Grace is for the Unworthy

Grace is, by its nature, for the unworthy. If you think you are worthy in yourself, then you will see no need for grace. If you know that you are not worthy, you will seek out grace and be very willing to receive it when it is offered.



Some of the most unworthy people as judged by the culture in the New Testament are lepers.



Lepers were total outcasts in the culture. They had to live separated from the rest of the population. They had to cry out “unclean” when they came close to nonlepers. Leprosy represents sin. So, from a spiritual view point, lepers would symbolize sinners. 



So, when Jesus told stories about lepers it tended to catch people’s attention.



Luke 17:11-19

On the way to Jerusalem He was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as He entered a village, He was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master have mercy on us.” When He saw them He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving Him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”



The first thing is that they called out to Jesus and recognized Him as Master.



They knew that grace and mercy are found in Jesus.

They knew that Jesus was Master and had the power to fulfill their request.



Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is recognizing that Jesus has the desire and the power to fulfill our needs.



The second thing is that they asked for mercy.



In Hebrews 4:16 we are told that we can with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.



There is never a time in Scripture when a person asks God for mercy that God does not grant mercy to that person.



Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing that when we ask Jesus for mercy, He will give it to us.



The third thing is that when Jesus told them to go show themselves to the priest, they turned and went.



The priest would be the one person who could officially declare the lepers clean and allow them to return to their families and real life again. The lepers were healed as they were turning to go to the priest.



God’s grace is poured out on all people, but His grace is personally experienced when we obey Him. It is not that God’s grace is not there all the time. But grace can only be experienced by a person in the element of obedience.



Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is, through obedience to Jesus, experiencing His grace.



The fourth is that only one of the ten lepers when he realized he was healed returned to thank Jesus and praise God. Jesus does not undo the healing of the nine who did not return. Jesus simple comments that only a Samaritan came back to show thanks.



Grace is free.

Grace is for the unworthy.

Grace is given to the ungrateful.



Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about Jesus and who He is, not about us or even our response to Jesus.



The fifth thing is that Jesus points out to the healed leper that it was his faith in Jesus that made him well.



It is Jesus and our faith in Him that brings salvation and all the other blessings of God. And remember that the size of faith necessary is that of a mustard seed.



Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living based on the size of our Savior and not the size of our faith.



You and I are healed lepers, saved sinners, based on the grace of our Master and Savior Jesus.



In God’s Grace Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                         Joe

Knowing Who We Are is Important!

Psalm 57:2 (CSB)

I call to God Most High, to God who fulfills His purpose.



Jesus is seen by the world today in many different ways:

•Savior & Lord

•Loving

•Influential

•Irrelevant



Jesus’ life is a vivid illustration of the priority of identity.



•Luke 2:49 -Jesus saw God as His Father

And He said to them, “Why were you looking for Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?”



•Matthew 3:17 – The Father saw Jesus as His beloved Son in whom He was well pleased.

And behold, a voice from heaven, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am welled pleased.”



The Father tells Jesus this before Jesus has preached a sermon, called a disciple, performed a miracle, or completed the Father’s will by dying for our sin.



That allowed Jesus to following the Father’s directions.

•John 8:28

So, Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on my on authority, but speak just as the Father taught.”



Notice what the Father did not say to Jesus:

•Go evangelize the world

•Do the right thing

•Fulfill My law

•When you die, fear not, I will bring you back



The Father confirmed who Jesus was, the Father’s beloved Son & how He felt about Jesus, well pleased. Identity took precedence over instruction.



Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing who we are in Jesus.



Jesus, right after His baptism, is led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted. The first two temptations that Jesus faced were aimed as His identity, “If You are the Son of God…”



Jesus based His entire earthly ministry on who He was and who He is.

He did not base it on:

The people He knew

His education

His miracles

It all flowed from His identity as God’s beloved Son in whom the Father was well pleased.



We can live & relate to others, ourselves, & God based on our identity in Jesus, who He says we are.



Jesus sets the example here:



●His identity directed His actions. – John 10:11: As the Good Shepherd He  

  laid down His life for the sheep (us).



●His identity allowed Him to give us access to the Father. – John 14:6: He is the way, the truth, the life, and the only access point to the Father.



