Participants: Alonzo Smith (Host), Abraham Jules
Series Code: POH
Program Code: POH000013
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00:03 Where can you find hope for the hopeless,
00:07 opportunity for transformation, 00:11 peace amid life's storms? 00:15 Only in God's free gift of eternal life. 00:20 From New York, join us on the Pathway of Hope. 00:30 A miner left his billfold on the counter for a store 00:34 with more than $800 in it. 00:37 An ex-convict, 00:39 whose past offense was armed robbery, 00:42 came in and saw the billfold on the counter. 00:46 What did he do? 00:47 He did not take a dime from it 00:50 but rather sought out its owner and returned it. 00:55 Amazing, isn't it? 00:57 You see, he was saved by God's grace. 01:02 The Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 28, 01:06 "For by grace are you saved through faith, 01:10 and that none of yourself, it is a gift of God." 01:14 God's grace is given to us freely. 01:18 It is not a question of what you have done 01:20 but a question of what God has done for you. 01:24 It is not a question of your unworthiness 01:27 but a question of God's righteousness. 01:30 It is not a question of your weakness 01:32 but a question of God's strength. 01:35 It is not a question of your sins 01:37 but a question of God's grace. 01:40 Dr. G. Earl Knight, the evangelist, 01:44 will speak to us about God's amazing grace. 02:11 Lift up the trumpet 02:16 And loud let it ring 02:21 Jesus is coming again 02:33 Cheer up, ye pilgrims, 02:38 Be joyful and sing 02:44 Jesus is coming again 02:56 Echo it, hilltops, 03:01 Proclaim it, ye plains 03:07 Jesus is coming again 03:18 Coming in glory, 03:24 The Lamb that was slain 03:30 Jesus is coming again 03:41 Coming again, 03:47 Coming again 03:52 Jesus is coming again 04:03 Coming again, 04:09 Coming again 04:14 Jesus is coming again 04:26 Heavens of earth, tell 04:32 The vast, wondering throng 04:38 Jesus is coming again 04:49 Tempests and whirlwinds, 04:55 The anthem prolong 05:01 Jesus is coming again 05:14 Nations are angry 05:19 By this we do know 05:26 Jesus is coming again 05:38 Knowledge increases 05:43 Men run to and fro 05:49 Jesus is coming again 06:01 Coming again, 06:07 Coming again 06:12 Jesus is coming again 06:24 Coming again, 06:30 Coming again 06:35 Jesus is coming again 06:47 Coming again, 06:53 Coming again 06:58 Jesus is coming again 07:10 Coming again, 07:15 Coming again 07:21 Jesus is coming again 07:33 Jesus is coming again 07:45 Jesus is coming 07:50 Jesus is coming 07:54 again 07:59 Coming again 08:03 Coming again 08:07 Jesus is coming again 08:25 I was scripture reading for this evening, 08:28 it's Ephesians 2:1-9, 08:35 "And you He made alive, 08:37 who were dead in trespasses and sins 08:41 in which you once walked 08:43 according to the course of this world, 08:46 according to the prince of the power of the air, 08:50 the spirit who work in the sons of disobedience, 08:55 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves 08:58 in the lust of our flesh, 09:01 fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, 09:06 and were by nature the children of wrath, 09:09 just as others. 09:12 But God, who is rich and mercy, 09:15 because of His great love with which He loved us, 09:19 even when we were dead in trespasses 09:22 made us alive together with Christ, by grace, 09:25 you have been saved, 09:29 and raised us up together 09:32 and made us sit together 09:33 in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 09:38 that in the ages to come, 09:40 He might show his riches of his grace 09:43 in His kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. 09:47 For by grace you have been saved through faith, 09:51 and that none of yourself, 09:52 it is the gift of God, not of works, 09:56 lest anyone should boast." 09:59 Our topic for today is God's grace is sufficient. 10:05 Let us pray. 10:07 Our Heavenly Father, 10:09 we thank You for the opportunity 10:10 we have to worship and to praise Your name. 10:14 We thank You for the provision 10:16 You have made for our salvation. 