INTRO.- ILL.- 77 year old preacher Charles Swindoll (senior pastor of Stonebriar Community Church, in Frisco, Texas) recalled a 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.”
Does Chuck Swindoll's story remind us of our own? There have been times in life when we deserved punishment but we received grace instead. In fact, I suspect that most of us have received more grace than we have punishment.
It's like we've heard people say, "Well, I got many spankings when I was kid but I deserved more than I got." THAT WAS ME!
Or maybe someone said, "I got a speeding ticket, but I should have had a lot more!" THAT WAS ME!
ILL.- Did you ever take a picture of yourself? Perhaps. If not, I'm sure that someone has taken a picture of you. Did you like the picture? I've often heard people say, "I don't like my picture. I never take a good picture."
AND THIS IS TRUE FOR US ALL, BECAUSE HERE IS OUR TRUE PICTURE IN GOD'S WORD: Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."
Brothers and sisters, because we're all in the same boat and that boat is a sinking boat, WE NEED HELP! WE NEED GRACE! And we may not get it from mankind, but we sure want it from God.
Our text speaks of God's grace and peace. 1 Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead...
We can believe the words of Paul because of who commissioned him. Paul didn't live for himself but for Him who sent him.
ILL.- Do you know why we can't believe anything Hollywood puts out or produces? Because they are always in it for themselves. Hollywood is about money. This is why they lie. But Paul was not in this thing for himself but for others.
Paul said: "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
PROP.- Let's check out the purpose of God's grace in Christ. Why given?
1- To reveal God
2- To rescue people
3- To receive glory
I. TO REVEAL GOD
3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I may be reading a bit into this text, but I think it's true that God demonstrates His grace to us in order to reveal Himself. Our God is a god of Grace is He is anything at all!
ILL.- DETROIT, MI, July, 2006 - A homeless man searching for returnable bottles in a trash bin found 31 U.S. savings bonds worth nearly $21,000 in a bag of clothes. WHAT DID HE DO WITH THEM?
Charles Moore, 59, took the bonds to a 24-hour walk-in homeless shelter, where a staff worker tracked down the family of the man whose name was on the bonds. "They belong to him," Moore told The Detroit News. "I did the right thing." YES, HE DID.
The real you. Who are you? Who is the real you? What are you? What is your true heart of hearts? Is what you see, what you get? Or are you different than you appear in public?
What is the true character of God? Is He a sadistic God? A cruel God? An unsympathetic God? A trick-playing God? Or perhaps is He a compassionate, loving, forgiving God?
ILL.- Someone said here is the kind of God that most people want: We want, in fact, not so much a father in heaven as a grandfather in heaven: a senile benevolence who, as they say, "liked to see young people enjoying themselves" and whose plan for the universe was simply that it might be truly said at the end of each day, "a good time was had by all."
That's the world's mentality. But what is the true character of God? He is revealed in His Word:
Job 36:5 "God is mighty, but does not despise men; he is mighty, and firm in his purpose." Mighty.
Job 36:26 "How great is God—beyond our understanding! The number of his years is past finding out." Great.
Psalm 7:11 "God is a righteous judge, a God who expresses his wrath every day." Righteous.
Psalm 18:2 "The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." Deliverer. Savior.
Psalm 18:30 "As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him." Perfect.
Psalm 47:7 "For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise." King.
Psalm 68:19-20 "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign LORD comes escape from death." Burden bearer.
Psalm 84:11 "or the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless." The who bestows good.
Psalm 100:2-3 "Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture." Creator who is to be worshiped.
The scriptures declare the true character of God. Because God is a God of grace, a gracious God, He has revealed Himself to us. And if man doesn't get it, then it is man's fault. God has not played "hide and seek" with His creation!
II. TO RESCUE PEOPLE
The Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.
God's grace is given to rescue people from this present evil age. God is in the rescuing business. Otherwise, we'd be in deep trouble and in many ways.
ILL.- A lady named Sarah Mitchell wrote: A woman walked into my aunt's animal shelter wanting to have her cat and six kittens spayed and neutered. "Is the mother friendly?" my aunt asked.
"Very," said the woman, casting an eye on all the pet carriers. "That's how we got into this mess in the first place." Being too friendly can get both a cat and a human being into trouble!
ILL.- We're a mess. We humans are a mess. Here is what a preacher friend wrote to me one time. "When you get old you need lots of tender loving care. I am an expensive dude. This past year I got a new eye, a new stint, cancer removed and all for about $100,000 dollars. It is so much fun to get old."
Well, it can be worse than this. In fact, it is worse than this! The disease called sin that we battle is far worse than the physical diseases that we battle.
