Grace Like No Other

His name is Jesus. His name is a name like no other.

His name literally means deliverer or rescuer. His name speaks of what He came to do - to deliver or rescue us from our sins.

Although we don’t deserve it… He came that we might receive it - the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus came to offer us something we could not earn on our own and He offers it through something we no as… grace.

What is grace? Grace is favor or kindness shown without regard to the worth or merit of the one who receives is and in spite of what that same person deserves.

Grace is something we often talk about and even sing about and is one of God’s key attributes.

Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me

Grace, grace, God’s grace, God’s grace, Grace that will pardon and cleanse within. Grace, grace, God’s grace. Grace that is greater than all our sin.

Your grace is enough, your grace is enough, your grace is enough for me

The grace of God is truly amazing! In fact, there is nothing else like it in this world. Jesus offers us grace… like no other!

God’s grace breaks the chains of sin that once bound us… through His grace we are given new life, new hope, new freedom, and new purpose. His grace is a key element in the Easter story… it is something Jesus offered throughout His ministry and… it is something we can receive and experience today! Aren’t you thankful for the fulness of His grace?

Max Lucado would say that God’s grace is more than we deserve and greater than we imagine!

Philip Yancey writes, “Grace means there is nothing I can do to make God love me more, and nothing I can do to make God love me less.

But HWC… We have a problem. How can we have a problem regrading the grace of God? I fear the church abroad has a misunderstanding regarding the depth of God’s grace.

Remember what we talked about last week… what Jesus came do to and the power that is found in His name.

Jesus was anointed to proclaim the good news to the poor. The poor are those who are destitute and in bondage. The name of Jesus has the POWER to break any chain that might bind us!

Jesus was anointed to proclaim freedom to the captives. He brings victory to all who call on His name! His name has the power to bring freedom and deliverance!

Jesus was anointed to proclaim recovery and sight for the blind and freedom to the oppressed. When we call on His name, darkness has to flee! Our eyes are opened to His way, truth and life!

Jesus was anointed to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. We don’t have to wait for the fiftieth year… His favor can be received today! His liberation can be experienced today! The liberation of the spiritually impoverished and oppressed is found in the name of Jesus!

His name is the source of that power… and the vehicle by which it comes is… grace. We have faith to call on His name and by grace, Jesus does what Scripture says He will do. But… do we truly believe that through grace… God can and will do these things?

We struggle to believe God could have really loved us in our deepest, darkest moment when we said or did the thing of which we are most ashamed.

We struggle to believe God could love us in the midst of addiction.

We struggle to believe that God could love us through our breakups, let downs, betrayals and denials.

We struggle with the idea that grace can truly cover our past, sustain us in the present, and even extend into our future.

We struggle to realize that grace is a bottomless, limitless resource THAT WILL NEVER RUN OUT.

Here’s the root of the problem: We often approach grace with a works mentality – as if grace is something we could earn. We miss the later half of the definition that said grace is given despite the fact that we don’t deserve it. If it was deserved… IT WOULDN’T BE GRACE! Here’s the reality today, church: GRACE IS NOT SOMETHING EARNED BUT IS A GIFT WE RECEIVE THROUGH CHRIST JESUS!

Pastor John Lindell reminds the church in his book, “Soul Set Free” that “The astonishing thing about grace is that ‘the work’ is really not up to you at all; it is a proclamation that the work has already been done for you and is being done in and through you.”

I want you to notice something about this statement. Grace is a work of God that has happened, is happening, and will continue to happen!

This morning, I want all that are in this room and all that are watching online to understand this truth right here: THERE IS GRACE FOR YOU. AND IT IS A GRACE LIKE NO OTHER!

The work that Christ did on the cross to usher in this era of grace was accomplished for ALL PEOPLE. His blood was shed, not for an elect few, but for ALL WHO WOULD CALL ON HIS NAME! (Joel 2:32; Romans 10:13)

It doesn’t matter if you’ve done everything right… or everything wrong. It doesn’t matter if you were born on the front pew of the church or if this is your first time hearing the gospel message… What matters is what Christ has done… and what He is offering today… THERE IS GRACE FOR YOU.

Jesus tells a parable that reveals this truth… a parable that often revolves around only one character… but misses two important other key figures in the story. We know the story as the prodigal son, but it is really a story of two lost sons and a father of grace. In fact, Jesus introduces the story by placing a focus on all thee characters in Luke 15:11...

Luke 15:11 NIV

11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons.

A Story of Grace Like No Other

We know the story well, a son decides he is done with life on the farm, he approaches his father and asks for his inheritance, and leaves the scene.

Asking for his inheritance while the father is still alive is a seriously disrespectful request. This is a statement equal to saying, “you are dead to me.” In the culture of the day, this would have been the ultimate slap in the face to the father… ultimate rejection, ultimate rebellion.

There really wasn’t a greater insult… are you getting this? This son just committed a sin like no other against his father.

This is the younger son, the one labeled as the prodigal son.

But what about his brother? What do we know of this individual?

Jesus made a point to include him in the introduction to the story. Look very carefully at verse 12.

Luke 15:12 NIV

12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

In response to the younger son’s request, “he [the father] divided his property between them.” The older son watched his brother leave the farm… abandoning his responsibilities and his family. WHILE THE YOUNGER SON WAS OUT SPENDING ALL THAT HE HAD, THE OLDER SON WAS IN THE FIELD DOING THE WORK.

One son vacated the premises and did as he pleased. The other son did what seemed right in the eyes of the father and continued to work.

The prodigal goes out and spends it all and eventually hits rock bottom. While there, Scripture reveals that “he came to his senses.” (Luke 15:17)

He remembered who he was… rather whose he was… and who his father was, and who he was called to be. Now think of it for a moment… this is surely how any journey with God must start – some vague memory of home, a remembering of who we are, who we are as sons and daughters created in the image of God.

But the son struggled… the son didn’t think he would be received well unless he approached his father as something other than his son.

Verse 18 shows the dialog he has with himself,...

Luke 15:18–20 NIV

18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

He gets two things right here:

One, he HAD sinned against the father. There was no disputing this truth.

Two, He WAS no longer worthy to be called the father’s son. “You’re dead to me” was his previous statement.

BUT… the son begins his journey home. And when the father sees him, GRACE is extended to the prodigal! The father goes all out in welcoming him home!

But then… the older son makes it back to the scene. Where has this guy been this whole time? Doing what he was supposed to be doing… working the fields and helping dad. (Luke 15:25)

Grace wasn’t in his heart that day. Grace was the last thing on his mind. He felt that his doing outweighed the importance of his brother being a son of the father.

Let that sink in for a moment… and look carefully at who the target of the older son’s anger was - the father.

How could dad hold a party for the kid that abandoned him yet do nothing for the one who had remained faithful?

The older son was forgetting something very important… look at verse 12 again. The inheritance had been divided between them equally.

There are two lost sons in this story, and the story is about the distance between each of them and their father.

One, the wild... the spend it all like there is no tomorrow, the burn it all down son – bridges the space between them, comes back home, and falls into the father’s embrace.

The other son has been on his father’s porch all along, but there seems to be more space between him and his dad than his prodigal brother had experienced from hundreds of miles away. Geographically he was there all along. But his HEART could not have been any further.

The weight of this story often falls on the prodigal but leaves us with a cliff hanger regrading the older son… would he go into the celebration? Would he realize, as his father did in Luke 15:31“this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”?

Here is what I want us to see today:

Grace makes its way easily to those who need it most, to those who live fast and hard with no regard to God, His Word, and His ways… to those speeding their lives into the wall early on.

But what about the quieter, more respectful older sons and daughters – those who have always harbored some deep suspicion that God’s love or approval of us exists because “at least I’ve tried really hard to get it right.”

The distance is real in either case. Those who run from God are no further from God then those who believe their work has “earned” them the love of the Father.

THE KEY IS IN YOUR IDENTITY: It’s not about what you’ve done good or bad… its all about who God created you to be: HIS SON AND DAUGHTER!

Will you come to your senses and come home? Will you decide to drop the anger and come into the party?

