SHOULDER TO SHOULDER #86 ---- 9/6/99
Posted by: lifeunlimited <lifeunlimited@...>
As We fight The Good Fight
SHOULDER TO SHOULDER #86 ---- 9/6/99
TITLE: "The Sufficiency of His Grace For Me"
SPECIAL PRAYER REQUEST FOR A BROTHER:
A long-time friend, Pastor Gary Taylor, is facing a major challenge.
Music Evangelists friends, Greg and Jamie Hitt, are members of the church
he pastors, and passed this information to me.
"Please continue to pray for our Pastor, Gary Taylor. He met with his
Oncologist yesterday. He is in the Intermediate stages of Lymphoma - (on
a scale of 1-10, he is a 5). There are 4 stages of Lymphoma and he is in
the 2nd stage. It is a non-Hodgkins type of Lymphoma. He goes in for a
CAT scan, blood work, and bone marrow tests next week, Sept. 9th. He
will also begin chemotherapy the same day. He will receive chemo
treatments every 3 weeks for the next 18 weeks.
"Please pray for strength and for Pastor to keep encouraged. Pray for
Joyce as she takes care of him. Pray for the kids. Pray for our church.
Pastor will end his year as . . . Convention President next month - pray
that he will have strength to meet those obligations - he has had to
cancel some of them. Pray that people will understand."
I hope you'll do that.
A GREAT STORY:
Last Sunday as I preached on forgiveness in my "One Another" series, I
used Hebrews 12:15 as one of my texts, pointing out that the reason a
root of bitterness had sprung up in a wound that has been infected with
unforgiveness was because the wounded party came short of God's grace
---- "God's lavish expression, out of His mercy, of His unconditional
love and inexhaustible provision for every situation".
The chairman of deacons from the church sent me the following story on
Monday. A great point is made. Hope you enjoy it.
++++++++ The LORD's Baseball Game: ++++++++
Bob was caught up in the spirit where he and the Lord stood by to observe
a baseball game. The Lord's team was playing Satan's team. The Lord's
team was at bat, the score was tied zero to zero, and it was the bottom
of the 9th inning with two outs.
They continued to watch as a batter stepped up to the plate whose name
was Love. Love swung at the first pitch and hit a single, because Love
never fails.
The next batter was named Faith, who also got a single because Faith
works with Love.
The next batter up was named Godly Wisdom. Satan wound up and threw the
first pitch; Godly Wisdom looked it over and let it pass, because Godly
Wisdom does not swing at Satan's pitches. Ball one. Three more pitches
and Godly Wisdom walked, because Godly Wisdom never swings at Satan's
throws.
The bases were loaded.
The Lord then turned to Bob and told him He was now going to bring in His
star player. Up to the plate stepped Grace. Bob said he sure did not
look like much! Satan's whole team relaxed when they saw Grace.
Thinking he had won the game, Satan wound up and fired his first pitch.
To the shock of everyone, Grace hit the ball harder than anyone had ever
seen. But Satan was not worried; his center fielder, the Prince of the
air, let very few get by. He went up for the ball, but it went right
through his glove, hit him on the head and sent him crashing on the
ground; then it continued over the fence for a home run! The Lord's
team won.
The Lord then asked Bob if he knew why Love, Faith, and Godly Wisdom
could get on base but could not win the game. Bob answered that he did
not know why.
The Lord explained, "If your Love, Faith and Wisdom had won the game you
would think you had done it by yourself.
Love, Faith and Wisdom will get you on base, but only My GRACE can get
you home."
Isn't that awesome? Thanks, Jim! "Through many dangers, toils, and
snares I have already come. 'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and
grace will lead me home!"
OUR GREATEST NEED:
I have been thinking about that a great deal lately.
Depending on our circumstances, we seem to choose solutions that identify
with our greatest need. If we are without Christ, our greatest need is
salvation. If we are distressed, we say our greatest need is comfort.
