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sermon

Grace Has The Last Word

May 3, 2026 · Apostolic Pentecostal Church (St. Louis, MO)

Transcript of a published sermon by Rev. David Bernard, transcribed from YouTube. An attributed primary source — not Acts 2:38 Life doctrine text.

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Summary

Summary prepared by Acts 2:38 Life from the transcript below — the preacher’s words follow in full.

The text read, and reports of grace at work around the world

  • He opens by reading his text on the grace of God that brings salvation and teaches believers to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age
  • He gives a perspective on what God is doing worldwide through the fellowship: thousands of churches at home, work in most nations of the world, and hundreds of thousands baptized in Jesus' name and receiving the Holy Ghost each year
  • Through a United Nations ministry, diplomats and staff members have been baptized in Jesus' name and received the Holy Spirit, including converts from nations where becoming a believer would be dangerous if known
  • In Brooklyn, a homeless man who came into a church member's restaurant was drawn in by a Spanish-language service broadcast from St. Louis, received a Bible study by phone, and received the Holy Ghost in the restaurant; he has since been delivered and reunited with his family
  • At a men's conference, a pastor reported a man he had worked with for decades received the Holy Ghost, and dozens of men were filled that night
  • In Myanmar, where the church has grown under government restriction and now suffers church buildings destroyed and pastors' homes lost in civil war, dozens received the Holy Ghost in a single service amid the chaos
  • At a facility dedication, four people received the Holy Ghost, including a deaf man who was also baptized and a man who had begun attending weeks earlier seeking Jesus

Scriptures: Titus 2:11; Titus 2:1

Grace defined: God's gift to us and God's work in us

  • Grace is God's unmerited favor: it cannot be bought, and no amount of praying, fasting, or church attendance can earn salvation
  • God does not put people on probation; His grace is free, and anyone can qualify for it
  • Because Jesus died and rose again, He purchased our salvation and gives victory; He finds us while we are still sinners and undeserving
  • Grace is not only God's gift to us but also God's work in us: it teaches us, forgives past sins, and does not leave us in our sins
  • Grace gives power to break free of bondages, habits, addictions, and lifestyles not pleasing to God, changing people from the inside out
  • The church preaches right and wrong and obedience to God's word, but no one can live that life by their own ability; grace liberates, delivers, and transforms
  • We are saved by grace from beginning to end; it is not what we do but what God does in us

Scriptures: Titus 2:11

Malachi's last word: grace and restoration before judgment

  • He turns to Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament and God's last word under the old covenant, followed by centuries of silence until John the Baptist
  • God promised to send Elijah the prophet before the great and dreadful day of the Lord, to turn the hearts of fathers to children and children to fathers, lest He strike the earth with a curse
  • Before judgment comes, God sends a ministry of reconciliation and restoration; family reconciliation is the building block of social reconciliation and revival
  • We are living in that day of restoration: as prophesied and repeated on the day of Pentecost, God pours out His Spirit on all flesh in the last days
  • The outpouring is for the young and old, male and female, servants and handmaids, people of every race, language, and background
  • No past life of sin, addiction, or habit disqualifies anyone: God loves you, has a plan for you, and His grace is for you; this is the day of grace

Scriptures: Malachi 4:5; Acts 2

The warning: rejecting grace leaves only judgment

  • Alongside the promise stands a warning: there is a blessing, but if the blessing is rejected, what remains is a curse; grace rejected leaves judgment
  • God does not delight to punish anyone; rather, our choices separate us from Him, and sin breaks fellowship with the holy God who is the source of all life
  • Even an atheist enjoys love, joy, and peace only because of God's grace; to die outside that grace is to enter eternity with a total absence of life
  • He illustrates with cut flowers in a vase: they look just as beautiful for a while, but cut off from the source of life they will inevitably wither and die
  • People who reject God may seem rich, famous, and full of pleasure, but when their life is over nothing remains; today is the day of grace, and today we must respond

