The Grace of God, Part 2

I am posting my notes on Pastor Tom’s teaching from Easter Sunday, April 16th. These are MY notes. Not a transcript. Not his notes. Any misquotes, mistakes, or mystifications are my fault (or something like that). All verses are from NASB 1995. I added some scripture references to things that Tom alluded to, but did not actually quote the scriptures. See brackets [].

The Grace of God, part 2

Now is “the acceptable time of the Lord” [2Cor 6:2] to look anew, afresh at the cross and God’s grace.

Prayer: “Father if you do not reveal, we cannot see.”

GRACE - God’s riches at Christ’s expense.

Christ’s expense was the cross, but the cross is meaningless without the resurrection. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. But death could not hold Him.

Mark 16:9-11
9 Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons.
10 She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping.
11 When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it.

Who was worthy to see Jesus first? It was the one whom He had cast 7 demons out of. The disciples, the apostles refused to believe her.

Do we believe? Are we hypocrites? Do we say we believe, but do not? I [Tom] am a hypocrite. And I know that I need Jesus.

I [Tom] get asked, “Is this Easter more relevant than any other?” [Given what has happened over the last year.]

Yes, Easter is more relevant to me this year than before, but not because of the events of the last year. It is more relevant to me because I breath. And I have to reckon with my sin and my desperate neediness for Him all the more.

We do not have what it takes to get where we need to be. Only grace can get us there.

Acts 1:3. To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.

Jesus presented Himself alive. Jesus promised that He would reveal Himself to us alive.

Acts 25:18-19
18 “When the accusers stood up, they began bringing charges against him not of such crimes as I was expecting,
19 but they simply had some points of disagreement with him about their own religion and about a dead man, Jesus, whom Paul asserted to be alive.

What got Paul in trouble was not that he presented a new religious ethic, but that Paul proclaimed that Jesus was dead and was now alive.

The gospel of John has several themes, but one of them is life.

God’s riches is not heaven, not freedom from sorrow or grief, but life.

Prayer: “Jesus, will you teach me of Your life. Holy Spirit stir something afresh in my life.” Renovation, rebuilding.

John 5:26. “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself...”

Jesus had life in Himself. Our hope is rooted in the truth that Jesus has life and is risen from the dead. All the mess I have made of my life I surrender to You.

If I want hope, don’t look for hope, look for grace.

WWJD? - “What would Jesus do?” is the wrong question. We have a Bible full of things that Jesus would do. The right question is, “What will I do?”

The old hymn asks, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” It is a good question, but “Are you there..? is a better one.

Am I exploding with life, or yawning? Is there resurrection power in my life? Is there hope in my life?

Romans 5:17. For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

Transgression; grace and life. “Grace reigning” is a kingdom term. We did not buy grace, we do not own it ourselves. Grace is a gift.

We need the gift afresh today, life afresh today, hope afresh today. If we surrender afresh today.

And we are not going to see grace today without revelation.