"Amazing" Doesn’t Begin To Describe Gods Grace!
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.
In the entitlement society that we live in, you would think that everyone would want to get in on something free wouldn’t you?
The mindset though of most people, says there has to be a catch 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, your not worthy of it and you don’t deserve it, but yet you are entitled to it.
If you could obtain it on your own, then that would make it all about you and what you were capable of 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,
Oh yah, there is one catch, you have to believe and receive your entitlement package!
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 His Grace is a voluntary thing, It was His choice to make it available to us,
And there is only one reason that He did it, because of His immense 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.
You see, God is a giver, all the world thinks about is taking, all God thinks about is Giving!
It seems like more folks would get ahold of this give and take thing.
That’s what Makes Him and His Grace so Amazing! He’s totally opposite of the worlds way of thinking!
We don’t deserve it, but He gives it anyway, its His nature to be forgiving.
Another thing grace does for us, is it sustains us and keeps us, once we have it, we can depend on it to be there, it is steadfast!
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.
I don’t know about you, but there is great comfort to be found in that word, that’s a word that you can stand on:
*when the going gets tough
*when trouble is knocking on your door
*when everyone around you says your facing an impossible situation
*when you’ve done all you know to do and don’t know what to, it’s that kind of word!
God will keep working in your life, until there’s nothing more to do and He has completed His work in you.
He will not leave you, or forsake you, you are not just a stepchild in the family, you have been adopted,
you have become an heir, you are a child of the Most High God, you have the right to call Him, Daddy.
He will stick by you through thick or thin. He will never leave you, He will sustain you and keep you.
TBS. also and I’m so glad it does, that we are healed by Gods grace.
Isaiah 53:5 NKJ
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
Psalms 147:3 NKJ
“He(God) heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.”
Only God can take what’s crooked and make it straight, what’s wrong and make it right.
He can take the scattered pieces of life’s puzzle, when it makes no sense at all and put them back together. He is Amazing
God is in the healing business and He heals us by His grace, He loves to say “ I Will.”
In the process of healing us God also restores us. David prayed in Psalm fifty-one:
Psalms 51:7-15 MSG
7-15. Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean,
scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life.
Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
set these once-broken bones to dancing.
Don’t look too close for blemishes,
give me a clean bill of health.
God, make a fresh start in me,
shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don’t throw me out with the trash,
or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile,
put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
so the lost can find their way home.
Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
and I’ll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
Unbutton my lips, dear God;
I’ll let loose with your praise.
If that don’t make you want to shout about God‘s Amazing Grace, then nothing ever will!!!
When we fall, God picks us up.
When we have lost our joy, only God can restore us.
Is it any wonder that Gods grace is called Amazing? And the truth be told, that’s probably an understatement!
Like a fisherman stretches his fish catching tales, making something ordinary into something extraordinary.
You see, That just brag’s on mans ability,
If were going to brag about something, we should be bragging about,
God’s Amazing Ability to let His Grace,
do the extraordinary in anyone’s life that will let Him!!!
*We are forgiven and made clean by Gods amazing grace.
*We are given the strength to make it through the world each day by Gods amazing grace.
*We are healed of our brokenness by Gods amazing grace.
*We are created anew and set right with God by Gods amazing grace.
Gods grace is His positive action toward us, even though we don’t deserve it.
Even though it is the anthem of the church, many people don’t realize how amazing Gods grace really is!
Never the less, God’s word will never return void, one day it will become crystal clear and brother when that light comes on,
People will realize that,
Its what changes and totally transforms lives!
If the world really knew, what it could do for them, there would be a never ending line into the church to get it!!
Thing of it is, a lot of people know the song, but they don’t know how to receive it , or how to walk in it.
TBS. in John 1:17 NKJV
The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the source of grace.
Notice the bible tells us that grace and truth comes through Jesus Christ.
If you don’t get it through Jesus, you don’t get it at all.
Grace comes not through a religion, or a beautiful building, or someone else’s relationship with the Lord
Because if it did, more people would be experiencing it in their lives!
It can only be found, through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
He is in the life changing business. He has a plan and a purpose for your life and wants to give you hope.
The worlds way of thinking, would have you think different.
But God has placed us here on this earth to help one another.
*To encourage one another.
*To support one another.
*To pray for one another.
*To tell others about Gods love and mercy and about Gods Amazing Grace.
Story about C.S. Lewis:
At a comparative religions conference, the wise and the scholarly were in a spirited debate about what is unique about Christianity.
Someone suggested what set Christianity apart from other religions was the concept of incarnation, the idea that God took human form in Jesus.
But someone quickly said, “Well, actually, other faiths believe that God appears in human form.”
Another suggestion was offered: what about resurrection? The belief that death is not the final word. That the tomb was found empty.
Someone slowly shook his head. Other religions have accounts of people returning from the dead.
Then, as the story is told, C.S. Lewis walked into the room, tweed jacket, pipe, arm full of papers, a little early for his presentation.
He sat down and took in the conversation, which had by now evolved into a fierce debate.
Finally during a lull, he spoke saying, “what’s all this rumpus about?”
Everyone turned in his direction. Trying to explain themselves they said, “We’re debating what’s unique about Christianity.”
“Oh, that’s easy,” answered Lewis. “It’s grace.”
The room fell silent.
Lewis continued that Christianity uniquely claims God’s love comes free of charge, no strings attached. No other religion makes that claim.
After a moment someone commented that Lewis had a point,
Buddhists, for example, follow an eight-fold path to enlightenment. It’s not a free ride.
Hindus believe in karma, that your actions continually affect the way the world will treat you;
that there is nothing that comes to you not set in motion by your actions.
Someone else observed the Jewish code of the law implies God has requirements for people to be acceptable to him
and in Islam, God is a God of judgment not a God of love. You live to appease him
At the end of the discussion everyone concluded Lewis had a point.
Only Christianity dares to proclaim God’s love is unconditional. An unconditional love that we call grace.
Christians boldly proclaim that grace really has precious little to do with us, our inner resolve, or our lack of inner resolve.
Rather, grace is all about God and God freely giving to us the gifts of forgiveness, mercy, and love.
TBS. in 1 john 3:16-18 MSG
16-18."This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.
God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.
Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why?
Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.”"
By this we know love, because Jesus laid down His life for us, and we need to find the same love He had for others
We need to be willing to help them, to forgive them.
To not see thru them, but to help see them through!
Ephesians 4:32 (NKJV)
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.
God has forgiven us all of so much, sins we’ve committed and even the ones that haven’t, there is no way we could ever repay Him.
Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now Im found was blind but now I see.
Thank God for His perfect gift of Grace to us!
1st Peter 4:10 NKJV
“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”
All the abilities, the talents, the opportunities, the education, the freedom, the relationships, all these things that you have that bless your life,
They were given to you for a purpose. The book of Philippians tells us:
Philippians 2:4 NKJ
Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
If you truly understand how amazing Gods Grace really is, you cant just keep it to yourself.
There are people out there that need to hear that there is forgiveness in this world!
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 want to be told?
Of course you would. But how will they hear unless someone tells them?
You can’t get by with just asking them to come to church, and deep down you know that, you have to “be the church”
If you won’t, who will???
You could be, the only thing standing between them and eternity,
Both Heaven and Hell, is forever!
There are so many people that don’t know how much God can change their lives for the better,
they need to hear, its not about having a religion, but all about having a relationship with Jesus!
God changed all our lives and He’ll change theirs too, if someone will only be willing, to tell them.
Make it a priority to tell someone about the good news today, help them understand, why Gods Grace is so Amazing!!
And your life, right along with their’s, will be transformed!
Lets pray
