Scripture Text: (KJV)
Ephesians 2: 1 - 8; Romans 6:1 - 4 (KJV)
Ephesians 2: 1 - 8 (KJV)
2 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Romans 6:1 - 4 (KJV)
6 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
The Title of Today’s Message is: The Grace Factor
Introduction
There were some things I didn’t quite understand growing up, but one of the things I understood completely was that my brother, sister, and I were loved. We weren’t always able to partake in the finer things in life as some would define them, but we had each other, which always made me feel as if I could accomplish anything. There are some that may turn their noses up at this, but we were the family that would only go out to eat on a payday, and if we went, it was to a buffet where we could get nice and full. Some of us couldn’t imagine doing this now, but Golden Corral, Ryans, and Old Country Buffet were good options when you had to feed a family. Before they changed the rules we would go towards the end of breakfast and stay through lunch lol!
We were the type that earned allowance every two weeks based upon the chores we completed in the house, but were expected to tithe, pay ourselves through savings, bless someone else, and then spend the rest that we wanted, and it didn’t matter whether the allowance was $10 or $1000, the expectation was the same, that you would work hard for whatever you get, that you would earn it, and that you would be a good steward over what you had.
We were the type of family that when we wanted McDonalds, my mom would say “we have everything we need right here to make McDonalds in the house”, and we would slice up real potatoes and pat together patties of ground beef and make some kool aid to refresh us. We were taught that when you have everything you need you don’t break the bank just to satisfy a craving for what you want.
We were the type of family that believed in a difference between school clothes and play clothes, school shoes and play shoes, and preserved what we had so that it would last longer. The first thing we had to do when we got home was get out of our school clothes and put on our play clothes, take care of business in the house, do our homework, and then we could go outside and play so long as we were back in the house before the streetlights came on.
You see, we weren’t trying to keep up with anyone around us and the standard for the way we operated didn’t change based upon who was around us, we just knew there was a certain way to be that would keep us connected and focused on the goals we had ahead of us.
If I were to be honest, that certain way of being made it tough sometimes, because growing up, I would see what others were doing and started to wonder why I couldn’t do what they were doing. I would hear about my friends staying at the basketball court well after the street lights came on while hearing in my mind, “Paul, the only place you should be when those street lights come on is at your own house.” I would see my peers come to school and not turn their homework in only to remember that my mom would have me check, double check, and triple check my work before I could even get up from the table. I would see others spending the night at each other's house, while my mom would say “your friends are welcome to stay here every now and then, but you are not going over there to stay right now.” But I think the thing that had me questioning the most is when others would do things they were not supposed to do, and my mom would say “we have to pray that they find the right way to go” but when I did something I wasn’t supposed to do, she would say “now Paul, you know better, you shouldn’t be doing things like that,” and before you knew it, I was receiving a consequence for the same thing she told me we needed to pray for with others. Sometimes I was wondering “where is my prayer in these moments” and it was almost like my mom could read my mind, because she would look at me and say “I pray you understand that when you spare the rod, you spoil the child.”
Connection to the Introduction
And believe it or not, saints, children of the Most High God, this is when I learned that grace, though available to all of us, was on a continuum. This is when I learned that not all receive grace in the same exact way, but that the measure of grace is distributed based upon our maturity in our relationship with Jesus Christ.
That is to say
- We cannot call ourselves the disciples of Christ but try to hang on to our shortcomings and blend in with the world all while using grace as our justification.
- That is to say we cannot hide behind grace to validate our contrary actions as children of God.
- That is to say we cannot give access to the enemy through an open door to our souls, our minds, our wills, and our emotions, that is hinged upon grace as an excuse to have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof.
Because just like my mother would remind me and my siblings that your friends can do what they want to do, but there are certain things that are just not appropriate for my children because of the name they carry, so too is God instructing us in the house tonight that having His name established over our lives grants us grace, but that grace comes with responsibility.
And the responsibility is this– Psalm 124 proclaims had it not been for the Lord who was on our side, now may Israel say– if it had not been for the Lord on our side, when men rose up against us– then they had swallowed us up quick when their wrath was kindled against us– then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul– then the proud waters had gone over our soul– BLESSED BE THE LORD, WHO HATH NOT GIVEN US AS A PREY TO THEIR TEETH! Our responsibility is to understand that the same grace that saved us is the same grace that we should reverence to allow the Lord to keep us! And our theme is most appropriate tonight, because all weekend long all over the United States and all over the world, there will be believers that will celebrate what we call the “Superbowl of the Christian” all while forgetting that grace is what brought Him to that cross. There will be those who will shout and sing on Good Friday, attend showcases and be in reflection on Saturday, and will wear their Easter best on Sunday and even have dinner with the family all while forgetting that the cross wasn’t just for us to celebrate a Holy Week but it was for us to celebrate the Holy One who also calls us to be Holy. And that is why I choose to remember the cross, because it was an act of grace that demonstrates the Love of a Savior who would not come down from the cross just to save Himself, but decided to die just to save me!
The hymnist John Newton says it like this– Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see! I like this verse because you see it was the grace factor that caught John Newton up in the middle of a voyage of a slave ship in which he was the slavemaster, and delivered John from his past while showing him he had a more excellent way for his future that required him to change his course in the present. Oh boy– some of you may have missed that– God is saying my grace is sufficient for you, because I am the only one powerful enough to clean up your past by showing you what’s in store for your future while loving you enough to know how to deal with your current state! I know your past tried to hold you back, but God knows the plans He has for you and said that He’s about to order your steps by extending you a little more grace! Don’t just take my word for it… 1 Peter 5:10 says it like this “and after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” Can you just get the attention of three people in the sanctuary and say “thank you Lord for grace!”