ILL.- A little boy came running into the house after playing outside. His mother stopped him and asked what was on his right hand. He replied, “Oh, just a little mud.” His mother then asked if he was planning on getting it off his hand. He thought for a moment and said, “Sure, Mom. I’ll just wipe it off with my other hand.”
There was only one problem with that plan; one dirty hand plus one clean hand equals two dirty hands. And man, by himself, cannot get rid of his own dirt. And from the dirt of sin we need to be rescued. And God sent that rescue in the person of Jesus.
Titus 2:11-12 "11For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age...
No only did Jesus die on the cross so our sins could be forgiven, but He also died on the cross so that we could die TO SIN. Jesus died for sin and we must die to sin. And He alone gives us the power to overcome sin in our lives.
ILL.- Billy Sunday, the baseball evangelist and reformer, thundered against evil from the Gay Nineties through the Great Depression. He preached Christ as the only answer to man’s needs until his death in 1935. He said, “I’m against sin. I’ll kick it as long as I’ve got a foot, and I’ll fight it as long as I’ve got a fist. I’ll butt it as long as I’ve got a head. I’ll bite it as long as I’ve got a tooth. When I’m old and fistless and footless and toothless, I’ll gum it till I go home to Glory and it goes home to perdition.”
I like Billy Sunday's spirit and attitude. It's what we need but we need even more than his spirit. We need God's Spirit to help us in life and to help us to overcome sin.
Galatians 5:16 "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature."
III. TO RECEIVE GLORY
God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. I believe that the purpose of God's grace is to open our eyes, to get us to realize that God is God and that He deserves glory, both now and forevermore!
ILL.- Listen to these words and think of the meaning.
It's amazing, I'm the reason
Everybody fired up this evening
I'm exhausted, barely breathing
Holding on to what I believe in
No matter what, you'll never take that from me
My reign is as far as your eyes can see
It's amazing, so amazing, so amazing, so amazing
I'm a monster, I'm a killer
I know I'm wrong
I'm a problem
That'll never ever be solved
Do you know what these words are or where they come from? They are from a song by Kanye West, the rapper. The title of the song is "Amazing." There are more words to this rap song, but none of them make any sense to me. And this is one of his better songs, as far as trying to understand what he is saying or singing. I cannot repeat what some of his songs say! Yes, they are that bad!
DO YOU KNOW WHAT I AM SAYING? I'm saying that some words should never be sung or said in this world. Why? Because they do not honor the ONE who made us!
ILL.- Johann Sebastian Bach (March 1685 - July 1750) was a German composer and organist. Bach said, "All music should have no other end and aim than the glory of God and the soul's refreshment; where this is not remembered there is no real music but only a devilish hub-bub."
If Bach was correct then most of the music that is being sung and played today needs to be trashed! This includes an awful lot of so-called popular music, including pop, rap, country, etc.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if all music was sung to the praise of God our Father?
ILL.- In a concert in Chicago, Harry Lauder, Scottish singer and songwriter, (described by Sir Winston Churchill as "Scotland's greatest ever ambassador) sang to an overflowing audience. At the conclusion, the audience stood and applauded loudly. After the applause subsided, the audience said in unison, “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
Showing proper humility, Lauder replied, “Don’t thank me! Thank the good God who put the songs in my heart!” AMEN!
I Cor. 10:31 "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."
God demonstrates His grace to us in an abundance of ways: material, physical, spiritual, etc. and all for the purpose of bringing Him glory! God's grace should teach us to praise Him! If it's good, it's from Him and He alone deserves the thanks, the praise, the glory!
CONCLUSION---------------
Paul said: "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." I've zeroed in on grace in this message because everything good comes from God's grace, including the peace that passes all understanding.
ILL.- Jonathan Edwards, third president of Princeton, had a daughter with an uncontrollable temper. But, as is so often the case, this was not known to the outside world.
A nice young man fell in love with this daughter and sought her hand in marriage. “You can’t have her,” was the abrupt answer of Jonathan Edwards. “But I love her,” the young man replied. “You can’t have her,” said Edwards. “But she loves me,” replied the young man.
Again Edwards said, “You can’t have her.” “Why?” said the young man. “Because she is not worthy of you.” “But,” he asked, “she is a Christian, is she not?” “Yes, she is a Christian, but the grace of God can live with some people with whom no one else could ever live.”
Oh how true! It is only by God's grace than any of us can be saved and that God can stand to look us and that we can stand to look at one another or put up with one another!
Steve Shepherd, Jonesboro Christian Church, AR
jonesborochristianchurch@suddenlink.net
