Grace for the Race

At first glance, the title of today’s message might lead you to believe we are going to focus on the current state of the American economy.  Not true; we’re going to look at a far more important economy—God’s—and how it has turned the world upside-down. 

Consider Jesus’ remarkable statements concerning the upside-down, counterintuitive economy of God:

Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.  (Mark 8:35)

The last will be first, and the first last.  (Matthew 20:16)

Lose your life to save it?  The first will be last?  What’s going on here?  The best way to interpret Scripture is to let Scripture interpret itself, and there is no better place to interpret the counterintuitive economy of God than with the story of David being anointed as king of Israel.  When God sent the prophet Samuel to anoint Israel’s new king, Samuel was initially basing his pick on outward appearances.  But as Samuel looked upon the sons of Jesse, God said something that helps us understand His upside-down economy. 

The Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him.  For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

(1 Samuel 16:7)

When Jesus said “Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it,” He was telling His disciples that the Christian life was a life of service marked by sacrifice, suffering, and sorrow.  When Jesus said “The last will be first, and the first last,” He was telling His disciples that power, prestige, and position in this life do not necessarily correspond to the same things in the next life.  In fact, the reverse is often true! 

In God’s economy, what is unseen is more important than what is seen; what goes on inside of us is more important than what is going on outside of us.  Problems occur when we spend too much time focusing on what is seen rather than what is unseen—what’s going on outside of us rather than inside of us.

Some years back, Steven Curtis Chapman wrote a song titled, “The Change.” The chorus lyrics are:

What about the change?

What about the difference?

What about grace?

What about forgiveness?

I want to live a life that’s showing

I’m undergoing

the change.

That’s it! Instead of praying for bigger barns, we should be praying for bigger hearts.  And it is only the power of the Gospel that causes us to pray in such a way. 

You see, the Gospel isn’t just the truth that unbelievers must believe in order to receive eternal life.  It is a moment-by-moment reality that believers must embrace so that they can “abundantly” experience their salvation (John 10:10).  Many in the church mistakenly believe that only the unbeliever is in need of the Gospel.  But the reality set forth in the Scriptures is that both the unbeliever and the believer need the Gospel, because the Gospel is for sinners—all sinners—who are in need of a Savior. 

The Gospel frees us from our bondage to the economy of the world—frees us from forever running on the performance treadmill—and allows us to embrace the upside-down economy of our God with great joy!  The Gospel is how we set about undergoing the change.

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

What are you living for?  What gives you meaning?  Where do you find your identity?  How do you define success?  If your answer to any of these questions is not “Jesus,” then you are living the hopelessness of the horizontal.  The emptiness of a horizontal existence is rooted in the fact that nothing in this world was ever meant to satisfy you at the deepest level.  This place in your heart is reserved for Christ alone.   

Someone once said, “Keep your tent pegs shallow!”  In other words, don’t get too attached to this world, because you are a pilgrim who is just passing through.  We are always on the move, longing for home, and never arriving until we get to the other side.  As the writer of Hebrews said, “Here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come” (Hebrews 13:14).

So . . . how attached are you to this world?  Prayerfully consider the answer to this question:

1. If I had __________ I would finally be satisfied. 

Honestly now . . . how did you answer?  What rules your heart shapes you life.  If you believe you need anything or anyone in addition to Jesus in order to be truly satisfied, you are living the hopelessness of the horizontal.  I say that horizontal living is “hopeless” because everything this world has to offer will ultimately disappoint you.  We all intuitively know this to be true, because the world and everything in it no longer satisfies our deepest desires.  Can you think of anything in this life that has not disappointed you? 

• Jobs disappoint
• Relationships disappoint
• Accomplishments disappoint
• Prosperity disappoints
• Pleasure disappoints
• Even the church disappoints

Broken things inevitably frustrate and disappoint us, and everything on this side of heaven is broken . . . including you!  And your disappointment will lead to discouragement, delusion, depression, and ultimate defeat. 

So what is our hope?  We exchange horizontal living for vertical living by living for the Savior rather than living for ourselves.  You see, your redemption is not just about you; it is primarily about God and His cosmic work of redemption and renewal of the entire cosmos.  And you have been called to participate in this eternal work!  When we work to expand the cause of our own kingdom we are always disappointed.  But when we are working to expand the cause of His kingdom, we are working for something so much bigger and so much more vital than our own existence!  And that is the crossroads where purpose meets passion.  At this level of living, the hopelessness of the horizontal is removed for the vision of the Vertical.  You see, “The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17).

