You going through a tough time? We’re here to help.
OCTOBER 24, 2024
Steve Brown:
If you’re going through a tough time? We’re here to help on Key Life.
Matthew Porter:
This is Key Life. We’re here to let you know that because of what Jesus has done, God will never be angry at you again. Jerry Parries has been teaching us all this week. Jerry serves as pastor at Christian Family Worship Center, House of Grace. And he’s the author of The Making of a Blended Family.
Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. Hey, this has been a great week.
Jerry Parries:
Oh, it has been.
Steve Brown:
You know, one of my favorite things is to sit down with you and talk about God’s grace. You know?
Jerry Parries:
It’s radical.
Steve Brown:
Well, we both discovered that we have friends that don’t understand and get mad at us.
Jerry Parries:
Yes.
Steve Brown:
And think that we’re encouraging sin. And you said, you don’t have to encourage it, they were doing fine. But this is a radical message, and it is counterintuitive. And it makes all the difference in the world. When I think, when we sit down and we do this broadcast, and it’s daily. In my mind’s eye, I remember an old pastor who came to me when my father died. And he hugged me, while I cried. And he said, son, use this. Every time you talk to ten people, seven of them will have a broken heart.
Jerry Parries:
Hmm.
Steve Brown:
I’ve thought about that a lot, and I think about it on this broadcast, too. Jerry, right now we’re talking to people that are going through tough times.
Jerry Parries:
Yeah.
Steve Brown:
We’re going through people whose lives have fallen apart, we’re talking to people who have done things they thought they would never do, who have sinned, who think that God is through with them. Talk to them, and talk to me about that, because that’s important.
Jerry Parries:
Yeah, trusting in God’s grace brings peace and strength in difficult times. It really does. And I want to encourage them. I want to encourage them that you’re not alone. I know it feels like it. I know it feels like God has walked away from you, that you’ve been forgotten? He really hasn’t. I heard one of our friends Tillian say not too long ago, he didn’t like the one footstep in the sand analogy. You know that poem. Because the truth of the matter is it’s always only been one footprint in the sand. God has been carrying you always.
Steve Brown:
You know, we maybe ought to, maybe somebody hasn’t heard that, that that’s a statement where you, you see there are two footsteps in the sand and then at some place there’s only one and then you find out that’s where you were carried. But the truth is there’s never been but one.
Jerry Parries:
That’s correct. Only been one because God is carrying you even in the, what you consider the good times. He has been carrying you. And so, I want to talk to somebody. Here’s what the Scripture says in Proverbs three and five. And you know, it is very familiar.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
With everything within you say, God, I’m trusting you. I’m going to stand in grace, I talked about that on yesterday. I’m going to, my faith is going to stand in grace.
I’m going to trust in the Lord and lean not to thy own understanding, but in all thy ways, acknowledge him.
And he is going to bring you out of whatever it is that you’re going through. He’s going to do it.
Steve Brown:
Boy, that’s true, isn’t it? You know, lean not to On your own understanding is an important statement, because we do that all the time. The Christian faith is not rational. Now, it is rational, once you understand it, you see how it fits together. But it seems so counterintuitive from what you said yesterday. Do bad things, you get punished. Do good things, you get rewarded. And it doesn’t work that way at all, does it?
Jerry Parries:
No, not at all, not at all.
Steve Brown:
And acknowledge him, he will direct your paths. You’ve got anything from the New Testament?
Jerry Parries:
Yes sir, I do. Hebrews 10:16, it says.
“This is the new covenant that I make with my people on that day, saith the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them in their minds.
Then he says.
I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.” And when sin has been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifice.
This is what I want to get to. So, when you understand that, when you understand that you’ve been forgiven, when you understand that God’s grace is over your life, no matter what you’re going through, no matter how difficult it may appear in your life, no matter how bad it is, verse 19 say.
And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can come boldly enter into heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opens a new, life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into his presence, right into the presence of God, with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty conscience have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean and our bodies have been washed with pure water.
This is what I wanted to get to right here, verse 23.
Let us hold tight, without wavering to the hope we affirm, because God can be trusted to keep his promise.
Steve Brown:
Oh man. You’re going to live on that. Can’t you?
Jerry Parries:
No matter what you’re going through, no matter what’s happening, God can be trusted to keep his promise. And his promise is Steve, he will never leave you, nor forsake you, that he will always be with you to the end of the earth. His promise is that you’re going to come through this, no matter how dark the day may seem, no matter how cloudy it may be, the sun is shining behind the clouds. They are going to come through.
