The Gift of Grace | Sunday, December 25, 2022

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Well, good morning! If you are tuning in on the day that this message is going live on YouTube, then it is Christmas morning. There’s no better way to begin than to say Merry Christmas! I hope that this has been a joyful season for you in all the lead-up to everything that goes on today as we celebrate Christmas.

I know that the holiday season can be a little bit stress-inducing. This time of year, there are guests to prepare for, all kinds of events to attend, and a lot of different purchases that we make—some that we’re really excited about and some that maybe we’re not so excited about. Traffic is obviously a bit crazier this time of year, and all of the activity happening in the stores is a bit more hectic. People seem to have, unfortunately, a little bit less patience and a little bit more on edge. There are also a lot of year-end deadlines for many people who call Cross Connection Church home, so things can get a little bit crazy.

But I pray that in the midst of all the craziness, you might enjoy and rejoice in what this holiday is truly all about. That’s what we have been aiming to do here at Cross Connection this Advent season. Over the last several weeks, we have been taking time to remember what all of this is about at Christmas time. Of course, it has been said for a very long time that Jesus is the reason for the season, and I hope that you know that is the case.

I hope that you realize that when Christ came, He came to bring a lot more than just salvation. It’s hard to even say "just salvation" because salvation is such an awesome and wonderful gift. But Christ brings to our lives, as the Scriptures make very clear, exceedingly great and precious promises. He brings these promises in abundance, in great riches—great riches of His grace.

As we have been looking at the Scriptures over the last several weeks, we see that we have every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. By and through Him, we have all things that pertain to life and godliness. What that means, as Peter writes in one of his letters, is that God has given to you and to me in Christ Jesus.

Everything that we need to live this life in a godly manner is found in Jesus Christ. Over the last few weeks, we have been discussing some of the gifts that we have received through Him. This is a topic we often revisit during Christmas, as the coming, or Advent, of Jesus signifies the arrival of all the things associated with Him. In Him is the fullness of God, and when Jesus comes into the world, He brings all that fullness with Him. The fullness of joy, the fullness of peace, the fullness of love—everything we need is found in Him.

It is beneficial to reflect on what we receive in Christ Jesus in fullness. What does it mean that we have every spiritual blessing in heavenly places? These blessings are not limited to the spiritual; they also include practical blessings. In our study of the Scriptures over the past several weeks, we have seen that our God loves to give good gifts. The Scriptures make it very clear: every good and perfect thing in our lives is ultimately a gift from our heavenly Father. It is the Father's good pleasure to give us these great things.

The gifts and blessings of God are according to the good pleasure of His will. As I have shared every single week, our heavenly Father gives us good gifts to enjoy. Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:17 that God gives us richly all things to enjoy. I have found, both in the Scriptures and in my own life, as well as in my observations of others, that our enjoyment of God's good gifts brings Him glory and praise.

Much like when you give your children or grandchildren a gift, you feel pleased to see their enjoyment of it. Their joy reflects back on you as a good gift giver. Similarly, our enjoyment of God's innumerable good gifts brings Him glory and praise, and that is as it should be. All the blessings that God has poured out upon us in abundance are to the praise of the glory of His grace, as Paul says in Ephesians chapter one.

The praise of the glory of God's grace is essential. Ultimately, as I've shared every single week, God's good gifts are intended to be shared by us with others. We do not receive God's gifts, His blessings, and His grace for ourselves only. They are not given to us to hoard and hold on to, nor are they meant for us to be arrogant or proud of. These gifts have been given to us to be a blessing to others.

Going all the way back to the first follower of God by faith, who was blessed with great blessings, God spoke to Abram, Abraham, in Genesis chapter 12. He said, "I’m going to bless you, and you shall be a blessing." That is God's intended desire in my life and in your life as well. He pours out His good gifts upon us for our joy and enjoyment, for His praise, and for us to be a blessing to others. This is a good thing because we learn from Christ that it is more blessed to give than to receive.

God has blessed you to be a blessing, and we have the awesome opportunity to bless other people. It is indeed more blessed to give than to receive. You know this if you've ever given a gift to someone—something you know they need or want—and seen their enjoyment of it. It is a wonderful reward to witness that joy. As Acts chapter 20, verse 35 records, it is more blessed to give than to receive.

