The Danger of Distorted Grace: When Healing Becomes a Demand

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Come on, turn to your neighbor and tell them Merry Christmas.
[00:00:03] Turn to your other neighbor, the one that you ignored for some reason the first time.
[00:00:07] Say, I'm so sorry for ignoring you.
[00:00:09] I didn't mean to.
[00:00:10] You're not my second choice.
[00:00:12] Come on, tell them Merry Christmas as well.
[00:00:16] Merry Christmas.
[00:00:17] We're gonna be in Luke chapter one and John chapter one as we talk about this idea this morning of the gift of grace, the gift of grace.
[00:00:26] I understand, and we understand this, Christmas
[00:00:29] is so much more than the gifts it's so much more than the presents it's so much more than the wrapping paper and all of those things and but we all probably have if you were to think back to your childhood we probably already all have that that one christmas that one gift that it just seemed to be the right gift at exactly the right time the thing that you were
[00:00:51] Wishing for and hoping for.
[00:00:52] I was doing a little bit of reminiscing this week.
[00:00:55] You know, we didn't have Amazon in the 80s.
[00:00:58] Come on, we had...
[00:01:00] We had the Sears catalog.
[00:01:02] Come on, how many of you were raised on the Sears catalog?
[00:01:06] The JCPenney's catalog.
[00:01:09] And so I was going back and I was looking at some of those ads.
[00:01:13] We also, in the early 80s, this was before ESPN was a big thing, and so the two national football teams at that time were the Cowboys
[00:01:21] and the Steelers they were the 70s winning teams and so they had highlighted them and they were usually in the ads and so I went back and I was looking at some of these these ads and and I was looking at the one there was there was an ad for pajamas and and robes you got cowboys in the and the Steelers there I'm like oh man you know remembering my childhood and and all of that and then and then I looked and and I thought I'd never seen
[00:01:49] The direction of that particular ad before.
[00:01:52] and I looked at the words and I looked at what the advertisers, like in their advertising meetings, when they were saying, come on, we gotta move these robes, we gotta move these pajamas, we have got to make kids want these and we gotta make the parents want to buy these for the kids, that they did not choose the avenue or the angle, that these are comfortable or that these are an NFL team,
[00:02:20] They chose to advertise that they were flame resistant.
[00:02:26] And then I started to wonder what was going on in the homes of the children going up in the 80s that that was the, like that's the angle?
[00:02:38] And then I don't know if you can read below, it says this, self-extinguishing when removed from the flame.
[00:02:47] So parents, we just wanted you to feel really good that hopefully your kids won't catch on fire, but if they do, just get them out of the flame and they won't even have to stop, drop, and roll.
[00:02:58] They'll go out all on their own.
[00:03:03] No matter what your Christmas memory was, no matter what that particular gift was, I think we would all agree that the absolute best gift, it doesn't even compare, there's not even a close second, is the gift of Jesus.
[00:03:21] Luke chapter 2 reads like this, beginning in verse 10, Fear not.
[00:03:25] Fear not, for behold I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
[00:03:33] For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
[00:03:40] And then in John chapter 1, which we've been going through the Christmas narrative through the eyes of John, his account reads like this.
[00:03:50] For from Him, the fullness, and from His fullness, we have all received grace upon grace.
[00:03:58] For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
[00:04:04] No one has ever seen God the only Son who is at the Father's side, but He has made Him true.
[00:04:12] This morning as we go on this journey through this passage in John, we want to lean in to this idea of the gift of grace.

[00:04:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Jesus fulfills the law through grace.
[00:04:29] We see in verse 17, For the law was given through Moses.
[00:04:33] Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
[00:04:36] What does the law refer to?
[00:04:37] The law refers to the commands of God that he gave Moses in the Old Testament.
[00:04:42] it's simply put it's God's way of showing us what righteousness looks like and how far we fall short on our own we are all messed up people and we fall short of the righteousness of God and that is okay tell your neighbor that's okay
[00:04:57] it's okay that we're messed up the law shows us our need the law is not bad the law is holy it is righteous but the law has limitations the law can reveal sin but it cannot remove it it can diagnose the problem but it cannot heal the disease religion and law says i obey therefore i am accepted
[00:05:20] The gospel says, I am accepted at an infinite cost of Jesus Christ, therefore I obey.
