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[0:00] Forgive me some levity just now but I want to encourage you this morning to join the G team.

[0:14] ! Some might remember I had a sermon a while back, join the E team, which is to encourage one another. Who would like to have a guess what the G stands for? Grace! I heard that word grace.

[0:28] Join the G team, alright? So the grace team, that's what we're going to talk about God willing just now. How can we make grace our default, our default attitude?

[0:45] I would urge you as God's people to make grace your default. Make grace who you are consistently. Make grace how you naturally act in life, how you treat others, how you act towards others.

[0:59] Can I urge you make grace your default. Talking about living and giving grace in every area of our life. Grace in action, it's telling us about grace as a way of life.

[1:13] We've heard the gospel as Peter articulated it there. By the way, Wednesday night we're going to have a session on evangelism, how to witness, how to share the gospel. If you're free, Wednesday night.

[1:26] And the gospel is all about grace, isn't it? The grace of God towards us. And grace not only is something we receive but something we can extend. Think of grace, think of grace this morning. Really it's the very nature of our Lord, isn't it?

[1:40] It's the very nature of Christ. It reads Ephesians 4.32, And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

[1:54] The Greek word for forgiving here is karitsomai, which comes from the root karis meaning grace. So this word forgiving speaks of grace. It speaks of giving graciously, forgiving out of grace.

[2:09] It's not just letting go of a grudge. It's deeper. Grace is how to be. It's about demonstrating grace in action through forgiveness.

[2:21] Paul says, be kind. He says, be tender-hearted. This word tender-hearted, it's talking literally about the bowels, having good bowels.

[2:32] It's the seat of emotion. They would have that tender-heartedness. It's a deep-seated thing. And notice there's two dimensions here to grace. Grace received and grace extended.

[2:45] We see the vertical relationship, how God has treated us. It's grace, isn't it? That we would even be saved. And this connects then with grace horizontal in our relationships.

[2:58] In other words, how we treat others. Grace received. Grace extended. We get grace and we give grace.

[3:10] Grace is God's heart, isn't it? His dealings with you and me. And it ought to be the defining feature of how we interact with others too.

[3:22] I know it doesn't come naturally, really, does it? What is our default? How do we respond to life, to others, to situations, to trials?

[3:33] We live in this world where the default is criticism, isn't it? Judgment, it's self-interest. But the people of God must default to grace.

[3:44] How can we live gracefully? Grace is not some abstract theory, not just some theological concept. It's not just an attribute of God.

[3:55] The nature of God, the character of Christ, is the culture of his kingdom. It's meant to be not only the attribute of God, but the attribute of his church.

[4:06] When we get saved, we get a reset. We get changed from our sinful default settings. My default before I knew Christ was one of self-interest.

[4:18] Look out for number one. When we get saved, there's a culture shift in how we think, how we look at life. Our natural responses change.

[4:29] God helping us. Our actions and reactions, they change. Just get this truth. Love your enemies. Come on, that's a bit hard.

[4:40] They're the ones I hate. Jesus says love them. That's counter-cultural, isn't it? Utterly. It's grace, isn't it? How could we do that? That doesn't make sense to love my enemies.

[4:54] But it's grace, isn't it? So let's unpack grace. What's the definition of grace? It's the unmerited favour of God. For by grace are you saved through faith that not of yourselves.

[5:08] It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. It's unmerited totally, undeserved, that gift. And it ought to transform every area of our life.

[5:23] What is grace? Grace. It's the shackled prisoner set free. A man bound in iron chains, his wrist bruised, his spirit broken, awaiting the final toll of judgment.

[5:35] But just as the executioner sharpens his blade, a royal messenger arrives with a scroll, sealed with the king's own hand.

[5:46] The decree, pardon. And the chains shatter, the prison doors open. And the man steps into the golden light of dawn.

[5:57] Fully forgiven, free. Forever changed. Grace. What is grace? It's the drowning man rescued. A man thrashes in the tempest, swallowed by the crashing waves.

[6:09] His lungs burning for air. The deep pulls him under. Darkness closes in until a mighty hand reaches down. Strong arms lift him up from the depths.

