"Kingdom of Grace"

 "For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always." (John 12:8 KJV)

  "I opened to my lover, but he was gone! My heart sank. I searched for him but could not find him anywhere. I called to him, but there was no reply." (Song Of Songs 5:6 NLT)

 Have you ever felt as though you have offended the Holy Spirit? If you haven't, then I would question the relationship that you might have, as to the sincerity of it, and whether or not you have a compassionate heart. Something I have learned over the years, that the Holy Spirit is a Gentleman and does not force you to do anything. If you refuse to obey Him, He leaves you alone! 

 Anywho! I understand what this implies, as many of us should. Everything we do in this life, whether it is of a physical nature or a spiritual one, it should always display grace! If you don't know what that means, it is the opposite of mercy, in that, we demonstrate compassion to others by grace, more than by mercy. 

 I you had a friend that was a judge, and you went before him to be sentenced, he might have to still be a judge, as he should, and give you the sentence that you deserve. But after he has sentenced you, and you have been given the sentence you deserve, as you friend, he takes the sentence for you, and you are free to go. That is what grace looks like: Giving you something that you do not deserve! 

 Because God is Holy and Just, He cannot just give us mercy, because justice must prevail. He first had to prepare the way for the sins we have committed to be forgiven, and then mercy could be granted, only once that the punishment for the sin was satisfied. Grace was established first, then mercy could be given because the debt had been paid. 

 I know many of you have heard this all before, but those that believed in Jesus as their Savior before He came had grace placed on a credit card, which was to be paid off in the future. But those of us now, after Jesus came, as believers now, grace is placed on a debit card, where the funds are stored up, that we can use them like real money that is already in our account.  

 It might sound weird, but it works! But how is this even relevant to this message? Well, it's like a pay-it-forward type of illustration, where we are obligated to reciprocate God's grace by responding to the work of His Spirit. We must accept God's grace in order to live out grace in our own lives!

 It is really quite simple, really! The Holy Spirit is there to pour out grace, allowing us to have and be the type of person that we cannot be on our own...

"(Young Women of Jerusalem) Where has your lover gone, O woman of rare beauty? Which way did he turn so we can help you find him? (Young Woman) My lover has gone down to his garden, to his spice beds, to browse in the gardens and gather the lilies. I am my lover's, and my lover is mine. He browses among the lilies." (Song Of Songs 6:1-3 NLT)