Amazing Grace

But tonight the message is titled Amazing Grace, and so we can go back to that hymn Amazing Grace.

It says 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.

And so tonight we're going to talk about God's amazing grace.

If you're watching tonight and you have your Bibles, you can open them up.

To Ephesians, chapter 2, we'll start.

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

In verse 8.

It said for by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves.

It's the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.

We have a purpose and we are created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God had prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

And so God's grace truly is amazing.

It's amazing to save, it's powerful to save, but it's more than saving something that was lost.

Grace is available to all who are willing to receive it.

And so we're going to dive a little bit further into grace and what that means and what God's grace does for us.

In Acts, chapter 4, verse 33, it says this.

Acts 4:33

It says With great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.

And so we're going to review these verses, starting, we're going to go back to Acts 3 and just kind of go over this account that leads up to this statement that we just read out of 433.

So in Acts, chapter 3, I'm going to turn to my Bible over there, acts, chapter 3, and beginning in verse 1.

Acts 3 · chapter mention Acts 3 · chapter mention

It says now Peter and John, and we're not going to read the whole passage, we're going to read some of these verses and talk about some of these and skip through.

So we'll start in verse 1.

Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at about the hour of prayer, the ninth hour, and it says and a certain man, lame, from his mother's womb, was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple, which is called beautiful, to ask for alms of those who entered the temple.

And so this man was a certain man, he was known and he was known to be lame from birth.

And everybody who came to the temple saw him every day and saw his lame condition every day when they walked in there, because he was laid daily at the gate of the temple.

And this man, it says in verse 3, who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, did like he always did asked for alms and, fixing his eyes on him.

With John, peter said look at us.

And so he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.

And Peter said silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.

And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.

So he was leaping, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.

So he was leaping and stood and walked and entered the temple with them walking and leaping and praising God.

And all the people saw him walking and praising God and they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the gate beautiful of the temple.

And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened of the temple.

And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened.

And so fast forward a little bit to verse 12,.

Everybody's amazed, and it says in verse 12,.

So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people.

People are looking on him with great amazement.

He said men of Israel.

Why do you marvel at us?

Why do you look so intently at us, as if by our own power or own godliness we have made this man to walk?

The God of Abraham, isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate and when he was determined to let him go.

But you denied the Holy One and the just and asked for the murderer to be granted to you and killed the prince of life whom God raised from the dead, of which you are witnesses.

And it's in his name and through faith in that name that this man, the lame man, is made strong.

And so, immediately, they started preaching the truth about who Jesus was and about how they treated Jesus, and that it was by faith in that name that this man was made whole.

And so they continued to preach there, and they preached repentance.

They didn't preach an easy message, something that would entice people to come in and join the church of that day or to come be part of that movement.

They didn't say you know part of that movement.

They didn't say you know, we've got these programs and we've got great food and great entertainment and you should come be a part of us.

They immediately began to preach repentance, which requires something of people.

It requires people to turn around and go the other way, and so it wasn't an easy message.

But somehow those who heard the message and saw this lame man healed were drawn to it.

And so we're going to go down to chapter 4, acts.

Acts 4:1

Chapter 4, verse 1 says Now, as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed, that they taught the people and preached in Jesus, the resurrection from the dead, and they laid hands on them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.

However, many of those who heard the word believed, and the number of men came to about 5,000.

So the growing number of believers from this one act and Peter and John obeying the Holy Spirit resulted, and now the numbers have swelled to about 5,000.

In verse 13, and so we'll back up a little bit they're condemning Peter and John and have threatened them here.

Let's see.

Okay, we'll go to verse 13.

It says now, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled.

They wondered how is it that these men?

They haven't been schooled, they're untrained, these aren't public speakers, these are laborers, they're dirty fishermen.

How is it that they're able to speak and do these things?

And so they marveled, and then they realized that they had been with Jesus.

Being with Jesus made the difference.

And then they had that moment of recognition.

Oh, jesus was like that, and these two were with him.

And now they had that moment of recognition.

Oh, jesus was like that and these two were with him, and now they're like him.

