INTRO.- You’ve been graced by God whether you realize it or not!
ILL.- When Billy Graham was driving through a small southern town, he was stopped by a policeman and charged with speeding. Graham admitted his quilt, but was told by the officer that he would have to appear in court. The judge asked, "Guilty, or not guilty?" When Graham pleaded guilty, the judge replied, "That'll be ten dollars -- a dollar for every mile you went over the limit."
Suddenly the judge recognized the famous minister. "You have violated the law," he said. "The fine must be paid--but I am going to pay it for you." He took a ten dollar bill from his own wallet, attached it to the ticket, and then took Graham out and bought him a steak dinner! "That," said Billy Graham, "is how God treats repentant sinners!"
I never had a judge or a police officer extend that much grace to me. Although I was given a speeding ticket in 1968 for doing 40 mph in a 20 mph zone. The officer extended grace and made the ticket for 30 mph instead of 40. It cost me $20 or $2 a mile. That was gracious of him but here is what grace is all about!
II Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
II Corinthians 8:9 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”
Isn’t this a beautiful text? Wasn’t it a beautiful thing that Jesus did for us? He left the riches of heaven for the poverty of earth so that we could become rich in heaven!
Wow! I don’t know of anyone else who would do that for me or for you! Jesus did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He gave up everything for us. He traded places with us in order to save us and give us a home in glory!
And God’s grace covers an even larger area than our salvation. It covers all of life!
John 1:16-17 “From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” One blessing after another and all from His grace. WE HAVE BEEN GRACED!
Acts 6:8 “Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.”
Grace and power. Do they go together like a horse and carriage? I think so. This means when we experience God’s grace, the more power we will have in living the Christian life. AMEN! Power to do what? To live for Christ. To speak for Christ. To do good for Christ. To be better than we would ordinarily be.
Now grace has led to where we are today and grace will lead us on in living the Christian life. What does God’s grace cause us to do?
PROP.- By God’s grace we are motivated to do right, to live right.
1- By God’s grace we humble ourselves
2- By God’s grace we honor others
3- By God’s grace we use our gifts
I. BY GOD’S GRACE WE HUMBLE OURSELVES
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
Some translations or paraphrases read: “Don’t have an exaggerated opinion of yourself or of your own importance.”
ILL.- Henry Augustus Rowland, professor of physics at Johns Hopkins University, was once called as an expert witness at a trial. During cross-examination a lawyer demanded, "What are your qualifications as an expert witness in this case?" The retiring professor replied quietly, "I am the greatest living expert on the subject under discussion."
Later a friend well acquainted with Rowland's disposition expressed surprise at the professor's uncharacteristic answer. Rowland answered, "Well, what did you expect me to do? I was under oath."
God save us from such prideful people! And yet, I believe they abound in politics and in Hollywood and perhaps in religious circles!
Matthew 6:2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.” What was Jesus saying? Don’t toot your own horn!
ILL.- Bob Russell preached at the large Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY, for 40 years before he retired. But that church wasn’t always large. Bob went there when Southeast had 120 people in 1965. When he left their membership was 18,000. How could Bob not be proud of what he had accomplished? It would be easy to pat yourself on the back if you were Bob Russell, but I don’t believe Bob did that. I think he always gave God the credit and the glory for that amazing church growth. THAT’S BEING HUMBLE.
I’m not saying that Bob wasn’t tempted to pat himself on the back because pride is a big temptation in life. It’s what got the devil booted out of heaven in the first place.
Pridefully, we often think of ourselves better than we ought. What about you? Do you, have you ever had an exaggerated opinion of yourself? And if so, were you brought down or did God humble you in some way?
ILL.- I was telling an old preacher friend many years ago that I had to quit running marathons because I wore out my right hip. He laughed and said, “God humbled you, didn’t he?” Well, either God did or my own frail body humbled me. And if we get too big for our own breeches, God will humble us in some form.
Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”
Psalm 10:4 “In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.”
Proverbs 8:13 “To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.”
Proverbs 11:2 “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”
Proverbs 13:10 “Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.”
Proverbs 29:23 “A man’s pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.” Pride does not have a very good record. And here’s the reverse of pride.
Matthew 23:12 “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
I Peter 5:5 “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” May God give us the grace to be humble before Him and before mankind.
II. BY GOD’S GRACE WE HONOR OTHERS
4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
By the grace of God we honor other members, others in the family and in the family of God.
ILL.- My older brother Larry has been in the grocery business all his life, 55 years. He’s 71 years old and still works over 60 hours a week, managing a large Price Chopper grocery store in the Lenexa, KS, area. He’s worked hard all his life and his body is showing it, because he recently had a knee replacement and he isn’t quitting yet. I honor him and bless him for his hard work.
