Grace for the Race

I don’t know where this message finds you.  Perhaps you are in the greatest harvest season of your life.  Or maybe you are in the dead center of the perfect storm, with huge waves of challenge crashing over your head.  Regardless of your current circumstances, I have some good news: your Father in heaven knows what is best for you. 

He chose our heritage for us . . .  (Psalm 47:4)

Your heavenly Father has ordained whatsoever shall come to pass in your life.  David acknowledged that “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:16 NIV).  If God has ordained a season of sunshine, it is for your best.  If He has ordained a season of rain, it is for your best.  Unerring wisdom has ordained the best path for you to travel all the way to the Celestial City and unconditional love has promised to get you through.

Charles Spurgeon rightly observed, “Had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you are, divine love would have put you there.  You are placed by God in the most suitable circumstances.  Be content with such things as you have, since the Lord has ordered all things for your good.”

Do you not find great peace and comfort in knowing that nothing happens to you that doesn’t first pass through His nail-scarred hands?  He took those scars for you!  You were purchased with His precious blood.  He hung on the cross, forsaken by His Father, for you.  Knowing that Jesus paid such an unimaginable price for our purchase should convince us that whatever season we find ourselves in, it must be for our best.

Trials must and will befall-

but with humble faith to see.

Love inscribed upon them all;

this is happiness to me.

Experience has taught me that there are some blessings that can only be received on the other side of the storm.  Our heavenly Father knows exactly when to send the storms and just how long they should last.

If your sky is blue and the clouds are fleecy today, know this; the next storm is looming just beyond the horizon and will be delivered by your Father who truly knows what is best for each one of us.  Don’t waste your time in the storm by focusing on how you will get out of it and when it will be over.  Focus on the One who sent it . . . the One who is in the middle of it with you . . . the One who has chosen the best path for you and selected the perfect portion for a pilgrim who is just passing through.

Moses faced hard-hearted Pharaoh.  David was dogged by Saul.  Job lost his health, wealth, and his family.  Jonah spent three days in the belly of a great fish.  The apostle Paul had his thorn, which he pleaded with the Lord to take from him . . . but it was not.  Whatever you are facing today, your Father knows best.   

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

Ever feel like you don’t belong?  I will never forget the day in middle school when I was picked last to be on the dodge ball team; the team captain grumbled, “I guess we’ll have to take Boland.”  Wow!  Did I feel like I didn’t belong!  For all of you who have experienced that awful sense of rejection and isolation, I have a word of ineffable comfort for you today!

You also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

(Romans 1:6)

Marinate in that for a moment!  You have been called to belong to Jesus Christ.  From the moment we are born we belong to our family.  As we grow up, we belong to a number of different groups: neighborhood, school, team, work, church, organizations.  The problem is we often don’t feel like we fit in very well.  We pursue acceptance, attention, and the applause of man in a desperate attempt to feel like we belong.  It is a restless, relentless, recurring theme in all our lives.  The problem is, when we look for acceptance and approval in anything smaller than Jesus, it never measures up . . . never satisfies . . . and never delivers on its promises.  Only belonging to Jesus can do all that—and so much more!

When you belong to Jesus, you belong to the One who paid for you with His precious blood.  Jesus wanted you so much that He was willing to die to make you His!  And the best thing about belonging to Jesus is you don’t have to keep pursuing acceptance, attention, and the applause of man; you already have all the acceptance and attention you could ever imagine!  God loves you with an eternal love . . . even when others are not particularly fond of you.  Jesus not only desires you, He delights in you! 

Belonging to Jesus means your relationship with Him is unbroken, unbreakable, and unparalleled.  Nothing compares to belonging to Jesus, because nothing and no one compares to Jesus.  To be sure, it is a good gift from God to belong to our families, schools, churches, businesses, and communities; but at their best these provide only a shadow of what it means to belong to Jesus. 

The apostle Paul understood that belonging at the deepest level.  He frequently introduced himself as he did In Romans 1:1, as “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus.” In the original Greek the word would be rendered slave, rather than servant, but most readers in today’s world find the word “slave” repugnant.  The last thing someone wants to be is another’s slave.  But for the Christian, whose Master is Jesus, the word slave is exactly what we want to be.

