Pastor Robert explains how grace is unerited; undeserved; and unearned favor from God.
#Religion
#Grace
#Favor
#Gifts of the Holy Spirit
#Righteousness
#Love
#Provision
#Forgiveness
#Ministry
#Robert Morris
#Ephesians 2:8-9
#Romans 11:6
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Pastor Robert Morris Ministries | What's So Amazing About Grace | December 22, 2021
- Grace is amazing.
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- Our faith in Jesus saves us by grace.
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- God makes the old, broken places of our life new
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- again, when we open ourselves to him, fully
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- receive his love, and understand his grace.
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- Join my pastor, Robert Morris, as he begins a new
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- series that explains how grace is the unmerited,
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- undeserved, unearned kindness and favor of God,
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- that puts us in right-standing with him.
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- ♪ ♪
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- ROBERT MORRIS : So the title of this message is, "What's
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- So Amazing About Grace?"
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- And I know that was the title of a book awhile back,
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- which was a great book.
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- I read the book, I loved the book.
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- But about two months ago, when the Lord put this series
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- on my heart, it was actually on my study break time.
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- I said, "Lord, why do you want me to teach on grace?"
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- And I want to know that, I know the doctrine of grace,
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- I know the theology of grace.
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- I know how important it is for us to believe in grace,
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- but why do you want me to teach on grace?
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- Here's what I felt like he said.
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- I felt like he said, "Look around."
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- Just look around.
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- How many people don't know the grace of God?
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- And don't understand the grace of God?
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- And even how many believers?
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- How many believers live with a sense of shame?
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- And condemnation?
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- And fear of failure?
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- And how many believers are performance-oriented?
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- And perfection-driven?
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- And how many have a father wound?
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- How many live discouraged, and depressed,
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- because they could never measure up?
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- So I want us to understand how amazing grace really is.
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- I mean, it is so amazing.
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- And there's such misunderstanding about it.
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- I have a good friend, who is a wonderful man of God.
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- And he's a teacher in the Body of Christ, great guy.
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- But he doesn't understand grace.
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- And so, we got together to talk about it, and one
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- of the things he said was, that, "Grace is like
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- the oars on a boat."
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- And he said, "We're in the boat,
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- and there's a current that's pulling us toward hell,
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- and God has provided these oars," that's his grace,
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- and he said, "And if we keep rowing, we'll get to heaven."
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- That's the way he thought about grace.
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- But if we ever quit rowing, we go to hell.
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- Okay. Let me tell you something.
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- That's not amazing grace, that's amazing you.
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- And you're not that amazing.
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- [Laughter]
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- He's amazing.
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- And so, he and I sat and talked, and he said, "Okay, Robert."
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- He said, "I'm going to tell you what I feel about it,"
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- and he said, "You tell me if I'm wrong."
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- And I said, "Okay, I'll probably do that."
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- And so, he shared about grace, so -- and he said,
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- "I polled 100 pastors, and I asked them, 'What is grace?'
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- "And he said, "90-something percent of 'em came back with
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- some answer close to the typical answer, unmerited favor."
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- Or the traditional answer, unmerited favor.
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- He said, "Only a few said, 'In divine enablement.'"
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- And he said, "I think we've totally missed it.
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- I think grace is the divine enablement of God."
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- And he said -- and he went -- and he took about 20 to 30
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- minutes to explain it, to make sure he had covered
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- all of his bases.
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- And then he said, "Okay, Am I wrong?"
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- I said, "100%."
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- I mean, you're 100% wrong.
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- And of course, he laughed, and I laughed,
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- and we're still good friends.
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- I have tremendous respect for him, even though he's wrong.
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- I'm right, he's wrong.
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- But he said, "Well, why is that wrong?"
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- I said, "Because you asked your question.
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- You said -- you asked what grace is.
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- You didn't ask what grace does.
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- And one of the aspects of grace is it does divinely enable us to
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- live a new life in Christ, but it is the unmerited,
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- undeserved, unearned kindness and favor of God.
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- That's what it is.
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- So let me -- and if you want to write that down,
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- I asked 'em, that statement, "Grace is the unmerited,
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- undeserved, unearned kindness and favor of God."
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- That's what it is.
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- So I just want to unpack these three words,
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- just a little bit, for you.
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- Just kind of lay a foundation for our series today, alright?
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- Here's number one, unmerited. Unmerited.
