Pastor Richard Waialeale
May 30, 2021 - W2122

“God’s Amazing Grace – Undeserved Favor”

God's Unfinished Work

Pastor Richard Waialeale  

May 29 & 30, 2021 

Aloha and welcome, New Hope Oahu--those present and online! It's an honor to have you worshipping with us today--you could have been anywhere else this Memorial Day weekend, but you chose to be with us! Today's message is "God's Amazing Grace - Underserved Favor," from the series God's Unfinished Work.

A single mom was meeting with a counselor as she was having difficulty raising her three young boys.  After just one hour into the session, the counselor, sensing the mother's parenting problem asked, "Of the three boys, which one do you love the most?"  Like a normal parent, she answered, "I love them each equally."  

The counselor said, "Well, that can't be right.  You must be honest with yourself; otherwise, we can't move beyond this stage of finding a solution."  So, he asked her again, "Which one do you care for the most?"  So, the mother put her head down and said, "You know, you're right.  When one of my boys is sick, that's the one I love the most.  When we're shopping and one of my boys get lost, he's the one I love the most.  When one of my boys are bad, that's the one I love the most.  The one who's hurting the most at any given time, that's the one my heart goes out to."  

Here's the point:  This parenting example is the same example with our Heavenly Father--while society might judge us because we're lost, hurting, or bad, our Heavenly Father looks upon us compassionately and says, "The one who is lost, and hurting is the one I particularly care for the most." Jesus tells a parable about the Good Shepherd who has 100 sheep; 99 are safe but one is missing! Here's the story...

Luke 15:4-7 NIV says: ⁴ “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine...and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? ⁵ And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶ and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."

The Lord especially loves you when you're in trouble and need Him the most!  That's God's amazing grace!  In Christian theology, Grace is the love and mercy given to us by God.  God's amazing grace can be defined as undeserved favor!

Ephesians 2:8-9 NASB says: "⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

Our salvation is totally due to God's Grace.  The only way to heaven is through the doorway of grace.  You cannot earn it, work for it, or buy it. It's only by God's Grace.  Your salvation is a gift! And not only that, but you are forgiven by grace.  1 John 2:12 NKJV says: "...your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake." 

The Bible also teaches that we are healed by grace in Psalm 147:3 RSV says: " He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."

We are also kept saved by grace--you won't lose your salvation because it's a gift! Jude 24 MEV says: "Now to Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with rejoicing," 

Obviously, if you can work for your salvation, once you stop working, you'll lose it.  You can't earn your salvation because the moment you stop earning, you'll lose it.  It's by grace, it's on the basis of what Jesus did!  You'd have to lose it by what He didn't do--but Jesus did it all!  On the cross, Jesus said, "It is finished!"  It's paid in full!

We are transformed by grace:  Romans 12: 2 KJV says "...be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Everything that God does in you, for you, and through you, is done by grace.  The Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson said, “There is nothing but God’s grace. We walk upon it; we breathe it; we live and die by it. Grace makes the nails and axles of the universe.  We wouldn't even have our lives if it weren't for God's grace!"  

How do we receive this grace of God?  Three simple words:  By trusting Christ.   God made it so simple that nobody could say it's too difficult to understand.  "...the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."John 1:17 KJV.

Here are three characteristics of a person living under grace:  

1.  Living Each Day with A Sense of Gratitude  

The German theologian Meister Eckhart said: “The most important prayer in the world is just two words: Thank you.”  God's grace is amazing--we are forgiven, then given life!  

Colossians 2:13-14 NLT says: "¹³ You were dead because of your sins and your sinful nature...Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. ¹⁴ He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross."

God allowed you to live another day.  He didn't have to, but he did; so, every day is a gift from God!  He is well?pleased when we live with a sense of gratitude; and it's important that we understand and realize that grace is God's gift to us--it's not dependent on anything we do!  Steven Furtick says:  "Gratitude begins where my sense of entitlement ends."  

