Blog
How God’s Love taught me
escrito por: Andrew Friesen en 9/26/2009
I was shocked as I sat on my bed in a hotel room in India. I’d broken my vow I made to God almost 4 years earlier. In 1999 God stirred my heart with His love and compassion to share the gospel with people who don’t know Christ. I was a man on fire and wanted nothing more to glorify God in the salvation of lost souls. My heart was burning! This experience caused me to make a vow to God that I would never go one day without sharing the good news of Jesus for the rest of my life.
From that day on I was preaching the gospel everyday on the streets, bus stops, shopping malls and anywhere there were people. It was wonderful seeing some fruit. Pastors began preaching about me as a good example in their sermons. This kind of boasted my ego. I was at ALL the early morning prayer meetings. I was fasting one day every week. I was the most dedicated of the dedicated. And although I still trusted Jesus, I didn’t realize that I’d missed something very important about the grace of God. Without realizing it I had slowing put more attention on my own effort than Jesus Christ. And although this vision was from God, I had believed a lie at the same time. I believed that we are saved and baptized in the Spirit by grace and the rest is your effort. I was taught this by good people. Legalism had subtly crept into my life. I started to mix the grace of God with my own self effort. Let me explain it like this. Grace is God’s unearned, undeserved, unmerited favor of God towards every person in Jesus Christ. That means that everything we receive from God is by His grace and not from ourselves. It has nothing to do with us. We just have the choice to yield to the Holy Spirit. I always believed that. However, I had missed something. The lie was I that I thought we were saved by grace and receive the Holy Spirit by grace but the rest (the anointing, the blessing, the breakthrough, the evangelism, the healing ministry) we have to maintain through our own effort. That’s a lie. And that’s why God had to shock me to get my attention.
I’ll never forget that morning in India as I was sitting on my bed feeling so bad. One of the pastors I was traveling with was sitting on his bed reading the news paper with a cup of tea. Little did he know the torment I was feeling. I had broken my vow to God. Our team was so busy with ministering in churches and traveling up and down the dusty roads in India that ironically I didn’t have time even to share Jesus with a lost person. Immediately I opened my bible to Acts 9 and began to read about how Paul met Jesus. Then all of a sudden it hit me! When Paul met Jesus it had nothing to do with Paul. It was all by God’s grace. And then all of a sudden I heard God speak to heart saying, “Andrew it’s not about your commitment to me, but it’s about my commitment to you. Never will I leave you nor forsake you!” Wow! What an experience! Peace filled my heart. I began to realize I’m not just saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit by God’s grace. But every moment is lived by God’s grace. Jesus is my all in all. I used to think that we have to pray hard to maintain the anointing. I used to get stressed out about that. Not anymore. I say like this: I don’t keep the fire going, but the fire keeps me going! Hallelujah! It’s all about Jesus. And from that day on I continued to share Christ everyday and everywhere but not because of me feeling like I have to perform for God, but because the love of Christ is compelling me. It’s because of the grace of God we are now reaching and will reach even more people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Praise God! Everyone of us is growing everyday. And I definitely don’t think I have all the answers. However, this revelation has changed my life in such a radical way. God’s grace has taught me this vital truth. That I’m not just saved and filled with the Spirit by His grace. But, I’m sanctified, energized and live moment by moment by His grace. He is in me and I am in Him. I am my lover's and my lover is mine. I've realized that I'm one with Jesus. 1 Corinthians 1:17 "But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit."
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” (1 Corinthians 15:10).
Are you blessed? Please let me know. -Andrew
Comentarios
amazing…...........i like the way CHRIST is Growing in you….may God bless you….
By qais on Septiembre 26, 2009
This is the most life changing reality. What a great revelation and an amazing reminder of the kind of God we serve. Great post.
By Gretchen Jensen on Septiembre 26, 2009 (California)
Always encouraging, thanks for sharing. How quickly we can feel that our salvation depends on our faithfulness. The freedom comes when we realize that it’s by his faithfulness that we are saved. I look forward to these postings. Thanks again,
Steve
By Steve Pauls on Septiembre 27, 2009 (Sorrento BC, Canada)
Amen What an INSPIRING message! He must become Greater,I must become less!! God bless you Andrew..
By Holly Smith on Septiembre 28, 2009 (dallas,texas)
Understanding God’s grace change my walk with God radically. I believe God’s grace has do be reveal in your heart by God. Religion sells self righteousness and not trusting on Jesus 100%.
So if we are perfect why do we need Jesus for?
Thanks Lord for your unconditional
Love and mercy!
