Grace Changes Everything

How wondrous is our glorious God and the grace He extends to those who seek Him!  Knowing God loves us and is for us changes forever the way we approach Him and strengthens us to stand.  A great illustration of how God's grace ought to provide boldness to draw near to God and commune with Him is seen in the book of Esther in the interactions between king Ahasuerus and queen Esther.

In the law of the Medes and Persians it was illegal (punishable by death!) to appear before the king without first being summoned, yet there was a caveat provided for all to whom he reached out the golden sceptre.  Queen Esther, after three days of fasting from food and water, approached the king knowing her life hung in the balance.  How relieved she must have been when she found grace in his eyes and he extended life to her when he held up the sceptre.  This began a chain of events which led to exposing wicked Haman as the enemy of the Jews who was promptly executed for his crimes--hung on the gallows he had built to hang Mordecai the Jew who was promoted to Haman's prior role.

See what happened next in Esther 8:3-4:  "Now Esther spoke again to the king, fell down at his feet, and implored him with tears to counteract the evil of Haman the Agagite, and the scheme which he had devised against the Jews. ⁴ And the king held out the golden scepter toward Esther. So Esther arose and stood before the king..."  Haman had been executed, but his devious legislation which commanded the annihilation of the Jews remained.  Esther fell at the feet of the king with tears, begging he act against the edict written to destroy the children of Israel.  Then the king held out the golden sceptre, extending grace towards her.  Esther rose to her feet and asked her petition of the king, having received his favour.

Isn't this a beautiful scene when we consider the grace God has extended to us through Jesus Christ?  John 1:17 says, "For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."  God has always been gracious and faithfully extended it to mankind, but Jesus brought a fresh revelation of grace we receive through the Gospel that enables us to stand before the presence of the Father with exceeding joy, boldly bringing our petitions before Him.  We could never earn such a privilege, yet we have received it by faith in Jesus Christ the Son of God.  Paul wrote in Romans 5:1-2, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."  Wow!

Esther fell down at the feet of the king and wept, and I imagine her tears were quickly wiped away when she realised she had the favour of the king and had been heard.  The law written by Haman could not be undone, but a new command was given to all the lands that counteracted it beautifully--so well in fact that many people chose to convert and become Jews!  The spiritual law that says a soul that sins must die cannot be undone, but God by His grace has provided a new covenant that is sealed with the blood of Jesus who died so we can be justified by faith in Him.  It is no wonder Jesus promises to wipe every tear from our eyes because He has been gracious to us, and we have been heard by our almighty heavenly Father who has compassion on us.  God's grace changes everything.

Agreement With God

As I was preparing for this week's message, it occurred to me at times the only place of agreement we can find on some matters with opinionated people is to "agree to disagree."  This certainly is never our preference, for we would much rather have people see things like we do.  What may come as a shock to us is we can also have this approach toward God who says and does things we do not understand.  Like Job who suffered great pain and loss, we can question why God would allow such things, wonder if God has made a mistake and doubt His wisdom.

When we agree to disagree with people, it is often to keep things civil between two parties.  Having agreed to disagree we do not bother bringing up the touchy topic anymore in consideration of the feelings of the other party.  We agree to disagree because we value the other person more than the point we want to make.  We might even do so because we have to, otherwise it will prove so divisive any lingering discussion on the topic will lead to quarrels and damage the friendship.  Imagine, that we would agree to disagree with God, that we would choose to remain at odds with Him over pains in our past only He can heal and redeem.

We might be content at times to agree to disagree with God, but He is not content for us to remain in that posture.  Being our Maker, heavenly Father and King, we can only enter into the joy of the LORD and experience His peace when we submit to Him in faith.  He loves us and welcomes our questions; He desires we pour out our hearts to Him in desperation for help.  But we always must remember He is God, and He is good and faithful.  Our disagreement can come from ignorance, like when Peter argued with Jesus that crucifixion was not God's plan.  Jesus rebuked Peter publicly in Matthew 16:23:  "But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."  Can you imagine Peter responding, "Well, I guess we will have to agree to disagree."  Imagine saying that to our LORD!  As unbelievable as it may seem, we can do this very thing.  We think God should have given us that spiritual gift by now or our prayers should have been answered, and a little bit of resentment and bitterness begins to grow.

How grateful I am for the longsuffering and patience of God with us weak, short-sighted servants!  Even when we forget God and all He has promised, He smiles upon us with grace, mercy and compassion.  He knows what we are going through and all He intends to accomplish through situations we cannot appreciate or understand.  Blessed is the one who submits to God with their whole heart, for this is the only posture that agrees with God as we ought.  As long as we agree to disagree it is not God's problem with us, but our problem with Him because our minds are stubbornly made up.  This disconnect in relationship is only restored through repentance and simple faith in God who has spoken in His word, through Jesus Christ in these last days and the Holy Spirit.  Let us lay aside our preconceived ideas of what God should do or should have done and rejoice in Him Who is holy.  Our God is the awesome, living God Who loves and is worthy of all glory and praise.

