A Cry For Grace Part One

By Keneth Nyhwagi

The Author Has Had The Privilege Of Watching Testimonies Of Ordinary Believers Who Have Been Impacted By The Gospel Of Grace. The Common Feature In These Testimonies Is Found In The Age Groups Of The Precious Believers Giving The Testimonies. They Are Mature Christians Who Have Been Delivered After Years Of Battling To Survive Through Self-Effort. Grace Was There To Embrace Them When They Reached The End Of Their Own Efforts.

Perhaps You Are One Of The Mature Christians Who Have Found Freedom In The Gospel Of Grace. Dear Reader, There Is No End To What Grace Can Do. Join The Author As He Unveils Deeper Truths About The Gospel Of Grace That Will Firmly Establish You In Your Newly-Found Freedom.

Or Perhaps You Are A Young Christian Who Is Tossed Back And Forth As You Search For The Promised Freedom In Salvation. Allow The Unadulterated Truths Found In This Book To Establish Your Young Heart Through This Wonderful Gift From Abba Father And You Will Live A Fulfilled Life.

Young And Old, The Powerful Teachings In This Book Will Set You Free To Go Out, Conquer And Win In Life.

About The Author

Keneth Nyhwagi Is A Happily Married Believer Blessed With A Beautiful Daughter. He Is From East London, South Africa. Keneth Carries A Powerful Message That Is Adding Its Voice Behind The Well-Oiled Grace Revolution Machinery. He Is Part Of A Generation Of Preachers God Is Setting Up Over His Flock To Feed. The Hearers Of His Message Shall Fear No More, Nor Be Dismayed, Nor Shall They Be Lacking. (See Jeremiah 23: 4)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Keneth Nyhwagi
• Release date: Apr 30, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463110867

Book preview

A CRY FOR

GRACE

Part One

Copyright © 2017 Keneth Nyhwagi

Published by Keneth Nyhwagi Publishing at Smashwords

First edition 2017

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the copyright holder.

The Author has made every effort to trace and acknowledge sources/resources/individuals. In the event that any images/information have been incorrectly attributed or credited, the Author will be pleased to rectify these omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Published by the Author using Reach Publishers’ services,

P O Box 1384, Wandsbeck, South Africa, 3631

Edited by Vanessa Finaughty for Reach Publishers

Cover designed by Reach Publishers

Website: www.reachpublishers.co.za

E-mail: [e-mail]

Foreword

If we had a thousand lives to live and God gave us a thousand tongues, we can never express the perfection of His beauty. Pastor Joseph Prince of New Creation Church speaks these words in the third song he renders from one of the most anointed worship music CDs I’ve heard being led by a pastor in gospel music circles. The worship music CD is titled A Touch of His Presence 2. According to the pastor, these are spontaneous worship songs recorded during worship times in his church. Amazing!

Having been introduced to the gospel of grace at the most appropriate time in my walk of salvation, I have learnt, studied and tasted the wonder and sweetness of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. The words from the song quoted above sum it all up for me. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is beyond description. Indeed, it is too good to be true, yet it is true. The depth of grace reached out to me in the deepest pit. Its power lifted me to a place of safety under the wings and shadow of the Most High. Its width located me when I was wandering in the endless desert of legalism and self-righteousness. I’m calling it an endless desert, because you can never do enough to quench its thirst for your efforts. The firm grip of legalism seemed to squeeze life out of my tiring body. Grace was high enough to reach me from my position of pride and superiority disguised as humbleness. How can I keep quiet?

