Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: My favorite picnic was the one where we were at Goddard park years and years ago, the rain, and it started raining and we had to make a decision.
[00:00:10] Speaker B: They were packing up.
[00:00:11] Speaker A: There were. There are. I mean, a ton of us out there, food galore, and it's raining and it's not going to stop.
And we had to come to the decision, are we going to leave or are we going to stay? We decided to. We didn't just stay, though.
[00:00:27] Speaker B: We stayed and played.
[00:00:28] Speaker A: We played for football.
[00:00:30] Speaker B: Yep.
We all had some sort of pulled muscle this year. We have softball.
[00:00:37] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:00:37] Speaker B: We have volleyball. We have some family stuff that we want to do. That way we have everything with the kids. Kickball, stuff like that. But it's going to be fun. I mean, the. The competition doesn't change. Somebody's getting a butt.
[00:00:47] Speaker C: These young boys never beat us.
[00:00:49] Speaker A: We have a tradition of. How long have we been doing this? 20 years.
[00:00:53] Speaker B: It's been a long time.
[00:00:54] Speaker A: I've been doing this for. I've been doing the trick pit church picnic for 20 years. But we've probably only been doing the.
[00:01:00] Speaker C: Volleyball is like 16, 17 years ago.
[00:01:02] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:01:03] Speaker A: And we've. And we made it 25 and up.
[00:01:06] Speaker B: Or 30 and up.
[00:01:07] Speaker A: 30 and up versus 29 and down. And they've never beaten us. They've beaten us a game, but never.
[00:01:15] Speaker C: Yeah, never. Never the series.
[00:01:18] Speaker A: So the challenge is out there for y' all young bucks.
[00:01:20] Speaker C: They can't do it. Yeah, they can't do it.
[00:01:23] Speaker A: Listen, before we had my ankle and you're.
[00:01:26] Speaker D: I'm not.
[00:01:27] Speaker A: Whatever.
[00:01:27] Speaker C: I can't do nothing.
[00:01:28] Speaker A: Yeah, you can't even play.
[00:01:29] Speaker C: No, I'm not playing. I can't play. It's sad.
[00:01:31] Speaker D: But you know what?
[00:01:31] Speaker C: I got my. I got my chair. That is beautiful.
[00:01:34] Speaker B: He's gonna be repping.
[00:01:35] Speaker C: I'm gonna be.
[00:01:37] Speaker A: Give him a whistle.
[00:01:38] Speaker C: I'll do that.
[00:01:39] Speaker A: That thing is gonna go off every second. I'll sit there and go.
[00:01:43] Speaker B: We'Re gonna have fun. It's gonna be.
[00:01:45] Speaker A: It's gonna be good. But let's start this podcast on grace. Let's start the show.
[00:01:52] Speaker B: Sam.
Hey, what's going on, everybody? We want to welcome you to the Discover Life podcast where we explore the depths of faith, purpose, and transformation.
I'm your host today, Minister Lewis, and we're diving into a powerful message of grace. There is no better message. That incredible life changing gift that we get from God. Joining me as always, we have all the way at the end, Pastor Axel.
[00:02:51] Speaker A: That's that guy.
[00:02:51] Speaker D: Hey, what's going on?
[00:02:53] Speaker B: Right? I Have Deacon Eliud.
[00:02:55] Speaker C: What's up? What's up?
[00:02:56] Speaker D: What's up?
[00:02:56] Speaker B: And as always, leading the way, we have Bishop Herson.
[00:02:59] Speaker A: God bless you, everybody. So glad you're on.
[00:03:01] Speaker B: And together, we're going to unpack what grace truly means and how it can transform our lives. So for the first segment, we're going to dive into an introduction to. To grace.
Let's start with the core scripture. So John 1, 16, 17, it says like this, out of his fullness, we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Bishop, what does this passage tell us about the relationship between law, the law, and grace?
[00:03:41] Speaker A: It highlights the fact that the law points to our need for grace. If you understand what the law is, God gives the law because he wants his people to be holy. We talked about it just the other day. God's purpose for your life is that you be holy.
All of what God is doing in your life is to make you holy, because God can only have a relationship with you if you are holy. Be holy and is. I am holy, says God. But God sometimes paints with the broad brush of time.
So if you look at the story of man in time, you have the creation, you have the fall, then in there, you have the broad brush of grace through the law.
[00:04:26] Speaker B: Right.
[00:04:27] Speaker A: If you could keep the law.
