ACTIVATING
GRACE
December
28, 1997 pm
Michael
F. Blume
John 17:7-10 Now they have known that
all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto
them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have
known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou
didst send me. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which
thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine
are mine; and I am glorified in them.
John 17:15
I pray
not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest
keep them from the evil.
2Cor 12:7-10 And lest I should be
exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was
given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest
I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice,
that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient
for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore
will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest
upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities,
in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then
am I strong.
Jesus prayed not for the world, neither that we would be removed from this
world.
- But He prayed that we would
be "kept" from the evil in the world by God's power.
- "KEPT" means "protected,
made safe".
- This power is called GRACE.
- One of the definitions
of Grace is "divine empowerment."
- God's power of Grace must
be understood properly in order for one to benefit from it.
- We must learn how to co-operate
with this almighty power.
We see how GRACE is activated
in Paul's writings.
- He prayed for the circumstances
he was in to change, and for the trials to cease, but God refused to comply.
- God said, "My grace is
good enough for you. You need not that I remove trials, for all that you
need is my grace."
Paul learned how God works.
- Paul said he became a fool
in glorying.
- When he was weak, he was
strong.
You see, God lets certain infirmities
remain because they are deemed suitable to keep you in place and right before
God.
- God weakened Paul through
this infirmity in order to be able to work in Paul mightily.
- It was God's GRACE upon
him that kept and protected him.
- God's strength is made
perfect in weakness.
Remember God's strength is ALMIGHTY.
Do not take the "all" out of
"al-mighty".
- He has "all" "might."
- God's power is complete,
and anything can be done when we do not "frustrate" this work from being accomplished.
- The "full" potential of
God can work for you WHEN YOU ARE WEAK.
- God simply designed it
that way.
Paul referred to this when he
said:
Gala 2:20-21 I am crucified with
Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life
which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who
loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God:
Paul did not ruin it and rob
himself of the opportunity he had for grace to work mightily in him after
he learned how to activate grace.
- He gave GRACE the opportunity
to work.
- We can FRUSTRATE GRACE.
- We can ruin our chances
of seeing grace help us.
- Paul would not do it, but
he implied we can frustrate the grace of God.
- This means we can miss
the power of grace to help us.
You can give miracles an opportunity
to occur by stepping out in faith.
- Even so, you can give grace
an opportunity to RESURRECT YOU CONTINUALLY when you let go of YOUR efforts
to solve everything and let circumstances have their way.
- (God sends all circumstances
our way. Everything, but SIN, that comes to you, comes ultimately from God's
hand).
TAKING STEPS OF FAITH
God saw RAHAB, a Gentile, in
Jericho and saw her wonder about God of Israel.
- When she took a step of
faith by taking the spies into her home at the risk of her life, and disobeyed
national law in order to honour God, she was protected by God's power.
- She was thrown into the
genealogy of Jesus Christ.
- She was Boaz' mother.
- And Ruth, Boaz' wife, became
a lady just like mom-in-law.
- Ruth was a gentile and
wanted to serve Naomi's God.
- She, too, was thrown into
the lineage of Jesus.
- Jesus came through these
people's families due to their faith.
Jesus lives through the believers
who takes steps of faith, just as the people literally became Jesus' vessels
to come forth into the world through by way of birth.
- We BIRTH Jesus into the
world by taking steps of faith.
God's Spirit is the Spirit of
glory.
John 7:39 (But this spake he of
the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost
was not yet [given]; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
The Spirit came only when Jesus
was glorified.
- The Spirit resurrects.
- The Spirit brings power.
1Pet 4:12-14 Beloved, think it not
strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange
thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's
sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also
with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ,
happy [are ye]; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth
upon you:
on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
Peter said that trials will come
and should be no surprise to us.
- If we experience them, whether
we know it or not, we give fertile soil for the Spirit of glory to work.
- The Spirit of glory rests
on us when we are in a suffering situation. Any form of death, be it a mild
form of death in suffering, causes the SPIRIT OF GLORY TO COME.
- The Holy Ghost requires
certain ingredients to work mightily in us.
- Trials are one ingredient,
and there is one more.
I already have the LIFE of Jesus
in me.
- It is RESURRECTION LIFE.
- It is like an immune system.
- When disease comes, the
system sends an alarm and, "Look out disease!"
- Even so, when trouble comes,
the SPIRIT OF GLORY IS THERE TO WORK!
