October 15. ourspace.comeasyouare

Ourspace: come as you are October 15, 2006

Text: Romans 15:7, Ephesians 2:8, Romans 8:1, john 8:2-11, romans 2:4 (i put all the scriptures at the bottom of the blog)

Point: Creating a Come as you are culture.

Series: ourspace, expanding our network.

Big questions: From what posture do we invite people; increase our community? Who do we invite?

NOTE: This is a very rough draft. Pardon the spelling mistakes. You should get a very basic idea of where I'm going with this message. Please take the time to open a google account before you respond (my wife wrote her comment then tried to post it. It then told her she needed a google account. She signed up for the account - it's easy - but lost what she typed). Need help knowing how to respond? What do/should these verses mean to a non-believer? A 'sold-out' believer? Do you agree with the difference between grace and tolerance? would you say it different? Do you have a story of non-grace in your life? been hurt by judgmental christians? Dissagree with me completely? Moved to tears? Do you have a piece of art or music or story that speaks to this topic? I have other illustrations to use and I'll probably sing a song called "as i am" as my own artistic connection to the topic. (not an original song - although some of you know of an original of the same title)

MESSAGE:

GRACE, beyond tolerance:
Ephesians 2:8 – saved by Grace

Grace says “God accepts you and loves you unconditionally”. – AS IS.
We know that God loves every human being on the planet.
We can’t do anything to make God love us less or more.
Then why does the church get the label of not being TOLERANT?

“The world can do almost anything as well or better than the church. You need not be a Christian to build houses, feed the hungry, or heal the sick. There is only one thing the world cannot do. It cannot offer grace” – Gordon MacDonald.

The Buddhist eight-fold path
The Hindu doctrine of Karma
The Jewish covenant
The Muslim code of law

All these show ways to EARN approval.

Grace says that God accepts you JUST AS YOU ARE. Right now.

TOLERANCE: a cheap substitute for Grace.

Tolerance: “sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one’s own.”

The idea of tolerance implies putting up with something that you don’t like or don’t value. Tolerance is such a buzz word today.

Why is tolerance a cheap substitute? Tolerance doesn’t value people only puts up with behavior or beliefs. Tolerance deals with differences, but doesn’t embrace people for their good and bad parts. Because tolerance can’t label something as “bad” or “wrong” or “sinful”. Tolerance doesn’t embrace both Justice and Mercy; grace does.

God is the most tolerant being in the universe.
Romans 2:4 – contempt for Gods ‘tolerance’? it’s his kindness that leads to repentance.

God does tolerance and more. We should do the same.

GRACE MEANS THAT WE DON’T FIX PEOPLE
I’m trying to teach our new leaders and you to give up trying to fix people – it’s not our job. -- - it’s God’s job.

If you saw the mona lisa covered in mud, you wouldn’t focus on how bad the mud is but rather how valuable the painting is. On the flip-side, if you saw one of my paintings covered in mud, there would be no value in spending anytime trying to clean it – a waste of time.

Back to the mona lisa – you’d be excited and nervous to have something so valuable in your care. You shouldn’t try to clean it up yourself, but you should take the art to a master who could guide the restoration process. That’s a picture of Grace.

People are to be introduced to God who is the master of restoration.

ACCEPTANCE
Romans 15:7 – acceptance
Acceptance is the most tangible way to show grace
How accepted to you think people feel when they come to church?
How can we accept people who come to our church?

THE RISKS
People will use ‘grace’ as a license to sin more and more – I’ll take that risk.
People will confuse acceptance as agreement. Acceptance isn’t an agreement of people’s choices, beliefs or behaviors.
If God is willing to take these risks, shouldn’t we?

NO CONDEMNATION:
Romans 8:1, John 3:17

God’s plan isn’t to condemn people. God’s plan is to show Grace that will FREE us.

How do we put skin on this kind of Grace?

John 8:2-11
Beyond tolerance, a story of Grace.
She was brought into the temple courts, made to stand before the crowds. The ‘church’ people exposed her shameful faults for the world to see.
3 things Jesus did
1. He drew attention to himself by drawing in the ground
2. He leveled the playing field “he who is without sin”
3. Without condemning, he told her to leave her life of sin.

The Grace that jesus showed her, by leveling the playing field and drawing the attention away from her… allowed him to acknowledge the wrong (sinful) in her life, while still accepting her.

everyone finds beauty in this story, yet jesus called sin sin. Grace is that powerful. I think it's hard to condemn when I remember my own sins, faults, hang-ups, and insecurities.... maybe my problem is when i think i'm 'without sin'?

Romans 15 Read This Chapter
15:7
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

Ephesians 2 Read This Chapter
2:8
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--

Romans 8 Read This Chapter
8:1
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,


Romans 2 Read This Chapter
2:4
Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?


John 8 Read This Chapter
8:2
At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.
8:3
The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group
8:4
and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.
8:5
In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?"
8:6
They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.
8:7
When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."
8:8
Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
8:9
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.
8:10
Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
8:11
"No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."