The Process Of Grace

At Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene, we ended the last Sunday of 2014 with a sermon on giant-killing grace... and we began the first Sunday of 2015 with a sermon on four other aspects of grace:

Ø  Sensitizing grace (prevenient grace);

Ø  Saving grace;

Ø  Sanctifying grace;

Ø  Serving grace.

Though we spent last week reflecting on the way in which God empowers us to bring deliverance to our homes and communities, this past Sunday's sermon made clear that we cannot operate in giant-killing grace (which, for the purpose of maintaining alliteration with Sunday’s message, I’ll temporarily re-name “setting-free” grace) until we have experienced the other aspects of grace. 

Later in the week I'll try to share in more detail, if I can—I’m still thinking about the things that Pastor Sam said-- but here is a draft overview of what I’m still trying to comprehend. Our first step in the process is to experience God as the One who makes us aware of our need for Him; the second step is to experience salvation through God in Christ Jesus; the third step is to grow in Christ-likeness as the Holy Spirit works on us and in us; the fourth step is to lovingly serve others with the desire to see them come into a knowledge of Christ as their Lord and Savior; and the fifth is to minister deliverance so that those we serve will grow in faith, being transformed from clients of the faith to colleagues in the faith.

For today, let's pray for ourselves, our loved ones, and even those who do not love us: Where are we in the process? How can we pray effectively so that we, and others, progress from spiritual infancy in God to spiritual maturity in God?