God's Grace

Good morning everyone. Thank you, Mike for that. I'm deserve it. Welcome it is a joy to be here. I'm a student of history and in church history, especially interest me because we have a pattern from the New Testament. When Jesus sent out the apostles and later, the disciples and down through the centuries. To get to today in the 5th Century. We might remember the name, Patrick St. Patrick St. Patty's Day. We tend to celebrate put in the 5th Century. Patrick started a church planting movement in Celtic Britain, in Europe, by sending Albans of missionary monks, they lived among the people. They worked among the people that worked in the fields among the people, they shared their gospel, as they did life together and went to church was birth. They trade Elders. They trained leaders, and they moved on and they did it in a new town, in a new area. That's what benediction is doing. Living the gospel as you rub shoulders with your neighbors or friends. Those you work with those you pass by on the street and is Mike said he has a five value for church. Planting the vision of the AGC as an association. As a group of churches is that together, we would be a movement of healthy, reproducing churches. And those three words were specifically, chosen a movement, we're never satisfied with what we have? How many churches we have, but it's a moving, a healthy reproducing churches. We want to be healthy in our faith. We want to be reproducing naturally, as we share our faith, as people come to Christ, as we grow in our communities. So this morning, we want to look at this theme of God is gracious. He doesn't treat us as we deserve to be treated. That's our theme in this series. Behold our God, our culture and our society, perhaps social media, more than anything is highlighted. This reality that we don't often treat others as we should or they deserve to be treated. You might hear these words. I don't deserve to be treated that way. Perhaps you've done something, you said something, and you've heard those words I don't deserve to be treated that way. Perhaps you've used them because somebody has said or done something to you, we live in a society where you get what you deserve and Siri, right? The posted speed limit is 100, you get pulled over doing 140, you get what you deserve a speeding ticket, it hurts the wallet. But the cop let you off with a warning or you're occupied it. You know what? I just give you a warning slow down, that's not treating you as you deserve to be treated, you broke the law, you spend, you got caught, you deserve the ticket but instead you got Grace. God is gracious. He doesn't treat us as we deserve to be treated and we need to understand. What does that mean. Theologically what does the bible teaches about this God of Grace? That's all. We're going to look at a couple of things. First, we're going to look at this gracious. God, what does that mean? This is the theological part. We're going to look at a number of verses in the Bible. What does the bible teaches about? God's attribute of being a gracious? God, and then, we're going to look at a story of Grace applied. What does it look like in real life? I think the attributes of God who he is. Can often be better explained? As we see those attributes in action applied. Practically in our lives, in our relationship with him, for example, If you were to tell me the Pastor Mike is a really generous person and often invite you out for lunch and he's going to pick up the tab. How would I know if that's a true statement? Well, I I would have to in some way have experience that are been the recipient of that generosity or seen it applied in the life of someone else, right? That's the Practical side, but what a way to go for lunch at 8, let me take you out for lunch and when the bill comes and kind of goes, you know, I kind of forgot my wallet. Would you mind picking up the tab? And you would say, well, I guess it's happening, just forgot his wallet. But what if it happened? Every time he invited you out for lunch that he conveniently forgot his wallet. Do you would have to conclude that perhaps? He is not a generous person. You might even want to think about is you really my friend? If all he's looking for, is a free lunch and that's just an illustration Mike's. Not a cheapskate. I know him. He's very generous man, but that helps us understand how we apply this attribute. We can say that God is gracious and he is, but how do we know how do we see it applied in our lives? Let's apply that to this God of graciousness to. Look at his attribute, his character of being gracious to us. There's an old him that the church used the same as written over a hundred years ago, back in 1911. But the words of this song, I think help us understand is God of Grace and I'm not going to try to sing if it listen to the words, I'm going to read the words of this him. Marvelous grace of our loving Lord Grace, that exceeds our sin, and our guilt Yonder on calvary's Mountain poured there, where the blood of the Lamb was filled. Grace Grace, God's Grace Grace, that will pardon and cleanse within Grace Grace, God's Grace, Grace. That is greater than all our sin, marvelous infinite, matchless grace freely bestowed on all who believe, all who are longing to see his face. Will you at this moment is grace receive There's a number of clues in that song that I think we reveal the graciousness of God. Bless begin with first understanding. This Grace is Gone. This is the theology part. There's five things that we want to see here that help us understand is attribute of God's Grace Grace reveals God's character. One author has defined. The character of God's grace, this way, you said God deals with people, not on the basis of their Merit or worthiness, what they deserve, but simply according to their need. In other words, he deals with them on the basis of his goodness, and his generosity, and it requires nothing in return. As Moses was on Mount Sinai in the Old Testament to receive the Ten Commandments for the second time. Remember, the first time you went up to the mountain, God gave him the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone. He came down from the mountain, the children of Israel were sitting and he broke them. Over is being tossed them aside while now, he's back up in the mountain, he's going to get the Ten Commandments for the second time and exodus 34:6 says this. The Lord pass before him and proclaim the Lord, the Lord, Our God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. There it is. God's character is merciful and gracious. Slow to anger abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Your this interconnectedness