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- Ephesians 2:8-9 says: "For by grace you have been saved,"
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- by grace, "Through faith," but now, listen to this,
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- "That not of yourselves," wasn't your rowing.
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- It's not of yourselves.
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- "It is the gift of God, not of works,
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- lest anyone should boast." Okay.
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- Hear this clearly, there will be no boasting in heaven.
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- There's a lot of boasting on earth right now,
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- but there will be none in heaven.
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- You will not say, "I kept rowing.
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- That's why I'm here."
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- "I'm here because I kept rowing."
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- "Now, I have some friends, they didn't keep rowing.
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- Notice, they're not here.
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- But I'm here, because I rowed."
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- The first time you see the nail prints in his hands, you'll say,
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- "That's why I'm here."
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- "That's why I'm here.
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- I'm here because of Jesus."
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- It's unmerited.
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- We don't merit it.
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- What's amazing is, when we first get saved,
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- we know we don't merit it.
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- But 20 years later, after all the good things we've done
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- for God, somehow, we think now, "Well, yeah, I mean,
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- I didn't back then, but I'm a little closer now."
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- No, even your righteousness is as filthy rags.
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- The best thing about you is still not even close
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- to the worst thing about God.
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- When I think of this unmerited, I was talking to my son this
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- week, and telling him about the series on grace.
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- He said, "Dad, I remember grace in my life,
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- several times growing up, but I just thought of a time."
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- He said, "When I was," -- he was probably early junior high,
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- he said, "We got our yearbooks, and before --
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- on our lunch time," he said, "For some reason,
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- a group of guys, my friends, we decided it would be funny
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- to draw mustaches and beards on the pictures of the teachers
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- in our yearbooks."
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- And so when he got home I said, "Hey, you got your yearbook.
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- Let me see your yearbook." And he didn't want to show it to me.
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- So, anyway, I got it and I looked at it and I have to say,
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- some of the ladies acutally looked -- nevermind.
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- I remember saying to him, "Son, do you realize
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- what you've done?"
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- And it was beginning to dawn on him.
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- I said, "You ruined this." This is something, you know,
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- you may want to look back on this years from now,
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- but you ruined it.
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- And Josh has such a tender heart, he started crying.
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- And then I remember picking his chin up and I said to him,
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- "Son, look at me.
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- Tomorrow, I'll buy you a new one.
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- I'm going to buy you a new one."
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- He said, "Why would you do that?"
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- I said, "Because that's what fathers do, son."
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- I raised my children because of my own Father,
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- with a sense of trying to model what the Father's like.
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- Grace.
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- They have hundreds of examples of grace,
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- because I always, always wanted to err on the side of grace.
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- Always.
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- I said, "This is what fathers do."
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- I said, "Let me tell you what fathers do.
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- They take care of it, when you do something stupid.
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- And son, this was stupid."
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- You know, the scripture says love covers
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- the multitude of sins?
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- Here's a statement I thought of, grace covers
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- the multitude of stupid sins.
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- Now, you don't have to raise your hands, but --
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- [Laughter]
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- You ever done anything stupid?
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- You better be glad for grace.
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- So it is unmerited.
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- Here's the second thing, it's undeserved.
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- We don't deserve it.
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- We didn't deserve it then, we don't deserve it now.
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- Even though we're teachers or leaders, or groups,
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- or whatever we do.
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- We don't deserve it.
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- Romans 3:24.
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- "Being justified freely," undeservedly, "By his grace
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- through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus," now, this word
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- grace, I want to unpack it a little bit from the Greek.
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- Our English pronunciation of it is charis.
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- And it's fine to say that, but it's --
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- that's really not how it's pronounced.
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- The C in Greek is silent, and so, this word is actually
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- pronounced ha-ris.
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- Ha-ris, the I would be like a long E.
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- Ha-ris.
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- So if I said the Greek word is haris,
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- most of you wouldn't recognize it, because we know of charis.
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- And as a matter of fact, there are many people
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- that name their daughters Charis, which is great.
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- So don't go home and start calling her Haris,
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- you know, okay?
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- Just Charis is great.
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- I actually have a friend of mine who said we're thinking about
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- naming out daughter Charis,
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- I said, I think you oughta think about that first.
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- He said why? I said because your last name is Maddox.
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- Charis Maddox, okay, so anyway.
