Out of the Pit: The Work of Grace

By Pneuma Phillips

Out of the Pit is exactly like spending an evening with Pastor Pneuma Phillips. It is the aura of love and forgiveness, a no-condemnation atmosphere where you can receive help to come out of any predicament.

We have all sinned, suffered rejection, and been in difficult situations, but we should see that in Christ we are delivered and brought out and that nothing intimidates us. It is only against God that we sin, and wonderfully enough, he judged it in Jesus Christ and has ruled in our favor. Christ has died, and all our sins are forgiven. He does not keep a record against us; we are blameless. We are established in and sustained by grace. We are on earth for God to use us as inscriptions, products, and fruits of his righteousness.

This amazing grace is because God loves us. Christ is our qualification. We are the expressions of his grace. We never condemn people. We never give up on people because we know that we have been pulled out and forgiven. We live the grace life. We grow in wisdom and stature in favor before God and before man. We are blameless and without a single spot. The Holy Spirit guides our lives. Our hearts are enlarged, and our trust is in God.

This book is not just theoretical. The lives of the authors are a testimony to the truths of this reading. They are made exceptional by keeping ever before them the truth of this message. There is a grace, an ease about their lives and conduct. They are dedicated to see people as God sees them, to reach out to others with the same grace they have received, and through this book, they reach out to you to be out of the pits, to receive and walk in the extraordinary life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 31, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524536176

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COPYRIGHT © 2016 BY PNEUMA PHILLIPS.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CONTROL NUMBER: 2016913885

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Rev. date: 08/31/2016

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Foreword

Introduction

Chapter 1 In the Pit—All Have Sinned

Chapter 2 God Has Ruled in Our Favour

Chapter 3 Pulled Out—Saved by Grace

Chapter 4 Established in and Sustained by Grace

Chapter 5 Benefits of Grace—a New Testimony

Chapter 6 Why This Amazing Grace

Chapter 7 Living the Grace Life

Conclusion

There is no pit so deep that He [God] cannot reach in and lift you out

—Pastor Joyce Meyer (Monday, 7 May 2012, Facebook)

To our Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ, Who was, Who is, and Who is to come, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah Who chose to become a Lamb to be slain on our behalf. The Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent One, we worship You. We will love and serve You all the days of our lives.

Also, to our mothers of blessed memory, Patricia Kosiwa, Abosede, Amina Sassou—Aunty Pat (1948–2007)—who taught us (Kenny Akindele Phillips, Eyo Peter Yellow-Duke, and I) devotion to God, discipline in life, and generosity to all, as well as Evang Eunice Modupe Mosugu (1944–2004) our bastion of love and grace, a mother in Israel and pillar of help. We will always remember you both and your memories live on.

To all our children—Phoebe Anuoluwa Phillips, Tirzah Iyanuoluwa Phillips—and others too numerous to mention, we salute you. For everyone out of the pit and partners in pulling others out, we say grace and courage be multiplied to you knowing that Jesus’s coming is sooner than we first believed. So keep on enjoying God’s love and all He has freely given us even as we continue to reconcile others to Him.

Acknowledgements

It has been a worthwhile journey so far, and there are many we are indebted to. First we give God all the glory and appreciate our parents for partnering with God to bring us into the world and nurture us till we decided to follow Him for ourselves. We also remember and appreciate all our fathers and mothers of faith—great is your reward.

Mention must be made of our partners and friends—Savannah Ministries, Christ Family Ministries (including Christ Family Centre Kaduna), Nigerian Military Christian Fellowship, Our Daily Bread Ministries, Glory Land Ministries, Mighty Supply Ministries, Manifold Grace Ministries, Building on the Word the Lighthouse (including the Jaji Church), Father’s Delight Ministries, Purpose International Worship Centre, Sunrise Music Ministries, Graceville Christian Centre, Renaissance Assembly, Grace Call Ministries and the Nigerian Air Force Family amongst others. Thank you for loving us.

To JJR family, we say, you are the best, keep soaring and enjoying. What can we say about Pst. Mrs. Avese Jennifer Tokula? You rock and indeed a major pillar—we are forever grateful for your painstaking and accurate editing of this book. For Barr Joan Okafor, you are just amazing. We also acknowledge Wing Commander Femi Motajo (rtd.) for your invaluable comments, Kelvin for the inspired poem, and Pst. Seyi Kolawole for writing this great foreword—your contributions have enriched this book.

We also appreciate everyone who helped pull us out of the pit and all those who have allowed us to also pull them out of the pit. Heaven rejoices and so do we. Glory to God!

Poem by Ternenge Kelvin Igyungu

Christ Family Centre, Kaduna, Nigeria

Her fears knew no bound

She has never being so astound

Caught red-handed in the very act

What could counter the fact?

She begged and cried

Others like her had died

Adultery and fornication

There’s no justification

The Scribes and Pharisees

Death’s wicked licences

Let’s take her to that JESUS

He claims to be a genius

Didn’t He heal with His hem?

