Jn. 1:1, Rev. 22:21,

P. Scibelli

Great messages this morning. Were they not? P. Schaller is an amazing man of God, pastor, and preacher. I so much appreciate being around him. It’s not a flattery thing. I’m just very glad. Is Ruth there? I went evangelizing with her yesterday. We went into the North East Market. Tony came from the North East Market. We had a great time telling people the message of grace. Most of the time it’s very well received and other times they react because of legalism.

These verses are the first and last in the Bible. Ge 1:1 is not the first verse. It is in your Bible. Jesus himself is the word. Jesus himself is truth. ALETHEIA, truth that is personal. Not just a body of truth but truth as it is in a person. The Word of God. Jesus is the word and the truth. Jesus is also grace.

Jn 1 is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. It talks about the grace of God. We beheld his glory. Out of his fullness we have received grace upon grace, grace for grace, continuous grace. We’re in a place to receive grace continually. Grace is the person of God himself. One word definition of grace is Jesus. That’s his fullness and his glory.

Psalm 12, David cried out something. Even today, it’s true or more intense. Help Lord, help! Help! It’s not a bad thing to do to cry for help. Having worked with P. Duane, I always cried for help and he was the answer! David is crying out for help and it’s an intense cry. It’s from his heart.

I believe in Heb. 4:16 when we come boldly we will receive grace and mercy to help in time of need. Anybody ever have a need? Ever have a time of need? It should be every moment of every day. I need God, his life, his Spirit, the fellowship of God. For the godly man ceases. The CHESED man, the grace man, the word for lovingkindness, the word for grace. Because the grace man ceases, the faithful fail from the children of men. When there is no grace, there is no faithfulness. I’m not faithful. I receive the faithfulness of God. If we deny him, he cannot deny himself. He abides faithful. God is faithful. That is who he is. There is no grace man so because there is no grace man, the faithful fail from the children of men. How important it is for us to be people of grace and a church of grace. It’s so easy to fall into legalism. Why? Because of anti- grace forces. One anti-grace force is my OSN. My OSN has a power and force. The devil and demons are anti-grace forces. Anyone agree with that? Say amen. The world system, the kosmos. Satan is the ruler of the world. When people are worldly and live under the domination of darkness. Carnal Christianity is an anti-grace force. Legalistic Christianity. Paul said another gospel. Paul says I’m shocked you are so soon removed ….to another gospel…some pervert the gospel of JC. Worst pervert is a person who perverts grace. I know it’s used in other context but I’m using it in the context of spirituality.

Gal 2:1-4, they crept in unaware. I could creep in and not know how legalistic I am. The enemy can send people. We’ve seen this happen in Africa. Eighty-six churches come into our Bible school. Some would say you have to do this and that. We want to be on the board of your school so we can implement some of these regulations and ordinances. I said are there any kites in this country. Go fly a kite because it’s not going to happen.

Paul planted a church in Acts 14:3. God gave testimony to it with miracles. So soon removed. The very people he preached long time to were so soon removed. Anti-grace forces will come against you as a believer, against the Christian school, against the Bible school, against Sunday school, women’s ministry. Anti-grace forces will try to get a crack in the door. We had communion this morning and we said darkness comprehended him not. Can’t comprehend the God of all grace or J.C. The world knew him not. The world cannot know or understand the grace of God unless there is a conversion.

In the 11th verse, he came to his own and his own received him not. Darkness can’t comprehend him. The world doesn’t know him and his own can’t receive him. It can happen in all of our lives where grace is put on the back burner and we are going to operate in truth, but truth without grace is legalism. Someone said to me I’m not letting this person in my family into my house. Oh, really? That’s your family. I understand having no fellowship and come out from among them but grace goes beyond some of those situations. Think of how gracious God was to you when you were lost. Anyone have a pre-salvation experience where the God of all grace initiates to you when you were so opposed to God and against God. Are you listening?

