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LIFE CHANGING GRACE
"Trying to relate to God on the basis of effort and works is always a struggle. We can't know the peace of God until we experience the grace of God."
WHY GRACE CHANGES EVERYTHING
Chuck Smith
"Are you so foolish? Having begun with the Holy Spirit, are you now trying to complete God's work in you by your own strength?"
(Galatians 3:3)
GRACE HOW GOD'S LOVE FINDS US
NOT A LICENSE TO SIN AN OPPORTUNITY TO SUCCEED!
PAIN AND STRAIN RELIGION
YOU AND I WILL ALWAYS LACK SOMETHING
LIBERATION BY GRACE
RIGHTEOUSNESS BY GRACE
GODLY CHARACTER BY GRACE
BLESSED ARE THE LOSERS FOR THEY SHALL WIN
THE PRISON DOOR IS OPEN!
"For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace."
(Romans 6:14)
"There is therefore now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death."
(Romans 8:1-2)
You don't have to live in condemnation and you don't have to live in defeat. Jesus was condemned and punished so you would never have to be. He went to the cross, in your place, so you would never have to. He took the nails so you would never have to take them. You are now loved, valued, accepted, and forgiven forever in God's kingdom.
Grace is the open door that leads to eternal favor with God. Grace is unearned, undeserved, unmerited favor. You are not under judgment. You are not under condemnation. You are not under punishment. You are under grace. That means sin can't win and you can't lose!
The prison door is open! Why are you still inside?
"The redemption that Jesus made available to men at the cross is a love gift with no strings attached. All we're asked to do is to take the pardon he's graciously offered us and then begin to enjoy our freedom."
The Liberation of Planet Earth
Hal Lindsey
GRACE HOW GOD'S LOVE FINDS US
"We love Him because He first loved us."
(1 John 4:19)
The storms of life often leave us hurting, weak, and needy. But there is no shame in that and there is nothing wrong with that. Because that's the place where God's love finds us. Love finds us when we are down and out. Grace is about God finding us, loving us, and saving us. Grace succeeds when human effort fails, and grace succeeds when religion fails. Religion can fail and fail and fail. But there is no failure in grace, because grace is not about religion, and it's not about us. It's all about the goodness of God. Grace is the simple act of receiving from God. We receive and rest. We rest and receive.
"He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"
(Romans 8:32)
"Grace means, there is nothing we can do to make God love us more and there is nothing we can do to make God love us less. God already loves us as much as an infinite God can possibly love."
WHAT'S SO AMAZING ABOUT GRACE
Philip Yancey.
NOT A LICENSE TO SIN
AN OPPORTUNITY TO SUCCEED!
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness."
(2 Corinthians 12:9)
We all have our faults, our failures, and our regrets. So, here is my problem and your problem: How do we live with ourselves in spite of our mistakes and in spite of our weaknesses? How do we live with ourselves? How do we live with others? And how do we live with God? For me there is only one way;
grace, grace, and more grace.
What I see sadly lacking in today's church is a genuine emphasis, appreciation, and embrace of God's grace. I very seldom hear people talk about grace! But, I need grace, all I can get! I need to embrace it. I need to embrace it as if my life depends on it, because it does! The road that leads to destruction is a wide one, but the road that leads to real life is very narrow. (Matthew 7:13-14) I need to travel the narrow
road. I need God's grace to do this, and I need his grace to get back on the road when I slide off.
Living by grace is not a license to sin;
it's a glorious opportunity to succeed.
Grace keeps us on the narrow road to life,
even when we fail, fall, flip and flop!
"And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant..."
(1 Timothy 1:14)
Exceedingly abundant grace to you!
"God always offers grace for the need that is presented.
So, if you have a need, present it to Him.
If you are in a crisis, present it to Him.
He does not expect you to go it alone.
He does not expect you to stand in your own strength.
He wants you to be strong in the power of the Lord,
and stand in the power of His might.
And the only way you can do that is by
learning to avail yourself of the grace of God."
David Alsobrook
PAIN AND STRAIN RELIGION
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God!"
(Ephesians 2:8)
"I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different Gospel."
(Galatians 1:6)
We begin our lives with Christ by grace and grace alone. It is God's plan for us to stay there, rest there, grow there, mature there, win there, and die there. But grace is radical, it sometimes seem too radical. It is diametrically opposed to the performance oriented world system we are immersed in. We encourage work, we honor performance, and we love competition. Our motto: No pain, no gain. So, sooner or later the simple process of living by grace can easily give way to a form of do-it-yourself religion. When we attempt to do it ourselves, we usually produce failure rather than fruit. Real grace will always produce real spiritual fruit. Grace is God's formula for success. Grace is the divine enabler God's operational power produced in us as a result of His unmerited favor extended to us.
"Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."
(1 Philippians 1:6)
"As long as we are tying to do anything, God can do nothing. It is because of our trying that we fail, and fail, and fail. God wants to demonstrate to us that we can do nothing at all, and until that is fully recognized, our despair and disillusion will never cease."
THE NORMAL CHRISTIAN LIFE
Watchman Nee
YOU AND I WILL ALWAYS LACK SOMETHING
"Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, 'Good teacher what shall I do to inherit eternal life?' So Jesus said to Him, 'Why do you call me good? No one is good but on, that is God. You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.' And he said, 'All these I have kept from my youth.' So when Jesus heard these things he said to him, 'You still lack one thing, Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me'."
(Luke 18:18-22)
Whenever something in God's Word appears to be harsh or unreasonable, it is never God's purpose to drive us to despair, but rather His desire to show us that we can't make it without His grace. Jesus did not dispute the ruler's claim that he kept the commandments, but He informed him that he still lacked something. You and I will always need grace because we will always lack something. Grace is the divine lifeline. It keeps us united with God. Grace will always keep us! We can all enjoy a relationship with God.
That happens not because we are always good but because God is always good.
"We have all received from His fullness, yes, grace upon grace."
(John 1:16)
"Preaching grace will always produce controversy. Some people want a balanced message. But how do you preach grace balanced? Grace is not a thing, it's a person. Grace is all about Jesus. Jesus did it all. How do you balance that? Do I preach one half hour in favor of Jesus and one half hour against Him? Would that be balanced? Grace is all about Jesus. My only hope is in what Jesus has done, not in what I can do."
HOW THE GOSPEL OF GRACE WORKS
Peter Youngren
LIBERATION BY GRACE
"O wretched men that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?"
(Romans 7:24)
You don't have to go through life defeated by the limitations and imperfections of the flesh. In Romans Chapter Seven we find Paul struggling, wretched and defeated. In Romans Chapter Eight we find him resting, liberated and victorious. Who delivered him? Jesus and Jesus alone. What delivered him? Grace and grace alone. Grace is a spiritual force that overcomes the world. (1John 5:4)
Grace succeeds when everything else fails.
Grace saves.
Grace liberates.
Grace heals.
Grace overcomes.
Grace conquers.
Grace wins.
"Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage."
(Galatians 5:1)
"And the grace of our Lord came to me in overflowing fullness, conferring faith on me and the love which is in Christ Jesus."
(1Timothy 1:14)
"Our help doesn't come until we realize the answer is far beyond our own resources. Crying out to God is the secret of our deliverance."
WHY GRACE CHANGES EVERYTHING
Chuck Smith
RIGHTEOUSNESS BY GRACE
"For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ."
(Romans 5:17)
"I do not set aside the grace of God: for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain."
(Galatians 2:21)
The modern church is full of people trying to earn what they already possess in Christ. God freely gives us all things, including redemption (Galatians 3:13), reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19), restoration (Colossians 2:10), and righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). The most important thing we believers need to know is who we are and what we possess in Christ. First and foremost God has declared us righteous. Salvation is the gift of righteousness. We do not earn it; we simply receive it by faith. (Philippians 3:9)
"Legalism wants you to strive everyday trying to become what God has already made you to be in Christ."
GRACE PLUS NOTHING
Jeff Harkin
GODLY CHARACTER BY GRACE
"For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure."
(Philippians 2:13)
God's unmerited favor extended to us will produce His operational power in us. Grace is never an excuse to sin, it is always an opportunity to succeed. It will always lead us to a deeper, more intimate, loving fellowship with God. We receive grace for obedience. (Romans 1:5) The best way to build true godly character is by growing in grace. Grace is divine ability. It is the only thing that can enable us to surrender our selfish will to God's perfect will.
"No one who understands the father's grace will think it lets them get away with sin. Rather, it allows us to see our weaknesses and failures in the full light of God's love. It encourages us to invite the Father into the darkest places of our heart and ask Him to change us."
HE LOVES ME
Wayne Jacobsen
BLESSED ARE THE LOSERS FOR THEY SHALL WIN
"Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."
(Matthew 5:3)
"These things I have spoken to you that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
(John 16:33)
Grace will lift you up, put you over, and keep you going when nothing else can. Grace will help you through the valley of the shadow of death when nothing else can. God's grace will transform you and give you strength when nothing else will. When it seems like all the world is against you, God's grace will always work for you. Blessed are you, for you shall win!
Just stay in the race and you win!
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