If we are confused and despairing, we would indicate our greatest need is
hope. If we are about to preach a crucial sermon we would say our
greatest need is wisdom from the Holy Spirit.
Well, then, ---- if you were to pick one thing to identify as your
greatest need for your ministry, what would you select? Wisdom?
Anointing? Endurance? Patience? New Vision? Compassion?
As a result of the past two weeks of studying, preaching, and thinking, I
would have to say our greatest need probably is . . .
Grace!
Plain and simple, ---- Grace.
For every situation you and I face, my friend, in ministry, God's Grace
is the greatest need, and His Grace provides the greatest supply.
DEFINING JUST WHAT IT IS WE NEED.
It may be that one reason we often don't see that is because we don't
know what it is we're seeing. We don't know what Grace really is. Here
again is my working definition:
1. I defined Grace as "God lavishly expressing, out of His Mercy, His
Unconditional Love and Inexhaustible Provision for Any and Every
Situation".
Broken down, I see some powerful truths there:
1) God lavishly . . . lavishly!
2) Expressing . . . It's not just an academic exercise or some
theological doctrine. It is activated and thrust into my life like an
arrow into a bulls eye on a target.
3) Out of His mercy. I'm so glad it's not out of His anything else
---- only His mercy!
4) His unconditional . . . unconditional . . . . love. Can't be
earned, bought, or stolen. It comes without condition on our part. It's
just God saying, "I love you! ---- no questions asked!"
5) and Inexhaustible Provision ---- that can't go bankrupt, and
cannot be diminished in any way.
6) for Any and Every situation ---- no exceptions. There is nothing
that comes your way, my friend, that is beyond God's love and outside of
God's provision.
2. This Grace Expresses . . .
1) God's Favor as illustrated in Gen 6:8 when it says of Noah, "Noah
found favor in the eyes of the Lord".
2) God's Mercy as described in Rom 11:6 when Paul addresses the issue
of Israel's redemption. "If it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis
of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace."
3) His Grace is also expressed God's Forgiveness in that same
passage.
4) God's offer of salvation in Eph 2:8-9, when Paul tells us we are
"saved by Grace, through faith," neither of which are of our own doing.
Often we in ministry seem to know the needs of others, but don't know our
own. I propose that perhaps today, for whatever you are currently
facing, you need the resources of God's grace.
UNDERSTANDING WHAT IT IS WE NEED:
In describing God's Grace, the Bible says . . .
1. It is All Abundant (Read Rom 5:15-20). Eph 1:6 tells us that Grace
is what He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved". Acts 4:33 described
the ministry of the Apostles like this; "And with great power the
apostles were giving witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and
abundant grace was upon them all."
2. God's Grace is also All Sufficient according to II Cor 12:9 in which
God tells Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My Power is
perfected in [your] weakness."
3. Such Grace is All glorious as declared in Eph 1:6, "To the praise of
the glory of His Grace".
4. God's Grace is also Manifold ---- "many-folded" or multi-faceted As
Peter declared in I Peter 4:10: ---- "As each one has received a special
gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold
grace ['many-folded', 'many-faceted'] of God". God's grace is a
kaleidoscopic manifestation of His absolute goodness.
5. God is Rich in His mercy and Grace as Paul declared in Eph 2:4-5.
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He
loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive
together with Christ (by grace you have been saved."
6. God's Grace is the Basis of Our Own Redemption. Eph 1:7 says, "In
whom we have redemption through His blood . . . according to the riches
of His grace".
7. Finally, God's Grace is the Source of Forgiveness according to Eph
1:7. "the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His
grace."
DISREGARDING OR DEFERRING HIS GRACE:
If God lavishly expresses, through His mercy, His unconditional love and
inexhaustible provision for us in any and every situation, then why is it
that you and I in the ministry so often fail to appropriate in a
practical way such awesome Grace in times of duress or attack?
Why is it we don't even practice what we preach? Why is it that we so
frequently choose our own reactions instead of God's provision when we
are challenged, hurt, undermined, ridiculed, or verbally castigated?
