Forgiving Grace

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Sermon Series

All Have Sinned–But, There’s Grace! – Part 5

“Forgiving Grace”

Pastor Jerry

Genesis 3: 8-13; James 2:10

 

————————————- Message Synopsis ————————————-

For the past four weeks we’ve been looking at the grace of God in a series called “All Have Sinned…!”  Let’s admit it. The truth is, all of us at some point in our lives have to honestly say “I did it.” There are things we’ve all struggled with. We’re all in the same boat. 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.”

Recognizing the fact that whether it’s one sin or many in our lives we’ve all slipped, we’ve all sinned and we’re all in the same boat. Let’s deal with this together today and recognize that God has an answer. The answer is God’s Forgiving Grace.

What I need for you to do today as we begin this message is to make an assessment of your situation. Before you can come to see your need of Forgiving Grace, you will need to see that you have slipped, that you are guilty. So, first, we’re going to be talking about guilt today.

Obviously, there are different degrees of guilt. But there is real guilt…and…a false kind of guilt.  So what is real guilt? What’s the difference between real guilt and false guilt? We need to talk about how our ways of dealing with guilt differ greatly from God’s way of dealing with guilt.

WHAT IS GUILT?

Do you know what guilt feels like? Perhaps, this verse in the Bible will remind us what it feels like, “My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear.” Don’t you know that overwhelming, burdened feeling? That feeling of, “I hope nobody finds out.” But is that all there is to guilt? Is that what God means it to be? Is it some kind of punishment that He sends into my life/your life when we’ve done something wrong? He says “OK, you did something wrong. Live with this for a while!” Does He mean for us to do that, for a while or the rest of our lives? No!

The purpose of guilt is not just to make you feel bad. He has a greater purpose than that. Guilt is actually a warning light. Picture it that way. It’s a warning light that goes off that says, “Something’s wrong. Something needs to be fixed.” It’s like the warning light that goes off on the dashboard of your car which says something’s wrong.

We’ve got lots of different ways of dealing with this warning light that God sends into our life. We try to ignore it or pretend it’s not there. But the truth is, if something really is wrong, the best thing to do is to get it fixed. I could try to fix the car myself but I’m not very good at that. So I need to take it to someone who knows how to work on cars, like Roger, or take it back to the manufacturer.

That’s what we need to do with our lives. That’s what the warning light is saying. It’s saying, “You need some time with God. You need God to heal this.” That’s the warning light that God’s bringing in. Before we look at the difference of how we try to deal with that warning light and how God’s able to deal with it, how we try to fix ourselves and how He’s able to fix us, we’ve got to make a very important distinction. There’s an important distinction to discover about guilt. There’s two different kinds!

There is genuine guilt. The real deal. We’ve all dealt with that, the genuine guilt that comes from the fact that we’ve all done wrong things that have hurt ourselves, hurt others, and hurt the heart of God. That’s the honest truth. Unless we’re perfect (and none of us are) we’ve all had to deal with this real thing of guilt. This feeling of genuine guilt.

There’s another brand of guilt that is very important to understand if you’re going to find God’s grace in the midst of it. That is false guilt. That’s thinking that maybe there might be a light on the dashboard that might come on and you’re so worried about it that you worry yourself into a guilt. That’s feeling like, “If a light on the dashboard ever came on, what would people think of me?” There’s many people who deal with this false guilt.

So, how do we know if it is real guilt or a false guilt? Well, there is a way to tell. There are three tests that will help you and I determine, discern whether this is true guilt or false guilt.

(First Test):

  1. Is the focus on People or is it on God? “False guilt is that which comes as the results of judgments and the suggestions of men.” True guilt is that which comes as a result of divine judgment, what God thinks about the situation. If you’re struggling with false guilt, you’re going to find yourself striving a lot for approval. You need other people’s approval to make you feel better about yourself.

(Second Test):

  1. Is it Vague or is it Specific? Sometimes people will say, “It’s unclear… it’s like a fog.” and they don’t know how to get rid of it. When asked “what’s the struggle they’re facing?” And they really can’t say. Almost all the time when it’s the vague, foggy feeling of guilt, it’s Satan talking to you and not God. God, when He wants to tell us we’ve done something wrong and help us get it right, He does it like a pinpoint of light, not some vague cloudy thing. Maybe I hear a sermon, or, I turn on the radio – and hear a song, or, watch a movie and – in each of those experiences I’m struck with conviction! God does that. So is it this vague feeling of guilt or is it God’s pinpoint of light of truth?

(Third Test):

  1. Is it Rules or Relationships? When you’re struggling with false guilt the big feeling is, “I broke the rules.” When you’re struggling with genuine guilt the feeling is, “I hurt someone. I hurt my wife/husband/children/the heart of God because of what I did.” That’s the difference between the two. The rules become more important than the relationship. In church it becomes duty rather than desire. False guilt blinds us to the miraculous work of God. We need to get this clarified, is it true guilt or false?

Whatever kind of guilt we’re dealing with — true guilt/false guilt — we’ve got ways of dealing with it and God’s got ways of dealing with it.

First let’s look at our ways of dealing with guilt, and then, we’ll look at God’s way of dealing with it!

OUR WAYS OF HANDING GUILT

Back to the light on the dashboard: What are you going to do when that light goes off? How do you handle it? It’s amazing how we have common ways of handling these feelings. They go all the way back to the first man, the first woman, the first sin. The ways they dealt with that first sin are pretty common today. Probably all of us can relate to them.

Genesis 3 the Bible tells us that they first sewed fig leaves together and made something to cover themselves. Then they hid from the Lord God. Then when challenged, Adam said, “I was afraid because I was naked. She gave me some fruit from the tree, so I ate it.” Three ways that are indicated in the way they responded and the way we respond today too.

  1. (First) We often respond with shame. We feel bad about it. If you think you can feel bad enough about the wrong things you’ve done to make them ok, probably most of you have already discovered that doesn’t work. I sure have. Shame doesn’t work. They felt ashamed, sewed fig leaves together, and ran away.
  1. (Second) Hiding. They hid in the bushes from God, as if God couldn’t see them there. That’s like trying to put your hand over the light on the dashboard that’s going off, pretending that nothing is really wrong. It doesn’t work. But they tried that one. They hid.
  1. (Third) Blame. This is a popular one. It’s sort of a tragic, humorous story what happens in Genesis. You’ve got Adam and Eve and the serpent standing there and God comes. God asks Adam, “Did you eat of that fruit of that tree?” Adam took it like a man and he blamed his wife. He points right at Eve, “She did it. It’s her fault. She gave me the fruit.” So Eve’s standing here, blames too. She points at the serpent, “The serpent made me do “ Of course the serpent didn’t have a leg to stand on… Isn’t it easy to try to blame your way out of the wrong things that have happened? We all do this.

Listen to this story of my son’s car’s when he was a teenager. He was driving his car to school one day. On the way he heard this incredibly terrible sound. He pulled over, looked the car over. The car looked OK to him, but it sounded bad. He thought, well the car looks fine, he thinks he can make it to school and then he would take care of it later. He didn’t make it to school — the car broke down on the side of the road.

What do you do when you break down? When you’ve looked at life & said, “Everything looks fine &I think I can make it a little bit further.” Then it doesn’t work anymore. All the blame, & hiding, all the shame, all the ways we’ve got of dealing with guilt doesn’t work. What do you do when that happens? God has a way of dealing with guilt, too. Very different from our ways.

GOD’S WAY OF HANDLING GUILT is the GRACE of FORGIVENESS

In 1 John 1:9 we are given three parts in the way God handles Guilt: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” The first part of dealing with guilt is “to confess our sins”. The second part is God’s faithfulness: “He is just”. The third part of dealing with guilt is God’s Grace: “He will forgive us”.

That’s how we need to deal with the guilt that makes us sick & breaks us down & tears us apart.

  1. Confess your sins. What does that word mean — sin? Sin is all about my way. It’s all about me saying to God, “You might not like it, but I’m going to live my life my own way.” It’s like my son looking at the car and saying, “It looks ok to me so I’m doing it my way.” That’s what it’s all about. Sin is doing it my way and leaving God out. It’s ignoring what God says is truth!

