Catch the Wave and Ride It: Partaking of the Grace of God
Dr RJ Sing, 1 hr 21 min
Originally recorded as “Partaking of the Grace of God”
Sermon outline
God's grace is always available to His children, but only those who understand it, grow up, stay free of offence and follow the Spirit actually partake of it instead of frustrating it.
Main text
- Galatians 2:21
- Philippians 1:7-11
Opening
Before the sermon he teaches that happiness depends on circumstances but joy is a force from the Spirit, and ministers in holy laughter, explaining that God's Spirit can be 'transmitted in the air' and received by faith, not by feeling. He prays for the sick, shows that some do not know how to receive, and gives a word of knowledge for a woman with a womb problem, whose pain leaves. He then reminds the church that church is not for perfect people and picks up the teaching on grace he began on Tuesday.
Church is for the perfecting of the saints: grow up
No Christian is perfect; people come to church to be perfected as the word is taught and the Spirit ministers. Maturity is not measured by age or grey hair but by hunger and the time you give to the word, prayer and being mentored. Spiritual babies are selfish, cannot be instructed or corrected, and talk badly about whoever corrects them; grown-ups can be spoken into, can discern good and evil, and help others.
Illustration: He would like to dress a full-grown man with a moustache in a nappy with a bottle in his mouth, to show what God has to deal with in a grown man who is a baby in the spirit.
“Church is not for perfect people.”
- Ephesians 4:12
- 2 Corinthians 3:18
- Hebrews 5:12-14
Grace is available, but you must understand it to ride it
Grace is always operating in a believer's life, but it does not work at its best without understanding. Many Christians see the grace of God but do not partake of it, like a starving man who keeps saying 'thank you' to a meal he never eats. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord; the Hebrew 'chen' speaks of beauty and favour and the Greek 'charis' gives us 'charisma'. Grace works even while you sleep: the unexplained discount, the suit someone buys you, the car you are given.
Illustration: A surfer paddles out past the third or fourth wave, waits for the right one and catches it on time; a Christian should understand grace and ride it the same way.
“He ought to understand grace and ride it.”
- Genesis 6:8
Grace is a divine influence that shows on the outside
In the Greek, grace means a divine influence on the heart that reflects outwardly as favour, goodwill, beauty and ability. A newcomer to a field can make something work that an experienced man struggled with for seven years, simply by grace. Moses found grace and God spoke with him face to face, but a born-again believer has more than Moses, because Christ and the Holy Spirit live within; God is speaking, often as a check in the spirit during a deal, even when people do not listen.
“God's been speaking, you ain't been listening.”
- Exodus 33:11-17
Don't run after money: follow the leading of the Spirit
Be careful whom you join, because constant association with someone who is not walking in grace can take you out of it. Christians frustrate grace when they make big choices by their own calculations, as Jonah did when he went the other way. Isaac stayed in the land of famine and God gave him a hundredfold, so run after the will and voice of God, not money. He himself starts nothing without a green light in his spirit, but that is no excuse for idleness: get to work, and grace will work with you.
“Don't run after money because the very thing you run after will elude you.”
- Jonah 1:3
- Genesis 26:1-13
Partakers of my grace, without offence
Paul told the Philippians they were all partakers of his grace and prayed that they would be sincere and without offence. Offence is a suicidal trap: when people take offence at instruction or at being rubbed the wrong way, grace stops operating, and they pray and sow without results. Walk offence-free with a sincere heart.
Illustration: Offence that smiles on the face while the heart goes 'hmm'.
“Once you're offended, the grace leaves you.”
- Philippians 1:7-11
I do not frustrate the grace of God
Grace is God's divine ability working for you. To frustrate it means to nullify it, set it aside or render it useless, and the Amplified Bible says it is treating God's gracious gift as something of minor importance. If righteousness came by the law, Christ died in vain; but He died and rose, you rose with Him, and like the God who laughs in the heavens you can be full of joy. Not all preachers are blessed, but he chose not to be one who suffers, because he understands grace.
Illustration: Struggling up a hill on a bicycle versus sitting back and putting your foot down in a V6 or V8; taking forty flights of stairs versus pressing a button in the lift. Grace is also the tax refund that arrives in the post when a bill is due, or the cake a sister brings to the door.
“Grace is God's divine ability functioning for me.”
- Galatians 2:21
- Ephesians 2:6
- Psalm 2:4
Grace in every area: a Midas touch
He declares grace over jobs, families, health and finances, saying that when you operate in grace you stop begging and become a giver. Like the Midas touch, what your hands touch will grow and become fruitful; grace brings promotion, sales, discounts, peace in marriage and wayward children coming right. Grace goes before a child of God like a small tractor clearing a road through thick bush.
Illustration: Grace is like a little tractor cutting a road for you through a field covered with bushes.
“No paycheck is going to make you rich. It's grace.”
- Genesis 26:13
- Romans 8:28
- Romans 8:31
Putting it into practice
- Give time to the word, prayer and mentoring so that you grow up spiritually.
- Receive correction without taking offence.
- Make moves and decisions by the leading of the Spirit, not by chasing money.
- Work diligently and expect grace to work with you.
- Value God's grace highly and expect it in every area of your life.
Closing
He has the church give each other a high five and declare 'grace, grace, grace', look at their hands and say that everything they touch will prosper, and confess that they are smeared with grace. He tells of sending Pastor Zubeda into town that morning 'with grace' and of Pastor Johannes starting the Umlazi church that morning. He makes an altar call for those who want to receive Christ, telling them grace will begin to work for them, and hands them to Pastor Wesley to lead them to the Lord.
Declarations he led
- Father, thank you. I'm full of the Holy Ghost. I'm full of God's spirit. There's laughter in my spirit, there's joy in my spirit.
- I want to be full grown.
- I refuse to suffer.
- Everything my hands touch will prosper and prosper and prosper.
- I've got grace. I'm smeared with grace. I'm living in grace. I'm walking in grace. I have the grace of God. I have the love of God.
In his words
- “Happiness is determined on circumstances.”
- “A born-again Christian is not looking for revival. He is revived.”
- “Church is not for perfect people.”
- “Once you're offended, the grace leaves you.”
- “Grace is God's divine ability functioning for me.”
Every scripture in this message
- Acts 16:25
- Acts 2:13-16
- John 7:38
- Hebrews 13:5
- Isaiah 10:27
- Nehemiah 8:10
- Ephesians 4:12
- 2 Corinthians 3:18
- Hebrews 5:12-14
- Genesis 6:8
- Exodus 33:11-17
- Jonah 1:3
- Genesis 26:1-13
- Philippians 1:7-11
- Galatians 2:21
- Ephesians 2:6
- Psalm 2:4
- Romans 8:28
- Romans 8:31