The Bible's last invitation: the Spirit and the bride say come

  • He moves to the last chapter of the Bible, where the Spirit and the bride say come, and whoever is thirsty may take the water of life freely
  • Water represents cleansing, refreshing, and life itself; God promises eternal life, the cleansing of all sin, and a new beginning, and it is free
  • The only qualification is to hear, to recognize your need, and to want it: if you are thirsty, you have come to the right place
  • The Spirit is drawing people now, and the bride, the church, also says come: the church is open to everyone of every race, background, and sin
  • Sick people need the hospital and sinners need the church; the same God who saved and changed us will save and change anyone who comes
  • The goal is that anyone could one day see themselves belonging to this church, whether as a singer, a preacher, or a participant

Scriptures: Revelation 22

Neither add to nor take away: grace does not cancel obedience

  • The same chapter warns that anyone who adds to the words of this prophecy will receive its plagues, and anyone who takes away from them will lose their part in the book of life
  • He illustrates: inserting his own letter into the Bible would presume to add to God's word, but teaching doctrines not in the Bible as required for salvation would be just as bad
  • This is an apostolic church: it follows the preaching and teaching of the apostles as found in the New Testament rather than doctrines added in later centuries
  • It is a Pentecostal church not as a label but in wanting the same experience the apostles and the hundred and twenty received on the day of Pentecost
  • Tearing pages out of the Bible would be frightening, but dismissing New Testament teachings — such as those on sexual morality, modesty, and gender distinction — as mere ancient culture takes away from God's word just the same
  • This is a holiness church: it follows what God taught the church rather than culture or modern psychology and sociology, trusting the Creator knows what is best
  • The pattern is the same at the end of the Old Testament and at the end of the New Testament — promise and warning, blessing or curse, grace or judgment — because it is the same God operating by the same principles
  • In this age of fulfillment, we die with Christ in repentance, are buried with Him in baptism in His name, and rise to new life in the power of the Holy Ghost
  • Grace is free, but like a wrapped gift it must be taken, opened, and used; a gift never received does the recipient no good

Scriptures: Revelation 22

Grace has the last word: the title, the examples, and the altar call

  • He announces his title near the close: grace has the last word in God's plan for your life
  • There is one difference between the two endings: Malachi's last word is curse, but the New Testament ends with a prayer that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all — judgment is coming, but it is not yet
  • God's plan for a life is not judgment or a curse but healing, deliverance, salvation, and forgiveness; grace is for the one struggling with anxiety, depression, or failure
  • Saul of Tarsus persecuted the church, arrested Christians, and caused some to be put to death, yet God met him with a light from heaven and made him the apostle Paul; if God gave grace to such a sinner, He can give it to anyone
  • John Mark failed on the first missionary journey and quit, and Paul refused to take him again — yet he continued in ministry and was later commended by both Peter and Paul; failure is not the end of the story
  • Whatever door failure has closed, God can open another; if one plan is destroyed, God has another pathway in His grace
  • Grace is received through humble repentance, not boasting or bargaining: admit failure without excuses, ask for forgiveness and a new beginning, and a burden lifts
  • Those who have repented should press on in worship, speaking out in praise, until God's Spirit fills them and they speak in another language as the Spirit gives utterance; the same way of coming brings renewal and healing
  • He closes with the altar call: the devil, discouragement, and illness do not have the last word — grace is still speaking, so come and receive it

Scriptures: Revelation 22

Scripture index: Titus 2:11; Titus 2:1; Malachi 4:5; Acts 2; Revelation 22.

While you're standing, I'd like to read from the word of the Lord. It's great to be back here at Apostolic Pentecostal Church in St. Lewis, one of our strong churches in our fellowship. Appreciate your faithfulness to the Lord. Amen. I'm reading from Titus chapter 2 verse 11 and verse 12. Of course, we're so glad to be with P here with Pastor and Sister Dong. We're thankful for the great job they're doing and we love and appreciate I guess you're the bishop, right? Bishop Sister Willilifford. So we we appreciate their many years of service and they're still working for the Lord.

Amen. So Titus 2:1, for the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age. So I want to preach for you to you for a little while about grace. You may be seated. The grace of God. Amen. Let me say a few comments first. Uh you of course are associated and involved with the United Pentecostal Church International of which I serve as the general superintendent. So you perhaps hear some things because our headquarters is in the St.

