Throughout my life, I have known several people (my father being one of them) who seemed to live day-by-day free and unhindered, no matter what was going on in their lives. They had something. They definitely had a confidence that came from somewhere besides themselves. It was obvious that whatever was empowering their lives was something bigger than themselves!
After living with many of these folks for years and studying their lives and what made them tick, I am convinced that what they had—that allowed them to live free and unhindered no matter what—was what the Apostle Paul talks about in our scripture lesson for today. So, let’s listen now to today’s scripture (Acts 20:13-38, NLT)…
Paul went by land to Assos, where he had arranged for us to join him, while we traveled by ship. 14 He joined us there, and we sailed together to Mitylene.
15 The next day we sailed past the island of Kios. The following day we crossed to the island of Samos, and a day later we arrived at Miletus. 16 Paul had decided to sail on past Ephesus, for he didn’t want to spend any more time in the province of Asia. He was hurrying to get to Jerusalem, if possible, in time for the Festival of Pentecost. 17 But when we landed at Miletus, he sent a message to the elders of the church at Ephesus, asking them to come and meet him.
18 When they arrived he declared, “You know that from the day I set foot in the province of Asia until now 19 I have done the Lord’s work humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews. 20 I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes. 21 I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike—the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus.
22 “And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me, 23 except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. 24 But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.
25 “And now I know that none of you to whom I have preached the Kingdom will ever see me again. 26 I declare today that I have been faithful. If anyone suffers eternal death, it’s not my fault, 27 for I didn’t shrink from declaring all that God wants you to know.
28 “So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his own blood—over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as elders. 29 I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. 30 Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following. 31 Watch out! Remember the three years I was with you—my constant watch and care over you night and day, and my many tears for you.
32 “And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself.
33 “I have never coveted anyone’s silver or gold or fine clothes. 34 You know that these hands of mine have worked to supply my own needs and even the needs of those who were with me. 35 And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
36 When he had finished speaking, he knelt and prayed with them. 37 They all cried as they embraced and kissed him good-bye. 38 They were sad most of all because he had said that they would never see him again. Then they escorted him down to the ship.
Once again, in verse 32, Paul says, “And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace [italics mine] that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself.” Just like a parent, Paul cannot be with his spiritual children all the time, so he is entrusting their care to God. Literally, he’s entrusting them to God AND the message of his grace… So, what is this? If Paul is entrusting those whom God has given him to love to both God and the message of his grace, they must surely be things that Paul believes in deeply—things that are real. God is real … and God’s grace is real … otherwise Paul would not have mentioned it at such a critical time as this. Again, Paul is on his last missionary journey. God has already given Paul some foresight into what’s ahead. The Spirit is nudging him toward Jerusalem, which for Paul meant more hardships for the sake of the Gospel … and eventually the end of his life…
Let me remind you about something, briefly, as I want this to be engraved on your memory. G.R.A.C.E. = God’s Resources at Christ’s Expense. This is a great acronym to remember what God’s grace is all about. By FAITH, we can have all the resources of God (as his children) at our disposal. But, it takes FAITH to believe in God, to have a real relationship with God, and to get to know God … including God’s incredible GRACE. So, a great sounding acronym, but do we believe it? Paul did. Again, he entrusted those in his care—knowing that he may never see them again—to God’s grace. He wouldn’t have done this if it didn’t mean something, if it wasn’t real. But, do we believe in God’s grace for our lives today?
Folks, PEOPLE OF GRACE are those who share these characteristics (and I’ll be touching on these for the next few weeks). First of all…
PEOPLE OF GRACE ARE THOSE WHO KNOW THERE IS GRACE TO BE HAD. Here’s where our faith comes in: Paul had faith to believe that God’s grace is what the people of Ephesus (and other churches he’d planted) needed to be depending on … and we need to have that kind of faith in God’s grace, too!
There are so many Christians (Christ-followers) who go through life relying only on their own resources. How sad! Though they know—in theory—that God’s strength is available to them, to help them face anything that comes their way, in practice they do not live it out!
It’s kind of like getting a beautifully wrapped present at Christmas or on your birthday … and never bothering to open it! Who would do that? Or having two presents, wrapped separately, that go together (so you’re told) and you just open one, not bothering to ever dig into the second that completes the gift…
Folks, there are so many Christians who go about as if God’s dealings with them ended when they gave their lives to Christ and became Christians in the first place. They will talk about being saved by grace (as they certainly didn’t do anything to deserve it), but they seem to know nothing about being sustained by grace…
Their spiritual talk (all they know to say) is about the day of their conversion, when they made that initial commitment to Christ, to be a follower of his. BUT (look out whenever I use that word) … GOD DOES NOT JUST CALL US TO BE SAINTS; GOD’S GRACE IS ALSO AVAILABLE TO MAKE US SAINTS! We need to be conscious that there is a strength that far exceeds our own resources, which means … we don’t need to stumble through this life trying to be good disciples on our own!
Do you know someone who is younger than you in terms of how long you’ve been a believer, yet demonstrates Christian qualities that you seem to struggle to put into practice in your life? Things like this…
An unselfish ability to forgive…
Freedom from jealousy…
Lack of cynicism…
JOY (last week) … when others do better at something they’d like to do themselves … and then they encourage those others at that whatever-it-is, doing it with JOY…
Perhaps some of these people, just a short time ago, were held back from these Christian qualities in their lives due to sin. But no more… What have they discovered and learned to live by? Folks, these are people who live in constant awareness that God’s grace is available to meet their every spiritual need…
PEOPLE OF GRACE ARE THOSE WHO KNOW MANY TRUTHS ABOUT GOD’S GRACE THAT THEY NEED TO GROW. Remember, GOD DOES NOT JUST CALL US TO BE SAINTS; GOD’S GRACE IS ALSO AVAILABLE TO MAKE US SAINTS…
Here are some examples of those truths of God’s grace that will help us grow in our discipleship…
There is enough grace for everything – everything! God’s grace never runs out! There never has to be a ‘run’ on God’s grace. There will never be a rationing of God’s grace. There is enough for everything in this life we live…
There is enough grace to sustain us in times of suffering! It is sufficient. It will always be enough, just like it was for Jesus as he suffered for us (remember the Easter story)…
God’s grace is something that we cannot do without, if we are to be the Christians (little Christs) that God has called us to be!
God’s grace is not something God just wants to use to impute righteousness to us (consider us sinless before God), but God wants his grace to impart righteousness to us as well (help us to grow in our faith day–by-day)!
Being a ‘People of Grace’ means that although we have received much from God (including God’s saving grace), there is much more to be had…
On the wall of an office in New York where major business deals are transacted, there hangs a card which reads: ‘WE TALK ABUNDANCE HERE.’ We too, when we talk about God’s grace through a faith in Christ, can talk ‘abundance’! As Charles Wesley so fittingly describes God’s grace:
Its streams the whole creation reach,
So plenteous is the store,
Enough for all, enough for each,
Enough for evermore.
‘People of Grace’ are those who know there is grace to be had! Do you know there is grace to be had? You should, as a follower of Christ, who is the Son of an abundant God! Is God’s grace yet real to you? And is that evident in your life? Folks, won’t you join me in being a ‘People of Grace’—those that know there is grace to be had? More next week…
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