From the desk of Steve Shultz:
"GRACE!" We just can't hear enough about it... after all many of you know it's my favorite subject to talk about. Kathie Walters both takes the Lord's work seriously AND has fun while she's at it. She can talk about strongholds in one sentence and laugh with angels in the next. That's what I appreciate about her.
Kathie takes on my favorite subject of GRACE in her latest word. Read this and know that you are simply covered in it and there's NOTHING you can do to otherwise earn it. Grace to you all....
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Kathie Walters:
The Grace of God Can't Be Earned
Covered in the Grace of His Righteousness in Exchange for Our Filthy Rags
I woke up one recent morning and saw a beautiful swan gliding on a glassy lake. It was so beautiful – so effortless.
It made me think of the grace of God.
I know you hear me talk about grace all the time, but there is so much religion around that you can't talk about the grace of God enough, even if you talked about it 24 hours a day.
A friend of mine said to me a while ago, "Some of those grace people go overboard." Well, tell me really, how can you have too much grace? Grace is grace. Grace is 100%. Jesus died on a cruel cross and rose again; now He is seated at the right hand of God the Father. He did that for us. Did we qualify? No – so it's all grace, isn't it?
In Romans, chapter 6, it says we were crucified with Him, we were buried with Him in baptism, and as He rose from the dead, we also rose in newness of life. The very same Spirit who came to the tomb and raised Jesus from the dead dwells in our mortal bodies. THE SAME SPIRIT dwells in us. Did you do something to earn that? No, of course not; that's ALL grace, isn't it?
You can't improve on what Jesus did. You can't take away from it either. He paid for all your sins, your attitudes, your failures. God put a demand on Jesus and Jesus fulfilled every command because His heart was pure. When Jesus rose, He was covered in righteousness which He earned here on earth, but when He went back into Heaven, He didn't need it because He was already the Beloved Son of God and part of the Godhead.
So, in exchange for your filthy rags, your own righteousness and efforts (see Isaiah 64:6), He gave YOU His righteousness; like a beautiful robe, He covers you with it. That's called, "His robe of righteousness." That's imputed righteousness. Did you do something to earn that? No, it's His grace only. He gave us His beautiful robe of righteousness and adopted us into His family. Like Annie and Mr. Warbucks.
Jesus is going to "present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 24). You are His trophy. He's going to say, "Look, Dad (Abba), what I've got," and He's going to present YOU faultless as His trophy of grace and beauty. But He will get all the glory because He did all the work.
There is Nothing You Can Do to Improve the Old Man, But Jesus Found a Way – He Got Rid of It
I sometimes watch the guys on TV who go looking for junk – hoping to find something that looks worthless, but as it turns out, it has value! Sometimes they can fix it up and get it working again. Well, when Jesus chose you, you were like an old piece of junk that had no possibility of value because it was broken and irreparable.
You see, when you get born again, you don't get a make-over. Jesus doesn't take the old piece of junk and polish it up and do a bit of repair. The old man is not repairable or brush-er-up-able. It's not fixable in any way. There is nothing you can do to improve the old man, but Jesus found a way – He got rid of it. Romans, chapter 6, says you were crucified with Christ. You were buried with Him in baptism, and risen again in newness of life. The New Covenant promise is not the Old Covenant improved. The New Covenant is a heart thing, a brand new and living way.
Ezekiel 36:26-27 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them.
We aren't trying to keep the commandments, because the Law Giver is now in us. And the law becomes a promise to us. The commandments like "Thou shalt not steal," become, "Thank You, Lord, that's a promise, because if we walk in the Spirit we shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh."
He puts His desires within you – a new heart; remember? So, when you fulfill the will of God, it's delightful because it's in your heart. "I delight to do Thy will, O my God..." (Psalm 40:8). So the will of God is delightful because it's in your heart – your new heart.
Selah – Think On This
There is nothing more He needs to do for you today – He did it all. He broke every curse – He paid for every sin, and crushed every sickness and disease. If only we could truly see who we are and what He has done. We just have to learn to receive and believe what He says. "You are part of Me now. You are My brothers and sisters. We are co-inheritors of His estate in Heaven and on Earth." Jesus said, "I give YOU authority...over all the power of the enemy" (Luke 10:19).