Louis area in Welden Spring. And some of you work or have worked uh for uh the world headquarters over the years. But I want you to know, you see what God is doing here locally and you see new people coming to the Lord, being discipled, um, but you don't see everything that goes on around the world. So, let me just give you a perspective. Your prayers, your giving, your working with people here is making a difference because our vision, our mission is the whole gospel to the whole world by the whole church.

So, we need every church. We need you. We need your church. And we have about 5,000 over 5,100 churches in the US and Canada. This is our home base. So it's churches just like yours, large, medium, and small, binding together. Because of that, of the 210 nations of the world, we are now working in 203 of those. Praise God. Plus many territories. And we've got strategies for those other nations. And we have over 45,000 churches worldwide. Over 6 million, probably around 6.2 million believers. Approximately 300,000 people are being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ every year and about the same number receiving the Holy Ghost.

In the last three years, we estimate that 1 million people have received the Holy Spirit in the ministry of the United Pentecostal Church International. Isn't that exciting? That's the grace of God. God is bringing people to salvation from all walks of life all around the world. Let me share a few testimonies. One of them is we have a United Nations ministry. You might have heard about that. But some years ago, God did a miraculous healing with one of the staff members of another nation. And that led to a Bible study which is still ongoing.

Several years ago, my wife and I were able to participate in that. I taught the Bible study on the 22nd floor of the United Nations headquarters in downtown Manhattan, New York, overlooking the East River. in that in that Bible study, one person received the Holy Ghost. And so I know it's really happening. I just got a report just last fall in the years we've done it, 60 diplomats and other staff members have been baptized in Jesus' name and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit through the United Nations Ministry.

Our pastor is the United Nations Goodwill Ambassador. We don't publicize a whole lot about the converts because some of them come from Muslim nations where it would be very difficult if it were known that they become a believer in Jesus Christ. Another interesting thing, we have many great churches in New York City, but one of them, Pastor Mike Mitchell in Brooklyn, he's uh from a Jamaican background. So, the majority of the church is from a Caribbean or Jamaican background. But last year, a number of Hispanic people started coming to the church.

So he called our headquarters office, talked to brother Aaron Bryant who coordinates a number of ministries for us. Brother Bryant is completely bilingual in Spanish and English. He said, "How can we minister to these Spanish-sp speakaking people?" So, Brother Bryant starts on every Sunday morning here in St. Louis, he broadcasts a message in Spanish online. They have a full church service on Sunday morning and they have a Bible study on Thursday night. A group of people gather in Brooklyn, New York in a room and they watch Brother Bryan on the screen as they have their service.

So we call it church on the wall. The Apostle Paul didn't know about this technique. Uh but uh so one of our members in Brooklyn owns a restaurant. So last fall a man came into the restaurant who was homeless asking for something to eat. It's a sad story. He got hooked on alcohol and drugs. He lost his job, lost his family, lost his home, living on the streets, needed to needed something to eat. So the owner sat him down, brought him some food. And uh the owner play on Thursday nights.

He just plays the church on the wall in the restaurant. So this man is eating his food watching this. He doesn't speak Spanish, but something draws him and he says, "What is this?" And they explain to him. He says, "I need this in my life. I need to talk to that man right now. So the owner says, "Well, I've got his cell number. I'll call him." So he calls Brother Bryant. Brother Bryant proceeds to give this man a Bible study on the phone. At the end, he prays for him.

In the restaurant, the homeless man receives the gift of the Holy Ghost, speaking in tongues. I'm happy to tell you, he's re reunited with his family. He's been delivered. He and his family are part of Pastor Mitchell's church in New York City. Isn't that exciting? That's the grace of God. God's grace. If God will do that in New York City, I believe he'll do it in St. Louis, Missouri. Your friends, your family, your co-worker, your fellow students, God is reaching for souls. This is the day of revival.

