God’s Amazing Grace
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.
If the Lord took my sins into account, I would not be able to stand before the Lord.
“Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.”
1 Timothy 1:13-15
What is Grace?
· Undeserved Favor
· Something that is freely given.
· Grace- getting what you don’t deserve.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Let’s look at today’s acrostic: GRACE
God’s gift
Received by our faith.
Accepted by God’s love.
Christ paid the price.
Everlasting gift
The G in GRACE is God’s gift – Grace is a gift. Grace cannot be bought. It is freely given by God to you and me. When we offer (give) our amends and expect nothing back, that’s a gift from us to whom we have hurt.
· If my relationship with God was dependent on my being perfect, I would have trouble relating to God most of the time.
· Thank God that my relationship with Him, its built on His grace and love for me.
And how do we receive God’s gift of GRACE?
That’s the R in GRACE: Received by our Faith.
· No matter how hard we may work, we cannot earn our way into heaven.
· But I’m a good person.
· I give money to charities.
· I do this, I do that…
· I, I, I
Isaiah 64:6
But we are all like an unclean thing And all our righteousness’s are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.
· Only by professing our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, can we experience His GRACE and have eternal life.
Ephesians 2:8-9
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
You and I tend to be more interested in what we do…God is more interested in what we are…
· Just a word of warning: Our walk needs to match our talk.
· Our beliefs and values are seen by others in our actions.
The next letter in GRACE is A:
We are ACCEPTED by God’s love.
· God loved you and me while we were still out there sinning…
· While we were living a life of debauchery, drunkenness, drugs, lying, stealing, cheating.
· Close your eyes for a bit…
- Think about your past life.
- Think about your past sins…
· Now think about the sins you’re battling with right now.
· Now picture Jesus, looking down from the cross with arms wide open…
· Now, listen closely…. a soft whisper from Jesus
· I love you…I forgive you; Father, please forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing…
· Think about that… Wrap you head around that or a bit…
· God so loved the world…He put his son on the cross for you and me.
· When is the last time you repented to God and wept?
· Most of the time, we are more worried about what our brothers and sisters will think about our sin, rather than what God thinks about us.
· God sees and hears it all…but were more worried about what our Pastors think about us…
Psalm 51
A Prayer of Repentance
1Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
2Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.
3For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me.
4Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in Your sight—
That You may be found just when You speak,
And blameless when You judge.
5
David sinned against God… not against Bathsheba and Uriah
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
· God has Forgiven you and I …
· God’s Grace…
· I don’t know about you, but I know that I don’t deserve God’s love.
“I have given God countless reasons not to love me, none of them have been strong enough to change Him…”
· But the good news is He accepts me despite myself.
· He sees all my failures and loves me anyway.
· And the same goes for you.
· No matter what you’re going through right now… No matter the depth of your struggle, the depth of your sin…. God loves you and He waits for you with open arms and scard hands…
One of my favorite set of verses:
I’m going to read it again, because its important…
…. this right here shows how Graceful the Lord has been with me …
1 Timothy 1:13-15
“Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.”
May I never forget that God saved someone like me
May I never forget that God has allowed me to see another day
May I never forget and get over the fact that He’s patient with me and walks through the fire with me …
He has met me in the darkest part of my life, and He has never left me...
And in me, there is nothing that can satisfy Him.
The song “Gratitude” …
“I have nothing fit for a King, except a Hallelujah...”
As I was preparing my teaching…
Brokenness…
“May I never get over being broken over my sin… May I never, ever stop realizing the incredible distance between me and my Jesus, because that’s the only way, I appreciate the distance He traveled to make me his child…”
Brokenness is not just for you to feel bad; brokenness is to get you in the place where you understand the magnitude of God’s Grace and Mercy…
The shortest Verse in the Bible…
Jesus Wept…
Only 3 times did Jesus’ weep…
1) He wept at the grave of Lazarus..
- Why did He let him die?
- He let him die, because He wanted everyone to experience the Resurrection…
- Because once you experience Resurrection, you have a personal experience with God….
- God let Lazarus die, because He wanted them to see the Resurrection.
- Has God wanted you to experience a Resurrection?
- Loss of a marriage, loss of a child?
