Toledo Conference: 1988, God's Grace (2:8)
Address—G.H. Hayhoe
Fights to act in grace, and grace is his undeserved favor. Well, I'd like first of all just to look at a well known verse in Ephesians chapter 2, Ephesians chapter 2, and the eighth verse. Or by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. That was the beginning. Brethren of our Christian life. I trust each one here knows the Lord Jesus as Savior. What did God do to bring us to the knowledge of salvation? He brought us to the end of ourselves. He brought us to the point where we recognized that there wasn't one good thing in us. We had no righteousness of our own. There wasn't even a movement in our hearts toward Him. We didn't even have the faith to believe. We're in a position where we were just totally. Up and when we came in that bankrupt condition, realizing, I say, that we had nothing but sin, we didn't have any faith, we were totally helpless to save ourselves. That was where he met us. That was where he brought salvation by grace. What is grace? The undeserved favor of God. By grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. That is, even the faith was not of ourselves. We came in all our unbelief, and we found that the Lord met us. He pointed us to that blessed finished work. He gave us to see that everything was done to meet our need as sinners, and we found salvation. A full salvation. A complete salvation, because it's all a gift. Wasn't something that even after we had faith that we had to work for, the very moment we received the Lord Jesus as our Savior, we were blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ. It was totally undeserved. Brethren, that's the way we began our Christian journey. Oh, let us never lose sight of this and brethren, its grace all the way. It's grace that meets us in every situation we can possibly meet. Along our Christian life, and I believe we need to have a deepening sense of this. You notice how often in the Bible, in the salutation, its grace and then peace. And I believe our brothers spoke of many who were discouraged. I believe it is because we don't have a sense of grace. We think, well, I failed in the fall that I have done so I get discouraged that I have failed. Perhaps you feel the same thing in your soul too. I failed. In my life as a Christian and so you get discouraged, but you know the the Sinner had to come to the end of himself and rest upon the finished work of Christ and then he found peace and in all the circumstances of life, we have to come to the point where we realize we can't handle them. They're just totally beyond us in our own wisdom or in our own strength. That's where the Lord comes in and that's grace and I just look like to look at a few if you. At First Chronicles chapter 17, First Chronicles chapter 17 and verse 16. And David the king came and sat before the Lord, and said, Who am IO, Lord God, And what is mine house that thou hast brought me hitherto? And yet this was small, as this was a small thing in thine eyes, O God. For thou hast also spoken of thy servant's house for a great while to come, and as regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree, O Lord God. I like to think of this passage in connection with the family. Here was a man who came right to the end of himself. He couldn't say that he had been a faithful father, for he hadn't. He had failed greatly in his household and all. There was a lot of sorrow that came into the household of David, as we all know. And here he comes into the very presence of the Lord. He sits down in the presence of the Lord and he says, who am I? Oh, we need to do that, brethren. We need to come to that point where we say, who am I? What can I do? I can't boast that I've been a good father. They can claim blessing for my household because I've done all the things. There's a great many necessary things that have been brought before us, but I think many of us hang our heads and say, well, I just haven't carried out those things. I failed in them. Can we still count upon God in such circumstances? Isn't this lovely to see David here coming and sitting before the Lord and saying, who am I?
Why should God act in this way? And blessing in my household said I didn't deserve it. I've been an unfaithful father. And he said God has come in, in his grace and he's made promises. And so we know that in a coming day God is going to bring blessing to that household. And we know that an actual lineal descendant of the House of David will yet set upon the throne. Our blessed Lord Jesus was spoken of as the son of David. Was it because David? A good father. No, it was grace, brethren, and that we find here then, and I say, I just pass on this little flat race in connection with the family. There might be some here who are discouraged about the family. Well, let's do what David did. He just went in and sat before the Lord and he said, who am I? But he still had that confidence in God. And he said, I must also spoken of thy. Servants house for a great while to come. The Lord knows that future. We're just saying now that when Abraham said to the Lord, how shall I know that I possess the land? The Lord said, oh David, I can tell you what's going to happen to your nation for 430 years. I'll just lay out the history for you so you'll know everything is in the hands of God. Where does He meet us? He meets us in grace. Let's cast ourselves upon His grace then. That's what we did as sinners, and we received a full and a free. Salvation, and we can do it as regards our families. Now let's turn over to Second Chronicles chapter 20 and the 12TH verse. Or God, wilt thou not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that cometh against us. Neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee. And all Judas stood before the Lord with their little ones, their wives. And their children. Well, here we find too another case. Perhaps I could think of this one in connection with assembly problems. I don't suppose there's an assembly represented here that there aren't very real problems that we face, situations that arise. The enemy just seems too strong. Situation is more than we can handle. And this was the way it was at this time. Could Jehoshaphat claim that God would come in because he had been a good king? Well, perhaps we remember a little bit about for Jehoshaphat and how he made an alliance with Ahab and how he had to be rebuked just to miraculously delivered by the Lord and had to be rebuked by the prophet. In these words, shouldst thou love the ungodly and help them that hate the Lord? The Lord had to speak to him, so he couldn't make any claim in this problem that he had been a good king so he could count upon God. Come in and help them in this problem which confronted them as an assembly. And So what does he do? Well, they all come together, little ones and wives. They all come and they say, Lord, we don't know what to do. It's just a problem that's totally beyond this. You can't handle this situation. And so they turn to the Lord. They cried to him to come in on what ground your. Grace thoughtfully undeserved. Was the Lord able to come in? Well, the time is short. We don't have time to go into the details of this case, but perhaps you remember how wonderfully the Lord came in in the. 26th verse Let's read these two verses. And on the 4th day they assembled themselves in the valley of Barakah, for there they blessed the Lord. Therefore the name of that place was called the Valley of Barakah unto this day. Then they returned every man of Judah and Jerusalem and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy. For the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies, and they came to Jerusalem with salt trees. And harps and trumpets unto the House of the Lord. Here we we have taken time to see that they were actually days gathering the spoiled. The Lord came on in far, far beyond their expectations, worked a tremendous deliverance, and saw that they just came and celebrated his grace and goodness and came back full of Thanksgiving and praise. Haven't we experienced this? How often we have tried. To solve problems that have come up in the assembly, and we have just wished there was somebody there that was wise, somebody who could give us some good advice. And it just seemed that the things seemed beyond us. And then when we were totally cast upon the Lord, He did far more, as the Scripture says unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. I say again.
