Sermon Central
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Grace..."God's Second Chance"
Contributed by Charlie Roberts on Sep 7, 2016 (message contributor)
Summary: If someone was willing to give you a second chance wouldn’t you want to know about it? If someone was willing to forgive you wouldn’t you want to hear about it? If somebody loved you so much that they were willing to die for you, wouldn’t you....
Grace..."God's Second Chance"
Oops... Illus. From sermon central staff
Bill, Jim and Scott were at a convention together and were sharing a large suite on the top of a 75-story skyscraper.
After a long day of meetings, they were shocked to hear that the elevators in their hotel were broken and they would have to climb 75 flights of stairs to get to their room.
Bill said to Jim and Scott, "Let's break the monotony of this unpleasant task by concentrating on something interesting. I’ll tell jokes for 25 flights, Jim can sing songs for the next 25 flights and Scott can tell sad stories for the rest of the way."
At the 26th floor, Bill stopped telling jokes and Jim began to sing. At the 51st floor Jim stopped singing and Scott began to tell sad stories.
"I will tell my saddest story first," he said. "I left the room key in the car!"
Grace is certainly a lot easier to receive sometimes, then it is to give. Isn't it?
Everything associated with Grace can be summed up on the receiving end of it in a word, "UNDESERVED".
TBS. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJ
The best thing about a gift is that you don’t have to earn it, its usually given because that someone felt like you deserved it.
God's grace is unique, though! Because it doesn't have the word "usually" associated with it. When God decided to extend His Grace, He made it free and exceedingly available to everyone!
Grace extended by anyone could be considered to be amazing. But grace extended by the one who invented the all words, including "Amazing" is so far beyond the word that describes it!
Still there's a catch, Unless it's received or accepted, it doesn't realize it's complete purpose in a persons life! Oh, it still retains all of its power, benefits and availability for future use. And that brings to mind the question, why would anyone not want to accept and realize something so amazing?
In the entitlement society that we live in, you would think that everyone would want to get in on something wonderful and free wouldn’t you?
With Grace, the mindset though of most people says there has to be strings attached to it, everybody knows that there is no free lunch!
Somewhere, somehow someone has to pay for it, someone did pay, someone already did pay the bill, that’s what makes the Grace of God so Amazing!
Because you don’t have to work for it, you can’t earn it, your not worthy of it and you don’t deserve it, but yet you are entitled to every ounce of possibility it can accomplish for you in your life!
If you could obtain it on your own, then that would make it all about you, wouldn’t it?
That’s the part that’s hard to figure, its not about you, its about what’s been done for you and made available to you,
The only strings attached, are the ones who play the most beautiful music of what Grace can accomplish for you in your life, if you will let them!
TBS. that no one is saved by their good works. No one earns their salvation, no one gets to work their way into heaven.
We are all saved by Gods merciful grace. And I say that, because God's Grace is a voluntary thing, It was His choice to make it available to us!
And there is only one reason that He did, because of His immense and extravagant love that He has for us! Thank the Lord we serve a Giving, Graceful God.
Not only are we saved by Gods grace but also the word tells us were forgiven by Gods grace.
TBS. in John 1:9 NKJ
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Why does God forgive us? Because God is a gracious and giving God.
Contrary to what some might believe...God is a giver, all the world thinks about is taking, all God thinks about...is Giving!
That’s what Makes God and His Grace so Amazing! The way He thinks, is totally opposite of the worlds way of thinking! We don’t deserve it, but He gives it anyway!
While some may not realize or understand, God's Grace sustains us and keeps us.
It goes before us, it carries us, Grace is our sufficiency! Once we have it, we can depend on it to be there, it never leaves!
TBS. Phil. 1:6 HCSB
I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