How do you confess your sin? You tell God the truth. Why not be honest about it? Psalm 69:5 “God you know what I have done wrong. I cannot hide my guilt from You.” Telling God — confessing to God — means more than just admitting. It means “agreeing with God about what God thinks about sin.” That it’s wrong and that it destroys lives. You can confess to God now. You can do it through prayer. You can talk to God even right now where you’re seated. Just tell Him about the things you’ve done.

The first part of dealing with guilt is “to confess our sins”. The second part is …

  1. Trust God’s character. Many people confess their sins …but really never get to know the God who can forgive them. They don’t experience that “… He is faithful and just…” Let me tell you you the truth–You can count on God. You can count on His faithfulness. When you get close to the God who loves you, who gave His life for you in Christ, when you get close to Him, you really sense what His forgiveness is all about. You don’t become the person God wants you to be through feeling sorry for yourself, or through your guilt. You become the person God wants you to be through His grace. It’s grace that allows you to become all that God wants you to be. You can trust God. He is faithful. He is just.

The third part of dealing with guilt is God’s Grace: “He will forgive us”.

  1. Accept God’s forgiveness. If we confess our sins, He’s faithful, He can be trusted to forgive us our sins and the verse ends by saying, “… and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” He will! He will purify us from all sin. Grace is not about us or what we’ve done. Grace is all about what God is able to do!

When we believe in Christ and trust what He did for us on the cross, the Bible says you’re not judged guilty. I’m sure there’s some of you who are struggling with this. It’s a big struggle to recognize how great God’s grace is. God not only wants to free you of your guilt, He wants to use you in a new way. Give you a new life! That’s the good news about grace.

I have a verse I want to leave today with you. Psalm 32:5 “I finally admitted all my sins to You and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, `I will confess them to the Lord.’ And You forgave me. All my guilt is gone.” Incredible! Some body here today needs that. Somebody needs to say, “God, I admit it! I need Your forgiveness. I’m tired of trying all my ways of making up for it.”

Recognize that God is the God of grace who wants to forgive and shower grace upon you. Why? Because you deserve it? No. Because He loves you?

Offering Grace

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All Have Sinned–But, There’s Grace! – Part 4

“Offering Grace”

Pastor Jerry

Matthew 10: 1, 5-8, 38-39

 

————————————- Message Synopsis ————————————-

This week I have discovered four words that probably define grace better than any other phrase — God is for us. God has so many reasons to be against us because of our sin, but because of Jesus, God is for us.

We’ve been looking for the past three weeks at the grace of God. We are in a series called “All Have Sinned—but, There’s Grace!”  We’ve looked at Saving Grace, Sustaining Grace and Healing Grace. Today I want us to look at Offering Grace. If you’ve been forgiven by God, He wants you to forgive others.

Jesus said it like this in Matthew 10:8 “Give as freely as you have received.” Whatever you’ve been given by God you are to offer to others.

How do we give forgiveness to other people?

Before we do that I want us to take a little test. Five questions, right or wrong, true or false. Answer according to what you believe about these statements.

  1. A person should not be forgiven until he asks for it. True or false.
  2. Forgiveness includes minimizing the offense and minimizing the pain cause. True or false
  3. Forgiveness includes restoring trust and reuniting a relationship. True or false.
  4. You haven’t really forgiven until you’ve forgotten the offense. True or false.
  5. When I see someone else hurt, it is my duty to forgive the offender. True or false.

If you were to take the word of God and you were to particularly read through the Gospels and read what Jesus said about forgiveness, you would come to the conclusion that all five of these statements are false. We’re going to look today at what forgiveness really is. But before we can look at that, we need to look at what it isn’t. The Bible says there are five things that forgiveness is not:

  1. Forgiveness is not conditional. In fact, the Bible says the exact opposite. It is unconditional.
  1. Forgiveness is not minimizing the seriousness of the offense. It’s not saying, “It’s no big deal. Don’t worry about it. It didn’t hurt me that bad.”
  1. Forgiveness is not resuming a relationship without change. Forgiveness is not the same thing as reconciliation. Forgiveness is instant, but trust has to be rebuilt over time.
  1. Real forgiveness is not forgetting what happened. A very popular cliché in America is — forgive and forget. You can’t do it. The more painful something is, the less likely it is that you’re going to forget it.
  1. Forgiveness isn’t my right when I wasn’t the one that was hurt. Only the victim can pronounce forgiveness to the person who has offended them. If you weren’t hurt, it’s not your place to proclaim the forgiveness.

WHAT IS REAL FORGIVENESS? The Bible says real forgiveness is four things.

  1. REMEMBERING HOW MUCH I’VE BEEN FORGIVEN.

Forgiveness is remembering how much grace I’ve received from Christ. Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you.” You’re not forgiven because you deserved it. You’re forgiven because you’ve put your faith in Christ. The more forgiven you feel by God, the more forgiving you’re going to tend to be toward others.

  1. RELINQUISHING MY RIGHT TO GET EVEN

That’s the heart of genuine forgiveness.  Romans 12:19 says “Never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God for He has said that He will repay those who deserve it.” Leave that up to God. You say, “But that’s unfair!” Who said forgiveness is fair? There’s a word for fairness. It’s called justice. Justice is fair. Forgiveness is grace.

  1. RESPONDING TO EVIL WITH GOOD

Luke 6 “Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you and pray for those who mistreat you.” How can you tell when you’ve really genuinely forgiven somebody? When you come to the point when you can actually pray, “Bless that person who hurt me.”  We hurt other people because we’re hurting ourselves. Hurt people hurt people. When you can bless those who curse you, you’re responding to evil with good. 1 Corinthians 13:5 “Love keeps no record of wrongs.”

 There’s a fourth thing that’s a part of genuine forgiveness. It’s not just remembering how much I’ve been forgiven and relinquishing my right to get even and responding to evil with good but also…

  1. REPEATING THE PROCESS AS LONG AS NECESSARY

You do these things over and over. Forgiveness is not a one shot event. How long do you have to keep forgiving a person? You do it as long as the feeling of revenge keeps coming back. Peter asked that question of Jesus. “Peter asked, `Lord, how often should I forgive somebody who sins against me? Seven times?'”  Jesus says, “Not quite. How about seventy times seven.”

The point is — for infinity. For as long as it takes.

Genuine forgiveness is never easy.

Some of you may be filled with resentment this morning.  What do you do? You say, “Why? Why in the world should I forgive that person who hurt me so much? You ought to do it for three reasons:

  1. I need to be gracious to others, to forgive others who’ve hurt me because God has been

gracious to me.

You will never have to forgive anyone else more than Jesus Christ has already forgiven you. God has been gracious with you. And the Bible says because we’ve been forgiven by Christ we’re compelled to forgive those who hurt us.

  1. I need to be gracious to others, to forgive others who’ve hurt me because the alternative is bitterness.

Science tells us that the most unhealthy emotion there is, is the emotion of resentment. It always hurts you more than anybody else. You’re not hurting anybody but yourself with your resentment. Resentment will not change the past, no matter how much you resent it.  The Bible says in Hebrews 12 “Be careful that none of you fails to respond to the grace which God gives, for if he does there can very easily spring up in him a bitter spirit which is not only bad in itself, but can also poison the lives of many others.”

  1. I need to be gracious to others, to forgive others who’ve hurt me because God expects you to do it.

Matthew 6:15 Jesus said this, “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” I don’t know how to make it any clearer than the way Jesus said it right there. Jesus says we cannot receive what we’re unwilling to give.

That’s why you need Jesus. You are going to be hurt in life and you don’t have enough love to overpower the hurt on your own. You need Jesus Christ. And you need His love in your life to help you forgive. You need Him to fill you with love every moment of the day. This week I discovered four words that probably define grace better than any other phrase — God is for us. Jesus said in Matthew 10:8 “Give as freely as you have received.”

Healing Grace

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All Have Sinned–But, There’s Grace! – Part 3

“Healing Grace”

Pastor Jerry

Psalm 147:1-11 (NIV)

 

————————————- Message Synopsis ————————————-

Nobody gets through life without having some problems. We all have problems. One of the deepest causes of those hurts is rejection. We all face it at different times in life.

