Grace for the Race

What comes to mind when you think of the word “missionary”?  How would you define it?  Here is a sampling of dictionary definitions:

A person sent by a church into an area to carry on evangelism or other activities, as educational or hospital work.

A person strongly in favor of a program, set of principles, etc., who attempts to persuade or convert others.

A person who is sent on a mission, especially one sent to do religious or charitable work in a territory or foreign country.

These are solid textbook definitions for a missionary.   Christian missionaries of this sort are both vital and valuable to expanding the cause of the kingdom.  They are a very special breed of Christian, who have been called and equipped for kingdom work, often in some of the most remote places and harsh environments.  They embody our Lord’s Great Commission to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.”  Every member of the church of Jesus Christ should be committed to supporting these mighty warriors of the Word. 

But they are not the only ones in the church who are called to be missionaries!  Far too many in the church today regard a missionary as someone else who has received special gifts and has been sent off into darkest Africa (or some other distant land) to reach out to a particular people.  When we think this way, we remove ourselves from the front lines of faithful living under the Lordship of Christ and mistakenly assume it is someone else’s job to reach out to the lost and broken people of this world.  This results in sleepiness of the soul and a woefully weakened witness. 

I would like to expand on the job description of “missionary” just a bit, so we can see that we are all missionaries who have been called by God into the mission fields—right where we currently are!  Make no mistake, you are a missionary, no matter what your gifting, your education, or your vocation.

So . . . what mission are you currently on?  Is it a mission of expanding the kingdom of your Savior?  Or the kingdom of yourself?  Below are two primary marks of the Christian who is living for the Savior and not the self.

1. “Other” Orientation – Living for the kingdom of your Savior is marked by being oriented toward others.  You put others first.  You consider others better than yourself.  You want to serve others rather than being served by others. 

2. Self-Sacrificing – Living for the kingdom of your Savior is marked by self-sacrifice, rather than self-protection.  Being inconvenienced is not an inconvenience.  Being discomforted is not discomforting.  Being troubled is not troubling.  A day well spent is a day spent in sacrificial service to others. 

Putting others first and serving them sacrificially is the way we act out practically what we already are positionally.  When we locate our identity is in Christ and not in the things of this world, we rightly see ourselves as missionaries, privileged to be serving our Lord wherever we are and in whatever way we have been equipped to do it. 

We have been called to be the aroma of Christ to the world (2 Corinthians 2:15-16)—whether that part of the world be darkest Africa . . . or your local grocery store. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that[Jesus has] commanded you.”

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

There is only one heart in all the world that is honoring to God.  Do you know what that is?  It is the heart that beats for the Savior rather than the self.  Far too many Christian hearts beat for Jesus and something else. 

• Jesus and a career
• Jesus and a hobby
• Jesus and a relationship
• Jesus and a sports team
• Jesus and a level of comfort
• Jesus and the applause of man

So . . .  is there a something else for you?  To be sure, there are times when we all keep one foot in the Word and let the other foot edge out into the world.  We are continually lured by divided affections for things smaller than God. 

But we must fight against this tendency!  Scripture is completely unambiguous on this matter:

 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart.”

(Matthew 22:37)

Jesus said the only heart that honors Him is one that is totally devoted to Him.  So what does such a heart look like?  It beats in sync with the psalmist’s prayer: “I seek you with all my heart, do not let me stray from your commands” (Psalm 119:10).  The heart that honors the Lord desires to do His will . . . but it does not stop there.  It is not enough to do what God wants us to do; we must be doing it for the right reason. 

The heart that honors Him is not seeking to receive a reward or avoid a consequence.  The heart that honors Him overflows with thanksgiving, because the reward has already been received (the certainty of heaven) and the consequence avoided (damnation in hell).  Obedience flows from this heart as a response to and result of what Jesus has already done.