Yeah, you know, all right. But you can't keep the law. So you have to make sacrifices every year. So because of that, that showed us our need for grace. We couldn't be good enough, so an innocent animal had to be sacrificed. Jesus comes and he doesn't just fulfill the law.
Jesus comes and he offers us grace.
Abundant, unmerited, and full of truth.
So God's this grace isn't just about supplementing to the law. It is the heart of the gospel, and it is what transforms us from the inside out.
[00:05:07] Speaker C: It's good.
That's so good.
[00:05:09] Speaker D: Somebody the other day was asking me about, what's the definition of grace?
[00:05:13] Speaker A: Yep.
And.
[00:05:16] Speaker D: And I started thinking of a definition like, you know, when someone asks you, what does this word mean? So I'm trying to think, but then I said, grace doesn't really have a definition because grace is somebody, you know, because just, just like we read in, in, in. In the verses, that truth and grace come through through Jesus Christ.
So the display of grace is that, you know, that sacrifice in the cross. So it's, it's.
It's amazing how, how grace really works in our lives when we let it and let's let's go into the nature of grace. It's that unending gift that we have.
And one of. One of the ways that we can describe grace. It's like a river that never dries.
When I read this, it's one of those things you just want to keep talking about and keep talking about it. It's given freely, generously and without limits.
It's like, think of it as a feast that never ends, a treasure that never depletes.
And the most beautiful part of it is it's not based on what we do. It's a gift straight from the heart of God.
So we're always trying to work for things, and this is just a gift.
And that's where the struggle begins for most of us, because we're used to working for things. We're used to boasting ourselves and say, oh, I got this because I did this, I did that.
But grace is just like. Just receive it. It's an unmerite gift that we get.
[00:06:56] Speaker A: We have a reflex.
We have a reflex that we want to protect ourselves.
We want to provide. We want.
It's natural for us to want to. And this is where we come in this hard crash with grace. Because God knows that we want to, but we can't.
[00:07:17] Speaker C: Exactly.
So when we go to the scripture, Ephesians 2, 8, 9 reminds us, for it is by grace that you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourself. It is the gift of God.
[00:07:32] Speaker A: That's right.
[00:07:33] Speaker C: Not by works so that no one can boast. It's all about his unmerited faith. And I look at this and I'm like, there's nothing that we can ever do. It's nothing we can do to earn this.
It's given to us because he loves us.
Grace is a gift freely offered without expectation of repayment.
There's nothing.
Grace will chase after you.
That's what God does. He loves us. His love is so great that he'll chase after you. There's nothing we can do to earn it.
[00:08:07] Speaker B: I think it's important. The scripture that says that he didn't come to abolish the law, but he came to fulfill it. And when it says that he came to fulfill it, it's because it was something that we could never do. In all of our attempts, we get attempts for the rest of our lives to earn the grace necessary, but it would never be attainable. So he came and paid it. And that's the unmerited part. And that's also the part where he's like a river that doesn't run dry. So if it's been paid, it's been paid now, and it's been paid for eternity. So in order for me to ever experience it, it's like a river that never runs dry. No matter what time I go back to that river, I'm always getting something fresh. And so it's such a wonderful thing for us to understand the grace that we get. We did not earn it. We do not deserve it.
And even if we tried, there's no price we could ever pay. There's nothing we carry worth enough. And so what he did is Jesus came down, died on the cross for our sins, and now the ransom has.
[00:09:11] Speaker C: Been paid, and we can't boast about it because it's not, we're not being the givers. He's the giver. He gives it to us without us even asking for it.
[00:09:22] Speaker D: That's right.
[00:09:23] Speaker A: Now, let me ask boys a question.
Some people say, well, no, there's an extreme grace out there that people try to take advantage of.
I know that this is not in your notes.
It's a question that I want to pose out there, and then we'll talk about it. Is there such a thing as extreme grace?
[00:09:43] Speaker D: There is. I think, I think people, some people take grace as a license to, you know, do whatever they want. And, and, and, and that's the extreme of it. And that's the wrong way of using.
[00:09:57] Speaker A: Grace, no matter what people try to do. Grace, by its own definition is extreme. Yes, it's extreme. It is a river that doesn't end. That's extreme.
Right. And so we Pentecostals, we, we look at grace and say, ah, no, no, you're taking advantage of grace. You're taking grace too far.
And I know that there's a point where if you go back into your sinful nature, you know, some people say grace has a limit.
I, I, I struggle with that.
[00:10:34] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:10:35] Speaker A: I struggle with that because the way grace is defined to me is that it's never ending. And if I accept Jesus as my Lord and personal Savior, the question is, if I backslide.
