Download Grace Revealed and Received in the Person of Jesus by Bobby

Grace Revealed and Received
in the Person of Jesus
by Bobby Deason
Church of Christ
Qingdao, China
16 May , 2015
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This is my Bible. I am what it says
I am, I have what it says I have, I
can do what it says I can do.
Today I’ll be taught the Word of
God. I boldly confess my mind is
alert, my heart is receptive, I’ll
never be the same, in Jesus name.”
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Max Lucado
GRACE
• MORE THAN WE DESERVE
• GREATER THAN WE IMAGINE
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DO WE REALLY UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF
GRACE?
“We talk as though we understand the term. The
bank gives us a grace period. The seedy politician
falls from grace.
Musicians speak of a grace note. We describe an
actress as gracious, a dancer as graceful. We use the
word for hospitals, baby girls, kings, and pre-meal
prayers. We talk as though we know what grace
means.
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GRACE
More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine
by Max Lucado, Cont’d
• But do we really understand it? Have we settled for
wimpy grace? It politely occupies a phrase in a hymn,
fits nicely on a church sign. Never causes trouble or
demands a response. When asked, “Do you believe in
grace?” who could say no?
• Max Lucado asks a deeper question: Have you been
changed by grace? Shaped by grace? Strengthened by
grace? Emboldened by grace? Softened by grace?
Snatched by the back of your neck and shaken to
your senses by grace?
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GRACE
Max Lucado, Cont’d
• God’s grace has a drenching about it. A wildness about it.
A white-water, riptide, turn-you-upside-downness about
it. Grace comes after you. It rewires you. From insecure to
God secure. From regret riddled to better-because-of-it.
From afraid to die to ready to fly.
• Grace is the voice that calls us to change and then gives us
the power to pull it off. “Christ in you the hope of glory!”
(Col. 1:27)
• Let’s make certain grace gets us. Heb. 12:15 “
• God gives us a new heart, Ezk. 36:26. New Birth by Grace.
• Todd, Tara and Taylor Storch - Patricia Winters 2010 (Lucado
Grace, p. 8 kindle)
The heart of Jesus beats within us, Gal. 2:20.
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Grace Revealed in the Person of Jesus.
“The Word became flesh and made his
dwelling among us. We have seen his glory,
the glory of the One and Only, who came
from the Father, full of grace and truth. 16
From the fullness of his grace we have all
received one blessing after another. 17 For
the law was given through Moses; grace and
truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:14,
16-17)
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Grace Revealed in the Person of Jesus, Cont’d.
3.For the grace of God that brings salvation has
appeared to all men, 12 It teaches us to say
"No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and
to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives
in this present age, 13 while we wait for the
blessed hope-- the glorious appearing of our
great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who
gave himself for us to redeem us from all
wickedness and to purify for himself a people
that are his very own, eager to do what is
good, (Titus 2:11-14).
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Jesus’ Death is God’s Grace Gift
to us all
But we see Jesus, who was made a
little lower than the angels, now
crowned with glory and honor because
he suffered death, so that by the grace
of God he might taste death for
everyone, Hebrews 2:9.
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II Corinthians 4:13-15
• 13 It is written: "I believed; therefore I have
spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also
believe and therefore speak,
• 14 because we know that the one who raised the
Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with
Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
• 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace
that is reaching more and more people may
cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of
God.
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SAVED BY GRACE
“To be saved by grace is to be
saved by him— not by an idea or
a doctrine or a creed, or church
membership, but by
Jesus himself.”
John 5:39-40
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We Must Receive the Gift
The Redemptive Grace of God Has
Now Been Revealed in the Person of
Jesus Christ the Lord.
We Must Receive God’s Gift Of
Grace, By Faith, Repentance And A
New Birth, John 3:3-5; Acts 2:22-41.
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The Gospel is the Good News about God’s
Grace Revealed and Received In Jesus Christ.
1. Our pioneer preachers had a way of saying that the
gospel consists of:
a. Three facts to be believed — the death, burial,
and resurrection of Christ.
b. Three commands to be obeyed — faith,
repentance, baptism.
c. Three promises to be enjoyed — Forgiveness of
Sins, the Gift of the Holy Spirit and Eternal Life.
d. I don’t think they or we have given proper place
to the grace of God. So let’s make it clear that
the facts, the commands and the promises of
the gospel are all by grace.
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The Adequate Gift of GRACE
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Called by grace – 2 Tim. 1:9; 2 Thess. 2:14
Believe by grace – Acts 18:27
Repent by grace – Acts 11:18; 2 Tim. 2:24-25
Obedience by grace – Rom. 1:5; Tit. 3:4-7
Saved by grace through faith – Eph. 2:8-9
Instructed by grace – Tit. 2:11-14
Work by grace – I Cor. 15:10; Eph. 2:10; Phil.
