Sunday Sermon
GETTING INTO THE RIVER OF GRACE
Date: December 2, 2007
Speaker: Pastor Gerry Gregoire
Scriptural Reference: Romans 5:17; Galatians 5:22-25
Listen to Audio Sermon

ROMANS 5:17 AND GALATIANS 5:22-25
17For if because of one man's trespass (lapse, offense) death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive [God's] overflowing grace (unmerited favor) and the free gift of righteousness [putting them into right standing with Himself] reign as kings in life through the one Man Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

THE IMPACT OF CHRIST’S ACTION HAS TO BE GREATER THAN THAT OF ADAM. WE DEFINITELY CAN FEEL THE IMPACT OF ADAM’S ACTION, SO WHAT ABOUT WHAT JESUS DID, WHY HAS THE IMPACT NOT BEEN FELT AS MUCH, OR AT LEAST SEEMS THAT WAY?

GAL 5:22-25 –
22But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness,
23Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge].
24And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires.
25If we live by the [Holy] Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go forward ] walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit.]

THE HOLY SPIRIT CAME AS A GUIDE FOR US AND A HELPER AND HIS APPEARANCE WAS BECAUSE OF THE WORK OF GRACE. YET, MOST PEOPLE DON’T FEEL HIS IMPACT.

WHATEVER PEOPLE ARE SAYING OR NOT SAYING, THERE IS ALMOST UNIVERSAL BELIEF IN THE IMMENSE DIFFICULTY OF BEING A REAL CHRISTIAN. THAT IS, WALKING AS CHRIST WALKED.

THIS KIND OF THINKING MUST NOT BE LEFT TO STAND ALONE AS THE WHOLE TRUTH. ALTHOUGH ON THE SURFACE OF UNIVERSAL EFFORTS, IT CAN SEEM AS A GREAT TRUTH FOR MANY PEOPLE.

HOW MANY HAVE SAID, “I WANT TO BE JUST LIKE JESUS, BUT IN TRYING YOU GOT DISCOURAGED AND STOP TRYING?

YOUR IN GOOD COMPANY, BECAUSE THERE ARE MANY HERE WHO WILL SAY THAT WAS ME, I TRIED BUT FAILED.

ON THAT PREMISE, I BRING TO YOU THE SUBJECT OF SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES AS A MEANS TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL OF CHRIST LIKENESS. NOW, DON’T LET THE WORD DISCIPLINE SCARE YOU OFF BECAUSE THIS DISCIPLINE IS ACHIEVED BY HAVING A GREAT LOVE FOR JESUS AND COMES ONLY THROUGH HIS GRACE. THAT’S RIGHT THESE DISCIPLINES COME TO YOU BY HIS GRACE ONLY.

THE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES IN THEMSELVES WILL DO NOTHING FOR YOU. WHAT THEY DO IS GIVE YOU A PATH TO FOLLOW TO GET INTO THE RIVER OF HIS GRACE AND FAVOR. WE NEED TO PRAY, GOD GIVE US THE GRACE TO START THESE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES. YOU HAVE GOT TO WANT THEM REALLY BADLY.

TO GET ALL OF GOD’S FAVOR, THERE IS SOMETHING WE MUST DO TO GET INTO THE RIVER OF HIS BLESSINGS AND THAT IS TO FOLLOW THE PATHS THAT HAVE BEEN PROVIDED FOR US IN GOD’S WORD.

LOOK AT ROMANS 5:2-4 –
2Through Him also we have [our] access (entrance, introduction) by faith into this grace (state of God's favor) in which we [firmly and safely] stand. And let us rejoice and exult in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God.
3Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance.
4And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of character (approved faith and tried integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of] joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation.

WE ARE TO BE ENJOYING OUR WALKS HERE ON EARTH EVEN WHEN TRIBULATION COMES AS STATED IN VERSE 3.
WHY ARE MANY PEOPLE NOT EXPERIENCING THIS JOY? MOSTLY BECAUSE THEY ARE UNAWARE OF HOW TO RECEIVE THE TRUE GRACE AND PEACE OF GOD.

LET’S LOOK AT MATTHEW 7:13-14 –
13Enter through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and spacious and broad is the way that leads away to destruction, and many are those who are entering through it.
14But the gate is narrow (contracted by pressure) and the way is straitened and compressed that leads away to life, and few are those who find it.

WHY DID JESUS SAY THIS? WAS IT BECAUSE THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN IS BY GRACE, THE UNMERITED FAVOR OF GOD?

GOD WILL NOT GIVE US ANY GLORY FOR MAKING IT TO HEAVEN, BECAUSE WE GO THERE ONLY BECAUSE OF HIS GRACE AND FAVOR. HE WILL SAY, “WELL DONE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT,” BECAUSE WE FOUND THE WAY AND STUCK TO IT. THAT IS WE REMAINED FAITHFUL TO HIS GRACE.

