I Woke Up Like This

Acts 12:11 “

And when Peter was come to himself, he said,

Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel,

and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod,

and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.”

Introduction

What is Grace?

Unmerited divine favor; a favor from which comes many gifts or gifting

God gives us free gifts, what we don’t deserve.

The greatest of His gifts is Jesus Christ

Jesus is the ultimate gift that grants us the opportunity to dwell in the favor of God

Mark Olivero, in , ed. Mark Ward et al. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018).“The very center and core of the whole Bible is the doctrine of the grace of God.”“God’s Grace,”Lexham Survey of Theology

Mark Olivero, in , ed. Mark Ward et al. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018).All we have is due to grace, but, as Michael Horton says, grace itself is “not a third thing or substance,” for “in grace, God gives nothing less than Himself.”   “God’s Grace,”Lexham Survey of Theology

Therefore, Grace is an extension of God, when we receive grace we are truly receiving Him

Types of Grace

Saving Grace

The grace God gives to save and bring us into relationship with Him

Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Justifying Grace

Romans 5:1–2 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

Enabling Grace

The grace for a move/movement.

This is the grace that prepares you for what God has called you to do

The grace to start a business

The grace to pioneer and build

The grace to take nothing and establish something

The grace to be creative and foster new paths of productivity

The grace to make possible in the face of impossibilities

Romans 8:26 “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

Teaching Grace

The grace to be taught, and the grace to teach

The grace to learn and to exist

The grace to mature!!

John 14:26 “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

The Power of the Book of Acts

Acts provides us a blueprint for how the grace of God is activated in the believer

Grace motivated the church to encounter His presence

Grace multiplied the church in thought, word, and deed

Grace maintained their expectation to expect the best that God had for them

What do you do when God’s grace walks you to something you weren’t ready for?

Grace walked the church into conflict

God will reveal to you the ending, allow you to start at the beginning, but He makes us work the middle

Oftentimes it’s in the middle of our process that God introduces conflict to our lives

Some in the room may be experiencing some conflict in one way, shape form or another

When conflict speaks, most assume that conflict will communicate that you’ve done something wrong

I would have had to have sinned somewhere

God is punishing me because of my actions of disobedience

I’m suffering the consequences for my actions

If I were in sin, then yes this makes sense. If I sinned I would have to suffer the consequences for what I have done

However, what do you do when you are experiencing conflict and all you’ve ever done was what God required?

The Power of Conflict

There is a power to conflict, because conflict communicates areas of my life I have where I may or may not be willing to compromise in

Conflict is a struggle or clash between opposing forces, ideas, or interests

Therefore, when I’m engaging in conflict I’m engaging in a battle of wills

All of us have a Will (a desire, a want, something I need)

What conflict will do is it challenges me in the areas of my desires, my wants, the things I believe that I need

Most times, when I experience challenge and conflict, I assume that the challenge and conflict comes from the devil

The enemy is the author of confusion and the enemy desires that I operate outside of the will or plan of God

Conflict in the Text

Acts 12:1 “Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.”

Why would God allow you to be vexed when He’s called you to victory?

If you were never vexed what would you have victory over?

C.S. Lewis and the Problem of Pain

Pain is a system established in the world through sin

Pain therefore is a constant in this world

if you take God out of the equation you have sin without the grace or mercy of a deity, because deity delivers from the severity of sin and its consequence through pain

In conclusion, because we have God He gives us grace which reduces the levels of pain we would experience

The pain may hurt me, but because of grace, the pain will help me

It hurt me, but it helped me

Conflict Graces us with Contentment

Because it’s inevitable that we’re going to experience challenges, conflict is the breeding ground that teaches us how to be content

I’m not content because of the problem, we are content in the problem because we know the problem solver

Mark 4:38 “And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?”

Jesus was asleep in the middle of the storm

Just as Jesus is our example, we learn that if Jesus can be content in the conflict … why can’t you?

Acts 12:6 “And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.”

Grace teaches us, that even in conflict we have the capacity to find peace in the middle of the storm

In The storm of cancer we can have peace

In the storm of bondage we can have peace

In the storm of family crisis we can have peace

In the storm of mental insanity we can have peace

We’ve got to learn how to be when

Graced for the conflict, because we were able to live through what killed other people

Acts 12:2 “And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.”

I’m going to live beyond that sword

God is going to deliver me from he ditch my enemy dug for me

the same ditch they dug for me, God will deliver them to die in the set up

Conflict reveals the Grace of Connectivity

Acts 12:5 “Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.”

You might be in a prison, but thank God for being connected to a praying community

Some battles you will not be able to get through by yourself

you may be content, but to be content without connection is a catastrophe

You’ve got get connected to someone who can pray for you

Prayer is made for fellowship

we fellowship in God’s presence

Prayer is used for relationtionship

We establish relationship with God

Prayer is used for companionship

We can pray for others in God’s presence

Conflict reveals the grace of who’s hands you’re in

Acts 12:11 “And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.”

Some conflict communicates that you’re not in your own hands, and you need the grace to get through the conflict