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- So I want to just unpack this word,
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- just a little bit for you.
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- It does mean the unmerited favor of God.
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- That's what it -- that is the definition of it.
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- But I wanted you to know that this word was a cultural
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- word before it was a scriptural word.
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- The Holy Spirit chose to use this word, but let me tell you
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- the cultural meaning of this word, before it was even
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- a scriptural word.
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- It implied -- it always -- it referred to a benevolent gift
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- from a superior to an inferior.
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- That's always what it meant, in the culture.
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- When someone superior in wealth or in goods saw someone
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- who was in need or inferior, not as a person,
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- but inferior in goods, then if the superior gave a gift
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- to that inferior person in this area of goods,
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- then that was called grace.
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- That was charis, okay?
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- But it involves -- and listen to me carefully,
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- because this might shock some of you.
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- It actually involves three parties, three persons.
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- You would think it just involved two.
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- The person giving, and the person receiving.
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- But it didn't.
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- And in Greek, now, these would be the closest English
- 00:11:41.760 --> 00:11:44.929
- words to the Greek words, so I didn't come up with these.
- 00:11:44.929 --> 00:11:48.099
- These would be what they were in the Greek language, alright?
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- The person providing the goods was called the patron.
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- The patron.
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- And then, the person receiving the goods,
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- let's call the client.
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- Now, again, I don't think these are words that we
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- should use when we talk about the gospel,
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- like clients and patrons, and things like that.
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- I'm not saying that, I'm simply saying in cultural Greek,
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- that's what -- those were the meanings, alright?
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- So the patron, let's put it this way, maybe owned a shoe store.
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- And he wants to provide shoes for some children
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- in an orphanage, they would be the clients then.
- 00:12:25.069 --> 00:12:29.240
- Well, who's the third person?
- 00:12:29.240 --> 00:12:30.909
- In every transaction, there was a third person.
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- This, again, is the closest word in Greek.
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- He was called the broker.
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- The broker would go out into the community, and see the needs of
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- the inferior, and bring the inferior together
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- with the superior.
- 00:12:53.097 --> 00:12:55.733
- But here's something else the would do, the brokers actually
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- paid for the merchandise.
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- If it was 20 pairs of shoes, he paid for the shoes.
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- The patron provided it, the clients received it,
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- but the broker paid for it.
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- Does this sound familiar?
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- The broker's Jesus.
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- He brought us together with the Father,
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- but he also paid fully for us.
- 00:13:29.234 --> 00:13:33.471
- Every time I think of paid in full, when I was a young man,
- 00:13:33.471 --> 00:13:36.608
- I attended a Bible college in -- I mean, a Bible conference.
- 00:13:36.608 --> 00:13:39.544
- I did attend a Bible college, but I attended
- 00:13:39.544 --> 00:13:41.446
- a Bible conference, and at this conference, a pastor
- 00:13:41.446 --> 00:13:43.982
- named Dr. EV Hill spoke.
- 00:13:43.982 --> 00:13:47.051
- And I'll never forget this testimony he shared.
- 00:13:47.051 --> 00:13:50.688
- He said when he was young, he told his mother,
- 00:13:50.688 --> 00:13:52.657
- "I want to be a pastor when I grow up."
- 00:13:52.657 --> 00:13:54.726
- And his mother said, "Well, you need to go to college."
- 00:13:54.726 --> 00:13:57.862
- And he didn't think anything about it when he was young,
- 00:13:57.862 --> 00:13:59.731
- 'cause he didn't understand, but as he grew older,
- 00:13:59.731 --> 00:14:01.866
- he realized, "I'm not going to be able to go to college."
- 00:14:01.866 --> 00:14:04.402
- They were very poor.
- 00:14:04.402 --> 00:14:05.737
- He was a minority.
- 00:14:05.737 --> 00:14:06.938
- She was a single mother, and there weren't aids
- 00:14:06.938 --> 00:14:09.941
- and programs at that time for minorities.
- 00:14:09.941 --> 00:14:12.043
- We didn't understand, our nation did not understand
- 00:14:12.043 --> 00:14:14.045
- that need at that time, or were blind to that need.
- 00:14:14.045 --> 00:14:17.315
- And so, he just thought, I'll never be able to go to college.
- 00:14:17.315 --> 00:14:20.084
- And as he got older, he began to kind of prepare
- 00:14:20.084 --> 00:14:22.086
- his mother for it.
