Radical Grace

This post will not make me popular. Too bad.
The time has come to declare myself.
One year ago, after a lifetime of searching, I received the grace of God.
Huh? Haven't you been a Christian a longer time than that I hear you ask?
Yes.
I was born in law, I grew up in law, I received a law salvation (lukewarm), law brings death, I ran away before it killed me, I went into a far country, I spent all, I came back, my Father received me and spoke to me, and day by day until today I am receiving the robe, the ring, the shoes and the party. And it never ends...for all eternity.

One year ago Grace came to me and it was like an oasis in my desert...without any degree of hesitation I went and jumped in, boots and all. And at the risk of censure the grace of God to me is getting more and more...radical...everyday.

Now I could talk for so long...but my battery is declining and I have no powerpoint.
I am not in the business of trying convince you and if you want to depart now, no hard feeling.

So with declining battery I will say this...from one of the most momentous chapters of the Bible, the Word of God.

'He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not with Him freely give us all things?'  Romans 8: 32
 

This speaks of God. Who? The One who spoke and the stars where in the heavens...that 'word' continues unabated the stargazers tell us. How a stargazer could not believe in God just astounds me!
To describe God is difficult, limited by our finity against His matchless glory! I could choose many declarations of our God but this one will have to do...'...He made the stars also.' A throw-away line from Genesis 1, declaring the absolute immense awesomeness of God!

He declared what He thought of us.
How? He gave us His Son. Why?
Grace. Unexplainable, unmerited, ridiculous!
Why? To save us from our sin? Yes.
Is that all? Is the gift of God just salvation? Many think so. They receive Jesus as Saviour and say it is by grace and then beetle off and insist on doing everything else as if we are required to 'merit' the rest in some way.

Sorry I don't buy it. Dear, dear people...I can't walk that anymore. Jesus came to restore to us what our first father gave away in pride and disobedience. Consider what those things were.
As I consider God (matchless in all things) and the scale of His gift (His own Son) I cannot believe anymore that having given everything He now holds back on His grace and requires us to strive and toil for the rest. It is an offence to His matchlessness and the priceless, infinitely valuable scale and worth of His Gift!

So I believe in radical grace. An outrageous God, outrageous in creation, outrageous in love which made Him outrageous in giving which resulted in an outrageous Saviour which when received results in outrageous grace...radical grace.
When the cross was done did He cease to be outrageous? I don't think so.
Or did He then suspend His outrageousness for our lifetimes until we pass over, or the Lord comes, to then kick-start His outrageousness again? Sorry, I can't buy that anymore.
To receive that offends the nature of God.
He just isn't that, well, changeable.
He is the same, yesterday, today and forever...outrageous.

So my declaration?
I receive with my whole heart and being an outrageous God, who created outrageously, loved me outrageously, gave me personally His outrageous gift, and who pours His outrageous Grace upon me day by day. My future is in Him, my everything is in Him, my Life, my Truth, my Way. He is my future and I will trust Him. No more begging, no my foolish strategy, no more half measure Christianity...we want to be real? Ask this question...is He real or not because that is the only question that is valid. Squabbling, hypothesising over words and meanings get me nowhere...from here on I will trust the Lord.

Mission

Mission is a big word at the moment and, recently, significant time has been devoted to considering it. I am personally aware of two churches who have been making this the subject of the moment...and as we have been encouraged to all have an opinion by the study we have undertaken I guess you may as well hear mine...or alternatively you can close this page and go and do something else!

I have to say that, for me, making 'mission' a subject is somewhat akin to making grace a subject, it cannot be because grace, and mission, is a person and His name is Jesus.

Mission is Jesus and Jesus is mission.

You know there is one thing that confuses me about the human race and that is our penchant for taking something that is immensely simple and complicating it almost out of existence. That is what I feel we are doing with the subject of mission. We are intellectualising it almost to the point of extinction when embraced as Jesus intended I believe it is the most liberating and purposeful of life's pursuits.