He's your Portion, your Strong Tower. He makes your crooked paths straight. He is your Rescuer, your Victor, the Captain of hosts. He extends His mercy, longsuffering, loving-kindness and healing and compassion. Did you earn something? Did you qualify in some way for one of these great favors and inheritances? No, not a thing did you do to qualify.
I could go on for days writing about the things our Jesus has done for us. Annie Flint wrote this song years ago, "He Giveth More Grace" – it was very well known in the '50s, '60s and '70s. An angel sang me this song in Houston after a long hot day preaching with no air conditioning. He kept singing to me one line at a time and then saying, "Think about it, Kathie." He made me think about each line. I suggest you do it, too. We read things, say things and sing words, but often don't think about it.
"His love has no limits,
His grace has no measure,
His power has no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again."
SELAH – think on this!
The Glory Will Never Come on What We Do; The Glory Comes on What HE Does
The glory of God will never come on what we do; the glory comes on what He does. Isn't it easier to yield to what He is doing than trying to "work for Jesus"? He doesn't want us to work for Him, so quit. Say, "Lord, I resign; I don't want to work for You." You see, HE wants to work through you – it's not you, it's Him moving through you, by His Spirit.
"He who has begun a good work in you will complete it..." (Philippians 1:6). Not you, nor your mom, nor your prayer partner, not even your husband nor your pastor, only Jesus can present you faultless. And, He will!
Religious mindsets hold people captive and prevent them from receiving everything that Jesus provided for them through His death and resurrection. Jesus rose again and led captivity captive. He is mighty, powerful, undefiled. The Alpha and Omega, the supreme sacrifice, He is our strong tower. He was the firstborn among many brethren and He is the surety of a better covenant.
There isn't another way – He's is the only Way. He is the door, the only door, because He comes from the unchangeable priesthood. He is able to save to the UTTERMOST.
Jesus is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. We are an expression of His wisdom, the wisdom of God revealed in His plan of redemption; and we are part of His marvelous plan – His plan of salvation revealed. We are His righteousness – the righteousness of God IN CHRIST. We are sanctified, set apart, because He set us apart when He saved us and called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light. We are His redeemed – a picture and living proof that He is the Redeemer. We are His demonstration of the goodness, and mercy, and love, and glory of God. Yes, we are meant to live in the glory. No striving, no trying, and no "working [our] heads off," as the Message Bible puts it in Galatians 3:2.
He is our anchor, the supreme sacrifice, the spotless Lamb. He is the forerunner of our faith and He loves us with eternal love. He that began a good work in you WILL perform it.
He has done great things. He is the Rescuer and the Answer to every need. We just have to learn to sit still and listen, just as God said to Moses, with all the army of the Egyptians coming down upon them, "Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD." STAND STILL – that's not easy in the natural, is it? But where are you looking? Are you looking at the Egyptians with their horses and chariots, or are you looking at the Source of the voice you hear, the voice that spoke to you and said, "Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord"?
Your strength comes from the Lord, not from the Egyptians, not from the world, not from your bank statements, not from your boss, not from your achievements. He is the final answer, He has the final say, and He declares you holy and righteous and 100% QUALIFIED to walk in the Spirit and live in the glory.
Everything Jesus did, He never did. Everything He said, He never said. "The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works" (John 14:10). Everything He was, He never was. "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9).
Jesus was totally dependent on the Father and the Holy Spirit. He did not operate in His own strength and power, but He laid them aside; He laid aside His divinity and took on humanity. The Holy Spirit moved through Him.
There is nothing you can do to add anything to your salvation. I know we all say that, but many times in the back of our minds there is a little voice that tells us we have to add a little bit in order to really qualify.
Jesus qualified you 100%.
He is your 100% provision.
And He loves you 'til death does never you part.
Many blessings,
Kathie Walters
Kathie Walters Ministry
Email: kathiewalters@mindspring.com
