Neil Fraser emphasizes the importance of personal faith and the sufficiency of God's grace in his sermon at the Koronis Conference. He illustrates this through the story of a widow in 2 Kings 4, who, despite her dire circumstances, discovers that even a small amount of oil in God's hands can provide abundantly. Fraser connects this to Romans 5, highlighting that through faith, we have peace with God and access to His grace, encouraging believers to rejoice in their relationship with God rather than merely in His blessings. He stresses the need for individual faith and the joy found in God Himself, urging the congregation to cultivate a personal relationship with Him.

Now if we can indeed just settle down and enjoy the word, we shall be thankful. Now I think there's a kind of an evolution in the ministry of a conference. By that I mean that the opening messages should be of a foundation character, wherein the great affirmations of our faith are declared. And then, in the days that follow, give a more detailed application of those things. So I'm going to ask you to just turn for an illustration to 2 Kings chapter 4, and then go over to Romans chapter 5. I had intended something different, but it doesn't strike me as it would be as easy to speak from it as it might be from this person. Sometimes a preacher seeks that kind of a refuge. One of the advantages of coming back to a conference after a goodly number of years is that the preacher hopes the congregation has forgotten what he preached on before. But you know, I might have spoken on this before, I don't remember, but you know, Brother Fraser's sermons are so good that you like to hear them over and over again. Amen? I didn't expect quite a good amen. 2 Kings 3 chapter 4 and verse 1. Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophet, sons of Elisha, saying, Thy servant, my husband, is dead, and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord, and a creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? Tell me what hast thou in the house. She said, Thine handmaid hath not anything in the house, but a saber for a while. Then he said, Go borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbors, even into vessels borrow not a few. And when thou art coming, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shall pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. So she went from him, and shut the door upon her, and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her, and she poured out. It came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. Then he said unto her, There is not a vessel more, and the oil stay. Then she came and told the man of God, And he said, Go sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children off the rest. Now you'll agree with me, I'm sure, that this woman was in rather a bad way. Her husband was dead, she herself was destitute, and her sons were in danger. When she came, she came not pleading her own piety, but the piety of her husband, and that she might be heard because of the piety of her husband. Now that might have been a mark of her humility. On the other hand, she might have discovered all too late that she had been trading upon the faith of her husband and piety far too long. Now that he was gone, she didn't have any resources upon which to rest. Let us beware, sisters, of trading upon the faith and strength of faith and piety of your husband. So that when he is gone, you have not exercised a faith and confidence of your own, and you realize that you have been trading all too long upon the piety of your spouse. And that's good advice also for husbands, to be sure. But let us make sure that we have a confidence of our own, born of long personal individual experience in the school of God, that when he or she who is more dear to us than life itself is taken away, we are not so bereft that we have nothing upon which to live. Be that as it may, she was in desperate plight. Her husband's death. She destitute. All but destitute. She seemed to have forgotten a pot of oil she had probably behind the door. And her sons in danger according to the law that obtained of being sent into slavery at least for six years to pay the debt which she could not pay. A bitter experience indeed for her. Now she came to the man of God and asked for help. And he said to her, what have you got in the house? She said, my handmaid has not anything. And then she seemed to remember, well save a pot of oil. If there was a bitter experience, there was a blessed exception. She did have a pot of oil. And in the hands of the man of God, that was sufficient to meet her needs. For he said to her, go borrow thee vessels abroad. Borrow not a few, and go in and shut the door. This is the chapter of the shut door. You'll find the door is shut three times in this chapter and upon a different thing in each case. You can learn from each of those, but I wouldn't have time tonight. And so she did so. And she sent her sons out to borrow vessels and they brought. There wasn't a word of the kind of vessels that they had to bring. Whether gold or silver or earthenware or stone or whatever. They were just to borrow vessels, not a few. And she took them and shut the door and began to pour from the vessel of oil. And to her great amazement she had a bountiful excess. A bountiful excess. For all the vessels were filled and the oil kept coming. She discovered she was only straightened in herself. And she said, bring some more vessels, the oil is still coming. And they said, there are no more. And the oil stopped. And then the man of God said, go and pay your debt. But then he didn't stop there. And it's the words that follow I want to emphasize for us tonight. He says, go sell the oil and pay thy debt, end. Live thou and thy children of the rest. That is to say, he not only removed the past debt, but he provided for the present and for the future. Go and live of the rest. Now, in Romans chapter 4 we have our debt paid. Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven and whose sins are counted. And we're shown the means by which our debt has been paid, and the debt removed. But when we come to Romans chapter 5, to which I'll ask you to turn now, please, we shall discover the bountiful excess which has caught us in Christ. In fact, the Spirit of God seems to say to us, go and live of the rest. I want just to speak briefly tonight. I'll try to make it brief. I'll try to leave a little time for my young brother, Peter Pell. After all, he's my brother. But on the other hand, it's not very often you have brother Fraser, right? Now, our debt is covered in chapter 4. Now, in chapter 5, I want you to notice such words as, also. Not only so, and much more. These are the key words of Romans chapter 5, in case you haven't noticed them. And as we read now the first 10 verses, 11 verses at least, briefly, let us notice the recurrence of the words, also. Not only so, and much more. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Some versions say, let us have peace with God, making it an exhortation. I think that is wrong. You haven't reached the exhortative portion of Romans when you come to chapter 5. We are still in the realm of the objective values of justification. The objective values of the work of Christ. Not the subjective responsibilities of it, as yet. So I think the word stands, as given here in our authorised version. Being justified by faith, we have peace with God. This is not the individual tranquillity of your heart at this present moment. At this present moment, the tranquillity of your heart might have been disturbed by the recent happenings. This has to do with the great objective fact of peace with God wrought by the work of Christ. When peace was declared in the war between the states, they tell me that the reaction of the soldiers was different in different places. Some soldiers threw their hats in the air for very joy, and others sat down and wept for very relief. Now, whether the news that peace had been declared resulted in smiles or tears made no difference. The fact remained that peace was declared. And irrespective of the tranquillity of your individual hearts at this moment, verse 1 draws attention to the fact that sin as a barrier and as a block has been removed through the work of Christ, and because of that we have, all of us, peace with God. How much could be said about that? But we pass on. By whom also, there's the first of those extra things, by whom also we have access by faith into a grace in which we stand. We have access. As to the past, we have peace with God. As to the present, we have access into a grace in which we stand. Esther the queen was not sure of the grace in which she stood, and when her uncle Mordecai, or was it her older cousin, uncle I think, said to her, now you've got to go into the king's presence and intercede for your people, the Jews. She says, I don't know if I can go in. You know the law of the country, if anybody enters the king's presence unasked, unless he holds out the golden scepter, he'll die. And the king hasn't asked me to come into his presence for 30 days, which makes us think the king was tiring of his beautiful queen. I haven't been asked into his presence for 30 days, but she says, I'll go. And if I perish, I perish. She wasn't sure of the access that she had into the king's presence, of the grace in which she stood. But she said, I'll take a chance. And so she put on her beautiful robe, and she stood in the doorway. I was glad of what her brother had to say about why being nicely dressed and the husband come home. Never let your husband come home in the evening, find you in sleep. Amen. But that's a fact, whenever you use them in the daytime, I'm not here to suggest to you. Be nice when he comes home. Amen. Anyway, she put on her beautiful robe. And she stood in the doorway. And the king looked up and saw his lovely wife. And his heart went out to her. And he held out the golden cup. And timidly she came down. And she touched it. And he said, what is it, Queen Elsa? What is your request? Just name it. And it will be yours until the half of my kingdom. Just name it. And she was so startled and confused that she said, well, I'll tell you tomorrow. She discovered really, although she wasn't sure of the grace in which she stood, that now she could approach the throne of grace and find the king's pledge to meet her needs until the half of his kingdom. But you know, when you and I come to Christ, we have access by faith into a grace in which we stand. We have a perfect and eternal stand in grace before God so that we can come to him and by faith touch the golden scepter of the promises of God and find our need met. According to the half of Christ's kingdom? No. My God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory. All his riches in glory by Christ's kingdom. And you may come to him, my brother. And you may come to him, my sister, with a most unusual request. And if you touch the golden scepter of his promises with the hand of faith, they are given to you. I was talking to some brethren in Interville about Park Avenue Methodist Church in Minneapolis. Years ago, that was a place standing for God as far as they knew. And there was a Dr. Valentine who was a preacher there. I heard him one time when I was in Minnesota, in Virginia. And he told us this story, not what he had read in a book, but what had happened in his own faith. He said his sister down in the southern part of the state, I think in Mankato, was going to have a dinner party one evening. And she had invited about a dozen guests. And she decided that for so many people, she had better have baked