Give Thanks For His Grace

Good morning… and Happy Thanksgiving! It is truly wonderful to be together this morning as we celebrate all that God has done!

We truly are blessed… and we have MUCH to be thankful for!

In fact, I would just about bet we could spend all morning listing out our blessings and not even come close to creating a comprehensive list!

The blessings of God are all around us! And church… it is important that we take time to recognize how blessed we are… it is important that we stop to count our blessings and remember just how good we truly have it.

And… this count of blessing goes WAAAAY beyond the material. In fact I would say the most amazing blessing that we all share today is the blessing of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

God, in His amazing and ending love for us, gave His Son to flip the script on our story… to make a way for our redemption… Jesus is the greatest blessing this world has ever received! He turned it all around!

And because of His substitutionary work on the cross, His victory over death and the grave through His resurrection to new life, He ushered in a new era… a new reality that we get to live in and enjoy… that era is the era of grace. GIVE THANKS TODAY FOR THE GRACE OF GOD!

We talk about grace all the time but do we truly understand what it means?

Grace is favor. Grace is kindness. But more than that… this favor and kindness is shown without regard to the worth or merit of the one who receives it AND in spite of what that same person deserves.

Grace is one of the key attributes of God. Exodus 34:6 speaks of this truth.

The New International Version Chapter 34

The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.

We know that throughout Scripture, grace is almost always associated with mercy, with love, compassion and patience as the source of HELP and with DELIVERANCE from distress.

I’ll say it this way: Grace is the avenue through which the blessings of God come.

Here’s the deal… THIS WORLD KNOWS DISTRESS. This world knows what this extreme anxiety, sorrow, or pain feels like. This world is living in distress as it has no answer for the brokenness and hopelessness it is living in because of its sin.

AND… to help us better understand the enormity of God’s grace today I want us all to understand this: God had every right to LEAVE us in this position of pain and distress. It was our sin… our mistakes… our rebellion that placed us in that position in the first place! This truth is undeniable and the consequences… unavoidable.

Although the world had no answer for this problem… God did. And that answer was… GRACE. Although we deserved condemnation… God had other plans. Although we deserved death and destruction… God had other plans. God’s plan is NOT one of death. God’s plan is NOT one of condemnation. God’s plan is redemptive - meaning through Grace, He aims to restore and renew all who would call on the name of Jesus for salvation.

John 3:17 reads:

The New International Version Chapter 3

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

No matter the level of distress a person might find themselves in… God’s GRACE is enough! God’s Grace will not only deliver you… but will carry you through!

This morning, I want us to give thanks for God’s Grace. This morning, I want our attitude of gratitude to be on full display toward the One who has given us the greatest blessing we have ever received. God’s grace is something we did not earn or deserve and it is far greater than we could have ever hoped for or imagined! Our lives have been made new… have been turned around because of God’s amazing grace!

I want us to turn to a familiar passage today as we consider how His grace has turned our lives around. We are going to be looking at 2 Corinthians 12 and we find a passage where Paul speaks of an amazing revelation that was given to him by Jesus. Look at 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

The New International Version Chapter 12

9 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. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

In this passage Paul is speaking of boasting in God and not in himself. Paul was in… distress. Paul is experiencing a hardship. Go back to verse 8, we do not know for sure what that was, but Paul described it as “a thorn in his flesh.” He said that this thorn was “a messenger of Satan, to torment me.” Paul is describing some MAJOR distress!

Now, there are a couple of things I want you to see.

One - this was something Paul could not overcome on his own. He was POWERLESS to remedy this personally. If this was not the case, Paul would have taken care of it.

Two - Paul cried out to God… three times - yet it wasn’t removed. Now someone might think, “why would God allow for this distress to remain?” The answer is simple - God wanted Paul to understand that while this “thorn” was bigger than Paul… It wasn’t bigger than God’s grace! His Grace IS sufficient. God… despite the physical distress… would help Paul to overcome.

And as we consider this passage today, there is a point of grace application that I want us to see. I want us to see how God’s grace not only turned Paul’s situation around, but I want us to understand how God’s grace turns our life around EVERY SINGLE DAY.

God’s grace IS sufficient… do you believe that today? And I want us to see just how awesome His grace truly is!

Power Made Perfect.

Remember the words that were spoken by Jesus to Paul. “My grace is sufficient. My power is made perfect in weakness.” This is a POWERFUL reminder that needs to be taken to heart.

