Introduction:
I. I’ve got to tell you, I am really ticked off at myself right now.
A. You may recall about a year ago, I made a commitment to lose weight.
B. In fact, I made a commitment to myself to lose 100 pounds.
C. I started out pretty well.
1. In a rather short period of time, about 6 months, I lost 50 pounds.
2. I was on my way.
3. All I had to do was sustain my eating habits and sustain my level of physical exertion at the gym.
D. You may have noticed, because I certainly have that after that initial loss, I have regained about 20 pounds over the last several months.
II. What happened?
A. I would like to blame in on the fact that I had to go into the hospital, but in actuality, I continued to lose a few pounds during those times.
B. I would like to blame it on the fact that I have been busy, and just haven’t had the time to make it to the gym as regularly as I was.
C. I can make up all the excuses I want to, but the fact is, I did not sustain the discipline to go to the gym as regularly as I was, and I did not sustain the eating habits that had allowed me to lose that initial weight, and not even feel all that hungry.
III. Maybe I got tired of eating so much salad; maybe I got tired of two-a-days at the gym; what I really know is that I did not continue on the path that had set me on the journey of reaching my goal.
A. What I began with such earnestness, I did not complete,
B. And now, it’s almost as if I am starting over from the beginning.
IV. And am I glad that God’s grace is not like that.
A. God does not give up,
B. God does not get sidetracked.
C. What God began, God will finish.
D. The Bible says in Philippians 1:6 - “6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”
1. If you make a habit of marking in your Bible, circle the words “will perfect it”
2. The text reads a little difficult, but the intent is, “God will sustain His work of grace in us; that is He will keep us, until the day Christ Jesus returns to take us to heaven.
V. God’s grace is a sustaining grace, that is in no way dependent on us, but rather is totally dependent on His desire to keep us.
A. The bible teaches that if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our savior, there is no question whether we will end up in heaven one day.
B. Whether we “finish the race” or not is not in question.
C. The only question is, “How will we finish the race.”
1. Will we hear God say, “Well done good and faithful servant.”
2. Or simply, “You made it.”
D. While I will be satisfied to simply hear, “You made it.”
E. What I really want to hear is, “Well done.”
VI. This morning, I want to talk about “God’s Sustaining Grace.”
What is Sustaining Grace?
I. What do I mean when I say, “Sustaining Grace”
A. By sustaining grace, I mean, the power to keep on going when we feel like giving up.
1. Do you ever need that?
B. Sustaining Grace is the power to do the right thing when you don’t feel like doing the right thing
1. Do we ever need that?
II. I doubt I would be far off the mark, if I said,
A. “We all have times when we feel like giving up, throwing in the towel, and calling it quits.
B. Most of us, at least from time to time experience the temptation to do something that we know we really shouldn’t do, but for that moment or moments, we can just get tired, for lack of a better word, of doing the right thing.
III. So what can we do in those times?
A. Pete writes in 1 Peter 5:12 "I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!” (NASB)
1. Circle "stand firm in it".
2. Peter says,
a. No matter what is taking place around you.
b. No matter what seems to be happening to you,
B. God has given you and I His grace, His power to make it through, so “Stand firm in the grace of God.”
IV. Perhaps it will help us to understand how to stand firm in God’s grace, if we understand what might cause us to falter.
V. There are essentially three areas where we are susceptible to stumbling.
He Keeps Me Standing Through Temptation
I. I can count on God’s Sustaining Grace to help me keep on standing when I’m tempted.
A. Temptation is the first thing that causes us to stumble.
1. The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:8 "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour”
a. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour.
b. In other words, Satan wants to put obstacles in our lives tht might well cause us to stumble..
B. Be on the alert against him.
1. Circle "Be on alert" and so be strong in the faith."
II. That phrase “prowls about” is rather interesting.
A. One meaning in the Greek is, “to live ones life.”
1. Or the purpose of ones life.
2. In other words, the purpose of Satan’s life is to look for ways to make us stumble, to tempt us.
B. Before we come to faith in Christ, we belong to Satan,
C. Once we have believed in Christ as Savior, we are no longer the property of Satan, we belong to God.
1. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2nd Cor. 5:17)
2.