ham. Fine, easy thing to have. So she ordered a baked ham for the dinner. But that afternoon, the snow began to thaw. And it fell and fell, as only can in Minnesota. On occasion. And she said to herself, now I know that a lot of my guests are not going to turn up. And she was right. And when she was cleaving off the table from the few that came, she said to herself, what am I going to do with all this ham? And she immediately thought of a woman who lived up the street, who lived alone, poor woman. She said, I'll give her some of that ham tomorrow. And the Lord seemed to say, no, no, give it to her tonight. And she said, no, I can't give it tonight because I've got guests here. And the Lord seemed to say, no, you take it tonight. But she said, I can't take it. Do you ever try to expostulate the God? She didn't. But she had no peace until she put a shawl on her head and ran all the way. And dumped down at the woman's door some of the big ham wrapped in tissue paper. And pounded on the door and ran back to her desk. And the next day, or the day after, when the storm had subsided, she went to visit the woman. She said, how are you? Oh, she said, I'm fine. How did you like that big ham? She said, did you bring that big ham? Oh, yes. Oh, she said, let me tell you about that. She said, no, I was sick in bed. I'd been sick for a couple of days. Couldn't eat. But then when I began to feel better, I began to go over the few things I had in the house to eat. And my stomach revolted against every woman. I lifted my voice to my Heavenly Father. And I said, Father, you know what? I could eat big ham. And she said, I just lay on the bed, and I just said over and over again, Father, make it big ham. And I speak reverently, friend. And I speak reverently also. But God looked down from heaven and said, well, who's got big ham for me? That did me a lot of good. You know that? You and I can touch the golden steps of the promises of God. With the hand of faith. And trust God to be sufficient for all of us. And then the Lord, as it says here, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Peace to the past. Access by faith to the present. And glory. Rejoice in hope of the glory of God. That may not draw attention so much to the rapture. The catching up of the church to heaven. Although, thank God, it's part of it. But the words, the glory of God, can usually be connected with his manifestation to the earth. We're apt to think that the biggest thing on the horizon, in the realm of eschatology, is the rapture of the church. Probably isn't so. The rapture of the church is only incidental to God's great prophetic faith. Of all that God has in the future, probably. Yeah, but rejoice in hope of the times. For the knowledge of the Lord will cover you as the waters cover the sea. What a day. And then it says, and not only so. Not only so. But the glory in tribulation. Oh, you say, I beg to stop. Yeah, I couldn't call you there. Glory in tribulation. See, I don't glory in tribulation. Now notice what he says. Knowing, glory in tribulation, knowing. You can only glory in tribulation as you know. Why? Knowing that tribulation worker patience. Tribulation worker patience. Now, now tell me that word patience means fortitude. Endurance or fortitude. Now, tribulation in itself is not a palatable thing, any more than the individual ingredients of a loaf are palatable things. You never went to somebody's house for supper, and the host says, while you're waiting, how would you like a spoonful of flour? Or how would you like a little piece of yeast cake? Only healthy yeast cakes. Or how would you like a spoonful of salt while you're waiting? Or whatever else to put in good bread. But put all these things together, and they'll give you a palatable thing. Now, you'll never glory in tribulation until you see them working together for your good. Knowing that tribulation workers endure. It's when God goes in with you into the tribulation, into the valley, and shows himself strong there, and teaches you things you couldn't otherwise learn and profit by. Then you welcome it when it comes. After all, steel at its lowest value may consist in horseshoes, which you pitch around in the dirt. But steel at its highest value may consist in lock springs. Those springs that move delicate instruments. And how do they arrive at that value? When heating and hammering, and heating and hammering, and heating and hammering again. And you and I are to welcome those things because of what they produce in us. They make life valuable for God. Our lives are not to be horseshoes pitched around in the dirt. They are to be lock springs used in the plan of God for his glory. Do you believe that? I trust we do this. Tribulation works that thing, and that fortitude expires. Here's a young fellow, he's made up his mind to take out the sea as a cause. This is his first voyage. He's out there in the wild, and there's a storm, a terrific storm. He's scared. He says, if I ever get off here, you'll never see me again. But he happens to look up at the bridge. And the captain is leaning on the bridge, talking to the mate, and he's smoking his pipe. He's not a Christian. I said that one place I was preaching years ago. Somebody said, didn't you know? I said, know what? There's two of the elder brethren smoking. I said, I'm sorry I didn't know. Just by the way. But he looks up and sees that man, and he says, my, my. How can he do it? You see, he had been through this, dear friend. It had worked. Endurance, fortitude, and despair. Now God doesn't want your life and mine to be free from heating in heaven. Because of the fallacy that it produces in us. And experience hope, and it's a hope we read here, that maketh not a shame, not a vain thing. Why? Because we have to earn it for us. Because the love of God is shed abroad. That word shed