A Crucified Life - - Is Extremely Thankful For the Gift of Christ

 

    2 Corinthians 9:15

Thanks be to God for His Indescribable Gift!

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 411 & 1431

    Indescribable: inexpressible, that which cannot be thoroughly related

From the Greek word 'anekdiégétos' (pronounced an-ek-dee-ay'-gay-tos). Beyond words; impossible to estimate; unspeakable.

    Though it has a few definitions, this word 'indescribable' occurs only once in the New Testament Scriptures. 

    Gift: free, without repayment, freely given and not acquired by merit; expresses a brand of giving that highlights the beneficent desire of the giver. 

    A crucified life is worth living. For the life that is lived without Christ does not know its full worth or value until it comes to salvation through Christ. The veil of sin covers the heart of the unredeemed, blinding that soul to the Truth of God's Word. But when a sinner repents (acknowledges their sins against God and turns away from that sin), then that soul is redeemed by Christ. This is why we Rejoice! 

    The Gift we receive from God is both a What (redemption through repentance) and a Who (the Redeemer of our Souls Jesus Christ) which is given to the believer (the one who believes that Jesus Christ is Lord and follows Him {lives by faith}). 

    Romans 5:15

But the Gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's Grace and the Gift that came by the Grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many!

THANKS BE TO GOD

    1 Chronicles 16:8

Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon His Name, make known His deeds among the people.

    2 Corinthians 2:14

But thanks be to God, Who always leads us triumphantly as captives in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him.

    1 Corinthians 15:57

But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

INEXPRESSIBLE JOY

    1 Peter 1:3-9, specifically v.8

Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy.

THE GIFT OF GOD

    John 1:14

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.

FAITHWALKERS

    1 Corinthians 5:6,7

Therefore we are always confident, although we know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight.

REJOICING

    Romans 12:12

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

 

    1996 Winds of Worship album

Spirit of The Sovereign God by Lindell Cooley

    

    

Thanks Be To God - -For Giving Us His Grace

 

1 Corinthians 1:4

I always thank my God for you because of the grace He has given you in Christ Jesus.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 5485

GRACE: is preeminently used of the Lord's favor – freely extended to give Himself away to people (because He is "always leaning toward them"). Favor, kindness, a gift or blessing brought to man by Jesus Christ.

I have heard that the word 'grace' can be seen as an anagram, making it easy to remember: 

God's

Riches

At

Christ's 

Expense

THE GIFT OF GRACE 

Grace comes from God by way of God's only begotten Son Jesus Christ. 

John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Acts 4:11, 12

(11) This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. (12) Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. 

Ephesians 2:4-11

(4) But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, (5)made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved! 

(6) And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, (7) in order that in the coming ages He might display the surpassing riches of His grace, demonstrated by His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 

(8) For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, (9) not by works, so that no one can boast.

(10) For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life. 

THE WRAPPED GIFT

Acts 2:23, 24

(23) He was delivered up by God’s set plan and foreknowledge, and you, by the hands of the lawless, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. (24) But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for Him to be held in its clutches.

Isaiah 53 describes the suffering that God's Gift had to go through. God's Gift was not a pretty sight. It was wrapped in blood, covered with bruises and nailed to the cross: for us.

Hebrews 2:17

For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, in order to make atonement for the sins of the people.

Isaiah 53

Who has believed our message?

And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,

and like a root out of dry ground.

He had no stately form or majesty to attract us,

no beauty that we should desire Him.

He was despised and rejected by men,

a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.

Like one from whom men hide their faces,

He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.

Surely He took on our infirmities

and carried our sorrows;

yet we considered Him stricken by God,

struck down and afflicted.

But He was pierced for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him,

and by His stripes we are healed.

We all like sheep have gone astray,

each one has turned to his own way;

and the LORD has laid upon Him

the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted,

yet He did not open His mouth.

He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,

and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,

so He did not open His mouth.

By oppression and judgment He was taken away,

and who can recount His descendants?

For He was cut off from the land of the living;

He was stricken for the transgression of My people.

He was assigned a grave with the wicked,

and with a rich man in His death,

although He had done no violence,

nor was any deceit in His mouth.

Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him

and to cause Him to suffer;

and when His soul is made a guilt offering,

He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days,

and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.

After the anguish of His soul,

He will see the light of life and be satisfied.

By His knowledge My righteous Servant will justify many,

and He will bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will allot Him a portion with the great,

and He will divide the spoils with the strong,

because He has poured out His life unto death,

and He was numbered with the transgressors.

Yet He bore the sin of many

and made intercession for the transgressors.

