March 15, 2009: 3 Lent

Rev Ken Wratten= at St. Stephen’s, San Jose

The Grace of Go= d

Part 2: Grace S= ustains

<= /o:p>

Last week I proposed = that this season of Lent should be used to appreciate God’s gift of Grace.= And to fully appreciate that gift, we need to review the basics of what GodR= 17;s
Grace is. It is a free gift to us; it is received through faith; and it is available to everyone.

"God, who began the good work within you, <= u>will continue His work until it is finally finished..." <= /i>

Phil. 1:6 (NLT) = God created you; God created you with a purpose; and by giving your life to God= , God’s purpose will be accomplished in you. We know that through faith in Jesus Christ, you and I will live forever in heaven. But that isn’t all that this verse is about. Paul is teaching us that God wants us to finish the ra= ce of life well. God doesn’t want us to just put time in here, in this l= ife. God wants us to finish this race well. And so God’s gift of Grace SUSTAINS us, gives us what we need to keep at it, so that our lives can be = lived well; so that we can run the race of life in a way that brings glory to God= .

Today I want to explore with you how God’s Grace sustains us,= and how we receive God’s Grace.

1. God's Sustaining Grace helps me when I'm tempted. =

We all know that life is filled with temptations; things we want to do, or say, or buy that we know in our heart are things we don’t need, and that pull us down spiritually. They can become more important to us than our relationship with God, IF we give in to them. This= last week’s temptation for me was Girl Scout cookies. Now what can possibl= y be overpowering about a little Trefoil Girl Scout cookie? Well, for me, itR= 17;s only eating one. Now that probably isn’t going to raise my cholesterol high enough to damage me permanently, but I know better than to eat them. W= ell, what are the spiritual equivalents of a Girl Scout cookie? Competing to make more money than = my co-worker? Accumulating witho= ut any mind of sharing? Unhealthy relationships? But we have a scriptural promise:

No = temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will n= ot let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he w= ill also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. 1 C= or 10:13 (NIV)

Asking for God’s Grace opens the gate for = God to give you Sustaining Grace.

2. God's sustaining Grace helps me when I'm tired.

= 220;"For God is at work within you, giving you the will and the power = to achieve His purpose." Phi= l. 2:13 (Ph)

Life is down right exhausting sometimes, isnR= 17;t it? It takes a lot of strength, a lot of energy to live life; especially wh= en you're trying to do the right thing rather than the easiest thing. There ar= e a lot of people in life who don't try to do the right thing; they just do whatever's the easiest thing. That's no problem at all. You might be able t= o coast through life if you always do the easiest thing. But the problem is; when you're coasting, you're always going downhill. You're always headed = down when you coast. We Christians won’t settle for that.

The key to the ability to not get tired and give= up, but to do the right thing, is having the Holy Spirit in your heart. It's the Holy Spirit who energizes you; it is not about your own power. So you need = to ask for God’s Sustaining Grace to provide the will and the power to k= eep doing the right thing. The Christian life is not a matter of your willpower; but a matter of God's will and God's power in your life.<= /p>

3. God's Sustaining Grace gives me the power to keep going when I'm worried= .

Ruth and I have had = lots of discussions about the tendency we have to fill something we named, a ‘worry space’. It seems that this is a space in us that always = has to be filled. Sometimes it is filled with things going on in our lives that= make a lot of sense; like worrying how we are going to pay a bill when we don’t have the money to pay the bill. But there are other times that = this ‘worry space’ is filled with pretty silly stuff. We were very worried a few months ago because there was some kind of fluid on the garage floor. Our car has 120,000 miles on it. We convinced ourselves that this wa= s a sign of the engine falling apart, and we would have to buy a new car. We we= re worried. It was a loose hose clamp.

Do you have a ‘= ;worry space’ too: one that you always seem to have something in it?

"God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble." Ps= . 46:1 (NLT)

Our decision to put = things in a ‘worry space’ or not, depends on us deciding that there are some things we have control over, so we don’t have to worry about the= m, and some things we don’t have control over, and so we worry about the= m. The fact is that we really know we don’t have control over anything. = But God does. And so rather than worrying, we need to ask God for His Sustaining Grace, and depend on that grace to help us through our troubles.

We have found out th= at worrying is a signal to look carefully at what we are worrying about. If it= is not really important, recognize that and discard it. If it IS something imp= ortant, then it is important enough to give over to God, and to trust that God will provide what is needed.

So let’s look = at some direction from scripture about how to receive God’s Sustaining Grace:

4. Receive God’s Grace by drawing close to God.

"God gives grace to the humble.= So give yourselves completely to God ... Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you." James 4:6-8 (NCV/NLT) <= o:p>

And we draw near to God by talking with Him, daily; without ceasing.

5. Receive God’s Grace by filling your mind with God. <= /b>

= 220;For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Je= sus our Lord.” Romans 6:= 23 (N= IV)

If we accept what the Bible teaches us, that we have eternal life, = what else could be more important than to live our lives to reflect that we beli= eve it? And that means filling our life with God: the way we think about what happens to us; the way we think about the people who are EGR people in our lives; the way we treat the people we love.

6. Receive God’s Grace by accepting and giving support to other belie= vers.

&qu= ot;By helping each other with your troubles, you truly obey the law of Christ.&qu= ot; Ga= l. 6:2 (NCV)

Being a church, bein= g a faith family, being the body of Christ in the world, means that we are not supposed to do all this alone. We were not meant to. God doesn’t expe= ct each of us to do this alone, and doesn’t want us to do it alone. We l= earn the work of giving (and the harder work of accepting) support in this real = life laboratory we have named St. Stephen’s in the field. This function of= the church has nothing to do with there four walls; nothing to do with hymns and people up front wearing collars and vestments. This channel to receiving God’s Sustaining Grace exists through you and me living out Christ’s charge to serve each other, and letting others serve us when= we need it.

7. Receive God’s Grace by holding on to God's promises.

"He gives strength to the weary and increases= the power of the week. Even youths grow tired ... but those who hope in the = Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will r= un and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint." Isa. 40:29-31 (NIV)

Christ promised that we have eternal life; that we are now adopted as God’s children; that Christ is our servant-God, but now at God’s right hand to give us what we need to r= un the race of life with the power that is needed to complete the race in styl= e.

As we look at the nightly news about the economy= and crime; as we see so much need around us, and within our own family, it is v= ery clear that we can’t respond to it all fueled by our own power. And fortunately we don’t have to. We are the recipients of God’s Sustaining Grace, given to help= us.

Draw close to God; Fill your mind with Him; commit time and energy to supporting other believers in their needs; a= nd study God’s promises in Scripture, and claim them; because they are r= eal, and they are yours. And may God bless you through any need with His Sustain= ing Grace. Amen.