I was in a foreign country at an Eric Clapton concert. Someone started foaming at the mouth and rolling on the ground. It scared me to death. I walked up because the way they were operating we need to give him some air. I’m an unbeliever and I put my hand and said help this young man and he stood up. I realized years later, the God of all grace was doing something in my life when I was against God.

Darkness does not comprehend grace. Satan hates grace. A church that is not a grace ministry will not have a lot of problems because the devil has them. They are saved and will go to heaven but their operation he doesn’t have to get involved in because of legalism. Once he is in control he can back away. A person or marriage or church is preaching about the grace of God, they are going to get hit and hit hard. I hope I’m not scaring some of you! It’s incredible. This is what I saw and experienced from God one time. Here is a person possessed, or not possessed but oppressed by demons. A legalistic person comes up and lays hands and prays at a healing meeting. Satan who put the demons on, can back them off. Now they are in the classroom of devils in a church with wrong doctrine. I got released. By who? The one that put them on, can back them off. The world knows nothing about the grace of God and his character and his own, Israel, and even today the church, received him not. So many antagonistic to the grace message. It says you were nothing, you are nothing, you have nothing, you know nothing, and you can’t do anything. You are a perfect zero and so am I. We are perfect zeroes. “I’m something. I’m an educated person. I did this and that.” You did nothing without the Holy Spirit doing it. We did nothing. I didn’t do anything in Africa. God did it. I never won a soul. God did it. The H.S. is given to us. That’s the grace of God.

Luke 5:17, Mt 9 and Mark 2 have a story. In that story, it’s Jesus speaking and a man there who is paralytic. It says and many use it for healing. You can use this and it’s perfectly all right.

The context, 5:17, the power of the Lord was present to heal them. Who was them? He’s talking about the Pharisees, the scribes and doctors of the law. The reference is to them. God is going to heal the one man. “Them” is plural. The interpreters of the law studied the Bible without grace. When you study the Bible and you don’t understand who God is, the Bible can kill you. Are there parts of the Bible we don’t want to look at? Pray without ceasing. Where is that verse! Give it all, rich young ruler. How do you interpret the Bible if you don’t know the character of God? Through your osn, the good side even, and through self and come up with a religious system. You have the doctors of the law preaching and teaching the word outside of grace. Then the Pharisees who applied the Bible. Did you tithe? Did you come to church three times? They made sure the Bible was applied but they did it with God’s nature. They needed to be healed. We are in the middle of these anti-grace forces and even one of them dwells in us. We have an absolute victory because of the grace of God.

1) God through grace liberates me from me. Grace liberates me from me. I’m set free from who I used to be and who I am in the OSN. Grace is liberating. I can even be free from the impatience of my OSN. I become so patient. I used to throw weed whackers down the hill when they wouldn’t start. Now, I call someone up to kindly help me to fix it. I don’t throw them anymore. I’m free from throwing Weed whackers! I’m free from cursing the lines…I decided to get a pair of scissors and cut the grass with scissors instead of weed whackers. Grace liberates you from you. You say you don’t need to be. You need grace to see that. Convicts us and takes us to the next step. Grace liberates me from me.

2) Grace liberates me from the world system. Titus 2:11-12, one of the only times other than Lk 42:52 where grace is a noun and not an action verb. Grace liberates me from the world. And it’s ways and trends and evaluations. What do you do for work? I said I don’t do anything for work. I have life and I’m a pastor. He said you couldn’t do anything else in life? By the way, they’ll be nice to you and cordial. I’m liberated from the world. Lot was not. That’s why he set his eyes toward Sodom and Gomorrah. The devil tried to attack Jesus and showed him the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

Christian school is supposed to liberate. I had to be on guard 24/7 to make sure anti-grace forces didn’t enter into the classroom. There was a lady laying hands on people and saying they had to speak a certain language. I said that’s not what we are going to do. Someone had a picture of Gandhi in the classroom and I said remove that picture. That is not what we are looking at. We are looking at Jesus not Gandhi. She didn’t do it so I ripped it down in front of the students. I had a parent call me and said I don’t appreciate what you did. I said I have a list of 12 Christian schools in the area. Take your children and bring them there.

