(After the scripture was read, the message began with this reading followed by the YouTube video posted below.)
A son asked his father, Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?. The father who despite having a heart condition, says Yes. They went on to complete the marathon together. Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying Yes to his sons request of going through the race together. One day, the son asked his father, Dad, lets join the Ironman together. To which, his father said Yes too.
The Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big Island . Father and son went on to complete the the race together.
A son asked his father, Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?. The father who despite having a heart condition, says Yes. They went on to complete the marathon together. Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying Yes to his sons request of going through the race together. One day, the son asked his father, Dad, lets join the Ironman together. To which, his father said Yes too.
The Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big Island . Father and son went on to complete the the race together.
The message of Easter is very simple: ENOUGH. You have enough. The Lord provides enough. Jesus Christ died on the cross, he made the difference, and you have enough. You are complete in Christ.
What is the world’s great desire: If only I had complete health, then life would be good. More money… a good job… better relationships… a better living situation…. If only the other person would cooperate… if only….
Jesus Christ did not die to impress us. He did not die so we could have a good story. The Lord Jesus Christ died to take the place of our sins, and then he was raised to new life. “Peace be with you…I am sending you…Receive the Holy Spirit” he told his disciples. The message of Easter is very simple: You have ENOUGH. You need nothing else for completion, nothing else for wholeness, nothing else to make a difference in the world, nothing else but to be accepted by Jesus Christ.
The Lord said, “I give you everything you need: Peace, purpose, my spirit.”
Nobody can say I am not healthy enough. Nobody can say I don’t have the right experiences, the right education, or the right family. Nobody can say, as soon as I get a job then I will be able to do something significant. Nobody can say, if only I were younger. Nobody can say if only I were older. The Lord says, “Even in your weakness, even with all your limitations, I will give you everything you need. I will use you for my purposes. I will take your weaknesses and transform them by my power.
Paul understood the Easter message: “by my own strength I can do nothing.” Paul uses the word conceited. “To keep me from being conceited, he gave me a thorn in my flesh.” One woman I know, whose body is deteriorating far too rapidly for her age, is struggling with what are probably normal questions of why a loving God would allow hurts and heartaches. I don’t know the complete answer, but I do know we live in an imperfect world, we do make decisions, the Lord never promises complete health, but he does promise to be with us. He does promise his power not to take away our weakness, but to give us new life in spite of our weaknesses. If we try to serve God, or serve man, in the power of our own strength alone, we will quickly run into the limits of our own strength, or worse yet, your strength will become your weakness.
Here’s a list I ran across of strengths that easily turn into weakness:
* A person who calls himself frank and candid can very easily find himself becoming tactless and cruel.
* A person who prides himself on being tactful can find eventually that he has become evasive and deceitful.
* A person with firm convictions can become pigheaded.
* Loyalty can lead to fanaticism.
* Caution can become timidity.
* Freedom can become license.
* Confidence can become arrogance.
* I’ve known a few pastors who could speak eloquently off the top of their head. Too often the strength becomes a weakness because it is so easy to not study or prepare, and after a time, it seems to me, there is a lack of depth. I have my problems, but that isn’t one of them. I have to prepare.
Jesus says, “My grace is sufficient for you. My grace is enough”. Sufficient.
Grace is a free gift of that which you don’t deserve. The cross is grace. Family is grace. As soon as you think you deserve grace, it is no longer grace, but law. I used to be at the front desk of the registrar’s office at Fuller Seminary. Every quarter at least one person would come in who had missed a deadline, either not getting a class dropped by the deadline, or not getting money back because they waited too long. And more than once, when a student found out the grade would stand, they pleaded, “but isn’t this a Christian school? You have to give me grace.”….that’s making grace into a law. Grace is not a part of the law, you must never assume grace. Grace supersedes the law. The rules are there for us to obey, yet from time to time grace enters the picture and goes beyond the laws. At the Lynden Fair a few years ago I watched in the next booth over as a very young child ordered an ice cream cone, and then as the cone was served he had like 13¢ in his pocket. The boy stood there pulling his pockets inside out trying to find more, old enough to know he did not have enough, but not quite old enough to have thought it through. So the attendant took the 13¢, called it enough, every adult in line behind smiled, and the boy ran off with cone in hand and a lesson in grace. The rules were set aside.
