The ABC's of Grace - Part One
Philippians 3:7-8 "But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ."
In the world we live in, it is common for people to identify with different things, whether it be gender, race, feelings, family, words spoken over them, gifts, talents, etc.
When we are Born Again, our identity is found in Christ. The apostle Paul discovered that when he surrounded his life to the Lord Jesus Christ, what he once identified with was now worth nothing because he understood that his value was not based on his own achievements but on what God said about him.
Pastor Grant made a very impactful statement yesterday: "We can choose what our image is, but we cannot determine the truth."
When people identify themselves with things other than what God has said about them, comparison, jealousy, envy, and blaming occur. Our true identity can only be determined by the Creator Himself, the One Who is all and entirely truth; that is God.
When we choose to agree with God and say what He says about us, our identify is firmly fixed and cannot be shaken by what others say, what our emotions say, or even what our actions say.
If God says we are right standing with Him, that settles it!
If God says you are valuable and worth His Son's life, that settles it!
If God says you are blessed and highly favoured, that settles it!
I encourage you this week to look in the Word of God, find what He has said about you and start speaking those same things about yourself!
Luke 8:15 “But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.”
The desire of our heart is to be the good soil that produces fruit. Living a fruitful life means that we walk in the promises of God in our own lives, but we also get to be a blessing to others. Living a fruitful life brings God glory. (John 15:8)
The Good Soil holds fast to the Word of God, acts upon what they see in God’s Word, and they bring forth fruit with patience.
When we understand the value of something, we ensure that we do what is necessary to protect and cherish what is valuable.
The other types of soil that Jesus talks about all let go of the Word of God for different reasons; trials, persecutions, anxieties, cares of this life and distractions are all things that can hinder someone from being that soil that produces fruit.
The person whose heart is good soil understands the value of God’s Word and refuses to let it go.
We can be good soil but ensure we:
Hold fast to God’s Word
Act upon the light that we have.
The good soil approaches the Word of God with the expectation to understand and act upon what they hear. When we value God’s Word and act upon it, we will receive more light, revelation and understanding of God’s Word.
That means fruitful lives that impact those around us.
We at Redeemer Coast are of those whose hearts are good soil. We hear God’s Word, understand His Word, and act on what He reveals to us. This is our lifestyle!
There are things that God has for each one of us this week, He is revealing and making Himself real to us! There is light and insight in store for you this week!
Receive that by faith and say, “God, I believe that the eyes of my heart are enlightened, and I know the hope of your calling.” (Ephesians 1:18)
I love this time of the year when people are more open and reflective on what Jesus has done for them on the cross. We're mindful of the amazing truth that the Son of God willingly laid down His life for the whole world, past, present and future, and as a result, Salvation is available to all who would believe in His Name.
As I was reflecting on the goriness and brutality of the scourging and the crucifixion that Jesus went through, the Holy Spirit said to me, "That is how valuable people are to Me."
I've always known that people are valuable to God, but in this moment, I saw a glimpse into the heart of our Heavenly Father. Everything Jesus went through on the cross was because, in His sight, we were worth it.
The scourging and the crucifixion were no minor events. They were brutal and torturous. The Roman scourging was horrific. It involved the person being stripped naked so that their body would be totally exposed to the beating of the soldier. The victim's hands were bound together and chained above their head so that they couldn't avoid the blows. The scourge was made of leather and included sharp pieces of glass, metal, wire and fragments of jagged bone, and as a result, it would cut deeply into the person's body, shredding their skin, muscles and sinew.
Jesus went through all of this willingly because He wanted us to live in total healing! Isaiah 53:5 says, "By His stripes, we are healed." Our healing was valuable to God. Jesus knew the scourging that He would have to go through, yet He willingly let them whip Him. To Him, our healing was worth every stripe He received.
Next came the crucifixion. Jesus' crucifixion occurred in the hands of the Roman soldiers, and it was usually used for the most serious offenders. The offender would lay on the crossbeam with their arms outstretched, and the soldiers would hammer an iron nail through their wrists and feet. As a result of the position of their arms and legs, they struggled to breathe, so they would push up on their feet to get oxygen, but the pain would be excruciating, so they would quickly collapse back down again. Each time they lifted themselves up and dropped down, it would put pressure on their shoulder joints, and as a result, they would dislocate their shoulders and, eventually, their elbows and wrists.
Philippians 2:8 says, "And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Why did Jesus humble Himself and die for us, and not just any death, even death on a cross? Because that is how valuable we are to Him.
As we take this time to reflect on what Jesus has done for us, we can also take the time to reflect on the value and preciousness of people. Romans 5:8 says, "But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." If Jesus was able to see the human race in all of its sin-filled and curse-filled state and still go to that cross, then we, as His disciples, can love people and see their worth.
The value of a human life could not be purchased with gold or silver; the value of a human life could only be bought with the blood of Jesus Himself.
Our neighbours, work colleagues, friends, family, people from different nations, and political leaders are people for whom Jesus died. Each one of them is precious and valuable to Him, and because they are precious and valuable to Him, they are precious and valuable to us. The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5), and we are equipped with His love so that others can experience God's love through us. If we withhold from acting on God's love that is in our hearts, we are robbing them of the opportunity to experience what we have experienced. Who are we to judge someone unworthy of love?
