God's Extravagant Grace Series

GOD’S EXTRAVAGANT GRACE

II Peter 1:3-4

The word extravagant is defined as “lacking restraint in spending or giving money or extending resources” Another definition is “exceeding what is reasonable or appropriate”.

The grace of our Heavenly Father is exceedingly great, to the point that it may be described as extravagant. In fact, there are no words that even come close to describing God’s grace. Though words fail to articulate just how gracious our Lord is, through His Word we have many wonderful examples that help to paint a picture of how good God is to His children.

Anyone who knows me, knows that one of my favorite Old Testament passages is the story of David and Mephibosheth, that is recorded in II Samuel Chapter 9. There we are told of a time after David ascended the throne in Israel when he set out to show unusual kindness to a member of the house of Saul. This was prompted by a promise that David had made to his best friend, Saul’s son, Jonathan. David learned that Jonathan had a son named Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth was crippled as a young boy and dwelt in a land called Lodebar.

David sent his servants to retrieve Mephibosheth and bring him to the King’s palace. In those days, it was common for kings to kill all of the relatives of their predecessor in an effort to prevent any sort of uprising or rebellion against the reigning king. For this reason, Mephibosheth was likely terrified when David’s servants came looking for him. When he entered into the presence of King David, he fell on his face in reverence. Certainly Mephibosheth was expecting judgment and perhaps death. However, what he received was mercy, grace, love, and adoption. Instead of imprisoning or executing him, David restored to him his family’s land and commanded his servants to work the fields and bring in the harvest. Furthermore, David invited Mephibosheth to come and live as if he were a natural born son of the king. He declared that Mephibosheth would be cared for and eat at his own table.

The reason that this is one of my favorite biblical narratives is because it so greatly illustrates what God has done for us. He has shown us mercy even though we are so unworthy. He has extended grace to us when what we deserved was judgment and condemnation. He sent His only Son to suffer and die on our behalf. Jesus came to our own “Lodebar” and brought us into the presence of God Himself. We have been adopted into the eternal family of God, we are joint heirs with Jesus, and we are assured that this relationship will last forever.

- King David knew first hand of the extravagant mercy and grace of God. He declared in Psalms 103:11-13:

For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him.

In the first few verses of Peter’s second epistle, he speaks of the amazing things that we have received as a result of God’s grace. I would like to examine some of these marvelous benefits and consider “God’s Extravagant Grace”.

- Beginning in verse 3, Peter describes some of the provisions that we have received from our Lord. Let’s look to the text and examine:

THE PROVISIONS WE HAVE RECEIVED AS A RESULT OF GOD’S EXTRAVAGANT GRACE

(God’s) “divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness”

When reading God’s Word it doesn’t take long to be reminded of the many great things that the Lord has provided for His children.

As parents there are many things that our children want and we would love to give these things to them, however there are times when we simply do not have the resources to do so. But we will move heaven and earth to provide them with the things that they need. On the other hand, there are times when we do have the ability to provide our children with the things that they want, yet we refuse to do so because we know that it is better if they do not have such things.

This is true for our Heavenly Father as well. There may be things that we want, but He knows that they are not what we need. Often God may withhold something that we ask for in order to protect us. But without fail He provides us with what we need. It is important to remember that everything we have comes as a result of God’s divine power and provision. He is Jehovah Jireh, He is our provider, and He has provided us with far more than we could ever ask for.