Hyper-Grace

Two weeks ago, we did a bit of a study rather than a real message, though there was a message in it. We had been asked a question about Hyper-Grace and made an effort to give some surface answers. Since most of us had not heard of it, I presented a composite of answers.

Today, turn with me to see what is in the Bible.

Isaiah 30:

·         1 "Woe to the rebellious children," says the LORD, "Who take counsel, but not of Me, And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, That they may add sin to sin;

·         2 Who walk to go down to Egypt, And have not asked My advice, To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, And to trust in the shadow of Egypt!

o   This may have been directed at the Israelites, but it certainly applies today

o   People ask advice from everyone except God

o   Isaiah 31:

§  1Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, And rely on horses, Who trust in chariots because they are many, And in horsemen because they are very strong, But who do not look to the Holy One of Israel, Nor seek the LORD!

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·         8 Now go, write it before them on a tablet, And note it on a scroll, That it may be for time to come, Forever and ever:

·         9 That this is a rebellious people, Lying children, Children who will not hear the law of the LORD;

o   Deuteronomy 32:

§  20 And He said: 'I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end will be, For they are a perverse generation, Children in whom is no faith.

o   We have taken the Bible out of schools and parents don’t know the Bible well because it was gone when they were in school

·         10 Who say to the seers, "Do not see," And to the prophets, "Do not prophesy to us right things; Speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits.

o   Churches today have gone from theology to therapy in the pulpits.

o   In the past decade, we went from therapy to motivational speaking instead of preaching.

o   I was not able to find any teachers/preachers of this trend that I have ever heard.

o   While he doesn’t overtly use the term, the closest I found was Joel Osteen. Many of his comments and teachings fit this view. And I found writers accusing him of such.

o   Isaiah 5:

§  20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

o   Amos 2:

§  12 "But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink, And commanded the prophets saying, 'Do not prophesy!'

o   Jeremiah 6:

§  14 They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly, Saying, 'Peace, peace!' When there is no peace.

o   Isn’t that the way of these motivational speakers who talk about peace with one another without preaching the Bible?

o   Jeremiah 23:

§  17 They continually say to those who despise Me, 'The LORD has said, "You shall have peace"'; And to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, 'No evil shall come upon you.'"

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§  25 "I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in My name, saying, 'I have dreamed, I have dreamed!'

§   26 "How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart,

o   How often have you heard it said, “Just follow your conscience and you will be ok.”

o   I know several well-intentioned people who think this way

o   They believe if they do good and follow their conscience, God will take care of them

o   Romans 16:

§  18 For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.

o   2 Timothy 4:

§  3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;

§   4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

o   We are living in that “time will come”, and the Hyper-Grace teaching is evidence of how deep we are into this prophecy

·         11 Get out of the way, Turn aside from the path, Cause the Holy One of Israel To cease from before us."

·         12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel: "Because you despise this word, And trust in oppression and perversity, And rely on them,

o   What word do they despise? The Law, of course!

Ezekiel 34:

·         1 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

·         2 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD to the shepherds: "Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?

o   Zechariah 11:

§  16 "For indeed I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are cut off, nor seek the young, nor heal those that are broken, nor feed those that still stand. But he will eat the flesh of the fat and tear their hooves in pieces.

§  17 "Woe to the worthless shepherd, Who leaves the flock! A sword shall be against his arm And against his right eye; His arm shall completely wither, And his right eye shall be totally blinded."

·         3 "You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock.

o   We have all seen churches where the leaders were living in opulence from the tithes and offerings and NOT teaching the true Word of God

·         4 "The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them.

·         5 "So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered.

o   And when people find out they are being disillusioned, they leave – sometime to other churches and sometimes they drop out altogether.

·         6 "My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them."

·         7 'Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:

·         8 "as I live," says the Lord GOD, "surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock" -