Chased by Grace

[Applause] Father, we're just so grateful to be in your house today. God, when we think of the places that we might be today, but we're here, Lord, in your presence, Lord, in your grace and your mercy and your love. And Father, as we turn to the Word of God today, as we turn to listen to what you might want to say to us personally, God, we pray, Lord, our spirit, our hearts would be open and attentive to what it is that you would want to say to us today. God, we don't want to go out of this place the same we came in. Lord, we want to go out changed, impacted. God, hearing your word and Lord ready to face a week, Lord, with the help of your Holy Spirit. So we pray today, God, by your spirit help us as we open the Word of God together. Amen. I'm blessed today to have a friend visit me, a friend and a new friend, but a friend I've known since I was seven years old. So that's just a few years, that's about 30 years, isn't it Colin? We've known each other a long, long time and just thank God that you're here today and our relationship is renewed afresh. Just wonderful to have you with us Colin. Let's open up the Word of God together. I'd like you to turn your Bibles if you've got them or your smart devices to the Word of God today, and particularly to the book of Luke in the New Testament, chapter 15. This is entitled, Part 2 of Chased by Grace. Chased by Grace. And this particular one is the relentless pursuit of God, the relentless pursuit of God. Here's the truth, how many of you know this today, that we don't find God. God tracks us down. And Grace is that active mission, purpose of God for our lives. Imagine with me this morning that there's an intense search and rescue operation. It's a big one. It's on the news, it's all over the news, all over the world. It isn't really, this is just an old story, but let me tell you this. There's a hiker that's been lost in a freezing blizzard. Or maybe it's a child that's wandered off into a large forest. The authorities don't just sit there and say, "Well, if they can figure out how to navigate through the dark and to find us, we'll give them a hot sweet tea and take them home." How many of you know the authorities don't do that? They deploy helicopters. They have search dogs. They have thermal imaging. They push through, they risk their own lives shouting the missing person's name into the dark. How many of you know that so often we treat church just like that? We assume God is somehow waiting for us to get our act together, somehow to find our way there, to clean ourselves up, to successfully navigate our way back to Him. Of course the Bible tells us a radically different story. See we don't serve a passive God, one who waits for us to be found. We serve a pursuing God who actively hunts us down as His lost children. How many of you know He is our Heavenly Father? And He is not just your Heavenly Father. As a Father He loves every single person on the planet. And as a Father would you agree with me as a good Father? He wants desperately for those children to be found. He wants desperately for those that were blind to now see. And so He actively pursues us. We are chased by grace. Listen this morning. You are being pursued by the relentless grace of God. I don't know where you are in your relationship with God today. I don't know how you know Him. Maybe you've been on the road many, many years but listen we can still find ourselves off track sometimes. Even as a believer, even as somebody that has given their life to Christ, has prayed the sinner's prayer, has believed on God, has believed that God raised him from the dead. We can still find ourselves off track. How many of you know no child deliberately gets lost? They just wander off until they can't find their way back. No hiker is deliberately going to get stranded. They take every precaution but still can find themselves lost. You are chased by grace. You are being pursued by the relentless grace of God. I don't know if you're here today and you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ as your own Lord and Savior. You've never come to a place of decision where you said, "I've never really given God thought in my life, but today I'm realizing that perhaps I've never given God the opportunity to speak into me, to show me a better way." Listen, you might feel today that you are somehow wandering around in life, not sure really where you're going. There's a God in heaven, a heavenly Father who loves you and today He is passionately, passionately pursuing you with His relentless grace. Three things this morning. Number one, grace chases us down when we are lost. Grace chases us down when we are lost. If we're left to our own devices, we naturally wonder from God, this is why the Bible is very clear. Colin and I were having a little conversation earlier on after before the service this morning. That wonderful verse that talks about do not forsake the gathering of yourselves together, as is the manner of some. We shouldn't be thinking to ourselves, it's okay not to go to church, because the Bible says, I'm part of the church. I'm born again of the Spirit of God. We need to be in church. We need to be in church for us, because we get encouraged. We get stimulated, we get challenged. We need to be in church for the person sitting next to you, because we are an encouragement to them. You imagine if you were sitting here this morning, you were the only person in the building. How many of you know that's not overly encouraging? And we need each other to encourage one another to go on with God. We help shape each other's lives. The Bible says we pray for one another, we love one another, we serve one another, we are there for one another, we support one another. But left to our own devices, we can find ourselves gradually wandering away from God. But grace is that wonderful active rescue mission that closes the distance. Look at Romans chapter 15, if you've got it in your Bibles, your smart devices. Romans 15, 4 and 5. What if any of you had 