Jesus said that He had come to set the captives free from their bondage to Satan and to sin.  To be a slave of Christ is the sweetest of all stations to occupy in this life, because it is in our relationship with Him that we are to find our identity—not in our family . . . not in our work . . . not in our ministry . . . not in our finances.  Being called to belong to Jesus means our identity is forever to be found in Him.     

Before we close today, let me offer one more magnificent blessing of belonging to Jesus and that is that He belongs to you! In His great High Priestly prayer, Jesus lifted us up to His father: “John 17:20-23

 [I ask for] those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me . . .” (John 17:20-23, emphasis added).

This transcends even the blessings we receive from belonging to Jesus.  Yes, we receive His pardon, His imputed righteousness, His forgiveness, His victory over sin and death. We are his bride, adopted into His family of faith, and so much more.  But above all of that, we receive Him.  Jesus is our possession and our portion, and nothing in either life or death can separate us from Him.  Oh, the blessing of belonging to Jesus and Jesus belonging to you!

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

Ever feel like you don’t belong?  I will never forget the day in middle school when I was picked last to be on the dodge ball team; the team captain grumbled, “I guess we’ll have to take Boland.”  Wow!  Did I feel like I didn’t belong!  For all of you who have experienced that awful sense of rejection and isolation, I have a word of ineffable comfort for you today!

You also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

(Romans 1:6)

Marinate in that for a moment!  You have been called to belong to Jesus Christ.  From the moment we are born we belong to our family.  As we grow up, we belong to a number of different groups: neighborhood, school, team, work, church, organizations.  The problem is we often don’t feel like we fit in very well.  We pursue acceptance, attention, and the applause of man in a desperate attempt to feel like we belong.  It is a restless, relentless, recurring theme in all our lives.  The problem is, when we look for acceptance and approval in anything smaller than Jesus, it never measures up . . . never satisfies . . . and never delivers on its promises.  Only belonging to Jesus can do all that—and so much more!

When you belong to Jesus, you belong to the One who paid for you with His precious blood.  Jesus wanted you so much that He was willing to die to make you His!  And the best thing about belonging to Jesus is you don’t have to keep pursuing acceptance, attention, and the applause of man; you already have all the acceptance and attention you could ever imagine!  God loves you with an eternal love . . . even when others are not particularly fond of you.  Jesus not only desires you, He delights in you! 

Belonging to Jesus means your relationship with Him is unbroken, unbreakable, and unparalleled.  Nothing compares to belonging to Jesus, because nothing and no one compares to Jesus.  To be sure, it is a good gift from God to belong to our families, schools, churches, businesses, and communities; but at their best these provide only a shadow of what it means to belong to Jesus. 

The apostle Paul understood that belonging at the deepest level.  He frequently introduced himself as he did In Romans 1:1, as “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus.” In the original Greek the word would be rendered slave, rather than servant, but most readers in today’s world find the word “slave” repugnant.  The last thing someone wants to be is another’s slave.  But for the Christian, whose Master is Jesus, the word slave is exactly what we want to be.

Jesus said that He had come to set the captives free from their bondage to Satan and to sin.  To be a slave of Christ is the sweetest of all stations to occupy in this life, because it is in our relationship with Him that we are to find our identity—not in our family . . . not in our work . . . not in our ministry . . . not in our finances.  Being called to belong to Jesus means our identity is forever to be found in Him.     

Before we close today, let me offer one more magnificent blessing of belonging to Jesus and that is that He belongs to you! In His great High Priestly prayer, Jesus lifted us up to His father: “John 17:20-23

 [I ask for] those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me . . .” (John 17:20-23, emphasis added).

This transcends even the blessings we receive from belonging to Jesus.  Yes, we receive His pardon, His imputed righteousness, His forgiveness, His victory over sin and death. We are his bride, adopted into His family of faith, and so much more.  But above all of that, we receive Him.  Jesus is our possession and our portion, and nothing in either life or death can separate us from Him.  Oh, the blessing of belonging to Jesus and Jesus belonging to you!

