Grace For Today’s Trials (WWPM)

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Introduction

Good Evening everyone

It’s a blessing to be with you tonight, those in the room and those joining online.

Before we get into the Word, just a reminder that as always, we will be taking communion at the end of the message.

So for those joining online, have a small cup of juice and a cracker or piece of bread ready so that you can participate with us at the end of the service.

I’m going to share on a subject that I’ve talked on before, but that I believe is very relevant considering the events of the past week.

On Saturday, many people witnessed the assassination attempt on Former President Donald Trump, only adding the already very tense political situation in a America, during a very consequential election season leading up to November.

I’ve heard podcasters and commentators on more than one occasion talk about how close we came and still are to civil war in this country.

I don’t bring this up to make any specific comment on this other than, its just another type of conversation that adds to the anxiety and fears that people already have.

With the current situation in America, things could change very drastically and very fast.

I was reminded of a conversation I read once between President Franklin D. Roosevelt and a Jewish friend of his during the chaos of WW2.

FDR

In the conversation, the Jewish friend reportedly asked President Roosevelt, "How can you believe in God during times like this?" Roosevelt replied, "How can you not?"

His friend was witnessing the suffering and chaos in the world, and struggled to understand how anyone could maintain belief in God amidst such hardship.

FDR on the other hand, saw faith as the source of hope and strength in adversity.

It was only faith that could provide meaning and comfort in moments of great despair.

In other words, those who have placed their faith in Christ, have access to the comfort and grace of the Holy Spirit, regardless of how chaotic the world gets.

That’s what I want to share about tonight… Grace For Today’s Trials

Because with what is going on around the world today, it can produce so much anxiety, stress, worry, fear, feelings of being so overwhelmed.

We are constantly bombarded with rapidly changing news cycles of woes and troubles.

I want to remind us of an incredible promise that no situation, let-down, trial can take from us.

Truth

This is the promise:

God’s grace is sufficient for the trials at hand.

We get this promise from something the Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:

This is a letter to the church in Corinth

2 Corinthians 12:8-10 “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this (thorn in the flesh), that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Nobody knows for certain what the thorn in the flesh was for Paul, what we do know, is that God, rather than taking away the problem promised that His grace was going to be sufficient to help him in his problem.

God didn’t give an answer, he gave a promise.

Enough in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in calamities.

When I am weak, I am strong, because the power of Christ is made perfect in my weakness.

At my point of weakness, Christ comes in with his strength and begins to move on my behalf.

God’s grace is always sufficient for the trials at hand.

That’s the promise, now here is our tension we often feel:

The tension or challenge is that although we have access, we don’t always abide or rest in that grace

We all have those Christmas gifts somone gave us years ago that is sitting on a shelf in the basement somewhere.

It’s ours, we have access to it, but unless we actually get it off the shelf and use it, it isn’t serving any practical purpose in our lives.

The Grace of God is always available for the trial at hand, but as humans, we have certain tendencies that will cause us to live outside of the grace of God.

Not because the grace of God is not there, but rather because we aren’t living in it.

So what are those tendencies?

Let me give you two tendencies we have that add to this tension of not abiding in the grace available to us.

Tendency #1 - Filter tomorrows trials through the lens of today’s grace.

This is the kind of “what if” factor.

I’m really good at this…..what if”

It’s not that hard to envision circumstances or times where our lives become increasingly more difficult.

Worries of every day life

We can all see the political tension in this country, and now there has been an assassination attempt.

What if things escalate to civil war?

What if, as the economy continues to worsen, I can’t provide for myself or my family?

What if in the increasing violence a loved one dies?

What if I lose everything I worked for?

I think we are all too familiar with how easy it can be to live in fear and anxiety and worry for what could be in the future.

But heres the problem with pondering too long on the “what if”

The grace I have today cannot be spent on the “what ifs” of tomorrow.

Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

But that is what happens when we filter tomorrows trials through the lens of today’s grace.

We become anxious because the grace provided for today can’t measure up to the trials of tomorrow.

We can’t tap into tomorrows grace ahead of time, but we sure can live in the worry of tomorrow ahead of time.

God’s grace is given DAILY, and he gives it daily because it teaches us to trust and depend on Him.

But once again, the promise is that His grace will always be there, because His mercies are new every morning.

If I could illustrate it like this…..

Think of God’s grace like it’s an ocean buoy.

That anchored device that serves as a navigation marker in the water…it floats

The thing about a buoy, is it doesn’t matter how high the water gets, or how violent the waves get, it will always rise above the waters.

When God says his grace is sufficient, that means it doesn’t matter how deep the waters of sorrow are....how tempestuous the trials and waves of life will be tomorrow.

The grace of God is always one step ahead

You will rise above the waters.

Because at your moment of weakness, the power of Christ rests upon you, and you are strong

You don’t need to know how the grace of God will carry you in future events.....you just need to believe that it will.

Know that whatever comes, his grace will be enough

I just have to live in the grace He has given me today.

Now I know there are many people listening right now that might be saying, but my situation is not a “what if” of the future…..i’m living in the nightmare now.

Let me share another tendency we have, especially when we are in the midst of an extreme hardship.

Tendency #2 - Encapsulating Our Pain

To encapsulate your pain is to live, not just with the pain of today, but to imagine and fear for the impact of that pain on your future as well.

