Sustained by Grace

John 4:34–38 NKJV

34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! 36 And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37 For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”

Pray: God help us to be sustained by grace and strengthened by joy. Amen

I want to talk to you about how you can be sustained by the grace of God.

We’ve been talking about developing a winning rhythm in life by following Jesus and entering into the cycle of grace instead of the cycle of works.

One of the very real challenges for a lot of believers is that their experience does not live up to their expectation. We hear the promises of God and stories of the life of faith and yet somehow our experience does not match.

Sometimes, it’s because we don’t read the fine print. We don’t consider that the cost of sin and death is the life of Jesus and that to receive the life of Jesus means to let go completely of the life of sin and death.

Most of the time, however, I think that the reason our experience of God does not match our expectations is because we are approaching life with Him from the cycle of works instead of the cycle of grace.

Cycle of Works slide

Cycle of Grace slide

If nothing about how we are following Jesus changes, we may never experience the true joy of following Jesus.

Remember that the cycle of works approaches acceptance with God and others by beginning in achievement. In other words, our value is determined by what we produce. Your work is a product that God (and others) consume and once you no longer produce then you are no longer important. And if you are no longer important than you are rejected.

So, we work and we work and we work to have something to prove our value to God (and others).

Thankfully, in the life of Jesus our Teacher, we can learn practices of faith that sustain us and strengthen us. Instead of being filled with anxiety and the fear of not being able to meet the demand, these practices will refresh us and fill us with joy and peace as they remind us we are accepted.

A New and Living Way

When Jesus came to Earth, He came to show us a new and living way to enter into the presence of God (Hebrews 10.20).

Unfortunately, we’ve substituted one way of living for another one without changing why or truly embracing how. We’ve given up a better life according to the flesh and the world, in order to have a better life according to Jesus. Is it possible we’ve traded the American Dream for a Heavenly one?

Matthew 12:43–45 NKJV

43 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. 44 Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

If we just change what we are living for without changing how we are living then we will discover that things will get worse.

Illustration: you can’t enjoy sin once you’ve experienced God’s forgiveness. This is why people “deconstruct” their faith and leave. They know that as long as they are connected to Christ they cannot enjoy the works of the flesh.

When we operate out of the cycle of works, then as we are aware of our lack of things like holiness, wisdom, love, etc. we will be driven to work harder and do more to prove to God that we are worthy of His acceptance.

Instead of living sustained by grace we are driven by anxiety and fear.

Thankfully, Jesus taught us another way. We can learn of Him and discover how we too can have a life sustained by grace and strengthened by joy (Matthew 11.29).

God is our Provider and He has made a way for you to live full of grace and truth (cf. John 1.14-16).

Finding Sustenance in Grace

In our opening text, Jesus said that His food was to do the will of His Father (John 4.34). Walking in the will of the Father energized Him and strengthened Him so that He was enabled to do the works that He did.

In the cycle of grace, we receive spiritual nourishment from our Father because He loves us. Then, in the strength of this food, we are empowered to live a significant and fruitful life.

Here are three ways that we can begin to find sustenance in grace:

Receive God’s Provision

Through Christ, God supplies our needs (Philippians 4.19). He is our provider and the giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1.17).

Psalm 23:1–3 NLT

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. 2 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. 3 He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.

Notice that because God is our shepherd we have all that we need. He gives us rest. He renews us. He leads us and guides us.

Isaiah 55:1 NKJV

“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price.

Just come to God and He will give sustenance. It’s that simple.

John 7:37–39 NKJV

37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

The good news is that we simply have to ask God for His grace. Ask, believe, and receive His grace (Mark 11.24). More than things, we need His grace. It is His grace that gives you a sufficiency in all things leading to an abundance for ever good work (2 Corinthians 9.8).

Illustration: When we go to Brazil they operate on a different voltage than we do in the states. We need the power to operate our phones or beauty products. But if we don’t receive the right type of power then they will burn out.

In the same way, we need to find our sustenance from the grace of God not the same sources that the world operates on. Otherwise, we too will burn out in our faith.

