Grace for the Race

There is a saying: “Some people are so stingy, they’ll squeeze a quarter until the eagle screams!”  But this is no way to live for the Christian who understands the generosity of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Let’s take a brief look.

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!”  (Philippians 2:5-8)

If that passage does not present a solution to stinginess, I don’t know what will!  These words, penned by the apostle Paul, are foundational to comprehending the generosity of Jesus in the Gospel.

Imagine the King of the universe making Himself nothing for you!  The second person of the Trinity took on the nature of a servant: made in human likeness, born of the Virgin Mary, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger.  The King of kings and the Lord of lords went from the glorious throne of heaven to a dark, smelly stable in Bethlehem.

If that wasn’t enough, Jesus humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death—and not just any death, but death by crucifixion.  There is no greater picture of God’s love and care for you than His precious Son dying on a cross.  God held nothing back in the redemption of His people . . . not even His precious Son!

Do you remember the account in Genesis 22, when Abraham went up Mount Moriah with his son Isaac, fully prepared to sacrifice Isaac for God? God graciously provided another sacrifice.  God explained to Abraham, “Now I know you love me.”  Of course, God always knew; it was Abraham who needed to know just how much he loved his God.

How much do we know that God loves us!  He turned His Son over to the scourge, the nails, the cruel cross.  Listen to me: the solution to stinginess is not found in trying harder to be more generous!  It is to be found
in developing a deeper understanding of what God in Christ has done for us.  Redoubling our efforts will always leave us frustrated and wanting.  It is in redoubling our understanding of the truths of the Gospel that we will find freedom from slavery to our “stuff” and the ultimate solution to any kind of stinginess!

The more deeply we understand the generosity of Jesus, the more confident we become in looking only to Him for our security.  We are free to give away what we have to bless others because we have everything we need in Him!

Only the Gospel can restructure our motivations and reorient our hearts to live for something bigger than ourselves.  God refused to withhold anything we needed to be with Him.  Our Lord gave up all His treasure in heaven in order to make us His treasure.  We must let that truth guide our hearts and hands as we pour ourselves out for the cause of Christ in a way that brings glory to God and good to all others.

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Today is the second part of my exposition of Ephesians 5:15-20. On Monday I discussed why we are to redeem the time; today I’ll offer some suggestions for how to redeem it.

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

How To Redeem The Time

The Bible makes it clear that the only way we can redeem the time is to understand what God has put us here to do.  Jesus explained His mission succinctly: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).  Jesus knew what He was here to do and He didn’t let anything distract or deter Him from doing it.

So the first step in redeeming the time is in knowing what your time is to be used for.  We don’t want to find ourselves like Alice in Wonderland, who came to a crossroad and paused to ask the Cheshire Cat which way she should go.  The Cat asks Alice where she is going.

“I don’t much care where—” Alice says.

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” the Cat sagely observes.

We must recognize that it always matters to God which way we go.  He knows the abundant life will only be experienced when we live in the center of His will for our lives.  If we don’t take time to understand God’s plan for our lives, we will always fit into somebody else’s plan.

Here are three keys to redeeming the time; the acronym R.P.M. will help you recall them.

KEY # 1 Rhythm – Redemption has its own rhythm of confession and forgiveness. We have our own rhythms: some of us are early birds and some are night owls.  Some wake to an alarm clock; others to an opportunity clock.  Some wake up with a cheery, “Good Morning, Lord!” while others groan, “Good Lord! Morning?”  My years in Fire-Rescue and operating the Wellness Center conditioned me to an early bird rhythm.  Knowing when you work best allows you to do your best work.

KEY # 2 Prioritize – The most important things to do in life may not always be the most urgent.  To be sure, your job may be more demanding and urgent, but it will never be as important as your family.

Jesus used the Sermon on the Mount to sharpen our focus: “Where your treasure is, there you heart will also be” (Matthew 6:21).  So . . . where is your treasure?  If you aren’t sure, take some time to examine how you use your discretionary time and money.  What we spend our “extra” money on after all the necessities are paid for and how we use our “free” time are inarguable identifiers of what we consider priorities and where we locate our treasure.

