The Promise of Grace

“Without grace, even the New Testament becomes the Law.” -Pastor Tracy Harris

Everyone knows about the ten commandments – these make up the foundation of what is called “The Law.” If you're not sure what they are, let's take a quick look:

#1 – No other God's before Him

#2 – No graven images

#3 – Don't take God's name in vain

#4 – Remember the Sabbath Day

#5 – Honor your father and mother

#6 – Don't murder

#7 – Don't commit adultery

#8 – Don't steal

#9 – Don't bear false witness

#10 – Don't covet what belongs tosomeone else.

Following these commandments bring righteousness and blessing on someone's life – disobeying them will bring condemnation and judgment. But we have already established this fact; no one can keep these commands. Ten simple rules to follow, and we've all failed miserably.

At least we're living in the New Testament, right? On this side of Calvary, God's grace has freely forgiven us for breaking His original commandments. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace...” (Ephesians 1:7). Now that we've been freely forgiven of all sin, there's no more commands for us to follow, right?

Actually, would you care to guess how many commands are in the New Testament? Ten? Twenty? One hundred? Would you believe that there are one thousand and fifty new commands for the Christian to follow? If we were lost with only ten to keep track of, we must be completely hopeless with more than a thousand! There's no way we could even remember all of those – let alone keep them! Doesn't this put a believer in a worse place than they were before?

That would certainly be true if we had to keep these commands by ourselves. But we don't have to do this alone; we've been given something that makes it all possible – grace! Let's look again at Hebrews 12:28, “...let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably...” We can only serve God by grace, not by trying.

When we try to obey God, we're depending on our flesh to do what's right. This is what Paul calls “the weakness of the Law” in Romans 8:3. The reason the trying to keep the law never works is because your depending on your weak flesh to follow God's commands. But if you read the end of Romans 7, you'll discover that the flesh will never be able to follow God's commands.

This is why we need grace, to empower us to serve God and obey his commands. Look at what Paul says about grace in 2 Corinthians 12:9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Where the flesh is weak, God's grace brings power. The result of this empowering grace can be seen in Psalm 119:32 “I will run the course of Your commands, for You shall enlarge my heart.”

When you try to obey God, you'll fail. But when you step into the spirit and have faith in God, you'll find sin losing it's grip on you! Let's take another look at Romans 8, this time at verses 2-9:

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit...”

The only way to keep the righteous requirements of the law is to stay in the Spirit – by fully trusting in God's grace.

And what is it we trust in? Put your hope completely in this one truth: God has never given a command without also giving the power to keep it! Let's take a quick tour through scripture and illustrate this point:

When God commanded Moses to move forward – He gave the power to split the sea.

When God commanded Joshua to capture the Promise Land – He gave the power for victory.

When Jesus commanded the man with the withered hand to stretch it out – He gave the power to be healed.

When Jesus called Peter out on the sea – He gave the power to walk on the water.

Now look at Lazarus. If there was any man that was weak in the flesh, it was this one! He had been dead for four days – and Jesus commanded him to come out of the grave! Lazarus didn't have the strength to get up...he was dead! But what happened? The command carried the power to obey it! This is what grace does for us, it empowers us to obey the commands of God – any command.

This is the power of grace – Grace turns any command in scripture into the power to obey! As you read the words of scripture, remember this; any command you read is actually a promise to empower you to obey. Put your faith in God, and He will enlarge your heart to obey every word He says...This is the Promise of Grace!

Dear Abigail...

April 16, 2013

Dear Abigail
     Hi baby girl! I can’t believe your mom is almost eight months pregnant with you already! It seems like just yesterday we were looking at three positive pregnancy tests, laughing and crying all at once. That day changed everything for us! Even though we waited for you for two long years – we still had a hard time believing it at first!

     And now you’re almost here. I’m sure you know by now how much I love your mom – you hear it all the time! And I’m sure that you also know that we argue sometimes – but that’s nothing to worry about. As much as you’re moving around right now, and as strong-willed as you already seem to be, I’m sure we’ll have our own arguments too! But I hope you’re already finding out that no one in this family goes to sleep angry!

     Sadly, I have no idea what kind of world you’re going to grow up in. Horrible things are happening all around us even now. Where this world is going to go from here, I don’t even want to know! You’ll go through some hard times. You’ll experience some things that my generation never experienced. You’ll know other kids whose families are being torn apart – or were never there in the first place. You may even experience some very dangerous situations. But I promise you this; the same God that watched over your grandpa and grandma, the same God that protected and guided your mom and dad will watch over you! We’ll teach you how to hear His voice – and if you’ll pay attention, He’ll always place you at the right place at the right time! God will bring you out of every problem on top!