When the Devil thought he had successfully dealt a fatal blow to my vision of sharing the Good News, I looked to the person of Jesus called grace. I looked to grace and I was delivered. I haven’t been able to keep quiet about what the Lord’s grace has done for me. Therefore, I have made it my business to share the news of the amazing grace of our Lord Jesus at every opportunity. Sadly, the news of the amazing grace I have shared has not been met with the excitement I expected. On the contrary, it has been met with the kind of scepticism I have never experienced in life before, let alone the life of salvation. The most discouraging thing is that I did what a responsible believer would have done. I approached people in leadership positions to share the exciting news of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. I thought to myself, what is the point of sharing this with ordinary believers? They are not in a position of influence, I reasoned further. I honestly wanted to awaken those in positions of leadership within my reach to the reality of the gospel of grace. I was so wrong! I would have understood their lack of understanding of the simplicity and goodness of the gospel of grace, particularly considering the background of legalism and self-effort and self-righteousness many of us come from. You see, many of us think like the world. The world says, If it is too good to be true, it is probably not true. Believers battle to embrace grace, because they fear that it is too good to be true, and remember, the world says if it is too good to be true, it is probably not true. My friend, this is grace according to Jesus, not according to the world. Jesus does not give as the world gives. (John 14: 27) He does not give as the world gives, because He does not think as it thinks. The problem is that we are so accustomed to the ways of the world that we find it difficult to align ourselves with the ways of God. Grace is the way of God. There is grace according to the world and there is grace according to Jesus. I choose the latter, for the Bible says: And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12: 2) All these things (good and acceptable and perfect will of God) are the sum total of grace. There is no way you will not prove what is the good and perfect and acceptable will of God if you are rooted in grace, because grace points you to Jesus. The New Covenant believer needs to renew his mind from understanding grace from the world’s perspective to Jesus’ perspective. Their lack of understanding of grace, however, is not so much what troubles me. It is the nature of their responses that is rather of concern to me, because it has a disturbing pattern. Their responses are similar to those of the Pharisees of Jesus’ time, who set about to investigate the miraculous works of our Lord Jesus or expressed disapproval or a combination of both. The story that comes to mind is the one of the man born blind whom Jesus healed. Such is the relevance of the story that you will find it quoted elsewhere in this book. The story is found in Chapter 9 of the Book of John. Instead of celebration, the healing became a subject of investigation by the Pharisees.

In many ways, at the hands of the Pharisees of our times, I felt like the young man at the hands of the Pharisees of Jesus’ time in John 9. The exciting testimony of the powerful work done by the grace of our Lord in my life that I shared was met with frowns of clear doubt, followed by questions such as: Exactly how did this happen? Who taught you this grace in the first place? You are probably wondering what is wrong with the questions, because they sound like fair questions. You see, these questions were not asked in awe of what I had just shared. They were not punctuated by such phrases as ‘hallelujah! Praise the Lord’ and the like. No, these were questions of clear scepticism, doubt and disapproval. I never thought that something as simple as grace could be made to appear so complicated. I am deliberately saying it has been made to appear so complicated, because it is really not complicated. It goes to show the amount of damage self-righteousness has done. As you would know, the Bible Pharisees levelled all sorts of accusations against the Lord and called Him a sinner. (See John 9: 24) Confronting the young man, they insisted, wanting to know, What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes? (John 9: 26) I like the young man’s response in answering both questions, but the one that stands out concerns the accusation against the Lord being a sinner found in John 9: 25. This is what he said: Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.

I know all about the controversies associated with grace and the accusations against the pastors who preach it undiluted and without fear. The accusations that have been levelled against them by the Pharisees of our times are well documented. I thank God for their teachings that have opened my spiritual eyes. I remember being warned against the teachings of Pastor Joseph Prince and that he is a false teacher. Like the young man, I said, whether he is a false teacher or not, I do not know. One thing I know, though: I was spiritually blind, but now I see, thanks to his teachings. I am not equating Pastor Joseph Prince to the Lord Jesus Christ as some would be quick to accuse me. He would be the first one to stop me, because everything he teaches points to Jesus and Him alone. I am actually thanking the Holy Spirit for leading me to his teachings and beyond. The veil of religion and self-righteousness that kept me in bondage all these years has been removed.

As I already said, I have taken it upon myself to learn and study and taste the gospel of grace as the psalmist exhorts us: Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good… (Psalm 34: 8) Through these studies and personal experiences, the Lord has taken me on an exhilarating journey beyond the teachings I have received through this advocate of grace. The Lord has given me the ability to put pen to paper and record grace gems and secrets I could never have imagined. As an ordinary believer, I believe that the Lord has enabled me to write the kind of grace material that will immensely benefit the ordinary believer. Not only will the ordinary believer benefit from these materials, he will be set free from the curse and captivity of salvation turned self-righteousness.