KEY #3 MODEL – Model the Master, who always redeemed the time.  Jesus was never at the mercy of the strongest wind that was blowing at the moment.  Nowhere in Scripture can we find Jesus hurrying to get things done.  He never had too much on His plate.  If your plate is over-filled, you can be certain that God was not wielding the serving spoon!

Here are a few examples of modeling the Master:

Prayer—Mark 1:35

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.   

Bible Intake—Matthew 4:4

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 

Corporate Worship—Luke 4:16

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. 

Service—John 13:4-6

[Jesus] got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

Rest—Mark 6:31

Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

Community— Matt 12:49-50

 Pointing to his disciples, [Jesus] said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

The Wise Preacher put it best: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).  When we find our rhythm, get clear on our priorities, and model our Master, we will, by God’s grace, see a return on our investment of time that will echo in eternity.

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Today is the first part of a two-part message I preached a few weeks ago on “redeeming the time,” based on the Scripture passage in Ephesians 5:15-20:

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Why Redeem The Time?

The obvious reason “why” is simply because God tells us to redeem the time.  Every second of our lives is a gift from God.  Our gift back to Him is in how we choose to live it.  In the Ephesians passage above, Paul tells us to be careful how we live so we can “make the most of every opportunity” that God gives to us.  Let’s take a look at one suggested summary of the activities that fill a typical lifespan of 70 years:

Sleep                           23 years                                  32.9%

Work                           16 years                                  22.8%

TV                                8 years                                    11.4%

Eating                          6 years                                    8.6%

Travel                          6 years                                    8.6%

Leisure                        4.5 years                                 6.5%

Illness                          4 years                                    5.7%

Dressing                      2 years                                    2.8%

Religion                       0.5 years                                0.7%

Total                            70 years                                  100%

Jonathan Edwards preached a sermon titled The Preciousness of Time, in which he said, “Things are precious in proportion to their importance, or to the degree wherein they concern our welfare.  Being uncertain of its continuance—knowing how little of it remains, whether years, months, weeks, days or hours—we ought to see the preciousness of time.”

When you look at the numbers in the table above in light of what Edwards preached, religion is not that precious to the average individual.  How is it with you?

Funny thing about time: there is no inherent value in it until it is invested.  If we invest our time on stuff that truly doesn’t matter, we end up living a life that truly doesn’t matter.  But when we invest our time on things that have eternal value, we end up living a life of eternal value.  I’ve learned the hard way that the greatest time waster in the world is doing something God doesn’t want me to do . . . and having to clean up the mess afterwards!

Since time is a gift from God, we are stewards of it . . . not owners.  Each week God gives us 168 hours to use any way we choose.  The wise person is described in Scripture as one who redeems those hours by investing them in the advancement of the kingdom of God in every area of life.  We are to advance the kingdom of God in our homes with our families, at work with our co-workers, in our communities with our neighbors, and in our recreation with our friends.  Everything we do is to be done for the glory of God; that will only happen when we are in some way advancing His kingdom in this world.

We are His ambassadors on mission to redeem our time for the advancement of the cause of our King.  What we need to remember is if we don’t order our time someone else will do it for us.  The problem with that is that they might want us to be filling our time in ways that might not be what God wants for us.  We must live as the psalmist instructs: “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).  We do not want to live as the person Pascal describes: “The last thing one knows is what to put first.”

The choice is clear for the Christian.  Jesus Christ is to be our first priority in every aspect of our lives.  We are to live coram Deo—that is, “before the face of God.”  Living before the face of God means living under his authority and living for His glory moment by moment.  And it is the truths of the Gospel that free us to live this way—not in order to gain His favor, but because we already have it, thanks to the finished work of our King.

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Disenchantment is the feeling of being disappointed with something and no longer believing that it is good, useful, or worthwhile. It is the overwhelming feeling of disillusionment you feel when something or someone has not lived up to your expectations.  And it is a great and glorious grace when disenchantment is rooted in anything smaller than God!

When we build our hopes, our dreams, our trust, our worth, our identity, perhaps our very existence on anything smaller than God, that thing (or person) will always leave us wanting.  Whenever we put anything on the throne of our lives expect the One who rightfully should be there, we set ourselves up for disenchantment . . . and that is one of God’s great graces given to every Christian.

