Echoes of Grace | Pastor Dustin Johnston

amazing grace how sweet the sound that

saved a wretch like me i once was lost

but now I'm found was blind but now I

see

maybe the most famous of Christian hymns

Amazing Grace was written back in 1772

by English Anglican clergymen and poet

John Newton who pinned these words not

just because they sounded good or he

thought that they would make a good song

one day but out of raw personal

experience most of you probably don't

know John's story uh I I just found out

a lot about it this this last week but

John was born into a Christian household

uh but when he was at a young age age

seven he unexpectedly lost his Christian

mother and that shook the household by

age 11 John had joined his father out at

sea and as you could imagine the

sailor's life led to a lentious and

tumultuous time in the young boy's life

a few years later he would join the

Royal Navy and things were going

relatively well until he tried to desert

from the Royal Navy and they caught him

and fgged him for his disobedience and

attempted

desertion after leaving the service John

became the captain of his own ship

unfortunately it was a slave ship and he

was the he he was in charge of that ship

for many years and then in 1748 when

John was in his mid20s a violent storm

battered his vessel off of the coast of

County Donnagal Ireland

and it was so severe that during that

time John called out to something from

his childhood the God that he and his

mother and his family had once known and

from that moment forward God began to do

a work in the life and in the heart of

John Newton so much so that in 1754 he

gave up the slave trade for an education

in Christian theology later as a grown

man he would become an abolitionist he

was ordained in the church of England he

became a local clergyman and began

writing

hymns like Amazing Grace you see John

wrote from

experience we just saw a a small

snapshot of his life but we could see

how God continued to relentlessly pursue

him that over and over again God would

demonstrate his love for John in his

allencompassing amazing grace and now

millions all over the world Christian

and non-Christian alike sing this song

all because one man was willing to speak

about the amazing grace that he had once

received thankfully John Newton didn't

keep this amazing grace to himself but

was willing if not eager to share about

that amazing grace with

others today we're continuing in our

series Echoes with a sermon entitled

Echoes of Grace we're going to be in

Ephesians chapter 2 if you want to grab

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

your Bibles turn there with me your

digital Bibles physical Bibles spiritual

Bibles you've got it all in your heart

right ephesians chapter 2 this morning

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

and over the next few minutes I want to

share with you how the grace of God

doesn't just change our lives it does it

does change our lives but how God's

grace then creates a ripple effect

impacting those around us in profound

and transformative ways

in Ephesians chapter 2 after describing

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

the sinful state that we were in before

God's intervention the Apostle Paul

writes two of the greatest words in all

of

scripture but God did everybody say that

with me this morning but God two

powerful words but God being rich in

mercy because of the great love with

which he loved us even when we were dead

in our trespasses he made us alive

together with Christ it is by grace that

you have been saved and raised us up

with him and seated us with him in the

heavenly places in Christ Jesus so that

in the coming ages we might show the

immeasurable riches of his grace in

kindness towards us in Christ Jesus for

by grace you have been saved through

faith and this is not your own doing it

is the gift of God not a result of works

so that no one may boast for we are his

workmanship created in Christ Jesus for

good works which God prepared before him

that we should walk in them amazing

grace how sweet the sound that saves a

wretch like me it's where this amazing

grace begins over the next few minutes

let's look at a few different facets of

the amazing grace of God the first is

this grace rescues us this is where we

all begin grace rescues us saves us it

it changes us um but you know before we

get too far it might be helpful to share

with you a definition of grace so that

we're all on the same page together

grace has commonly been defined as God's

unmmerited favor towards us god's

unmmerited favor towards us if mercy is

God not giving us what we do deserve

grace is God giving us what we don't

deserve are you tracking with me grace

is God giving us what we don't deserve

it is a gift we don't do anything to

earn it god grants us favor as a free

undeserved

unmmerited gift so what does grace look

like i'll give you three different

dimensions of God's grace the first is

it looks like forgiveness forgiveness

through the life death and resurrection

of Jesus that should not be a surprise

to anyone here particularly if you've