This is the day of the grace of God. And God's grace is here this morning. Praise the Lord. Amen. In March, I preached at the Western uh men's conference, Western District men's conference in California. I felt led one night to really emphasize the Holy Ghost. And I began the appeal. Then an evangelist came and comeded it. But right at the very beginning when I gave the appeal, a a pastor came over to me. He said, "A man in my church has just received the Holy Ghost.

I've been working with him for 30 years and tonight he received the Holy Ghost. Before it was over, 34 men were filled with the Holy Ghost. Also in March, I went to the country of Myanmar, Myanmar, or also known as Burma. So, we've never been able to have missionaries there because of government restrictions. But from northeast India, we went into Burma and started churches. We now have 210 churches in that nation. And so it's a a great area of revival. Something interested is good news and bad news.

But in 2016, the uh the military dictatorship uh stepped down and allowed democratic elections. And one of our church members was elected as vice president of the nation. It's the first time, it's a very strongly Buddhist nation. It's the first time a non Buddhist ever held that office. It became a great blessing to us because his wife was our Bible college president and the government allowed us to build a fivestory Bible college building in downtown Yanggon which is the capital city of Myanmar. So that's the good news.

The the sad news is in 2021 the military uh dictatorship took over again. The country is in the midst of civil war. So there there's fighting across much of the nation and also the government is going into certain areas and trying to drive out Muslims, drive out Christians and destroying buildings. And so with all that's going on, we have lost 17 church buildings. And then I taught a minister seminar and asked we asked the pastors, 10 of the pastors in attendance have lost their homes due to the civil war.

So it's a very tragic circumstance. uh but because I was the first it's the first time a general superintendent had ever been to that country and our regional director brother Sham also was there. So, it was a great uh great encouragement, you can imagine, to the church that's in the midst of such turmoil and struggle. And uh brother Sham told me on Sunday morning, there was such a powerful presence of the Lord in worship, people responding, dancing the spirit. He said, "This is the the most freedom and liberty I've ever seen in the years I've been here." In the midst of the chaos, God was pouring out his spirit.

In that one service, 38 people received the gift of the Holy Ghost. Praise the Lord. I've been sharing that story and asking uh you know of course the church we want the church to pray for our churches there in that nation. I'm happy to tell you a few weeks after that visit finally the former vice president his wife were released from house arrest. They've been under house arrest all that time but now they have their freedom. So we're believing that God's favor is working in the midst of that difficult situation.

So God's grace is sufficient for every need. I just preached in Appleton, Wisconsin last week, a dedication of a beautiful facility. Four people received the Holy Ghost. One was a deaf man and who was also baptized. One was a Hindu man. He started coming five weeks ago saying, "I need to find Jesus, so I'm coming to church." God filled him with his spirit. Amen. And isn't that exciting to see what the Lord is doing? It's the grace of God. And so I want to talk about the grace of God.

We're saved by grace. That grace is often described as God's favor, unmmerited favor. And that's true. It's something we don't deserve. You can't buy it. You can't pray enough hours to deserve it. You can't fast enough days to deserve it. You can't come to church enough weeks to deserve it. All these things are important, but you can't earn your salvation. God does not put you on probation. If you live a holy life for 6 months, then he decides to fill you with his spirit. No, God's grace is free.

It's God. Grace is God's gift to us. He finds us when we're sinners, when we're undeserving. And because Jesus Christ died for us and rose again, then he purchased our salvation. He gives us victory. It's the grace of God. That means anybody can qualify for God's grace. It's free. But not only is grace God's gift to us, but it's also God's work in us. Notice the grace of God teaches us. It finds us in our sins, but it doesn't leave us in our sins. Because grace starts changing us from the inside out.

It forgives us of our past sins, but it not only liberates us from the past, it delivers us in the present. So grace starts giving us power to live a new life. We can break free of bondages, habits, addictions, lifestyles that are not pleasing to God. Because grace teaches and empowers us. So grace is not only God's gift to us, but grace is also God's work in us. I'm happy to tell you that we are a church that believes that grace can change your life. We preach the word of God.

We preach there's a right and a wrong. We preach we should obey God's word. But it's not by our ability. You say, "Well, I can't live that kind of life." Nobody can. But when God saves you, he starts changing you. And so, anybody can live for God with the power of God in your life. Grace liberates. Grace delivers. Grace transforms. Praise God. The grace of God is how we're saved from A to Z, from start to finish. It's not what we do, it's what God does in us.