At this point, it is worthwhile to ask a question. As we've been discussing some of the gifts of God and how our good God gives us His good gifts so that we might enjoy them, use them to praise His glory and grace, and share them with others, we should consider: How are you ministering or sharing the good gifts that God has given to you? Are you being a good steward of the manifold grace of God and using those gifts to bless other people?

God has blessed you. If you're a follower of Jesus today, you have every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. You have wonderful spiritual gifts that God has given to you, as well as amazing practical gifts, blessings, talents, and abilities that He has bestowed upon you. How are you using those things? Are you ministering them to one another as a good steward of the manifold grace of God?

As an aside, we learn from Jesus's teaching in the Gospels that there will be a day when we give an account.

As we wrap up our study today and prepare to step into the new year, 2023, I want to encourage you to take account of the ways that God has blessed you. Consider the spiritual abilities and talents He has given you, and think about how you are using those gifts for His purposes and for His kingdom. How are you stewarding them? How are you ministering and sharing them with others? These are important questions for us to reflect on.

Now, as we gather here on Christmas morning to conclude our series on God's gifts in 2022, I want to take a little time to discuss one more important and great gift that God has poured out upon us. This gift is given for our joy, enjoyment, and rejoicing. It is meant for the praise and glory of who He is, allowing us to use this gift to glorify Him. Additionally, He has given us this great gift to be a blessing to others and to share with those around us.

The gift we will talk about today may not come as a surprise, especially if you have been around Christians, the Bible, or the church for any length of time. In fact, this very gift is the root Greek word that is translated as "gift" multiple times in the New Testament. It is, in a sense, the source from which all other great gifts flow.

We read about this in the book of Ephesians, chapter one, beginning at verse seven. In Him, in Jesus, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. Notice that God made His grace abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself.

What a great passage of Scripture! On this Christmas morning, it teaches us a very simple truth: it has pleased God to make the riches of His grace abound to us. We see this clearly in verse nine, where it states that it has pleased God according to the good pleasure of His will. Indeed, it has pleased God to make the riches of His grace abound to us, as we see in verse seven.

To the riches of His grace, which He made to abound toward us. If you have been around church for any length of time, I don't think that I am sharing anything here that is new or novel. One of the greatest gifts from our great God, which we rejoice in, which we greatly take joy in and enjoy, which brings Him glory, and which we must share with others, is God's great grace.

But here's the awesome thing: He is rich in grace. There is no lack of grace with God. He has poured out His grace lavishly and in abundance upon you and upon me, and He wants you and I to pour out His grace lavishly and in abundance upon others as well.

Now, of course, in bringing up this whole discussion about the grace of God, it does beg the question: What exactly is grace? Well, there are a number of words that are associated with grace in the Scriptures. If you were to use a Greek New Testament and look up this word that is translated as grace in the New Testament, you would find that it is the Greek word "Charis." You would also find a number of words associated with it, such as goodwill, favor, blessing, care, and kindness.

It is often said that grace is unmerited and undeserved favor. It is an undeserved blessing and gift that bestows kind favor upon the recipient. Not only does it bestow kind favor upon the person who receives this unmerited and undeserved gift, but that gift also gives them favored status. Now they have a new position, a new favored status because of this great gift.

You and I, who were dead in trespasses and sins, have been given blessing and favor through and in Jesus Christ. Having been given this blessing and favor, this kindness of God, His grace has now given us a favored status before God. We are not just His servants and not just His friends, but actually His children. We now have the favored status of being God's children. We have access to God by grace. By grace, we have been saved. By grace, we have been made alive.

By grace, we have been granted access to come before God. By grace, we are redeemed, adopted, justified, and sanctified. Ultimately, by His grace, we will one day be glorified. This means we are going to receive a new body, a new likeness, to be with God for eternity. In Christ Jesus, we have all these wonderful graces given to us.

Grace is an unmerited, undeserved gift, favor, or kindness given to us. It transforms us and gives us a new favored status with God. This grace comes by Christ Jesus alone, from God, and by Christ Jesus alone. I would say it like this: Jesus is the sole source of the rich and abundant grace of God.

