SUNDAY SERMONS

 

The Work of Grace

Timothy  … I never dreamed that taking a child to Disney World could be so difficult — or that such a trip could teach me so much about God’s outrageous grace.

Our middle daughter had been previously adopted by another family. I  am sure this couple had the best of intentions, but they never quite integrated the adopted child into their family of biological children. After a couple of rough years, they dissolved the adoption, and we ended up welcoming an eight-year-old girl into our home.

For one reason or another, whenever our daughter’s previous family vacationed at Disney World, they took their biological children with them, but they left their adopted daughter with a family friend. Usually — at least in the child’s mind — this happened because she did something wrong that precluded her presence on the trip.

And so, by the time we adopted our daughter, she had seen many pictures of Disney World and she had heard about the rides and the characters and the parades. But when it came to passing through the gates of the Magic Kingdom, she had always been the one left on the outside. Once I found out about this history, I made plans to take her to Disney World the next time a speaking engagement took our family to the southeastern United States.

I thought I had mastered the Disney World drill. I knew from previous experiences that the prospect of seeing cast members in freakishly oversized mouse and duck costumes somehow turns children into squirming bundles of emotional instability. What I didn’t expect was that the prospect of visiting this dreamworld would produce a stream of downright devilish behavior in our newest daughter. In the month leading up to our trip to the Magic Kingdom, she stole food when a simple request would have gained her a snack. She lied when it would have been easier to tell the truth. She whispered insults that were carefully crafted to hurt her older sister as deeply as possible — and, as the days on the calendar moved closer to the trip, her mutinies multiplied.

A couple of days before our family headed to Florida, I pulled our daughter into my lap to talk through her latest escapade. “I know what you’re going to do,” she stated flatly. “You’re not going to take me to Disney World, are you?” The thought hadn’t actually crossed my mind, but her downward spiral suddenly started to make some sense. She knew she couldn’t earn her way into the Magic Kingdom — she had tried and failed that test several times before — so she was living in a way that placed her as far as possible from the most magical place on earth.

In retrospect, I’m embarrassed to admit that, in that moment, I was tempted to turn her fear to my own advantage. The easiest response would have been, “If you don’t start behaving better, you’re right, we won’t take you” — but, by God’s grace, I didn’t. Instead, I asked her, “Is this trip something we’re doing as a family?”

She nodded, brown eyes wide and tear-rimmed.

“Are you part of this family?”

She nodded again.

“Then you’re going with us. Sure, there may be some consequences to help you remember what’s right and what’s wrong — but you’re part of our family, and we’re not leaving you behind.”

I’d like to say that her behaviors grew better after that moment. They didn’t. Her choices pretty much spiraled out of control at every hotel and rest stop all the way to Lake Buena Vista. Still, we headed to Disney World on the day we had promised, and it was a typical Disney day. Overpriced tickets, overpriced meals, and lots of lines, mingled with just enough manufactured magic to consider maybe going again someday.

John 1:12-14  Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—  13  children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.  14  The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

 

I.                 Saved By Grace

Ephesians 2:8-9  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  9  not by works, so that no one can boast.

a.  Power in Salvation

                                                           i.      Being saved means I do not have to fear anything the future holds for me.

I have often said, “I don’t fear death, and I don’t!” Then I add “I’m not real excited about the pain that might accompany death, but I don’t fear death!” I want to revise my statement… “I don’t fear the pain that may involve death because GOD WILL WALK WITH ME EVEN IN THE PAIN OF DEATH!”

b.  Salvation is the first stage of experiencing God’s Grace!

Amazing Grace How Sweet the Sound that Saved a wretch like Me!

Acts 15:11  … We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."

 

 

c.   There is no true growth until you are saved!

"Nothing has a greater impact on spiritual growth than reflection on Scripture. If churches could do only one thing to help people at all levels of spiritual maturity grow in their relationship with Christ, their choice is clear. They would inspire, encourage, and equip their people to read the Bible--specifically, to reflect on Scripture for meaning in their lives. The numbers say most churches are missing the mark—because only one out of five congregants reflects on Scripture every day."

2 Timothy 1:9-10  He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,  10  but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

YOU ARE SAVED BY GRACE!

II.              Standing in Grace

Romans 5:1-2  Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,  2  through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.

a.  Position of the Saved

                                                           i.      A new standing

2 Corinthians 5:17  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

                                                        ii.      Not in Nature under the Law

                                                     iii.      But Standing in Grace

The impossibly difficult instructions found in the sermon on the mount have often troubled me. When I think about loving enemies, turning the other cheek, giving to the poor, storing up treasures in heaven, etc... I often feel like there's NO WAY I can be successful in the correctives Jesus presents. With that said, I think Oswald Chambers speaks to the dilemma incredibly well in his devotional, "My Utmost for His Highest", and here is what he says: "The Sermon on the Mount is not an ideal, it is a statement of what will happen in me when Jesus Christ has altered my disposition and put in a disposition like His own. Jesus Christ is the only One Who can fulfill the Sermon on the Mount." I think this quote can be helpful when preaching through the Sermon on the Mount and/or even when preaching through being a 'New creation IN Christ'.

III.          Growing in Grace

2 Peter 3:18  But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

a.  The Progress of the Saved

                                                           i.      Growth is the Evidence of Life

                                                        ii.      Growth is the Evidence of Health

                                                     iii.      Growth is the Evidence of Progress.

1 Corinthians 3:5-11  What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task.  6  I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.  7  So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.  8  The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor.  9  For we are co-workers in God's service; you are God's field, God's building.  10  By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care.  11  For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Remember our Disneyland girl we began with?

Timothy finishes the story …  In our hotel room that evening, a very different child emerged. She was exhausted, pensive, and a little weepy at times, but her month-long facade of rebellion had faded. When bedtime rolled around, I prayed with her, held her, and asked, “So how was your first day at Disney World?”

She closed her eyes and snuggled down into her stuffed unicorn. After a few moments, she opened her eyes ever so slightly. “Daddy,” she said, “I finally got to go to Disney World. But it wasn’t because I was good; it’s because I’m yours.”

It wasn’t because I was good; it’s because I’m yours.