| Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen. (Ephesians 6:24) |
Why do we deserve Gods’ good grace in our sinful lives? Is it
something we did to deserve such a blessing? Is it because we are good
people and we try to do what is right most of the time? I’m afraid not!
There is no way to be justified by God through your own works, Jesus
spoke “No one is good but One, that is, God”(Mark 10:18) and not one
of us is truly righteous except God. Yes we may have some good
qualities in our lives, but “There is none who does good, no, not one”
(Romans 3:12) we are still sinners even when we do good deeds. It does
not matter how much money you give; how many people you help; how
many doors you knock on to share your religion; there is one way, and
one way only, to be justified to God, which is through the redeeming
grace in Christ Jesus. “For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone
should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).” Grace is a free gift given to those who
ask for it from God “being justified freely by His grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus”( Romans 3:24). How do we receive
this free gift? Just simply ask in sincerity; here is one of the many ways
of asking Jesus for His grace and forgiveness…
Redeem me from my sins Lord! Fill me with Your Spirit that I may be
justified through Your blood and washed from my sins. I believe that you
died on the cross for my sins, and rose on the third day, for my
justification.
It is only by Your free gift of grace that am I able to stand against Your
righteous judgment. “God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life (John 3:16).”
What does this free gift of Gods’ grace mean to us? The dictionary
defines grace as mercy, clemency, a pardon, favor, or good will, but to
us believers in Jesus it is a freely given, unmerited gift of love, from God.
“God demonstrates His love toward us, in that while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Many of us are called to take
part in this grace, but not all of us obey our calling “..many are called, but
few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). The evidence that someone has been
chosen is by the fruit of the Spirit manifested in their lives. “Therefore by
their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:20).
How often as Christians we fall short of one of the most evident fruits
of the Spirit; forgiving one another as Christ forgave you. Do you give
grace to those whom you see as failures? That’s what God gives you
when you fail and sin “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God” (Romans 3:23). Giving grace to others is just one of the many fruits
of the Spirit that will be given to you as Gods free gift. “..the fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law
(Galatians 5:22-23).”
Let me share with you just one of the many ways I give grace in my life
that never would have been possible before I surrendered my life to
Jesus. I live and drive in southern California everyday. As most of you
know there are a lot of people and cars on the roads here. Bumper to
bumper traffic is more common than not. A lot of people are in a rush to
get to where they are going so there are a lot of aggressive drivers. I get
cutoff, almost clipped, and there are accidents all the time. In my earlier
days before Christ I would have been angry and hostile to those kinds of
drivers. Now the Spirit has freed me from that prideful bondage and now
bad drivers do not bother me at all. How do you respond when you are
cut off or almost clipped by another car? What is your reaction? Are you
angry and hostile or is there evidence of God’s grace in your response?
Do you give grace when someone fails to meet your expectations? I
expect people to be safe and courteous when they drive, but it seems
that more often than not, people will not live up to my expectation.
“Do you live up to Gods expectations? Most likely not so it’s a good thing
He give us grace when we fail. We are to be examples of Christ and
freely give forgiveness and grace to others when they fall short of our
expectations. “ ..if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly
Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their
trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”(Matthew 6:
14-15)
Grace is given to us freely and its evidence or fruit are evident in those
who walk with God “Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance”
(Matthew 3:8). You must live to serve God, to do His will in you life, to
trust in Him for everything. You must be born-again through the blood of
Chirst, renewed by the Holy Spirit, and washed white as snow from all
your sins with heartfelt sincere repentance. Manifested fruits of the Spirit
can then start to be evident in you. So if you haven’t yet seen grace
working as a fruit of the Spirit in you, start now and pray this in sincerity
to our Lord Jesus.
something we did to deserve such a blessing? Is it because we are good
people and we try to do what is right most of the time? I’m afraid not!
There is no way to be justified by God through your own works, Jesus
spoke “No one is good but One, that is, God”(Mark 10:18) and not one
of us is truly righteous except God. Yes we may have some good
qualities in our lives, but “There is none who does good, no, not one”
(Romans 3:12) we are still sinners even when we do good deeds. It does
not matter how much money you give; how many people you help; how
many doors you knock on to share your religion; there is one way, and
one way only, to be justified to God, which is through the redeeming
grace in Christ Jesus. “For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone
should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).” Grace is a free gift given to those who
ask for it from God “being justified freely by His grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus”( Romans 3:24). How do we receive
this free gift? Just simply ask in sincerity; here is one of the many ways
of asking Jesus for His grace and forgiveness…
Redeem me from my sins Lord! Fill me with Your Spirit that I may be
justified through Your blood and washed from my sins. I believe that you
died on the cross for my sins, and rose on the third day, for my
justification.
It is only by Your free gift of grace that am I able to stand against Your
righteous judgment. “God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life (John 3:16).”
What does this free gift of Gods’ grace mean to us? The dictionary
defines grace as mercy, clemency, a pardon, favor, or good will, but to
us believers in Jesus it is a freely given, unmerited gift of love, from God.
“God demonstrates His love toward us, in that while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Many of us are called to take
part in this grace, but not all of us obey our calling “..many are called, but
few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). The evidence that someone has been
chosen is by the fruit of the Spirit manifested in their lives. “Therefore by
their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:20).
How often as Christians we fall short of one of the most evident fruits
of the Spirit; forgiving one another as Christ forgave you. Do you give
grace to those whom you see as failures? That’s what God gives you
when you fail and sin “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God” (Romans 3:23). Giving grace to others is just one of the many fruits
of the Spirit that will be given to you as Gods free gift. “..the fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law
(Galatians 5:22-23).”
Let me share with you just one of the many ways I give grace in my life
that never would have been possible before I surrendered my life to
Jesus. I live and drive in southern California everyday. As most of you
know there are a lot of people and cars on the roads here. Bumper to
bumper traffic is more common than not. A lot of people are in a rush to
get to where they are going so there are a lot of aggressive drivers. I get
cutoff, almost clipped, and there are accidents all the time. In my earlier
days before Christ I would have been angry and hostile to those kinds of
drivers. Now the Spirit has freed me from that prideful bondage and now
bad drivers do not bother me at all. How do you respond when you are
cut off or almost clipped by another car? What is your reaction? Are you
angry and hostile or is there evidence of God’s grace in your response?
Do you give grace when someone fails to meet your expectations? I
expect people to be safe and courteous when they drive, but it seems
that more often than not, people will not live up to my expectation.
“Do you live up to Gods expectations? Most likely not so it’s a good thing
He give us grace when we fail. We are to be examples of Christ and
freely give forgiveness and grace to others when they fall short of our
expectations. “ ..if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly
Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their
trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”(Matthew 6:
14-15)
Grace is given to us freely and its evidence or fruit are evident in those
who walk with God “Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance”
(Matthew 3:8). You must live to serve God, to do His will in you life, to
trust in Him for everything. You must be born-again through the blood of
Chirst, renewed by the Holy Spirit, and washed white as snow from all
your sins with heartfelt sincere repentance. Manifested fruits of the Spirit
can then start to be evident in you. So if you haven’t yet seen grace
working as a fruit of the Spirit in you, start now and pray this in sincerity
to our Lord Jesus.
| Sermon By Rev. Mark E. Vatcher |
| The Lords Church.org Ministries Website All Rights Reserved 2005 - 2008 |
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