In the Gospel of John, the book opens with a beautiful prologue. Go read it later, maybe when you have some time. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the four gospels, but the fourth gospel, John, opens with this wonderful statement. In verse 17, it says, "For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."

Here at Cross Connection Church, for many months, in fact, a couple of years, we have been studying through the book of Deuteronomy. We have been looking in depth into the law of Moses. The law came by Moses, but grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ. The New Testament book of Romans, chapter 1, says that through Jesus, we have received grace.

Again, back in that same passage in John chapter 1, just before it says that grace came through Jesus Christ, it states in verse 16 that in Him and by Him, we receive grace upon grace. It’s like a helping upon a helping of grace, upon another helping of grace, upon another helping of grace. It’s as if God just continues to pour out His grace in abundance upon us in Jesus Christ.

So, what that means is that when we celebrate Advent, as we have been doing here over the last several weeks, and as we celebrate Christmas today, we are celebrating the coming into the world, the Advent of rich and abundant grace. It’s not just that we are celebrating the birth of Jesus the Christ, the one who was prophesied by Isaiah, Jeremiah, and other prophets in the Old Testament. It’s not just that we are celebrating the coming of the Savior into the world, but we are celebrating everything that comes with Him.

A couple of weeks ago, we talked about celebrating His love that comes to us in abundance. As I mentioned last week, we are also celebrating the hope that we have from Him—a hope that is sure and steadfast, that does not disappoint and serves as an anchor for our souls. We have that in Christ Jesus.

Today, we find that we have abundant grace upon grace upon grace that is given to us in Jesus Christ. This is an undeserved, unmerited gift and blessing that God has given to us in Him—a favored blessing of kindness that grants us a favored status. In Ephesians, Paul talks about this grace in a beautiful way. We find this in Ephesians chapter 2, beginning at verse 4:

"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses and sins, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved, and He raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."

Some of the most famous words of the Bible are found in Ephesians chapter 2. Many people know verses 8 and 9: "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." These are such important key verses, and I hope you might consider committing them to memory.

What precedes those verses is also significant. God is rich in mercy; He is rich in great love. He loved us with that great love, and by His love and grace, He has made us alive in Christ. In the future, in the ages to come—that is, in eternity—when God creates a new heaven and a new earth, He is going to reveal to us the exceeding greatness of His grace and kindness toward us through Jesus Christ.

God's grace in Christ Jesus is the only path to eternal life and blessing. Eternal life and blessing are only found in and through Jesus Christ and the grace that God gives to us through Him. This grace has been freely and abundantly given to us. We celebrate that when we celebrate Christmas. That is an important thing for us to remember.

There is a time to give gifts, spend time with family, and remember Jesus's birth. Even if He was or wasn't born on this day, we are not just celebrating that; we are celebrating that Christmas is a reminder that God has freely and abundantly given us the riches of His grace. By His grace, we have, as the Scriptures make very clear, everlasting comfort and good hope.

Look at this passage of Scripture in Thessalonians. Paul writes in Second Thessalonians, chapter two: "Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation or comfort and good hope by grace." Where does everlasting comfort and good hope come from? By grace. "May He comfort your hearts and establish you in every good work." Everlasting comfort and good hope are products of God's grace.

As a Christian, when you receive the grace of God, you have the absolute certainty that you have everlasting comfort and good hope. His grace is awesome; it is good. One of the amazing things about the grace of God, which I was thinking about this last week in my own devotions, is that it transforms us and trains us unto righteousness.

In the New Testament book of Titus, chapter two, it tells us that God's grace brings salvation. Look at this in Titus, chapter two, verse eleven: "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men." The advent of the grace of God has come to us. His grace, verse twelve, teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. We should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.

Sometimes people think that the law is the teacher that instructs us on how to live righteous, sober, good lives. However, the law just shows us how sinful we are and how in need of grace we are. But when God's grace comes into our lives, it teaches us how to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age. By God's grace, we become more righteous.

It is God's grace that trains us for righteousness. Not only that, but by God's grace, we become ministers of His grace for others. Again, Paul writes to the church at Ephesus. I keep going back to Ephesians; it's a really great book that talks about a...

