GRACEISM
GRACISM: THE MEGAMORPHIC MANIFESTO
2 Corinthians 3:17-18
"17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."
Metamorphic is about physical transformation. Megamorphic is about spiritual transformation. We are being transformed into the likeness of CHRIST!
Why 4:44?
The Greek word for "perfect Love" adds up to 444. τελεία ἀγάπη "teleia agapē".
The Hebrew for “generation to generation” adds up to 444. לְדֹ֣ר וָדֹֽר׃ ledor vador.
The Hebrew for "The Glory of the Lord dwelt” adds up to 444. וַיִּשְׁכֹּ֤ן כְּבֹוד־ יְהוָה֙ vaiyishkon kevovd Yahweh.
MONTH THEME:
GRACISM. God Reconciling all cultures in supernatural mediation.
God’s answer to all the “Isms” of prejudice and hate.
GRACE
Ephesians 2:8-9 - 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
GOD Reconciling
Collosians 1:20 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
All Cultures
Philippians 2:10-11
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Revelation 21:24-26
24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.
Revelation 7:9
9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
In Supernatural Mediation
1 Timothy 2:5-6
5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.
God turns hearts. Hearts of the fathers to their children. Malachi 4:6 "He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”
TODAY:
The Megamorphic Manifesto
RELATIONSHIPS
Relational Logic.God’s purpose for us is Relationship -
John 17:3
Living the incredible life God created us all to live begins with 2 commandments. Love the Lord your God and your Neighbor as yourself. Acting on this causes everything else to be easy. The Pharisees asked Jesus the greatest commandment. Jesus answered with TWO commandments instead because they are correlated.
Matthew 22:36-40
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment.39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
The issues:
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Deuteronomy 8:18"But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.”
Money - Money is not the root of all evil, the LOVE of money is.
1 Timothy 6:10 "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."
- Pay Fair Wages
James 5: 4 "Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth."
- Property Rights
Matthew 20:15 "Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'
- Wealth Distribution [God’s model is generosity]
Those who have will be given more. EVERYONE HAS BEEN GIVEN SOMETHING. It’s about attitude.
Matthew 13:12"12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”
Parable of the Talents Matthew 25:14-3014 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. 16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17 And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. 18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. 19 After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
20 “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ 21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter intothe joy of your lord.’ 22 He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ 23 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
24 “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’
26 “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed.27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.
29 ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Two Mites.
Luke 21:1-4"And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, 2 and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites.[a] 3 So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; 4 for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings [b]for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”
- Poverty Is not godliness.
Matthew 26:1111 For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always.
- Judgement for HOW we treat the poor.
Matthew 25:31-4631 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Welfare -
Leviticus 23:22 The poor from the corners of the field.
Psalm 37:25 - “I’ve never seen the righteous begging bread”
2 Thessalonians 3:10 - He who does not work, shall not eat.
GIVING is God’s economic model of financial success
Malachi 3:9-10You are cursed with a curse,
For you have robbed Me,
Even this whole nation.
10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.
Justice -We are All guilty. -
Romans 3:23 “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”
God’s justice is that Jesus paid the price, took the eternal consequences for our sin IF we repent. BIG IF. 1 Peter 2:24 "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed"
Justice for the poor. Sodom and Gomorrah. -
Ezekiel 16:49-50
49 “‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.
Romans 13. God has chosen to set up authorities. Respect the office first and foremost. The individual officer, that’s where things go awry.
Sports - Acts 15: Gentiles are free. No Legalism. the Bible talks of Boxing & athletes in general playing by the rules. Like anything, Sport can become an Idol if we’re not living unto God.
Housing - Isaiah 58: Biblical fasting. The biblical mandate is that people of God are to take people into their home. Even if you have to go without food to make it happen. Doesn’t mean a government can’t have programs, but as christians OUR focus should be the freedom to do this with immediate direct contact. And Actually do it.
- The rich man and Lazarus. Richness has no bearing on your salvation (also see Camel through eye of the needle)
Health - Pray and you will get better - James 5:15
- Health is free. Healthcare costs. Dad Is 68 & medication free. Hardly pays a thing because he lives a healthy lifestyle.
Proverbs 4:22 THE WORD OF GOD IS HEALTH TO OUR FLESH
Provers 18:21 Life and death is in the power of the tongue
Proverbs 13:3 If you want a long life sort your tongue out
1 Peter 3:7 If you don’t honor your woman, your prayers WILL be hindered.
The planet - Dominion over the earth. Dress it and keep it - Genesis 1:26, 2:5
- Blood causes to earth to cry out - Genesis 4:10
- Concealing of hate - proverbs 26:24 He who hates, disguises it with his lips, And lays up deceit within himself;
- God put the resources in the mountains for us. Deuteronomy 8:7-9 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; 9 a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper.
Labor - 1 Timothy 5:18 "For Scripture says, "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain," and "The worker deserves his wages.”
- James 5:1-6 Fair wages!!
Education - Check the facts - Acts 17:11
- Search out a matter Proverbs 25:2
- Always learning but never coming to knowledge of the truth. 2 Timothy 3:6-7
- Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Proverbs 9:10
- Knowledge is more than information, Truth is more than fact. Wisdom and understand are beyond knowledge.
- You learn 80% of what you teach.
- The capacity to find knowledge today is insane. We’re without excuse.
- States are allowing the choice to study the Bible in school.
- Intelligent design - Peer reviewed and confirmed. Stephen Meyer.
- Study to show yourself approved. 2 Timothy 2:15 15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
The ARTS - The City of David was committed to creative worship. It included the Top artistic talent. - GOD INVENTED THE ARTS. All artistic expression should be used to honor God. You can do with with worship and through inspiration and nurturing Godly relationship.
MEGA:
WE’RE ABOUT GATHERING
Hebrews 10:25
25 not forsaking the gethering of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
- Funding the gathering place
- Funding those who serve the gathering place
- Funding those who gather. (See: Funding to enable them to gather.)
- Gather in the Apostolic mantle to disciple the nations. We have a delegated commission. Matthew 28:18-20
- Disciple nations
- house of prayer for the nations.
GRACISM [RECAP]
GRACE
Ephesians 2:8-9 - 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
GOD Reconciling
Collosians 1:20 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
All Cultures
Philippians 2:10-11
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Revelation 21:24-26
24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.
Revelation 7:9
9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
In Supernatural Mediation
1 Timothy 2:5-6
5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.