We are in the third week of a new series of messages that I’m calling: “All Have Sinned—But, There’s Grace!”  Today, I want us to look at God’s Healing Grace and how He heals the hidden wounds of our life. The Bible says in Psalm 147:3 “God heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Maybe you’re here with a broken heart today. Maybe you need to be healed?

How does God heal broken hearts and wounds? The Bible tells us by changing the way we think: by changing our minds. The Bible says in Romans 12 “Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” If you want to change your life, if you want to get over hurt, you’ve got to change the way you think.

The Bible says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” It’s very simple. The Bible says our beliefs determine our behaviors. The way we think determines the way that we act. There’s a big problem with that.

The problem is some of your beliefs are false, erroneous, mistaken. Have you ever looked at yourself in a warped mirror?  If you look at a distorted mirror you get a distorted image of yourself. Growing up, the adults around your life acted like mirrors. Some of us today are acting on wrong images, on incorrect data.

I want us to look at how God changes our mind and helps us not only see Him in a new light but see ourselves in a new light. God always tells you the truth. Today I want us to look at five things that God says about you that are true because of His Healing Grace.

This could be a life changing day for you today.  God’s Healing Grace.

What truth does the Bible say about you and me? The Bible says…

  1. I AM ACCEPTABLE.

Most of us spend our entire lives trying to be accepted by others. We do not realize that the drive to be accepted is behind many of the things you do in life. People will do the craziest things in order to be accepted.

Some of you think, “If I could just be perfect, then everybody would love me. Then everybody would accept me.” But that won’t work either, even if you were perfect. The Bible says Jesus was perfect, yet He was despised and rejected of men. The problem was not His perfection, the problem was with their hearts.

Jesus tells us that this issue is settled when we accept His Healing Grace. Romans 15:7 “Christ has accepted you.” Notice there is no condition. It’s based on God’s Healing Grace not your performance.

Some of you are not sure about what God thinks of you? Do you realize that God has accepted you just as you are without any conditions on it because of His Healing Grace.

The second thing the Bible says about healing broken hearts is…

  1. God says I AM VALUABLE.

I am worth something. How much do you think you’re worth? The Bible says that a man’s life does not consist of the abundance of things he possesses. You might say, “I don’t know. How do you judge the value of a person?” There are two things that determine value in life. One, who owns it, two, what is somebody willing to pay for it. Those two things create value.

1 John 4:4 “You belong to God.” Imagine your value. Everyone is created by God but everyone does not belong to God. If you belong to God. You’re valuable. That means you’re priceless.

The other thing that determines value is what somebody’s willing to pay for it. How much was paid for you? 1 Corinthians 7 “You have been bought and paid for by Christ so you belong to Him.” The greatest ransom ever paid was when Jesus Christ paid for your sins and you were bought with a price and God exchanged His own son to die for you. That’s how valuable you are.

The third thing the Bible says about healing broken hearts is…

  1. The Bible tells us because of God’s healing grace I AM LOVABLE.

When you’ve been rejected you don’t feel too lovable. If you say, “I’m not worth anything! I’m not loved by anybody.” You’re wrong. The Bible says “`The mountains and hills may crumble but My love for you will never end,’ so says the Lord who loves you.” God’s love will never end. God’s love is unconditional and it’s not based on performance. That’s healing grace.

The fourth thing the Bible says about healing broken hearts is…

  1. The Bible says because of His grace I AM FORGIVABLE.

We make mistakes. Yet, I am forgivable. The Bible says in Isaiah 43:25 “I am the God who forgives your sins and I do this because of who I am. It’s not based on your deserving it. It’s based on God is a Healing, There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Ephesians 1:4 “Through what Christ would do for us, God decided to make us holy in His eyes, without a single fault we stand before Him covered with His love.” If you don’t accept the grace of God, you’re not covered with His love.

Before you were even born, God knew what you were going to do. And He still made you and He still loves you and He still cares about you. He knew it. He’s a gracious God. The good news is, when I receive Christ into my life, all my sins are wiped out.

The fifth thing (last one today) the Bible says about healing broken hearts is…

  1. God says with Christ in my life I AM CAPABLE.

Philippians 4:13 “I have strength for all things in Christ who empowers me. I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me, that is, I am self sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency.”

 Any time anything besides God is number one in your life, you’re going to be vulnerable to a broken heart. For genuine security in life, you have to have something that’s number one in your life that cannot be taken away from you. There’s only one thing that fits that possibility.

A relationship to your creator God, to His Son, Jesus Christ. That can never be taken from you. Then if you lose everything else, including your health, you still have your security for eternal life.

Some of you have had a major hurt in your life, experienced a broken heart. I’m sorry for your pain. You can be healed of a broken heart. If you will open your life to the Healing Grace of God and the power of Jesus Christ and accept what He says about you and begin a relationship with Him. Then take the word of God and fill your mind with it.

To a large degree the way you see yourself and the way you feel about yourself is determined by what you think the most important person in your life thinks about you. If that’s true, I want to beg you to make Jesus Christ the most important person in your life. You have a choice. You can believe what other people say about you, which mostly is not true and imperfect and distorted, or, you can hold your life up to the light of God’s Word and His truth and believe what He says about you from His Healing Grace.

 

Sustaining Grace

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All Have Sinned–But, There’s Grace! – Part 2 

“Sustaining Grace”

Pastor Jerry

1 Peter 5:6-11 (NIV)

 

————————————- Message Synopsis ————————————-

Are you afraid of dying?

The Bible tells us that God always finishes what He starts. “God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished…”  God will finish it. What does that mean?

It means if you have really given your life to Jesus Christ, you are going to make it to heaven. There’s no doubt about it. Because it doesn’t depend upon your performance; it depends upon God’s sustaining grace.

How can we be sure we’re going to Heaven? Because of God’s Sustaining Grace! Last week we looked at God’s Saving Grace. But God doesn’t want to just save you. He wants to sustain you through life. Today’s message is about God’s “Sustaining Grace!”

What is Sustaining Grace? Sustaining Grace is the power to keep on going when I feel like giving up. Do you ever feel that way? There are many pitfalls in the race of life. We’re going to talk about them this morning. But regardless of what you go through, no matter what you face this year, you can count on God’s Sustaining Grace being there.

There are three things in life that can cause you to stumble, that can cause you to get off the path, that can cause you to not finish well in life. God’s Sustaining Grace says I will help you in each of those three situations.

  1. I can count on God’s Sustaining Grace to help me keep on standing when I’m tempted.

Temptation is the first thing that causes us to stumble. The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:8 “Watch out for attacks from the devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour. Take a firm stand against him… and so be strong in the faith.”

The moment you become a believer a battle starts in your life. Satan wants you to fall out of grace. You are faced with moral choices. Those moral choices are called temptations.

1 Corinthians 10:13 “The temptations that you have are the same ones that all people have. But you can trust God. He will not let you be tempted more than you can stand. When you are tempted, God will also give you a way to escape. Then you will be able to stand it.” This is God’s Sustaining Grace.  This is a terrific, fantastic promise. God will provide a way of escape.

A second way God gives us His sustaining grace to help us not to stumble & get off the path is…

  1. God’s sustaining Grace helps me keep standing when I’m tired.

Life is often exhausting. It requires a lot of strength, a lot of energy to live life Do you ever get tired of doing what’s right? Sure. That’s because it’s tough moving against the flow, swimming upstream. But where do you get the power to do the right thing when you don’t feel like doing it or when you’re dead tired.

2 Corinthians 1 “It is God who gives us the ability to stand firm for Christ. He has …identified us as His own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts.” Those two, the “Holy Spirit” and “standing firm” go together. The key to the Christian life is not trying, it’s trusting. It’s letting Christ live through you.  And He will give you the power you need.

Philippians 2:13 “For God is at work within you, giving you the will and the power to achieve His purpose.” When God gives you the will and the power to do something, you’ll be able to do it. God never asks you to do something He doesn’t give you the power to do.