A lot about the grace of God is discussed in Ephesians chapter 3. Paul says that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs of the same body and partakers of His promise, God's promise in Christ through the gospel. Here, he is talking about how Gentiles, non-Jewish people, become heirs and partakers of God's promises in Christ through the good news of the gospel.

In verse 7, Paul states, "Of which I became a minister, a minister of the gospel according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power." What is Paul saying there in that passage? Simply this: God's grace enabled Paul to be a minister of that grace for others.

God's grace saves us. It gives us a favored status and makes us accepted before Him as His children. God's grace works in us to become more righteous in the way that we live. Then, God's grace enables us to be ministers of that grace to other people. As Jesus taught His earliest disciples while sending them out to minister, He said, "Freely you have received; freely give," in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 10.

If you are a recipient of the grace of God today in Jesus Christ because you have trusted in Him, you have received that grace freely, and you are to freely give it to others. It is very likely that you either already have given and received gifts today or you will exchange gifts on Christmas Day. May it be that you freely and richly give the greatest and most essential gift that Christmas commemorates to other people: the gift of God's abundant grace in Jesus Christ.

God has freely and abundantly blessed you with His great grace so that you would freely and abundantly bless others with the same. On this day, December 25, 2022, may you be freely and abundantly giving the gift of grace to other people.

Hopefully, this will not only be the case today. December 25 is a great day to remember the grace of God given to us in Jesus Christ as we celebrate His birth. It is a wonderful day to give gifts to others, including sharing the grace of God. However, this should not be the only day we share that good news of His grace with others.

God has commissioned us to be ministers of His grace to others. You are, as the Apostle Paul was 2,000 years ago, an ambassador of the grace of God. It's hard to believe, but next Sunday begins a new year. 2023 is upon us, and it's my hope that 2023 may be a year in which we, as a church body and as followers of Christ, more effectively bestow the grace of God upon others freely and abundantly.

Here at Cross Connection Church, beginning next week, we're going to start a short four-week series in the Old Testament Book of Jonah. In this book, we meet a reluctant prophet named Jonah. He was a reluctant prophet, as we will see as we study through this four-chapter Old Testament book. Jonah was reluctant because God called him to share a message of divine judgment among the Assyrians. At that moment, the Assyrians were a rising power that was going to destroy the nation that Jonah loved. God said to Jonah, "I want you to go to those very people who are going to destroy your people, and I want you to share a message of divine judgment."

Jonah didn't want to do it. He did not want to go and tell the Assyrians about God's coming judgment because he was worried that they might heed the message of judgment, repent, and turn to God. He feared that God would be merciful and gracious to a people he actually wanted God to destroy.

Don't be like Jonah. Don't be a reluctant minister of the grace of God. Freely you have received; freely give. Don't fall into the trap of thinking, "I don't want to give the grace of God to those people. They're wicked, and they hate God." No, those are the people who need the grace of God. Remember, there was a time when you did not have grace, and boy, did you need it. So, freely you have received; freely give.

On this Christmas Day 2022, I just want to challenge and encourage you to do that. There are people around you every single day, maybe even today as you're celebrating Christmas, who have not received the grace of God. God has given it to you in abundance—the grace that saves you, the grace that gives you access, the grace by which you stand, the grace by which God is transforming you into the man or the woman that He desires you to be. That grace is freely given to you so that you would freely give it to others. Grace upon grace—that's the gift that we need to share this Christmas Day.

Father God, I pray that you would give us boldness by Your Spirit.

To share the good news of Your grace with someone, at least one person today, God, give us boldness. Give us that opportunity and the eyes to see that opportunity to share Your love, Your kindness, Your hope, Your joy, Your peace, Your rest, and Your grace. For we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Christ the Lord, the newborn King.

Thanks for joining us for our online service.

Service today, as we close, we would love to invite you to our on-campus service here at Cross Connection Church at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. every Sunday. If you'd like more information about Cross Connection Church, make sure you check it out at lifeinconnection.com.

Good morning, Cross Connection, and Merry Christmas! It is a joyful day, and we are so glad that you could join us for services this morning.

I only have one announcement for you. Next week, with New Year's Day, we will have only one church service, just like today. I hope to see you at 10:30 here in the sanctuary so we can ring in the New Year together.

Between now and New Year's Day, our church office will be closed. I can't wait to see you all and ring in the New Year with you!