Amen. Let me give you a an example or an illustration of the grace of God. I want to go to the book of Malachi, which is the last book of the Old Testament. Malachi was the last prophet of the Old Testament. After him there were 400 silent years. So there was no prophet in Israel until John the Baptist came preaching and preparing the way for Jesus. So when we read Malachi, we're really looking at God's last word under the old covenant before there would be a change of covenants.

And I want to read the very end of that book. It's in Malachi 4 verse 5-6. Here's what it says. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse. So notice, he's saying judgment is coming on the world. But before judgment, he says, I will send a man of God.

He will have the word of God and he will have a ministry of reconciliation of restoration. He used the example of fathers and children. The fathers were the heads of household. So there's family reconciliation. But families are building blocks of society and today of the church. And so if you have family reconciliation, you can have social reconciliation. You can have revival. So, I want you to notice that God was preparing his people. One day, there's going to be a judgment. But before there's judgment, there's going to be grace.

There's going to be revival. There's going to be an outpouring of my spirit. I will send a a preacher. I will send the word of God. I will send an opportunity for restoration. And I want you to know that we're living in that day of restoration. We're living in that day of revival. Because as Joles prophesied, which was repeated by the Apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2, in the last days, says God, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh.

Your sons and daughters shall prophesy. Your old men shall dream dreams. Your young men shall see visions. On my servants and handmmaids, I will pour out my spirit, and they will prophesy. It's a revival for the young, for the old, for the economically deprived or working class. For anybody that so wills, for male and female, for all flesh, that means black and brown and white. That means Spanish speaking, Chinese speakaking, English speakaking. It doesn't matter who you are or where you come from. The grace of God is for you.

It doesn't matter your past life of sin, your alternative lifestyle, your addiction, or your habit. God loves you. God has a plan for you. God's grace is for you. This is the day of grace. Oh, let's praise the Lord right now. The day of grace. So, notice, but I do have to tell you this. I don't really want to preach this, but what happens if you reject God's grace? Well, you're left with judgment. So, there's a promise, but also a warning. There's a blessing, but if you reject the blessing, you're left with a curse.

There's grace, but if we reject God's grace, there's judgment. Now, it's not like God is going to try to punish anybody or God doesn't really send anybody to hell. But our choices separate us from God. You see, God is the source of life. He's our creator. Everything we have comes from him. Every good thing, grace, love, joy, peace. Even an atheist who doesn't believe in God, when he experiences love, it's because of God. Even the atheist doesn't realize that he's enjoying the grace of God that goes to every human.

But if we live in sin, we cut ourselves off from God because God is holy. He cannot have fellowship with sin. Sin breaks the fellowship with God. If we persist in that condition to the rest of our lives and die in that position position, we die outside the grace of God. So we go into eternity with no grace, no love, no joy, no peace. For the first time there will be a co to co to total absence of life. That's the result. It's not God's choice.

It's the result of breaking fellowship with God, the source of grace in life. And so we have to be honest. We have a time in which to respond to God's grace. You know, it's like having beautiful flowers growing in a garden. You can cut them off, put them in a vase of water, and they look just as beautiful. But it's only a matter of time they're going to wither and die because they're cut off from the source of life. And so it is if we live 70 years, 80 years, 90 years, however long God gives us, and maybe some people not don't serve God, don't care about God, but they're rich, they're famous, they seem to have all kind of pleasures.

And it might look like, wow, they have a very enjoyable life. and they don't even believe in God. They don't serve God. They reject God. But don't kid yourself. It's just a matter of time. When their life is over, there's really nothing left because they're outside the grace of God. So today is the day of grace. Today we must respond to God's grace. Amen. Well, let me hasten to the New Testament, to the very last book of the Bible, to the very last chapter of the Bible.

