TAKE HOLD OF IT

Table of Contents

1. Greeting the Saints as Blameless and Holy Ones
2. Continuing to Believe Who God Says You Are
3. Tarrying and Developing Intimacy with God
4. Challenging Misconceptions About Jesus and Finances
5. The Grace of God Has Already Been Given
6. Taking Hold of the Abundance of Grace
7. Grace Is Jesus Christ Living Within Us
8. Enriched by Christ in Everything
9. The Full Meaning of Being Enriched
10. Through His Poverty We Might Be Rich
11. Take Hold of What Is Already Yours
12. Closing Encouragement and Support for the Ministry

Greeting the Saints as Blameless and Holy Ones

Pastor Leonard Rola opens the teaching by warmly welcoming everyone alongside his wife, Pastor Lori Rola. He says they're blessed to be with the audience and that they have something exciting, enjoyable, and informative to share.

Pastor Lori greets the audience as “saints,” immediately explaining that this means “blameless and holy ones.” She says that she personally cannot hear this truth enough. Pastor Leonard and Pastor Lori discuss how the Apostle Paul addressed believers as saints approximately forty times. The Greek word used for saints is “hagios,” identifying believers as holy and blameless ones.

Pastor Lori explains that she once thought “saints” was simply a generic term Paul used when speaking to a group of Christians. She did not fully understand that the people hearing Paul’s letters would have understood that he was directly calling them blameless and holy. This meaning transforms the greeting from a general label into a declaration of how the Father sees every believer.

Pastor Leonard adds that Paul repeatedly describes believers with other positive new-creation realities. He calls them righteous, justified, sanctified, perfected, complete, and new creations. When all these declarations are added together, believers are reminded of their new identity perhaps sixty to seventy-five times throughout Paul’s writings.

The repetition reveals how strongly God wants His people to know who they are. Pastor Leonard observes that after hearing these truths so many times, believers should become convinced of their identity. Pastor Lori agrees, explaining that she loves hearing these truths repeatedly because she needs the reminder herself.

Their opening greeting is therefore much more than a pleasant introduction. When they say, “Hello, blameless and holy ones,” they are agreeing with the identity that God has given every believer through Jesus Christ.

Continuing to Believe Who God Says You Are

Pastor Leonard refers to a message he recently preached from Colossians 1:22–23- “In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister.”

He emphasizes that believers have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. As a result of that reconciliation, God has brought them into His own presence. They now stand before Him as holy, blameless, and without fault.

Pastor Leonard highlights the instruction to continue believing this truth and to stand firmly in it. Believers should not allow themselves to be moved away from what the gospel says about them. They are not trying to become holy, righteous, or blameless through their own efforts. They have already been brought into God’s presence with this identity because of Jesus Christ.

This is why Pastor Lori continually reminds people of who they truly are. As she reminds the audience, she is also reminding herself and Pastor Leonard. Every believer needs to hear the truth repeatedly: in Christ, they are holy, righteous, blameless, and standing before God without a single fault.

Tarrying and Developing Intimacy with God

Before beginning the primary subject of this teaching, Pastor Leonard encourages everyone to listen to their previous Sunday message about practicing the art of tarrying. That teaching was based on Luke 24:49- “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”

Jesus instructed His disciples to tarry “until” they received what the Father had promised. Pastor Leonard explains that tarrying involves developing intimacy between the believer and the heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Within this relationship, God speaks, and the believer listens. The believer speaks, and God hears. Through this ongoing communication, believers learn God’s heart, mind, and will. Faith rises within them as a result of this intimacy.

Tarrying removes uncertainty and guesswork from a believer’s life. Through fellowship with God, people can receive direction concerning the path they should follow. They can know God’s will regarding healing, finances, and relationships. They no longer need to continually say that they do not know what God is doing or what He wants.

Pastor Leonard explains that when believers understand what it means to tarry and what the word “until” communicates, the Holy Spirit leads them into a place where they can hear God’s voice. As they hear Him, faith rises within them. He strongly encourages the audience to listen to the previous teaching because he believes it will bless them.

Challenging Misconceptions About Jesus and Finances

Pastor Leonard transitions into the principal subject of the teaching: finances. He explains that many people have been taught that poverty itself is blessed. In discussing this belief, he refers to Matthew 5:3- “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

He challenges the idea that Jesus was continually broke, without resources, or without a home. Pastor Leonard says that Jesus had a home in Capernaum. He also points to the value of the clothing Jesus wore. At the time of His crucifixion, the soldiers did not want to divide His garment, so they gambled to determine who would receive the entire piece.

Pastor Leonard and Pastor Lori also recall the wise men who traveled to see Jesus and brought costly gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Pastor Leonard asks the audience to consider the value of these gifts. They were not merely small, insignificant trinkets. They were expensive and valuable offerings.

