Yesterday ended is a podcast dedicated to the healing words of Jesus Christ and his story of redemption. Each podcast contains an original poem so that I can portray a confession of our faith of scripture in unique and succinct ways. Come with me on a journey to become a new creation and to declare old things dead and our life anew in Christ. What we meditate on will determine the direction and fruit of our lives. Let's live today speaking the words of life.
The victory we have in Christ can be felt in our everyday life. We can overcome depression. We can overcome fear. We can be confident. We can be free from worry. We can be free from anxiety. We can have emotional healing. We can have hope. We can be set free from our past. The Bible declares the goodness of God. The Bible is more than Christian psychology it is truth. The truth of God brings mental health, spiritual health and physical health. We can walk in peace. We can overcome the traumas of life.
Is there a limit to God's Grace? Are we truly saved by Grace? What is the depth of God's grace? And honestly do we deserve God's Grace? Welcome to yesterday ended, healing the trauma of life. If you're working to try and earn God’s grace, there's something you need to know. I'm your host Dennis Dobbin and I'm here to teach you the blessings of Grace. Listen.
Is there a limit to God's grace? Are we truly saved by grace? What is the depth of God's grace? And honestly, do we deserve God's grace? Welcome to yesterday ended Healing the Traumas of Life. If you're working to try and earn God's grace, there's something you need to know. I'm your host, Dennis Dobbin, and I'm here to teach you the blessings of grace. Give a listen. Many years ago I was a missionary in a university town in northern Louisiana. There was a bayou, otherwise known as a river, that went through the middle of the university. As I approached the bridge to walk over, I met a young man with whom I spoke. I asked him if he knew God. He said he did, and that he attended church regularly. But in the pursuing conversation, he wasn't sure if he was saved. After I finished talking to him, hopefully convincing him that the grace of God saved him, I walked over the 100-foot bridge. On the other side I spoke to another young man who had the same problem. He wasn't sure if he was saved. For those of you unfamiliar with Louisiana, it is full of Christians. I estimate at least 85% of the people in that town went to church. So my usual question was not, are you Christian, but do you read your Bible? And most of them replied, Not as much as I should. And because of that, they had little assurance of their salvation. It showed a lack of biblical literacy. Not once, but twice. The book of Ephesians in chapter 2 tells us we are saved by grace. Ephesians chapter 2, verse 5. Even when we were dead in sins, have quickened us together with Christ, by grace ye are saved. Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God. I love it when people give me gifts. I think most people do. I don't think that I am overly selfish desiring to receive gifts from others. I have to say I find it amazing that as well known as these two verses are, people still don't realize and receive to themselves the blessings of grace, of which salvation is the first and foremost. Salvation is our introduction to becoming members of the family of God and the body of Christ. But there's so much more to grace. Unfortunately, it has been maligned and people don't understand it. They don't understand it to the extent that this question arises, does God's grace run out? More than amazing, I am saved, I am gifted by his grace. In this age of grace I stand. The law no longer can remand, set free from the power of sin, given a chance to begin again. More than amazing, I am refined, I am defined by his grace. Grace for all shall never fail. Until Christ returned, it shall prevail, a gift given to all who will receive and know its power when we believe. More than amazing, I am enriched, I am enabled by his grace. We will start with my first big question. Does God's grace run out? First of all, when did it start? The first mention of grace is found in Genesis chapter six, verse eight. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Grace is mentioned numerous times throughout the Old Testament. The grace that was experienced by Noah and others was conditional. God was gracious to Noah because Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and he walked with God. The rest of humanity at that time had degenerated into a constant state of wickedness and evil thinking. Thousands of years later, Jesus Christ shows up and brings a different type of grace. John chapter 1, verse 17. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Long after Noah had received grace, Moses received the law from God. And again, as in the case with Noah, the law is all about being just and perfect and walking with God. It's about doing. The focus is what we do. But with the arrival of Jesus Christ comes an unconditional grace, one we receive as a gift. Noah earned his grace. The children of Israel earned favor from God as they were obedient to the law. But the grace that Jesus brought, he paid for on the cross. Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 and 9. For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. I need to repeat verse 8 to remind us that grace is a gift. That definitely puts it outside of works, and it says so in verse nine. It is not of works. This shows the vast difference between the grace of the Old Testament and the grace that Jesus brought us and bought us. So how long will it last? Ephesians chapter 3, verse 2. If indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you. The word dispensation is also translated as administration in other versions of the Bible. A simple way to understand this word is, as in American politics, the administration of a president. It's a four-year term. Here we are talking about the administration of grace. It started with the ascension of Jesus and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. And it's here in its fullness of blessing until Christ comes to take the church away in what some people call the gathering together or the rapture. In Acts chapter 20, there's a verse that uses the phrase, the gospel of the grace of God. Grace is part of the good news. Unfortunately, there are some who have a very narrow view of what grace is. As I stated before, the grace that Christ has brought to us is unconditional. It's a gift. We simply must believe on Christ to receive it. Romans chapter five verse two. Through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Through Christ we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand or have been placed or are established. This concept is repeated again near the end of the New Testament in first Peter chapter five, verse twelve. By Sylvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand. We stand in grace, not in judgment. We stand in grace, not in fear, we stand in grace, not doubt. So what exactly is grace? What is it to stand or be placed or be established in grace? The Apostle Paul talks about grace and gives us a couple of key elements that tell us what grace is. First Corinthians chapter fifteen, verse ten. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain, but I labor more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Paul says, By the grace of God I am what I am. The grace of God defined Paul, not his works, not his genealogy, not his financial portfolio, it was grace. He then goes on to speak about the work he was doing. He said he labored more than the other apostles. But then he defines what enabled him to work, the grace of God, which was with him. There are a couple of different words for with in the Greek language. The Greek word meta simply means accompanying, like a hamburger with fries. But the Greek word used here is the word sun, which would be more like coffee with cream. There is a union described. Grace unites with us to empower us. If we try to work by our natural human ability, we will be very limited. God empowers us by his grace to do the work that he has called us to do. To realize that we are not defined by our past brings a great amount of release. And when you consider the Apostle Paul, who defined himself as the chief sinner because he persecuted the church, that's a big statement. Paul states that he was unworthy, but it was grace that set him free from his past. Our abilities are not powered by our intelligence or education or anything else. Consider this detail in Romans chapter 12, verse 6. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them. If prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith. The context of Romans chapter 12 are the offices or callings or assignments that we are given in the body of Christ. These gifts differ according to the grace that is given to us. It is by grace that we have the ability to operate within the body of Christ. We live our lives in the space that grace gives us. Without grace, we are in bondage. For our boasting is this, the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshy wisdom, but by the grace of God and more abundantly toward you. We conduct ourselves, we live our lives by the grace of God. We do not live by law. Law brings us into bondage. Grace delivers us and enables us. Hebrews chapter twelve, verse twenty eight. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. This verse can't get much clearer. Let us have grace by which we may serve. Again, we are told that grace enables us to be able to serve God in an acceptable manner. Without grace, our service can easily become a routine religious action. Hebrews 4, verse 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. In a time of need, we don't need rules and regulations. In a time of need we need the assurance that God is with us. There are a number of things that define the throne of God. Here his throne is one of grace, not a throne of judgment, a throne of grace. At that throne of grace we obtain mercy and find grace, wow, what a shock, to help us in time of need. Grace at the throne of grace. Who would have thought? First Peter chapter five, verse ten. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you. God's throne is the throne of grace, and God is the God of all grace. So how long will grace last? Will grace run out? Can we use it all up? The grace of God will last until the return of Christ. It will not run out. We cannot use it all up. Consider the greetings of the Church of We will take the greeting in the book of Romans as an example. At the time of the writing of the Bible, the gods of the world at that time, mythic or otherwise, weren't very gracious. The true God wanted his children to always remember and receive his grace. The greeting is offering us grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. They are not waiting around to convict us of sin, they are waiting for us to turn to them and receive the good they offer. Good that will never run out. Unfortunately, there is much wrong teaching concerning grace. One small aspect of grace is unmerited favor. That's what most people teach. But it has so much more than that because it says Jesus received grace in his youth. If anyone merited grace, it would have been Jesus, of course. Grace is given to us as a gift. You don't earn gifts. The question is, what are you doing with the gift of grace? Are you realizing the worthiness that it grants you? Are you realizing the freedom it grants you? Are you realizing the love God is giving you by His grace? Grace is waiting for you, and it won't leave.
