The God of all Grace

Q: What does the Bible say about the God of all grace?

The Bible describes God as 'the God of all grace' who calls us to eternal glory through Christ after we have suffered. In 1 Peter 5:10, God is depicted as 'the God of all grace,' emphasizing His nature of providing grace, mercy, and love that's unmerited and unconditional. This grace enables believers to endure suffering and trials, assuring them that God will ultimately perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle them. Grace is pivotal in understanding our salvation, as it is God who initiates our relationship with Him and calls us into His eternal glory. It encompasses all aspects of His provision and care for His people, extending beyond mere forgiveness to encompass spiritual growth and transformation.

Q: How do we know God's grace is sufficient for our struggles?

God's grace is sufficient as He promises to provide for our needs and strengthen us during our trials. Scripture reassures us of the sufficiency of God's grace in times of trouble, as seen in 2 Corinthians 12:9, where Paul recounts God's word to him: 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' This indicates that during our struggles, it is God's grace that empowers us to persevere. Additionally, Peter's assertion in 1 Peter 5:10 that God will make us perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle us after we have suffered, reflects the assurance that grace is not only about comfort but also about empowerment and growth through adversity. Thus, the challenges we face serve as avenues for experiencing the depth of God's grace.

Q: Why is humility important for Christians according to the Bible?

Humility is crucial for Christians because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. In 1 Peter 5:5, Peter instructs believers to be clothed with humility, emphasizing its significance in the Christian faith. Humility allows believers to acknowledge their dependence on God, fostering a disposition that is receptive to His grace. The Bible illustrates that pride leads to resistance from God, while humility opens the door to His enduring grace (James 4:6). Additionally, humility cultivates unity and love among believers, as we are called to serve one another selflessly, reflecting Christ's own humility (Philippians 2:5-8). Therefore, embracing humility is essential for growth in grace and for fulfilling our roles within the body of Christ.

Q: How does God call believers to eternal glory?

God calls believers to eternal glory by His grace and purpose, independent of our works. God's call to eternal glory is described in 2 Timothy 1:9, which states that He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace. This divine calling signifies not only an invitation but also a commitment from God to work in us toward our ultimate salvation and glorification in Christ. It underscores that our salvation originates from God’s initiative and grace, rather than our merit. This promise includes the assurance that after we have endured trials, God will complete His redemptive work in us, culminating in our glorification with Christ. Therefore, His call embodies hope and confidence for all who believe.

