More Grace
Date: June 7, 2024
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you so much. You may be seated.
We’ll have a word of prayer in just a moment for our country. But Memorial Day is a special, special holiday our country has. And Veterans Day is wonderful. Praise of all for all our veterans.
And this morning, one of our men that I was texted, thank you for your service to our country, just kind of been on my mind and my heart. But then Memorial Day is just a touch different. It’s a time where you remember those that gave their lives for our country. And I was checking a little bit. It was this morning numbers. Now, these are just combat deaths, military.
So many more, beyond this, this is a little bit narrow of a number. But those combat deaths, over a million, a little over 1.3 million, that’s just combat deaths, military deaths, over a million and a half wounded. This is interesting. Over 40,000 missing.
We hear so much about Vietnam and rightfully so, but it’s very interesting to me as I was looking at numbers. World War II had over 30,000 missing. And now just think for a second about those families. Think about those wives. Think about those moms, those dads. Think about those children that their loved one didn’t come home. And that’s what this weekend’s about.
Sometimes we get caught up in picnics and family, and I’m for those things. Amen, I had nothing wrong with those things. But we fail to remember what Memorial Day is all about. And that’s important. Freedom never has been free. Never will be. In fact, our freedom as a Christian comes from a great price of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary.
Freedom as an American citizen. It wasn’t free. It cost much. Now here’s the thing, why that’s so important. If you get something you pay a lot for, the truck I have, that’s the most by far I’ve ever paid for a vehicle in all my life. I tell you what, you know when you pay a lot for a vehicle, man, you take care of that thing. No, you can’t eat in this car. That’s at least the first month, you know. You wash it every week for about six months, you know, and you just take a whole lot better care of it because you paid a lot of money for it.
And if we realize the cost of our country, you see, you don’t pay much for something, you don’t treat it. You just, you know, easy come, easy go. America didn’t come easy. And a whole lot of people have given up sacrifice for our country. And this weekend, this holiday here, is it time for us to remember those that gave their lives for our country. And it’s important, we don’t forget that. And it’s just a good, it’s the right, it’s the proper weekend to remember that.
And thank God for, by the way, praise God for our president we have right now. I thank God for his statement and his order that in all 50 states, man, you can have church today. And praise the Lord for that. We’ll talk about, I’ll get off on the Constitution at a minute here. We don’t have time for all that right now, but we’re going to get to that.
But I want Brother Jimmy Guthrie to come to say a few words. Brother Jimmy Guthrie spent years and years in military. Brother, would you just tell us how long you’ve been in, a little bit about that, and then he’s going to tell us some little testimony about those that gave their lives, those he knew in the military for our country. Then he’ll lead us in a word prayer for country. Brother Jimmy, let’s just let him know how much we appreciate his service. Would you do that? Thank you.
Thank you very much, and it’s great to be back in the House of Lord. And you could see your faces out there, even Franks.
In 1957, I moved from Englewood to Hendersonville, Tennessee. And we moved into a house right next to a family called the Youngbloods, and they had two sons, Jimmy and Ronnie. Well, some years later on, Jimmy joined the military and went off to Vietnam. Well, physically he didn’t make it back. He was killed shortly after being over there. Then shortly after that, or shortly before, I don’t recall, there was another Hendersonville youngster. He went off about the same time as Jimmy, and his name was Danny. And his name Danny Young. And these young men graduated the same time. They were side-by-side in the school annual, and they both gave their lives for our country.
I spent 22 years in the military, and I lose some friends from here and throughout the years, and some of them for disease, some of them from other items. And since this is Memorial Day, I’m going to remember those fellas and the ones that didn’t make it back.
Okay, and let’s pray. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for offering this opportunity to be in your church today. We want to use this day to remember lost souls in the different wars that we had. We’ve had several. And not just Vietnam, but Korea, World War II, World War I, 1890s, or 1860s, whenever, the other, and the 1700s when people died for our country. And it was in even the country at that time. And we like to pray to keep an eye on the fellows and women of the military and present day. In Jesus’ name, amen.