●His identity gave Him authority. – John 11:25-26: He is the resurrection and the life and those who are dead live in Him.



Our lives are best lived when we know our God-given identity and when we let God reveal that identity to us.



What is an identity?



Identity is who a person is in totality. It is the real truth about the real you. We all have a God-given identity, but we may not know it or want it or understand it.



Relationships flow out of our identity. So, relationships are the interaction of our identities that enable us to know and understand one another. The depth of our relationships is greatest when who you are, and who they are, can freely open up, understand, and speak the truth in love.



Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is relating to others based on who we are in Jesus.



Anytime in Scripture God created something, He always marked it by naming it. – Genesis 2:19

Names in Scripture meant something that show the person’s real character, their identity. There are instances when God changed the character of a person, He also changed their name. Today when we hear a name, we associate it with a character trait based on some person with that name that we had known.



Who we really are matters to God. Discovering what God knows about us and how He views us should matter to us.



We are all on a journey of identity. We come into life not knowing who we are. We learn our identity as we live life. Some of our teachers are good and some are bad, some are trustworthy and some totally unreliable.



Some things we learn about our identity are simple: I have brown eyes.

Some things we learn about our identity are complex: I never felt understood by my parents.



Over our lives we discover new things about our identity. Things like:

Our Strengths

Our Weaknesses

Our Successes

Our Failures

Our Shames

We learn how to adjust and adapt and deal with the positives and negatives.



Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is allowing God to reveal to us through His Word who we are.



We might believe we don’t think very much about our identity, but the truth

is our identity is actually a deep underlying part of our thinking most of the time every day. It is our identity that either clarifies or confuses the choices we make in life. In 2 Samuel 11, David makes several bad choices based on the false belief that as king he could do what he wanted. Our identity affects almost every area, including how you think and feel at any given time. It affects the way you approach daily opportunities and how you react to problems, and how you tend to view God and your present circumstances. Job is an example. He didn’t see his situation in the same way his friends saw it.



Shawn:

Is a sharp, intelligent employee, excellent at solving problems. He has a great attitude – that is, unless he fails or someone criticizes him. Then he panics, explodes in anger, lashes out at others, and withdraws into self-pity for days.



Luann:

Is an amazing mother to her three children. But when her youngest son left for college, she suddenly felt like her life as a mom was over, and she quickly sank into an unexpected depression, including suicidal thoughts.



Colby:

Grew up in church and decided to follow Jesus at a young age. But in his teen years, he developed a dark addiction to porn that has enslaved him for more than a decade. He desperately wants to be used by God, but he is haunted by shame, and he struggles with ongoing doubts about his own salvation.



Chelsea:

Is a beautiful girl with a bright future. After being sexually assaulted on a date in college, she’s been deeply broken emotionally and feels like worthless, damaged goods. Carrying loads of misplaced shame, she began drinking to medicate her pain and has battled alcoholism for years.



Jerome:

Has retired after twenty-five years as a pastor in his community and gladly passed leadership to a young man fresh out of seminary. Less than a year later, however, he’s frustrated with his empty calendar and has a hard time not being angry at how well the church has moved on without him. He feels jealousy over the new pastor’s success and has grown bitter toward God for taking his church away from him.



If you had a causal relationship with any of these people and listen to their stories you might come up with some assumptions about each of them.



Shawn just has anger issues.

Luann’s problem is her empty nest.

Colby needs an internet filter.

Chelsea needs to control her drinking.

Jerome is merely a grumpy old retiree.



But the truth is, in each case, their external behavior is actually flowing out of internal issues deeply rooted in their hearts. God sees into the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). They all need love and a listening ear, compassionate understanding, accountable relationships, and encouraging support. They also need to discover some key truths about their identity and value that could set them free. – John 8:32



Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is looking at others with the eyes of Jesus.



Questions that We Need to Ask Ourselves:

●What do you think God thinks about you?

●Do you believe He really sees, cares, and knows you intimately?  

●Do you feel like He accepts you, just tolerates you, or rejects you?

●Do you genuinely believe He loves you?



To know and be known is a powerful thing.

To love and be loved is a beautiful thing.

To know your purpose and fulfil it is a priceless thing.



But to know God and be known and loved by Him is better than life itself. It is, in fact, eternal life. – John 17:3



Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing that God knows and loves you.