The title of the message this
morning is, The God of All Grace. The God of All Grace, 1 Peter
5, verse 1. The elders which are among you
I exhort. Now Paul is speaking here to
the preachers and teachers and leaders of the church. He says,
I'm an elder. The elders among you I exhort,
I'm talking to you elders, you teachers, you preachers, you
church leaders. I'm an elder." And he said, I'm
a witness of the sufferings of Christ. He wasn't there when
Christ died on the cross. He wasn't at that particular
place. But he's saying here, I'm a witness. I'm a preacher. I'm a proclaimer
of his sufferings. That's my message, the sufferings
of Christ. I'm here to tell you, not about
myself, but about him. And what I'm here to tell you
about him is that he suffered the just for the unjust to bring
us to God. I'm a witness, a preacher of
the sufferings of Christ. I'm an elder like you, and I'm
a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and I'm also a partaker
of the glory that shall be revealed. And he says in verse 2 to these
elders, he says, you feed the flock of God, which is among
you. That's our responsibility, to
feed God's sheep. You know, he told the Apostle
Peter to feed my sheep. He said, Peter, do you love me?
You know I love you, Lord. Well, feed my sheep. Do you love
me? Feed my sheep. That's our responsibility. I want you to turn to a scripture
over in Ezekiel, chapter 34. Jeremiah and Ezekiel are pretty
hard on preachers, and they ought to be pretty hard on preachers,
especially those who do not fulfill their responsibility to preach
the word of God. He says in Ezekiel 34, verse
1, And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man, prophesy
against the shepherds of Israel, the preachers, the under-shepherds. Preach against them. For thus
saith the Lord unto the shepherds, Woe be to the shepherds of Israel
that do feed themselves. They are interested in their
welfare and their well-being, and not the welfare and well-being
of God's sheep. Should not the shepherds feed
the flocks? Isn't that their primary responsibility? What is my responsibility as
a preacher? You elders who are here this
morning, who will hear this message on tape later, shouldn't we feed? Isn't that what God called us
to do? Isn't that our calling? That's my life. That's my work. That's what God assigned me to
do, that's my dispensation, to feed the flock. How do you feed God's sheep?
He's not talking about having a soup kitchen or a bread line. That's fine to help folks who
are unfortunate. But we feed them the Word. That's
what we feed God's sheep. The children's bread is the Word.
He said in verse 3, you eat the fat, you clothe clothe you with
the wool. In other words, he says that
the people provide you a place to live, they provide you a salary,
they provide you a home, you get your sustenance and living
from them. You know a man who has a flock
of sheep, and he cuts the wool off and makes him a garment?
And he takes a lamb every once in a while and kills it and puts
it in a pot and boils it and eats the fat. And other things
that he uses to flock to, he sells the sheep and buys him
something that he needs for his home. Shouldn't he feed those
people? Shouldn't he feed those sheep?
That's, take them to the best pastures, to the best clover,
to the best grass, take them and feed them. That's what he's
saying. You eat the fat, you clothe you
with the wool, you kill them that are fed, but you don't feed
them. The disease, have you not strengthened? Neither have you
healed that which was sick, neither have you bound up that which
was broken. You haven't comforted my people. How do you comfort
God's people? With the Word. How do you strengthen
those that are weak? With the Word. How do you feed
the sheep? With the Word, that's the way,
that's our full responsibility, not to entertain them, to feed
them. You haven't bound up that which
was broken, you haven't brought again that which was driven away.
A man is overtaken in a fault, restore him. How? With the Word.
You haven't sought that which was lost, but with force and
cruelty you rule them, and they're scattered because there's no
shepherd. All right, back to our text.
1 Peter 5, verse 2. Feed the flock, which is among
you. You can't give it too much care, too much study, too much
effort. It's impossible for you to devote
yourself too much to the Word, because that's your primary calling
and responsibility, to feed the sheep. Feed the sheep. And he says in verse 2 here,
take the oversight, take the leadership. Take the leadership. Be authoritative. Preach and
teach the Word. Take the leadership. Now don't
do it by constraint, but willingly. Don't feel that you have to.
When you feel that you're doing it because it's your job, then
quit. But do it willingly, and don't
do it for filthy lucre. All said in Acts 20 to those
elders at Ephesus, he said, I don't covet what you have, your silver,
your gold, or these things. Don't do it for filthy lucre.
Do it motivated by a ready mind, because you love Christ. And