Steve Brown:
You know, sometimes we’re not astonished by the, what we’ve been talking about this week, and it’s been so good, ought to be the place where Christians hear it, even though we’ve heard it a thousand times. And we go, Oh, that’s wonderful. I forget sometimes. It’s really true. So, no matter where you’ve been, no matter what you’ve done, you’re loved. And you’re acceptable. And you’re clothed in the righteousness of Christ.
Jerry Parries:
And God can be trusted
Steve Brown:
That’s true.
Jerry Parries:
to keep his promise and the promise that God has promised us that if we rest in his grace, if we believe in the finished work of the cross, he’s going to come through, you are his child, anybody that love their children, if the children are in trouble. You’re going to be right there with them. There are times that I’ve tried to console my children and they’d be crying and they’d be crying. I have to wait till they finish crying before I can get a word in. Sometimes I got to wait till you finish pouting and throwing a fit before he can get a word in. And you know, stop all that. Just raise your hand and say, Father, I’m listening. I’m leaning on you. What is it that you want to tell me? What is it that you want to do? He may just want to hold you. Sometimes, I went to a car wash yesterday, true story. Went in the car wash and I’m paying for the car wash and the lady behind the, the cashier is just crying. I mean, tears rolling everywhere. You know, I paid for my car wash and said, Hey, let’s stop. What can I pray for you for? I just held her and hugged her and just start praying God’s blessing. She didn’t have to tell me what it was. As soon as I finished, she stopped crying and now God can talk to you. Can’t talk to you when you cry.
Steve Brown:
You know, that’s interesting. Sometimes when we’re at a restaurant and my wife and I, my wife, Anna. Or with other people, when we get ready to have grace, I say to the waiter or waitress, Hey, we’re going to pray, is there anything you want? And you know, I get everything from, yeah, I want a Mercedes or yeah, man, I’d like a better job than this dumb job. But you know, more often than not, what happens is what you saw happen at the car wash. Somebody will break down and say, you know, my mother has cancer and she’s dying, would you pray for her? Or I just went through a divorce and it hurts so bad, would you pray for me? Or I have a son who is angry at me and I can’t get him to see that I love him, would you pray for me? And that’s where grace becomes the message that we have, that’s the medication for the sickness from which we all suffer.
Jerry Parries:
Yes, yes. And God expects us to do that, to wrap our arms around hurting people that I was just teasing that when you’re crying, God bottles up every tear, God feels every moan that you have and God’s there to help you through these moments. And I want you to be encouraged that grace is enough. God’s grace is enough. You don’t have to have the answers. All you have to do is have God’s grace.
Steve Brown:
Jerry, there’s a old Jewish prayer that I love. It’s from the Rabbi’s Manual. Let me quote it to you.
Thou art great and we are small. Thou art infinite and we are finite. Thou art eternal and we tarry but just a little while. But with all of thy greatness and power, thou dost bend down low and listen to the sound of our tears as they strike the ground.
Is that good? But there’s more, because what you’ve taught us this week, not only does he bend down and listen to the sound of our tears, he collects them.
Jerry Parries:
Yes.
Steve Brown:
And he joins us in our tears.
Jerry Parries:
Yes.
Steve Brown:
And he never leaves us.
Jerry Parries:
Never forsakes us. He’ll be there to the end of the earth. And if you know that, if you do that, if you embrace God’s grace, it leads to life filled with love, mercy, and hope.
Steve Brown:
Jerry has taught us God’s grace is sufficient for our needs. It’s through God’s grace that we’re saved and forgiven. God’s grace empowers us. And trusting in God’s grace gets us through. You think about that. Amen.
Matthew Porter:
And with that, we wrap up this excellent teaching series called God’s Grace is Enough. Thank you Steve and Jerry. And hey, if you’re not busy, why not join us tomorrow for Friday Q&A. One of the questions on tap for Steve and Pete is John Wayne in heaven? That’s one of the wildest questions I have heard in a while, so let’s tune in together for their answer. So, I’m going to say a word and I want you to say what comes to mind for you. Ready? Theology. Okay. I’m guessing you’re seeing stacks of massive dusty books maybe some really old guy with like a wizard level beard. In short, kind of boring and irrelevant. Well, recently on Steve Brown Etc., we discussed theology with authors Jennifer and David McNutt, and learned just how accessible and relevant theology really is. In fact, call us right now at 1-800-KEY-LIFE and we’ll send you that episode on CD for free. Again, that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail [email protected] to ask for that CD. Or to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact for our mailing addresses. Again, just ask for the free CD featuring Jennifer and David McNutt. And hey, before you go, would you join us in the work we do through your financial support? Giving is easy. Just charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope, or you can give safely and securely through text, just text Key Life to 28950 then follow the instructions. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And we are a listener supported production of Key Life Network.