Whether we are in hot pursuit of a person, a pastime, a profession, or a possession, when we finally get what we wanted, it isn’t long before we realize it is utterly unable to deliver on what we thought it promised.  We wind up disappointed, disillusioned, and desperate for our next “fix.”  But instead of driving us to despair, the grace of disenchantment should drive us back to the only One who can meet us in our place of deepest need: that One is Jesus Christ.

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  (Colossians 3:1-2)

God will deliver the grace of disenchantment whenever we set our hearts on earthly things and place them above Christ.  Now, please don’t misunderstand what I am saying: loving our families, caring for our children, working hard on our jobs, and enjoying our recreation are all good things.  But when we make good things into ultimate things (by setting our hearts on them and placing them above Jesus), then they become bad things.  They become idols of the heart that enslave us, because our hearts are yearning for something smaller than God.  When any of these desires becomes our deepest desire, we are on our inevitable way to disenchantment.

We will only be immune from disenchantment when we regard Jesus as our ultimate treasure.  Only Jesus can deliver on every one of His promises.  The promise of meaning and purpose is realized only in Him.  The promise of success and significance is realized only in Him.  The promise of approval and acceptance is realized only in Him.  The promise of rest and relaxation is realized only in Him.  The promise of peace, pleasure, and prosperity is realized only in Him.  Everything we are looking for in everything smaller than Jesus we already have in Him.

So . . . have you been dealing with any disenchantment lately?

To be sure, Jesus has given us the good gifts of this life and He wants us to enjoy them to their fullest.  But we will only enjoy them rightly when they maintain their proper place in our hearts.  When Jesus is our ultimate love, then we can we love all these other things appropriately, without our affection rising to the level of adoration.  God will tolerate no rival.  When we put anything in our lives ahead of the Lord of all our lives, we can be certain the grace of disenchantment is not far behind.

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Many Christians who come to me for pastoral counseling are locked solidly in the grip of guilt.  They simply cannot get past a past littered with sin . . .

• The sin of self-rule
• The sin of self-focus
• The sin of self-righteousness
• The sin of self-centeredness
• The sin of self-love

And the list goes on and on and on.  This is the place the devil wants us to live.  He wants us to wallow in the past, which keeps us from living in the present.  To be sure, the devil cannot take you out of the nail-scarred hands of your Savior (John10:28), but he can get you to focus so tightly on your sinful past that you never live in the forgiven present of your God-given potential.

Living in the grip of guilt stunts our growth, slows our progress, and shuts off the flow of God’s blessings to our lives.  In other words, we take a truncated view of the glorious Gospel.  We view the work of Christ on our behalf as incomplete in its ability to save us “to the uttermost” (Hebrews 7:25) and remove all of our guilt.

But this is not for you!

There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.  (Romans 8:1-4)

If Paul did not believe what he wrote, he never would have been able to rise above a past littered with sin—and not just your common, garden-variety sin, but his approving role in the execution of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Read Paul’s words carefully, remembering he was the one who held the coats of those who stoned Stephen to death.

Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.

(1 Timothy 1:13-15)

How could Paul see himself as the “chief sinner” and still do the work God called him to do?  The answer is that Paul had a clear view of the Gospel and refused to be held in the devil’s grip of guilt.

John Newton wrote one of the most beloved Christian hymns, Amazing Grace. Newton wrote those wonderful lyrics with the full knowledge and remembrance of his past life as a notorious slave trader.  So how could he rise above this horrible history and faithfully serve his Savior until he passed into glory?  Like Paul, Newton had a clear view of the Gospel and refused to be held in the devil’s grip of guilt.

So . . . what about you? How clear is your view of the Gospel?  Check your guilt and remember these words John Newton uttered shortly before his death at the age of 82: “My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: that I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Savior.”

Now that is what we should remember as we respond to God’s call in our lives; God’s grace is greater than all our sins! And so we are to shake free from the grip of guilt, no matter what our past was like.

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Are there any words or phrases etched in your memory today that have negatively impacted your life?  The answer for most people is a resounding “YES,” as they recall harsh words that cut to the bone:

• I’m fed up with you!
• I’m sick of you!
• You’ll never amount to anything!
• I hate you!
• I wish you were dead!