We can then have the confidence to pray Psalm 139:23-24 and know that what God tells us will always be the truth and for our good.



In God’s Grace Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                        Joe

Grace Provides Us With

God’s grace in our lives enables us to really trust Him. God’s grace gives us great confidence in Him. God’s grace enables us to then live knowing that no matter what we face in life, God’s got us.

David understood that truth and he writes Psalm 31:1-5.

He says:

In You, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me! Incline Your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me! For You are my rock and fortress; and for Your name’s sake You lead me and guide me; You take me out of the net they have hidden for me, for You are my refuge. Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.

Grace enables us to experience Jesus as our protector. He is our refuge, our rock, and our fortress.

We live in a world that can be dangerous. We need a God who is strong and powerful. We need a God who loves us and wants to care for us. We have a God who is both all-power and all-loving. He is able to protect and take care of us and He desires to protect and take care of us.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is, through the grace of God, experiencing Jesus as our protector.

Grace will allow us to never be put to shame.

The word shame in verse 1 means to be ashamed or disconnected or disappointed. By God’s grace we will never be ashamed to be a follower of Jesus, we will never be disconnected from Jesus our vine, or never be disappointed in Jesus and Him not following through on His promises.

God through His grace not only provides forgiveness but also removes any shame brought about because of our sin.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is experiencing joy, not shame, because of God’s grace.

Grace enables God to hear our prayers. Prayer is not convincing God to do what we want. Prayer is God communicating His will to us and giving us the power to do it.

1 John 5:14-15 says that if we ask anything according to God’s will, He hears us and when He hears us, He will grant what we are requesting.

We don’t get it because we deserve it; we get it because of His name sake. It is always about Jesus, not us, in everything.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about Jesus and His will, not about us or our will.

God’s grace empowers us to be led and guided by God’s Spirit and for God’s honor.         

God wants us to walk daily knowing and doing His will. He wants that because knowing and doing God’s will honors Him and benefits us.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is be led by and guided by God’s Spirit in ways that honor Him and bless us.

God’s grace delivers us.

We will commit and have committed transgressions. To transgress means to step over a boundary line. The boundary line was set there by God for our good. God does not want us to wander and step over into an area in which we will be hurt or even destroyed. God sets boundaries to protect us, not to restrict us. God’s boundaries actually free us to live lives of abundance. So, God in His grace delivers us when we transgress.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living in the freedom of God’s boundaries.

God pouring His grace into our lives results in us being able to commit our spirit into His hands and experience His redemption. I cannot redeem or save myself but Jesus’ death and resurrection can and does. Grace, God’s unmerited love and care for us, is the only thing that redeems us.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is experiencing redemption through Jesus as I commit my spirit into His hands.

Grace Empowers!

Grace Blesses!

In God’s grace Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                      Joe

Grace is Greater

In my study of grace over the last year, one of the things God has revealed to me and is teaching me is that His grace is greater than all my fear, my inadequacies, and all my sins.

We all have heart problems. We all battle:

Selfishness (I want what I want)

Pride (Life revolves around me)

Lust (I know it’s wrong but I want it)

Greed (I deserve it more than anyone else)

Insecurity (I don’t feel worthy)

Anger (I hate you)

Fear (Help! I can’t survive this)

Loneliness (No one cares)

And Many Many More

1 John 4:4

Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

Jesus, the one in us, is greater than the one who is in the world, Satan. None of our weaknesses or inadequacies or sins is greater than God’s grace. My weaknesses, my inadequacies, my sins can never overcome or overpower God’s grace.

Grace qualifies me when my inadequacies tell me I’m not good enough.

Grace forgives and cleanses me when I sin.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living with the reality that God’s grace overcomes our weaknesses, our inadequacies, and our sins.

We will face being hurt by others, even those we admire and love. We will be betrayed by those who should have protected and cared for us.

The Bible talks about the Gospel. The word gospel means good news. The good news is that God loves us.

Romans 8:37-39

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The awesome truth about God’s love us is that:

Nothing can separate us from His love

Nothing can change His love for us

His love is not based on us or our performance but on His will to love us

Others may let me down or disappoint me or even betray me, but God will never do any of those to me.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is experiencing God’s love and knowing that nothing will change His love for us or separate us from His love.

