The GRACE of GOD and The Graces of The Holy SPIRIT

WHAT is the GRACE of GOD?

J.I. Packer in "Knowing GOD" wrote that "GRACE means GOD's LOVE IN ACTION toward people who merited the opposite of Love. GRACE means GOD moving Heaven and earth to SAVE sinners who could not lift a finger to save themselves. GRACE means GOD sending His Only SON to The CROSS to descend into Hell so that we GUILTY ones might be RECONCILED to GOD and RECEIVED into Heaven. 'GOD made CHRIST Who had NO Sin to BE Sin for us, so that IN CHRIST we might become the Righteousness of GOD' (2 Corinthians 5:21).

"The New Testament knows both a Will of GRACE and a Work of GRACE. The former is GOD's ETERNAL Plan to save; the latter is GOD's 'good work IN you' (Philippians 1:6), whereby He CALLs you into a Living Fellowship with CHRIST (1 Corinthians 1:9), RAISES you from Death to Life (Ephesians 2:1-6), SEALS you as His own by the GIFT of His SPIRIT (Ephesians 1:13-14), TRANSFORMS you into CHRIST's image (2 Corinthians 3:18), and will finally RAISE your body in Glory (Romans 8:30, 1 Cor 15:47-54).

"WHAT is the PURPOSE of GRACE? Primarily to RESTORE our Relationship with GOD. When GOD lays the Foundation of this restored Relationship, by FORGIVING our sins AS we TRUST His SON, He does so in order that henceforth we and He may LIVE in Fellowship. And what He does in RENEWING our nature is intended to make us CAPABLE of, and ACTUALLY to lead us into the exercise of Love, Trust, Delight, Hope and Obedience GODward -- those acts which, from our side, make up the REALITY of Fellowship with GOD, Who is constantly making Himself known to us. This is what all the Work of GRACE aims at -- an EVER deeper Knowledge of GOD, and an EVER closer Fellowship with Him. GRACE is GOD drawing us sinners closer and CLOSER to Himself.

"HOW does GOD in GRACE prosecute this purpose? NOT by shielding us from assault by the World, the Flesh and the Devil, nor by protecting us from burdensome and frustrating circumstances, nor yet by shielding us from troubles created by our own temperament and psychology -- BUT rather by EXPOSING us to ALL these things, SO as to OVERwhelm us with a sense of our own INadeqacy, and to drive us to CLING to Him more closely.

"This is the ULTIMATE reason, from our standpoint, WHY GOD fills our lives with troubles and perplexities of one sort or another -- it is to ENSURE that we shall LEARN to HOLD Him fast. The reason the Bible spends so much of its time reiterating that GOD IS a STRONG Rock, a FIRM Defense, and a SURE Refuge and Help for the weak -- is that GOD spends so much of His time bringing home to us that we ARE weak, both mentally and morally, and dare NOT trust ourselves to find, or to follow, the RIGHT road.

 

"GOD wants us to feel that our way through Life is rough and perplexing, so that we may LEARN thankfully to LEAN ON Him. Therefore He takes steps to drive us out of SELF-confidence to TRUST IN Himself -- in the classical Scriptural phrase for the SECRET of the godly Life, to 'WAIT ON The LORD.'" (J.I. Packer, "Knowing GOD" -- pp.249, 250)

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones in his sermon "The Fruit of The SPIRIT" -- expounds that Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-control are GRACES of GOD. With the apostle Paul, authentic CHRISTians can JOYfully and gratefully say, 'By the GRACE of GOD, I am WHAT I am' (1 Corinthians 15:10), for by The Holy SPIRIT dwelling withIN the Born-Again Child of GOD, the Fruit of The SPIRIT -- these GRACES of  GOD -- are being cultivated and grown by GOD Himself so that CHRIST-likeness may be manifested more and more in GOD's children.

LONGSUFFERING is a GRACE of GOD that is certainly much needed in TOday's troubled world. The COVID pandemic, economic woes, political havoc, social unrest, family and relationship problems -- the REALITIES of Life seem overwhelming. What happens to LOVE, JOY, PEACE when these stress-FULL pressures come like a flood?

