Extreme Grace (3) – The Extremely Diligent and Patient Searcher

In my two previous posts, I have talked about the parables of the lost sheep and the lost son in Luke 15. The second parable in this trilogy is the parable of the lost coin. I believe that the woman in this parable who lost her coin and went about diligently and patiently searching for it is a picture of the Holy Spirit.

In this story, a woman had ten coins and lost one. Many bible commentators believe that these coins could be part of the woman’s dowry. The Amplified Bible says that one coin was equivalent to a day’s wage, which means that the coin was very valuable to her. When she lost it, she made every effort to recover the lost coin. Luke 15 tells us, “Or what woman, having ten [silver] drachmas [each one equal to a day's wages], if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and look carefully and diligently until she finds it?” (Luke 15:8 The Amplified Bible)

If we understand that Palestinian homes at that time had no windows to let the light in and the floor of their homes were usually dirt floors covered with straws, we would appreciate the extent the woman went through to search for that one lost coin. She patiently lit a lamp and diligently and carefully swept the entire house to look for that lost item. “…light a lamp and sweep the house and look carefully and diligently until she finds it” (verse 8) The key word here is UNTIL, the woman searches until she finds the lost coin. She patiently and diligently searches UNTIL she finds it.

As in the other two parables that Jesus told in Luke 15, there was extreme rejoicing when the woman finally found her lost coin. She rushed out and called her friends and neighbours to her house to celebrate her joy in finding her precious lost coin. “And when she finds it you can be sure she'll call her friends and neighbors: 'Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!” (Luke 15 :9 The Amplified Bible)

This parable depicts the Holy Spirit as the One who is always searching the earth for the lost and when He finds one and reconciles him to God, there is extreme jubilation and rejoicing in heaven. “…Count on it—that's the kind of party God's angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God." (Luke 15:10 The Amplified Bible)

I want to end this series on the extreme grace of God with this beautiful quotation by Soren Kierkegaard from my favourite book, “What’s So Amazing About Grace?”, by Philip Yancey. "When it is a question of a sinner He does not merely stand still, open his arms and say, “Come hither”; no, He stands there and waits, as the father of the lost son waited, rather He does not stand and wait, He goes forth to seek, as the shepherd sought the lost sheep, as the woman sought the lost coin. He goes – yet no, He has gone, but infinitely farther than any shepherd or any woman, He went, in sooth, the infinitely long way from being God to becoming man, and that way He went in search of sinners.”

Aren’t you moved by this extreme grace? I am completely bowled over!

Extreme Grace (2) – The Extremely Compassionate and Sacrificial Shepherd

In the first of the string of three parables in Luke 15, Jesus asks a question in answer to the pharisees criticizing Him for socializing with sinners , “What man of you, if he has a hundred sheep and should lose one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness (desert) and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? (Luke 15:4 The Amplified Bible) Jesus says affirmatively that the shepherd in the story will definitely leave the ninety nine sheep behind in the desert to go and search for that one lost sheep. In reality I think no shepherd in his right frame of mind will do that because it does not make sense to leave ninety nine healthy,vulnerable and defenseless sheep behind in the wilderness to go in search of one lost sheep that may never be found or if found, could be severely injured or dead.

Jesus is very sure that the shepherd in the parable will leave his helpless flock of ninety nine behind and plunge into the dark and dangerous night outside to seek the one lost sheep which appearance He knows by heart. Jesus knows the heart of the shepherd in the story so intimately because HE IS that shepherd. Luke 19:10 tells us, “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

To Jesus’ extremely compassionate heart, even just one sheep from His fold that has gone missing will cause Him deep sorrow; He cannot bear the thought of the lost sheep in jeopardy. But you may point out that the shepherd in the story still has ninety nine left in the fold, so one missing sheep will not make that big a difference, will it? Well, it is a BIG deal to the extremely compassionate Shepherd. 2 Peter 3:9 puts it across so poignantly, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (NKJ)

When the shepherd in the story plunges into the unknown darkness to seek the one lost sheep, he has knowingly allowed himself to be plunged into an extremely dangerous situation. He has to go where the sheep has gone, tread paths that he has never gone before and venture into dark and perilous woods just to find that one lost and defenseless sheep. By doing that, the shepherd has put his own life on the line. Jesus, the extremely sacrificial shepherd, has laid down His life on the cross for us, the lost sheep. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” (John 10:11 NKJ)

When one of these sheep is lost and then found, the shepherd “lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.” There is no stern reprimand or punishment for the silly sheep who wandered away on its own but only extreme rejoicing. So extreme is the shepherd’s joy at finally finding that lost sheep that he lays the sheep which probably weighs a minimum of 100 pounds on his shoulders! The sheep doesn’t even have to walk! What extreme grace from the extremely compassionate and sacrificial shepherd! Isaiah 53:6 tells it so well, “All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.” (NLT) The extremely sacrificial shepherd bore on His shoulders all the sins of the lost sheep.

