Title: God Who Gives Abounding Grace
Our God is the God who gives abounding grace. Isaiah 43:13 says that if God acts, there is no one who can reverse it. What kind of abounding grace is God going to give to us?
- The grace that when we give God one, God gives us many
The greatest king of Israel is King David, he was the man after God’s heart. David was a brave warrior, a wise ruler, and a humble worshipper. After him, Solomon inherited a kingship, yet according to 1 Kings 3:7, he does not seem like a great figure like his father King David, but he was good at giving God a thousand burnt offerings (1 Kings 3:4)
Solomon had a genuine heart that loves worshipping God and giving service to Him. He put all his might and all his heart in worshipping God. God appeared to Solomon in a dream and asked him what he wants to receive from God (1 Kings 3:5). In 1 Kings 3:9, Solomon asked for an understanding heart to take care of the people well. However, God did not only give Solomon a wise heart but riches and honor also. God gave him the abounding grace (1 Kings 3:12-13).
- The grace that when we give God little, He gives us big
1 Kings 17 describes about a widow Prophet Isaiah encountered (1 Kings 17:8-9). Isaiah went to Zarephath and found the widow. Although God said He commanded a widow to provide for Isaiah, it does not seem like she was in a position to help others because she said she does not have any bread but just a handful of flour and a little oil, which was the last food she had. However, when Isaiah insisted her to make a little bread for him first, she obeyed and served the man of God. As a result, God poured out His abounding grace upon her house and made their flour and oil never dried up (1 Kings 17:15-16).
She only had a handful of flour that perhaps was not even enough to bake a decent size of bread. However, as she offered the little thing to God and served the man of God first, God provided her flour and oil that never run dry. Similar story is written in the New Testament as well (John 6:9-11).
One of the disciples found that there is a child who had 5 barley loaves and 2 fish. Graciously, this kid released this food to Jesus, and when Jesus gave thanks to God, a blessing of abounding grace happened that even after 20,000 people ate up to their full satisfactory, there were still 12 baskets full of bread left.
- The grace that He gives us overflowingly
In the wilderness, God provided the Israelites manna every morning. Manna was full of all nutrition and necessary vitamins and yet the people of Israel started grumbling against God. Moses cried out to God for a help. And God promised to give the people of Israel protein as they wished: Quails flew and sat on the ground and when people tried to catch them, they don’t fly out (Numbers 11:18-20). Although God provided meats because of their unsatisfying request, the size of what God had provided was more than satisfactory: that is the blessing of overflowing. Luke 6:38 says that when we give, God will give back to us good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over. So, for the work of God and for the people of God, we must be able to give. And when we give, please believe that God will give back generously and more than you can measure.
- The grace that God gives us beyond our expectation
In 1 Samuel 9:2, Kish is the father of Saul. One day, Kish lost a donkey, so he asked Saul to look for it. Saul looked for 3 days and could not find the donkey. So, he was about to return to father empty handed. However, his servant told Saul that there is a man of God nearby, named Samuel, “why don’t we visit him and ask him where the donkey is?” (1 Samuel 9:5-6)
To get the info whereabout his donkey was, Saul visited Prophet Samuel. There, God told Prophet Samuel to anoint Saul with oil as a king. So, Saul came back to home with the donkey his father lost and being anointed and the king of Israel. He was only expecting to find the donkey, but God made him a king over Israel (1 Samuel 10:1). We may expect small but God will surely give you the blessing beyond our expectation.
Conclusion
We must give, in order to receive the abounding grace
2 Corinthians 9:7 Let each one (do) just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver.
The blessing of abounding grace is come out in the context of giving God. Therefore, in order to receive the blessing of abounding grace, we must give to God first.
Now, we are planning to go back to our church. Maybe, God started blessing you and opening your business a bit and may become a busy person. In that situation, because we have not worked and earned so much for the last 3 months, we will be focused on working and working and working.
Well, we should be able to give God first of our money, our time, and our energy. Those can give God will receive the abounding grace. Amen! We pray and bless all of us to give God first so that your life, family and business be filled with the blessing of abounding grace
The Lord's Covenant Church Malaysia 