For me it is the only one that really matters. Now please don't misunderstand what I just said for I did not say that 'mission' was the only thing that mattered because that would be glorifying the mission - Christ is the Exalted. The great purpose for my life is to exalt, to glorify, to lift up Jesus...that, for me, is 'mission'. I don't really care for your cleverly crafted interpretations, or your wonderfully designed strategies because the only point is to share the love of Christ.
Now I run the risk, I guess, of being accused of being simple, or something, but frankly I don't care. You can make mission a subject of as many sermons, the theme of as many conferences, the purpose of as many programs and strategies as you like but the bottom line remains. Mission is as simple as receiving Christ. It requires only to believe. It doesn't rely on you to any degree, it is just a response to Him.

If you want to be 'missional' then you must receive Jesus. That is the only strategy you need. If you want scripture then this one will do... 'We love because He first loved us.' Unless you receive His love then your mission sits with you, depends on you and will be frustration, fear and failure. I'm sorry but Jesus is Grace and grace is unmerited favour, favour that is not dependant upon us (Praise the Lord) born out of righteousness which is not ours but His freely given (unmerited favour).

This is the strategy for mission.
Exalt Christ, receive Christ, receive His love, relish His grace, bathe in His grace...He gives more than we can ever contain and so we become an overflow of grace to those we touch,  you can't help it if you receive Him, you can't contain Him, He will spill out of you like a mountain stream in spring-time, a living fountain bubbling up to everlasting life.

Mission accomplished.

The feet of Jesus...

Hands up who likes feet? No, me either. You see some pretty dodgy ones that's for sure. Somehow because they are so far away from the CPU they obviously don't get a lot of attention and often they look pretty neglected  but we would be very lost without them.

I have been thinking about a verse and it made me think about feet.

The verse goes like this:

'But the multitude were aware of this and followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing.' Luke 9: 11

 The church, of which I am a member, has adopted this verse as its vision and we have declared ourselves to be:

'Following in the footsteps of Jesus by Welcoming, Proclaiming and Healing.'

www.communitylifechurch.org.au

 

Together with this vision are eight core values which you can see by looking at the website.

Lately we have been encouraged to consider our missional response to this vision and our values.
It made me think about feet. The reference to 'footsteps', I guess, was the inspiration.
If we are Christians I don't think we could reasonable argue with the thought that we are the sent ones of God. Just as Jesus was sent so are we sent...Jesus was pretty plain when He said that. Undoubtedly this is a great challenge to some, if not all. We are the sent ones, like ambassadors sent to a foreign land to extol the virtues of our land of origin. Our role is to extol the virtues of the King of our land of origin. When we accepted Jesus, the King, we moved to a new land and so as we are still here in this world our primary role is to do whatever we can to bring to light the virtues of the King of our land. I guess there are a myriad of ways in which we can do that but one thing is for sure that is the purpose of our remaining. Not to extol the virtues of any organisation, even dare I say it, if that organisation is a church...our purpose is to bring Jesus.

Feet...feet propel us on our journey.
Where do they take us? I have no interest to know where your feet took you this week but I want to give you a thought.
Think of Jesus' feet, (I wonder what they were like?) they took Him to places where there was lack, and disease, and rejection, and condemnation, and even death.
My thoughts are these...He went there so that we, in our own lives need not. He went there so that you need not personally accept and suffer these things. So it is on the basis of what He did that you can say no to these things.
And...He went there so that we would know where to go to co-mission with Him. Oh, I accept that not everyone will know the strength or inspiration to go to these places but God will certainly give you a role to play in touching hopeless, diseased, rejected, condemned and dead lives.

Consciously make yourself available to that role...

You know I think He was serious because after a lot of 'going' He went to the cross where His feet were pierced in the most barbaric way man could conceive. The enemy undoubtedly rejoiced in the thought that he had ceased the ministry of going in Jesus but not so, because having done what was necessary we read in John 20: 19 that when the disciples were gathered together after Jesus had been to the cross 'Jesus came and stood in their midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." '
Luke 24: 40 says that 'He showed them His hands and His feet.' Great significance in this act, I think.