Has this extremely compassionate and sacrificial shepherd found you?

Extreme Grace (1) – The Extremely Loving and Forgiving Father

Many people are familiar with The Parable of the Prodigal or Lost Son. I believe this parable is titled such because the focus is on the son who was brazen enough to ask his aged father for his share of the inheritance and then spent all the money on wild living. He was so down and out that even the food of the pigs which he was tending looked delicious to him. It was then that he decided he should return to his father’s house since the servants there were better fed than he.

Many Christians think that the prodigal son in this parable taken from Luke 15:11-32 is the prime figure in the story because they see it from the perspective that when we sin, we should be like the prodigal son. We have to be willing to turn back to God and repent of our sins and He will forgive us.

If we look at this parable in context, it is the third parable in a string of three which Jesus told in Luke 15 – the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. I believe and Pastor Prince has also preached that these three parables depict Jesus as the shepherd, the Holy Spirit as the woman and God as the father. The lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son are all pictures of lost sinners whom the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are seeking. Just one lost soul found will call for extreme and extravagant celebration and jubilation.

In the parable of the Prodigal Son (I want to rename it the story of The Extremely Loving and Forgiving Father), the key figure or the main character is the father. When the son was a long way off, the father saw him, ran to him and embraced him with all his might. The father broke all tradition as it was not befitting for a man of his status to run and rushed forward to welcome home the wayward son who had squandered half of his fortune. The son was so overwhelmed by his father's extreme display of affection that he could not utter a word, let alone recite his prepared speech of asking to be one of his father's hired servants.

There was no stern or angry reprimand as the son expected but extreme lavishing of love and forgiveness as the jubilant father called for an extremely generous celebration. “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.” (Luke 15:22-24 NLT) What extreme grace! It was so extreme that the older son was angry and indignant “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’”(Luke 15:28-30 NLT)

Such is God’s extreme grace, it does not depend on what we have done or can do for God. Extreme grace is God’s extreme love and forgiveness for extremely sinful man.

Have you embraced this extreme grace?

Grace Means We Can Breathe Easy

Fellow blogger and good friend, Stan, has a very powerful analogy of breathing in his post, Breathe. He says, "I have been thinking over the past two days about how to explain clearly the role of our will when the word "Breathe" kept rising in my spirit.
While you were reading this post up till this very moment, have you noticed that you were and still are breathing? Were you consciously commanding yourself to breathe or were you just breathing without really thinking about the fact you were breathing?

I don't know about you but most of the time, I am not even conscious of the fact that I am breathing! I only notice my breathing when I am NOT AT REST or doing something strenuous.

Similarly, that is how Phil 2:12-13 works. When we are resting in the grace of God, our will and God's will become one; and we do, without being conscious of the fact that we are doing!"

I want to continue with this spot on analogy of breathing in my comparison of grace with works. When a believer knows that he is under grace, his walk with the Lord is like breathing, he is unconscious of self-effort, because his eyes are fixed on Christ and His finished work on the cross. I call this the grace walk. When we know that Christ has fulfilled every aspect of the law and we are in Him, we can breathe easy because the work has been done! "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." (Romans10:4 NKJ) Christ said IT IS FINISHED on the cross, which means there is nothing we can ever do to add to His prefect work. I do not have to perform or try my utmost best to fulfil the law to get into God’s good books. I am righteous (have right standing with God) in Christ because of what Jesus has done for me on the cross, not because of what I have done or can ever do. Praise the Lord! This is grace! We can be at rest and breathe easy now that we know the burden is not on our behaviour or good works, can’t we?