     God is always faithful – and we are going to show you this from the moment you’re born. I told you before that you’ll probably have friends with destroyed or nonexistent families. But I also promise you this, you will never have to go through that! You can rest assured that you will always have your mom and your dad. I’m going to do everything I can to be an example of God’s faithfulness. I’m going to love your mom the way Jesus loves us. I promise you this – you will never have a stepmom or a stepdad…I love your mom too much for that! Besides, there’s no way I’m ever going to let some other person raise my beautiful little girl!

     You’re not going to be normal, Abigail. Why? Because normal isn’t good enough for you! It isn’t normal anymore for girls your age to live with their mom and dad. The normal right now is to have a mom and a sperm donor. (I’m trusting that it will be decades before you even know what that term means!) It isn’t normal for kids to have parents involved in their life. And it certainly isn’t normal for them to have a mom and dad who are committed to raising them up spiritually. But that’s what we’re going to do!

     Even as a girl, you’ll know the Bible better than most Christians – because we’ll be reading it every night. Before you hit your teenage years, you’ll know how to talk to God…and how to hear Him speak to you! You are going to do amazing things for the Kingdom of God, Abigail. I can’t wait to see His calling on your life start to show up!

     It’s important for you to know that I’ll do everything I can to guard that calling on your life…even if it means chasing away some of people who want to be your “friends”. If you’ll trust us, your mom and I will show you what kind of people are worth having around – and what kind of people aren’t worth the time of day! And…many, many years down the road…I know you’ll meet the righteous young man who will take you by the hand and lead you into the next level of God’s call on your life! From that day on, the two of you will walk with God together. Now, I don’t even want to think about that day! But I hope you’ll trust our input on that decision too. If you’ll pay attention to the way I treat your mom, you’ll see how your own husband (…in the very distant future…) should treat you.

     Above all, know this…I love you Abby! I’m going to do my best to teach you, to guide you, and to protect and provide for you. And when the times come that I don’t know how to help you, please let me take your hand and lead you to the One that has all the answers! After all, He loves you even more than I do!

Looking forward to seeing you for the first time,
Your Loving Dad

Don't Look, Don't Touch!

Exodus 20:14 “You shall not commit adultery.”

This is pretty clear, right? Any married person having sex outside of that marriage covenant is a clear violation of God’s law. Make no mistake about this. It doesn’t matter how your spouse is treating you, it doesn’t matter if you’ve “fallen in love” with someone else, it doesn’t matter what you want or what you feel - any sexual relations outside of your marriage covenant is wrong!

We live in a society that places little to no value on commitment and way too much value on emotions. Your covenant with your husband or wife wasn’t intended to be based on emotions. Your love - and your fidelity - should be based on what you promised, not what you feel at any given moment.

Adultery is serious. It’s devastating. It destroys lives and tears families apart. It carries from one generation to the next like a disease. Many thousands of men and women, even people who were strong in faith and used mightily by God, have fallen to the sin of adultery...and God hates it!

The consequences of adultery are tragic.

Proverbs 6:32 “Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; he who does so destroys his own life.” Do you see that? Adultery destroys your life.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers...will inherit the kingdom of God.“ Adultery keeps you out of the kingdom of God.

Proverbs 6:34 “For jealousy is a husband’s fury; Therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.” There are always consequences of adultery - In this world (with other people) as well as the next (standing before God).

Listen to what Hebrews 13:4 says, “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” There is no question here, God will judge adulterers. Why does He hate adultery so much? Because He intended marriage to mirror His relationship with the church. You see, marriage isn’t a two-way contract - it has three partners. You, your spouse and God. God is always faithful to us, He never fails us. He keeps His promises and His covenant and He expects us to do the same! This is the type of covenant He created marriage to be, faithful and unconditional!

For most people, it’s obvious that going outside of your marriage covenant for sexual gratification is wrong. We can see that there are drastic consequences for adulterers. But what we don’t seem to realize is that God’s command against adultery doesn’t only apply to our actions - it is also binding on our very thoughts. Jesus said this in Matthew 5:27-28: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.“ Wow...Jesus just told us that a lustful look is going to be judged the same way as a physical act!

God has poured out His grace on us and has empowered us to live a godly life. Because of this, He expects us to go further than mere outward obedience. Now He expects obedience from the heart. He expects us to do more than abstain from illegal relations - now He expects us to guard our hearts and our eyes. Job had insight on this even before Jesus came. This is what he said in Job 31:1 “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman.”

There is one more side to adultery that often goes unspoken. This is the spiritual side of adultery. You see, when we were born again, we committed our lives to God. We entered into a covenant of grace, commitment, and loyalty. When we made Him Lord, we made a promise to serve Him exclusively. But so many of us break this promise and go outside of our covenant with God to find satisfaction. We break our commitment and begin to “cheat” on God for the thrills of sin. Listen to what James tells us in his letter: “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.“ Whenever we take God’s plan and passion for our life, and mix it with the way the world does things - we become spiritual adulterers.