I think Jesus stood on His feet as He said, "Peace be with you; as the Father sent Me, I also send you." Still standing He breathed on them to receive everything they would need to fulfil this commission...the Holy Spirit.

Take heart, you have all you need, He will not fail you, just stand up on your feet and make yourself available to the role He has for you to bring the kingdom...not the church...beloved hear this truly, we aren't here to build the church, we are here to build the Kingdom.

Stand and make yourself available to Him and He will show you His Kingdom purpose for you. You see it isn't about what you will do for Him, it's about what He will do through you. No burden there, make yourself available to Him.
Bless you.

Chicken or egg...?

No doubt you have heard the dilemma question...'which came first the chicken or the egg?'
I have been thinking about that.
The great oracle 'Wikipedia' declares that this 'causality dilemma' goes back a long way and that to 'ancient philosophers the question about the first chicken or egg also evoked questions of how life and the universe in general began'.
Aristotle (384 - 322 BC) apparently got a bit hung up on this question and came to the conclusion that the chicken and the egg must have always existed. 'If there had been a first man he must have been born without father or mother - which is repugnant to nature. For there could not have been a first egg to give beginning to birds, or there should have been a first bird which gave beginning to eggs; for a bird comes from an egg. The same he held good for all species, believing, with Plato, that everything before it appeared on earth had first its being in spirit'. Interesting thought!
Plutarch (46 - 126) wrote that '...the problem about the egg and the hen, which of them came first, was dragged into out talk, a difficult problem which gives investigators much trouble. And Sulla my comrade said that with a small problem, as with a tool, we were rocking loose a great and heavy one, that of the creation of the world'.
I've got a headache.
I am not a philosopher and make no claim to match with these great minds of the past but the fact is that despite the phenomenal advances we see since Aristotle and Plutarch had their moments the question still frustrates us today. It is frustrating me right now. It is about dilemmas. We are presented with dilemmas. The chicken and egg question is really about the dilemmas we face. Well it is for me.
One thing to note from the references I have shared above is that these blokes clearly had a view that the dilemmas like the chicken - egg tapped into something far greater than just chickens and eggs. Statements like 'creation of the world' and 'first its being in spirit' opens something greater than what we mere mortals are capable of producing.
Now you may not agree with me, there isn't a lot I can do to convince you, but the fact is that I am personally convinced that the greater depths of these questions and considering such things as 'creation' exposes me to God. And when I am exposed to God then I must position myself.
In fact I think mankind experiences this dilemma everyday. Everyday we are exposed in some way to God. We see a beautiful vista and we wonder; we look into the night sky and we wonder; we have a near miss and we wonder; we receive some amazing blessing and we wonder; we receive the blessing of a new born child and we wonder; we get a text and we answer 'OMG'...and in the midst of our 'wondering' we consciously or sub-consciously position ourselves in relation to God. I guess in all those moments we actually make a decision whether we believe in God or not...whether it's all about us or all about Him.
Anyway back to the question...which came first the chicken or the egg?
This question has come to me in recent days and it is a dilemma.
This is about WTL.
If you want to know about WTL can I suggest you go to our webpage, www.cambodiawtl.org.au.
We are standing before a door.
Some time ago God clearly declared that we were entering a period of growth. In fact WTL exists only because God said that WTL would be an 'avenue that we must walk down into growth'. We have been waiting for the growth.
Now I am often a bit slow and in my dullness I have been believing that growth equalled increased funding. The sad fact is that for WTL to do what WTL is called to do we need money and so I have 'believed' that growth equalled more money.
A dear friend said recently words to this effect, "But what does growth look like? Is it more money, or is it something else?"
It didn't hit me right there and then but it has slowly seeped in.
A few other things have happened, (there is a lot going on), and we are standing in front of a door.
We know a little of what lies beyond the door but only a little and frankly it is scary.
If we go through the door we are going to need a lot more money.
Which comes first? The chicken or the egg?
What is he talking about?...I hear you ask.
In our walk before God we absolutely declare Him to be the provider of all things, the One who hold us in His hand and will never let us go, the One who gave everything He had to restore us to Him, the One who is waiting for us to position ourselves to receive the absolute magnitude of the 'riches of glory in Christ Jesus', the One who wants to 'bless us with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus', the One who wants us to sit at His right hand in Christ and receive 'the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness', the One who wants us to experience His favour...I could go on and on.
Our dilemma of faith is this...
'Do we wait for the funding, or do we just walk through the door anyway?'
Take Abraham who is one of the giants of faith presented to us in Hebrews 11. God clearly declares there in verse 8 'when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going'. Hmmm...
Isn't it funny how people who preach often get challenged by their own words? I have taken some young people to Cambodia on mission trips. Part of being on one of our little trips is that you have the opportunity to speak...you don't have to but you can if you want. I always encourage these people to prepare their testimonies as a good place to start when preaching because there is nothing, I find, more powerful than our own stories under the hand of God; it is our story given to us by God and we can easily get passionate about our own story. There are a significant number of times when I have had a young person before me quivering with apprehension as the time approaches for them to speak. I always say the same thing...'Don't worry, you have done some preparation, Jesus is here, He is with you, just get up and go to the front and He will meet you there. God doesn't meet us when we are sitting in our chair, He meets us on the way. He wants us to start walking first and then He meets us on the way. Don't worry, He will meet you there'. You know what? He always does. I have seen quivering wrecks go to the front with their little testimony in their shaking hands and watched them not refer once to their little piece of paper and bring the house down, in Jesus name.