When we focus on the person of Jesus and His finished work, we are like Mary, Martha’s sister. Mary sat at Jesus' feet, she was not conscious of her breathing, but Martha was stressed out and "hyperventilating", blaming everyone around her for not caring that she was working so hard. Jesus said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41,42 NKJ)

In contrast to breathing easy is laboured breathing. Labour in the Old Testament is always associated with hard work and human effort, “the labor of my hands” (Genesis 31:42), “Rachel labored in childbirth” (Genesis 35:16), “hard labor” (Genesis35: 17”), “you shall labor and do all your work” (Exodus 20:9). There are many more besides these examples. In our Christian walk, if we think that we have to constantly score points with God by keeping the law or by doing good works, then we become very focused on ourselves. This is always lacking because we are imperfect and when we depend on our self-efforts to earn our right standing with God, we will become very stressed and our breathing will become laboured. Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28 NKJ)

Interestingly, the only labour that the bible says we should do as believers under the covenant of grace is to labour to enter that rest, “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” (Hebrews 4:9-11 KJV)

Are you labouring to enter into that rest?

A Promise in the Sky

By Ignwar on photobucket

A rainbow in the sky is a beautiful and peaceful sight to behold. The rainbow has been a perennial inspiration to artists, poets and musicians. It is a symbol of peace and hope. This colourful arc also has a definite place in legends and mythologies.

In the bible, the rainbow is God’s promise of His mercy, a symbol of His love and grace. In Genesis 9:12-16, God told Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and everything living around you and everyone living after you. I'm putting my rainbow in the clouds, a sign of the covenant between me and the Earth. From now on, when I form a cloud over the Earth and the rainbow appears in the cloud, I'll remember my covenant between me and you and everything living, that never again will floodwaters destroy all life. When the rainbow appears in the cloud, I'll see it and remember the eternal covenant between God and everything living, every last living creature on Earth." (The Message)

The rainbow is God’s covenant that He made with man not to destroy the world in such a way again. This beautiful arc is a witness in the sky of His grace and mercy to mankind as seen in Isaiah 54:(9-10) "This exile is just like the days of Noah for me: I promised then that the waters of Noah would never again flood the earth. I'm promising now no more anger, no more dressing you down. For even if the mountains walk away and the hills fall to pieces, My love won't walk away from you, my covenant commitment of peace won't fall apart." (The Message)

When we see a rainbow in the sky, we are reminded vividly that God has promised that He will not be angry with us anymore and His love will never depart from us. This is grace! The rainbow is a picture of His grace, love and everlasting forgiveness lavished so magnanimously on His children. God does not have to promise (He is God), but He did, in the NKJ, it says, “So have I sworn”. Wow! God SWORE, that is even greater in magnitude than a promise! God has sworn (taken an oath) not to judge us based on our sins anymore because God has judged us in Jesus on the cross. " In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for our sins.” (1 John 4:10 Amplified bible)

In Revelations 4:3 the “rainbow around the throne” is likewise seen as the symbol of hope and the wonderful promise of God’s grace and love. So if God has sworn that He will no longer be angry with us, why should we remember our sins and remind God of them? So what do we do when we fail? We should always have God’s rainbow of no condemnation in our hearts and thoughts and remember that we are the righteousness of God in Christ. We have to constantly declare with our mouths that we are blessed because God has promised that He will not reckon our sins against us. “Blessed and happy and to be envied is the person of whose sin the Lord will take no account nor reckon it against him.” (Romans 4:8 Amplified bible)

Do you have God’s rainbow of promise in your heart and thoughts?

The Throne of Grace

It is so natural and human to rely on our own effort to solve our problems. The world has this saying “God helps those who help themselves”. I used to think that it was a quote from the bible but it is not. In stark contrast to this famous quote which incidentally is from Benjamin Franklin, the bible says in the book of Hebrews, “Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].” (Hebrews 4:16 Amplified bible). Isn’t it wonderful to know that in our times of need, we can approach God boldly, without fear of rejection or unworthiness? What is even more comforting is that the throne of God is a throne of grace, not a throne of judgement or condemnation. I don’t have to score points with God just to obtain mercy and grace. The throne of grace here as defined by the Amplified Bible is the throne of God’s unmerited favour to us sinners.

Grace is the unmerited favour of God. Unmerited means I have not done and cannot do anything to earn it. It says here in this verse that we can find grace to help and this help is well-timed and comes just when we need it. Wow! Just knowing that I have God’s unmerited favour to help me at the time that is most appropriate sure lifts the burden of working for my own solutions off my puny shoulders! My part is to learn to rely completely on His grace, not on my own works. “But if it is by grace (His unmerited favor and graciousness), it is no longer conditioned on works or anything men have done. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace [it would be meaningless].”(Romans 11:6 Amplified bible)

Do you find that when we look to ourselves for a solution to the problem that we are facing, we become burdened with worries and stress? I guess this is because we do not know whether we are able to come up with the best solution because we do not have full knowledge of the situation and what will happen in the future. But praise God! Grace to help in time of trouble when we need it most can be found at His throne but do we look for this grace from God or do we look to others or ourselves for help?