III. We believe that our eternal destiny is now in heaven, so why is Satan so interested in us?
A. Because as Christians, we now want others to become Christians too.
B. If Satan can cause us to stumble, and become ineffective in living for Christ, we will also become ineffective in telling others about Christ.
C. And do not believe you are not tempted.
IV. The Bible states very clearly that everybody is tempted.
A. You will never outgrow temptation.
B. The Bible says even Jesus was tempted.
1. It says He was tempted in all points like we are but he never sinned.
2. The good news is this:
a. If Jesus was tempted and He never sinned it means it’s not a sin to be tempted, but
b. it is a sin to give in to temptation.
3. Some Christians, when they’re tempted, "Oh, no! How could I have ever thought that one!"
a. Like I’m some evil, wicked, mean, or nasty person because a thought went through my mind.
b. You cannot control all the thoughts that go through your mind, but you can chose to not dwell on them.
c. You can’t stop the birds from going over your head but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.
V. Peter said that our “adversary” prowls around looking for places to tempt us.
A. And where is he going to offer temptation?
1. In those areas where he knows we are susceptible.
2. Those areas where we are the weakest.
B. In order to combat our enemy,
1. we must be willing to admit those areas where we are most prone to stumbling,
2. And we must be willing to trust God’s sustaining grace to empower us to overcome them..
VI. 1st Corinthians 10:13 holds this great promise from God - “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
A. James said that God does not tempt anyone,
B. Paul says that God is aware of each temptation that comes into our lives, and He has provided a way out, a way to stand firm and not give in.
VII. Your area of temptation may be different than mine; mine may be different from your’s, but God’s grace offers us the power to be over comers.
He Keeps Me Standing When I’m Tired
I. It’s a simple fact that sometimes we just get tired.
A. When we get tired at work, or of work, our productivity can fall off.
B. When we get tired at school, or of school, our homework falls off.
C. When we get tired in life, well we just get tired.
II. Following that line of reasoning, when we tired spiritually we become more susceptible to stumbling in our walk with Christ.
A. And what would cause us to get tired, we quickly say.
1. How about when we are the only light in our workplace, and everyone is talking about how much fun they are going to have this weekend?
2. How about when a co-worker gets under our skin, or the boss lays it on a bit heavy, and others are venting through gossip and innuendo?
3. How about when the culture keeps telling us that our values and morals are out of date with where society is, and we are left feeling stranded?
B. How about when we are just tire of doing the “right” thing?
III. Be honest now, sometimes we just grow weary, and it becomes so easy to stumble that we don’t even notice the obstacle in our path, so what can we do.
IV. Getting tired must have the potential of being a problem, for Paul writes to the Thessalonians and says, - But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good. (3:13)
A. But how do I do that?
B. What can give me the strength to keep on keeping on, when I want to give up and sit down sometimes.
C. Open your bible to 2nd Corinthians for just a moment.
1. Look at 2nd Corinthians, chapter 1 verse 21 -
2. What does it say there?
a. My NASB reads like this - Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, (2nd Cor. 1:21)
b. Your NIV says this - Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us,
c. The KJV puts it this way - Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;
3. Circle the words “establishes” or “stablisheth” or “stand firm” and circle God, then draw a line between the two.
D. That is the key.
V. We most often grow tired of trying to do right, because we are trying.
A. We are doing, we are going, we are fighting the good fight.
B. And as long as we are trying, we will grow tired.
C. The Bible says “it is God who makes us stand firm.
1. It’s not our power,
2. It’s His.
3. We must learn to rely on the power of God to get us through those times when we just want to rest for a moment.
He Keeps Me Standing When I’m Troubled
I. Jesus said in John 16:35 - “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
II. This life is full of trouble, and not all of it, in fact for most of us, very little of our trouble confronts us on the spiritual realm.