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

JESUS AND ME . . . AND WE!

It’s not uncommon for a pastor to hear someone say, “I love my relationship with Jesus, but I don’t want to have anything to do with the church.”  People who say such things often have been let down by the church; worse still, some have been hurt by the church.  It is a bitter truth that American churches are notorious for embodying the sardonic phrase, “We shoot our wounded!” 

And yet Scripture is clear: you simply cannot have the Head of the church (Jesus) without being a member of His body (the church).  When you understand what the church is—a collection of great sinners who are in desperate need of an even greater Savior—it becomes easy to comprehend how and why the church can hurt you and let you down.  When broken people engage with other broken people, relationships frequently fracture and fall apart.  However, staying away from the church because of those broken people who disappoint us is simply another way that our self-righteous hearts are exposed for what they truly are.

Please note that this does not apply to those who are physically unable to engage in the community of the church for a variety of reasons, such as age or illness.  I am speaking to those who intentionally forsake the body of Christ.

When Jesus saved you, He made you part of His body (the church).  He intends for you to grow up in the context of community, not in isolation.  He knows there are broken people in His body who will cause you discouragement and even pain, but He is using all those experiences to draw you nearer to the cross and encourage you to depend more and more on Him. 

The secular culture places the interests, desires, dreams, and goals of the individual over and above the community.  It’s all about independence, and even many of those who have trusted in Christ’s atoning work want to keep their independence and minimize their commitment to—and contact with—the church.  They live the “Jesus and Me” Christianity model and as a result, grow into only a fraction of the person God is calling them to be.

It is only when we see our relationship with Jesus in the context of community that we will surrender our independence to both the Head of the church and His body.  Because we are going to be a part of the body of Christ for all eternity, it is an excellent idea to grow comfortable with it now by getting deeply involved in the church.  Jesus and we is the only way for us to be.

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

Have you ever felt ashamed?  I have; there have been times when feeling ashamed was right and appropriate because of things I have said and done.  However, there is nothing more toxic to our walk with Christ than to allow our shame to separate us from our Savior.  If this resonates with you at all, please prayerfully consider these words.

Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family.  So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.  He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises.” . . . And again he says, “Here am I, and the children God has given me.”  (Hebrews 2:11-13)

Regardless of what you have done, Jesus is not only not ashamed of you, He is not ashamed to call you His brother! 

Shame and guilt are both associated with our sin, but they are not the same thing.  Guilt is acknowledging our sinful wrongdoing.  Shame is an intense feeling of disgrace that makes you want to disappear off the face of this earth.  Feeling shame is participating in the proverbial “pity-party.”

When shame drives you deeper into yourself it is a bad thing, an ungodly thing.  On the other hand, when guilt drives you to your Savior, it is a good thing.  It is participating in the process of being convicted by the Holy Spirit, who will carry you to the cross for cleansing.

The gospel is the solution for our shame—all of our shame—on those occasions when we feel shame because of something we have done and when we are shamed by another.  Only the Gospel can release us from shame’s paralyzing power and compel us to cry out to Jesus.  We know we fall short of Scripture’s mark time and time again.  But in spite of our every shameful, self-absorbed, and sinful thought, deed, and desire—and Jesus knows them all (see Psalm 139:4; John 2:25)—He is not ashamed of us. 

Remember, Jesus took our shame and nailed it to that dirty tree—along with every sin past, present, and still to come.  May this truth both fill us and free us to bring our shame to our Savior to receive His shameless love . . . moment by moment. 

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

What did you expect when you said by faith, “I believe,” became a Christian, and started walking with Jesus?  Sadly, for many in the church today, they expected what God never promised.  In a word, they expected LESS!

Perhaps you’re wondering if I have lost my mind; please read on and see if any of the following resonates with you. 

• God promised adoption . . . they live like orphans
• God promised forgiveness . . . they live like condemned criminals
• God promised His presence . . . they live like Jesus has left the building
• God promised His strength . . . they live in their own strength
• God promised transcendent glories . . . they live for their own glory
• God promised a place in His kingdom . . . they live for first place in their kingdom
• God promised a relationship with His Son . . . they live for religion
• God promised eternity . . . they live only for the moment 

These, and a thousand other expectations, are clearly less than God has promised for His people.  The church is full of Christians who are expecting the wrong things—and are therefore building their own kingdom—and in the process they settle for less than God has promised.  But this is not for you!

