06.30.2013 Grace p.5 - The POWER of GRACE

06.30.2013 Grace Summit Sermon - Grace p.5, The POWER of GRACE from Grace Summit on Vimeo.

06.30.2013 Grace Summit Sermon - Grace p.5, The POWER of GRACE from Grace Summit on Vimeo.

SermonAudio
Lord, thank You for our church and our time together – and Your love for us. We are grateful for all You do – help us to have hearts that love You and are willing to yield to You in all things. Help us to draw near to You – that You might correct anything in our hearts – if there is anything that is keeping us from hearing You – help us to yield it over to You and that we might grow in our love and relationship with You. May Your words be heard – give us direction – direction from God in our lives.
We are concluding our series on GRACE – and today we will look at the POWER of grace in our lives.
3 ways to experience grace
Power to transform
Power to work through us
Power to sustain us.
I’d like to focus on a small aspect of the story of Zaccheus…
Luke 19:1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2 Now a man named Zacchaeus was there; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 He was trying to get a look at Jesus, but being a short man he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, because Jesus was going to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to that place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, because I must stay at your house today.”
Tax collectors were Jews who aligned with the Romans in order to become rich. They joined with the national enemy in order to extort money from their own people so that they might become wealthy.
That is why they were hated and despised and cast out of the community because of this.
And Jesus offers extravagant love for an undeserving individual who was kicked out of the community and brought back into the community.