We have all been on the receiving end of “words of mass destruction,” whether they were delivered intentionally or unintentionally.  Sadly, we have also been on the giving end of destructive dialogue, sometimes intentionally and at other times unintentionally.

Let me ask you this: are there any words or phrases etched in your memory today that have positively impacted your life?  The answer, I hope, is a resounding “YES” if you think about it for a moment, knowing full well that the bad talk has a tendency to drown out the good talk.

• I’m proud of you!
• You’re awesome!
• I am so thankful for you!
• I believe in you!
• You can do it!

Now, let me ask you a very important question: is your life today shaped more by words of mass destruction or words of divine destiny?  As a follower of Jesus Christ, the answer should be—it must be—words of divine destiny, because Jesus spoke and continues to speak life-giving words into your life moment by moment.

One of the best ways to reshape a life that has been shaped by destructive talk is to read the Word of God daily and meditate on it throughout the day.  God’s Word will silence destructive talk that has been directed at you by exchanging it for words that revive and restore . . . heal and help . . . build and bless.

God loves you so much that He wants to have the last word in every situation.  To be sure, you cannot control what others say to you. I am convinced that some people have the “gift” of delivering words of mass destruction.  But what you can control is what you allow to sink into your spirit and shape your life.

Can you imagine the words that were said about the prostitute who showed up at the Pharisee’s house?  She was despised and hated by the religious elite . . . and she knew it.  But she refused to let their words direct and control her life.  In the face of words of mass destruction, she enters where she is not welcome and washes the feet of Jesus with her tears and dries them with her hair.  She refused to be a casualty of cruel words.  Instead she went to the only place where words give life . . . and that place is at the feet of Jesus.

Have you been there lately?  It’s the perfect place to exchange words of mass destruction for words of divine destiny.  Let’s close out today with just a few of them.

The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”  (Jeremiah 31:3)

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

(Matthew 11:28)

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  (Matthew 28:20)

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  (Romans 8:31)

I can do all this through him who gives me strength.  (Philippians 4:13)

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN! 

When we read the account of the horrific fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, we may not give the proper attention to this exchange between God and Adam.

The man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”  (Genesis 3:8-10)

We’re anxious to “get to the good part” about God’s plan to redeem man and restore him to fellowship with Him, so it’s easy to skim past one of the saddest moments ever recorded in sacred Scripture.  The one who was formed by God and made for God was now trying to hide from God.

Adam and Eve were created to walk with God and talk with God and rejoice in God.  They were created to find purpose in His presence; meaning in His majesty; significance in His sovereignty; identity in His immutability.  Now they crouch trembling in the brush . . . and in their hiding they are denying their humanity.  Made for intimate relationship with the Creator of the universe, they are now on the run from Him.

Before Adam and Eve committed their act of cosmic treason, their hearts filled with delight in the presence of God; after they sinned, their hearts filled with dread at the sound of God walking in the Garden.  They find themselves at the beginning of a drama that will be played out until Jesus returns, a story marked by “unholy hiding” from our holy God.

So . . . where in your life today do you find yourself hiding from God?  Where have you been hiding from those who love you most?

Life is not to be lived in the shadows; it is to be lived in the light, and that light shines brilliantly through the truths of the Gospel.  You see, God knows you.  He knows you fully; He has searched you and He knows you; He is familiar with all your ways; before a word is on your tongue He knows it fully (Psalm 139:1-4) . . . and yet He still loves you.

There is no hiding from the One who knows everything and sees everything.  And only a clear view of the Gospel can help us to come out from behind the bushes without fear of rejection or removal from the presence of God.

Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast.  (Psalm 139:7-10)

The Gospel makes it clear that Jesus was the One who would take our place and pay the penalty for our sin.  The Gospel also makes it clear that Jesus was removed from the presence of His Father during the darkest time in the history of the world: the day when the Light of the world was spit upon, scourged, and nailed to a cruel cross.  And because Jesus took our place on that cross—rejected by God and removed from His presence—all those who are in Christ need never fear rejection or removal from the presence of God ever again.

God loves you!  He accepts you!  God is for you (Romans 8:31), so it doesn’t matter who is against you . . . which means you can stop any kind of “unholy hiding” from Him and from those who matter most in your life.

