Look at God’s Amazing Grace!

13th Sunday after Pentecost, 9/7/14
Isaiah 56:1, 6-8

Look at God’s Amazing Grace!
I. He gives us his righteousness .
II. He intends it for everyone.

Many of you likely have valuable things on display in your home. It might be an antique, a fine work of art, something that contains silver or even gold. They’re not only valuable to you, they would be considered valuable to others was well. Do you have such an item or two in your home?

Now let me ask you this. When is the last time you spent even 30 seconds looking at it, perhaps holding it in your hands, reflecting on how valuable this item is to you and appreciating it? I’ll admit it doesn’t happen often with me. In fact, I forget that I have those items. They’re sitting there on display but they no longer catch my eye. I’ve become so accustomed to having them, that my focus is almost always on the moment, on the urgent. Honestly, I don’t take the time simply to appreciate those valuable items. It almost makes me wonder why I have them. Would I miss them if I didn’t have them anymore? Is it the same with you? Pretty sad, isn’t it?

We live in a world in which far too many people view their relationship with their god on the basis of what he owes them, what they think they deserve. They’ve done their part; now they expect god to do his.

As you and I know, such people should be careful what they wish for. The only true God—the triune God—owes us nothing good. If he’s going to give us what we deserve, it’s his punishment, not his blessing.

But we are so blessed to know and believe that God deals with us in his grace—his undeserved favor. In his grace he gives us what we so desperately need—forgiveness for all our sins. In his grace he makes us his children by faith in Jesus. In his grace he has made us heirs of eternal life with him in heaven.

I’m guessing this isn’t the first time you’ve heard about grace. The fact is, many of us here today have seen and known God’s saving grace for decades. So, how much do you still appreciate it? As you carry on your daily life, how often do you stop to consider what a priceless gift God’s grace is? Or, is it like so many of the valuable things we just discussed. It sits there, but do we hardly notice it at all anymore?

This morning our God gives us the blessed opportunity to look at his grace once again. He reveals his amazing grace in these words from Isaiah 56. Look at it. Look at God’s amazing grace! Will you do that with me this morning? Our God promises to bless us as we do so.

Part I.

I’m sure you’ve had experience with this observation: not knowing the medical truth can be very serious, even deadly. Deciding to wait a few more years to have your first cardio stress test may mean that serious heart problems will go undetected until it’s too late. Not knowing what that lump you discovered actually is can be deadly. Not knowing what’s causing you that pain every time you eat something is not wise. You can tell yourself all along that you’re just fine, but thinking you’re OK when actually you’re in serious health trouble is foolishness.

Our natural inclination is to think that we’re alright with God, but there’s actually a deadly spiritual disease lurking in all of us. As I mentioned a minute ago, billions of people are under the impression that their relationship with their god is based on what they deserve because of the good they’ve done. It’s called self-righteousness. It’s convincing yourself that you’re fine with God just the way you are. That self-righteousness was prevalent in Jesus’ day in people like the Pharisees. It was alive and well 700 years before that among the Jews to whom Isaiah originally wrote these words.

In order to get their attention, Isaiah told them, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Maintain justice and do what is right.’” The easy response to that command is this: “That’s what I’m doing; at least, that’s what I try to do every day.” But that’s not what the Lord commanded. His standard is not a good effort, not the old college try, not the best we can under the circumstances. He’s talking about what is just and right according to his standard. And his standard is holiness.

Our wonderful and loving God prepares our hearts for his grace by confronting us first with his law. He reminds us that he’s not looking for outward, surface acts of thoughtless or even unwilling compliance. His law cuts deeply, to the heart. It confronts us with the truth that our very thoughts and desires are an insult to his holiness. That’s the honest spiritual truth about us. Every one of us. What lurks within is impatience, prejudice, greed, lust, discontent, sinful pride, disinterest in the plight of our fellow human beings, vengeance, and jealousy. Not a pretty picture at all.