between these attributes of Mercy, Grace and love One author, stated that graciousness comes from this idea to bend down, or the stoop down, and kindness to an inferior. And to give favor to the undeserving, Picture of Father bending down to his child, to be at eye level with that child. Bending down and kindness to give favor to the undeserving. We see God's mercy and not giving us what we deserve. We see his grace and giving us what we don't deserve, only see his love extended to us, his unmerited favor. Graciousness is always seen and its application. God is gracious. We don't get what we deserve, we get what we don't deserve. And in that he extends his love to us through Jesus because of what he did on the cross for each of us. the New Testament says that this way, the Apostle Paul writing to the Romans 7, chapter 5, verse 8, but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us and that phrase in that while we were still Sinners is important because it means literally while we were in the very Act of sin, It's not that we recognized. Our sin is not that we came to God and repent into that. We were sorry for what we had done. God extended his love to us through Jesus, to be our penalty, exact opposite. Of what we would think it's easy to forgive somebody. When they come to you and say I sent against you, I wronged you, I was unkind. Will you forgive me? It's easier than to forgive somebody to extend forgiveness. But what about when that person doesn't say they're sorry, they're not repented, they continue on doing what they're doing, it's at that moment that God extends his love and his graciousness to us. Second Grace is Gone response to us. David in the Old Testament writing in the Psalms. Said in Psalm 31 verse 9 be gracious to Me. O Lord for I am a distressed. When we cry out to God, he doesn't respond with I told you so. You made your bed now. Lie in it. It's your fault. You get what you deserve. That's not how we respond David further rights and Psalm 34 listen to these words. I sought the Lord and he answered me. He delivered me from all my fears. Those who look on him are radiant and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried out and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord in camps around those who fear Him and delivers them oh taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man and the woman in the child, who come to him and take refuge in him. God is gracious, and his response to us is gracious because it's his character to be gracious to those that do not deserve Grace, but there's a caution here. This isn't cheap Grace. This is an entitlement Grace. This isn't. God, is obligated to give me Grace and I can just go and do what I want. There's no penalty. Remember, his grace is not based on what we do. It's based on his character and will see that a little later. The third thing, we want to see in our overview, our theology part is that Grace is given in abundance. God is not cheap with his grace, it's given and Limitless Supply. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians and my God shall supply, every need of yours. According to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus, he further wrote to the Ephesians in him. In Christ, we have Redemption through his blood, the Forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace. Which he lavished Upon Us in all wisdom and insight. Did you see it there? Grace is not God, giving me a full bank account, a better job or a big house. His grace is more than a bunion to forgive. Me of my sins, just restore me to a right relationship. He lavishes. His grace upon us and that word is important to Lavish. It's to be overly generous a bun to give generously to not hold back anyting. That's how our gracious God gives us his grace in abundance. Lacking nothing more than we need or deserve a loving father and his child. If you have children, you would do anything for your children, you would give them everything they need to survive in to thrive. And that's what God does for us. Fourthly. Grace is saving power. Is the purpose of Grace is not to give us a full bank account, a better job or a big house. What's it for? What does it do? God's attribute upgrades lavishes upon us. This Saving Grace. Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians chapter 2, for by Grace, you have been saved through faith, and this is not of your own doing. It is the gift of God, not the result of work so that no one may boast by his grace, God doesn't treat us as we deserve to be treated. But true, Jesus were able to be saved. Our sin has been forgiven, our relationship is restored to him and we were able to commune and have fellowship with him. I love that phrase by Grace. You have been saved through faith. God's grace lavished Upon Us, my faith in what Jesus did for me. Paul wrote to the Romans, for all, have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And we are justified by his grace. As a gift through the Redemption that is in Christ in God. Put forward as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith. In these verses, we see some important points to know we've all sinned there, no innocent parties. We all deserve the punishment. Yet, we have been Justified, we have been declared righteous or right or Innocent by the grace that he extends to each of us. It's a gift of God because he is gracious, and he abundantly lavishes upon us, his grace, Jesus became our propitiation. That's a big theological word that basically means a sacrifice that a p uses. The wrath of God, what Jesus did on the cross. For each of us, appease the wrath of God against us and allowed us to be restored to that right relationship. Again, this is a cheap Grace, there was a cost, it cost Jesus, his life on the cross. God's grace is extended to us abundantly and lavishly to the point of sending his own son for the cross, so that we might be restored to him. Apostle Paul later road to Titus, wrote these words. So that being justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. If you're an heir, that means there's an inheritance and our inheritance is in a big house or a bank account full of money. It's eternal life. In fellowship with God, Finally, in this section we see that grace is sufficient for all our needs. Again, the Apostle Paul writing to the Corinthians said, but by the grace of God, I am what I am. And his grace toward me, was not in vain. There are no self-made people by God's grace extended, to us lavishly given to us in abundance. We are who we are today, his grace, his Mercy. His love have all contributed to making us who we are today. If we know Jesus personally,

