riches of grace - by joe crews

7/28/2019 Riches of Grace - By Joe Crews

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Copyright 2003 by

Lu Ann Crews

All rights reserved.Printed in the USA.

Published by

Amazing Facts, Inc.P. O. Box 1058

Roseville, CA 95678-8058

Cover Design by Haley Trimmer

Layout Design by Greg Solie


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C H A P T E R 1Oh! The Riches of His Grace

I

read recently about a business execu-tive whose work was to continuallyconduct interviews of people who

were seeking positions in his corporation.This man insisted on having a long officewith his desk opposite the door where theapplicants had to enter. As they wouldwalk across the room to take their place in

front of him, he would watch themintently. By the time they were seated healready knew what he was going to doabout their application.

Im not saying this is a good wayto judge and classify peopleby initialimpressionsbut, unfortunately, most ofus do it, either consciously or uncon-sciously. We make quick decisions, quiteunfairly, based on how we respond to anindividuals walk, smile or haircut.

Let me ask you a question. Does Godjudge us in the same way that we judge


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looked for qualified spokesmen and per-sonal representatives? I cant answer forothers but I think I would have headed

straight for the university centers wherelinguistics and communication skills werehoned to perfection.

Jesus didnt do that. He passed by thegreat rabbinical schools of His day, and

went down by the seaside where menwere casting their nets for fish.There Hecalled His disciples from among thosewho were rough and crude and even vul-gar. He chose some who could not speak

properly, even in their own provincialdialect! How could those uneducatedpeasants from the lowest levels of societyever meet the requirements of His world-wide mission? Why didnt He selectscholars of Greek and Hebrew culture

who would know how to relate to peoplein every social circumstance? Lets see ifwe can find the answers.

In the little fishing village of Bethsaidaone bright early morning, the fishermen

were taking care of the nights catch.Among those who toiled with the nets


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that they asked about leaving the expen-sive equipment behind, or how muchthey would be paid, or how they could

leave family or friends on such shortnotice.

But then began the process of mold-ing all of those clods of fractious humanmaterial into a team of powerful evangel-

ists.What hope was there that Peter couldmake the transformation? Im remindedof the story of Michelangelo as he walkeddown the streets of Rome one day. In acorner he observed a piece of cracked

marble that had apparently been cast asideby some would-be sculptor. In spite of theugly split seam across the face of it, thegreat artist stood looking at the aban-doned stone for a long time. Finally hecalled for his assistants to haul the marble

into his studio. Behind the ruined surfaceMichelangelo had seen something that noone else had been able to recognize. Hebegan to work on the stone with chiseland mallet. Weeks and months passed by

as the master hammered and hewed thescarred reject, until finally there emerged


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I was following a stubborn mule througha tobacco patch in North Carolina whenHe called me to follow Him. My life has

never been the same since.How could Hebring any good out of such miserablematerial? And yet He has done it over andover again. He has taken the weak, foolishthings to confound the wise and the

mighty. Arent you glad that He camelooking for you, and did not pass you by?Praise God for His matchless grace!

CH A P T E R

3My Grace is Sufficient

C

onsider for a moment how Godhas taken the weakest and theworst to turn the world upside

down. Whom did He choose whenHe had a major earthshaking task to per-form? He walked into a cobbler shop inNorthampton,England, and tapped a manon the shoulder as he labored over his

shoe lasts. In that humble shop God calledWilliam Carey to open up the dark

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sermon Sankey sang one of his beautifulgospel appeal songs. One earnest littlegypsy boy stood by the carriage wheel

and never took his eyes off the greatsoloist during the song. Sankey was somoved by the lad that he put his hand onhis head and said,God make a preacherout of this boy. Later, under the influence

of that kindly Christian attention, thatforest gypsy boy dedicated his life to theministry and powerfully impacted theworld as Gypsy Smith.

In His own day, Jesus also called twotempestuous brothers, who worked theboats and nets with their father Zebedee.James and John seemed to be even lesslikely candidates for the ministry than theimpetuous Peter. They had hair-triggertempers and would fight at the drop of a

hat. Christ actually gave them a nicknamem response to their violent dispositions.He called them Sons of Thunder.Perhaps He bestowed that name after theexperience in the Samaritan village. It was

there that the brothers wanted to call firedown from Heaven to burn up the entire

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each night he would crawl into one of theflea-bitten rooms along the Bowery tosleep it off. And thats what Jesus saw as

He passed by and looked. Or was it whatJesus saw? The truth is that Christ did notsee a hopeless derelict at all. He lookedpast the filth and corruption and saw theman Sam Hadley could become through

the power of His grace. He said, Followme, and that seeming piece of humanrefuse responded. For years Sam Hadleypreached the gospel along the waterfrontsof New York, leading thousands to acceptthe life-changing grace of Christ, andproving again that God can make the bestout of the worst.

C H A P T E R 4Paul Before Nero

How can we describe this muchmore grace that can overpowerthe strongest propensities of evil?

First of all, it is free and available to everysoul in the world. Also, it reaches far

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15:10). In one verse Paul makes a three-fold reference to the grace that was total-ly responsible for all his accomplishments.

Constantly he preached about it and gavewitness in every place to his miraculousencounter with Christ on the Damascusroad.

Paul never forgot the radical events of

the day that brought him face to face withthe Messiah he rejected and despised.Withfury in his heart he had rushed to destroyevery Christian he could track down inthe territory of Damascus. But then camethe bright light and the voice fromHeaven! The proud Pharisee was blindedduring that confrontation, but he also hadhis eyes opened for the first time concern-ing the object of his intense hatred.As thescales fell away from his spiritual vision

and Paul recognized the voice of the veryJesus he had persecuted, he cried out,What wilt thou have me to do?