Some people tithe because they are afraid not to.  Some people serve because they feel guilty if they do not.  Some people arrive at church on Sunday because they believe God is keeping track of their attendance.  These are all acts of obedience . . . but done for the entirely wrong reasons.  These actions do not flow from a heart that honors God.  God doesn’t want obedience that is rooted in fear or guilt or desire for reward.  That was the motivation of the Pharisees, to whom Jesus delivered a burning rebuke:

You Hypocrites!  Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: “’This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”  (Matthew 15:7-9)

On the surface, the Pharisees looked like they were sold out for God.  They did all the right things . . . but for all the wrong reasons.  God wants our obedience to flow from a heart that beats with thanksgiving for the finished work of Jesus Christ.  This is the only heart that honors Him!

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

There is something that needs to be made perfectly clear about the power of the Gospel.  Every Christian is eternally safe in his or her standing in Christ. 

• Not because of good works
• Not because of trying harder and doing more
• Not because of personal merit
• Not because of self-righteousness
• Not because of the consistent practice of the spiritual disciplines

Because Jesus lived the perfect life and went to the cross to pay the penalty for sin, He has secured for all eternity the relationship between the Christian and God. 

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?  As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Romans 8:35-39)

But inasmuch as we are safe in our standing before God, unable to be separated from the love of God in Christ, we frequently don’t feel very safe as we go sledding down the icy hills of life.  There is a war that rages inside us, and we feel the stress of that combat.

The desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.  (Galatians 5:17)

Sin no longer reigns over us, but it most certainly remains in us!  In the heart of every believer there is a never-ending battle between the old nature and the new nature.  Charles Spurgeon explained:

The old nature is very active, and loses no opportunity of plying all the weapons of its deadly armory against newborn graces.  The enemy is so securely entrenched within us that he can never be driven out while we are in this body: but although we are closely beset, and often in sore conflict, we have an Almighty helper, even Jesus, the Captain of our salvation, who is ever with us, and who assures us that we shall eventually come off more than conquerors through Him.

I once heard an older saint say with wry frustration, “If Satan is bound [Revelation 20:2], he’s bound to my right leg!”  Do not think it peculiar that you battle morning, noon, and night with the evil forces of darkness.  It is a fact of life that every child of God faces.  But we do not battle alone!

“I will not leave you as orphans,” Jesus promised; “I will come to you” (John 14:18).  Omnipotence is with us, and He will strengthen us in our weakness . . . in all our weakness, in our thoughts, words, deeds, and desires.  And knowing that we are eternally secure in our standing we can find strength enough to keep fighting the battle, regardless of the cost or circumstance.

“Let not your hearts be troubled,” our Savior said, “neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27).

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

Early in my martial arts career, I had a habit of making my fists so tight that my knuckles on both hands turned white.  My instructors made it clear that white knuckles are a sure sign of too much tension—not only in the hands but throughout the entire body, which would limit my ability to perform.  They were right.  White knuckles are counterproductive to high-level performance in the martial arts.

Likewise, “white-knuckle living” is counterproductive to living the Christian life at the highest level.  Consider your life for just a moment.  Is there anything you are holding onto so tightly that your knuckles are turning white?  Are you holding something or someone in a death-grip—something that if you were to lose it, your life would be turned upside down and cease to exist as you currently know it?  Could it be . . .

• A job?
• A relationship?
• Position?
• Power?
• Prestige?
• Achievement?

We all white-knuckle certain things in our lives from time to time.  We all look to things smaller than Jesus to give us what only Jesus can give us.  This is precisely why He has called us to die to ourselves.  When we die to self, we relax our grip and release the things of this world, in which we once believed we need to locate our significance and satisfaction.  Only Jesus can give us everything we need.

So . . . is there anything smaller than Jesus battling for first place in your heart?  Charles Spurgeon wrote, “The happiest state of a Christian is the holiest state.  As there is the most heat nearest to the sun, so there is the most happiness nearest to Christ.  No Christian enjoys comfort when his eyes are fixed on vanity—he finds no satisfaction unless his soul is quickened in the ways of God.”

If there is anything you are “white-knuckling” in life right now, remember this: the only thing that should cause white-knuckles is our vise-like grip on the Lord Jesus Christ. 