First, remember why these words were spoken. Paul is learning a HUGE lesson on God’s grace. The thorn given was there to help him to not become conceited… it was there to serve as a reminder regarding how weak he really was.

Church, we do not like to speak of weakness very often. We do not like to speak of things we cannot do, but will often focus on what we can do.

This is a natural response as we navigate life… and if we are honest, we do this because we do not enjoy the idea of being… weak. We want to measure up… we want to pass the test… we want to sail on through. We do NOT want to get bogged down in hardship and trouble, but instead we desire to be strong as we overcome.

But the truth is… no one in this room today has the strength necessary or the power that is required to navigate this world safely and unharmed! The problem is… our strength will fail. The problem is… our power… is imperfect. The problem is… our ability… is insufficient. The reality is: WE CANNOT DO THIS ON OUR OWN! AND IT IS OKAY TO ADMIT THAT!

I’ll never forget one of the hardest things we had to do while working in retail… was filling out our annual review. Target made its managers fill out a review… on themselves. We had to look at the previous year to see how well we thought we did and where we thought we could improve.

Our personal review was lined up with our supervisor’s review to see if the two lined up. I can tell you… I was eager to write down my “wins” for the year… but it was tough to be real with where I had missed it.

Church… we are far from perfect. I am far from perfect. And there is no way that we can change that reality on our own.

When sin entered this world… when humankind rebelled against God, corruption, brokenness and destruction came with it. God created ALL to be perfect and in the case of man, when He created him God said it was VERY good.

There was a time when humankind knew and lived in perfection… but that all changed the moment we turned our back on God! BUT GOD NEVER TURNED HIS BACK ON US!

God sees and knows our imperfection and our inability to overcome on our own. That is why through Christ… He offers grace to us today! Grace that IS sufficient!

Look at these words again as they are on the screen. My power is made perfect in weakness. There is a lot going on in this sentence.

First off, whose power are we talking about here? JESUS’ POWER. this isn’t my power or your power on in this case… Paul’s power. It is the power of our redeemer on display.

Second, whose weakness is it that Christ is talking about? OUR weakness. it is our struggle… not His. It is our turmoil… Not His. It is our distress… not His.

So we see the two parties represented here.

Jesus’ power is on display.

Our weakness that needs overcome.

Lastly, we see the application of God’s grace. We see Jesus’ power come into contact with our weakness. HIS power is MADE PERFECT in OUR weakness.

Those two words, made perfect, highlight the point of contact. They highlight the end result of God’s grace entering our distress. His POWER will never fail. His grace is sufficient!

The ONLY way for Paul to overcome his weakness was through the POWER of Christ made perfect by His grace!

Listen, God does not need our weakness for His power to be perfect. Yet it is in our weakness that we realize the perfection and sufficiency of His power and grace! His power is perfect all the time! And it has been on display all throughout history!

Consider the words of the Psalmist then he said, “4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, a I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” As he walked through the valley of certain death, God would not only deliver him, but would protect him and comfort him!

Consider when Zerubbabel was tasked with rebuilding the temple… a task that seemed impossible. God reassured him by saying, “‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts.  ‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”

Friends listen to me… this might seem crazy but hear me out. I give thanks to God today for the realization of my weakness. Why? Because in this realization comes the understanding that when I am weak, then I am STRONG because of HIS grace!

When grace is applied, that which was in distress is made perfect. When grace is applied, that which seemed impossible is overcome! When grace is applied, Jesus’ power comes alive in our reality! Watch this:

When grace is applied… brokenness is now made whole.

Brokenness Made Whole.

Again, we all know what it means to be broken. The brokenness I am speaking of is something that is beyond our repair. We cannot fix this problem on our own.

Now I am a fix-it guy. i enjoy fixing things and even sometimes modifying things to be better than the originally were. I have a garage full of tools and a mind full of… ideas that sometimes work and… sometimes get me into trouble!

But when something is broken, I WILL DO WHAT I CAN to make it whole again. But there are some things in life that cannot be fixed with tools. There is brokenness that is beyond our ability to repair. This is true spiritually and can be true physically.

Brokenness might be equated with the weakness we talked about in the previous point… but I want you to see the fullness of God’s grace at work here.

In life, if I come across something that cannot be fixed… it gets thrown away. It can no longer serve the purpose it was created for. It no longer functions or has any further use. Therefore, it gets placed in the trash. Its value has moved from useful to rubbish.