Lastly, and most importantly, the father’s love for either son NEVER FAILED. His love remained for both sons as they each learned a valuable lesson regarding grace. Physical distance had nothing to do with it… it all came to the position of the brother’s hearts.

Grace is a gift to be received… a GIFT to be received. This gift like no other is given to all who call on the name like no other… the name of Jesus! There is grace for you!

An Example of Grace Like No Other

Saul was a Jew of Jews. He was a man that was passionate about his God, His law, and the upholding of the Jewish traditions.

He made it a point to persecute this new fledgling faith called Christianity. He looked upon the stoning of Stephan with approval as his peers ended his life with stone throw after stone throw. (Acts 7:58) Where the mission of the early church was to go and make disciples… Saul made it his mission to persecute anyone who proclaimed “Jesus is Lord.”

Saul thought he was doing the work. Saul was… in his mind… in the field, on his Father’s porch, close to home… or so he thought.

Then came a moment that would change his life. God interrupted Saul’s world with an encounter of grace through Jesus.

While on the road to Damascus, Jesus would interrupt Saul’s journey and Saul would be physically blinded as a result. Acts 9:1-18

I see this “blindness” as symbolic to where Saul though he was.

He was blinded by tradition, by going through the motions, by the works he was doing.

He was blinded by his passion to persecute the church that was preaching Jesus.

He was blinded by going his own way instead of going the way of Jesus.

Through this encounter, his eyes would be renewed, revived by grace through Jesus.

Like Saul, I believe God is wanting to open some eyes in this place. Watch this: Grace, for Saul (who later became Paul) and grace for us, is a new way of seeing!

GRACE is what we SEE after we see the LIGHT! Grace had now changed the entire trajectory of Paul’s life. Once a terrorist of the church had now become a teacher of the gospel of Jesus!

Conclusion

A believer can be far from God... doing what they think they should do while forgetting about the grace they have received.

Listen, church… Outright rebellion is NOT the only way to distance yourself from God. We can distance ourselves from God by thinking we have been redeemed by our works.

Hear me clearly: Whether you are running from God, working for God, preaching for God or reaching for God: it is only by grace that we come close to and remain close to the Lord!

I Once was lost… but now am found. Was blind but now I see. What made the change in our lives? God’s amazing grace! A grace like no other!

In the story, the father did not reject either of the two sons, but rather both sons had to make a choice.

The younger chose to come home – to have his identity renewed by the father. The other was left standing outside with two options: do I go inside and join the father in celebration OR do I remain in my status, do what I think I ought to do while forgetting his identity with the father?

There is no mountain too high nor valley too low – you are never, NEVER out of God’s reach.

You might be sitting on His porch, working in the field... or you might be running in rejection and rebellion… God’s grace is for you.

In Christ, you are His son, you are His daughter, He is your heavenly Father… and He is inviting you to come home. He has given you an invitation to the celebration.

You won’t find words of judgment, you won’t find looks of shame. You won’t hear phrases like “I told you so” or “look at this mess you’ve created.”

Look again at how the father responded when his son returned.

Luke 15:22-24

Luke 15:22–24 NIV

22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

We all know what it means to be lost… GOD WANTS YOU TO KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO BE FOUND! THERE IS GRACE FOR YOU! JESUS DIED FOR YOU, GAVE HIS LIFE FOR YOU! Today is your day to come home! Today is your day to join the celebration! Today, God is interrupting your life to say I see you, I want you, I sent my Son to die for you! Be set free of your sin, be forgiven and live in victory! He wants to open your eyes to His grace today!

For the religious and the nonreligious, the saints and the aints, it is still only grace that leads us home.

Prayer – Salvation!

The Father is waiting for you! Will you come in? Will you come home? Will you receive His grace today?

Communion

Today we celebrate God’s grace by remembering the price that was paid through the giving of His Son.

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 NIV

23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

The gift God gives us… came at the price of His Son. Jesus took our sin and shame and nailed it to the cross.

He offers life to the full to those who call on His name. The thief found it while crucified next to Jesus. We can find it today in His presence and love. Let’s thank God for His grace like no other.