Just as I was setting about to let the anointing of God do the talking through these writings, calamity struck, through my own fault, I must admit. The Devil was quick to let me know that the calamity I suffered was a sure sign that this grace thing was not from God. However, no sooner had the Devil started planting doubts about the gospel of grace through calamity than the Lord opened my eyes wider to the truths of grace during the very same period of calamity. I received the deepest secrets about the gospel of grace during the time of calamity. The Lord took me all the way back to the times of King David and reminded me that the man after God’s own heart wrote some of his best psalms during a time of calamity. For many, a time of calamity is a time to withdraw to their bases, ostensibly to seek the Lord and find solutions. Sadly, many take too long in their bases. They actually get swallowed up in their bases and, soon, they fold up and wallow in self-pity. You see, in the spiritual realm, unbeknownst to many believers, they find their base in self-occupation and this is exactly where the Devil wants the believer to be in order to defeat him. Self-occupation is the most dangerous place for the believer to be in. God made this abundantly clear to me when He introduced me to the gospel of grace. He clearly spoke against self-occupation when trouble comes, even through my own fault. One of the things the Lord taught me through powerful grace teachings was the ability to distinguish between sorrow in self-occupation and godly sorrow. Self-occupation in sorrow does not equate godly sorrow. Let me be honest and admit that the blow the Devil landed sent me to the canvas and I felt its sting. I was really sorrowful and I asked for forgiveness, but the Holy Spirit was quick to remind me that the heavenly Father has already forgiven me and drew my attention to the One who took the punishment for my forgiveness. Soon, I was thanking Him for His forgiveness and my eyes were firmly fixed to the Author and Finisher of my faith. (See Hebrews 12: 2) Sorrow in self-occupation draws your attention to yourself. Godly sorrow draws your attention to Christ, the One who died for your forgiveness. It pleases the Lord when the believer confesses his forgiveness. (1 John 2: 1, 12)

I strongly believe that the Lord used the time of calamity to authenticate the gospel of grace. Honestly, if you ask me, I would rather that calamity did not have to strike for the gospel of grace to be authenticated in my life, but believe me when I say, spiritually, I would not be where I am today had calamity not struck. It is true what the Bible says: ….all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8: 28) Calamity brought me to the end of myself. I already had a pretty good understanding of the gospel of grace, but the calamity I suffered radically accelerated the process. Let me qualify that by saying this: calamity itself did not accelerate the process. God used calamity to open my eyes to the deepest truth of the gospel of grace. I have come to understand fully what Paul meant when he wrote: But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more. (Romans 5: 20) A sin-conscious mind will be quick to warn: careful now; that will give people the license to sin. However, those who are passionate about the gospel of grace will know that this verse does not give believers a license to sin. This verse is a reminder of God’s love for His children that He was even prepared to sacrifice His only begotten Son to deal with sin once and for all. God sacrificing His only begotten Son is grace that abounds much more. How can we wilfully sin against a loving Father who drew us with His loving kindness from the deepest pit of sin by sacrificing His only begotten Son?

What I am attempting to tell you is that, when I fully opened myself up to the gospel of grace, God did not hold back in releasing the secrets of this wonderful gift. I am convinced that God was saying to me: Son, like Mary, you have chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from you. (See Luke 10: 42) He was saying: Because you have chosen the good part, receive the fullness of the gospel of grace. What is the good part, you might ask? Well, it is doing what Mary did. Mary decided to sit at the feet of Jesus, hear from Him and behold His loveliness. (Luke 10: 39) Through this grace project, I am presenting what I’ve heard as I sat and continue to sit at the feet of Jesus, hear from Him and behold His loveliness. This, dear reader, is where grace is at; at the feet of Jesus, hearing from Him, looking at Him and beholding His loveliness, especially when you have made a mistake.

I am an ordinary believer. My greatest desire is to use this grace project to draw many struggling believers to the position of grace. I believe that the fact that I am an ordinary believer is a divine arrangement by God to use me to reach out to ordinary believers who are sinking in the pit of legalism and wandering in the endless desert of self-righteousness.

The project is split into two parts, Part 1 and Part 2. I have a powerful testimony about what the Lord has done to deliver me from the calamity that befell me. However, following the leadership of the Holy Spirit, I decided against including the testimony in Part 1 of the project. The reason is that I did not want the scriptural truth of the Lord’s grace to be diluted by my personal testimony. Believe me; I am not belittling the importance of my testimony, because it reflects the goodness of the Lord. However, I strongly believe that I need to lay a solid scriptural foundation about the grace of our Lord Jesus first as it unfolded in my life.

If I were to give a synopsis of the project, I would summarise it in the following paragraph:

This is a project that does not limit grace to its cushioning ability for the struggling believer, as many wrongly think of grace. Yes, grace provides a cushion for the struggling believer, but its mandate goes way beyond that. It is limitless! Grace gives the believer the power to reign in life, ‘for it is the power of God unto salvation’. (Romans 1: 16) The project covers a wide range of critical aspects of grace with great lamentation concerning the negative attitude towards the gospel of grace that comes from within the body of Christ. The alarm of caution raised against grace by its opponents forms the basis of this lamentation. The work is aptly titled A Cry for Grace. In this regard, I draw parallels between the Lord Jesus and grace and show how both suffered at the hands of the Pharisees of Jesus’ time and those of our time. In what I term ‘neglect leads to abuse’, I hold the church responsible for all the wrong grace teachings that have infiltrated the gospel of grace. Through this project, I take on and discuss the so-called controversial topics that always get the sin-conscious and legalistic mind cringing. With the strong backing and evidence of scripture, topics such as ‘eternal salvation’ are discussed exhaustively beyond doubt. Drawing biblical lessons based on Paul’s teachings in the Book of Romans, I warn against the dangers of self-righteousness. Believers are encouraged to boast in Christ and measure themselves according to the Righteous One, of whom the Father said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Matthew 3: 17) Contrast is drawn between believing and striving and the benefits of the former are presented. The notion that grace believers are selective in applying and using scripture is dispelled. Focus is then turned inwardly as I address both the licentious and those who have a weird understanding of the gospel of grace and whose utterances only serve to tarnish the ministry of grace. There is more! This is a project that does not shy away from issues. Jesus never shied away from issues, to the point of death.

