Grace Glory

I will praise Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart. I will show forth all Thy marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in Thee. I will sing praise to Thy name, O Most High.

Father, we ask that You would give now Your Spirit to direct us, guide us into truth, and teach us all things, especially as we stand here at the open of a year. It is fitting, Lord, that we're here on the first day of the week, on the first day of the year, to remember Your death, burial, and resurrection through partaking of communion. We set our affections and our attention upon You, and we pray, Lord, that this would be a good start to our year, that it would be a year dedicated from the outset to You and to Your name, to Your glory here in our community, and to the uttermost parts, wherever You would take us.

So, Lord, we pray that You would unite us as Your body with one heart and one mind in You today. In Jesus' name, and all God's people agreed, saying, Amen. You can be seated.

As I have been thinking about this Sunday and the new year over the last couple of weeks, I have found my heart to be filled with a growing anticipation and excitement for what God is doing and what He desires to do in and through us, His body here in Escondido. This year, 2012, has been anticipated by many for various interesting reasons. Of course, you're probably laughing because this is the year that the Mayan calendar is set to run out, December 21st of this year. There are some in our nation and in our world who have convinced themselves that...

This is it. It is the end of the world as we know it. We just have a short time until December, and then it will all collapse because the Mayan calendar will run out. It reminds me of just 12 years ago, Y2K. How many of you remember Y2K? A lot of people were quite fearful of it, and we're still here. I have a feeling that next January 1st, we'll still be here.

People are looking forward to the possibilities of what could happen as a result of the running out of the Mayan calendar. As is the case every year at the New Year, the tabloids at the newsstands all talk about the Bible prophecy the government doesn't want you to know, what Nostradamus has had to say, and all the things that are prognosticated to come to pass this year. I wanted to throw my hat in the ring and give just a quick, very brief prophecy update here on January 1st, 2012.

The Bible says that one day, Jesus is going to return to the earth in the same manner that He ascended into heaven; He will descend and establish His kingdom here upon the earth. That's what the Bible declares. That's what Jesus promised He would do. Until that time, Jesus tells us, His church, His disciples, in Luke chapter 19, that we need to occupy until He comes.

Now, how many of you are sick of the word "occupy" over the last four months? Jesus said it. They commandeered it. So, occupy until I come, He said. "Occupy" is an interesting word. It means to reside in, have one's place of business in, or take control of. We are to have our place of business here, business for the kingdom, until He comes. That's what He said.

So, there's work to do. Here’s my prophecy update: Jesus said He would come. He has not come yet, so we have a lot of work to do. Amen? That is what we are to set ourselves to do. In fact, when Jesus spoke about His second coming quite a bit in Matthew chapters 24 and 25, He summed it all up with three parables. The point of each of those parables was that we need to be waiting, watching, and working until He comes. So, that is what we are going to endeavor to do in 2012.

It could be the end of the world, but I don't think it is. Now, that said, 2012 may be the year for some within our church when you see the Lord of glory. This might be that year, and that's a glorious thing. It's a good thing. It is my prayer and my hope that whether that happens to a few or many, or whether the Lord comes and returns for His church, whatever the case may be, when we have that day, we would hear Him say, "Well done, my good and faithful servants." Amen? That's what we want to do. We want to be serving in such a way that we are taking advantage of every opportunity for His glory and for His kingdom.

Another reason that people have been anticipating 2012 is that this is an election year. How many of you are already sick of the campaign? Yes. Amen. This Tuesday will be the first primary election in Iowa and New Hampshire, and then it's just off to the races, even though it has already been going on for the last several months. So, a lot of people have been anticipating that.

Another segment of our society is anticipating what will take place this summer in London. People are looking forward to seeing Michael Phelps swim and Usain Bolt run, among other events. All of that is coming and happening, and people are anticipating these things.

But I am anticipating 2012 because I believe God has great things for us, His church here in Escondido. Great things that He desires for us to accomplish. I am convinced that He has wonderful things planned for us. There are many things that we, the leadership of the church here at CCSGO, have been praying about, looking forward to, and thinking about in this new year. I am anticipating even sharing some of those with you over the next several weeks and months as we move through this year.

