Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope FULLY upon the Grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ (I Peter 1:13). As we turn to Luke 6:13, we read: “the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.” Power went out from Him. Jesus the Powerful is our hope, our wondrous hope of Grace. I cannot nor do not deserve such grace. For I too have a heart that so quickly bends to my own selfish desires. My hope is not based on what I might be able to do or accomplish; but fully rests upon Jesus the Powerful King and Savior and the wondrous hope of Grace He has provided for me.
Hope. How do we hold fast to any hope? Particularly if you turn on any news broadcast where stories of hate, anger, division, and strife play 24-7. We are told that we must condemn all who cling to their faith or dare to speak up for the gospel of Christ. Freedom of speech is only meant for those who agree with new age cancel culture, proclaiming truth is relative. (That is unless you speak out, then your truth is declared a lie and not relative at all). Amidst the chaos, confusion and hate that these ideas create, how can we have hope at all? We can know this wondrous hope of grace only as we take our eyes off this world and put them fully on Him. Jesus the powerful, Sovereign King of the Universe who willingly humbled Himself to die the death that we deserved.
To provide us the wondrous hope of Grace.
Our Wondrous Hope of Grace
Look once more at this truth. “Rest Your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Romans 8 23 Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.”
When is this wondrous hope of grace? Certainly, we know of His Grace, every day. We were saved from our sins by Grace; but, for now we still reside in these human bodies. Sometimes subjected to the fears, sorrows, pains, and stresses that attack our hearts and minds every day, despair creeps into our spirit. Yet, when it does, we must look forward to that day when we will see Him fully face to face. It is then that Jesus the Powerful Lion of Judah will complete the final chapter—the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Throughout scripture, He has been revealed to us; but one day, His Magnificence, His Glory, His Power and His Justice will be made known to all the world. Then, and only then will we fully comprehend the magnitude of grace He has showered upon those of us who know Him as Lord and Savior. For power goes forth from Him to heal all of us. In the King James and the Geneva Bibles, this is translated virtue goes forth from Him. I love that as well. His Righteousness and power pour forth to heal me of unrighteousness and sin.
Jesus the Powerful Son of Man-Lord of the Sabbath
Now it happened [a]on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands. 2 And some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?”
3 But Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?” 5 And He said to them, “The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”
Son of Man
Note that Jesus often referred to himself as the Son of Man. This might seem odd how often he used this; yet not if one recognizes that He is referring to this denotation of Himself from Daniel 7:
“I was watching in the night visions,
And behold, One like the Son of Man,
Coming with the clouds of heaven!
He came to the Ancient of Days,
And they brought Him near before Him.
14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,
That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
Which shall not pass away,
And His kingdom the one
Which shall not be destroyed.
In other words, He was declaring that He is the long-awaited Messiah who will return to reign on earth one day.
What Was HE Saying?
Did Jesus recommend His Disciples break the law? No never. But the law did not say you could not eat on the Sabbath. It forbade the people from working on the Sabbath.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. Exodus 20: 8-11.
Exodus 31:
12 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 13 “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies[a] you. 14 You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you.
The Sabbath was held for a particular purpose. It was a reminder of the covenant between God and the nation. A reminder that God alone could provide sanctification. On the other hand, the Pharisees believed their fulfilling of the law, their works including keeping the Sabbath was what saved them. A complete flip-flop from the truth. No man or woman could be saved by their keeping of the law. In fact, they had tacked on a thousand taboos to the original law to prove themselves “morally more righteous and condemn the rest of the people. Yet, the truth was they were the greater sinner for their hypocrisy.
In fact, the law did approve the very thing the disciples of Jesus were doing.
Deuteronomy 23: “When you come into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes at your pleasure, but you shall not put any in your container. 25 When you come into your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not use a sickle on your neighbor’s standing grain.”
Hope of Grace Jesus The Powerful—Healer
6 Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. 8 But He knew their thoughts and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood.
9 Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or [b]to destroy?” 10 And when He had looked around at them all, He said to [c]the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored [d]as whole as the other. 11 But they were filled with rage and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
When they saw Jesus the Powerful healer the Pharisees hated Him. They wanted Him cancelled because He was loved. A nonstop campaign against Him was lodged. Then, one night, the crowd turned against Him, crying “crucify Him.” The same crowd ushered Him in with palm branches, suddenly turned against Him. Why? They did not understand. He was the gift. Not the physical healings. He came to heal their broken hearts and minds. Jesus came to redeem them from themselves. He was the long-awaited final Sacrificial lamb, the only one who could truly redeem them.
That was not what they wanted. They had no desire to empty themselves out so they might truly be healed spiritually. Instead, all they could see was the here and now. Never repenting of their sin. And certainly, never conceding to their guilt before a Holy God.
Wondrous Hope of Grace-Jesus the Powerful Savior
When all around you seems hopeless, take your eyes off the world and even yourself. Look to Jesus! Therein lies our hope. As each day, He is further revealed to your heart, you are transformed into His image one glory at a time. Then, one day when you stand before Him, you will have His heart.
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 [a]by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18.
The most wondrous hope of Grace is one day my heart will be like His. This selfish broken heart will know and be fully known, beating with His love flowing through it. Then, I will understand fully all there is to know of Him and that will be enough. All these moments of failure, despair will fade away.
So, What about now? What is our Wondrous Hope of Grace?
Just as Jesus showed us how to be always restored, we need to spend time alone with Him in prayer. Take your eyes off the world and gaze into His lovely face.
Remember this, Jesus healed through the power of the Holy Spirit and The Father, while on earth. He had fully emptied himself when on earth. He was fully God, but chose to lay aside these powers, so that He totally depended on the Father and the Spirit to work through Him. Remember how He spent nights alone with the Father in prayer.
Luke 6:12 “Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God.” He prayed fervently before every decision He made. In, Luke 6:13 after praying all night, He named His 12 apostles. “And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles.”
So, even if all the world turns against you. When you are standing all alone, hopeless, and afraid, “look up, your redemption is near.” Know the Wondrous Hope of Grace: Jesus the Powerful—keep your eyes, heart and mind focused on Him.
Our hope of Grace is this . Because Jesus the powerful healer, savior and redeemer of my soul, one day I will be fully transformed. He has guaranteed it with His Blood. I am sealed by the Holy Spirit throughout eternity. from the moment I first knew Him as Savior and Lord, today, and forever more. That is the Hope of Grace- Past, Present and Future. That is the most wondrous Hope of Grace I could ever know.
DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD?
If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord: I urge you to go to my page titled How to Be Saved by clicking on this link. There is nothing more important than this; because He is the way, the truth and the life. Therefore, I urge you to seek Him today.
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Disclosures
©Effie Darlene Barba, 2021
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. Furthermore, I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned except for my own books. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Credits
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.