Dr Lloyd-Jones "challenges the listener to examine the REAL fruit exposed when a person is under pressure. A TRUE CHRISTian will demonstrate the Fruit of The SPIRIT. As a CHRISTian faces SUFFERING, TRIAL, DISCIPLINE, and PERSECUTION, it will reveal the nature that is being built withIN. Do trials and sufferings produce PERSEVERANCE, LONGSUFFERING, and HOPE? When one is cut, do they bleed the Fruit of The SPIRIT? When they are reviled, do they revile in return? Does the CHRISTian entrust themselves to GOD who judges justly? Do the pressures of Life reveal a GROWING Patience, Kindness, and Meekness that is GROWing in the Soul?" (from "The Fruit of The SPIRIT" by Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones -- https://www.mljtrust.org/sermons-online/john-1-12-13/the-fruit-of-the-spirit/)

LET us carefully and prayerfully EXAMINE our own life to see whether the pressures of Life REVEAL a NEW creation IN the Soul -- OR a Soul IN NEED of NEW Life. \o/

The LIGHT is The TRUTH -- The WORD Himself

WHY is the World as it is TOday? WHAT is the source of the World's current mayhem, the present chaotic culture, the rock-bottom REASON for the cause of all the UNhappy events, volatile UNrest, UNmistakable DARKNESS that can be plainly discerned by any REASONable MIND?

IGNORANCE -- Ignorance of TRUTH. Ignorance of REALITY. Ignorance of the TRUE Nature of GOD and of the TRUE nature of his own SELF.

Man's PRIDE of his intellect, PRIDE of his education, PRIDE of his ethnicity -- PRIDE of SELF -- has made him IGNORANT to his own IGNORANCE that he himself is IN DARKNESS and IS DARKNESS himself.Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached that the world is as it is today because of IGNORANCE -- ignorance of WHO GOD IS, ignorance of WHAT man REALLY IS. The world is as it is today because of the DARKNESS in the world itself -- and the IGNORANCE of man NOT KNOWing his OWN IGNORANCE -- NOT REALIZING that the DARKNESS is withIN his own HEART, his own MIND, his very own deepest SELF."The world is in a current state of DARKNESS that has pervaded EVERY aspect of human history since The FALL. Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones notes that this DARKNESS is twofold in that it is not only a state of IGNORANCE that mankind is IN, but that the DARKNESS is also withIN man's HEART, as manifested by his LOVE of SIN and HATRED of CHRISTian Doctrine. However, GOD has sent Believers The Holy SPIRIT, who through enLIGHTening the Believer's eyes to The TRUTH about GOD and the GLORY of His Salvation, enables them to be LIGHTs themselves in the persistent DARKNESS." (The LIGHT Shines In The Darkness -- by Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones -- https://www.mljtrust.org/sermons-online/john-1-5/the-light-shines-in-the-darkness/)

The LIGHT is CHRIST JESUS. He Himself proclaimed, "I AM The LIGHT of the world. IF you follow Me, you won't have to walk in Darkness, because you will have The LIGHT that leads to LIFE" (John 8:12).

 

 And what is enLIGHTenment but TRUTH-fullness? And the REAL FULLness of TRUTH is only found in the very Person of CHRIST JESUS Himself. HE is The WAY to The TRUTH. HE is The LIGHT that leads to The LIFE with RESURRECTION POWER, that is lived out before the HOLY Presence of GOD, in His Kingdom of MAJESTY and GLORY.

 

CHRIST JESUS Himself proclaimed, "I AM The RESURRECTION and The LIFE. Anyone who BELIEVES INto Me will LIVE, even after dying" (John 11:25).

Do you have The LIGHT that leads to The LIFE, to The RESURRECTION? Do you KNOW this very LIGHT that pierces the Darkness -- this TRUE LIGHT that the Darkness can NOT spiritually discern or comprehend, and can NEVER extinguish or overcome?

The LIGHT of TRUTH is CHRIST JESUS Himself. The LIFE to Heavenly RESURRECTION is The LORD JESUS, SON of GOD. Has The LIGHT pierced the Darkness of your own SOUL? Do you have The LIGHT -- CHRIST JESUS Himself as your WAY to The FATHER?

 

Do you BELIEVE the Word of The WORD Himself -- The WORD Who IS GOD made Flesh -- Who left His GLORY and MAJESTY with The FATHER in the Heavenlies, to come into His OWN Creation as a helpless human Baby, to grow up sinless and blameless, yet rejected and persecuted by His own people, so that He can pay with His OWN shed BLOOD, the just penalty and punishment of SIN-natured men and women like you and me by Crucifixion -- the utterly most horrific method of execution ever devised by SIN-full man.