This is grace!

Acknowledgements

The Motivators

It is my second year of training in ministry and we are writing the final exam of two subjects, in written and oral form respectively. It’s really been a gruelling morning having just completed the one subject in written form, heading straight for the next one in oral form. Our attention has clearly been split between the written and oral versions of the exams all morning. Anxiety is palpable and, suddenly, every student seems to be gripped with anticipation for the oral exam, albeit quietly. The subject is homiletics, and for some reason everything seems to suddenly hinge around it. It’s almost as though it’s game over if one doesn’t make the required mark for this particular subject. To be honest with you, while every student has tried his or her best to balance his or her focus between the two subjects, we’ve always kept our eyes firmly focussed on the subject of homiletics, which comprises the written and oral exams. Today is the oral exam, as we have already written the written version. As I just said, we’ve always kept our eyes firmly focussed on the subject of homiletics. Well, we are Bible school students, after all, and this is where the rubber hits the tar, because our chosen career is all about preaching and teaching. The venue has been set up immaculately and it really looks professional considering that it has just been converted from a written exam arrangement to an oral arrangement one in a matter of minutes.

Finally, it’s all systems go as everything is set for a showdown among students who all individually believe that they are called to preach the Word of God to nations. Each student is about to get an indication as to whether or not he or she has what it takes. We are under the scrutiny of husband and wife pastors and two of their colleagues as they assess our performance. Speaker after speaker dishes out what they have prepared to show that they are cut for this. Frankly, it is not easy, but it’s awesome!

Soon after concluding the activities of the day following the last speaker, the husband excuses himself, as he has to rush back to his office for urgent business. Two of his colleagues also leave, but the wife stays behind to address the students. She makes reference to a few things as she reflects on the activities of the day and, suddenly, she asks the question: Do you guys write things?

Have you ever been part of an audience and feel that the message is specifically directed at you? This is exactly how I feel about what the pastor is asking, for the question reminds me of what I had started doing (writing) a few years ago, but stopped due to lack of time. What a lousy excuse! The pastor goes on and on hammering on this and other important things for future ministers of the Word of God. I’m convicted without a doubt.

You see, the pastor’s question only served as a reminder of a question a popular Christian radio presenter and preacher once posed to his listeners one Friday evening. When are you going to start writing the book God asked you to write? the presenter asked. As I said, I had already developed a sudden liking for writing when the presenter asked over the radio. I had actually started writing, but stopped due to the lousy excuse I cited above.

Today, you are holding this book because the pastors yielded to the prompting of the Holy Spirit to kindle my passion by asking two simple questions on two different occasions.

Thank you, pastors!

The Mirrors of Grace

To the most important people in my life, my beautiful wife and our precious, beloved princess, thank you. Thank you for being the mirror of grace for me. When I made mistakes, you were quick to forgive me, not because I made those mistakes in pursuit of comfort and happiness for us, but because you are the most gracious people I know in the world. You always reminded me to remember the message of grace I preach to you when I felt the sting of condemnation that comes with making mistakes. Sometimes a doctor needs another doctor to help him solve a troublesome medical situation. It is true what they say: you reap what you sow. I’m glad I sowed the seed of grace in your lives, for you are giving back what you have received.

May you not give up on grace!