100 sheep and you lost one of them? By the way, they're expensive sheep, you don't want to lose any of them, do you? But what if you lost one of them? Would you not leave the 99 in the country and go back and look for the one which was lost until you find it? When you find it, because Jesus is assuming here that any good shepherd will go and hunt the one that's lost, right? Because they're invaluable. And a good shepherd, would you agree, knows each sheep. He might even have called their names. So of course Jesus assumes a good shepherd is going to go out and look for that lost sheep. And he says, when you find it, verse five, you are happy as you carry it back on your shoulders. The shepherd, he leaves the 99 and goes out to the single lost sheep until he finds it. In the first century Judea, shepherds were near the bottom of the social and religious ladder. Because they were kept them in the fields and around animals, they were richly unclean. And they could rarely therefore attend temple worship. They were reviewed by the religious elite, the Pharisees, as untrusted people, as dishonest people, as uneducated people. So when the Pharisees grumbled to Jesus, that Jesus was welcoming sinners and Jesus was eating with them in verse 2 of Luke 15. Jesus intentionally shares this shepherd's story. The shepherd in this story, would you agree, is the hero. He's the one that goes off and finds the sheep and brings it back. In essence, he is telling the religious elite people that the God you think you are serving acts exactly like the dirty outcast shepherd you despise. That is amazing, don't you think? Jesus is making a comment here about that he will happily be among the dirty, he will happily be among the outcast, he will happily be among those that are despised. Maybe you feel that way today. I'm sure most of us will meet people that feel that way every single week. Jesus feels very comfortable associating with the people like that. He's looking at these Pharisees, I think they've got it all together and he's saying, "I like to be among those that haven't." The outcast. And because the Middle East terrain was rocky, it was filled with predators like wolves and hyenas, lost sheep were completely defenseless, as you know they are. So when the shepherd left the 99 to go and look for the sheep that was lost, he was literally risking his own life. I don't know about you, I would not fancy meeting some wolves or hyenas. He was risking his physical comfort, he was risking his remaining livelihood that he had left behind to find the one that was lost. By the way, the 99 together were safer in a group than the one on its own. That says something about the importance, doesn't it, about gathering together as God's people. A lost sheep could become physically paralyzed by fear it could and it would often crouch in a thicket and refuse to walk. So the shepherd eventually finds the sheep. By the way, he doesn't beat it up. He doesn't scold it. He doesn't tell it how bad it's been. He doesn't tell it you should never have wandered off and done all these bad things. Look at the state you've got yourself in because of your actions. He doesn't pull on it. He doesn't drag it by a leash. He lifts that 60 to 80 pound of weight onto his shoulders and carries it back home to the other 99. What an amazing image of the good chef of Jesus. Shacing us with his relentless grace, not beating us because we got lost, but carrying us across his shoulders to a place of peace, to a place of provision, to a place of protection. And this is where our part one comes into it because in Psalm 23 verse 6, it says, "Surely goodness and mercy will follow you." That word follows an interesting word. It's the word Radoff in Hebrew. In almost every Old Testament context, it means to hunt, to chase, to pursue like an army or a predator. God's goodness, we sung about that this morning, God is so good. It's an old song, but boy are the words good. God is so good, He's so good to me. God's goodness and His mercy do not just drift along behind us, following us. Now the word means more than that. God's goodness and His mercy are actively hunting us down. You don't think you're good enough, right? Yes, because I don't think I'm good enough for that, do you? This is where the amazing grace of God comes into His own. It's beyond what we can imagine. God's grace is ridiculous, because right now some of us are judging ourselves. We're not quite getting this right, so not being good enough for, not being faithful enough for, whatever it might be, that the enemy just puts those thoughts in your heads even as we sit here this morning. But God's ridiculous grace is so good that it hunts us down. It actually chases after us. That's how much God loves you. Luke 19.10 says that the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost. The Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost. What is it saying here? This is the words of Jesus. He is saying here that He came specifically to seek and to save the lost. Notice the active verbs there. He doesn't wait at the gate. He steps out into the unknown looking for us. He doesn't look for the perfect, the got it together, the one that thinks I'm okay. He looks and seeks out the broken, the wandering, the lost. See, God actively steps out and seeks us out. I think maybe God is seeking some of us out here this morning. He's actively pursuing us this morning. He's saying, "Come on, he said, 'I love you. I'm seeking you out. I just want to take you on my shoulders and get you home.'" You are chased by grace. Grace chases you down when you are lost. Number two, grace charges through our walls when we resist. Grace charges through our walls when we resist. How many of us build walls? I don't mean literally brick by brick, you know, the ones that... I mean, I had that ago at that, laying bricks. But how many of us actually build walls around us? But you know today, even when we build walls, even when we run away, even when we shout God out, His grace knocks persistently