- 00:14:22.086 --> 00:14:23.187
- He'd say to her, "Mom, I'm still going
- 00:14:23.187 --> 00:14:24.789
- to be a pastor, but I may not go to college."
- 00:14:24.789 --> 00:14:28.426
- She'd say, "Son, you're going to college."
- 00:14:28.426 --> 00:14:30.962
- He said, "Well, we can't afford college."
- 00:14:30.962 --> 00:14:32.263
- This is what she'd say.
- 00:14:32.263 --> 00:14:33.197
- She'd look him right in the eye, she said,
- 00:14:33.197 --> 00:14:34.599
- "Son, God will provide."
- 00:14:34.599 --> 00:14:37.869
- And every time he'd bring it up, she'd say,
- 00:14:37.869 --> 00:14:39.470
- "Son, God will provide."
- 00:14:39.470 --> 00:14:42.307
- So she sent him down on the day to register.
- 00:14:42.307 --> 00:14:44.208
- He goes down to register.
- 00:14:44.208 --> 00:14:46.044
- He's standing, he gets all his books, he gets all his schedule.
- 00:14:46.044 --> 00:14:48.680
- He's standing in the registrar's line, he's about five people
- 00:14:48.680 --> 00:14:51.783
- back, and he's thinking, I'm so embarrassed.
- 00:14:51.783 --> 00:14:55.586
- I'm so ashamed.
- 00:14:55.586 --> 00:14:57.555
- I should not be here.
- 00:14:57.555 --> 00:14:59.023
- I don't have any money at all to pay for this bill,
- 00:14:59.023 --> 00:15:02.393
- and then he was four people back,
- 00:15:02.393 --> 00:15:03.795
- and three people back, two, and one.
- 00:15:03.795 --> 00:15:05.263
- And then, when that person stepped aside, he said,
- 00:15:05.263 --> 00:15:08.299
- "I started to turn and run.
- 00:15:08.299 --> 00:15:13.271
- But I remembered my mother saying,
- 00:15:13.271 --> 00:15:14.505
- 'Son, God will provide.'"
- 00:15:14.505 --> 00:15:17.308
- So he said, "I took a step up to that window,
- 00:15:17.308 --> 00:15:19.444
- and when I did, a man stepped right up beside me.
- 00:15:19.444 --> 00:15:22.447
- He took my hand like this, and he put money in it,
- 00:15:22.447 --> 00:15:26.117
- and he looked at me, right in the eyes, and he said to me,
- 00:15:26.117 --> 00:15:28.353
- 'Son, God will provide.'" And he said, the lady said,
- 00:15:28.353 --> 00:15:34.192
- "Mr. Hill, your bill is," -- and he said, "I took that money
- 00:15:34.192 --> 00:15:37.095
- and I put it down there, and she counted it out,
- 00:15:37.095 --> 00:15:39.597
- and it was the right amount."
- 00:15:39.597 --> 00:15:42.367
- It was the exact amount.
- 00:15:42.367 --> 00:15:45.403
- And this is what he said.
- 00:15:45.403 --> 00:15:46.904
- He said, "She took my bill, and she took this stamp,
- 00:15:46.904 --> 00:15:52.810
- and she said, 'Paid in full.'" And he said, "I remember,
- 00:15:52.810 --> 00:15:56.647
- for the first time, thinking, that's what Jesus did."
- 00:15:56.647 --> 00:16:01.552
- That's what Jesus did.
- 00:16:01.552 --> 00:16:03.287
- He paid it in full.
- 00:16:03.287 --> 00:16:04.455
- So it is unmerited, undeserved, and here's
- 00:16:04.455 --> 00:16:07.225
- the third word, unearned.
- 00:16:07.225 --> 00:16:10.595
- It's unearned.
- 00:16:10.595 --> 00:16:14.032
- Romans 11:6 says, "And if by grace,
- 00:16:14.032 --> 00:16:17.835
- then it's no longer of works.
- 00:16:17.835 --> 00:16:19.771
- Otherwise, grace is no longer grace.
- 00:16:19.771 --> 00:16:23.174
- And if it's of works, it's no longer grace.
- 00:16:23.174 --> 00:16:25.943
- Otherwise work is no longer work."
