Last week, in going through matthew 10 5-6, we spent our time focusing on the practical principles found within Christs instructions to his apostles, and just briefly we had touched upon some of the theology of how God chose the israelites as his chosen people that he used to reveal who he is to the world around them.
Briefly explaining how God’s heart behind his making of israel to be his chosen people, was not earned and could not have been earned but was pure grace, that he would extend to ultimately lead him to receiving his maximum glory
But by the end of the message I had submitted to you that the same reason that God had chosen Israel to display who he was through a covenantal relationship
is the same reason he now, in his new covenant choses us, his Church, to be able to reveal who he is to the rest of the world. And we ended last weeks message with 1 corinthian 1:26-31 where scripture backs up that premise
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
To be clear, God didn’t choose us because he needed us on his team, or because he was looking for some friends to hang with, or because he needed anything at all from us, but he chose us because through His working in our lives he would receive his maximum glory
That is why Church, Jesus opens up his sermon on the mount by saying blessed is the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Before we can enter into a relationship with God, by His grace he will allow us to come to the end of ourselves
this idea that we can do this life on our own, and pursuing what is right in our own eyes,
Is crushed by grace. And continually so.
His grace that has been extended to us through the revelation of our inability to save ourselves and our desperate need for God to intercede on our behalf
He will allow us to humble ourselves before him, to come to the end of ourselves
Which leads to our focus of today’s message for part two of our text today of Matthew 10:5-6
As promised last week, this weeks message will be covering the important theology that allows us to see a clearer picture behind the character of our sovereign God and king
So far, in this series, most of the theology that has been discussed has had a focus God’s mercy,
We have been discussing and revealing God’s strong and clear desire for us to be an extension of that same mercy, through acts of compassion to the lost sheep who have no shepherd
If mercy was on one side of the coin, the other side of that same coin, would have to be grace. These two really go hand in hand
All of this by way of introduction, lets pray as we prepare to dive more deeply into the meat of this text
Pray
The goal that the Lord has put on my heart for this message talking about what grace is, how God shows grace, and how can we best steward this grace given especially in consideration of us being in the midst of this evangelism series
When we are speaking of God’s grace, it is important to understand what grace is,
The Hebrew word for grace is translated to ḥēn which according to the Hebrew lexicon means to find favor in the eyes of.
Another simple but helpful definition to remember of Grace, is unmerited favor or unearned undeserved favor
And just so everyone is one the same page, favor is an act of kindness beyond what is due or usual, or it could also mean a show of support
So you asking your buddy for a favor to come over and help move, is really you asking your friend to show you grace.
And if he just did this favor without even you asking him to do it,
that is still grace but rather then being triggered by your request he was able to witness a need or a want that he could help with and that moved him to respond in this example
Let’s read our text, Matthew 10:5-6
5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
So even though the word grace is nowhere to be found here in today’s text, the concept of it is played out in the action of Jesus sending his twelve apostles to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,
for the purpose we will see explicitly mentioned in the next two verses of 7&8
Essentially they would be going to these towns, and sharing the good news and performing miracles of healing and casting out demons, and raising the dead
Then we see in verse 8&9 This was something Jesus instructed them to do without payment. As they had received without pay, they to were to give without pay
The lost sheep of Israel had found favor in the eyes of the Lord, as indicated by jesus selecting them to be the first target of his apostles, or sent ones
As we are talking of grace or favor, whether it would be from God or man, two things come to mind that I believe are important to mention first before we dive into a deeper look at what grace looks like.
One would be grace or favor, by its own definition can not be earned. In fact, even in the example of someone helping someone move would not be grace demonstrated if the buddy who was helping had the expectation that the favor needed to be repaid when he would be moving next month.
Friends should help each other out when a need arises, but when there is an expectation in mind that I did this because I expect you to return the “favor” well that is no longer a favor, that is called a barter. Trading time and effort for time and effort. That would not be an expression of grace, that would be expected wages to be earned
Some people have a hard time accepting help from someone without somehow paying this person back, or owing them a favor in return or having the feeling of entitlement that they themselves are owed this favor that they are receiving at the moment.
And if you have a sense of entitlement that expects grace, that you are owed this because of who you are or what you have done. That is pride.
