Refreshing & Grace

John Belt
John Belt

1 Corinthians 1:3
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I. LIVING IN REFRESHING
God always gives us hope and reason to believe. He is a good God who gives us new
beginnings. He causes the sun to rise on a new day in our lives. He sends a fresh
breeze to blow upon our face to refresh us in a new season. He refreshes our souls.
He desires us to be refreshed by His grace, peace and presence daily.
Acts 3:19
“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord…”
When there are things in our lives that seem out of balance God comes to bring things
into balance. Many of us can remember when we first came to the Lord. He gave us
a fresh slate where all of the past was completely wiped out. God desires for us
to live in His freshness. He is the God of the “new” and the “fresh”. He makes
“all” things new. God is good. Every day He makes things new. If any of us think
back to the time where God cleaned us up all we needed was a willing heart, a heart
that said “yes” to Him. Once we said yes He did the rest. That is how He is.
It is that simple. In our pursuit of Him we need to remember not to make things
complex, but keep it simple. His love is simple, powerful and never fails. We
need to enter that rest He has provided for us.
II. HIS MERCIES, OUR PRIVILEGE
His mercies are new every morning. He knows that we need them every morning. Most
think that everyone one else needs them, but all of us do. We all fall short of
the glory of God. If it was not for Jesus, we could not experience His glory in
our lives. What a privilege to be the temples of God in the earth. He said His
house would be a house of prayer. We are that house of prayer. Jesus ever lives
to intercede for us, the saints – His holy ones.
Hebrews 7:25
“Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”
Our lives are to be knit with Jesus in ever living to intercede alongside Him.
He is the Great High Priest. We are his co-laborers in the Spirit, ambassadors
that usher the Kingdom of God into the earth through the glory of His Spirit.
He so desires to see this happen that He has given us the ultimate package plan
of reconciliation and redemption. The blood of Christ is so much greater than our
shortcomings. He brings things right back into balance as we come to Him leaning
on His mercy and grace.
III. THE ATTRACTIVE GRACE OF GOD
2 Cor 9:14-15
“…who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”
His plan of grace is glorious and attractive. Those who understand it will be light.
The grace of God is to be received in our hearts that we may carry the spirit of
grace releasing it to others. We are connected to the spirit of grace as we understand
grace and yield to His Holy Spirit. To experience the grace of God means we are
able to extend it. Presumption and pride enter in when we think we are better than
another and begin talking about others inappropriately.
Those who understand the grace of God understand that all have a vital need of it
and partner with God in extending that grace. We need to understand that God holds
out a fresh slate to all who come. It is not on our terms, but His. He is no respecter
of persons. He is so quick to extend love, mercy and grace. People are typically
too quick to extend judgment rather than speaking well of others praying for their
blessing. There is only one judge and He has chosen to extend mercy and grace.
We are much better off keeping our opinions to ourselves and speaking well of others
releasing the blessing of God.
IV. GIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT ROOM
Galatians 6:8
“For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”
Set your heart to be filled with His grace. If we are always trying to fix ourselves
we will always try to fix others too. The way we treat ourselves is the way we will
treat others. You can only give what you have received. Give the Holy Spirit room
and allow Him to work and do what He knows is best concerning others. We need to
keep our eyes on the Lord. A life of thanksgiving to God is a life that is after
the Spirit. Thanksgiving is a great indicator of where we are living. Thanksgiving
is heavenward. Complaining cuts off the life of the Spirit. Follow the way of the
Spirit and you will find life, peace and joy in His righteousness

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