It's Revelation chapter 22. And so, here's God's last word for us today. We live in the time of the new covenant. And so, if you want to know God's last word to us, here it is in the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible and the last book to be written. And here we find in Revelation chap 22 beginning in verse 17. And the spirit and the bride say come. And let him who hears say come and let him who thirst come. Whosoever desires.

The King James says whosoever will. Whosoever desires let him take the water of life freely. What a beautiful message of the grace of God. Water represents cleansing. It represents refreshing. It represents life itself. Most of the human body consists of water. You can live for weeks without food, but only a few days without water because it's essential to life. And so God is promising us, you can have eternal life, the water of life, the cleansing of all sin, the refreshing, the new life, the beginning, the eternal life, and it's free.

What a message of grace. The only qualification is you got to hear. You got to listen. You've got to respond. It says you've got to be thirsty. If you don't recognize your need, God can't help you. But you've got to admit, I need God. I am thirsty. If you're thirsty here today, you've come to the right place because God wants to fill you with his spirit. Whoever desires, that means anybody qualifies. The only qualification you have to want it. You have to listen. You have to be thirsty.

You have to want it. And the spirit says come. The spirit of God is moving here today. It's more than just the singing. They let the the singers led us in great worship. But it's more than just the drummer. It's more than just the keyboard. But there's the presence of God in this place that's drawing us. The spirit is saying come. Not only that, the bride, the bride, that's the church. The bride says come. So just as I said, God loves everyone. The church is open to everyone.

We need to understand everybody in St. Louis in this whole area, this city, this county can be a recipient of the grace of God. That's why the church welcomes everyone of every race, every color, every background, every sin, you are welcome here. We want you to be here. Even if you're in gross sin, even if you're lifestyle contrary to God, yes, absolutely. Sick people need to go to the hospital and sinners need to go to church. We're all sinners outside the grace of God. We have confidence that the same God who saved us and changed us will also save you and change you.

So we want you here. We welcome you here. You belong here. The church says come. Not only does the spirit draw you, but the church says please come. We want you to be part of the fellowship. Our goal is no matter who you are, you could see yourself. I could belong to this church one day. I could be a praise singer. One day I could be a preacher. One day I could be a participator because the church is for everyone. The spirit and the bride say come.

What a wonderful message of grace. But I must keep reading. If you go to verse 18, for I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book. If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the book of life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Uh-oh. It's a warning, a warning. He says, "If you add to this book, judgment will come." Now, I brought an iPad here today. I use it when I travel and preach because I can have 10 translations of the Bible, hundreds of books, all my notes of all the years preaching and teaching, all this one little thing. But if I were to have my leatherback Bible, which I have at home and office, and if I decided to write a letter, Bernard's letter to the Missurans, and I would mail it to Pastor Dong and all the other pastors in Missouri and say, "Put this in the middle of your Bible.

Tape it in between the Old Testament and New Testament, and about once a quarter, I want you to preach a message from that letter." That would be shocking, wouldn't it? I'd be subject to the judgment of God, right? Trying to presume to add to God's word. But what if I didn't do that? But what if I just started teaching doctrines that aren't in the word of God and said, "You've got to believe these to be saved. You got to follow these doctrines and these teachings even though they're not in the Bible." Wouldn't that be just as bad?

So that's why this is an apostolic church. What does that mean? We want to follow the preaching and teaching of the apostles of Jesus Christ as found in the New Testament. We don't want to add doctrines from the fourth and fifth centuries. We're going to stick with the word of God. We call ourselves Pentecostal. It's not a denominational label. It means we want the same experience as when God poured out the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost. What the apostles and the 120 receive, we want to receive that same thing.

We don't want to add to God's word. We want to go back to the original. We want to be the church because if we try to add something to God's word, we're in danger of judgment. So, what if I took that same Bible and I just tore out a few pages, threw them in the trash? That would be scary, wouldn't it? But what if I didn't do that? What if I just said, you know, I'm not going to preach on these things anymore. some things that's just you know ancient customs and and we know there are many things in the Bible their types and shadows but but if you look especially at the New Testament you find teachings for the church today not for ancient Israel even though all those things were instructive to us but the teachings directly to the church teachings of Jesus teachings of the apostles apostle Peter the apostle Paul it's all recorded in the New Testament the preaching in the book of acts it's all there it's for us But there are a lot of people who say, "Oh, that's just ancient culture.

