於2008-12-31發佈
我們唱著奇異恩典,但我不認為我們了解恩典到底有多奇妙。恩典是祂的仁慈所驅動出來的能力,為要成就祂的憐憫。

我們是因著恩典得救的,然而在"得救之日"的經歷,卻是 神累月經年的隱藏作為,是大有能力的作工在我們的心中。還記得:耶穌說到,「若不是差我來的父吸引人,就沒有能到我這裡來的。」(約6:44a) 還記得那份吸引的大能嗎?在我們認識 神之前,神聖的大能就無聲無息地在我們的心中作工,牽引善誘我們到耶穌基督面前。

容讓我進一步闡述恩典的神蹟。在耶穌說了父吸引人的力量之後,祂接著說到,「到我這裡來的,在末日我要叫他復活。」(約6:44b)。這是我們的天父愛的能力和承諾:從我們犯罪和悖逆的日子起,甚至到我們死後的日子,恩典都在持續動工,將我們的心與 神的心連結在一起。從我們完全無助的起頭到完全無助的終結,從在死在罪中直到歸於埋葬(塵土),恩典帶領我們回到 神的臂彎中。

Unlocking the Power of Grace 釋放恩典的大能
然而 神既有豐富的憐憫,因祂愛我們的大愛,當我們死在過犯中的時候,便叫我們與基督一同活過來;(你們得救是本乎恩) 祂又叫我們與基督耶穌一同復活、一同坐在天上,要將祂極豐富的恩典,就是祂在基督耶穌裡向我們所施的恩慈,顯明給後來的世代看。你們得救是本乎恩,也因著信,這並不是出於自己,乃是 神所賜的。」(弗2:4-8)

保羅提到我們是"因著信心",蒙恩典拯救了我們。信心開啟了恩典的能力並將它釋放到我們的世界中運行,信心本身是 神的另一項恩賜(禮物);這兩項恩賜之間的不同,是恩典的恩賜必須靠信心的恩賜來運作。我們必須相信 神是"滿有憐憫";我們必須接受 神是以"大愛"來愛我們的真理;我們必不可懷疑他為"我們的罪孽"付了贖價;我們必須信靠我們是"與基督一同復活"。

恩典是透過信心運作的,持續相信恩典的話語(應許)會開啟恩典的能力;恩典的能力能夠因著信心全然轉化我們。正如經上所記,「從祂豐滿的恩典裡我們都領受了,而且恩上加恩。」(約1:16) 一個基督徒真實邁步前行的寫照正是「恩上加恩」。將我們的心轉回歸向基督的相同恩典持續作工在我們內裡,甚至將我們的苦難和試探轉化成品德和能力。 

你是否處於爭戰中呢?你是否正為著財務、健康、公義或關係在掙扎著呢?屬乎你的恩典神蹟早已經被創造出來了,但是你必須相信不只是 神為你創造了恩典的豐盛 (grace-provision),基督是被愛所驅動,並且真實渴望向你顯出恩寵。

你可能覺得自己就像是一個失敗者、一個罪人、一個時常被別人拒絕的人,又或者你就是這樣的人!在未來的年日中,救贖的目的所代表的正是 神或可透過我們展現"極豐滿的恩典"。在世上你可能很貧窮,但是你能在 神的恩典轉化中變得富有,信靠祂;這樣的一個日子會來到,在 神的未來世界裡,祂會把曾經墮落和敗壞的、不潔和孤立的受造物 — 你和我指出來,並讓我們在天上和地下作為發光和被轉化更新的受造物(being) — 祂的創造之工和愛的榮耀。這些終將會成就的,因為我們相信神的恩典會來改變我們。

誰會在意其他人怎麼想你? 神說祂愛你!是的,祂的恩典正在運行要釋放你得自由, 神知道你已經在為不同的議題掙扎著;那也是為何祂啟示出這篇信息的一個理由。祂的恩典正在向你延展並要釋放你,這對於你的得勝來說,意思不是要藉著更多禱告或更多研讀聖經,而是藉著信心運作出來的恩典。當然,我強烈的相信禱告和讀經;然而釋放我們每個人的力量是恩典的免費恩賜。在突破上不要延遲,相信神的恩典就正在這裡要來釋放你! 