- 00:16:25.943 --> 00:16:27.145
- Now, let me substitute for grace
- 00:16:27.145 --> 00:16:28.913
- and work, the words free
- 00:16:28.913 --> 00:16:31.049
- and earned, because we receive the free gift, the free gift
- 00:16:31.049 --> 00:16:33.651
- of God is salvation, freely even justified,
- 00:16:33.651 --> 00:16:36.154
- freely, you've received, freely -- okay.
- 00:16:36.154 --> 00:16:37.922
- Here's what he's saying.
- 00:16:37.922 --> 00:16:38.823
- If it's free, it's not earned.
- 00:16:38.823 --> 00:16:41.726
- Otherwise, free's not free.
- 00:16:41.726 --> 00:16:44.195
- If it's earned, then it's not free.
- 00:16:44.195 --> 00:16:46.964
- Otherwise, earned is not earned.
- 00:16:46.964 --> 00:16:48.599
- It's one or the other.
- 00:16:48.599 --> 00:16:50.168
- It's -- grace is either free or it's earned, and if it's grace,
- 00:16:50.168 --> 00:16:55.039
- it can't be earned.
- 00:16:55.039 --> 00:16:56.507
- That's what he's saying.
- 00:16:56.507 --> 00:16:57.375
- If it's a gift, you can't earn it.
- 00:16:57.375 --> 00:16:59.377
- It was paid for, but it wasn't paid for by you,
- 00:16:59.377 --> 00:17:01.679
- it was paid for by Jesus.
- 00:17:01.679 --> 00:17:04.182
- Let me show you a definition that just blows me away
- 00:17:04.182 --> 00:17:08.186
- about grace.
- 00:17:08.186 --> 00:17:09.854
- This is the Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible.
- 00:17:09.854 --> 00:17:12.023
- "Grace is the dimension of divine activity that enables
- 00:17:12.023 --> 00:17:17.328
- God to confront human indifference and rebellion
- 00:17:17.328 --> 00:17:22.133
- with an inexhaustible capacity to forgive and to bless."
- 00:17:22.133 --> 00:17:28.139
- I -- an inexhaustible capacity to forgive and to bless.
- 00:17:28.139 --> 00:17:33.444
- It's free.
- 00:17:33.444 --> 00:17:35.713
- Listen, you've never received a birthday gift
- 00:17:34.612 --> 00:17:39.283
- from someone and you say, "Oh, thank you."
- 00:17:39.283 --> 00:17:41.419
- And they say, "That'll be $86 dollars."
- 00:17:41.419 --> 00:17:46.791
- You know?
- 00:17:46.791 --> 00:17:48.759
- When I said that, I actually thought of some gifts that
- 00:17:48.759 --> 00:17:50.895
- my children have given me, that I knew I'd paid for.
- 00:17:50.895 --> 00:17:59.470
- You ever open -- your kids are all excited, "Hey, Daddy.
- 00:17:59.470 --> 00:18:01.506
- We got you a Christmas gift."
- 00:18:01.506 --> 00:18:02.640
- And you open it up,
- 00:18:02.640 --> 00:18:03.741
- and first question you're thinking is, what is it?
- 00:18:03.741 --> 00:18:07.712
- The second thing you're thinking is, how much does this cost me?
- 00:18:07.712 --> 00:18:12.617
- Literally I remember a time all of our children had one of my
- 00:18:12.617 --> 00:18:15.186
- credit cards when they were in high school and college
- 00:18:15.186 --> 00:18:17.755
- in case they had an expense, or to be able to fill the car
- 00:18:17.755 --> 00:18:19.724
- up with gas, or whatever.
- 00:18:19.724 --> 00:18:21.092
- I remember one time my daughter Elaine gave me a Father's Day
- 00:18:21.092 --> 00:18:23.394
- gift, and I said, oh thank you, she said I put it on your card.
- 00:18:23.394 --> 00:18:30.268
- Okay.
- 00:18:30.568 --> 00:18:31.903
- So other than gifts from your children, okay, they're free.
- 00:18:31.903 --> 00:18:37.742
- Gifts are free, okay?
- 00:18:37.742 --> 00:18:40.878
- I remember going to Bible college, and I believe we should
- 00:18:40.878 --> 00:18:45.049
- study church history, but I don't believe we should
- 00:18:45.049 --> 00:18:47.852
- argue about it.
- 00:18:47.852 --> 00:18:50.555
- And I remember in Bible college, they were sitting
- 00:18:50.555 --> 00:18:52.223
- around, and they were arguing about grace.
