Bread or Stone

This message is going to be a little bit different in that I want it to be as if we are sitting face to face one on one, somewhat a heart to heart talk.  As Paul would say in the beginning of each one of his letters, “Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.”


I don’t know how long you have embraced the True Grace message or if this is your first time hearing about it, first an foremost I am here to let you know that God is not angry with you and that He loves you.  If you miss everything else that I say please make sure you know and understand again that God is not mad with you and He loves you!  


For to long for those who have grown up in a church environment there has been to much emphasis put on going to church, doing the right things, tithing, playing by the rules, etc.etc.etc.  On the other side for those who did not grow up in the church on the outside looking in not wanting anything to do with it are in some ways more blessed than those who do go for the fact that once they embrace the Grace message they don’t have to unlearn all the junk that for so long was taught to be right and good.


The biggest way to get people to believe a lie is to mix truth in it enough to seem that it is true; unfortunately it is still a lie.  I am not here to focus on the lie but on the truth and I am so thankful that Jesus sent us the Spirit of truth to guide us in the way of what is true.


Paul says it best in his letter to Phillipi;


Philippians 4:8-9 (The Message)


Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.


People say to me you sure have good people skills… well that is easy I love people, I will even go as far to say that because God is “Love” and since we are His  sons/daughters it is in our DNA to love.  God is “Give”, He gave His son (Jesus) as a sacrifice for the world.  Than it is easy to say it is in our DNA to give of everything that God has given us.  It is that simple just like in the passage earlier… God who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.  Does that mean you have to be as the passage reads?  No it says you’ll do your best by filling your minds, God wants what is best for you, He wants His best for you!  


When it comes to all Churches (denominations and no denominations) that teach salvation all believe that by Grace you are saved.  Thus they all believe they teach the Grace message.  Do not be mislead to believe this for yes Grace is a portion of what they teach with law mixed in with it.  Jesus sums this up even better in Matthew;


Matthew 7:9 (NIV)
   “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?


I would like to take this verse a little further and say; which of you if your son asks for bread (Grace), will give him a stone (Law) or even worse mix the two together and force feed him with a lie that will make his life miserable?  I am here to say that is what has been going day after day, week after week, in the pulpits all over the world.  That is why I don’t even like to use a pulpit because all people are using it for is as a tool to pull others down into the pit.  God wants more for his children he wants you to be liberated from all the do’s and don’ts.  He wants you to live life resting in Him.  He wants you to trust and know that he is always there to take care of all that you need.  That is why he says cast all your cares on him for cares for you. Do not be lured into the beliefs that well so and so said it so it must be right.  You are God’s chosen, He loves you, and you were on His mind when He created the Heavens and the Earth.  Yes you are special, why? Because you are a child of The King!   


The message of Grace starts with the Love of God, so find favor in the everyone that meet.  Praise and give thanks continually to God.  In all that you do and say point to Jesus Christ your redeemer and savior.  Be all that God wants you to be… His Best!


God loves You!

Spirit Of Truth

As I bring this message to you today I have been impressed to remind you to always remember God Loves You and He wants what is best for his children.  

I was once asked; what is your ministry built on?  I knew that what they were really asking was what denomination are you apart of or if non-denomination what doctrine do you preach.  My answer was I teach the good news the gospel of Grace.  The comment back to me that is good but don’t forget you have to be tough; people have to be kept in check.  On the inside my response was that is exactly what I don’t want to be.  This statement reminded me of all the junk that I had been taught in church when it came to the law, works, God sitting in heaven with a ruler ready to slap your hand when you got out of line.  Those numerous times of walking the isle to rededicate, being baptized a second time to get the old monkey off my back, the times I got mad at God demanding, or what some might say claim it for things to happen.  I am sure you can relate to one if not all of these.  What I am here to tell you is that it is time to clean out the clutter in your mind and shut the door to anyone who teaches a mixture of law and grace.  

The other statement I have been continually hearing is that Grace is dangerous if that is all you teach then sin will run rapid… what about Hebrews 12, 1 Corinthians 11, or any other passage when it comes to God chastening believers, what about the book of James.  First off once you understand the true love of God sin no longer has any power over you.  When sin does abound because of grace you have been given the power to overcome it.  Speaking of God’s chastening in the Greek when it comes to Grace it speaks of training, when it comes to the law it speaks of punishment.  Jesus is not a slave master, looking to punish when you step out of line, He is a peace provider, looking to intercede and cry Grace on your behalf.  