Have you ever wondered why Jesuschose the most rabid religious fanatic in

the Jewish community to be His mission-ary to the Gentiles? It is certain that all

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burning fire in his heart. He longed togive one final testimony to the leaders ofthe people he loved, even though God

had revealed to him that imprisonmentwould result.

The enemies, of course, were waitingfor Paul, and they did attack him physical-ly. He was manhandled by both soldiers

and citizens, and after appraising thedepth of feeling against him as revealed inthe false witnesses before the governorscourt, Paul appealed to Caesar.

After months of political intrigue, aswell as many miserable weeks of life-threatening storms at sea, Paul was deliv-ered to the authorities in Rome.There hewas thrown into a dark, mucky hole inthe ground called the Mamertine Prison.Today, those who visit the site are con-

ducted down brightly lighted steps intothe dungeon area. I thought of Paulsactual confinement as I walked downthose stairs on my visit to Rome. He lan-guished there for many days before they

hauled him out and prepared him to standbefore the emperor.

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instead of his own legal defense Paulpreached one of his most powerful ser-mons about the riches of that grace

revealed so long ago on the road toDamascus.

That sermon never died. It was nodoubt repeated by those who heard ituntil the influence had circled the earth.

But Paul was returned to the filth of thewretched Mamertine. Later, he was grant-ed limited freedom to communicate withfriends and fellow Christians, but aftertwo years the guards came again to placethe aged apostle under chains from whichhe would never be freed.

Was that promised grace sufficient tosustain the gallant tent maker to the veryend of his life? Yes. The day came whenthey led him down the cobblestone street

for the last time, past the emperors palaceand into the arena where his life was to betaken from him.What did Paul think as hepassed the great statue of Nero that stoodin front of the royal palace? History tells

us that the huge image towered 110 feetinto the air; It would have been impossi-

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rate us from the love of God, which is inChrist Jesus our Lord(Romans 8:35-39).

Pauls own inspired words now come

back to comfort him as he reads theboastful inscription on the statue. Surelyhe must have thought,Nero, you are notthe conqueror.You are the slave of yourown perverted nature. Christians are the

free ones. We are more than conquerorsthrough Christ our Lord.

Paul counted it all joy to make thesupreme sacrifice for the Savior he loved.A man cannot die for a shallow cause, butsomething had been etched into the heartof Paul that could never be erased. Godsgrace was sufficient. It did not fail him.Neither has it proved insufficient for anyother who has claimed it by faith. A manis never the same when Jesus passes by and

looks and loves. Paul certainly wasnt, andneither was Nathaniel whom Jesus sawunder the fig tree.

And what can we say aboutZacchaeus, the midget millionaire, who

was so eager to see the Master that heclimbed a sycamore tree in order to get a

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reached out to him and met his need.Thenext day He passed the same way andlooked up to see a rich man in a tree. He

was able to meet his need also. How won-derful that He can meet the need of everyindividual at any social level and regardlessof the problem. He can meet your needand mine this very moment.

C H A P T E R 5Peters Final Triumph

But lets come back to the biographyof the big fisherman. His was prob-ably the most dramatic change of

all the rest.Yet there was another time thatJesus looked at Peter under very differentcircumstances. All the disciples had pro-

fessed undying devotion to their Master,but impulsive Peter had spoken louderand longer than any of the others. Hewould go to his death rather than be dis-loyal to the One who had called him from

his nets. Jesus, of course, knew better andwarned the ardent disciple that his words

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then Matthew quickly adds these words,But Peter followed him afar off unto thehigh priests palace (Verse 58).

The shameful interlude around thefire in the palace courtyard highlights thedepth of Peters instability, earlier recog-nized by Jesus when He added the nameCephas or Peter (rolling stone) to Simons

name. In three groveling denials Peter dis-tanced himself from the One who wasplainly visible through the open door.Those lips which had declared, thou artthe Son of God now began to pour forthcurses and invectives to avert the accusingfinger of a little girl who recognized him,but his earthy denials were cut short inmid-sentence by the shrill sound of acrowing rooster. Then Peters eyes weredrawn through that open door to meet

the steady, return gaze of Jesusa sorrow-ful look of love and compassion thatwould burn in the broken heart of Peterfor many hours.

As the full horror of what he had

done dawned on Peters mind he fled intothe sheltering darkness. Mercifully we are

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rected Jesus.There is a stir of excitement,but then a wave of unbelief. ExcitedlyMary repeats the words of the angel that

they should go to Galilee to meet theMaster for themselves. But the Bible saysthat her words seemed to them as idletales, and they believed not (Luke 24:11).

Is it hard to imagine Marys frustra-

tion at such skepticism of her eyewitnessreport? But where was Peter? Surely hewould believe that she was telling thetruth. Seeing him in the corner sherushed to pour out her story anew.Come, she said, We must meet ourLord in Galilee.No, Mary. Not me. Jesuswill never want to speak to me again. Idenied Him with cursing and swearing!And then Marys words tumble out withrenewed excitement,No, Peter, the angel

said,Tell his disciples and Peter. He calledyour name. He especially wanted you tobe there.

Did ever sweeter words fall upon ahuman heart than those thrilling words of

Mary? Into the darkened life of thatgrieving disciple the glory of heaven burst

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in our weakness, through the riches of Hisgrace, to confound the things that aremighty. Where sin abounded, let grace

much more abound! Thanks be to God forthe unsearchable riches of that grace!

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riches of grace - by joe crews

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