THE WAY TO HEAVEN IS NARROW BECAUSE IT’S BY GRACE.
YOU SEE, THERE ARE NO OTHER WAYS TO HEAVEN EXCEPT THROUGH HIS FAVOR. SO, I HOPE YOU CAN SEE THE IMPORTANCE OF GETTING INTO THE RIVER OF HIS GRACE AND RECEIVING THE FULLNESS OF HIS BLESSINGS. MOST CHRISTIANS ARE IN AND OUT AND IN AND OUT.

NOW THE PATHS TO GET INTO AND STAY IN THE RIVER OF HIS GRACE BECOME EVEN MORE IMPORTANT THEN EVER.

WE WILL TALK ABOUT ONLY ONE PATH TODAY AND HOPEFULLY YOU CAN RECEIVE AND USE THIS PATH SOON.
WE WANT TO TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT MEDITATION.

IN TODAY’S SOCIETY THE ADVERSARY MAJORS IN THREE THINGS, NOISE, HURRY, AND CROWDS. HURRY IS NOT OF THE DEVIL, IT IS THE DEVIL. WE HAVE NO TIME OR VERY LITTLE TIME FOR GOD WITH OUR SCHEDULES. IT’S ALWAYS GO, GO, GO.
MEDITATION IN GOD’S WORD WAS NOT STRANGE FOR MANY BIBLE HEROES WHO GAVE US EXAMPLES TO LIVE BY.
LOOK AT GENESIS 24:63 —
63And Isaac went out to meditate and bow down [in prayer] in the open country in the evening; and he looked up and saw that, behold, the camels were coming
MEDITATION WAS NOT STRANGE TO ISAAC.
PSALM 63:5-8 –
5My whole being shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips 6When I remember You upon my bed and meditate on You in the night watches,7For You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings will I rejoice.
8My whole being follows hard after You and clings closely to You; Your right hand upholds me.

IT SURELY WAS SATISFYING TO DAVID AS HE PURSUED HARD AFTER GOD. ARE YOU SEEING THIS PATTERN?
PSALM 119:148-149 –
148My eyes anticipate the night watches and I am awake before the cry of the watchman, that I may meditate on Your word.
149Hear my voice according to Your steadfast love; O Lord, quicken me and give me life according to Your [righteous] decrees.

MEDITATION IS A MEANS FOR ENTERING THE HOLY OF HOLIES AND DIALOGING WITH GOD HIMSELF. IT KEEPS YOU CONNECTED LIKE AN UMBILICAL CHORD.

WHAT DOES REVELATION 1:10 TELL US ABOUT JOHN?
10I was in the Spirit [rapt in His power] on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a great voice like the calling of a war trumpet,

ODDS ARE THAT JOHN WAS MEDITATING ON THE LORD’S DAY AND LOOK WHAT KNOWLEDGE CAME FROM THAT. GOD WILL REVEAL HIS DEEPEST SECRETS WHEN YOU MAKE AN HONEST EFFORT TO CONNECT WITH HIM.

JEREMIAH 33:3 –
3Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand).

SUCH GREAT THINKERS AS AUGUSTINE, FRANCIS OF ASSISI, BROTHER LAWRENCE, AND THOMAS MERTON SPOKE MORE OF THIS EXCELLENT WAY. LOOK AT PSALM 119:78-79 –
78
Let the proud be put to shame, for they dealt perversely with me without a cause; but I will meditate on Your precepts. 79Let those who reverently and worshipfully fear You turn to me, and those who have known Your testimonies.

IN THE PSALMS OF DAVID, HE IS CONTINUALLY JOURNALING TO GOD.

CHRISTIAN MEDITATION GOES FAR BEYOND THE NOTION OF DETACHMENT LIKE THE EASTERN RELIGIONS. THERE IS A NEED HOWEVER, FOR DETACHMENT FROM THE CONFUSION ALL AROUND US IN ORDER TO HAVE A RICHER ATTACHMENT TO GOD AND OTHER HUMAN BEINGS. CHRISTIAN MEDITATION LEADS US TO THE INNER WHOLESOMENESS NECESSARY TO GIVE OURSELVES TO GOD FREELY AND TO THE SPIRITUAL PERCEPTION NECESSARY TO ATTACK THE SOCIAL EVILS IN THE WORLD. IN THIS SENSE, IT IS THE MOST PRACTICAL OF ALL THE DISCIPLINES.

YOU CANNOT ENTER INTO THIS TYPE OF DISCIPLINE HALF-HEARTEDLY OR YOU WILL FAIL. YOU ARE NOT JUST CALLING ON SOME COSMIC BELLHOP, BUT YOU ARE CONNECTING WITH ALMIGHTY GOD, THE CREATOR OF ALL THINGS. IT’S A SERIOUS AND EVEN DANGEROUS BUSINESS THAT YOU JUST DON’T DO FOR DIVERSION OR BECAUSE OTHERS ARE DOING IT.