[00:10:49] Speaker C: Yeah, I get it.
[00:10:51] Speaker A: Am I lost or am I in a state of backsliding?
[00:10:55] Speaker B: I think that that's the reason why we have to go back to the scripture. So if the scripture says that he did not come to abolish the law, it means the law is still relevant. And so there is something about the law we're supposed to still be adhering to. The only thing he came to do was to fulfill It. So because there was an impossibility for us in the end, which is in the full price of it, he had to come and do that. Peace. But the law is not now discarded. The way we live in holiness and the demand on our lives is still important. And so, yeah, I think that it ultimately comes back to that last question, which is, okay, so what if there's a part of my life where I begin to struggle and I start walking back into an old pattern of life? Well, the question is, what is your relationship like with Christ? Is there sin involved and no Christ involved, or is it that now you're just really struggling within yourself, but you still have an undired love for Christ?
[00:11:57] Speaker C: So I want to just bring something to this conversation. What if, what if you reject it?
Because there could be a part where you reject it. When you reject a gift, I always tell somebody, when somebody's blessing, you, you receive the gift because now the other person loses his blessing. So when you reject a gift, you reject the blessing.
[00:12:23] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:12:24] Speaker C: So, so can we.
Can a person reject it? And then that's where maybe they lose grace.
[00:12:30] Speaker B: That's usually.
[00:12:30] Speaker C: I'm not, I'm not, I'm not saying.
[00:12:32] Speaker A: They could, but here's, here's, here's how a lot of theologians explain that if you lose it, you never really had it.
[00:12:41] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:12:42] Speaker A: Because.
Because how can you lose something that's never ending?
[00:12:47] Speaker B: Yeah. And I think that that's the separate part of the argument is, are you losing it or have you forfeited it? Right.
[00:12:53] Speaker A: So did you ever.
[00:12:54] Speaker B: If I. We'll go back to that, to the, to the analogy. I can give you this phone, and it's a phone, and you can go and use it as a phone for. Temporarily, because you got that high. Oh, wow, I love this new thing that I got. And it works really wonderful. And then after time, you can go, you know, my relationship with it has changed, so now I'm going to use it as a paperweight. But there can be a day which, which I believe. And, and this is why I love these kind of conversations, right?
Where I go, hey, I know you gave me this a long time ago.
I'm not interested. I don't believe in the power it carries anymore. I want you to take that back.
And there is where I think that this conversation starts taking that deep dive is have you ever had it or did you choose to give it back?
That's the big conversation.
[00:13:42] Speaker A: And my view, if you really had it, you would never let it go.
[00:13:50] Speaker C: That's right.
[00:13:51] Speaker A: That's my view. And, and I know that there's some people that used to preach and they used to do this, and then all of a sudden they backslide and then all of a sudden they're gone. And, and people wonder, how did that happen?
How. How did that. Well, God used them. Well, it's clear God's going to use whoever he wants in your name. We rebuked. We get. Get out of here. I didn't even. I didn't know you.
[00:14:12] Speaker B: That's right.
[00:14:13] Speaker A: Right.
[00:14:13] Speaker B: So.
[00:14:14] Speaker A: So it's good. Grace is this amazing gift that once, I believe, once you truly accept it, no one can take it from you, not even yourself, if you've truly received it.
[00:14:27] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:14:28] Speaker C: That's it.
[00:14:28] Speaker B: What about that scripture that we talk about in.
In. In Growth track? Right? It's not so much about if you're going to lose or gain the salvation, but once you've received it, what will be determined is how you enter eternity.
[00:14:41] Speaker A: Now, that's the issue. And by the way, next week's episode is going to be on sanctification.
And when we talk about that, we'll hit this.
[00:14:50] Speaker B: Because grace is beyond the lookout is a good episode.
[00:14:54] Speaker A: Here's the important thing. Grace isn't just to cover your sins. Grace has a second function, another gear.
[00:15:01] Speaker C: That's right.
[00:15:01] Speaker A: Grace sanctifies you.
So if we're talking about behavior, the first thing you get is when you get saved, you are regenerated.
You receive. We call that being born again.
Right? You're not purified yet. You're just born again because you accepted Jesus Christ. The second thing you get is sanctified. No, no. Second thing you get is justified.
Justified means because I'm changing. I need God to cover my sins because I'm in the process of changing. I'm messing up. I'm still sinning. I'm not perfect. And I may not ever be perfect, but I'm striving toward it.
[00:15:43] Speaker B: Right?
