"Grace to Overcome"
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Failures
Failures
Why is failure an area of life so hard for us to fight through?
Why is failure an area of life so hard for us to fight through?
How do you get back up after falling down in your spiritual commitments?
How do you get back up after falling down in your spiritual commitments?
Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.
Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.
Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee.
But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.
And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.
And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man.
And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee.
Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.
And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.
Expound on Peter and satan sifting
And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.
But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.
Why do you think the Lord chose Peter to preach THE Pentecostal message?
Why do you think the Lord chose Peter to preach THE Pentecostal message?
How does this give you hope for your own life?
How does this give you hope for your own life?
Faith in God’s grace
Faith in God’s grace
Rooster
Dr. James Hughes said if your phone is on your night stand you’re addicted. Peter didn’t have an Iphone or Android device to wake him. He had a rooster for an alarm clock! A daily reminder of failure? A daily reminder of God’s Grace!
Listen to Peter
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.
Use hospitality one to another without grudging.
As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
We can have faith that God will extend grace for us to walk in newness of life.
We can have faith that God will extend grace for us to walk in newness of life.
We can’t make any spiritual progress without God at work in our lives.
We can’t make any spiritual progress without God at work in our lives.
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
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.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
What are we saved by? (verse 8)
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2. Is there anything we can do to earn our salvation? (verse 8-9)
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3. How do we walk or live as a result? (verse 10)
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4. How would you define grace?
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Some would merely define it as God’s unmerited favor. But this a shallow answer. That’s like saying my wife’s cooking is good. What is God’s unmerited favor and how does it save me?
Some people think that grace means “no work”, but grace is actually a work that only God can perform. It’s a work that empowers us to not only come to Him but to please Him. So grace is not based upon our works, but on the work of God. Notice the text says we are not saved by works which we have done but that we are His workmanship.
If we are going to have grace perform its perfect work in us, we must be willing.
[Oh, your perversity!] You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be considered of no more account than the clay? Shall the thing that is made say of its maker, He did not make me; or the thing that is formed say of him who formed it, He has no understanding?
Yet, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our Potter, and we all are the work of Your hand.
Surrender to Jesus.
Surrender to Jesus.
Ulysses S. Grant.
This contradicts our north American tendency towards independence and individualism.
Some brag about being self made and in glory in having no need for others, however if we are going to have wholeness and new life, we must have a complete and utter dependence upon God.
One day at a time
One day at a time
As we consistently seek God daily, He will help us build a life of faith.
As we consistently seek God daily, He will help us build a life of faith.
When we are patient with ourselves and consistent in our pursuit of God, He will help us grow and mature.
When we are patient with ourselves and consistent in our pursuit of God, He will help us grow and mature.
Peter would have loved to have grown from a foul mouthed fisherman to a polished preacher of the Gospel overnight, but discipleship doesn’t work that way. Discipleship works one service at a time, prayer meeting, one Bible study at a time, one devotion at a time, one answer to the altar at a time. Christ is formed in us one day at a time, and one day at a time takes patience.
The discipleship process also involves consistency. If you love sweet corn you can not wait until the end of summer or the beginning of fall to harvest it, there’s something important that must happen in the spring. You must plant the seeds.
If you plant in spring, you have a good chance of harvest in the fall, but if you don’t, there will be disappointment. You can patiently look over the field from April until August, dreaming of butter-drenched sweet corn, sweet corn casserole, corn pudding, corn fritters, and corn chowder, but if you don’t invest the time of planting you will only reap disappointment. Consistency in all seasons of life and our walk with God. The harvest will be a direct result of what’s underneath the soil that’s not seen and done in a consistent manner.
A daily measure of grace sufficient for the day at hand!
A daily measure of grace sufficient for the day at hand!
This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
What is new every morning? (verses 22-23)
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2. Who is the Lord good to? (verse 25)
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3. What do you think it means to be consistent in our relationship with God?
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Enduring Storms in Life
Enduring Storms in Life
We can expect to encounter trials in our Christian journey, but God will sustain us.
We can expect to encounter trials in our Christian journey, but God will sustain us.
Storms of life come to everyone, but as a Christian, we have the understanding that God redeems all of our pain and creates purpose out of our trials.
Storms of life come to everyone, but as a Christian, we have the understanding that God redeems all of our pain and creates purpose out of our trials.
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.
Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
1. Peter advised the church not to think it strange if they encountered what? (verse 12) _____________________________________________________
2. What should our response be to suffering?
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3. What helps us endure difficult times?
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There is The “redemptive lift”.
Yet becoming travellers on the strait path, is a more difficult path than before.
The path called strait.
The path called strait.
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Storms of life: Acts 27 Paul says stay on the ship!
Overcoming Failure
Overcoming Failure
We are all human and will make mistakes; the key is to turn to Jesus and accept His grace to get back up and keep going.
We are all human and will make mistakes; the key is to turn to Jesus and accept His grace to get back up and keep going.
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
What was Paul confident of?
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2. Who will finish what He began in our lives?
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3. Why do you think we struggle sometimes even after we become a Christian?
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4. What should we do after making a mistake?
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N one enjoys failure, even if it seems small or great. The most important factor is our response to failure.
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,
training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
In Closing
In Closing
The Biblical definition of grace.
The Biblical definition of grace.
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: