Introduction

Hello Church! We are going to learn some incredible truths today about how God works in our lives. The gospel is good news. It’s better than that, really. It’s actually mind-blowing great news. And we don’t have to wait until we die and go to heaven to experience it. God is eager to do amazing work in us and through us each and every day in this life.

I have here a gallon jug. I want you to think about your car for a moment. Your car gets a certain amount of miles per gallon. If I fill this jug with gasoline, how many miles will your car get out of it? (Pastor: what kind of MPG does your car get? Share that with the congregation).

Now let me ask you a different question. How many gallons of gas do you think it takes a Boeing 747 to go from standing still to a full takeoff? A Boeing 747 is a jumbo jet that can carry over 600 people and fly over 9,000 miles, which is about as far as New York City is from Sydney, Australia. In other words, that’s a lot of people, a lot of distance, and a lot of weight!

How many gallons of gas do you think it takes to get that 747 off the ground at takeoff? It takes one gallon for my car to go _____ (fill in the blank) miles. How many gallons of gas do you think it takes to get a Boeing 747 off the ground?

The answer: roughly 1,300 gallons. Just for takeoff! That’s a lot of gasoline burned in a short amount of time just to get the jumbo jet into the sky.

Now that we understand that, I want to share a quote by a guy named Dallas Willard. Dallas was a theologian who wrote extensively about spiritual formation and the goodness of God the Father revealed through Jesus the Son.

Dallas said, “The true saint burns grace like a 747 burns fuel on takeoff.”

That’s a lot of grace.

In Dallas’ view, grace is more than God’s “unmerited favor,” which is typically how we define grace in church circles. Grace includes that for sure! But, grace goes further. Grace is God working in my life to accomplish that which I cannot accomplish on my own.

To say that the true saint “burns grace like a 747” is to say that the true follower of Jesus will see God accomplishing more and more in their lives that they otherwise could not accomplish on their own.

What has God accomplished in your life that you could not have accomplished on your own?

Have you grown in self-giving love? Courage? Taking risks? Have you experienced restored relationships? Deeper friendships? A healed marriage? Have you learned to let others go first? To be willing to go last? Have you overcome addiction? Have you experienced anything supernatural that’s difficult to explain but was a blessing in your life? Have you overcome challenges through prayer and faith and hanging on despite long seasons of uncertainty and pain? Have you received some provision of money or food or something material just at the right time and didn’t see it coming?

All of that is grace. All of that is God working in your life to accomplish that which you could not accomplish on your own.

If you were able to accomplish any of those by yourself, that would be works and not grace. But, because these were accomplished only through the presence, power, and provision of God, they are grace.

Sometimes we reduce the idea of grace down to a legal standing or legal concept. In truth, grace is simply a loving Father actively working in my life. Grace is a relational concept, not a legal one. Jesus came to teach us that God is a relational Father, not a prosecuting attorney.

And that is why we can burn grace like a 747 burns fuel on takeoff, because grace is not a substance or a scarce resource. Grace is a Person! And that Person gives Himself to us in relationship “without limit” (see John 3:34).

Dallas said, “The true saint burns grace like a 747 burns fuel on takeoff.”

Main Teaching

Today’s passage from scripture involves a conversation between Jesus and his disciples. Jesus questions his disciples, asking them, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter responds with a confession of faith in Jesus, stating, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”

Let’s read the passage.

Read Matthew 16:13-20

This passage holds an important place in Christian theology ... View this full sermon with PRO Premium