[00:05:28] Religion looks at the law and tries harder.
[00:05:30] The gospel looks at Jesus and trusts deeper.
[00:05:34] Religion uses the law as a ladder to climb up to God.
[00:05:37] The gospel receives Jesus as the one who climbs down to us.
[00:05:43] This is why grace does not do away with the law.
[00:05:45] Grace fulfills what the law exposes.
[00:05:49] I want you to picture this just for a moment I know it's 60 degrees out and there's a zero percent chance that it's going to snow this week and so there's zero percent chance that we're going to have a white Christmas but I want you to imagine Christmas morning you're waking up your kids are already awake excited to open presents you walk down the stairs you make a cup of coffee and you look out your window and what do you see
[00:06:14] Six inches of freshly fallen snow.
[00:06:18] Now the snow, it covers up the yellow Bermuda grass that is dead.
[00:06:22] It covers up your brown driveway and it covers up the streets and your cars.
[00:06:28] It covers up your neighbors' houses.
[00:06:30] It covers everything up.
[00:06:31] The imperfections underneath are still there, but they're no longer what you see.
[00:06:36] That is what grace does in our lives.
[00:06:41] Grace is not pretending sin does not exist.
[00:06:43] Grace is God covering what the law exposes.
[00:06:47] The law shows the dirt.
[00:06:49] Grace provides the covering.
[00:06:51] Not by ignoring it, but by paying for it.
[00:06:54] This is what I call the canopy of grace.
[00:06:56] Say the canopy of grace.
[00:06:59] The canopy of grace.
[00:07:00] Under the law, we stand exposed.
[00:07:03] Under grace, we stand covered.
[00:07:06] Not covered by our good works.
[00:07:07] There's nothing you and I can do.
[00:07:08] Not by our own obedience.
[00:07:10] but covered by Christ's righteousness.
[00:07:13] You see in Isaiah 1, verse 18, it says, though your sins are like scarlet, they should be white as snow.
[00:07:21] The snow does not make the ground perfect.
[00:07:24] The snow makes it clean.
[00:07:26] When you look out your window, it's a spotless perfection of cleanliness.
[00:07:31] Jesus does not erase your past.
[00:07:33] You still have consequences to sin.
[00:07:36] Yet he redeems it.
[00:07:39] He redeems your life.
[00:07:40] He redeems our messiness.
[00:07:42] He redeems it through grace.
[00:07:44] That's why communion that we're going to partake in this morning is so important.
[00:07:49] It's not a reward for those who kept the law well.
[00:07:51] It is a reminder that Jesus fulfilled the law completely.
[00:07:56] It's not a place of performance.
[00:07:58] It's a place of provision.
[00:08:00] The law tells us what is required.
[00:08:02] Grace tells us what was paid on our behalf.
[00:08:06] The price of Jesus.
[00:08:08] So as we prepare for communion today, I want you to stop trying so hard.
[00:08:14] What does that mean?
[00:08:15] You don't come to the table because you have it all together this week.
[00:08:20] Not because you did anything right this week, but because Jesus did.
[00:08:24] You do not come because you're worthy, but you come because He is worthy.
[00:08:29] Let the canopy of grace cover your sin and let the grace remind you that the law has been fulfilled.
[00:08:34] You see, grace does not eliminate God's standard.
[00:08:37] In fact, grace fulfills it and places us safely beneath it.
[00:08:43] So when we sang the song this morning, hark the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn King.
[00:08:49] Peace on earth and mercy mild.
[00:08:52] God and sinners reconciled.
[00:08:54] That last line, that last powerful line, God and sinners reconciled.
[00:08:58] This is why we are here today.
[00:09:01] We come during this Christmas season to sing joy to our King and recognize that
[00:09:06] Through his virgin birth, through his perfect life, through his death on the cross and through his resurrection, reconciliation became possible between me and you and God.
[00:09:17] We're celebrating Jesus's birth because he literally grew up to die for our sins.
[00:09:23] That's how this all makes sense when we put it in the framework of the cross.
[00:09:27] In other words, Jesus was born to die so that you and I could have everlasting life.