been here any length of time or you've

gone to any other Christian church

hopefully this is what we're all

preaching each and every weekend we're

going to celebrate obviously the

resurrection here in a couple weeks but

we here at Life Church celebrate the

resurrection every day every Sunday

we're talking about the life death and

resurrection of Jesus this is rescue

this is salvation and please um look it

it is rescue we not only commit sins you

and I do okay we commit sins but we are

also broken by sin we were severed by

sin there was a an act we we commit sins

but there is also an

orientation we are sinful because of the

sins of our fathers Adam and Eve because

of the sins that we commit we are broken

and severed our relationship with God is

separated and we need one that was we

needed one that was fully God and fully

man to to come to this earth to live a

life we couldn't live to die a death on

the cross that we deserved and then to

raise again victorious over death sin

hell and the grave to serve as the

bridge between a holy God and a sinful

man that is this first dimension of

grace it it is the forgiveness of sin

that you and I have received the second

facet of grace is acceptance so we see

grace as forgiveness and we see grace as

acceptance god not only forgives us by

his grace but he welcomes us into

relationship with him this is good news

this morning are you tracking are you

pay are are you following along we we

have been forgiven but we have been

accepted brought in as sons and

daughters one of the words that

scripture uses is adopted you and I have

been adopted into the family of God as

his children we are welcomed into his

family amazing

grace what is grace what does it look

like forgiveness acceptance and presence

it's a third dimension here presence our

father is not

distant god is present with each and

every one of us by the presence of his

holy spirit he is here residing in each

and every one of us all of us have a

piece of God in us god is here with us

it's not some mystical right thing but

like the the very presence of God is

here with us there are many other facets

of God's grace that we could talk about

today we could talk I am amazing it's

endless so we could talk about all day

we could talk about the empowerment that

comes with the grace of God we could

talk about the freedom or the promise

there's also daily graces that you and I

receive right it's that open parking

spot at the front of the at the front of

the parking lot right right by the store

i mean we receive these these normal

daily graces that everyone receives as a

means of drawing our attention and our

hearts to God god is full of grace

hopefully you were starting to get the

picture this morning if love is the most

defining characteristic or quality of

God grace is a close

second it is grace by grace that you and

I have been saved so let's look back at

our text verses four and five but God

being rich in mercy because of the great

love with which he loved us even when we

were dead in our trespasses he made us

alive with Christ by grace you have been

saved one of the ways that we often talk

about this at Life Churches by these

three phrases you were but God by grace

have you heard this before you were but

God by grace you were one way right

before God you were this way you were

dead in your trespasses and sin but God

showed up being rich in mercy because of

his great love for us made us alive

together with Christ you were but God

and by grace you have been saved we see

this not only in our lives but we see

this all throughout scripture do you

remember particularly in the New

Testament that Jesus comes into contact

with a woman caught in adultery caught

in

adultery she was caught in adultery men

wanted to stone her

jesus bends down kneels down begins to

draw in the sand we don't know exactly

what he was drawing but it was

convicting enough maybe he was just

allowing the silence to

linger for these angry men to realize

their sins their

plightes so Jesus began to write in the

sand and then he finally looks up at the

men and said and they've dispersed he

turns to the

woman and she and says "Go and sin no

more." She leaves a changed woman that

day you were but God by grace we we see

this a number of times we see Lazarus

was literally dead there was nothing

that Lazarus could do to save himself in

fact uh I I think scripture even alludes

to the fact that he stank i mean he had

been dead for a couple of days now he

could do nothing to save himself jesus

shows up on the scene others thought he

was late jesus was right on time as he

always is and Jesus says "Lazarus come

out." And out of the grave still in his

grave clothes Lazarus raises from the

dead walks out a new man you were but

God by grace we see this a as we look at

the thief on the cross next to Jesus as

Jesus hung dying on the

cross the man beside him could do

nothing to save himself but recognize

that Jesus was who he said that he was

that Jesus was an innocent man so Jesus

turned to him and say "Today you will be

with me in

paradise you were but God by grace."

