Emmaus Sanctifying Grace talk
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Prayer of the Holy Spirit:
Prayer of the Holy Spirit:
Turn to Page 48 in your worship booklet, and join me in the prayer to the Holy Spirit.
Come, Holy Spirit,
fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in us the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit, and we shall be created.
And you shall renew the face of the earth.
O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit
did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit
we may be truly wise
and ever enjoy your consolations.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Introduction
Introduction
Story about Luke getting sick....
My wife Lauren and I have a son named Luke Wesley. He was our first and man he changed our world. People tell you over and over again, your whole world is going to change....oh man I was tired of hearing it haha. Life will never be the same. I got it, quit saying these vague generalities and then walking away. Then he came and wow. Life was full with Luke though. Both working full time jobs flipping our schedules so we could do it. Pastors salary does not give way for suitable childcare really. But it was all worth it. I loved my days with him. One day I went to pick him up from our SLC pre k thing at the church and something was slightly off.
Tell the story.
In the middle of it all, something remarkable happened that brought Lauren and I to our knees and reminded us of God’s promises and forced us to turn our why questions into ok, now what questions. In an instant we were partnering with God to not only take care of Luke but to trust in Him for what he was going to do in us.
My name is John Wayne McMann, and the title of this talk is Sanctifying Grace.
My name is John Wayne McMann, and the title of this talk is Sanctifying Grace.
God’s Grace
God’s Grace
Let me bring us all together here with the talks you have had about grace. You have heard about prevenient grace, justifying grace, and now we will talk about sanctifying grace. You have talked about obstacles of grace and means of Grace.
All of this is a way of putting language to the ways in which God is trying to restore you, bring you home, call you to him, and send you out. There are not different graces, like we use up all of one potion and then we need the next one. Grace is the unmerited love of God in Jesus Christ that opens our eyes to our brokenness and makes a way for us back to him, and finally brings healing into our lives.
The means of grace are those avenues through which we can position ourself more directly in the love of God to be shaped and formed.
The obstacles of grace are those very things that distract us...
The reason why we talk about grace like this in three parts; prevenient, justifying, and sanctifying is because it is the only way we can conceptualize what God’s love is doing for us and in us.
So remember prevenient grace, it is the work calling us to him before we even acknowledge Him. I like to thing of this as the wooing. Trying to get our attention. I believe it is by prevenient grace that scales on our eyes are removed and we see. Some of you might have been led this far this weekend or remember a time.
Then justifying grace is the love of God done for us to forgive us of our sins. It is when we give him our yes and the grace of God forgives us of our sin and we are called children...
Sanctifying grace, then is the love of God working in us so that we might become who we are created to be… John Wesley would put it this way,
“Expressed in the most general terms, sanctification addresses the entire work of transformation in human lives by the Holy Spirit from the moment individuals are born again until they are given glorification in death. The ultimate end of the Spirit’s work is to restore the full image of God in humanity, making humanity like Christ.” (Theology of John Wesley, Lecture 6) In other words, salvation itself is the process of cleansing man from all sin, thereby making it possible for him to once again dwell in the presence of God and enjoy perfect communion and eternal life with Him.
The House of God
The best analogy I have heard for the Christian message of salvation is the house of God.
Prevenient Grace is the inviting to the Porch,
Justification is standing at the door or in the door way and choosing to go in. Sanctification is being in the house, and experience all that God has for us in the house.
Just like you have a choice to walk through the door, you have a choice to how you experience the house and how far in you will go.
This means a lot to me…my daughter Rylie Grace....cause sanctifying grace was a little wordy and I wanted to give her a chance in grade school....though it would ward off any potential heathen boyfriends.
RIPE Branches
RIPE Branches
Ok, so what does Sanctifying grace do? Why is this important? Well I am glad you asked...
And with any preacher speaking they usually have a bad joke or a bad acronym...
I chose to use this because it covers everything but you can remember it. R.I.P.E.
Restoring, Imparting, Perfecting, Equipping
The best way to think about this is in reference to John 15
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Sanctifying grace makes us RIPE, ensures that we are growing.
Restoring
Sanctifying grace is restoring our relationship with God and others.
Friends, when we come to know Christ and he calls us son and daughter there is some work to be done in our hearts. There is healing to be done, there is correcting to be done. Sanctifying grace is like the Prodigal son coming home to find a father ready to take care of his wounds and short comings, so that he might be restored.
The restoration process is by which we begin to believe we are children of God
Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”
My wife has a story of restoration that is still ongoing.