on the doors of our hearts, even when we run away, even when we turn our back on God, He goes on persistently knocking on the doors of our hearts. A few years ago, during a massive wildfire season in Western Canada, emergency rescue teams were deployed to evacuate a remote mountain valley. The smoke was thick, the heat was rising and the danger was immediate. Most people fled willingly, wouldn't you? But rescue workers encountered one elderly man who had spent his entire life building his off-grid cabin. He built thick stone walls, he reinforced the doors, he hoarded supplies. And so when the rangers banged on his door, he shouted through the smoke that he had to leave. The man refused, he yelled back through the locked door, "Go away, I'm safe here. I built these walls myself, I can handle this. Check on somebody else." The man thought these walls were protection. In fact, those walls would become his tomb. But the rescue team didn't shrug their shoulders and say, "Well, we tried and we're going to walk away now if you don't come with us." They knew the fire was coming, they knew the walls would crumble under the heat, so they didn't leave. They stayed on his porch knocking persistently, pleading with him and eventually cutting through the barrier to pull him to safety. That's an amazing picture of just what God does for us. You see, we can build walls of pride, walls of shame, walls of past trauma, walls of so-called education that tells us otherwise, walls of self-sufficiency we can build. We lock the door from the inside, we can shout, "I'm fine. I can handle my life. Lead me along. Go help somebody else." You see, we think our walls are keeping us safe, but they're actually keeping us isolating in a dangerous zone. But look at how God responds. He responds to our stubbornness, even when we build walls, even when we run away, even when we shot God out, His grace knocks persistently on the doors of our hearts. This is one of the verses I love in the last book of the Bible, Revelation 3 verse 20, where Jesus says, "These works to us." He's saying these words to somebody today, if not all of us. He's saying, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him and he with me." Hear as an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says. That wonderful verse beautifully captures the ethos of God's patience of his pursuing love. But you know God's grace respects our free will. God knocks at the doors of our heart for intimacy, to offer to us restoration, healing, to give us eternal life, to give us hope for the future. But He never forces His way in. It's that imagery and that wonderful historical painting of Jesus standing at the door and He's knocking. The door has an outside handle, no outside handle, the handle is on the inside of the door. The decision to open the door has to rest entirely with us. As Jesus knocks today on the door of hearts, the decision to open the door rests entirely with us. In ancient Middle Eastern culture that word "dine" that Jesus had come and I will dine with him. That dining there is a stuffing together, or it's the ultimate sign of deep friendship, of safety, of reconciliation. It's not just coming and have a cup of tea. It's really deep friendship, safety, reconciliation. See, Jesus isn't knocking on the door of your heart today to inspect you. He's not knocking on the door of your heart today to judge you. He's knocking to share his friendship with you. His reconciliation with you so that you can be reconciled to God the Father. Jesus knocked patiently, persistently at the door of your heart. In John 6.44 Jesus says, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." Are you up for another word from the original? I've probably done two today, I think. Let's do a third one. There's a Greek word for the word draws. It's the word "hoqar" and it's used in John 6. The same word for "drawing water from the well" or "dragging a heavy net ashore." This drawing. So this word is implying a loving, powerful pull. God's grace is wonderfully stubborn. Boy, am I glad about that. Anybody else? Am I glad that God's grace is stubbornly wonderfully stubborn? You see, it stands outside our self-made fortresses. It continually knocks, drawing us with the everlasting kindness of God. God, if you like, pulls on your heartstrings to draw you to Him. He loves you so much that He sent Jesus to die on a cross, stretched His hands out now to a cross to die. That's how much God is stubborn about you, just wanting to draw you to Himself. In Jeremiah 31, verse 3, "Yes, I have loved you with everlasting love." It never runs dry, God's love, it never stops, it never ends. Come on this morning, somebody. Because I know me and you know you, right? And we know we're not yet perfect. We know there's things in our lives that we need God by His grace to deal with. But listen, He loves us with an everlasting love. It never ends, right? Well, I don't know about anybody, so I'm really excited about them. Grateful to God for that. He says, "Therefore, with loving kindness, I have drawn you." This pull, this loving pull of God to draw us to Himself. You are chased by grace. Grace charges through your walls when you resist. Is it God's second away? Free will know, because remember, He's still at the door knocking. The handle's on the inside. Number three, at last this morning. Grace covered the cost before we ever cared. Grace covered the cost before we ever cared. See, God doesn't wait for us to apologize. Boy, do we find it hard to do that sometimes. Just to say sorry, right? Let's get good at this stuff. I mean, certainly this morning, if you're a follower of Jesus Christ, let's get good at saying sorry. And let's get good at saying I forgive you too. Two really wonderful things to do. I'm sorry, I forgive you. But he doesn't wait for us to apologize. He doesn't pause while we improve ourselves. Or ask help before he acts. His pursuit was fully paid for long before we realized we needed God. In Romans 5 verse 8, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." See