Look What God's Grace Can Do!

 

 

"Work, for He worketh...All our working depends upon His working in us...It is the grace of God which inclines the will to do that which is good: and then enables us to perform it, and to act according to our principles...we cannot act without God's grace..." - Matthew Henry

 

The Grace of God is so powerful. It is His Mighty Ability in operation.

 

Its workshop is the hearts of men.

 

What is it capable of doing?

 

There are three things - in particular - that we would like to examine in this message.

 

God - through His Grace - creates, prepares, and directs.

 

1. Creates

 

Jeremiah 32:39-40 - "And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear Me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from Me."

Ezekiel 36:26 - "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh."

 

The first thing that the Grace of God is capable of doing is removing a "stony heart" and substituting it with a "heart of flesh." It takes out that hard, impenetrable, insensible, inflexible, and unyielding heart that is dead to divine impressions and incapable of returning holy affections and replaces it with one that is soft and tender and can feel love to God and man. All of a sudden, the individual is awakened to spiritual matters - is affected by heavenly things - and begins to comply in everything with the will of God. He finds himself on the narrow path of holiness...reverencing God's majesty and dreading His wrath...standing in awe of His authority...fully determined for Him and entirely devoted to Him...living for one single aim - to bring great glory to His name - with a renewed mind, an enlightened understanding, a refined will, and a new spirit actuating his new heart.

 

2. Prepares

 

Psalm 10:17 - "...Thou wilt prepare their heart..."

Psalm 119:36 - "Incline my heart unto Thy testimonies, and not to covetousness."

Philippians 2:13 - "For it is God Which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure."

 

God is awesome! He is so worthy of our trust. His desire is that we get every prayer answered.

So what does He do in order for us to reach that goal? He "prepares" our hearts.

 

But what does that mean? It means that He establishes, settles, or confirms them. Giving us the assurance that He will intervene in times of trouble or danger, He dispels all of our fears. Once this work is done in the heart, He suggests the particular prayer that is needed and then hears and answers it - for it is according to His will and purpose for our lives.

 

Another work in the process of the preparation of the heart is the curing of a wrong bent. The heart is normally inclined to go after selfish gain or the love of money. The Grace of God in operation causes it to pursue after the things which are prescribed in the Holy Writ. The heart will do anything with delight to which it is inclined. Hence, the Grace of God inclines the heart after the Word of God to the extent whereby the person is willing and desirous to fulfill his duty before God and men.

 

Lastly, in this process of the preparation of the heart, God - by His grace - exerts a holy influence over our hearts in order to achieve a desired end. He doesn't compel or force us against our wills. He simply influences us in a certain direction to perform a designated task - to "will and to do of His good pleasure." We become willing to obey Him...not wanting to do anything but that which delights Him and is agreeable to His plan and purpose for our lives - overcoming all spiritual enemies and sins in the process. The way it works can be explained in this manner - God furnishes the power to act and man acts using that power.

 

3. Directs

 

Ezra 7:27 - "Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, Which hath put such a thing as this in the king's heart..."

Proverbs 19:21 - "There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand."

Proverbs 20:24 - "Man's goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?"

Proverbs 21:1 - "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: He turneth it whithersoever He will."

Jeremiah 10:23 - "O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps."

 

This particular "field" of grace is one of the most incredible of all!

 

By His grace, God puts things into people's hearts - yes, even into the hearts of rulers and leaders - things that would not originally arise there of themselves.

 

Man may have many purposes in his heart - purposes that are even contrary to God's Truth. But he will find them to be shifting, changing, and wavering in the presence of the Lord's Holy "counsels" which cannot be overruled, altered, or disturbed.

 

In his daily  affairs, he may feel that he is living independently of God, but nothing could be further from the truth - for the Sovereign One governs all of the great concerns of the world by His Grace.

 

This Divine Government is no match for rulers and leaders. They, too, are at the "beck and call" of the Lord God Almighty.

 

The Scriptures plainly state - "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: He turneth it whithersoever He will."

 

By His Amazing Grace, God can and does change the minds of leaders - influencing them to oftentimes drop an objective upon which they were fiercely intent and instead do that to which they were once averse or opposed. It causes them to work contrary to their original intention and expectation.

 

After reading and studying just these three arenas of  His Grace - How else can you describe it - except as being utterly "Amazing"?

 

What do you need God's Grace to do for you today?

You know that it is available for you, don't you?

 

It can completely change your heart from being stubborn, rebellious, or insensible and dull to the things of God to one which is sensitive, obedient, in total compliance with His will, and revived and thrilled about spiritual matters.  

 

Your prayer life can be totally revolutionized by it. You no longer have to be beset by inordinate fears and worries. Allow God - by His wonderful enabling power - to "prepare" your heart - to establish and settle it in the Truth of His Promises.

 

Do you feel a particular bent toward a sinful activity? God's Grace offers the cure. It will influence you in a holy and godly manner whereby you will hate what you once desired and loved.

 

Are you running from God in a certain area of your life? Call out for His Grace. It will work in you "to will and to do of His good pleasure."

 

Do you need His Divine Favor with a Leader today - a boss, District Manager, Pastor, Superintendent, Parent, Guardian, Government Official, Attorney, Judge, etc? "...As the rivers of water," God by His Mighty Power can turn their hearts in your favor.

 

Are you in need of help or aid? By His Grace, He can put it in people's hearts to financially support you or supply your every need. Believe Him to do it.

 

In closing, we repeat Pastor Henry's comment - "...All our working depends upon His working in us...we cannot act without God's grace..." 

 

In fact, nothing is accomplished for Him - except by it.

 

Let's celebrate this wonder-working power today.

Let's avail ourselves of it - humbling ourselves before the Almighty and seeking His face until He rends the heavens, comes down in our midst, and floods us with this Marvelous and Life-changing Endowment.