2:13
• Rewarded by grace – 2 Thess. 2:13-17
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The Gospel is the Good News of God’s Grace
Revealed and Received In Jesus Christ, Cont’d.
Let’s also make it clear what the gospel is.
The gospel is not everything in the New
Testament, and it is certainly not all the
theories and deductions drawn by us.
It is rather the good news of God’s saving
grace offered through the shed blood of Jesus.
It is the declaration that Jesus is risen from
the dead. It is the announcement that Jesus is
alive forever and is Lord of all.
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“IT IS MY DESTINY!”
E. Our Reception of the Revealed Savior
should be: Jesus Focused, Grace Oriented
and Love Motivated as we make our way to
our final destination. We have a destiny.
We have been created for High and Holy
Purposes (Cf. Phil. 3:10-11, 13-14, 20-21).
Anna in Bratislava, Slovakia 1992 – I asked
her, “are you going to be a professional
Cellist like your father?” She said….
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JESUS FOCUSED…
GRACE ORIENTED…
LOVE MOTIVATED.
A Motto For Obtaining The Love
and Grace Of The Unity Of The
Spirit Among All Believers
In Christ Jesus.
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The Apple of His Eye
Deut. 32:10; Psa. 17:8; Prov.7:2;
Zech. 2:8
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"Little Man of the Eye."
• The original Hebrew for this idiom was 'iyshown 'ayin (‫)אישון עין‬,
and can be literally translated as "Little Man of the Eye." This is a
reference to the tiny reflection of yourself that you can see in other
people's pupils. Other KJV translations of the word 'iyshown
include dark and obscure, as a reference to the darkness of the
pupil.
• This Hebrew idiom is surprisingly close to the Latin version, pupilla,
which means a little doll, and is a diminutive form of pupus, boy, or
pupa, girl (the source also for our other sense of pupil to mean a
schoolchild.) It was applied to the dark central portion of the eye
within the iris because of the tiny image of oneself, like a puppet or
marionette, that one can see when looking into another person's
eye.
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JESUS FOCUSED
• The Focal and Pivotal Point Of God’s Revealed
Word, The Bible, To Man Is:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
1. Jesus  Genesis 3:15, 22:18 cf Galatians 3:16
2. Jesus  Matthew 17:4-8 cf 2 Peter 1:16ff
3. Jesus  Luke 24:27ff
4. Jesus  John 12:21
5. Jesus  1 Corinthians 15:1-4
6. Jesus  Hebrews 12:1-4 cf 1:3, 8; 3:1
7. Jesus  Revelation 1:8; 22:16
Jesus is the Crimson Thread from Gen. 3 – Rev. 22
In 1226 Verses In The New Testament Jesus’
Name Is Mentioned 1266 Times.
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The Anticipation Of Both Angels And
Prophets: “The Fullness Of The Times”.
• The Anticipation Realized: The Messiah,
Jesus The Son Of God Revealed!
•
•
•
•
1.
2.
3.
4.
1 Peter 1:10-12
Hebrews 1:1-5
John 1:1-18; 5:39-40
Acts 4:12
• The Entire Biblical Testimony Focuses On
Jesus Christ!
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The Anticipation Of Both Angels And
Prophets:
“The Fullness Of The Times” Summarized.
1. The Law was focused on Jesus Christ.
2. The Psalms were focused on Jesus
Christ.
3. The Prophets were focused on Jesus
Christ.
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The Entire Biblical Testimony Focuses
On Jesus Christ, Cont’d.
4.
The angels were focused on Jesus
Christ.
5.
God, the Father, was focused on Jesus
Christ.
6.
The Holy Spirit’s focus was on Jesus
Christ.
7.
The Apostle’s/N.T. Writer’s focus was
on Jesus Christ.
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On What Or Whom Are You Focused?
• To what or whom are you looking?
“Doctrinal” fixation?
“Problems of the church” fixation?
“Issues” fixation?
“Traditions of men” fixation?
“A fixation of a ‘famous’ person”?
“A fixation of Self”?
• Do you see Him? Are your thoughts and
eyes fixed on Him?
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My Motto, - A Short Phrase With A
Guiding Principle, A Goal - Is To Be:
• Jesus Focused,
• Grace Oriented and
• Love Motivated
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Why Grace and Love Are
Minimized?
• Until Jesus is in focus GRACE will not
be understood, appreciated, properly
received and administrated.
• Only when Jesus is one’s focus will it
be possible to LOVE, that is
“to love as he loves.”
