Sermon notes for this sermon here.
Introduction:
Recap the journey of the past three weeks: grace, mercy, and sovereignty.
Introduce the theme: “Thankful for the Call to Share God’s Gifts.“
Explain how we are not just recipients but also conduits of God’s grace, mercy, and sovereignty.
Enjoy, Apply, and Share
Proverbs 23:12 (ESV)
Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge.
I. The Gift of Sharing
What are we to do with the gifts we have received?
The Best Seed
There once was a farmer who grew the most excellent wheat. Every season he won the award for the best wheat in his county.
A wise woman came to him to ask him about his success.
He told her that the key was sharing his best seed with his neighbors so they could plant the seed as well.
The wise woman asked, “How can you share your best wheat seed with your neighbors when they compete with you every year?”
“That’s simple,” the farmer replied.
“The wind spreads the pollen from everyone’s wheat and carries it from field to field. If my neighbors grew inferior wheat, cross-pollination would degrade everyone’s wheat, including mine. If I’m to grow the best wheat, I must help my neighbors grow the best wheat as well.”
1 Peter 4:10 (ESV)
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:
The farmer in our story was a good steward of what the Lord had given him, including wisdom.
Has God not given you His best gifts? That of, His Grace, His Mercy, and His sovereign care for us?
And if He has, then shouldn’t we, out of our gratitude give to others as He has given to us?
Imagine the change in your family, in your community, in the world, if we Christians gave as God has given us!
II. Sharing God’s Grace
Ephesians 4:32 (ESV)
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
When a person works an eight-hour day and receives a fair day’s pay for his time, that is a wage. When a person competes with an opponent and receives a trophy for his performance, that is a prize. When a person receives appropriate recognition for his long service or high achievements, that is an award. But when a person is not capable of earning a wage, can win no prize, and deserves no award–yet receives such a gift anyway–that is a good picture of God’s unmerited favor. This is what we mean when we talk about the grace of God.
G.W. Knight, Clip-Art Features for Church Newsletters, p. 53.
Grace received should result in grace being given.
We forgive because we have been forgiven.
God’s unmerited favor, is His kindness towards us. We don’t deserve it, but He chose to give it to us.
Instead of waiting for someone to “deserve” grace, or forgiveness, we are called to be the first to do so.
III. Sharing God’s Mercy
Luke 6:36 (ESV)
Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
What is mercy you ask?
A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son. The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death.
“But I don’t ask for justice,” the mother explained. “I plead for mercy.”
“But your son does not deserve mercy,” Napoleon replied.
“Sir,” the woman cried, “it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for.”
“Well, then,” the emperor said, “I will have mercy.” And he spared the woman’s son.
Luis Palau, Experiencing God’s Forgiveness, Multnomah Press, 1984.
Our God is indeed a God of justice, but we need to be ever so thankful that He is a God of mercy.
If He were not merciful, if He didn’t show you mercy, what is it you deserve? Death. Hell. Eternal separation from the Father.
Ephesians 2:4–5 (ESV)
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
Let us remember in our own personal dealings with those who may deserve the consequences of their actions, that we also deserve consequences that God in His great mercy has chosen not to give us.
If He has shown us great mercy then we too should be people quick to show mercy to others.
IV. Sharing God’s Sovereignty
Isaiah 46:9-10
“Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.‘”
Sharing about God’s sovereignty in our lives can inspire others to trust Him.
When we can speak of and share the stories of our own trials and tribulations, and share that same word that Joseph shared with his brothers when they thought they were going to finally get what they deserved:
Genesis 50:20 (ESV)
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
I want to point out though, verse 19
Genesis 50:19 (ESV)
But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God?
Joseph now saw God’s sovereignty at work, even through his own brothers’ actions. Because of that, he realized he had no right to be upset with how his brothers had done him because from God caused good to occur.
He wasn’t angry with his brothers, or even with God.
How about you? In sharing your own story you can help others to see hope in their own situation. Hope that God will bring about good from their pain because of His sovereign care for them.
Reminding them of Jeremiah’s words:
Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV)
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
As redeemed people of Christ, we should be a people of hope in the world,
1 Peter 3:15 (ESV)
always prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you…
Trusting in His sovereignty helps us to know that no matter what happens in life, or how we may feel we have failed Him, He will achieve His purposes through us and lead us into life eternal with Him.
Even if you feel as though you have failed Him because of how you’ve not acted as you feel you should due to your circumstances, or maybe you’ve struck out on your own trying to do things your own way instead of trusting His plan for your life.
You’re not alone in that, we all have done so!
So if you’re wrestling with this then I want to share about the next Gift He gives us:
V. The Gift of Salvation
During the building of the Golden Gate Bridge over San Francisco Bay, construction fell badly behind schedule because several workers had accidentally fallen from the scaffolding to their deaths. Engineers and administrators could find no solution to the costly delays. Finally, someone suggested a gigantic net be hung under the bridge to catch any who fell. Finally in spite of the enormous cost, the engineers opted for the net. After it was installed, progress was hardly interrupted. A worker or two fell into the net but were saved. Ultimately, all the time lost to fear was regained by replacing fear with faith in the net.
We are saved by grace, God’s unmerited favor given to us through our faith in Jesus Christ.
Jesus is our safety net. You may feel you have failed…
But God in his great mercy and grace, through His sovereignty, knew you would and gave you a safety net to fall into.
If we are thankful for this great gift then He has given us a Commission, a responsibility that shouldn’t feel like a chore as much as it should be a joy, an overflow of our own joy.
We get to tell others about this safety Net!
Matthew 28:19–20 (ESV)
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.”
When we understand the value, the cost, and the importance of the gift, we want to tell others about it.
This is our call, our mission, and our purpose.
All the gifts, all those trials and tribulations God has sovereignly allowed you to experience are to be used as tools in your efforts make disciples of others.
VI. Responding to the Call
2 Corinthians 5:18–20 (ESV)
All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
Ambassador – defined
An accredited diplomat sent by a country as its official representative to a foreign country.
“the French ambassador to Portugal”
A person who acts as a representative or promoter of a specified activity.
“he is a good ambassador for the industry”
All that we have studied these past 4 weeks are from God. His gifts to us overflow from His own character.
Hear this verse this way:
All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled YOU to himself and gave YOU the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling YOUR neighbors, friends, co-workers to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to YOU the message of reconciliation. Therefore, YOU are an ambassador for Christ, God making his appeal through YOU. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
God has given us the gifts of grace, mercy, and our experiences, to help us be His representatives in the world.
Are you living in a way that shows your gratitude for His gifts, and taking the responsibility of being His ambassador by giving these same gifts to those around you?
If we’re thankful for His gifts, then we should desire that others receive these gifts too.
Conclusion:
The purpose of this series was to call us to be thankful for God’s gifts not just in words but in deeds.
This is why we make sure we treat others as we want to be treated…with grace, with mercy, and in a way that shares our life with them as He did for us.
Sharing God’s gifts is a response of gratitude and a reflection of His character in us.
He shared His best seed with us and He calls us to share our best seed with others so that we can cross-pollinate with our neighbors the good seed of God’s love.
Gerald Faulkner 