While I’m writing this, I know that there will be people who will nod their head and mentally agree with every word - but then go right back to what they were doing before. So listen to this closing statement from Romans 2:22, and take it to heart: “You who say, ‘Do not commit adultery (those of you who agree with everything you’re reading right now),’ do you commit adultery (in action, in thought, or in spirit)?”

The Life Of A Believer - Seizing The Promise

Deuteronomy 31:3-6 “Yahweh your God Himself crosses over before you; He will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua himself crosses over before you, just as Yahweh has said...Yahweh will give them over to you, that you may do to them according to every commandment which I have commanded you. Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for Yahweh your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

After the Exodus, after turning back at Canaan’s border, and after spending forty years camping in the wilderness; Israel was once again at the threshold of their promise. None of the original whiners and complainers were there to see this day. Not one of the ten fearful spies were still living, nor were any of the people who listened to them. Out of that entire generation, only two men remained - Joshua and Caleb. Every other person standing at the edge of the Jordan River that day grew up in the desert.

These were the group of kids that watched God show Himself on Mount Sinai. They were the little ones who grew up seeing God’s glory over the tabernacle. They knew nothing else but the miraculous provision of manna every day. They watched the older generation drop like flies in the desert when the consequences of their sin arrived. Over and over again they learned about the time when their parents almost made it into their promised land. And as they grew up, they learned that they were the ones who were going to possess what their parents turned away from.

Now, Moses was on the way out and Joshua was on the way in. Now they stood at the edge of what God had waiting for them all along. This time, they were prepared. Listen to their words to Joshua, “All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we heeded Moses in all things, so we will heed you. Only the Lord your God be with you, as He was with Moses. Whoever rebels against your command and does not heed your words, in all that you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and of good courage.” They weren’t playing around this time! They were willing to execute anyone at the slightest hint of rebellion against Joshua. Why? Because they refused to lose their opportunity to possess what was theirs!

Joshua truly did lead them to victory. Seven Canaanite nations were destroyed or subjugated. Thirty of their fortified cities were taken and one of them (Jericho) was leveled and abandoned. In a single battle, Joshua and the Israelites wiped out five Amorite kings with their armies. After that they proceeded to conquer southern Canaan. After this, no fewer than fifteen kings from the north joined forces and attacked Israel. Joshua wiped out their combined forces - then proceeded northward and captured all of their land.

A beautiful summary of Joshua’s leadership is found in Joshua 11:15 - “As the Lord had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses.”

Now, a lot of people have the idea that the Promised Land is symbolic of Heaven. That’s why we hear songs about “crossing over the Jordan” and coming to the pearly gates. But let me ask you, does a lifestyle of battle and conquest sound like Heaven to you? Why did things occasionally go wrong for the Israelites (think Ai) if they were supposed to be symbolizing Heaven for us? Canaan wasn’t a picture of Heaven, it’s a picture of the promises that God has made to us here on Earth!

Just as it was for the Israelites, our promises have to be fought for. The Israelites fought seven nations of people for theirs - but Ephesians 6:12  tells us that we are not fighting against flesh and blood. Our enemies aren’t natural, they’re spiritual. They are the spirits of this world’s system that are trying to keep us out of the promises of God on this earth.

When the Israelites were led out of Egypt, they were led by a savior. They didn’t have to do a thing to be rescued except apply the blood of the Passover. That is just like salvation. We were saved without having to do anything except receive the blood of Jesus to wash away our sin.

When the Israelites were in the wilderness, they were faced with their worst enemy - themselves. They struggled with their own craving, discontent and rebellion. Still, Moses led them patiently and God never left them. Even when they refused to go where He was taking them, God still had mercy and took care of them. Most Christians are in this place right now. They are still their own enemies. They’ve never been victorious over their flesh. They’ve continued to crave the things that they were delivered from. And they’ve only known Jesus as their Savior.

But there’s more to this life than our salvation and our struggle with our flesh. Jesus wants to become more than our Savior. If we ever want to obtain the promises of God that the kingdom of darkness is trying to keep us out of - we have to recognize Jesus as our Commander. You see, even though we were saved freely by grace - in battle, obedience equals victory. Only when we obey the Word of our Commander will we start to live a victorious Christian life.

Are there promises in your life that you have yet to possess? Are you still finding yourself to be your own worst enemy? Have you been living a less-than-victorious life? Then, my friend, it’s time to move past receiving Jesus as your Savior, and receive Him as your Lord! Read His Word, recognize His commands, and follow His lead. Then, it won’t matter what spirit tries to keep you from His promises! Let everything in this world go to pieces, but you’ll stay on top!

Pastor Tracy Harris says it this way, “When you make God’s enemies your enemies, He’ll make your battles His battles.”