verse 3, look at this. And don't lord it. Don't be lords
over God's heritage. We're not lords and dictators. But what are we? We're examples.
We're brethren. We're to be examples in our study,
in our faithfulness, in our love, in our lives, in our walk, in
our talk. We're to be examples to the people.
We're brethren. We're sin of God among his people
to teach them, not to rule over them. Here's the one who rules,
verse 4, listen. And when the chief shepherd,
we're shepherds, but we're under-shepherds, we're not hirelings, we're servants,
but we're under-shepherds, he's the chief shepherd. He's called
the chief shepherd, he's called the great shepherd, he's called
the good shepherd. And Paul is saying, Peter is
saying this, Peter is saying this in verse 4, when he shall
appear, when the chief shepherd shall appear, He said, you'll
receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Now, verse 5,
likewise ye younger. Now, usually an elder is a more
experienced and older person, proven through years of experience. The younger here may be younger
in age, but he is younger in faith. That's one thing. So he
says, you younger. Submit yourselves to the elder. Submit, respect those who teach
and follow their leadership. Yea, he says, all of you, all
of you be subject one to another. Be clothed with humility. That's
inwardly and outwardly. For he said, God resisteth the
proud. God gives grace to the humble.
Be clothed with humility. Turn to Ephesians chapter 4.
Let me show you something over here that Paul wrote in Ephesians
4 about this business of humility. In Ephesians 4 verse 1, I therefore,
the prisoner of the Lord, I beseech you, Ephesians 4.1, I beseech
you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called,
with all lowliness and meekness and longsuffering, patience,
forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace. That's what Peter's saying
over here in 1 Peter 5. All of you. You younger, submit yourself
to the elder, respect him, follow him, those who teach and preach
the word. But all of you, be subject one
to another and be clothed with humility. God resisteth the proud,
gives grace to the humble. Verse 6, humble yourselves therefore
under the mighty hand of God, and he'll exalt you in due time. Be humble and patiently bear
with others, Look not on your own things, but on the welfare
and happiness of others. Work and pray and give and live
for the glory of God in the spirit of humility for the good of the
body of Christ. Look not for praise or vain glory,
for sooner or later God will exalt you, sooner or later. Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus our Lord, who thought it not robbery
to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, took
on himself the form of a servant, became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. Wherefore God hath highly exalted
him." And he says here, you humble yourself unto the mighty hand
of God. In due time, he'll exalt you.
He'll exalt you. All right, verse 7, and cast,
here's the verse to learn, oh, to learn this, cast all your
care on Him. He cares for you. Cast all your
care, all of your cares and concerns, concerns, cast them on Christ.
All of your frets and fears, cast them on Christ. All of your
future and family, cast them on Christ. All of your weight
and worry, cast it upon Christ, upon Him. Why? Listen. He cares
for you. He cares for you. He cares for you. That's twofold.
He cares for you in that He loves you. But not only that He loves
you, that He cares for you. He provides for you. My God will
supply all your needs according to His riches and glory through
Christ Jesus. Now verse 8 and 9, Be sober, be vigilant, because
your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom
he may devour. You know, we have enemies. It's
not an easy road. We have enemies within and enemies
without. Look at Ephesians chapter 6 a
moment. Ephesians chapter 6. Ephesians 6 verse 11. Now listen
to this. Now Peter, and incidentally I
know Peter wrote this, I said Paul a while ago, but you read
Paul and Peter and I get, and Peter was a witness of the death
of Christ on the cross. Paul wasn't there, but Peter
was. But the thing Peter is saying,
He was a witness to his death, but the thing is, like we, I'm
an elder too, he said, and we're witnesses of the sufferings of
Christ. That's what we're to preach,
is his suffering for sinners. But we've got enemies. Look at
verse 11 of Ephesians 6. And I go back to say that I know
Peter wrote it because my mind's not plumb gone, it's just half
gone. All right, Ephesians 6, 11, listen,
"...put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh
and blood." When you think of enemies, too often we think about
people. And that's, that's, our enemies,
we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against rulers of the darkness of the world,
spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore, take unto
you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in
the evil day, and having done all, to stand." That's what Brother