God has great things coming. One of the aspects of the calling that God has given to me as a pastor and as a leader here in our church is to seek God for vision, to seek Him for direction for us, His body. He is our head. He is the one that directs our endeavors. At least, that's our hope. That's what we seek for.

That's what our pastoral team and our elder board do when we gather together and pray. We hope that God will lead us in unity into what He has for us because we believe that God desires to be intimately involved in our lives personally and corporately. We believe that our God is a personal God and Savior who desires interactive fellowship with His people. Because of that, we are stirred to seek Him for His direction, for His vision, and for His word for us.

Over the last three years leading up to this, at the beginning of each year, I've shared with you what I believe the Lord has been speaking to us as we've prayed and sought Him. Back in 2009, you may remember that I shared about the call the Lord placed upon us to simplify and focus. How many of you remember the dumpster? It'll probably be back this year if you've got junk. I've got junk; there's a lot of junk after Christmas. So, purging it and simplifying so that we can focus.

In 2010, we talked about a rising and going because this is not our place of rest. This is not our eternal home. I don't know about you, but I'm grateful that this is not our eternal home. I'm anticipating what the Bible shares will come. We discussed a rising and going because this is no place to rest. One of the common denominators found in the book of Hebrews, chapter 11, is that the men and women of faith who followed God faithfully under the old covenant had a mindset that they were sojourners here. This was not their home. It says of Abraham and his wife, Sarah, that they looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. It goes on to say, therefore, God was not ashamed to be called their God. God takes joy in a people who recognize that this is not what it's all about. We live in a world that thinks this is what it is all about, but the Bible reveals something greater. So, arise and go, for this is not our place of rest.

At the beginning of last year, 2011, we shared a vision of desiring to recognize the communion that we have with God. We just celebrated that communion by partaking of the bread and the cup.

Partaking of the bread and the cup are not, in and of themselves, communion. They direct us to the communion we have with God because of the work that Jesus did on the cross—His body being broken and His blood being shed for us. Therefore, we can come into communion with Him. We have individually been brought into communion with God, and He has brought us into community with one another. He gave us a command, the greatest command: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. The second is like it: love your neighbor as yourself.

In 2011, we hoped to build that more into our church—loving God and loving one another. It is our prayer that these principles—simplifying and focusing, arising and going, being on mission, loving God, and loving one another—would not be just something we do for a time or for a year. We do not want to have spiritual ADD, doing that for a little while and then moving on. We want that to become a part of the DNA of who we are here at CCSGO. We are a people whom God has brought into communion with Him and community with one another. We love Him, we love one another, and we are on mission, carrying the gospel into the world. We have simplified so that we can focus on Him and on that task. We want that to be a part of who we are.

More than a year ago, in November of 2009, the Lord impressed upon my heart another word, another vision that He has developed and built, which I believe is His word for us as we come into 2012. For the last seven weeks, I did not plan until near the end of the year to go through a series on joy—unlocking joy—but it fits with this word that the Lord has placed upon my heart for 2012.

As we come into 2012, I believe the Lord would have us enjoy His grace and extend His glory. He desires that we would be a people who are enjoying His grace and, in our world, extending His glory. Now, the question immediately arises in us: what exactly does that mean? How do I enjoy His grace? How do I extend His glory? My hope is that as we live in community with one another here this year, we would be answering that question.

How do we enjoy God's grace and extend His glory? On the first Sunday of the year, which just so happens to be the first day of the year, I wanted to consider what is encompassed in enjoying His grace and extending His glory. So, how do we do that? I want to answer that with a question, the same way that Jesus often did. It's a Jewish rabbinical trait to answer questions with a question. Sometimes that drives us crazy.

When I was a junior high pastor, some of the kids from my junior high group are here today as adults. During camp, it would, without fail, happen at least once or twice during that week that some junior higher, 12 or 13 years old, would come to me and say, "Can I go to the bathroom?" I would respond, "I don't know, can you?" That would drive them crazy. But I hope you can go. It's that answering a question with a question.

