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G R A C E

Christmas 2010 ...
and my wife gave me a present
Nothing unusual about that ..... another Christmas ..... another present,
but this present was a book, again nothing unusual, wasn't the first time I had been given a book

DESTINED TO REIGN by Joseph Prince
(any relation to Derek Prince I wondered, probably coincidental !)

I have just realised that it has been nigh on 50 years since I believed and received Jesus as Saviour and Lord, was truly born again.....
50 years of following and serving HIM .... of reading, studying and applying THE BOOK His word ....
50 years of living, working, serving, raising a family, while observing the western religious system and the local Church scene ... the good the bad, the ugly ... legalism, religious structures and hierarchy that surround us everywhere it seems !

What could an 'old dog ' mature believer like me possibly get from this book now placed in my hands ?

I had recently seen Joseph Prince on television, as I flicked channels though occasional 'wee small hours' when I couldn't sleep ... and found his 'style' different, even off-putting !
But once when I flicked on to him, he was talking about GRACE, so I lingered and listened, and he was goooddddd !
Not many other TV preachers focus on grace as well as he does, most are performers, glib talkers, and money orientated I have found.
And then he spoke of the difference between LAW and GRACE ... I listened keenly ... 'Right on' I thought .... and which is one of the main topics of my own personal focus, that is sorely missing and needed these days

My wife had already read this book, and it had changed some of her thinking she said ... strong words indeed for her.

So I started into this book, referred to by some as 'a breath of fresh air'

Just the Foreword got my attention immediately ...
He had heard God say clearly to him "Son, you are not preaching grace ... every time you preach grace, you preach it with a mixture of law. You attempt to balance grace with the law like many other preachers, and the moment you balance grace, you neutralize it. You cannot put new wine into old wineskins. You cannot put grace and law together"
Grace is only grace when it is undeserved, unearned and unmerited.

Wow .... my often stated sentiments entirely ...... he positively had my attention !

And then .... the 2 chapters that had changed my wife's thinking ...
The Main Clause of the New Covenant .....
and
The Waterfall of Forgiveness

In these he goes into several commonly held attitudes that are perpetrated by well meaning but mis-leading preachers that do not distinguish between the Old and the New covenants ...... between law and grace..
(Now, I personally suspect that the reason for this common mixture of law and grace is often purely and simply about numbers and money and keeping the clergy and their churches in business ..... I call such 'kindergarten Churches', where Gods dear people are kept forever infantile in their growth and development, often for a lifetime .... dependent on the preacher, the programmes and the parish ... in a phrase - the present religious system (the PRS) .... and where we had been in such for 25 years !)

He goes through the commonly held mis-beliefs fostered by most preachers that are so hindering as they mix law with grace – the 'bad fruit' of legalism.
He corrects these mis-beliefs with the rightful interpretation of scripture, and distinguishing between the Old and New Testaments and Covenants :

The fact that Jesus sacrifice was and is for past, present and future sins.
All we need to know is that we being constantly cleansed of all our sins.
Knowing that we are completely forgiven destroys the power of sin in our life.
'Forgiveness-consciousness brings the experience of victory over sin'

The rightful attitude to the 'unpardonable sin' doctrine that bothers sincere believers so much and is the cause of much personal anguish !

And the little realised fact that Jesus lived and died under the Law ......
The fact that the New Covenant began only after the cross and Jesus death – when he uttered those words "IT IS FINISHED "
The Law had not been destroyed ...... but FULFILLED (brought to an end, completed, finished) which is quite different
The Old Testament should really include the 4 Gospels - each up to Jesus death
The New Testament should really start at the book of Acts, plus those portions of the Gospels after Jesus death.
The New Covenant of Grace was empowered when the Holy Spirit was given on the day of Pentecost.

Self – condemnation .... the biggest weapon in the enemies arsenal !
for us who have sat under a legalistic ministry ( or often mistakenly called a 'holiness' ministry ) and the accompanying self-condemnation it brings,
the realisation that the letter (the Law - the ministry of death) condemns and kills, but the Spirit (of Grace and imputed righteousness) brings LIFE and that abundantly!

The full realisation that ...
Believers are the righteousness of God in Christ 2 Corinthians 5:21 Phillipians 3:9
We are the righteousness of God in Christ
I am the righteousness of God in Christ

Right thinking leads to right living .... he advocates

I like this mans teaching, and his ministry ... about the power and effect of GRACE

We all like and admire those people that are GRACEFUL ( full of Grace )
as someone called it .....
G R A C E = God's Righteousness At Christs Expense

as he calls it ...
the secret to effortless success, wholeness and victorious living

truly for me ... a breath of fresh air ..... indeed

Its not often that I recommend a book and a man's ministry !

Joseph Prince. DESTINED TO REIGN ........ Yes, yes indeed ..... liberating !

and I'm only about half way through the book !
just let me finish it !
( Thank you my love, for your Christmas present to me )

this awesome topic... to be continued