We have to protect anti-grace forces entering the Bible school and we don’t have that. The Christian school. We heard P. Schaller say don’t loan money. Don’t loan it; give it. I know if you go to a bank, it’s difficult. Walk in and say my pastor said you may give me some money! I went to a high position in government once and said I think God wants you to give us this and that and they did it.

3) Grace liberates me from the devil and demons. How many think there is such a thing? When you have an issue with another person, we wrestle not against flesh and blood. It’s not your wife, your husband, your children, your parents, your teacher. It’s not the pastor or the guy at work, the boss or the coworkers. We wrestle not against flesh and blood. It says take the armor and the armor is the armor of grace. We have the grace armor. We are delivered from the devil and the demons and their initiation toward us. Jesus knew when Peter said don’t go to the cross. Did he say, get behind me Peter? You’re going to be the leader of the ministry and Jesus calls you Satan. “I got so offended.” The parking lot, someone didn’t greet me. Call them Satan. Get behind me, Satan. Wow. He didn’t quit, did he? The enemy anti-grace forces. We need to be people who receive the grace of God and be not moved from being receivers. I’m standing in the grace of receptivity. None of these things move me.

P. Stevens asked what can move you out of the ministry, out of your call? I was quiet. Neither do I count my life dear to myself. Nothing on the outside or inside. If I do, it will move me. None of these things move me. I might finish my course with joy…..to testify of the gospel of grace. If it means I have a church of five people, so be it.

In the marriage, in relationships, grace. Know nobody after the flesh. Get delivered by the grace of God and see the person in Christ. He was giving me this much money and cut it down by 10%. I think the marriage is over. What happened to the character of God in a relationship? You cannot offend me. Not even you, Kathy. Great peace, great harmony between me and God in a relationship that love doctrine and nothing shall offend them. “I got offended.

He didn’t say my food was good today.” I forget sometimes. I’m sorry, Lynn. It was a great meal…I don’t like green things. She’s making me eat green things. I hate peas! Spinach is an enemy, an anti-grace force! Greens, broccoli. That’s a nightmare. When I dream of an all green veggie meal, I wake up sweating! My idea of a meal is a Three Musketeer bar. Someone said to me your diet is horrifying. Gibbons is dead. By the grace of God, I’m here. My mother was 93 and she had a nurse that said you have the worst diet. You eat donuts, chocolate, and coke cola. My mother said how old are you? 33. My mother said I’m 93. Be quiet! My mother was really interesting. Someone said to me, now we know! The grace of God.

Don’t be moved from God’s grace, Acts 20:24. 1 Pet. 5:10. Paul said I am what I am by the grace of God. I labored more abundantly than you all. He wasn’t removed from grace. I don’t want to hear how old you are. Someone said I’m 62. You got a good 30 years to be a receiver of grace. You can plant about 6 churches in 30 years. If you are receiving anti-grace forces, you are ready to give it up and give in. I got grace to evangelize, pray, love my brothers and sisters, tithe, and have amazing relationships in church. I’m not going to be moved from the grace of God. This is what Paul spoke so much about not to be moved from the God of all grace. Forces are out there always trying to get us to move. This person is doing this and that. I’m not going to solve problems outside of grace. How about the nature of God coming in to help us apply the truth. You can say someone is not living in truth and you may be right. I may say but have we ministered the character and nature of God…

Let’s not move away from it. Let’s come boldly to the throne of grace. We have the gospel of grace.

If I am not gracious towards a person, it’s because I’m not gracious to myself. What starts in us, is what comes out of us. The problem is not how you relate to that person but you and how you relate to yourself. You see yourself outside of God. When people don’t have personal relationships in the grace of God, their relationships in the Body won’t be spiritually bearing fruit and the gospel they preach is contrary to grace and it’s not bearing fruit.

 

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