“‘I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”  The hope and future God promised in Jeremiah 29:11 may not look at all like what you have been hoping for.  Do you know why?  Because Omniscience knows what is best for you!  Think back to some of those things you longed for with all your heart, only to be filled with such great disappointment when you didn’t get them.  Today, looking back on it, can you see how God was protecting you and providing for you by withholding it from you?  That is certainly true of my own life, in more ways than I can count! 

When we push God to the perimeter of our lives and pursue our own dreams and desires, we are actually settling for so much less than the Gospel promises.  I’ve heard my friend and pastor, Tullian Tchividjian, quote C.S. Lewis with powerful effect:

We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea. We are far too easily pleased.

The really good news of the Gospel is the truth that we are not responsible for earning God’s favor and blessings.  These have already been acquired on our behalf by Jesus Christ and come to us only as a result of our union with Him.  Remember, God promised to get you home safely—but not without stress, struggle, and suffering.  And God never promised an explanation for your unmet expectations. 

Jerry Bridges writes, “If we are to succeed in living by grace, we must come to terms with the fact that God is sovereign in dispensing His gracious favors, and He owes us no explanation when His actions do not correspond with our system of merits.”

So what did you expect?  Expect God’s best for you because of what Jesus has already done on your behalf, regardless of the package it is delivered in. 

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

There is a strange strength that Christian believers have over unbelievers.  Do you know what it is?  It’s the strength to admit our weakness!

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”  (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

So . . . how strong is this strange strength in you?  The wisdom of the world says we are to show no weakness and admit no deficiency, because the world belongs to the strong and only the strong survive!  The wisdom of the Word says we are weak—so call upon the strength of the Lord! “He gives power to the faint,” Isaiah proclaimed, “and to him who has no might he increases strength: (Isaiah 40:29).

Yet far too many Christians spend their time trying to showcase their own strength and impress in the eyes of the watching world.  Scripture has warnings for those who do this. 

Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength.

(Jeremiah 17:5)

They will be held guilty, they whose strength is their god.  (Habakkuk 1:11)

We are always confronted with two choices in life.  We can seek to find our strength in our flesh . . . or in our faith.  We can trust in ourselves or we can trust in our Lord.

Peter was trusting in his own strength as he responded to Jesus at the Last Supper.  Jesus spoke to His disciples of His impending suffering and their full-scale retreat, but Peter objected, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.”  How long did Peter’s fleshly strength last?  Until a servant girl chased him into a dark corner of the courtyard while calling down curses on himself and denying his Lord, not once, but three times: “I do not know the man!”

It is only when we understand Peter’s story to be our story can that we can begin to admit our weaknesses and walk in them confidently—because of the One who walks with us.  Peter learned the hard way just how weak he really was and just how much he needed the strength of his Savior.  And we need to learn this lesson too!  We deny our Lord daily in a variety of ways: impatience, fear, doubt, critical spirit, gossip, grumbling, complaining, anger, unforgiveness . . . and it is in our weakness where His power is perfected.  Denying our weakness is not a sign of strength; it is a façade for cowardice.

We must receive the truth Paul wrote about in 2 Corinthians 12:9—“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  Now that is a strange strength we can count on, regardless of the circumstances we face. 

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

What are you living for?  For many in the church today the answer to that question is found in the word legacy.  They are living to leave behind a legacy for family, friends, and/or peers.   The word legacy is defined as something handed down from the past by an ancestor or a predecessor.  A legacy isn’t confined to inanimate objects, such as money and possessions.  It also extends into the area of talents and gifting. 

Now, it is a fact that we are all going to leave behind a legacy of some sort, but make no mistake: living for your own legacy is too little to live for!  Christians are called to leave behind a life lived for the expansion of God’s kingdom and the furtherance of His purposes in this world.  And that will only be accomplished when we are living for the glory of God’s story and not the embellishment of our own.  It all boils down to what we are living for.

So . . . what about you?  What are you living for?

It’s easy to get faked out.  We can think we are living for God’s story, when in fact we are living for our own.  The Gospel becomes a means to an end rather than the end itself.  We begin living for our own dreams . . . our goals . . . our desires . . . the expansion of our kingdom . . . and not God’s.

