One of the things that I have heard almost my entire life, as it relates to my mother, is that she is the embodiment of grace.
Everyone says if they’ve had an opportunity to meet her or just watch her for any amount of time, that she just embodies what it means to have a grace because she’s so classy and she’s so petite and she’s just so she whispers.
everything. And Grace feels like a whisper, and that’s why she would I think that’s why she does it.
I think that Grace is just a whisper down in her spirit.
I recognize that when most of the people say that she is the embodiment of grace that they’re not necessarily talking about grace as we know it in the Bible.
There is a definition of grace that is more I’ll say Westernized, something that doesn’t have much to do with faith at all.
And this definition of grace relies on us to really lean into a person’s elegance, their beauty.
They say that when a person has grace, they’re not always talking about her embodying the attributes of being in relationship with Jesus, but rather someone who just has elegance in grace.
And, certainly, my mother fits that bill.
as I was defining what grace is, I couldn’t help, but start at that surface level definition of grace However, when we dig deeper into Grace, we recognize that there are so many other definitions, many of them that we have become familiar with, especially if you’ve been in church or around church for any number of time.
And that is the unmerited favor of god.
when we define grace theologically or in the context of church, we see it as the unmerited favor of god or something that you may have heard a divine influence of the heart.
So when we say that god’s grace is with us or god’s grace is what empowered us We’re talking about god doing something in our heart that allowed our heart to turn even when we didn’t realize that we needed it to turn or that God turned his heart to us in ways that we didn’t deserve or could not have earned.
That is what grace is when we talk about it in the context of church and theology.
And yet when I was studying grace, I went even deeper and recognized that the word that is translated into grace and the new testament of the Bible is a Griko Roman word.
This Griko Roman word that was translated actually is carat.
Carrus is the word that is translated as grace.
And when I looked at Carys, apart from our you know, Christianese church version of what grace is.
When I just looked at it purely and the historical context of Carys.
What I learned is that Carys was a system that was used in the Greco Roman area. era.
And in this system of grace called Carys, it is when one person gave a gift to another person.
The only thing is that the person who gave the gift often had a higher value gift or a higher value position than the person who was receiving it.
So Carys is like a, a king and a servant, and a servant gives a gift to a king.
And though His heart is well intended, though it has high value based on where the servant is from the king’s perspective.
It is a lesser value, but still because they have engaged in this relationship, this system of grace, just because he gives him something of less or value, it doesn’t mean that he is disqualified from being in relationship with him because Carys allows for us to give something gonna lesser value and still be in relationship with the person who we’re giving the gift to.
When we see Carys in the text, really, we have to look at it in this cultural historical context if we want to accurately determine what it means to really experience god’s race, because Paul, the writer, a Roman citizen, cannot separate the context of the carris from what he is translating into our relationship with god.
So when he says in 1st Corinthians, when he talks about grace, I pulled a text as an example in 1st Corinthians 15.
9 through 10, put it on the screen for me.
He says, for I am the least of the apostles, he starts off already setting his value low.
I am the least. I have less value.
I’m not like some of the other apostles who actually walked with Jesus. I’m not high and mighty.
I’m the least of the apostles who am not worthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God.
But then it continues, and it says, but by the grace, because I made an exchange with god, it’s not that I don’t have the least amount of value, but by the grace of god, I am what I am.
You could appraise my worth based off of what I did, and you would be to say that I have no value, but if you appraise my worth by who I am connected with, then you would recognize that who I am connected with automatically took my stakes up.
It is by the grace of god that I am who I am. You’re right. I’m not educated enough.
You’re right. I don’t have the right connections. You’re right.
I have no business being in this pulpit, but by the grace of god, I am what I am.
You’re right about it. I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t be raising the family.
I shouldn’t be starting the business, but by the grace of God, I am what I am.
Some people are jet of what you did.
They don’t realize that what you did was done by the grace of god.
You and I are actually no different, but by the grace of god, I am what I am.
You could act cute in this place if you want to, but I know there are some people in this room who are only in this room because Grace said I will align with you and know you’re not my best option and know you’re not my best choice.
But if you’re willing to give me an exchange, I made an exchange.
There’s some people in this room who made in exchange with god.
And the exchange they made with god didn’t even have any value to god.
God gave you addiction, and he gave you a ministry.
God gave you you gave god addiction, and he gave you a ministry You gave god low self esteem, and he gave you a business.