Contextual Evidence
Let’s run to the text because I don’t want to worry your patience on this Good Friday night, but I want to offer to you as my homiletic thesis tonight that through the cross, grace saved us, and grace should keep us saved. There is evidence right away in our text as Paul is speaking to the church in Ephesus starting in the opening verse of Chapter 2 in the book of Ephesians, where he says something that put a fire in my belly when I was reading it. Look at this in anticipation with me and begin to think over your life and where God has brought you from as we read just the first five words to build our argument. Ephesians 2:1, the first five words, says “AND YOU HATH HE QUICKENED.”
Now I’m not trying to stir anyone up tonight. You are already a special type of Christian to be here tonight. Some traveled from far, some were close but still had to sacrifice. Some worked on the job all day and some have been here all week in revival and still have a ways to go, and the price of a gallon of gas is getting worse by the day and you sometimes have to think twice before you pick up and go. But you made it here. And if you are here, it means God has something for you! I’m going to ask this question and then move out of the way for just a few seconds– does anyone remember a time where the Holy Ghost got a hold of you so good that you began to quicken? Do you remember a time where the Holy Ghost refreshed you in areas in which you felt like you were stale? Do you remember the Holy Ghost reviving you during a time where you prayed for revival?
I declare to you in the house tonight that the Holy Ghost has the power to save your life. It’s the reason why when a praise erupts in the service of the living God, chains start to be broken. It’s the reason why when praise breaks loose on your row, you can declare that you feel like there is a fire shut up in your bones. It’s the reason why we can say we once were dead in trespasses and sins, but He quickened us. In the past we walked according to the course of the world, but He quickened us. In the past our conversations were rooted in all the wrong things, but He quickened us. It was His mercy that gave God great love towards us, and as verse five says, even when we were dead in sins, he quickened us, and by grace, we are saved!
It’s been a little while since you have connected with your neighbor so please, do me a favor and check on them for a second, and say “hey neighbor… He quickened me, by His grace!” You can sit and look cute all you want, you can try to hold it together but I know that a good quickening saved my life! I know that His grace elevated my mind. I know that I was one wrong move from going the wrong way, but I felt a quickening that ordered my steps. I know that I was one more conversation away from compromising my holy ghost, but I felt a quickening that had me to speak in tongues instead of curse someone out. Oh don’t look at me like you don’t understand what I am saying there are some situations, some people, some things that will take you there on purpose just to see how you will respond, but everytime you want to make the wrong move, you ought to let the Holy Ghost respond for you and quicken you back into your blessed place.
And the reason why we must do this is found in our final scripture of the night– Romans 6:1 - 2 makes it clear– shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid! The bible says if we are dead to sin, we can’t live there anymore! Connect with your praise partner one last time and said “I’ve changed my address with no forwarding mail allowed!” I say no forwarding mail because I am not living by grace to see how much I can get away with. I am living by grace to see how much better I can get through a surrendered life to Christ. That is the difference.
I have a friend on facebook, Raheem Turane, that said it like this “many people prefer a transactional relationship with God because it doesn’t require accountability. In this season, however, transactional relationships with God are being declined in the heavens.” God is not looking for the type of relationship where we say “God if you do this, I will do that.” God has been too good to us for that type of relationship. God has been too good to us for you to be begged to give Him the praise. God has been too faithful for us to pick and choose when we will honor Him. I can hear the voice of Pastor Copeland, I can hear the voice of Pastor E. Mable Wilson, I can hear the voice of Intercessor Glenora Wilson, I can hear the voice of Pastor Joyce Washington and because of that, I can lift my own voice and declare “God, if you never do another thing, you have already done enough!”
- I cannot forget the cross, because you decided that I was worth saving even when I didn’t want to be saved
- I cannot forget the cross, because you were gracious enough to love me even when I didn’t love myself
- I cannot forget the cross, because it freed me from the power of sin
Conclusion
And it is because of this that I can declare that I don’t want to find myself in a place where I use grace as my covering to do what I know I am not supposed to do. We are not authorized to discount the cost of grace. We are not authorized to misuse grace and to throw the term around like it is a buy-one, get-one sale. We cannot cheapen grace by willfully doing wrong and then wearing it like a cloak that will cover our mess. For grace to be a factor in our lives, we must yield to Jesus who made us a benefactor of salvation. You see, grace had God to take counsel with Himself and say my people are in need of a Savior. Grace had Him to decide that He needed a body to dwell among us. Grace had Him to robe himself in flesh and be born of a virgin. Grace had Him to perform miracles, signs, and wonders and be God in the flesh in the form of Jesus. Grace had Him to be manifest in flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, be believed on in the world, and received up into glory. Grace had Him to not call a host of angels when they put Him on that old rugged cross. Grace had Him to lay down His life knowing no one could kill Him. Grace had the SUN to refuse to shine so long as the SON was in that borrowed tomb. And I am trying to stay away from what you are going to hear on Sunday morning, but don’t you hear a quickening. Don’t you hear a rumbling. Ooh don’t you hear a shaking…. because that same grace had Him prove no one can kill Him, no one can defeat Him, no one can dethrone Him, because on the third day, He rose, with all power in His hands!