We go ahead and stand. We’re going to sing page number 587, America the Beautiful. We’re going to be out of here, and it’s fast approaching. So glad you in church today. Turn your bibles to James chapter number four. James chapter number four, one of my favorite chapters in all the Bible. James chapter number four. Thank you, Brother Fontaine, for singing all these years. What a blessing.
James chapter 4 while you’re turning there, well, I’ll tell you, well, when you find it, would you say amen? Good. Some of you’re being honest yet and said amen. Yeah, you hadn’t found it yet. I’m waiting for some more amen’s okay. There we go, there we go. Amen. Come on, there’s more people in here than those amen’s now. Come on, who else is there? Anybody? There we go. There we go. Let’s try. If you found it, would you say amen?
If you hadn’t found it by now, just give up, man. I’ll tell you what. People never know you don’t have it. Just make sure your Bible’s not upside down. They might know then, you know. I’ll tell you for sure.
But I thought this was a good one. I can read it because we have the cordless things now. But it says the preacher was wired for sound with the lapel mic that had a trailing cord. Remember when they first came out, they still had the cords, and you’d kind of drag it behind you. And as he preached, he moved briskly about the platform jerking the mic cord as he went. Then he moved to one side, getting wound up in the cord and nearly tripping before jerking it again. After several jerks and circles, a little girl in the third pew leaned towards her mother and whispered, if he gets to lose, he’s going to hurt us.
This in here says, a man and his wife are awakened at 3 a.m. by loud pounding on the door. The man gets up and goes to the door where a drunken stranger standing in the pouring rain is asking for a push. Not a chance, says the husband. It’s 3 a.m. in the morning. He slams the door and returns to bed.
Who was that, ask his wife? Just some drunk guy asking for a push, he answers. Did you help him? No, I did not help him. It’s three in the morning, and it’s pouring right out there. Well, you have a short memory. Can’t you remember about three months ago when we broke down, those two guys helped us? I think you should help him. You should be ashamed of yourself. The man does as he’s told.
Gets dress, goes out into the pounding rain. He calls out into the dark. Hello, are you still there? Yes, comes back the answer. Do you still need a push? calls a husband. Yes, please. Comes a reply for the dark. Where are you? Over here on the swing. You’ll get that one after a while.
James chapter number four, James chapter number four, Ms. Sidney just got it. She’s had it for a while. James four, the first five verses of James four are really depressing. Just a little bit of a downer. It’s sad, if you will.
And I say it because of where they were, and then I say it because sometimes I find myself there. Just a sad thing. And, of course, God here is speaking through James. He’s a pastor of Jerusalem, we believe, and he’s writing to the 12 tribes of Israel scattered abroad, and really that’s God’s people, be representative of you and I.
And it’s just kind of sad sometimes how you can see these things in God’s people and in myself. Verse number six changes everything. We’ll get to that just a moment here. That’ll be our text first. But would you just please stand as we read God’s word together, James 4. And verse number 1, James 4, verse number 1, the Bible says, for whence come wars and fightings among you.
Now, wars, that’s where a group of people are fighting with a group of people. You’ll find that sometime in churches, unfortunately. And where’s these cliques and fighting and wars? And where’s the fighting among you? Individuals. Family reunions sometimes can be interesting things, you know. From which comes wars and fighting among you.
Come they not hence even of your lust, that war in your members. See, you have all those outside fighting because things inside are not right. I got all this inter-terminal going on. Amongst Christians, this happens.
Verse number two, ye lust, and have not, ye kill and desire to have and can attain ye fight in war, but you have not, because you ask not. He said, the root problem is your prayer life. By the way, all these inner problems, you’ve got a lot of inner turmoil going on. You’ve got to be spent a lot of time in prayer.
And the root problem is that, man, just your prayer life’s lacking. You’re to the point you’re ready to fight and kill, you know, you’re fighting among yourself and all that. And he said, the root problem you have not because you ask not. Just kind of a sad thing. And unfortunately, I see myself in these things sometimes.
