Basildon Healing Mission
(Eastside World Outreach Ministries)
Reg Charity 1115487
Receiving grace
We all try to be the good Samaritan but none us willing to be on the receiving end of grace We have a thing called pride, its ok to help others but hey, I can stand up for myself. Really, what if you were unable to help yourself, would you be grateful then?
Luke 10:30 Jesus, taking him up, replied, A certain man was going from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him of his clothes and belongings and beat him and went their way, [unconcernedly] leaving him half dead, as it happened.
Luke 10:31 Now by coincidence a certain priest was going down along that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
Luke 10:32 A Levite likewise came down to the place and saw him, and passed by on the other side [of the road].
Luke 10:33 But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled along, came down to where he was; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity {and} sympathy [for him],
Luke 10:34 And went to him and dressed his wounds, pouring on [them] oil and wine. Then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn and took care of him.
Luke 10:35 And the next day he took out two denarii [two day's wages] and gave [them] to the innkeeper, saying, Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I [myself] will repay you when I return.
Luke 10:36 Which of these three do you think proved himself a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?
Luke 10:37 He answered, The one who showed pity {and} mercy to him. And Jesus said to him, Go and do likewise.
But if we are to be effective to others and extend a helping hand we to must receive the grace that is offered to us by the hand of God. Can you really stand before the Lord and say Jesus I don’t need your help, I can save myself?
Ask your selves these questions
(1) Have you ever received rescuing grace when you needed it.
(2) Have you ever fallen amongst gossiping thieves who robbed you of your dignity, your worth, your reputation and left you used and discarded.
There are purposes in our suffering and we need to accept grace.
Accepting grace
2 Cor 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of sympathy (pity and mercy) and the God [Who is the Source] of every comfort (consolation and encouragement),
2 Cor 1:4 Who comforts (consoles and encourages) us in every trouble (calamity and affliction), so that we may also be able to comfort (console and encourage) those who are in any kind of trouble {or} distress, with the comfort (consolation and encouragement) with which we ourselves are comforted (consoled and encouraged) by God.
2 Cor 1:5 For just as Christ's [own] sufferings fall to our lot [as they overflow upon His disciples, and we share and experience them] abundantly, so through Christ comfort (consolation and encouragement) is also [shared and experienced] abundantly by us.
2 Cor 1:6 But if we are troubled (afflicted and distressed), it is for your comfort (consolation and encouragement) and [for your] salvation; and if we are comforted (consoled and encouraged), it is for your comfort (consolation and encouragement), which works [in you] when you patiently endure the same evils (misfortunes and calamities) that we also suffer {and} undergo.
2 Cor 1:7 And our hope for you [our joyful and confident expectation of good for you] is ever unwavering (assured and unshaken); for we know that just as you share {and} are partners in [our] sufferings {and} calamities, you also share {and} are partners in [our] comfort (consolation and encouragement).
Grace must be received and accepted with humility because quite often it is easier to give grace than to receive it especially when we are committed to a strong character.
People who find it hard to accept grace often have:-
(1) With a commitment to excellence there is often an attitude of intolerance.
If you walk in perfection then you leave no room for error – legalist
(2) Life style of discipline comes with an attitude of impatience
No patience with them who do not live as we have chosen to live.
(3) A well developed education desires the higher tastes and different circles
No time for others who do not fall into your group.
(4) With an emphasis on independence and high goals this comes with a price.
Unable to receive grace to proud of your own achievements nobody can do anything for you. After all you got this far on your own.
These people have a cast iron spirit, they resist grace and often without Christ.
Ex 3:1 NOW MOSES kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the back {or} west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb {or} Sinai, the mountain of God.
Ex 3:2 The Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, yet was not consumed.
Ex 3:3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.
Ex 3:4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses! And he said, Here am I.
Moses now 80 years old the first 40 as an Egyptian prince well spoken, educated, royalty won battles. God calls him to lead his people Moses sees an Egyptian struggling with a Hebrew and kills the Egyptian. He then goes into the desert of median for 40 years reduced to tending sheep when he once more hears that voice calling out to him from the burning bush, that was the voice of grace Moses had done nothing to deserve another chance.
