The Grace Effect

Grace causes me to...

KNOW

Knowing what God wants you to do is something everyone wants. Like if you step back and really think about it… don’t we all want to know why we are here? What God wants for us? The plans he has for us? Jeremiah 29:11 says that God “KNOWS THE PLANS HE HAS FOR US” I want to know those plans too!

When you are close to Jesus, diving into his word. Seeking him daily, what would normally be a coffee run can turn into something completely different. What was just a dinner with friends can turn into a life changing conversation. and the only difference between a normal everyday dinner and that life changing eternity changing dinner is being close to Jesus.

When I realize what Jesus has done for me and I live in that Grace I start to see things differently. I start to see opportunities I never would have seen and I start to have thoughts I never would have had.

When I got saved I all of the sudden wanted my friends around me to know what I knew and this all started with my close friend Jonathan. Before salvation I went to church but I never felt compelled in any way to bring him. But after I was saved that changed. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I had to get him to church with me.

When you are following Jesus the holy spirit will start to reveal to you and show you through experiences, thoughts, interactions things that are pointing you towards your greater calling and purpose. you just start to KNOW. and that is exactly what happens to Joseph.

Genesis 37:5–8 (CSB) — 5 Then Joseph had a dream. When he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 There we were, binding sheaves of grain in the field. Suddenly my sheaf stood up, and your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 “Are you really going to reign over us?” his brothers asked him. “Are you really going to rule us?” So they hated him even more because of his dream and what he had said.

So he has this odd dream and decides to tell his family. Now at first glance this dream seems to be about him succeeding him becoming greater than his family so when he shares they understandably are like “Cool bro… so you’re saying you are better than us?”

Genesis 37:10–11 (CSB) — 10 He told his father and brothers, and his father rebuked him. “What kind of dream is this that you have had?” he said. “Am I and your mother and your brothers really going to come and bow down to the ground before you?” 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

Know Gods plan for my life. Catch a vision of what He created me for. My talents my treasure and my time starts to look different. I start to see how He can use me daily.

There will be people that don’t like that you have a higher calling. BIBLE COLLEGE friends that told me i must think i’m better than them.

Now this made his brothers hate him even more so they come up with a plan to get rid of him. Their plan is that they are going to throw him in a well, put his coat dad made him in some animal blood, and tell their father that he died being attacked. This is an elaborate scheme that wouldn’t work very well today or on CSI but back then it would have been like “okay yeah animals do that”.

GO

Following Jesus will take you places you can’t believe. It will bring you into situations you never would have brought yourself into. Living in that grace will open up doors, opportunities, it will take you to mountain tops and valleys that you never would have chosen otherwise if it wasn’t for that leading of the holy spirit in your life.

And sometimes the set up isn’t what you would expect. Because God may not cause everything but he does allow everything. So even the bad in our lives can be transformed and used by God for good. Because what happens to Joseph next is something none of us would choose. It’s something most of us would say is the opposite of God’s favor. But it’s exactly the set up God uses to put his plan for Joseph’s life in motion.

Now one of Josephs brothers has this moment of “MERCY” of comes up with a better-ish plan.

Genesis 37:26–28 (CSB) — 26 Judah said to his brothers, “What do we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come on, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh,” and his brothers agreed. 28 When Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took Joseph to Egypt.

When you are trusting God, it may not always look like an assignment… but it is. There are no accidents and nothing is wasted. Hard times can now become set ups. Rough patches are now training grounds.

No body is choosing this. But if we knew what God knew we would do and willing pass through what God wants us to do and pass through.

So many though, don’t like and cannot see what God is doing so they bail. CHANCE BAKER NOT GOING TO MINISTRY

I want to show you a popular verse. You may have a shirt with this on it. a coffee cup with this on it. But not many talk about the verses after it:

Isaiah 6:8 (CSB) — 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking: Who will I send? Who will go for us? I said: Here I am. Send me.

We have this on Coffee Cups. But we don’t talk about what God tells him! He says i’ll go and God tells him awesome! You’re gonna go preach to people and NONE of them are ever going to turn to me. You are going to be faithful, and from what you can see, there will be no results!

SIGN ME UP GOD!

God goes on to explain that he will do this until a tenth is left for me that will remain. You will preach and will watch as this nation you are preaching to fades away in their own sin until only a tithe for me is left that I will save.

GOD SOMETIMES USES TERRIBLE MISERY FOR OUR MINISTRY

RECAP THE REST OF JOSEPHS STORY

SHOW

Genesis 50:19–21 (CSB) — 19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result—the survival of many people. 21 Therefore don’t be afraid. I will take care of you and your children.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

When I realize what God’s done for me I want to show it to others. Bring forgiveness to others. Share with others who God is and what He can do in their lives.