Table of Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1. The Secret Is Out

2. The Container and Contents

3. Alarm of Caution

4. Controlling the Flesh

5. The Covenant of Peace

6. Eternally Saved

7. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

8. Which Version Have You Heard?

9. Veiled Attack

10. Neglect Leads to Abuse

11. The Denial of Grace

12. The Scapegoat

13. The Truth

14. Back to Grace

15. God Wants to Add

16. Authentication of Grace

17. The Scent of Grace

18. The Final Say

References

Introduction

I have taken up membership or what is now known as partnership with three different churches in my entire life of salvation. I also attended a Bible school for two years to equip myself for the work of ministry. To the best of my knowledge, none of these churches or the Bible school I attended seemed to take a stand in advocating the gospel of grace, nor did they seem to take a stand against it. They fall into the category I call ‘neither for nor against’, because I have enjoyed some elements of grace in all of them, but nothing near what I have come to understand as the true undiluted and radical gospel of grace. Therefore, what you are about to hear as you read this book is not a combination of doctrines from the churches I became part of at some point in my Christian life or teachings from the Bible school. It is far from it. It is a combination of the thorough search I embarked upon to seek answers about salvation and teachings from established authorities that proclaim the true undiluted and radical gospel of grace.

Let me hasten to state upfront that my cry for grace is not a plea for God to pour out abundance of grace upon the body of Christ. In a mock exercise, a lecturer once demonstrated a very important Christian lesson on how to hear from God. She handed one of the students a Bible as a gift. In the demonstration, the student had to pray passionately so that she would be able to hear the voice of God. She had to pray until the lecturer instructed her to stop. She prayed and prayed until the lecturer stopped her. The student had the Bible in her hand all the time she was praying to hear the voice of God. There are two things we can learn from this demonstration. Firstly, we pray and make a plea for things we already have as if we do not have them. The second thing we can learn is that we fail to recognise and put to good use what God has made available to us.

Therefore, I would be guilty of one or both if I were to make a plea for God to pour out abundance of grace. The truth is that God has already lavished the church with His grace. My plea is for the church to walk and operate in the fullness of grace that God has already poured out. John says, And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. (John 1: 16) I like how the New International Version (NIV) puts it, though: From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another. What about the New Living Translation (NLT)? From His abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. This is huge! It is in the fullness of His grace that we have received one blessing after another. John 1: 16 is a challenge to the very core of our beliefs regarding motivation for giving in the New Covenant. It is not from the fullness of our wallets that we receive blessings. We are not blessed because we give. We give because we are blessed and receive more as we give. God multiplies what we give, and we give because we are blessed from the fullness of His grace. Just think about the very first time you gave. You gave because you were blessed and we should keep it that way. I don’t subscribe to this idea that we ought to give so that God can bless us. We are already blessed from the fullness of His grace. Receiving back for what we give is the manifestation of the principle of multiplication. He who is blessed gives and he who gives receives more: Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over. (Luke 6: 38) The psalmist saw it coming, for he says, Grace is poured upon Your lips; Therefore God has blessed you forever. (Psalm 45: 2) Our Lord Jesus makes it clear that He does what He saw His Father do. (See John 5: 19) Therefore, He has poured upon our lips the same grace for blessings that God poured upon His own lips to be blessed forever. Everybody wants to be blessed. The question is: are we walking in the fullness of His grace so that we can receive blessing after blessing?

Another way of looking at it is this: blessings that are not borne out of grace are no blessings at all. Don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying that people don’t have possessions. Some mistake possessions for blessings. Even worldly people have possessions. What does John mean when he writes ‘and without Him nothing was made that was made’? (John 1: 3) John acknowledges that people make things, but anything made without God is not made despite its physical existence. Some point to the testimony of their works as evidence that God has blessed them. Even the heathen have a testimony of their works that they point to and mistakenly think that they do not need God. The problem is that they lack understanding of the potential principle. The potential principle points to the Creator. Every human being is made in the image of God. (Genesis 1: 26) That is a gift from God and God’s gifts are irrevocable. (Romans 11: 29) Therefore, any human being has the potential to do anything.

I have occasionally heard some preachers say some beautiful things about grace. Those occasions are sadly few and far between, I must add. However, even in their beauty, the things they occasionally say about grace sound like mere patronisation to me, because they limit grace. They limit grace to a fall-back position or cushion for those who find themselves succumbing to the lusts of the flesh, which we all do. They limit grace to one of the tools we grab hold of from our toolbox to fix a part of our Christian life that is malfunctioning. Worse still, they relegate grace to a flow of God’s favour as a reward for performing well. Mind you, dear reader, this distorted view of grace is not held by ordinary believers; it is held by senior pastors within the body of Christ. This is what one such senior pastor said of grace: If you make sure that you get your act together and sort out your lifestyle, then grace will flow in your life. The pastor said this as he was weighing in and expressing disgust at those who depend on the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in their walk of salvation. This expressed view is a complete distortion of the definition of grace. Remember, grace is defined as God’s unmerited, unearned and undeserved favour. According to Google: There is nothing we have done, nor can we ever do to earn this favour. It is a gift from God. Teachers and preachers must not define grace by what it does. Grace must be defined by what it