What We Cannot Do On Our Own不能依靠自己來成就
我們一直被教導恩典是不配得之 神的恩寵,而確實也是如此;然而不配得的恩寵只是恩典的一個面向,實質上來說,恩典是 神應許來幫助我們作成我們自己作不到的事情。

聖經說道「亞伯拉罕信 神,這就算為他的義。」(羅4:3)  這不代表亞伯拉罕相信真有一位 神,也不是邪靈相信有一個 神並且發顫!亞伯拉罕"信神"的意思是他相信 神已經應許的必會成就。 神已經應許亞伯拉罕作成亞伯拉罕和撒拉無法靠他們自己作到的。

主耶和華應許亞伯拉罕他會成為多國之父,這是 神恩典的榮耀:對我們來說,是不可能成就的卻成就了。你看,恩典不只是永遠地揀選了我、拯救了我,並且以憐憫遮蓋我的生命,同樣恩典也實質動工在我身上,是神聖的幫助作成了那不可能的事。

想想撒迦利亞和關於治理以色列地的所羅巴伯的故事,其時猶太人已經被擄到巴比倫70年了,現在,他們被復興並回到了耶路撒冷,所羅巴伯的工作是來監督這個城市的恢復;而在這個爭戰的對峙過程中,疲乏厭倦壓在這位治理者的身上。所以,主耶和華給了撒迦利亞關乎所羅巴伯的應許,祂說,「不是倚靠勢力,不是倚靠才能,乃是倚靠我的靈,方能成事。」(亞4:6)

神是在保證說:「你已經勞苦了,即便你的仇敵眾多又強壯,但是我在你面前設立的工作並不在乎你的能力如何;乃是關乎我所要作成的,且是要透過你去作成的。」同樣的,我們的救恩不在乎我們的善行或能力,它乃是關乎信靠聖靈的能力和 神的恩典。

接著主耶和華給了所羅巴伯一句重要的話,祂說,「大山哪,你算甚麼呢?在所羅巴伯面前你必成為平地,他必搬出一塊石頭,安在殿頂上,人且大聲歡呼,說:願恩惠恩惠,歸與這殿。〔殿或作石〕」(亞4:7)

所羅巴伯的生命中承擔許多的山並且負荷甚重,他負有的職責是遠超過他的能力,然而 神應許會有聖靈的幫助,當事情完成之後,會有很多的人為著這項完工呼喊「恩惠、恩惠」。

聽著,我的朋友們,不要躲開你生命中的山嶺;用信心去面對它們 — 後對著它們呼喊「恩惠、恩惠」,讓 神把你的群山夷成"平地"。

讓我們不要以不信喃喃地抱怨恩典,反而要大聲的把它喊叫出來,意思不是說,思想恩典,而卻是釋放你的信心並呼喊,「恩惠、恩惠」!從 神來的不配得的恩寵已經澆灌在你身上。現在就對沮喪、疾病或財務需要的山說話 — 恩惠、恩惠!

讓我們禱告:
賜福的 神,祢已經吸引我來就近祢,並隱藏我的生命在祢堅固的恩典堡壘之中。原諒我偏行己路,信靠自己的工作和能力。主神,我信靠祢的恩典!我要對我面前的眾山呼喊「恩惠、恩惠」!奉主耶穌的名禱告!

(來源:全國禱告網絡)

Shout Grace! / Francis Frangipane
  
We sing Amazing Grace, but I don't think we realize how amazing grace actually is. Grace is God's power, motivated by His mercy, working to fulfill His compassion.  

We are saved by grace, but what culminate in a "day of salvation" experience is actually months and even years of God quietly, yet powerfully, working in our hearts. Recall: Jesus said, "No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him" (John 6:44a). Do you remember that drawing power? Before we knew God, divine power was working invisibly within our hearts, drawing and wooing us to Christ. 

Yet let me take this miracle of grace further, for after Jesus spoke of the Father's drawing power, He then said, "and I will raise him up on the last day" (John 6:44b). This is the power and commitment of our Father's love: from the days of our sin and rebellion even to the days long after we die, grace continues working to unite our hearts with God's. From our utterly helpless beginnings to our utterly helpless end, from being dead in sin to being dead in the grave, grace carries us to the arms of God. 

Unlocking the Power of Grace
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, in order that, in the ages to come, He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:4-8). 