There was one, and we crucified him and buried him and we thought we had killed them.

But now there's two like him.

And so, in verse 14, and seeing the man whom had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.

But when they had condemned them to go outside of the council, they conferred amongst themselves.

And so now they're having a private meeting Verse 16,.

And what shall we do to these men?

For indeed, a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

What are we gonna do?

But so that it spreads no further amongst the people, let us severely threaten them and say mean things to them from now on, so that from now on they speak to no man about this name.

And so they called them and commanded them, peter and John, not to speak at all or to teach in the name of Jesus.

And it could have been ended right there.

Okay, all right, we're going to comply with this government, because you said not to do this and you threatened us severely.

But Peter and John wouldn't have it, they wouldn't let well enough alone.

So verse 19,.

But Peter and John answered they could have just shut up and maybe gone underground and continue to do this thing over on the side.

Maybe they could have been a little more subdued about it, maybe healed fewer people or drawn less people, but they wouldn't have it.

Verse 19,.

Peter and John answered and said to them whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than God you judge.

For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.

In other words, we are witnesses of something undeniable and incredible and we must tell everyone about it.

And so what do the rulers there, the religious rulers, say?

So, when they had further threatened them, still not being able to do anything about it because it was a notable miracle.

They had to let them go.

And so again we're talking about God's grace, this man who laid at the gate, beautiful, who was known by all as being a lame man from birth.

His reputation was changed.

He had a reputation of being lame, but the grace of God was bigger than his old reputation and gave him a brand new one.

He was now known as the man who used to be lame, but was now healed by faith in that name of Jesus, and so he had a new reputation.

Peter and John had a reputation.

They were unlearned, untrained, unskilled, uneducated men, but when they spoke, they spoke with a boldness and people marveled and the religious rulers marveled at how they spoke.

They spoke with a boldness and people marveled and the religious rulers marveled at how they spoke and what they said.

And then they recognized oh, these two sound just like Jesus.

And so the grace of God gave Peter and John a brand new reputation as being with Jesus and they couldn't deny that name and they wouldn't deny it.

And so, going back, you know amazing grace, how sweet the sound I once was lost, but now I'm found was blind or lame or sick or whatever, and now I see and leap and walk and I do all the things that I wasn't able to do before, because I have a new reputation because of the grace of God.

But let's dig in a little further and understand what that grace is.

In the Greek word the word is charis In the concordance, if you look it up, you'll see that it means divine influence, influence upon the heart, with a corresponding reflection in life.

In other words, what's influencing the heart will become evident in the way people live and how they act and how they respond to things.

It's benefit, favor, joy, liberality and pleasure.

But there was an adjective before the word grace.

Remember when we read back in Acts 4.33, it says and great grace was upon them all.

And we haven't got to that verse in our reading yet.

But we're just talking about what the word grace means.

And so now there's an adjective here, great grace, which means mega.

In fact the Greek word is megas Exceedingly great, high, large, loud, mighty, mega, extremely big.

And so it's not just grace, god's grace is not just grace, it's great grace.

And so when you put those two words together, it means that God had completely and fully extended himself to the people with everything he is and everything he has and everything he can do.

In other words, he didn't hold back anything with great grace.

And so we're going to go further down in chapter four and we'll read that in verse 32.

It says Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul.

Neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.

Think about what a drastic change that is.

There was a multitude of people, and people have opinions.

If you have a belly button, you have an opinion.

In fact, people have a lot of opinions.

These Jewish people had a lot of opinions, but yet here they're of one heart, one soul, one mind, and they didn't care about possessing anything selfishly for themselves and their family.

It was a corporate possession.

They had all things in common.

And then in verse 33, it was a corporate possession, they had all things in common.

And then in verse 33, it says with great power again, mega power, and the word power there is dunamis.

It's the mega power of the Holy Spirit.

With great power, the apostles gave witness to the resurrection.

In other words, they were witnesses that they spoke about the resurrection and they had evidence that went with it.

So they were witnesses to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.

In verse 34, the beginning says nor was there anyone among them who lacked.

And so again, the God grace.