6 So he came down quickly and welcomed Jesus joyfully. 7 And when the people saw it, they all complained, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 But Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I now give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone of anything, I am paying back four times as much!” 9 Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this household, because he too is a son of Abraham! 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
When GRACE is offered and received, Zaccheus’ life is transformed.
There are three things in this transformation that take place in any life transformed by grace. First, Zacchaeus recognizes and acknowledges his sin. “IF I’ve defrauded, I will give back 4 times as much” –
Recognition and confession.
We tend to separate grace and sin and confession and repentance.
Second – he repents – he turns – he was getting money improperly – and he says, I am done with this way of life, I am going this way now – he makes a turn.
Then he does justice – makes right, begins to act as a merciful righteous individual.
He went from greedy to generous.
Grace transformed Zacchaeus’s life.
Two truths –
Jesus accepts us where we are, but does not leave us there.
He accepts and welcomes Zacchaeus as a tax collector – one who is stealing from others, but doesn’t leave him there – He is a different person.
We are not changed because we try harder – we are transformed because we are loved and accepted.
Love and acceptance comes first. You can try all you want to change – but you will not change until you receive that grace.
The moment we receive that grace, the transformation process begins.
We were at a conference a couple weeks ago – regarding sowing the gospel and how the gospel can change lives. There were a couple of folks who shared how the gospel changed their lives – not just change, but transformation. People can change behaviors, but they can’t be transformed apart from God working in lives.
My life was transformed when I came to Christ.
As I thought about it more – why do some people come to Christ, but it doesn’t seem their lives are transformed. They are honest true believers, but it doesn’t appear that their lives have been transformed.
When I came to Christ, there were some major things that were transformed. But here, 38 years later – I still struggle with trust and insecurity. When tough things encroach upon me, I go to discouragement and don’t believe that God has my best in mind.
Why is it that we can have this great transformation – I was so incredibly shy – I couldn’t even raise my hand to ask a question –and now I speak for a living! But at the same time – as you are involved in ministry – you see areas that people can’t just get over. I’ll give you a couple reasons why that happens – Colossians 1:5 – 5 Your faith and love have arisen from the hope laid up for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel 6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.
One of the first reasons – people do not fully comprehend God’s grace. I don’t think it is because they are not trying hard enough. I tried really hard when I got discouraged – but I think it is because we do not fully comprehend God’s grace – and with it – His forgiveness of our sins.
Transformation begins when we receive grace, not when we just try harder.
Titus 2: 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. 12 It trains us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
What trains us – the grace of God.
2 Peter 1:8 – qualities of transformation that take place - moral purity/love/self-control – if these are yours in increasing measure – if you are being transformed…
3 I can pray this because his divine power has bestowed on us everything necessary for life and godliness through the rich knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and excellence. 4 Through these things he has bestowed on us his precious and most magnificent promises, so that by means of what was promised you may become partakers of the divine nature, after escaping the worldly corruption that is produced by evil desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith excellence, to excellence, knowledge; 6 to knowledge, self-control; to self-control, perseverance; to perseverance, godliness; 7 to godliness, brotherly affection; to brotherly affection, unselfish love. 8 For if these things are really yours and are continually increasing, they will keep you from becoming ineffective and unproductive in your pursuit of knowing our Lord Jesus Christ more intimately. 9 But concerning the one who lacks such things—he is blind. That is to say, he is nearsighted, since he has forgotten about the cleansing of his past sins.
It is because you have forgotten that Jesus died for that very sin.
So – a little something I have learned to do – we need to – and it has to do with this concept of having a holy imagination – there is value in that. I’ve learned to see Jesus hanging on the cross bearing the sins I’ve committed – in my imagination. It is not like I am building idols to that or anything – but the things I struggle with – that very sin – the moment I am doing it – is going on Jesus and He is bleeding and paying for that sin.
And the second thing I have to do – when I have the greatest struggle in that area – Jesus draws near to us. We think, in the midst of the struggle – Jesus is going over there. That is how we are – but Jesus draws near – Hebrews tells us. Jesus comes close. He draws near.
Heb. 4:15-16 –
We think we can’t draw near because we’ve blown it – but the opposite is true – He draws near and we need to draw near to Him.
Romans 5b: but where sin increased, grace multiplied all the more, 21 so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
6 What shall we say then? Are we to remain in sin so that grace may increase? 2 Absolutely not!
May it never be! Strong words.
God’s grace comes to us and draws near so much – people had this concept – if God draws near, we should sin more! But that is not how it goes . We need to emphasize grace so much that people need to be warned to not misunderstand it!
2 – when we are transformed by grace, we can offer grace to others.
2 Cor. 9: 6 My point is this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each one of you should give just as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, because God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace overflow to you so that because you have enough of everything in every way at all times, you will overflow in every good work.
As we receive grace, we are able to offer grace.
Those who have received grace – especially in a significant area of struggle – are the best at helping others who struggle in that area.
For me – there are areas that I struggle with – and I am really able to help others. When people come to you with a need that you don’t struggle with as much – it is more difficult to help them.
He gives grace, not just financially like this section talks about – but in many areas.
Grace empowers us for generous works and service.
It is one thing to be a servant – another thing to be a generous servant.
3 ways to extend grace –
1) Accept and welcome ‘the other.’ ‘The others’ are those who are different from you. Zacchaeus was an ‘other’ – an outsider who was different – and Jesus welcomed him in. Jesus always welcomed the other – the poor – the Gentile – and that is by race. Jesus had this complete welcoming of others. Those who were different – socially, politically, racially. We need to get used to this – in 20 years, everyone will be an ‘other’
2) Welcome the sinner. We are live in this – there are acceptable sins and unacceptable sins. We welcome the acceptable sinners – and we need to learn to welcome the unacceptable sinners.
3) Welcome the weak. It might be an irritating personality – someone who requires extra grace. In some scenarios, you will be that person!

God’s power sustains us.
2 Cor. 12: 9 But he said to me, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in me. 10 Therefore I am content with weaknesses, with insults, with troubles, with persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.
Paul had some struggle here – and it doesn’t tell us and I am so glad it doesn’t, because then we can relate it to our struggle. We will all experience difficulties and strife – and we tend to look at them as barriers to God’s power – things that handicap us – but God is saying the opposite is true – it s through the difficulty that you experience the power of God. It is not in the resolution – but in the weakness itself.
This might be the second reason some aren’t transformed the way we would expect – because God knows that in that struggle and weakness that His power comes.
“I believe in a God who heals. Not only because scripture testifies to that reality, I have experienced it. There are times the Lord gives something greater than healing. He draws a broken person into a new relationship that empowers like nothing else can. I did not anticipate that for my own life – but having experienced it, there are deep riches to be found in an encounter with Christ.”
There are things that don’t get healed in the way we want – because there is something bigger going on. God uses frail and broken people to reach frail and broken people. We, who struggle everyday – are the people – and that is God’s way of doing it – that we might be able to offer ourselves – having received grace – and that is what is attractive. That is what I need – I am flawed and I need that. I need extravagant love because I am undeserving.