Epaggelia

God says through the Hebrew writer, “How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of Grace?” (10:29). If you are able to bless the Spirit of Grace and feel gratitude for His presence, you put yourself on a path of deliverance, however, if you insult Him, and live that way, you put yourself on a path of destruction. Make the right choice and pray about this. God is love, but we all know how jealous love can be! Zechariah reveals that God wanted to pour His Spirit of Grace out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The purpose of the “pouring” was so that they would look at Christ and be able to see His grace & identity clearly.  Zechariah 12:8 – 13:1 is the prophecy revealing God’s work of forgiveness through Christ whom they pierced.  Even though God knew and planned on their rejection of Christ in order to perform such a sacrifice, His Spirit of Grace was poured out for the few who would drink from Him, (Jn 7:37-39) Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea and the Centurion at the cross were some of them. On the day of Pentecost, there were thousands that drank of Him, 1st Cor. 12:13 

Whenever the earth drinks in the rain, there is growth. It is God’s design and desire in us to grow the fruit of the Spirit of Grace, Gal. 5:22-23. Therefore we are made to drink of the Spirit of Grace, to grow the fruit of the Spirit. There are 12 Greek words in the New Testament which describe His fruit. 

1. Love, Gal. 5:22
2. Joy, Gal. 5:22
3. Peace, Gal. 5:22
4. Patience, Gal. 5:22
5. Goodness, Gal. 5:22, Eph. 5:9.
6. Faithfulness, Gal. 5:22
7. Kindness, Gal. 5:22
8. Gentleness, Gal. 5:23
9. Self-control, Gal. 5:23
10. Holiness, Romans 6:22
11. Righteousness, Ephesians 5:9, Hebrews 12:11, James 3:18
12. Truthfulness, Ephesians 5:9

Do you see Humility in this list? The reason it’s not there, is because God demands our own self-willed heart to submit and humbly allow Him to pour into our hearts His love and His Spirit of Grace, Romans 5:5. If we don’t want to submit and open our heart, we will never drink in the water of life and have the Spirit of Grace live within our soul to save us. Matthew 13:1-23 reminds us of God’s view of people as a vineyard to plant the word of God into their hearts. Let God’s love water your heart full of the Spirit of Grace, making our heart a good place to grow His fruit. The Character of Christ in your daily life is dependent on this!