- 00:18:52.223 --> 00:18:55.760
- Tertullian grace, which you've probably never even heard of.
- 00:18:55.760 --> 00:18:58.229
- Augustinian grace, Pelagian grace.
- 00:18:58.229 --> 00:19:01.832
- Of course, some of you may have heard of Calvinism, Arminianism.
- 00:19:01.832 --> 00:19:07.171
- We still have leaders in the Body of Christ arguing today,
- 00:19:07.171 --> 00:19:10.241
- and here I was in Bible college, just gotten saved,
- 00:19:10.241 --> 00:19:14.145
- you heard my testimony, out of a horrible life.
- 00:19:14.145 --> 00:19:16.380
- They were arguing about grace, and I was thinking,
- 00:19:16.380 --> 00:19:20.351
- if you only knew.
- 00:19:20.351 --> 00:19:29.126
- If you only knew that I shouldn't even be here today.
- 00:19:29.126 --> 00:19:35.066
- I shouldn't even be alive, much less in college,
- 00:19:35.066 --> 00:19:39.403
- studying for the ministry.
- 00:19:39.403 --> 00:19:42.540
- And they actually turned to me in a moment, they said,
- 00:19:42.540 --> 00:19:44.375
- "So what do you think about grace?"
- 00:19:44.375 --> 00:19:49.814
- And I was just so overwhelmed, I just said,
- 00:19:49.814 --> 00:19:54.352
- "I was lost and now I'm found." And then, they just went
- 00:19:54.352 --> 00:19:58.623
- right back to arguing.
- 00:19:58.623 --> 00:20:03.261
- I think Satan has tried to make arguments about grace,
- 00:20:03.261 --> 00:20:07.498
- so we forget that grace is that Christ died for our sins.
- 00:20:07.498 --> 00:20:11.802
- That's grace.
- 00:20:11.802 --> 00:20:13.671
- So I want to show you a picture of grace.
- 00:20:13.671 --> 00:20:18.609
- I hope you never forget this.
- 00:20:18.609 --> 00:20:22.647
- It's about a father and son, named Rick and Dick Hoyt.
- 00:20:22.647 --> 00:20:26.550
- Rick was born with the umbilical cord around his neck,
- 00:20:26.550 --> 00:20:30.655
- and because the oxygen was cut off to his brain for a while,
- 00:20:30.655 --> 00:20:33.891
- he has never been able to walk or talk.
- 00:20:33.891 --> 00:20:38.162
- But they found out, as he was growing up,
- 00:20:38.162 --> 00:20:40.031
- that he was extremely intelligent.
- 00:20:40.031 --> 00:20:43.267
- Because they could watch with his eyes,
- 00:20:43.267 --> 00:20:44.669
- and they could communicate.
- 00:20:44.669 --> 00:20:46.070
- They taught him -- Dick and Judy, his father and mother,
- 00:20:46.070 --> 00:20:49.540
- taught him the alphabet, even though he could not talk,
- 00:20:49.540 --> 00:20:53.344
- with just using his eyes.
- 00:20:53.344 --> 00:20:55.680
- And in 1973, now, you think about the technology back then,
- 00:20:55.680 --> 00:20:59.483
- they gathered a group of engineers who invented
- 00:20:59.483 --> 00:21:02.119
- a computer for him, where he could move a cursor with his
- 00:21:02.119 --> 00:21:06.424
- eyes, and highlight letters, and then bump something
- 00:21:06.424 --> 00:21:10.695
- on the computer, like a mouse, and speak words
- 00:21:10.695 --> 00:21:14.999
- for the first time.
- 00:21:14.999 --> 00:21:16.734
- That technology, of course, has been advanced,
- 00:21:16.734 --> 00:21:18.936
- but that's in use now, all over the world.
- 00:21:18.936 --> 00:21:21.806
- They invented it for this young man.
- 00:21:21.806 --> 00:21:23.974
- When he was 15, one of his classmates was in an accident,
- 00:21:23.974 --> 00:21:27.678
- where he was paralyzed.