10:18 And now as we come to share Your Word, 10:21 we invite Your Holy Spirit to be with us. 10:24 Reveal Your will to our lives and help us, Lord, 10:27 to order our lives according to Your Word. 10:31 Please bless each and every one of us 10:34 who worship in Jesus name, amen. 10:39 By nature, we are children of the flesh 10:44 and strangers of the covenant of promise. 10:48 The Bible says, 10:50 "The old law was brought forth in iniquity 10:53 and in sin my mother conceived me." 10:56 Psalms 5:15. 10:59 As sinners, we have no right to salvation. 11:05 We are without hope in the world. 11:09 But God in His mercy and through His grace 11:12 has offered us hope and salvation 11:15 through our Lord Jesus Christ. 11:20 Yes, we are children of the flesh. 11:25 God created a perfect world 11:27 and placed two perfect people in it, 11:29 to enjoy and to take care of it. 11:33 Genesis 1:31, says, "God saw everything He made, 11:38 and indeed it was very good." 11:42 God wanted the first couple Adam and Eve, 11:47 He warned them of the danger of eating of the fruit 11:51 from the tree of good and evil 11:53 which was in the midst of the garden, 11:56 where He had placed them. 11:58 Yes, the Lord said to them, 12:04 "Of every tree of the garden, you may freely eat, 12:08 but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, 12:10 you shall not eat. 12:12 For in the day that you eat of it, 12:15 you shall surely die." 12:18 Genesis 2:16-17. 12:22 Adam and Eve felt the temptation of the devil 12:25 and at the fruit of the tree 12:28 as a result of their disobedience, 12:31 Adam and Eve, the curse of sin and death 12:36 was passed on to all creation. 12:40 It was never God's plan to allow men to self-destruct. 12:44 God gave mankind a salvific antidote against sin 12:49 in the form of a promise, a redemption plan 12:52 was put in place to restore the human race back to God. 12:56 In her book, "The Great Controversy," 12:59 Ellen White wrote, 13:01 "Satan's enmity against the human race 13:04 is kindled because, through Christ, 13:08 they are the object of God's love and mercy. 13:12 It is the grace that Christ implants in the soul 13:17 which creates in men enmity against Satan. 13:23 Without this converting grace and renewing power, 13:27 men will continue the captive of the devil, 13:32 a servant ever ready to do his bidding. 13:36 But the new principle in the soul creates conflict, 13:40 where hitherto had been peace. 13:43 The power which Christ imparts enables man to rescue 13:47 or to resist the tyrant and usurper. 13:52 Whoever is seen to abhor sin instead of loving it, 13:57 whoever resists and conquers those passions 14:01 that have held sway within displays 14:04 the operation of a principle wholly from above." 14:10 As time progresses sin, proliferated the earth, 14:14 and the human race got deeper 14:16 and deeper in the clutch of the devil, 14:20 descendants of Noah drifted 14:22 their own way away from God. 14:26 The Tower of Babel was a symbol 14:29 of their rebellious Spirit. 14:32 God never leaves Himself without a witness, amen. 14:37 Abram was a witness to the goodness of God. 14:41 So God called him 14:43 and offered him a covenant of promise. 14:46 Genesis 12:1-3 clearly states that, 14:50 "Now the Lord had said to Abram, 14:53 get out of your country, 14:54 from your family and from your father's house, 14:57 to a land that I will show you, 15:00 I will make you a great nation. 15:03 I will bless you and make your name great, 15:06 and you shall be a blessing. 15:08 I will bless those who bless you, 15:11 and I will curse him who curse you. 15:14 And in all the families of the earth, in you, 15:19 all the families of the earth shall be blessed." 15:24 Abram's name was changed to Abraham. 15:29 Abraham became the father of the Jewish nation, 15:33 through whom the nation of the earth would be blessed. 15:37 The Jews were not without God. 15:40 For as Jesus stated in John 4:22, 15:44 salvation was of the Jews, 15:47 Abraham, the first Jew, saw the day of Christ afar off 15:53 and was glad. 15:54 John 8:56, 15:56 they drain in the wilderness of the rock, 16:00 which was Christ. 