The Game Changer

One thing I like about starting a new year is that it causes me to slow down and think about my life; where I’ve been, how much I’ve grown and where I am going.  It helps me think about my relationships, especially my life with Becky. And it also causes me to think about where we’ve been as a church and where God would like us to do or become as His people.  So stopping and reflecting is a good thing, it’s a healthy practice. This week as I spent some time reflecting about our Church a number of things came to mind.  First, is that God continues to have His hand upon us and is doing some pretty great stuff through us. And we are going to spend this month celebrating some of those things. But a second thing that God is impressing on me is that we live in a world where people need Jesus more than ever.  Everyone needs the salvation Jesus gives, the hope and freedom, love and grace, meaning and purpose that is found in Jesus.  And I came away convinced that now more than ever, we need to KEEP BEING a church that’s all about Jesus, to keep being a church who proclaims the good news and teaches the Word of God, and KEEP BECOMING a people who are learning to live and love like Jesus.

So as I thought, prayed and read God’s Word this week, it became clear to me that we have something in Jesus that’s a real game changer.  You know what I mean about being a game changer?  Here’s a few of definitions:  “A game changer is an event, idea or procedure that effects a significant shift in the current manner of doing or thinking about something.”  One such event was 9/11.  That was a game changer.  Now we think differently about terrorism. It now takes twice as long to go through security at airports, and we all have 100 different passwords in a book or file at home. Here’s another definition of a game changer:  “A game changer is a person or thing that dramatically changes the course, strategy or character of something.” Dr Martyn Luther King was a game changer in the area of civil rights in this country.  The advent of the smart phone has dramatically changed how we communicate.  How many of you sent a text message in the last hour?  And here’s a final definition of a game changer: “A game changer is a visionary or company that alters a business strategy or a way of life.”  Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, changed our lives with his vision of a computer in every home.  Steve Bezos, the founder of Amazon, has permanently changed how we shop.   In fact, when you think about it, our generation has experienced numerous game changers – live changing ideas, people and innovations – throughout our lives.  But as great as those changes have been, all of them pale in comparison to the game changer Jesus brought to us.   What is that you ask?  What is the one thing Jesus brings us that changes everything? It’s Grace.

I love this quote from Gordon MacDonald. “The world can do almost anything as well as or better than the church.  You need not be a Christian to build houses, feed the hungry, or heal the sick.  There is only one thing the world cannot do.  It cannot offer grace.” 

Grace is God’s Game Changer!  Grace is what we have in Jesus.  And grace is what our world needs more than anything today.  So how much of a game changer is grace?  Well first of all, grace is at the very heart of the good news offered to us through Jesus Christ.

1. Grace Saves You For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9  This is why we remember Christ’s sacrifice for us on the cross earlier today.  This is why we want to always live in the shadow of the cross – to remind ourselves of God’s grace to us.  God gave us salvation.  We cannot save ourselves.  We need a Savior, so God sent Jesus to die in our place to bring us to God.  Salvation is all of God.  Salvation is a gift.  It’s grace.

None of us deserve salvation.  The reason why, is that all of us turned away from God. That’s what sin is.  Sin is choosing to be your own god, calling your own shots, and definitely not submitting to God’s law.  In that way, every time we chose to deny God’s rule of life, we offend God – we assassinate His glory by putting ourselves above God. That’s sin.  And the only thing that sin deserves is judgment.

That’s not a pretty picture.  So what do we do with our sin? We try to clean ourselves up by doing good works or being a good person, and deceive ourselves into thinking, that if we are somehow good enough, God will accept us as we are. We try to set the standard for acceptance into heaven by our good works.  But the problem with that way of thinking, is that God has never accepted man’s standards of righteousness.  The standard is God Himself.  God is perfect in love, goodness and purity.  He sets the standard.  He says, for all have sinned and fallshort of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

But there are those who will boast, “I’ve lived a good life.  I haven’t murdered or stolen or lied.  I’ve even done good things in your name.”  But what they are doing is boasting in their own righteousness.  And Isaiah makes is clear that none of us are righteous before God. He writes: All of us have become like onewho is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. Isaiah 64:6

So we really have no leg to stand on.  No amount of good deeds or good living can save us, because no amount of good deeds can make us righteous before God.  The only thing our sins deserve is eternal separation from God.  WE turned away from God.  God could just leave us there.  And we could never know His mercy, His grace or His love.  But because of His greatlove for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by GRACE you have been saved. Ephesians 2:4-5

So God’s grace saves you. Not your works, not your behavior, but God alone.  God’s grace to us then, is the ultimate game changer.  For the moment you put your trust in Jesus, He gives you Salvation – eternal life with Him, forgiven forever.  He gives you the righteousness of Christ so you can rest in His presence and cease trying to save yourself. And that’s GOOD NEWS.  So let me ask you: God has offered you the ultimate game changer in Jesus, have you received His gift of salvation? That’s the first game changer!  God gives you what you cannot earn: Salvation!  And salvation is found in Jesus. For there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12  So, have you put your faith in Him?  For if you have, then Grace does not just save you… the next thing God’s grace does is this:

Grace Frees You   You no longer have to have to strive to please God! As Paul put it: Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to Him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. Romans 6:13-14

The good news is that the moment you put your trust in Jesus, you were transferred into the realm of grace.  Because of what Jesus did for you, you were no longer separated from God but reconciled you to God.  You once lived under the law.  But the law held you captive.  As long as you lived under the law, you could never be righteous.  But the moment you put your trust in Jesus you became righteous and the power of sin was broken.  God’s grace set you free.

