Gregg's Rest Stop (Grace is a Person)

Published: Mon, 04/11/11

GREGG'S REST STOP   April 11, 2011


  » Grace is a Person
 
The Lord said,
"I bore you on eagles' wings
and brought you to Myself."
(Exodus 19:4)
 
 
 
The above photo and Scripture are beautiful depictions of God's grace.  Grace is often seen as a concept, such as the acronym God's Riches At Christ's Expense.  This is true, but grace is so much more.  Grace is God's initiation in us, His enablement for us, and His ministry through us.
 
God initiates life, love, hope, joy, etc in us by lifting us up "on eagles' wings" (in Christ) to bring us into relationship with Him.
 
God enables us to depend on the Holy Spirit (as the eagle rests upon the wind) to experience the exhilaration of what He initiates in us...soaring with the risen Christ.
 
God calls us to minister this grace  to others through discipleship.  We teach others to "mount up with wings as eagles" with the risen Christ who indwells them, too (Isaiah 40:31)!
 
Be encouraged by the parable "Turkeys and Eagles" (right).
 
Therefore, ultimately grace is the Person of Jesus Christ!  This is why we cannot just teach grace, but can testify of Grace.  Below are parallel Scriptures that show the relationship between the amazing word GRACE and and the precious name CHRIST.
 
GRACE and CHRIST in Scriptures
 
Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus (2 Tim 2:1).
Be strong in the Lord (Eph 6:10).
 
By grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:8).
Our Lord has saved us (2 Tim 1:9).
 
Grow in grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).
Grow up in all things unto Christ (Eph 4:15).
 
Jesus said, "My grace is sufficient for you" (2 Corin 12:9).
Our sufficiency is from God (2 Corin 3:5).
 
God shows us the exceeding riches of grace (Eph 2:7).
I preach the unsearchable riches of Christ (Eph 3:8).
 
The Spirit of grace (Heb 10:29).
The Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil 1:19).
 
The gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24).
The gospel of Christ (Gal 1:7).
 
You are partakers of grace (Phil 1:8).
You are partakers of the divine nature of Christ (2 Peter 1:4).
 
We come boldly to the throne of grace (Heb 4:16).
God raised Christ to sit on His throne (Acts 2:30).
 
God called me by His grace (Gal 1:16).
The Lord has called each one of us (1 Corin 7:17).
 
The exceeding grace of God is in you (2 Corin 9:14).
Christ in you is the hope of glory (Col 1:27).
 
I labored, yet not I, but the grace of God with me (1 Corin 15:10).
I labor according to Christ working mightily in me (Col 1:29).
 
Let your speech be seasoned with grace (Col 4:6).
Christ sent me to preach not with wisdom of words (1 Corin 1:17).
 
Closing
Be encouraged by very last verse in the Bible provided below. May we grow in resting in Grace...as free as an eagle.
 
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
  » About this ministry
 
Gregg Gibbons is
a missionary with
a non-profit, non-denominational
discipleship counseling
and training ministry.
 
 
 The High Calling of Discipleship
 
Testimonies by Gregg and friends including Bobby Richardson, former NY Yankee ballplayer.
 
 
 
TURKEYS & EAGLES
Following is an wonderful excerpt from Peter Lord's Turkey & Eagles
(book by Seed Sowers, 1977).
 
It is a parable of an eaglet named Hagan, who fell out of his nest and was raised by a flock of turkeys.
 
"Hagan, you're an eagle!" said the wise old owl.  "An eagle, my friend.  You are a descendent of the grandest and highest of birds.  You belong up there in the sky!  Go now, and soar!"
 
A chill of glory and revelation ran up and down Hagan's mighty wings.  Instinctively, he knew who he was.  All he had ever needed was for someone to tell him!   At that moment, he recalled that he had often dreamed of majestically flying high in the sky.
 
The wise old owl continued, "Look at yourself.  You're not a turkey.  You have the noble heart of an eagle!  It is the turkeys who have told you that you were a buzzard and that you have become a wonderful turkey.  You are neither!  You need not live in the wood any longer.  Go Hagan!  You belong in the sky!"
 
It's true that an eagle does not take long to learn to fly once he has been set free.  At that moment, our dear friend Hagan had very definitely been set free! 
 
Hagan opened his mighty wings to their fullest, and with one tremendous sweep, he set sail into the skies.  Nor was he afraid as he lifted his head and screeched a terrible cry of strength, joy, and freedom.  It was a cry of triumph.
 
Hagan circled the wood for one last view of the unnatural habitat which so long had held him.  Then, Hagan raised his head and saw in the far distance, and high above him, something grand and beautiful.  Every fiber in his being called out, "Yonder is my home!" 
 
Unleashing again that terrible cry of freedom, he lifted his head, arched his wings, caught the wind, and soared toward the mountains!
 
The Christian life is not climbing uphill against great odds to someday become holy.  When you become God's child, He placed you in His holiness.  Behold Him.
 
You are going to rise above the storms of life that drive turkeys into hiding, but that drive eagles into the very presence of God! 
 
 


926 NE Main Street  Suite F-155   Simpsonville, SC 29681
(864) 483-3201 (Gregg cell)   gregg@journeyinChrist.org