The Spirit of glory raised up
JESUS from the dead because He was God's Son.
This is very important to know.
Romans 6:8-10 Now if we be dead with
Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ
being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over
him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he
liveth unto God.
Paul said we died with Jesus
and we are also risen and resurrected with Him.
- Because He was Son, God
glorified Him from death.
- "Look out, death! Here
comes glory"
- Glory hates death.
- Paul realized that glory
enjoys defeating death.
- Paul realized that since
he resurrected with Jesus, then the Spirit of glory that was upon Jesus was
also upon Paul.
- The Spirit of resurrection
is the Spirit of glory.
- In God's eyes our faith
has made it just as good as though we actually died, and are God's sons.
- This is because Jesus died
in our places, and therefore we can say we died with Him.
- When He died, I died.
- It does not matter if we
feel like we died or not.
- The Bible says we died
with Christ if we believe He did it for us.
- Repentance is dying with
Jesus.
- Baptism is burial with
Jesus.
- And Holy Ghost baptism
is resurrection with Jesus.
- The Holy Ghost is the Spirit
of resurrection.
- We could not receive the
Holy Ghost if we did not resurrect with Jesus, because it is the Spirit of
glory.
When our bodies die, at the right
time we shall be changed. We may be alive when the rapture occurs, but we
shall be changed. Jesus died and was buried for three days and nights, and
the right time came for Him to rise again.
- That will happen to us one
day.
- But yet we can say that
we have the Spirit of resurrection right now because we are already resurrected
from the dead with Jesus.
When Jesus resurrected, what
happened was that the Spirit of Glory glorified and quickened or made alive
his body.
It is appointed to man once to
die, and He died that required death.
- He had to die that death
because he became a man like you and me.
- It is appointed unto man
once to die.
We are dead with Christ and were
made so by baptism into death.
Romans 6:3 Know ye not, that so
many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his
death?
Nobody else's death would have
helped me at all.
- If I was baptized into any
other person's death, it would do me no good.
- Only baptism into CHRIST'S
DEATH throws one into the lineage of Jesus, as it were.
- It is the step of faith
we take today that puts us into Jesus line, because my death with Jesus goes
further than just stopping at the point of dying.
Death with Abraham Lincoln, or
Martin Luther King stops at death.
- But death with Jesus goes
on to resurrection with Him.
- We live with Him if we
died with Him.
This is what Paul says:
Romans 6:4 Therefore we are buried
with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the
dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of
life.
We were crucified with Him.
Romans 6:6 Knowing this, that our
old man is crucified with [him],
Jesus died once.
NO more deaths for Him!
Romans 6:9 Knowing that Christ being
raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more
dominion over him.
Likewise we must see that we
died to sin also, if we died with Him.
Romans 6:10-11 For in that he died,
he died
unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto
God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead
indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ
our Lord.
If He died unto sin and we died
with Him, then the benefits He had in dying to sin are our benefits.
- That means we died to sin,
also.
- Death has not more dominion
over us.
- One death finishes our
life of being enslaved by sin and death.
And then Paul said, yet we are
alive.
Gala 2:20 I am crucified with Christ:
nevertheless
I live;
If Jesus had the Spirit of glory
with Him after He resurrected, then if we resurrect with Him we have the same
SPIRIT.
- It is our right to have
this Spirit.
Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of
him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ
from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth
in you.
This is not only talking about
the rapture.
- It is the rapture plus a
whole lot more!
- It is NOW.
- My body is still mortal
now.
- That Spirit of glory is
in me now and quickens me now.
Our bodies are not in graves
for that Spirit to raise them up, but anything to do with sin and death is
bait for the Spirit of glory!
- That includes trials and
troubles.
- When sin tries to attack
me, I am God's Son and the Spirit of Glory rests upon me.
- The Spirit of glory kicks
into action and defeats death in all of its forms.
- Glory enjoys defeating
death in any of its forms.
When Satan sends trouble, a mild
form of sin and death, glory say, "Let me at him!!"
HERE IS THE KEY
WE WILL ROB GLORY OF THE CHANCE
TO DEFEAT DEATH FOR US IF WE TRY TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM IN OUR FLESH.
- Sin and Grace are arch enemies.
- Grace is God's remedy for
sin.
- When we first humbly repented
and were baptized, grace saved us.
