Good morning. You'll see if you're looking at the back page of the bulletin there, well the inside of that, that our subject this morning is grace. And the title of today's sermon is The Gift of God's Grace. Now if there is a word which has been misunderstood by many of us, it's that word grace. I would say grace. You would say grace. You get the word, okay? We're just going to have to forgive the accent. But maybe you think when you hear that word grace of the hymn, Amazing Grace. Maybe you've seen the movie Amazing Grace. It's excellent. All about the guy who wrote it. That's him. Maybe you think of the word grace as something which happens in church, maybe if you come from a Roman Catholic background, you will think of grace as the thing which happens at the Eucharist, where God's presence is there in the mass. Now, as Reformed people, we don't believe that that's the case, but what does the word mean? Maybe you think of the prayer you say before you have something to eat. Where I come from in Ireland and in the UK, that's what the word grace is often used as. And for what we're about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful. Sometimes people pray that before a sermon. That's another story altogether. Or maybe, maybe you think of, and this again is something in the UK, particularly and in Ireland. When people talk about the grace, they mean the benediction at the end of the service. And sometimes people will actually stand up together and say the words of the grace together. They're words taken from 2 Corinthians 13, verse 14. Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore. They adapt the prayer because it's communal in that kind of way. Maybe that's what you think of when you hear that word grace. True story. My friend Sue, she'd just become a Christian. And she went to a church where that's exactly what happened at the end of the service. The rector or the pastor would say, let's say the words of the grace. And so they dutifully said those words to one another. A few weeks later, she was asked around to a friend's house for a meal. They said to her, Sue, can you say grace? You know where this is going, don't you? Can you say grace as we begin? And she went, sure. Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and so she went through it, and everybody dutifully went, Amen, and sat down and ate the food. A guy called Alec Meteer put it this way, Bible words have Bible meanings, and grace is a great Bible word. We need God's help to understand what it is we're gonna be thinking about today. I'm gonna pray for us. Let's ask for his help together. Let's all pray. Our gracious heavenly Father, thank you indeed that you are a God full of grace. Please would you help us today to understand more about what this word means and what it means to live in light of your grace, and as recipients of that grace. Help us, we ask in Jesus' name, as we look at your word, speak to us, we ask. Please help me, help all of us. We pray these things in Jesus' name, for his sake, amen. Please can you turn with me in the Bibles to page 1,242. It's to Ephesians chapter two. Ephesians chapter two. We're continuing on in our series in Ephesians today and we're beginning looking at chapter two. You might remember in the context Paul has just prayed this extraordinary prayer that people would know God more, they'd know his power at work in their lives. And then Paul talks about the nature of that power, how it raised Christ from the dead and has seated him in the place above all other places. And now Paul talks about what the Ephesians were like before they knew Jesus. So then Ephesians chapter 2 verses 1 through to 10 page 1242. And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace, you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. So that in the coming ages, he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing. It's the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Now, Paul's aim here is to encourage the Ephesian Christians to get the gift, not just to understand this gift of God's grace, but actually to receive it. Not just to know it, know about it, but actually to know it in their hearts and in their lives as God's spirit works in them. Four headings that are gonna help us today as we work our way through this passage. First of all, remember how you once walked. Secondly, realize God's power at work in you. Thirdly, accept God's gift. Fourthly, adopt God's work in your new walk. Let me just say those again and you'll hear them again as we go through. Remember how you once walked. Realize God's power at work in you. Thirdly, accept God's gift. And lastly, adopt God's work in your new walk. So then the first of those four headings, remember how you once walked. That's verses one to three of Ephesians chapter two. Now that term walked, it's used in verse three, effectively means how you used to live. Paul uses that word in that kind of a way regularly. We're going to see that later on in the book of Ephesians. So what he's talking about here is not the, kind of way in which you just kind of walked along. You know how we've all got our own individual walk. You can tell a Kennedy a mile off, we kind of lurch and lead with our head. And other people walk in different kinds of ways. What he's talking about is your lifestyle. This is how you used to live and breathe and have your being. And actually it's a very dark picture he paints here in verses one to three. Because there's a paradox that goes on. Paul says here, before you understood grace, before you got grace, you weren't living. In fact, you were dead, spiritually dead. Look at verse one of our passage. You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, says Paul. Now, if you were at Al Zeller's memorial service yesterday, you might remember we talked about something similar from the story of Jesus raising a man from the dead, Lazarus. And we talked about how what Lazarus