Thank you for listening to Servants for Christ. In all that we do, in all that we say, we want to give glory and honor to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you for tuning us in as we get into the wonderful Word of God. For the next few minutes, let's take the beautiful Word of God and share it with each and every one of you as we have a sense of anticipation to take the Word of God and to listen to its truth for each and every one. Hey man, I'm gonna sing this song before I get into my mess. It's grace for every need. Ain't you glad that there's grace for every need? Sing with us if you know it. There is joy divine that is ever mine, since the Lord has forgiven me. And I work and sing for my blessed King, by His grace I have been made free. There is grace for every foe each need, grace for you, grace for me, Keeping true, keeping free, precious saving grace. Yes, indeed, flowing from the throne above. Grace to cover all my sins. Grace to all who believe. Oh, this grace now receive full forgiveness. All may win, yes there's grace in the Lord's perfect love He will ever keep when the tempest sweep And hath grace for each trying hour So I go in love for this friend above Ever trusting His grace and power There is grace for every fool, each need. Grace for you, grace for me. Keeping true, keeping free. Precious saving grace, yes indeed. Flowing from the throne above. Grace to cover all my sin. Grace to all who believe. Oh, this grace thou receive for forgiveness. All, all may win. Yes, there's grace in the Lord's perfect love. Oh, this wondrous grace is for all the race. It is boundless and full and free. And I trust and cling to my blessed King, Who by grace now is keeping me. There is grace for every fool each need, Grace for you, grace for me, Keeping true, keeping free, precious saving grace yes indeed flowing from the throne above grace to cover all my sins grace to all who believe oh this grace now receive For forgiveness all, all may win. Yes, there's grace in the Lord's perfect love. Thank you for tuning us in. I'm Darrell Bailey. Service for Christ. As we get into our message in the book of James, chapter four, verse six. You know, as God gives me messages, I don't always put those messages on the air at the same day that I have them because sometimes with our schedule we are not able to do that. But I'm glad that here when we look at James chapter four, I'm glad the Bible says in James chapter four, but he that giveth more grace Wherefore, he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. And so I want to talk to you about how grace that meets us where we are. the grace that meets us where we are. Father, we come before you with humble hearts, recognizing our need for your grace in every moment of our lives. And as we gather to explore the depths of your grace, we ask for your spirit to move among us, opening our hearts and minds to the truth that you have for us today. May your word penetrate our hearts, transform our lives as we learn to walk in the grace that you so generously provide. And Jesus is marvelous. Amen. You know one day there was a man named Dan that was driving home from work when he saw a young woman standing on the side of the road with her car's hood up and he stopped to help. Despite his best efforts though, he couldn't get her car started. Man, he thought about jumping it off. He looked at the radiator. He looked at everything. He looked at the starter, the battery, amen. He offered to drive her to a nearby gas station where she could call for a tow truck. And as they were talking, the woman mentioned that she was a single mother and that this car was her lifeline for getting her kids to school and herself to work. Without hesitation, Dan decided to help her get her car repaired. Sounds like a Dan I would know. And when she offered to repay him, Dan simply said, just pay it forward when you can. You know, this story reminds us of how grace operates in our lives. Grace meets us where we are without expecting anything in return. And it often comes through the kindness of others. I remember when I was in Amarillo, Texas, it was a very hot day. We were in a military convoy. And a gentleman took time to buy a Coca-Cola for everyone in our convoy, which was a lot of Coca-Colas. You know, grace, it meets us where we are without expecting anything in return. And it often comes through the kindness of others. And God's grace is like that. It's there when we need it most, given freely, and it changes everything. Well, the first thing that I want to say about grace that meets us where we are is, number one, is the ministry of grace that is in our lives. Because he says, but he giveth more grace, wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. When we look at the ministry of grace in our lives, we see the cause sometimes of temptation and wrongdoing. because this passage has told us that there are several causes that we have, amen. When we look back up at verse five, we're reminded, do you think that the scripture saith in vain, the spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But it goes on, but he giveth more grace. Wherefore, he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Well, there are four things that this passage tells us about what causes temptation and wrongdoing. Number one, lust, the passion for pleasure and gratification. Number two, distrust, desiring something and never trusting God or asking Him for it. And number three, praying amiss, praying with the wrong motive. We all do it, amen. And number four, the worldliness, because friendship with the world will get us in trouble. You see, these are the causes of temptation. These are the causes that bring a lot of wrong in our lives. But what is the cure? for temptation and wrongdoing. Listen to me. There are two cures, I believe, when temptation and wrongdoing comes across our path. Number one, I believe believers must know this. The Spirit of God yearns over us with jealousy. And do you think that we must think about and know that the Holy Spirit who dwells in believers, it learns, it yearns, it lusts, it desires, and it longs after us. It yearns with an envy and a jealousy over us. So when does that Holy Spirit yearn over us with jealousy? All the time. All the time. But he does it in a very special way when temptation confronts us and we do wrong. Because the Holy Spirit is always yearning over us and he's always jealous over us. You thought your husband