- Grace can do nothing for
a person until that one admits their sin and dies with Christ in repentance,
choosing to live a godly life for Jesus.
- Die with Jesus and get
saved.
But AFTER SALVATION, grace is
upon us.
- And when sin abounds, grace
does much more abound.
- Grace has a built-in responder
to sin.
- It rises up in us and defeats
sin when sin and death attack in trials or troubles.
Paul saw that grace works when
we are in sin and saves us when we repent.
- Paul carried that thought
over into the aspect of living for God after being saved, and explained that
in Romans 6.
- But other people twisted
the right idea into an idea that said we must continue in sin so that grace
may abound.
- No.
- This power and truth is
carried over into our Christian lives, but in a greater way.
- We do not even have to
sin!!
Romans 5:20-6:2 Moreover the law entered,
that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more
abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through
righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. What shall we say
then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall
we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
No longer living in sin is saying
we do not have to sin.
- Alarms go off when trouble
comes to us.
- Anything to do with sin
and death sends the Spirit of glory to our rescue.
- Grace NULLIFIES THE DAMAGE.
God said, "Paul, you are dead.
You are also my son. Act like it and let the My Spirit resurrect you from
this form of death. My Spirit only resurrects my SONS. You're one of them.
Since it does not have to take your body out of a grave, it does nevertheless
see trials and troubles, which are forms of sin and death. And it will
strengthen you to go through it unhindered.. My grace is all you need.
But remember this, so long as you are weak, then my power has wide open opportunity
to work. But when you think you can handle troubles alone, thinking you're
strong, you frustrate grace."
- Grace is for you.
- So it will not fight you
and your will to see victory.
You must cooperate with the fact
that you are dead with Christ.
Unfortunately, if you do not
know how to activate grace and let t work, and think you must fight your own
battles, it cannot help you.
It is a spirit of resurrection.
- It comes when you cannot
do anything else.
- You died.
- It is originally intended
to raise a Son of God's dead body to life.
- No self power is present
in a dead body.
- It has little problem raising
a dead body.
- The Spirit of glory and
resurrection cannot resurrect or glory until the body is dead.
- Its power may be so much
more powerful than the low sickly person has when dying, but it cannot do
a thing until that body is dead.
- The Spirit was not yet
given because Jesus did not yet die and require resurrection.
- It could only raise Him
up and glorify Him when He died.
Then Jesus ascended with His
blood to the Father for our sakes.
- He showed that we died with
Him since we accepted His sacrifice of death for us.
- Then, after this glorification
of Jesus, the Spirit was sent to us.
It is therefore a Spirit of resurrection.
- It came when you were deemed
dead with Christ.
- It came when you repented
and so much believed you died with Jesus that you were buried with Him in
watery grave of baptism into His death.
If we reckon ourselves to be
dead, and truly know we are dead in God's eyes, since we died with Jesus,
then the Spirit can work.
- We must ACT LIKE WE ARE
DEAD WITH CHRIST.
- That means, do not think
you have to solve all trials yourself.
- Expect the Power of God
to KEEP you.
- Paul wanted the thorn in
his flesh removed.
- The first beatitude is
"blessed are the poor in spirit."
- All the kingdom of Heaven
is theirs.
- They are nothing in their
own minds.
- Weak beyond weak.
- God can do much with nothing.
- He created all from nothing.
- When Saul was small in
his own eyes, he was actually great in God's eyes.
- All power and all resources
are there for us.
- But you must give the Spirit
of glory material to work with.
- RECKON YOURSELF DEAD.
- You are dead with Christ.
- Believe that and understand
it.
- Study it until you KNOW
it.
An immune system is an inoculation
of life.
- But it needs a reactant.
- Cooperation is the key
here.
- We are labourers together
with Him.
- The truth is you are dead.
- Believe that.
A.I.D.S is a virus that destroys
the immune system.
- False concepts and misunderstanding
that we are dead with Christ, lack of knowledge, destroys us like A.I.D.S.
Being dead with Jesus gives us
a right to be helped by the Spirit of Glory.
And it gives us a right to live above sin.
Normally,. you would have to
die to be free from sin.
- Once you are dead, the penalty
of "the soul that sinneth must die" is paid.
- Death has no more dominion
over you.
- But you died with Christ.
- And that is good enough
for God.
- But your own body is still
alive and if trouble comes and the Spirit of resurrection rises to work for
you, your lack of cooperating with its requirement of being utterly poor in
Spirit and weak, causes you to frustrate grace.