Do you have The LIGHT of JESUS shining withIN your soul, withIN your heart of hearts? IF so -- are you shining your JESUS-LIGHT in the Darkness of 2021?

When one has The LIGHT, he or she is IN CHRIST -- with EVERlasting JOY unspeakable! \o/

("The LIGHT Shines IN The Darkness" -- by Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones -- This post was written after listening to the sermon several times. Though it was preached in October 1962, the timeless TRUTHs expounded are SO very relevant today, 2021 -- especially with the very challenging trials that so many individuals, as well as the nations of the world, are experiencing. Dr Lloyd-Jones' message is one of HOPE, despite the REALITY of today's UNcertainties.)

CHRISTmas 2020... STILL joyFULL... STILL wonderFULL!

CHRISTmas is ALWAYS a time to remember and to CELEBRATE the INdescribable LOVE of GOD -- no matter what trials GOD has allowed in our lives. Because GOD has done the utterly INcomprehensible act of Agape-LOVE, those who welcome this FACT of HIStory are JOY-filled and thank-FULL. The TRUTH is that "The SON of GOD became The SON of Man so that sinful sons of men might become sons of GOD" (John Calvin).

GOD IS LOVE!

CHRISTmas 2020 may not be the merryEST for the very many affected with the tumultuous events of this year. But for those IN CHRIST JESUS -- those who've put their TRUST in His Person (WHO and WHAT He IS), those who are united with Him through their NEW Birth by the workings of The Holy SPIRIT -- CHRISTmas is ALL the time a GRACE-Full and truly WONDER-Full holy-day to enJOY, even if not the merryEST due to today's UNcertain circumstances. TRUE JOY-Fullness comes from KNOWing that GOD is NOW our FATHER Who LOVES us as His children -- no longer our JUDGE Who condemns us as His enemies, through FAITH in His SON Who died for sinners like you and me, rescuing us from the HELLish EVERlasting separation from GOD and ALL His infinite GOODness -- but adopting us into GOD's Heavenly Family forEVERmore!

GOD SO LOVED!

 

 

CHRISTmas is EVERY day for the CHRISTian -- for he (or she) has been made part of GOD's ETERNAL Family, adopted as a child of The FATHER, SUPERnaturally LOVED by Him as a brother or sister of His own SON LORD JESUS, and he (or she) is ever Presenced by The Holy SPIRIT's INdwelling through The Risen SON of GOD. CHRISTmas for the Twice-Born is LOVE manifested as their daily REALITY -- each moment, each breath, is of GOD's GRACE, received with childlike TRUST, with grateful hearts and sincere praises for The ONE True Living GOD. For the Born-Again peculiar people of GOD, it has been GIFTed to them the highest privilege of calling the Creator of the Universe, FATHER... Papa, Tata, Abba. What UNspeakable, AMAZING, INdescribable GRACE!

CHRISTmas is HIStory -- the FACT of the INcomprehensible TRIune GOD, the INfinite BEing Who has ALWAYS existed, the SOVEREIGN Creator and Master of Creation becoming a Man of flesh and bones and blood like His own creatures! WHY? For WHAT purpose? Because GOD IS LOVE. Because sin-DOers and sin-THINKers like you and me NEED The SAVIOR CHRIST JESUS. GOD IN CHRIST purposely left His Majestic GLORY and Heavenly Splendor to incarnate as a Man into this messed up world to RESCUE messed up souls like you and me. Through FAITH in the fully accomplished RESCUE-Mission of The MESSIAH, The CHRIST sent of GOD -- penitent Believers of The LORD JESUS are brought back into a fellowship of intimacy, of a face-to-face relationship with GOD, even sonship as adopted brothers and sisters of The KING of kings -- The LORD CHRIST JESUS!

EVERlasting LIFE! is IN CHRIST -- GOD's CHRISTmas Gift to ALL who TRUST in Him and humbly receive His SON as their LORD and SAVIOR.