Imparting
Sanctifying grace is imparting new life, new light, new strength, and a new heart
Remember earlier I said that God has not just done a work for you....but he wants to do a work in you. Transforming you from the inside out.
Paul puts it this way....
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
I am meeting with a person, let’s call him Billy. Who gave his life to Christ after 20 years of attending church…hallelujah. And he was telling me, almost a little freaked out, dude I was in a meeting the other day. Now, Billy works with important people all over the world, in a meeting the other day with these scientists and business people and someone went on this tirade and they were cussing like a sailor, and I butted in and said, excuse me, don’t take the Lord’s name in vain. And everyone stared at me....and then laughed, John Wayne help me.
He is transforming you Billy. He is giving you a new heart.
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
Perfecting
Sanctifying Grace is perfecting us in the image of God and the likeness of Jesus Christ.
Now, I know people get lost on this one all the time. The word perfect throws people off....but I needed it for my sweet acronym. Just kidding. Perfect is the right word but let me put some context on it. Perfect means mature or complete. Sanctifying means holy....this journey is about bringing you back to who you were always created to be. This is about loving God with your whole heart and loving people with your whole heart. Free from sin, death, self, all to him.
This idea of grace is declaring that being saved is not an arrival point, it is a launching point to a life of more.
Friends, it is important to believe that God is not done with you. If you believe in the radical love of Christ to forgive you of your sin, do you believe that he can also set you free from that sin, that brokenness, that selfishness, do you believe that he can give you peace, and love, and confidence, and hope?
This process can hurt as God chisels away parts that do not belong
CS Lewis described it this way....
CS Lewis on having a toothache. (Mere Christianity)
Let me explain. When I was a child I often had toothache, and I knew that if I went to my mother she would give me something which would deaden the pain for that night and let me get to sleep. But I did not go to my mother—at least, not till the pain became very bad. And the reason I did not go was this. I did not doubt she would give me the aspirin; but I knew she would also do something else. I knew she would take me to the dentist next morning. I could not get what I wanted out of her without getting something more, which I did not want. I wanted immediate relief from pain: but I could not get it without having my teeth set permanently right. And I knew those dentists: I knew they started fiddling about with all sorts of other teeth which had not yet begun to ache. They would not let sleeping dogs lie, if you gave them an inch they took an ell.
Now, if I may put it that way, Our Lord is like the dentists. If you give Him an inch, He will take an ell. Dozens of people go to Him to be cured of some one particular sin which they are ashamed of (like masturbation or physical cowardice) or which is obviously spoiling daily life (like bad temper or drunkenness). Well, He will cure it all right: but He will not stop there. That may be all you asked; but if once you call Him in, He will give you the full treatment.
We have friends that have adopted a child....Williams family. When they adopted this child his last name became Williams, but not he is growing and learning what it means to be a Williams
Equipping
Sanctifying grace is equipping us to do the work of Christ in the world—to be the hands and feet of Christ
Friends, you have not be called just to be saved for your own sake. I think that’s why I have always had a hard time with the word saved. It is done and complete. Like it is only a reversal of the lostness....We have to understand that God by some crazy ludicrous idea wants to seek the lost and redeem the world through you. He is sending you out.
Imagine with me for a second you are a disciple....all that you had been through. Given up everything to follow him.
Died. Rose.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
He is sending you out to be Christ for the world. How much you stay connected to the Vine, how much you participate in the work of this grace, how far in the house of God will determine if people will see Christ when they look at the church.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Community is vital to this process. You cannot do it without others. I meet in a small group that is much like what you will be encouraged to do when you leave. These men know everything about me. It is where I confess sin, it is where I share my struggle, it is where “I go to the dentist.” We have cried together and supported one another through so much.
Our story with Luke… After that long night and the realization that things would be different for him. I remember asking God for just some peace for us and perspective. That morning in walks this doctor....
Since that moment, Lauren and I are stronger and closer. Our marriage is far from perfect but it is mature and different. Committed. Patience and meekness, hope, and love has taken hold of my heart and will not let go. Teaching and refining. Ok God, what now? Is not a questions of desperation or waving the white flag, but maybe this question is declaration that I am looking to you because I know you are at work.
Holy Spirit… for 3 days we have prayed for the Holy Spirit to come and fill us with the fire of love.... I think the church for so long has been asking for an eye-dropper size of the Holy Spirit. Ask for all of Him. And believe that He wants to fill you.
Pray.