Many of you in the room can attest to

that today you have that experience in

your own life amen like you you know

what it's like to to to have been one

way and now because of God's grace you

are another you were but God by grace

you were one way you were dead in your

trespasses and sin but God showed up on

the scene and because of his amazing

grace you are now living a new

victorious life not that it's not a life

without struggles we'll get there but

that you are living a new life you are

no longer what you were but you are now

who God calls you to be you were but God

by grace many of you can can can attest

to that fact some of you in this room

have not yet received that amazing grace

the good news is that today that amazing

grace is offered to you not from me but

you can receive that God is here today

to meet with you and extend his grace

your direction you just have to believe

and receive this morning so it starts

here like a rock dropping into a still

lake there is this initial disruption

the grace of God rescuing us from sin

and separation it plunges us under the

water and when we come up everything is

changed leads us to the second thing

about grace grace transforms

us grace transforms us

have you ever have you ever met someone

or watched a movie or read a book or

heard a song and you were different

afterwards you you think of that song

that movie and you were like "That

changed me i'm different because of

that." That is every single one of us

after encountering Jesus we were one way

but we are now a different way there is

a BC and an AD for every single one of

us before Christ BC we were this right

we were defined by our loneliness our

depression our anxiety we were confused

we were greedy promiscuous we were dead

in our sin we were we were

dead that's BC but then there's an AD

after death after we died to oursel

after we died to sin we are not who we

were but we are who God says we are we

are holy because God says we are holy we

are chosen because God says we are

chosen we are we are developing fruit of

the spirit like love joy peace patience

i know that we are all a work in

progress but God is doing a work on our

life and we are not who we were we are

new creation scripture says we look back

at Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 6 it

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

says God raised us up with him and

seated us with him in the heavenly

places in in who in Christ Jesus are you

awake are you with me in who in Christ

Jesus follow so that in the coming ages

he might show the immeasurable riches of

his grace and kindness towards us and

then it says it again in Christ

Jesus check this out we see two

important movements here in verse six

god raised us up and God seated us

raised us up and seated don't let this

pass you by let's look at both in turn

god raised us up again Paul is sticking

to this we were once dead and now we are

alive analogy we were dead in our

trespasses and sins but Jesus rose from

the dead jesus stepped out of the grave

and so you too get to raise up from the

dead and you get to step into a new life

you are given a new life and a new

identity but not only that we are raised

up but we were also seated we are seated

with him and this is

crazy do you remember according to

Hebrews chapter 10 I believe it is where

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

Jesus is seated right now do you

remember in heaven at the right hand of

the father

that means that you right now not then

and there but right here and now have

been if you are a believer if you have

received the grace of God that you too

are seated at the right hand of the

father follow me i know it might not

feel like it we are dual citizens so we

are here on earth and sometimes that

sucks right i mean I'm Can I just I I'll

probably get in trouble for that i'm

like it's bad right sometimes right our

our family is not always what we hoped

or wanted it to be our job is not always

what we hoped and wanted it to be

sometimes we are sick in our body and

it's not great like sometimes it's a day

sometimes it's a week sometimes it's a

season for some of you there's been a

struggle or a battle for years

now and so sometimes on this earth it

feels really really bad

but you as a Christian are seated in

heavenly places at the right hand of the

father and so God's people even here and

now share with Jesus a measure of his

authority we are not just given a new

life and identity because we are raised

up but we are seated with him we're

given a new purpose and a new authority

like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly

god's grace doesn't just improve us it

completely transforms us we were one way

but we are now another if anyone is in

Christ he is a new creation the old has

passed away the new has come we are new

creations i mean and remember where Paul

wrote this

from where he wrote the majority of his

letters from paul's in prison as he's

writing that he is seated that we are

seated with Christ with Christ in

heaven maybe your life is the same right

now in a similar way you are in prison

in your life you are a product of broken

dreams you are sick you are dealing with

uh just a struggle right now that you

can't seem to overcome you are like Paul

in prison

that might be where you are physically

but it's certainly not who you