So, how do we enjoy God's grace and extend His glory? I began to answer that with this: Have you enjoyed the grace of God through salvation? The Bible, in speaking about the incarnation of God—God becoming a man, which we just celebrated at Christmas—reminds us that this event is about remembering and celebrating the coming of God to the earth. This event could very possibly be the greatest event in history, second only to the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, that God became a man.

When the Bible speaks about that, it says that He is gloriously full of grace and truth. In John 1:14, it states, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." I love that it says of Jesus that He came full of grace and truth. It doesn't merely say full of truth, because truth can be incredibly condemning, can it not? I am also very thankful that it says full of grace first and then truth.

There are so many attributes, natures, and characteristics of God that could be mentioned here. God is full of justice, and He is perfectly just. God is full of holiness, and He is perfectly holy.

Go down the list of all the different attributes of God that could be mentioned, and yet the Scriptures are inspired by God. He directs John, the author of the Gospel of John, to say that when Jesus came, He was full of grace and truth. A couple of verses later, it states that in Him, in Jesus, we received grace upon grace, meaning we received grace in overabundance. Then, one verse after that, in verse 17, it says that the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

In the incarnation, we find that our God is a personal God. He desires a personal and intimate relationship, fellowship with us. That's why He came. If He were the God that the deists believe in—one who just wound up the clock, created the universe, and is now somewhere out on the edge of the universe, uninterested in it—then He would not have come. But He came, revealing to us that He is personally interested in us.

So, why do we need a personal God who is full of grace and bestows abundant grace? Because humanity is dead in trespasses and sins. We need a God like this because we are dead in trespasses and sins. Isaiah 53:6 states, "All we like sheep have gone astray." Isaiah 64:6 says, "We are all an unclean thing, and all our righteousness, all our good works, are as filthy rags." Paul the Apostle, in Romans 7:18, confesses the cry of every soul, or should be the cry of every soul, "For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing."

You will not come to Christ Jesus as Savior until you recognize that in you dwells no good thing, because you will not think that you need a Savior. The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth come by Jesus Christ because we are dead in trespasses and sins. Mark 7:21 shows Jesus narrowing the focus onto this truth when He says, "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, from which proceed evil actions."

Adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness—these wicked, evil sins are rampant in the world today and have become our entertainment. All of these things proceed from the evil heart of man. Jeremiah 17:9 states, "The heart of man is desperately wicked. Who can know it?" The condition of man is desperate because we are desperately lost.

In darkness, we are dead in trespasses and sins, as stated in Ephesians 2:1. Verse 2 explains that we walk according to the course of this world. Ephesians 2:3 continues, saying that we had our conduct, our conversation in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of our flesh, and we are by nature children of wrath. By our very nature, our sinful nature, we abide under the wrath of God because He is holy, just, and perfect, and we are not.

He has sent His Spirit into the world, as John 16 says, to convict the world of our sin, of His righteousness, and of the judgment that is to come upon our sin because we are sinful and He is just. This is a heavy reality. We need a personal, loving God who is full of grace because the law, which was given by Moses, is holy, just, and good, yet it is unmerciful.

How do we know it is unmerciful? We learn this from Hebrews 10:28, where the author of the book of Hebrews states that he who despises the law of Moses, the law of God given by Moses, dies without mercy. The person who rejects God's perfect holy law will die without mercy, for Hebrews 9:27 says there is a day appointed to all men in which they will die and then face judgment.

So, we all have a day in which we will come before God and be judged, having despised God's law, without mercy. Therefore, we need a personal God who is full of grace. We have a desperate condition. Romans 3:20 states that by the deeds of the law, no flesh shall be justified.

There's no way you can make yourself right, holy, or perfect by the law. Romans 3, verse 20 goes on to say that by the law is the knowledge of sin. The law brings us a recognition that we are lost. We need the law because there are many people in our nation and in the world who just don't believe that we are lost. I had a conversation just within the last 24 hours with someone who believes that man is intrinsically good, inherently good; we're all born good. They haven't had kids yet, but they're about to, so I'm expecting that there will come a recognition not too far in the future where they see that this just isn't true and that it doesn't stand up.

