Great Grace

"and great grace was upon them all..."Acts 4:33

In this *revolution what we need more than anything else is grace. Acts 4 depicts a movement in which God, the Holy Spirit was in the middle. This movement, as all do, had key figure heads, surrounded by a mass of people dedicated to the cause. Yet the Holy Spirit was the main player, as he divinely orchestrated events, empowered humans, and strategically led them to great breakthroughs. As the disciples fought against systemic religion, they were emboldened by the Holy Spirit. As they won the favour of the masses and reached thousands for Christ, they also depended on the Holy Spirit. In dire
circumstances, such as Paul in jail (Acts 16) the Holy Spirit was their only solace, and he came through.

Grace is the gift the Holy Spirit of God bestowed on his people in each of these aforementioned situations. Without God’s grace there would have been no dependence on the Holy Spirit. Grace is described as unmerited favour, mercy totally undeserved. With grace two people stand at opposite ends of the spectrum in responsibility. One is the benefactor and the other the recipient. The benefactor’s bears the sole burden of bestowing aid, while the recipient’s whole hearted response is to obtain it.

Have you ever felt on top of the world? That you finally made it to the top echelon? Do you relegate your success to your gifting rather than God’s grace? Can I share something with you? You are still fully dependent on God’s grace. See his mercy is what allows you to breathe, function, be self aware, imaginative, creative, and the list goes on. Acts 17, tells us that in him we, live and have our being. Thus both the agnostic and the believer are here by God’s grace. The difference is your intimacy with the truth.

In Acts 4:33, scripture states that a special quality of grace was upon the disciples. This grace was of a great nature. Did you know that you can receive grace in measures? At a recent service, God’s grace was powerfully felt. As always, God moved through his word, and his grace bestowed faith to induce heart transformation. Yet in this service, he gave great grace. We saw people being impacted by the Holy Spirit in tangible ways. Some were worshipping passionately, others weeping and repenting. Further, some had fallen under the power of the spirit, while still others were delivered from chains of bondage.

Which level of grace you need depends on you. As you hunger for God, and cry out for his grace. In your heartfelt desire for deliverance from your sinful state his grace will abound. As we desperately crave *revolution in our lives, in our families, community and city, it will not happen without great grace. My prayer is that you will be an addict of God’s grace. That you will be so weak in your own pursuits and that you desire a much deeper measure of God’s intimacy. May great grace be yours in all you endeavour to do for him.

*revolution is a revival that is rooted in biblical discipleship and heart change, ultimately leading to a transformation of community and culture. Visit revolutiontoronto.com for more info.