God gave me an exchange. It don’t even make sense because what I gave him doesn’t match what he gave me in return.
I gave you disobedience, and you gave me another shot. I gave you reckless, and you ordered my steps.
I wish there were some people in this room.
Who knows that god, what I gave you wasn’t nothing compared to what she gave me.
You see, I know what I gave them. See, I tell other people, no.
No. I I studied for this. No. I went to school for this.
when it’s me and god in the prayer closet, god’s able to help me understand.
Now, you know, you didn’t really give me much to work with. You know, you was lying your face off.
You know, you were sleeping with anything that would walk.
You know, you didn’t get me nothing to work with, but by the grace of god, when god’s spreads on you.
It takes your nothing and turns it into soft and the grace of god is why I’m in this room.
The grace god is why I have another chance.
The grace of god is why I know I’m gonna see the goodness of god.
The goodness of god and the grace of god.
They keep messing with me every time I think I’m giving him something about you.
He says that’s nothing to me. Let me breathe on didn’t expand it.
I didn’t give him nothing to work with.
I didn’t give him nothing to work with.
I didn’t have no ingredients because if you just give me what you have, if you just give me what you have, I know it doesn’t seem like a lot.
I know it looks like broken pieces. I know it may look like a portion.
I know it may look like your time. I know it may look like you should be up.
But if you give me something to work with, we could enter into an alliance where my grace and what you offer aligns in such a way that it is undeniable.
that Grace went ahead of you. Yeah.
Grace is in exchange. Grace is not just about consumption.
Grace is not insurance for you to do whatever you like.
I know. I’m sorry. I wanted to cute.
I wanted to preach something real cute, but god told me I gotta really break down what grace is because of us do treat grace like it is insurance, and grace is gonna go ahead and I’m a make the mistake, but I believe grace is gonna cover me when you really get a revelation of grace You understand that if god ever gave me what I truly deserved, if god ever lifted his grace off of my life, then Poster syndrome would be right because I have no business being where I am, but god’s grace.
Oh, was the grace of god.
that made the difference.
And so when we see Paul talking about grace, and he says it is the grace of god I am what I am and his grace towards me was not in vain.
But I labored more abundantly than they all. There’s I see exchange here.
I am the least of them, but god gave me the grace of god.
I am what I am. He changed my identity.
And then when he changed his identity, when he changed my identity, he says, Paul, when he changed the way that I saw myself, when he changed the way I saw what he was doing in the earth, I decided that his grace toward me would not be in vain.
because grace comes with the responsibility.
Because I don’t feel entitled to grace, just because you allowed me to have grace on credit.
Ugh. God help me.
Some people in this room got grace on credit.
Gus says I’m gonna give you grace first.
And then when you step into the grace, I want you to live in such a way that I know that my grace was not in vain that you recognize what this is because if you recognize what this is, you won’t do that again.
That’s why we can love people with grace for real.
I don’t have to condemn you to make sure you don’t make the same mistake over and over again.
I just gotta be so good to you that you never wanna be bad to yourself again.
I just gotta be so good to you that you never wanna go back to who you were before.
It is the grace of god, the goodness of god that kept showing up in his life that says, now I feel obligated.
What can I render unto you god for all that you have done to me? I feel obligated.
I am a slave to the gospel, not because I did everything right, not because he actually chained me, but because he kept chasing me with this grace.
And I finally turned around. And I
said, god, don’t you know I’m raggedy? God, don’t you know bad.
God, don’t you know, you could get somebody up, but you keep
chasing me into this bar. You keep
chasing me into this strip club. God, what is it that you want with me? God what is it that
you can do with these? Hallelujah’s second, corinthians chapter 10 verse 9.
That’s my scripture right there.
Paul is expressing right before this, how he’s got this thorn in his flesh.
Oh, god. I feel like you wanna do something in this place.
God, I could almost be used, but I got this thorn in my flesh God.
I could almost be of use, but there’s this king that is piercing my soul.
I could almost be like them. I could almost be perfect.
I could almost hold my head up high could almost be in ministry.
I could almost lay it down and and Jesus says to him, my grace.
Once again, we’re not talking about grace the co the way we’ve come to know it in church, we’re talking about an exchange.
This exchange that I made is sufficient for you because my strength is made perfect and weakness.
That means that if you make this exchange the right way, it won’t matter what the thorn is.
It won’t matter where you’re weak. All that no matter is that you made in exchange with me.