was physically was a picture of what we're all like spiritually. Lazarus was physically dead in the tomb. That's a picture of you and me without God in our lives, says Paul. And he goes on to develop what that death looks like. We were driven. Notice the number of times he talks about things we used to follow, following the course of this world. That's the agenda of those who live as though God isn't true. I heard this week that recent estimates are that there are now over 300 million people on Snapchat, 335 million on Twitter, 1 billion on Instagram and more than 2 billion on Facebook. Now I'm not suggesting that social media is all bad, but it can be abused. And so many people are following the agenda of a world without God on social media. A guy called Cal Newport in his book, Deep Work, observes it this way. Once you're wired for distraction, you crave it. Do you hear that language? You crave the distraction. We're following after it. We're driven by it. Now, it may not be that we're driven by social media in that kind of a way, but many of us talk about that get up and go, gotta do, can do attitude, that inner drive, which drives everybody else to distraction, frankly, because we just seem to be obsessed with getting things done my way or it's the highway. And coupled with that drivenness, says Paul, is the devil. Do you see it there? Verse two, he talks about the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. And Paul, it makes no bones about it. He asserts the reality of the devil. Remember, Ephesians is a very spiritually minded book in the sense that it's all about who God is, What's going on in the heavenly places, that invisible but real place where the Lord Jesus rules and where there are those powers and those principalities against God, still at work. Jesus calls the devil the father of lies. And what's the first lie that the devil says in the Bible? Did God really say? Chapter three of Genesis. And so much of what we hear today is shaped by that lie. Did God really say this? You can't really believe the Bible, can you? Don't wanna take it too seriously, do we? Even in churches. I know of a pastor who had experienced people saying, you can't really believe the miracles happened, can you? C.S. Lewis famously said that one of the devil's greatest lies is to say that he doesn't exist. But Ephesians recognizes the real unseen spiritual world. We are driven. We're driven by the devil. And we're also, as a result of that, driven too by the flesh, says Paul. Do you see it? Craving, carrying out, following the passions of the flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind. What he's talking about here is those parts of us that want to rebel against God and have our own way and say it's my way all the time. Another commentator put it this way, I don't need to teach my toddler the word mine. We know it. And we, says Paul, are dead, we are driven, by the world, the devil, and the flesh, and we deserve God's wrath. Do you see it there in verse three? When Paul talks about God's wrath, it's not as if God is flying off the handle at us. He doesn't lose the rag in some kind of irascible kind of a manner. It's his settled anger, his just anger. against our rebellion. And we mustn't shy away from the justice of God that will not sweep our rebellion under the carpet. God is not indifferent toward us. He's not indifferent toward you. And Paul makes it clear that we're all like that, without exception. Do you see it? We were by nature, children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. So what I'm saying here is not passing judgment on anyone as if I'm somehow superior. I'm talking about myself here, as is Paul talking about himself. We were all like that. And if we want to get grace, we need to remember how we once walked. But the good news of Christianity doesn't stop there. That brings us to the second heading then. Secondly, realize God's power at work in you. Look at verses four through to six there with me. The contrast between the first three verses and the next three couldn't be bigger, could it? We, says Paul, we're helpless. completely helpless. And he stresses how helpless we were, verse five, even when we were dead in our trespasses, God acted. Because we were helpless, but look who does all of the work here, verses four to six. God being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead, made us alive together with Christ. Now I want us to notice these verbs that are used here. There's some together with verbs. It's this idea that, God, who is rich in mercy, full of love, acts in this kind of a way. And he explains it very clearly here in terms of the ways in which we are united with Christ. So do you see there, verse four, sorry, verse five, we are raised up with him. We are seated with him in the heavenly places. We have been made alive together with Christ, verse five. The point that's being made here is that we're all in this together with Christ. Look at those three verbs again. We were made alive. We were raised up. We were seated with, with, with. Why am I going on about this? Turn back with me to chapter one, verse 20. Paul's just been praying. And look at verse 19. He's been talking about how we might know God's power. According to the working of his great might, that he worked in Christ when he did what? When he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places. See the connection? The point that's being made here is that what God did for Jesus, he does for you. What is true of Jesus is now true of you and me. What God did for Christ, he does for you and me because we are in Christ. And you remember the context? Paul's been praying that they would know God more. They would know more of God's power and they would specifically know more of his resurrecting power. And here Paul describes how that resurrecting power is now at work in them. To the extent, says Paul, we, we've been made alive. We were dead, but because Jesus is alive, we are alive. We've been raised. We are now, do you see it? Verse six, raised with him and seated with him in the heavenly places. We can therefore claim his authority as we struggle with sin and all that would rule over us in this life because of who he is and what he has done. Now, bear with me on this illustration. Do you remember the day the Eagles won the Super Bowl, 2017? Some of us think about it with teary, misty eyes, don't we? I remember I was watching it back in Ireland I watched the parade through the city, up to the art museum, where there were thousands gathered, where they had to, I think, grease the pools to make sure that no one climbed up them. It didn't stop people. Do you know what it was like? There were thousands there. I remember watching Nick Foles score the greatest trick play touchdown in Super Bowl history. Now, as far as I'm aware, and I'm sure you remember this as well, No one in Lansdale Presbyterian Church, as far as I know, is on the roster for the Philadelphia Eagles. Now, I know that some of you work out. I know that some of you are pretty fit, but none of us are going to cut it, really. Let's be honest, shall we? But here's the thing. When the Eagles won, what was it we all said? We won. We've done it. Now, none of you guys have got the physique of Nick Fools. None of you played that trick play, but what is it we all said? We've won. The thousands that were in front of the art museum, what did we all say? We've won. Had we done it? No. They did, the Eagles did, but we've won. That's the sense of what Paul's getting at here. We've won because he has won. And because we are in Christ, what he does counts for us. And so you who used to be dead, are now alive in Christ. He is alive, and that counts for us. He has dealt with the world. He has dealt with the flesh. He has dealt with the devil, and that counts for us. He is the one who satisfies God's just judgment on the way we treat God. And that counts for us. We won because he has won. And so we need to realize God's together in Christ power at work in us if we're gonna get grace. Which brings us to the third heading. Remember how you once walked. Realize God's power. at work anew. And thirdly, accept God's You can see verse five, it's by grace you've been saved. Verse seven, we're told that in the future the watching universe will see the immeasurable richness of his grace and kindness to us in Christ Jesus. And then verse eight again, by grace you have been saved. Through faith, that means by trusting in what Jesus has done. It's all what God does. It's all what Jesus does for us on the cross. All of this says Paul, all of this is of his doing. Verse 8, it's the gift of God. It's a gift. We were spiritually dead, but God acts. How does he do it? By giving us his son. by sending his son Jesus Christ to die in our place on a Roman cross. Why does he do it? What motivates him to do it? Well, you see it again and again and again. It's because he is rich in mercy, because he is full of love, because he has compassion. It's all about God's incredible, immeasurable, infinite, always and forever love for you and me. And if we're going to get grace, we need to understand God loves us. He approves of us in Jesus Christ. God's grace is his act of love toward helpless, undeserving rebels like you and me. And Paul makes it really clear, verse 9, this is not by our own works so that no one may boast. What he's getting at is that mentality that believes we can earn our way into God's books. You know, I go to church, I say my prayers, I give to charity, I say the rituals, I go through all the spiritual hoops, I maybe even go on a pilgrimage or a missions trip, but we're back to what I do, what I do, what I do. A pastor I once knew had a conversation with the head of the religious broadcasting unit in the BBC, a broadcasting company in the UK. They were talking about understandings of faith, and the head of the unit started to talk about the different charities that he started to give to. And the pastor said, if God was satisfied with all of those things to make you right with him, why did Jesus die on a cross? Long pause. Unit head said, I've never thought of that before. Here was a guy who was so caught up in his religion, what he was doing, that he hadn't understood what God has done for us. Truth of the matter is, we sing a hymn called Rock of Ages, there's a fabulous line in it. Nothing, nothing in my hands I bring, simply to thy cross I cling. And the encouragement here is to accept the gift on God's terms, not ours. Now what might that look like? I think of a friend of mine called Mim. I knew her in England. And she went to a couple of Anglican churches. The first Episcopal church that she went to, she was part of the great and the good there. She'd been a church warden. part of the parochial council. She was a woman of influence. She had a reputation. For whatever reason, she started going to another church, a church which I attended to eventually, but she told me a few years later her story. She told me how she would go up to the communion rail at the front of the church, and she was very aware, however, that the rector, the pastor there, as he was handing out communion, would look at her. Just look at her. And she knew there was something not quite right in the way he looked at her. And it made her mad. So she decided she was going to confront him. His name was Gordon. And she said to Gordon, I get the strong impression that when I go forward for communion, you think I shouldn't be there. And he said, you're right. I don't think you should be there. Because communion is for those who've put their trust in Jesus Christ. And you haven't put your trust in Jesus Christ. You're trusting in your reputation. You're trusting in your performance. And Mem was furious. She told me she went away absolutely livid. For lots of reasons. First of all, didn't Gordon know