There’s another way God gives us His sustaining grace:

  1. God’s Sustaining Grace gives me the power to keep standing when I’m troubled.

In other words, when I have problems, when I have difficulties. Jesus said, “In the world you will have trouble.” You’re going to have difficulties, you’re going to have obstacles. You will have situations that you cannot handle. He says, “I will give you the power.”

There are many kinds of trouble. But the most difficult problems in life to handle are the unfair ones. You are innocent. You didn’t cause it. Those are the ones that are hard to handle.

I experienced this recently. I thought how unfair I was treated. I was angry. SO, I took my hurt and went to the Lord. I asked in prayer what should I do? The Lord revealed to me to apologize to him for my anger and mistrust of him about the job. It didn’t matter who was at fault…what mattered was that forgiveness and kindness is the nature of God Grace and in loving others His way.  OK!

Most of us can handle problems if we can see an end in sight, light at the end of the tunnel. But there are some things in your life that hurt you, harm you, that are unsolvable, that you’re going to live with the rest of your life. And nothing’s ever going to change that. And they hurt the most.

What do you do in those situations? You need to focus on Christ. Focus on His sustaining power. The Bible says this in Isaiah 41 “Don’t worry, because I am with you. Don’t be afraid because I am your God. I will make you strong. I will help you. I will support you with My right hand that saves you.” … “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.”

What do you do when you can’t fix an unfixable problem? What do you do when you can’t control something that hurts deeply in your life? You bow to the sustaining Grace of God.

How do I get it? How do you get that kind of grace to keep going in spite of temptations, trials, tension, tiredness and troubles? You do four things:

  1. Call out for God’s help.

Cry out to God. You need to admit your inadequacy and say, “God, I can’t handle this!” The Bible says “God gives grace to the humble.” So give yourselves completely to God. “Draw close to God and God will draw close to you.” Call out for God’s help.

The second way you get sustaining grace to keep going in spite of troubles…

  1. Fill your mind with God’s word.

Let the Bible comfort you, let it strengthen you, let it give you the energy you need to keep going. Get into the book, every single day of your life. Begin to read it and get it into your mind.

David prays, “I am completely discouraged. Revive me…”  How? “Revive me by Your word.” There is some advice going around today, it’s the standard New Age answer to your problems. “This advise is that the answers are within you. Look inside yourself.” What a lie. The answer is not looking within you. You need to look to God. He’s the only one who can change you. He’s the only one who can help you. The answers are found in the word of God.

The Third way you get sustaining grace to keep going in spite of troubles…

  1. Accept support from God’s people.

Do you know how important people at church are in a time of crisis? Often people say, “We wouldn’t have made it without Christian friends.” The Bible says by helping each other with your troubles you truly obey the law of Christ. What is that law, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The second great commandment. You need to accept support from God’s people.

The fourth way you get sustaining grace to keep going in spite of troubles…

  1. Hold on to God’s promises.

There are over 7000 of them in the Bible waiting to be claimed. Here’s one of them, Isaiah 40 “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youth grow tired. But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.” Keep your hope in the Lord. Even more than that, keep your eyes focused on the hope of heaven, not just on the here and now.

(I opened this message with a hard question:) Are you afraid of dying?

What’s your answer? It’s found in God’s Sustaining Grace. God’s Grace will take away your fear and give you Peace!

Paul said it this way, “I begged the Lord three times to take this problem away from me. But He said to me, `My grace is enough for you. When you are weak, then My power is made perfect in you.” When you’re going through a problem you can’t fix, don’t give up, look up!

If you are discouraged …if you are struggling with guilt and shame …if you may be dealing with financial concerns …0r dealing with unemployment or something you cannot control. Look up …and bring those concerns to God right now.

 

 

Saving Grace

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Sermon Series

All Have Sinned–But, There’s Grace! – Part 1 

“Saving Grace”

Pastor Jerry

Psalm 145:8 (NIV)

 

————————————- Message Synopsis ————————————-

I want you to complete these common American phrases:

If it sounds too good to be true….  

There’s no such thing as a free…  

There is no gain without …  

God helps those who …  

 

Everything about the American way of life teaches you get what you earn in life.  And it’s good in some ways.

 

The only problem is it causes a difficulty in us relating to God because God does not relate to us primarily on performance. In Psalm 145:8 it says, God is Gracious…!” That means God loves to bless people who don’t deserve it. Aren’t you glad for that?

 

You can’t understand the Christian life at all unless you understand grace. It is the heart of our faith. It is the heart of our relationship to God. It is by grace that God brings us to Himself. And the Bible says that everything in your life is a gift of grace.

 

The Bible is very clear about the gift of grace: that God saves us by grace, God blesses us by grace, God teaches us by grace, God uses us by grace, God keeps us growing spiritually by grace, God takes us to heaven by grace.  Everything in my life that’s good is a gift of God’s grace.

 

Today, we’re beginning a new series. I’m calling it “All Have Sinned—But, There’s Grace!”

So, today, as we begin I want us to look at what is grace?  There are many, many definitions of grace.  No one definition could adequately describe it.

 

Many people confuse grace with mercy and they’re two different things.  Mercy is when God doesn’t give you what you deserve – (wrong deserve punishment).  But when God doesn’t give you what you deserve — that’s called mercy.

 

On the other hand when God gives what you don’t deserve – (gives you a blessing). That’s grace. All the good things in your life are gifts of blessings God gave to you – that’s called grace.

 

Today I want you to experience and feel loved by God.  So, what is Saving Grace? Let’s look at five aspects of Saving Grace. I built this learning around an acrostic – G. R. A. C. E.

 

G – GOD’S GIFT TO ME–  How do you experience Saving Grace? You let God give it to you! Wait a minute, you say…before I can get into heaven don’t I have to be nice? Be good? That’s the way most of the world thinks one approaches God. Here’s the problem. You can’t be good enough. The Bible says there’s only one way; it’s a gift from God–of God’s grace. You could never earn it. There’s no chance you’re going to make it into God’s embrace except by accepting God’s free gift of grace.

 

The Bible says this in Romans 11 “If it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works.  Otherwise grace is no longer grace.” This just means its God’s gift. The Bible says that the way you get to know God, have a relationship with Him, have your sins forgiven and get into heaven is by accepting what’s already been done for you. Who did it? Jesus Christ.

 

What is your part in salvation? To get lost! It’s God’s part to find you and save you. Your only part in salvation is simply accepting the fact that it was all done for you and that’s called grace. God’s gift to you!

 

Romans 3:24 “All of us need to be made right with God.  How?  By His grace which is a free gift through Jesus Christ.” That is the best gift you’re ever going to be offered. There is no better gift than that.  (The letter G in the word G.R.A.C.E. stands for Gift)

R – RECEIVED BY FAITH.  How do you experience Saving Grace? You received it by faith.  You don’t earn it, you don’t deserve it. Grace is received by faith. Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not from yourselves…”  That means even the faith you have is a gift from God. Even faith comes from God.  “… it is the gift of God not by works so that no one can boast.” 

 

The Bible is full of stories illustrating God’s grace. There’s the story of the Good Samaritan. There’s the story of the prostitute whom Jesus forgave and then defended publicly. One of the most famous ones is the story of the Lost Son or the Prodigal Son. That story is to say that’s how God responds to you when you go astray and then come home.  The Bible says that they have a party in heaven every time one person accepts the grace of God?  (The letter R in the word G.R.A.C.E. stands for Receive.)

 

A – AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE.  How do you experience Saving Grace? It is available to everyone. What does that mean? God doesn’t play favorites. God loves you.  Unconditionally! God grace is available for you. That’s good news. It’s not just for the people of promise – the Jewish people. It’s for all of us. All of us can come to God in the same way – through faith in the grace of God through His Son Christ. It’s available to everybody.

 

Without grace you don’t have any relationship with God.  No matter what you’ve done and no matter who you are, God’s grace is available to you. (The letter A in G.R.A.C.E. stands for Available)

 

C – IT COMES THROUGH CHRIST.  How do you experience Saving Grace? Through Christ! That’s the only place it’s available. It comes through Jesus Christ, God’s Son. In Acts 15:12 “We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved.”  Why does grace only come through Christ? Because He’s the one who paid for it! Grace is free but it is not cheap. And it cost Christ His life. It cost God His own Son. That’s how much He loves you. Saving Grace comes through Christ.

