{POINTED/ACCRUED STUDY EDITION}
WE’RE GOING TO FINISH this four part Bible study on “Gift of Grace” today. By “gift of grace,” we mean the gift of eternal salvation that has to be received through our response of accepting the gift God offers through Jesus, and by the Holy Spirit.
So, we’ve been on the saving faith aspect, but today we’re going to look at four points of ‘What grace is.’ God’s grace, or the grace of God, is God’s presence and love through Jesus Christ, given to believers by the Holy Spirit, and imparting to them mercy, forgiveness, and the power to do God’s Will. Now, many can go along with the imparting mercy and forgiveness factors, but I wonder where the desire to do God’s Will is in this generation?
“God’s Going To Do Things My Way”
TODAY THERE IS SOMETHING lacking in those who claim to be “Christians.”
MAKE UP NEW/TAKE OUT OF CONTEXT, SCRIPTURES, TO MAKE IT TO WHERE:
✵ they do not have to change,
✵ they have Hell-fire insurance,
✵ they do not have to try and live a holy life,
✵ they’ve received forgiveness,
✵ they are in God’s grace and mercy,
✵ they have their best life now, and
✵ they do not have to go and flow (progress and grow) with God. We are facing these heretical teachings going around that are basically stemming from and reiterating the old 60’s motto: “Do your own thing.” This proceeded from the 60’s, and lived on in the 70’s and 80’s. In the 90’s, it turned into: “Do your own thing and call it Christian.” Today, in 2014, it’s: “Do any thing, any way you want, and call it anything you want.”
When you bring the sword out and read Scriptures the way they really are—with the requirements involved—people rebel like Hell: they actually get mad that you TEACH THE BIBLE. They claim: “Well, that’s just YOUR interpretation.” I don’t give MY interpretation, I read the Scriptures the way they ARE.
The Right Spirit?
SO, WHAT HAS HAPPENED to the desire? Where can we find the FROM-TO MOVEMENT (turning from sin, and moving to grace)?
This From-To Movement depends on the grace and mercy of God. We cannot even walk the walk without God’s grace and mercy: every step of the way. We have a measure of the Holy Spirit in our lives, but a lot of times, people don’t know how to cooperate with the Holy Spirit.
Many are in a REBELLIOUS spirit, tugging the wrong way, going into the ‘good life,’ when the Holy Spirit’s wanting to pull them into trials and tribulations (to work the devil/Hell out of them). But, they resist because they do not want persecution, or bumps in the road, so that it can be only smooth sailing: just do their own thing with no tribulation and no turbulence: this is man’s way. But, in the end, they sail right into Hell on smooth waters.
Killed?
JOHN 3:16 and 17 reveals: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten (or beloved) Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
These are some of the best grace-revealing Scriptures in the Bible (John 3:16 and 17). They are beautiful depictions of God’s grace to all mankind.
Yesterday we were talking about how people get angry at these concepts. This “anti-Cross of Christ” stand is not a small belief, this is a large movement within the church of today: they don’t like the “messy” concept of the cross anymore.
Since humanism and ‘politically correct’ thinking has come in, the mentality is: “We should have mercy on all those poor suffering people.” They actually think that: “God was a cruel, mean, and crazy sadist for killing His own Son”…for the penalty of sin. Well, that is only modern thinking.
GOD GAVE HIS SON, BUT IT WAS MEN THAT KILLED JESUS, it was men that killed His body: God gave the Son for that reason, and the Son agreed to die a temporal death, shedding His own blood that men could be free from the penalty of sin. There’s no other way you can wash sins off; there’s no soap available to wash them away, nor is there any other religion that can free men from that sin.
There are thousands of religions out there claiming that you can live in a blissful state. I haven’t found one person in all my years living in that blissful state. Delusions!
Why can’t we be satisfied with the blood of Jesus that washes our sins away? God forgives us of our sins, they’re behind Him, but it’s us that rebel like Hell, and keep our sins alive. We are putting those things in His face when we do this as born-again Christians—doing our own thing, doing it our own way, and doing the things that God forbids.
| Unless there is some deep repentance in this country, and in the whole world, God is going to continue to: |
| BRING JUDGMENTS, |
| SMASH THE ECONOMY, |
| ALLOW GOVERNMENT TO RULE TYRANNICALLY, and |
| BRING DOWN/PUT PRESSURE ON PEOPLE TO GET THEM SAVED. |
[Note: Zoom to 2020-2024 under Biden/Harris Regime.].