[6:20] Setting his feet on the rock, the solid rock. He gasps and breathes again. And beholds the face of his Saviour. The one who would not let him sink.

[6:32] What is grace? It's the debt he raised. A man stands before the banker's ledger and it's all red. He's in the red. Crimson ink is everywhere.

[6:44] An amount he could never repay. And he trembles. His pockets empty. He's ready to be cast into the debtor's prison. And then a voice cries out, paid.

[6:56] In full. And the banker's own son, his hands scarred from sacrifice, has settled the account. The man walks out unburdened. Nothing to his name but grace.

[7:11] What is grace? It's the prodigal son. Welcomed home. The wayward son. His clothes torn by years of wandering. Standing at the gates of the father's house. He dare not lift his eyes for shame.

[7:23] The shame is a weight heavier than stone. But before he can utter a word of apology, his father runs, arms wide open. Eyes brimming with joy.

[7:34] The robe is draped over his shoulders. The ring placed on his finger. The feast prepared. Once lost, now he is found. Once dead, now he is alive. Grace!

[7:45] Grace! Grace! Grace! It's interesting, by the way, that the same road that led the prodigal away is the same one that brought him back home.

[7:56] And we can give up on people, but God is gracious. His grace is so full, isn't it? Yes. He is so gracious. And grace is pardoned where the condemned man goes free.

[8:07] The innocent one has taken his place. The unworthy one. His debt has been paid by the innocent one. god's grace it saves us doesn't it he is our salvation but more than that grace shapes then how we live as saved people so that's really the theme today the thing of grace given but also grace extended that we can be the g team the the gracious church the graceful church the church full of grace and grace is god's power at work we know as paul was told as he was pleading and crying out god says my grace is sufficient for thee my strength is made perfect in weakness most gladly therefore will i rather glory in my infirmities that the power of christ may rest upon me grace is god's power at work isn't it grace is god's power at work as we see in the cross and then in our own lives too that in our own weakness his strength is possible and grace is the expression of god's love we can't understand it fully that god would command his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners christ died for us and grace is both received and it's given as our lord says freely you have received freely gear so there's a truth where not only are we recipients of grace but we ought to be givers of grace think of grace some examples the grace of god towards us for the grace of god that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men think of the grace that he's given and your salvation as i know peter's already articulated it it's not based on your performance but on god's grace have you trusted christ alone for your salvation it's very important some make the mistake of not doing that and we think of the prodigal grace received we think of the woman caught in adultery john 8 that grace was extended not condemnation we see the lord on on the cross itself father forgive them grace even in his suffering and we see grace in christ healing the one who came to arrest him in the garden healing the one who came to take him to his death he healed his ear that servant that was struck and we see the grace of christ washing the feet of the one betraying him but wait there's more there's grace we receive and there's grace that we are called to give and that's where maybe it gets a bit hard hey it's all right i'm i like god's grace i like receiving it but i'm not always good at extending it to other people and we can think of many examples as joseph forgiving his brothers you think of stephen before his tormentors what did he cry lord lay not this sin to their charge he's forgiving the ones killing him that's grace isn't it lord forgive them don't hold this against them and when he had said this he fell asleep think of paul forgiving john mark when he let him down and in 2 timothy 4 he says he is profitable to me for the ministry there was grace there that everything changed the relationship changed and the grace default is that attitude that we ought to have and it's something we've got to work at isn't it i know i need to we think of the grace default in the attitude we have to the fallen as paul relates to the galatians he says if a man be overtaken in a fault you which are spiritual