 

Romans 5:15 “Many people have received God’s gift of life by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ.”  There’s a phrase used of people in the Bible who have accepted God’s grace. Its called being “in Christ”. Anybody who has accepted the forgiveness of God, who has accepted the grace of God, who has accepted the salvation of God is called, in the Bible, in Christ. That phrase is used over 120 times in the Bible. All you can see when I’m in Christ is Christ’s love and grace.

 

You look at your life and see the mess, the scars, the things that have ripped you up. You see all those things that you’re ashamed of.  But when you’re in Christ and God looks at you with the eyes of His grace, all He sees is the perfection of Christ, not your imperfections. When you are in Christ all God sees is how Jesus Christ has already paid for all these things.

 

There is no therapy in the world, no pill, no book, no seminar that can make changes in your life. Only the grace of God can change you.  (The letter C in the word G.R.A.C.E. stands for Comes.)

 

E – EXTENDED THROUGHOUT ETERNITY.  How do you experience Saving Grace? The Bible says in Romans, “The wages of sin is death…[That’s the bad news.  The good news is the rest of the verse] the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Did you hear the word “eternal” in that verse? That is the result that will last forever. You might say that grace is the gift that keeps on giving. When you get to know Jesus Christ and His grace and love, it gets better and better and better. It is available and extended throughout eternity and the best is yet to come.     

 

But there’s a catch. The catch is you have to act – you have to accept it. You must accept God’s grace through His Son, Jesus Christ.  He’s waiting for you to accept His gift.  He’s calling you today …He’s saying, “Come home!”

 

How do you experience Saving Grace? 

 

(G) Let God give it to you… it’s a gift!

(R) Receive it by faith …you can’t earn it!

(A) It is available to everyone …regardless of your sins, God loves you.

(C) It comes through Jesus Christ …there is no other way!

(E) It is given to you forever and ever …God never stops calling for you!

 

How Do We Thank God for All His Blessings?

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Sermon Message

“How Do We Thank God for All His Blessings?”

Pastor Jerry

Luke 17:11-19 (NLT)

 

————————————- Message Synopsis ————————————-

Are you thankful to God for all His blessings?  I want you to think with me this morning about this question: “How do you Thank God?” 

Let’s use a hands-on-illustration to help us think about this.

When I became pastor of a church in the Shenandoah Valley after graduating from seminary, I decided to jog every morning at sunrise, in order to exercise for my health. One day I’d been out running and felt like I wasn’t going to make it back home. Other people out for a jog were running past me. I complained to the Lord that it wasn’t fair to make a healthy exercise so painful for me. I was seriously thinking about giving up.

Then it happened. At the intersection: A young woman was attempting to cross the street. She struggled with her balance. She made it to the other side. Then something happened in me. My perception of my situation changed dramatically. I felt ashamed of my gripping spirit. I was blessed that I could so easily run, let alone walk.

Beloved people of God, how do we thank God for all the blessings? First we must see ourselves and our Lord clearly. One of the great tragedies of our time is the general loss of gratitude. In our nation today, I wonder how many of us have taken time to see clearly our blessings. Even with the Pandemic, are we focused on what we can’t do, rather, than see how blessed we are with what we can do.

The tragedy of our loss of gratitude isn’t simply our unrealistic sense of the world in a Pandemic, but a loss of perspective. The general loss of gratitude in our country is not insignificant in our rising tide of frustration, of anger, and violence, hopelessness and disease.

How do we thank God for all the blessings?

(1) First, we must see our lives clearly. Only when we see our lives clearly will we be able to see our Lord, clearly active in our lives and the world. Jesus, walking the road to Jerusalem, passes by 10 lepers. They called out from a distance to our Lord. They saw their situation very series, wanted Jesus to restore them to their families. Isn’t it true, that in those times when we see ourselves clearly, we often feel at a distance from the Lord?

How about you?  Do you see yourself clearly?  Do you see yourself clean before God?  No matter how removed from God you feel, there’s a Lord who can hear, who can and desires to act. Jesus said, “Go show yourselves to the priest.” And they went and did as he had told them to do.

This is the second step in thanking God for all our blessings.

(2) We must trust God and act boldly.

Once upon a time a mother announced guest coming to dinner.“Who’s coming?” Everyone asked. “The Jones,” she replied. The Jones were neighbors from up the country road a few miles who had two mentally handicapped sons. The Jones?” the girls said. “We’re going to set out the fine dishes and for the Jones? Those boys won’t even know the difference.”

The mother stared at them with a hard look. The girls understood that their mother, orphaned at a young age and shuffled from relative to relative until her marriage to their father at 17, cared about those boys. The issue wasn’t whether the Jones boys would understand or not, the issue was the kindness of a mother’s heart and thankfulness for her blessings.

How do we thank God for all the blessings? First, we must see clearly yourself before the Lord; next we must act boldly and trust God.

The lepers cried out to our Lord for healing, and Jesus told them to go show themselves to the priest. When we hear the voice of God calling, it energizes us to act boldly. The mother had experienced being an orphan. But she’d also experienced the loving embrace of the Lord Jesus Christ calling to her. When those two realities met she simply acted in confident boldness.

What about you? Will you be open, as this mother was, to responding with care and dignity to anyone who is ignored, who is pushed aside, or under-valued? How do we thank God for all the blessings? First, we must see clearly yourself before the Lord; next we must act boldly and trust God when He calls to us.

The last step to thank our God for all our blessings is…

(3) to return in thanksgiving.

As I was growing up, my father has a workshop at the back of our house and in it he taught me many skills while working with him.  One of those skills is using an electric arc welder. Now it is critically important to use a special shield for the eyes when using this instrument.

The story told of a man who wanted to learn to weld, he bought a welding outfit and began to teach himself. But in his first attempt he ignored the admonition to wear a hood to protect his eyes. After welding he felt fine, until the middle of the night. He woke up with his eyes hurting. Then he began to face the prospect that he would never see again. As he began to emotionally come to grips with this possibility, he had only one wish. If he would never see again, he wanted his last vision to be of his wife and two daughters. He can still recall that picture of them sleeping in their beds as if it was yesterday, and he thanks God for that sight in the midst of a growing blindness.

When we see ourselves before our Lord clearly, when we act boldly and trust God, then, it’s time to return to God in thanksgiving. Ten lepers cried out to our Lord and 10 were healed. Yet only one returned to give thanks. Only one, a Samaritan. He came back, no doubt, to get a look at the One who healed him, like the man who went, loving to look at his wife and daughters. He returned to honor this One who’d given him his life back.

I began this sermon by lamenting the loss of gratitude in our society. Its cure is simple. We need only to acknowledge God and listen to His call and come to Him. Why don’t we do it?

 

Because it’s costly. We have to surrender who we are: admit our own neediness before God. The truth is we have to give up trying to be god. But it’s here, when we do, that we are set free; it’s here that we’re healed and loved; for it’s here that our faith heals us.

 

To come to God and give thanks is to let God be God and to let us be His people. How do we give thanks for our blessings? We see clearly, we act boldly, and most importantly of all, like that Samaritan leper, we return to the Lord as the Giver of a new life.

 

Where is God in All of This?

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Sermon Message

“Where is God in All of This?”

Pastor Jerry

Romans 5:1-8 (NLT)

 

————————————- Message Synopsis ————————————-

We are in the middle of the Labor Day weekend. I think Labor Day is a kind of strange holiday.

To the worker, it may be a day off. For policemen, it’s a tough day. To farmers & ranchers, it’s just another day of work. It is the end of summer. Schools are scrambling trying to start up again.

Indeed, celebrating the work we do is a very important part of our life. Colossians 3:23-24: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord….It is the Lord Jesus Christ you are serving.”

But work in our world today is in the midst of a great storm: there are millions of people out of work because of the Coronavirus Pandemic, there’s civil unrest, the national election is heating up, and there are schools and colleges trying to open up safely in the coming weeks.