Right here, the great grace means that God had completely and fully extended himself to the people with everything that he is, everything he has and everything he can do.

That's what great grace means.

There's another word I want to draw your attention to, and it says great grace was upon them all.

It wasn't just Peter and John, it was the growing multitude of people.

It was 5,000 at one point, but I got to imagine that that number kept growing with the boldness of these two.

And it says and great grace was upon them all.

Well, what does all mean?

So I'll wait for your feedback.

What does all mean?

Yes, all means all.

It's simple.

All means all.

Nor was there anyone among them who lacked anything.

And so there wasn't anyone there.

There wasn't one out of the multitude that lacked anything, because great grace, god's great grace, was upon them all.

Let's flip over to 2 Corinthians 9, verse 8.

2 Corinthians 9:8

It says this and God is able to make so you know what the word all means.

All means all.

Look at how many times it's listed in here and God is able to make all grace, all of it.

All grace, all of His grace abound to you so that you always having all sufficiency that word sufficiency means ability, having all ability in all things and under all conditions, under all circumstances, no matter what's going on all the time may have an abundance for every or all good works.

And so, in other words, if there's a good thing to be done, you have a supply to make sure that that good thing happens.

It's within your ability or your sufficiency in all conditions to be able to meet needs and do good works.

Why?

Because God is able to make all grace, all of his ability abound to you.

So it's not just a little bit, it's more than you need and it's all the time and all conditions, all circumstances and for every good work that comes up and the good works that come up.

I know there's a lot of good things that we can do, but we do have to be careful to be obedient to the things that God puts in front of us.

People will put good things in front of you all the time, but the inward witness will ensure that you are doing the good things that God has ordained for you to do, and so it's not that the good thing doesn't need to be done, it's just that there ought to be a multitude of people around you, and what one person does is not necessarily the same thing that another person does, but the multitude of people with great grace upon them will accomplish all the good works.

It's really the believer's ministry there.

But listen to how it says this in the Amplified.

So same chapter, same verses, in the Amplified Bible, amplified Classic.

It says it this way and God is able to make all grace, every favor and earthly blessing.

So this is not just a spiritual thing, a spiritual blessing, a spiritual provision.

It's earthly favor and earthly blessing.

God is able to make all grace, every favor and earthly blessing come to you in abundance, and so an abundance is more than you need, so that you may always, under all circumstances and whatever the need, be self-sufficient.

In other words, you don't require the aid.

It says here, possessing enough to require no aid or support, and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation.

So God's people ought to be in a condition where they're not in need of charitable aid and help with every circumstance that comes.

Now, if you find yourself in a circumstance where you're truly without and you don't physically have the things.

It's not that we can't help each other.

We ought to and there is an aid and a supply for you.

But, god's grace, when we're operating according to his grace, then there is no lack, there is no deficiency and you don't require aid.

In fact you have an abundance so that you can be the one to give aid and to help others.

And so again, we're talking about that amazing grace.

God's grace is amazing, it saves.

It saves the things that are lost.

It helps recover the things that are lost and the things that are not working the blind and now they see.

So I started tonight talking about the church service that we were part of in the Louisiana capital with Ender Pellerano, and I told you that he was a gang member, former gang member.

He describes himself as a three-time felon and what's called a level six criminal.

So when you know, if he were to get pulled over by a police officer for maybe a speeding violation, traffic thing, when they recognized who was in that car, they would not approach that car until they had lots of backup on site.

They would call in a code six and that meant they need lots of backup before they even approach this individual.

So that's the kind of criminal that he was, and now he has a flourishing ministry and I want to show you a picture of one of the individuals that's been raised up under his ministry.

He's got fruit, lots of good fruit, and so I want to show you a picture of this man at the Capitol there.

And so Lee's going to pull that up, and so you see him there.

He's got the microphone.

If you look closely, he's got a tattoo that goes up under his neck.

You see he's wearing sleeves there.

He had just come into the Capitol from work to be part of this church service and this is at the end of the church service and pastor Andrew Pellerano asked him to pray.

