God, has always been His manner, to bless His children whenever they come before His presence; it has pleased him again to continue to build our minds to accept the Grace of God available for us to walk with Him. The Christian race is an individual race, and thus, there should be a burning desire to grow in Christ, with the much needed impetus borne out of a personal, deliberate and conscious effort to grow daily. Let’s get deep into the review and God bless you as you read.
Text: Galatians 2:21, Titus 2:11, Genesis 3:22, John 14:6, Deuteronomy 18:15, Luke 13:34-35, Jeremiah 7:1-4, 11, Psalms 78: 58-64
Personal conviction and determination cannot be overemphasized for a man who wants to go with God to the end. Consider what could possibly be so fiercely burning in the minds of the disciples to want to gladly die for the gospel of Jesus Christ, so much so that someone like Peter would refuse to die like his master but to be turned upside down in crucifixion. Brethren, it takes revelation, as no man would literally want to lay down his life if he does not have revelation.
The grace of God has appeared unto all men, but here comes the big question, how do you respond to it?
Let’s take a brief look at the salvation of God:
In the beginning, before the fall, there was a connection between God and man, and this connection availed man of five things from God his creator:
- Relationship
- Title deed
- Glory of God
- Dominion
- Domain
But all these benefits were withdrawn when he fell. He lost all! As part of this great loss, he was driven out of his domain; which meant that man lost hope completely of regaining his connection with God, because the very day Adam left Eden (his domain), he died ( i.e, he was spiritually separated from God).
Of note here is the fact that your domain is vital to your survival. Every creation of God have their God given domain, and neglecting your domain is embracing death. Would the big shark ever survive outside its domain? How about the mighty eagle, is its survival guaranteed outside its domain? As aquatic animals have their natural habitat in water bodies, and birds are made to fly and not to swim, so is man; he has a domain, and being in that domain ensures his survival. But Adam lost it. Adam lost the way to the tree of life, and both him and his descendants could not live up to a day before God (as a day before God is equivalent to a thousand years), evidenced by the fact that the oldest man on earth, Methuselah, died aged 969.
But glory to God for his amazing grace, who sent Jesus – the Way that man lost, even the way to eternal life! Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life, Amen!
The disciples, understanding this grace embraced it so dearly till their lives mattered no more to them. Paul, having thought so deeply about this, concluded that “nothing is able to separate me from the love that is in Christ Jesus”
And this is the same revelation we need to embrace dearly: the revelation of how hopeless man is to eternal life, without the way-paving effect of the death of Jesus, and through that sovereign grace, we gained access back to the tree of life. And that revelation should help us value the grace of God that brought eternal life to us. We should not take that for granted!
Jesus, a Prophet like unto Moses
God promised the Jews that He would raise a prophet like unto Moses, and that man is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s highlight a few other similarities:
- Moses was born when the Jews were in bondage in Egypt; in the same vein, Jesus’ birth occurred while the children of Israel were in bondage in Rome.
- When Moses was born, children were killed (in a bid to decimate the children of Israel). When Jesus was born, in like manner, children were killed, in a bid to get rid of the ” to be Messiah “.
- Moses was rejected by his people at his first coming; so did the Jews reject Jesus at His first coming.
- When the Jews rejected Moses, he went to a gentile land to get a bride; Jesus, when rejected by the Jews took a bride for himself amongst the Gentiles.
- Moses was accepted at his second coming; so would Jesus be accepted by the Jews when he comes back to them.
- Moses was the mediator of the Old Testament; Jesus is the mediator of the New Testament.
Indeed, Jesus is a prophet like unto Moses. But guess what? The Jews, who had the promise, missed him when he came. They set their minds on the big things, oblivious of the fact that God works in simplicity. Please, don’t make the mistake of letting your minds envisage how you think God would act, for His ways are not our ways. He bypassed the imagination and expectations of the Jews, and came in a way so simple that the high-minded ones missed him. God will not follow your plans, you have to follow His, if you are His. And this is one way to avoid taking God for granted.
Jesus said the Jews did not know the way of peace, that was why when he came, they disdained him, and this made them take God and his grace for granted. Ignorance and lack of revelation made them frustrate the grace of God.
Brethren, you and I need to continually examine ourselves, first because we should not be ignorant of God’s word and work, and second because we should not be familiar with God’s ways. Examine yourself, brother, examine yourself, sister!
Check your allegiance to the laws of God, is your life not frustrating the grace of God? How accordingly have you ordered your life with the grace of God to make your life a sweet-smelling savor to God?
Every child of God has a limitation, we are not without boundaries, and our prophet, William Branham said that we can cross the line. You will need to make a determination daily to follow God, even if no one is with you. Don’t enjoy the friendship of the world at the expense of eternal life.
The Three Exodus
- God taking out the Jews out of a nation, Egypt. The people of God called out of Egypt formed a nation called Israel. With the prophet Moses being the messenger.
- Jesus Christ, as a Prophet came and brought out a church out of the nation Israel, calling them out of their denominations (Pharisees, Sadducees etc.).
- Jesus Christ taking a bride for himself out of the churches of the world, through the prophet to the last church age, William Marrion Branham. (Rev. 1:20)
The one that is of utmost importance to us is the third, which pertains to God taking out a bride for Himself through the message of the hour. This is not because the bride are a group of people inherently holy or better, rather His grace (unmerited favor), which counts us worthy to be among the called out ones. This Grace is still made very much available, as God is still calling out His own out of the creeds and doctrines of men. It is expedient that we locate the way to partake of the tree of life, and God in His benevolence has sent forth a message to restore us to that Way, even Jesus Christ. This grace that is made available to us cost God his only begotten son. He was ridiculed, left his glory above and became without beauty on earth just for you. What then is your attitude towards this grace? Are you convinced of it? Are you concerned about it? Are you trading this graceful salvation with the cares of life?
Brethren, God’s grace does not abound in unseriousness, no! Not in sin, not in worldliness. You cannot continue in sin and expect grace to abound. Can you speak like Paul and say that you have not frustrated the grace of God?
It’s not time to be weary, or to think of taking a rest. The young prophet from Judah, after having experienced the supernatural, the manifestation of God’s great power, he felt he had done enough, he was entitled to a rest. And so he decided to take the much needed rest under a tree, and the rest is history. Truly, you might feel you have served God, but you have not done enough until you lay your sword at his feet. Oh Christian, seek not yet repose, remember that the devil always takes advantage of our unguarded hour. So there should not be a time when we think we need to rest, the journey is still far, and the one who will be crowned is he that endures to the end.
Brethren, forge ahead, press on, let God be willing to multiply his grace in your life because you’re not frustrating it.
May God revive us! Amen!