Wednesday Word, March 2, 2016: Grace Triumphant
Can God build a good house from bad material? Because of triumphant grace we can say yes, absolutely yes. You are not so far gone that the Lord is finished with you.
Remember these people over whom grace triumphed?
Noah was a drunk.
Gideon was afraid.
Samson was a womanizer.
Rahab was a prostitute.
David was an adulterer and a murderer.
Elijah was suicidal.
Jonah ran from God.
Peter denied Christ.
The disciples fell asleep while praying.
Martha worried about everything.
The Samaritan woman slept around.
Paul was a religious bigot.
Timothy had an ulcer.
Lazarus was dead!
The Lord Jesus is a master of creating something beautiful out of nothing. He can do so with you.
Many years ago, in the days before automobiles, in Detroit, Michigan, an evangelist, preached on the text "The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son cleanses us from all sin" (I John 1:7). After the service, a stranger asked the preacher to walk home with him. Advised against it by church officials who knew the man, the evangelist went with him anyway.
Ushering the preacher into the rear of a building, the stranger locked the door, put the key in his pocket, and said, “Don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to ask a few questions. Do you believe what you preached tonight?”
The preacher said, "I most certainly do."
The man continued, "We're in the back of a saloon. I'm the sole proprietor. Mothers come in here, lay their babies on the counter, and beg me not to sell liquor to their husbands. I turn a deaf ear to their cry. We see to it when a man leaves here he's well under the influence. More than one night, a man leaving here has been killed by the express at the tracks. Preacher, tell me, can God forgive a man like me?"
The minister replied, "I have but one authority, the Word of God which says, 'The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin.'"
"But that's not all,” added the man. "In another room we run a gambling hall. If a man doesn't spend all his money on liquor, we bring him back here and with marked cards see to it that he's fleeced out of his last dollar we send him home penniless to a hungry family. Preacher, I'm the sole owner. Tell me honestly can God forgive a man with a heart like that?"
Again the evangelist replied, "I have but one authority, the Word of God which says, 'The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin.'"
The man spoke again. "That's not all. Across the street is my home where I live with my wife and little daughter. Neither one has had a kind word from me for five years. Their bodies bear marks of my brutal attacks. Preacher, do you think God could forgive a man with a heart like that?"
The Evangelist’s head lowered. His eyes filled with tears as he said, "My friend, you have told one of the darkest stories I have ever heard, but I still have one authority which says, 'The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.'"
The man opened the door, ushered the preacher into the night, and did not leave that room until daybreak. He did not leave until he had ripped up decks of cards and poured the contents of beer and liquor bottles down the sink. After he was finished, he locked the saloon and crossed the street, went into his house and sat down in the living room.
His little girl called, “Daddy, Mother says breakfast is ready." When he answered his little girl kindly she ran back to her mother, "Daddy spoke kind to me! Something is the matter!" The mother followed her little girl to the living room. The man called them both over. Taking one on each knee, he explained to their amazement that they had a new husband and daddy He ended, "I'm done with that business across the street!"
The man later became a member, then an official in a leading Detroit church. When asked to tell how his life was changed, he would reply "The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin."
And that’s the Gospel Truth!