INTRO.- ILL.- Earle V. Pierce tells how studying the grace of God affected evangelist Dwight L. Moody. Moody loved to study the Bible topically, and it occurred to him one day that he had never studied the subject of grace. Setting aside a day, Moody gave himself to the study of God’s grace.
But a second day was required. Even on the third day Moody had not finished his task. By the late afternoon of the third day, however, Moody was so filled with his subject that he had to go out on the street and talk to somebody about it. Stopping a complete stranger, Moody said, “My friend, do you know anything about grace?”
Surprised at the question, the man replied, “Grace who?” “Why,” Moody responded, “the grace of God that brings salvation.”
DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT GRACE, GOD’S GRACE OR HIS GRACIOUSNESS? I’m sure you do.
ILL.- Preacher Charles Swindoll recalled his last spanking when he turned thirteen years old. Chuck said, “Having just broken into the sophisticated ranks of the teen world, I thought I was something on a stick. My father wasn’t nearly as impressed as I was with my great importance and new-found independence.
“I was lying on my bed. He was outside the window on a muggy October afternoon in Houston, TX, weeding the garden. He said, ‘Charles, come out and help me weed the garden.’ I said something like, ‘NO, IT’S MY BIRTHDAY, REMEMBER?’
“My tone was sassy and my deliberate lack of respect was eloquent. I knew better than to disobey my dad, but after all, I was the ripe old age of thirteen. Dad set a new 100-meter record that autumn afternoon. He was in the house in a flash and all over me like white on rice, spanking me all the way out to the garden. As I recall, I weeded until the moonlight was shining on the pansies.
“That same night he took me out to a surprise dinner. He gave me what I deserved earlier. LATER HE GAVE ME WHAT I DID NOT DESERVE. The birthday dinner was a matter of grace. He showered his favor on this rebellious young man. And I enjoyed grace.”
What a beautiful story of grace and it’s something that God has lavished on everyone of us. It’s just that some people are not aware of it.
Grace has been given to you. Do you believe it? You’d better because it’s true. Grace for forgiveness. Grace for trials. Grace for life.
PROP.- Let’s consider some different aspects of this grace that has been given to us.
1- The power of grace
2- The people of grace
3- The purpose of grace
I. THE POWER OF GRACE
7But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8This is why it says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men." 9(What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)
The power behind the grace that’s been given to us. Where does it come from? Who has the power to give grace? Obviously, it’s Christ who gives us His grace for life and salvation.
ILL.- Before my mother passed from this life on June 30, 2002, in fact, many years before she passed she had made what is called a beneficiaries will. This will stated that at her death her small two bedroom, one bath, house in Webb City, MO, would go to me. Mother had already informed my brother and sister that she was going to do this and no one argued. It was hers to give, however, I most certainly did not deserve that house. No matter what you think of what my mother did, I DID NOT DESERVE THAT HOUSE. I was the orneriest kid she had! I got into more trouble that my brother and sister put together!
What’s my point? I DID NOT DESERVE THAT HOUSE. It was an act of grace from the heart of my blessed mother. And I long for the day when I can see my mother again. I can’t wait to hug her and tell her how much I love her!
You may even think, "Steve had a good mother." I did and nothing I did was as great as what she did for me by giving me birth and blessing my life again and again. And as much as I owe
her. As much love as I owe her, I OWE JESUS MORE!
The one who bestows grace on us is Jesus. And He bestows it abundantly! Not just in salvation but every day. Have you thought about your grace blessings lately?
ILL.- That little house that mother left me was a two-bedroom, one bath, one car garage house. It had a small laundry room, a small kitchen, and average living room. It had a brick front, a nice yard and an 8 by 10 storage garage out behind the house.
It was nice but... But what? But it was not nearly as nice as what God gave me here in Jonesboro with our three bedroom, two bath, two car garage, sundeck house. Mom’s little house was a nice house, but this house is more like a mansion in comparison.
What am I saying? It’s called grace. It’s a result of the grace of God, the gracious gift of God!
Have you thought about your grace blessings lately? Have you thought and have you said "thank you"?
Make no mistake about it: Grace has been by Christ and as Christ apportioned it. If you don’t like your portion, then take it up with Him! Don’t cry to me. He’s the giver of every good and perfect gift so if you don’t like your grace gifts then talk to Him about it.
What gives Christ the right to distribute God’s grace gifts? Just this. Before He ascended on high, that is into heaven, He first descended to the lower regions. What does this mean?
Some people think that Jesus descended into hell (lower parts) in order to preach to lost souls and bring them out. That’s poor thinking according to Scripture. Christ did descend into the lower parts of the earth before He ever ascended into heaven. The lower parts may refer to the grave and Hades and Christ did descend to those.
Christ definitely lowered himself on our behalf before He eventually ascended back into heaven. He lowered Himself by becoming sin for us on the cross so that we might become the righteousness of God! (II Cor. 5:21) Jesus had the power to demonstrate God’s grace to us because of who He is and what He did.
II. THE PEOPLE OF GRACE
7But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.
11It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,
How do you like your gift? Some of you may be thinking, "What gift?" You are special and you are gifted whether you realize it or not.
