SUFFICIENT GRACE

Memorise: ”Then Paul answered. What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? For I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 21:13).

Read: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

“Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Cor. 12:10). Love is a two-way street. Having been loved by Jesus to the point of dying on the cross, we too should reciprocate that love. Christ’s love is beyond the cross. Hebrews 7:25 says, “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them”. The Lord is still interceeding for you. You too can love Him till death. How much do you love Him? A lady evangelist went to preach in East Africa. After the altar call, several people gave their lives to Jesus. Thereafter, she asked if there were neighbouring villages and the converts said yes. As she resolved to go to those places also, the people discouraged her because of hungry lions which pounced on passers by. But she insisted on going even if she died in the process. Suddenly one old man volunteered to go with her. The old man was incapable of defending himself not to talk of her. The old man told her lions do not kill except they are hungry. So he volunteered to go ahead of her to be food for the lions so that she can freely get to her destination to preach the word. That is consecration.

Convenience has become the underlying factor in the choice of departments and parishes for most workers today. When ministers and pastors are sent to a particular town, the first thing they want to know is if there is electricity so that they can be assured of comfort. But 1 John 3:16 says we should love God to the point of laying down our lives for the brethren. In the days when communism was still very strong, believers were bundled into prisons for their faith. A young Christian lady who was about to wed was arrested with handcuffs. Then she said, “Lord I should have known that You love me too much to share me with anyone else. How beautiful are your wedding rings (handcuffs)”. Then they took her away and nobody ever heard of her again. Two brothers were asked to deny Jesus or be burnt while sleeping. They chose the tougher option. The brothers agreed to signal to themselves if His grace was sufficient during the burning. As they were being burnt, they both signalled to each other that His grace was sufficient to take them through the fire. If that grace was sufficient for these, it will be sufficient for you.

The issue is not grace but your decision. The moment you take that uphill decision to follow
the Lord to the end, heaven will immediately make the resources (grace) available.