that I would really miss out on some great satisfaction if I followed the path of purity. But then I take up the sword of the Spirit and begin to fight.

I read that it is better to gouge out my eye than to lust (Matthew 5:29). I read that if I think about things that are pure and lovely and excellent, the peace of God will be with me (Philippians 4:8–9). I read that setting the mind on the flesh brings death, but setting the mind on the Spirit brings life and peace (Romans 8:6). I read that lust wages war against my soul (1 Peter 2:11), and that the pleasures of this life choke out the life of the Spirit (Luke 8:14). But best of all, I read that God withholds no good thing from those who walk uprightly (Psalm 84:11), and that the pure in heart will see God (Matthew 5:8).

As I pray for my faith to be satisfied with God’s life and peace, the sword of the Spirit carves the sugarcoating off the poison of lust. I see it for what it is. And by the grace of God, its alluring power is broken.

COSTLY GRACE

 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16）

Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: ‘Ye were bought at a price’, and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God. – Dietrich Bonhoffer

There is another gospel: the gospel of cheap grace. So, what is the gospel of cheap grace? It is any gospel that says that your salvation is so easy that you could do something to contribute towards it.

I believe in costly grace. Cheap grace is not enough. The only one that can save me is the grace that cost God everything and is free to me.

THE GRACE OF GOD DEFINED!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY JULY 23, 2022. 

SUBJECT : THE GRACE OF GOD DEFINED!

Memory verse: "For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2 vs 8.)

READ: Ephesians 1 vs 7 - 8:

1:7:In Him we have redemption through a His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 

1:8: which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence.

INTIMATION:

The dictionary definition of grace is; beauty, kindness, good-will, mercy, reprieve, and pardon. God's grace will then be His beauty; kindness; good-will; mercy; reprieve; and pardon for sinful humanity. These attributes of God are freely, and undeservedly given to sinful humanity. Therefore, the common definition of grace known to us is "God’s free and unmerited or undeserved favor for sinful humanity." 

Therefore, the grace of God can be defined as His voluntarily setting aside His Deity—His glory, rights, power, and knowledge, for the love of sinful humanity, and bestowing on us unmerited or undeserved favor by redeeming from sin and Satan, and handing us the gift of salvation and eternal life. 

God showered His kindness (also known as His grace) on us. This is the voluntary and loving favor given to those He saves through faith in the substitutionary work of Christ. God voluntarily became man—the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Grace therefore, is the free, and unmerited power of God available to sinful humanity to meet our needs without any costs to us. it is received by believing rather than through any human efforts. 

We can’t earn salvation, nor do we deserve it. No religious, intellectual, or moral effort can gain it, because it comes only from God’s mercy and love. Without God’s grace, no person can be saved. To receive it, we must acknowledge that we cannot save ourselves, that only God can save us, and that our only way to receive this loving favor is through faith in Christ. 

The simple and uncomplicated nature of God's grace, and being a free gift, make many people to miss it. There is nothing more powerful than grace. In fact, everything in the Bible; salvation, the infilling of the Holy Spirit, fellowship with God and victory in our daily lives are based upon the grace of God. 

Without grace, we are nothing, we have nothing, and can do nothing. If it were not for the grace of God, we would all be miserable and hopeless. We are completely helpless without the grace of God. ”For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2 vs 10.)

The psalmist in Psalm 139 vs 13 - 16 clearly states; "For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mothers's womb. .. for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works,.....My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed . And in Your book they all were written, the day's fashioned for me. When as yet there were none of them." 

From the verses stated above, we know that God chose us and laid out our life work for us before we were born, before the world was even created. That is why we must not trust our own abilities, and initiatives because apart from Him, we can do nothing. We should start each day by saying the simple prayer below: 

Prayer: Abba Father, here I am, Lord, ready for whatever You have for me to do. I empty myself, as much as I know how, to allow Your grace to flow in my life, to cause me to be able to do whatever it is that You desire for me. I cast myself totally upon You. I can be only what You allow me to be, I can have only what You will for me to have, I can do only what You empower me to do, and each victory is to Your glory, not mine, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Preach to Yourself

 

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. (Psalm 42:11)

We must learn to fight despondency — the downcast spirit. The fight is a fight of faith in future grace. It is fought by preaching truth to ourselves about God and his promised future.

This is what the psalmist does in Psalm 42. The psalmist preaches to his troubled soul. He scolds himself and argues with himself. And his main argument is future grace: “Hope in God! Trust in what God will be for you in the future. A day of praise is coming. The presence of the Lord will be all the help you need. And he has promised to be with us forever.”

Martyn Lloyd-Jones believes this issue of preaching truth to ourselves about God’s future grace is all-important in overcoming spiritual depression. In his helpful book, Spiritual Depression, he writes,

Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them, but they start talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. . . . Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s treatment [in Psalm 42] was this: instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. “Why art thou cast down, O my soul?” he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says, “Self, listen for a moment. I will speak to you.” (20–21)

The battle against despondency is a battle to believe the promises of God. And that belief in God’s future grace comes by hearing the word. And so preaching to ourselves the word of God is at the heart of the battle.

GRACE WORKS THROUGH FAITH!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY JULY 22, 2022.

SUBJECT : GRACE WORKS THROUGH FAITH!

Memory verse: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2 vs 8.) 

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. 

Faith is a conscious belief in that which is beyond one’s empirical world. It is our faith that gives us the power to allow God work through us in order to accomplish His work. 

Grace is the unmerited favor of God toward man that was made possible by the sacrificial offering of Jesus on the cross. Grace is the free gift of God because we cannot, through meritorious work or perfect keeping of law, earn God’s favor and justification. God saves by grace because of our obedient response to Him by faith.

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. 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.

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 that I may always obtain a good testimony, in Jesus' Name I prayed. Amen. 

PRAISE THE LORD!

CHRIST OUR PEACE

 As one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men (Romans 5:18）

Humanity’s need for meaning, guidance, forgiveness, and moral strength are provided for in the Christian gospel, and nowhere else. Because of this, we should all make the gospel first in our thinking and doing. Paul saw this and wrote: Now I would remind you, brethren, in what terms I preached to you the gospel… For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4 RSV).

How few, even of professing Christians, understand the words of Romans 5:10,18! These verses clearly state that the atonement of Christ restored the whole human race to favour with God. Christ is our peace, because he broke down the wall between God and humanity. By his own blood Christ signed the ransom papers for the race. And the Gospel is the glad word of that event.

Calvary is the “double cure” for sin. It takes away both sin’s guilt and its power. Looking at the Cross, the believer sees the holiness of God, and repents; sees the power of God, and believes; sees the love of God, and is born again.