If you have a desire to pay someone back, who is showing you grace not seeking anything in return, for the motivation to settle your perceived indebtedness to them, that is pride too
[Jer 17:9 ESV] 9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
A lot of times, it is only when we find ourselves in need of grace that the Lord will allow this pride to bubble up to the surface of our heart and expose itself. The best thing that we can do when the Lord allows us to recognize this tendency of pride is to stop and pause to take it to the cross, and go to him in prayer. Recognize that pride is not a part of your new nature that he has given to you, by his grace, and ask for the wisdom to see things the way the Lord sees them and accept the grace that is being offered with all humility, knowing ultimately this is a good gift from your good good Father.
But that desire to wanting to pay someone back doesn’t always need to be pride that is bubbling up to the surface
In fact I think of what Jesus had said in Matthew 22 when the scribe asked Jesus what the most important commandment was and he came back and said first to love the Lord your God and
[Mat 22:39 ESV] 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Back 6-7 months ago
When my wife Molly was just weeks away from giving birth and I was working such crazy hours over at the house I had gutted, that many of you know I refer to as China house, I had a lot of people help.
Some for money, others just wanted to help because they knew how important it was for me to get this house done before our daughter would be born, and frankly we couldn’t afford to hire more hands.
I was blown away by the grace that was shown to me and our family in the help that was offered on multiple occasions, and to this day we are so grateful not just for them helping hands that showed us help, but knowing that ultimately the Lord had put us on the hearts of these individuals to be an extension of his grace and they were walking that out.
But one of those people in particular showed such grace to me
He had come to help me with some spackling without me even asking for help and he actually spent money hiring another two guys to make things go faster, and then that same guy when we were in the hospital with Molly, called me and asked me what needed to be done yet in the house before we came to live in it. And while we were in the hospital he helped to finish the floor in the kitchen and helped move in the appliances with him and a friend, and that just meant so much to me.
And it was out of gratitude of receiving that favor, I was reminded of the call that Christ has given us to love your neighbor as yourself, but also in the sermon on the mount christ says whatever you wish someone would do for you, go and do for others
And frankly, by my friend’s actions, I was stirred up in my own desire to do what he was able to do for me for others that God has put in my path.
Even going back and thinking of that example, brought so many more examples to mind of just undue kindness. Favor I did not earn nor did i deserve, that may have came out of the hearts of man but I know that it was the Lord behind it all.
Proverbs 16:9
The heart of man plans his way,
but the Lord establishes his steps.
When it comes to grace that should be mentioned, it can be rejected. And I would even go as far as saying that it is rejected more than it is accepted
Pride comes before the fall. I know this is not a gender specific issue, but I think men will naturally have a tougher time with this.
We either don’t like asking for things, or it is just easier for us to do it ourselves. It pains me to begin to think about how much time I have wasted at giant looking for something that wasn’t where I thought it should be at verses just asking someone
More than that though, when you accept grace it means you have acknowledged that you are vulnerable, you’re exposed, someone notices a pain point in your life and thinks they are in a position to help you.
The thoughts that go through your head might be that it means you aren’t enough, or maybe you don’t have what it takes to see this thing through on your own. And sometimes, and again I think there are alot of men who will just shoulder it rather than ask for grace or accept it,
Those thoughts too, are rooted in pride and when they pop up the sooner you can run to the Lord in prayer the better
But back to thinking about our text. The lost sheep of Israel were in line to directly encounter the grace that Jesus for made available for them to be able to receive by giving his apostles his authority, meeting the people in the towns they lived in doing all sorts of miraculous things for them, freely and without charge, as a confirmation of the authenticity of the message of the kingdom of heaven being at hand.
The good works and the spreading of the good news that would come from these apostles to the lost sheep of the house of Israel would all be owed directly to Jesus’ instructions and their obedience to carry them out.
God gives grace throughout all of scripture, but yet the fact remains we are not owed anything good from God, and the only thing we deserve is Hell.
The bible says that no one is righteous, no not one. The fact that we have not been given the bad things that we do deserve, is mercy
But the fact that God gives us good things we do not deserve, that is grace
For those who remember my past messages, you might remember the law of first mention. Which means the first time something is mentioned pay attention to it, because its meaning will help bring greater insight to its future mentions.
The law of first mention goes hand in hand with another progressive revelation, which means the things that God revealed to us were not all given at once. His revelation was given in stages, but regardless of the stage it is in it will always be true and never will contradict itself. This is known as progressive revelation.