With hearts as cold as steel

They were for the kill

JESUS looked at her face

With eyes full of GRACE

He wrote on the ground

Nobody made a sound

Go ahead and stone her

If you haven’t any sin

From one hypocrite to another

They began to leave

His wisdom they couldn’t believe

Woman, where are thine accusers?

Where are thine condemners?

Blessed is the man whose sins are forgiven

Blessed is the man whose iniquities are erased

Go and sin no more, your sins are forgiven

Go and sin no more, your sins are erased.

We are OUT OF THE PIT

And it is the Work of Grace

Foreword

by Pastor Seyi Kolawole

Christ Family Centre, Kaduna, Nigeria

When a man’s heart and mind opens up to the truth of what Jesus did through His death, burial, and resurrection for humanity, everything about him changes. Man at the fall fell into a pit of sin that brought about fear, sickness, pain, failure, curses, poverty, war, etc. But praise God! We are out of that pit, and God has put a new song in our mouth (Psalm 40:2–3). What we now sing is about His goodness to us.

The Gospel of Grace is the heart of God revealed unto humanity. Grace is God’s gracious intent to treat humanity like sin never existed and God’s unfailing love that sees man like He sees His only begotten Son—Jesus. Glory to God, everything changed when Jesus died and rose again.

This book and the lives of the authors are about the message of God’s love and our position now in Christ. This book is definitely a must-read for everyone who is in love with the truth or in search of it. I pray that as you read through this book, your heart and mind will open more to the grace and love of God.

Grace to you!

Introduction

There are many things we have done which many consider great, but they are just among those things we believe God wants us to do which are namely to believe in Jesus and love others.¹ And in our love for others, we have always desired to share our story from grass to grace and to write many books. We have, therefore, pencilled down many titles for over ten years. However, one title, Out of the Pit—the Work of Grace, satisfies all the many things we want to tell you, which we started writing on 22 April 2012.

Though young in faith but making great and quick progress, we have come to realize that some still do not understand who Jesus Christ is and what He has accomplished successfully on our behalf. No wonder He remarked triumphantly, "It is finished."² It is to this group we owe a debt of love to put down what we have learnt about God’s benevolence and grace demonstrated in the sacrifice of Jesus.

We do not claim to have completely attained since we are all growing from glory to glory, but one thing we know is that we are out of the pit and free. Hence, our responsibility, what we live and think about, is that all we meet and you reading this book come out of the pit too. This is because our mission is to pull others out of the pit of either sin or ignorance, for these pits greatly hinder progress and the freedom to live abundantly.

It is God’s desire that all His human creations—you and I—be blessed, live in dominion, and rule the earth. So all we ask is that you hear us out by reading the book to the end then make your decisions. We trust it would be an unending and enjoyable journey that will lead to discoveries unfathomable yet rewarding.

It is a great privilege to share God’s Word with you, and sincerely, much more than you, we are blessed because like we said, these things have been in our hearts for many years, can you imagine? Like Mary, the Bible said, And Mary kept these things in her heart. We kept these things in our hearts and pondered on them, wondering when these things will happen. But because the Spirit of the Lord is upon us, He has given us His words to give you. And that’s why we have dared all odds to bring this book to you.

Jesus had finished feeding the five thousand, and all who were there spoke well of Him.³ You see, irrespective of the fact that they spoke well of Him, they were still amazed but offended at His words. Look at the next verse that came from their lips: How can He know so much? they asked. He is just a carpenter’s son. However, no situation from the past should define you; neither should your background or what they know of you, because nothing can change the fact that we are anointed. So nothing can change the fact that the words coming out of our mouth are not our words but the Word of God, and when God speaks, people are saved.

And God is going to be speaking. So listen because His Word put a road through the Red Sea, and His Word framed the earth and the world as you know it today. His Word brought about the airplane, medical science, and every other good thing we can see. It is His Word that brought about who you are and where you are. It is His Word. And so we are not going to joke with His Word.

His Word is law. His Word is authority. And all you sincerely need is one Word from the Lord, that’s all. That’s why He has sent the preacher. Like we told our friend, success is doing what God has asked you to do. It does not matter whether you are wearing clothes or not. It does not matter whether you have houses or you don’t have houses. It does not matter whether you are married or not married. You know you cannot put a finger to a formula for success—Apostle Paul was not married, but it was not a standard because Apostle Peter was married. So you cannot put marriage as a standard. All that is important is what God has asked you to do. And our friend told us something. He said, I have realized that being in the will of God is true success.

That is why we are so blessed you are reading this book today because it is God’s will for you to know that you are out of the pit and it is simply the work of grace.

Chapter One

IN THE PIT—ALL HAVE SINNED

And they took him, and CAST HIM INTO A PIT: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.

—Genesis 37:24 KJV

For my soul is full of troubles and my life draweth nigh unto the grave. I am counted with them that go down INTO THE PIT [good as dead]; I am as a man that hath no strength: Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy Hand. Thou hast laid me IN THE LOWEST [bottomless] PIT, in darkness, in the deeps. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all