THE BEST PREPARATION FOR SUCCESSFUL MEDITATION IS A PERSONAL CONVICTION OF IT’S IMPORTANCE AND A STAUNCH DETERMINATION TO PERSEVERE IN IT’S PRACTICE.

IT CAN BE DIFFICULT WHEN YOU FIRST START BUT ONCE YOU BECOME SKILLED, IT BECOMES MORE USEFUL AND FRUIT PRODUCING. AND DON’T FORGET, IT’S ONE OF THE PATHS THAT WILL DEFINITELY GET YOU INTO THE RIVER OF GOD’S GRACE AND BLESSINGS.

THE DANGER CAN BE THAT WHEN GOD STARTS GIVING YOU REVELATION IT CAN MAKE YOU FEEL THAT YOU ARE BETTER THAN OTHERS. IT SHOULD NOT LEAD TO US CONDEMNING THE WORLD BUT, TO A MUCH GREATER COMPASSION FOR THE SITUATION THAT THE WORLD IS IN.

THIS TYPE OF MEDITATION IS NOT JUST FOR RELIGIOUS PROFESSIONALS BUT FOR ALL WHO HAVE CALLED ON THE NAME OF JESUS FOR THEIR SALVATION.

WHAT ABOUT THE DIRECTION THAT GOD WILL GIVE US WHILE MEDITATING? GOOD QUESTION.

LOOK AT ACTS 9:10-12 –
10Now there was in Damascus a disciple named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias. And he answered, Here am I, Lord.
11And the Lord said to him, Get up and go to the street called Straight and ask at the house of Judas for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying [there].
12And he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias enter and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.

MEDITATION CAN RESULT IN DREAMS AND VISIONS AND LOOK AT THE SPECIFIC DIRECTION THAT WAS GIVEN TO ANANIAS AND PAUL. HEARING HIS VOICE IS A RESULT OF HIS GRACE. HE WANTS US TO NOT ONLY HEAR HIS VOICE BUT TO FOLLOW UP WITH OUR ACTIONS.

YOU CANNOT LEARN TO MEDITATE FROM A BOOK, YOU LEARN TO MEDITATE BY MEDITATING.

I CANNOT TEACH YOU TO MEDITATE BUT I CAN GIVE YOU A FEW SUGGESTIONS:

1) PRAY AND ASK GOD TO GIVE YOU THE GRACE AND DESIRE TO MEDITATE.

2) SET ASIDE SPECIFIC TIMES AND TRY TO MAKE IT THE SAME EVERY DAY IF POSSIBLE.

3) IN THE BEGINNING, FIND A PLACE THAT IS QUIET WITH LITTLE TO NO INTERRUPTIONS. WHEN YOU BECOME MORE SEASONED, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO MEDITATE ANYWHERE.

4) THE MAJOR KEY TO MEDITATION IS YOUR ABILITY TO USE YOUR IMAGINATION JUST LIKE YOU DID AS A KID. IMAGINATION IS ONE OF THE MAJOR KEYS TO MEDITATING.

I.E. YOUR ON THE ROAD CALLED VIA DELAROSA AND YOU CAN HERE THE CROWD APPROACHING. SUDDENLY YOU SEE HIM, IT’S JESUS AND HE IS CARRYING HIS CROSS AND THE SOLDIERS ARE SCREAMING AT HIM TO MOVE AND THE SOUND OF THE WHIP IS DEAFENING. AS HE GETS NEARER THE NOISE BECOMES LOUDER AND THEN IT HAPPENS, A SPLASH OF HIS BLOOD HITS YOUR FACE, AND WHEN THAT HAPPENS YOU SUDDENLY FEEL A PEACE THAT YOU NEVER FELT BEFORE. IT’S LIKE EVERY CARE HAS LIFTED AND YOU FEEL FREE.

THAT IS WHAT YOU ARE SUPPOSE TO BE FEELING TODAY. MAYBE YOU DIDN’T FEEL THE PHYSICAL BLOOD BUT THAT SAME BLOOD THAT WAS SHED ABOUT 2000 YEARS AGO WILL STILL GIVE YOU THAT SAME PEACE. ARE YOU READY FOR IT?

START VISUALIZING GOSPEL STORIES AND PUT YOURSELF IN THE MIX. YOUR THERE WHEN HE HEALED, WHEN HE DRIVES DEMONS OUT OF PEOPLE, WHEN HE RAISES THE DEAD. YOUR THERE WHEN HE HAS THE LAST SUPPER AND YOUR RIGHT AT THE FOOT OF HIS CROSS AS HE CRIES, “FATHER, FORGIVE THEM, FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO.”

THAT IS HOW REAL GOD WANTS TO BE TO YOU. ARE YOU READY TO REALLY EXPERIENCE GOD THROUGH MEDITATION? HE WAITING FOR YOU.