He humorously asks what people imagine Joseph and Mary did with those valuable gifts. They did not simply gamble the resources away. He suggests that these gifts could have been preserved for Jesus and used later when He was ready to launch His ministry, allowing that ministry to be fully funded.

The pastors’ larger point is that when Scripture speaks about riches, blessings, and provision, people often attempt to make every reference exclusively spiritual. Pastor Leonard argues that the biblical language they are about to examine includes more than spiritual blessings. It also encompasses practical, material provision.

The Grace of God Has Already Been Given

Pastor Lori reads 1 Corinthians 1:4- “I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ.”

Pastor Leonard uses the expressions “I am,” “I can,” and “I have” as a filter for understanding Scripture. He explains that believers must read the Bible from the perspective of what Jesus Christ has already accomplished and given to them.

A careless reading of a passage might cause someone to believe that God has not yet provided what the believer needs. Pastor Leonard says such a conclusion would conflict with Paul’s other writings. This verse does not say that grace might eventually be given. It says that the grace of God is given to believers by Jesus Christ.

Pastor Leonard examines the word “given,” explaining that it means something has been brought forth, committed, delivered, granted, or entrusted to someone. Grace has therefore already been brought forth and delivered to the believer.

Pastor Lori particularly appreciates the thought that all this grace has been delivered to her. Pastor Leonard tells the audience, “You have been graced.” Because grace is inseparable from Jesus, he describes this as having been “Jesus Christed.” The life, power, and provision of Jesus Christ have been granted to believers through their union with Him. The focus is not on trying to persuade God to release grace at some future time. Grace has already been delivered through Jesus Christ. The believer’s responsibility is to recognize, receive, and take possession of what has been given.

Taking Hold of the Abundance of Grace

Pastor Leonard connects the grace given in Jesus Christ with Romans 5:17- “For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.”

He explains that the word translated “receive” carries the idea of actively taking hold of something. It is not a picture of someone passively waiting for God to decide whether to give. God has already made the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness available through Jesus Christ.

Those who receive and take hold of this abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through Jesus Christ. Grace and righteousness are gifts, but the believer must embrace them and stand in their reality.

Pastor Leonard returns to this passage throughout the teaching because it expresses the heart of the message. Believers have been given an abundance of grace, but they need to take hold of it. They must agree that it belongs to them and live from what God has already supplied.

The same principle applies to righteousness. Believers are not attempting to earn righteousness through their behavior. Righteousness is a gift received through Jesus Christ. As they take hold of grace and righteousness, they are equipped to rule and reign in life through Him.

Grace Is Jesus Christ Living Within Us

Pastor Lori asks Pastor Leonard a foundational question: “What is grace?” Pastor Leonard answers that grace is the power of Jesus Christ. More personally and directly, grace is Jesus Christ Himself living within the believer.

He supports this understanding with Acts 17:28- “For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.”

The believer lives, moves, and has his or her being in Christ. Pastor Leonard initially speaks of living and moving through grace, but Pastor Lori brings the focus directly back to Jesus. It is through Jesus because Jesus is the grace and power living within believers.

When God blessed believers with Jesus, He blessed them with everything that comes with Jesus. Pastor Leonard refers to Romans 8:32- “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”

God did not spare His own Son but delivered Him for everyone. Therefore, with Jesus, God has also freely given believers all things. Everything that comes with Christ—His life, power, strength, wisdom, and provision—is included in the gift of grace.

Pastor Lori points to the truth that it is no longer the believer living alone, but Christ living within the believer. This is declared in Galatians 2:20- “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

The life believers now live in their physical bodies is lived by the faith of the Son of God, who loved them and gave Himself for them. Jesus is not distant from them. He is within them. Pastor Leonard repeats this truth to emphasize its importance: He is within me, He is within me, and He is within me. Grace, therefore, is Jesus and all that Jesus is. It includes all that Jesus has and all that Jesus does. When believers were given Jesus, they were given everything that comes with Him.

Pastor Leonard then cites Philippians 4:13- “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

Believers can do all things through Christ because Christ supplies the strength. This is grace in action. The ability does not come from isolated human effort. It comes through the indwelling Christ, who strengthens the believer.

Pastor Lori says this is an awesome definition of grace. Pastor Leonard adds that grace should not be reduced merely to the familiar phrase “unmerited favor.” From his perspective, God the Father considered the gift worth providing because of how valuable people were to Him. Jesus Christ and everything that comes with Him have been brought forth, committed, delivered, granted, and given to the believer.

Enriched by Christ in Everything

Pastor Leonard introduces another verse that he believes both he and Pastor Lori need at this particular time. He explains that when they need a specific truth, the people listening to and following their ministry may also be facing circumstances in which they need the same truth.

Pastor Lori reads the two verses together, beginning again with 1 Corinthians 1:4: “I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ.”

