Alan Lester – Grace Unlimited website
Sermon done by Dr. Joshua Mack
One way to fill a stadium these days is to claim that a real miracle is about to take place. Imagine the impact on a crowd if a dead man, exumed from the cemetery, was actually raised to vibrant life before their eyes! Yet, greater miracles are taking place every day, and no stadium is filled as a result. God is exerting the same power He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead, in trapped, helpless, ruined, dead rebels, raising them to eternal, overwhelming life!
People are not amazed by the amazing because we minimise our state of need before God. The world is constantly bolstering your view of yourself–as if God is simply offering to save you from a bad cough, not from a coffin.
The amazing work of God, however, can only be attributed to God. When God raises a corpse from the dead in salvation, He alone gains the glory.
When we consider the helplessness of all people before God, it gives us hope. Regardless of who we evangelise, they are all just as dead as each other. No person is easier to see saved than another. The same miracle is required in every case. This gives us hope that God can do this miracle in any life, at any time, for His own glory, as we faithfully present the gospel.
Permission received to place message and links. Thank You Alan !!
For the Love of His Truth 
Elmarie,
I didn’t know that Grace Church planted churches in S. Africa! I saved the link to my favorites to this site. Thanks. Am listening to program now!
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Hi Sylesa
Yes but this little congregation is very small Grace Fellowship has about 200 members and the one that Alan Lester serves at with Joshua Mack (Son of Dr Wayne Mack) is also very small but real and wonderful people to meet and fellowship with. I contacted Alan about a year and a half ago when we where looking for a descent place of fellowship, we are surrounded by about 8 Mega churches in our area and I could not feel safe there, Grace fellowship is the only little place that does proper teaching with Bible based expository teaching !
Give feedback after listening k 🙂
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I agree, something gets lost in the giant mega churches. I like the sense of family that some smaller churches have . At least the little Baptist church that I go to is like family.
This article and the audio message was really good. I particularly took notice of a number of points that he made. 1) people can be in church for years, and not truly see their need of Christ or see their own desperate situation. 2) No one ever will see their true need until the Lord awakens them to it 3) No person is harder to save than another, we are all equally dead until God awakens us to our condition and need
Eccellent message and so very true as well!
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Sylesa
Thank you for the feed back !! 🙂
I also got the same message and the truth shall prevail !!
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Hey Elmarie,
I recognise you too from DTW. Isn’t the world a strange small place.
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OK, *blush*, that leaves me feeling small. I meant Sylesa. Um, discount anything I say from here on out.
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That is funny Mark lol 🙂
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Hi Mark Penrith,
Yes, I used to comment there….. Uhm, i kinda got kicked off because I have calvinist leanings!
Oh well, it was a good thing anyways.
Are you calvinist Mark?
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Let’s say that I’m deeply persuaded that man’s natural state is Totally Depraved, that God’s gracious Election of those who’d otherwise be doomed to eternal hell is Unconditional, that Christ’s Atoning death upon the cross, although sufficient for all, is Limited to the redeemed*, that all those whom God Irresistibly draws to Himself will be saved by Grace and that those Saints whom the Father gives to the Son will Persevere because God our Father is able to make it so.
I’m what the Bible teaches, even when it is hard to understand.
* Even that statement may in fact make me a Amyraldist in the conservative moderate sense… in case Grant reads this :).
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Now what did I do wrong, again? 🙂
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Mark,
You are after my own heart! I believe EXACTLY as you do. I guess i coiuld also be considered Alyraldist , but ONLY in regards to double predestination. I do not believe that God specifically predestines anyone for hell. That is an area of “predestination” that I don’t believe , yet don’t know why God allows people to be born who He knows will not believe unto salvation.
Wow, what a relief, to talk to people on a blog and not get beat up!! lol!!
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There is no biblical reason to believe in double predestination, you are correct.