God's Word says the heart of man is desperately wicked, and God's law reveals the desperate, wicked condition of our hearts. However, it also reveals the great, glorious grace of God. Galatians 2, verse 16 states that man is not justified by the works of the law. It reiterates in the same verse that by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. Galatians 3, verse 11 further clarifies that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God; it is evident, clear, and just not possible for us to make ourselves right because all of our righteousness is as filthy rags, as stated in Isaiah 64, verse 6.

As a result of His glorious, gracious coming, we can be brought near to God by justification. Justification is a theological term that means we can be made righteous, just as if we had never sinned, and that the punishment for our sin can be taken care of. How? In Galatians 3, verse 24, Paul says we are being justified freely by His grace. Justified freely by His grace—how is that accomplished? It is through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. It comes by Jesus Christ; that's the only way we can be justified. It's a gracious gift, not of our works, but the only way we can be, and are, saved by grace.

In Acts 15, verse 11, we read one of the declarations of the belief of the early church. Acts 15, verse 11 states, "But we believe," and this is the church leaders speaking.

Faith is central to our view. We believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved. Justification comes by grace, and many of you are reminded of Ephesians chapter 2. Turn in your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 2. I would encourage you to make it a goal for 2012 to memorize Ephesians 2, verses 1-10. Commit this to memory, as it contains such important theology.

Ephesians 2, verse 1 states, "And you, has he, God, quickened, made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins." In times past, you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the children of disobedience. Among whom we all had our conversation, our conduct, in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the others. It is a desperate condition.

But then the next two words are just beautiful: "But God." But God, who is rich in mercy! Step back for a moment and consider God as He is revealed in the Bible. He is holy, just, and righteous. All those things about God are true, but imagine if this verse read, "But God, who is rich in justice." That would be a problem, wouldn't it? Why? Because we were just revealed as dead in trespasses and sins, disobedient to God, walking after the lusts of our flesh. If God were rich in justice, it would not bode well for us.

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, has quickened us, made us alive, together with Christ.

By grace are you saved. It's as if Paul can't contain himself, even though he knows he's going to talk about salvation by grace in just a few verses. He said, "I just have to say this: by grace you're saved. You didn't do anything to get this." Not only has He loved us and given us mercy, made us alive in Christ, but He has also raised us up together and made us to sit together in heavenly places in Jesus Christ. He's given us positional righteousness. We will be with Him in eternity, for eternity, in His presence.

What's going to happen there? In verse 7, it states that in the ages to come, He might show the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness towards us through Christ Jesus. For eternity, it will take eternity for God to reveal the greatness of His grace to us. Then come the verses that are often memorized: "For by grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God prepared beforehand, ordained beforehand, that we would walk in them."

So right here in this passage, Ephesians 2, verses 1-10, we see enjoying God's grace and extending His glory. It's all right here. We begin to enjoy the grace of God through salvation. We are dead in trespasses and sins; we are lost and in darkness. God became a man for the purpose of redeeming us by His broken body and His shed blood. As we put our confidence, our trust in Him—what He did, not our own works, but in what He did on the cross—we are saved.

"For by grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." We are saved unto good works, extending His glory unto good works which He prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Notice that word "should." In fact, circle it. Look over at your neighbor and see that they circled it. We should walk in them. So we have access to God and His throne of grace continually.

As a result of His glorious grace coming, we can be brought near to God through justification. We can be, and are, saved by grace, and then we have access to Him by grace. Romans 5:2 states, "By whom? By Jesus." We also have access by faith into His grace, wherein we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

We have been given the opportunity in Jesus to come into the safe, if you will, which is the abundance of grace. We have access through Him to come into that great grace and stand as sinners saved by grace. We should take advantage of that and come boldly before His throne of grace to obtain mercy and grace in our time of need, as stated in Hebrews 4:16.

