Amazing Grace

 Amazing Grace 

Ephesians 2:8, 9

For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, / not by works, so that no one can boast. 

Acts 15:11

But we believe that through the grace of The Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

Romans 3:20, 28

Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin.

For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Romans 10:4

For Christ is the end of the law, to bring righteousness to everyone who believes.

Do you believe?

    We have no power within ourselves to save ourselves from the punishment of sin. Mere obedience to the letter of the law of God will not save us. For the law of God is the love of God explained and extended to God's people. To hear the law, and not obey it, is to ignore the law and the love of God. All day long He calls out our names and extends His arm of righteousness to a people who will not listen. 

    But the day is coming, and even now, is nearly upon us, when He will call some names for the last time. But those names who are written in The Lamb's Book of Life will hear God speak their name again and again for they will live forever with Him, having believed that Jesus Christ Is Lord and received the Salvation which God provided in Him and through Him. 

   Great is God's mercy and lovingkindness and faithfulness to reach out across generations and save as many as will believe Him. Do you believe? 

    Great is God's mercy and lovingkindness and faithfulness to a sinner, a wretch, like me. Once I walked and lived and died in darkness. But The Light of God's Redeeming Love stretched out across the years and called my name. Ashamed and disheartened I came to the cross and told God all my sorrows, all my transgressions: every dark thing in me I laid at the foot of the cross. And Jesus covered them with His blood: my sins were washed away! Amazing. Grace. 

    And a couple years or so after that I was baptized with His precious Holy Spirit and began to sing in a heavenly tongue. I was, and still am, awed that God would be so kind to do that in me. He has renewed me each time since then that I might be able to share the gospel with those He has placed in my path. Even you. Do you believe yet? 

    Just be honest with God: He knows your heart already: nothing is hidden from Him. But He desires that you speak aloud your belief that your salvation be known. 

    Romans 10:8-10

But what does it say? “The Word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, The Word of Faith we are proclaiming: that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved."

THE GOSPEL - Ryan Stevenson

HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD - Michael W. Smith

Prepositional Faith - Peace Through Christ

 

ACTS 10:36

He has sent this message to the people of Israel, proclaiming the gospel of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.

Isaiah 9:6

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid. 

2 Thessalonians 3:16

Now The Lord of Peace Himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all. 

    Without Christ there is no peace....of any kind whatsoever. There is the illusion of peace, or the delusion of peace. We live in a world that strives for freedoms, but at another's cost. This world imitates but does not deliver on true peace, for only Christ Jesus can give a person real lasting peace: peace of mind, peace in our hearts. 

    Inner peace does not come from within ourselves, nor does it exist outside of God's Word. "Peace, Peace, Wonderful Peace," as the hymnist wrote, comes down from The Father above. 

    In The Word, as listed above, we read that not only is Jesus Peace, but He shares His peace with those who believe that He is God's only begotten Son, sent here by His Father to be our Redeemer: He would take the punishment intended for the sinners who disobeyed God's Word upon Himself. Why? Because of God's great love for the people who inhabit this world we live in. 

    It's Amazing Grace, isn't it? It's almost too wonderful for words, yet many a song has been written praising God for His lovingkindness towards us. Too many to number, for that would actually be impossible. Not all songs written for God were recorded through the ages. But God knows. 

    All those reckless thoughts that attack a person's mental stability through what we see and hear and feel have to go through the blood of Jesus Christ, when we come to the cross and believe that this Man is, indeed, the Promised Redeemer from God. And when we come out on the other side, our thinking has changed. For the blood has washed our hearts and our minds clean. Now we have Peace, the Peace Christ promised to give the people who believe Him and follow Him wherever He leads. We have His Peace within us now. 

    God is amazing. Only God can take The Words that He speaks and wrap them in flesh and bone and place It in a young girl's womb via the power of His Holy Spirit. Nobody in all of history has ever done that, nor will anyone ever be able to do so. This is an awesome feat! This is a God I can trust with my life and my soul, with my heart and my mind! This is peace. 

    Peace flows through me like a river meanders through the mountains. It covers every obstacle in my way, sometimes rushing down like a waterfall; at other times this peace narrows into streams which feed the ecosystems of life. And I am content. With Christ as my Shepherd, leading this sheep of His, what have I to fear? Nothing. I have Peace Like A River because Jesus is my Peace. 

    

 

Speak The Father's Word

     Want to hear something amazing?

John 8:28, 29

So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up The Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on My own, but speak exactly what The Father has taught Me. He who sent Me is with Me. He has not left Me alone, because I always do what pleases Him.”  

    Jesus could only speak what His Father spoke to Him BECAUSE HE IS THE WORD OF GOD. In the general population, most of us cannot speak what another is thinking. (On a side note, my husband and I have been finishing each other's sentences since we were dating.) But Jesus being GOD'S WORD can only speak GOD'S WORD! How awesome is that to read and understand! 