CHRISTmas, to those who BELIEVE and TRUST in The TRUTH of GOD's Word -- is John 3:16 made REAL and very PERSONAL: "For GOD SO (in THIS way) LOVED me that He sent His One and Only SON, His very Begotten and most Beloved -- to receive upon Himself the just penalty and righteous punishment for ALL my SINs, my acts of REBELLION against GOD, my PRIDE of SELF which is satanic idolatry, my putting a false god above The TRUE GOD. i was a HELPLESS SLAVE to SIN -- but my REDEEMER bought me with HIS most precious Blood, setting me FREE from GOD's Anger and Condemnation forEVERmore! HalleluJAH for CHRISTmas! \o/

'For to us a Child is born, to us a SON is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His Name shall be called Wonderful COUNSELOR, Mighty GOD, Everlasting FATHER, PRINCE of Peace.' (Isaiah 9:6)

Do you wonder at times if you can TRUST GOD and HIS Promises? CHRISTmas tells you, “YES! You can!” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones teaches us in this text from Isaiah 9:6 that we must THINK MORE HIGHLY of the Gift of CHRIST we are given from The FATHER. A GIFT tells us about the one who gives as well as the one who receives. When we consider the GREATness of GOD GIVING us His SON, we understand three things. First, we must MAKE MUCH of GOD and not only CHRIST; The GIVER IS AS GREAT AS The GIFT. Second, we must be in VERY GREAT NEED if we are GIVEN SO COSTLY a Gift. Finally, our response must be one of AMAZEMENT, GRATITUDE, and PRAISE. GOD LOVES us SO MUCH that He GAVE us THE GREATEST Gift that could be given! Hold fast to that when you struggle to TRUST GOD’s Promises. CHRISTmas is the GUARANTEE that we CAN TRUST GOD’s GOODness. (CHRISTmas Day message from Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones -- "A SON is Born, A SON is Given" -- https://www.mljtrust.org/.../a-son-is-born-a-son-is-given/)

The INdwelling Holy SPIRIT through our LORD JESUS illumined my mind and uplifted my heart through Pastor Dean's edifying TRUTH-message of CHRISTmas -- the REALITY that those who have put their FAITH in the SAVING Work of The SON of GOD are living out Romans 8:1-39 -- 'There is NOW NO CONDEMNATION for those who are IN CHRIST JESUS!' GOD, because HE is now The FATHER and not The JUDGE to those who LOVE Him and BELIEVE in Him and His SON JESUS -- GOD's ULTIMATE Gift -- GOD is now our Heavenly FATHER Who disciplines, not punishes, His erring children. GOD The FATHER is NO LONGER angry with His own peculiar children, but He LOVES us tenderly and eternally, even as He corrects and trains us into CHRISTlikeness. GOD is FOR His children -- our FATHER (Who was IN CHRIST reconciling us to Himself) is NO LONGER AGAINST us! HalleluJAH! \o/ (Notes from Pastor Dean Roberts' CHRISTmas message, begins at 45:00 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58jAza6bv4k)

Have you believed GOD's GOOD News? Have you changed your mindset about Who and What GOD IS -- His UNapproachable HOLINESS -- and come to unflinching acceptance of your own UNholiness, understanding that NO ONE can stand in GOD's Glorious Majesty without the PERFECT Righteousness required of GOD to enter into HIS Kingdom? Have you turned FROM your sins and turned TO GOD for His INTERVENTION and RECONCILIATION and TRANSFORMATION? Then humbly RECEIVE His ULTIMATE Gift this CHRISTmas -- CHRIST JESUS, SON of GOD, LORD of lords, SAVIOR of repentant sinners like you and me -- GOD's Sacrificial LAMB Himself, Who shed His BLOOD at the CROSS as FULL Payment for ALL our SINs. By GOD's GRACE alone, through FAITH alone, IN CHRIST alone -- are we sinFULL men and women fully JUSTIFIED, and made fit for our forEVERmore LIFE of Glory in Heaven. \o/

There was GREAT JOY in that city!

"TRUE JOY is the BY-PRODUCT of BELIEVING The TRUTH." (Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

'There was GREAT JOY in THAT city' (Acts 8:8). YET -- there was NO CHANGE in the CIRCUMSTANCES in THAT city (San Diego, Castillejos, Matei, Tijuana, Naselesele, San Ysidro, Naqara, Cotabato, Hillcrest, Manila, North Park, Nadi, Labasa, La Jolla, New York City, etc).

There was NO CHANGE in the people's finances, NO CHANGE in their health, NO CHANGE in their housing situation, NO CHANGE in climate and environment, NO CHANGE in the government, NO CHANGE in politics -- there was NO CHANGE in that city's OUTward circumstances.

THAT city's JOY was from each individual's INward CHANGE wrought by his/her BELIEF INto The TRUTH -- CHRIST JESUS Himself. "It is CHRISTianity ALONE that can give us REAL JOY!" Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones makes this EXCLUSIVE claim --and i myself PROclaim this REALITY.