For the past few months we’ve been talking about restoring broken relationships. There are rules of faith, there is good communication, there is letting go of the past, putting people first, all sorts of strategies and patterns. All very good thoughts as we looked at Paul’s attempt in this letter to reconcile with the Corinthians. But the bottom line is this: My grace is sufficient. God can bring wholeness to any person, any relationship, even if we break every rule. That’s why trusting in the Lord is so important, rather than relying on your own goodness or ability. The rules are good, the patterns are good, genuine respect and love is good, but God’s grace is better. It’s grace. Grace goes beyond the rules.
“My grace is sufficient for you.” You have enough. “For my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul goes on to say, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” “I delight in weaknesses.”
Let me tell you about Carl Crouse. I am not particularly the best at anything. I am not particularly aggressive. In the past, when I have applied for work positions, I am one of the worst, because I just have a hard time promoting myself, in general I make a much better second impression than a first. Yet, by the grace of God, I think I am a fit in this place at this time. Not the greatest speaker. Yet I am amazed, that the Lord uses me. On Friday I sat with a family that did not know me in the least and spilled their heart out about a long history of hardship in the family. They did not know me in the least, but they talked. And you know why they felt that freedom. Because I am not aggressive, because I gentle, and the Lord uses my weakness and makes it into a strength. It’s not me, it’s the Lord. And I am amazed. When I was a kid, classmates used to make fun of how slow I talked. Today, it is that diction, the slow methodical pronunciation that makes many folks able to hear. A weakness into a strength.
Let me tell you about SACC. We don’t have the biggest building. We don’t have the most powerful people. We are not the most sophisticated folks. We are regular people probably not the best at anything in particular. My grace is sufficient. If anyone is thinking about throwing their lot in with SACC, I hope you never wonder if you are good enough. If you are not good enough, then neither am I. If the Lord is urging you to make him the center of your life, I assure you that the issue is not whether or not you are good enough. Come to the Lord with your weaknesses, your baggage, your questions, your heartaches, your discouragements, your bad decisions, your family, your hurts, your struggles. Grace is more than ENOUGH.
Let me tell you about you. None of you have it all together. None of you are the best, imagine what your weaknesses can become. Maybe you are not proud of your history, your ability, or every decision you’ve ever made. The Lord accepts you in your weakness. I’ve heard it said that the best math teachers are not always those that got A’s, but often its those that got C’s. Why? The C teacher can relate to kids that don’t get it. Add God’s grace to your weakness. Perhaps the person with addictions will be able to relate to others. The person that can’t talk… the person who has a difficult background, the sinner…
The message of Easter: ENOUGH. The Lord invites you to come to him, just as you are, peace, purpose, his spirit.
Just as I am, without one plea,
but that thy blood was shed for me,
and that thou bidst me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, though tossed about
with many a conflict, many a doubt,
fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
sight, riches, healing of the mind,
yea, all I need in thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, thou wilt receive,
wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
because thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
What is the world’s great desire: If only I had complete health, then life would be good. More money… a good job… better relationships… a better living situation…. If only the other person would cooperate… if only….
Jesus Christ did not die to impress us. He did not die so we could have a good story. The Lord Jesus Christ died to take the place of our sins, and then he was raised to new life. “Peace be with you…I am sending you…Receive the Holy Spirit” he told his disciples. The message of Easter is very simple: You have ENOUGH. You need nothing else for completion, nothing else for wholeness, nothing else to make a difference in the world, nothing else but to be accepted by Jesus Christ.
The Lord said, “I give you everything you need: Peace, purpose, my spirit.”
Nobody can say I am not healthy enough. Nobody can say I don’t have the right experiences, the right education, or the right family. Nobody can say, as soon as I get a job then I will be able to do something significant. Nobody can say, if only I were younger. Nobody can say if only I were older. The Lord says, “Even in your weakness, even with all your limitations, I will give you everything you need. I will use you for my purposes. I will take your weaknesses and transform them by my power.
Paul understood the Easter message: “by my own strength I can do nothing.” Paul uses the word conceited. “To keep me from being conceited, he gave me a thorn in my flesh.” One woman I know, whose body is deteriorating far too rapidly for her age, is struggling with what are probably normal questions of why a loving God would allow hurts and heartaches. I don’t know the complete answer, but I do know we live in an imperfect world, we do make decisions, the Lord never promises complete health, but he does promise to be with us. He does promise his power not to take away our weakness, but to give us new life in spite of our weaknesses. If we try to serve God, or serve man, in the power of our own strength alone, we will quickly run into the limits of our own strength, or worse yet, your strength will become your weakness.
Here’s a list I ran across of strengths that easily turn into weakness:
* A person who calls himself frank and candid can very easily find himself becoming tactless and cruel.