[00:15:43] Speaker A: Sanctification is a separate work. And when sanctification begins, that's when God trains me to walk away from an evil lifestyle and a lifestyle that doesn't please him. That's what the second gear of grace. It empowers you to change.
It's not just the power to be forgiven, it's the power to be changed. And that, my friends, is when we talk about grace. True grace doesn't leave you where you were.
That's why I say if you really got grace, you're going to change. You're going to. Your life is going to be transformed both by God. The stuff that only God can do. And then there's some stuff that we got to do. I got to separate from evil.
[00:16:25] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:16:26] Speaker A: I got to do things on my. My side for sanctification.
[00:16:30] Speaker B: That's good. So let's move into our third segment, which is Grace in Action, the parables and. And stories. So let's look at some of the stories and illustrations in the Bible that. That show us grace. Right. So, Bishop, let's talk about the story of the prodigal son, one of our absolute favorite stories.
[00:16:47] Speaker A: It's a powerful story. Hopefully, you know the story. A young boy decides, dad, I don't want to be here with you anymore, man. We had a preacher on. On Youth Service.
Thank you. Danny Gonzalez, is it?
[00:17:01] Speaker B: Dennis.
[00:17:02] Speaker A: Dennis Gonzalez. Good Lord. That boy, he came and preached and, and he said, he said, he said he told his dad, dad, I want your stuff. I just don't want you.
[00:17:15] Speaker D: What a slack.
[00:17:17] Speaker A: And so he. And so the father gives him his inheritance. He goes away, lives a crazy lifestyle, and then ends up penniless and friendless. And he ends up working for somebody, feeding pigs. And the Bible says that he looked at that pig food and he desired it. That's how low he got.
And then he decides to come back. Now, this parable, when he's coming back, we know that the father starts running toward him. Now, while the specific act of the neighbors breaking the vases at child's feet or children's feet isn't described in details in the Bible. If you look at the rabbinic and folkloric trad, it describes this tradition where community members would come to children who have disgraced and brought honor to their family. They would bring vases and they would run. When the child would come, they would come running out of their houses and take these vases and smash them at their feet.
And then when the smash, when they smash the vases at their feet, they would say, may God do to you what we have done to these vases. May God break you because you have brought shame. So these are people who are racing to judge, racing to crash, racing to makesh tavel.
But the father, he was watching because he wanted to give grace, not makesh tevel.
So he. When he sees his son, he starts running. And you can almost see in this custom where he is trying to outrun those who want to give judgment to his son. They want to judge the prodigal son. But the father runs faster. The father gets there faster. The father gets there first, and he says, this is my son who has Come home and all those people with those vases got to turn back because the father's love covered the son. And all of the judgment that comes from all those people that want to tell you what you deserve and what part of hell is specifically designed for people like you.
The grace of God gets there first. So in that story, we see that God interrupts the, the people that would want to rush to beat them rush to judge him. And he comes and says, no, no, no, that's my son.
Nothing's changed. In my heart, he's still my son, man.
[00:19:51] Speaker B: We can, we can, we can talk about that just for a minute, because especially in, in, in. In the old church, I think we did a really good job at when, when somebody was missing for a while and they came back breaking pieces. First question is like, oh, where you been? So you've been living in sin, so what the heck, you know, and, and, and, and we can take a little bit of ownership, you know, if you're on, on the other side of this video and you're thinking to yourself, man, that's what it kind of feels like when I go back into the house, you know, Let me tell you something.
I think that's one of the things that we've done so well at vdot Church. I really do. I believe vdot Church is one of those safe places for people to return, and the first thing we do is go, we missed you.
[00:20:33] Speaker C: That's right.
[00:20:34] Speaker B: I'm so glad that you're back in the house. I'm so glad to see you again.
And we value you, truly, for just your value. Not for what you bring, not for what. It's not about what you give. It's just you. Your presence here means something, and who you are means something. And so when I think about the father's response, I think that the church's response should be a replica of the Father's response is that when you come back to the house, if you haven't been able to for some reason and the enemy's lying to you, saying, don't walk back in there. You're full of shame, you've made a mistake, you've done whatever else you have. As a matter of fact, I think what you should be doing is running back to the house of God and, and, and notice that we're going to be running back to you as well.
[00:21:18] Speaker A: Tell him about the. Tell them about the judgmental brother.
[00:21:21] Speaker C: When he seen that his father was lavishing him and preparing this feast and giving him a new coat and everything, he. He's he finds himself in a place where. Wait a minute.
I've been here the whole time. I never left. I deserve the party.