[12:08] restore such a one in the spirit of meekness considering thyself lest thou also be tempted bear you one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of christ it's saying here of one who's in a fault you know they're fouled up there's some sin some error some fault there and paul says hey you spiritual ones come alongside this one and restore them in a spirit of meekness so do it gently meekly do it graciously and the word restore is a word in the greek used of setting bones of mending nets it implies careful healing work when you think of the picture of a man with a broken arm a broken leg to restore it takes some healing it takes some gentle careful healing work and it's the same for you and me isn't it how do we treat a brother or sister who's offended who's hurting who's astray restore such a one and keep gentle about it grace calls for gentleness not harsh judgment it's very easy i know for myself i can easily revert to the default of they're wrong and i'm right that's how i like it and i'll tell them they're wrong you know that judgment you know i can do that i've done that lately i think hey even if they are wrong we can still love them can't we even if they are wrong even if hey we might be right but our attitude's wrong have the spirit of meekness amen the grace in action it's helping others overcome sin rather than condemning them for it and we're all called to show grace so what does this look like to show grace to be a grace saved people it's the power for our journey isn't it for the walk that we walk our own walk god's grace doesn't just save us it trains us to walk in righteousness it empowers us it tells us the grace of god that bringeth salvation have appeared to all men teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present world of course looking for the glorious coming of our savior grace is both saving and transforming it tells us here grace is our teacher you know we're always in the school of grace we're always in that school aren't we we ought to be and grace ought to always be our teacher it's a training process here the word relates to child rearing and discipline grace is training you it's training you it's making you more like christ it's training you then it tells us later to be a people zealous of good works grace is that ability that god gives to us to to live for him and to to train us to equip us to fashion us and shape us to be more like our lord and how can we show grace we can show grace in how we serve by love serve one another grace helps us to have a generosity beyond our own grace helps us to give over and above grace helps us meet needs without expecting return grace helps us to go the extra mile when we're just inclined to just go oh i'll just go so far where it's convenient where it's comfortable grace goes beyond that that measure that we said and grace produces good works we created unto good works it's for that purpose grace doesn't stop at salvation that's the point i'm making really that it enables us to live god's purposes out in our life and good works flow out of grace

[16:16] grace and god helps us to go beyond expectations so we don't just stop at what's comfortable what's convenient grace it's like a lighthouse that that shines it doesn't shout just shines just quietly goes on shining that our lives quietly draw others to the savior and we can show grace in our relationships where the rubber hits the road how we get on with other people that's where it's coming the toughest isn't it as paul tells the colossians he says put on therefore in other words clothe yourselves he says therefore as the elect of god god's people holy and beloved bowels of mercies it talks about that that gut level kindness and that kindness that humbleness of mind that meekness and long suffering forbearing one another and forgiving one another if any man have a quarrel against any even as christ forgave you so also do you notice the phrase put on it means to wear it grace is a garment that we put on and it's saying here clothe yourselves with it grace isn't optional it's not optional grace is the uniform grace is the uniform of god's people our forgiveness is tied to grace we see it they're connected again the default of god's people ought to be compassion and patience think of how patient god is towards us he's long suffering towards us why don't we to be long suffering towards other people it follows on doesn't it we can show grace in our intercommunication speak words that edify i like to say in a way i'm not getting pentecostal on you but they shall speak with new tongues there's a sense where we have a new language it's the language of grace it's the language of grace isn't it that we speak grace it's a new language our communication changes it's no longer the language of guile or gossip but now it's the language of grace and we speak things of faith of words of truth that uplift that witness words of healing the word of god the words that we speak ought to be words that edify and build up the words we speak are always with grace notice this one colossians 4 6 let your speech be always with grace seasoned with soul hey have we have we got some grace here before we open it otherwise sip it up that you may know how you ought to answer every man can we aspire to this that our words will always be with grace that's something isn't it let your speech be seasoned with grace think of it brother sister that you can have that that when we react when we relate when we communicate grace is there front and center grace is always there james exhorts us like this that we ought to be slow to anger and quick to listen and slow to speak is something to be ought to learn isn't it sometimes better to not say it if it's not grace then don't say it we can show grace in our attitude too we think of how our lord treated others he was always gracious wasn't he now he was strong with the hypocrites uh but he was always giving from a heart attitude and paul connects giving with grace too as it tells us that he which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly he was so with bouncer flee shall reap also bouncer flee god loveth a cheerful giver and god is able to make all grace abound toward you in that ye always having all sufficiency in all things may abound to every good work there's a sense where there's a grace is lavish it's abounding it's abundant and grace gives gladly not grudgingly god loves a cheerful giver it's interesting where cheerful is hilaron in the greek so and it's

