Beach Life: Uncomfortable Grace

Throughout this “Beach Life” series, we will explore Jesus' mission and values and how he calls us to follow him and make his mission and values our own.

 We kicked off this series by discussing Beach Church's mission. Our mission is to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus. Our Mission answers the question of " why” we exist, and our Guiding Values answer the question of "how” we fulfill our mission. We could gather every weekend for worship, distribute food to 500 families every week, go on mission trips, have life groups, and have a ministry for children with special needs, but without our guiding values, we would not be leading people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus. The Bible tells us without love, we are nothing.

 Our Guiding Values, shaped by the love of Jesus demonstrated while he lived on earth, will help us fulfill our mission.

The Values are:

1)    Life-Changing Truth
2)    Transparent Living
3)    Uncomfortable Grace
4)    Captivating Celebration
5)    Selfless Service

 Today, we are going to talk about our third guiding value of UNCOMFORTABLE GRACE. We believe that followers of Jesus GIVE the same limitless grace they have received from God. “ But – what exactly is GRACE? 

The Word “Grace” can be a little confusing. For instance, I grew up saying “Grace” before I ate a meal.  My family would close our eyes and say GRACE. 

 Bless us oh Lord
For these thy Gifts
Which we are about to receive
From thy Bounty
Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Then, after I surrendered my life to Jesus and received Him as my Savior and received forgiveness for my sins, people used the word differently. The mealtime prayer was no longer called Grace.  That was for the Catholics…and the Clark W. Griswold family.  Now the mealtime prayer was called a Blessing…”Who wants to say the Blessing?” 

For the sake of the message today, grace is not referring to a mealtime prayer. Grace is not the name of a woman who is very uncomfortable right now. Let’s read and discover what Grace is from Colossians 3.

Colossians 3:12-13 (NLT2)
12  Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13  Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 

This passage never uses the word grace, but it shows us exactly what “grace” looks like. Tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, make allowance for each other’s faults, and be forgiving. That is what GRACE is.

Grace welcomes people after failure

 We are supposed to make allowance for the faults of others, because there is not one single person who is perfect, right? I’m not. I have not loved God with all my heart. I have not loved my neighbor as myself. I have lied. I have stolen. I have cheated. I have lusted. I have hated in my heart. I have sinned in my anger and lost my temper. I have been filled with pride. I have been selfish, unfaithful to God, and unfaithful to friends. I have been rude. I have been impatient with others. I have carried grudges in my heart.

 God sees the list of our failures – and, through Jesus, welcomes us anyway.…and truth be told…when we begin demonstrating the grace of God to others…that is when it can get uncomfortable.

You might be thinking to yourself: the two words “Uncomfortable” and “Grace” do not go together. They go together like Peanut Butter and Ketchup. The song “Amazing Grace” is 250 years old. That song has reinforced that God’s grace is an AMAZING…BEAUTIFUL…and WONDERFUL to experience. So, why do we describe it as “uncomfortable?”

Because, as human beings, it is difficult to “welcome others” after they have messed up. Demonstrating God’s grace to others is uncomfortable. Yet, when we acknowledge it…and when we receive it from others…something life-changing happens. We begin to wear kindness, mercy, compassion, and love for others all the time…

GOD HAS FORGIVEN YOU COMPLETELY

 I know that can be an overwhelming thought at times. If you are a follower of Jesus…by that I mean…you believed that Jesus paid the penalty for your sin on the cross.  You believe he suffered, died, rose from the dead, went to Heaven, and will one day return…and because you BELIEVE, you surrendered your life to Jesus…You have a relationship with God because HE has forgiven you completely. You do not need to be weighed down by the sin of your past. God’s goodness toward you does not fail.  His grace cannot be watered down, explained away, or taken from you.

 Since we have been forgiven completely, why do we wrestle with showing grace to others? Why do we struggle with forgiving others? Why do we develop feelings of resentment? Why do we have a difficult time loving our neighbor as we love ourself?

 I think that deep down, it could be because we are not certain God truly has forgiven us completely. If we really believe that God has forgiven us completely and He welcomes us then we easily can make allowance for the faults of others.