that? It is love without preconditions. "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." What is he doing? He says, "I'm demonstrating my love this way. I'm dying for you, even while you are still sinners." Romans 5 verse 8 shatters the ideas that somehow we must clean our acts up first before we can approach God. But you know I've got some glorious news today. God didn't die for a finished product. He didn't die for somebody who's got it all together. He didn't die for somebody who thinks they're perfect. He died for the absolute worst. And before I think I'm not one of those, just remember some of the things you've done. And then realize you were one of those. One of the worst. He first loved us. He first loved us. In John, John 419, we love because He first loved us. 2 Peter 319, the Lord is not slack concerning His promise as some can slackness but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. This is the wonderful gospel. Grace is first initiating and proactive. Before you took your first breath, before you were born, God loved you. He loved you. While you were still making mistakes and running the other way, doing your own thing, Jesus was climbing up the hill of Calvary and giving His life that you might be forgiven. You might be saved. Jesus died so that we might live. See, our salvation, our coming to faith in Jesus Christ, is God's initiative entirely. It's driven by God's unmerited pursuing love for us. You are chased by grace. Grace chases you down when you are lost. Grace charges through your walls when you resist. Grace covers the cost before you ever cared. Let's stand together. Maybe the musicians and singers could join me. Don't lose the moment. Jesus says these wonderful words, remember in Revelation 3 verse 20, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him, her, and dine with them, and hear, or she with me." Church, just let's pause for a moment. And the reason I'm saying this church is because this letter was primarily written to the Lukewarm Church of Leodicea. And it depicts Jesus standing at the door outside the church, asking believers who had become self-sufficient to let him take back his rightful place as head of the church. To let him back into their daily life again. To open the door again afresh of their hearts to him. A decision to welcome Jesus to receive his deep friendship, his safety and his reconciliation. So church, even though we often use this verse to those that haven't yet made a commitment to Jesus Christ. Church, first we need to ask God, do we need to open up the door afresh? Do I need to let you in afresh, Lord? Just as we just think about that, just make those internal decisions today to receive Christ afresh. But if you hear this morning, haven't yet given your life to Jesus. You haven't yet said to God, "God, I don't understand it all. But I've never given you a chance in my life before. I don't really know who you are. But I feel drawn. I feel pulled by this word today. And as you stand at the door knocking on the door of my heart, I hear your voice. And today I'm going to choose to open up the door of my heart to you. I'm going to stop trying to fix myself before somehow I come to you God. I'm just going to come as I am. God, I stop running. God, I open up the door of my heart. Please come in. Please reconcile me with the Father in heaven. Please forgive me. Please rescue me. Just while our heads are bowed and eyes are closed today. I'm going to say a prayer, and this is specifically to what those that haven't yet made a commitment to follow Jesus Christ. And if you say this prayer and mean it, God hears and He answers. And if you ask Him to come in and open that door, guess what? He'll come in. He'll come in and make all the difference. And because you'll have a relationship with Him starting, everything will begin to make sense. If you like, you'll see the light. So I'm going to say this prayer and I'm going to start it off with "Hi, my name's Phil." But you put your own name in there and make this a personal prayer today. "Hi Lord, my name's Phil." I'm amazed by your relentless heart. I'm so grateful that when I've wondered the way you didn't leave me behind. Thank you that when I built walls of shame, of pride and fear, you kept knocking anyway. I confess that I tried to run, tried to hide, tried to earn what can only be received as a gift. So right now, I surrender. I stop running. I choose to open the door of my heart to let you in. Let your goodness, your grace and your mercy find me today. May I walk out of this room resting in the amazing truth that I am fully seen, peace you loved and chased by your grace. I ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen. Just while heads remain bowed and eyes are closed. If you've said that prayer today, meant that prayer today, just where you are, just raise your hand up so I can see it. You can put it straight back down again. Thank you. Is there anybody else today? One last call. You said that prayer and meant that you've opened up the door of your heart and you've let Jesus in. Anybody else today? Father, thank you for today. Blessed is the one Lord that has raised their hand this morning in Jesus' name. Amen. This week, guys, this week, stop running. Identify that one area in your life that you struggle with, maybe a past mistake, a secret habit, a fear. Something you used to actively somehow hide from God over. Stop doing that. Invite Him into that situation. Open the door in that situation to Him. Accept His free gift. Remind yourself every morning. Your values are fixed by His love, not your performance. You cannot outrun His mercy because it's new every morning. Great is His faithfulness to the Lord here. And certainly choose to daily renew relationship with Jesus. And I leave you with a scripture, Hebrews 12, 1 and 2. Let us lay aside every weight and sin which so easily ensnares us. And let us run with endurance the race that is before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Amen.