The Package Called Grace Part 4
The Package Called Grace Part 4
September 17, 2024
How To Not Frustrate Grace.
Galatians 2:21 KJ21
I do not frustrate the grace of God; for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."
Grace can be frustrated.
Grace is frustrated when God's purpose is not realized in a person, in a people, in a place and at a particular time.
When we do not like the kind or measure of Grace given to us by God, we can despise Grace.
Matthew 25:14-30
When we are pressed by difficulties, we are blinded to the great value of God's grace.
Genesis 25:32 NLT"Look, I'm dying of starvation!" said Esau. "What good is my birthright to me now?"
He solved a temporary problem with a permanent solution.
God's grace brings Him glory, which is permanent. Whatever you’re going through is temporary.
Never trade Grace for an immediate relief.
Romans 8:18 LSB
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
2 Corinthians 4:17 NKJV
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,
When your children frustrate you, bite your tongue.
When your spouse disappoints you, bite your tongue.
When your boss and colleagues let you down, bite your tongue.
People miss their day of visitation because of hidden pride.
(We be Abraham’s seed. John 8:33)
Pride is the first thing God wants to deliver us from, sadly, our pride is the last thing we surrender to Him. He stands at the door, knocking, laden with blessings for us, but pride double-locks the door with maximum security.
When Grace is frustrated people fail to be the kind of people God intends for them to be.
When Grace is frustrated people do not access everything Jesus purchased for them by His blood.
When Grace is frustrated people fail to function in the power and authority the Holy Spirit has been sent to give them.
When Grace is frustrated people live ordinary, indistinguishable, defeated and frustrated lives which do not reflect the Presence and power of God’s Holy Spirit.
Psalm 82:6-7 NLT
I say, 'You are gods; you are all children of the Most High. [7] But you will die like mere mortals and fall like every other ruler.'"
How is Grace frustrated?
a) Grace is frustrated by a lack or loss of faith.
When life is difficult, when we are faced with grave protracted sickness, serious lack, impending shame, we can be tempted to look to other alternatives besides God. That is always a bad move, one that sets grace aside, and treats grace with contempt.
Never lose faith and you will not frustrate Grace.
Hebrews 12:15-17 NLT
Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. [16] Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. [17] You know that afterward, when he wanted his father's blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears.
b) A loss of faith leads to Hopelessness, Living as though Grace is not sufficient.
Never lose hope and you will not frustrate Grace.
2 Corinthians 12:9 KJ21 And He said unto me, "My grace is sufficient for thee, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Most gladly therefore will I glory rather in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
c) A loss of faith leads to Idolatry
Grace is frustrated when we put our comfort, our success above the things of God.
Self… self seeking, self-interest, self-preservation… which the Bible refers to as idolatry. (looking to other things instead of trusting in God.)
God is that which we esteem above everything else. Any time we put self before the things of God, we are practicing idolatry.
Never practice idolatry and you will not frustrate Grace.
Ephesians 5:5 NKJV
For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
Colossians 3:5 NLT
So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don't be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.
d) Misappropriation of Grace… Simony
Grace is frustrated when we abuse the gifts of God, by using them for our own ulterior ends instead of using them for God’s intended purposes.
Never misuse God’s gifts and you will not frustrate Grace.
Acts 8:18-23 NLT
When Simon saw that the Spirit was given when the apostles laid their hands on people, he offered them money to buy this power. [19] "Let me have this power, too," he exclaimed, "so that when I lay my hands on people, they will receive the Holy Spirit!" [20] But Peter replied, "May your money be destroyed with you for thinking God's gift can be bought! [21] You can have no part in this, for your heart is not right with God. [22] Repent of your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive your evil thoughts, [23] for I can see that you are full of bitter jealousy and are held captive by sin."
Philippians 3:18-19 NLT
For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. [19] They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.
1 Timothy 6:5 NLT
[5] These people always cause trouble. Their minds are corrupt, and they have turned their backs on the truth. To them, a show of godliness is just a way to become wealthy.
e) A lifestyle of sin.
Hebrews 10:26-29 NKJV
For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, [27] but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. [28] Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. [29] Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?
Everything we will ever need is in the package called Grace.
1 Corinthians 15:10 KJ21
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all - yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
Grace makes us. (I am what I am)
Grace gives us. (Bestowed upon )
Grace empowers us. (I labored more.., yet not I)
Without grace, there will be frustration. (But the grace of God which was with me.)
When grace is frustrated, man is frustrated.
When grace is frustrated, nature is frustrated.
Grace is frustrated when we do not manifest as the sons of God.