- 00:21:27.678 --> 00:21:30.014
- The -- his classmate was paralyzed, and they were going
- 00:21:30.014 --> 00:21:32.083
- to run a 5K race, to raise money for him, and he -- through
- 00:21:32.083 --> 00:21:36.253
- the computer, tapping letters, he said to his dad,
- 00:21:36.253 --> 00:21:42.426
- "I want to run in that race." And so, his dad,
- 00:21:42.426 --> 00:21:47.298
- who was not a runner, trained so that he could push
- 00:21:47.298 --> 00:21:50.835
- his son in a wheelchair in that race.
- 00:21:50.835 --> 00:21:54.805
- And after the race, he said to his dad, "That's the first
- 00:21:54.805 --> 00:21:57.641
- time in my life that I did not feel handicapped."
- 00:21:57.641 --> 00:22:03.147
- And so, his dad continued to train.
- 00:22:03.147 --> 00:22:06.784
- Now, they've run in 72 marathons.
- 00:22:06.784 --> 00:22:12.590
- And 255 triathlons.
- 00:22:12.590 --> 00:22:18.329
- Triathlon, if you don't know, is 2.4 miles of swimming,
- 00:22:18.329 --> 00:22:23.134
- 26.2 miles of running, and 112 miles of biking.
- 00:22:23.134 --> 00:22:33.144
- When Dick swims, Rick is being pulled by Dick in a little raft.
- 00:22:33.144 --> 00:22:41.852
- When Dick cycles, Rick is in a seat on the front
- 00:22:41.852 --> 00:22:45.256
- of the bicycle.
- 00:22:45.256 --> 00:22:48.526
- And when Dick runs, Rick is in the chair,
- 00:22:48.526 --> 00:22:52.863
- and Dick is pushing.
- 00:22:52.863 --> 00:22:55.766
- Everything I've done is because the Father has been
- 00:22:55.766 --> 00:23:00.571
- pushing me, and pulling me, and carrying me.
- 00:23:00.571 --> 00:23:11.816
- That's grace.
- 00:23:11.816 --> 00:23:15.119
- And all he's asking you to do is just get in the chair.
- 00:23:15.119 --> 00:23:23.994
- You know, actually, he's asking you to let him
- 00:23:23.994 --> 00:23:28.332
- put you in the chair.
- 00:23:28.332 --> 00:23:31.602
- 'Cause you can't even get in the chair on your own.
- 00:23:31.602 --> 00:23:35.706
- I really do believe that it's Satan that does everything
- 00:23:35.806 --> 00:23:39.076
- he can to keep us confused about something so amazing
- 00:23:39.076 --> 00:23:44.982
- and that's the grace of God.
- 00:23:44.982 --> 00:23:46.984
- God's grace really is amazing.
- 00:23:46.984 --> 00:23:50.921
- It really is, and it is simply put the unmerited,
- 00:23:50.921 --> 00:23:55.759
- undeserved, unearned favor of a holy God toward us,
- 00:23:55.759 --> 00:24:01.532
- toward people.
- 00:24:01.532 --> 00:24:02.733
- And I'm so grateful for it.
- 00:24:02.733 --> 00:24:04.101
- Hey, this series is going to continue next week, so I
- 00:24:04.101 --> 00:24:07.238
- really want to encourage you, watch next week.
- 00:24:07.238 --> 00:24:09.640
- We're going to continue, "Amazing Grace".
- 00:24:09.640 --> 00:24:13.110
- ANNOUNCER: Thank you for watching today's program.
- 00:24:14.245 --> 00:24:16.547
- We are so glad that you were able to join us,
- 00:24:16.547 --> 00:24:18.582
- and we hope that this message gave you a much
- 00:24:18.582 --> 00:24:20.417
- deeper understanding of an often overlooked, and yet,
- 00:24:20.417 --> 00:24:23.087
- very foundational truth from God's word.
- 00:24:23.087 --> 00:24:26.390
- You've heard the famous lyrics, "Amazing Grace,
- 00:24:26.390 --> 00:24:29.393
- How Sweet The Sound That Saved a Wretch Like Me."
- 00:24:29.393 --> 00:24:32.796
- But do you truly understand the gift of God's grace?
- 00:24:32.796 --> 00:24:35.366
- And what His grace fully offers in your daily Christian life?