We want the Gospel to give us health.  We want the Gospel to give us wealth.  We want the Gospel to give us a happy marriage.  We want the Gospel to give us obedient children.  We want the Gospel to give us a good job.  We want the good gifts that are often the fruit of the Gospel, rather than the gracious Giver of those gifts.  This is shrinking the size of our life down to the size of our life, and that is too little to live for!  When we are living for anything smaller than God, we are living for a tiny legacy that is dull and sinful and miserable.     

Living for the legacy of the Lord is living a life that is poured out for others.  It is living to fulfill the purposes of His kingdom rather than your own kingdom.  Take a moment to prayerfully consider whose legacy you have been living for; and as you do, meditate on these God-breathed words:

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints—the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the Gospel that has come to you.  (Colossians 1:3-6)

Now that is a legacy worth living for—a life lived that is marked by faith in Christ and love for others.

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

I am privileged to serve in a missional church under the leadership of my friend and pastor, Tullian Tchividjian.  Many Christian leaders, including Tim Keller of Redeemer Church in New York, helped the term missional gain a foothold in American churches at the end of the 20^th Century.  The term, attached to the church as a whole, is meant to explode the concept that missionary “professionals” are the only ones called to live out the Great Commission.

Our missional church is built upon three pillars:

Pillar #1 – Upreach (worship) – our response to God

Pillar #2 – Inreach (community) – our response to each other

Pillar #3 – Outreach (world) – our response to the world

When Jesus told His disciples (and that includes every believer in all churches today) to “go into all the world” (Mark 16:15), He meant what He said!  I’ll be blunt: there needs to be a paradigm shift for many of us in the church today; we must change our thinking from the prevalent “come-and-see” mentality to a “go-and-be” mentality.  Far too many Christians today—particularly American Christians—believe the church exists for the benefit of its members, who rely on the “professional” staff to evangelize the lost world.

Such thinking is unbiblical!  The church—I am not speaking here of the building but all followers of Christ everywhere—was established by God to carry on the mission of Jesus by engaging the culture with the Good News of the Gospel.  In a truly missional church every member, both the ordinary and the ordained, is a minister.  

As the Pastor of Adult Discipleship at Coral Ridge, it is easy for me to get caught up in the trap of pursuing great programs.  To be sure, programs are needed and valuable and part of a solid inreach focus on growing up into Christ.  But personal growth is never the end for the missional church.  The ultimate goal is for members to grow to go into all the world to proclaim the power of the Gospel.  This begins in our own communities—right where we are currently planted. We go forth, armed with the transforming power of the Gospel, which challenges and transforms the vision and values of the secular society around us. 

Missional thinking moves us from focusing on how many are in our service to how many we are serving.  The primary task of the discipleship leadership team in a missional church is to prepare the body—all of the body—to grow and go in order to engage the culture with the good news of the Gospel.  The truly missional church is an alternative Gospel-powered community, and therefore does not fear engaging with the surrounding culture or being absorbed by it.  As Tullian says, “We make a difference by being different” . . . and the difference is Jesus Christ.

So what does this mean to you today?  It means intentionally living all of life in the posture of a servant sent by God.  We are saved for service, having been sent by Jesus with the power of the Gospel to expand the cause of the kingdom right where we are.  And we are to do this with our lips and our lives . . . our profession and our practice.  We are not only to proclaim to the surrounding culture our hope in Jesus, but we must reach out with the hands of Jesus.

Remember, God the Father sent God the Son, and God the Son sent the 12 apostles.  This “sending” model is what it means to be missional and on the move every day for the glory of the King.  

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

Black-and-white thinking sees all of life in terms of great extremes.  The two foundational words that characterize the vocabulary of black-and-white thinkers are “never” and “always.”  See if any of the following statements resonate with you.

• I “always” get the short end of the stick!
• I “never” have time to enjoy life!
• People “always” let me down!
• My spouse “never” surprises me anymore!
• You “never” pay attention to my anymore!
• This relationship will “never” work out!
• My boss is “never” satisfied with my performance!
• My children “never” appreciate what I do for them!
• You will “never” amount to anything in life!