So in other words, he's now rejecting not only his brother, but he's rejecting his father. He's rejecting that his brother was broken and he needed family.
And sometimes we do this. We reject them when they need us the most. You know, you said something about that. He said, just give my money. I reject him. I think sometimes we do that with God. We want everything that God can offer us, but we don't. We want to reject them on where he wants us to be, as living a life holy before him, you know? So grace is that we're going to love on you no matter what. We want to restore you, we want to bring you back, we want to let you know you didn't lose anything.
He might have just lost time, but he didn't lose the love of the family.
[00:22:24] Speaker D: Yeah, because you can live with grace and not have a relationship with grace.
The older son, the brother, you literally.
[00:22:34] Speaker B: Had grace at your disposal.
[00:22:36] Speaker D: He had it all the time, but he never took advantage of it and use it the way it was designed for.
[00:22:43] Speaker A: His father said, all of this is your son, the fatty calf. All of it is yours.
[00:22:52] Speaker B: And that's the cheapest version of it. The cheapest version is all the things that you're asking for are those things, but the thing that gave it to you is me. You're missing that. And I think our nation falls into this every time there's a catastrophe. It's like, okay, we can make a rush towards God because we need something. And then when there's a catastrophe, after the years that we decided to walk away, we go, God, where were you? And he's like, I've been here this whole time, but you don't want me. You only want what I offer.
[00:23:21] Speaker A: That's right.
[00:23:21] Speaker C: And a lot of us, a lot of us feel like that prodigal son. A lot of us feel like, you know what? I don't deserve what my father has for me anymore. I deserve to be eating where the pigs eat. I deserve to be lowered down to the lowest part. But that's not what grace does. Grace brings you back and says, your family, this is yours as well, Pastor Axel.
[00:23:43] Speaker B: And what about the woman caught in adultery?
What about that story?
[00:23:49] Speaker D: That's another story that we see grace all over it. But then we see the law too, because we see people there in that story, you know, wanting to stone, you know, wanted to those rocks. But we see how real, how incomplete the law was because they wanted to follow the law, but they weren't really following it because they just wanted to stone one of them instead of, you.
[00:24:15] Speaker B: Know, both of them parties.
[00:24:17] Speaker D: And, and the Lord, the Lord said both needed to be stoned and grace stepped in.
Jesus stepped in and he said, all right, whoever is without sin, throw the first rock. And what happens? They all started, their conscience started just, you know, making them feel guilty. And they said, hold on, I stole a chicken last night. I, you know, lied the other day and you know, I did this. And all of a sudden Jesus like, where are your accusers, woman? Because if we read the story, Jesus gave her grace but also sent her out with a warning.
[00:24:56] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:24:57] Speaker D: You know, that's the two parts.
[00:24:58] Speaker B: That's the justified then sanctified.
[00:25:00] Speaker D: Yeah. So we see grace doing its work, but telling you don't stay on that path because grace wants to transform you and make you someone else that, that, that can live in that grace.
[00:25:15] Speaker C: It's crazy to think that we can, can judge somebody when they're caught, but hide our sin where they don't see it. But we're ready to beat on somebody, we're ready to tear them down, but meanwhile ourselves, we're not. We don't deserve the same. We deserve the same beating. We the same, that we deserve the same punishment. The men didn't get punished. Something she was with men, how come they wasn't getting punished?
[00:25:45] Speaker A: This really does remind us though that grace isn't based on your past. It's based upon the mercy and the love of God. So are you there where you feel like you don't deserve it? You're caught and you're gonna be stoned.
That's where Jesus steps in.
You know, the Bible says that he wrote something underground. And one of the first questions I'm going to ask him, why don't you write down on the ground to get all those men to drop those stones?
[00:26:18] Speaker D: According to Pastor Val.
[00:26:20] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:26:20] Speaker D: Okay. She said he wrote the guy's name.
[00:26:25] Speaker B: He was right.
[00:26:26] Speaker C: Yeah, he was putting them out on blast.
[00:26:30] Speaker B: Yeah, he was. All the things out there, they were like.
[00:26:33] Speaker A: No, they were in the crowd.
[00:26:36] Speaker C: They were probably in the crowd.
[00:26:38] Speaker D: He wrote the guy's name.
[00:26:40] Speaker A: That's hilarious. Oh my goodness.
