God Accomplishes What We Can’t

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Video: Sermon Bumper - God Accomplishes What We Can’t

Title of the Message this

Morning is:

God Accomplishes What We Can’t

Main idea:

Grace is God accomplishing in us that which we cannot accomplish by ourselves.

In our passage today, we will see the grace of God revealing Himself to Peter,

the grace of Jesus building his church,

and the grace of the church’s victories over the gates of Hades.

Prayer:

“Jesus you are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!

We pledge our lives to you and we put our trust in you.

Help us encounter your love and goodness today. Amen.”

Scripture: Matthew 16:13-20, Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV)

Introduction

Hello Church!

We are going to learn some incredible truths today about how God works in our lives.

The gospel is good news.

It’s better than that, really.

It’s actually mind-blowing great news.

And we don’t have to wait until we die and go to heaven to experience it.

God is eager to do amazing work in us and through us each and every day in this life.

ILLUSTRATION IDEA:

I have here a gallon jug.

I want you to think about your car for a moment.

Your car gets a certain amount of miles per gallon.

If I fill this jug with gasoline, how many miles will your car get out of it?

My Honda Cvic gets 28 MPG miles in the city, 36 MPG on the highway, and 31 MPG total.

Some of you might get 15 miles out of a gallon of gas.

Others of you might drive a hybrid and get 50!

Now let me ask you a different question.

How many gallons of gas do you think it takes a Boeing 747 to go from standing still to a full takeoff?

A Boeing 747 is a jumbo jet that can carry over 600 people and fly over 9,000 miles, which is about as far as New York City is from Sydney, Australia.

In other words, that’s a lot of people, a lot of distance, and a lot of weight!

How many gallons of gas do you think it takes to get that 747 off the ground at takeoff?

It takes one gallon for my car to go 31 miles.

How many gallons of gas do you think it takes to get a Boeing 747 off the ground?

The answer: roughly 1,300 gallons.

Just for takeoff!

That’s a lot of gasoline burned in a short amount of time just to get the jumbo jet into the sky.

Now that we understand that, I want to share a quote by a guy named Dallas Willard.

Dallas was a theologian who wrote extensively about spiritual formation and the goodness of God the Father revealed through Jesus the Son.

Dallas said,

“The true saint burns grace like a 747 burns fuel on takeoff.”

That’s a lot of grace.

In Dallas’ view, grace is more than God’s “unmerited favor,” which is typically how we define grace in church circles.

But, grace goes further.

Grace is God working in my life to accomplish that which I cannot accomplish on my own.

To say that the true saint “burns grace like a 747”

is to say that the true follower of Jesus

will see God accomplishing more and more in their lives, that they otherwise could not accomplish on their own.

What has God accomplished in your life that you could not have accomplished on your own?

• Have you grown in self-giving love?

Courage?

Taking risks?

• Have you experienced restored relationships?

Deeper friendships?

A healed marriage?

• Have you learned to let others go first?

To be willing to go last?

• Have you overcome addiction?

• Have you experienced anything supernatural that’s difficult to explain but was a blessing in your life?

• Have you overcome challenges through prayer and faith and hanging on despite long seasons of uncertainty and pain?

• Have you received some provision of money or food or something material just at the right time and didn’t see it coming?

All of that is grace.

All of that is God working in your life to accomplish that which you could not accomplish on your own.

If you were able to accomplish any of those by yourself, that would be works and not grace.

But, because these were accomplished only through the presence, power, and provision of God, they are grace.

Sometimes we reduce the idea of grace down to a legal standing or legal concept.

In truth, grace is simply a loving Father actively working in my life.

Grace is a relational concept, not a legal one.

Jesus came to teach us that God is a relational Father, not a prosecuting attorney.

And that is why we can burn grace like a 747 burns fuel on takeoff, because grace is not a substance or a scarce resource.

Grace is a Person!

And that Person gives Himself to us in relationship “without limit” (see 334).

Main Teaching

Today’s passage from scripture involves a conversation between Jesus and his disciples.

Jesus questions his disciples, asking them, “Who do you say that I am?”

Peter responds with a confession of faith in Jesus, stating, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”

Let’s read the passage.

Read Matthew 16:13-20

This passage holds an important place in Christian theology.

A lot is packed into these verses.

We have Christ’s identity, the establishment of the Church, and the impact of the Church.

Let’s look at what this passage teaches us about the character and nature of God.

1. Jesus leads us through a process of discovery

First, I want us to notice how relational this interaction is between Jesus and the disciples.

Jesus is leading them through a process of discovery about who He is and what work He is doing.

He leads them through this process by asking them questions.

A. Questions draw us into relationship

Notice that Jesus is asking them questions.

Jesus frequently used questions as a teaching method.

In this passage, he asks:

• “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” (16:13)

• “But what about you? Who do you say that I am?” (16:15)

Some other examples of questions Jesus asked are:

• "I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” (Luke 6:9).

• "What do you want me to do for you?” (Luke 18:41).

• "Do you want to be healed?” (John 5:6).

• "Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, take up your bed and walk’?" (Mark 2:9-10).

Why do you think Jesus asked so many questions?

He certainly wanted to be thought-provoking.

He also wanted to challenge people’s assumptions.

But there’s another reason he asked questions.

Questions draw us into relationship.

They initiate conversation.

They draw people out to share what’s on their minds and hearts.

This is why Jesus asked so many questions.

It wasn’t about catching them in the wrong answer, or about playing gotcha.

Questions foster relationship, and our God is a relational God.

He values the back-and-forth conversation with us when we are honest with him.

Parents of teenagers know this.

They ask questions in order to elicit conversation and relationship.

“How was your day at school today?”

And how do teenagers usually respond? “Fine.”

What’s the parent trying to do?

Elicit conversation and build relationship.