The names of God show us how the grace of God has become more revealed to us over time.

In the Old Testament the primary names of God are:

Elohim meaning God

Adonai meaning Almighty God

Yahweh meaning, I Am that I Am

The last name, Yahweh, is God’s covenant name. It is a very personal name that God reveals to Moses.

Based on God’s name, we see more who we are. We are:

God’s creation

God’s subjects

God’s people

When we come to the New Testament, the primary name for God that Jesus gives us is Father. Then Jesus goes a little deeper in intimacy and gives us the name Abba. Abba means dad or daddy. It is the name that only you as his child you can call your father. Only my children and grandchildren call me Pops. I am no one else’s Pops but theirs.

God as our Father and our Abba means that we are His beloved children. Nothing will ever change that.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is experiencing God as our Abba and knowing we are His beloved children.

God’s grace overcomes my weaknesses and my inadequacies and sins.

God’s grace gives me total security in the knowledge of His love for me.

God’s grace establishes God as my Abba and me as His beloved child.

In God’s Grace Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                        Joe

Pslam 32 and Grace

The book of Psalms is a book full of the grace of God. I want to for the next few weeks share the grace of God from selected chapters from the Psalms.

In Psalm 32 there are five aspects of grace that are mentioned.

Psalm 32:1-2

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

The first grace is forgiveness.

The Psalmist mention three things that God forgives.

Transgression means stepping over a boundary marker.

Sin means to miss the mark.

Iniquity means to willfully and deliberately disobey God.

The grace of God forgives all three of these that should bring death.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is receiving the grace of God’s forgiveness.

Psalm 32:3-5

For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me, my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.

The second grace is honesty.

In 1 Peter 2:22 Peter says that in Jesus’ mouth there was no deceit found. God’s grace enables us to live an honest, transparent, and authentic life that reflects the truth of Jesus.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living an authentic life that shows Jesus to others.

Psalm 32:6-9

Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to You at a time when You may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach Him. You are a hiding place for me; You preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. I will instruct and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding; which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.

The third grace is prayer and receiving answers to our prayers.

Prayer is not a right but a privilege. It is only by God’s grace that we can come into the presence of a holy and righteous God. God actually invites us to come to Him in prayer and this is all through His grace. And on top of inviting us to pray, He promises that anything we ask in Jesus’ name He will do.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is not just believing in prayer, but in prayer taking everything before God and knowing God will answer.

Psalm 32:10

Many are the sorrows of the wicked but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.

The fourth grace is repentance.

Repentance is doing an about face. It is seeing that our lives are going toward sin, which leads to death and turning and going toward God and life.

According to Act 3:19-20 repentance brings times of refreshing and the reality of Jesus’ presence in our lives.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is repenting and experiencing the joy of God’s steadfast love.

Psalm 32:11

Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

The fifth grace is deliverance.

God sent Moses to deliver His people out of slavery in Egypt.

God sent numerous judges to deliver His people from many oppressing nations.

The Father ultimately sent Jesus, the Son, to deliver all people from sin.

God’s deliverance is based solely on His grace, not our deserving it.

All that God does for us is based on His grace.

In His Grace Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                     Joe

Grace Gives Second Chances

I love God’s grace.

God’s grace makes me uncomfortable at times.

I know that those two statements seem in opposition to one another. They even seem to contradict each other but I have had and still have both of those feelings toward grace. 

I love grace because, as sinner saved by grace, I know that God’s grace is the only thing that saves me. I still sin and so, it is only God’s grace that forgives and cleanses me. I am incapable in my own human resources to accomplish what God wants in me and through me, and it is the Holy Spirit that empowers to do God’s will and I have the Holy Spirit in me only by God’s grace. So, yeah, I love God’s grace.

But God’s grace also forces me to admit that I am incapable and weak and that I fail. God’s grace makes me realize that, as Jesus says in John 15:5, unattached from Jesus I can do nothing. That is humbling and many times uncomfortable. After all, I am a man and we are taught not admit weakness.

When I think about God’s grace, I am drawn to many passages. But the one that stands out for me is one where the word grace is not mentioned. I have come to understand that grace is more a story than a theological concept. I experience grace more than I understand it.