Look at the next verse. You ask, or he’s finally got at the point he’s asking, praying. You ask and receive not because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your own lust. He said, you’re finally getting to the prayer clause, finally get praying, but it’s all about you. So selfish. Just so you can get all these things, you just go to the prayer closet like you’re going to twist God’s arm behind his back. That’s why he don’t get to say it. That’s just kind of a sad thing.
Look at verse number four. It’s kind of just plummeting going down here. Verse number four, he adulterers and adulteresses. No, you’re not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God. Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. It gets to the point where we’re just getting buddy, buddy with the world. You see that all across Christianity in America. We’re just trying to look and act and talk all the worldly gimmicks often to grow a church.
And sometimes I’m busy to point my finger to others when it comes to that verse there, but sometimes I let the world in my life, and when I get at that point, I just got an interterm one, not been praying. Then I’m so selfish in my prayer life, and I start using worldly tactics. And all these whirl things trying to help me. And God, God said, you’re breaking my heart. We hurt the one that loves us because we’re going to the enemy’s side. God says it feels, if you go, just like you’re cheating on me. Adulters and adulteresses. Break the heart of God. Sad verses here.
Verse number five, do you think that the scriptures saith in vain, the spirit that dwelleth in us lusted to envy. I don’t believe he’s talking about the Holy Spirit here. I believe he’s talking about our spirit. He said the spirit that’s inside of us, our spirit, it gets to the point you’re longing after this saying, you’re lusting after it, now you’re getting, you’re just envious. You got your eyes on others always and criticized and pointing your finger at everybody else. You’re just jealous and you’re envious. If anybody does good around you, you don’t say anything good about it. You’re just envious. And the spirit dwellers, then you lusteth to envy. What a sad commentary. Sometimes of God’s people, don’t look so pious. We’re there sometimes.
But it all changes. It all changes in the next verse. It’s wonderful. Just the change. Praise the Lord for verse number six. What a blessing it is. Here it is. But all these bad things, I mean, you’ve got inner problems, and you’re fighting because of that, and then you’re not praying, and you’re praying selfishly, and then you buddying with the world, and then you get to the poor where you just got envy all about you, but he giveth more grace. Aren’t you glad he’s got grace available?
But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he said, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Just for a little while, I’d like to focus on three words. Verse number six. And just for a little while, I believe the Lord will have us focus on this saying more grace. I’m so glad to have a God that has more grace. I never ran out, and never will run out. It’s got more grace. I’m so thankful for that.
Would you ask the Lord to speak to your heart as I ask the same? Would you do so? Father, Lord, we come. Thank you, Lord. You’ve encouraged me. You helped me this week from this thought, more grace, and I’ve needed it. Lord, you take the same truth, and would you help and encourage our people? Those that are gathered here in person and those online that watch it. Lord, let this truth, more grace, permeate us. And Father, we’ll thank you what you do. Lord, we ask for this in the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.
I never dreamed that taking a child to Disney World could be so difficult. Now, let me just say a word or two, and I think here lately it’s made the news how they’re openly supporting Sodomites, and I’m for sure not for that. I’m not trying to endorse Disney World, okay? I’m just reading a story that I think will be very effective to grow us in this area of grace, right? So I just kind of want to say that, and I haven’t read the news. I’ve heard one person make a comment about something here recently, just a bad shift they’ve even made more so. And I’m not for that at all, of course. So I want to clarify that, but let me just read for you the story, all right?
So it says, I’ve never dreamed that taking a child to Disney World could be so difficult, or that such a trip could teach me so much about God’s amazing grace. Our middle daughter had been previously adopted by another family. I’m sure this couple had the best intentions, but they never quite integrated the adopted child into their family of biological children. After a couple of rough years, they dissolved the adoption, and we ended up welcoming an eight-year-old girl into our home.
For one reason or another, whenever our daughter’s previous family vacationed at Disney World, they took their biological children with them, but they left their adopted daughter with a family friend. Usually, at least in the child’s mind, this happened because she did something wrong that precluded her presence on the trip. And so by the time we adopted our daughter, she had seen many pictures of Disney World. She had heard about the rides and the characters and the parades. When it came to passing through the gates of the Magic Kingdom, she had always been the one left on the outside.