[20:22] connected to hilarious it's the sense of joyfulness that hey we should be cheerful and glad and notice the repetition of all of the repetition of all of abound it emphasizes generosity doesn't it overflowing do we extend generosity to other people in our lives or are we a bit mean how is our attitude is it a default of grace think of the humility the kindness of the good samaritan in luke 10 it tells how when he saw this man that was injured he had compassion on him and then he went about the practicalities of caring for him notice the grace of the samaritan his compassion it it's literally a visceral gut level reaction so compassion it goes very deep deep in the in the guts if you like excuse my uh colloquialisms here but it is really that it is from the inside of you your intestines that that you care for people very deeply within it's a deep deep-seated practical sacrificial giving of yourself and it's beyond the cultural barriers as in the context here think about to whom can i be a neighbor that was the question who can i be a neighbor to and sometimes it's easy to think of yourself without thinking of your neighbor and the good samaritan tells us that to extend compassion to show grace in unexpected mercy hey he didn't have to stop he could have just carried on down the road i know there was a a christian friend of mine and he quite often was late to meetings because he kept stopping for people that were pulled over and changed a tire or something on the way on the way to church because he was and he didn't have to stop but he had that heart to care and can we be like the good samaritan that actually we should extend compassion to a stranger and put ourselves out to help where we can it's grace isn't it at work and we think of grace in the culture of the church how can we be known as a church with a welcoming spirit paul says receive you one another what kind of a church are we some churches seem to have a default that's contrary to grace i was told by a church not long ago that i was not welcome a church that we would otherwise consider a mostly good church how sad how sad rather that we ought to receive one another that we ought to have that heart to not default to pride or judgmentalism to not default to self-righteousness or harshness a lack of love but that rather grace would extend that we would receive one another sure brothers and sisters don't always think exactly the same on every finer point but we ought to be a gracious grace-filled church that embodies christ-like grace kindness and forgiveness and humility and may we all aspire to this standard and think of it join the g-team be that kind of a g a grace-filled church a gracious church the grace team that we would be known for grace but that would be our identity that's what marks us that we would be a grace church how sad were it be that church goers may display attitudes that drive others away rather than drawing them in hey we can all do that unknowingly hey you might have had a bad hair day and you just look at everyone like that now that can be normal we can have days like that i can be like that but you know how can we display an attitude of grace that actually we care about others and hey they might be having a harder day than than

[24:25] you are can we guard against an ungracious spirit may we not look down on others who struggle with sin rather help them to grow rather see hey that was where i was may we not condemn people for our perceptions of them but rather show love and kindness it's about being the g team the grace church that will extend mercy rather than legalism hey we might actually love some of our enemies while we're out there wouldn't that be good wouldn't that be right that we would avoid placing man-made rules above god's grace that we don't emphasize our traditions and customs in a way that puts people down maybe if we're gracious they might start to see things how we see them and could it be that an emphasis on grace will keep that attitude of humility rather than pride the bible doesn't say much good about pride does it and we can be proud we can be proud of our tradition we can be proud we're an independent baptist church we can be proud we're a king james bible church and i believe those things but we get pride about it then it can be a negative thing can't it and we can lack grace when we make the mistake of thinking ourselves spiritually superior to others hey i've had this experience i've got this knowledge so i'm just that bit above others people get that way don't they and i think others are a second-class christian because they haven't had the experiences they've had and that can be really pride too we can lack grace when we refuse to listen or learn from others hey maybe we can learn from a brother or sister who might have a different viewpoint let's hear it out we can lack grace when we form cliques that leave others feeling welcome we can lack grace when we treat new or different members as outsiders where a newcomer comes and sits alone because no one makes an effort to talk to them while the same group of people sit together and talk among themselves that's a problem isn't it we need to be mindful of that when we lack grace we collect empathy for someone who's struggling hey someone looks miserable maybe you can be part of helping them you can be part of encouraging them rather than looking down upon them or lacking patience with them brothers and sisters we can be all about rebuking and correcting in a condemning way i can default to that but the grace way is about gentleness not harshness the grace way is about reconciliation and letting go of unforgiveness are we holding grudges against fellow believers rather than may we extend grace to those who've made mistakes love one another you know we heard about some of those one and others on first ages gone it can be easy to lack grace can't it and it's even when we even start to hold others to a higher standard than ourselves oh look at what he or she did don't worry about i did just the same thing lately you know it can be the way can't it we often harshly judge others when we ourselves are as guilty if not worse than them can we be a grace-filled church can we be there our lord demonstrated grace to sinners didn't he the broken the outcast think of that picture of restoring the one as you would restore a broken bone it takes gentleness doesn't it it takes kindness and care go easy on each other a grace-filled christian embodies love and patience and kindness drawing others towards christ rather than pushing them away and how easy it can be to be an ungracious church person just like the pharisees really religious but without true compassion concern more about outward appearances than the heart and how can we be that church we can show grace it really it's the culture of heaven is grace isn't it