16:02 1 Corinthians 10:4. 16:04 The Gentiles had no knowledge of Christ. 16:07 They had no union with Him. They had no faith in Him. 16:11 They were therefore without pardon, grace, 16:14 hope, and comfort. 16:16 They had nothing threefold blessings of the gospel, 16:22 Christ for us, Christ in us, and Christ with us. 16:28 They were uncircumcised Gentiles in the flesh. 16:33 So to be circumcised meant that one was purified, 16:38 it meant that one received the seal of righteousness. 16:42 It meant that not only the outward flesh was clean 16:47 but also the heart was completely 16:50 consecrated to God. 16:52 It meant they were legitimate children of Israel. 16:56 The third characteristic of being an alien 16:59 from commonwealth of Israel, 17:02 the Gentiles were separated from Israel 17:06 civilly and spiritually 17:08 for the Jews had no dealing with the Gentiles. 17:11 The word alien points to a lapse 17:14 from a former unity or relationship. 17:18 The first dispensation of the human race was unify, 17:23 sin however brought a separation, 17:25 the worshipping of the true God against the worshipping 17:30 of the false God brought a great divide. 17:34 It is this wall that he came to break down. 17:39 The fourth characteristic, 17:41 they were strangers from the covenant of promise. 17:45 The covenant was established between God and Abraham, 17:48 and Abraham's descendents. 17:50 Through Abraham and his descendants, 17:53 the nations of the world 17:54 were to learn of the will of God. 17:58 Christ came to establish 18:00 a better covenant based on a better promise. 18:04 Hebrew 8:6 states, "But now he has obtain 18:09 a more excellent ministry, 18:12 inasmuch as he is also Mediator of a better covenant, 18:18 which was established on a better promise." 18:22 The fifth characteristic, they were without hope. 18:27 They had no hope. 18:28 No hope for Messiah and salvation, 18:31 through Him no hope of eternal life. 18:34 You see in 1 Corinthians 15:19, Paul writes, 18:38 "If in this life only we have hope, 18:41 we are of most men most miserable." 18:46 Without Christ, there is no hope. 18:48 A life of sin results in separation from God. 18:52 And separation from God results in separation 18:56 from His promise of eternal life, 18:58 which is in Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Savior. 19:02 Jesus said, "For God so loved the world, 19:05 He gave his only begotten Son, 19:08 that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, 19:11 but shall have everlasting life," 19:14 John 3:16. 19:16 The sixth characteristic, 19:18 they were without God in the world. 19:22 This marks the climax of their misery. 19:26 It is not that they were atheists 19:29 for they had many gods, 19:31 they had no knowledge of the true God. 19:34 They had no faith in Him. 19:36 They were living without relationship with Him. 19:39 They had no consciousness of His presence to bless, 19:43 guide, and to comfort them. 19:46 They were without God in this world. 19:51 I thank God for Ephesians 2:13, 19:56 for there, I find a hope, 20:00 "But now in Christ. 20:03 In Christ Jesus, you who once were far off 20:08 have been brought near by the blood of Christ." 20:16 But now... 20:18 But is a conjunction, such as yet, unless, 20:23 and nevertheless, notwithstanding. 20:26 You see, a conjunction seeks to join two sentences 20:30 or two concepts together. 20:32 It unites, it joins together. 20:36 On the one hand, the Gentiles were afar off. 20:42 Aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, 20:44 strangers of the covenant of promise, 20:47 without God and hope in the world. 20:51 They were nobodies. 20:53 They were not only acts to sit at the back of the bus, 20:58 they were outside of the bus. 21:01 They were excluded not by God's design 21:05 but by their own choice. 21:10 On the other hand, Christ extended His mercy. 21:14 He extended His grace, 21:16 He changed the scene completely 21:19 by offering Himself on Calvary, His cross. 21:23 His death was not only for the Jews 21:26 but also for the Gentiles. 21:30 His death was for all who have sinned, 21:33 for God loved the world, the entire world. 