Once I found out about this history, I made plans to take her to Disney World, but next time an speaking engagement took our family to the southeastern United States. By the way, these were years ago. I thought I had mastered the Disney World drill. I knew from previous experiences that the prospect of seeing cast members in freakishly oversized mouse and duck costumes somehow turned children into squirmy bundles of emotional instability.
What I didn’t expect was that the prospect of visiting this dream world would produce a stream of downright, devilish behavior in our newest daughter. In the month leading up to our trip to the Magic Kingdom, she stole food when a simple request would have gained her a snack. She lied when it would have been easier to tell the truth. She whispered insults that were carefully crafted to hurt her older sister as deeply as possible. And as it dazed on the calendar to move closer to the trip, her mutinies multiplied.
A couple of days before our family headed to Florida, I pulled our daughter into my lap to talk to her about her latest escapade. She said, “I know what you’re gonna do. You’re not gonna take me to Disney World.”
The thought hadn’t actually crossed my mind, but her downward spiral suddenly started to make sense. She knew she couldn’t earn her way into the magic kingdom. She had tried and failed that test many times before. So she was living in a way that placed her as far as possible from this magical place on earth. In retrospect, I’m embarrassed to admit this, but in that moment, I was tempted to turn her fear to my own advantage. The easiest response would have been, “If you don’t start behaving better, you’re right, we won’t take you.” But by God’s grace, I didn’t.
Instead, I asked her, “Is this trip something we’re doing as a family?” She nodded. Brown eyes wide and tear-rimmed. “Are you a part of this family?” She nodded again. “Then you’re going with us. Sure, there may be some consequences to help you remember what is right and what is wrong, but you’re part of our family. We’re not leaving you behind.”
I’d like to say that her behaviors grew better after that moment, but they didn’t. Her choices pretty much spiraled out of control at every hotel in Restop all the way to Lake Buena Vista. Still, we headed to Disney World on the day we had promised, and it was a typical Disney day. Overpriced tickets, overpriced meals, lots of lines, mingled with just enough manufactured magic to consider maybe going again someday.
In her hotel room that evening, a very different child emerged. She was exhaustive, exhausted, excuse me, and a little reflective and a little weeping at times. But her month-long facet of rebellion was all gone. When the bedtime rolled around, I prayed with her. I held her.
And bedtime rolled around, I pray with her and told her and asked. So how was your first dead Disney World? She closed her eyes, snuggled down into her stuffed unicorn. After a few moments, she opened her eyes ever so slightly and said, “Daddy, I finally got to go to Disney World. But it wasn’t because I was so good. It’s because I’m yours.”
Friend, first word just want to focus on a little bit. He giveth more grace. You’ll never earn his grace. The only one that has earned the grace of God is Jesus Christ. And he earned it on the cross of Calvary. And he earned it for you. Friend, if he have to earn his grace, the best you can do is filter acts. He giveth. I’m so glad, because we’d be so defeated if you have to earn his grace for him. He gives it to his children.
Here’s the amazing thing. We’re so much like this girl. You say he gives me grace after I have failed so many times. So many people now are coming kind of on the other side of the COVID-19 days. Well, I didn’t read my Bible like I wanted to over those days. I didn’t pray like I wanted to over those days. I didn’t get closer to God like I wanted to over those days. I didn’t. I missed some of the opportunities to witness during those days. And some are at this point here. I’ve fallen back into sin over those days. Preacher, what am I supposed to do about it? I’m thrilled to be able to tell you today, he gives more grace. He’s got it available for you.
You said, preach, when I’m not been the husband and the loving man of the home like I like to be. Yeah, friend, you didn’t know his grace in the first place Jesus earned it. So the Bible means when the Bible says, for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor that ye through his poverty might be rich. Friend, he gives it to you. We don’t earn it. And if you’re born again Christian, if you’re saved, if you’re all in your way to heaven, if you’re blood washed, God has the grace as long as you’re still breathing. God’s not saying, no, you’ve not committed to the sin of the death, you’re still here. I have the grace to help you be what I want you to be. He gives more grace. I’m so glad. Why? Because Jesus earned it.
