Vintage Grace's Podcast

Today, Paul shows us that we have not been abandoned. God has and is continuing to rescue us from sin and separation from God. Even when we cannot see it, understand it, or feel it, God is still at work in our lives. Since He is always at work, Paul urges us to trust deeply in God’s grace and His sovereign work– the only thing that will ever bring us ultimate joy and hope. 

In our text Paul lays out 5 essential steps in the process of conversion, emphasizing the absolute necessity of someone verbalizing the good news.Call - Believe - Hear - Preach - Send

Paul can see the redemptive potential in his people but their passions are in the wrong place. If only they knew Jesus already solved their biggest problem–how to get right with God.

I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing  we must not say. A man who is merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic-on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg-or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice.

Jesus identifies & invites us to follow Him, imitating him as disciples who live in Communitas together and break bread in table fellowship, which results in us being SENT on mission to invite all to come and repent and receive His grace and forgiveness.

God choosing to show MERCY to his children is not a new idea, and has massive implications for how we invest our time, talent, and treasure in and for things that are eternal.

Paul wants to give us a richer, fuller picture of God’s LOVE. God has not failed the Jews and He will not fail those who trust Christ. Without negating what he has written in the first 8 chapters about human responsibility, Paul opens for us a window into the activity of God. He shows from three Old Testament examples -God has always been choosing people.

- May we deepen our trust in God- May we activate a life full of Praying & Watching; which will lead to faithful Steps for Kingdom Movement- May we Worship in any & every moment #ButGodGod’s sovereign LOVE can and must be trusted.

At the end of Joseph’s life, he is able to see his life from God’s perspective. What man meant for evil, God meant for good. This is universally true of God’s character, He works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. 

Looking back (Rearview Mirror) gives us clarity & empowers our ability to look up & SEE GOD in each & every situation throughout our lives. In Joseph we are now starting to see how God was not only with him, & for him, but also providing through him for ALL His people. #Promises #Intentions

Moses’ intention in sharing the life of Joseph is, on some level, to show us how trials are always clearer through the rearview mirror of life. When we look back at a complete story, we can clearly see how God is not only WITH us but FOR us. The present gap is not only for our good, but also for His glory. As HisStory unfolds we begin to see, receive, & more fully believe that “His better TRULY IS better”!

The Steadfast love of God on display in the story of Joseph in prison is a source of encouragement for us when we feel forgotten.When you feel forgotten,remember God is faithful. 

In Joseph’s life, God is working through EVERY Gift & Gap to unfold and bring about His plan. Looking at Joseph's life, we can find strength, joy & hope knowing that God is always working all things for His glory & our good. In light of this, EVERY moment of life becomes full of meaning & purpose because God is at work. He invites us to join His divine narrative becoming a part of His story with our lives.

All throughout humanity we see the brokenness of God's children on full display. Our lack of faith, our dark hearts and our evil intentions continue to play on repeat, but what man intends for evil, God transforms for good, and one of the best stories depicting this truth is the story of Joseph. This summer we will see the sovereignty of God, trumping the evil of man. Jesus is the true hero, working all things together for our good and His Glory (8:28), no amount of sin, brokenness and intentions of evil can separate us from His Love #HisBetterIsBetter.

Paul calls us to consider the depth & magnitude of God’s love expressed to us. He sacrificed his greatest treasure so that we might become his children. What would He withhold if He has already given us His Son? The Love of Christ means we have nothing to fear, the Kingdom and the King’s victory are here! #GoodNewsVintage: a Church that lives in the certainty of the promise & love of God → There’s “No Bad News” in the Kingdom, we are “More than Conquerors”

Paul wants us to know that ALL circumstances work for our good. What a promise. The challenge is to believe this in the middle of the ‘Grap’. Paul tells us: suffering is God’s plan for now, there are better days (eternity) ahead, the Holy Spirit helps us in our suffering, giving us a firm foundation of faith. Perhaps the most accurate appraisal of our faith is when we are suffering. Do we actually trust that each and every circumstance will be used for our good? Vintage: a church where everyone was growing in their ability to believe this extraordinary promise of God.

We do not groan alone in the gap- Creation groans comparing its current curse to the glory of its future freedomOur hope in the gap- We groan comparing our present selves to the glory of our future sonshipOur Help in the Gap- The Holy Spirit groans for us & His compassion has no comparison