She continues with 1 Corinthians 1:5- “That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;”

Pastor Leonard emphasizes the connection between these verses. Because believers have been given grace through Jesus Christ, they have been enriched by Him in everything. The phrase “in everything” is important. This enrichment is not limited to a small, carefully restricted spiritual category.

Believers have been enriched in all utterance and all knowledge. This means they do not have to remain trapped in uncertainty, continually saying they do not know what the Lord intends for them, what He is doing, or how He is leading them.

They have been graced. As they take hold of that grace, they also take hold of the knowledge that has been given to them through Christ. God’s direction does not have to remain hidden from them. Through the grace and presence of Jesus within them, they can know how He is leading.

Pastor Leonard nevertheless repeats the central instruction: believers must take hold of what has been provided. The enrichment has been given, but they must receive it, agree with it, and stand in it.

The Full Meaning of Being Enriched

Pastor Leonard and Pastor Lori explore the meaning of the word translated as “enriched.” They explain that it carries the idea of wealth, fullness, possessions, money, abundance, richness, riches, and an especially valuable bestowment.

This understanding surprises Pastor Lori. Much like her earlier discovery concerning the word “saints,” she had previously understood “enriched” in a more general or exclusively spiritual sense. She might have interpreted it simply as being filled spiritually. Learning the broader meaning of the word reveals to her that it includes wealth, money, possessions, abundance, and valuable bestowments.

Pastor Leonard says that this shows the passage is about more than an undefined spiritual blessing. Because grace has been given to believers, and because they take hold of and stand upon that grace, their lives have been enriched.

The enrichment includes knowledge and the ability to understand God’s direction. It also includes provision, material possessions, abundance, valuable bestowments, and riches. The pastors emphasize that the original meaning of the word should be allowed to communicate its full force.

Pastor Lori marvels at the importance of learning the meanings of the words the Holy Spirit placed in Scripture. The Word was given for believers—the saints, the blameless and holy ones. Understanding these meanings helps believers recognize what God has already said belongs to them.

Through His Poverty We Might Be Rich

Pastor Leonard moves to Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian church and reads 2 Corinthians 8:9- “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.”

He begins by emphasizing the opening statement: believers should know the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the same grace that has already been given and bestowed upon them. Because it has been given, they are to receive it and take possession of it.

Jesus was rich. He was God, and the world belonged to Him. Yet, for the sake of humanity, He became poor. He did this so that through His poverty, believers might become rich.

Pastor Leonard connects the word “rich” in this passage with the word “enriched” used previously. He explains that the words communicate closely related ideas. Once again, he argues that the language is not confined to spiritual richness. It also deals with material riches, blessings, and provision.

The exchange accomplished by Jesus is central to the grace message. Jesus stepped into poverty for the believer’s sake so that the believer, through His poverty, might be rich. This provision is part of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Pastor Leonard is not presenting riches as something people manufacture independently of Christ. He grounds the entire teaching in Jesus, His grace, and His finished work. The blessing belongs to believers because it comes through their union with Jesus Christ.

Take Hold of What Is Already Yours

Pastor Leonard brings the message to its central conclusion: grace has already been given, and grace resides within every believer because Jesus Christ lives within them. Therefore, believers must take hold of it.

The instruction to take hold is active and personal. Believers are to take hold of all the enrichment contained in grace. They are to take hold of all its blessings. They are not trying to steal something that belongs to someone else or force God to provide something He has withheld. These blessings are theirs because God has already granted them through Jesus Christ.

The believer’s response is to receive, grasp, and stand upon what has been provided. Pastor Leonard uses the Greek concept behind receiving to communicate, “Grab it. Take it. It is yours.”

Pastor Lori agrees wholeheartedly with this conclusion. Her closing response is direct: “Take it. Take hold of it.” This statement captures the complete message of the teaching. Jesus Christ has already been given. Grace has already been delivered. Righteousness has already been granted. Enrichment has already been supplied. Knowledge and strength are already present in Christ. Believers should therefore stop treating these gifts as distant possibilities and begin taking hold of them as present realities.

Closing Encouragement and Support for the Ministry

As the message concludes, Pastor Lori thanks the viewers for being God’s extended hand. She expresses gratitude to those who are being ministered to and fed through the teaching and who choose to support the ministry.

Pastor Leonard joins her in thanking everyone for their support. He explains that their gifts mean a great deal to the ministry and tells the audience that they will see them again in a couple of days.

The final encouragement remains clear: know what Jesus Christ has given you, recognize the grace that resides within you, and take hold of everything that is already yours through Him.

We hope this article blessed you and helped you recognize the grace, identity, strength, and provision you have received through Jesus Christ. Please share this teaching with others so they can learn who they are in Christ and be encouraged to take hold of everything He has provided.