Let’s just say, let’s just say, I bought a box of candy bars for the busmen, for bus kids. And I gave it to Brother Richard. I said, Brother Richard, this is for our bus kids. Why don’t you give it the bus kits, you know? Man, there were snickers inside there. Somebody say amen right there. There were some racist peanut butter cups. And this would get Brother Marlin back there. There was some white chocolate Reese’s peanut butter cups. Come on now, you know. I figure we have somebody shouting pretty soon here, you know. Almond Joy with nuts. Am I like those? Yeah, I’m getting a couple guys there. Help me out. What’s your favorite candy bar? What’s your favorite candy bar? Hershey’s, I heard that, and I don’t know what the rest of you know. It had them all. Butterfingers, that was? Butterfingers, yeah. It got them all in there now, you know.
And here’s the thing. I gave him to Brother Richard. Now, Brother Richard, here, give him out of the bus ministry. So next Sunday, everybody’s leaving. We used to shake hands by the door. Things are changing so much. And I look out and I see Brother Richard, he’s got a box of candy bars. And he’s collecting money from the kids.
And I see one kid saying, and I see Brother Richard saying, shake his head, nope, you can get nothing, nope. And he points, brother Richard says, thanks a lot, right? Brother Richard pointing his finger, tell your mom and dad give you a buck, no buck, no candy bar. Now we’d have a mob of people going out there and attacking Brother Richard, you know. It wouldn’t be adults to be bus kids. You’d say, I can’t believe that guy’s doing that.
Hey, same thing. God required you to pray for his grace. Jesus earned it already. Jesus paid for it already. He gives it. But he giveth more grace. I’m so glad when you and I are in a downward cycle. It just seems so pitiful. And it goes from bad to worse. Fighting and got inner problems. You’re not praying and selfish praying, and worldly and you get into envy, but he giveth more grace. So glad he gives it. Oh, I’m glad to have such a generous God.
That’s what the Bible means in Romans 5:20. Moreover, the law entered that the offense may abound, but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. Yeah, the grace of God. Now, can I say this? You know the Bible verse, but grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever, amen.
Now, did you notice that growing in grace? Can I give you a suggestion how to grow in grace? He gives it now. Here’s when you’re growing in grace, before you ever fall off the kift and you get down the bottom and then you say, hey, I need grace. Before you ever get there, when you’re on top being tempted, you learn to call out for grace. You see, grace is not just for when you fall off and you end up down there. Grace is for you to lift for him and for you to win for him.
And when you realize, hey, by the way, you grow up in the knowledge of your order and say, but that’s why the Bible says over Peter, he said, you realize he’s got the grace you need to live for the Lord Jesus Christ. And you realize to go and you understand to go, Lord, I need grace right now. I’m feeling tempted. I’m kind of slacking up. I’m not where all to be. Lord, I need some grace. He’s got the grace you need to empower you to be the husband and the wife and the child and the teenager and the daughter of the soul. He’s got the grace you need to be those saints. And he gives it, but he giveth more grace. I’m so glad that he gives it.
Can I say this? You’re growing in grace when you learn to ask, not just at the bottom, but when you’re at the top. Without him, you can do nothing for him. And I grow in grace when I’m learning just to continually just, I need some grace.
First word, we’ve got to go quick. First word, we’ll talk about what, he what grace? He giveth. Help me out. Y’all can do better than that. Brother Frank, he’s on board here. Well, what’s the first thing? God giveth more grace.
Now let’s look at another verse, another word, excuse me, in this verse. Look back there, verse number six, if you would, please. But he giveth more grace, wherefore he saith God resisteth the proud, but he giveth grace unto the humble.
Now, here’s the thing. Preacher, I can’t go ask for grace when I’ve told the Lord, I wouldn’t do that again. I’ve told him a thousand times and I did it again. Can I just be honest with you? There’s some pride in there. It’s a little humbling you have to go back to God again. Preacher, I’ve told God 10,000 times, and I don’t want to have to go back to him again. Can I say self-pity? Still about me? By the way, I is in self-pity. Can I say guilt? And I’m not trying to hurt you here, but I’m trying to help you here. But guilt, that’s still, the middle letter of guilt is still I. And somewhere along the line, I’ve got to get over myself and my feelings and what I think and it’s not right and it’s not fair. And I just got to go back to God humbly depending on his word and saying, he’s got the grace of need.