If the blood of bulls and goats sprinkled on the mercy seat could cover the yearly sins of a nation to where they were not held accountable.  Than why is it so hard to grasp the belief that the blood of Jesus sprinkled on the mercy seat redeems all sin forever!

This brings me to the heart of the message, let’s take a minute and turn to John where Jesus is speaking to the disciples 

John 14:26-27 (The Message)

25-27 "I'm telling you these things while I'm still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I'm leaving you well and whole. That's my parting gift to you. Peace. I don't leave you the way you're used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don't be upset. Don't be distraught.

In this passage Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit as your friend.  Jesus also gives a departing gift of peace, When Jesus said the word peace he spoke the Hebrew word Shalom which means completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord.  Today’s translation means nothing missing nothing broken.  Jesus went on to say later in John chapter 16;

John 16:12-15 (The Message)

12-15 “I still have many things to tell you, but you can't handle them now. But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. He won't draw attention to himself, but will make sense out of what is about to happen and, indeed, out of all that I have done and said. He will honor me; he will take from me and deliver it to you. Everything the Father has is also mine.” That is why I've said, 'He takes from me and delivers to you.'

Isn’t it fulfilling to know that Jesus knew that the understanding of things that he longed to tell us had to wait until He made the statement “It is Finished” and He was at the right hand of the Father!  Then He assures us that the Spirit of Truth comes, as our friend to take you by the hand and guide you into all truth. “He takes from me and delivers to you”  

This friend not only guides you to salvation but also comforts and guides you through out your life here on earth while receiving the gift of righteousness in Christ Jesus.  In Ephesians 1 we find it expressed this way;    

Ephesians 1:13-14 (The Message)

13-14 It's in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what's coming, a reminder that we'll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.

The things God has planned for us is the same as God putting everything together for us as stated in Romans chapter 4;

Romans 4:13-15 (The Message)

13-15 That famous promise God gave Abraham—that he and his children would possess the earth—was not given because of something Abraham did or would do. It was based on God's decision to put everything together for him, which Abraham then entered when he believed. If those who get what God gives them only get it by doing everything they are told to do and filling out all the right forms properly signed, that eliminates personal trust completely and turns the promise into an ironclad contract! That's not a holy promise; that's a business deal. A contract drawn up by a hard-nosed lawyer and with plenty of fine print only makes sure that you will never be able to collect. But if there is no contract in the first place, simply a promise—and God's promise at that—you can't break it.

The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, the Friend that at Jesus request was sent by God to train, guide and comfort you on a daily basis out of honor takes from Jesus to give to you all that God has for you.  He will pick up all the broken pieces of your life, throw out the junk and make you whole and glorious in the sight of God.  Not by your works but by the work of Him in you.

I am going to close with a verse from a song my sixteen year old daughter Katelyn wrote and shared with me today.  When it comes to Grace this speaks volumes; 

Even though I fall and stumble, 

He sees me clean, He sees me clean. 

His love and grace can cover anything. 

Because of Him I have no guilt, 

I have no shame, 

He took away all my pain.  

He sees me clean, He sees me clean, 

Pure and perfect, He sees me clean, 

Oh Jesus covered everything. 

Live life knowing God will never be angry with you; his wrath for your sins was put on Jesus while on the cross. The Spirit of Truth is now among us to comfort and guide us to fulfilling the promise of our inheritance.  Faith sponsors the gift of Grace; the promise is equally secured for all God’s children. The law has no exclusive claim on anyone; the reward system cannot match the gift.  The Spirit of Truth is your Friend; yes, Jesus took care of everything!

God Loves You!

Grace Wins!

Hello, I am excited to know for myself and I am glad to tell you that because of Grace you win in life!  I will be reading from the Message translation, there is going to be a lot of scripture and it is my hope that by the time you finish meditating on these scriptures that you will know without a doubt that because of Jesus and His finished work you are destined to win!


For to long I have found that Believers make sin and sickness two separate issues.  How do you feel about it?  When Jesus was on the earth he went about doing good and healing the sick.  When it comes to Sin and sickness God treats them as one.  In Matthew we read what Jesus had to say about this;


Matthew 9:1-8 (The Message)


Who Needs a Doctor?


