A Journey of Grace: Amazing Grace (pt2)
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“I shall be telling this with a sigh; Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” — Robert Frost
“I shall be telling this with a sigh; Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” — Robert Frost
In John 14:6, Jesus said:
John 14:6 (NRSV)
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
That is an invitation FILLED with Grace!
Jesus promises that… not only does He know the Way, but He IS the Way… His way IS the Truth… and His Truth IS Life!
It is within that context that Jesus invited Andrew and John’s other disciple to “Come and see.”
It is within that context that Jesus invited those first disciples beside the Sea of Galilee to “Follow me.”
And… He invites us to do the same thing.
He says to us: “Follow me. And I will lead you along the Way… I will guide you into the Truth… and I will give you Life!”
Jesus’s words are filled with Grace… His invitation is full of Grace… His life is the embodiment of Grace…
WHY?!?!?
Because He didn’t have to....
— Jesus didn’t HAVE TO step out of Heaven…
— Jesus did not HAVE TO become flesh and blood…
— Nothing in this world FORCED His hand!
But He did… He did it all… He became flesh…
He became the Way, the Truth, and the Life…
Because He loves YOU!!!!
“God bankrupted Heaven for YOU!” — Corey Asbury
That’s Grace!
That is the Grace Paul understood when he said:
8 But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.
God gave EVERYTHING… He gave it all… when He stepped out of Heaven and into the World…
He poured out Grace upon Grace in Jesus…
All so that He could INVITE us to a Journey of Grace!
(Notice: God invites us, He does not FORCE us… )
It is our choice… God will not make you love Him… God will not make you follow Him… But He will invite you to.
I want to caution you… As with any journey, we must be prepared… as we enter into this Journey of Grace, we must prepare ourselves for it.
You see… Grace is both Personal and Costly.
Jesus said:
Luke 9:23–24 (NRSV)
23 Then he said to them all, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
24 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.
Grace has a cost.
We cannot deny that… because when we do, we lose!
You see — If it didn’t cost anything it would be “cheap”…
There is no such thing as “Cheap Grace”.
In his book The Cost of Discipleship, Bonhoeffer states: “Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”
He goes on to say that “cheap grace” is the “deadly enemy of the church,” “the bitterest foe of discipleship,” and “has been the ruin of more Christians than any [doctrine] of works.”
Cheap grace says, “I get grace because God is...”
(“I don’t have to do anything for it or with it”)
And that’s partially true…
We can do nothing to “earn” grace!
But… We do have to do something with it!
“One can say they are justified by Grace alone as a gift from God, but the fruit of the justified life is the one who has left all and followed Christ.” — Busic
The life of one who has accepted the invitation… who has entered into this Journey of Grace… is a life completely surrendered to discipleship… to Him.
Bonhoeffer goes on: “Grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Christ.
It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life.
It is costly because it condemns sin and grace because it justifies the sinner.
Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of His Son: ‘ye were bought at a price,’ and what cost God much cannot be cheap for us.”
You see… Grace meets each one of us where we are… in our own peculiarities… and calls each of us to our own unique sacrifices… as we seek to follow Jesus on the journey through this world and into the next!
Jesus’s story is filled with Grace… here’s why…
We are invited to Journey with Him… to “Follow Him”… as He walks us through life.
The Christian Life is a Journey of Grace!
Remember Busic’s words: “The Journey of Grace is not about following a system, a book, a Manual, a denomination, or a tradition. [ It’s not about Doctrine man creates] We follow, worship, and serve Jesus the Christ.” — David Busic, Gen. Super Intendant COtN
We have been invited to a Journey…
Here’s why I love the idea of a Journey:
It means that Jesus meets us along the way… along life’s many paths, refusing to prescribe “conditions” for the encounter.
The Grace of Christ meets us right where we are… right where we start… and precisely how we are… BUT… He doesn’t leave us there!
He calls us to walk with Him into something better… something greater… something holier… and here’s the awesome thing — He doesn’t leave us to do it on our own!
Let me tell you… My path to faith… to holiness… and to wholeness in Christ isn’t your path!
For some of us, grace meets us on a very broken road.
— It’s a road dotted with disappointment, heartache, letdowns, and challenges that seem to have no end…
For some, life has left us skeptical and cynical that there is even anything more than our eyes can see…
Others have had a pretty solid life… good homes, families, pseudo-success… which leave us questioning whether we even need the journey…
Some of us have been deeply commited followers our entire lives… we’re no strangers to pain — to difficulties and triumphs, but we’re still left wondering, Is there more to all of this?
The awesome thing about Grace is that it meets us wherever we are!
John 1:35–39 (NRSV)
35 The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples,
36 and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!”
37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.
38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?”
39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.
Jesus met them where they were…
Do you see that?!
He made His way into THIER path, He didn’t expect them to come find Him…
Grace meets us where we are on the road of life… and invites us to “come and see.”
This is an awesome part of the story…
Having heard about Jesus from John the Baptist… two of John’s disciples run off to inquire of Jesus.
They want to spend time with Him… to “see” where He stays… to learn about the destination…
“Jesus, where are you staying” they ask, “Where will this take us?”
Jesus says, “Come and see.”
There is something exciting about that statement.
“Come and see”
It’s an invitation to step into a journey… not knowing where it will lead!
“Come and see.”
It’s reminiscent of Abraham… He did nothing to deserve God’s invitation… By Grace he was invited to the journey… and, by Grace, we are invited to the journey.
“Come and see”
Notice that Jesus doesn’t obsess about destinations… He is much more interested in the Journey, “Come and see.”