By the authority of the Scriptures, which are inspired of God (2 Timothy 3:16), I stand here before you today and call you into the enjoyment of the grace of Jesus Christ the righteous. If you have not experienced His grace in salvation today, you need to do that. You are dead in trespasses and sins, and you abide under the wrath of God, which will be poured out one day.

God has made provision for salvation in His Son, who knew no sin. The just died for the unjust. He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might receive His righteousness. If you have not enjoyed His grace by putting your confidence in Him for salvation, and not in your own good works, do that right now, wherever you are. In your heart, acknowledge that He died on the cross for your sins and rose from the dead for your righteousness. Put your confident trust in Him, believing that what He did is sufficient for your salvation.

Now, I am hoping most of you have done that. I hope that all of you have done that. In fact, rightly or wrongly, I generally come to this pulpit to teach with the assumption that I am speaking to saints—sinners saved by grace. That assumption may be wrong, as there is no doubt that some people here today do not know God nor His grace and have not put their faith in Him. But generally speaking, I come to this pulpit with the assumption that I am speaking to saints.

For their equipping, we would be mutually built up so that we could go and do the work of the ministry that's outside these doors. If you haven't received the grace of Christ and enjoyed His grace through salvation, pray out to God right now that He would do that. He would save you by His grace.

But if you have received His grace, then I would give the exhortation and encouragement that Peter does in 2 Peter 3:18: "But grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen." We need to grow in His grace, in the depths of His grace, and the riches of His grace from here now on into eternity. We are called to enjoy His grace, and I am so blessed that God has given me a call to testify of the good news of God's grace.

However, this call is not just for me. In Acts 20:24, Paul says this as he knows he is about to go into a time of persecution: "None of these things move me, neither do I count my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy." He expresses his desire to finish the ministry which he has received from the Lord Jesus to testify and declare the gospel, the good news of the grace of God.

God has called us into the enjoyment of His grace so that we can extend that to this world. We want to enjoy His grace and extend His glory. In Romans 1:5, Paul says, "By whom, Jesus, we, speaking of us, have received grace and apostleship." We have received grace from God and have been given an apostleship. This means we have been sent on a mission—not like the apostles in the first century who had leadership authority over the church, but we have been sent on a mission to extend His grace for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name and for His glory.

This is what we are called to: enjoy His grace and then carry it out to this world. We have received His grace and a calling to go forth to extend it.

So that brings us to the next question: How do we extend His grace? What does it look like to extend His grace? Are we an extension of His glory in our homes, in our workplaces, at school, during recreation, and while we relax? We are to be the incarnation of God's glory here in this world in every aspect of our lives.

Over the last year, as I've been thinking about our church and the ministry we have, as well as the things that God is doing through Calvary Chapel of Escondido, I've been struck by something that has weighed heavily upon me. I love the ministry of Calvary Chapel. I grew up in the ministry of Calvary Chapel in the Lord and have been discipled by it. Calvary Chapel is much bigger than Calvary Chapel of Escondido, and I'm sure most of you know that.

One of the things that has weighed heavily upon me recently, as I observe what God is doing through Calvary Chapel, is that we, by what we do as a church, have come to a place where we equate our Christian life with Bible study. Bible study is good and important; we need to study the Word of God because this is where God reveals Himself to us and reveals His call and the mission He has given us through His Word. He speaks to us and instructs us in His nature and His will, and that is incredibly important.

However, the problem is that if there is not a Bible study, we don't know how to be Christians. If we don't have one, two, three, or four different Bible studies a week, we don't know how to live out our faith. This was driven home to me recently when we decided not to hold our Wednesday night service anymore. I had several people ask, "What am I going to do? We don't have a Wednesday night Bible study anymore." It reminded me that our whole Christian life has come to be synonymous with a Bible study.

God desires that His life would be lived out through us, not just in a Bible study, but in our homes, in our workplaces, at school, and in our interactions with non-believers. Even if there is no Bible study, we shouldn't rely solely on inviting people over for a Bible study to know how to be Christians. God needs to break us out of this pattern so we can enjoy His grace and extend His glory.