are it's not who God says that you are

because of the life death and

resurrection of Jesus you are in Christ

you are seated in heavenly places you

have a dual citizenship you live here

but you are really there and that

changes everything

are you starting to understand why John

Newton would write words like amazing

grace how sweet this sounds grace

rescues us grace transforms us thirdly

grace works through us it's a third

thing grace works through us like the

rock dropped into a still lake when it

when it emerges there are ripples that

are formed that begins to move out from

the initial disruption small waves begin

to move out from the source as energy is

transferred from the rock's

impact we look back at our text in verse

eight for by grace you have been saved

through faith and this is not your own

doing it is the gift of God not a result

of works so that no one may

boast many Christians over the years

have debated this relationship between

faith and works

paul makes it pretty clear at least

right here that we are not saved by good

works but we are saved in part to do

good works we are saved by faith to do

good works st augustine a fifth century

theologian and philosopher said it this

way "Grace is given not because we have

done good works but in order that we may

be able to do them." One commentator of

Ephesians actually said that here in

these verses grace might be understood

as

power it is undeserved favor but it is

also this transformative power that

moves us and moves through us to impact

the world around

us all right all of this so far has been

good and cheery christians let me talk

to you for just a moment because I am

thrilled that you have been saved by

grace that's good thank God praise God

but have you unknowingly been hoarding

that grace for

yourself like a dragon it's gold have

you received grace only to withhold

grace for others

are you all about receiving the grace

that God has to give you because of your

sins and because of your

sin but not extending that to your

children to your spouse to your friends

to your

enemies salvation comes freely but there

are expectations that come with that

title i mean right like when you let's

just make it natural when you are

entered into a family a natural family

that's free you didn't make that

decision that was that was a free gift

for you or or adoption even it was you

were brought in grafted into the family

a free gift on your part but then there

are some expectations right you can't

just burn down the house can't just take

out the car whenever you want to there

are some expectations and there are with

with with Christianity as well as we

come into the family we are expected to

to to be a certain way to do certain

things to evolve to to evolve to trans

to to move in the right direction we are

moving in the direction of Christ i mean

we can just look at Jesus's teachings in

the gospels right those that are

forgiven are expected to forgive it's

just as simple as that the disciples

were even like how many times do we just

have to do it seven times jesus is like

70 times over and over again you have

you've been forgiven much so you too

must forgive much jesus doesn't stop

there jesus talks about that um when you

are saved you don't just love your

neighbor what do you do you love your

enemy self-sacrificial enemy love is the

kind of love that Jesus

teaches you give to the poor you welcome

the outsider the stranger

the foreigner you bring them in you look

around for the least of these those are

the people you

serve so I've got a question for you is

the grace of God staying with you or is

it working through you so my question is

is the grace of God staying with you or

is it working through you and this

directly connects us to the final

dimension of grace that Paul addresses

here in Ephesians chapter 2 and it's

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

this number four grace sends us grace

works through us but also grace sends us

into the world around us eventually the

ripples create more ripples and more

ripples spreading out and away from the

point of

impact ephesians 2:10 it's the final

Ephesians 2:10

verse that we've been looking at today

for we are his

workmanship created in Christ Jesus for

good works which God prepared beforehand

that we should walk in them other

translations for workmanship use God's

handiwork that's the NIV God's

masterpiece another translation says

that we are a work of art

you who have received God's saving

transformative grace are now his

masterpiece you are his poem you are his

sculpture his movie his garden his song

you are his masterpiece both for his

glory and for the world around you to

take

notice follow the

analogy masterpiece you are his

masterpiece so you are his garden

gardens are captivating right good ones

they even get little signs right uh

annually or monthly right this is the

garden that everybody should look at

this is the house that uh goes above and

beyond gardens are worth looking at but

it is the gardener that gets the credit

for the garden the beautiful garden

didn't do that on its own that was a

gardener someone that intentionally came

in and designed it in that way

and what good is a secret garden if no

one sees it what good is exquisite

topiary if it's

hidden a masterpiece is put on display

for all to see for all to marvel at not