After President Ronald Reagan was shot in a failed assassination attempt on his life, he said, "I have a new sense that I was spared for a purpose, and that all my time belongs to God after that."  

Gratefulness causes us to pause and treasure our relationships and make sure that our lives are filled for life's existence.  Jesus was especially good at this.  He was once in a tough situation with 5000 hungry people around Him to feed, and all He had were five small loaves of bread and two fish. He could have complained, "How do I feed 5000 people with so little?"  But He didn't do that.  He didn't write off the loaves and the fish as nothing. He did notice what was given and gave thanks.  In these less?than?perfectcircumstances, God supplied all that was needed!

When we appreciate everything around us, we become a grateful person.  There's an old Hebrew saying:  "One day we will be held accountable for everything that God created for us to enjoy but refused to do so."  

Here's the point:  Gratefulness develops eyes to see the beautiful gifts that God places before us; so, develop a sense of gratitude. Gratitude is rooted in the reality that God is present. Being thankful is possible not because everything goes perfectly, but because God is present!  The spirit of God within us is closer than your own breath.  So, develop a sense of gratitude!  

2. Learn to Live a Life of Excellence

Psalm 8:1 KJV says: "O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!"

Since God created us in His image and He is excellent, we have the potential and the ability to live a life of excellence!  The greatest example of a life of excellence is Jesus: Luke 2:52 NASB says, "Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men."

A life of excellence is a game changer; therefore, we are to be excellent people and our image must reflect God's excellence:

• The pursuit of excellence comes from doing your best with the ability of what God gave us to glorify Him.
• Don't climb a mountain with the intention that the world should see you; but climb the mountain with the intention to see the world.  
• You have ability to provide direction for people around you and to share your life with others. "The righteous is the guide to his neighbor..."  Proverbs 12:26 ESV.
• The person who lives with a sense of gratitude and excellence becomes a guide to those around you that need direction!  When we realize how undeserving we are of His grace and God gives it to us anyway, we understand that there is...

3.  An Urgency in Making Wrong Things Right

We must not tolerate broken relationships, especially, when God gives us grace.  In making things right, Proverbs 6:4-5 ESV says, "⁴ Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber; ⁵ save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler." 

Paraphrase: “Don’t let sleep come to your eyelids, nor slumber to your soul. Get up like a gazelle and go make things right!”  "...Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry." Ephesians 4:26 NIV.

We are reminded to restore relationships. Matthew 26:6 NIV says: "While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper," Clearly, Simon is a healed leper; otherwise, he could not host this party!  The point is that he's still known as Simon the leper.  He was healed, but once a leper, always a leper; but when Jesus heals, He heals completely!  

Here's the point:  We're all guilty of something.  Simon was healed, but he's still called Simon the leper.  God forgives us, but we never forget where you came from and receive everyone that Jesus receives.  When we understand the grace given us, we must offer the same grace to others because there are people still struggling with what's wrong and they need help making it right.

2 Corinthians 5:17 LB says: "When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand-new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!"

The old life is gone. A new life has begun!  So how do we make wrong things right?  

Action step:  As you experience God's amazing grace, you'll live each day differently.  You realize that you should be dead; but, instead, the Lord has given you a new life!  When we understand the grace that has been given to us, we must offer it to others around us.  God created us in His image, which makes us just like our creator in what we do and imagine. 

God created us to be creative so let's use your imagination.  Giving someone special attention is what relationships are all about.  Let's upgrade our lives to grace.  When we understand grace, we will live differently.  Our lives are changed, and we truly understand His Grace that changes our lives!  

STUDY QUESTIONS:

1.      How are you living each day with a sense of gratitude?
2.      How are you learning to live a life of excellence?
3.      What does the pursuit of excellence mean to you; how are you applying God’s   Word to that meaning?
4.      What does grace mean to you and how are you giving other’s grace?
5.      What examples are you setting to show others that God is present in your life?