It it doesn't matter today." You know, the teachings of sexual morality doesn't matter. Or the teachings of modesty of dress and gender distinction don't matter anymore. But wait a minute, those are in the Bible and those are for the church. If I say we don't need to follow those things, I'm taken out from the word of God. So that's why this is a holiness church. We want whatever God has taught the church, we believe we should still follow it. We're not going to follow what the culture says or modern psychology or modern sociology because we believe our creator knows what's best for us.

He knows the best of psychology, sociology. And we need to follow his plans for our lives. We don't want to add to God's word and we don't want to take away from God's word. We just want to follow God's word. So the message of grace doesn't negate the importance of obedience to the word of God. So notice it's interesting. Do you see the parallel between the end of the Old Testament into the New Testament? Essentially there's the same type of message. There's a promise but if we reject the promise there's a warning.

There's a blessing, but if we reject the blessing, there's a curse. There's grace, but if we reject grace, we're left with judgment. A parallel between the Old Testament and the New Testament, which should not be surprising because it's the same God. Even though the plans were different in different ages, it's the same God who operates by the same principles. And you would expect that at the end it's he's going to ask everybody to follow him the same way of having faith in his word, repenting from sin and receiving what he offers to that generation in that era.

And so of course we believers today, we have the privilege of being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. It's a burial with Christ. And we also have the privilege of being filled with God's spirit, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. That is a resurrection with Christ. Unlike every other age, we are in the age of fulfillment because Jesus died, was buried, rose again. We now can die with him in repentance, be buried with him in water baptism, rise to new life in the power of the Holy Spirit.

What a great day in which to live. But it's the same principle. We must follow his word. Grace is free, but we must accept it. It's just like a gift. If I come to you with a wrapped up gift and say, "Here it is." You're not going to enjoy the benefit unless you take it out of my hand. And you're not going to enjoy what's inside unless you tear off the wrapping and open up the box and take it out. All the gift in the world is of no value to you if you don't receive it and appropriate it and use it in your daily life.

And so God is saying, "Grace is here. It's free. But you got to open the package. You got to accept it. You got to take it in your life. So promise but warning, grace but judgment, blessing or curse. Parallel. But I haven't I haven't quite finished yet. I've got two more verses in the Bible. Verse 20 21. He who testifies of these things says, "Surely I'm coming quickly." Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. That's the end of Revelation.

That's in the Bible. Now, notice I've said there's a parallel, but actually there's one difference. Have you noticed the difference? The book of Malachi, the Old Testament ends literally the last word is curse. But the New Testament doesn't end with curse. The New Testament ends with a prayer for grace. I believe God is telling us while judgment is coming, it's not yet. Now, I didn't give my title of my message, and I'm getting ready to give you my title, and and don't be scared. I'm almost finished.

I'm not getting started, but here's my title. Grace has the last word in God's plan for your life. Grace has the last word. God's plan is not for you to end in judgment. God's plan is not for you to be left with a curse, but God's plan is healing. God's plan is deliverance. God's plan is salvation. God's plan is forgiveness. And God's plan for your life. Grace is supposed to have the last word. If there's somebody here tonight, you're struggling with anxiety or depression or even thoughts of suicide, God wants you to to deliver you.

God does not want you to live the rest of your life like that. God has grace for your life. If there's failure in your life, God's plan is not for you to live in failure. God's plan for you is grace. Saul of Tarsus was a persecutor of the church. He arrested Christians. He caused some of them to be put to death. He blasphemed God. If anybody deserved to be cursed, it was Saul of Tarsus. But God saw the sincerity of his heart. And God spoke to him with a light from heaven, and turned Saul of Tarsus into the Apostle Paul, the greatest missionary of the early church, writer of about half the books of the New Testament.