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

Did you know that God has made a special three-part plan for pardon available to every Christian believer? Notice I said “available.”  God has placed it within your reach, but not dropped it into your mouth.  When taken in combination, you have the greatest power known to man available to you: the power of the Gospel.  Here is how to obtain forgiveness.

1. CONVICTION: First, there must be a conviction of the heart that we have fallen short of God’s perfect mark.  Christian believers should know that they are great sinners in need of an even greater Savior.  “When the Holy Spirit comes, he will convict the world, and show where right and wrong and judgment lie” (John 16:8).  For Christian believers who are indwelt by the Spirit of God, His presence convicts us of our wrongdoing. 

Oswald Chambers writes:

Conviction of sin is one of the rarest things that ever strikes a man.  It is the threshold of an understanding of God.  Jesus Christ said that when the Holy Spirit came He would convict of sin, and when the Holy Spirit rouses the conscience and brings him into the presence of God, it is not his relationship with men that bothers him, but his relationship with God.

The Holy Spirit is God’s gracious gift to convict us of sin—not because He hates us, but because He loves us and wants us to be what He has called us to be.  Remember, God hates the sin and sent His Son to pay the price for it.  He loves the sinner . . . and that includes you!

2. CONFESSION: Next, the Holy Spirit draws us to the cross of Christ, where we confess our sins.  We openly confess that the practice of our lives contradicts the profession of our lips.  I am not suggesting that this is the time to confess every known sin in your life; there aren’t enough hours in the day!  You are far worse than you think you are!  But with a broken and contrite heart (see Psalm 51:16-17), you come boldly before the throne of grace and confess that you are a sinner—both by nature and by habit—and repent of those sins.  We confess that all of our attempts at self-salvation have fallen miserably short and will never accomplish for us what only Jesus can do.

3. CELEBRATION:  The final installation of God’s special three-part plan for pardon is the one most often missed by down and defeated Christians.  For many in the body of Christ, confession is a time of deep depression, devastating despair, and dark defeat.  They simply cannot get back up and get back into the life God is calling them to, because they don’t fully understand what Jesus has done for them on the cross.  They believe they must confess with bitter feelings of utter defeat and failure and stay in that mindset for as long as they can . . . or at least until the next time they sin.  This is simply unbiblical NONSENSE!  It is nothing more than an outright denial of the Gospel that Jesus secured on the cross with His precious blood.

We all desire.  The only difference is found in what we desire.  What is your desire? 

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

(Psalm 37:4)

Since these words were first set forth in sacred Scripture, many have misunderstood them.  Too many wrongly receive this verse as a blank check from heaven to cash in on anything their sinful hearts desire.

But this is not for you!  The key to understanding the truth of Psalm 37:4 is found in the first five words: Delight yourself in the Lord.

When your delight is in the Lord, your desires are of the Lord and for the Lord, and these desires He delights to give to you.  When your heart beats as one with the Savior, your goals are His goals . . . your dreams are His dreams . . . your pursuits are His pursuits . . . your agendas are His agendas . . . your affections are His affections. 

“Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord,” Hosea exhorted; “his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth” (Hosea 6:3). One of the amazing powers of the Gospel is located in the fact that the more you delight in the Lord, the more He plants within you the qualities that matter most to Him.  The Gospel empowers you to look up at God and out at others, rather than focusing in on yourself.  By nature, unaided by the Holy Spirit, you want what you want, when you want it, and how you want it.  But when Jesus shows up, He begins to change you from the inside out.  Your desires begin to take on the shape of the cross; you seek the things of God and the good of others, and when you ascend to this place of living, God delights to give to you the desires of your heart.  When what you desire is rooted in Christ, you can be assured it is already on the way.

So . . . what do you seek to bring you happiness and joy?  What are you pressing toward?  Blaise Pascal rightly observed, “All men seek happiness.  This is without exception.  Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end.  The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views.  The will never takes the least step but to this object.  This is the motive of every action of every man, even those who hang themselves.” 

Some Christians don’t think we should be seeking the desires of the heart, but this is because they do not understand the goodness of our God.  Our desires do not compete with God when they are centered on God.  Idols compete with God, because they cause us to forsake God and find our joy, delight, and happiness in things much smaller than God. 