[28:26] it's the culture of god god's culture it's the culture of the kingdom of heaven the kingdom of god to extend mercy as god does it reads be you therefore merciful as your father also is merciful think of god's gracious character he's just so kind and we don't deserve it and our lord says that our default should mirror god's mercy so we ought to be as merciful towards others as god is merciful towards us god can use you to restore people to restore the fallen be gentle about it are we treating others with grace we can all think of maybe a time where a church didn't treat me with grace so don't judge god by the church because the church can get it wrong sometimes we know that and we can show grace think of the nature of christ he was full of grace and truth full of grace and truth it's his nature isn't it so we're not saying be gracious and lovey-dovey in the sense of your excusing sin or righteousness or sound doctrine we're not saying that but we're saying that grace ought to be something preeminent it ought to be something that stands out that marks us that identifies us that grace is the hallmark that we can extend that same grace towards others that god extends towards us and let grace overflow into every part of your life you know i've had disagreements with people including recently of days a public disagreement and perhaps i wasn't as gracious in in some ways and but then i could think i could have been laying down the law hey publicly disagreeing with the pastor is uh you know that's a church discipline offense you know how dare anyone have a different opinion to me how dare they and publicly disagree with the pastor i mean the pastor he's just up here isn't he he's he's beyond uh question and what what the pastor believes and teaches is is absolutely gospel but no i could have taken that line and some churches do don't they where hey you know you've got to toe the line uh the statement of faith says this and oh that's a slight deviation you're out the door you're not welcome go get out some churches are like that rather actually grace should prevail and think of god his grace is sufficient isn't it can we extend grace towards others i could learn to be more gracious i think back to some people i've i've had to discipline i've had to expel from the church and and that was a grievous thing to me it was a very hard thing for me to do because my inclination is to find a way to help them to not take a harsh judgmental condemnatory view but there is times where it's clearly it's a it's a very much a a significant doctrinal matter that can be called for and it's still i still feel hurt hurt for those people i wish that i could still reconcile with them but yet if if it's a if it's a uh such a divisive thing that they cannot abide by our framework our biblical framework then there has to be that separation we understand that how can we be such a people that grace would overflow from every area of our life think about

