Lavished By Grace
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
I think if we did a survey and asked which hymn was the most popular and most renowned song of all time, the answer would overwhelmingly be Amazing Grace. Most of us have heard the familiar words, “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.” The author of the hymn was, by his own admission, a “wretch.” He was a slave trader, a blasphemer, a rebel, an immoral man, a torturer, and as far from grace as anyone could ever be. As a boy, John was captivated by the adventure and risk of life on the high seas. When he was eleven, young John Newton launched into that exciting life of voyaging, sailing, and living his dream. But the dream turned out to be a nightmare. Later in life he wrote, “I sinned with a high hand, and I made it my study to tempt and seduce others.” Newton lived a hard life with hard consequences. God got his attention though. In 1748, Newton’s slave ship was nearly wrecked by an intense storm. In the tempest, surrounded by crashing waves, cutting winds, creaking timbers, and the cries of onboard slaves, John fell to his knees and pled for mercy, and for grace. God’s grace, which reaches anyone, anywhere, saved a wretch like John Newton. Newton wrote the song years later while serving as a pastor in Olney, England. During America’s Second Great Awakening, the song was paired with its familiar tune and was widely used in camp meetings and revival services. Today, its lyrics still inspire, encourage, and instruct people about the radical reality of God’s amazing grace.
So what is so amazing about amazing grace? We have outline this in our introduction just now. We see from a point of history how God’s Amazing Grace saved a wretch like John Newton. We can open our Bibles and see how this same thing happened to Moses and the Apostle Paul and so many others. We can perhaps even teil our stories and share how about God’s Amazing Grace. But, what is grace?
Someone once said that a good acronym for GRACE was God’s Redemption At Christ’s Expense. That is a wonderful definition. One definition simply says that grace is the favor of God to human beings. Another definition says it is the unmerited favor by God. Another says, “goodwill freely disseminated by God; especially to the benefits of the recipient regardless of the benefit accrued to the disseminator.”
We have become so familiar with grace that we sometimes forget exactly what it is and what it means to those who receive it.
Who gives grace? Well, according to each of these definitions it is from God. Several instances in Scripture tell us how we are lavished by grace and it is from God. Moses experienced this several times.
And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”
Lavished By Grace Because of Who He Is (Exodus 34:6)
Lavished By Grace Because of Who He Is (Exodus 34:6)
The first thing I see in this passage is that God makes a showing. The phrase, “And He passed in front of Moses” indicates one of several opportunities that Moses had to encounter God. God lavishes us because of who He is. He knows no time frame and He knows no space limitations. God could pass by Moses thousands of years ago and He can pass by us as well today. He can pass by us in this sanctuary and He can pass by us in our darkest places. He does so because He lavishes with His Grace. Aren’t you glad that we have God Almighty who cares about us? I love the fact that this passage emphasizes that God passed in front of Moses.
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
God shows up with His grace in our lives and gives us direction. Buddha won’t do that. Mohammed won’t do that. Moon won’t do that. God lavishes us with His grace by showing up. He also shows us who He is. We live in an age where people are starving to get approval. I have laughed as I watched many people over the last few years take selfies. They make a smile, widen their eyes and take the picture with their phone. As soon as they take the picture, they stop smiling and make their eyes smaller. If they took a second picture, it would be way more real than the first picture they took!
What if God took a selfie? First and foremost, His would not consist of a fake smile because God is never changing.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
“I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.
We do see, however in Exodus 34:6, that if God took a selfie, He would have some incredible features.
And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,
Compassionate. We all know that one can see compassion in another one’s eyes. You can’t have anger or be judgmental and compassionate at the same time. We also see that God is gracious. He shows favor. We see that He is slow to anger, that means He is patient. We are lavished by grace through God’s self portrait. God is telling Moses who He is in this statement! It is God talking! It is God’s Selfie!
Also noticed that we are lavished by God’s staying power.
Because God never changes, we can depend on Him throughout eternity. God was, God is, and God will forever be.
For this God is our God for ever and ever;
he will be our guide even to the end.
God, who lives forever, has lavished us with His Grace. To me, that answers the question, “What is so amazing about amazing grace?” The fact that He lavishes us because of who He is! He also lavishes us by grace through what He has done.
Lavished By Grace Through What He Has Done (Romans 11:36)
Lavished By Grace Through What He Has Done (Romans 11:36)
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
What a statement this is for us! We clearly hear that all things are from Him, through Him, and to Him.
One theologian wrote that “All comes from Him, all lives by Him, all ends in Him.” God is the originator, the sustainer, and the ultimate goal of all creation. I am convinced through the study of many scriptures that God’s ultimate goal is for us to worship His Son through eternity. What a gift of grace that is for us to be able to do so! God is the source of our salvation. It is through His grace and power that salvation can become a reality in our lives. As a result, all the glory is due to Him!
We have to remember that God is self-sufficient. He is not required to answer to mankind. His glory begins in Himself and ends in Himself. His glory encompasses all of His purpose and actions. It is through grace that we can even approach Him!
It is no wonder that we see what God proclaims in Exodus 34:6:
And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,
God is compassionate and gracious. God is slow to anger. He is abounding in love. God is faithful! We are lavished by grace through what He has done! He also lavished by grace in spite of our hopelessness.
Lavished By Grace In Spite of Our Hopelessness (Exodus 34:7)
Lavished By Grace In Spite of Our Hopelessness (Exodus 34:7)
Listen to this verse in the New Living Translation.
I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations.
I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.
But I do not excuse the guilty.
I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren;
the entire family is affected—
even children in the third and fourth generations.”
There are several things of which I am reminded here. First, I am reminded of our immorality. Every person, every where is a sinner. The Bible says we all fall short of the Glory of God.
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
We fall short, yet God is gracious and lavishes upon us as sinners His grace. He forgives everything that makes us fall short. He forgives iniquity, rebellion and sin. But the very next line is troublesome to me. The Bible says, “I do not excuse the guilty.” Then He goes on to say that the sins of the parents and grandparents will affect the generations to come, even to the third and fourth generations.
Is that troublesome to you as well? Our infamy is foretold.
It seems to contradict what God has already said, but it does not. Let me explain. While God does forgive, He does not undo the consequences of sin, and some sins continue to shape people’s lives long after the sinner passes away. Children and grandchildren are not condemned for the sins of their ancestors, but they may suffer because of those sins.
This seems like an injustice. But it really shows how God despises sin and what sin does to humanity. Sin will take you further than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and harm more people than you can ever imagine. Yet we see in the verses following, that Moses worshiped God when he heard this statement. God is holy. As I look at these verses, I am reminded of His holiness. I am reminded of my filth as I stand before Him. And oh I am reminded even more about how His grace has been lavished on me. I will never get over it. I may never fully understand this side of heaven, and quite honestly, when I get to heaven it won’t matter. But this I know, Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now I am found, I was blind, but now I see.