Think about the last time you went into hiding.  You could hear His voice, couldn’t you?  Of course you could!  God did not leave Adam and Even in their hiding and He will not leave you either.  God is in the business of pursuing rebels on the run—not to crush them but to restore them—and that includes you.

Always remember: God is not pleased with you because of your performance.  God delights in you because of the perfect performance of your Prince, who lived and died and was raised from the dead so that you could stop hiding in shadows and begin living in the warm sunlight of God’s unwavering love, which is expressed in the truths of the Gospel.

If you will pause for a moment and sit still long enough, you just might hear the sound of God walking in your garden, calling out to you, “Where are you?”  Come out from behind the bushes of unbelief and your unholy hiding.  Go to Him.  Run to Him!  And you will find that, while you are still a long way off, He will come running to you, His arms outstretched and nail-scarred hands held open, just waiting to take you into His loving, healing, eternal embrace.

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

The last time I performed a funeral, a thought came over me as I was walking through the cemetery.  The graves are obviously marked with the identification of the person who is buried there so that the loved ones can easily find them when they come to visit.  There was one headstone I came across that was so worn and weather-beaten that it was impossible to read or identify who was buried beneath it.

Then it struck me: this is the place where we are to bury our sin—all our sin—in an unmarked grave . . . never to be revisited or resurrected again.

The grace of the unmarked grave is the result of the truths of the Gospel.  When God forgives our sins because of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, He not only forgives our sins, but He forgets them too!

In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back.  (Isaiah 38:17)

As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.  (Psalm 103:12)

You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.  (Micah 7:19)

Scripture makes it clear that we are to bury our sins in an unmarked grave so we cannot revisit them over and over again.  Why?  Because God does not revisit them!  God has put all our sins behind His back, never to be in view.  He has removed our sins an infinite distance from us, because east and west never meet.  And God has hurled our sins into the deep.  He did not simply tip them over the side of the boat; God intentionally and forcefully hurled them all into the depths of the sea, never to be dredged up again.

In her book, Tramp for the Lord, Nazi death camp survivor Corrie Ten Boom wrote:

When I confessed [my sins] to the Father, Jesus Christ washed them in His blood. They are now cast into the deepest sea and a sign is put up that says,

NO FISHING ALLOWED.

That is the grace of the unmarked grave.  You see, what is important to God is not what we were, but rather what we are now.  We are His, having been fully forgiven and totally loved . . . from before the creation of the world.

Because God laid all of our sin on His precious Son, as He hung, nailed to cruel cross-beams, we can bury them all in an unmarked grave, never to be recalled or reviewed.  What a great grace we have been given by our God, who both forgives and refuses to remember our sins, now and forevermore!

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

As a pastor and coach I often use the language of the athletic world to bring the truths of the Gospel to life.  So under the title of Team Truth we will briefly look at two important aspects of the Truth of being on God’s Team!

Grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

(Ephesians 4:7)

1. You Are Endowed

Every member of Team Truth is gifted.  When God picks a player to be on His team, He equips that person with the ability to play in the game.

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.  If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God.  If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.  To him be the glory and the power forever and ever.  Amen.  (1 Peter 4:10-11)

You are endowed with the ability to do what God has called you to do in the service of others as a faithful steward of God’s grace to you.  Peter gave the reason for this service: “So that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.”  So . . . how is God being praised through the use of your gifts for the good of others and the glory of God?

2. You Are Equipped

To equip the saints for the work of ministry for building up the body of Christ.

(Ephesians 4:12)

When you are a part of Team Truth, you are endowed and equipped to play your part to further the cause of His kingdom.  Every member of God’s team is to go from being a spectator to a servant . . . to change from being a consumer to a contributor.

Over the years I have counseled far too many Christians who feel they have disqualified themselves for service in some way and that God can no longer use them.  I tell them this:

YOU CANNOT UNLOCK YOUR DESTINY

IF YOU STAY LOCKED UP IN YOUR HISTORY!

Just a cursory glance through sacred Scripture will show that most of those who did the most for God’s kingdom had checkered pasts.  Abraham lied about Sarah being his wife to save his own skin.  Moses was a murderer; so was David.  Jacob was a schemer.  And who can forget that the great apostle Paul held the coats of those who stoned Stephen, the first Christian martyr, to death.  Acts 8:1 records that Paul looked on with approval!