[32:32] our lord and how he treats us he's like a father pitying his children he knows our frame he remembers that we are dust god knows that we're weak and yet he has mercy he has mercy what about the tender heartedness of god do we think how tender his heart is towards us is our heart as tender towards others we can offend people we can cause people to stumble god forbid i know that there's times where i've said things that people have taken offense about and i still sought to reach out to them because i think that is the heart of god isn't it and where i've said something that has hurt the tender heart of god should prevail that we should seek reconciliation and god wants us to display his tender heart towards others i think of grace really i think of three things about grace we can know it at salvation we can show it in our life and we can grow it we can exercise it it's a nice static thing so we can know it salvation we're saved by grace through faith we can show it live it out in your life speak graciously live graciously and we can grow it grow in grace we can cultivate it and exercise it and so you might say preacher look i know i haven't been very gracious you can grow your grace god can help you to grow it to grow your grace how can we cultivate grace then think of that just the thought of growing in grace but growing grace and in the knowledge of our lord and savior jesus christ to him be glory both now and forever amen god wants our grace to be a growing thing hey we get saved and our grace might be pretty low and hopefully as we grow the grace will grow as we grow in our faith we'll grow in that maturity in our faith in how we relate in how we interact in how we have relationships with others here's some ways that we can grow in grace then it tells us that we can pray for a gracious heart as david prayed create in me a clean heart oh god and renew the right spirit within me david prayed lord give me that heart give me that heart that heart of grace determine to practice grace you know some people give you lots of practice don't they there might be people in your life they give you lots of practice about exercising grace hey that's a good thing that's a good thing for you amen so practice grace determine it intentionally to determine forgiveness to determine generosity to determine patience and try to surround yourself with people of grace too iron sharpens iron so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend if you get around gracious people their grace might rub off on you wouldn't that be something yeah and vice versa and grace it's a testimony isn't it people say hey look at that person they're they're loving their enemies maybe they're a christian you know because grace is a testimony it's your testimony towards others as god save people we become we're actually pretty radical aren't we in this grace-less world this world that has no grace or hardly any grace that we can be god save people shining as lights in this world and people will see the good works they'll glorify your father so friends keep sweet keep sweet in your words in your attitude i've heard this there's a quote here some people have their dispensations right but their dispositions wrong you know you might have all the theology right as you

[36:36] would think it you got the dispensations right but your disposition in other words your attitude is wrong i know in a way i mean you could you could question some of the things but some like to say we're in the dispensation of grace right now the dispensation of grace i like to think that the dispensation of grace is eternity wide the dispensation of grace started right back in the garden of eden didn't it god showed grace god showed grace to noah god showed grace to abraham to moses shows grace at the cross now we could argue the point but in a way grace is is eternal isn't it the concept of grace salvation has always been by grace and you know i can get my disposition wrong in that i can get grumpy now believe it or not no i know i have my failings and i get grumpy sometimes and i act it out i get grumpy with my wife i get grumpy with the mother-in-law she'll tell me off for that when she sees me next now i can get grumpy with with my children get grumpy with my mum and dad i can get grumpy sometimes all right i know my failings and i can act act them out but i feel afterwards i feel bad about it and how can we have that disposition that attitude of grace that's the point you know jillie and i we spent 10 hours in the emergency department of the hospital just a couple of days ago 10 hours in the emergency department before we saw the doctor and we kept sweet we didn't blame the staff for the long waiting time we didn't blame the premier the state government we didn't blame the the nursing head we didn't get impatient and julie even thought afterwards about sending some flowers to the emergency department for looking after her that's grace isn't it that's grace they're just doing their job they can't help that there's there's too few stuff or too much work and and we can get grumpy about all kinds of things can't we grumpy down the shop grumpy down some place or other but make grace your default hey life goes on it's you keep cool you know life's too short to be ungracious isn't it and we're stewards of grace too think of this as peter tells above all things he says have fervent charity among yourselves fervent charity he says for charity shall cover the multitude of sins use hospitality one to another without grudging as every man hath received the gift even so minister the same once when i was talking the context of spiritual gifts and he says as good stewards of the manifold grace of god peter's saying here that we're stewards of this grace we're we're um custodians of it we've got a management of grace that's been imparted to us and peter's connecting love forgiveness hospitality service they're all expressions of grace and he's saying that the love ought to be a fervent love it's got the sense of a stretched out strenuous kind of love and the grace here it says that it is manifold it's got the sense of varied multi-colored diversified hey your grace is different from my grace we've all got different diversities of grace but at the bottom line of it all is grace is from god isn't it it's his unmerited favor his kindness towards us hey we didn't deserve one skerrick of it did we no does anyone here deserve the grace of god oh glad you're on the same page as me and it's the same does anyone else deserve your grace sometimes they don't deserve your grace the