Was it because Jehoshaphat was a good king? Was it because the people themselves had deserved it? There had already been a split between the tribes of Judah and the other 10 tribes, and there had already been much failure in the 2 tribes. But God came in brethren, was grace. It was grace just the same as it is in our family situation. So it is in the assembly, and we need to have the realization of this. Because when we come together, perhaps in those situations, maybe that many assemblies are facing even here and now that we don't know what to do. Well, we can turn to the Lord. We can count upon His grace. Well, there's another one I'd like to turn to in First Chronicles, again in the 29th chapter and the 14th verse. I'll read from the 12TH verse. Both riches and honor come of Thee, and Thou reignest over all. And in thine hand is power and might, and in thine hand it is to make great and to give strength unto all. Know, therefore, our God, we thank Thee and praise Thy glorious name. But who am I, and what is my people that we should be able to offer? So willingly after this sort. For all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee, For we are strangers as before thee, and sojourners as were all our fathers. Our days on earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding. Well, here the Lord had to come in and provide it in a very miraculous way for the temple that was to be built. And provided all that was necessary for the building of the temple, He might have become proud. We do. Sometimes we see things working out pretty well. Some situation comes perhaps in our personal lives or in some service that we have sought to do for the Lord. Things seem to have. Come along very well and there's always a tendency for us to kind of look back and say, well, I think I made a good job out of that I think I really went about that in the right way. Look how things seem to have prospered and done so well and David could in a certain sense look back and think, well, things have really come along there's been a great deal of material gathered together and I've done it I've gone out I've. My life, I've fought valiantly upon the battlefield and all this is the result of all these efforts that I've put forth. But what does he do? He takes the humble place before the Lord. He recognizes that it wasn't his doing at all because everything came from the Lord. And if there's any desire in your heart or mine to do something for the Lord, to devote our lives to Him or to serve Him or give to Him, who does it all come from? Who gave us our health? Who gave us any strength or ability that we have? To enabled us to undertake. Some service and carry it out. How easily he could have hindered, but wasn't that his goodness? And instead of getting puffed up, then, brethren, when we have done something and perhaps the Lord in goodness has helped us. I think we can say that about these meetings here. How good the Lord has been and how he has come in. But let's be humble before him. And then He can continue the blessing toward us. And so we see here when all. This great amount has been amassed, and David might have boasted about it instead of this, he said it all came from the Lord. It wasn't me. I didn't really do anything like I heard about dear brother Yamanaki when somebody went out to Japan and was going to do a little bit of help in the work that was going on there. And his comment to the brother was. He said. If you see anything right here. It's in spite of Yamanaki, not because of Yamanaka. Well, that was a lovely spirit, wasn't it? And that's the spirit that we need to have, brethren. That's the spirit, whether it's seeking to undertake some service, and I trust all of us, they'll be stirred up to undertake some service for the Lord. But let's keep on our knees and recognize that if there is any blessing from anything that we do, all things come of thee. And what does he say of thine own?
