Please turn in your Bibles this morning to Acts chapter 13 as we are going to be looking at God’s abundant grace and what we have to do to receive it!  As you are turning there listen to this true story of a pastor I know very well who went to a pastor’s conference in Murrieta, California a few weeks back, and as you listen to this story, see if you can guess who this pastor is. The story, or should I say adventure goes like this:

            This pastor, okay it was me, was leaving out of O’Hare Airport at about 8:15 PM.  I got there in plenty of time, the plane we were to board arrived late so they got the people off the plane very quickly and us on the plane very quickly, without even cleaning it!

            As we pulled away from the gate, we stopped and just stood still for about 10 minutes. Then another American Airlines plane pulled out in front of us and I just thought we were waiting for them to go and then we would get started again. No such luck, we were just like a big paperweight sitting there!

            Then the pilot comes on and says we are missing one passenger and we can’t leave until we locate him. So they spent some time announcing his name at the Airport with no response. Then an idea, they announced that if this person was on the plane to put their light on and he did, he was just sitting in the wrong seat, which meant another person was missing because the plane was suppose to be full!

            So now they try first to see if he is on the plane and he wasn’t and the pilot said they will try to find him in the airport because if we can locate him there it will be quicker than trying to find his luggage and remove it from the plane. You see, they can’t take off with a person’s luggage if they are not on the plane!    

            Well they finally located this person and got him on the plane, the back row, so he had to walk past everyone on the plane, which must have been tough!  We once again pulled away from the gate and it was about 9:00 PM, about 45 minutes late.  Now the person I was sitting next to was a frequent traveler and he says something to me that began to worry me.  He says, “I hope we make it into John Wayne Airport by 11:00 PM or we are going to be diverted to LAX Airport!”  Thinking he is joking, that he was pulling my leg I interrogated him a little more on this issue and it was true.  The Airport closes from 11:00 PM to 6:00 AM because of noise pollution; I guess those that have expensive homes in the area didn’t like the noise.  That troubled me since my rent-a-car was at John Wayne Airport and the rental place closed at 11:00 PM!  To make matters worse, about one hour from our destination my friend next to me said that the stewardesses were talking and they doubt that we will make it there on time!

            But, praise the Lord we must have been the last plane to land that night, it was 11:06 as I was walking quickly to get my rental car. As I got to the counter I found that every other rental place was open but mine!  Determined to get a car I checked the prices at the other rental car places and they were over twice as high, and I didn’t think it was right for the church to pay that. Then, one of the girls said that the Enterprise personal may be down where you pick-up your car so again I walked briskly to find them their – praise the Lord!

            The only problem was I was suppose to pick-up my car at 10:30 PM and now it was 11:15 PM and thus, they gave my car to someone else!  So I asked them if they had another and they did but again it was going to be over twice what they had quoted me.  But, praise the Lord they ended up giving to me the cost of the car I was suppose to rent at about $19.00 per day instead of the $50 per day they wanted to charge me.  So I got my directions to Murrieta Bible College, where the conference was to be held and headed out, praise the Lord!

            Now I am suppose to take I-55 going north and the sign said to stay in the right lane, so I did, only to find out I was now back in the parking lot of John Wayne Airport, and not able to back up, so I took my ticket and the gate opened and I found my way to the exit, only using the parking lot for 30 seconds, and explained to the parking attended what happened and asked him to help me get out of this madness! So he gave me directions, and didn’t charge me for those 30 seconds and I was on my way, praise the Lord!

            Now as I am driving I thought this car had great pick-up – I was going 55 MPH in no time!  But cars passed me by like I was standing still. So I picked up more speed until I was going 130 MPH and cars were still passing me.  I thought these people in California were crazy!  What is wrong with them?  I know they drive fast in California, but this was ridiculous!  Now please understand, there was nothing wrong with them, just me.  You see, what I didn’t know was that the speedometer was not in miles per hour but in kilometers per hour so I was only going around 70 MPH or so, not 130 MPH!  So I was on my way, praise the Lord!

              Now I know my eyesight is getting bad, but I refuse to get bifocals yet. So to see my directions I had to take off my glasses and as I did they flew to the floor on the passenger side.  I could read the directions but I had no idea what the signs were saying, as at this point I still thought I was going 130 MPH!  So I pulled the car over, which takes awhile when you think you are going 130 MPH, picked up my glasses and I was on my way again, praise the Lord! 

            I finally did make it to the Bible College for the conference about 12:30 AM; God did see me safely although He didn’t have to be so funny about it!  I did not need a sermon illustration from it!  Now the question is did I deserve to get there safely? NO!  Did I deserve to make it to the Bible College because of my holy life, my godly ways?  NO!  Is there anything I did that caused me to earn my way there?  Absolutely not!  Then why did I get there safely?  Because of the grace of God!