John 21:15-17

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” and he said to Him, “Lord, You know everything; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.”

Grace is seen in this passage in that, first, Jesus did not condemn Peter for doing what Jesus had told him that he would do, deny that he knew Jesus. Jesus had every reason to condemn Peter. He had told Peter beforehand that he would deny Him three times. Peter was passionate about not denying Him. Peter even went so far as to tell Jesus that he would die for Him. But even with every reason to condemn him, Jesus does not.

In John 3:17 Jesus says that He did not come into the world to condemn the world but to save the world.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing we will never have to face the condemnation of Jesus.

Grace is also seen in this passage in that Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him.

It may seem that Jesus was asking the same question over and over to Peter to create guilt. Jesus was actually doing it to relieve guilt. Peter had denied Jesus three times and Jesus was giving Peter three opportunities to reaffirm his love for Jesus.

Grace gives second chances.

Grace gives third chances.

Grace in fact gives many, many, many chances.

God’s grace never gives up on you and me.

Raise the Roof and remove the Walls is experiencing God’s grace continually in our daily lives.

But grace is also seen in this passage by the words that Jesus used when He asks Peter if he loves Him.

The English language has one word for love that covers many very different kinds of feelings. I love my wife, I love baseball, and I love seeing people connect with God are very different kinds of feelings. The Greek language has several different words that we translate love.

Jesus first, asked Peter if he agaped Him, if Peter loved Jesus with a divine kind of love. Peter responded that he loved Jesus like a brother. He used a different word for love.

The second time Jesus again asked Peter if he loved Him with a divine love and Peter responded that he loved Jesus like a brother.

The third time Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him like a brother and Peter says that yes, he loves Jesus like a brother.

God’s grace meets us where we are, not where we are going to be.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is experiencing God’s love and grace where we are at that very moment.

God’s grace by its very nature goes to those who not only don’t deserve it but also know that they don’t deserve it. We as followers of Jesus and people who have experienced His grace are not given the task to judge or condemn but to give grace to others as we have received grace.

In God’s Grace Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                            Joe

Grace: What God Wants You to Know

 

I recently did a memorial service for man in our community. I didn’t know the man and had only very little connection with his family. Jesus let me to talk about what he wanted the family to know and understand in that moment of grief. When I had finished the service and looked over it again, what I had shared was grace.

God wants you to experience His grace. To do that, we have to know some things and believe them and live based on them.

You have to know and believe that God loves you.

Jeremiah 31:3

The Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have continued My faithfulness to you.

God loves you. God doesn’t love the mass of humanity. That is how I used to see that truth. God loves us individually and intimately. It took me many, many, many years to believe that God loves Joe.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing and believing that God loves me.

You have to know and believe that nothing can ever separate you from God’s love.

Romans 8:37-39

No, it all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death not life, nor angels nor demons, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Jesus not only loves you, but He guarantees that nothing in all creation, visible or invisible, heavenly or earthly will be able to separate His love from you. Jesus does not want us to doubt His love for you for even a second.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living in the reality of Jesus’ love every day.

You have to know and believe that Jesus will never abandon you.

Hebrews 13:5

I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Jesus will never leave you, ignore you, or turn His back on you. Jesus died for you. Nothing can ever force Him to abandon you. Jesus is willing and able to walk through anything that occurs to us in this life.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing that Jesus is with us always and living based on that truth.

You have to know and believe that God has a plan for your life.

Jeremiah 29:11

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for evil, to give a future and a hope.”

The plans of God for you are:

For Your Good

To Give You a Future

To Give You Hope

God is for you and not against you so His plans for you are always for your good.

Raise the Roof and remove the Walls is to experience God’s good plans for you.

You have to know and believe that God wants you to experience the gift of eternal life.

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

Jesus wants you to spend eternity with Him in heaven. In 2 Peter 3:9 we are told that it is not God’s will for any to perish but that all should come to repentance. God does not want any person to die and go into an eternity separated from Him.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing that we will spend eternity with Jesus in heaven.

God’s love, the inability for anything to separate you from that love, the assurance that Jesus will never abandon you, the good plans that Jesus has for you, and the eternity that is available to us with Jesus is all true because of God’s grace.

In God’s Grace Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                         Joe