God's Grace

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-9; Ruth 2:1-17

Theme: 5 G’s for 2020

Title: Grace

INTRO:

Grace and peace in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!

Welcome to a New Year!

One of the interesting things that happens each year is that our dictionaries update and add new words. Words that once meant one thing take on a whole new meaning. Words for example like

+ BLOCK

Old Days: “to be placed in front of something, such as a road or path, so that people or things cannot pass through.”

Present Day: to prevent someone from contacting you on a social network like Twitter, or from viewing your profile on Facebook.

+Cloud

Old Days: “a visible mass of particles of condensed vapor (as water or ice) suspended in the atmosphere of a planet (as the earth) or moon.”

Present Days: “any of several parts of the Internet that allow online processing and storage of documents and data as well as electronic access to software and other resources.”

And then there are other words that are brand new words like Phonesia, Disconfelt and Intaxication:

+Phonesia - The affliction of dialing a phone number and forgetting whom you were calling just as they answer.

+Disconfelt - To sterilize the piece of candy you dropped on the floor by blowing on it, assuming this will somehow remove all the germs.

+Intaxication - Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

With all that being said this morning; there are some well worn words; words that have been around since before even human history that we need to retain. Words that we need to cherish and make sure that they are a part of our lives; this year, next year and for the rest of our lives.

One of those words is the Word – “GRACE”

Grace is an old word. In fact, it is one of the oldest words in existence. In Hebrew the words translated as Grace are the words Chen (??) and Hesed. The oldest of these is Chen which has a rather interesting word picture that goes with it.

The Hebrew people were concrete thinkers. They thought in practical terms. In this regard, they differed greatly from the Greeks who used a great deal of abstract thinking – thinking in ideas, principles and the like.

The Hebrews wanted to learn and experience things through the use of their God given five senses. They wanted to hear, touch, taste, smell and see something. While they did think at times think abstractly, creatively, analytically, critically and even divergently and convergently their desire was to think in concrete ways

Now, when it came to the Hebrew word Chen (grace) it was made up of two root letters chet and nun. These letters stood for two very important things:

+For life – especially for the protection of life

+For a tent – for a tent which is pitched in the wilderness

In other words; the word grace was to be capture by this concrete thought.

+A certain person would be living in a tent.

+A storm or a threatening situation would arise.

+A person would be traveling or attempting to set up their own camp but for some reason could not set up their camp would need immediate help.

+The first person would open the doors of their tent and welcome the other person inside providing a time of protection, provision and welcoming. They would be invited to stay until all danger was over. And in some cases like Jacob with Laban they would be invited to stay and become a part of the family.

To share grace (either CHEN or Hesed) was to share one’s life; one’s tent and to do all you could to provide a time of protection, provisions and join with them heart, mind and soul.

Often times we rely on the word grace we find in the New Testament. There we find the Greek form of the word grace – charis. Charis has a more limited meaning and is more abstract in nature. Charis means unmerited, underserved, unearned kindness and favor given to someone.

But too often that definition gets lost in all its abstract thought and that is not the true meaning of the word grace as understood by both the Old and New Testament.

The Bible is clear that for Grace to be understood correctly, it has to be experienced. Grace in other words has to be touched, smelled, heard, tasted and seen. Grace has to have its concrete values.

Thankfully for us the Bible shows us this very idea over and over in both the Old and New Testament. Let’s look at a few of them this morning and let’s allow them to help us deepen our understanding of God’s Grace so that we can start this New Year off living in Grace and pouring out Grace.