We are in the midst of a great storm! This storm has inflicted untold physical and economical pain around the world for more than six months. Many tears have been shed over the coronavirus and its reign of death, financial ruin, and social anxiety. We are troubled with the world situation.

I’m not sure if members of the church family know that I remotely do website services for several churches. And at one church I serve which is out of state, about every week the pastor of that church requests prayer for members or friends who are infected with COVID-19. No words can express my sorrow for the pain I feel for that congregation and for their tears.

But we’ve seen stories like that on the news. When we look at the world we find that everything is messed up. We are troubled with the world situation. It seems the whole world is in tears.

At a time like this it seems natural to ask the question “Where is God in all of this?” Most of us don’t verbalize questions like that. The truth is that most of us are somehow afraid to ask difficult or challenging questions about God.

We don’t want to ask questions that make us seem irreligious or disrespectful to God. And yet many of us are unsure of what our response should be. What is a distinctively Christian response to tragedy?

The Story of Job
You’ll recall the story of Job found in the Old Testament. Job was a wealthy and prosperous man who lost everything.

When tragedy struck Job everyone around asked if job was suffering because of some secret sin in his life? They wondered what he had done to earn the disfavor of God? (People today are wondering if the Pandemic is punishment for some sin)?

The Old Testament book that tells Job’s story has as many as 300 questions. And in the end God doesn’t answer Jobs questions.

Many of us will never have our questions answered either. God does not promise to answer all our questions but he does promise to stick with us and help us when tragedies strike. Where is God in all of this? Look around-God is right here!

God doesn’t always reveal why things happen but He does reveal Himself. In the midst of tragedy God has called us to live out distinctly Christian lives. Can you see it around you… can you see God revealed in the lives of people.

A Groaning World
We live in a groaning world. This planet moans in agony. Sin has wreaked havoc on this planet and all of humanity. Pain is all too common and suffering seems to be the norm. I got a call yesterday about a death in a family. I could feel the painful tears in their heart. In times like these I have had people ask me what God is trying to teach them.

And others wonder if it is possible to have enough faith to get rid of their pain. But maybe part of the reason that we don’t always find answers to such questions is because we are asking the wrong questions. Maybe God isn’t trying to teach us anything specific through individual pain and suffering.

Pain and suffering, tragedy and violence are a part of the fallen, sinful world that we live in and no one – not even Christians – are exempt from the effects that sinfulness and selfishness have wrought on this planet.

C.S. Lewis once wrote that “Pain is God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” Pain and tragedy can be redeemed if we allow it. In the Bible Jesus never really gives the why of suffering, He only tells what we ought to do in response to it. Where is God in all of this? Look around…God is Right here!

Distinctively Christian Perspective
Romans 5:1-5 says, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

These words were written by the Apostle Paul. Paul’s life was full of tragedies. Out of his own experience he describes a distinctively Christian approach to tragedy. Paul gives us seven principals to apply in our lives; faith; peace; grace; perseverance; character; hope; love.

Faith we are taught is a synonym for trust. Faith is about believing God for good even when we don’t understand.

The second principle of a Christian approach to tragedy is…
Peace is a gift from God that flows from faith. Peace comes when we truly believe that God is in charge and that God is good.

Illustration
Somewhere in the New England States there was a painting contest and the theme was peace. And when the contest was narrowed down to two very different paintings the judge held up the one that won, it was of a horrific storm. The sky was dark and gloomy. The the judges pointed out why the painting won, in the corner was a rock ledge with a cove cut out of it, a bird was laying in its nest not bothered by the storm because it was at peace.

Have you seen peace in the storm? Where is God in all of this? Look round…God is right here!

The third principle of a Christian approach to tragedy is…
Grace is God’s goodness as it is revealed to us. Grace is God’s mercy in our lives. Grace is God’s blessings…Grace is God’s hand upon us …Have you seen Grace upon others?

The fourth principle of a Christian approach to tragedy is…                               Perseverance is not giving up, even in the face of adversity. It’s only through God’s grace and mercy being expressed in us that we have the strength to remain faithful. Have you seen people of God not giving up?  That’s perseverance!

The fifth principle of a Christian approach to tragedy is…

Character is an indefinable quality of the soul. Character is very often forged in the fires of adversity. It is built on the workbench of hardship. Have you seen godly character in the lives of others?

The six principle of a Christian approach to tragedy is…

Hope…“It is only when everything is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength. Like all the Christian virtues, Hope is as unreasonable as it is indispensable.” Have you seen hope in other’s lives? Where is God in all…Look around – God is right here!

 

The seventh principle of a Christian approach to tragedy is…

Love is the driving force through it all. “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” It is through experiencing the love of God and expressing it to one another that we are ultimately strengthened and given power for the journey. Have you seen Love around you?  Look around! God is right here!

None of us seeks tragedy for ourselves nor should we ever wish tragedy on others. However, from a Christian perspective comes the confidence that God can and will use tragedy for good. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Conclusion
Here, at the beginning of a new month that promises to be every bit as stressful as the last, I want us to know: “Where is God in all of this?” Because we need to know how to connect to a God who is bigger, more powerful, more able and better equipped than we are to navigate this world we live in.

We need to know and believe that God isn’t just “out there” somewhere. Look around—He is right here…He knows and cares about our concerns.

Tears often become trails to Christ. They can pave a way for spiritual healing. We can see Jesus through our tears. He knows what tears are. Jesus wept! There’s no better time than now to weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15).

Let us turn our eyes to the Prince of all peace, Jesus Christ. Where is God in all of this? Look around…God is right here!

 

Learning to be Content

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Sermon Series

Ten Truths that Show Us How to Love – Part 10

“Learning too be Content”

Pastor Jerry

Philippians 4:6-13 (NLT); Exodus 20:17 (NLT)

 

————————————- Message Synopsis ————————————-

We are going to conclude our sermon series today concerning, “Truth!”

The past two months we have seen clashes between law enforcement and protesters; new outbreaks of the coronavirus; and we have watched the political fighting during the presidential party conventions which highlighted our attention on the dishonesty and the deception being displayed in our culture.

Doesn’t it make you question: “What is truth?”  It certainly is time to be asking, “What’s wrong?” …or better to ask, “What’s the Truth?”

Thousands of years ago God gave ten truths for living; they’re called The Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments, at their heart and core, are all about love. The first and great commandment is to love God with all our being—which is what the first four commandments teach us. And the second great commandment is: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” what the last six commandments teach us truth on how to show love to other people.

Truth is more than a mere set of commands. Truth is a Person. Jesus told his followers, “I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life….” (John 14:6).

So for the last nine weeks we’ve been looking at the Commandments, these ten truths, and how they can make a difference in your life. Today we’re going to conclude this series as we look at the 10th commandment. The message today is titled, “Learning to be Content.”

 -So, here is Truth number 10 in our series! Exodus 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s [possessions]…”            

The Tenth Commandment says “You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Let me ask you a personal question. What is coveting?   

The desire to acquire in itself is not bad. God put it in you. But anything uncontrolled is a problem. God says there are some things that are off limits. They are not yours to want. They will harm you.

  1. THE EFFECT OF ALWAYS WANTING MORE

This morning I want us to look at the effect of always wanting more. The Bible says there are five very specific effects when I don’t control this drive to acquire, this coveting.

  1. Fatigue.

In our push to get more we overwork and take on second jobs. Proverbs 23 says “Do not wear yourself out to be rich, have the wisdom to show restraint.” In other words, it’s dumb to wear yourself out just trying to get more.

  1. Debt.

Eccl. 5: “The more money you have, the more money you spend.” Coveting destroys budgets. We think the problem is I just don’t make enough money. No, it’s not that you don’t make enough money – it’s that you want too much. It always costs more to have more.

  1. Worry.

Eccl 5:12 “A working man can get a good night’s sleep. But the rich man has so much that he stays awake worrying.” When we focus on things, we always inevitably worry. The more you have, the more you have to worry about. You add these first three together — fatigue, debt, worry and you get the fourth one.

  1. Conflict.

James 4:1 “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the desires that battle within you?” Conflict comes when we’re always wanting more. The number one cause of divorce is financial tension: arguments over money, over possessions.

