God Is Gracious
FOUNDATION STATEMENT: One of the main
keys to receiving more from God is you have to introduce yourself to the God of
all Grace and believe that He IS gracious
I. To receive grace from God at
the throne of grace u have 2 come believing He IS gracious
A.
One part of faith is believing that God Is
what you need Him to be-Hebrews 11:6
1. Heb 4:16-When u come to the throne of grace you have to believe God is
gracious
2. You must believe; not try or attempt to, but you must
B.
God is to u whatever u believe
He IS & what u don’t believe He IS He can’t be to u. The reason is b/c
everything He does for u is by grace & must be received through faith.
1. EX: If you don’t believe God is the Healer, you won’t see Him heal; If
you don’t believe God is the Provider, you won’t see Him provide; People who
don’t believe Jesus is Savior don’t see him save
a.
EX: “I don’t believe in that prosperity stuff”
– you won’t be bothered by it
2. Mark 6:3-5-In Jesus’ hometown He COULD do no might works because of
their unbelief; you must
believe HE IS & if you don’t He can’t be to you
C.
Whatever area of life you’re wanting to
receive from God, you have to introduce yourself to the God of that area and
develop faith that He is
1. You can’t receive something from a person who you don’t believe does the
thing you want to receive (Ex: You have to believe the mechanic IS)
a.
When you believe He is you will respond to
that by going to Him about that need
2. It’s not just enough to know He is you have to believe He is
a.
Lack of excitement reveals lack of faith
b.
Faith comes by hearing so you must hear the
Word about the who God is
D.
The enemy is always trying to distort your
image of who God really is, because what you don’t believe God is, He will
never be to you
1. What you don’t believe God is, He cannot be to you
II. God is gracious
A.
God introduces himself as gracious
1. Exodus 22:27-I am gracious
2. Exodus 34:6-Gracious is one facet of the name of God
a.
A name begins to identify who you are
1) God is always revealing Himself in to us in His Word so we can know Him
better
2) Each name reveals new insights & is key 2 unlock the truth of who
God is
b.
Names are titles are positions and positions
mean more responsibility
1) When God placed a name on Himself, He placed responsibility on Himself
to be Who He said He would be and in this case that is gracious
3. 1 Peter 2:3-If so be you have tasted that the Lord is gracious
4. Scriptures
a.
2 Chronicles 30:9-For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not
turn away his face from you, Psalm
86:15-But thou, art a God full of
compassion, & gracious, longsuffering, & plenteous in mercy &
truth.
b.
Psalm 103:8-The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
c.
Psalm 111:4-: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.
d.
Psalm 145:8-The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow
to anger, and of great mercy.
e.
Joel 2:13-And rend
your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger,
and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
B.
God is what grace is
1. God is good-will, loving-kindness, and favor
a.
Jeremiah 29:11-MSG-I know
what I’m doing. I have it all
planned out-plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the
future you hope for
b.
Deuteronomy 7:13 (MSG)-He will love you, he
will bless you, he will increase you. You will be
blessed beyond all other peoples.
c.
Job 36:11-If they obey Him and serve him they
will spend their days in prosperity and their years in pleasures
2. God gives you joy, pleasure, & delight; He makes life sweet-
a.
Psalm 16:11-You will show me the path of
life; in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand there are
pleasures forever more
b.
John 16:23-Ask and you shall receive that
your joy may be made full
c.
Psalm 37:11-But the meek shall inherit the
Earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of shalom
d.
Ps 37:23-The steps of a good man are ordered
by the Lord & he delights in His way
e.
Proverbs 13:19-The desire accomplished is
sweet to the soul (Mark 11:24)
3. God is the divine enablement to accomplish anything
a.
Mark 10:27-With God all things are possible
b.
Mark 9:23-If you can believe, all things are
possible to him that believes
4. God is the advantage in life
a.
God was with Joseph & everywhere he went
he had an advantage-Gen 39:3
C.
How gracious you believe God is will
determine how gracious he can be to you
1. The God of all grace (all loving kindness, good will etc.)-1 Peter 5:10
2. Genesis 2:8-God created the man and He put the man in this place of
luxury
3. Genesis 13:2-God made Abraham very rich
4. Psalm 105:37-God brought Egypt forth with silver and gold and there was
no sick
5. Matthew 7:11-He knows how to give good gifts better than you
6. Romans 8:32-If he gave us His best, He’ll give us everything else
7. 1 Timothy 6:17-He richly gives all things to enjoy
8. The God of all grace has invited us into his eternal excellence,
magnificence
III. The Spirit of Grace, the
Word of God, Jesus full of grace, and the God of all Grace
A.