My dilemma...
To step through this door we need a lot of money which we don't have...that is that hand.
The other hand says that this is the call of God, step in, get up and go, move forward, step through, get underway, go!...and I will provide.
Which comes first the chicken or the egg?
I hear God say, 'Step through'.
I hear God say, 'Do you need the egg before you have the chicken?'
I hear God say, 'Do you really believe that I need the egg before I can give the chicken?'
I hear God say, 'Take the chicken, I will provide the egg'.

Remember Plutarch who thought that the chicken - egg dilemma was really about the creation of the world? This is all really about the creator of the world. Does God really need an egg to produce a chicken, or a chicken to produce an egg? God spoke and 'made the stars also' (Genesis 1: 16).

Does he really need our bank account full before we step through His door?

What would you do?

What would Jesus do?

What would Jesus do?
We hear this question a lot.
Well maybe not so much of late but a few years ago this question was hanging on the wrist of every young person of the Christian faith in the land, and some not so young.

It's raining outside and I have nothing to do but think.
I suppose I could just think of nothing because that is one of the talents that we males have but that seems a bit of a waste of time.
I suppose I could contemplate the latest Facebook thought 'Good thinking demands periods when we have no idea what other people are thinking'. (Alain de Botton) but frankly I have enough trouble knowing what I'm thinking let alone even trying to have any understanding of what other people are thinking. I have no idea.
Yes there was a time when I thought I had some understanding of what the significant people in my life were thinking but that is gone now. I don't know.
So I just think what would Jesus do?
I've spent every spare hour I have had over the last week re-designing the website for Cambodia WTL Incorporated and I wonder what would Jesus do? Would Jesus use the internet? Would Jesus have a Facebook page? Would He be on Twitter or Linkedin? Was my effort a waste of time? We have had a fairly mediocre website for nearly a year now and I have no real idea whether it has made any impact or even whether anyone has looked at it. One thing I do know is that, sadly as our missional activities need to be funded and therefore the primary purpose of our website is to provide information that encourages people to give, not one cent has been contributed from the website and so I contemplate that fact and everything around it and I ask, would Jesus have had a website... what would Jesus do?
And then there is my own personal stuff...sorry to talk about my own personal stuff but I guess it's my blog and you don't have to read it.
I am at a crossroads in my life. In the past year I have had three separate and entirely unrelated people talk to me about my direction touching on one particular area of my life and it has put me in a quandary. I am not talking of a direction as in my 'walk' with God, I am talking of a physical change which impacts not only me but also my family. I ask God and He says, 'Trust Me'. I want Him to say, 'Go...' or 'Do...' but He doesn't, He just says, 'Trust Me'. So I think what would Jesus do?
In the midst of this God is leading me on a path that is both exciting and scary. Now I am talking about my personal 'walk' with God. This path is not scary to the point that I wouldn't step on it but scary in that the pursuit of it could even have significant impact on my relationships within the circles in which I move. Confused? Yep, me too! I ask God and He says, 'Trust Me'. But let me tell you that I will trust Him and I am walking this path. I should also tell you, I guess, that I recently visited a church and the speaker had prepared a message that spoke into this just for me. I'm not sure what the other couple of thousand people were doing there because God sent that speaker for me so that was good. But still I contemplate it all and I think, what would Jesus do?
