Walking with Grace
Alicia Crystalus
Sermon Given at the Spiritual Lighthouse Church
Jacksonville, FL
June 21, 2009
Imagine with me for a moment, that after having a tough and challenging day, you decide for to go for a long walk. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t seem to relax your mind. You replayed your day over and over in your head. Then you were reminded by this small still voice in your head to bring Grace in to your walk. Then immediately everything shifted. You could notice the beauty around you from the colors of the leaves, to the smell of the grass.
You were reminded that walking with Grace is walking with – compassion, courage and determination. Grace is a state of being; it is an acceptance that you can always be filled with grace. All you have to do is ask. Grace is with you wherever you go.
Grace is feeling safe, secure and loved while you are on Earth. Grace provides an inner strength and courage to face life’s challenges. Grace helps you to hold onto faith and hope when all seems lost. When you allow God’s grace to fill you, you will always feel God’s presence within you. It is the seed of God’s spirit that thrives and shines when we are surrounded in the darkness. That seed of grace can be nurtured to provide light to guide your way on even the darkest paths. Grace helps to remind you that you are never alone and always loved. I want you to imagine what it feels like to be loved and filled by grace. Feel that sense that you are never alone and always loved.
Some crucial questions you may have about Grace:
*What do you think grace means?
*Some of you may be wondering, how de we receive grace?
*How do we activate grace in our lives?
*Do you think you have to work hard to receive grace?
The answer to those questions is:
Grace is not something you have to work for, no amount of good deeds can win you grace. It is something that has already been set aside for you to receive. Almost like a present waiting for you to accept the gift and unwrap it. It is freely and easily given to you without any strings attached. Accept God’s love and forgiveness for you and your life. When you open your heart to God; God’s grace, hope and love flood in and fill you with more than you can ever imagine.
“May Grace and Peace be multiplied to you.” 1 Peter 1:2
When Peter wrote this he felt the bliss of grace and the blessings of peace. He wanted all other people to feel this amazing miracle of grace. He formed it was a greeting to friends. What greater blessing can you wish someone than grace and peace? Think about someone right now that needs the gift of grace, maybe it is you, or a dear beloved friend or family member. Ask that they be blessed with Grace right now.
Grace is a special gift from Heaven. All other blessings of joy, peace, compassion and courage come from first receiving the gift of grace.
May grace be multiplied to you and all forms of grace received by you. Grace is the empowerment of something brand new and holy within your heart. This act of accepting grace allows your heart to be transformed to become God’s own heart. Allow God’s own heart to beat within your chest. Let every beat of your heart spread love, mercy and compassion as life blood through your body. Do that right now. Allow God’s own heart to beat within your chest. Let every beat of your heart spread love, mercy and compassion as life blood through your body. You can do this any time you need to.
Grace does not make a superficial change. It makes a sacred and lasting change that helps guide your soul through eternity. It helps you to understand your divine purpose and provides an inner knowing that you are following the right path even when you do not know every step of the journey.
It awakens the image and divinity of God within your mind, body, heart and soul. It awakens you to the divinity that has always been within you. Grace helps you to realize that you have never been nor will you ever be separate or apart from God. Grace allows you to remember and experience the true oneness with God on a deeper level.
The transformation of grace allows you to accept the precious gifts of compassion, courage and determination. Not only for yourself but for all life on Earth. These special gifts assist you to claim your life’s purpose and fulfill it with courage and confidence. Grace helps you to maintain faith that you are strong enough and good enough just as you are to complete your divine mission. Grace flows through every cell of your body, bringing understanding, light, tenderness and harmony every where it touches.
God’s Holy Spirit assists you by streaming grace into your heart every second of the day. Each wave of grace touches your heart and plays it like a beautiful instrument. The song that is sung in your heart plays in harmony with the heavenly choirs of angels. Allow your heart to sing along with the heavens and let your life be in harmony with the Earth.
Think back to a time in your life when you didn’t feel you were enough or that you just couldn’t get through the next challenge in your life. We all have those times. I want to you think about a recent time when you felt that way. Now I want you to imagine that you allowed the Holy Spirit to flow through you, breathing grace, hope and love back into you. Did you feel like you were never alone when you walked through this situation? Did you know that you could accept the calling of your divine purpose? And that you were supported every step of the way by God’s grace? Did you feel a boost to your spirit that helped pick you up off the ground so you can walk with grace again? It is never too late to bring Grace into any situation.
While God plants the seed of grace into our hearts. It is up to us to nurture, water and grow the seed into a glorious rose of love, mercy and compassion. Every time we allow light into our lives, we bask that seed in sunlight to help it grow. Every tear we cry and offer up to God to help us over the hurt and pain of life; waters that seed. Every day that we meditate, offer praise or worship we nourish that seed. So that one day that seed will blossom into a beautiful rose that has spread throughout our entire lives. Take time each day to tend to the seeds planted in your heart. You have a beautiful garden waiting for you.
God lays the foundation for our faith, but we construct the holy temple by walking with grace every day. The Holy Spirit helps continue to work of grace in our hearts but we must be open to the ways the Holy Spirit moves in our lives. Working to open our hearts, allows the Holy Spirit the opportunity to help tend our garden and temple with us. We don’t have to walk this path alone. Allow the help and support of heaven to be with you every step of the way.
A good metaphor for how we work with God and the Holy Spirit might be a sailboat floating on the ocean. God provides the Grace Compass for our lifeboat. We begin our journey of life and create a sail to help speed the trip along. For us to truly sail the world – we need wind to fill up our sails so we don’t get stranded on the high seas of life, with no land or friends in sight to help us in the storms of life. The Holy Spirit is that friend, providing wind to fill our sails. Sometimes this wind is gentle, like a whispering breeze across our face so we know we are not alone. Other times it is a gale force wind that helps push us into safety and blow the storms of life away. Each blow of grace helps us to maintain our faith and moves us forward on our journeys through life.
Grace provides us a way to commune with God. Grace raises us up to God’s level and allows us to be friends. Commune with God on a daily basis to continue your walk with grace. There are so many different ways to commune with God and it is a shame to miss them!
Here are 5 easy ways to commune with God on a daily basis.
#1 – is to pray and offer words of praise for blessings received during the day.
# 2 – is to take God along as a passenger while you drive to work, He is an awesome listener and if you listen back God may even offer words of advice on how to have a peaceful day. (No one will ever know. They will think you are talking on your cell phone.)
# 3 – Another way would be to turn on uplifting music that stirs your soul and offers words of praise and worship to God.
#4 – My personal favorite is something I like to do a few minutes before I get out of bed in the morning. I talk to God about what I want to accomplish that day and ask for His help every step of the way.
#5 – At night I will review my day with God. It is an act of prayer that I offer up. I review blessings I had received during the day. Share my problems and moments of gratitude where I was able to see God helping me. God is always present, every second of the day. Ask God for further guidance on walking with grace, mercy and love each day. Allow yourself the chance to see the beauty in the world around you. See where God was in your life each day. No matter if you were less than perfect, there is nothing in life to be ashamed of for God loves you unconditionally and always loves you perfectly. As you walk with grace, walk with your head held high for you are walking with God.
If you can’t find time for any of the ways I have shared, the single most spiritual thing you can do is to fall asleep without anger. Fall asleep with peace and you will wake up with peace. Trust that God will continue working on your life and filling you with love while you are asleep. So any challenge that seems to big, give it up to God and allow Him to work on it while you sleep, trust that you do not have to worry while you sleep for your life is in the best hands possible. Then when you wake up invite God to be with you every moment of the day. You will be amazed at how your life changes by simply inviting God to be at your side.
Walking with grace makes life more exciting. It makes life peaceful and extraordinary. God is helping you create your life and filling each moment with magic, mystery and wonder. Remember nothing is impossible with God.
If you would like to learn more about walking with grace or how to build an intimate relationship with God, please talk with me after the service. Walking with Grace in the past has not always been easy for me. It is something that I have learned to do. I am committed to helping you experience God’s grace. One of the ways, I would like to do that right now, is to share a song with you by Paul Baloche; it is Open the Eyes of My Heart. Please join me in singing along. After the song I will show you how you can truly accept God’s grace into your heart right now.
I want each of you to close your eyes for a few minutes. Allow your hearts to accept the love we have just been singing about. Allow your hearts to soak it up. If you have been moved by my words, please raise your hand. Please keep your hands up if you want to accept God’s grace into your heart. Just the act of raising your hand will show God that you are ready to open your heart for a deeper relationship. If you are 100% committed and ready to accept God’s grace, unconditional love and forgiveness into your heart, please raise both of your hands. On your chair was placed a special prayer in an envelope. Take that out now and say this prayer with me. You may do so silently in your heart if that feels right to you.
Dear God, I want to share more of my life with you. Please surround me in your love and fill my heart with your grace. I open my heart and trust that you will plant the seed of grace within my heart. I ask that your Holy Spirit guide me on how to tend to this precious gift of grace so it can mature into a beautiful rose of life. I invite you into my heart and into my life. I truly accept your unconditional love and forgiveness and can’t wait to walk with grace with you for the rest of my life. Amen.
Thank you for allowing me to share my walk with grace with you. I appreciate each and every one of you and am thankful that you shared your hearts with me. May you be surrounded in love, joy and peace! And remember, to please see me if you have any questions or give me a call. I am here to help bring grace into your life.
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