[00:09:34] We believe that the bread and the juice, the elements that we hold in our hands, are symbolic of Jesus' body and blood.
[00:09:42] The bread, the body of Christ, when he said, my body will be given to you, he is saying that he willingly gave his life, his body, to the cross for you and I.
[00:09:52] The law demanded perfection and Jesus provided that perfection by willingly giving his life.
[00:09:59] The same of the cup, this represents the blood of Jesus.
[00:10:02] In scripture, when Jesus shed his blood, he shed it for a new covenant, which means in the Old Testament, the law says that when you sin, you had to provide your own sacrifice.
[00:10:14] This means in the New Testament through Jesus Christ and the new covenant in his blood, no sacrifice ever has to be made ever again because Jesus provided his life as grace to cover our sins.
[00:10:27] That is the new covenant in which we receive.
[00:10:30] The law reveals our sin, the blood of Jesus cleanses our sin.
[00:10:36] Amen.
[00:10:36] I'm gonna invite you to hold the elements in your hands as we prepare to partake in communion together this morning.

[00:10:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
If you would please just posture yourself to receive because God is wanting to do healing in this house today.
[00:11:07] Would you pray with me?
[00:11:11] Father, I thank you that you had the grace on humanity to send your son Jesus to die on the cross.
[00:11:25] And your word says, by His stripes we are healed.
[00:11:32] So whatever you're facing today, the work's already been done.
[00:11:38] We just have to believe by faith that we are healed.
[00:11:47] Father, for those who are facing blood disorders, for those who are having heart issues,
[00:11:55] For those who are having neurological problems, for those who are having problems in their kidneys, in their feet, in their joints, in their muscles, their ligaments, every aspect of our bodies are healed in the name of Jesus.
[00:12:20] and Father we thank you that you love us so much that you want us to walk in the power and authority that you've given us through Jesus the authority to speak healing over our lives and receive it in Jesus name would you break the bread with me and partake together

[00:12:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
As we prepare to receive the cup, let's bow our heads in prayer.
[00:13:00] Father, we thank you for sending your Son.
[00:13:05] Jesus, we thank you for the blood that you shed in our place.
[00:13:11] It should have been us.
[00:13:13] We should have paid our own cost, but you loved us so dearly, you shed your blood.
[00:13:20] To cover us.
[00:13:22] Scripture tells us that your blood covers a multitude of sins.
[00:13:27] Thank you for that covering.
[00:13:28] Thank you for that grace.
[00:13:32] And thank you for giving us a grace that enables us to forgive others.
[00:13:36] Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us.
[00:13:43] Christ, we step into the model that you have set before us.
[00:13:49] to not hold a record of the wrongs that others have perpetuated against us but to forgive them to release them and move on so today before we receive the cup we bring to you the offenses that people have brought against us Lord we bring to you the wounds we bring to you the hurt because we understand you you alone are our healer
[00:14:13] And we choose today to release those in the same way that you released us from our offenses and our sins.
[00:14:23] Thank you for this great grace.
[00:14:27] Thank you for what it means for us today and for what it means for us in eternity that we get to stand before you spotless and blameless, covered in your righteousness.
[00:14:40] We thank you Jesus for your blood and we give you glory.

[00:14:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
So this second idea that we want to talk about when it comes to the gift of grace is that you can know grace.
[00:14:53] This idea that we talked about last week that God is transcendent and he is the holy other and he is above all, all of that is so true and yet
[00:15:04] Grace is not this concept.
[00:15:06] It's not a philosophy.
[00:15:07] It's not something that is out there, up there somewhere.
[00:15:11] Grace is a person, and because grace is a person, grace can become very personal.
[00:15:18] I love Aunt Bethany, but she has really bad theology.
[00:15:21] Grace did not pass away 10 years ago.
[00:15:24] Grace is alive, and you can know grace.
[00:15:26] You can know grace.
[00:15:29] What if this Christmas
[00:15:32] You experienced grace more than you ever have in your entire life.
[00:15:37] Whether you've been a Christian for one day or one week or one year or 60 years, what if this Christmas you could have an encounter?
[00:15:46] You could really experience God's goodness like you never have before.