By Alejandra Blanco on Septiembre 28, 2009 (Toronto, Canada)
Andrew, that is so true. Serving God in our strength and maybe not even serving Him but our vision or idea. Many of us have been sucked in by legalism and it sucks the life out while promising something more
By Tim Turenne on Septiembre 28, 2009 (Canada)
This is so true Andrew. I was caught in the same belief early in my christian walk, though I didn’t make a vow. How freeing it is to realise God has give us SO much. He is such a generous God abounding in love and faithfulness!
By Gail on Septiembre 28, 2009
i’m indeed blessed sir by this message.it’s so good to know that it is God who first loved us-this is enough to trigger us to live the rest of our lives for the cause of the one who loved us before we’re ever born!
By geeta on Septiembre 29, 2009
Thanks Bro. Blessed indeed.
By Jerry Reimer on Septiembre 29, 2009 (Winnipeg, MB)
Thank you Andrew, This is an encouragement to me, sometimes I get so weighed down with the needs of others that I lose my focus on Christ.
By Karen Garrett on Septiembre 30, 2009
What a revelation ,, it’s not about your commitment to me, but it’s about my commitment to you”.Exactly..God called us..He is the Beginner of out path the Finisher of it and the our TRANSFORMATOR during our path..as well.
Enikõ Jernei, 04 October, 2009.
By Enikõ Jernei on Octubre 4, 2009 (Hungary, Budapest)
andrew this sharing of u made me think A LOT. i always asked myself why we get something that we shouldnt. and u remind me is his grace….i really enjoyed reading ur articule.
Keep on going with GOD he is doing amazing job with u and rochi..
love u guys from here…
By elvira on Octubre 4, 2009 (philadelphia,usa)
That is a good word. . . the Lord has recently been reminding me of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. . . There was a huge tree that was Nebuchadnezzar, It was high and lofty, it’s branches reached wide and it’s root’s went deep. There are many like that today. The warning that God gave, though, was not to forget that it was God’s doing. When we begin to think that we are doing on our own, or that God is using us because of our greatness, or humility, or devotion, we are in danger of the same humiliation of this king. God was able to “cut him down to size” when he got puffed up. But notice God did not “want” to do this, it was for the kings good. And after he humbled himself, he was restored. Keep preaching the good word brother. . . It is all about Jesus.
By Mark Brown on Octubre 5, 2009
Thank-you for that message it is a truth that can keep us out of legalism. And keep our focus on the Jesus. And not what we do but what he has done, its all about him. My prayer is that we don’t burn out but like the three hebrew children thrown into the fire we are going to live for God no matter what happens and everything thing that binds us will be burned in the fire and we will be seen walking with Jesus in the midst of it and when we come out we won’t even smell like smoke because the one we are walking with is hotter than the fire and we walk by His grace.
By Gary Jay Hicks on Octubre 5, 2009
The Parable of the Sower…Matthew 13:3-9… The true church is the good ground. Matthew 13:23…Jesus explains the parable: “The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s Word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” (Legalism cannot do this. It is the weeds among the wheat v.24) Fellow saints, let’s be wise: Matt. 7:16 says “ye shall know them by their fruits”, then Galatians 5:22 explains! “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance…”! Thank you for the awesome word Andrew and may the branches abide in the Vine and bring forth much fruit!
By Lisa on Octubre 5, 2009
How wonderful! Praise God for His great love! Thank you for sharing your heart Andrew. It has blessed me
By Chris Huszar on Octubre 5, 2009 (Winnipeg)
Yes, I’ve got a lot to learn too. However, there is a balance. As you said the grace of God made Paul “work harder than them all” and boy oh boy he did! Today I feel exhuasted with this crusade work! I also feel sometimes a “failure” in the sense I’d like to do much more in God than I manage to do. Keep me going by your strength Lord! One day, let there be fruit for all this seemingly fruitless labour.
By Mathew Bartlett on Octubre 6, 2009 (South Wales, UK)
The steadfase love of the Lord never ceaseth.
By Georgiana on Noviembre 29, 2009
How easily we forget. We look away for a second and when we look back we on the wrong track. but the track looks like the right one…. how far do we travel before we realise that we are doing it in our own strength, our own way and with our own determination. It is so unnecessary for so much effort. Jesus came to show us how uncomplicated a relationship with God could be, but us human persons, we complicate and make everything about us and that draws us away not closer to God.
Thank you for sharing with us…
By Alice du Preez on Noviembre 30, 2009 (south africa)
I remember meeting you in University before 1999 and then after ‘99 at Gateway church. It was good to know you both times! And I’m proud of the journey you are on!
By alyssa on Junio 25, 2010