And notice Jesus was such a safe person that the disciples were willing to answer incorrectly without feeling ashamed, or embarrassed, or humiliated.

They were being their honest selves in the presence of the Lord.

We can do the same.

B. The Father reveals Himself

Not only does God ask us questions, He also communicates with us.

Communication is central to God’s character because God is a relational Father who loves us and works in our life.

Jesus asked them, “Who do you say that I am?”

And Peter responded, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

“Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven’” (16:17).

Jesus said Peter got a direct revelation from God the Father.

God revealed to Peter who Jesus was - the Messiah, the Son of the living God.

Do you see that God was actively working in Peter’s life to accomplish what Peter could not accomplish on his own?

God was actively speaking to Peter, revealing Himself through Jesus.

This is grace!

Peter was burning grace like a 747 burns fuel on takeoff.

• What question is God asking you in this season of life?

• What is God communicating to you about Himself?

Listening to the voice of God and responding honestly to what we hear allows God to work in us, doing things we cannot do on our own.

It’s all grace.

2. Jesus builds His church

Peter’s confession was, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 

It is to this declaration that Jesus says, “On this rock I will build my church”(16:18)

A. What is the rock?

On what “rock” will Jesus build his church?

Peter?

Is Peter the rock? No!

The rock is the declaration, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”  

That’s the rock on which Jesus builds his church.

Wherever Jesus is preached as Lord, as the Messiah, as the Son of the living God — Jesus will build His church.

This declaration is the foundation upon which the Church is built.

The Church is not built on dynamic worship, powerful preaching, and engaging programs.

Those are all great things, but Jesus’ church is not built upon those things.

The Church is not built upon a political platform or on social justice.

Those are both great things, but Jesus’ church is not built upon those things.

The church of Jesus, the Son of the living God, is built upon the rock-solid foundation that He is the Messiah, the Savior, the anointed One.

He is the Son of the living God, our Father in heaven who he came to reveal and make known.

Jesus is more than a good person, more than a prophet, and more than an idea.

He is not a Democrat nor a Republican.

He is the Messiah, the Son of the living God.

He is the Lord.

The word Lord means, “absolute authority.”

When we call him Lord Jesus, we are not calling him “Mr. Jesus.”

Lord is not a fancy word for Mister.

We are calling him Lord Jesus, declaring him to be the one who has absolute authority over our lives and over creation.

This is why the early church was persecuted for saying, “Jesus is Lord” because only Caesar was considered to be Lord.

Only Caesar had absolute authority.

To say otherwise was treason.

Christians were pledging allegiance to a new Person, the risen Messiah who defeated death and who shows us the way into life.

Caesar couldn’t do that.

Our present-day Caesars can’t do that either.

This is why we pledge our lives to Jesus, the Messiah who is the Son of the Living God.

He shows us the way into life (see the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7) and one day we will endure and overcome death just as he did.

B. Jesus’ job is to build the church, our job is to make disciples

Jesus says that it’s his job to build the church.

It’s not our job.

What’s our job then?

Our job is to make disciples (Matthew 28:19).

Sometimes we get those job descriptions backwards.

We think it’s our job to build the church, and then once the church is built it’s Jesus’ job to make disciples.

But that’s backwards.

Jesus’ job is to build the church, ours is to make disciples.

You are meant to do things you cannot do.

You are called to do things that seem impossible.

How do you do the impossible?

By burning grace like a 747 burns fuel on takeoff.

We do the impossible by trusting God and moving forward.

By taking risks.

By loving others with radical, self-giving love.

3. Jesus leads us forward

Jesus makes an interesting statement about His mission and the mission of the church.

He said,

“And the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (16:18).

“Hades” in the New Testament refers to the realm of the dead, or the state of souls after death.

It’s not the same word as “Gehenna” which we translate as “Hell.”

Jesus said Hades has gates.

Gates are not offensive weapons.

They are defensive.

And Jesus is saying that those gates cannot withstand the invasion of His church.

Do you get what that means?

It means the Church is meant to be on offense.

We are to take action.

It means we are to invade places of darkness, death, and despair with the declaration that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, and bring the love and light of Christ. We are on offense, not defense.

• ILLUSTRATION:

In Matthew 5:14, Jesus tells us that we are the light of the world.

Imagine a lighthouse standing tall on a stormy night, guiding ships to safety.

Just like the lighthouse, there are people in our church who stand firm and shine brightly, helping others find their way to Christ.

They share His light through acts of kindness, lifting others in prayer, and speaking truth in love.

In a world seemingly lost in darkness, these individuals illuminate the path to salvation.

Conclusion

The true follower of Jesus will burn grace like a 747 burns fuel on takeoff.

It is by grace that we discover more and more about the goodness of God.

It is by grace that we make disciples and Jesus works alongside us building His church.

And it is by grace that we are on mission with Jesus, overcoming the gates of Hades to bring light and love in dark places.

The difference between the fuel Jesus offers us and the gas in a 747 is that eventually, the 747 runs out of fuel!

It can’t keep going.

But we followers of Jesus are given an endless supply of grace, and endless supply of God Himself.

He is the living water that never runs dry.

You have an endless supply of God’s activity in your life accomplishing things in you and through you that you cannot do on your own.

Go burn grace today.

Amen!

Let’s pray together.

Salvation:

The Word of God says in: John 3:16

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Romans 10:13 NKJV

For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you’d would like to receive Jesus today, please pray this prayer with all of us:

Lord I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He died On the cross for my sins and His resurrection from the dead gives me eternal life. I ask forgiveness of my sins, and I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Amen.

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Benediction Scripture

 "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!”

Ephesians 3:20-21

Have a Great Week! Goodbye!

This is Pastor Doc and Lady Pepper signing off until next time we meet. Blessings to you all!