So instead of dealing with the pain for today, we try to encapsulate the entirety of our situation or pain, and try to swallow it all at once.

God doesn’t give 20 years of grace in the span of a day, He gives it day by day.

Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Our time of need is not future....it is present.

But we will encapsulate our pain or the struggle.

Examples

What would happen if I ate in a way today to satisfy the hunger of the next 20 years? (I would get sick to my stomach)

What would happen if I slept in a way today to prepare me for the 100,000 hours I’m going to be awake over the next 20 years? (I would become incapacitated)

What would happen if I took Tylenol in a way today to cover the pain of a thousand headaches over the next 20 years (I would overdose)

So, what happens when I try to function today with the inevitable pain and trial of the next 20 years?(It crushes me)

These health problems I’m dealing with…how can i deal with this for the next 20 years. I can’t imagine living the rest of my life with this disease or health problem.

And we pull the struggles of tomorrow into today

This depression I’m dealing with…I can barely make a day at a time, how can I do this for the next 10 years?

And we pull the struggles of tomorrow into today

This pain and sorrow from the death of a loved one, how do I go on? How can I survive another year that just serves as a reminder of my loss?

And we pull the struggles of tomorrow into today

And so we live with the fear, the anxiety, the overwhelming feelings of our pain or struggle not just for today, but of the next 20 years as well…and it crushes us

Corrie Ten Boom said it best, “Worrying is carrying tomorrow's load with today's strength- carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”

That’s encapsulating our pain.

You don’t have to deal with what you are dealing with for the next 20 years, you only have to live in the grace and strength of God for it today.

It’s amazing what we can endure, when we live one day at a time

Spafford Story

Awhile ago, I read a story of a man that lived in the 1800’s whose name was Horatio Spafford

Successful lawyer and businessman in Chicago

Had a wife named Anna, and five beautiful kids (4 daughters and 1 son)

Living a comfortable easy life, but tragedy struck his family in an unimaginable way.

In 1871 his 2 year old son died of Pneumonia, and then later that year the Great Chicago Fire happened, and really decimated his business and investments.

But the greatest hit came 2 years later in 1873

Mr. Spafford planned a trip to Europe with his wife and 4 daughters, but due to unexpected business problems he had to stay back in Chicago, so he sent his wife and daughters ahead of him with the intention of meeting up with them later.

Tragically, during voyage the ship collided with another ship, and all four of his daughters drowned. His wife who was rescued sent him a telegram saying “Saved alone”

Mr. Spafford left on the next vessel to reunite with his wife, and when he came near the place where his daughters had drowned, the skipper of the ship pointed out where the other ship had gone down.

Now listen to this: It was on the deck of that ship, passing by the location where his daughters had tragically drowned where he wrote these stirring words that have comforted and been sung by millions of people:

“When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul.”

It is well (2x), With my soul (2x), It is well, It is well with my soul.

I don’t have a context of the kind of grace that would be needed to write a song like that right after losing all my kids to tragedy.

And I pray I never have to go through something that horrendous.

But God’s promise is that His grace will always be sufficient for the trial at hand.

And I believe that.

Conclusion

Let me close with this Scripture in Philippians 4:6-7

Philippians 4:6-7 “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Here is how we live in God’s grace for today

Stay Prayerful

Praying about everything reminds us that God sees us, hears us, and is present with us.

Stay Thankful

Thanksgiving is an exercise of trust.

Don’t get caught up looking for all the answers, thank Him for His promises.

Don’t get caught up on the amount of grace you’ll need tomorrow, thank Him for his grace today.

Don’t get caught up in the pain of the next 20 years, thank Him for being your ever present help in time of need today.

And the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

His grace...is sufficient fore me…one day at a time.

Amen

Salvation

Tonight, we talked about the grace of God for our situation, but we can’t leave here before talking about an even greater grace. The grace of God for our salvation.

Not only does God provide grace for this life, He has also provided a grace for your eternal life.

We can enter into this saving grace by, as Jesus calls it, being born again.

What does it mean to be born again? Three things....it’s ABC

A - Admit you are a sinner, there is an issue in me that I can’t fix on my own. I’m completely dependent on the grace of God.

B - Believe that God provided that Grace when Jesus died on the cross he paid my sin debt.

C - Confess him as Lord that is in charge of your life from this point on. You let him lead your life

Salvation Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus I believe you're the son of God. I believe that on the cross you took my sin, my shame, and my guilt, and you died for it. You faced hell for me so I wouldn't have to go. You rose from the dead to give me a place in heaven, a purpose on earth, and a relationship with your father. Today Lord Jesus I turn from my sin to be born again. God is my father, Jesus is my savior, the Holy Spirit is my helper, and heaven is my home. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, go ahead and take the next step to get connected with Times Square Church. You can do this in a couple ways:

Text DECIDED to 51000 or you can type DECIDED into the chat box of your streaming platform and our online hosts can connect you with resources and next steps.

Communion

We are going to finish out by going into a time of communion.

Communion is about the body broken and blood spilt for us.

Communion is for those who have placed their faith in Christ, so if you just made that commitment, please join with us in this.

We are going to sing a song, and then we’ll come back and take communion together.

PRAY

Take communion together

1 Corinthians 11:23-27

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.

Amen, lest sing a song of praise before we go.