            In our study this morning Paul and Barnabas have set-out on their first missionary journey.   As they are ministering in Asia Minor they come to Antioch in Pisidia and Paul, on the Sabbath, goes in and shares Jesus Christ with the people in the Synagogue, which was made up of Jews and those who were seeking the God of Israel but had not yet converted to Judaism.

            And Paul’s sermon is masterful. In verses 16-25 he speaks of the anticipation and the preparation for the Messiah, Jesus Christ.  Then in verses 26-37 he speaks of the Jews rejecting and crucifying the Messiah and His resurrection. And he concludes in verses 38-41 with the application and appeal to turn to Jesus Christ or judgment, the judgment of God will come upon your life!

            Now with that as the background, I would like to focus on only a couple of verses this morning because I believe they are powerful, they are life-changing, they will set you free. So with that said, let’s begin reading in Acts chapter 13, starting in verse 22 and see what the Lord has for us this morning.

            Now as you read through this you may think, “Oh, to be like David, a man after God’s own heart!”  Now I don’t know if this is in your Bible, but it is in mine, David committed adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of David’s mighty men!  Not only that, but he signed the papers for Uriah to be killed in battle. David was not only an adulterer but he was also a murderer! 

            Now, how many of you want to be like David?  In fact, how in the world could David be called a man after God’s own heart if he did these things?  Obviously, God is perfect, there is no darkness in Him at all and yet, the things that David did were very dark, so how can these things be true, that God says that David’s heart is just like his?

            I think a better way to look at this statement that Paul made and in reality God made regarding David is like this, “David was a man after the heart of God!”  You see, he sought the will of God for his life and when he failed, he repented. He wasn’t perfect but it was his desire to walk with the Lord, to do the will of God, but he did fail, he did stumble at times. The thing is, out of his seed, out of his linage, the Messiah, Jesus Christ was to be born, the Savior of the world.

            How many of you this morning, and you don’t have to raise your hands, feel like complete failures?  You feel like you blew it so bad that God can never use you again, in fact He just doesn’t love you like He use to?  How many of you feel that you are just too tired to fight and go on, you are giving up in the battle?

            I don’t know how many of you feel that way but is what you have done any worse than what David did?  Have you committed adultery or murdered anyone? And even if you have, are you beyond the grace of God?  Of course not!  You see, grace is a free gift, it speaks of unmerited favor towards us by God, we don’t deserve it, we deserve death, but He has given us life through Jesus Christ!  If you deserve it then it would not be grace!

            William MacDonald, in speaking of the grace of God, said the following:

            To seek to earn, merit, or purchase salvation is to insult the Giver.  Imagine yourself invited to a banquet in the White House by the president of the United States. You are seated at a table that is filled with the choicest foods. Every effort is made to give you a most enjoyable evening.  At the end of a lovely visit, the president stands at the front door to bid you good-bye.

            What do you do?  As you leave, do you press a dime into his hand and say, “Thank you very much for your kindness.  I have enjoyed the evening very much.  I realize it has cost you a lot of money, and I want to help you pay for the meal”?

            Is that the proper response to his kindness?  On the contrary, it is a rude and insulting gesture.  So it would be with God’s grace.

                                                                        - William MacDonald, The Grace of God

            I am not giving you a license to sin or saying go ahead and sin because God’s grace abounds!  If that is where your heart is at you need to work out your salvation, you need to do a heart check and see if your faith is real.  But, if when you sin you feel awful, you desire to do what is right but you failed and have repented, then I think I can safely say you too, like David, are a man or woman after the heart of God!  

            Also, grace is refreshing, it is joyful, and it is awesome because it is not anything that I desire, but it is the heart of God to freely give it to me.  I want to spend the remainder of our time this morning looking at several aspects of the grace of God in our lives.

1.  SAVED BY GRACE – EPHESIANS 2:8-9

            “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” 

            This is where it all begins; we are saved by God’s grace, unmerited favor towards us, not by works but by faith in Jesus Christ. It is not about what we have done or don’t do, it is about what He has already done and we receive it into our lives. This is a gift that God has given to us and thus, our boast is in what He has done – not what we have done.  The only thing we have added to salvation is SIN!  You see, you can’t earn your way into heaven, all you can do is receive it by faith, asking Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of your life. You are saved by GRACE!

2.  STAND BY GRACE – ROMANS 5:1-2

            “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” 

            After we are saved, we then stand in grace.  What does that mean? I believe it is the supporting structure of our faith.  You can’t stand if your legs are weak or broken or handicapped, or if you could it would be very unstable. And yet, as we stand in the grace of God we can stand strong, it brings joy to our lives and a certain hope that God will complete the work that He has begun in us and brings us to glory with Him!  We stand by GRACE!