God resists the proud. Friend, there never has been a Christian that came to God worthy on their own. All of us go to God the same way in humility through the cross of Calvert through Jesus Christ. And I must humble myself. Sometimes a reason why I don’t wait until I get down there. And because when I get down there, I am humbled, but sometimes growing is before I ever fall off my horse, I’m on top of the cliff. I realize I can’t stand on top of this cliff on my own. I mean, there’s a fat chance in this. I might as well just call out for grace right now. He gives grace to the humble.
My life was listening or reading. I think listening to Spurgeon, we get to listen to him as everyday devotion. A lot of times came in BC. She had heard it somewhere, and she said, listen to it. And she said, basically his whole thing was, if you’re trying to live the Christian life on your own, good luck with that. Friend, he’s got the grace whereby you can serve him, the Bible says. And a grove and grace when I just humbled down, whether on top of the cliff or I’ve already fallen off the clip, but I humbled down and realize, man, I need grace to serve God. I don’t have any ability to serve God, but God’s got the ability and Jesus will give it to me when I humble down. Man, need grace. I need grace. Oh, we’re all, we’re all there. And it’s better for me when I just realized, Paul, get over yourself and go get the grace God has available for you. It’s there. But he giveth more grace. Who does he give it to? The humble.
The humble. Oh, friend, can you imagine? Can you imagine trying to win and to live for the Lord in 2020 when God’s resisting you? I ain’t bad enough. We’ve got to try to live for the Lord in our own power when you don’t have grace. That’s a flop for me for sure. But then can you imagine trying to live for the Lord when God’s resisting you?
It’s amazing to me. It never says, it never says that God resisteth the alcoholic. Now, he hates that sin. And God’s against that sin. And he said, look, if you’re deceived by that sin, you’re not wise. God’s against drinking. He’s against alcohol. He said, well, I wasn’t drunk. Well, you take 10 beers, you drink one, you’ll one-tenth drunk. I was not full of that. He says, it was red and moved with itself. I don’t even look at it in the Bible, says, poverty 23. Come on now. Don’t fault for this social drinking stuff.
But here’s the thing, but God never says he resisted the alcoholic. Does God hate sodomy? Oh, yeah. I was talking to someone other day, and a real estate agent that helped us put all the deed restrictions, and they were talking about that. And he said, well, some people don’t. How much clearer can you get, then fire and brimstone being poured down? Pretty clear, you know. And he said, well, that’s Old Testament. And he wasn’t defending himself. He was saying, this is what some people say. Jude 7, I didn’t tell him, but Jude 7 says that’s an example to us. Romans 1 says it’s vile. Come on now. What the Bible says.
Can I be honest with you? God says that sin is vile, but the Bible never says God resisteth the sodomite. You just read it through. It doesn’t say that. God hates these sins. But friend, when one of these sinners humbles down and says, I’m not right with God and that’s wrong what I’m doing. I need your mercy and grace. I want to win over this thing. He doesn’t say he resists them. He gives grace to the humble. Is that what it says or not?
Oh, friend, the best thing I can do is just say, hey, Lord, I need your help, and I want to humble down wherever I may be and realize I’ve got to have your grace to be what ought to be for you. Paul said, I am what I am by the grace. Yeah. That’s what we grow in grace.
Number one, we said he giveth more grace. Number two, he gives it to the, who does it give it to you? Humble. Let’s look at one more word. You’ve already heard it many times, verse number six right there. James four, verse number six, but he giveth. What’s the next word? Oh, I’m so glad that more is in there. Oh, I praise the Lord. This downward cycle won the verse number five, just a sad commentary of God’s people many, many times, but he giveth more. I’m so glad he’s got more.
