Oh Friends, we finally got the thunder storm promised so long ago. And it seems that the showers of blessing were so powerful and plentiful that motorists had to pull over and park till it stopped. I didn’t see that, but I surely heard Thor’s hammer violently pounding away in the heavens. And isn’t our God amazing in how one minute the sky is black with clouds and water is pouring noisily down from heaven, then next minute there are bright blue skies and brilliant sunshine, with no trace of the violent storm? Wow! But here’s something that’s not amazing or amusing; it’s Monday morning! Time to rise and shine and hit the road like Jack! Steups! And I hear many of us griping, singing the Monday morning blues. But it’s not really that bad my people. Once we’ve put on our full spiritual armour, we’ll be fine, able to handle anything that Beelzebub throws at us. For with that armour we’re protected by the grace of God, which no being, living or inanimate can thwart. Just remember that. And as promised we’ll continue looking at Bruh Paul’s statement to the Corinthians. ‘But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.’ Yesterday we defined ‘grace’ as God’s unmerited favour and heard what Bruh Paul told the Romans in regard to his mission to the Gentiles. Now hear how he imparted it to the Ephesians. ‘Wherefore I was made (became) a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual (effective) working of his power. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.’ (Eph.3:7-9) Yes Friends, Bruh Paul couldn’t have become a minister of the gospel without the grace of God, especially since he was the church’s biggest persecutor. He definitely needed the enabling, enervating grace of our Lord God to rise to that position. Yesterday we also considered that the same grace is granted to each believer to pursue his assigned task, and unlike Bruh Paul, many of us have either squandered or not satisfactorily used that grace, that undeserved favour bestowed on us to do God’s work, which is partly why the church in particular, and the world in general are in such a sad state of disrepair and disrepute. We also asked that each believer should take personal inventory of how we are using and/or abusing God’s grace and try to do better. Now we’ll look at the second half of Bruh Paul’s statement, starting with; ‘but I laboured more abundantly than they all.’ That my brethren, we all know is gospel, for nobody’s done as much or suffered as much as Bruh Paul in the furtherance of God’s Word and the building of His church. The work of all the apostles and big names who walked with Jesus pales in comparison to Bruh Paul’s labours. His missionary journeys are legendary, so is the physical, emotional and mental suffering he endured as a result of his zeal in preaching the gospel; beatings, shipwrecks, stoning, etc. You name it, he suffered it. It’s spelled out in more detail in 2 Cor.11:21-33. And the great thing about Bruh Paul is that he took such joy in the Lord and the gospel, that much of what we read today as part of the New Testament was written by him while in prison, there again showing the mysterious and contrary ways in which our God operates. And those jails were nothing like we have today, but were more like dark, damp dungeons where you were often shackled to the wall and didn’t have much room to move around. But there too, by God’s grace Bruh Paul had ample time and space to sit and think, ponder and meditate and write what the Lord was speaking to his heart. And he ends the statement by admitting that, ‘yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.’ Oh Friends, how true that is! Bruh Paul could certainly not have done and endured all he did without the hand of God present. There were just too many trials and tribulations for one mortal being to undergo without divine help; too much luck and coincidence in his spreading the gospel, beginning with his dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus and ending with his beheading in Rome. But as he told the Philippians; ‘For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his (according to) his good pleasure.’ (Phil.2:13) Yes my people, it’s God who’s working in us, and though we’re not called on to perform the superhuman deeds of Bruh Paul, Jesus does expect us to use our God-given grace much better than we are currently doing. Remember we’re His ambassadors here on earth, so others will look to us for help and guidance in His Name, therefore we ought to be sterling examples of what it means to be a believer, a Christian, a follower of Christ. And with the considerable contention and dissension in the church, we obviously aren’t doing such a good job for Christ, though we are filled with His undeserved grace. Oh my people, what is it going to take for us to wake up and realize that the enemy, the heathen, the iniquity worker is currently winning the war, while we argue and fight among ourselves? Nobody can make us do anything, each individual has to feel the call in their heart to not only get up and proclaim God’s word, but also use the grace we’ve been granted to live it and spread it all over God’s great earth. Remember Friends, that’s the mandate given to us by our Leader, Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. ‘All power (authority) is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.’ (Mat.28:18-20) Oh Friends, Christ’s grace, power, authority and Spirit are always with us. Let’s use them wisely and without delay in what He’s asked of us, for time’s fast running out. Much LOVE!…amazing grace…how sweet the sound…that saved a wretch like me…twas grace that taught my heart to fear…and grace my fears relieved…how precious did that grace appear…the hour I first believed…
SCRIP-BITS 