Loved By Grace
What's So Amazing About Amazing Grace • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
Introduction
Our Theologian in Residence was asked to help come up with other acronyms to help us define GRACE. We have stated that one acronym is God’s Redemption At Christ’s Expense. That is the definition of being loved by grace for sure! However, I think another given to us by the theologian in residence is more suitable for today’s topic loved by grace.
GRACE stands for God’s Redemption Anyone Can Experience. It is a grace that comes from love and anyone can have it.
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.
Grace cannot happen unless it is communicated by love. We probably memorized John 3:16 as a child and have quoted it countless times over the years. However, can we ever get over it? Say it with me:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
I hope you never get tired of saying and hearing that precious verse. It communicates to us grace with love. For God so loved. Aren’t you glad? The grace that comes from love and communicates with love also conquers by love.
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
When we are loved by grace, we done so through the fullness of His Grace. Have you ever thought about the fullness of His grace? Perhaps you have heard of that phrase before or even seen in our scripture for today. The Apostle John gives us insight about the promised Messiah that John the Baptist preached.
From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
This morning, I want to examine the fullness of His grace, extravagate the fullness of His grace, and show you how to experience the fullness of His Grace.
Examine the Fullness of His Grace
Examine the Fullness of His Grace
What does the word fullness mean? The Greek word translated is pleromah (play-rO-mah). It means abundance. In this context, it means the abundance, the presence, power and very being of God. It comes from absolutely everything God has been, all that He is, and all that He will ever be.
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.
The fullness of His grace comes from His great love. The fullness of grace comes with the fullness of His dedication. God is on your side!
A song of ascents. Of David.
If the Lord had not been on our side—
let Israel say—
if the Lord had not been on our side
when men attacked us,
when their anger flared against us,
they would have swallowed us alive;
the flood would have engulfed us,
the torrent would have swept over us,
the raging waters
would have swept us away.
Praise be to the Lord,
who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
We have escaped like a bird
out of the fowler’s snare;
the snare has been broken,
and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
If the Lord had not been on your side, where would you be? God loves us with everything He’s got! He is dedicated to us!
God delivers the fullness of His grace.
For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,
That is indeed fullness delivered. When I was the General Manager of a tractor dealership, my job and mission was to make sure that an exceptional product was sold, delivered, and maintained to the best of its ability. I could have easily just sold a tractor and told the customer to come and get it. However, I was tasked with much more. I was to effectively teach the customer how to make sure he or she knew how to use it, how to maintain it, and when to come back or how to get it serviced. As I built that relationship, the customer was getting my fullness delivered.
God has delivered to His children His fullness of grace. God has given us His unmerited favor. It came from His heart and mind and has been bestowed on His people so that they can be all they are designed to be!
Extravaganza from the Fullness of His Grace
Extravaganza from the Fullness of His Grace
When I think of the fullness of grace, I cannot get out of mind the Greek word we talked about earlier, pleroma. In my mind as I sound that out, I hear the idea of abundance coming out as the aroma of play. Now, no Greek dictionary will spell it out like that, but I think of the abundance of God’s grace and the overwhelming joy He gives us, I think of the fragrance of pleasantness that comes from playing and living the life He has intended for us! Now some might say, “God does not want us to play.” I assure you that He does! Gord desires for our walk with Him to be an extravaganza!
The word extravaganza means “an elaborate spectacular entertainment or display.” Maybe I am pushing it to far, but when I think of the joy God has designed in which we are to live, I think of an elaborate spectacular display that includes worship, praising and celebrating the fullness of grace we have received.
The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
When we understand the fullness given to us, and if we are willing to receive it, we will find fullness reinvigorated. In other words, I am imparted strength and the ability to keep going and am reminded that because of the fullness of His grace, I have and will receive one blessing after another.
And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
The Father has qualified you and me because of the fullness of His grace! What a love our Father has for us! And it does not happen just once because our text reminds us that we receive one blessing after another!
Grace upon grace! It is like a flowing river that never ends!
You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
We are experiencing fullness repeated with this continuous flow of God’s loving grace!
We have to receive it. Once we do, we can experience the fullness of God’s grace.
Experience the Fullness of His Grace
Experience the Fullness of His Grace
God does not pour out His blessings to those that do not want to receive it. John 1:17 tells us that the law was given through Moses, but truth and grace came through Jesus Christ. What a blessing we have received and can receive if we choose to experience the fullness of His grace.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
When we experience the fullness of His Grace, we will recognize that there will be fullness in my behavior. What I mean by that is we become stewards of God’s grace.
Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you,
This passage reminds me that God has a plan to give me grace to help guide and direct others. We are given grace by God to give to others. How are you doing with your distribution of grace? How are doing with it this week?
We are given grace by God to bless others. We are given grace to help those in need and have humbly approached God for help. We are give grace to help those that are helpless, poor and persecuted.
As we do this, the power of God is demonstrated in our lives and through our lives!
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
When we experience the fullness of His grace in our behavior, we will also want to be around those who think like we do and believe like we do. We will experience the fullness of His grace in belonging to a group of believers.
Psychologists and Social Scientists have long stated that we as humans have a great need to belong. This past year has made it quite difficult for many to have that feeling of belonging. That is one reason some folks come to church, to belong and to feel the gratification of belonging. Unfortunately, this is not something we are doing well. Sure there are pockets of groups that have that sense of belonging, but there are many who have stopped attending because they do not belong.
Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
Do you think that is all they did, gather and break bread? I would say absolutely not! There were relationships made and strengthened as lives were shared with each other. They talked about life and the things of God. They were like iron sharpening iron.
As iron sharpens iron,
so one man sharpens another.
It is time for us to rebuild. We need leaders to help form small groups. We need more Bible Study opportunities and more times to pray in small groups. We need to strengthen opportunities for our women’s groups. We need a men’s ministry that encourages men to bold and strong men of God. we need opportunities for our students and for our children. We need to experience the fullness of His grace by having fullness in belonging.
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
I had that verse quoted to me more than once as we were completely shut down because of the pandemic. We never gave up meeting together, we just had to find different ways to make it happen. We still do need to find ways to make it happen. We do not have to meet inside these walls and I want to encourage you to meet in homes and parks and coffee shops, wherever necessary so that we can indeed experience the fullness of His grace through belonging. Let me stress here that I am not talking about activity. Activity without purpose just creates busyness. Busyness is one of satan’s greatest tools. He thinks if he can help you get busy, you will take your eyes off of what God desires. We don’t need more things to keep us busy. I am talking about creating and maintaining opportunities to build relationships and grow closer to God and each other.
God is giving some of you right now ideas on how to make that happen. I will help you carry it out and do all I can do to give you plans and materials to make it happen. We have people leaving our church because they do not belong. We have people that need to come to our church because they do not belong. Our church is in a prominent place and these are prominent times so we need to do prominent actions to make it happen. I am not telling you to do these things to make our church grow numerically and get more bodies here. Rather, I am telling you we need to do these things to experience the fullness of His grace and continue to receive blessing after blessing.
It is time. No excuses. No “if’s and but’s.” It is time to get busy. The world needs us to make it happen. God has called us to make it happen. Let’s make it happen.