John Chapman said in our Bible class this morning, that God
has hedged his people about his angels. He gives his angels charge
over you. He protects us. We've got enemies that we don't
even know about. We've got dangers we're not even
aware of. We've got principalities and
powers and adversaries that we've never seen. We're not even conscious
of them and their presence. But he is, thank God he is, and
he protects us. His angels are given charge over
us. He hedges us about. That's what
he's saying here. 1 Peter 5, 8, be sober, be vigilant,
be serious, this is a battle, this is a warfare. Your adversary,
the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he
may devour. Our Lord said to Peter, Satan
hath desired thee. Whom resist, verse 9, steadfast
in the faith, knowing the same afflictions are accomplished
in your brethren. that are in the world. We have
afflictions to endure. We've got a warfare. We've got
enemies. And these are common afflictions.
Think it not strange when fiery trials come upon you. They're
common afflictions. They're common to all mankind.
Now here's the verse that I've been coming to, and this is my
text this morning, verse 10. This is what I want to get to.
But, but, here's our hope and our resting place. Here's our
joy and confidence. But, the God of all grace, and
I divide this into five parts. Who is He? The God of all grace.
What has He done? Listen. He hath called us unto
His eternal glory by Christ Jesus. What must we do? Listen. After
you have suffered a while, what is He doing with these sufferings?
He'll make you perfect. He'll establish, strengthen,
and settle you. Why? Verse 11, that He might
be glorified. To Him be the glory and dominion
forever and ever. Amen. Now let's look at those
five things Just briefly, first of all, the God of all grace.
The God of all grace. He's called the God of hope.
Paul wrote in Romans 15, the God of hope, fill you with joy
and peace in believing. He's called the God of comfort.
In 2 Corinthians 1, the God of comfort who comforts us in all
our tribulation. He's called the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, Ephesians 1. The God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ. He's called in Hebrews 13, the
God of peace. The God of peace that brought
again from the dead our Lord Jesus. But here he's called the
God of all grace. All grace. What is grace? What is grace? Oh, I know we
have that well-used definition. It's unmerited
favor. It's undeserved love. It's unsought
mercy. Grace is God giving us what we
don't deserve. But let me carry that a little
further. What is grace? Grace. He's the God of all grace. He's the God of all grace. Well,
grace is forgiving the unfaithful. It's a faithful wife forgiving
an unfaithful husband, or a faithful husband forgiving an unfaithful
wife, and going on as if nothing happened. That's grace. What
is grace? It's receiving the prodigal son
or daughter. and never mentioning their waywardness or their rebellion. What is grace? Grace is counseling the unpaid
debt and never bringing it up. Someone told me recently about
a man who hired a seamstress to do a work for him. and several
years passed and to this day he's never paid her. Grace is
counseling him and never bringing it up. Grace is forgetting the
offense. You're sitting here this morning
and back in your life sometimes someone's offended you, maybe
several times. Forget it. That's grace. How
many times shall I forgive my brother, Peter said? Seven times? Seventy times seven. That's grace. Grace is unlimited forgiveness,
unending pardon, unfailing love. You say, Preacher, that does
not exist. No, it doesn't. Only in one place,
in Him. That's what it says here. He's
the God of all grace. The reason we don't understand
that kind of language, forgiving the unfaithful and never bringing
it up, renewing and receiving the prodigal and never mentioning
it, counseling the dead. The reason we don't understand
that kind of language is because grace is not in us. It's not
of us. It's not from us. It's in Him. It's of Him, it's from Him. You
see what I'm saying? Thomas Bradbury said, he's not
the God of some grace, but of all grace. All the grace you've
ever known, all the grace you've ever experienced, all the grace
you've ever encountered, all the grace you'll ever experience
is from Him. And this sweeps away any thought
of human works, or human merit or human deeds in the matter
of acceptance with God or the matter of salvation. And God
is not gracious to the good. That's not grace. He's gracious to the bad. It's
not hard to love those that love you. That's easy. Isn't it? It's not hard to give to those
from whom you hope to receive. Ain't nothing to that. Grace
is to the ungracious and the unlovely. So God is not gracious
to the good, for that's not grace. He's gracious to the guilty. He's the God of all grace, all
grace. All right, the second thing.
He's the God of all grace, fountain of grace. What's this? Who hath
called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus. He called us. You see now, Paul experienced
