Obtaining Grace From Above

Obtaining Grace from Above

Text: Psalm 84:11, Heb. 4:16

Ps 84:11

11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly. NKJV

Heb 4:15-16

16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. NKJV

Introduction

This life is a struggle, and remains a struggle until God comes to help a man. If God refuses to help a man, life can be full of unprofitable labours, unfinished tasks, and thorny pathways. To progress in life, you may need new methods, new efforts, new innovation of doing things. However, without grace, they all would leave us in much frustration until God comes to help.

You see, whenever God wants to help a man, what He does is to come first and show him the path of grace. Beloved, Grace is the only God’s instrument of helping a man out of all his struggles. In the scriptures and contemporary times, men who obtained God’s Grace accomplished impossible tasks with much ease. They moved mountains, shut the mouth of lions, fought a whole army to stand still and did other unimaginable ventures never known of men.

Let us trust God in this piece to open our eyes to see and receive great grace to help our lives at the present time of need. Amen.

A. Definition of Grace

Grace, scripturally speaking has two related definitions:

a. Saving Grace – This is an unmerited favour freely bestowed on all those who believe. It is the kindness and love that God in Christ Jesus freely bestows on a pertinent sinner – to pardon, forgive, justify and adopt into His own family. This is the grace that brings salvation. We are saved by grace (Eph. 2:9) forgiven by grace, justified by grace and adopted by grace.

b. Helping and Serving Grace – The Greek word for this is called – CHARIS. It is the ability that God puts into a man’s life to enable him accomplish what ordinarily he would not have been able to accomplish were he left to himself.

It is this grace that enables an ordinary man to do supernatural things. Grace in both power and an attribute of God.

Beloved, when this kind of grace comes, help from above has come. This kind of Grace can manifest in various ways depending on what God wants to accomplish in the life of the recipient. 1 Cor.15:9-10, 2 Cor. 6:1, 1Cor. 12:4-11, 1 Pet. 4:7-11. The manifold grace of God.

The Source of All Grace

Jn. 1:17 – Grace and truth come by Jesus Christ and in 1 Pet. 5:10, God is the God of all grace. According to James 4:6, God is the giver of more as He resist the proud. God given grace and glory – Psa. 84:11. However, men when inspired by God can become a source of grace to another man. E.g. like king Alezeus to Esther – Esther 2:17, Portipher to Joseph - Gen. 39:4, Boaz to Ruth in Ruth 1 - 4.

B. Enemies of Grace

There are 3 major enemies of grace in our lives.

1. The law of Moses – Rom. 3:20 – No one will be made conscious by obeying the law, for through the law we became conscious of sin

Gal. 5:20 – since we live in the spirit, let’s walk in the spirit.

2. Human energy – 2 Cor. 1:8-9

This is called natural strength = the inherent energy, power plus might in every man who is born of a woman. This kind of strength in man varies in degrees. This natural strength has its origin from our human nature = self Rom. 8:5-8. When a man resort to using his natural strength to accomplish a task, he is saying that he does not need God’s help – Gen. 3:17-19, Eccl. 2:26 when a man says this, God calls such man wicked and they are silenced in darkness – 1 Sam. 2:9.

The human strength can manifest through the following. In ordinate combination, acquisitive tendencies, and achievement consciousness. This is to make a name or build a tower for self – Eze. 14:12-16.

Also the use of human wisdom called common sense is human strength. The man who believes in his own strength sees himself as the architect of his own fortune and all his achievement as the works of his own hands. For this man, God believes, he is trying to share His glory as no man can make Himself.

3. Human characteristic – Isa. 64:6

Any good conduct or behaviour of man is a filthy rag when compared to the righteousness conduct is a hindrance to grace when man is dependent in these.