    John 1:14 tells us this and we know it to be TRUE: "And The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of The only begotten of The Father,) full of grace and truth." 

    And here in Luke chapter one we see that God placed His Word inside Mary's womb. She would be the only ever to carry The Word in her womb; the rest of us carry Him in our hearts and minds! 

    Luke 1:31-35 

(31) And, behold, you shall conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and you shall call His Name JESUS. 

(32) He shall be great, and shall be called The Son of The Highest: and The Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David:

(33) And He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end.

(34) Then said Mary to the angel, "How shall this be, since I know no man?"

(35) And the angel said to her, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon you, and the power of The Highest shall overshadow you: therefore, also, that holy thing which shall be born of you shall be called The Son of God." 

    And being God's Word He was indeed never alone! How could The Word go anywhere without God? For God's Word is God! Amazing. Grace. 

    We who believe on The Name of The Lord Jesus Christ for our saving grace are living in Christ Who lives in God Who lives in His Word which lives in us! I'm so excited! Such love is mine! Such grace is mine! Such joy and wonder is mine! 

SO IN LOVE - Isla Vista Worship

ANOTHER IN THE FIRE - Hillsong United

JESUS MESSIAH - Chris Tomlin 

A Crucified Life - - Knows Surpassing Grace

 

    2 Corinthians 9:14

And their prayers for you will express their affection for you because of the Surpassing Grace God has given you.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No.

Surpassing: beyond, exceed 

From the Greek word ' huperballó' (pronounced hoop-er-bal'-lo): excel.

Grace: gift or blessing brought to man by Jesus Christ; kindness, the Lord's favor

From the Greek word 'charis' (pronounced khar'-ece). "The merciful kindness by which God, exerting His holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues" (quoted from Strong's)

    One of the exercises of Christian virtue is our willingness to share with others what we ourselves have received from God. Namely, His Son Jesus Christ, Who is Himself our Surpassing Grace. 

    It takes Holy Spirit boldness and a brave spirit to reach out to someone you've known your whole life (usually family) and say, "I've just met Jesus!" It takes Holy Spirit power to reach across the expanse of this globe to reach someone you've never met with the Love of God expressed through Christ. 

    That is just what these young churches were doing. Exerting, exercising, their increase in faith to help spread the gospel through the work of Paul and his companions. Their cup was overflowing and the overflow went to Paul.

     Is our cup of grace overflowing? where is the excess going to?

    

Surpassing Grace

There Is One Gospel - CityAlight

Greater Is The Blood - Mark & Sarah Tillman

Grace Like Rain - Todd Agnew

This Is Amazing Grace - Phil Wickham

Until Grace - Tauren Wells, Gary LeVox

Walking Free - Micah Tyler

Fill My Cup - Andrew Ripp

I Need A Ghost - Brandon Lake

Hands & Feet - Audio Adrenaline

I Will Serve Thee

I Speak Jesus - Here Be Lions

I See Grace - Micah Tyler

    

What's So Amazing About Grace?

1. We don't deserve it.
     Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."
    Romans 5:8 "But God commended (established) His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
2. We can't earn it.
    Ephesians 2:8,9 "For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." 
 3. Obtained by Faith in Jesus Christ.
    As stated in the above verse, Faith is a Gift from God. It is the first gift we are given when we believe that Jesus Christ is Lord. 
     Romans 3:22 "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe for there is no difference. 
    Romans 4:16 "Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, ; who is the father of us all."

But, what is Grace that we should desire it so? 

Strong's defines it as such: The Lord's favor, freely extended to give Himself away to people, inclined towards, reaching out to people: because He is disposed to bless (be near) them. 

There you go, then. The Grace of God is God reaching out to people with Himself and His great love. And just how did He does do that? Through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. John 3:16 is God's Grace demonstrated: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, that whosoever believes on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." 

Why should we want Grace?

God wants you and I saved from the eternal punishment of sin, but the only way that is going to happen is if you and I choose to believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to God. 
Grace is His Kindness and Love, as written in Titus 3:4-6 "But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior."

Ephesians 2:4, 5 It is only through Grace of God that we are saved. 
"But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, has quickened us together with Christ, {by grace are we saved}."
Titus 3:7 "That being justified by His Grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." 

Without that 'hope of eternal life' through belief in the name of The Lord Jesus Christ in this life we live, there is no hope after we die. For if a person dies who does not believe, nor accept God's Grace, while there is breath in the body, then there is no chance for life eternal after breath leaves this body. 

Romans 9:27, 28 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation." 

To day is the day of salvation. Today is the now opportunity to accept the Grace of God through His extended right arm of salvation: Jesus Christ. "There is no other name under heaven by which men can be saved." Acts 4:12 

How do we accept so great a gift as Grace? 

Romans 10:9, 10 "If you confess with your mouth The Lord Jesus,  AND believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. 
For with the heart we believe unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is mad unto salvation."
Romans 10:13 "For whosoever shall call upon the name of The Lord shall be saved."