Quit praying for a “revival!,” you don’t need to die in Christ, so why do you need to be revived? start praying for a COMPLETE SPIRITUAL REVOLUTION—and I mean a revolution against the pollution called Churchianity.
A revolution is an overthrowing of the existing order: Churchianity needs to be overthrown! The whole damned (literally) thing needs to be thrown out, and we need to get back to the early days of the Ekklesia infant Church structure that Jesus Christ laid down. People need to realize that they don’t need to GET something from God in a revival, but they need to GIVE THEIR ALL TO GOD IN THE REVOLUTION!
John 3:16
I’M GOING TO BREAK DOWN JOHN 3:16. I JUST LOVE THIS VERSE, BECAUSE IT REVEALS THE HEART AND PURPOSE OF GOD: HIS HEART IS THAT HE WANTS ALL TO BE SAVED, AND HIS PURPOSE WAS TO SEND JESUS FOR THAT OCCASION:
“God so loved the world…”
JOHN WAS TALKING about how God so loved humanity, that He gave Jesus, because He didn’t want us to perish. It’s not God’s will that men die/perish and go to Hell; His desire is that all men would be saved: that’s what the apostles taught, and that’s what I teach.
[See 2 Pet.3:9; Ez. 33:11]
Lazy Babies
“WELL, YOU just teach Hell to scare me into salvation.” Well, if it works, then good. I would rather scare men into a good thing, than for them to miss out on it because they are not open enough to want to receive the good gift of salvation…why do they have to be scared into it?
And another point is, why do people have to be continually urged and driven to labor for the Lord? We should have such a gratitude for His sacrifice that we willingly work for Him, and not need to be constantly spurred.
But, many people don’t like working for the Lord, or even being encouraged to work for Him, they go to modern pastors who do nothing but try to please people’s flesh by offering them:
♢ entertainment,
♧ money,
♤ prosperity,
♢ no persecution,
♧ only ‘positive’ (New Age) thinking,
♤ no correction etc.
They’re like big babies who are unwilling to grow, babysitting babies who don’t want to grow up either.
God’s love is big enough to embrace all men.
“THERE IS NEITHER Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28; see also Rom. 10:12; Col. 3:11).
I now know, and have known people in the past, that believe that black/brown/red/yellow people do not have souls. They believe that only white people have souls. One in particular, in Chicago, Illinois loves our teachings, uses our materials constantly, and even uses Life Force Team titles, but he believes that we should only share the Gospel with ‘white’ people, because they are the only ones that can be saved. He’s been saved a few years, and he’s made some attempts to get out of that white supremacy racism. His stance on that has lightened up, but it still has not totally disappeared, because he still has the idea rooted in him that: “It’s only white people that really mean something to God.” But that’s not what I read in the Bible.
The Bible says that God’s love embraces ALL people, all cultures, and all races, no matter who they are, or where they are: Christ DIED FOR THE WHOLE ENTIRE HUMAN RACE, and that includes homosexuals, He died for them too…all need to REPENT!
I CAN’T PREACH WHITE SUPREMACY, BECAUSE I PREACH THE GOSPEL OF JESUS: JESUS LOVES ALL MEN, WOMEN, BOYS, AND GIRLS. HE DOESN’T LOVE THEIR SINS, BUT HE LOVES THEM AS HUMANS, AND DOES NOT WANT THEM TO PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE…THAT IS THE LOVE AND GRACE OF GOD THAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT HERE. – Grace, not Race!
And we always work with Africans, East Indians, Chinese, Mexicans, Native American Indians (All Tribes), Filipinos, Whites, and everybody else. We have, love, and show pictures of all of the above races, and many others, in this group.
“…that He (God) gave His only begotten Son”
“A SIN OFFERING on the bloody, messy cross…couldn’t God have done something else? Couldn’t we just have a meeting with all religions?”
That’s what people are asking today. I don’t know who’s going to preside over a big meeting to find a way to get rid of the messy cross. Who can find out another way that people can get washed from sin, other than salvation through the cross of Jesus? Can the Muslims? can the pagans? can the rich? can the storm troopers? If they can do that, why are there still consequences of sin out in the world like: ~sickness, ~disease, ~AIDS, ~starvation, ~poverty, et al.?
What causes those problems? Sins. There wouldn’t be any of those problems if men were not born in sin, and living in sin! But people will not tackle the sin issue; they won’t tell the homosexuals to quit polluting the world with filth. They just feel sorry for the skeleton dying in his bed, of AIDS.