21:37 So whomever sinned, 21:38 the death of Jesus Christ would cover their sin. 21:44 Back then, 21:45 it was being circumcised in the flesh, 21:50 but now, it is the circumcision of the heart. 21:55 Back then, they were without Christ, 21:58 but now, Christ has offered himself to all. 22:02 He died for all. 22:04 Salvation is for all. 22:08 Back then they were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel 22:12 and strangers from the covenant of promise. 22:15 But now, they are fellow citizens 22:18 and adhere of the covenant of promise. 22:22 You see, back then they had no hope 22:25 and without God in the world, 22:27 but now their hope is in the Lord. 22:30 They have Christ in them, the hope of glory. 22:35 They have Christ for them, who can be against them. 22:41 They have Christ with them. 22:43 They will never have to walk alone. 22:47 Ephesians 2:1-10 notes 22:53 it is grace that has built 22:56 a bridge to bring us back to God. 23:00 It is grace that causes God to offer us eternal life. 23:05 It is grace that causes Christ to die 23:08 on the cruel cross for you and me. 23:10 It is grace that will lead us home to glory. 23:16 Marvelous grace of our loving Lord. 23:19 Grace that exceed our sin 23:21 and our guilt yonder on Calvary Mount of Paul, 23:26 where the blood of the Lamb was spilled. 23:31 Grace, Grace. 23:34 God's Grace. 23:35 Grace that was pardon and cleanse within. 23:39 Grace. Grace. 23:41 God's grace. 23:43 Grace that is greater than all our sin. 23:47 Ladies and gentlemen, 23:49 God's grace is sufficient for you and for me. 23:55 Sin has brought separation between God and man. 23:59 Christ did not leave us without a way of escape. 24:04 He provided the enmity against the devil, 24:09 that we would never be 24:11 totally engulfed by the evil one. 24:15 Christ gave the promise of the Messiah through Abraham, 24:20 his descendents starting or stating that 24:24 if we were accepted 24:26 if we accept his plan of salvation, 24:29 all the nations of the earth would be blessed. 24:34 Unfortunately, the people of Israel 24:37 for the most part either kept it 24:39 to themselves or did not accept it. 24:43 But Jesus has established a new covenant 24:48 pays upon a better promise. 24:51 It is through the grace of God 24:53 that all of us can have full access 24:57 to the throne room of God. 25:00 Jesus being our Mediator, 25:03 it is amazing how God's grace 25:07 can save wretched sinners like you and me. 25:13 Let us give our all to Jesus, 25:16 our Savior and our Lord. 25:21 God's grace is so amazing. 25:24 "Amazing grace," the song says, 25:27 "how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. 25:33 I once was lost, but now I'm found. 25:38 Was blind, but now I see." 25:43 Praise God for amazing grace. 25:46 The grace of God is sufficient 25:50 for you, and you, and me. 25:54 Amen. 25:57 Loving Lord, we thank You for Your grace, 26:01 we thank You for Your power to save, 26:06 we thank You, Lord, that Jesus came 26:09 and took our place so that we may have life 26:14 and we may have it more abundantly. 26:18 We give You our lives today, 26:21 we ask You, Lord, to take us just as we are, 26:25 make us what You would want us to be, 26:28 and when You shall come in your kingdom, 26:32 help us, Lord, to look up and say, 26:35 "Lo, this is my God." 26:38 We have waited for Him and He will save us. 26:44 Be with us now and help us, Lord, 26:47 to choose You as our Lord and our Savior. 26:52 This we pray in Jesus' name, amen. 26:58 Thanks for watching Pathway of Hope. 27:01 If you would like to be prayed for 27:03 or would like to learn more about 27:05 God's Word, please call 27:08 1 (877) 520-HOPE 27:13 or 1(877) 27:15 520 4673. 27:20 You may also watch more of our programs online at 27:24 www.PathwayOfHope.tv. 27:30 If you would like to make a tax-deductable love gift, 27:34 please send your gifts to Pathway of Hope 27:37 at P.O. Box 280704, 27:43 Queens Village, New York, 11428. 27:48 Thanks for watching Pathway of Hope 27:50 and may God's blessings be yours today. |
Revised 2020-06-23