When God's Grace Is Needed

Date: Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Today's Chapters: Luke 17-18
Message Title: When God's Grace Is Needed

Hello My Friend, 

Grace, we know it to be the unmerited favor of God to keep a soul who believes in His Son from hell, but grace is much than that. Grace is the influence of the Holy Spirit in renewing ourheart and repenting from sin, it's the will to do what's right in spite of harassment from others, it's being kind to others, even when they are not kind to us, and it's what gives us the power to be forgiving to those who have wronged or hurt us. No matter how much we try to love oneanother as Jesus loves us, emotions, egos, and circumstances can harden our hearts to be anything, but be kind to our offenders. That is where we need God's grace, not to ease them of any guilt for what they have done, or even reason to justify it, but to find reconciliation within ourselves. “For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” - 2 Corinthians 4:15,16.

Jesus couldn't even eat in peace without someone trying to debate Him, Jesus is talking over dinner, which included His disciples, some common people, and the Pharisees as well. Seeing the Pharisees danger toward Jesus talking about the Kingdom of God, He looks to His disciples.“Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.” - Luke 17:1-6.

Probably the hardest thing for anyone to do, Christian or not, is to forgive those who not only have wronged us once, but keep doing it over and over again. Sooner or later, it becomes necessary to just get away from them all together, and God will make that happen one way or another, but until then, our only hope is God's grace. “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” - 1 Peter 5:10.

The Phaisees, tired of hearing all these parables that they really did not understand, and getting quite irrate with Jesus demands for Him to tell them when all these things were going to happen.“And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.” - Luke 17:20-26.

No one knows when the day will be that Jesus will return, and judgment begins, but God Himself, but when it does come, we will know. Before He returns many things will happen, including natural disasters, wars, diseases, and our own freedoms being stripped from us. God's Kingdom will not be seen by the naked eye, you have to believe, by faith, in order to understand and see it. If we cannot believe in the hope of an eternal, sin free, pain free, Kingdom that we cannot see at present, how can we believe in the man who is the only way to get there, and why would God even reveal it to us? “For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” - Romans 8:24-26.

Although it had been written throughout the Books of Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel, and the Pharisees were well aware of the Scriptures pointing to the Messiah, they refused to believe that one man could come and save them from their sins. There were also aware of the fact that the one the Jews have been waiting for points out their false religion, which only hints at certain parts of the Law of Moses to keep decieving the people. They like every false religion believed that their works will get them in the Kingdom of God. Jesus calls out those who think they are all righteous, and will get to heaven on their own. “And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” - Luke 18:9-14.

Okay, so, all these false religions teach that we need to be good to get to heaven, even those who do believe in God that are not a part of a religion have the presumption that the good always go to heaven and the wicked go to hell when they die. The truth is, being good or bad, does not get us to heaven because our best is less than what we see as God's worse. To explain this, people have two presumptions of God, the good, holy God that blesses us when we are living by our standards as good, and the mean and cruel God that will strike us down the second we do something by our standards as evil. By the way, we are born with the knowledge of God, and to know right from wrong, but the choices we make over the years change that into what we believe today. The only way to truly understand is to know God, the only way to know God is to know Christ, the only way to know Christ is to believe the Word of God to be true. “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” - 1 Corinthians 2:7-10.

Today's Prayer: God, You know my heart, and the times when I have said that I forgive someone, but really did not, and still have problems forgiving them. I know that my emotions and hardness of heart keeps me bitter and unforgiving toward my offenders. I also know that You will not forgive me of my offenses if I do not forgive others of theirs. I cannot forgive others until one I forgive myself, and two, get Your grace to help me. Lord, I do not want to waste any more time in my life bitter, and angry over my past, and those who have wronged me, I need You to help me through this. I need Your grace, give me Your grace to forgive myself and my offender. In Jesus' name, Amen. 

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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