or your wife was jealous. It's nothing compared to the Holy Spirit. But if we turn away from Christ and we become a friend of the world, if we become adulterers, and adulteresses. The Spirit of God does not cast us off and turn away from us. He loves us, He cares for us, and He wants to save us. And He yearns and He longs for us with deep, intense jealousy that we would return to Him and give Him our full devotion. And so, I'm glad that when we look and we see this happening, that The believer is to know that the Spirit of God is exactly like this, because when the believer is heavily tempted and does wrong, he or she is not cast off, he or she is not rejected, he or she is not forsaken by God. God still loves that believer. No matter what he or she does, God yearns, he longs for the believer to return to him. He yearns and longs with a deep, intense jealousy. And when that believer knows this, then he or she knows the first great cure for temptation and wrongdoing and He or she is far more able to repent and return to God you say why why? Because he or she is so deeply loved by God hear me out listen to me So much so that God yearns for him or her with a jealous, envious love. And love attracts and it pulls the believer back to God. And I'm glad one of the commandments over in Exodus chapter 20 verse five, thou shall not bow thyself to them nor serve them for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God. And I'm glad in Exodus chapter 34 verse 14 for thou shall worship no other God, for the Lord whose name is Jealous is a jealous God." What about Deuteronomy? Deuteronomy 32, they provoked him to jealousy with strange gods. Zechariah tells us, thus saith the Lord of Hosts, I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury, in Zechariah chapter 8. And so, We see that one of the things is that believers must know this, that the Spirit of God yearns over us with a jealousy, amen. But also, as God's placed His Spirit in the hearts of all believers to lead them through all the temptations and trials of life, to convict them, to lead them to repentance when they sin, I'm glad that Holy Spirit, it yearns and it conveys our souls that he wants no believer to turn away from him, amen. And so, the second thing believers must know is that God gives the humble believer grace and more grace, woo, thank you God for that more grace, but he resists the proud. You see, grace means the favor and the blessings of God. Any favor and any blessing which God gives because when the believer faces temptation or does wrong, God meets that believer's need no matter what it is. Hey, you need some strength. Hey, you need some wisdom. Maybe you need some power. Maybe you need some perseverance. You need a little bit of patience. Maybe some forgiveness. Well, the believer does not deserve God's grace and blessing, but God loves them. And therefore God gives him or her whatever he or she needs. And in fact, God gives more grace. That is grace upon grace. Grace and more grace, praise God. Because not every believer and not every person receives God's grace. God's meeting our need is not an automatic thing that he does. Not everyone's needs are met. Hear me out, hear me out. The very opposite is true. But if a person is proud, if they are stiff-necked, if they're rebellious against God, God resists that person. God wants to pour his grace out upon the person that is humble, but if the person hardens themselves and rebels against God and continues to live on in their sin, God has no choice. God is going to shut out that person's life and therefore grace is going to be rejected. God can do nothing for any person Something else as well is God has to resist the person because he has to consider that they're a rebel, they're a traitor, they're an enemy, they're a sinner. God has to stand against that sinner and their evil and God has to oppose and resist and eventually put him or her to the most terrible shame. And, but the glory of the gospel is God gives grace and more grace to the humble and the person that turns to God away from the world and their wrongdoing will receive all the grace from God that he or she will ever need. And then some added praise God, because God will look after. God will care for just like a child that is needing the loving, needing the nourishing, the nurturing, the feeding, the clothing, the sheltering, the protecting, hallelujah, and giving more and more life to Him forever and ever. And so, I'm glad that we see that God gives the humble believer grace. more grace a man and oh so That we see that the believer must know that the Spirit of God yearns over us with a jealousy praise God and so when we see these two things We look and we realize that As God does these things for us, amen, God has to stand against that sinner and that evil because of that. And so once that happens, each and every one of us as we go through life today, amen, that is how God gets us through these difficult times. And so the ministry of grace that is in our life, grace is more than just a concept. It's a force in our lives that ministers us in various ways. And I'm glad that grace, when we are at our lowest, amen, there are moments when life's burdens weigh every one of us down and we feel like we can't go any lower. I'm glad the Psalmist said, therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me. My heart within me is desolate. And in these dark times, God's grace lifts us, revives us, and gives us the strength to go on. And so there's the ministry of grace that is in our lives. Grace when we are at our lowest, amen. Grace when we're at our hardest as well. Jeremiah was talking about this as well. The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness, even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest. Life's trials can make our hearts hard, and yet it's often in these time and tough moments that we experience God's grace most powerfully. Even in our hardest times, God's grace finds us and it provides rest, praise His mighty name. And so, grace when we're at our lowest, grace when we're at our hardest, but also grace when we're at our weakest. Because I'm glad, Isaiah chapter 40 verse 29, when we feel like we have nothing left in the gas tank to give, God's grace meets us with some new strength. Isaiah said, he giveth power to the faint and to them that have no might, he increases strength. You see, in our weakness, His grace is sufficient to carry us right on through. And so, we see the ministry of grace that is in our lives, but also the abundance of God's grace because God's grace is not just sufficient. It is abundant and more than enough for every need. Let me say that again. It is abundant and it's more than enough for every need because grace from God's generous nature. The psalmist said, for the Lord God is a sun and a shield. The Lord will give grace and glory. No good will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. God is a giver by nature, and his grace flows out of his loving nature, always ready to meet our needs. And so we see grace from God's generous nature, and also grace from every need. Boy, I thank God. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 9 that it was exceeding grace because the measure of grace that we receive is directly related to our need. Paul speaks of God's exceeding grace, and no matter how great our need, God's grace is even greater than that still. And so we see the abundance of God's grace, grace from God's generous nature, grace from our every need, and grace that is always enough. Because when Paul struggled with his own weaknesses, God began to assure him. In 2 Corinthians chapter 12, My grace is sufficient for my strength is made perfect in weakness." See, God's grace is always exactly what we need, exactly when we need it. Boy, that's like the old cook that used to say, lock the door. He could pour some salt in the same exact amount in his hand each time. Why? Because I'm glad that that's exactly what God does with his grace. It's exactly what we need exactly when we need it. And so, as we see, not only when we look at our life and we see the things that God has given us, amen, when grace that meets us where we are, we see the ministry of grace that is in our lives. the abundance of God's grace. But thirdly, it is the timing of grace. Because it is through that timing, amen, that God is able to do the greatest thing, amen. Because when we look at ourselves and we begin to realize what God wants to do, amen, you know, the timing of grace, God's grace is not just abundant, it's also perfectly timed. Because grace is right on time, according to the Hebrew writer, that we're invited to come boldly under the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in a time of need. You see, God's grace arrives at just the right moment, exactly when we need it most. And so, God's grace is on time. Grace is in every situation that Paul began to tell us, he said, and my God shall supply all your need according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus. Whether our need is spiritual, whether our need is emotional, whether our need is physical, God's grace is always available to me today, man. And so he said that that grace is right on time in every situation, that that grace never runs out. In Lamentations chapter 3, it is the Lord's mercies that we're not consumed because his compassions fell not. They're new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness as the writer of Lamentations says, God's grace is fresh every day, never running out, always sufficient, praise his mighty name. And so, C.S. Lewis once wrote, And so, Max Licato observed one time, he said, grace is the voice that calls us to change, and then it gives us the power to pull it off. And I'm glad Annie J. Flint wrote in her hymn one time, he giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater, and he sendeth more strength as our labors increase. And so we look and we see that grace that meets us where we are. We see the ministry of grace in our lives, the abundance of God's grace. And lastly, the timing of grace. Boy, I thank God as I get ready to close out. Each and every one of us, as we begin to close out for the message, God's grace is a gift that meets us in every circumstance of life. Whether we're at our lowest, whether we're at our hardest, or whether we're at our weakest, God's grace is there, abundantly provided, perfectly timed. It's more than just a concept. It's the very power that sustains us through every trial and challenge. And so, how can you rely on God's grace when you are at your lowest? I would say, when we turn to God in prayer, and when we trust in His promise, that His grace is sufficient even in the darkest moments. You know, I wonder what steps can you take to recognize God's grace during those hard times? I would probably look back on my past experiences where God has provided and where I've read the scripture that reminds me of His faithfulness as He did in Jeremiah chapter 31, verse 2. Amen? And so, each and every one of us, when we look back at those moments of what the Lord wants to do in our lives, amen, boy, how marvelous how wonderful that it is to have that wonderful blessing of what God is doing for each and every one of us. What did I say at Jeremiah 31? That the people which were left of the sward found grace in the wilderness, even Israel, when I went to cause them to rest. Other words, in even our hardest times, God's grace finds us and it provides rest. And so, I'm glad. and what ways that we can share the grace that we've received with others that are around us. I think the greatest encouragement to those that are around us is when we extend kindness. and compassion to those that are in need, just as God's grace has been extended to you. Imagine that somebody has done you wrong. They need the worst beating that they've ever got from their mom and dad and then some, but all of a sudden, instead of you beating them and whooping up on them, You turn around and you just kiss on them and you just love on them. I'm talking about somebody that they really deserve to be slapped, stomped, and all that. But because of what Jeremiah was saying, we do the right opposite of it. We love them and we love them some more. We love them and we love them a little bit more because what did we say? I'm glad that God has some grace that meets us where we are. Father, thank you so much. for the gift of your grace. It's more than we deserve, greater than we can fully comprehend. And as we get ready, many that listen to this message, whatever time of day that might be, help them to walk in the strength of your grace. Rely on it daily to meet our needs and to guide us through life's challenges. Help us to live as vessels, a clean vessel of your grace, showing others the love and the mercy that you have shown to us the grace that meets us where we are. In Jesus's marvelous mighty name, amen.