[00:26:41] Speaker B: But listen, I think the other, the thing about that though, right, is I think just because the Bible tells us what he did do, right, he had the fatted calf, he threw the party, doesn't mean that there wasn't a follow up conversation later that said, hey, so this is what you experienced, right? Let's talk about what your experience was out there. It doesn't mean that that didn't happen. You know, I had a conversation recently with my son, and it was like, I was very quick to forgive, and I was very purposeful about this. And then we had to talk about it. He goes, oh, I don't know. We were gonna have to still talk. And I said, but then if I don't talk to you about it, I'm not actually helping you. I want you to see that I'm gonna forgive quickly on this one. But I want you to understand that there's a way to not need to experience this again later.
[00:27:26] Speaker A: Yep. You know, sometimes people will think that I'm sorry means it's over. No, no, no.
I'm sorry opens a conversation and dialogue. But here's what you do by just saying I'm sorry, and that's it. You. You. You steal my opportunity to tell you, this is how you made me feel when you did this, this, this and this.
And if there's going to be restoration, there needs to be that conversation.
That conversation is necessary.
Right. And I think that's the next conversation in the spiritual realm that the Holy Spirit and grace has with our soul. With our spirit.
[00:28:04] Speaker C: That's right.
[00:28:04] Speaker A: You must change.
[00:28:06] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:28:06] Speaker C: It's that light that comes into our soul.
[00:28:10] Speaker A: I'm healing you. Go and sin no more.
[00:28:12] Speaker B: That's right.
[00:28:13] Speaker A: That's the command.
[00:28:14] Speaker B: So we've heard a couple of stories. Tell us a little bit about the thief on the cross.
[00:28:18] Speaker C: This is a good conversation.
The thief on the cross, you know, Jesus promised him paradise.
That's grace in its purest form.
It's undeserved. It's limitless. It's available to everyone, even in our last moments. I call this courage under pressure. This is what I call it, courage under pressure. Why do I say that? Because this thief was on the cross. He deserved it. Right. And he deserved it. And he sees the other thief mocking him. And he sees a man that is innocent. And so coverage is that I need to speak on my behalf so that he can know that I love him or that I need him. I need him. So he says, he didn't do anything to us. He's innocent. He says, remember me.
Remember me when you come for your kingdom.
Here's the greatest thing about grace in that moment. He says, no, no, no, you don't have to wait. You're going to be with me tomorrow in paradise. He doesn't even wait tomorrow. He says, you'll be with me this very day. This very day. So how powerful it is. Yes, in your last moment, you have time. But why would you even take the chance when God has given you the gift? Now take the gift and then take and embrace the power that grace has so that you will be able to transform your life in such a powerful way. Because it turns you from somebody maybe who has anger and bitterness and turns you into this person whose love and forgiveness and grace pours out of you as well.
You know, it's that powerful. It's big.
[00:29:58] Speaker B: Because it actually hits on the fact that Christ, God doesn't judge the outer appearance, he judges the heart. And so we go back to the question about salvation. Did you ever really have it? Well, the question is not up to God. The question is actually yours, to yourself. Did you mean it?
Does he know that you meant it? Because this thief on the cross, it was very clear to, to Christ, this dude is telling me what he's truly feeling. This is an experience that he's had with me and he knows he's been touched by me.
[00:30:28] Speaker A: If you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart, that's how, that's, that's the two step process to salvation.
[00:30:36] Speaker C: That's the power. Because sometimes we look at it in this situation, how grace is so great that he didn't get baptized, he didn't get discipled.
All he did was believe. Like you said, all he did was believe with his whole heart. And who knows his heart better than God?
[00:30:53] Speaker A: Because the work of salvation is complete.
[00:30:55] Speaker C: That's right.
[00:30:56] Speaker A: Within itself. Salvation needs nothing more than faith in Christ.
[00:31:01] Speaker B: Come on.
[00:31:02] Speaker A: Nothing more. That's the work of salvation. It is complete. Justification, sanctification, they're a part of it. But the moment you're saved, that is an incomplete work that can't be undone if it happens.
[00:31:17] Speaker B: Truly, I think that's why it's important for us to remember in our last moments. When you say in your last moments, all we mean is when there's no more time left to do other things, when you can't run to the ritualistic things, when you can't run to the things that you think are the stepping stones to salvation, it reminds you that Christ is all you need. That if you have Christ in your heart and you profess him as your Savior and you repent of your sins, turn from your wicked ways. And that turning from your wicked ways is a decision, it's not always the actions that follow. Because if you decide it for real, you will make those changes after that decision has been made. It's your point of no return. So let's go to segment four. Grace as a catalyst for growth.
Now, grace isn't just forgiveness, it's also the transformation process as well. In second Peter 3:18, we're told to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Deacon, how does grace help us grow in godliness?