Within all humankind is a brokenness we cannot fix on our own. This brokenness came with sin and it distorted our purpose… it corrupted our direction… and moved us away from God’s intended purpose. Now… when we became broken and unfixable by our own hand, did God chose to throw us out? Did our value diminish in His eyes? Did He see us as a lost cause… no longer useful for His glory? No… He saw us as redeemable. his love for us never changed… and because of His grace… He did something only He could do.

God sent His Son to be broken… so we could be made whole again. Isaiah 53:5 reads,

The New King James Version Chapter 53

But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes we are healed.

Look carefully at what Scripture reveals: Jesus TOOK ON our brokenness and nailed it to the cross. He TOOK ON ALL of our imperfection and nailed it to the cross and in return… offers HEALING… say that word with my this morning… HEALING! He offers healing to those who call on His name!

God offers MORE than just fixing the problem our sin create. God wants to make you NEW AGAIN! He desires to make you WHOLE again and it all comes through the application of His grace! Our brokenness is MADE whole through Jesus!

Think you’re too far gone… THINK AGAIN! Think your purpose is forever lost? THINK AGAIN! Think your identity can never be found? THINK AGAIN!

Too far gone is brokenness talking. Purpose forever lost is brokenness talking. Identity confused and blurred is that brokenness talking. GOD ISN’T FINISHED WITH YOU YET! His grace is sufficient! HIS POWER is MADE PERFECT in YOUR WEAKNESS! YOUR BROKENNESS is MADE WHOLE by HIS BLOOD!

Would someone please help me show some appreciation today for God’s grace???

And lastly, there is one more point I want to make as we close… one more application site of God’s grace in our lives. God’s grace moves us from a position of feeling hopeless… to hopeful.

Hopeless Made Hopeful.

I know what it means and what it feels like to have no hope. And I know what it means and feels like to be full of hope. And I can tell you the turning point came when God’s grace was applied tom y life.

What is hope? Defined, hope is a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. Hope is certainly a positive feeling… a feeling that begins to move a person from where they are to where they want to be.

But I want us to consider something else today regarding the hope we find in Jesus. This kind of hope is far more than a feeling… it’s a promise. The spiritual hope we have in Christ is not limited to what we WANT to happen… it is what we can EXPECT to happen because of God’s goodness and grace.

Let’s quickly look at three examples of what I am talking about today.

First, the promise of provision. In a world and culture that can only talk of shortages and stock outs… God’s provision is PROMISED. Paul speaks of this promise Philippians 4:19-20

The New King James Version Chapter 4

19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 20 Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

God will NEVER experience a SHORTAGE on ANYTHING! He will provide! That is a promise… HOPE you can take to the bank!

Let’s look at yet another promise found in Romans 8:31-35; 37. This promise is one of… VICTORY!

The New International Version Chapter 8

If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

The New International Version Chapter 8

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

god has truly GRACIOUSLY given us all things… including VICTORY over all things including sin, death, and the grave! He overcame is all some that through Him, we might be overcomers! We are promised VICTORY!

Lastly, look at the words of Christ in John 3:16. Here we find a promise of something radical!

The New International Version Chapter 3

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Did you catch the promise? If you believe in Him, you WILL NOT PERISH, but will have ETERNAL LIFE. What better hope could we ask for? What better promise could come our way? The world has NO PROMISE that compares. Thank God for the gift of this new life!

And church… ALL of this has been made reality to us by grace! Grace is the avenue in which the blessings of God have come!

Aren’t you glad to know his grace today? Aren’t you glad to be recipients of His grace today? Aren’t you glad that… HIS GRACE IS SUFFICIENT?

And maybe you’re listening and you feel like you haven’t experienced this grace… you aren’t living in His grace… you don’t know of His hope, His wholeness, or His power… GOD WANTS TO MAKE HIS GRACE REAL TO YOU RIGHT NOW.

And that is accomplished… through Jesus. His redemptive power is made perfect against our need to be redeemed.

But like Paul… we need to be reminded that our ability to overcome is NOT found in who we are and what we can do… it is only found in Jesus.

He desires to help you overcome your weakness. He desires to help you overcome your brokenness. He desires to help you overcome this sense of hopelessness… but you must desire to come under… His grace.

PRAYER - Salvation

And now, let’s stand and thank God for His amazing grace!