Here is a great little story that makes it clear that everyone is both valuable and needed on Team Truth.

One day the Carpenter’s tools held a conference.  Brother Hammer presided but several of the other tools suggested that he leave the meeting because he was too noisy.  Brother Hammer replied, “If I must go, so too Brother Screw.  You have to turn him around again and again to get him to accomplish anything.”

Brother Screw spoke up, “If you wish, but Sister Plane must go too…all her work is on the surface and has no depth to it at all.”  Sister Plane responded, “Sister Rule will also have to withdraw for she is always measuring folks as though she were the only one who is right.”

Sister Rule then complained against Brother Sandpaper, “You ought to leave too because you’re so rough and always rubbing people the wrong way.”  In the midst of this discussion, in walked the Carpenter of Nazareth ready to start His day’s work.

He went to His bench to make a pulpit from which to proclaim the Gospel.  He employed the hammer, screw, plane, rule, sandpaper, and all the other tools.  After the day’s work when the pulpit was finished, Brother Saw arose before all the other tools and remarked, “Brothers and sisters, I observe that all of us are workers together with the Lord.”

I have a very important question to ask you.  How many extra Christians did God make?  Silly question, isn’t it?  The answer, of course, is none; that means you are both endowed and equipped to do what God has called you to do as a vital and valuable member of Team Truth!

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Too many people live with a truncated view of the Gospel; that is, they believe they are saved by grace but must keep working to maintain their salvation by the spiritual sweat of their own brow.  They never fully embrace the fact that their acceptance is assured.

How about you?  Do you know that your acceptance is assured, regardless of the circumstances you find yourself in today?

. . . To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.  (Ephesians 1:6)

All those who are saved by grace through faith are accepted in the Beloved.  Notice that the Scripture does not say your acceptance is based on anything you do—not on your merit; not on your good works; not on your righteous living.  No, your acceptance is based solely on Christ, who has accepted you “to the praise of the glory of His grace.”  And once you have been accepted, you cannot be unaccepted!  In spite of repeated foolishness, countless failures, and prayerless faithlessness, Jesus has totally accepted you.  In spite of self-rule, self-absorption, and self-protection, Jesus totally accepted you.  He has declared:

All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.  (John 6:37)

Think about that for a moment! Jesus knows you fully and completely—every sin, spot, wrinkle, and blemish—and yet He has fully accepted you . . . forever!  And that’s because His acceptance is based solely on everything He did on your behalf.  He lived the perfect life.  He died the sacrificial death.  He paid the ultimate price for your eternal redemption with His own precious blood.  He didn’t wait for you to get your act together or clean yourself up.  He didn’t demand that you join a church or head out to the mission field.  He accepted you when you were smack dab in the middle of the denial of Peter, the doubting of Thomas, and the death-march of Saul.

“God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).  Only the truths of the Gospel can enlarge our view of the Almighty’s acceptance.  And that brings me to a second point I hope you’ll take away from this message.  If you have been eternally, unconditionally accepted in the Beloved, then you are to  ̶

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.  (Romans 15:7)

Because of the acceptance that we have received as a free gift (Romans 3:24), we should be accepting of others—all others—all the time.  Once again, we must rely on the truths of the Gospel.  God in Christ has accepted us, completely and fully, “while we were still sinners.”  Keeping this amazing truth in constant view will enable us to rise above the limitations of our perspective and prejudices.  It will empower us to move beyond our insecurities and our tendency to personalize everything and so that we can remember that we have been accepted in Christ . . . and therefore we are to accept one another!

To be sure, we accept without compromising the truths of Scripture.  Yes, we need to keep in mind what is essential to the Gospel and what is not essential to the Gospel.  We do not accept sinful behavior, because God does not condone sin.  But because God accepts the sinner, we too are called and commanded by God to accept the sinner.

Remember the fact that God is not finished with us yet, and that means He is not finished with others either!  Only a bigger view of the Gospel will give us a bigger view of our calling to accept others, just as we have been accepted by Jesus.

And as we continue to work through these ideas, let us remember that Romans 15:7 tell us this is to be done “in order to bring praise to God.”  Our acceptance assured must lead us to accepting others . . . not to bring praise to us but to give praise to the glory of God’s grace!

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!