That means you can rest in God’s grace.  God doesn’t want you to worry if you are good enough.  God made you “good enough” the moment you trusted in Jesus.And now God isn’t looking over your shoulder to see when you mess up and then condemn you.  And that’s freeing…  Living in the realm of grace now means you are now free: free to become who God created you to be, free to live and love like Jesus!

But that doesn’t mean you throw the baby out with the bathwater and live as if there were no laws at all.  What it means is this:  Since God has made you pure in Christ, don’t go back down into the sewer he rescued you from, but live the life He rescued you for. Do you see how this GRACE is such a game changer?  With Christ you are now free from trying to live up to a standard you can’t attain.  Now you are free to live and love like Jesus, and that’s a game changer!   But there’s more.  What else does God’s grace do for you?

Grace Helps You Listen to how the writer of Hebrews spells this out for us: For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.  Hebrews 4:15-16   God’s grace saves you and sets you free, but in this world we constantly need His help.  That’s the beauty of Jesus coming in the flesh, to be one of us.  He knows every need you face.  And now that you live in the realm of grace, He says you can find grace in your time of need.  The good news is that you are not alone.  Help is only a prayer away.  When Jesus saved you He also gave you access to His throne of grace.  And if you’re anything like me, you need His help everyday. God set this up for you and now He is waiting to help you.  And that’s a game changer!

So what do you need?  We have a big gracious and merciful God.  Do you need forgiveness? He majors in mercy? Do you need deliverance?  He’s there to help you. Do you need peace?  Approach His throne of grace with confidence and He will give you what you need.  But you’ve got to ask!  How is it that we try to exhaust every resource or try to rescue ourselves rather than go to the One who has all the grace we need?  If you know Jesus you don’t just have a backstage pass – you’ve got priority in His presence.  Let’s use it and see what God will do!

Look at this next one: Grace Strengthens You…  if you let it!  Look at this command: “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus” 2 Timothy 2:1

This is an interesting command.  We are commanded to allow the grace that is in Jesus to be the source of our strength. The verb is a passive one, meaning, that as we rest in Christ, get to know Christ’s love and grace to us, we will be empowered by grace to live the Christian life. This too is a game changer. Many of us see ourselves as weak, ineffective Christians: we fail, we don’t love like Jesus, for we are impatient with difficult people and we are quick to write them off.

But when you allow the grace that is in Jesus Christ to impact you… when you start seeing his compassion for the hurting, his mercy to the sinful, his acceptance of the outcast, his love for the unlovely… and you don’t just see it, but you let the grace that Christ has for all people begin to penetrate your heart, you will become strong in the grace that is in Jesus.

Obeying this command is one of the keys to unlocking your potential to love.  When His grace takes hold of you, you will begin to love people that others avoid.  Think of the last person you wanted nothing to do with?  What was wrong with them?  Why did you avoid them?  When “the grace that is in Christ “ begins to strengthen you, what will happen is that you will throw off old attitudes of disdain, disgust, impatience and judgment.  Instead, you will see past the bad behavior of a person, and start loving them with the love of Christ. You will want to include them rather than avoid them.  You will feel compassion for them rather than disdain.  And you will begin to give them what they do not deserve – your love and acceptance.  That’s what keeping your eyes on Jesus will do for you.  Remember what John wrote about Jesus? The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.  John 1:14.  You see, you may have trouble loving those you see who don’t deserve love, but when you obey this command to let the grace that is in Christ strengthen you, His grace will strengthen you… and that is a game changer!

And that’s what the grace found in Jesus Christ is supposed to do for you!  Grace Changes You  Look at this next passage: For the grace of Godhas appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.  Titus 2:11-14

Here the roll of grace is as a teacher who disciples us to be a people of grace.  Grace changes us so we can now say no to worldly temptations.  The more you allow grace to do its work in you, the more the passions of the world begin to loosen their grip on you. The cravings of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boasting of what you have and do – those things that so characterize the pursuits of the world… they are weakened and even put to death by grace. Again, grace sets us free.

The more you allow grace to do its work in you, the more you will want to live a life that is pleasing to God.  Not to earn His favor, but because you are so taken by His absolute and unrelenting goodness to you, you will want to become more like Jesus.

The more you allow grace to do its work in you, God will birth a desire in you to bless others with the goodness of God.   His grace will motivate you to serve, to pray, to give, to invite, to include, to love and accept those Jesus loved.  All because of grace.

You see, at the end of the day Grace is our Game Changer! Like what Gordon MacDonald said, “The world can do almost anything as well as or better than the church.  You need not be a Christian to build houses, feed the hungry, or heal the sick.  There is only one thing the world cannot do.  It cannot offer grace.”  And yet this is God’s will for your life: Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 2 Peter 1:2

God has given us Jesus so we can be game changers; so we can be life changers; so                                                        we can change the course of history… if we just let the grace of Jesus change us…

So may we continue to keep our eyes on Jesus

May we never hesitate to go to the throne of grace

May we always be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus

So that we may offer God’s grace to our neighbors, our friends and to anyone we lock eyes with today… and everyday.  Because it is grace, the grace of Jesus Christ, that is the game changer our world needs. That is why God has us here. To be grace dispensers in a world devoid of grace. Let’s pray.