My twin sister Sharon has also worked hard in life as a wife, a mother and much of the time, a full time employee outside the home. Her last 11 years or so of her life she worked as an associate to a professor at the University of Texas in Arlington. And Sharon has already been a good woman, an excellent woman. A good wife, a good mother, and a doer of good deeds to others. SHE’S THE SAINT IN OUR FAMILY. I honor her and bless her for her goodness and holiness!
Isn’t this what we’re supposed to do for one another in our families and in the family of God? We honor one another for the good we see in their lives.
ILL.- I have a friend whose first wife left him for another man when he was in his 30‘s. Sometime later he married for a second time and they had a baby together. She also had a son by another man. I don’t know how much time passed but his second wife left him for another man. WHAT DID HE DO? Well, he did something very good, something that some men would never have done. He raised his son and her son as his own and even put him through college. He never dated for 14 years or more while raising those boys. I honor and bless him for that commitment to those boys. He’s a better man than I am.
We all have different functions in the body or in the church. You can do things that I cannot do. You have talents that I do not have. You have abilities that I do not have, therefore, I need to recognize you and honor for those things.
It’s easy, of course, to honor people who are extremely talented but what about those who are simply humble servants?
ILL.- We had an elderly woman in one church who was somewhat weak and ill. She was married to an ornery husband who was verbally abusive to her. But she never missed church and even though she couldn’t do much, she was big on praying for others. That was her ministry. I honored her for that and still do, at least, in my memory.
Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
When God’s grace is at work in our lives we will think less of ourselves and more of others.
III. BY GOD’S GRACE WE USE OUR GIFTS
6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
ILL.- A boy was teaching a girl arithmetic, he said it was his mission... He kissed her once; he kissed her twice and said, "Now that's addition." In silent satisfaction, she sweetly gave the kisses back and said, "Now that's subtraction." Then he kissed her, she kissed him, without an explanation. And both together smiled and said, "That's multiplication."
Then her Dad appeared upon the scene and made a quick decision. He kicked that boy for three blocks and said, "That's long division!"
ARE YOU GIFTED IN MATH? I guess it depends on the kind of math we’re talking about. We’re all gifted by God whether we realize it or not.
ILL.- Mother Teresa was gifted as a humble servant, caring for the sick, diseased and poor. She said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” Billy Graham was a gifted evangelist who motivated millions of people for Christ. He wasn’t the greatest preacher I’ve ever heard but he could move people!
Stan Musial was a gifted baseball player. He’s one of the greats of his time, as many have said, and just passed away at age 92. Elvis Presley was gifted as one of the greatest showmen and singers ever. I’m not sure any other male singers have come close to him. I think at least in the beginning, if not throughout his career, he recognized that his singing ability was a gift of God, because he started out singing in an Assembly of God Church.
ILL.- Henry Ford once said that the ability to encourage others is one of life’s finest assets. The auto inventor and manufacturer knew the power of encouragement. He had learned it as a young man.
Memorable to him was the time, at the beginning of his career, when he made a drawing of his newly-built engine for Thomas. A. Edison. Young Ford had endured criticism and ridicule. Most mechanical experts of that day were convinced that electric carriages would be the popular passenger cars of the future. But attending a dinner one evening at which Edison was present, Ford began explaining his engine to men nearest him at the table.
He noticed that Edison, seated several chairs away, was listening. Finally the great man moved closer and asked the young inventor to make a drawing.
When the crude sketch was complete, Edison studied it intently, then suddenly banged his fist on the table. “Young man,” he said, “that’s the thing! You have it!” Years later, Ford recalled, “The thump of that fist upon the table was worth worlds to me.”
Both Thomas Edison and Henry Ford were gifted by God whether they knew it came from God or not. He gives to mankind some natural abilities and God gives His children special talents.
Regardless of whether we think we have an ability or talent, we must realize that it comes from the grace of God. The grace of God brings good stuff to our lives, but they are not for self only.
I Peter 4:10-11 “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”
Gifts from God are not play things for us to enjoy. They are to be used to edify and bless others. Are you using what God has given you to bless others?
CONCLUSION-----------------------
For by the grace given me. God’s grace has been given to you in many ways, time and time again BUT what are you going to do with His grace gifts?
God shared His Son and His heart with us. Now we must allow His heart, His grace to change us, to humble us, and empower us to serve and bless others.
Steve Shepherd, Cape Girardeau, MO
shepherd111@hotmail.com