Paul says that grace saved us "through faith." Faith unlocks the power of grace and releases it to function in our world-and faith itself is another gift of God. The difference between both gifts is, the grace-gift must be activated by the faith-gift. We must believe that God is "rich in mercy." We must accept as true that God loves us with "great love." We must not doubt He atoned for "our transgressions." We must be confident we are "alive together with Christ."  
Grace works through faith. Believing the words of grace unlocks the power of grace; the power of grace to fully transform us comes through faith. As it is written, "For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace" (John 1:16). The true stride of a Christian's walk is "grace upon grace." The same grace that turned our hearts toward Christ continues to work in us, transforming even our sufferings and trials into virtue and power.   

Are you in a battle? Are you struggling with finances, health, righteousness or relationships? Your grace-miracle has already been created. But you must believe that not only has God created a grace-provision for you, but Christ is motivated by love and actually desires to show you favor.

You may feel like a loser, a sinner, a person others routinely reject - and perhaps you are! The purpose of redemption was so that, in the ages to come, God might display through us "the surpassing riches of His grace." You may be poor in this world, but you can become rich in the transforming grace of God. Believe Him. A day will come in the future world of God when He will point to you and I, once fallen and depraved, filthy and isolated creatures, and display us before Heaven and Earth as radiant, transformed beings - a glory to His workmanship and love. And it will come to pass because we believed in the grace of God to change us.   

Who cares what other people think of you? God says He loves you! Indeed, His grace is working to set you free. God knows you have been struggling with desperate issues; that's one reason why He has inspired this message. His grace is reaching to you to deliver you. The means to your victory is not more prayer or more Bible study, but faith-activated grace. Of course, I strongly believe in both prayer and study, but the power to release each of us is a free gift of grace.
Don't postpone your breakthrough. Believe that God's grace is here to release you! 

What We Cannot Do On Our Own
We've been taught that grace is God's unmerited favor, which of course, it is. Yet unmerited favor is only one aspect of grace. In reality, grace is God's promise to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.  

The Bible says that "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness" (Romans 4:3). It doesn't mean that Abraham believed there was a God. No. demons believe in one God and tremble! When Abraham "believed God" it meant that he believed what God had promised would come to pass.

God promised to do for Abraham what Abraham and Sarah could not fulfill on their own. 

The Lord had promised Abraham he'd be a father of many nations. This is the glory of God's grace: it accomplishes what is otherwise impossible for us. You see, grace not only chooses me, saves me eternally and blankets my life with mercy, but grace also works in me realities unattainable without divine help. 

Consider Zechariah and the story about Zerubbabel, who was governor of Israel. The Jews had been held in Babylonian captivity for seventy years. Now, they were being restored to Jerusalem. It was Zerubbabel's task to oversee the restoration of the city. In the struggle of the battle, weariness settled on the governor. So, the Lord gave Zechariah a promise for Zerubbabel. He said,
"'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord of hosts" (Zechariah 4:6). 

God was saying, in effect, "You have labored, your enemies are many and they are strong, but this work I've set before you isn't about your abilities; it's about what I can do working through you." Likewise, our salvation isn't about our works or power. It's about believing in the Holy Spirit's power and the grace of God.  

Then the Lord gave Zerubbabel an important word. He said,
"What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of 'Grace, grace to it!'" (Zechariah 4:7).

Zerubbabel had mountains in his life that were too much for him. He had a task that was beyond his abilities. Yet God promised His Spirit would help, and when it was done, multitudes would be shouting "Grace, grace" at the finished work. 

Listen, my friends, don't run from the mountains in your life; face them with faith - and then shout "Grace, grace" to them. Let God make your mountains into "a plain."  

Let's not mutter an unbelieving whisper about grace, but shout it out loud. It doesn't say, think about grace, but release your faith and shout, "Grace, grace!" God's unmerited favor has been poured out upon you. Now speak to that mountain of discouragement, sickness or financial need - GRACE, GRACE! 

Let's Pray: Blessed God, You have drawn me to Yourself and have sheltered my life in the impenetrable stronghold of Your grace. Forgive me for drifting back into trusting in my works or abilities. Lord, I believe in Your grace! I shout "Grace, grace!" to the mountains that stand before me! In Jesus' name! 

Francis Frangipane 
2008-12-23