  1. Dissatisfaction.

Eccl 5:10 “You will never be satisfied if you long to be rich. You will never get all you want.” Things can bring happiness for a while. But the excitement wears off. After a while it’s not so great any more. You’re bored now with what you’ve got. And coveting is the number one reason for dissatisfaction in our world.

What is the antidote to coveting? Contentment. Paul says, “I’ve learned the secret of being content whether living in plenty or in want.” Contentment is something you have to learn. It doesn’t come natural.

  1. HOW TO LEARN CONTENTMENT

You learn to be content when you…

  1. RESIST COMPARING YOURSELF TO OTHERS.

Comparing always leads to coveting. II Cor. 10;12 “We do not dare classify or compare ourselves. It is not wise.” That means it’s dumb! If you’re comparing yourself — houses, cars, jobs, looks, clothes — it’s stupid. Why do we compare? We compare because in our society the way we keep score is by possessions. In 1 Tim. 6:9 it says, “When we long to be rich, we are a prey to temptation. We get trapped into all sorts of foolish and dangerous ambitions which will eventually plunge us into ruin.” Things can control us. People will sacrifice values, morals, integrity, all kinds of things in order to get more.

A second way you learn to be content is when you…

  1. REJOICE IN WHAT YOU DO HAVE.

Appreciate what you’ve got and be grateful to God. Open your eyes. Ecc. 5:19 “If God gives a man wealth and property he should be grateful and enjoy what he has. It is a gift from God.” God says I want you to enjoy and be grateful for what you’ve got. It’s a gift. We get into a trap I call “When and Then Thinking.” When and Then Thinking says, “When I get ___?____ , then I’ll be happy.” You fill in the blank. (Wrong!) No, you won’t. Happiness is enjoying whatever you have. There are two ways to have enough in life: get more (or better), …want less.

A third way you learn to be content is when you…

  1. RELEASE WHAT YOU HAVE TO HELP OTHERS.

God doesn’t want to just bless you for your own benefit. He wants you to share it, help other people with it. I Tim 6:17-19 “Tell those who are rich, not to be proud and not to trust in their money which will soon be gone. Tell them to use their money to do good to give happily to those in need, always with others whatever God has given them…” First, who’s it talking to? “Tell those who are rich”. Who does that involve. If you’re an American you’re rich. The question is your attitude. You can be poor and greedy or rich and greedy. You can be poor and contented or wealthy and contented. It’s an attitude not the amount that God’s talking about here. There are four precautions in this verse: 1. Don’t become proud of your wealth. 2. Don’t put your trust in money. 3. Use your money to do good. 4. Give cheerfully. The Bible says that the more we receive the more we are to give.

The fourth way you learn to be content is when you…

  1. REFOCUS ON WHAT’S GOING TO LAST.

Give your attention to permanent values. Reorganize your life around eternal priorities. II Cor. 4:18 “We fix our attention, not on the things that are seen, but on things that are unseen. What can be seen lasts only for a time, but what cannot be seen lasts forever.” All possessions are temporary. The only things that really last for eternity are things you can’t see — relationship to God, relationship to others, — things you can’t see.  The worse thing about materialism is it clouds our vision of God.

Jesus told a story about it one time. He said there was a guy who was a real successful business man and had these barns full of wheat and stuff and had a bumper crop year. He said as a result the guy said “I know what I’ll do. I’ll just build bigger barns.” It never occurred to him to share any of it. God said, “You fool.” Thinking all there is to life is just getting more, is so foolish.

Luke 12:15 “A man’s true life is not made up of the things he owns no matter how rich he may be.” Culture says if I have a little I’m worth a little. That’s not true. The cross says, you’re worth a lot. I think we need to do a periodic checkup and ask the tough question that says,

“What am I really living for?

Happiness does not come from possessions, it comes from knowing your purpose in life. Why in the world did God make me and why am I here. What is my purpose?

Let me ask you a personal question: What are you living for? Just trying to get more? That’s not a good life. I’d suggest you reexamine your priorities and ask yourself some hard questions:  What am I living for? What’s going to happen when I die? What did I do with what God gave me here on earth?

Each of us has to make a choice, is my life going to be determined by acquiring things, or by Christ? What’s really important? I know the answer, I know the truth: What will make me truly happy is having “Jesus Christ in my heart as my Lord and as my Savior.” 

 

Telling the Truth

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Sermon Series

Ten Truths that Show Us How to Love – Part 9 

“Telling the Truth”

Pastor Jerry

Matthew 12:33-37 (NIV); Exodus 20:16 (NIV)

 

————————————- Message Synopsis ————————————-

Today is week nine of our sermon series concerning, “Truth!” We only have one more week left. We will conclude this series next Sunday.

During this series we have been emphasizing how crucial it to know “What’s the Truth?”

That’s why God gave us ten truths for living; they are called The Ten Commandments; to teach us truth on how to show love.          

Today we’re going to look at the 9th commandment. The message today is titled, “Telling the Truth.”

 -So, here is Truth number 9 in our series! Exod. 20:16 “ You shall not bear false witness…”   

 Some time back Time magazine did a cover story called “Lying, Everybody’s Doing It”.

 Let me ask you a personal question: “When you hear reports today about the conronavirus? about the government? about the medical research? do you know what’s the truth?” A recent survey of Americans said 66% of Americans say it’s not wrong to tell lies.

How can we be honest in a dishonest world?

I.  HOW TO TELL THE TRUTH

There are three things God says about telling the truth:

  1. Tell the truth completely.
  2. Tell the truth consistently.
  3. Tell the truth lovingly.
  1. TELL THE TRUTH COMPLETELY.

Proverbs 10:10 “Someone who holds back the truth causes trouble.” He’s talking about concealing. When you hold back the truth, even some of the truth, you cause resentment, mistrust, superficiality. You get into trouble by not saying what you mean and not meaning what you say.

  1. TELL THE TRUTH CONSISTENTLY.

Being honest some of the time is not integrity. Eventually you don’t know whether the person’s telling the truth or not so you don’t believe them at all. They may be telling you the truth some of the time but if they’re not truthful all the time, how do you know if this is not in the time that’s false. So you must tell the truth consistently. Prov. 11:3 “People who can’t be trusted are destroyed by their own dishonesty.” Dishonesty destroys.

  1. TELL THE TRUTH LOVINGLY.

Eph 4:15 “Speak the truth in a spirit of love.” Don’t use the truth as a club. Don’t beat people over the head with the truth. How do I know if I’m speaking the truth in love? Ask yourself the question, “Who am I trying to benefit from this?” If I’m doing it for their benefit then that’s speaking the truth in love.

But when you speak the truth you must speak it completely, consistently, lovingly. If you’ll do these three things, the Bible says you will begin to be an honest person. The problem is we don’t do that. Why don’t we do that?

Matthew 12:34 “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Jesus is saying the real problem is not my mouth but my heart. It’s not what comes out that matters it’s what’s inside of me.

Matthew 15:19 “For out of the heart comes evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, lying and slander.” The heart of the issue when it comes to lying is an issue of the heart. This is

the problem.

II.  WHY DO WE LIE?

Once you understand the motivation behind your lying, then you can deal with the real issue. I’ve listed just five of them, What are the primary motivations for each of these lies?

  1. The cruel lie. This is the kind of lie that is intentionally destructive and malicious. You tell it to get revenge. You don’t like somebody. They’ve hurt you. They’ve hurt you for some reason so you’re going to get even. You misrepresent them. You make up some lie about them. This is called slander. The Sadducees did this to Jesus. They just made up charges so they could hang Him on the cross. What is the motive behind that kind of lie? Jealousy, revenge, hurt, anger, hate, resentment.
  1. The cowardly lie. This is the kind of lie you tell to escape consequences. You want to avoid punishment. You’re trying to protect yourself, prevent pain. Adam told this kind of lie in the Garden of Eden, when he sinned. What is the motive behind that kind of lie? Fear.
  1. The conceited lie. This is when you lie to impress. You’re trying to create an image or cover up low self-esteem so you brag. When you exaggerate and prop yourself up that’s a conceited lie. What is the motive behind that kind of lie? Insecurity.
  1. The calculated lie. This is the kind of lie used to manipulate other people. We want our way. When we think I need to get what I want to get when I want to get it. It can be motivated by greed or selfishness. This lie says, “This is what I want therefore I’m going to do whatever it takes to get it even if it means lie.”
  1. The convenient lie. The convenient lie we tell because it takes effort to tell the truth. It takes energy, time to tell the truth. Or you don’t want to get involved with something so you tell the officer, “I didn’t see anything” when you really did. What is the motive behind that kind of lie? Laziness.