- This may have happened to you; you may be going through it right now…
- He may want you to experience Resurrection.
- If you believe you would see the glory of God.
- What stone do you God to move?
- Grace- getting what you don’t’ deserve.
2) He wept at Gethsemane the night before Calvary.
Matthew 26:39
He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
-
- What was in the cup?
This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. 16When they drink it, they will stagger and go mad because of the sword I will send among them.”
Jeremiah 25:15-16
- The wrath of the almighty God against you was in the cup.
- The wrath of the almighty God against me was in the cup.
- That’s what was in the cup.
3) He wept over the city of Jerusalem, when He saw that Jerusalem was rejecting Him as the Savior
And He weeps today over some of you going on in life over your spiritual deadness…
He weeps…
Hebrews 4:16
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
· Believe me there is going to be a few times in life that you’re going to need God’s GRACE... that’s why it’s so important to cling to Jesus daily.
· Because one of these days, that’s all you’re going to have to cling to… is Jesus.
Let’s move on to C in GRACE: CHRIST paid the price.
· God loves us so much… He put and let His son endure the cross for us...
· Jesus died on the cross so that all our sins, all our wrongs, are forgiven.
· He paid the price, sacrificed Himself for you and me so that we may be with Him forever.
· When we accept Christ’s work on the cross, we are made a new creation.
· We can then rely on God’s strength and power to enable us to forgive those who have hurt us.
· We can set aside our selfishness and speak the truth in love.
My thoughts:
· I honestly think we take the crucifixion of Christ lightly…
· I know I did it for many years...
· What do I mean?
· God’s Wrath…
· We’ve all seen the Passion of Christ.
· Most of here, who come to Orchard, have attended our Good Friday service?
· We walk through different stations that day:
As we walk through the sanctuary were watching videos of what Jesus went through.
From the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus getting beaten, spit on, and eventually hung on the cross…
- We pick up a black rock (sin)
- We wash our hands.
- We picked up a leather strap and a nail.
- We hang a paper with our sin on the cross
- And we exchange our black rock with a clear rock…
It gets intense…some of us cry…
Now... picture your child going through all that torment…
It changes things... right?
Now it’s different… Now it changes the whole perspective of the cross…
Because it’s our child and it really hurts… now we feel the pain…
Now we feel the nails going through our hands and feet…
We feel the spear going through our side.
And now…we want to switch places with our child…
Lord… take me instead….
We need to look at the crucifixion differently…
Ephesians 1:7
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.
· How rich is God’s grace.
The last letter in GRACE is E: God’s grace is an EVERLASTING gift.
· Once you have accepted Jesus Christ as you Lord and Savior, God’s gift of grace is forever …
“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
Philippians 1:6
Also:
2 Thessalonians 2:16
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope
God loved us, and through His grace He gave us a good hope and encouragement that continues forever …
1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Once you knew very little of God’s kindness; now your very lives have been changed by it…
Let’s Review todays acrostic: GRACE
God’s gift
Received by our faith.
Accepted by God’s love.
Christ paid the price.
Everlasting gift
I stand before you as a product of God’s grace.
· Everyone here this evening who has let Christ into his or her life is also a product of God’s grace.
We often hear:
If God is so good, then why are people starving?
Why are there diseases?
Why did God take my son, brother, or mom away from me?
Why ?
Scripture never tells us that we’re going to live a perfect life. Have an abundance of money, and have the perfect marriage.
Quite the contrary..
- You will have trials and tribulations
- You will have ups and downs in life
- And you will lose family members…
- But scripture also tells us, that Jesus will walk along side of us during hard times if we have faith and we cling on to Him…
God, has a plan for each of us…
We weren’t created to be happy, but to be Holy…
John 3:16 tells us who God is... think about that for a minute…
I have been given Grace by the God of the universe…
Who gets angry and pours out His wrath..
The one who Gives and Takes away…
Isaiah 53:10
Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
I serve a great God who demonstrated His wrath when He poured it out on His own son.
It amazes me that we believe this:
That God would crush and kill His own son, but let you and I slide and get away with our sin...
· Jesus being sinless and perfect, died because of the wrath of God
· How dare we take that lightly. That’s against who we have sinned.