Having messed up our lives and thrown everything away, wife, job ministry and one day we hear that voice again calling out that’s grace. God looks beyond our weakness and we need to accept in humility.
The door had once more opened to Moses
Ex 3:10 Come now therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring forth My people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.
Ex 3:11 And Moses said to God, Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?
Ex 3:12 God said, I will surely be with you; and this shall be the sign to you that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain [Horeb, or Sinai].
Ex 3:13 And Moses said to God, Behold, when I come to the Israelites and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they say to me, What is His name? What shall I say to them?
Ex 3:14 And God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM {and} WHAT I AM, {and} I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE; and He said, You shall say this to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you!
but he had heard this call before.
God does His best work with those who consider themselves washed up, finished.
Ex 4:1 AND MOSES answered, But behold, they will not believe me or listen to {and} obey my voice; for they will say, The Lord has not appeared to you.
Moses worries, he looks to his own abilities now, a shepherd , but God sees ability beyond circumstance.
Ex 4:2 And the Lord said to him, What is that in your hand? And he said, A rod.
Ex 4:3 And He said, Cast it on the ground. And he did so and it became a serpent [the symbol of royal and divine power worn on the crown of the Pharaohs]; and Moses fled from before it.
Ex 4:4 And the Lord said to Moses, Put forth your hand and take it by the tail. And he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand,
Ex 4:5 [This you shall do, said the Lord] that the elders may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has indeed appeared to you.
Ex 4:6 The Lord said also to him, Put your hand into your bosom. He put his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, as white as snow.
Ex 4:7 [God] said, Put your hand into your bosom again. So he put his hand back into his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored as the rest of his flesh.
Ex 4:8 [Then God said] If they will not believe you or heed the voice {or} the testimony of the first sign, they may believe the voice {or} the witness of the second sign.
Ex 4:9 But if they will also not believe these two signs or heed your voice, you shall take some water of the river [Nile] and pour it upon the dry land; and the water which you take out of the river [Nile] shall become blood on the dry land.
God shows him how, he will make the people believe him, why do we need to see signs so much?
Ex 4:10 And Moses said to the Lord, O Lord, I am not eloquent {or} a man of words, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and have a heavy {and} awkward tongue.
Moses claims slow in tongue but he used to be so eloquent, grace takes care of our shortcomings. Do you make excuses like Moses so God will not use you?
Ex 4:12 Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and will teach you what you shall say.
Go and I will be with you, God will be with you what more do we need than to know we never take a step alone for God is always by our side.
Ex 4:13 And he said, Oh, my Lord, I pray You, send by the hand of [some other] whom You will [send].
Moses tries to get out of it and God involves his brother Aaron
(remember the Golden Calf?)
(1) We resist God when our guilt has not been adequately dealt with it keeps us away.
(2) The last person we forgive is ourselves; we need to forgive ourselves in order to receive Christ’s forgiveness.
All persons who operate in the power of God are those who are examples of God’s undeserved grace and favor.
You could be the Moses of this generation if only your guilt had been dealt with.
Or maybe a Samson, when we think of that name we imagine a man so strong and powerful but it was only through the grace of God, his parents were great people of God and were told by an angel that their child was to be blessed. His hair was the symbol of his great strength and he judged Israel for 20 years
Judg 15:20 And [Samson] judged (defended) Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
Yet even a man so blessed of God fell from grace:-
Yet he falls for the harlot Delilah who tricks him into revealing his strength.
With his strength gone is head shaved he is powerless.
Judg 16:21 But the Philistines laid hold of him, bored out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with [two] bronze fetters; and he ground at the mill in the prison.
The philistines were angry and gouged out his eyes, he is forced to grind corn in the dungeon. We could say he deserved that for abusing his calling.
Judg 16:22 But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.
A verse of grace his hair starts to re grow his strength returns and his mandate to fulfil Gods call.
Judg 16:23 Then the Philistine lords gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice, for they said, Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hands.
Judg 16:24 And when the people saw Samson, they praised their god, for they said, Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy, the ravager of our country, who has slain many of us.