this call too. He said in Galatians 1, God who
separated me from my mother's womb called me by his grace. Called me by his grace. My son Paul called me this morning. He said, I'm preaching today
a message on the subject, when is a man saved? He said, you
brought a message on that several years ago, didn't you? I said,
yes. He said, do you remember your outline? I said, I think
I remember some of it. He said, what was your outline?
I want to compare it with the outline I have to bring this
morning. I said, well, when is a man saved? You go back before the foundation
of the world. You go back to when God Almighty
in the covenant of mercy decreed and determined and purposed to
save a people. Salvations of the Lord. So we're
saved when it pleases the Lord. That's what Paul said, when it
pleased God. who separated me from my mother's
womb to call me by his grace. See, salvation begins with God,
not with us. This salvation, this regeneration,
this call, he said he called us. You see that? The God of
all grace, he called us. He called us unto his eternal
glory. The call of God is the first
movement in spiritual life. Before the foundation of the
world, God chose us, gave us to Christ. In the fullness of
time, Christ came and died for us. A man saved when Christ bore
his sins on the cross of Calvary. But then there's that day when
God comes and arrests us on our Damascus road to hell, just like
Saul of Tarsus had no thought of Christ. He had no love for
Christ. He had no interest in Christ.
He was on his road, 40 some odd years of age, on the road to
Damascus to persecute the people who did believe in Christ. And
God called him. God arrested him. God encountered
him. God quickened him. God awakened
him. But God, who is rich in mercy
for his great love, wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sin, hath quickened us together with Christ by grace
are ye saved. You hath he quickened who were
dead in trespasses and sin. So, this call of God is the first
movement in the spiritual life and experience of God's people.
God calls us by His Spirit. Turn to 2 Timothy 1. Listen to
this. 2 Timothy 1. Now God calls us by His Spirit,
calls us by His Word, calls us by His divine providence, but
it's God who calls. In 2 Timothy 1, look at verse
9. He who has saved us and called
us with a holy calling, not according to our works, that according
to his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ
Jesus before the world began. Over there, and don't turn to
this, but Peter said the promise is to you and your children and
to all that are far off, even to as many as the Lord our God
shall call. Romans 8 says, Whom he foreknew,
he predestinated to be conformed to the image of his Son. Whom
he predestinated, he called. Isaiah 43 verse 1 says, I have
called thee by name, because thou art mine. So the God of all grace who hath
called us. Now God uses means. Now listen
to me right here. Listen to me. Whatever means
God is pleased to use in His will, whatever means He uses, back through your life, it's
still God who calls. You follow me? The burning bush
may get Moses' attention, but it's God who set it on fire.
You understand what I'm saying? You say, God spoke to Moses out
of a burning bush. He lit the bush. It was God in
the bush. So God who called Moses. Moses
didn't call God. God called Moses. The earthquake
shook the jail and awakened the jailer. But God sent the earthquake. You understand what I'm saying? If he's left to the jailer, he's
still been sitting there leaning against that wall. God and his
prisoners. God started this thing. Philip
went down and preached to the eunuch, but God sent him. You understand what I'm saying? And you may have believing parents
who taught you the Word, but God put you in that home. He
gave you the believing parents. See what I'm saying? He called
us. You may come here to this church, you may buy your Bible,
but God led the men to write it and gave you the desire to
read it. It's salvations of the Lord. It's God who called us. You see
that? But the God of all grace. And please, I wish you could
understand, I wish I could understand what I'm saying. Grace, grace,
grace. And we can try to define it and
we ruin it. Like Barnard said one time, don't
try to define repentance, you'll ruin it. A man's repented, he
knows what you're talking about if he hadn't. You could explain
it to him if you wanted to. Love, a person that has love
in his heart, shed abroad by the Holy Ghost, he understands
what you're saying. But a person that doesn't have it, you can
draw him a picture and he wouldn't understand. And I'm not talking
about grace. All grace that doesn't talk about
forgiving, but does. Doesn't talk about loving, but
does. Doesn't talk about receiving, but does. Grace. Forget it. Forgiven. It's over. He remembers our sins no more. That's grace, Cecil. Remembers
them. You remember. I remember. Can't
forget. But he does. I don't know how.
He just does. And that God of all grace called