So with grace being the topic of study for today, the first time we see grace appear is in genesis 6:8
But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
One thing that makes this unique is that this phrase or concept of having found favor in the eyes of the Lord only appears 3 times in all of scripture
Gen 6:8 with Noah, then Gen 18:3 with Abraham and lastly exodus 33:13 with Moses
And this truly pains me church, but rather than dive into all this context and read each one of these passages, just for the sake of this message I have to give you the bottom line. I literally just cut about 30 minutes off of the message.
But There is so much here in these three examples for us to walk away with, but you will be overloaded with so much information and Vince is already usually asleep by this point in my messages.
But please, Church, the word of God is a gift that has been graciously given to us by our maker.
Steward this gift of His word every day,
[Rom 12:2 ESV] 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
remember so far we have covered that grace can not be earned, otherwise it would no longer be grace and grace could not be paid back
Each of these three instances of scripture do have very significant implications and while thinking of how to give the bottom line it really came in the form of answering these two questions for each example.
What does God’s grace look like in this example?
and what we see as appropriate responses to those who, to some degree, understand they are living in that grace?
First example is noah finding favor in the eyes of the Lord before the Lord brings judgment and floods the whole earth because he sees the wickedness of all of mankind to their very core
So for Noah to find God’s grace meant a second chance for all of humanity, Noah and his family would be given the plans to build the ark that the Lord would use to repopulate creation with all of its creatures
and Noah’s response to that grace was a faithful obedience that allowed for him to walk with God, a picture of grace that brings us back to the garden where Adam would walk with God, before the fall.
Noah’s response to the grace shown allowed him to have a personal relationship with his God and his savior from destruction
Second example of one who found favor in the eyes of the Lord was Abraham already a quarter of a century into his walk with the lord finding, out that Isacc, the son of the promise would be born in a years time from Sarah
For Abe to receive God’s grace meant the promise of life, who would be born, not of will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God, and Abraham’s response to that grace was to intercede for the city of Sodom and Gomorrah, standing in the gap, on behalf of those who rightly stood condemned before God as he once did
Third and final time it is mentioned of one who had received favor in the eyes of the Lord was with Moses.
Shortly after the giving of the ten commandments, the Lord told Moses he would not go with the Israelites to the promised land because they were so stubborn he might just kill them somewhere along the way.
Now in Moe’s case, seeking after God’s grace meant that the very presence of God would go with the Israelites to the land of promise, and his response to when God had agreed to have his presence go with him, was that he wanted more.
And to be clear, Church this was not Moses saying that being led by his presence was not enough for him. But rather, Moses simply recognized by God’s grace, that there was nothing in this world that he desired more than to unite with God on a greater, more intimate level. And than chapter 33 ended with God allowing Moe to see all of his glory pass by
So if we put the bottom line together from each of the only three instances in the old testament that mention one who has “found favor in the eyes of the lord”, what can we walk away pertaining to having a better understanding of God’s grace and how are we to respond to it.
From those three instances in scripture we learn that with God’s grace comes God’s presence, and with God’s presence comes life, and with life that is endowed with the presence of God brings with it hope, A hope that is rooted in a personal understanding of who the living God is, which is unhindered by the physical circumstances of this world.
And it is through the overflow of hope in our lives, that comes from the grace of God, that will lead us to a faithful obedience like Noah, A desire to intercede on behalf of others to be able to be show the same grace that you have been shown like Abraham, and a zealous hunger to witnessing the ever increasing glory of God in your own life like Moses
Now we can apply what we have learned from these three examples of Gods grace and bring it home to our own lives. Using these same two questions that helped us to get to the bottom line of our examples today
So Church, I ask you what is the single, most unarguably greatest act of grace that has ever been shown to you in your life?
Jesus Christ is grace personified. Any and all who place their faith in his life and in his words and confess him as Lord will be offered the gift of salvation that has come free to us. But came with such a price for him
Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
That was Colossians 1:15–20
Or what about Ephesians 2:3-14
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Church, grace to us is Gods, Riches, At, Christ, Expense
By God’s grace this has been given so freely to us but had to come for such a price for Christ
So how can we best steward this free gift of Jesus?
In order to answer this question, we should look to those who have gone before us, would should look to his word, look to the example set forth by Noah, Abraham and Moses’
Would you say that you have demonstrated and seen growth in your desire to be faithfully obedient to the Lord?