Judg 16:25 And when their hearts were merry, they said, Call for Samson, that he may make sport for us. So they called [blind] Samson out of the prison, and he made sport before them. They made him stand between the pillars.
Judg 16:26 And Samson said to the lad who held him by the hand, Allow me to feel the pillars upon which the house rests, that I may lean against them.
Judg 16:27 Now the house was full of men and women; all the Philistine princes were there, and on the roof were about 3,000 men and women who looked on while Samson made sport.
Judg 16:28 Then Samson called to the Lord and said, O Lord God, [earnestly] remember me, I pray You, and strengthen me, I pray You, only this once, O God, and let me have one vengeance upon the Philistines for both my eyes.
Judg 16:29 And Samson laid hold of the two middle pillars by which the house was borne up, one with his right hand and the other with his left.
He calls on God and God in His grace hears him.
Judg 16:30 And Samson cried, Let me die with the Philistines! And he bowed himself mightily, and the house fell upon the princes and upon all the people that were in it. So the dead whom he slew at his death were more than they whom he slew in his life.
We are only truly receiving of grace when we have run out of all expectations.
The last supper 12 hours before the crucifixion and the disciples have been arguing amongst themselves who is going to be the greatest in the kingdom of haven. They all enter in the room and they are so caught up they neglect to wash there feet, they do not notice but Jesus does
John 13:4 Got up from supper, took off His garments, and taking a [servant's] towel, He fastened it around His waist.
John 13:5 Then He poured water into the washbasin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the [servant's] towel with which He was girded.
John 13:6 When He came to Simon Peter, [Peter] said to Him, Lord, are my feet to be washed by You? [Is it for You to wash my feet?]
Peter is to proud. Where is there room for pride in receiving grace?
John 13:8 Peter said to Him, You shall never wash my feet! Jesus answered him, Unless I wash you, you have no part with (in) Me [you have no share in companionship with Me].
Peter pulls his feet away, we resist when our pride is paramount. But as Jesus says watch this – if we do not receive His grace we can have no part in Him!
Paul knew about accepting grace in fact the strength of his ministry, was through grace, Paul was a mirror of Grace.
Phil 3:3 For we [Christians] are the true circumcision, who worship God in spirit {and} by the Spirit of God and exult {and} glory {and} pride ourselves in Jesus Christ, and put no confidence {or} dependence [on what we are] in the flesh {and} on outward privileges {and} physical advantages {and} external appearances--
Phil 3:4 Though for myself I have [at least grounds] to rely on the flesh. If any other man considers that he has {or} seems to have reason to rely on the flesh {and} his physical {and} outward advantages, I have still more!
The Flesh profit nothing, you cannot do anything pleasing to God in your own strength.
Phil 3:5 Circumcised when I was eight days old, of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew [and the son] of Hebrews; as to the observance of the Law I was of [the party of] the Pharisees,
Phil 3:6 As to my zeal, I was a persecutor of the church, and by the Law's standard of righteousness (supposed justice, uprightness, and right standing with God) I was proven to be blameless {and} no fault was found with me.
Phil 3:7 But whatever former things I had that might have been gains to me, I have come to consider as [one combined] loss for Christ's sake.
Phil 3:8 Yes, furthermore, I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege (the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage) of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord {and} of progressively becoming more deeply {and} intimately acquainted with Him [of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly]. For His sake I have lost everything and consider it all to be mere rubbish (refuse, dregs), in order that I may win (gain) Christ (the Anointed One),
Phil 3:12 Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) {and} make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me {and} made me His own.
To be accepting of grace takes an admission of humility
We are only human but remember the saying pride comes before the fall,
Never was a true word spoken pride is a sin that will take you to Hell!
We need to build an Attitude of humility – Accepting God as you are allow Him to change you.
Remember what Jesus said “ if you do not allow me to do this you can have no part of me”.
When asked what gives us the right to enter haven
Say I come lord God in the merit of Jesus Christ death and resurrection nothing in my hands do I bring.
God bless
Bishops Tony and Marilyn.