Have we given me since the Lord gave it to me and I just had the privilege of returning it, and that's all that we can do. He gave us health. We have the privilege of using that health for Him. He gave us some means. We have the privilege of using it. Where did it come from? It all came from Him. The silver and the gold are His. The strength that we have, the little bit of wisdom that we have that He has given to us to know how to go about something and His service. Now let me read that again, but fourteenth verse. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able so willingly to offer so willingly after this people? For all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee. So what we see here that it was, he confesses that it was all of grace. Let's turn over now to 1St Corinthians 15, verse 9, for I am the least of the apostles. And I'm not meat to be called an apostle because I persecuted the Church of God, but by the grace of God I am what I am. And His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. How lovely an expression this is too. By the grace of God, I am what I am. The enemy delights to get us puffed up. Indeed, I believe He works one way or the other. He tries to get us discouraged. If we think we have made a mess of things, and we often do, we look back and think of how we just seem to make a mess of things we tried and didn't seem to accomplish. And especially when we see other people that seem to have accomplished something and we seem that we couldn't do it. And we get discouraged. But isn't this very beautiful? This seems to me to reduce it right down to the personal side of things. We've talked about the family and about the assembly and about our service. But here it seems to me to reduce it right down to the personal side of things. Every one of us have personal lives. How have we conducted ourselves personally? As we look back, do we feel like patting ourselves on the back? Oh, didn't, he said? I said I'm a ****. I'm ashamed. When I looked back, he said I persecuted the Church of God. I can't boast about my past. It's just a black spot that I I don't even like to think about. I was a chief of sinners. But he said God in his goodness has brought me to this point. Do I have anything to boast about? Do I have anything in which I can glory personally now? He says by the grace of God. I am what I am. Let's always remember this. We remember we've been speaking a little bit about the children of Israel. They came into the land. It was marvelous the way the Lord caused the walls of Jericho to fall down without them lifting a sword at all, just marching around the city. And they thought, well, if we can take a city like that so easily, there's a little place called AI. It's only got about 3000 people. There'll be no problem there. We can handle that and so we know the story, I think. They went down and the men of AI put them to play. In fact, they were so secure that they said we don't need to all go. There's just a few of us will go to handle that little city. But the people of AI put them to flight. Haven't we often thought so? We thought, oh, I can handle that situation. There's some things that are beyond me, but I can handle that. And that's the very one we broke down on. We didn't think we would. We thought we could handle it. Why? Because we didn't realize, by the grace of God, I am what I am. It's not on the basis of what we deserve. It's all undeserved favor from God. It says it's a good thing that the heart should be established in grace. Peter says, But grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The better we get to know Him, brethren, the more we'll be the sense of grace in our souls. And God, I believe, wants to teach us this for getting near the end of the dispensation. The Lord's coming is near.
And we can get discouraged because we see. Weakness and breakdown or we can get kind of a little puffed up because we think at times we've accomplished something. But oh, let's do what they did after victory, if they were going to have the next one. They went back to Gilgal. They said we're nothing. We're nothing. They lifted, so to speak, afresh the knife on self. And they said it's all grace. And when they did that. So wonderfully, the Lord came in enemies more than they could handle. And there are situations that may meet you tomorrow that are more than you can handle. There are situations the assemblies are going to meet, they're going to complicate. A sign goes on, but the Lord is sufficient and it's all of grace. Well, let's turn to another passage in first Peter. I believe it is. First Peter chapter one. First Peter chapter 1 and verse. Chapter 13 Wherefore it gird up the loins of your mind, be sober and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Have we spoken about how it's grace it saves, It's grace for assembly matters, it's grace for service, grace for family situations, grace for those personal things that come. And then there's going to be in a coming day a manifestation of our lives. Our lives, everyone of us are. Going to pass into review. The Apostle Paul, I believe, is going to get a great reward for his devotedness and faithfulness to the Lord. Some have been exceedingly faithful. And is the apostle Paul going to stand up and boast that he was the number one on the list? That's the way things go at school. There's a person who's 1St and 2nd and 3rd. Is the Apostle Paul going to do it? Is Peter going to say, well, I was a. Great disciple, I preached one time and 3000 people got saved. You think he's going to say that when his life is manifested? Oh, he's going to say it's all of grace. It's all of grace. I don't know why the Lord used me. I was really nothing. It was only his goodness. And I was thankful that he was able to use me, but I really was nothing. And that's what we're going to do in that day, brethren. And so we have. I won't take time, but we all know the scene very well. In Revelation chapter 4, and we see there the whole redeemed company around the Lord. The results of the judgment seat of Christ, as we know, are that crowns will be given for faithfulness to the Lord in various things. The crown of life, the crown of glory, the crown of righteousness, the crown of rejoicing. There are different rewards that will be given. Because even though it all comes of grace, grace will give rewards too. And will we say I got 2 crowns or I got one? Or are we going to do something like that now? We're just going to cast our crowns at his feet and say thou art worthy and that's all. That's going to be the end of the journey. We need to learn it down here, brethren. The Lord's trying to teach it to us. He's passing us through a lot of things and I know there are those here who feel well. I just feel I've tried and other people seem to be able to make a success of things. Other people seem to be able to handle things. Other assemblies don't seem to have the problems we have and I I just get discouraged. Brethren, cast ourselves on his grace and if we are in any of the situations. Where we feel at the end of the resources, that's just where God intended to bring us. Where we realize that we are nothing and we have nothing of our own. And if we can give anything to Him, we only have to say of thine own have we given thee. And when our lives are manifested, if there is something that He can pick out and reward, it will be His joy to do so. But what will we do? We'll say it's all grace and we'll cast our crowns. At his feet, and say, Thou art worthy.