The Savage Life (Part 2)

The Savage Life|Part 2

Banking on What You Didn’t Earn Ephesians 2:8-10

Big Idea: Having the faith to bank on God’s grace is SAVAGE!

Review Last week

So to live a SAVAGE life is to “live your life in a way that few have the guts to live.”

Last week, we formulated two categories, two different lives a person can live out spiritually:

1) the NORMAL life

and

2) the SAVAGE life.

The NORMAL life is a life made up of “living for the next adrenaline rush.” Living for the next adrenaline rush can look different in your school life, relational life, family life, sport or hobby life, with friends, etc.—but to live “for the next adrenaline rush” is pretty addicting and totally NORMAL. The SAVAGE life is defined as “living your life in a way that few have the guts to live.” Last week, we presented the challenge of rather than living our lives for the next adrenaline rush, we can live our lives by a greater power that is characterized by hope, value and power in our lives! So there’s the NORMAL life and the SAVAGE life. I hope you choose the SAVAGE life!

Intro

That being said, claiming to live by a “greater power” is actually not that SAVAGE. In a global survey done a few years ago by the Washington Times, they discovered over 84 percent of people in the world identify with a religious group. If you break down that percentage, that's more than 8 out of every 10 people in the world claiming to identify with a religious group. Statistically, many people have the guts to live by their religion and spiritually, but few people have the guts to live by grace!

Grace is being given something you didn't deserve

Have you ever needed someone help because you couldn't do something?

Marty video game team up

Scripture

There's a verse in the Bible I want to look at today. It is one of those verses that, if it were the only verse you ever heard, it would be enough to grasp the overall message of Jesus

Read passage

In the NORMAL life you bank on what you earn. In the SAVAGE life you bank on what you haven’t earned. Let’s break this verse down—but rather than break this verse down word-by-word, let’s break this verse down in the order of logical thought it’s presented.

Saved from?

Are you saved? From what?

If you don’t have a sense of danger you don’t have an urgency for a saviour

If there's a fire you call the department

If there's an intruder you call the cops

But you have to recognize there's a problem in order to be rescued

Sin

Not what we do, but who we are

Sin has infected and affected everyone

I warn you because I love you

Some of you are physically alive, but spiritually dead

Maybe God has you here tonight, so this word will be the tool He uses to bring you from death to life

Boundaries/consequences - no trespassing sign

Transformation of nature not morality

Doing good deeds doesn't cut it

The power of God in us is better than the power of evil around us

Testimony of quitting smoking

Christians aren't perfect, but christians make progress

You’re being saved from the power of sin

In the past we’re being saved from the penalty of sin

In the present we’re saved from the power of sin

In the future we will be saved from the presence of sin

Wrath

God is love

Not just sin now, but future sin

Romans 2

Cup of water into bowl

Crap milkshake

Saved by?

Grace/faith

grace - undeserved favor of God

Faith - assurance of things hoped for, conviction of things unseen

Hebrews 11:1

Works

false religion

Moralistic deism

Do this don’t do that

Story of me ditching all my cds

We end up leaving the church cause we work so hard to stay “pure” and then. Something bad happens to us

Our mindset is “i was good and this is how you repay me”

I did this, I did this, I did this and You owe me!

So often we get taught “here is how you put God in your debt”

We need to repent of our cold, pragmatic heart, that loves ministry, but can barely stand the King of kings

Good enough/everyone

Grade on a curve

Everyone who dies gets to go

Jesus only good person

Pitcher of water

Saved for

Eternal life

Eternal life starts the moment you find Jesus not just when you die

You don't have to wait until heaven to be with Jesus

Works

Not to be saved, because saved

Empowered by grace

Friendship

Do thing cause friends

Don't do things to earn friendship

Prepared beforehand

For God’s glory

Most of Jesus good works as carpenter not preacher

No such thing as sacred or secular

Not all good works are your good works

No jv or varsity in the kingdom

The lamp

Conclusions:

We are saved from God, by God, for God

Story of the prisoner and the judge who dies

[Author Note: Below is a personal Illustration highlighting the silliness of thinking we’re “too sinful” to receive God’s grace! Feel free use, edit or substitute your own personal illustration below.] I remember as a kid in Southern California, digging a large hole in the backyard with my neighborhood buddy. One afternoon, my buddy’s mom came outside and asked, “Why in the world are guys digging such a big hole in the backyard?” We responded enthusiastically, “We’re digging a hole to China!” No matter how big your “hole of sin” is when it comes to your relationship with God, you have as much chance out-digging God’s grace as we had digging a hole to China!

Today, God looks at you and says, “I love you, I forgive you and I want my grace to change you.” Grace is “God being good to us even though we give Him every reason not to be.” Do you have the faith to believe this? Having the faith to bank on God’s grace is SAVAGE!

Questions:

Am I wanting to be saved?

Am I struggling to earn salvation?

Am I doing works empowered by grace?