1 John 5:7-Three different personalities or
manifestations, but one God; what you find in one manifestation will resonate
throughout them all
1. Love is in every manifestation of Him b/c it is who He is
a.
EX: If God is love, then the Word of Love,
the Son of Love, and the Spirit of Love
B.
In the same way Grace is in every
manifestation of Him b/c it is who He is
IV. The Spirit of Grace-Hebrews
10:29
A.
John 16:5-7-A guy who never lied has to tell
you I’m telling you the truth; this is big
1. The Holy Spirit in me is as profitable & advantageous as Jesus being
next to me
a.
I’m just as well off with the Holy Spirit in
me as I would be if Jesus was manifested in the flesh and standing next to me
2. There is great benefit & profit in having the Holy Spirit that we’ve
yet to plug into
a.
Jesus describes the situation of him going to
the Father & the Holy Spirit coming to us as being to our advantage; If it
would have been better for us for Jesus to stay on the Earth God would have had
him to stay, but He didn’t have him to stay b/c God knew that it’d be better
for us if Jesus left & the Holy Spirit came
3. AMP-Advantageous-He is the advantage in life (Grace is the advantage)
a.
How can Jesus leaving be an advantage; that’s
how marvelous the HS is?
4. Notes 2007-He is the answer to every problem &
He is the provision for every need
B.
Comforter-One called along side to help –
Hebrews 4:16-Grace to help
1.
They Holy
Spirit has been summonsed to stand by our side through life on this Earth and
help us in anyway possible to be victorious
a.
Without
him you will continue to come up short in life
2.
He’s
equipped with everything necessary to support us in every situation in life (2
Corinthians 12:6-My Grace is sufficient for you)
a.
God never
sends without equipping-Luke 9:1-3
3.
Comfort-Console
and encourage-2 Corinthians 1:4
C.
Helper-He helps us and gives us aid, he gives us
assistance, and support-Heb 4:16
1.
When
natural ability is not enough you have divine help-Luke 1:28
2.
A helper
makes the task at hand easier. He relieves you of pressure and strain. He enables you to do things that you
couldn’t do by yourself.
D.
Intercessor-To come between, intercede, or request favor
for another
1.
He is
totally and completely out for your good;
E.
Strengthener-Divine enablement
1.
That which
increases strength
F.
Standby-One to be relied on especially in emergencies
(time of need); a favorite
or reliable choice or resource; he is the advantage in life
1.
Like grace
He’s always available always offering assistance and help to you
G.
Teacher (John 14:26, Hosea 4:6)
1.
People are
destroyed b/c they lack knowledge & part of the Holy Spirit’s ministry is
to see to it that you have the knowledge necessary so that u are not destroyed
H.
Counselor-One who gives advice to another
I.
Lead and Guide-He leads you into truth so that you can be
free (John 16:13, 8:29)
J.
Reminder-The Word you forget you won’t do & u can’t
be blessed (Jn 14:26, Js 1:20)
K.
Show you things to come (John 16:13)
1.
The spirit
of grace doesn’t let people walk into tragedy and evil and darkness
L.
Romans
8:26-Helps-Sunantilambano (First
time the word help in the Greek was used; The Holy Spirit created a brand new
word to describe his help to the believer)
1.
Sun-Partnership
and cooperation, it describes what you do in partnership with someone else, it
would never describe what someone does for you, this describes the position of
the Holy Ghost, This verse is not about what the Holy Spirit does independently
for us, but this help that we receive when we are cooperating with the Holy
Spirit (2 Corinthians 6:1 – Co is the same word as sun)
2.
Anti-Tto be against, describes a person who is a menace to
society, he is so dangerous & socially against everything, this carries the
idea of danger and risk, somebody who is dangerous to other people and if he is
not bound he will hurt someone, a very hostile attitude, the attitude of the
Holy Ghost, He is extremely upset about something, furious, he is so angry that
he is ready to take action
3.
Lambano-I
take or I receive, but in this context it is very strong word or even a violent
word, it’s not just to easily take something, but to grab hold of something, to
seize something and pull it to yourself, to forcefully seize or take hold of
something, the desire of the Holy Ghost, He is so upset of something that he’s
wanting to reach out, grab hold of that thing and seize it for himself
V. The Word of Grace-Acts
20:32, John 1:1, Luke 4:22
A.
The Word of Grace will not only save u, it’ll
grow u up & give u everything God has 4 u
1. Translations
a.
CEV-I now place you
in God's care. Remember the message about his great kindness! This message can
help you and give you what belongs to
you as God's people.
b.
MSG-32"Now I'm turning you
over to God, our marvelous God whose gracious Word can make you into what he wants you to be and give you everything you could possibly need in this
community of holy friends.
c.