[00:15:51] You say, Pastor, that sounds really good.
[00:15:53] I would love that.
[00:15:55] How do you do it?
[00:15:56] Pastor Keith alluded to it.
[00:15:58] Sometimes you just got to get out of your own way.
[00:16:01] Because sometimes we are the biggest barrier to receiving grace because we don't give ourselves grace.
[00:16:09] And we look at it through the lens, we read Proverbs 24 in the wrong capacity, and we read Proverbs 24 that says something like this, that a righteous man, a righteous woman, they don't fall.
[00:16:23] That's how we read that scripture sometimes and we have this mindset of if I was truly righteous I wouldn't have the thoughts and nobody knows that I have these thoughts but I have these thoughts and if other people knew that I have these thoughts they wouldn't think of me the way that they think of me.
[00:16:38] and if i have these thoughts i wouldn't be righteous or i shouldn't pastor i shouldn't be struggling with the same thing because i laid that thing down during the 21 days of prayer in 2025 and we're coming up on 21 days of prayer in 2026 and i should be further along but the bible doesn't say that a righteous man or a righteous woman do not fall what does the bible say the bible says that though a righteous man
[00:17:03] Fall seven times, he gets up again.
[00:17:06] Can I give you the definition of being a great person?
[00:17:10] A great person is not a person that never falls and never fails.
[00:17:15] A great person is a person that gets up one more time.
[00:17:19] You just get up one more time and that's what grace does in your life.
[00:17:25] One more.
[00:17:26] One more.
[00:17:27] Can I tell it to you this way?
[00:17:29] Grace is already one step ahead of you.
[00:17:32] If you're frustrated with your sin, grace is one step ahead.
[00:17:36] If you're frustrated with your struggle, grace is one step ahead.
[00:17:40] If you're frustrated with your failure, grace is one step ahead.
[00:17:44] If you're frustrated with a relationship, grace is one step ahead.
[00:17:48] If you're frustrated with a situation, grace is one step ahead.
[00:17:53] You say, Pastor, but I feel like I'm running out.
[00:17:56] I feel like I'm empty.
[00:17:58] I feel like I'm low on grace.
[00:18:00] And if grace was of human origin, that may be a problem.
[00:18:08] But it's not.
[00:18:10] Grace is divine.
[00:18:20] With heads bowed and eyes closed all across the house today, Mr. OC will come and he'll lead us in our candlelight in just a moment.
[00:18:27] But I wonder if there's somebody in the house today that could just use a little bit of grace, a little bit of a divine touch in whatever situation that you find yourself going through.
[00:18:39] Two questions.
[00:18:40] The first question is to those of you that
[00:18:43] have Jesus as your Lord and Savior and you're a Christian but you would say something like this pastor I'm following Jesus but I need some grace I'm struggling with something and I need some grace I thought I'd be further along and I need some grace pastor in a family relationship I need some grace in my job situation I need some grace in a health situation I need some grace if that's you here this morning would you just lift
[00:19:09] God, I pray that this house would become a house flooded with the grace of God.
[00:19:38] God with heads still bowed and eyes still closed some in this house would say something like this pastor i've been trying to do it on my own i've not yet accepted jesus as my personal lord and savior pastor i do believe i believe in jesus i believe
[00:19:56] In Christmas I believe that He came but I've never fully surrendered my heart and my life to Him and this morning I don't want to leave this auditorium without knowing that I have received the fullness of His grace in my life so if that's you heads are still bowed and eyes are still closed in the quietness of this moment would you just go ahead and slip up your hand and as you do
[00:20:22] what you're saying is God I need your grace I can't do this on my own I'm not gonna live according to religion but I'm gonna live according to the death and resurrection of the cross of Jesus amen amen you can put your hands down as I pray this prayer out loud would you just pray it quietly right at your seat say something like this say dear Jesus I know that I'm a sinner but I come to the cross
[00:20:50] And I ask you, Jesus, to forgive me of all of my sin.
[00:20:56] I ask you, Jesus, to come into my life, come into my heart, and help me to live wide awake to the love of God and fully alive to my purpose.
[00:21:10] And it's in Jesus' name that all of God's people said amen.