A question for you...do you think Jesus ever experienced disappointment? I don't think I have ever had a period of my life when I have experienced so much disappointment. Significant people in my life have disappointed me and this in the midst of all the other stuff going on. Jesus was  tempted, constantly criticised and often tested so I guess He experienced disappointment. I guess He was also overlooked and ignored by many so can I expect anything different? Please understand I hold no anger or malice but it is hard not to feel the disappointment even when I am so thankful for those few who faithfully stand with me. So I feel it because I'm human and I think, what would Jesus do? (He was human too.)
And then as I think about that I wonder whether or not I should allow disappointment to be a factor in whether or not I do or go and I think; did Jesus allow disappointment to influence where He went or how He moved? When the people of Nazareth, His home town, rejected Him was this the factor that influenced Him to move on to Capernaum? And isn't it interesting that when He arrived in Capernaum He healed a demon-possessed man (no mean feat!)  and then went to Simon's house where many were healed right to the very setting of the sun (Luke 4, if you want to read of it yourself). And so I contemplate that and I think what would Jesus do?
I even think of my future and the future of my family as the two are absolutely intertwined and I wonder what am I to do? You see I am seriously un-prepared for retirement, for 'old age', for the 'twilight' years. I could worry about it, maybe I should, but rather I just hear the words, 'trust Me' and I think what would Jesus do? I guess Jesus had no need to contemplate His retirement plan as He knew His path and was set upon it but in my life every second TV advertisement admonishes me to consider my retirement and my level of preparedness and my hand goes immediately to the remote to find an ad more palatable to me. So even though Jesus had no need for superannuation I think if He were me, what would He do?
Even as I write this I hear a voice say, 'Trust Me'. Booming out comes the words 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight'. (Proverbs 3: 5, 6)

I have a friend who I like and respect a lot even though I never see her and I asked her to pray.
She is faithful and so I know she prayed.

This is what I get from her...

'I've been praying but I have to tell you I've never been asked to do this before and much as I do deeply desire for God to give me words of knowledge for others like this, I'm not sure that I've heard anything specifically for you yet. So, in the meantime, let me share with you a couple of thoughts that I always tell my kids - kinda like a life motto we live by. In Jeremiah 29:11, God says "I know the plans I have for you, plans to give you a future and a hope......" What I love about this verse is that even when we don't know what the future holds or which direction to take, God KNOWS. Then He tells us in Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths". So, we need to pray about every decision we have to make (acknowledge the Lord in all our ways) and then we need to move ahead IN FAITH, that God will do what He has promised, and that is - He WILL direct our paths. I know that there are times to wait on the Lord, but I also believe He directs us as we make our decisions prayerfully and that sometimes we need to just get on with life TRUSTING that He is directing us. So, it works like this. Pray about everything. Then go ahead and do what you think best TRUSTING that the Lord is directing you in all your decision making INTO the plans that He has for you, the plans that He KNOWS about.
Apart from that, this morning I have been reading Genesis 7-9 and 2 Peter 3. Another great way that God leads us is through the peace that He gives. 2 Peter 3:14 says "Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless." A devotional thought I read said, "My fear made peace elusive, but it finally came when I got alone, read the Psalms and prayed. Yes, I could trust God" '.
 

So there we have it...God says 'Trust Me'.
What would Jesus do?
What would you do?

If you think you know what Jesus would do then you can make a comment if you like!
Or if you would rather not do that publicly then you can email me.

I stood and cheered...with tears in my eyes

Today I am thinking of a link someone shared on Facebook yesterday from You Tube. If I can work out how I will share the link below.

As I watched the link I found myself standing and cheering with tears in my eyes. Why? Was it for the joy in the healed woman? Yes. Was it for a miracle that we don’t see every day? Probably. There were undoubtedly lots of reasons that I stood and cheered.

Today I am thinking that we may accept that God is interested in the big issues (He obviously was interested in the healed woman’s issue; it doesn’t get much bigger than Stage 4 Bone Cancer, right?) but is He interested in me? Is He considerate of my little issue? Does He see me?

You see the main reason I stood and cheered with tears in my eyes was for a Jesus who lives and is interested in me (and you) and cares.

I want to share a couple of little stories.

Recently I was in Cambodia. It is my privilege to often go to that country and share the love and grace of God in Jesus Christ. We hold ‘celebrations’ where we share with the people. We share food (their food, not ours, which we provide), we share conversation, we share fellowship, we share the same ground or table, we share care and interest and love, we share Jesus, we always offer prayer and people come forward to receive from a Jesus they hardly know but who they have just received.

At one place a man came forward for prayer. He could hardly walk. I prayed. I am no great pray-er, I merely thanked God that He heard me (that’s what Jesus did at the tomb of Lazarus; He always hears the quietest whisper) and received the abundant healing grace of God on the man’s behalf. He danced away swivelling his hips like Elvis! Elvis lives; he’s in Cambodia!

At another place a man came forward for prayer. He couldn’t bend his little finger. His little pinkie was as stiff as a board. I prayed same as before. He walked away practicing his new found mobility in his little pinkie.

I could tell you of the deaf boy who hears at Rokakong or the elderly woman who puked up a mass as Jesus expelled a tumour from her chest at Kampong Spue (appropriate name, don’t you think?)

One time a woman pastor came to me and asked for prayer. She had cholera. I prayed. She walked away. One year later I saw the woman again. In usual 'western’ fashion I ‘beat around the bush’ trying to find out whether Jesus had healed her that day.
She did not understand my evasive questioning and eventually I just said, “Remember I prayed with you? Did God heal you?”
Her answer?
She said, “Of course”.
I laughed. I think Jesus laughed too!

What is the point? Friends, Jesus loves you. He cares for you. He is interested in the big issues, yes but He is interested in your little issues too. He knows you in all points. He knows the things you need healing for. He knows the things that challenge you. He died for them all. He bore them all. There is now no condemnation for you. Receive Him. Don’t be deceived He isn’t interested in your little pinkie. Jesus cares. Take it too Him.

Here’s the link...

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8KApDn4pm0

Watch it and cheer and then take your ‘stuff’ to Him.

This is the day of favour.

This is the day of receiving.

More...who is your mother?

We move on in our Bibles and we come to Jacob.

An interesting guy…but this isn’t about him, this is about our mother.

Jacob needed/wanted a wife. He found one, her name was Rachel and he loved her. However, Laban, Rachel’s father, tricked Jacob and instead married off Leah, Rachel’s older sister, to Jacob. It was a rotten thing for Laban to do but in a way it is also kind of funny. Jacob basically got married thinking he was marrying Rachel and woke up in the morning and it was Leah looking at him from across the pillow. I think poor old Jacob got quite a shock! The fact is Jacob was in such a hurry he failed to unveil his bride…you know when the groom turns back the veil at weddings today well this is a response to the mistake Jacob made all those years ago! You have to make sure you got the right one! None of us want to wake up beside Leah. You see Jacob loved Rachel and Rachel was very beautiful; Leah, on the other hand, was, well, not so beautiful!