Jesus Christ is Worthy

I remember hearing a prayer that thanked God for "making us worthy," and I felt rehearsing Inigo Montoya's line from the movie The Princess Bride:  "You keep using that word.  I do not think it means what you think it means."  To the credit of the people who have prayed thus, "worthy" is a word that has a range of meaning that has shifted over the years.  A partial definition from the Webster's 1828 Dictionary of "worthy" is:  "1) deserving; such as merits; having worth or excellence; equivalent; with of, before the thing deserved; 2) possessing worth or excellence of qualities; virtuous; estimable; 3) suitable; having qualities suited to; either in a good or bad sense; equal in value."  Worthy speaks of being meritorious, of being deserving when compared with others.  I do not believe the person who claims they are made "worthy" are suggesting they are equal with God or deserving of His help or grace, for that undermines grace and the Gospel entirely.

The modern Miriam-Webster Dictionary gives this simplified definition:  "having worth or value, estimable; honorable, meritorious; having sufficient worth or importance."  The focus of the modern definition is focused more on having worth or importance.  It is true that God has ascribed value and worth to mankind by sending His only begotten Son to die to save us sinners, but it is not that we are worthy.  He is the only worthy One, and will only ever be worthy:  up to the task of saving lost sinners, able to hear and help people in all troubles, and deserving of all glory, honour and praise.  It is good for us to realise God is worthy regardless whatever struggles or troubles we face, for His merit and excellence is infinite.  He alone is righteous, virtuous and good without a single flaw, and praise Him for His faithfulness and mercy graciously extended to us.

A heavenly vision that affirms God alone is worthy plays out in Revelation 5:1-5:  "And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. ² Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?" ³ And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.⁴ So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. ⁵ But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals."  The right hand of God who sat on the throne held a scroll, and no man or even a strong angel was worthy to take it in their hand, loose the seals and open it--much less look at it!  None could measure up to the requirements of doing so.  John ceased weeping when it was revealed there was One worthy, excellent and able to open the scroll, Jesus Christ the Lion of the tribe of Judah who has prevailed.  Jesus is worthy because He is God.

After Jesus Christ took the scroll the 24 elders bowed before Him and proclaimed His worthiness.  The praise and adoration of the God who is worthy continues to swell with the shouts of angelic hosts in the following verses.  Revelation 5:11-12 says, "Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, ¹² saying with a loud voice: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!"  Jesus is altogether worthy, equal to any amount of praise, honour and glory mankind or angel can proclaim.  God is worthy of all sacrifice, worthy of all adoration and worship forever and ever.  Worthy is the Lamb who was slain because He is risen and a Saviour for all who trust in Him.  Let us praise and thank Him because He is worthy, not just because He has forgiven and helped us.

God's Word Satisfies

One consequence of enjoying a delightful, satisfying meal is it kills the appetite to eat more.  Many times I have declined to even look at the dessert menu filled with tasty treats because I was already full!  Compare this with conversations I have had with children soon after dinner who complained they were still hungry.  I would ask, "If you're hungry, why didn't you have more dinner?"  It was evident the foods supplied for dinner weren't their "favourite thing" by later angling for something different.

Have you ever been to an "all you can eat" buffet?  For people with a ravenous appetite this offering sounds very appealing.  My typical approach to a new buffet I have never tried is to walk through and see the range of what is on offer.  Unfortunately, quantity does not always equate with high quality.  Typically there will be something I find appetising, but there have been rare occasions when I went home from a buffet hungry because there was not much I wanted to eat.  I was full of my own ideas of how fried food, baked chicken or scrambled eggs ought to look like or smell.  Instead of a hungry man ready to eat all that was provided, I was caught up in my own personal tastes and preferences.

Now hygienic food preparation and quality ingredients are very important, but my point is my pickiness at times has led to the nutritional needs of my body remaining unmet.  The same can be true concerning the word of God.  Christians who view themselves as well-versed in scripture and faith can be bored with the offerings from a pulpit or in a Bible study because they are too, well, basic or simple.  This isn't a new phenomenon as C.H. Spurgeon wrote in Lectures to My Students his preaching wasn't "deep" enough for some discerning folks.  Adam Clarke wrote in his commentary, "But still the question has been asked, Who was Elihu? I answer, He was “the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram:” this is all we know of him. But this Scriptural answer will not satisfy those who are determined to find out mysteries where there are none." (Clarke, A. (2014). The Holy Bible with a Commentary and Critical Notes New Edition, Vol. 3, p. 143)  There are believers who are bored and dissatisfied with scriptural answers, and I don't want to be one of them.

God has revealed many mysteries to us through His word and has made evident what was once hidden from angels and men.  The Gospel is one of these things, the power of God unto salvation by grace through faith.  It is not a doctrine to memorise and file away but to be lived out every day as we follow Jesus obediently.  The purpose of doctrine is not to temporarily satisfy intellectual curiosity but to be received into our inmost being:  to satisfy our souls, guard our hearts, and guide our hands and feet to do all God has said.  Those who are bored with the basics do not truly understand them.  Better than seeking to find our mysteries where there are none, it is good for us to take God at His word.  If reading the word itself does not satisfy, it may be you have yet to receive what God has said.  Wait on the LORD and be of good courage, for Jesus leads His sheep to pastures of green and satisfies our souls.