[00:21:15] Come on, church, can we celebrate this morning with those who have gone from death to life?

[00:21:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
So now we live and give from this fullness of grace.
[00:21:32] We get to do this.
[00:21:34] Everybody say, I get to.
[00:21:38] It was 1956 and an incident took place in Ecuador.
[00:21:44] It was called Operation Awka.
[00:21:48] Jim Elliot and his young wife who
[00:21:53] Both found the Lord early in age, chose to go there and make that their mission field.
[00:21:59] See, they received grace, and now they were going to give grace.
[00:22:03] And God directed them to a savage tribe called the Aucas.
[00:22:11] Well, when Jim Elliot and four of his buddies went there on this,
[00:22:18] January day in 56, these savages took their lives.
[00:22:26] What do we do with that?
[00:22:28] Elizabeth Elliot, young, in her late 20s, with a little 10-month-old kid named Valerie, what do we do with that?
[00:22:39] She went back to that village that next year.
[00:22:43] She went back with one of Nate's saint sisters.
[00:22:46] Nate was the...
[00:22:48] Pilate of that aircraft that brought them into that savage village and Elizabeth and Rachel ministered.
[00:22:57] And that village came to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
[00:23:03] Elizabeth Elliot baptized the guy that knocked off her husband.
[00:23:11] That's exceeding great.
[00:23:13] I don't have that in me.
[00:23:16] Right?
[00:23:16] Are you kidding me?
[00:23:19] So what does this story have to do with grace?
[00:23:22] Look what John chapter 1 verse 16 from the Amplified says, For out of His fullness, the superabundance of His grace and truth, we have all received grace upon grace, spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favor upon favor, gift heaped upon gift,
[00:23:50] When we don't look at the circumstances and we look to the Savior, we're able to receive and minister this kind of grace.
[00:24:00] When we slow life down enough to let the distractions just flush out of life and focus on the Savior, and it's because of Bethlehem.
[00:24:11] Look what Max Lucado said.
[00:24:14] Because of Bethlehem, I have a Savior in heaven.
[00:24:20] Christmas begins what Easter celebrates.
[00:24:26] The child in the cradle became the king on the cross.
[00:24:31] And because he did, there are no marks on my record, just grace.
[00:24:39] His offer has no fine print.
[00:24:41] He didn't tell me, clean up before you come in.
[00:24:43] He offered, come in and I'll clean you up.
[00:24:48] It's not my grip on Him that matters, but His grip on me.
[00:24:54] And His grip is sure.
[00:24:58] Amen?
[00:24:59] So when we think about this, would you stand with me?
[00:25:03] Grab your candles in this season of grace.
[00:25:12] Jim Elliot, in one of his quotes, said this, Wherever you are, be all there.
[00:25:18] Parent, are you willing to be all there?
[00:25:21] Kid, are you willing to be all there?
[00:25:24] Grandparent, are you willing to be all there?
[00:25:27] Get rid of these distractions.
[00:25:28] Be all there in this season, in this moment, so that we can minister grace to our families, our friends, our neighbors.
[00:25:38] He says, wherever you are, be all there.
[00:25:40] And I would add, be all there as gospel carriers
[00:25:47] of Grace.
[00:25:51] So as you light these candles, and some already did, reflect on His grace and get ready, get ready to deflect His grace in this season of grace.
[00:26:04] Amen.

[00:26:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Well, I hope today's service made a real difference in your life.
[00:26:14] Hi, I'm Noemi, the new online ministry director here at Multiply Concord, and I just want to thank you for joining us today.
[00:26:20] It truly means so much that you chose to worship with us online.
[00:26:25] If you made a decision to follow Jesus, we are celebrating with you.
[00:26:29] It's the greatest decision you could ever make, and we would love to walk alongside you as you take your next steps.
[00:26:34] Simply download the Multiply Concord app and tap next steps.
[00:26:39] There you'll find resources, encouragement, and a team ready to support you as you begin this new journey with Him.
[00:26:45] From our Multiply family to yours, Merry Christmas!
[00:26:49] We pray this season fills your home with joy, peace, and the hope of Jesus.
[00:26:54] Thanks again for being part of today's service.
[00:26:56] We can't wait to connect with you again soon.