Subsequent to the fall of man, due to man using his free will to choose sin, God could just as easily have destroyed all of mankind and no one would ever have been born after that. All of mankind was tainted by the fall and not one of us deserves to be saved, due to sin and death.
Therefore, the fact that God allows all men to be born subsequent to the fall, is more than anyone deserves. The fact that He chooses to save some does not mean that He is being unfair to those He does not choose, as none deserve to be born or saved to start with.
The fact that He allows people to be born whom He knows will not believe unto salvation, illustrates His Sovereignty as it manifests His Glory as His Will is carried out. It does not destroy our free will, as our free will is a vehicle through which His Will is carried out, in the lives of those who are saved and those who are not.
In other words, Gods’ sovereignty is evidenced both in the lives of those whom He chooses to save and those He does not choose to save. Gods’ sovereignty is not made less by those who will not believe as they will receive what they deserve and Gods’ grace and glory is manifest to the full in what His Son did for sinners on the cross.
Rather than wondering why some are not saved, we should marvel at he fact that any are saved!
I hope and pray that it continues, but considering the nature of people, I have reason to doubt that it will always be that safe…
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Grant,
I agree with all that you have said, it makes sense. I still sometimes feel troubled about the things that i don’t understand about predestination, especially those who will be lost. It would be better never to have been born , like Judas, than to be born and spend eternity….
Oh well, there are things that God doesn’t give us to know i guess. I still believe what the scriptures say , even tho i don’t always understand , or have all my questions answered.
Wow, what a relief, to talk to people on a blog and not get beat up!! lol!!
I hope and pray that it continues, but considering the nature of people, I have reason to doubt that it will always be that safe…
I feel that Christians ought to be able to debate and to learn from one another without calling one another a heretic or throwing accusations of being outside the faith . I believe that there are essentials that we MUST believe or we ARE outside the faith, but there are also many things that Christians do not see eye to eye on , and yet are still in the Body of Christ. I don’t think that it is good to wage war on every fine point of belief. Sometimes those differences boil down to the fact that one is simply more mature in the faith than another, and a wrong spirit to that less mature believer can be a cause for great stumbling in that weaker believer. The scriptures have some harsh words for those who cause such stumbling. Sometimes , we ourselves may be wrong about something and are being unteachable due to pride.
Sometimes we can be caught up in “traditional” views and interpretations of things and stand by our traditions , even when scripture is showing us wrong.
I want to be teachable. Pride is a ugly thing. I’m ashamed to say that i have allowed myself to go there when i was accused of trampling the Gospel on the other blog. I have since sent her apology for my part in the situation.
I have learned a valuable lesson thru that horrible experience, and that is when i come across such type individuals again anywhere (i hope i never do again), they will be met with silence and i will never again engage no matter how it is cloaked in Christian rhetoric or under a banner of defending God.
The great irony is that while Christians can claim to be for Truth, we can walk in darkness with our attitudes and lack of love for others even while cursing the darkness at same time !
I count myself lucky to have learned my lesson early on in blogging, i am new to blogging, I’ve only had a computer for 2 yrs this March, and the “other ” blog was my first .
I say all that to say this , as far as it has to do with my part, I am open to learn and to help someone else if i am able to do so.
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Sylesa
my 2cents worth if I may.
You say :
True believers will always have a teachable spirit and be able to communicate in a loving, respectful way, as we have done here so far 🙂 thank you for sharing with us here.
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Elmarie,
you are welcome. Thank you for the articles ! I save them in a folder that i labeled ‘newsletters’ lol! That way, if i ever want to reread snd remember the truths contained in them, i can.
Thanks for your 2cents! lol! i agree totally. We are never with any excuse to be rude to another person,not if we truly value the scriptures anyways:)
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Sylesa
just a short note my email is down and i will have to wait about an hour before i can check there the technical people had to reset my settings oy! 😦
hang in there ok.. and have a cuppa hazelnut coffee lol
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