Sustaining Grace Series

SUSTAINING GRACE

Several years ago engineers were building a new bridge over the East River in New York. They discovered that the wrecked hull of a sunken metal ship lay right where the center bridge supports were supposed to be built. Powerful cranes was brought in to try and pull the ship up from the bottom but it would not budge. Then one of the engineers had an idea. Strong cables were attached to the hull of the sunken ship. At low tide, a barge was brought in and the cables were fastened to it. As the tide came in, the barge gradually lifted the sunken ship. It was then towed out into the ocean and sunk at a spot that would not cause future problems.

There are times in our lives when we are like those cranes trying to pull a wreck from the bottom. We just do not have enough strength to do it. We need to be connected to Jesus and allow His quiet gentle strength to lift us and to carry us. Only in Jesus do we have the strength we need.

Today we are continuing in our series Amazing Grace. Last week we talked about saving grace. That means God’s gift of salvation that we receive by faith in Jesus. Today I want to talk about sustaining grace. This is the help we need to live in this world in which we live. Jesus said in John 10:10 that He came to give us life and have it to the full. Not just eternal life, but life here and now.

1 Peter 5:10-11 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

All the words that Peter uses here word which indicate strengthening. The word for restore is the Greek word KATARTIZO and it means to mend or make perfect. The word for firm is the Greek word HISTEMI which means to stand. The word for steadfast is the Greek word THEMELIOO which means to lay a foundation or make stable.

How does the grace of God help us when we are weak?

1. Keeps me Grounded when I am Tempted

The moment you accepted the grace and gift of God you passed from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. You went from being property of the devil to being a child of God. The devil hates you because of that. He wants to do everything in his power to destroy you.

1 Peter 5:8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

The devil is looking to destroy you. So how do we stand against him? It starts with being self-controlled and alert. In the Greek it says that we need to be sober and awake. Being sober means that we are in control, that there is nothing else in our lives controlling us. To be awake means to be watchful, that we are alert and ready to act when danger comes.

Every day we are faced with a variety of moral choices. We have the ability to choose between wrong and right. These moral choices are called temptations. Everybody is tempted. You will never outgrow temptation. The Bible says even Jesus was tempted. It says He was tempted in all points like we are but he never sinned.

The good news is this: If Jesus was tempted and He never sinned it means it's not a sin to be tempted. It's a sin to give in to temptation. Sometimes you may think “How could I even think of such a thing.” Just because you thought something does not mean you are a bad person. You cannot control all the thoughts that go through your mind. But you can control which thoughts to and you chose to dwell on. You can't stop the birds from going over your head but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.

Take one area of temptation -- sexual temptation. God made us men and women with attraction for one another. Feelings of attraction are not wrong, unless you use them in a wrong way or apply them to a wrong person. Many people misunderstand and confuse attraction with lust. They are not the same thing.

If you are a man and you are walking down the road and see an attractive woman, it is not a sin to be attracted. I had a friend in Seminary who, if he saw an attractive girl would say “Thank you Jesus.” Now sometimes he said it with far to much enthusiasm, but you understand my point. It is not a sin to be attracted to someone. That is not lust. The issue is what do you do with that attraction.