The system of the world canNOT give anyone JOY -- TRUE, LASTING JOY -- though it tries by offering its version of "joy" (fleeting happiness) by temporarily alleviating a person's misery through giving the STUFF of the world -- i.e., the government legislating TRILLIONS of dollars of financial boost to corporations and individuals, SELF-deluded politicians promising free health care and education, humanistic man-made religions (belief systems of endless reincarnations, ultimate Nirvana, Muhammed), drugs, psychology, humanism (SELF-help/psychoanalysis, SELF-effort, SELF-esteem).

The world's "joy" doesn't last -- and "there's ALWAYS a fly in the ointment." The STUFF of the world gets old -- and wars, pestilences, pandemics, aging and certain death are the plain REALITIES of Life. ESCAPEism (the pleasure mania, alcohol, drugs, SELF-deception) for a while brings "joy" -- but sooner or later REALITY sets in. There is NO REAL CHANGE in the OUTward CIRCUMSTANCES that is the NORM in THAT city... THAT individual.

SO HOW was it that "THERE WAS GREAT JOY IN THAT CITY" of Samaria, 2000+ years ago? THAT city's (the persons') JOY was INward -- it was by GOD-given FAITH, in BELIEVING the TRUTH, in TRUSTING INto The TRUTH Himself -- CHRIST JESUS, The LORD over ALL Creation, even LORD over Death and the Grave!

TRUE JOY, JOYous abandon, JOYful exultation in simply being ALIVE is the REALITY of TRUE CHRISTian JOY. It is DEEP, INward JOY that canNOT be erased or suppressed by the OUTward daily circumstances that beset each person.

TRUE JOY is from GOD -- not from man, not from man's philosophies. TRUE JOY is INternal and therefore IMMUNE to EXternal CIRCUMSTANCES. 'The JOY OF The LORD is my Strength' (Nehemiah 8:10), 'for the JOY that was set before Him, JESUS ENDURED The Cross' (Hebrews 12:2), 'there was GREAT JOY in that city (Acts 8:8).

There was GREAT JOY in THAT city of Samaria because the people BELIEVED Philip's preaching of TRUTH -- the TRUTH of The GOOD News (NOT the kind of FAKE NEWS proliferated by TOday's media), the HIStorical FACT of JESUS, GOD IN CHRIST, Who left HIS GLORY to come into THIS miserable world 2000+ years ago, to bring into REALITY the ONLY way of SALVATION OUT of THIS miserable world -- and INto EVERlasting GLORY with the TRIune GOD in the Heavenly Realms.

CHRIST JESUS Himself IS THE Way and THE Truth and THE Life to/with The FATHER in Heaven. The LORD JESUS is The CHRIST sent of GOD to SAVE sinners from SIN, Satan and SELF. CHRIST JESUS IS LORD -- indeed HE IS LORD even over Death and the Grave. The LORD JESUS IS The WAY to EVERlasting TRUE JOY! \o/

(The above are my personal notes from Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones sermon on Acts 8:8 -- "GREAT JOY In That City" -- https://www.mljtrust.org/sermons-online/acts-8-8/great-joy-in-that-city/. This particular sermon explains WHY i have this INward JOY that manifests itself despite the OUTward circumstances of daily Life. When my zumba friends at Border View YMCA ask me from where i get such JOYful energy, i simply answer "THE JOY OF The LORD IS MY STRENGTH." When the folks at Ocean View Church or Westview Bible Church see the JOYful OUTward EXpression of my INward JOYfulness -- they know it's but the INward LIFE of The Risen LORD JESUS manifesting OUTwardly by the OUTworkings of the INdwelling Holy SPIRIT. That's WHY (as painted on my OUTer wear) i can JOYfully and TRULY PROclaim my INward FAITH -- 'TO LIVE IS CHRIST, TO DIE IS GAIN' (Philippians 1:21) -- read https://rl-n.blogspot.com/2010/04/rlns-last-expression-her-last-gazillion.html. My purpose in THIS lifetime, in THIS city, in THIS body -- is to GLORIFY GOD and to enJOY HIM forEVER, so that whether i LIVE or DIE tomorrow -- in ALL things, in WHATever i do, in WHATever the circumstance, my HEART's deepest desire is to please The TRIune GOD alone with the ALL that HE has gifted me by and through the INfinite RICHES of His Amazing GRACE and the INfinite WISDOM of His INfallible TRUTH -- The LORD JESUS CHRIST Himself, FULL of GRACE and TRUTH! \o/