Grace: Come Thirsty

Last week we started off on our journey through Lent, a journey that will explore some of the ideas of spiritual refreshment that are presented in the “Come Thirsty” course. Charlie invited us to come and drink at a well, the well of God’s refreshment for us.

We were introduced to the idea that the word “Well” can remind us of four of the key actions that make up the process of receiving God’s refreshment for the spiritual thirst we feel. We can think of the letters that make up the word WELL standing for Work, Energy, Lordship and Love.

For us to fully receive God’s refreshment, we need to receive Christ’s work on the cross, receive the energy of the Holy Spirit, receive God’s Lordship over our lives and receive God’s unending, unfailing love.

Over the next few weeks, leading up to Easter we will be thinking about each of these in turn, and this week we are focussing on the first of these: receiving Christ’s work on the cross.

The reading we heard from Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus is a great summary of some of the things that were part of Christ’s work on the cross that we have to receive, and which will enable us to drink deeply of the refreshment of the living water that God offers us.

Alive in Christ

Ephesians 2:4-5

"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-- it is by grace you have been saved."

Why does Paul describe us as, “dead in transgressions”? We obviously weren’t physically dead, we were still wandering around. And anyway it’s a bit harsh isn’t it? OK, I may not have been perfect, but I never did much that hurt anybody else and so “dead” sounds a bit extreme to me.

To find an answer we can go back to the first book of the Bible, in Genesis, after God had finished the work of creation he said to Adam and Eve:

Genesis 2:16

16 "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

(NIV)

But, as we know, Adam and Eve did eat the fruit of that tree, and in that moment of rebellion against God placed a gulf between God and humankind.

And in our own lives we have done the same thing. Every time we have chosen to go our way, not God’s way. Every time we have not loved. Every time we have held back from truthfulness. Every time we have thought ourselves better than somebody else. Every time we put ourselves in God’s place, and claimed that we were in charge of our lives. All these things separated us from God.

But, God is our creator, the source of all life, and when we are separated from that life source we are dead.

“Dead man walking” is a cry heard in Death Row in America. Walking, breathing people, called “dead” because they have been found guilty of a crime whose punishment is death and they exist under the shadow of that judgement.

And so it is with those who have turned against God. The just punishment for those who tell God to get out of their life is bought about by the fact that God does exactly that.

We were dead people walking.

But not any more. We are now living people.

How did this happen?

As Paul says, “it is by grace that you have been saved.”

Grace - the undeserved favour of God, the prime example of which is shown to us in the work of Christ on the cross.

Jesus came to earth, lived a life of love, was crucified on a cross and rose to life again. By this work, the separation between us and God was destroyed and we are reunited with the source of our life, God our Father and Creator.

In this passage, there are a couple of verses which bring both warning and comfort.

Ephesians 2:8-9

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no-one can boast."

They’re a warning because sometimes we can get smug about our faith and our goodness. We can forget that we don’t deserve the favour that God has shown to us. Our rebellion against God meant that we deserved to die. There was nothing we could do, and there is nothing that we have done that could change that. It is only when we get that into our heads that we can really appreciate how much we need the grace of Christ’s work on the cross.

They’re a comfort because sometimes we cannot believe that God loves us, or wants us. But, we all deserved to die. It’s only when we get that into our heads that we can accept that it’s OK that we don’t deserve God’s favour, because nor does anybody else.

That is the point of Grace, it is God’s undeserved favour to us. Nobody deserves God’s favour, and that means that we can all be free to receive it.

Receive the work of Christ on the cross. Receive the reconciliation between us and God, for it has some awesome and refreshing consequences.

At home in heaven

Ephesians 2:6

"And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,"

One of the consequences of this restoration is that we have a home in heaven. This is a mystery of our faith. Because we are in Christ, and Christ is in heaven, we also are in heaven, even though we are still here on earth as well. Mysteries of faith are all very well but what does this mean for how we live?

I think that there are two practical aspects.