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

How many times have you heard a brother or sister say, “Come, Lord Jesus, Come!”  Or perhaps you yourself have uttered this prayer in the midst of frustration or desperation?  These words are the last prayer recorded in sacred Scripture; you might be surprised regarding its context.

“Come, Lord Jesus.”  (Revelations 22:20)

This is often the cry of exasperated Christians who are experiencing a bad day or some season of great struggle.

• Trouble at the office: “Come, Lord Jesus.” 
• Difficulties in our marriage: “Come, Lord Jesus.” 
• Dealing with rebellious children: “Come, Lord Jesus.” 
• Sickness and disease testing the fortitude of our health plan: “Come, Lord Jesus.” 
• Conflict in the church: “Come, Lord Jesus.”
• Too much month left at the end of the money: “Come, Lord Jesus.”

Does this resonate with you?  However, if we take a close look at these words in Scripture, we do not see a despairing Christian wading through a day of difficulty; rather we see this prayer placed in the context of the anticipatory cry of the Bride awaiting her wedding day.  John was anticipating his marriage to the Lamb of God; we are to be doing the same thing.

Wedding imagery is a prominent theme woven throughout the Bible. 

Your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called.  For the LORD has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God.  For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you.  In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the LORD, your Redeemer.  (Isaiah 54:5-8)

I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD.  (Hosea 2:19-20)

That he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

(Ephesians 5:26-27)

Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready.  (Revelation 19:7)

The power in the last prayer is located in the fact that our Prince is coming back to claim His bride for the most magnificent wedding celebration the world has ever seen.  And you, Christian, are the reason for His return!  We need not be anxious or uncertain about His return; nothing will keep the Bridegroom from His Bride.

When we look excitedly toward the day when we will be presented to our Bridegroom “in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that [we] might be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:27), our earthly travails really do pale into insignificance, and we fervently cry: “Come, Lord Jesus!”

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

How well are you doing in dealing with the winds of change that are blowing through your life right now—both personally and professionally?

 It has been observed that the only people who like change are wet babies!  Kim and I can testify to this truth, having had four babies to change over the years.  A child would be crying for no apparent reason, but as soon as the wet diaper was removed and a dry one put on, calm would return . . . but not for long!

The writer of Hebrews tells us that the only constant in the world is Jesus.  What a comfort for all of us who are experiencing disruptive change in our lives: to know that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and for all eternity.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.  (Hebrews 13:8)

That doesn’t mean Jesus is manageable . . . or even predictable!  My dear friend and beloved Pastor Tullian likes to quote from C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, when Lucy asks Mr. Beaver about Aslan, the coming King:

“Is he—quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion . . . ”

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver . . . “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But He’s good.”

Indeed, our great, coming King, the Lion of Judah, is good, and He can be trusted for the good that is inevitable result from every kind of change for those who love God (Romans 8:28).

As our understanding of the Gospel deepens, we grow in our ability to accept change and even to embrace it as God’s divine providence passing through nailed-scarred hands—delivered to make us more like Jesus. We are to rejoice in the salvation He has purchased for us . . .

[T]hough now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  (1 Peter 1:6-7)

With Jesus seated on the throne of our lives, we can give up our need for control and predictability, as we walk by faith and not by sight.  At this level of living, we can love Jesus with zeal and serve Him with abandon.  

Jesus Christ as our only constant means that He always was, always is, and always will be.  His finished work is still finished.  We cannot enhance it nor diminish it by anything we do or don’t do.  He is the surety of all covenant blessings and the faithful fountain that pours out continually upon His people.

When change casts you into the middle of the Jordan at flood stage, this unchanging truth empowers you to look confidently toward heaven, as David did: “I will fear no evil, for You are with me.”  When change drives you to the edge of the Red Sea with no apparent way out, this unchanging truth empowers you to receive and rest in these words of Moses, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord” (Exodus 14:13). 

