Grace and Mercy
Communion Thoughts
October 4, 2020
For the past months we’ve been talking about our purpose and how we can serve God and one another and find fulfillment in all that we do. And it’s really an important aspect of who we are in Christ. I believe we all want to be fulfilled and have a reason for waking up in the morning. And I believe that can come through our relationship with Christ. It occurs as we draw closer to God and experience His power, mercy and grace.
Now, it’s those last 2 words that I want to talk about this morning -- before we take communion. You see, when we draw near to God, we have this amazing offer from God. He offers us grace and mercy.
Sometimes I think we look at those words as kind of passive. We think of them as not really powerful and strong. But I want to challenge us to look at these words in a different way. As I was reading this week, I came across this passage in 1 Peter 2, and really felt God leading me to talk about His grace and mercy. In Peter’s letter, he wrote at great length about suffering. In fact, every chapter of 1 Peter hits on some form of suffering we will endure because we’re followers of Jesus. That’s the basis of what and why he’s writing this letter.
Peter wanted his readers to understand that those who persevere in faith while suffering persecution should be full of hope. They gain a two fold promise - - they will enjoy end-time salvation since they are already enjoying God’s saving promises here and now through the death and resurrection of Christ. And that is already true for you and I, as well.
Jesus suffered and died for us, and as a result we can endure whatever suffering comes our way in the name of Jesus. Listen to these words from Peter –
22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth. 23 When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly. 24 He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. - 1 Peter 2:22-25
Those are powerful words of comfort. Isaiah, the Old Testament prophet, also prophesied about Jesus. It’s a section which is called the Suffering Servant. Listen now to what Isaiah wrote from Isaiah 53, and you’ll see where Peter is coming from –
3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. 4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. - Isaiah 53
Peter was taking this prophecy and helping those who were suffering understand the power of the presence of Christ. It’s believed that Peter was writing to a more Gentile audience, so they would have been less aware of these words from Isaiah. These words from Isaiah were written somewhere around 700 BC and now around the year 62-63 AD, Peter has experienced the joy of this prophecy becoming a reality. That’s the power and beauty of the Bible. Reading something 750 years later and it’s a reality. It really happened.
Jesus suffered and died for us. He could have fought back. He could have called upon a legion of angels, arch-angels, and warrior angels . . . but He did not! He accepted the cup that was placed before Him. That He would be the lamb, led to the slaughter . . . for you and me.
The Lamb sent to the slaughter . . . for you and me. That was the price of freedom! Freedom to experience the power, the grace and the mercy of Jesus. The grace to come into a reconciled relationship with God.
You see, as sinners, we are estranged from God. The problem is we don’t really believe that too much, so we don’t take it too seriously. When we hurt someone, when we do those things in private, we are sinning against God Almighty. I’m not condemning us, yet, I am. Me included. We are all guilty of cheapening the grace of God. That’s part of the world we live in. I got it! I really do! We don’t want to walk around with frowns and grimaces all day because we did something wrong.
The beauty, which is really the power of God is the fact that over and over and over - - He extends His grace and mercy to you and I.
That’s what the communion table is all about this morning. It’s about the innocent Lamb going to the slaughter for you and I. It’s about God extending His forgiveness for you and I . . . again and again. 70 times 7.
If you remember from a long time ago, we define GRACE and MERCY as –
GRACE - You receive what you don’t deserve
MERCY - You don’t receive what you deserve
It’s that simple . . . and yet so profound.
So, what does this really mean? Let me unpack this for a few minutes, then we will take communion.
GRACE - we receive what we don’t deserve
What is it we receive that we don’t deserve? We receive the gift of forgiveness. We receive a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We don’t deserve or merit God’s forgiveness. Because we are sinners. God can’t stand sin. In my words and way to describe it - - Sin drives God crazy. If we can use the word hate . . . God hates sin. God is 100% pure. Heaven is the place of perfection.
So, when it comes to sin, God can’t stand it. So, He sent His Son . . . it’s the great John 3:16-17 passage for us to hold onto. Because it’s so important in understanding grace and mercy.