she was a church warden? Didn't he know that she had a great reputation? That was one reason she was angry. The bigger reason she was angry was because deep down, she knew he was right. And God was using this situation to expose her heart, how she'd been trusting in her religious performance. So what did she do? She turned to Jesus. And she knew his forgiveness. And she who had once been dead was now made alive. And so she started to tell all of her friends about her faith in Jesus. She would get them in to her house and talk to them about Christ. I remember speaking at one of the times where she would get her neighbours in just to explain the good news about Jesus. Her enthusiasm for Jesus was tangible. Why? Because she knew his love. She'd been made alive in Christ. We are to accept God's gift of grace on his terms, not ours. Which then raises another question, and what about the stuff that we do for him? What place does that have? And this brings us to our fourth and final point. We accept God's grace on his terms. Fourthly, we are to adopt God's work in our new walk. That's the fourth heading. Adopt God's work in your new walk. Look at verse 10 with me. There's a bit of a word play here. Effectively, Paul is saying that we're now God's poetry. His workmanship, He's the one who gives us the good works to do. We're designed in Christ for good works. Now please notice that we are saved for good works, not by them, for them. And there's gonna be a great encouragement as we see on in Ephesians, what that's gonna look like in terms of our daily lifestyle. Paul talks about this from chapter four onwards in a huge kind of a way. But when I think of verse 10 here, I'm often reminded of a guy we knew in London, not very well, but he was a very successful worker in the city of London. He'd done incredibly well in managing hedge funds to do with selling copper. And he was a strong follower of Jesus Christ. And one evening he spoke to us about his work. And he described how he would walk into his office each morning and he would pray this prayer. Lord, please help me today to do the good works that you've prepared beforehand for me to do. Here's a guy who'd got grace. Here's a guy who'd understood and accepted God's grace. And now he was adopting God's work in his daily walk. And that's the encouragement here. God saves us by grace. God makes us alive. By God's grace, we are forgiven. We know God's love. God's grace means that his settled, just anger against us has been removed once and for all. God's grace means that we now have identity in Christ Jesus. He gives us direction and purpose. It's all of what God does. Folks, you matter to him. Look at the lengths he has gone to to save us and to give us direction in life. What might it look like for us to accept God's grace on his terms? Well, I think we need to be those who say thank you. Maybe you've come to church today, you would say I'm not a follower of Christ. Great to have you. Please come back. Please keep on asking questions. But let me say this with real love. I'm not saying this to put you down and not to pass judgment on you, but God's word makes it really clear. Without Christ in your life, you are what verses one to three of our reading are talking about. You're dead spiritually. You're following all sorts of stuff, even though you might think you're following your own voice, you're not. And you are facing God's just wrath. His just anger, his settled anger against the way you've treated him. But here's the really good news of Christianity. God is rich in mercy. God is full of love. He wants you to repent. In other words, stop going your way and go his, accept Christ. And I would encourage you to accept this gift as it is. It's a gift, it's free for you when you put your trust in Jesus. I'd encourage you to do that. And many of us have taken that step and say, yeah, I can look back at a time when actually I have put my trust in God's grace. I know that this is true. And yet functionally, we're still trying to our way into God's good books. If I pray a little bit more, then he's gonna like me more. If I just keep my temper a little bit better, then he's gonna love me more. He loves us perfectly in Christ because he has won. That counts for us. Maybe some of us therefore need to stop going our own way and swallow our pride and accept God's grace all over again. I reckon for some of us accepting this gift will mean asking that his grace would shape the rest of our days. Praying, therefore, that we are God's workmanship, recognizing that that's the case. Lord, thank you that I am your workmanship. Pray, therefore, that you would help me to do the good works that you've prepared beforehand for me to do. As you step into your office, as you think about the deacon's work here in our church, as you lead in a small group, as you go into school, as you think about parenting, as we think about those who we love and care for, how we might serve them with the good news about Jesus Christ. We do so out of a place of grace where we are forgiven and where we need to constantly come back to trusting that we are accepted before a holy God in Jesus Christ. What does it mean, therefore, to get grace Remember how you once walked. Realize God's power at work in you. Accept God's gift and adopt God's work in your new walk. Let's pray together. Our heavenly Father, this passage is so rich and we thank you for it. We thank you that in the Lord Jesus Christ, we can know you. Thank you, Lord, that we've won because he has won. Help us to understand more of this, we pray. Please would you identify those parts of our lives where we've been trusting in ourselves rather than you. And Father, we pray that you would help us to know this power at work in our lives. Not just intellectually, but in our daily walk with you. Please, would you by your Holy Spirit take these words and apply them to our hearts and to our lives for Jesus' sake. Amen.