This morning we continue our series “Grace that is Simply Amazing.” Let’s close out this week like we did last week, with a pause for self-reflection. This week we looked at four miracles, learning how Jesus dealt with people who needed a breakthrough, and how the Pharisees reacted to Jesus’ compassion and grace. Last night I had a long conversation with the man God used to lead me to Christ. His name is Leo Jacobs. Leo and I have been friends from the time we met in 1995 and while I was clearly drawn to Christ by the God I saw in Leo, last night we were talking about the fact that back then our mentality was much closer to the mentality of the Pharisees than Jesus’, in the way we thought of others. If we are not careful, the church can teach us to be so dogmatic that we place ourselves on a pedestal of righteousness and place everyone else – who we consider to be unrighteous because they are not living up to the standard we have set for ourselves based upon our understanding of the Word – to be unrighteous.
Jesus cared more about the woman with the bleeding condition, than the rules which said He could not touch her and that she could not touch Him. Jesus cared more about the man with the withered hand, than Pharisees who had stalked Him into the temple, on a fault-finding mission. Jesus cared more about the widow in Nain, whose life had been turned upside down, than the rules which said He could not come in contact with a dead body. Jesus cared more about the woman who had been bent over for 18 years, but still faithfully came to worship, than the fact that it was a Saturday and that the Pharisees did not want to see miracles on their day of worship. The point is that Jesus cared then and He cares today. I hope you can see from this series that God cares for you more than you can ever comprehend. The Father loves you with an unfailing, unyielding, and inexhaustible love.
Leo and I talked about this love last night. While the woman with the blood condition sought Jesus out, the other three we learned of this week did not. The man with the withered hand was minding his own business, in worship, loving God, when His breakthrough came in a beautifully unexpected way. The widow in Nain was follow the casket of her dead son, with tears flowing down her face, when Jesus interrupted the funeral precession long enough to resurrect her son and her hope from the dead. The woman who was bent over was in worship, like she had been for years, when all of a sudden a man she did not know spoke deliverance into her body in a way she could immediately feel. Her breakthrough came when she least expected it. None of these three people exhibited faith. They did not speak faith-filled words. As a matter of fact, they did speak any words. These people were going on with the business of their daily lives, dealing with their issues as best as they could, when heaven, hope, and healing visited them. What they received was unmerited, unexpected, unearned and unbelievable. It was grace. Not just any grace, this was the grace of God, and yes, it is amazing!
So what does this mean to you today? The proper response to receiving grace from God is twofold.
1. You ought to thank God for giving you what you did not deserve. God chased you down. He sought you out. He sent people your way to talk to you. He pursued you when you had nothing to do with Him and His pursuit was relentless. God never gave up on You and even now, He consistently gives you what you do not deserve. Make sure you thank Him!
2. You should in turn extend grace towards others. Don’t look down on others because you think they are not living up to your standard. Love on them and extend grace to them. Don’t wait for them to initiate the contact. God did not wait on you. God pursued you, so you should pursue others. You should initiate the extension of love and grace towards them, so you can be the conduit God uses to touch them like you have been touched. If you do this, others will be blessed, God will be pleased, and your life will be enriched.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for this Word. I take the time to reflect on this series and what I have learned from it thus far. In the life of Jesus I see an example of how I am supposed to live. Jesus was full of grace and truth. I must admit that I have been more full of truth than grace. I thank You for Your Word and I am committed to studying it all the days of my life, but the goal of my reading and study is to allow my learning to turn into living. I want to live what I read and I declare, by faith, that I will. I will walk in love all the days of my life and I will be the conduit of Your grace You have called me to be. Use me Father to touch someone today with Your grace, mercy, kindness and goodness. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