So ask and receive the strength of grace which comes through the Spirit of God. He is your Provider and wants to give you everything you need!

Adopt Jesus’ Patterns

1 Peter 2:21 NLT

For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.

Jesus is our example of what it means to truly live. He accomplished great things. He changed people’s lives. His life had joy and grief and in all things He overcame.

Since He is our example, let us consider some of the patterns in His life that were sources of grace.

Prayer (Luke 5.16)

This regularly included solitude and silence

This also included corporate prayer

Scripture (Luke 4.16) - Jesus read Scripture, even memorizing and quoting it

Corporate Worship (Luke 4.16) - Jesus’ custom was to go to Church

Friendship (John 15.15) - Jesus had a friend group

Exercise (Luke 9.57) - Jesus walked everywhere, often with others.

Serving (Mark 10.45) - Jesus served others and gave His life for them (figuratively and literally)

Fellowship (Luke 7.34) - Jesus went to parties, ate meals, and spent time with others

Rest (Matthew 8.24) - Jesus slept on the boat after doing ministry. He wasn’t worried about what was going on around Him (even if it was a storm)

What is the common thread of all of these practices? They are relational. They are all ways that Jesus participated with the Father to access grace.

They were ways to participate relationally with God. When we do these things we bring ourselves before God and then the grace of God flows to us.

We need to recognize and discover the practices of Jesus that bring us closer to God. They remind us that we are accepted.

Mark 2:27 NKJV

And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.

These things are given as gifts to us. They aren’t meant to keep us out of God’s rest but meant to bring us in. They are ways that we delight in the LORD which return blessing to our lives (Psalm 37.4).

Illustration: When you put two magnetized things near each other, they attract each other. There is no effort or pressure. It is natural.

These patterns and practices of Jesus are meant to do the same thing — draw us near to God (James 4.8).

When we pray we draw close to Him.

When we read we draw close to Him.

When we worship, we come into His presence.

When we enjoy the good things and the people that God has brought into our lives it is an invitation to draw close to God in thankfulness.

Develop New Practices

Once you identify the patterns of Jesus that bring you joy and cause you to connect most with Him, then you want to develop a new rhythm of life around those practices.

1 Timothy 4:7–8 TPT

Be quick to abstain from senseless traditions and legends, but instead be engaged in the training of truth that brings righteousness. For athletic training only benefits you for a short season, but righteousness brings lasting benefit in everything; for righteousness contains the promise of life, for time and eternity.

We need to be engaged in the training of truth, exercising ourself to godliness (NKJV). In other words, we need a new routine so that we can experience the benefit of God’s grace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 NKJV

To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:

It is important to recognize the season you are in and develop practices that fit within your schedule.

You may not do everything that Jesus did (yet). You may only be able to focus on a few of them.

One powerful historic practice to help you develop new practices is called a Rule of Life. Rule can also be translated as “trellis.” It provides structure for the vine to grow and be more fruitful than if it were on the ground.

A Rule of Life will help you be with Jesus. Being with Jesus will help you become like Him (2 Corinthians 3.18). The more you become like Him the more you will do the things He did (Galatians 5.22-23, John 14.12).

A Rule of Life is a simple plan that helps you grow in Christlikeness and releases God’s grace into your life.

Illustration: Excel Spreadsheet with my simple rule of life. Using technology to help (watch timer). Pocket NT.

Ideally you want to have daily and weekly practices.

Daily ones should include prayer and Scripture.

Weekly ones could be things like corporate worship, meals with friends, and serving.

Find the ones that bring you the most joy and start there. Each season you will find some that bring you more peace and more strength than others.

Remember that you want to practice the patterns of Jesus that bring you closer to God, into His grace.

Conclusion

In Christ, you are beloved children of God (1 John 3.2). Because God loves you He offers His grace to you so that you can live a rewarding life.

Position yourself to receive God’s provision. Learn of the patterns of Jesus that brought grace into His life. And then develop new practices that apply those patterns.

You will discover that God is for you and an ever present help (Psalm 46.1).

These practices will help you live a life sustained by grace for the abundant life instead of being trapped by the cycle of works.

Pray