Preacher, I haven’t witnessed anybody in months. He must be ashamed to me. He giveth more. Preacher, my mouth has just been out of control, and I’ve been saying things that I’m not to say. I’ve been hurting people, and I’ve been so critical, and talk about all the things I’m not talk about, he giveth more. I’m so glad, but he giveth more.
Preacher, my marriage has been struggling during this time, and I don’t want to do it. It just seems like I’m kind of stuck in the mud in a bad rut in my house right now. Maybe young folks, that’s where you’re at. What should we do about it? But he gives us more grace.
Now, I’m not saying God wants you to continue in this sin. No, God forbid Roman success. But it’s not going to be you staying away from God in pride that’s going to help you overcome that. It’s going to be you and humbling and me humbling down going and getting the grace to win over that thing. Yeah, it’s got more grace.
I’ve already mentioned Romans 5:20 where sin abounded. Grace does much more about it. Most of you have heard me tell this story. Some of you like to hear me tell it better than the others because I was on the new property before we had bought it months and months ago and my truck, my GMC, and two little drive. And I was just riding around fine on that property. It’s a little wet, but I was riding around fine to the hill little mud patch. Oh, my goodness, you know, and those tires start spinning, you know, and then you try the reverse drive thing. You know, you’ve been there, yeah, yeah. And you think, man, I don’t want to make it any deeper, you know, better just take my foot off the pedal, you know.
And in fact, called Brother Anthony. We were supposed to meet going to soul with him. And I said, hey, I ain’t going to soul with him. I’m stuck in the mud. Come help me get some bring a shovel, whatnot. And we worked on that thing, and knew he couldn’t get out of there. And I knew, I knew if I called Bruce Ipple. He’s got that Ford Discursion. It’s a diesel. Man, every guy in the world will drop everything to go pull. Especially if they’re driving a fort and they get to pull a GMC guy out. They’ll drop everything and go pull him out, you know. I knew he’d love it. I wouldn’t love it, eh? Talk about humbling, my goodness, you know. And I didn’t want to call him. Well, let’s dig a little bit more, amen. We’ll get out on our own, you know. At all, hang it, man, let’s just call him.
By the time he got it, it took a little bit of his business, but the time he got that message, he’s on it. Man, he is glad to pull up there in that diesel, you know, and showing off locking in his hubs and all that, you know. He went out and pulled me out, no problem at all. Hey, there’s a whole lot of Christians stuck on the sideline. I can’t be the man ought to be for the Lord. I can’t win over this sin. I can’t be a soul winner. I can’t make a difference at work. And they’re just kind of spinning their wills.
God’s got grace available. More grace. He said, preacher, after I have, after I have failed at this saying, I’ve tried to keep a good spirit, mood about me of a thousand, and I keep just falling into depression. Yeah, he’s got more grace. More grace. I’ve been stuck over here. Maybe somebody had been stuck over in some rut for years. He’s got more grace. But he giveth more grace.
There’s a lady. She was sitting in the church years ago. The door was open. They didn’t have air conditioning. She was sitting in there. They had them in service. She was debating about her life. She wanted to live for the Lord, but she had so many difficulties. She didn’t know if she could do it. She was kind of debating. Just going back and forth. The Holy Spirit was tugging on her, but she’d just go the other way. And lo and behold, a bird flew in those open doors. Man, the birds started flying around, and there was rafters up there, and the bird was just looking for a way out. That bird said, I’m in the room with a bunch of Baptists, and they like chicken, and I’m a bird. It’s just too close. That bird said, let me get out of here, you know. They might take a chance, you know. They may switch your appetite a little bit. And bird couldn’t get out of there, just looking around. And that lady just sitting there watching this bird fly all around there. We’re practically trying to get out of there.
And she said, finally I watched that bird kind of just for a moment, sat down on the rafter, and it saw the door. And then it took off of that door. And the lady said when the bird got outside, you could hear it chirp. God’s freedom back. And the Holy Spirit said, that’s where you’re at. You’re frantic trying to do it all on your own. And my door, grace is open to you. But he giveth more grace.
Original File: More Grace - Pastor Paul Chisgar 52420