Have you ever asked yourself such questions? "Why did I do such a stupid
thing!?!"
Well, my friend, when we either ignore and disregard or deflect and deny
God's grace for those difficult and painful circumstances, we are doing
something downright dumb. When we, for whatever reason, do not
appropriate His Grace, . . .
1. We avoid or ignore the issues by pretending they didn't happen or
that nothing is wrong ---- "it didn't bother me a bit."
2. We evade personal responsibility both for us and the others involved
by simply letting it slide by. In so doing, we, on the one hand,
validate the wrong action that has been taken, and, on the other, we
invalidate God's provision He has offered.
3. We justify our attitude and actions by hiding it in the guise of
super spirituality. Then we talk about it to others ---- our families,
our peers, our special friends in the church, etc., all the while
displaying ourselves as the "victim" or the "martyr" for the cause of
Christ. As a result, both the offender and the offended are wounded, and
are diminished significantly in their spiritual growth.
4. We refuse to accept something from God which He has freely offered,
by, in so many words, telling God, "that's O.K., God, I don't need You in
this. I can handle it myself. What you are offering is unnecessary, not
helpful, and unappreciated."
5. We choose to depend totally on human reason and resources to deal
with an issue that only God's provision can satisfy. When we fail to
draw on God's Grace in a time of trouble, our only alternative is to
depend on our own resilience or expertise. And, my friend, ---- that is
not a smart course of action, and will almost inevitably lead to a
consequence God neither desired nor intended, and which could have been
avoided if we had simply received His grace in that instant.
DRAWING FROM HIS GRACE:
So ---- What happens, however, when I decide during those times of
embattled ministry to go to Him and draw deeply and drink long from His
well of Grace?
When we choose to draw from the manifold riches and varied expressions of
God's grace, . . . .
1. We draw from God's unconditional love. We no longer drink from the
dregs of corrupted cisterns and polluted ditches. We no longer gain our
sense of worth and acceptance from the algae filled ponds of performance
based ministry. We know one simple thing ---- "God loves me . . .
period! Nothing else, nothing more, nothing less! He loves me . . .
unconditionally. What else could I ever want?"
2. We draw from God's inexhaustible provision. For every situation we
face, God's Grace is sufficient. And, as the great song says, "He giveth
more grace when the burdens grow greater; He giveth more strength when
the labors increase. To added affliction He addeth His mercy; to
multiplied trials, His multiplied peace. His love has no limit. His
grace has no measure. His power has no boundaries known unto man. For
out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth . . . and giveth . . .
and giveth again."
3. We quit making excuses for our own reactions and the actions of
others. We learn to be totally honest, and call it for what it is. If
it is sin, it is sin. If it is a wound, we admit it. If we have become
offended, we acknowledge it. If we have been tempted, we confess it in
agreement with God.
Many of us in ministry waste far too much time justifying our behavior,
our failures, and our attitudes. On the other hand, we may even do the
same for the other party. Either way, we tarnish the good name of the
Christ Whom we serve, and we insult the God of grace.
4. We also quit trying to explain or justify the situation from human
logic and rationale. Right now in the church where I am interim pastor,
there are some who, because they are looking at some situations of the
past from the perspective of what appears to be logical and reasonable,
are missing the whole point that offenses have been committed, they need
to forgive others for those offenses, they need to ask forgiveness for
their own attitudes that resulted, and ---- God's Grace is more than
sufficient to handle the whole process.
5. Drawing on God's grace will cause us to be cut loose and no longer
be tied by an emotional and spiritual umbilical cord to the past. I can
tell you, my friend, from personal experience what it is like to try to
serve effectively in a current ministry while still emotionally attached
to a past ministry because I failed to draw on God's grace to heal my own
heart and to forgive those who may have hurt me.
Let's be honest, friend. If you're going to be in vocational ministry,
you're going to get clobbered, beat up, and hurt. If you can't stand
that, then stay away from people.
I am 61 years old at this writing, and have ministered, counting my
college and seminary days of short "school-year-only" ministries, in
some vocational capacity in fourteen churches, nine of which were full
time in nature. In ten of those fourteen churches there were occasions
where I was hurt or attacked from either a congregational or individual
source.
If I tried to resolve those issues by justifying, explaining, and using
human logic, I would still be emotionally tied with a ball and chain so
tightly to those past settings that I would be of absolutely no value in
any subsequent ministry. Even today I still on occasion must check my
heart toward some of those events ---- I must not allow myself to be tied
to the past simply because I was wronged, misunderstood, failed to
forgive, or was never asked to forgive another.
It simply is not worth the price I would have to pay.
6. Drawing from God's Grace will enable me to have a sense of humility
and compassion toward the person, persons, or group who may have tried
to undermine, oppose, intimidate, or accuse me. As long as I approach it
from my own limited human resources, I will settle for anything from
whimpering self pity and a martyr complex to a sinister plot of revenge
or destruction of the other parties.
However, if I draw from God's reserve of Grace, God will give me a tender
heart of love, compassion, forgiveness, and humility toward that person
or church. If you're going to effectively serve God, you'd better make
sure that's where your heart is. Otherwise, you're in for a very unhappy
lifetime of ministry ---- or you'll bail out and quit.
7. By drawing from God's Grace, I will develop a desire for restoration
that is greater than any sense of self righteous pride or self serving
revenge. I will realize that the offending or attacking party has some
hurts and disappointments that most likely caused him to act the way he
did toward me. My goal, if "feasting on the riches of His grace", will
be to restore that person rather than rebuke him ---- to encourage rather
than castigate ---- to bless rather than curse.
By taking that attitude, I will find myself "resting 'neath His
shelt'ring wings" aware that "There's within my heart a melody, Jesus
whispers, sweet and low, ---- 'Fear not! I am with thee; peace be
still!' in all of life's ebb and flow."
CONCL:
Therefore, dear friend, . . . .
"See to it that you don't come short of God's grace!"
As long as you are in vocational ministry you are always going to face
misunderstandings, hardships, accusations, intimidations, and other such
conflicts.
The one thing that will get you through them all is to recognize,
receive, and appropriate God's limitless grace for each and every
situation.
If you try to face them in your own resources and understanding, the
wound will become infected with offense, it will become diseased with
unforgiveness, a root of bitterness will eventually spring up, many will
be defiled by your bitterness, the battles will be lost more than won,
and, though like Esau you seek for it with tears, your heart will be so
hard that repentance will nigh be impossible (Hebrews 12:14-17). Your
character will be marred, your influence will be destroyed, and your
effectiveness in ministry will be diminished if not totally destroyed.
If, however, you go to the well of Grace for every circumstance, God will
provide you the grace to endure it, the grace to resolve it, or the grace
to conquer it. You will have a testimony of God's grace and faithfulness
to share, you will have a heart of compassion out of which to minister,
and you will have a contentment of soul that will carry you through even
the most despairing days.
Remember ---- God's Grace is the act of His "lavishly expressing, out of
His Mercy, His Unconditional Love and Inexhaustible Provision for Any and
Every Situation"
That pretty well covers anything you'll ever face, my friend.
I cannot say it strongly enough ---- Draw for your yesterdays from His
Grace. Live today in His Grace. Prepare for tomorrow by His Grace.
In Christ's Bond of Love and Grace,
Bob
Bob Tolliver ---- (Rom 1:11-12)
Copyright September, 1999. All rights reserved.
If this letter has blessed you and you know of someone else who needs to
be encouraged, feel free to forward it in its entirety to all such people
you know.
If you would like a list of past issues which you could receive upon
request, just let us know.
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{ (O) (O) }
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Hang in there! I'm with you!
-------.ooooO--------------- Ooooo--------
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Bob Tolliver ---- Rom 1:11-12
Life Unlimited Ministries
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