A. How many of us have actually suffered any persecution because of our faith.
1. Maybe someone calls you a name, but is that really trouble?
2. Maybe someone insults Christianity in general, but is that really trouble?
B. Most of our trouble may impact our spiritual life, but not come from it.
1. Life just isn’t going the way we think it should.
2. Our job is boring, routine, or in some cases not there for a while.
3. We worry about our children, because they are not where we want them to be.
4. We worry about our health, losing weight, diabetes.
C. There always seems to be something that is troubling us.
III. And sometimes our troubles seem to be compounded.
A. What can I do?
B. Where can I turn?
C. How can I realize God’s Sustaining Grace?
IV. I want to give you four steps to do just that.
Four Steps for Connecting with God’s Sustaining Grace
Draw Near to God
I. In his letter, James is confronting a tendency that has grown in the church of looking to much like the world.
A. Quarrels and fights had become a regular occurrence.
B. He states that they had grown proud, and stopped relying on God.
C. In other words, they had begun to stumble.
II. His instruction to them - “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:7)
III. This is great advice, regardless of the cause of our stumbling.
A. Are you tempted, “Draw near to God.”
B. Are you tired, “Draw near to God.”
C. Are life’s pressures troubling you, “Draw near to God.”
IV. Become like David
A. Ask God the hard questions
1. Why is this happening to me?
2. Why does evil prosper?
3. Why is my family just plain weird sometimes?
B. But God in this midst of whatever is happening, I will trust in You.
V. Step one - Draw near to God.
Fill your mind with God’s word.
I. Listen to these words from Psalm 119.
A. My soul cleaves to the dust; Revive me according to Thy word. I have told of my ways, and Thou hast answered me; (25)
B. I am exceedingly afflicted; Revive me, O Lord, according to Thy word. (107)
C. Hear my voice according to Thy lovingkindness; Revive me, O Lord, according to Thine ordinances. (149)
D. Look upon my affliction and rescue me, for I do not forget Thy law. Plead my cause and redeem me. Revive me according to Thy word...(153-154),
E. Salvation is far from the wicked, For they do not seek Thy statutes. Great are Thy mercies, O Lord; Revive me according to Thine ordinances. (155-156)
II. Did you notice what was repeated in those verses?
A. Some nine times in Psalm 119 alone David writes “revive me.”
B. Revive me, Restore me, Heal me; all according to Thy word.
III. I believe there is not one issue in our lives that God has not spoken to through the Bible.
A. The words may be different, because the times were certainly different.
B. It may take a bit of digging,
C. But if there is no temptation that has come upon us, except that which is common to man, you can be certain that you are not going to experience any situation in your life that is not common to man, and which God has not spoken to in the Bible.
D. All we have to do is look for it.
E. All we have to do is trust what God has said.
Accept support from God’s people.
I. My NASB uses the phrase “one another” over 100 times.
A. Now admittedly, not all of those deal with supporting one another in times of need, but
1. The Bible seems to stress the idea that we cannot live the Christian life, apart from the help of other believers.
2. Listen -
a. Be at peace with “one another.”
b. Men will know you are my disciples, (how) if you love one another.
c. Greet “one another” with a holy kiss
d. Bear with “one another”
e. Comfort “one another”
f. Encourage “one another”
g. And the list goes on and on.
B. We begin to grasp the grace of God when we connect in relationship with God through Christ.
II. If we want to really understand the sustaining grace of God, we must be in a relationship where we can accept and offer the love of God to one another.
A. And hear me well, I said “ACCEPT AND OFFER.”
B. We will often hear sermons about being a blessing to someone, but I have often found that, at least for me, it is even more difficult to ACCEPT blessing from other people.
III. One of the best ways to develop a relationship where you can become a blessing, and receive blessing from others, is to involve yourselves in small group situations.
A. One of the priorities I want to see develop in The Connection is small groups.
B. Not all small groups are for Bible study either.
1. Some may be expressly for study,
2. Some may be for recreation, where we can simply get to know one another.
3. Some may be just for fun.
4. Right now, some may be for prayer on Sunday morning.
C. But all will allow us to share our hurts, needs, and concerns, and all will help us engage with one another.
Hold on to God’s promises.
I. I don’t know who sits down to compute these things, but someone wrote that the Bible holds over 7,000 promises of God.
A. With over 7,000 promises in scripture, you can be sure that at least one is meant specifically for whatever you are experiencing right now.
B. Listen to this great promise through the hand of Isaiah - Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary. (40:27-31)
II. God’s greatest promise, is Acts 16:31
A. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.
B. What could be greater than that