1-3 Back in the boat, Jesus and the disciples recrossed the sea to Jesus' hometown. They were hardly out of the boat when some men carried a paraplegic on a stretcher and set him down in front of them. Jesus, impressed by their bold belief, said to the paraplegic, "Cheer up, son. I forgive your sins." Some religion scholars whispered, "Why, that's blasphemy!"


4-8 Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said, "Why this gossipy whispering? Which do you think is simpler: to say, 'I forgive your sins,' or, 'Get up and walk'? Well, just so it's clear that I'm the Son of Man and authorized to do either, or both. . . ." At this he turned to the paraplegic and said, "Get up. Take your bed and go home." And the man did it. The crowd was awestruck, amazed and pleased that God had authorized Jesus to work among them this way.


“I forgive your sins or Get up and walk”, if Jesus looked at both in the same way then why wouldn’t you?  When Jesus was on the cross he was separated from God took the curse of the law, bore our sins, sickness, and sorrows. His death paid the ransom for us all and His resurrection delivered our redemption.  Is it easier to have Faith to believe that your sins are forgiven than it is to believe that God wants you to be healed and whole?  You might say but Brother Bryant you don’t understand.  You may be right, I don’t understand, when Jesus was alive the religious leaders of that day believed the opposite.  They believed that Jesus had the ability to heal the sick but not the authority to forgive sins.  Why have we as Christians made this so complicated?  Is it because we have lived for to long with the teachings mixing law and Grace?  Is it because of teachings that state Jesus took away all sin?  For those who teach this I believe is dangerous.  God said because of Grace he will remember your sin no more.   That does not mean that there is no sin or sickness in this world.  The effects of sin and sickness are still apparent in the world but be of good cheer God says be not of this world because of Grace you are a new creation.  Let’s take a minute and read in Romans;


Romans 5:12-21 (The Message)


The Death-Dealing Sin, the Life-Giving Gift


12-14 You know the story of how Adam landed us in the dilemma we're in— first sin, then death, and no one exempt from either sin or death. That sin disturbed relations with God in everything and everyone, but the extent of the disturbance was not clear until God spelled it out in detail to Moses. So death, this huge abyss separating us from God, dominated the landscape from Adam to Moses. Even those who didn't sin precisely as Adam did by disobeying a specific command of God still had to experience this termination of life, this separation from God. But Adam, who got us into this, also points ahead to the One who will get us out of it. 


15-17 Yet the rescuing gift is not exactly parallel to the death-dealing sin. If one man's sin put crowds of people at the dead-end abyss of separation from God, just think what God's gift poured through one man, Jesus Christ, will do! There's no comparison between that death-dealing sin and this generous, life-giving gift. The verdict on that one sin was the death sentence; the verdict on the many sins that followed was this wonderful life sentence. If death got the upper hand through one man's wrongdoing, can you imagine the breathtaking recovery life makes, sovereign life, in those who grasp with both hands this wildly extravagant life-gift, this grand setting-everything-right, that the one man Jesus Christ provides? 


18-19 Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! One man said no to God and put many people in the wrong; one man said yes to God and put many in the right. 


20-21 All that passing laws against sin did was produce more lawbreakers. But sin didn't, and doesn't, have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it's sin versus grace, grace wins hands down. All sin can do is threaten us with death, and that's the end of it. Grace, because God is putting everything together again through the Messiah, invites us into life—a life that goes on and on and on, world without end. 


It is because of Grace you have the ability to be Christ conscious and be delivered from the law and sin consciousness.  This includes sickness and so much more!


Let’s read more in Romans;


Romans 4:6-9 (The Message)


6-9 David confirms this way of looking at it, saying that the one who trusts God to do the putting-everything-right without insisting on having a say in it is one fortunate man: 


Fortunate those whose crimes are carted off, whose sins are wiped clean from the slate. 
Fortunate the person against whom the Lord does not keep score.


Do you think for a minute that this blessing is only pronounced over those of us who keep our religious ways and are circumcised? Or do you think it possible that the blessing could be given to those who never even heard of our ways, who were never brought up in the disciplines of God? We all agree, don't we, that it was by embracing what God did for him that Abraham was declared fit before God?