We've been given great grace in Christ, and He desires that we would enjoy His grace for the glory of His name among all peoples. Turn your Bibles to 1 Peter, chapter 2. Peter is speaking to the church, to us. He says, "But you, church," in verse 9, "you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people."

Look around. There are some peculiar people here. There's one of them standing up here, peculiar indeed. So Peter says, "You are these things: a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people." Why? That you should—circle that word "should." Make sure your neighbor did; it's loving your neighbor right there. You should show forth the praises of Him who called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light.

Every worldview and every philosophy is seeking, if it has any sort of merit to it, to answer four questions: the question of purpose—why are we here? The question of origin—where did we come from? The question of destiny—where do we go after this? And the question of identity—who am I?

In the short time that we've had this morning so far, we've already examined the answers that the Bible gives to these questions. Why are we here? To show the praises of Him who called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light, to extend His glory into this world. Where did we come from? God created us. He made us a special people, a holy nation.

Where do we go after this? He is going to return and take us to be with Him in eternity. But until He does, we are to occupy until He comes. Who are we? Our identity is crucial. He says right there, "You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people."

Today, our nation does not have a grasp on the answers to these questions. If you go around and start asking people who are growing up, who will be the next parents and leaders of this nation, and you ask them, "Where did you come from?" many will respond, "I don't really know. I think I came from the goo to the zoo to here and just evolved." When you ask, "Well, why are you here?" the answer often is, "I really don't know. I don't know what the purpose is. I guess I'm just here to continue the gene pool," which is a really lousy purpose.

And when you ask, "Where do you go after this?" the response is often, "Into the dirt. You just get buried. Dust to dust. Ash to ash. I don't know. You just die." When you ask, "Who are you?" the answer is frequently, "I don't know. I'm trying to discover myself. I'm trying to figure out who I am." There are a lot of people trying to find out who they are.

The good news, the Gospel, tells us the answers to these questions. You are created by God with a purpose to extend His glory until He calls you home to be with Him in eternity. You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood. Our culture all around us needs to hear this great truth.

So we, the church, are called to incarnate God in our society. We are called to extend His glory to Escondido, Valley Center, San Marcos, Rancho Bernardo, Bonsall, Fallbrook, Southern California, our nation, and the uttermost parts. That is what we are called to do. That is why He hasn't taken us home yet.

Remember Jesus? I shared with you last week from John 17, where Jesus prays, "I don't pray that you take them out of the world." Why? Because we want to get out of here. It is because He wants us to incarnate His glory in this world and extend it to this world.

And so God, through Isaiah, says, "Arise and shine." Isaiah 60:1 states, "For your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the people, but the Lord shall arise upon you, and His glory shall be seen upon you. And unbelievers, Gentiles, shall come to your light and kings to your brightness."

Is our world filled with darkness, uncertainty, and confusion?

God's light has risen upon us, and He says to us, "Arise and shine." We extend His glory by carrying the joy of His grace to those who are joylessly living a graceless existence. Let me say that again: we, the church, the body of Christ, extend His glory by carrying the joy of His grace to those who are joylessly living a graceless existence.

There are people all around us—in our neighborhoods, in the schools we attend or work at, in our corporate environments, and wherever we are, whether playing basketball, baseball, or going to the grocery store. There are people living a graceless existence. So how do we do this? By incarnating, bringing flesh to, and manifesting, making evident, the fruit of the Spirit wherever we are. Love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, and self-control are all things that are absent in the world.

We are to love the unlovely. We are to be joyful in the midst of trying circumstances. We are to have peace when everything else is shaking and falling apart. We are to have self-control when everybody else would just fly off the handle, cut you off, flip you off, or even punch you in the face. We are to have peace and self-control, contentment, sobriety, and temperament. God has given this to us. He says, "I want you to manifest it in this world."

So it comes back to the question: how well are we doing at manifesting those glorious attributes of the fruit of the Spirit in our workplace and in our homes? I realized something, and it's a heavy realization for me. This has come from an internal dialogue—yes, I talk to myself—where we've boiled Christianity down to a Bible study. If Christianity is all about Bible study, then the measure of success is to have a whole bunch of people who know the Bible, which is good.