NCV-32 "Now I am putting you
in the care of God and the message about his grace. It is able to give you strength, and it will give you the
blessings God has for all his holy people.
d.
GW-I am now entrusting you to God and to his
message that tells how kind he is. That message can help you grow and can give
you the inheritance that is shared by all of God’s holy people.
e.
NIRV-Now I commit you to God's care. I commit
you to the word of his grace. It can build you up. Then you will share in what
God plans to give all his people.
f.
WWE- I give you to God. I leave with you his word which brings
blessing. That word is able to make you strong. It will give you your share
in the good things of God promised by him. He gives these good things to people
who are pure & holy.
2. This word will build you up and make you strong an every area
a.
The Word of Grace will establish you, give
you wisdom, grace, power, blessings; it will renew your mind and cause you to
be transformed
3. The word of grace will cause the things that are yours to come forth
a.
Rom 8:17-You’re a joint-heir with Jesus; Heb
1:2-Jesus inherited all things
4. Acts 20:24-The good news about the grace of God is not just that grace
will save you from your sins, strengthen your spirit, renew your mind, keep
your body whole and strong, bring love into your relationships, overflow you
financially, & it will be the divine empowerment to accomplish anything
possible or impossible
B.
It’s the word of God’s goodwill,
loving-kindness, favor
1. The Word of God is wants good for you
a.
The wisdom of God is the Word of God
(Proverbs 2:6, 4:5, 10:31, Luke 11:49)
b.
Proverbs 3:2-Length of days, long life, and
peace the word will add to you
c.
Proverbs 3:4-The Word will give you favor
d.
Proverbs 3:16-Length of days are in the
Word’s right hand and riches in the left
e.
Proverbs 3:17-There’s pleasure in the Word
f.
Proverbs 3:22-This word will be grace to you
g.
Proverbs 3:23-24-This word will keep you safe
and give you sweet sleep
h.
Proverbs 4:6-8-The word will preserve you,
promote you, bring you to honor
i.
Proverbs 4:9-This word will crown you with
grace
j.
Proverbs 4:22-This word is health to your
flesh
k.
Proverbs 8:18-Riches and honor are with the
Word
2. John 1:1, Prov 31:26-It’s the Word of love and
the law of kindness
a.
Deut 28:1-This word is a love letter from
Heaven do this so you’ll be blessed, don’t do this because I don’t want to see
you get hurt
C.
It’s the word of divine enablement, divine
grace, divine power (Rom 1:16)
1. The word of God is the supernatural power of God that will produce
nothing missing and nothing broken in the life of every one who believes it
D.
It’s the word that gives joy, pleasure,
delight, and makes life sweet
1. Jeremiah 15:16-The Word of God will give you joy and strengthen you
2. Psalm 119:77-Your law is my delight
3. Psalm 119:103-How sweet are your words to my mouth
E.
The word of grace will:
1. Prosper your soul
2. Give you faith
3. Strengthen your spirit
4. Renew your mind
5. Give you peace in your mind
F.
Grace was in every word that Jesus came
speaking (Luke 4:22)
G.
1 Peter 2:3-If you get into this Word and
increase and become greater because if it, you have tasted that the Lord is
gracious
VI. Jesus was God manifested in
the flesh & he came to the Earth full of Grace (Jn
1:14)
A.
Everything that Jesus did & said as he
walked the Earth demonstrated God’s grace
1. He healed them all-Matthew 12:15
2. He brought joy, left people-well pleased and delight; he made bitter
lives sweet
3. He spoke to the storm-Mark 4:35; Divine enablement
4. He looked on the rich young ruler and loved him, he spoke softly to John
the Baptist, and was moved with compassion at one of the most trying times in
His life
5. His words were full of Grace-Luke 4:22
B.
The exchange that took lace on the cross was
the greatest of grace that will ever take place in all of eternity; He became
poor so you could be rich-2 Cor 8:9
1. Grace himself made this exchange
VII. The graciousness of Grace
Himself is seen by people who live by faith
A.
Psalm 116:1-He believed that God Is, God is
gracious, and He came in faith
B.
God’s will for your life is abundant grace-Isaiah
30:19
1. Psalm 84:11-God’s not a grace withholding God, He’s a grace giving God
a.
God’s will is that the upright have grace the
upright walk by faith
b.
When you’ll swear 2 your own hurt &
change not there’s grace for you (Ps 15:4)
2. You stand your ground & stay in faith b/c it’s right; the Lord will
not withhold grace
C.
Hebrews 4:16, Romans 1:7-Grace has to be
received; you have to take it