Removing the barriers to our Receiving Abundance of Grace

God expects us to come boldly to His throne of grace, to receive abundance of grace, and to be strong in grace but often times there are hindrances to us doing these three things. This message is about how we can remove these hindrances or barriers to us receiving abundance of God’s grace.

Two major things can affect our boldness and assurance to receiving God’s grace

-          Ignorance of God’s great love for us

-          Ignorance of the truth that Christ has taken our place

1.       Ignorance of God’s great love – Luke 15:11-24 

 
We often refer to this parable in Luke 15:11-24, as “the parable of the prodigal son”, but it can also be seen as “the parable of the loving father”. The focus here is on the father who despite what the son had done, was lovingly waiting to show him (the son) love. In fact if the son knew how much the father was longing and waiting to show him love, he wouldn’t have wasted time to suffer in a strange land. He suffered because he was ignorant of his father’s love for him, the same way we suffer because we are ignorant of God’s great love towards us. There are things we are even afraid to ask God for when He wants to give more simply because we are His sons. One of the reasons we live outside of God’s grace is because we are ignorant of His great love towards us. We are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hos 4:6). Our knowledge of God’s love for us is what makes us receive the fullness of what God has in store for us (Eph 3:19). 

The love of God – Rom 8:31-32 - If God could give up His own son, which is like committing suicide (allowing Himself to die), just for us, then there’s nothing He cannot give to us. If while we were His enemies He gave us such a great gift, He will even do much more now that we are His children (Rom 5:5-8). When we are conscious of God’s love, we will stop running away from Him when we need to be running towards Him. If He could spare His son, there’s nothing He will not spare just to bless us. That’s how much love God has for us. If God so love the world, then for us who are His sons, He “more than so” loves us. Nothing can separate us from the love of God and this understanding will make us come boldly to receive His grace. The Holy Spirit will reveal and convince us of God’s love for us (Rom 8:16). We must now keep ourselves (stay) in the love of God (Jude 1:21). 

 


2. Ignorance of the truth that Christ has taken our place – Gal 2:16, 3:11, Psalm 130:3 Christ has taken our place so that we can take His place. Every time we feel that we don’t deserve God’s grace, love, or that we don’t qualify or deserve God’s grace, Christ has taken that place. If our eyes are on our works, we can never be justified before God. It is by grace through faith. God does not count our sins against us (2Cor 5:19) because Jesus has taken our place; He became so that we can become. He took our negative place so that we can take His positive place (2Cor 8:9). Now this does not in any give us the license to engage in the sin that Jesus came to die to save us from. Rather it gives us the grace to turn away from that sin and love and serve our loving God and Father. Sin is still deadly and destructive with so many negative consequences. The fact that God forgives us because of Christ doesn't mean that sin is no more evil, deadly and destructive. 

Christ took our place not so that we can continue in our place but so that we can take His place. We are to receive, grow in and continue to manifest His Life and nature. 
It is as we receive God's mercy and come boldly to His throne of grace that we receive the grace to live Christ's Life that He has given to us. 


Rev. Ifoghale Efeturi,
Preached in August 2014