Jesus doesn’t “front-load” the Journey of Grace with a bunch of demands either…
He simply invites us, “Come and see.”
Look what happens next:
John 1:39–42 (NRSV)
39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.
40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
41 He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed).
42 He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).
Andrew got so excited that he couldn’t wait… he had to run and find his brother, Simon!
Let me tell you… the Journey of Grace is so compelling… it is so exciting… that you cannot hang around it very long… you can’t give it even the slightest bit of focus… without being encouraged to go deeper.
Walking with Jesus through life in this world is not a “spectator sport”.
No one can “hang around” Jesus for long without being compelled to make a choice…
We cannot simply “come and see” then leave again, because… “Come and see” becomes “Follow me.”
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”
44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.”
46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!”
48 Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
49 Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
Grace will turn your life upside down with the call “Follow Me.”
“Come and see” is about getting acquainted with the Journey… with Christ… It’s about getting close enough to explore.
But… Jesus will not leave you there!
Grace doesn’t end with curiosity.
“Come and see” becomes “Follow me”.
… a decision has to be made.
Answering Christ’s call is costly, but… it’s also rewarding…
If you hang out with Jesus long enough… Grace will meet you in a new way!
That’s the thing about Grace!
It’s not a “one-time” event… it’s not a “once and done” thing… it’s not a simple transaction…
Grace is constant and consistent, it’s a steady thread of God’s goodness and favor… inviting us… calling us… wooing us… into the fullness for which we were created!
Grace invites freely, right where we are… but it doesn’t leave us there!
It changes us!
Grace extends the invitation, “Come and see,” then calls “Follow me.”
This is where things get real!
When Jesus says “Follow me,” we experience “costly grace.”
This is where we come face to face with everything that’s in the way!
This is why Bonhoeffer says: “Grace is costly because it costs a man his life…”
This is the point where we recognize all the baggage we’ve been carrying around… that’s filled up with all our idols and allegiances.
That’s the place where we realize that we have to dump all that stuff… we have to let go… and leave it on the side of the road!
Grace condemns sin!
We call this point repentance.
It is the point where grace… realized in our lives… anticipates transformation!
It’s the grace that recognizes…
“Discipleship can tolerate no conditions which might come between Jesus and our obedience to Him.” — Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“Follow me” is where transformation happens.
“Follow me” is the call to abandon authorship of our own lives, to hand the pen to Jesus, and let Him write the rest of the story!
Grace calls us to leave behind life as we have known it… for life as God intends it.
Grace is costly, but it carries a promise.
19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”
“Follow me” becomes “You will be.”
Grace transforms your life through the promise “You will be.”
It doesn’t matter where you came from… It doesn’t matter where you’ve been, or what you’ve been… Grace invites… Grace calls… Grace changes…
Grace says, “Come and see… follow me… and you will be...”
What started as a compelling invitation, moves to a “life-flipping” call, that leads us to a “heart-changing” promise…
“You will be.”
There is an old saying: “You are who you associate with.”
That is so true!
Hang out with Jesus long enough, and your life will be changed!
Have you ever noticed that the closer people in the Gospels came to Jesus, the less they remained the same?
The “left outs” are let in…
The “broken” are healed…
The “sinful” are forgiven…
Those on the margins are brought to the center…
The “forgotten” and “isolated” are remembered and given a community… a family…
The “lost” are given a purpose…
Grace declares, “You will be.”
You will be different.
You will be changed.
You will be loved.
You will be mine.
17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
You are a New Creation…
Not because of anything you do… not because of your will… because of Grace!
It’s not something you do… earn… or purchase… It is an act of Grace!
It is because Grace is moving down into the core of who you are… transforming you from the inside out…
Grace will not leave you the same!
19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”
Follow Jesus long enough and He will change you… He will grow you… and He will commission you....
At the end of the “parable of the Good Samaritan” Jesus tells the scribe (and us):
Luke 10:37 (NRSV)
37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
“Go and do”
Grace sends us out to be witnesses…
Grace says, “Go and do.”
If Jesus is really the embodiment of God on mission… and we are called to follow Him — to pattern our lives after His — then it only makes sense that our lives should reflect that very same mission…
Grace compels us to heed the invitation… to take up the call… and to surrender our lives to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in us…
That same Grace sends us into the world as conduits of grace to others.
We do that through our lives… our actions… our attitudes… the words we speak… the social media posts we write LIKE AND SHARE… the love we offer to our neighbors… the justice we pursue… the dignity we extend… the forgiveness we give… the peace we make… the joy we exhibit…
Through our lives Grace is revealed to others.
That’s what makes Grace so Amazing!
In Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Alice comes to a crossroads and asks the Cheshire Cat: “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to go,” answers the Cat.
“I don’t much care where I go,” Alice replies.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
Thomas a Kempis: “Follow thou me: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.’ Without the way, there is no going; without the truth, there is no knowing; without the life, there is no living. I am the way, which thou oughtest to follow; the truth, which thou oughtest to trust; the life. which thou oughtest to hope for. I am the way inviolable, the truth infallible, the life that cannot end. If thou remain in my way, thou shalt know the truth, and the truth shall make thee free, and thou shalt lay hold on eternal life.” — An Imitation of Christ, Thomas a Kempis
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
To which Jesus replied: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life...”
In Jesus, we find the Way to the Father...
In Jesus, we find the Truth…
In Jesus, we find Life — abundant life, both now and in the promise of the coming Kingdom of God… (paraphrased from Busic)
We know the destination… We know the Way…
The question is: “Will we follow? Will we embrace this Journey of Grace?”
An Amazing Grace has been poured out in our lives…
(stand and sing this with me)