Grace, Patience, and God's Love

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 Do we allow the Holy Spirit to offer direction?

The Holy Spirit

Grace, Patience, and God's Love
Introduction

These six pages describe the degree our Heavenly Father has
gone to encourage us to transform our decision-making
from an earthly perspective and to include Heaven as a part
of our concept of life.

What is Grace? Grace is a gift from God available for those

of us with the "willingness to learn." Grace can take us from
the state we are currently at to possessing the talents that
are required to be in the holy presence of our Heavenly
Father.

We are not forced into this growth; we must seek it.

Because it is voluntary, many opportunities pass us by that
God offers to expand grace to us. How many times is our
growth stunted because we assume our judgment is
adequate rather than seeking the Holy Spirit to help teach
us His grace?

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 Grace vs. Self-Reliance
Chapter 1
Imagine the patience the Holy Trinity has during times of
our spiritual blindness. For example, how many times
could the Disciple Peter have harmed human history if Jesus
had not intervened? Such times centered around Peter's
thinking being focused on the "here and now" rather than his
comprehension to include the bigger picture.

Matthew 14:22-33 Let's first recognize that Peter had great

trust when Jesus was present. None of the other disciples
got out of the boat in rough seas to walk on the water.

Matthew 16: 13-20 Peter was fully aware that Jesus was the
Messiah, the Son of the Living God.

Peter was given numerous opportunities to realize that

"things of God" were meant to be included in our
perception of life and how we think.

1. Matthew 16: 21-27 Jesus rebuked Peter for his "here and
now" attitude toward Christ's destiny.

2. Matthew 17:1-8 God of the Heavens tells Peter, James

and John to listen or take into account what Jesus is
teaching. (The purpose of the bible places with us this
same responsibility to mature spiritually.)

3. Matthew 25: 1-13 The parable of the virgins and the lamp
oil spoke of some who waste their assets rather than have
them available to serve Jesus Christ.

4. Matthew 25: 14-30 KJ21 "Parable of the Talents" is about

the lord of the servants (Jesus) going to a far place
(heaven) and being gone a long time (until the 2nd
coming). He entrusts his things of value (the souls of the
saved) to us, his servants of each generation with
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 expectation that we invest our God given talent to multiply
the number of believers that will be going to heaven.

5. Matthew 26: 31-35 When self-reliance motivated Peter to

pledge his loyalty to Christ, Jesus informed Peter that he
would deny Christ three times that same night.

6. Luke 22: 54-62 After Peter realized Christ's words came

true; Peter wept bitterly.

Peter's self-reliance ignored lessons within God's grace. This

destroyed Peter's self-confidence!

The Degree of God's Love

Chapter 2
Peter's earthly thinking would have wrecked the role of the
disciples in the salvation of mankind had God's plan not
taken into account Peter's continued lack of spiritual maturity.
God did not give up on Peter! Instead, He offered more
opportunities to receive this grace from God.

1. John 18: 7-11 Peter uses a sword to cut off the ear of the
servant who was a part of those arresting Jesus.
o Despite being told that Christ's death needed to occur
and that Jesus would rise on the third day, Peter's
decision-making focused on attempting to "save" the
Messiah.
o What would have been the normal reaction of those
arresting Jesus?
o Peter's actions may have resulted in himself being
killed and the remaining ten disciples being jailed as
insurrectionists.
o Luke 22: 51 Jesus performed the miracle of healing the
servant's ear so that Peter's actions would not damage
God's plan.
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2. John 21:1-19 After the resurrection why did Jesus appear
before the disciples that third time?

o Luke 22: 40 Earlier Jesus had expressed concern that

the disciples might fall into temptation.

o What explanation is there for Jesus to intervene to

ask Peter if he loved Christ more than this catch of
fish? John 21: 15,

o The disciples and ourselves cannot allow our

insecurities to rule rather than God's plan for us.

o Had Jesus not intervened, just how many successful

catches of fish would it have taken for the disciples to
return to their routine rather than be "Fishers of Men?"

o Jesus knew Peter loved Him before asking. However,

Jesus had not yet reached Peter's heart to motivate
him to allow the "things of God" to motivate his actions.

o John 14: 6-9 How did Jesus ask Simon Peter that
second and third time, "Do you love me?" Potentially,
The God of the Universe had tears in his eyes as Jesus
pleaded with this dearly loved child to "step beyond
your own thinking and do it my way."

We cannot comprehend the patience or the depth God's

love for those who are open to learning this lesson. The
results of our service will be more effective by seeking and
navigating His path than wondering on our own.

The Holy Spirit

Chapter 3
Is there a benefit to be Born Again and seeking righteousness?
(How to be born again? See chapter 3, of the Real Prayer booklet at:
realprayer.org)

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(John 14: 15-26) “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will
ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you
and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot
accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you
know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you. I will not
leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world
will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you
also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my
Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my
commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one
who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them
and show myself to them.” (15-21)
“All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the
Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you
all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (25-
26)

"Feeling" the presence of the Holy Spirit may be most

common during times of "my will to thy will" submission
before a Holy God. A Born Again Christian may be going
from a heart of "I am only willing to do," transitioned to
"What would you have me do?"

Some appreciate the presence of the Holy Spirit beyond

submission to aid in discernment. The Holy Spirit offers to
teach us how to apply Christ's teaching. However, this
requires our willingness to be taught. It begins through
prayer.

Have you ever asked a Christian of true maturity for a long

term commitment? Much of the time their reply may be,
"I'll get back with you." During the following weeks they
may spent time on their knees seeking discernment through
the Holy Spirit as to the direction in life God would have
them take.

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 A Step toward Spiritual Maturity

Conclusion
Some leaders that obtain great results do not view
themselves as leaders, but as servants with some spiritual
maturity in recognizing His direction. An opportunity for
service that begins with apprehension can turn into an
adventure as we anxiously await, "what comes next?" Pride
can give way to humility upon realizing these
accomplishments do not belong to us. It is His project. We
were simply called to help along the way. What is viewed
as Christian leadership can fall back to the washing of the
feet. (John 13: 12-17)

How far into God's grace will we take ourselves and others
during this lifetime? Does our prayer life overly focus on
asking for "this or that" as we attempt to balance on top of
our wobbly path? Peace of mind comes from the result of
asking to be taught the things needed to navigate our way
upon His path.

What appreciation is felt at the point we comprehend the

grace, patience, and love that God provides during our
instruction in preparing us to be in His HOLY presence.

A prayer to remember:

Lord,

Thank you for your patience and love as I learn of your

grace. Teach me the things that you would have me know.

Amen

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