Grace to Help in Time of Need
MESSAGE SUMMARY
In the final service of the revival weekend, special guest Jody Cagle picks up where Friday (faith) and Saturday (peace) left off in 2 Peter 1:2: "grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord." With the whole message given to grace, he offers a working definition: God will treat you as though you have no fault. He then opens three of the word's many meanings.
First, grace is strength. When Paul asked three times for the "messenger of Satan" to be removed, the Lord did not remove it but answered, "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). God's strength is more than enough for whatever comes against you, and "taking pleasure" in hardship means keeping your mind stayed on the Lord in the middle of it.
Second, grace is power. The same anointing of Holy Ghost power that rested on Jesus (Acts 10:38) is promised to believers (Acts 1:8). We are to be continually filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18-20). God's part is to fill; our part is to open up and yield, because the Holy Spirit is a gentleman who will not force His way in. Humbling ourselves, resisting the devil and drawing near to God (James 4:6-8) all go together, since the Greater One lives within.
Third, grace is favor. God gives grace to the humble and exalts them in due time (1 Peter 5:5-7). A thankful people are a blessed people.
He closes with Hebrews 4:16: come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. The word "help" pictures frapping a ship, when a rope from the dock pulls a storm-tossed vessel in and ties it fast to safety. Two women received Jesus at the altar, and the congregation joined in a prayer releasing forgiveness and receiving inner healing, so the flow of the Spirit is no longer capped.
SCRIPTURES REFERENCED
- 2 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace multiplied through the knowledge of God and of Jesus; the weekend's anchor text
- 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 "My grace is sufficient for thee"; grace as strength made perfect in weakness
- Philippians 3:13-14 Forgetting what is behind and pressing toward what lies ahead
- Acts 10:38 God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power; grace as power
- Acts 1:8 "Ye shall receive power" when the Holy Ghost comes upon you
- Ephesians 5:18-20 Be continually filled with the Spirit, with psalms, hymns, spiritual songs and thanksgiving
- Luke 10:19 Power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy
- James 4:6-8 He gives more grace; resist the devil and he will flee; draw near to God
- Matthew 6:33 Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness
- Isaiah 59:19 When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord lifts up a standard
- 1 John 4:4 Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world
- Matthew 4:1-11 Jesus answers every temptation with "It is written"
- Ephesians 2:6 Seated together with Christ in heavenly places
- 1 Peter 5:5-7 God resists the proud and gives grace (favor) to the humble; cast all your care on Him
- Psalm 5:12 The Lord surrounds the righteous with favor as with a shield
- Psalm 40:2 He brought me up out of the miry clay and set my feet upon a rock
- Isaiah 1:19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land
- Matthew 26:39 "Not as I will, but as You will"
- Hebrews 4:16 Come boldly to the throne of grace, obtain mercy, find grace to help in time of need
- 1 John 1:9 He is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse from all unrighteousness
- Mark 4:39 Jesus speaks peace to the storm
- 2 Corinthians 6:2 Now is the day of salvation
- 1 Corinthians 6:19 Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost