Brother Gary Wednesday Evening 2/17/16

Brother Gary Wednesday Evening 2/17/16

2Co 6:11  O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged.

It is wonderful that God’s people’s heart is enlarged among us.  We need great men of faith.  We need great preachers and great workers: great in love, great in works, and great in the heart.

2Co 6:1  We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.

Receive not the grace of God in vain:  we have been taught over and again about the grace of God.  It is a mine that we will not exhaust and a jewel that will only increase in value.  It is the divine influence upon the soul and its reflection in the life.  Don’t receive it in vain.

Receive in vain: lessening its worth or significance.  When God sends grace, it is not the thought of a warning, but it is a wonderful thing to have God send grace to us.  We all have prayed for grace and know the need of grace.  We have preached come boldly before the throne of grace.

Grace means graciousness.  We want to be a gracious people.  When God moves upon us to be gracious, we want to go out of our self.  It takes effort and time to thank someone. 

You never know how something will be received even when you feel that you need to thank someone and have a great appreciation. 

This is a day when it takes just a little folding of the hands.  You don’t have to put any effort to have worldliness overtake you.  It comes looking for you. 

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Living sacrifice: We believe that we die daily and we believe that as a definite experience.  Dead to the world.

Grace is such a benefit!  To have grace! To not receive it in vain.  In our daily life, Karen is seeing all the things that she needs to get out there and do.  There are flowers that are trying to bloom where last year’s leaves are that she feels like she needs to remove. 

The grace of God helps us to know, “This is what I need to do.  This is the song or the scripture that I need to have ready.”  A word fitly spoken… it takes grace. 

There are times when, as Karen reproved the individual that was talking bad at work, we need the grace of God.  We need to reprove people.  We need to have grace that we never accept wrong. 

Grace means joy liberality: in a world that is full of so much sorrow!  On Monday after the death of Manuel and after the death of Al; it felt like, “Just gloom all over.” 

I began to worship, call on God, and shut the door.  I began to exercise, when we come into his presence there is beauty, majesty, and glory.  God’s grace changed that entire scene.  I thank God for that and I have not gone back under it.

There is grace to change us.  The situation may not change but we don’t have to let the situation change us.

Grace is such a gift!  One thing that someone can write on my parent’s grave stone and on mine and Karen’s is, “He taught us to be thankful.”  I am struck by how children are being taught.  Someone is teaching Alex to be thankful.  That is wonderful. 

All that teach their children to be thankful and for all that war against this entitlement attitude, thank God.  Grace teaches to be thankful.

Grace brings pleasure to our life.  It is wonderful to be so happy.  Thankworthy goes along with our thought on gift.  Favor.

Don’t receive God’s grace in vain.  We have been blessed with a conscience.  Keep your conscience very active and very tender towards God.

Some people gamble with their conscience.  Unless God sends thunder and lightning, they will go on and on and on.  Don’t ever do it.  Don’t receive the grace of God in vain.  Today is the day of salvation.

2Co 6:2  (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

2Co 6:3  Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed:

2Co 6:4  But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,

Patience is calmly trusting.  My life would have been a lot different if I had learned this at a young age.  Trusting God in the valley of school, in the valley of decision.  Calmly trusting God in the valley of weeping.  Trusting God in the valley of difficulty. 

I was talking to more than one person about individuals that are in sin.  Sin destroyed my sister’s son, Kenny.  He met an early destruction.  Alcohol got him.  Before he got through with his journey, he wept at what sin cost him.  He went from way up to penniless.  He went from being influential and all those pleasures that go with sin to laying in a hospital, dying alone.  There is a price for sin. 

If you, or you know anyone that wants their children to be just normal and just enjoy sin, then ask God to give them a video of my sister’s children.  If it is normal than this world is even sadder than your minds can grasp.

Calmly trusting God: you have to pay the price before the test comes, “I am going to trust you God.  I am going to lay my experience on that cornerstone.  I am going to build a back wall without a window.  I am going to do as Sister Henry wrote, “We are dead to the world and its pleasures, our affections are centered above.” (Page 300 in the hymnal)

Approving and in much patience calmly trusting God.  We have to have it settled before we get there or we will fly apart and the heartaches will come.

2Co 6:5  In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;

2Co 6:6  By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,

2Co 6:7  By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,

The armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left hand:  The weapons of our warfare are not carnal.  When we are going to face a strong warfare we need to remember this.

Casting down imaginations. Whenever you face difficulty the enemy will come with emotions and fear.  “You better not do that.”  When God puts you in a position to be standing for God, “Casting down imaginations… bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”

Eph 6:10  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Wherever you are, whether facing fanaticism or compromise, whether facing principalities on the right hand or the left, we need the whole armor of God that we may be able to stand against the tricks of the devil. 

We are going to be faced with opposition, every time that you stand for God and truth, God witnesses to that.  We are not fighting people, we are fighting spirits.

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

This scripture is written for today.

Eph 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

To withstand means to stand and to keep standing.  Every time we see people they are going to check us out to see if we really believe that God hears and answers prayer, to see if we really believe in living holy, and if we really believe in salvation and sanctification.

Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

One time my dad got preaching away on standing on the Word of God and he put his bible down and stood upon it.  “I want to tell you, you have to stand on the Word of God.”

Eph 6:15  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Even when people get angry, this message will produce peace if they will do what it says.  The Word of God produces peace.

Eph 6:16  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Eph 6:18  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Brethren, let us put on the whole armor of God.