Let’s take a look at this short video …
Amazing Grace history - embedded in PPT slide
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmhqszfmLu8
Amazing Grace! One of the world’s most popular songs.
But what is Grace? What does it mean?
The dictionary defines grace as:
elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action
a pleasing or attractive quality or endowment
favor or goodwill
a manifestation of favor, especially by a superior
mercy; clemency; pardon
But, what is this amazing grace that this song is proclaiming?
Grace is the power of God flowing to us, in us and through us by the power of the Holy Spirit. So, let’s see if we can unfold grace in a way that we can understand it.
So, what’s the need for grace anyway!
Sin! Sin is the need for grace.
So, what is Sin? Sin is rebellion against God.
In the beginning Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden and pure holiness was the natural way of life.
Disobedience of the one law that God put into place was a choice, a choice that had never before been chosen by a human.
God gave Adam and Eve, humanity, moral freedom and with moral freedom comes moral responsibility.
After Adam and Eve sinned, sin was no longer a choice, humanity was now enslaved to sin, with no escape.
This was not God’s desire!
In the Old Testament God repeatedly says
“…I will be your God and you will be my people.” - Jeremiah 7:23b and when the people of Israel disobeyed, over and over,
He would say to them, “Return to Me.” - Nehemiah 1:9
We can’t do it so the Father sent His son.
The first aspect of Grace we want to discuss today is Prevenient Grace or grace that goes ahead of us.
Illustration:
Infant in the womb
Doesn’t know it even has a mother
Mom is supplying baby with oxygen and nutrition
Mom is taking vitamins and eating healthful foods
Mom is exercising
Mom is getting a sufficient amount of rest (or at least as much as possible)
Mom is planning for the delivery
Did the baby have any clue as to what Mom was doing or why?
No - not aware of any of this but baby is being drawn to birth.
By comparison, in the life of a person who has not yet turned to Christ for salvation grace is at work. They may not even know it but it is at work and God is pulling them toward salvation.
There is a longing for God and communion with Him that is placed in the hearts of all people.
In John 12:32 Jesus Himself says,
“‘And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to Myself.’ He said this to indicate how He was going to die.”
And Titus 2:11 says,
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.”
This is prevenient or preceding grace that is placed within the heart of all people to draw everyone to Him and making the truth known to them within their very spirits. And, just as the unborn infants are not aware of their mothers, the unborn Christian may not even recognize or realize that God is drawing them to salvation through faith in Christ.
Another avenue of this Prevenient or preceding grace is through those who already belong to Christ. Or, at least it should.
We should be conduits of God’s grace to the lost
We should be comforting those in distress with no hope
We should be encouraging the lost to come to Christ
We should be bringing light into lives of darkness and despair
The last aspect of Prevenient or preceding grace we will discuss this morning is the awakening and realization of eternal choices in the mind and heart of the unsaved person.
For instance Romans 6:23 states this choice clearly
when it says:
“The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in (and through) Jesus Christ our Lord.”
The Prevenient or preceding grace brings the unsaved person to the place of decision.
Am I a wretch like is says in Amazing Grace?
It brings to the forefront of awareness, Yes, there is a heaven and Yes, there is a hell but what can I do?
Once the Prevenient or preceding grace has brought the person to that point of decision it is time for the birth.
The song Amazing Grace says it like this:
“‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved! How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed!”
“Grace that taught my heart to fear” - Prevenient Grace bringing the reality of eternal lostness to the heart of the unbeliever
“And Grace my fears relieved” - the birth - Saving Grace
Never, ever, ever has a baby been able to be born without the help of the mother in a natural birth. There is only one way for a person to be born again so we will look at natural birth for the illustration.
The baby may flail, kick and swim but it would be impossible.
Without the assistance, the labor of love of the mother, the baby would never be delivered. Ever!
The same goes for being born again!
The only hope for spiritual rebirth is Saving Grace!
We can try all we want to work our way to salvation but we cannot and never will be able to do it on our own. We need help and this help comes from God’s saving Grace.
Titus 3:3-7 (NLT) says it this way:
“Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other.
“When God our Savior revealed His kindness and love, He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.
“He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of His grace He declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 says,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.”
The power behind this grace was bought for us when Jesus shed His precious blood on the cross of Calvary!
This grace is sufficient for all but it is not applied to all automatically.
This grace is activated by to that particular soul but that particular person’s faith in Christ.
Faith = believing in the heart (not head knowledge)
As it says in John 3:18
“Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
Let me backtrack here a little:
When God is calling you to be born again the devil wants to abort you
These are some of the lies the devil will use to abort you before you come to Christ
- you are just fine - no eternity - you can’t trust the Bible - religions are man made - we’re all here because of cosmic randomness
Once you are born again the devil brings new lies in order to kill the young soul
These are some of the lies he will use to kill your newborn life - you can go on sinning - no need for your Bible or prayer or church - everything (even sin) in moderation
You will be under attack but God will not leave you defenseless
That is why the Lord supplies Sustaining Grace
Once born God will not neglect you - feed you - give you His Holy Spirit - encourage you -
Why do we need sustaining grace? Once we are saved are we not secure forever?
In 1 Peter 5:8-9 the Holy Spirit says through the apostle Peter when speaking to born again Christians God says:
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”
Now, when a lion devours someone they are dead, real dead and the devil wants to kill you spiritually!
And James, when speaking to genuine Christians warns in
James 1:13-15
“When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
“Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
The death in that sentence is spiritual death. Once you are saved it does not mean that the wages of sin is no longer death. It still is.
That is why Jesus promises His sustaining grace to keep us in the faith if we keep our faith in Him.
1 Corinthians 1:8-9 says
“He (the Lord Jesus Christ) will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.”
And Jude 1:24-25 says in one of the great doxologies of the Bible:
“To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy -
“to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”
Illustration:
Girl murdered in Philadelphia 12 years old killed by two brothers who were neighbors.
I’m not saying that her parents were neglectful; they cannot be with a child 100% of the time, but, God can and will be with you 100% of the time.
Spiritually speaking this could never happen to a child of God if the child of God keeps their faith and trust in Christ
- we have a Guardian - a protector - a Savior - Jesus Christ
So, there we have it.
God gives us prevenient or preceding grace to draw us to Him and show us our need for salvation.
God gives us saving grace to bring us into a born again relationship with Him.
And, God give us sustaining grace to keep us faithful to Him and growing in spiritual maturity until we go to meet Him in heaven.
All of us can find ourselves somewhere on that spectrum unless you are outright rejecting Christ and even then you probably would not be here without the Lord’s preceding grace drawing you to Him.
(Prayer for those on in the congregation who may be in the various stages of Grace. - Invitation if the Spirit leads.)
Dismiss with the first verse of Amazing Grace
