And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. (I Sam 17:40)
In this morning, I want to share some more thoughts on grace. Why grace? Because what you don't know about the grace of God can hurt you in the long run. Before David fought the Giant, he went near the brook and looked for five smooth stones. We, all know, that he killed the Giant with one well-aimed stone but why five?
When you study the Bible, pay attention to small details. They mean a lot. The number five in biblical term is equated to God's grace. When you think about this, it was God's grace that gave David the victory. It will be God's grace when you are going through that will get you to the other side and onto victory.
Another thing to consider in studying grace. David set aside 5 stones. One for Goliath and the four for his family members. (II Sam 21: 19-23) Grace will help plan and prepare you for future battles. We are a blessed people with our new covenant. Think about this---In Deuteronomy 28, the Jews had the blessings of Abraham. I like to call it the "loolipop" principle which says that if you do this, I will do this. In this list was the blessings and cursings.
In our new covenant, we have grace. We had grace for salvation and have it for our needs. A case in point is healing. Many dear saints are frustrated. They work hard for the kingdom and come to church every time the doors are opened, yet they are defeated and sick. Beloved, please do not misunderstand me, we need to live a holy life and not give place to the enemy but doing good works will not activate the power of God.
Grace is the missing ingredient. An example of this is the prayer of faith. James 5:15 says that it will heal us and forgive us of our sins. What does that means? God will extend grace to us "on credit." In spite of our missing it, he will still heal us when we use faith and grace. The danger to this is that once God reveals your sin, one needs to confess it and repent or a worse thing will come.
Did you know that in spite of the Old testament laws God extended grace to his own? Samson was a prime example of this. Many times, he had fallen into sin yet God covered him by his grace. (Judges 15:15, 16:1-3) The flip side of this is that Samson played with that grace and suffered great consequences.
So, brethren, let's take advantage of God's grace and receive it from his hand. How? By being humble. (I Peter 5:5) Let's put aside all pride and take full advantage of his grace. God wants us to grow, get healed and receive all that he has for us.
Prayer--Dear Lord, point out any areas of pride in my life. I want to receive your grace. Help me to use grace to defeat the giants in my life. Help me to use grace to prepare myself for bigger and greater challenges. Help me to understand how to use grace through faith to grow in you. To be God-inside minded. To do the things that pleases you. To receive all that you have promised me through Christ. In Jesus name---Amen!
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