You give me weakness and that tipped you straight. you give me 3 freedom, and I will
give you a real call
and a purpose. If you give it to me, I’ll transform it. God says I wanna marry your weakness.
Put it back on the screen for me.
I want you to give me your weakness. I want you to give it to me.
Don’t give it to them. See, the reason that most of us end up with our hearts working.
It’s because we were giving our weakness to other weak people.
And we were hoping that if I give you my weakness, I’ll finally feel strong, but Jesus says, the reason why you needed him to walk away.
The reason why you needed her to disappoint you
is because you wanted her to do what only I could do.
You wanted the job to be what only I could be. you wanted the check to do what only
I can do. And that’s why you’re rich
and still upset. And that’s why you trucked out and still ain’t got no peace.
There is no greater than my grace.
There ain’t a drink on earth that can make you strong in the area you’ve been weak.
It can help you forget. It can help you walk away. But if you wanna be strong, for real.
You gotta take that witness and say, god, here I am, lord, here I am with my wick out.
Here I am with my broke self. Here I am with my shattered self.
The moment they called me, I go running out the door. I don’t wanna be weak anymore.
I don’t wanna be weak like this anymore.
This weakness is messing up my destiny. This weakness is messing up my family.
This weakness is changing the way I see myself This weakness is about to keep me from being who you’ve called me to be.
You gotta go to war with your weakness because y’all weakness. Go mess you up.
But when you decide that I won’t let a weak thing, keep me from a god thing.
The weakness It’s in the way.
It’s in the way that weakness is in the way.
and you don’t just get it out of the way by ignoring it.
And you don’t get it out of the way by pretending you’re gonna be confident in the place where you are weak.
You can’t affirm yourself out of this weakness. You can’t post yourself out of this weakness.
The only thing you can
do with a weakness is y’all get up to something stronger than the area where you’re weak.
His name is Jesus. Oh, god. I didn’t die. His name
Parses. I knew I was weak.
But when I got this revelation, that my weak hit can have a companion, my weakness can have a companion and that companion is his strength.
When I caught that revelation, I did something crazy.
I started bosting in my infirmities, because the more I boast about it, the more he breaks on it.
And the more he breaks on it, the power of rest upon.
I don’t know about you.
but I’m trying to live a life that confuses being to me. How in the
hell did all of the hell I put her through, not keep her from being the how did I inhale to all of the hell?
the enemy sent hell to keep you from being who god has called you to be.
I know it’s confusing, but the hell didn’t work.
I know it’s confusing, but hell actually works for me. Not against me.
His strength was made perfect in the place where I yet. Hell, you sent it in. Happening.
Okay. That’s not even That’s not my message.
And I’m trying to calm down, but I just gotta let you know that you standing in the room were held to attack me.
You send it in the room where hell said, I’m a get her pregnant so she never’s open.
her mouth and thirteen years old, I’m a put her in a room and tell her you will never have access to the gifted I do see it, everybody, m, and heaven’s at uh-uh uh one day.
She gonna give me all that hell she went through.
Okay. Okay. Hold on. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.
I’m so I’m sorry if you’re visiting for the first time, I’m sorry.
You don’t even know me like that, but let me tell you something.
I know something about the grace of god. I know something about the goodness of god.
I know I don’t have no business in this
place. Okay. Okay.
I’m a boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rests upon me I’m not gonna whisper about these infirmities.
I’m not gonna ignore these infirmities.
I’m gonna make an exchange.
I give god my weakness.
my doubt, my insecurity, my need to perform, my need to be polished.
I’m a give him my weakness. I’m a give him that broken little boy.
I’m a give him that broken little girl. I’m gonna give him my weakness, my my weakness.
I’m gonna give him this addiction. I’m gonna give him my weakness.
You see, we came in here and we look the best that we can look.
Part of it is because I’m trying to cover up some of this weakness.
Do you think you got degree on top of degree because you really wanted education, and yes, that was it.
But some of you were trying to cover up your weakness, and I hear god saying you’re trying to cover up the very thing I wanna partner with.
I don’t wanna partner with what looks good.
I don’t wanna partner with the part of that makes everyone feel good.
I wanna partner with the part of you that nobody wants, not even you.
Gusses, that’s the part that I want. I want your week I want your brokenness. I want your bitterness.
He left 20 years ago. You’re still bitter.
God says, give me that. You’re not angry. You’re hurt. you’re not in pain.
You’re broken, I would. I want your weakness.