- 00:24:35.366 --> 00:24:38.969
- In this revolutionary eight-part series,
- 00:24:38.969 --> 00:24:41.071
- Pastor Robert walks us through
- 00:24:41.071 --> 00:24:42.606
- what God's grace really is by breaking down
- 00:24:42.606 --> 00:24:44.842
- the often misunderstood relationship
- 00:24:44.842 --> 00:24:46.777
- between law and grace,
- 00:24:46.777 --> 00:24:48.579
- and by showing us how we can live
- 00:24:48.579 --> 00:24:50.180
- in God's amazing grace each and every day.
- 00:24:50.180 --> 00:24:53.250
- We want you to have a copy of this teaching series,
- 00:24:53.250 --> 00:24:55.486
- and we'll send it to you today as our special way
- 00:24:55.486 --> 00:24:57.521
- of saying thank you for your best gift toward the outreaches
- 00:24:57.521 --> 00:25:00.624
- of Pastor Robert Morris ministries.
- 00:25:00.624 --> 00:25:03.027
- And if you are able to share a gift of $45 or more today,
- 00:25:03.027 --> 00:25:06.230
- we will send you this series on both CD and DVD,
- 00:25:06.230 --> 00:25:09.166
- or as a digital download.
- 00:25:09.166 --> 00:25:11.168
- So, please call us today, or visit us online
- 00:25:11.168 --> 00:25:13.470
- at PastorRobert.com to request your copy of this
- 00:25:13.470 --> 00:25:16.273
- "Amazing Grace" series.
- 00:25:16.273 --> 00:25:18.142
- And get ready to discover the great depth, breadth, height,
- 00:25:18.142 --> 00:25:21.745
- and inehxaustible supply of grace that God has proivided
- 00:25:21.745 --> 00:25:24.348
- for you.
- 00:25:24.348 --> 00:25:25.749
- Also, be sure to take a moment to share your prayer requests
- 00:25:25.749 --> 00:25:28.185
- with us, and explore the many other resources that are
- 00:25:28.185 --> 00:25:30.554
- available on our website to help you grow in your relationship
- 00:25:30.554 --> 00:25:33.557
- with Jesus.
- 00:25:33.557 --> 00:25:34.992
- We look forward to hearing from you, and as always,
- 00:25:34.992 --> 00:25:36.961
- we're greatful for your generous support of this ministry.
- 00:25:36.961 --> 00:25:42.366
- ♪ ♪
- 00:25:42.633 --> 00:25:45.169
- ♪ Faithful over all of my days ♪
- 00:25:45.169 --> 00:25:51.475
- ♪ God above the storms that I face ♪
- 00:25:51.475 --> 00:25:57.815
- ♪ My hope is in your name and nothing less ♪
- 00:25:57.815 --> 00:26:04.321
- ♪ There's nothing you're not greater than ♪
- 00:26:04.321 --> 00:26:11.929
- ♪ Greater than the mountain that's in front of me ♪
- 00:26:11.929 --> 00:26:18.335
- ♪ You are greater, so much greater ♪
- 00:26:18.335 --> 00:26:24.808
- ♪ Greater than the power of the enemy ♪
- 00:26:24.808 --> 00:26:31.281
- ♪ You are greater ♪
- 00:26:31.281 --> 00:26:34.485
- ♪ So much greater ♪
- 00:26:34.485 --> 00:26:39.423
- Come on, we believe that in this building tonight, right?
- 00:26:39.423 --> 00:26:41.592
- ♪ ♪
- 00:26:41.592 --> 00:26:51.368
- ♪ No guilt no shame, no sin no stain ♪
- 00:26:51.368 --> 00:26:57.875
- ♪ Is greater than ♪
- 00:26:57.875 --> 00:27:00.244
- ANNOUNCER: Living your best life isn't about having a dream home,
- 00:27:01.578 --> 00:27:04.882
- wonderful kids, or the ideal job.
- 00:27:04.882 --> 00:27:07.885
- It's about changes in your family, health,
- 00:27:07.885 --> 00:27:10.721
- and relationships.
- 00:27:10.721 --> 00:27:12.289
- When God changes your heart, you'll discover
- 00:27:12.289 --> 00:27:14.558
- that there is so much more to life.
- 00:27:14.558 --> 00:27:17.628
- With humor, passion, and clarity,
- 00:27:17.628 --> 00:27:20.197
- Pastor Robert presents,
- 00:27:20.197 --> 00:27:21.732
- "The Secrets of Living Your Best Life."
- 00:27:21.732 --> 00:27:24.368
- ♪ ♪
- 00:27:24.368 --> 00:27:24.368