abroad is a Greek word that means poured out like a torrent. Poured out like a torrent in our heart by the Holy Ghost which is given to us. Let's go on for the sake of time, down to verse 9. Much more, much more. Then being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. It's not just a salvation from the past. It's a salvation from the future. From wrath through him. From all the wrath that's in the future, including the great tribulation. For in the book of Revelation, the wrath is confined between chapters 6 and 19, I think I'm correct in saying. Wrath is confined between chapters 6 and 19. In Revelation, the church is not seen on earth at all. It's in heaven in chapter 5. And you don't see it again until you get to the end of the book. And the wrath are those judgments which fall upon the earth. And we read in Thessalonians that Jesus not simply has delivered us from the wrath to come, but our deliverer, present tense, from the wrath to come. That's why I know and believe that the church will not go through the tribulation. For Jesus is our deliverer from the wrath to come. And God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. Without whether we watch or sleep, we shall live together with him. I think I'm correct. And then notice what it says in verse 10. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his life. Now, this is his life on the other side of his death. We are reconciled by his death, much more being reconciled by his death we shall be saved by his living. By his life on the right hand of God, of which we have heard quite a little already. Now, I want you to think tonight of the fact that at this moment there is in heaven a man who is called in 1 John chapter 2, our Advocate with the Father. Perhaps you'd like to keep your head in a place and we turn over to 1 John 2 and 1. I find that as God's people see it in the Bible, it's even better than hearing it. In the Bible, first epistle of John, chapter 2, verse 1. Now, my little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not, and if any men sin. It doesn't say, and when any of you sin, as if sin were a necessity, as if sin were something that could not be avoided. It doesn't say that. And if, I'm writing to you that you don't sin, but if you do, remember, we have an Advocate with the Father. Jesus Christ alone. Two things I want you to know that please about this. It does not say, if any men confess. He's talking to little children in the sense of Christians. It does not say, if any men confess, we have an Advocate with the Father. But, if any men sin, we have an Advocate with the Father. In other words, the advocacy of Christ does not begin when you confess your sin. The advocacy of Christ begins when you sin. It's not your confession that results in His advocacy. It's His advocacy that results in your confession. Amen? That's a wonderful thing to get a hold of. You see, our dear Pentecostal brethren, who love the Lord with all their hearts, and are continually thanking Him for the precious blood of Christ, and who often make you ashamed with their consecration to Him, we believe they're sadly lacking in a number of things, and they believe with all their hearts that you can be saved for many years. And, if you sin as a believer, the advocacy of Christ only begins for you when you confess. And, if you were to die between the time you sin and the time you confess, you'd be lost forever. You see? But, it doesn't say that the advocacy of Christ begins when you confess. It says, if any man sins, we have an Advocate with the Father. So, let me repeat what I said. I'd almost only ask you to repeat. It is not my sin that results. It's not my confession that results in His advocacy. It's His advocacy that results in my confession. Amen? You're not too sure. But, it's true. It's true. Now, if you lost your salvation when you sinned as a believer, God wouldn't be your Father anymore. He'd still be your God, but not your Father. The relationship would be gone. But, this verse says, if any man sins, we have an Advocate with the Father. He's still the Father. Amen? He's still the Father. Because, we have a man there who saves us by His love. Aren't you there? Now, to close, please. Going back to Romans once more. And, verse 11. And, not only shall we live off the rest. Not only shall we. But, we also join God. That's the same word in Greek as rejoice, in verse 2. And, glory, in verse 3. And, joy, in verse 12. Verse 11. Not only so, but we also joy in God. Exult through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the Atonement, the Reconciliation. The last thing I want you to notice, then, is what? We joy in God. We have peace with God. We have access by faith into a grace in which we stand. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God. We glory in tribulation. We are saved from wrath through Him. We are saved by His love. And, finally, we joy in God. Not in His blessings, but in God. We're not like the nine who stand in the row, counting their blessings. We're like the one who turns back, and falling at the feet of his benefactor, gives him thanks. And, he was a Samaritan. We get beyond the blessings to the blessed, and we joy in God. Do you ever joy in God? I mean, do you ever get along with God, and just joy in God? I think David did that, in 2 Samuel 7 or 8. Do you ever shout Hallelujah out loud? You should know, I never do. I do. I'm very careful to wait until I'm on the highway with all the windows shut. Joy in God. Do you ever sit in your car, and just joy in God? I do sometimes. And, tell God what you think about Him. That's what David did. One of the things he said, Lord, I thank you for speaking about me for a long time to come. We joy in God. Get beyond all the things He gives you, and get to Him first. Brethren and sisters, let us live off the rock.