The Story of Grace By Andy Stanley

Read this by Andy Stanley today - totally awesome!

Grace.

What I crave most when my guilt is exposed. The very thing I'm hesitant to extend when I'm confronted with the guilt of others—especially when their guilt has robbed me of something I consider valuable.

Therein is the struggle, the struggle for grace. It's this struggle that makes grace more story than doctrine. It's the struggle that reminds us that grace is bigger than compassion or forgiveness. That struggle is the context for both. When we are on the receiving end, grace is refreshing. When it is required of us, it is often disturbing. But when correctly applied, it seems to solve just about everything. Contrary to what is sometimes taught, the opposite of grace is not law. As we will discover, God's law is actually an extension of grace. The opposite of grace is simply the absence of grace.

To say that someone deserves grace is a contradiction in terms. You can no more deserve grace than you can plan your own surprise party. In the same way that planning voids the idea of surprise, so claiming to deserve voids the idea of grace. You can ask for it. You can plead for it. But the minute you think you deserve it, the it you think you deserve is no longer grace. It is something you have earned.

But grace can't be earned.

To earn something is to find an equivalent. There is no equivalent where grace is concerned. Grace is birthed from hopeless inequity. Grace is the offer of exactly what we do not deserve. Thus, it cannot be recognized or received until we are aware of precisely how undeserving we really are. It is the knowledge of what we do not deserve that allows us to receive grace for what it is. Unmerited. Unearned. Undeserved. For that reason, grace can only be experienced by those who acknowledge they are undeserving.

From the beginning, the church has had an uneasy relationship with grace. Yet history has shown that the church and Christianity in general fare best when characterized by grace. The church is most appealing when the message of grace is most apparent. Yet grace is often an early casualty in the world of organized religion. The gravitational pull is always toward graceless religion. Instead of defining itself in terms of what it stands for, the church often takes the less imaginative and easier path of defining itself in terms of what it is against.

The odd thing is that when you read the New Testament, the only thing Jesus stood against consistently was graceless religion. The only group he attacked relentlessly was graceless religious leaders. So we should not be surprised when we get to the end of the Gospels and discover that the people who crucified him were those who claimed to know God but knew little of grace. In doing so, they confirmed everything he said about them.

Grace is not a New Testament idea. Grace didn't begin with Jesus. But it was certainly personified by him. John tells us that he was "full of grace and truth" (John 1:14; emphasis added). Not the balance between, but the embodiment of. John speaks of "the fullness of his grace" (1:16), the idea being that in Jesus we get as clear and as close a look as we will ever get of what grace looks like in an otherwise graceless world.

In Jesus there was no conflict between grace and truth. It is that artificial conflict that throws so much of Christianity into disarray. It is our misunderstanding of grace, as modeled and taught by Jesus, that leaves us feeling as if grace allows people to "get by" with things.

But grace doesn't dumb down sin to make it more palatable. Grace doesn't have to. Grace acknowledges the full implication of sin and yet does not condemn.

But not just any grace.

The grace of God.

One is too small a number to achieve greatness

A Chinese Proverb I recently read states. 'behind an able man there are always other able men.' The trust is that teamwork is at the heart of every great achievement. The question isn't whether teams have value. The question is whether we acknowledge the that fact and become better team players.

Einstein once remarked, 'Many times a day I realise how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labours of my fellow men, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received'. WOW!! How awesome is that.

President Lyndon Johnson said, 'There are no problems we cannot solve together, and very few we can solve ourselves.' Why try and go it alone? You've probably heard this before but, even the Lone Ranger rode with Tonto!

I am convinced that team work is and has always been essential where there is anything significant happens.

Teams involve more people that hols more resource, ideas and energy than anyone individual can have.

Teams maximise a leaders potential and minimise weaknesses.

Teams provide multiple perspectives on how to meet a need or reach a goal.

Teams share the credit for victories and the blame for losses. I think this is at the core of fostering genuine humility and authentic community.

Teams are accountable for keeping the goal in focus.

Individuals play the game, but teams win championships.

Never give up

Watched this and it brought me to tears!

Drawn to a winning cause

Read a quote this week that inspired much thought:

'People are drawn to a winning cause. People are not drawn to groups that complain, lament, scold, whine. Most of them have enough of these negatives in their loves. People are drawn to groups that help them grow, develop, advance and build their lives. Congregations having the confidence that they are participating in the winning cause of God's mission will grow in generosity and the more people will be reached in your locality. People always give to a winning cause not a sinking ship!'

WOW... So much in this! Thoughts:

Jesus must be prominent and seen as the KING of kings and head of HIS church

Creating the right culture in church is crucial

Confidence in leadership and the vision,

Participation of everyone

The church is to be a discipling and equipping environment

Jesus mission must be our focus

Generosity

Community impact as church and resources are released

Now there's a series just from a quote!

Over the last few years at MKCC we have been engaged in a major building project to extend our current facilities to allow us to grow. Every day there has been change and progress taking place and I have enjoyed watching it. This is how it ought to be in church life as Jesus is the builder and is actively at work in us daily by his Holy Spirit. Movement, change, activity, progress, obstacles, developments...etc - Just normal really. If Jesus is building his church then there is always something happening! If there's not to much happening or changing, the warning light should be flashing in your life or church!!

As we move forward into the purposes of God, I believe that people want their lives to count by having a part in a spiritual movement, not a monument! Church suppose to be alive, relevant, influencing society and actively making a difference in the community.

Let's all get fully involved - Someone else's miracle is waiting on the other end of your obedience! God is waiting for you to say, here I am use me. Let's start BEING the church and quit ATTENDING church. Let's follow Christ with passion and and serve his purposes together to the end.

Psalm 23 - An eye opener!

Some have probably never thought or looked at this Psalm in this way, even though they read it or say it over and over again.

The Lord is my Shepherd - That's Relationship!

I shall not want - That's Supply!

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures - That's Rest!

He leadeth me beside the still waters - That's Refreshment!

He restoreth my soul - That's Healing!

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness - That's Guidance!

For His name sake - That's Purpose!

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death - That's Testing!

I will fear no evil - That's Protection!

For Thou art with me - That's Faithfulness!

Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me - That's Discipline!

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies - That's Hope!

Thou annointest my head with oil - That's Consecration!

My cup runneth over - That's Abundance!

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life - That's Blessing!

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord - That's Security!

Forever - That's Eternity!

You have no idea how much God loves you!

A poem - What God has promised..

Someone sent me this poem today that I found incredibly encouraging.

When you face difficulties, trial or pain in your life let this little poem speak to you.

God has not promised...
Sun without rain
Joy without sorrow
Peace without pain
BUT God has promised...
Strenght for the day
Rest for the labour
Light for the way
Grace for the trials
Help from above
Unfailing sympathy
Undying love

Let's focus our thoughts on what God has promised even in the storms and know that he WILL carry us through it all.

You need others around you!

'There isn't a single person in the world who can make a pencil. The wood may have come from a wood in Washington, the graphite from a mine in South America, and the eraser from a Malaysian rubber plantation. Thousands of people cooperate to make a pencil.' Milton Friedman

Simple cooperation between people will always enhance work or ministry efficiency and/or effectiveness!

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no-one to help him up. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 NKJV

Moses said...'I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden of these people is too heavy for me' ....So the Lord said .... 'Gather to me seventy men....I will take of the spirit that is upon you and will put the same spirit upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone'. Numbers 11:11-17 NKJV

Nothing of significance is ever achieved by an individual alone.