That way pocket, even write it 2nd Corinthians chapter 12, but he said to me, when Paul was suffering from some ailment, we don't know what it is, but he prayed 3 times for the Lord to take this away and God did. But God said, my grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in weakness, regardless of what's going on in your life. Regardless of the troubles, you may be facing the challenges sickness poverty needs of all type, God's grace is enough to carry you through each day. This means that whatever I'm experiencing in my present circumstances, I can endure that anymore because God's grace will hold me. Remember the words of David and Psalm 31 this poor man cried out and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles and God invites us to call out to him. Cry out to him when life gets complicated, when life is not fair when our needs overwhelm our reality,

That's a big picture Five Points to help us understand a little better. What this God of Grace really is? What does it mean to be gracious? And as I said in the opening illustration about Pastor, Mike inviting you out for lunch and forgetting his wallet. That's the theology or that's the theory. We now have to put that into practice. How do we see that applied? In our daily life. How does that work out? Let me tell you a story. It's a true story. He was rich and powerful and very religious and everything. A person could ever want or desire. You live in a place you'll Mansion. No expense was spared people, worshipped him wanted to be like him songs were written about him. Everybody knew his name. He was ambitious strategic. Built an Empire at his command things happen. But at some point, it all changed. Perhaps. It was the board and then settled in when there were no more challenges to conquer, he stopped going to the office when he should have it. Began to look for other Pleasures. Other things to conquer his mind in his eyes wandered. Then he saw her, she was attractive, beautiful desirable. But she was the wife of another man. A man, he knew a man who was one of his trusted subordinates but it didn't matter. He wanted her and like rich and powerful. Men often do. He use that power that influence to get her, she was brought to the mansion. And well, you know what happens next? Now she's pregnant what to do this could ruin him and all that he had built.

Feel like powerful and influential man. Often do he look for a way to fix the problem? He use the resources at his disposal to hide what he had done. He cooked up a plan to make it look like the child was really fathered by the husband of this woman and when that didn't work, sorted to the worst form of betrayal. He had the husband. His trusted subordinate murder in order to hide his Dirty Little Secret.

If you haven't guessed by now, the man in the story is King David. The one who wrote the songs that we just read that, we just looked at the woman was Bathsheba, her husband was Uriah one of David's generals and what happens next is a story of Grace. There are consequences for our sin we often bear the consequences, even when Grace is applied,

When I was the stupid one of my professors told us a funny, a little story that I think there's this out. There was a bank robber and he wasn't that smart of a bank robber. As he wired up, the safe with a dynamite Berkeley, triggered in the dynamite and he blew his arm off. That does alarm went off in the bank, please, can they arrested and took him to the hospital and he picks up his arm and and pretty soon. He's in front of the judge. Stump is all bandaged up in the judge says, you're guilty. Got you on video camera? The police saw you. The only thing left is the sentencing, but then the judge said, you know what your young man? You made a mistake. I don't want this to ruin your life. I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to let you go free. That's Grace. I'm going to not give you the punishment that you deserve, and I thought it's a professor's. Telling the story was a simple story. We all get that Courthouse. Does arm grow back.

No, it doesn't embarrass the consequence of his sin. It's going to have no arm but he received Grace. That's what happened to David. He was found out.

The prophet Nathan comes to Devin, this is David. I want to tell you a story. It's a true story and we find this story in the book of 2nd Samuel, chapter 12 as an agent, sister David, there was a rich man and the poor man. The rich man, had many flocks and herds and the poor man. Only had one little lamb. David David resonates is this cuz remember, David was a Shepherd boy. Taking care of his own father. She fell in the Hills before he was king before he had the big fight with Goliath rich man, had many flocks and many herds ended form and only had one little lamb. He's got David's attention and the rich man had a friend that came to visit