[00:32:17] Speaker C: Well, grace is like a teacher and a trainer. It guides us to say no to ungodly and yes to righteousness.
It's about character development, shaping us into his likeness. In Titus 2:1112, it speaks of grace, training us to live self controlled and godly lives. Right.
[00:32:39] Speaker B: Good.
[00:32:40] Speaker C: And so this highlights the importance of living a life that reflects God, grace and is anticipating the future glory of Christ.
So here we are as we get it. We're anticipating the power of grace. How we can use grace to glorify God because at the end it's going to glorify God. And that's why we need this. And if we start to live right, first of all, once you start living right, you start to feel better about yourself.
Your attitude changes, your mindset changes and you start to really embrace love and that love is shared now. And now you can see the way Christ sees us when we're broke and goes, no, it's okay, I got you. I'll lift you up. I'll give you power to get through it. I'll give you the strength to fight.
You know, so sometimes that's what we have to do. This is what grace does that's good.
[00:33:39] Speaker A: And that, that, that living right, you need to know doesn't come from your strength. If you could do it, you would have.
[00:33:46] Speaker B: He was on the cross.
[00:33:48] Speaker A: That's why you need Jesus. This is why you need the power of grace. Because grace is that power. It, it's a trainer. Think of it as going to the gym. Grace is your trainer.
He's going to help you not to ignore the exercises that you don't like to do. He's going to make you do the things that you don't want to do so you can be strong.
He's going to help you. He's going to give you self control.
He's going to give you that ability to be like Christ. That's what grace. Some people just call it the Holy Spirit, but it's a complete work. Listen, it's not just the Holy Spirit, it's a work completed by Jesus, a gift given to us from, from the Father through the Son into our lives. Yes, the Holy Spirit helps Us. But grace is that thing that comes to us, that gives us that power.
[00:34:39] Speaker B: See, it's like the analogy of I can go to the gym and I can experience the gym while I'm there, but if I leave and I don't take it with me, I don't change. I can, I will literally come back the same weight. I can come back the same unhealthy, I can come back the same and have brand new experiences, but yet never see the transformative power that it carries. If I don't take it with me home, that's good.
[00:35:03] Speaker D: It really doesn't matter where you find yourself right now. And if you're hearing us today, whatever day it is, it doesn't matter where you are. The man that was on the cross, he was in a. In a bad place, and grace reached him.
So doesn't matter how deep the hole is that you're in, it doesn't matter, you know what's going on. What matters is that grace is available to you. And that's yelling out today that it's. It's there, it's available to you. It's extreme, it's unending, it's. It's. It's like that river that never ends because it's there.
So take advantage of it, receive it, because it changes. It transforms your life. It sustains you in this journey. Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 12, 9, it says, My grace is sufficient for. For you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.
Grace empowers us to persevere. It helps us in those moments where you can't say no. Grace helps you because it's that teacher. It trains you. It tells you when to say no, when to say yes. And, and it helps you in those tough moments in life because it's a journey that you will experience.
And in that journey, graces there available to you. It helps you. It empowers. It's. It's the most powerful thing that you will encounter.
And if you embrace it, it will help you in your walk with Christ. It really does. I mean, it helped. It helped Joseph to say no to that woman that wanted to sleep with him. And Joseph said, grace, help me.
And grace helped him run, run out of that room. And so many other stories in the Bible where we see race helping, grace, helping so many of those, those men, those women of God. And, and if you embrace it today, it will do the same to you.
[00:37:03] Speaker A: This verse, 2nd Corinthians 12, 9, is God's response to a plea that Paul's make Paul Makes take this away from me. You ever prayed that, oh, Lord, take this away from me.
I can't beat it. I can't handle it.
I can't live with this.
You know, Paul's talking about a thorn. Right. And I love this answer, but for a long time, I interpreted this to mean, okay, you're never going to change. And because you can't change, grace is there to cover you. Thank you.
[00:37:42] Speaker C: Grace.
[00:37:42] Speaker A: That's how I understood that for a long time.
But as I've matured, I understood that maybe God was saying something more. Maybe he was saying, I know that you're feeling weak, but grace makes you strong when you're weak. Grace is the trainer when you're feeling weak. It's not that. It's okay, I'm going to cover you. I don't think that that's what it's necessarily saying. I think what really the real depth here is God is saying, no, I've given you grace to make you strong when you're weak.
[00:38:13] Speaker B: That's it.
