Amazing Grace

Sermon Series

All Have Sinned–But, There's Grace! – Part 8

"Amazing Grace"

Pastor Jerry

Luke 4:14-22a

 

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For the last seven weeks we've been looking at the good news of God's grace. Today let’s review the seven things that we’ve looked at concerning the benefits of grace: First, the Bible says we're (1) saved by grace, that the only way to heaven is through the doorway of Grace. The Word of God says, "For by grace you are saved through faith and even that is not of yourself it is the gift of God, not of works so no one could boast." Second we're (2) sustained by grace. Philippians 2:13 says "God is always working in you to give you the will and the power to do what He's called you to do." Third, the Word of God teaches that we're (3) healed by grace. God heals our broken hearts and binds up our wounds. Fourth, we are to (4) share grace. Jesus said it like this in Matthew 10:8 "Give as freely as you have received." Fifth the Word of God says we're (5) forgiven by grace. James 2:10 "The person who keeps every law of God but makes one little slip is just as guilty as the person who has broken every law there is." Sixth, we're (6) restored by grace. Lamentations 5:21, "Restore us, O Lord, and bring us back to You again. Give us back the joys we once had." Last week we talked about the seventh benefit of Grace, how we (7) grow in grace. The Scripture says in 2 Peter 3:18 "Grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus." The more you grow in grace, the more you're going to grow spiritually. You should be closer to God today than you were last year. How about it? Everything that God does in you, He does by grace. We live, move and have our being because God's grace. That's what we've looked at for the past seven weeks. But it would be a tragedy if we had gone through this entire series and some of you here today have never really opened your life up to receiving the amazing grace of God. How do I receive this amazing grace of God?" The Bible says it in three simple words: By trusting Christ. God made it so simple that nobody could say it was too hard to understand. That’s the wonderful news of God’s amazing grace. The Bible says this in John 1:17 "The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." All of grace, all of what we've talked about for seven weeks is wrapped up in a person. He is the source. Grace and truth comes through Jesus Christ – and it was all made possible because of His death on the cross for us. You get grace through a relationship. "Now we rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God, all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done in dying for our sins making us friends of God. You become a friend of God. Not because of what you do, but because of what Jesus did. The Bible tells us how much God loves us. 1 John 3:16 "This is how we know what love is, Jesus Christ laid down His life for us." That's what we should be grateful for. Near the city of San Juan Campos in Brazil there is a remarkable facility. It's a prison. Twenty years ago the Brazilian government turned it over to a band of Christians. They said "You can run it and you can run it on Christian principles." So they cleaned up the prison and renamed it Humanita. Not too long ago Chuck Colson went and visited this prison. I saw clean living areas. I saw people working industriously. The walls were decorated with Biblical sayings from Psalms and Proverbs. My guide escorted me to the notorious prison cell that was once used for torture. Slowly he swung the massive door open and I saw the prisoner in that punishment cell. The prisoner Jesus hanging on the cross. He was innocent, but He's doing time for the rest of us.” This is what the death, burial, resurrection of Jesus is all about. Jesus has served your time. He paid your penalty. He was hung up for your hang ups. He died in your place. We need to say, “Thank You Jesus for Your amazing, outrageous, inconceivable grace." In light of what Jesus Christ has done for us, what should be our response? What do I owe Jesus Christ? I owe Him the rest of my life! As we conclude this eight week series today, I want to give you three ways you can express gratitude for God's grace.

1. I can show my Gratitude for God’s Grace by MAKING MY LIFE COUNT.

1 Corinthians 6:20 "Don't you see that you can't keep on living however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? So let people see God in and through your body." You can't understand the grace of God and just keep on living the same way you've always lived. You were created for a purpose. And He wants you to fulfill it. The abilities and the talents and the opportunities and the education and the freedom and the relationships and all the things that you have that bless your life were not given just to be squandered. They were given for a purpose. Make your life count.

2. (Show my Gratitude for God’s Grace) by BECOMING A GENEROUS PERSON.

If you want to measure how much you are grateful for grace look at your giving. "Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in ever good work." What was Christ like? He was a giver. “God so loved the world that He gave." The Christian life is summed up in three words -- love, serve, give. Nothing is greater proof that you understand grace than that you are lovingly gracious and generous to other people and to God. Romans 8:32 says "Since God loved us enough to give us His own son, won't He love us enough to take care of every one of our other needs?" God wants me to become generous like Him. And He wants me to make my life count. Those are ways to show gratitude.

3. (Show my Gratitude for God’s Grace) by SHARING THE GOOD NEWS OF GRACE.

Acts 20:24 "The most important thing is that I complete my mission, the work that the Lord Jesus gave me -- to tell people the Good News about God's grace." The most important thing in life is to fulfill your mission. Part of that mission is to tell other people the good news of grace. You know Christ because somebody told you. Who has God put in your path to tell? One of the ways we show gratitude for our own salvation is to share that good news with other people and to tell them. Because people are dying without the grace of God. Everybody needs Jesus. Do not leave this worship service today after hearing the greatest news in the world, without praying for somebody that you care about, that you love, that you're concerned that they hear the good news about God’s Amazing Grace. There are people around you who are desperate for the good news in this year of the Pandemic. And we have the greatest news in the world. We have this news about God’s Amazing Grace. The way we show our gratitude for this amazing grace of God is by making our own lives count, by living a life of extravagant generosity, and by telling as many people as we can about this Amazing Good News.