 The list is endless for these two popular polar opposite black-and-white words.  They bring with them conflict and confusion . . . depression and disappointment . . . anxiety and anger.  Yet in the reality of daily living, we see very little that is actually black or white.  Now, when it comes to the truths of Scripture as it relates to good and evil, yes, it is black or white.  Biblical absolutes are absolutely accurate and unfading.  But beyond the Scriptures, life is filled with widely varying shades of gray. 

The black-and-white thinker, however, never wants to acknowledge this truth.  Do you know why?  Let me suggest three reasons (what I call the “black” of black-and-white thinking).

Control – black-and-white thinkers are driven by the need to control as much of life as possible.  Black-and-white thinking allows a measure of perceived control.

Comfort – black-and-white thinkers are driven by the need for comfort, and black-and-white thinking allows them to stay within their pre-determined zones of comfort.

Convenience – black-and-white thinkers are driven by the desire for convenience, and black-and-white thinking is convenient and far less complicated.

It is easier to maintain control of your life, comfort in your life, and convenience for your life when you view things simplistically as only black or white.  Do you remember taking tests in school and the teacher telling you, “If the answer has the words ‘always’ or ‘never’ in it it’s the wrong answer”?  Well, it’s the wrong answer in living the Christian life too!

The only cure for black-and-white thinking is the Gospel.  The Gospel frees us from the need for control, because we have surrendered control of our lives to Jesus.  The Gospel frees us from the need for comfort, because our comfort is Jesus, regardless of uncomfortable circumstances.  The Gospel frees us from the desire for convenience, because the lay-your-life-down-for-others mandate is what fuels the fire of our faith.  Learning to live in the gray areas of life is not easy, but it is necessary if we are going to live the life of love and service to which God has called us. 

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

Henry Drummond once remarked, “How many prodigals are kept out of the kingdom of God by the unlovely characters of those who profess to be inside!”

To be sure, the statement is not theologically precise, but the point rings out loud and clear.  The way we live our lives—

• our behaviors
• our language
• our kindness
• our patience
• our forgiveness
• our acceptance
• our critical spirit

—and so much more, paints a portrait of the God whom we profess to have faith in, to love, and to serve.

So . . . based on the confession of your life today, what kind of God do those around you think you love and serve? 

For the first decade of my salvation (1995-2005), those around me saw a picture of a God who was slow to listen, quick to speak, and extra quick to get angry—and my anger was man-centered, not God-centered.  Because I had been a coach and trainer for so many years, a performance based mind-set was simply part of my DNA.

In sports, coaches play their best athletes based on a number of factors, including performance.  When athletes perform well, they get to play and the coach is happy.  When they do not perform well, they sit on the bench and the coach is not so happy.  I carried this mindset over into my personal life.  If you performed up to my expectations, I was happy; if you did not, I was sad . . . or disappointed . . . or angry! 

In essence, I was a legalist who believed grace had saved me, but my good works were required in order to remain in God’s favor.  I was trusting in my own goodness, just like the Pharisee who went up to the temple to pray in Luke 18:11-12.  “I thank you that I am not like other men,” the proud Pharisee preened before the Lord.  “I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” All the Pharisee could speak of was what he was doing; he said nothing about what God had already done . . . or was continuing to do!

I was very much the same; I thought the Gospel was only designed to get me saved; I had no idea it was designed to get me sanctified too!  You might say I viewed my salvation as similar to an installment contract; Jesus had made the down payment on the note, but I had to make the payments by keeping up my good works!  I did not understand that the same grace that saved me was also sanctifying me. 

When you get that, it changes everything!

I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.  (Philippians 1:6)

Therein lies the marvelous freedom of our faith: knowing that what God began in us He will one day bring to completion.  It is His work that accomplishes the transformation in us, not ours.  This is the fuel to keep the fire of faith steadily stoked, in spite of all our sins and shortcomings. 

Today you might call me a gratefully recovering legalist; I no longer look to anything I do to broker God’s favor.  But it was not until I caught a glimpse of the Gospel and the overwhelming grace that God has poured out on me—and continues pouring out on me daily—that I began to paint a different picture of God for those around me to see.

The last thing that a hurting, unbelieving world needs to see is a distorted portrait of God in you and me—a caricature that depicts Him as a legalist.  We must live out a true portrait of the God who loves the world so much that He sent His Son to die on a cross, nailing all the sins of all who will trust in Him to that dirty tree. 

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