Grace > Self

Game: Pair Up (No saying their name, can give hint)

Scripture Reading: 1 John 4:7-21 then prayer (Matt)

Song: This is Amazing Grace

Introduction

There once was a king a long long time ago. When he began his reign, he was humble. He realized where he had weaknesses. He realized where he needed help and because of it he was dependent on God. He talked with God and followed God’s commands and God blessed this king with many riches, wisdom, and fame; more than any other king before him or after him. But as this king gained power, money, and fame, he started to depend less and less on God. The more he started to think about how he could satisfy himself instead of serving God. This king became very selfish and pursued things that would make him feel good.

If you haven’t caught on yet, the king I am talking about is the famous King Solomon of Israel. Sometime before he died, he wrote the book, Ecclesiastes. The big picture of Ecclesiastes is everything material in life is futile or pointless. Everything you could search for and find pleasure in , in the end is pointless and will not satisfy you. Is this is coming from a king who tried to do that very thing. At the end of his book, he writes this in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

Ecclesiastes 12:13–14 CSB

When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: fear God and keep his commands, because this is for all humanity. For God will bring every act to judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or evil.

It’s from this passage, and many others that we understand that the ultimate goal of a human being is to glorify God and to enjoy God forever.

Our Lives Should Glorify God

Hopefully from the past couple of days you have seen clearly that God is full of grace. That one of his primary characteristics is being gracious. This morning I want to talk about one more component about God’s grace. That is Grace is Selfless.

When showing grace you are being selfless. It is impossible to show grace and to be selfish at the same time. Because what is grace? (Undeserved Favor)

If it is undeserved favor, that means the other person has done nothing at all to deserve my favor. In fact, they probably have done the opposite. Because if I have to show someone grace, they probably have hurt me, or have wronged me in some way. To be selfish in a moment of being wronged is to hold it against them. To hold a grudge. At that moment you’ve made that relationship into a contract. You’ve made your favor or love conditional. That condition is as long as you are good to me, I’ll be good to you. But if you hurt me, I’ll hurt you and I’ll stop showing you my favor.

If God did this, we all would be condemned in judgement. Praise God that He is gracious and loves us unconditionally. Since that is a who God is, and we need to glorify God in our lives. This means that we too must show grace to others. When thinking of what it looks like to do this. I like to use the image of an echo. An echo is something that is a close resemblance of an original sound. That’s the idea of us glorifying God. We should be resemblances of God’s grace to others.

We need to be an echo of God’s love and grace.

We see this in Col. 4:2-6

Colossians 4:2–6 CSB

Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us that God may open a door to us for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains, so that I may make it known as I should. Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.

Explain seasoned with salt

Flavored Favor

We also see this concept in 1 Pet. 4:7-11

1 Peter 4:7–11 CSB

The end of all things is near; therefore, be alert and sober-minded for prayer. Above all, maintain constant love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining. Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God. If anyone speaks, let it be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, let it be from the strength God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

Explain it is not about us. God is the one who does everything. It should be all about Him.

Why does this matter?

If we show grace because God first showed Grace.