However, Christianity is more than just a Bible study. The measure of success extends beyond just people who are knowledgeable about the Bible to people who actually manifest the fruit of the Spirit in their lives.

I came to a heavy realization that I have failed if those who are under my oversight as a pastor and leader are not manifesting the fruit of the Spirit in their daily lives. This realization is significant. I think that's why James said, "Let not many of you become teachers, because you shall receive a stricter judgment." The Christian life extends beyond Bible study. Bible study is important, but it goes beyond that.

So, what does it look like to be the incarnation of God in a graceless world? I jotted down a few thoughts yesterday while reflecting on this. One way we can reveal the glory of God and extend His glory is by asking an elderly neighbor if we can help them bring their trash cans up. They may ask, "Why are you doing this?" and you can respond, "It's the least I could do in thanks to God for all He's done for me in taking out my trash. He dealt with my trash, so it's the least I could do in thanks to Him."

Another way is by joining the convalescent care teams and serving in the nursing homes in our community, extending the love of God. The fruit of the Spirit is love, and we can show that love to people who, in many ways, have been set apart from the love of their family members and may feel unloved.

How many of you remember our friend Jeff Jackson? Jeff comes to shake us up every six to nine months with some off-the-wall idea. I love Jeff. He challenged me and several others on our ministry team, our missions team, to consider doing something similar to what they are doing out in Phoenix: extending English as a second language training to immigrants or refugees in our nation. We have many immigrants in our community, and it doesn't matter whether they are legal or illegal.

Ultimately, we, the church, want them to become citizens of heaven. That's our desire. He suggested considering ESL training in our community. We are blessed with a sister in our church, Corrie, who just retired after 35 years as a public school teacher, and she has a passion for doing just that. That was a significant part of her career.

Corrie began reaching out to various educational circles in our town and discovered that Rose Elementary School wanted to provide an ESL class for adults. They had a computer room set aside, but they couldn't afford the Rosetta Stone software, nor did they have the personnel to manage it. Corrie thought, "Maybe we could help." She came to talk with me and Kelly about the situation. Since they didn't have the money for the software, we decided from our missions budget that we would pay for it. We would buy the ESL software, but we needed people to assist with the training.

We need individuals who are willing to incarnate the glory of God among those who don't know Him by simply sitting down with them and helping them navigate the Rosetta Stone software to learn English. Along the way, there may be opportunities to share the gospel with them. Corrie began some of this back in November, but this year, we are going to make a concerted effort to raise up people who will help with ESL training.

That's what Shane has been doing in China—teaching the Chinese to speak English. What an awesome mission opportunity! Imagine a six-foot-five American among four-foot-tall Chinese, saying, "You're going to teach me how to say hello." It's so cool.

Perhaps we can extend the love of God to the boys at Rancho San Juan Bosco, the orphanage we've worked with for nearly 20 years in Tecate. We want to show love to Miss Isle and Yolanda, who have faithfully served God and His people by caring for these boys throughout their lives.

We can also prayerfully partner to go with us to China, Africa, or wherever the Lord opens an opportunity overseas, to carry the love, grace, and truth of God to those who live a graceless existence.

Perhaps you could start by asking your employer if they would allow you to initiate a chaplaincy program in your company for the spiritual care of the employees. You might think that's just weird, but I was talking with Mickey Stonier, our friend down at the Rock Church in San Diego, who has been conducting our chaplaincy training here at the church. He mentioned that they have raised up a team of people at the Rock Church who work in places like Sony, Qualcomm, and Motorola. These individuals approached their employers and asked if they would be interested in having a spiritual care chaplaincy for the corporation, for the company, and for the employees.

To their surprise, the companies agreed, allowing these chaplains to support employees during difficult times. For instance, when someone is facing the death of a loved one or experiencing a tragic loss in their family and doesn't know what to do, the company can direct them to a chaplain who can pray with them. How awesome is that? It may not be a Bible study, but it extends the glory of God to those around us.