[00:38:13] Speaker A: So that you can overcome what you think you can't overcome, my God. So that you can beat the challenges that you feel have defeated you. No, my grace is enough for you to overcome.
[00:38:27] Speaker B: One of the things that we're reading right now in an amazing book called In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson, he says faith isn't just learning new things, it's learning how to forget old ones.
[00:38:41] Speaker A: Right?
[00:38:42] Speaker B: Right.
When we walk in this walk of faith, you know, I believe that part of you getting better is when you're spending your time with God. Right. Yes. You're building up spiritual disciplines. Yes. You have to do the you parts, and I think that that's important. But don't end your prayers with what you need God to do for you. Right. And how he can empower you. I also believe that you can become fully free from something that you think could, you couldn't be free from.
[00:39:10] Speaker A: I believe.
[00:39:10] Speaker B: And so you have, you know, old images of an old lifestyle you used to live. I believe that you can speak to God and you can have those things cast out of your mind that you don't go back to that every time you're triggered by something. I believe that God can make you so free that your new mind, the new you, that is the redeemed you, starts looking forward into what it is that God has for you and not backwards reminiscing or thinking back on the sinful life that you had. And you can be absolutely free because of grace. Your weakness is simply the catalyst that amplifies what his grace does in your life, in your experience.
[00:39:51] Speaker C: Oh, my.
[00:39:51] Speaker B: Let's go to segment five, walking in grace. Practical application. So this is what you can do. Okay, so how do we walk in this grace daily? Bishop, what's your advice to us?
[00:40:04] Speaker A: Stay rooted in the word of God and keep your eyes on Jesus. Not men, not church, not your teacher, not your.
[00:40:14] Speaker B: Your therapist.
It's Jesus.
[00:40:17] Speaker A: It's the word of God and Jesus. There'll be people that can help point you to Jesus. But if you're dealing with people who are pointing you to church, who are pointing you to worship, who are pointing you to this or that, but it's not Jesus. They're doing a disservice to you.
You need to stay rooted in the Word. You got to learn the Word and you got to keep your eyes on Jesus. That's how you can rely on grace every single day.
In decision making, in your struggles, in your victories. It's about surrendering and trusting that his grace is enough.
It's going to strengthen you. It'll cover you where you can, but it'll strengthen you. It won't leave you weak. That same bully that came and beat you up last year, when it comes around this year, you're going to beat it.
[00:41:08] Speaker C: Come on.
[00:41:09] Speaker A: Because you will have spent time with grace. Grace will have trained you. Grace will have built you up so that you can defeat the things that used to defeat you.
[00:41:19] Speaker C: And remember that grace is for everyone.
There's no one beyond its reach.
We're called to extend that same grace to others. Forgiving, loving, and restoring grace is but glory begun and glory is but grace perfected.
So let me just read something for you, just if you didn't get what I just said, because I want to give somebody some hope here today.
So grace comes in the soul as the morning sun into the world.
First a dawning, then a light. And at last the sun is his full and excellent brightness.
Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God's grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God's grace that is powerful in itself. For whoever's out there and feels that no one loves you, that you don't have a way out. I'll tell you now, Jesus is the way out.
The grace that he has.
He's not going to tear you down. He's not going to reject you. He's going to embrace you. He's going to love you with everything he's got. And he's going to show you a new way of living, a way that pleases him. And the benefit is for you.
[00:42:43] Speaker B: Yeah, that's good. Listen, guys, grace is the gift that keeps on giving. It's transforming us, guiding us and calling us to live more like Christ. It's a bold, abundant, unending, and it's for everyone. Let's embrace this grace daily and share.
[00:42:59] Speaker A: It freely as we walk and we live. In this grace.
The call is to move closer to the glory of God that he has prepared for us. Amen.
[00:43:09] Speaker B: Amen. Amen. Listen, guys, thank you for joining us today on the Discover Life podcast. Remember, God's grace is always enough. Walk in it, grow in it, share it. Until next time, be blessed. Stay and stay, discovering the life God has for you. Listen, before you go, I want you to do me three favors. I want you to, like, share and subscribe. Make sure that you stay connected to the content. And you know what? I'm gonna add one more. One more favor. If you can comment. Ask a question. We'd love to answer some questions. Maybe there's a curiosity you have. We'll take an entire episode of Just Answering Questions if you've got them. Why? Because we're the church and we want to make sure that we can help you to discover life through Jesus Christ. We love you and we'll see you next time.
[00:43:53] Speaker C: Amen. Bye, everybody.
[00:43:54] Speaker D: Thanks for watching.
[00:43:55] Speaker C: Next time.
