To Fail of the Grace of God
Hebrews 12:15 “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;”
Grace is the unmerited favor of power. It is a gift from God to His children. God’s grace saves, upholds us, and strengthens us for the work.
So how can we “fail of the grace of God”?
Simply, by not using it.
How many times have we asked for help; and refused it, when it came, because we did not like the way it came?
(“I will not take help from that person, they always think bad of me anyway.” Really? If God has sent that person to help you, so what if you don’t like them? Or even if they don’t like you? Wouldn’t that make the miracle of help, so much better?)
How many times has God sent a trial for us to pass through, and we have refused to do so, because we don’t think we can “handle it”?
When you do this, you are failing of the grace that God wanted to give you to go through this trial.
(He sends us trials to make us stronger in His love, and faith.
1 Peter 1:5-7 “Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:”)
And how many times have we thought that we are O.K. We don’t need help with this. We have done this many times.
And then, because we have refused to take the fresh supply of God’s grace, we fail: either in our tongues, or in our reactions to something.
(The disciples thought this, when they thought they would go back to fishing, after Jesus was crucified, and had arose.
John 21:3 “Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.”)
We fail of the grace of God, when we allow the bitterness of resentment to “spring up”.
Hebrew 12:15 “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;”
There are resentments which are buried in our emotions. Time has passed, and so we think that they are gone. But they are just gone underground. Someone’s actions may bring them all out again.
They are there, because we have not removed them. It is by the grace of God giving us forgiveness for the person that has hurt us, that removes them.
This is hard, impossible in some situations, without His grace enabling us to do it!
But, if we won’t remove them, they will “trouble you”.
They will “spring up” (This is such a good description of how they suddenly appear.)
A little thing can remind us of these. And once it is in our heads again, it needs to be taken to the Lord.
God’s grace is a gift from our Lord, for now. The grace of this day. The grace for this hour, even.
How much we need it!
Let us seek to RECEIVE all He has for us, and stop failing of the grace of God.
Let us seek to yield to the Holy Spirit within, and receive His revelations of the things which hinder our walk with Him.
And mostly, let us receive all the “power of God through faith unto salvation” (our salvation), for we are kept by it: kept from the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil; and kept close to Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 1:5 “Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 