One of the guys that he's raised up, this individual here, was a former druggie, a street criminal.

He just he was lower than low.

In fact he described himself before he got up there to pray.

He described where he used to be and he said nobody would even want to touch me or shake my hand.

He was so low.

But now he's cleaned up and I know he's got tattoos up those arms and he's wearing sleeves trying to cover that up.

He had a reputation.

He had a reputation of being somebody that you wouldn't want to shake their hand and he was somebody who was dirty and a drug addict.

And at the bottom of the barrel, the bottom of the heap, when I heard him pray and he prayed nothing but scripture for about four or five minutes straight, it just rolled out of him.

And the passion that it came out of him and the love that came out of him, it was the love of God that came out of him.

Why?

Because great grace was upon this man.

It was evident in his life.

He used to have one reputation, but that amazing grace saved him out of that and changed his reputation.

He has a brand new reputation.

I did go up and shake his hand at the end of this, at the end of his prayer, I was reminded of the account in Luke, chapter 7, where the sinful woman came in and began washing Jesus's feet, and I'm going to flip over there and read part of this account.

Luke 7 · chapter mention

So Luke, chapter seven it says that there was in verse 36, there was one of the Pharisees who asked him, jesus, to eat with him, and so he went over to the Pharisee's house and he sat down to eat.

And it says in verse 37 and behold a woman in the city who was a sinner.

She had a reputation.

Everybody there knew what manner of woman this was.

She was a woman, and when she knew that Jesus was sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and this was something of great value.

And she stood at his feet behind him, weeping, and she began to wash his feet with her tears and wipe them with the hairs of her head.

And she kissed his feet and she anointed them with fragrant oil.

And it says in verse 39, now, when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he spoke to himself saying this man, if he were a prophet, if he were the real deal, if Jesus knew anything at all, he would know what manner of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.

And so this woman had a profound reputation.

You can imagine what kind of reputation that is.

And so the Pharisee is saying this to himself and Jesus answered you know, this man's over here mumbling quietly.

And Jesus answered and said to him Simon, I have something to say to you.

And he said oh, teacher say it.

So he kind of snapped out of his moment where he's condemning Jesus for letting this woman near him.

Teacher say it.

Verse 41, it says there was a certain creditor who had two debtors.

One owed 500 denarii and the other 50.

And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both.

Tell me Simon.

Therefore, it says tell me which one of them um will love him more.

And simon answered and said I suppose the one whom he forgave more.

And jesus said you have rightly judged.

And then he draws his attention to this woman and he said do you see this woman?

I entered your house and you gave me no water for my feet and she washed my feet with her tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head.

And you gave me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss my feet since the time I came in and you did not anoint my head with oil, and this woman has anointed my feet with fragrant oil.

Therefore, I say to you her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.

But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.

And then he responds to the woman and says your sins are forgiven and tells her to go in peace.

He said your faith has saved you, go in peace.

And so when this man was there at the pulpit praying the way he did, and I heard the love of God come out of him, it just washed over me.

That great grace, that amazing grace has saved him, and he gave a testimony about it, how God's grace saved him out of that life and gave him a new reputation.

And people who would shake his hand now gladly go up and shake his hand.

The love of God poured out of him and he just loved humanity with the love of God, and he loved much.

And he loved much because he was forgiven much, and so he was such an eager minister of the gospel and an effective one, because great grace, god's amazing grace, was in his life.

Let's look over at Ephesians, chapter 2, verse 1.

Ephesians 2:1

Ephesians 2, 1.

And we're going to read down, we're going to read the first 10 verses here.

And it said and you he made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.

This man that I showed you the picture of was dead in sins and trespasses, but God has made him alive and raised him up.

Verse two, in which you once walked according to the course of this world.

According to the prince of power of the air, according to the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also, we all once conducted ourselves in the lust of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as others.

And so we were all once in that condition Verse four.

But God, who is rich in mercy because of his great love, his mega love, with which he loved us even while we were dead, in trespasses, while we were in that lost condition, while we were at the bottom, he made us alive together with Christ.

And how did he do it?

By grace.