God delights in filling His children with joy, but He will only do that through a growing relationship with His Son Jesus Christ.  Those who are in Christ will find that God delights to deliver divine desires. 

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

We all grieve.  We grieve the loss of a job . . . the loss of our home . . . the loss of a loved one.  Grieving is common to us all.  What is not common to us all is the way in which we grieve.  There are only two ways to grieve in this life: the world’s way is without hope; God’s way is with hope.

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

(1 Thessalonians 4:13)

Those who are without Christ grieve without hope.  The loss of a job becomes hopeless.  The loss of a home becomes shattering.  The loss of a loved one becomes paralyzing.  But for those who are in Christ, grief is the gateway into an unimaginable hope.  In the eyes of the watching world, Jesus was nailed to a hopeless situation on Golgotha’s Hill.  But three days later, what was hopeless became the most exultant hope the world has ever seen!

The resurrection of Jesus turns the most hopeless of situations into an opportunity for a holy hope.  To be sure, we still grieve when facing a variety of losses on this side of the grave.  But we do not grieve as others do, as those who have no hope.  Godly grieving is a grace reserved for those who have placed their trust in Jesus.  In Him the flame of hope burns eternal, even when we cannot fuel it in our own strength. 

The Gospel is the key that unlocks the door that leads to the grace of godly grieving.  The Gospel assures us that God is in control of all things; nothing happens to us that doesn’t first pass through His nail-scarred hands.  We grieve the loss of a job with the hope of knowing Jesus is in control of all things.  We grieve the loss of our home with the hope of finding shelter in Him.   We grieve the loss of loved ones with the hope of reuniting with them in eternity.

When Jesus conquered sin and death, He demonstrated a power that is beyond all comparison in the earthly dimension.  There is no darkness He cannot light . . . no pain He cannot ease . . . no problem He cannot solve.  It is the power of Omnipotence that is available to us in the Gospel.  We need only receive it and rest in it daily to let the grace of godly grieving flow.

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

What do you fear most?  I know the Bible says we are only to fear God, but I am asking this question to cause you to dive below the surface of your life to see what is really going on.  Do you fear the economy getting worse?  Do you fear the loss of a relationship?  What is the one thing you believe that losing it would cause your life to spiral out of control?

Regardless of what you may fear today, there is one fear you will never face:

Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.  (Psalm 51:11)

David was overwhelmed with the reality of his sin and feared most the loss of the presence of his Lord.  Grace had finally convinced David that he could live without everything else in the world . . . except God.  As Pastor Tullian likes to say, David understood that Jesus plus nothing equals everything! David could live without his health.  He could live without his wealth.  He could live without power, position, prestige, and pleasure.  But he could not bear to contemplate living apart from the presence of God.

Jesus experienced this most dreadful loss on the cross in your place.  Matt 27:46

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He cried, perhaps the most ghastly verse in all of Scripture.  But because He experienced that dreadful loss, this is a fear you will never face.  No matter what you do, Jesus said He will never leave nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).   

• In your impatience . . . Jesus is with you!
• In your anger . . . Jesus is with you!
• In anxiety . . . Jesus is with you!
• In your lust . . . Jesus is with you!
• In your discontent . . . Jesus is with you!

One of the most astonishing promises of the Gospel is found in the truth that you cannot sin yourself beyond the grace of God.  And this truth must seize you moment by moment, day after day.  When you are convinced that God will not cast you away from His presence or take His Holy Spirit from you, faithfulness to Jesus will mark your life rather than fear.  This is the power of the Gospel that both saves and sanctifies.   

To be sure, we are great sinners.  But we have an even greater Savior, who has willingly paid the price for every one of our sins—past, present, and still to come.  The next time you sin and fall short of the mark your Master has set before you, confess it, and be grieved for breaking His heart.  But don’t stay there!  Quickly follow that confession with a heart filled with thanksgiving and joy for the One who faced the most awful fear . . . so that you will never have to face it . . . no, not ever!

