9-25-2021 Seventh Day BAPTIST West Palm Beach FL Pastor Garfield “Repositioning to Radiate=Unite in Mercy & Grace, Acts 2;1-37, Ephesians 2;4-10, I Peter 5;10, II Corinthians 5;21, Psalm 51;1

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9-25-2021 Seventh Day BAPTIST West Palm Beach FL Pastor Garfield “Repositioning to Radiate=Unite in Mercy & Grace, Acts 2;1-37, Ephesians 2;4-10, I Peter 5;10, II Corinthians 5;21, Psalm 51;1

 

Every time I hear songs like Amazing Grace, I am reminded of where I was before and where I am today. I am reminded of how God repositioned my life. He warred, warred for my soul and He won me from the pit of hell. When I think of God’s grace and mercy, I am reminded that Satan is after my soul; he is after our souls. But my God is saying not on my watch because I Am the one who is merciful. This is why we praise God and this is why we give Him all the glory that is due to His Name.

Today our theme is to unite in mercy and grace. When you unite in mercy and grace, you are actually talking about the church coming together. Understand that when we come together as a body of believers, there are expectations and characteristics that are different from any other gathering of people. Remember and understand that when you are a part of the Church of God, the Universal Church, the West Palm Beach, 7^th Day Baptist Church, there are some things that characterize our coming together as a congregation. It is our reaching out as God intends that characterizes the freedom and liberty that we experience. This is the belonging that we share as a part of the Body of Christ.

Looking at Acts chapter 2, we see the new birth and redefining of God’s people and the beginning of the church of God. We see the broadening of God’s people in the church which is not only Israelites or Jews but everyone who walks the face of the earth and acknowledges Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This is the greatest movement on the face of the earth and in the universe. Being in the body of Jesus Christ, it is an honor to be a part of it.

In Ephesians 2;4-10 the text encapsulates the idea of Grace and Mercy culminating and coming into a brand new thing called Salvation. If you want to ask me the ingredients of Salvation, I would say one teaspoon of mercy mixed vigorously with one teaspoon of grace and added to that a dash of faith and you have Salvation. This is cooked at just room temperature and after a while you will have an amazing meal before you that surpasses anything else you could taste or feel or even imagine. Salvation is being defined as the gift of freedom from sin and the gift of Eternal Life through our Lord and Savior. A spoon of mercy, a spoon of grace and a dash of faith.

When we talk about mercy, we are talking about the idea of being pitied, the idea of someone having compassion on us. It speaks of the idea of unfailing Love, the ideal of forgiveness, the idea of a change of heart. The Bible tells us in Psalm 51;1, Have mercy on me oh God according to your unfailing love and compassion. The scripture goes on and says blot out my transgressions. Brothers and sisters, I want us to understand that it is this mercy and grace that brought us together as a congregation. Understand that when we sing, we are coming from the same place of sin and into this place of righteousness that is provided by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Brothers and sisters, mercy is something we don’t earn or deserve just like grace. It is extended to us because of a characteristic of our Lord and Creator. Grace on the other hand is the fundamental idea of something bestowed on us without price. Grace is something placed on us without even asking. Something placed on us because of the goodness of God. I remind you of the scripture I Peter 5;10. The God of Grace has called us into His eternal glory by Christ Jesus. The God of All Grace. United in mercy and grace speaks to how we are to operate in the congregation. This speaks to the things that a person sees when they look at our congregation, when they see how we live. As we position to radiate, we position closer to each other, that the others outside can experience the light of God. Unite in mercy and grace.

I will also remind you that mercy and grace are like two sides of the same coin. There is no way we can benefit without both, without mercy and salvation. Mercy withholds punishment from us and its grace that gives the blessings that we don’t deserve. Both of them working together bring us into this unity we have called the Church. Because we get the punishment withheld from us, we are blessed with things we don’t deserve. This is why it is important that as often as we can, we should reflect on this goodness of God.

Some of us may say that we were born in church. We would say that we may have sinned but it was nothing to talk about. But the reality is that even if you were born in church, even if you went to church every day of your life, without Jesus Christ you are still bound for hell. Without Jesus you still would not experience the full extent of His mercy and His grace. In the scripture II Corinthians 5;21, God made Jesus to be sin for us so we could be made the righteousness of God. By becoming the righteousness of God, it speaks on how I walk on a daily basis. It speaks on the relationship I share with my brothers and sisters. It speaks to my own desires for my church and how I pray for the people in the congregation. If I am this righteousness then the things that I will do will reflect the glory of God.

Brothers and sisters, the reality is that we are living in a world that has many trials and challenges. But as a church, as people of God, as believers in the Resurrection, we are offering another alternative. When you look for peace and acceptance in this world, you will be miserable. We want to offer an alternative to all people. The alternative is JESUS CHRIST. Just like the woman with the issue of blood and just like the family of Lazarus who thought he was dead, Jesus was AND is the alternative! There is NOTHING that is impossible with Jesus Christ. There is NOTHING that is too hard to handle when you have Jesus Christ!

 

AMEN