When we refuse to let go of the wrongs and offences that were done to us, we withhold the love of God in our hearts and keep ourselves bound in the trap of unforgiveness.
When we judge someone based on their actions and accuse them in our hearts, we are not walking in the mercy that we have experienced through Jesus.
When we talk behind people's backs and create divisions in relationships, we are doing the opposite of what we are commanded to do as believers, which is to love one another as Jesus has loved us. (John 13:34)
When we refuse to apologise and ask for forgiveness in a relationship because we're convinced we're right, we are walking in pride and not humbling ourselves the way Jesus did for us.
But when we recognise how much we are loved and humbly acknowledge how much we have been forgiven by God, loving people and seeing their worth becomes the nature of our hearts.
The motivation for Jesus to endure the cross was His love for people. As His followers, our motivation to love people stems from understanding God's heart for people. What a privilege it is to carry God's love in us so that we can extend His love to those around us. Let's not let experiencing the love of God finish with us; we continue to extend His love to others through our words, actions and thoughts. That's how the power of the cross continues throughout each generation.
As we remember what Jesus has done for us, let's also use this time as an opportunity to let Him lead us in demonstrating His love to those around us.
Luke 8:15 AMPC
“But as for that [seed] in the good soil, these are [the people] who, hearing the Word, hold it fast in a just noble, virtuous) and worthy heart, and steadily bring forth fruit with patience.”
The Seed of the Word of God is incorruptible, enduring and lasts forever. Within this Seed is the power to change a person into a whole new creation and change the destiny of their eternity.
In the natural, a seed must be planted in order for the power within the seed to grow and become what it is designed to be. No matter how much power that seed contains, it will only produce a harvest if it is planted in good soil that will provide the right environment for it to flourish.
That is true with the Seed of the Word of God and the condition of our hearts.
The condition of our hearts will determine whether the Word of God can produce fruit in our lives. Thankfully, we have the authority to decide what kind of soil we are.
At Redeemer Coast, we are the good soil! We hear the Word of God, understand it, and act on what we know to be true.
Jesus said those "who hear the Word should hold fast in an honest and good heart will produce thirty, sixty, or hundredfold harvest."
As we discussed yesterday, an honest and good heart is a heart that is:
Humble- believes what the Word of God says about who they are in Christ and what God’s Word says about their situation. It is pride to exalt our own opinions or feelings over what God has said.
Keeps a clear conscience- they do what they know to do and act upon the light they have from God’s Word.
Is quick to repent and quick to forgive- they keep their heart clear of strife and offence because they know that they have been greatly forgiven by God, so they can greatly forgive.
We are of those whose hearts are honest and good! You can declare that over yourself today, “I have a heart that is honest and good, and I am good soil that bears fruit!”
Mark 4:14-17
The sower sows the Word…These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the Word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the Word’s sake, immediately they stumble.
The Word of God is the seed; our hearts are the soil.
It is our choice what kind of soil we are. Our willingness to hear, understand and act on what we have heard will determine what kind of soil we are.
The stony ground soil represents the life that is excited about the Word of God and what He has promised. However, they only endure for a short time because they didn’t allow the Word of God to take root in their hearts. This kind of soil can be deceiving from the outside because they look and sound like the kind of person who believes the Word of God, but actually, they haven’t given the Word of God the proper place in their life.
But that’s not us! We’re the kind of soil that chooses to hear, understand, meditate, speak and act on the promises of God. We’re the soil that understands the value of the Word of God and gives His Word first place in our lives. We’re the kind of soil that holds fast to the Word; we refuse to let it go no matter what life throughs at us because we understand that the only way to experience true victory and freedom is through the Word of God, planted in our hearts, and acted upon in our lives.
Mark 4:13-15
"And He *said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the Word. These are the ones who are beside the road where the Word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the Word which has been sown in them."
In science class, when researching the impact or effect of an object, two different things were considered when determining the outcome.
The Variable and the Constant.
In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus talks about the seed, which is the Word of God, and the soil, which is our heart.
The seed is the constant, and the soil is the variable. In order for the seed to produce results, the soil had to be in good condition.
It is our choice what kind of soil we want to be.
The first type of soil that Jesus mentions in this parable is the seed sown on the path. This represents a heart that is hard, a heart that refuses to hear and allow the Word of God into their lives to change the way they think. It is a heart that is "set in their ways" and is convinced that there is nothing more that they can learn or understand. A hardened heart is the kind of heart where satan can come and immediately steal the Word.
It is our responsibility to guard our hearts from becoming hard, prideful and closed off to the light of God's Word.
Two things that we can do to ensure we don't become the hardened type of soil,
Walk in the light that we have; in other words, be a doer of the Word of God.
Remain humble. Understand that we don't know everything about the Word of God and be open to hearing and seeing things from God's Word. Sometimes, that means letting go of our preconceived ideas and opinions.
The words of an open and humble heart can be found in Psalms 119:18, "Open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things from Your Law."
As a church family, this is the cry and desire of our hearts that we will see and continue to see wonderful things from the Word of God so that we can live our lives according to what God has said.