That's God's Gift of Grace to us who believe and receive this Word, this Bread, sent down from heaven. 

RECEIVING THE GIFT OF GRACE

Romans 10:9, 10

(9) That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. (10) For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Romans 4:23, 24

(23) Now the words “it was credited to him” were written not only for Abraham, (24) but also for us, to whom righteousness will be credited—for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.

Grace is God's gift to us in Jesus Christ. We just have to accept it (believe) and open it (receive). When we get a wrapped birthday or Christmas present, we must receive the gift from the giver. If the package just sits there and we never open it, then we have never received it: we have rejected it. 

REJECTING THE GIFT OF GRACE
But what if we open the gift from the giver and we don't like it, or it's not exactly what we had in mind when we accepted the gift? Is it still ours? No. For when we have rejected what has been given us, we are still rejecting the gift, even after receiving it. 

This gift of grace from God is for everyone who receives it. Though given to the whole world, the whole world will not receive it: this gift will be rejected by many. The Gift will be rejected because of their unwillingness to believe that not only is the Gift theirs, but that the Gift-giver is loving and generous. 

Romans 2:4

Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

John 3:18

Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 

John 3:36

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.

Mark 16:16

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

King of Glory (His Name Is Jesus) by Third Day

This Is Amazing Grace by Phil Wickham

His Indescribable Gift

 

2 Corinthians 9:15

Thanks be to God for His Indescribable gift!

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 411

Indescribable: inexpressible (beyond words); indescribable (inexplicable), impossible to estimate

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 1431

Gift: freely given, not acquired by merit or "entitlement."; expresses a brand of giving that highlights the beneficent desire of the giver

INDESCRIBABLE

This word 'indescribable' is used only once and that is here in 2 Corinthians 9:15. The King James Version (KJV) renders it 'unspeakable'. The English Standard Version (ESV) reads as 'inexpressible', while the New Living Translation (NLT) says 'too wonderful for words'. 

Indescribable by Chris Tomlin

HIS GIFT

Romans 5:12, 15, 17-19

(12) Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned.

(15) But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many!

(17) For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive an abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

(18) So then, just as one trespass brought condemnation for all men, so also one act of righteousness brought justification and life for all men.

(19) For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

Acts 15:11

On the contrary, we believe it is through the grace of the Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.

Ephesians 2:8-10

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.

Romans 9:16

So then, it does not depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy.

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

THANK YOU JESUS FOR THE BLOOD by Charity Gayle

     BORN AGAIN

     In life, gifts are handed out either individually or jointly, like birthday presents (to the individual) or wedding presents (to the couple) or corporately (to the company). But the gift must be received on an individual basis, as well. We don't always receive the gifts given to us well. "I don't like this gift as much as I liked that other gift." "Do I have to participate?" 

    This applies Scripturally and spiritually, too. The gift of grace is given to everyone, but everyone must accept it on an individual basis. As Jesus explained to Nicodemus, "Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)

    Ezekiel 36:26 wrote, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." That is what happens when we believe that Jesus Christ is Lord. God gives us a new heart when He applies the blood of His Son to our hearts. He puts a new Spirit in us when we receive the baptism of His Holy Spirit. Both Grace and Power are the gift from God. To receive only half of the gift is to cripple one's self spiritually. We need both to fulfill God's purpose, God's will, in our life.

     John 3:4, 5 

(4) “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time to be born?”

(5) Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless anyone be born of water and of the Spirit, he is not able to enter into the kingdom of God.

(6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."

INDIVIDUAL ACCEPTANCE

John 1:12. 13

But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God.

     

     To 'all who did receive' shows us that not all will receive the gift of God. Only the people who believe in His Name will receive the gift of God: Jesus Christ His only begotten Son. 

1 John 3:8-10

(8) The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil.

(9) Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God's seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.

(10) By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

John 1:16

From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace.

Dear Lord,

I recognize that I am a sinner, that I have sinned against You and broken Your laws. Forgive me of my sins and make me Your child. You are so good to me. Thank You for Your grace on me, for saving me. Thank You for this Indescribable Gift which You have given me. Thank You for removing my hardened heart and replacing it with a new heart: a heart that loves You and wants to serve You; a heart which rejoices in Your Word and Your presence; a heart that wants to share You with everyone I meet. 

Thank You, Lord, for giving me Your precious Holy Spirit, Who empowers me with boldness to speak Your Word. Help me to be more gracious, more loving, more merciful to those around me, to shine Your Light and Your Love into a dark and dying world. Give me words to speak. Open my mouth and fill it with Your Word.

In Jesus' Name, I pray

Amen.

Here I Am To Worship by Tim Hughes