Grace Community Church

11 hours ago

Dear GCC Family, (Fri, 7.3.20)

Substitute

From before creation God’s purpose was to send His Son into the world to die for the sins of the world. To display the infinite grace of God through His death. Ever since the fall of humanity, the creation, all of creation, looked forward to the coming of the redeemer to fix the problem of sin that damaged the whole creation.

Isaiah 53:6, We all like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Two people, an act of independent rebellion against God required this. At the time God created humans and placed them in the beautiful Garden of Eden, He also gave one restriction. They were free to eat from the fruit of every tree except one. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of choices. All but one. There will be serious consequences for violating this restriction. God was not surprised when it happened. But all is not lost. There will come someday one who has no sin and God will lay on him the sins of us all. Isaiah is clear about that.

Romans 6:23, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Principle: A holy and righteous God must execute the sentence of death upon sin. But God is also in his very nature a gracious and merciful God. God’s solution? Substitution. He will punish the sin through the person of a substitute. God’s judgment on sin will be poured out on one who will take our place in death. Another way to say this is, Jesus will offer himself in our behalf. For our benefit. He won’t deserve the punishment he receives. We deserve it. But we won’t receive it. He will receive it instead. This is foreseen at the last supper.

Luke 22:19-20, And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, after the supper he took the cup saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

When Jesus said, It is given for you, and when he said, It is poured out for you, what was he saying? Literally he was saying, Here is a body which is given on your behalf, for your benefit. And Here is blood which is shed for your benefit. He was clearly echoing the prophet Isaiah’s message that he was to bear the iniquity of us all. Our substitute.

John 10:15, Just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep.

He had just called himself the Good Shepherd. Now he says the Good Shepherd is going to sacrifice himself for the benefit of the sheep. Nothing here benefits him. It’s all for our benefit. Again you notice that short word ‘for’ signifying the great benefit of salvation on behalf of others. Paul says it:

Romans 5:8, But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Christ died on our behalf, for our benefit, that good may come out of it. Through his death. To us. Think of it. He endured the pain, the shame, the suffering, all for us. For me. For you. Amen!

Pray with me:

Father, I deserve not special favor for anything that is in me. I am a rebel against you. I was born that way. I thank you for sending Jesus to die in my place. And through his resurrection he gives me life eternal, both now and forever. In Jesus name, Amen!

10,000 blessings,

Pastor Bill ... See MoreSee Less

Grace Community Church

2 days ago

Dear GCC Family, (Thu, 7.2.20)

Confidence-2

Yesterday we were looking at how to live with a new sense of God’s power in your daily life. We were talking about having a sense of confidence that comes from experiencing God’s power. We also noted that this sense of power comes from a process. A process that begins with God’s Riches. Then flows through God’s Spirit into your inner being where it transforms your spirit.

Ephesians 3:17-19, And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

The more you understand God’s love for you, the more confidence you’ll have to live out your faith. I’ve had a full day to ponder how great God’s love is in it’s four dimensions. I still can’t fathom it. But at the same time I get a sense that it is really, really huge. Paul prays that you would be rooted and established in that love.

Where do you begin? It begins by realizing where you are in reality rooted and established. Meaning? To put it simply, you’re not trying to get God to love you. That’s already taken care of. It’s a done deal. In Christ, God has chosen to love you. You don’t have to jump through a bunch of hoops to get God to love you more. You already have it all. Just recognize the love that’s already there. It’s already yours.

Did you notice in verse 17 that this is more than just an individual concern. Yes it’s for me. Yes it’s for you. But there’s also a corporate sense that we should all be in this together for the greatest impact on the world. There are plenty of opinions expressed about how organized religion is a bad thing. They say they don’t need the church. You don’t need to be part of a church, just belong to Jesus. That’s short-sighted. If you’re not part of a local body of committed believers, you will not see the full picture of God’s love. When Christians get together and share together the various ways God’s love has been shown in each of their lives, that fills out a bigger picture. Bigger perspective.

Let’s attempt now to grasp some small part about the four dimensions of God’s love as expressed here. How wide, how high, how deep, how long. Look up at the stars at night. Get caught up in your spirit with how vast the universe is. That’s high. But his love is higher. Imagine how deep the ocean is. It’s pretty deep. Up to six miles or so they say. That’s pretty deep. His love is deeper. Someone has suggested you look at the four arms of the cross here. One points up. One points down. Two point outward, perhaps toward the east and the west. Those are the four amazing dimensions of God’s love for you. And for His church as a whole. All believers everywhere.

So power comes from prayer, power comes from God’s love, power come from giving glory to God.

Ephesians 3:20, Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.

So make yourself available to him. Don’t make the mistake many make. God is not available to you to do what you want. God is not a genie in a bottle so you can make three wishes. God is not your personal vending machine in the sky. That’s how too many view prayer. That’s why they don’t really believe in prayer. It’s not what prayer is about. So when he says that God will do more than you can ask or imagine, he’s not talking about your personal dreams and goals, per se. Don’t miss the focus here. The word glory in these verses is not in the ‘immeasurably more’ but it is in the ‘him who is able.’

Ephesians 3:21, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

This is where we see God doing his work. This is where we see God’s glory today. So live a life that’s focused on how you can glorify God through what you do today. Each moment of every hour today. If that’s your real motivation, you will see him do more than you can ask or imagine. Try it out.

Pray with me:

Father, help me get some kind of grasp on how deeply you love me. Help me live each moment of this day ahead of me with your glory my foremost purpose and goal. In Jesus name, Amen!

10,000 blessings,

Pastor Bill ... See MoreSee Less