I’ve seen AIDS victims, and I’ve seen starvation victims, and it is a pathetic sight. Giving them a pill, encouraging them, or shaking their hand etc. IS NOT GOING TO BE THE REPENTANCE OF THEIR SINS THAT THEY NEED!
If God wanted a human solution, then He would have had a human to die for the sins of the world. But, He had Christ to die—Jesus the Son, to die, but only His body died. This death was not forced upon Jesus, He willingly did this saying: “I lay my life down for my friends” (John 15:13), and then He says: “You are my friends IF YOU DO WHAT I COMMAND YOU” (John 15:14).
“…that whosoever believeth in Him”
THE WORD “BELIEVETH/BELIEVES” is the Greek word pisteuo (G4100). In Vine’s Expository Dictionary it says: “‘believe,’ also ‘to be persuaded of,’ and hence, ‘to place confidence in, to trust,’ signifies, in this sense of the word, RELIANCE UPON, NOT MERE CREDENCE.”
This “believeth” word includes three main elements I want to mention:
✟ 1. A CONVICTION, VERY IMPORTANTLY, MEANS THAT YOU BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS THE ONLY SAVIOUR.
This point is first and foremost in a believer’s life: Jesus is the ONLY saviour of mankind. I do not believe in any other saviour, I never have, and I never will; don’t even try to talk to me about changing what I know to be true. Jesus is the only saviour. The messy cross was the only implement necessary. There is no other way. Although men have tried for centuries to come up with some other way for salvation, they just grow religious and hence demonized.
✟ 2. A SELF SURRENDERING FELLOWSHIP, WITH OBEDIENCE TO CHRIST.
You can sing it in the old Christian hymn, but will you truly surrender all? Are there exceptions to what you are willing to give up? When it comes down to reality, will you only surrender the things that you don’t care about?
Or you can sing “Thru the gates of surrender,” or other splendor-filled beautiful songs, BUT DO YOU LIVE THOSE OUT? So many people, even in this ministry, have sung songs like that, and given their testimonies, but they wouldn’t surrender things when it came down to it, but instead, hung on to their self-life, and screamed bloody murder if Jesus wanted anything out of them. Even with little sins, they would push down Jesus, but in front of the group they would stand up and give glowing expositions about how they were surrendering all, walking through the gates of surrender, etc.
✟ 3. A FULLY ASSURED TRUST IN CHRIST, THAT HE IS BOTH ABLE AND WILLING TO BRING YOU INTO FINAL SALVATION.
Final salvation means total maturity. He doesn’t want His people to remain infants, toddlers, or even teenagers, but: “[That it (Christ’s body) might develop] until we all attain oneness in the faith and in the comprehension of the [full and accurate] knowledge of the Son of God, that [we might arrive] at really MATURE manhood (the COMPLETENESS of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ’s own perfection), the measure of the STATURE OF THE FULLNESS OF THE CHRIST and the completeness found in Him” (Ephesians 4:13, Amplified Bible).
Those are the three main important aspects of “believeth.”
4 Points about what “grace” is:
➔ 1. God gives a measure of grace as a gift, to unbelievers.
“I thank my God at all times for you because of the grace (the favor and spiritual blessing) of God which was bestowed on you in Christ Jesus” (1 Cor. 1:4).
We were saved as unbelievers because God gave us enough grace to believe. It was just like the grace was put on us, or in us, and however it works is God’s business. The Holy Spirit works with sinners, and He works with saints.
➔ 2. God gives grace to believers to be made free from sin.
In other words, once you are a believer, God gives you enough grace to deal with the sin issue. He doesn’t expect us to carry on with our sins, believing that Jesus did it all so that we can enjoy life and its pleasures on earth. The Bible describes this very thoroughly in Titus 3:3-5: “For we also were once thoughtless and senseless, obstinate and disobedient, deluded and misled; [we too were once] slaves to all sorts of cravings and PLEASURES, wasting our days in malice and jealousy and envy, hateful (hated, detestable) and hating one another (SINS!). But when the goodness and loving-kindness of God our Savior to man [as man] appeared, He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but because of His own pity and mercy, by [the] cleansing [bath] of the new birth (regeneration) and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Amplified Bible).
Some philosophers believe that God wants us to have the biggest, the best, and the most—enjoying everything in life. This is a man-made doctrine of pure rebellion. We do not find such things as those schools of thought anywhere in the Scriptures.