- And it will not work.
- It needs death to work.
- You can put the brakes
on grace.
Do not frustrate grace.
- Accept the fact that you
cannot handle the trial alone.
- Act dead.
- Reckon yourself as dead
by knowing you are dead with Christ and God does not need you to beg for help
or try your best to get him to help you.
- Just believe you are dead
and have a right to power from the Spirit of glory.
- That is why Paul asked,
"Know you not?" throughout Romans 6.
- Those who do not understand
they are dead with Christ, will not realize their efforts of the flesh to
get ahead only frustrate the Spirit of glory from working in them.
- They do not know they can
stand still and let the lord fight their battles.
- They are not totally aware
of what being a Son of God is all about!
- Give grace a chance to
raise you in its power.
How can the Spirit of resurrection
work with no death?
- Jesus lives through us.
- Our step of faith put us
into a crowd of the lineage of Jesus.
- Anyone can get in.
The dragon was cast out of heaven
after Jesus was ascended.
Reve 12:5 And she brought forth
a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child
was caught up unto God, and [to] his throne.
Reve 12:7-9 And there was war in
heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought
and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more
in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the
Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the
earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
And we read that the children
of God overcame him and caused him to fall.
Reve 12:11 And they overcame him
by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved
not their lives unto the death.
Jesus' ascension overcame the
devil.
- It redeemed us.
- His testimony became my
testimony because I died with Him and was risen with Him.
- The blood of Jesus proves
death occurred.
- And since He died in my
place, that blood proves I am dead.
- That is why the blood of
Jesus is so important.
- So His testimony of dying
and resurrecting is mine.
In a book about the testimony
of Jesus:
Reve 1:1-2 The Revelation of Jesus
Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must
shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified [it] by his angel unto his
servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of
Jesus Christ,
Shows us having that testimony
as our own because the BLOOD was His death for us.
Reve 12:11 And they overcame him
by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved
not their lives unto the death.
Jesus ascended, and that is His
testimony, but we ascended with Him and His testimony is our testimony.
- And Since He overcame the
devil, and did it FOR US, then we can say overcame the devil.
- And then it says we love
not our lives to the death.
- WHAT DEATH?
Paul said what is gain to him
is loss to Christ.
- So Paul said he weakens
himself.
- So that Paul might KNOW
JESUS.
- Fellowship of suffering
mentioned FIRST.
- Then power of resurrection.
- Keep in mind the fact that
"I AM CRUCIFIED WITH HIM"
Paul said that he had a treasure
in his earthen vessel.
2Cor 4:7 But we have this treasure
in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not
of us.
Verse 6 said it was light of
the knowledge of the glory of God.
- Paul said he was troubled
- yet not distressed.
- Perplexed - but not in
despair.
- Persecuted - not forsaken.
- Cast down - not destroyed.
- Bearing about dying of
Jesus in body - so there would be continual freedom fro the LIFE of SPIRIT
of Jesus within to flow forth.
Romans 8:11 said the Spirit would
ENLIVEN our mortal bodies.
- While they are weak.
- While they are mortal.
- While one can die.
- Spirit will enliven it.
- Just as if it was dead
and in need of glory.
Roma 8:11-12 But if the Spirit of
him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ
from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth
in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after
the flesh.
- The Spirit is there to quicken
our mortal bodies.
- THEREFORE, we are not bound
to live after the flesh and get by in fleshly power.
- We have another OPTION!
- This must apply to LIFE
RIGHT NBOW, since Paul said it quickens us and therefore we do not have to
LIVE after the flesh.
- When?
- NOW.
Paul told us we are to be living
sacrifice (Ro. 12:10).
- Sounds contradictory - living...
sacrifice.
- But it is not when you
understand that YOU ARE CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST, YET YOU ARE ALIVE.
- BECAUSE He died in your
place, giving you the benefits of dying to sin once, while you personally
did not die.
THIS IS YOUR REASONABLE SERVICE.
- It only makes sense
to present yourselves as living sacrifices.
- Spirit needs death to work.
- It needs your faith that
you are dead in Christ and that is good enough for you to be reckoned dead
for God's Spirit of resurrection to help you.
- Since you are alive, and
still mortal, God's Spirit quickens you again and again.
YOU NEED THIS HOLY GHOST!