GRACE: GOD’S UNMERITED FAVOUR.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves;
it is the gift of God: Not of works lest any man should boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV
GODS GRACE: Yes, it is truly amazing! We don\’t deserve it, and there is nothing on this earth that we can do in order to be deserving of His grace.
Yet, God\’s grace is freely offered to all of us, regardless of what
we have done or where we have been. God\’s gift of grace… it\’s His free gift to us; the price has already been paid. Our debt has been cancelled and paid in full. God\’s wonderful gift of grace, the gift
of salvation through His son Jesus Christ, is the best gift of all!
But His Grace is much more - right through our lives God remains graceful to us. He never changes and we receive from Him grace upon grace upon grace. He forgives and forgives and forgives. When we enter His throne room of grace, when I wrote this first I said he gives us grace, and then I realizes he betstows it on us, He pours it out on us , Nadia’s lovely word he drenches us in it. I thought about this word drench of Nadia in Afrikaans Hy versuip ons daarin.¼br /> God may sometimes discipline us, sometimes quite severely, but he never turns His back. He deals with us, His own, in grace – beautiful, charming unmerited favour.
His marvelous grace really is greater than all our sin!  Our debt has already been paid. We here who have accepted His gift of grace by  accepting Jesus Christ as our Saviour, we have received his Grace. We have entered His throne room of Grace.   .
Grace is a virtue coming from God. A state of sanctification enjoyed through divine Grace. Approval, favour, mercy, pardon, privilege, reprieve
If we accepted Jesus as our Saviour then we should respond in profound gratitude.  We should be so glad that we have missed the gates of Hell. Not only have we been spared God\’s wrath, but we have also been given all His favour. Everything we are and everything we do that is of any value we owe to the grace of God. Dutch theologian G.C. Berkouwer said, \”The essence of Christian theology is grace, and the essence of Christian ethics is gratitude.\” It is gratitude arising spontaneously from a heart filled with grace that motivates us to obey God and serve Him wholeheartedly
 2 Peter 3 verse 18         But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory now and forever.
Rom. 3:24-26, where the apostle tells us, \”We are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past; —\”to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.\”
  

Because of the grace bestowed on us He requires from us Holy living. And we can live Holy Lives once we use that grace because by His grace we can change. He wants to see Jesus in us.
 

What became reality to me while making this sermon is it all depends on how we see God – if we think God is wrathful then we will become wrathful, if we believe He is graceful and forgiving then we become graceful. If we believe in a God that really loves then we will really love.
 

We use grace to describe many things in life:
      A well co-ordinated athlete or dancer
      Good manners and being considerate of others
      Beautiful well chosen words
      Consideration and care for other people
      Various expressions of kindness and mercy.
      A life filled with love and laughter.
 

All these statements remind us of Christ. Come think of a few examples of Christ and grace. Jesus never taught on grace but he lived grace.  He stood alongside a woman caught in adultery. The law clearly state “Stone her” The people around demanded the same.  And Jesus said “He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone” What grace! The prodigal son is a story of grace. How he handled children … is grace. The Good Samaritan.  On the cross He said “Father forgive them …
My plea to you this morning is for us, Christians, to be Christ like in our dealings with others.
As we become full of God’s grace we will show a greater appreciation of God’s gifts to us and to others – the gift of life –
The gift of laughter, of music, of beauty of friendship, of living in harmony and of forgiveness. Yes we must forgive 70 X 7
 

Grace brings freedom.
We will become much less critical of other’s decisions and choices and acts. We  become increasingly less petty.  We will allow others to make their own decisions we will guide and not direct and accept their decisions gracefully.
We will become more tolerant and less judgmental. We will not lay guilt trips on those we disagree from. Grace and guilt trips don’t go together.
Once we know how to enter His throne room of Grace we can expect to take a giant step toward maturity. Grace and maturity goes hand in hand. We will be filled with compassion and empathy and mercy; we will have a kindheartedness that astonishes other people and make them jealous of what we have.
If we live a graceful life there will be no name dropping, no selfishness no boasting.
How will we get to heaven – by Grace.
If we make Christ the Master of our fate, the captain of our souls we will have grace. His name is the only name that will take us from earth to heaven when we die. And it will not be because of our achievements, our fame, our fortune but because of His grace and that grace he wants us to give to all around us.
 

GRACE LOVES AND SERVES, IT GIVES AND FORGIVES.
GRACE DOES NOT KEEP RECORD OF WRONGS. GRACE GIVES ROOM TO GROW AND ROOM TO BE TO DISCOVER AND TO CREATE. There is a kindheartedness around grace that is difficult to describe.
GRACE RELEASES AND AFFIRMS – it does not smothers
GRACE VALUES THE DIGNITY OF OTHERS – it does not destroy
GRACE SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGES. – it is not jealous or suspicious.
GRACE BRINGS HUMILITY
GRACE MAKES US GENEROUS
GRACE SETS US FREE.
 

Through God’s grace we can avoid sin. .
Jesus and grace
\”The law was given through Moses and grace through Jesus.\” John writes. \”Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ\” (John 1:17).
Nevertheless, Jesus didn’t use the word grace. But his entire life was an example of grace, and his parables illustrated grace. He sometimes used the word mercy to describe what God gives us. \”Blessed are the merciful,\” he said, \”for they will be shown mercy\” (Matthew 5:7). In this, he implied that we all need mercy. And he noted here that we should be like God in this respect. If we value grace, we will give grace to others.
Later, when Jesus was asked why he associated with notorious sinners, he told people, \”Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice’\” (Matthew 9:13, quoting Hosea 6:6). In other words, God wants us to show mercy more than he wants us to be perfectionists in law-keeping.
Now, I do not want to encourage anyone to break the law. But since transgressions are inevitable, mercy is essential. That is true of our relationships with one another, and true of our relationships with God, too. God wants us to know our need for mercy, and for us to have mercy toward others. Jesus was exemplifying this when he ate with tax collectors and talked with sinners—he was showing by his behavior that God wants fellowship with us all, and he has taken all our sins upon himself and forgiven us in order to have that fellowship.
JESUS IS OUR EXAMPLE. ALL THAT HE DID WE CAN DO, FOR THAT SAME GRACE IS IN US. WE CAN LIVE ABOVE SIN.WE CAN BECOME THE PERSON WE WANT TO BE.
Hebrews 14:16 “let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in times of need”
I want to end by asking you to set your sail for God. There was this little boy standing on the edge of the sea next to his grandpa. He was amazed that the wind blew in one direction but the boats moved in any direction. He asked the old man how this could happen. The old man replied “By the setting of the sail.” You see brother and sister, it does not matter which way the wind blows. It is the way you set your sail that will determine the direction of the boat.
Set your sail according to the two commandments
“Thou shalt love the lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This the first and great commandment and the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
 

 

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