In Psalm David says it this way;


Psalm 103 1-6 (The Message)


1-2 O my soul, bless God. From head to toe, I'll bless his holy name! 
      O my soul, bless God, don't forget a single blessing! 


3-5 He forgives your sins—every one. 
      He heals your diseases—every one. 
      He redeems you from hell—saves your life! 
      He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown. 
      He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal. 
      He renews your youth—you're always young in his presence. 


6 God makes everything come out right; he puts victims back on their feet. 
   
God makes everything come out right!  How you might ask?  Paul was asked the same question in Romans and answered it this way;


2 Corinthians 5:21 (The Message)


How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God. 


God gives you the power to overcome.  It is not by your power, for to long once the law was given it was by your works and by your own strength trying to get good enough for God.  Because of Christ in you, you have the ability to overcome sin.  Where I am weak, He is strong!  Again Paul states it this way in Romans;


Romans 6:12-14 (The Message)


12-14 That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don't give it the time of day.  Don't even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life.  Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you've been raised from the dead!—into God's way of doing things. Sin can't tell you how to live. After all, you're not living under that old tyranny any longer. You're living in the freedom of God. 


If you had been kidnapped, bound, left to die and unknowingly to you the ransom had been paid you would die not knowing that you were free.  The law is a ruthless slave master, and brings death. Grace is freedom, and brings life!


I am going to close with this verse in 1 John;


1 John 2:15-17 (The Message)


15-17 Don't love the world's ways. Don't love the world's goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.


God wants you to live life knowing that because Grace wins, you win!  Don’t let anything keep you from embracing what God through Grace has done for you.  Be declared fit before God!  Not by anything that you have done except for believing in what Jesus has done, receiving your salvation and everything God has promised. His mercy and Grace endureth forever! 


God Loves You!

Relationship!

Out of all of creation God formed man from the dust and then woman from the rib of man and breathed life into them, both being made in the likeness and image of God.  


Why?  


For relationship! 


If that was not enough God never forced relationship, He gave man the will to choose.  Even after man ate from the tree of good and evil God still had a plan to restore life to a dead world, to restore your right relationship with Him. In Isaiah his words prophesy to Israel of relationship.


Isaiah 58:8 (Amplified Bible)


Then shall your light break forth like the morning, and your healing (your restoration and the power of a new life) shall spring forth speedily; your righteousness (your rightness, your justice, and your right relationship with God) shall go before you [conducting you to peace and prosperity], and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.


The light is Jesus who became a man to restore life and your righteousness, God’s likeness and image. To restore the relationship that was meant to be from the beginning of time, but now with the promise of much more… turn with me now to;


Philippians 2:1-3 (Amplified Bible)


1 SO BY whatever [appeal to you there is in our mutual dwelling in Christ, by whatever] strengthening and consoling and encouraging [our relationship] in Him [affords], by whatever persuasive incentive there is in love, by whatever participation in the [Holy] Spirit [we share], and by whatever depth of affection and compassionate sympathy,
2 Fill up and complete my joy by living in harmony and being of the same mind and one in purpose, having the same love, being in full accord and of one harmonious mind and intention.
3 Do nothing from factional motives [through contentiousness, strife, selfishness, or for unworthy ends] or prompted by conceit and empty arrogance. Instead, in the true spirit of humility (lowliness of mind) let each regard the others as better than and superior to himself [thinking more highly of one another than you do of yourselves].


When it comes to the choices we make everyday instead of looking at everything wrong and making a decision based on what the world thinks decide today to look at what is right being of the same mind and one in purpose, having the same love being in full accord and of one harmonious mind and intention with your redeemer Jesus who through His life, death, resurrection, and soon return restored for all those who believe in His redemption and receives salvation total relationship with God the creator of all mankind! 


2 Corinthians 5:21 (Amplified Bible)


For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness].


In closing the main thing I want you to understand is because of the love of God that you were created.  Because of the love of Jesus you were redeemed and saved from the curse of sin and death. Because of the love of the Holy Spirit, He will comfort and guide you.  Because of the love of God the Father, Jesus your Brother and the Holy Spirit your Comforter relationship has been restored. Because of Grace, relationship is yours.


God Loves You!