Sometimes we can be so full of trying to provide the answers to a problem that we miss receiving from God. The story of Martha is a good example (Luke 10:38-42). She saw Jesus as the one “in need”; that He was hungry and took it upon herself to provide a solution, in her case, it was food. She was so busy with providing what she thought was the answer that she missed receiving from the Lord. In contrast, her sister, Mary, had the revelation that grace could be found in Jesus, that was why she sat at His feet, receiving from Him. Jesus said that “one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken from her.” (verse 42)

Have you chosen the good part?

G.O.D. - Grace On Delivery

I am still on the topic of acronyms (I love acronyms) ;). Since this blog is all about God's grace, it just seems so appropriate that G.O.D should stand for Grace On Delivery. I have embedded the link to one of my favourite songs sung by Evie so you can enjoy it too. The title is Special Delivery. The first verse and the chorus are as follows:

Special Delivery Lyrics

Verse:

Never was anyone like Him, never will one be the same Tiny babe, an Infant King, Savior, we worship and honor the power of His name

Chorus:

He came special delivery, wrapped up in love, bound by a promise, sealed by a dove And filled with the spirit, carried by grace, you knew where He was goin', by the look on His face.

The lyrics are so beautiful, especially the chorus. God delivered His grace to us in the person of His beloved Son. "And the Word became 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". (John 1:14 NKJ). Jesus came wrapped up in love and carried by GRACE. John 1:17 tells us, "For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." The law was given (implying distance) but grace CAME in the person of Jesus. He came by special delivery, born of a virgin, the perfect and sinless embodiment of grace.

In an account in Luke 4, Jesus was in the synagogue on the Sabbath day:
17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

18 “ The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”(Luke 4:17-19 NKJ)

When Jesus read up to here, He closed the book and sat down (verse 20). This is amazing, as the actual passage taken from Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1,2) did not end here. It ends with “And the day of vengeance of our God”. Jesus came to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, He came to proclaim God’s amazing grace! No more day of vengeance of our God. No wonder in verse 22, the people “marvelled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.”

God delivered Jesus to be born into this world to show us what His definition of grace is. Grace demands nothing from the receivers but it cost the Giver His Son, His Only Son, the Son whom He loved. "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32 NKJ)

Do you want to sign for the delivery?

Special Delivery - Evie

Grace – Given Redemption At Christ’s Expense (2)

As I continue to dwell on the acronym, G.R.A.C.E. and what it means to me (Given Redemption At Christ’s Expense), I realize with growing conviction in my heart that I have indeed been redeemed from many bad things for the bible says in Galatians 3:13: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." (NIV)

I have been redeemed from the curse of the law at Christ’s expense! How does one come under the curse of the law in the first place? A few verses up and it tells us clearly: All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." (Galatians 3:10 NIV). This is really scary because what it means is that if I rely on observing the law, I have put myself under a curse and if I DO NOT do EVERYTHING written in the book of law, I am cursed!

What is the book of law? John 1:17 tells us, For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (NIV). The only laws given through Moses were the Ten Commandments, which were written by God’s own finger on tablets of stone. This means that according to Galatians 3:10, if I rely on keeping these laws and I cannot do what the commandments demand then I am cursed! But praise be to Daddy God! The second part of the verse brings me great comfort and hope for it declares; “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ”.

I can rejoice and sing for grace and truth came in the person of my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ and He has redeemed me from the curses of the Ten Commandments, which demand absolute obedience and adherence from me. God in His mercy knows that I will never in this life be able with my own effort to fulfill all the demands of the law. Thank God Jesus came, to redeem me from these demands and the curses that will come upon me when I disobey the law. He came to fulfill the law so that I am no longer under law, but under grace and this has been made possible for me at Christ’s expense. “… you are not under law, but under grace”. (Romans 6:14 NIV)

This brings me to the important question of what is the curse of the law (not that I want the curse or curses) but it behoves me to find out what Christ has redeemed me from. The curses on disobedience are listed in detail in Deuteronomy 28:15-68. Wow! That is a lot of curses! But because of Jesus, NONE of these curses will befall me because He has redeemed me from the curse of poverty, sickness, disease, broken relationships, etc and etc.
Hallelujah! What a wonderful Saviour!