{"id":1316,"date":"2023-12-20T17:05:34","date_gmt":"2023-12-20T17:05:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/drkevinbaird.com\/wp\/?p=1316"},"modified":"2023-12-20T17:08:22","modified_gmt":"2023-12-20T17:08:22","slug":"frustrating-the-grace-of-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/drkevinbaird.com\/wp\/2023\/12\/20\/frustrating-the-grace-of-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Frustrating the Grace of God"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cI do not frustrate the grace of God\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Galatians 2:21a<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cAnd He said to me, \u201cMy grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
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2 Corinthians 12:9a<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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When it comes to the grace of God there is both a resistibility and irresistibility component\u2026<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Certainly, people have withstood and continue to withstand any work of the Holy Spirit in their life. The Greek word translated \u201cfrustrate\u201d in the KJV means, \u201cto set aside, to disesteem, ignore, neutralize, violate, or nullify.\u201d We all have ample illustration of friends or family who demonstrate that regularly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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At the same time, we recognize that at the end of the day, God will have His way. He can do as He pleases. There is a moment His grace does conquer those who become born-again. It is true no matter your theological construct of the freedom of the will; everyone who is redeemed eventually caved (yielded) to the grace of God. For some of us, His grace was unrelenting and our silly wrestling match with the Almighty was overwhelming. We surrendered and He won.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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In recent days, my mind has shifted to how the grace of God works in the believer. We surrendered to His saving grace that He initiated in our lives, but can we frustrate the grace of God as we journey with Him? If His grace is sufficient and His empowerment is more than enough, then why do so many stumble and lose heart?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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I came to a conclusion\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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I believe the grace of God is ever present for the believer, but there is still a response that believer must provide. God\u2019s grace does not function as a marionette. He is not a puppet-master simply yanking invisible strings to make you obey or do what may need to be done. There is a door, so to speak, the believer needs to open which God\u2019s empowering grace flows through.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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That door is called by various labels\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Determination<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Resolve<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Persistence<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Steadfastness<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Fortitude<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Grit<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Tenacity<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Faithful<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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I have faced my fair share of challenging, overwhelming moments. I have watched many people face their fair share as well. The difference between victory and defeat, overcoming or succumbing, appears to be the door of determination.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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That doesn\u2019t mean God\u2019s grace assures the outcome scenario you wanted, but rather it assures you will get through to the outcome He wanted. And may I remind you\u2026it\u2019s all about the purposes of God, right?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Too many believers are throwing in the towel far too early\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cTherefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: \u201cFor yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
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Hebrews 10:35-38<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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I love the old, simple hymn that goes like this:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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I have decided to follow Jesus;<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
I have decided to follow Jesus;<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
I have decided to follow Jesus;<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
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No turning back, no turning back.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Tho’ none go with me, I still will follow,<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
Tho’ none go with me I still will follow,<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
Tho’ none go with me, I still will follow;<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
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No turning back, no turning back.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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My cross I’ll carry, till I see Jesus;<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
My cross I’ll carry till I see Jesus,<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
My cross I’ll carry till I see Jesus;<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
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No turning back, No turning back.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The world behind me, the cross before me,<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
The world behind me, the cross before me;<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
The world behind me, the cross before me;<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
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No turning back, no turning back.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Let the grace of God do its work in you today. Renew your determination and watch what God will do.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI do not frustrate the grace of God\u2026\u201d Galatians 2:21a \u201cAnd He said to me, \u201cMy grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.\u201d 2 Corinthians 12:9a When it comes to the grace of God there is both a resistibility and irresistibility component\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/drkevinbaird.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/drkevinbaird.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/drkevinbaird.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drkevinbaird.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drkevinbaird.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1316"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/drkevinbaird.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1321,"href":"http:\/\/drkevinbaird.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1316\/revisions\/1321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/drkevinbaird.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drkevinbaird.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drkevinbaird.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}