To Show His Grace

INTRODUCTION

• SLIDE #1

• We are in the middle of a series entitled, “REASONS FOR MY HEART TO BEAT.”

• This series deals with things that can help bring passion back to our faith, things to help give us the drive to live life with passion and gusto.

• The REASONS FOR MY HEAR TO BEAT we have examined thus far are TO PRAISE HIS GLORY, TO KNOW HIS POWER, and today we will look at a third reason for our hear to beat.

• One of the REASONS FOR MY HEART TO BEAT is TO SHOW HIS GRACE.

• This reason for the heart to beat is one that may be one of the more difficult ones for us to live out and therefore one that may be hard to get excited about.

• As we may know, GRACE is defined as UNMERITED favor. That means someone gives you or does something for you not because you deserve it, but rather because THEY want to do so.

• Grace is one of those interesting things that we ALL want to RECEIVE but sometimes are not too eager to extend to others.

• When we hurt others we do not want we deserve, we want grace, but when people hurt us we really want them punished to the fullest extent, we want them to get what they deserved. We want them to have the punishment they EARNED!

• I think that is the natural tendency most of us naturally exhibit.

• Today as we examine God’s Word together, I pray that we will go deeper than just KNOWING God’s grace, I prayer we will endeavor the SHOW God’s grace to others.

• I want to take us through the path of Ephesians 2:1-10 this morning.

• Has we hike down the path together, we will make a few stops on the path to make some observations that will really bring the beauty of SHOWING God’s grace into focus for us.

• Our journey will begin in verses 1-3 as we stop to make our first observation.

• SLIDE #2

• Ephesians 2:1–3 (HCSB) 1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins 2 in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler who exercises authority over the lower heavens, the spirit now working in the disobedient. 3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also.

• SLIDE #3

SERMON

Outside of Christ we all experience…

I. A life lived for self. (1-3)

• Before we submit our lives to Jesus, we all had a past, a past that was not too pretty. A past that had we continued to live would have kept us separated from God.

• When we commit our first sin even if it were our ONLY sin, we become spiritually dead.

• This does not mean we do not exist, rather death represents separation. When we de physically we are separated from the physical world, when we die spiritually we are separated from God.

• This applies to ALL of us. When we were outside of Jesus, we were DEAD in our trespasses and sins.

• The word sin means to miss the mark, whereas trespass represents more of a willful action.

• We see signs that say no trespassing. If we read the sign and cross the line, then we have willfully trespassed whereas if we are about to cross onto property we do know we are supposed to be on, we would have sinned.

• When we separated ourselves from Jesus life was lived for self, it was lived as the world would live life, all about self.

• One thinks that when they are outside of Jesus that they are the master of their own domain but in truth when in that state we a life according to verse two, according to the ruler who exercises authority over the lower heavens, the spirit now working in the disobedient.

• That life of freedom we thought we were living was in truth directed by Satan himself. In that state we are driven by the spirit of disobedience that is total opposed to God and His ways.

• No we were most likely not into devil worship, but we are open to allow him to influence how we lived life, we lived for our own pleasure and desires.

• This is what verse three draws out.

• Now you are free to live however you chose and if you are here this morning thinking this guy has no clue, I am not influenced by anyone! Really, look at what you were, how you speak, what you listen to where you eat.