And here’s our God’s solution. “For my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed.” That’s all grace. Pure grace. In his grace God rescued us from suffering eternal separation from him. That’s his salvation, accomplished by our Savior by his life and death. He takes our sins away and gives us his righteousness or holiness. What a blessing! Without that righteousness we stand before our God stained with sin.

That grace caused him to do still more. He states, “I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered.” He has gathered us to himself. He calls us by name as his own children. He gathers us into the ark of his Church where he guards and protects us from Satan’s deadly attacks. He keeps us as his own until he calls us home to heaven.

And he does none of that because we deserve it. He does it all by grace. Look at God’s amazing grace! He gives us his righteousness.

If you’ve heard all this before, praise God! If I’m preaching to the choir this morning, that’s great! Because I’m convinced, as I stated at the beginning of this sermon, that too often we consider God’s grace to be just like that valuable item on display in our homes. We forget all about it. In the case of God’s grace, we don’t remember how much we need it. At times we even come to the conclusion that it isn’t that important to us. We can do without it for a while. I know how it is. I’m guilty of it, too. I’ve even looked upon hearing about God’s grace or receiving it in his Holy Supper as an obligation, a ritual, or even as an intrusion on my free time. God have mercy on us all! And the amazing thing is, he does! He turns from his fierce anger at sin and bestows his grace on us—the saving message of Jesus. There’s nothing we need more than that. Through that good news of Jesus God gives us his righteousness. He changes us completely! Look at God’s amazing grace!

Part II.

I’ve seen and heard more than enough about discrimination in the past month or two. It started with a deadly shooting in Missouri and was followed quickly by one right here in the Miami Valley. Whether you agree or disagree that discrimination was an issue in the events, be prepared to hear more. It’s not over by a long shot. And one of the results, as we analyze things, is that we as Christians resolve to be fair and impartial to everyone, regardless of who they are.

Would you be surprised to hear that wasn’t the case in the worship life of the Old Testament Jews? In fact, that it was by God’s command? Only priests could offer the sacrifices. Only Jews could go inside the Temple. Gentile converts to Judaism had to remain in the outer courts. And if you had a certain physical malady or deformity, your options for serving the Lord were limited.

But listen to what the Lord states through Isaiah, “And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve him, to love the name of the LORD, and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant—these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” Even though the Lord had certain worship rules that excluded non-Jews from full participation in worship, he still wanted all people to come to faith in him as the God of their salvation. He wasn’t excluding them from heaven. God’s grace is for everyone. And that grace was powerful in bringing many Gentiles to faith; millions of them in fact and we’re included in that number. What grace!

But it doesn’t end there. The Lord in his grace also gives us the privilege of serving him. This isn’t a master-slave type of service. This is a service filled with love and gratitude for all God has done for us, for sacrificing his Son for us, for bringing us into his kingdom. We don’t have to serve; we get to serve.

In fact, that service involves the very focus and pinnacle of Christian life—he uses us to call others to faith in him. “I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered.” By God’s grace we’ve been gathered. By God’s grace we’re privileged to gather others. God doesn’t limit us to the lowest service in his kingdom. He calls each of us to the highest service—sharing his grace with others, because his grace is for everyone.

Look at God’s amazing grace! He intends it for everyone.

I’m sure it doesn’t surprise you when I say that God doesn’t pour out his grace from heaven like rain and it just happens to fall on us. Nor do we have to dig into the depths of the earth to try and locate that grace, mine it, and bring it up to the surface for us to enjoy. No, God’s grace is here in his word and sacraments. That’s a grace for us to enjoy daily. But it’s also a grace for us to share because God intends it for everyone. That’s our high calling as God’s people! So shed the thought that sharing God’s grace is someone else’s responsibility. Let go of the feeling that you’re inadequately equipped. By the death and resurrection of Jesus you’re forgiven and gathered and empowered—empowered to share God’s grace. Look at God’s amazing grace and then look for opportunities to share it! Amen.