Grace
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 8602 |
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January 03, 2016 |
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 Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8).
As your faith grows, thanks for God's grace will be greater and your love for Him will be deepened. Now let's delve into God's grace that we should remember.
1. The gift freely granted by God
There is a hymnal song that has been sung by so many people around the world. It is 'Amazing Grace'. It starts with, 'Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.' John Newton is the one who wrote the lyrics of this song.
At the age of six he lost his mother who had sincere faith, and since then, he went astray and committed many kinds of sins. He became the captain of a slave ship, treating the slaves brutally and selling them. A day came when he faced a great storm. In the midst of danger he sought the grace of God and met Jesus Christ. He turned from his ways and eventually became a pastor, trying his best to spread the gospel for the rest of his life.
The lyrics of the 'Amazing Grace' talk about the grace of salvation that he gained in the midst of living a filthy and sinful life. Even after he turned 80 he passionately preached the gospel and often said, "My memory is weak now, but I clearly remember two things. One is that I used to be a sinner, and the other is that Jesus Christ is the great Savior who saved me."
Do you have the grace of God deeply engraved in your heart so that you will never forget it even if your memory fails you completely? I hope you will once again recall the limitless and endless grace of God in your heart. I hope you remember that though we were all sinners He made us His children, He keeps each of us as the apple of His eye and He leads us to the kingdom of Heaven.
2. The grace of God we must remember:
1) The grace that allows for us to change into true children of God
The reason why God the Creator created the human beings is to gain true children. He did not want children who unconditionally obey like robots. He wanted to gain those children with whom He will share true love from the heart because they deeply understand His heart.
In the steps in the course of human cultivation we can deeply realize the love of God and cultivate a heart of spirit that will never change. Those who do not understand this principle of cultivation seek meaningless things and eventually reach destruction. But those who cast away sins and evil and practice goodness and love by the grace of God can live truly valuable lives.
Suppose two men are sailing and one has a compass and sails towards a destination while the other just drifts about aimlessly. Each of their lives will have completely different outcomes and meaning. If we understand the purpose of our lives and the providence of cultivation, we can go in the direction of our goal even in trials or hardships. Because we have faith, we can overcome everyday trials by relying on God. Because we have hope, we can take on anything with thanksgiving.
2) The grace of receiving salvation through Jesus Christ
Even though we understand the providence of cultivation clearly, we cannot go to Heaven with just that knowledge. We who are descendants of Adam were destined to fall into Hell due to sins. But because the sinless Jesus took the cross on our behalf, the way to salvation has now been opened.
Crucifixion was one of the cruelest ways of execution. They didn't receive anesthesia for intense pain. The pain was not just for a short time. Jesus was dragged here and there and mocked all night, and He was scourged all over His body even to the extent that blood was dripping and His bones were exposed. Thorns with the length of a finger were piercing into His head. With His hands and feet nailed through with thick nails, He was hung up on the cross under the scorching sun. And, in the end He died after shedding all His blood and water.
Romans 5:7-8 says, "For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." We did not love God first. Jesus took the severity of the punishment of the cross quietly for those souls who forsook God, for those who persecuted Him and cursed Him, and for the heinous sinners who were living in darkness.
I hope you will engrave this grace of the Lord who saved us more deeply in your heart day after day.
3) The grace of giving you a true shepherd
For human cultivation, God created men and gave Jesus Christ, but there still are so many people in the world who are not saved. There are many who have not heard the gospel, or have heard it but do not understand it. There are also many who say they believe, but still follow the lust of the world.
Sometimes, those who gave thanks for the grace of the Lord with tears get tempted and go back to the world. As this age is becoming increasingly darkened, and people follow lust, pleasure, and personal benefits more and more, we are in desperate need of a true shepherd who keeps his flock.
As Jesus said in John 10:11, the latter part, "…the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep," a true shepherd has to take care of his flock with all his life. He has to let them discern the will of God with the word that penetrates to the division of spirit, soul, and joints and marrow. He has to show the signs and wonders so that they can have spiritual faith and meet and experience God.
He has to warn them of sin, righteousness, and judgment so they will not be stained by the world and be able to overcome the temptations. If a ferocious animal takes the sheep, the shepherd will take the sheep back from the mouth of the animal. In the same manner, a true shepherd has to bring the souls back from the jaws of sin. Above all, he has to let them feel the love of God so they can receive the strength and grace to overcome the world. He has to keep the souls with all his life until they can stand on the truth by themselves.
Those of you who attend this church have heard the word of life that you would not have heard anywhere else. You were convinced that the message is true through the powerful works of God, and your spiritual faith has grown up. You imprinted the love of the Father in human cultivation and the love of the Lord who took the cross deep on your hearts. I hope you will give thanks for the grace of God who let you come to this church and meet the shepherd.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, God always gives us good things. If you realize the grace of God given to you and how fully He gives you, you have to become true children that resemble God. I pray in the name of the Lord by doing so you will always confess, "By the grace of God I am what I am."
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