(John 13:34-35)
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FIX YOUR EYES ON JESUS!
• All human problems, within and
without the Church Body of Christ,
are due to a blurred and distorted
view;
• a cock-eyed view, a wrong focus.
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WITH JESUS IN FOCUS WE WILL BE:
• Firmly rooted in God’s Word in our hearts.
• Solidly founded on “God’s righteousness.”
• Joyful recipients of His grace.
• Desiring to be obedient to His will.
• Thankfully humble and grateful.
• Gracious, kind, long-suffering and
accepting of all fellow-believers.
• Non-judgmental, not contentious but
forgiving to all.
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WE SHALL BE LIKE JESUS,
OUR MASTER, CALLS US TO BE:
• one who is poor in spirit,
• meek,
• mourns,
• hungering for His righteousness
• merciful,
• pure in heart and
• a peace-maker
(Matthew 5:1-16)
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BEING JESUS FOCUSED…
…We Shall Be Like Him, Our Lord and
Master, Truly “Salt and Light”…
• …Seeing one another as Jesus sees us.
• …Seeing ourselves as Jesus sees us.
• …Being and becoming more like Jesus.
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“JESUS FOCUSED.”
Concluding Thoughts

• Let Christ remain what He is, namely the
center, while various circles surround Him.
• “Do not infect that heavenly philosophy of Christ
with human decrees.
Do not remove the target from
its position.”
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“His Grace Reaches Me”
Grace is Received in Lavish
Abundance on Us.
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Grace Received in Lavish Abundance On Us
Through Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:4-8)
For he chose us in him before the creation of the
world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5
he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through
Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will- to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has
freely given us in the One he loves.
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the
forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of
God's grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom
and understanding.
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LAVISHED (Gk. Perisseuo)
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
Super Abundance
Overflow
More than Enough
Over and Above the Top
Inundated
Flooded Over
Abound
Totally Covered
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Our God is:
The God of More than Enough. The
God of Superlatives. The God of
Lavish Abundance. The God who
“so” loved He gave. The God of
surpassing grace. The God of the
indescribable GIFT.
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A MORAL LESSON
• A mother was preparing pancakes for her
sons, Kevin 5, and Ryan 3. The boys
began to argue over who would get the
first pancake.
• Their mother saw the opportunity for a
moral lesson. “If Jesus were sitting here,
He would say, ‘Let my brother have the
first pancake, I can wait.”
• Kevin turned to his younger brother and
said, “Ryan, you be Jesus!”
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Thank You Jesus!
We Love You So Much!
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Concluding Statements
• God’s eternal Grace Plan is all about HIM
and our relationship to HIM IN CHRIST JESUS.
• Jesus’ prayer, John 17:3 – “Now this is eternal
life: that they may know you, the only true
God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
(“To know” is intimacy)
• Do we know God as our Father, Jesus as our
Savior, and the Holy Spirit as our indwelling
presence of God?
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JESUS FOCUSED…
GRACE ORIENTED…
LOVE MOTIVATED.
A Motto For Obtaining The Love and
Grace Of The Unity Of The Spirit
Among All Believers In Christ Jesus.
Larry Deason
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YOU HAVE RECEIVED HIS GRACE SHARE IT
I PETER 4:10
• Go Make Disciples (Matt. 28:18 – 20)
• BE THE INCARNATION OF JESUS – HIS BODY!
“Christ in you the Hope of Glory” (Col. 1:27)
• MAKE THE TEACHING OF JESUS – ATTRACTIVE
(Titus 2:10)
• SHINE LIKE STARS – AS YOU HOLD OUT THE
WORD OF LIFE (Phil. 2:15-16).
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“Let us fix our
eyes on Jesus,
the Author and
Perfecter of
our faith…”
(Hebrews 12:2)
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FIX YOUR EYES ON JESUS AND YOU WILL BE
TRANSFORMED INTO HIS LIKENESS WITH
EVER INCREASING GLORY,
(HEB. 12:2; 2 COR. 3:18).
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THE END
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What the Gospel is and Isn’t.
2. It is important that we distinguish between the gospel
and the apostles’ teaching. One is the message of
salvation that the crucified Christ is the risen Lord; the
other is instruction in the teaching of the apostles. (See
I Cor. 15:1-4)
3. As we place more emphasis on grace, let us make clear
that while grace and works (to be saved) are incompatible, grace and obedience are not incompatible. Grace
to be enjoyed, calls for a response - obedience.
4. This is why the apostle twice in Romans refers to the
“obedience of faith.” Obedience is not a work, but a
response to grace. Faith, repentance and baptism -responses to the gospel -- are “acts of grace,” as
Alexander Campbell called them. (Eph. 2:8-10)
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