[40:42] people in your life they don't deserve it so what give it and we think of grace the gift of salvation he pours it out doesn't he will you join the g-team that we can be a church that that grace prevails that grace is the uniform grace is our default it's what we normally do instead of reacting in the flesh and doing what we used to normally do our default's different now it's grace that we make grace our default in other words our first instinct towards others is hey maybe they need a listening ear maybe they need some gentle encouragement maybe that one with a false doctrine might just need someone to listen to them and and guide them and encourage them and help them see things differently without being condemnatory or harsh about it and grace when grace is our default the people who fail us and hurt us we won't react in anger or retaliation but in kindness and forgiveness and love just like god extends towards us that we'll see people through god's eyes not our own so let's get practical what does it look like in in conflict when you're driving along especially if you've got christian signage on your vehicle it's really important that's why i don't have any christian stickers on my car now sometimes when someone cuts you off you're in traffic and they and you and or they snap at you and your default is your default is to yell back and hold a grudge let it go let it go don't sweat the small stuff all right and how does it look like in relationships when a friend betrays you instead of writing them off try to understand forgive let it go restore in the church someone disagrees with your theology your worship or whatever it be some minor thing or other grace listens and it loves anyway because after all we're family we're family in christ i like that something that i heard lately at the bottom line of it all we're brothers and sisters hey brothers and sisters don't always get on with each other that's okay we're family and it doesn't mean we fall out with each other amen we're family aren't we and grace it's like the certain samaritan you see someone struggling reach out you're not going to get anything out of it no one's even going to care no one's even going to know that you offer a helping hand you offer a kind word you offer a smile to someone who needs encouragement someone who's struggling could be the stressed out cashier down at the shop hey what a miserable job they have sometimes we could be a bit of a a word of cheer couldn't we say something nice and when we're inclined to say what's wrong with them how can i show them god's love might be people who think hey um i find it hard to be gracious towards that person because of how they look or what they're doing or what my perception of them might be hey make grace your default so here's the challenge this week to reset your default and say when you're tempted to judge pause and pray lord help me show grace help me show grace when you want to hold a grudge remember how god forgave you it's grace isn't it and put on compassion kindness forgiveness let's not be known as a people of harshness but of grace because that's who god is isn't it and that's

[44:44] who he's making us to be make grace your default mode so when you're faced with that you're confronted with something and your natural reaction is to blow your stack or to retaliate or to get grumpy and hold a grudge and walk off in a half make grace your default actually i'm going to just let that slide i'm not going to hold that i'm not going to take that personally that offense when grace is our default we reflect christ to our world don't we because we're recipients of grace and we ought to be givers of grace givers of grace to make grace your way of life now usually when i preach a sermon like this i get tested and something really bad happens and i've actually got to put it into practice you know that can be hard can't it i've got to practice what i preach it's the same for you and me isn't it hey this is not theory this is reality this is where you where your your shoe leather goes this week ahead the people that rub you up the wrong way hey give them some grace give them some grace amen in every conversation in every action in every relationship amen i urge you today to know the grace of god to know that you're safe find the grace that saves that jesus saves and he doesn't he doesn't expect anything from you other than trust faith in christ repent have that change of mind of heart that change of allegiance that change of love that change of thinking that change of belief that change of trust that jesus is your trust and you've trusted yes jesus paid my sin he paid for it all and he extends his gift of love of grace of salvation i want that i want his grace to know it and then to show it in the lives that you live this week ahead wow the light goes on there's another opportunity for me to show grace when someone gets up your nose another opportunity to show grace praise god and show it i'm sorry i'm using language i probably shouldn't have said there but but it's the truth isn't it when when something gets under your skin and you just want to react like the old fleshly carnal man i want to be gracious instead and grow in grace let it grow the lessons you learn are going to make you stronger in grace let us pray father we thank you for your grace that you extend it never runs out you're gracious and you keep on being gracious lord the grace that you showed to us at the cross in dying in the person of your son we see the great grace that you showed to us to save a world unworthy help us lord to know the grace of god to be saved and to know that for sure and to to also to show it make it a default in how we love and we forgive how we show mercy lord even when life uh presses our buttons lord help us to have the default of grace and lord help us to be a people of grace transform as we pray help us to put this into action lord help us when we test it when grace is the last thing we want to do lord help us to help us to have grace and extend it to others just as you've extended it to us as undeserving as we are lord we thank you bless each heart each home help us lord to take these truths to heart in jesus name we pray amen amen

[48:45]  thanks