Christianity is a war, an intertwined struggle with forces raging against each another: the Holy Spirit is trying to kill the sin desire in us, and the world is trying to kill us as true Christians.
➔ 3. He gives the sinners grace, and part of this grace is that He “worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).
That is one of my favorite Scriptures, because it says He’ll work the will, and the to do in us. He’ll work the will in us, and then once we have the will, we will will ourselves to do what He wants us to do.
And if you say: “Well, I don’t know what to do,” just read the New Testament, and you will see PLENTY OF THINGS TO DO IN CHRIST, LIKE:
~ keep yourself unspotted from the world,
~ do not play with idols,
~ love God with all your heart, soul, and mind
~ don’t think on the things of the world,
~ be submitted to God,
~ and other things along those lines.
Q. Why are people so rebellious? why are they so sinful, even as Christians, today?
A. They are not giving heed to the Holy Spirit who is working in their lives: they still have their own human spirit working.
We’ve been born again, but our human spirit needs to be converted over to where it surrenders to God, instead of struggles against God. Even as young Christians we go through that, but some people do not surrender.Even after Biblical instruction and direction, supposed “Christians” can be:
meaner than rattle snakes,
stubborn as a jackasses,
hardheaded as a brickbats…
and not about to change.
There’s no surrender, no desire to do God’s will/things God’s way, instead of their own way, and some do nothing but vegetate, all the time criticizing people who are doing something. People like this always have a complaint against this group being too radical and working too hard.
Grace and Works go Hand in Hand
THEY SAY: “You don’t go by works, it’s all salvation, it’s all grace.”
I understand that it is all grace, which is why I’m teaching this. However, if you are genuinely saved, works will follow, and God does not want us to be lazy or filthy people.
| WORKS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO JESUS CHRIST THE LORD… |
| THEREFORE, WE SHOULD BELIEVE AND EXERCISE: |
| ✾ works, |
| ✾ reading the Gospel, |
| ✾ doing the Gospel work, |
| ✾ getting out teaching and preaching, |
| ✾ letting the Holy Spirit live in us, |
| ✾ applying the sword that cuts and the fire that burns, ~and~ |
| ✾ staying surrendered. |
➔ 4. God’s grace must be diligently desired and sought after. Hebrews 4:16 says: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, (so) THAT WE MAY OBTAIN MERCY, AND FIND GRACE to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16).
Do you know what it feels like to:
* be in a rut?
* seem almost dead?
* be under the impression that God’s nowhere around?
* feel backslid?
* experience dry places?
…you’re not committing any sins that you know of, but that monotony still sets in. And this is a dangerous place, because people will start reaching out to the world, and its vices, to make them feel better.
Why does that dryness come over Christians?
DRY SPELLS COME OVER US TO MAKE US REACH OUT FOR SPIRITUAL FOOD AND WATER FROM THE LORD’S TABLE. If we didn’t ever get in desperate straights, we would remain stagnant and not grow in God!
And, if you are eating from the devil’s table, you’re not going to be a bit hungry or thirsty for what God has to offer. We should hunger and thirst for the things of God. If you don’t know how to do that, start by:
☞ starving yourself from the things of the world that you like
☞ quit doing things for yourself,
☞ starve yourself physically by going on a fast,
☞ keep your thoughts on God, and pure things
– and –
☞ pray God will give you a desire for His table and for His resources,
…then see if you don’t have a different outlook!
The principle is this: if you’re full on worldliness (which is the things of self as well), then you’re not going to be hungry for the things of God. DESIRE THE THINGS OF GOD, AND BE FILLED WITH THE THINGS OF GOD.
[NOTE: “synergism”=the action of two or more substances, organs, etc., to achieve an effect of which each is individually incapable. Taken into the “spiritual,” God is able to save perfectly (Heb. 7:25), but He needs lost man’s cooperation/submission.
The Father decreed eternal salvation, the Son died to obtain it, and the Holy Spirit exercises His power in bringing conviction/enlightenment to the lost man.
Repentance is required of lost man before God saves. Plainly, “synergism” and “monergism” must work together: man’s inability to save himself/herself, and God’s ability to save by lost man repenting/confessing of his/her sins.
Some believe that God saves without the aid of the lost. This is not true—JESUS CALLED FOR REPENTANCE in Matt. 4:17 and 18:3. The responsibility to REPENT fell upon man.]