ILL.- I wish you could see our house at 405 Hunter’s Ridge Drive. I guess we should have an open house so you can see it. Why would I want you to see it? Because our house is nicely decorated. It is very well done because I hired an expert to do it! Well, ok, I married her. And if you know anything about Elaine then you know that she has a talent, a gift, for home decorating. She can look at a room and envision just what it needs. And she will often go shopping and happen to see something that would "fit" just right into a room and sure enough, she’ll bring it home and it will look great!
And how do you like your gift? I think Elaine knows she has a gift and she enjoys it and likes to spread it around. She’s offered to help others with their decorating.
And how do you like your gift? Still, you may be thinking, "I’m gifted?" Yes, you are. By nature of your birth you may have some natural giftedness, but by your second birth you may have a spiritual gift that you’ve not even noticed.
Some people can do things that others just cannot do.
ILL.- Sometime ago Elaine asked me to change a wall socket in her bathroom. She had one of those room deodorizers plugged into it and it got hot and left its mark. Anyway, I said, "Sure, no problem." I had changed wall sockets before. I took out the screws and pulled it out of the wall. About the time I put a screwdriver to that socket to remove the wires, the electric fire flew and I got shocked and jumped at the same time.
I asked Elaine to help me. I asked her to hold a flashlight while I changed the socket. Why a flashlight? Because I had to cut the power to that wall socket by turning off the light in the bathroom!
Duh? Wrong! That didn’t work because they weren’t on the same circuit. So after getting shocked a couple of times and seeing fire fly, I decided to call the man.
I called Jim Reed because I knew that he was an electrician. When I called he immediately started laughing because he knew exactly what I’d done. He told me that I needed to find the right circuit and flip that circuit breaker off. I had the wall socket out and two wires were left hanging...two wires that I really didn’t want to touch. Jim said that if I would touch them together that would kick off the circuit breaker. I did it and he was right. And then I finished the job and that was that. Jim has a gift from God.
AND HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR GIFT? You are gifted by God and hopefully, you have figured it out. You may not be an apostle, and you are not, nor am I, nor is anyone today. That is, not in the sense of the original apostles. You or I may not be a prophet, depending on how you define a prophet. Perhaps one who prophesies about future events. Nope, not me. You may not be an evangelist, which is a proclaimer of good news. And most preachers today are not evangelists. That is, we don’t evangelize much. We do more preaching to the saints that anything else.
You may not be a pastor, which in the N.T. is actually synonymous with an elder, an overseer, a bishop. Sounds like a big deal, doesn’t it? Well, in some ways, being an elder is a big deal. It’s a big job according to scripture. Pastoring or shepherding the flock of God is a big job and not everyone is gifted for it.
And you may not even be a teacher. You may not be a Sunday School teacher, a youth teacher, an older adult teacher. You may not be a teacher in any form BUT YOU ARE GIFTED!
Every child of God is gifted by the grace of God! How do you know what your gift is? Well, what do you like to do? What do you do really well? What do others think of what you do? Do they think you’re good, saying, "Hey, you’re good at that." That could be an indication of your giftedness. But....if most people don’t respond positively to what you do as far as your giftedness then it may not be your gift. BUT YOU DO HAVE A GIFT FROM THE GRACE OF GOD! We all just need to find out what it is and use it to His glory.
III. THE PURPOSE OF GRACE
ILL.- The yo-yo was originally a Filipino weapon during the 16th century. It weighed about four pounds and was attached to a cord about 20 feet long. Wow!
In the early 1920’s an American named Donald C. Duncan learned about the yo-yo and converted it into one of today’s most popular toys. Did you ever play with a yo-yo? What’s the purpose of a toy? To play with. To enjoy. To amuse yourself. What are your toys?
Probably not a yo-yo. It could be lots of things, however: TV, computer (used as a tool or a toy to play games), game boy or any kind of electronic game, etc. One thing that is NOT a toy is your gift from God!
Grace in the form of gifts has been given for a purpose.
ILL.- I’ve been working on a computer about 8 years or so, and I’ve learned a bunch. I can’t hack into other people’s computers. I don’t know how they work. I can’t do computer programming, but I know some things. I know how to clean them up if they get overloaded with files, programs, and even some bugs. WHOEVER HEARD OF A COMPUTER GETTING A VIRUS? They do.
And I know a few basic things and those basic things are what keep a computer working and running smoothly. Consequently, I get calls now and then, asking, "Can you help me with my computer?" I’ll say, "What’s it doing?" And if I can help them I will do that.
Why would I even bother to do that when I have sermons to prepare, people to see, prayers to offer, etc.? Why would I take the time to work on someone’s computer? BECAUSE GIFTS ARE TO BE SHARED. Gifts from God are not toys to amuse ourselves, but rather tools to help others!
If you have a gift, use it to bless others!
I Pet. 4:10 "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms."
Eph. 4:11-15 11It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ."
Everything good that God gives us in life is to be used to bless others and give God His rightful glory.
I Cor. 10:31 "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."
CONCLUSION-------------------
ILL.- John Newton, on being asked his opinion on some subject, replied, “When I was young I was sure of many things; there are only two things of which I am sure now: one is, that I am a miserable sinner; and the other, that Jesus Christ is an all-sufficient Savior.”
Grace has definitely been given to us in Jesus! Thank God! Praise Him!
