When’s the last time someone truly showed you Grace
How many of you have heard about the story of Jimmy Baker he was a great evangelist very known all around the world, very popular he was like a big deal and then he crashed and he had someproblem and then he ended up in jail. When you’re so prominent and you end up in jail there’s a lot of shame that comes with it.
Jim baker was given the job of going and cleaning the toilet in jail. It’s like, think about a celebrity in Christendom in those days, he wrote the books and is most popular. His Crusade was attended by many people. He is the greatest man the greatest preacher shamed and nobody wanted to associate with him.
Because he sinned, he crashed, he fell deep down the mud of humanity. He entangled himself in what tempted him the most and the shadow side of his life overtook him blindsided him and he was locked up.
You see Christians are funny. When you are popular, everybody wants to be around you. When you sin, nobody wants to be around you. When you’ve fallen short of a glory of God which the Bible said, everybody all have fallen short of the glory of God, it’s no longer popular. Nobody want to be around you. It seemed like we’ve devised a Christianity of faith and a forgiveness we say, if you ask God for forgiveness he’ll forgive you but even if God forgive you we still believe, we must punish you first because we want you to suffer enough and we have decided what enough means.
I’m saying this prophetically to the church because we live in the days that many of us brothers, the Bible says the way to help people is Grace and love and we need more of a treatment of love and grace, not more hatred. You do the loving, let God do the judging.
the day you and I begin taking the Judgment seat is the day we lose our spiritual ability and strength and presence.
And so, back to Jim Baker is there cleaning a toilet, then someday he heard someone say Jim Baker, you have a visitor. He said nobody will come visit me, I’m just good for cleaning the toilet.
There’s somebody here to visit. Nobody comes, who will come can visit me?
And they say would that matter if it is somebody named Billy Graham? Baker Billy Graham is here to see you.
Billy Graham was a renowned evangelist, known for his integrity and his simplicity in his message of grace and salvation. God used him greatly and mightily. And so, timidly he walked out into this waiting room and guess who he sees, Billy Graham. If there is somebody who should have fled from Jim Baker, it is Billy Graham because he is the antithesis of Jim Baker. People see Billy Graham as a man of integrity and they saw Jim Baker as a man of disintegrity. Where Billy Graham was a man who was faithful or careful this guy was not, and yet somehow in this moment when Jim Baker was muddied over sin, that the media and everybody were just really talking about it, Billy Graham showed up.
We have been talking about the sixth passion of Jesus and one of those passion is visiting those in prison, is doing Justice to others and those who are forsaken. Jim Baker still ended up doing his time in jail. When he came out of jail, he needed to go to a church, he found himself a church to attend. He who used to have many churches he built incredible universities and he went to a church just to hide. When he went to a our church he sat in the very front in order to hide himself, only to be surprised because somebody else was waiting for there for him.
Billy Graham again. When is the last time you’ve been shown Grace, Amazing Grace. When was the last time you received that Ministry of Grace. I believe there’s something about the human heart, there is something about our world and our condition, that can only be mitigated, when the grace of God is applied to the need of what a wreck like me and you.
Amazing Grace. I don’t want you to leave this place without experiencing that Grace, that unmerited favor, that undeserved love. The grace of God is here, and the Bible said where there is sin, his grace abound even more. That’s not what I prepared to preach, but somehow it pleases the Lord for me to share this with somebody who may need to know this. The grace of God abounds.
I have been called by God to preach nothing but the grace of God, by grace I live through faith. Can I pray for you that Grace, Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound the saved a wretch like me. Fill this place with your grace and your love in Jesus name.
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