GRACE IN A FAR COUNTRY

'And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.' - Luke 15 vs 13

Hello esteemed and dearly beloved of God in Christ Jesus. The Lord's desire continually for the church is that we all come into His rest which He already purchased for us, knowing that the terror in the world today is as a result of the absence of peace and restlessness in the souls of men. He inspired this word in my heart, which I now share with you, and I pray that it will be a tremendous blessing to you and give you peace in your soul, in Jesus name. Amen.

Our opening Bible passage above is the story of the "prodigal son" which is a well known story in the Christian community; and we see what he did, the Bible says that he took his journey into a far country. How far have you gone in sin? How far have you gone in the world? How much have you fallen? O, I used to love the Lord very much, oo I was in the Choir, but right now, I don't think I have a relationship with Him anymore, for I have gone too far; is that you currently? Is that how far you've gone? The Lord is letting you know right now that there is sufficient grace available for your total restoration and comfort in Him:

'...But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound...' - Romans 5 vs 20 {KJV}

It says where sin abounded, grace much more abound, letting us know that God's grace is more than sufficient for us in our darkest moments. - Selah. But to access this grace, we must recognize to do this one thing the "prodigal son" did:

'I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee...' - Luke 15 vs 18 {KJV}

This is acknowledgement. We must make up our minds to fully acknowledge our weaknesses and sins before the Lord. Yes, He is the Lord, He knows all about us already, even before we were born, so there's no point hiding anything from Him. See God's attitude:

'And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.' - Luke 15 vs 20 {KJV}

You see that? The Father didn't even wait to listen to what he had to say, but He reached out to him quickly in deep love. That was a revelation of the nature of God that the Lord Jesus unveiled to us with that parable, letting us know the depth and the height of the Father's love towards unfaithful folks like you and I. God is more than ready to reach out to you and receive you in the warmth of His arms. There's something acknowledging sins does to us - if the "prodigal son" had not made that decision to go acknowledge his fault before his Father, he wouldn't have realized how loving his Father was. It's at the point of acknowledgement that we hear the voice of the Holy Spirit reminding us of how forgiven we are in Christ, and how much welcomed we are in the Father's sight. You see that? When he acknowledged, he experienced grace; likewise acknowledge my friend and hear that precious voice assuring your heart of your justified position in Christ. Remember, Christ is our righteousness; even the prophet Jeremiah testified of it by the Spirit of God. - Jeremiah 33 vs 16

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: THE WAY OF PEACE

Many people are stuck in pain and heaviness as a result of a sin, an error or rather an ungodly act, and they don't know how to get out from that painful place they've found themselves in. They've asked God for forgiveness, many have wept, yet the pain is still there, they are still uneasy inside them, in their hearts, in their minds. What is the way out of this? Okay.

Firstly, we must understand that the word 'confess' as used in our opening Bible Passage connotes 'to acknowledge' and not necessarily the speakings of the mouth. The Greek word from which that word 'confess' was translated from as per the original translation is the word 'Homologeo' which is pronounced as 'Hom-ol-og-eh'-o', and it means "to assent (that is, to agree), acknowledge". Now, many have taught that Homologeo means to "speak in agreement". Well, while that is close to the actual truth, it's very important you understand that Homologeo simply means to agree, to acknowledge, there's no speaking connected to it's meaning. But if you have to show your agreement or acknowledgement by speaking, then that's inline and it's still Homologeo. The point I want you to understand and see is that you don't have to speak or say anything to agree and acknowledge to something, as acknowledgement can also be done with the heart. - Selah

So if we are to rephrase our opening Bible passage, it will be, 'If we acknowledge our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' Amen. You see that... So that passage is not talking about an oral confession of sin, but an inner acknowledgement that one has indeed sinned and has made an error indeed. Okay let's proceed. Let's see Leviticus 26 vs 40 - 42:

'If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;
And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:
Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.' - {KING JAMES VERSION}

Waow. Please take note that there's something I want you to take note of in these passages that we are reading, and that thing is the concept of Acknowledgement. Now let's revisit our opening Bible passage:

'If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' - 1 John 1 vs 9 {KJV}

The word "and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" as used in this passage speaks of a thorough purging (flushing out) away of our wrongs, thereby leaving us 'not guilty'. - Selah. A man is only said to be guilty when he is found with offence. But when he is without offence, he cannot be said to be guilty of offence. - Selah

Dearly beloved, the word which the Spirit of God is sending out to you right now is that you make a sincere acknowledgement that you have done that wrong. There are two things highlighted to us in these Bible passages we have read that we must acknowledge to, they are:

1. That we have sinned indeed {1 John 1 vs 9 - Our opening Bible Passage}
2. We deserve the punishment of our sin (which includes the pain and heaviness that ravages our hearts - Leviticus 26 vs 41 where we read)

You see that...  When you acknowledge to these things, you open up your heart to hear the voice of grace from the Spirit of the Lord.

'Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.' - Romans 8 vs 33 {KJV}

Not even God will hold you guilty of any offence whatsoever. Note that He made use of the word "any thing". That tells us that we have been declared 'not guilty' in Christ from every of our sins, errors, wrongs and offences whatsoever. You see, when you acknowledge that you have sinned and you deserve the corresponding effects and punishment, you give room for Grace to be your strength and your standing. So the reason God requires our acknowledgement of our sins is so that His grace can become our strength, so that we can properly behold the Saviour for help, of which for that purpose He came that all men may look to Him for Salvation, Peace, and Rest for their souls. Amen. - Selah

Even in a far country, there is abounding grace.

God has blessed you.

- Jenning U. Angel