* A person who prides himself on being tactful can find eventually that he has become evasive and deceitful.
* A person with firm convictions can become pigheaded.
* Loyalty can lead to fanaticism.
* Caution can become timidity.
* Freedom can become license.
* Confidence can become arrogance.
* I’ve known a few pastors who could speak eloquently off the top of their head. Too often the strength becomes a weakness because it is so easy to not study or prepare, and after a time, it seems to me, there is a lack of depth. I have my problems, but that isn’t one of them. I have to prepare.
Jesus says, “My grace is sufficient for you. My grace is enough”. Sufficient.
Grace is a free gift of that which you don’t deserve. The cross is grace. Family is grace. As soon as you think you deserve grace, it is no longer grace, but law. I used to be at the front desk of the registrar’s office at Fuller Seminary. Every quarter at least one person would come in who had missed a deadline, either not getting a class dropped by the deadline, or not getting money back because they waited too long. And more than once, when a student found out the grade would stand, they pleaded, “but isn’t this a Christian school? You have to give me grace.”….that’s making grace into a law. Grace is not a part of the law, you must never assume grace. Grace supersedes the law. The rules are there for us to obey, yet from time to time grace enters the picture and goes beyond the laws. At the Lynden Fair a few years ago I watched in the next booth over as a very young child ordered an ice cream cone, and then as the cone was served he had like 13¢ in his pocket. The boy stood there pulling his pockets inside out trying to find more, old enough to know he did not have enough, but not quite old enough to have thought it through. So the attendant took the 13¢, called it enough, every adult in line behind smiled, and the boy ran off with cone in hand and a lesson in grace. The rules were set aside.
For the past few months we’ve been talking about restoring broken relationships. There are rules of faith, there is good communication, there is letting go of the past, putting people first, all sorts of strategies and patterns. All very good thoughts as we looked at Paul’s attempt in this letter to reconcile with the Corinthians. But the bottom line is this: My grace is sufficient. God can bring wholeness to any person, any relationship, even if we break every rule. That’s why trusting in the Lord is so important, rather than relying on your own goodness or ability. The rules are good, the patterns are good, genuine respect and love is good, but God’s grace is better. It’s grace. Grace goes beyond the rules.
“My grace is sufficient for you.” You have enough. “For my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul goes on to say, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” “I delight in weaknesses.”
Let me tell you about Carl Crouse. I am not particularly the best at anything. I am not particularly aggressive. In the past, when I have applied for work positions, I am one of the worst, because I just have a hard time promoting myself, in general I make a much better second impression than a first. Yet, by the grace of God, I think I am a fit in this place at this time. Not the greatest speaker. Yet I am amazed, that the Lord uses me. On Friday I sat with a family that did not know me in the least and spilled their heart out about a long history of hardship in the family. They did not know me in the least, but they talked. And you know why they felt that freedom. Because I am not aggressive, because I gentle, and the Lord uses my weakness and makes it into a strength. It’s not me, it’s the Lord. And I am amazed. When I was a kid, classmates used to make fun of how slow I talked. Today, it is that diction, the slow methodical pronunciation that makes many folks able to hear. A weakness into a strength.
Let me tell you about SACC. We don’t have the biggest building. We don’t have the most powerful people. We are not the most sophisticated folks. We are regular people probably not the best at anything in particular. My grace is sufficient. If anyone is thinking about throwing their lot in with SACC, I hope you never wonder if you are good enough. If you are not good enough, then neither am I. If the Lord is urging you to make him the center of your life, I assure you that the issue is not whether or not you are good enough. Come to the Lord with your weaknesses, your baggage, your questions, your heartaches, your discouragements, your bad decisions, your family, your hurts, your struggles. Grace is more than ENOUGH.
Let me tell you about you. None of you have it all together. None of you are the best, imagine what your weaknesses can become. Maybe you are not proud of your history, your ability, or every decision you’ve ever made. The Lord accepts you in your weakness. I’ve heard it said that the best math teachers are not always those that got A’s, but often its those that got C’s. Why? The C teacher can relate to kids that don’t get it. Add God’s grace to your weakness. Perhaps the person with addictions will be able to relate to others. The person that can’t talk… the person who has a difficult background, the sinner…
The message of Easter: ENOUGH. The Lord invites you to come to him, just as you are, peace, purpose, his spirit.
Just as I am, without one plea,
but that thy blood was shed for me,
and that thou bidst me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, though tossed about
with many a conflict, many a doubt,
fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
sight, riches, healing of the mind,
yea, all I need in thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, thou wilt receive,
wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
because thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
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