you, set his love on you and me. Why? Because he would. Because it seemed good in his
sight. Because he willed to do it. Not
because of anything he saw or found in you, or of you, or from
you, or me. But he did it because he would.
He loved you on purpose. He gave you to Christ. He called
you to eternal glory. These people talk about, well,
you can lose your salvation. Yeah, you can lose yours, but
not his. He didn't call you to a temporary reformation. He didn't
call you to be a Baptist for a little while, serve him. He
called you to eternal glory. The purpose of all this is that
Christ might have a people like himself. that heaven might be
populated in God's name, might be exalted and praised throughout
endless eternity. Eternal glory. He calls you to
eternal glory. Glorify them with the glory with
which you glorified me, Christ said. I will that they may behold
my glory and be partakers of the same glory. All right, quickly
look here at what we must do. What we must do. After you've
suffered a while, after you've suffered a while. Now listen
to me. Toils and trials and suffering, that's a lot of all God's people.
Our Lord said in the world you're going to have tribulation. Turn
to 1 Timothy 3. Let me show you something here.
This thing, these years, this old age, this failing health,
this change and decay and all around me I see, That's what
we're going to have after you've suffered a while. Look at 1 Thessalonians
3. Wherefore, when we could no longer
forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone. We sent
Timotheus, our brother and minister of God and our fellow laborer
in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and comfort you concerning
your faith, that no man should be moved by these afflictions.
No man should be moved, moved, moved away from faith, moved
off the rock, moved out of his confidence, upset, troubled,
distressed, depressed, despairing. Don't be moved. I shall not be
moved, just like a tree planted by the water. Don't be moved. I sent Timothy down there. These
people were in trouble. Some of them getting old and
some dying and some memory fading and some frail and some losing
their children and heartaches and troubles and just overflowing
them and covering them. He sent Timothy down there to
tell them, now don't you be moved by these afflictions. Listen,
for yourselves know we are pointed to these things. Paul says, when I was with you,
verse 4, when we were with you, I told you that you'd suffer
the, I told you, that you'd suffer tribulation even as it came to
pass, and you know it. There you are, there you have
it. So trials and troubles are going
to come in our Lord's will and purpose. They're going to come. They're going to come. They're
here. We're going to have to put up with them. It's the common
lot of all of Adam's race. But look, one word, I'll show
you a word. Verse 10, 1 Peter 5, let me show
you a word. That the God of all grace, who
hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after
you've suffered a while. A while. There's the word. A while. It's not for good. The trials and troubles that
the Lord sends our way are for his purpose and our good. But
they're just for a while. Now the unbelievers' troubles
are forever. The unbelievers' troubles are
never over. But our troubles are just for
a while. Let me show you something in Psalm 30. This is a good scripture. Everybody turn to Psalm 30. After
you've suffered a while, it'll come to pass. Everything comes
to pass, sooner or later. In Psalm 30, look at verse 5. For his anger endureth but a
moment in his favor's life. Weeping
may endure for the night, but joy is coming in the morning. The unbeliever has no morning. He has no joy awaiting. He has no expectation and no
good hope. We're going to suffer a while.
A while. A while. All right. What's he doing? The fourth thing. After you've
suffered a while, make you perfect. Make me perfect? There's a sense
in which I'm already perfect. I'm perfect in Christ, in His
righteousness, I'm perfect. I have no sin, you have no sin
in Christ. We're perfect. God sees us in
Christ, accepts us. We are perfected in His righteousness,
in His blood. There's a sense in which I'll
never be perfect in this flesh, it's got to be put in the ground.
I'll never be perfect in this flesh. But what the word perfect
here is, is maturity. God is, through these trials
and troubles and difficulties, and through this, these elders
teaching, and through us learning these things, we're growing up.
We're being perfected, being made mature in Christ. We're
getting some understanding. That's what he's talking about.
He gave us pastors and teachers for the perfecting, the maturity
of the saints. So all these experiences are
to help us grow up. It's like your children. And
we parents make a mistake. We think we're helping our children
by doing everything for them. by supplying everything. They
say, I want this, give it to them. I want to do this, let
them do it. Take all the struggle out of
life, take all the pain out of life, take all the trial out