Jesus said that what’s in your heart is what’s going to come out of your mouth. So the heart of the issue is the issue of the heart — if my heart is filled with resentment then I’m going to find myself telling lies. If my heart is filled with fear and worry then I’m going to find myself telling cowardly lies. If my heart is filled with insecurity then I will find myself easily telling conceited lies. If my heart is filled with selfishness I will end up telling calculated lies to get what I want. If my heart is filled with laziness I will find myself telling convenient lies.

So what’s the solution? The only way to be a person of integrity, is to get a new heart. Jesus says, Let me fill your heart with love instead of selfishness and joy and peace instead of hate and confidence instead of insecurity and energy and power  instead of laziness. Jesus said I am the truth. The closer you get to Jesus Christ the more you’re going to love the truth and speak the truth, the more you’re going to live the truth. Because Jesus said I am the truth.

So how do I get a new heart?

In the first place, the beginning of honesty is the confession of dishonesty. That’s the starting point. Start with first saying “God, I admit it, I have not always been truthful.” You ask Christ to forgive you and give you the power to change and say put a new heart in me. He will begin to replace the deception with truth as you begin to let Christ more and more control your heart.

When you say God I’m more interested in character than reputation, then you’ll tell the truth even if it’s not good for your reputation because you know in the long run for eternity its building my character. You ask God to help you, put a new heart inside of you.

 

Prospering With Integrity

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Ten Truths that Show Us How to Love – Part 8 

“Prospering With Integrity”

Pastor Jerry

Luke 19:1-10 (NLT); Exodus 20:15 (NLT)

 

————————————- Message Synopsis ————————————-

Today is week eight of our sermon series concerning, “Truth!”

It is crucial to know “What’s the Truth?” That’s why God gave us ten truths for living; they are called The Ten Commandments.

Today we’re going to look at the 8th commandment and how it will teach us truth on how to show love. The message today is titled, “Prospering with Integrity.”  So, here is Truth number 8 in our series! Exodus 20:15 “You shall not steal.”   

Let me ask you a personal question, “Have you ever stolen anything

I. HOW DO WE STEAL?

It’s amazing the number of ways that we can steal. That’s what we are going to do first in explaining this commandment, we are going to look at the many ways in which we steal. Now, we are going to look at only six ways.

  1. The first way we will list as a way to steal is by Deceiving Customers.

This is not something new or only done in modern times. Three thousand years ago this was a problem in Biblical times. Amos 8:5, “They overcharge, use false measures, and fix the scales to cheat the customers.” That sounds pretty current.

  1. A second way you can steal is by Defrauding Employers.

I’m not just talking about the obvious when a worker pads their expense account or takes home supplies or equipment or merchandise. But I’m talking about when you waste time on the job. The Bible calls that stealing.

  1. A third way you can steal is by Delaying Payments

The Bible says in Lev. 19:13, “Don’t take advantage of anyone. Don’t hold back the wages of someone you’ve hired, not even for one night.” If you’ve have workers or suppliers or friend and you owe them money don’t say, the check’s in the mail, pay up now. That is a form of stealing.

  1. A fourth way you can steal is by Defaulting on Loans.

The Bible says Ps 37:21, “The wicked man borrows and never pays back.” There are some people who get things with a loan and have no intention of paying it back. Some people call it long term borrowing, but God’s word calls that stealing. It’s wrong.

  1. Now a fifth way you can steal is by Defrauding or Deceiving the Government.

The Bible says the government has been established by the Lord, and thus in Rom 13:6-7 “The authorities are working for God.” So, pay what you owe them, pay your taxes.” Now let me explain something–Tax avoidance is good stewardship. Tax evasion by false reporting however is illegal. God says it’s stealing, don’t do it.

  1. Here’s the sixth way people can steal is by Defrauding the Lord.

Mal 3:8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me! But you ask, “How do we rob you, God?’ By withholding tithes and offerings!” The Bible teaches tithing is a tenth or ten percent. God says if I am using all the money (100%) for me and not giving to the Lord back out of gratitude for what He’s done, that’s robbing God.

Realize, I’ve only listed 6 ways we steal. There are so many more ways! But you get the idea!

The 2nd way we’re going examine this commandment is to explain why we need to be honest.

II.  WHY SHOULD I BE HONEST?

  1. First, we need to be honest because being Truthful is being like God.

People steal because they think they can get away with it and think nobody is going to know about it. If you knew when you stole something that everybody was going to know about it, would you steal? Not likely. Job 34:21-22 “God carefully watches the goings on of all mankind, he sees them all. …” Nothing escapes God’s view. I’m not fooling God, He’s the One I’ve got to report to. One day I will stand before Him and give an account. That’s when it’s going to count. God knows and wants us to be like Him…to be honest and to be truthful.

  1. Second, we need to be honest because I will reap whatever I sow.

Gal. 6:7 “Don’t be misled, remember … a man will always reap just the kind of crop he sows!” This doesn’t say most of the time, some of the time, but always. Count on it. Whatever you give out in life is what you’re going to get back.

Why do we steal? What motivates dishonesty?

  • Greed. The Bible says “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” There is a false idea, a myth, that says we can get something for nothing – but that’s what stealing is. That’s why people gamble. God doesn’t want you to trust “luck” or “fate” or “chance.” He wants you to depend on Him.
  • Another thing that motivated dishonesty is Laziness. When con men look for people to scam they always look for people who are looking for a short cut. They are the easiest people in the world to con — people looking for the quick fix, the fast deal, the short cut, get rich quick.
  1. Third, the reason we need to be honest is because Dishonesty damages my character.

It shrinks my soul. Jesus said “What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world but lose his soul.” There are dozens of ways to dishonestly make a lot of money real quick. What does it profit a person to gain the world and lose his soul?  Prov. 10:2 “Wealth you get by dishonesty will do you no good, but honesty can save your life.” The Bible says that Satan is a thief. The devil wants you to steal because every time you do it you become more like him. He is the thief, the father of thieves.

  1. A fourth reason we need to be honest is because God will reward our honesty.

In this life and eternity. Proverbs 28:20 “Honest people will lead a full, happy life but if you’re in a hurry to get rich you’re going to be punished.” Honesty leads to a happy life. Why? Because you have integrity. God is testing your integrity right now. He’s testing you three ways: through trials and problems you face; through temptation; through money. The Bible says God uses these three things to test your life, to see what’s important to you, what’s valuable to you.

How can I do what God says for me to do? There is an important step on the road to integrity:

That is to make restitution when possible.

A good example of this is Zacchaeus in the Bible in Luke 19. Zacchaeus was a dishonest tax collector. They were the wealthiest people in town and the most hated. They were the most dishonest. Jesus goes and has dinner with Zacchaeus and Zacchaeus realizes in the visit with Jesus, “I’ve been doing the wrong thing. I’m going to get my life right. I’m going to do what God wants.” He says “I want to follow you Lord. If I cheated anyone I will pay him back four times as much.” In Luke 19:9 Jesus says, “Salvation has come to this man’s home.” This guy became a true believer. Following Jesus is not just a matter of belief, but of changed behavior.

You remember when I started this message, I asked you if you had ever stolen? How did you answer? Perhaps you have sinned and broken the 8th commandment that says, “Thou shall not steal.” Maybe you need to make restitution like Zaccheaus did, perhaps you need to confess if you are doing any wrong thing in your life.

The Bible says in the book of Revelation, “No dishonest person will be allowed into heaven.” That means you and I don’t stand a chance. Nobody stands a chance unless we have Jesus as our Savior.

Jesus says, that’s what I came to do. Come to Me now and I will make all things new!