We easily show others mercy, kindness, forgiveness, and compassion. If you really believe that you have been set free from shame, from fear, from doubt, and from insecurities about your past mistakes, sin and failure. Then you will want to help others experience what life is like to walk in your shoes.

 DO YOU ALLOW OTHERS SPACE TO FAIL?

Or do you tighten the screws every time somebody messes up? Do you criticize people when they make poor choices? Do you keep bringing up their mistakes? Do you whisper about the teenage girl who got pregnant? The mother who drinks too much? The parent losing their temper in the grocery store? Do you gossip about your neighbor's choice of swimwear at the beach? (She is too old to be wearing a bikini…she is 95!)

 Weren’t you once like that? Then, give other people space to fail. Make allowance for each other's faults.

 If you want love to grow in your home, don’t nit-pick your spouse.  They weren’t perfect when you married them.  They aren’t perfect now.  Neither are you. Kids, your parents are going to fail sometimes.
Make allowance and give them space to fail. Parents, your kids are going to disappoint you sometimes.
Make allowance, and give them space to fail.

Coworkers will frustrate you.
Friends will let you down.
Church people will say dumb things.
Pastors will fail you.

 Make allowance.

 Because welcoming others after failure will strengthen and grow every relationship. But, constant criticism destroys them. Followers of Jesus ought to show so much grace, that everybody gets a second, third, fourth, fifth chance. 

But – that doesn’t mean every person can lead at Beach Church.

 At Beach Church, we welcome everybody.
We love everybody.
We want everybody to hear the Gospel and experience life-change through Jesus.

 But leadership and serving carry responsibility.

 If somebody has a history of crimes against children, we are not placing that individual in leadership or giving them access to children or students. Why? You can love somebody and still establish limits.

 Jesus welcomed sinners. He also confronted sin and protected the vulnerable.

 We are not afraid to develop leaders regardless of their past or present failures…but we draw the line at developing leaders if they have been engaged in crimes against children. 

It's not because we do not show grace, it is because we would rather be perceived as being a hypocrite to the offender than to open the doors of our kids' ministry to people who may want to cause harm.

 So…here are a few PRACTICAL ways you can demonstrate UNCOMFORTABLE Grace toward others this week:

 A coworker who irritates you blows a major project. Instead of letting them fail, you stay late to help fix it and allow them to keep the credit.

 A friend borrows $500 and never pays you back, even while posting vacation photos online. Instead of resenting them, you cancel the debt and invite them to coffee.

Your ex-spouse continues to speak badly about you…When they get sick, you drop off a care package anyway.

A rude server forgets your drinks and brings the wrong food. Instead of complaining, you leave a generous tip and an encouraging note.

 As followers of Jesus, we are called to live like Jesus.  And that means, we demonstrate Uncomfortable Grace.  Even when it is hard. That is the type of Church Beach Church is – and the type of Church we must daily choose to be. A church that tells you the truth and still welcomes you while God continues changing your life. Not a church that lowers God’s standard. But a church that lifts people up when they fall. Not a church that ignores sin…but a church that points people toward restoration. Because that is exactly what Jesus has done for us.

 Jesus did not wait for us to clean ourselves up before coming toward us. He stepped into our mess. He carried our sin. He took our punishment. He died on the cross in our place. And three days later, He rose from the dead so we could be forgiven completely and welcomed into a relationship with God.

 Maybe today, for the very first time, you realize you need that grace. You are tired of carrying guilt. Tired of pretending. Tired of wondering if God could ever forgive somebody like you.

 He can.

 That is why Jesus came. The grace of God is not earned. It is received. The Bible says if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved.

 So today, right where you are sitting, you can surrender your life to Jesus.

You can stop running.
You can stop hiding.
You can stop trying to fix yourself before coming to God.
You can trust Jesus as your Savior right now.

And when you do, God forgives you completely.

 So, clothe yourselves with mercy. Clothe yourselves with kindness. Clothe yourselves with humility. Clothe yourselves with patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults.

Because one day, you are going to need somebody to make allowance for yours, too.