The reality is, if we were to take a poll today—and we're not going to—I think we would find that a very small percentage of you feel equipped to teach a Bible study. Our hope is to equip you to do just that, but many of you might think, "If you made me talk in front of people, I'd hurl." However, if we merely ask you to be loving, merciful, kind, and joyful, you might respond, "I have a hard time doing that."

Now, turn back to the verse that we started with, Psalm 9. As you're turning there, I want to remind you of some other verses. The Bible says that according to God's divine power, He has gifted us with everything we need to live this life in a godly way. By God's divine power, He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. Ephesians 1:3 states that we have been given every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. Luke 19:13 instructs us to occupy and do business until I return with all the things I've given to you.

Psalm 9, verse 1, David says, "I will praise you, O Lord, with my whole heart. I will show forth your marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in you. I will sing praise to your name, O Most High." Notice the resolution with which David speaks here. He resolves to do this. He states, "I am going to do this. I will show forth your marvelous works. I will carry the fruit of the Spirit to this world. I will worship you. I will sing to you. I will be joyful and glad in you."

You see, in 2 Peter 1:3 and Ephesians 1:3, we see that we've been given the power. God has given us all that we need to live this life in a godly way. We have it, and now He says we need to make a decision to do it. If it kills you, do it, whatever it may be. I am convinced that we need to make a determined decision of our will to exercise the power that God has already given to us.

We have God's sovereignty and man's free will, man's responsibility. I believe they come together in concert. They are not mutually exclusive, as some will say. It's God's sovereignty on the Reformed side or man's free will on the Arminian side. No, they come together in Christ. There are great verses that prove this. It is amusing to me that they often split these verses.

For example, in Ephesians 2:12-13, the Arminian group says, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, as you have always obeyed, not in my presence only, but also in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." This group emphasizes man's responsibility: work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Then, there is another group that cites verse 13: "For it is God who works in you to will and to do His good pleasure." Look, they both go together. He has done His part. He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness, every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. He says, "Do this. I have ordained good works that you should walk in them. I have called you out of darkness that you should proclaim my praises in this world." So do it. You have the power; do it.

In 2012, we will be a bright light to the world, a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden, only so much as we are determined to be so. He has already given us everything we need for life and godliness. His question is, will we do it? God's divine power has already given us in Christ everything that is needed. So He says, "Arise and shine."

You guys remember that song, "This Little Light of Mine"? I'm going to let it shine, right? Hide it under a bush? Oh no, I'm going to let it shine. Don't let Satan blow it out. Where did the light come from? It came from Him. He ignited us; He gave us light. He enlightened us, and we have a choice. We can hide it under a bush, or we can let our light so shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father which is in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

Let it shine! Enjoy His grace; that's what He wants from us, and then extend His glory. Paul, the Apostle, said in 1 Corinthians 10:31, "Wherefore, whether you eat or drink, whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God." Whatever you do, wherever you are—if you're playing basketball, if you're playing baseball—those are good things. Recreation is good. God called His people to rest and to recreate.

You're working; God called His people to work. "Six days shall you labor, and the seventh you shall rest." You see, the command for the Sabbath is also a command for work. He says, "Do this." And whatever you do, do it all for His glory. People ask, "Why do you do it this way?" Because God saved me; I'm a Christian, and I do it for His glory. They say, "You're crazy." Yes, I am; I'm a fool for Christ.

Would to God that we would simplify and recognize that this is not all it's about, that we could focus on the Lord so that we can arise and go and be on mission for the Lord, loving.

Him, loving one another, loving the lost, enjoying His grace, and extending His glory in Escondido and the surrounding areas to the uttermost parts. Amen.

Let's stand and pray. Father, we thank You for Your Word. We pray that You would solidify these things in our hearts and that as we seek You this year, You would unfold to us just what it means to be on mission and to extend Your glory. We thank You that You have given us everything that we need to do so. You've empowered us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places.

So, Lord, stir us with a passion to do the work. For Your namesake, for Your glory, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.