16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. - John 3:16-17
That’s grace in a nutshell. Yet, it’s so deep. God sending His Son, to be the sacrifice for us. Never to condemn us, but to give us the gift of grace, redemption through Jesus Christ.
So, grace means we receive what we don’t deserve. We receive God’s favor, we receive the inheritance due a child from his/her parent . . . that’s you and I. We receive this great inheritance from God. He ushers us into the family. Not that we deserve it, but He does it anyways, because God is love, because God desires for us to draw near to Him so we can experience His power, protection and peace.
Then God is rich in MERCY - we don’t receive what we deserve.
What is it we deserve? I don’t really want to say it. But we deserve death. We deserve no more chances. Listen to what Paul said in Romans 6 --
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
But God says . . . “why would I do that when I sent my Son for you to redeem you and give you abundant life, today and eternally?” So, God says I will not do to you what you deserve!
The writer in 2 Chronicles said it well --
9 For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away His face from you, if you return to Him. - 2 Chronicles 30:9
God will not turn His face away from you if you turn to Him. That’s the amazing part of God. Has anyone ever been angry at you, where they won’t talk to you or interact with you? Even after you’ve apologized. You’ve poured out your heart. You’ve asked for forgiveness, you’ve cried, you’ve pleaded, you’ve begged . . . but this person will not.
Then you turn to God and you experience the power of His mercy. You receive what you don’t deserve. That’s a gift given to you and I from God.
Now, I’m going to make a huge turn here. Some will call it a right turn, some a left turn.
This past week I believe the United States was embarrassed by the presidential debates. I’ve listened to both sides and I don’t care what they say, what I saw was not good. But that’s the world we live in, isn’t it? I don’t care who you’re voting for, well I do, but that’s your choice. And hopefully you vote according to who God puts in your heart and mind.
Here’s my point, we live in a world where I can’t disagree with you. I have read so much junk on FB and Instagram that I’m already sick of the bantering. But what sickens me more than anything is the fact that we cannot have an intelligent conversation. We can’t have a debate, person to person and agree to disagree, but walk away from it, thinking that was really good.
It can’t happen in our world. Instead, if you’re not for my candidate we tell others to get lost. We don’t want then to be our friends on FB or Instagram or whatever. Why is it we can’t simply talk to one another about our differences? Tuesday night was a macrocosm of what is going on in our country.
Whether you’re for BLM or not, whether you’ve for masks or not, whether you’re for Kanye West, Trump or Biden, or the libertarian . . . it doesn’t matter. Now to bring us back around to where I started.
The call from God is to extend what we have received from Him to one another. I don’t have to agree with you, I can think your rationale is totally off the board, that you’ve misapplied scripture, and I’ve seen it, but I would never belittle or berate someone because of it. In fact, I don’t engage in those discussions, because sadly, we can’t have them.
But this is what I do know, and then we’ll have communion, because I don’t want to take communion after talking politics.
Peter gives us a clue again on how to react to those who don’t agree with us. Again in 1 Peter 2:23, he wrote --
23 When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly.
Jesus didn’t fight back with lots of words and anger. He entrusted Himself to the One who judges justly. And aren’t you glad God is a just judge!?
God extends His grace and mercy to us. Because we have received this amazing gift, just like with our spiritual gifts, we don’t hide them, but we open them and share them with the world, we do the same with God’s grace and mercy . . . we share His grace and mercy with the world around us. Hopefully that changes the world. It doesn’t mean we don’t hold others accountable for their actions. There definitely can be accountability and justice . . . along with grace and mercy at the same time.
Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:4-5 ---
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved. - Ephesians 2:4-5
Isn’t that great! God being rich in His mercy . . . why? Because of the great love He has for you and I . . . does what?
Finally, again, Peter said ---
24 He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.
That’s the best news of the day!! Even when we were lost in our sinfulness, He made us ALIVE because of His grace! And by His wounds we are healed!
MOVE INTO COMMUNION