Romans 8:19-21 NKJV
For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. [20] For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; [21] because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God
NB. There is a full manifestation yet to arrive, but there is a present manifestation we are expected to reveal.
God’s Ultimate Purpose in Giving Grace is to Express His Glory Throughout All of Creation.
Habakkuk 2:14 (ESV): 14 For the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
Habakkuk 3:3-4 (NKJV): 3 God came from Teman,
The Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah
His glory covered the heavens,
And the earth was full of His praise.
4 His brightness was like the light;
He had rays flashing from His hand,
And there His power was hidden.
Hebrews 1:1-3 (NKJV): 1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Isaiah 43:7 (NLT): 7 Bring all who claim me as their God,
for I have made them for my glory.
It was I who created them.’ ”
Numbers 14:21-22 (ESV): 21 But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, 22 none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice,
Tying It All Together
Grace… Kingdom… Presence… Glory
Grace is given to reveal the kingdom of God.
The Kingdom of God is revealed to draw men into His Presence.
God’s Presence is revealed in increasing measure till we come to know the glory of his Person.
Grace is the infusion/transfusion of God into man, by His Holy Spirit, making man into what he could have never been, giving him what he could have never earned and empowering Him to do what He could have never done.
Grace is given to enable ordinary men to accomplish the impossible so that God can get glory in uncommon ways.
Everywhere grace is seen at work, the kingdom of God is in full display.
The Kingdom of God is expressed by supernatural events/happenings, designed to announce the Presence, Power and Purpose of God.
2. The Presence is a foretaste of Glory.
Glory is the full manifestation, the the ultimate end, fulfillment of Presence.
3. Presence to Glory is a continuum.
We start at Presence in its lightest form and progress in ever-increasing measures until we arrive at Glory. In other words, the Presence is Glory at its lightest, (Glory-lite) and Glory is Presence at its fullest, (Glory-max.).
4. Presence is the outer court. Glory-Max is the Holy of Holies.
The outer court is where you come just as you are. It's the entry-place,where we start with sin-offering, (on the bronze altar) and sanctification, (the bronze laver.)
5. Sinner-justified-sanctified-glorified. We as sinners (outside of the covenant relationship) journey from the outside to the outer court.
We enter the Presence/outer court only on the basis of the sacrifice of Jesus. His shed blood does two things… atonement and purification.
At the outer court, sacrifice for sin is offered (Jesus, our paschal lamb) leading to the remission of our sins, and our justification. Still in the outer court, we are cleansed with the washing of water by the Word (Ephesians 5:26). This is our sanctification. But we are not done yet. There is a deeper level in our relationship… The Holy Place.
6. The outer court is where we are prepared for the Holy Place.
It is possible to live all your life in the Presence of God without once tasting of His glory. Isaiah had been a prophet before seeing the glory of God.
7. The Divine Dance
There is an element of call-and-response to our walk with God. It is like a Divine dance, where God leads and we follow, he calls, and we answer. The dance ends when we stop following His lead. He invites us into His Presence. When we come into His Presence,
Exodus 33:1-3,12-18 NKJV
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'To your descendants I will give it.' [2] And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. [3] Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people." [12] Then Moses said to the LORD, "See, You say to me, 'Bring up this people.' But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, 'I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.' [13] Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people." [14] And He said, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." [15] Then he said to Him, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. [16] For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth." [17] So the LORD said to Moses, "I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name." [18] And he said, "Please, show me Your glory."
It is possible to live all your life in the Presence of God without once tasting of His glory. Isaiah had been a prophet before seeing the glory of God.
9. Both the Presence and the Glory are the gifts of God, by grace.
Presence is freely offered, but glory must be sought after wholeheartedly.
Jeremiah 29:13 NKJV
And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
10. Those who are in the outer courts can still live for their own selves, but the Holy Place is reserved for Priests, those who are sanctified/consecrated/set apart to live for God.
11. The Presence satisfies, but Glory transforms. 2 Cor 3:17-18
Blessings come in Presence, fullness of joy etc, but many who ate Manna still died in the wilderness. When we have His Presence, our desires are satisfied. When we encounter His glory, His desires are fulfilled.
12. Presence is like the gift of the Spirit, an infusion of God’s grace. Glory is like the fruit of the spirit, a transfusion of God’s Person. One is simply received, the other must be cultivated. Don't be satisfied with the gift. Pursue the fruit.
13. Don't settle for His Presence. Seek His glory. Presence is given to show us a vision of what is possible. God's real intention is to glorify us. To settle for His Presence is to frustrate grace.
14. The requirements for glory are greater than those for Presence. Many are not willing to pay the price.