By his great grace, you have been saved and raised us up together.

We were on the bottom, but he raised us up together and he made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace, his great grace, the grace, the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.

And that's not just being nice, but that's his covenant kindness, his covenant obligation towards us in every good way Verse eight.

For by the grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves.

It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast for his workmanship.

Created in Christ Jesus, for good works with God, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

He prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

One of the things that Andrew Pastor, andrew Pellerano, said in that capital he reminded everyone that in Revelation I believe it's chapter 13, maybe that the Lamb of God was slain from the foundations of the world.

Jesus was in the beginning.

In the beginning was the Word.

Jesus is the Word and he was there in the beginning.

He was the Lamb of God and it said he was slain from the world.

Jesus was in the beginning.

In the beginning was the Word.

Jesus is the Word and he was there in the beginning.

He was the Lamb of God and it said he was slain from the foundations.

And so that plan of salvation was ordained beforehand and it says so Ephesians 2, 10, that we were made for good works in Christ Jesus, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

He prepared us, he prepared a way for us to have his great grace through his son Jesus, since the beginning.

And so God's grace will take you from last place like this.

This young man was standing there at that pulpit.

He was in last place, he was a dropout, and he brings him up to the top and makes him a first place finisher.

God's grace will make you a first place finisher.

God's grace will give you the ability to minister, and I'm talking to you now.

I gave that man the ability to minister, he'll give you the ability to minister.

Second Corinthians three, in verse four and this is Paul writing here and we're going to read verse four through six and it says and we have such trust through Christ toward God, not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being of ourselves, but our sufficiency or ability is from God, who also made us sufficient or able or qualified ministers of the new covenant.

And it says, not of the letter but of the Spirit, for the letter kills but the Spirit gives life.

And so you know the church at that time coming out of the, from being part of the Jewish culture and following the letter of the law, the old covenant of the law.

Whenever they did anything wrong, it was condemnation Don't do this, don't do this, only do that, do this.

And so it was a constant letter of the law experience for them.

But the letter of the law, it says.

The letter kills, but the spirit gives life.

And so it's not that those things in the law were wrong, but the Spirit behind it is love, and God, through Jesus, fulfilled that old covenant, and he fulfilled it with the love of Christ, for God so loved the world that he gave, he was eager to give, and because of that, by his grace, you are able ministers of that same grace, and so don't let anyone tell you that you're not qualified to minister.

The believer's ministry is the greatest ministry of all, and the time of the believer's ministry is right now, and this world needs you and needs what you have, and they need to hear about God's great grace that's upon your life and how it's available to them.

God's grace is amazing, and it's amazing to save.

God's grace is powerful to save.

The same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in you, and so God's grace is powerful to save.

God's grace is available to all who want to receive it, and God's grace will also confound people who think they know more than you or think they're more educated, and they might be more educated and they might have more head knowledge about all kinds of things.

Just like Peter and John, they were not educated, learned men.

But when people recognize that you hang out with Jesus, the people around you are going to marvel because you're going to sound like Jesus, you're going to talk like Jesus.

They're going to recognize something different about you.

They're recognizing God's great grace upon you and God's grace will change your reputation.

So it doesn't matter where you came from, what background you came from, what nationality.

Your reputation.

So it doesn't matter where you came from, what background you came from, what nationality, what color, what race.

It doesn't matter what economic condition your family was in when you grew up or where you are now.

Whatever reputation you had in your past doesn't matter, because God's grace is powerful, it's amazing and it'll change your reputation with everyone around you.

You can be the person who was that, but is no more.

His grace is more than enough to meet your every need.

God's grace has a surplus so that when your needs are met, you have an abundant supply to meet other people's needs and to help others.

He'll take you from last place and move you to.

First you were on the bottom, but now you're seated together with him, and so his grace will give you a brand-new address, just to the right hand of the Father, and it's a seat that's shared with Jesus.

We're adopted into that family and that makes him a big brother effectively, and so we get a new address and a new family, a new reputation and a new supply.

All that heaven can afford comes with the great grace, and so I hope that encourages you tonight.

That amazing grace.