The One who never changes is working through all of the changes in your life, bringing you to the end of yourself through the incessant gusting winds of change; He will not stop until His perfect work is done.  Instead of cursing the changes in our lives, let us cry out to Jesus for the grace to embrace them, being confident that we are heading into an eternity where the winds of change will blow no more.

I enjoy the way the Amplified Bible renders Romans 4:20-22.

No unbelief or distrust made [Abraham] waver (doubtingly question) concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God, fully satisfied and assured that God was able and mighty to keep His word and to do what He had promised. That is why his faith was credited to him as righteousness (right standing with God).

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

Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;

and he who has no money, come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

(Isaiah 55:1)

Today is “Black Friday,” the day widely regarded as the first official day of the Christmas shopping season. On a day when many are resting and recovering from massive overindulgence in food and football, retailers open early and stay late, hoping to entice crowds of shoppers to their establishments. It is believed that the term “Black Friday” originated from retailers’ hopes that their books will be solidly “in the black” after their registers ring all day.

So . . . as many will spend this day engaging in uncontrolled eating and spending, we might do well to take a moment to consider the words of the prophet: “He who has no money, come, buy and eat!” Here is one of those lovely contradictions between the ways of the world and the ways of God: the world is calling us to come, spend as much money as you possibly can!  And don’t forget the plastic!  Christ calls to those who have nothing to offer—nothing at all with which to pay.

How easy it is to make the stuff of this world more important than our Savior!  You see, the desire for more is not bad; God set this desire in our divine design.  The key, however, is to know where we should be seeking to find “more.”  Adam and Eve were designed by God to seek more of Him.  He was to be the object of their deepest desire.  He was to be their greatest love.  He was to be their first priority.  And they were to seek more and more of this each day.  It was not until Satan slithered into the picture and offered them more outside of their relationship with God that they considered striving for “more” . . . beyond their divine design. 

We have been doing the same ever since, and there is no better example than Black Friday.  Now, I am not saying that looking for a bargain is a bad thing.  Taking the time to prayerfully consider and purchase things on sale is a good thing.  It reflects good stewardship of the resources God has provided.  But as my beloved Pastor Tullian likes to admonish us, good things become bad things when we make them ultimate things.  When was the last time you heard about a congregation lining up Saturday night to get a good seat in the sanctuary on Sunday morning? 

Because of our sinful nature, we must be careful how we approach the shopping season.  Instead of bigger barns, we need bigger hearts that are sold out for Jesus.  He will tolerate no rival, nor should we.  We are blood-bought and grace-filled, and our lives should shout these facts to the world! 

Consider this exhortation: “We ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more” (1 Thessalonians 4:1).  Now there is a desire for more that brings joy to the heart of our heavenly Father!

Remember that “You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19).  It is my prayer that this “Black Friday” we would all remember the very first black Friday, when darkness covered the land between the sixth and the ninth hour . . . the day when our Lord purchased us with His precious blood.

Let us covenant together, you and I, to spend all that we have in the pursuit of knowing Christ and the power of His resurrection (Philippians 3:10). 

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

On Monday we took a look at the first key in moving from Thanksgiving to Thanks-Living; that first key is to Live Thankfully.  The second key we will examine today is to Live Worshipfully.  Once the cross becomes central in our lives, worship becomes our way of living.  We live doxologically before the face of God.  We live grace-filled, gospel-saturated, God-centered lives in everything.  We worship Jesus—not only on Sunday, but every day, everywhere, and in every way.  We sing His praises in the boardroom . . . living room . . . family room . . . bedroom . . . school room . . . lunchroom . . . even the locker room! 

For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.  By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission flowing from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you.  Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!

(2 Corinthians 9:12-15)                                                                                                                                       

The great Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon wrote, “The Lord always deserves to be praised for what He is in Himself, for His works of creation and providence, for His goodness towards His creatures, and especially for the transcendent act of redemption, and all the marvelous blessing flowing from it.  It is always beneficial to praise the Lord; it cheers the day and brightens the night; it lightens toil and softens sorrow.”

A right response to the grace we have been given is to live worshipfully, singing the praises of the One who poured out His precious blood to redeem us from all unrighteousness and to make us His very own possession.  The blood has made us all priests, and wherever we go there is ministry to do in His name.  There is no menial labor in the Kingdom of God, because our labor is for the praise and glory of the Master.  The only menial job in the world is the one where Jesus cannot be found.  Everywhere you go Jesus goes with you, so every place is consecrated for the service of our Savior.

So . . . when it comes to living worshipfully, how have you been doing?  Have you been living like the psalmist who said, “Be thankful to Him, and bless His name” (Psalm 100:4)? 

As you are preparing for your Thanksgiving celebration tomorrow with family and friends, pause for a moment tonight and remember the One who loved you enough to die hanging on a crossbeam.  He took your sins—every last one of them, past, present, and future—and nailed them to that dirty tree so that now there is now no condemnation for those who are in Jesus.  This gift truly is inexpressible, so when words won’t do, let us live lives that shout to the world that Jesus is ours and we are His!

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

We have finally arrived at Thanksgiving week, and many of us we are preparing to spend some quality time with family and friends over the Thanksgiving weekend.  With all that is going on in our far too busy lives, it is easy to miss the most important aspect of this week—and that is the One to whom we are to direct our thanks.  So today and Wednesday we will look at two keys in moving from Thanksgiving to Thanks-Living that can help us keep the Main Thing the main thing, not only this week but throughout the entire year.

Live Thankfully

O give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known His doings among the peoples.  (1 Chronicles 16:8)

I will give to the Lord the thanks due to His rightness and justice, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.  (Psalm 7:17)

Giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified and made us fit to share the portion which is the inheritance of the saints (God’s holy people) in the Light.

(Colossians 1:12)

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

          (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

The Gospel frees us to live thankfully.  Do you know why?  Because it frees us from the prison of self-absorption.  Self absorbed people do not live thankfully because they are simply too self-absorbed!  They sit on the throne of their lives and live for the accomplishment of their goals; their dreams; their desires; their atrophied agenda.

But this is not for you!  The grace of the Gospel reorients our lives around the Savior rather than the self.  We see Jesus as the meaning of life and the purpose for living.  To be succinct, we live cross-shaped lives.  As much as it is within our power, we love God and love people.  Whatever success we are seeking, we seek it in the service of others, rather than at their expense.  And along the way, we thank God for any and every measure of selflessness.  This is a life that is poured out for the good of others.  To live thankfully is to live generously.   

What do you have that you have not been given?  If everything we have is a gift from the hand of God (see John 3:27), how can we live in any other way than generously?  “Freely you received,” Jesus said, “freely give” (Matthew 10:8).  The more we have, the more we are in debt to the One who has given it to us and the more we should be driven to meet the physical needs of others.

It is a mistake to think the Gospel meets only the spiritual needs of the lost.  It does this, to be sure, but it also meets physical needs as well.  If it did not, how would we explain the two loaves and five fish that fed thousands instead of Jesus sending them away hungry?  How would we explain the miracles of Jesus in making the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the sick well, and the dead alive?  When we get the Gospel deep down into the marrow of our bones, we live lives marked by generosity, remembering that God loves a cheerful giver. And our hilarious good cheer is an expression of our heartfelt gratitude for His grace:

For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.  (2 Corinthians 9:12)

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

Let me quickly provide the scriptural context for this title:

Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  (Luke 12:32)

What a comfort to hear the voice of our Lord saying, “Fear not, little flock” as we face the countless BIG challenges of the day.  We face BIG challenges in our families.  We face BIG challenges in our finances.  We face BIG challenges in our future.  We face BIG challenges in our fitness.  We face BIG challenges in our faith.  Yet, as members of His little flock, we can face every challenge without fear.  Why?  Because we never face our fears alone, “for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

You see, we don’t have to look to anything smaller than God to face the waves of challenge that crash over us each day.  Why would we turn to the wisdom of the world when we have the Wisdom of eternity available to us—the Spirit of Jesus Christ?  How often we run to the wrong things, go to the wrong places, and turn to the wrong people when Jesus is standing at the ready to safely bring us through whatever challenges we are facing.  We look for safety in things that are not safe.  We look for security in places that are not secure.  We look for stability in people that are not stable. 