3.  SERVE THROUGH GRACE – I CORINTHIANS 15:10

            “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” 

            “It is a good thing that I am here, because if I wasn’t, what would God do? What would you do?”   He would use a donkey to get His message out, and the donkey would probably do a better job!  You see, God doesn’t need us, but He desires to use us.  Thus, when God is looking for someone for ministry, he saw Joe down there, and He thought, “Not much talent, not too funny, he can’t clap and sing at the same time. He didn’t do well in English and his writing skills, let’s not go there. He doesn’t like to read. Power tools, we don’t have enough angels to protect him and those around him!  What in the world can we use him for? I know, let’s make him a PASTOR!”  

            God does use the foolish things of this world to confound the wise, and I do qualify!  But, as Paul said, by the grace of God, I am what I am!  And it is not because of my ability that God uses me, but because of my availability! Those things we are the strongest in, God tends not to use us in but in our weakness.  I hated talking in front of people, especially crowds and yet, look at where God has me!  Why is that?  God works through our weakness because we then have to depend upon Him and not our talents, not our strengths. It is as Paul said, “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  II Corinthians 12:10.  We serve through GRACE!

4.  SUSTAINED BY GRACE – II CORINTHIANS 12:9

            “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

            If we truly could do it on our own, then we would not need God, and we touched upon that in our last point. But Paul’s point is clear, God’s unmerited favor towards us, something we don’t deserve, He gives to us and even though we may be weak, He will see us through, and He does!  We are sustained by GRACE!

5.  GOD CAN MINISTER GRACE THROUGH OUR SPEECH –

     EPHESIANS 4:29

            “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”

            What comes flowing out of our mouths can build up, edify; or tear down, destroy.  It can extend the grace of God to people or condemnation to them.  I find it amazing how people speak of God to others, and at times we may all be guilty of this. But we are harsh, judgmental, condemning, and yet look at the grace, the unmerited favor He has extended to us. Now He wants each of us to give that to others.  Be a channel from which the grace of God can flow through and minister to others!  God can minister through our speech His GRACE!

6.  GOD GIVES GRACE TO GROW – II PETER 3:18

            “but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.”

            How can we grow in God’s grace?  I don’t think Peter is talking about by our doing good we can receive more of God’s grace and by being bad we will receive less. God’s grace, His unmerited favor is a constant towards us, we don’t deserve it.  Then what is Peter talking about?  I think he is speaking of us being more aware of our sinful lives compared to a holy and righteous God and the more we see that, the more we realize how much God has extended to us His grace. It is freely given and all we must do is receive it by faith!  Yes, God loves us just the way we are but He also loves us so much that He won’t leave us like we are!  But please remember that God’s grace towards us doesn’t change but we, as we grow can see how awesome it really is, how rich it is, how deep it is, and we will continue to see this as we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  We can grow by His GRACE!  

            Now, as I start to bring this to a close, some of you may still feel unworthy, and that is okay!  The question I have is this, “What is the matter with the rest of you!”  You see, you should all feel that way, unworthy because none of us deserve it, and that is the point, it is God’s grace given to us!  And thus, as we receive this grace into our lives, just as David’s seed was to bring forth the Messiah, Jesus can be seen in us as we extend the grace of God to others just as God has extended it to us!

            Remember the story of Mephibosheth, a son of Jonathan who was lame in his feet. Now as Mephibosheth comes before King David he is nervous, he deserves death being a descendant of King Saul.  In fact, as you look at him, in the eyes of man, he is worthless, a dead dog, lame in his feet!  And the response to this lame man who was totally unworthy, undeserving of anything was “. . . ‘As for Mephibosheth,’ said the king, ‘he shall eat at my table like one of the king's sons.’”  II Samuel 9:11b.

            Folk’s, that is how God looks at us, not lame, not sinners, His table cloth you might say, His righteousness covers our sins and He sees us as perfect in Christ!  That is God’s grace that He extends to us – undeserving of it, yes we are, but God’s love goes beyond that and His grace is extended to us if we would only receive it by faith!

            Let may leave you with this from Charles Swindoll:

            Humpty Dumpty had an unsolvable problem.  We have a problem too, but ours has a solution.

                                    Jesus Christ came to our wall,

                                    Jesus Christ died for our fall;

                                    So that regardless of death and in spite of sin,      

                                    Through grace, He might put us together again.

            It is as we allow the grace of God to flow into our lives that the grace of God will flow out of our lives and they will see Jesus!  It is as Paul said in II Corinthians 5:21, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”  Let us not forget that or let the enemy confuse us, we are saved by grace through faith and that can never be taken away from us! But not only that, we also stand by grace, serve through grace, are sustained by grace, God can minister grace through our speech and we can grow by grace!  Please take these things into your heart, don’t let the enemy rob you of the joy God wants you to have in Him by telling you that you are not good enough.  The only way to combat that is to say, “You are right, I am not good enough, but He is and I will stand in His grace because I have been saved by His grace!”  Won’t you do that?  I pray you will!