· How dare we think we’re going to have an easy life, with no struggles, no hurt, no confusion, or no pain…
· Scripture never says that…What Scripture says…is HE will walk along side of us during the darkest times of our lives… and He’ll never let us go…
16 months since my son passed away...
- August 21, 2023… marks 1 year since my boy passed away
-
· For the last 16 months I have been walking in the valley…
· I can’t lie it’s been a long walk…
· It was my birthday a few days ago… and my birthday’s will never be the same..
· The grieve comes in waves…
- I have good days,
- I have quiet days
- I have days I break down
· I go back to the day I lost my boy…
- I often go back to the feeling in my soul when I received the phone call…My son had passed away…
-
· It brings me back to the conversation I had with God...
“If you can’t take it away from me Lord…walk with me so I can endure this pain in my heart”
· It brought me back when my brothers came to be by my side...
- My Sanctuary Team
- My brothers from CR
- My family
- My son is gone… God had bigger plans for Him that I would of ever imagine.
- In preparing this message I studied the book of Habakkuk...
- Habakkuk cried out for the Lord to judge the wickedness of Judah
- He has upset and horrified that God would use the Babylonians to Punish Judah
- The Babylonians being barbarians, He asked the Lord why..
- Just like when we have a terrible storm in our life and we wonder why
- The Loss of a marriage, a loved one…a son
- The Lord’s Reply
Habakkuk 1:5
“Look among the nations and watch—
Be utterly astounded!
For I will work a work in your days
Which you would not believe, though it were told you.
- His thought process, His thinking, His love for us, His plan for us, are above our comprehension…We wouldn’t understand even if we tried.
But this I can say…
- God gave me 25 years with my son
- He gave me the opportunity to laugh and cry together …
- To celebrate his birthdays…to watch him skate and play soccer
- To laugh and to smile
- He could have given me less time with him…but He didn’t
- He gave me and wife an opportunity to teach him about Jesus
- We planted the seed in his heart at a very young age
- Isaiah loved the Lord…
- God gave me the chance to physically baptize my son at our old church …
- When I’m sad, when grief hits me hard…
- God answers…” My grace is sufficient for you…”
· Do I miss my son today?
Yes
· Does my heart hurt today?
Yes
· But God gives me Hope… that I will see my boy when I go to Heaven…
Add Picture Slide ..
· God has changed my view regarding death…
· I have a strong Christian wife, that I know she will raise my boys as strong Christian men if something was to happen to me…
· That’s the abundance of Grace God has given me…
· The gift of Peace and Joy even during difficult times in life…
· He can give that to you also…
2 Corinthians 7-10
And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
A quote by John Newton…
“I am not what I ought to be; I am not what I wish to be; I am not what I hope to be… But blessed be to God, I am not what I used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am “
The meaning of life. The wasted years of life. The poor choices of life. God answers the mess of life with one word: 'GRACE'
What gives me the most hope every day is God's grace; knowing that His grace is going to give me the strength for whatever I face,knowing that nothing is a surprise to God.
Revelation 19 : 11-16
Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.
That’s My God!
12His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:
KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS
That’s my Jesus… He has given and taken away from me… That’s the God I give praise to, even during the darkest times of my life…
I have been saved by His Grace… that’s the God who took my son home…and that’s the God whom I have given my life too… and this is the God I will praise for ever and ever…
Just as He has given me Grace, He gives you Grace…
Search Jesus daily, cling on to Him…. run to Him…
Psalm 145: 17:21
The Lord is righteous in all His ways,
Gracious in all His works.
18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.
19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He also will hear their cry and save them.
20 The Lord preserves all who love Him,
But all the wicked He will destroy.
21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord,
And all flesh shall bless His holy name
Forever and ever.
“My grace is enough for you. When you are weak, my power is made perfect in you.”
· Only by professing our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, can we experience His GRACE and have eternal life.
· If you feel the Lord pulling you to Him, if you ready to change your life and want to start living for Christ to experience His Grace, but don’t know how …let me know.. I’ll pray with you..
· If you’re hurting inside and just want to cry out to the Lord…I’ll cry with you..
· Today is the day… today is the day you can come to the feet of the cross…
· Jesus is waiting with open arms and scard hands…
Glory to God
Thank you for letting be of service…Glory to God…