And he takes as it were the custom of the day. He needed to prepare a banquet for that friend. To honor him as his guest. But instead of taking one of his many, she part of his many flocks and herds, it takes the one and only little lamb of the poor man, and he uses that I am to prepare the bank with all by this point. David is living at the man, and he's jumped up. And he says, the man who deserve that, who did that deserves to die? Nathan looks at him and says David. You are that, man? That's what David did. David was crushed. There would be consequences for his actions for his sin, but David would be forgiven, Grace would be applied. David's response in park. Was to write Psalm 51. It's a song of repentance and this is where the practicality comes in a Grace applied. Turn with me and we'll put it on the slides. Psalm 51, we see three things here we see. First of all versus one, and two, a call for Grace, have mercy on me or be gracious to me, o God, according to your steadfast love, according to your abundant Mercy blot out my transgression to wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Not according to what I did or deserve, David calls on God's character of grace mercy and love. He knows that according to Jewish law, he's guilty. What he has done his death, did he cries out from Grace? Forgot to treat him as he doesn't deserve to be treated. It all goes back to Psalm 31 be gracious to me. Oh lord for I am in distress and Psalm 34 this poor man cried out and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. There was no for David he was guilty before God. Yet God extends Grace, this is not cheap Grace. There were consequences for David that would impact him the rest of his life. But there was Grace, there was forgiveness. There was restoration to a right relationship with God in the Bible tells us that David was a man after God's Own Heart. So first of all, we cry out to God. We call it for Grace. Second, we understand the need for Grace verses 3 and 4, Psalm 51. I know my transgression in my sin is ever before me against you, and you only have, I sinned and then evil. What is in your sight that David recognizes his sin, who he sinned against

so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. David understood the depth of his guilt, what he really deserves. He sinned against God. Go ahead and wanted him to be king. God had given him victory over his enemies. God had built his kingdom and he knew it, and he knew what he deserved. It was guilty. There was nothing left except to pronounce judgment carry out the execution. The god, extended grace of God, extends, Grace was sinner like David. That same Grace is extended to us today, wherever you are, whatever your life is like, whatever you've been involved in, whatever you've done, whatever is happening that Grace. Is available. Anna versus 7 to 12. We see the results of Grace. And now the Judgment comes or we would think what we see is unlike what most would think. If they knew you were observing a trial like that with an obviously guilty person. Once in a while, my wife will force me to watch Dateline or one of those crime shows that it's always the same, right? Turns up in the suspect is a husband and he's, you know, he's guilty. He's always guilty of these shows, but you have to watch it for 2 hours to come to the end of wine. Yeah, he is guilty. Usually I go to bed. Those trials aren't hard to figure out what's going to happen at the end. He's guilty. What does he deserve? He deserves the punishment.

But that's not what happens when a gracious God steps in. He forgives, he restores. It's Grace applied, listen to the words of versus 11:53. Purge me with hyssop, cleanse me that I may be clean. Wash me that I may be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness. Let the bones that you have broken Rejoice, hide your face from my sins. Blood out. All my iniquities create in me a clean. Heart o God and renew a right Spirit Within Me. Cast me, not away from your presence. Take, not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation. And uphold me with a willing spirit, And God responded. Only a gracious. God could forgive and restore as he did in the life of David. And here's the really great part. He does the same with you and I every day regardless of our see, regardless of what we did, what we're doing now or attitude. It's covered by God's grace, the grace of God who doesn't treat us as we deserve to be treated. All he asks, is that we come to him? The true Jesus, we find forgiveness. Healing restoration, is Sons and Daughters. So there we have it. God is gracious. He doesn't treat us as we deserve to be treated. He goes beyond and abundance of lavished upon us. So, what do we do with that? We see the theology part, but the Bible says, I know where there's many more points we could study, we see enough. A practical example from the life of David, an adulterer, liar and murderer. The one who was also known as a man after God's Own Heart.

What do we do today? How should this impact us? Let me give you three suggestions one recognize that no matter how bad your life may seem right now. How far you are from God, how great your guilt shame or fear is God's grace, is immediately available to you. He is a god of Grace who doesn't treat us as we deserve to be treated second. Cry out to God. As David did. Don't hold back. He will hear us and offers to each of us to saving power of His grace. That you two may experience is transformation in your life as you surrender to him and third rested his grace. Because that is greater than all, your Central, Christian is to be free of the guilt. That shamed that sin and the devil bring Remember the invitation of that old him, Grace Grace, God's Grace Grace, it will pardon, and cleanse within Grace Grace, God's Grace, Grace. That is greater than all our sin marvelous, infinite matchless graze freely bestowed on all, who believe, all who are longing to see his face. Will you this moment? His grace receive. That's the invitation and that's an open invitation to each of us all the time. And not just once every time every time we we fall, every time we trip and stumble, we come back and say, Lord I failed his grace is extended everytime. We say I blew it. Lord again is grace extended. Everytime we come back and see if I don't know why I did that. I keep doing this uses, my grace is sufficient and it will be there for you. Grace, Grace, God's grace. Will you? This moment, his grace receive. It's an open invitation. Let's pray, father. Thank you for your attributes of being a gracious. God, the tree says, Not as we deserve to be treated but gives us what we don't deserve Grace, love Mercy. An invitation to be reconciled to you. Receive all that you have for us. I pray that we examine our hearts today Lord and if need be we cry out and call out for that Grace that's immediately available abundant and lavished upon each of us. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.