Firstly, we can realise that heaven is not just a place that we go when our earthly lives end. It is something we can experience now. This can be a difficult thing to hear when we are hurting and suffering. The tension between “now” and “not yet” in our lives can be really painful. Despite this, I believe that as we are in Christ and Christ is in heaven we can experience some of the refreshment of heaven in our lives. As we go through times that challenge us and hurt us we can take refuge in Jesus and be refreshed by him.

When we feel like we are in hell, we can choose to call to mind that we, in Christ, are in heaven, and so receive the work of Christ on the cross.

Secondly, we can live like we’re in heaven, here on earth. We can bring something of heaven to those around us. Something of heaven’s love, mercy, justice, comfort. Something of the refreshment we receive flowing out to the world in which we live.

At one with God

Not only are we at home in heaven, we are reconciled with God, we are at one with God.

Christ’s work on the cross was a work that brings unity between us and God. No longer are we rebelling, pulling off in different directions .

We are of one mind, one purpose, at one.

A great way of avoiding thirst is to stop eating salt. To stop living in the desert. To stop labouring in the sun.

We can get spiritually thirsty when we do the spiritual equivalents. When we try and act independently of God. When we go in directions that are different to the ones God is calling us to go in.

Christ’s work on the cross enables us to be reunited with God, to align with God and to stop doing things that make us needlessly thirsty.

A witness for God

Ephesians 2:7

"in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus."

(NIV)

We are witnesses for God’s undeserved favour to us. God wants to show us off. Before Jesus went into the desert to be tempted for 40 days and nights, before he started his public ministry, he was baptised. And after that baptism God spoke over him, “This is my son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased”. And God does the same for us. Listen. God has shown you undeserved favour, has restored your life, made you part of the Kingdom, and now stands with you and declares to the world, look at my child, here is my proof that I love humankind, come to me and experience the same.

A child of God

Did you notice a couple of important words there? “My child”. That’s what God calls you. And this is the crowning glory of Christ’s work on the cross. Not only are we restored to the source of our life, not only are we bought into heaven, not only are we bought into unity with God, not only do we proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour but we are also made children of God.

As Paul wrote to the church in Rome:

Romans 8:16

16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.

Just think back to where we started. We deserved to die. We had turned our backs on the person who made us and loved us, God. And now, through Christ’s work on the cross, we can all be God’s children. The favour mounts up upon favour.

But not only the favour, also the responsibility. We are now children of a royal household, and that position brings with it a responsibility.

Ephesians 2:10

10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

(NIV)

And what are these good works? We already know that they are nothing to do with our salvation. Our salvation is entirely by God’s undeserved favour, there is nothing left for us to earn by doing good works, we are already children of God.

So what are the good works? We touched on this a little earlier. As children of the royal household we are to extend the Kingdom. And how do we do this? By following the example of the Firstborn of the Kingdom, Jesus.

In the book of John we read this:

John 7:37-38

37 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

(NIV)

Christ’s work on the cross broke into the world and began the restoration of the kingdom of God here by bringing life giving, thirst quenching, spirit reviving, living water.

And so one of the key characteristics of the works that are prepared for us to do is that they bring the grace of Christ’s work on the cross to the world.

We can see people who know they are thirsty, but don’t know where to find living water. They fill their lives with things that are substitutes for the real refreshment they crave. We can also see people who don’t even know they are thirsty, life for them is so dry that they’ve forgotten the possibility of refreshment.

We, who have come to Christ, and believed in him, now have streams of living water with which to go and refresh the world.

Grace - Undeserved favour

In order for thirst to be quenched, we need to receive Christ’s work on the cross. The undeserved favour that restores us to life.

Do not block that favour by claiming that you do not need it. We have all done things that would separate us from our life giving Creator, if it were not for the undeserved favour of Christ’s work on the cross.

Do not block that favour by being afraid that you don’t deserve it. Be reassured, nobody deserves it, that’s the point of the undeserved favour of Christ’s work on the cross.

And do not block that favour by trying to prevent it flowing out from you to the world around you. We have no right to it, so we have no right to keep quiet about it.

Come, thirsty, and receive Christ’s work on the cross.

Amen.

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