The upshot of this story is that Jacob after jumping through a few hoops finally got Rachel and so we get back the question…who is your mother?

The name Leah means ‘weary’. The name Rachel means ‘ewe’ or ‘female sheep’. We will think about the characteristics of the meanings a little later for this is important in understanding the types represented by Leah and Rachel. It is also important that we know that Leah is the older, Rachel the younger. Leah, you see, is a type of the law, Rachel a type of grace and law came first followed by grace.

It is also important to reflect on the story of Jacob and Leah a little longer because there is significance there for our topic. Remember Jacob failed to unveil Leah, a veil brings blindness and the fact is the law blinds.

You know I feel like I should say something here. I do not want you to get the idea that I believe the law is wrong. This is not my purpose for I categorically state that the law is completely right. The law is an absolute reflection of the character and nature of God. The law reflects his holiness, the standard of God and if you want a definition of ‘right’ then this is it. This never changes. However, we need to gather the purpose of the law. Its sole purpose was to reveal, bring to light, to show our need for God. Its sole purpose was to reveal that we needed God. It said you must do this or that, or not do this or that, and if you are able then we will be right with God. This was not possible and the law stated that death was the result for one unable to follow. We were unable to follow and sadly we were even unable to die for our sin and so Jesus did it for us. Jesus once said that He didn’t come to do away with the law but to fulfil it. He is the complete fulfilment of the law. When we today hang on to the law we are nullifying His fulfilment of the law. By His grace in sacrifice He died the death we could not and He fulfilled the requirements of the law to the absolute letter and so today, if we believe in Him, we are free from the law and are brought into His grace, His total and complete love, His favour unmerited.

The law blinds. While we hang on to law we are blinded to grace. God’s desire is for us to be unveiled. The veil is a picture of the law. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 3: 14 that ‘their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ’. (As we read the Old Testament we must seek for the pointing forward to Jesus for it is only in Him is the truth of the Old Testament revealed). We are blinded with an unlifted veil and so we marry Leah.

Beloved, stop looking to your performance under the law to be justified, stop pursuing blessing under the measure of your obedience. Look to Christ because it is in Him the veil is removed; see Him and Him only as your justification. Step into the New Covenant ratified in His blood and receive the promise that you are completely justified in Him, not according to your performance but according to His finished work, and nothing more.

This is a true dilemma. Consider this; we have the delight of someone staggering into our church and receiving Jesus as their personal Saviour. They come to Him with all their stuff and He receives them and then we go to town on them and try to effect change. We aren’t prepared to wait on Jesus to transform and so we force it on them by introducing a few rules and regulations. We identify things that need changing and we want them changed now. This is best for them we consider…and frankly we can’t have people in our church behaving in such a way so we need to effect change. A bit of law is introduced and along with it comes the purpose of the law – condemnation. Not only does our new convert then get a measure of blindness as we ‘force’ them down the path of change with an injection of law, just to sort them out, but our good intended ‘rules’ mean they are then ‘veiled’ to grace.

The fact is that grace effects change but it is slow.

Jacob had Leah and he had Rachel. Leah worked fast and gave Jacob sons starting with Reuben. Rachel even got frustrated and introduced Bilhad, her maid servant, to Jacob and so by the time Rachel finally gave birth to Joseph Jacob already had ten sons by Leah and others.

Give grace time. Grace works slow for it works from the inside out. Law has the appearance of working fast but the fact it is it is tiring. Remember the meaning of the name Leah is ‘weary’. Law is tiring because it is based in our performance and our performance doesn’t last. Be honest no matter how hard you try you cannot effect lasting change. Only grace can bring change. Only receiving the love of God in Christ will the mountains be removed in our lives.

You remember David who went out against the mountain named Goliath he went with five stones. Five is the number of the grace of God, David went out knowing the grace of God and (any reading of the Psalms should convince you of this) it was in this unveiled place that he defeated the mountain.

Back to Rachel.

Rachel’s name means ‘ewe’ or ‘female sheep’.

Think of this…first of all the sheep directs us to the Lamb of God, Jesus, who became a sacrifice for us shedding His blood for our forgiveness and enduring the stripes for our healing.

Also the sheep is the epitome of submission. Isaiah describes a sheep as being led to the slaughter and before the shearers being dumb…this is a picture of submission. Submission Biblically represents agreement (not the world’s definition of submission) and we need to set aside anything of our own contribution to the plan of God to restore us and just accept His grace (unmerited favour).  

We can also see in Rachel the fact that God loves grace, not law. Jacob had two wives and he loved Rachel, not Leah. God loves grace not law. Yes law is holy but grace is beautiful and wonderful. Let me ask you…in your faith walk do you feel more for pursuing holiness or receiving grace? It is a much more beautiful state to receive Jesus than to pursue an unattainable goal of holiness in our own strength. Remember we are the righteousness of God in Christ.

Oh, absolutely I agree that the nature of God is to enforce the law, after all He is HOLY (with a capital ’H’) but, praise His name, He is also grace and mercy. That is why He sent His Son to endure the penalty of the sin of mankind and in so doing totally and completely satisfied His own holiness. It is in this fact and nothing else that we can declare in truth that we are the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5: 21).

This is what Rachel represents to us. Grace acceptance…Jesus acceptance for grace is a person and His name is Jesus.

Allowing grace to bring transformation can be seen in Rachel who ultimately gave birth to Joseph and Benjamin…which is another thought for another day.

You know only grace can truly bring transformation in a person’s life. The new Christian that has received Jesus who undoubtedly needs transformation will not be transformed by an injection of law.

I’m sorry, you may see short term results from this approach but it is only in the receiving of grace that you will see true and lasting transformation. The Bible says in Romans 5: 17 that ‘those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.’ Please understand here that ‘righteousness’ has nothing to do with right behaviour; this is the righteousness that is received only in the receiving of the free gift of Christ.

Only receiving grace (remember grace is a person…His name is Jesus) brings transformation. Why is it that we so often load new Christians with rules and regulations rather than allow grace to do His work? I hear some say “Are you kidding, we have to put boundaries on people of else they will do whatever they like!” This is a lie! Listen to the Bible…these are not my words, these are God’s words through Paul…Romans 6: 14, ‘For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace’.

We often quote this verse…’we love Him because He first loved us’…but what is the absolute truth of this? It is this…only as we receive and know His love can we love Him or anyone else. When we know His love then we will truly love God. As we receive Grace we will be so enamoured by Him that the dominion that the things that bound us will no longer have strength over us and this phenomenon will be an on-going transformation that will ultimately bring holiness. Nothing can stand before the love of God…read the latter verses of Romans 8.

Can you see the up-side-down nature of this? We think we need to pursue holiness and this will ALWAYS result in disappointment for it is based in us…the only true and lasting transformation comes from receiving Grace, ONLY under Grace will we see the destruction of the dominion of sin over us, ONLY UNDER GRACE, law can’t do it, ONLY GRACE.

There is a pivotal verse in the Bible found in Romans 8: 1. There is NO CONDEMNATION for them that are in Christ Jesus…the law brings condemnation, ONLY GRACE brings freedom, completeness, fullness, peace, hope, salvation, justification, forgiveness, and every other good thing. All things work together for good to them that are in Christ Jesus…note it makes no mention of our effort, obedience or strength, only being ‘in’ Him.

So who is your mother?

Leah? Leah is a type of law. Law who brings weariness? Law who brings burden? Law who brings condemnation?

Rachel? Rachel is a type of Grace. Grace who brings freedom? Grace who brings salvation? Grace who brings complete submission to the call and plan of God, a plan that is GOOD? Grace who brings true and lasting transformation?

Beloved choose Grace. Stop trying to obey to receive blessing. Just receive Him who is grace, Jesus. He is EVERYTHING.

And then there is Joseph…but that is for another time.