How often do you find yourself going to the Lord in prayer on behalf of others? Interceding for them. When you are presented with opportunities where the Lord has placed it on your heart to give your time, talent, or treasure to help someone else who was in need, do you take it?
And zeal, how is your pursuit after the lord? Have you found a growing distaste for the things that do not help you to run faster in this race that he has placed you on?
But I would caution against the idea of using those traits as checkbox items, because truthfully these are not tasks that can be achieved and accomplished,
but rather these are spiritual markers that would serve us well, to reflect on, to have a sober assessment of where you are at, that will allow you to place a finger on the pulse of our walks with the Lord
Let’s take a look back to the text that had inspired us to take a look into some of the inner workings of God’s grace
Matthew 10:5&6
5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
God’s grace can either be received or rejected
To the lost sheep of the house of israel, who would receive the grace that God had set aside for them by means of the words and works of the apostles would means
By God’s grace, they would have faith in his ability to save, like Noah Abraham and Moses all did
By God’s grace, they would have recognized God’s presence from a far and pursued it and clung to it like Abraham and Moses did
By God’s grace they would be able to experience the incomparable experience being born again, a birth, like Isacc, would not have been possible by any other means than the power of God
By God’s grace, they would then come to recognize God’s heart
And seeing God’s heart they too would be compelled by the grace of God to stand in the gap and intercede for those sheep who are lost, hurt and broken who have no shepherd.
Today we covered a lot of ground, we spoke about what grace was, how it is something that can’t be earned, or paid back,
Showed how the lost sheep of the house of Israel were chosen to be soon able to receive this grace from God by the hands of the apostles by the instructions of Jesus.
We revealed in scripture how it played out in the lives of Noah, Abraham and Moses and their responses, we spoke of the biggest grace in our lives being Jesus and how to steward that.
So now the only other thing to speak of pertaining to this message is what was Jesus instructions for us?
This text, in Matthew 10, if you remember, is know as the Little commission, for our instructions we have to look to Jesus’ great commission turn to Matthew 28 18-20
While you are getting there Church, I am sure many of you have already committed to these verses to memory, but if you have not. I need you to do so,
This world and our flesh work together so well to distract us with pithy things that seem so worthy of our attention, to just keep us busy all the time with things that seem good to us in the moment, but in the end will not have any eternal significance.
One way to help combat that, is to have yourself be washed by the grace of God’s words to us daily, not allowing our mind to be conformed to the patterns or the thinking of the world but to have it be renewed and transformed by the Holy Spirit in us.
Treasuring his words in our hearts is another weapon the Lord has given us to have in our arsenal to combat the enemy, and to have Jesus’ instructions to us memorized will help us to stay attentive to the mission of this life
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Church, by us taking the time to look at the instructions that Jesus gave to his apostles to be an extension of His grace in the little commission, before the cross of calvary, how much more grace is available to us who, by the power of God, have been born again.
God’s, Riches, At, Christs, Expense Church, that is what grace is.
[Rom 10:14-15 ESV]
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
By God’s, Riches, At, Christs, Expense we have been justified before God, born again and have entered into life itself, with each day that passes by for us to be further sanctified, or made more into the image of God through the example of Jesus Christ himself, all by the empowerment of his holy spirit that now dwells in us.
By his grace he gave us eternal life forever united with Him
By his mercy he has spared us from the eternal condemnation that we deserve
But Church, as believers we will still face judgment, to be clear not eternal condemnation, but judgment that will come down to one question that we have spoken about today which is what did you do with the grace that he has given you? What have you done with Jesus?
No matter how you answer this question now, Remember God already knows, and his mercies are new every morning, and there is no place that His grace wont reach. But as you leave from here to spend time with family and friends and relax a bit as your weekend is winding down, and mentally prepare for the week that is ahead of you. I want you to think about those three spiritual markers we spoke of today.
Would you say that you have demonstrated and seen growth in your desire to be faithfully obedient to the Lord?
How often do you find yourself going to the Lord in prayer on behalf of others? Interceding for them. When you are presented with opportunities where the Lord has placed it on your heart to give your time, talent, or treasure to help someone else who was in need, do you take it?
And zeal, how is your pursuit after the lord? Have you found a growing distaste for the things that do not help you to run faster in this race that he has placed you on?
And if you feel convicted in any one of those areas, remember it is not in our own works we can display any of these things it is only by God grace, God’s, Riches At Christs Expense
He has given us all we need, and praise God for His grace