As members of His little flock, what we need to do in times of trouble is to remember.  We need to remember whose we are and what He has promised to do.  We need to remember the God who purchased us with His precious blood and the grace we have been given in Him.  And for those who might not realize it, this was the instruction to God’s little flock every bit as much in the Old Testament as it is in the New Testament. 

When in time to come your son asks you, “What does this mean?”  You shall say to him, “By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery.”  (Exodus 13:14)

We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.

(Psalm 78:4)

Remembering what God has done and what He has promised to do is the key that unlocks the prison door of fear.  His Word is true, His kingdom everlasting, and His “little flock” untouchable!  There is no power in the universe that can derail the plans and the purposes of our King.  He won the final battle on Golgotha’s Hill, putting our enemy, the devil, to complete defeat.  To be sure, we still battle along the way to our inheritance, but we battle against a defanged lion who cannot do one single thing to us that God does not allow him to do.  And all that Satan is allowed to do is done for one of two reasons: God’s glory and our good.

So today, as you venture into the life God has set before you, do not fear—regardless of the challenges that are set before you. Wherever you go, He has already gone before you . . . and He continues to go with you.  As members of His kingdom our focus should be on His kingdom and not our own.  When we do we expand the reach of our cares and concerns beyond the borders of our own little kingdom to the outer edges of His, we begin loving those He loves, serving those He served, and accepting those He accepted. 

Hallelujah, what a Savior!  Hallelujah, what a salvation!  Hallelujah, what a gift to be a member of His little flock in the Lords kingdom.

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

Do you think that sacrificial living is reserved only for those great saints we read about in the Bible and the annals of history?  Not true!  Everyone lives a sacrificial life.  The question that must be asked and answered is this: For what are we sacrificing?

Each day is made up of countless personal sacrifices, from getting up early to staying up late and pouring ourselves out all day long.  We sacrifice for whatever has captured and taken control of our heart.  And remember, as I have said before: what rules the heart shapes the life. 

• We sacrifice on the job.
• We sacrifice for our families.
• We sacrifice to build our retirement.
• We sacrifice to buy that special outfit.
• We sacrifice to be able to fit into it.
• We sacrifice to go on that dream vacation.
• We sacrifice to get an education.

So . . . what are you sacrificing for right now?  What is the shape of your life?  Each of us could create a lengthy list of the things we willingly sacrifice for.  So the issue is not whether we are willing to sacrifice, but rather, for what are we willing to sacrifice?

Our first priority in living a sacrificial life should be found in our desire to sacrifice for the One who willingly sacrificed Himself for us. 

The soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him.  And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand.  And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”  And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head.  And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and let him away to crucify him.

(Matthew 27:27-31)

The sacrifice of our Savior was as radical as it was scandalous.  There was no worse way to die than to be nailed to a cross; we get our English word excruciating from the Latin word for crucify.  Under Roman government, crucifixion was reserved for the vilest of criminals—and never for Roman citizens, who by law could not be executed by crucifixion.  As Jesus hung on the cross, beaten, bleeding, and gasping for each agonized breath, the soldiers laughed, the spectators jeered, and His disciples hid.  Christ’s sacrifice on Golgotha’s Hill—which is the singular punctuation point in all of history—serves to inform, inspire, and ignite every sacrifice we make as His followers. 

Jesus has called every Christian to live a cross-shaped life.  When we do, we are no longer controlled by those things that were never designed by God to control us.  We fix our eyes on things above rather than earthly things (Colossians 3:2).  We live for the advancement of His kingdom rather than our kingdom.  We lay our lives down for our Savior, pursuing His purposes—rather than for ourselves, pursuing our passions.

When we sacrifice for the Savior, we live lives that echo in eternity . . . lives that will receive the ultimate acclamation: “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

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