If God could give grace to a sinner like Saul of Tarsus, God could give grace to somebody like you or me. And then even after you come to the Lord, don't raise your hand, but has anybody ever failed God after you've been saved? All of us have. And there was a young man named John Mark. Paul and Barnabas took him on their missionary journey. Halfway through he got discouraged, homesick, whatever it was. He quit. He left. So it was time for the second missionary journey. Barnabas said, "Well, let's take John Mark again." And Paul said, "Absolutely not.

He He's a failure. I'm not going to take him." And they had a big dispute and uh they split company, but Barnabas took John Mark. Paul took Silas. You know, I would think, Brother Willifford, if some young person's applying for minister credentials with the Missouri district, and the Apostle Paul writes a letter says, "I don't recommend them. I don't think the Missouri district will give them credentials." But that's not the end of the story. Even though John Mark failed, we find he continued in ministry and if you read the rest of the New Testament, at some point he becomes a son in the gospel for the Apostle Peter.

And actually he's committed by the Apostle Paul saying Mark is a worthy minister receive him. So even though he failed in ministry, even though he missed the will of God, it wasn't the end of the story. I think if an applicant came to the district board with a signature of the Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul, I think it'd be a slam dunk. And so what I'm saying, God will restore. I don't care what your situation is. Maybe you feel like, "I can't be used of God." Somebody might say, "I can't be saved.

I can't receive the Holy Ghost." Or somebody might say, "But I blew it. I failed God. I messed up. There's no path for me." I'm saying that's a lie of the devil and God's plan for your life. Grace has the last word. Yes, some doors may be closed. Whatever is closed, God can open another door. God has if plan A has been destroyed by our own failure. God has plan B, plan C, plan D. There's always a pathway in the grace of God. Oh, let's stand together right now.

I'm preaching to somebody here today. In God's plan, grace has the last word. How do we receive it? It always comes through repentance. It never works by coming and bragging, boasting. Well, I've been a pretty good person. I lived a good moral life. I've been a church member for 20 years. Remember, grace is free. You can't buy You can't bargain with God. You can't make deals with God. But we come humbly. Lord, I need forgiveness. Lord, I need grace. I humbly repent of my sins, my faults, my failures.

I admit it. No excuses, no justification. I admit where I've failed. But I ask for a new beginning. I ask for grace. I ask for strength. And if you've never received the Holy Spirit, you start praying like that, you'll actually feel a burden lift. You'll feel forgiveness. Many people just stop right there. They feel so good. Well, that's it. A lot of denominations, that's basically what they teach. But what you're supposed to do is press on, start worshiping, maybe lift up your hands, start speaking. You got to speak out vocally.

You can't keep your mouth shut. And when you're praising, the spirit of God will come in. You forget about yourself. You're just absorbed in God. God's spirit will fill you and you'll start speaking from the inside out another language that you've never learned as the spirit of God gives the utterance. That's how you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And if you receive the Holy Spirit, you can be renewed the same way. If you need to be healed, you come the same way. You don't come saying, "I'm a faithful church member.

you got to heal me. No, you come saying, "I'm just someone that needs grace." And Lord, if I failed in some way, show me because I want to be right with you more than I want to be healed. But now, Lord, I'm trusting in you. And you'll see healing come. You'll see deliverance come. You'll see God working in your family. It's the grace of God. God's grace is speaking here today. Would you close your eyes with me just for a moment? I'm turning this back to the praise team and to Pastor Dong.

But if you'd like to come to the front and pray, if you'd like to invite someone to come with you to pray, if you need to repent of your sins, please come right now. If you've never received the gift of the Holy Spirit, maybe you're a faithful person and maybe you've already repented, but you've never received the Holy Ghost, today is your day. Why don't you come? Maybe you need a personal renewing. I'm not saying you're backsliden. I'm saying you need a personal renewing. Would you be quickly come right now?

God is speaking all across this building. Somebody, you've been discouraged. You're you seem to be at the end of your road. But God says, "No, grace has the last word. The devil doesn't have the last word. Discouragement doesn't have the last word. Illness doesn't have the last word. But grace is still speaking in your life. Would you come and receive the grace of God all across the building? Let's come. Grace has the last word.

Scripture references as spoken: Titus 2:11; Titus 2:1; Malachi 4:5; Acts 2; Revelation 22.