that the marveling would culminate with

the garden itself but that it would

ascend to the garden's creator

you weren't saved for good works you

weren't saved by good works remember

grace is a gift you receive it but Paul

says you were created for good works to

be on display for others to see that we

should he says here walk in

them how are you walking

today how are you displaying are you and

then how are you displaying the grace

that you have so freely received that

has transformed you so drastically and

dramatically how are you demonstrating

and displaying the grace of God to the

world around you they're looking let me

just say this they're looking and you

are

displaying are you being intentional

about it

are you displaying more your

humanity rather than God's divinity

working through

you the world is

watching paul calls us to

walk in a manner that is worthy walking

is all about life it's right it's how we

live it's how we function how we

behave this is not the only time Paul

talks about walking all throughout

Ephesians he talks about walking let me

just share a few of those verses with

you in chapter 2 verses 1 and 2 he says

that you were dead in your trespasses

and sins in which you once walked

chapter 4:1 I therefore a prisoner of

the Lord urge you to walk in a manner

worthy of the calling verse 17 of

chapter 4 now this I say and testify in

the Lord that you must no longer walk as

the Gentiles do chapter 5:2 walk in love

as Christ loved us and gave himself up

for us verse 8 at one time you were in

darkness but now you are the light in

the Lord walk as children of the light

in chapter 5:1 15 look carefully then

how you walk not as unwise but as wise

the saving grace of God comes with an

expectation god rescues us from one way

of walking so that we would walk in an

entirely new way and as you walk others

will take notice so what does our walk

look like it's not going to be a

surprise to you we look to

Jesus for our walking instructions

and so we look and see that Jesus was

loving colossians 3:14 calls us to walk

Colossians 3:14

in a way of love we see that he was

forgiving colossians

Colossians 3:13

3:13 demonstrates that we see in

Colossians 3:12 that we are to be

Colossians 3:12

compassionate humble in Philippians 2:3

Philippians 2:3

generous 2 Corinthians 9:7 that we are

2 Corinthians 9:7

to be on mission according to Matthew

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

chapter 28

these qualities and characteristics are

not just good they are godly because

they are the very characteristics and

qualities

Jesus that's what it means to be an echo

or a reflection or to image well the one

who saved

us we are to look at Jesus not only as

the author and finisher of our faith but

he is working on us right now we are

walking in ways that are

reflections of how he lived and how he

loves and how he

serves and how he's

humble and how he seeks out those that

are injured or worthless in society's

eyes how he loves forgives how he's

compassionate

we are all these things and more not

just because they're good qualities to

be in a person but because these are the

qualities and characteristics that Jesus

demonstrated while on earth and still

demonstrates today and as we live as

echoes of his grace the world around us

will take

notice our ceaseless and abounding love

will catch their

attention

our peace in the midst of the storm will

be a

shelter our hope which might

seem naive to the world around us at

first will shine all the more brightly

when all else comes crumbling

down does it make sense now

do the words of John Newton's hymn now

ring all the more true to your

soul amazing

grace how sweet the sound you know what

let would you just in this moment would

you bow your heads and just close your

eyes i do want to pray over you but

before I

pray could I just read each verse from

John Newton's

song these powerful words but I just

want you to listen to these words

written so many years ago and sung by

millions of our brothers and sisters

across the

globe i want you to hear these words in

a fresh way this

morning as you realize the amazing grace

that God has extended your

direction amazing

grace how sweet the sound

saved a wretch like

me i once was lost but now I'm found was

blind but now I

see it was grace that taught my heart to

fear and grace my fears

relieved how precious did that grace

appear the hour I first

believed the Lord hath promised good to

me his word my hope

secures he will my shield and portion be

as long as life

endures when we've been there 10,000

years bright shining as the

sun we've no less days to sing God's

praise than when we first begun

so God we thank you for your

grace it rescues

us transforms us it changes us it moves

in us and through us to impact the world

around

us your grace your supply is endless and

so we receive it

today we receive it every day for those

that do not know you in this room in

this moment may they receive your saving

rescuing

grace for all of us would you remind us

of your grace that it is not a thing of

the past but it is a thing of the

present and the future you are moving in

our life by your grace even here and

now may you revive us may we live this

new life we were once dead but God rich

in his

mercy in his

grace now extends that to us may we also

extend that to others in Jesus name we

pray amen