of life, and you take the life out of the child. They'll never
learn. They've got to learn by experience.
They've got to come through these barriers. They've got to do it
themselves. That's right. And as you allow
them, as you discipline them and correct them and withhold
from them that which they don't need and make them do for themselves,
then they grow up. It's like I was standing on the
street corner with a friend of mine one day, and this boy scratched
off. He burnt rubber for about two blocks, you know, and left
Black Street. And he fell to turn to me and said, his daddy
bought those tires. When he buys his own tires, he'll
quit that. When I buy my own tires, I'll
quit that. That's right. So all of these
things are for our maturity. Isn't that right? He's perfecting
us. The next word said he's establishing
us. What's establishing? That's persevere. Permanence, perseverance, that's
stability, that's unmoving. This comes slowly. Being established
comes slowly. Let me tell you, don't get discouraged.
Don't get discouraged. You know, the wavering and instability
of the most distinguished of men is painful to see. It's there. Peter, let me tell you something
about Peter, this man that wrote this. He was faithful unto death, wasn't
he? But during his early life, he
was unfaithful. God made him. God finally established
him. Peter was unwavering, firm on
Christ. Over there after Pentecost, he
said, you not tell me what to preach. I'll preach what I've
seen and heard. That wasn't what he said back there around that
fire. Now he's established. Peter rested
on Christ. There was a day he retreated.
But when he was retreating, he was still resting on Christ.
I know that. When he was denying Christ, Cecil, he was believing
Christ. That's right. When he was unfaithful, he was
faithful. But God had to establish him.
You see what I'm saying? And all this experience through
which we're coming, and all this we've come through together over
41 years nearly now, is establishing us. He weeds out the tares. We don't do it, he does it. He
weeds out the tares. He takes us through some deep
water, some disappointment and trouble, but he's perfecting
us. And He's establishing it. God
of all grace who called us to eternal glory, after you suffered
a while, 41 years you've suffered putting up with me, and I put
up with you. But He's establishing us, okay?
He's establishing us, just like He did Peter. And He's strengthening
us. He's strengthening us. Somebody
wrote this, we're all weaklings down here. I'm a weakling. Don't
look for strength in here. We're weaklings, but I tell you
this, when we're weak, we're strong. And the sooner you find
out and I find out how weak we are, the sooner we're going to
look to Him for His strength. He'll strengthen you, but He's
not going to strengthen you while you're standing alone. He'll
strengthen you when you cast your care on Him. My time's up,
isn't it? One more word, He'll settle you.
He'll settle you. You know why concrete block walls
crack? They're settling. And why they crack? You go put
up a building. Ed, you've done this before. A few months later,
big crack in the wall. Settling, isn't it? There'll
come a time when it'll be settled. Ain't gonna move. Ever again. And it just takes time. Believe
me, beloved, it takes time. the God of all grace, who's called
you. He calls you to eternal glory
after you've suffered a while. It's not permanent. God's tomorrow
is a day of gladness. But He's going to perfect you. You're going to
be mature. Go establish you, go strengthen
you, and go settle you on that rock. He said, I've laid in Zion
a rock. Tried, proven, never moved. And he that believeth will never
make haste. Now, why did he do all this?
Verse 11. To him be the glory and the dominion forever and
ever. Amen. That's why we're here. What's the chief end of
man? The glory of thy God. I'll glorify him in my life,
I'll glorify him in my death. I'll glorify him in health, I'll
glorify him in sickness. I'll glorify him in plenty, I'll
glorify him in poverty. I'll glorify him in walk, I'll
glorify him when I'm reclining. But that's from him all glory
comes, in him all glory shines, to him all glory belongs. And
the sooner I learn that, happy I'm going to be. To whom be the
glory both now and forever. Amen. All right, let's sing glory
to his name, number 489. We'll stand and sing number 489.

The God of all Grace

What does the Bible say about the God of all grace?

How do we know God's grace is sufficient for our struggles?

Why is humility important for Christians according to the Bible?

How does God call believers to eternal glory?

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The God of all Grace

What does the Bible say about the God of all grace?

How do we know God's grace is sufficient for our struggles?

Why is humility important for Christians according to the Bible?

How does God call believers to eternal glory?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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