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

Today I want to share something with you that can help you get more out of life.  Learn to IGNORE A WHOLE LOT MORE!

I am convinced that some people in the body of Christ believe they have the “gift” of criticism.  No matter what you do, you simply cannot please them.  They are never satisfied with your effort and will always seek out something to criticize or complain about.  Now, I am not talking about constructive criticism or course correction by someone who truly has your best interests at heart.  I am talking about those small-minded people who find their joy and satisfaction in cutting others down, tearing them up, and throwing them out. 

Jesus had to deal with such people on a daily basis.  No matter what He did, it was never good enough for some.  Even His miraculous works of healing brought out the critics!

He went on from there and entered their synagogue.  And a man was there with a withered hand.  And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse him.  He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out?  Of how much more value is a man than a sheep!  So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”  Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”  And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other.  But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.  (Matthew 12:9-14)

You would think the religious leaders would be filled with awe and joy to witness the divine healing of a crippled man.  Instead they were filled with fury, for more reasons than I have space to recount.  The point of today’s message is to help you deal with your critics. 

Remember, our Lord promised that we would receive the same kind of treatment He received if we would live for Him (see Matthew 10:25 and John 15:20).  So bring on the critics, the complainers, the condemners!  You can receive their “gifts,” knowing Jesus walked where you walk and has given you all the grace you need to IGNORE A WHOLE LOT MORE!  Remember, those who belittle you are simply being little!

Only the power of the Gospel allows you to IGNORE A WHOLE LOT MORE!  Because you already have everything you need in Jesus you can let your critics criticize, complain, and condemn all they want.  When you rest in the finished work of Jesus, you don’t have to defend yourself anymore.  When your identity is rooted in Jesus, you no longer have to explain yourself to your critics.  There is no need to “throw your pearls before pigs,” because your purpose, meaning, and significance is anchored in the cross work of Jesus. 

Listen, if perfection didn’t please everybody, imperfection never will.  If they nailed the only perfect Man to the cross, they certainly won’t hesitate to nail your hide to the barn door! You simply need to focus on Jesus and let the power and grace of the Gospel equip you to IGNORE A WHOLE LOT MORE!

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

If someone asked you how you would measure maturity as a Christian, how would you answer?  Would you focus on performance, effort, and good works?  Here are some of the most common yardsticks Christians give when asked about measuring maturity:

• Daily devotions
• Consistent prayer life
• Weekly witnessing
• Regular church attendance
• Faithful tither
• Scripture memorization
• Outreach oriented
• Mission minded

As good as these answers are, they are not accurate measurements of true maturity in the Christian.  Think about it: if faithful, consistent practice of spiritual disciplines was the measure of maturity, the Pharisees would have been the holiest individuals on the planet!  Yet Jesus said their holiness never moved from their head to their heart.  The Pharisees were more concerned with what their hands and feet were doing than how their heart was beating. 

Real Christian maturity is never measured by behavior; it is only to be measured by belief.  What we believe about Christ’s behavior on our behalf is the true measurement of our maturity.  The Pharisees believed it was all about their work . . . their effort . . . their performance . . . their righteousness.  In their eyes, what they did made them holy.  And the more they did, the more holy they believed they were.  This is why Jesus excoriated them. 

Christian maturity is grounded in our understanding that it is all about what Jesus has already done on our behalf . . . His work . . . His effort . . . His performance . . . His righteousness.  Our behavior cannot gain for us He has already accomplished for us.  Christ’s behavior secured for us everything we need, and it is only in our believing it and re-believing it every day that we find ourselves walking in the way of maturity.

The more we grasp the Gospel, the deeper we drive the roots of Christian maturity into the soil of the sanctified life.  Our sense of sin deepens; our hope brightens; our zeal quickens.  Daily we must become ever more seized by the truth of God’s unconditional love poured out for us on Golgotha’s Hill—while we were still sinners (see Romans 5:8).  If God didn’t wait for us to be good before He loved us, He’s not waiting for us to get better to keep loving us!  We are completely loved in the Beloved.  The mature Christian is undergirded and uplifted by this truth and walks in it moment by moment. 

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